2021 NATIONAL GARDEN RAILWAY SHOW - 26th JUNE 2021

The National Garden Railway Show 2021

LOCATION:
The Peterborough Arena, East of England Show Ground
Peterborough, Northamptonshire PE2 6XE

OPENING TIMES:
9.30am - 1.00pm  //  1.30pm - 5pm

ADMISSION:  Adults £10.50       

Yes there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it's a 16mm loco coming towards you! Don't miss the 2021 National Garden Railway Show, almost certainly the first live garden railway show for over 12 months and possibly the only such live event in 2021 where 16mm, G Scale and G1 traders and exhibits will be all under one roof. 

The Association has over 4,000 members and the National Show normally attracts over 2,000 visitors. Since it will not be possible to accommodate that number at one time at the 2021 show, to maximise the opportunity to attend, the show will have morning and afternoon sessions, each three and a half hours long, the first starting at 09:30 and the second at 13:30. At present, the organisation have taken a conservative view of the number of visitors which we anticipate we’ll be able to admit to the show and have set this at 750 visitors per session, i.e. 75% of the maximum permitted indoor capacity. To ensure that we don’t exceed this number, entry will be all-ticket, sold in advance.

There will be no admittance to the show between 13:00 and 13:30, so that we can ensure that all visitors to the morning session have left before we admit the afternoon session and for essential cleaning. These two sessions will allow up to 1,500 visitors to enjoy the show, clearly fewer than in the past. 

The 16mm Association is planning for the same high levels of trader, society and layout support at the June 2021 show that have characterised the National Garden Railway Show since its inception, but the COVID pandemic will mean some changes. To this end we will continue working with Peterborough Arena, the local authority, Public Health England and our exhibitors and traders to make sure that our show is compliant with the prevailing protocols for indoor events. We expect these to include entry only by ticket sold in advance, for all attendees to be scanned in and out, face masks to be required and for restrictions on crowd density.

For this reason there are two visitor sessions, and tickets for one or the other must be bought in advance. The hall will be cleared and cleaned between the two sessions in line with the all secure standard.

Live steam garden railway models in action all day! 12 layouts:

Name	Scale/Gauge	Motive Power
4000 Yards	16mm scale / 32mm gauge	Battery
Aberwym	16mm scale / 32mm gauge	Battery, Live Steam
Albion Estates	7/8ths Scale	Track
Anglia Roads	Gauge 1	Live Steam (Gas / Meths / Coal), Battery
Chalfont	Gauge 3	Battery
Garden Rail’s garden railway	16mm scale / 45mm gauge	Battery
Hampton End	G-scale / 45mm gauge	Track
Lower Chaldon	16mm scale / 32mm gauge	Live Steam
Modular	16mm scale / 32mm gauge	Live Steam
Rhydypenderyn	16mm scale / 32mm gauge	Live Steam
Tor Halt	16mm scale / 32mm gauge	Live Steam
Upcycling Pop-Up Railway	16mm scale / 45mm gauge	Live Steam

Nearest Railway Stations:
Peterborough [3.63 miles]
Whittlesea [8.51 miles]
Stamford (Lincs) [9.85 miles]
MAP

HERITAGE RAILWAYS 2021 PART FIVE - CUMBRIA AND NORTH EAST REGION

While we are continuing to see the easing of the lockdown rules during 2021 we have been looking at a several of the Heritage Railways around Britain. In part one we took a look at some of the relatively local GWR based heritage railways and then we moved a little further down the line for part two towards Bristol and the West where there are several lines which have survived into preservation. Then in part three we headed over the border into Wales to enjoy some of the many 'Great Little Railways of Wales' a second instalment for this is a necessity. Last time for part four of our series ventured over the English border again, this time heading north into Scotland, there we were looking at heritage railways around the Cairngorms region between Inverness and Aberdeen, now for this next chapter in the series we drop back into England and view the northern area of Cumbria and Northumberland.

Weardale Railway
https://www.weardale-railway.com/about/

The line between Bishop Auckland and Stanhope was built in stages by between 1845 and 1862, British Railways passenger services survived until June 1953 and the line kept open then only for limestone traffic from the Eastgate Cement works until March 1993. The railway was then mothballed until 2004 when it was purchased by 'Weardale Railways Limited'. The heritage line runs through the picturesque Wear Valley skirting the river wear for 18 miles, starting from the beautiful small market town of Stanhope, situated within the Northern Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in County Durham, with intermediate stations at Frosterley, Wolsingham and Witton-le-Wear ending at the market town of Bishop Auckland. The railway trust is currently undertaking a project to install a new halt at Kingfisher Caravan Park with valuable assistance from staff between Frosterley and Wolsingham.

