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Sam Hewitt

  • Mystery Traveller

    Mystery Traveller

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    With many new train operators providing services, The RM is reviving a feature it ran many years ago, where one of the team reports on the good and bad aspects of a recent rail journey. Hopefully, this will give a snapshot of how franchisees are performing. THE combination of an early morning flight from Stansted…

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  • Elephant takes on water at Mexborough…

    Elephant takes on water at Mexborough…

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    I ENJOYED reading the article about circus trains in the August issue. It reminded me of an unusual day when I was station master at Mexborough in 1956. One Sunday morning I was called out by the station foreman telling me there was an elephant on the platform needing water. One of the circuses was…

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  • Newbattle Viaduct celebration

    Newbattle Viaduct celebration

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    By Ashley Butlin THE Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) has selected 200 people and projects that have transformed peoples’ lives – all part of its 2018 bicentenary celebrations. The list includes Newbattle Viaduct, near Dalkeith, opened in 1849 to carry the Edinburgh to Hawick Railway across the River Esk. When the Waverley Route (successor to…

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  • Whitcare Jct freight derailment closes busy route

    Whitcare Jct freight derailment closes busy route

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    THE derailment of a Hams Hall to Felixstowe intermodal train at Whitacre Junction on September 12 caused disruption for passengers on freight services between Birmingham and Nuneaton that lasted several days. GBRf’s No. 66751 Inspiration Delivered was hauling 4L22, the 14.35 to Felixstowe out of Hams Hall terminal, onto the main line when seven of the…

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  • Crumbling hotel causes closure chaos at Ayr station

    Crumbling hotel causes closure chaos at Ayr station

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    THE on-going saga of Ayr’s Station Hotel took a serious turn in August and September when large parts of the station had to be closed for safety reasons. Local authorities, Network Rail and ScotRail took the decision to further limit access to platforms and reduce train services on the Glasgow-Ayr-Stranraer route to protect passengers and…

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  • Anger grows over ‘Goblin’ delays and overcrowding

    Anger grows over ‘Goblin’ delays and overcrowding

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    MEMBERS of Barking Gospel Oak Rail Users Group (BGORUG) have demanded a meeting with Transport for London (TfL) over the continued cancellations and overcrowding that have been plaguing the Gospel Oak to Barking service. BGORUG said a total of 13 services were cancelled on August 29 between 14.50 and 23.15, a figure disputed by TfL. BGORUG…

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  • Public debut for Bahamas

    Public debut for Bahamas

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    THE Bahamas Locomotive Society’s stalwart Stanier ‘Jubilee’ No. 45596 Bahamas was due to be unveiled to society members and supporters on September 28 following the completion of its Heritage Lottery-funded overhaul at Tyseley Locomotive Works (TLW).The ‘5XP’, pictured on September 14, was then expected to make its in-steam public debut at TLW’s 50th anniversary open…

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  • Crossrail opening delayed by nine months

    Crossrail opening delayed by nine months

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    OPENING of the flagship Crossrail line through Central London between Paddington and Abbey Wood has been put back by nine months. The hugely complex £16billion Elizabeth Line (EL) project to connect east and west London – and ease pressure on Underground services – had been due to open in December, but a combination of problems…

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  • Retaining heritage skills for the future

    Retaining heritage skills for the future

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    In the first of a regular series of columns, The RM will be visiting the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) to look at life there through the eyes of its apprentices. The SVR set up its pioneering Heritage Skills Training Academy in 2013 to bring new blood into heritage railway engineering, and to future proof the…

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  • Nodding Along: The ‘Pacer’ Story – Part 1

    Nodding Along: The ‘Pacer’ Story – Part 1

    by

    Sam Hewitt

    –

    By the time this issue of The Railway Magazine goes on sale, the first Northern Rail ‘Pacers’ should have been withdrawn, so beginning the ‘end’ for the ‘Nodding Donkeys’. Gary Boyd-Hope, a self-confessed ‘Pacer’ fan, explores the origins and history of this much-maligned type, which began 40 years ago this year. PACERS’ – arguably one…

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