News

This year sees a number of significant anniversaries being celebrated. Brian Sharpe recounts the story of one of Britain’s heritage lines which has now been running trains for 40 years. The Nene Valley Railway has its origins in the boom in new preserved steam railway schemes in the 1960s but in this case the line…

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FIVE heritage railways and a unique museum have been awarded the coveted Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The awards, which recognise excellence in voluntary activities by community groups – and are considered their equivalent of an MBE, the Queen’s Award for Export Achievement or the Queen’s Award for Technology – were announced by Buckingham Palace…

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After eight years working trains to most parts of the country, 101mph A1 4-6-2 No. 60163 Tornado finally notched up a ‘first’ on May 29 when the 4-6-2 crossed the Royal Albert Bridge and entered Cornwall. Heading UK Railtours’ ‘Cornishman’, the A1 had departed Paddington with 420 tons on, travelling via Reading, the Berks &…

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EXCLUSIVE By Geoff Courtney The world record realisation for a railwayana auction may be under threat on September 2 when a George Cross awarded in 1965 to the driver of a Britannia Pacific for heroism is to go under the hammer. Interest in the medal is bound to be high, among not only those railwayana…

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By Geoff Courtney The UK’s newest, and one of its most innovative ever, railway restoration projects received royal approval on June 13 when Princess Anne unexpectedly rode its tracks, to the delight of everyone connected with the £26-million scheme. The princess was at the Royal Mail’s Mount Pleasant centre in Clerkenwell, near King’s Cross station,…

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THE Downs Light Railway – one of Britain’s ‘secret’ miniature lines – has held its first public open days in its 92-year history. Geoffrey Hoyland, the first headmaster of the Downs Malvern School, a preparatory school in Colwall, started a miniature railway in its grounds in 1925, with the aim of a creating not just…

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Princess Anne, who has shown a real interest in railway preservation over many years and is no stranger to heritage lines, will be unable to view the innovative Mail Rail underground attraction in central London when she visits the site on June 13 due to safety concerns. Mail Rail is part of a £26 million…

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HISTORY was made on Thursday, May 18, when not one, but two, Bulleid Merchant Navy class 4-6-2s made initial main line test runs on the national network on the same day. By pure chance, No. 35018 British India Line made its long anticipated appearance and morning departure from Carnforth on its first run since being…

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THE London & Birmingham Railway’s northern terminus of Curzon Street station is to be given a new lease of life with the arrival of the new High Speed 2 link between the two cities. The Grade I listed entrance building will become a visitor centre and education hub alongside the projected HS2 station under newly-revealed…

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LSWR Beattie 2-4-0 well tank No. 30587 is to return to the city of its birthplace for the first time in 143 years. No. 30587 was built in Manchester in 1874 and had a working life of almost 90 years, it was one of a trio retained in service in Cornwall for decades after its…

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