News

THE Avon Valley Railway’s restoration of ex-Fry’s Chocolate Sentinel 4wVBT No. 7492 reached a significant milestone on September 14 when it moved under its own power, albeit courtesy of an air compressor. It was the first time the 1928-built loco had moved under its own power in more than 60 years, having been taken out of…

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NEWLY repainted Churchward 2-8-0T No. 4277 emerged from the Churnet Valley Railway’s (CVR) Cheddleton works on October 18 carrying its new British Railways black livery. The Dartmouth Steam Railway’s loco, known to generations of Devon holidaymakers as Hercules, has been returned to its 1950s condition in order to take part in the CVR’s Silver Jubilee…

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BULLEID Pacifics and a long-lost ‘Standard 5’ provided the main draw for the Great Central Railway’s (GCR) autumn steam gala on October 5-8. The event provided a final celebratory event in this 50th anniversary year that marked the end of Southern Region steam. The focus of attention was the pair of visiting Bulleid Light Pacifics…

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THE Mid-Hants Railway’s £1.5million overhaul of Bulleid ‘Merchant Navy’ No. 35005 Canadian Pacific reached an important milestone in late September when the locomotive was re-wheeled at Eastleigh. Timing has been an important driver in reaching this stage of the overhaul, with the Pacific needing to be back on its wheels to enable its movement in an…

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THE stars of the West Somerset Railway’s autumn gala may have had to be re-cast in the weeks leading up to it, but the October 5-8 event still attracted just shy of 4,000 travelling passengers over the four days. A minor contractual issue had resulted in the Bluebell Railway withdrawing the availability of Riddles ‘5MT’…

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A HERITAGE Lottery Fund (HLF) grant of £89,600 has been given to the Foxfield Railway-based Knotty Coach Trust for the restoration of a unique four-wheeled North Staffordshire Railway Brake Third coach. The grant, together with £15,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation, allows the Knotty Trust to start work immediately on its £15,000 Accessible Coach Project.…

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THE sight of Didcot’s ‘King’ No. 6023 King Edward II at Paddington on the evenings of August 31 and September 2 was a cause for jubilation for some – the Collett 4-6-0 being finally back on the main line where it belongs, even if it was on tow. However, while the moves to and from the…

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THE Lincolnshire Wolds Railway (LWR) has begun work on its five-mile southern extension, which will ultimately see steam return to the outskirts of Louth. The Ludborough-based railway owns the trackbed as far as the industrial estate at Louth, where it will ultimately terminate. The first phase in reaching this goal is a three-quarter-mile extension to…

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THE presence of three Western Region tank engines helped the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) attract record-breaking passenger numbers to its three-day Autumn Steam Gala, from September 29 to October 1. In excess of 4,000 visitors turned out to experience the nine steam locomotives that were in action, together with a supporting cast of traction…

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THE A4 Locomotive Society has taken delivery of the re-tyred wheelsets for No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley at its overhaul base within the National Railway Museum. The wheelsets reached York at the end of September, and since entering the works have had the tyre edges, balance weights and axle ends painted with primer. The overhaul team…

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