MARGATE ‘HORNBY’ MUSEUM GETS A DELTIC
ISSUE 263
January 17 – February 13, 2020
WEARDALE AND DARTMOOR
LINES FOR SA SALE ■ ‘BRIGHTON BELLE’ FOR 2020 COMEBACK
■ TRAINS OF LIGHTS DAZZLING SUCCESSES ■ WESTON, CLEVEDON & PORTISHEAD STATION TO BE REBUILT
UK EXPERTISE BOOSTS NIGERIA RAIL HERITAGE MOVIE LOCOMOTIVE STARS IN LAKELAND STATION‘REVIVAL’
■ FOUR STANDARDS FOR MINEHEAD SPRING GALA ■ HERITAGE SECTOR’S PACER INVADERS ■ FAREWELLS TO 92212 AND 2807
CONTENTS ISSUE 263
January 17, 2020 – February 13, 2020
News
7
Headline News
■ Dartmoor and Weardale railways
CONTENTS: WR 0-6-0PT No. 9466, now owned by West Somerset Railway plc chairman Jonathan Jones-Pratt, and which is on loan to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, crosses the stupendous landmark that is Stanway Viaduct en route for Toddington on December 30. JOHN TITLOW COVER: Popular BR 9F 2-10-0 No. 92212 arrives at the Mid-Hants Railway’s Ropley station on December 30, its final day of operation before the expiry of its boiler certificate. EDWARD J DYER
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offered for sale ■ Illuminated trains prove a dazzling success for a host of heritage lines ■ Margate’s ‘museum in the making’ takes further steps forward ■ Ropley 9F bows out in style upon expiry of boiler certificate ■ Midnight burglars steal 24 signs from McAlpine railway
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News
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■ Popular Churchward 28XX No. 2807
bows out at Toddington ■ Boston Lodge Works in line for National Lottery Heritage Fund grant ■ Restored ‘Brighton Belle’ Pullman set for main line debut this year ■ West Somerset Railway ‘back in the black’ for 2020, shareholders told ■ Welshpool’s Sir Drefaldwyn rebuild now ‘on the home straight’ ■ NYMR prepares for two bridge renewals during winter shutdown ■ ‘Oldest’ industrial diesel shunter in service is saved for preservation ■ Didcot Railway Centre embarks on masterplan to enhance visitor appeal
Regulars Subscribe Today Centre
■ Tornado saves the day for RTC in
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the run up to Christmas ■ Steam Dreams offers new extended holiday trains ■ ‘Torbay Express’ suspends operations for 2020
With Full Regulator
70
Don Benn compares the performance of Nos. 60163, 35028 and 6023 on GWR metals.
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A seasonal scene with Scots Guardsman at the head of a West Coast Railways ‘Santa Special’
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Main Line News
Features
Main Line Itinerary
69
Railwayana
74
Platform
94
Steam and heritage diesel railtours.
Geoff Courtney’s regular column. Where your views matter most.
Off the Shelf
100
Up & Running
102
The Month Ahead
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Latest book and DVD releases. Guide to railways running this winter.
Shaping the dawn of railway heritage in West Africa
At the invitation of the chairman of the Nigerian Railway Corporation and LEGACY 1995 Joint Committee, Steve Davies and Helen Ashby recently visited Nigeria in order to conduct an independent assessment of the Nigerian National Railway Museum’s current situation and to advise on its development potential. Words and pictures by Steve Davies.
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See page 30 Nantgarw – Les Hutchinson and his industrious Austerities
BR main line steam ended in 1968, but steam lingered on at industrial locations into the Seventies. Geoff Silcock recalls the operations at the Rhondda Valley coke ovens.
2020 GALAS AND SPECIAL EVENTS
The complete 2020 Heritage Railway guide to special events of all kinds taking place at preserved lines and museum centres in the British Isles in the coming months.
Will the real 1225 please stand up?
Two locomotives, but one type, one owner and most noticeably sharing one number, wowed sell-out festive crowds at two heritage railways 150 miles apart, as John Titlow and Robin Jones report.
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Searching for the Scandinavians
What happened to the Scandinavian vintage train which ran on the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway in the early 1980s? Jon Harle, who organised the stock’s delivery by road, reports on the vehicles’ current status.
Model corner
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In a year that Hornby celebrates its centenary, we showcase some of the highlights from the manufacturer’s newly announced 2020 range.
