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01/09/2010 German railway to test train in Channel Tunnel
BERLIN — The German railway Deutsche Bahn announced Wednesday it will test a high-speed train in the Channel Tunnel between France and Britain on October 19, a move that could spur rail competition in Europe.

A Berlin - Koebenhavn ICE train, awaits departure from Hamburg on the evening of 27th July 2010.
[John Steven 27/07/2010]

An ICE from Berlin arrives at a very wet Interlaken Ost on 12 October 2009. The track in the foreground is the narrow gauge line from Brienz/Luzern.
[Michael Gibb 12/10/2009]

Eurostars awaiting departure for Paris and Brussels via the UKs only High Speed Rail Link stand below Mr Barlow^s engineering masterpiece at St Pancras station on 5 July 2009.
[Bill Roberton 05/07/2009]
AFP

30/08/2010 New rail line to create 130 jobs
A NEW rail line is to create 130 jobs, transport chiefs announced today. Bosses at ScotRail said the jobs were a direct result of the new route, which will link Glasgow and Edinburgh via Airdrie and Bathgate.

Looking east at the entrance to the ScotRail light maintenance depot at Bathgate on 27 July with the cleaning roads in the right background on the south side of the line. The new station footbridge now dominates this view.
[John Furnevel 27/07/2010]
Daily Record
STV

27/08/2010 Final track laid on Britain's longest passenger line for 100 years
Network Rail completed track laying on the new 24km stretch of railway between Airdrie and Bathgate today (Friday 27 August), making it the longest domestic passenger railway with new stations to be built in Britain for a century.

66162 slowly passes over the level crossing located to the east of the former Bathgate Upper station. The new station can be seen in the background. This ballast train halted after crossing to await instructions.
[Ewan Crawford 27/06/2010]

Sleeper laying train on the shore of Hillend Loch between Forrestfield and Caldercruix. View west on 16 August 2010.
[Bill Roberton 16/08/2010]

Drumgelloch no more... What must be one of the shortest lived stations of the modern era - Drumgelloch (old) opened in May 1989, closed in May 2010 and now gone! Looking west over the site towards Airdrie on 14 June from the new overbridge carrying Crowwood Drive, with work continuing on preparations for the double track Airdrie - Bathgate link. [See image 29370]
[John Furnevel 14/06/2010]
Network Rail Article

26/08/2010 Vital revamp for Arnside Viaduct
Arnside Viaduct is going to be revamped for the 21st century next spring. Network Rail has appointed May Gurney as principal contractor to replace the deck of Arnside viaduct. Originally constructed in 1856, Arnside viaduct is a 51 span structure carrying the Carnforth and Whitehaven line over the estuary of the River Kent. The structure has suffered deterioration over the years, resulting in the bridge’s load capacity being reduced and a speed restriction being enforced.

A DMU crossing Arnside Viaduct over the estuary of the River Kent in the north east corner of Morecambe Bay. View west from Arnside towards Grange-over-Sands in the 1980s.
[John Furnevel //]

A view across the Kent Estuary to the South Lakeland Fells from Arnside village as a Barrow to Manchester Airport TPE service runs along the causeway towards the viaduct. [Photo by John Spencer]
[Mark Bartlett Collection 09/02/2010]
Network Rail

25/08/2010 Train companies extending peak charging hours
Peak train services are starting as early as 3pm in some parts of the country as train operators try to push up income.
Telegraph

25/08/2010 German demonstrators halt giant railway project
Escalating protests against one of Europe's largest infrastructure projects — the ambitious Stuttgart 21 underground railway station in southwest Germany — have caused work on it to grind to a halt
Canadian Press

24/08/2010 Vast majority will be unaffected by bank holiday rail works
The vast majority of people travelling by train this weekend will be unaffected by improvement works, with almost 30% fewer rail replacement bus services compared to last year.

Rule 55? No - never heared of it... a red light at Haymarket on Sunday 29 October 2006 for a westbound rail-replacement bus service. The line was closed here due to engineering works in connection with construction of the new platform 0.
[John Furnevel 29/10/2006]

Hey...Jim... I can see your house from up here..!!! Maintenance work underway just east of Carstairs station on a frosty Boxing Day 2005.
[John Furnevel 26/12/2005]

All together now, ...ah-one... ah-two... JCB synchronisation consultant in action during major renewal work at Larbert on 22 March 2008.
[Bill Roberton 22/03/2008]
Network Rail Article

23/08/2010 Work to start soon on new Buckshaw station
WORK is set to start within the next few weeks on a long-awaited multi-million pound railway station for Chorley’s newest village.

