Heritage Railway 180 2013-08

heatwave hits steaM railtours hard

ne w CaMbrian railwaYs book!

1T57

Aug 29 – Sep 25, 2013

RUNS AGAIN!

GCR museum Lottery bid ‘expected in autumn’

£4.10

Issue 180

More Mallard 75 events announCed

No. 180

■ CounCil owner asked to release CITY OF BIRMINGHAM ■ LYDHAM MANOR for south devon and Minehead galas ■ see workshop X – the seCret restoration base

HeritageRailwayOpinion

Editor Robin Jones [email protected] 01507 529305 Deputy editor Brian Sharpe [email protected] Publisher Dan Savage Senior contributing writers Geoff Courtney, Cedric Johns Contributors Fred Kerr, Roger Melton Designer Tim Pipes Reprographics Jonathan Schofield Group production editor Tim Hartley Divisional advertising manager Tracey Glover-Brown [email protected] Advertising representative Craig Amess [email protected] 01507 529310 Subscription manager Paul Deacon Marketing manager Charlotte Park Production manager Craig Lamb Circulation manager Steve O’Hara Publishing director Dan Savage Commercial director Nigel Hole Managing director Brian Hill Editorial address Heritage Railway magazine Mortons Media Ltd, PO Box 99 Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ Website www.heritagerailway.co.uk General queries and back issues 01507 529529 24 hr answerphone [email protected] www.classicmagazines.co.uk Archive enquiries Jane Skayman [email protected] 01507 529423 Subscription: Full subscription rates (but see page 32 for offer): (12 months 12 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £53.30. Export rates are also available – see page 32 for more details. UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value Added Tax.

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On August 18, BR Standard Britannia Pacific No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell passes St Annes Park, Bristol with the ‘Weymouth Seaside Express’ passing No. 34046 Braunton shunting the ‘Torbay Express’ stock. DON BENN

T

he non-stop steam year continues unabated. With hardly a chance to catch your breath between the first Mallard 75, the next round of public steam trains on London Underground and the Autumn Great Gathering (yes – all six A4s will now be there throughout), there came another real gem – the Railway Touring Company’s remake of 1T57, the legendary ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ of August 11, 1968, exactly 45 years to the day. Full credit must go to West Coast Railways for making both this trip and the Statesman Rail version four days earlier happen. As expected, it was not only relished by those on board by the substantial presence of lineside photographers and spectators, maybe not in the same numbers as were seen in 1968, but certainly capturing the spirit nonetheless. Indeed, it seems that with the passage of time, we are seeing more former locomen reappear, more reunions held and more nostalgia from this landmark occasion in British transport history invoked. Far lesser events are regularly labelled as the stuff of legend. Yet why celebrate a 45th anniversary, rather than a 25th or a 50th, you might ask? On the surface it seems an odd number, but is nonetheless justified by public demand. It is not only 45 years since the end of British Railways standard gauge steam haulage (at this point there is always someone to remind me that steam breakdown cranes and the Vale of Rheidol Railway ran under BR for many more years), but 45 years between the Grouping and the end of BR steam. So the heritage sector has been flying the flag for main line steam (apart from the 1968-71 ban on steam apart from Flying Scotsman) for the combined length of duration of the ‘Big Four’ and BR era. That itself is a massive achievement for us all to celebrate. Yet how will we celebrate this landmark in the future? Will Oliver Cromwell be available for the 50th anniversary, or will its owner, the National Railway Museum, not permit another heavy

general overhaul, and leave it on static display, a fate that has now befallen City of Truro and Green Arrow. Nobody knows what the policy regarding the National Collection will be in five years’ time, and who knows what the long-term future for main line steam holds? After a succession of disappointing Augusts, the weather this summer by and large has been superb for the beachgoer. The same has not held true for main line steam, with a semi-steam ban being imposed after a handful of lineside fires. The solution here has been to place a diesel inside the steam locomotive, which ends up doing little more than going through the motions. It is wrong to criticise Network Rail over doing what is needed to minimise fire risks, but at the same time, the question is being asked what is different today than years before, when such bans seemed to be temporary measures. We have enjoyed some long dry spells, but it has not been anything like the seemingly-endless summer of 1976. Might today’s risk factor be connected in any way to the questionable state of vegetation clearance on some linesides, which is nothing whatsoever to do with locomotive owners or tour operators? Finally, I am again greatly heartened by the magnificent response to the Great Central Railway’s £1 million appeal to build the missing bridge over the Midland Main Line at Loughborough, and by new National Railway Museum director Paul Kirkman’s announcement that a bid for major Lottery funding for an outreach museum at Leicester north is shortly to be lodged. Think about it – the creation of a double-track inter-city heritage trunk route complete with a national-standard museum benefits everyone in the movement, by raising the bar of the image of preservation, especially to the non-enthusiast masses who are now being turned on to steam by the Great Gatherings. Keep those donations coming in and fast! Robin Jones Editor Heritage Railway

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Contents

Issue 180 August 29 – September 25, 2013

News 6

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Cover

HEaDLINE NEws

Dry weather impacts hard on steam railtour promoters; National Railway Museum to restyle Great Hall; approach made to LMS Duchess City of Birmingham owners Lottery bid for Great Central museum to be lodged this autumn and Isle of Wight Ivatt to return to steam aer 43 years at gala.

NEws

LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s Nos. 44932 and 45231 climb past Mallerstang with Statesman Rail’s ‘Fifteen Guinea Fellsman’ on August 7. MARK WALKER

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Land bought to extend North Norfolk Railway to Holt; Lydham Manor for South Devon and West Somerset galas; US visitor for big North Yorkshire Moors gala; 1T57 crews reunited; Brill branch remembered; Mallard 75th anniversary tour now takes in Doncaster and Barrow Hill; Sir Keith Park rededicated at Kidderminster; Great Central Railway bridge appeal reaches quarter of target; railwayana database row; ‘Terrier’ to run at Robertsbridge aer 52 years; MidNorfolk double track project; Tyseley to overhaul Bahamas; Lappa Valley Railway for sale; Trevethick engine runs in France; Patriot

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wheels at Tyseley; world’s first standard gauge railway discovered on Tyneside; Polar Bear steams at Amberley, and see inside the new but secret steam restoration base!

Regulars 54 56

CENTrE

e 45th anniversary 1T57 on Ais Gill viaduct as photographed by Maurice Burns.

MaIN LINE NEws

Braunton hauls first railtours; Railway Touring Company to run trips from Cannon Street to Uckfield and Bluebell Railway; ‘Great Britain VII’ details revealed; and Oliver Cromwell to also head through train to Bluebell.

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MaIN LINE ITINErary

Brian Sharpe’s definitive guide to steam and heritage modern traction railtours in the coming month.

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raILwayaNa

72

PLaTfOrM

75

Off THE sHELf

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sCaLE HErITaGE raILway

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UP & rUNNING

Geoff Courtney covers the auction scene. Where your views matter the most. Latest books and mechandise reviews. Hornby’s new GWR heavy freight tanks.

Brian Sharpe’s complete listing of museums and operational heritage lines.

106 THE MONTH aHEaD

56 4 Heritage railway

Our new at-a-glance guide to the big events coming up in the next four weeks, with Heritage Railway, as usual, bringing unrivalled coverage.

COMPETITION

■ Accomplished expert on the history of railways in Wales, Peter Johnson, has just written a new landmark book on the Cambrian Railways. We have FIVE copies to give away in our star prize competition.

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sUBsCrIBE TO HERITAGE RAILWAY!

Take out a 13-issue subscription to Heritage Railway – the preservation magazine written entirely by people who remember first-hand the British Railways steam era – and be first with the news that matters.

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www.heritagerailway.co.uk

On Sunday, August 4, 45 years to the day since the end of real BR real steam, LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0 No. 45231 heads the Railway Touring Company’s ‘North Wales Coast Express’ out of Manchester Piccadilly, the first steam departure from under the overall roof since the last ‘Black Five’ – hauled summer Saturday Manchester-Yarmouth train in August 1966. ALAN CASTLE

Features

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64 steaMiNg out of the cross

During the 1950s and 1960s the Great Northern main line between King’s Cross and Hadley Wood was a magnet to the many photographers capturing the last of the Gresley Pacifics hard at work. Since the opening up of the line to steam again in 1994, no less than 19 steam engines have run over this section. John Titlow recounts his experiences of photographing steam in recent years.

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

sigNaLLiNg west MiDLaNDs steaM

e announcement in July that English Heritage has listed 26 signalboxes follows a report last summer that many of the surviving 500 or so will be made redundant in the next few years as Network Rail concentrates signalling in 14 control centres. Martin Creese looks at the changes across the West Midlands in the last three years and celebrates the buildings and the signalmen who worked in them.

84 Narrow gauge iN the Lake District

50 august 1968 revisiteD

Aer the end of BR steam 45 years ago, we can count ourselves extremely lucky that it proved not to be quite as final as it appeared and we can still enjoy the spectacle of main line steam in virtually identical recreations of the good old days. Brian Sharpe reports on the two commemorative specials over the Settle & Carlisle line in August.

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Brian Sharpe reports from a comparatively recent addition to the range of heritage railways in Britain, a line which has brought steam back to the northern part of the Lake District.

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heritage railway

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HeadlineNews

Dry weather hits steam railtour promoters hard By Cedric Johns

WEEKS of hot dry weather in most parts of the country has resulted in railtour promoters being hit hard by Network Rail’s decision to insist that diesel traction be added to many steam hauled charters. When asked, Network Rail issued a statement which said: “A restriction on the use of chartered steam engines is in place across the majority of the network (except Scotland) because of the recent hot weather and dry conditions. “This is to minimise the potential impact these (steam hauled) trains could have on the network and the millions of passengers who rely on scheduled services every day. “As soon as conditions change we will work with steam train operators to reintroduce their services to the network.”

Show purposes only

More tellingly and in a marked departure from policy in past years the statement was accompanied by a note which read: “Steam services may run but only if powered by a diesel locomotive. “The steam engine will be in place for show purposes only.” It was understood that instructions to drivers as to where the steam engine’s regulator may be opened have become increasingly restricted. In addition, Network Rail media relations officer Chris Denham told

Heritage Railway that he had specifically spoken to North Eastern Region which confirmed that the use of diesels had been implemented in the York area on trains such as the ‘Scarborough Spa Express; ‘The Waverley’ and the ‘Scarborough Flyer’ trains.

Diesel assistance

While West Coast Railways’ ‘Scarborough Spa Express’ runs within the Yorkshire area, the Railway Touring Company’s Friday ‘Scarborough Flyer’ has been forced to have diesel assistance throughout from Crewe and the same company’s Sunday ‘Waverley’ from York has had diesel assistance to Carlisle. While there have been instances of diesel assistance on trains such as Statesman Rail’s Wednesday ‘Fellsman’ from Lancaster over the Settle & Carlisle line as a precaution in the hottest period, the restrictions were lifted relatively quickly for trains running entirely west of the Pennines. This situation throws doubt on the two previously postponed 90mph runs rescheduled (as reported in last month’s Main Line News) to take place on August 30 and 31 with A4 No. 4464 Bittern which both use York as a starting point for the steam sections. On August 30, Pathfinder Tours is running with a diesel from Bristol to York where Bittern takes over for a high speed trip to

Newcastle and return. The following day, the A4 returns south to King’s Cross with the ‘Capital Streak’, the last of the three trains originally planned. When we spoke to DB Schenker’s commercial manager (charters) Paul Phillips, he said that the German owned operating company was in discussions with Network Rail about the viability of running the two high speed trains without diesels, the imposition of a diesel clearly negating the whole purpose of the high-speed steam runs. As he pointed out, the weather could change despite the forecast of the heatwave returning over the August Bank Holiday week. That said, a decision will have needed to be taken before the Bank Holiday weekend after we closed for press to give promoters sufficient time to notify passengers of any changes to the train’s schedules. Any changes to the Bittern trips will be posted at www.facebook.com/heritagerailway and at www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Considerable effort

When the decision was announced to postpone the two trains last month, ticketing agent Peter Watts said that a number of passengers cancelled and seats had to be resold, all of which takes time and considerable effort by administrative personnel. Hardest hit of the promoters proportionate to the large number

of day trips programmed was the Railway Touring Company, which had several excursions including trains in other parts of the country such as the ‘North Wales Coast Express’, Cumbrian Mountain Express’ and its ‘Dorset Coast Express’ postponed, cancelled or diesel assisted. RTC’s Nigel Dobbing was unavailable for comment as we went to press and a West Coast Railways spokesman declined to comment, but the situation must cast doubts on whether the intensive programme of regular steam excursions in the summer months can be sustained in future. In the south, the first of Torbay Express Ltds’ regular ‘Torbay Express’ was diesel hauled from Bristol, but subsequently GWR 4-6-0 No. 5029 Nunney Castle worked the ‘Express’ with a diesel. Steam Dreams’ Waterloo-Swanage ‘Cathedral Express’ was diesel hauled throughout on July 9 and at least two ‘British Pullman’ trips lost the services of Merchant Navy No. 35028 Clan Line. Interestingly, West Country No. 34046 Braunton’s main line debut heading a ‘Dorset Coast Express’ from London to Weymouth on Wednesday, August 14 came though unscathed. Yes, there was a Class 33 diesel attached to the rear but it was there, as reported in Main Line News pages 56-61 to haul the train back to the Southampton area.

Welcome back Wight duo! TWO locomotives are to make a comeback at the Isle of Wight Steam Railway’s October 5-6 autumn steam gala – including one which has Right: LBSCR ‘Terrier’ 0-6-0T No. W11 Newport being readied for its return after 11 years. PHIL MARSH Far right: Ivatt 2MT 2-6-2T No. 41298 in the latter stages of restoration at Havenstreet. PHIL MARSH

6 Heritage Railway

taken 43 years to overhaul. Engineering staff at the line’s Havenstreet workshops are working flat out to complete the

overhaul of Ivatt 2MT 2-6-2T No. 41298. If successful, it will debut alongside LBSCR ‘Terrier’ 0-6-0T W11 Newport, last steamed in 2002. In 2009 the trust generously transferred ownership of No. 41298 and its other locomotives to the IoWSR, in a deal which will see both No. 41298 and sister No. 41313 restored for use on the island. Although none of the class ever worked on the island, BR had intended shipping examples over the Solent to replacing ageing pre-Grouping

locomotives. A third locomotive owned by the trust, unrestored Ivatt 2-6-0 No. 46447, which was to be used as a source of spares, was subsequently sent to the East Somerset Railway for full

restoration in exchange for LBSCR E1 0-6-0T No. 110 Burgundy coming the other way. Visitors to the gala will also be able to see the frames of the former Ryde Pier Tram before its restoration project begins.

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

LMS Pacifics line up: approach made

A WRITTEN approach has been made to Birmingham City Council over the possibility of releasing its Princess Coronation 4-6-2 for a possible line-up of all five surviving LMS Pacifics. In Heritage Railway issue 179, we mooted the possibility of lining up No. 6229 Duchess of Hamilton, No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland, No. 46235 City of Birmingham, No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth and No. 46203 Princess Margaret Rose as a West Coast Main Line answer to the hugely-successful Mallard 75 Great Gathering which brought more than 138,000 people in 15 days to the National Railway Museum in York. The sticking point would appear to be Birmingham Museums’ historic refusal to loan out No. 46235, currently on display inside the Thinktank Museum. As stated in the feature, Manchester Alderman Keith Whitmore, former Transport for Greater Manchester chief and chairman of the Heaton Park Tramway trust, approached Birmingham City Council leader Albert Bore at the recent Tyseley Locomotive Works open weekend to discuss the possibility of returning No. 46235 to steam to act as a roving ambassador for the city. He has now outlined his proposals in writing to the Labour leader – enclosing a copy of Heritage Railway issue 179.

LMS Princess Coronation Pacific No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland at Shap in the Fifties, as photographed by Bishop Eric Treacy. The National Railway Museum’s art gallery will be hosting the Lines in the Landscape category of the Landscape Photographer of the Year competition sponsored by Network Rail. The gallery at York will showcase the finalists from the Lines in the Landscape category over the past four years and the exhibition, which will run from November until May, will include images from the museum’s own collection like this one. NRM

Keith said: “I have to say since its publication I have been inundated with approaches from enthusiasts saying to line up the LMS Pacifics would be a natural follow up-event in a couple of years’ time. Duchess of Hamilton, Duchess of Sutherland, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose are certainly easily available and there is certainly some considerable interest in such an event from the owners which obviously leads to my reason for writing, the question of the availability of the City of Birmingham from its Thinktank home. “There has always been resistance for the locomotive to be moved from its home following suggestions over the years that it should be returned to steam and any idea of an overhaul shunned as destroying

More Mallard 75 events arranged TWO more events have been arranged by the National Railway Museum as part of the Mallard 75 six A4s line ups. Al six A4s will now appear throughout the October 26November 8 Autumn Great Gathering, as railtours which would have taken away No. 60009 Union of South Africa for some of the 14 days have been cancelled. A £45-a-head 1930s-style dining event will take place at York between 7.30pm–11pm on November 7. The Grand Thirties Gathering will feature a vintage buffet menu inspired by the food served on the routes travelled by the A4s. There will be cab access and the six will be floodlit. A series of Pictures, Pies and Pacifics events will be held at

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

York between 6.30pm-8.30pm on October 26-27 and November 5-6. Tickets cost £22.50 a head, and participants can take pictures of the line-up. Numbers are limited to 100 people and included is a hot Yorkshire-themed supper of pie, peas and parkin. In addition, there will be further exclusive access mornings at York on October 26-28 allowing photographers to take pictures before the doors open (the November 4-7 sessions having sold out) and another photo evening at the Locomotion museum at Shildon on February 20, during the February 15-23 Great Goodbye. Tickets can be booked at nrm.org.uk/mallard75 or telephone 08448 153139.

the uniqueness of the locomotive as preserved following the day that the fire was dropped from the firebox. I think that many within the railway heritage movement would disagree with this view. “However, the idea of lining the locomotive up with its sisters is a rather different matter which would not involve any engineering work at all and it could certainly be moved out of Thinktank as it has been proved to move from a difficult space with the removal of the A4 Dwight D Eisenhower from very limited and tight space in the US and then to ship it along with the Dominion of Canada back across the Atlantic to York. By comparison moving City of Birmingham from Thinktank would be a piece of cake. “Both the American museums have said that they themselves have

enjoyed increased visitor numbers as a result of the publicity surrounding their repatriation. Think what benefit Thinktank could enjoy for being involved in a similar line up which can of course only happen if all five remaining locomotives come together. The obvious place to hold such an event would again be the National Railway Museum in York around the turntable but there are other venues as well such as Shildon, the Museum of Science & Industry in Manchester or even at Tyseley, a very short journey to undertake. “I know that there are a number of leading people in the movement who would like to see this happen and be prepared to put their hands in their pocket. It really is up to you.” ➲ Platform – page 72.

Facelift for busiest signalbox THE National Railway Museum has been working on the cosmetic restoration of what was Britain’s busiest signalbox. During August, rotten wood has been cut out from Borough Market Junction ’box, new lap boarding applied and the whole structure given three coats of paint. With traffic peaking at 89 trains an hour at London Bridge, Borough Market Junction often required two

signallers to keep the trains moving. It all ended in 1976, when the box was decommissioned and brought to York. The museum wants to hear from people who have memories of working in, maintaining or driving trains past this signalbox, which is located in the NRM’s yard. If you have memories to share, contact [email protected] .uk

GC visitor for Bo’ness GREAT Central Railway-based GNR N2 0-6-2T No. 1744 will be the star guest at the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway’s October 19-20 steam gala. It will run alongside LNER D49 No.246 Morayshire, Austerity 0-6-0ST No. 7 and NCB No.1 Lord Roberts, which will be withdrawn for a major overhaul at the end of the year. For more details visit www.bkrailway.co.uk

Heritage Railway

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HeadlineNews

Major changes to the NRM Great Hall in the pipeline By Robin Jones

NEWLY-appointed National Railway Museum director Paul Kirkman said he plans to make changes to the York’s venue’s centrepiece Great Hall, in order to tell the story of Britain’s network more fully. There will be more displays about the history of railways, using many of the museum’s vast collection of unseen smaller exhibits, and the way they shaped the lives of people in Britain. In echoes of the scuppered NRM+ project of three years ago, several vehicles will be moved out of the Great Hall and despatched on loan to other locations, including the proposed museum at the Great Central Railway’s Leicester north southern terminus, and also the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. At his first press conference on August 6, Paul revealed that a bid for Heritage Lottery Fund grant aid for the rail-connected Leicester North project was being prepared in association with Leicester City Council – and would be submitted this autumn. Once completed, exhibits from the NRM at York would be moved there for display. The similar partnership with the KWVR was less advanced at the moment, he said. Paul said that such outreach station projects would not cost the NRM a penny, just items to fill them and expertise, and that such projects would actually save the museum money because items were being looked after elsewhere. He said that he hoped to add a Mizens Railway volunteer Nathan Greenway became the first person to cab an LNER ‘Footballer’ since the last one was scrapped in September 1960. A large JCB was used to lift North British Locomotive Preservation Group’s replica cab of No. 61662 Manchester United on to a speciallybuilt plinth in front of the tender at the Woking miniature line’s base. The group now intends to fit a floor to the cab, refit the windows and build a set of steps up to the far side, so it can be opened to visitors, with a display of photographs and railwayana. ➲ Further details of the Engine 61662 Appeal can be found at www.engine61662appeal.co.uk NBLPG

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“wow” factor to the Great Hall and make it a “zingier” place. Improvements to the entrances and outside spaces, the addition of an educational gallery which explains scientific and technical principles and more facilities to offer paid-for experiences, like the new Mallard simulator, and a possible extension to the museum’s miniature railway, would follow on from the recently completed refurbishment of Station Hall, he said. “The most important thing is that we need to use the Great Hall better to tell story of railways and how they shaped the history of Britain and the lives of Britain’s people. “The Great Hall is the heart of the museum but at the moment it is very much a collection of vehicles with really not enough stories of why the vehicles, and the railways they ran on, mattered. “That is the biggest change we need to do.” He said he had been working on a masterplan for the future of the York museum prior to his permanent appointment as its head, and more specific details may be released in the autumn. Asked about whether his vision involved a revival of the NRM+ scheme, Paul said: “We have looked at a lot of work that they did then. We think that there is something in it, definitely. “I am keen to have exhibits of different scales in the museum. You can tell more stories, and tell stories better to engage people.” He said that he wanted to have more exhibits on the lines of the story of British Rail, which forms a series of display boards in part of the Great Hall. He said that there

would be scope for other media such as films. Under the NRM+ scheme, The Great Hall would have still contained ‘big name’ exhibits like record-breaker Mallard, and King George V, but many lesser or more obscure exhibits will be given a much higher profile. However, the £21 million project was cancelled after it failed in its bid to receive a £7 million grant aid package from the Regional Growth Fund. At the time, enthusiasts had been concerned at the loss of many locomotives and rolling stock from the Great Hall to make way for a series of modern interactive themed galleries designed on the themes of moving people, moving goods, building and running railways, railway nations, a cultural concourse and the interpretation of railways. At the conference, Paul also said that the museum’s bid to restore LNER A3 Pacific No. 4472 Flying Scotsman to running order was still on track, but there were two hurdles to cross before a final decision on whether to complete the overhaul – which wildly overran original estimates to near the £3 million mark, roughly the same cost of building a new A1 Pacific Tornado – could be made. He dismissed suggestions that the overhaul might be axed as part of the Science Museum’s spending review following a 5% reduction on its government subsidy, saying that spread out over 10 years, any savings made by not restoring Flying Scotsman would be next to nothing. He said that the first hurdle that needed to be crossed was the

tendering for a contractor to finish the overhaul, and that was still underway. Secondly, a check stage was built into the project. The cylinders need to be examined after the locomotive is again stripped down to see what work needed to be done. “If they can be repaired at a practical price, then we will proceed to the next stage,” he said. Paul also revealed that NRM visitor numbers were up 35% on last year thanks to the phenomenal success of the 15 days of the first Great Gathering, with a second such event to follow in the autumn. The new shop, two new cafes and the simulator had all helped, he said. “We are in a pretty strong place. That is not to say that we can be complacent.” Subsequently, Paul met with Liberal Democrat MP and Department of Culture, Media and Sport spokesman John Leech to discuss future plans for the museum. John discussed how the museum could improve its income from sponsorship, corporate membership and customer spend, without compromising the principle of having free entry to the York attraction. John said: “I am against charging entry fees for our museums, but they have to do their bit to increase their revenue. The NRM has impressive plans to increase income through better marketing, sponsorship and corporate membership, as well as special events and outreach work with partners such as the KWVR and Leicester council, and the Great Central Railway.”

Polish steam will continue – Wolsztyn Experience STATEMENTS that main line steam in Poland will end in four years’ time are misleading, according to the British-led Wolsztyn Experience. Information has appeared in Germany stating that steam services will finish in Wolsztyn in 2017. However, Trevor Jones, the Wolsztyn Experience’s UK-based organiser, said that such statements may be misinterpreted. While Poland is reducing its transport budget in stages by 2017, leaving only funding for one scheduled service to be available, it does not mean that subsidies for the other steam services out of the town will not be found from other budgets.

Trevor said it is likely that there will still be one scheduled steam service in the winter months, but two in the summer. “In addition the many special trains operated during this year will continue as these are funded elsewhere,” he said. “There is a strong possibility that European funding will be made available for the overhaul of two locomotives.” Next year’s services will be on the Leszno line as the track from Wolsztyn to Grodzisk is to be upgraded. Wolsztyn’s Pt47 2-8-2 will be the star attraction for the annual steam parade next year as it will return from a major overhaul. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

InBRIEF

➲ THE Moseley Railway Trust is to hold a Stoke Steam Special weekend at the Apedale Valley Light Railway on September 14-15. The visiting engines will be new-build Hunslet 0-4-0ST Jack Lane from the Statfold Barn Railway, running alongside resident Kerr Stuart Stanhope. Demonstration freight trains will be in operation. ➲ THE Midland Railway–Butterley is keeping its Trains to the Seaside feature running until September 1. The specially-created beach at Swanwick Junction was due to close on August 14 but it has been so popular that it has remained open.

LNER K4 2-6-0 No. 61994 The Great Marquess climbs towards Blaenau Ffestiniog with the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Welsh Mountaineer’ on August 20. NEVILLE WELLINGS

Another Penlee engine for Leighton Buzzard A DIESEL which ran on one of England’s most westerly railways has arrived at Leighton Buzzard for restoration. The Penlee stone quarry in West Cornwall operated a 2ft gauge railway for many years, running to the harbour at nearby Newlyn. After its closure in the early 1970s, many of the fleet of Ruston Hornsby diesel locomotives were preserved. One of them was No. LM39 (No. 375316 of 1954) T W Lewis, a 40DL which has been part of the Leighton Buzzard Railway collection for many years. Several others found their way to the private Bromyard & Linton Railway, Herefordshire, including No. LM30 (No. 229656 of 1944), of the smaller 20DL class, of which almost 1200 were built in Lincoln between 1940 and 1963.

This one has now been purchased by a Leighton Buzzard Railway member, and has arrived at Stonehenge Works as a long-term restoration project. A further connection with Penlee is the presence of the quarry line’s only steam locomotive, an 0-4-0WT built by Freudenstein, Berlin (Freud 73/1901). After many years of open-air ‘preservation’ on the Newlyn quayside, it was rescued by Amalgamated Roadstone’s apprentices, and given a cosmetic overhaul before being donated to the Leighton Buzzard Railway in 1994. With safe cab access installed, it is now one of the most photographed locomotives on the railway, as children take turns to be ‘driver’ during the Stonehenge Works runround.

➲ A SPECIAL train to mark the completion of GWR Collett nondescript saloon No. 9103 of 1929 is to run over the Severn Valley Railway on September 18. ➲ A NEW model railway event, the Great Electric Train Show, will be staged at the Heritage Motor Centre near Leamington on October 12-13. It will feature more than 25 layouts the Taunton Model Railway Group’s Bishop Lydiard-based Bath Green Park, while Tim Bryan, the centre’s head of collections, who formerly worked at STEAM in Swindon, will give a lecture on the golden age of steam on the Saturday afternoon. ➲ MORE than 130 vintage road vehicles are set to visit the East Lancashire Railway’s historic vehicles gathering at Bolton Street station car park and the Bury Transport Museum on Sunday, September 8. Exhibits range from a 1927 Rolls-Royce 20hp saloon to a 1983 Ford Escort RS Turbo. ➲ NORTH Staffordshire Railway coach No. 127 has returned to the Foxfield Railway following its restoration by Stanegate Restorations of Haltwhistle. Making the journey in the opposition direction is NSR loop line coach No. 61, following the award of a PRISM grant of £18,000 to the Knotty Trust. ➲ CHATHAM Historic Dockyard Trust has been awarded the prestigious Sandford Award for Heritage Education for the second time in less than a decade. ➲ GWR 4-6-0 No. 4953 Pitchford Hall has bowed out of service on the Epping Ongar Railway after its boiler ticket extension ran out over the August Bank Holiday weekend. It will now undergo a major overhaul but no date for its return has been set.

The Severn Valley briefly had a narrow gauge railway as well as a standard gauge one. The Ffestiniog Railway laid a short length of 2ft gauge track for England 0-4-0STT No. 2 Prince and the line’s Ashbury four-wheel coach to give rides for visitors to the Shrewsbury Flower Show on August 10-11. Around 60,00 visitors saw the line in operation. The visit followed the success of last year’s static exhibit of Hunslet Linda – now undergoing load trials on the FR after conversion to coal firing. After the show, Prince went straight from Shrewsbury to London Olympia, where it was displayed at the Great British Beer Festival in conjunction with Porthmadog brewer Purple Moose. FR www.heritagerailway.co.uk

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9

News

Lydham Manor in double gala visits

By Robin Jones

DARTMOUTH Steam Railway flagship WR No. 7827 Lydham Manor is to make a comeback visit to the line where it began its heritage era career as one of two extremely rare outings to other heritage venues. Not only will No. 7827 visit the South Devon Railway for its heritage transport gala and behindthe-scenes weekend on September 14-15, but it will also appear at the West Somerset Railway’s big October 3-6 Cambrian Railwaysthemed autumn steam gala. Apart from a brief visit to Didcot Railway Centre in 2010, Lydham Manor has operated only between Paignton and Kingswear in preservation. However, after becoming the fifth locomotive to be rescued from Barry scrapyard, No. 7827 first moved by rail to Dart Valley Railway plc’s original base, now the South Devon Railway, in June 1970. Initial work was done before No. 7827 moved again, this time to the former works at Newton Abbot. The locomotive steamed for the first time on March 16, 1973, and then worked under its own power to Paignton on March 30 where it operated for the next five years. At the end of the 1978 season, No. 7827 returned to the branch for overhaul inside the main workshop at Buckfastleigh. Following completion of the work, 7827 returned to Paignton again where it ran very successfully until August 1993, its final working being a double-headed trip with South Devon flagship GWR 4-6-0 No. 4920 Dumbleton Hall.

Great Western lined green

Another major overhaul was completed at Churston before it returned to steam in July 2005. From its first steaming in 1973 until June 2011, 1950-built Lydham Manor appeared only in an unauthentic Great Western lined green livery, as it was built two years after nationalisation, apart from a very brief two day appearance in BR lined green in early 1986 when the locomotive was adapted as part of a

Western Region 4-6-0 No. 7827 Lydham Manor storming Goodrington Bank with the 2.15pm Paignton Queens Park to Kingswear service on August 18. DAVID HUNT

filming contract. In June 2011, No. 7827 was repainted into fully lined BR black livery as it would have been when first completed at Swindon Works. It will be paired with Collett 2251 class 0-6-0 No. 3205, evoking memories of the Cambrian Coast route. Two round trips are planned for the Saturday evening, one with No. 3205 leading No. 7827, then the other with No. 7827 leading No. 3205.

Third Manor

No. 7827 will become the third Manor to have operated over the Buckfastleigh to Totnes line but will be the first to operate facing smokebox to Totnes, No. 7802 Bradley Manor and No. 7822 Foxcote Manor having both faced Buckfastleigh when they visited. During its visit to Buckfastleigh, Lydham Manor will haul carmineand-cream liveried GWR coaching stock and freight, milk and possibly parcels trains too. A highlight of the gala will see the SDR open up many areas not normally accessible by the public as part of its annual behind-thescenes event. Following the gala, No. 7827 has been booked by Don Bishop of

Steam Recreations for several photo charters before it leaves the railway before the end of September. Afterwards, it will be taken to Minehead for the SWR gala, where it will join another late-booked guest, GWR 4-6-0 No. 5029 Nunney Castle. Together with GWR 4-6-0 No. 6960 Raveningham Hall, they will represent the locomotives which brought trains such as the ‘Cambrian Coast Express’ into Shrewsbury before making their onward journeys into central Wales behind smaller locomotives such as Manors and moguls. It is possible that No. 5029 may assume the identity of a classmate which carried a name appropriate to the Cambrian section, such as Nos. 5013, 5016, or 5026. The arrival of No. 7827 will take the number of 78XXs in action to four with No. 7812 representing the 1938 batch and Nos. 7822, 7827, and 7828 from the 10 which were built at Swindon in 1950.

10-year overhaul

The WSR gala will also be the last major steam event appearance for 2-6-0 No. 9351 before its 10-year overhaul falls due in 2014. Had the GWR gone ahead with building

small boilered moguls in the Thirties it is very likely that they would have appeared in Mid Wales as replacements for the Cambrian Railways-built Aston and Jones Goods 0-6-0s and the GWR Dean Goods 0-6-0s.

Eight Swindon engines

The gala’s operating locomotive line-up is completed by large prairie No. 4160 giving eight Swindon designed machines at work between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead. In addition Corris/GWR/Talyllyn No. 3 Sir Haydyn will attend and be on static display. Other plans are well-advanced with station running-in boards with Cambrian identities built by the RAMS team at Bishops Lydeard to allow name changing for the four days and with some Welsh national costumes being in line to be worn at Crowcombe Heathfield, the summit station. Painter Harry Kirkland has also produced coach boards for the ‘Cambrian Coast Express’ and the Minehead station shop will also stock a new limited edition 4mm scale model railway wagon in the livery of Joseph Williams, an Oswestry based coal merchant, with the wagon marked to be worked back to collieries at Penkridge.

‘Night Owl’ gets smokebox saddle and cylinder block GWR 28XX 2-8-0 No. 2861 has been delivered to Llangollen for dismantling to provide the smokebox saddle and cylinders for new-build 47XX ‘Night Owl’ No. 4709, which is under construction there. The boiler has already been shipped to Didcot to allow it to be used as a template for fitting the pipework runs on new-build Saint 4-6-0 10 Heritage Railway

No. 2999 Lady of Legend. Although the radius of the 28XX saddle is wrong for the larger diameter smokebox of No. 4709, a method of using a separate plate inside the 47XX smokebox curved to suit the 28XX radius has been devised. This allows the 28XX saddle to be used unaltered and at the same time lowers the pitch

of the boiler by 2in to meet Network Rail loading gauge requirements. The boiler from No. 2861 has been examined and found to be in relatively sound condition, so when its current use is finished it will be stored as a spare for whatever locomotive needs it. The remainder of No. 2861 will be dismantled to provide further components for No. 4709. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 No. 92214 Cock o’ the North now carries BR lined black livery at Grosmont on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. JAMES LINE

US visitor for NYMR 40th gala weekends THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway is resuming its 40th anniversary celebrations with two gala weekends. The annual autumn steam gala will be held from September 27-29 and will feature visiting USATC S160 2-8-0 No. 6046 and the first appearance back in traffic after overhaul of BR Standard 9F 2-10-0 No. 92214. It will be followed by an LNER Weekend on October 4-6 featuring two LNER Pacifics in BR blue, in the form of A1 No. 60163 Tornado and A4 No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley. Also appearing will be B1 No. 61264, making one of its last appearances as one-time Yorkbased classmate No. 61002 Impala, believed to be the last B1 to travel over the NYMR route prior to closure by BR in 1965. NER Q6

0-8-0 No. 63395 is also scheduled to appear, but this depends on completion of firebox repairs at Crewe in time. General manager Philip Benham said: “We hope to be able to bring together locos celebrating the works of four generations of Chief Locomotive Engineer for the North East – Sir Vincent Raven, Sir Nigel Gresley, Edward Thompson and Arthur Peppercorn.” The appearance of Lambton, Hetton & Joicey Colliery 0-6-2T No. 29 reflects the 40th anniversary of its participation in the opening of NYMR in 1973. It will be coupled up to the line’s GWR saloon. No. 6046, privately owned by Greg Wilson and based on the Churnet Valley Railway, will also be appearing at both events. Demonstration freight trains will

On loan from the Churnet Valley Railway, USATC S160 2-8-0 No. 6046 climbs past Darnholm on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on August 13. KARL HEATH

run on various days at both events, and it is hoped to include runs along the Esk Valley line to Battersby. Scarborough & District Railway Modellers will be displaying a model railway exhibition featuring OO, O & N Gauge layouts in the Learning Centre on Platform 2 throughout both weekends. The autumn steam gala locomotive line-up is Sir Nigel

Tewkesbury viaduct is providing bricks for Broadway station site THE evidence that Tewkesbury was once served by rail, with a station, a small locomotive shed and freight facilities, as well as branches to the mill and to the docks, is rapidly disappearing as one of the more distinctive features of the former Midland Railway MalvernAshchurch branch is being demolished: the embankment and bridges over the flood plain between the River Avon and Mythe. The demolition started in late July and is expected to last for six months. It is the final part of a series of major flood alleviation projects costing in total around £36 million, that started after the devastating floods of 2007. The work is being carried out by Costain – and the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is to benefit. The demolition of the embankment and remains of the bridges will produce

around 700 tonnes of brick spoil comprising red and blue Imperial-sized bricks, the first load of which has now been delivered to the Broadway station site, where two 10-coach length platforms are being constructed. After sorting and cleaning up they will help speed completion of the platforms at Broadway – so the masonry will once again see railway use. Around 25% are expected to be reusable in the platform walls with the rest being used as infill behind the platforms. For construction of the station building, waiting room and signalbox, it has been decided to use new metric bricks which will be identical in colour to the originals and close to the original Imperial size. The station building will be of similar design, but longer than the original, which was very similar to Toddington station.

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Gresley, No. 6046, No. 92214, No. 29, ‘Black Five’ No. 45428 Eric Treacy, Standard 4MT 4-6-0 No. 75029 The Green Knight, and Standard 4MT 2-6-0 No 76079 (subject to completion of intermediate overhaul). The LNER Weekend locomotive line-up is Tornado, Sir Nigel Gresley, No. 61264 No. 29, No. 6046 and No. 63395 (subject to completion of firebox repairs).

‘Teddy Bear’ for NYMR diesel gala THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s autumn diesel gala already had a Western Region hydraulic theme with Class 42 D832 Greyhound and Class 52 D1062 Western Courier both booked to attend. The Western theme is due to be extended by the addition of Class 14 D9523 from the Derwent Valley Railway at York. It will not be the first Class 14 to work over the NYMR as the railway owned fellow class members D9520 and D9529, purchased from industrial service with the National Coal Board, but they were not a great success in NYMR service and suffered badly from overheating problems. They were subsequently sold on to other preservationists but, in retrospect, were probably victims of being in rundown condition when purchased. The fitters at Grosmont were starting to get on top of the problems when the decision was taken to sell, but at 650bhp they were probably underpowered for the NYMR’s needs and the subsequent acquisition of additional Class 24/25 diesels was a better solution. Greyhound is a former NYMR resident.

see page 32 or www.classicmagazines.co.uk Heritage Railway

11

News

Land purchase boost for NNR Holt town ‘extension’

By Robin Jones

PLANS to extend the north Norfolk Railway into Holt town centre have received a major boost with the purchase of a strategic parcel of land – and the launch of an appeal to buy another. The section of former railway trackbed, which lies immediately to the south of the Poppy Line’s current Kelling Heath terminus, has been bought by the Melton Constable Trust for the Holt, Melton Constable and Fakenham Railway, the company set up to progress the idea of linking the line to the Mid-Norfolk Railway via Fakenham. The trust is now appealing for £85,000 to secure the next stretch of trackbed alongside the A148, and has already paid a £15,000 deposit. The trust and company see the extension of the NNR into Holt, a popular visitor destination, as the key first stage in the Norfolk Orbital scheme. Following the reinstatement of the Station Road level crossing in Sheringham, specials from the national network can run to the existing Holt station, which lies a mile from the town. However, a short extension will allow them to run into Holt itself, boosting trade and the tourist economy. The long-term aim of the Norfolk Orbital project is to link the existing railheads at Holt on the North Norfolk Railway and Dereham on the Mid Norfolk

The end of the line... for now? Ivatt 4MT mogul No. 43106 runs round its train at Holt.

