Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2017 i The Railway Magazine

FOR those of us working within the rail industry, it was no surprise that the Government backtracked and abandoned key electrification schemes, preferring instead to employ bi-mode trains. The signs have been pointing to such a decision for months. It was all a question of timing - which unsurprisingly came on the eve of the Parliamentary summer recess, the Department for Transport hoping that the bad news would be lost in a melee of more positive stories about HS2. Electrification of lines was heralded five years ago as part of a £38 billion plan tagged the “biggest investment in rail since Victorian times”, with upgrading and electrification of the Midland Main Line (MML – often dubbed the ‘Cinderella Line’), the GWR route to Swansea and TransPennine along with other smaller…

THE Railway Magazine can reveal that Hanomag-built 2-6-2+2-6-2T Garratt NG/G13 (10551/1927) arrived at Vale of Rheidol Railway (VoR) on July 17. Ex-South African Railways No. NG60, named Drakensberg after entering preservation in 1986, left Schinznacher Baumschulbahn, a heritage line near Zürich, Switzerland, on July 12 following conclusion of three years of negotiations by VoR management. The locomotive is privately owned, but on long-term loan to the VoR. It will appear in public for the first time during the September 14-15 1920s and 30s Weekend, although it is unlikely to be in steam. Having last worked in 1973, it was bought by Swiss enthusiasts in 1986 and a lengthy restoration returned NG60 to steam in 1998. It ran on the 60cm gauge Schinznacher Baumschulbahn until track layout changes precluded its use…

THE new National Postal Museum opened its doors to the public on July 28. Located in Phoenix Place between King’s Cross and Farringdon, the museum is next to Royal Mail Mount Pleasant sorting centre. A key aspect of the postal museum’s attraction will be a section of the former Post Office Railway that once ran between Paddington and Whitechapel, with the workshops and tunnels underneath the sorting office publicly accessible for the first time in its history. A section of the line will offer passenger train rides on a 1km loop using new purpose-built trains constructed by Severn Lamb in Stratford-upon-Avon. Although the museum is open, trains will not begin running until September 4, and visitors have the option of visiting the museum with or without a ride on the…

THE inability of Network Rail to get a grip of its costs is having a very serious effect on the whole industry. Projects are being delayed or cancelled because there is no money and nobody trusts the estimates. The same disease has hit HS2, and there are rumours in the next Control Period starting April 2019 there will be no money for enhancement in the much-delayed DfT High Level Output Specification on which the ORR’s financial settlement of NR’s funding will be based; all enhancements will be funded and micro-managed by the Department for Transport (DfT). How has this come about? Network Rail and its predecessor Railtrack effectively had a blank cheque for enhancements, called the Regulatory Asset Base. They spent money, sometimes wisely, but without much heed to the…

THE distinctive noise of an MTU engine ticking over at Aberdeen station in the semi-darkness of an early April evening comes from Class 73 No. 73970 standing in the bay platform at the head of a five-coach sleeper portion – destination Edinburgh for combination with the Inverness parent train and Fort William through coaches. Booked arrival in London Euston is at 07.47 the following morning. The tare weight of the trailing load is well within the 1,600hp capability of the refurbished former Southern Region electrodiesel, but the coastal road to the Scottish capital is by no means an easy proposition. Dale Williams introduces me to GBRf Craigentinny driver Paul Beasley as we watch the 21.31 ‘Voyager’ depart for maintenance at Paul’s home depot, having arrived here at 20.48 on the…

Dr Ransome-Wallis recollections I WAS interested to read about Dr Patrick Ransome-Wallis in The RM (June). My sister, and her then husband, purchased the Corner House, Canterbury Road, Herne Bay, Kent in 1985, following the death of Ransome-Wallis. I telephoned my sister and told her about the feature and she said that the house was in a terrible state when they purchased it and that it was clear that Ransome-Wallis had done nothing to the house since he bought it in 1934. She surmised that he spent all his spare time and money travelling around to photograph railways; which left no time and money to care for the house. She added that there were lots of railway photographs and negatives in the house and attic when they bought it and…

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2 BradfordRailway Circle. Sedbergh Community Centre, Huddersfield Road, Odsal, Bradford, West YorkshireBD161DJ. 19.30. Run VT un-editedby Jim Bennett. MONDAY, AUGUST 14. Lincoln RailwaySociety. St Hugh’sChurch, North Hykeham. 19.30. ‘Going for Scrap’: Gavin Lake. TUESDAY, AUGUST 15. Leicester Railway Society. Cricketers Inn, Grace Road, Leicester LE28AD. 19.30. Members’ night subject on the GCR railway. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16. BradfordRailway Circle. Sedbergh Community Centre, Huddersfield Road, Odsal, Bradford, West YorkshireBD161DJ. 19.30. ‘LB&SCR to the Seaside inWest Sussex and Hampshire’: Tony Newnham. FRIDAY, AUGUST 18. GreatWestern Society (GWS). Village Hall, StokeStMary, TauntonTA3 5DE. 19.30. Members’ Slides: PresentedbyFrancis Lewis. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23. Basingstoke&DistrictRailway Society. Wote St Club, New Road, Basingstoke RG21 7NG. 19.45. ‘South Africa’: Norman Hogg. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 30 BradfordRailway Circle. Sedbergh Community Centre, Huddersfield Road. Odsal. Bradford, West YorkshireBD161DJ. 19.30. Members’…

