Sam Hewitt

Bachmann completes Highlander set

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Sam Hewitt

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6th April 2017

Two further vehicles have been released to allow lengthening of the previous trainset, including the Hebridean saloon. RECENTLY released by Bachmann is the third instalment in its series of green and cream coaching stock, as used on the Kyle of Lochalsh line in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This twin pack (39-005) not only…
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Bluebell 4-VEP to go main line

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Sam Hewitt

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6th April 2017

AN appeal to raise £25,000 towards returning the Bluebell Railway’s 4-VEP No. 3417 to the main line has been launched by the unit’s custodians, the Southern Electric Traction Group. The group, which is largely comprised of railway staff based at Wimbledon and elsewhere in the former NSE region, has been looking after the unit for…
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‘Western’ appeal is successful

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Sam Hewitt

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6th April 2017

£50,000 has been raised by the DTG to fund a new power unit to get No. D1015 back on the main line. THE Diesel Traction Group has closed its appeal to raise £50,000 to return No. D1015 Western Champion to twin power unit operation after sufficient funds were raised in less than a month. The…
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REVIEWS: Monorails of the Early 20th Century

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Sam Hewitt

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30th March 2017

By Adrian S Garner Published by Lightmoor Press www.lightmoor.co.uk 208 pages, black & white, 283 x 220mm, hardback. £25.00 THIS amazing piece of work is a follow-up to the author’s 2011 book that covered monorails in the 1800s, moving on to detail those built from 1900 to the end of the Second World War –…
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DRS ‘68s’ BREAK NEW GROUND

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Sam Hewitt

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30th March 2017

CLASS 68s Nos. 68023 Achilles and 68025 Superb ‘top and tailed’ UK Railtours’ ‘Rose of the Shire’ charter on February 10, which ran from London Victoria to Claydon Junction (Buckinghamshire) formed of the Northern Belle set. This is believed to be the first railtour to run from Oxford to Aylesbury via Claydon since the line was…
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Inside the first ‘D’ Stock RAT

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Sam Hewitt

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30th March 2017

Christopher Westcott gets a first look at the future of London Underground’s Rail Adhesion Trains. THE first of London Underground’s ‘D’ Stock trains were withdrawn from the District Line in mid-January 2015 as replacement ‘S7’ Stock trains arrived from Bombardier in Derby. While the majority of ‘D’ Stock cars were snapped up by Vivarail for…
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Battersea bound!

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Sam Hewitt

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30th March 2017

Tunnelling is set to begin on London Underground’s Northern Line extension from Kennington to Battersea, as the two boring machines have been lowered into place at the former power station site. TUNNEL boring machines Helen and Amy have been lowered into place at Battersea ready to start construction of the two-mile (3.2km) twin-tunnel route to…
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Highland observations

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Sam Hewitt

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30th March 2017

The 1980s and early 1990s saw a renaissance in the use of observation saloons on the Kyle of Lochalsh route, this culminating in the conversion of a Class 101 DMU car. To mark the release of Bachmann’s model of this vehicle, Simon Bendall profiles the last 15 years of loco-hauled passenger trains on the scenic…
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Class 68 makes an impression

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Sam Hewitt

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30th March 2017

Dapol’s highly anticipated 4mm scale re-creation of the Vossloh machines has arrived but it is not without some controversy. SO, at last, the wait is over with the first batch of Class 68s making it to the UK and onto retailers’ shelves in mid-February. Not that many of the models had time to get acquainted…
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HONG KONG BATTERY LOCOS

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Sam Hewitt

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30th March 2017

I SAW the shot of a Brush/Wabtec-built battery loco for the Hong Kong Metro in your February issue (RE249). It reminded me of this photo taken in 1989 of one (No. L60) of the previous batches built by Brush for Hong Kong. These 1500V DC locos are used to haul maintenance trains. Phase 1 (Nos.…
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Sam Hewitt

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