Heritage Railway Issue 219 preview

SCOTSMAN FOR TYSELEY BEFORE SEVERN VALLEY SELLOUT

ISSUE 219

August 25 – September ber 21 21, 2016

Cromer diner debut becomes ‘real’ steam service

■ The first

DUCHESS

in Cornwall ■ ‘GREAT

BRITAIN X’

dates announced

L AN D S LI D E M AR O O N S ‘JACO B ITE ’ AT M ALL AI G

CONTENTS ISSUE 219

August 25 – September 21, 2016

News

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Headline News

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Flying Scotsman to visit Tyseley Locomotive Works for September open weekend before moving to sell-out Severn Valley Pacific Power event, British Transport Police issues more trespass pictures and the North Norfolk Railway's inaugural steam dining train to Cromer ended up carrying Bittern Line passengers.

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News

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Duchess of Sutherland becomes the first of its class to enter Cornwall; landslip maroons ‘Jacobite’ service at Mallaig; tribute to popular Bluebell Railway volunteer who died in Gatwick Express incident; ‘surprise’ six-figure windfall for Ecclesbourne Valley; Union Pacific starts overhaul of ‘Big Boy’; The Who’s Roger Daltrey opens new Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch facilities; Mail Rail on course to open in 2017; ex-Port Talbot saddle tank No. 813 back on Severn Valley; Flying Scotsman made from LEGO and solid bronze miniature versions of the controversial Sir Nigel Gresley statue at King's Cross on sale for £4800 – complete with mallard duck!

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Regulars Railwayana

46

Centre

54

Off the Shelf

88

Main Line Itinerary

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Platform

90

Up & Running

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Geoff Courtney’s regular column.

Leander storms towards Grayrigg

by David Price.

Main Line News

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Dates and itinerary for ‘Great Britain X’ announced by the Railway Touring Company, No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth returns on schedule, Bulleid Lord Dowding aka Braunton hit by flats, third time unlucky for Royal Scot and Steam Dreams’ next Irish tour to visit Isle of Man too!

With Full Regulator

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Don Benn reports on performances by Duchess of Sutherland.

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Latest book and DVD releases.

Steam and heritage diesel railtours.

Where your views matter most.

Guide to railways running this month.

The Month Ahead

Features The end of the A4 Pacifics – NOT!

September 5, 2016 celebrates half a century since the final workings of the streamlined A4 Pacifics in BR service. Fred Kerr recalls the last fortnight of their Scottish activities – and notes how the future proved to be not as bad as many feared.

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106 Find us on www.facebook.com/heritagerailway

CONTENTS: LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 45690 Leander passes the remains of Rotherham Masborough station with the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Coast to Coast Express’ from Liverpool to Scarborough on July 30. ALAN WEAVER COVER: BR Standard 4MT 2-6-0 No. 76084 leaves Cromer with the inaugural North Norfolk Railway dining train returning to Sheringham on August 10. BRIAN SHARPE

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The Haltwhistle to Alston Railway

68 James Spooner: the Ffestiniog’s next double Fairlie

The history of the double Fairlies is complicated. Allan George unravels the story and explains why the Ffestiniog Railway is building another one at Boston Lodge.

Forty years ago the last surviving rural passenger branch line in Northumberland closed. This was the Haltwhistle to Alston Railway which although earmarked for closure as part of the Beeching cuts in 1963, miraculously survived up until May 1, 1976. Trevor Gregg looks back at the history of the railway and its route through the beautiful valley of the River South Tyne.

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See page 30 Twenty Years of the Elsecar Heritage Railway

The Elsecar Heritage Railway is one of Britain’s smaller standard gauge heritage lines but as Mark Smithers reports, the only preserved railway in South Yorkshire potentially has an exciting future ahead of it.

Write to us: Heritage Railway, Mortons Media Ltd, PO Box 43, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6LZ.