Railway, via Fakenham, to create a passenger-carrying railway line that brings rail travel back to communities throughout the county that are currently entirely reliant on car and bus transport. Both the existing railways have connections to Network Rail at Sheringham and Wymondham respectively. Trustee Trevor Bailey said of the land purchase: “This is major progress of the most practical kind. Now we can offer the best of reasons why the public and organisations should give financial support towards the next stage.” Fellow trustee David Bill MBE, whose family long worked on the railway before its closure in 1964, said: “We were amazed how enthusiastically people from the local area and all over the country

responded to our initial, quite small scale, fundraising push. It is down to them that the trust now owns this vital piece of land. “We need every donation we can get in the coming weeks.” The trust’s immediate intention is to secure the land for the route, so that nothing can physically block the building of the railway. A reinstatement plan drawn up by railway engineer W S Atkins takes the line for part of its route on to the wide area of land alongside the A148 Holt bypass, the road having taken the original trackbed. There are detailed design issues, but Norfolk County Council has made it clear that it has no objections in principle. An agreement has been signed with the NNR covering the extension of the railway into Holt

and the principle of a through transport service from Network Rail’s Bittern Line. To buy the second stretch of former trackbed, £20,000 needs to be raised by November 30. The trust’s patron, Lord Walpole, said: “Now we can see it starting to become real in no uncertain terms. I urge everyone who cares about public transport, the history and the future of the rail system, car-free tourism, the local economy and the Norfolk environment to support the next stage with any donations they can afford before the end of November.” Mark Durrant, operations manager at Kelling Heath Holiday Park, said: “ Tourism is the largest industry in the region and Kelling Heath fully support the proposals to improve the accessibility both to and from this unique part of North Norfolk. “There is no doubt this development would increase visitor numbers to the region and provide a well-needed boost to the shops, restaurants, accommodation providers and businesses not only in and around Holt but also in the wider North Norfolk area.” ➲ Donations can be made to the Melton Constable Trust, The Railway Institute, 6 Briston Road, Melton Constable, Norfolk, NR24 2DA, telephone 01263 740044 or 07779 345437, email [email protected] or visit www.norfolkorbital-railway.co.uk

S&D station appeal nets £50K ... but much more still needed

THe exact 150th anniversary of the world’s first steam-operated narrow gauge railway was celebrated at the Ffestiniog Railway on August 4. england 0-4-0STs Prince and Palmerston, with a combined age of 300 years, double headed the 10.15am and 1.35am 11-coach services from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestioniog on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The 10.15am is traditionally the heaviest service train on the FR and is normally headed by a double Fairlie rated at 12 carriages. Prince, recently converted back to coal firing, is superheated and nominally rated at six cars and Palmerston at four. August 4 was 150 years to the day from the first steaming of sister locomotive Princess in 1863. ANDREW THOMAS/FR

12 Heritage Railway

A £500,000 appeal to buy the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway’s Masbury station has raised £50,000 – but the full amount must be raised by September 30. The current owners have offered to sell the station to the Midsomer Norton-based Somerset and Dorset Railway Heritage Trust, but only if they are able to raise the money by that date. After then,the land could be sold to housing developers. Appeal co-ordinator John Baxter is urging any readers who have yet to make a donation to do so as soon as possible.

“Having such an iconic S&D station kept within the railway fraternity is clearly a far better alternative than it going on to the open market and potentially being closed to any future railway activity,” he said. “We do have an option to return the donation should we be unsuccessful but many have chosen not to do so and pass the funds across to the Midsomer Norton to Chilcompton Tunnel Halt section instead.” ➲ To make a donation go to www.sdjr.co.uk for more details or write to John Baxter at 12 Deverell Close, Bradford-onAvon for an appeal form.

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

New share offer for G5 tank launched

WITH two thirds of new-build NER G5 0-4-4T completed, the company behind the project has launched a new share issue. The G5 company has finished machining the four driving wheels and the tyres have arrived from South Africa. They are to be sent to the South Devon Railway to be fitted together. The sections of tanks and cab have been fabricated and welded as a unit, as well as other castings for the cylinder. The cab, rear bunker and rear water tank are being made ready for fitting to the frames. Both of the two cylinder blocks have been cast and need some final machining before they are fitted to the frame. The leading axle is ready for fitting and the axleboxes designing is underway while the second injector for the back head has been acquired. The all-welded boiler is complete, as is the bogie assembly which is fully painted in NER livery. The main frame stretchers are fitted and all the hornblocks with their wedges have been machined and fitted. The frames are now fully drilled and ready to accept all the necessary fittings.

This is how the front of the new-build LMS Patriot 4-6-0 No. 45551 The Unknown Warrior will look. Supporters of the project were shown the assembled front end at a preview in the Llangollen Railway workshops on July 31. Meanwhile, the driving wheels have been delivered to Tyseley Locomotive Works for completion. See also page 35. LMS-PATRIOT PROJECT.

SVR autumn line-up confirmed The completed cylinder blocks for the new G5. G5 COMPANY The Westinghouse pump has been fully reconditioned and painted in NER livery and is ready for use. The project engineer is David Elliott, who carried out a similar role with the building of A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado. The new share offer, with the minimum unit price starting at £100, aims to raise £35,000 so that the main crank-axle forging, which has already been designed and priced, will be able to go ahead. To complement the new share offer, the G5 Company has a Construction Bond scheme being prepared. These will bonds will provide a high, fixed-rate of interest and are intended to bring the final completion date forward. The launch date is to be announced. A series of open days where visitors can review progress on the project is being held at Rail Restorations North East in Hackworth Industrial Park, Shildon, the next being on September 7 and October 5. ➲ For more details of the share offer, telephone 07523 417602, email [email protected] or visit www.g5locomotiveltd.co.uk

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

GUESTS for the big Severn Valley Railway annual autumn steam gala on September 20-22 include Metropolitan Railway E class 0-4-4T No. 1, which underwent 50mph running trials on the line in the build-up to its acclaimed public trips on London Underground earlier this year. No. 1 will be taken to the line after its appearance on the Steam Back on the Met event between Amersham and Harrow-on-theHill on September 7-8 (see separate story). It will be joined by GWR 4-6-0 No. 4936 Kinlet Hall, which is named after the Grade I listed building which stands a short distance from the line, GWR 0-6-2T No. 5643 and Southern

Railway duo King Arthur No. 777 Sir Lamiel and No. 850 Lord Nelson, running alongside a third express passenger locomotive, Battle of Britain Pacific No. 34053 Sir Keith Park. From the home fleet, in operation will be No. 7812 Erlestoke Manor and also appearing at its first gala for 12 months will be resident unique Ivatt ‘Flying Pig’ 2-6-0 No. 43106, while Talyllyn Railway No. 3 Sir Haydn will be transported along the line on a Weltrol wagon for spectators to spot en route. The railway has also teamed up with the Bridgnorth Cliff Railway to offer free travel throughout the weekend with any autumn gala ticket.

The surviving high Speed Train prototype power car has been fired up again, as part of a charitable project to return it to the main line. The power car, No 41001, which is owned by the National Railway Museum, is being restored at Neville hill depot in Leeds by the Project Miller team involving 125 Group volunteers. On July 1, the Valenta engine in the power car was started. PROJECT MILLER Heritage Railway

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news

Friends Reunited… 45 years later! By Alan Castle

WITHIN what other organisation would former employees resolve to keep in touch – and even go so far as to arrange frequent reunions with each other – all of 45 years after their place of work had closed down its business for ever? Surely this could only have happened on British Railways? A couple of recently occurring events in Lancashire went a considerable way towards drawing attention to that undeniably unique fact. Indeed, it can only be described as a mutual demonstration of avid determination to celebrate what transpired to be the most memorable period of their lives. A large number of now long-retired railwaymen – from a whole host of long-vanished steam depots around the county – turned out in force in late July and early August to perpetuate a pledge never to forget those once so-valuable friendships forged during their careers on the railway. If one really needs to seek out a reason why this is so, the answer surely lies within the sheer fact that such gatherings still do occur; and this is possibly the clearest expression of all of a brotherly spirit between work colleagues that is so often established following years of unstinting service together. Along with old-fashioned skills, craftsmanship, loyalty and an enduring camaraderie that had always existed between footplate colleagues, efficient locomotive performance and consistently reliable steam motive power then came to be produced, often in almost impossible situations. All of this had developed to form part of

an unbroken tradition going back to the dawn of railways. However, this seemed to vanish forever at the time that the steam era finally came to be superseded by an eternal quest for bland, boring, cost-saving efficiency that has so decimated our railway system and, along with it, that unique character that we all once so loved and admired. Throughout those closing years of steam, many railwaymen in the North West of England continued to demonstrate that, although they had suffered the ignominy of being the last area to receive modern traction – effectively being forced to put-up with the ‘hand-medowns’ that had repeatedly arrived for several years from other parts of the country – most of them were proud to have worked with steam. Indeed, years later, their mere presence now at such gatherings between their former workmates demonstrates in the clearest possible terms a determination never to forget such a memorable and enjoyable period of their lives. Notwithstanding that, in the late 1960s, the official view was that steam was the creation of a more primitive age and, quite simply, deserved no place whatsoever in an era of new technology. For those who did take the time to cogitate upon such matters, there was a sadness felt that reflected an acceptance that life as we knew it at the time was soon to change. This would perhaps be for the better, perhaps not, but certainly came with a realisation that changes were inevitable and counted as ‘progress’. At the numerous gatherings, simply decades after those times, probably not a soul present shared such sentiments.

Back with his old engine for the first time in 45 years – formerly of Lostock Hall shed, the last surviving ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ driver, Harold Bolton (left), who drove the Manchester Victoria to Blackburn leg of the 1968 train, proudly stands alongside No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell at Bury on July 27, accompanied by his one-time 10D work colleagues John Fletcher and Fred Jackson. AlAn CAstle

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Former footplatemen employed at the various depots still in operation around Lancashire when steam ended in 1968 gather in the Bury Transport Museum on July 27, 2013. Among this group are four of the surviving footplate crew who worked on various stages of the original BR ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’. AlAn CAstle

Having arrived at Rawtenstall by bus from Burnley, with a backcloth provided by Super D No. 49395, a large group of mainly former 10F Rose Grove drivers and firemen join in the party on July 27. AlAn CAstle

The East Lancashire Railway 1968 End of Steam Gala Locomen’s Reunion

The first of two planned major events in the North West to commemorate 45 years since the passing of steam occurred on Saturday, July 27, 2013, when the East Lancashire Railway extended a very special invitation to attend a reunion between footplatemen who had worked at any of the final steam motive power depots throughout Lancashire. The occasion was intended to be a gala celebration of the late 1960s era in general, portraying, as it so successfully did, numerous cameos. These ranged from an extensive timetable of passenger and freight services, all hauled by 1968-appropriate motive power, a large display of 1960s vehicles, live 1960s-related bands (including a Cliff Richard tribute performance) and a talk about the history of local transport, the decline of BR in the area and the birth of the ELR. Pop mogul Pete Waterman formally opened the brand new Buffer-Stops bar at Rawtenstall

station and, with five real ales and one real cider on hand pump, many visitors found that the railway’s latest addition was the perfect place to enjoy a quiet pint of finest local ale, away from all the hustle and bustle at Bury Bolton Street. A special emphasis, however, had been placed upon the events of August 11, 1968, and of the time when the 1T57 ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ hit headline news in the national daily press with its muchpublicised journey between Liverpool and Carlisle, involving Britannia Pacific 70013 Oliver Cromwell and three ‘Black Fives’ Nos 44781, 44871 and 45110. Following a brief reception in the Bury Transport Museum and at which the ELR’s general manager Andy Morris warmly welcomed everyone, the railway’s guests of the day expressed appreciation for the free tickets supplied to them for unlimited travel on the railway, along with vouchers for lunch and a beer ‘on-the-house’… all of this www.heritagerailway.co.uk

1T57 firemen, Carnforth’s celebrated Thistlethwaite brothers, Ian (left) and Malcolm, display the plaques presented to them in August 1968 by the general manager of the London Midland Region. Also seen in the photographs with them are their drivers from that day, the late Jack Simpson and Ted Fothergill. AlAn CAstle

Friday, August 2, 2013, and 45 years to the very day since the still quite intensive regular mid-week passenger and freight steam operation ended at the final three depots, around 50 former footplatemen and other shed staff turn out en masse at a reunion held within a stone’s-throw of the long-demolished Lostock Hall depot. AlAn CAstle

The Lostock Hall Lancashire Footplatemen’s Reunion

On August 4, 1968, Stanier 8F No. 48476 was one of a pair of locomotives provided by Lostock Hall shed to head the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society’s ‘End of Steam Commemorative Railtour’ between Manchester Victoria, Oldham and Blackburn. The crew that day were driver Harold Bolton (right) and fireman Jimmy Marlor. Forty-five years into the future, at the 10D gathering, the pair are reunited with one of the only surviving parts of their former engine. AlAn CAstle

accompanied by an invitation also to join the ELR’s own ‘1T57’ special up the line on the Saturday evening. Around 30 men, representing a whole host of depots and signingon points – such as Newton Heath, Patricroft, Bolton, Carnforth, Lostock Hall, Preston, Blackburn and Lower Darwen – gathered in the museum for a group photograph before joining the 1125 train to Rawtenstall headed by the surviving member of a class once so familiar to many of them – the ex-LNW ‘Super D’ No. 49395. Upon arrival at Rawtenstall, a further dozen or so ex-drivers and firemen from Rose Grove shed were waiting and joined in the festivities, having arrived by bus from Burnley, and were soon enjoying all of the many attractions. For a public relations exercise – especially in so warmly welcoming the former steam men of Lancashire – the ELR is to be wholeheartedly congratulated. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

When it comes to reunions, the former Lostock Hall and Preston motive power depots and the men who were employed there are surely among the most prolific contenders for qualifying for a place somewhere in the Guinness Book of Records. Many of them continue to keep in touch on a regular basis and, indeed, down the years have organised very many formal gatherings between themselves. The evening of Friday, August 2, 2013, transpired to be one of those special occasions. This was the date of their 45th Anniversary Reunion. At the Leyland & Farington Social Club – a mere stone’s-throw from the site of Lostock Hall shed – no fewer than around 100 former footplatemen, clerical staff and other shed artisans, all long-retired and several now well into their eighties, turned out in force to sample some excellent Thwaites ‘Wainwright Bitter’ and to recall old times for yet one more time. Age-old rivalries between ‘Lanky’ and ‘Wessy’ men that, in some areas, continued right until the very end of steam, finally appeared to have been laid to rest as countless tales were freely exchanged recounting some pretty hair-raising exploits on the footplate that could never have previously been told. Mrs Margaret Heyes, widow of Ernie Heyes – the celebrated driver of ‘Black Five’ No. 45318, which headed the final scheduled BR steam passenger turn on August 3, 1968 – had a particular reason to be present that evening. As a local resident, for some time this lady had been taking a particular interest in any proposals put forward for the development of the

currently derelict loco-shed and goods yard sites in the middle of Lostock Hall village and had come along to recruit the backing of others in funding a campaign that she is spearheading. The South Ribble Borough Council Land Regeneration Team has for some considerable time been seriously considering purchasing the land for what it describes as “open space community use”. With the filled-in pits of the eight shed roads amazingly still in existence beneath an ever-encroaching mass of undergrowth (as are the remainder of the depot’s foundations), Mrs Heyes is one of several people pursuing a campaign to secure a small plot to utilise as the basis of a static memorial to steam. The remainder would be converted into a leisure park. Given the rapturous applause that she received, most former 10D staff clearly supported the idea that some form of monument be erected there to mark the importance of Lostock Hall in its role of providing the men and machines for the very end of the steam era. As at most other loco sheds dotted around the country, in ultimately pursuing very differing career directions following the end of steam, former staff soon became scattered across the globe. However, it is an inescapable fact that many still manage to keep in touch with each other. Norm Callaghan, a 10D fireman in 1968, is certainly one of the latter. Today he is a diesel driver in Western Australia, and, although it was perhaps rather a long way to travel merely for an opportunity to share a few pints with old friends, he still remembered to make a telephone

call to the UK that evening while the reunion was actually taking place… just to say hello! Likewise, time certainly didn’t dim past memories for former Bank Hall footplateman, Fred Reid – who had commenced his career many years previously at Carnforth – and during the event, even though they hadn’t seen each other for over half a century, Fred still immediately recognised his onetime 10A workmate Malcolm Thistlethwaite, sat with brother Ian. Last surviving 1T57 driver Harry Bolton also met up once more with Jimmy Marlor – his partner on 8F No. 48476 at the head of the RCTS ‘End of Steam’ special of August 4, 1968. To mark their meeting, the pair took the opportunity to be photographed with their longscrapped loco’s smokebox numberplate, the latter now being the proud possession of another 10D fireman, Paul Tuson. Of course, that memorable evening also saw the renewing, for the first time in many decades, of many other long-lost acquaintanceships. But we must close on a poignant note by repeating a question that might have been on the lips of so many present, both at Bury and at Lostock Hall. “Numbers are ever dwindling, so just how few of these guys will actually still be with us for the 50th?” It is a fact that, for many of the railwaymen who were responsible for creating that important part of history the summer of 2013 has commemorated, another five years might prove to be just too far away. As likely to be the case with Oliver Cromwell in 2018, how many will be well ‘out-of-ticket’ by then? Heritage Railway

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News Billinghurst ’box for Bluebell

THE Bluebell Railway may be given what is believed to be the oldest working signalbox remaining in Britain. Network Rail’s Arun Valley line resignalling scheme will see ’boxes at Bilingshurst, Amberley and Pulborough decommissioned. Plans to demolish and rebuild a staircase leading up to Billingshurst station’s footbridge as part of Network Rail’s plans to modernise the level crossing in Station Road have been submitted to Horsham District Council. Under the plans, the staircase on the north side of the road would be demolished and repositioned 90 degrees clockwise, allowing the crossing to be moderninsed and the listed signalbox removed and taken to the Bluebell Railway. The new centralised signalling system needs the crossing to be widened, necessitating the relocation of the staircase and signalbox.

Just Brill: London Transport reclaims lost outpost! By Robin Jones

THe legendary and eccentric Brill branch came to life again as one of the latest in a series of events marking 150 years of London Underground. For once, Metropolitan Railway e class 0-4-4T no. 1was upstaged, at the event at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre on August 3, 4, 7. Stealing the show was former BBC Play School star Barclay 0-4-0ST no. 699 of 1891 Swanscombe – which had been repainted in Metropolitan Railway ‘main line’ livery in readiness to recreate a Brill branch ‘tram’ of 1900.

The tramway, which linked the village of Brill to the main line at Quainton Road, was taken over by the Metropolitan Railway in 1899. It repainted some of the incumbent locomotives. Aveling & Porter traction enginestyle locomotives had once been a mainstay of motive power on the branch, originally known as the Wotton Tramway, and which was closed in 1935, two years after being inherited by the then-new London Passenger Transport Board. The original Aveling & Porter branch locomotive of 1872, now owned by London Transport Museum, was displayed outside

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A CoNVERTED 1880s GER woodenbodied carriage is on the market for £56,000. The carriage, now at Barrowmarsh Caravan Park in Mill Beach, Heybridge, can be lived in for up to nine months of the year. Seller Debbie Smith bought the carriage 20 years ago after it fell into disrepair. It has one bedroom, a bathroom, kitchen, sitting room, garden and is mains connected. It is being sold by John Alexander Estate Agents in Maldon, telephone 01621 470017.

S&D to stay at Washford

THE West Somerset Railway is to allow the Somerset and Dorset Railway Trust to remain at its longtime Washford station home. Previously, the trust was told that the station was needed for other purposes and that its lease would not be renewed past 2020. It was speculated that the trust might move its rolling stock and artefacts to another Somerset & Dorset heritage site such as Midsomer Norton station. However, the WSR no longer needs the land occupied by the trust. Negotiations are continuing between the railway and the trust to extend the lease of the site, said trust chairman Godfrey Baker.

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Swanscombe as ‘Brill No. 1’ with a Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway carriage, LSWR milk van and a tube wagon repainted in Metropolitan livery as a recreated Brill branch train. ANDREW BRATTON

‘Fife Flyer’ returns to steam at Ribble One of the few remaining ‘Fife Flyers’ is to make a triumphant return to steam at the Ribble Steam Railway’s September 14 autumn gala. Andrew Barclay large 0-4-0ST no. 2261 of 1949 no. 6 will be back in action after a 10-year restoration project. It arrived at Preston Docks on June 14, 2000. Since, the valve chest faces have been ground, new bearings manufactured and machined, pistons and rods have been reunited with the cylinders, and new bunker cab roof have been manufactured. It will be joined at the event by resident Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST John Howe and Hunslet Austerity Walkden, together with Manning Wardle 0-6-0ST Sir Berkeley, visiting from its base at the Middleton Railway.

with a replica Brill coach and an open Metropolitan Railway wagon. The event also encompassed the museum’s Connoisseurs Day on August 6, which featured a series of talks, photographic runpasts and special access to Met no. 1 for paying guests. Centre spokesman Andrew Bratton said: “every visitor said the events exceeded all expectations.” Met no. 1 returns to the Underground for another series of public steam trips on September 78, partnered as before with WR 0-6-0PT no. 9466 and red-liveried small Prairie no. 5521 as LU150, plus vintage Met Bo-Bo electric locomotive no. 12 Sarah Siddons, following its summer stint on the Bluebell Railway and a pair of London Transport-liveried Class 20 diesels. As happened over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, the journeys will run between Amersham and Harrow-on-the Hill, but this time there will be four return trips as opposed to three. On the Sunday, a free heritage bus service will be provided by the Friends of the London Transport Museum from Amersham station to Amersham Old Town where activities will be taking place, as part of Amersham Heritage Day. A new Bachmann OO gauge model of Tyseley’s GWR pannier tank L94 (7752) will be launched for sale at the event.

Chiltern helps upgrade historic swing bridge

A ROBeRT Stephensondesigned swing bridge in Oxford is to be restored alongside at the city’s new link to London. The Oxford Preservation Trust has raised £400,000 to restore the disused swing bridge, which was designed to allow the passage of boats from the Oxford Canal just north of the city’s station, and which has fallen into disrepair since it was last used by freight trains accessing a yard at the former Rewley Road station in 1985. It is set to become the centrepiece of a £500,000 landscaped area which

Chiltern Railways will help build. A landscape strategy has been developed in conjunction with english Heritage. The 1851-built bridge, a scheduled monument, lies next to a new bridge carrying the line for Chilterns’ planned Oxford to London Marylebone service, via Bicester over the Rewley Abbey stream. Trust director Debbie Dance said: “Plans by Chiltern Railways for a fast track to London are an opportunity – indeed the last opportunity – for us to restore the swing bridge and save this important bit of Oxford’s railway and industrial heritage.”

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Metropolitan Railway No. 1 and ‘Brill No 1’ parallel running; a unique feature at Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. ANDREW BRATTON

Right: No. 807 was one of a pair of Aveling & Porter locomotives which worked on the Wotton Tramway, later known as the Brill branch. Now owned by London Transport Museum, it was posed outside at Quainton Road with appropriate vintage wagons and the replica of the tramway’s original Ashbury carriage, labelled “Oxford & Aylesbury Tramroad”. ANDREW BRATTON

Next one for Colne Valley

Having returned austerity 0-6-0ST no. WD190 to traffic earlier this year, the locomotive department volunteers at the Colne valley Railway has now started its next project, the overhaul of RSH “Ugly” 0-6-0ST Jupiter. The saddle tank and boiler have been lifted, and the locomotive has been lifted from its wheels to allow them to be sent away for remedial work. it is however, hoped to carry out most of the overhaul in-house. Elsewhere on the Colne valley site, long-term project ‘Black Five’ no. 45163 has been receiving a welded insert on its main frames, while the smokebox saddle has also been rebuilt.

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First main line services to Chinnor THROUgH trains from aylesbury are to form a highlight of the biggest event held in the history over the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway. Chiltern Railways will run the trains to Chinnor for the first time in the railway’s history over the newly-installed main line connection at Princes Risborough. The event, Haversham & Friends, is being spread over the first three weekends in October and will celebrate the 60th birthday of the Line’s Class 08 D3018 (13018/08011) Haversham and the 21st anniversary of it moving to the heritage line. it will also mark the 175th anniversary of Wolverton Works. Chiltern Railways’ Class 165 DMU no. 165001 and ‘bubblecars’ no. 55020 and 55034 are pencilled in for the event. Class 08s nos. 08629 and 08649

have been invited to represent Wolverton Works and gWR Sentinel no.12 has been invited to represent the earlier days at Chinnor. The CPRR’s own ‘bubblecar’, no. 55023, will take part alongside fellow residents the now-unique Class 17 Clayton D8568 and Ruston 0-6-0DH Iris. a CPRR spokesman said that the weekends of October 5-6, 12-13 and 19-20 will be the most extravagant and ambitious event ever contemplated on the line. it is intended to run an intensive service using two train sets plus additional brakevan and shuttle rides in the station area between “main line” trains. gWR 0-6-0PT no. 1369 from the South Devon Railway has arrived to work scheduled services, and will stay until the Christmas and new Year period. Heritage Railway

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News

Mallard takes to the tracks for 75th anniversary tour By Robin Jones

AFTER attracting record crowds to its National Railway Museum home, LNER A4 Pacific No. 4468 Mallard is going on tour throughout the month of September. As previously reported, the record-breaker is to be towed to Grantham station by the NRM’s Deltic No. 55002 Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry where it will be the centrepiece of a steam festival over the weekend sponsored by Heritage Railway and our sister title The Railway Magazine. Afterwards, Mallard will visit its Doncaster home town, where a public event will be held over the St Leger Festival weekend of September 14/15, before being taken to Staveley for the Barrow Hill Live model railway-oriented event on September 28/29.

The town of record

Grantham is the nearest major station to Little Bytham, where Mallard set its unbroken 126mph world railway steam speed record on July 3, 1938. Carillion, one of the event’s sponsors, has specially relaid a rail-connected siding alongside the station car park where Mallard and the Deltic will be displayed. The Mallard Grantham Partnership which has laid on the event, that runs between 10am and 5pm each day, includes South Kesteven District Council, Lincolnshire County Council, the NRM, Lincolnshire Vintage Vehicle Society, Grantham Civic

Mallard ran at 126mph again over the weekend of July 27-28. The record-breaker’s legendary feat was re-enacted in O gauge on a track laid out by the National Railway Museum’s rail events co-ordinator Noel Hartley beneath the NER Percy Main Bridge in the Great Hall. Here, the model Mallard meets the real one. NRM

Society and Rotary Club, the Vintage Sports Car Club, Network Rail, East Coast, Grantham Railway Society, Lincoln & District Model Engineers Society and Devon and Cornwall Railways. At the station, where No. 4468 will be back for the first time in half a century, Mallard’s footplate can be climbed aboard, and tea will be served in a Gresley teak coach. A locomotive from the Lincoln Model Engineers’ Society will provide children’s rides. Visitors will also be able to see racing and sports cars of the type that influenced locomotive design including a 1928 Bentley and a streamlined BMW 328.

From the site, festival goers can also ride on one of the period buses of the Lincolnshire Vintage Vehicle Society which will be running between Grantham Railway Society’s model exhibition at Walton Girls’ High School over the weekend as well as operating a park and ride service. There will be talks by Dr Alfred Gottwaldt from Berlin on the rival German record attempt and by the NRM’s Bob Gwynne on Mallard, both of which take place in the town’s Guildhall Arts Centre on Saturday evening. In the George Centre in Grantham town centre, motor cycles of the 1930s, an exhibition of historic photographs of Grantham station staff and a LNER poster display will be staged. Further details are listed on page 48.

Strategic position

The siding relaid by Carillion at Grantham station for Mallard’s appearance at the September 7/8 festival of steam. ROBIN JONES

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Grantham’s importance as a rail centre stemmed from its strategic position just over 100 miles north of London on the GNR main line. Based there at times during the steam era were several A4s including Mallard and also A3 Flying Scotsman. At nationalisation in 1948, more than 60 locomotives and 120 sets of footplatemen were allocated there, in addition to numerous cleaners, fitters, engineers, boiler workers and clerical staff, sufficient men to warrant the area having its own District Locomotive Superintendent. At Doncaster, Mallard will be on display at Freightliner Ltd’s Railport depot in September and entry will

be free. A Freightliner locomotive will be bringing Mallard into the depot, and there will also be a chance to see live demonstrations of Freightliner’s working service. No. 55002 will also be on display. Doncaster Museum & Art Gallery is hosting a special exhibition during the 10-day St Leger Festival Week: Mallard – a Doncaster Thoroughbred. Rare artefacts will be on display, many of which have never been seen in public before, including A4 nameplates from the Doncaster Grammar School Railway Collection, Cuneo’s masterpiece Giants Refreshed, and letters, notebooks and drawings from Sir Nigel Gresley. St Leger Festival Week is based around the oldest classic horserace in the world, which dates from 1776. The mayor of Doncaster, Ros Jones, said: “Doncaster is known throughout the world for its rich racing and railway heritage and bringing the two together means that this year’s St Leger Festival will be very special indeed.” Further details are available at www.visitdoncaster.com/stleger

The world famous Plant

The Barrow Hill event will celebrate 160 years of Doncaster Works by bringing together a range of steam and diesel locomotives that all have links with the world famous Plant. Mallard will be joined by A1 No. 60163 Tornado and B1 No. 61264, A2 No. 60532 Blue Peter and GNR Atlantic No. 251. Representatives of Doncaster’s diesel building era will include classes 03, 56, 58, 71 and 85. Diesels maintained at Doncaster and also represented will include classes 20, 31, 37, 50 and 55. More details are available at www.barrowhill.org Mallard will be back at the NRM for the Autumn Great Gathering from October 26-November 8, when it will again be surrounded by its five surviving sisters. Following the cancellation of its railtour due to engineering commitments, No. 60009 Union of South Africa will now be in the lineup for all 14 days, not just some of them as previously thought. The Autumn Great Gathering includes the Locos in a Different Light event from October 20November 2, in which the A4s will be around the turntable and lit up in spectacular lighting done as a competition by lighting students from colleges around the country, between 6.30pm and 10pm. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Sir Keith Park rededicated at Severn Valley station SOUTHERN Railway Battle of Britain light Pacific No. 34053 Sir Keith Park is to be rededicated at Kidderminster railway station at 11.15am on Saturday, August 31. The former Barry wreck, restored by owning group Southern Locomotives Ltd and now part of the Severn Valley Railway fleet, was named after Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park, one of the heroes of the Battle of Britain. Sir Keith named the engine himself on September 19, 1947 at Brighton station. More than half a century later, guest of honour the Right Honourable Sir Lockward Smith, the New Zealand High Commissioner, will unveil the nameplate during the ceremony in front of three RAF veterans who fought in the Battle of Britain, representatives from Sir Keith’s

Caterpillars bring trains to a halt

THE US’S Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad was stopped dead in its tracks by a plague of caterpillars. For six weeks this summer, millions of tent caterpillars invaded the hills around the narrow gauge line between New Mexico and Colorado. They laid slime on the rails to the extent that steam trains could not get a grip. Railroad president John Bush said: “There were so many caterpillars it looked like the ground itself was moving.” He said that it was the worst outbreak of tent caterpillars since the 1970s. Staff used stream sprayers to blast the caterpillars off the track, while double heading of locomotives was needed for the worst spots.

family and Oliver Bullied, the grandson of the loco’s designer. Sir Keith was a New Zealander, hence the invitation to the High Commissioner. The ceremony will include talks from SVR’s general manager Nick Ralls, Geoff Thompson, chairman of Southern Locomotives Ltd., Squadron Leader Jim Beirne on behalf of the RAF, and Terence Stevens-Prior, great-nephew of Sir Keith. A Guard of Honour will be mounted by 156 (Kidderminster) Squadron ATC. Around 200 guests will then take a trip along the line in a train hauled by 34053 Sir Keith Park. A flypast by a Hurricane and a Spitfire from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will take place at 2pm over Bridgnorth, where the RAF Association will also parade standards.

New Lottery bid to restore J21

A £600,000 bid for Heritage Lottery Fund grant aid is being prepared for TW Worsdell J21 0-6-0 No. 65033. Withdrawn in 1962 and now in the care of the Locomotive Conservation & Learning Trust, once return to steam it will be based at the Stainmore Railway Company’s Kirkby Stephen East station and regularly work passenger trains in what was NER territory. Trust chairman Julian Birley said: “Each previous application had failed on each occasion at national level due to lack of funds available. “But with recent changes in Heritage Lottery Fund requirements, and buoyed with the success of other loco projects, a fresh application to the Heritage Lottery for £600,000 is being applied for.”

Now Scarborough’s North Bay Railway starts new steam builds

AFTER 80 years of running steam outline diesel hydraulic engines, Scarborough’s North Bay Railway is building a pair of new steam locomotives, one at its 20in gauge to run at Scarborough and a duplicate at 2ft to run elsewhere. Based on a Bagnall Sipat locomotive, the locomotives are planned to be finished for spring 2014 by an additional member of staff funded by the Heritage Skills Initiative. The Scarborough engine is to be called Georgina and the second one Wendy. Apart from the gauge, they will be www.heritagerailway.co.uk

identical. Georgina will be used for special occasions and for driver experience only. It is not envisaged that it will run on service trains on a regular basis. Parts for the boilers are already on site and ready for welding, and as part of the expansion and to secure staff positions, the railway is setting out to construct new large boilers (above 15in diameter) and locomotives at 15in gauge and above. At this stage, there are no plans to offer boiler rebuilds, although tubing only will be undertaken. Heritage Railway

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News

InBRIEF

➲ CLASS 37/9 37901, currently based on the East Lancashire Railway, has been moved to the Mid-Hants Railway on indefinite loan in a series of staged moves at the beginning of August. The 37 was first moved from Bury to Washwood Heath and taken from there to Wembley where it joined A1 4-6-2 No. 60163 Tornado and its support coach to form a convoy for the onward journey to Ropley. ➲ A NAMEBOARD from Cullingworth station in West Yorkshire has been placed on display at the village’s primary school after being stored at the nearby Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Oxenhope station car park for nearly two decades and restored at a cost of £1000. Cullingworth station was demolished in the Sixties following final closure in 1963. ➲ AN original enamel platform sign from Freshford station in Somerset has been reinstated after being bought from a Bristol dealer. The sign was unveiled by Coun Neil Butters, chairman of Bath & North East Somerset Council, at the Network Rail station on August 7. ➲ BRUCE Parkin, 67, Britain’s longest-serving train driver, who began his career with British Railways cleaning steam locomotives at the age of 15, has retired after clocking up four million miles. Bristol Temple Meads-based Bruce’s last job was with First Great Western. ➲ THE Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway has followed up the cancellation of its Christmas diesel day on December 27, caused by a lack of steam heating locomotive for stock warming duties, by arranging a mixed traction event on December 29-30 when several diesel diagrams will be operated. ➲ CLASS 31 31430/530 Sister Dora has been sold to John Jolly at Mangapps Farm where it still retains its East Anglian connections that began with the locomotive’s first allocation to Stratford as D5695 in April 1961. ➲ TIVERTON Museum is planning to run a vintage bus along the Exe Valley on October 5 to mark the anniversary of the closure 50 years ago of the GWR Exe Valley line in 1963.

➲ ALL tHe LAtest news

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Operating with a temporary repair to enable its participation, GER N7 0-6-2T No. 69621 leads the “Wedding Express”, marking the wedding of Kenneth and Sarah Lister (nee Youell) as visiting Lambton tank No. 29 provides support on the departure of the train from Consall on August 17. FRED KERR

Lambton tank saves day for pioneer daughter’s wedding By Fred Kerr THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway stepped into the breach after the failure of a locomotive left the Churnet Valley Railway short of motive power. At short notice, the NYMR and the Lambton Locomotives Trust loaned Kitson 0-6-2T No. 4263 Lambton, Hetton & Joicey Collieries No. 29 following the failure of on-loan N7 0-6-2T No. 69621 late on the evening of Wednesday, August 14. The failure had left the CVR short of motive power and, with a weekend timetable of 10 trains plus a very special wedding train for the daughter of one of preservation’s greatest pioneers to be operated, an urgent appeal was made for a suitable replacement. The Lambton Tank was despatched by road on a six-week loan and arrived at Cheddleton at dinnertime on August 16. The locomotive had a test run later that evening and crews arrived at 6am the next day to prepare the locomotive for its first run with the 10.32am Cheddleton-Kingsley & Froghall service. During this time inspection of the failed Class N7 had identified the fault as a broken spring for which a replacement was ordered. However, it would not arrive in time for the wedding train that was to be run on

Kenneth and Sarah Lister pose in front of N7 0-6-2T 69621 – the locomotive preserved by Sarah’s father Fred Youell, the noted LNER historian. FRED KERR

the Saturday. The wedding special was to comprise the two-car dining set which was to be added to the normal trainset and which the N7 was to pull as part of the wedding event. The wedding was of Sarah Calvert (nee Youell), the daughter of the late Fred Youells, who headed the bid to save the Middleton Railway (which lays claim to being the first operating standard gauge heritage line) and who had initially saved No. 69621 for preservation.

The wedding party had been looking forward to seeing the ‘family’ locomotive at the head of the wedding train. The CVR engineering team were able to make a temporary repair to allow the N7 to work one round trip in tandem with the Lambton tank, after which the latter continued operating services with the bridal headboard on its smokebox while the N7 was placed on display in Cheddleton bay platform. No. 29, ironically, is also standing in for S160 No. 6046 which is currently on hire to the NYMR but under an arrangement that has left both lines with locomotives well suited to their needs. No 29 will return to the NYMR in time for an important previously scheduled engagement on September 21, when it will haul a special train for volunteers of 40 or more years standing. It is the only locomotive currently in traffic on the NYMR that has run in its service over that period of time. Leeds University lecturer and its railway society president the late Dr Youell led a takeover of the Middleton Railway by students in 1960. In 1962, he bought No. 69621 with the intention of using it to haul coal trains on the line. This never happened and the engine remained in store at nearby Neville Hill shed.

Pair in court over KWVR burglaries TWO teenagers have been charged with burglary and vandalism at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. The pair, aged 13 and 14, have been bailed to appear before Bradford and Keighley Youth Court over damage to Haworth and Oxenhope stations in July.

The three offences the boys are accused of are burglary at Oxenhope on July 30, in which a window was broken to gain entry, criminal damage at Haworth the same day, in which stones were thrown at the station building, and burglary at Haworth on July 26.

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News

GCR bridge appeal nearing a quarter of its £1m target By Robin Jones

AS the £1 million appeal to build a new bridge to carry the Great Central Railway over the Midland Main line at Loughborough nears a quarter of its target in just three months, other major developments are taking place behind the scenes. Days before we closed for press, the GCR announced that £206,000 towards the appeal launched on June 1 to link the GCR with the GCR (Nottingham) by building the bridge had been raised. Paul Kirkman, the newly appointed head of the National Railway Museum, revealed that a bid for Heritage Lottery Fund grant aid to help finance a new outreach station at Leicester North – announced in Heritage Railway issue 171 – is to be made in the autumn (see separate story). Secondly, representatives from the boards of the Great Central Railway plc and Great Central Railway (Nottingham) have started talks on the future structure of the completed 18-mile railway. Thirdly, a £450,000 scheme to restore the Grade II listed 1890s canopy at Loughborough Central station, which will become the mid-point on the reconnected railway, has been completed.

David Muggleton of Shrewsbury has kindly sent us this image, taken with a basic camera, of LNER A3 Pacific No. 4472 Flying Scotsman passing under the Great Central Railway bridge to the south of Loughborough Midland station on February 23, 1968, heading for the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. He said: “The good news is that the bridge is to be rebuilt. But will we ever see Flying Scotsman on the main line again?”

Moving ahead

GCR(N) publicity director Alan Kemp said: “While not a physical reality yet, reunification is moving ahead. The time is absolutely right for us to sit down together and make progress ‘behind the scenes’ so we’re ready when the golden spike moment arrives. “A number of working groups are being established to discuss a wide range of issues including how the railway will be managed and what shape operations will take.” The announcement of the latest total coincides with the 20th anniversary of the first public opening of the Great Central Railway Nottingham site at Ruddington. The site has continued to develop and will ultimately form the northern terminus of train services from Leicester North.

Five or six years

The restored Loughborough Central canopy was declared complete by Charnwood Borough Council leader David Slater in a special ceremony on August 8 attended by volunteers, contractors and many of the project donors. GCR

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Completion of the full reunification project is expected within five or six years providing all funds can be raised and necessary permissions secured. Network Rail is to build the key missing bridge over the Midland Main Line at Loughborough as part of the preparations for electrification of the route. The bridge itself will comprise

two spans salvaged from the redevelopment of Reading station. GCR managing director Bill Ford said: “The response has been so rapid it has exceeded our expectations. It’s a great start and a good platform to chase down the remaining £800,000 we require. We hope others will now be inspired to come on board and make a difference to the appeal total.” The three-year Loughborough canopy project, which involves one of the largest station roofs in the heritage railway sector, was funded through the GCR’s Raising the Roof appeal and grants from charitable trusts.

