Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 465 i Steam Railway

Little can be achieved in preservation without goodwill and mutual respect. It is this happy trait that continually pulses through the veins of the steam movement, and helped bring about the magical events of February 14-16 - when a Darlington ‘Pacific’ took over some of the passenger services from Northern Rail’s DMU fleet. We covered the first hours of the three-day event last issue, but since we last went to press the full extent of the benefits that ‘Plandampf’ brought has become fully apparent. It was little surprise that we, as an enthusiast community, caught the bug. But that the general public at large - and the modern railway industry - embraced the ‘I LOVE S&C’ showpiece so warmly is what makes it worthy of greater attention now, as you’ll…

John Cameron’s decision to permanently retire his ‘A4’ class ‘Pacific’ No. 60009 Union of South Africa and place it in a museum “by the summer of 2019” has sparked unprecedented demand for the locomotive. Even though the Gresley ‘Pacific’ is still under repair at the Heywood, Lancs works of Riley & Son (Electromec) Ltd, and some weeks away from trial running, Cameron revealed this month: “The phone hasn’t stopped ringing. It seems that everyone wants a slice of ‘No. 9’. Our diary for this year is nearly full already.” On the strength of the pledge to Mr Cameron from Riley & Son Managing Director Ian Riley that the axlebox and other ‘bottom end’ repairs will be complete, and the engine ready to run “by Easter”, Railway Touring Company chief Nigel…

• ‘J21’ DECISION IMMINENT A decision on whether ‘J21’ No. 65033 would receive a ‘Stage 2’ cash award from the Heritage Lottery Fund was due to be announced in late March. The Locomotive Conservation & Learning Trust was awarded a provisional go-ahead in 2014. (See page 36). • FR WINS HALF A MILLION The Ffestiniog Railway has been awarded £464,000 by the HLF. The grant will be used to train 20 individuals that will help bolster the FR’s staff, and that of other steam railways. • CORWEN CONSTRUCTION Construction of the platform at the Llangollen Railway’s new western terminus has begun. The base of Corwen Central’s Down platform was completed in March, a month after receiving an initial letter to proceed from the Welsh Government’s European Regional Development Fund. •…

The Gwili Railway is set to double in length as it plans to extend northwards - even though its southern extension to Abergwili Junction hasn’t opened yet. Currently 2½ miles in length, the Gwili Railway will grow to four miles when it opens its southern extension later this year. Estimated to cost £1.2 million, the four-mile extension north from its current railhead at Danycoed to Llanpumpsaint will bring the railway’s running line to eight miles. The railway has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise £100,000 to begin clearing the trackbed and repair bridges on the former Carmarthen-Aberystwyth route. Gwili Railway Marketing Manager Scott Artus says: “There are eight bridges between Danycoed and Llanpumpsaint. On average, these may cost £80-100k each to restore.” In Phase 1 of the extension, the track…

• ISLAND ‘TERRIER’ WIN A valuable acquisition for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway’s museum has been the illuminated certificate presented to William Stroudley in 1878, after the line’s ‘Terrier’ No. W11 Newport (then No. 40 Brighton) won a gold medal at the Paris Exposition. The IoWSR would now like to track down the medal itself. • LSWR CLOCK TO IOWSR South West Trains has donated the 1898 LSWR clock from Portsmouth Harbour station to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway for its museum collection. The clock, which survived the heavy bombing of the station during the Second World War, has initially been displayed in ‘Train Story’ at Havenstreet before undergoing repairs. • BLUEBELL ELEPHANT VAN The Bluebell Railway has completed the external restoration of Southern Railway Bogie Scenery Van…

STEAM and the tang of smoke will drift over West London once more, as Great Western Railway plans an open day for Old Oak Common on Saturday September 2. The train operating company is pulling together plans to celebrate the London depot’s 111th anniversary with the prospect of a line-up of classic motive power, from steam through to the new ‘IEP’ trains the company is about to put into service. The event - ‘Legends of the Great Western’ - will take place in and around GWR’s HST shed rather than the site of the old 81A steam depot, which closed to steam in 1965, and was used for the last major open day in August 2000. It has since been taken over by Crossrail, firstly as a factory to make…

• 1857 RULE BOOK ON CD The Cumbrian Railway Association has made the 1857 rule book of the Whitehaven Junction and Whitehaven & Furness Junction Railways available on CD. It costs £5, including postage. To order, write to: Cumbrian Railways Association CD, 50 Tattershall, Toothill, Swindon SN5 8BX or email sales@cumbrianrailways.org.uk • POLE POSITION An appeal to the Telegraph Pole Appreciation Society resulted in a single donation of over 300 ceramic insulators to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, for its project to reinstate the lineside poles, initially between Wootton and Havenstreet. • SIERRA LEONE SWANSONG A ‘farewell party’ is to held at ‘Locomotion’ NRM Shildon on April 15-17 for Sierra Leone Railway 2-6-2T No. 85 before the locomotive goes on tour. The event is awaiting confirmation of Heritage Lottery…

