RAILDATE: the weekly newsletter of the Hursley Park Model Railway Society:
http://www.hpmrs.ibmhursleyclub.org.uk/
NETWATCH
============
The Breakdown Crane Association:
http://www.bdca.org.uk/
A selection of sites from Raildate reader, Howard Benson...
Woodlesford Station:
http://www.woodlesfordstation.co.uk
A selection of videos:
http://audioboo.fm/steamrailway
And more videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doJV1fPzuoI
RIP Peter Fox of Platform 5 Publishing, who died in hospital on 8th
December.
http://railwayeye.blogspot.com/2011/02/peter-fox-rip.html
Last week I gave a link to Dave Rowland's website covering Ian Allan ABCs.
By coincidence, last month Dave started a similar site for Platform 5:
http://daverowland.platform5.fotopic.net/
Nigel Bird's latest catalogue (72) is now available:
http://www.nigelbirdbooks.co.uk/html/catalogue.html
"When the Helston Branch closed in 1962, its little narrow gauge neighbour
had been a distant memory for over thirty years. Some believe it never
existed at all; the tracks said to be abandoned roadbeds being just
overgrown lanes and footpaths; the public wharves merely farm platforms
for loading milk churns. We leave you to decide."
A truly stunning complete history of the Helford Valley Railway:
http://www.hvr.org.uk/
A book review of "All Stations to Longridge" by David John Hindle:
http://tinyurl.com/4tc8h7r
(Spotter: Ralph Rawlinson)
============
Videos...
An exploration of Butterley Tunnel (Cromford Canal):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O_8Qnt3G_s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD84T41CwAE
Tweedmouth Station Remembered:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVLveqbXNv8
(Spotter: Richard Buckby)
A German narrow gauge railway running in the snow, December 2010:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6QUB4LrPew&feature=related
(Spotter: Ted Millward)
Windsor, Melbourne after a deluge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoW_VAYX7j4
============
Ralph Rawlinson's Railway Roundup
Valenta engined HSTs
On 22nd December 2010 43123, the last of the Paxman 'Valenta' engined HST
power cars, ran its final duty on the network. On 6th January it was
taken to Brush at Loughborough to be fitted with a MTU4000 power unit. To
mark the Valenta power units' contribution to HST history, 43123
(renumbered 43423) has been named "Valenta 1972-2010".
UK Stations
In "geStation- the birth of the railways", Simon Harriyott has created a
map that illustrates the growth of the British railway system from 1786 to
2017.
http://harriyott.com/geStation/
Docklands Light Railway
Testing began in January on the new DLR extension from Canning Town to
Stratford International, but no date yet for commencement of services.
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/2181.aspx
Kings Cross
Ticket gates have been installed on platforms 0 to 5 and were due to come
into use from 7th February. Platforms 6 and 7 are currently OOU.
North London Line upgrade
In connection with the closure of Gospel Oak and Willesden High Level
Junction signal boxes, the NLL will be blocked with the service suspended
between Richmond and Camden Road from Saturday 19th to Sunday 27th
February 2011 inclusive.
Primrose Hill station
This former LNWR station was located on the North London Line just west of
Camden Road but closed on 28th September 1992. Only the platforms now
survive but Network Rail say they will consider expressions of interest
from anyone prepared to collect the canopy ironwork from storage. Photos,
maps and history at:
http://www.abandonedstations.org.uk/Primrose_Hill_station.html
London
Acton Transport Museum will be open to the public on 12th/13th March 2011.
http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/museum-depot/events
St Austell Signalbox
The St Austell Railway Heritage Trust is a local group set up to convert
the disused 1906 GWR St Austell signalbox into a small museum. The
Railway Heritage Trust has agreed to fund part of the 150,000 cost.
http://staustellvoice.co.uk/news/73/article/3252/
On-train WiFi
National Express East Anglia has introduced Wifi on its Norwich-London
services.
West Midlands Signalling Centre (WMSC)
Atkins Rail has been awarded a 13.5m contract to carry out the Hartlebury
-Stourbridge stage of the West Midlands project. The new signalling will
also control the freight-only line between Stourbridge and Round Oak,
beyond which there is a possibility of the line reopening to Walsall. At
the same time, control of lines between Stourbridge and Jewellery Quarter
(the station before Birmingham Snow Hill) will also move to WMSC. Level
crossings at Blakedown and Hartlebury will be renewed, and the track
layout at Kidderminster will be changed to give direct access to the
preserved Severn Valley Railway (SVR) for trains coming from Birmingham.
Currently such trains must set back from the southbound to the northbound
lines before once again heading south onto the SVR. Commissioning of this
stage in August 2012 will see the closure of the following four boxes:
Hartlebury (formerly Hartlebury Station) GWR box built 1876, IFS panel
1982.
Kidderminster Junction BR box built 1953, 66-lever frame.
Blakedown (retains Churchill & Blakedown nameplate) GWR box built 1888,
IFS panel 1980.
