Sam Hewitt

CAPACITY on the busy Long Island Railroad (LIRR), serving New York City and the 7.5million people who live on Long Island, will be increased by 80% once a recently announced $5.6billion infrastructure improvement programme is completed. In total, 100 separate projects are included, the main one being the addition of a third track to 9.8…

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PERUVIAN operator PeruRail (owned by British luxury travel company Belmond) has now introduced four of the eight new diesel-electric locos it has ordered to operate services on the 914mm-gauge route from Cusco to Machu Picchu. The locos were originally ordered in mid-2014 from American firm Sygnet Rail Technologies, based in Tenino, in Washington State, USA…

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BELMOND’S disposal of the ‘Northern Belle’ luxury dining train was completed in November. The new owners of the train are David Pitts, boss of marketing agency DP Publicity (DPP), and David Smith, owner of West Coast Railways (WCR). Once the busy Christmas and new year programme is completed, the train will move from its current…

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CONTINENTAL Railway Solution (CRS) of Hungary has announced a second, and possibly final, passenger outing for its ex-BR Class 47 diesel. The former No. 47375, now named Falcon, will make its Austrian debut, working the two-day ‘Semmering Falcon’ tour from Budapest to Mürzzuschlag via the world famous Semmering Railway on June 9-10, 2018. The Semmering was…

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MAIN line registered GWR Pannier tanks Nos. 9466 and No. 9600 joined forces to haul Vintage Trains’ ‘Valley Rambler’ from Tyseley to Bridgnorth via Stratford-upon-Avon on November 11. The nine-coach train, including Pullman Cars, was top-and-tailed on the Stratford to Kidderminster leg to permit easier access to the SVR, with No. 9466 leading and No. 9600 providing assistance. The…

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UK RAILTOURS’ ‘Passchendaele Javelin’ tour on November 11 raised more than £20,000 for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal. The tour took specially decorated Southeastern Class 395 EMU No. 395017 to various locations away from its usual HS1 haunts. It ran from Ashford International (which it also visited several times during the day) to St Pancras…

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THE months of September and October proved to be busy ones for Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours (BHTT), with thousands flocking to the famous resort for the ‘Illuminations’ season. From September 1 until November 5 BHTT provided nightly tours of the illuminations, departing from the Pleasure Beach Loop at regular intervals. Much of the working fleet…

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SOLE-surviving Stockport Corporation tram – No. 5 – is on the cusp of its post-overhaul return to service at the Heaton Park Tramway. The 1901-built Dick, Kerr open-top four-wheeler is owned by the Stockport 5 Tramway Trust, but in the care of the Manchester Transport Museum Society (MTMS). It was first restored in 1996, and…

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THE Summerlee Transport Group (STG) is hopeful a Heritage Lottery Fund grant application will be successful, enabling it to complete the restoration of Glasgow Corporation ‘Coronation’ car No. 1245. The group is based at the Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, near Coatbridge. The double-deck tram arrived in Coatbridge from Blackpool in 2003, but restoration…

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THE extension of London Underground’s Northern Line in South London took a major step forward on November 8 as tunnel boring machine (TBM) Amy broke through at Kennington to complete the job. A pair of two-mile (3.2km), 17ft (5.2m) diameter tunnels have been bored from the former Battersea Power Station to Kennington via Nine Elms.…

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