International & UK Railway News Sunday 23rd March 2014

A quieter weekend than of late...but excitement is mounting as the line at Dawlish is being readied for its first service train on 4th April 2014! Hats off to the Network Rail engineers and contractors for dealing with a difficult situation so well......


So, if you have the chance, use the railway, and any of the over 200 heritage railways up and down the country.....There is bound to be one near to you!!


Read on.....






Headlines


South Downs National Park in public transport plea.(BBC News)


Coventry ring road demolition work begins.(BBC News)


South Devon Railway - WebCams


Winding engine demo - Plan a visit - National Railway Museum



World rolling stock market March 2014 - Railway Gazette


Railway Herald - Railtours

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Please observe Network Rail photographic guidelines.Thank you.

Monday 24th March 2014

Edinburgh Spring Breakaway (West Coast Railway Company)

• WCRC Class 47 & 57 Edinburgh - Berwick-upon-Tweed - Newcastle - York (sd) - Doncaster (sd) - Retford (sd) - Newark Northgate (sd) - Grantham (sd) - Peterborough (sd)

Friday 28th March 2014

The Eastern Fenman (Compass Tours)

• WCRC Class 47 (Pair) Penrith (pu) - Carlisle (pu) - Brampton (pu) - Haltwhistle (pu) - Hexham (pu) - Metro Centre Gateshead (pu) - Chester-le-Street (pu) - Durham (pu) - Darlington (pu) - Northallerton (pu) - Thirsk (pu) - York (pu) - Doncaster - Sleaford - Spalding - Peterborough - March - Ely
• WCRC Class 47 (Pair) Ely (pu) - Peterborough - Grantham - Doncaster - York (sd) - Thirsk (sd) - Northallerton (sd) - Darlington (sd) - Durham (sd) - Chester-le-Street (sd) - Metro Centre Gateshead (sd) - Hexham (sd) - Haltwhistle (sd) - Brampton (sd) - Carlisle (sd) - Penrith

Saturday 29th March 2014

Great Western Tracker 3 (in Conjunction With Locomotive & Carriage Institution) (Branch Line Society)

• tbc Exeter St. Davids (pu) - Dawlish Warren (reversible via Up Main to Teignmouth) Newton Abbot - Laira Depot - Plymouth Friary - Lipson Junction - Plymouth North Road - Lostwithiel (DGL) - Par (DGL) - St. Austell (Up Siding) - Truro - St. Erth - Long Rock Depot - Penzance Motorail Dock - Penzance (break/rev) - St.Erth - Truro Yard - Par - St. Blazey Signal Box - Par Avoiding Line - Lostwithiel (UGL) - Bodmin Parkway - Bodmin & Wenford Railway Exchange Siding - Plymouth Dock No. 4 - Plymouth - Newton Abbot - Exeter St. Davids

Postponed

Additional Tour Information

20/3: Ockendon Loop not vailable, will now run directly from Grays to Barking.

Added 11:59 on Friday 21st March 2014

The Gateway Freighter (Pathfinder Tours)

• DBS Class 66 x 2 tnt Crewe (pu) - Stafford (pu) - Tame Bridge Parkway (pu) - Birmingham International (pu) - Coventry (pu) - Rugby (pu) - Northampton (pu) - Milton Keynes Central (pu) - Watford Junction (pu) - Kensal rise - Gospel Oak - Barking - Purfleet - Thameshaven Junction - London Gateway Complex (rev) - Thameshaven Junction - Grays - Barking - Stratford - Bow Goods (rev) - Temple Mills - South Tottenham - Gospel Oak - Wembley Yard - Watford Junction - Bletchley - Fenny stratford (rev) - Bletchley Flyover - Swansbourne Sidings (rev) - Bletchley Flyover - Milton Keynes Central (sd) - Northampton (sd) - Rugby - New Bilton Branch (rev) - Rugby (rev) - Coventry (sd) - Birmingham International (sd) - Tame Bridge Parkway (sd) - Stafford (sd) - Crewe

The Hadrian (Railway Touring Company)

