The Santa specials broke the record set the previous year with an increase of about 30% over the 2022 figures. The catering and commercial staff put in tremendous effort and have been left full of enthusiasm for 2024. I gather there are some new ideas in the pipeline, including a very special guest special guest for the 1940s weekend.

Immediately after Christmas the kitchen car was withdrawn from traffic for the fitting of a new kitchen to increase capacity and build on the improved results for 2023. Ben, Sam and the Carriage team are hard at work already. The other major component in the plan is the second LMSCA coach, which is progressing well and is hoped to be in traffic in about June; at the moment the LMSCA team are busy making seat ends and are surrounded by dining table tops and other seat components. This coach will be going into the shed as soon as a slot appears in the programme, after the pre-season checks on the running fleet.
The Duke entered service at the new year gala and has run very smoothly. The overhaul has taken 14 years and cost just over £300,000. The locomotive will require the fitting of a fire cement arch before it can go back into more intensive use service for the half term trains on 17th to 25th February; the cement is due to arrive on Tuesday 23rd January.

We have been very pleased to welcome Graham Bilby as our new permanent way manager; until very recently he was fulfilling similar duties for Network Rail and used to maintain the track on our railway when it was still part of the national network.

There has been some progress with the insurers who will be dealing with the lunch slip at Champion Lane, Duffield. At the moment our insurers are talking to the insurers of the neighbouring property and it looks promising though there is still some way to go before contractors can begin work. The Board are considering a particular course of action and we may have some further news shortly.

The next phase in the recreation of our station at Wootton is making good progress. Last week we poured the concrete foundations of the goods shed which takes inspiration from the structure which stood at Ventnor West. When complete, this mini-museum will help tell the story of goods traffic on the Island.

*Taken from the IOWSR email newsletter

"Islander Peter Taylor has been announced as the new Chairman of the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. He takes over the reins from Peter Conway, who has retired from the board following 21 years of service.

Peter has a lifelong passion for steam and the Island’s railways. He first joined the Wight Locomotive Society as a teenager in 1967 and regularly joined working parties at Newport station prior to the move to the Havenstreet in 1971. In recent years, he volunteered in the rolling stock department and qualified as a locomotive driver in 2017.

In his professional life, Peter initially worked for local bus companies and then joined the Isle of Wight County Council to follow a career in traffic and transportation engineering. Having risen to a senior role, he took early retirement in 2011 and has served as one of the Railway’s directors since 2013.

When not at the Railway, Peter is also the proud owner of a 1927 steam road roller which makes regular appearances at the line’s annual steam fair, and is currently completing the restoration of a 1923 traction engine.

“The Isle of Wight Steam Railway has risen from humble beginnings to become one of the country’s leading heritage railways and one of the Island’s most-loved attractions”, explained Peter. “I feel very honoured to become the Railway’s chairman, and look forward to continuing the excellent progress made by my predecessors.”"

Taken from the August 2022 IOWSR Newsletter

"The current phase on Havenstreet's original 1926 station building is now complete and the building open to the public once more. Finishing touches, including the exterior signs and posters, have now been added. Inside, visitors will be able to use the much improved toilets, with a new interpretation panel explaining the building's history."

News taken from the IOWSR July 2022 Newsletter

Work continues on the restoration of the station building and signalbox. The building was constructed by the Southern Railway when Havenstreet station was rebuilt with its current island platform. The signalman was able to control trains passing in the loop and also sell tickets via a window in the waiting room.

The building incorporates some unusual construction methods which have created some interesting challenges for the restoration team. The front wall of the signalbox had cracks and required rebuilding. The new wall incorporates a hidden support beam and replicates the subtle bow that characterised the original.

This week, the building team team have been busy fixing new roof battens, ready for the tiles to be added shortly. We'll be using a mixture of original and reclaimed tiles, carefully chosen to match. Internally, the ladies and gents toilets have been extensively refurbished, and the waiting room redecorated.

(Taken from the IOWSR newsletter)

The Clacton Express Preservation have announced that they have secured the purchase of Class 309 309624 (960102).

The unit has been at the Lavender Line for some time now and this purchase ensures that it avoids the indignity of being broken up for spares and means a much brighter future for this classic EMU.

More information about this purchase can be found at https://www.clactonexpresspreservationgroup.com/post/we-ve-done-it

Contractors are busy repairing the main station building at Havenstreet. Built in 1927 by the Southern Railway, it is the only original railway building on the site, and thus a key part of the Railway's heritage.

Work involves significant repairs to the roof, walls and windows, plus repainting the guttering and fascia boards. The interior is also being repainted and the ladies and gents toilets renovated. When complete, the building will have returned to its former glory and remain one of the star attractions at Havenstreet.

