Time for innovation in the rail tour market?

THE tremendous success of the 'Staycation Express'

End of the franchising era - tough times ahead for TOCs

SO, AFTER 24 years, franchising has finally ended.

'Phenomenal success': RCS boss gives thumbs-up to S&C charter trains

EIGHT weeks of main line charter trains running six

Carmant wreckage clearance work continues after August HST tragedy

WORK to clear the wreckage of the derailed HST at Carmont

NR COMMITS TO IMPROVED FORECASTING AND EARTHWORKS MONITORING TECHNOLOGY

IMPROVED forecasting and more widespread use of technology

FRANCHISING IS OFFICIALLY OVER!

TRANSPORT Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed on September

MML electrification back on the table?

CONFIRMATION electrification of the Midland Main Line

Green light for ECML power upgrade

OVERHEAD line power supplies will finally be upgraded

More local influence for East Midlands rail services

REGIONAL leaders in the East Midlands will have a more

Weardale Railway £2.1 m grant approved

DURHAM County Council's Cabinet has approved a £2.

Oil train derailment and fire in Wales leads to environmental concerns

THE derailment and subsequent fire, along with an extensive

DfT to get tough on graffiti

A NEW campaign to tackle the blight of graffiti on

Leven mouth clearance work underway

VEGETATION clearance work and site surveys are underway

Redundancies looming at Ffestiniog

THE severe impact of Covid-19 on the Ffestiniog &

No Eurostar services for Ashford and Ebbsfleet until 2022

EUROSTAR has withdrawn station calls at both Ebbsfleet

Northumberland coal mine refusal a "hammer blow': says HRA

THE Heritage Railway Association (HRA) has described

French 'Britannia' tested on Great Central for latest Mission: Impossible film

THE internet was alive with speculation during August

Nexus considers reopening bids

TYNE & Wear Metro operator Nexus has told

Real Time Trains enhancements

AN ENHANCEMENT to information provided by Real Time

Conwy Valley line reopens after flood damage

THE Conwy Valley Line, between Blaenau Ffestiniog to

SIDELINES

MOVES to create a hydrogenpowered train for Scotland

Network Rail: Nationwide electrification essential to meet 'net zero' carbon targets

NETWORK Rail published its interim Traction Decarbonisation

Dettol to supply Tfl with hand sanitiser units on Tube network

IN A bid to boost confidence on the London Underground

Tarmac extends Freightliner and GB Railfreight contracts

AGGREGATE and cement company Tarmac has renewed its

Archaeology grant will bring steam back to Cynheidre

THE Association for Industrial Archaeology (AIA) has

NR acquires Temple Meads

NETWORK Rail has acquired the iconic Grade I-listed

Grand Central abandons plans for Blackpool service

OPEN access operator Grand Central (GC) has abandoned

More backing for Borders extension

AN EXTENSION ofthe Borders Railway south from Tweed

South Tynedale remains 'a going concern' despite collapse of trading company

THE South Tynedale Railway has become an all-volunteer

SIDELINES

SOLIHULL Metropolitan Borough Council has given its

Scottish Government selects Mossend to launch Green investment programme

SCOTLAND'S Green Investment Portfolio was launched

Northern to provide three daily services to Rose Hill Marple

NORTHERN has carried out a U-turn on services to Rose

Plans for new Moseley station approved

PLANS for a new station at Moseley on the Camp Hill

ORR issues new guidance for disabled passengers

NEW safeguarding measures to improve help provided

SIDELINES

THE relaunched Rail Riders organisation has formed

BRITAIN’S SHORTEST BRANCH LINE

The line between Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town may be Britain's and Europe's shortest at less than a mile long, but its history is both interesting and captivating, as Nicola Fox discovers.

DEVELOPING DAY-TO-DAY

This Derbyshire-based line runs from the Midland Main Line at Duffield, through a number of small villages, up to Wirksworth, and has become a firm favourite of enthusiasts and tourists in recent years. Oliver Edwards finds out more.

