News

THE Llangollen Railway’s spring steam gala has been turned into a major celebration of the ‘Changeover Years’ on the Western Region. The showpiece April 13-15 event aims to capture the atmosphere of 1965, when steam was rapidly giving way to diesels. The gala will also mark 50 years since BR lifted the track from the…

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THE new £7.2 million Being Brunel museum dedicated to the engineering genius who built the Great Western Railway opened on Bristol’s Harbourside on March 23. The new visitor attraction, next to the SS Great Britain, features six galleries setting out around 150 of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s personal artefacts – many never seen in public before…

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By Geoff Courtney The country’s newest railway museum, which forms part of an ongoing £2½ million project to convert the 150-year-old Harwich Town station in Essex into a major historical railway and maritime attraction, is to open on April 15. It was originally hoped that, appropriately, David Buck’s B1 No. 61306 Mayflower would mark the…

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WEATHER history repeated itself as the Bluebell Railway held a special 60th anniversary commemoration of the closure of the Lewes to East Grinstead Line in 1958 over the weekend of   March 17-18. The significant event on Saturday was the recreation of trains running on to and arriving at Sheffield Park from Newick, the next station…

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Exclusive By Geoff Courtney It may have been one small step for railway preservation – if a steam locomotive the length of four London Routemasters is capable of a small step – yet for railway enthusiasts in Australia and here in Britain, is was a giant leap for the UK-built engine and its new owners.…

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By Dave Rodgers and Robin Jones ONE of the world’s most iconic steam locomotives – South African Railways Class 26 4-8-4 No. 3450 ‘Red Devil’ is to be restored to working order. In mid-March the locomotive, which has stood out of use in a secure part of Cape Town’s Monument station for a decade, was…

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By Geoff Courtney THE boss of the country’s leading London Transport specialist auction house has spoken of his distress and anger after a rare Underground pocket map was stolen while stewards were distracted before the start of a sale on February 17. And to compound the loss, the map achieved the highest realisation of £3200…

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By Phil Marsh THE 100%-volunteer operated Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway used the winter 75-day gap in passenger services to carry out a huge programme of infrastructure work – including trackwork for the main line interchange platform. Two major pieces of work completed have removed a speed restriction on the main running line a mile…

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By Geoff Courtney Fifteen years ago, a group of railway enthusiasts founded a society that had a single aim – to restore a short industrial line in west London that during its life of just 30 years operated under the radar of almost everybody except the most ardent enthusiasts. It was 2ft gauge, ran for…

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BR Standard Britannia Pacific No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell’s programme of railtours to bring its period of main line running to an end was to involve runs on three routes associated with the Britannia Pacifics in steam days, but the weather was to play a major part in its finale. On February 22, No. 70013 left…

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