Mainline ‘Polar Express’ returns

Things are hotting up

DRS Class 66 No. 66424 powers through the

Main lines closed as Britain swelters in record temperatures

No trains ran on the East Coast Main Line or Thameslink at the peak of the July heatwave as temperatures reached a new record.

Network Rail launches hot weather resilience task force

IN the aftermath of the recordbreaking temperatures that

Summer weather and industrial relations boil over to affect train operations

Rail reliability nosedives due to strike action and extreme temperatures.

Skelmersdale rail link plan rejected

DfT says report failed to make ‘compelling case’ for West Lancashire line extension and station.

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Stock highlights LOCOMOTIVE Services Ltd has purchased a

DRS to sell and lease back Class 37s

Arrangement will allow use of the locomotives to continue on Rail Head Treatment Trains.

Irish Government gives green light to Dublin Metrolink

New line will offer new connections between north and south of the city.

SIDELINES

DVD for Ukraine UKRAINIAN steam locomotives star in

SIDELINES

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Contractor announced for Solihull Interchange

Laing O’Rourke wins deal worth up to £370 million for key HS2 station.

Washwood Heath depot

WENDOVER DEAN WORK BEGINS: The first pile of

Railways in Parliament

Southeastern investigations THE removal of Southeastern’s franchise prompted

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MEETINGS

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Robinson Eight-Coupled Locomotives

THIS is a group of locomotives with a

The Wellington, Much Wenlock & Craven Arms Railway

AUTHOR Adrian Knowles begins this extensive illustrated history

The Railways of Wigston Junction

PASSING through Wigston on the Midland Main Line

Reader Services

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Prize crossword

£100 worth of Nostalgia Collection books to be won

Where is it?

Our pictorial quiz, for fun only

FROM DERBY TO THE PYRAMIDS

ALSTOM, which bought Bombardier in 2021, is building 70 monorail trains for two monorail routes serving Egypt’s new capital city 45km east of Cairo. The trains are being built in the UK at Derby Litchurch Lane, and Keith Fender went along to view progress.

90 NOT OUT!

This year sees the 90th birthday of a remarkable survivor, the first purpose-built standard gauge diesel to be constructed for a main line railway company, as the Middleton Railway’s vice-president Ian Smith describes.

A BRIEF FLING

The Highland Main Line beckons as John Heaton FCILT heads north to tackle the climbs of Druimuachdar and Slochd by ‘Azuma’ and HST, also looking at the improvements since steam days on the Perth to Stirling section

ALL CHANGE AT SOUTHEND

New battery-powered trains have taken over from 30-year-old diesels on Southend’s famous Pier Railway, as Simon Murdoch reports.

Looking back at Lion

The BRCW’s experimental Co-Co diesel No. D0260 Lion entered service 60 years ago. Using previously unpublished archive documents and photographs, Andy Flowers looks back at what could have become the standard Type 4.

SIDELINES

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Flexibility is crucial in an ever-changing world

Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland boss Paul Lewin provides an update on the current state of play – views which are applicable across Britain’s heritage rail sector.

‘B1’ relocates to Ruddington

POWERING EFFORTLESSLY: Now turned to face north and

King Edward I edges towards steam test

BACK IN ACTION: ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST Repulse (3698/1950) entered

Butterley ‘Jinty’ takes shape

LMS ‘Jinty’ 0-6-0T No. 16440 takes shape at

New-build County of Glamorgan progresses

THE boiler for new-build GWR No. 1014 County

Duke due back by mid-2023

NO. 71000 Duke of Gloucester is now expected

Gwili’s Carmarthen project gets underway

ON July 18, work began on the Gwili

SIDELINES

Waggoner on course THE return of Hunslet ‘Austerity’

Hunslet loco will be Quainton’s new No. 1!

Ex-NCB loco on course to make preservation steam debut.

Cambrian commemorates its 50th anniversary

HALF a century of railway preservation in Oswestry

Bury ‘4MT’ boiler tubes failure

EAST Lancashire Railwaybased BR ‘4MT’ No. 80097 has

LSWR ‘T3’ back on its wheels at Flour Mill

PRAIRIE TO VISIT NORTHANTS: GWR 2-6-2T No. 5553 is

‘G5’ appeals to ‘get connected’

CONSTRUCTION of 0-4-4-T No. 1759 by the Class

North Norfolk bounces back with positive numbers

SHAREHOLDERS attending the North Norfolk Railway plc’s AGM

DIARY

August 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 Nene Valley

Stowe away at Quainton Road

Chassis of Bluebell ‘Schools’ gets attention by Buckinghamshire contractor.

Watercress wagons on a roll

Operational fleet on course to receive welcome additions.

Fox field to celebrate ‘made in Stoke’

River Rom set to make passenger train debut.

Frame focus for ‘Austerity’ No. 69

THE restoration of Hunslet ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST (3785/1953) No.

