News

LONDONDERRY’S mothballed Foyle Valley Railway Museum is to reopen over the summer – enthusiasts wishing to visit it before it officially reopens will be welcome as long as they make a prior booking. That’s the news from Destined, the disability charity which has taken over the museum building as its headquarters with the agreement of…

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On April 7, the Talyllyn Railway welcomed Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy for a special train trip along the line – and included in the itinerary was a stop at Hendy Halt! Sir Peter’s train consisted of one of the line’s first locomotives Dolgoch hauling a train composed of all the railway’s original carriages,…

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By Geoff Courtney The fashions of the 1940s will link up with rail travel and music from the era – plus a very special guest – as the Kent & East Sussex Railway goes back in time on May 20-21. The occasion is the railway’s annual Fabulous 40s’ gala, an event where nostalgia will rule,…

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THE Southwold Railway Trust has bought a one-acre site to develop a steam centre in the Suffolk town. The former gasworks site in Blyth Road lies near the original terminus of the legendary 3ft gauge line, and alongside the old formation. Last year, the trust obtained planning permission for a visitor centre, railway and nature…

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By Geoff Courtney Among the huge crowds that greeted Royal Scot during its recent visit to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway was a railway enthusiast whose interest ran far deeper than simply admiration for one of the country’s most iconic locomotives. For 89-year-old Keith Ware it was also an occasion that provoked pride and brought…

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Easter week saw the various railways and tramways on the Isle of Man staging a Rush Hour on the Railways event with intensive timetables on all lines. The Isle of Man Steam Railway ran a two-train service on several days with additional dining trains requiring three locomotives to be in steam. The Manx Electric Railway…

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By Lionel Price ONE more small piece of Welsh railway history returned to life at the Bala Lake Railway on Saturday, April 22, with the launch into traffic of George B, one of the many narrow gauge locomotives which formerly worked at the Dinorwic Slate Quarries at Llanberis. Like other locomotives built for the great…

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The second Great North Steam Fair took place at Beamish Museum from April 6-9, with a line-up of over 100 vehicles and locomotives in action and on display. A highlight of this year’s event was a visit by 15in gauge 2-8-2 River Mite from the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway. Built by Clarksons of York in…

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By Geoff Courtney The Postal Museum has confirmed that its eagerly-awaited and innovative subterranean Mail Rail visitor attraction in central London is to open in July, with tickets expected to be on sale from this month. The ride will take visitors 70ft beneath the streets on a reopened stretch of the former Post Office Underground…

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By Phil Marsh THE Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway and Heritage Railway have joined forces to offer readers the chance to take a historic hour-long eight-mile round trip between Chinnor and Princes Risborough aboard the now-unique 1907-built Great Western Railway steam railmotor No. 93 and trailer car No. 92. These services will offer the first…

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