Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2025 i The Railway Magazine

ONCE again the quirks of the publishing calendar have been at play, meaning that this issue goes to press just as the three-day Stockton & Darlington Railway celebrations are about to begin, but it is not published until just afterwards, and so we can neither preview nor review the events this month. We will, of course, have a full round-up of the celebrations in the next issue, as they promise to be something quite special. There will be no grand cavalcade of locomotives this time, as there was in 1975 for the 150th; that was only seven years after the end of main line steam and so there were many more trained crew still around, but also the health and safety paperwork required has tightened up considerably since then. However,…

CIVIL engineering work has been completed on the Colne Valley Viaduct at Denham in Buckinghamshire. The announcement last month by HS2 Ltd came a year after the final concrete deck segment on the 2.1 mile long structure was lowered into place, leading engineers to claim the title of building the UK’s longest rail bridge (its quoted length of 2.1 miles beating that of the 2.04 miles spanned by the Tay Bridge). Construction Align, the joint venture contractor comprising Bouygues Travaux Publics, VolkerFitzpatrick and Sir Robert McAlpine began construction of the 10-metre (nearly 33 feet) high viaduct in March 2021. Located in between the 8.4 miles long Northolt Tunnel and the Chiltern Tunnel (10 miles in length), it crosses the Grand Union Canal, River Colne and a series of adjacent lakes…

IT really does not seem possible that it is now 10 years since the Borders Railway reopened from Edinburgh Waverley to a new station at Tweedbank, south of Galashiels, along with eight intermediate stations. When it was first proposed to rebuild the former Waverley Route, there was much scepticism on the part of certain people who were convinced it would be a white elephant and closed again within two or three years. How wrong they were, as the line has grown in success year by year, with usage figures from just before the Covid pandemic already being triple the original estimate. Tweedbank is about 35 miles from Waverley, or just over a third of the former 98-mile through-route to Carlisle. When this section reopened in 2015, there was much hope…

FOR any train enthusiast, the opportunity to gaze out of a luxurious train window as rich and vivid landscapes glide past, while also experiencing the very best in fine dining sounds like a perfect way to spend a day. So when I got the chance to do just that and step aboard the British Pullman, travelling back in time to the bygone era of the 1920s and 30s, it felt like a dream come true. The British Pullman – which is owned by Belmond, a company that specialises in luxury travel experiences across the world, including safaris, cruises and hotels – is like a living museum with a rich history. Its carriages have carried royalty, including the late Queen Elizabeth II, the Duke of Edinburgh, and King Charles, while regular…

MORE than 60 years have passed since Bulleid‘West Country’No. 34028 Eddystone was last seen running on the mainline, but on September 10 the rebuilt Light Pacific ran its first mainline tour in preservation from London Victoria to Swanage and back. Owning group Southern Locomotives Limited (SLL) spent more than a year preparing the loco for the main line, including fitting the necessary safety equipment such as a train protection and warning system (TPWS), No. 34028 ran its first light engine test run to Southall on September 3, before undergoing loaded test runs between there and Didcot in the early hours of September 5. From there, the engine was ready to haul the Railway Touring Company’s‘Swanage Belle’tour five days later. Despite arriving at Swanage 31 minutes late, due to delays at…

THE highlight of the Chasewater Railway’s mammoth nine-day 60th anniversary gala was the first public appearance by Neilson 0-4-0ST No. 11, after an extensive restoration. The 1882-built machine (works No. 2937) only carried out its first running-in turns days before the event, which ran from Saturday, August 24 to Sunday, August 31. The veteran of William Baird & Co’s Gartsherrie Ironworks near Coatbridge has been transformed by owner Keith Sargeant after decades of static display. Restoration work took place over nine years and included substantial boiler work, an extensive bottom end overhaul and a brand-new completely riveted saddle tank. The restored 14in cylinder locomotive also sports striking William Baird & Co livery, the result of meticulous research. Bairds, which later became part of Scottish & Bairds, was once a major…

FANCOTT Miniature Railway volunteer Alan Rogers has begun the task of restoring Pippa, a petrol locomotive which was a stalwart of the ¾ mile long, 7¼ inch-gauge line until being wrecked in a fire 10 years ago. To support‘Project Pippa’, a fundraising appeal has been launched by the FMR, which is located in the grounds of The Fancott, a pub near Toddington in Bedfordshire. Pippa was just a few years old when it came to the FMR in 1998, but despite being a fairly new locomotive, its future looked bleak. Having languished under a tarpaulin close to the pub’s dustbins, the loco was restored by Matt Stanbridge (son of FMR chairman Ron Stanbridge) and returned to traffic. Pippa ran until 2015 when a fire, which had broken out nearby, devastated…

