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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE Kee Safety, a leading global supplier of safety railing systems, has expanded its Kee Klamp® range with the introduction of 12 new types of tubular fittings. Designed for installation on steeper gradients, the new slope fittings offer builders and specifiers an aesthetically pleasing option. The latest addition to the Kee Klamp® portfolio is…

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THE long-running dispute between staff working for Southern over the role of conductors has taken a new turn after the RMT union advised staff to accept the new contracts on offer – but also to continue with planned strike action. The announcement came on Sunday 9 October. Prior to this, Southern had given the union…

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Want to drive one of the new Virgin Azuma trains? Virgin Trains has begun the largest single recruitment programme for drivers on the East Coast route since the 1980s, challenging people who may not have previously considered becoming a train driver to think about whether they’ve got what it takes to take on this exciting…

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BRITAIN Runs on Rail campaign has been launched by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) to raise awareness of the industry’s £50billion upgrade plan and why the investment is needed. RDG chief executive Paul Plummer has called for an “open and honest conversation” about the future challenges facing Britain’s railway. Mr Plummer wants the campaign to…

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TWO passengers suffered slight injuries after a London Midland Class 350 EMU was derailed by a landslip on the northern approach to Watford slow tunnel on September 16 following torrential rain. Unit Nos. 350264 and 350117 were working the 06.19 Milton Keynes-Euston at 70mph when the train hit the chalk and earth debris, causing the…

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IT IS arguably the most convincing Somerset & Dorset revival yet… The sight of a BR Standard ‘4MT’ tank and a solitary coach was a most faithful re-creation of the much-loved inter-county main line at the restored Midsomer Norton South station and its associated short-section of double track. Llangollen Railway-based 2-6-4T No. 80072 took on the…

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TYSELEY’S dormant ‘Castle’ Defiant will be returned to steam in an ambitious £1million public sponsored project – to complete a unique in-house collection of three main line-registered locomotives from a single class. Defiant will be put through the Birmingham works once sufficient money has been raised to kick-start the project, with the intention of its…

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A GRESLEY ‘A3’ met its Peppercorn express passenger Pacific successor at an historic and record-breaking Severn Valley Railway (SVR) show. In the wake of the contentious decision to abandon its traditional autumn gala format, the SVR revelled in a sell-out weekend, together with the major press coverage, that the Pacific Power event brought over five…

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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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