Main line trio at Tunbridge Wells West

Farewell to a Railway Magazine stalwart

IT is with great sadness this month that

Ticket office closure plans scrapped

Operators forced to backtrack in the face of overwhelming public demand.

LNER 10-train deal with CAF

A new fleet of 10-car tri-mode units is expected to spell the end for the remaining Class 91 and Mk.4 sets on the East Coast Main Line.

Redundancy threat at Alstom’s Derby plant as gap in orders looms

DERBY’S Litchurch Lane works, now part of the

Funding set for next five years

Regulator issues final determination for Network Rail spending to 2029.

Storm devastates heritage line

Northern Ireland’s Downpatrick and County Down Railway left with extensive and expensive damage.

SIDELINES

Seasonal concert A RAIL Staff Christmas Carol Service

Ridership is creeping up

Passenger journeys have risen to 89% of pre-pandemic levels.

Fuel cell project stalled

COLAS Rail Freight has“ no immediate plans” to

SIDELINES

Cornish smartcard GREAT Western Railway and Cornwall Council

Project SODOR tests on NYMR

Heritage railway hosts a three-week trial of hybrid communications technology ahead of roll-out to main line testing.

Flying Scotsman goes home

AS PART of its centenary year celebrations, the

Send in your best photos of 2023 to win prizes!

WITH the Christmas holidays fast approaching, the break

Vale of Aylesbury viaduct unveiled

HS2 contractor EKFB has been busy on the northern outskirts of Aylesbury preparing the groundworks for the Thame Valley viaduct, which will carry the high-speed line at low level across the river’s floodplain.

SIDELINES

Colne Valley Viaduct passes halfway point ALMOST two

TBMs Emily and Anne prepare for launch

Another key section of tunnelling is about to begin in West London.

Railways in Parliament

LNER trial success LORD Bradshaw wanted to know

Peter Nicholson 1948-2023

Railway author, photographer and RM correspondent.

Peter Townend 1925-2023

The man who gave Gresley Pacifics a new lease of life.

Britain’s newest steam loco

Double-Fairlie No. 8 James Spooner had its official launch at the Ffestiniog Railway on October 20, as Cliff Thomas reports.

Back in business

The East Sussex seaside town of Hastings has two operational funiculars again after the reopening of the East Hill Lift.

Lost in France

John Heaton FCILT travels by train from London to the French Riviera via the eastern city of Strasbourg.

Flight across London

Award-winning photographer Jack Boskett joined Network Rail’s Air Operations team on patrol over the capital, resulting in these stunning images.

A bridge to the PAST

For our annual Christmas ghost story, Geoff Cloke tells the tale of a fatal accident that closed a local railway line.

4-VEP to return in 2024

An appeal fund has been launched to get third-rail EMU No. 3417 back into passenger traffic, as Hassard Stacpoole reports.

Readers’ Platform

NB. Publication of a letter does not imply that the Editor or staff of The Railway Magazine necessarily agree with its contents.

Meetings

WEDNESDAY,DECEMBER6 PennineRailwaySociety. Town Fields Sports Club, Bennethorpe, Doncaster

From the archive

Subscribe and read previous issues at www.railwaymagazine.co.uk/archive

The RCTS: then and now

Britain’s leading Railway Society

PANORAMA

A showcase for the best in railway photography

The Peaks: Classes 44, 45, 46

WITHOUT a doubt, this is one of the

Heritage Railways – West Somerset Railway

THIS new book covers the West Somerset Railway

Stanier’s Jubilees

THE author’s latest book focuses exclusively on

The Railway Magazine binders and bound volumes

Binders High-quality binders to store your copies of

Calendar reviews

LMS-Patriot Project THE fundraising calendar for the LMS-Patriot

The NOSTALGIA collection

Sponsored by The crossword winner and two runners-up

TRACK RECORD

The Railway Magazine news digest

Railway turned around

Kent & East Sussex Railway moves from a loss to break-even financial position as it gears up to celebrate half a century of preservation in the coming year.

SIDELINES

New Year’s Day steam BLUEBELL Railway is kicking

Lydham Manor back in action!

