HPMRS RAILDATE 26 Sep 08

News

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

NETWATCH

Quite a lot of railway interest on TV next week, especially BBC4 on Thursday 2nd October. After a repeat of an old interview with Dr Beeching, Julia Bradbury begins a new series of "Railway Walks". Then comes a review of the Beeching cuts by Ian Hislop followed by a repeat of Victoria Wood's "Great Railway Journeys" set in the north of England.

Ralph Rawlinson has provided details of the lines featured in "Railway Walks" in the coming weeks: Derbyshire: Monsal Trail (Bakewell to Buxton) Wales: Mawddach Trail (Dolgellau to Barmouth) Cornwall: Mineral Tramways (Portreath to Devoran) Scotland: Speyside Railway (Craigellachie to Ballindalloch) Dorset: Weymouth to Portland Scotland: Callender to Killin

Also look out for a biography of US steam photographer O Winston Link on 27th September and "London to Brighton in Four Minutes" on 30th September. Full details below.

David and Marion Canning are again publishing their calendars for 2009, although production costs, margins and donations to charity (Cats Protection - the whole purpose of the exercise) mean that they cannot afford to advertise. The calendars are A4, spiral-bound and include 15 photographs in each.

Priced at £8.00 plus £2.25 p&p, the subjects cover:

Modern Diesels (colour) Heritage Diesels (colour) Swiss Trains (colour) Signalboxes (colour) Steam (b&w) Hydraulics (colour) The Weather (colour) 50 Years at Newbury Station (b&w and colour) Class 47s (colour) Naturist (colour) Adorable Cats (colour)

David is also self-publishing "Half a Century of Railway Photography" which reviews his photographic activities since 1958. £21.00 including p&p.

David and Marion Canning, "Helvetia", 20A First Avenue, Ravenswing Park, Aldermaston, RG7 4PS email: info@devidandmarionphotography.co.uk

Who is the Fact Compiler? No-one knows, but his funny and sometimes irreverent thoughts are captured in his blog, "Railway Eye" (I've bookmarked it!) http://railwayeye.blogspot.com

Seaton Junction up for auction on 30th October: http://brbrlandsales.co.uk/sites/seaton_junction/

Southern Railway publicity: http://www.srpublicity.co.uk/index.htm

British Railways publicity: http://www.srpublicity.co.uk/brs/index.htm

Network South East publicity: http://www.srpublicity.co.uk/nse/index.htm

National Preservation - a meeting place for staff and volunteers on heritage railways: http://www.national-preservation.com/

On 21st September, Charles Howeson, chairman of First Great Western officially unveiled the new station signs at Bere Ferrers station. The old signs have been replaced with new SR totems, running in boards and seat back enamels, and all the notice board signs are new. The station is to be repainted in SR green: http://www.brucehunt.co.uk/Bere%20Ferrers%20new%20signs.html

Following last week's piece on railway photography, a reader told me of a recent problem he'd had when wanting to take photographs. As a result, he wrote to the Train Operating Company, and received the following response from their Customer Relations Officer:

"In order to enter any station you have to have a valid ticket... You do need permission to take photographs at any of our stations and most of our stations do have cctv and if you are caught on that, especially at an unmanned station, we may involve BT Police. I do hope that this helps."

Helpful indeed (not) and if BTP's own website is to be believed, arrant nonsense to boot. Here's that URL again. It might be worth printing down and keeping in your camera bag: http://www.btp.police.uk/railenthusiasts.html

A discussion group for people who get fed up with people plugging their photographic sites on other discussion groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/railplugmoan/

And another regarding the two surviving ex-LMS/WD 0-6-0DE locomotives in Italy and whether it is possible that one could be repatriated to the UK. The details of the locomotives are: LMS Class 0F, BR Class D3/7 later D3/8, built Derby 1941 LMS Numbers: 7103 & 7106, WD Numbers: 52-70052 & 55-70055 FS Numbers: 700.001 & 700.003 http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/LMSShunters/

The PR brochure from the main contractor working on Bradway Tunnel: http://www.weldgrip.co.uk/2006_pdf/CS5BRADWAY.pdf (Spotter: Nick Wheat)

Ralph's Railway Roundup

West-East line: According to "'Bedfordshire on Sunday" the Government is backing a revised plan for a West-East line between Oxford and Cambridge. It would follow the original route from Oxford to Bletchley but, because Bedford-Cambridge has been ruled out, at Stewartby (four miles south of Bedford) a spur would join the Midland main line to Luton. Further south new alignment would head east to join the ECML at Stevenage which would give direct access to Cambridge. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7633262.stm

Lincoln resignalling: After a six-week closure, Lincoln was again connected to the rail network on 1st September following completion of a £55m upgrade to track and signalling around the city.

New Oxford service: Chiltern Railways is planning a new half-hourly service from Oxford to Marylebone via Princes Risborough. The £200m project will include a new station to serve the Water Eaton park-and-ride site near Kidlington, the dualling of the Oxford-Bicester line and a new west-to-south chord at Bicester.

Settle & Carlisle line: The S&C is in the middle of a major programme of engineering works largely aimed at improving the flow of coal traffic from the Ayrshire port of Hunterston to coal-powered power stations in Yorkshire and elsewhere. But even with these improvements, there will not be the capacity to operate an hourly passenger service for which it is claimed there is a demand.

