RAILDATE: the weekly newsletter of the Hursley Park Model Railway Society: http://www.ibmhursleyclub.org.uk/ss/hpmrs/
Advance notice - I'll be away over Easter, so next week's RAILDATE (27th March) will be the last for two, possibly three, weeks.
"A Further Look at Southampton's Quayside Railways" by Dave Marden
Southampton has long been famous for its docks, but the port also spreads along the banks of the rivers Test and Itchen. Here, lesser wharves have seen their share of rail traffic, and along the whole waterfront, cargoes were moved for over a hundred years by a varied assortment of locomotives working behind the scenes.
In this second book about Southampton's industrial and minor railways, Dave Marden has included locations that are slightly further afield, although still within the Southampton area.
The book also features non-steam traction and narrow gauge lines, and while some of the subjects might be a little removed from the more recognisable classes of locomotive, their diversity of design and employment makes them all the more interesting. Some of the lines covered in the previous book have been revisited, particularly those where steam power was superseded by diesel.
The two volumes together present a useful and informative guide to the railways and locomotives that have graced Southampton's waterside - not always attractive but certainly honest and valued workhorses that played such an important role in the city's industrial development and history.
Softback: 168 pages with around 200 black & white photographs 273 x 215mm ISBN 978-1-905505-12-8 Price: £17.95 http://www.kestrelrailwaybooks.co.uk/sqs2.htm
Extract from Keeping Track (management newsletter): Freight operator First GBRf has applied to the ORR for a passenger licence which would apply throughout the European Economic Area, and the ORR has confirmed that it is likely to give approval. A consultation period will run until 26th March. GBRf said cost reductions worth some £1.5m over the coming year and the assurance of a number of new long-term contracts will ensure the company will be 'well positioned' when the financial crisis comes to an end. First GBRf will also start to take delivery of 89 new HYA coal hoppers at the end of next month. http://91.186.0.3/~keepingt/rm/187/RMAN_187.pdf
North Wales - mainly signalling: http://www.alanroberts771.fotopic.net/
Mainly Eastern signalling: http://tinyurl.com/c42acz
(Spotter: Neil Kearns)
Great Eastern Railway Magazine 1911-1926
The Great Eastern Railway Society has recently had the entire collection of the Great Eastern Railway Magazine professionally scanned and digitised. The collection is available on DVD to non-members at a very reasonable £15. Full details here: http://www.gersociety.org.uk/GERM.pdf
Ralph Rawlinson's Railway Roundup
GCR Woodhead Route - The Railway Herald reports that a Sheffield MP has called on the Government to make a speedy decision on whether to reopen the Woodhead route or risk loosing it for ever. The National Grid have said they will stop funding maintenance of the two single-bore tunnels originally used to carry the electricity cables which are being moved into the 1953 double bore tunnel. National Grid will move the cables back into the old tunnels if the railway project goes ahead but the longer it is left the more expensive it will become to bring them back into use.
Birmingham Business Focus are preparing their case for a monorail that would link New Street station to Birmingham Airport and the National Exhibition Centre via the A45 corridor. http://tinyurl.com/dl6zf9
London Crossrail - Work began on 23 February on the long term project to build the new Isle of Dogs station at Canary Wharf. http://tinyurl.com/alohax
Norway - Video of the world's largest snow blower: http://vimeo.com/groups/5DMKII/videos/3539062
India - The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway has finally given up the idea of introducing oil-fired locomotives; they were supposed to replace the vintage steam engines. http://tinyurl.com/cmvj3j
Cambodia - Because Cambodia has one of the worst train services in the world people in the north west of the country have taken matters into their own hands. They have created their own rail service using little more than pieces of bamboo. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/5110236.stm
China - Construction of the Beijing-Zhangjiakou HS line is expected to begin in August. This 100 mile-line will run at a speed of up to 186mph and the journey will be cut from the current three hours to less than one. http://www.chinaknowledge.com/Newswires/News_Detail.aspx?type=1&NewsID=21868
China is "actively planning" a line linking Beijing with Taipei in Taiwan. They don't seem deterred by that fact it that would involve crossing the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Straits. Meanwhile the new line between Fuzhou and Xiamen is scheduled to be completed at the end of July and put into use in November. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/12/content_10996421.htm
Ecuador - "The most difficult railway ever built" and "One of the great railways journeys of the world" have both been said about the Guayaquil & Quinto. The April edition of the Railway Magazine carries a description of the line as an introduction to the £3,495 11-day tour it is running next September.