East Lancs marks 30 years in steam THIRTY years of the East Lancashire Railway (ELR) were to be celebrated on July 25 when one of the opening day locomotives and its driver were to be reunited once more. It was on July 25, 1987 that Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns 0-6-0T No. 1 and ex-Manchester Ship Canal Hudswell, Clarke 0-6-0T No. 32 Gothenburg, with driver Ian Riley on the regulator, worked the ELR’s first passenger service from Bury Bolton Street to Ramsbottom. It was the beginning of a new era for the ELR, which has gone from strength to strength in the three decades that followed. To mark the success of the last 30 years, Ian Riley was to once again take control of Gothenburg for a special Pioneers Lunch on…

THE boiler for the Ffestiniog Railway’s (FR) England 0-4-0ST Welsh Pony has passed a hydraulic test and is ready for fitting in the frames. This is the third new boiler to be constructed at Boston Lodge - and will become the fourth boiler carried by Welsh Pony. The new main frame plates were displayedwith driving wheels in position during the FR’s April 28- May 1 Quirks & Curiosities II event, although without the rear section (including drag box), refurbishment of which still has to be completed. The new tender, also displayed during the Quirks event, is also complete. 150th anniversary Welsh Pony last steamed in 1940 and 2017 is its 150th anniversary year. It will be initially completed with unlined plum livery (the colour of the lower panels of the…

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. AT A private location, deep in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside, one of the most ambitious tramcar restorations yet seen in the UK is getting underway. For inside sit the mortal remains of ex-Leicester Corporation double-deck car No. 31, which the Leicester Tram 31 Group has set on the comeback trail after the car spent six decades as a hen house. No. 31 emerged from Dick, Kerr & Co’s Preston works in 1904 as part of an initial order for 58 open-top cars for Leicester Corporation Tramways. It took part in the official opening of the Leicester system on May 18, 1904, after which it became just another tram in a…

Your reports and pictures aremost welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. DUBLIN&South Eastern Railway Mogul No. 461 laid the ghosts of its former steaming problems to rest during mid-June when it and the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s other main line locos put in faultless performances on Steam Dreams’multi-day ‘Emerald Isle Explorer’. The tour officially got underway on June 13 with Flying Scotsman working the opening UK leg fromLondonVictoria to Chester, while last-minutepreparations were completed on the opposite side of the IrishSea.Twodays later itwas No. 461 that had the challenge of living up to the celebrity‘A3’, hauling the opening Irish leg over its former home turf fromDublin Connolly to Rosslare Europort.Thegreen 2-6-0 was in fine form as it worked over the Dublin Riviera, responding…

FUEL oil traffic returned to the West Highland Line (WHL) on July 2, but only on a trial basis. However, the train brought a Class 56 to Fort William for the first time in the type’s 40-year career. Colas Railfreight provided traction for the trial run, which took No. 56302 PECO The Railway Modeller 70 Years and an 800-tonne train of TTA two-axle tank wagons from the Ineos refinery at Grangemouth to Fort William Junction Yard oil terminal. The ‘56’ and empty tanks returned south the following day. The train is thought to be part of a three-month trial, to assess the viability of bringing fuel oil traffic back to the WHL after its switch from DB Cargo to road haulage at the end of March. Heading north, the loaded…

VINTAGE 2-EPB No. 5759, along with MLV No. 9002 and ‘Thumper’ No. 1001, were stars of the Slade Green depot open day, near Dartford, on July 15. The EPB, a former resident, made a nostalgic return, hauled from Southall by Class 33 No. 33207. The Southeastern event displayed the depot’s regular charges - Class 465 and 466 EMUs - with guests ‘Javelin’ EMU No. 395016, loco Nos. 37884, 47813, 73136, 73201, 73202, plus Southeastern EMU Nos. 375310, 376032, 377504.…

