Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 560 i Steam Railway

When the pipe dreams come true If, you’d said to the most die-hard steam enthusiast gazing on sad lines of rusting Bulleid ‘Pacifics’ at Nine Elms that, in 57 years’ time, eight such giants would be reunited in steam, then they would have shaken their heads and walked away. Given the times, they’d probably have wondered what you were smoking or listening to as well, and with the richness of what was on offer in 1967, the variety would have been quite something indeed. Yet, whimsy aside, that scenario has indeed happened when, at Swanage, we saw eight air-smoothed and rebuilt engines (‘Battle of Britain’, ‘West Country’ and ‘Merchant Navy’) work together at the ‘Strictly Bulleid II’ event, and delight the crowds who attended. In my years of interest in…

ASPINALL‑DESIGNED ‘RADIAL’ 2‑4‑2T No. 1008 returned to home Lancashire & Yorkshire territory in late June, when it moved on loan to the Bury Transport Museum on the East Lancashire Railway. Previously based at the National Railway Museum in York, the 1889‑built locomotive has moved to Bury on a five‑year loan agreement. It is the third National Collection locomotive to go on display in the former goods shed at Bury in recent years, following the arrivals of 18in gauge Horwich works shunter 0‑4‑0STT Wren (in March 2023) and LMS Stanier three‑cylinder 2‑6‑4T No. 2500 (in December 2023). The ‘Radial’ tank made a rare return to the main line on June 27, when – sandwiched between West Coast Railways Class 33s Nos. 33207 and 33029 – it was moved from the NRM…

A RECORD EIGHT Bulleid ‘Pacifics’ gathered at the Swanage Railway’s ‘Strictly Bulleid II’ event in June, attracting over 4,700 passengers. Held on June 7‑9, with a preview day on June 6 to mark the 80th anniversary of D‑Day, the gala was a follow‑up to the ‘Purbeck Line’s’ first ‘Strictly Bulleid’ event in 2017 as part of the 50th anniversary commemorations of the end of Southern Region steam. That event featured a then-record five Bulleid ‘Light Pacifics’ running in preservation together: rebuilt ‘West Country’ No. 34046 Braunton (running as ‘Battle of Britain’ No. 34052 Lord Dowding), rebuilt ‘BB’ No. 34053 Sir Keith Park, and a trio of air‑smoothed Bulleids – Nos. 34070 Manston, 34081 92 Squadron and 34092 City of Wells. Its 2024 sequel was an even more ambitious affair, featuring…

LMS ‘JINTY’ 0‑6‑0T No. 16440 was officially re‑launched at the Midland Railway – Butterley on June 29/30, 16 years after it last ran under its own steam. The 1926‑built locomotive initially returned to steam in October last year in a temporary LMS red livery. The locomotive has since been fully repainted into lined LMS Crimson Lake livery as No. 16440 – the iconic paint scheme it wore during the early days of the Midland Railway Centre, and which was immortalised in the popular Hornby model. The return of No. 16440 gives Butterley its first operational resident ‘Jinty’ since 2015, when No. 47327 – running as S&DJR No. 23 – was withdrawn two years before the expiry of its boiler ticket. The official rededication of No. 16440 coincided with the MR‑B’s…

A SIGNAL box has been reinstated at Smallbrook Junction on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway, thanks to a £40,000 grant from South Western Railway. The original signal box was built by the Southern Railway in 1926 to help speed up the flow of trains from Ryde to Cowes and Ventnor, but was removed a year after the Newport-Cowes line closed in February 1966. Both the replica ’box and a solar-powered customer information system have been funded by a £40,000 grant from SWR’s Customers & Communities Improvement Fund, topped up by IoWSR funds. The new signal box was officially opened on June 7 by Network Rail chairman, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, who also opened the IoWSR’s barn café, situated in the railway’s events barn at Havenstreet. IoWSR chief executive…

SUMMER ARRIVED just in time for the Tanfield Railway’s Legends of Industry gala, held on June 21-23. A highlight of the industrial steam calendar, the annual event featured a mixture of coal, goods and ‘mixed’ passenger trains, with Tanfield’s home fleet out in force alongside guest locomotive, Foxfield Railway-based Bagnall 0-4-0ST Works No. 2623 Hawarden. Dave Scragg, who saved Hawarden for preservation, said that he and several Foxfield volunteers “had spent days preparing Harwarden for her Tanfield visit” – and it showed, with the 1940-built locomotive in immaculate condition. The planned second guest locomotive, Hunslet ‘Austerity’ NCB East Fife Area No. 18 (Works No. 3809) was unable to attend, owing to difficulties in arranging for it to be loaded at its Great Central Railway home for transport to Tanfield. The…