Stourbridge Junction (formerly Stourbridge Junction Middle) GWR box built
1901, NX Panel dating from 1990.
West Midlands
Operation of trams and trolleybuses at the Black Country Museum has been
halted following the theft on 11th January of copper wiring supplying
power to the tramway.
http://www.bclm.co.uk/
Derbyshire
The first charter train from Network Rail Matlock to Peak Rail has been
deferred to 22th May 2011.
GWR Newport: Old Docks branch
Plans for 575 new homes on the former Monmouth Bank Railway Sidings and
Whitehead's Steelworks site at Maesglas have been approved by the Welsh
Assembly.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12296427
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man Railway & Tramway Preservation Society has been told to
remove all its locomotives and rolling stock from Manx Government owned
railways by the start of the season. Full story in the March issue of the
Railway Magazine.
Manchester Victoria - Todmorden Resignalling
During Stage 1, commencing 29th August 2011, Rochdale West box (at
Castleton) will open and Rochdale will close. Smithy Bridge will cease to
be a block post and be reduced a crossing box. Network Rail is offering
the superstructure of Rochdale box to a good home, but it is undecided
whether the lever frame is also for disposal. Notes from Signalling Atlas
& Signal Box Directory: Formerly 'Rochdale Goods Yard'. Due to minor
alterations the 1889 RSCo (L&Y) box is no longer recognisable as RSCo
box. Frame reduced 1977. Box refurbished 2006.
Tyne & Wear Metro
To allow replacement of track and a general upgrade the Byker-Tynemouth
line is closed at weekends through February and completely for three weeks
from 12th March followed by further weekend closures in April. From March
North Shields station will be demolished and rebuilt while three other
stations will be partially closed.
NBR Carisle - Riccarton Jn
Last year, the campaign group Cycle Carlisle drew up a petition to ask
both Carlisle City and Cumbria County Councils to purchase and restore the
Grade II listed Eden Viaduct in order to secure its future as a walking
route, and open it up to cycling for the first time. The County Council
claimed it could not afford to make it safe but BRB Residuary (no they
haven't been disbanded yet) says it might be interested in taking the
project on, if someone else pays for the safety fencing!
European line closures
The new European Rail Timetable from 12th December 2010 reveals that the
following six countries have closed one or more routes. Czech: five lines
and two border crossings have lost their passenger services; Austria: five
lines have lost their passenger services; Croatia: One cross-border line;
Germany, Slovakia and Belgium have lost one line each.
European line openings
France/Spain: TGV services extended via a new cross-border LGV line,
Perpignan-Figueras; Spain: Madrid-Albacete and Motilla del Palancar HS
lines opened; Hungary: three of the lines closed in 2009 have been
reopened plus one other.
France-Switzerland
The number of TGV trains between Paris and Geneva has been increased from
seven to nine daily, and the journey reduced by 22 mins following the the
reopening and electrification of the single-track 47km route between
Bourg-en-Bresse and Bellegarde.
Switzerland
A new metre gauge speed record of 145kph (90mph) was set on 20th December
2010 on the south side of the Rhtische Bahn's Vereina tunnel.
http://tinyurl.com/6993t3d
Italy
Using six of the new 11-car, 217mph AGV-sets from Alstom, NTV intends
starting high speed services connecting nine cities on the Milan-Rome-
Naples axis from September 2011.
http://tinyurl.com/6z33wse
Armenia
Russia-owned South-Caucasus Railway running Armenia's railways has
launched a new service between Armenia's second largest town of Gyumri,
the administrative centre of the NW province of Shirak and Sanahin in the
northern province of Lori.
http://www.arka.am/eng/transport/2011/02/01/23740.html
Russia
In 2011, Russian Railways plan to upgrade the Privolzhskaya Railway
(Trubnaya-Baskunchak-Aksarayskaya). The routes concerned are Trubnaya-
Zaplavnoye and Zaplavnoye-Leninsk, as well as planning and surveying,
construction work on the bridge across Akhtuba.
http://tinyurl.com/69pn9t3
China
The number of people taking the Wuhan-Guangzhou high-speed railway
connecting Wuhan, the capital of Central China's Hubei province, and
Guangzhou, the capital of South China's Guangdong province exceeds 100,000
every day. It had been feared that the high fares might turn travellers
away, as ticket prices for slower trains have remained unchanged for more
than a decade.
http://cnbusinessnews.com/a-high-speed-ride-home/
China's railways lead the world in speed and size but services lag far
behind.