SUPERFAST

With all Great Western inter-city journeys formed of Class 80x IET trains, John Heaton FCIL T undertakes some critical analysis now the line linking the English and Welsh capitals is fully electrified.

Driving through the changes on the ECML

Newcastle-based driver Mick Ingledew has seen a lot in a railway career spanning more than four decades, all of which has been centred around the East Coast Main Line. Mick talks to Fraser Pithie and opens a window on some fascinating and diverse reflections driving on Britain's premier railway route.

THE NEXT STEPS

Back in February 2019, The RM reported on an ambitious project by the lvatt Diesel Recreation Society to re-create Britain's first main line diesel, LMS No. 10000. In those intervening 18 months, there has been considerable progress, as Chris Milner discovers.

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FROM THE RAILWAY MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

IN ADDING to the 'Lord Faringdon' class of 4-6-0 locomotives

The RCTS: then and now

Britain's leading Railway Society

Panorama

Panorama is brought to you in association with porterbrook

Prize crossword

£100 worth of Nostalgia Collection books to be won

Llangollen's new station taking shape at Corwen Central

Call: 01507 529589 email: gboyd-hope@mortons.co.uk

Tornado back in Brunswick for Al Trust's 30th anniversary

THE A 1 Steam Locomotive Trust (A 1 SLT) has marked

'King' bows out of service at Didcot as boiler ticket expires

THE all-too-briefreign of the Great Western Society's

Patterns produced for Churchward 'County' cylinders

THE first phase in the manufacture of the cylinders

Final push begins on Hawksworth 'County' at Didcot- extra £175,000 needed

ALL that is standing in the way of the Great Western

Bahamas making a rare move south for Mid-Hants 'Pines Express' gala

STANIER'Jubilee'No. 45699 Bahamas will make its first

West Somerset embroiled in ''hostile takeover" attempt, say chairmen,

THE chairmen of the West Somerset Railway's three supporting/operating

S&D Trust seeks new home after Washford finally closes its doors

VISITORS were able to take a last look at the Somerset

No lottery support for Great Central despite almost £3million in emergency grants

A BID by the Great Central Railway (GCR) for £250,000

'B17' project leaving Llangollen to join 'Clan' in Sheffield

THE project to build all-new Gresley'Bl 7' 4-6-0 No.

Hengist frames on the move for milling

THE frames of new-build BR'Clan'Pacific No. 72010 Hengistwere

Aln Valley reopening deferred to 2021 after ORR finds multiple 'shortcomings'

NORTHUMBERLAND'S Aln Valley Railway (AVR) will not

SIDELINES

A VISIT bl the National Railway Museums 'A3' No. 60103

'Patriot' group launch appeal to finish motion of new-build No. 5551

THE LMS-Patriot Project is hopeful its new'5551 Club'

'Piglet's' Lucie joins North Yorks Moors steam ranks

COCKERILL 0-4-0VBT Lucie has steamed for the first

Prairie out, Prairie in at East Somerset Railway

THE hire of Small Prairie No. 4555 by the East Somerset

Bo'ness line runs test trains, but no reopening before December

THE Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway continued

Elsecar Railway Trust hands back lease for colliery line

A QUESTION mark hangs over the future of Barnsley's

Steam Portfolio

SIDELINES

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Industrial steam to the fore as more lines reopen

THE ranks of heritage railways back in business grew

Heritage lottery emergency support for Foxfield Railway

THE Foxfield Railway has secured a grantof£81,500 from

Peckett No. 2000 completes Beamish hire

FORMER British Sugar Corporation Peckett 'B3' 0-6-0ST

Seaton Tramway celebrates half century of operation

Call: 01507 529589

Crich to complete restoration of Blackpool Brush No. 298

FORMER Blackpool Corporation Brush car No. 298 (635)

Lincolnshire home for Lisbon No. 711

FORMER Lisbon tram No. 711 is being given a new lease

Folkestone's Leas Lift has new cafe

A NEW cafe opened in the lower station of Folkestone's

Trafford resignalling to boost rail freight

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Green fuel plant for Teesside

