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  • Disruption after Strawberry Hill depot derailment

    Disruption after Strawberry Hill depot derailment

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    South Western Railway Class 456 No. 456021 was derailed entering the sidings at Strawberry Hill depot on the evening of May 29-30. It blocked access, leading to several services on May 30 being cancelled or delayed. Recovery teams worked to re-rail the set. The other sets attached to the ‘456’ are Nos. 455917 and 455741. JAMIE SQUIBBS…

  • Stadler 755/4 approved for use by ORR

    Stadler 755/4 approved for use by ORR

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    THE Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has approved the use by Greater Anglia (GA) of the Stadler ‘Flirt’ Class 755 four-car bi-mode multiple units.  These are the first Swiss trains to be built for the privatised railway, with testing only starting in January.  GA has ordered 24 four-car sets (and also 14 three-car, which…

  • Class 91s facing sidelines as Mk4 stock goes for store

    Class 91s facing sidelines as Mk4 stock goes for store

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    THE first Class 91 locos are expected to be withdrawn by LNER from July. They are becoming surplus to requirements as diagrams for the Hitachi ‘Azuma’ sets increase every week, and with LNER now announcing a start of services from Edinburgh on August 1.  LNER has already ceased use of DB Class 90s and the…

  • GWR InterCity 125s bow out in style

    GWR InterCity 125s bow out in style

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    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…

  • BLS tour brings Class 31 back to the main line

    BLS tour brings Class 31 back to the main line

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    JUNE 9 saw a Class 31 return to main line action after a gap of several months.  Nemesis Rail’s No. 31128 Charybdis, currently the only Brush Type 2 authorised for use on Network Rail metals, powered the Branch Line Society’s ‘Sunday Yicker’ tour in top-and-tail formation with West Coast Railways’ No. 37668 and just four WCRC Mk1…

  • Manchester’s mayor pushes for local control

    Manchester’s mayor pushes for local control

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    Tram-train routes proposed as Burnham calls for London-style control over local railways.

  • More private-owner colour from The Wagon Yard

    More private-owner colour from The Wagon Yard

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    The Wagon Yard, a small family business based in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex, commissions limited-edition wagons in N and OO scales from Peco and Dapol and plans to expand into other gauges in the coming months. Everyone behind the enterprise is a model railway enthusiast with a particular love of wagons and rolling stock. The…

  • Why does hot weather cause severe rail disruption?

    Why does hot weather cause severe rail disruption?

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    Soaring temperatures in the UK have led rail operators to warn of possible speed restrictions due to the risk of tracks buckling.

  • ‘Trackbashing’ special to run over Dartmouth line for charity

    ‘Trackbashing’ special to run over Dartmouth line for charity

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    47 years after the Paignton to Kingswear branch was sold to Dart Valley Railway plc, the ‘big railway’ will be running a train over it again.

  • British Thomson-Houston survivor in New Zealand

    British Thomson-Houston survivor in New Zealand

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    The only remaining diesel loco supplied by British Thomson-Houston (BTH) still in service anywhere in the world is in use with Alliance Group in New Zealand, where it works as a shunter at their Pukeuri Works, north of Oamaru, on the South Island.  The loco – DSC 2067 – was delivered 60 years ago, in…

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