Century of service

Known as Loughborough’s Crystal Palace, the canopy’s ‘deep rebuild’ now allows much more light on to the platforms and sees the structure fit for another century of service. The project was co-ordinated by volunteers, who were also able to refurbish some of the original wooden components, while contractors built new steelwork and installed the glass. One of the last parts of the job was to install a brand new sign for the station at street level on Great Central Road. Bill described the project completed as a “major milestone”,

adding: “The canopy is the defining feature of Loughborough Central. From its sad and sorry state it has been dramatically transformed. “To have achieved this complex, expensive project on schedule and under budget is a credit to everyone in the team. Trains were kept running throughout the work even though platform faces had to be closed. Our visitors will see the difference for themselves.” A total of 860 panes of glass were replaced and over 1300 new ‘dagger boards’ surrounding the canopy edge were manufactured. The project represents the largest investment in the station since it opened for the very first Great Central passengers in 1899. ➲ To donate to the Great Central Railway’s ‘Bridge to the Future’ appeal, donate online using a credit or debit card at www.gcrailway.co.uk/unify and clicking the donate button. Alternatively, send a cheque (made payable to the David Clarke Railway Trust) to ‘Bridge Appeal’ Lovatt House, 3 Wharncliffe Road, Loughborough, Leics LE11 1SL. Appeal forms can be obtained from any GCR booking office or be downloaded from the website. Gift aid declarations can boost donations by 25%. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Two railwayana auction houses lock horns in major database row By Geoff Courtney A MAJOR row has broken out between one of the UK’s most influential specialist railwayana auction houses and a newcomer to the scene that has yet to hold its first sale. the spat, which has been rumbling beneath the surface for many months, sees longestablished Great Central Railwayana squaring up to Great Northern Railwayana, a new kid on the block which is holding its debut auction on October 19. At the heart of the dispute is a customer database held by Great Central, which the auction house claims has been obtained by Great Northern and then used to distribute a mailshot advertising its October 19 auction. A customer database is a central part of many commercial businesses that has often been built up over many years, and as such is a closely guarded secret. the database in question was part of the assets obtained by Great Central when it took over Sheffield Railwayana from Brian Moakes and Chris Dickerson a year ago. in a letter to all those on the database mailed out on August 14, Great Central director Dave Jones writes under two paragraphs headed ‘Great Northern Auctions’: “Some of you will be aware of an event that has been advertised for the last year, and you may have received a mailshot or have been contacted by the organisers. “A number of collectors have spoken to us in the belief that they have been contacted due to their previous involvement with Sheffield Railwayana Auctions,

Database dispute: Great Central Railwayana director and auctioneer Mike Soden (left) in action at a Sheffield Railwayana sale at Derby on December 15, 2012. This venue has now been dropped, but the row with Great Northern Railwayana over the SRA customer database rumbles on. Beside Mike is auctioneer’s clerk Martin Quartermain. GCRA

and we are taking this opportunity to state publicly that we have never, and will never, make available to a third party information or mailing lists relating to our customers. in any event this would be a breach of the Data Protection Act.” Dave continues: “it has become apparent that the organisers did obtain an SRA address list, and used this with the full knowledge that the data formed a crucial part of both the original takeover and subsequent resale of SRA. Myself and co-director Mike Soden, as well as Brian Moakes and Chris Dickerson, consider these actions wholly unacceptable and sympathise with anyone who has received unwanted and unsolicited material.” Great Northern Railwayana Auctions director David Robinson denied his company had obtained either the Sheffield Railwayana or Great Central Railwayana

customer database. in a statement to Heritage Railway, he said: “Great Northern Railwayana Auctions is well aware of its legal obligations, and is pleased to have the opportunity to confirm that it has not obtained address lists from SRA or GCRA, nor would it ever consider doing so. “While developing this new venture, we have been fortunate to have been contacted by many, many friends and fellow collectors who, with their consent, now form part of our own large and valued contact list.” As reported in this issue’s railwayana column on page 70, Great Central Railwayana has dropped its quarterly Sheffield Railwayana sales at Derby, quoting insufficient support from vendors. it has also dropped the SRA name, and will concentrate on its major live auctions at Stoneleigh, with the next being held on October 12.

Overhaul of S15 No. 825 begins at Grosmont With its boiler certificate having expired in early July, the owners of SR S15 4-6-0 No. 825 have already stripped it and lifted the boiler at its North Yorkshire Moors Railway base. Previous plans to have the boiler from sister locomotive No. 30830 ready as a replacement were upset by the death in 2012 of boilersmith Roy haines, who was carrying out the repair work. it is now likely that the boiler repair will be contracted out in order to get it completed as quickly as possible, and that 825’s boiler will now be repaired instead while work on the frames is undertaken at Grosmont. it is hoped to return the S15 to traffic in around 18-24 months. Elsewhere at Grosmont, it is expected that a contract will soon be placed for the construction of a new copper inner firebox for BR Standard 2-6-4t No. 80135. the copper sheet for the repair was www.heritagerailway.co.uk

purchased some time ago, but following recent issues with the material specification of copper used in boiler repairs elsewhere it is being reanalysed to check that it corresponds to the correct specification. Also, work has started on the overhaul of Lambton, hetton & Joicey Colliery 0-6-2t No. 5 following the successful return of sister engine No. 29 to service. No. 5 is being stripped in preparation for a boiler lift that will also allow the cylinder block to undergo closer inspection. it is thought that the block may be wearing thin in places and that a new block may be required if the existing one cannot be repaired satisfactorily. if a new block is required then modern polystyrene pattern making techniques, as used for the production of the new-build Patriot’s inside cylinder – as previously reported in Heritage Railway – may help to cut the cost of producing the new pattern.

Steam tram on display at Keef works open day MEtRE gauge henschel 0-4-0 tram engine No. 4 RUR (No. 5276 of 1899), which operated on Dürener Eisenbahn AG, has arrived at the Ross-on-Wye works of Alan Keef Ltd for overhaul, and will be on display at the firm’s annual open day on September 21. the locomotive was converted to a fireless locomotive in 1942 for use in a paper mill. it moved to the Selfkantbahn, near Aachen, for preservation in the early 1970s but has remained unrestored since then. it is now to be restored to its original ex-works condition prior to its return to Germany.

Moorlands & City truncation

thE Moorlands & City Railway has truncated operation of Churnet Valley Railway (CVR) services to Cauldon Lowe by creating a new loop at ipstones as it prepares to renew trackwork on the ipstones-Cauldon Lowe section at some future date. the line needs relaying to a higher standard to handle the anticipated freight services and the MCR is considering the reopening of the Waterhouse branch, which once connected with the Leek & Manifold Valley Light Railway, at the same time for future passenger services.

Blaenavon EMU on the move

thE EMU Preservation Society, owner of Class 411 3CEP unit No. 1198, has appealed for support following the move of the unit from the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway to a new home on the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway. the move comes after the PBR was unable to provide covered accommodation, following an accident which prevented it moving. the society is hoping to have the unit operating by late October and is now seeking volunteers to support the efforts to complete the repairs to the unit by then.

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News

LBSCR ‘Terrier’ steaming at Robertsbridge after 52 years By Geoff Courtney

ROBERTSBRIDGE station is to welcome its first passenger steam train for more than 50 years on September 21 as the project to link the Rother Valley Railway with the Kent & East Sussex Railway gathers momentum. As reported in last month’s Heritage Railway, a five-coach platform is currently being built at the RVR’s headquarters beside Robertsbridge station in East Sussex along with associated trackwork, and progress has been such that a weekend of public trains will run between there and Northbridge Street, half a mile up the line. And the excitement of this nostalgic return of steam will be enhanced by the locomotive at the head of the train – A1X ‘Terrier’ 0-6-0T No. 32670, which hauled the last passenger steam train out of the station in 1961. The line had been closed to passengers in 1954 but remained open to freight between Robertsbridge and Tenterden until 1961, and on June 11 that year, No. 32670, top-and-tailing with fellow A1X No. 32662, brought the curtain down with a Locomotive Club of Great Britain special ‘The South Eastern Limited’. Preservationists set about saving the line and in 1973 bought for £60,000 the 10½ miles from

Return to Robertsbridge: A1X ‘Terrier’ No. 32670, seen leaving Tenterden with a train for Bodiam, will bring steam back to Robertsbridge on September 21-22 for the first time in more than half a century. CAROLINE EDMUNDS

Tenterden to Bodiam, but had to abandon attempts to secure the remaining 3½ miles beyond there to Robertsbridge. They reopened the line in stages from 1974, finally reaching Bodiam in 2000, by which time the Rother Valley Railway had been formed with the intention of bridging the gap between Bodiam and Robertsbridge. In recent years track has been

Making tracks: On August 10, a five-coach platform and double track emerge from the building site that is currently the headquarters of the Rother Valley Railway in Robertsbridge, East Sussex. The track and platform will host steam trains on September 21-22, the first visit of steam to the station for more than half a century. Robertsbridge station, on the London Charing Cross-Hastings line, is behind the trees. TREVOR STREETER

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relaid for a mile westward from Bodiam to Junction Road – although this is not in regular use – and half a mile eastward from Robertsbridge to Northbridge Street, thus reducing the gap between the two railways to just two miles. On the weekend of September 21-22, No. 32670, a Kent & East Sussex Railway resident, will work a shuttle service from the new platform at Robertsbridge to Northbridge Street at the head of a rake of three Victorian carriages. The trains, crewed by the KESR, will run every 20 minutes from 10.30am-4pm, and souvenir Edmonson tickets will be issued to commemorate the event. Meanwhile, over on the KESR, a mixture of steam and diesel trains will run from Tenterden to Bodiam throughout the weekend, and one train, the 11.05am from Tenterden, will be a Class 108 DMU working over the 200 yards of track north of the station that is not normally used by passenger trains and continuing via the freight-only loop at Bodiam to Junction Road. In addition, a free heritage bus service will transport passengers from the KESR station at Northiam to Robertsbridge, while on September 21 all South Eastern trains will stop at Robertsbridge, which is on the London Charing Cross-Hastings line.

The weekend will be of particular pride for Gardner Crawley, chairman of the Rother Valley Railway, one of the three teenage railway enthusiasts who met in a pub in 1961 and conceived their plan to save the Kent & East Sussex Railway. He told Heritage Railway: “It will be great to see steam trains running again at Robertsbridge, thanks to all the time and hard work by our wonderful team of volunteer engineers and staff. The next challenge will be to complete the missing link between Northbridge Street and Junction Road which will reconnect the KESR to the national rail network.” The redevelopment at Robertsbridge will also include a station building, carriage shed, two-road loco depot, plus water tower and crane. The entire project, including the recentlycompleted extension to Northbridge Street and other work aimed at closing the gap to the KESR, will cost £4½ million, for which funding has already been promised by unnamed benefactors with matching commitment by the RVR for volunteer design and labour, and donations in kind. When the remaining two-mile gap is plugged – a section that will involve the major obstacle of crossing the busy A21 Robertsbridge bypass – all trains will be operated by the KESR. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Life – and death – in a railway shanty town By Geoff Courtney THE story of the building of the Settle-Carlisle line has fascinated railway enthusiasts and historians for nearly 150 years, especially the construction of the iconic Ribblehead viaduct which so challenged the engineering knowledge of the day and cost many lives. The 72 mile line was built by the Midland Railway between the North Yorkshire town of Settle and the Cumbrian ‘capital’ of Carlisle to give the company a through route to Scotland in competition with the east and west coast routes. More than 6000 navvies started work in 1869, and it took them seven years to complete their task – an average of little more than 10 miles a year – as they battled hostile weather and a geographical landscape which was determined to defy their every move. In those 72 miles are 20 viaducts, 14 tunnels and numerous cuttings and embankments, with the 24 arch Ribblehead viaduct crossing Batty Moss being the most aweinspiring testament to the engineers’ and workers’ resolve to link the two towns. A temporary shanty town of its own, complete with post office, school, shops, pub and even a hospital, was built at Batty Moss to house the 2000 navvies working on the viaduct and their families, and the buildings in which they lived were prefabricated wooden huts which, although temporary, were stout enough to withstand the harsh weather. This township was the biggest on the line, and was in effect a medium-sized town with a population similar to the 2500 of

Temporary accommodation: An artist’s impression of part of the Ribblehead shanty town which housed 2000 navvies and their families during the building of the SettleCarlisle line between 1869 and 1876 and was equipped with a school, post office, shops, pub and hospital. In the background is the partially-constructed Ribblehead viaduct. Inset: The viaduct is still used by steam nearly 150 years later. Standard 4MT No. 76079 and LMS ‘Black 5’ No. 45407 cross with a special on March 26, 2005. SETTLE & CARLISLE RAILWAY TRUST/BRIAN SHARPE

Settle today. An indication of the hardship the families faced there is that one smallpox epidemic claimed no fewer than 80 lives, while deaths from accidents during the construction work were sadly not uncommon. Nothing remains of the township today, although one of the huts which is believed to have been a family home during the line’s construction is now in use as a garage and workshop in Settle, but such is the interest in this human side of the railway’s construction that the Friends of the Settle-Carlisle Line group is currently organising guided walking tours of the Batty Moss site. The organiser, membership secretary Peter Davies, said: “People are fascinated by the railway and its construction, and these walks offer a chance for people to learn about the

Ribblehead area and see the viaduct and the shanty town site up close.” The 2½ mile walks, which are free, have been held on Wednesdays during August and will also take place on September 4 and 11 starting from Ribblehead station at 10.25am, and on Sundays, September 22 and October 20, starting at 10.15am. In addition, the September 4 and 11 walks will include an optional extension of a further 2½ miles to include Blea Moor and Littledale, where stone was obtained to construct the viaduct. The surviving navvy hut now being used as a garage and workshop is at the home of former Friends’ chairman Mark Rand and his wife Pat, who have converted the former water tower beside Settle station into a muchadmired three-storey, twobedroom home.

New company for Dartmoor Railway services formed by the line’s supporters THE Dartmoor Railway Supporters’ Association has set up its own company to run trains on the line. Granite Line Ltd will run train services on the line subject to permission from the line’s owner British American Railway Services, a subsidiary of USbased Iowa Pacific Holdings. The association realised that the operation of its proposed train services during August would expose group members to a legal

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

liability that many would not be able to afford, hence the creation of Granite Line Ltd. The new company has five directors: Dick Henry Wood (chairman), Philip Wagstaff (secretary) and Peter Chapman (operations director), who are also members of the association committee while Nigel Remmington (finance director) is a regular fireman on the railway and Roger Webster (publicity director) is a past general

manager of the Dartmoor and Bodmin & Wenford railways. The directors will be unpaid and the new company will pay no dividends, although any proceeds will go to the Dartmoor Railway as the new company operates services on the Dartmoor Railway. Meanwhile, the association will continue its support role by providing volunteers and donations sourced from its normal sales activities.

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News

Mid-Norfolk aims for double track

By Robin Jones

THE Mid-Norfolk Railway is raising money to recreate a section of double track over the next seven years. If successful, the line would be the second sizeable heritage railway after the Great Central to offer double-track running. Already new ballast has been laid on the old Down line trackbed, on Danemoor Bank, south of Hardingham station, all set for new track on when finance is available. Flat-bottomed rail is stored nearby, but concrete sleepers and more ballast will be needed. Once this is done, it is intended to leave the old track in place as part of an initial doubling scheme. At present the loop at Thuxton has a long headshunt where spare rolling stock is stored. Southwards from Thuxton is a three-mile section of line with no level crossings, and it is intended as a long-term project to create a double-track section here, ending at Kimberley Park station. The signal box which originated at Soham is stored at Dereham at this time and it will be moved to Kimberley to stand on the presently disused up platform. The move would not only recreate the line as it was until 1965, but would allow the possibility of a faster speed limit and give the opportunity for it to be used to test rolling stock from the main line, using the heritage railway’s connection at Wymondham. The line’s vice chairman John Hull said that the doubling scheme was part of the Mid-Norfolk’s vision for 2020, alongside other planned projects outlined to the

GWR 4-6-0 No. 6023 King Edward II runs alongside the ballasted formation for the second track just south of Hardingham on the Mid-Norfolk Railway in July 2011. BRIAN SHARPE

members at the line’s recent annual general meeting. Schemes include installing signalling at Dereham, allowing much more flexibility in operating and bringing the signalbox into use. An extension south from Wymondham Abbey station is now possible with the resignalling of the Norwich-Ely line. The existing MNR headshunt will be extended and a new platform will be built close to the junction, allowing easy transfer to National Rail services. Other projects already in hand include the provision of a maintenance shed, a footbridge at Dereham enabling platform 1 to be brought back into use and

the extension of the serviceable track north of town towards north Elmham through a ‘sponsor-asleeper’ appeal, plus a museum in Dereham’s goods shed and stables. John said: “When the MNR first took over the WymondhamDereham-County School line in the mid-1990s, it inherited a 17½ mile line with no sidings, a derelict station at Dereham, no track in Dereham yard and a bare trackbed for the northernmost 1½ miles. Since then, developments have included relaying track through Dereham station, creating a runround loop, a four-siding yard, an inspection pit and a line into the bay. Dereham station has been rebuilt in a style associated with the 1960s.

“A passing loop has been built at Thuxton, mid-way along the line, with an extended up platform. A platform has been built at Wymondham Abbey, with a runround loop just south of the station. “New signalboxes have been erected at Dereham and Thuxton. The out-of-use line north of Dereham has now been restored for two miles for occasional train movements, and work continues to progress north to Elmham. County School has been completely restored and the site kept clean and tidy. “Almost all of this has been achieved by volunteer labour and donations.” He described the double track scheme as “particularly ambitious”.

Llanfair closure recalled at gala THE Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway’s 50th anniversary annual steam gala will remember the line’s closure by British Railways in 1956. The last train was run on November 3 that year for the Stephenson Locomotive Society. To accommodate the 150 enthusiasts able to obtain tickets, benches were borrowed from Welshpool’s main line station and placed in the WLLR’s open wagons, as the three original carriages had been scrapped following the withdrawal of passenger services in 1931. The train travelled to Llanfair Caereinion and back, chased other enthusiasts in cars and accompanied by a silver band that played at various places on the route, finishing with Handel’s Funeral March. At 4pm on Saturday, August 31, the train’s arrival in Llanfair will be recreated, with the

26 Heritage Railway

same locomotive used in 1956, No. 822 The Earl, arriving at the head of a train of wagons occupied by suitably-dressed volunteers. The Aberystwyth Silver Band will be playing on the Raven Square platform. The train will then be followed into the station by the other original engine, No. 823 Countess, hauling all three replicas of the line’s original passenger stock. Another highlight of the two-day gala will be the first opportunity in many years to travel on a diesel-hauled train, hauled by ex-Taiwan Sugar Corporation Diema No. 175 which has recently been fitted with vacuum equipment, enabling it to work passenger services. There will be the traditional night photography session at Llanfair on Saturday evening, mixed goods and passenger trains,

The last train at Castle Caereinion on November 3, 1956. IVO PETERS

traction engines and a fairground organ. The traditional Llanfair Garden Railway Show, focusing on large scale models mostly powered by live steam, will be staged at Caereinion High School, with a free shuttle bus running there from the railway.

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Teesside miniature line More cash needed back on track after closure MOVES are under way to restore a popular 15in gauge railway in Teeside to running order after seven years. The Thorpe Light Railway, which ran through Whorlton Lido, a picnic and play area on the banks of the River Tees, stopped running in 2006 after the site was bought by businessman Paul Townley and controversially closed down after a century of public access. At the time, it was said that he took the action because he was fed up with noise from the site. The local parish council had also complained about litter, yobs and noise. However, Mr Townley, who lives at nearby Thorpe Hall, and later served as High Sheriff of Durham, has allowed a new group, the Friends of the Thorpe Light Railway, to be formed and to run the railway privately. The group is said to be halfway through its restoration plans. The derelict and overgrown track has been returned to operational standard with the rolling stock being restored at the Locomotion

museum in Shildon. He has submitted plans to Durham County Council to reopen the site for the group’s use, but it will not be open to the public again. The application is being supported by the National Railway Museum, where senior curator Anthony Coulls said: “Thorpe Light Railway is carrying on an honoured tradition in the UK of small railways built for pleasure. Many have existed over the last 110 years but few have survived until the present day. “The revitalisation of Thorpe after a 43 year long life so far is of importance as one of now only around a dozen such lines in existence in the UK, and only three in the north of the country and last in County Durham.” A local open day took place on June 23. However, planning permission is now needed to operate the line again. The Thorpe Light Railway, which dates from 1970, was one of several built by Raymond Dunn in the North East. His son and grandson are involved with the Friends.

Lord Granby goes home to be restored A LOCAL history group has been given the task of restoring Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0ST No. 633 of 1902 Lord Granby. The locomotive was built in Leeds for the Eastwell Iron Ore Company and worked in the quarries at Eastwell, near Melton Mowbray, until it was gifted to Leeds in 1961. The locomotive has been on display at Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills since the museum opened. However, agreement has been reached for it to return to Eastwell, so that the Eastwell History Group, which his supported by Rutland’s Rocks by Rail museum, can restore it for display in the village where it worked. A loan period of 20 years has been agreed.

Leeds City Council’s head of museums and galleries John Roles said: “The villagers of Eastwell are passionate about their history. They have a long-established history group and are creating a museum. “We are delighted to be working with Eastwell History Group on this restoration project to revive this wonderful example of Leeds, Britain’s and Eastwell’s proud industrial and engineering heritage. History group chairman Mike Shearstone said: “Older residents clearly remember seeing Lord Granby pulling wagons of ironstone along the ridge of the Vale of Belvoir. It will be a really fantastic sight to see this locomotive looking good as new.”

Signs stolen from Waverley revival centre ANTIQUE dealers and auctioneers have been asked to look out for historic enamel signs stolen from the Waverley Route Heritage Association’s Whitrope Heritage Centre. The signs were taken from Whitrope Sidings station between July 25-27. Donated to the association in 2002, the Mazawattee Tea, Bluebell Tobacco and Dunlop Tyres signs were originally used at Riccarton www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Junction until the Waverley Route closed in January 1969, and therefore have a far greater historical value to the society than they would be likely to fetch in monetary terms. Association secretary Matthew Stoddon believes the theft was planned and said: “You can pick up versions of these for just a few pounds, but the originals can’t be replaced.” Police were investigating.

for Winston Churchill

Bulleid Battle of Britain Pacific No. 34051 Winston Churchill pictured in 1965. COLOUR-RAIL/NRM

A £45,000 appeal launched by the Friends of the National Railway Museum to cosmetically restore Bulleid Battle of Britain Pacific No. 34051 Winston Churchill has reached the halfway point. More money is needed to give a facelift to the iconic locomotive in time for the 50th anniversary year of the wartime leader’s death and the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in 2015. The locomotive hauled the former Prime Minister’s funeral train from Waterloo to Long Hanborough on January 30, 1965, and was seen on TV by millions

worldwide. Afterwards, it was earmarked for preservation and joined the National Collection in 1966. Work is set to start on No. 34051 at the Mid-Hants Railway’s Ropley Works. James Lester, the fireman on Churchill’s funeral train, said: “My memories remain with me today and I am giving the proposed restoration of Winston Churchill to its former glory, my full support.” James’ railway career began in 1957 as a cleaner at Nine Elms and finished in 2004 as the Traction Officer at Eurostar.

➲ To support the appeal by sponsoring parts or labour, call the Friends office on 01904 636874 or email [email protected] to receive a sponsorship form. Donations to the appeal can also be sent to FNRM (Winston Churchill), Leeman Road, York YO26 4XJ.

Tyseley set to return Bahamas to the main line TYSELEY Locomotive Works is to overhaul LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 45596 Bahamas to main line running order by the end of 2016. Agreement has been reached with owner the Bahamas Locomotive Society to carry out the Heritage Lottery Fundbacked overhaul. Society spokesman John Hillier said: “The final choice of main contractor to undertake the work had not been easy as several very suitable businesses had quoted for the work. However, we are looking forward to working closely with Bob Meanley and his team at Tyseley. “The locomotive will be transported to Birmingham within two or three months while the tender, motion and cab

fittings will be refurbished by the BLS at its Ingrow headquarters. We are pleased that this contract will help support Tyseley’s plan to recruit and train new apprentices over the coming months”. Bahamas has not run since 1997. The £776,000 lottery grant will cover its overhaul and the provision of an educational resource coach, plus the employment of an audience development co-ordinator who will work with schools and other interest groups. An LMS coach owned by the society is to be undergo external renovation by Shildon-based Rail Restorations North-East Ltd. When completed, Bahamas will return to its base on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.

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News

Last steam in 1968:

the fuller picture

By Alan Castle

FOLLOWING on from the feature 1968: The Grand Finale in Retrospect... 45 years on (HR 178), despite steam during its final months being restricted to a relatively small sphere of operation, it was obviously never realistically possible to have expected anyone attempting to produce a full record of movements to have been everywhere at the same time in order to document absolutely everything that moved. It is also a fact that, over the years, particularly following the publication in this magazine of numerous 1968-related items,

FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, 1968

As part of No. 50 Target, No. 45390 (10A) worked the 1.05pm Carnforth– Skipton and 4.35pm Skipton– Carnforth freights, thus constituting the final workings each way (other than Last Day specials) over the Carnforth-Skipton line and effectively producing the very last steam-hauled train of all penetrating into Yorkshire from this direction. That said, there had continued to be fairly regular steam operation during the preceding days over the Copy Pit route into the White Rose county, if merely only as far as Healey Mills Yard but, on the final Friday of all, just a single train proceeded beyond Rose Grove with steam – this being with the celebrity No. 48773 (10F) at the head of the equally renowned 6.45pm Preston NU to Healey Mills coal empties (7N99). Its return working – as detailed below – proved to be the last time steam would be seen on freight duty east of Todmorden. Further west, the last steam from the Preston direction into Rose Grove yard materialised with No. 48727 (10F) at the head of the 9.45am Preston NU to Cudworth coal empties (7N68). Meanwhile, on another major coal artery that, over the years, had seen massive traffic movements between Central Lancashire and the East Lancashire power stations, No. 48400 (10F) headed the very last steamworked 8.55am Whitebirk Power Station-Bickershaw Colliery coal empties (8F43) and the return 11.30am Bickershaw CollieryWhitebirk Power Station loaded coal (8P12).

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there have always been yet more readers who have got in touch after the event to add yet further detail to the ‘big story’. That this was likely to occur once more was, perhaps, inevitable. Indeed, with the publication of our 45th anniversary feature, yet more information has since surfaced and, within an item passed on to Heritage Railway by a reader, the content of this has added yet further ‘meat on the bones’, particularly regarding steam’s activities during that final week. That reader was none other than Ron Herbert, the well-known lineside photographer, whose work will be familiar to many

readers and who, at the time that steam was still an everyday occurrence, was employed in the Preston Control Office, where he was at the forefront of operations. As Ron explained, a detailed list had been given to him many years ago by his former work colleague and enthusiast Peter Jones, and which has proved to be a definitive and accurate account. At the time, Peter also worked nearby in the Divisional Freight Movements section in Preston’s Ladywell House and he used the power controller’s daily working sheets to compile his records… this, obviously, for his own personal interest.

AUGUST 3

In numerical order of locomotives – essentially for simplicity – the following now appears to be the complete list of all steam workings on the penultimate day for steam (and, as was to transpire, the final day of all for regular line freight and passenger duties): 44709 (10A) 9.15am Carnforth-Kendal goods and 12pm Kendal-Carnforth goods (No. 46 Target). 44735 (10A) 7.25am Carnforth-Heysham goods and 12.15pm HeyshamCarnforth goods (No. 49 Target SO). 44806 (10D) Preston station pilot (sleeping car pre-heating). 45212 (10D) 8.55pm Preston-Blackpool South passenger (1P58) (last steam of all to Blackpool South), then light engine to Preston station for pilot duties. 45231 (10A) 7.14am Carnforth-Lancaster goods (7P14). 45231 10.00am Carnforth-Waterslack Quarry empty ballast (No. 61 Target). 45231 11.45am Waterslack Quarry-Farington Jct special ballast then light engine to Carnforth shed. 45318 (10D) 10.15am Preston NU-Farington Jct goods (No. 66 Target SO). 45318 12.10pm Farington Jct-Lostock Hall.

AUGUST 4

45212 (10D) was on station pilot duty at Preston station until shortly after 4pm (last steam station pilot). 48493 (10F) was on an engineer’s ballast shunt duty in Farington Junction down yard until around 4.30pm (last ballast shunt turn). 48519 (10F) was on a similar turn in Rose Grove Grid sidings until around 4pm. Not to be left out of such happenings, Peter Jones also reckoned that a ‘Black Five’ had also been turned out by Carnforth shed that day; this for yet another ballast job in the vicinity of Oubeck Loops (south of Lancaster). Quite remarkably, and most unfortunately (unless some reader knows differently), no records appear to have survived of such a significant last ‘normal’ working and particularly of such a prominent motive power depot (no ex-Carnforth footplateman has any recollection of that job today. Did it, indeed, occur?). And, finally, the following locomotives were at work on ‘Last Day’ specials’ duty and, again for simplicity, are listed in ‘shed order’. 10A CArnForth 48773 (10F) Light-engine 10A to 10F, after servicing off 1L50. 45390 (10A) & 45025 (10A) Light engines 10D to 10A, via the West Coast Main Line. 10D LostoCk hALL 45156 (10F) Light-engine 10D to Manchester (Vic) for 1T80 and then

Using further detail extracted from the writer’s own notes, the following has now been compiled to provide almost certainly the very ‘final account’! For completeness, the ‘full list’ obviously includes all of those workings already detailed in issue 178.

45318 9.25pm Preston-Liverpool Exchange passenger (1F51) (last steam to Liverpool Exchange) then light engine to Lostock Hall shed. 45342 (10A) 6.25am Carnforth-Barrow goods (6P42). 45342 9.30am Barrow-Carnforth goods (8P76) (last steam from Barrow). 48191 (10F) 7.00am to 11.00am. Todmorden bank engine. 48278 (10F) 5.20am to 11.25am. Todmorden bank engine (final banker to return to shed from Copy Pit banking duty). 48340 (10F) 12.40am Rose Grove-Farington Jct mineral (8P31), then light to Lostock Hall shed. 48393 (10F) 5.50am to 12.55pm (SO) to trip between Rose Grove, Burnley, Padiham and Huncoat (as required). 48665 (10F) 12.55am Carnforth-Burnley goods (6P77). 48727 (10F) 2.15am Rose Grove-Preston NU (7P04) (last steam-hauled freight between Blackburn and Preston). 48773 (10F) 1.30am Healey Mills-Rose Grove special coal. 75019 (10A) 6.45am Carnforth-Heysham special goods. 75019 11.45am Heysham-Carnforth special goods. 75019 2.55pm Heysham-Carnforth goods (6P52) (Last steam-hauled freight on British Railways).

returned light Stockport (Edgeley) to 10D. 44871 (10A) & 44894 (10A) Light engines 10D to Manchester (Vic) for 1Z78 [dep 10-37am], then returned light to 10D. 45390 (10A) & 45025 (10A) Light-engines 10D to Manchester (Vic) for 1Z74, then returned light to 10A via WCML. 44874 (10A) & 45017 (10A) Light-engines 10D to Manchester (Vic) for 1Z79 [dep 11am], then returned light to 10D. 48476 (10D) & 73069 (10A) Light-engines 10D to Manchester (Vic) for 1L50 [dep 10.40am], then returned light to 10D. 44781 (10A) & 70013 (10A) Light-engines 10D to Manchester (Vic) for 1Z74/1L50 [dep 11.49am], then returned to 10D. 45305 (10D) Light-engine 10D to Manchester (Vic) for 1T85, then returned light to 10D. 45110 (10D) Light-engine 10D to Manchester (Vic) as standby for 1T85, then to returned light to 10D. 45407 (10D) Light-engine 10D to Blackburn for 1L50 [dep 12.50pm], then returned light to 10D. 70013 (10A) Light-engine Blackburn to Lostock Hall for 1L50, then to returned light to 10D. 10F rose Grove. 48773 (10F) Light-engine Rose Grove MPD to Blackburn for 1L50, then to returned light 10A to 10F after servicing.

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THe SiX RAiLToURS

Details of the six enthusiasts’ railtours are as follows:

(1L50) RAiLWAy CoRReSPoNDeNCe & TRAveL SoCieTy ‘eND oF STeAM CoMMeMoRATive RAiLToUR’

(Starting/finishing point: London euston). 13 coaches. Stage 1: Manchester (Vic)-Thorpes Bridge Jct-Oldham (Mumps)-Milnrow-Rochdale-Bury (Knowsley St)-Bolton-Blackburn. Motive power: Stanier 8F 2-8-0 No. 48476 (10D) & Standard 5MT 4-6-0 No. 73069 (10A) double-headed. 48476 Driver: Harry Bolton (10D), fireman: Jimmy Marlor (10D); 73069 Driver: John Burnett (10D), fireman: John Roach (10D). Stage 2: Blackburn-Clitheroe-Hellifield (rev)-Skipton (reverse)-Colne-AccringtonBlackburn-Farington Junction. Motive power: Class 5MT 4-6-0 No. 45407 (10D) & Standard Class 5MT 4-6-0 No. 73069 (10A) double-headed. 73069 Driver: John Burnett (10D), fireman John Roach (10D); 45407 Driver: Fred Barron (10D). Stage 3: Lostock Hall-Chorley-Bolton-Manchester (Vic)-Miles Platting-Denton-Stockport (Edgeley) [NB Train scheduled to run via Burscough, Southport and Olive Mount, but diverted due to very late running.] Motive power: Class 7MT 4-6-2 No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell (10A) Driver: Brian McFadyen (10D); footplate inspector: Frank Watson.

Twilight for steam: on August 2, 1968, Rose Grove shed’s Stanier 8F No. 48727 crosses the WCML with the 9.45pm Preston NU to Cudworth coal empties (7N68). ALAN CASTLE

Loss of numerous paths

On that, the final day of regular BR steam, to suggest that things did not go well for the railtours would be a gross understatement as, for a variety of reasons, most of the special trains failed to keep to their booked timings. Indeed, due to the loss of numerous paths and with engineering works abounding as well, No. 70013 on 1Z74 was about 3½ hours adrift and very low on water by the time that it arrived at Stockport to hand over to the booked 25kV electric. Indeed, it was just before 2am on the Monday morning – four hours after booked time – that the train finally arrived back in London. Nevertheless, British Railways could not offer the weather as an excuse, as this had been fine and sunny all day long. Neither could it have used the passage of freight traffic as a priority (as so frustratingly – occurs today) for there just wasn’t any on Sundays. With the onset of evening, very few observers – other than diehard ‘locals’ – remained to witness the bitter end. By 10pm there were 16 engines on Lostock Hall shed in steam (not all, of course, having been used for line work) and with only Nos.

70013 and 45156 still awaited back from specials’ duty. Oliver Cromwell did finally materialise at some time after midnight, but No. 45156 was, by far, the last engine of all to return. Indeed, it was around 4am on the Monday morning that driver Andy Hall backed his ‘Black Five’ onto a totally deserted shed. There was not another soul to be seen, so it would appear that Andy’s claim to have been the very last steam footplateman on duty on British Railways (August 11 special events aside) is justified. Walking with his fireman in the eerie half-light of dawn down the serried ranks of now withdrawn engines, many still exuding their last ebbing signs of life, Andy proceeded into the engineman’s lobby in order to sign-off duty, only to then discover that the foreman’s office had been ransacked, presumably by railwayana hunters, with even the two shed telephones having been ripped right off the wall. The bodies of our ‘dear departed’ were, literally and figuratively, not yet cold, but the vultures were already picking at them! During the last week of steam at Rose Grove MPD, shed foreman Des Melia has clearly turned a blind-eye, as this party of visitors almost certainly is not in possession of the requisite permit! For what is their first and will almost certainly be their last sight of a BR steam locomotive, a group of youngsters from a local crèche stand in awe at the sight of Stanier 8F No. 48773 and its numerous other class-members quietly simmering away awaiting their next tours of duty. ALAN CASTLE

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(1Z74) LoCoMoTive CLUB oF GReAT BRiTAiN ‘FAReWeLL To STeAM RAiLToUR’

(Starting from London St Pancras and returning to London euston). 12 coaches. Stage 1: Manchester (Vic)-Bolton (Trinity St )- Blackburn. Motive power: Class 7MT 4-6-2 No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell (10A) & Class 5MT 4-6-0 No. 44781 (10A)-double-headed. 70013 Driver: Frank Herdman (10D), fireman: Eric Ashton (10D), footplate inspector: Frank Watson. Stage 2: Blackburn-Hellifield-Carnforth. Motive power: Class 8F 2-8-0 No. 48773 (10F) & Class 5MT 4-6-0 No. 44781 (10A)-doubleheaded. 48773 Driver: Arnold Hodgson, fireman Jim Walker (10F); 44781 Driver: Frank Herdman (10D), fireman: Eric Ashton (10D). Stage 3: Carnforth-Hellifield-Blackburn-Farington Junction. Motive power: Class 5MT 4-6-0 No. 45390 (10A) & Class 5MT 4-6-0 No. 45025 (10A)double-headed. 45390 Driver: K Iveson (10A), fireman: Ken Nuttall (10A); 45025 Carnforth crew (identities unknown).

(1T80) GC eNTeRPRiSeS ‘FAReWeLL To STeAM’ RAiLToUR.

(Starting/finishing point: Stockport (edgeley). eight coaches. Stockport (Edgeley)-Denton-Droylesden-Manchester (Vic)-Bolton-Blackburn-HellifieldCarnforth (rev)-Hellifield-Blackburn-Bolton-Manchester (Vic)-Droylesden-Denton-Stockport (Edgeley). Motive power: Class 5MT 4-6-0 No. 45156 Ayrshire Yeomanry (10D) throughout. Stockport to Blackburn: Driver: Ronnie Clough (10D), fireman: Joseph Booth (10D); Blackburn to Carnforth and return to Blackburn: Driver Colin Hacking, fireman: Dennis Robinson; Blackburn to Stockport and light engine to Lostock Hall: Driver: Andy Hall (10D).

(1T85) BRiTiSH RAiLWAyS ‘LAST DAyS oF STeAM’ ToUR.

(Starting/finishing point: Manchester (vic). eight coaches. Manchester (Vic)-Eccles-Olive Mount-Bootle Branch-Birkdale- Southport avoiding lineWigan (Wallgate)-Manchester (Vic). Motive power: ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0 No. 45305 (10D) throughout. Man. vic to Southport: Driver: Vinny Commons (10D), fireman: Paul Tuson (10D).

(1Z78) STePHeNSoN LoCoMoTive SoCieTy ‘FAReWeLL To STeAM’ RAiLToUR – TRAiN No.1.

(Starting/finishing point: Birmingham New St). 10 coaches. Manchester (Vic)-Stalybridge-Huddersfield-Sowerby Bridge-Copy Pit-Blackburn-Bolton avoiding line-Wigan (Wallgate)-Kirkby-Bootle branch-Stanley-Rainhill-Eccles-Manchester (Vic)-Droylesden-Stockport (Edgeley). Motive power: Class 5MT 4-6-0 No. 44871 (10A) & Class 5MT 4-6-0 No. 44894 (10A)double-headed. 44871 Driver: Cliff Nelson (10D), fireman: John Fletcher (10D); 44894 Driver: Ronnie Hall (10D), fireman: Tom Jones (10D).

(1Z79) STePHeNSoN LoCoMoTive SoCieTy ‘FAReWeLL To STeAM’ RAiLToUR – TRAiN No.2.

(Starting/finishing point: Birmingham New Street). 10 coaches. Manchester (Vic)-Stalybridge-Huddersfield-Sowerby Bridge-Copy Pit-Blackburn-Bolton avoiding line-Wigan (Wallgate)-Kirkby-Bootle branch-Stanley-Rainhill-Eccles-Manchester (Vic)-Droylesden-Stockport (Edgeley). Motive power: ‘Black Fives’ 4-6-0 No. 44874 (10A) and No. 45017 (10A) double-headed. 44874 Driver: John Commons (10D), fireman: Roy Haythornthwaite (10D); 45017 Driver: Bill Wilson (10D), fireman: Billy Bamber.

