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IN this year in which we will proudly celebrate the 75th anniversary of the world's first volunteer-led heritage railway revival scheme, it was certainly appropriate that the Heritage Railway Association held its biggest-ever annual awards presentation evening in Wales, at Llandudno on March 7. Today, the HRA has around 300 member organisations, whereas three-quarters of a century ago, there would have been just one the Talyllyn Railway. Saved near the start of a decade where the UK was still in the throes of the steam age, building early examples of the 999 BR Standards that would emerge by the end of it, theTalyllyn's rescuers defied all odds - and we are all still reaping the benefits from their efforts, in ways that they would never have foreseen in their wildest…
THE world's oldest working railway, the Stockton & Darlington Railway's ground-breaking 200th anniversary train and the decade-long restoration of Bulleid Merchant Navy Pacific No. 35005 Canadian Pacific were among the winners in the Heritage Railway Association Annual Awards 2026, the biggest-ever in the event's history. Publicly-owned integrated transport provider Transport for Wales was the headline sponsor of the awards evening at Venue Cymru on Llandudno sea front on Saturday, March 7. The ‘Oscars’ of the heritage rail world returned to Wales for the first time in many years, the principality having seen the world's first volunteer-run heritage line, the Talyllyn Railway, launched in 1951. Geoff Ogden, chief transport planning and development officer at TfW, said: “Wales has a proud place in the story of the railway, and it's a privilege…
DIMINUITIVE Port of Par Bagnall 0-4-0ST Judy, from the Bodmin Railway, has joined the line-up for the Severn Valley Railway's April 16-19 Spring Steam Gala, alongside the already announced unique BR Standard 8 4-6-2 No 71000 Duke of Gloucester. A third guest will be Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Class 21 0-4-0ST ‘Pug’ No. 11243 from the East Lancashire Railway. Judy, which was outshopped in 1931, and 1910-built No. 11243 will operate an intensive shuttle service between Bewdley and Kidderminster, including some double-headed appearances. SVR managing director Gus Dunster said: “Judy and the ‘Pug’ may be small, but they're full of personality and history. “Both these locomotives have fascinating back stories, from China clay docks in Cornwall to Lancashire industry. “Bringing them together at the SVR, alongside giants like Duke of…
NEW-BUILD A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado is to join A3 No. 60103 Flying Scotsman on the Great Central Railway (Nottingham) in May. As reported in issue 341, Scotsman will make its first-ever visit to the GCR(N) and run trips from Ruddington Fields on May 23-31. Tornado – which some observers have described as “the Flying Scotsman of the 21st century” – will arrive to operate trips from Ruddington Fields too Rushcliffe Halt via Loughborough on May 16/17. That same weekend, Flying Scotsman will be displayed at the model railway exhibition taking place at the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre, Ruddington, and footplate visits will be allowed. All-inclusive tickets for adults are charged at £29.50, including a return trip behind Tornado and other event elements, with a special Kids for a Quid…
STREAMLINED Gresley A4 Pacific No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley will make its first public visit to the West Somerset Railway this May when it appears at the line's spring steam gala weekend. Joining an already impressive locomotive line-up that includes a trio of GWR Manors and GWR 2884 class 2-8-0 No. 3850, the A4 will work services between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead during the May 1-4 bank holiday event. Although it has visited the railway in the past, it has never ventured further than Bishops Lydeard, where it is often stabled when working main line duties in the south west – once again to be the case during 2026, with No. 60007 booked to work several Kingswear excursions, the first of which will be Saphos Trains’ ‘English Riviera Express’ on…
A NEW venture saw the Severn Valley Railway run a Branch Line Weekend to celebrate 35 years since the arrival of the first DMU at the heritage line. The event, which ran on February 28-March 1, reflected the changeover period from steam to diesel in the 1950s and 1960s, with Classes 108 and 101 DMUs in operation, plus GWR 0-4-2T No. 1450, 0-6-0PT No. 7714 and 4-6-0 No. 7802 Bradley Manor and BR Standard 4MT No. 75069. On the Saturday, No. 7714 was on the local service, No. 1450 ran in auto/sandwich mode with carriages No. 178 and Chaffinch, while No. 7802 headed seven Great Western carriages. The auto train was so popular, with the last train from Bridgnorth full, that an additional DMU was written into the service to…