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2020 GALAS AND SPECIAL EVENTS Compiled by Gareth Evans
BR 5MT 4-6-0 No. 73156 makes an atmospheric sight at Loughborough during the Great Central Railway’s autumn steam gala on October 3. ALAN WEAVER
An atmospheric seasonal scene: Royal Scot class 4-6-0 No. 46115 Scots Guardsman looks the part at the head of West Coast Railways’ circular ‘Santa Special’ on December 15. The train, which ran from Lancaster and Carnforth via Blackburn and Preston, is seen at Long Preston on the southern edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Class 47 No. 47746 Chris Fudge 29.7.70 - 22.6.10 can be seen at the rear of the train. Compositionally, the scene is enhanced by the light covering of snow, the broadleaf trees, the locomotive’s exhaust and the stone farm building in the background – while the straight lines of the stone wall and field contrasting with the curves of the double track and cutting provide welcome additional foreground interest. FRED KERR
MAIN LINE NEWS
LNER A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado hauled the Railway Touring Company’s ‘The Edinburgh Christmas Market’ from York on December 21. In this delightful reflective scene, the 4-6-2 is seen crossing the Grade I listed Royal Border Bridge over the River Tweed at Berwick-upon-Tweed. SANDY SMEATON
Tornado saves the day for RTC By Brian Sharpe
THE RailwayTouring Company (RTC) always ends the year with an impressive programme of main line tours during the festive season, many destined for various Christmas markets around the country. As in previous years, the mainstays of the December 2019 programme were the two Class 8 Pacifics, LMS Princess Coronation No. 6233 Duchess of Sutherland and LNER A4 No. 60009 Union of South Africa. For the first time though, LNER A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado was scheduled to feature in a couple of trips.
Kick-off
The Christmas programme kicked off with a Slough-Shrewsbury tour on November 23, advertised for No. 60009, which was undergoing attention to its boiler at Riley & Sons’works in the days leading up to the trip. With this work completed, on November 21 the A4 headed south for
Southall. Unfortunately, it was declared a failure at Rugby with an overheated tender axlebox bearing. The engine was taken toWolverton works and the tender sent by road to Bury for repair and LMS‘Black Five’4-6-0 No. 44871 took charge of the tour to Shrewsbury, albeit with diesel assistance. No. 44871 also substituted on November 28 on the‘YorkYuletide Express’from Norwich.The‘Black Five’left the train at Peterborough to move to the NeneValley Railway, where it was booked to assist with Santa special operations. On November 30, Duchess of Sutherland entered the fray; moving from Butterley toYork to head the return leg of a London toYork tour.With No. 60009 still under repair however, the outward leg was diesel-hauled with the train routed via Lincoln in both directions. Duchess of Sutherland was then scheduled to work a Swanage-Bristol tour on December 5. However, an OTMR fault which required specialist attention led to the engine being unavailable and
with no substitute power the train had to be cancelled. It had also been found on the run south fromYork that the reverser became progressively tighter to operate which required investigation by the owners’engineers. While this also precluded the Duchess from working the‘Lindum Fayre’trip on December 7, it was expected that No. 60009’s tender would be repaired in time for the A4 to substitute. The tender was returned toWolverton on December 5 and the engine set off for Southall next day.The problem resurfaced near King’s Langley though and the engine ran into a siding at Watford Junction from where engine, tender and support coach were transported to Bury by road.The Lincoln trip ran with diesel haulage throughout.
A1 Power
Steam Dreams had a steam tour from London to Lincoln the next day, which went ahead with haulage by No. 60163 Tornado.Two days later on December 10, a Paddington-Cardiff tour
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for RTC saw Tornado substituting for the still unavailable No. 60009.The schedule was altered on the outward run after a service train broke down in the Severn Tunnel, but departure from Cardiff for the return was on time. December 14 saw another LondonYork tour which was booked for No. 60163 outward and No. 60009 on the return, but it was agreed that Tornado would work the train in both directions as the A4 could not be made available. This put Tornado in position to work a Stevenage-Chester tour on December 19. The A1 was detached at Leicester on the return to run light engine toYork. Two days later, theYork to Edinburgh Christmas market tour, which would have been one of the last opportunities for UnionofSouthAfrica to stretch its legs on the East Coast Main line, was also headed throughout by Tornado. Meanwhile, the A4 had been quickly repaired at Bury and put to work on East Lancashire Railway Santa specials; also taking turns on post-Christmas services.
Heritagerailway.co.uk 63
STEAM OVERSEAS
SHAPING THE DAWN OF RAILWAY HERITAGE IN WEST AFRICA
‘River’ class 2-8-2 No. 217 River Swashi in the former carriage and wagon running shed at Ebute Metta.
INDUSTRIAL STEAM
NANTGARW
Les Hutchinson and his industrious Austerities British Railways main line steam ended in August 1968. However, steam lingered on at various industrial locations including South Wales into the Seventies. Geoff Silcock recalls the unique operations serving the Rhondda Valley coke ovens.
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