News

  • Lincolnshire line’s first steam at Skeggy

    Lincolnshire line’s first steam at Skeggy

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    The Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway operated its first steam-hauled public passenger train at its present base at the Skegness Water Leisure Park on September 17, with a record number of passengers being carried on the day. Peckett 0-6-0ST No. 1008 Jurassic, built by Bristol company Peckett and Sons for Southam lime works in Warwickshire, was…

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  • Minister may decide on Wolverton Works demolition

    Minister may decide on Wolverton Works demolition

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    By Phil Marsh The Government may be asked to rule on the fate of historic Wolverton Works. A repeat of a court case concerning demolition at Wolverton is looming after Milton Keynes Council’s development control committee held a third hearing to decide the future of the LNWR works in September. This hearing was required because…

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  • A1 tender appeal hits target – but more needed

    A1 tender appeal hits target – but more needed

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    AN APPEAL to raise £200,000 to buy 101mph Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado’s tender has reached its target. The 163 Pacifics Club – The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s fundraising facility – was launched in September 2013 to buy the locomotive’s tender from principal sponsor William Cook Cast Products Ltd, and has reached its initial…

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  • Plaque recalls Bundoran’s last train

    Plaque recalls Bundoran’s last train

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    A plaque was unveiled on the site of Bundoran station at 2.30pm on Saturday, September 30, at the exact time and on the same date as the last passenger train left the station in 1957 for Bundoran Junction, bringing down the curtain on 91 years of railway operations in the County Donegal seaside town. Paddy…

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  • The Great Marquess retires to Scotland

    The Great Marquess retires to Scotland

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    JOHN Cameron’s LNER K4 2-6-0 No. 61994 The Great Marquess has moved to the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway for static display. The West Highland Line veteran is set to take pride of place in the Museum of Scottish Railways at Bo’ness station. The locomotive has been in storage at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway since…

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  • Severn Valley station for sale

    Severn Valley station for sale

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    COALPORT West station on the GWR Severn Valley route from Shrewsbury to Hartlebury Junction has gone up for sale at £950,000 complete with two BR Mk.1 coaches. In 2002, Steve and Lisa Rawlings heard about a disused station within the World Heritage Site of the Ironbridge Gorge while having a pint in a local pub.…

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  • Welsh Assembly Member backs Corwen station project

    Welsh Assembly Member backs Corwen station project

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    LOCAL Welsh AM Ken Skates has given his seal of approval for the project to create a new western terminus for the Llangollen Railway. The three-month scheme to create the signalbox base at Corwen Central came to an end with a three-day exercise to infill the crater in which the structure sits. Volunteers, assisted by…

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  • Barrow Hill blockbuster!

    Barrow Hill blockbuster!

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    Enthusiasts who set out to save Britain’s last rail-connected roundhouse were told it was a futile exercise as Barrow Hill roundhouse, which was closed by British Rail in 1991 after 120 years of use, was deemed a complete non-starter by many preservationists. It was said that it could not compete with a ‘normal’ heritage railway…

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  • Staff shelter as huge blaze ravages railway museum

    Staff shelter as huge blaze ravages railway museum

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    By Geoff Courtney STAFF sheltered for their lives as a devastating bush fire caused more than $1 million damage and wrecked decades of work at the volunteer-run Richmond Vale Railway Museum in Australia’s New South Wales. The blaze on September 13 destroyed three stainless-steel carriages, rolling stock including 10 restored coal hoppers and a number…

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  • After 52 years, George Cross hero steam driver to be honoured with memorial

    After 52 years, George Cross hero steam driver to be honoured with memorial

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    By Geoff Courtney A steam train driver who received fatal burns while saving his passengers from a potential catastrophic accident and was awarded a posthumous George Cross for his heroism will be honoured with a churchyard memorial, after lying in an unmarked grave for 52 years. The recognition of Wallace Oakes’ bravery comes after an…

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