Rail Express

Virgin Trains has begun a rolling programme to repaint its fleet of 56 Class 390 sets – their first major new look, apart from promotional specials, since they were first introduced to the West Coast Main Line in 2002. No. 390010 was the first to be given the new look, with the work being done…

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THE railways of the Isle of Wight have always been a little different. Isolated from the mainland, and with a restrictive loading gauge due mainly to the tunnels under Ryde Esplanade, they have always been worked by dedicated locos and stock throughout their 150 year history. This is why the remaining rump of the once…

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The Electric Railway Museum held its last ever open day on October 8, as the landowners Coventry City Council has not renewed the lease. The ERM’s trustees announced in July that this would be the tenth and final year of open days, and that the collection would be split up and distributed across a number…

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THREE serious derailments occurred in mid-August, bringing disruption to busy parts of the network. The first was at Ely on August 14, followed the day after by one at Waterloo, and then the third at Paddington on August 20. The Ely incident saw eleven container wagons of GBRf’s 33-wagon 4Z33/11.18 Felixstowe South-Doncaster derailed at Ely…

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IN an unexpected development, September 1 saw the entire Class 88 fleet removed from traffic for modifications. By the afternoon of this date, TOPS was showing all ten locos as ‘awaiting maintenance’, with indications that an upgrade to the OTMR data recording equipment was the cause of the blanket stoppage. That morning had seen No.…

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The Bury to Manchester Victoria line, now part of the city’s Metrolink tram network, is just under 10 miles in length and was opened by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway in September 1879 to provide an important link to the growing residential communities of North Manchester. The L&YR was an early advocate of electrification and…

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IN 1977 the much loved Class 52 ‘Westerns’ bowed out; the first North Sea gas was pumped ashore at Easington; HM The Queen celebrated her Silver Jubilee; Labour’s James Callaghan was the Prime Minister; the Ford Fiesta made its debut . . . and two blokes walked across a field in Northamptonshire with their dog.…

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WORK is progressing on DVT No. 82113 at the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway to convert it into a test bed for a new form of traction. The project, funded by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and Artemis Intelligent Power, will see the DVT fitted with a JCB engine, backed up by hydraulic accumulators…

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