Celebrating in style

WHEN this issue of The RM is published,

Then & Now: Heighington

THE two photos on this page could quite

Wagon Report

PORTERBROOK Leasing has financed the building of a

CROSSWORD & NEXT MONTH

Sponsored by The crossword winner and two

Coming up next month...

THE GREATEST ARRIVAL! One of the many charter

The Quaker connection

Philip Griffin describes the key role played by Quaker Edward Pease and the Society of Friends in the founding of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.

George Stephenson’s survey of the Stockton & Darlington Railway

THIS plan dates from around 1822 and shows

A watershed moment

Dr Joseph Brennan examines the impact of the Stockton & Darlington in the years either side of its momentous first day.

Growth and prosperity

Bob Gwynn e looks at the growth of the S&DR and beyond, and how it shows that investing in infrastructure helps develop a region.

Historical highlights

Many features from the original Stockton & Darlington Railway can still be seen today, as the following highlights show.

S&DR200: THE LONG VIEW: PAST CELEBRATIONS

1 1825: The celebrations in this

Evesham Vale Light Railway’s St Egwin takes a tumble

THE Evesham Vale Light Railway (EVR), marketed as

Expansion for East Coast open access

Additional services approved for Lumo, Hull Trains and Grand Central.

December changes to LNER’s Intercity 225 workings?

LNER was expected to release details of its

DB Cargo awaits assurances from Varamis Rail before services can be restarted

DB CARGO has told The RM that it

NAMING CELEBRATES S&C ANNIVERSARY:

BOTH PHOTOS: RICHARD GENNIS GBRf named No. 66791

Future uncertain for St Blazey as DB Cargo plans depot’s sale

The freight operator has relocated its maintenance and train crew base for china clay operations to Goonbarrow.

ASHFORD OPEN DAY

DARREN FORD : Southeastern opened the doors to

NTM seeks new owners for two of its trams

THE National Tramway Museum is looking for new

DIARY

Ongoing to January 2026 NRM YORK ‘Railway

Lynton & Barnstaple to stage Railway 200 gala

Loco line-up will represent narrow gauge operations around the world.

Railways in Parliament

GBR bill imminent ISLE of Wight East

River Cole realignment completed as part of HS2’s Delta Junction project

The work was carried out to enable the construction of bridges and embankments, but has also been designed to benefit wildlife and improve flood resilience.

M EETI NGS

Please check with organisers before travelling to events.

From the archive

Subscribe and read previous issues at www.railwaymagazine.co.uk/archive 100

The RCTS: then and now

SUCCESSFUL volunteering carries with it the responsibility and

George Hudson The Railway King

GEORGE Hudson was a pivotal figure in the

Railways Around Worksop Volume 2

THIS is the second part of Chris Booth’s

Rails Around Preston

PRESTON’S railway history began in 1838, and by

An English Railfan in America

THE author is an excellent photographer whose pictures

The Railway Magazine binders and bound volumes

Binders High-quality binders to store your copies

EMERGING INTO DAYLIGHT:

HS2 A gantry crane was used to lift

A truly Great Gathering

Around 40,000 visitors came to Alstom’s spectacular ‘Greatest Gathering’ in Derby at the start of August.

Exhibits by location (total 137)

Freight Focus (10) 37099 (from Saturday), 50035, 50044,

Exhibits by category (total 137)

Diesel (63) 08308e, H3802, 08721, 12099, 13000, D8598,

Greatest Gathering railtours

Thursday, July 31 The Creighton-Ward Explorer (Avanti/DRS/BLS) 57307+390119

Red and yellow and … orange and blue

John Heaton FCILT visits the French-Spanish border, where tourist lines offer colourful trips through the Pyrenean countryside.

SVR to restructure as ‘One Railway’

Shareholders vote to combine operating and membership organisations.

Severn Valley releases dates for 2026 events

THE Severn Valley Railway has confirmed the dates

Camelot and ‘Austerity’ for SVR autumn gala

TWO more first-time visits to the Severn Valley

Limited edition Clan Line coach model

After the Greatest Gathering had ended, No. 35028

Events planned to celebrate major Sir Nigel Gresley anniversary

2026 will mark 150 years since the birth of the LNER legend.

Hot weather interrupts Duke’s main line testing

No. 71000 did manage a test run on

Bluebell celebrates 65 years

THE Bluebell Railway in Sussex ran its first

PEAK RAIL ‘COAL TANK’

ROBERT FALCONER Visiting ex-LNWR 0-6-2T ‘Coal Tank’ No.

Standard 4MT tank set to head to the Cotswolds

Bo’ness-based 4MT No. 80105 is to spend 2026 on the GWSR.

Ashey station open day

Visitors queue up for the chance to see

SWITHLAND STANDARD

ALAN WEAVER : 2MT No. 78018 Borough of

Repton to appear to Swanage Steam Gala

A WEEK before its visit to the Epping

South Wales loco added to Chinnor gala list

THE Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway has confirmed

NYMR promises a season of steam spectaculars

Tornado and Scotsman booked for the North Yorks Moors line.

DIARY

Please check with railways before travelling to events.

Somerset & Dorset carriage body recovered from garden for restoration

Having been carefully lifted over a bungalow and onto a road trailer, it was moved to Shillingstone to join two other S&DR coaches.

GWSR plans blue and grey Mk.1 rake

THE Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway has announced plans

Ludborough-based saddle tank Lion roars again after 22 years

Sole surviving E-Class 0-4-0 is back in traffic after a long-running overhaul.

