Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 562 i Steam Railway

Welcome When Steam Railway Deputy Editor Tom Bright suggested a survey of new-build engines as a feature a couple of months ago, I thought it would only be a short piece – after all, just how many completed engines and budding projects can there be? So, you can imagine my surprise when he said that the finished product would be not only one or two but probably three or four parts long. That’s pretty impressive going, and a real indication of the thirst within the sector to fill the gaps left by scrapping an entire class. It’s also a sobering look at how much money some of these projects will need to be completed or brought to fruition – and then there are operating and fuel costs, spare parts and…

THE NENE Valley Railway’s £300,000 ‘Back on Track’ appeal has got off to a positive start, having raised £65,000. It comes a few months after the railway launched the appeal in response to the financial challenges caused by rising operating costs and the coronavirus pandemic’s effect on income. Although the railway described the challenges as “stark”, it affirmed that the Peterborough-Wansford line “is not in immediate danger of closing. We are running as normal and will continue to do so. The £300,000 fundraising target is there to refill our reserves. It will enable the railway to maintain operations, conduct essential repairs and embark on vital infrastructure upgrades and restoration projects to ensure its long-term viability.” The line added: “Initial response to the appeal has been fantastic with over £65,000 having…

STEAM COULD soon return to the former Malton & Driffield Junction Railway for the first time since it closed in October 1958, thanks to a new shed being built on the preserved portion of the route. The Yorkshire Wolds Railway – which is based on the former Malton-Driffield route, opened in 1853 – has received a £100,000 grant from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to build a new, two-road shed and visitor centre at its Fimber Halt headquarters – the largest ever infrastructure project undertaken by the line. The grant will enable the shell of the building to be constructed, as well as some basic facilities, so the railway has launched its ‘Raise the Roof’ appeal to raise an additional £100,000 to fully fit the building out, “such as track,…

NEWLY RESTORED ex-Cadeby Light Railway Bagnall 0-4-0ST Pixie helped the Richmond Light Railway raise £3,250 for the Riding for the Disabled Association at its Annual Charity Steam Fair on August 10. The event has become a firm fixture in the narrow gauge steam calendar, raising thousands of pounds for various charitable causes each year. Six locomotives were in steam at this year’s steam fair, with the star arguably being the recently restored Pixie (Works No. 2090) which was officially launched back into traffic on July 6 (SR561). Also in action were ‘Quarry Hunslet’ 0-4-0STs Works Nos. 705 Elin and 827 Sybil, replica De Winton 0-4-0VBT Leary, and Decauville 0-4-0Ts Works Nos. 648 ‘Lily’ and 810 Chuquitanta. Other steam machines in attendance included seven traction engines, a Stanley steam car, and…

FAMED BELFAST shipbuilding firm Harland & Wolff – which constructed the RMS Titanic – is lending its expertise to help the Downpatrick & County Down Railway restore a unique Victorian railway carriage. The firm is to build the steel underframe for the sole surviving Ulster Railway carriage, 1862-built First Class family saloon No. 33. Formed in 1836, the Ulster Railway was Northern Ireland’s first main line railway company, initially operating out of Great Victoria Street to Portadown and Armagh, and later evolving into the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). No. 33 was built with two large First Class compartments for families and remained in service until 1920. The body was removed and used as a railway office, then latterly as a farm shed before being saved by the DCDR in 1987.…

PASSENGERS ON the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway will soon be able to cross from Platform 1 to the soon-to-be reopened platforms 2 and 3 at Bolton Abbey, thanks to the acquisition of a footbridge. Thanks to a £27,100 grant from the Association of Industrial Archaeology, the E&BASR has acquired the 1875-built footbridge from Marple station in Cheshire, which used to serve both the Midland and Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire railways. Preserved in the late 2000s when it was removed from the Network Rail station, it has since been purchased by the E&BASR for use at Bolton Abbey. Railway director Rob Shaw said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Marple footbridge to the railway. Its superb condition, Midland Railway heritage and generous dimensions make it perfect for our needs.…