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NEWS

Bluebell mourns volunteer in Gatwick Express tragedy

Simon Brown smartly dressed for steward’s duty on the GNR Directors’ Saloon. GAVIN BENNETT/BR

By Robin Jones TRIBUTES have been paid to a Bluebell Railway volunteer and lifelong enthusiast who died after leaning his head out of an unlocked window of a Gatwick Express train running to Victoria from Gatwick Airport.

It is believed that Simon Brown, 24, from East Grinstead, died after his head was struck by an object next to the track several minutes before arriving at Wandsworth Common station on Sunday, August 7.

A Gatwick Express spokesman said: “The emergency services attended the scene at Wandsworth Common station and, despite their best efforts, they were unable to save him. We send our condolences to his family.

“We are co-operating fully with British Transport Police and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, who are investigating this incident.’’

A BTP spokesman said:“The death is being treated as non-suspicious and the circumstances, including what caused the head injuries, are still being investigated.’’

Two days after the tragedy, a pair of Bluebell Railway locomotives in service carried wreaths out of respect for Simon.

At the age of 18, Simon’s work as a Bluebell volunteer led to him becoming an apprentice at Southern Rail – the firm that operated the

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BR Standard 5MT 4-6-0 No. 73082 Camelot carried a wreath in memory of Bluebell Railway volunteer Simon Brown in service on August 9. JOHN SANDYS/BR GAVIN BENNETT Gatwick Express service he was travelling on when he died. He then landed his dream job as an engineering technician with train builder Hitachi Rail Europe in June this year, overseeing the introduction of new electric trains on the Great Western Main Line.

Memorial train

Simon’s dad, Mike Brown, said:“As soon as he could toddle, Simon was into trains.”

He was about to buy a house with his girlfriend Missy Wilson, a student education leader at the University of the West of England and had moved to Stoke Gifford near Bristol to be with her.

A JustGiving account at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ reuben-smith-1 was set up to help raise funds for Simon’s funeral and a headboard for a memorial train which is planned to run on the Bluebell. In the first day, the appeal raised £6000, six times its initial target. The fund stood at around £8000 as we closed for press.

Friend Reuben Smith, who started the fund, said:‘Simon was a great friend of ours and a real light in the railway world. He was always smiling, cheerful and would bend over

backwards to help anyone. There’s now a massive hole in our close-knit community.

“He has been taken from us at the age of 24, it’s far too young.

“Trains were his life. He had worked on the Bluebell Railway since he was a kid and that’s how we met.

“I woke up to the news from friends – didn’t believe it at first. It started sinking in when someone from work and someone from the Bluebell rang me to tell me. I felt awful.”

A statement from the Bluebell Railway said:“It was with deep regret and sadness that we learned of the untimely and tragic death of Simon.

“Simon had been a volunteer at the railway from his early teens where he was to be seen as part of the station staff at Kingscote. He went on to be actively involved in the Santa services, fish and chip trains and a stalwart of the Rail Ale Train team.

“Always enthusiastic, helpful and polite he was a pleasure to be with and always a reliable source of humour, support and confectionary.

“His involvement at the railway also included his help with the running, managing and at times maintenance of the GNR Directors’Saloon, for which his smartly-turned-out appearance

“As soon as he could toddle, Simon was into trains.”

as steward would always attract the customers.

“He will be sorely missed by all who had the privilege to know him – a tragic end to such a young life.

“Our thoughts are with his family and close friends to whom we at the Bluebell Railway extend our deepest sympathies and condolences.”

Enthusiastic member

Since he was 18, Simon had also been a trustee of the Howlden Trust, which owns the GNR saloon, No. 1283.

A statement from the trust said: “He quickly established himself as a dynamic and enthusiastic member of our close team, not only serving on board with a smile and his polite charm, but also hard at work over the winter with our maintenance program.”

A joint statement from his family and girlfriend, who was comforted by her parents at her home in Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire, said:“Simon was a warm, loving individual whose unbounded passion and enthusiasm for life and all things related to trains of any kind – from model railways through steam to modern day rail transport infected everyone he met.

“He will be sorely missed not only by his partner, his family and his friends but also by his many colleagues throughout the rail industry.”

