News

  • Lottery £1.1m for Bluebell shed exhibition project

    Lottery £1.1m for Bluebell shed exhibition project

    by

    THE Bluebell Railway has been awarded £1.1 million by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for its Accessible Steam Heritage (ASH) project. The scheme involves substantial repairs to the Sheffield Park running shed, which will be partly converted and also extended at the side to create a new exhibition hall. This public space will feature a…

    Continue reading »

  • Can you make two LMS ‘Jinties’ steam again?

    Can you make two LMS ‘Jinties’ steam again?

    by

    THE Midland Railway-Butterley wants to appoint a full-time engineering supervisor to bring two ‘Jinties’ back to life. Three of these LMS 3F 0-6-0s were rescued for the railway in the 1970s as being ideal for the operation of passenger trains, two coming from Barry scrapyard and one from industrial service in West Yorkshire. The two…

    Continue reading »

  • Flying Scotsman is in the right guise as No. 60103

    Flying Scotsman is in the right guise as No. 60103

    by

    HAVING read the comments about Flying Scotsman in recent issues of Heritage Railway I feel it is about time someone spoke up for the loco in its present form – numbered 60103, double chimney, proper green not LNER undercoat, and yes – with the German deflectors. I reach my 70th birthday in 2017 and the…

    Continue reading »

  • The fascination of footplate working: The other side of the story!

    The fascination of footplate working: The other side of the story!

    by

    Working on the footplate is often regarded as having been glamorous, especially as a driver. Brian Bell tells what it was like as a fireman, keeping the coal flowing towards the metropolis in the 1950s. Monday, January 26, 1959. Driver R (Dick) Peart. New England shed. Booking on duty at 2.30am on a cold, windy…

    Continue reading »

  • The Brecon Mountain Railway

    The Brecon Mountain Railway

    by

    Narrow gauge heritage lines run on former standard gauge trackbeds in many parts of Britain. Mark Smithers outlines the history of one such line in South Wales and its motive power with a transatlantic flavour. The abandonment of parts of the standard gauge railway network deemed to be of no further commercial use during the…

    Continue reading »

  • Yuletide Duchess

    Yuletide Duchess

    by

    The festive season normally sees an intensive programme of main line steam tours, many originating in London and bound for a variety of Christmas markets or carol services. The Railway Touring Company usually runs several tours from King’s Cross or East Anglia to both Lincoln and York in December and 2016 was no exception, although…

    Continue reading »

  • Jurassic period is back… after 32 years

    Jurassic period is back… after 32 years

    by

    PRESERVATION pioneer 2ft gauge Peckett 0-6-0ST Jurassic is to return to service on the Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway in 2017 after a third of century out of action. Built in 1903 in Bristol by Peckett and Sons as works number 1008 for the quarries and cement works of Kaye & Co in Southam in Warwickshire,…

    Continue reading »

  • Flying Scotsman sells for £35K!

    Flying Scotsman sells for £35K!

    by

    THIS beautiful 5in gauge model of Flying Scotsman sold for £35,400 at Special Auction Services’ 30th Trains Galore auction at Newbury on December 14-15. That was more than double the top end estimate. Originally owned by a stationmaster who had several live steam models, this beautifully executed and detailed live steam coal-fired model, built in…

    Continue reading »

  • A trip to the unknown

    A trip to the unknown

    by

    Britain’s heritage railways may set out to recreate the experience of a bygone age but they still have to interact with the digital age. Peter Brown reports on how the use of social media now has potentially far-reaching implications for the steam movement. So many changes have happened in recent years affecting the lives of…

    Continue reading »

  • Era ends as Ian Allan quits railway publishing business

    Era ends as Ian Allan quits railway publishing business

    by

    IAN Allan – regarded by many as the world’s greatest publisher of railway titles – has pulled out of the sector after more than seven decades. The shock announcement, made before Christmas, has seen Crécy Publishing acquire the railway, transport and military books previously published by Ian Allan Publishing. Crécy has also acquired the Oxford…

    Continue reading »