News

FLORIDA EAST COAST (FEC) is planning the USA’s first privately owned inter-city services since the 1960s. Ironically, FEC was the first major US railroad to completely abandon passenger services in 1968, before the creation of Amtrak. FEC has changed owners several times since the 1960s and is planning to reintroduce modern inter-city passenger trains on…

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THE last of the distinctive ‘Karlsruher Kopf’ (Karlsruhe Head) driving trailers were withdrawn by German national operator DB during December 2016. The vehicles were designed by the former DB carriage works in Karlsruhe during the 1960s and built at several locations. Thousands of similar, originally silver, single-deck coaches (known as n-Wagen or Silberling – local…

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  HISTORY was made on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) when German rail tour operator Tanago organised several steam-hauled freight photographic charters during late November 2016 – just after the entire line had reopened following repairs to monsoon weather damage. This was the first freight working in more than 25 years and attracted intense local…

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PERU RAIL, owned by British luxury tour operator Belmond, will introduce a new service on the standard-gauge Cusco to Puno route, with trains also operating between Puno and Arequipa. For this service Belmond has bought sleeping coaches formerly used in Queensland, Australia and moved them to Peru. The coaches were built by Queensland Railways (QR)…

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PLANS to redevelop the former Waterside station in Derry/Londonderry as a new £26million transport hub have been boosted by the acquisition of the site by Northern Ireland Railways’ parent company Translink. The 1873-built Grade II-listed structure, together with a 0.7 plot of land, have been bought to be incorporated into the new facility, which will…

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A NORTHERN Counties Committee ‘W’ class 2-6-0 has emerged as a contender if the RPSI elects to pursue a new-build locomotive project. The society has been considering the reconstruction of a second LMS-NCC ‘WT’ 2-6-4T (or ‘Jeep’) for a number of years, having acquired a spare set of driving wheels, fittings and motion components when…

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THE Railway Preservation Society of Ireland is on the cusp of finalising an agreement that will see its Dublin-based General Motors Class 121 put through a major overhaul at the Inchicore works of Iarnród Éireann-Irish Rail. No. 134 – one of the single-cab GM ‘Switchers’ that led the American invasion of CIE back in 1961 –…

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LEASING Company Porterbrook and train operator Northern are to jointly develop an innovative rolling stock solution by introducing diesel power packs to Class 319 units. The novel concept will see the units dubbed Class 319 ‘Flex’, and by fitting two diesel-powered alternators, one under each of the driving trailer cars, it will allow the unit to…

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NETWORK Rail has recently delivered more than £100million of infrastructure renewals and upgrades in 200 projects across the country. The work took place over the 10-day Christmas and New Year period. More than 24,000 staff worked a total of 600,000 hours, often in freezing conditions, to build, demolish and replace bridges, install new signalling systems,…

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