Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 554 i Steam Railway

And so it begins… AS I WRITE this, January is not yet over and already upheavals are taking place across both the main line and heritage railway sectors. First, and most prominent, is the ORR’s decision to revoke West Coast Railway Company’s license to operate coaches not fitted with central door locking on the national network. As we know, other operators have retro-fitted their stock with this modification (which you may, or may not deem necessary), but WCRC has, until now, chosen not to. Other operators have expressed chagrin at this stance, and have long called for the Carnforth-based operation to be held to account. That has now happened. What is sad here is not that action has been taken by the ORR, whose word is literally law, but that…

SOLE-SURVIVING IVATT ‘Flying Pig’ No. 43106 ran for the final time under its current boiler ‘ticket’ at the Severn Valley Railway’s Winter Steam Gala on January 6/7. The enthusiast favourite ‘4MT’ 2-6-0 was arguably the star of the show at the gala, a new addition to the SVR’s events calendar that attracted over 2,500 visitors and generated twice the hoped-for revenue. Preserved directly after being withdrawn from BR service at Lostock Hall in June 1968, No. 43106 is a Severn Valley stalwart, having hauled services on the railway’s official reopening day in May 1970. After over 20 years on the sidelines, the ‘Flying Pig’ has been in almost continual service on the SVR since autumn 2009, aside from January-July 2013, when it underwent an intermediate overhaul, after which it returned…

THE BODMIN Railway is considering selling ‘64XX’ pannier tank No. 6435, as well as its Class 121 railcar and some carriages, to help cover a “cash crisis” this winter. The railway announced in early January that it was considering selling the auto‑fitted pannier tank owing to “financial pressures”. Last steamed in 2022 following the expiry of its latest boiler ‘ticket’, No. 6435 is in good mechanical condition, having received new driving wheel tyres in 2021 and a lot of attention – particularly to its crown stays – during 2020. Railway chairman David Nelson‑Brown said: “We are looking for a speedy sale if possible.” In addition to the 1937‑built locomotive, the railway is also considering selling its Hawksworth auto‑trailer Third No. 232 – which is frequently used with No. 6435 on…

APECKETT 0‑4‑0ST that has ‘lied’ about its age for more than 70 years has moved from Yorkshire to Lancashire. Former Croydon B power station ‘R4’ class, Works No. 2103, moved from the Middleton Railway in Leeds, to Ribble Steam Railway in Preston on January 11. The 12in‑cylindered machine has been seeking a new home for several years, after being deemed not to fit in with the collections policy at Middleton. It has been acquired by the private owner of ex‑Corby steelworks Hawthorn Leslie 0‑6‑0ST No. 21 ‘Linda’, which is already based at Ribble. With its distinctive cut‑down cab, No. 2103 was restored and did spend time in traffic at the Middleton Railway, where it arrived during 1981. However, it has been on static display for an extended period and was…

THE 2FT gauge Golden Valley Light Railway has launched a £120,000 appeal to build a new carriage shed. The railway – which is based at the Midland Railway – Butterley and home to Orenstein & Koppel 0-4-0WT Works No. 7529, which was restored in February 2022 – has said it is “desperately short” of covered storage space, with its two ex-Ffestiniog Railway carriages (Nos. 118 and 119) and 1924-built Ashover Light Railway coach No. 4 currently housed in the running shed. The planned new three-road, 120ft by 26ft shed will enable the GVLR to store all its carriages and some smaller diesel locomotives under cover; “as well as removing the vehicles from possible harm and contamination, it will allow more projects to be undertaken in the running shed,” the GVLR…

THE PLYM Valley Railway owns an operational steam locomotive for the first time, after buying Andrew Barclay 0‑4‑0ST ‘Albert’ from its longtime owners. The 1948‑built locomotive (Works No. 2248) has been resident on the Devon line since 2004 and is currently the PVR’s only working steam locomotive, but until now has been hired from its private owners, a Mr and Mrs Liddicoat. The railway launched an appeal to raise £40,000 to buy the locomotive last year (SR548) and, having raised £31,180, announced on January 14 that it had bought ‘Albert’ outright. At a ceremony at the PVR’s Marsh Mills headquarters, Aaron Cook – the line’s director of motive power and rolling stock – said: “When Mr and Mrs Liddicoat approached us to say the engine is going to be put…