Tanfield Railway
https://www.tanfield-railway.co.uk/

The Tanfield Railway is a standard gauge heritage railway in Gateshead and County Durham, England. Running on part of a former colliery wooden waggon way, later a steam railway. It operates preserved industrial steam locomotives. The railway operates a passenger service every Sunday, plus other days, as well as occasional demonstration coal, goods and mixed trains. The line runs 3 miles (4.8 km) between a southern terminus at East Tanfield, Durham, to a northern terminus at Sunniside, Gateshead. Another station, Andrews House, is situated near the Marley Hill engine shed. A halt also serves the historic site of the Causey Arch. The railway claims to be "the world's oldest railway". The preserved line was first built from Marley Hill to the current northern terminus, Sunniside Station, with passenger trains beginning on 2 July 1981. Since 2017, the railway has become the home to a large collection of industrial steam engines, with 28 in all, though only three are operational. One is undergoing repairs and three more are under overhaul for future operation, with the other 21 around the Marley Hill site.

Operational steam locomotives

Number and name	Description		Livery	Owner(s)	Date	Photograph
Hawthorn Leslie and Company 0-4-0ST, No.2.	Built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company in 1911. Re-entered service after an overhaul in 2013.		A few different shades of green with lining	Tanfield Railway Trust	1911
0-4-0ST Sir Cecil A Cochrane	Sir Cecil A Cochrane was built by Robert Stephenson + Hawthorns in 1948 and worked a few miles from its current home. It is currently in regular use on passenger services.		RSH works livery (lined green)	Private	1948
Andrew Barclay 0-6-0ST No. 1015 "Horden"	This engine was built by Andrew Barclay. The locomotive has been under restoration since August 2012 and is expected to enter service in early 2021.		N/A	Private	1904
0-6-0T Twizell	Twizell was built by Robert Stephenson and Company in 1891. Currently owned by Beamish Museum, it is currently on long term loan to the Railway.		Black, Lined in Red	Beamish Museum	1891
Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns 0-6-0ST NCB No. 49	Built by RSH in 1943. The locomotive returned to service hauling passenger trains in July.		Green with white and black lining	Private	1943

Ravenglass & Eskdale Steam Railway
https://ravenglass-railway.co.uk/about-us/

One of the great things to do with all the family is a steam train ride from Ravenglass across seven miles into the heart of the Eskdale Valley and to the foot of Scafell Pike on one of the oldest and longest narrow gauge railways in England. The heritage steam engines transport passengers from Ravenglass, the only coastal village in the Lake District National Park to Dalegarth for Boot that is 210ft above sea level. The journey takes 40 minutes up the line from the protected nature reserve of the Ravenglass Estuary through ancient woodlands and fells of the Eskdale Valley.

South Tynedale Railway
https://www.south-tynedale-railway.org.uk/about-us/

The South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society has run and developed the railway as an incorporated society since 1983, developing the work of an unincorporated group started in 1973. The railway follows the former route of British Rail’s Haltwhistle to Alston branch line. The railway was closed in 1976 and has been partially reopened as a Narrow Gauge line operating over the original route of the former BR line. 

A voluntary society was formed to take over the entire route but its initial efforts failed. However, a reformed group successfully opened the first stage of a narrow gauge railway in 1983. Since then the railway has grown and prospered, the South Tynedale Railway heads northwards for almost 5 miles from Alston in Cumbria, past the original terminus at Gilderdale, on through Kirkhaugh and Lintley to the village of Slaggyford. Future plans exist to completely restore the line and reconnect Alston with Haltwhistle. 

Negotiations with British Railways Board (Residuary) Ltd. have secured a seven metre wide strip of land at Haltwhistle station following the line of the Alston branch and negotiations with Network Rail to secure access for South Tynedale trains to the one-time bay platform at Haltwhistle are ongoing.

Aln Valley Railway
https://www.alnvalleyrailway.co.uk/about-us/the-project

The Alnwick branch line is a partly closed railway line in Northumberland, northern England. A heritage railway operates a short section of the line, which originally ran from Alnmouth railway station, on the East Coast Main Line, to the town of Alnwick, a distance of 2+3⁄4 miles (4.4 km).