I’M SURE that, for most of us, our view of railways of times gone by – before BR, or even the 1923 Grouping – is wrapped in a rosy glow. We think of it as a time when carriages were all freshly outshopped in attractive colours, gleaming locomotives were tended by gangs of cleaners, stations were full of staff smartly dressed in their uniforms, and so on. In actual fact, I suspect that such high standards of cleanliness were the norm only in signalboxes, but I can’t be completely sure. My thoughts around this subject resulted from a visit to the remains of Leicester Central station. I recall seeing the façade of this station many years after closure, and wondering if something would happen to give it a new lease…

GET IN TOUCH Steam Railway, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough PE2 6EA steam.railway@bauermedia.co.uk or www.facebook.com/steamrailway STAR LETTER Preservation’s lost opportunities The latest issue of Steam Railway is interesting in that it carries two separate features that highlight some of the many chances spurned by the railway preservation movement during the 1960s to get a more representative coverage of main line and industrial locomotive practice among the ranks of surviving specimens. While it is most pleasing to record that the Kent & East Sussex Railway has passed its half-century of operation in its post-BR era, it is sad to recall that, had three chances been taken, it would have closer ties today with its Colonel Stephens roots. The first of these was Manning, Wardle ‘F’ class 0-4-0ST Works No. 1057 of 1888…

We’re a Cinderella Railway, really”, says the Gwili Railway’s Matt Bowen. “We’re out on a limb, but have dedicated volunteers and a lot of spirit.” And seeing the recent changes brought about at the Gwili, the comparison to Cinderella is apt: the Gwili Railway, like the eponymous heroine, has undergone an immense transformation in the last few years. Wales has many railway ‘firsts’ – not only was it here in February 1804 that Richard Trevithick demonstrated the first rail-borne locomotive steam engine, but also 147 years later was the site of the first preserved, volunteer-led railway, at Talyllyn. The first standard gauge preserved railway in South Wales would come into being decades later in 1978: the Gwili Railway. What is now the Gwili Railway started out life as part of…

Imagine a British‑run railway with an immaculate fleet of locomotives, many of them wood‑burning Garratts that climb from sea level to over 6,000ft. Well, until the mid‑1970s that was the scene that awaited intrepid rail enthusiasts who visited the Benguela Railway in Angola. Located on the coast of south‑west Africa, Angola was, until 1975, a Portuguese colony. During this period, four entirely separate railways were established with the primary purpose of linking the interior with the coast. One of these lines, the Benguela Railway, officially the Caminhos de Ferro Benguela, was built with British capital and was owned by a British holding company. At that time, Cecil Rhodes’ dream of a Cape to Cairo railway had not come to fruition, but the vast copper deposits of Katanga, a district of…

The name ‘Sutton Oak’ suggests a peaceful wooded scene but, in common with most of the ‘8’ series locomotive depots first established by the LNWR, the shed served the heavy industry and mining brought to the North West by the industrial revolution – with barely a tree in sight. The allocation at 8G Sutton Oak in St Helens served this industry, including coal, sand extraction, soda ash, glass, chemicals, foundries and, surprisingly, the UK’s only manufacturer of mustard gas and other nerve agents during the Second World War. All of this industry required rail transport which started with the St Helens and Runcorn Gap Railway that opened in 1833 (crossing the Liverpool & Manchester line on the world’s first rail-over-rail bridge) to take coal to the world’s first purpose-built rail/ship…

Let’s go back to the 1920s, when a young man was serving his apprenticeship as a premium apprentice with the LNER at Darlington Locomotive Works. His family ran the engineering firm of Fraser Engineers of Arbroath, who built Jutemaking machines, along with other items. His grandfather also built a steam car using the chassis and body from another type available at the time, and he is reputed to have said: ‘They could do it better’. It is believed he also went on to build a steam lorry, although sadly we have no further information on that story. Therefore, one might just say this young LNER apprentice had steam in his blood. That man was Ian Norman Fraser, who would go on to be one of Scotland’s first railway preservationists. Ian…

AS THIS magazine was going to press, 2ft gauge Bagnall 0‑4‑0ST Works No. 2090 Pixie was unveiled ahead of its official launch at the Richmond Light Railway, following its comprehensive overhaul. The 1919‑built former Cranford quarry locomotive – famously once owned by the Reverend Teddy Boston and based at his Cadeby Light Railway – last steamed in 2006. Acquired by RLR owner Jeremy Martin in 2019, Pixie has since undergone an extensive rebuild at Boston Lodge on the Ffestiniog Railway, and was launched back into traffic at its new home in Kent on July 6.…