Hopes of wheeling ‘P2’ No. 2007 Prince of Wales this spring have suffered a setback, with three of its axles requiring replacement. The keyways of the plain coupled axles, delivered from South Africa, had been machined incorrectly. They have been returned to the supplier, who is providing replacements, but this is expected to delay the wheeling of the Gresley 2-8-2’s frames by at least three months. Project Director Mark Allatt said: “We’re now aiming to have it wheeled in time for our supporters’ convention in September.” On a more positive note, assembly of the crank axle at the South Devon Railway is expected to start imminently, while the superheater header has been cast. The crossheads are among the final batch of steel castings ordered. The ‘Mikado Club’ fund for the…

A pair of guest engines for the North Norfolk Railway’s Spring Steam Gala will effectively represent the line’s joint Midland & Great Northern history. LMS ‘8F’ 2-8-0 No. 48624, from the Great Central Railway, and the Gresley Society’s GNR ‘N2’ 0-6-2T No. 1744 are confirmed to star at the April 21-23 event. Following bottom end work and the fitting of main line electronic equipment at Tyseley, the ‘N2’ is to remain on the ‘Poppy Line’ for the 2017 season, providing a second main line certified steam locomotive for the Cromer operation (SR462). From the home fleet, ‘B12’ No. 8572, ‘Y14’ No. 564, ‘4MT’ 2-6-0 No. 76084 and Hunslet 0-6-0ST Ring Haw will all be rostered. ‘9F’ No. 92203 ‘Black Prince’ may be able to join the line-up, but is still…

Regular Polish steam services are to restart on May 1 rather than in March, according to footplate holiday organisation The Wolsztyn Experience. The tour organisers said the delay is because “the hiring of coaches with steam heating fell through” - and provision of heating on scheduled services is mandatory before May. It is expected that the problem will be solved by next winter. Timetabled steam using engines based at the part-roundhouse at Wolsztyn, western Poland, came to an end almost exactly three years ago; the last trains ran on March 31 2014. Since then, several dates on which the service could restart have been mooted. If services do begin on May 1, they will follow closely on from the 2017 locomotive parade, which is to be held on April 29.…

• JOAN BOWS OUT Replica Bagnall 0-4-0IST (Inverted Saddle Tank) Joan, built in 1997 by Allen Civil, will make its last runs on the Golden Valley Light Railway, at the Midland Railway - Butterley, on April 1/2 and 9 before its boiler certificate expires. It will then be sidelined while volunteers concentrate on completing the line’s 1914-built Orenstein & Koppel 0-4-0WT, which has never run in preservation. • ‘KING’ GAUGING WAIT A date for the movement of ‘King’ No. 6023 King Edward II to the West Somerset Railway, for running-in and main line testing, was still to be announced as this issue of Steam Railway went to press. Gauging measurement of the 1930-built engine took place in early March, and the Great Western Society is awaiting the results. • COLLETT…

A memorial train for a former Nine Elms fireman is to help fund a sustainable future for new BR ‘3MT’ 2-6-2T No. 82045. Paul Anderson, a keen supporter of the 82045 Steam Locomotive Trust, died on January 17 after a short illness, his funeral being held in Halifax on January 31. Born in London on August 26 1945, he joined BR in May 1963 against his parents’ wishes, firing at 70A until late 1966 when he took up a full-time position on the Ffestiniog Railway. The trust is running a special train in his memory at the Severn Valley Railway on October 6, titled the ‘Waterloo Sunset’, with the proceeds going to kick-start the 82045 Future Account - a fund for the upkeep of the 2-6-2T after it enters service.…

A record sum has been raised for ‘Patriot’ The Unknown Warrior in the last 12 months - and all of it has effectively been spent already. With its financial year finishing at the end of March, the LMS Patriot Project was projecting a figure of over £400,000 - a £50,000 improvement over the previous year. Of this, £14,000 was donated in just two weeks during late February - not including a further £6,000 in the same period from regular standing orders - which, with Gift Aid, gives a figure of £25,000 in that fortnight. “And we’ve already committed it!” says Chairman David Bradshaw. “We’re consuming money at a huge rate - and that’s before Crewe start assembling the boiler this year. “So we’re doing very well - but we must…

BR’s only new-build paddle steamer, Maid of the Loch , could sail again in 2018. With the promise of a £3.8m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the registered charity Loch Lomond Steamship Company is now looking to raise a further £1.7m to restore the vessel to passenger operation. During the last 20 years, the group has spent over £1.9m on refurbishing the ship as an events venue at Balloch pier on Loch Lomond, as well as restoring the 1902 steam-powered slipway. Ordered by the British Transport Commission from A. & J. Inglis of Glasgow to replace two earlier, smaller paddle steamers, Maid of the Loch was too big to be transported to Loch Lomond via the River Leven, and had to be…

