News

FORMER Barry scrapyard WR 4-6-0 No. 7027 Thornbury Castle is set to be restored to steam after years of unfulfilled expectations. Pop mogul Pete Waterman has sold the unrestored 1949-built Peak Rail-based locomotive to JJP Holdings South West Ltd, and it will be moving to covered accommodation in Weston-super-Mare before restoration to main line condition…

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By Paul Appleton The Severn Valley Railway’s oldest operational steam locomotive is once again Port Talbot Railway/GWR No. 26/813, which ran under its own power for the first time on August 9 at Bridgnorth following a lengthy overhaul. Two days later, the 116-year-old Hudswell, Clarke-built 0-6-0ST completed its first round trip to Kidderminster and back,…

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IT was a reunion that heritage diesel enthusiast Neil Carter thought would never happen. But now it has, and Neil, who within months will celebrate 40 years’ railway service, couldn’t be more delighted. In 1994 Neil, a fan of the Western Region Class 52 diesel hydraulics, bought from a friend the nameplate Western Invader that…

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Christine Pulham is a rarity – a female artist in a man’s world. For Chris is gaining a reputation as a painter of steam locomotives, and is hoping her skills will wow visitors to this year’s Railart exhibition being run at the Severn Valley Railway’s museum at Kidderminster. The exhibition is held annually by the…

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THE Who frontman Roger Daltrey has opened new £700,000 station facilities at the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway’s (RHDR) Dungeness terminus. On Tuesday, August 2, as hundreds of enthusiasts and fans packed the platform, the rock legend alighted from a special train and officially unveiled a plaque to mark the completion of the railway’s recently…

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The UK’s newest and most innovative railway attraction is on track to open next spring, providing passengers with a glimpse of a unique world 70ft beneath the streets of London. Visitors will travel on nearly a mile of a 2ft-gauge railway that, although opened in 1927, has never previously carried members of the public. It…

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CHARITY fundraiser Dennis Barnes has spoken of his “excitement” after finalising plans to become the first railtour operator to access the Chinnor branch via the main line platform at Princes Risborough and the preserved railway’s new link with the national network. Charity Railtours will run a special on October 1 from the south coast to…

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LINCOLNSHIRE Fire Service were the heroes of the hour after coming to the rescue of UK Railtours’ ‘Robin Hood’ tour from King’s Cross to Chesterfield on Saturday, August 13. Just before the train left Chesterfield for the return journey, the footplate crew of A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado were advised that the water tanker had…

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Specialist railway engineers Gloucestershire-based Cambrian Transport Limited, has led a project to restore the St Blazey turntable to working order. Assisted by volunteers from the Bodmin & Wenford Railway, Cambrian Transport completed the work in time to receive Stanier 4-6-2 No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland after the engine had worked the Railway Touring Company’s history-making…

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THE Severn Valley Railway’s September 22-26 Pacific Power event featuring the ‘Clash of the Titans’ – Flying Scotsman and new-build Peppercorn A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado – is on course to being a complete sell-out – paving the way for the event to be the most successful in the line’s 51-year history. As we closed…

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