Editor’s Thoughts

The First Principles of Railway Signalling 54 Accident to I K Brunel 55 Pages from the Past – Paper Wheels and a Fireman’s Story 56 HP335 comes of Age 57

A New Railway Museum in Kent 59

The New Silk Road 60

New Technology – Railways Show

Growing Interest in Hydrogen 63 New Technology – Solar Power will

Drive Mainline Trains 68

The Shakespeare Express 69

New Technology – Solar – How Green Will Our

Valleys Be? 70 Tales from the Four Foot Eight and a Half – Life of the Oldest

Railwayman Living 74

An Abnormal Load! 76

The Brunel Institute – The Brunel Legacy – Tim Bryan 77

The New UK-based Global Centre of Rail Excellence 79 William Dean’s Ugly Ducklings 85 Taking the GWR Act to Parliament – Part 2 86 Railway Art Gallery 91 The Banbury & Cheltenham Direct

Railway – Then and Now – Peter and Paul Towey 94 The Origin of the Railway Gauge 102 Railroad Gauges of the World (1888) 103 The Dartmoor Line – the FIRST to reopen under the Government

Scheme and at Record Speed 104

Railway News from Around the

Preservation Scene The HRA Goes Virtual for 2021 Awards 109 The Heritage Railways Steam (and Diesel) into Summer with a Sigh of Relief! 111 A Night Owl Emerges from the Dark

Part 3 – Paul Perton 114 GWR 2800 Class No 2807 & The

Gloucestershire Warwickshire

Railway – Part 1 120 The New Counties – a Photographic

Update 125

The World of GWR Modelling News from the World of GWR Modelling 126 The Clergy & The Railway Part 2 –

Revd Roger Farnworth 126 Llanbourne – an OO Gauge layout set on the North Wales Coast 128

Welcome to the third issue of Great Western Star.

Once again, we have a truly varied range of articles in 132 pages of copy. My thanks to all who have contributed - please keep them coming because after all, it is YOUR magazine.

With all that has been happening with the new Hitachi trains, we have taken the opportunity to look in detail at the whole story, a lot of the 15 years being tied upm as usual, in government interference. We also take the opportunity to look at the impact on new technology that is not just being talked about but which is either being used or is about to be, namely hydrogen and solar power.

Another interesting development is the link with the Brunel Institute which has an enormous amount of information about this great engineer and in forthcoming issues, we will be delving more and more into these archives. We also have other articles about Brunel and his lfe and work.

The Government has introduced its “Rebuilding Your Railways” scheme, designed to undo some of the damage caused by the cuts in the 60s. In the third group of entries - more than 80 bidding for funding - one stands out and that is the development in the ironbridge Gorge which could see the reinstatement of a lof of the old Severn Valley Railway, extending the existing well-loved Heritage Line through to the Museums in the Gorge. We take a detailed look at what is being proposed and the possible benefits to be gained.

In our heritage section, we look at the results of the Heritage Railway Awards 2021 - congratulations to all the winners and to the Runners-up. We also continue the story of 4709 and the two Counties as well as takeing a long look at what is being done to 2807 and the railway on which it is based - the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway.

Another unique feature is the story of “Then” and “Now” on the Banbury & Cheltenham Railway - first a look at it as an operating railway and then the story of two enthusiasts who walk the first part of the trackbed - an interesting story with a difference.

As always, we maintain our stories of people who have worked on the railway in the 20th century but also one from the 19th century, albeit not GWR but nevertheless an interesting view of life in the mid to late 19th century in the Midlands.

Model railways are not forgotten as we have two great railways featured but we are always looking for more - remember we cover anything from Z-Gauge to 7¼inch gauge.

Don’t forget our Website - www.greatwesternstar.com. We are adding new videos and our Railway terminus section provides a constantly updaetd coverage of news, not just GWR but also a wider range of stories, sometimes from outside the UK, depending upon its topicality.

We hope you enjoy your read and we look forward to receiving your comments. Please feel free to send in any stories or articles - we are always happy to receive them.

Rodney Pitt, Editor