At this year’s Heritage Railway Association Annual Awards, held at Llandudno in North Wales on Saturday, 7th March, two standout winners were Merchant Navy Class Pacific No. 35005 Canadian Pacific and the Stockton and Darlington Railway’s anniversary train.

Canadian Pacific, based on the Watercress Line, won the Steam Locomotive Award for impressing the judges with the ingenuity and determination shown in the complete replacement of the inner firebox.

The Stockton and Darlington Railway’s anniversary train, hauled by a replica of the original Stockton and Darlington Railway’s Locomotion, won the Manisty Award for Excellence, named after preservation pioneer Captain Peter Manisty, one of the organisation’s first chairmen.

The Isle of Wight Steam Railway won the Diesel and Electric award for Class 03 No. 03179 Clive in Network South East livery, in recognition of the attention to detail throughout the shunter’s nine-year-long restoration.

A volunteer-led team from the Bluebell Railway won the Rolling Stock Award for the 32-year restoration of Hastings line brake third carriage No. 3687.

Runners-up for the Rolling Stock Award were the Talyllyn Railway’s replica gunpowder van, the Severn Valley Railway for its accessible conversion of buffet car No. 9581, and the Bala Lake Railway for its replica of a Penrhyn saloon carriage.

From the north of England, the Tanfield Railway won the Transport for Wales award for the Railway of the Year title, with the judges impressed by the large increases in passenger numbers.

The Station of the Year award went to the Cambrian Heritage Railways for its restoration of Oswestry station, with the judges impressed by the only main line pre-grouping headquarters station in preservation being put to the railway and community.

In the Infrastructure category, the winner was the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway, where its ‘predict and prevent’ asset management strategy has improved the line’s resilience and reliability. Highly commended were the National Railway Museum, the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway, and Peak Rail.

Among the other winners during the evening were The Vale of Rheidol Railway for the Achievement of the Year category with its ‘Collection X’ project, the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway with the Event of the Year award for its steam train ride through the set of the original The Railway Children film, and the Middleton Railway for its Innovation of the Year.

“This event is a perfect example of the breadth, the strength, but also the resilience of the heritage rail sector during 2026. While it’s entirely natural that big, exciting steam locomotives like ‘Can Pac’ grab the headlines, this year’s HRA Awards have been the strongest ever across the board. Running a heritage railway has perhaps never been harder, thanks to a whole range of external economic and societal challenges. But these awards prove without a shadow of doubt that heritage rail can carve out a successful future where we preserve what is important and adapt to overcome whatever is thrown at us next.”

Heritage Railway Association Chairman, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay