Belmond’s ‘Royal Scotsman’ luxury landcruise train – more usually confined to itineraries within Scotland – embarks on an annual  seven-night grand tour of Britain, visiting popular tourist spots in England and Wales. On the third leg from Edinburgh to Chester on July 7, No. 66746 leads the train through

July 6 saw Class 50s Nos. 50007 Hercules and 50049 Defiance work a GB Railfreight staff charter from Motherwell to Scarborough via the East Coast Main Line.  The train worked the empty stock north from Burton to Motherwell via Lancaster and Carlisle on July 5, and then ran via Edinburgh

Regular steam operation will return to London Waterloo in 2020 after Steam Dreams confirmed its ‘Royal Windsor Steam Express’ will run again next summer.  Operating every Tuesday until September 3, the trains consist of three one-way, steam-hauled trips from Waterloo to Windsor & Eton Riverside and an evening dining circuit

BLACKPOOL ‘Balloon’ car No. 715 has undergone a partial repaint at Rigby Road depot into authentic 1970s livery with full green cab surrounds, complete with period advertising.  On one side it carries an advert for CIS Insurance (pictured), while on the other is a classic advert for Blackpool Zoo. 

HECTOR Rail Class 66 loco T66402 hauled the first Class 66 worked passenger train in Sweden on July 7.  The type has been in use in the country for many years, but there had not been any passenger workings before.  Hector Rail T66402 (still in former Rush

ARGENTINA president Mauricio Macri officially opened the second new elevated commuter railway in Buenos Aires on July 10. It has replaced ground-level railways with new routes on viaducts, eliminating 11 level crossings, and releasing some land for redevelopment.  The 5km section of the Linea San Martin line

ONE of two Chinese-built ‘QJ’ 2-10-2 steam locos – based on the Iowa Interstate freight railroad – has been in action this summer operating short-distance day trips to raise funds and awareness for local fire departments in towns along the railroad’s route.  Two ‘QJs’ (Nos. 6988 and 7081, built in 1985

THE last few remaining Italian Railways Class 444 ‘Tartarughe’ (Tortoise) electric locos are expected to be withdrawn by December. They are being replaced by more modern locos, and most recently by second-hand, Italian-built ‘Fyra’ high-speed trains from The Netherlands. Italian State Railways introduced the first Class 444

FORMER BR 0-6-0DM No. D2511 (Hudswell, Clarke No. D1202 of 1961)  – the only survivor of a class of 10 – serves as the yard pilot at Oxenhope, where it is seen on June 16. It was withdrawn from Barrow-in-Furness (12C) in December 1967 and passed to the National Coal Board’s

NEW ZEALAND: Daily commuter services are to be introduced on the northern section of KiwiRail’s North Island Main Trunk line between Hamilton and Auckland from mid-2020, following the approval of an NZ$92·4m funding package by the NZ Transport Agency. Combining NZ$79·8m from the national government with NZ$12·6m from local authorities, the