55019 'ROYAL HIGHLAND FUSILIER' should move from Burton to Wansford tomorrow (Thursday 17th) in readiness for this weekends gala. The locos being used on the move are being supplied by BARS/DCR and should arrive at Burton from Washwood Heath around 12.00. Planned times for the convoy move are as follows:

Burton (Nemesis) dep 13.38, Nottingham pass 14.27, Grantham pass 15.11, Peterborough brief stop 15.50/15.54, Orton Mere 16.10 then on to Wansford.

Trains diagrammed to be hauled by 55019 'ROYAL HIGHLAND FUSILIER' this weekend at the Nene Valley Railway are as follows:

SATURDAY
10.10 Yarwell Junction (10.19 Wansford)-Peterborough (arr 10.41)
10.54 Peterborough-Wansford (arr 11.18)
16.20 Yarwell Junction (16.31 Wansford)-Peterborough (arr 16.53)
17.06 Peterborough-Wansford (arr 17.30)

SUNDAY
08.15 Wansford)-Peterborough (arr 08.37)
08.50 Peterborough-Wansford (arr 09.14)
13.15 Yarwell Junction (13.25 Wansford)-Peterborough (arr 13.48)
14.00 Peterborough-Wansford (arr 14.24)

Following on from the abortive move to the Swanage Railway, which saw 55019 'ROYAL HIGHLAND FUSILIER' left at the Severn Valley Railway last Thursday, 55019 is due to be collected from Kidderminster on Wednesday 16th May and moved to Burton in readiness for transfer to the Nene Valley Railway for this weekend's gala. Times for the move, which will also include 47375 in the consist, are as follows:

Kidderminster SVR arr 14.24 (from Gloucester) dep 15.12, Stourbridge Junction pass 15.31, Walsall pass 16.31, Coleshill Parkway pass 17.14, Tamworth pass 17.31, Burton (Nemesis) arr 18.02.

Following the failure of 47375 earlier today, it is regretted that 55019 will be unable to appear at the Swanage Railway gala as planned. The following statement has been released by the Swanage Railway at http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/12broch/dieselgalanotice.pdf in relation to the gala:

"Due to circumstances entirely beyond the control of the Swanage Railway we regret to announce that the following locomotives will now not be appearing at the Diesel Gala.
Deltic 55 019
Warship D821
Class 20 D8188
Class 20 D8059
Class 33 D6515
However, the following locomotives will be in service.
Class 57 57 312
Class 50 50 026
Class 27 D5401
Class 33 33 111
Class 08 08 436
Class 73 73 136 (Saturday and Sunday only)
We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

55019 'ROYAL HIGHLAND FUSILIER' is planned to work the following trains at Swanage during the gala:

FRIDAY
10.00 Norden-Swanage (arr 10.25)
11.58 Swanage-Norden (arr 12.22)
14.05 Norden-Swanage (arr 14.27)
15.15 Swanage-Norden (arr 15.42)
17.30 Norden-Swanage (arr 17.55) d/h with 50026

SATURDAY
08.58 Corfe Castle-Norden (arr 09.00)
09.15 Norden-Swanage (arr 09.40)
10.45 Swanage-Norden (arr 11.12)
12.35 Norden-Swanage (arr 12.57)
13.45 Swanage-Norden (arr 14.12)
16.00 Norden-Swanage (arr 16.25) d/h with 57312
17.30 Swanage-Norden (arr 17.57)
Returns on rear of 18.10 ex Norden

SUNDAY
10.00 Swanage-Norden (arr 10.27)
11.05 Norden-Swanage (arr 11.27)
13.00 Swanage-Norden (arr 13.27)
14.05 Norden-Swanage (arr 14.27)
16.00 Swanage-Norden (arr 16.27)
17.05 Norden-Harmans Cross (arr 17.15)

The full event timetable can be found on the Swanage Railway website at http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/12broch/dieselgalaWTT2012v6public.pdf

The movement of 55019 'ROYAL HIGHLAND FUSILIER' from Barrow Hill to the Swanage Railway will now take place on Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th May, traction being provided the 71A Locomotive Group's 33012/D6515. Planned timings for Wednesday are as follows:

Barrow Hill dep. 15.11, Chesterfield pass 15.17, Derby pass 15.47, Burton pass 16.24, Water Orton pass 16.54, Walsall pass 17.25, Stourbridge Junction pass 18.05, Kidderminster SVR 18.26.

At the SVR, Class 20s D8059 and D8188, plus 'Warship' D821 'GREYHOUND' will be attached to the consist. Subject to final confirmation, the convoy should leave the SVR at approx 08.30 and arrive at Swanage around 16.00, running via Worcester, Bristol Parkway, Westbury, Salisbury, Eastleigh and Bournemouth.

55019 should return north as far as Nemesis Rail, Burton on Wednesday 16th May, ready for movement to the Nene Valley Railway.

We are pleased to announce that 55019 ROYAL HIGHLAND FUSILIER will be visiting a third preserved railway next month. Following on from appearances at both the Swanage (May 11th-13th) and Nene Valley (May 19th-20th), the loco will move by rail to the North Norfolk Railway for its diesel gala, which is on May 25-27. This will be the first visit of a ‘Deltic’ to the railway, which runs from Sheringham to Holt, a distance of just over 5 miles. Despite a belief that Norfolk is flat, the line features a 1 in 80 gradient up Kelling Bank which should provide the loco with some work to do!

Other locos expected to be in operation at the North Norfolk Railway gala are 25057, D5631 (Class 31) and 47367.

Please re-visit the website for further updates as we negotiate the various extended stay options which are available for the loco at the NNR.

Following on from the huge success of the Deltic event held in 2011 the East Lancs Railway are to hold a further gathering of the iconic class of diesel locos over the weekend of 22/23 September.

Resident locos D9016 Gordon Highlander and 55022 Royal Scots Grey will be joined by the Deltic Preservation Society’s D9009 Alycidon and 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier and the National Railway Museum’s 55002 Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry in hauling scheduled passenger trains, and to a special timetable, on the North West’s premier heritage railway on both days.

Speaking on behalf of the East Lancashire Railway, General Manager Andy Morris stated, “The ‘Deltic’ locomotive played a huge part in revolutionising the British national railway during the 1960s and 1970s by enabling significant improvements to express train services on the main Anglo Scottish route. Being the first ‘approved’ 100mph locomotive they delivered unprecedented levels of performance and enabled huge savings in journey times between London and Scotland. We’re very proud, yet again, to be able to host such a significant collection of these magnificent machines!”

Further details regarding the event may be found on the East Lancashire Railway’s website at www.eastlancsrly.org.uk.

At present, no contracts regarding D9009 and 55019 are in place for this event, although we hope to attend.

The DPS has been offered the opportunity to sell signed limited edition prints of a painting commissioned with John Austin of 55009 in blue with white windows in 1979 on Durham viaduct hauling the 09.50 Edinburgh to Plymouth.

The first sketch of the proposed painting has been done by John who has also produced Western Storm for the Western Locomotive Association and is a member of The Guild of Railway Artists. He has won numerous awards.

If you want to be kept informed of developments and have the first opportunity to place an order in due course (without obligation) then please drop an e-mail to secretary@thedps.co.uk or text 07836 794799 and we will keep you in the loop.

The final painting is likely to be ready in late 2012.