Heritage Railway

Will Flying Scotsman lead the way again?

RAILWAY200 saw pride in Britain’s worldchanging transport legacy reach a new pinnacle, and the Stockton & Darlington Railway of 1825 was celebrated in a more than befitting manner. This year, we mark another momentous occasion: the 75th anniversary of...

Heritage is now a big winner for us all

THE National Railway Heritage Awards 2025, as featured on pages 64-67, has for many highlighted the rich transformation of the public awareness of Britain’s rich railway legacy, as reinforced by the splendid Railway 200 landmark celebratory...

Clun Castle back at Paddington for steam farewell re-run CHRISTMAS GIFTS GUIDE

■ SECRETS OF PETER RAMPTON’S COLLECTION X UNVEILED IN NEW BOOK ■ MIDLAND & GREAT NORTHERN JOINT NEWBUILD SCHEME LAUNCHED ■ WILL STOCKTON & DARLINGTON BECOME A WORLD HERITAGE SITE?

Britain shows the world again!

IN 1825, Britain inspired the globe by attaching one passenger coach to a lengthy rake of coal wagons and running it as the opening train of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. The crowds marvelled – and so did the rest of the planet. The self-propelled...

The true heroes of heritage

Modern-day Stockton & Darlington Railway history was made on September 16 when A1 Pacific No. 60163 Tornado broke the ribbon as the first locomotive to arrive at The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s new £4.5 million Darlington Locomotive Works on the...

1825 and all that!

HAVING ascended the first of the twin peaks of Railway 200 to be mesmerised by the exhilarating sights from the summit, Britain has been left owing an enormous debt of gratitude – not just to Alstom and its ground-breaking unique combination of...

Reunification could give us more events like this!

THE Greatest Gathering has established itself as an apex of the heritage movement, a brilliant means in which to start the third century of modern railways, with tickets evaporating as soon as they went on sale. The diversity of classic rolling stock...

The first big triumph of Railway 200 year!

WE are now fast approaching the dizzy heights of the Railway 200 year, with the major landmark events celebrating the bicentenary of the Stockton & Darlington Railway within grasp. However, The Greatest Gathering at Derby, the newlyannounced Titans...

Celebrating the first – and last – of the steam age

IN this year of Railway 200, we are celebrating the marvellous transport phenomenon that originated here in Britain and changed the world forever. Yet those wheels of change have never stopped turning, long after the end of the steam age which made it...

Rags to riches:

TO say that the latest new feature taking shape on the Nene Valley Railway is a‘silk purse out of a sow’s ear’ is a gross understatement. At the line’s Peterborough terminus, a forgotten station building that had for decades been enshrouded in the...

Rail – a road still leading to the future

THE fabulous new Celebrating The Railway Rockstars Of The Past exhibition now running in Hopetown Darlington says it all. A replica of the first steam railway locomotive to run in public, one of a valiant attempt to take the concept further and, yes,...

‘Never say die’ – the keynote to survival

THE Severn Valley Railway carried off four prestigious accolades at the Heritage Railway Association Award 2025 ceremony in Gateshead on February 8, but it has now passed the acid test big time to show once and for all why it is a market leader – not...

Adversity brings out the best achievements

THE Heritage Railway Association Annual Awards 2025 saw the biggest-ever number of entries in its history, produced many stupendous and richly deserving winners, as listed in Headline News, pages 8-11. It came as no surprise to many that first place in...

HISTORIC DOCUMENTS FROM 1825 IN NETWORK RAIL ARCHIVES

Awards that lay foundations for the future of our heritage

HAVING attended the 44th National Railway Heritage Awards in London, I could not fail to have been impressed not only with the high standard of the 58 entries but also the contest itself, as reported in News, pages 26-28. The heritage railway revival...

Beyond our autumn galas pots of gold...

THIS issue is unashamedly an autumn gala special, celebrating the tremendous achievements of our heritage railways and the splendid seasonal vistas through which they ran over the past few weeks. It goes without saying that the past few years has been...

Achievement is our trademark!

THE Welsh Highland Railway’s Super-Power gala in mid-September witnessed the public appearance in steam debut of South African Railways NG15 2-8-2 No. 134 (see pages 70/71) following 25 years of hard graft to restore it to running order by the project...

When our heritage lines make a showtime success!

ICANNOT but wholeheartedly agree with VisitEngland’s 94% rating (News, page 18) it gave to the new £27 million Hopetown Darlington railway venue under its Quality Assured Visitor Attraction Scheme, as featured last issue. Making unrivalled use of...

Railways were innovators – so must we be to survive

CORNISHMAN Richard Trevithick’s invention of an effective self-propelled vehicle in the form of railway locomotives sowed the seeds that changed the globe, but long after he died penniless. His invention was widely taken seriously only with the...

Heritage railways grow tourist economies

THROUGHOUT the intensive coverage of the buildup to the general election, among the incessantly repetitive discussions about manifestoes, policies and various alleged misdemeanours, all of which would surely have taken pride of place in a parrot...