History
Occasional excursion trains were run around the Scunthorpe Steel Works site (such as in 1986) using the works' own locomotives.
In 1990, British Steel PLC were celebrating their 100 years of steelmaking at their plant in Scunthorpe. The works asked every department the works were asked to join in with the celebrations. Keith Norris, who was rail traffic manager at the time, spoke with the works loco drivers and it was decided the Rail Traffic Department would borrow a steam engine and a coach to take a group of invited dignitaries around the site.
After the first tour, over 100 trips were run for school children and members of the public during the 1990 celebrations. With the last trip in 1990 running in the September, but requests for tours around the work kept coming in.
At the end of 1990, some of the works drivers met with British Steel PLC management and asked if they could run the tours again for the following year. And with this, and management is full agreement, the idea of a railway preservation group was born.
"Belerphon", borrowed from the Vintage Carriage Trust at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. British Rail donated 2 ex-Class 108 DMU Carriages to be used on Rail Tours. RailTours were run throughout the year and donations collected were put towards the maintenance of the coaches and rolling stock.
1992 saw the arrival of "Arnold Machin", an 0-6-0 diesel-electric shunter from (named at the time) East Coast Slag co. which was overhauled and returned to working order, whilst steam traction was provided by "Sir Berkley". This locomotive again on loan from the Vintage Carriages Trust. Towards the end of 1992, a member saw an advert in the Railway Press for a Polish steam locomotive being sold by a Polish Steelworks. With these locos being ideal for operations around the work, 2 members decided to visit the plant in Poland and "Hutnik" was purchased and brought back to Scunthorpe.
In 1993, "Hutnik" (Polish for Iron worker) took charge of her first train, becoming the staple motive power for the next 12 years.
In 1995, after a members' purchase, a Pecket 0-4-0 saddle tank was brought to Scunthorpe, and after receiving a full overhaul, joined "Hutnick" hauling passengers.
Since then, the society has been home to many privately owned locomotives and rolling stock, including a Bagnal 0-4-0 Diesel-hydraulic bought by a members consortium and a steam locomotive owned by a group of volunteers at the Derwent Valley Light Railway.
On occasions, internal steelworks (radio controlled) Locomotives have also been used on passenger trains to the delight of visitors, and with many thanks to British Steel.
The Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRC&W) was a railway locomotive and carriage builder, founded in Birmingham, England and, for most of its existence, located at nearby Smethwick, with the factory divided by the boundary between the two places. The company was established in 1854.
The British Rail Classes 101 and 102 diesel-mechanical multiple units were built by Metro-Cammell at Washwood Heath in Birmingham, England from 1956 to 1959, following construction of a series of prototype units. These classes proved to be some of the most successful and longest-lived of BR's First Generation DMUs, second in longevity only to the Class 121, with the final five units being withdrawn on 24 December 2003. The oldest set was, by then, just over 47 years old.
The North Tyneside Steam Railway and Stephenson Steam Railway are visitor attractions in North Shields, North East England. The museum and railway workshops share a building on Middle Engine Lane adjacent to the Silverlink Retail Park. The railway is a standard gauge line, running south for 2 miles (3.2 km) from the museum to Percy Main. The railway is operated by the North Tyneside Steam Railway Association (NTSRA). The museum is managed by Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums on behalf of North Tyneside Council.
Rutland Railway Museum, now trading as Rocks by Rail: The Living Ironstone Museum, is a heritage railway on part of a former Midland Railway mineral branch line. It is situated north east of Oakham, in Rutland, England.
The Yorkshire Engine Company Janus is a line of 0-6-0 wheel arrangement, diesel-electric locomotives that weighed 48 long tons and had a maximum speed of 23 mph (37 km/h). The two Rolls-Royce C6SFL diesel engines gave a total power output of 400 hp (300 kW). Each engine had its cooling system at the outer end, and its generator at the inner end. There were two traction motors, each being powered by one generator, thus simplifying the electrical system.
The East Anglian Railway Museum is located at Chappel and Wakes Colne railway station in Essex, England, which is situated on the former Great Eastern Railway branch line from Marks Tey to Sudbury. Services on the Sudbury Branch Line are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia.
The British Rail Class 37 is a diesel-electric locomotive. Also known as the English Electric Type 3, the class was ordered as part of the British Rail modernisation plan. They were numbered in two series, D6600–D6608 and D6700–D6999.
Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries, buses and locomotives.
The Yorkshire Engine Company (YEC) was a small independent locomotive manufacturer in Sheffield, England. The company was formed in 1865 and produced locomotives and carried out general engineering work until 1965. It mainly built shunting engines for the British market, but also built main line engines for overseas customers.
The Scottish Region (ScR) was one of the six regions created on British Railways (BR) and consisted of ex-London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and ex-London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) lines in Scotland. It existed from the creation of BR in 1948, and was renamed to ScotRail in the mid-1980s.
This article contains a list of jargon used to varying degrees by railfans, trainspotters, and railway employees in the United Kingdom, including nicknames for various locomotives and multiple units. Although not exhaustive, many of the entries in this list appear from time to time in specialist, rail-related publications. There may be significant regional variation in usage.
British Rail's Class 27 comprised 69 diesel locomotives built by the Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company (BRCW) during 1961 and 1962. They were a development of the earlier Class 26; both were originally classified as the BRCW Type 2. The Class 27s were numbered D5347-D5415.
The NSB Di 8 is a class of diesel-electric locomotives built by Maschinenbau Kiel (MaK), while it was part of Siemens Schienenfahrzeugtechnik, for the Norwegian State Railways (NSB). The locomotives are equipped with a Caterpillar 3516 DI-TA prime mover, which provides a power output of 1,570 kilowatts (2,110 hp) and a starting tractive effort of 270 kilonewtons (61,000 lbf).
Derby Litchurch Lane Works, formerly Derby Carriage and Wagon Works, is a railway rolling stock factory in Derby, England. It is presently owned by the multinational transportation manufacturer Alstom.
The history of British Rail's corporate liveries is quite complex. Although from the mid-1960s to the 1980s the organisation was associated with "Rail Blue", a number of other schemes were also used, especially when it was split into operating units or "sectors" in the mid-1980s.
Operation Phoenix was a post-World War II rehabilitation program carried out by the Victorian Railways (VR) in Australia. The program commenced in 1950 and was originally planned to take 10 years and cost £80 million pounds. Operation Phoenix was named after the bird from Egyptian mythology.
There were a number of engine sheds and railway works located in York. The large York North engine shed became the National Railway Museum in 1975.
Scunthorpe General Hospital is the main hospital for North Lincolnshire. It is situated on Church Lane in the west of Scunthorpe, off Kingsway, and north of the railway.
The Iron and Steel Industry in Scunthorpe was established in the mid 19th century, following the discovery and exploitation of middle Lias ironstone east of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England.
The Yorkshire Engine Company Half Janus is a 0-6-0 wheel arrangement, diesel electric shunting locomotive which weighs 31 long tons with a maximum speed of 20 mph. The Half Janus was built by the Yorkshire Engine Company in Sheffield between 1956 and 1965.
