News

  • Heavy Metals!

    Heavy Metals!

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    Class 37/7 No. 37714 is on long term loan from DRS to the Heavy Tractor Group at the Great Central Railway. So what are its plans for the loco? Paul Bickerdyke finds out. ‘HEAVYWEIGHT’ Class 37 No. 37714 is about to gain a new identity – or rather regain one it first wore in the…

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  • DBC ‘08’ arrives at K&ESR

    DBC ‘08’ arrives at K&ESR

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    FORMER DB Cargo shunter No. 08888 became the newest loco on the Kent & East Sussex Railway when it arrived at the line’s Wittersham Road yard on December 15. It has been privately purchased by father and son members Mark and Chris Stuchbury, and will be used for shunting duties plus hauling the heavier engineering…

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  • Track tours kick off the new year

    Track tours kick off the new year

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    Two successful outings were staged by Pathfinder Tours and the Branch Line Society during January. ALTHOUGH January is always a lean month when it comes to railtours, the second weekend of 2017 was one where ‘track bashing’ enthusiasts were faced with a difficult choice. The Branch Line Society’s ‘Vossloh Voyager’, raising money for the Railway…

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  • Tyneside Railway – The 1970s and 1980s

    Tyneside Railway – The 1970s and 1980s

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    By Colin Alexander Published by Amberley www.amberley-books.com 96 pages, colour, 235x165mm, softback. £14.99 THIS is a picture and caption format book that takes a nostalgic look back to the railways around Newcastle during the period of huge change that was the 1970s and 80s. It is filled with mostly modern traction shots, but with a…

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  • Tunnelling for Northern Line extension due to commence

    Tunnelling for Northern Line extension due to commence

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    WHILE the future of the Croxley link remains in the balance, drilling work for the Northern Line extension to Battersea is due to begin in March. Two machines will each drill two miles (3.2km) creating 5.2 metre tunnels between Kennington and the Battersea development via Nine Elms. Both tunnel boring machines (TBMs) were given female…

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  • Doubt over Croxley extension

    Doubt over Croxley extension

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    Funding problems are again dogging the planned Metropolitan Line extension into Watford Junction via the Croxley Link. THE Mayoral Business Plan published in December 2016 made no explicit reference to the Croxley Link extension, raising fears about the plan to run Metropolitan Line trains into Watford Junction station. If given the green light, the works…

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  • Design changes needed for Class 230 D-Train gensets

    Design changes needed for Class 230 D-Train gensets

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    Vivarail promises no repeat of the engine fire in December that scuppered hopes of a first passenger trial for the converted trains. VIVARAIL has announced an action plan to prevent further fires occurring in its Class 230 ‘D-Train’ units, such as the one in the trailing vehicle of test unit No. 230001 near Kenilworth on December 30.…

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  • CHANNEL TUNNEL TANKS:

    CHANNEL TUNNEL TANKS:

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    The use of European loading-gauge wagons as far as Dollands Moor, or even into East London, is no longer a surprise, writes Gareth Bayer. However, the night of January 17 brought the unexpected sight of DB six-axle Samms flat wagons in the UK on a trial for the Ministry of Defence to assess the possibility…

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  • The Class 01 story

    The Class 01 story

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    Thirty five years ago this February, one of British Rail’s most interesting operations came to an end. Steve Morris looks back at the Holyhead Breakwater Railway and the Class 01 shunters that were based there. FEBRUARY 1982 saw the end of one of British Rail’s more enigmatic loco fleets – the Holyhead Breakwater Class 01s.…

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  • An Oxfordshire renaissance

    An Oxfordshire renaissance

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    Chiltern Railways is now running services through to the main Oxford station, competing with Great Western Railway for commuters to London. Robin Whitlock describes how the project was realised. CHILTERN Railways announced Project Evergreen 3 in August 2008, with the aim of running a regular passenger service from Oxford to London Marylebone via Bicester. The…

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