RAILDATE: the weekly newsletter of the Hursley Park Model Railway Society:
http://www.ibmhursleyclub.org.uk/ss/hpmrs/
NETWATCH
============
Photographs from a recent Middleton Railway photo charter:
http://paulgildersleve.fotopic.net/
The Isle of Wight Railway last weekend:
http://www.steamrailwayprints.co.uk/gallery_300392.html
The Loco Shed Index and Loco Allocation Lists:
http://www.steamsheds.co.uk/home.php
Watlington branch line blog:
http://watlingtonbranchline.blogspot.com/
============
Videos...
Howard Harrison has created his Railsites Youtube channel. You are very
much recommended to change the quality to highest resolution when
watching.
http://www.youtube.com/user/railsites#p/u
Recent Steam on the Web videos...
North Norfolk Railway Grand Steam Gala, 4th September:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnxI1nvgY9I
Llangollen Railway Autumn Steam Gala, 11th September:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgInu-iIPZw Llangollen
5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe with the Shakespeare Express, 12th September:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yc4fBlepT9I Shakespeare Express
Gloucestershire-Warwickshire Railway, 18th September:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=GB&v=iKmZxlwaME4
(Spotter: Ted Millward)
A look at Ireland's national public transport provider, CIE, during the
1960s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6X-smrTKK54
(Spotter: Ralph Rawlinson)
Live web cam on the WCML:
http://www.wcmlcam.org.uk/watch.html
(Spotter: Richard Buckby)
A memorial to tin miners is being sculpted:
http://www.itv.com/westcountry-west/tin-miner-statue18268/
============
Ralph Rawlinson's Railway Roundup
On-train WiFi
The following six operators across Britain provide on-train Wifi for
passengers: East Coast (free), Virgin, Grand Central, Heathrow Express,
Southern (London-Brighton) and Wrexham, Shropshire & Marylebone Railway.
It is also a franchise commitment for Arriva Cross Country, whilst it is
planned on East Midland Trains, National Express (London-Norwich) and
ScotRail between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
London Crossrail
Kensington & Chelsea council consider a new station at Kensal Rise would
be a more useful turnback facility than a siding at Paddington and have
authorised a 55,000 feasibility study.
Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury
NR is planning to raise line speeds between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury,
with section of 70mph raised to 90mph. Arriva Trains Wales operates 90mph
Class 158s on the route and London Midland 100mph Class 170s.
East Midlands Resignalling
Kirkby Summit box, is to close next year when control of the 'Robin Hood
Line' transfers to the EMCC in Derby. Kirkby Summit box at present
controls the line from Mansfield Woodhouse south to just beyond Kirkby
tunnel (from where Trent PSB takes over) and the north end of the Pinxton
branch already under the EMCC. Trent's control is also being transferred
to the EMCC with both forming the Mansfield workstation. Network Rail
plans to commission this latest stage in September 2011.
Plymouth Friary
A planning application has been submitted to Plymouth City Council to
build a five-storey block for student accommodation on land formerly
occupied by sidings east of Tothill Road.
http://tinyurl.com/233lq34
LYR Horwich branch
Bolton Council is supporting the demolition of a large part of what
remains of the former Lancashire & Yorkshire loco works at Horwich to
create space for 1,600 new homes. English Heritage has now ruled that the
buildings are not of significant architectural interest to warrant
preservation so presumably no time will now be wasted in demolition.
Arnside
The 500 metre long Arnside Viaduct over the estuary of the River Kent on
the Carnforth-Barrow line is to close for 16 weeks between March and July
2011 while it receives a new deck.
Sunderland
The four-year project to modernise Sunderland station has been completed
and the new-look platforms were officially introduced on 13th September.
Plans are now being developed to refurbish the street-level concourses and
facilities.
HS2/HS1 link
The Transport Secretary has asked HS2 to look at options for a link
between Old Oak Common and HS1 that would make use of the Acton Wells Jn-
Cricklewood Curve Jn freight line.
Channel Tunnel
On 23rd July 2010, Eurotunnel's passenger shuttle trains (previously known
as 'Le Shuttle') carried 9,382 passenger vehicles, a record for any day
since the tunnel opened in 1994.
Competition through the Chunnel
German media reports that Deutsche Bahn's ICE3 test train through the
tunnel to St Pancras could take place on Tuesday 19th October.