Disassembly of one of the world’s largest steam locomotives is now at an advanced stage, as the boiler and front engine unit of Union Pacific ‘Big Boy’ 4-8-8-4 No. 4014 have been removed at the railroad’s Cheyenne workshops in Wyoming. The ‘Union Pacific Steam Team’ began the stripping process in November, and completed the work in January. Ed Dickens, senior manager of UP Heritage Operations, said: “We have disassembled the boiler. You can walk from one end to the other inside the locomotive.” A pair of 70-ton cranes were used to lift No. 4014’s boiler so the front engine unit could be removed from underneath the locomotive. Said Mr Dickens: “That scale of disassembly hasn’t been seen around here since the mid-1950s.” The team has nearly finished inspecting all 16…

MEMBERS OF the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Preservation Society have voted for Caledonian Railway blue as the livery for Krauss 4-6-2 No. 8457, which was imported by the society from Spain in 2015. This will be the first time one of the Cumbrian railway’s locomotives has been painted blue. Maintaining the tradition of naming locomotives after local rivers, RER members chose Whillan Beck, which the railway crosses as it enters Dalegarth station. While 90 members voted for this combination, and 135 voted for the name, the colour was the most popular choice. The runner-up name choices were Ghyll Force (100 votes) and King of Prussia (96). During testing on the railway in November and December last year, the ‘Pacific’ ran 190 miles, successfully hauling loads of up to 12 empty…

A bequest has allowed the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust to buy a property in Parracombe, which includes an eighth of a mile of trackbed. The late Gerald Chandler, a long-standing LBR supporter, bequeathed his house in Dorset to the trust, which will sell the house in Parracombe while keeping the required land for the railway. The trust and its linked company, Exmoor Associates, now own all the land between Woody Bay and Parracombe Churchtown - about 1½ miles in length.…

The South Tynedale Railway is adding to its collection of continental carriages with a carriage that once operated on the 760mm gauge Mariazellerbahn, in Austria. No. 4240 has been regauged and converted into a mess car by CSI in Crisicor, Romania. As well as seating for about 20 people, the vehicle has a toilet and a baggage compartment suitable for carrying tools. The continental firm has made new tanks and a cab for Resita 0-8-0T No. 764.423, and expects to have the locomotive available for service later in the year. It was bought from the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway as a kit of parts last year. Resita 0-8-0T No. 764.425, which it also bought from the WLLR, is now in service on a tourist railway at Milovice, in the…

Concerns have been raised by the Downpatrick & County Down Railway over Government plans to create ‘greenway’ cyclepaths along sections of trackbed upon which the railway hopes to extend. Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure is studying the feasibility of developing 600 miles of ‘greenways’ on a number of disused lines in Northern Ireland. Among the sections highlighted are the former Belfast & County Down trackbeds from Downpatrick to Newcastle, Ardglass and Comber, all of which abut the DCDR at Downpatrick. For years, the DCDR has been campaigning for access to a further two-mile section of the Downpatrick-Newcastle line, which would mean its trains could operate through to a restored mill at Balydugan. But the land is now in private ownership, and so far, the local council has been unwilling to…

Bill Warriner put up many fine performances on ex-Great Western tracks, and in Table 4 there is an example which reached me from my correspondent Bill Long. This was on the ’Royal Duchy’ in 2014. The locomotive was unrebuilt ‘Battle of Britain’ class ‘Pacific’ Tangmere, with a nine-coach train weighing 340 tons gross. Leaving Plymouth 1 min behind time, and once the usual slow start out to Mutley Tunnel was accomplished, speed rose rapidly down the 1-in-83/77 to Lipson Junction and, with 64½mph attained before Plympton, the Bulleid ‘Pacific’ tore into the 1-in-41/42 of Hemerdon Bank, falling only to an excellent minimum of 29½mph at the top. David Pawson calculates Tangmere’s power output at 1,810edhp (1,980ihp) for 3½ mins from Plympton to Hemerdon. Curvature restricts speeds along the southern fringes…

The explanation of ‘K4’ The Great Marquess’ failure on October 23 1997 due to a wheelslip inside Bewdley Tunnel in the article ‘Will ye no’ come back again?’ (SR464) is incorrect. I was the driver on the day in question, and there was no wheelslip, as the train only consisted of four BR Mk 1 coaches - well within the capability of a ‘K4’. As the day was drawing to a close, we travelled along the Waterworks straight with steam on, but on shutting off we felt some big vibrations through the footplate, as if the engine were ‘off the road’. With light steam applied again as a cushion, the vibration and noise ceased, allowing us to make a controlled stop near Sterns Cottage. The engine was examined, and I…

Britain’s second ever ‘Pacific’ is to be resurrected, with a new-build project to recreate the former Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway 4-6-2 Colossus. LMS Patriot Project engineers Jordan Leeds and Kevin West have already begun work on building the 15in-gauge Bassett-Lowke engine. The original was built in 1913 for Captain J.E.P. Howey, who went on to build the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway. The locomotive was only the second ‘Pacific’ to run in Britain, after Churchward’s No. 111 The Great Bear. It was also the only 4-6-2 built by Bassett-Lowke, and was effectively an enlargement of the firm’s ‘Class 30’ 4-4-2s. It is estimated that the new ‘Class 60’ will cost £80,000. Construction of the new tender has already started; it is hoped this will be completed in 18 months’ time.…

