Rail (Enthusiast) Magazine - No.241 Dec 1994

Rail (Enthusiast) December 1994. Issue No.241

Main features:

- Front Cover:  Class 92s Nos.92003 Beethoven, 92018 (SNCF) Stendahl and 92005 Mozart make a spectacular sight at Great Strickland, on Shap Fell, about an hour late with the 1140 Carnforth-Carlisle Yard trial on November 22. See also page 13.

- News:  Railtrack sell-off 'within two years'; West Coast Main Line joins Transport European Network; Cambrian line's new identity; new look for Great Eastern; 'Video Nasty' from Railtrack; some fares to rise from January; Eurostar public loadings; CrossCountry sets new standards.

- Class 506s Remembered:  Tom Heavyside marks a double anniversary year for the fondly-remembered Class 506 electric multiple units which plied the Hadfield/Glossop line for three decades.

- Rail Mail:  Are Land Cruise trains being priced out of the market? ScotRail trying its best - Chris Green; local opinion and the Wensleydale line; what future for the EPBs? Railtrack in the firing line; Ixion - the wrong kind of diesel?

- Preservation News:  Merseyrail Class 503 and Hadfield Class 506 units under threat; Class 26s leave MC Metals at last; Class 104 units in preservation - the full picture; did D226 ever have a name?

- Open Lines:  Is our rail system splitting apart? keeping watch on the Skegness holiday trains; North-East rail and bus links report.

- Freight Facts:  On the eve of Freightliner's expected transfer into the private sector, Paul Shannon looks closely at the present Freightliner network. Part one features the operations at deep-sea ports.

- Around the Regions:  Howard Johnston collates news from all corners of Britain's railways in this regular feature, including a dramatic fall in business on the Newcastle-Sunderland line, hopes for a cross-city rail link in Glasgow, and the deteriorating state of stations in the Richmond, Surrey area. 

- Channel Tunnel News:  Barrie Hughes' update highlights Eurostar runs from Waterloo to Paris and Brussels - and a reader reports on the first normal fare-paying service to the French capital.

- Off the Rails:  What the media and BR didn't mean to say: renting your house or flat to DMU students; loco names that clash with trains.

- What Might have Been...  To add to the discussion surrounding the proposed Great Western livery of green and ivory, RAIL comes up with its own idea of an InterCity 125 Great Western livery - and we'd like to know your views.

- Colourscapes:  The selection of colour pictures on our centre spread proves that modern traction can - and frequently does - offer lots of scope to the determined photographer.

- On the Way to MARS!  Following up his article about Cardiff Canton's Transrail facility in RAIL 240, Deryck Lewis looks at the other side of the Canton operation - the Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot.

- Lightweight Beginnings:  Four decades ago, the first of the BR Modernisation Plan diesel multiple units were introduced to our railways. Evan Green-Hughes looks back to the introduction of the first 'Derby Lightweights'.

- Euro Traction View:  David Haydock describes the Swiss Federal Railways Ae 4/7 electric locomotives, introduced in 1927.

- RAIL Reviews:  New products under the spotlight include three software packages, two videos concerning Class 47s and a Light Rail Review publication.

- Traction News:  Four more pages of Locomotive Review, William Watson's Irish Scene report, Naming Notes by Jim Sheldon, Locomotive Level 5 and our End of the Line latest are all included in this comprehensive round-up.

- All Change:  The full picture on motive power withdrawals and re-allocations - every fortnight. Another item of Stock for Sale is also included in this issue.

- Rolling Stock News:  In Departmental Developments, Roger Butcher turns the spotlight on overhead line maintenance machines in the Anglia area - and there's another Photocall featuring an unusual departmental locomotive. This is followed by Multiple Matters, Coaching Call and Works Report.

- RailFile:  News: Station opens at Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter; 'Dales Gateway' Hellifield re-emerges after £500,000 facelift; Tunnel breakthrough on the Robin hood Line.

- Tramlines: RailFile's round-up of light rail schemes includes an imaginative plan for Glasgow.

- Road v Rail:  The big debate takes on a new dimension with the  Royal Commission's timely report on pollution.

- Heathrow Express:  Barrie Hughes puts the construction of  Britain's rail-to-airport link under the spotlight.