New train sets for the Great Western mainline, e320s for Eurostar, cutting edge slab technology, innovative and environmentally sound developments in locomotive building... and a 500kph maglev.!!
Railway technology does not stand still!
But you might want to look at the romance of Indian railways on BBC iPlayer!
Click on the links....
Headlines
UK
GWR's new trains unveiled at ceremony in Japan.(BBC News)
see also...Delivering a better Western railway.(Network Rail)
London to Paris in just two hours: Eurostar unveils new state-of-the-art 200mph train that will slash journey time by 15 minutes.(Mail Online)
UK Heritage
For details on the UK's Heritage lines and museums...
Railway Information Service.
Raildate..
Courtesy Howard Sprenger (Kestrel Railway Books.)
EVENTS
All details are correct to the best of my knowledge, but no responsibility is accepted for
inaccuracies or changes.
14/11/14 Royal Geographical Society: Lecture followed by a light Indian buffet
Rheged Centre, Redhills, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 0DQ
"India's Disappearing Hill Railways: A Photographic Journey" by Catherine Anderson
Starts 1900
RGS-IBG members: £5, non-members: £10
Booking office: 01768868000 open 1000-1700
http://www.wrrc.org.uk/
15/11/14 Welsh Railways Research Circle
John Malkovich Suite, Big Sleep Hotel, Bute Terrace, Cardiff, CF10 2FE
"The Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways - Yesterday and Today" by Adrian Gray
1400-1700
http://www.wrrc.org.uk/
17/11/14 Newbury and District Transport Group
The Community Space, Kennet School, Stoney Lane, Thatcham, RG19 4LL
1915 for a prompt 1930 start
"Railway Allsorts" by Ken Mumford
Non-members welcome
Admission and car parking free, but donations towards expenses welcome
17/11/14 Friends of the Cromford Canal: Talk
"My Farcical Career as Liaison Officer on a Cruise Ship" by Colin Bowyerhttp://www.cromfordcanal.info/
17/11/14 Peak Rail Sheffield Branch
Central Library Theatre (by The Crucible), Tudor Square, Sheffield, S1 1XZ
“Railways Remembered” a film show by Rob Foxon
1900 for a 1930 start
£6.50 on the door or £5.75 in advance
http://peakrail.co.uk/
18/11/14 RCTS Cheltenham Victory Club, Burlington House, Lypiatt Road, Cheltenham GL50 2SY "The Rebirth of the Great Western Main LIne" by Stuart Baker Starts at 1930 Non-members are very welcome - a donation of £3.50 is requested
http://www.rcts.org.uk/
21/11/14 "Picture Postcard Railway Rambles" by Stephen Gay Coal Aston Methodist Church, Eckington Road, Coal Aston, Dronfield, S18 3AW
http://www.coalastonmethodist.
27/11/14 The Army Flying Association The Museum of Army Flying, Middle Wallop Flt Lt Tim Dunlop, Bomber Leader of The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight A presentation on "The Two Lancasters" Starts 1900£10 per person (Air Cadets free)
Register online: marketing(at)flying-museum.
28/11/14 Oxford House Industrial History Society (Risca) Oxford House Adult Education Centre, Grove Road, Risca, NP11 6GN "The Hereford, Ross & Gloucester Line" by Dr Martin Connop-Price 1900 for a 1915 start
http://www.riscamuseum.org.uk
28/11/14 WC&P Railway Group St Andrew’s Church Centre, Old Church Road, Clevedon, BS21 7UF AGM plus subject TBA Visitors are welcome - cost £2 (refunded if you join)http://www.wcprgroup.org.uk/
International
Alstom
Press Release: Alstom’s new cutting-edge slab track technology enters test mode in Russia.