The HRA view WE’VE ALL done it. Sat staring at a problem for ages, desperately hoping that the solution will jump out at us. Looking repeatedly at the same email, spreadsheet, troublesome repair or whatever that you just can’t quite find the answer to. What’s worse is we’ve often had it ingrained in us that we can only fix a problem by being at our desk, workshop or lineside. You get the feeling that stepping away from your little workspace isn’t working on solving the problem. It’s somehow skiving or ducking away from what you’re facing. And in a sector that always has more to do than our resources allow, it’s a trap that’s all too easy to fall into, as we all know that the string of emails needing…

GWR & CONSTITUENTS 1450 As its overhaul nears completion, the boiler of the ‘14XX’ was successfully steam-tested at the Flour Mill in Gloucestershire during mid-August. With new slide valves now completed for it at the Severn Valley Railway, the testing and running-in trials for the 0-4-2T should take place on the line later this year. 2874 A grant for £151,200 has been awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to the 2874 Trust, to help its current volunteers develop necessary engineering skills as well as train a new generation. The trust is currently restoring ‘28XX’ No. 2874 (below) and the heavy freight 2-8-0 will be used as the training platform, including teaching the essential job of boiler restoration. 4144 The ‘Large Prairie’ will be one of the guests at the…

NUMBER 46 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 1Provides dining car table service and food (6)4 Antelope on Thompson ‘B1’ No. 61002 (6)8 Gives a good rubdown when working with wood (9)10 Make ascent to platform by stairs (5)11 Tool for nuts in workshop! (7)12 WR 6961 named after hall in West Sussex (7)16 Stately home in Norfolk giving name to 6926 ‘Hall’ (7)17 Boggy areas, one in name of WR 82A minor MPD (7)20 Welsh MPD with 88H headcode (5)22 Nationals of ‘Jubilee’ country 45553 (9)23 Gresley…

No. 45379 Status: Awaiting overhaul Location: One:One Collection, Margate Owner: Mid-Hants Railway Preservation Society Built: Armstrong Whitworth, July 1937 Withdrawn: Willesden (1A), July 1965 Notable for being the first ‘Black Five’ to be rescued from Barry, No. 5379 – as it was numbered when originally built – was allocated from new to Crewe shed. It stayed there for several years before being transferred to Rugby, from where it was transferred to Northampton in November 1948. Renumbered as No. 45379 in British Railways ownership, the ‘5MT’ returned to Rugby in March 1949, remaining there for six years before transferring to Crewe North in May 1956. Five years later, in April 1961, it was reallocated to Bletchley, before returning to 5A in December 1962. Its final allocation was to Willesden, in March…

With the almost simultaneous completion of both 81st Collett ‘Grange’ No. 6880 Betton Grange and replica LBSCR ‘H2’ No. 32424 Beachy Head just a couple of months apart, 2024 will be remembered as a red-letter year for new-build steam. Who, when main line steam came to an end in 1968, could have predicted that nearly 60 years hence these two hitherto extinct designs would be running on our heritage railways? Individually, they are almighty achievements, but together they demonstrate how far preservation has come in the last six decades. And let us not forget that the sector has also recently welcomed the arrivals of the Ffestiniog Railway’s new double Fairlie James Spooner and the Corris Railway’s Hughes ‘Falcon’ 0-4-2ST No. 10, among other new-build narrow gauge locomotives. However, the deliveries of…

PEPPERCORN ‘A1’ No. 60163 Tornado returned to steam for the first time in over two years at the Great Central Railway on August 23, marking the end of its much-delayed £1 million overhaul. However, plans for the 2008-built ‘Pacific’ to visit the Nene Valley Railway have been delayed yet again, until October. Withdrawn at the GCR for its ‘ten-year’ overhaul in January 2022, the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust had originally hoped to return the new-build 4-6-2 to steam by June that year, using one of two new Diagram 118a boilers being built by DB Meiningen in Germany for use on both Tornado and under-construction ‘P2’ No. 2007 Prince of Wales. However, owing to delays in completing those boilers, No. 60163’s existing boiler was instead sent to Meiningen for overhaul in…

