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Sam Hewitt

  • The last beasts of man – Craig Merthyr: Sadder, with other tales to tell…

    The last beasts of man – Craig Merthyr: Sadder, with other tales to tell…

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    The National Coal Board railway in the Dulais Valley was unique. Geoff Silcock recounts some of the incidents that punctuated the line’s last few years, including an encounter with a then unknown journalist… into the 1970s two NCB Austerity 0-6-0STs; Hunslet-built Norma and a Bagnall dubbed locally ‘The Flying Dutchman’ regularly lugged 200-300 tons of…

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  • Lyn Returns

    Lyn Returns

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    By Peter Best, Ian Gaylor and Stephen Phillips, edited by Tony Nicholson (softback, The 762 Club, www.lynton-rail.co.uk/shop £9.95 plus £2.50 p&p) As highlighted in our feature on pages 70-72, one of the landmark events of this year was the launch of the £650,000 near-replica Baldwin 2-4-2T Lyn at the hugely-successful Lynton & Barnstaple Railway’s autumn…

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  • The shining light at the end of the Central line…

    The shining light at the end of the Central line…

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    It could be reasoned that the original Great Eastern Railway, and latterly the London Transport line linking Epping to Ongar that closed in 1994, would not have that many railway skeletons in its closet. Heritage Railway troubadour writer, photographer and regular at the present day Epping and Ongar Railway, Geoff Silcock, disagrees. Far to the…

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  • Forty years of Deltic delight

    Forty years of Deltic delight

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    Early October saw half of the preserved production Deltic fleet drawing the crowds at the Bluebell Railway, which for so long was a no-go area for diesels, writes Robin Jones. THERE was a time, not so long ago, when the mere mention of the word ‘diesel’ on the Bluebell Railway was nothing short of sacrilege.…

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  • Midlands remembers Southern steam 50

    Midlands remembers Southern steam 50

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    Commemorations marking the 50th anniversary of the end of steam on the Southern Region continue to capture the public imagination – with the Great Central Railway seeing a 33% increase in visitor numbers for its autumn steam gala, writes Robin Jones. NEARLY 4000 passengers rode on trains during the Great Central Railway’s October 5-8 autumn…

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  • New Yankee jewel in the Exmoor crown!

    New Yankee jewel in the Exmoor crown!

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    It is 82 years since the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway closed, and 38 years since a revivalist association was formed. One of its core mission statements was to restore the legendary line exactly as it was – and thanks to the culmination of a £650,000 new build locomotive project, now has a complete ‘original’ train.…

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  • With full regulator: LOCOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE THEN AND NOW

    With full regulator: LOCOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE THEN AND NOW

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    By Don Benn I make no apologies for returning to the work of No. 35028 Clan Line again, for this engine just seems to get better and better. There are now two Merchant Navy Pacifics on the main line although as I write I have just heard the sad news that No. 35018 British India…

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  • New community rail partnership commits to Stranraer steam

    New community rail partnership commits to Stranraer steam

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    By Hugh Dougherty The new South West Scotland Community Rail Partnership has confirmed that it is committed to safeguarding railway heritage on the lines it covers, from Gretna to Stranraer, via Kilmarnock and Troon – and that steam to Stranraer is firmly on its agenda. The partnership, launched at Kilmarnock’s historic station on September 11,…

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  • ‘Border Raider’ checked

    ‘Border Raider’ checked

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    By Cedric Johns The A1 Trust’s Tame Bridge Parkway-Carlisle ‘Border Raider’ trip hauled by 4-6-2 No. 60163 Tornado on Saturday, September 16 ran into pathing problems arriving in Carlisle nearly an hour late but despite last-minute route changes the train recovered and was only a minute late back at Thame Bridge Parkway. Not for the…

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  • Green British India Line ‘stopped’ at York on debut

    Green British India Line ‘stopped’ at York on debut

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    By Cedric Johns and Robin Jones BULLEID Merchant Navy 4-6-2 No. 35018 British India Line has made its passenger hauling main line debut in BR green. The shiny black livery the newly restored West Coast Railways locomotive carried during its test runs in recent months has given way to the historically correct colour, to the…

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