THE last few remaining Italian Railways Class 444 ‘Tartarughe’ (Tortoise) electric locos are expected to be withdrawn by December.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 It was withdrawn from Barrow-in-Furness (12C) in December 1967 and passed to the National Coal Board’s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

EUROPE: SNCF’s international ticket retailing platform Loco2 is to be rebranded as Rail Europe with effect from November 6. Announcing the change on September 2, Loco2 said Rail Europe was ‘a well-established market leading brand worldwide in the Americas, India, across Asia, Australia and New Zealand’, and the change would provide

THE Class 27 Locomotive Group’s No. 27001 received attention at Bo’ness prior to making an extended visit to the Spa Valley Railway in Kent (RM June, p93).  It is seen outside the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway’s modern motive power depot at Bo’ness on July 12, ready for departure, set for the

THE Avon Valley Railway took delivery of fully operational Class 08 No. 08663 on July 8 – being in effect a donation from Great Western Railway (GWR). The loco has been used in recent years at GWR’s St Philip’s Marsh depot, Bristol for moving diesel multiple units and high-speed train

THE North Norfolk Railway (NNR) has launched a £35,000 appeal to cover the costs of transporting Reedham Junction signalbox in Norfolk to its new location at Holt, and its restoration as a working museum, reports Richard Horner. The 1904-built Great Eastern Railway ‘box has been gifted to the NNR by

GATWICK Express and Southern services suffered severe disruption on July 9 after a Network Rail stoneblower derailed at London Victoria.  The vehicles had been engaged in overnight track maintenance in the station throat when one of the three sections became derailed on pointwork at around 03.00. 

THE Conwy Valley Line in North Wales was due to reopen throughout on July 24 following extensive repairs to six miles of track washed out by a storm in March.  Llandudno Junction to Llanrwst North reopened to passengers on July 18, in connection with the Welsh National Eisteddfod, while the

WORKSOP station in Nottinghamshire has won a prestigious National Railway Heritage Award following a £1.1million investment to restore and conserve parts of its listed structures. The Railway Heritage Trust’s Conservation Award was given to the station following work carried out by Network Rail to strengthen and refurbish the lattice footbridge,