Sam Hewitt

Dawn of the diesels

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Sam Hewitt

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22nd December 2016

Sixty years ago in 1957, and after nearly a decade of dithering by those in charge, the first of the new diesel fleets entered traffic as part of the Modernisation Plan for British Railways. Rail Express looks back to those heady days of hit and miss designs in the rush to start replacing steam. THE…
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First of the many

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Sam Hewitt

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21st December 2016

THIS will be a big year for modern traction, as 2017 is the diamond jubilee of the first main line diesel fleets starting work with British Railways. Yes there had been shunters and prototypes developed by the ‘Big Four’, but it was only after the Second World War that things could really get going –…
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c2c takes delivery of its first Class 387/3

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Sam Hewitt

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17th November 2016

The fleet of new ‘Electrostar’ units should be in service with the Essex operator before the end of November. THE first of six Class 387/3 units for c2c was delivered to East Ham depot for training on October 21, when No. 387302 was moved across by No. 66953 as the 7X36/21.06 Bletchley-East Ham following completion…
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Colas Rail bolsters its loco fleet

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Sam Hewitt

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17th November 2016

Further locomotives were returned to the main line during October, including the reinstatement of another Class 37. LATE October proved to be productive for Colas Rail as more motive power resources became available. The highlight was undoubtedly the reappearance of No. 37099 back on the national network for the first time in over 19 years,…
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NYMR buys Class 24 from TJ Thomsons

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Sam Hewitt

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17th November 2016

The veteran Type 2 has been purchased from the scrapman 40 years after being loaned to the railway. FOLLOWING an unexpected offer from the loco’s owner, TJ Thomson & Son Ltd, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway has purchased Class 24 No. D5032 (24032) Helen Turner from the firm. The Stockton-based scrap dealer had originally acquired…
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ROG takes ‘Tractors’ on rare outing

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Sam Hewitt

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17th November 2016

EUROPHOENIX-liveried Type 3 duo Nos. 37800 and 37884 took centre stage on October 23, when they worked the Rail Operations Group’s round-robin ‘Thrash Bash’ tour from Derby to Worcester Shrub Hill. It was an opportunity for the grey pair to take a break from their usual fodder of moving EMUs and other stock around the country.…
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LT Museum sends last surviving prototype 1986 Stock to Coventry

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Sam Hewitt

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17th November 2016

THE London Transport Museum has decided to permanently relocate its unique 1986 Stock vehicle to the Electric Railway Museum, situated a couple of miles outside Coventry. Car No. 16 is unique in that it is the only surviving example of the 16 prototype vehicles constructed during the mid-1980s as the basis for a new fleet…
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Welsh Government pushes the case for light rail

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Sam Hewitt

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17th November 2016

Bidders for the next Wales and Borders franchise are being asked to consider alternatives to electrifying the existing Cardiff Valley routes. BIDDERS for the next Wales and Borders franchise will be expected to look at plans for the Cardiff Metro project and evaluate whether light rail operations will provide a better value for money solution…
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Downturns leads DB Cargo to cut jobs

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Sam Hewitt

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17th November 2016

The decline in coal and steel traffic has led to redundancies at Britiain’s biggest rail freight operator DB Cargo. THE collapse in demand for carrying coal to electricity generating power stations, combined with the weak output from steel producers, has resulted in a 30% cutback in DB Cargo’s UK workforce of 2943 people as the…
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Eurostar cuts services and fleet as revenue falls

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Sam Hewitt

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17th November 2016

THE number of international services operated by Eurostar is to be reduced by 8%, with a subsequent reduction of 80 jobs. As a result, a number of the Class 373 ‘Three Capitals’ trainsets built by Alstom and introduced in 1992 are to be scrapped. The measures are a response to falling passenger numbers and income…
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Sam Hewitt

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