Electric dreams
Two decades after the steam railway opened between Douglas and Peel on the Isle of man, another line appeared – which has also gone on to cement itself in the island’s rail history story. This year, the Manx Electric Railway celebrates its 130th anniversary, the oldest electric tramline in the world still using its original rolling stock, as Owen Hayward observes.

Fifty steps to Fifty Steps
The evolution of today’s Great Central railways into an 18-mile inter-city heritage highway has long been the ambition their supporters and backers. Robin Jones looks at the step-by-step progress towards the realisation of this long-held dream.

Autumn gala goldrush!

Terrier Fenchurch Barks In Worth Valley.

Rival regions combine for Bluebell's giant's weekend...

Stockton & Darlington 200 - Celebration bonanza unveiled!

Roaming Scots: Spa Valley reunites Caledonian pair...

Banking for a Foxfield future!
Nicola Fox tells the story of one of the heritage sector’s finest industrial lines, the Foxfield Railway, with its legendary 1-in-19 gradient – and looks at its future hopes to expand and reclaim old ground.

From Great Western to Eastern Region!
The first new-build to enter service in 2024, GWR 4-6-0 No. 6880 Betton Grange, has been delighting the crowds during summer visits to two of the UK’s top seaside heritage lines on opposite sides of the coast, reports Robin Jones.

Where’s there’s hope… there’s Hopetown Darlington!
The groundbreaking new £37 million Hopetown Darlington museum and visitor attraction is now open and pulling in sell-out crowds. Robin Jones reports in words and pictures – and could not fail to be impressed.

Fathew Falcons fly: Talyllyn’s gala gains a guest
With an unusual track gauge limiting options for any gala events, this year’s annual Anything Goes event at the Talyllyn Railway had something rare – a visiting locomotive! Owen Hayward reports.

Purbeck says bully for Bulleid power!
Crowds flocked to the Swanage Railway for a unique gala that saw eight Southern Railway Pacifics designed by a world-class locomotive engineer run together for the first time since the end of steam on the region in 1967, reports Robin Jones, with pictures by Andrew PM Wright.

Tenacious spirit and clear visions
Running over what many refer to as ‘the original Colonel Stephens light railway’, Owen Hayward visited the Kent & East Sussex Railway as it celebrated its golden jubilee to find out how it is putting itself back on the map..

A Great Western winner: Bluebell’s branch line spectacle
The annual celebration of branch line locomotives expanded its remit this year to include smaller main line locomotives, which helped the Bluebell Railway put on another stand-out show in the south – with help from its friends in the west, as Owen Hayward reports.

It’s only paint, isn’t it?
Never does a topic get as much debate, bemoaning, dismissal and nitpicking as the choice of liveries. Chris Eden-Green examines the decisions behind some of the heritage sector’s most notable examples and their influence on the preservation landscape.

Our First 25 Years
Heritage Railway founding editor Robin Jones looks back at the quarter-century since the magazine was launched to provide a premium source of news and features covering all corners of the preservation sector, along with some of the landmarks in that time.

Stanier mogul the star in Severn Valley gala stunner
Up to nine locomotives – including three visitors – ran during the Severn Valley Railway’s successful April 18-21 Spring Steam Gala, reports John Titlow..

In this issue:

Britannia and Sir Nigel Gresley to headline Sussex lines’ big galas.

Blue Peter commences running-in trials at Severn Valley.

KESR prepares to bid farewell to beloved Peckett Marcia.

Clan Line makes first moves ahead of main line comeback. and much more..

BETTON GRANGE
BOOKED FOR SEVERN VALLEY SPRING GALA.

Collaborative efforts ensure Spa’s steam gala is no ‘Standard’ story
Owen Hayward paid a visit to the Spa Valley Railway’s gala, where, despite being faced with a series of setbacks in the days immediately beforehand, volunteers persevered to run the gala as planned..

Great Central winter wonder is a winner!
Blessed with radiant sunshine and no rain during all three days, the Great Central Railway’s January 26-28 Winter Gala proved to be one of the most successful in the heritage line’s history, attracting more than 5000 people to pack the trains and witness non-stop action, reports Robin Jones.

Fresh fruits of the new steam era
With the imminent completion of No. 6880 Betton Grange and the forthcoming return of No. 60163 Tornado, Robin Jones and Owen Hayward take a look at the current progress of other new-build standard gauge steam projects..