The Historic Inland Waterway Boats list is not a new group, but a renamed old one. It was formerly the Historic Narrow Boat Public Discussion (HNBPD) list and was the public version of the private group list for the Historic Narrow Boat Owners Club (HNBOC). However, due to negligible use, its scope has been widened. It is, "For the discussion of all aspects of inland working boats in the British Isles. These include, but are not limited to, barges, tub boats, 'ampton boats, wide boats, trows, keels, west country barges, wherries etc and maybe even narrow boats :-) but discussion should NOT include craft of a primarily coastal nature even if these habitually travelled inland." http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HIWB
Another archive site I hadn't come across before, mainly US-based: http://www.archivecdbooksusa.com/
Sunday working dispute with London Midland: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7940867.stm
Firms fined for scaffolding collapse at Aberystwyth station: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/7950392.stm
National Express to ban train spotting...? http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/16/trainspotting_ban/ http://tinyurl.com/cvoyf7
Train spotter 'terror' row: http://tinyurl.com/cf5bvg
Trainspotter-friendly article in the Guardian: http://tinyurl.com/dlpohm
Latest news at GWS Didcot: http://www.didcotrailwaycentre.org.uk/news/latest.html#news01
Damaged cylinder of 73096 on Mid Hants Railway: http://www.watercressline.co.uk/tw/index.htm
Japan's bullet train operator is caught fiddling the meter: http://tinyurl.com/b3fvjr
Job losses at Alexander and Dennis: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7946759.stm
Refit of Sir Walter Scott (Loch Katrine): http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7945904.stm
High risk of repeat fault with 777 aircraft: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7941137.stm
Chocks away for garden Spitfire: http://tinyurl.com/brgolf
Spotters: Richard Buckby, Neil Kearns, Reg Nerps, Ralph Rawlinson
| Sat Mar 21 | 2000-2100 | BBC2 'Timewatch: WWI Aces Falling' Britain's greatest WWI pilots |
| Sat Mar 21 | 2000-2100 | BBC4 'Japan in Colour - the Wonderful World of Alfred Kahn' |
| Sat Mar 21 | 2110-2200 | BBC4 'Great Railway Journeys' The 'Bullet Train' |
| Sun Mar 22 | 1400-1430 | BBC2 'Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain' |
| Mon Mar 23 | 1930-2000 | Five 'How Do They Do It?' Drinks cans and golf clubs |
| Mon Mar 23 | 2000-2030 | BBC2 'Railway Walks' The birth of steam - Cornwall 3/6 |
| Tue Mar 24 | 2000-2100 | BBC2 'Coast' South Wales |
| Wed Mar 25 | 1930-2000 | BBC4 'Britain's Best Drives' The Wye Valley |
| Thu Mar 26 | 2030-2100 | BBC4 'Britain's Best Drives' Scotland |
| Thu Mar 26 | 2100-2200 | BBC4 'India's Hospital Train - the Lifeline Express' |
| Thu Mar 26 | 2200-2230 | BBC4 'Michael Smith's Drivetime' Hitch-hiking |
See Mainline Steam Tours page for up-to-date info on many of these tours, and others, often with timings.
| For up-to-date information on many of the tours mentioned in Raildate (and others) often with timings, see the Steam Tours pages at: http://www.uksteam.info/index.shtml and also http://railwayherald.co.uk/railtours/ | ||
| All details are correct to the best of my knowledge. No responsibility is taken for inaccuracies or changes. | ||
| Sat Mar 21 | 1000-1700 |
American Model Railway Show
Boundstone School, Boundstone, Lancing, W. Sussex, BN15 9QZ 1000-1700 |
| Sat Mar 21 - Sun Mar 22 | ? | Swanage Railway: Railway at Work http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk |
| Sat Mar 21 - Sun Mar 22 | ? | South Devon Railway: Half Price Weekend http://www.southdevonrailway.org |
| Sat Mar 21 - Sun Mar 22 | 0930-1730(Sat) 1000-1700(Sun) |
Nottingham Model Railway Exhibition
The Harvey Hadden Sports Complex, Wigman Road, Bilborough, Nottingham, NG8 4PB 0930-1730 (Sat), 1000-1700 (Sun) http://www.nottingham-modelrailway.org.uk |
| Sun Mar 22 | 1000-1630 |
Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society Model Railway Exhibition
Fernham Hall, Fareham 1000-1630 |
| Sun Mar 22 | ? | Mid Hants Watercress Line: Mother's Day http://www.watercressline.co.uk |
| Sat Mar 28 - Sun Mar 29 | 1000-1700 |
The London Festival of Railway Modelling
Alexandra Palace, London 1000-1700 both days http://www.brmodelling.co.uk |
| Sat Mar 28 - Sun Mar 29 | ? |
Sheffield Model Railway Exhibition
Birkdale School, Oakholme Road, Sheffield S10 3DH |
| Tue Mar 31 | 1930 |
West Somerset Railway Association Bristol Area Group
BAWA, Southmead Road, Filton Malcolm Ranieri: Medium Format Medley Starts 1930 Admission: £2, students and children free |
| Sat Apr 04 | ? | 150th Anniversary of Ewell West station http://www.ewell150.co.uk/ |
| Sat Apr 04 | 1030-1430 |
Frome Model Railway Exhibition
Selwood School, Berkeley Road, Frome, BA11 2EF 1030-1430 http://www.esmodels.co.uk |
| Sat Apr 04 - Sun Apr 05 | ? | Barrow Hill Roundhouse: Gresley Weekend http://barrowhill.org |
| Sat Apr 04 - Mon Apr 13 | ? | Mid Hants Watercress Line: Day Out with Thomas http://www.watercressline.co.uk |
| Sun Apr 05 | 1000-1600 |
Romsey Signal Box Open Day
Admission free (donations welcome!) 1000-1600 ex-Romsey Infants School, Plaza Parade, Winchester Rd, Romsey Car park in old school grounds http://www.romseysignalbox.org.uk |
| Cheers, Howard. editor at raildate.co.uk (spam-proofed) | ||
|
Previous issues of Raildate are at: http://steam.to/raildate
This page includes a master catalogue of items that have appeared in previous editions of Raildate. | ||
| (C) Howard Sprenger and Hursley Park Model Railway Society 2009. | ||
| The external edition of Raildate may be freely distributed without permission as long as no changes whatsoever are made to the original document distributed by the Editor. You can subscribe to the external edition here: http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/RAILDATE/ | ||