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RAILWAYANA

BY GEOFF COURTNEY

King leads charge of the GWR brigade at Stoneleigh SEVEN of the 13 nameplates set to go under Mike Soden’s hammer in the Great Central auction at Stoneleigh on September 3 are of GWR heritage, three are from the LNER, one (plus an LNWR plate) from the LMS, and one from a BR Standard.

At the head of the GWR queue is King Edward VI from No. 6012, with support from a Saint, Bulldog, two Halls, a Grange and a Manor.The background to the Saint representative, Tockenham Court from No. 2954, is surely the most fascinating of the selection, for it was bought by a pay office employee at Swindon works after the 4-6-0’s withdrawal in 1952, and since then it has been kept unrestored, and an unknown survivor, in his garden shed.

The Bulldog plate is River Plym from

LNER takes on LMS in miniature GAUGE 1 models of two Big Four Pacifics will be a feature of a Dreweatts Bloomsbury transport sale in Newbury on September 28.They are LNER A4 No. 34Peregrine (renamedLordFaringdon in March 1948 and renumbered 60034), which will carry a top estimate of £6000, and LMS Princess Coronation No. 6226 Duchess ofNorfolk(£5000).

Another LNER Pacific, A3 No. 60107 RoyalLancer, in 7¼in gauge, carries a top estimate of £15,000, while £5000 is the top estimate for an exhibition standard 5in-gauge model of a Crampton 2-2-2-0, built by award-winner John Richardson of Halifax.

The top estimated model, at £60,000, is an exhibition quality 7¼in-gauge SNCF 141R class 2-8-2, of which more than 1300 were built for the French state railway by various North American manufacturers after the SecondWorld War, with the last not being withdrawn until 1974. All the models are live steam.

The auction, at Donnington Priory, starts at 12 noon, with viewing on the morning of the sale and the prior three days, September 25-27.

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No. 3376, the two Halls Tangley Hall (No. 5939) and, making its auction debut, Lady Margaret Hall (No. 7911), and finally Crynant Grange (No. 6861) and Iford Manor (No. 7824).

The Manor’s cabside and smokebox numberplates are also in the auction, being sold separately.

From the LMS is Canada (Jubilee No. 45553), supported by its half-brother Shamrock from LNWR Precursor No. 1309/LMS No. 5302, and from the LNER there is Auld Reekie (A1 Pacific No. 60160; yes, I know, a BR-built locomotive, but let’s not quibble), Kimbolton Castle (B17 No. 61633), and Loch Eil from K2 No. 61782.

Flying the Standard standard is Hotspur from Britannia No. 70011, a long-time Norwich (32A) locomotive.

I recorded this Pacific many times passing through Ilford, firstly on Easter Monday, April 22, 1957, on a Down express, and for the

last time at 7.52pm on August 2, 1961, on a Down Clacton train, the very last‘Brit’I logged going through my local station.

This locomotive’s smokebox will also be included in the sale.

In addition to that from No. 7824, the cabside category will include 2935 from a second Saint, Caynham Court, 4993 from Dalton Hall, 2072 from an 0-6-0PT built at Wolverhampton in 1899 and withdrawn by BR in 1956, and 9405 from another 0-6-0PT, one of only 10 in a class of 210 built by the GWR, the remainder being constructed in the BR era by outside contractors.

A smokebox numberplate that will surely catch the eye is 30586 from an LSWR 0298 class 2-4-0WT that was built in 1875 and famously survived with two classmates on the Wenford Bridge line in Cornwall until December 1962. Unlike its two brethren, No. 30586 was not saved for preservation, but its smokebox numberplate lives on and will be the

first example from the class to appear at auction.

Among the worksplates are a 1948 LNER Doncaster example from A2 Pacific No. 60535 Hornet’s Beauty, LNER 1947 from B1 No. 61247 Lord Burghley, and 1924 Kitson & Co from D11 No. 62673 Evan Dhu. An oddity that has caused heads to be scratched among the Great Central crew is a Western Region enamel sign ‘Enginemen must not discharge water from engines when standing on this bridge.’ A possibility is that it may be from Bath station (no pun intended), but that has not been verified.