Over here, over there!
With heritage railways in the UK facing unprecedented times, there could be a case for railfans to travel overseas to get their ‘fix’. Chris Eden-Green offers his thoughts on the heritage railway scene he explored across the pond in 2022.

Flying Pig’ and Taw Valley farewells boost gala crowds
A successful new venture saw the Severn Valley Railway run its first-ever Winter Steam Gala on January 6/7. It attracted large postfestive season crowds and saw two locomotives bowing out of service, reports John Titlow.

Home on the Grange!
A 26-year project to fill another major gap in the UK heritage steam fleet portfolio will reach its conclusion with the first public steaming of newbuild GWR 4-6-0 No. 6880 Betton Grange and its subsequent running-in trials, planned to take place the Battlefield Line, writes Robin Jones in an exclusive report.

Panning: Life in a faster lane!
When photographing trains at speed, generally we want that image frozen and pin-sharp, but with panning the train itself must be sharp and the foreground and background blurred. John Titlow explains how in words and pictures..

Photographing festive steam at its best
While the heritage era has witnessed a constant rise in the number and variety of Christmas specials aimed at the family market over the years, combined with the seasonal weather conditions, they so often gift an early present or two for lineside cameramen, as photographer Robert Falconer explains.

Cotswold comeback delights the crowds
The return to gala traffic of the oldest working GWR-built locomotive was among the highlights of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s October 28/29 Autumn Showcase, reports John Titlow in words and pictures..

Turn left for Titfield
With the beloved Ealing Studios comedy celebrating its 70th anniversary, Owen Hayward revisits some of the filming locations to uncover what remains of them, while Luke Ryan shares why star locomotive Lion may not actually be the locomotive everyone believes it to be.

Superpower Steam at Moorsline 50th anniversary gala
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway celebrated half a century of running public passenger services with a spectacular star-studded, crowdpulling autumn equinox gala, reports John Titlow.

Autumn steam bonanza feast on the Valley!
The Severn Valley Railway’s eagerly-awaited September autumn steam gala – which boasted four guest and five resident locomotives in action across a packed four-day weekend – proved a crowd-pulling, dazzling, all-action success, despite enduring some rough weather conditions. John Titlow reports in words and pictures.

Weaving that old Middleton magic
At what is believed to be the oldest continually operating railway in the world, Sally Clifford discovers how the past and present are helping to secure the Middleton Railway’s future on a visit to the Leeds line’s annual gala on September 17.

Celebrating Manx transport history
July 1 marked the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Isle of Man steam railway and a week-long transport festival was carefully planned, incorporating all of the island’s transport offerings. Owen Hayward visited the Isle for the occasion, with a focus on the steam railway in the first of this two-part feature.

Celebrating the Knotty a century on!
The Foxfield Railway has commemorated the centenary of the passing of the much-loved local North Staffordshire Railway, the highlight event being the Knotty 100 celebrations on July 14-16, reports Robin Jones and Dave Scragg..

Tyseley’s four Castles spectacular sees new horizons dawn
The Tyseley LocomotiveWorks open weekend proved to be a high point in the centenary celebrations for Charles Collett’s GWR Castle class – and was immediately followed by the opening of its new carriage shed to begin another chapter in this depot’s proud history, reports John Titlow.

Welsh Highland centenary
Celebrating the new-found success of a once unsuccessful venture, the final weekend of June was a three day celebration for the NorthWales narrow gauge line, which when first constructed could very well have quickly vanished, reports Owen Hayward.

Cotswold cream of steam gala
The Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway wowed the crowds with its May 12-14 Cotswold Festival of Steam, featuring five visiting locomotives – and defied the current economic climate by producing a useful profit after carrying 3600 passengers, reports John Titlow.

How the Moorsline was saved
Robin Jones looks back at the efforts to reopen a route closed by British Rail more than seven years before, as the NYMR proudly celebrates its 50th anniversary of public services and as a major biography of the line is published..

Bluebell’s branch line bonanza
Despite the cost of living crisis and a poor weather forecast, the return of one of the Bluebell Railway’s enthusiast highlights proved sufficiently attractive to draw the crowds for a weekend of small engines, vintage coaches and a packed timetable of services, reports Owen Hayward.