A Manchester Airport bound First TransPennine Express service is seen passing the site of the planned Buckshaw Village station which has now received the full funding to see the area developed as a transport hub. A part of the extensive local housing development can be seen in the backgound
[John McIntyre 07/08/2009]

On 31 July 2010 ex-LMS Pacific no 6201 Princesss Elzabeth coasts along the straight at Buckshaw Village between Chorley and Euxton Junction with the Cumbrian Mountain Express. DMU 150146 on a Preston to Hazel Grove service is about to pass the special, which was running slightly early at this point and was being slowed down due a conflicting movement at Euxton Junction.
[John McIntyre 31/07/2010]

This road sign has been in place for over 3 years, although the station to which it is pointing has not yet been built! The extensive housing and industrial development on the site of the former Royal Ordnance Factory at Euxton/Chorley has been scheduled to have a new railway station for some time, but only in the first days of August 2009 was the final funding obtained to make the station a reality. The former ROF Admin Block to the left of the photograph is now an outstation of Runshaw College, Leyland. This along with the large number of houses on the adjoing estate should make this an attractive park and ride site for those travelling to Manchester and to the north.
[John McIntyre 07/08/2009]
Network Rail Article

21/08/2010 Colonel Michael H Cobb
Colonel Michael Cobb, who has died aged 93, was a regular Army officer who in retirement produced the definitive historical atlas of the railways of Great Britain, becoming on the strength of it the oldest person ever to receive a PhD from Cambridge University, at the age of 91.

Colonel Michael H Cobb, author of The Railways of Great Britain - A Historical Atlas, seen receiving his PhD from Cambridge University in July 2008, at the age of 91.
[Railscot 19/07/2008]
Telegraph

20/08/2010 Tilting train can't tilt on east coast line
Plans to introduce the first tilting trains between Edinburgh and London have been attacked as shambolic after it emerged they would not be able to tilt and could require a £100 million track upgrade.

A southbound Pendolino crosses the Clyde at Crawford in October 2006.
[John Furnevel /10/2006]

On certain summer Saturdays, in order to provide additional seating capacity, some Edinburgh - Birmingham services are worked by Pendolinos rather than Voyagers. One such example is the 14.52 departure from Edinburgh, seen here calling at Haymarket on 31 July 2010.
[Michael Gibb 31/07/2010]

A Virgin Pendolino runs south through Lancashire on 15 Nov 2008 near Brock, heading for Preston.
[John McIntyre 15/11/2008]
Herald

20/08/2010 Cupar in bloom on track for award
Cupar in Bloom has been shortlisted for a prestigious national award. The group — which plants and maintains floral displays at Cupar Station — has been named as a finalist in the Community Rail Awards' Best Station Garden or Floral Display category. [From EC]

The main station building at Cupar, complete with its impressive floral arrangements, seen here looking north from the car park on 18 July 2010.
[Andrew Wilson 18/07/2010]
Fife Today

20/08/2010 Driver in court after Suffolk train crash
The 38-year-old driver of a tanker involved in a collision with a train in Suffolk has appeared in court charged with endangering safety on the railway.
BBC News

20/08/2010 Glasgow bridge strike rips off bus roof
A double-decker bus has crashed into a rail bridge in the south side of Glasgow ripping off its roof.

A northbound 303 heads for Glasgow Central in October 1987. The train is about to cross the eastern of the two rather low Cook Street bridges. Off picture to the left is the bridge carrying the Paisley lines.
[Ewan Crawford /10/1987]
BBC News

20/08/2010 Train 'rolled backwards on track' in Cumbria
There has been another incident involving a runaway train in an area in Cumbria where four men were killed six years ago, it has emerged.
BBC News

19/08/2010 Train fares: From him that hath shall be taken
Railways are a form of middle-class benefit too
Economist

18/08/2010 Train passenger 'critical' after crossing crash
A passenger is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after a train collided with a sewage lorry on a level crossing in Suffolk on Tuesday evening.

