January 2007

FEATURES

32 NEWS FOCUS SPECIAL: RETURN OF THE LADY IN RED
No part of the original 1936 West Coast Main Line steam-hauled record set by LMS Princess Royal Pacific No 6201 Princess Elizabeth was ever in danger of being broken during a 2006 celebratory ?rerun?. Nor should it have been, after all the venerable lady is well past the magic three score years and ten! The celebrated 1933 Crewe-built Stanier masterpiece made a triumphant return journey to Glasgow Central on 16-17 November commemorating those historic achievements. Those two days will long be remembered by those privileged to have ridden, or indeed witnessed, a very special running of the ?Mid Day Scot?, reports Keith Langston.

38 BITTERN - A FLIGHT OF FANTASY...
Bittern, a Gresley A4 Pacific, served Britain well in LNER/BR ownership for 29 years covering over 1.5 million miles. However its time in preservation has now been even longer - 40 years to be exact. Maurice Burns, friend of the late Geoff Drury, has compiled from his personal observations the first preservation history of this long - absent locomotive, which following overhaul at the Mid- Hants Railway will shortly be back on the main line where it belongs.

46 THE WINTERS WE NO LONGER HAVE?
Having enjoyed the warmest autumn in living memory, everyone is asking whether global climate changes will mean an end to the traditional English winter - and classic steam railway snowscapes that are so eagerly sought by our lineside photographers, writes Robin Jones. At risk of finding ourselves spectacularly marooned in a snowdrift on the day this edition hits the shelves after a soaking start to December, we present a selection of the finest winter scenes from the preservation era.

64 NEWS FOCUS SPECIAL: WESTERN PICK-UP GOODS REVIVAL!
Four GWR pick-up goods trains on four separate heritage lines - and all within the space of a week in November - were captured on film by Don Bishop.

74 THE CHANGEOVER YEARS: DECK THE HALLS...
With John Kennedy?s restored ex-Barry GWR Hall No 4953 Pitchford Hall now beginning to make its mark on the main line again, Cedric Johns recalls his boyhood memories of these magnificent machines deep in the heart of Great Western territory.

82 A LAKESIDE LAMENT
As we reported two issues ago, one of the saddest events of 2006 was the passing of Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway pioneer Austin Maher, one of the founding fathers of the heritage railway movement. The only chairman of the heritage line since it was founded, he died on 9 October after having been ill for several months. Here, the Lakeside Railway Trust pays its special tribute to a man affectionately known as the Fat Controller.

REGULARS

5 HEADLINE NEWS
GWR prairie set to haul Polish branch trains; West Somerset wins top national award three years in a row, with accolades for Weardale and South Devon too; 11 to steam at Heritage Railway sponsored Llangollen spring gala; motion from LMS experimental locomotive rediscovered on Royal Scot, and Minehead?s ?100K appeal for a turntable by spring 2008.

10 NEWS: THE WIDEST COVERAGE OF THE UK PRESERVATION SCENE
FM Rail in administration; Mid-Hants buys Canadian Pacific; North Yorkshire Moors Railway granted licence for main line trains to Whitby; The Great Marquess steams at Crewe; Romney, death smash driver sentenced as new barriers go up; Lynton & Barnstaple rediscovers ?lost? steam locomotive; Class 33 in Swanage collision; Southwold revivalists bid for planning consent; last GWR engine leaves Swindon Works; nameplate refused as being ?too colonial? for museum; British enthusiasts replace Polish electric services with steam; GWR ?Terrier? number plate at auction; twin track boost for West Somerset; Hunslet?s unique triple-gauge crossing; Cleethorpes Scarborough North Bay ?takeover? now complete; Lottery boost for Bury museum kickstarts ?10-million depot scheme; DMU car booted out of enthusiast?s Crewe front garden; final year begins for Tornado new-build project and Weardale Railway runs own steam engine

52 MAIN LINE NEWS compiled by Cedric Johns
LMS ?Black Five? The Sherwood Forester may make ?Jacobite? debut; Kingfisher to run south coast boat trains; B1 to be repaired at Barrow Hill; Lord Nelson finally moves to Bury, and Duke of Gloucester failed at Cambridge.

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

62 PLATFORM
The pages where your views matter the most.

67 SCALE HERITAGE RAILWAY
Hornby?s new super-detailed version of BR Britannia 4-6-2 No 70013 Oliver Cromwell unveiled, and we test the Margate manufacturer?s magnificent Digital Command Control system as the traditional Christmas train set fights back big time!

80 FREE BINDER FOR HERITAGE RAILWAY!
Subscribe to Heritage Railway, Britain?s top preservation news magazine, and get a free binder in which to keep your 2007 copies!

81 MORGAN
The Heritage Railway Association and Great Central Railway chairman wonders what future is in store for Lottery grant aid.

88 UP AND RUNNING
All the days you need for the festive and New Year season! 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.

92 RAILWAYANA with Geoff Courtney
Latest news from around the auction houses.

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