COLLETT ‘Manor’ No. 7802 Bradley Manor has been withdrawn from traffic at the West Somerset Railway (WSR) after suffering a broken piston rod while in service on the line. The Erlestoke Manor Fund’s (EMF) 4-6-0 was working the 10.15 Bishops Lydeard- Minehead service on July 7 when the incident occurred, busting

GERMANY: The first of 160 articulated flat wagons which Deutsche Bahn has ordered from United Wagon Co’s Tikhvin factory in Russia have been sent for testing, with TSI certification expected by the end of the year Static testing and trial running is to be undertaken over several months, with a particular

UK: The terms of reference and timeline for an independently-led government review of whether and how to proceed with the High Speed 2 project were published by Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps on August 21. The ‘independent, thorough and objective’ review is to be chaired by Douglas Oakervee, whose

POLAND: National long-distance train operator PKP Intercity has signed a contract for Stadler to supply a 12 eight-car Flirt electric multiple-units and maintain them for 15 years. Stadler and a consortium of Pesa Bydgoszcz with its subsidiary ZNTK Mińsk Mazowiecki submitted bids in response to the operator’s December 2017 call for

TRANSPORT secretary Grant Shapps says a ‘go or no-go’ decision will be made about HS2 by the end of the year. The DfT said a review will ‘consider whether and how the project should proceed’, and will take into account the benefits, cost and practicality of building

UK: Abellio officially launched East Midlands Railway as the new operator of the East Midlands franchise on August 19, the day after it formally took over from Stagecoach which had operated the services for 11 years under the East Midlands Trains brand. More than £600m is to be spent on enhancements

FORMER Midland Railway ‘1F’ 0-6-0T No. 41708 will be returned to full working order for the first time since 2003 following its acquisition by the Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society (BHESS). The purchase of the 1880-built ‘Half Cab’ for an undisclosed sum from the 1708 Locomotive Preservation Trust officially reunites the

Transport secretary ‘more open’ about TfL suburban expansionTHE new transport secretary Grant Shapps is reported to be ‘more open’ about the transfer of more National Rail suburban services in Greater London to Transport for London. Grant Shapps met London Mayor Sadiq Khan yesterday for the first time since the resignation

ESSEX Locomotive Society-owned Southern ‘S15’ No. 825 could be undergoing its post-overhaul trials at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway by the time this issue of The RM goes on sale. At the time of writing work was well into the final stages of the Maunsell 4-6-0’s 10-yearly overhaul. 

RUSSIA: Transmashholding’s Tver plant is to produce a pilot batch of 61-4517 and 61-4516 passenger coaches which will operate in coupled pairs, a concept which the manufacturer said was being implemented in Russia for the first time. Shipments are planned to start in September. One coach from each pair will have