Great Western Railway

GWR InterCity 125s bow out in style

by

Sam Hewitt

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6th August 2019

GREAT Western Railway said farewell to long-distance InterCity 125 operation on June 1 with an epic railtour visiting many parts of the GWR network. The first and last production HST power cars – Nos. 43002 Sir Kenneth Grange and 43198 – powered standard eight-car set LA72 on an itinerary embracing Bristol, Paddington, Oxford, Hereford, Carmarthen and…
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No. 813 returns to the North East for Tanfield ‘legends’ gala

by

Sam Hewitt

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18th July 2019

FORMER Backworth Collieries 0-6-0ST No. 12, better known in preservation as Great Western Railway No. 813, returned to the Tanfield Railway to celebrate its North East heritage at the line’s Legends of Industry gala on June 14-16. The 1901-built ‘Swindonised’ Hudswell, Clarke last visited Tanfield in 2007, and again was present courtesy of the GWR 813 Preservation…
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GWR honours first responders

by

Sam Hewitt

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2nd July 2019

GREAT Western Railway has named Class 800 IET set No. 800023 after two first responders, including a fire fighter who died in the line of duty. One end of the set has been named after Fleur Lombard, who died on February 4, 1996 fighting a fire started by an arsonist at Leo’s Supermarket, Bristol. At the…
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£40million Exeter depot beginning to take shape

by

Sam Hewitt

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1st July 2019

THE impressive new £40million train maintenance depot next to Exeter St Davids is now taking shape, although the stated opening date of ‘summer 2019’ looks somewhat ambitious. The project was announced at the beginning of 2018 and is being built by Hochtief for Network Rail, Great Western Railway and the Department for Transport. This April…
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A railway in BARBADOS AGAIN

by

Sam Hewitt

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19th June 2019

The tiny independent nation of Barbados has an operating railway once more after a gap of more than 80 years. Keith Fender and Glen Beadon look at the Caribbean island’s troubled railway history and the development of the latest venture. BARBADOS’ first female Prime Minister, the Honourable Mia Amor Mottley, opened a rebuilt railway on the…
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Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr acquires its own ‘Gronk’

by

Sam Hewitt

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27th May 2019

THE Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway (L&MMR) received Class 08 No. 08795 on March 22 from the Great Western Railway, Landore depot, Swansea (87E, latterly LE), which closed in December 2018. No. 08795 requires some attention before being launched into traffic at an event later in the year. Read more in the May 2019 issue of The…
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County of Montgomery group aiming for £40,000 with driving wheels appeal

by

Sam Hewitt

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13th March 2019

THE Churchward County Trust (CCT) is hoping to build on the success of its first year by launching a new ‘Forty 4-4-0s Club’ to raise the £40,000 required to cast the four coupled wheels for new-build GWR 4-4-0 No. 3840 County of Montgomery. All the platework required to assemble the main frames is cut and ready…
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SVR opens Bridgnorth refreshment room

by

Sam Hewitt

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13th March 2019

A NEW refreshment room at the Severn Valley Railway’s Bridgnorth station has opened for business. The brick-built structure has been funded through the railway’s successful £2.5million share offer, launched in 2016. It replaces the temporary buildings that face the car park. The refreshment room is designed in a GWR style of around 1900, and…
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Bombardier to fit ETCS kit on Heathrow Express ‘387s’

by

Sam Hewitt

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2nd March 2019

PORTERBROOK has signed a contract with Bombardier Transportation to fit ETCS digital signalling equipment to Great Western Railway Class 387 EMUs, which are being converted for Heathrow Express services. The investment by Porterbrook is valued at £11million. GWR is having 12 Class 387s converted for the airport express work, with No. 387140 having already been…
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£2.2million reconstruction for VoR’s Aberystwyth station

by

Sam Hewitt

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16th December 2018

THE Vale of Rheidol Railway (VoR) is starting a £2.2million reconstruction of its Aberystwyth terminus. The work will transform it into a Great Western Railway-style station with a multi-function display and entertainment facility in the former standard gauge loco shed. VoR is providing 35% of the finance for the Wales to the World project, supported…
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