Introducing Lumo
First Group's open access operation between London Kings Cross and Edinburgh, has commenced! The service titled Lumo, offers lower fares, with fixed fares for London to Edinburgh starting from £19.90, London to Newcastle starting at £14.90, and Newcastle to Edinburgh starting at £6.90 (prices correct at time of publication). The current timetable looks like this (correct at time of writing): Monday London departures: 10:45 (arrive 15:17 Edinburgh) 14:36 (arrive 19:15 Edinburgh) Edinburgh departures: 09:11 (arrive 13:48 London) 16:12 (arrive 20:47 London) Tuesday to Friday London departures: 10:45 (arrive 15:17 Edinburgh) 12:18 (arrive 16:41 Edinburgh) 14:36 (arrive 19:15 Edinburgh) Edinburgh departures: 06:14 (arrive 10:50 London) 09:11 (arrive 13:48 London) 16:12 (arrive 20:47 London) Saturday London departures: 10:25 (arrive 14:57 Edinburgh) 18:27 (arrive 22:57 Edinburgh) Edinburgh departures: 08:49 (arrive 13:15 London) 17:56 (arrive 22:59 London) I have only included the Monday to Saturday timetable. I gather the number of services operated by Lumo are due to increase in January 2022, up to five a day I believe. Lumo only calls on route at Stevenage, Newcastle upon Tyne, and Morpeth, but it is operating the service with brand new Class 803 Electrical Multiple Unit (EMU) trains, built by Japanese train builder, Hitachi. The trains feature:
Lumo's Competitors Being an operator on the East Coast Main Line (ECML), Lumo will be competing against London North Eastern Railway (LNER) between London and Edinburgh. Plus it will also share the competition against those airlines that offer direct flights to Scotland from London. This is a key goal of any long distance train operator, to encourage passengers to shift from air to rail. On the West Coast Main Line (WCML), previous train operator Virgin Trains, managed to encourage a modal shift from to air to rail on its London to Scotland route - but not entirely. It managed to win a market share of 33% of the air market by 2017. Lumo is hoping that by offering customers its product of hassle free travel, more people will be encouraged to let the train take the strain, and avoid the hassle of airlines and airports. Some people have experimented with the time it takes to get to Scotland by train or airline, and they have found that there is not much difference, so why bother with the airlines? Not much point, might as well go by train. It's easier and more convenient. Lumo's key to encouraging modal shift is the old narrative of reducing train fare prices. If the fares can be made lower than competitor LNER, then potentially more people will be attracted to travel by train. Lumo's first month has done fairly well on this according to a report from the Independent. The first tickets that were on sale, have 'sold faster than expected' and the public's response has 'surpassed expectations'. Long may this continue!
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The Stockton and Darlington Railway was the first railway using steam locomotives to be built in this world. Its opening is often regarded as the beginning of Railways..
During the eighteenth century and the early part of the nineteenth century, coal from the mines in Country Durham was taken by horse and cart to the nearest river or harbour. Proposals were put forward to improve navigation on the River Tees but nothing happened. Then Edward Pease proposed a horse drawn tram road which was supported, especially by the local Quaker businessmen. Several surveys were undertaken for the horse drawn tram road. Each time the survey was laid before parliament, the landowners objected. So it failed. The route was changed again and finally in 1821 an Act was passed by parliament allowing the Stockton and Darlington railway to be built between the collieries inland at Witton Park to the River Tees at Stockton via Darlington. Unfortunately the Act said it was to be a toll railway drawn by horses. Although steam locomotives had been invented back in 1804, this was going to be the first time a steam locomotive had operated passenger services on a railway. Edward Pease was not happy with the proposed route of the railway so he appointed George Stephenson to make a new survey of the route. George, helped by his eighteen year old son Robert, found a new route which was shorter and suggested they should use the brand new wrought iron edge rails made by John Birkinshaw for the route. George Stephenson was made chief engineer of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1822. His twenty