News

By Geoff Courtney A COUNCIL tourism chief has mounted a fierce attack on plans to link two heritage railways, despite the project being given approval by the council of which she is a member and an independent report saying that the plan would boost the local economy annually by more than £4 million and create…

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FOLLOWING the cancellation of its contract to run Poole Park’s 10¼in gauge miniature railway, the charity that had been operating it on a not-for-profit basis has offered its entire stock fleet for sale. The Borough of Poole cancelled the contract with the Friends of Poole Park following derailments and a mass walkout of staff and…

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AROUND £300,000 is needed to complete new-build GWR 4-6-0 No. 1014 County of Glamorgan, according to the GW County Project, part of the Didcot Railway Centre-based Great Western Society. The society has launched a major drive to fund the boiler, together with a host of components, through sponsorship. The project is one of the beneficiaries…

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THE Lincolnshire Wolds Railway has been in mourning for pioneer and prolific author Alf Ludlam, who has died at the age of 77 after losing a short battle with cancer. Described as a an extremely gifted artist, musician, author and public speaker, Alf passed away in St Andrew’s Hospice in his home town of Grimsby…

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In a year in which the centenary of the Armistice is being marked, it’s easy to forget the pivotal role transport played in the conflict – particularly railways. “Most people have a vision of mud, horses and men – the missing aspect is railways. The problem was the last 20 miles from the storage depots…

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A SECOND series of the highly-acclaimed fly-on-the-wall TV documentary on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway has been commissioned. Darlow Smithson Productions Ltd is to return to the Moorsline to film series two in the form of six episodes for Channel 5, which will air in 2019. Filming began on Friday, July 13. Last March the…

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Middleton Railway sustained an estimated £30,000 worth of damage after a fire that gutted a nearby builders’ merchant spread to the attraction. Having cancelled its steam operations because of the heatwave, the second day of the line’s July 14/15 Leeds Diesels on Display gala was cancelled on police advice, as 100 firefighters tackled a blaze…

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A NEW-build working replica of one of Southwold Railway’s original locomotives is set to be built in Darlington – and it could bring steam to the Suffolk resort within two years. As we closed for press, NBR Engineering Services, the engineering arm of Scarborough’s North Bay Railway, was set to sign a contract to finish…

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TYSELEY Locomotive Works – a rare and precious bolthole for standard gauge steam following its end on the national network in 1968 – is to celebrate 50 years since its first open day. On September 29, 1968, Tyseley Depot opened its doors to the public for the very first time with a display of steam…

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EXCLUSIVE By Geoff Courtney AN original nameplate from No. 60103 Flying Scotsman that was controversially withdrawn from sale by leading auction house Bonhams in 2016 after an intervention by the late Sir William McAlpine, a former owner of the legendary locomotive, is returning to market. The plate was carried by the 1923-built Pacific until 1996,…

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