Rail Express

RAIL EXPRESS is Britain's favourite modern rail enthusiast title. Undoubtedly the best for modern traction photography, the magazine keeps readers informed and entertained with undiluted coverage of Britain's railways in the diesel and electric era. First produced in 1996, RE has set a new standard for the hobby, with a clean design, high quality paper and the best reproduction. January 2008 saw the magazine relaunched in an innovative 'supersize' format, showing off the ground-breaking contents to the best advantage. Every issue includes news and analysis covering the present day railway scene, plus the latest preservation developments. Also inside: RAIL EXPRESS Modeler - Diesel & Electric era modeling magazine

Rail Express

Retro look as XC bids farewell to HSTs

Siemens LU stock moves for testing

Chiltern unveils plans for new, greener trains

Stored HSTs exported to Mexico

Order 2600 vehicles by 2030 – RIA

National ticket office closure consultation deadline extended

‘90s’ stored as DB Cargo goes all-diesel for domestic operations • Britain’s largest freight operator stands down its remaining Class 90s and looks to dispose of stored examples.

Bulk ore flow ends as mine falls silent • Suspension of bulk ore flow leaves railway north of Dublin with no freight traffic.

More ‘197s’ enter service as reliance on ‘Coradia’ fleet reduces • First three-car Class 197s put into traffic as more diagrams are introduced

Box wagons in demand as WH Davis to build 60 JNAs • With the batch of Drax biomass hoppers almost complete, WH Davis will build a follow-on order of JNAs for several, as yet undisclosed, customers.

Cross Country HSTs bow out with special to Swanage • Credit to CrossCountry for commemorating the end of its High Speed Train sets after 40 years’ operation.

Peterborough regains an ‘08’ • Railway Support Services has picked up another shunter duty at the new GB Railfreight wagon repair depot.

Castle HST coach disposals begin • Redundant former Great Western Railway Mk.3s sent for scrap

‘Grid’ back in main line service • Class 56 Group locomotive returns to use after four years

Powerscene • Our authoritative class-by-class review of newsworthy locomotive workings.

Is Transport for London still having to mind the financial gap? • In February, Christopher Westcott asked if Transport for London could ever become financially sustainable? In an update, he explores whether there is still a hole in its finances, and what this could mean.

Worth the wait for West Midlands? • New trains are entering service with West Midlands Trains. Richard Clinnick spoke to engineering director John Doughty about the fleets at a recent ‘730’ launch.

‘50s’ to the coast • Two ‘50s’ visited Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft on a charter, breaking new ground in the process. Richard Clinnick reports.

How easing Ely capacity concerns benefits Britain • Ely is a busy location for freight and passenger traffic, and could be set to become even busier. Richard Clinnick reports.

Peter Watts 50 years of railtouring • Peter Watts celebrated 50 years at Pathfinder Tours in June, with GB Railfreight naming a Class 69 in his honour a few days later. Richard Clinnick met him to look back at his career.

REVIEWS

An autumn of new tooling for Bachman

Brand-new ‘N’ gauge Class 87

Haymarket ‘Whistler’ from Bachmann • The popular Bachmann Class 40 has undergone some important upgrading including electronics and additional tooling for 2023. BR blue No. 40063 is thoroughly examined to test the improvements applied to the model.

GWR Diagram AA20 brake vans aka ‘Toads’

Diagram TU013A Caustic Soda liquor tank wagons • It is a pleasure to see...