On Saturday 25th February 2017, I visited the Nene Valley Railway for their Bulleid 50 event, celebrating the return of Battle of Britain class, 34081 ’92 Squadron’ and commemorating the end of Bulleid Pacifics on the mainline. As their website described;“The summer of 1967 is remembered for many things. We could watch colour television for…
https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/rebuild-the-brechin-brakevan The Caledonian Railway is an entirely volunteer run heritage railway based in Brechin, Angus, and like all heritage railway, every penny made through operating trains goes back into the upkeep of the railway. However, on Wednesday 6th April, 2016, between 10pm and 11pm, the beloved and highly popular LMS brakevan was subject to an…
Last Saturday I was lucky enough to visit the West Somerset Railway for their Spring steam gala commemorating the 50th anniversary of the closure of the much lamented S&D line. The stations were all renamed after suitable S&D stations for the week, and an impressive loco lineup was formed, with GWR locos banished into the…
Well it’s been over a week now since I was lucky enough to attend the Severn Valley Railway’s Golden Jubilee gala, and despite misgivings over a slightly disappointing and unambitious timetable I still had an absolutely fantastic weekend, with the added bonus of very kind weather. I managed to rack up an enormous amount…
Only one tender engine featured at the East Lancashire’s small engines weekend and it was a very special one. The only survivor of a class of 484, this Lancashire and Yorkshire 0-6-0 class 27 (also known as class A,) it was built in Horwich in 1896. Designed by John Aspinall, these powerful and useful locomotives were such a success that 50 examples…
One of the things that a tour of Haverthwaite engine shed reminded me of was that our railway heritage is both complex and interesting. The star of the shed was arguably Charles Fairburn‘s large 2-6-4T 4MT steam engine 42085, whilst a diesel shunter at the back of the shed the opposite end of the glamour spectrum! Although…
Following yesterday’s blog post that shared the exciting news that the LMS-Patriot Company that they will be recreating the long lost Fowler 2-6-4T 4P class, today we look at a class that can be regarded as the granddaughter of Fowler’s machine – Charles Fairburn’s 4MT 2-6-4T. My interest in the class was sparked by purchasing…
Good evening, This evening we are looking at something special on YouTube in the form a a fascinating series of films produced by The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). This video called “A Study of Steel” takes us into the Crewe workshops to watch a Princess Royal Class steam locomotive being built. The locomotive seen…
Retired Engine Driver John Anthony has submitted another guest blog post, sharing a harrowing experience driving the magnificent 46229 Duchess of Hamilton. Without further ado, here is John’s third piece on his driving experiences!
A resident on the railway since returning to steam in 2010, 48274 has been a regular performer in quite a number of guises. The locomotive has led a varied life, being built to an LMS design as a heavier freight version of the already very successful black five (also a visitor to the railway,…
Loco Yard 