December 2009 news archive

Two days left... posted on 30/12/2009
Thursday and Friday - New Year's Eve and New Year's Day - are the last two operating days of the railway's 2009 season. And on New Year's Day, you could go to the races on the Honeybourne Line!
Don't let the weather put you off! posted on 29/12/2009
...becasue there is a warm welcome and a dry train to bring a little post-Christmas cheer on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. And there's only three days of operation to go, so go on, put on your coat and come along!
An ordinary day… that turned out to be an historic occasion posted on 29/12/2009
2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the construction of 9F class 2-10-0 no. 92220 Evening Star, the last steam locomotive built for British Railways. At the time, Honeybourne Line locomotive department volunteer, Geoff White, was a fireman at Old Oak Common in London. It fell to him to fire Evening Star on its first revenue-earning journey from Swindon to London.
Mags feature the Honeybourne Line posted on 24/12/2009
Good media coverage in Steam Railway and Heritage Railway brings the latest updates on the GWR for readers.
Cracker of a Christmas: packed with action! posted on 22/12/2009
The last Santa Specials are running – all fully booked and Christmas is just around the corner. So what’s happening on the Honeybourne Line after Christmas and into the New Year?
A day in the life of a Santa Elf posted on 15/12/2009
The GWR’s Santa Specials have a special place in the hearts of literally thousands of families and they have been happening for 20 years now. The trains start from Toddington and travel to Winchcombe where Santa is waiting. There are traditional, and very good, refreshments waiting for everyone in the main room at Winchcombe station, too.
Christmas Cracker timetable and loco allocation posted on 13/12/2009
P&O boiler steam test report and pictures posted on 08/12/2009
Breathtaking ‘Truro’ model launched at Toddington posted on 07/12/2009
Following this website’s exclusive breaking news of the launch of a Bachman limited-edition model of ‘City of Truro’ last Friday 4th December, the model is now available from the National Railway Museum after it was revealed for the first time at Toddington.
Latest update from the linside clearance team posted on 06/12/2009
Latest S&T update posted on 06/12/2009
Latest P&O update posted on 06/12/2009
Stunning new Bachmann model launched at Toddington posted on 04/12/2009
On Friday 4th December at 12.00, an exciting new and exclusive model of City of Truro was launched by Bachmann, while the prototype simmered in the platform at Toddington.
GWR online ticketing hits the spot posted on 04/12/2009
The GWR’s first-ever online ticketing venture, for the 2009 Santa Special season, has been a real success with over 3,000 tickets issued online to date - and the concept will shortly be rolled out for all other train tickets.
Bridge progress posted on 03/12/2009
Work has been progressing well on the two current bridge projects on the GWR – at Laverton and at Gretton.
Santa comes early to the Honeybourne Line! posted on 02/12/2009
If your’re wondering what to do with the kids this weekend then the Honeybourne Line has just the answer – because Father Christmas arrives at his favourite heritage railway on Saturday!
November dips but year to date well ahead posted on 02/12/2009
Latest ticket figures show a slight dip in numbers over November but the number of tickets issued year to date are well ahead of last year