The auction, at Stoneleigh Park, starts at 10am.

Game, set and match to East Coast Main line at Newark ITWAS game, set and match to the East Coast Main Line inTalisman’s July 30 sale at Newark, with all four leading realisations being associated with the route.Top of the pile, by selling at close of play for £8000, was nameplateEdwardFletcher from A1 No. 60142, an LNER-designed, BR-built Pacific that spent much of its 16 years allocated to Gateshead (52A).

Behind came fellow LNER 4-6-2 No. 60076, one of whose Galopin nameplates went for £6600.

This 1924-built Gresley A3 was also a North East resident, being withdrawn from Heaton (52B) in 1962, thus enjoying a service life of well over twice that of No. 60142.

A 1960 English Electric worksplate from Class 55 Deltic D9000/55022 Royal Scots Grey sold for £4000, and completing the ECML whitewash was headboard‘The Capitals Limited’, which achieved a realisation of £3000.This King’s Cross to Edinburgh non-stop express was launched in 1949 and in 1953 was renamed‘The Elizabethan’following the Queen’s accession to the throne.

Leading totem station sign was Pitlochry (£2300), with others in the

same category including Oakington (£1600) and Bolton-le-Sands (£1550), and from South African Railways Class 19C 4-8-2 No. 2456, built by North British in 1935, came nameplate Takbok and bilingual cabside numberplate (£1700).

Back on home turf, a Doncaster 1923 worksplate from LNER O2 2-8-0 No. 63938 fetched £1800, a Halifax High Level viaduct plate £1550, and a

GWR ex-Bloxham signalbox dropcase clock £1200. Prices exclude buyer’s premium of 10%.

“Totems were particularly buoyant, cast iron went very well, and loco plates were as usual keenly contested,” saidTalisman’s Roger Phipps.“We always try to have an eclectic mix, which this time included a GER trolley and a GNR gate lock, and such items are a pleasure to auction.”

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50 YEARS ON

A4 4-6-2 No. 60019 Bittern poses in St Rollox shed yard on August 31, 1966 following the completion of repairs.

The end of the

A4 PACIFICS NOT!

September 5, 2016 celebrates half a century since thee final workings of the streamlined A4 Pacifics in BR service.

Fred Kerr recalls the last fortnight of their Scottish operations – and notes how the future was not as bad as many feared.

A

s a child in post-war Edinburgh my memories veered between the Caledonian hooters of the Pickersgill 0-4-4T that I heard each night working the Leith North to Princes St services as they passed near my home and the chime whistles of the LNER A4 Pacifics as they passed through Princes Street Gardens, which I frequently visited to see them en route to and from Edinburgh Waverley on their various duties.

My parents moved to England in 1956 and my subsequent awareness of number taking from around 1958 quickly made me conscious that the Haymarket fleet of A4s were considered rarities to local enthusiasts, who quickly became envious of my annual visits to relatives in Edinburgh and the opportunity to sample the rarities on ‘home’ territory.

My nearest local English location was at Peterborough and, for various reasons, my visits were few and it was not until the transfer of some of the A4s from King’s Cross depot (34A) to Peterborough’s New England depot (34E) in 1963 that I was able to make better acquaintance with the England-based examples.

The rundown of the A4s had begun in December 1962 when Nos. 60003/14/28/30/33 had been condemned on December 29,

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followed by the 1963 withdrawal of No. 60013 on April 18; No. 60015 on April 21; and No. 60022 Mallard itself on April 25. The 1963 withdrawals followed the official ban on steam operations south of Peterborough from April 22 and the consequent transfer of King’s Cross locomotives to New England.

While steam locomotives were officially restricted to services north of Peterborough, the unreliability of diesel traction plus a

“A traction review saw the A4 fleet transferred to the Scottish Region to work passenger services between Glasgow and Aberdeen” shortage of Class 47 locomotives saw steam traction continue working south to King’s Cross through the summer 1963 timetable period.

