Return to service is closer for Ffestiniog favourites

What’s in store for ’24?

AS this is the first issue of the

The RAILWAY Magazine

CDA WAGONS SECURED FOR PRESERVATION

DB Cargo no longer dominant

Latest industry figures reveal that Freightliner and GBRf are now the top two rail freight companies.

Photoshoot raises £3000 for charity

Three of the five DRS Class 37s (Nos.

Funding promised to improve connectivity

THE Government announced on December 7 that funding

DB Cargo lists further Class 60, 67 and 90 locomotives for sale

A view ofToton depot on May 26, 2023

Clayton’s Class 18 hybrid loco fleet is ready for use

After an initial trial with GBRf in 2022, this year should see more of the dieselbattery hybrids brought into use.

‘Goyle’ sent for scrap is another Covid ‘victim’

ALOCOMOTIVE which would have had anew lease of

ORR warning over fees

THE Office of Rail and Road has written

BEATTIE IS BACK IN BODMIN:

LSWR 2-4- 0WT No. 30587 returned to its

SIDELINES

David Elliott RIP THE A1 Steam Locomotive Trust’s

SIDELINES

Barrhead electrics ELECTRIC services to Barrhead, south-west of

‘Jacobite’ hangs in the balance

Central door locking issue impacts on the future of two players in the railtour market.

NEW‘BRANCH LINE’ OPENS:

Britain’s newest agricultural railway opened on December 16

Heritage Railway Association awards shortlist revealed

CONTENDERS for the Heritage Railway Association’s annual awards

Infrastructure failures leave passengers stranded

Great Western and East Coast main lines were badly hit by a series of de-wirements in the run up to Christmas.

Another delay in reopening the Northumberland Line expected

COMPLETION of the £236 million scheme to restore

Will 2024 be a year of railway reckoning, wrecking or renaissance?

Career railwayman Phil Marsh describes the main challenges

Liverpool Street now Britain’s busiest

AFTER being Britain’s busiest railway station for all

SIDE LINES

‘Great progress’ with Chiltern tunnel BY late November,

Striding out with spans on major Midlands bridges

All beams are in place at Highfurlong Brook in Northamptonshire, and concrete is poured for the structure of Curzon Viaduct No. 3 in Birmingham.

Railways in Parliament

Value for money BATH MP Wera Hobhouse asked

EWR tracks link up at Calvert

East West Rail track laying between Bicester and Bletchley has been completed with the handover of the final section where it crosses the HS2 route at Calvert, as Phil Marsh reports.

Beardmores Both

For a brief period in the early 1920s, Glasgow-based engineering firm William Beardmore and Company had motorcycles and locomotives on its order books, resulting in this recently rediscovered press photo.

Names reunited

Steve Morris tells the story of how one man set about renaming Class 40s for their final years in service

‘The Surrey’

John Heaton FCILT details the history of a lesser-known through working that took the long way round from the Kent Coast to London via Redhill.

Gus can If anyone can

Gareth Evans talks to Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster, managing director of the Severn Valley Railway, about the line’s challenges... and how they are being overcome.

Years apart… Stockton

Our occasional series looking at past and present scenes takes a trip to historic Stockton-on-Tees.

Readers’ Platform

Send your letters to: The Railway Magazine, Media

HS2 missed opportunities from the start

I IMAGINE that you have been inundated with

British train building woes

THE two articles on page 9 of the

A French loco-hauled bonus

IT was with particular interest that I read‘End

A fitting tribute to Second World War heroes

AS a boy, 11 years old in the

Seasonal railway concerts

AN item caught my eye on page 14

Where is it?

Our pictorial quiz, for fun only

MEETINGS

THURSDAY, JANUARY 4 Lutterworth Railway Society. Lutterworth Bowls

PANORAMA

A showcase for the best in railway photography

From the archive

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

The RCTS: then and now

Britain’s leading Railway Society

SIDELINES

Management change STEVE Backhouse has stepped down as

No more locomotive sales

Severn Valley Railway clarifies asset review approach and confirms there are no plans to steam Gordon.

‘Standard’ loco donation for West Somerset Railway

BR‘4MT’No. 80064 has been gifted to the West

Rolling stock hired for Polar Express diagrams

No. 7820 (running as 1225) is seen on

New ‘Grange’ loco to debut at Battlefield Line gala

GWR No. 5199 is due to perform alongside

‘Q6’ to get a new cylinder – and ‘J72’ cylinders and boiler progress

THE North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group (NELPG) has

SIDELINES

Prairie gathering THREE GWR Prairies will be on

DIARY

JANUARY Jan 3 Bo’ness &Kinneil Railway: Black Bun

Bats to benefit from railway reconstruction

Environmental surveys continue to progress as part of Rother Valley Railway restoration.

