HPMRS RAILDATE 15 Feb 08

News

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

NETWATCH

Derek Gillkerson has sent further details of the Stobart Pullman tours for 2008. No Stobart fan club membership is required, and a large range of interesting tours is planned throughout the year: http://www.stobartpullman.co.uk/

Paul Biggs has put a picture of 47712 with 47802 at Barrow Upon Trent with the 1Z44 0950 Finsbury Park - Bournville "A chocolate paradise on St Valentines Day" special: http://modernrailways.fotopic.net/p48425471.html

1946 RAF aerial photographs of Norfolk have been put online by Norfolk County Council. You can only get down to about 250ft, but still it shows a great deal. The whole of Norfolk is covered: http://www.historic-maps.norfolk.gov.uk/Emap/EmapExplorer.asp

The Royal Deeside Railway: http://www.deeside-railway.co.uk/

A photographic archive of Leeds (includes railway-related photographs) http://www.leodis.net

Long abandoned tunnel in Harrogate: http://www.bbc.co.uk/northyorkshire/content/articles/2008/02/07/harrogate_tunnel_feature.shtml

(Spotter: Tim Moon)

Robert Carroll has posted most of his small collection to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/robertcwp/sets/72157603648747922/

Andy and Ernie Sollis inform me that one of the finest railway photographers of his age, Henry Benjamin Priestley, has died aged 97. Railway photography was his passion, and he was a founder member of the Tramway Museum Society, but he is also well remembered as Headmaster of Brunts Grammar School, Mansfield. Ernie Sollis was a pupil and remembers "Ben" (as he was known) arranging a trip for the school from Sutton-in-Ashfield Town (GNR) station to Oxford with what he believes was a B1 in charge both ways. The negative collection was split up some years ago but his photographs continue to be published in books. The local paper carried just a brief notice: http://announce.jpress.co.uk/453408 More here: http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/nwh_gfx_en/ART53783.html

On 26/27th April, there will an open weekend at Fencote and Rowden Mill stations. As they are not normally open to the public, this will be a rare opportunity to visit these privately-owned and restored stations on the ex-GWR Leominster-Worcester line The event celebrates the 50th anniversary of the SLS Special that was the last passenger train on the Bromyard branch to Leominster on 26th April 1958. The stations will be open between midday and 6.00pm on both days.

The Patent Office: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/patent.htm

Last week's link to The Office of Public Sector Information site for chronological tables of Local Acts of Parliament was to a specific year, from which it was not easy to navigate to other yesrs. This is a better starting point: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/chron-tables/local/index.htm

The Penlee Quarry Narrow Gauge at Newlyn, near Penzance was a 2ft gauge line that was replaced by a conveyor belt in 1972. The quarry is now subject to a locally-contested plan to open the lake area out to seaward and build a yachting marina. In doing so, it would destroy part of the line of the railway which is now a permissive cycleway and forms part of the Cornwall Coast Path - it has even been surfaced in the past 5 years. http://www.stopthemarina.co.uk/

If you fancy a property with a difference, Wheal Langford engine houses near Callington, Cornwall are offered for sale by auction with a guide price of £150,000. The property is currently very open plan: http://www.lillicrapchilcott.com/PropertyDetail.asp?id=2478

The Black Sheep Index is one way of finding names of people involved in railway accidents. You can also order the full accident report from this site but it is not cheap - better to read the original printed version in the various public collections: http://www.blacksheepindex.co.uk/

The Derby Canal: http://www.derbycanal.org.uk/

The Melton Mowbray Navigation: http://beehive.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/default.asp?WCI=SiteHome&ID=6595

John Woolley's gallery - some nice modern traction stuff in there: http://pics-by-john.photoblog.org.uk

North East Rails photographic site - 15,000 images of the North East (of the USA): http://www.northeast.railfan.net/home.html

(Spotter: Mike Morant)

A new model railway discussion group on Yahoo: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BritishModelRailways

More on the Belfast & Moosehead line in Maine. Some interesting stuff for sale, but how to get it here...! http://bangornews.com/news/t/midcoast.aspx?articleid=159930&zoneid=179 http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/4740532.html (Spotter: Richard Buckby)

The Delhi Train Museum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzBprvV868k

European news from Ralph Rawlinson...