AFTER WEEKS of testing and running-in, replica London, Brighton & South Coast Railway ‘H2’ No. 32424 Beachy Head made its public debut at the Bluebell Railway on August 23. The new-build ‘Atlantic’ – Britain’s first operational ‘true’ 4-4-2 since Great Northern Railway ‘C2’ No. 990 Henry Oakley last steamed at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway in 1978 – hauled its maiden revenue-earning passenger services five days after it was formally handed over to the Bluebell Railway from the Brighton Atlantic Group at a ceremony at Sheffield Park on August 18. Among the many special guests in attendance was Ralph Gillam, who joined the Southern Region in February 1948 and is one of the last surviving ex-BR enginemen to have worked on the original ‘H2s’. The handover marked the culmination of…

WHILE RECENTLY completed Brighton ‘Atlantic’ No. 32424 Beachy Head steals the limelight at the Bluebell Railway, new-build Collett ‘Grange’ No. 6880 Betton Grange continues to put in the hard yards – this time at the North Norfolk Railway. The 81st ‘68XX’ moved from the West Somerset Railway to the ‘Poppy Line’ in early August, entering service on August 8. It is believed to be only the second time a ‘Grange’ has been to Norfolk, after No. 6807 Birchwood Grange was sent to Archie King’s scrapyard in Norwich for scrapping in 1963. Betton Grange was the headline act at the NNR’s nine-day Festival on Rails on August 24-September 1, and was one of six steam locomotives in action at the event. Joining No. 6880 were visiting ‘42XX’ 2-8-0T No. 4277 ‘Hercules’…

Graham Morris’ well-travelled Kerr, Stuart ‘Wren’ 0-4-0ST Works No. 4256 Peter Pan returned to the Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum in August. Normally based at the Leighton Buzzard Railway, the 2ft gauge locomotive was in action on August 25/26, with the second day being the museum’s Light Railway Gala. Peter Pan first visited Westonzoyland in August 2022, when it became the first steam locomotive to operate on Westonzoyland’s short demonstration line. Following its short spell in Somerset, the 1922-built locomotive appeared at the Old Kiln Light Railway (September 7/8), and will also make short visits to the Hayling Light Railway (September 14/15) and the Alan Keef Ltd open day on September 28.…

DOUBLE-CHIMNEY ‘JUBILEE’ No. 45596 Bahamas rounded off its month-long visit to Peak Rail by starring in the Derbyshire line’s steam gala. The August 10/11 event featured the Stanier ‘5XP’ 4-6-0, as well as three ex-industrial locomotives from Peak Rail’s resident fleet – Bagnall 0-4-0ST Works No. 2842 Kent Electric Power Co. Ltd No. 2, Hudswell, Clarke 0-4-0ST Works No. 750 Waleswood, and Hudswell, Clarke 0-6-0T Works No. 1884 No. S.102 ‘Cathryn’. The Sunday of the gala became something of a Dinting Railway Centre commemoration, as former residents Bahamas and unusual 0-4-0DH RS8 were reunited for the first time since Dinting closed in 1990, while a small exhibition of Dinting ephemera was displayed in the Exhibition Coach at Rowsley. RS8 has an unusual history; originally built as an Avonside 0-4-0ST (Works…

THE NATIONAL network looks set to be entirely ‘Mogul’-free in 2024 after news that the overhaul of ‘K1’ No. 62005 will now not be completed this year. A lot of work has already been done on the 1949-built locomotive at the Carnforth base of West Coast Railways, but it hasn’t been without its delays. The trailing coupled wheelset of No. 62005 has now returned from machining at Riley & Son, and the tender has been re-wheeled too. On the boiler, new palm stays have been fitted in the last couple of months, along with many other tasks like replacement of the manifold studs. But difficulties in finding a forge that could manufacture new longitudinal boiler stays at a reasonable cost has led to delays, as has machining the locomotive horn…