The principal objective of the Aln Valley Railway Trust is the restoration and operation of the railway between Alnmouth and Alnwick, providing an additional tourist attraction for the area and to enlarge the district's tourism offering. This project also aims to develop the railway corridor as a sustainable transport link as well as a recreational and educational resource for the local community and visitors to the area. “The Cawledge viaduct is the jewel in the crown of the Aln Valley Railway. It's both an amazing feat of Victorian engineering and a beautiful piece of architecture. Sadly, years of neglect have left it in poor condition. "This project will make sure that it's still there for people to enjoy for the next 100 years.” It is believed to be the country’s oldest, existing heritage railway viaduct. Constructed by the contractors Rush and Lawkin, work started in August 1848 and took almost two years to complete. The viaduct was designed by Robert Stephenson and is built to a similar design as the nearby Lesbury Viaduct, on the Alnmouth to Berwick main line. Due to the building of the A1 bypass which cut the original track bed on the outskirts of the town, and the construction of industrial units and a supermarket on ex-railway land, the costs of getting the line to the original station in Alnwick are almost prohibitive.

A new station has been built on a greenfield site in Lloyd's Field, adjacent to the Lionheart Enterprise Park just outside Alnwick. The new 'Lionheart Station' is aligned parallel to the A1 from where a single track line joins and follows the original track bed towards Alnmouth Station, near Hipsburn. Ultimately heritage steam and diesel locomotives will haul trains between the two locations. As an integral part of the project, a permissive cycle path runs alongside the railway line, and will link up with the National Cycle Network at Alnmouth and the A1068 road next to the A1. This provides a safe corridor for cyclists, pedestrians and riders, and has also been proposed to form the basis for an educational nature trail. The current extent of the line has reached Greenrigg Bridge Halt, and the intention is to continue southwards along the original route to reach Alnmouth and connect with the National Rail network there, a piece of land has been secured at the station making this possible with sufficient funding and goodwill. An important part of the regeneration of any Heritage Railway is that they have plans for future expansion, given they have been going less than twenty years this is an impressive piece of work.

FLYING SCOTSMAN - KINGS CROSS to YORK - THE WHITE ROSE TOUR

The White Rose tour with Flying Scotsman
Saturday 19th June 2021

Join the tour for an exhilarating main line steam run from London’s King’s Cross to the historic city of York. York is world famous for its variety of visitor attractions and home to the National Railway Museum. Our train will be hauled from London to York by steam locomotive No.60103 Flying Scotsman and will be diesel hauled for the return journey back to London.

We leave London King’s Cross in the morning behind Flying Scotsman and follow the East Coast Main Line route of famous express trains of the past. We storm up the gradient through Gasworks Tunnel and Finsbury Park, and northwards, calling at Stevenage, Huntingdon and Peterborough to pick up more passengers.

Our famous steam locomotive then tackles the 15-mile climb up the famous Stoke Bank. Here on 3rd July 1938, “Mallard”, an A4 class ‘Pacific’, achieved a world record speed of 126 mph when travelling in the opposite direction. Once over the summit we should have a good, fast run down the 20 mile descent to the Trent Valley and on through Grantham, Newark and Retford. We steam through Doncaster and continue northwards to our mid-day stop in York.

There will be plenty of time for passengers to enjoy the city and all it has to offer. York has some major tourist attractions including the National Railway Museum, the largest museum of its type in Britain; the Castle; the Shambles; the splendid Gothic York Minster, one of the largest of its kind in northern Europe; and the city walls. There are a number of other interesting museums, quaint alleyways, and a good variety of shops.

The train leaves York late afternoon, and we will retrace our outward steps along the East Coast Main Line hauled by a diesel locomotive. We stop to set down passengers at the same stations as on the northbound journey, arriving at King’s Cross in the evening.

Flying Scotsman info;

60103 Flying Scotsman has been described as the most famous steam locomotive in the world. Built in 1923 for the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) at Doncaster Works to a design of H.N. Gresley, it was employed on long-distance express trains on the LNER and its successors, British Railways Eastern and North-Eastern Regions, notably on the London to Edinburgh Flying Scotsman train service after which it was named.

The locomotive set two world records for steam traction, becoming the first steam locomotive to be officially authenticated at reaching 100 miles per hour on 30 November 1934, and then setting a record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive when it ran 422 miles on 8 August 1989 while in Australia. Retired from regular service in 1963 after covering 2,076,000 miles, Flying Scotsman gained considerable fame in preservation under the ownership of Alan Pegler, William McAlpine (seen below), Tony Marchington and finally the National Railway Museum (NRM). As well as hauling enthusiast specials in the United Kingdom, the locomotive toured extensively in the United States and Canada (from 1969 to 1973) and Australia (from 1988 to 1989).