Your reports and pictures aremost welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. POOL CODES LSCS Locomotive Services stored coaches LOCOMOTIVES Allocations 08711 WQ/WQDA-BH/HNRS 08782 WQ/WQDA-BH/HNRL 09106 WQ/WQDA-BH/HNRL 33025 AWCX-AWCA 37403 XHAC-XHCC 37409 XHCC-XHSS 37413 KM/XHSS de-registered (cut) 37423 XHCC-XHAC 37424 XHAC-XHCC 37425 XHAC-XHCC 37604 XHSS-XHCC 37607 KM/XHSS-BH/HNRL 37612 KM/XHSS-BH/HNRL 37688 KM/XHSS-DH/MBDL 37703 XHHP-XHSS 37714 XHHP-XHSS 47772 AWCX-AWCA 57302 XHVT-XHSS 66063 WBAT-WBAE 66082 WBAT-WBAE 66115 TO/WBAT-WQ/WQAA-TO/ WBAT 66230 WBAT-WBAE 66595 FD/DHLT-LD/DFHH 66954 SZ/DFIN-FD/DHLT 66957 LD/DFHG-FD/DHLT 67028 WQ/WQAA-CE/WAAC 90020 CE/WEAC-WQ/WQAA-CE/ WEAC Liveries GBRf: 08818 Rail Operations Group revised: 47813 + First Choice for Rail Freight in the UK logos: 67010/13 + Leading the Next Generation of Rail Freight logos: 67015 +Mental Health logos added: 91132 Vinyls removed: 43126 Named 43257 Bounds Green 57308 Jamie Ferguson 66756 The…

TOBYN Hughes, chairman of the Urban Transport Group and managing director of Nexus, which runs the Tyne & Wear Metro, has called for local regions to be given more power to run and deliver their transport networks. The Urban Transport Group also wants more clarity on how the government would go about tackling the issue of air pollution in urban areas. The group represents the interests of bodies such as Transport for Greater Manchester, Transport for London, Merseytravel, and Transport for West Midlands. “Modern, efficient and integrated transport networks are critical to the sustainable growth that our major urban areas need,” said Mr Hughes. He added there was “massive potential” to do more with city-region rail networks including “further devolution of responsibilities for services and stations as well as for…

TRANSPORT for the North (TfN) has taken its first steps towards a unified strategic plan to improve transport infrastructure across the north of England. TfN is England’s first statutory sub-national transport body. The detailed plan will be published later this year, based on evidence in this initial report, and consultation with stakeholders such as Network Rail and train operators. TfN expects it to provide a long-term vision for rail, road, air and water transport with the potential to create 850,000 new jobs and inject almost £100billion into the UK economy by 2050. Nine priority rail corridors are identified in the initial report: North East-Tees Valley-North Yorkshire-Leeds-Sheffield; Cumbria-Lancashire-Cheshire/ Warrington; Lancashire- Manchester-Sheffield City Region; Liverpool-Manchester City Region-Leeds-Hull; Lancashire-North Yorkshire- Leeds City Region; Cumbria- North East; Leeds City Region-Sheffield City Region; Greater Manchester-Cheshire/…

THE Class 56 Group’s (C56G) No. 56006 starred at the East Lancashire Railway’s (ELR) July 7-9 diesel gala. The group has now reached agreement for the loco to be based on the railway for at least three years. No. 56006 was previously kept at UKRL’s Leicester depot between gala visits, but can now be used onmore regular work, and fills a gap in the ELR’s diesel loco collection. The loco is remembered from its appearance at the EWS Classic Traction event at the ELR in September 1999. Then part of the EWS Heritage Locomotive pool it was specially painted in Rail blue, as retained today. Despite this stardom it was not until November 2012 it was secured for preservation when acquired by the C56G from DB Schenker while in storage…

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. SOUTH AFRICAN national freight operator Transnet is introducing more than 1,000 new electric and diesel 1,067mm gauge locomotives to modernise its fleet. As reported in the December 2015 issue, the first of the 100 strong Class 21E BoBo 3,000kW 100kph dual voltage (3kV DC/25kV AC) electric locos being built by Chinese manufacturer CRCC at the Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Company plant was delivered from China in September 2014. Forty of the locos were built in China and the remaining 60 are being built in South Africa. Transnet’s 1064 locomotive investment programme - the number referring to the total number of locos on order - is now well underway with international manufacturers supplying both…

Andy Mellors to head South Western franchise FIRST GROUP and MTR have appointed Andy Mellors as managing director of the new South Western rail franchise, which launches on August 20. He has 25 years of rail experience and is currently GWR’s engineering director and deputy managing director. First and MTR face competition concerns FIRST and MTR, who take over the South Western franchise from August 20, have been invited by the Competition and Markets Authority to offer solutions to concerns it could increase fares for passengers between London and Exeter in a monopoly situation as it is the only operator running services from the Capital across two routes. Virgin did not breach data protection laws DATA protection laws were not breached by Virgin Trains, which released CCTV footage of Labour…

THE systematic and deliberate targeting by vandals of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s (NYMR’s) historic teak carriages has been described as “heartbreaking”. A set of eight LNER carriages, owned and maintained by the London and North Eastern Railway Coach Association (LNERCA), was attacked overnight on July 23 while parked in the siding by the main visitor car park at Pickering. Windows were smashed, chairs and tables bent and overturned and kitchen equipment damaged. On the day before the attack, the railway launched its ‘60s Fest, one of its most popular events, but the damage means the railway has lost the stock at its busiest time. At least one carriage is likely to be out of traffic for the rest of the year. NYMR general manager Chris Price said: “We were…

