Sam Hewitt

BARNACLE-encrusted track panels from a lost tramway across Summerleaze Beach at Bude have been uncovered by high tides. The 2ft gauge track appears to be an extension of rails which are set into the harbourside where the Bude Canal forms the town port before it enters the sea. Recent storms have washed around 3ft of…

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A VISION of the future which is paying tribute to the past was unveiled at Crewe Heritage Centre over the weekend of November 10/11 – when the LMS-Patriot Project’s new-build locomotive was displayed publicly with its boiler in situ, coupled to a borrowed LMS Fowler tender. As reported in our last issue, No. 5551 The…

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APART from the national accolades mentioned in the previous pages, several heritage railways have carried off prestigious awards in the past weeks. The Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway has won a Special Award, for opening its main line interchange station in August, in Railfuture’s seventh annual Rail User Group Awards. The award was presented to…

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A RUN-DOWN cottage with its own private platform on the Ffestiniog Railway has scooped a major national heritage award. Abandoned Coed y Bleiddiau, built in 1863 for Henry Hovenden, the superintendent of the Ffestiniog Railway, has now been transformed into a holiday let accommodating four people, who can arrive by steam train. It was built…

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THE first Vintage Trains Limited driver to qualify under the new Train Operating Company status, Ray Churchill, has been presented with his European Train Driving Licence. This new requirement came into force on October 31 and prescribes that all drivers must hold this licence to drive on the national network. It is designed to enable…

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VINTAGE Trains Limited’s first major exercise as a Train Operating Company – the debut of the steam-hauled ‘The Polar Express’ on the UK main line – appears to have been a stunning success in terms of the amounts of tickets sold. As we reported in our last issue, the Tyseley-based operator is running the trips…

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A 15-year project to restore the forgotten North Eastern Railway railcar that is the ancestor of modern internal combustion passenger trains worldwide has scooped the top honour in the Heritage Railway Association 2019 Awards. The NER 1903 Electric Autocar Trust has been awarded the coveted Peter Manisty Award for Excellence, the association’s most prestigious award.…

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