YOU’LL BE able to cop a third of all preserved ‘Light Pacifics’ at the Swanage Railway’s ‘Strictly Bulleid’ gala on March 31-April 2, with a grand total of seven Bulleid 4-6-2s in attendance. In addition to the previously announced line-up, under-overhaul ‘Battle of Britain’ No. 34072 257 Squadron will be on display inside Herston Works. The ‘Spam Can’ is approaching the end of its ten-year overhaul and it had been hoped the locomotive would be ready in time to appear at the gala as part of the operational fleet. Unrestored ‘West Country’ No. 34010 Sidmouth will also be on display in the cattle dock at Corfe Castle - albeit its frames only. These will be moved into Herston Works for restoration once 257 Squadron has been outshopped (see page…

A full ‘vintage train’ of Maunsell and Bulleid coaches is in prospect at the Swanage Railway to strengthen its 1950s Southern Region feel. 1930-built Maunsell Third Open No. 1381 arrived back on the ‘Purbeck Line’ on February 21, having had its bodywork restored and bogies overhauled by contractor Ramparts of Barrow Hill. Swanage volunteers have now begun fitting out its interior. Ramparts has now turned its attention to 1933-built example No. 1346, with the roof canvas applied, the panelling being refitted, and the gangways ready to go back on; completion is anticipated later this year. They will be used to form a rake with already-operational Bulleid Brake Third No. 4365 and Composite No. 5761, while a third Bulleid - Brake Third No. 4366 - will be restored later, thus completing…

‘A4’ No. 60009 Union of South Africa will return to service at the East Lancashire Railway at Easter, it is hoped. ELR Financial Director David Layland said that “subject to completion” of its repairs by Riley & Son (E) Ltd, the Gresley 4-6-2 will be in steam on April 14-17. A ‘Pacific’ duo may be in prospect, as either Bulleid ‘West Country’ No. 34092 City of Wells or Hughes-Fowler ‘Crab’ 2-6-0 No. 13065 will be rostered. No. 60009 is also booked for the ELR’s Autumn Steam Gala, currently scheduled for October 14/15, but possibly to be extended to October 13-15. As reported in recent issues, ‘No. 9’ will be in service for just two more years before owner John Cameron retires it…

➧ LYN DEBUT DELAYED Replica Baldwin 2-4-2T No. 762 Lyn will not be ready to make its debut at the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway’s Spring Gala on May 13/14, as hoped. Its first steaming is now anticipated at Alan Keef’s works in late May, and its public launch at Woody Bay will now be at the Autumn Gala, on September 30/October 1. ➧ HUNSLET’S NEW HOME Former Trinidad sugar plantation Hunslet 2-6-2T Picton (Works No. 1540 of 1927) has been placed under cover in its own shed at the Middleton Railway, prior to cosmetic restoration. It is being supported by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of £70,650, along with the restoration of Hunslet 0-6-0ST Brookes No. 1 (Works No. 2387 of 1941) ➧ CO-OP’S COACH SUPPORT The Moseley Railway Trust…

1759: Cab and running plate steps have been made for the ‘G5’ 0-4-4T, while engineering consultancy Mott MacDonald Ltd has completed its 86-page report on the testing and certification of the crank axle (SR462). Open days at the G5 Locomotive Company’s Shildon base recommenced on March 4, and will be held on the first Saturday of each month, from 10am to 1pm. 6880: The first sections of the boiler cladding have been made for Betton Grange, and parts of the sanding gear trial-fitted. £183,000 has now been raised towards the £225,000 appeal for the overhaul of the boiler at Tyseley. 60163: Peppercorn ‘A1’ Tornado has now run over 90,000 miles since it was completed in 2008. The milestone was reached at Cosford, on the Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury line, while hauling the A1…

Holden ‘F5’ No. 789 could be built in East Anglia after all, with a move to the North Norfolk Railway on the cards. It was the original intention that the frames of the Great Eastern 2-4-2T would be erected at Tyseley this year - but due to a lack of space at the Birmingham works, the Holden F5 Steam Locomotive Trust has commenced discussions with the ‘Poppy Line’ about the possibility of continuing the build at Weybourne’s engineering facility, which was expanded with the NNR’s purchase of Chatham Steam Ltd in 2013. ‘F5’ Project CME Elliot Powick of Stafford Road Design has finalised the CAD work for the building of the frames. The NNR’s CME, Peter Philips, described the ‘F5’ as “a prestigious project and a locomotive ideally suited to…

