Sam Hewitt

THE East Lancashire Railway’s (ELR) ‘summer diesel spectacular’ was intended to be for three days, July 6-8. However, the long spell of hot weather resulted in a high level of lineside fire risk with a steam ban imposed from July 1 until further notice. An all-diesel service was run during this period, for which the…

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NETWORK Rail undertook major engineering work around Oxford between June 29 and July 23, including complete closure of Oxford station between July 6 and 23. The blockade was part of the final phase of the Oxford Corridor project to increase capacity and improve the flow of trains through the city. Work included track and S&C…

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EAST Midlands Trains will service a number of trains each night at UK Rail Leasing’s depot in Leicester during the 79-day closure of Derby station, which started on July 22. The ex-BR diesel locomotive depot has been tidied up in readiness for this role, and new walkways installed for cleaning and maintenance staff.On July 10,…

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NETWORK Rail has released new computer-generated images showing how the bigger and brighter Glasgow Queen Street station concourse will look by spring 2020. Scotland’s third busiest station is being transformed in a £120million project to create more space for the growing number of passengers it serves and to extend platforms to accommodate eight-carriage electric trains.…

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TWO heritage signalboxes at Runcorn and Halton Junction on Merseyside have been decommissioned under Network Rail’s Weaver to Wavertree resignalling scheme, writes Richard Horner. Runcorn ’box was built by the London, Midland & Scottish Railway to an Air Raid Precaution design (LMS Type 13), with a 36-lever Railway Executive Committee frame, and featured 14in-thick blast…

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NETWORK Rail has cancelled a nine-day blockade of the Brighton Main Line planned for October, deferring much of the work until February 2019. NR had agreed with Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), which operates Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express services, to close the route between Three Bridges and Brighton and Three Bridges and Lewes for two…

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DEVON’S 2ft 9in-gauge Seaton Tramway formally opened its new £3million terminus station at Seaton on June 28 after 10 months of construction work. The new facility is a big departure from the Edwardian-style ticket office it replaces, being built in a contemporary modern style and making use of expansive glazing to make the best use…

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MICHAEL Holroyd Smith, the pioneering inventor and father of the electric street tramway, will be commemorated in a new permanent exhibition at the National Tramway Museum (NTM) at Crich in Derbyshire. The museum has been awarded a grant of £74,500 from the Association of Independent Museums (AIM) and Biffa Award to develop Holroyd Smith –…

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THE Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Society celebrated its 20th anniversary with a steam event at Adrian Shooter’s private Beeches Light Railway on July 1. Mr Shooter’s Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) Sharp, Stewart B-Class 0-4-0STT (3518/1888) No. 19 hauled a passenger train, comprising two replica DHR coaches, and his replica Scindia State Railway carriage, plus two visiting locos…

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