“THIS is the Night Mail crossing the border, Bringing the cheque and the postal order…” W H Auden’s opening lines to 1936’s evocative GPO documentary film Night Mail about the work of the Travelling Post Office (TPO) are known by thousands, and to many conjure images of Fowler 4-6-0s on

GREAT Western motive power returned to the Bodmin & Wenford Railway for the first time in 2019 when Collett ‘8750’ 0-6-0PT No. 4612 rejoined the working fleet in late-July after overhaul.  The loco passed its steam test on July 18 and, following running-in turns, took its place on the passenger roster

THE Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust (PRCLT) has been awarded the contract to complete Fowler ‘Patriot’ 4-6-0 No. 5551 The Unknown Warrior by the LMS-Patriot Project. The PRCLT also operates and maintains Stanier Pacific No. 6233 Duchess of Sutherland. The ‘Patriot’s’ bottom end and associated components will leave their

Australia: ARTC has appointed Turner & Townsend and SNC-Lavalin to provide programme management office services for the Inland Rail project. Canada: Thales is to supply SelTrac CBTC signalling for Toronto’s Finch West light rail line and Stage 2 of the O-Train Confederation Line in Ottawa. Croatia: HŽ Infrastruktura, the Port

HEAVYFREIGHT 2-8-0 No. 48624 was withdrawn from service at the Great Central Railway (GCR) at the end of July pending its next 10-yearly overhaul. The Stanier ‘8F’ has been a stalwart member of the GCR steam fleet, and on June 26 took part in a special ‘8Fs’ charter organised

RIDDLES ‘4MT’ 2-6-4T No. 80151 is back in operation following overhaul at the Bluebell Railway.  The Brighton-built loco has not worked since withdrawal for overhaul in May 2012, and over the past four years has received an extensive overhaul and boiler repairs to the tune of almost £360,000.

THE Scottish Railway Preservation Society (SRPS) is erecting an all-new engineering facility at the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway. The development is being progressed thanks to a £741,500 grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund towards its Steaming Ahead project. The multi-faceted project will see the creation of

Peak time Cardiff to London ‘flyers’ taking just 102 minutes for the 131-mile journey are among the highlights of Great Western Railway’s new inter-city timetable, due to be introduced on December 15. With all of its Class 800 Intercity Express Trains (IETs) and Class 802s now in traffic,

Australia: The UGL Unipart 70:30 JV has been awarded a five-year extension to its contract to maintain Sydney Trains’ fleet of more than 1 050 vehicles. The contract runs for five years from July 1, replacing a two-year extension announced in January. South Australia has awarded Bombardier a contract to

In the first of two features focusing on the West Highland line, which marks its 125th anniversary this year, Keith Farr analyses steam-hauled journeys over this scenic and demanding route. Glasgow (Queen Street) high-level terminus is being transformed. Platforms are being extended to cope with more frequent and longer