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Sam Hewitt

  • Churchward 2-8-0 returns to its Swindon birthplace

    Churchward 2-8-0 returns to its Swindon birthplace

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    GREAT Western Railway ‘28XX’ 2-8-0 No. 2818 reached its new home at STEAM Museum in Swindon on August 21, a year after its surprise ownership transfer from the National Railway Museum (NRM) collection. The 1905-built Churchward heavy freight loco arrived that day from its previous home at Locomotion in Shildon. It took the place vacated by…

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  • Bahamas to debut at Tyseley open weekend

    Bahamas to debut at Tyseley open weekend

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    THE sight of four ‘Castles’ lined up around the former 84E turntable (see main story, left) will be just one of a string of highlights at Tyseley’s 50th anniversary open weekend on September 29-30, which could also include the first public steaming of ‘Jubilee’ No. 45596 Bahamas. The double-chimney ‘5XP’ is nearing the end of its…

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  • Boys in blue oversaw escort for a troupe of elephants!

    Boys in blue oversaw escort for a troupe of elephants!

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    READING the feature about circus trains in the August RM reminded me of a time, not long after I’d joined the Birmingham City Police and stationed at Acocks Green in the early-summer of 1967. I booked on for the ‘late shift’ (14.00) one Sunday afternoon, and although allocated a specific beat, the ‘parade’ sergeant instructed…

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  • Buddleia is a trackside disgrace

    Buddleia is a trackside disgrace

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    YOUR comments about the spread of buddleia along the rail network, and the reflection on ‘poor housekeeping’ by Network Rail, leads me to comment on the disgraceful appearance of the railways as they thread their way through the conurbations, in particular. The rail corridors through Glasgow are thick with litter and debris, a lot flung…

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  • Tracks to the Trenches

    Tracks to the Trenches

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    Cliff Thomas reports from the Front Line in deepest Staffordshire. THE Moseley Railway Trust’s (MRT) Tracks to the Trenches event made its debut in 2014 at the Apedale Valley Light Railway, a century after the First World War broke out. The formula was repeated in 2016, 100 years after the Battle of the Somme began…

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  • 90 Years of Railway enthusiasm: the story of the RCTS

    90 Years of Railway enthusiasm: the story of the RCTS

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    The Railway Correspondence and Travel Society is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. Rodney Lissenden and Paul Chancellor look back at the society’s early days and how, as the premier railway society, it has adapted to change while still catering for the enthusiast. A GARDEN shed in Cheltenham may not, at first sight, appear to…

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  • NEVER AGAIN……

    NEVER AGAIN……

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    Marking the 50th anniversary of the last years of steam on British Railways, comes the publication of a sumptuous four-volume book which tells the story of a group of photographers who went under the name of the Master Neverers Association. Chris Milner finds out more about the book and the group’s exploits. THE November 2017…

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  • Narrow gauge preservation stalwart

    Narrow gauge preservation stalwart

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    Nicola Fox meets John Bate, an octogenarian Talyllyn Railway volunteer and employee, who has spent nearly all of his adult life working at the pioneering Welsh narrow gauge line, eventually rising up to the position of chief engineer. The Talyllyn Railway (TR) runs from Tywyn on the mid-Wales coast 7¼ miles up the Fathew Valley…

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  • The Great Railway Debate: Should Britain’s railways be RE-NATIONALISED? YES or NO?

    The Great Railway Debate: Should Britain’s railways be RE-NATIONALISED? YES or NO?

    by

    Sam Hewitt

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    The Labour Party has pledged to bring train operating companies back into public ownership if it wins the next election – and will encounter fewer legal obstacles in that task once Britain has left the EU. But is taking the nation back to the days of British Rail sensible or merely ideological? Consultant Editor Nick…

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  • SEPTEMBER 2018

    SEPTEMBER 2018

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    Headline News Fares to rise by 3.2% in January, ScotRail puts Class 385s into passenger service and receives first refurbished HST, 11 Class 50s for SVR Golden Jubilee gala, GWR introduces Class 802s on Penzance route, Locomotive Services Ltd buys HSTs and Class 90s for charter work. Track Record The Railway Magazine’s monthly news digest…

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