Rail Press

801128 Renamed ‘Gresley 150’ for Sir Nigel Gresley's Anniversary Earlier today, LNER held a naming ceremony at Doncaster Railway Station to celebrate the 150th birthday of Chief Mechanical Engineer Sir Nigel Gresley, born on 19 June 1876. The CME gave way to some of Britain’s most famous locomotives, including Flying Scotsman, Mallard, and his namesake Sir Nigel Gresley. To mark the occasion, Class 801 unit 801128 received a new vinyl wrap and a fresh name. Previously known as 'Century', the unit now carries the title 'Gresley 150' in honour of the milestone anniversary. Photo by an unknown user.

LMS Stanier 5MT Derails During 'Jacobite' Railtour Reports suggest that earlier today, LMS Stanier 5MT No. 44871 derailed during a shunting manoeuvre between Mallaig & Fort William. ScotRail have publicly stated they cannot run services until 44871 is rerailed due to blocking the line. The cause of the incident is unknown however we hope that everyone involved is ok. Source: ScotRail Photo: TheFlyingTornado

Network SouthEast Turns 40! On 10 June 1986, Network SouthEast was officially launched at London Waterloo, introducing the red, white and blue identity that would soon spread across much of the Southern region. The brand brought together a huge range of routes under one consistent look, with updated signage, refurbished stations and a more modern approach to passenger service. NSE continued to operate until the start of railway privatisation in April 1994, when the sector was gradually broken up and replaced by the new train operating companies. Today marks 40 years since the first NSE‑branded passenger services ran, and the colours, style and legacy of Network SouthEast remain some of the most recognisable and well‑loved in British railway history. Photo by TheFlyingTornado (YouTube)

£3 Million Funded To The National Railway Musuem For Central Hall Project Early today, it was confirmed that the UK's Prime Minister has helped fund the National Railway Museum's Central Hall Project during a visit to the city of York. The main construction contract can now be signed meaning work can officially commence soon. Photos & information by the National Railway Musuem.

LMS 2MT 46447 Returns To The East Somerset Railway Just last weekend, LMS 2MT No. 46447 returned to service at the East Somerset Railway, so we asked the team some questions about the return of this Locomotive Q: What was the most challenging task of 46447's Overhaul? A: The overhaul was reasonably straight forward this time. Having done the much tougher job ten years previous of the restoration from Barry Scrap Yard condition, this time we were only addressing minimal wear on bearings, lots of stripping and cleaning for inspection and then also fortunately the boiler is still in very good condition. There were some lower platework on the boiler which needed replacing which we did in house. Q: How long is 46447 expected to stay in traffic at the ESR?   A: 46447 will remain at the ESR for at least ten years and will be used for any of the ESR’s services including normal service trains, dining trains, galas, santa trains, photo charters etc. Q : Does this feel like a signifi...

Nene Valley Railway Launch 'Resilience' Fundraiser The Nene Valley Railway has launched a Resilience Fundraiser to keep their Railway going, below is an image showing how much essential items cost for the railway.  If you can, please make a donation to the NVR to ensure they can stay running for generations to come. https://www.nvr.org.uk/product.php/164

Class 701 In Great British Railways Livery Minutes ago, unit 701006 left Bournemouth TCD bound for Wimbledon Depot, scheduled for a press event tommorow at London Waterloo station. The unit is complete and will likely enter service in the coming days. Photo by Southuktrains.

Great British Railways Full Livery Revealed  Earlier today the first unit to be put in GBR livery was seen shunting around Lovers Walk TRSMD depot. The unit is former GWR Class 387/1 387172. According to online rumours there will be a press event next week for an official look at the livery. We will keep you all updated as soon as we know more. Photo by an unknown user.

Preserved Class 50 To Head To Scotland Next Month It’s now confirmed that this June, a Class 50 from the Class 50 Alliance will head to Scotland on a three‑day charter. The trip begins on Saturday 6 June at Kidderminster, where the locomotive will depart for the first leg of the journey. Day one concludes at Polmont. On Sunday 7 June, the Class 50 will take the train to Oban, before returning to Polmont later that day. The charter then leaves Polmont on Monday, making its way back to Kidderminster to complete the tour. The trip was first announced in April and will be operated by the Branch Line Society . Further information, including ticket options, can be found here:   https://www.branchline.uk/fixture.php

Class 37/6 - 37667 'Flopsie' Repainted Into LSL Black Recently 37667 left Eastleigh Arlington in LSL lined black livery, a livery that's now all too common across LSL's diesel fleet. Photo by Eric Wombell   I would like to add an extra apology note for the delay in this post. This was due to my lack of knowledge that 37667 had left the works.

