RAIL Express editor Richard Clinnick presented Class 50 Alliance chairman Tony Middleton with the Heritage Railway Association Mortons Media Rail Express Modern Traction Award at a ceremony in Brighton on February 10.
The C50A won the award for having supplied locomotives for 100 main line tours, with the 100th train running on September 16, 2023, when Nos. 50007 Hercules and 50049 Defiance hauled the 1Z50 05.30 Swindon-Edinburgh Waverley ‘Pilgrim Centurion’ (RE330); the first having operated on November 1, 1997, when No. 50031 Hood powered Past-Time Rail’s ‘The Pilgrim Hoover’ between Birmingham International and Plymouth.
The event itself, the largest of its kind organised by the HRA, was attended by more than 250 of the country’s leading preservationists.
Railway of the Year was won by the Volks Electric Railway, with judges impressed by the authenticity, attention to detail and dedication to the unique history of Brighton’s seafront line. This was the first time a railway with no steam traction had won the award.
was awarded to for his work as chairman of the was given to the for its ‘Railways at Work’ gala event.