Plans to move British-built ex-South African Railways ‘19D’ Saiccor No. 3, which will “ensure the survival of this superb locomotive”, are now in place, according to North British Locomotive Preservation Group Chairman Ken Livermore. However, unless £5,000 is raised in the next two months to cover haulage and loading costs, there is still a danger that the 4-8-2 could be scrapped. Arrangements have been made to move the ‘19D’ from its current home at the Sappi Saiccor Pulp Mill at Ukomaas to the Patons Country Railway depot at Creighton. The move is planned to take place in May, provided the group can raise the money. Mr Livermore says: “Donations and interest-free loans are urgently needed to help save this historic engine, which will be scrapped if it cannot be moved…

A British-owned Polish ‘Ol49’ 2-6-2 which has, for many years, been part of the fleet at Maldegem Steam Centre in Belgium, has been bought by a Polish preservation group, and will return to its home country in the coming weeks for restoration to full working order. Ol49.12 was originally preserved by the European Locomotive Preservation Group, and ran passenger services at Stoomcentrum Maldegem between 1996 and 2006, when its boiler certificate expired. ELPG spokesman John Wight confirmed: “The Polish group which has bought Ol49.12 has the resources to restore and sustain the locomotive in service, which we do not. “Stoomcentrum Maldegem is happy with the arrangement and pleased that the locomotive will have a working future.” Another member of the same class, Ol49.59, is the current mainstay of Poland’s Wolsztyn…

The Ravenglass Railway Museum Trust has been awarded £16,000 by the Arts Council-administered PRISM Fund. The grant will be used for the conservation and display of the only RER 3ft gauge carriage body to survive - the 1875-built ‘big saloon’. Stanegate Restorations & Replicas at Haltwhistle, Northumberland, will undertake the specialist work and the body will be displayed in the trust’s extended museum later this year. The museum extension, supported by grants from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the RER Preservation Society, is scheduled to be handed over for fitting out by the end of March. Alongside the 3ft gauge carriage, a key exhibit will be the restored Heywood 0-4-0T Katie, of which only the frames are original. Following the steam test last November (SR461), the locomotive was tested successfully…

The Ffestiniog Railway withdrew the last of its bullhead rail from its main running line during track renewal work near Penrhyn station in February. Chaired bullhead rail was first used on the railway in 1878. The cost of new bullhead rail was considered to be prohibitively expensive, as it would have required the creation of new rolls, while the amount required would have been small. At Penrhyn, the bullhead had been replaced with new Polish S30 (30kg/metre, equivalent to 60lb/yard) flat bottom rail. The best sections of the old bullhead rail, along with some double-head rail, has been used in the new wagon storage shed at Minffordd (pictured).…

A £60,000 appeal has been launched to return former Swanscombe cement works Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0ST No. 6 to steam at the Middleton Railway. Last steamed in 1975, No. 6 is from a group of six identical locomotives built for the Associated Portland Cement Manufacturers internal railway at Swanscombe in Kent that became well known to enthusiasts in the late ’60s and early ’70s. Several from the batch survive, but none have steamed for many years. The Middleton Railway Trust has announced an appeal to return the locomotive to traffic for its 85th birthday in 2020. Restoration of the 15in-cylindered engine’s chassis is already at an advanced stage in the railway’s workshops at Moor Road, but years of working at Swanscombe, with its ‘hard’ water, have taken their toll on the…

The Elsecar Heritage Railway received a welcome boost to its mile-long extension aims in February with approval for two key level crossings. The Yorkshire coalfield line has been granted permission by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council for the crossings at Tingle Bridge Lane and Smithy Lane, on the extension to Cortonwood. At Tingle Bridge Lane, a full barrier crossing will be installed, which will be operated by the train crew. At Smithy Lane, which is less busy, crossing gates will be constructed, which will be operated manually by the train crew. Andy Earl, chairman of the Elsecar Heritage Railway, says: “Gaining this critically important approval has been a long time coming and has involved a huge amount of very detailed work in traffic surveillance, understanding traffic flows across the week, and…

Whitehead’s new £3.1 million railway museum opened its doors in a low-key ceremony on March 1. RPSI President Lord O’Neill officiated, along with representatives of the Heritage Lottery Fund and Tourism NI, which funded the development with input from Mid & East Antrim Council and Ulster Garden Villages. It was originally hoped to have a Government minister in attendance, but this plan was scuppered because a Northern Ireland Assembly election was called for the following day. The museum is now open on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and bank holidays, with admission costing £7 for adults, and £6 for children and over-60s. An official opening is planned later in the year, with the society targeting the Easter weekend for a publicity launch. Lord O’Neill was a pioneer of Irish railway preservation, running…

When I first volunteered at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway in the late 1980s, the people in the locomotive department at Haworth gave me three pieces of advice. Look upstairs for a firing shovel, get to Ingrow for bib and brace overalls, and buy a ‘Black Book’. Well, the stock of shovels upstairs in Haworth shed must have been long exhausted, the shop at Ingrow had closed down, and ‘Black Books’ were thin on the ground. I eventually found one in the Vintage Carriages Trust shop. More properly called the Handbook for Railway Steam Locomotive Enginemen, it gave practical and theoretical information about locomotives and their workings. Published in 1957 by the British Transport Commission, it can’t have been cheap. Between its black hard covers there were 200 pages…

