Steam
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Chinese-built steam back on USA main line
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One of two Chinese-built ‘QJ’ 2-10-2 steam locos – based on the Iowa Interstate freight railroad – has been in action this summer operating short-distance day trips to raise funds and awareness for local fire departments in towns along the railroad’s route. Two ‘QJs’ (Nos. 6988 and 7081, built in 1985 and 1986, respectively) were imported…
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‘Shakespeare Express’ 2019 season underway
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Vintage Trains reintroduced its popular ‘Shakespeare Express’ between Birmingham Snow Hill and Stratford-upon-Avon on July 21. Two return trips per day will operate on August 4, August 18, September 1 and September 15, with BR ‘Castle’ No. 7029 Clun Castle taking charge, except on August 4 when ex-LMS ‘Jubilee’ No. 45596 Bahamas is booked to…
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From the Archive: Didcot’s LNER double act!
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Flying Scotsman’s first appearance at Didcot Railway Centre since 2005 and a guest appearance by another Gresley masterpiece, A4 No. 60009 Union of South Africa, brought in 6000 visitors over the August bank holiday weekend, writes Robin Jones. TWO LNER icons took rival Great Western Railway territory by storm over the August bank holiday weekend.…
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Glyder returns to steam
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GRAHAM Morris’ Andrew Barclay 0-4-0WT Glyder (1994/1931) steamed for the first time since 1965 on June 19 at Beamish. It was originally supplied to Durham County Water Board (DCWB) to work on the dam contract at Burnhope in Weardale in the early-1930s, where it was named Grey. At the end of the contract it was…
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Brookes No. 1 and Illingworth heading to Blaenavon line gala
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THE Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway (P&BR) will pay tribute to the industrial locomotive manufacturers of Leeds later this summer with a special Built in Leeds gala on September 13-15. The event will centre around Mike Pearce’s Hunslet ‘48150’ class 0-6-0ST Jessie (1873/1937), which recently joined the P&BR fleet following its overhaul and return to East…
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Dartmouth’s Goliath regains its boiler at Cranmore works
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OVERHAUL of the Dartmouth Steam Railway’s GWR 2-8-0T No. 5239 Goliath by the East Somerset Railway reached a key stage on July 23 when the loco’s No. 4 boiler was reunited with the frames. Re-tubing of the boiler was completed at the end of May and, following a successful hydraulic test on June 14, it…
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West Somerset Mogul 9351 returns to front-line service after overhaul at Williton
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THE loss of on-hire No. 7802 Bradley Manor with a damaged cylinder casting (see separate story on p71) has been tempered somewhat for the West Somerset Railway with the return to service of 2-6-0 No. 9351. The GWR-inspired Mogul has been overhauled over a six-month period by the West Somerset Railway Association (WSRA) at Williton, and was…
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Main line Travelling Post Office run to mark 85th anniversary of Night Mail?
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“THIS is the Night Mail crossing the border, Bringing the cheque and the postal order…” W H Auden’s opening lines to 1936’s evocative GPO documentary film Night Mail about the work of the Travelling Post Office (TPO) are known by thousands, and to many conjure images of Fowler 4-6-0s on the West Coast Mail Line,…
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Pannier No. 4612 back in Bodmin & Wenford traffic
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GREAT Western motive power returned to the Bodmin & Wenford Railway for the first time in 2019 when Collett ‘8750’ 0-6-0PT No. 4612 rejoined the working fleet in late-July after overhaul. The loco passed its steam test on July 18 and, following running-in turns, took its place on the passenger roster the next week. The pannier’s…
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Brecon Mountain passenger services for Santa Teresa
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Brecon Mountain Railway’s Baldwin 2-6-2 No. 1 Santa Teresa (15515/1897) hauled its first passenger service on June 18. It was initially built as a 2ft-gauge 2-6-0 for the Companhia Mogiana de Estrada de Ferro system (a coffee plantation) in Brazil, where it ran as No. 26, but was later sold to Usina Santa Teresa Sugar Mill and…
