World
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Old electric locos making a comeback in Germany
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Veteran German locos are replacing several modern EMUs.
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Harz steam loco gets stuck in snow!
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A GERMAN steam train became stuck in snow 3,675ft up a mountain on January 8 – a very rare and unusual occurrence. Harzer Schmalspurbahnen’s 10.25 from Wernigerode to Brocken, hauled by 2-10-2T No. 99 234 (99 7234) with five carriages, became marooned at the summit station as the weather deteriorated rapidly when snow storms struck. As…
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NZ ‘Southern Diesel Tour’ pays visit to South Island
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AN EXTENSIVE tour covering many lines on the South Island of New Zealand was operated in October. A good proportion of the lines have no regular passenger services. The ‘Southern Diesel Tour’ was hauled by preserved English Electric-built locos owned by the Diesel Traction Group: Di 1102 (Co-Co built in 1966 by English Electric, Rocklea…
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ODIN returns to Danish railways
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IN September the Danish National Railway Museum in Odense presented the new working replica of Denmark’s first steam loco – ODIN. The original was a 2-2-2, built in 1846 by Sharp Brothers and Company in Manchester, and named after the Norse God. ODIN was built for the opening of the line between Copenhagen and Roskilde…
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New Indian GE locos enter service
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INDIAN Railways has ordered 1,000 of two types of new diesel locos from American loco builder GE Transportation in an order worth $2.5billion. The first of the 700 4,500hp diesel electric locos, designated ES43ACi by GE and Class WDG4G by Indian Railways, was handed over to Indian Railways in October 2017. The 100kph locos are…
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More new EMUs for French Intercités to replace locos
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SEVERAL batches of new multiple units have been ordered by the French regions which are taking over responsibility for most non-high-speed Intercités routes. ‘Omneo Premium’ part double-deck articulated EMUs were ordered from Bombardier in November to operate services between Paris Nord and Maubeuge/St Quentin in northern France. The new trains will replace SNCF Class BB…
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Old German locos substitute for modern EMUs
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VETERAN electric locos have made a comeback on several routes in Germany. They are replacing modern EMUs, which are out of service because of accident damage or maintenance. In December, three routes in western Germany had these temporary stand-ins operating, two of them using Class 110 electric locos originally built for West German Railways (Deutsche…
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WLLR’s diminutive Dougal wows crowds in Taiwan
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A SMALL piece of mid-Wales made a big impression in the Far East on Saturday, December 8, when the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway signed a ‘sister railway’ co-operation agreement with the Taiwan Sugar Corporation (TSC). The signing ceremony was held in the city of Chiayi as part of the launch of TSC’s annual Sugar…
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Former President Bush taken to final resting place in Texas by Union Pacific
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A SPECIAL train was used to take former US president George H W Bush to his final resting place in Texas. Mr Bush died on November 30, and following a state funeral service in Washington, his coffin was flown back to Houston, Texas, from where it was moved the 70 miles to the George H…
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Blonay-Chamby museum celebrates 50th anniversary
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SWITZERLAND’s leading metre gauge heritage railway and museum at Blonay-Chamby, near Lausanne, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018. The museum and the 3km line began operation in 1968 after closure of the line by operator Chemins de fer électriques Veveysans (CEV), but it retains overhead DC electrification, enabling operation of historic electric trains as well…