News

THE Branch Line Society will run its first charter with the Rail Operations Group (ROG) on September 9. The tour will feature rare track and interesting traction and will employ a pair of ROG Class 37/7s and preserved Class 86/2 electric No. 86259 Les Ross traversing rare lines in the West Midlands, and the much-requested Royal…

Continue reading »

FORMER England football team manager Graham Taylor had a London Midland Class 350 ‘Desiro’ No. 350377 named after him on June 2 – the unit number chosen to match 1977, the year he joined Watford. Mr Taylor, who also managed Lincoln City, Watford, Aston Villa, and Wolverhampton Wanderers, died in January and still lived in…

Continue reading »

FOLLOWING repairs and modifications after a fire on board Vivarail Class 230 prototype No. 230001, the rebuilt train was tested on the Cotswold line on June 14. The tests were ahead of using the unit on June 21-22 as a demonstrator, ferrying from Honeybourne to the Rail Live event at Long Marston. Now configured as…

Continue reading »

VIRGIN Trains East Coast (VTEC) has signed up to the Time to Change pledge, a national campaign that tackles the stigma around mental health discrimination. To promote awareness in the issue, VTEC will invest more than £700,000 a year to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of its staff. As part of this investment, the…

Continue reading »

THE discovery of deliberate act of vandalism to the  North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s (NYMR’s) historic teak carriages overnight on July 23 has been described as ‘heartbreaking’. An set of eight LNER carriages, which are owned and maintained by the London and North Eastern Railway Coach Association (LNERCA), were systematically targeted, while parked in the siding by…

Continue reading »

VIRGIN Trains East Coast (VTEC) has signed up to the Time to Change pledge, a national campaign that tackles the stigma around mental health discrimination. To promote awareness in the issue, VTEC will invest more than £700,000 a year to improve the physical and mental wellbeing of its staff. As part of this investment, the…

Continue reading »

THE return to regular action of ‘Merchant Navy’ No. 35028 Clan Line in July sees the popular main line performer back where it belongs. However, its comeback also marks the end of an era for Crewe’s LNWR Heritage, as the Bulleid Pacific represents the last full contract overhaul that the company will carry out. The…

Continue reading »

THE first Class 88 dual-power locos have begun work on revenue-earning freight traffic. As expected, the locos have taken over the Daventry to Grangemouth Tesco train, the first working taking place on June 12, when No. 88003 worked train 4S43 north while No. 88004 worked the return south, 4M48. A third loco, No. 88002, has…

Continue reading »

THE Spa Valley Railway (SVR) has agreed a five-year deal with the Mid-Norfolk Railway to accommodate 3-CIG EMU set No. 1497. This was one of the pair of three-car sets, with No. 1498, which were retained after the demise of slam-door stock, for an extended period of operation on the Lymington branch, Hampshire, where it was…

Continue reading »