Heritage Railway

29

News

Lappa Valley line for sale By Robin Jones

CORNWALL’S Lappa Valley Railway is for sale with an asking price of £500,000. Established in 1974, the 15in gauge line at St Newlyn East is laid on the formation of part of the GWR Newquay-PerranporthChacewater line, and also includes two miniature lines, the 10¼in gauge Newlyn branch and the 7¼in gauge Woodland Railway. The 15 gauge line, which gets around 50,000 visitors a year, runs for 1½ miles from Benny Halt to East Wheal Rose, where a large ruined Cornish mine engine house stands, with a visitor viewing platform. The 60 acre site, which is part freehold but mainly leasehold, also includes a nine-acre golf course which was last used in 2009, a cafe and gift shop, an adventure playground, a wildlife lake, a brick path maze depicting Richard Trevithick’s first railway locomotive, a boating lake, crazy golf, and pedal and electric car tracks.

Zebedee and Muffin, the Lappa Valley Railway’s two steam locomotivies. LVR

The turnover is said to be £550,000, but could be as high as £600,000, based on a 14% increase year on year to June. An additional £8000 income is anticipated this year from a newly-created two-bedroom holiday flat above the ticket office

at Benny Halt station. The sale has been brought about because the owners, the Booth family, who are not involved in the running of the business, want to retire. The railway was established by Eric Booth who ordered a new

steam locomotive, 0-6-4PT Zebedee, to be built by Severn Lamb. Four carriages were built locally and the first passenger services ran on June 16, 1974. A large boating lake was dug at East Wheal Rose in 1975 to drain the area, and the whole East Wheal Rose area landscaped. Three more locomotives including Curwen/Berwyn Engineering 0-6-0 Muffin arrived from the Longleat Railway in 1976, when more carriages were built. The railway runs from Easter until October along with around eight days of Santa specials. There are around six permanent staff and up to 14 full-time equivalent jobs in the running season. General manager David Milne said: “The family who own the railway are now in their sixties and want to do something else.”

➲ The sale is being handled by estate agent Beardsley Theobold at 8 Queen Street, Exeter, telephone 01392 253071, email [email protected] or visit http://www.beardsleytheobalds.co.uk

NEW CAMBRIAN RAILWAYS BOOK! Accomplished expert on the history of railways in Wales, peter Johnson, has just written a new landmark book on the cambrian Railways. Years of painstaking in-depth research has gone into the making of The cambrian Railways – A New history by an author better known for his works on Welsh narrow gauge. despite its name and the fact that the bulk of its operations were in the principality, cambrian Railways was based over the border at oswestry in shropshire, where its workshops were established. its diverse network of routes stretched from Aberystwyth and pwllheli on the Welsh coast through much of central Wales to shropshire where connections existed with both the lNWR and GWR, who absorbed the cambrian in January 1922. over the years, there has been much written about the cambrian, but recently much additional new information has come to light in the National Archives and in local Record offices. drawing upon this new material, peter Johnson provides a fresh and absorbing account of the cambrian, concentrating predominantly on the railway’s standard gauge lines. The detailed text in this book, a companion to peter’s earlier title An illustrated history of the GWR Narrow Gauge, is complemented by some rare and beautiful period photographs and illustrations.

30 Heritage Railway

The cambrian Railways – A New history, which contains 200 pages, is published by ian Allan at £30. peter will be signing copies at minehead on saturday afternoon at the West somerset Railway’s cambrian Railwaysthemed autumn steam gala, which takes place from Thursday, october 3, and sunday, october 6, and will celebrate the 150th anniversary of two of the independent railways which became parts of the cambrian Railways. At least two GWR manors, a type famously associated with the cambrian system, will be in operation and the West somerset’s station be appropriately renamed for the event. Bishops lydeard becomes shrewsbury to reflect its status as the gateway for a day out; crowcombe heathfield, the highest on the line, becomes the summit station of Talerddig, stogumber becomes Aberangell and Williton becomes oswestry, the coastal halt of doniford becomes penhelig, the harbour towns of Watchet becomes its Welsh counterpart Aberdyfi, are Washford will be machynlleth, Blue Anchor becomes the seaside resort of Barmouth, dunster will play the part of criccieth which also has a castle and the terminus of minehead becomes the cambrian terminus – where peter will be signing copies of the book however, if you cannot wait until then, we have FiVe copies to give away in our star prize competition.

Just answer the following question: Q. Name a GWR locomotive class which worked on the cambrian Railways system. Q. Which West somerset station will represent Barmouth in the autumn steam gala? n To enter, fill in the form below, including your answer to: HR180 Competition, Heritage Railway Magazine, Mortons Media Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ. n You can also enter online on our live news website at www.heritagerailway.co.uk and visit our Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/heritageRailway Name: ............................................................................................................................ Address: ......................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................ postcode: ................................................. Tel: ............................................................ Answer 1: ....................................................................................................................... Answer 2: ....................................................................................................................... n only tick this box if you do not wish to receive information from mortons media Group regarding or relating to current offers of products or services (including discounted subscription offers) via email/post/phone. n on occasion mortons media Group ltd may permit 3rd parties, that we deem to be reputable, to contact you by email/post/phone/fax regarding information relating to current offers of products or services which we believe may be of interest to our readers. if you wish to receive such offers please tick this box.

n The closiNG dATe FoR eNTRies is AUGUsT 31.

For full terms and conditions please visit www.heritagerailway.co.uk The winners will be the first correct answers drawn at random. The editor’s decision is final.

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Fenella on display at the site of Peel station. DAVID LLOYD-JONES

Isle of Man Fenella returns to Peel By David Lloyd-Jones

AS PART of the celebrations to mark the 140th year of the opening of the Isle of Man Railway, one of the line’s steam locomotives was returned to the site of Peel station on Saturday, July 27. The Isle of Man Railway Company Ltd opened its first line from the island’s capital Douglas on the east coast to the thriving fishing village at Peel on the west coast on July 1, 1873. As the Peel line closed 45 years ago, Beyer Peacock 2-4-0T No.8 Fenella of 1894 therefore had to make the return trip to Peel station by road on the back of a low-loader. The locomotive was craned on the remaining short piece of trackwork next to the original water tank, which still stands at the former entrance to the station site, and left on static display. After the railway closed both the Ramsey line on the September 6, 1968, and Peel line the following day, Peel station remained semi-abandoned until The House of Manannan heritage centre was built in 1997 at a cost of £5.5 million, which incorporated the station building as part of this complex. It is not the first time that an Isle of Man Railway locomotive has visited the site since the station closed in 1968. The railway’s original locomotive No. 1 Sutherland of 1873 returned to Peel in 1998 as part of the Steam 125 celebrations, and was steamed up – using Fenella’s boiler – and ran up and down a short length of temporary track laid in the car park which covers the

remains of the station site. Fenella was returned back to Isle of Man Railway ownership in 2012 from the Isle of Man Railway and Tramway Preservation Society Limited, which purchased the out-of-service locomotive in 1978 with plans to restore it to full working order. Fenella’s reconstructed boiler helped Sutherland return to service in 1998 for its Steam 125 appearance. The boiler was returned to Fenella three years later and the locomotive rejoined the active fleet, but was rarely used in service due to a long running dispute between the preservation group and the railway. Fenella is the only Isle of Man Railway engine still with a smaller boiler with sloping smokebox and small side tanks in running order. The Manx Transport Heritage Museum also has one of the railway’s four wheel coach bodies, No. C1, on permanent display next to the water tank in Peel station and a small museum just across the road in the disused Brickworks Office dedicated to the railway in Peel. The museum is also home to the P50 – the smallest, road legal car in the world, which was manufactured in Peel in 1964. The return of a locomotive to Peel again has reignited the calls to reopen the Douglas to Peel line, not just as a tourist line, but as a commuter line into the capital to help reduce the heavy road traffic congestion at peak times, which has become a real problem in recent years. Much of the trackbed still survives on this route, and despite several attempts to gain public and governmental support the Peel line still remains closed.

Volk’s Railway celebrates its 130th anniversary THE world’s oldest surviving electric railway celebrated its 130th anniversary with help from TV newsreader Nicholas Owen. Brighton’s Volk’s Electric Railway was closed on Sunday, August 4, as it celebrated the anniversary on the exact date. Nicholas, an electric railway enthusiast, attended the anniversary celebration along with the Mayor of Brighton and Hove, Denise Cobb, MPs Caroline Lucas and Simon Kirby, and inventor Magnus Volk’s great grandson Bernard Volk, who represented the Volk’s

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Electric Railway Association. In July, the line was presented with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ Engineering Heritage Award. Nicolas thanked Brighton City Council for its continuing support of what he described as “a priceless part of Britain’s engineering heritage”. He said: “The gifted Magnus Volk was an extraordinary pioneer, inventing and developing what is the oldest operating electric railway anywhere in the world. “It is impossible to imagine Brighton without it.”

Sybil moves to West Lancashire Light Railway

BAGNALL 0-4-0ST Sybil has joined the West Lancashire Light Railway collection. Works No. 1760 of 1906, the locomotive worked at Dinorwic Slate Quarry until 1965 with fellow West Lancashire locomotive Quarry Hunslet No. 823 of 1903 Irish Mail. It was bought by the Evans family and moved to the private Inny Valley Railway at Trebullett, near Launceston in Cornwall, where it ran for several years until withdrawn for a major overhaul. The line closed in 1986. In 2012 James Evans decided that he had other interests that would prevent him from completing Sybil’s restoration and the locomotive was offered for sale. Now owned by the Sybil Locomotive Trust, its long-running rebuild is to be completed at Hesketh Bank. Heritage Railway

31

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News Double national awards for Wolds THE Lincolnshire Wolds Railway has carried off two national honours in the biannual Heritage Railway Association Publication Awards. The Ludborough-based line won the awards for timetable leaflets and also for the most improved magazine for its On the Line members’ quarterly publication. The publicity award was given to the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway for the presentation and publicity material of its book The Making of The Railway Children, the film hailed as an integral part of the history of the KWVR and its community. The judges commented on the quality and imaginative approach of the railway’s material. HRA competition organiser Clifford Jones said that a great deal of thought and considerable effort and imagination with the line publicity portfolio has resulted “in quite brilliant results that others in the industry should duly take on board.” He added: “These awards celebrate the very best in information for the travelling public. The KWVR has won through its continued efforts to provide clear, concise, attractive and varied information for its visitors. The railway has drawn upon its close links with the local community to strengthen its information pathways.” The award for the best magazine went to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, while the website award was won by the Helston Railway. A new award for visual access, organised in association with the Royal National Institution of Blind People, was won by the Gwili Railway Preservation Society. These awards will be presented at a ceremony in Ravenglass, Cumbria on September 21/22 with Eric Robson, HRA president Lord Faulkner, Lord Inglewood and Brian Simpson MEP among the line-up. The awards will also be presented locally. The KWVR will receive its award from Lord Faulkner at Oakworth station on August 19 at 12.30pm in the presence of local politicians and railway volunteers. The Lincolnshire Wolds will receive its award from Lord Faulkner at Ludborough on October 13.

34 Heritage Railway

Trevithick locomotive runs abroad for first time RICHARD Trevithick invented the railway locomotive – but he still remains in comparative obscurity abroad. That was the finding of members of the Trevithick Society who displayed their replica of the great Cornish inventor’s first road vehicle during French celebrations to mark the 300th anniversary of early steam pioneer Denis Papin. Two years ago, the Trevithick Society received an invitation from the tiny village of Chitenay, with a population of less than 1000 near Blois in the Loire Valley, to attend the Papin celebrations on July 1921, linking the steam railway engine inventor with that of a predecessor. Papin (August 22, 1647-1712), a physicist, mathematician and inventor, best known for his pioneering invention of the steam digester, the forerunner of

Locomotives being serviced on the miniature railway at Boyes. PHILIP HOSKEN

The replica of Nicholas Cugnot’s fardier – claimed as a clumsy forerunner of the steam railway locomotive – passes the Trevithick Society stand. PHILIP HOSKEN

the steam engine, and of the pressure cooker, was born in Chitenay and his early home still stands on the outskirts of the village although it is showing signs of decay. Steam was not understood in Papin’s time. A powerful, invisible gas that could burst containers and kill was linked more closely to the work of the devil than any earthly influences and those who pursued their research were seen as working with unknown forces. Papin, however, did not care what others thought, and worked on a pressure vessel that had the capacity to digest bone. He invented the steam safety valve and went on to demonstrate the action of steam on a piston. Much of Papin’s work was done in England where he became a Fellow of the Royal Society and worked with Robert Boyle, regarded today as the first modern chemist. The little village was transformed as engines from many parts of France and Britain raised steam, paraded and blew their whistles before over 10,000 spectators. Britain was represented at Chitenay by several traction engines including a magnificent Burrell showman’s engine and the Trevithick replica 1801 steam carriage that climbed Camborne Hill – the year before he built his first railway engine, at Ironbridge. Other exhibitors included the replica of French military engineer Nicholas Cugnot’s 1771 fardier, for transporting heavily military equipment. Cugnot is credited by many with building the first selfpropelled vehicle, although the 1771 fardier, his second, came to grief when it crashed into the Arsenal wall in Paris, laying claim to being the world’s first

automobile accident. It was a significant moment for steam history when the Cugnot and Trevithick replicas met for the first time. Their crews exchanged positions while the crowds cheered. The Trevithick Society’s team of eight was represented by Colin French, Julia Hitchon, Phil Hosken and Kingsley Rickard with Roy Gill, Mark Pearce, Connor Salmon and Wayne Wills, who were accommodated in a former chateau that had been converted to an agricultural school. The celebrations took place in the hottest temperatures since records were taken in that region of France, 36.5ºC (98ºF) in the shade while the road surface exceeded 50ºC (122ºF). Temperatures near the furnaces in the boiler were even higher and it was Colin French’s shoes that melted, the uppers having detached from the soles. The parades were supplemented by theatrical presentations that took part in three locations to represent Papin’s travels from France to England and Germany. These were followed by a torchlit procession and a firework display. The nearby permanent miniature railway was in operation. Philip Hosken, author of The Oblivion of Trevithick, said: “It was clear from the enquiries we received that few had heard of Papin and even less had heard of Trevithick.” It was the first time that Trevithick had been represented abroad and discussions about a similar trip to Denmark next year are taking place. The Trevithick Society is inviting expressions of interest from possible volunteers on 01209 716811.

Model railway club forced to quit early ONE of Britain’s oldest model railway societies has been forced out of its headquarters in its golden jubilee year. The 25 members of Scunthorpe and District Model Railway Club had to dump layouts worth up to £12,000 after being told to move out of the community hall at the Riddings Junior School in Willoughby Road by the end of July. The club had paid its rent to

North Lincolnshire Council until the end of November. However, they were told that the hall had become an eyesore, and was to be demolished. They found an alternative headquarters at the Grange Farm Hobbies Centre in town’s Franklin Crescent, but found it impossible to transfer five layouts, which had to be broken up. A North Lincolnshire Council spokesman said: “Due to the

redevelopments at Willoughby Road Primary School, we have unfortunately had to ask Scunthorpe Model Railway Club to move out of the premises to allow the work to be completed. “We have helped the club relocate.” Nonetheless, a 50th anniversary exhibition will be held at the North Lincolnshire Museum in Scunthorpe on October 19.

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New Patriot wheels now at Tyseley THE completed driving wheelsets for new LMS Patriot No. 45551 The Unknown Warrior were delivered to Tyseley at the beginning of July. The all-new Heritage Railway magazine supported wheelsets have been assembled at Buckfastleigh workshops of South Devon Railway Engineering. At Tyseley Locomotive Works they will be balanced with lead weights, turned, and have the axleboxes fitted before being taken to the Llangollen Railway Works to be fitted to the frames of The Unknown Warrior to enable the rolling chassis (minus the front bogie), to be completed. The bogie is currently being assembled at Tyseley and is now expected to be completed in 2014. The running plates, cab steps and front steps have been fitted to The Unknown Warrior as the ‘kit of parts’ rapidly becomes a locomotive, enabling the rolling chassis with smokebox and cab to be displayed at the Warley Model Railway

The wheelsets for The Unknown Warrior are seen being loaded at South Devon Railway Engineering on July 2. RICHARD ELLIOTT

Exhibition on November 23/24. Funds are still being sought to help complete the bottom end.

➲ Donations can be made online at lms-patriot.org.uk, or cheques can be posted to: LMS-Patriot Co. Ltd., PO Box 3118, Hixon, Stafford ST16 9JL.

Bo’ness opens new Manuel terminus platform THE Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway has opened its new platform at Manuel – nearly half a century after its predecessor closed. Michael Connarty, Westminster MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk, arrived by steam train on July 22 to perform the official opening. Among the invited guests were Rita Braes, who joined British Railways as a booking clerk at the original Manuel station many years ago. She was moved to Polmont when Manuel closed, where she spent the rest of her working career. Also stepping back on the platform at Manuel for the first time since 1967 when the original station closed was former

Pictured left to right are John Evans, Scottish Railway Preservation Society chairman, Michael Connarty MP, Archie McLuckie, Rita Braes and Mrs M Connarty. SRPS

stationmaster 79-year-old Archie McLuckie. After the station closed, Archie moved up the ranks, via various positions in Glasgow, Cardiff and Leicester, before becoming assistant stationmaster at St Pancras and then Euston. His final promotion under British Railways was to area

manager at Carlisle, where he remained until the railways were privatised. Following privatisation, Archie was head of operations at Direct Rail Services until he finally retired in 2006. Around 130 guests travelled on the opening train.

Driving trailer boost for Swanage push-pull project A GROUP aiming to restore a Southern Region 4TC push-pull set for use on the Swanage Railway has received a major boost with the long-term loan of a driving trailer. St Leonard’s Railway Engineering Limited has agreed to the loan of driving trailer No.76275, previously part of hybrid 4VEP EMU No. 423582, to the Swanage TC Group. The acquisition of this vehicle means that the group’s initial aim to get a 3TC set into use will be www.heritagerailway.co.uk

achieved sooner than planned. The vehicle will remain at St Leonards until a DTSO, probably No. 76322, and brakevan No. 70824 are ready to enter traffic at Swanage. The pair being restored at the Midland RailwayButterley. Attention will then turn to TFK No. 70855 while no decision has yet been made on the remaining DTSO at Butterley, No. 76298. The most useful and usable vehicles are pressed into traffic first. It is hoped to get the initial 3TC

formation up and running at the Swanage Railway within the next two years, but a total of £50,000 needs to be raised. These sets were used on the Waterloo to Weymouth line, hauled or propelled by Class 33/1 locomotives. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the withdrawal of these trains on the route, which first saw service after the end of SR steam in 1967 following electrification to Bournemouth. For more information, visit www.4tc.org.uk

Historic ‘Caley’ works closure fear THE future of the former Caledonian Railway workshops in Springburn – Scotland’s last remaining heavy rail repair factory – was being questioned after its owner was placed in administration. More than 100 jobs at the Railcare depot, known to generations of Glaswegians as the ‘Caley’, are at risk unless a new buyer can be found, following the collapse of a rescue deal brokered with Germanbased Knorr-Bremse in late July. The depot provides repair services, vehicle refurbishment and spare parts for train operators including ScotRail. Patricia Ferguson, Labour Scottish MP for Springburn, said that the works were the “last vestige” of Springburn’s proud history as a hub for locomotive manufacturing. British Rail employed 4000 workers at the factory at one time, but it has been in decline since the Eighties. A ScotRail spokesman said: “It is hoped solutions will be found to secure the future of the business.” Unions blame the firm’s predicament on a cashflow crisis caused by last year’s aborted West Coast franchise bid, which held up fleet refurbishment plans.

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New life for lost Tube stations A FORMER banker is hoping to transform some of London’s 21 closed Tube stations into tourist attractions. Ajit Chambers is talking to the Ministry of Defence, which owns many of the stations, to try to lease some of them, including Brompton Road station on the Piccadilly Line. He is also hoping to enlist the support of London Mayor Boris Johnson. Closed in 1934, Brompton could have a restaurant and even a climbing wall under his plans. The station was used by Winston Churchill as a secret command centre during the Second World War. Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler’s deputy, was brought there to be debriefed after being captured in Scotland in May 1941. Mr Chambers, who is the owner of The Old London Underground Company, said: “We would like to have a rooftop restaurant, have a tourist attraction and the deep drop shafts for climbing walls.”

Hodbarrow to be restored OnE of the oldest Hunslet locomotives is to be restored at the firm’s modern day base of the Statfold Barn Railway no. 299 of 1882 Hodbarrow was built in Leeds for the Hodbarrow Iron Mines Co in Cumbria. The 0-4-0ST has been in store in pieces since its arrival at Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills in the 1990s and due to its size was never able to be reassembled. The locomotive is being loaned to Statfold Barn Railway for restoration. Leeds City Council’s head of museums and galleries John Roles said: “Hodbarrow is one of the earliest standard gauge Hunslet locomotives left and it will be fantastic to see it restored to its former glory.”

➲ All the lAtest news

For breaking stories from the world of heritage railways go online at:

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Cultra station saved from demolition

The near-derelict Belfast & County Down Railway station at Cultra has been saved from demolition and awaits the start of restoration and redevelopment. HUGH DOUGHERTY

By Hugh Dougherty A LOCAL businessman has stepped in at the last moment to save the disused Cultra station house and offices on northern Ireland Railway’s Belfast-Bangor line from demolition. Property developer David Crowe has bought the nearderelict station from nAMA, the Irish national Asset Management Agency, set up by the Republic of Ireland Government to manage the results of excessive lending on property, for an undisclosed sum. nAMA inherited the listed station after a previous owner got into financial difficulties and was keen to sell it off or order its demolition in line with its policy of divesting itself of inherited assets. Cultra station was built in 1897 by the Belfast & northern Counties Railway to the design of the line’s civil engineer GP Culverwell, to replace an earlier station on the same site which was destroyed by fire. The station was closed by the former Ulster Transport Authority in 1957 and reopened by northern Ireland Railways in 1978, but the house and offices were not included in the reopening and have been derelict since the 1970s. northern Ireland Railways refurbished the platforms at Cultra in 2008 in recognition of the fact that the station serves the adjacent Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, and the station building was listed in 2007 after a vigorous campaign by local residents and politicians. Museum chiefs were also concerned at the run down state of

The Irish Railway Gallery of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, with, appropriately enough, Belfast & Northern Counties Railway 4-4-2T No. 30, on its turntable, is only yards from the station at Cultra. HUGH DOUGHERTY

the building in case passengers and museum visitors thought that it belonged to the museum which is home to a priceless collection of Irish railway locomotive, rolling stock and artefacts in the Irish Railway Gallery, situated just yards from the derelict station itself. David Crow said: “Despite the dilapidated state that this building has been sadly left to degenerate into, as a local resident, I couldn’t sit by and watch it go to further rack and ruin. This is the main rail stop for the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and this opportunity will further enhance the tourist attractions that this corner of north Down is famous for.” Local Alliance Party Councillor Larry Thompson who has spearheaded the Save Cultra

Railway House Campaign with his fellow Alliance Party Councillor Andrew Muir, said: “We were very pleased to hear when we met with David Crowe that he would restore the building properly and put back the exterior.” Mr Crowe plans to convert the buildings to dwelling houses as part of a residential development beside the station. He has pledged to preserve the historic character and recognises the Victorian structure’s importance of one of the few Belfast & northern Counties Railway stations still extant along the Bangor railway line. The station is served by northern Ireland Railway regular services and is also passed frequently by Railway Preservation of Ireland steam specials operating to and from Bangor. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Expat steam fans meet down under – thanks to Heritage Railway By Geoff Courtney

wooden carriages on the site of a former NZGR shed at Paekakariki, north-east of the New Zealand capital Two former London 1950s trainspotters have wellington. discovered through Heritage Railway that they live In 1987, by which time he owned a successful just two miles apart – on the other side of the world. photographic studio, David became involved with a In an amazing coincidence, David Holt and Dave group of live steam miniature railway enthusiasts Rollins, both now living in Australia, each had a who planned to create the triple-gauge Keirunga letter printed in issue 174, David on the subject of Park Railway in Havelock North in North Island’s the Great Gathering and Dave on the woes of the Hawke’s Bay region, a few miles from his home. troubled restoration of Australian Pacific No. 3801 “I spent the ensuing five years building the railway, which have been highlighted in the magazine. which opened in 1992 and in 1994 hosted the NZ David, who emigrated to New Zealand in 1968 and International Model Engineering Convention.” The then to Australia in 1995, said: “I saw Dave’s letter on track, just over ½ mile long, comprises 3½in, 5in and the opposite page to mine, and noticed that he lives 7¼in gauges. in Kingston, which is the very next suburb to In 1995 David moved to Australia and he remains woodridge, Queensland, where I live. Since I have there today, closely following the UK steam railway no contact with Australian steam, there was no way I preservation scene mainly through the pages of could have known a fellow British enthusiast lived Heritage Railway. just two miles from me.” Dave Rollins was born in Bow, in the heart of Although they didn’t know each other, David London’s East End, in June 1939, and lived there for contacted Dave and the two met up and 29 years, and thence in Chadwell Heath, Essex, for reminiscences about steam days in the UK flowed. 22 years and Ilford for 11. Both sported railway TA railway enthusiast shirts for the occasion – from a young age, his David that from the early trainspotting days Keirunga Park were spent on the wall miniature railway, a of a bombsite in Bow’s triple-gauge line in New Fairfield Road, where Zealand’s North Island he could see both the that he helped to build, North London and and Dave a shirt of the Great Eastern lines. Associated Society of “During school holidays Locomotive Engineers my mother always knew and Firemen (ASLEF) where to find me, at for whom he held Liverpool Street by the various positions during turntable at the end of his UK railway career. platform 11,” he said. David, now 71, was an “That was the best I New chums: Steam enthusiasts and expat Brits David Holt enthusiastic mid-1950s could manage, with a (left) and Dave Rollins during their meeting after trainspotter in the couple of pennies for discovering they live just two miles apart 10,000 miles capital before his family the bus fare.” from the UK. Behind them on the wall in David’s home in moved to Salcombe in Woodridge, Queensland, is a Heritage Railway poster of He started his railway Devon and then in 1958 A4 Pacifics. IRENE ROLLINS career with BR as a to Christchurch, cleaner at Stratford Hampshire. He (30A) in November completed his education at Brockenhurst County 1954, becoming a fireman before moving to King’s High School, which involved travelling by train Cross (34A) where he remained until early between school and home usually behind a venerable retirement in 2001. He became a driver in 1966, ex-LSwR T9 or a Standard 4MT. passing on steam and then being trained on diesels “I remember seeing my first rebuilt Merchant Navy and subsequently electrics. and thinking it was the most beautiful locomotive I outside of his BR employment he held a variety of had ever seen,” he said. positions with the Locomotive Club of Great Britain, His first job was – appropriately for an avid steam became a founder member of the Sittingbourne & enthusiast – with Ian Allan Publishing at Hampton Kemsley Light Railway as member No. 1, and was an Court, staying with an aunt and travelling home at officer and active member of the Gresley Society. weekends. “I had then a regular experience which He also became a member of the support team of enthusiasts today would drool over, of cab rides on a No. 4472 Flying Scotsman soon after the LNER Bulleid Pacific from waterloo to Christchurch, often Pacific was rescued for preservation by Alan Pegler topping 100mph on the ‘racetrack’ through in 1963, an association which included being on the Farnborough and Fleet.” footplate during its 14 month tour of Australia in In September 1968 – “just one month after the end 1988/89. of BR steam” – he and his then wife Carol emigrated Now 74, Dave emigrated to Australia in 2001 to New Zealand, where his love of steam led him to where his enthusiasm for steam has led to him becoming a part-owner, which he still is, of ex-NZ becoming an active member of a number of railways Government Railways J class 4-8-2 No. 1234, built by and organisations, including the Richmond Vale, North British of Glasgow in 1939. Lake Macquarie and Glenreagh Mountain railways – Part of this venture included him working with all in New South wales – and the Rosewood Railway Steam Incorporated, the preservation society that and Ipswich Railway Museum in Queensland. had saved the engine, on the cosmetic restoration of “I seem to be continuing in a similar mode while the loco as well as a turntable and a fleet of old ‘retired’ in Australia!” he said.

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INBRIEF

➲ ESSEX publican Dennis Ingate has launched a campaign to restore the Wivenhoe & Brightlingsea Railway which opened in 1866 and closed in 1964. Dennis, landlord of the Brewers Arms in Brightlingsea, wants to see all five miles restored. He said: “It’s something people have been talking about for years, but nobody has ever bothered to do anything about it.” ➲ AROUND 100 works of art are being displayed at the Locomotion museum where the annual exhibition of the Guild of Railway Artists is taking place. Running until Sunday, October 6, it is the fourth of the guild’s exhibitions to be held at the Shildon venue. ➲ A FIRE at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway’s Wirksworth station on July 27 was being investigated by police. The fire in a shed at Coldwell Street was reported after 5am and involved several rolls of glass fibre installation. ➲ A NEW 450 yard £100,000 miniature railway at Weston-superMare’s Puxton Park adventure park has opened, and its locomotive has been named Prince George of Cambridge after the new royal baby. The train takes visitors around the adventure park’s lake and through the conservation area and surrounding fields. ➲ TIVERTON Museum, home of GWR Collett 0-4-2T No. 1442, has added to its collection of railway artefacts. It has acquired the Hemyock East ground frame and GWR half harp gas lamp which hung over the booking office at Uffculme, plus the cast iron sign from Tiverton Junction signalbox. ➲ THE North Wales Model Engineering Society is now running a new 140 yard miniature railway along a semi-circular track on Llandudno’s West Shore. The group relocated from its former site in Craig-y-Don when the land was needed to expand a school.

Was diesel raid theft to order? say the CDPG THE Crewe Diesel Preservation Group’s Class 47/7 No. 47712 has suffered serious damage following a visit by thieves on July 31. The locomotive had been rescued from potential scrapping at the LNWR workshops but is now in need of serious restoration after the stripping of the electrical cubicle, removal of all six motor contactors, two overload relays and the two reversers. Given the low weight and scrap value of the missing items, the CDPG has not ruled out the possibility of “component recovery” theft to order, and has alerted to other locomotive owners and groups to review security as it seeks to replace the stolen items. Heritage Railway

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Is this the world’s earliest standard gauge railway? By Robin Jones

ARCHAEOLOGISTS who set out to discover Roman remains instead stumbled over a preserved example of a two centuries old wooden waggonway – which may be the oldest standard gauge railway to be discovered. An excavation at the site of the former Neptune shipyard in Walker, Wallsend, near the Roman fort of Segedunum on the banks of the River Tyne, unearthed 30 yards of waggonway which was part of a network that linked the ports of the North East with collieries in the 1780s. National Railway Museum curator Anthony Coulls said: “Eighteenth century waggonways don’t grow on trees and we are very lucky to have the chance to look at this one.

“We hope that through recording it and through saving parts of it we will be able to learn some more about the pre locomotive railway.” The excavation of the site, has been led by Richard Carlton and Alan Williams of the Newcastlebased The Archaeological Practice, whose director Alan Rushworth said: “It will require conservation. Various museums have been contacted and what happens next depends on whether they want to take it and whether it is suitable for them.” The land is being developed by Shepherd Offshore which engaged the archaeologists to excavate the site and record any historical remains. Richard said: “The wooden waggonway uncovered by the excavation is the direct ancestor of the modern standard gauge railway.”

Looking north along the rediscovered tramway, with the fence along Benton Way to the right. The pond or ‘dish’ is to the left, the raised track to the right and their convergence just beyond along the edge of the excavation. In the foreground the two lines appear to start to converge again. The dished area is paved in stone blocks of irregular size, with the most prominent longitudinal rails being double rail-height and apparently narrower in gauge in the middle. To the outer sides of these are lower rails at a lower level. Note the revetment in between the tracks (ship planks) and the mixture of very rough and rather straighter sleepers in use throughout. PAUL JARMAN

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The discovery has revealed features which previously had been known only from the drawings and notebooks of contemporary engineers like John Buddle, who lived nearby. The archaeologists discovered a ‘main way’ heavy-duty waggonway lined with double wooden rails, one laid on top of the other to prolong the life of the trackwork. A mixture of very rough and tree-limb like sleepers and, possibly later, straight cut sleepers are evident, with rails possibly made from pine, laid lengthways and doubled up, in the typical Tyneside practice of the day, where wear was a particular concern for waggonway-wrights. The wooden rails have not rotted because they have been kept from biodegrading by being buried. The waggonway has a very short loop capable of accommodating two or three early chaldron waggons. The loop enters a dip which may once have been a pond into which the wooden wheels of the coal wagons (if so fitted) would have been immersed to stop them from drying out and cracking. Heat could be generated not just from the environment but friction caused by braking as well as rolling contact with the rail head. The pond might also have been

used for cooling waggon brakes. In the middle of the loop is a stone elevation where the horse pulling the waggon would have stood. The pond is paved in stone and has narrower than the apparently standard gauge double height rails: here, they may have been used as a check or brake rail. The area being excavated lies above the river and could therefore comprise the top of an incline leading down on to staithes or loading gantries. The site is adjacent to the waggonway on which the original Steam Elephant locomotive of 1815 operated. A replica of the Steam Elephant runs at Beamish Museum. The site is on private land but can be viewed from the adjacent Benton Way. Newcastle historian Les Turnbull, whose book on waggonways, Railways Before George Stephenson, was published earlier this year, said: “Nothing of this nature has been found before in terms of complexity. “Because the line is standard railway gauge, it is tremendously important as the earliest example in the world and this is of international significance.” The remains that have been discovered formed part of the

The southern end of the rediscovered track. PAUL JARMAN www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Close-up of the wooden waggonway. PAUL JARMAN

Willington Waggonway, serving collieries at Willington Quay and Bigges Main. In 1801 the Killingworth waggonway, for which George Stephenson’s first locomotives were built in 1814, joined the Willington line. Stephenson and his son Robert built locomotives at their works in South Street in Newcastle to the Willington gauge, which was 4ft 8in wide. Half an inch was later added, on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway and also the Stockton & Darlington Railway, and this became the standard width for railways throughout much of the world. Beamish Museum’s own 200 yard replica wooden waggonway was based on the mid-1990s excavations at Lambton D Pit. Beamish curator Paul Jarman said: “Without a doubt the Neptune site is of similar importance and of startling interest to early railway historians and connoisseurs of the North East’s rich industrial heritage. “We aren’t sure what it is or what it

Archaeologists working on the surprise discovery on an early wooden railway, believed to be an immediate forerunner of Stephenson’s standard gauge. They had been looking for Roman remains, but found something that is arguably of far greater global significance. PAUL JARMAN

did but it will no doubt prompt the development of numerous theories and has already become the source of much discussion among enthusiasts of early railways and academics alike – a sure sign of a good mystery.” He added: “Stephenson didn’t really invent the standard gauge, more defined and promoted it as such based on the 4ft 7in to 5ft examples that already existed such as Wylam, Beamish, Middleton and Kenton & Coxlodge – all well established and users of gauges in

the vicinity of our ‘standard’. “There was once a theory, I think to some extent demonstrated to be usefully coincidental rather than true, that the origins of standard gauge originate with the width between wheels of carts – this in turn being determined by the width of a horse between the shafts. “The waggonway is more likely of one of the gauges from which Stephenson’s standard was later derived (remembering he added the half inch for easing the performance of wheel on rail through curves).”

Roman mosaic discovered by Brunel on display IN A reversal of the uncovering on the early wooden Tyneside waggonway, a Roman mosaic discovered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel when he built the GWR has gone on public display. The mosaic, one of only nine of its kind to have survived, was found at the site of a Roman villa in Newton St Loe, a small village between Bath and Bristol, and has been dated to between the late AD 200s and early AD 300s. The 16ft square mosaic depicts the story of Orpheus, a mythical poet and musician, charming a circle of wild animals. Such designs which show Orpheus within a circle of animals have been found only in Britain. It is being displayed at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery as part of its Roman Empire: Power and People until January 12. The museum’s senior collections officer Gail Boyle explained that Brunel hoped to build a museum to display all of the artefacts that were found during the building of the GWR, but never got round to it. She said: “It’s in several thousand pieces and probably looks like the world’s largest Roman jigsaw puzzle.” “When it was lifted it was lifted very well and the engineer who recorded it took it to Keynsham railway station, which opened in 1841. “It stayed there quite nicely in the floor of the station until 1851. Then somebody decided, for some inexplicable reason, to give it to the Bristol Institution, which was one of the forerunners of what became Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. “Whoever took it out of the floor of the railway

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Before lifting the mosaic, Brunel asked his engineer Thomas Marsh to paint a picture of the Orpheus mosaic. BRISTOL MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERY

station may have used a pick axe, which is why it’s so fragmented.” Because the curators of the day were interested only in nature and not archaeology, the mosaic was stored in crates and forgotten for 140 years. It was only in 1992 that the Association for the Study and Preservation of Roman Mosaics began the painstaking job of identifying its fragments. It was reassembled piece by piece in the front hall of the museum between July and December 2000, before being stored again.

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Forty-five steamless years By Brian Sharpe and Alan Castle

FORTY-FIVE years may not appear to be one of the more significant anniversaries, but the end of British Railways main line steam will always be the most significant date in the history of the heritage railway movement and with the 50th anniversary still five years away, it is always appropriate to commemorate the events of early August 1968. The East Lancashire Railway, situated at the heart of the county which played host to steam’s last stand, staged a gala weekend on July 27-28, bringing together two of the engines which took part in 1T57 – ‘The Fifteen Guinea Special’ of August 11, 1968, together with two of the coaches from that historic train. With a supporting cast of other steam classes which did not quite see it through to 1968, a couple of green diesels and some industrial tanks, the 45th anniversary of the end of BR steam was duly commemorated in style. There can be few steam enthusiasts who do not know that 1T57 was hauled by ‘Black Five’ No. 45110 from Liverpool to Manchester (and return), Britannia Pacific No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell from Manchester to Carlisle, and two ‘Black Fives’ Nos. 44871 and 44781 from Carlisle to Manchester. Of these, No. 44781 was scrapped, but Nos. 70013 and 44871 were still available for use in 2013.

The coaching stock in 1968 was a mixture of vehicles in maroon or blue and grey livery, and the railway put together an authentic recreation of the train itself, including two of the vehicles actually used in 1968, even repainting two specially. In order to provide as fullyauthentic as possible a representation of the original occasion, the ELR even took the particularly bold step of arranging, at considerable expense, to bring two ‘Black Fives’ from Fort William to Bury just for the weekend – the real No. 44871 and No. 45407, which would play the part of No. 44781. But No. 44871 failed at Oxenholme on the way south on the Saturday and had to be dropped off at Carnforth, in order to effect repairs to its motion, leaving No. 45407 to continue with its accompanying Class 37 diesel to Bury. Given that the original intention was to have had Nos. 44871 and ‘44781’ working the ELR special back from Rawtenstall to Heywood later that afternoon, someone then came up with the brilliant idea of instead recreating the ManchesterLiverpool stage of 1T57 which had been worked on August 11, 1968, by the single No. 45110 (instead of the intended Carlisle-Manchester leg). It will be recalled that No. 45110 should not in fact have hauled the original 1T57, but was a last-minute substitute for No. 45305. With No. 45407 only arriving at

On Sunday, July 28, 45 years to the day since No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell hauled the Manchester Victoria – Hellifield – Carnforth leg of a Severn Valley Railway Society/Manchester Rail Travel Society ‘Farewell to Steam’ special, the same locomotive is back in the North-West and is seen passing Springside Farm at the head of the 10.55am Heywood to Rawtenstall (Deliberately obscured by vegetation is Deltic D9009). ALAN CASTLE

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During the evening of July 27, with former 9K fireman and ELR senior driver Malcolm Frost at the controls, the late-running ‘1T57 Recreation Special’ heads its formation of 10 1968 livery-appropriate vehicles (actually including two of the actual original ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ stock) past Ewood Bridge en route nonstop from Heywood to Rawtenstall. The reporting number board – loaned for the event by a West Coast Railways’ employee – was the actual item as previously borne by No. 44871 in 1968. Passengers on the train included several of the original 1T57 footplate crew and passengers – of which one of the latter can just about be discerned seated in the second seating bay of the first coach. ALAN CASTLE

In the gathering gloom of the late evening of July 27, LMS ‘Black Five’ No. 45407 (masquerading as the currently out-of-ticket No. 45110) heads away from Duckworth Hall with the returning ‘1T57 Recreation Special’ from Rawtenstall to Bury and Heywood.

