The Occasional Express

By Patrick Webb Nottingham, UK . Controversy has hit the UK preservation community, as a negotiation failure between the National Railway Museum and 125 group has become public.  Founded in 1994 as a news source on the Intercity 125’s, the 125 group’s goals are to provide news on the famous British High Speed Trains (HSTs) via their magazine and ultimately preserve some examples of IC engines and rollingstock, according to their website. John Zabernik, a 125 Group Trustee, said that preserving a 125 power car was always a long time goal.  The HSTs were introduced into service in 1976, according to the 125 Group’s website, to provide England with modern passenger service. The class, officially the BR Class 43, but better known as the Intercity 125’s, according to the Locomotive Wiki, were an instant success, which BR needed after the failure of the prototype Advanced Passenger Train. In 2011, according to Mr. Zabernik, all mainline HST’s were “re-engineering includin...

By Patrick Webb Welcome to Branch Line News, your source for summarized news in the rail community. Pull out your tickets, for this Branch Line News we're going to be travelling to several different locations. WW&F Bridge Extension Completed The Wiscasset, Waterville and Farmington Railway, (WW&F) Museum, founded in 1989 to restore the line of the original WW&F which ran from 1894 until 1933, according to their website, recently reached a big achievement towards their goal.  The WW&F Museum announced on their Facebook page that they completed their line across Trout Brook. Trout Brook Bridge, called Carleton Brook in its working days, runs along Route 218.  A different bridge, running across Moose Brook for the Boston & Maine Railroad, was reused for the WW&F. Set on fire in 2004 by arsonists, the bridge was restored. The new Trout Brook bridge is a " Howe Boxed Pony Truss bridge, one of only eight surviving examples of such a design in North...

By Patrick Webb Rail preservation is like a big city: it never sleeps, and there’s always something going on. Welcome to the second edition of Branch Line News: your source for summarized train related news stories. S&D Track Fund Appeal The Somerset & Dorset Railway Trust, who run excursions on a part of the historic Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, according to their website, recently received a donation from Network Rail. Network Rail donated redundant track materials to the Trust; including “over 140 concrete sleepers and 14 x 60ft panels of track.” The S&D Trust announced on their Facebook page that they plan to use the materials for “further siding space and engineering facilities,” according to their Facebook post. The S&D Trust explained that they have to act quickly to retrieve the items, and estimate the transportation cost to be £15,000 or approximately $18,000 US dollars. A S&D Trust member has already donated £1,200 towards the transport...