News

THE Northampton & Lamport Railway’s (N&LR) resident Peckett ‘R4’ 0-4-0ST No. 2104 worked its final trains on January 2 (RM Jan) before being withdrawn for overhaul. However, the former Croydon B power station loco is not going to be overhauled straight away, with owner Nick Gilbert choosing to concentrate on his other N&LR-based Peckett – ‘B2’…

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LOCOMOTIVE owner John Cameron has ruled out all chances of Union of South Africa and The Great Marquess remaining in service after 2019 – regardless of how much he is offered to sell them. “It won’t matter how many noughts are added to the bid price because there’s no such thing as ‘an offer I…

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FIVE Bulleid Pacifics have been confirmed as attending the Swanage Railway’s ‘Strictly Bulleid’ event between March 31 and April 2, the largest such gathering seen in preservation to date. The line-up so far features Oliver Bulleid’s ‘Light Pacifics’ in both original air-smoothed and rebuilt forms, with all five working to an intensive timetable to help…

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STROUDLEY ‘Terrier’ 0-6-0T No. 55 Stepney will form one of the centrepiece exhibits, alongside a cutaway replica of itself, in a new museum at the Bluebell Railway. The development follows a £1.1million award from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The ASH (Accessible Steam Heritage) museum will revitalise the way the railway displays its out-of-traffic locomotives by transforming…

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THE nation may be suffering from ‘Brexit Blues’ in some quarters following the EU referendum last June, but our preserved railways have had a good year in 2016, some recording record visitor numbers and most seeing a year-on-year passenger increase. The trend may not be unanimous, but those railways that responded to The RM’s request…

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FUNDING that would support the trial of the prototype Vivarail Class 230 DMU has been withdrawn following a fire on the train at Kenilworth on December 30. There were 10 staff on the train and all were evacuated safely, with the incident being reported to RAIB by West Coast Railway Company, which was crewing the…

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WEST Coast Railway Company will further extend its scheduled Scottish steam operation after the success of its Christmas ‘Jacobite’ trains. In 2017, the season will start with ‘Easter Eigg’ specials on April 14-21, with the main operation running from April 24 to October 27 (weekdays) and June 17 to October 1 (weekends). A break in…

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SOME 15 months after opening, the Borders Railway terminus of Tweedbank received its shop and coffee bar, and also toilet facilities. Called a ‘customer hub’, the much-needed facilities are open seven days a week and have created two full-time jobs. Funding was jointly provided by Transport Scotland, ScotRail, and the Scottish Government, through the Borders…

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