Inside the Carriage & Wagon Workshop carriage 6349 is undergoing a full-repaint. This is a lengthy job that first requires stripping the old paint and making repairs to damaged sections of woodwork. Paint is then added in layers, first grey, then green undercoats, followed by green gloss top-coats and finally several layers of varnish.

*This information taken from the IOWSR Newsletter

Despite the efforts of Storm Dudley and Eunice we're pleased to announce that bridge contractors, VolkerLaser, have successfully lifted both of the new structures into position.



The two new 40-tonne steel structures, each spanning 50 feet, delivered by road from VolkerLaser’s appointed painting facility in Sheffield, are now lowered into place replacing the old structures after 150 years of service. Work is now progressing into the final stages of the £1.26 million construction and installation work at Goathland.


The bridge work forms part of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s ‘Yorkshire’s Magnificent Journey’ project, a £10 million project to ensure future generations can enjoy the 180-year-old line. It has been made possible thanks to generous funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the European Union, NYMR’s Local Enterprise Partnership and kind donations from many supporters.

*This information was taken from the NYMR Newsletter

With Winter fast approaching, it's time for the heritage railways to scale back their timetables and to rest the locomotives up. And so what happens behind the scenes once the passengers are not about for a month or 2? Well the Isle of Wight Railway have given us a little insight into their Winter projects for 2021 as below:

Renewing many of the platform timbers at Smallbrook Junction station which are starting to show their age after 30 years of use.

We've invested £30,000 in new bullhead rail which will be installed near Long Arch.

The station building at Havenstreet will receive much needed attention. Built in 1926 by the Southern Railway this is our only original railway building, and the signalbox continues to play a crucial role controlling the safe operation of trains on the line.

In the locomotive workshop our team are continuing to progress the overhauls of Hunslet 'Austerity' 192 Waggoner and 'Terrier' W8 Freshwater. We hope to see both running on the line during 2022.

Our carriage and wagon team are making great progress with the restoration of the ex-Midland Railway crane, Oldbury IWR 21 and LBSCR bogie brake 4115.

Our Estates team will busy around Havenstreet and Wootton stations, tackling jobs such as repairing fences, improving our car parks and painting buildings.

Behind the scenes, our museum team continue to archive our extensive collection which contain some 120,000 photographs and numerous documents and small artefacts.

All of the above information has been provided by the Isle of Wight Steam Railway via their monthly newsletter

The Cab Yard have today confirmed to us that they have been able to secure the cab from driving car 77386 of unit 442405 after the carriage's disposal at Raxstar, Eastleigh.

This cab will form part of the new display at the Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway, after the recent agreement between the 2 parties.

The current plan is for the cab to retain it's current Gatwick Express Red, White & Blue livery and for it to be adapted to enable visitors to enjoy a walkthrough by adding a platform to the rear.

The Pacer Rail Group have set up a Gofundme fundraising page as they seek to raise money to repaint their Pacer 142055 into the British Railways Provincial Blue livery.

If you are able to offer a donation or for more information please visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-repaint-142055-into-provincial-blue

The Cab Yard, a private collection of locomotive and multiple units cabs based in Bridgend, has joined forces with the Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway.

The current plan is to maintain their base at Bridgend for storage and restoration of their cabs whilst creating a display area for the cabs at the L&MMR.

With a vast array of cabs already acquired, and with more in the pipeline, there will be plenty to see but it's not just about cabs. The organisation also has the bodyshell of unit 1399, a Class 421, which they plan to convert into a walkthrough heritage centre which will tell the story of the London-Brighton mainline from the 1960s through to the 2000's.

For more information on this wonderful organisation, visit their website at http://thecabyard.co.uk/

The Class 315 Preservation Society have today confirmed that they have, in principle, agreed a deal with the leasing company to take a Class 315 unit into preservation as per the organisation's plan.

The full detail, posted to the groups Twitter (@315_class) reads "At last. The News (sic) we have been waiting for. We are delighted to announce we have reached an agreement in principle with Eversholt, to secure a unit. Due to confidentiality we are unable to release anything further yet".

Further details of which unit is to be saved will undoubtedly follow when the time suits

Work continues on the restoration of 40145 but photo's have surfaced of the locomotive now sporting a very smart looking BR Green livery with the world famous BR Lions & Wheels Logo added

It has been announced by the GCRN board that they have decided to rebrand the railway and will now be known as The Nottingham Heritage Railway with immediate effect.

Mike Newton becomes the new chairman of the organisation and has posted his plans on how he and the rest of the team intend to run the railway - this can be found in full on the NHR (formerly GCRN) Twitter page @GcrNottingham

"With the recent handover of 43102 (one of the power cars involved in the 1987 record breaking test run) to the National Collection at Shildon, the other power car 43159, has faced a less certain future, having been in store for a prolonged period since retirement from Great Western operation.

