News

By Stuart Chapman Many of the world’s theme parks and zoos feature miniature or narrow gauge railways. Thousands of visitors each year will photograph and ride on these, but while extremely popular with the general public these railways get little attention from the enthusiast community or railway press. Yet in a quiet rural corner of…

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THE Talyllyn Railway is widely considered to be the first railway to be taken over and preserved by volunteers in the world. Now it has scored what is believed to be another world first, with a set of triplets passing out as assistant guards on the same day. Jake, Ross and Joe Waddington, all 16,…

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By Geoff Courtney Silver jubilee celebrations on the Derwent Valley Light Railway over the August 27-28 Bank Holiday weekend included the renaming of a 1962 diesel shunter, the unveiling of a restored pump trolley that had operated on the line before being abandoned in a ditch, and a welcome for a former platelayer on the…

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THE Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway lit up the skies above Powys as part of celebrations for a very special year. One of the highlights of the 2ft 6in-gauge line’s September 1-3 gala was the firework display on the Saturday night, laid on by Electrify Pyrotechnics. The final train of the day set off from…

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BEAUTIFULLY-restored Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway six-wheeled coach No. 946 was displayed to the public at a special open day at its Great Central Railway (Nottingham) restoration base on Sunday, September 17. In pride of place at the heritage centre at Ruddington was the newly-rebuilt carriage which has been dedicated to those 225 troops of…

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A LARGE crowd gathered at North Devon’s Torrington station (aka The Puffing Billy pub and restaurant complex) on Saturday, August 19, to see the Tarka Valley Railway’s new locomotive officially named Torrington Cavalier. After an introduction by railway chairman Mark Smith, the unveiling of the nameplate was carried out by Mark Keeley, chairman of re-enactment…

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CONTROVERSIAL plans to convert a Grade II* listed station building and former railway preservation base in Cardiff into office space and shop units have been given the go ahead, despite objections from historians and conservationists. Cardiff Council planners have given ABA Holdings Ltd listed building consent and full planning permission to refurbish the Bute Street…

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ONE of Britain’s smallest standard gauge heritage lines – which keeps alive the heritage of what is thought to be the world’s oldest public railway – has held its first open day. Despite poor weather, the Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway attracted 250 visitors to the Sunday, September 3 event at the site of the…

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TRAINS are set to return to the tourist honeypot of Broadway on March 30 next year – after the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s £1.25 million share issue to fund its northern extension went £800,000 over its target. Broadway now features in the 2018 timetable, which is currently being prepared for publication. The town’s station saw its…

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