Heritage Railway magazine - Issue 270

INSIDE: COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE OPERATING RAILWAYS

ISSUE 270

August 7 – September 3, 2020

RAIL REBIRTH!

MIDDLETON RAILWAY

The first standard gauge heritage line restarts

A STANDARD T TANK F FOR THE W WATERCRESS L LINE! ■ WELSH PONY FOR FFESTINIOG THREE ENGLANDS BONANZA ■ SOMERSET & DORSET 7F MOVES TO MIDHANTS ■ SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY TO RUN POLAR EXPRESS ■ BODMIN CLAY HOOD RAKE PLAN

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CONTENTS ISSUE 270

August 7, 2020 – September 3, 2020

News

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Headline News

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Anniversary lines celebrate after all as railways reopen for summer ■ Welsh Pony enters traffic as three Englands planned for late August ■ Robert Stephenson’s lifting bridge to be moved to Mountsorrel branch ■ S&D 7F 2-8-0 to move from West Somerset to Mid-Hants for two years ■ New-build County 4-4-0 frames could be ready by October ■

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News

■ Great Central Railway runs first

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public trains after lockdown ■ Bala Lake becomes first heritage line in Wales to run again ■ National Railway Museum and Locomotion reopened to visitors ■ Plans for Bodmin & Wenford to get unique clay hood wagon rake ■ Redundant Isle of Wight tube train may run on Epping Ongar Railway ■ Sir Lamiel to be back on the main line by 2023 after agreement ■ Llangollen Railway unveils five-year ‘future proof’ plan ■ Historic Cleethorpes railway images resurface during lockdown

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Main Line News

■ Hopes for Duke of Gloucester to

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return in 2021 with performance upgrade ■ No. 6201 Princess Elizabeth booked to haul four ‘Northern Belle’ trains ■ Railtour passengers ‘won’t travel’ if they have to wear masks

With Full Regulator

In his latest column, Don Benn reports on performances by LMS ‘Jubilee’ Class No. 45699 Galatea.

4 Heritagerailway.co.uk

54

Regulars

Features

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31 44

Geoff Courtney’s regular column.

Centre

GWR 2-8-0T No. 5239 Goliath heads a Dartmouth Steam Railway service on July 18.

46 Main Line Itinerary

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Platform

80

Off the Shelf

82

Up & Running

84

Next Stop

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Steam and heritage diesel railtours.

Where your views matter most.

Latest book and DVD releases.

Guide to railways running this summer.

A standard tank for the Watercress Line!

BR 4MT 2-6-4T No. 80150, formerly a member of the Barry Ten collection, is undergoing restoration at the Mid-Hants Railway. Gareth Evans learns about the locomotive’s history – which included working trains over what is today the Watercress Line – and how a group of friendly supporters are bit by bit returning the Standard to its former glory.

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CONTENTS: Steam’s triumphant return to the Sunny South – evoking the classic Southern Railway poster (inset), a young fan admires U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 as it prepares to leave Swanage on Saturday, July 18, with the first Swanage Railway public steam train since the lockdown was eased. Donations to the line’s emergency survival appeal may be made at www.saveourservice.co.uk or via the Swanage Railway Facebook page. ANDREW PM WRIGHT COVER: Steam over the beach – the archetypal summertime view of the Dartmouth Steam Railway, as GWR 2-8-0T No. 5239 Goliath heads in full flight above the rows of traditional beach huts above Goodrington Sands. Not only has this railway installed transparent screens between carriage seats and employed an extensive cleaning regime after each day’s services, but has even extended its Paignton Queen’s Park platform to boost its social distancing capabilities.

CHRIS SLACK PHOTOGRAPHY

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See page 31 News

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Hornby’s latest steam locomotive releases; MGR wagon models to aid preservation; and Great Eastern Main Line in miniature.

The Middleton Milestones

In the third of our special features of three heritage lines which celebrate their 60th anniversary this summer, editor Robin Jones looks back at the dawn of the Middleton Railway, the first standard gauge outfit to run public trains in the preservation era and which had a very unorthodox start to its passenger services in 1960.

Find the latest news, images and discussion online only at:

Looking outside the box

68

Pete Kelly compares two recently released boxed sets and looks at some of the alternatives in both period and gauge which are now becoming possible for modellers.

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Summer steam is back with a vengeance and means every minute of it. Passing the quintessential Torbay panorama of Goodrington Sands, GWR 2-8-0T No. 5239 Goliath heads a Dartmouth Steam Railway service to Dartmouth on Saturday, July 18.

In 2015, the locomotive was withdrawn for overhaul which was carried out at the East Somerset Railway, where it returned to steam late last year. CHRIS SLACK PHOTOGRAPHY

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