News

THE large end section of Class 47 No. 47738, used for educational purposes at Plymouth, was removed from the Regional Interactive Safety Centre (RISC) building on November 2 (RM Dec, p82). This building, next to the station, had been converted from the old Royal Mail docking station and contained various rail-themed scenarios for training staff…

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THE East Lancashire Railway’s DMU gala on November 4-5 (RM Oct, p94) was a particularly notable event. Combined with The Railcar Association’s (TRA) annual convention it saw no fewer than three DMU sets returned to traffic after overhauls. Star of the show was the Class 105 Cravens unit, which worked its first passenger train on…

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PATHFINDER Tours is running two steam-hauled specials to the Settle-Carlisle Line on August 11 and 15. They will mark the 50th anniversary of BR’s last steam train in August 1968 and the 10th birthday of new-build ‘A1’ No. 60163 Tornado. The ‘Settle & Carlisle Golden Express I’ on August 11 starts with diesel haulage at Bristol…

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CHARTER operators once again headed for Lincoln’s enormously popular Christmas Market in December, bringing several special trains and hundreds of visitors to the city. December 8 saw West Coast Railways operate a long-distance train from Linlithgow for the Scottish Railway Preservation Society (SRPS), with Nos. 47237 and a Class 57 topping-and-tailing the society’s BR maroon Mk1…

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‘BRITANNIA’ No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell will see out the last few weeks of its main line ticket with a diverse series of tours for Steam Dreams. The ‘15 Guinea Special’ locomotive will not be able to take part in the 50th anniversary celebrations in August as its main line certification expires in March, but four ‘Cathedrals…

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THE 7¼in/5in-gauge Bath & West Railway is now primarily a narrow gauge-style railway. The line is operated by the East Somerset Society of Model & Experimental Engineers (ESSMEE) at the Royal Bath & West Showground, Prestleigh near Shepton Mallet, Somerset. Public running only occurs a few days a year, but the large number of passengers…

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An interesting steam loco entered service at the 7¼in- gauge Conwy Valley Railway (CVR), Betws-y-Coed, last summer. This is Geirionydd, a 2-4-4T single Fairlie built by William Hughes in the railway’s workshops. The requirement was for a powerful loco and, like the Bath & West’s Mendip, is based on modified ‘Thomas II’ running gear and…

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NEXUS, the public body that owns the Tyne and Wear Metro, is building an £8.4million railway skills centre in South Shields. The Metro Maintenance and Renewals Skills Centre will cover infrastructure and operational training, becoming the main training base for the Metro’s 1,000 employees. The project is being funded by a £7m Government grant, with…

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THE start of December saw London Underground (LU) successfully complete a key test stage of the new computer-based signalling and control system that will be rolled out across the sub-surface lines. Testing took place on a section of the Circle and Hammersmith & City line between Hammersmith and Edgware Road, which will be the first…

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TRANSPORT for West Midlands (TfWM) has announced it will auction off the stored fleet of AnsaldoBreda ‘T69’ trams. The ‘T69s’ were the original vehicles used by the Midland Metro when it opened in May 1999, but were withdrawn when replaced by the current CAF-built ‘Urbos 3’ trams in 2014/15. Nos. 01-15 were sent for storage at…

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