Heritage Railway Magazine - Issue 189 - May 8th 2014

25 yeArs siNce settLe & cArLisLe sAVeD

Issue 189

May 8 – June 4, 2014

NEW GWR PANNIER & PADDINGTON BOOKS

£4.20

North AmericAN A4s

Tornado builders look at THREE LNER classics!

UK GArrAtt mAy steAm

oN wAy home

No. 189

WHAT NEXT AFTER P2?

soUthALL DePot AN INSIDE STORY!

Stay a While

Quality Accommodation close to your favourite railways NORTH YORK MOORS

CUMBRIA

NORTH YORKSHIRE

DERBYSHIRE

SCOTLAND

GREAT CENTRAL To advertise on this page contact Craig Tel: 01507 529310 or email: camess@mortons.co.uk LYNTON & BARNSTAPLE

Moorlands

Formerly Woody Bay Station Hotel

MID SUFFOLK

WEST SOMERSET

BLUE ANCHOR

SU N FIEL D

Relax and unwind in our comfortable and quiet guesthouse.

Set in six-acre gardens and surrounded by Exmoor countryside, Moorlands offers 4 star accommodation with licensed dining room, residents’ lounge with open fire. All adjacent to the spectacular Lynton and Barnstaple Railway

Spacious bungalow on beach by Blue Anchor Station.

Two bedrooms, sleeps 4. Fully equipped kitchen, TV, patio, BBQ.

Sm a ll f a m ily run GuestHouse close to W SR Sta tion . A ll en -suite room sf rom £ 30.00 f orB&B

Tel 01598 763224 www.moorlandshotel.co.uk

01984 634242 www.blueanchor-beach-bungalow.co.uk

Tel: 01 64 3 703565 w w w .su n field m in ehea d .c o .u k

WEST HIGHLANDS

WORTH VALLEY

The perfect retreat for the railway enthusiast and country lover alike

M in eh ea d

NORTH NORFOLK

BRIDGE COTTAGES

• Very comfortable cottages • Beside NNR • Quiet rural location • Holt Station 5 mins • Short breaks • Open all year

www.bridge-cottage-holidays.co.uk

Tel: 01263 577847

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Bronte Hotel Haworth

YTB ★★★

Short walk to K&WVR line, ample free parking.

Comfortable lounges and restaurant.

Double rooms from £45, Singles from £25, En-suite available.

Tel: 01535 644112

email brontehotel@btconnect.com www.bronte-hotel.co.uk

Heritage Railway

103

HeritageRailwayOpinion

Editor Robin Jones rjones@mortons.co.uk 01507 529305 Deputy editor Brian Sharpe bsharpe@mortons.co.uk Publisher Tim Hartley Senior contributing writers Geoff Courtney, Cedric Johns Contributors Fred Kerr, Roger Melton Designer Tim Pipes Reprographics Jonathan Schofield Senior sub-editor Dan Sharp Divisional advertising manager Sue Keily skeily@mortons.co.uk Advertising representative Craig Amess camess@mortons.co.uk 01507 529310 Subscription manager Paul Deacon Marketing manager Charlotte Park Production manager Craig Lamb Circulation manager Steve O’Hara Publishing director Dan Savage Commercial director Nigel Hole Editorial address Heritage Railway magazine Mortons Media Ltd, PO Box 99 Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ Website www.heritagerailway.co.uk General queries and back issues 01507 529529 24 hr answerphone help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk Archive enquiries Jane Skayman jskayman@mortons.co.uk 01507 529423 Subscription: Full subscription rates (but see page 32 for offer): (12 months 13 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £53.30. Export rates are also available – see page 32 for more details. UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value Added Tax.

Distribution COMAG Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE 01895 433600 Subscription agents Australia: Greg McNiece 3-58241734 New Zealand: White Bus Family Productions 064 03 327 6585 Printed William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton Published date Four-weekly on a Thursday Advert deadlines May 23, 2014 Next issue June 5, 2014 ©Mortons Media Group Ltd. Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

ISSN No 1466-3560 Contributions to this magazine should be clearly typed and, ideally, accompanied by a copy on computer disc, in either ASCII or Mac format.

