News
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Vossloh delivers new ‘DE18’ locos across Europe
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LOCOMOTIVE builder Vossloh, which opened a new factory in Kiel-Suchsdorf in northern Germany last year, is building up to 50 new diesel locos a year. Currently, all those being built are its new four-axle ‘DE18’ design. Unlike previous Vossloh designs these are diesel-electric locos and incorporate an MTU 12V 4000 R43L engine. Many have been bought…
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Boston’s historic high-speed line cars to be replaced?
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THE long-term future of Boston’s Mattapan to Ashmont high-speed line Presidents’ Conference Committee (PCC) tramcars is in doubt. They were built in 1945/46 and are the oldest passenger vehicles in continuous regular public transport service in the USA. Boston area transport authority MBTA is now consulting on possible replacements for the vehicles, which are almost…
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American freight locos rebuilt in Estonia
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AMERICAN manufactured diesel locos, once used in the USA, are being completely rebuilt in Estonia for use there and also in Ukraine. Estonian state-owned rail freight company Operail inherited the former US Class 1-operated diesel locos which were imported during 2002/03 when the business was run by private company Baltic Rail Services – trading as…
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Italian Caimano to lose passenger work
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ITALIAN Railways (Trenitalia) has been slowly withdrawing its Class 656 Bo-Bo-Bo locos for several years. The 4,200kW 3kV DC locos were officially nicknamed ‘Caimano’ (after caiman or alligators), and 461 were built between 1975 and 1989. Around half were later converted to freight-only Class 655. These are also now being replaced by more modern locos.…
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Ethiopia’s metre-gauge survivors
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DESPITE opening a new electrified main line in 2016, parts of the old metre-gauge Chemin de Fer Djibouto-Éthiopien still appear to have some operational trains, although passenger services on the full route ceased in 2008. The metre-gauge line was opened between Addis Ababa and Djibouti in stages from 1902, and completed in 1917. It was…
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Bahamas booked for Tyseley Open Weekend in June
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In conjunction with its Tyseley Open Days, Vintage Trains is running four return trains per day between Birmingham Moor Street and Dorridge.
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‘Crompton’ performs well to ease Bodmin problems
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The week of April 1-5 was an operations manager’s nightmare at the Bodmin & Wenford Railway as the only serviceable steam loco failed with a hot axle box on March 31.
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Virgin Trains launch legal action against government over West Coast route
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Virgin, Stagecoach and SNCF say that the Department for Transport breached its duties in barring them from tendering.
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Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr acquires its own ‘Gronk’
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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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Highs and lows at the West Somerset
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THE West Somerset Railway reopened on March 30 after a three-month winter closure. There was much celebration, but a lot of work is required and money spent to bring the railway back its former glory. Weight restrictions have been introduced, down-grading the line to a GWR Blue route (17.9T axle loading). This follows advice from…
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