News

THE Isle of Wight Steam Railway is to hold its first diesel gala. The Shunter Shuffle will run from Friday, September 30 to Sunday, October 2, normally a non-working weekend, to mark the 50th anniversary of the arrival of modern traction on the island. That first diesel – Class 05 D2554 – which arrived in…

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By Geoff Courtney ncludes a grandfather who was a clerk for the LNER and BR, and a father who was an LMS engineering pupil at St Rollox works in Glasgow, there was only one subject for Chris Ware to specialise in when he surprised colleagues by resigning from his role as a BBC journalist to…

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By Geoff Courtney ONE of the heritage railway movement’s youngest general managers is hoping that the tantalising prospect of running a station or being in charge of a steam locomotive will boost his volunteer base against a background of increasing visitor numbers and a sharp increase in dining train numbers. Earlier this year Jonnie Wesson…

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A LOCOMOTIVE that sank into Canada’s Lake Superior 106 years ago has been rediscovered. On June 10, 1910, Canadian Pacific Railway D10 4-6-0 No. 694, then just four years old, struck a rockslide, derailing the engine, tender, and two carriages, sending the train sliding down a 65ft embankment into Lake Superior, 45 miles east of…

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By Robin Jones IN 1970, I took my first ride from Buckfastleigh to Totnes on the then recently-opened Dart Valley Railway. When the train reached Ashburton Junction, the main line connection, the train paused and then reversed in push-pull manner, as there was neither access to Totnes station, or a station at the end of…

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A ground-breaking referendum is to be held in Totnes. However, this time it will have nothing to with Brexit, but instead with the future of a railway building of international importance. Under the banner of Atmos Totnes, the local community has drawn up plans to redevelop an eight-acre disused dairy alongside the South West main…

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WORK to remove the last major obstacle preventing the Llangollen Railway from extending into Corwen town centre has begun, with Welsh Water having started work on building a new access road to the waste water treatment plant at Corwen. The new entry point from Green Lane, at the western end of the station site, will…

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AN EXPERIMENTAL ‘Hogwart’s Express’ , trialled by the South Devon Railway, has proved to be a resounding success. The line has been working with fellow Devon charity Hannahs (the Dame Hannah Rogers Trust) to see if it could collaborate by using SDR steam trains as part of the Illustrating Harry Potter exhibition at its Seale…

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SINCE its overhaul was completed two months ago, LMS 4-6-2 No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth has experienced several incidents which have impacted on its trains. Firstly, when running light from Tyseley to Derby as a stand-in engine for Princess Coronation Pacific No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland, ‘Lizzie’ ran a warm right-hand bogie wheelset, which meant that…

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The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust has affiliated its Peppercorn A1 4-6-2 No. 60163 Tornado with RAF Marham as part of the former Lancaster bomber station’s centenary celebrations. RAF Marham is the home of the RAF’s Tornado GR4 two-seat, all-weather, day/night attack and reconnaissance aircraft. On Friday, August 26, the Nene Valley Railway’s Wansford headquarters hosted…

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