Sam Hewitt

SIR William Stanier formally recommissioned Sentinel 4wVBT William (9959/1956) back into Elsecar Heritage Railway traffic on March 26 as a highlight of the line’s Sentinel Gala. The re-enactment replayed events of 60 years ago when the real Sir William, then a board member for the Courtaulds empire, formally named William at the Courtaulds Fibre factory…

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A CALEDONIAN Railway covered footbridge has been given a new lease of life at the preserved Caledonian Railway’s Bridge of Dun station. This development brings to an end four years’ work to secure its future. The ornate lattice 1895 structure was originally erected at Dunblane and gave more than 100 years’ service. However, a 2012…

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THE National Railway Museum surprised enthusiasts on March 30 with the unexpected announcement that it had gifted the unique London & South Western Railway 4-4-0 No. 563 to the Swanage Railway Trust. The William Adams-designed ‘T3’ has for some time been on the periphery of the NRM’s core collection, to the point where the museum felt…

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THE patterns used to cast the newly recorded 100mph driving wheels of Peppercorn ‘A1’ Tornado will be loaned to the B17 Steam Locomotive Trust to produce the six drivers for new-build ‘Sandringham’ No. 61673. Agreement has been reached with the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust for the ‘B17’ to use the patterns for the 6ft 8in diameter…

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FLYING Scotsman certainly left its mark on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway during its visit in early April, with the line’s operations officer Richard Jones describing the ‘A3’s’ stay as an “unprecedented success”. The celebrity Pacific arrived on March 29 after weeks of tele-sales and advanced bookings for both its KWVR services and the…

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LSWR ‘T9’ 4-4-0 No. 30120 worked its last services at the Battlefield Line on Easter Monday, bringing its extended hire period to a close. The National Railway Museum locomotive arrived at Shackerstone at the end of 2016 to help work the railway’s ‘Santa’ trains. The locomotive is pictured departing from Market Bosworth with the 13.45…

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THE Isle of Wight Steam Railway ran its restored 1930s coal train as a complete entity on April 9, adding another facet of typical island railway working to its visitor offering. The restoration of the train of four London, Brighton & South Coast Railway 10T five-plank open wagons may be unique on British standard gauge…

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ROBERT Stephenson & Hawthorns ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST No. WD152 Rennes (7139/1944) has emerged from the Lydney workshops of Western Steam Engineering (WSE), resplendent in the blue livery of the Longmoor Military Railway. The long-term restoration of the locomotive, owned by Phil and Nigel Williams, has been carried out at the Severn Valley Railway, the Flour Mill,…

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