Steam
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Six GCR ‘Windcutter’ wagons now at Blaenavon
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A RAKE of six BR 16T ‘Windcutter’ mineral wagons, borrowed from the Great Central Railway on a 10-year loan, will be first run in public by custodian the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway at its May 26-27 ‘Coal Train Weekend.’ The wagons have moved to Blaenavon on an initial 10-year loan (HR 249), with a subsequent…
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Catch scheduled Polish steam while you still can
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THIS year is likely to be the last featuring a full scheduled steam service in Poland. The services from Wolsztyn to Poznan and Leszno are said to be the last ‘real’ timetabled steam services in the world but government financial cutbacks mean that in 2020 a limited scheduled service is the most likely option. Meanwhile,…
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Government’s £94K grant boosts early rail heritage
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EARLY railways are to take a new centre stage at Tyneside’s Stephenson Railway Museum thanks to a £94,500 Government grant. The windfall from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund will help finance the North Shields museum’s Pioneers from the Dawn of Railways project. The funding will see…
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Historic Springwell incline brakeman’s cabin restored
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THE restoration of the self-acting incline brakeman’s cabin at the top of the Bowes Railway’s Springwell incline, supported by Heritage Lottery funding, has been completed. It was the first incline on the 1826 Bowes system running between Springwell Yard and the bank foot at Wardley. It was a self acting (gravity) incline and depended on…
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Pre-booking advised for March 3 big Wightwick Hall launch at Quainton Road
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VISITORS who want to welcome WR 4-6-0 No. 6989 Wightwick Hall back into traffic after four decades are being urged to book their tickets in advance, as the event is selling out fast. As highlighted last month, the locomotive – the 150th ex-Barry scrapyard engine to be restored to running order – made its first…
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Sir Berkeley to return to original contractor’s livery
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THE Middleton Railway is working with the Vintage Carriages Trust to restore 1890-built Manning Wardle contractor’s 0-6-0ST Sir Berkeley to its original Logan & Hemingway livery. The locomotive, works number No. 1210, which was used in the construction of the Great Central Railway’s London Extension and worked on the building of Nottingham Victoria station, was…
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Joggers save restored Dean Forest footbridge after arson
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AN HISTORIC Severn & Wye Railway iron footbridge was targeted by arsonists only weeks after it had been lifted back into place following a £150,000 restoration project. The 127-year-old Grade II listed St Mary’s Bridge near St Mary’s church, Bathurst Park, Lydney had been off limits for nearly 12 years on safety grounds before volunteers…
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Minehead sells prairie to Dart Valley to cut liabilities
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THE West Somerset Railway has sold GWR Large Prairie No. 4110 to the Dart Valley Railway plc in the latest of a series of robust measures to reduce its liabilities. WSR plc placed the unrestored former Minehead branch locomotive on sale before Christmas. It was bought from the Southall Railway Great Western Preservation Group in…
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Talyllyn buys prime land next to Tywyn’s Pendre Works
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THE Talyllyn Railway (TR) has bought a key piece of land alongside its Pendre Works, comprising two cottages on Frankwell Street and land opposite the West Shed at Pendre known as ‘The Orchard’. General manager Stuart Williams said: “The price being asked for both cottages and the land was deemed to be reasonable, and so…
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King’s Cross to go narrow gauge for spring half-term
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TWO narrow gauge locomotives that once worked on slate mines in Snowdonia are to take pride of place at King’s Cross station. The Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways will be bringing Quarry Hunslet 0-4-0ST Velinheli and de Winton vertical-boilered locomotive Chaloner for display at the station’s ticket hall from February 16-24. The railway has previously…