No. 7827 Lydham Manor is seen at Churston

Environmental survey work under way at Rother Valley

THE RotherValley Railway’s reinstatement as a heritage line

Washford sale

CLASS 5 POWER: Keighley &Worth Valley Railwayowned LMS‘Black

DIARY

Until Dec 30 West Somerset Railway: Winterlights (on

Further movement at Duffield cutting landslip

Inaugural winter steam gala and Santa trains remain unaffected.

SIDELINES

‘Grange’ set for New Year THE launch of

Powerful line-up set for Spring Steam Gala

LMS‘Jubilee’No. 45690 Leander is among the performers due

Swanage Railway launches £450k emergency appeal

THE Swanage RailwayTrust has launched a £450,000 Save

‘Battle of Britain’ loco set to commemorate Polish pilots

WHEN SR Bulleid Pacific No. 34053 Sir Keith

Wildlife, flora and fauna celebrated by heritage lines

THE importance of providing habitat for wildlife has

Share issue to help unique ‘Collett Goods’ steam again

South Devon Railway plans a host of improvements to set itself up for the future.

New owner for Pannier

AGWR loco which once stood outside a Cardiff

Kilmersdon operates again in Somerset

Peckett R3 class 0-4-0ST Kilmersdon (1788/1929) is seen

On track with infrastructure enhancements

Permanent Way work underway at heritage lines this autumn.

Thirty’s the long and short of it!

The East Lancashire Railway operated its longest demonstration

‘Austerity’ appeal milestone

Overhaul of Embsay stalwart loco Wheldale reaches landmark figure – but more funds are needed.

Tanfield gala success

TANFIELD Railway held a successful‘Run it’weekend on October

What comes around, goes around with Welsh merger

Vale of Rheidol and Brecon Mountain railways set to reunite under one management.

Major repairs for CCLR No. 24

NEW LOOK FOR NO. 1: A sneak preview

Ticket runs out for Ashanti

MOSELEY RailwayTrust’s Hudswell Clarke‘Ganges’class 0-6-0WT 1238/1916 made its

New stock for Lappa Valley

The new diesel locomotive built by Alan Keef

SINGLE LINES

■ TIMETABLED Douglas Bay Horse Tramway operations for

DIARY

December 16 Talyllyn carol train 28-30 Welshpool &Llanfair

Narrow gauge lines under water

THE rain brought by Storm Babet which, as

Amberley pair in the works

ANNIVERSARY TRIP: Launceston Steam Railway’s Hunslet 0-4-0ST Lilian

SINGLE LINES

■ THE two double-ended ex-Tideway Tunnel Project 14-ton

Manx 2024 dates announced

ISLE of ManTransport has confirmed the dates for

Mannin ready for 2026?

Hopes remain for a return to service in three years’time of Manx loco No. 16, while reassembly of No. 12 Hutchinson is well underway as overhaul progresses.

Back to Bygones

Hunslet 0-4-0STs Britomart and Lilla pass Rhiw Goch

SINGLE LINES

■ WEST Lancashire Light Railway’s (WLLR) September 24

‘Forgotten’ line to be revived

Efforts are underway to reopen the railway in the public grounds of a Liverpool stately home.

STEAM PORTFOLIO

1 AUTUMN TINTS: LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0 No.

Planning permission granted for Blackpool Tramtown project

Transformation of the tram shed into a major heritage attraction is approved as preparations are made for wider changes to the Rigby Road site.

Chester tram progress

THE layout of seats for the upper deck

All aboard revamped Seaton No. 9

CAR No. 9 at the Seaton Tramway in

EMU bought for £1

First-built Class 313 unit acquired for preservation at Eastleigh Works.

SIDELINES

‘Teddy Bear’ debuts at Ecclesbourne AFTER more than

DIARY

DECEMBER 8/15 Nene Valley Railway Santa 125 Specials

Dartmouth Railway runs rare track special

Class 08 No. D3014 works up the gradient

DMU livery changes at Keighley & Worth Valley

Class 101 Nos. M51189 and Sc51803 depart Oxenhope

EE shunter upgraded for passenger use

ENGLISH Electric 0-6-0DH No. D1120 David J Cook

CLASSIC TRACTION PORTFOLIO

‘WHISTLER’ TO THE RESCUE: The East Lancashire Railway’s

First quarter kick off for InterCity

Operator announces three new all- first class tours for 2024.

