The Occasional Express

Note from the Manager: Apologies for the long time between posts. Due to events outside of my control, I have not been able to post in a while. Fear not, I shall persevere on. Thank you for waiting with us. Welcome back to Branch Line News, your source for summarized stories of train related topics.           This week we catch up on several events in preservation, ranging from Age of Steam and Ohio Railway Museum in Ohio, to the Riverside & Great Northern in Wisconsin. Grab your tickets, the Branch Line News for the week of 8/17/2020 is now departing!          But before we begin, a moment of memorial. Scott of Scott's Train Service has sadly passed away. For those who do not know, Scott built and sold miniature locomotives, underneath 15" gauge, in what is sometimes called Backyard Railroading or Live Steam. I was in a group with Scott, and while I didn't know him personally, Scott always seemed very professional and kind in h...

A sad month for fans of streamliners and the locomotives of the LNER, as Union of South Africa is officially retired from mainline excursion running. Union of South Africa, No. 60009 (nicknamed the 9) is a member of the LNER A4 Pacific class of streamliners built in the 1930's, according to the LNER Enclyopedia. The most famous member of the class, Mallard, holds the official world speed record for steam. Union of South Africa was built in 1937, according to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, who saw her visit in 2019. After 29 years of service under the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) and later the nationalized British Railways, she was retired in favor of diesels, according to the engine's official Facebook page. Union of South Africa running under BR ownership in 1951. Source: Ben Brooksbank, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13983677 With the end of her revenue career began her excursion career. She has been owned her entire ...

Welcome back to Branch Line News, your source of summarized news for train related topics. Pull out your ticket, and join us for the Branch Line New for the Week of April 20, 2020. Florida East Coast 148 Restored Our first story takes us to Florida and the US Sugar Railroad, who recently revealed the completion of their steam locomotive's restoration. Florida East Coast 148, a 4-6-2 Pacific built in 1920, has a unique history with the line. FEC 148 worked for the Florida East Coast until 1952, according to the 148's Facebook page, and was sold to US Sugar, who operated the engine in freight service. After being retired by US Sugar, 148 traveled around to different private owners, in "New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan and Colorado, until it went out of service in the 1970s," according to the 148's Facebook Page. In 1971, 148 was relettered for the Blackwater & Western, where she ran excursions for a short time. You can see a video of her running by clicki...

Welcome back to Shunting Ideas Around, the editorial series of The Occasional Express. I apologize for the long delay since the last post. Unfortunately since The Occasional Express is a 1 person operation ("big" surprise I'm sure) real life has gotten in the way of researching and writing articles, especially with complications regarding COVID-19. I'm not sure when I will be able to write regularly again, as the foreseeable future looks to have a very depressing mood with preservation groups and heritage railways struggling to make ends meet during the global pandemic. (If you can, please consider donating to your local museum or heritage railway) I'll try to keep things positive here, and want to encourage everyone to follow the professional news sources if I'm not able to post here. And remember we will get through this. All right, onto the topic of this post. Usually with The Occasional Express, if a story's already been covered by the profession...

Another big donation for the Kentucky Steam Heritage Corporation was announced today. The RJ Corman Railroad Group, a premier railroad company founded in 1973 by the late RJ Corman, and owner of 14 short lines, according to their website, announced the donation of the RJ Corman's steam locomotive, affectionately called "Old Smokey." Ed Quinn, President and CEO of RJ Corman Railroad Group, released a statement on the company's website to announce the donation.  "Old Smokey" was built in 1986, and is a part of the world famous Chinese QJ class of 2-10-2 "Santa Fe" type, and worked until 2005. 3 QJ steam locomotives were exported to the United States by the Railroad Development Corporation, according to Mr. Quinn's announcement, including Old Smokey. In 2007, the late RJ Corman purchased her for nostalgic reasons, and was quoted as saying "How do you know where you're going if you don't know where you've been?"  The ...

Welcome back to Shunting Ideas Around, the editorial series of The Occasional Express. Today, I want to reflect on what is (arguably) one of the most historic moments in US Rail Preservation in the 21st Century, but... not for good reasons. The ITM's Fall from a well established museum to a state of disarray and in flux (at least in the public's eyes) did not happen over night. This' a topic I've been meaning to cover for a while, but haven't yet (this' actually my third attempt to write an editorial on this topic). The ITM situation is very complicated. Allow me to try and offer my thoughts. (Disclaimer: This article may appear similar to an article published by Trains Magazine , any similarities are unintentional). If you want to, you can go back and read the article The Future of the ITM , but in a quick summary: In 2016 after 7 whistle blower volunteers were fired by the ITM (against ITM's own policy), they lost their track-age rights with the Hoo...

Welcome back to Branch Line News, your summarized source for news in the train world. To celebrate leap year, here's a weekend branch line news. As always, like the big cities, the Preservation world rarely sleeps. Class 58 Joins Diesel Gala The Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway, founded in 1994 according to the C&PR Railway's website, recently announced a special visitor for their Diesel Gala, that will be held March 27-29, 2020. Class 58 No. 58023 will be visiting the C&PR Railway for the first time, courtesy of Ed Stevenson and the Chawton Junction Railway, who are also providing class 33 33053 for the event. 58023's run will be a historic one, according to the Railway's website and social media, "58023 makes the first public appearance for a Class 58 in preservation and also the first Class 58 since 2002 to haul a passenger train in the UK." The Class 58's were built for British Railways in the 1980's for freight traffic, acc...

— Washford, England. An eviction notice by a nonprofit to another nonprofit in the UK has led to confusion and shock among rail enthusiasts. On February 20th, 2020, The Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust announced that the West Somerset Railway had asked them to leave their Washford cite, which the S&D Railway Trust has loaned from the WSR since the 1970's. (Note: The S&D Railway Trust should not be confused with the similarly named S&D Railway Heritage Trust, a separate organization). To help readers better understand the situation, this article will provide background on both organizations and analyze the statements released by both organizations. Background: S&D Railway Trust In 1966, passenger service the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway was officially shut down by British Railways. The S&D had a long and checkered history, and is still beloved by Rail Enthusiasts. The line was jointly owned by the Midland Railway and London & South West...