five mile route for the railway was approved of by parliament the following year. Also, movable steam locomotives and carrying of passengers were allowed. The locomotive factory in Newcastle upon Tyne, which was new. opened in the same year. Robert Stephenson was made managing director. Soon there were orders for two steam locomotives for the railway. The 'Robert Stephenson and Company' was in business. The company would continue to supply steam locomotives to the word's railways up until the 1950s. The Railway was going to be built to Stephenson's gauge of four feet eight inches. An extra half inch was added to reduce friction where the line curved. This became the standard gauge for our railway today. Stationary steam engines operated the western part of the line. The twenty miles between Stockton Quay and Shildon were going to be powered by steam locomotives. On the railway there were embankments fifty foot high and a wrought iron girder bridge over the River Gaunless. Also there was a graceful arched stone bridge over the River Skearne. The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened on the 27th of September 1825. The date is just as important as when man first walked on the moon in the year 1969. On this special day thousands of people watched George Stephenson's steam locomotive Locomotion pull its first passenger steam train on a railway that was public for the first time in the world. About five hundred passengers were carried in the only 'Passenger Coach Experiment' and twenty one converted coal wagons. 'Locomotion' was built at Stephenson's works in Newcastle. She was the first to have driving wheels connected by coupling rods. The iron wrought rails were connected with fish-plates every fifteen feet. The rails were laid on stone blocks which could bear the weight of heavily loaded trains. Forty thousand people and a twenty one gun salute welcomed the first steam hauled passenger train in the world at Stockton Quay. The success of the line proved the viability of steam railways. Horse drawn coaches were still used right up until 1833 when steam hauled services was finally started. (Locomotion) retired and became a steam engine that was stationary in 1841 and preserved in 1857. In 1975 it was moved to Darlington Railway Centre and Museum. Later on, the Stockton and Darlington Railway expanded eastwards to Middlesbrough docks and carried on to transport iron ore from the hills of Cleveland. The railway was a major coal haulier. In 1860 after it had expanded west it was taken over by other railways in 1863. Two hundred miles were taken over by the North Eastern Railway. Today it is still open for business and passenger trains still run on what is now the Tees Valley line. The Stockton and Darlington Railway was a great success. This small beginning has led to the Great Railway Age and we haven't looked back.
This book covers the life and work of George and Robert Stephenson. George Stephenson as we know, had the title of 'Father of Railways'. Its an excellent book for those wanting to find out about the early beginnings and years of the Railway in the the UK. It is illustrated with portraits, drawings and maps.
The content of the book covers: The Years of Endeavor (1781 - 1830) 1. Early Days at Killingworth 2. The Safety-Lamp Controversy 3. The Birth of the Locomotive 4. The Stockton & Darlington Railway 5. A Rift in the Partnership 6. The Mines of Santa Ana 7. The First Railwaymen 8. The Battle for the Locomotive 9. The Completion of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway The Years of Fame (1830 - 1859) 10. Rails to the South 11. Building the London & Birmingham Railway 12. Fame without Fortune 13. The Stanhope & Tyne Fiasco 14. George Stephenson - The Closing Years 15. The Great Tubular Bridges 16. The End of an Era Although this book was published in 2012, it still remains a favorite amongst well known author L. T. C. Rolt's other books. The author will also be known for his books on Red for Danger and Railway Adventures. The book is retailed on Amazon.
Personal Reflection
I have found this book very interesting. It gives a lot of detail with regards to the lives of George and Robert Stephenson. In the 'Years of Fame' section great detail is given of how the London & Birmingham Railway was built, and the discussions between Joseph Locke and the Stephensons. Since May 2019, Network Rail (NR) have been building a new sea wall at Dawlish. The first section opened to the public on 28 July 2020, while NR completed some finishing touches to the footpaths.
