News

Easter week saw the various railways and tramways on the Isle of Man staging a Rush Hour on the Railways event with intensive timetables on all lines. The Isle of Man Steam Railway ran a two-train service on several days with additional dining trains requiring three locomotives to be in steam. The Manx Electric Railway…

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By Lionel Price ONE more small piece of Welsh railway history returned to life at the Bala Lake Railway on Saturday, April 22, with the launch into traffic of George B, one of the many narrow gauge locomotives which formerly worked at the Dinorwic Slate Quarries at Llanberis. Like other locomotives built for the great…

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The second Great North Steam Fair took place at Beamish Museum from April 6-9, with a line-up of over 100 vehicles and locomotives in action and on display. A highlight of this year’s event was a visit by 15in gauge 2-8-2 River Mite from the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. Built by Clarksons of York in…

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By Geoff Courtney The Postal Museum has confirmed that its eagerly-awaited and innovative subterranean Mail Rail visitor attraction in central London is to open in July, with tickets expected to be on sale from this month. The ride will take visitors 70ft beneath the streets on a reopened stretch of the former Post Office Underground…

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By Phil Marsh THE Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway and Heritage Railway have joined forces to offer readers the chance to take a historic hour-long eight-mile round trip between Chinnor and Princes Risborough aboard the now-unique 1907-built Great Western Railway steam railmotor No. 93 and trailer car No. 92. These services will offer the first…

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THE LMS-Patriot project is celebrating its most successful fundraising year, with just over £427,000 donated between April 2016 and March. The construction of the boiler of 4-6-0 No. 5551 The Unknown Warrior at LNWR Heritage in Crewe continues with assembly of the outer firebox due to start. It is the first large brand new boiler…

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THE Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway welcomed the Princess Royal to its headquarters at the Skegness Water Leisure Park in Ingoldmells on Tuesday, April 25. Princess Anne arrived by helicopter at 2.20pm to view the 2ft gauge railway’s progress. At the line’s recently extended Walls Lane station, she met the volunteers who are restoring the locomotives,…

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ON Friday, April 21, after a prolonged restoration, Bodmin & Wenford Railway-based Bagnall Austerity 0-6-0ST No. 2766 was lit up at Bodmin General station. The following day it was successfully steamed, and then moved up and down the yard under its own power for the first time since 1976. It now awaits boiler certification, scheduled…

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With the Settle & Carlisle line fully reopened on March 31, the first steam train to be operated by one of the regular tour promoters was the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’ on April 22. The train was to follow the established format with Class 86 electric No. 86259 Les Ross heading the train…

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THE vehicle that recorded both Flying Scotsman’s official 100mph run on November 30, 1934, and Mallard’s 126mph unbroken world record run on July 3, 1938, is to appear as an exclusive proprietary model in OO gauge. Leading model railway retailer Rails of Sheffield is working with Rapido Trains Inc to produce an outstandingly detailed OO…

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