AS railtour promoters continue to face difficult market conditions, UK Railtours is pushing ahead with tours which are aimed directly at the enthusiast market. UKR says its future programme sees“a reinvigorated commitment to the rail enthusiast community” with its‘Off the Beaten Track’ collection of tours which will visit the backwaters of the railway network. As has been seen in recent months, UKR is not afraid to innovate and use traction and rolling stock from non-mainstream providers, such as the Hastings DEMU, London Transport’s 4TC set and the 125 Group’s High Speed Train. It says that in the future, it plans to cater for customers outside of London and the South East with more mini tours – shorter circular tours with enthusiast content. It also plans to start tours from several…

PREPARATIONS for the biggest rail upgrade in the Midlands for decades have taken a step forward after Network Rail said it had identified four preferred partners for the scheme. The alliance comprises VolkerRail, Laing O’Rourke, AtkinsRéalis and Siemens Mobility, who with Network Rail will design and develop plans and support the build phase of a project that could cost up to £1.75 billion. An initial £123 million of funding was released last year by the Department for Transport to design and develop major changes. The Midlands Rail Hub includes transforming how the city’s three main stations – New Street, Moor Street and Snow Hill – are served by trains from across the region and beyond. The alterations aim to deliver significant benefits to local, regional and national passenger journeys. One…

LOCOMOTIVES Allocations 08530 DDIN-DFLS08531 DDIN-DFLS08585 DDIN-DFLS08624 DDIN-DFLS08691 DDIN-DFLS08785 DDIN-DFLS08891 DDIN-DFLS60099 DCRS-DCRO66133WBAT-WBAI66170WBAT-WBAI-WBAT66418 DFLS-DDHJ-DFHJ66503 DFLS-DFHJ66504 DFLS-DFHJ66543 DFLS-DFHJ66544 DHLT-COLO Renumbered 66794 – 66694 Liveries Black: 90026DCR grey/Cappagh blue: 60099DB Cargo red: 66068Railfreight Red Stripe: 69015 Names removed 57302 Chad Varah73136 Mhairi Stored/stopped locations Colwick: 60022 MULTIPLE UNITS Allocations 150213/29/35/53/55 sent for disposal197036 HQ-CH197039 newly deliveredHQ/HLHQ398030 newly deliveredHQ/HLHQ455724/41 sent for disposal455848/51/53/56/62 sent for disposal455903/11/13 sent for disposal465931/33 sent for disposal466015/28 sent for disposal555036/40/41 newly deliveredGF/PXGG701005/21/53/56 HQ-WD730215/16/23/24 HQ-BY Liveries EMR purple: 158847 London Overground new: 378201/08 Railway 200: 158903 South Eastern blue: 376001/04/05/06/12/15/17/18/19/20/22/33/35/36 Named 801205 She’s electric Now in passenger traffic 197036379021555012/14/16701005/21/53/56730215/16/23/24 Industrial use Fire Service, Washington: 4019 Preserved North Tyneside Steam Railway: 4001 Stored/stopped locations Crewe: 197039 Hornsey: 379030 Taff’s Well: 398030 Wembley: 350252/56 Disposals EMR Kingsbury: Arrival date: September 16: 465931/33J Denham, Shildon:…

WHITEHAVEN and Workington MP Josh MacAlister says Network Rail (NR) has told him that repairs to the 0.6-mile long Bransty Tunnel on the Cumbrian Coast line could cost £35-40 million. Closed since July 25 this year, NR announced last month that it expects the tunnel between Whitehaven and Corkickle stations to be shut until spring 2026. It was initially expected to be a weekend closure for surveys in preparation for track and drainage renewals later in the summer, to replace track degraded by water from old mine workings and resolve flooding issues. However, the surveys revealed part of the tunnel floor needed strengthening before machinery could be brought in to do the work. Mr MacAlister said NR had explained to him that cavities beneath the trackbed covered around a third…