RAIL freight operators look set to benefit from a new

Huge lift for UK railfreight as HS2 construction trains start

AUGUST 25 saw the first of an estimated 15,000 trains

GB Railfreight wins five-year Drax biomass extension

GB RAILFREIGHT (GBRf) will continue to haul imported

Nuclear traffic returns to Sharpness

RADIOACTIVE waste traffic returned to the Sharpness

New DB Cargo UK chief: 'We are seeing green shoots of recovery'

DB CARGO UK's new CEO Andrea Rossi started work on

Irish Rail begin stations upgrade

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Consultation on DART+ West plan

IARNROD Eireann-lrish Rail and the National Transport

T&W boosts driver training after shortfall

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Bath plans 'no risk' for residents

THE Bath Area Trams Association has announced it is

Luton's DART airport link project team applies for operating powers

LUTON'S £225million Direct Air-Rail Transit (DART)

VoR invites bids to view 'Collection X' - and much more

Call: 01507 529589

£250,000 heritage lottery grant support for Ff&WHR

THE Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway

Passenger numbers rising …

THE Welsh pool & Llanfair Light Railway

Fourth Snaefell MR tram livery unveiled for 125th anniversary

ISLE of Man Transport marked the 125th anniversary

Boiler lifted from Isle of Man No. 9 Douglas

THE frames and tanks of Isle of Man Railway Beyer

Early overhaul for Hugh Napier

FFESTINIOG Railway (FR) has started a 10-year overhaul

Lincolnshire Coast line marks 60th anniversary

LINCOLNSHIRE Coast Light Railway (LCLR) marked the

Restored (orris carriage No. 17 returns to Tywyn

THE body ofthe Talyllyn Railway's ex-Carris bogie carriage

Good news … more railways reopening after lockdown

THE Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) restarted passenger

Auction of model loco bequest raises £132,000 for Welshpool

WELSH POOL & Llanfair Light Railway (WLLR)

Vale of Rheidol to complete The Earl overhaul for W&LLR

WELSHPOOL & Llanfair Light Railway's (W&LLR)

