With the end of the Virgin Trains franchise taking place at 01:59am on December 8 after 22 years of running trains between London, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh, they’re going out with a bang!
Epping Ongar Railway-based GWR ‘Hall’ No. 4953 Pitchford Hall is back in steam after overhaul, and carrying a livery never before seen on one of the Collett 4-6-0s in the preservation era.
Mark Smithers considers several important examples of narrow gauge and industrial steam locomotives which are not currently in the forefront of public attention.
The North Yorkshire Moors Railway’s (NYMR) Southern ‘Schools’ 4-4-0 No. 926 Repton took part in no fewer than three autumn steam galas during September and October, visiting the North West and the East Midlands in the process. The first event for the Maunsell ‘V’ class was the NYMR’s own 15-engine spectacular on September 27-29 (see p74-75),…
By Tony Miles THE first of 19 five-car Hitachi Class 802 bi-mode trains entered passenger service with TransPennine Express on September 28. They had received clearance from ORR late the previous evening. Set 802201 operated the 06.03 Newcastle-Liverpool Lime Street and 09.25 return as a one-off working ahead of regular service introduction later in October. …
PREPARATORY work is continuing at London Euston despite ongoing uncertainty over whether High Speed 2 trains will ever serve the station. Contractors are quickly demolishing the two early-1970s tower blocks in front of the station, clearing the land for the redevelopment and expansion. Four floors have already been removed from Grant Thornton House and One…
A LOCOMOTIVE that has spent more than 20 years out of the public eye will steam again after being acquired by James Bunch. Wigan Coal & Iron Co Ltd 0-6-0ST Lindsay is the sole-surviving locomotive built by the company, and was once a familiar sight at Steamtown, Carnforth, during the 1980s and 1990s. It last…
DELIVERIES of new DMUs and EMUs to Northern by CAF are running late, although the company introduced a further nine Class 195s over the Calder Valley line between Leeds and Chester via Manchester and Warrington in October. It takes the number of ‘195s’ in traffic to 29, exactly half the order. Northern has said because…
LNER launched its new Lincoln to King’s Cross ‘Azuma’ service on October 21, increasing the single daily service to five per day. A sixth service will be introduced at a later stage. A five-car bi-mode ‘Azuma’ will provide a two-hourly Monday to Friday service departing London at 10.06, 12.06, 14.06 and 16.06. Southbound services will…