On July 27, BR Standard Britannia Pacific No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell brings the lightlyloaded parcels train through Little Burrs. ANDREW SOUTHWELL

Bury shed mid-afternoon on the day that the special was to run (due to ‘Jacobite’ commitments on the Friday), every credit is due to those who so rapidly transformed the locomotive into ‘No. 45110’ – complete with the correct late BR tender transfers – while the engine was being coaled and watered. No. 45407 returned to Fort William at lunchtime the following day – collecting the hastily-repaired No. 44871 en route. No. 70013 also departed on the Monday morning, heading for Crewe. Although the costs of bringing

such important locomotives to Bury merely for such an event as this (and, in the case of the ‘Black Five’ presence – just to haul a single train) may be questioned in some quarters, the ELR is, nevertheless, to be congratulated for organising such a splendid public relations exercise and one that was especially appreciated by the dozens of former BR steam footplatemen who attended the gala event as the special guests of the railway (see separate article). The ELR also financed the loan of No, 70013 just for the weekend. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

News

Bluebell in £400,000 appeal for bigger steam engines By Robin Jones

THE Bluebell Railway has launched a £400,000 ‘Keep the Pressure Up’ appeal to facilitate the running of more big locomotives to East Grinstead. The line, famous for its LBSCR ‘Terriers’ and other small tank engines, now needs more powerful traction to haul regular services over all 12 miles of the newly-extended line. In July, the line was beset by failures to several locomotives, leading in one instance to a Class 09 diesel shunter hauling a train, as reported in Heritage Railway last month. As previously reported, the public response to the East Grinstead reopening has been phenomenal, with recession-busting passenger numbers reported. Again, bigger engines are now needed to haul the longer trains that are required. Funding director Roger Kelly said that extra income from increase ticket sales has been used to despatch the boiler of BR Standard 5MT 4-6-0

No. 73082 Camelot to an outside boiler works for its 10 year overhaul. He said: “If successful, this fund will be used to send at least two more boilers away for overhaul. It will also finance the many associated costs, in addition to boiler work, required to bring their locos back into steam.” The new fund will prioritise the boiler for the overhaul of Bulleid Battle of Britain Pacific No. 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair, for while a large amount of money raised last year is still insufficient to have the work done by an outside contractor. It is hoped to send the boiler away in September, so it can be back on the railway by the end of 2014 or early 2015. It is also hoped to send away the boiler of SECR O1 0-6-0 No. 65 at the same time, and if enough money is raised, a third boiler will be tackled. Roger said: “This plan will depend on the generosity of our supporters and the availability of space in outside boiler works. “We are very selective as to where we send a

boiler in order to ensure the work carried out will give us one that will not need any remedial work for a significant amount of time. “However, we are not stopping boiler work in-house; in fact, we are taking steps to ensure the skills are there for the future. We have one apprentice coming to the end of his training and another started in February, and we are actively seeking funds to pay for additional trainees and instructors. “In addition to the day-to-day work required to keep our existing fleet running, our loco works will be very busy to ensure that, on return, the overhauled boilers will be fitted to the frames and the locos prepared for duty without delay.” ➲ Donations to the Keep the Pressure Up appeal may be made at justgiving.com/KUTP, but cheques are preferred. A Gift Aid form can be downloaded from www.bluebellrailway.co.uk/bluebell/trust/appeal/kutp_ donate.html and sent to Bluebell Railway, KUTP Appeal, Sheffield Park Station, East Sussex TH22 3QL.

Foyle Valley museum adds to Derry City of Culture drive DERRY City Council is pleased with the number of people visiting its Foyle Valley Railway Museum, reopened on Mondays to Fridays, as part of the city’s drive to promote its visitor experience during its year as UK City of Culture. The council decided to reopen the free-entry museum for 2013 after several years of the facility and its County Donegal Railways and Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway rolling stock exhibits being mothballed. The exterior has been repainted, signage repairs done and external exhibit CDR 2-6-4T No. 4 Meenglas, which was subject to vandalism, is now protected by a wire fence. A similar wire fence has been County Donegal Railways No. 6 Columbkille has been spruced up along with the erected round the museum other exhibits and the exterior of the Foyle Valley Railway Museum, which has building’s external platform been reopened for Derry’s reign as UK City of Culture. HUGH DOUGHERTY face, but this, and the fact that the trackwork for the 3ft gauge museum are Meenglas’s sister Extension Railway crane truck. line on which ex-CDR railcars locomotive No. 6 Columbkille, The exhibits have been Nos. 18 and 12 ran, has been CDR coach No. 14, red wagon spruced up for the City of largely buried at the museum No. 19, replica coach No. 30, Culture year, but there is no end, and badly damaged by now with a children’s play area chance of any operating, neglect and vandals beyond, inside, CDR railcar No. 12 and although a long-term strategy means that trains cannot its Simplex tractor for railcar with options for leaving the operate. All signals have also operation in reverse, Lough exhibits static, or reopening the been removed. Swilly coach No. 17 and an Foyle Valley Railway, is being On static display inside the Letterkenny & Burtonport considered by the city council.

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New moves for WisbechMarch link reopening A PETITION signed by 3784 people calling for the reopening of the Wisbech to March railway link has been presented to Cambridgeshire County Council. Peter Wakefield, chairman of Railfuture, East Anglia, said that the reopening should be included in the next Greater Anglia rail franchise when it is relet in October 2016. He said: “The county council is carrying out a three-stage study looking at the case for reopening the line. The first study has already shown that the line can be operated profitably.” A further study is being undertaken to establish the full costs of reopening. The Bramley Line Heritage Railway Trust has been campaigning for the reopening of the line as an attraction, but Railfuture believes more could be done. Cambridgeshire County Councillor Ian Bates, cabinet member for growth and planning, said: “The council welcomes the petition which shows the support for better transport links which may in turn help to show transport operators the scale of local demand for services.” www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Life’s a beach

for Britain’s oldest water-balanced railway

Isle of Man Electric substation ‘will be saved’ amid talks

The cliff lift as seen from beach level. ROBIN JONES

THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway is not the only standard gauge heritage line in the locality which proves a perennial hit with visitors. While the NYMR celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, the Saltburn Cliff Lift has been operating since June 28, 1884. For the price of just £1, the water-balanced funicular

The ultimate in green transport: the Saltburn Cliff Lift runs on tanks of water. ROBIN JONES

railway, the oldest of its type still in operation, takes holidaymakers from Marine Parade in Saltburn-bythe-Sea to the sea front, with a bottom station opposite the resort’s pier which opened in 1869. The arrival of the Stockton & Darlington Railway in the town on August 17, 1861, marked the start of its career as a seaside destination. Access to the pier from the town via the steep cliff top was awkward, and deterred early visitors, but engineer John Anderson devised a solution for the Saltburn Pier company in the form of a wooden cliff hoist. Capable of carrying 20 people in a wooden cage lowered by a rope to the beach, it opened on July 1, 1870. In August 1883, the hoist was condemned because of its rotten timbers, and so the pier’s new owner, Middlesbrough Estate, hired Sir Richard Tangye, whose company had built two water-powered funicular railways in Scarborough, to construct a replacement. In turn, Tangye appointed George Croydon Marks to design one for Saltburn. It rises 120ft over double tracks 207ft long. A pair of 12 person cars are each fitted with a 350 gallon water tank, and hauled by double steel wire ropes controlled by a brakeman in the upper station. The car at the top has its water tank filled until its mass exceeds the mass of the car at the bottom. While running down the incline, one car is counterbalanced by the mass of the other. When the car reaches the bottom, its water is released, reducing the mass of the lower car. The water is then pumped back up to the top of the cliff. In 1924 an electrically operated water pump was installed, and in 1998 the main winding wheel was replaced for the first time, while a new hydraulic braking system was installed. Currently owned and operated by Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, the cliff lift is open every weekend from the middle of March through to October, and daily during the peak season.

New exhibition highlights London’s ‘other’ Tube A NEW exhibition of photographs of London’s legendary Post Office underground railway has been opened. The British Postal Museum & Archive’s Mail Rail: A Photographic Exhibition is now running at Freeling House, home of the Royal Mail Archive. It was launched to mark the 100th anniversary of the Post Office (London) Railway Act 1913, which permitted the Postmaster-General to construct underground railways beneath London. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

The exhibition features more than 150 new images taken along the 2ft gauge Mail Rail network between Paddington and Whitechapel by Jonathan Bradley at Bradley Photography. Mail Rail opened on December 5, 1927, and ran until 2003. BPMA director Adrian Steel said: “Mail Rail: A Photographic Exhibition highlights the fascinating world of this otherwise hidden underground railway. It has scores of stories to tell and

Jonathan has done a fantastic job of bringing it to life.” The BPMA is currently involved in a major fundraising campaign to deliver a new postal museum for the nation at Calthorpe House, opposite the Royal Mail’s Mount Pleasant site in central London. It also hopes to bring a part of the Mail Rail network back to life by allowing visitors to ride new trains through a section of the existing 9ft diameter tunnels. A Mail Rail themed archive open day will be held on September 14.

THE Isle of Man government has promised that an historic former Manx Electric Railway substation will be preserved. The substation in Rencell Hill, Laxey includes the last working example in the British Isles of a mercury arc rectifier, used until recently to convert mains electricity to the 550v DC for the trams. It was made redundant when a replacement £274,000 modern substation opened in Laxey last winter. A local group has been formed to save the building and its Edwardian technology. Its members want to bring the substation back to life with safe and low non-hazardous voltages to create an interactive science section where visitors and their children can experiment with and learn about electricity, as part of Laxey’s tourist and heritage trail. The mercury arc rectifier was displayed on July 26 during the Manx Heritage Transport Festival. The Department of Community, Culture and Leisure is now holding talks on the best way to preserve the building. DCCL Minister Graham Cregeen MHK said the rectifier was an “impressive piece of early 20th century engineering” which was “historically significant as the first form of reliable equipment in this field”. DCCL chief officer Colin Kniveton said: “The practical arrangements about premises have yet to be agreed but the equipment will be saved.” An online petition under the banner of Save the Laxey Manx Electric Railway Mercury Arc Rectifier Sub Station has been launched.

Arrests made after Foxfield damage

POLICE arrested three youths after hundreds of pounds worth of damage was caused in a vandal attack at the Foxfield Railway. A diesel was damaged at the line’s Caverswall Road headquarters, windows were smashed in a signalbox, and part of the miniature railway track, a project for young volunteers, ripped up. Police were called by the occupant at adjacent Heath House Farm after a group of youths caused problems on his land. Three 15-year-olds questioned in connection with the damage on July 25 were released on bail pending further inquiries.

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News

Polar Bear approaches Amberley’s Cragside station with John Stanton, the man who piloted the loco’s three-year overhaul, at the controls. Note the ‘Polar Bear 2013 running in train’ headboard. The coaches are appropriate ex-Groudle Glen stock presenting a Manx train in Sussex.

Polar Bear back in steam at Amberley

Words and pictures by Cliff Thomas

THE Amberley Rail Group has relaunched its ex-Groudle Glen Railway Bagnall 2-4-0T Polar Bear back into service on July 13 after

an overhaul which has taken three years. The return of the iconic 1905built locomotive, once resident on the Isle of Man, formed the star attraction of the July 13-14 gala, an event which featured resident

Nicholas Owen energetically blows the whistle as he eases Polar Bear towards the selfexplanatory banner.

Bagnall 0-4-0ST Peter (No. 2067 of 1918) and Nick Williams’ visiting Andrew Barclay 0-4-0T Jack (No. 1871 of 1925) also in steam. Amberley’s collection of industrial locomotives and stock were also operated. Polar Bear ran some of the early trains on July 13 as ‘running in turns’ with an appropriate headboard. Guests then gathered at Brockman station for the ceremonial aspects of welcoming Polar Bear back. After an introduction outlining the locomotive’s history, special guest, BBC presenter and railway enthusiast Nicholas Owen, stepped up to the microphone. After admitting this was his first visit to Amberley, Nicholas produced his Bluebell Railway fireman’s grease top cap and expressed delight at being invited to drive Polar Bear – and some reservations about not being able to see where he was going when he realised he would be driving through a banner across the track!

Reservations or not, Nicholas drove the locomotive forward into the banner, which split impeccably down the centre, and onwards to Cragside station accompanied on board Polar Bear by Amberley’s John Stanton. Later in the day, Amberley’s super-friendly Rail Group invited visiting journalists to also have a turn on the regulator of Polar Bear. It was a lot of fun and the little 2-4-0T ran beautifully. Meanwhile, on the Isle of Man, work is progressing on the project to build Brown Bear, a replica of Polar Bear. The Brown Bear Appeal has reached the £10,000 mark, leaving another £40,000 to raise. With all the frame components now made, the frames are being riveted together, while its wheels are over in Northern Ireland being profiled at the Whitehead workshops of the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, where new axles have also been made.

Historic London Underground HQ may become flats A NEW use is being sought for Transport for London’s giant Grade I listed headquarters building. TfL is now tendering architects to assess the future use of its London Underground Headquarters at 55 Broadway, which will become vacant when its staff relocate in 2015. The building was commissioned in the 1920s by the Underground Group which wanted Broadway to reflect its bold vision of the future of transport in London. Designed by Charles Holden for architects Adams, Holden and Pearson, the iconic Portland stone building 44 Heritage Railway

above St James’s Park Tube station was erected between 1927-29 and when completed was the tallest in London. Contemporary artists were invited to sculpt decorative features into the stone facade, carved on site, the most famous of which are Night and Day carved by Jacob Epstein. During the Second World War, the west wing received considerable damage as a result of bombing. It was rebuilt, at first without Portland stone facing, which was reinstated in 1963. The premises are no longer considered fit for purpose as an

efficient office building. Options including turning the building into a hotel, offices or flats have been considered. A residential-led development is considered to be the best option. Mike Brown MVO, managing director of London Underground and London Rail at TfL, said: “We recognise the historic features of our Grade I listed building, 55 Broadway, and we need to carefully ensure that any future use enhances its features. “We are committed to securing a future for the building that ensures it remains a valued part of the fabric of London.”

The London Underground Headquarters building at 55 Broadway. CHRIS SIMPSON/CREATIVE COMMONS www.heritagerailway.co.uk

News

Inside Workshop X! Words and pictures by Cliff Thomas

CLASSIC First World War narrow gauge locomotives are brought back to life in a new secret restoration base in the North Country. Down the hill into the village, past the shops, turn left at the mini-roundabout. Yes, we seem to be on track. Drive up the road until the Tarmac runs out, continue until you see the white gate – our workshop is at the end of the building. We are in South Yorkshire, that is all I can say, but the instructions handed over a couple of days previously in a sealed envelope had been accurate – there was Martyn Ashworth’s smiling face inviting us to enter the hallowed portals, have a cup of coffee and view a team of guys feverishly transforming two important narrow gauge locomotives from rusted wrecks to operational glory. We had been invited to view progress on Ganges class Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0WT No. 1238 of 1916 and ex-WDLR Hunslet 4-6-0T No. 303 (1215 of 1916)… but were asked not to divulge exactly where the facility was. This is wholly understandable. The workshop is annexed to a commercial business (albeit unmarked and hidden from the road behind private property) and the team which assembles here every Tuesday wants to work on locomotives, not worry about entertaining ad hoc visitors. The possibility of nefarious calls under the cover of darkness does not bear thinking about considering what the building contains. The detailed instructions were pretty important as well, as I am not sure a sat nav could have found the rural location unaided. Having said all that, a fair few of

The War Office Locomotive Trust’s ex-WDLR Hunslet 4-6-0T No. 303 (No. 1215 of 1916) displayed at the Apedale Valley Light Railway in 2008. This locomotive had also received a coat of paint to improve its appearance in advance of stripping down for overhaul.

the narrow gauge community know conversations and contacts led to the about the location. In November offer of this workshop and before there will be an open day for you knew it, preservation Moseley Railway Trust and War powerhouse Martyn Ashworth had Office Locomotive Trust members gathered a team of guys together and associates. who set about Indeed, it is possible working on the loco. to sort out a visit by Edward Sholto prior arrangement, returned to steam in but understandably spring 2010 and all the site cannot be agreed it would be a opened up to the real loss for the possibility of on team (which spec visitors. The worksplate for the Moseley numbers around 16 The story of Railway Trust’s Ganges class although not all can Workshop X began Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0WT get to the site every shortly after No. 1238 of 1916. Tuesday) to break Andrew Neale up. Another project repatriated Quarry Hunslet 0-4-0ST was needed – and was ready and Edward Sholto in 2006. waiting in the form of Hudswell A secure location was needed to Clarke 0-6-0WT No. 1238 of 1916. store and restore the ex-Penrhyn This type of locomotive was Quarry locomotive and produced in large numbers for War

The Moseley Railway Trust’s ‘Ganges’ class Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0WT No. 1238 of 1916 pictured at the Leighton Buzzard Railway’s Page’s Park on November 7, 2009. The locomotive is in as-repatriated condition, except for application of black and red paint by LBR volunteers to tidy up its appearance.

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Department Light Railways service during the First World War. Two of them, works numbers 1238 and 1239, went to the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation’s Obuasi mining complex in Ghana. This example, believed to be No. 1238, spent a period derelict in a riverbed but was eventually recovered and plinthed until repatriated to Britain by the Moseley Railway Trust in 2008. It carries a Robert Hudson worksplate; this company would have acted as an agent when it was ordered and commissioned from Hudswell Clarke. The locomotive is similar to the very first locomotives delivered to the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway (as it then was) for its opening in 1919. After being displayed in asimported condition at the Moseley

The frames of WDLR Hunslet 4-6-0T No. 303 (1215 of 1916) with the complex smokebox saddle casting repaired and in position. Note the depth of the component, the base forming the bogie pivot support. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

The team present on July 30 were (from left) Martyn Ashworth, Ed Hollis, Roy Brook, Mike Lynskey, Simon Goodyear and Martin Gascoigne.

Railway Trust’s Apedale site, it was loaned to the Leighton Buzzard Railway during 2009 as part of that line’s 90th anniversary year celebrations. At Page’s Park it was smartened up with a coat of paint although no other work was undertaken and it returned to Apedale in early January 2010, and moved to Workshop X when Edward Sholto left. It was rapidly stripped down as the first stage towards restoration to steam, finance for the work coming in the form of a bequest from the late Terry Stanhope (an MRT supporter who died in 2006), grants from PRISM and the Transport Trust and donations by MRT members. The cheerful band of volunteers have worked wonders in the last three years. The derelict wreck is a thing of the past; what now sits in the workshop is a very nearly completed rolling chassis. Most remarkably, the policy of keeping the locomotive as original as possible has also been assiduously followed with everything it was possible to reuse employed in the rebuild. It would frankly have been easier to build new frames, but that is not the route they wished to follow, although one concession has been construction of a new well tank. Another was the original copper firebox, which really was beyond redemption and the only element of the locomotive to have been sold for scrap – raising £700 towards the rest of the work. The few components which have had to be replaced will return to Apedale to be displayed. These will include the coupling bar, noticed in Ghana being used by an old lady as the means of hanging her cooking pot and secured in exchange for a bottle of Schnapps! In early 2012, the one issue potentially holding back completion was funding a new boiler. This was subsequently resolved and a replacement boiler ordered from Israel Newton which was due to be

The Moseley Railway Trust’s Ganges class Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0WT No. 1238 of 1916 showing that the wheeled frames and motion are virtually complete with the footplate and bunkers repaired and in position.

delivered a few weeks after our end even supports the bogie pivot. of July visit. It also transpired the damage was That will really see the restoration worse than had initially been on the home straight with a return apparent, a hairline crack being to operation looking good for next discovered in the live steam pipe year, probably well in time for the connection into the left-hand Moseley Railway Trust’s September cylinder. The component was 2014 Tracks to the Trenches event. removed (not without some With the probability of work on difficulty) and having been welded the Hudswell Clarke having to pause by a specialist contractor is now as resolution of the boiler issue was back in position. awaited, a similar issue to that in The locomotive’s frames have also 2010 arose – how was the team to required significant work, not keep itself busy? merely weld repairs but comparison The solution was sitting in the with manufacturers’ drawings Aurora shed at Apedale in the form revealed the rear frame stretcher to of the War Office Locomotive Trust’s be missing and significant past WDLR Hunslet 4-6-0T No. 303 modifications made to the middle (No. 1215 of 1916). stretcher. Replacements of both to This locomotive was purchased in the correct profile have been 2004 by the War produced and are Office Locomotive in the process of Society and being fitted. repatriated from The wheels are Australia the being refurbished at following year, the Statfold Barn arriving on these Railway following a shores in September generous offer by 2005. Graham Lee to Following initial undertake the work, display at including fitting Hollycombe, them to new axles at No. 303 spent a no cost to the trust; period at and also overhaul of Locomotion in Number and worksplates for the the bogie and its Shildon before War Office Locomotive Trust’s wheelsets as an moving to Apedale WDLR Hunslet 4-6-0T No. 303 apprentice training while funds were (1215 of 1916). project. gathered to enable While existing restoration to components are commence. Ownership of the being refurbished for reuse where locomotive was transferred from the possible, many other parts have been society to the newly formed trust in specially produced. Notable early 2012. examples are the axleboxes – those The boiler was lifted off the frames found on the loco constituting an at Apedale in February 2012 and odd mixture of two cast iron, two two months later the frames of the fabricated and two one-piece 4-6-0T were moved to Workshop X gunmetal. Interestingly, the where further dismantling started platework has survived well and it is the moment it arrived. reckoned the ‘bodywork’ will be The most glaringly obvious repair about 90% original when the needed to the Hunslet 4-6-0T locomotive returns to steam. related to the cast-iron smokebox With the help of a £20,000 PRISM saddle casting. This is a substantial grant, the overhaul of the chassis has component, the casting not merely been largely financed, although the supporting the smokebox but unexpectedly high costs of repairing incorporating main steam pipes and the saddle and stretchers have taken

their toll on the trust’s funds. That leaves the boiler. The one which arrived with the locomotive was built and fitted in Australia in 1941 and is life-expired. A new boiler is needed and will be constructed to the original 1916 Hunslet design. This is likely to cost around £65,000 and an application for HLF help is under preparation. Donations towards either project will be welcomed, but perhaps the Moseley Railway Trust will understand that with its locomotive getting close to completion, the project most in need of support at this stage is No. 303. If the cash to cover the boiler can be found, it is possible the Hunslet 4-6-0T might also just make it back into steam for the MRT’s September 2014 event. That would be an awesome prospect since the Greensand Railway Museum Trust’s Baldwin 4-6-0T WDLR No. 778 (the USA equivalent of the Hunslet 4-6-0T also built for First World War service) is booked to appear as a guest at this Apedale event. If the Hunslet does not make it in time, you can be sure that the two owning trusts, which have maintained close contacts over many years, will be working on plans to get the pair of locomotives in steam side by side at the earliest possible date! So, what happens when the Hunslet 4-6-0T joins the Hudswell Clarke in steam at Apedale and the workshop is empty? Well, actually, it will not be empty. In early 2012, a trio of ex-Penrhyn quarry locomotives were repatriated from the USA: Avonside 0-4-0ST Ogwen and Andrew Barclay 0-4-0WT Glyder from the Hulman family estate in Terre Haute, Indiana, and Hunslet 0-4-0ST Winifred from storage at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Ogwen, currently stored at Beamish (with Graham Morris’ Glyder), is owned by Martyn Ashworth, so at some point in 2014 it is safe to say Ogwen will be heading southwards for the start of its restoration to steam.

➲ For details of how to donate towards the restoration of WDLR Hunslet 4-6-0T No. 303 see www.warofficehunslet.org.uk, email [email protected] or call 01887 822757. Donations are supported by a range of incentives and individual components can be sponsored. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

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August 1968 revisited After the end of BR steam 45 years ago, we can count ourselves extremely lucky that it proved not to be quite as final as it appeared and we can still enjoy the spectacle of main line steam in virtually identical recreations of the good old days. Brian Sharpe reports on the two commemorative specials over the Settle & Carlisle line in August.

LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s No. 44932 and No. 45231 head out of Blackburn past Daisyfield Junction with Statesman Rail’s ‘Fifteen Guinea Fellsman’ on August 7. DAVE COLLIER

LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s No. 44932 and No. 45231 storm past Langcliife with Statesman Rail’s ‘Fifteen Guinea Fellsman’ on August 7. BRIAN SHARPE

1

LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s No. 44932 and No. 45231 approach Ais Gill summit at Angerholme with Statesman Rail’s ‘Fifteen Guinea Fellsman’ on August 7. ALAN CASTLE www.heritagerailway.co.uk

T57 – the ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ – was the train which officially signalled the end of the steam era on British Railways and has been seen again in various reincarnations over the years, some more convincing than others. The 25th anniversary in 1993 saw mostly the wrong engines on only part of the original route, while the 40th in 2008 saw the right route with more authentic engines. The apparently less significant 45th anniversary this year though saw possibly the best recreation of the day so far, with August 11 even conveniently falling on a Sunday. First though, August 7 saw Statesman Rail’s regular ‘Fellsman from Lancaster to Carlisle via the S&C being doubleheaded in honour of the occasion. Although there was talk of a somewhat bizarre combination of either a red Jubilee and a green Jubilee or the red Jubilee with a green Royal Scot, on the day West Coast Railways turned out two ‘Black Fives’, reflecting the motive power which had brought the train back from Carlisle in 1968. No. 44932 was allocated to Rose Grove in 1968 but actually remained stored at Carlisle, while No. 45231 which was on Carnforth’s books and one of the last ‘Black Fives’ to see active service, played no part in the final series of railtours. Nevertheless, the two engines had a good run on the day, without recourse to diesel assistance which had marred runs over the line in the preceeding weeks, although despite recent rain, a few small fires were started. ➲ Heritage Railway

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Above: LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0 No. 45305 approaches Warrington Central on August 11 with what is believed to be the first steam train over this route since 1966. PHIL JONES

On Sunday, August 11, the Railway Touring Company’s excursion ran as close as possible to the train’s original route, with the right motive power. ‘Black Five’ No. 45110 was not available for the Liverpool – Manchester leg but No. 45305 was, and this was the engine originally rostered for the train in 1968 but which failed, leading to the last-minute substitution of No. 45110. However, there was engineering work on the Liverpool & Manchester route across Chat Moss and No. 45305 had to take the CLC route through Warrington Central, the first steam train to do so since the 1960s. This took the train into Piccadilly station in Manchester rather than Victoria, with the engine change taking place at Longsight. Just as in 1968, BR Standard Britannia Pacific No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell took the train on from Manchester to Carlisle, another slight variation being that it was routed via Farington Junction rather than Sough Tunnel. As the ‘Brit’ approached Carlisle, LMS Royal Scot 4-6-0 No. 46115 Scots Guardsman passed with another Railway Touring Company train, ‘The Waverley’ returning to York, sadly with diesel assistance as a fire risk precaution. After a very short break in Carlisle, the same two ‘Black Fives’ as on the Wednesday’s trip, Nos. 44932 and 45231 returned the train south with No. 45231 leading, and without its nameplates on this occasion. Running on the original route via Sough and changing engines at Manchester Victoria, No. 45305 took the train on the last lap to Liverpool Lime Street. ■ Right: BR Standard Britannia Pacific No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell takes the Longsight – Carlisle leg of the ‘Fifteen Guinea Special over Arten Gill viaduct on August 11, 45 years to the day after it hauled the original train marking the end of BR steam. DAVE RODGERS

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LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s No. 44932 and No. 45231 cross Crosby Garrett viaduct on August 11. MICHAEL ANDERSON

AUGUST 1968

On August 7, LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s Nos. 44932 and 45231 cross Ais Gill viaduct with Statesman Rail’s ‘Fifteen Guinea Fellsman’ in a remarkable recreation of the scene on August 11, 1968 when Nos. 44871 and 44781 headed BR’s last steam train ‘The Fifteen Guinea Special’ south over the Settle & Carlisle line. MAURICE BURNS Inset: LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s Nos. 44871 and 44781 head 1T57 south from Carlisle over Ais Gill viaduct on August 11, 1968. MAURICE BURNS

AUGUST 2013

Mainline News

Compiled by Cedric Johns

Braunton’s ‘ghost’ finally laid IT has been lingering in the shadows of steam for so long that rebuilt Bulleid 4-6-2 No. 34046 Braunton had gained a reputation for being something of a ‘ghost’ engine; but suddenly that all changed on Wednesday, August 14. Much to the delight of small groups of Southern lineside enthusiasts, Braunton shed its ghostly image by making its revenue earning debut at the head of RTC’s ‘Dorset Coast Express’ working from Waterloo via the former South Western Main Line to Weymouth. Running under lowering grey skies, the 4-6-2 presented a smart, glossy ex-works appearance at the head of a wellfilled rake of maroon stock when seen crossing the Hampshire border into Dorset. Delayed by a speed restriction in the New Forest imposed by emergency track repairs in the Beaulieu Road section, the ‘Express’ was some 20 minutes down heading westwards to Christchurch and beyond. That said, the train’s operational plans were disrupted due to the fact that, as reported elsewhere on these pages, a second Bulleid, No. 34067 Tangmere, was unavailable on the day.

Banker assisting

The original plan booked Braunton to work the Down train to Weymouth where at departure time Tangmere would head the ‘Express’ back to London, Braunton acting as banker assisting the train up the stiff gradients through Upwey and

SR rebuilt Bulleid West Country Pacific No. 34046 Braunton accelerates away from Bristol with the Torbay Express Ltds’ ‘Torbay Express’ to Kingswear on August 18. MIKE GOODFIELD

Bincombe to Dorchester South. Instead, a West Coast ‘33’ diesel – coupled on at the rear – accompanied the train to Weymouth in readiness to haul the ‘Express’ – and Braunton – back to the Southampton area. On arrival, probably at Redbridge, the 4-6-2 would then be facing in the right direction to take charge for the final leg

running via Romsey and Salisbury’s Laverstock curve en route through Andover to the main line at Basingstoke. In the event it was not a good weather day for the passengers visiting the seaside, but a good day for the main line and Braunton. It was good to see a ‘new’ West Country back in action on Southern metals.

At the time of compiling these notes, No. 34046’s next turn was scheduled to work a ‘Torbay Express’ from Bristol to Kingswear and return. That being the case it seems likely that the 4-6-2 will be based at Barton Hill to join the Torbay roster working turn and turn about with 4-6-0 No. 5029 Nunney Castle.

Scottish doubleheader on West Highland main line TAKING the opportunity to add a third steam hauled railtour to its 2013 portfolio of excursions, the Scottish Railway Preservation Society has organised a doubleheader to coincide with the end of the Fort WilliamMallaig ‘Jacobite’ season this autumn. The train, ‘The West Highlander’, diesel hauled, departs Polmont at 6.10am on Saturday, October 26, calling at Falkirk High, Westerton and Dumbarton Central en route for Fort William. After a break of about an hour, the ‘Highlander’ returns with two of the engines retained at Fort William working ‘Jacobite’ trains. On the day, the motive power is likely to be either two ‘Black Fives’ No. 44871 and No. 45407 or one of the two 4-6-0s and K1 2-6-0 No. 62005, all three eventually heading for Bury and Carnforth respectively after a long season tackling the gradients

56 Heritage Railway

and tyre scouring curves found on the West Highland line. Departing from Fort William at 12.35pm, the ‘Highlander’ is scheduled to arrive back at Polmont around 9.30pm. As previously commented on, the society’s charges for on-train catering are surprisingly modest providing meals are booked in advance. In addition to the usual buffet service, a hot breakfast costs no more than £8, a three course salad lunch and coffee £10, dinner – three courses and tea or coffee – £12. Looking back over the year, the society enjoyed a successful day out with old friend A4 No. 60009 Union of South Africa in April when the 4-6-2 worked two ‘Forth Circle’ trips. The first, a morning train, departed Linlithgow, then later in the afternoon Dalmeny and Inverkeithing.

According to reports, the A4 performed in excellent fashion and both trains ran close to scheduled times throughout the day. By way of an interesting change, the second steam event – June 16 – featured blue A1 No. 60163 Tornado. Taking advantage of the fact that the A1 was already in the vicinity of Edinburgh, having worked the ‘Cathedrals Express to Scotland’ into Waverley earlier in the week, the society booked the engine for another day of ‘Forth Circle’ activity. Because ticket sales did not come up to expectations, the morning train was cancelled and passengers transferred to the afternoon departure, the train running around the Edinburgh south suburban circle and the Forth circle. Reported highlight was Tornado passing parallel to society trains at Manuel. There was a loud exchange of whistles.

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Tangmere back at Carnforth BULLEID 4-6-2 No. 34067 Tangmere has been moved to Carnforth for repairs in what has developed into a troublesome year for this popular and hard working engine, which normally operates on routes in the south west starting out of the London area. As is the norm, the 4-6-2 travelled to Carnforth for annual maintenance back in January, returning to Southall on March 7. Days after arrival, No. 34067 was quickly back in the action coloured by many incidents. Due to work RTC’s ‘Mayflower’ to Plymouth on March 16, Tangmere ran to Bristol prior to the Saturday but it proved to be a fruitless journey. The train was postponed for a week resulting in a double light engine run, the second a much shorter journey across London, the ‘Mayflower’ starting from Euston.

Doubleheader

The original plan, to double head with Sir Lamiel from Taunton over the South Devon Banks, was changed when the ‘Arthur’ was declared to be unavailable; Carnforth’s ‘Black Five’ substituting until that too was ‘stopped’ for attention, Ian Riley’s ‘Black Five’ No. 45407 making the long journey south to form the doubleheader. On April 7, Tangmere worked the RTC’s Waterloo-Exeter ‘Atlantic Coast Express’; then a week later the Bulleid 4-6-2, standing in for Oliver Cromwell, took RTC’ ‘Peak Forester’ out of King’s Cross to Rowsley and return. Given a breather – and probably a boiler wash out – the 4-6-2 ran light to Bristol to head RTC’s ‘Welsh Borders’ to Hereford on May 4. Five days later the Bulleid was at it again working RTC’s ‘Canterbury Belle’ out of London Victoria. There then followed three more trips to Canterbury heading the steam legs of Statesman’s ‘Golden Arrow’ diesel hauled excursions from various departure points, on May 18 from Willesden, June 1 from Hanwell and June 8 from Willesden.

Liverpool Street

In between those short trips, Tangmere worked TRC’s ‘Fenman’ from London Liverpool Street to King’s Lynn. It was back to Liverpool Street

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the following day for a trip with RTC’s ‘Easterling’ to Lowestoft trip which proved to be one too many for the hard working engine. Failed at Norwich with a valve gear problem, the 4-6-2 was towed back to Southall for resetting. It didn’t take long; No. 34067 was back on line to take another ‘Golden Arrow’ to Canterbury – from Willesden – on June 15. On June 18, the 4-6-2 worked the steam leg of another RTC ‘Canterbury Belle’, this time from Acton. Eight days later, Tangmere took RTC’s ‘Bath & Bristol’ outing from Three Bridges and on its return journey would have passed broken leg victim Peter Leach at Bradford on Avon station who moments before had suffered the injury when – as reported in last month’s Main Line News – coal fell from passing ‘Black Five’ No. 44932 working in the opposite direction with an empty stock train to Bristol.

Fire risk

Working a Poole-Bristol-Poole trip on July 4, it is alleged that the 4-6-2 set fire to the lineside when climbing Upton Scudamore bank on the return journey, an incident which prompted a fire risk threat to tours booked in the south and west. Five days later RTC cancelled its Waterloo-Exeter trip because Tangmere was failed at Southall when a cracked siphon in the engine’s firebox was discovered and needed a welded repair. That obviously did not take long to accomplish, the 4-6-2 being turned out to head RTC’s ‘Canterbury Belle’ on July 11. Following reports of steam seen leaking from under the engine’s casing, Tangmere was moved to Carnforth with a reported cracked firebox outer. In the event, the 4-6-2 accompanied Oliver Cromwell to Crewe before running on to Carnforth for attention, the move taking place with diesel assistance on July 25. This resulted in the cancellation of RTC’s ‘Dorset Coast Express’ on August 7. The Bulleid was still at Carnforth by mid-August, its next booked trip being RTC’s ‘Dorset Coast Express’ on August 21, Tangmere working the Down train, Braunton the return journey with No. 34067 acting as banker.

Main line Sherwood Forester HAVING missed its anticipated ‘Jacobite’ slot because its heavy overhaul – prompted by the need for a new back plate – took longer than expected, ‘Black Five’ No. 45231 The Sherwood Forester has nevertheless been kept busy since its return to the main line. On July 3, Bert Hitchen’s 4-6-0 worked a ‘Fellsman’ trip from Lancaster to Carlisle via the Settle & Carlisle line and later was booked to head West Coast ‘Scarborough Spa Express’ excursions July 16-18. Five days later the ‘Black Five’ took a rake of empty stock in the company of Carnforth’s 8F 2-8-0 No. 48151 from the West Coast Railway’s yard to York before running light engine and van from York to Crewe on July 25. On July 28, No. 45231 stood in for another ‘Black Five’, No. 45305, heading an RTC ‘North Wales Coast Express’ out of Liverpool’s Lime Street to Holyhead and return. Next day the 4-6-0 ran light engine and van from Crewe to Carnforth prior to working a ‘Fellsman’ trip on July 31.

Heading another ‘North Wales Coast Express’ on August 4, the 4-6-0 was back in the action three days later when No. 45231 took charge of Statesman’s ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ routed from Lancaster to Carlisle via Preston and Settle paired with sister engine No. 44932. The pairing was repeated on August 11 when the two ‘Black Fives’ worked RTC’s ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ from Carlisle to Manchester via Settle. Talking exclusively to Main Line News, Bert Hitchen said that his engine had drawn many favourable comments from footplate crews working the 4-6-0 since it was returned to traffic. “It’s been quite a hectic time. I have only been able to spend one day at home over the past month.” he added. As we closed for press, The Sherwood Forester’s next trip was to head another ‘Fellsman’ sell-out excursion departing Lancaster for Carlisle via Preston, Hellifield and the Settle & Carlisle line on August 21.

Rare Cannon Street departure ONE of London’s smaller, rarely used – if at all – railtour departure stations, the one which virtually straddles the River Thames, will see steam in action in early November when not one but two locomotives will rumble out over the bridge. Which station? Cannon Street. What train? ‘The Blue Bell Explorer’. Who is promoting it? The Railway Touring Company. Not only is the point of departure different, but so is the positioning of the two locomotives – one at the front, the other at the rear. So what is this trip all about? In essence it is a steam-hauled excursion to the Bluebell Railway featuring Bulleid 4-6-2 No. 34067 Tangmere and either an LNER B1 4-6-0 or an LMS ‘Black Five’, routed along Victorian branch lines. Departing Cannon Street at a civilised 9am, the ‘Explorer’ picks up at London Bridge then sets off via the suburbs of Peckham Rye, East Dulwich, Streatham Common and East Croydon. At South Croydon Junction the train leaves the Brighton line and enters more unfamiliar territory for preserved steam. Taking the Oxted line, once owned jointly by the SECR and LBSCR, the ‘Explorer’ continues

beyond Oxted and takes the LBSCR route at Hurst Green Junction. Beyond the one-time Birchden triangle, the train briefly runs alongside the Spa Valley Railway as far as Eridge. At Eridge, the Eastbourne line is no more and the ‘Explorer’ swings to the right to run as far as the present terminus at Uckfield, just a few miles to the south east of the Bluebell Railway’s southern terminus of Sheffield Park. To reach Sheffield Park though, the train needs to retrace its steps through Crowborough and Eridge to Hurst Green Junction, where reversal is again necessary, hence the use of two engines. From Hurst Green the train is again on joint metals as far as Crowhurst Junction where it heads south on LBSCR tracks under the SECR Ashford – Redhill line and on to East Grinstead and the Bluebell line. After the train terminates at Sheffield Park, passengers’ railtour tickets can be used to travel Bluebell style between the Park and Horsted Keynes. Departing at 3.50pm – from Horsted Keynes – the ‘Explorer’ returns to London. Given time, we shall learn more about the two locomotives. Heritage Railway

57

Mainline News

Compiled by Cedric Johns

More Vintage Trains trips IN publishing its new glossy main line excursion programme, Vintage Trains has projected beyond this year to unusually give details of railtours stretching as far ahead as next April. No trains are tabled for January but VT’s new season begins on Friday, February 14, when Tyseley’s resident 4-6-0 No. 4965 Rood Ashton Hall is – not surprisingly – booked to head a Valentine champagne special. Timed to depart Tyseley Warwick Road at 4pm picking up at Birmingham’s Moor Street and Snow Hill stations, the ‘Hall’ works the train out into the countryside travelling via Kidderminster and Worcester and along the edges of the Cotswolds through Cheltenham to Gloucester. On arrival the 4-6-0 is turned and the train retraces its outward route including a brisk ascent of Old Hill Bank. It should be noted that champagne is reserved for passengers travelling In Premier dining. Standard class? Well, there’s always the buffet… Vintage Trains repeats its earlier foray into diesel traction when on Saturday, March 15, a West Coast ‘47’ heads the ‘Cumbrian Ranger’ to Crewe where A4 No. 4464 Bittern is booked to take the excursion on to Carlisle via the Settle & Carlisle line. After departing Tyseley Warwick Road the train calls at New Street, Wolverhampton and Stafford. The ‘Ranger’ returns via Shap to Crewe, where the A4 is replaced by Tyseley’s ‘47’ No. 47773 for the journey back to the Midlands. Diesel traction comes into play again on

Saturday, March 29, this time a ‘47’ heading the ‘Canterbury Explorer’ from Solihull picking up at Warwick, Leamington Banbury and Kensington Olympia. The ‘47’ is replaced by Bulleid 4-6-2 No. 34046 Braunton at Hanwell which proceeds via Bromley South to Canterbury via Ashford. Returning via Sandwich, Dover, Folkestone. Ashford and Tonbridge, the ‘Explorer’ exchanges steam for diesel traction at Kensington Olympia, the train heading back to the Midlands via the Chilterns. Finally, on Saturday, April 5, Western Region class 52 D1015 Western Champion is down to head ‘The Devonian’ from Tyseley Warwick Road to Paignton. This trip, which should mark the Western’s long-awaited return to service for Vintage Trains, in this instance runs to Goodrington Sands, passengers then transferring to local steam for the remainder of the short journey to Kingswear for Dartmouth. Departing from Tysley Warwick Road, ‘The Devonian’ picks up at Snow Hill, Stourbridge, Worcester Shrub Hill, Cheltenham and Bristol Temple Meads providing a rare day out with a modern day icon, Western Champion. As a brief reminder, Vintage Trains’ current programme includes the ‘Cumbrian Explorer’ – diesel hauled throughout – to Carlisle via the Settle & Carlisle line, Saturday, September 21. Castle 4-6-0 No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe makes an appearance on Saturday, September 28, heading the ‘Welsh Marches’ on a circular tour taking in Gloucester, Chepstow, Abergavenny and Shrewsbury returning via Wolverhampton.

