CAS Weekly: 26/12/14

December 26, 2014August 23, 2016Andy Carter 1 Comment

Image by Alan Murray-Rust

Modelling

LocoYard has more of the low down of what steam locos are going to be on offer in 2015.

UK Rail

Edward Kendal delves into the unseen world of Nottingham Station.
Ghost Trains and Steam Jets – See how Network Rail will keep us moving during the winter months.
The InterCity 125 and it’s replacement – check out the interactive video from the BBC.
More Crossrail construction exploration from The Londonist, this time at Victoria.
How was your Christmas dinner yesterday? Unless it was cooked by a steam train it wasn’t as good as this…

World Rail

The NBC Supertrain has this week been brought to my attention.
Remember the Chicago Christmas Train from last week? How about Budapest’s Streetcar named Christmas?

Image by Thaler Tamas

CAS Weekly: 19/12/14

December 19, 2014August 23, 2016Andy Carter Leave a comment

Croxley Green Station by Nigel Cox

Modelling

Hornby announce new 2015 range.

UK Rail

Network Rail are offering unique tours to the top of the Forth Rail Bridge next March to mark the bridge’s 125th anniversary.
The Londonist’s Secrets Of The Underground DVD by Geoff Marshall is now shipping.
Derailed train travels at 100mph as passengers report bumpy ride! Network Rail to investigate.
Diamond Geezer takes a trip to abandoned Croxley Green station.
UK Rail Freight is in boom.
Northern Rail’s Guide Bridge station gets major revamp…
…whilst South West Trains’ The Island Line gets a £2million boost to help repair recent storm damage.
Manchester Metrolink trams are to be kitted out with free wifi.
and an impromptu Erasure sing along breaks out at Kentish Town Tube Station.

World Rail

Poland’s first high-speed train, an Alstom Pendolino, entered service on Sunday.
Have you seen CTA Chicago’s Christmas Train? Time Out want TfL to introduce something similar in London.

Image by Douglas Rahden

* * * Merry Christmas from Calling All Stations * * *

CAS Weekly: 12/12/14

December 12, 2014August 23, 2016Andy Carter 1 Comment

It’s my intention to start curating a weekly wrap of interesting railway based news (of a both real and modelling persuasion). So here’s this weeks interesting stories:

Modelling

Pendolino in N have set up a ground funding website to make an N-Gauge model of the Virgin Pendolino 390’s.
Loco Yard are running their traditional Advent Calendar feed…
…as are OO Rail.
A man has created the best (or worst?) Christmas jumper which includes a working model railway as seen in The Metro.

UK Rail

The Londonist have created a Medieval Tube Map of Ye Olde Ancient London destinations.
They’ve also ran a pole on who should get the armrest on trains…
London Bridge Station is to start an extensive 3 year remodeling program over the Christmas period. Expect Disruption.
London Reconnections are running a challenging transport themed Christmas Quiz! Entrants could win limited edition 1:120 models from the Corgi Railways Legends collection.
TfL have announced their ‘Ticket Hall Transformation Schedule.’ (Or job cuts to you and me).
Geoff Marshal takes a sneak peak at the ongoing work to revamp Tottenham Court Road station for Crossrail.
A petition to save Ashburton Station is on 38 Degrees.
The UK Rail network continues to get busier…
…and more expensive.

Langstead – Episode 25: Winter 2014 Updates

December 7, 2014March 3, 2015Andy Carter Leave a comment

It’s high time for a layout update, and you may remember back in the summer I did a roundup of Langstead’s complete story from start to finish…

…At the end I hinted towards what was happening next: Construction of two new upper tiers, a tube station and a small yard above that. So let’s back peddle slightly to how I arrived at the picture above.

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Exploration: The Northern Heights

GalleryDecember 2, 2014January 12, 2015Andy Carter 3 Comments

The Edgware London & Highgate Railway opened in 1867. It was almost immedately taken over by The Great Northern Railway and ran services from Edgware, High Barnet and Alexandra Palace to Finsbury Park via Highgate and then onto Moorgate on what is now the Thameslink Northern City Line.

In 1933 it was announced that the line would be amalgamated into London Underground’s Northern Line as part of The New Works Programme and the entire route was to be electrified during the 1930’s. The scheme became known as ‘The Northern Heights.’ Quick and efficient electric trains would then serve the line to The City, as well as the West End, via a newly constructed tunnel linking the line with the tube network at Archway.

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