News

By Geoff Courtney THE former Midland Hotel is within yards of a main line and in a street named after a pre-Grouping railway. Not far away lie a rank of sidings that are still in very active use and a once-busy steam depot, all in a county town with two stations, one of which welcomes…

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DURING the very warm May Bank Holiday weekend, the Bodmin & Wenford Railway’s diminutive Port of Par Bagnall 0-4-0ST Judy made the long journey north to star at the East Lancashire Railway’s Thomas the Tank Engine event. The Lancashire public were taken by surprise and did not expect to see such a small steam locomotive…

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EXCLUSIVE By Phil Marsh A FRESH bid has been launched to save 1937-built Southern Railway paddle steamer PS Ryde. The Southern Railway operated a fleet of ships from south coast ports to various destinations between Rotterdam, Belgium, France, the Isle of Wight and to the Channel Islands. This aspect of ‘railway’ history has been well…

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THE General Steam Navigation Locomotive Restoration Society has made further progress in filling a sizeable hole in Britain’s heritage fleet by the back-conversion of a rebuilt Merchant Navy Pacific to its as-built form, complete with air smooth casing and Bulleid’s unique chain-driven valve gear. The society has bought a set of nameplates for its engine,…

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A STEAM locomotive from Switzerland is to visit the Snowdon Mountain Railway in September. The 1891-built locomotive, the Brienz Rothorn Bahn’s No. 2, is a sister engine to the Snowdon line’s locomotives which were also built by Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works, a railway equipment manufacturer based in Winterthur. Much of the world’s mountain railway…

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By Geoff Courtney TWO Antipodean locomotives, one a UK product and the second homegrown down under, have been wowing enthusiasts and the general public alike after returning to service. They are former New South Wales Government Railways’ Beyer-Garratt No. 6029 and ex-New Zealand Government Railways’ Class Ww No. 480. The 4-8-4+4-8-4 Garratt, which weighs 254…

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REGULAR steam and diesel services are now operating over the 170-yard extension to the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway that was completed over the winter. The line in the Skegness Water Leisure Park has been extended to a point beside Skegness Aerodrome. The terminus run-round loop at South Loop has been moved to this new point,…

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The last surviving piece of infrastructure from the Severn & Wye Junction Railway is to be restored with the aid of grant funding. The Dean Forest Railway is to restore the Grade II listed St Mary’s footbridge which crosses over the line in Lydney and was originally built to eliminate accidents caused by people scrambling…

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More than 40 years of achievements have been officially recognised by Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester presenting the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Award for Voluntary Service to the Swanage Railway. A first cousin to the Queen and a patron of the Severn Valley Railway, the duke visited the heritage line on Friday, June 8, accompanied by…

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THE Seaton Tramway has completed its new £3 million state-of-the-art terminus. The official opening of the Seaton station on June 28 marked the culmination of a 10-year project to provide a contemporary, all-year round facility, cafe and gift shop. It will allow visitors to learn about the history and operations of the 2ft 9in gauge…

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