Sam Hewitt

  • Railway stations launch initiative to help passengers with hidden disabilities

    Railway stations launch initiative to help passengers with hidden disabilities

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    Four of the country’s biggest railway stations will now offer passengers with hidden disabilities a discreet way to ask for extra help while making their journeys.

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  • West Highland Line closed for track and bridge work

    West Highland Line closed for track and bridge work

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    OCTOBER 5-13 saw the West Highland Line closed for essential repairs to track and structures between Crianlarich and Fort William.  During the week-long line closure, engineers worked around-the-clock to refurbish and repaint bridges near Spean Bridge and Corrour, and renew drainage systems between Tyndrum Upper and Bridge of Orchy.  The well-known Auch Viaduct, on the…

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  • End in sight for Sussex signalboxes

    End in sight for Sussex signalboxes

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    NEWHAVEN Harbour signalbox is one of three due to close at the end of November as part of the resignalling of the Lewes to Seaford branch (the others being Newhaven Town and Lewes ‘B’). New signalling has been installed and will be commissioned during a four-day line closure, with trains due to resume on December…

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  • Plan to relieve Edinburgh western approaches: Transport Scotland revives project for Almond Chord

    Plan to relieve Edinburgh western approaches: Transport Scotland revives project for Almond Chord

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    SCOTTISH Transport Secretary Michael Matheson has approved a £15million preliminary project to prepare for the construction of a new chord to the Dalmeny to Winchburgh Junction line, west of Edinburgh. The scheme will enable Transport Scotland and Network Rail to develop three options for the Edinburgh Waverley Western Approaches (EWWA) project, which is designed to…

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  • Construction traffic boom keeps UK railfreight stable

    Construction traffic boom keeps UK railfreight stable

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    A FIVE per cent increase in construction traffic took the sector to its highest quarterly volume in the first three months of 2019/20, according to new figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).  The movement of construction materials, fuelled by high levels of property development in London and the south-east of England, reached…

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  • Consultation on Bakerloo extension project

    Consultation on Bakerloo extension project

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    TRANSPORT for London has launched a 10-week consultation into the latest plans to extend the Bakerloo Line into south-east London. Views are being sought on proposals for the tunnel routes, tunnelling worksites, and also whether to extend the line beyond Lewisham or not.  The proposed extension would run from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham via…

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  • ‘Forgotten Engines’ at Vale of Rheidol

    ‘Forgotten Engines’ at Vale of Rheidol

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    THE Vale of Rheidol Railway (VoR) has tended not to hold major gala events, its last being a steam festival in September 2015, centred on two locos that had not steamed for many years.But when they happen, they are special!  With all three of its classic 2-6-2Ts now in main line operation, along with Hunslet…

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  • Back to the past at Moseley anniversary event

    Back to the past at Moseley anniversary event

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    MOSELEY Railway Trust (MRT) harked back to its roots during its September 21-22 50th anniversary celebration at Apedale Valley Light Railway by operating passenger rides on its ‘Field Railway’.  These basic rides, recalling the spirit of operations half a century ago, were undertaken using skip wagon underframes fitted with back-to-back seats and safety chains.  This…

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  • Katie says hello to Katie!

    Katie says hello to Katie!

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    RAVENGLASS & Eskdale Railway’s resurrected 1896-built Heywood 0-4-0T Katie (right) stands alongside Eaton Hall Railway’s 1996-built replica 0-4-0T Katie (centre) at Clayton West Shed on September 14, revealing several interesting differences between the two locos. Rhyl Miniature Railway’s Cagney 4-4-0 No. 44 (left) gives a fascinating contrast in size between miniature and minimum-gauge locos sharing a…

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  • Downpatrick diesel gala marks 30 years of the ITG

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    STEAM gave way to internal combustion power at the Downpatrick & County Down Railway (DCDR) on October 12 as the Irish Traction Group (ITG) celebrated three decades of diesel locomotive preservation. Visitors travelled from both sides of the border, and from across the Irish Sea, to join in the celebrations, which saw ITG stock in…

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