Photographs (prints and transparencies) should be clearly marked with the contributor’s name and address, and are submitted at the owner’s risk. Mortons Media Group Ltd cannot be held responsible for loss or damage, however caused.

All submissions must include an appropriate SAE for the return of all material.

Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or his staff.

Independent publishers since 1885

Member of the Professional Publishers' Association

Having trouble finding a copy of this magazine?

facebook.com/HeritageRailway

LNER A4 Pacific No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley heads the first steam train through Dawlish since reinstatement of this section of track, Steam Dreams’ ‘Cathedrals Express’ of April 10. The damaged section can be seen to the right, indicated by steel containers on the beach used to reinforce the sea wall. DAVE COLLIER

N

either Steve Davies, the former head of the National Railway Museum who masterminded the temporary repatriation of the two LNER A4 Pacifics from North America, nor any of his staff could have predicted it, but the return of steam to the Dawlish sea wall provided the best curtain call of all for the phenomenon that has been Mallard 75 year.

One of the six surviving examples of the world’s fastest steam locomotive, No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley, headed the first steam excursion back over Brunel’s legendary South Devon Railway route to rapturous applause on April 10. The Stream Dreams trip not only yet again showcased the power of Gresley’s finest, but also again brought into focus one of the world’s best-loved railway routes, of which Britain has many yet so often forgets the fact.

Network Rail has rightly been widely applauded for the record time in which it made repairs to the breaches which left the tracks at Dawlish suspended in mid air, but the euphoria should not distract for a moment from the fact that the washout could so easily happen again.

Now everything is up and running again as it should be, we must not let the prospect of rebuilding the alternative Exeter to Plymouth route through Okehampton and Tavistock be quietly shunted into a siding by politicians until the worst happens again.

In the meantime, now that we have revelled in the sight of all six A4s together, we should also celebrate the magnificent routes which steam can still run over in Britain.

Exeter to Newton Abbot is far from being the only line with a ‘wow’ factor that has been at risk. It was 25 years ago today that campaigners fighting to save the Settle and Carlisle route from the British Rail accountants were finally told that they had won the day – the Thatcher government making a positive decision that at times seemed perilously close to going the other way. Look at how this spectacular upland route

has thrived since, and then try to argue that railways have had their day.

Despite the withdrawal of turning facilities at Sellafield three years ago, a trip over the wonderful Cumbrian Coast Line is still a magnificent experience to be enjoyed, but with steam trips now having to run all the way to Carlisle.

One of the best of all is the West Highland Line to Fort William, which is a brilliant crosssection of classic mountain scenery with new vistas to delight at every twist and turn… and that is before you reach the West Highland Extension, where West Coast Railways’ new ‘Jacobite’ season of daily steam trips to Mallaig will soon start.

We also look forward to a signalling solution being found to enable steam to return to the Cambrian Coast Line, another splendid route to be savoured.

It might have been so easy to close these and other rural routes had a second round of Beeching-style cuts been allowed to take place before it finally dawned that road transport was increasingly failing to provide the complete answer. We should all celebrate them in style behind steam whenever we have the chance, while we still can.

In his quest for Scottish independence, in late April, Alex Salmond invoked the prospect of extending the current revival of the northern half of the old Waverley Route under the banner of the Borders Railway all the way to Carlisle.

It may well be an electoral gimmick – we’ve all been there before – but reinstatement could do much to help communities along the way, as well as provide more options for faster services from London. It even raises the mouthwatering prospect of steam from Edinburgh to Carlisle via Riccarton Junction and Whitrope summit one day.

Robin Jones Editor Heritage Railway

3

Contents

Issue 189 May 8 – June 5, 2014

News 6

10

Cover

HEADLINE NEWS

Tornado/P2 builders consider three LNER classics for next project; main frames for new Gresley P2 Prince of Wales rolled; A4s shipped back to North America; Bressingham may resteam sole-surviving British standard gauge industrial Garratt and Duchess of Sutherland fails with tender hotbox.

NEWS

Back on the main line; Bulleid Battle of Britain No. 34067 Tangmere hauled the ‘Golden Arrow Statesman’ from London to Canterbury and back on Saturday April 26. The train is seen passing Postern Lane near Tonbridge.