The case for this work was raised following the damage that took place in February 2014, when the sea wall was washed away, leaving the track hanging in mid-air. Five landslips had also taken place, which included a major collapse between Dawlish and Teignmouth, where the line was blocked with 20,000 tonnes of material. This took NR eight weeks to repair, before the line was reopened. At the time it was clear to NR that more extensive reconstruction was required. NR then went on to setup the South West Rail Resilience Programme. Numerous studies of the route have been carried out over the last few years, as specialists tried to work out what was happening to the cliffs and coastline. Alternatives to the route were considered, but were discarded following the decision to retain that section of the railway and improve it. Some people may be of the opinion that despite spending all this money on the work to protect the railway and to raise the sea wall to control the waves, the level of the sea may rise and overcome the railway again. Another option is that the waves may, after some time of washing against the concrete, break through, and so prove that man can not control the sea. Although this next statement is not related to railways, it is worth noting that if King Canute could not control the waves, how can we expect anyone else to have control? The answer is we can not. If the sea was to overcome the new sea wall and damage the railway behind it, then it would no doubt cost a lot to repair it, and would potentially take (depending on the amount of damage) a while to repair. Obviously, if left (and NR would not do this), the railway would eventually be destroyed completely bringing an end to trains travelling to Penzance from London Paddington. What is the alternative to operating trains through Dawlish and along the sea wall? People have suggested reopening the railway through Okehampton and Tavistock, and down to Plymouth could be an alternative. There are obstacles on route such as housing, where a small diversion would be required, as house owners will not want their houses to be demolished! Okehampton Station is already owned by a heritage railway, the Dartmoor Railway. GWR already operates a service between Plymouth and Gunnislake up the Tamar Valley, so the reopened line could maybe link up with this one. Some progress has been made by Great Western Railway (GWR), in that a passenger shuttle service first operated between Okehampton and Exeter St Davids from the summer of 2017, and that was a summer service only. From then on in the summer, GWR has operated the shuttle service, excepting this year of course for obvious reasons. The second alternative is the freight only line that branches away from the main line at Exeter and cuts out Dawlish, before rejoining at around Newton Abbot. Nonetheless, a plan (or report) has been submitted to the government (in July 2020), which if the green light was given, would cost a total of £1.2 billion. The plan includes proposals to reopen the line between Exeter, Okehampton, and Plymouth. Also as part of that plan, the Tarka Line services between Exeter and Barnstaple would be improved. Another proposal is to create a new link across central Cornwall between Newquay, St Austell, and Truro. Let's make this clear: if the government was to give the go ahead, then the line between Exeter, Okehampton, and Plymouth could be reopened, but this would not mean the closure of the Dawlish route. More probable is that the Okehampton route would be utilized by another train service. In extreme circumstances, trains could be diverted via this route should any disruption take place at Dawlish. Following my previous blog post on HS2 and its possible go ahead, I think its time to take a closer look at HS2 and protecting our ancient woodland.
The current route for HS2 today includes chopping down parts of ancient woodland. I have already said in a previous blog post that the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) are fully against that, but I did not mention that by chopping down trees our birds and nature will be affected. The government are promising to plant many new trees, but that will not solve the problem. We all know that trees take a long time to grow into full size mature trees, so this plan of the government's seems to be just something to keep those like the RSPB happy, while the government continues its destruction plan. Another organization that is supporting the protection of the ancient woodland is Woodland Trust. It says that 'HS2 is a serious threat to the UK's ancient woodlands with 108 at risk of loss or damage'. It then went on to say that 32 ancient woodlands will be directly affected and another 29 will suffer from secondary effects like noise and pollution. Is that a good idea? By planting new trees, the government won't be able to replace the woodland that has been there before, nor will the government (or anyone else for that matter) be able to call it ancient woodland. The woodland will have lost its title until, another hundred years have gone by at least. Trees are useful for a variety of things. They are the best in nature for providing us with fresh oxygen. They also purify air, contribute in the water cycle, give shade or shelter and protect wildlife. If the government has not considered this, and if they have, decided to completely ignore that fact, then these actions show that the government is destroying our country. If this is its plan, then the news of chopping down trees is very bad news. These actions of the government show us that they don't care for nature anymore, which is very sad. If it did care for nature, it would not be pushing our building force to get HS2 built, and all those trees chopped down. From what we can see, though, is that the government are eager to get the new railway built, however much it might cost - they do not care about anybody else. HS2 has been given the go ahead, and the last thing the government wants is for an outsider to raise up a justified business case to scrap the new railway, that crushes its plans. At this moment in time, HS2 is on the verge of walking into difficulties as it continues to chop down trees. It has stated that this is the largest environmental project, but its actions have contradicted its words. Work has already been undertaken at Crackley Woods near Kenilworth, and the chopping down of trees has taken place during the critical time of nesting. It is also the time when the woodlands should be bursting with natural life. The contractor, who has been appointed to do the work, has made the decision to move the ancient woodland soils to another site, which has been criticized. The RSPB has urged HS2 not to chop down trees in the April to September nesting season, but HS2's response was that work was continuing with an ecologist on site to spot nesting birds, and stop work as required. The reason being that destruction of active bird nests is illegal. The RSPB said: “HS2 isn’t earning our trust and sadly we’ve seen evidence that nest site exclusion zone concerns from local residents are going ignored.” One does wonder what the government is thinking about. It sounds like the government has no knowledge whatsoever about nature, and as it is only interested in its own agenda, everybody else is forced to be swept along with it. It is worth remembering here that one can not overcome nature. If one tries to go against nature, then one will bring destruction. George Stephenson' s work in the past has helped to shape the railway network as we know it today.
