Readers ’ Platform

Breadth and depth

Did the founders of the preservation movement in

Features

TOTON FROM ABOVE: With around 30 locos of

Summer 2024 for Northumberland Line

Construction challenges include remediation of old mine workings.

SEASIDE ‘AZUMA’

LNER ran No. 800207 to Cleethorpes on

GBRf Class 69 named Pathfinder Tours

GB Railfreight has bestowed the name Pathfinder Tours

CARDIFF TRAM-TRAIN TESTING BEGINS

The first of the 36 Class 398

Darjeeling Tank stays in Britain

Trust successfully bids for Adrian Shooter’s 1889-built loco in midsummer day’s auction.

Repaired Nuneham Viaduct opens

AFTER being closed for two months of repairs

SIDELINES

Sleepers move to Government control THE Scottish Government

SIDELINES

New Street bull named ‘Ozzy’ THE 10-metre high

CALVERT WORKSITE

PHIL MARSH An aerial view on June

Enthusiast wins Welsh Highland centenary research competition

LIFELONG steam enthusiast Stephen Murfitt has been named

TARA MINES THREAT

TONY GRAY Owners Boliden announced on June 13

RAILART 2023

The Guild of Railway Artists’ has announced

Report rejects North Wales line reopenings in favour of bus links

AN initial report has been published by the

East Coast operators lead the way

Passenger numbers get closer to pre-pandemic levels, but some areas are doing better than others.

Royal Scotsman

After its visit to the Royal Duchy of Cornwall at the end of April, Flying Scotsman went one better in June by hauling the Royal Train with King Charles III aboard, to Pickering on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

Half-a-century of preservation

Great Central Railway marks 50 years of heritage operations with anniversary gala.

10 MINUTES 10 QUESTIONS

This month, Steven Knight has a longer chat with the National Railway Museum’s Andrew McLean.

Railways in Parliament

Improving Lincs rail SIR John Hayes, the South

FROM THE RAILWAY MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

20 YEARS AGO: Virgin Trains No. 87002 at

The RCTS: then and now

Britain’s leading Railway Society

Panorama

VINTAGE DIESELS: With Leeds city centre as the

LAST TRAINS – DR BEECHING AND THE DEATH OF RURAL ENGLAND

WITHOUT a doubt, this book succeeds in its

Flying Scotsman The Locomotive – Centenary Edition 1923-2023

FLYING Scotsman was well on the way to

THE RAILWAY OBSERVER / LOCOMOTIVES OF THE LNER

THE RCTS is making available free of charge

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Colne Valley construction reaches an ‘exciting stage’

First piers completed in the middle of a lake for the two-mile long HS2 viaduct.

Supply chain needs outlined for HS2 trains

CONTRACTORS are being sought to supply parts for

Corwen’s new station

Gareth Evans reports on the formal opening of the Llangollen Railway new terminus.

FREIGHT FROM FELIXSTOWE

GBRf invited John Heaton FCILT to Felixstowe to get a driver’s eye view of the cross-country route to the Midlands via Peterborough.

Walking the Welsh Highland

As the Welsh Highland Railway celebrates its centenary this year, John Stretton takes a pictorial journey along the line, showing scenes before and after its reconstruction in the late 1990s and 2000s

A BERLIN BREAK

The German capital boasts some fascinating railway architecture, from timbered cottages to cathedral-style underground stations and ultra-modern designs. Chris Milner paid a visit to seek them out.

Seaton Tramway and the New Age

John Heaton FCILT visits the Seaton Tramway in Devon and finds a rare example of a former railway branch line reinvented to satisfy the modern focus on conservation and climate change.

Bittern will be back!

Steam & Heritage Track Record

Ivatt tank and SECR ‘O1’ star in Spa Valley gala

Isle of Wight Steam Railway’s BR ‘2MT’ 2-6-2T

London Transport Museum appoints new top boss

ELIZABETH McKay has been appointed director and CEO

Restructure and renaming for Bodmin heritage line

WORK is underway to change the structure and

Solar power provides half of Sheffield Park’s electricity

THE solar panels for the roofs of the

DIARY

Have you got a story for us? Email:

Steam & Heritage

A ‘TERRIER’ SANDWICH: LBSCR 0-6-0T No. 72 Fenchurch

SIDELINES

Grosmont shed tours THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway

Overnight steam trips return to the valley

Popular feature to make comeback at Severn Valley Autumn Steam Gala.