Alstom has launched lifecycle tests for its advanced concrete slab track technology in Russia. The Russian Railways initiated the tests on 15 November in their facilities in Sherbinka near Moscow in the presence of Valentin Gapanovich, Senior Vice-President of the Russian Railways. The project includes the assessment of various slab tracks and their testing in local conditions, with a view to potentially implementing this cutting-edge technology on the very high speed lines in the future.
Alstom in cooperation with Roszheldorproekt design institute, Vossloh, Pandrol/Railtech and LAFARGE Russia has built a 125-metre-long slab track section including 2 transition zones of 25 meters each, using its NBT [1] technology. The main advantages of NBT are its mechanised construction method, as well as its high availability and compatibility with mixed traffic operation, passenger and freight.
During the first testing phase the Russian Railways research centre VNIIZhT will run a loaded train along the section at 80 km/h. The most stable and available slab track solutions will be proposed for the next testing phase on a longer section at high and very high speeds. It is expected that, by 2016, the tracks will be able to carry up to 600 million tonnes.
“The infrastructural solution we offer in Sherbinka can be an important contribution to the future modernisation of the railway network in Russia, not only for high speed and very high speed lines, but also for urban transport. Our NBT technology used in this project has already been proven effective thanks to a 1 km double-track section on the Gisors-Serqueux main line in France, in operation since December 2013,” said Thibault Desteract, Alstom Transport Senior Vice-President for CIS region.
Slab track is a modern solution, which may significantly decrease the lifecycle cost of the tracks, as it reduces maintenance costs by almost half, compared to the standard ballast tracks.
[1] Concrete slab track
Canada
Training trains to run on natural gas (GE Transportation)
Economic, innovative and environmentally sound idea!
China
The CCP’s Strange Attitude Towards The Mexican High-Speed Rail Trap Door .(NTD.TV)
Europe
Great Continental Railway Journeys.(BBC)
Michael Portillo travels on the great train routes of Europe, as he retraces the journeys featured in George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide.
Courtesy: Boundless Productions.
Japan
Japan's levitating maglev train reaches 500km/h (311mph)(BBC News).
Russia
Russian Railways.
Click on the link above..
Today we would like to tell you about a new electric locomotive EP20, which crisscrosses Russian rail roads. In 2011, it was presented at the EXPO-1520 exhibition as a prospective one, but just in a year the first commercial locomotives came to Russian rail roads. EP20 is able to pick up speed till 200 km/h and is intended for use with temperatures up to -50°ะก.
Have a short virtual tour around the locomotive EP20 (we are sure that all of you will cope with the Russian language) http://goo.gl/TtMdpu
Sapsan sets record for world’s longest high-speed train.(Global Rail News)
International Heritage
The Romance of Indian Railways.(BBC)
The programme notes state..
First transmitted in 1975, the 150th anniversary of global rail transportation is marked by a visit to India to survey one of the world’s most impressive railway networks. For rail enthusiasts India’s railway system, which has continued to utilize steam locomotives, represents one of the most spectacular systems the world has to offer.The World About Us team join forces with Michael Satow, who in 1970 took up the post of honorary adviser to the Rail Transport Museum in New Delhi, Asia’s first railway museum.As they set out to explore the Indian subcontinent in search of railway memorabilia, ranging from minute objects to full scale steam locomotives, the spectacular beauty of India’s railway system is revealed in all its glory.
International Heritage
The Romance of Indian Railways.(BBC)
The programme notes state..
First transmitted in 1975, the 150th anniversary of global rail transportation is marked by a visit to India to survey one of the world’s most impressive railway networks. For rail enthusiasts India’s railway system, which has continued to utilize steam locomotives, represents one of the most spectacular systems the world has to offer.The World About Us team join forces with Michael Satow, who in 1970 took up the post of honorary adviser to the Rail Transport Museum in New Delhi, Asia’s first railway museum.As they set out to explore the Indian subcontinent in search of railway memorabilia, ranging from minute objects to full scale steam locomotives, the spectacular beauty of India’s railway system is revealed in all its glory.
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