Help keep Adrian’s Darjeeling ‘B’ in Britain
A new trust is racing against time for an auction bid to secure the purchase of the sole-surviving Darjeeling Himalayan Railway ‘B’ tank locomotive outside India for a future to continue in Britain, reports Phil Marsh.

Summertime... and the living is steamy
The Dartmouth Steam Railway is celebrating 50 years of stunning success since it was bought, in a history-making purchase, in service from British Rail by the nearby Dart Valley Railway. Robin Jones looks back over the half-century history of one of the sector’s premier lines that also encompasses riverboat travel.

The Forest pannier: back in action
An award-nominated restoration, WR 0-6-0PT No. 9681 was launched into traffic at the Dean Forest Railway at the start of March, and now the team responsible is setting its sights on the locomotive’s immediate numerical successor.

Great Central Railway’s packed-out winter steam gala!
Lineside, stations, and, yes, even the trains were packed to the brim over the weekend of January 27-29 when the UK’s only double-track main line held its winter steam gala, the first event of its 50th anniversary year, which welcomed BR 5MT No. 73082 Camelot and Urie S15 No. 506 as guests, working both passenger and freight trains.

Steam without fire
They may not have the glamour of a main line locomotive, and they are an often overlooked part of railway heritage. Nicola Fox investigates the fascinating history and heritage of the fireless locomotive, which, although there are 29 preserved, only one is currently operational.

Saving history – and then making it!
As the Great Central Railway proudly celebrates its half centenary, Robin Jones looks back at the early years and the hurdles the revivalists had to conquer to clear a way forward that led to today’s magnificent and unique double-track heritage line.

Freight returns to Swanage in winter special
The cold and wet weather didn’t deter passengers and photographers from attending the Swanage Railway’s successful Winter Warm Up weekend, which took place on January 7/8 and featured a mixture of steam and diesels, including a recreation of an engineering freight train, reports Robin Jones.

Blue Peter prepares for comeback 20 years in the waiting
John Titlow visits the London North Western Railway Heritage works at Crewe to report in words and pictures on progress being made on the overhaul of LNER icon A2 No.60532 Blue Peter.

No business like snow business!
Lifelong lineside photographer John Titlow looks back at the winters which really were just that – and when classic steam ploughed through the blizzards to steal the show.

Folkestone Harbour steam: The last years
Don Benn looks back in words and pictures at the charter trains that ran over the Folkestone Harbour branch during its final two decades of operation.

300 not out!
Heritage Railway is celebrating its 300th issue of providing comprehensive news coverage of the complete preservation scene. Founding editor Robin Jones looks back at that very first issue in May 1999... and the outcome of the developments that were predicted.

‘Secondary’ Eastern Stars
Locomotives like A4 No. 4498 may steal the show at galas, but thanks to groups such as the LNER Coach Association, we can also enjoy authentic pairings of locomotives and stock. Owen Hayward looks at some of the projects LNERCA is currently progressing with..

A phoenix from the ashes
The Llangollen Railway is North Wales’s only standard gauge heritage line and in 2021 it was nearly lost forever. Owen Hayward paid a visit to find out how this railway is fighting back after its ‘near-death’ experience.

Lancashire glory revisited
Following on from the success of its June 18/19 gala that brought three operational L&YR locomotives together with one from the LNWR for the first time in preservation, the East Lancashire Railway didn’t let up – and outdid itself by going one step further for its end-of-year gala.

The British engines at heart of Europe’s ‘best kept’ secret The Swedish Railway Museum at Gävle has been closed for five years as it undergoes renovation. With five Beyer Peacock locomotives amid its collection, John Titlow was granted rare viewing and photo access.

Barrow Hill 150 not out (plus two!) For its overdue celebratory gala to mark a century and a half of Britain’s sole-surviving rail-connected roundhouse, the Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society looked back 45 years to the day when its depot was still run by British Rail, reports Robin Jones.

The Spa Treatment
Running for just over five miles across the Kent and East Sussex border and through an area of outstanding natural beauty, the Spa Valley Railway was perhaps something of a dark horse in terms of heritage lines. Now a major player on the scene, Owen Hayward looks at what the railway has to offer as it celebrates its 25th anniversary.

Year of the ‘Terrier’
Ten survivors, seven railways or museums, two countries – 2022 marks 150 years since the LBSCR A1 0-6-0T Terrier locomotives entered service. Owen Hayward looks at the celebrations that have taken place so far, including the fated Bluebell Railway event.

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