News

THE Swindon & Cricklade Railway has launched an appeal to pay for the carriage of track materials to the site of its new northern extension. The railway hopes to celebrate its 40th anniversary by reaching the second town in its name. However, before it can lay track as part of the push to Cricklade, the…

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LINE closure notices were a market feature of the 1950s and especially the 60s under the Beeching Axe, but thankfully they are a rarity in the heritage sector. An exception came on Thursday, August 2 when a genuine pre-closure ‘last train’ ran on a section of the Spa Valley Railway. Diverging from the railway’s main…

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SEPTEMBER 11 will mark the 80th anniversary of what is thought to have been the first enthusiast railtour, which ran from King’s Cross to Peterborough and return in 1938. The LNER had decided to briefly return to service preserved Stirling Single No. 1 to promote its new high-speed service from London to Edinburgh. An engine…

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By George Jones VOLUNTEERS have been encouraged to press on with different aspects of Llangollen Railway’s new Corwen Central western terminus project following high-profile inspections by successive visitors to the site. The ‘guest list’ has included chairman of Network Rail, Sir Peter Hendy CBE, the Welsh Minister for Culture, Tourism & Sport, Lord Elis-Thomas, and…

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The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust has announced it has bought Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado’s tender from principal sponsor William Cook Cast Products Ltd. The news came on August 4, the day marking the 50th anniversary of the end of scheduled BR main line steam-hauled services. The trust’s dedicated fundraising body The 163 Pacifics…

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THE team behind A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s project to build new Gresley P2 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales has agreed a £350,000 order for a state-of-the-art electrical system. The mechanism is based on that fitted to the trust’s A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado, and includes systems that generate and store electricity, together with lighting…

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The Foxfield Railway held its summer gala over the weekend of July 21-22 – the highlight event so far in its 2018 calendar. Industrial steam locomotives went through their paces up the grades on the delightful former Staffordshire colliery line, creating wonderful sights and sounds. Regular demonstration coal trains ran on the 1-in-19 Foxfield Bank,…

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By Geoff Courtney SOME of the world’s top railway artists have been brushing up on their unique talents in readiness for the annual exhibition organised by the Guild of Railway Artists that opens at Kidderminster Railway Museum on August 25. Railart 2018, which is being held at the museum for the 14th time, will feature…

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REMARKABLE progress is being made on the National Collection’s 2HAP two-car EMU, comprising vehicles Nos. 61275 and 75395. The workshop staff and volunteers at the Locomotion museum in Shildon are now nearing the end of the restoration of the first carriage, in partnership with the Network South East Railway Society, whose members are working on…

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By Geoff Courtney TO SAY Sarah Tagart has steam railways in her blood would be akin to describing The Shard as a fairly tall building, or Lewis Hamilton a reasonably good racing driver. An archetypal British understatement. The 22-year-old charity worker has become the third generation in her family to qualify for working on the…

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