Charwelton expected to return to service next year

Hunslet 0-6-0ST Hastings, Works No. 469 built in

EXTENSION OPENED:

JAMES KINDRED The Mid-Suffolk Railway opened its extension

SINGLE LINES

■ THE Lynton & Barnstaple Railway’s (L&BR) re-created

DIARY

Please check with railways before travelling to events

Locomotive formerly known as Chevallier returns for W&LLR gala

Alishan diesel also set to work its first public trains in Britain.

Historic Isle of Man Railway carriage returns home

THE oldest surviving Isle of Man Railway (IoMR)

MANX TRAM LINE-UP:

JOSHUA HOWARTH This amazing line-up of Manx Electric

Kinnerley re-creates first WHHR passenger train in 45th anniversary celebration

THE Welsh Highland Heritage Railway (WHHR) celebrated its

RAIB digest released followingGartell LR accident

THE RAIB has released a safety digest following

GALA COMEBACK:

PHIL BARNES Hollycombe Steam in the Country’s Andrew

LAKE DISTRICT STEAM:

DAVE HEWITT T hrelkeld Quarry Museum’s July 25-27

No. 24 named Lucy-Lou during CCLR steam festival

THE Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway (CCLR) has hailed

SINGLE LINES

■ THE roof of the Ffestiniog Railway’s ‘New’

Tender for replica 1863 Mountaineer

CONSTRUCTION of the tender for the replica Ffestiniog

Summer visitors bond with Basildon Miniature Railway

The 10¼ inch gauge line at Wat Tyler

Beamish considers modernisation of electrical control equipment on two trams

Changes to the materials used could make overhauling

Power units boost ‘10000’ project

THE LMS 10000 Project has received a welcome

DIARY

Please check with railways before travelling to events.

First ‘Sprinter’ preserved at the Watercress Line

Former TfW Class 150 donated to Mid Hants Railway.

Spa Valley ‘Thumper’ returns

DAVID STAINES SPA Valley Railway-based Class 207 DEMU

DPS ‘Deltics’ fitted with commemorative plaques

DPS President Neville Davies unveils the commemorative nose-end

SECOND COAL SECTOR ‘HEAVYWEIGHT’:

ROBERT SHERWOOD T he South Devon Railway’s No.

‘37’ cab restored

The immaculate cab of No.37290 – formerly No.37411

GCR autumn diesel gala is back

THE Great Central Railway (GCR) has announced the

Class 33 joins NYMR fleet as fire risk bites

CLASS 33‘Slim Jim’No.33202 Dennis G Robinson has joined

English Electric traction on the Barton-on-Humber branch

A Class 37 and Class 50s will venture into what is usually DMU territory.

HARD AT WORK:

MICHAEL ANDERSON L NER Class B1 4-6-0 No.

Class 40 to visit Oban on Scottish Railway Preservation Society tour

ONE of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society’s autumn

ON HOME GROUND:

BERNARD MILLS GWR ‘Castle’ No. 5029 Nunney Castle

100 not out celebration for Hastings ‘Thumper ’

HASTINGS Diesels Ltd (HDL) will be marking its

Brush pairing planned for Blackpool Illuminations trip

A PAIR of Locomotive Services Class 47s are

STEAM TOURS: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

DIESEL AND ELECTRIC TOURS: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

Out with the old and in with the new wagons for alumina traffic

Alvance bids farewell to its PCAs as a fleet of JPAs leased from VTG enters traffic.

Avonmouth freight terminal feasibility report awaited

TRANSPORT development consultancy Polaris is expected to deliver

SYMCA and TfGM prepare the way for tram system modernisation programmes

Hitachi Rail secures a deal to support Supertram

Timetables changed as trackbeds suffer knock-on effect of extremely dry spring

Rails have started to sink and become uneven

Funding stalled for Ely capacity improvements

DB Cargo No. 66143 approaches Ely station on

Annual report shows TfW’s new trains are making an impact

Two units from TfW’s new fleet side-by-side at

Overhead lines energised between Colton Junction and Church Fenton

A TransPennine Express Class 802 ‘Nova 1’ unit

Railway land to provide space for 40,000 homes

TRANSPORT Secretary Heidi Alexander has said that surplus

Class 66 ETCS installation reaches fleet fitment stage

WORK got under way to fit European Train

Mk.5A set staff training programme launched by Chiltern Railways

Depot drivers were the first to begin familiarisation with the former TransPennine Express locomotive-operated stock.

Shuttle named after feline railway celebrity George

The cabside of Class 139 No. 139002 (also

‘PROPER JOB’ THREE-CAR:

DAVID HUNT O ne of the 17 Class

East Midlands Railway unveils its first refurbished Class 158

THREE months after presenting the first of its

Class 69 conversion programme completed for GB Railfreight

THE departure of No. 69015 from EMD at

STOCK UPDATE

AfterChiltern Railways signed a dealto lease the formerTransPennine

Thenetwork’s notable moves

Avanti West Coast On test on July

IÉ sets a passenger figures record

A new high of 55.5 million annual passenger journeys follows investment surges.

Iarnród Éireann appoints first female chief executive officer

IARNRÓD Éireann has announced the appointment of Mary

Contract signed for Oranmore upgrade

ON August 11, the Irish Minister of State

WOODBROOK STATION OPENS

Woodbrook DART station, between Shankill and Bray, was

Union Pacific plans to create America’s ‘first transcontinental railroad’ by 2027

It aims to take over fellow operator Norfolk Southern in an $85 billion deal.

Classic 1980s and 1990s French trams near retirement

FLEETS delivered in the 1980s and 1990s for

Fatal derailment during heavy rain in Germany

A DERAILMENT south of Ulm in Germany, on

Chinese electric loco variety

ELECTRIFICATION began in China in the 1960s, and