Sam Hewitt

SEPTEMBER 9 saw a small but significant milestone for the team building the Llangollen Railway’s new Corwen Central station – the first rail vehicle reached the end of the new line. Alas, this was no steam-hauled through train from Llangollen as the new station still remains unconnected to the rest of the railway. So the…

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THE West Somerset Railway (WSR) is set to enjoy a lasting reminder of September’s visit by Flying Scotsman in the form of a £250,000 infrastructure investment. The National Railway Museum’s Gresley ‘A3’ appeared for a seven-day stint from September 5, working two eight-coach trains a day between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead, along with a number…

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THE Bury Standard 4 Group has targeted 2018 for a return to steam of its Riddles ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No. 80097 following the return of the locomotive’s overhauled boiler. The boiler has undergone a major rebuild, incorporating a complete new barrel, a new lower throat plate section, new three-quarter outer firebox sides, and extensive copper welding to…

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SEPTEMBER 2’s Old Oak Common open day provided an opportunity for two Western Region 4-6-0s to return to their old haunts as shedmates one last time. Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway-based ‘Modified Hall’ No. 7903 Foremarke Hall and Didcot’s ‘King’ No. 6023 King Edward II were both allocated to 81A during their pre-preservation careers. No. 7903 was based there from…

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STANIER ‘Princess Coronation’ Pacific No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland will see out the remainder of 2017 in the guise that several of its classmates carried in their final weeks in traffic during the autumn of 1964. The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust has turned the loco out with the late version of the British Railways ‘ferret…

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THE Swindon & Cricklade Railway’s ongoing restoration of Hawksworth ‘Modified Hall’ No. 6984 Owsden Hall has received a boost with the completion of the connecting and coupling rods overhaul at the West Somerset Railway (WSR). The rods, complete with new bearings, await delivery to Hayes Knoll, after which the WSR will tackle No. 6984’s crossheads. The locomotive’s…

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A MONTH is a long time in the world of railway preservation as West Somerset Railway found out when two of its announced Autumn Steam Gala guest locomotives were pulled from the line-up. On September 10 the Camelot Locomotive Society (CLS) announced it had been forced to remove BR ‘5MT’ No. 73082 Camelot from the October…

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OLD Oak Common charity open day certainly lived up to its Legends of the Great Western billing, attracting more than 7,000 visitors to the West London depot. The event took place on September 2, after many months in the planning. It is probably the last event to be held on the site, and celebrated 111…

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