Great Central Railway
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‘Hoover’ arrives at new Loughborough home
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Class 50 No. 50017 Royal Oak – bought from Boden Rail by the Great Central Railway – has been delivered to the line and is set to make its debut at the April 13-14 spring diesel gala. The ‘Hoover’ was brought by road from Boden Rail Engineering’s new Nottingham Eastcroft site and is currently being…
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‘Caley’ tank for NNR, East Lancs and Swanage lines
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THE Caledonian Railway’s No. 419 played a starring role at the Churnet Valley Railway’s Winter Steam Gala on February 23-24, and the Scottish Railway Preservation Society is capitalising on the 0-4-4T’s presence in England by adding in further visits to heritage lines. First up for the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway-based loco is the East Lancashire Railway’s…
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My BR involvement in early GCR operations
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Graham Oliver’s article (Saving a Main Line Railway) about the early years of today’s Great Central Railway brought back memories, as I was one of those from British Rail charged with supervising operations. At the time I was a divisional inspector at Nottingham, and my involvement started with preparation for the 75th anniversary in March…
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GCR to become ‘Cromwell’s’ new custodian?
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THE 14-year relationship between ‘Britannia’ No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell and the 5305 Locomotive Association (5305LA) has come to an end. The BR Pacific’s owner, the National Railway Museum, has decreed the custodial agreement between the two organisations would not be extended. Instead responsibility for the locomotive could be passed directly to the Great Central Railway…
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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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‘Manor’ in impressive form at GCR ‘spectacular’
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ERLESTOKE Manor Fund’s Collett 4-6-0 No. 7802 Bradley Manor showed audiences at the Great Central Railway’s Winter Steam Gala just why the type is held in such high regard, putting in some impressive turns at the January 25-27 event. The Severn Valley Railway-based locomotive took its turn at the head of passenger and freight and non-stop…
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Arctic blasts cannot halt GC gala action!
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THE Great Central Railway’s winter steam gala has for many years built up an enviable reputation for being the ‘first big event’ of the heritage calendar. The sector traditionally follows the example set by nature and goes to sleep in the weeks following the festive season, giving a breathing space for locomotive, stock and infrastructure…
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Pontypool leases 16-tonners from Great Central Railway in 10-year deal
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SURPLUS 16-ton mineral wagons from the Great Central Railway’s ‘Windcutter’ fleet have been given a new home at the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway (P&BR). Six of the ex-BR wagons, which are not required for the GCR’s demonstration rake, arrived in South Wales on January 3, courtesy of the David Clarke Railway Trust. The wagons have…
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Boden Rail ‘50’ sold to Great Central
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THE Great Central Railway has bought Class 50 No. 50017 Royal Oak from Boden Rail. The sale of the ‘Hoover’, minus its main line running safety systems, was completed on February 1, ending a nervous few days in which the loco had been threatened with scrapping.Royal Oak, one of two Class 50s owned by Boden…
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Saving a main line railway: a remarkable achievement!
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50 years ago this year, the first seeds were sown in a bid to save a section of the Great Central Railway in Leicestershire. Graham Oliver, the railway’s former chief executive, recalls those early days of an embryo scheme which has subsequently blossomed into the country’s only double-track main line preserved railway. As 1968 progressed…
