News

NEARLY complete Hawksworth ‘Modified Hall’ No. 6989 Wightwick Hall made a special outdoor appearance at Buckinghamshire Railway Centre on October 25-26 as the museum celebrated the life of its late friend and supporter Dennis Howells MBE. The 6989 Wightwick Hall Restoration Group’s 1948-built 4-6-0 was posed alongside Mr Howell’s ‘94XX’ 0-6-0PT No. 9466. It appeared remarkably complete,…

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PLANS by LNER to launch the new Class 800/801 ‘Azuma’ trains from the December timetable change have been shelved for the time being. The projected start of services has been hampered by several problems with the new trains, the key issue being electromagnetic interference from the trains impacting on signalling equipment. The problem persists north…

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THE UK’s first tram-train operation is now carrying fare-paying passengers – a decade after it was first mooted and many millions of pounds over its original budget. However, the excitement of the opening day was short-lived after one of the dedicated Class 399s (No. 399204) was derailed and damaged in a collision with a lorry a…

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AN ENGINEERING assessment undertaken by Porterbrook has indicated there is a case for the conversion of a Class 350/2 EMU into a battery/electric bi-mode. The units are one of the most reliable in service, and Porterbrook says with addition of the latest battery technology, the ‘BatteryFLEX’ – as its been dubbed – would be able…

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THE culmination of one of the most remarkable restoration project’s came to a conclusion on October 19 when North Eastern railcar No. 03170 was relaunched into traffic by Stephen Middleton, chairman of the NER 1903 Electric Autocar Trust, and Sir Ron Cooke, chairman of Yorkshire and Humber Heritage Lottery Fund Committee. The petrol-powered autocar – a…

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By Tony Miles COMPLETION of the £140million upgrade of Liverpool Lime Street station was marked by Secretary of State for Transport Chris Grayling when he unveiled a commemorative plaque on the station concourse on October 15. Network Rail said the reopening coincided with the first ever #StationsDay, which celebrated the £5.2billion investment “to regenerate Britain’s…

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By Nick Pigott IN a scenario worthy of his flamboyant lifestyle, the remains of Flying Scotsman saviour Alan Pegler were scattered in the firebox of his beloved locomotive as it stormed up Stoke Bank on October 13. The extraordinary send-off had been Alan’s personal request and was fulfilled by his daughter Penny Vaudoyer, who carefully…

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By Tony Miles ScotRail operated its first refurbished HST set in passenger service on October 15 as the 2+4 formation worked the 09.07 Aberdeen-Edinburgh. The provisional first diagram is 09.07 Aberdeen-Edinburgh, 13.30 Edinburgh-Aberdeen,16.39 Dyce-Edinburgh and 21.43 Edinburgh-Aberdeen. Ahead of the service debut ScotRail presented the refurbished HST to the press on October 10 with a…

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WITH less than three months before the planned introduction of Vivarail Class 230 DMUs on Bedford to Bletchley services, the first unit – No. 230003 – arrived on September 18 to begin tests. The two-car set, complete with London Northwestern Railway branding as well as ‘Marston Vale’ decals, arrived by a circuitous route from Long…

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SEPTEMBER 13 saw the first of 665 Class 720 EMU vehicles for Abellio Greater Anglia (GA) unveiled to stakeholders and the media at Bombardier’s Derby Litchurch Lane works. Three part-finished cars from five-car set No. 720501 were displayed, offering visitors a glimpse of the next generation of East Anglian commuter train. Bombardier is building 89 five-car…

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