PETER HOLLANDS

56

Great Central Railway bridge plans submitted; Doncaster P2 Cock o’ the North main frames cut; first outside cylinder for new Patriot cast; Dennis Howells MBE retires from Didcot Railway Centre; Brecon Mountain Railway opens Torpantau extension: Llangollen Railway reaches Corwen East; gala action from North Yorkshire Moors, Lincolnshire Wolds and Battlefield railways; Australian Pacific flagship restoration fears grow as officials stay silent; new head curator for National Railway Museum; ‘ree Musketeers’ head

8

Wensleydale slip repair; Nene Valley locomotive for sale on eBay; another steam engine for the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway; project manager appointed for Swanage extension, how one GWR prairie could become two, plus much more in Britain’s widest coverage of the heritage sector by far.

COMPETITION

Regulars 51

MORGAN

Heritage Railway Association chairman David Morgan discusses the importance of leadership.

78

PLATFORM

52

RAILWAYANA

86

SCALE HERITAGE RAILWAY

54

CENTRE

56

66

Latest news from the action scene.

Dawlish ‘double’ for Sir Nigel Gresley as it heads the first steam back over the rebuilt sea wall route, while lineside locations are suddenly out of bounds for photographers; action from the first days of the ‘Great Britain VII’ and a first trip for Deltic No. 55002 e King’s Own Yorkshire Light infantry.

MAIN LINE ITINERARY

Brian Sharpe’s definitive guide to steam and heritage modern traction railtours in the coming month.

4 Heritage Railway

Where your views matter the most.

e majestic yet monstrous LMS Beyer –Garratt from Hattons and Heljan, and Peco’s models of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway’s award-winning coaches for 009.

Tornado’s return to the East Coast Main Line by John Titlow takes centre stage.

MAIN LINE NEWS

LMS Royal Scot 4-6-0 No. 46115 Scots Guardsman rounds the coast at Parton with the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Cumbrian Coast Express’ on April 12. BRIAN SHARPE

91

OFF THE SHELF

92

UP & RUNNING

Latest book reviews.

Brian Sharpe’s complete listing of museums and operational heritage lines.

106 THE MONTH AHEAD

Our new at-a-glance guide to the big events coming up in the next four weeks, with Heritage Railway, as usual, bringing unrivalled coverage.

■NEW GWR BOOKS UP FOR GRABS To celebrate the reopening of the Dawlish sea wall our star competition this issue features two new books about the GWR SwindonPaddington empire.

65

SUBSCRIBE TO HERITAGE RAILWAY!

Take out a 13-issue subscription to Heritage Railway – the preservation magazine written entirely by people who remember first-hand the British Railways steam era – and be first with the news that matters.

32

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Features 46 INSIDE SOUTHALL

74

e one-time unremarkable GWR shed at Southall plays a pivotal role in main line steam operations today. Peter Brown meets Richard Corser to report on what is required to put a steam engine out on the main line in 2014.

46 68 STEAMING ON UP THE LONG DRAG

68 www.heritagerailway.co.uk

e Settle & Carlisle came close to closing in 1989 but was reprieved and has seen a remarkable revival. Brian Sharpe tells the story of what has happened since and what could very easily have been lost.

THE BR DINING TRAINS ARE BACK Tour operator Steam Dreams has launched a new series of Sunday dining trains based on British Rail’s special charters from Marylebone to Stratford-upon-Avon in the late Eighties.

Editor Robin Jones travelled on the first, appropriately to Shakespeare’s home town, on April 13.

80

SECONDHAND GOODS e rich variety of locomotives in preservation today owes a lot to the long-established tradition of selling locomotives to second-hand purchasers for further use. John Scholes presents a selection of mostly now-familiar preserved ex-main line steam locomotives during their days serving industry.

Heritage Railway

5

News

Dubs 0-6-0T Caledonia gets away from Port St Mary with the 1.50pm from Douglas on Tuesday, April 8. PHIL WATERFIELD

The 1.50pm Douglas-Port Erin on April 6 is also seen passing the request halt at Ballabeg. DICK MANTON

Manx delight

By Brian Sharpe

THE annual photographic charter on the Isle of Man has now become a permanent fixture in the enthusiasts’ calendar and this year was organised jointly by Neil Cave and David Williams.

