Sam Hewitt

By Martin Creese On June 29, 1968 the first steam open day was held at the Chasewater Railway, the railway’s roots having started years earlier with the formation of the Railway Preservation Society in 1959. The idea was to form the society into districts and each district would establish its own depot. The West Midlands…

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THE Dartmouth Steam Railway has celebrated the centenary of its Devon Belle observation car. Built in 1917 as an ambulance vehicle for the LNWR, it was converted in 1921 into a Pullman car with a new body. After the Second World War, it was again rebuilt, this time with an observation end for the Southern…

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THE Great Western Railway’s George England 0-4-0WT Wantage Tramway No. 5 Shannon is to be displayed outside the engine shed at Didcot Railway Centre in its new maroon livery on July 14. The occasion is a repeat visit by the Shannon Express Male Barbershop Harmony Chorus which is based in Potton, where the locomotive originally…

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A popular 18in gauge 0-4-0 well tank that has been returned to action was undoubtedly the star of Statfold Barn Railway’s June 9 Enthusiasts and Photographic Day. To the delight of the 1800 visitors who attended the event, Jack, a Hunslet 0-4-0WT (No. 684 of 1898) ran light engine up and down the 18in gauge…

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By Geoff Courtney THE four granddaughters of one of India’s greatest railway engineers, who spent many of his student years in the 1920s gaining practical experience on Britain’s railways, including the LNER and the Welsh Highland Railway, have made a surprise donation to the WHR to mark their grandfather’s untimely death in an air crash…

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THE Vintage Carriages Trust has unveiled a restored coach which featured in the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway’s opening train on June 29, 1968. The ‘Chatham’ carriage was built in 1924 for the Southern Railway as No. 3554 but was little changed from earlier ‘matchboard’ carriages built for the SECR. It is one of only…

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THE Locomotion museum in Shildon has appointed Dr Sarah Price as its new head. Sarah arrives from Durham University, where she is currently head of engagement and learning, responsible for the visitor operations and the public programme at all of Culture Durham’s venues, including award-winning exhibits such as the Lindisfarne Gospels exhibition and the new…

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The latest stage in the Llangollen Railway’s Corwen Central development project has seen a major item of infrastructure installed in the form of a traditional style of a steam-era parachute water tank. Brought round by road from the premises of Barnett Engineering Ltd in Rhosllanerchrugog, the installation took place on Tuesday, June 12. The cylindrical…

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