THE Somerset & Dorset Railway at Midsomer Norton has relied on diesel power for many of its past operating days, but the March 9-10 event was the first to be advertised as a diesel gala.  Both diesels were running, much of the time in top-and-tail mode as there is no

THE Epping Ongar Railway’s April 27-28 diesel gala welcomes Class 25 No. D7612 as a visitor from the South Devon Railway.  The Type 2 will be joined by resident Class 47 No. 47635 Jimmy Milne, subject to successful test runs following overhaul, which has included roof repairs and a full repaint.  Class

CLASS 14 No. D9551 arrived at Didcot by road from the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) on March 8.  The golden ochre-liveried loco is seen at DB Cargo’s fuelling point prior to being taken across the tracks to enter Didcot Railway Centre. Behind is DBC Class 66 No. 66057. The 0-6-0DH will

THE Lavender Line staged an event on February 23-24 commemorating the 50th anniversary of closure of the once-important through route from Lewes to Uckfield. The line closed on February 23, 1969, the last train being Class 207 DEMU set No. 1316.  The Lavender Line heritage railway operates a one-mile section,

CLASS 37 No. 37250 (D6950) has been receiving attention since it last worked a train more than 4½ years ago.  This work has been aided by the new two-road shed at Leeming Bar, on the Wensleydale Railway, allowing external welding, filling and painting to be carried out in all weathers.  The

CANADA: The first four of 10 custom-designed double-deck dome cars which high-end tourist train operator Rocky Mountaineer has ordered from Stadler are expected to enter service shortly, operating from Vancouver to Jasper, Lake Louise  and Banff during the 2019 tourist season. Rocky Mountaineer said the order placed in May 2016 was

BRAZIL: Battery systems from Saft are being fitted to 58 GE Transportation locomotives used by freight operator MRS Logística. The 64 V batteries will provide power to start the 16-cylinder engines up to 14 times a day. They are based on Saft’s SRX190 FR-PP or SRX1900P cells, provide a capacity of

A NEW plan to rescue Crossrail and open the Elizabeth Line as soon as possible has been developed by senior managers and agreed by the Crossrail board.There is no firm opening date yet, although a six-month ‘delivery window’ has been agreed which stretches from October 2020 to March 2021. It has

Peppercorn ‘A1’ No. 60163 Tornado made its return to railtour action with March 3’s ‘Auld Reekie’ from York to Edinburgh, having successfully completed a loaded test run from Ferryhill to Carnforth on March 1. There was disappointment later in the day when Class 55 No. D9009 Alycidon failed on the

FINLAND: National railway VR Group has awarded Škoda Transtech a €24m contract to supply a further seven double-deck dining cars. They are to be to be produced at the Škoda Transportation subsidiary’s Kajaani factory for entry into service on the Helsinki – Turku and Helsinki – Tampere routes in 2021-22. The