The not-so-permanent way

Unbelievably, this is not an abandoned railway but

Crumbling Thames bridge severs busy main line for two months

Route south of Oxford closed until June after major river crossing fails.

Partial reprieve for GWR HST sets

GREAT Western Railway has confirmed it will retain

Severn Valley faces existential crisis

Enthusiasts remain important, but new boss says the heritage line must diversify to survive as a £1.5 million emergency appeal is launched.

Transport & Works application system to be modernised

THE process for authorising the construction or operation

SIDELINES

It looks like the end for Thornbury Castle

SIDELINES

Marston Vale ‘150s’ CLASS 150s will return to

Steam loco back in Dublin after gap of 60 years

Ex-GNR(I) 4-4-0 steam loco hauls RPSI tour south from Dundalk.

WCR steam drivers retire

From left, Ray Poole, Les Ross, Micky Valla

Air tax cut makes rail travel a less attractive alternative

The Government has surprisingly announced a cut in air passenger duty for domestic flights.

Prospects increase for more electric haulage of rail freight

A 20-year programme of incremental in-fill wiring could

10 MINUTES 10 QUESTIONS

This month Steven Knight puts his former boss Chris Green into the hot seat. 

Picking up the threads

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

TBM Dorothy makes a second breakthrough

Long Itchington Wood Tunnel in Warwickshire becomes the first completed twin-bore tunnel on HS2 as tunnel boring machine finishes its work.

Logistics tunnel started

TBM Lydia incorporates parts from a former Crossrail

Burton Green Tunnel’s southern portal completed

The southern ‘porous portal’ of Burton Green Tunnel.

RSG makes East Coast return

THE heady days of a ‘Deltic+8’ returned to

Join The RM team on the ‘Tees-Tyne Commemorative’

Celebrate the titled train’s 75th anniversary with over 500 miles of ‘Deltic’ haulage.

Railways in Parliament

Younger train drivers WARRINGTON North MP Charlotte Nichols

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Silver ‘Tug’ No. 60066 shunts stone wagons at

Readers’ Platform

Send your letters to: The Railway Magazine, Media Centre,

Meetings

ARE YOU STAGING AN EVENT YOU THINK SHOULD BE

FROM THE RAILWAY MAGAZINE ARCHIVES

100 YEARS AGO MAY 1923 Irish armoured rail

The RCTS: then and now

Britain’s leading Railway Society

Panorama

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SOUTH AMERICAN RAILWAYS IN THE 1960s

Books, videos and other items for possible review should be sent to: The Railway Magazine, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR

Prize crossword

£100 worth of Nostalgia Collection books to be won

GETTING READY FOR THE METRO-MORPHOSIS

The first of the Tyne & Wear Metro’s new Class 555 units are undergoing testing on the system prior to expected entry into service later this year. Graeme Pickering takes a tour of one of the new trains and looks at the difference the new f leet will make.

50 YEARS OF THE NYMR

To celebrate the North Yorkshire Moors Railway reaching a half century of public operation, Nick Carter recalls the historic first few weeks in an extract from a fascinating new book by John Hunt about the line and its people.

Kind hearts and coronations

Well-wishers are expected to f lock to the capital by rail for the Coronation of King Charles III on May 6, but we won’t see the plethora of special trains that ran on previous such occasions. Peter Adds offers a snapshot of the past.

CROWNING GLORY

World Record Officially the world’s longest-running railway series, established in 1901

BRIDGING THE PAST AND PRESENT

Gareth Evans looks at how the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway overcame challenges in its formative years – and how it is now facing having to tackle the renovation of a crucial piece of infrastructure to help secure the line’s future.

THEN & NOW: RYDE PIER

Following our article in the January issue, about the ongoing refurbishment of Ryde Pier, Peter Simmonds CEng MICE sent in some fabulous photos of similar work done there in 1963/64 – so Phil Marsh returned to create these comparison views.

The Railway Magazine news digest

As part of its visit to the Nene

SIDELINES

Fenchurch to cross the Solent for steam gala

Positive gala figures

Severn Valley and North Norfolk report upbeat performance from their respective spring steam gala events.

Abergwili formally opened

GOOD Friday, April 7, was a key date

British rail for Llangollen

BRAND new rail manufactured in England is helping

Date set for Corwen opening

THE Llangollen Railway is to formally open its

DIARY

May 6 Isle of Wight Steam Railway: Coronation

SIDELINES

Didcot launches beer THE Great Western Society has

£2 million grant boost

English heritage railways benefit from Government cultural funding.

