News

THE first of a planned batch of new-build 2ft-gauge, three-ton Decauville 0-4-0T locomotives to be built by North Bay Engineering Services Ltd (RM Nov 2016) was displayed at the November 25-26 Warley National Model Railway Exhibition at Birmingham’s NEC. The loco is being constructed for John Sutton and is about 90% complete. Remaining work largely…

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WORK to refurbish a historic railway viaduct over the River Adur in Shoreham was completed over the Christmas holidays after more than a year’s work by Network Rail engineers. Repairs costing £9.5million included work to strengthen and repaint the 16-span, 360m-long Shoreham Viaduct, dating from 1892, which is one of the UK’s earliest steel structures.…

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WIGAN Wallgate’s listed station building and ornate Victorian station-front canopy have been restored at a cost of £1million. The station area now has a new roof and new windows, while the canopy has been returned to its former glory after years of neglect. The building has been shrouded in scaffolding since June 2016. Part of…

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FURTHER consultation has taken place into the viability of reopening the Bristol to Portishead line to passengers. Costs for the first phase of the project have almost trebled, from £58million to between £145m and £175m, putting the proposed half-hourly service beyond reach. The new consultation sought feedback about an hourly service – known as MetroWest…

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RPSI offshoot Heritage Engineering Ireland completed the retube of the society’s LMS-NCC ‘WT’ No. 4 at Connolly shed during late November, ensuring the 2-6-4T was fit and ready for the sell-out ‘Santa Special’ season. No. 4 passed its steam test on November 28 in time for the first weekend of Dublin to Maynooth ‘Santas’ on…

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THE Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s overhaul of General Motors Class 121 No. B134 has received a major boost after a County Cork firm offered to overhaul the main and auxiliary generators at cost. Green Net Exports Ltd, of Millstreet, near Mallow, had already received the locomotive’s traction motors for overhaul, owing to its experience…

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AN Taoiseach Leo Varadkar presided over the official opening of Dublin’s new €368million Luas Cross City line on December 9, providing the first physical link between the system’s Red and Green lines. He was joined by Minister for Transport Shane Ross and his predecessor in that job, Paschal Donohoe, who together with Mr Varadkar, has…

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Norfolk Heritage Steam Railway Ltd’s Hunslet ‘Austerity’ No. 3193 has made a surprise move to Bressingham Steam Museum, where it will spend much of the winter. The newly overhauled 0-6-0ST left Mervyn Mayes’ site at the Old Goods Yard in Yaxham, next to the Mid-Norfolk Railway, on November 28 bound for Diss. No. 3193 had…

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THE overhaul of the sole-surviving Stanier Class 5 Mogul No. 42968 has entered countdown mode as the Stanier Mogul Fund’s 2018 steaming target draws closer. The project took a major step forward during the late autumn when the 2-6-0’s frames took up residence on the lifting jacks at the Severn Valley Railway’s Bridgnorth works. The…

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HORWICH-built BR ‘4MT’ No. 76084 will continue to call the North Norfolk Railway (NNR) its home for the foreseeable future. The news comes after an NNR supporter acquired a major shareholding in the 76084 Locomotive Company’s 2-6-0. The future of the 1957-built 2-6-0 was thrown into question at the end of September when long-term supporter John…

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