TELEVISION PRESENTER, historian and Steam Railway contributor Tim Dunn was on hand to formally rededicate ‘Battle of Britain’ No. 34059 Sir Archibald Sinclair back into traffic at the Bluebell Railway on June 15. The ceremony marked the formal end of the Bulleid 4‑6‑2’s long return to steam, following extensive repairs. Originally restored from Barry condition at the Bluebell in March 2009, the rebuilt ‘BB’ was subsequently withdrawn just two years later, in October 2011, with serious firebox problems. Following repairs and overhaul, the 1947‑built ‘Light Pacific’ initially returned to steam in October 2023, before hauling its first revenue‑earning trains in over a decade on New Year’s Day. Sir Archibald Sinclair was subsequently taken into the paint shop at Horsted Keynes for the final application of its BR green livery and…

MANCHESTER’S £1.8M ‘Sky Garden’ on the former 1892 Great Northern Railway Castlefield viaduct is set to be extended. Thousands of plants were bedded in on the 125-year-old viaduct by the National Trust to create a ‘sky garden’, which opened in 2022, breathing new life into the iconic railway structure which had been redundant since 1969. The National Trust has now lodged plans to extend the linear urban park over the full 330m length of the viaduct and, if approved, work will begin in 2025.…

THREE LOCOMOTIVES ran together at the Corris Railway for the first time in living memory during the 2ft 3in gauge line’s steam gala on June 15. Headlining the event was a visit from Talyllyn Railway-based Hughes ‘Falcon’ 0-4-2ST ‘Sir Haydn’ – originally Corris Railway No. 3, which ran on the CR from new in 1878 until its closure in 1948. ‘Sir Haydn’, which arrived at Corris in early June, made history on June 13 when it double-headed with the railway’s own new-build ‘Falcon’ 0-4-2ST No. 10 for a photo charter – the first time a pair of ‘Falcons’ have hauled a train together in over a century. Shortly after the arrival of Kerr, Stuart ‘Tattoo’ 0-4-2ST No. 4 (better known today as the Talyllyn Railway’s ‘Edward Thomas’) in 1921, ‘Falcons’…

TALYLLYN RAILWAY 0‑4‑2ST No. 4 ‘Edward Thomas’ is the second of the line’s locomotives to have emerged from overhaul in a new livery this year, having been outshopped in Kerr, Stuart lined works grey livery. Last steamed in March 2023, when it participated in a series of photo charters organised by David Williams (SR543), the 1921‑built Kerr, Stuart locomotive (Works No. 4047) has spent the last 15 months undergoing contract overhaul at the Vale of Rheidol Railway in Aberystwyth. ‘Edward Thomas’ spent the majority of its previous boiler ‘ticket’ painted in familiar TR lined bronze green, but was temporarily repainted into lined Corris Railway red for its final photo charters before withdrawal. The newly overhauled engine returned to the TR on June 7 and, after running‑in, will haul service trains…

The HRA view I’M WRITING this on election day. A day to both reflect and to look forward – whatever the outcome. It’s been some eight years since the Brexit vote, and three years since Covid restrictions ended. And what is really thought-provoking is that four and half years ago, at the start of 2020, there weren’t any railways deeply worried about surviving. Yes, there were problems, but now it’s existential. Last month I highlighted the attitudes of heads still being buried in sand and that, whatever your involvement in the heritage rail sector, you have to take the current economic climate, the cost challenges, the people challenges, the tourism challenges, the safety challenges, and the environmental challenges very, very seriously. The HRA and other leaders in the sector, plus…

GWR & CONSTITUENTS 2999 The ‘Saint’ is to make an extended visit to the Severn Valley Railway, having arrived there in June. While precise dates had yet to be announced at the time of going to press, Lady of Legend will be used for some summer services and will also appear at the line’s Autumn Steam Gala over September 19-22. No. 2999 made its heritage line debut at the SVR in 2021. 4253 Under restoration since 2011, the boiler of the ‘42XX’ 2-8-0T passed its hydraulic test on June 24. Preparations are now under way to return the boiler to Rolvenden on the Kent & East Sussex Railway, where the engine is based. Earlier in the month, it was announced that the Rother Valley Railway Heritage Trust, which is hoping…