PRAIRIE POWER:

GWR ‘45XX’ Small Prairie No. 5526 paid a

‘MANOR’ BACK IN THE VALLEY:

No. 7812 Erlstoke Manor returned ‘home’ to the

Patriot moves to Tyseley

No. 5551 The Unknown Warrior is seen following

Paintwork gets attention

COSMETIC work is underway on new-build LNWR 4-4-0

Duke appears in light steam

THE overhaul of No. 71000 Duke of Gloucester

MNR Polar Express paves way for upgrade

CONFIRMATION that the Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR) is to

Railways receive recognition

Regional tourism organisations praise the work of heritage lines at award ceremonies.

All set for 2024 duties

Middleton Railway prepares for the forthcoming operating season.

MSC 31 is under overhaul

A FORMER Manchester Ship Canal Railway locomotive, which

WELL TANK BACK IN ACTION:

Kerr Stuart 0-4-0WT (3063/1918) ‘Willy’ has returned to

Courageous Christmas effort in Preston

BAGNALL 0-6-0ST Courageous (2680/1942) was rostered to operate

SINGLE LINES

■ WELSHPOOL & Llanfair Light Railway’s permanent way

New platform cements local community support

Sittingbourne Viaduct platform under construction, showing the concrete

MAINTENANCE TRAIN IN ACTION:

TONY PAGE Romney, Hythe &Dymchurch Railway’s (RH&DR) 1949-built

Pier infrastructure upgrade

THE Hythe Pier Heritage Association, with finance from

TALYLLYN TERRAIN:

Talyllyn Railway’s ex-Corris Hughes 0-4-2ST No. 3 Sir

In tribute to Roy Etherington

Roy Etherington, as always dressed in black clothing

ROMNEY’S GUEST:

In this picture held over from last month

Barnstaple box set for Blackmoor station

THE signal box which stood at Barnstaple Town

SINGLE LINES

■ AMBERLEY Museum volunteers have been awarded The

Reprieve for Tramway Terrace

Historic Douglas Bay Horse Tramway structure to be repaired rather than demolished.

RATTY’S POWERFUL COMBINATION:

The Ravenglass &Eskdale Railway’s Krauss 4-6-2 Whillan Beck

Estimated £50,000 needed to complete ‘Kalahari’ restoration

SOME £50,000 still needs to be found to

‘New’ carriage set for Bala Lake

STATFOLD Narrow Gauge Museum Trust has donated its

More 15in gauge Fairbourne rollingstock enhancements

THE Fairbourne Railway Preservation Society has boosted the

Hayling line names latest loco after the late Dave Scales

HAYLING Light Railway’s Alan Keef Ltd 4wDH AK11/1984,

Inaugural overhaul for ‘The Little Engine that can’

Ross is seen with its first train of

Ropley gets small scale steam power

Operational steam loco bought by 10¼in gauge line.

STEAM PORTFOLIO

1 JUBILEE IN THE SNOW: LMS ‘Jubilee’ 4-6-0

Handover is completed of Wirral Transport Museum operation

Big Heritage aims to restart tram services as redevelopment takes place, but some vehicles will be relocated.

‘Terror Tram’ on loan at East Anglia

BLACKPOOL Brush car No. 634 arrived at East

‘Western’ groups make progress

Both the WLA and DEPG are working on bringing their Class 52s back to traffic.

SIDELINES

‘Bone’ starts for the first time at Battlefield

DIARY

January 6-7 Swanage Railway Winter Warmer Mixed Traction

‘SYPHON’ ON TEST:

Newly-arrived Type 3 No. 37703 was given a

New home sought for Fox field Railway ‘Pacer ’ railcar

THE 142055 Group, which formed in 2020, has

‘Chopper’ boosts K&ESR diesel fleet

No. 20087 departs Rolvenden with a test run

‘Peak’ restoration nears completion at Barrow Hill

THE Pioneer Diesel Locomotive Group-owned Class 45 No.

GREAT ‘PROGRESS’ AT RIBBLE:

1968-built industrial Sentinel 0-4-0 Progress heads back to

NER MEETS GCR:

The award-winning 1903 North Eastern Railway Autocar No.

SINGLE LINES

Type 2 progress THE overhaul of Class 26

‘CASTLE’ TO YORK:

Vintage Trains’ annual special from Birmingham to York

‘Edgcumbe’ faces Shap test

VINTAGE Trains GWR‘Castle’ No. 5043 Earl of Mount

‘HOOVERING’ TO MANCHESTER:

Class 50 No. 50049 Defiance passes through Salford

DB Cargo rejects charter market withdrawal speculation

RUMOURS that DB Cargo is planning to entirely

Loco cab simulator delivered

FREIGHTLINER’S Ipswich training academy took delivery of a

A thousand bogies overhauled

DERBY-BASED engineering services provider Yellow Rail has carried

Midlands Connect looks at future freight needs

Transport body aims to build on previous forecasting

Further trials expected

FOLLOWING a successful four-week test of anew system

SIDELINES

New facilities mean Port Glasgow fully accessible NEW

Limited service returns to Ayr

Demolition of part of fire-damaged hotel structure undertaken on safety grounds.

