The Railway Magazine

  • Trio of VoR tanks as No. 7 returns to steam

    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…

  • £2.2million reconstruction for VoR’s Aberystwyth station

    £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…

  • ‘Treatment’ season sees Class 111s out in the north

    ‘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…

  • Roof renewal for Ireland’s busiest commuter station

    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…

  • Bo’ness industrials join Caledonian party

    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…

  • Horden’s completed chassis leaves Tanfield workshop

    Horden’s completed chassis leaves Tanfield workshop

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    THE removal of a locomotive’s rolling chassis from a workshop might appear on paper like a straight-forward task, but for the Tanfield Railway (TR) the extraction of Andrew Barclay 0-6-0ST Horden (1015/1904) from the railway’s works on November 14 was a true demonstration of logistical planning. Restoration of the ex-Horden and Shotton Collieries’ loco has…

  • SDR driver experience raises money for RBL

    SDR driver experience raises money for RBL

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    THE Royal British Legion benefited from the South Devon Railway’s special Driver for Armistice footplate experience sessions on November 10. A total of 50 slots were available, appropriately priced at £11.11, offering participants the opportunity to drive GWR ‘4575’ 2-6-2T No. 5542 on a two-mile round trip from Buckfastleigh.All places were taken, and the SDR was…

  • Students play major role in Elsecar event

    Students play major role in Elsecar event

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    By Mike Haddon A YEAR-long project by students at the University Campus of Barnsley College to commemorate the centenary of the end of the First World War came to fruition on October 31 with the first of a five-day programme of ‘Home From The Front’ special trains at the Elsecar Heritage Railway. A major task…

  • Gloucs-Warks honours fallen railway workers

    Gloucs-Warks honours fallen railway workers

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    THE Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s remembrance commemorations took place on November 18 when the line paid tribute to the railwaymen and women who gave their lives during both world wars. The special event was organised by Chris Blake of the railway’s operating department to tie in with a larger Armistice 100th anniversary event at Cheltenham Racecourse.…

  • ‘O4’ becomes a ‘ROD’ for GCR’s remembrance weekend

    ‘O4’ becomes a ‘ROD’ for GCR’s remembrance weekend

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    GREAT Central Railway-based Robinson ‘O4’ 2-8-0 No. 63601 took centre stage at the railway’s Great War, Great Central weekend on November 10-11, six years after being withdrawn from service. The 1911-built former ‘8K’ had its BR identity replaced with that of the Railway Operating Division (ROD), with the legend ‘ROD 1912’ on its tender and the…

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