NUMBER 44 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 Sir, Arthurian knight of Maunsell ‘N15’ class 30765 (6)4 See 9 Down8 Passengers taking in views, perhaps in coach built for purpose (9)10 ‘Pat’ seaside town of 45548, ‘Lytham St. -----’ (5)11 ‘Britannia’ Lord identified on engine 70001 (7)12 Purpose of Guards’ Van and station lost property office (7)16 6007 King --- ---- reigned together from 1689-94 (3,4)17 Relating to holy variation of Shakespeare’s ‘Brit’ 70016 (7)20…

New-build steam locomotive projects are quite numerous these days, no doubt inspired by the success of Peppercorn ‘A1’ Tornado and its successor, the ‘P2’ class Prince of Wales. There are numerous other projects currently under way in the UK, although some appear to have better chances of success than others. Even America has got involved, with a group undertaking the construction of a mammoth Pennsylvania Railroad ‘T1’ class 4-4-4-4. ‘Down Under’, there is another remarkable new-build project well under way in Adelaide, South Australia. The locomotive is not particularly large, it is a 3ft 6in gauge South Australian Railways (SAR) ‘Z’ class 4-4-0, the eleventh member of a class of engines that became extinct in 1956. It is not being built at a heritage railway or in a commercial workshop,…

BRITAIN’S NEWEST steam locomotive – replica London, Brighton & South Coast Railway ‘H2’ No. 32424 Beachy Head – is set to be launched into traffic at the Bluebell Railway in August. It comes as the replica Marsh-designed ‘Atlantic’ moved under its own power for the first time at Sheffield Park on June 6, to become the latest new-build locomotive to be completed, and the second to be finished in 2024 after ‘Grange’ No. 6880 Betton Grange (SR557). The completion of Beachy Head has made the 4-4-2 Britain’s first operational ‘true’ ‘Atlantic’ since 1978, when Great Northern Railway ‘C2’ No. 990 Henry Oakley was withdrawn from traffic at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway – although Adams ‘Radial’ 4-4-2T No. 30583 last worked in 1990, appropriately at the Bluebell. Following successful…

AIR-SMOOTHED ‘BATTLE of Britain’ No. 34072 257 Squadron and GWR ‘Large Prairie’ No. 4144 were the headline locomotives at the Mid-Norfolk Railway’s first steam gala in five years. Held on June 28-30, the event was the line’s first steam gala since 2019. Three locomotives were in action across the weekend; alongside 257 Squadron – fresh from its appearance at the Swanage Railway’s ‘Strictly Bulleid II’ gala earlier in the month – and Didcot Railway Centre’s No. 4144 was BR Standard ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No. 80078. The ‘Standard 4’ tank, owned by Stewart Robinson, has been a familiar sight on the MNR since the completion of its latest overhaul in 2017, and is currently on loan to the line for the 2024 season. The gala was notable in that the MNR ran…

IVATT ‘2MT’ 2-6-2T No. 41241 will make a rare visit away from its Keighley & Worth Valley Railway home in September, when it heads to Didcot Railway Centre for its Autumn Steam Gala. The September 20-22 event will be only the second time the KWVR-liveried locomotive has left its Yorkshire home since the completion of its most recent overhaul in June 2018, the first time being its appearance at the North Norfolk Railway’s Spring Steam Gala in April 2022. The ‘Mickey Mouse’ tank will be joined by classmate No. 41312 from the Mid-Hants Railway, as well as Didcot’s own 2-6-2T, ‘Large Prairie’ No. 4144. Also running from Didcot’s home fleet will be Avonside 0-4-0ST No. 1340 Trojan, ‘Castle’ No. 4079 Pendennis Castle, and Hunslet 0-6-0T Works No. 2409 ‘King George’.…

REPLICA LIVERPOOL & Manchester Railway 2‑2‑0 Planet will likely sit on the sidelines for the 200th anniversary of the world’s first inter‑city railway in 2030, as there are no plans to overhaul the locomotive. It comes as the Science & Industry Museum – the long‑time home of the 1992‑built replica of the pioneering Robert Stephenson locomotive of 1830 – confirmed that heritage trains will no longer operate at the Liverpool Road site, under plans to redevelop the historic former L&MR station. The museum, formerly known as the Museum of Science & Industry, has recently submitted plans to transform its outdoor public spaces, improving accessibility “while retaining and celebrating the globally significant industrial beauty and heritage of the site”. Under the first phase of these plans, to be delivered by the…

