OPINION - Robin Jones' monthly slot:

I’m bored today, and can’t think what to do. So to ease life’s monotony perhaps I should go out and burn someone’s house down. Don’t be alarmed. Although I’m not going to bother about leaving my DNA at the scene, and might even stay around for a while to roast some jacket potatoes in the dying embers, I won’t be going to jail. In fact, I received an unexpected cheque in the post yesterday for just over £100, which will cover the compensation I am likely to be told to stump up plus my bus fare to court (if I am ever arrested), and some refreshments in the coffee bar while I am waiting for my case to come up.

HEADLINE NEWS - Green Arrow sought for big SVR autumn gala

GRESLEY V2 2-6-2 No. 60800 Green Arrow is top of the wanted list for the Severn Valley Railway’s big three-day Autumn Steam Gala from September 24-28. A railway spokesman said that approaches have been made to the National Railway Museum, owners of the locomotive, and to present custodians Bressingham Steam Museum, in a bid to bring the V2 to the line for the first time.

ALL STATIONS TO MINEHEAD!

In the late eighties it was often remarked that the West Somerset had more stations in the county than BR. The revived GWR Minehead branch attained this unusual honour with the opening of Doniford Halt in 1988, bringing its total number of stations to ten. Each of the stations, however, has its own in-depth story to tell, and a trip along the heritage line is not just a jaunt to a popular seaside area but a voyage through a West Country railway history, if you know where to look! Don Bishop explains all.

THE SLUMBERING GIANTS OF STEAM

The preservation era has not only seen many famous steam locomotives and types return to the main line, but several disappear, perhaps forever. Following our article in issue 62 which asked whether steam locomotive restoration, at least as far as the national network is concerned, is reaching the end of the line, Brian Dean, one of the country’s top lineside photographers, presents a stunning selection of landscapes highlighting the best of steam which currently remains silent.

THE CHANGEOVER YEARS: Sunny South here we come!

The myriad of Southern Railway routes which fanned out from Waterloo and Victoria towards the English Channel coast provided a cheap means by which the average family from the capital could take a hard-earned summer break in the decades before the car became king. Cedric Johns recalls the halcyon years of the fifties and sixties while Mike Esau dips into his archives to provide some classic views.

STAY A WHILE!

Quality accommodation close to your favourite railways.

DANISH DREAM TIME!

At least one example of every class of steam locomotive preserved for posterity! An impossible dream? No - such a policy is reality in Denmark, an often-overlooked bolthole of railway preservation, as John Titlow discovered.

KILL THOSE WEEDS!

Heritage railways are often said to have permanent way which looks far better than certain lengths of line on the national network, but keeping weeds at bay is often a far more monumental task than a team of volunteers can realistically achieve by themselves. Mark Yonge of weedkilling expert Avondale Environmental Services, explains the modern ways to keep nature at bay. 

NEWS FOCUS SPECIAL: Swanage - the first 25 years

Following the operation of several trains in early August to mark the 25th anniversary of the first public services on the Swanage Railway, Andrew P.M. Wright looks back at a quarter century of hard slog which has brought superb results Southern style!

HEADLINE NEWS

Late Great Central president David Clarke safeguards the line’s future with ‘secret’ £1m legacy; Llangollen secretary Evan Green-Hughes quits; A1 Trust picks German builder for new Tornado boiler, van driver injured in Severn Valley crash and a peek inside the nearly-completed Shildon arm of the National Railway Museum due to be opened by the Prime Minister on October 29.

NEWS

Duke of Gloucester ready at last; Oliver Cromwell bows out for restoration; Fred Dibnah visits three heritage lines for new TV series; Great Central coach vandal told to pay just £100 for £15,000 damage; Butterley 9F for West Somerset autumn gala; Deltic Royal Scots Grey bought by Class 40 group chairman; Lynton & Barnstaple reopens in style; Weardale Railway steaming ahead in first month; Transport & Works Order for Eden Valley Railway; world’s oldest operational steam engine targeted by metal thieves; electro diesel for Keith & Dufftown; Tyseley chief mechanical engineer’s outrage over compensation claim bill; J15 hauls first passenger train on Irish main line; Oswestry society buys ‘lost’ goods branch; Wensleydale Railway extends to Redmire and Green Arrow sought for big Severn Valley steam gala are among the top stories in the widest coverage of the preservation scene.

MAIN LINE NEWS compiled by Cedric Johns

A4 replaces Manor on ‘Torbay Express’ trips; revised Scottish main line photo charter details; Flying Scotsman to remain in service despite Scarborough problems; ‘Black Five’ to run both ways over Shap; anger at EWS ‘selective’ examination of TPWS equipment; plans for ‘CP’ to double head with ‘Duke of Gloucester; a superb centrefold summer panorama of Didcot’s GWR Castle Earl Bathurst at Dawlish Warren and money off voucher for Tyseley’s ‘Shakespeare Express’from Stratford-upon-Avon to Birmingham are contained in our definitive nine-page round-up.

MAIN LINE TOUR ITINERARY

Brian Sharpe’s guide to steam and heritage modern traction tours.

DAVID MORGAN MBE - the man you can’t ignore

RAILWAYANA

Colin Tyson reviews and previews Pershore and Sheffield auction sales.

SCALE HERITAGE RAILWAY

Hornby’s new A4s and Gresley teak coaches out in September, and tribute to senior designer who died.

INDUSTRIAL SCENE

Former Welshpool brickworks engine Nutty Takes shape again in Peterborough.

OFF THE SHELF

Latest book and DVD releases.

PLATFORM

Where your views matter the most.

UP AND RUNNING

Brian Sharpe’s listing of operational standard, narrow and minimum gauge lines with dates of special events, details of driver training courses and locomotives in operation.

HERITAGE NET

Roger Melton explorers heritage diesel and electric sites.