Trackside
Trackside – Your specialist feed of everything railway!
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3801 steams Down Under as overhaul nears completion
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AUSTRALIA’S most famous steam locomotive – ‘C38’ Pacific No. 3801 – steamed for the first time in more than a decade on September 16 as its protracted overhaul enters the ‘home straight’. It was a significant milestone for Transport Heritage New South Wales (THNSW) and the overhaul team at Eveleigh, coming just a week after the…
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Railway Accidents: Lamentable Failures
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Thirty-one people lost their lives on Tuesday, October 5, 1999, when a Thames Trains Class 165 ‘Turbo’ collided with a First Great Western InterCity125 at a combined speed of 130mph at Ladbroke Grove, two miles from London Paddington. Fraser Pithie and The Railway Magazine look back over 20 years to one of Britain’s worst post-Privatisation…
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GB Railfreight celebrates 15 years of Locomotion
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GB Railfreight Class 66 No. 66788 was named Locomotion on September 21 as part of the celebrations to mark a decade and a half since the National Railway Museum opened its outstation in Shildon, County Durham. Bob Tiller, GBRf engineering director, said: “The work Locomotion does to showcase the history of the railways is an inspiration,…
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Network Rail submits plans for Forth Bridge experience
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NETWORK Rail has submitted a planning application to City of Edinburgh Council for proposals to install a bridge walk and visitor hub at the Forth Bridge. Under the plans, the public will be able to access the world-famous structure and explore its heritage as well as the outstanding views from a platform 367ft (110m) above…
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HS2 bill up to £88billion as completion date slips to 2040
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By Ben Jones HS2 Ltd has advised the Government the first phase of High Speed 2 to Birmingham could open five years later than planned in 2031, and the overall cost of the project could rise to £88billion. Phase 2b to Manchester and Leeds has also been pushed back, with completion now expected in 2040…
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RPSI cuts frames for new-build LMS-NCC ‘W’ class Mogul
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THE first steps in the re-creation of one of H P Stewart’s LMS-NCC ‘W’ class 2-6-0 have been taken by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) with the cutting of the locomotive’s 33ft-long main frame plates. The machined plates were delivered to Whitehead on August 29 from Cooke Bros Engineering of Newtownards, having been…
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Island Line to remain in rail franchising system after four-year battle
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Vivarail trains for Isle of Wight as part of £26m investment by Phil Marsh THE unique Island Line will remain a heavy rail-operated route thanks to an investment worth £26million to cover new trains, a new passing loop, new platform height, and other infrastructure changes. The news comes at the end of a four-and-a-half year…
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Union Pacific’s ‘Big Boy’ ready for Californian visit
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UNION Pacific ‘Big Boy’ No. 4014 went for a short test run on September 20. The 16-mile return run to Speer, from its base at Cheyenne, Wyoming, was carried out by Ed Dickens, senior heritage operations manager for UP. The journey was designed to check the minor adjustments that were needed after its immensely successful outing…
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New Hybrid locos for Snowdon Mountain line
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SNOWDON Mountain Railway (SMR) has named Clayton Equipment Limited, specialists in bespoke hybrid battery-diesel locomotives, as preferred supplier of replacements for its Hunslet 0-4-0DH locomotives. Two new locos will be supplied next spring to enter service for the start of the 2020 season. The new hybrid 800mm-gauge loco for SMR is currently in the design…
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No Greater Anglia ‘Aventras’ before 2020
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By Ben Jones GREATER Anglia (GA) has confirmed it will not be able to introduce its Class 720 ‘Aventra’ EMUs before the end of 2019. Production and testing of the new trains is running significantly behind schedule after Bombardier experienced delays with the introduction of Crossrail Class 345s and London Overground Class 710s. However, the…