The charter fits in with timetabled services, giving a variety of train formations.

With only four serviceable locomotives currently available, Manx Northern Railway Dubs 0-6-0T No. 4 Caledonia was used extensively throughout the week.

Right: No. 4 Loch leaves Castletown with the 1.50pm from Douglas on Sunday, April 6.

PHIL WATERFIELD Below: Beyer Peacock 2-4-0T No. 12 Hutchinson arrives at Santon alongside re-enactors and vintage car on Monday, April 7. JOHN WHITELEY

26 Heritage Railway

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

The 1.50pm service train leaves Douglas for Port Erin hauled by No.4 Loch following a rain shower on Sunday, April 6. DICK MANTON

2-4-0T No. 10 G H Wood climbs out of Douglas towards Keristal at Ellenbrook on Tuesday, April 8. JOHN WHITELEY www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Heritage Railway

27

Inside Southall

The one-time unremarkable GWR shed at Southall plays a pivotal role in main line steam operations today. Peter Brown meets Richard Corser, general manager of Locomotive Services Ltd who explains what is required to send a steam engine out on the main line.

It could have been just an ordinary day in west London as Inter City 125 High Speed Trains hurtled past the former Great Western steam shed at Southall where outside two express steam locomotives stood being prepared for next day’s run. But as the grey clouded skies began to spit spots of rain on the scene, both a feeling of tension and excitement filled the air.

For this was no ordinary working day. This was Friday, April 25, 2014 at 12.30 in the section of the shed occupied by Locomotive Services Ltd, the day prior to the start of the nine day ‘Great 46 Heritage Railway

Britain VII’ tour of the UK – and the two locomotives receiving their last minute preparations were SR West Country Pacific No. 34046 Braunton and Great Western Castle 4-6-0, No. 5029 Nunney Castle.

Carefully chosen as usual by the organisers of this ambitious tour, the Railway Touring Company, Braunton was set to run on the first leg over its former Southern Railway territory from London Victoria to Exeter St Davids via Salisbury, Templecombe and Chard Junction.

The following day – Sunday, April 27 – 34046

was set to depart Falmouth with Nunney Castle on their way to Bristol via the Saltash Bridge, Plymouth, Hemerdon and Dainton Banks, Whiteball, Exeter and Taunton.

Heritage Railway was given access to the depot on this very special Friday to allow us to see what was happening, what normally went on and to generally find out about this extraordinary operation taking place in 2014.

Despite being one of the busiest days of the year on the site, Locomotive Services Ltds’ general manager Richard Corser – although looking at www.heritagerailway.co.uk

A support crew volunteer working on GWR 4-6-0 No. 5029 Nunney Castle at Southall on April 25. PETER BROWN Left: Locomotive Services Ltd general manager Richard Corser at Southall with West Country Pacific No. 34046 Braunton on Friday, April 25. PETER BROWN

his watch with minutes ticking down to when the engines were due to go out to turn round – gave us the background... and where better to start than at the beginning of the Southall story.

The site is split up into three sections, one part being used by a scrap car business, another by West Coast Railways and, of course, the prominent part that can be seen from the Great Western Main Line is the 10,000 square foot two road shed occupied by Locomotive Services Ltd. “We’ve taken a 15-year lease with the buildings and rewired it, installed a mess room and office accommodation, new water supply and electricity supply and fixed the roof,” Corser explained.

“The lease started about three years ago. It was previously a base at some time for Clan Line and Flying Scotsman.

“Jeremy Hosking decided that he wanted a base in London for one of his engines and obviously this was ideal as it has a connection to the main line at the west end of the site. It is directly connected to the former Brentford freight only line. Rubbish these days is transported on the branch and other freight is coming over. It is handy for us as it is connected to the Great Western Main Line.”

It is often being said that one of the problems of Britain’s national rail network is one of www.heritagerailway.co.uk

obtaining paths, in fact that’s one of the main arguments put up in support of the contentious issue of HS2. But is also one that Train Operating Companies are also complaining about due to capacity. So, if a major passenger operator has difficulty obtaining paths, just how bad is it for an operation like Locomotive Services?

“It is difficult to find paths,” Corser admitted.

