Marcus' Model Railway Journey

200 Years of the Modern Railway 2025 UK £2 Coin - Reverse​

Reverse or "tails" side of the coin.

200 Years of the Modern Railway 2025 UK £2 Coin - Obverse​

Obverse (heads) is the front of the coin

4th January, 2025

Corris Railway begins overhaul of steam locomotive No. 7​

No. 7 partially stripped down


Volunteers at the Corris Railway have started the ten-year overhaul of the railway’s steam locomotive No. 7, a replica of the Talyllyn Railway’s Kerr Stuart “Tattoo” class locomotive No. 4 Edward Thomas.

This year is No. 7’s twentieth year of service on the railway and the second time it has had a major ten-year overhaul, following the expiry of its boiler ticket at the end of last year’s running season.

No. 7 inside the running shed


Since its last major overhaul, No. 7 has been a regular performer, but in December 2018 it was taken out of service after a lack of lubrication caused a section of the valve gear on the driver’s side to seize.

It was taken out of traffic immediately, and with the help from the Vale of Rheidol Railway, repairs were completed before passenger train services started again in 2019.

A second failure occurred during last year’s gala when a steam gasket failed after working the initial double-header with steam locomotive No. 10 Falcon.

Since its last major overhaul, No. 7 has clocked up nearly 4,000 miles, which includes several hundred miles working on the Talyllyn Railway from Tywyn to Nant Gwernol.

Removing the firebox cladding


During Christmas and New Year, volunteers removed the saddle tank, cab, coal bunker, boiler cladding, steam fittings, pipes, and motion.

These have been stored indoors on a flat wagon so that work can continue on the boiler and smoke box.

After the boiler has been lifted from the frames, it will be re-tubed at Maespoeth before being inspected to ensure it meets the necessary safety requirements to receive certification for the next ten years.

The driving wheels and pony truck will also be removed to provide access to the frames so they can be cleaned down and repainted.

A new stainless steel smokebox will be fabricated by the Vale of Rheidol Railway, who will also re-profile the tyres and fit new crank pins.

Removing the coal bunker


New bearings for the driving axles will be produced in the Corris Railway’s refurbished machine shop at Maespoeth, where a recently acquired Huron mill will be used to digitally measure the axle centres and motion to an accuracy of three decimal places.

The railway usually derives much-needed income from its Santa Specials, which this year was due to feature new-build No. 10 Falcon, but they had to be cancelled this year because of the devastating consequences of storm Darragh.

6th January, 2025

Gresley’s oldest locomotive moves to North Norfolk to complete overhaul​

1744 home safely on North Norfolk Railway metals


The Gresley Society has announced that following its agreement reached in September, Class N2 GNR No.1744 has moved to the North Norfolk Railway (NNR) to complete its overhaul.

No. 1744 is the oldest surviving locomotive designed by Sir Nigel Gresley.

It was built in 1921, and the Gresley Society bought it in 1963.

The loco’s move to NNR is an important step towards its return to traffic, which the Society hopes will be in Spring this year.

The locomotive was withdrawn from service late in 2018 for an overhaul.

However, the overhaul became much more extensive and expensive than expected.

1744 departs for the North Norfolk Railway


Work began on the overhaul in 2019.

However, the Covid-19 lockdown that started the following year and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2002 impacted the progress and the cost of the overhaul.

Stripping down no.1744 revealed that the loco needed much more work than had been thought.

Costs rose to around £650,000, to carry out a major programme of mechanical and boiler work.

On Tuesday 8 October last year, the locomotive’s boiler passed its steam test at the works of Northern Steam Engineering at Thornaby.

It was then re-assembled in parts.

On Thursday 12 December, no.1744 was taken to the NNR’s workshops at Weybourne.

The NNR will initially fund the remaining work required.

The Society will repay the funds by allowing no.1744 to run without charge for a period of time.

1744 Out of Frame Steam Test


The Gresley Society needs to raise more money to meet the full cost of the overhaul.

It has launched an appeal called The N2 Overhaul Completion Club.

It aims to raise the £100,000 it needs by one hundred members giving £1,000 each.

The donors will allowed to pay in up to eight instalments.

They will receive several benefits, including a certificate, the chance to watch overhaul work being carried out on no.1744, and a year’s free membership of The Gresley Society Trust.

Since its launch in November, the Club has raised £17,750. It is still looking for more members to help raised the rest of the money.

Details of how to join the Club are available on the Society’s website.

Steam Loco 1744


“I wish to thank Northern Steam Engineering, who have shown great flexibility in agreeing how their work programme on the class N2 could be brought to an orderly close, and the North Norfolk Railway for their positive and constructive approach to the funding problem they could see we faced.

“ I’d encourage all LNER lovers what want to see the class N2 paired once again with the Midland & Great Northern Society’s unique set of Quad-Art carriages to get on board with our appeal!”

Philip Benham, Chair of The Gresley Society

British Rail Class 18

The British Rail Class 18 is a class of hybrid locomotives designed and built by the British railway locomotive manufacturer Clayton Equipment Company in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire.

It has also been referred to as the CBD90 Hybrid+ by Clayton and private railway customers.

The Class 18 was first revealed as the CBD90 during mid-2019; initial customers were typically operators of private railways, such as steelworks and nuclear power plants.

In May 2020, the type was ordered by the rolling stock leasing company Beacon Rail, it has been envisioned as a successor to the 1950s era Class 08 and Class 09 shunters.

The Class 18 is primarily battery-powered, being recharged either via track-side mains power supplies, regenerative braking, or its onboard diesel generator.

A three-month trial using the first example of the type was conducted by the train operator GB Railfreight during early 2022.


Beacon Rail has fifteen of these Clayton CBD90 Hybrid Diesel-Battery 'Bo-Bo' locos on order. 18001 is being trialled out by GB Railfreight at Whitemoor Yard and here the loco seems to be undertaking some crew training runs when pictured at March, Whitemoor Junction on July 15, 2022

These locomotives were assigned the Class 18 designation under TOPS, this selection was the next in sequence from the Class 17 Type 1 locomotives, which had also been produced by Clayton between 1962 and 1965.

Beacon reportedly plans to offer the Class 18 as a replacement for Class 08 and Class 09 shunters, which are commonly used in private yards and sidings, all of which were at least 58 years old at the time of the Clayton order being placed.

Company officials have been keen to emphasise the Class 18's environmental credentials, particularly its capacity for emission-free running, in comparison to legacy counterparts.

The Class 18 locomotive features a modular design and is primarily powered by 524 kWh lead–acid batteries, the latter are reportedly rated for a lifespan of seven to eight years and are easily replaceable.

These batteries can be charged via a mains power supply, as well as through regenerative braking.

Additionally, to increase its running time, the Class 18 also has an onboard 55 kW (74 hp) diesel generator, which is domestically manufactured by JCB Power Systems and is compliant with EU Stage V emissions regulations.

The DC motors used require an unusually high operating voltage of 564V.

In a standard configuration, it can reach a maximum speed of 12 miles per hour (20 km/h) and weighs roughly 90 tonnes (99 tons).

Support for the Class 18 will be provided by Power Torque Engineering of Coventry.

In addition to Britain's railways, the Class 18 has been homologated as to enable its operation across most of continental Europe.

Revolution Trains RT-CL18-BE-001 Clayton Class 18 (18001-5) / CBD90 Beacon Rail Hybrid Battery Diesel Locomotive (Single Headlight)​

RT-CL18-BE-001Revolution Trains OO Gauge