On Saturday 5th March, I visited the annual Spring Steam Gala, and once again, what an event! The weather was cold, miserable and on the other days of the event, the weather had been quite sunny. The visiting locomotives for the event were; LMS Ivatt Class 4, No. 43106, 2-6-0 ‘Flying Pig’, courtesy of the…
Today, the world’s most famous steam locomotive, Flying Scotsman, has returned to Steam, at the tune of a £4.2m overhaul, taking 10 years in the process. While I was not able to attend today’s celebrations, as a railway enthusiast and historian, it is a remarkable achievement that the locomotive is finally operational. The locomotive was…
Today is Back to the Future Day, when Doc. Brown and Marty travelled to the 21st October 2015 in the second film. However, the third film, contained two locomotives, both of which can be seen today. Before we get started, Back to the Future is one of my favourite movie trilogies of all time, and…
The annual members day was held on the 3rd October 2015, but before the event had even started there had been a few slip ups. The flagship locomotive of the railway, LNER B12 8572 had run into the buffers at Holt on the 1940s weekend two weeks previously. This had meant that the locomotive was…
The real Hogwarts Express is currently at the Warner Brothers Studios in London for the Studios Tour. While the locomotive is currently not operational, there is another way to travel behind the train that took Harry Potter to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry… At the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, at the Universal Studios Orlando…
On Sunday, 6th September, I had a few days in Blackpool to see the world famous illuminations, and of course take a ride on the tramway. The Heritage Trams were out in the evenings to give tours to visitors of the lights, with the illuminated trams being used. The Western Train being a personal favourite…
https://www.change.org/p/st-modwen-save-our-historic-railways-buildings Another week, and another petition on Change.Org to save more of the historical buildings of our railway past. This time, a petition has been set up for St Modwen Developments Ltd. in Wolverton, where their are plans to build houses on the site and demolish the original buildings. While this country does need more houses, it would…
On Friday 4th September, I visited the North Norfolk Railway for its’ annual Autumn Steam Gala, and what an event. Before it had even started, on the Thursday, two locomotives had to be withdrawn for the event. Black 5 45337 had leaky tubes and SR West Country Class 34007 Wadebridge had been stuck on the…
https://www.change.org/p/derbyshire-county-council-re-open-the-railway-line-between-matlock-bakewell-and-buxton-c7876dc4-e40f-4d4d-8622-bd9570910655 A petition has been started to re-open the railway line between Matlock, Bakewell, Buxton and Manchester. Writing to the Transport Minister Patrick Mcloughlin, it states that there would be an economic boost to the era, and would remove vehicles from the road. On the Change.Org page it states; “A feasibility study was carried out in…
Last week, for my Birthday, I visited the Severn Valley Railway. I have wanted to go to the line for such a long time, and I was finally able to visit the line, which is noted to be one of the best and most popular in the country. I started my journey at Kidderminister, and was greeted…
Loco Yard 