News

For many years, the National Railway Museum’s LSWR Beattie well tank No. 30587 was locked in behind a concrete barrier in the South Devon Railway’s Buckfastleigh museum, seemingly with no hope of ever running again. It was one of a trio which, before the heritage railway movement got into full swing, drew enthusiasts from all over…

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The back conversion of Bulleid Merchant Navy Pacific No. 35011 General Steam Navigation reached another milestone with the launch of a ‘cranking up the pressure’ appeal to convert its plain flawed central axle into a crank axle. General Steam Navigation was placed in storage when it was withdrawn from service in February 1966, but in…

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MARK Allatt, one of the best-known figures in the heritage sector today, has stood down as chairman of Tornado builder The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust after 16 years. He told trustees that he wants to devote his time to building the seventh Gresley P2, No. 2007 Prince of Wales, and has become its project director.…

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The Elsecar Heritage Railway has been given permission to reopen two level crossings which stand in the way of its plans to expand. On February 17, the Barnsley-based standard gauge line, which is built on a Great Central Railway trackbed, achieved road approval to reopen the crossings at Tingle Bridge Lane, Hemingfield and Smithy Lane,…

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ONE of the smallest locomotives ever to have stood in King’s Cross station, the LNER’s great cathedral of steam, wowed the crowds in the Western Concourse during a February visit. The Ffestiniog Railway’s George England 0-4-0STT Palmerston along with the line’s four-wheeled coach No. 10 was on static display from February 18-26. Its appearance a…

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THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway-based LNER Coach Association is on the verge of making a significant breakthrough in the restoration of 1894-built East Coast Joint Stock dining car No. 189. The coach body is currently mounted on an underframe from a former LNER suburban coach, but this is not quite the right length and has…

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ONE of Britain’s most luxurious main line fine dining trains is to be based on the Severn Valley Railway. Under a new partnership agreement, the Belmond Northern Belle, sister to the Belmond British Pullman, will make extensive use of the main line connection at Kidderminster and the fine dining train will complement services run on…

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AN organisation which has been a defining backbone of northern steam preservation for more than half a century, and a heritage railway which broke new ground by running main line trips, have shared the Heritage Railway Association’s Annual Award (Large Groups) 2016. The prestigious trophy has been shared between the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group…

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PLANS to bring the Llangollen Railway further into Corwen town centre have made major progress in recent weeks. The railway’s £128,000 grant aid application from the Welsh Government’s European Regional Development Fund has been progressed to the point of receiving an initial letter to ‘Proceed at Risk’, allowing the volunteer workforce to begin construction of…

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