The Castle is back on October 12 heading the ‘Cotswold Explorer’ which heads off through Kidderminster, Worcester, Cheltenham, the Golden Valley, Swindon, Didcot and a passenger break at Oxford. Rood Ashton Hall is next up with the ‘Robyn Hode Salas’ – Robin Hood to you – which in effect is a figure of eight tour embracing Burton on Trent and the Erewash Valley before venturing into real uncharted territory for the class, the Robin Hood line through Mansfield, reaching Sheffield via Shireroaks – short break – the train then returning via Chesterfield, Derby, Loughborough and Leicester. Following Tyseley’s autumn open day, on Sunday, October 27, LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 45699 Galatea takes centre stage heading the ‘Cumbrian Jubilee’ – diesel hauled from Tyseley – from Carnforth to Carlisle via Shap. Returning over the Settle & Carlisle line, steam gives way to diesel traction at Hellifield for the run home. It’s Rood Ashton Hall again on Saturday, November 23, the 4-6-0 working the ‘Elge Explorer’ to Ely by way of Leicester, Melton Mowbray, Peterborough and March. Tyseley’s two Great Western panniers return to the action on Saturday, December 1, heading the ‘Melton Christmas Fayre’ to Melton Mowbray via Coleshill and Nuneaton. Two weeks later No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe ends the year with a trip to York with the ‘White Rose’, the train picking up at Coleshill, Tamworth, Burton on Trent and Derby. All trains depart Tyseley Warwick Road.

Seventh ‘Great Britain’ for Railway Touring Company LOOKING ahead to next year, the Railway Touring Company has released details of next year’s ‘Great Britain VII’ which kicks off on Saturday, April 28, 2014. The nine day trip includes a variety of motive power beginning with Bulleid 4-6-2 No. 34046 Braunton heading for the West Country and making calls at Staines, Woking, Basingstoke and Salisbury where sister engine No. 34067 Tangmere couples on to form a doubleheader as far as Exeter. Here the train reverses with a Great Western pair, 4-6-0 No. 5029 Nunney Castle and 4-6-0 No. 4936 Kinlet Hall, working the ‘Great Britain VII’ on to Dainton and the ensuing challenge of Rattery Bank to Plymouth and Truro. Following a night stop, the two 4-6-0s return the train to Bristol via Hemerdon, Dainton and Whiteball. From Bristol Tangmere takes ‘Great Britain VII’ on through the Severn Tunnel to Cardiff and a second night stop.

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On Monday, April 28, 4-6-2 No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell enters the tour working the train through the Welsh Marches via Llanvihangel bank, Hereford, Ludlow and Shrewsbury. Travelling on the ‘Brit’ heads for Cumbria via Chester, joining the West Coast Main Line at Acton Grange Junction en route for Grange over Sands for a third night stop. The following morning sees another doubleheader, this time in the shape of two ‘Jubilees’, No 45690 Leander and No. 45699 Galatea. The pair are booked to work the tour to Edinburgh via Barrow in Furness, Whitehaven and Workington to Carlisle for a servicing stop. With tenders replenished the two 4-6-0s forge on along the main line crossing the border at Gretna and heading on through Lockerbie, Beattock, Carstairs and Cobbinshaw to Scotland’s capital city and a night stop. Passengers have the option of a day at leisure on Wednesday, April

30, or an optional trip to Stranraer behind two ‘Black Fives’, presumably No. 44871 and No. 45407. As is now usual, ‘Great Britain VII’ is divided on the Thursday when A4 No. 60009 Union of South Africa takes Train One from Edinburgh to Aberdeen. On arrival an unidentified LNER B1 4-6-0 will replace the A4 and head the tour on to Inverness and a night stop. Train Two departs Edinburgh behind K4 2-6-0 No. 61994 The Great Marquess to Fort William and a night stop. The following day, Friday, Train One departs Inverness behind the B1 to Kyle of Lochalsh – road coach to the Isle of Skye and then ferry – to Mallaig where the K4 heads for Fort William and a night stop. Train Two meanwhile is booked to head the tour to Inverness via Kyle of Lochalsh with the B1 and a night stop. Both trains return to Edinburgh on Saturday, May 3, Train One departing Fort William via

Rannoch Moor, Crianlarch, Helensburgh and Dumbarton, with the K4 at the head of proceedings. Train Two leaves Inverness behind the B1 for Aberdeen where Union of South Africa replaces the 4-6-0 for the remainder of the journey travelling to Edinburgh via Montrose and Dundee crossing the Tay and Forth bridges en route to Waverley. Passengers from both trains stay overnight before joining ‘Great Britain VII’ for its homeward journey on the Sunday. The first leg – to Carlisle and Crewe via Shap – is in the charge of one of the ‘Jubilees’ used on the Tuesday. On arrival at Crewe the 4-6-0 gives way to Stanier 4-6-2 No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland for a run down the West Coast Main Line to London Euston. From Euston passengers residing to the south west will be taken home with diesel haulage at the head of the train. In total some 12 engines will be in action during the nine day trip.

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Bristol steam Mecca

LMS Royal Scot 4-6-0 No. 46115 Scots Guardsman has handled the lion’s share of West Coast Railways’ ‘Scarborough Spa Express’ trains this summer, albeit frequently with diesel assistance. The Scot approaches Hunslet Midland Road. GAVIN MORRISON

Cromwell for second train through to Sheffield Park FOLLOWING along in the tracks of a ‘Steam Dreams Cathedrals Express’ which makes modern railway history by being the first excursion to run on to the Bluebell line via the new East Grinstead main line link on September 10, RTC has announced it is promoting a second train to Sheffield Park. Whereas the ‘Cathedrals Express’ is routed out of London Victoria behind LNER A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado, RTC’s train, ‘The Blue Bell Explorer’, makes the longer journey – from Worcester – with BR 7P Britannia Pacific No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell at the head of the proceedings. Departing Shrub Hill on the morning of September 28, the ‘Explorer’ is booked to pick up at Kidderminster, Stourbridge Junction and, rare treat for steam enthusiasts, Birmingham’s New Street and International stations. Routed via Coventry, Rugby – water stop – thence to the West Coast Main Line via the Northampton loop and Hanslope Junction, the ‘Explorer’ continues on through

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Milton Keynes and Wolverton, the 4-6-2 making a second water stop at Hemel Hempstead. Shortly after passing Wembley, the train takes the West London line through Kensington Olympia to reach the Southern Region at Clapham Junction, continuing to East Croydon before turning off the Brighton line at Croydon East Junction to join the Oxted Line on the final leg to East Grinstead. On joining the Bluebell Railway using the newlyreinstated connection, the ‘Explorer’ stops at Horsted Keynes, the train terminating at Sheffield Park. On the day, the Bluebell Railway is scheduled to operate two steam hauled trains during the ‘Explorer’s stay. The return journey to Worcester and intermediate pick-up stations will be diesel hauled, Oliver Cromwell departing light engine for Southall, probably a positioning move prior to the ‘Brit’ working the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Golden Arrow’ from London Victoria to Dover on Friday, October 11.

THE Railway Touring Company has commenced a short series of four steam hauled trips from Bristol to Plymouth and Par. Using the oft-used title ‘The Royal Duchy’, these trains are timetabled for Sunday departures which along with RTC’s ‘Weymouth Seaside Express’ and Riviera Train’s ‘Torbay Express’ could make Temple Meads something of a temporary mecca for platform-enders. It also produces an interesting mix of motive power because both RTC and Riviera are posting Nunney Castle and Braunton for several of these trains. Alternatives listed include Oliver Cromwell, Bittern and Tangmere. Starting on Sunday, August 25, ‘The Royal Duchy’ gets away from Bristol Temple Meads at around 8.30am and calls at Yatton, Taunton and Exeter en route to Plymouth and Par via the South Devon banks. Passengers travelling to Par are offered a complimentary coach trip to the small port of Fowey or to Charlestown, a working port and home of the Shipwreck, Rescue & Heritage Centre. Returning from Par at 5.45pm the ‘Duchy’ is timed to arrive back in Bristol at 10.30pm

Clun Castle for main line LOOKING towards the back end of next year and a first possible steaming since the engine was withdrawn in 2002, Tyseley Locomotive Works chief engineer, Bob Meanley, has renewed a longrunning appeal for additional funds to ensure that Great Western-BR built-4-6-0 No. 7029 Clun Castle will join sister engine, No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, on the main line. Using Vintage Trains’ recently issued 2013-2014 brochure as a platform, he reminds readers that after another Swindon engine, No. 6000 King George V, broke BR’s embargo on steam, Clun Castle played a leading role in the resurgence of a growing number of main line excursions during the 1970/80s. Such was the ‘Castle’s reliability it starred by making many appearances in the build-up to the Great Western 150th anniversary celebrations in 1985. Since Earl of Mount Edgcumbe was outshopped, determined progress has been made at Tyseley towards the overhaul of No. 7029. Work on the 4-6-0’s tender is anticipated to be completed by the autumn, with the re-assembly of the engine, including newly retyred wheels and overhauled axle boxes back in the frames.

The brake gear and valve motion have been overhauled and new pistons and valves are ready for fitting to the engine. Work is currently concentrated on the boiler which requires inserts to the firebox and fitting of a completely new front tube plate. That said, Mr Meanley stresses the point that he hopes to raise enough money by the end of this year to enable the manufacture and fitting of items which include crown stays, side stays, steam pipes and super heater elements to speed work on the ‘Castle’s boiler. In what amounts to a clarion call to all Great Western enthusiasts, he said: “Just imagine what we shall be able to do with them (No. 5043 and No. 7029) once Clun Castle is returned to working order – with your help.” As well as appealing for donations, Tyseley is offering for sale to enthusiasts a 72-page A4 book entitled 5043, The Return of a Legend, and/or a DVD providing a detailed illustration of just how Swindon went about its business of building ‘Castles’, spotlighting the final batch of ten 4-6-0s in the series 7028 to 7037. For more details of Clun Castle’s overhaul email [email protected] Heritage Railway

59

Mainline News

Compiled by Cedric Johns

A pair of 4-6-2s for Christmas StEaM Dreams has booked a pair of 4-6-2s – namely Britannia and Tornado – to head ‘Cathedrals Express’ trains for ‘shoppers specials’ and carol service destinations in the build-up to Christmas. “Britannia and Tornado are a great pair of locomotives to head our Christmas programme. Both have high route availability, particularly

important when we cross London, commented the promoter’s chairman Marcus Robertson when talking to Main Line News. the first festive ‘Cathedrals Express’ hits the rails on November 23 with Steam Dreams’ annual pilgrimage to Ludlow. Because of the Reading steam ban, the ‘Express’ will start from Waterloo calling at Woking and

Salisbury but this year with an additional stop being inserted, Bath. as is the norm, this train carries on from Ludlow for passengers wishing to visit Shrewsbury. On November 30 a ‘Cathedrals Express’ departs from Euston for Lichfield and Chester via calls at Milton Keynes Northampton and Nuneaton, a trip which is becoming another annual event.

Wimbledon and Horsham ‘firsts’ for steam railtours

Bath is the classic destination for an ‘Express’ starting from Victoria on December 5 and notably calls at Wimbledon – a ‘first’ – Woking, Guildford, Petersfield, hedge End and Salisbury. December 9 marks the start of the Christmas Carol Specials, this one departing Ipswich and stopping at Colchester, Shenfield and West hampstead en route to Winchester. Steam enthusiasts might like to note that the train

LMS Princess Coronation Pacific No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland passes Mossley on the climb to Standedge with the Railway Touring Company’s first ‘Scarborough Flyer’ from Crewe, back on its normal route on July 26. DICK MANTON

carries on to stop at Eastleigh. two days later, it’s another ‘first’, a ‘Cathedrals Express’ starting from the Sussex town of horsham. Calling at Dorking, Leatherhead, Cheam and Kensington Olympia, the destination is Ely. What might be the most popular starting point on Steam Dreams’ cross Southend and Upminster London itineraries could be Southend. Departing on

December 14 the ‘Express’ stops at Upminster before crossing the river en route to Chichester. the final departure – from London Victoria – is to Somerset. Picking up at Purley, Redhill, haywards heath, Chichester and Salisbury, the train heads down the Exeter road to Sherborne then runs on to the Yeovil Railway Centre’s yard for turning and servicing. turning to other trains, the

Sunday luncheon trip from Paddington with Bittern to Stratford-upon-avon, October 6, will now, in addition to Beaconsfield, call at Warwick. three days before that, October 3, a ‘Cathedrals Express’ departs alton for Canterbury. Stopping at Farnham, aldershot, Woking and Staines, intending passengers may also join the train at alresford and connect at alton via a Midhants service – for a tenner.

Irish autumn trips

Drawing to the close of its busy peak summer programme of trains, the railway Preservation Society of ireland wound up the holiday season in style, running ‘Bangor Belle’ and ‘Belfast Belle’ excursions on Saturdays, august 17 and 24. For September, activity is reduced to two outings, the first, the ‘Portadown 400’, runs on Saturday, September 21, with whitehead’s former great Southern & western railway veteran J15 0-6-0 no. 186 heading trips from Portadown to newry and Lisburn. On Sunday, September 29, Dublin & South Eastern railway 2-6-0 no. 461 works two trips running with the ‘Maynooth Shuttle’ between Dublin and the train’s namesake. in October, the society is promoting its ‘Larne Lough’ trip behind no. 186, Saturday, October 12, and, topically, three trips with the ‘Broomstike Belle’ between Belfast and whitehead on Sunday, October 27. From Saturday, november 30, ‘Santa Specials’ take to the rails every weekend until Sunday, December 15. The ‘Specials’ are planned to operate as two separate trains running alternatively between Dublin and Maynooth and Belfast-whitehead, trains running on Saturdays and Sundays. On Sunday, December 8, two ‘Specials’ are booked to run from Portadown and Lisburn. a ‘Mince Pie Special’ ends the railway’s activities in 2013 on Sunday, December 29, with trips from Belfast to Dublin.

HEriTagE TracTiOn On THE Main LinE The recent hot spell, and the increased risk of lineside fires emanating from steam locomotives, has seen the increased use of heritage diesels especially classes 37, 47 and 57/3 as support traction. Initially the diesel locomotive was operated at the head of affected services but, after an appeal by James Shuttleworth (the operations manager of West Coast Railways among others, Network Rail agreed that the diesel locomotive could be located behind the leading steam locomotive or, occasionally, at the rear of the service. The use of steam traction was closely monitored with many steam-hauled services initially being cancelled but wiser counsel soon found that diesel ‘support’ was often sufficient to ease, if not eradicate, the problem. This period focused attention on charter operations, which are more numerous at this time of year as demand increases partly due to schools taking their longer holidays, and saw more Class 47s in use. Such was the demand for traction that the Stratford Class 47 Group’s Class 47 No. 47580 County of essex returned for further use on West Coast charter stock. Other traction used on these charters included the four Class 57/3, Nos. 57313-316, recently purchased by West Coast and operated as part of the common pool, but such was the demand for traction that they were operated before being able to receive the standard WCRC maroon livery. On the freight side the Class 56 operations continue to attract interest. While Colas Rail has had problems with occasional failures the company is using them on Carlisle and Baglan Bay timber services and the Boston steel workings leaving the three Class 47s to provide back-up and work stock moves. The recent move of Turkish-built demonstrator Class 70 No. 70099 to Cardiff for rumoured trials with Colas Rail on its Baglan Bay working and the associated rumours that Colas Rail will shortly receive a batch of Class 70s may mean that Class 56 usage will be a short term option that is worth photographing while the Class 56s continue to appear. British and American Rail Services is also operating class members through its Devon and Cornwall Railway licence which now provides locomotives for the Cricklewood-Calvert spoil train and the ButterwellKellingley coal circuit, although the latter is a short term contract based on the varying fortunes of British Coal. The other heritage classes of interest are classes 20 and 37 that are still much in evidence on the main line, albeit dedicated to specific traffics. The Class 20s operated by GB Railfreight are dedicated to the moves of London Transport tube stock between Derby Works, Asfordby test site and West Ruislip depot – both new trains from Derby and trains returning to Derby for rectification. There are rumours that other work may be in the offing but official confirmation is still awaited. Class 20 locomotives are also in use with DRS which is using them on flask services but is thought to be retaining them for the seasonal Rail head Treatment Trains which are due to begin in November and include routes which are so restricted that only Class 20 locomotives can operate over them. DRS also operates a fleet of Class 37s which can be divided into two categories: these are the flask services which tend to see the use of original Class 37/0 and Class 37/6 locomotives while both Class 37/4 and 37/6 locomotives appear to be dedicated to the variety of Network Rail inspection and test services. Many of the DRS workings are operated at short notice and the best source of train workings (but not locomotives allocated) can be found at www.realtimetrains.co.uk This is a valuable resource once a train is identified as being hauled by a heritage locomotive on the main line.

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Main LineItinerary

LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s No. 44932 and 45231 cross Dandry Mire viaduct at Garsdale with Statesman Rail’s ‘Fifteen Guinea Fellsman’ on August 7. ALAN WEAVER

AUGUST ■ FRI 30: ‘TYNE-TEES STREAK’ Bristol, York, Newcastle and return. Steam hauled: York, Newcastle and return. (incl 90mph) Loco: No. 4464 Bittern. LSL ■ SAT 31: ‘CAPITAL STREAK’ King’s Cross, York and return. Steam hauled: York, King’s Cross (incl 90mph). Loco: No. 4464 Bittern. LSL

SEPTEMBER ■ TUES 3: ‘WELSH MOUNTAINEER’ Preston, Blaenau Ffestiniog and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 61994 The Great Marquess. RTC ■ THUR 5: ‘CATHEDRALS EXPRESS’ Guildford, Lincoln and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 4464 Bittern. SD ■ FRI 6/SAT 7: ‘75TH ANNIVERSARY’ Crewe, Shap, Beattock, Perth and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland. PMRT ■ SAT 7: ‘CATHEDRALS EXPRESS’ Waterloo, Salisbury, Gloucester and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 60163 Tornado. SD ■ SAT 7: ‘STEAM BACK ON THE MET’ Wembley Park, Harrow, Amersham and return (x2). Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 1, L150, No. 9466. LUL ■ SUN 8: ‘STEAM BACK ON THE MET’ Wembley Park, Harrow, Amersham and return (x4). Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 1, L150, No. 9466. LUL

TOUR PROMOTERS LSL LUL PATH PMRT RTC SD TEL VT VSOE WCR

Locomotive Services Ltd (bookings via Pathfinder or Steam Dreams) London Underground Ltd PathfinderTours 01453 835414 Princess Margaret Rose Tours 01773 743986 Railway Touring Company 01553 661500 Steam Dreams 01483 209888 0845 310458 Torbay Express Ltd 01453 834477 Vintage Trains 0121 708 4960 Venice Simplon-Orient-Express 0845 077 2222 West Coast Railways 01524 732100

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■ SUN 8: ‘NORTH WALES COAST EXPRESS’ Crewe, Liverpool, Holyhead and return. Steam hauled: Liverpool, Holyhead and return. Loco: No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell or No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland. RTC ■ TUES 10: ‘CATHEDRALS EXPRESS’ Victoria, Sheffield Park and return. Steam hauled: Victoria, Sheffield Park and East Croydon, Redhill, Guildford, Victoria. Loco: No. 60163 Tornado. SD ■ WED 11: ‘BRITISH PULLMAN’ Victoria, Salisbury, Bristol and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 35028 Clan Line. VSOE ■ THUR 12: ‘CATHEDRALS EXPRESS’ Ipswich, Canterbury and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 70000 Britannia. SD ■ SAT 14: ‘CATHEDRALS EXPRESS’ Euston, Kidderminster, Cheltenham and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 70000 Britannia. SD ■ SAT 14: ‘DEVONIAN’ Birmingham International, Bristol, Plymouth and return. Steam hauled: Bristol, Plymouth and return. Locos: Nos. 4936 Kinlet Hall, 5029 Nunney Castle. RTC ■ SUN 15: ‘PEMBROKE COAST EXPRESS’ Bristol, Pembroke and return. Steam hauled: Bristol, Carmarthen and Pembroke, Bristol. Loco: TBA. RTC ■ TUES 17: ‘CATHEDRALS EXPRESS’ Staines, Salisbury, Kingswear and return. Steam hauled: Staines, Kingswear and Kingswear, Westbury. Loco: No. 60163 Tornado. SD ■ SAT 21: ‘ROYAL WESSEX’ Three Bridges, Havant, Weymouth and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. TBA . RTC ■ SAT 21: ‘EXE-PARRETT’ Bristol, Westbury, Exeter, Okehampton and return via Taunton. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 34046 Braunton. PATH ■ SAT 21: ‘WEST HIGHLANDER’ (DAY ONE) Preston, Shap, Beattock, Glasgow. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 46115 Scots Guardsman. RTC ■ SUN 22: ‘WEST HIGHLANDER’ (DAY TWO) Glasgow, Fort William, Mallaig, Fort William. Steam hauled throughout. Locos: No. 61994 The Great Marquess, No. 62005.RTC

■ MON 23: ‘WEST HIGHLANDER’ (DAY THREE) Fort Willam, Crianlarich, Oban, Glasgow. Steam hauled throughout. Locos: No. 61994 The Great Marquess, Nos. 45407 and 44871. RTC ■ TUES 24: ‘WEST HIGHLANDER’ (DAY FOUR) Glasgow, Dumfries, Preston. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 46115 Scots Guardsman. RTC

REGULAR ■ DAILY TO SEP 22: MON-FRI TO OCT 25 ‘THE JACOBITE’ Fort William, Mallaig and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 62005, No. 45407 or No. 44871. WCR ■ SUNS TO SEP 8: ‘SHAKESPEARE EXPRESS’ Lancaster, Preston, Settle, Carlisle and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 4965 Rood Ashton Hall or No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe. VT ■ SUNS TO SEP 15: ‘TORBAY EXPRESS’ Bristol, Kingswear and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 70000 Britannia, No. 5029 Nunney Castle, No. 34046 Braunton or 4464 Bittern. TEL ■ FRIS TO SEP 13: ‘SCARBOROUGH FLYER’ Crewe, Stockport, Scarborough and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell or No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland. RTC ■ SATS AUG 31-SEP 14: ‘CUMBRIAN MOUNTAIN EXPRESS’ Crewe, Settle, Carlisle and return via Shap. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell or No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland. RTC ■ SUNS SEP 1, 8, 29: ‘ROYAL DUCHY’ Bristol, Par and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 5029 Nunney Castle or No. 34067 Tangmere. RTC ■ WEDS TO SEP 11: ‘DORSET COAST EXPRESS’ Victoria, Weymouth and return. Steam hauled throughout. Loco: No. 34067 Tangmere and No. 34046 Braunton. RTC

 The information in this list was correct at the time of going to press. We strongly advise that you confirm details of a particular trip with the promoter concerned.

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

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Steaming out of the

Cross

During the 1950s and 60s the Great Northern main line between King’s Cross and Hadley Wood was a magnet to the many photographers capturing the last of the Gresley Pacifics hard at work. Since the opening up of the line to steam again in 1994, no less than 19 steam engines have run over this section; John Titlow recounts his experiences of photographing steam in recent years.

“W

here would you like to go” my father would ask on a Sunday, and without hesitation “King’s Cross” would be my reply. To say this is my local line would be an understatement. Brought up in Stoke Newington, N16, it was a simple 73 bus ride straight to the station. Many a long hour would be spent watching and taking numbers of the great variety of steam locomotives arriving and departing, how fortunate I was.

It was here I had my first footplate ride on an N2 0-6-2T the length of a King’s Cross platform; it had just come into the station on a suburban train and was heading off to the shed, the crew asked me up so how could I refuse? I even saw the first Deltic prototype now on loan from the NRM to the Ribble Steam Railway, on one of its early trains, how impressive this looked in its smart yellow and blue livery to a young lad. ➲

Newly-overhauled LNER A3 Pacific No. 4472 Flying Scotsman awaits departure from King’s Cross on July 4 1999.

SR Bulleid Battle of Britain Pacific No. 34067 Tangmere passes Oakleigh Park with the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Peak Forester’ on April 14, 2013.

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www.heritagerailway.co.uk

LOCATIONS ■ King’s Cross Station Recently restored to its former glory, King’s Cross to me is the Cathedral of Steam; it looks splendid especially with clean glass allowing more light in. Departures and arrivals tend to be on platforms 1 on the eastern side and most departures leave around 8.15am which can make photography difficult here. Occasionally the centre roads are used and this opens up a much better picture for morning shots, the best are with the façade. A going away shot from the end of the platform before it disappears into Gasworks Tunnel is okay. The bridge over the throat is not useful due to looking down through the wires. As with most stations today poles do not help. An afternoon arrival emerging from the tunnel is acceptable from the end of the platform but most arrive around 10pm or later, which opens up the possibility of time exposures standing against the buffers but there is a post in a bad position which does not help. ■ Belle Isle There used to be a classic shot at Belle Isle above Copenhagen Tunnel with trains coming under the North London line after emerging from Gasworks Tunnel. A farm was above here for a few years but it is now part of an industrial area with locked gates shutting this area off. After a great deal of investigation from both sides of the line, it has to be concluded that access is now totally impossible. ■ Copenhagen Tunnel A surprising location that still remains is a morning departure exiting Copenhagen Tunnel where lines cross over, this is from the Caledonian Road bridge, steps and careful positioning are needed to keep the locomotive free of the wires. Parking is a serious problem here with double yellow lines and residents parking, there are some horrible buildings in the background but by angling down, these can be lost.

LNER A4 Pacific No. 4464 Bittern leans into the curve at Harringay on June 14, 2013 with the ‘Cathedrals Express’. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

■ Holloway Bank Another of the classic shots was climbing Holloway bank with the Caledonian clock tower in the background; it was once in the centre of a market but now stands alone in a wasteland. There are

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LNER A4 Pacific No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley heads through Hadley Wood on the down slow on December 19, 2009.

Seen from above Copenhagen tunnel, BR Standard 8P Pacific No. 71000 Duke of Gloucester passes under the North London line at Belle Isle on May 13, 1995.

LMS Princess Coronation Pacific No. 6233 Duchess of Sutherland passes New Southgate on October 18, 2008.

LNER A4 Pacific No. 60009 Union of South Africa emerges from Copenhagen tunnel on Holloway bank at Caledonian Road with ‘The Elizabethan in October 1994.

66 Heritage Railway

As a schoolboy, bunking ‘Top Shed’ was relatively easy, entering through a convenient hole in the fence alongside the canal, then under the coal stages, what a dirty grimy place this was but fantastic. It was nice to talk to former 34A shedmaster Pete Townend, at the Mallard 75 launch regaling these memories. He said: “if I had caught you I would have thrown you out”, to which I replied “but you never did”. We both smiled about this 50 years late! Top Shed of course closed in 1963. With a Box Brownie, an A4 was photographed on shed, how can I forget my father saying: “Don’t waste money taking pictures of these things”, his words were never heeded as in his eyes I seem to have spent most of my life wasting money. Just north of Finsbury Park station near where the closed GN branch to High Barnet and Alexandra Palace turned west off the main line, a trainspotters’ stand was built in the 1950s inside the park, this is long gone but the nearby footbridge still exists and the line to Ally Pally is a cycle track. Finsbury Park diesel depot was visited, stinking of oil, Deltic’s everywhere, and I questioned why I was there and walked out in disgust not taking a photograph. Oh how things change, “where’s my time machine gone”? The best shots from the 50s and 60s were taken trackside especially before Finsbury Park but railway photography can be full of surprises with some of the locations between King’s ➲ www.heritagerailway.co.uk

LOCATIONS several tall buildings with restricted access approaching Finsbury Park station but containers and bushes on the railway make this difficult. ■ Finsbury Park station A difficult location for departures due to a road bridge with high parapets immediately south of the station and no height to get over it, in desperation something coming through the station is acceptable. ■ Harringay station This is one of the better locations for morning departures where engines tend to be working hard up the climb leaning into the curve; with a telephoto lens an original four arch bridge is in the background. The North London line joins here and emerges form a line of trees on to the ECML against the Down platform. ■ Hornsey station Nothing much here but once the better locations have been done it could be worth a go. ■ Alexandra Palace station No real shots have been discovered here even after much exploration; it is impossible to get Ally Pally on the hill in the background unless you want to shoot the train through wires. ■ New Southgate station No morning or afternoon departure pictures here but the surprise is for an afternoon Up train from the northern end of the platform, here there is an original brick built three arch high bridge, it is essential to get an afternoon train here as mornings do not work for the sun.

LNER A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado passes Hadley Wood with a ‘Cathedrals Express’. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

■ Oakleigh Park station and tunnel An early morning Down train emerging from Oakleigh Park tunnel works on the slow and fast, but the optimum position is imperative due to the wires. Down trains on the slow and fast in the morning work through the station, and the slow puts it up against the trees, with possible autumn colours. On the fast line, the end of the platform and through the station is good with the tunnel in the background. The Up direction is nondescript as engines tend to be drifting here.

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LNER A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado accelerates past New Barnet on the slow line on May 23, 2009.

A4s out the Cross, steam past the house and memories of childhood. A dream come true!

Wearing its red livery SR rebuilt West Country Pacific No. 34027 Taw Valley stands at King’s Cross with the ‘Hogwarts Express’ promotional train on July 10, 2000.

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Cross and Hadley Wood still worth visiting albeit under the wires. For a distance of just over 10 miles, the ECML affords far more scenic locations than many other main lines out of the capital, though it does tend to be less scenic further north. Height can be a major problem as it is not good to have wires running through the train, overhead shots can still be achieved but choosing the correct angle is essential and it only works at a couple of locations. It was good to see the historic pictures taken around this area of A4s in HR178. Some of the original station buildings and canopies exist but are a shadow of what they used to be. Footbridges have been closed in at the sides but not encased in mesh as in some dodgy parts of London so still offer photographs. The majority of the line is in several cuttings especially departing King’s Cross; if not in a cutting it tends to be heavily tree lined. The best locations are for early morning departures from London but it all depends on the time and whether it’s on the fast or slow line, locations also varying depending on winter or summer light. Occasionally tours arrive around midday opening other locations. Late afternoon departures can be difficult especially on the slow lines as they run in the shadows. Due to the overhead wires, stations tend to be the best access points. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

LOCATIONS ■ New Barnet station As with Alexandra Palace and Hornsey this is also one of the weaker locations. When all others have been cracked it will be time to work on this station.

LNER A4 Pacific No. 4464 Bittern emerges from the tunnel at Oakleigh Park with RTC’s ‘Great Britain V’ in April 2012.

LMS Royal Scot 4-6-0 No. 46115 Scots Guardsman passes Hadley Wood southbound on June 26, 2010.

The first steam departure from the Cross since Flying Scotsman in August 1969 was on October 30, 1994 when A4 Pacific No. 60009 Union of South Africa broke the mould, who would have thought that nearly 20 years later we would have seen such regular steam working on this line. We have been very fortunate to have seen a wide variety of locomotives on this part of the ECML, some correct for the line, but many not. The frequency of trains has intensified over the last few years and an impressive total of 19 steam engines have run over www.heritagerailway.co.uk

this section including an LNER A1, A2, A3, A4s, V2 and B1, LMS Duchess, Princess, Scot, plus Oliver Cromwell, Duke of Gloucester, a Standard 5MT, Bullied Pacifics and even Great Western locomotives masquerading as Hogwarts Express in some very odd liveries connected to the Harry Potter films. We are now waiting for Flying Scotsman again. They say “horses for courses” and sometimes nothing can be truer, to get the right engine on its old stomping ground makes the picture more poignant, new builds included. ■

■ Hadley Wood station On sunny days the station is about the best on the line by far and it is no wonder that so many photographers in the old days took many pictures here, although on dark days it can be a bit of a black hole. Much of the station still exists but the wires make it impossible to get high above the cutting so reducing its former glory. This is good for Up and Down trains but varies considerably between winter and summer. In summer, Down trains preferably on the slow look good emerging directly from the tunnel; winter sun doesn’t get in here but coming through the station is very good. Up trains in the afternoon are good emerging from the northern tunnel on either the slow or fast. Having looked many times, the south side of the southern tunnel does not work due to the wires. ■ In conclusion Be very careful because many of these locations have parking restrictions which are always changing, although the further out of London you go the easier it becomes. Beware of restrictions in residents bays as some can apply at weekends and evenings. Parking wardens are now called civil enforcement officers, a rather glorified title especially when there is nothing civil about them. There are stories of them abseiling down buildings, so don’t take any risks, if an almost human doesn’t get you a camera will. Councils earn big money from this but deny all knowledge. A thing that has helped recently is the website www.realtimetrains.co.uk which gives you full information of the platform and running line because locations change depending on which line it’s on and it can save a mad dash over the footbridge to the opposite platform. Being my local line I can look outside and make the choice whether to go out. On awful days I can go to the top of the house and see the steam rising above the cutting coming through Oakleigh Park station.

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Railwayana Patriot and Jubilee uphold LMS honour at Crewe

AS SEEMS appropriate at an auction in the LMS heartland of Crewe, two of the headline nameplates at David Lewis’s auction in the town on October 5 come from that company’s locomotives. They are Caernarvon from Patriot No. 45515 and, continuing the Jubilee odyssey which is so much a part of today’s railwayana auction scene, British Guiana from No. 45601. The GWR gets a look-in with Eastham Grange (No. 6835) and the LNER with Leslie Runciman (B1 No. 61238), named after one of the company’s directors who held the post from 1937 until Nationalisation. A namer also features in the cabside numberplate category (GWR No. 5062 Earl of Shaftesbury); there are smokebox numberplates from 1006 County of Cornwall and No. 6828 Trellech Grange, a whistle from SR Battle of Britain Pacific No. 34064 Fighter Command and a ‘ThamesClyde Express’ headboard. Other familiar activities include a free Routemaster bus service from Crewe station to the auction at Crewe Heritage Centre, locomotives in steam and on display, brake van rides and all three signalboxes open. The auction of the 500 lots starts at 10.30am.

➲ Top railway poster price at a Bloomsbury vintage posters auction in London on July 16 was £750 (exc buyer’s premium of 24% + VAT) for a circa 1935 LNER example by K Hauff promoting Whitby. ➲ A set of Marklin Z-gauge wagons and other accessories sold for £620 at the Vectis model train and railwayana sale at Thornaby on July 26. Leading railwayana price was £420 for an LNER Cowlairs worksplate from 1915-built D34 4-4-0 No. 2467 Glenfinnan. Both prices exclude buyer’s premium of 20% (+ VAT).

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by Geoff Courtney

It’s official – auctions at Derby have been axed

AFTER all the rumours, whispers, conjecture and guesswork – and the exclusive prediction in Heritage Railway – it’s official. All future auctions at Derby have been cancelled by Great Central Railwayana with immediate effect, meaning the planned September 7 sale will not be held. Everyone within the movement will have their own thoughts on the reasons behind the decision made early in August by Great Central directors Dave Jones and Mike Soden, and I will leave those much more informed than me to air them. Mike told me one of the reasons was “insufficient support from vendors” for the quarterly sales at Derby, adding that vendors “were telling us that they wanted their items to go into our auctions at Stoneleigh”. Great Central took over the Derby sales when it purchased Sheffield Railwayana from Chris Dickerson and Brian Moakes a year ago, and since then it has held four auctions at Derby in addition to continuing the

quarterly sales at Stoneleigh. The Derby auctions were held under the Sheffield Railwayana name, but this too has been dropped. Collectors had noted that the quality of recent Derby auctions was not up to Great Central’s normal standard, and thus the decision to axe them may not be a surprise to many. “When we took over Sheffield Railwayana we had hoped to enhance the Derby auctions while maintaining the standard at Stoneleigh,” said Mike. “We are disappointed at the way it has turned out, but philosophical.” He said the postal and Alpha lots auctions of mostly paperwork which were run parallel with the main event at Derby would be switched to Stoneleigh and would continue to be run by Brian Moakes. “These are very successful and are going from strength to strength,” he said. A review of the next Stoneleigh auction, on October 12, will appear in this column next month.

Nameplates from pre-Grouping to BR top internet charts A pre-Grouping nameplate, another from the Southern Railway, and a pair from SR/LNER designed, but BR-built, locomotives are the chart-toppers at the Railwayana.net internet auction being run from September 22-29. They are respectively Penrith Beacon from an LNWR Precedent

2-4-0 built in 1875 and transferred to Improved Precedent No. 2187 built in 1896 and withdrawn by LMS as No. 5069 in 1932; Lord Rodney (Lord Nelson No. 30863); 145 Squadron with badge (Battle of Battle of Britain No. 34087) and Bronzino (A2 No. 60539). There is also a steam era ‘The

Flying Scotsman’ headboard among the 250 catalogued lots, and a selection of SDJR items including a Bath Green Park station direction sign.

Debut totems are the stars at Newark AN Eastern Region totem sign from White Notley station, appearing for the first time at auction, was the star of Talisman’s sale at Newark on July 27, selling for £2600. Historical records show that the station had a stationmistress in the 1860s-80s, a relatively unusual occurrence at the time. She was Eliza Dover, born in 1825, the widow of a railway labourer and mother of five. White Notley is on the Witham-Braintree branch in Essex, as is Cressing, a totem from which also went under the hammer for the first time, selling for £2100. Both these former GER stations remain open today. The bronze medal at Newark went to a Manchester,

Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway clock from Cleethorpes signalbox (£1650), followed by the regulator handle from preserved A4 Pacific No. 60009 Union of South Africa at £1400. Another four-figure realisation was £1250 for a nameplate and worksplates set from 3ft 6in gauge tandem diesel mechanical locos Nos. DM732 and DM733 Festival of Britain, built by Hudswell Clarke in 1951 for use at Moorgreen Colliery in Eastwood, Notts. No. 732 was abandoned underground in 1985 when the pit closed, but No. 733 was preserved by Leeds Industrial Museum. All the prices exclude buyer’s premium of 10%.

Branch line memories for museum collection THE extensive collection of local railwayana at Tiverton Museum, home of GWR 0-4-2T No. 1442, has been enhanced by the donation of four items from the Culm Valley and Exe Valley lines. They are a Hemyock East ground frame cast iron sign, a GWR gas lamp from Uffculme station, a nameboard from Tiverton Junction signalbox, and an Exe Valley train services direction

sign from Dulverton station. Pippa Griffith, curator of the mid-Devon museum, said the four items had been donated by different donors. “They are great additions to our collection and we are lucky to have them,” she said. Meanwhile the museum is planning a special event on Saturday, October 5, to mark the 50th anniversary of the closure of the Exe Valley line that ran from

Exeter St David’s to Dulverton via Tiverton. A vintage bus will run along much of the former route, from Brampford Speke near Exeter to Dulverton, with appropriate stops along the way. The Culm Valley line, from Tiverton Junction (location of a sub-shed to 83C Exeter) to Hemyock, also closed to passengers in 1963 but remained open for milk freight until 1975. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

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Platform

Readers’ letters at the heart of the heritage railway scene

Hold an LMS Pacifics Great Gathering at Butterley!

