Sam Hewitt

Class 319 to go bi-mode

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Sam Hewitt

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20th January 2017

Porterbrook Leasing and Northern are to introduce bi-mode Class 319 ‘Flex’ EMUs to widen their sphere of use and help replace the unloved ‘Pacer’ DMU fleet. Porterbrook announced on December 22, that it has committed to deliver to Northern a variant of a Class 319 EMU that is able to operate over both electrified and…
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Stadler wins contract to supply Merseyrail’s new EMU fleet

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Sam Hewitt

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20th January 2017

SWISS-based Stadler has beaten off competition from Bombardier, Siemens, CAF and Mitsui to win the contract to build 52 new EMU sets for Merseyrail. These will replace the 32 Class 507 and 27 Class 508 units that have been plying the two main Merseyrail routes – the Wirrall Line and Northern Line – since 1978-80.…
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‘Grid’ pattern working

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Sam Hewitt

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20th January 2017

Lee Davies looks back to the dying days of British Rail to describe life working ‘J’ turn coal trains from Tyne Yard. IN 1994, the year that privatisation of British Rail began, its then freight subsidiary Loadhaul decided to close the depots at Sunderland South Dock and Blyth Cambois. The work for these depots had…
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Gloom but not doom

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Sam Hewitt

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20th January 2017

IT has not been a great start to the year so far. Fares have gone up, passenger growth figures have stalled, the prospect of further electrification is on hold, and strikes have again affected services. The much anticipated Class 31 charter to the Mid-Norfolk Railway was cancelled, the DTG’s ‘Western’ No. D1015 can no longer…
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End for last mechanical signalling on NIR main lines

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Sam Hewitt

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22nd December 2016

Upgrade work has seen the loop and semaphore signals at Castlerock replaced. The latest phase of the Coleraine to Londonderry infrastructure upgrade was finished by November 21, including the completion of a loop at Bellarena and its associated signalling, the installation and commissioning of Track Circuit Block operation, and intermediate signals throughout the Coleraine to…
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BARS hires ERS coaches for ‘Polar Express’ duties

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Sam Hewitt

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22nd December 2016

Rolling stock heads to Weardale and Telford heritage lines for seasonal work. Eastern Rail Services is once again providing stock to British American Railway Services for use on its lucrative Polar Express trains at the Weardale Railway. On November 1, No. 31452 collected five coaches, Nos. 5866, 5906/60/89 and 9500, from the Mid-Norfolk Railway and…
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DB shunter sale suffers delays

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Sam Hewitt

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22nd December 2016

The results of the company’s final clear-out of Class 08/09 shunters were still largely awaited in late November. November was expected to bring the results of DB Cargo’s last shunter sale, the company having put its remaining 23 Class 08s and solitary Class 09 up for grabs to considerable interest. However, as the month ended,…
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More ‘442s’ stored at Ely

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Sam Hewitt

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22nd December 2016

Former ‘Wessex Electrics’ are put in store, but could they see further use on their old stamping ground with the next South West Trains franchise? As of late November, more than half of the Class 442 fleet had been moved to the Potter Group site at Ely for secure storage pending future use. One set…
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Final Caledonian Sleeper ‘73/9’ rebuild delivered

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Sam Hewitt

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22nd December 2016

GBRf’s last rebuilt electro-diesel has been released to traffic in Scotland, while a modification programme for the rest of the fleet is now underway. The last of GB Railfreight’s Class 73 rebuilds belatedly started main line testing on November 4 when No. 73971 undertook a run to Derby and back. Although the former No. 73207…
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Tour to celebrate the last hurrah of the ‘Westerns’

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Sam Hewitt

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22nd December 2016

Western Champion will retrace the steps of 1977’s ‘Western Tribute’ farewell tour. February 26, 1977 is a date that will strike a chord for many enthusiasts, particularly those with a fondness for the hydraulics. It was on that day that Nos. D1013 Western Ranger and D1023 Western Fusilier (with its unique ‘domino’ headcode) double-headed the…
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Sam Hewitt

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