“The schedule for the 9.95 miles from Huntingdon to the Holme watering point was an impossible 10 mins!” One of John Daniel’s final steam workings was on December 1 last year, when he was in charge of Stanier ‘Pacific’ No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland working a ‘Cathedrals Express’ from King’s Cross to Lincoln. Since no diesel was scheduled to accompany the train, I decided to travel, although I could only do so in the outward direction since the arrival back in London was too late for me to be able to get home to East Devon at a reasonable hour. The ‘Duchess’ was deputising for ‘Princess Royal’ class 4-6-2 No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth, which is currently out of commision at . Driver John Daniel’s manager at West Coast Railway, Andy…

Aspirations by the troubled Princess Elizabeth Locomotive Society to have its Stanier ‘Pacific’ Princess Elizabeth repaired and running again on the main line this summer have been knocked back by an almost pitiful response to its ‘SOS appeal’ for cash donations. The society, which needs at least another £100,000 to complete the staggered four-year overhaul of its locomotive (SR464), launched a ‘crowdfunding’ appeal via the ‘Just Giving’ website in early February, setting a target figure of £40,000 to cover the cost of lifting the boiler and buying in a full set of smoketubes. But by March 15 - five weeks after the appeal was rolled out - just £1,250, or 3% of the target figure - had been donated, by a total of 39 people. In comparison, an appeal in…

• JOHN PEARCE, 1937-2017 John Pearce, one of the West Somerset Railway’s founder members and longest serving supporters, died on February 16 at the age of 79. He was chairman of the WSR Association for several years, and earned the affectionate nickname ‘Arkwright’ as full-time manager of Bishops Lydeard station shop. His funeral was held at Taunton Deane Crematorium on March 7, and a memorial train on the WSR is planned for April. • BRAKE VAN BACK LMS-design 20-ton brake van No. B950236 made its preservation debut at the Llangollen Railway’s ‘Along Birkenhead Lines’ gala on March 3-5. Built under BR auspices at Derby in 1950, it was rescued as a burnt-out wreck from Holyhead by a group of LR members in 2010. Its restoration, carried out mainly at Oswestry,…

Funds raised by the Severn Valley Railway’s Bridgnorth development programme share issue have passed the £1 million mark, just four months after the campaign was launched. The news comes just over a month since the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway announced on February 2 that the same milestone had been attained by its ‘Broadway - The Last Mile’ share issue, which is now just £80k short of its £1.2m target (see story above). The SVR aims to raise £2.5m to redevelop its northern terminus, and groundworks have already begun for the construction of the new GWR-style refreshment room, to be built in a neo-Jacobean style to complement the existing station building. Phases 1 and 2 of the project will also see the reinstatement of the original booking hall and waiting room, enlargement…

The Swanage Railway is exploring the possibility of running steam into Wareham this year, to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the end of Southern steam. Swanage Railway Trust Secretary Mark Woolley says: “With this being the 50th anniversary of the end of Southern steam, we are looking into the possibility of operating steam at some point to Wareham, but I’m afraid I can’t confirm anything at present.” June 18 marks 50 years since the last steam-hauled train over the branch in BR days, when ‘Battle of Britain’ No. 34089 602 Squadron and BR Standard ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No. 80146 hauled the RCTS ‘Farewell to Southern Steam’ railtour. Resident ‘Standard Four’ tank No. 80104 is currently running as No. 80146 to mark the occasion. The line currently has no main line…

Two major infrastructure projects have been completed at the West Somerset Railway in time for the 2017 season. Regular services over the full length of the 20-mile line resumed on March 11, following re-laying of the station throat at Minehead, at a cost of £120,000. Work included digging out nearly 1,000 tonnes of old ballast, repairing the trackbed drainage, and replacing the sleepers on three sets of points. One job that was deferred was the renewal of the level crossing, which will now take place in November, along with the re-laying of the running line eastwards to Alcombe foot crossing. At Williton, a £250,000 remodelling has returned the station to its pre-1968 layout by restoring the passing loop to its original length - thereby permitting trains to make use of…

Joint winners of the Heritage Railway Association’s Annual Award (Large Groups) for 2016 were the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group and the North Norfolk Railway. NELPG was recognised for 50 years of preservation activity since its formation in 1966, and the ‘Poppy Line’ for extending its services over Network Rail metals to Cromer. John Hunt, chairman of NELPG, told Steam Railway: “This award is on behalf of our 600 members, not only present, but past, including those sadly no longer with us, and all who have been part of the team over the past 50 years.” NNR Managing Director Hugh Harkett said: “I am delighted to have received this award and am obviously pleased with the way the Cromer trains came together, after we worked for two years to get…

