Sam Hewitt

Second Ivatt tank enters Isle of Wight service

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Sam Hewitt

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9th May 2018

NEWLY restored Ivatt ‘2MT’ 2-6-2T No. 41313 began a new chapter in its 66-year existence on April 4 when the locomotive hauled its first public passenger trains of the preservation era on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. The loco was restored at the East Somerset Railway (ESR) and returned to the island last October, and…
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Triple ‘Castles’ on show at Tyseley: Share offer brings Vintage Trains’ TOC status “incredibly close”

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Sam Hewitt

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9th May 2018

TYSELEY’S Vintage Trains (VT) is “incredibly close” to reaching an initial £800,000 target minimum required to launch its train operating company (TOC), thanks to sales of shares in its Community Benefit Society (CBS). Spokesman Ben Mason said: “We have been in constant communication with the ORR (Office of Road and Rail) and Network Rail regarding…
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‘U-Boat’ back on the main line after 52-year absence

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Sam Hewitt

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9th May 2018

THE Swanage Railway (SR) has made history again by returning a Southern Railway ‘U’ 2-6-0 to the main line after an absence of 52 years. This follows its efforts last year when the SR successfully restored passenger trains between Swanage and Wareham. John Bunch’s No. 31806 took part in a seven-hour trial run from Swanage to…
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Stockton firm to overhaul Hagley Hall boiler for the Severn Valley Railway

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Sam Hewitt

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9th May 2018

NORTHERN Steam Engineering Ltd of Stockton has taken delivery of No. 4930 Hagley Hall’s boiler. The surprise move comes as the lottery-supported project to overhaul the Severn Valley Railway’s Collett ‘Hall’ takes a “strategic” step forward. The Standard No. 1 boiler left Bridgnorth on April 9, with work on the overhaul expected to begin immediately. The…
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First moves for Keighley & Worth Valley pioneer

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Sam Hewitt

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9th May 2018

THE Keighley & Worth Valley Railway’s eight-day 50th anniversary gala is fast approaching, and the star of the event – Ivatt’ ‘2MT’ 2-6-2T No. 41241 – is making rapid strides to its return to operation after a four-year overhaul. The team of volunteers behind the project, led by Peter Turner, undertook an in-house steam test of…
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The Lancashire Derbyshire and East Coast Railway – A Pictorial View of the ‘Dukeries Route’ and Branches: Volume 2 – Langwith Junction to Lincoln and the Proposed Route to Sutton-on-Sea

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Sam Hewitt

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9th May 2018

By Chris Booth THIS excellent publication is Volume 2 of a projected comprehensive three-volume work on the LD & ECR. Volume 1 was published in 2017 and the third volume will focus mainly on The Mansfield Railway (1916) from Clipstone Junction (GCR) to Kirkby South (GCR). The author has already self-published via Blurb a two-volume…
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Remember the atomic locomotive idea?

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Sam Hewitt

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9th May 2018

READING of the concerns raised regarding the pollution caused by diesel-powered trains, I was reminded of those superb cutaway drawings by L Ashwell Wood that appeared in the Eagle comic. One was of a rather futuristic idea of a Uranium 235 atomic-powered locomotive, that was published as a centre spread in the Eagle for August…
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Dinmore and more and more

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Sam Hewitt

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9th May 2018

The locomotives owned by Dinmore Manor Locomotive Ltd have earned themselves a reputation for reliability and good performance during their various spells in traffic. Yet their owning group retains a relatively low profile, conducting impressive feats largely ‘under the radar’. Gary Boyd-Hope went to meet them. On June 7 last year Collett ‘Manor’ No. 7820…
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CENTENARIAN CAMERAMAN – Part Two: Ron Buckley – Britain’s Oldest Railway Photographer

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Sam Hewitt

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9th May 2018

Chris Milner concludes his interview with 100-year-old photographer Ron Buckley, who returned from wartime military service to a railway preparing for Nationalisation. AFTER leaving England in 1940 and serving with the Worcestershire Regiment, Ron returned home after demobilisation in 1945 after four-and-a-half years away – and to a very different railway. The ‘Big Four’ had…
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Delivering a bigger, better railway for Scotland

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Sam Hewitt

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9th May 2018

With new and refurbished trains on the way, a rolling programme of electrification, and a devolved Government committed to further expansion, Scotland is showing other regions of the UK how to deliver a better railway. Ben Jones met ScotRail Alliance MD Alex Hynes to find out what is in store for 2018 and beyond. New…
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Sam Hewitt

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