Diesel
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A Class 117 DMU to join West Somerset fleet
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AN OFFICIAL announcement is awaited from the West Somerset Railway following the arrival of DMBS No. W51354 at Bishops Lydeard on October 30. It has been stored at RSS Wishaw since January 2018, together with DMS No. 51396. Both were previously based on Peak Rail following acquisition from the Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway, prior to that…
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Chinnor & Princes ‘Gronk’ given Network SouthEast treatment
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THE Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway has repainted Class 08 No. 08825 (D3993) in Network SouthEast’s colourful livery. This is reminiscent of No. 08600 Ivor, which was renumbered 97800 when used as the Slade Green depot shunter in the 1980s. No. 08825 is seen at Chinnor on October 15 while awaiting the application of numerals, which were expected…
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Final trains operate at Bursledon Brickworks
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HAMPSHIRE Narrow Gauge Railway Trust (HNGRT) operated public trains for the final time at Bursledon Brickworks museum, near Southampton, on October 27. After being actively involved in preservation for 58 years the organisation is now being wound up and its assets distributed to other narrow gauge lines (RM Nov). Operations featured Simplex 8694/1942 Ashby and…
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The big bird that flew too far: Part 2
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It’s 50 years since the prototype diesel Kestrel first graced the British Rail network, but after four years it was sold to Russia.
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From the archive: The big bird that flew too far
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As the most powerful single-engine diesel locomotive in the world at the time, Kestrel promised a motive power revolution… but it turned out to be ‘too good for its own good’!
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Rare outing for Middleton’s tiny Hunslet
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FORMER brewery 4wD Courage (Hunslet 1786 of 1935) made a rare outing during the Middleton Railway’s Work’s Outing gala on September 14-15. The locomotive was operated on the rarely used Balm Road branch. Here, it leads a demonstration goods train over Moor Road level crossing on the first day of the event. A wide variety…
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Former Bodmin DMU enters service on Weardale Railway
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CLASS 108 DMU Nos. M52054 and M50980 ran its first revenue-earning service on the Weardale Railway during the October 4-6 railcar weekend. The vehicles have received much attention since arrival from the Bodmin & Wenford Railway in March 2018. The railway hosted the Railcar Association’s 24th annual convention at Stanhope station during the event. The Class 108 is seen…
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Western Champion re-engined but woes continue after festival
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MAIN-LINE certificated Class 52 No. D1015 Western Champion is seen at Severn Valley Railway (SVR) Kidderminster, ex-works, on September 15. Owner Diesel Traction Group has installed an overhauled MD655 engine in the B end, which was started successfully, and the loco participated in the SVR’s October 3-6 diesel festival. However, the A-end engine has deteriorated because…
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Construction traffic boom keeps UK railfreight stable
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A FIVE per cent increase in construction traffic took the sector to its highest quarterly volume in the first three months of 2019/20, according to new figures from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). The movement of construction materials, fuelled by high levels of property development in London and the south-east of England, reached…
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‘Forgotten Engines’ at Vale of Rheidol
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THE Vale of Rheidol Railway (VoR) has tended not to hold major gala events, its last being a steam festival in September 2015, centred on two locos that had not steamed for many years.But when they happen, they are special! With all three of its classic 2-6-2Ts now in main line operation, along with Hunslet…
