Heritage Railway magazine - Issue 266

LYNTON & BARNSTAPLE STATION FOR SALE

ISSUE 266 April 10 – May 14, 2020

SAVE OUR STEAM YOUR RAILWAY NEEDS YOU NOW!

★★★★

21st ★

£4.40

Y ANNIVERSAR ISSUE ★★★★★

No. 266

PRINTED IN THE UK

■ WEARDALE RAILWAY SOLD TO CHARITY ■ STEVE DAVIES IS NEW A1 TRUST CHAIRMAN

UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA TO RUN FOR ANOTHER YEAR?

■ EXPANDING NORTHAMPTON & LAMPORT

MEET BRITAIN’S YOUNG VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR

WINNING DESIGN FOR NRM’S £16.5M CENTRAL HALL

■ HYDROGEN TRAIN TO RUN ON LOST FFESTINIOG BRANCH ■ ACTION FROM SOUTH DEVON, KEIGHLEY AND EAST LANCASHIRE GALAS

CONTENTS ISSUE 266

April 10, 2020 – May 6, 2020

News

8

Headline News

■ Coronavirus is the greatest threat

6

to heritage railways in 70 years

■ Glorious Talyllyn spring cut short –

the last charter before shutdown

■ Your heritage railway needs you

NOW! ■ Thieves steal £10k worth of fittings from the East Lancs Railway ■ Gloucestershire Warwickshire appeals after landslip cash dries up

21

News

■ South Devon Railway welcomes

14

back No. 4555 for one weekend only

■ Former Lynton & Barnstaple

Railway station on the market ■ Tender tank delivered as 70% of new P2 construction cost raised ■ Betton Grange boiler fitted at Tyseley Locomotive Works ■ Churnet Valley Railway gains £1.4m grant towards Leek extension ■ Nene Valley Railway purchases resident Swedish prairie ■ Weardale Railway saved after sale to local charity ■ Ffestiniog Railway gives first British bogie carriage a facelift

CONTENTS: The road ahead: the fireman of WR ‘Modified Hall’ No. 7903 Foremarke Hall keeps an eye on the track at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway on March 10. JACK BOSKETT COVER: National Collection-owned LSWR T9 class 4-4-0 No. 30120 is seen west of Herston on the Swanage Railway on Tuesday, February 18. ANDREW PM WRIGHT/SR

Regulars Subscribe Today

56

■ Coronavirus wipes out start of 2020

railtour season ■ Union of South Africa could remain in heritage line use for a year ■ Grants boost Ferryhill engine shed restoration project

With Full Regulator

60

Don Benn charts some of the performances of No. 60009 Union of South Africa down the years

4 Heritagerailway.co.uk

30

Take advantage of our latest print and digital offers.

Railwayana

50

Geoff Courtney’s regular column.

54

58

Main Line News

Features On course for expansion

Nicola Fox visits the Northampton & Lamport Railway and meets a team of staff and volunteers full of enthusiasm to expand their operation, which lies on the former LNWR Northampton to Market Harborough line.

64

Centre

As the sun sets, LNER A3 Pacific No. 60103 Flying Scotsman ascends Medstead Bank on March 8, the last of its public running days on the Mid-Hants Railway.

Off the Shelf

80

Platform

92

Tail Lamp

98

The latest book and DVD releases.

Where your views matter most.

A lighter, quirkier look at events.

Magnificent Myfanwy

Alistair Grieve and Gareth Evans talk to Phil Civil, who won the Young Volunteer of the Year award at the Heritage Railway Association’s 2020 awards for his efforts in restoring Bagnall 0-4-0 diesel Myfanwy to its original condition at the Chasewater Railway.

78

82

86

Models

NE W SECTION

SUBSCRIBE

FROM JUST £21* *THAT’S JUST

£3.50 AN ISSUE

IF YOU PAY BY DIRECT DEBIT EVERY 6 MONTHS

See page 30

Worth Valley turns green for spring gala

The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway’s spring steam gala proved a resounding success – but came just days before many similar events were cancelled in response to the coronavirus pandemic, report Robin Jones and Gareth Evans.

Reviving lost Ffestiniog branch – Will it be a gas?

A ‘forgotten’ branch of the Ffestiniog Railway – which includes its original terminus – is set to be revived – and may become the first in Wales to run hydrogen trains, writes Stephen Muritt.

Lanky tank stars in East Lancashire spectacular

The East Lancashire Railway’s March 6-8 steam gala had a Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway theme, starring three locomotives from the pregrouping company, including No. 752, hauling its first passenger trains since 1982, writes Brian Sharpe.

