Photo:
Miles Taylor - First Steaming of 9466 - 24th February 1985

For Quainton Railway Society 1985 is certain to be a busy and memorable year. It may even be a year destined to be a landmark in our history. Who can tell what the outcome will be from our negotiations with BR? Every member fervently wishes the Executive Committee and, in particular, our hard working Secretary a successful end to their patient and painstaking endeavours, which have as their objective the operation of our steam trains into Aylesbury from Quainton.

Who would have thought it possible, twelve months ago, that main line steam would, after nearly twenty years absence, make a triumphant re-appearance at Marylebone? It just shows that anything is possible given the will! We are delighted to learn of the commercial success of these trains and we trust the income from the Thames-Avon Roast Beef Specials will continue to swell the hungry coffers of BR.

Meanwhile, what of 1985? For Quainton it has been dubbed The Year of the Visitor, when we will be seeing that everybody coming to our Centre has a really happy 'day out' - and that means all the facilities and all the welcome and courtesy rightly demanded by mum, dad and the family. This year we have passenger trains running in both yards and there will be so much new for visitors to see and enjoy. Especially, we will be celebrating the return to steam of our famous Metropolitan No. 1 and a great weekend of Met activities at the May Day holiday.

This year - and it cannot have escaped your notice - is also the anniversary of the 150th date of the formation of the Great Western Railway. GW 150 is celebrated at Quainton by the return to steam of Dennis Howells' large boilered Pannier tank 9466 and it is good to feature this work of superb restoration in pictures on these pages. Less noticed is the fact that 1985 is the centenary of the Hull and Barnsley Railway opening to traffic and on page 22 is a small tribute to that relatively less known company.

There can be no doubt that 1985 will be a busy year for us at Quainton and for other preservation centres in the country. Busy, yes - and good for British tourism!

Notes:
The text in this Quainton Railway Society publication was written in 1986 and so does not reflect events in the 28+ years since publication. The text and photographs are repeated verbatim from the original publication, with only a few minor grammar changes but some clarifying notes are added if deemed necessary. The photos from the original publication are provided as scans in this internet version of this long out of print publication.

Reference:
Editorial - Quainton News No. 56 - Spring 1985