High Speed Lines in Spain:

Completion of the final part of the Madrid-Barcelona high-speed line has been delayed by tunnelling problems, and an opening is not now likely before the end of February at the earliest. However, the opening of the Madrid-Valladolid and Antequera Santa Ana-Malaga HSLs took place as planned on 23rd and 24th December respectively. When the first AVE train arrived in Malaga, there was understandable and perhaps justified euphoria and celebration. Certainly a few months ago it seemed almost impossible that the civil engineering work, including a 2km-long underground section on the last few kilometres into Malaga, could be completed on time.

On the 55km or so through the mountainous territory between Antequera and Malaga there are 19 viaducts totaling over 11km in length (the longest being 1,209 metres long and 93.4metres high) and 8 tunnels, with a total length of 25km (the Abdalajis tunnel is 7,300 metres long).

Services are generally being operated by Talgo/Bombardier Class 102 (El Patos) or Siemens-Velaro Class 103 trains. In the first few days of public service on both lines there were some highly-publicised instances of delay, including one of 40 minutes and one of 45 minutes - both of these meaning that the operator RENFE had to refund fares to all the passengers. Delays have been blamed on problems with computers affecting the signalling, but opposition parties and some of the media have been quick to accuse the government of putting political kudos before safety and security, saying that not enough trial running has been carried out.

It may be no coincidence that so many spectacular infrastructure projects in Spain are being delivered at this time, and that the date of the next general election is 9th March 2008. The prime minister again shielded his minister from blame for the Barcelona failure and admitted that it had been chaotic. Opening is promised "soon", but no date is being quoted. La Generalitat Valenciana has been complaining bitterly that Valencia was not given priority over the lesser routes just opened and that far more passengers will be carried on the AVEs to their city than on those to any of the others, including Barcelona and Seville.

European Sleeper Services:

The ongoing construction of European high speed lines mean that more and more journeys can now be completed in daylight hours but there are still a surprising number of overnight sleeper services. The City Night Line international sleeper operation is now majority owned by DB and the operation has been revamped. Named trains always add glamour to ones journey and all City Night Line's trains now have them. These are:

Amsterdam-Cologne-Copenhagen - 'Borealis' Amsterdam-Cologne-Milan - 'Apus' Amsterdam-Cologne-Munich(-Garmisch Partenkirchen) - 'Pollux' Amsterdam-Cologne-Prague - 'Kopemikus' Amsterdam-Cologne-Vienna - 'Donau Kurier' Amsterdam-Cologne-Zurich(-Brig) - 'Pegasus' Basel-Prague - 'Orion' Berlin-Bolzano - 'Venus' Berlin-Brussels-Paris - 'Perseus' Berlin-Zurich - 'Berliner' Copenhagen-Basel - 'Aurora' Dortmund-Bolzano-Selzthal-Worgl - 'Uranus' Dortmund-Villach - 'Jupiter' Dresden-Zurich - 'Semper' Hamburg-Bludenz - 'Capella' Hamburg-Bolzano-Selzthal-Worgl - 'Neptune' Hamburg-Brussels-Paris - 'Andromeda' Hamburg-Villach - 'Merkur' Hamburg-Zurich-Brig - 'Komet' Munich-Berlin - 'Pluto' Munich-Hamburg - 'Meteor' Munich-Copenhagen - 'Hans Christian Andersen' Munich-Paris - 'Cassiopeia' Munich-Rome - 'Lupus' Munich-Venice - 'Pictor'

The December timetable change also saw the introduction of through sleeper coaches to Moscow from Basel, Munich, Paris and Amsterdam using gauge- changing apparatus. The service runs twice a week (three times in summer) with a layover during the day in Berlin.

New on "Trains of Europe": new German railway pictures from Koblenz and Cologne: http://www.trainsofeurope.nl

Ralph also reports that all day every Tuesday, Sky Travel 2 (channel 263) is showing a series of Great Railway Journeys.

IN THE NEWS

Bere Alston-Tavistock reopening plans: http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/07/28/railway_line_feature.shtml

New turntable at Minehead: http://tinyurl.com/22vcee

Birmingham New Street rebuild go-ahead: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_midlands/7240486.stm

Peppercorn A1 "Tornado" ready in April: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7238506.stm

Waverley route debate - for: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7230911.stm

Waverley route debate - against: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7233250.stm

Pakistan Railway Museum has few visitors: http://tinyurl.com/2sbblz

Bus loses roof: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7238711.stm

Spotters: Richard Buckby, Reg Nerps

TV and Radio

Events

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