Noisy wagon talks STEPHEN Kerr (Stirling) asked what discussions the Department for Transport has had with Network Rail on noise and vibration pollution caused by certain types of freight wagons in use on the rail network. Transport Minister Paul Maynard said: “The department frequently holds discussions with Network Rail about the environmental impact of the railway, including measures to mitigate noise and vibration. “More widely, the UK has also been involved in discussions with the European Commission and other EU member states about proposed changes to the technical specifications for interoperability that deals with noise and how this might apply to freight wagons. These discussions are still ongoing.” Rail ombudsman CATHERINE West (Hornsey and Wood Green) asked how plans are progressing to establish a passenger ombudsman for rail ticketing and…

PRIOR to his acquisition of Kinlet Hall, few in the railway preservation movement outside the West Somerset Railway knew the name of Jonathan Jones-Pratt. However, his purchase of Thornbury Castle has propelled him into the enthusiasts’ spotlight, but just who is he? A life-time resident of Weston-super-Mare, Jonathan grew up with railways in his blood. His father was, and remains, a huge admirer of the Great Western, and has a full-size signalbox in his back garden together with a 5in-gauge miniature railway. Young Jonathan cut his teeth on the now-defunct Weston Miniature Railway, but it was his father’s ex-Crosville vintage buses that would set him on his chosen career road. After leaving college Jonathan went into the bus industry on the management side, while maintaining a growing fleet of vintage…

IT was disappointing to read the views advanced by Lord Berkeley in his article on the Felixstowe branch (RM July issue), suggesting replacing off peak trains with a ‘high quality’ bus service. Off-peak flows on this line are very seasonal, and in school holidays, loadings in fine weather can exceed 150 - a figure of 217 on an off-peak train was noted recently. The line serves a catchment area with a population of around 200,000, which will increase substantially as the construction of several thousand new homes takes place over the next few years. It would make no sense to restrict the passenger service to a peak hour only operation, as more traffic would be added to the already heavily congested roads in the area if a relatively frequent rail…

Although not everything on the day went to plan, the events that saw ‘A1’ Pacific No. 60163 Tornado head west from Paddington on May 29 were without precedent. Not only was it the first visit of an ‘A1’ Pacific to Cornwall, but the 6hr 46min booking for the 305¼miles to Penzance, with five intermediate stops, was extremely challenging, while the 1hr 58min schedule from Plymouth to Penzance was the fastest ever for steam. It was in the capable hands of DB Cargo driver Graham Ward, fireman David Proctor and traction inspector Don Clarke that Tornado quietly moved the 11-coach ‘Cornishman’ away from Paddington’s platform 1. However, this was not a traditionally gentle ‘Paddington start’, for the Pacific was making 66mph by Ealing Broadway and 74 as early as Southall: a…

Your reports and pictures aremost welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. FOUR Bulleid Pacifics, two BR Standards and an Ivatt ‘Mickey Mouse’ tank led the charge for the Mid Hants Railway’s five-day July gala commemorating both the 50th anniversary of the end of Southern Region steam and the line’s own 40th anniversary of preservation Some 6,175 passengers took advantage of the superb weather to travel over the weekends of July 1-2 and 7-9, enjoying a variety of motive power that could have been plucked straight from1967. The locos shared duties on a blend of passenger and freight turns, each adorned with appropriate headboards or headcode discs to catapult visitors back to the halcyon summer of 1967 – albeit a little cleaner. The presence of…

VISITORS to June 24-25’s Tyseley Open Weekend had the opportunity to view the recent progress on the overhaul of BR ‘8P’ 4-6-2 No. 71000 Duke of Gloucester. No. 71000 is currently on target for a return to service in the spring of 2019. The bottom end continues to be the focus of attention, with both the bogie and trailing truck being rebuilt. All springs for these have been returned after re-setting and the tyres of the three wheel sets are being re-profiled. The BR Class 8 Steam Locomotive Trust was aiming to refit both the bogie and trailing truck into the frames by the end of July, thereby enabling the driving wheels to be dropped ready for tyre turning. As this issue of The RM went to press the two…

Gauging issues halts ‘Cromwell’ comeback THE much-anticipated return of National Collection ‘Britannia’ No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell to the main line has been delayed by the increasingly prevalent issue of gauging. The Riddles Pacific has been declared out of gauge by Network Rail after having new tyres fitted at Swanwick, and custodians – the 5305 Locomotive Association – must complete adjustments to bring the ‘1T57’ star back within the maximum permitted height limit. No ‘T9’ for South Devon – so No. 5542 stays put A PLANNED visit by Bodminbased LSWR ‘T9’ No. 30120 to the South Devon Railway later this summer has been called off. The 4-4-0 was to have been brought in to provide additional cover, but will now be staying in Cornwall. Instead, ‘4575’ 2-6-2T No. 5542, which had…