  Class 59 Repainted Into 1980s Yeoman Inspired Livery Earlier today Facebook user George Derkacz shown a photo of 59001 'Yeoman Endeavour' in it's new livery which is inspired heavily by the livery it first worn upon it's delivery to the UK in 1986. The Class 59 will see its debut in the livery this weekend at the Severn Valley Railway Diesel Gala. You can track its progress to the SVR here: https://live.rail-record.co.uk/train.php/?c=R44261&d=2026-05-13

BR Class 455/8 455868 To Be Scrapped In Days Earlier today BR Blue livery Class 455/8 455868 was spotted en route to EMR Kingsbury for scrapping. The special heritage livery was revealed in early 2024 to commemorate the long and reliable life of the Class 455s which were then withdrawn just a year later. Photo and info from Nigel Tippy.

Derailment At The Nene Valley Railway Causes Blockage Earlier today a derailment occurred in Wansford Yard on the Nene Valley Railway and has caused blockages in the yard.  This however comes with the negative that BR Class 45/0 45041 'Royal Tank Regiment' will not be joining the Swanage Railway Diesel Gala lineup unless a VSTP (Very Short Term Planning) move happens. If 45041 cannot attend it will likely disrupt and cause a rework to the weekends timetables.

Class 99 To Make Gala Debut This Month Swanage Railway have officially confirmed the final guest for the highly anticipated annual Diesel Gala taking place 8-10th May 2026 , the guest is confirmed to be a newly imported Stadler Class 99 , courtesy of GB Railfreight . More information about the Gala can be viewed using the link below. https://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/events/view/diesel-gala-and-beer-festival-2026

DB Cargo Cancels British Pullman Contract Earlier today, DB Cargo have cancelled their contract with the British Pullman (A Belmond Train)  to operate Class 67 locomotives on their charters. GB Railfreight will be taking over all foreseeable British Pullman charters, with 2 of  GB Railfreight 's Class 73s (73119 & 73128) running on test earlier today. Photo by TheFlyingTornado & RailPress

SWR To Retire Class 458s This Year SWR have confirmed that their 28 Class 458/4s will retire later on this year, with them all expected to be withdrawn by July despite being refurbished on 2021 eventually then finishing in 2024. It is also reported that SWR plan to retire the Class 458/5 units by the end of the coming summer season as more and more are dragged to Long Marston.

Direct Rail Services Cancel Crewe Depot Open Day Unfortunately earlier today,  Direct Rail Services have made the choice to cancel the annual Crewe Depot Open Day , which was planned to take place on Saturday July 12th 2026 . This has been caused by actively changing health & safety rules and not being able to put on an event that DRS  feel is good enough. For those that have purchased tickets: All tickets purchased for the event will be refunded via Eventbrite. Refunds will be processed automatically to the original method of payment, and you do not need to take any further action at this stage.

Lumo Confirm First Running Dates For Refurbished Class 222 Fleet Minutes ago, LumoTrains have confirmed the first running days for their new Class 222 'Meridian' mini fleet, 5 Class 222s (now Class 222/6s) were transferred from East Midlands Railway in 2025 for Lumos plans for their expansion on the West Coast Mainline, with the first ever running day confirmed to be June 9th , tickets now on sale. Below are photos of the new fleet and we will keep you updated when we get new details. Photos courtesy of LumoTrains.

New Class 08e Revealed At Whatley Quarry Earlier today Heidelberg Materials  revealed their new battery powered Class 08, named "Battery Bill". The locomotive is officially the first of it's kind at a UK quarry, the Quarry is located in Frome Somerset and has a handful of public vantage points, such as road bridges where you may be able to see 08787 in action. Photo by Heidelberg Materials.

Grand Union Class 769s Poised For Testing Of London & Southampton - Marchwood Service Is Approved Grand Union has officially confirmed that if their new London & Southampton - Marchwood is approved, they can officially begin testing their Class 769 units on the route with the test runs presumed to run Eastleigh TRSMD - Marchwood and vice versa. We will continue to provide further updates related to Grand Union as soon as we get them. Mockup by Alliance Rail.

Steam Locomotive Derails At Churnet Valley Railway Earlier today, S160 Class No. 700 derailed while operating an empty stock movement at Cheddleton, marking the first incident on the railway since it opened in 1996. According to a statement from a CVR spokesperson, the cause has not yet been identified and it would be inappropriate to speculate at this stage. Services will not operate tomorrow, with normal operations planned to resume from Wednesday, 22 April 2026. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. Photo by an unknown reporter.