Heritage Modeller News

70

Manor class from Dapol; The latest on Heljan’s OO9 Lyn; plus new Upnor Castle and Prince in 16mm.

90 Midland Railway 74 buildings of the Settle and Carlisle

Pete Kelly and Ann Garth put together two exquisite OO-scale Metcalfe Models card kits.

Find the latest news, images and discussion online only at: Like us facebook.com/ heritagerailway Follow us @HeritageRailMag Heritagerailway.co.uk 5

RAILWAYANA

BY GEOFF COURTNEY

Talisman and Great Northern pull live auctions due to virus restrictions TALISMAN Railwayana’s March 21 sale at Newark and Great Northern’s sale at Poynton on March 28 were the first two live railwayana auctions to be called off due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.

Talisman’s Roger and Sandra Phipps said that the items in their sale would be forwarded to form their August 1 auction unless further restrictions were in place then, and in addition some lots already due to be in the August sale would be included.

They asked collectors to retain their March 21 catalogue, while additional items would be listed on their website and also be available as a supplement on the day.

Great Northern’s Dave Robinson said his sale would go ahead as a postal, email and telephone auction, with a closing date of April 18. He too requested that customers keep hold of their March 28 catalogue.

52 Heritagerailway.co.uk

Diesel heads the march of the main line, and LU platform roundels flex their muscles DIESEL and steam were am among the pre and post-Nationalisattio on successes in theTransport Auctionss of o London sale at Croydon on February 29. In the lead was nameplate Temeraire from Class 43 ‘Warship’D851, which we ent for £4500, while a 1930 worksplate ffro om GWR 0-6-0PT No. 7760 fetched £500 £500.

The Class 43 was built by North British Loco (NBL) of Glasgow (works No. 27980) in July 1961 and withdrawn from Newton Abbot (83A) in May 1971, and No. 7760 was coincidentally another NBL product (works No. 24048).

It was withdrawn by BR from Oxford shed (81F) in December 1961, sold to LondonTransport, renumbered L90, and withdrawn a second time in 1971, by which time it was one of the last steam engines on the Underground.

Padstow steam

Between this pair came two Southern Railway posters, a 1947 issue promoting the west country by Eric Hubbard (1892-1957) featuring a

steam train approaching Padstow (£1900), and another from a year earlier

by Norman Wilkinson (1878-1971) of steamship TS Invicta leaving Dover (£700). In the same price territory was a Great Northern Railway (Ireland) poster of a railcar passing Lough Erne (£750).

London Underground platform roundels and bullseyes were also flexing their muscles, with Piccadilly Circus fetching £4200, Oxford Circus £1500, Bank £900, and East Finchley £800.The last-named was believed to have dated from 1939, when the former LNER station became part of the Northern Line.

Underground poster maps also kept the bidders busy, led by a 1947 issue at

£1700, closelyy fo ollowed by another from 1955 at £1600 0, both b of which featured the Harrryy Beck diagrammatic sttyle. A pre-Beck example from 1927, bearing the stamp of the LNER advertissing department, went for £750. Still on th he e subject of Beck, a first edition Underg grround diagrammatic p pocket map pd datting from 1933 sold for £900. Prices exclude buyer’s premium of 16%.

Highest ever

Transport Auctions of London director Michael Wickham said the near £100,000 total hammer price of the auction was the highest he had achieved in 13 sales.“We were particularly pleased because, having moved to a larger saleroom, more than 100 people attended, another record.

“Almost all areas were strong, the highlights obviously being Temeraire and the Piccadilly Circus platform roundel, this being what we believe to be the highest price ever for an Underground sign.”

Find us on www.facebook.com/heritagerailway

As the sun sets, National Collection-owned LNER A3 Pacific No. 60103 Flying Scotsman ascends Medstead Bank with its final Up run to Alton on March 8, the last of its public running days on the Mid-Hants Railway.

DAVE RYDING/MHR

RAILWAY REVIVAL

ON COURSE FOR

EXPANSION P SO Nicola Fox visits the Northampton & Lamport Railway and meets a team of staff and volunteers full of enthusiasm to expand their operation, which lies on the former LNWR Northampton to Market Harborough line.