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. NEW faces, returning stalwarts and popular regulars made up the seven steam locomotives that starred in the Foxfield Railway’s anniversary gala on July 14-16. It was an event that commemorated the line’s 50th anniversary in typical ‘volcanic’ style! It would be fair to say the build-up to the event was a little fraught at times as the many gala stakeholders ‘burnt the candle at both ends’ in order to meet the gala deadline. For example, both Hunslet ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST No. 7 Wimblebury (3839/1956) and Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns 0-4-0ST Eustace Forth (7063/1942) only returned from overhaul in the weeks leading up to the gala, and at the beginning of July were still…

New tyres for Blackpool No. 31 BEAMISH Museum’s ex-Blackpool double-deck open-topper No. 31 has had its wheels and tyres removed pending the fitting of new tyres. The former Marton route car returned to Beamish in March with well-worn tyres after spending a year in Blackpool with the heritage fleet. The new tyres will be fitted at the Ffestiniog Railway, with the intention being that No. 31 re-enters service in time for Christmas, allowing Sunderland No. 16 to be withdrawn for tyre turning. Birkenhead No. 20 to spend a year in Blackpool BLACKPOOL Heritage Tram Tours will have the use of ex-Birkenhead Corporation open-top car No. 20 for the next 12 months following a loan by the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society. The move of the doubledeck Milnes tram from the Wirral…

Cavan&Leitrim greenwayplan A2.3KMsectionof the former 3ft-gauge Cavan&Leitrim Railway trackbed will be converted intoacombined footpath and cycleway, known asagreenway. LeitrimCounty Council has approvedthe plans for the Ballinamore toCorgar Lakesection.Work is expected to begin inSeptember. Hourly to Londonderry JULY3sawthe introduction ofanewhourly timetable for Northern Ireland Railways’ services linkingDerry/ Londonderry with Belfast. The improved serviceoperates Monday to Saturdayand comes aftera£46.4millionupgrade of theColeraine toDerry/ Londonderry lineearlier this year,whichhas included an additional passing loop.…

New CEO for Freightliner FREIGHTLINER parent group Genesee & Wyoming Inc has appointed Gary Long as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of its UK/Europe operating region. He succeeds Russell Mears, who will become a senior advisor in the third quarter of 2017. Mr Long was president and CEO of the North American freight railroad holding company OmniTRAX prior to joining G&W in 2013. He has nearly 35 years of industry experience and currently heads one of G&W’s US operating regions. Mr Mears joined Freightliner in 1993 and was a member of the management team behind its successful privatisation in 1996 before becoming CEO in 2013. Welsh Coal clinging on A COUPLE of sites in South Wales are still dispatching loaded coal trains on a regular basis despite this type…

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. UK RAILTOURS has obtained an agreement to run two railtours over the much-requested Old Dalby test track in Leicestershire/ Nottinghamshire, five years after its initial efforts failed. Now known as the Rail Industry Development Centre (RIDC) Melton, the 13-mile Network Rail-owned facility is used to test a wide variety of new trains for use on Network Rail and London Underground systems. With new train orders at a record high, and more than 6,000 vehicles currently on order for delivery before the end of 2020, spare paths on the test track are said to be scarce However, UKR plans to operate two identical trains, running on successive days - December 28/29 - during…

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. NETWORK Rail and train operators are making plans to minimise disruption for passengers during the ‘once-in-ageneration’ replacement of track and signalling in and around Derby station next summer. A 79-day programme of engineering works will start on July 22, 2018 requiring significant changes to timetables through to October 7. The £200million project will require platform closures and diversions to enable the replacement of life-expired track, as well as changes to the track layout and new signalling to increase capacity and efficiency. Work will also include preparation for electrification of the Midland Main Line through the city, although this has now been cancelled by the Government. EMT services to London, Crewe, Matlock and…

Biggest-ever locoto visit Isle ofWight CLASS 33/2No. 33202 Dennis G. Robinson will be shipped to the Isle ofWight fromthe Epping Ongar Railway for the September 29-October 1 diesel gala. Last year’s visitor, Mangapp’s Class 03 No. 03197, was still at the Isle ofWight Steam Railway in July. NVRmarks60 years of BrushType2s THENeneValley Railway’s Class 31 60thanniversaryevent on October 13-15 has the following participantsbooked so far: Nos. 31101, AvonValley Railway; 31108, 31162 and 31271, A1ALocos; 31285,HN Rail; 31452, DCR; and 31466, Dean Forest Railway. NSR’sThos Hill returns toRadstock THENorth Somerset Railway Co’s4wDH(Thos Hill 136C of 1964) has returnedto the Radstock area fromstorage at thePontypool&Blaenavon Railway, as access to the Radstock to Fromerailway again becomesapossibility. Andrew’s‘TeddyBear’ visits ColneValley CLASS14No. 14901 (D9524) is spending the summer at the ColneValley Railway. It isowned by…