EX-BARRY ‘BLACK Five’ No. 45163 reached a major milestone in its restoration on June 22, when its frames were lifted onto the Stanier 4-6-0’s driving and bogie wheels at its Colne Valley Railway restoration base. The smokebox (which had previously been trial-fitted to the locomotive but was removed to make way for the lifting strops and to carry out further work on the steam pipes) was also replaced on the frames. It is the first time the locomotive has been on its wheels in more than 30 years; rescued from Barry in January 1987 by Alan Bates and taken to the Hull Dairycoates base of the Humberside Locomotive Preservation Group, it was a dismantled kit of parts by the time its current owning group, 45163 Ltd, acquired it in 1991.…

BAGNALL 0‑6‑0ST Works No. 2135 was one of the star guests at the Statfold Barn Railway’s Spectacle of Steam on June 8/9. Normally based at the Threlkeld Quarry & Mining Museum near Keswick, the event was the first time the 1925‑built locomotive has left Cumbria since its return to steam, and only the second time it has visited another railway since 2015, when it enjoyed a brief spell at the South Tynedale Railway. The other visiting locomotive at the event was 1920‑built Fowler 0‑4‑2T Sena No. V11 (Works No. 15513). Previously on loan to the Bredgar & Wormshill Light Railway, this was the second time the former Sena Sugar Estates locomotive had visited Statfold, having made its UK preservation debut there in June 2023 (SR546). The pair were among 13…

PECKETT 0‑4‑0T Works No. 1631 Marcia is set to remain at its long‑time Kent & East Sussex Railway home, after being purchased by one of the line’s drivers. The 1923‑built locomotive has been based at the KESR since 1962, and returned to steam there in spring 2022, following its most recent overhaul. Originally donated to the KESR, it was purchased in 1965 by railway member Richard Beckett, who passed away in 2023. Following his passing, Marcia was offered for sale; it was initially put up for auction via GW Railwayana Auctions on April 30, but did not sell, and was then advertised for sale through Exeter‑based Berrybrook Steam & Classics, raising the possibility of Marcia leaving the KESR permanently. However, the diminutive Peckett has been purchased jointly by KESR driver…

The working of Bahamas out of London during the last couple of years has brought new admirers to appreciate this fine green steam machine. Its appearance ‘down south’ has prompted many compliments, even from some footplate crew who have expressed a liking for the double‑chimney ‘Jubilee’ on ‘their’ railway. While for some the engine will be unfamiliar, others will be aware that its home is ‘up north’ on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway. A few may even recollect its time at the Dinting Railway Centre before that. But what of the days before Dinting, and how did it come to be preserved? The Bahamas Locomotive Society has owned ‘Jubilee’ No. 45596 Bahamas since 1967. Its early history has become somewhat forgotten (perhaps intentionally!), but scouring old documents has unearthed…

One volunteer is worth ten pressed men, so the saying goes – though I hasten to add that heritage railways haven’t yet, so far as I’m aware, chosen to resort to press gangs. When, in 1951, the Talyllyn Railway was saved from oblivion, volunteering was mostly the domain of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service; volunteering, in 1950s Britain, as a leisure pursuit, was a very novel idea. Today, 70 years on, it’s a very different story and not only does volunteering look good on your CV, it is a well-trodden route to actually getting a job. Since that tiny seedling was planted in the far west of Wales, heritage railways have become an integral feature of the UK’s tourism industry. Some idea of the…

AUGUST 3 LINCOLNSHIRE COAST LIGHT RAILWAY: Steam Day. 3/4 LLANGOLLEN RAILWAY: 1960s. 3/4 APEDALE VALLEY LIGHT RAILWAY: WW1 Locomotive Weekend. 3/4 ALN VALLEY RAILWAY: Teddy Bear’s Weekend. 3/4 EAST LANCASHIRE RAILWAY: Days Out With Thomas. 3/4 GROUDLE GLEN RAILWAY: Isle of Man Transport Festival. 3/4 ISLE OF MAN RAILWAY: Isle of Man Transport Festival. 3/4 LLANGOLLEN RAILWAY: 1960s Weekend. 3/4 MIDDLETON RAILWAY: Food & Drink Festival. 3/4 MID-NORFOLK RAILWAY: 1940s. 3/4 SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY: Brick Weekend. 3/4 WHITWELL & REEPHAM STATION: Festival of Steam. 4 BREDGAR & WORMSHILL LIGHT RAILWAY: Steam & Model Railways Day 9-11 TALYLLYN RAILWAY: Summer Beer Festival. 10 LEIGHTON BUZZARD LIGHT RAILWAY: Jazz on the Sand. 10 LINCOLNSHIRE COAST LIGHT RAILWAY: Steam Day. 10/11 BATTLEFIELD LINE: Models Weekend. 10/11 GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY: Railways at Work Weekend.…