Peter Nicholson
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Rare trip for ‘spruced-up’ East Somerset two-colour DMU
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CLASS 108 DMU DMBS No. M51909 and DTCL No. M56271 has received considerable attention, including reupholstered seats and re-flooring within the interior. The driving trailer has been repainted in BR blue but not yet lettered. The driving motor will be repainted over the coming winter. The pair are owned by the Mendip Traction & Rolling Stock Group.…
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Restored Sharpness 03 at ‘extravaganza’
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THE Vale of Berkeley Railway Trust’s Class 03 No. D2069 was displayed at the Gloucestershire Vintage & Country Extravaganza on August 2-4. Its appearance at South Cerney airfield, Cirecncester, followed completion of an extensive restoration in the engine shed at Sharpness Docks. Peter Nicholson’s Wickham 8S-type 4165 No. 156W was also exhibited by the Vale of Berkeley…
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Avon Valley buys a ‘Gronk’ for £1
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THE Avon Valley Railway took delivery of fully operational Class 08 No. 08663 on July 8 – being in effect a donation from Great Western Railway (GWR). The loco has been used in recent years at GWR’s St Philip’s Marsh depot, Bristol for moving diesel multiple units and high-speed train carriages around the depot. The 350hp…
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Western Cinderella awaits attention at Williton
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THE Diesel & Electric Preservation Group’s Class 52 No. D1010 Western Campaigner is seen alone in Williton diesel depot, West Somerset Railway, on June 22. For nearly a quarter of a century this loco, when in the shed (completed late 1997), has had Class 35 No. D7018 for company. However, on this day the ‘Hymek’ was out…
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Dartmouth’s Goliath regains its boiler at Cranmore works
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OVERHAUL of the Dartmouth Steam Railway’s GWR 2-8-0T No. 5239 Goliath by the East Somerset Railway reached a key stage on July 23 when the loco’s No. 4 boiler was reunited with the frames. Re-tubing of the boiler was completed at the end of May and, following a successful hydraulic test on June 14, it…
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Beale Railway commemorates park trustee Richard Howard
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THE Alan Keef 0-6-0DH steam-outline loco delivered new to the 10¼in-gauge Beale Railway in February 2018 and named Howard is seen on March 10. Its identity is confirmed as Keef 103 of 2017, not as previously stated. The terminus station is called Howard’s Halt, which like the loco, is named in memory of Richard Howard,…
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Resident steam loco leaves Purbeck for Westonzoyland
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THE 2ft-gauge vertical boiler steam loco constructed by Noel Donnelly (RM July 2018) and subsequently donated to Westonzoyland Engine Trust (RM Feb) arrived at the Somerset site on May 10 from its previous Purbeck Mineral & Mining Museum base. Initially described as an 0-4-0VBT, it has a chain drive and is thus a 4wVBT. It…
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Llandudno & Colwyn Bay replica on the road again
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THE Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Tramway Society’s re-creation of former Llandudno & Colwyn Bay Electric Railway (L&CBER) open-top double-deck Brush car No. 7 was out on the road again during April and May. The semi-restored car has been rebuilt using the body of former Bournemouth Corporation Tramways No. 126, which shared the same 3ft 6in-gauge as the…
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Watkin returns to Caernarfon
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DE Winton 0-4-0VBT Watkin was moved into a display location in Welsh Highland Railway’s new £3million Caernarfon station at the beginning of April. The 1893-built locomotive was built at De Winton’s Caernarfon works on the waterfront, just yards from the new station. After working on the Penmaenmawr granite quarries’ jetty it became derelict by…
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Wrong IET set at Castle Cary for Glastonbury event founder naming
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Words: Peter Nicholson Castle Cary station, Somerset, on the GWR’s West of England Main Line, has new station signs reading ‘Castle Cary Station of the Glastonbury Festival‘. The signs were officially dedicated on the morning of April 9 by 83-year old Michael Eavis, the festival’s founder, who was included in a list of 100 Great…
