News

  • A tube train appears back on the Epping-Ongar Railway!

    A tube train appears back on the Epping-Ongar Railway!

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    A 1959 tube stock driving motor vehicle, donated by London Underground to the Epping Ongar Railway, has been delivered to North Weald station. The carriage, No. 1031 previously in the Northern Line depot at Morden, had to be moved as part of a major upgrade project and was donated to the heritage line by the…

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  • Stockton & Darlington scheme gets £700K heritage grant

    Stockton & Darlington scheme gets £700K heritage grant

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    A SCHEME to preserve the history and heritage of the route of the Stockton & Darlington Railway – the world’s first public steam-operated line – and turn it into a world-class visitor attraction has been given a £700,000 boost. Historic England has awarded the grant through its Heritage Action Zone programme. It will see work…

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  • Sunshine farewell to ‘Mr Bill’

    Sunshine farewell to ‘Mr Bill’

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    A SPECIAL train headed by Flying Scotsman is being planned for the autumn as a tribute to Sir William McAlpine, who rescued it from the USA and owned it for 23 years. The A3’s owner the National Railway Museum is in talks with Sir William’s widow Lady Judy McAlpine about the historic memorial run, for…

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  • Steam rescues Sheringham ‘diesel’ gala!

    Steam rescues Sheringham ‘diesel’ gala!

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    THE North Norfolk Railway has turned its June 15-17 spring diesel gala into a mixed traffic event because of a shortage of locomotives. Its class Class 03, 31 and 37 locomotives are still undergoing major overhauls. However, its special guest will be the Bury Hydraulic Group’s 1961-built Warship D832 Onslaught. Long-term visitor Class 20 No.…

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  • Fintown station buildings gifted to railway

    Fintown station buildings gifted to railway

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    FINTOWN station building has been gifted to Comhlacht Traenach na Gaeltachta Lair, operator of the Fintown Railway, by owner Donegal County Council, to help boost the narrow gauge line. Fintown station was built in 1895 to a standard design for the Stranorlar to Glenties railway. It was in use until the last passenger trains ran…

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  • Isle of Man County Donegal railcars may return to Ireland

    Isle of Man County Donegal railcars may return to Ireland

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    By Hugh Dougherty COUNTY Donegal Railways’ railcars Nos. 19 and 20 could be leaving the Isle of Man to return to Donegal if an offer by Isle of Man Railways to lend the diesel duo to the Fintown Railway is accepted. This move represents a U-turn by IOMR which has turned down previous requests for…

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  • Bodmin & Wenford steam crane finds new home in Scotland

    Bodmin & Wenford steam crane finds new home in Scotland

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    THE Ferryhill Railway Heritage Trust in Aberdeen has saved Taylor Hubbard 10-ton six-wheel steam crane DRT 80169 which was declared surplus to requirements at the Bodmin & Wenford Railway. Built at Leicester in 1947, it spent most of its working life on the Western Region, before moving to Bodmin in 1981. It has now made…

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  • Two-mile long Welsh valleys tunnel could be reopened as a cycleway

    Two-mile long Welsh valleys tunnel could be reopened as a cycleway

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    THE two-mile Rhondda Tunnel on the Rhondda & Swansea Bay Railway is set to be revived as the longest underground cyclepath in Europe. The railway opened from Treherbert through the tunnel under insurmountable terrain to Port Talbot and Aberavon in 1890, and five years later was extended to Swansea. It later became part of the…

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  • Bright future for classic main line tunnel as ventilation shaft is restored

    Bright future for classic main line tunnel as ventilation shaft is restored

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    A Grade 2-listed Victorian landmark on the West Coast Main Line near Rugby is being preserved for decades to come by Network Rail. Repair and maintenance work has been carried out inside the Great Northern Shaft which was built to provide light and ventilation inside the 1½-mile-long Kilsby Tunnel in Northamptonshire. A huge scaffolding structure…

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  • Furness 0-4-0 saddle tank  No. 25 goes ‘home’ to trust

    Furness 0-4-0 saddle tank No. 25 goes ‘home’ to trust

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    FURNESS Railway 0-4-0ST No. 25 has been donated to the Furness Railway Trust. No. 25 is an unrestored sister locomotive to the trust’s A5 class 0-4-0 tender engine No. 20. When the type became obsolete on the Furness Railway, they were sent back to maker Sharp Stewart and converted into industrial saddle tanks for use…

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