SINGLE LINES

■ THE landslip which deposited some 100 tons of soil on a section of Heatherslaw Light Railway track during heavy rain and consequent flooding at the beginning of February (RM, April) has been cleared, and reconstruction of the bank beside the railway undertaken by contractors. Having dug a base channel below the newly landscaped embankment, stone-filled gabions were installed at the beginning of April. The 15in gauge line hoped work would be completed to enable reopening at the beginning of May.

■ RUSTON 11/13hp 4wDM Alistair (201970/1940) and four ex-RAF Chilmark wagons arrived at Statfold Barn Railway on March 11. The loco is owned by a member of Statfold staff. It originally entered preservation at the Ffestiniog Railway, later went to Gartell Light Railway, and was relocated to the Hayling Seaside Railway, where its current owner is a volunteer, in 2005. It may return to Hayling Island in the future. The wagons, also privately owned, are expected to feature as a freight train during Statfold Open Days.

■ CONTRACTORS removed the life-expired Welsh Highland Railway bridge at Plas y Nant (RM, January) on March 2 and lifted the newly constructed span into position on March 8. With installation complete, the new bridge was handed over to the railway on March 11. Track was reinstated at the end of March and test trains run over it.

■ SITTINGBOURNE & Kemsley Light Railway has completed its ‘Project Sittingbourne’ programme of improvements to Sittingbourne Viaduct station. Aided by a £26,500 Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage grant (RM, February), a new toilet block has been delivered, plumbed in and wired, and a new step-free access ramp has been cleared and secured behind new fencing.

■ HAVING made 32 staff redundant at the end of 2020 as Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways (Ff&WHR) faced the financial consequences of Covid-19, it has now advertised 16 new posts. These primarily relate to catering operations at Porthmadog Harbour, Caernarfon and Tan-y-Bwlch stations.

■ THE right-hand cylinder casting for replica Ffestiniog Railway George England 0-4-0TT Mountaineer, being built for 1863 Mountaineer Locomotive Ltd by North Bay Railway Engineering Services (NBRES), has been delivered and is ready to be machined when finance is available. Some £9000 is needed to undertake the machining, of which £1,400 has been raised. The boiler is complete at NBRES and the wheels were being produced in late March. Drawings for the chassis are in preparation.

■ WITH the steel frame for the Lappa Valley Railway’s new shop and indoor play area fitted with roofing and side cladding, the concrete floor was poured in March.