‘Saint’ to visit Nene Valley

THE Great Western Society’s ‘Saint’ 4-6-0 No. 2999

Crowdfunder launched to aid GWR saddletank

THE charitable GWR 813 Preservation Fund, which owns

Go-ahead for ‘Q’ and ‘B4’ overhauls

APPROVAL has been given to overhaul Maunsell ‘Q’

Mid-Norfolk signals infrastucture progress

A NUMBER of infrastructure projects have made progress

Duffield heritage services resume

Landslip stabilises, enabling full-line operations to resume at Derbyshire heritage line.

Foxfield Railway to mark North Staffordshire merger centenary in style

THE centenary of the merging of the pre-Grouping

Wagon museum opened

Nene Valley Railway Wagon Group completes a key educational project, telling the story of goods traffic.

Lambton theme for North Tyneside gala

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

ELR runs Small Engines gala

Locomotives of industrial origin take centre stage at special event.

Frame display

ON the Middleton Railway, Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST ‘Slough

New plan to complete overhaul of ‘Austerity’ Norman

RSH ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST Norman (7086/1943) is to be restored

SINGLE LINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

WHR ‘590’ lives again

Restored Baldwin launched at Welsh Highland Heritage Railway.

Dolgoch returns to Talyllyn service

TALYLLYN Railway’s (TR) Fletcher, Jennings 0-4-0WT No. 2

Project to resurrect ex-Llechwedd Dorothy

A BOILER constructed in 2002 has joined the

SINGLE LINES

■ WELSH Highland Railway Society ‘Black Hand Gang’

Eclectic mix of motive power at Fairbourne gala

Journeys offered on both 12.25in and 15in gauges featuring visiting rolling stock from Littlehampton, Rhyl and Tyseley.

Talyllyn two-train service day entirely worked by women – a preservation first?

THE ISLANDER: With the Solent and Isle of

Bala’s Maid Marian makes flying visit to Ffestiniog

HUNSLET 0-4-0ST Maid Marian briefly visited the Ffestiniog

Ratty’s River Esk headlines Romney enthusiast gala

Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway’s Davey Paxman 2-8-2 River

Nutty returns to Welshpool

SENTINEL 4wVBT Nutty (7701/1927), the only surviving narrow

New boiler for Annie

A NEW boiler, funded by a legacy, is

SINGLE LINES

■ FFESTINIOG Railway’s Double-Fairlie David Lloyd George, withdrawn

Steam charters focus on Manx Railway treasures

Isle of Man Steam Railway’s Dubs 0-6-0T No.

DIARY

July 22-23 Amberley Museum rail gala 23-30 Isle

Hastings line marks 75th anniversary

Well known 10¼in gauge railway running along the seafront of the East Sussex fishing and tourist town commemorates milestone in style.

Steam Portfolio

CORNISH TIME CAPSULE: In a scene that is

Parts recovered from stored trams

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Work progresses on Glasgow 1245 restoration

Hopes that double-deck ‘Coronation’ tram will be almost complete by the end of year.

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Britain’s only double-deck train saved from scrap

Historic Bulleid EMU car relocates from Northampton to join the second surviving car in Kent.

‘Crompton’ changeover at West Somerset Railway

THE Diesel & Electric Preservation Group (DEPG) swapped

DIARY

July 7-9 GWSR diesel gala 8-9 S&DR at

Bold plan announced for preservation of a Class 313

Hopes future of ‘celebrity’ blue & grey unit can be secured.

Shunter and ‘Gargoyles’ in focus at Mangapps Railway

A VISIT to Mangapps Railway and Museum, Essex

Launch for HST at Nene Valley

‘TEDDY BEAR’ STARS AT KWVR’S ‘RODZ DAY’: Class

75-year old Wickham to make operational debut at S&D Midsomer Norton

THE Somerset & Dorset Railway (S&DRHT) at Midsomer

New chassis to be built for Wickham Type 27 trollies

THE Rail Trolley Trust (RTT) and other owners

Diesels everywhere at the Bluebell

RARE ‘07’ ACTION AT THE ROUNDHOUSE: Barrow Hill’s

South Devon Railway beer festival visitors urged to travel to Staverton by train

THE South Devon Railway’s twice-a-year Rails & Ales

Pathfinder plans 100th Class 50 Alliance tour

Partnership milestone to be commemorated in style with haulage by pair of ‘Hoovers’ on Anglo-Scottish trip.

