The Churnet Valley Railway is among more than 2,700 recipients to benefit from the latest round of awards from the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund. This award will secure the future of the railway following the global pandemic that has thwarted many heritage sites and operations around the country. The Churnet Valley Railway ‘CVR’ in […]
Steam locomotive County of Montgomery at the GWSR
New-build Churchward ‘County’ class 4-4-0 No. 3840 County of Montgomery steam locomotive could be based on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR), following the signing of a new agreement between the Churchward County Trust which is building the new engine, and the railway. The agreement, which supersedes an earlier ‘agreement in principle’ between the GWSR […]
Great Western Railway History: Then and Now
Great Western Railway (GWR) is proudly showcasing the history of their network and celebrating the rich heritage of Britain’s railways with brand new animated images By delving into the historical railway image archives and commissioning a photographer to capture the stations in their present-day glory, GWR has successfully showcased the gradual development of Britain’s railways over […]
Restoring steam locomotive Sidmouth to her former glory
The railwayblogger is delighted to bring you a guest post by Nick Thompson a director and volunteer of Southern Locomotives Limited. Nick grew up in the 1950s and 60s in Woking and his dad worked on the railway as the fire protection officer for this part of the system and steam locomotives were always the bane of his […]
Bath Railway Society Diamond Jubilee
On the 24th April 1957, some railway enthusiasts held an informal meeting in the Midland Hotel just opposite Bath Green Park station. Founding members included famous Somerset and Dorset photographers Ivo Peters and Alan Newman. The object was to form a society ‘……to further the interest in railways generally, and to seek out other persons interested in the subject in […]
Magnificent Memories of Sidmouth Railway Station
A guest post by Ann Tanner from Sidmouth Museum. Photos copyright Sidmouth Museum. 50th Anniversary of closure 2017 is the 50th Anniversary of the closure of Sidmouth railway station. Sidmouth Museum decided to mark the anniversary as its occurrence greatly affected the lives of residents and visitors to Sidmouth. The museum has planned an exhibition […]
Hunt for Railway Paintings by David Shepherd
A major new worldwide search has been launched, to track down hundreds of original artworks by world famous railway artist David Shepherd– just over a year since his death. It’s believed his paintings have ended up all over the world and now owners of originals by the renowned railway enthusiast and painter are invited to join […]
Memories of working on the P-Way
Just to explain – this blog post is about working on the P-Way in the 1970s but I didn’t have any photos from this time so I’ve put in photos of the track re-laying at Midsomer Norton to show the kind of work we did back then. When I worked as a salaried staff engineering […]
Somerset and Dorset Railway Anniversary Event
In March 2017, the Somerset and Dorset Railway Midsomer Norton marked another year since the railway closed on the 6th of March 1966 with a Gala. Two locomotives were rostered: Steam Sentinel 7109 Joyce and British Railways built Class 08 diesel D4095.
Can You Help Preserve Railway History?
Historically, railway accidents were common and many of the health and safety rules that we have today did not exist. Volunteers are now being sought to help tell the sad and costly story behind Britain’s railway age – the deaths and injuries suffered by many thousands of mainly men who operated the railways. Historian Mike […]
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 […]
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.
How to go on holiday via the West Somerset Railway
I mentioned in another one of my blogs about going on holiday by train when I was a child. Trains are still a big part of our family today. Last Summer, we had a walking holiday with HF holidays at Selworthy near Minehead. My wife suggested that we travel there by train alighting from the mainline […]
The locomotive BR preferred to forget
For some reason the Metropolitan Vickers Co-Bo Class 28 locomotives have always held a fascination for me. Perhaps because it is one of the few BR 1955 modernization plan locomotive types which I have never seen operating. Maybe it is the unique look of both the front end. It could be the different bogies – one has three […]
GSN Locomotive Restoration Society
With the recent 50th anniversary of the end of steam traction on British Rail Southern Region the railwayblogger is delighted to bring you a guest post by Simon Shutt from the General Steam Navigation Locomotive Restoration Society. Over to Simon: Doesn’t it seem like a crime that the only UK steam locomotive to bear the word ‘steam’ […]