GET IN TOUCH Got an event you want to be included? email steam.railway@bauermedia.co.uk SEPTEMBER 13-15 PONTYPOOL & BLAENAVON RAILWAY: Steam Gala 14 ALN VALLEY RAILWAY: Heritage Open Days 14/15 AMBERLEY MUSEUM: Miniature Steam Show 14/15 AMERTON RAILWAY: Anything Goes Gala 14/15 APEDALE VALLEY LIGHT RAILWAY: Full Steam For Forces 14/15 MID-NORFOLK RAILWAY: Heritage Open Days 14/15 SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY: Heritage Open Days 14/15 STATFOLD BARN RAILWAY: Road, Rail & Ale Steam Festival 14/15 WELSH HIGHLAND RAILWAY: Superpower Weekend 14/15 WEST SOMERSET RAILWAY: 1940s Weekend 15 EAST ANGLIAN RAILWAY MUSEUM: Roman Roadsters Meet 15 GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY: Railway Swapmeet 15 GROUDLE GLEN RAILWAY: Steam Gala Day 19-22 SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY: Autumn Steam Gala 20-22 BLUEBELL RAILWAY: Beer Festival 20-22 DIDCOT RAILWAY CENTRE: 2‑6‑2 Autumn Gala 20-22 GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY: Beer Festival…

NEWLY RESTORED ex-South African Railways ‘NG15’ 2-8-2’ No. 134 is set to make its long-awaited public debut at the Welsh Highland Railway’s ‘Super Power’ weekend on September 14/15. However, although it passed its boiler test in mid-August, the 1952-built Société Anglo-Franco-Belge locomotive will not be hauling trains during the event, and will instead be on display at Dinas over the weekend. Imported into the UK in the 1990s along with several other ex-SAR narrow gauge locomotives, including as-yet-unrestored classmate No. 133, for an aborted heritage railway at Robin Hood’s Bay, No. 134 was acquired by the-then embryonic WHR in 1998. Restoration began in 1999 but progressed sporadically until 2008, when a new group was formed to complete the locomotive’s return to steam. Once formally launched into traffic, the ‘Kalahari’ will…

AN ENORMOUS 2ft gauge ‘Pacific’ hidden from public view for decades was arguably the star of the show at the Vale of Rheidol Railway’s Rheidol Steam Festival over the late August bank holiday weekend. Hitherto stored in the back of the VoR’s carriage shed at Aberystwyth, 1932 Bagnall-built Gwalior Light Railway 4-6-2 No. NM762 (Works No. 2460) was displayed at Aberystwyth throughout the August 24-26 event – the first time the locomotive has been seen in public since it was imported into the UK by the late Peter Rampton. The Gwalior Light Railway – sometimes otherwise known as the Maharaja Railway – in Central India was, until its closure in 2020, the world’s longest 2ft gauge railway. No. NM762 is one of two GLR ‘Pacifics’ in the VoR collection, the…

HEYWOOD-DESIGNED EX-EATON Hall Railway 0-4-0T Katie became the Heatherslaw Light Railway’s first ever visiting locomotive on August 1-4. Appearing courtesy of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, the 1896-built 15in gauge locomotive participated in a photo charter on August 1, during which it was joined by both the HLR’s resident steam locomotives – 2010-built Alan Keef Ltd 2-6-0TT Bunty and the line’s original engine 1989-built 0-4-2 Lady Augusta – before hauling three days of trains on August 2-4. Owing to its haulage capacity, Katie was limited to three-coach trains. “The event passed off extremely well; Katie behaved impeccably, hopefully opening the door for future visits and guests,” HLR operations and procurement coordinator Carl Fairless told Steam Railway.…

AN 1877-BUILT Great Eastern Railway six-wheel saloon once used by the Prince of Wales – later King Edward VII – has become the latest vintage carriage to be restored by Stephen Middleton’s Stately Trains. Originally built at the GER’s works in Stratford as No. 8 – one of the company’s first six-wheel carriages – it was converted into a royal saloon in 1881 for the use of Prince Albert, the-then Prince of Wales. The Prince’s first carriage, another GER six-wheeler, was “not as comfortable as he would wish” and he thus took an active role in designing No. 8, specifying an unusual roof profile, giving ladies more headroom so that they would be comfortable wearing hats. The carriage was made redundant from royal use in 1892 when a bogie carriage…