THE NEW year has started with all sorts of emotive topics. I can hear the buzz of conversation about the place and it is pleasing to note that the doom mongers are alive and well in 2024. If you have been around the block a few times you get to know that a new year is always a time when big things happen. There is something about the turning of the year that gives us time to reflect and set a new course. The news that a well-known model shop and the big model railway show at Warley are no longer to be prompts the highly predictable comments that things will never be the same and no one wants to take responsibility for organising things and so on. I chuckled…

We always knew that it was a good machine when it came out of service. It lasted the full ten years, so it’s not like it was an absolute mess and needed loads of work to it. We knew there was the basis of a really good machine there…” North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) Director of Engineering Paul ‘Piglet’ Middleton is talking about ‘Black Five’ No. 44806, a stalwart of preservation since the final days of steam in August 1968 and latterly part of the NYMR fleet since January 2014, when it arrived from the Llangollen Railway. As part of a new strategy to improve and reduce overhaul times, the 1944-built 4-6-0 was used as a trial to see if the scheme would work. Piglet’s joined by Motive Power Department…

We have the late photographer, Basil ‘Badger’ Roberts to thank for the incredible photos of Iraqi steam in the late 1960s. The Heineken of overseas railway photography, Basil really did get to the places others couldn’t reach. Originally from Wem in Shropshire, Basil was a railwayman who served his time as a fitter at Salop shed. National Service took him via Longmoor to the Low Countries, where he discovered a passion for overseas railways. As a railwayman, Basil was entitled to discounted or even free travel on many overseas networks. Known to railwaymen as ‘Priv’, Basil was an expert at using this perk for the maximum benefit to travel to exotic places in search of steam. Iraq was to be one of the most interesting of these countries. No doubt…

8A SHEDCODE Special The story of Liverpool’s substantial Edge Hill shed is a long and complex one, beginning in the dawn of the main line railways in 1830 and the formation of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (LMR). No less a person than George Stephenson himself designed a running shed and workshop which was scheduled to be built the same year at Wavertree Lane. However, history suggests that construction was not begun and completed until 1831 at Edge Hill instead, during which time all servicing of LMR engines was undertaken in the open. Hard on the heels of the opening of the LMR’s ‘engine house’, the nascent Grand Junction Railway (GJR) had also designs on the Edge Hill site, and by 1834 it too had opened a shed there, with…

It’s hard to keep track of all the steam locomotives in the National Collection – and where they are. Excluding those based at Science Museum Group locations – i.e. the National Railway Museum at York, Locomotion at Shildon, the Science & Industry Museum in Manchester, and the Science Museum in Kensington – there are 37 steam locomotives on loan to 20 different external museums and organisations (see table). That number has grown in recent weeks, with the relocation of ex‑LMS Stanier three‑cylinder 2‑6‑4T No. 2500 from York to the Bury Transport Museum on an initial three‑year loan. And all those locomotives and their respective loan agreements need to be managed. That’s where Paddy McNulty comes in. Paddy is the NRM’s Railway Partnerships Manager, having been appointed to the newly created…

THE GREAT Central Railway has announced a voluntary redundancy scheme as it seeks to reduce its costs by £250,000. The Leicestershire line informed its staff on January 15 about the redundancy programme, although it has not ruled out compulsory redundancies “if there are not enough expressions of interest in voluntary redundancy,” it warned. In addition to voluntary redundancies, the railway has sold a 50% stake in its ‘8F’ No. 48305 to the David Clarke Railway Trust – the GCR’s supporting charity – and has confirmed that other assets may be disposed of in future. GCR general manager Malcolm Holmes explained the reasons for the course of action: “We are not alone in the heritage railway sector, or indeed the whole leisure industry, in having seen our overall costs increase hugely…

