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FOWLER ‘7F’ No. 53809 returned to joint railway metals again this summer – but many miles away from its traditional Somerset & Dorset ‘home’. The North Norfolk Railway (NNR), which operates over five miles of former Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway track, played host to the 1925-built workhorse, which was making its first visit to…

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ROYAL Deeside Railway-based Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST Bon-Accord (807/1897) left its native Scotland for the first time in its 119-year existence on September 11, transferring by road to Locomotion in Shildon to take part in the museum’s autumn steam gala. The ex-Aberdeen Gas Works locomotive, which returned to traffic in June following extensive repairs, was appearing…

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A LOCOMOTIVE pairing with a combined age of 207 years was the showpiece of a wet Chasewater Railway gala over September 3-4, with both coming from the Andrew Barclay stable. A threat of rain for the Saturday was fully actioned by the start of train services at 10am; a heavy and persistent downpour settled in…

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CONSTRUCTION work on Manchester’s new Ordsall Chord is now well underway. The project controversially severs the historic rail link into the original Liverpool & Manchester Railway Liverpool Road station (now home to the city’s Museum of Science & Industry). The view captured on September 1 shows the now vacated L&MR trackbed, with the bridge that…

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LEIGHTON Buzzard Railway’s major 2016 event over August 28-31 and September 3-4 marked the centenary of War Department Light Railways (WDLR) beginning First World War operations on the Western Front. Star visiting loco was Moseley Railway Trust’s Hudswell, Clarke ‘Ganges’ 0-6-0WT 1238/1916 No. 104, very similar to the pair of long-scrapped locomotives employed when the original…

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THERE was something new and blue snaking its way around the joint Irish rail network throughout September following the public launch of Belmond’s highly anticipated ‘Grand Hibernian’ luxury train. The maiden voyage began on August 30 when Iarnród Éireann/Irish Rail driver Ray Kenna eased an immaculate InterCity-liveried Class 201 No. 226 River Suir away from Dublin’s…

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NINETEEN locomotives and 2,220 miles covered over four days made it GBRf Charity Railtours best-ever fundraiser. The five-legged charter, ostensibly celebrating 15 years of the TOC, raised more than £125,000 for charity. The company’s new celebrity BR green-liveried ‘66’ No. 66779 Evening Star (with matching chocolate & cream ‘support’ coach!) was the appropriate motive power to…

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A SUCCESSION of infrastructure upgrades across the north to allow longer and more frequent freight operations is just one of the propositions put forward by Transport for the North (TfN). The proposals follow the publication of TfN’s Northern Freight & Logistics Report on September 7. The report has been compiled for TfN by Mott MacDonald…

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DERBYSHIRE Dales MP Sir Patrick McLoughlin has officially unveiled ground-breaking plans to bring the country’s long-lost pioneering main line diesel locomotive LMS No. 10000 back to life. The former Secretary of State for Transport joined guests at Peak Rail’s Rowsley South station on September 3 to launch ‘Project Icon’. The ambitious plan is set to reconstruct…

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EVERY other year the trade fair centre in Berlin hosts the world’s largest railway trade exhibition. Many of Europe’s largest rail manufacturers use the show to highlight their latest products and future designs. The number of exhibitors at 2,950 was the highest in the history of the event, with more than 60 countries represented. More than…

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