August 3-6 Spa Valley Railway, diesel gala 12-13 Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, diesel weekend 12-13 NSERS Finmere, open weekend (pre-booked only) 13 Electric Railway Museum, Coventry open day 19 Tarka Valley Railway, loco naming 19-20 Spa Valley Railway, ‘Deltic’ running days 25-28 South Devon Railway, diesel event 26-28 Cholsey & Wallingford Railway, diesel event 26-28 Spa Valley Railway, 20th anniversary weekend September 2 Old Oak Common depot, open day 2-3 Peak Rail, Heritage Shunters Trust gala 2-3 West Somerset Railway, mixed traction event 9 Chinnor & Princes Risborough, Railway Blue electric day 9-10 Chasewater Railway, diesel event 9-10 Electric Railway Museum, Coventry, open day 9-10 Great Central Railway, diesel gala 10-11 Electric Railway Museum, heritage open weekend 15-17 Dean Forest Railway, diesel gala 14-17 Wensleydale Railway, Class 20 event – cancelled…

THE Department for Transport has revealed that various measures for reducing costs are being examined to keep London’s Crossrail project within its £14.8billion budget. The DfT’s annual report on the project is confident that the new railway will be completed “on budget”, but admits that cost pressures are increasing across the project. Crossrail is said to be implementing a number of cost efficiency initiatives. DfT and Transport for London, joint sponsors of the project, will continue to meet regularly with Crossrail to ensure that the project is “being effectively managed and will be delivered within funding and on schedule”. Crossrail construction is now around 85% complete, with the core tunnel section, platforms and track installation 90% complete. Architectural finishes are now being applied at stations and escalator and lift installation…

NETWORK Rail engineering work will close several of London’s major stations over the August 26-28 bank holiday, causing significant disruption to train services on many main routes. More than £133 million will be spent over a single weekend as several NR ‘mega projects’, such as Crossrail and the Thameslink upgrade, start to come to a conclusion. Once these projects are complete in 2019, passengers travelling into central London from as far away as Swansea will see an extra 170,000 seats; more frequent services on 16 lines serving the capital; longer north-south trains every 2-3 minutes as part of the Thameslink programme and an extra 1.5m people coming within 45 minutes of the capital once Crossrail is complete. Reductions Worst affected is Waterloo, where Platforms 1-10 are closed from August 5-28,…

PHOTO charter specialist Neil Cave of Timeline Events is hoping to re-create the atmosphere of a working Eastern Region steam shed on August 27/28 when ‘A4’ No. 60009 Union of South Africa joins ‘A3’ No. 60103 Flying Scotsman for exclusive photography sessions at Didcot Railway Centre. John Cameron’s ‘A4’ will be working the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Cotswold Venturer’ from Paddington to Worcester and back on August 26, and agreement has been reached between Mr Cameron, Didcot and Ian Riley – custodian of both Nos. 60009 and 60103 – for ‘Number Nine’ to be brought from London to Didcot the next day. The ‘A3’ will already be on site as it is spending the August Bank Holiday weekend at the former GWR steam shed. Although the two Gresley 4-6-2s met at…

I ALWAYS enjoy the re-examination of railway accidents and placing them into the context of modern railway operations. Reading Fraser Pithie’s account of the 1967 Thirsk derailment and collision, there was one item which I feel needs to be spelt out for the record. The feature states that driver Evans ‘told his secondman, Derek Smith, to get back into the engine room of DP2’ shortly before the inevitable impact. While it seems highly likely that driver Evans would have made such a statement, it was clearly not what secondman Smith did. The author subsequently says that secondman Smith went forward to protect the opposite lines after the collision but does not mention the crucial intervening time. Gerard Fiennes took charge of the scene soon after the event and states in…

YEARS AGO AUGUST 1917 AN IMPROVEMENT on the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) 6.30pm Belfast express from Amiens Street station, Dublin, has been inaugurated. It is now booked to Drogheda (slip coach) in 36 min for the 32 miles, and Dundalk in 63. URGENT are the warnings against all avoidable travelling that are nowbeing issued by the German railway authorities. Thepublic are told that the restrictions are much greater inEngland and France, that the German measures are very lenient and that people arewisest to stay at home, where they are certain of food, even if the quantities of food are small. At the same time it is admitted that the Germans now have an unusual need of holidays and sufficient provision of really necessary trains is promised. DURING 1916, the Canadian…

TRAIN operating company Great Western Railway (GWR) has confirmed the first two steam exhibits for its Legends of the Great Western open day at Old Oak Common on September 2. First to be announced was the Great Western Society’s steam Railmotor No. 93 and its trailer No. 92. The Didcotbased pairing is expected to be in operation at the event for short rides within the confines of the depot, but the society’s hoped for shuttles to and from Paddington will not happen. Also confirmed is the Severn Valley Railway’s Hawksworth ‘15XX’ 0-6-0PT No. 1501, which will be making a homecoming of sorts. The powerful outsidecylindered pannier entered service with British Railways on July 31, 1949 at Old Oak Common, where it spent the next 16 months working empty stock trains…