Photography showcased in Swindon museum exhibition

STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway

Summer return hopes for Bury ‘4MT’

BR ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No. 80097 is expected to

BR Standards help power Swanage steam gala

BR ‘7MT’ No. 70000 Britannia helped to draw

Carriage doors now under the safety spotlight

THE Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) – the

CEO steps down

WATERCRESS Line chief executive officer Amanda Squires stood

Bulleid to headline gala

257 Squadron to be among plethora of attractions at Kent & East Sussex Railway Steam Up gala weekend.

Beamish museum steam locomotive projects take shape

TWO standard gauge steam locomotive projects for Beamish,

A positive move

HERITAGE WAGONS TRACK RECORD

SINGLE LINES

■ HUNSLET ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST Wimblebury (3163/1944) is to

Chappel loco round-up

East Anglian Railway Museum maintains steam presence at Chappel and Wakes Colne.

Ribble steam gala action

Grant Ritchie No. 272 and Linda pass Lockside

SIDELINES

■ FOLLOWING the arrival on loan of Alishan

Change of strategy for L&BR revival?

Lynton & Barnstaple Railway buys Old Station House Inn at Blackmoor.

Renewed effort to restore original Talyllyn loco No. 5

TALYLLYN Railway’s (TR) Heritage Group has announced an

Novel Talyllyn loco views

DIFFERENT DIRECTION: Talyllyn Railway’s ex-Corris Hughes 0-4-2ST No.

New season opens at Statfold

The weather was pretty dire on March 18,

Doctor Syn returns to Romney Marsh service

ROMNEY, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway’s (RH&DR) YEC 4-6-2

Gertrude back in steam

ANDREW Barclay 0-6-0T Gertrude (AB1578/1918) moved under its

Sale of Rhiw Valley Railway equipment

FOLLOWING closure of the private Rhiw Valley Railway

‘New’ Hayling loco to be rebuilt in ‘traditional’ steam-outline form

HAYLING Light Railway’s (HLR) Alan Keef Ltd AK11/1984,

Restoration of historic IoM van completed

RESTORATION of 1872-built Isle of Man Railway goods

SINGLE LINES

■ ON March 7 Isle of Man Steam

Historic diesel takes shape

RESTORATION of Kerr, Stuart 4wDM 4415/1928, Britain’s oldest

Heritage heavyweights behind DHR B-class bid

Group bidding for the late Adrian Shooter’s Darjeeling loco and carriages includes well-known railway preservationists.

Welsh Highland Centenary event programme published

THE programme for the June 23-25 Welsh Highland

Galas this month

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Barton House Railway reaches its diamond anniversary

Private 7¼in gauge Norfolk line asks open day visitors to arrive by boat!

First resident steam loco at the SDMR for 10 years

South Devon Miniature Railway No. 10, a modified

Steam Portfolio

TIMELESS TAKE: On March 31, Waterman Railway Heritage

Positive talks about No. 53

BRIGHTON Tram 53 Society says it has had

Milestone anniversaries for Southampton trams

The centenary of No. 11 and the 120th birthday of No. 38 will be marked during this year’s Tram Event at Solent Sky.

Metro team helps with Beamish maintenance

INFRASTRUCTURE maintenance staff who work on the Tyne

SIDELINES

WSR ‘Teddy Bear’ turns to be Type 3

Diesel railbus appeal exceeds KESR’s target

Double delight as donations for restoration of south coast railway’s GWR AEC railbus reach almost triple the original goal, as No. W20 returns to Tenterden.

Swanage May diesel gala latest loco line-up

‘TEDDY BEAR’ HELPS WITH TRACK WORK: The Wensleydale

Haulage variety at Spa Valley Railway gala

A novel feature at the Spa Valley Railway’s

APT-E reconfigured as a three-car set at Locomotion

THE gas-turbine-powered Experimental Advanced Passenger Train (APT-E) was

Plym Valley comings and goings

THE Plym Valley Railway (PVR) has purchased a

Severn Valley adds two more locos to its May gala

THE Severn Valley Railway has continued to add

WSR diesel gala news

THE West Somerset Railway has announced the first

DIARY

May 6 Severn Valley Railway D1062’s 60th birthday

Future assured for only Wisbech & Upwell loco

Historic Class 04 No. 11103 has joined the collection of Drewry-design locomotives at Mangapps Railway in Essex.

