RAILDATE 2024.03.29

Your free weekly guide to what's happening and what's new.

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Raildate is a collaboration between the editor and a number of contributors. Please think about supplying links that you spot. The contact email address is: raildate.co.uk@gmail.com

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There are sections on:

• UK Rail News
• International Rail News
• Other Transport Modes
• The Weekly Poser (and the answer to last week's poser)

UK Rail News

East Midlands

• Man, 90, says heritage rail driving keeps him young
• Historic Bennerley Viaduct to partially close as work begins
• East Midlands Railway announce £60m train refurbishment programme

London

• Redevelopment of Liverpool Street

Midlands

• The ghost stations surviving despite lack of use
• Severn Valley Railway locomotive is steaming back with a new look and number

North East

• Lack of orders for Hitachi at Newton Aycliffe
• Alnwick Model Railway Club looking for a new home
• Level crossing upgrades on Newcastle to Carlisle rail route means changes to train services and diversions for motorists
• Historic steam locomotive arrives at Aln Valley Railway just in time for Easter

North West

• Derailed train to cause two weeks of delays
• Hole found under track where train derailed
• Rochdale rail bridge 'crucial' to UK economy set to be rebuilt
• Cause of Northwich station collapse finally made public
• Up to two weeks to repair damage from Grange over Sands derailment
• Investigation into Northwich station collapse issued after three years
• Merseyrail confirms Grand National 2024 service timetable
• The Old Railway Line that will NEVER Reopen - Might Actually Reopen?

Scotland

• New footbridge installed at Uddingston
• Emergency': Three CalMac ferries 'crocked' in new wave of 'chaos'
• 75-tonne footbridge and lift-tower installed at Uddingston station
• Jenny Gilruth MSP sees Levenmouth rail link progress
• Take a look at Dumfries station’s new £3.6m footbridge after trial assembly is completed
• West Highland Line re-opens following completion of £1.6m Rannoch viaduct upgrade

South

• Southampton metro system idea being explored
• Southampton Western Docks container terminal completed

South East

• Shortage of wheelsets affecting Island line class 484 units
• Network Rail aware of huge crack at Folkestone Warren
• Earthslip near Farnborough
• South Western Railway operating staff vacancies

Wales

• Pembroke Dock level crossing near misses lead to changes

West

• More rolling stock for Cross Country
• Disruption on trains west of Swindon and signalling failures on Berks & Hants
• Photos of closed railways in Devon
• Stanway viaduct to reopen for Easter

Yorkshire

• Vital' rail upgrades to improve journeys completed
• Yorkshire bridge infill under scrutiny

National

• CrossCountry announces expansion and train refurbishments

International Rail News

Belgium

• Century-old UK train carriage unearthed in Belgium
• Wooden LNER container wagon unearthed in Belgium

Europe

• NightJet mini compartments

Japan

• Retired Japanese train gets facelift, new life in Thailand

USA

• Record distance covered by Stadler Hydrogen fueled multiple units in USA

Other Transport Modes

Air

• Increasingly rare: a passenger Boeing 747 has landed at Heathrow, a first since 8 months
• The FAA Has Issued An Advisory Ahead Of The Total Solar Eclipse On April 8
• Abseiling cleaners at RAF Cosford museum
• Lancaster bomber sculpture in Lincolnshire approaches milestone
• Boom Supersonic’s XB-1 demonstrator takes to the skies
• Manchester Airport launches first direct flights to Shanghai
• First Flight in 70 years - Mosquito NZ2308
• First Flight in 70 years - Mosquito NZ2309

Bus

• Fatal Flixbus crash near Leipzig
• https://www.romfordrecorder.co.uk/news/24203619.free-east-london-vintage-bus-trips-heritage-bus-day/

Marine

• Baltimore bridge partially collapses after ship strike
• Red Jet 4 withdrawn from service
• Lost power, a mayday call and the crash that brought down a Baltimore bridge
• Shipwreck worth $17,000,000,000 is being recovered after 316 years underwater

Credits

Thank you to this week's contributors.

• Alan Rushworth
• Andrew Nummelin
• Matthew Shaw
• Mike Price
• Neil Kearns
• Paul Tambini
• Richard Buckby
• Simon Moppett

The Weekly Poser: Where is this?

Please identify the railway yard in the centre of the picture.

Last week's Where is this?

An operational Class 52 Western meets heritage steam. Where is it?

Answer: Paignton. Class 52 No. 1016 'Western Gladiator' exiting Goodrington sidings on 8th September 1973. Congratulations are due to the following for their correct answers: Paul Hopper, Dave Goodyear, Bryn Pitcher, Simon Wass, Peter Tisdale. There were nearly as many wrong answers, including Bodmin Road (now Parkway) x 3 and Totnes x 1.

Photo credit: John Haydon, RCTS Collection [image slightly cropped]

Renumbering of locomotives to be TOPS-compliant commenced in 1973 but - along with all the diesel-hydraulics - the Class 52 Westerns were already slated for withdrawal and were skipped. Having distinctive number plates might have been another consideration. Seven of these attractive locomotives have joined the heritage world, but this example was withdrawn in 1975 and scrapped at Swindon in 1977.

The GWR pannier tank is probably 0-6-0PT No.6412, which worked on the Dartmouth Steam Railway up to 1976.

SMALL PRINT

We welcome links to publicly available online news items and videos from anywhere in the world.  Despite its name, Raildate covers all transport modes, including also bus, tram, air, and marine.  

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The main Raildate website https://raildate.co.uk includes a history of Raildate by the founding editor Howard Sprenger and archived editions from 1996 to the present.

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©  Matthew Shaw 2024