The Occasional Express

Welcome back to Branch Line News! Your source for summarized events in the rail word. Whether large, standard gauge locomotives or narrow gauge, and even model railways, all stories are welcome here. This' your Branch Line News for the week of January 17, 2020. (Writer's Note: To make sources easier to find, I will put them underneath each story separately, please let me know if you like this form or not) Taffy Tank Reunion Following up on a story in last week's Branch Line News, we begin once again in the UK at the Swindon & Crickdale Railway. In case you missed last week's Branch Line News, the nonprofit Swindon & Crickdale Railway announced that Great Western Taffy tank No. 6695 will be moved and based at their railway for the foreseeable future, alongside sibling 5619, currently on loan to the S&CR. Now, a third Taffy Tank is going to be coming, or rather returning, to the S&CR. Taffy Tank No. 5637, owned and operated by the 5637 Steam Loco...

Welcome back to Branch Line News, your summarized (fan run) news source for train related topics! Note from the Writer: I would like to apologize for the lack of posts recently, Christmas Break has been very hectic for me. I found a lot of stories I wanted to include, but unfortunately ran out of time. So in case you missed these stories, here's your December 2019 Recap. New Home for Taffy Tank 6695 Great Western Railway 6695, a member of the 5600 "Taffy Tank" class, has recently found a new heritage railway to call home. No. 6695, built in 1928, and is one of hundreds of locomotives to survive into preservation by being sent to the Woodham Scrapyard, better known as Barry Island in 1964, according to a Facebook post announcing the move. 6695 was originally based at the Swanage Railway and was unfortunately damaged at a gala on the West Somerset Railway in 2015. On December 5, 2019, the Swindon & Crickdale Railway announced that they were teaming up with 6695 ...