HPMRS RAILDATE 06 Jan 06

News

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

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OUR READERS!!

BLUE PULLMAN RIDES AGAIN!

On Thursday 5th January, my wife and I were privileged to be on board the new "Blue Pullman" train for its first ever run - a test run before it goes into revenue-earning service on 12th January. We joined the train, still smelling of freashly-applied Nanking blue paint, at Derby, and travelled to Manchester Piccadilly via the Hope Valley line and the Hazel Grove chord. From there we followed the Standedge Tunnel line to Huddersfield, then via Wakefield, Rotherham and Chesterfield back to Derby while we enjoyed an excellent four-course meal.

Needless to say, a trip on this train comes highly recommended by yours truly, and I was genuinely surprised to see how reasonable the prices will be when the train goes into service. Details of forthcoming trips are here (some are booked up already!)

http://www.traintrips.co.uk/BP.html

NETWATCH

Ralph Rawlinson spotted this about the Brighton-Ashford service...

A new upgraded service between Brighton and Ashford commenced on 12th December, reducing the previous journey time by 35 minutes to about one hour and forty-five minutes, with the additional benefit of no changes of train. The new service will also provide a more convenient link to Eurostar services at Ashford and the future fast services into London. To celebrate, Southern are offering passengers the chance to apply online for free return tickets (limited to 100 per day) for travel between Ashford and Brighton on selected days in 2006:

http://www.southernrailway.com/promotions.php?id=12&u=index.php

Railway images by Alan Chambers:

http://alan-lewis-chambers.fotopic.net/

Steam train operation to Parkend is scheduled to commence on Saturday 25th March with a "Steaming back to Parkend" weekend. Both 9681 and 1450 plus the autotrailer will be operating on both days. On Sunday 26th, the Royal Forester Dining Car train will also operate to Parkend, with a special Mothering Sunday luncheon service. If you have any queries or want to make a booking for the Royal Forester, please phone the usual number: 01594 845840, but please note that this will be open only at weekends during January and February.

http://www.deanforestrailway.co.uk

West Somerset Express - Issue 42 (January 2006) is now available from:

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

The Bluebell Railway's 2006 timetables and 2006 Special Events list are now available. Public trains run on 267 days next year, and the majority of running dates will see at least two trains running, with one if them being a vintage train (using either Victorian or pre-grouping 1920s carriages). Highlights of the Special Events list include the February Branch Line weekend, a goods trains weekend, Giants of Steam in October, with the visit of "City of Truro" being the first time on a preserved line that it will appear alongside the Bluebell's "Earl of Berkeley", the other surviving GWR outside-framed 4-4-0. The year's enthusiast events conclude in November with what should be the biggest gathering yet in preservation of members of a single class, with 6 Stroudley Terriers, all of them around 130 years old, steaming together!

http://www.bluebell-railway.co.uk

The Britain's Lost Railways discussion group recently threw up a host of sites with information on London's lost tube schemes. There is material on Wood Lane underground station here: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/woodlane.html

A Google search on the Northern Heights line from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace resulted in: http://pages.britishlibrary.net/overground/heights/ http://www.urban75.org/london/alexandra.html http://www.urban75.org/london/alexandra1.html http://www.davros.org/rail/culg/northern.html http://underground-history.co.uk/northernh.php http://underground-history.co.uk/northernh2.php http://underground-history.co.uk/northernh3.php http://www.loveplums.co.uk/Tube/Northern_Heights_2.html http://www.zymurgy.org/exrailway.html

Finally, there is a portal to London's railways (LT, BR, heritage) at: http://www.londonrailways.net/links.htm

New Modelex website:

http://www.modelex.org.uk/

Thanks again to Ralph Rawlinson fopr this week's International news...

Spanish High Speed Lines (AVE) The first high speed link in Spain opened between Madrid and Seville in 1992, with the second between Madrid and Lleida some eleven years later in 2003.

Madrid - Toledo Scheduled services commenced on 16 November this year. Ten return trips operate per day; the first departures are at 0650 from both Madrid and Toledo with the last trains leaving Madrid at 2150 and Toledo at 2120. The train on the first official test run covered the 70km (43½ miles) between the two cities in 35 mins cutting some 30 mins from the previous journey time.

Under construction/planned: Madrid to Valladolid is being built with Madrid to Barcelona at the project stage.

Denmark The Copenhagen Metro was opened in 2002 and a line to the International Airport is expected to ready early in 2007. Plans have been submitted for a further extension comprising a nine mile underground circle line. This so-called City Loop will have 17 new stations and is expected to be completed by 2012.

The history of streecars: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blstreetcars.htm

San Francisco streetcars: http://www.sfmuni.com/cms/mms/aboutmun/histcars.htm

El Paso streetcars: http://www.trainweb.org/elpasocars/

New Orleans streetcars: http://www.atneworleans.com/body/streetcars.htm

Subways, trams etc in Japan: http://www.subways.net/japan/

Cincinatti streetcars, interurbans and railroads: http://homepage.mac.com/jjakucyk/Transit1/

How's your Polish? http://www.polskieautobusy.com.pl/

IN THE NEWS

The owner of Colne Valley Railway in Castle Hedingham is retiring and the future of the attraction looked uncertain. Now the Colne Valley and Halstead Railway Trust can buy it thanks to £999,500 of lottery funding: http://tinyurl.com/e2khe

TV and Radio

Events

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