PROTOTYPETyne &Wear Metro unit No. 4001 has entered preservation at the Stephenson Steam Railway, which now occupies the site on North Tyneside where it was based for testing 50 years ago. No. 4001 (along with fellow prototype ‘Metrocar’ No. 4002, scrapped in 2023) was delivered in 1975 for extensive trials on a purpose-built test track at Middle Engine Lane near North Shields, five years before the system itself opened. Manufactured by Metro-Cammell, the pair initially had different types of coupling at either end and featured centre cab doors before being modified to the same specifications as the production version, 88 of which (TOPS Class 599) were also built by the firm at Washwood Heath between 1978 and 1981. Still carrying the unique livery it was given to mark the 40th…

IN a landmark achievement for Irish railway preservation, the Downpatrick & County Down Railway (DCDR) and the Irish Traction Group (ITG) celebrated the return to service of diesel locomotive No. 124 on August 23. The event formed the centrepiece of the DCDR’s 40th Anniversary Gala, drawing enthusiasts from across Ireland and the UK. Built in 1961 by General Motors in La Grange, Illinois, the single-cabbed Córas Iompair Éireann 121 Class was the first American-built diesel to operate in Ireland. Following withdrawal in March 2008, most of the class was scrapped, but No. 124 languished in storage at Moyasta, County Clare from 2008 until its transfer to Downpatrick in June this year. A concentrated two-month restoration by DCDR volunteers saw No. 124’s electrics, air and coolant systems overhauled, regulatory paperwork completed,…

AN operation to push a 112-metre (122 yard) long bridge, weighing 1631 tonnes, into place in Birmingham, was completed four days ahead of schedule. Beginning on August 15, the movement of the structure over the city’s ring road at Lawley Middleway took place during the course of a week. The bridge was shifted a distance of 18 to 24 metres each night during road closures. HS2 Ltd says weather conditions allowed engineers to get ahead of schedule, meaning that the road returned to normal from 06.00 on Friday, August 22, rather than the following Monday as originally planned. Assembled over the last two years on land next to Digbeth Canal, the bridge was rotated by 90 degrees using self-propelled modular transporters, before being pushed over the road. It is the…

1: Cheadle Heath was a junction station in southwest Stockport on the former Midland Railway route from Manchester Central to London St Pancras (via New Mills, Peak Forest, Matlock and Derby), with a connection to the Cheshire Lines Committee line to Glazebrook and thus on to Liverpool via Warrington Central. The station found fame in the 1960s as the only stop on the Midland Pullman route between Manchester and London. However, it was closed to passengers in January 1967, and to goods in July 1968. On September 18, 1965, the station was visited by the LCGB’s ‘High Peak Rail Tour’, which began at Waterloo behind No. 4472 Flying Scotsman, running via Reading, Birmingham Snow Hill, Shrewsbury and Crewe to Cheadle Heath, where ‘Jubilee’ No. 45705 Seahorse had come off the…

100 YEARS AGO OCTOBER 1925 West of England best THE 12.30pm Up‘West of England’ express, with 14 main line coaches from Exeter to Waterloo, is reported to have covered the 76 miles between Sidmouth Junction and Salisbury in 78 minutes. The engine concerned was No. 454 Queen Guinevere. This run covers severe gradients and the performance is said to represent the best average speed yet recorded with a heavy load on this section of line, between 75 and 80mph being attained during the run. Locomotives of the‘King Arthur’ Class now hauling the Continental boat expresses in the South Eastern section have recently covered the 26½ miles between Ashford and Tonbridge – the only straight piece of line on this route – in 25½ minutes with trains of 425 tons, as…

DOUBLE-HEADED mainline steam down to the West Country is always a sight to behold. But when BR(W) No. 7029 Clun Castle piloted LMS‘Jubilee’No. 45596 Bahamas to Plymouth on September 6, enthusiasts turned out in force. The Vintage Trains duo worked‘The Mayflower’charter from Bristol Temple Meads and return, while the leg from and to Birmingham New Street was diesel-hauled. An initial stop at Totnes was planned, but the tour bypassed this and continued nonstop fromTiverton to Plymouth, arriving more than 30 minutes ahead of schedule. However, the return proved more challenging. Having departed Plymouth seven minutes late, the tour faced delays of up to 27 minutes near Yatton. But through swift passenger stops and pathing allowances, the tour made up the lost time and arrived back in Birmingham in time. Both…

