News

  • Lottery grant for Welshpool & Llanfair’s African heritage

    Lottery grant for Welshpool & Llanfair’s African heritage

    by

    THE Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway has received a £22,800 grant towards a project to create an African train. During its heritage era, the railway has regularly looked beyond our shores for locomotives and rolling stock, because it is built to the comparatively rare gauge of 2ft 6in. One source of rolling stock was Sierra…

    Continue reading »

  • Swanage bumper Bulleid bonanza draws record crowds

    Swanage bumper Bulleid bonanza draws record crowds

    by

    STEAM returned with a vengeance to the sunny south to mark the 50th anniversary of its passing on the region’s main line – as the Swanage Railway held its most successful gala ever. The March 31-April 2 Strictly Bulleid event not only starred the largest number of working Bulleid Pacific locomotives since the summer of…

    Continue reading »

  • Swanage Railway given National Collection T3 4-4-0

    Swanage Railway given National Collection T3 4-4-0

    by

    A UNIQUE LSWR 4-4-0 has returned to its home territory – after the National Railway Museum gifted it to the Swanage Railway. The ownership of Adams T3 No. 563 has been transferred to the Purbeck Line, after it was decided that Victorian and Edwardian 4-4-0s are otherwise well represented in Britain’s National Collection. Never having…

    Continue reading »

  • Suburban travel to the fore on Norfolk coast

    Suburban travel to the fore on Norfolk coast

    by

    A SET of four restored suburban coaches is now running on the North Norfolk Railway following the completion of a joint £250,000 project between the Poppy Line and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The set was officially launched at Sheringham station at 11.30am on Saturday, April 15. followed by the coaches being hauled for the first…

    Continue reading »

  • Standard tank moves under its own power after major overhaul

    Standard tank moves under its own power after major overhaul

    by

    By Geoff Courtney FORMER Swanage Railway-based Standard 4MT 2-6-4T No. 80078 moved under its own power on April 8 for the first time in seven years following its purchase from Southern Locomotives Ltd by former BR trainee civil engineer Stewart Robinson. The 2-6-4T was a stalwart of the London Tilbury & Southend Line in its…

    Continue reading »

  • Memories of 1P58 come flooding back

    Memories of 1P58 come flooding back

    by

    Ben Collier’s photograph of ‘Black Five’ No. 45212 in issue 227, on its first main line run, brought back memories of its last BR main line run and of the 1P58. The 1P58 was the 20.50 Saturdays only Preston to Blackpool South and was the last officially booked steam passenger working on BR. On the…

    Continue reading »

  • Ewbank’s Toys & Models Auction: Thursday 1 June

    Ewbank’s Toys & Models Auction: Thursday 1 June

    by

    Advertisement feature Ewbank’s are the Premier International Antiques and Fine Art Auctioneers and Valuers in Surrey and Hampshire, holding quarterly Fine Auctions; and regular specialist sales of Jewellery, Silver, Clocks, Watches and Instruments, Fine Art, Ceramics, Antique Furniture and Works of Art. We also hold specialist auctions throughout the year, including Entertainment and Memorabilia, 20th…

    Continue reading »

  • The tale of two awkward tradesmen, a remote station, and a light railway king

    The tale of two awkward tradesmen, a remote station, and a light railway king

    by

    By Geoff Courtney A previously untold Welsh Highland Railway story of nearly 100 years ago involving two awkward tradesmen, unused land at a remote station, and an intervention by light railway king Colonel Holman F Stephens, has been unearthed by WHR Heritage Group archivist Dick Lystor. The 1ft 11½in gauge railway opened between Portmadoc and…

    Continue reading »

  • A male preserve? Don’t say that to railway artists Emma and Christine

    A male preserve? Don’t say that to railway artists Emma and Christine

    by

    By Geoff Courtney A love of steam and railways may be considered purely a man-thing, but try telling that to Emma Safe and Christine Pulham, two artists who are proving that ladies are as capable of successfully depicting the genre as men. Both have in recent years become associate members of the prestigious Guild of…

    Continue reading »

  • New bridge at Bridge of Dun

    New bridge at Bridge of Dun

    by

    A FOUR-year project to re-erect a Victorian footbridge on the Caledonian Railway has been completed. Dating back to 1895, the bridge was erected by the original Caledonian Railway at Dunblane station and was the second footbridge on the site. With its attractive lattice-work and decorative piers it is an unusual survivor, particularly with its covered…

    Continue reading »