Trackside

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  • No. 75069 testing underway at SVR

    No. 75069 testing underway at SVR

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    THE Severn Valley Railway has started trial running of its newly overhauled BR ‘4MT’ No. 75069, ahead of the loco’s return to front line service. The double-chimney 4-6-0 steamed for the first time in more than 20 years on December 11, and passed its boiler exam two days later. The Riddles-designed loco then began a…

  • Main line comeback for Thompson ‘B1’ Mayflower

    Main line comeback for Thompson ‘B1’ Mayflower

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    THOMPSON ‘B1’ No. 61306 Mayflower is back! Overhaul of David Buck’s 4-6-0 was completed at the West Coast Railways workshop at Carnforth in November, and on the 29th the loco underwent an engine-and-coach main line test run from Carnforth to Barrow-in-Furness and back. A loaded test run followed over the Carnforth-Hellifield-Preston circuit on December 6, during…

  • Llangollen line launches ‘infill’ appeal

    Llangollen line launches ‘infill’ appeal

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    A TARGETED appeal to infill a 150-yard gap in an embankment just east of the new Corwen Central station has been launched by the Llangollen Railway (LR). The section of embankment was originally bulldozed to provide an alternative access point to the neighbouring sewage farm, but was subsequently widened in 2013 by contractors for the…

  • Running-in your new model locomotive

    Running-in your new model locomotive

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    Many readers will have received new model locomotives for Christmas – but they need to be carefully prepared for use, and running-in is an important part of ensuring years of reliable service, writes Nigel Burkin. ‘Running-in’ or ‘breaking-in’ new models is a perennial subject, and one that comes to the fore around Christmas. Many people…

  • Those lovely model cab details – but what does everything do?

    Those lovely model cab details – but what does everything do?

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    Anyone who models the steam era cannot have failed to notice the ever-growing complexity of cab detailing in recent years — but what are the real-life functions of all of those levers, gauges and pipes? Craig Amess visits the Swindon & Cricklade Railway to find out for himself on the footplate of 56XX 0-6-2T No.…

  • A Settle & Carlisle goods shed in ‘N’

    A Settle & Carlisle goods shed in ‘N’

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    Pete Kelly spends an absorbing weekend putting together a well-detailed Metcalfe building kit from a series of buildings based around the legendary Settle & Carlisle line that are also available in the even more richly detailed OO scale. Just like model trains, card kit buildings are becoming more sophisticated by the day – and one…

  • ‘Witherslack’ takes ‘Santa’ strain at SVR

    ‘Witherslack’ takes ‘Santa’ strain at SVR

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    GREAT Central Railway-based Hawksworth ‘Modified Hall’ No. 6990 Witherslack Hall made a successful return to the Severn Valley Railway during December to help with the festive season traffic(RM Dec). The Locomotive Exchanges veteran crosses Bewdley South Viaduct with a ‘Santa Special’ on December 9. JOHN TITLOW Read more News and Features in the January 2019 issue…

  • ‘Terrier’ and ‘Schools’ for Nene Valley’s Southern tribute

    ‘Terrier’ and ‘Schools’ for Nene Valley’s Southern tribute

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    LOCOMOTIVES designed by Stroudley, Maunsell and Bulleid will operate at the Nene Valley Railway this spring as the Peterborough line goes Southern for its March 9-10 steam gala. The Battle of Britain Locomotive Society’s resident Bulleid Pacific No. 34081 92 Squadron will be joined by Maunsell ‘Schools’ 4-4-0 No. 926 Repton from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway,…

  • New Toddington firm takes on Standard Mogul restoration

    New Toddington firm takes on Standard Mogul restoration

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    FORGOTTEN Riddles ‘4MT’ 2-6-0 No. 76077 will have its restoration completed by a brand new company based at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. The Horwich-built Mogul has been handed over by former owner Chris Hinton to newly formed Toddington Standard Locomotive Ltd (TSLL), which has been set up by Mr Hinton and other Gloucs-Warks volunteers to restore…

  • Was a conflict of interest the reason for British Rails’s early reluctance to adopt diesel traction?

    Was a conflict of interest the reason for British Rails’s early reluctance to adopt diesel traction?

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    I REALLY enjoyed Bob Gwynne’s article in the December 2018 issue on the reluctance of British Railways in the early years after Nationalisation to continue the development of diesel traction pioneered by the private railway companies. One key insight Bob omitted, which is an important factor in BR’s reluctance to abandon steam, was the conflict…


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