Sam Hewitt

CREATOR and author of the Paddington Bear books Michael Bond has had a new GWR Class 800 IET named after him. The names Paddington Bear/Michael Bond were unveiled at each end of set No. 800010 by his daughter Karen Jankel at a ceremony at Paddington on January 10 that was also attended by Mr Bond’s widow,…

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DIRECT Rail Services has issued a tender for the sale of three Class 20 locos together with four ex-Virgin Mk2 carriages, used as barrier vehicles, and 12 Mk3 bogies. Nos. 20304/308/309 have been in store at Barrow Hill for around a year, and the sale will leave just five Class 20s – 20301-303/305/312 – on DRS’…

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THE first five carriages of an order for 75 new vehicles for the Caledonian Sleeper arrived at Dollands Moor on January 12 via the Channel Tunnel behind DB Cargo Class 92 No. 92042. Three days later, the five carriages, sandwiched between German barrier wagons, were moved up to Wembley Yard behind Rail Operations Group Type 3…

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REIGHT traffic increased slightly in the second quarter of 2017, once again led by growth in the construction and domestic intermodal sectors. Increases in biomass and international traffic via the Channel Tunnel also contributed to the positive figures, but freight tonnages are still at their lowest level since records began in 1996/97. Total freight moved…

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NETWORK Rail has awarded Siemens Rail Automation a contract to supply and install European Train Control System (ETCS) in-cab signalling on up to 750 British freight locomotives. The scope of the 10-year contract covers the addition of Siemens’ Trainguard ETCS 200 on-board system and the upgrade of the locomotive’s Train Protection Warning System (TPWS), as…

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THE Englewood logging railway operated by timber firm Western Forest Products in the north of Canada’s Vancouver Island closed on November 7, 2017. The line was the last of hundreds of railways still in operation that were built to transport timber in both Canada and the USA, with several having been preserved as heritage or…

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GERMAN state operator DB started introducing its fleet of new Bombardier-built ‘Twindexx’ double-deck EMUs (German classes 445.0 and 446) in several parts of Germany from December 2017. The trains are being used by DB Regio to replace loco-operated push-pull trains; in some cases some of the more modern double-deck coaches previously used will be incorporated…

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DUTCH national rail operator NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) is spending around €2.5billion renewing and increasing the size of its passenger fleet. Two large EMU orders are currently in production: CAF is building 118 ‘Civity’ EMUs known as ‘Sprinter New Generation’ (SNG) – 68 three-car and 50 four-car trains – which will replace older ‘Sprinter’ EMUs and…

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THE Mid-Norfolk Railway picked up the ‘Polar Express’ franchise for Christmas 2017, running 41 trains spread over 14 days between December 1 and 23. It proved to be a great success, giving a reported sell-out passenger total of 12,300. All trains were worked by the two resident Class 47s – Nos 47367 and 47596 Aldeburgh…

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