USA
Norfolk Southern Railroad's Heartland Corridor, between the Virginia coast
and Columbus Ohio, reopened on Thursday 9th September 2010. The project
involved raising 28 tunnels so that trains can carry double-stacked
containers.
http://tinyurl.com/34yzzvj
Kenya
Further to previous reports, the Kenya Railway's procurement review board
has cancelled a tender worth $10m awarded for the designing of modern
standard gauge line between Mombasa and the Kenya-Uganda border town of
Malaba.
http://tinyurl.com/395gr5t
Afghanistan
A 75km line between Uzbekistan and Mazar-e Sharif, Balkh province, begun
only in May, has been completed. Also planned are an additional 25km for
side and switching yards, which are expected to be completed in November.
http://tinyurl.com/2ujvjh8
India/Bangladesh
Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR), Bangladesh Railways and the Tripura
government have completed technical formalities and finalized alignments
to link their networks to improve connectivity between the two countries.
The alignment of the 13-km Agartala-Akhaurah link, facilitating
connectivity between West Bengal and north-eastern states through
Bangladesh, has been finalised. India also wants to extend its railway
network to Sabroom in southern Tripura, 135km from Agartala, and Akhaurah
in western Tripura, 6km from Agartala. Kolkata-Dhaka is 406km, Agartala-
Dhaka is 150km. Bangladesh operates regular train services on its side up
to Akhaurah and various other places, just opposite several towns in
Tripura. After 43 years, India and Bangladesh resumed regular services in
April 2008 through Gede in West Bengal's Nadia district and Darshana in
Bangladesh. The service was suspended after the 1965 war between India
and Pakistan when Bangladesh was then Pakistan's eastern part. Ongoing
works up to southern Tripura's border town Sabroom would be completed by
March 2014, whilst the proposed station would be 75km from the Chittagong
international port in SE Bangladesh. The broad gauge line would reach
south Tripura's Udaipur by December 2012. 58% of the conversion work from
metre to broad gauge from Assam's Lumding to northern Tripura's Kumarghat
have been completed.
http://tinyurl.com/35ttbmr
Cambodia/Laos/Thailand
A new book "The Railway Atlas of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia" claims to
depict every known railway, tramway and mass-transit line, public or
private, past and present, including cable cars, monorails and miniature
railways in these three countries.
http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/
Vietnam North-South Railway
Further to previous reports (Raildate, 18th June) Minister of Transport Ho
Nghia Dung told reporters in Hanoi that Vietnam cannot help having a high-
speed line to connect Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City after news reports said
the project had resumed though the National Assembly.
http://vietnambusiness.asia/government-sticks-to-express-railway-project/
============
IN THE NEWS
Southern Railway to axe toilets on Brighton-Littlehampton fleet:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11358844
On the other hand:
http://bit.ly/a41lKk
Increases in Arriva Trains Wales Shrewsbury-Wolverhampton service:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11362328
County Durham bidding for Hitachi train construction works:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11379709
Fatality after 25kV accident:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11379713
RAIB report into Halkirk crossing incident:
http://www.raib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/100923_R162010_Halkirk.pdf
RAIB report into Feltham bridge collapse:
http://www.raib.gov.uk/cms_resources.cfm?file=/100923_R172010_Feltham.pdf
Wirksworth branch track restoration complete:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-11384508
34070 Manston on loan to the Severn Valley Railway:
http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/news697.htm
Corfe Castle SB:
http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/news695.htm
Improvements at Alton:
http://www.southwesttrains.co.uk/AltonStationAccessibility.aspx
Steam engine moves to new Glasgow museum:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-11372129
Beggars on Sri Lanka Railways:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11380730
Tram derailment in Manchester:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-11387331
Sir Moir Lockhead retires:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-11388454
Spotters: Richard Buckby, Neil Kearns, Reg Nerps
TV and RADIO
25/09/10 BBC2 1730-1830
"Coast" Shetland to Orkney
26/09/10 BBC4 2005-2135
"All Our Working Lives Revisited" 1/4 Cotton and textiles
26/09/10 BBC2 2300-0000
"Battle of Britain: the Real Story"
27/09/10 Five 1930-2000
"How Do They Do It?" Manufacturing paper cartons
27/09/10 Channel 4 2100-2200
"Titanic: the Mission" Reconstructing the ship to scale 1/5
28/09/10 BBC4 2000-2030
"Britain's Best Drives" The North York Moors
30/09/10 BBC2 1900-2000
"Spitfire Women" Story of the Air Transport Auxiliary
31/09/10 Five 2000-2100
"Eddie Stobart: Trucks and Trailers" 2/6
EVENTS
For up-to-date information on many of the tours mentioned in Raildate (and
others) often with timings, see the Steam Tours pages at:
http://www.uksteam.info/index.shtml and also
http://railwayherald.co.uk/railtours/
All details are correct to the best of my knowledge. No responsibility is
taken for inaccuracies or changes.
