World
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New lease of life for former TEE coaches in Cuba
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FRENCH and Cuban railways agreed in mid-2018 to co-operate in renovating workshops at Luyanó and Camagüey in Cuba, and to refurbish the former French Railways (SNCF) Trans-Europ-Express (TEE) ‘Inox-TEE’ stainless steel carriages, which SNCF sold to Cuba in the late-1990s. The TEE vehicles were built in the 1960s and once operated the most prestigious international…
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Steam heat returns (briefly) to main line in Spain
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STEAM-heated mainline trains are now almost extinct across Europe but for a few days in late-January a charter train in Spain re-created the old atmosphere. UK rail holiday operator PTG Tours celebrated the 20th anniversary of its first rail tour by running the train in Spain. It was operated by open access operator ALSA Rail,…
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Mystery boiler dug up in Omagh could be from GNR(I) loco
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By Hugh Dougherty A STEAM locomotive boiler dug up by contractors working at the site of the former locomotive shed at Omagh, County Tyrone, on February 8, might have come from a Great Northern Railway of Ireland locomotive. However, a mystery now surrounds the find, for Omagh shed – which closed 54 years ago on…
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No. 134 overhaul gathering pace at Inchicore works
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THE overhaul of the RPSI’s GM single cab Class 121 No. 134 by Iarnród Éireann-Irish Rail is making rapid progress at Inchicore, as the old body platework is stripped back in readiness for replacement. The RPSI’s project manager Gerry Mooney describes the overhaul as “the biggest diesel restoration ever undertaken in Ireland”, and it is clear…
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County Donegal tank is back ahead of Foyle VR revival
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The return follows a £45,000 cosmetic overhaul by Heritage Engineering Ireland.
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Brexit Busting Dash to Rescue Heritage Railway Carriage
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“Because of the uncertainty over what border controls might be implemented we didn’t particularly like the idea of smuggling a railway carriage across the border.”
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Lazarus Lines: Maam Cross – Ireland’s ‘quiet’ railway revival
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Gary Boyd-Hope talks to Jim Deegan, the man behind the Connemara Railway Project, to find out more about his ambitious plans to return 5ft 3in-gauge steam to the wilds of County Galway by 2020. THE sight of a Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR)-designed ‘K’ class 2-4-0 hauling a rake of restored MGWR six-wheelers through the…
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A Phoenix from the Ashes
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If ever a place deserved to rise from the ashes, then it is Sierra Leone’s National Railway Museum (SLNRM). Nicola Fox tells the fascinating history of a museum, whose locomotives were less than a week from being scrapped, plus its on-going British connections. On the western coast of Africa lies a small country with a…
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Could Class 185s be heading for Ireland?
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The sight of Class 185 DMUs working in the Irish Republic has become a strong possibility.
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New owners’ expansion plan for Alaska’s White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad
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ALASKAN three-foot gauge operator White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad (WP&YR) is planning to expand its tourist train services during 2019 and is even considering reopening the closed section of its historic route. The development follows its sale for $290million in mid-2018 to a consortium that includes Carnival Cruise Lines. Three of the iconic GE…