Railway history will repeat itself at the North Norfolk Railway this year, as the line’s full rake of suburban Mk 1s enters service - replacing the Gresley ‘Quad-Art’ set. Completed in 2008, the 1924-built teak train is being withdrawn for maintenance work, including new brake blocks and repairs to the roofs, and is expected to return to service in 2018. The railway’s traditional summer ‘Quad-Art Week’ will therefore become ‘Suburban Coach Week’ this year, on July 3-9, showcasing the completion of its ‘Suburban 4’ project to restore a train of non-corridor Mk 1 stock. This set was completed on March 10, with the outshopping of Composite Lavatory No. 43041. Already in traffic were Brake Second No. 43357 (the restoration of which was completed in May 2015), Second No. 46139 (which…

A second chance to see double-headed ‘S160s’ is on offer at the Churnet Valley Railway on May 6/7. Greg Wilson’s two American 2-8-0s, No. 6046 and freshly overhauled No. 5197, will run together for all timetabled services that weekend. They will haul seven coaches and a Class 33 diesel - a load equivalent to ten coaches - up the 1-in-40 branch to Ipstones. It repeats a pairing that was a highlight of a successful Winter Steam Gala on February 25/26, at which No. 5197 made its public debut after overhaul, while visiting SECR ‘P’ No. 323 from the Bluebell Railway made for an unusual pairing of 0-6-0Ts, alongside resident Polish ‘TKh’ No. 2944 ‘Hotspur’. The ‘S160s’ have a busy diary this year, away from their Cheddleton base. No. 6046 is…

SOLD   Stoneleigh, Great Central Railwayana Auctions, Saturday March 4, www.gcrauctions.com LOT 26 Nameplate Swiftsure, from LMS ‘Jubilee’ 4-6-0 No. (4)5716, built Crewe, 1936. SOLD FOR £10,500 LOT 69 Nameplate Iron Duke, ex-‘Britannia’ class ‘Pacific’ No. 70014, built Crewe, 1951. SOLD FOR £15,500 LOT 111 Nameplate Lady of Lyons, from GWR ‘Saint’ 4-6-0 No. 2903, built Swindon, May 1906. SOLD FOR £12,600 LOT 128 London Midland Region enamel station totem Bassenthwaite Lake. SOLD FOR £4,400 LOT 241 Nameplate Airborne, from LNER ‘A2/3’ class ‘Pacific’ No. (60)511, built Doncaster, July 1946. SOLD FOR £11,000 LOT 278 Nameplate Earl of Ducie, ex-‘Earl’ No. 311, built Swindon, March 1937, transferred to ‘Castle’ No. 5054 in September 1937. SOLD FOR £13,600 LOT 315 Nameplate King Leodegrance, from SR ‘King Arthur’ 4-6-0 No. (30)739, built…

Fears that Norfolk & Western Railway Class J 4-8-4 No. 611 could be retiring from service have proved unfounded, with the publishing of its 2017 main line programme. In its first tour of the year, No. 611 will return to familiar ground, with a trip from Spencer, North Carolina to Lynchburg, Virginia on April 8, hauling ‘The Virginian’. The 4-8-4 will be making two tours the following day, with ‘The Charlotte Special’ from Spencer to Charlotte, NC, and then ‘The Piedmont Limited’ from Spencer to Greensboro, NC. Further dates throughout April and May include the unique surviving ‘J’ class locomotive visiting Roanoke, the former headquarters of the N&WR and the place where No. 611 was built, in 1950. Ticket prices start at $119, and can be purchased from www.fireup611.org/ buy-tickets.…

The Bala Lake Railway Trust exchanged contracts in February to buy the first plot of land for the station site of its proposed three-quarter mile extension into Bala. The plot, an overgrown field used by local dog-walkers, is less than an acre. It is alongside a derelict warehouse, which the trust has an option to purchase, and would give the station a street frontage opposite a town-centre car park. In the BLR’s Llanuwchllyn workshop, Hunslet 0-4-0ST Maid Marian has been dismantled for its ‘ten-yearly’ overhaul. Expected to return to service later in the year with a new water tank (its old one is life-expired), it will run without its cab, in as-built condition, until the end of the season. The latest addition to the BLR’s Hunslet fleet, George B, will…

Graham Lee has announced his retirement from running the engineering works that he established at Statfold Barn Farm, Tamworth, 14 years ago. The works has restored and built locomotives and road steam items from Mr Lee’s own collection and for outside customers. His grandson, Nick Noon, who has been overseeing this aspect of the enterprise for several years, will take charge from April 1, trading as Statfold Engineering Ltd. He will continue to restore items for Mr Lee while developing the contract side of the business. Concentrating on the railway and museum collection, Mr Lee wants to establish an accredited museum and trust, to be known as the Statfold Narrow Gauge Museum Trust, and improve facilities for visitors and the collection. The trust will enable him to pass on the…

Over 20,000 passengers were carried on the Fairbourne Railway in 2016, up from 12,500 in 2012, a year in which the railway faced the threat of closure. In the workshop, the focus has been on the overhaul of replica Hunslet 2-6-2T Russell. Inspection has revealed that the outer driving wheels had been out of alignment. The axleboxes have now been corrected and new wheelsets installed. The original roller bearings have now been replaced by ‘Vesconite’, a thermoplastic bearing material which is a third of the price of a bronze component. An appeal has been launched to raise £12,000 to pay for the new firebox the replica Russell needs when its boiler certificate expires in 2018.…