A STAINMORE Railway Company volunteer is leading a project to re-create a Stockton & Darlington Railway brake van of a type originally introduced in 1860. Designed by William Bouch, Shildon Vans are understood to have been built specifically for providing braking on mineral trains over Stainmore Summit. Research carried out by Alex Tring, who has embarked upon the task of building one from scratch, supported by other members of the SRC team, suggests that the originals were constructed on lengthened (17 feet in length as opposed 15 feet) mineral wagon underframes. They had space to accommodate tools and an enlarged roof ducket to give the guard a clear view of the train while remaining sheltered from the weather. Demise Despite being built in significant numbers, after takeover by the North…

THE team of volunteers working on the restoration of Chester No. 4 at the former airfield at Hooton Park in Cheshire, is trying to negotiate the acquisition of a suitable truck for the 1903 George F Milnes & Company-built tram. It hopes the truck can be refurbished and united with the 3ft 6in gauge double-deck car next year. A big milestone was the completion of all of the seating on the tram’s upper deck. It took those working on the restoration almost a year to design and make the single flip seats and longer wooden benches. This involved welding and fabricating frames and shaping and fitting the wooden components. Another long and intensive element of work on the upper deck was the preparation and fitting of floor slatting. The DB1…

WITH just two companies taking charge of locomotive-operated Rail Head Treatment Trains for Network Rail (NR) this year, early September saw preparations made to ensure sufficient motive power was available for them. As part of a new five-year deal announced in April, the loco-hauled duties will be split between GB Railfreight and Colas, with each company taking charge of different diagrams. GBRf added Class 66 No. 66316 (the last of 11 Akiem-owned examples of the class to be converted to UK specification for the firm after being imported from mainland Europe) to its ranks, still retaining its old livery due to the approaching RHTT season. Class 66 fleet In readiness for taking on more treatment work than it has in previous autumns, Colas has bolstered its own fleet by hiring…

HAVING verified its data recorded on board the train, the Rail Performance Society has presented a certificate of achievement to Great Western Railway, confirming that battery-powered Class 230, No. 230001 completed a journey of 200.5 miles on a single charge. The trip, which began late on August 19 and ended the following day, broke the previous world record of 139 miles which had been set in Berlin by Stadler in 2021. No. 230001 set out from GWR’s Reading Train Care depot, travelling first of all to Paddington (37 miles) and then to Oxford and back to Paddington (63 miles each way), before returning to the depot at Reading (37 miles). Operating mode The new record was achieved with the Class 230 operating in‘SuperMode’, its highest efficiency setting, and travelling at…

SCOTRAIL is expected to issue a contract notice this autumn, for the supply of 69 new suburban trains. Scottish Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop gave the go-ahead to proceed with the process of procuring a fleet expected to comprise 41 EMUs for use in and around Glasgow and 28 battery-EMUs that will take advantage of new stretches of electrification in Fife and the Borders. The units are to be delivered as part of the total £342 million programme of investment. The sum incorporates elements of already authorised spending for development and advanced works, and will see electrification work completed between Haymarket and Dalmeny, from Kinghorn to Ladybank, and from Cardenden via Thornton Junction to Leven, as well as at both ends of the Borders Railway (from Newcraighall to south of Shawfair…

GREAT Western Society founding member Jon Barlow passed away on September 7, aged 80. As the only one of the initial four members who owned a typewriter, Barlow set up the organisation having written a letter published in The Railway Magazine in August 1961.“The cost is £1130, plus extras such as having‘48XX’numberplate cast and repainting in Great Western livery. If sufficient support is obtained, perhaps a pull-and-push coach also might be preserved”the original letter stated. The four teenagers purchased GWR 0-4-2T No. 1466 and Hawksworth auto trailer No. 231 in 1964, having felt perturbed by the omission of these from BR’s proposed list of preserved rolling stock, which was the foundations of the National Collection. Speaking to Span Pictures for its‘Story of Steam’ documentary series in 1987, Barlow shared the…

FOLLOWING Exmoor National Park Authority’s refusal of planning permission for the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust’s (L&BR) proposed extension from Killington Lane to a new terminus at Cricket Field Lane on the edge of Parracombe (RM July), the L&BR sought its members’ views on what the next move should be. A total of 1047 responses were received, 71.1% favouring submission of a new planning application to extend the line to the original Parracombe Halt. In view of this overwhelming majority, L&BR will now start development work towards this end, including engagement with planners and neighbours to overcome potential objections. Just 2.5% of replies favoured resubmitting the Cricket Field Lane extension proposal, but with alternative arrangements to mitigate concerns identified in the refusal notice. Ninety-seven per cent voted against submission of…

