HPMRS RAILDATE 02 Dec 05

News

RAILDATE: the weekly newsletter of the Hursley Park Model Railway Society: http://www.ibmhursleyclub.org.uk/ss/hpmrs/

GOVERNMENT TURNS DOWN TRAM PLAN

Bad news locally is that the Government has decided not to back the proposal to link Fareham, Gosport and Portsmouth by a new supertram link, after years of planning:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4481182.stm

You wait ages for a new tram proposal to be turned down and then three come along at once... similar schemes for Merseyside and West Yorkshire have also failed to meet Governmental approval (see "In the News").

However, perhaps the most disappointing aspect is that we have been denied the possibility of a Fareham Area Rapid Transit system, or "FART", as it might have been known...

NETWORK RAIL PRESS RELEASE

Govia, a joint venture between Go-Ahead and Keolis SA, has been awarded the contract to run the Integrated Kent franchise (IKF) from 1 April 2006, the Department for Transport announced today. The IKF will include routes currently operated by South Eastern Trains throughout Kent, parts of East Sussex and South East London.

It will include new high speed commuter services from St Pancras making use of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link from 2009 and in 2012 Govia will provide the flagship 'Olympic Javelin' service.

As part of the eight-year franchise contract, Govia has also committed to: * improve performance with all-day PPM performance of 91.6% by March 2010 and 93.74% by March 2014 * invest about £76 million in passenger and staff facilities * oversee the building of two maintenance depots in East Kent for the new and existing train fleet * provide extra services including an additional peak service between Faversham and Cannon Street, two additional peak trains between Ashford and Charing Cross and some extra mid-evening and late evening trains to suburban and Kent destinations from London * run services to Dover if safety concerns at the Shakespeare Tunnel can be overcome.

Announcing the contract, Transport Minister Alistair Darling said: "I am satisfied that the competition for the franchise has resulted in a contract that represents very good value for the taxpayer and it is a tough contract that Govia will be expected to deliver on. It will help support the new housing and economic opportunities in the Thames Gateway area and region beyond."

More than £600 million has been invested in new rolling stock in Kent during the past three years, as well as £93 million in power supply, stations, depots and related infrastructure. A further £250 million will be invested in the new high speed trains.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4483530.stm

NETWATCH

The unofficial online newsletter of the West Somerset Railway, West Somerset Express, Issue 41 (December 2005) is now available from:

http://trainsferriesbuses.co.uk/westsomersetexpress.htm

Cambrian Models:

http://www.cambrianmodels.co.uk/index.html

Stephen Parker's "Trains and Transport Since the '70s" (apostrophe correction by the RAILDATE Apostrophe Correction Co. Ltd.):

http://trains.and.transport.fotopic.net/c102515.html

More on the NRM's Search Engine" project...

Thousands of previously unseen national treasures will be accessible for the first time as part of a new £3.5 million project at the National Railway Museum (NRM) called Search Engine. With the help of a £995,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the Museum plans to throw open its vast archive of the largest and richest collection of railway related library, archive and image collections in the world, which have previously been hidden away in locked basements underneath the world's largest railway museum in York.

Among the thousands of priceless items that will be made fully accessible for the first time is the key eyewitness account of the birth of the modern railways - the Rainhill Locomotive Trials of 1829, won by George Stephenson's Rocket.

The NRM archive holds 1.5 million photographic negatives, 1 million engineering drawings, 9,000 railway posters, 350,000 railway tickets, 200 works of art, 2,500 items of heraldry, 2000 oral history and sound recordings, and over 3 km of letters, reports and railway papers. Richard Taylor, Collections Access Manager at the NRM, explained: "These collections not only explain the significance of the items that the Museum has on display, but they also record the thoughts, opinions and voices of hundreds of people connected with the railways, from engineers such as Rastrick to modern-day train crews, allowing you to see and "hear" the voices of the railway community, past and present. By opening these up to everyone through Search Engine we can add an extra human dimension to our displays and exhibitions."

Construction work for Search Engine will get underway in the New Year. As well as the new public archive centre, the project includes the refurbishment and expansion of the museum's library and also of the storage archive vaults which will be opened to the public on a regular basis. The project is expected to be completed by autumn 2007.

A new magazine, "Hidden Europe", seems to have dug up some interesting topics in European transport history:

http://www.hiddeneurope.co.uk

A piece in this month's issue marks the anniversary this year of death of Georges Nagelmackers (founder of Wagons-Lits), and there is a long review in the July 2005 issue of changing patterns of night train services between eastern and western Europe.

If anybody is interested in going on the South African Steam train tour with Khakibos Tours could you please send an email to khakibostours@gmail.com before the end of January just stating your interest. Friends of the Rail need to make a decision on the amount of coaches based on the interest shown in it.

Friends of the Rail have worked hard to organise this tour which is focused on steam and it would be a disappointment if people are interested but they are unaware of it and do not plan accordingly. If you would like more information please click on "steam train tour" at:

http://www.khakibostours.com

Spurred by the arrival of the biggest aeroplane in the world (ever!) at East Midlands Airport, Nick Wheat has provided a veritable "squadron" of related sites, starting with official news on the big beast, why it's here and where and when it's going (Saturday morning): http://www.nemacargo.com/newsitem.php?id=7

Nick tells me that the only thing bigger were the wings on Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose" (just!) The body is cavernous: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonov_An-225

It is leaving with about 110 tons of aid on board, but can carry up to 250 tons of payload!

The Spotters Guide to East Midlands Airport: http://www.emairport.co.uk

Trent Valley Aviation Society - monthly meets near East Midlands Airport: http://www.goodweather.flyer.co.uk/HTML_FILES/TVAS.htm

The East Midlands Aviation Group is a Yahoo Group dedicated to East Midlands and Birmingham International Airport 'spotting' and general information: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/E-Mag

The Midlands Spotters Group is a list dedicated to general civil aircraft 'spotting': http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Midlands_Spotters

Latest calendar wallpaper from the Sukhoi Design Bureau http://www.sukhoi.org/files/wallpapers/dec_1.jpg http://www.sukhoi.org/files/wallpapers/dec_2.jpg

IN THE NEWS

Merseyside tram system plan axed: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/4481146.stm

Also in West Yorkshire: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/4403788.stm

Cheaper rail fares hard to find: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4487020.stm

Reading station wins safety award: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/4476186.stm

Rail ticket office cuts postponed: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4480952.stm

Transport Police's new HQ opens: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4481200.stm

Noise anger over reinstated horns: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4483410.stm

Spend more on transport says CBI: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4475450.stm

Plan to restore canal at Newtown: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/4470004.stm

Italy protest disrupts rail work: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4486514.stm

Congo train crash: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4482298.stm

TV and Radio

Events

See Mainline Steam Tours page for up-to-date info on many of these tours, and others, often with timings.