The Railway Magazine
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Churnet Valley’s ‘S160’ steps in to cover Dartmouth steam shortage
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CHURNET Valley Railway-based ‘S160’ No. 6046 has followed in the tracks of its Batt Holden Ltd stablemate No. 5197 by going on hire to the Dartmouth Steam Railway in May. The 2-8-0, seen here at Waterside with the 14.15 service from Paignton to Kingswear on May 30, was brought in to cover a shortage of power following…
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Caledonian Sleeper’s Mk5 stock: an overnight sensation?
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Caledonian Sleeper’s new Mk5 stock has rarely been out of the headlines since it was introduced. Ben Jones takes a ride on this new generation of Spanish-built overnight stock to see if it delivers on its promises of a quality hotel experience. Having been in decline for decades, killed off by indifference, variable quality, high…
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Swanage Railway launches £350,000 ‘T3’ restoration appeal
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Dorset’s Swanage Railway has launched a £350,000 appeal to return London & South Western Railway (LSWR) ‘T3’ 4-4-0 No. 563 to full working order. The 563 Locomotive Group, under the umbrella of the Swanage Railway Trust, hopes to raise the money in a suitable time window to allow the 1893-built former National Railway Museum loco to…
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£120,000 appeal launched to return Irish preservation group’s Slieve Gullion to steam
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The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland has launched a £120,000 appeal to complete the restoration of its semi-overhauled flagship Great Northern Railway (Ireland) ‘S’ class No. 171 Slieve Gullion. The popular 4-4-0 last steamed in July 2002, and in early 2014 it crossed the Irish Sea to undergo a contract overhaul by Rail Restorations North East…
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Double-headed ‘Manors’ help WSR mark 40 years of steaming to Bishops Lydeard
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A FOURTEEN-coach train hauled by a pair of Collett ‘Manor’ 4-6-0s was the undoubted highlight of the West Somerset Railway’s 40th Anniversary gala on June 8-9. The event celebrated four decades since the ‘Wizzer’ returned steam to Bishops Lydeard on June 9, 1979, and was a strong illustration that the worst of the railway’s problems…
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‘Crab & Winkle’ Invicta re-homed in Whitstable
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Canterbury & Whitstable Railway (C&WR) 0-4-0 Invicta left its long-term home in the city of Canterbury on June 16 to become the star exhibit in the Whitstable Community Museum and Gallery. The veteran locomotive was constructed in 1829 at Robert Stephenson & Co’s Forth Street works in Newcastle immediately after the world-famous Rocket. On arrival…
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Didcot’s ‘Saint’ unveiled in full Georgian finery
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THE Great Western Society’s re-creation of a Churchward ‘Saint’ 4-6-0 – No. 2999 Lady of Legend – is officially complete. The milestone has been achieved 45 years after donor locomotive No. 4942 Maindy Hall was acquired from Barry Scrapyard in 1974. The ‘Saint’ made its public debut at Didcot, albeit cold and in unlined black, in November…
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Heritage profile: The Wensleydale Railway
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Running through some of the best scenery North Yorkshire offers, the Wensleydale Railway is a relative newcomer to the heritage and tourist railway sector. Graeme Pickering finds out more about its growth and expansion plans. A train ride is undoubtedly the main highlight of a trip to a heritage line, but with railways increasingly trying…
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New cylinders for ‘flagship’ Hagley Hall reach Bridgnorth
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THE highly anticipated return of Severn Valley Railway (SVR) flagship No. 4930 Hagley Hall has moved a step closer following the delivery of the ‘Hall’s newly machined cylinder blocks to Bridgnorth on June 14. The new cylinders were one of the last machining jobs carried out by Harco Engineering in Brierley Hill, which worked on…
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Return of the Brighton Belle
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Restoring a 1930s all-electric Pullman train for use on the mainline is a project where the 5BEL Trust has faced and overcome numerous challenges. With the luxury train now being prepared for testing, Andy Coward brings us up-to-date with this ambitious restoration. Work on the restoration of four ‘Brighton Belle’ coaches is nearing completion, as…