No hiding place: Scarborough North Bay vandal caught on CCTV

NORTH Bay Heritage Railway in Scarborough was hit by

SINGLE LINES

RENOWNED railway artist Eric Leslie died on August

SIDELINES

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Spa Valley services resume

THE Spa Valley Railway has restarted train services

German railbus at museum as restoration is completed

RECENTLY overhauled Waggon & Maschinenbau

Dismantling of lvatt Diesel Group's Class 58 continues

THE dismantling process of 10000 donor loco Class 58

Diesel services resume at the Severn Valley Railway with 'pioneering' operation

DIESEL-HAULED operations restarted on the Severn Valley

Unique loco available for preservation

AN UNUSUAL 4wDE loco that is located at a secure private

Class 58 restoration project revived

THE Class 58 Locomotive Group(C58LG)hasbeen reformed

'Western' activities resume on Severn Valley

THE Severn Valley Railway's (SVR) Kidderminster Diesel

New specialist road-haulage service off to a busy start

LONG-TIME industrial locomotive specialist and regular

SIDELINES

Call: 01507 529589 email: railway@mortons.co.uk

Dawlish sea wall final phase works approved by council

TEIGNBRIDGE District Council has approved Network Rail's

E&G repair work initially hindered but line reopens

EFFORTS to repair ScotRail's flagship route after August

Spring blockade for Clacton resignalling modernisation

TRADITIONAL mechanically operated signalling and point

Newark to Lincoln multi-million pound resignalling set for 2022

PREPARATIONS are underway for the resignalling and

Strong support for £34m Thanet Parkway project

THE Isle ofThanet looks set to gain a new parkway station

NR takes full advantage of August Bank Holiday with raft of engineering work

HUNDREDS of engineering projects took place around

Redevelopment underway at Chart Leacon works

DEMOLITION work is underway at the former Ashford Chart

180th celebrations for Temple Meads

BRISTOL Temple Meads celebrated its 180th anniversary

Life of leisure for Leicester Central

LEICESTER'S former Great Central Railway station has

Wigan NW platform extension

PLATFORM 3 at Wigan North Western station is being

Salvation for unique North Midland station

A DERELICT Grade-11*-listed former North Midland Railway

SIDELINES

J MURPHY and Sons has won the contract to build the

Network Rail announces dates for 2021 King's Cross closures

WORK continues apace to remodel the approaches to London

Alloa-Longannet passenger service studies underway

STUDIES to assess the feasibility of reinstating passenger

Restoration for Stephenson viaduct

A 180-YEAR-OLD viaduct designed by railway pioneer

New start for BR Western Region office blocks

ONE of the most recognisable buildings in Swindon is

Siemens wins Valley Lines resignalling deal

TRANSPORT for Wales (TfW) has awarded Siemens a three-year

'Jubilee' and 'Duchess' join Vintage Trains for 2021

Call: 01507 529589 email:gboyd-hope@mortons.co.uk

New date for UK Railtours' East Anglian Clan Line 'foreign' jaunt

UK RAILTOURS'has announced its steam-hauled excursion

Tributes paid to West Coast fireman Mike Middleton

THE main line steam family has come together to pay

InterCity 'Scots' as LSL '90s' head to Glasgow

INTERCITY-LIVERIED Class 90s Nos. 90001 Royal Scot

Double 'Duffs' to Dartmouth

STATESMAN Rail's 'Dartmouth Statesman' tour on August

Railtours Portfolio

Class 40 No. 40145 approaches Garsdale with the 'Staycation

DB orders 400 bi-mode 'Vectrons'

Call: 01507 529589 email: railway@mortons.co.uk

Ceneri Base Tunnel opens

THE 15.4km Ceneri Base Tunnel, between Bellinzona and

Loco-hauled services renaissance in Portugal

PORTUGESE national rail operator Comboios de Portugal

Competing operators work together in Western Australia

FOLLOWING the takeover of the Koolyanobbing iron ore

Harz 'Kamel' diesels in daily use

HARZ Mountain rail operator Harzer Schmalspurbahnen

New 'Line 3' for metros in Mexico and Bulgaria

THE Mexican city of Guadalajara gained a third metro

Amtrak halts its Taiga VI train operations

SINCE July American national operator Amtrak has withdrawn

First trams arrive for new Swedish tramway

THE first of seven five-section, 33-metre-long 'Urbos'

DB 66 helping to move German Panzers for NATO exercises

DB Cargo No. 66153 is seen by chance at Olecko, on

SIDELINES

Call: 01507 529589 Email: cmilner@mortons.co.uk

Twelve Class 91s will be overhauled for LNER

LNER is giving 12 Class 91 s G' exams to keep them

Avanti's 'Pride' train brightens West Coast

AVANTI West Coast's 'Pride'train has taken to the tracks.

Loram on grand tour of UK …

LORAM ran a demonstration train to various parts of

Porterbrook confirms £55m fleet upgrade for GTR 'Electrostars'

TWO fleets of'Electrostar' trains used on Govia Thameslink

SWR unveils 'Arterio' brand name for 'Aventra' fleet

SOUTH Western Railway (SWR) has unveiled the first

LOCO NAMING

GB Rf NAMES LOCO AFTER BATTLE OF BRITAIN:

East Midland's enjoying 'Meridian' purple paten

EAST Midlands Railway has been vinyling more Class

Trains stored in former oil siding

A SHORTAGE of space at Leicester depot has seen vehicles

RHTT trains ready for action

THE annual leaf fall season is underway and rail head

Preview of new West Midland Class 730s

WEST Midlands Railway (WMR) formally unveiled its new

GWR takes delivery of first tri-mode unit at Reading

THE first Class 769/9 tri-mode multiple unit has been

More FGW 'Castle' conversions

THREE more power cars were moved from Laira depot to

Stock Update

Call: 01507 529589

Traction Portfolio

GB Railfreight Class 73 No. 73213 leads 73128 on 4Z60

Operations

Call: 01507 529589 email: railway@mortons.co.uk