RailPress - March Roundup 2026 Railway News HS2 Trains Considered To Run At Lower Speed To Cut Costs It was announced that the Class 895 may run at a lower speed as the current price of the line is estimated at over £100 billion GBP. However there's no official confirmation. Class 895 Mockup, HS2. GWR Swindon Works Hooter Blows For The First Time Since 1986 On March 26th 2026 the Swindon Works hooter (formerly used to announce the start and end of all working days) blew once again to mark the 40th anniversary of Swindon Works closing. GWR STEAM, TheFlyingTornado. 5 New Railway Stations Open In One Month March saw the opening of 5 new Railway stations, 3 of them being in Birmingham. The stations were: Moseley Village, Birmingham Kings Heath, Birmingham Pineapple Road, Birmingham Willenhall, West Midlands Darlaston, West Midlands LNWR Class 350, TheFlyingTornado. And due to this article being delayed..... Oulton Broad North Station Catc...

Whistle & Wander Issue 1 - Out Now! The official first issue of the Whistle & Wander has officially released, the first magazine as part of the official subscription plan for the book which is £4.99, a good price for what you get, speaking of what you get, this months magazine contains stories from several enthusiasts as well as many photos to accompany the story, it's definitely worth a read if you haven't seen the magazine yet. For those not in the loop, Whistle & Wander was designed by Alex Fletcher (@FletchOnSteam) as the next generation of rail magazines, with the successful Issue 0 released on February 28th.

LUMO Class 222 Revealed In Press Event Earlier Today LUMO revealed the new Class 222 livery at a press event which celebrates their new HQ in Preston Lancashire, below are all the photos provided of the event and the new Class 222 livery. Photos by RailAdvent.

Class 150 Catches Fire On Riviera Line A short while ago a Class 150 (150265) has caught fire while operating 2E13 11:48 Penzance - Exeter St Davids , further details of the incident (including incident severity) is still unknown as the situation continues to unfold. We will keep you all updated when we recieve further updates. Update 1 - 15:07PM The unit is stranded just south west of Newton Abbot Station, all lines have been halted. As for the 150 numerous brake blocks  are ablaze, Devon & Somerset Fire & Rescue Service have been called to the scene, we will continue to update you. Update 2 - 15:17PM Devon Live has provided a photo of the scene which appears to be taken from Torquay Road. Photo by Devon Live. Update 3 - 17:13PM Another photo has been released showing the fire on a wheelset of a coach, along side a report of a bearing collapsing, none of the important components such as the engine have been involved in the fire so the unit should return to serv...

First Ever Class 466 Preserved The 400 Series Group (owners of 313201) have just confirmed the preservation of Ex-Southeastern Class 466 466043, the 2 car unit will be based at the East Kent Railway thanks to a generous donation from Angel Trains. Photo by Wikipedia.

Class 455s To Run For The Final Time Tommorow  SWR have officially confirmed that Class 455s will run for the final ever time tommorow (Friday March 20th), the units will be the final running 455s which are 455712 & 455732, while the allocations are currently unknown we expect them to be the usual London - Guildford services. Photo by u/Deleted

ScotRail Class 43s Replacement Fleet Confirmed ScotRail have announced their new fleet which will be replacing their Class 43 'Inter7City' fleet at the end of 2027, these are the remaining Class 222s which are currently with East Midlands Railway. Alstom have also confirmed that they will be in charge of the fleet refurbishment which will bring a new interior, better necessitys including WiFi and hearing aid announcement systems. This 10 year £250 million agreement will last up to 2036, with an option to extend the agreement until 2042. Photo: Alstom & ScotRail

Official Heavy Haul Rail Class 66 Livery Revaled Earlier today at Loughborough Works, 66537 finished it's repaint following a major transfer of Class 66s & Class 70s that Freightliner   have sold to Heavy Haul Rail , this is expected to be the livery all HHR locomotives wear from this point forth.

New Network Rail Manchester Facility Showcased Network Rail has unveiled a new two-storey facility at Guide Bridge in Manchester , completed in just over a year and designed to house around 120 staff supporting a range of roles across the city's rail network; the building incorporates 60 solar panels, 10 electric vehicle chargers, and thanks to smart cost-saving measures, a project originally allocated £10 million was delivered for just £4 million, with photos of the new site shown below.