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By Geoff Courtney A COLLECTION of more than 100 mainly GWR steam locomotive nameplates, cabside and smokebox numberplates, shed and worksplates, models, signalling equipment, and other memorabilia, is to go under the hammer at two GW Railwayana auctions in July and November. The collection was amassed by former railwayman and GWR enthusiast Gerald Payne, who…

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THE National Railway Museum has released more details of its £50 million masterplan to remodel itself and boost visitor numbers. The £12 million first stage of the plan will see a complete redisplay and reinterpretation of the 8000 sq m Great Hall that has remained largely unchanged since the NRM opened in 1975, the creation…

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AFTER the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway opened its eagerly-awaited northern extension into the tourist honeypot of Broadway on Good Friday, passenger numbers have doubled at a stroke. Commercial director Colin Fewell revealed that nearly 6300 fare-paying passengers travelled on the extended 15-mile line over the Easter weekend and also the following week – compared with just…

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AN examination of Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado following its April 14 failure minutes after hitting 90mph on the East Coast Main Line, indicated that the problem was caused by a lack of lubrication rather than speed. The locomotive was heading The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s ‘The Ebor Flyer’ from King’s Cross to York…

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DONATIONS towards the world’s fastest-moving new-build main line steam project – Gresley P2 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales – have now passed the £2 million mark. The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s £5 million project is now 40% funded just four years after being launched and it is on target to meet the completion date…

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For more than 30 years, an organisation has been busy securing heritage infrastructure on Britain’s national railway system. Peter Brown meets Andy Savage, director of The Railway Heritage Trust. It was two days after the death of Sir William McAlpine Bt that I was due to visit the headquarters of The Railway Heritage Trust of…

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A major challenge faced by heritage railways, railways and transport museums across the country is how to bring to life displays of locomotives, carriages and trams. Hugh Dougherty meets a man who lets visitors know what they did, how they worked and what it was like to travel on them. Glasgow’s Riverside Museum faces just…

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Some attractions closed their doors because of the second March freak wintry spell, but not so the Severn Valley Railway. When snow and ice covered much of the West Midlands during the third day of the line’s star-studded spring steam gala, staff and volunteers rolled up their sleeves and made sure that the trains ran,…

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Old classic narrow gauge locomotives never die. Wherever in the world they extinguish their last fire, they are whisked away to the great steam hereafter… also known as the Statfold Barn Railway. Now a stunning new museum has been opened to showcase the magnificent fleet on this private line, and Robin Jones went along. For…

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