In a sector as permanently vibrant as that of railway enthusiasm and heritage, it seems that building new locomotives was always going to be a logical stage of natural progression. The pioneers of the embryonic preservation movement bought redundant steam locomotives from BR and industry, some still in working order, and when those supplies were exhausted turned to Dai Woodham’s scrapyard at Barry before setting out on the long, arduous and painstaking road to restoration. Sadly, many locomotive types did not make it to Barry and were rendered extinct elsewhere, leaving gaping voids in the future heritage steam fleet which enthusiasts longed to fill.
Following the success of more manageable miniature and then narrow gauge new-build projects, the next step forward would be standard gauge, which comes at a far greater cost both in terms of expense and time. Without the production lines and associated resources of the steam era, a standard gauge new build might well take decades to bring to fruition.
In 1990, market leader The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust was founded with the intention of building the 50th Arthur Peppercorn LNER A1 4-6-2, and thanks to a combination of magnificent engineering expertise and a honed ability to raise essential funds from the wider public, No. 60163 Tornado was completed at Darlington in 2008. This can-do message resounded loud and clear throughout the heritage sector and showed the path for others to follow.
As the sector’s first big news story of 2024, we now see the emergence of GWR 4-6-0 No. 6880 Betton Grange. The seeds of the project to recreate a class last seen in 1965 were sown in 1998, and dogged perseverance and expertise on several fronts has now brought forth ripe fruit destined to draw the crowds wherever it goes.
Its builders, however, are by no means alone, and a plethora of commendable standard gauge projects are underway which, if all goes well, will see a succession of new locomotives appear in the years to come.
The next standard gauge new-build set to enthral us is likely to be the Bluebell Railway-based replica of LBSCR Brighton Atlantic No. 32424 Beachy Head, of the Southern Railway-built 4-4-2 No. 424, the original having been withdrawn in April 1958 and scrapped the following month.
This project was formally announced in October 2000, but work had been underway for some time, the boiler for the scheme having been discovered in a yard near Maldon station in Essex in 1986. In 1999, the wheelsets for