Scene at the terminus at Sudbury in rural Suffolk in September 1985, where mail has just arrived off the 1605 DMU from Colchester St Botolphs and is being transferred to a Royal Mail van. The old 1865 GE Sudbury station, the south end of which is seen here, was replaced by something more up to date in October 1990.
[Ian Dinmore 21/09/1985]

The Marks Tey to Sudbury line has done very well to survive for over 40 years since closure of the Sudbury-Cambridge section in March 1967. Shown here in April 1978 is the station at Bures with a Cravens/Gloucester hybrid DMU about to depart for Sudbury. To guarantee survival, the branch really needs a London facing junction at Marks Tey instead of the present one that faces Colchester. If built, electrification and through London services would surely follow.
[Mark Dufton 11/03/1978]

The crew of an afternoon service from Marks Tey has plenty of time for a stroll around the overgrown station at Sudbury before needing to head back on August 10th 1980. The original building survived for a few more years before fire damage and vandalism hastened its demolition. In 1990, the track was slewed over to the right and into a new terminal platform on the site of the former loading dock.
[Mark Dufton 10/08/1980]
BBC News

16/08/2010 Row erupts in claim over railway station bid
A row has broken out between Highland Council and a north MSP over the reopening of a railway station that could help ease commuter traffic congestion.

Approaching Conon Bridge from Dingwall.
[Ewan Crawford //]

The early morning train for Inverness off the Far North Line crossing the river at Conon Bridge on 23 November 2003 on the way to its next stop at Muir of Ord.
[John Furnevel 23/11/2003]

K4 61994 The Great Marquess crossing the viaduct over the River Conon with The Great Britain II early in the morning of Saturday 11 April 2009.
[John Gray 11/04/2009]
Press & Journal

16/08/2010 Rail fares could rise by 10% following latest inflation figures
Rail passengers face the threat of 10% fare rises next year following the publication of July's inflation data today.
Guardian

15/08/2010 Network Rail appoints new head of retail
Network Rail has appointed Gavin McKechnie to join its property division, as head of retail.
Network Rail

12/08/2010 Station to get £9million facelift [Evening Times]
Paisley Gilmour Street Station is to get a £9million facelift. Councillors have approved plans for a new roof for the listed Victorian building and work is expected to start next year. [From EC]

The striking station building at Paisley Gilmour Street 2005.
[John Furnevel //2005]

318268 departing Platform 3 of Paisley Gilmour Street with a service for Glasgow Central on 22nd February
[Graham Morgan 22/02/2008]

Changes in progress at Paisley Gilmour Street in the late summer of 1966 with cabling troughs and overhead support for electrification in place. From the express headcode and short train, it must be a Wemyss Bay - Glasgow service.
[Colin Miller //1966]
Evening Times

12/08/2010 E&G improvements contracts awarded
Network Rail has awarded £10m-worth of contracts as work on a new, £1bn programme to enhance rail services and infrastructure in Scotland’s central belt gets underway.
Network Rail Article

11/08/2010 Tyne and Wear Metro celebrates 30th birthday [BBC News]
The Tyne and Wear Metro is celebrating its 30th birthday. The UK's first urban light rail network began operating on 11 August 1980, initially only between Haymarket and Tynemouth stations.

Prototype Metro car 4002 receiving attention at the Metro test track at Middle Engine Lane, North Tyneside in 1977. This facility later became the Stephenson Railway Museum.
[Colin Alexander //1977]

An outer circle Tyne & Wear Metro service arrives at Tynemouth on 27 September.
[Bill Roberton 27/09/2008]

A Tyne & Wear Metro service, destined for South Hylton, passes the closed station at Monkwearmouth in July 2004 on the northern approach to Sunderland. The original 1848 station built by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway, closed in 1967 and is now a highly acclaimed museum.
[John Furnevel 10/07/2004]
BBC News

11/08/2010 Dalgety Bay and Rosyth stations 'adopted' by rotary
Dalgety Bay has become the one hundredth Scottish railway station to be ‘adopted’ by members of its local community and nearby Rosyth station has followed it as the 101st. [From EC]

[Left to right] Helen Eadie MSP, local Rotary Club President Bob Tait and First ScotRail^s John Yellowlees at the photocall on 11 August 2010 commemorating the ^adoption^ of Rosyth and Dalgety Bay stations - see news item.
[Courtesy First Scotrail 11/08/2010]

Happy birthday to you! First ScotRail 170 455 leaves Dalgety Bay on 27 March 2008, the occasion of the stations 10th anniversary.
[Bill Roberton 27/03/2008]

The evening Edinburgh - Fife Circle loco-hauled commuter train arrives in bright Sunshine at Rosyth on 3 May 2010 behind DBS 67018 Keith Heller.
[Bill Roberton 03/05/2010]
Rail-News

11/08/2010 Change of track for old railway station
New lease of life for one of the world's oldest surviving train stations.