George Stephenson was born in Wylam just outside Newcastle in 1781. When he was eight years old George (being the second child) went to work for the first time. He earned two pence a day for looking after a widow's cows. Then George found a job at the mine. When the coal came up out of the pit George, like most of the local boys had to remove the stones. Next at the age of fourteen years old he helped his father who was a fireman of the pumping engine at the coal mine. Unfortunately the mine closed and George and his father had to find fresh work. So George and his parents moved away to a different area where he found a job looking after pumping engine with a fellow called Bill Coe which pleased him. Soon he became so interested in the engine they were looking after that on weekends he would take it apart, clean and oil the parts and have it working again by Monday. One day the colliery engineer told George's father" The lad's a born engineer." All because his engine was running smoothly. At the age of eighteen he went to night school for a penny a week and learnt how to write his name. Next he moved to another school to learn arithmetic. Soon he was reading out the news sheets to the other miners. The news sheets were about the war against Napoleon. George started taking on other jobs like mending shoes. While in this business he met a girl called Francis Henderson. George asked her to marry him and they married soon after. Their first born was Robert Stephenson who also is quite important in the history of British railways. Next they had a daughter who was called Fanny but she died within months of her birth. Then Francis Henderson died of cancer. So he married his second wife, Betty in 1820. As he got older it became clear that he was a competent, civil and mechanical engineer. One of his early inventions was a miners safety lamp which was widely used. Another of his inventions was his first steam engine Blucher which he built in 1820. He was made chief engineer of the Stockton and Darlington Railway which was opened in 1825 and it was the first public railway in the world using steam locomotives. He then went on to engineer several other railways including the Liverpool and Manchester Railway which was the world's first intercity railway which opened in 1830. He built the Grand Junction Railway and the Manchester and Leeds railway. Once while tunnelling in Derbyshire he came across rich seams of coal. He was tunnelling for the North Midland Company. He also went into business with George Hudson and Joseph Sanders. Together they opened ironworks, coal mines and limestone quarries. Meanwhile there was a constant demand for locomotives from all over the world including America. The early railroads of America got their first locomotives from George Stephenson's factory in Newcastle. George Stephenson spent his last years living in Tapton House where he ran a small farm. While he was there he experimented in breeding stock and tried to find out how to speed up fattening up chickens. In 1848 George Stephenson the Father of Railways passed away. George Stephenson was a kindly man with a great love of children and a strange knack of taming wild birds His virtues were perseverance and shrewdness and he had a gift of imagination. He was also a gifted man who's mind never stopped trying to work out how things worked. As a result he made a great contribution to engineering in particular and we all benefit from his inventions. Works Cited 1. Unstead, R. J., People in History. London; Morrison and Gibb Limited, 1957. 2. Holland, Julian, History of Britain's Railways. Glasgow; Harper Collins publishers, 2015.
High Weald Transport Publishing 2005 ISBN 0-9550918-0-2
128 pages, hardback, A4 format 244 b/w illustrations This book, consisting entirely of pictures from the author’s collection, is a commemoration of the final 25 years of these services. Some of the workings covered, such as Waterloo-Exeter and Victoria-Gatwick, will be familiar to many. However, some rarely-photographed trains are depicted as well, such as the short-lived Newhaven-Manchester train, withdrawn in 1987 after only a year, and the cross-country services to Portsmouth via Guildford. A few memories will also be stirred by pictures of long-forgotten trains such as the “Crompton”- hauled 17.20 London Bridge-Uckfield and the overnight newspaper trains, complete with solitary Mk I coach. Overall, in fact, the author has deliberately chosen not to concentrate excessively on the better-known workings, for these (especially the West of England Line) have been adequately covered elsewhere. Although the book primarily covers scheduled loco-hauled trains, a few specials are also illustrated, including the late-lamented “Merrymakers” and SAGA trains, along with a few pictures of the VSOE Pullmans and some enthusiasts’ specials. Although Black & White may seem a bit “Retro” these days, it is quite surprising how good even quite contemporary liveries, such as Virgin Red and Wessex Pink can look in monochrome. The book will certainly bring back a lot of fond memories for many Modern Traction fans in the South of England.