Approximate timings shown

Station	Outward	Return
London King’s Cross	06:40	22:15
Stevenage	07:20	21:20
Huntingdon	08:00	20:40
Peterborough	08:30	19:10
York	12:40	16:10

SECOND HAND N GAUGE MODELS #8 -- D1036 WESTERN EMPEROR [Class 52 BR Green]

N Gauge - D1036 'Western Emperor'
During the latest Covid 'lock down' have been enjoying my hobby of railway modelling and adding to my collection in N Gauge. Also had a chance to give a fair few of my models a test run at home, although the O Gauge stuff will just have to wait till some of the local open days can restart but in this blog we'll going to talk about one of my favourite diesel classes from my childhood, the Westerns. Class 52's that used to thunder across the Western Region of England hauling express passenger services to Bristol, Devon and Cornwall. Having already picked up a couple of different Westerns (and I still really want the sand coloured one to complete the different liveries) I was delighted to pick up a third one in BR Green "Western Emperor". There are a number of Blue westerns on eBay and they are going for a pretty high price so was pleased to pick this up for under £40 and even more so when it didn't take much more than a clean up and oil to have it running nicely on my test track at home. Very smooth immaculate looking locomotives just like the real thing. Some pictures of my model to follow;

Class 52 Background
Built: Crewe Works May 6th 1963, allocated to Old Oak Common (81A)
Livery: On entering service: Green with small-yellow warning panels, black-backed number and nameplates and black roof panels. Was allocated to Laira (84A) depot by the time it was withdrawn from service and subsequently sent to Swindon to be cut up, so sadly this model was scrapped following it's withdrawal from service although at least seven members from this class still survive today.

Royal Duty: On May 10th 1963 Western Emperor is believed to be the 1st Western in use on Royal Train duty when she worked the 1X01 Paddington to Pontypool Road / Abergavenny (+ Abergavenny-Paddington return service).

The D1000 series locomotives were to be named after famous West of England place names; the portfolio shows D1000 bearing the working title "Cheddar Gorge". This trend was not followed in production, however, and the Westerns were named with general heraldic and regimental terms prefixed with the word "Western"

D1036 Western Emperor was built at Crewe in 1962 and withdrawn in 1976.

Class 52 in Preservation
Of the 74 locomotives built, 7 have survived to preservation. While 3 of these are at the Severn Valley Railway it's sad that only 1 is currently available for Main Line running. D1062 Western Courier attended the Rocket 150 celebrations at Rainhill in May 1980, the only privately owned diesel locomotive to do so. Would have been great to see these out in the summer on excursions and trips down to West Country.

D1010 Western Campaigner -- Withdrawn 28.02.77.
Owned by the Diesel & Electric Preservation Group, @West Somerset Railway

D1013 Western Ranger   --   Withdrawn 28.02.77.
Owned by the Western Locomotive Association, @Severn Valley Railway

D1015 Western Champion --  Withdrawn 13.12.76.
Owned by the Diesel Traction Group, @Severn Valley Railway.
It is the only Western Loco that is certified for mainline use.

D1023 Western Fusilier  --   Withdrawn 28.02.77.
The final Western to receive a general overhaul at Swindon works, in February 1973. Now part of the national collection, @National Railway Museum.

D1041 Western Prince --   Withdrawn 23.02.77.
Owned by Diesel Group of the East Lancashire Railway.

D1048 Western Lady -- Withdrawn 28.02.77.
Owned privately, Midland Diesel Group, @Midland Railway – Butterley.

D1062 Western Courier -- Withdrawn 22.08.74.
Owned by Western Locomotive Association, @Severn Valley Railway.

Graham Farish Class 52 [D1036] Western Emperor

Managed to pick this one up via a popular online auction site it's in immaculate condition and a beautiful runner around my own test track. Liked it so much I went back and picked up yet another different Class 52 (Western Gauntlet) as a result I now have one in BR Maroon, Green and Blue livery as a result I am regularly on the look out for the sand livery worn by D1000 Western Enterprise but seems to be very rare and as a result rather expensive. The Green livery does well to break up the regular blues of many of my other BR Diesel's that I currently own, will probably look out for a few steam models next as I think I have more than enough coaching stock for the time being. (rule #1 always applies with my choice of stock).

And here's a picture of the real thing in later BR Blue livery seen ready to depart at Plymouth;