Sam Hewitt

Last years for French passenger diesels

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Sam Hewitt

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4th January 2017

FRENCH Railways SNCF bought hundreds of diesel locos in the 1960s and 70s to replace steam on lines that were not electrified. Several types were introduced, but the majority of those which have remained in use into the 21st century, operating passenger services, are the BB67400 Bo-Bo design, once found all over France; 232 were…
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Eastleigh ‘Merchant Navy’ in traffic

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Sam Hewitt

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4th January 2017

EASTLEIGH Lakeside Steam Railway’s new 10¼in-gauge loco – re-built Bulleid ‘Merchant Navy’ No. 35004 Cunard White Star – was officially named on December 3. A small ceremony was attended by the deputy mayor of Eastleigh, Coun Sollitt and her escort, Roy Sollitt; guest of honour Paul Atterbury, an expert on BBC TV’s Antique Roadshow; and members…
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Annuals brought back memories

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Sam Hewitt

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4th January 2017

I was most interested in the article in the December issue about Trains Annual and Locospotters’ Annual. What immediately caught my eye were the two colour illustrations from the 1950 edition of Trains Annual, stated to be the first to include colour plates. I was sure I recognised the plates from another publication which I received…
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DB CLASS 103 FINALE

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Sam Hewitt

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4th January 2017

Fourteen years after the official end of regular duties, the main line diagrams of the hugely popular Deutsche Bahn Class 103 electrics have ended. Ben Jones takes a nostalgic last run behind this iconic class and pays homage to these magnificent machines. It is 04.59 on a chilly late-November morning. An early InterCity express to Munich…
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Brits Abroad

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Sam Hewitt

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4th January 2017

Since 1999, British diesel and electric locomotives have worked in various parts of Europe for a variety of reasons. In this definitive and exclusive feature Anthony Sayer tells the story of what worked where and when – and what locos are still abroad. I was recently asked the following question: How many British main-line diesel…
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Regattas, donkeys and royals

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Sam Hewitt

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4th January 2017

For more than 150 years, the three Thames Valley branch lines have been vital commuter and leisure routes serving Windsor, Marlow, Bourne End and Henley-on-Thames. Facing modernisation, Stuart Warr looks at the fascinating history of these branches and what the future holds. The Thames Valley branch lines to Henley-on-Thames, Bourne End, Marlow and Windsor are…
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When two heads are better than one

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Sam Hewitt

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4th January 2017

Keith Farr analyses the performance of double-headed steam trains over Shap, the Midland Main Line and the Ayr to Stranraer line In steam days there was something special about a double-headed train. Imagine the ‘Cornish Riviera’, a ‘King’ on 12 coaches, coming into Newton Abbot; a ‘Hall’ or a ‘Manor’ sidles out of the shed and…
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No end in sight for the Southern dispute

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Sam Hewitt

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4th January 2017

SO, AFTER two days of talks before Christmas, there’s still no agreement in the long-running and bitter dispute between Southern and the rail union ASLEF over who presses the door buttons. The strikes continue, the sides as far apart as ever. Southern’s passengers are desperately fed up with the saga of having their working lives…
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Khrushchev’s Cold War loco in action

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Sam Hewitt

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22nd December 2016

IN JUNE 1961 the leaders of the two world superpowers – the USA and the USSR – met in Vienna. US President John F Kennedy flew to Austria but the leader of the USSR Nikita Khrushchev came by train from Moscow. His train was hauled from Bratislava, then in Czechoslovakia, to the Austrian border station…
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LMS-built shunters in Italy: Could UK preservationists bid to bring them home?

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Sam Hewitt

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22nd December 2016

IN 1939 the first of a batch of 40 0-6-0 diesel locos ordered by the LMS appeared from Derby Works. Unusually, they featured an English Electric 6K 350HP diesel engine and the single-motor jackshaft drive developed by Armstrong Whitworth. Both manufacturers had previously built prototypes for the LMS earlier in the 1930s and the new…
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Sam Hewitt

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