Sam Hewitt

THE Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway has a number of main line diesels on site, of which only one – a Class 37 – appears to be operational. Apparently stored out of use and beginning to look rather forlorn are Class 31 Nos. 31119 in BR Blue and D5600 in BR lined green, and…

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TRANSPENNINE Express has released the first official image of a Class 68 that will work its loco-hauled services from next year. No. 68021 Tireless has been vinyled at DRS Gresty Bridge depot in the TPE house colours, one of 14 locos that will be used in conjunction with the order for 65 Mk5A carriages and…

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SCOTRAIL has taken delivery of its first InterCity 125, which has been showcased in Aberdeen ahead of a driver training programme. After an initial move from Laira to Doncaster, four Mk3 trailers were left at Wabtec, with power car Nos. 43132 and 43021 continuing to Craigentinny depot in a 2+4 formation. Here, they were given…

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A STUDY by sustainable transport charity Sustrans estimates reopening the disused Queensbury Tunnel as a cycle route could bring major benefits to the West Yorkshire economy. Sustrans’ findings suggest economic, health and tourism benefits of more than £37million could be generated over 30 years with the tunnel at the heart of a proposed network of…

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MORE than 4,500 engineers worked a total in excess of 92,000 hours to deliver one of the most challenging and complex phases of the Thameslink Programme to date. The work took place between August 26 and September 2. New track and signalling equipment was installed at London Bridge on the lines serving Cannon Street, and…

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AYR Station Hotel is under threat of demolition, writes Hugh Dougherty. The hotel was built by the Glasgow & South Western Railway in a French Renaissance design as an integral part of Ayr station. The 1885 Grade II-listed structure has been empty since it was sold to a Malaysian businessman for £750,000 in 2010, and…

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WORK started on the construction of a new £13million Merseyrail station at Maghull North in mid-September. It is located between Maghull and Town Green stations on the Ormskirk branch of Merseyrail’s Northern Line, and is expected to open to passengers in May 2018. The new station will serve a nearby new housing development of 370…

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THE end of Liverpool’s trams 60 years ago formed the subject for a series of events held by the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society (MTPS) and Wirral Transport Museum (WTM) in mid-September, culminating in a celebratory event on September 16. On September 14, six decades exactly since the last tram ran, the WTM hosted the Mayor…

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THE introduction of Blackpool’s Brush-built tramcars 80 years ago was celebrated over the weekend of September 23-24, forming the centrepiece of Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours’ (BHTT) annual Tramway Anniversary Weekend. The 20 cars built by the Loughborough firm in 1937 owed much of their design to the earlier English Electric ‘railcoaches’ that had helped transform…

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TRANSPORT for West Midlands has announced funding for two extensions to the Midland Metro tram network. The Government has given £59.8million for the 1¼-mile (2km) extension to Edgbaston, while £27.5m has been promised by local bodies for a tram stop at the proposed Curzon HS2 station. The Edgbaston extension will include five new stops –…

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