Sam Hewitt

TOTNES station in Devon has gained a fully accessible bridge spanning both platforms and four tracks, the centre section of which was lowered into place in the early hours of July 22. Work continues to install the passenger lifts, after which the existing bridge is likely to be closed and removed.Meanwhile, on the sea wall…

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REGIONAL and long-distance train services to and from Liverpool city centre resumed on July 30 following a successful eight-week upgrade of Lime Street station. All of the station’s platforms have been remodelled and some lengthened and widened to create space for longer trains and more passengers. Two new platforms, constructed during an earlier blockade in…

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NETWORK Rail is investing £23million to rebuild parts of Feltham station in south-west London. Platforms are to be lengthened to accommodate new, longer trains being introduced from 2019, and step-free access will be provided for travellers, along with a new bridge for cyclists and pedestrians to cross the railway safely. The latter will replace Feltham…

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July saw the 10th vinyl wrap applied to a Manchester tram, three of which are for rival radio stations. No. 3043 (pictured with standard-liveried No. 3042 at Altrincham on July 20) advertises Heart FM, No. 3030 Capital Radio and No. 3103 Hits Radio.Another four trams (Nos. 3017, 3047, 3093 and 3100) carry vinyls for Vodafone,…

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A V Dawson 350hp 0-6-0DE No. 08774 crosses Depot Road in the Teesport area of Middlesbrough on July 21 during a Branch Line Society event at the private freight facility. Several trips operated during the day, covering all available track. Passengers rode in a BLS carriage, converted from a former BR ferry van, with industrial No. 01567 top-and-tailing…

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ENGLISH Electric Type 4 No. D213 Andania returned to the main line in style on August 27, powering a Saphos Trains tour from Crewe to Carlisle via Shap and the Settle-Carlisle line. It is more than 30 years since it last hauled a passenger train. The trip was the first of three booked for the immaculate…

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NETWORK Rail’s steam ban was still in force for a trio of special trains marking the 50th anniversary of the end of BR steam on August 11 – despite the arrival of cooler weather and rain in early-August. As a result, the three trains were headed by steam, but with diesel locomotives coupled inside doing…

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SKOOKUM, a 2-4-4-2 Mallet loco built in 1909, is almost ready to return to steam after an absence of nearly 65 years. The loco was originally built by Baldwin as a coal burner for Little River Railroad in Tennessee, but was not accepted as the loco was too large for the lightly built line. It…

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NINETY of the new Siemens ‘Charger’ diesel locos have now been ordered for use operating regional Amtrak, commuter rail or intercity services by companies across the USA. The ‘Charger’ is a diesel electric design which uses a Cummins 16-cylinder QSK95 high-speed diesel engine, producing either 4,000HP (the SCB-40 model bought by Florida intercity operator Brightline)…

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PLANS to transfer the railway line along the Pacific coast of western Oregon to a new Intergovernmental Agency has put the future of the Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad in doubt. The proposed project would see the construction of a cycle and hiking trail on parts of the old railway between Tillamook and the Salmonberry Canyon.…

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