News

FIRST SHOTTS LINE ELECTRIC

by

Sarah Wilkinson

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18th March 2019

Freightliner locos No. 86638 and 86627 were the first electric traction to use the newly electrified line between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Shotts when they performed test runs on February 24. First No. 86638 ran light engine both ways between Holytown and Midcalder Junctions, calling at all stations, then the pair ‘top and tailed’ a…
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Network Rail shake-up sees the return of regions

by

Sarah Wilkinson

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18th March 2019

NETWORK Rail’s chief executive Andrew Haines has announced that a reorganisation of the infrastructure owner will see the return of five regions, within which there will be 13 routes. The reorganised map looks very similar to the former British Rail structure, with the creation of Eastern, London North Western, Wales and Western, Southern and Scotland…
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RAIL EXPRESS APRIL 2019

by

Sarah Wilkinson

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18th March 2019

Issue 275 OUT NOW! Network Rail to devolve into regions (again!), Thunderer back on railtour duties, and GWR to host an open day at Long Rock depot. The latest issue of Rail Express is packed with modern traction news, nostalgia and modelling. If you’d like to read this edition of RE, then you can download…
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Bachmann cautious for 2019

by

Sarah Wilkinson

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18th February 2019

FEW new models have been announced in the new Bachmann catalogue for 2019, with diesel and electric modellers having to be content with one completely brand-new model in both ‘OO’ and ‘N’ gauge. Previously announced new models delayed by a recent factory move will appear in 2019 starting with the ‘OO’ gauge Class 90 in…
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East-West Rail identifies route alignments

by

Sarah Wilkinson

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18th February 2019

DESIGN plans for an extension of the Oxford-Bicester route to Bletchley and Bedford were finalised and delivered to Parliament in 2018 to obtain the Transport and Works Order necessary for construction to begin. This year will see the planning focus shift to the section of East-West Rail (which aims to reopen the full length of…
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Boden Rail ‘50’ sold to Great Central

by

Sarah Wilkinson

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18th February 2019

THE Great Central Railway has bought Class 50 No. 50017 Royal Oak from Boden Rail. The sale of the ‘Hoover’, minus its main line running safety systems, was completed on February 1, ending a nervous few days in which the loco had been threatened with scrapping.Royal Oak, one of two Class 50s owned by Boden…
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New livery for Freightliner’s second batch of MWAs

by

Sarah Wilkinson

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18th January 2019

FREIGHTLINER has taken delivery of its first wagons since US owner Genesee & Wyoming unveiled its new orange, black and yellow corporate image for the erstwhile ‘green team’. Unsurprisingly, although not without some sadness, the classic British Racing green adopted in the late-1990s has been retired and the box wagons are showing off a new…
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Lady Diana Spencer to return to the main line

by

Sarah Wilkinson

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18th January 2019

THE Crewe Diesel Preservation Group’s No. 47712 Lady Diana Spencer is set to return to the main line during 2019 in a deal between the loco’s owners and Locomotive Services Ltd, which operates from the former Crewe Diesel Depot. The ‘47’ is currently based at the nearby Crewe Heritage Centre. The 18-month agreement between the…
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Cumbrian ‘Tractors’ bow out

by

Sarah Wilkinson

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17th January 2019

FRIDAY, December 28 saw the last loco-hauled workings by Northern on the Cumbrian Coast route following the cascade from ScotRail to Northern of three Class 156 and three Class 158 DMUs. Five different examples of the DRS fleet saw use in December, Nos. 37401/3/9, 37424/5, with No. 37425 in action on all but two of…
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Could there be a return to the ‘Big Four’?

by

Sarah Wilkinson

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17th January 2019

THE Williams Review of the rail industry has become mired in intense lobbying from a generation of past experts about the future organisation of the network. Those who never wanted or understood the need for the changes that Privatisation brought are pressing for a return to the days of the 1923 Grouping, when the ‘Big…
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