News

By Geoff Courtney A PRESERVED steam locomotive worksplate error that went undetected for decades has been corrected at a small ceremony during a rail gala at Amberley Museum in West Sussex on July 14-15. Former ironstone quarry 0-6-0ST Scaldwell had been carrying the wrong worksplate throughout its 35 years at Amberley and possibly before, but…

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SOUTHERN Locomotives Limited-owned unrebuilt Bulleid Pacific No. 34072 257 Squadron moved under its own steam at the Swanage Railway on August 9 after an absence of 15 years. The occasion was the first major test the 4-6-2 has had since leaving the line’s Herston Works last year. Further mileage accumulation and testing will follow, before…

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THE overhaul of the Nene Valley Railway’s flagship BR Standard 5MT No. 73050 City of Peterborough – which has a claim to being the final steam locomotive to leave a BR shed in August 1968 – is progressing at the line’s Wansford workshops. The 4-6-0 was withdrawn at the expiry of its boiler ticket in…

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The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway (WHHR ) in Porthmadog formally relaunched into traffic its popular Bagnall 0-4-2T Gelert on July 29. The locomotive is now sharing passenger duties with the line’s flagship locomotive, Hunslet 2-6-2T Russell. Gelert last steamed in 2013. It had been known for some time the boiler was not in the best…

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By Geoff Courtney The close-knit world of railwayana is mourning the death of David Lewis, who died on August 2 at the age of 56 after a long battle with cancer. He is the second auction house principal to pass away in his fifties in a little over a year, following the death 14 months…

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TOWNSFOLK in Brackley have launched a campaign to save its former Great Central Railway station from being demolished. The late-Victorian structure in Top Station Road was vacated by tyre firm ATS Euromaster in July, and is due to be sold at auction via sealed bids. Residents fear it will be demolished and the site used…

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THREE tours commemorated the legendary 1T57 ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ – the last BR steam-hauled trip – with trips on the anniversary day operating over part of the route taken on August 11, 1968. However, in recalling the end of steam, all three trips on Saturday, August 11, may be viewed to some extent as symbolic,…

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By Geoff Courtney Against a background of a fierce ongoing debate about the planned link-up of two heritage railways in Kent and Sussex, a local tourist organisation has come out in strong support of the value of one of the railway’s gala events. Kevin Boorman, manager of 1066 Country Marketing, which promotes the region’s history…

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THE North Gloucestershire Narrow Gauge Railway has restored a coach which was built for a special line at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924/25. The body of the 2ft-gauge vehicle was retrieved from Teddington Fields, next to the A46 between Tewkesbury and Teddington Hands, by members of the narrow gauge line based at…

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By Geoff Courtney Michael Portillo, one of the highest-profile names in the world of railways, has become president of the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line. A former Conservative MP, government minister and close friend of Margaret Thatcher, he will be welcomed into the fold of the scenic Cumbrian line’s many supporters because of his reputation…

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