THERE was Maybach music on the West Somerset Railway (WSR) as half a century of ‘Hymek’s in preservation was celebrated. Both BR blue Class 35 No. D7017 and its green-liveried classmate No. D7018 were the stars of the show at the weekend event of August 30/31, with both locomotives operating individually and as a pair, and the WSR using a bespoke timetable on each day. The two‘Hymeks’were preserved by the Diesel & Electric Preservation Group (DEPG) following withdrawal by BR in March 1975, after surviving later than expected because of a shortage of motive power.They were two of the last 10 survivors, of which Nos. D7029 and D7076 were also preserved. Both locos have recently returned to traffic, with No. D7017 receiving its early blue livery at the WSR’s Minehead…

CITY of Edinburgh Council is holding a consultation regarding plans to extend the city’s tram system. Launched on August 25 (and due to continue until November 17), the 12-week process will gather views ahead of the development of a strategic business case (scheduled to be presented to the council’s Transport and Environment Committee next year). The proposed route would run between Granton and the city centre via Ferry Road and then either via the Orchard Brae corridor or the former railway alignment which now forms the Roseburn Path walking and cycling route. The first option (with an anticipated cost of £650- £850 million) would run along Queensferry Road, via the Dean Bridge, and Queensferry Street to reach the existing route at the west end of Princes Street. Completion of the…

TRANSLATOR and barrier vans continue to see widespread use across the network, moving coaching stock and units between depots and workshops, or increasingly to scrapyards. This is despite some locomotives now being equipped with auto-couplers. In the past, post-Privatisation, ownership of the vans was largely with the ROSCOs, namely Angel, Eversholt and Porterbrook. Today, ownership and operation is more diverse. Examples include Arlington Fleet Services with a pair of translator vans converted from Class 508 driving cars, Nos. 64664 Liwet and 64707 Laberezin. Rail Adventure has a quartet of former Motorail vans, Nos. 96602/603/605/607, now rebranded as Universal Barrier Vehicles after the fitting of Dellner couplers, while Rail Operations Group has EMU translators Nos. 6378/379 and Locomotive Services Limited two HST barriers Nos. 6393/394. Colas also has a number of…

Rail Head Treatment Trains (RHTT) Rail Head Treatment Trains reported working in early September included Nos. 66849+66846, observed at various locations around Glasgow. The following day, Nos. DR98981+DR98931 were at Brighton having worked in from Horsham. Among the movements taking place the previous month in preparation for the workings were Class 69 Nos. 69016+69014 conveying a rake of treatment tankers to Whitemoor Yard on August 21, followed on August 27 by Class 37 No. 37405 taking a further rake fromYork to Network Rail’s Coleham depot in Shrewsbury. Another rake went south to Whitemoor on September 4, hauled by No. 69008. Avanti West Coast In the shape of Nos. 805010+ 805001, Class 805s traversed the Settle & Carlisle line for the first time on August 20, while working from Oxley (1Z55/08.40)…

THE Connemara Railway Project at Maam Cross has taken delivery of the sole remaining 2700 Class diesel multiple unit No. 2751, following the scrapping of the rest of the fleet earlier this year. No. 2751 was built by GEC Alsthom in Spain and entered service in Ireland in 1999. It was one of two single-car units in a fleet that also included 12 two-car sets. The 2700 Class represented the first DMU fleet purchased since Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) introduced railcars in the 1950s. These units launched the Dublin Suburban service from Heuston Station to Kildare (now branded as the Arrow service) and earned the nickname‘Sparrows’. Withdrawal Withdrawn in 2012, No. 2751 was placed into storage at the Cork locomotive shed. In May 2024, it was transferred from storage to…

AMERICAN national rail passenger company Amtrak introduced the first of its fleet of 28 Alstom-built‘New Acela’ high speed trains into passenger service on August 27, on the ‘Northeast Corridor’route connecting Washington DC, New York and Boston. Initially, four services were being operated Monday-Saturday with the new trains, and two on Sundays in place of the original and shorter Bombardier-Alstom manufactured‘Acela’sets. Introduced in 2000, the 20-strong fleet of these older trains (two powercars and six trailer coaches) now known as‘Acela 1s’, will be replaced by 2027. The first was withdrawn in September. Amtrak has announced the new trains will allow more frequent services on the Northeast Corridor, including half-hourly peak frequencies between New York City and Washington DC, plus hourly New York-Boston services. Design Called‘New Acela’by Amtrak and‘Avelia Liberty’by Alstom, the…