DINMORE MANOR made a third consecutive appearance at the South Devon Railway’s annual Winter Steam Gala on December 29-31. The Collett 4-6-0 has participated in all three of the SDR’s Winter Steam Galas since their inception at the end of 2021 (SR528), running at that year’s event and the one held over the New Year period in 2022/23, when it starred alongside resident ‘64XX’ 0-6-0PT No. 6430 and visiting Ivatt ‘2MT’ 2-6-2T No. 41312 (SR540). The latest gala was an all-GWR affair, with No. 7820 working alongside another SDR resident ‘64XX’, No. 6412, and ‘Small Prairie’ No. 5553, which is currently based at the Bodmin Railway on long-term loan from Peak Rail. The latter made its first ever visit to the Buckfastleigh-Totnes line at the gala, and hauled a double-header…

NEWLY RESTORED LSWR ‘T3’ No. 563 broke new ground at the Swanage Railway’s ‘Winter Warm‑Up’ event on January 6/7, hauling a goods train for the first time since 1945. The Adams 4‑4‑0 was one of two steam locomotives in action at the event, alongside Southern Locomotives Ltd’s ‘West Country’ No. 34028 Eddystone, as well as a pair of Class 33 diesels – Nos. D6515 ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ and 33111. The gala was the Adams 4‑4‑0’s first public services since receiving some fettling to address some initial steaming issues (see Roster, page 38). The ‘T3’ was paired with the ‘Purbeck Line’s’ engineering train – which consisted of a brake van at each end, five ‘Dogfish’ ballast wagons and a ‘Turbot’ wagon – at various points during the gala, the first…

Narrow Gauge EX-PROVAN GASWORKS Andrew Barclay 0-4-0T ‘Dougal’ is set to return to steam at the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway, on an initial four-year loan. The 1946-built locomotive (Works No. 2207) has been based at the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway since 1969, and last steamed in 2014 when it was withdrawn needing significant boiler repairs. As the locomotive is too small for the W&LLR’s regular services, and because the SKLR shares the Welshpool line’s rare 2ft 6in track gauge, the railway has agreed to loan it to the SKLR on an initial four-year agreement. During the first two years ‘Dougal’ will undergo the necessary boiler repairs and other work in the SKLR’s workshops, with the subsequent two years to be spent running on the SKLR, albeit with occasional…

EX-DINORWIC SLATE quarry Andrew Barclay 0-4-0WT ‘Caledonia’ is a big step closer to returning to steam at Hollycombe Working Steam Museum, following the delivery of its heavily overhauled boiler. Last steamed in 2007, needing major firebox repairs, the boiler of the 1931-built ‘E’ class locomotive – originally built in 1931 as Works No. 1995 – has undergone contract renewal at the Severn Valley Railway’s Bridgnorth boiler shop. Work undertaken has included a new boiler barrel, new smokebox, new tubeplate, new half wrapper sides, new throatplate, new half backhead, new firehole door ring, new foundation ring, and a new copper firebox. Hollycombe museum manager Lucy Dyke added: “Alongside the boiler work she has a new set of fitting studs. All the small motion has been rebuilt, injectors overhauled, and all fittings…

ANDREW BARCLAY 0‑4‑0ST Works No. 1219 ‘Caledonia Works’ is going on loan to the Mid‑Suffolk Light Railway for 2024. Normally based at the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway, the 1910‑built locomotive will be arriving in March and is set to stay at the Suffolk line at least until its steam gala on August 30/September 1. Scheduled to make its first public outings on the ‘Middy’ on the weekend of March 31/April 1, ‘Caledonia Works’ replaces Hudswell, Clarke 0‑6‑0ST Works No. 1700 Wissington, which has returned to its North Norfolk Railway home after an 18‑month spell on loan to the MSLR (SR553). MSLR locomotive superintendent John Durrant said: “Although her type never ran on the original line, she is very much a contemporary Edwardian machine and suits our period perfectly.”…