At the end of that timetable a traction review saw the A4 fleet transferred to the Scottish Region to work passenger services between Glasgow (Buchanan St) and Aberdeen with Nos. 60006/7/10/16/23/26/34

The fireman of A4 4-6-2 No. 60024 Kingfisher takes a breather at Gleneagles on August 22, 1966 during a stop of the 1.30pm Aberdeen – Glasgow Buchanan St service.

shared between 61B Aberdeen (Ferryhill) and 65B St Rollox. New England had already withdrawn No. 60008 Dwight D. Eisenhower on July 20 1963 and retained Nos. 60017/21/25/29/32 until their official withdrawal on October 20, 1963.

The Gateshead (52A) stud of A4s was similarly affected by the influx of diesel traction and its 1963 changes included the withdrawal of No. 60018 Sparrowhawk on June 19; the transfer of Nos. 60005 and 60019 to the ScR in September 1963; and retention of Nos. 60001/02/ 20 as spare locomotives until their 1964 withdrawal in October, May and March, respectively.

The transferred A4s were pooled with the resident ScR stud and all were shared between Ferryhill and St Rollox to work Glasgow to Aberdeen services. Withdrawals continued slowly and by the summer 1966 timetable five locomotives – Nos. 60004/09/19/24/34 – were available to work the two steam-hauled diagrams. Having already arranged a ScotRail Rover for the final fortnight of the A4 workings, linked to a ‘Farewell Tour’ that would return me home, I looked forward to sampling my last runs behind Gresley’s masterpiece design.

The final fortnight arrived with only two A4s at work, supported by Peppercorn A2

MAIN LINE NEWS

COMPILED BY CEDRIC JOHNS

RTC to run ‘Great Britain X’ DESPITE the problems encountered in recent years, the RailwayTouring Company has announced its proposed locomotive line-up for next year’s ‘Great Britain X’ annual grand tour.

No precise details of all the routes have yet been given but the motive power has optimistically been shown as Day one, April 29, 4-6-2 No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth London toYork, No. 60103 Flying Scotsman, York to Edinburgh; day two has No. 70013 OliverCromwellrunning from Edinburgh to Inverness.

Day three sees K1 2-6-0 No. 62005 or‘Black Five’No. 44871 run to Kyle of Lochalsh. On day four, OliverCromwellruns from Inverness to Perth, and No. 62005 and No. 44871 take the train on from Perth to Glasgow.

Day five sees No. 44871 and No. 45407 running from Glasgow to Oban and return.

Day six will feature No. 46233Duchess of Sutherland on the Glasgow to Oxenholme leg.

Day seven will see No. 46115Scots Guardsman take the train from Grange over Sands to Bristol.

Day eight will see two from No. 6023 King EdwardII, No. 5029 Nunney Castle or No. 34046Braunton run from Bristol to Plymouth and on day nine, any one of the three engines will haul the final leg from Falmouth to Paddington via the Berks & Hants Line.

Steam newcomers to the‘Great Britain X’ are Flying Scotsman, PrincessElizabeth and King EdwardII.

Ups and downs

RTC has experienced several ups and downs this year, typified by the use of LMS 4-6-0 Galatea to run to Weymouth to mark the end of Southern steam and Scots Guardsman working a trip to Swanage and returning tender first to Southampton because of diesel failure.

On the other hand, highlights have included the‘Royal Duchy’reaching Cornwall with Duchess ofSutherland, and ScotsGuardsman – replacing 8F 2-8-0 No. 48151 – on a trip to Blaneau Ffestiniog and successfully overcoming the curving gradients – which have caused more than one engine to struggle to a halt – arriving 12 minutes early.

It was a first for a Royal Scot to reach the ConwayValley summit.

Interestingly, my colleague Don Benn commented that he did not think he had a Basingstoke toWoking start-to-stop with steam since 1967 so he sampled 4-6-0 Galateaworking an RTC‘Dorset Coast Express’back to London on August 10.