Charity railtour raises £29,000 in aid of Yorkshire children’s hospice

The amazing sight of a quintuple Class 66

It’s a Merry Wherry as Class 50s head to East Anglia…

Top-and-tailed English Electric traction from Derby to Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth.

Steam Dreams offers daytime Garden of England circular tours

A NEW offering from Steam Dreams for Tuesdays

Further changes to Tornado tour plans

ADDITIONAL work, which has seriously delayed the overhaul

Railtours Portfolio

HALF A CENTURY OF RAIL EXCURSIONS: Pathfinder Railtours

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Restoration of Wingfield station moves forward

New lease of life for Grade II* listed building alongside the Midland Main Line in Derbyshire.

Beverley footbridge refurb project gets underway

A visualisation of how the completed work will

Remodelling of Carstairs Junction completed

A 12-week programme to remodel Carstairs Junction on

Avanti revises ‘sold out’ message

FOLLOWING recent complaints over ‘sold out’ messages on

Historic Goole swing bridge to be refurbished

WORK commenced on June 3 to upgrade some

TfW launches augmented reality maps for stations

TRANSPORT for Wales has released six augmented reality

Ryde Pier set for reopening in time for school holidays

HAVING issued a statement in May that the

Platforms constructed for new Ashley Down station

CONSTRUCTION work for a new station at Ashley

£18m investment for Nottingham to Lincoln corridor proposed

THE Midlands’ Sub-national Transport Body, Midlands Connect (MC),

SIDELINES

Crossings consultation NETWORK Rail has opened a consultation

Rail forms part of ‘green commitment’

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Cemex invests in rail terminal improvements

Upgrades are focused on site capacity, efficiency and health and safety.

Boulby traffic returns to Freightliner

AFTER a two-year period with DB Cargo as

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

‘Interim’ terminus planned for WMM extension

Funding identified so far will not cover completion of the second phase of the Wednesbury to Brierley Hill extension beyond Dudley.

Ribbon cut on £207 million Edinburgh extension

CITY Council leader Cammy Day cut the ribbon

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Class 230s suffer engine overheating caused by pollen

TfW says this is one of ‘several separate technical issues’ to affect fleet since entry into service.

Withdrawal by XC not necessarily the end for HSTs

CrossCountry HST power car No. 43239 and Intercity-liveried

Assets cleared from Vivarail’s former Southam headquarters

A TEAM including former Vivarail engineers who are

Eight-year extension to Siemens Class 185 maintenance contract

£460 million deal will see the manufacturer of the units continue to maintain them until 2031.

WAGON REPORT

Modified BYA steel flat No. 966169 at DB

Stock Update

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Operations

Three loco-hauled service trains pictured at Scarborough on

Operations Portfolio

DONCASTER RAIL CENTRE: Despite closure, then demolition, of

Railbus seeks new home

Pre-‘Pacer’ experimental four-wheel railcar No. RB3 could return across the Irish Sea and be reconverted from broad to standard gauge.

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Mayo-Waterford XPO freight gains key customer

On June 1, No. 071 Great Southern &

Four tracking and electrification forms part of IÉ’s 2050 vision

IARNRÓD Éireann’s held its leadership conference on May

Three-train crash in India: nearly 300 people killed

Your reports and pictures are most welcome.

Stadler wins huge overnight train order

STADLER has been awarded a contract to build

Older diesels to be banned in California by 2035

State announces new rules prohibiting the use of locomotives built before 2007 on revenue-earning traffic.

Photo charters return to Sandstone

Ex-South African Railways Class NGG16 Garratt No. 113

German electric pioneer back on the main line

No. E03 001 seen leaving Köln Hauptbahnhof on

Polish diesel locomotive class bows out

No. SU46-029 at Piotrków Trybunalski while returning from

Rails Around York and The Vale – Images from the Neville Stead Collection

NICK Deacon has assembled an evocative selection of