December 2017
December 2017   


The Railway Magazine - December 2017

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Contents December 2017. No. 1,401. Vol 163. A journal of record since 1897.

Headline News
Thameslink 24tph timetable delayed until December
2018, Ordsall Chord completed, Autumn Budget
promises moremoney for railways in English regions,
five shortlisted for HS2 train contract, Diesel Brake
Tender launched, SNCF‘Orient-Express’ visits London,
Final ‘Electrostar’ set completed at Litchurch Lane.


On the cover
COVER: Two
beautifully restored
BR diesel railcars
re-create a scene
from 50 years ago at
the East Lancashire
Railway on
November 3.

The recently completed
Cravens set (right in
photo) is to receive
the Rail Express
prize in February’s
Heritage Railway
Association awards.
TOMMCATEE

Track Record The Railway Magazine’s monthly news digest

66 Steam & Heritage
Clun Castle steams again at Tyseley, NYMR launches
£2.5m 'future proofing' appeal, Hosking’s ‘Black
Five’ returns to the main line, Swanage launches ‘T3’
restoration appeal, ELR bids to buy City of Wells,
‘B1’No. 61264 booked for SVR gala.

73 Steam Portfolio
74 Narrow Gauge
77 Irish
78 Network
Network Rail seeks to reduce bridge strikes, new vision
for Coventry station, Abbey Wood rebuild complete,
London's surface railways to be covered by housing
developments?

81 Classic Traction
84 Metro
86 Heritage Trams
88 Railtours
91 Railtours Portfolio
93 World
97 Traction & Stock


BARS puts loco fleet up for sale, Class 385 interiors
revealed, GWR adds more Class 800 diagrams, Grand
Central HSTs to finish at end of December, £50m refresh
for SWR‘Desiros’.

100 Traction Portfolio
102 Stock Update
103 Operations
109 Freight



12 Multiple Aspects
With Lord Berkeley.

12 Railways in Parliament

40 Subscription Offer
Subscribe today to receive
your monthly copies of
The Railway Magazine from only £20.

49 Readers’Platform

56 Christmas Gift Guide

60 Panorama
Our monthly gallery of the best railway photography.

64 From The RMArchives
Find out what The RMwas reporting 20, 50 and 100
years ago.

108 Meetings

110 Heritage Diary

Details of when Britain’s unique collection of heritage
railways and railway museums are open.

122 Christmas Crossword

Features

14 Successors to South Western Steam
Keith Farr assesses the performance of post-steam
traction on former London & South Western lines,
from‘Warships’ to Class 50s, 4-REPs, and modern
Siemens electric units.

22 Keeping the Steam Alive
As the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland’s
new visitor centre opens atWhitehead, near
Belfast, Gary Boyd-Hope visits to discover how
the organisation is maintaining and promoting
Ireland’s unique railway heritage

28 Christmas Ghost Story
Bob Lumb has penned The RM’s traditional annual
ghost story, featuringamysterious tale from the
Settle-Carlisle Line’s legendary Blea Moor tunnel.

31 Closing the Gender Gap - 2
The second part of Nicola Fox’s study focuses on
womenwho have succeeded at the top level of rail
industrymanagement.

36 Hungary’s Hidden Time Capsule
Ben Jones gets a rare opportunity to visit a
remarkable collection of historic locomotives and
rolling stock, stored out of public view in Hungary’s
capital city.

42 ThreeMillion Passengers and Counting
Cliff Thomas profiles the Llanberis Lake Railway in
North Wales, its origins in the local slate industry,
and its development since opening in 1971.

50 Cruelty of Assumption
A rare passenger’s account of the horrific Lewisham
accident adds a human dimension to Fraser Pithie’s
summary of the tragic events on that foggy day in
December 1957.





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