News

By Geoff Courtney Railway preservationists in the UK are set to forge closer links with their Russian counterparts following a nationwide conference in the former Soviet country. The inaugural all-Russia narrow-gauge forum, held in November in Ekaterinburg – Russia’s fourth-largest city located in the Ural Mountains in the west of the country – was hosted…

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WHAT is claimed to be the world’s largest steam locomotive is set to make its heritage-era debut hauling passenger trains on July 1. The Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has set the official roll-out date for restored Chesapeake & Ohio Railway H6 class 2-6-6-2 No. 1309. The Fourth of July week will feature a variety of…

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THE East Lancashire Railway has recorded the highest number of visitors in its 30-year history. A total of 201,000 visits were made in 2016, achieving its Locum Report target of “200,000 visitors in 2020” four years early. The numbers are a 25% increase on the previous year and highlight how the railway has grown over…

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THE Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s share issue to finance its northern extension to Broadway may have passed the £1 million mark by the time this issue hits the newsstands. Chris Bristow, the railway’s volunteer finance director, is to say it mildly, thrilled with the result. “We had budgeted to have sold £900,000 worth of shares by…

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THE 50th anniversaries of the closure of the GWR route to Birkenhead and the last ‘Cambrian Coast Express’ are to form the theme of the Llangollen Railway’s March 3-5 gala. Titled ‘Along Birkenhead Lines’, the gala will recall the end of both the famous named train and the Paddington to Birkenhead (Woodside) expresses. Three star…

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A NORTH East-built 4-8-2 donated to preservationists a year ago risks being scrapped – because the new owning group does not have the funds to bring it back to the UK. Now a nationwide appeal has been made for other heritage organisations to take it on before it is too late. South African Railways’ Robert…

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The glamour of a named main line express locomotive will be a highlight of a Kent & East Sussex Railway gala in May, when GWR-designed, BR-built No. 7822 Foxcote Manor makes a guest appearance. Built at Swindon in December 1950, the 4-6-0’s first-ever visit to the KESR will include starring in a 1940s weekend on…

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THE South Devon Railway is to welcome back one of its former residents for its February 11-19 half-term week services. The National collection’s LSWR Beattie 2-4-0WT No. 30587, which was for many years displayed inside the Buckfastleigh station museum, is returning from its Bodmin & Wenford Railway home. A second guest will be GWR 2-6-2T…

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EXCLUSIVE An ambitious project to recreate one of a pair of LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s that were the forerunners of No. 71000 Duke of Gloucester has been called off, so ending the dream of Peter Kenyon, a former engineer on the restoration of the unique Standard Pacific. Peter is a member of the locomotive’s custodian,…

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ONCE a defiantly steam-only line, the Bluebell Railway is to stage as major gathering of Class 55 Deltics this autumn. The railway hosted two Deltics during its 2015 diesel gala – but will now stage a gala featuring all four operational class members. The three-day event beginning on Friday, October 6 will also celebrate the…

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