BREaKING NEWS

• 5199 for Dean forest gala

GWR ‘Large Prairie’ No. 5199 is booked for the Dean Forest Railway’s ‘Royal Forest of Steam’ gala on June 7-9. Llangollen-based No. 5199 will be one of up to four locomotives in operation at the event, including resident ‘Small Prairie’ No. 5541 and ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST No. 152 Rennes.

Visitors will have the opportunity to drive a locomotive for £10, and the locomotive shed will be open for public viewing.

• ‘B12’ keighley visit off

The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is seeking a replacement visiting engine for its Spring Steam Gala, as ‘B12’ No. 8572 can no longer attend. The North Norfolk Railway-based Holden 4-6-0 was booked to appear at the March 8-10 event alongside newly overhauled ‘Jubilee’

No. 45596 Bahamas, but logistics problems have prevented its movement by road.

ffestiniog crossing Bash •

The Rail Accident Investigation Branch is looking into an incident which occurred on the Ffestiniog Railway on January 6, when an engineering train collided with a set of level crossing gates. No-one was hurt when the engineering train, travelling on a falling gradient, failed to stop at Penrhyn crossing – the line’s only manually worked level crossing – although the gates were damaged.