“ere has got to be more responsibility shown in the way that locomotives are prepared properly. We must minimise the risk of breakdowns, failures or lineside fires.”

“There are protected paths for freight traffic and Deutsche Bahn Schenker hopefully will continue after electrification. We can use these paths of DBS or West Coast Railways for operating steam engines.”

Walking through the main shed we passed the

tender of BR Standard 4-6-2 No. 70000 Britannia, the locomotive being at the Mid Hants Railway, and LNER A4 Pacific No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley along with A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado – all of this before walking outside to see Braunton and Nunney Castle in the process of being steamed up.

But how did 43-year-old Richard Corser, who is also general manager of the Royal Scot & General Locomotive Trust, come to land such positions, being too young to remember the steam era? He was more than happy to reveal his background and how his interest grew.

“My mother is from mid-Wales, I was brought up in Shropshire and I was often taken to the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway, an eight mile narrow gauge line where I was taken for rides and close to where I was brought up was the Severn Valley Railway,” he confided. “The Great Western is my first love of railways, it personally interests me. In my early teens I liked seeing steam on the main lines and I also had a geography interest.”

A pupil at the independent Solihull School for those between the ages of 11 and 18, he went on to University College London to read physics before going to France to learn French. On return to the UK, he studied Heritage Railway

47

SR rebuilt West Country Pacific No. 34046 Braunton emerges from White House Farm tunnel near High Wycombe with Steam Dreams’ ‘Cathedrals Express’ from Paddington to Stratford-upon-Avon on April 13. JOHN TITLOW

The BR dining trains are back

Tour operator Steam Dreams has launched a new series of Sunday dining trains based on British Rail’s special charters from Marylebone to Stratford-upon-Avon in the late Eighties. Editor Robin Jones travelled on the first, appropriately to Shakespeare’s home town, on April 13.

A

fter setting out for the first trip of Steam Dreams’ new venture, the ‘rerun’ of British Rail’s steam-hauled Sunday lunch dining trains of the Eighties, on October 6, I was very disappointed to receive a telephone call in transit to London informing me that it had been cancelled. As we reported in issue 183, a sequential spate of locomotive non-availability culminating in a Network Rail

engineering possession blocking the line between Acton and Paddington left the coaching stock hemmed in and unable to move.

However, the glorious sunshine on the day of the rearranged debut trip, April 13, made up for it in volumes. For it was a glowing example of excursion trains at their best, and with a meaningful destination in which to spend four hours at the far end.

The BR dining specials were launched by the former Special Trains Unit in the wake of A4 Pacific No. 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley returning steam to Marylebone in January 1985.

Engines used on the Marylebone to Stratfordupon-Avon runs in the years that followed included Merchant Navy No. 35028 Clan Line, LMS Princess Coronation Pacific No. 46229 Duchess of Hamilton, Gresley V2 No. 4771 Green Arrow, King Arthur 4-6-0 No. 777 Sir Lamiel and no less than A4 No. 4468 Mallard and A3 No. 4472 Flying Scotsman.

In October 1986, on two occasions two trains ran on the same day, behind Nos. 4472 and 4468. What would we give to see both of those in steam again at the same time?

The dining trains died off around the same time as Marylebone turntable was removed.

However, they did build up a following, and Steam Dreams’ chairman, Marcus Robertson, decided that the time was right for their return under the successful umbrella of the ‘Cathedrals Express’.

Designed to appeal to the wider general public, the first trip was booked to depart Paddington at the very civilised hour of 10.50am.

Left: On the last lap to Stratford, having joined the North Warwickshire line at Bearley Junction, No. 34046 passes through Wilmcote. BRIAN SHARPE www.heritagerailway.co.uk

No. 34046 Braunton begins the descent of Hatton Bank having joined the GWR main line on the return leg of the ‘Cathedrals Express’. RICK EBORALL Right: Braunton reverses past its train at Stratford en route to Tyseley. ROBIN JONES

The train engine was Jeremy Hosking’s SR Bulleid West Country light Pacific No. 34046 Braunton, delegated to haul it through deepest GWR territory via High Wycombe, Bicester North, Banbury (water stop), Leamington Spa, Hatton Junction and Bearley Junction.

