Essential reading for today's rail enthusiast

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  • Dapol delivers a great ‘Super Low’

    Dapol delivers a great ‘Super Low’

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    REVIEW: The IDA container ‘twins’ have been released to accompany the Class 68, these being used on DRS intermodals. DAPOL has further expanded its range of current day wagons in ‘OO’ gauge with the release of the IDA container flat ‘twins’, as used exclusively by Direct Rail Services on its intermodal services radiating from the…

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  • Olivia’s Trains commissions British Oxygen TEA tankers from Heljan

    Olivia’s Trains commissions British Oxygen TEA tankers from Heljan

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    THE striking British Oxygen Company TEA tankers are set to appear in ‘OO’ gauge with the news that Heljan has been commissioned to produce the wagons exclusively for Sheffield-based retailer Olivia’s Trains. Few details have been released by either party but CAD work has been completed and approved with tooling now underway. BOC operated a…

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  • Great Central brings new models

    Great Central brings new models

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    The three-day exhibition at the Great Central Railway in mid-June saw Bachmann, Dapol and Hornby all in attendance and showing the latest progress on several new models, as illustrated here. Catching the eye on the Bachmann stand was the first appearance of one of the 4mm scale regional limited edition Class 47s, this being the…

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  • Half-year update from Bachmann

    Half-year update from Bachmann

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    The first appearance of the long-awaited Mk.2f coaches is the highlight of the manufacturer’s summer briefing. AS is now traditional, Bachmann provided an update on the state of play with its ranges at the start of July, this being a sort of mid-year report where the latest samples are shown to the model railway press…

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  • Oxford Rail Mk.3s move forward

    Oxford Rail Mk.3s move forward

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    The company has now received factory samples of the InterCity livery with the other schemes on their way. EARLY June saw Oxford Rail receive the first fully factory-decorated samples of its new ‘OO’ gauge Mk.3a coaches, these all being finished in InterCity colours. The batch consisted of several Tourist Standard Open (TSO), First Open (FO)…

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  • WEST MIDLANDS ‘GRONK’ TRIPS

    WEST MIDLANDS ‘GRONK’ TRIPS

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    REGARDING the article ‘A Trip Down Memory Lane’ (May issue), which looked back at some of the Class 08/09-powered local shunting trips in the 1980s and 1990s, it reminded me of similar such workings around the West Midlands at this time, when ‘Gronks’ were often let loose on the main line. During the Speedlink era,…

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  • Railway people: A year at Scropton

    Railway people: A year at Scropton

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    Ex-Derby Trainman, and now signalman, Tim Helme describes life through the changing seasons at his post on the Derby to Stoke line, where there is much to contemplate between the passing trains. IF you want to conjure up an image of a classic mechanical signalbox, Scropton Crossing may well be it, with cable pull semaphores…

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  • FROM THE ARCHIVE: The London Midland Region

    FROM THE ARCHIVE: The London Midland Region

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    Following our look at the Western Region last year, this month we delve into the Rail Express archives again to dig out some rare and unseen images taken on the London Midland Region in the 1950s and 60s. Many of them have never been published before, and include classes and locations long since gone. The…

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  • Report highlights Southern woes

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    Too many trains and too few depots are just some of the reasons behind the problems faced by Southern. By ‘Industry Witness’ PASSENGER fury on the Southern part of the Thameslink Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise prompted the Department for Transport to commission a report into service reliability from Chris Gibb, a non-executive director…

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  • Bidders announced for West Coast and South Eastern franchises

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    West Coast bidders must partner with an established high-speed operator to oversee the first HS2 services, while those for South Eastern are asked to consider new routes. THE Department for Transport has announced the list of qualified bidders for the next two franchise competitions. The West Coast Partnership is the franchise that will run inter-city…

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