Steam-hauled passenger trains are to be worked by Hawthorn Lesley 0-4-0ST Swanscombe No. 4 during the 2020 season. Having arrived at the NLR in October 2019 for the railway’s autumn gala, the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre-based locomotive is expected to stay for the foreseeable future. NLR

NEWS FOCUS SPECIAL

LANKY TANK STARS IN EAST LANCASHIRE SPECTACULAR

The East Lancashire Railway’s March 6-8 steam gala had a Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway theme, starring three locomotives from the pre-grouping company, including recently returned No. 752, hauling its first passenger trains since 1982, writes Brian Sharpe.

T

he eagerly-awaited East Lancashire Railway (ELR) spring steam gala was notable for the return to service of Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Class 23 Barton Wright 0-6-0ST No. 752, which hauled its first fare paying passenger trains since 1982.

The 1881-built locomotive had been purchased in 1968 from the National Coal Board still carrying its LMS number 11456 and had never worked for BR. It was returned to steam in time to take part in the Rocket 150 cavalcade at Rainhill in 1980 and hauled the

occasional passenger train on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (KWVR) over the next two years, before being withdrawn for what turned out to be an even longer restoration project.

As reported in issue 265, No. 752, one of three engines owned by the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Trust, was returned to steam on the ELR last October, and was relaunched in February carrying the number 51456, which it would have carried if it had been in BR service.

L&Y DUO: L&Y Class 23 0-6-0ST No. 51456 and Class 27 0-6-0 No. 52322, masquerading as Bolton shed’s erstwhile No. 52345, power past Burrs at the head of the 1.30pm Bury–Rawtenstall service on March 6 during the ELR Spring Steam Gala. GRAHAM NUTTALL

86 Heritagerailway.co.uk

Also in action over the weekend was resident Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway A class 0-6-0 No. 52322, which was renumbered 52345 for the occasion. The opportunity was taken to double-head the two L&Y engines.

Hunslet 0-6-0 No. 2890 Douglas, which has been converted from an Austerity 0-6-0ST to a tender engine, was in action, carrying the number 52322, while Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0T No. 32 Gothenburg ran in Thomas blue livery.

Also in steam were resident BR Standard 4MT 2-6-4T No. 80097 and Ian Riley’s LMS

ENJOYED THIS PREVIEW? THE BEST ACTION IN TRIALS AND MOTOCROSS

DIRTb bike ke

VELO MAC MA S SPECIAL PECIAL NORTON RT RTON INTER AJS SCEPTRE SCEP E SPORTS! SCEPTR SPORTS POR !

PORTS

CLASSIC

#48

ISSUE

Forty-eight Autumn 2018

OCTOBER 2018

No. 330 October 2018 £4.30 UK Off-sale date 31/10/2018

MOTO MEMORIES // TECH TALK // MONTESA COTA 200 // BULTACO MATADOR

3.60

Running, Riding & Rebuilding Running, Rebuilding Real RealClassi RealC Classic C lassi Motorcycles

BOXER CKS TRIC

HOW THE LEGEEND BEGAN

SUPERMAC’S TRIUMPH DRAYTON

PRINTED IN THE UK

PLUS MOTO MEMORIES TECH TALK MONTESA COTA 200 BULTACO MATADOR AN HOUR WITH: GERRIT WOLSINK

£3.60 US$9.99 C$10.99 Aus$8.50 NZ$9.99 PRINTED IN THE UK

HOME, JAMES!

UNIVERSITY GRADUATE

#48

001 Cover_OCT.indd 1

AT THE CASTLE

DRUMLANRIG 2018 D 20

WINNER

SUPER PROFILE: ARIEL’S HT3

GREEVES ESSEX TWIN BUYING GUIDE // STRIP YOUR TWOSTROKE // BSA B31 RESTORATION // MALLE MILE // CAFE RACER CUP // SHETLAND CLASSIC // THE CLASSIC TT // MIKE HAILWOOD REPLICA

CLASSICS

65 PRE65 PRE

PRINTED IN THE UK

R 2018 ISSUE 174 OCTOBER

N48 2018 US$15.99 Aus$14.99 NZ$18.99 UK£5.50 UK Off-sale date 15/11/18

BUY  SELL  RIDE  RESTORE

13/09/2018 10:34:50

001 CDB Cover_048.indd 1

02/08/2018 14:53:55

001 Cover_174.indd 1

03/09/2018 10:18:26

•SINGLE ISSUES •SUBSCRIPTIONS

CLICK HERE

www.classicmagazines.co.uk

ENDOFPREVI EW

I fy oul i k ewhaty ou’ v e r eads of ar ,whynot s ubs c r i be,ort r ya s i ngl ei s s uef r om:

www. c l as s i c magaz i nes . c o. uk