After a particularly pleasant trip to the Isle of Wight, I had a remarkable and very enjoyable trip on the island’s charismatic, friendly and atmospheric preserved railway. The line is a remnant of a former extensive network of railways that amongst other things has an incredible collection of rolling stock. During our visit, my wife, mother-in-law and…
The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway are working hard to achieve the aim of returning Ivatt 2MT Tank 41241 back into running order in time for the preserved railway’s 50 Anniversary celebrations that will take place in June 2018. 41241 is the flagship locomotive of the KWVR. The tank engine was made famous for piloting the railways first service train,…
14xx 1450 will be returning to the South Devon Railway for the line’s 2016 Winter steam Festival, marking the early days of preservation in 1966 when the 0-4-2T arrived on the former Dart Valley Railway. The festival will take place over 13-22 February 2016 and is likely yo feature auto trains for 1450 and another…
Earlier in the year we published an article that speculated on whether the Government’s announcement that they are to pause the electrification of the Midland Mainline might adversely affect the project to bridge the gap between both preserved section’s of the former Great Central Railway mainline. The Great Central Railway have since issued the following…
The City of York Council working with Network Rail, the National Railway Museum and the Homes and Communities Agency have created a “new vision” for York. The scheme includes various improvements of how the railway station is accessed from the city centre and the redevelopment of the city’s largest (178 acre) brownfield site located behind York Central railway station. The…
Negotiations between Derbyshire County Council and Peak Rail have been ongoing for some time, looking at options for extending the preserved line into the Peak District National Park and onwards to Buxton. The main sticking point has been that around eight and a half miles of the former track bed has since closure as a railway been converted…
The Watercress line have announced that two appropriate visitors will be visiting for next year’s Spring Steam Gala. T9 class 30120 will be returning and will be joined by the Bluebell line’s Q class 30541. Both locomotives are the only survivors of their respective classes and the opportunity to see both side by side will…
The Watercress Line announced yesterday that their fantastic new Ropley Waiting Shelter has won the Railway Heritage Trust’s ‘Stagecoach Volunteer’s Award’ in London! The shelter was officially opened earlier in the year by Tim Shoveller, Managing Director of South West Trains and volunteer on the railway. It uses decorative cast iron columns and arches from the old Ringwood station…
£58,000 has been awarded to the Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust by the Heritage Lottery Fund to help them deliver their planned 50th Anniversary Commemorations of the closing of the line in 1966. This will fund a travelling exhibition that will visit around 30 locations throughout Somerset and Dorset locations in 2016. The trust are based at Washford on the West…
Baldwin built S160 class 2-8-0 no. 2253 has been moved to the workshop of Adam Dalgleish Engineering Ltd in Stockton-On-Tees for its overhaul to commence. The target for completion of its overhaul is 2017 and is part of a ten year loan agreement for the locomotive to run on the Paignton and Dartmouth steam railway. Although the American machine…
Loco Yard 