Recently, I contacted Pete Briddon, an industrial railway engineering specialist, regarding a quotation for fitting a vacuum train brake system to an English Electric diesel hydraulic locomotive. The locomotive is kept on the old Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway at Midsomer Norton. During this process I became aware that Pete had written a book titled […]
How to rebuild a Mark 1 carriage
Understandably many railway enthusiasts focus on locomotives. For this Blog post though I should like to consider M34527 – a British Railways (BR) Mark 1 BSK carriage. British Railways introduced Mark 1 carriages in 1951 and they now form the backbone of heritage railways rolling stock. M34527 is based at the Somerset and Dorset Heritage Railway Trust’s Midsomer Norton station.
Lulled By The Sound Of Steam
When I was a child I remember seeing Peter Hanford’s LP’s of steam railway sounds in record shops. Peter was a
Top UK Steam and Diesel Train Trips
Steam train trips in the UK are offered by an abundance of heritage and tourist railways. We are very fortunate to have the choice of visiting a steam railway in most parts of the country. Indeed, the Heritage Railway Association report that an incredible 185 of member organisations regularly open to the public.
More heritage railway to enjoy in the future
As many of you will know in the middle to late 1960’s the national rail system lost three significant mainlines. In 1966, we lost the Somerset and Dorset in its entirety while later that year the Great Central closed as a through route to London. The Waverley route closed completely in early 1969. Great Central Railway […]
Railway Memories Through The Years
by Stuart Whitter – Chairman, Northern Steam Engineering Limited I am very pleased to welcome as guest blogger Stuart Whitter who I first met in the very early 1980’s when we were involved in the restoration of Class 9F 92212 at the Great Central Railway, Loughborough. During our time in the railway industry we have […]
Locomotives at the Nene Valley Railway
A visit to the Nene Valley Railway at Wansford in 2017 with photos of the steam locomotives and Deltics that were running on the railway that day.
Railway memory lives on with anniversary walk
On the 4th of March 1967, the Budleigh Salterton Railway branch line closed. It ran from Sidmouth Junction (now called Feniton) to Budleigh Salterton and Exmouth, Devon. The wave of manic railway closures in the 1960’s included this branch line. It was believed that its main users were holiday makers rather than local residents. This was probably true because the timetable was so poor that it didn’t meet the […]
Telford Steam Railway Rolling Stock
The Telford Steam Railway (TSR) in Shropshire is based at Horsehay which was once served by passenger trains operating between Wellington and Craven Arms (part of the Great Western Railway) a distance of around 28 miles.
Closure of the Waverley Route
In April 1969, I read an article in Railway World magazine about the closure of the Waverley Route. The report had a profound effect on me which has stayed with me throughout my personal professional life.
Kings Cross Suburban Railway DVD Review
Recently, I saw an advert for a video by Transport Video Publishing called . We all reminisce about our childhoods and when we see something that provokes a memory, we often explore it further. This DVD took me back to my childhood where I lived at Stevenage on the East Coast Main Line. I used […]