The HRA view A RECURRING THEME I’ve increasingly come across over the last 20 years is that of volunteers versus paid staff… And just like so many debates in recent times, discussion often becomes narrowly focused and, in some cases, quite bitter. How do we as a sector respond to that? Fundamentally, we need to understand the emotions involved and how we got to that position. We could fill a book here (something I’ll come back to) but for now I’m going to have to generalise. The crux of this is probably a debate about professionalism and just what that looks like. Some assume it’s to do with being paid, but many professionally minded people I’ve met in heritage rail are volunteers. The defining factor is quite clearly not remuneration,…

NUMBER 38 Crossword aficionado and railway enthusiast Alan Frost has come up with the perfect way to spend ten minutes (if you are quick) or a couple of hours (if research is required). The Steam Railway crossword is back – just for fun. No need to send in your answers – just test yourself and find the answers here next issue. ACROSS 1‘Jub’ 45678 named after First World War commander John de, (6)4Dying remnants in firebox after journey (6)8Name of clan to whom 72005 engine dedicated (9)10 Wine pick-me-up in the buffet bar perhaps (5)11 Later ‘Castle’ [7008] of Welsh city (7)12 Kitchen essential for the [breakfast] buffet car (7)16 Leicester MPD 15E as opposed to ‘Midland’ (7)17 Reid ‘D34’ Class 4-4-0 engine 62488 named after a glen (7)20 Track…

It always surprises your author at how little crossover there is between the rail and road steam fraternities. Ostensibly, they have much in common; Richard Trevithick’s trail-blazing Pen-y-Darren locomotive was born out of his earlier experimental road steamers, and his final railway engine – 1808’s Catch Me Who Can – was very similar to his first full-size locomotive, the ill-fated Puffing Devil road engine of 1801. Several traction engine manufacturers – most notably Aveling & Porter – built railway locomotives (essentially, traction engines fitted with flanged wheels to enable them to work on rails) and the respective rail and road steam preservation movements both started in the early 1950s. Today, numerous heritage lines hold road steam events, and a locomotive may also occasionally act as a hefty payload for one…

HALF A DOZEN Victorian and Edwardian steam locomotives, most of them unique, are set to move to new homes imminently after a massive change in which one of Britain’s longest established railway museums will all but disappear. The industrial railway museum at Penrhyn Castle in North Wales is set to be transformed into a new ‘Industrial Penrhyn’ experience for visitors. The new museum will feature Penrhyn Quarry Railway Hunslet 0‑4‑0ST Charles taking centre stage, along with two carriages from the line. However, almost all of the other locomotives that have been on display at Penrhyn Castle for decades are being moved to new homes. The hugely important 4ft gauge Padarn Railway 0‑4‑0 Fire Queen is perhaps the most high‑profile machine to be re‑homed. The 1848‑built locomotive, which worked for the…

NEW-BUILD COLLETT ‘Grange’ No. 6880 Betton Grange will now not make its public debut at the Battlefield Line’s Winter Steam Gala as originally planned, owing to the “number of outstanding tasks required to complete the locomotive.” The 6880 Betton Grange Society had planned to launch the replica Collett 4-6-0 at a private event for members at Tyseley Locomotive Works on January 13, before moving the ‘68XX’ to the Battlefield Line for running-in (SR553), during which it was hoped to participate in the Winter Steam Gala on February 3/4 alongside ‘Large Prairies’ Nos. 4144 and 5199. However, the society announced in early January that it was postponing the launch as there were still several tasks to be completed. In a statement, the society said: “Although there was a chance that outstanding…

PENDENNIS CASTLE and BR ‘4MT’ No. 75014 are set for spells on loan to the Churnet Valley this spring. Celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, the Didcot Railway Centre-based ‘Castle’ will stay at the Staffordshire heritage line throughout May. During its visit, the CVR plans to hold a gala celebrating No. 4079’s centenary on May 4-6. The event is also expected to feature both of the CVR’s operational USATC ‘S160’ 2-8-0s, Nos. 5197 and 6046, as well as the railway’s second visiting locomotive for 2024: BR Standard Class 4 4-6-0 No. 75014, making a rare excursion away from its Dartmouth Steam Railway home. The 1951-built locomotive arrived at the CVR on January 17 and is expected to stay until the Pendennis Castle centenary gala. The Riddles ‘4MT’ 4-6-0s were no…