Cylinder block casting issue halts Welsh Guardsman

LORD FISHER BOWS OUT: The Yeovil Railway Centre

Steam Portfolio

SUMMER VISITOR: L&Y Class 27 No. 52322 is

SINGLE LINES

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Funds needed as newbuild projects forge on

Appeals are launched to help boost Mountaineer and Gowrie construction

Passengers ride into Glyn Valley’s Chirk station

ADRIAN Shooter’s 1889-built Darjeeling Himalayan Railway Sharp Stewart

Bressingham objects to pylon route

THE trustees of Bressingham Steam Museum have formally

Plan approved for ALCO Mountaineer to convert to coal for return

A PLAN to restore Ffestiniog Railway’s (FR) ALCO

Atlantic Billie returns to Rhyl

RHYL Steam Preservation Trust has purchased Barnes 4-4-2

New-look Rachel enters service at Cleethorpes

Rebuild represents a nod towards the loco’s appearance during its Fairbourne Railway days

Amberley’s Bagnall Peter is relaunched into traffic

A PTG Tours charter on June 6 covered

Seven in steam at Amerton

AMERTON Railway’s June 25-26 gala featured seven locomotives

Good news and not so good news for Alford Valley revival efforts

ALFORD Valley Community Railway (AVCR) has been awarded

SINGLE LINES

■ FAIRBOURNE Railway’s historic 15in gauge stock, including

Trago Mills line to host gala

Bickington Steam Railway event to offer ‘rare haulage’ with visiting locomotive

SIDELINES

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Trams are back on-track at Crich

All areas of the site reopen to the public after essential overhead line repairs.

DIARY

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Diesel variety in the forest

THE Dean Forest Railway’s September 17-18 diesel gala

‘Clayton’ proves a big hit at West Somerset event

WSR’s first annual diesel gala for three years did not disappoint.

Spa Valley marks 25th anniversary with diesel galas

THE first of two Spa Valley Railway summer

Diesel and ale variety

THE Avon Valley held a littlepublicised diesel event

LMS 10000 project needs £30,000 to secure unique components

THE Ivatt Diesel Re-creation Society, which is building

SIDELINES

Class 37 displayed at Crewe Heritage Centre DIRECT

Railbus to be restored

New life breathed into former Western Region AC Car unit at Swindon & Cricklade Railway

Western Queen commemorations continue at SVR

ECCLESBOURNE ‘DELTIC’ FAREWELL DELAYED: The Deltic Preservation Society’s

ClassicTraction Portfolio

‘WHISTLER’ IN THE SUNSHINE: Pioneer Class 40 No.

Tornado return is delayed

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

‘Thumper ’ unit continues southern wanderings

Hastings Diesels DEMU No. 1001 set to operate two further trips this summer.

Steams Dreams operations reviewed

JUST a month following the sale of the

AUGUST: STEAM RAILTOURS

AUGUST: DIESEL & ELECTRIC RAILTOURS

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NOTES

■ Please note that advertised traction, routes, times

Class 33s to visit Margate

CLASS 33s over their former Southern Region stamping

Railtours Portfolio

The Class 40 Preservation Society’s Type 4 No.

SIDELINES

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Three Cornish ’boxes to close by November 2023

Shortage of signalling staff and hardware reliability problems drive scheme.

Planning approved for Forth Bridge experience

PLANNING consent for Network Rail to develop a

New points at Tyseley

A FOUR-day engineering possession in late June has

Amazon lockers installed at LNW and WMR stations

LONDON Northwestern Railway is installing Amazon lockers at

‘Milestone’ Transpennine route improvements approved

THE signing of a Transport and Works Act

Scottish network gets £120m electrification boost

NETWORK Rail is to invest more than £120m

Brent Cross station gets its roof

Construction of Brent Cross West station, working towards

New station entrances included in £95m Bristol redevelopment plan

NETWORK Rail has revealed a £95m regeneration of

SIDELINES

COMPILED BY GRAEME PICKERING Your reports and pictures

Government sets out ‘long-term vision’ for freight

Priorities include the establishment of a multi-modal national freight network.

Rail-connected Birmingham plant cements Hanson’s sustainability strategy

HANSON’S new multi-million pound ready-mixed concrete plant at

Maritime rail deals

MARITIME Transport has agreed terms to extend the

SIDELINES

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Track replacement projects underway

Stretches of Metrolink and NET routes closed for renewal of worn-out track.

LRSSB outlines its vision for the future in business plan

TESTING AT TALBOT ROAD: On June 27, Platinum

SIDELINES

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Digital monitoring upgrade for GWR Hitachi fleet

The introduction of wireless technology is predicted to half the downtime for bogie and wheelset maintenance.

Speed limiters for Hitachi fleets

HITACHI has confirmed to The RM that limiters

Network gains with Northern ‘Intelligent Train’ technology

HAPPY RETURN FOR ‘EXECUTIVE’: To mark 40 years

Additional Class 69s due for GBRf

GB RAILFREIGHT has confirmed an order for a

Class 230 technical setbacks

TfW hopeful of entry into service by end of 2022 after knock-on effect of battery overheating issue.

WAGON REPORT

IRON ore was one of the first major

Stock Update

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Operations

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SIDELINES

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Iarnród Éireann generates a surplus

Positive news for state-owned national operator despite some Covid-19 restrictions remaining in place in 2021.

Near miss results in safety recommendation

DART + WEST APPLICATION TO BE SUBMITTED: Iarnród

Downpatrick trains resume – but volunteers needed

AFTER an absence of two years, Ireland’s only

World

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New trains for Switzerland

Lines across the country in multiple gauges benefit from rolling stock investment

TGV visits Prague as plans for high-speed network develop

TGV set 16 on display at Praha hl.n

Alaska’s White Pass route adds modern diesels

Old and new WPYR motive power at Skagway

Taigatrommel on tour in Germany

FOR the first time in many years a