Your reports and pictures aremost welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. Donors plea for second Corris steam loco THE cylinders for the Corris Railway’s new-build 0-4-2ST‘Falcon’ No. 10have been cast at Barr and Grosvenor,Wolverhampton. Proof machining will also be undertaken before transfer to Alan Keef Ltd,where the locomotive is being constructed. Thedriving wheels have been fitted with crank pins and mountedontheir axles with deliveryof steel tyres fromSouth Africa awaited. The trailing pony truck is under construction at Keef’s,withthe boiler still displayedat the railway’s Maespoeth Junction. A£25,000 donation towards completion has been offered, conditional on beingmatched by three similar donations or net contributions. If other donors comeforwarda £100,000 funding injectionwould give the projectahuge boost. An anonymous donation of £3,000 has already been received. THE LEIGHTON…

THE RAVENGLASS & Eskdale Railway (R&ER) is seeking planning permission to build a new rolling stock storage building at Irton Road. The three-track building would accommodate two carriages on each road. The first of a series of new R&ER carriages is likely to be an observation car. The next is expected to be a replacement for the Eskdale Belle carriage. THE FFESTINIOG Railway’s George England 0-4-0STT Prince will steam with a carriage on a length of temporary track at Highley during Severn Valley Railway’s September 21-24 Autumn Steam Gala. Prince has been to Highley previously, as a static exhibit in The Engine House, between 2010 and 2012, pending overhaul at its home line. THE WELSHPOOL & Llanfair Light Railway’s (W&LLR) newly constructed replica J L L Peate private-owner wagon made…

Your reports and pictures aremost welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. TRANSPORT for London has released a new version of its Tube map aimed at helping passengers who suffer from claustrophobia or anxiety. Themap shows which sections of the network are above ground and which are in tunnels, thus helping journey planning for those wishing to avoid going underground. There are around 270 stations on the Tube network, more than half of which are above ground. Only the Victoria and Waterloo&City lines arewholly underground. Tunnel sections on the standardHarry Beck-designed map - including Underground, Overground, DLR andTfL Rail - have been given a grey overlay. Nicky Lidbetter, chief executive of Anxiety UK, said: “I sincerely hope the map will encourage those with claustrophobia and/…

DISCOVER Bundoran is running a three-day Railway Heritage Festival in the Donegal Atlantic coast holiday resort tomark the departure of the last train from the town’s station on September 30, 1957 The tourism promotional body has organised the event to run from September 29-October 1. The festival will include a History Ireland Hedge School discussion with historian Tommy Graham on the effects of the railway’s closure and, on September 30, a plaque will be unveiled commemorating the railway on the former station site at 2.35pmexactly – the same time as the last train departed 60 years ago for Bundoran Junction. There will also beamodel railway exhibition staged by County Donegal Railway Restoration Limited and a screening of the BBC Northern Ireland documentaryWalk the Line, focusing on Bundoran Junction, the legendary…

Your reports and pictures aremost welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. THE manufacture of the first of the new Class 331 EMU sets for Northern is underway at the CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles) at Zaragoza, Spain. Northern’s order is for 31 three- and 12 four-car units - part of the‘Civity’ family - which will be phased into service from December 2018 over the following 12 months, with the first due for completion this autumn. One set will be tested at Velim, in the Czech Republic, before arriving in the UK in spring 2018, where it will then undergo signalling compliance and other testing as well as driver training. The three-car sets are expected to operate in West Yorkshire, while the four-car sets…

RAILBORNE coal traffic has collapsed over the last 18 months. This has left nearly 2,000 relatively new high-capacity bogie coal hoppers redundant. However, this is not a new phenomenon. Most of the bogie hoppers were acquired to carry foreign coal from import terminals to inland power stations. They replaced the original HAA two-axle ‘merry-go-round’ wagons that had been the mainstay of coal movements since the late-1960s, but were unsuited to fast running over long distances. British Rail built more than 10,000 HAAs but the decline of domestic coal mining in the 1990s saw the vast majority scrapped. However, between 1997 and 2007 about 1,100 wagons had their underframes refurbished and fitted with all-new welded box bodies to become MHA ‘Coalfish’ ballast and spoil carriers; now these are being withdrawn following…

THE first visit of an InterCity 125 to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway on July 15 helped to raise more than £30,000 for the Railway Children charity. The special train was operated by East Midlands Trains and supported by the Branch Line Society and The 125 Group. t ran from Derby via Chesterfield, Sheffield and York to Grosmont and Pickering before retracing its steps to Whitby. It is believed this was the first High Speed Train to visit Whitby since 1997. During the train’s visit to the NYMR, there was a rededication ceremony for HST power car No. 43082 to mark the decade-long relationship between East Midlands Trains and Railway Children. Jake Kelly, managing director for East Midlands Trains, said: “It was a fantastic day and really pleasing we managed…