“It ran well with 10 on and as far as I could tell no help from Class 33 No. 33207 on at the back, though the start to Hook was fast with 390 tons.We were inside even time before Farnborough passed at 14 minutes for the 14.5 miles at 75mph but the engine was eased as we were very early and caught adverse signals outsideWoking but still managed 23 minutes for the 24.46 miles, a fine locomotive with no shortage of steam.”

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LMS Royal Scot 4-6-0 No. 46115 Scots Guardsman breaks new ground for the class as it crests the summit of the 1-in-47 climb to Pontypant on the Blaenau Ffestiniog branch with the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Welsh Mountaineer’ on July 26. There were two sharp slips as it emerged from the tunnel and approached the station but the engine recovered well and could be heard accelerating away on the two miles of easier gradients. NEVILLE WELLINGS Find us on www.facebook.com/heritagerailway

NEWS FOCUS SPECIAL

JAMES SPOONER: The Ffestiniog’s next double Fairlie The history of the double Fairlies is complicated. Allan George unravels the story and explains why the Ffestiniog Railway is building another one at Boston Lodge.

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ne of the most successful tourist railways in the world, the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland, is to build a new double Fairlie locomotive, continuing the company’s pioneering spirit.

Throughout its long history, the railway has innovated and set standards and trends followed by others around the world.

The new engine will be the seventh double Fairlie to run on the railway and the fifth built entirely at its workshops at Boston Lodge.

To be named James Spooner, it will carry the number 8, as did the predecessor James Spooner built by Avonside in 1872 and withdrawn in 1928. Some parts of the original survive to the present day, the wheels being under Livingston Thompson at the National Railway Museum in York.

The new locomotive will have the

traditional double Fairlie appearance.

It will take the place of Earl of Merioneth in the railway’s frontline double Fairlie fleet, alongside Merddin Emrys and David Lloyd George, built in 1879 and 1992 respectively.

The first components for the new boiler have been delivered and work has already started.

Why the Ffestiniog is building a new engine

Paul Lewin, general manager of the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway, outlined the background behind the decision to build the new engine, explaining that although the railway is a charity it has to operate commercially: “It is a tourist railway which operates steam trains and has a long term tradition of innovation. We are continuing this practice with our plan to build James Spooner.”

He stated: “At the core of our business we have five sets of carriages which we haul around both our railways to generate the revenue essential to keep operating. On our regular services we have two sets of carriages in use on each line, and a third set used at peak times.

“Over and above that because of our rich heritage, we have a fleet of legacy locomotives and rolling stock we use on high days and holidays and for special trains.

“The essential kit for the core service is treated as a business asset, which we look after in a way that means it is best able to serve the business. With our carriages, for instance, we build two, sometimes three carriages each year. Recently these new ones have displaced from traffic a number of carriages built in the 1980s, which have gone to heritage railways.”

Merddin Emrys at the junction of the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland railways at Porthmadog. ANDREW THOMAS / FR

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NARROW GAUGE REVIVAL

The Haltwhistle to Alston Railway

Forty years ago the last surviving rural passenger branch line in Northumberland closed.

This was the Haltwhistle to Alston Railway, which although earmarked for closure as part of the Beeching cuts in 1963, miraculously survived up until May 1, 1976. Trevor Gregg looks back at the history of the railway and its route through the beautiful valley of the River South Tyne.

T

he area around Haltwhistle and Brampton was rich in minerals, principally coal, and for its successful exploitation, transport was needed to move the coal from the mines to the markets.

In 1798 a horse-drawn waggonway was built from Brampton to Tindal Fells and Talkin, south-east of Brampton. Lord Carlisle, the major landowner in the area, was developing his Naworth coalfield and this waggonway transported the coal to Brampton, where it was then carried by road to Carlisle and Penrith.

In 1824 the waggonway was converted to a railway and at the same time was also extended further east towards new collieries, which his lordship had opened. George Stephenson

A DMU for Alston crosses Lambley Viaduct on April 17, 1976.