http://tinyurl.com/4t2x6dz
============
IN THE NEWS
Dew to blame for London-bound train delays:
http://tinyurl.com/67lstev
Derailment near Halifax, 5th January:
http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=41174
http://tinyurl.com/6dobbw7
New spy camera to check level crossings
Video:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12401422
Waverley steps make temporary exit:
http://tinyurl.com/4khkbp7
Inverness-Aberdeen line upgrade feasible:
http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2130234
Network Rail raises the roof at Paisley Gilmour Street:
http://tinyurl.com/5vek6ko
Ayrshire train upgrade skids off rails:
http://tinyurl.com/4qjfhmy
Cable theft East Usk Jn:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12380442
Development on railway land at Gloucester:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-12402532
Campaign to save steam engine gets anonymous cash boost:
http://tinyurl.com/4hh9rcz
Pub taps into railway history:
http://tinyurl.com/4rcd97x
Goods yard to host first pop-up shopping mall:
http://tinyurl.com/47cmpdl
Isle of Wight steam railway wins development grant:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-12430715
Site work under way on Borders to Edinburgh rail route:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-12391790
Llangollen Railway to take passengers to Corwen by 2012:
http://tinyurl.com/5uen58j
German Plandampf website:
http://www.plandampfteam.de/index.php?site=news
Loony plan for rubber bus line stretching to Jersey:
http://tinyurl.com/4pds6l7
New control tower for Manchester Airport:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-12363628
Cork air crash:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12415541
X-47B Unmanned Stealth Bomber's Maiden Flight:
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-20030836-501465.html
Maid of the Loch paddle steamer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-12365123
Restoration of SS Nomadic:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12332041
Spotters: Richard Buckby, Neil Kearns, Reg Nerps
TV and RADIO
12/02/11 BBC Radio 4 2000-2100
"Glamour's Golden Age" Between the wars
14/02/11 BBC Radio 4 1545-1600
"On Your Bike" History of the bicycle 6/10
14/02/11 BBC1 South 1930-2000
"Inside Out" Designing a Spitfire memorial
14/02/11 Channel 5 1930-2000
"How Do They Do It?" World's largest aquarium
15/02/11 BBC Radio 4 1545-1600
"On Your Bike" History of the bicycle 7/10
15/02/11 Channel 5 2000-2100
"Stanstead: the Inside Story" 2/6
15/02/11 BBC4 2005-2035
"Britain by Bike" Bronte's Yorkshire
16/02/11 BBC Radio 4 1545-1600
"On Your Bike" History of the bicycle 8/10
16/02/11 BBC4 2030-2100
"One Foot in the Past"
17/02/11 BBC Radio 4 1545-1600
"On Your Bike" History of the bicycle 9/10
17/02/11 BBC4 2000-2100
"The Last Days of the Liners"
17/02/11 BBC4 2300-0000
"Behind the Scenes at the Museum" National Waterways Museum
18/02/11 BBC Radio 4 1545-1600
"On Your Bike" History of the bicycle 10/10
18/02/11 BBC2 2030-2100
"Britain from Above" 1/3 The City
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/tours/index.htm
All details are correct to the best of my knowledge. No responsibility is
taken for inaccuracies or changes.
14/02/11 Peak Railway Association (Derby Branch) Slideshow
The Brunswick Inn, Station Approach, Derby, DE21 2RU
Beside the Seaside, Rodney Pearson
http://www.peakrail.co.uk/DerbyBranch.html
15/02/11 Peak Railway Association (Chesterfield Branch) Slideshow
New Inn, 229 Mansfield Road, Hasland, Chesterfield, S41 0JJ
Portuguese Trains and Trams in the Late 1960s, Brian Staniland
http://www.peakrail.co.uk/ChesterfieldBranch.html
19/02/11 Manchester Victoria signalling school layout operating day
National Railway Museum, York
http://www.nrm.org.uk/
21/02/11 Friends of Cromford Canal - Talk
Ironville Church Hall, Casson St, Ironville, NG16 5NN
"Rails to Ripley" by Howard Sprenger
Starts: 1930
http://www.cromfordcanal.org.uk/
http://www.kestrelrailwaybooks.co.uk/ripley.htm
23/02/11 Romsey & District Railway Modellers Society - Talk
10th Romsey Scout Headquarters Hut, Braishfield Road, SO51 0PB
"The Longmoor Military Railway" & "The Carriage of Tanks"
by Mike Walshaw
Starts at 1930
25/02/11- Model-Rail Scotland
27/02/11 Scottish Exhibition Centre, Glasgow
1100-1800 (Fri), 1000-1800 (Sat), 1000-1700 (Sun)
http://www.modelrail-scotland.co.uk
26/02/11 Scale '0' Rail
Bolton School Arts & Conference Centre, New Road, Bolton, BL1 4PA
26/02/11- Eastleigh Model Railway Show incorporating Eurotrack 2011
27/02/11 Fleming Park Leisure Centre, Passfield Avenue, Eastleigh SO50 9NL
1000-1730 (Sat), 0930-1630 (Sun)
http://fdelaitre.perso.sfr.fr/Smrg.htm
Cheers, Howard.
editor(at)raildate.co.uk replace (at) with @
Issues of Raildate up to and including 18th December 2009 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 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/