One very minor hiccup was experienced at the Beaconsfield pick-up stop, when a fault led to the whistle staying on. The West Coast Railway train crew had it fixed within minutes.

There were none of the problems that beset Braunton’s March 29 Vintage Trains’ ‘Canterbury Explorer’ from Solihull (which had started out behind Tyseley’s own Class 47 No. 47773) when it ran out of water at Folkestone because of difficulties with injectors.

To correct and clarify some points made in our Headline News report last issue, engineers managed to reinstate both of the injectors to full working order before it hauled the empty coaching stock back to Southall shed after passengers were transferred to the South Eastern Javelin at Folkestone Central to return home. The fire brigade supplied a water tanker to add some water in the tender at Folkestone, while the Bells and Two Tones water tanker booked for Paddock Wood was diverted to Shevington loop at Ashford where it filled up the tender.

The situation was managed by both train operating company West Coast Railways ➲ www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Competiton

90 Heritage Railway

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

Offtheshelf Stratford to Cheshunt

By Vic Mitchell and Dave Brennand (hardback, Middleton Press, 96 pages, £16.95, ISBN 978 1 908174 53 6).

It may not have had the glamour of Old Oak Common depot with its Kings, or Nine Elms with its Merchant Navies, or Camden and its Princess Coronations, or King’s Cross with its A4s, but to us 1950s east London trainspotters, Stratford was the centre of our hobby’s universe, writes Geoff Courtney. there were Britannias and ‘Footballers’, and venerable GER 0-6-0s that huffed and puffed their way into our hearts. It was an utterly filthy, sprawling scene in which we lost ourselves, defied authority, and turned our backs on homework and parental discipline. It was our world, one which baffled nonbelievers but gave great joy to its disciples.

Quite rightly, this latest Middleton Press publication, part of its Eastern Main Line series, starts at Stratford, detailing its history from the station’s opening in June 1839, through the development of the depot and works, to the present day, accompanied by a 1914 map and a host of photographs and illustrations both ancient and modern of

The Highland Main Line

By Neil T Sinclair (hardback, Stenlake Publishing, 216pp, £35, ISBN 9781840336177)

tHIS is a big expensive book, but it is the definitive history of the Highland Railway main line from Perth to Inverness, written by an author with very strong connections to the area and who is an occasional Heritage Railway contributor.

With illustrations from all eras of the line’s history, the book gives a good flavour of the line, which climbed through particularly wild and desolate terrain to reach Britain’s highest main line railway summit at Druimuachdar, 1484ft above sea level. the original route of the Highland main line was from Inverness via Forres, Dava summit and Grantown-on-Spey to Aviemore, part of which now forms the Strathspey Railway, and both routes between Aviemore and Inverness are covered, the present route via Slochd being the more familiar one.

With steam on the Strathspey Railway and more main line steam tours using the route than at any time since the 1960s, there is more interest in the Highland main line than ever and it is interesting to see what now-familiar locations looked like in the early days of the line. Highly recommended.

Past and Present: THE GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY

by John Stretton (softback, The Nostalgia Collection, 128pp, £20, ISBN 978 1 85895 265 9)

tHE latest in the well-known Past & Present pictorial series covers the route from Nottingham to Rugby, major parts of which are very familiar to today’s enthusiasts as the Great Central Railway and the Great Central Railway (Nottingham). It’s also newsworthy with work commencing on reinstating the bridge over the Midland Main Line to reconnect the two.

www.heritagerailway.co.uk

the station and its environs. thence it is on to the vast temple Mills marshalling yard with its associated wagon works, and to Cheshunt via Lea Bridge, tottenham, Ponders End and Waltham Cross.

Finally the spotlight is turned on the Southbury Loop, and such delightfully-named stations as Carterhatch Lane Halt – comprising a basic wooden two-coach platform and a couple of oil lamps – turkey Street and theobalds Grove.

Photographs abound, each knowledgeably and comprehensively captioned, and one that caught my eye shows LNER J17 0-6-0 No. 8194 light engine at theobalds Grove in 1947. It wasn’t 1902 Stratford-built No. 8194, which became BR No. 65544 and was withdrawn from King’s Lynn (31C) in 1959, that fascinated me, but the washing.

