Sam Hewitt

Great Central O4 Down Under cosmetically restored

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Sam Hewitt

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6th July 2017

ONE of the three Great Central Robinson 8K (LNER O4) 2-8-0s surviving in Australia has been cosmetically restored to its First World War condition. A sister to No. 63601 which returned to steam on the Great Central Railway in 2000, Railway Operating Division No. 2004 in February 1919 became the 350th ROD locomotive to go…
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Money pours in for Corwen share issue but more still needed

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Sam Hewitt

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6th July 2017

THE Llangollen Railway has been boosted by £59,000 of subscriptions to its share offer The Big Push, which aims to finance the completion of a terminus station at Corwen. As highlighted in HR 228, the share issue, launched in early April, is attempting to raise £370,000 in £1 shares. During June, the volunteer workforce at…
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GCR bridge needs extra £100K for water problem

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Sam Hewitt

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6th July 2017

THE Great Central Railway has launched an appeal to raise another £100,000 to fund its bridge over the Midland Main Line at Loughborough after the discovery of unexpected problems below ground. Contractors have begun work to drive concrete piles that will support the abutments into the ground. However, the piling machine has encountered water, which…
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50 YEARS ON: The end of the A4 Pacifics… NOT!

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Sam Hewitt

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6th July 2017

September 5, 2016 celebrates half a century since the final workings of the streamlined A4 Pacifics in BR service. Fred Kerr recalls the last fortnight of their Scottish operations – and notes how the future was not as bad as many feared. As a child in post-war Edinburgh my memories veered between the Caledonian hooters…
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Flour Mill ‘greats’ back in the Forest!

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Sam Hewitt

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6th July 2017

Bill Parker’s Flour Mill workshop at Bream, which is widely renowned for its steam locomotive restorations and overhauls, celebrated its 20th anniversary with a stupendous gala at the nearby Dean Forest Railway. The event saw three of its best ‘customers’ return to thrill the crowds at one of the most successful events in the line’s…
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In ‘The Middy’ of a Revival

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Sam Hewitt

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30th June 2017

One of the first branch line closures by BR, the Haughley to Laxfield branch, lay dormant for 40 years until it became the subject of an unlikely revival. Peter Brown visited the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway and reports on its progress. J15 0-6-0 No. 65447 hauled the very last passenger train on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway…
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GWR steam railmotor visit halted by gauging problems

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Sam Hewitt

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30th June 2017

THE ground-breaking visit of GWR steam railmotor No. 93 to the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway has been postponed due to gauging issues on the main line. The Great Western Society’s Didcot-based No. 93 and its trailer, No. 92, were scheduled to visit between June 29 and July 16, with the first of the dates…
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Severn Valley remembers freak floods 10 years on

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Sam Hewitt

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30th June 2017

A SPECIAL train ran over the Severn Valley Railway to mark 10 years to the day since double freak floods decimated the northern part of the line. The special train on Monday, June 19, used carriages from one of the UK’s most luxurious trains, the ‘Belmond Northern Belle’, which is stabled overnight on the heritage…
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Lottery gives £954K to restore J21

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Sam Hewitt

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30th June 2017

THE Locomotive Conservation and Learning Trust, which is seeking to restore 1889-built NER J21 0-6-0 No. 65033 to steam over the line it used to work, has been awarded £954,900 by the Heritage Lottery Fund, it was announced on June 19. The award will also be used to develop a heritage and interpretation centre within…
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Turning the clock back to the future

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Sam Hewitt

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29th June 2017

It is certainly ironic that in the same year that we are holding many excellent events to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of steam traction on the Southern Region, one of its most picturesque seaside branches has been reopened throughout for regular passenger traffic, albeit operated in the first instance by diesels. Full…
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Sam Hewitt

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