News

It is with great sadness that we announce the sad passing of Tim Fischer, Founding Member and Patron of WATTRAIN. So this edition of the newsletter will be given over, in the main, to an obituary (written by David Morgan, President Emeritus of WATTRAIN) and other comments and expressions from friends and colleagues..

Residents in the strath are being urged to attend a consultation to help keep plans on track to bring back steam locomotives to Grantown.

The Strathspey Railway Charitable Trust is to unveil plans tomorrow for the final phase of plans to connect Aviemore and the Strathspey capital by rail once more.

A question many travelers ask themselves before embarking on a cross-European journey is “Should I buy the Eurail Pass?” Starting in 2019, changes to the pass in regard to pricing, flexibility, and the addition of new partner countries means that now might be a good time to get on board.

Talyllyn Railway passed much of its operation over to its Young Members Group (YMG) last weekend.

The popular Mid Wales railway was staffed by many young members who drove and fired the locomotives, worked the blockposts and guarded the trains on Friday and Saturday.

When the railways began carving through the countryside in the 19th century it was a major culture shock for people who had previously only known horse power.

The locomotives, with their fire and steam, must have appeared dragon-like to what was still a largely rural country.

Today, one of the steam engines on the South Tynedale Railway is called Green Dragon – but is part of a drive by the heritage line operation to be as environmentally-friendly as possible, surrounded as it is by a designated area of outstanding natural beauty.

HAWORTH Station on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway was the ‘birthplace’ of a scheme that is now striving to address a future skills shortage.

Hands-on trades probably haven’t been as enthusiastically pursued in recent years as computers and technology.

Identifying the potential problem for traditional industries such as engineering, increasing emphasis has been placed on apprenticeships.

And it was from Haworth that the idea for the Boiler & Engineering Skills Training Trust (Bestt) emanated.

This week the World Rail Festival has confirmed Torkel Patterson, Board Member from Central Japan Railway Company to speak in December. He joins other world-leading speakers including the CEOs of NS, NTV, GVB, TGV Lyria, Postbus, Vy (NSB) and more.

Joining us as a speaker in the BBC moderated morning keynote session, Roger Van Boxtel will share NS’ perspective on the opportunities and challenges for the future of rail. Discussing everything from sustainability to international rail and the impact of autonomous vehicles, Roger will share his perspective on the future of rail.

A collective of industrious Gippsland knitters has banded together to 'yarn bomb' an historic train, in the hope of raising $230,000 to bring the vintage engine back to service.

It is estimated that it took two kilometres of knitting to cover the vintage locomotive in Walhalla in Victoria's east.

The fully-adorned locomotive, along with other yarn-bombing installations around the town and railway station, was unveiled on Saturday and will add a splash of colour to the historic goldmining town during the month of July.

Scotland’s leading heritage railway is planning to develop its stations into destinations in their own right to attract more passengers and increase the frequency of trains.