24/09/10- Severn Valley Railway: Autumn Steam Gala
26/09/10
http://www.svr.co.uk
25/09/10 Mid-Hants Railway: Open Day
http://www.watercressline.co.uk/
25/09/10 Mid-Hants Railway Real Ale Train (RAT)
http://www.watercressline.co.uk/rat.htm
25/09/10 New Forest Book Fair
The Community Centre, High Street, Lyndhurst, SO43 7NY
http://www.fairharebooks.com/
25/09/10 North American Model Railroad Exhibition
Holbrook Club, North Heath Lane, Horsham, W Sussex, RH12 5PJ
1000-1630 both days
25/09/10 Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway: Murder Mystery Train
http://www.chinnorrailway.co.uk
25/09/10 Lecture by Chritian Woolmar in aid of Railway Children
"Engines of War"
German Gymnasium, University of Aberdeen
All profits will go to the Railway Children
Doors open 1800 for 1830
Limited number of tickets - 15 (including a 5 discount on
the purchase of the book
http://www.railwaychildren.org.uk/article.asp?id=876
25/09/10- Eastleigh Lakeside Railway: Super Power Weekend
26/09/10
http://www.steamtrain.co.uk
25/09/10- Didcot Railway Centre: Enhanced Steamdays
26/09/10
http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk
25/09/10- Bodmin & Wenford Railway: Autumn Diesel Gala
26/09/10
http://www.bodminandwenfordrailway.co.uk
25/09/10- Coventry Electric Railway Centre: Open Weekend
26/09/10
http://www.electricrailwaymuseum.co.uk/
25/09/10- Lynton and Barnstaple Railway: Autumn Steam Gala
27/09/10
http://www.lynton-rail.co.uk/
30/09/10- West Somerset Railway: Autumn Gala
03/10/10
http://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/
02/10/10- Fareham & District MRC, Wickham Railex
03/10/10 Wickham Community Centre, Mill Lane, Wickham, Hampshire
HPMRS member Derek Gillkerson will be attending with
"Zwiesboden"
http://www.fadmrc.hampshire.org.uk/index.html
02/10/10- Folkestone, Hythe & District MRC, Folkestone 2010
03/10/10 Leas Cliff Hall, The Leas, Folkestone, Kent
http://www.folkestone-mrc.com/
02/10/10- Wadebridge Model Railway Exhibition
03/10/10 Wadebridge School, Gonvena Hill, Wadebridge, Cornwall
http://www.wadebridge34007.co.uk/mrex.html
02/10/10- Mickleover Model Railway Group Exhibition
03/10/10 Community Centre, Uttoxeter Road, Mickleover, Derby
http://www.mmrg.org.uk/
02/10/10- Manchester Model Railway Exhibition
03/10/10 The Armitage Centre, Moseley Road, Fallowfield, Manchester
http://www.mmrs.org.uk/
03/10/10 Romsey Signal Box Open Day
Admission free (donations welcome!)
1000-1600
ex-Romsey Infants School, Plaza Parade, Winchester Rd, Romsey
Car park in old school grounds
http://www.romseysignalbox.org.uk
08/10/10- Keighley & Worth Valley Railway: Autumn Steam Gala Event
10/10/10
http://www.kwvr.co.uk
08/10/10- Ffestiniog Railway: Vintage Weekend
10/10/10
http://www.festrail.co.uk/
09/10/10 Shaftsbury Book Fair
United Church Hall, Bell Street, SP7 8AR
http://www.fairharebooks.com/
09/10/10- Blandford Railway & Transport Exhibition
10/10/10 Milldown School, Milldown Rd, Blandford, DT11 7SQ
To mark the 150th anniversary of the opening of the first part
of the Dorset Central Railway from Wimborne to a temporary
terminus at Blandford St Mary, eventually to become an
integral part of the S&DJR
1030-1700 (Sat), 1000-1630 (Sun)
http://www.blandfordtownmuseum.org/railway_club.htm
09/10/10- Bodmin & Wenford Railway: Branch Line Weekend
10/10/10
http://www.bodminandwenfordrailway.co.uk
09/10/10- Churnet Valley Railway: Diesel Gala
10/10/10
http://www.churnetvalleyrailway.co.uk
10/10/10 Mid-Hants Railway: Rolls Royce Sunday
http://www.watercressline.co.uk/
Cheers, Howard.
editor(at)raildate.co.uk replace (at) with @
Previous issues of Raildate are at:
http://www.raildate.net
This page includes a master catalogue of items that have appeared in
previous editions of Raildate.
(C) Howard Sprenger and Hursley Park Model Railway Society 2010.
The external edition of Raildate may be freely distributed without
permission as long as no changes whatsoever are made to the original
document distributed by the Editor. You can subscribe to the external
edition here:
http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/RAILDATE/