Passing the glory that was Edge Hill.
[Ewan Crawford //]

Freightliner waits for the off at Edge Hill on the stump of the Crown Street approach.
[Ewan Crawford //]

Among the remains of the marshalling yards east of Edge Hill.
[Ewan Crawford //]
BBC News

10/08/2010 New replica steam locomotive unveiled [BBC News]
A locomotive which has taken 15 years and £300,000 to build has enjoyed the first-ever trip under its own steam. The Lyd chugged into action across The Cob at the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway in Gwynedd.

Last train of the day for Blaenau Ffestiniog about to leave Porthmadog and head out over The Cob in the 1980s.
[John Furnevel //]

Prince and Blanche at the head of the first train of the day to Blaenau at Porthmadog station on 3 April 2007.
[Mark Poustie 03/04/2007]

Looking south over the lower portal of Moelwyn Tunnel. The incline on the right was the original route before this tunnel was bored - the new (1970^s) route runs roughly parallel into the new tunnel
[John Thorn /05/1970]
BBC News

10/08/2010 HMS Waverley commemorated by Friends of Wemyss Bay
Recalling the three large glass cases each containing a crest from one of the paddle boxes of a steamer that once lined the route from train to ship, the 'Friends' together with Inverclyde Council have recreated the crest of the 'Waverley' in plant material so as to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Dunkirk evacuation. The Waverley took part in that exercise, and eventually attracted the German bombers, who sank her. Her captain, John Cameron, survived, and went on to become captain of the later Waverley, which still sails the Clyde. His widow joined the Friends today to admire the crest, and is seen here with Cllr Innes Nelson, Duncan McNeil MSP, Stuart McMillan MSP and Nancy Cameron chair of the Friends. Ian Quinn introduced the commemoration.

The Waverley commemoration ceremony seen taking place at Wemyss Bay - see news item dated 10 August 2010.
[John Yellowlees 10/08/2010]

10/08/2010 Rail link may cut lorries on A14 by 2,000 a day
Network Rail bosses have given the green light to creating a full double-track rail curve near Hadleigh Road in Ipswich to allow freight trains from Felixstowe to get to the midlands and north of England without travelling to London. [From EC]

A Felixstowe - Trafford Park container train runs west through Camden Road station on the North London Line in July 2005 behind Freightliner 90044.
[John Furnevel 21/07/2005]

A departure from Felixstowe container depot crosses the road at Felixstowe Beach in 1990.
[Ewan Crawford //1990]

Despite the token catcher at the foot of the signal box steps, the signalman at Westerfield Junction prefers to engage in some rather dangerous gymnastics as an Ipswich bound DMU leaves the Felixstowe branch in November 1978. With the high volume of freightliner traffic also entering and leaving the branch at that time, continually running up and down the steps would have been particularly punishing.
[Mark Dufton 25/11/1978]
East Anglian Daily Times

09/08/2010 Renovated railway station cross restored [BBC News]
A 145-year-old monument in Charing Cross from where distances to and from London are measured has been unveiled following renovation work.

Looking south from Charing Cross in 2003 with the London Eye and the Shell building across the Thames.
[Ian Dinmore //2003]

Charing Cross station in July 2003.
[Ian Dinmore /07/2003]

You get an unbeatable view of railway landmarks from The London Eye. View north across the Thames towards Charing Cross station in August 2009.
[Alistair MacKenzie 23/08/2009]
BBC News

09/08/2010 500 checked in East Lancs station sweep [Lancashire Telegraph]
ALMOST 500 train passengers were scanned for knives and drugs as Lancashire Constabulary and British Transport Police officers carried out checks on commuters at Blackburn, Accrington and Darwen train stations. [From Mark Bartlett]

A Clitheroe - Manchester Victoria train runs into Darwen station on 17 May 2008.
[John McIntyre 17/05/2008]

A Glasgow - Birmingham Voyager, diverted due to engineering work, crawls west through Clitheroe station on Saturday 17 May. The train is following in the wake of a local Clitheroe - Manchester Victoria DMU (as far as Blackburn) as it heads towards the WCML to regain its normal route south.
[John McIntyre 17/05/2008]

A Northern Pacer calls at Blackburn^s rebuilt station on its way to Colne. To the right, partly obscured by the telephone mast, the original station entrance building is still in use but the huge trainshed that once spanned the platforms [See image 7725] is now demolished.
[Mark Bartlett 04/12/2009]
Lancashire Telegraph

08/08/2010 Railways to depute big-size escort party in trains [Economic Times]
NEW DELHI: Alarmed over the recurring incidents of dacoity in passenger trains, Railways today said they were planning to depute 'big-size' joint armed escort party in trains passing through the affected routes.
Economic Times


Just for fun: a KML version of the 10 latest new items.
(This will open Google Earth if you have it installed.)