News

Freight tonnage slumps to lowest point since 1996/97

by

Sam Hewitt

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27th February 2019

BRITISH rail freight operators recorded the lowest total volume of freight lifted since 1996/97 for the period between July and September 2018. Figures compiled by the Office of Rail and Road show that although the amount of freight moved increased by 2% to 4.4billion tonne-kilometres over the same period in 2017, the actual volumes continue…
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Port operator criticises ‘short-sighted’ trans-Pennine route upgrade plans

by

Sam Hewitt

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27th February 2019

PD Ports, which operates Teesport in Middlesbrough, has criticised the lack of provision for freight growth in Network Rail’s £3 billion trans-Pennine route upgrade. It called the decision to upgrade the 76-mile route between Leeds and Manchester without any provision for freight traffic “unwelcome” and “deeply troubling for the economy and businesses in the North…
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Last Fowler diesel loco in UK industry still operational

by

Sam Hewitt

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27th February 2019

PLASMOR Ltd continues to use a smart and well-maintained Fowler Class 422 0-4-0DH (4220038 of 1966) at its Heck Works, Great Heck, North Yorkshire. This is believed to be the last remaining Fowler-built diesel loco in industrial service in the UK. Fowlers were once very numerous in industry, right across the UK, and could be…
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Mangapps expands its collectionwith former Network Rail Class 31s

by

Sam Hewitt

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27th February 2019

THE Mangapps Railway, Essex has acquired two former Network Rail Class 31s – Nos. 31105 (D5523) and 31233 (D5660). The privately owned railway has lost all of its big diesels of Classes 31, 33 and 47 in recent times, after being transferred to new homes with longer operating lines. The Class 31s are in good condition,…
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North Yorks Moors’Drewry shunter restored

by

Sam Hewitt

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27th February 2019

CLASS 04 No. D2207 (originally No. 11108) has received an extensive overhaul at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, including the fitting of a replacement engine. It was built by Vulcan Foundry (D208 of 1953/Drewry No. 2482), and withdrawn by BR in December 1967, passing to Hemel Hempstead Lightweight Concrete, Hertfordshire. It entered preservation in September 1973 when acquired…
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Chinnor’s Brush Type 2 receives ‘rare’ livery

by

Sam Hewitt

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27th February 2019

CHINNOR & Princes Risborough Railway (C&PRR) Class 31 No. D5581/31163 has been finished in Railway Technical Centre livery. This was carried by only two other members of the class in the 1970s/80s – now-scrapped Nos. D5831/31298 and D5861/31326, renumbered in departmental stock as 97203 and 97204, respectively. No. 31163 has been given the next number in the series,…
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Footbridge of the future?

by

Sam Hewitt

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27th February 2019

A JOINT entry by Danish and Czech designers beat more than 120 designs from 19 countries to triumph in a competition to create a new generation of passenger footbridges for British stations. Gottlieb Paludan Architects, of Denmark, and Strasky, Husty and Partners, of the Czech Republic, presented a bridge which was judged to have “convincingly…
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Light at the end of the tunnel in Sevenoaks

by

Sam Hewitt

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27th February 2019

A TWO-YEAR, £21million programme of repairs and improvements to Sevenoaks Tunnel in Kent is almost complete. The 150-year-old tunnel is one of the longest in southern England and has long been a source of delays because of its poor condition and flooding, caused by inadequate drainage. However, Network Rail has installed new drainage systems since…
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Green light for new £10.5m Durham coast station

by

Sam Hewitt

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26th February 2019

A £10.55 MILLION plan to build a new station near Peterlee on the Durham coast line has been given the go-ahead by local authorities. Horden station, between Seaham and Hartlepool, will be funded by Durham County Council, supported by £4.4m from the Department of Transport’s New Stations Fund and a grant from the North East…
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Norfolk Broads swing bridges to be replaced by Network Rail?

by

Sam Hewitt

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26th February 2019

NETWORK Rail is considering a bid for Government funding to replace four elderly swing bridges on the Norfolk Broads. The bridges at Oulton Broad, Reedham, Somerleyton and Trowse are considered increasingly unreliable, especially in hot weather, and NR does not now open them to water traffic if it suspects they may not close correctly afterwards.…
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