Michael Rhodes reports on ‘Big Boy’s steam comeback after a 60-year hiatus, as the famous locomotive spearheaded the ‘Golden Spike’ celebrations at Promontory Summit, Utah, to mark the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad on May 10, 1869. Many would argue that an ‘A4’ is the most

NEW timetables came into force across the UK network on May 19, adding around 1,000 additional services. However, many of the promised new trains have still not materialised.  Highlights of the new timetable include the introduction of an hourly Transport for Wales (TfW) service linking Liverpool and Chester/Wrexham via the

THE Gospel Oak to Barking line got the first of its new trains in May 23 when two Class 710 four-car EMUs were launched into service late morning.  The two sets worked two full diagrams the following day. The announcement from Transport for London came with less than 24 hours

SOME of the worst trespass incidents seen since ‘A3’ No. 60103 Flying Scotsman returned to the main line in 2016 occurred on May 5 as the Pacific was returning from York to London Paddington on the final day of the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Great Britain XI’ nine-day tour.  Trespass was most

MAY 15 was an historic day for state-backed train operator LNER, which introduced the new Hitachi Class 800 ‘Azuma’ on its first revenue-earning service from London King’s Cross to Leeds and Hull. The previous day, LNER invited the railway press and other stakeholders on a tripto Peterborough to sample the

TWO of 12 GWR Class 387 110mph EMUs to be branded in a new Heathrow Express livery were released from Ilford Works on May 22.  Set Nos. 387130 and 387140 were hauled to Reading by ROG Class 57 No. 57305 Northern Princess. Currently, the sets have not been refitted internally, but

For this month’s Practice & Performance , Keith Farr takes a nostalgic look at some notable steam rail tours from the 1960s One fine June evening in 1967, a friend and I were enjoying dinner in the restaurant car of the 17.05 Euston-Carlisle. During the soup course we were discussing

Spanish train manufacturer CAF has been awarded the contract to design, manufacture and supply a fleet of 43 trains for the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) by Transport for London (TfL). The contract will include a Fleet Support Agreement to provide technical support services and spares supply. The five-car

BRAZIL: Mining giant Vale resumed regular operation of freight services on the Belo Horizonte branch of Estrado de Ferro Vitória a Minas on June 6, after confirmation that the railway would not be affected by the possible collapse of tailings at a nearby abandoned iron ore mine in Minas Gerais

UK: ScotRail and InterpreterNow have introduced an app designed to make it easier for railway staff to communicate with deaf people using British Sign Language. The app can be installed on staff or customer smartphones, and provides immediate access to online British Sign Language interpreting via a video call. Customers sign to