eatures

40 WIRKSWORTH: THE LAST PERFECT BRANCH LINE?
More than a decade ago, Heritage Railway reported on a fledgling railway revivalist scheme to reopen the then moribund Duffield a€ Wirksworth branch line in Derbyshire. Now, just weeks away from the linea€ s full reopening, Neil Ferguson-Lee of WyvernRail plc, the community venture behind the linea€ s opening, describes its renaissance and explains why this might well be the last perfect branch line to reopen

64 FOWLERa€ S 4-6-0 a€" THE ROYAL SCOTS
Dave Wilson examines the history of a class which transformed the LMS express services in the 1920s and although quickly overshadowed by much bigger engines, was still managing to put up superb performances nearly 40 years later.

72 THE REINVENTION OF SNOWDONIA: NEW RAILWAY, NEW ENGINE
The Welsh Highland Railway is Britaina€ s newest and longest heritage line, built on an old alignment. It also has Britaina€ s newest steam locomotive built to a traditional design, the Lynton & Barnstaple replica 2-6-2T Lyd, regarded by many as the a€~narrow gauge Tornadoa€ . In this special feature, Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways general manager Paul Lewin gives a rare insight of what it is like to both build and drive a new locomotive for the first time, while Robin Jones takes a journey on the first public trip on the fully-completed Welsh Highland from Porthmadog to Caernarfon.

80 STARTING YOUNG a€" HOW I GOT INTO PHOTOGRAPHY
How do people find themselves drawn to railway photography, sometimes from a very early age? Andrew Strongitharm, 17, recalls how he was bitten by the bug and the pleasure it gives.

88 WHERE FEW STEAM FANS HAVE GONE BEFORE
Heritage railways are all about saving the past for the future. However, on extremely rare occasions there arises the opportunity to travel back into the past, and experience a bygone era for perhaps the final time before it too succumbs to modernisation and is swept away forever. One such occasion will be the Railway Touring Companya€ s trip to Belarus and Ukraine in late May, on which you can ride a€" and yes, photograph a€" many examples of classic steam in what has been described as the last Stalin era outpost in Europe, without having a man in a thick grey overcoat waiting to place a firm hand on your shoulder as you press the button, writes Robin Jones.

Regulars

6 HEADLINE NEWS
Bittern to become blue as Dominion of New Zealand; to repatriate one of three Robinson O4s in Australia; BR green leads vote for next Sutherland livery; GWR prairie to launch Spa Valley services to Eridge both a€~Britsa€ main line comebacks imminent; Australiaa€ s most famous steam locomotive in German boiler shock.

10 NEWS
GWR steam railmotor now painted and running a€" first pictures; Great Central hosts Gloucestershire Warwickshire SOS appeal fundraising gala; Churchward 28XX completes West Somerset gala list; 20 to steam at North Yorkshire Moors Railway gala; Foxfield running again after trains a€~bana€ ; the end for Weymoutha€ s street tramway; Great Central coaches vandalised in Ã