There seems to be more time nowadays to read books, due to these interesting times for the UK. Here is a selection of my top five titles for you.
The History of Britain's Railways by bestselling railway author Julian Holland is an excellent read. The book covers the history of Britain's railways from before George Stephenson right through to 2014. It is also well illustrated with both black & white and colour photos. For a book review Click Here
For more books like this, Click Here
The History of Trains by Colin Garratt, is a good read. The book covers the history of the world's railways right from the beginning of railways. For a book review Click Here
London and its Railways by R. Davies and M. D. Grant, is a fascinating book covering the history of London's railways. The book is well illustrated and has mostly black & white photos.
The World's Great Railway Journeys by Brain Solomon, is a good book for those who are tied to their homes. It is the perfect book for all rail enthusiasts, whether actual or armchair travellers. Each journey is accompanied by a route map and the technical challenges of the construction of the route, as well as the stunning views to be seen while traveling.
London's Underground: The Story of the Tube by Oliver Green, is a fascinating book covering the history of the London Underground. The book is well illustrated with black & white, and colour photos.
For more books like these Click Here
It is much debated nowadays as to whether HS2 will be approved and given the go ahead following the Oakervee review.
The Oakervee review led by Douglas Oakervee is examining the case for HS2 following rising costs. The costs were originally forecasted at £56bn, but that has now risen to £88bn. Now there is a problem: Contractors have already started preparing for HS2 by demolishing skyscrapers at Euston and demolishing the former Great Western Railway (GWR) train depot at Old Oak Common. If the project was to be entirely cancelled, then that would mean a lot of work wasted and buildings unnecessarily demolished. The latest news is that PM Boris Johnson wants to review every 'sacred cow' project and is encouraging his Cabinet to scrap projects which won't give good value for money. Other projects do include the Heathrow Expansion project. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) I know would be keen for the ancient woodland to be left as it is, which would leave the option of tunneling HS2 underneath or completely scrapping it. Then there's all those houses due to be demolished in northern England, just to make way for a high speed railway, which might not bring any benefits to our railways. Why can't the houses be left alone? It's just causing mayhem and distress to those who occupy them. The option would be to tunnel deeply underneath them, or once again scrap the project. Let's take a look at the proposed terminus at Birmingham Curzon Street. The last time I saw the area of land it's due to be built on, there was nothing except for the historic building (that was built at the time of the London and Birmingham Railway during the days of George Stephenson) and some hoardings. Once the HS2 terminus is built, it is supposed to have good connection links with the Midland Metro and Birmingham Moor Street station, but what if I want to travel to Birmingham New Street from London Euston directly without changing trains? Now that does change things. I'm not really interested in travelling by HS2, but I would really prefer to travel by the West Coast Main Line itself - it's fast enough for me and it takes me to where I want to go. That leads on to another topic that does need to be thought about. HS2 Limited might have thought about this, but on the other hand maybe not. Do we need HS2? Do people need to commute to London from northern England when cities like Manchester, Birmingham and Sheffield have got their own amount of jobs on offer? Has the government thought this through? Maybe we don't need HS2. If other countries in Europe and the rest of the world have miles and miles of high speed railway, that doesn't mean that we have to do the same and keep up with everyone else. There is no harm in being different and just having not so many miles of high speed railway. That statement also accounts for the proposed Northern Powerhouse rail project, which is proposing to build another high speed railway (HS3) that would connect with HS2. From what Transport for the North (TfN) are saying it sounds like that HS3 will destroy the scenery of the countryside, which I'm sure nobody wants in particular. People don't really need to commute such long distances. Leisure and business travelers yes, but not the everyday commuter. Let's take this further; Do we really need to split the north south divide that politicians are always going on about? No, we don't. Whoever made that one up was only trying to push the case for HS2. From what the latest news says, it sounds like Boris Johnson is thinking about it, but beyond that we don't know until he makes his decision. I remain neutral for the moment on the subject of HS2, but I'm certainly not for HS3. I don't like seeing countryside scenery being destroyed. I do know that there are several people who want the money to be spent on more favorable rail projects like more electrification and reopenings.
There are several railway calendars for 2020 available to rail enthusiasts and others alike. I have listed below the different calendars.
Steam Train Calendars
International Train Calendars
Railway Calendars
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