Sam Hewitt
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Catch scheduled Polish steam while you still can
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THIS year is likely to be the last featuring a full scheduled steam service in Poland. The services from Wolsztyn to Poznan and Leszno are said to be the last ‘real’ timetabled steam services in the world but government financial cutbacks mean that in 2020 a limited scheduled service is the most likely option. Meanwhile,…
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Government’s £94K grant boosts early rail heritage
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EARLY railways are to take a new centre stage at Tyneside’s Stephenson Railway Museum thanks to a £94,500 Government grant. The windfall from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund will help finance the North Shields museum’s Pioneers from the Dawn of Railways project. The funding will see…
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Historic Springwell incline brakeman’s cabin restored
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THE restoration of the self-acting incline brakeman’s cabin at the top of the Bowes Railway’s Springwell incline, supported by Heritage Lottery funding, has been completed. It was the first incline on the 1826 Bowes system running between Springwell Yard and the bank foot at Wardley. It was a self acting (gravity) incline and depended on…
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Pre-booking advised for March 3 big Wightwick Hall launch at Quainton Road
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VISITORS who want to welcome WR 4-6-0 No. 6989 Wightwick Hall back into traffic after four decades are being urged to book their tickets in advance, as the event is selling out fast. As highlighted last month, the locomotive – the 150th ex-Barry scrapyard engine to be restored to running order – made its first…
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Sir Berkeley to return to original contractor’s livery
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THE Middleton Railway is working with the Vintage Carriages Trust to restore 1890-built Manning Wardle contractor’s 0-6-0ST Sir Berkeley to its original Logan & Hemingway livery. The locomotive, works number No. 1210, which was used in the construction of the Great Central Railway’s London Extension and worked on the building of Nottingham Victoria station, was…
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Joggers save restored Dean Forest footbridge after arson
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AN HISTORIC Severn & Wye Railway iron footbridge was targeted by arsonists only weeks after it had been lifted back into place following a £150,000 restoration project. The 127-year-old Grade II listed St Mary’s Bridge near St Mary’s church, Bathurst Park, Lydney had been off limits for nearly 12 years on safety grounds before volunteers…
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Minehead sells prairie to Dart Valley to cut liabilities
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THE West Somerset Railway has sold GWR Large Prairie No. 4110 to the Dart Valley Railway plc in the latest of a series of robust measures to reduce its liabilities. WSR plc placed the unrestored former Minehead branch locomotive on sale before Christmas. It was bought from the Southall Railway Great Western Preservation Group in…
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North Korean rail network set for major investment?
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IN LATE-November a special inspection train operated by South Korean national operator Korail entered North Korea and carried out infrastructure inspections in co-operation with North Korean Railways on two main north-south routes. The train was run under special dispensation from the United Nations as importing diesel fuel to North Korea is currently prohibited by sanctions.…
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Freight tonnage slumps to lowest point since 1996/97
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BRITISH rail freight operators recorded the lowest total volume of freight lifted since 1996/97 for the period between July and September 2018. Figures compiled by the Office of Rail and Road show that although the amount of freight moved increased by 2% to 4.4billion tonne-kilometres over the same period in 2017, the actual volumes continue…
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Port operator criticises ‘short-sighted’ trans-Pennine route upgrade plans
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PD Ports, which operates Teesport in Middlesbrough, has criticised the lack of provision for freight growth in Network Rail’s £3 billion trans-Pennine route upgrade. It called the decision to upgrade the 76-mile route between Leeds and Manchester without any provision for freight traffic “unwelcome” and “deeply troubling for the economy and businesses in the North…
