Features

  • Two Pannier tanks to Brymbo

    Two Pannier tanks to Brymbo

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    In the last days of BR steam there were some surprising workings, but in the days before mobile phones and the internet, reliable information could be hard to come by. Robert Anderson reports on one of the last passenger trains to be hauled by a Great Western pannier tank, which also involved an LNER Pacific…

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  • The Sumpter Valley Railroad

    The Sumpter Valley Railroad

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    Heritage lines in the United States come in a variety of shapes and sizes, all with their own individual history. Andrew Rapacz reports on an excellent weekend of steam in Oregon. Mention Oregon in the USA to railway enthusiasts and you might draw a blank. Some may know that the Daylight, a Southern Pacific express…

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  • WITH FULL REGULATOR:  LOCOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE THEN AND NOW

    WITH FULL REGULATOR: LOCOMOTIVE PERFORMANCE THEN AND NOW

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    By Don Benn This time I am devoting the whole article to the engine of the moment, LMS Jubilee 5XP 4-6-0 No. 45699 Galatea. In the days just after its return to the main line it was an indifferent performer but for the last year it has been transformed into a top class locomotive, capable…

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  • Digital nights

    Digital nights

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    The advent of digital photography provided many advantages for photographers over what had gone before and continued technical advances are creating new opportunities. John Titlow presents a selection of recent images recorded long after the sun had gone down. O Winston Link has to be the pioneer of nocturnal railway photography, how difficult it must…

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  • The Great Central goes Southern

    The Great Central goes Southern

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    By Brian Sharpe The Great Central Railway’s winter steam gala at the end of January is always popular and the three-day spectacular generally heralds the start of the new gala season. The 2016 event was no exception and it is reported that it was the most popular event since new-build A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado…

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  • Czech and Yugoslav steam in Austria

    Czech and Yugoslav steam in Austria

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    In October, Czech steam power took to the Austrian main line. Dave Rodgers captured it along with the reopening of a narrow gauge line with Yugoslavian steam power. The premier Austrian rail enthusiasts’ group ÖGEG arranged a special weekend at its depot at Ampflwang, over the weekend of October 3/4. Two guest locomotives visited from…

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  • Nipper of the Yard

    Nipper of the Yard

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    An early use of narrow gauge steam locomotives was as works shunters. Mark Smithers reports on a new-build project for an LNWR locomotive design which will be the first 18 inch gauge non-miniature steam locomotive completed in the UK since 1927. ALTHOUGH many enthusiasts associate the early history of specialist narrow gauge locomotive design with…

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  • Make tracks for Bellingham

    Make tracks for Bellingham

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    Many villages have heritage centres, often sited at their long-closed railway stations. Hugh Dougherty visits a village heritage centre that demonstrates how it should be done. Village heritage centres can be a mixed bag, when it comes to portraying local railway history, and much depends on funding, who’s involved, how much prominence local railway heritage…

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  • With full regulator: Locomotive performance then and now

    With full regulator: Locomotive performance then and now

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    By Don Benn It’s a quiet time on the main line just now so I am going to catch up with some more from ‘The Border Raider’ in September 2017, plus a run behind BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0 No. 75069 and a couple of previously unreported runs with Tangmere plus, finally, a superb over speeding…

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  • ‘Le Mastrou’

    ‘Le Mastrou’

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    It is unusual for a well-established preserved railway to be forced to close, but fortunately, in one case, this proved not to be the end of the story. Don Benn reports on the revival of one of France’s best-known heritage lines. We have visited The Chemin de Fer du Vivarais, or the Le Mastrou as…

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