HPMRS RAILDATE 15 Dec 06

News

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

This is the last RAILDATE of the year and includes a bumper three-week TV and radio guide!

Very best wishes to all readers for Christmas and the New Year... see you in 2007!

NETWATCH

A new discussion group for SR loco-hauled carriage stock: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SRLHCS

More advice about rules and regulations surrounding railway photography: http://tinyurl.com/y7dmlo

Alan Padley's photographs of sightings near Barrow Hill including a piece of rail being cut out and replaced on the westbound line.

http://railshots.fotopic.net/c1160632.html

Ralph Rawlinson sends news of changes to rail travel in Euope - this time France and Spain...

French TGV expansion The most significant December timetable changes affect the south eastern region. On the Mediterranee route trains from Paris are largely unaltered, but Lyon gets improved links to the south with an early morning TGV to Nice, and the last train in the other direction is an hour later. The Nice-Geneva train is retimed to run three hours later giving an evening arrival. Through services to and from from the north are also partially recast and will be further altered from April when the Brussels to Nice train will have separate portions from Brussels and Lille (joining together at Charles de Gaulle Airport), allowing departure from Brussels 38 minutes later. Although the northbound train is unaffected, a similar arrangement will apply in both directions to the Brussels/Lille- Bordeaux train. Thanks to support from the Limousin region, Brive la Gaillarde, Limoges and other stations between there and Les Aubrais will also join the ever increasing list of places with a direct TGV link to Lille Europe, with a daily morning train returning from Lille in the evening. The recently introduced St Malo-Paris TGV service will be beefed up by the addition of an early morning train on Mondays to Fridays from 8th January (at present the first Paris arrival is 14.15).

June 2007 Well on track for an on-time opening on 10th June 2007, TGV Est Europeen. Like similar schemes before it, will bring staggering time savings. The new line runs from Paris Gare de l'Est to Baudrecourt, and despite not running all the way to Strasbourg will bring this city just 2hr 20min from Paris, compared to around four hours today. Both Metz and Nancy will be reached in 90min, down from 2hr 45min, and Luxembourg will be 2hr 15min from Paris. The 45-min journey to Reims will be half that of today. Frequencies will, of course, be improved with Strasbourg having up to 16 trains from Paris. Sadly a well known name will disappear with the changes, namely the "Orient Express" from Paris to Vienna, a train that has run in one form or another since 1883.

High-speed progress in Spain The Spanish speed record was raised again on the night of 15/16 July by Velaro unit No 103-002, the same one that achieved the earlier high running on the same section of track. The new figure is 250mph. These are the trains that will be used on the Madrid-Barcelona 150-minute services. Maximum service speed on the first section of this route to be opened to the public, from Madrid to Lleida, was due to be increased from 155mph to 173mph with effect from 16th October. The December timetable change will see the opening of a further section of the Madrid-Barcelona line, with Lleida-Taragona coming into use. A section of the Cordoba- Malaga high-speed line between Almodovar del Rio (Cordoba) and Antequera (Bobadilla) is also expected to be opened.

Coal Mining in the Afan Valley: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/inpictures/pages/cymmer_mines2.shtml

The Caerau Colliery: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/inpictures/pages/cymmer_mines.shtml

IN THE NEWS

Additional spotting... Neil Kearns

New timetables introduced: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/6167919.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/6168427.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6169077.stm

Timetable changes means trains too full: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/6174969.stm

Commuters protest over rail cuts: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/bristol/6168713.stm

However, four 153 units from First Great Western went into Eastleigh Works under their own power for storage on 12th December. All are easy to see from Campbell Road, in order they are 374/302/355/308. See: http://trains.kirwin.fotopic.net/p36855431.html

On 11th December, Mid-Hants Railway Preservation Society Ltd completed the purchase of Merchant Navy class locomotive No 35005 "Canadian Pacific". The locomotive has been purchased outright. It is currently on hire to the Gloucester & Warwickshire Railway and current thoughts are to bring the locomotive home early in 2007. The following day, it was announced that industrial JZ class 62 will be arriving at the Watercress line from Bosnia: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6172065.stm

Romsey bridge strike: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/6173125.stm

Oswestry station wins award: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/6179881.stm

Marylebone revamp finished: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6171235.stm

NetworkRail chief to retire: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6171791.stm

The Ghan derailed: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6171459.stm

Italian train crash: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6176347.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.