News

Commemorations marking the 50th anniversary of the end of steam on the Southern Region continue to capture the public imagination – with the Great Central Railway seeing a 33% increase in visitor numbers for its autumn steam gala, writes Robin Jones. NEARLY 4000 passengers rode on trains during the Great Central Railway’s October 5-8 autumn…

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It is 82 years since the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway closed, and 38 years since a revivalist association was formed. One of its core mission statements was to restore the legendary line exactly as it was – and thanks to the culmination of a £650,000 new build locomotive project, now has a complete ‘original’ train.…

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By Hugh Dougherty The new South West Scotland Community Rail Partnership has confirmed that it is committed to safeguarding railway heritage on the lines it covers, from Gretna to Stranraer, via Kilmarnock and Troon – and that steam to Stranraer is firmly on its agenda. The partnership, launched at Kilmarnock’s historic station on September 11,…

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By Cedric Johns The A1 Trust’s Tame Bridge Parkway-Carlisle ‘Border Raider’ trip hauled by 4-6-2 No. 60163 Tornado on Saturday, September 16 ran into pathing problems arriving in Carlisle nearly an hour late but despite last-minute route changes the train recovered and was only a minute late back at Thame Bridge Parkway. Not for the…

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By Cedric Johns and Robin Jones BULLEID Merchant Navy 4-6-2 No. 35018 British India Line has made its passenger hauling main line debut in BR green. The shiny black livery the newly restored West Coast Railways locomotive carried during its test runs in recent months has given way to the historically correct colour, to the…

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The world has been in mourning for East Somerset Railway founder David Shepherd, who died aged 86 on September 19, after losing a 10-week fight in hospital with Parkinson’s Disease. After becoming an international wildlife artist and later a leading conservationist, he also bought two steam ‘beasts’ from British Rail in 1967 and helped transform…

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GWR nameplates from a Saint and Bulldog, a Southern Railway offering from a Schools class 4-4-0, and a pair from across the Irish Sea, are among the headline acts in GW Railwayana’s November 18 sale at Pershore. The Saint is Tortworth Court, from No. 2955, named after the Victorian mansion home of GWR director the…

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A 7¼in gauge live steam model of GWR No. 6860 Aberporth Grange, featured in Heritage Railway issue 232, was the runaway success in a Dreweatts transport sale of live steam models at Newbury on September 20, with a realisation of £60,000. Built by leading modelmaker David Aitken and described by Dreweatts’ steam and model engineering…

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