THE RESPONSE from the public to the Severn Valley Railway’s Resilience Fund appeal has “exceeded our expectations,” said SVR MD Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster. Launched in May to help the railway cover its ongoing high running costs, donations received so far have topped £73,000. Dunster said: “‘We’re hugely grateful to everyone who’s responded, and it’s heartening to see that they clearly understand the sheer expense of running a heritage railway like the Severn Valley. We want to keep highlighting how much we’ll need ongoing support. The SVR requires a steady stream of funding, and will need it for some time. This isn’t about making a big splash or hitting a target. It’s about bolstering our resilience for the long haul.” Diane Malyon, chair of the SVR Company Limited which is leading…

WHENEVER AUGUST rolls around, enthusiasts invariably turn their thoughts to the final days of BR main line steam. This August, however, I went to observe the last rites of a different kind – the demise of Mamod. I imagine there are very few readers who are not at least aware of Mamod. After all, they have been Britain’s foremost purveyor of steam toys for over 80 years, and I’m willing to bet many of you own, or have owned, at least one Mamod model. I myself own both an SR1a steamroller and TE1a traction engine, the latter acquired during what was the company’s first – and last – public open day at their factory in Birmingham, held on August 4, after the current owners of the business recently announced their…

GET IN TOUCH Steam Railway, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough PE2 6EA steam.railway@bauermedia.co.uk or www.facebook.com/steamrailway STAR LETTER Rescuing Penmaen is not impossible A few words to congratulate your magazine, and Rob Langham in particular on an excellent article on a locomotive I’ve known for the past 65 years. As a child, if I and other children had behaved (and been to Sunday school!) we were allowed to go out to play on Sunday afternoons. Having heard of a steam locomotive hidden in a shed high up in the quarry, we had to find it. I was quite disappointed to see this rusting bit of machinery as it didn’t look anything like a locomotive. I was also intrigued why it had a grey box on the chassis that looked like new. (At…

BEACHY HEAD A“s each week goes by, more interesting pre-Grouping classes become extinct – the loss of the last Brighton ‘Atlantic’ was an irreparable catastrophe…”. So said the December 1959 edition of Bluebell News, the journal of the fledgling Bluebell Railway Preservation Society. The Brighton ‘Atlantic’ in question was ‘H2’ No. 32424 Beachy Head, which was scrapped at Eastleigh shortly after withdrawal in April 1958. Had it not been for the LNER preserving Ivatt ‘C1’ No. 251 and ‘C2’ No. 990 Henry Oakley in its museum in York, Beachy Head’s scrapping would have rendered ‘Atlantics’ extinct from Britain’s railways. Considering its status as the last 4-4-2 to remain in BR service, it is interesting to wonder, had it held on for just a couple more years, whether the embryonic Bluebell…

L&Y COMPOUNDS Nostalgia is all about recalling events, usually from one’s youth, that conjure up a picture of something enjoyable and an event that would be good to either be able to relive or recreate. Our heritage railways have made an art form out of this, but it is evident that they have to move with the times – when the first preserved lines opened, many painted their engines in pre-nationalisation liveries, by then to be seen only some 25 years earlier in their customers’ memories. Today, most at least have a strong portrayal of the mid to late 1960s with the growing popularity of diesel galas showing that time never stands still. Classes of locomotives remembered by our forebears may not even be recognised by enthusiasts today, such as…

9B SHEDCODE Special Stockport came rather late to the engine shed fold, with its first depot opening for use on March 24 1883 after eight years in the planning by the LNWR. An eight-road, pitched-roof construction, it was built slightly short, meaning that it could house only 24 engines instead of the planned 32. One can only imagine the reaction of Crewe’s Francis Webb upon finding this out. Designed to save some 100 miles worth of extra running to Longsight every day, Edgeley was a sub-shed of that depot. It also had the additional purpose of stabling engines used on goods traffic from Yorkshire, a move which took pressure off Farnley Junction shed. The new depot’s duties were, in fact, virtually all freight-based with a smattering of light passenger duties…