Sam Hewitt

THE 7¼in/5in-gauge Bath & West Railway is now primarily a narrow gauge-style railway. The line is operated by the East Somerset Society of Model & Experimental Engineers (ESSMEE) at the Royal Bath & West Showground, Prestleigh near Shepton Mallet, Somerset. Public running only occurs a few days a year, but the large number of passengers…

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An interesting steam loco entered service at the 7¼in- gauge Conwy Valley Railway (CVR), Betws-y-Coed, last summer. This is Geirionydd, a 2-4-4T single Fairlie built by William Hughes in the railway’s workshops. The requirement was for a powerful loco and, like the Bath & West’s Mendip, is based on modified ‘Thomas II’ running gear and…

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NEXUS, the public body that owns the Tyne and Wear Metro, is building an £8.4million railway skills centre in South Shields. The Metro Maintenance and Renewals Skills Centre will cover infrastructure and operational training, becoming the main training base for the Metro’s 1,000 employees. The project is being funded by a £7m Government grant, with…

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THE start of December saw London Underground (LU) successfully complete a key test stage of the new computer-based signalling and control system that will be rolled out across the sub-surface lines. Testing took place on a section of the Circle and Hammersmith & City line between Hammersmith and Edgware Road, which will be the first…

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TRANSPORT for West Midlands (TfWM) has announced it will auction off the stored fleet of AnsaldoBreda ‘T69’ trams. The ‘T69s’ were the original vehicles used by the Midland Metro when it opened in May 1999, but were withdrawn when replaced by the current CAF-built ‘Urbos 3’ trams in 2014/15. Nos. 01-15 were sent for storage at…

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RAVENGLASS & Eskdale Railway Preservation Society’s 15in-gauge 1929-built Krauss 4-6-2 Whillan Beck is pictured at Old Hall Engineering in Bouth, South Lakeland, following application of Caledonian Railway blue livery to the loco and newly completed tender. Other work completed at Old Hall Engineering includes fitting sanders, re-machining the cylinder bores and improvements to the wheel…

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LYNTON & Barnstaple Railway (L&BR)-based ex-Tongaat Sugar Co Bagnall 4-4-0T Charles Wytock (2819/1946) is up for sale. It was restored by Graeme Walton-Binns and was bought, with a full hydraulic test certificate, by L&BR volunteer John Heys in April 2014. Charles Wytock appeared in light steam at Woody Bay during L&BR’s September 2014 gala, and…

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THE first of a planned batch of new-build 2ft-gauge, three-ton Decauville 0-4-0T locomotives to be built by North Bay Engineering Services Ltd (RM Nov 2016) was displayed at the November 25-26 Warley National Model Railway Exhibition at Birmingham’s NEC. The loco is being constructed for John Sutton and is about 90% complete. Remaining work largely…

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WORK to refurbish a historic railway viaduct over the River Adur in Shoreham was completed over the Christmas holidays after more than a year’s work by Network Rail engineers. Repairs costing £9.5million included work to strengthen and repaint the 16-span, 360m-long Shoreham Viaduct, dating from 1892, which is one of the UK’s earliest steel structures.…

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WIGAN Wallgate’s listed station building and ornate Victorian station-front canopy have been restored at a cost of £1million. The station area now has a new roof and new windows, while the canopy has been returned to its former glory after years of neglect. The building has been shrouded in scaffolding since June 2016. Part of…

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