News

A SPECIAL celebration is to be held on the Talyllyn Railway to mark the 100th birthdays of Barclay 0-4-0WT No. 1431 of 1918 No. 6 Douglas and also that of the Royal Air Force which once owned it. On June 1-3, Douglas – which has already been repainted in RAF Traffic Blue – is to…

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By Hugh Dougherty and Robin Jones CONTROVERSIAL EU-funded £27 million plans to redevelop Northern Ireland’s only remaining Victorian-era station have been given the go-ahead despite public opposition. Translink’s proposal will see the redevelopment of Londonderry’s Grade B listed Waterside station – despite nearly 50 letters of opposition and a petition organised by rail lobby group…

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FROM May 6, the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway will be celebrating the return after nearly a century of a 122-year-old steam locomotive following the completion of an extensive restoration programme. Katie, an 0-4-0T built in 1896 by the engineer Sir Arthur Heywood for use on the Duke of Westminster’s private railway at his Eaton Hall…

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The Loch Lomond Steamship Company has marked the 65th anniversary of the launch of the last  paddle steamer to be built for a British railway company, by announcing the appointment of Lord Robert Smith of Kelvin KT CH as patron of the appeal to raise the last £1 million needed to get Maid of the…

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BRITAIN’S most southerly station – the new Truthall Halt on the Helston Railway – has received a royal booster. The Queen’s cousin HRH Prince Richard The Duke of Gloucester KG, GCVO officially opened the rebuilt halt on Thursday, April 5, more than 55 years after the GWR Helston branch was closed by BR. The duke,…

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WORK has begun on rebuilding historic Lincolnshire’s historic Deeping St James signalbox following a campaign by villagers. The 1876-built signalbox was demolished in 2014 to make way for new electric crossing gates as part of a £280 million modernisation of the Great Northern & Great Eastern joint line between Doncaster and Peterborough However, many villagers…

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WORK has begun on rebuilding historic Lincolnshire’s historic Deeping St James signalbox following a campaign by villagers. The 1876-built signalbox was demolished in 2014 to make way for new electric crossing gates as part of a £280 million modernisation of the Great Northern & Great Eastern joint line between Doncaster and Peterborough However, many villagers…

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By Geoff Courtney AMBERLEY Museum has marked the launch of its 40th season with the official openings by television and radio personality Nicholas Owen of a landmark former main line signalbox and a standard gauge locomotive shed. Nicholas, a railway enthusiast who supports the West Sussex visitor attraction, performed the dual opening on March 25.…

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A CAMPAIGN to save the last Northern Ireland Railways 80 Class ‘Thumper’ DEMU – used during the Troubles for the Peace Trains to Dublin and back – has been launched by the Downpatrick & County Down Railway, and for every pound you donate, a DCDR volunteer will match it pound for pound up to £4000.…

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