A special gala weekend of activities, based around Peterborough and the Nene Valley Railway organised by “Modern Railways” magazine with support from their sister publication “Hornby Magazine”, took place over the weekend of September 7th/8th 2024. The event was supported by GB Railfreight who provided a range of visiting locomotives hauling trains at the Nene… Continue reading GBRf Gala – Sept 2024
Category: Colas Rail
Mostly Swanage
April 25th to May 16th 2024 It’s been a while… where did we get to last time? Ah yes, Class 52 “Western”, the New Measurement Train, engineering trains, Swanage and such like. I think this post may be a case of deja vu as many of these topics appear once again. But first, we had… Continue reading Mostly Swanage
Yoshi’s Castleton Adventure
April 1st 2024 to April 13th 2024 Yoshi was recently quite perturbed on finding out Barclays Bank have been closing branches across Dorset, with both Weymouth and Poole getting the axe. To replace their High Street presence in Poole, the bank have opened a pod within the town’s Dolphin Shopping Centre. The decline of bank… Continue reading Yoshi’s Castleton Adventure
Yoshi’s Bincombe Visit
March 16th 2024 to March 22nd 2024 Maintenance work between Dorchester and Weymouth closed the railway line from Monday 18th to Wednesday 20th March 2024 affecting both South Western Railway (SWR) and Great Western Railway (GWR) services along this route. In association with the work, an engineers train, in the hands of Freightliner, worked from… Continue reading Yoshi’s Bincombe Visit
February Unit Drag’s and SITT’s
February 22nd 2024 to February 29th 2024 Thursday 22nd February 2024 saw more Class 458 EMU shenanigans with planned working 5X62 0530 Wembley Receptions 1-7 to Bournemouth T&RSMD and associated return 5M64 1315 Bournemouth T&RSMD to Leicester L.I.P. being cancelled due to a “request by the train operator”. Things were retimed, however, but we still saw GBRf… Continue reading February Unit Drag’s and SITT’s
The One With The Last Blue Class 450
February 1st 2024 to February 9th 2024 Over the weekend of 3rd and 4th February 2024, engineering works took place in Branksome station. A small number of track panels were relaid and remedial work carried out to the west of the station. Colas Railfreight were entrusted with providing the motive power for the two Network Rail… Continue reading The One With The Last Blue Class 450
Yoshi’s New Year
January 1st 2024 to January 11th 2024 We kicked off 2024 with a visit to the “New Years Steam Up” being held at the London Museum of Water & Steam in Brentford. The Steam Up weekend of celebrations was the first opportunity in two years for people to marvel at the monstrous working steam engines… Continue reading Yoshi’s New Year
Yoshi visits STEAM
November 10th 2023 to November 17th 2023 Having not seen any of the locomotive operated Rail Head Treatment Trains (RHTT) this year, we decided to combine a visit to the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet in Swindon with a visit to STEAM Museum and the chance of photographing an RHTT or two. The railways of Dorset… Continue reading Yoshi visits STEAM
Yoshi and the T3
September 20th 2023 to September 27th 2023 The big local news this week was centred on the Swanage Railway as Victorian era Adams T3 Class 4-4-0 locomotive No. 563 was reunited with her tender after remedial tasks were carried out at Herston Works and steamed while complete for the first time in around 75 years.… Continue reading Yoshi and the T3
Yoshi Sees Green
September 13th 2023 to September 19th 2023 Wednesday 13th September 2023 saw what I believe to be the final steam hauled excursion of the year to pass through our neck of the woods. Once again LMS Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 46995 ‘Bahamas’ headed a Railway Touring Company railtour, this time travelling from London Victoria through to the… Continue reading Yoshi Sees Green