Lime Street passengers face autumn upheaval PASSENGERS using Liverpool Lime Street station will be disrupted by engineering work this autumn as Network Rail undertakes essential upgrades to create extra capacity. Track and signalling will be upgraded, platforms will be remodelled and extended, and new overhead line equipment installed as part of a £340million investment in the Liverpool City Region rail network in 2017-19. The work will be carried out between September 30 and October 22. Many services will terminate at Liverpool South Parkway, although East Midlands Trains’ Norwich to Liverpool trains will be cut back to Manchester Oxford Road. A further blockade is planned for 2018, and once work is complete the station will be able to accommodate three extra trains every hour. Passenger numbers are expected to double during…

Platform improvements at Stockport PLATFORMS 1-4 at Stockport have been improved and resurfaced by Network Rail as part of a £975,000 upgrade of the Cheshire station. Work started in August 2016 and also includes better lighting at both ends of all four platforms. Jim Syddall, Network Rail’s programme director, said: “These relatively small improvements will have a big impact for passengers as they improve both passenger experience and safety. “It was a challenge for our engineers to complete this work as each night they have to build a temporary road across the tracks between the platforms to remove waste and bring new materials in – and then remove it in time for the first train service the each day.” Six TOCs selling advance tickets on the day VIRGIN West Coast…

Three-week closure for Ashton-under-Lyne ASHTON?UNDER?LYNE station in Greater Manchester was closed for three weeks in July as part of work to electrify the line between Manchester Victoria and Stalybridge. The work is part of the Great North Rail Project, which will see more than £1billion invested in railways across the north of England. Network Rail engineers worked round-the-clock to rebuild a railway bridge over Turner Lane and replace and realign more than two miles of track. Ilkeston operation exceeds expectations EAST Midlands Trains celebrated three months of operation at Ilkeston on July 13 by inviting the local community to a special event at the Nottinghamshire station. More than 30,000 passenger journeys were made in the first three months since the £10million station opened in April. Jake Kelly, managing director for…

THE Keith & Dufftown Railway (KDR) fielded its first all-female DMU crew on a private charter for Strathmore Travel on June 8. This was also possibly a first for heritage railways in the UK. The crew were Ros Rhodes (driver), Manuela Hassel (second man) and Tina Wells (guard). The train was Class 108 DMU Spirit of Banffshire, comprising DMS car Nos. 51568 and 52053. It should not be too long before it claims another first with a scheduled service worked by an all-female crew. The female members of the KDR Association have long provided a much-valued pool of volunteers, working alongside their male counterparts in many areas of the railway. Any ladies who would also like to get involved should get in touch as they will be made most welcome.…

Your reports and pictures aremost welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. NOTED south of Basford Hall, Crewe, on June 9, Class 221 No. 221110 on the 14.15 Crewe-Barton-under-Needwood e.c.s. move was emitting massive plumes of smoke from the rear bogies. It transpired the unit took 50 minutes to do the four-minute trip fromBasford to Madeley, ending up 55 minutes late at Barton FARM animals on the track near Carstairs on Monday, June 19 resulted in the 08.51 Edinburgh Waverley-London Euston via Birmingham New Street train, formed of Class 221 Nos. 221142+221117, being delayed by 27minutes on arrival at Carlisle. PROBLEMS ensued at Leeds on June 13 as the result of a train failure in the Outwood area, with all local services to Doncaster and…

ABBEY PUMPING STATION August 8, 15, September 10 Corporation Road, Leicester LE4 5PX (0116 299 51110). www.abbeypumpingstation.org/events.asp Museum open February-October 13.00-16.30. Events: August 5 Pump Car Railway Gala Day, September 10 Seaside Fun Day. ALN VALLEY RAILWAY August 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, 22, 24, 26/27, September 3, 10, 17, 23/24 Lionheart Station, Alnwick, Northumberland NE66 2EZ. www.alnvalleyrailway.co.uk Information line 0300 030 3311. Events: September 2/3 Model Railex with Steam. AMBERLEY MUSEUM & HERITAGE CENTRE August 13, 28, September 10,16/17, 24 Houghton Bridge, Arundel, West Sussex BN18 9LT (01798 831370). Museum open 10.00-17.30 on Wednesdays- Sundays. www.amberleynarrowgauge.co.uk Events: August 20 Petrol Locos Day, September 16/17 Miniature Steam. AMERTON RAILWAY August 1-September 3, 10, 17, 24 Stowe-by-Chartley, Weston, Staffs ST18 OLA (01785 850965). www.amertonrailway.co.uk APEDALE VALLEY LIGHT…