FEATURES

38 RAILS THROUGH THE SECOND CITY
Forty years ago, the unthinkable happened and one of the Great Western Railway’s main lines, linking London with Birmingham and beyond, ceased to be a BR trunk route. The long-established railway map of Birmingham was redrawn, but the GWR has seen a resurgence in the West Midlands since two preserved Castles marked the end of the through services. Brian Sharpe traces how the events of March 1967 fit into the story of the Second City’s network.

42 NEWS FOCUS SPECIAL: GREATEST GREAT CENTRAL GALA OF THEM ALL!
BR black liveries, star visitors and late January sunshine brought out the crowds for the Great Central Railway’s eagerly awaited winter gala, which provided one of the most successful and photogenic events in the heritage line’s history, report Robin Jones and Brian Sharpe.

46 IT’S ALL ABOUT THE (MORNING) LIGHT
The hour after sunrise is the best for many photographers; J Crosse dips into his archives to present a selection of pictures worth getting up very early for.

60 NEWS FOCUS SPECIAL: 2007 - TORNADO’S MOST MOMENTOUS YEAR YET!
The UK heritage railway movement is to be thrust on to the world stage in the coming year with the completion of the £2.56-million project which many said would never be done - the building of Peppercorn A1 Pacific No 60163 Tornado, the first new standard gauge locomotive built in Britain for main line service since Evening Star in 1960. Mark Allatt, chairman of builder the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, brings Heritage Railway readers up to date on this flagship project as efforts to raise the last £115,000 to complete the project get underway in earnest.

64 THE CHANGEOVER YEARS: LAST STEAM OVER THE WAVERLEY ROUTE
Just mention the name Riccarton Junction or Waverley Route to any enthusiast or photographer and it conjures up images of steam trains battling through the wild border country. Yet very few readers would actually have ever been to Riccarton Junction in the last years of steam operation. Maurice Burns shares his fascinating memories of reaching this most isolated spot in the Scottish Borders and of the LNER engines he saw battling against the grade.

70 NEWS FOCUS SPECIAL: THE ADMIRAL, A WARSHIP AND TWO SOLDIERS!
Thanks most likely to global warming, there was no snow around for the East Lancashire Railway’s winter gala, but visiting Maunsell masterpiece Lord Nelson provided the icing on the cake, as Fred Kerr reports in words and pictures.

76 SOUNDING THE DEATH KNELL FOR STEAM
This year marks the delivery of the first of the 174 main line diesels that launched British Railways’ Modernisation Plan and set in motion an unstoppable tide that would lead to the final demise of main line steam haulage within 11 years. The locomotives were part of a Pilot Scheme in which various combinations of body designs, transmissions and engines were to be tested as a prelude to ordering suitable designs for BR’s long-term needs. However, the Pilot Scheme was quickly drowned in a flood of bulk orders, which led to unsuitable locomotive designs that hardly lasted beyond the steam era they were supposed to supersede. Fred Kerr details what the Pilot Scheme was intended to achieve, what caused its demise and how the Government’s short-term support of British industry brought about long-term problems.

REGULARS

4 OPINION
Heritage Railways Editor Robin Jones 5 HEADLINE NEWS
North Yorkshire Moors Railway clears final hurdle for regular Whitby steam; Flour Mill GWR Prairie becomes latest Barry wreck to resteam; Green Arrow set for Gloucestershire Warwickshire gala, and shareholder incredulity and bewilderment over plans for a new Flying Scotsman company.

10 NEWS: THE WIDEST COVERAGE OF THE UK PRESERVATION SCENE
Oliver Cromwell rewheeled at Great Central - first pictures; West Somerset trust reimports GWR coach gem from USA museum; £175K legacy boost for Odney Manor; new Heritage Railway Association Thiefwatch scheme aims to ends relics thefts; Great Central Mountsorrel carriage shed project blocked by planners and badgers; Virgin Voyager to run shuttles to big West Somerset Railway gala with 15 in steam; North Yorkshire Moors Railway driver burned in BR Standard 4MT blowback; Severn Valley’s oldest resident honoured by prairie ‘homecoming’; Cumbrian museum abandons heritage railway project; steam returns to Southall museum; Gwendraeth Valley revivalists offered lease by Network Rail; Railway Preservation Society of Ireland to buy Whitehead base; Tangmere special on Folkestone Harbour branch - picture special; housing development threatens Leighton Buzzard; Amman Valley society offered heads of terms agreement for Abernant branch; Sudden death of author Chris Gammell; Kidlington auction house moves north and ‘decaying’ Hinton Manor makes the case for getting locomotives and stock undercover.

54 MAIN LINE NEWS compiled by Cedric Johns
Banking out of Weymouth to mark steam demise; West Coast acquires ‘Green Train’; ‘Great Britain’ to run with Mk1 coaches; B1 and K1 to work Whitby trains and Blue Pullmans go to Heartland Rail.

58 MAIN LINE TOUR ITINERARY
Brian Sharpe's guide to steam and heritage modern traction tours.

59 RAILWAYANA
Gresley A4 Kestrel nameplate on sale at Stafford, and other auction news.

84 SCALE HERITAGE
Bachmann launches LNWR 'Super D' in OO gauge.

85 MORGAN
Nanny state again takes on the heritage railway sector.

88 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.