CONGRATULATIONS on a thought inspiring and opinion leading article, Now let’s line up the LMS Pacifics, in issue 179. I know that there are many people who would will this event into existence if that alone could make it possible. As a volunteer and patron of the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust, I know how much excitement and discussion this article will generate within our team and others. There will be great competition to host this prestigious event and the decision on location must be made in the best interests of the event and the participants regardless of personal loyalties. The early sell-out of places for the celebratory dinners, the footfall into the National Railway Museum up from 1000 per week to 138,000 over two weeks and the high sales of associated memorabilia rewarded the vision and hard work of the organisers of the Great Gathering. It proved to the country just how strong the public appetite is for our railway heritage and especially for events like this. Uniting the Pacifics has the potential to inspire the public again. This article boldly challenges the obstacles to be overcome in mounting an event of this scale. It is insightful and considered. The obstacles are not insignificant. The first and possibly the greatest of these is a consensus from the custodians of the Stanier Pacifics to commit to this event and ensure its success. The article recognised a fundamental challenge with No. 46235 City of Birmingham. The trustees in charge of this important exhibit have a duty to their charter to preserve and provide public access to this asset and must be guided by it when considering alternative proposals. The reference to red tape in your opening paragraph ignores the personal responsibilities of the museum trustees. Location, timing, synchronised availability of exhibits and finance

Newly repainted No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland unveiled at the West Shed and the Midland Railway Centre’s Swanwick Junction site on March 2012 following its last overhaul. Would this be the ideal choice for an LMS Pacifics Great Gathering? ROBIN JONES

are lesser, but by no means trivial, challenges to be overcome. A significant level of financial sponsorship to meet the costs of staging this event will involve the resources and organisation to deliver it. Location will be a key consideration for consensus. Of the solutions considered in the article the most obvious is not considered seriously. The venues considered in detail include the NRM at York, Barrow Hill roundhouse, Crewe Works, Locomotion at Shildon and Tyseley. York is a magnificent railway centre on the former LNER and is a great centre for the gathering of A4s. It is the headquarters of the National Collection but this does not make it the most appropriate location for the LMS Pacifics. Shildon has less to offer in terms of display potential and its northern location does not provide easy access for visitors. I doubt that Crewe Works could offer enough covered space to display this gathering and accommodate the viewing public, while Barrow Hill is not the easiest location to get to and already has a roundhouse full of exhibits. The suggestion that Tyseley could

host this event is illogical. It is a former GWR facility with no LMS associations. It is dominated by that company’s locomotives and rolling stock. Its open days are well attended but occur just twice a year. If the local area needs economic uplift then surely Tyseley could arrange these open days more frequently in return for the £100,000 financial support it has received already from local taxpayers. As for its willingness to restore City of Birmingham, maybe its efforts should be directed to Princess Elizabeth which is languishing on its premises making slow progress to completion of its heavy overhaul. The suggestion that Tyseley should present the Pacifics around its turntable is not consistent with the needs of the museum owners to conserve and protect the exhibits from inclement weather and the fallout from other locomotives in steam. And with no cover for the public, poor weather will depress visitor numbers. The consideration of restoring No. 46235 to steaming condition is unrealistic in the timescale for this event and only adds to the reasons for not releasing this locomotive from its current location. Steaming City of Birmingham is a discussion for another occasion and should not

be allowed to provide another obstacle to this event. Your analysis of location ignores a worthy contender. It is an award winning fully accredited museum. It has a four road engine house and workshop plus two roads for 21in gauge locomotives and rolling stock. The LMS is the principal theme of the museum and includes a gallery dedicated to Sir William A. Stanier FRS. It has a library and a cinema. Two of the five Stanier Pacifics are already based here, both of which have been prepared for main line running and one of which is currently operational. It is, of course, the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust based at West Shed in Swanwick. This modern, purpose-built facility is more than capable of hosting this gathering under cover or in the open as circumstances allow for individual exhibits, and of providing its visitors with a great experience. It is fully developed with workshop viewing galleries and disabled access. It would need minimal cash to adapt it for the Pacific gathering. The trust employs skilled engineers and a museum curator who are supported by a large number of committed and active volunteers. This team completed the heavy overhaul of No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland in just 12 months in 2011. The quality of the restoration of historic locomotives and coaches has been recognised with national awards for the standards achieved. Other groups on our campus will benefit from this event as visitors find an itinerary capable of filling their day, and there is good access from all points of the compass to this central location. Apart from this obvious omission the article presents a persuasive case to commit to a gathering of the LMS Pacifics. As one of the volunteers at West Shed and a patron of the PRCLT, I may be biased, but consideration of the best venue can lead to just one conclusion: the West Shed facility is perfect for this event. Geoff Aris, email

Taking pleasure in restoration, not completion targets IN Heritage Railway issue 179, J Crosse writes: “Out of date websites and restoration targets missed by many years show that all is not well in the world of locomotive restoration. When will the owners of these giants accept that they need to replace optimism with realism?” 72 Heritage Railway

I think Mr Crosse misses the point. It seems to me that in their heart of hearts, the sort of locomotive restorers he is talking about who spend 20 or even 30 years tinkering with ‘their’ engine don’t actually want to finish rebuilding it – it’s the tinkering that they enjoy.

Should they ever actually get it back to working order they would feel bereft, their lives drained of purpose. Provided they don’t disfigure or clutter up an operating railway serving the public, who are we to deny them their pleasure? Tony Nicholson, Lynton, North Devon www.heritagerailway.co.uk

E-MAIL: [email protected] WRITE TO: Platform, Heritage Railway, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ

TrackTalk Not the first to Hoe

Still giving excellent service – but only as a cafe – is West Bay station in Dorset. Opened by the GWR on March 31, 1884, as an extension of the Bridport Railway, it served Bridport’s harbour. The GWR named it West Bay, and the name stuck for the harbour and also the holiday resort that grew up around it. The line between West Bay and Bridport closed to passengers in 1930, and operated for goods services only until its final closure in 1962. After many years as the office of a boatyard, the station building was restored with a short length of track laid alongside the platform. From West Bay, a section of the trackbed can be walked into Bridport. ROBIN JONES

An LMS Pacific Gathering – ‘yes’; resteam City of Birmingham – ‘no’! I THINK the idea of an LMS Gathering is an excellent one and would agree with you that if the Birmingham Museum authorities were to co-operate, there could be a great success wherever the gathering was held. Having said that, I do feel that under no circumstances should No. 46235 City of Birmingham be steamed as it is now unique among the larger Pacifics and needs to be conserved as such. All of the other Pacifics have been ‘doctored’ in one way or another to enable their operation on the ‘big railway’ and as privately owned locos (even No. 6229 isn’t actually publicly

owned) the owners have every right to do with them what they will. This they have done, for the pleasure of all those who have been able to see them on the main line. No. 46235, however, has never been operable and is therefore in exactly the same condition as it left BR and I believe the museum should indeed keep it in that condition. I have heard the various arguments about “removing items for safekeeping” many times before and all I will say is: “Ask the NRM about the old tender body for No. 6229, which was saved for this very reason.”

Public cash should be made available for heritage lines

I WAS encouraged by the article in issue 179, News, pages 10/11, about the Government’s review of heritage railways. I think most people know that government is supposed to get as good as value as possible when it spends our taxes. I believe that cash assistance to preserved railways is excellent value for money and would help to give yet another push to our economy. An example would be where the local council did a costing to reinstate the line from Barnstaple to Bideford and turned down the quote given as too high. The way forward would be to use a mix of volunteer and paid staff plus inclusion of an apprentice scheme with some government funding. Grants for coastal town development are, I think, also available from the EU. The thing to remember is that there is always more than one way to get what you want. Clive Thompson, email

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Basically, it rotted away and got in everyone’s way until it was eventually scrapped on the grounds that it would be easier to build a new body in the future – a very sensible solution. I don’t subscribe to the ‘paint’ theory at all, rather the ‘icon’ logic whereby a locomotive is kept intact as the reference for serious researchers to see exactly the railway built back in the 1930s and operated right through until withdrawal. We have two operable Coronations and two operable Princesses, so let’s enjoy those and keep No. 46235 intact for future generations to study. Ian Smith, email

Should more Barry wrecks be restored? IN issue 179, you ran an article on outstanding Barry locomotive restorations. In the final days of Woodham’s yard clearance, an organisation was raised – BSLAG – to control the rescue of locomotives from Barry. Would it not now be a sensible idea to form a similar organisation to prioritise restorations of the outstanding locomotives using such criteria as usefulness of size and individuality of class. Do we really need two or three more Merchant Navies, especially on lines of little more than one mile, or three or four Class 8 28/38XX/72XX or Stanier 8Fs, or three or four more GW Halls. As was suggested, surely the time has come to look for spares for those that are running. Do not get me wrong – I would love to see all locomotives restored, but time, volunteers and finance are not available, so please, let’s be realistic. Peter Share, Wolverhampton

I’M afraid your statement in News, issue 178, about the first passenger train to Hoe, that the DMU trip on May 12 was “the first passenger train to have journeyed north since closure beyond Dereham to Wellsnext-the-Sea on October 5, 1964,” is incorrect. I travelled on a railtour, organised by the Fakenham & Dereham Railway Society, on October 11, 1980, which reached Ryburgh, then the end of the line. The last two and a half miles to Fakenham had closed on August 2 of that year and “after the most furious rows with BR (the F&DS) failed to prevent them from lifting the track”. The society’s tour itinerary goes on to say: “However, the F&DRS, not one to give up, is now negotiating for the trackbed and intends to 1 relay this 2 ⁄2 mile section.” This railtour was only the second passenger train to proceed north of Dereham since 1964. There may have been subsequent railtours on this section before BR finally withdrew. Peter Davis, Fishponds, Bristol

A4s ‘not looked after well’ in America

HOW alarmed I was to read John Jolly`s letter condemning Julian Birley’s attempts to buy an A4 before they return to America. Obviously he has never been north to see the state the two engines were in on their arrival. Perhaps he has never been across the pond to see them. His contention that Dwight D. Eisenhower was “displayed in pride of place and kept in pristine condition” is, in my opinion, an absolute joke. I think both engines were a disgrace and should be removed from America for safekeeping as the North Americans are not looking after them as they should. Stephen Rhodes, email

The future of steam

SOME years back, I was at the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway. Two young mothers were talking about recent visits to the National Railway Museum. One was saying that as she walked through the first part, it was much as she had expected – then she went into the main hall and there stood a gleaming machine that really impressed her, “So futuristic” – “Mallard”. Alex Dow, email

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News

TrackTalk Build more vintage locomotive replicas

WITH the 150 years of the Underground celebration and the huge crowds turning out to see Metropolitan Railway E class 0-4-4T No. 1 and its vintage rolling stock, not only in London but also at the Epping Ongar Railway, heritage railways should be getting the message – just what is missing from all of them is the vintage train. The railway press seems to be geared to promoting new builds, mainly of 4-6-0 type of locomotives from the 1920s and 1930s, when what is needed are the earlier Victorian machines such as the GWR The Queen (as highlighted in issue 179), the Holden F5 or the George V. These would be of much more use. Who knows how much longer we will have to wait for Tyseley’s Bloomer to steam. Derrick Martin, Hornchuch, Essex.

Media push to make it happen I WOULD really love to see City of Birmingham released from Thinktank and fully support your campaign to try and make it happen. In view of the recent media and public interest in The Great Gathering, perhaps an approach to local media such as the BBC would help? Geoff Emson, email

Second best for LMS Gathering AFTER the Great Gathering, an LMS gathering would be welcomed, but if City of Birmingham cannot be released – which it should ultimately be – then let’s have a line-up of Stanier twins… Duchesses, Princesses, Royal Scots, Jubilees, ‘Black Fives’, 8Fs and even tank engines. That would be a worthy successor show to the Great Gathering. Now you need to find the occasion to match. William Johnston, email

Not made in Doncaster! GREAT to see the triumph of British engineering being celebrated at the National Railway Museum; the only pity is that it is being commemorated with models made in China. Nothing more to say really. Glenn Upton, email

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Relay Dolgellau to Barmouth as a new narrow gauge line WHAT had puzzled me more, if anything, than the actual closure of the link between Dolgellau and Barmouth, was not hearing of either a campaign against closure or of any subsequent attempts at reinstatement. It seems so obvious that these two tourist centres should be linked, and now that tourism is so important to North Wales, I could not see why such an ideal location for a tourist railway seemed to be disregarded. I am grateful therefore to Hugh Sykes (issue 179) to learn that efforts were made to save the line and of the later proposals either to lay narrow gauge down the estuary or instead along Bala Lake. While the line that resulted at Bala Lake is great, it never did get back into Bala and suffers from going from nowhere to a small village.

A line from Dolgellau to Barmouth junction would by contrast have linked major tourist centres. It is galling to think how nearly the line was saved, and then how nearly it was reinstated in narrow gauge. To do so now will be very much more expensive and difficult, but against that it can be said that what the heritage movement once deemed impossible is now thought merely a challenge. The Welsh Highland Railway has shown that a 2ft gauge line can share a trackbed with a cycleway and since that would have to remain, then considerations of responsibility for sea defences would remain, at least in part, vested in ownership of the cycleway. We are not anyway faced with the open sea but an estuary, so this should not be onerous. Bearing in mind the enormous

potential benefits to the region, it should be possible to work out an equitable arrangement for this. As to benefits, Dolgellau would become terminus of a narrow gauge railway providing not just a stunning ride down the beautiful estuary, but also as destination a steam centre modelled on the old junction station, and then the option of a steam shuttle onwards over the iconic bridge into Barmouth. As the final destination, Barmouth could rebuild the old excursion platform and since the railway was always central to the look of the town, put back some of the heritage features of a steam railway. The town might then make itself more attractive to visitors by recapturing some of its former special ambience. Michael Huber, Bordon, Hampshire.

Bittern worked the last British Railways A4 trip THANK you for the great coverage of the Great Gathering in issue 178. In particular, it was a joy to catch up on “the other 29”. However I need to just correct a small error relating to the last one... Kingfisher. No. 60024 did not work the last Scottish Region tour; that was covered by No. 60019 Bittern on Saturday, September 3, 1966 (Glasgow-Aberdeen-Glasgow). Kingfisher worked the South West Rail Society tour the next day from Aberdeen to Edinburgh, handing over at Waverley to Bittern (which had travelled light from Glasgow) for the next leg to York, never to return to Aberdeen Ferryhill shed 61B. Both A4s were nominally “withdrawn from BR service” the following day, Monday, September 5, Kingfisher from Ferryhill and Bittern from York, the latter into

preservation by Geoff Drury. However, due to a shortage of motive power available at Aberdeen Ferryhill on September 14, 1966, Kingfisher worked the 8.24am Glasgow to Aberdeen return trip, becoming the final revenue-earning service for an A4. The enclosed undated photograph shows a dead Kingfisher being

Appeal for Gorton shed information AS a young boy in the early Fifties, I used to live close to Gorton Shed 39A. It held open days every month and we were allowed to climb on engines unsupervised except by our parents. It seemed to be a very busy shed but reading the railway press over the past 15 years I have never seen a mention of it. As I recall, it was a manufacturing depot and very close to the Beyer Peacocks works. I remember that there were plenty of B1s, K3s and something

called a ‘Tiny’ which (I think) was a 2-8-0 goods engine. There were also some small tank engines which were used for local passenger work. Does anyone have details of the number of engines based at Gorton to include engine types or advise me where I might find the information please? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the good work with an excellent magazine Peter Annely, email at [email protected]

manually turned at Aberdeen Ferryhill shed prior to despatch southwards to scrap merchants Hughes Bolckow of North Blyth. I am guessing this is to enable it to be towed nose-first on the main line; does any reader know different? Sadly the locomotive was cut up in February the following year. Eric Oates, Stafford

End of steam sad memories CAN I thank Alan Castle for his major article 1968:The Grand Finale In Retrospect... 45 years on in issue 178. I can appreciate the amount of time and effort involved in piecing together those last few weeks of steam operation on BR – fascinating and an essential record. I was able to visit Lostock Hall and Carnforth on several occasions just prior to the end of steam – a very sad sight. Thank you Alan for your hard work and thank you Heritage Railway for publishing it. Nigel Bird, Tregaron, Ceredigion. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Offtheshelf Underground to Everywhere: london’S

underground railway in the liFe oF the capital By Stephen halliday (softback, The History Press, 262pp, £14.99, ISBN 978 0 7524 9772 3)

tHAnks to the brilliant Met 150 partnership between the Underground and the city’s transport museum at Covent Garden, which will see yet more public steam trips run between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Amersham on september 7-8, the world’s oldest and best tube system has rarely had a higher profile. Here, the author takes a fresh look at the economic, social and cultural history of the Underground, from the ambition of the Victorian pioneers who made it happen, seeking an alternative to the horse omnibus, to some of the less than savoury episodes in its illustrious story, such as the investment of American Charles tyson Yerkes, who left a string of debts in the wake of his electrification schemes, and Great Central promoter edward Watkin, who began building an eiffel tower at Wembley. Halliday’s narrative is populated with such larger-than-life characters who nonetheless contributed in their own way towards the ‘trains in drains’ subterranean transport system that makes london tick. separate chapters deal with the mushrooming of Metroland, the Underground during two world wars, the system’s artistic heritage and the tube in the postwar era. It is a fascinating read, but also a book that you can pick up and browse at any time and learn something new.

Country Railway Routes:

St BoSwellS to Berwick By Vic Mitchell (hardback, Middleton press, 96pp, £16.95. ISBN 978 1 908174 44 4).

Interest in the Waverley route has rarely been higher since the failed campaign to prevent its closure 34 years ago, with the northern section to tweedbank being rebuilt and offering hopes that one day the remainder to Carlisle might receive similar treatment. this typical MP volume details the 42mile Berwickshire railway which ran from st Boswells on the Waverley route to Berwick-on-tweed, serving the rich agricultural pastures in this part of the border country, although severe flooding and washouts led to most of the line being closed as early as 1948. Passenger services were lost september 8, 1951, but freight lasted into the midsixties. the line’s greatest claim to fame came on December 20, 1941, when none other than the ‘Flying scotsman’ named train used it as a diversionary route. As seen in this excellent guide, much of the route can readily be traced today.

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

The Great Train Robbery and other Railway Crimes

By Mike holgate (hardback, Halsgrove Publishing, 120pp, £9.99, ISBN 978 85704 202 6).

tHe 50th anniversary of the Great train robbery is one remembered by railwaymen with disdain, if only because of the head injuries that left driver Jack Mills unable to work again. By contrast there was a feeling among the general public that otherwise the escapade was some sort of modern-day robin Hood affair, the names of the participants entering folklore. the events of August 8, 1963, were, however, far from being the only time that trains have been held up by robbers in Britain, despite a widespread misconception to the contrary. such hold-ups were frequent in the late 19th century on Us railroads, courtesy of the likes of Frank and Jesse James, while in Britain, some

Midland Main Lines: walSall routeS

By Vic Mitchell (hardback, Middleton press, 96pp, £16.95. ISBN 978 1 908174 45 1).

WAlsAll was one of those great meeting places on pre-Grouping and then Big Four railways. the first route was that of the Great Junction railway, the main line of which from Birmingham to stafford initially ran through Bescot. the GWr came on the scene with 1854 when it opened its main line from Birmingham to Wolverhampton, passing over the south staffordshire railway from Walsall to Dudley. the labyrinthine network which developed around lnWr, Midland railway and GWr was pruned back radically in the Beeching era, although passenger services from Walsall to Wolverhampton via short Heath were axed as early as 1931. nonetheless, the Walsall to rugeley trent Valley was reopened between 1989-98. We now await the day when Walsall to lichfield may follow. For anyone studying railways in a particular locality, MP’s series is the place to start. For the money, there is a wealth of archive photographs of every key location from stations to sidings, vintage Os plans and timetables.

Bluebell Railway Recollections

By keith leppard (softback, The Nostalgia Collection, 48pp, £6, ISBN 978-1-85794-391-7)

tHIs is a bargain-priced celebration of the magnificent heritage phenomenon that is the Bluebell railway, telling the story from its beginnings in 1960 to this year’s hugely successful reopening to east Grinstead. Making the best use of the landscape format, a seemingly colossal amount of pictures and informative text highlighting the locomotives and the stations along the line has been packed inside. Brilliant as both an introduction and as a souvenir, the complete Bluebell story is told in a one-stop offering.

would-be highwaymen adapted to the fact that the railways had made stagecoaches redundant by robbing trains. this fascinating book tells the stories of other headlinegrabbing crimes on Britain’s railways, such as the attempt to assassinate Queen Victoria on the royal train at Windsor in 1882, the first railway carriage murder, on the north london railway in 1864, and the Brighton carriage murder of June 1881. the author also expands on the theory that Jack the ripper was able to escape time and time again because he used the Metropolitan railway and connecting lines. All in all, an interesting and absorbing read.

Past and Present: the FFeStiniog railway

By John Stretton (softback, The Nostalgia Collection, 128pp, £20, ISBN 978 1 85895 282 6).

nOt only is the Underground celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, but 1863 was the same year as the Ffestiniog railway introduced what were the world’s first narrow gauge steam locomotives. Here is a superb Fr150 celebration souvenir. the publisher’s popular past and present format has been adapted to exclusively cover the line’s preservation era, comparing scenes – mainly colour – from the early Pegler years with those of today. separate chapters cover the line stage by stage, ending with a section on the locomotives. As well as the anticipated views, there are many forgotten scenes that will delight – and didn’t those coaches look good in that sixties green and cream livery? the building of the llyn Ystradau deviation remains one of the finest achievements of the preservation movement.

Steam Locomotives of Great Britain:

Standard gauge: nuMerical liSt and locationS, ex-Main line, wd and induStrial (softback, Locomotion books, www.locomotionbooks.co.uk 01890 781064, 128pp, £8.99, ISBN 0 680569 847317)

tHIs is a terrific little pocket book for the price, doing exactly what it says on the cover – listing every standard gauge steam locomotive surviving in Britan, and their whereabouts. Most of the ex-main line examples are well known, but painstaking research has clearly gone into compiling a manufacturer by manufacturer list of the industrials too. there is also a separate chapter on imported locomotives, and list of locations with contact telephone numbers and websites. All this and colour pictures too. everyone should buy a copy – keep it in the glovebox or gadget bag.

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SigNalliNg West Midlands steaM

The announcement in July that English Heritage has listed 26 signalboxes follows a report last summer that many of the surviving 500 or so will be made redundant in the next few years as Network Rail concentrates signalling in 14 control centres. Martin Creese looks at the changes across the West Midlands in the last three years and celebrates the buildings and the signalmen who worked in them.

S

ince the end of steam in 1968 our railways have undergone continuous modernisation and slowly but surely many of the vestiges of the steam era have been swept away. One of the most tangible remaining links back to the steam era on today’s modern network is the traditional mechanical signalbox. When you read the writings of Adrian Vaughan, who is renowned for his passion on signalling, it evokes a tremendous nostalgia for the traditional signalbox. This was the human face of the railway for many a footplate crew. The warmth of a potbellied stove on a cold winter’s evening could be

enjoyed from the comfort of an old armchair while the symphony of sound from the ringing of bell codes, the crashing levers and the tapping of plungers went on. Then there was the almost quiet contemplation as the register was written, broken by the crescendo of a passing train. You may have thought that this experience had been consigned to preservation, as did I as I stood on the steps of Shirley signalbox at my local station one July evening in 2010. The announcement in the spring of 2010 that the North Warwickshire line would be modernised with signalling controlled from the Saltley power box crystallised my desire that I

should, if possible, get permission to pay it a visit. With Network Rail approval granted, I walked through the porch to be greeted by regular Shirley signalman Tom Harrison. I spent a fascinating evening watching and listening to the regular flow of locals to Stratford and the reversals that took place at Shirley. Afterwards I became something of a regular visitor, always being made welcome and receiving invites to visit the other North Warwickshire signalboxes which were gratefully taken up. All three North Warwickshire ’boxes were of Great Western origin dating from 1907. Both Shirley and Henley still had original lever ➲

LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 5690 Leander passes Stourbridge Junction Middle signalbox on October 2, 2010.

The interior of Banbury North ’box. Signalman Martyn Crane updates the train register in December 2010.

GWR 4-6-0 No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe passes Banbury North signalbox on June 18, 2011. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

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GWR 2-8-0 No. 2857 rolls into Kidderminster as seen between the levers of Kidderminster Junction signalbox.

frames, Bearley containing a Midland frame installed in the 1960s. Each had a wonderful charm and character all of its own. Shirley had the bustle of many of the Birmingham locals terminating, Henley quieter as an intermediate block section and Bearley the wonderful calm of the countryside but the business of a junction. I spent a Sunday with Gordon Roberts at Bearley; a quiet man who seemed to be a perfect partner (if there is such a thing) for Bearley Junction signalbox. Sat in the V of the junction of the Hatton and North Warwick’s lines you had a wonderful view down towards Wilmcote and there I stood watching No. 4965 Rood Ashton Hall coming up from Stratford on the ‘Shakespeare Express’. Between trains we discussed Gordon’s career on the railway, the impending closure of the signalboxes and his forthcoming retirement. It was fitting that as Tom would do at Shirley, Gordon worked the last shift at Bearley Junction.

The summer of 2012 saw the next phase of the modernisation with the Stourbridge line signalboxes to be moved to the Dome at Saltley. Once again I was permitted a chance to visit and was asked to compile a companion volume to commemorate the closure. These were a very different group. Only Kidderminster Junction had a frame in it, Stourbridge, Churchill and Blakedown and Hartlebury having panels. Hartlebury was a McKenzie and Holland of Worcester ’box, dating from 1875. A unique survivor of its type, its status wasn’t recognised in the English Heritage report published in August 2012 Churchill and Blakedown, like Hartlebury, controlled a level crossing at the station. I wondered when I visited whether I would have the same almost sentimental attachment to a panel ’box, and then came the surprise for within the panel was a block bell which rang from Kidderminster. I spent many happy hours with Rob McDougall and Stephen Wood

talking trains and putting the world to rights. Stourbridge Middle Junction signalbox is an imposing GWR type 7. The modern panel only occupied half the box and covered all the crossings and sidings towards Old Hill. There was also the ground frame at Kingswinford for the Round Oak steel traffic. The original wooden GWR ’box having sadly been burnt down, it had to be the most austere signalbox.

GWR 4-6-0 No. 4965 Rood Ashton Hall passes Shirley signalbox on August 29, 2010.

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www.heritagerailway.co.uk

GWR 4-6-0s Nos. 4965 Rood Ashton Hall and 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe pass Kidderminster Junction signalbox on the evening of April 2, 2011.

What was fascinating was that it still used a traditional token, exchanged on the move as a Class 66 mastered its 2000 tonne steel train up the gradient. Of all of them though, Kidderminster Junction was both the most traditional and the most fascinating. Sited opposite the Severn Valley Railway, it controlled the busy London Midland and Chiltern Traffic to Worcester and

LNER A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado passes Norton Junction signalbox, coming off the Cotswold line on March 19, 2013.

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Birmingham. As signalman Charlie Brook noted there was always a train moving, just not necessarily one you had control of. Built in 1953 as a replacement for the original destroyed by an errant wagon, it had a rather forbidding exterior. Huge windows gave it a brightness and openness that the others didn’t have and with a long lever frame and block instruments for both Blakedown and Hartlebury it was a

strange mix of tradition and 1950s modernity. One signalbox I didn’t get to visit although I photographed it many times as a backdrop to main line tours was Washwood Heath Sidings. A Midland Railway building, it was listed, but succumbed to demolition in 2012. The signalboxes of the Cannock line still exist but are scheduled for closure this August. Thankfully despite these closures we still ➲

GWR 4-6-0 No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe at Moreton in the Marsh on October 20, 2012.

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SR Bulleid Battle of Britain Pacific No. 34067 Tangmere is seen by the Worcester Shrub Hill gantry.

have working examples of signalboxes in the West Midlands with oases of mechanical signalling at both Worcester and Banbury. The standout survivor is Banbury North under the care of signalling enthusiast and Network Rail signalman Martyn Crane. It has been beautifully restored to Great Western Railway condition. It is also incredibly busy handling around 200 movements per day and with both up and down main and relief lines conveys something of what a large

signalbox was like in the days of steam. The almost continuous stream of bell codes ringing is a marvellous sound. The Worcester area has a fantastic concentration of Great Western mechanical signalling. Tunnel Junction, Shrub Hill, Henwick and Norton Junction control the lines around Worcester. There are also signalboxes still surviving on both the Hereford and Cotswold lines. ■

LMS Princess Royal Pacific No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth passes Washwood Heath Sidings signalbox on April 9, 2011.

Books on Blurb ■ All of my visits have been made with the permission of Network Rail and it is to the staff I met that I offer my thanks for making me so welcome. I have compiled three books through Blurb available in both paper and electronic versions. To find these, visit http://www.blurb.co.uk/user/store/ Martincreese

Signalman Gordon Roberts writes up the register in Bearley West Junction signalbox on September 5, 2010.

Seen from the signalbox steps on September 5, 2010, GWR 4-6-0 No. 4965 Rood Ashton Hall comes over Bearley West Junction. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

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Joffre works a short empty stone train. In the top left is the 3054ft Skiddaw.

Narrow gauge

in the Lake District

A comparatively recent addition to the range of heritage railways in Britain, Brian Sharpe reports from a line which has brought steam back to the northern part of the Lake District.

T

hrelkeld quarry in the Lake District was opened to supply ballast to the PenrithKeswick line in the 1870s. From a few hundred tons a year, by 1894 80,000 tons was being quarried, It was being used by the Manchester Corporation Waterworks, as ballast for the Crewe-Carlisle line, for roadstone, kerbing and for facing buildings.

The quarry was closed in 1937 but reopened after modernisation in 1949. After blasting, rock was hand-loaded into wagons on a narrow gauge railway and fed to the crushers by gravity. Later, the railway, now operated by steam locomotives, was extended to Spion Kop and to Bram Crag quarry and also to the main line at the adjoining Threlkeld railway station. ➲

Alan Keef 0-4-0VBT+T Paddy in the quarry as wagons are loaded by a Ruston-Bucyrus excavator. FRED KERR

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www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Hunslet 0-4-0ST Sybil Mary approaches the quarry face, passing part of the collection of excavators.

Above: Joffre, Sybil Mary, Sir Tom, Peter Pan and Paddy in the quarry. FRED KERR Left: No. 19 heads up towards the quarry face as Peter Pan and Paddy stand outside the middle level workshops. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Heritage Railway

85

Kerr Stuart 0-6-0WTT Joffre outside the locomotive shed with Quarry Hunslet 0-4-0ST Sybil Mary.

The railway was dismantled after the Second World War and rock was loaded at the quarry face by Ruston-Bucyrus excavators into large tipper trucks which carried it up a ramp to the new crushing plant situated within the original quarry, whose output reached 500 tons per day in the 1950s. The quarry, then owned by ARC Ltd, finally closed in 1982 and demolition contractors removed all the saleable assets leaving just a derelict site. In 1992, Lakeland Mines and Quarries Trust finally negotiated a lease with the intention of developing a museum on the site, but the remaining buildings had badly deteriorated.

Members of the trust made some progress in restoring the site but in 1995 the trust was wound up, and the museum passed into the ownership of the Museum Company (the trading arm of the trust) which is now running the site. Situated in a microgranite quarry, the museum has been open now for 10 years and occupies a scenic position in the Northern Lake District. The site has ample space for the display of the unique collection of vintage excavators and old quarry machinery. The 2ft gauge railway has been relaid and provides rides into the inner quarry for visitors.

Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0 ST No. 19 Kanaka heads a short train away from Threlkeld museum towards the quarry.

86 Heritage Railway

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Sir Tom, Sybil Mary, Joffre, Paddy, No. 19 and Peter Pan, line up in the headshunt behind the locomotive shed against the backdrop of 2848ft Blencathra. FRED KERR

Bagnall 0-4-0ST Sir Tom completed its first full season of work at Threlkeld Quarry in 2010, after completion of its rebuild by Ian Hartland, now its regular driver. The locomotive was built in 1925 (works No. 2135) and named after Sir Tom Callender of British Insulated Callender Cables and worked at BICC in Kent until 1968. It arrived at Threlkeld in 2001 and was regauged from 3ft to 2ft. The unique quarry environment with its length of narrow gauge railway is a magnet for

photographic charter operators although for the sake of variety it is necessary to import visiting motive power. Friday, July 26, saw one such photo charter, organised by David Tillotson, which was blessed with sunny but not too warm weather, and produced some memorable scenes. The museum has become a popular attraction, although there is still much work to do, and the continuous parade of goods trains proved an additional attraction for the many visitors, interspersed

with passenger trains headed by Sir Tom. The locomotives involved were: ➲ Alan Keef 0-4-0VB+T Paddy, built in 2008 ➲ Kerr Stuart Wren class 0-4-0ST Peter Pan ➲ Kerr Stuart 0-6-0WTT Joffre (works No. 2045) ➲ Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0 ST Kanaka which worked in Fiji as No. 19 at Lautuka Mill ➲ Penrhyn Quarry Hunslet 0-4-0ST Sybil Mary (works No. 921 of 1906). ■

A line up of assorted motive power outside the locomotive shed featuring Joffre, Sir Tom and Sybil Mary. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

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ScaleHeritageRailway

Didcot 7200 for big mineral trains By Robin Jones

HORNBY’s eagerlyawaited GWR heavyweight tank engines have hit the shelves – and they include a future Didcot Railway Centre star. GWR 7200 2-8-2T No. 7202 is one of three surviving members of the class of what comprised the biggest tank engines in the Swindon empire. Entering traffic at Ebbw Junction on September 30, 1934, it was withdrawn from 88B Cardiff East Docks on June 30, 1964. The type was not a new design, but an enlargement of existing 42XX and 52XXX 2-8-0Ts purpose adapted for short runs of heavy coal trains in the South Wales valleys. To boost their coal-carrying capacity, the frames were extended by 4ft so that a trailing wheelset could be added. They were the first and only engines with a 2-8-2T wheel arrangement to be built in Britain. During the Great Depression of the Thirties, coal traffic in South Wales declined, and the need for short-journey heavy tank locomotives of the 4200 class tailed off, while the 2600 Aberdare class of freight engines were becoming life expired. The first to be converted was No. 5275, which returned to traffic numbered 7200 in August 1934, and which is now in an advanced state of restoration by the 7200 Trust at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. No. 7200 was one of only four class members to carry the coal scuttle-type bunker which gave it a greater water-carrying capacity than the rest. No. 7202 was the third engine to be adapted, from 1926-built 4200 No. 5277, built in 1926. A total of 54 7200s appeared between 1934-39

88 Heritage Railway

and despite their 92 ton 22cwt weight appeared over most parts of the GWR system, hauling lengthy iron ore and mineral trains. The first to be withdrawn was No. 7241 in November 1962, the last four soldiering on until June 1965. South Wales-based engines, the trio we have today ended up locally at Barry scrapyard, where the decision by owner Dai Woodham to concentrate on cutting up scrap wagons rather than locomotives allowed them to be sold into preservation. Because of their heavy coal consumption, despite their awesome power, the preservation movement has not prioritised their restoration. No. 7202 was purchased by the Great Western Society on January 1, 1973, from Woodhams of Barry and brought to Didcot in April 1974. However, once one or more of the survivors are ready, they will be able to show exactly what they are capable of. Lengthy passenger trains over the North Yorkshire Moors or

Bodmin & Wenford railways gradients should not ruffle their feathers. Likewise, the Hornby edition in Brunswick green livery with Great Western on the tank sides will have no difficulty pulling the longest goods trains you can muster on any average layout. The third survivor is No.7229 which left Barry in October 1984 and which is awaiting restoration on the East Lancashire Railway. Also released by Hornby is the first of its new 4200 class models. Designed by Churchward specifically for hauling South Wales coal, the 4200 2-8-0Ts which were introduced in 1910 were modified from 1923 onwards by his successor Collett. The cylinder size was increased from 19in to 30in and they were given outside steam pipes to boost their tractive effort. The modified locomotives were reclassified as 52XXs.

The Hornby model is of No. 5243, which was outshopped from Swindon Works on August 31, 1924, and withdrawn from 86E Severn Tunnel Junction on November 30, 1964, being scrapped by Buttigiegs in Newport on February 28, 1965. The model appears in BR black. Like No. 7202, detailing is superb. Three examples of the class have been preserved; No. 5224 under overhaul at Crewe Heritage Centre and No. 5239, which is currently in service on the Dartmouth Steam Railway carrying the modern name Goliath, while No. 5227, one of the ‘Barry 10’ pool of scrap locomotives, is at Didcot, where it has donated its axleboxes to the project to build a new GWR 4700 ‘Night Owl’ 2-8-0, No. 4709.

HORNBY R3126 GWR 52XX 2-8-0T BR black late livery pristine finish DCC ready HORNBY R3127 GWR 52XX 2-8-2T Brunswick green livery pristine finish DCC ready HORNBY R3127X GWR 52XX 2-8-2T Brunswick green livery pristine finish DCC fitted

£119.99 £129.99 £147.49

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Princess Coronation Duchess of Hamilton in N gauge IN OUR last issue, we asked if it would be possible to follow up the record-breaking Great Gathering of all six A4s by bringing all five LMS Pacifics together. That would, of course, involve Birmingham City Council agreeing to release Duchess No.

46235 City of Birmingham from the Thinktank Museum, even if only briefly. The idea has sparked a debate, with your letters appearing in Platform this issue. However, soon you will be able to line up the

new Graham Farish N gauge Duchess any which way you want. Pictured is a pre-production prepainted sample. The locomotive will appear as none other than preservation icon

No. 46229 Duchess of Hamilton, in its destreamlined form, and in BR Brunswick green livery with early emblem, as part of the Farish Blue Riband Range, DCC ready, it needs a six pin decoder.

GRAHAM FARISH 372-181 LMS Princess Coronation 4-6-2 No. 46229 Duchess Of Hamilton BR green DCC ready £149.95

Midland 1F 0-6-0Ts both with and without cabs A HUGELY-popular performer, the sole-surviving Midland Railway 1F 0-6-0 ‘half cab’, No. 41708, has not been seen on heritage railways for many years. Instead, it remains on static display inside Barrow Hill roundhouse until sufficient funds become available for its next overhaul. However, it will soon come to life again on many an OO gauge layout. Pictured are the pre-production samples of Bachmann Branchline’s latest finescale model of the 1F, with both variants, with or without the cab, available. Introduced in 1878 by Samuel Johnson, a total of 185 were built by 1891 when production ceased. Most were built without a rear to the cab and only a short cab roof, hence their nickname ‘half-cabs’, although about 40 were built with full cabs. Originally they were built with round-topped fireboxes, but many later received Belpaire fireboxes. Withdrawals began in 1928, but a total of 87 passed into British Railways ownership in 1948. Five stayed in use until 1966 because of a contract signed by the Midland in 1866 to provide shunting engines to Staveley Ironworks for 100 years. It was one of the Staveley engines, No. 1418 (later 1708 and then 41708) that survived. The Bachmann models will feature Belpaire boiler versions, detailed backheads and the option of vacuum ejector fitting. The first editions of the design will be made available to enthusiasts as No. 41708 as preserved, in BR black with early emblem (31-431), No. 1725 in LMS black livery (31-430) and No. 41661 in BR black with late crest (31-432). www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Limited edition Elsecar coal wagon BARNSLEY’S Elsecar Heritage Railway has commissioned a limited edition plank wagon to celebrate the installation of the long-awaited level crossing at Tingle Bridge Lane in Hemingfield, which will allow the line to extend to Cortonwood. The wagons are available from Elsecar & Wentworth station or by mail order from [email protected] and cost £10 plus postage and packing. Cheques should be payable to Elsecar Railway, while credit card payments can be accepted on 07738 231639.