THERE IS “no case for the withdrawal of services between Castletown and Port Erin” on the Isle of Man Steam Railway, according to a recently published report on the Isle of Man’s government-operated railways. In April 2023, the Isle of Man Government – which operates the IoMSR, Manx Electric, and Snaefell Mountain railways, and the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway – appointed transport consultancy firm Systra to “evaluate the operations of the heritage railways… and to determine whether they are being governed, organised and operated optimally” and “to estimate the true value of the heritage railways and how the benefits arising from their operation compare to the costs” (SR544). The review also aimed to evaluate “the appropriateness of the timetable” and number of scheduled services on each railway, and consider “the…

BAGNALL ‘AUSTERITY’ 0‑6‑0ST ‘The Duke’ hauled its first public passenger trains in nearly a quarter of a century at the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway over New Year. The 1944‑built locomotive (Works No. 2746) made its debut at the EVR’s ‘Winter Steam in the Valley’ gala on December 31/January 1, just days after passing its steam test and returning to traffic for the first time since 2000. The NCB red saddle tank was arguably the star of the show at the gala, despite sharing the limelight with a pair of BR Standards: visiting ‘2MT’ 2‑6‑0 No. 78018 from the Great Central Railway, and ‘4MT’ 2‑6‑4T No. 80080, on long‑term loan to the EVR from the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust at the Midland Railway – Butterley. No. 78018 had been based at…

Having discovered in late 2022 just how much survived of the County Donegal Railway Joint Committee (CDRJC) – including, tantalisingly, the chance to ride in a Donegal Railcar at the Fintown Railway – a trip across the Irish Sea was planned. Among the inspirations for visiting were the writings of eminent railway author and preservation pioneer, L.T.C. Rolt. Rolt visited the CDRJC in 1952, together with other Irish railways, covering his experiences in Lines of Character: A Steam Age Evocation, with photographs taken by Patrick Whitehouse. Rolt’s enigmatic writing in both Lines of Character and Landscape with Figures – his third and final autobiographical work, which covers the 1952 trip and a post-closure visit to the area – are such wonderful descriptions of the area it was impossible to resist…

2024 marks 50 years since public services returned to part of the Kent & East Sussex Railway, while in 2028 the heritage line will have been providing public services for as long as the original railway, which opened back in 1900. Once upon a time (well, that is the traditional way to start a story), large parts of Kent were very rural and indeed remain so for much of the area through which the heritage line runs today. While areas of Kent near London soon became part of commuter land, a mixture of activities dominated the rest of the county. Kent was, perhaps unbelievably to some today, a coal mining county. In complete contrast, it was also a popular day trip and holiday destination, while in more recent times the…

GET IN TOUCH Got an event you want to be included? email steam.railway@bauermedia.co.uk FEBRUARY 3/4 BATTLEFIELD LINE: Winter Gala. Locos: 5199, 4144. 4 WHITWELL & REEPHAM STATION: Steam Sunday. 9 APPLEBY-FRODINGHAM RPS: ‘After Dark’ rail tour. 9-11 SPA VALLEY RAILWAY: Winter Steam Gala. Locos: 78019, 80078, 34072, 828, 2315. 9/10 SPA VALLEY RAILWAY: Real Ale & Cider Trains. 10-18 NORTH YORKSHIRE MOORS RAILWAY: Britannia Services, Loco: 70000. 17-25 BURE VALLEY RAILWAY: Teddy Express. 24/25 WHITWELL & REEPHAM STATION: 15th Anniversary Gala. Locos: 1370, 7681 25 EPPING ONGAR RAILWAY: Winter Bus Event. 29-MARCH 1 EAST ANGLIAN RAILWAY MUSEUM: Winter Beer Festival. MARCH 2 BALA LAKE RAILWAY: St David’s Day. 2 MID-NORFOLK RAILWAY: Model Railway Exhibition. 3 GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY: Railwayana Swapmeet. 3/4 WHITWELL & REEPHAM STATION: 15th Anniversary Gala. Locos: 1370, 7681…