News

EXCLUSIVE BY Geoff Courtney More than 55,000 passengers were carried by Mail Rail – London’s newest and one of its most innovate visitor attractions – in its first four months, an achievement that has been hailed as “amazing” by its interim director. The railway, based on a 2ft gauge subterranean line that was nicknamed ‘London’s…

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EXCLUSIVE By Geoff Courtney A triple whammy of benefits to the local community has been released by the Rother Valley Railway (RVR) as talks continue with landowners on bridging a two-mile gap between the eastern end of the line and the western extremity of the nearby Kent & East Sussex Railway. The RVR commissioned an…

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THE restoration of Barry hulk BR Standard 4MT 2-6-0 No. 76077 has begun at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. Chris Hinton’s locomotive has been extracted from Toddington’s north headshunt where it languished on wagons for 30 years since it became the 186th locomotive to be saved from Dai Woodham’s scrapyard. It has been placed in the…

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TYSELEY Locomotive Works has welcomed back an old resident – its first GWR large prairie in more than half a century. No. 5199 was built at Swindon in December 1934. It was allocated to Tyseley to work suburban traffic and spent most of its working life in the Birmingham area. In 1949 it was transferred…

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THE Helston Railway is making rapid progress in rebuilding Truthall Halt. Original GWR plans were used to make the necessary components for the traditional pagoda-style station, which has been built from new and replicates the original. Truthall Halt was opened on July 3, 1905, 1¾ miles north of Helston. The halt was the first stop…

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By Robin Jones SEVERAL heritage railways saw passenger numbers rise during 2017, despite rising inflation and Brexit fears. The Swanage Railway carried a total of 213,518 passengers during 2017 – an increase of 2443 passengers or 1.2% on 2016. Just over 13,000 passengers were carried on the 60-selected day trial train service from Swanage to…

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WORK on blue-liveried 4-6-0 No. 6023 King Edward II at Didcot Railway Centre has reached the stage whereby the engine is virtually ready for main line running. However, it has been stated in the Great Western Society’s magazine, the Great Western Echo, that it has been agreed the aim of running the engine on the…

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TWO Quarry Hunslet 0-4-0STs will take pride of place at King’s Cross station from February 10-18. No. 409 of 1886 Velinheli from the Launceston Steam Railway and No. 855 of 1904 Hugh Napier, which is owned by the National Trust and while part of the Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum spends its time as a guest…

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THE world’s most famous steam locomotive – Flying Scotsman – will be visiting towns and cities across the UK once again this year, following the announcement of a national tour. The National Railway Museum (which owns the locomotive) has signed a six-year contract with engineering firm Riley & Son (E) Ltd, whcih will operate and…

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By Geoff Courtney A VICTORIAN main line signalbox that was believed to be the oldest operational box in the country when it closed in 2014 has been given a new lease of life on a working railway, just a few miles from its former home. The signalbox was built by Saxby & Farmer in about…

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