125 Group is delighted to announce today that Porterbrook, the power car’s owner, has made a fantastic donation of this second world diesel speed record holder 43159, to 125 Group."

With this fantastic news, it enables the 125 Group to showcase each variant of the HST with them now owning a power care with a Valenta engine (when fitted), 2 with VP185 engines and now an MTU.

(First 2 paragraphs are extracts from the 125 Group press release. For more info visit https://www.125group.org.uk/porterbrooks-generous-donation-completes-hst-story-showcase/)

The East Lancashire Railway need your help! They are looking to complete the restoration of LMS Jinty 47324 (affectionately known as "Jimmy") to help provide locomotive operations along the ELR for future generations.

They hope to be able to enhance the progress of this engine's restoration with the aim of seeing her on the track by 2023. Any donation would be appreciated.

Donate at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/ELR-Jinty

(Detail taken from ELR newsletter)

All aboard! The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is delighted to announce cameras are rolling on STUDIOCANAL's "The Railway Children Return", a sequel to one of the most beloved British family films of all time.

Jenny Agutter resumes her role from the original film. Sheridan Smith, Tom Courtenay & a new generation of railway children to star. Coming to UK cinemas 1 April 2022.

A group of children are evacuated to a Yorkshire village during World War 2, where they encounter a young soldier, who like them, is far away from home…"

Please note that the railway have kindly requested that members of the public, including railway enthusiasts, stay away from the filming locations and avoid lineside photography of any of the filming.

(Info taken from a KWVR newsletter)

The Mid-Suffolk Light Railway is very pleased to announce that the railway has won this years HRA Morgan Preservation award for the restoration and return to traffic of the original Shredded Wheat factory shunter, immediately dubbed ‘Shreddie’ by all involved.

This amazing project, returning a rusting hulk which hadn’t turned a wheel in 15 years back to working order, was carried out by two Middy volunteers, Neal and Nigel Davis with the enthusiastic support of the loco’s owner Tony Goff in just 6 months.

The restoration work on D182 (46045) by the Peak Locomotive Company goes on and progress is being made towards the loco returning to action.

The generator unit is now back in the loco and the loco has been started up successfully showing the signs the group are making with this restoration. There are still bits to be done before it turns a wheel again including the potential of the boiler being reinstated (although at the time of writing this was only a possibility, with no definitive plans in place). It has also been confirmed that the locomotive will receive some new colour(s) prior to it returning to action - but we will leave the details of the colour scheme to your imagination for now.......

The Telford Steam Railway are pleased to announce the purchase of British Rail Class 142 "Pacer" No. 142058 from Angel Trains.

The 142 unit will join 144013 in providing an accewssible service to all as well as operating trains on our line at a lower cost"

(Info taken from @TSRHeritage Twitter feed)

During the various stages of the Covid 19 restrictions, the Mid-suffolk Light Railway have still been able to make significant progress on their main project of extending the line.

The first major advance was the preparation and tidying around the Dovebrook platform, which also included the building of a new footbridge to access both the station and picnic areas. This work was carried out by the Middy Infrastructure Team. On March 1st TES2000 Network Rail Contractors carried out more heavy lifting for the MSLR beyond Dovebrook taking the line to the beginning of the climb to the final destination. The TES eight man team extended the track some 73 metres closer to the long held aim of adding a further 500 metres to the track length. The work also included crossing the divide caused by the public footpath and installing a new public foot crossing. A 360 degree road/rail digger was employed with the Middy’s own works train in support.

This is the first time that the track has been extended for 15 years. The new section follows the existing track bed and when completed, will enhance the visitor experience of this unique Edwardian Railway by more than doubling the length of demonstration journey and giving passengers a ‘destination’, Aspall Halt, where the line will terminate. The construction is being modelled on the old station at Wilby, which had the minimal building and facilities so typical of the cash-strapped Middy.

The MSLR is now renewing its campaign to fund the rest of the track work and the platform at the end of the line - the railway already has the station building - a recovered original MSLR building from the old station at Haughley. Members, friends and the general public are invited to ‘Sponsor-a Sleeper’ for £15.00 each at the Middy website www.mslr.org.uk/middy appeal - sponsors will receive a certificate and chance to win a Driver Experience worth £240.00 in a prize draw.

Work to convert 58022 into a recreated version of the first ever British mainline diesel electric locomotive, LMS 10000, goes on.

Having moved the donor locomotive to Wirksworth, the group's base on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, today saw the arrival of the ex EM2 bogies, purchased from the EM2 Locomotive Society. Having this important part of the project is a major step forward for the group and, with the hope of covid restrictions easing in coming months, will allow the group to really move forward with the challenge of recreating a piece of British railway heritage.

For more in depth news visit their website here - https://lms10000.co.uk/news