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UpandRunning

A nine-car DMU formation on 'The Fish & Chip Special' at Wash Green, Wirksworth, during the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway Multiple Memories weekend on August 10. STUART GRAVES

Brian Sharpe’s full listing of operational lines and museum venues SoUTh EAST

■ amBerley wOrKiNg mUSeUm Narrow gauge, ¼ mile, Arundel, West Sussex. Tel: 01798 831370. www.amberleymuseum.co.uk Running: Wed-Sun + sch hol. ■ BeNtley miNiatUre railway Narrow gauge, one mile, Bentley Wildfowl & Motor Museum, East Sussex. www.bentleyrailway.co.uk Running: Suns. ■ BlUeBell railway Standard gauge, 11 miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Sheffield Park, East Sussex TN22 2QL. Tel: 01825 720800. www.bluebell-railway.co.uk Engines: 263, 92212, 1638, 178, B473, 323, 592, L150. Running: Daily. ■ BreDgar & wOrmShill railway Narrow gauge, ½ mile, near Sittingbourne, Kent. Running: Sep 1. ■ eaSt KeNt railway Standard gauge, two miles, Shepherdswell, Dover. Tel: 01304 832042. Running: Suns + Aug 31, Sep 7. ■ eaStleigh laKeSiDe railway Narrow gauge, 1¼ miles, footplate experience. Running: W/Es + school holidays. ■ exBUry garDeNS railway Narrow gauge, 1¼ miles, footplate experience, New Forest, Hampshire. Tel: 0238 089 1203. www.exbury.co.uk Running: Daily. ■ haStiNgS miNiatUre railway Narrow gauge, 600 yards, Rock a Nore Road, Hastings, East Sussex Running: W/Es + school holidays. ■ hayliNg SeaSiDe railway Narrow gauge, one mile, Hayling Island, Hants. www.haylingseasiderailway.com Running: W/Es, Weds + sch hol. ■ hOllyCOmBe Steam COlleCtiON Narrow gauge, one mile, Liphook, Hants. Tel: 01428 724900. [email protected] Running: Wed-Sun. ■ iSle Of wight Steam railway Standard gauge, five miles, Havenstreet, Isle of Wight. Tel: 01983 882204. www.iwsteamrailway.co.uk Engines: 8, 24. Running: Daily except Sep 20, 21, 23. ■ KeNt & eaSt SUSSex railway Standard gauge, 10½ miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Tenterden, Kent. www.kesr.org.uk Tel: 01580 765155. Engines: 3, 6619, 32678, 1638. Running: W/Es, Tues-Thurs. ■ laVeNDer liNe Standard gauge, one mile, footplate experience, wine & dine, Isfield, East Sussex. Tel: 01825 750515. www.lavender-line.co.uk Running: Suns.

90 heritage railway

■ miD-haNtS railway Standard gauge, 10 miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Alresford, Hants SO24 9JG. www.watercressline.co.uk Tel: 01962 733810. Engines: 31806, 34007, 850, 925, 45379. Running: W/Es, Tues-Thurs. ■ rOmNey, hythe & DymChUrCh railway Narrow gauge, 13½ miles, footplate experience, New Romney, Tel: 01797 362353. www.rhdr.org.uk Running: Daily. ■ rOyal ViCtOria railway Narrow gauge, one mile, Netley, Southampton. Tel: 0238 045 6246. www.royalvictoriarailway.co.uk Running: W/Es + school holidays. ■ SittiNgBOUrNe & KemSley railway Narrow gauge, 1¾ miles, Sittingbourne, Kent. Tel: 01795 424899. www.sklr.net/index.htm Running: Suns. ■ SPa Valley railway Standard gauge, five miles, footplate experience, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Tel: 01892 537715. www.spavalleyrailway.co.uk Running: W/Es

SoUTh WEST

■ aVON Valley railway Standard gauge, three miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Willsbridge, Glos. www.avonvalleyrailway.org Tel: 0117 932 7296. Running: Suns + Aug 31. ■ BODmiN & weNfOrD railway Standard gauge, 6½ miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Bodmin, Cornwall. www.bodminrailway.co.uk Tel: 01208 73666. Engines: 5552, 30120, 30587, 6435, 4247, 4612. Running: Daily. ■ DartmOUth Steam railway Standard gauge, seven miles, wine & dine, Paignton, Devon. Tel: 01803 555872. Engines: 7827, 5239, 4277. www.dartmouthrailriver.co.uk Running: Daily. ■ DeVON railway CeNtre Narrow gauge, ½ mile, Bickleigh, Devon. Tel: 01884 855671. www.devonrailwaycentre.co.uk Running: Wed-Sun + Aug 30 -Sep 3. ■ eaSt SOmerSet railway Standard gauge, two miles, Cranmore, Somerset. Tel: 01749 880417. [email protected] Engine: 5637 Running: W/Es, Wed, Thurs except Sep 19.

■ gartell light railway Narrow gauge, one mile, Templecombe, Somerset. Tel: 01963 370752. glr-online.co.uk Running: Sep 29. ■ helStON railway Trevarno Farm, Prospidnick, Helson, Cornwall www.helstonrailway.co.uk/events Running: Suns, Thurs. ■ laUNCeStON Steam railway Narrow gauge, two miles, Launceston. Tel: 01566 775665. launcestonsr.co.uk Running: Sun-Fri. ■ lyNtON & BarNStaPle railway Narrow gauge, one mile, Woody Bay, north Devon. 01598 763487. www.lynton-rail.co.uk Running: Daily. ■ mOOrS Valley railway Narrow gauge, one mile, Ringwood, Hants. Tel: 01425 471415. www.moorsvalleyrailway.co.uk Running: W/Es + sch hols . ■ Plym Valley railway Standard gauge, ½ mile, Marsh Mills, Plymouth, Devon. www.plymrail.co.uk Running: Sep 8, 22. ■ SeatON tramway Narrow gauge, three miles, Harbour Rd, Seaton, Devon. Tel: 01297 20375. www.tram.co.uk Running: Daily. ■ SOUth DeVON railway Standard gauge, seven miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Buckfastleigh, Devon. Tel: 0843 357 1420. www.southdevonrailway.co.uk L92, 3205. Running: Daily. ■ SwaNage railway Standard gauge, six miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Swanage, Dorset. www.swanagerailway.co.uk Tel: 01929 425800. Engines: 80104, 30053, 34028, 34070, 6695. Running: Daily. ■ SwiNDON & CriCKlaDe railway Standard gauge, three miles, footplate experience, Blunsdon, Wiltshire. Tel: 01793 771615. www.swindon-cricklade-railway.org Running: W/Es. ■ weSt SOmerSet railway Standard gauge, 20 miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Minehead, Somerset TA24 5BG. Tel: 01643 704996. www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk Engines: 88, 9351, 3850, 4160. 7828, 6960. Running: Daily. ■ Heritage Railway cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or changes within material published in good faith. We advise readers to telephone before travelling long distances. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

UpandRunning EAST ANgliA

■ BRESSINGHAm STEAm muSEum Narrow gauge, one mile, Diss, Norfolk. Tel: 01379 686900. Running: Daily. ■ BuRE VALLEY RAILWAY Narrow gauge, nine miles, footplate experience, Aylsham, Norfolk. Tel: 01263 733858. www.bvrw.co.uk Running: Daily. ■ CoLNE VALLEY RAILWAY Standard gauge one mile footplate experience, wine and dine, Castle Hedingham, Essex. Tel: 01787 461174. www.colnevalleyrailway.co.uk Running: W/Es. ■ EAST ANGLIAN RAILWAY muSEum Standard gauge, ¼ mile, Wakes Colne, Essex. Tel: 01206 242524. www.earm.co.uk Open: Daily, Running: Oct 5, 6. ■ mANGAPPS RAILWAY Standard gauge, one mile, near Burnham on Crouch, Essex. Tel: 01621 784898. www.mangapps.co.uk Running: W/Es . ■ mId-NoRfoLK RAILWAY Standard gauge, 11½ miles, footplate experience, Dereham, Norfolk. Tel: 01362 690633. www.mnr.org.uk Engine: 9466. Running: W/Es, Tues, Weds + Sep 3, 20, not 19. ■ mId-SuffoLK LIGHT RAILWAY Standard gauge, 1⁄4 mile, Brockford, Suffolk. www.mslr.org.uk Running: Sep 28, 29. ■ NENE VALLEY RAILWAY Standard gauge, 7½ miles, footplate experience, Wansford, Peterborough, Cambs. Tel: 01780 784444. www.nvr.org.uk Engines: 73050, 80072. Running: W/Es + Sep 11, 18. ■ NoRTH NoRfoLK RAILWAY Standard gauge, 5½ miles, footplate experience, Sheringham, Norfolk NR26 8RA. Tel: 01263 820800. www.nnrailway.co.uk Engines: 8572, 5619, 777, 76084, 45337, 44767. Running: Daily. ■ WELLS & WALSINGHAm LIGHT RAILYWAY Narrow gauge, four miles, Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk. Tel: 01328 711630. Running: Daily. ■ WHITWELL & REEPHAm RAILWAY Standard gauge, ¼ mile, Reepham, Norfolk. Tel: 01603 871694. www.whitwellstation.com Running: W/Es , (steam: first Sunday).

MiDlANDS

■ AmERToN RAILWAY Narrow gauge, one mile, Stowe-by-Chartley, Staffs. Tel: 01785 850965. www.amertonrailway.co.uk Running: W/Es (steam Suns). ■ APEdALE VALLEY RAILWAY Narrow gauge, ½ mile, Apedale, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs. Running: Sats + Sep 15. ■ BARRoW HILL RouNdHouSE Standard gauge, ¼ mile, Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Tel: 01246 472450. www.barrowhill.org.uk Engine: 30075. Open: W/Es, Running: Sep 28, 29. ■ BATTLEfIELd LINE RAILWAY Standard gauge, five miles, Shackerstone, Leics. Tel: 01827 880754. battlefield-line-railway.co.uk Engine: 3803. Running: W/Es. ■ CHASEWATER RAILWAY Standard gauge, two miles, Walsall, West Midlands. Tel: 01543 452623. www.chasewaterrailway.co.uk Running: W/Es. ■ CHuRNET VALLEY RAILWAY Standard gauge, 5¼ miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Cheddleton, Staffs. Tel: 01538 360522. www.churnet-valley-railway.co.uk Engines: 69621. Running: Suns. ■ CRICH TRAmWAY VILLAGE Standard gauge, one mile, Crich, Derbyshire. Tel: 01773 852565. www.tramway.co.uk Running: Daily.

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Class 10 D3489 waits at Tunbridge Wells West prior to working the 10.54am shuttle to High Rocks on August 3, on its return to traffic after seven years at the Spa Valley Railway’s diesel gala. PHIL BARNES ■ dEAN foREST RAILWAY Standard gauge, 4¼ miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Norchard, Lydney, Glos. Tel: 01594 843423. www.deanforestrailway.co.uk Engines: 1450, 9681. Running: W/Es + Weds. ■ ECCLESBouRNE VALLEY RAILWAY Standard gauge, eight miles, Wirksworth, Derbyshire. Tel: 01629 823076. www.e-v-r.com Running: W/Es + Tues. ■ EVESHAm VALE RAILWAY Narrow gauge, 1¼ mile, A46 north of Evesham, Worcs. Tel: 01386 422282. Running: W/Es. ■ foXfIELd RAILWAY Standard gauge, 5½ miles, Blythe Bridge, Staffs. Running: Suns,. ■ GLouCESTERSHIRE WARWICKSHIRE RLY Standard gauge, 12 miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Toddington, Glos. Tel: 01242 621405. www.gwsr.com Engines: 7903, 2807, 8274, 5542. Running: W/Es, Tues-Thurs. ■ GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY Standard gauge, eight miles, Loughborough, Leics LE11 1RW. Tel: 01509 230726. www.gcrailway.co.uk Engines: 48624, 47406, 46521, 78019. Running: W/Es, Weds + Sep 20. ■ mIdLANd RAILWAY-BuTTERLEY Standard gauge, 3½ miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Ripley, Derbyshire. Tel: 01773 570140. Engines: 23, 73129. Running: W/Es + Aug 29, 30. ■ NoRTHAmPToN & LAmPoRT RAILWAY Standard gauge, two miles, Pitsford, Northants. Tel: 01604 820327. nlr.org.uk Running: Suns. ■ NoRTH INGS fARm muSEum Narrow gauge, one mile, Dorrington, Lincs. Tel: 01526 833100. Running: Sep 1. ■ NoTTINGHAm TRANSPoRT HERITAGE CENTRE Standard gauge, four miles, Ruddington, Notts. Tel: 0115 940 570. Running: Suns + Aug 31, Sep 7. ■ PEAK RAIL Standard gauge, four miles, Matlock, Derbyshire. Tel: 01629 580381. Running: W/Es, Tues, Weds. ■ PERRYGRoVE RAILWAY Narrow gauge, B4228, Coleford, Glos. Tel: 01594 834991. Running: W/Es. ■ RoCKS BY RAIL Standard gauge, ¼ mile, Cottesmore, Rutland. Open Sun, Tues, Thurs, Running: Third Sunday. ■ RudYARd LAKE RAILWAY Narrow gauge, 1½ miles, Leek, Staffs. Tel: 01995 672280. www.rlsr.org Running: W/Es, Weds. ■ RuSHdEN TRANSPoRT muSEum Standard gauge, ¼ mile, Rushden, Northants. Running: Sep 7, 8.

■ SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY Standard gauge, 16 miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Bewdley, Worcs DY12 1BG. www.svr.co.uk Tel: 01299 403816. Engines: 1501, 4566, 5164, 7812, 2857, 34053, 43106, 777, 850, 1. Running: Daily. ■ STEEPLE GRANGE LIGHT RAILWAY Narrow gauge, ½ mile, footplate experience, Wirksworth, Derbyshire. Tel: 01629 580917 www.steeplegrange.co.uk Running: W/Es. ■ TELfoRd STEAm RAILWAY Standard gauge, ¾ mile, Telford, Shropshire. Tel: 01952 503880. Running Suns.

NORTH WEST

■ EAST LANCASHIRE RAILWAY Standard gauge, 12 miles, footplate experience, Bury, Lancs. Tel: 01617 647790. www.eastlancsrailway.org.uk Engines: 80080,1744, 49395. Running: Wed-Sun. ■ EdEN VALLEY RAILWAY Standard gauge, Warcop, Cumbria. [email protected]. Running: Suns. ■ GRoudLE GLEN RAILWAY Narrow gauge, Isle of Man, Tel: 01624 622138 (eves). Running: Suns. ■ ISLE of mAN STEAm RAILWAY Narrow gauge, 15½ miles, Douglas, Isle of Man. Tel: 01624 662525. www.iombusandrail.info Running: Daily. ■ LAKESIdE & HAVERTHWAITE RAILWAY Standard gauge, 3½ miles, near Ulverston, Cumbria. Tel: 01539 531594. Engines: 42073, 42085. Running: Daily. ■ mANCHESTER muSEum of SCIENCE & INduSTRY Standard gauge, ½ mile, driver experience, Castlefield, Manchester. Open: Daily. Tel: 0161 832 2244. Open: Daily. ■ RAVENGLASS & ESKdALE RAILWAY Narrow gauge, seven miles, Ravenglass, Cumbria. Tel: 01229 717171. Running: Daily. ■ RIBBLE STEAm RAILWAY Standard gauge, one mile, Preston, Lancs. Tel: 01772 728800. Running: W/Es. ■ STAINmoRE RAILWAY Standard gauge, half mile, Kirkby Stephen East Station, Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria CA17 4LA. www.kirkbystepheneast.co.uk Open: W/Es. ■ WEST LANCASHIRE LIGHT RAILWAY Narrow gauge, Hesketh Bank, Lancs. Tel: 01772 815881. Running: Suns. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

UpandRunning

In the process of being repainted into BR blue, Peak No. 45149 departs from Cheltenham Racecourse at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway diesel gala on July 26. DAVID GRIFFITHS

NORTH EAST

■ aPPleBy-FrodinGhaM rly Pres soCiety Standard gauge, 15 miles, Tata Steelworks, Scunthorpe, North Lincs. Tel: 01652 657053. www.afrps.co.uk Running: Aug 31, Sep 14, 21. ■ Bowes railway Standard gauge, one mile, Springwell, Tyne & Wear. Tel: 01914 161847. Open: W/Es. ■ CleethorPes Coast liGht railway Narrow gauge, two miles, Cleethorpes, North East Lincs. Tel: 01472 604657. Running: W/Es + Aug 29 - Sep 6. ■ derwent valley railway Standard gauge, ½ mile, Murton Park, Layerthorpe, York. Engine: 69023. Tel: 01904 489966. Running: Suns ■ elseCar railway Standard gauge, one mile, Elsecar, South Yorks. Footplate experience. Tel: 01226 746746. www.elsecarrailway.co.uk Open: Daily. Running: Suns. ■ eMBsay & Bolton aBBey steaM railway Standard gauge, five miles, Embsay, Yorks. Engine: 65. Running: W/Es + Tues. ■ KeiGhley & worth valley railway Standard gauge, five miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Keighley, West Yorks BD22 8NJ. Tel: 01535 645214. www.kwvr.co.uk Engines: 80002, 43924, 90733, 45305. Running: W/Es + Aug 29 - Sep 6. ■ KirKlees liGht railway Narrow gauge, four miles, Huddersfield, West Yorks. Tel: 01484 865727. Running: W/Es. ■ linColnshire wolds railway Standard gauge, 1½ miles, Ludborough, Lincs. Tel: 01507 363881. lincolnshirewoldsrailway.co.uk Running: Sep 7, 8. ■ Middleton railway Standard gauge, 1½ miles, Hunslet, Leeds. Tel: 01132 710320. www.middletonrailway.org.uk Engine: 1310. Running: W/Es. ■ north tyneside railway Standard gauge, two miles. North Shields. tel: 0191 2007146. www.ntsra.org.uk Open: W/Es, Running: Suns. ■ north yorKshire Moors railway Standard gauge, 18 miles, wine & dine, Grosmont, North Yorks. Tel: 01751 472508. Engines: 45428, 75029, 61264, 60007. Running: Daily.

94 heritage railway

■ south tynedale railway Narrow gauge, 3½ miles, Alston, Cumbria. Tel: 01434 382828/381696. www.strps.org.uk Running: W/Es + Sep 3, 5. ■ tanField railway Standard gauge, three miles, Gateshead, Co Durham. Tel: 01913 887545. www.tanfield-railway.co.uk Running: Suns + Sep 7. ■ wensleydale railway Standard gauge, 12 miles, Leyburn, North Yorkshire. Tel: 0845 450 5474. Running: Daily, (Steam Sats + Sep 3, 5, 6).

HOME COUNTIES

■ BuCKinGhaMshire railway Centre Standard gauge, ¼ mile, footplate experience, Quainton Road, Bucks. Tel: 01296 655720. www.bucksrailcentre.org Engine: 30585. Open: Tues-Thurs. Running: Suns + Sep 7, 21. ■ Chinnor & PrinCes risBorouGh railway Standard gauge, 3½ miles, Chinnor, Oxon. Tel: 01844 353535. www.chinnorrailway.co.uk Engine: 1369. Running: Suns + Sep 21. ■ Cholsey & wallinGFord railway Standard gauge, 2½ miles, Wallingford, Oxon. Tel: 01491 835067. www.cholsey-wallingford-railway.com Running: Aug 31, Sep 1. ■ didCot railway Centre Standard gauge, footplate experience, Didcot, Oxon. Tel: 01235 817200. www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk Engines: 93, 3650, 5322, 6023. Open: Daily to Sep 15, then W/Es. Running: Aug 31, Sep 1, 14, 15. ■ ePPinG onGar railway Standard gauge, five miles, Ongar, Essex. Tel: 01277 365200. www.eorailway.co.uk Engines: 4141. Running: W/Es. ■ leiGhton BuZZard railway Narrow gauge, 2¾ miles, Leighton Buzzard, Beds. Tel: 01525 373888. www.buzzrail.co.uk Running: Suns + Sep 7.

■ Heritage Railway cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies or changes within material published in good faith. We advise readers to telephone before travelling long distances.

WAlES

Bala laKe railway Narrow gauge, 4½ miles, Llanuwchllyn, Gwynedd. Tel: 01678 540666. www.bala-lake-railway.co.uk Running: W/Es, Tues-Thurs + Aug 30. ■ BreCon Mountain railway Narrow gauge, 3½ miles, Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan. Tel: 01685 722988. www.breconmountainrailway.co.uk Running: Daily except Sep 16, 20, 23. ■ CaMBrian heritaGe railways Standard gauge, ½ mile, Llynclys Junction. Tel 01352 770413. www.cambrianrailways.com Running: W/Es. ■ Corris railway Narrow gauge, ¾ mile, Maespoeth, Machynlleth. Tel: 01654 761303. www.corris.co.uk Running: W/Es. ■ FairBourne railway Narrow gauge, two miles, Fairbourne, Gwynedd. Tel: 01341 250362. Running: W/Es, Tues-Thurs + Aug 30, Sep 6. ■ FFestinioG railway Narrow gauge, 15 miles, Porthmadog, Gwynedd LL49 9NF. Tel: 01766 516000. www.festrail.co.uk Running: Daily. ■ Gwili railway Standard gauge, two miles, Bronwydd Arms, Carmarthenshire. Tel: 01267 238213. Running: Sun, Tues-Thurs + Aug 30, 31, Sep 2. ■ llanBeris laKe railway Narrow gauge, three miles, Llanberis, Gwynedd. Tel: 01286 870549. Running: Sun-Fri. ■ llanGollen railway Standard gauge, 7½ miles, footplate experience, wine & dine, Llangollen, Denbighshire LL20 8SN. Tel: 01978 860979. www.llangollen-railway.co.uk Engines: 3802, 44806, 6430, 7822, 80072. Running: Daily. ■ PontyPool & Blaenavon railway Standard gauge, two miles, Blaenavon, Torfaen. Tel: 01495 792263. Engines: 1054, 49395 Running: Sep 14, 15. ■ rhyl Miniature railway Narrow gauge, Rhyl, North Wales. Running: W/Es + Aug 30. ■ snowdon Mountain railway Narrow gauge, 4½ miles, Llanberis, Gwynedd. Tel: 01286 870223. Running: Daily. www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Autumn Events 2013

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

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UpandRunning ■ taLYLLYn RaiLWaY Narrow gauge, 7½ miles, footplate experience, Tywyn, Gwynedd. Tel: 01654 710472. www.talyllyn.co.uk Running: Daily. ■ teifi vaLLeY RaiLWaY Narrow gauge, two miles, Henllan, Carmarthenshire. Tel: 01559 371077. Running: Sun-Thur. ■ vaLe of RHeidoL RaiLWaY Narrow gauge, 11¾ miles, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion. Tel: 01970 625819. www.rheidolrailway.co.uk Engines, 8, 9. Running: Daily except Sep 13, 20, 23. ■ WeLsH HigHLand HeRitage RaiLWaY Narrow gauge, one mile, Porthmadog, Gwynedd. Tel: 01766 513402. www.whr.co.uk Running: Daily. ■ WeLsH HigHLand RaiLWaY Narrow gauge, 26 miles, Caernarfon, Gwynedd. Tel: 01766 516000. Running: Daily. ■ WeLsHpooL & LLanfaiR LigHt RLY Narrow gauge, eight miles, Llanfair Caereinion, Mid Wales. Tel: 01938 810441. www.wllr.org.uk Engines: 822, 823, Running: W/Es, Tues-Thurs + Aug 30.

SCOTLAND

■ aLMond vaLLeY RaiLWaY Narrow gauge, ¼ mile, Livingston, West Lothian. Tel: 01506 414957. www.almondvalley.co.uk/Railway.html ■ Bo’ness & kinneiL RaiLWaY Standard gauge, five miles, Bo’ness, West Lothian. Tel: 01506 822298. www.bkrailway.com Engine: 246. Running: W/Es. ■ caLedonian RaiLWaY Standard gauge, four miles, Brechin, Angus, Tel: 01356 622992, www.caledonianrailway.com Running: Aug 31, Sep 1. ■ keitH & dufftoWn RaiLWaY Standard gauge, 11 miles, Dufftown, Banffshire. www.keith-dufftown-railway.co.uk Running: W/Es + Aug 30. ■ LeadHiLLs & WanLockHead RaiLWaY Narrow gauge, one mile, Leadhills, Strathclyde, Tel: 0141 556 1061. www.leadhillsrailway.co.uk Running: W/Es. ■ RoYaL deeside RaiLWaY Standard gauge, one mile, Milton of Crathes, Kincardineshire. www.deeside-railway.co.uk Running: W/Es. ■ scottisH industRiaL RaiLWaY centRe Standard gauge, 1⁄3 miles, Dunaskin, Dalmellington Road (A713), Waterside, Ayrshire. Running: Sep 1, 22. ■ stRatHspeY RaiLWaY Standard gauge, 10 miles, Aviemore, Inverness-shire. Tel: 01479 810725. www.strathspeyrailway.co.uk Engines: 46512, 828. Running: Wed-Sun.

L&Y A Class 0-6-0 No. 52322 in action on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. DICK MANTON

IRELAND

■ cavan & LeitRiM RaiLWaY Narrow gauge, ½ mile, Dromod, Co Leitrim. Tel: 00353 7838 599. www.cavanandleitrim.com Running: Sat-Mon. ■ doWnpatRick & countY doWn RLY Standard gauge, four miles. www.downrail.co.uk Running: W/Es to Sep 15. ■ fintoWn RaiLWaY Narrow gauge, two miles, Glenties, Co. Donegal, Tel: 07495 46280. Running: Daily to Sep 15.

■ giants causeWaY & BusHMiLLs RaiLWaY Narrow gauge, two miles, Bushmills, Co. Antrim. Tel: 0282 073 2844. Running: W/Es. ■ WateRfoRd & suiR vaLLeY RaiLWaY Narrow gauge, two miles, Kilmeaden, Co Waterford. www.wsvrailway.ie Running: Daily. ■ West cLaRe RaiLWaY Narrow gauge, Moyasta Junction, Co Clare. Running: Daily (steam Sun, Mon).

■ Entries on these pages relate to heritage lines operating public services during the current month. Locomotives listed are those of main line origin expected to be steamable on the railway at some stage during the current month.

RaiLWaY MuseuMs BeaMisH County Durham. North of England. Open Air Museum. Open: Tues-Thurs, W/Es.

LocoMotion: tHe nationaL RaiLWaY MuseuM at sHiLdon Co Durham. Open: Daily.

BeRe feRReRs station Bere Ferrers, west Devon. Open: W/Es. Tel: 07813 360066.

London tRanspoRt MuseuM Covent Garden Piazza. Open: Daily.

coL. stepHens RaiLWaY MuseuM Tenterden Station, Kent. Open: W/Es. Tel: 01580 765155. conWY vaLLeY RaiLWaY MuseuM Betws-y-coed, Conwy. Open: Daily. Tel: 01690 710568. MuseuM of scottisH RaiLWaYs Bo’ness. Open: Daily Apr-Oct. iRcHesteR naRRoW gauge RaiLWaY MuseuM Near Wellingborough, Northants. Open: Suns. kiddeRMinsteR RaiLWaY MuseuM Kidderminster, Worcestershire. Open: SVR operating days. Tel: 01562 825316.

96 Heritage Railway

soMeRset & doRset RaiLWaY tRust Washford, Somerset. Open: Weekends. Tel: 01984 640869. steaM – MuseuM of tHe gWR Swindon, Wilts. Open: Daily. Tel: 01793 466646.

MidsoMeR noRton Silver Street, Midsomer Norton. Open: Suns/Mons.

st aLBans soutH signaLBox & MuseuM St Albans City station, Open: see website www.sigbox.co.uk Tel: 01727 863131.

MonkWeaRMoutH station MuseuM Sunderland, Co Durham. Open: Daily. Tel: 01915 677075.

cReWe HeRitage centRe Vernon Way, Crewe. Open: W/Es + B/H. Tel: 01270 212130.

nationaL RaiLWaY MuseuM York. Open: Daily. Tel: 01904 621261.

uLsteR foLk & tRanspoRt MuseuM Cultra, Co Down. Open: Tues-Sun.

penRHYn castLe industRiaL RaiLWaY MuseuM Bangor, Gwynedd. Open: Daily except Tues. www.nationaltrust.org.uk sHiLLingstone station Shillingstone, Dorset. Open: Sat, Suns and Wed. Tel: 01258 860696.

vintage caRRiage MuseuM Ingrow, West Yorks. Open: Daily. Tel: 01535 680425. YeoviL RaiLWaY centRe Yeovil Junction, Somerset. Open: Certain Sundays and special events.

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Autumn Events 2013

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Autumn Events 2013

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Heritage Railway

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Autumn Events 2013

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Autumn Events 2013

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Heritage Railway

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Stay a While

Woodford House

WesT somerseT WooDForD House is an imposing Victorian property in Woodford, a tiny hamlet in West Somerset, but guests to this country bed and breakfast are welcomed by hosts Anna and Michael and immediately made to feel very much at home. Guest rooms are spacious and

comfortable with either en suite facilities or private bathroom and the Victorian breakfast room will definitely be of interest to GWr and steam railway enthusiasts. Breakfasts are good – Anna uses only local free range eggs, British outdoor bred pork sausages and British

bacon – and there is always a good selection of Anna’s homemade jams and awardwinning marmalade. Delicious cream teas can also be ordered and will be served in the lovely garden if the weather is fine. Michael has been a GWr and Isambard Kingdom

01984 641621

Brunel enthusiast since childhood, in fact one of the rooms is called ‘Brunel’. Michael supports the West Somerset railway as much as possible and is able to offer discounted WSr rover tickets for most non-gala days. There are also special offer off-peak stays available for railway visitors which include one or two free rover tickets full details of which are on the website or give Anna a call. Woodford House is only a few minutes away from Watchet, Washford and Williton WSr stations though

only 20 minutes to Bishops Lydeard and 15 minutes to Minehead if you want to start your journey at the beginning of the line. There is always a WSr timetable available and advice on where to stop for lunch or make other visits along the way. For those who are not familiar with this area of the country, it is extremely beautiful countryside with the Brendon Hills, the Quantocks and of course exmoor bordered by the sea – a real treat for railway photographers.

www.woodfordhouse.com

Like to visit these The Tamar Belle attractions? All are within easy reach of...

Vintage holiday railway carriages ideally situated in the beautiful Tamar valley between Devon and Cornwall.

■ Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre ■ Launceston Steam railway ■ Lappa Valley Steam railway ■ Looe Valley Line ■ Bodmin & Wenford railway ■ South Devon railway ■ Tamar Valley Line ■ Kingswear Castle paddle steamer ■ Dartmouth Steam railway & river Boat ■ Morwellham Quay Mine Train 102 Heritage Railway

Bere Ferrers station once echoed to the roar of main line steam trains on the Southern railway route connecting Plymouth to London, but is now a stop on the Tamar Valley branch line running from Plymouth to Bere Alston, Calstock and Gunnislake. The Tamar Belle offers a nostalgic step back in time for visitors. You can stay in comfortable restored sleeping car accommodation, sample the cuisine in the dining car, browse the exhibits in the heritage centre, visit the signal box and enjoy the demonstrations of railway working. In taking time to discover the little known secrets of the area you will be enthralled by its

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diverse nature and fascinating history. The Tamar Belle vintage train comprises four carriages restored and converted to provide dining coach, saloon/lounge and two uniquely and novelly arranged sleeping cars. enjoy lunch, afternoon tea or dinner served to your table by a steward in luxury Pullman style. relax and stay overnight in a comfortable suite, awakening to the Platelayer’s Breakfast. rebuilt to modern standards with heating and insulation enabling year round occupancy, the ex-LNer teak corridor carriages provide compartments with double bed and ensuite wc/bath or twin beds with wc/basin. Combined units

As featured on TV programmes throughout the world.

interconnect to accommodate families. Alternatively a day lounge can be arranged. each suite has personal tea and coffee making facilities. recreating the ambience of ‘the golden age of railway travel’, carriage parts and seats with restored wood trim are all incorporated. Pullman style dining for up to 28 covers is offered aboard the former Br restaurant car internally refurbished with luxury teak veneer. Liveried stewards personally serve each table with freshly prepared home cooked seasonal fayre menus, at a leisurely pace, reminiscent of traditional dining car elegance.

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Stay a While

Quality Accommodation close to your favourite railways NORTH NORFOLK

CORNWALL

CORNWALL/DEVON BORDER

BRIDGE COTTAGES

FFESTINIOG/WHR

• Very comfortable cottages • Beside NNR • Quiet rural location • Holt Station 5 mins • Short breaks • Open all year

B&B Trawsfynydd, Snowdonia 17th Century farmhouse. En-suite converted farm buildings, excellent garden railway. Central for the narrow-gauge railways. Llamas.

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Tel: 01263 577847

NORTH YORK MOORS

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CUMBRIA

STAFFORDSHIRE

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WEST SOMERSET

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Formerly Woody Bay Station Hotel Relax and unwind in our comfortable and quiet guesthouse. Set in six-acre gardens and surrounded by Exmoor countryside, Moorlands offers 4 star accommodation with licensed dining room, residents’ lounge with open fire. All adjacent to the spectacular Lynton and Barnstaple Railway

The perfect retreat for the railway enthusiast and country lover alike

Tel 01598 763224 www.moorlandshotel.co.uk

NORTH YORKSHIRE

SELF CATERING APARTMENTS

Sleeps 2-6 child friendly & only 50 yards from Blue Anchor station. Village location, all amenities.

Contact Penny on 01643 822014 Email: [email protected] www.merlinhouseholidayapartments.co.uk

MID NORFOLK

WORTH VALLEY

NORFOLK GOODS SHED Spacious apartment

Bronte Hotel

in a railway goods shed. Sleeps 2. Short and long breaks.

Near Mid-Norfolk Railway

01760 720617 www.thegoodshed.co.uk

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Haworth

YTB ★★★

Short walk to K&WVR line, ample free parking. Comfortable lounges and restaurant.

Double rooms from £45, Singles from £25, En-suite available.

Tel: 01535 644112

email [email protected] www.bronte-hotel.co.uk

Woodford House

Spacious and comfortable B & B close to West Somerset stations. See our website or telephone for full details:

01984 641621

www.woodfordhouse.com

To advertise on this page contact Craig Tel: 01507 529310 or email: [email protected] Heritage Railway

103

ExprESSgooDS

CLASSIFIEDS

Telephone Craig Amess on 01507 529310 • [email protected]

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Heritage Railway

105

The month ahead

LNER A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado on the North Norfolk Railway in 2012. The Pacific, now in blue livery returns to the line this year. BRIAN SHARPE

The enthusiasts’ calendar gets into full swing in September – and Heritage Railway will be with you all the way to cover the many events on offer! speCIAL eveNts August 29-sEP 1: BEAMish MusEuM: PowER FRoM ThE PAsT 30-sEP 1: LLANgoLLEN RAiLwAY: sTEAM gALA The railway’s home fleet will be running an intensive timetable over the three days of the event in the beautiful Dee Valley. 31, sEP 1: BARRY TouRisT RAiLwAY: wARTiME wEEkEND 31, sEP 1: NoRTh NoRFoLk RAiLwAY: sEPTEMBER sTEAM gALA Starring LNER A1 Pacific No. 60163, Tornado making its second visit to the line this time in blue livery, plus BR Standard Pacific No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell, in addition to the resident fleet which includes newly-overhauled BR Standard mogul No. 76084, there will be an intensive service of passenger and goods trains. september 6-8: BoDMiN & wENFoRD RAiLwAY: sTEAM gALA The railway will be running an intensive service, including goods trains and evening events, with the home fleet of engines all of genuine Cornish pedigree, featuring GWR 0-6-0PTs Nos. 4612 and 6435, 2-8-0T No. 4247 and LSWR T9 4-4-0 No. 30120. 6-8: swANAgE RAiLwAY: gRAND sTEAM gALA The star visitor this year is Maunsell U class 2-6-0 No. 31806 from the Mid-Hants Railway running alongside the resident locomotives. There will be an intensive timetable with all-steam action from Friday to Sunday. There will also be a Vintage Transport Rally at Harmans Cross with a display of vintage road transport as well as evening entertainment, bar and refreshments. 6-8: wELsh highLAND RAiLwAY: gREAT AND sMALL The event is based at the northern end of the line with most activity between Caernarfon and Rhyd Ddu, centring around Dinas.The ‘Great’ will include impressive freight trains featuring some recently overhauled wagons from South Africa and using the NGG16 Garratts, running every day of the event. At the other end of the scale, two of the Ffestiniog Railway’s original locomotives, Prince and Palmerston, will haul a rake of Victorian carriages from Porthmadog to Caernarfon on the Friday afternoon, returning on Sunday. Throughout the weekend, there will be vintage shuttle train services between Caernarfon and Waunfawr hauled by Prince while Palmerston is in steam in the yard at Dinas. 7: LiNCoLNshiRE CoAsT LighT RAiLwAY: gALA DAY 7, 8: AVoN VALLEY RAiLwAY: 1940s wEEkEND 7, 8: ChAsEwATER LighT RAiLwAY: iNDusTRiAL gALA 7, 8: EAsTLEigh LAkEsiDE RAiLwAY: DAYs ouT wiTh ThoMAs 7, 8: gREAT CENTRAL RAiLwAY: DiEsEL gALA 7, 8: LEighToN BuzzARD RAiLwAY: sTEAM uP wEEkEND Everything that can move, will move. Steam plus diesel and battery power, with unusual combinations. 7, 8: LiNCoLNshiRE woLDs RAiLwAY: 1940s wEEkEND 7, 8: swiNDoN & CRiCkLADE RAiLwAY: wARTiME wEEkEND 7, 8: TANFiELD RAiLwAY: gALA wEEkEND

13-15: NoRTh YoRkshiRE MooRs RAiLwAY: hERiTAgE DiEsEL gALA 14: CRiCh TRAMwAY MusEuM: ENThusiAsTs DAY 14, 15: APEDALE VALLEY RAiLwAY: sTokE sTEAM sPECiAL 14, 15: BiRkENhEAD FEsTiVAL oF TRANsPoRT 14, 15: CoVENTRY ELECTRiC: hERiTAgE oPEN wEEkEND 14, 15: DiDCoT RAiLwAY CENTRE: ALL iN A DAY’s woRk 14, 15: EMBsAY & BoLToN ABBEY RAiLwAY: 1940s wEEkEND 14, 15: kENT & EAsT sussEx RAiLwAY: hoPPERs wEEkEND 14, 15: kiRkLEEs LighT RAiLwAY: sTEAM & DiEsEL gALA 14, 15: MiDsoMER NoRToN: 1940s wEEkEND 14, 15: NENE VALLEY RAiLwAY: sTEAM gALA The visiting engine will be BR Standard 4MT 2-6-4T No. 80072 which will feature in doubleheaded Standards with resident Standard 5MT No. 73050. There will be a freight train, freight handling demonstrations at Wanford and brakevan rides. 14, 15: PoNTYPooL & BLAENAVoN RAiLwAY: 30Th ANNiVERsARY sTEAM gALA Four steam engines will be in action; the visitors, BR-liveried LNWR Super D 0-8-0 No. 49395 and LNWR Coal Tank 0-6-2T No. 1054 supplementing the resident Austerity 0-6-0STs Nos. 72 and 71515. There will be a four-coach main line train and two-coach vintage train on the Big Pit branch plus a demonstration freight train and an intensive timetable including doubleheaders. 14, 15: RiBBLE sTEAM RAiLwAY: AuTuMN sTEAM gALA 14, 15: souTh DEVoN RAiLwAY: BEhiND ThE sCENEs 14, 15: sPA VALLEY RAiLwAY: ANNuAL sTEAM gALA 14, 15: sTEAM MusEuM: swiNDoN RAiLwAY FEsTiVAL 20-22: sEVERN VALLEY RAiLwAY: AuTuMN sTEAM gALA Always one of the biggest events in the enthusiasts’ calendar, the visiting engines this year will be Southern 4-6-0s No. 777 Sir Lamiel and No. 850 Lord Nelson, GWR 4-6-0 No. 4936 Kinlet Hall and 0-6-2T No. 5643 plus Metropolitan 0-4-4T No. 1 working Bridgnorth-Hampton Loade shuttles including restored Metropolitan coach No. 353. 21: LLANgoLLEN RAiLwAY: DiEsEL DAY 21, 22: Bo’NEss & kiNNEiL RAiLwAY: DAYs ouT wiTh ThoMAs 21, 22: ECCLEsBouRNE VALLEY RAiLwAY: DiEsEL LoCoMoTiVE wEEkEND 21, 22: gLouCEsTERshiRE wARwiCkshiRE RAiLwAY: DAYs ouT wiTh ThoMAs 21, 22: kENT & EAsT sussEx RAiLwAY: RETuRN To RoBERTsBRiDgE Robertsbridge station is set to echo to the distinctive sights, sounds and smells of steam as the reopening of the Rother Valley Railway between Robertsbridge and Bodiam takes a major step forward. The trains will be the first public steam-hauled passenger services since 1961 and one of the locomotives that worked the very last train will again be in action. 141-year-old ‘Terrier’ 0-6-0T No. 32670 along with three Victorian carriages will be working shuttle services from a new RVR platform along half-amile of relaid line to Northbridge Street at 20 minute intervals. 21, 22: NoRTh NoRFoLk RAiLwAY: 1940s wEEkEND 21, 22: RuDYARD LAkE RAiLwAY: sTEAM gALA 22: BuRsLEDoN BRiCkwoRks: BLiTz AT ThE BRiCkwoRks

Heritage Railway will be bringing you all the action from a selection of events, large and small.

Issue 181 Is Out ON september 26, 2013

HERITAGE RAILWAY Is pubLIsHeD 13 tImes A yeAr

Catch up with the latest news, views and great features every four weeks.

106 Heritage railway