Yes, the washing, for on one of the platforms two lady residents of the station’s buildings are hanging up washing, while another line of washing is actually strung up directly above No. 8194 across the tracks between the canopies of the two platforms. the station was closed at the time – it lost its service in 1919

Lynton & Barnstaple Railway

OFFICIAL GUIDE (softback, 32pp, available from L&B, Woody Bay station, Martinhoe Cross, Parracombe, North Devon EX31 4RA, £4.50 plus £2.50).

ANY guidebook with one of the superb Eric Leslie watercolours on the cover, in this case Manning Wardle 2-6-2t No. 759 Yeo crossing a farm accommodation bridge in Southern Railways days, is on to a winner from the start.

Small it may be, but the modern day L&B has produced one of the biggest guidebooks in the heritage railway sector, and at a keen price too.

Making the most of the A4 format, it is filled with enticing pictures of the Woody Bay to Killington /Lane operation plus archive pictures of the old route and long-lost locomotives from yesteryear, and vintage Ordnance Survey maps and plans. It is a brilliant readyreference guide to the line and a magnificent introduction for visitors.

A comprehensive selection of photographs illustrate the route in the period before closure of most of this section in 1966, and bring the reader up to date with views of the route today.

Naturally the still-operational parts of the old GCR feature prominently, with a remarkable variety of motive power evident in both of the then and now periods, and the preservationists’ success in recreating the Loughborough to Leicester North section as it

and reopened in 1960 – but was still served by a daily goods train and the occasional train diverted off the Lea Valley line, so washing across the tracks?

No. 8194 looks remarkably clean, there is no sign of life on the footplate, and the photograph is credited to the LNER, which leads to a conclusion that it was official posed photograph. If so, for what purpose? the publication also contains early sketches, including Stratford station in 1851, timetables, images of tickets, and a gradient profile, and overall serves as a reminder of trainspotting days enjoyed more than half a century ago.

Waterloo to Weymouth: A JOURNEY IN STEAM

By Andrew Britton (hardback, Ian Allan, 128pp, £19.99, ISBN 978 0 7524 9863 6).

HERE is a journey through time as well as one from the capital to the seaside. taking the route in the title as a backbone, to illustrate each chapter, the author presents a series of archive pictures of steam locomotives that you would see in regular use on special charters along the way, between the end of the Second World War and the demise of southern steam in 1967.

For instance, in the Basingstoke to Micheldever chapter, we see rebuilt Merchant Navy No. 35027 Port Line hauling the ‘Bournemouth Belle’ in 1964, Schools 4-4-0 No. 30909 St Paul’s racing towards Basingstoke with a train from Lymington Pier in 1959 and no less than A4 No. 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley heading an excursion at Worting Junction. the final chapter looks at the Swanage branch, again with splendid colour pictures of it in pre-preservation days.

Many of the pictures in this volume have never been published before, and the chapters are also illustrated with items such as vintage plans and tickets from the author’s own collection. Very much a must for Southern fans.

once was is very apparent.

Elsewhere though, little remains of the past glories of once-familiar locations such as Nottingham Victoria, Leicester Central, Lutterworth and Rugby Central. It needs books such as this to remind us of what has been lost forever.

Heritage Railway

91

The month ahead

WR 4-6-0 no. 7820 Dinmore Manor passes didbrook hauling the 10am toddington to cheltenham service on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway on friday, april 18. RALPH WARD

The enthusiasts’ calendar gets into full swing in May – and Heritage Railway will be with you all the way to cover the events!

While modern traction and family-orientated events start to predominate in the heritage lines’ calendars in late spring, there are still some big enthusiasts’ events to savour, including the GCR’s second Swithland gala, three major events over the bank holiday weekend and

SPECIaL EvEnTS May 9-11: sWanaGe RailWay: diesel Gala 9-11: GReat centRal RailWay: sWithland Gala The railway will be opening Swithland to the public for the second time since completion of the signalling, with a complimentary bus service in operation. The nine-engine line-up will feature two first-time visitors. Passenger and freight trains will be running on the doubletrack heritage line with No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell starring alongside 9F 2-10-0 No. 92214 in unlined, weathered livery.