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personally inspected the construction of the railway and his locomotive Rocket worked the route for a few years after being sold by the Liverpool & Manchester Railway.

Built on own land

This railway system, which was known as Lord Carlisle’s Railway, was unique as it required no Act of Parliament to authorise construction as it was being built on his own land. Lord Carlisle was also a keen supporter of the promoters of the Newcastle to Carlisle Railway, and after an Act of Parliament was given in 1829, construction work started, with the railway fully opening in 1838.

A junction was made at Brampton, with Lord

Carlisle’s Railway allowing his coal now to be moved to Carlisle by rail. In 1849 a further easterly extension was made to Lord Carlisle’s railway system when it was extended to a new colliery at Lambley, in the South Tyne Valley.

At Alston, 13 miles south of Haltwhistle, there were some coal deposits, but the principal mineral being mined was lead, which had been mined in the Alston area and around Nenthead, just south of Alston, since Roman times. By the early part of the 19th century the area known as Alston Moor had become one of the leading lead ore producers in the UK. The influential London Lead Company held many of the mining leases on Alston Moor and it was desperate to get a railway link to

NEWS FOCUS SPECIAL

Birkenhead passes over ‘distillery crossing’ immediately before arriving at the station at Elsecar, on footplate experience duties. Inset: Birkenhead’s maker’s plate.

Twenty years of the

ELSECAR HERITAGE RAILWAY The Elsecar Heritage Railway is one of Britain’s smaller standard gauge heritage lines, but as Mark Smithers reports, the only preserved railway in South Yorkshire potentially has an exciting future ahead of it.

T

he history of the line goes back to the year 1850 when a single-track mineral branch was opened from Elsecar Junction, near Wath, on the Doncaster to Barnsley section of the South Yorkshire Railway (later part of the Great Central), to Elsecar via Cortonwood. The raison d’etre of the branch was to serve several collieries and ironworks owned by the Rockingham family, headed by Earl Fitzwilliam, who had his own private station at Elsecar (not to be confused with Elsecar & Hoyland station on the Penistone to Sheffield route, which survives today as part of the main network).

As is well known, the collieries were nationalised on January 1, 1947, with the GCR’s successor, the LNER, following suit during the succeeding year. The terminus was latterly known as Elsecar goods station, but with the post-Second World War rundown of Britain’s coal industry and the growth of road freight transport, the importance of the branch

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steadily declined. Eventually, only Cortonwood colliery was served, with the Cortonwood to Elsecar portion falling out of use, and when Cortonwood was closed during the miners’ strike of 1984/85, the remaining section to Elsecar Junction was closed and lifted.

Tourist attraction

The story of the former Elsecar mineral branch might have ended in the 1980s, but for one reason: the Elsecar end of the line features many of the buildings that constituted the Earl’s workshops (later becoming the workshops of the NCB Barnsley Area) and the decision was taken by Barnsley Council to develop the area as a tourist attraction, known as the Elsecar Heritage Centre. As part of this attraction, it was decided to relay a section of the branch in the vicinity and create a new passenger station, complete with platform, canopy and footbridge, which was initially known as Rockingham station.

The first public passenger service over the relaid portion of line, hauled by Avonside B4 0-6-0ST Earl Fitzwilliam (1917 of 1923), departed from the station on April 5, 1996.

Nearly 10 years later, responsibility for the running of the railway passed from the council by way of a 50-year lease to the Elsecar Railway Preservation Group, which was rebranded under a charitable trust as the Elsecar Heritage Railway during the following year, 2007.

At present the line in use extends from the terminus at Elsecar over a run of about one mile to Hemingfield (Tingle Bridge Lane), but the present state of affairs is very much ‘work in progress’ as a further mile is in the process of being laid to the projected eventual destination of Cortonwood. Much of the current running line passes alongside important aspects of the area’s industrial heritage and this is a major asset for both present operations and future ambitions.

At Elsecar, it is possible to see the new colliery