DB Cargo Class 60 to bow out on Pathfinder festive season excursion

PATHFINDER Tours has confirmed its Class 60 hauled

Railtour option for that ‘awkward’ week?

DOUBLE-HEADER AFTER DARK: LMS ‘Black Fives’ Nos. 44871

BLS tour raises £12000 for charity

THE Branch Line Society’s‘The 5:08 Sunset’tour of the

SIDELINES

Camping coaches in holiday park sale BRUNEL Holiday

Old station transformed

Amazing restoration of Wingfield’s North Midland station.

£250,000 grant to restore Gobowen station buildings

REPAIRS to the Grade II listed station buildings

£13m information upgrade in Scotland

SCOTLAND’S two busiest stations, Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow

Land slip disrupts MML

UNSTABLE land on a section of the Midland

Plans for five new stations in South Wales

AMBITIOUS plans by Transport for Wales (TfW) for

Contract awarded to construct new Cambridge South railway station

ACONTRACT to build the new £93.4 million station

Hertfordshire’s LNWR Bricket Wood station restored – and gains a tearoom

BRICKET Wood station, between Watford Junction and St

Hope for Ayr station hotel?

FOLLOWING a second devastating fire on September 23,

Far North line sea wall damaged

ANUMBER of recent storms which have hit north

SIDELINES

GBRf Peterborough sidings open SIDINGS have been opened

Wagons roll as VTG trial aims to transform freight

A total of nine vehicles will be used to test the ‘iWagon’ monitoring technology.

‘Greener’ sea, rail and lorry journey

PREPARING THE WAY: Between October 30 and November

No ‘Metrocars’ for community reuse

Two Tyne & Wear Metro Class 599s will be preserved, but Nexus says costs and complexity prevent it proceeding with a scheme to repurpose five further units.

Subway passengers overcharged

NEARLY 4000 payments for Glasgow Subway smart card

Sheffield Supertram fares increase

SOME single fares went up on Sheffield Supertram

Ricardo and GCRE agree future strategic alliance

RAIL contractor Ricardo is to provide advice for

50th depot contract for Zonegreen

RAIL safety equipment specialist Zonegreen has been awarded

The widespread winter wind of fleet changes

December timetable sees TransPennine Express ‘Nova 3’ sets and Northern Class 319s removed from traffic, but also the introduction of Southeastern’s final Class 707s.

Alstom’s £824m eight-year XC deal

CrossCountry Class 220 ‘Voyager’ No. 220011 at Alstom’s

Brodie offers refurbished Class 156 for sale

On April 2, 2017, around six months after

Plans for depot digitalisation

Automated inspection technology to be introduced at Southeastern’s Ramsgate depot.

Wagon Report

DEUTSCHE Bahn acquired EWS from Canadian National Railway

STOCK UPDATE

LOCOMOTIVES Allocations 37218 XHSO-XSDP 37401 XHSO-XSDP 37424 XHSO-XSDP

TRACTION PORTFOLIO

WEST COAST SURVIVORS: As they approach 50 years

The network's notable moves

RHTT A visit to Marylebone station on Sunday,

Foynes takes shape

Track laying is scheduled to get under way in the new year as the Foynes line rebuild continues to progress.

Green light given for Midleton doubling as work starts on extra platform

AN Bord Pleanála approved the railway order to

Indonesia opens first high-speed line

Track laying only began in April 2022 and the line was fully operational within 18 months.

SIDELINES

Chinese locos for Kazakhstan KAZAKHSTAN Railways (KTZ) has

Branch Line Society tours the Sahara desert

The tour train hauled by two ONCF EMD

Unique US diesel hydraulic runs again

FOR the first time in decades the sole

‘Sharknose’ on the mainline

Ferrocarriles Argentinos Baldwin No. 5037 seen at Plaza