Branch Line Society

  • Branch Line Society and Vintage Trains team up for West Midlands ‘Balti bash’

    Branch Line Society and Vintage Trains team up for West Midlands ‘Balti bash’

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    VINTAGE Trains and the Branch Line Society are offering an opportunity to enjoy the tasty combination of rare track, Class 20s and a curry – all on the same train! Starting from Solihull, the September 22 tour will run to Shrewsbury via Warwick, Sutton Park and the Ironbridge branch.  After a break in Shrewsbury, the…

  • Three Type 3s – to the sea!

    Three Type 3s – to the sea!

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    THREE Class 37s at the head of a heavy freight train used to be a regular sight in South Wales and around Glasgow in BR days, but such a trio has always been a rare event on passenger trains.  On August 11, the Branch Line Society completed its two-day ‘Type 3 to the Sea’ trip…

  • Long-term rail plan for Sheffield region unveiled

    Long-term rail plan for Sheffield region unveiled

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    SHEFFIELD City Region has revealed its long-term plan to increase rail travel over the coming years.  The Rail Plan is designed to take advantage of the planned north and south connections to HS2 Phase 2b and the proposed Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) scheme.  It envisages a new station at Goldthorpe, linking Barnsley and the Dearne…

  • Yorkshire BLS tour raises £15k for charity

    Yorkshire BLS tour raises £15k for charity

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    THE Branch Line Society and West Coast Railways operated the ‘Luca Pezzulo Express’ on July 20, visiting rare freight lines around Yorkshire.  Highlights included a rare trip over the remnants of the Woodhead Route, running beyond the Network Rail boundary into Liberty Steel’s Stocksbridge Steelworks, near Sheffield, and the former Tinsley Yard.  The train also…

  • BLS tour brings Class 31 back to the main line

    BLS tour brings Class 31 back to the main line

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    JUNE 9 saw a Class 31 return to main line action after a gap of several months.  Nemesis Rail’s No. 31128 Charybdis, currently the only Brush Type 2 authorised for use on Network Rail metals, powered the Branch Line Society’s ‘Sunday Yicker’ tour in top-and-tail formation with West Coast Railways’ No. 37668 and just four WCRC Mk1…

  • BLS charity tour to explore Yorkshire freight lines with Colas and WCRC ’37s’

    BLS charity tour to explore Yorkshire freight lines with Colas and WCRC ’37s’

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    No fewer than four rarely visited freight installations in Yorkshire will be explored by the Branch Line Society on July 20.

  • Major improvements at Dawlish to reduce sea wall disruption

    Major improvements at Dawlish to reduce sea wall disruption

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    Network Rail has spent months compiling a detailed report on the options for the future of the famous sea wall railway at Dawlish.

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