News

By Karl Heath Over the two days of March 4/5, an In Search of Steam photo charter was organised by Jonathon Gourlay and Andrew N Fowler on the Strathspey Railway, with resident LMS Ivatt 2MT mogul No. 46512 hauling a train of three carmine and cream Mk.1 coaches. The weather co-operated on the second day…

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ON Saturday, March 4, the culmination of over 10 years of work resulted in the steaming of the Royal Victoria Railway’s new 2-6-0 No. 5 Peter the Private for the first time. Based on No. 4 Isambard Kingdom Brunel, this 10¼in gauge coal-fired locomotive has been built in the railway’s workshop by long-standing volunteer Peter…

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IN A year in which the heritage sector is commemorating 50 years since the end of steam on the Southern Region, the Swanage Railway has its own half centenary to mark. While steam on the Southern ended on July 9, 1967, as highlighted in our free booklet with this issue – the final steam working…

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By Hugh Dougherty THE Invergarry Station Project, the volunteer body behind the restoration of Invergarry station on the North British Railway’s Invergarry & Fort Augustus Railway, is to open the partially-restored site to visitors on the first Sunday of each month from May to September. On operating days, the trust will operate its 1947-built Ruston…

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EXCLUSIVE By Geoff Courtney The future of one of the world’s top railway museums that dramatically ceased operating nearly five months ago remains shrouded in doubt, despite the determination of enthusiasts to prevent its permanent closure and to resume operations. Based in the Australian capital Canberra, the museum, whose flagship locomotive is a giant Garratt…

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MIXED weather greeted the Llangollen Railway’s ‘Along Birkenhead Lines’ gala held over March 3-5. A last gasp of winter saw a combination of sunshine, showers, rain and even snow being experienced in almost equal measure. However, the three visiting locomotives, LMS Stanier 8F 2-8-0 No. 48624, GWR No. 6960 Raveningham Hall and LMS 4MT 2-6-0 No.…

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THE Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway has launched a series of one-day photographic training courses. The sessions will take at Chinnor station, signalbox and yard, and inside the largest GWR signalbox, the listed 100 lever Princes Risborough North signalbox. The courses are divided into three themes: railways and wildlife, railways and steam, and Flying Scotsman…

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A PIONEERING Class 125 charter from the Dartmoor Railway to London came to grief after slipping on the heritage line’s wet rails and being left with wheel flats. The ‘Royal Oke’ was advertised as the first direct train from Okehampton to Paddington in 50 years and had been organised by a group of volunteers in…

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THE Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway’s new museum will open in June following a two-year, Heritage Lottery Fund-backed redevelopment. Built at Ravenglass station, the new trainshed extension will double the previous museum’s footprint. The museum owns more than 6000 objects ranging from 15in gauge locomotives and rolling stock through to uniforms, photographs and historic engineering. The…

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By Phil Marsh West Coast Railways’ steam inspector John Daniel has retired for the second time in his railway career after becoming what is thought to be the UK’s longest serving member of railway staff. His first career lasted ‘just’ 51 years and after a break he joined West Coast Railways and completed another 11½…

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