News

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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By Cedric Johns IT’S generally known that A4 No. 60009 Union of South Africa is due to run out of its ticket next year… but will it ? The A4 is the only example of Gresley’s streamlined 4-6-2s currently working on the main line and its main line certificate expires at the end of April,…

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Andy Castledine highlights potential impact of network changes THE Williams Review – the remit of which is “to look at the structure of the whole rail industry” – was announced by Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling to much industry fanfare. Headed by former British Airways chief executiveKeith Williams, the review, launched on October…

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By Paul Appleton GREATCentral Railway-based 1948 Locomotive Exchanges participant No. 6990 Witherslack Hall, will be spending Christmas in the SevernValley after being signed up to bolster the railway’s steam fleet for its busySanta season and the railway’s walk-on post-Christmas festive programme. The protracted overhaul of Severn Valley Railway-based ex-BR Standard 4MT No. 75069 will culminate…

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