Sam Hewitt

By Geoff Courtney A nameplate from one of the smallest express classes to operate in the BR steam era is to go under the hammer at a GW Railwayana auction on April 1. It is Duchess of Kent, from LMS Princess Royal No. 46212, a William Stanier-designed class of which just 13 were built. The…

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EXCLUSIVE: Robin Jones FIFTY years after steam ended on the Southern Region, one of its classics is set to make a comeback to the main line. Bulleid Merchant Navy Pacific No. 35018 British India Line – owned by West Coast Railways chairman David Smith – which steamed for the first time in the heritage era…

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Headline News David Smith’s Bulleid Merchant Navy Pacific No. 35018 British India Line to become next main line star; Lynton & Barnstaple turn a major obstruction into profit; ‘Great Britain X’ line-up revised; Carnforth’s iconic Brief Encounter clock stops following a ‘race row’ and Bala Lake gets its first foothold in Bala.   News New…

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ON January 7, members of the Duke of Gloucester’s management committee, along with engineers Alistair and Bob Meanley, met to discuss modifications to the 4-6-2 as part of its current overhaul programme. It was decided to produce new cam boxes for the exhaust vents to the Duke’s original design plus opening the blastpipe diameter to…

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By Cedric Johns Main line correspondent Gresley A3 4-6-2 No. 60103 Flying Scotsman is set to steal the limelight when the Settle and Carlisle line is officially reopened on March 31 following Network Rail’s £23 million repair programme. No. 60103 has been undergoing winter maintenance in the National Railway Museum’s workshops. The locomotive will head…

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THOUSANDS of people have signed a petition to save Poole’s 101/4in gauge Poole Park Railway after it was closed by its local council landlord. The 700-yard circular railway’s owner was given just a day’s notice by Poole Borough Council to remove his rolling stock from the line in Poole Park, Parkstone Road, while fresh bidders…

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By Geoff Courtney A collection of express locomotive nameplate patterns saved from a bonfire will be going under the hammer at an auction near Derby on February 22. They include some of the most classic names carried by LMS Princess Royal and Princess Coronation Pacifics, including five Duchesses and six cities. The 50 patterns, which…

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By Geoff Courtney Railway preservationists in the UK are set to forge closer links with their Russian counterparts following a nationwide conference in the former Soviet country. The inaugural all-Russia narrow-gauge forum, held in November in Ekaterinburg – Russia’s fourth-largest city located in the Ural Mountains in the west of the country – was hosted…

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