Bluebell Railway: Rail magazine reports that a major development company has asked the Bluebell Railway if it would like support to reopen Horsted Keynes to Copyhold Jn which, if achieved, would turn it into a through route to Brighton again. In 2003 the heritage group laid 300 yards of track from Horsted Keynes towards Sheriff Mill in order to offer brake van trips.

Manchester-Preston line: Rail services on this line returned to normal on Monday 8th September following the completion of the "Flying Arches" improvement work. The line had been closed for six weeks while 16 grade ll listed gritstone arches, installed in 1841 to support the walls of the cutting north of Chorley tunnel, were removed to allow engineers to pin back the walls with ground anchors and install sheet piling etc. Listed building consent gives three years for the reinstatement of the original stone arches and removal of the temporary steel ones. Meanwhile Chorley Council has granted planning permission for the proposed station at Buckshaw a little further north. The new station, on the site of the former unadvertised Euxton ROF Halt, is being part-funded by the developer of the adjacent business park and housing development.

Stirling-Dunfermline line: Prompted by the success of the recently reopened Stirling-Alloa-Kincardine line the South East Scotland Transport Partnership (SEStran) is pressing ahead with a feasibility study into extending the passenger service from Alloa to Edinburgh. A new west-to-south curve at Charlestown Junction would be required to avoid trains having to go round the 'Dunfermline Circle.' However... steam trips on Alloa line cancelled: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7634132.stm

Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal: On 19th September 2008 the first phase of the restoration of the 15-mile Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal (abandoned in 1961) was officially opened in the City of Salford. Although only 500 metres in length, this section includes a tunnel under the new Salford Inner Relief Road without which the canal would have been isolated from the rest of the waterway system. Locks 1 and 2, originally next to the junction with the River Irwell, have been replaced by a single deep lock situated to the west of the railway further away from the river. Photos of first boats onto new section of canal here: http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk/mbb/mbbc46.htm

There's a nice surprise at the end of this video uploaded by Raildater Nico Spilt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HArFz1A6FOs (Spotter: Mike Morant)

Mike himself has just finished uploading a borad and interesting selection of archive images to his Fotopic gallery: http://gallery62603.fotopic.net/c1584559.html

Mike is also working on a display to celebrate 150 years of Swaythling station - further details to follow...

If you are in the USA, the RFD channel on satellite (and maybe cable) TV has a weekly series named "Trains and Locomotives". http://www.rfdtv.com/ (Spotter: Larry Schwartz)

IN THE NEWS

Full Eurostar service resumed from Monday 22 September: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7628215.stm

The RAIB starts to investigate the Channel Tunnel fire: http://tinyurl.com/3ff5gj

Pantograph fault on Eurostar http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7633192.stm

Explosion on building site closes Bath Spa station: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7632244.stm

Platinum Trains track access application: http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.7962

NR & Jarvis fined after two rail workers received electric shock: http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/ConWebDoc.9198

Derailment at Haresfield GL (Standish Jn): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/7625441.stm

Reopened for traffic Saturday after tanker discharged: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/7627078.stm

Probe into rail crossing claims near Inverness: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7625223.stm

Firearm incident closed WCML at Rugby: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/7634708.stm

Tom Harris's railway "joke" (the Transport Minister speaks...) http://tomcharris.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/railway-gag/

Progress on reopening Bere Alston - Tavistock: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7626290.stm

Growing campaign to save Sheffield footbridge: http://tinyurl.com/3zt8js

RAIB report - collision with demolished bridge at Barrow upon Soar: http://tinyurl.com/4zcnlr

Friends of Reddish South news: http://reddish.dsracing.me.uk/news.htm

Wivenhoe goods shed to be moved: http://tinyurl.com/45958a

Rail icon appeal launched: http://tinyurl.com/4c2fcs

Residents express anger over railway museum plans: http://tinyurl.com/3njwfd

National Railway Museum Launches Valiant: http://tinyurl.com/68u9zq

Braunton back on the rails: http://tinyurl.com/49x3yo http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/7627940.stm http://www.west-somerset-railway.co.uk/Latest_news.html#ln4

Huge wartime loco steams in to K&WVR: http://tinyurl.com/43nmyk

Strathspey Railway volunteers reach the River Dulnain: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/highlands_and_islands/7631111.stm

Did a rail-fan cause the LA train crash...? http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122179026816055427.html?mod=djemITP

Mobile Phones banned on locos Californian Railways: http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PUBLISHED/NEWS_RELEASE/91033.htm

Train crushes railway sex couple: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7629433.stm

Model railway buff goes loco over stolen engine: http://tinyurl.com/45bp9j

Nottingham Buses cutting vandalism: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/7630788.stm

Planting trees for bus passengers: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_west/7625537.stm

Bus tours around Easterhouse in Glasgow: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7625892.stm

Sandbanks ferry closure: http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/news471.htm

Concorde museum delayed by newts: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7625087.stm

Pilots sleep through flight: http://tinyurl.com/52hjxu

Ironbridge threatened by landslips: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/shropshire/7624740.stm

Spotters: Richard Buckby, Neil Kearns, Mike Morant, 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.