Footbridge over SW Main line demolished

THE failure of the foundations of a footbridge

Regional city mayors explore alternative plans for cancelled HS2 sections

THE mayors of theWest Midlands and Greater Manchester

New station for Barrhead line

NETWORK Rail has confirmed it has appointed Story

Ebbw Vale line upgrade finished for new timetable

AN UPGRADE of the line to EbbwVale was

Upgrades for Billingham

The new footbridge and lifts at Billingham station.

Skegness station to receive £3.3 million transformation

WORK began in early November on the first

Milestones reached in Hope Valley line upgrade to accommodate longer trains

Two rail-mounted cranes prepare to make a tandem

Digital signalling goes live on Moorgate route

THE new era of digital signalling has been

NORTHUMBERLAND LINE BRIDGE

PROGRESS: Installation of a new road bridge to

Cappagh Group agrees purchase of loaned former Fastline ‘Grid’

Sale of Class 56 Group’s No. 56301 will

‘Full and frank’ exchange over new Class 777 reliability

LIVERPOOL City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram has demanded

First Class 730 enters public service

LONDON Northwestern Railway began its introduction of Class

BACK IN

ACTION: After almost a year without passenger services

Re-geared ‘Sheds’ to replace DB Cargo ‘Tugs’ from April

DB CARGO has told The RM it plans

SIDELINES

Goole Rail Village expansion SITE preparation work is

Digital dawn on Northern City Line

TWELVE round trips run by Class 717‘Desiro City’EMUs

‘Much-needed’ seating refurbishment underway

East Midlands Railway embarks upon £3million project to

Wagon Report

VGA ‘Speedlink’ van No. 210438 seen in Bescot

STOKE UPDATE

LOCOMOTIVES Allocations 37025 COTS-RAJV 56103 HQ/DCRS-LR/DCRO 59103 DHLT-DFHG

FAREWELL TO TPE ‘68s’

1 Sunset on the ‘68s’ at Scarborough on

The network’s notable moves

Heaton Chapel station, one stop north of

No public funding for flood damage repairs

Local authority turns down Downpatrick group request for money to help fix storm damage.

MERLIN BOWS OUT:

Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s GNR 4-4-0 No.

TRACK MACHINE ON TRIAL

The new Geismar Track Recording Vehicle No. 701

NEW TIMETABLE GOES LIVE

Following approval by the National Transport Authority,

SIDELINES

Contracts awarded for station projects IARNRÓD Éireann (IÉ)

Derailment to result in closure of Old Patagonia Express line?

Charter train incident may lead to long-distance narrow

Hitachi wins Italian high speed order

ITALIAN national operator Trenitalia has ordered another 30

Diesel use to decline in Slovakia due to electrification

FROM the December timetable change, Czech private operator

First of many battery unit fleets in service

THE first fleet of Battery Electric Multiple Units

Roaring Camp celebrates 50th year as a heritage line

CALIFORNIAN heritage railway the Roaring Camp and Big

Scottish built loco marks 150th birthday in NZ

F Class 0-6-0ST No. F13 ‘Peveril’ seen at

Railways Remembered: North East England

THIS book, the first Railways Remembered title in

From scrap line to main line – The Deltic story 1982 to 2022

THE six surviving ‘Deltics’have now spent roughly twice

London Rail Atlas

THIS is now the sixth edition of this

The Railway Magazine binders and bound volumes

Binders High-quality binders to store your copies of

More push-pull excursion action

Inter-City plans further Scottish Class 47/7 experiences with

SALOP IN THE SNOW:

There’s a wintry look to Shrewsbury as ‘Royal

Hanson & Hall to enter railtour market

INDEPENDENT operator Hanson &Hall has indicated it will

‘DELTIC’ IN ACTION:

Back on the main line is LS Group

Final special to Cwmbargoed

WITH the final days of Welsh mined coal

Testing under way for new Piccadilly line train fleet

Siemens-built sets undergo dynamic trials in Germany, and

Gosforth depot on course for February completion

WORK on the Tyne & Wear Metro’s £70

Eastside temporary terminus approved

THE board of West Midlands Combined Authority has

NET ‘zero tolerance’ to fare evasion

BETWEEN January and November 2023, Nottingham Express Transit