The East Lancashire Railway has announced that steam locomotive 60103 Flying Scotsman will be hauling a special fundraising railtour from Bury Bolton Street to Holyhead in order to raise funds for 34092 City of Wells. Flying Scotsman will depart Bury Bolton Street on the 15th September 2018. This is a one-off railtour to North Wales and … More City of Wells Flyer Announced
Buckley Wells – The Board were presented with an update on progress. The ELR has one of the largest locomotive, carriage and wagon maintenance, repair and restoration sites of any UK heritage railway. Within the site is the Grade 2 listed 1856 works building. The successful development of Buckley Wells is central to managing current … More News from the Boardroom (May 2018)
Crab Failure – 13065 The absence of the Crab in recent weeks has resulted in lots of questions to me and others. Unfortunately, this popular loco has been taken out of service for the rest of 2018. Two flue tubes on 13065 have been found to be leaking during a routine washout. The flues … More News – Loco 13065 (the crab) failure
The ELR Board, at their meeting in April, discussed a request to significantly increase the level of resources to be made available to the Traction and Rolling Stock Department. The challenge for Board is how can the ELR’s continued growth and demand for traction and rolling stock be met. This will require the performance and … More Traction & Rolling Stock -Major Investment in Resources Announced
Safety Issues Board heard and discussed a number of ongoing safety related issues. Ramsbottom Gates – A progress report S&T was presented. Whilst there is a new temporary safety regime in place (new clasps manually lock one set of the gates) to ensure the gates are closed a more permanent solution is being developed. By … More News from the Boardroom (April 2018)
Buckley Wells Rail Depot and Workshops have been and still are a key strategic asset for the ELR. To ensure we get the best use of all the facilities a Review Group has been set up by the ELR Board and is chaired by Roy Chapman our Director of Development (back right). Graham Thornton has … More Buckley Wells Progress Report
Spring 2018, proved to be both challenging and rewarding. Steam Gala For our February Steam Gala, who could forget the ‘Beast from the East’ blowing in from Siberia, bringing with it exceptionally cold weather which forced several heritage railways to close. Here at the ELR, trains were able to run over all 3 days thanks … More ELR Spring Galas 2018
As we head towards our summer season, the Board reflected on how well the railway has coped with, at times, challenging weather conditions over the past 3 months. Visitor Numbers-despite poor weather monthly numbers are up around 7%. Spring Steam Gala – This event was significantly affected by the ‘Beast from the East’. Despite everyone’s … More News from the Boardroom (March 2018)
The challenges in ensuring the Spring Steam Gala ( 2-4 March) went ahead is worthy of this special posting and to say a massive thank you to all our staff, volunteers and suppliers who, somehow, pulled of the ‘Beast from the East’ miracle. Our thanks also go to our partners Riley & Sons and … More ‘Beast from the East’!!
Boardroom News Diner Train – A new £20,000 generator has been installed. P Way – Ramsbottom Relay work completed. The focus will now switch to installing a new £9,000 point installation just outside Rawtenstall station. Traction & Rolling Stock – The Crab (13065) returned from a perfect and untroubled visit to the Great Central Railway. … More News from the Boardroom (February 2018)
