ONE of the 10 Class 60s acquired by GB Railfreight from Colas Rail has been outshopped by Arlington Fleet Services, Eastleigh, in a bright blue livery.  No. 60026 carries the house colours of leasing company Beacon Rail, which financed the purchase of the locos, five of which have long-range fuel tanks,

HEAVY rain during late September resulted in West Coast Railway Company’s annual ‘Lune Rivers Trust’ special to Shrewsbury having to be diverted owing to a mud slide at Bentham. The train, hauled by recent returnee No. 46115 Scots Guardsman, had originally been booked to leave Carnforth at 07.41 for a run

THE new Avanti West Coast franchise is being officially launched today. A consortium of FirstGroup and Trenitalia won the West Coast Partnership contract, displacing Virgin and Stagecoach after more than 20 years on the route, and assumed responsibility at 02.00 yesterday morning.The new operator will provide intercity services on

FREIGHTLINER joined forces with Samaritans and Greater Anglia at Ipswich station on November 21 to name No. 66416 You Are Never Alone. Neil McNicholas, Freightliner managing director of UK Rail, said: “We wanted to partner with Samaritans for this loco-naming ceremony to pay tribute to, and raise awareness of, the

THE Simkins family visited the Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway (ELSR) on August 10-11 with their unique collection of 10¼in-gauge Great Central Railway locos.  Design and construction started in the early 1990s. The first completed was Andrew Simkins’ award-winning Class 8 (LNER ‘B5’) 4-6-0 ‘Fish’ engine No. 181, in 2002. Father Neil’s

STEAM returned to the Whitepass and Yukon Railroad in Alaska this summer, with Baldwin-built 2-8-2 No. 73 re-entering service on July 15.  The loco was bought new from Baldwin in 1947 (Works No. 73352) and withdrawn in 1964. It was restored back to working order in 1982, and has been in use

THE Virgin West Coast franchise came to an end at 01.59 this morning, after more than 20 years of operation on the route by Richard Branson’s company and Stagecoach Group.Operation has been transferred to the new West Coast Partnership, which is a consortium of FirstGroup and Italian operator Trenitalia. Virgin Trains

GWR will be making its biggest timetable change in December, said to be the most comprehensive since the introduction of HSTs in 1976. More than 75% of the timetable is changed or recast, with faster journeys taking advantage of the superior IET acceleration times, more frequent trains and extra seats. 

CLASS 66 locos have been cleared to work to Oban after a two-year project involving Network Rail and GB Railfreight.  Use of loco-hauled trains was restricted to lighter Class 37s locos prior to completion of the work, because of restricted axle loading.  Upgrading the line for

A RARE English Electric diesel loco worked passenger trains on the ‘Mary Valley Rattler’ heritage line in Queensland in September because of extreme weather and fire danger posed by the normal steam workings.  Ex-Queensland Rail loco No. 1632, one of 34 ‘1620 Class’ locos manufactured by the English Electric Company