Several ‘firsts’ feature at Llanelli enthusiast event

THE first day of the Llanelli & Mynydd

Tarka Valley ‘Pacer’ honours the railway’s founder

The Tarka Valley Railway ‘Pacer’ naming ceremony was

Unique eight-coupled Sentinel heads for restoration

ONE-TIME Longmoor Military Railway 0-8-0DH Sentinel 10143 of

Middleton Railway 90th anniversary diesel gala, second attempt

BACK IN ACTION: The West Somerset Railways three-car

Epping Ongar autumn diesel gala extended to three days

THE Epping Ongar Railway (EOR) has revealed plans

Classic Traction Portfolio

‘PEAK’ PERFECTION: Class 45 No. 45149 looks stunning

BLS reveals ‘Jurassic Crompton’ to Swanage gala details

THE Branch Line Society (BLS) has released details

All set for ‘Mazey Day’

Pathfinder special will take Class 69s to Cornwall for the first time.

Retro Railtours hiatus over

AFTER a gap of a year since its

GBRf Class 73s head for Exeter

A NEW excursion from UK Railtours will see

SIDELINES

Footbridge restored A FOUR-month project to restore the

Brigg Line set to switch to weekday-only service

One round trip to operate Monday to Friday.

Accessibility upgrades for more stations in England and Wales

NETWORK Rail, in conjunction with local train operators

Stalybridge prepares for the arrival of electric trains

The view at Stalybridge towards Manchester, showing changes

5000-tonne underbridge installed at Ravenscraig

OVER a 10-day period in April, a new

Cameron Bridge station starts to take shape

The platform walls installed at Cameron Bridge. NETWORK

Plans laid out for Lakes Line improvements

CUMBRIA County Council has submitted what it describes

Devizes station case not strong

DETAILED results of a feasibility study for the

Final phase of repairs for Barmouth Viaduct

THE LAST phase of repairs to Barmouth Viaduct

Canopy restoration at Worcester Shrub Hill

THE RESTORATION of the platform canopies at Worcester

Former power station sidings plans

TILLICOULTRY Quarries has submitted plans to Fife Council

New VTG UK headquarters

GERMAN wagon fleet owner VTG has moved its

Five-train Cumbrian gravel campaign

Colas Railfreight moves thousands of tonnes of aggregate

Freight fuel evaluation for ‘Tug’ at Toton

DB Cargo No. 60059 is pictured at Toton

SIDELINES

£60m towards WMM extension ADDITIONAL Government funding of

First South Wales Metro tram-train delivered

The Class 398s are due to take over Core Valley Line services in 2024, following a £1 billion infrastructure upgrade.

‘Greener’ maintenance facility for London Trams

PLANNING is underway for improvements to the London

Newhaven extension testing underway

An image captured by drone of Edinburgh CAF

SIDELINES

Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly

Long-awaited debut for Welsh Class 230s

Four years after originally anticipated, TfW’s diesel-battery units finally enter service on the Borderlands Line between Wrexham and Bidston.

December start date for SWR ‘Arterios’

SOUTH Western Railway’s Class 701 ‘Arterio’ electric multiple

ETCS Level 2 authorisation for Class 717s

BACK ON THE THIRD RAIL: More commonly seen

Chiltern assesses alternative diesel rolling stock options

LUTON LOGO: East Midlands Railway’s 21 Class 360

Additional Elizabeth Line trains are required for HS2 connections, says TfL

TRANSPORT for London has called on Ministers to

WAGON REPORT

FEW railfreight traffics endure in the modern era,

Operations

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

Operations Portfolio

MILL ON THE AIRE: Dominated by the impressive

Public trains could return to Antrim to Lisburn line

THE mothballed Antrim-Lisburn line is to be reassessed

Work on Foynes line reconstruction gets underway

IARNRÓD Éireann contractor Sisk began work on rebuilding

Mock-up design for new DART units is unveiled

A mock-up of the new DART+ fleet was

Concern of disruption to be caused by Metro North

IN A submission on MetroLink, Iarnród Éireann (IÉ)

SIDELINES

Panama metro grows THE President of Panama, Laurentino

End in sight for 1980s locos

1980s-built Belgian electric locomotives to be withdrawn following stateowned operator’s decision not to equip them with new signalling system.

New Zealand Railways Ww class returns to main line

ON March 25, Glenbrook Vintage Railway’s Ww 4-6-4T

Old and new in Bangkok

The reduction in trains using the old Hua

Kansas City Southern is set to disappear in merger deal

KCS had one of the most colourful liveries