• WCRC Class 47 & 57 Leicester (pu) - Loughborough (pu) - East Midlands Parkway (pu) - Alfreton (pu) - Chesterfield (pu) - Sheffield (pu) - Leeds - Skipton - Hellifield
• 60009 Hellifield - Settle - Appleby - Carlisle (break) - Hexham - Low Fell - Durham - York
• WCRC Class 47 & 57 York - Sheffield (sd) - Chesterfield (sd) - Alfreton (sd) - East Midlands Parkway (sd) - Loughborough (sd) - Leicester (sd) -

The Wansbeck (Railway Touring Company)

• 61994 and 62005 Newcastle (pu) - Morpeth - Blyth & Tyne Line - Bedlington Jn (rev) - Ashington (rev) - Marchey's House Jn (rev) - Cambois - North Blyth (rev) - Blyth & Tyne Line - Newcastle - Tyne Yard - Durham - Stockton - Middlesborough (pu) - Redcar - Boulby Mine - Saltburn - Middlesborough (sd) - Darlington - Durham - Newcastle (sd)

Settle & Carlisle Statesman (Statesman Rail)

• WCRC Class 47 & 57 Newport (pu) - Chepstow (pu) - Lydney (pu) - Gloucester (pu) - Cheltenham Spa (pu) - Ashchurch (pu) - Barnt Green (pu) - Birmingham New Street (pu) - Walsall (pu) - Cannock (pu) - Rugeley Trent Valley (pu) - Crewe - Blackburn - Hellifield - S&C - Appleby - Carlisle
• WCRC Class 47 & 57 Carlisle (pu) - Penrith - Shap - Preston - Crewe - Rugeley Trent Valley (sd) - Cannock (sd) - Walsall (sd) - Birmingham New Street (sd) - Barnt Green (sd) - Ashchurch (sd) - Cheltenham Spa (sd) - Gloucester (sd) - Lydney (sd) - Chepstow (sd) - Newport

The Cathedrals Express (Steam Dreams)

• 60007 London Kings Cross (pu) - Potters Bar (pu) - Stevenage (pu) - Peterborough (pu) - York (break/rev) & return

The Canterbury Explorer (Vintage Trains)

• 47773 Solihull (pu) - Warwick Parkway (pu) - Leamington Spa (pu) - Banbury (pu) - Princes Risborough - High Wycombe - West Ruislip - Greenford - Hanwell
• 34046 Hanwell - Kensington Olympia (pu) - Clapham Junction - Ashford - Canterbury West
• 34046 Canterbury West - Dover - Folkestone - Ashford - Kensington Olympia (sd) - Hanwell
• 47773 Hanwell - Greenford - West Ruislip - High Wycombe - Princes Risborough - Banbury (sd) - Leamington Spa (sd) - Warwick Parkway (sd) - Solihull

Steam Tube- The Home of Steam on the Net!









Mainline steam from the last few days courtesy Michael Hay, L Marsh, Christopher Lawton, Dave Wadley, Stephen G Thompson....  Thank you!





The final report on the work to reconfigure Harbour Station on the F&WHR. This episode includes the first service trains on both lines. (Courtesy: Festshopman on YouTube)

Early 2014 in Lancashire

76084 travelled up from North Norfolk in late December having been the motive power for the NNR’s Santa Specials. On New Year’s Eve 5 shareholders attended the East Lancashire Railway Steam Depot to clean her down ready for traffic on the first weekend of January.

Mechanical issues meant that she was not ready for Saturday 5 January but went out into traffic on the Sunday. 76084 subsequently settled into traffic on the ELR having one weekend off in January for boiler washout and some minor engineering work. It was novel at first for us north west shareholders to have her so close by but my good lady hardly saw me at weekends in Jan and Feb 2014!!

76084 ran well throughout her stay in the north west and many of the ELR staff so familiar with 76079 in the past took to her. 76084 Loco Co Ltd didn’t have to sell her hire to the ELR as they knew what they would be getting. Those that had worked on ’79 often stated that ’84 had a lot to live up to. And she did as the photos and videos on YouTube confirm.

The last weekend at the ELR was quite fitting being their Steam Gala with plenty of interesting operations. What really made it for me was my 4.5 year old grandson saying to me on the Friday just before the last photo shoot as we walked by to the car having had a shed visit –“That was great, Grandad!!”.