Diminutive Peckett ‘M5’ Whitehead is set to make a return to Lancashire after two decades, to star in the Ribble Steam Railway industrial steam gala on April 1/2. The visit by the 1908-built 0-4-0ST will reunite it with much of the line’s locomotive fleet. Whitehead was based at the ex-British Railways shed at Southport, former home of the group which now runs the Ribble Steam Railway, until closure in 1997. The Bristol-built locomotive was one of two industrials that worked train services on the last day of public operation at Southport. Formerly a Welsh resident, Whitehead (Works No. 1163) was acquired for preservation in 1966 from the Whitehead Hill and Co. Oakfield Wire Works near Newport. The firm also owned another Peckett, named Hill, which was scrapped when the works…

CONSTRUCTION OF the boiler for the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s re-created LMSNCC locomotive (see SR462) has commenced. The society is keeping its options open as to whether the project might produce a ‘W’ class 2-6-0, none of which survived the end of steam, or a second ‘WT’ class 2-6-4T - the G8AS boiler being common to both designs. In the medium term, a spare boiler could provide a replacement for existing 2-6-4T No. 4, meaning a quicker turnaround for the ‘Jeep’ at its next major overhaul. Detailed costings for the new locomotive are being established, while the timescale would depend on funding and manpower availability. Work has, however, begun at Whitehead on the boiler, starting with the firebox. Key materials were obtained some years ago when the project was…

Few main line locomotives have fared as well in preservation as Oliver Bulleid’s ‘Light Pacifics’. With 20 examples preserved, no other class is in such abundance; only the LMS ‘Black Fives’ come close, with 18. Of the 20 Bulleids, all but four have returned to steam, and only ‘Battle of Britain’ No. 34051 Winston Churchill is unlikely to steam again in the forseeable future. The ‘West Country’ and ‘BB’ 4-6-2s are synonymous with the end of steam on the Southern Region, and helped bring the curtain down on steam-hauled express passenger services in this country. Coincidentally, 20 examples survived until July 9 1967 (see separate panel) but, in a bizarre twist of fate, only one made it into preservation - No. 34023 Blackmore Vale. The other preserved ‘Light Pacifics’ were…

“Send for an assistant locomotive. In the meantime, take the side rods and driving brake blocks off, fill the leading and trailing axle boxes with oil and pack between the box top and framing of the leading and trailing, slack out the driving springs if fitted with adjusting screws. If fitted with plain hangers, I would wait until the assistant engine arrives and get it to draw the leading wheels onto wedges to take the weight off the driving springs. Then disable them by knocking the centre bolts out, ease the engine off the wedges and draw the driving wheels on to wedges. This will put the driving axle boxes against the framing, then pack between the box bottom and the horn stays so as to keep the flanges of…

 Bill Warriner was originally from Rugby, but like all the steam drivers - both from WCRC and DB Cargo - he had a very wide route knowledge. Curiously, the run in Table 3 was on the LCDR, a line with which he was not familiar, so a route conductor was provided. “The climbs by both locomotives were excellent, considering their respective loads” On this 2011 run, which actually started from Canterbury West, No. 70000 Britannia was hauling 13 coaches weighing 470 tons gross. I am grateful to my friend David Sprackland for supplying these details. The log shows the section between Margate, passed 8 mins late at low speed, and the stop at Bromley South. There are some sharp undulations in the short distance to Birchington, then a descent at…

“The further north we went, the more the weather closed in.” Duke of Gloucester had much to prove. An indifferent British Railways service record had scarred its reputation, but main line performances after its remarkable preservation resurrection had begun to quell some of its more vociferous critics. The imaginative 1995 Shap Trials would pitch No. 71000 against ‘Princess Coronation’ No. 46229 Duchess of Hamilton and ‘A4’ No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley. The intention was to run individual, single-headed trains over the famous bank, with as equal a load as possible. Additionally, they would be restricted to 60mph at Tebay so that the ascent would begin with as much equality as possible. There would remain many variables (as events would later show) but the prospect was mouthwatering. The ‘A4’ opened the…

Top product Highly recommended Good, but not perfect Maybe not for you Not recommended BOOK KEEPING NORTH EASTERN STEAM ALIVE TOP RATED ITEM Silver Link Publishing. T: 01536 330588 W: www.nostalgiacollection.com ISBN: 9781857944839 PRICE: £20.00 RATING: ★★★★★ In a fitting tribute to mark its 50th anniversary, the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group has produced this definitive history of its efforts to preserve NER and LNER-design steam (with some forays into the LMS and industrial fields along the way). Little could the small band of enthusiasts, who met in Newcastle in 1966, have imagined that their scheme to save a ‘J27’ 0-6-0 would sow the seed of one of the movement’s largest and most accomplished organisations. How this came about is told in fascinating detail, right down to the ‘now it can…