The NYMR’s Lambton 0-6-2T No. 29 and the South Devon Railway’s GWR 0-6-0PT L92 in London Transport red livery will be the visitors plus regulars from the home fleet.

10-11: BlueBell RailWay: southeRn at WaR 10-11: hollycoMBe MuseuM: steaM in MiniatuRe 10-11: lynton & BaRnstaPle RailWay: sPRinG vintaGe Weekend 10-11: RoMney, hythe & dyMchuRch RailWay: steaM & diesel Gala 11: Middleton RailWay: Mixed tRain day 16-18: faWley hill RailWay: oPen days 16-18: nene valley RailWay: diesel Gala Weekend 17-18: aMeRton RailWay: diesel Gala 17-18: BlueBell RailWay: edWaRdian Weekend 17-18: kent & east sussex RailWay: 1940s Weekend 17-18: kiRklees liGht RailWay: day out With thoMas

the not-to-be-missed opportunity to see West Coast motive power on the Mid-Norfolk.

As always, we will be bringing you the best of the action from across the heritage lines as the season progresses.

18: BuckinGhaMshiRe RailWay centRe: diesel day 23-25: south devon RailWay: diesel Gala Weekend 23-26: south devon RailWay: 1960s Mixed tRaction Gala 24: leadhills & Wanlockhead RailWay: diesel Gala Weekend 24: Wensleydale RailWay: BITTERN day 24-26: BuRe valley RailWay: eveRythinG Goes 24-26: dean foRest RailWay: days out With thoMas 24-26: didcot RailWay centRe: diesel Gala 24-26: east lancashiRe RailWay: 1940s Weekend 24-26: foxfield RailWay: victoRian Weekend 24-26: GloucesteRshiRe WaRWickshiRe RailWay: Back to Black Gala This year’s Cotswold Festival of Steam will highlight locomotives in black livery. In use will be newly restored WR 4-6-0 No. 7820 Dinmore Manor, temporarily in black livery, visiting GWR 2-8-0 No. 3850, WR 0-6-0PT No. 1501 and LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0 No. 45379, LMS 8F 2-8-0 No. 48274 in BR black, plus GWR 2-8-0T No. 4270, 2-8-0 No. 2807 and small prairie No. 5542 all in green.

24-26: isle of WiGht steaM RailWay: dinosauRs of island steaM Marking the return to service of LBSCR ‘Terrier’ 0-6-0T No. 11 Newport, the engine will star alongside sister engine W8 Freshwater and O2 0-4-4T No. 24 Calbourne working passenger and demonstration goods trains. The LBSCR E1 0-6-0T No. 110 Burgundy will be on display with the two Ivatt 2MTs. 24-26: kent & east sussex RailWay: 40th anniveRsaRy Gala The railway celebrates 40 years of preservation with an intensive

service featuring shuttles from Bodiam to Junction Road, Sentinel 0-4-0T Gervase in action, shunting demonstrations at Tenterden and a 10am through train from Tenterden to Junction Road.

24-26: Peak Rail: Mixed tRaffic event 24-26: tanfield RailWay: BRanchinG out 25-26: eastleiGh lakeside RailWay: days out With thoMas 25-26: faiRBouRne RailWay: little to laRGe Gala 27: talyllyn RailWay: childRen’s duncan day 31-Jun 1: Bo’ness & kinneil RailWay: Mixed tRaffic Gala 31-Jun 2: cReWe heRitaGe centRe: diesel Weekend 31-Jun 2: Mid-noRfolk RailWay: West coast RailWays’ Gala This unusual event supported by Heritage Railway offers a unique opportunity to ride on a heritage line behind three West Coast Railways’ LMS engines which normally only work on the main line, including Royal Scot 4-6-0 No. 46115 Scots Guardsman and Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 45699 Galatea.

JunE 3-5: noRth noRfolk RailWay: day out With thoMas

RaILWayana May 10 GW RailWayana, PeRshoRe JunE 7

GReat noRtheRn RailWayana, Poynton

Heritage Railway will be bringing you all the action from a selection of events, large and small.

ISSuE 190 IS OuT On JunE 5, 2014

HERITAGE RAILWAY IS PuBLISHED 13 TIMES a yEaR

Catch up with the latest news, views and great features every four weeks.

106 Heritage Railway