News
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Red ‘Crompton’ takes starring role at Churnet Valley anniversary gala
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CLASS 33 No. 33021 made its debut at the Churnet Valley Railway’s (CVR) October 19-21 gala following an extensive overhaul and repaint. The event marked the 40th anniversary of the North Staffordshire Railway Co (NSRC), incorporated on November 2, 1978. The charity provided the basis for the establishment of the Churnet Valley Railway, and continues to…
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Ryde Pier tram formally gifted to IoWSR
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A UNIQUE Pollard & Sons electric tram was formally handed over to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway (IoWSR) on October 18 by Coun Dave Stewart, leader of Isle of Wight Council. The tram had once operated back and forth along Ryde Pier on the Isle of Wight. The single-deck standard gauge car is understood…
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Birkenhead No. 20 makes its much-belated Blackpool debut
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THE Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society’s (MTPS) Birkenhead Corporation open-topper No. 20 made its Blackpool debut on October 18. The appearance came 15 months after it arrived on a 12-month loan from its home at the Birkenhead Heritage Tramway/Wirral Transport Museum. The outing marked the completion of a number of repairs to the 1900-built Milnes double-deck car,…
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Special ‘A4’ charter as UK Railtours outlines 2019 plans
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WHAT could be the final chance to enjoy ‘A4’ No. 60009 Union of South Africa over the Settle to Carlisle Line heads a varied programme of days out being organised by UK Railtours for the first half of 2019. On March 9, the popular ‘Streak’ will take over the as-yet untitled train in York and head…
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Bahamas to return to the S&C after 25 years
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TICKETS are selling quickly for one of the most eagerly anticipated main line returns of recent years. After a restoration costing almost £1million at Tyseley Locomotive Works, Stanier ‘Jubilee’ No. 45596 Bahamas will make its comeback with the ‘Bahamas Renaissance’ from Oxenhope to Carlisle on February 9, 2019. It will be No. 45596’s first main line passenger…
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Trio of VoR tanks as No. 7 returns to steam
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VALE of Rheidol Railway’s (VoR) 2-6-2T No. 7 (nee Owain Glyndŵr) has returned to steam following a four-year £370,000 overhaul. The project amounted to restoration of a loco, which last ran in 1998. No. 7, built at Swindon in 1923, holds the distinction of hauling the last steam-hauled train operated by British Rail prior to the…
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£2.2million reconstruction for VoR’s Aberystwyth station
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THE Vale of Rheidol Railway (VoR) is starting a £2.2million reconstruction of its Aberystwyth terminus. The work will transform it into a Great Western Railway-style station with a multi-function display and entertainment facility in the former standard gauge loco shed. VoR is providing 35% of the finance for the Wales to the World project, supported…
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‘Treatment’ season sees Class 111s out in the north
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THE annual Rail Head Treatment Train (RHTT) season got underway on Northern Ireland Railways’ (NIR) metals in October. And, for the first time in 12 years, the work did not feature the use of an old Class 80 DEMU ‘Thumper’ – the unit having been retired to the Downpatrick & County Down Railway. Instead, NIR’s…
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Roof renewal for Ireland’s busiest commuter station
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THE Republic of Ireland’s busiest commuter station, Dublin Pearse, is to have its 1880s-built overall roof renewed as part of a €17million project by Iarnród Éireann-Irish Rail (IÉ). The iron-vaulted, glazed structure dates from the construction of the City of Dublin Junction Railway to Amiens Street in 1891, and has been suffering in recent years…
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Bo’ness industrials join Caledonian party
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THE Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway’s Caledonian Reunion gala on November 3-4 was, as the name suggests, primarily concerned with the uniting of Caledonian Railway 0-6-0 No. 828 and 0-4-4T No. 419 for the first time (see p68). However, the line’s working fleet of ex-industrial locos were not to be left out. Neilson, Reid 0-6-0T No. 1 Lord Roberts…
