Random Railways

02/09/2026

30/08/2026

28/08/2026

How does ‘enemy shelling’ compare to the reason for your last train delay?

27/08/2026

Studio 4 at Haltwhistle Railway Station will be available to rent from 1 October. If you are looking for a studio/small office, check out the details at https://tinyurl.com/3wp86tes
There's great transport links, utilities and broadband included in the rent.

26/08/2026

Dolly Parton: the unlikely railway preservationist

When you think of Dolly Parton, railways probably aren’t the first thing that spring to mind.

But tucked away in the foothills of Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains is a remarkable piece of railway preservation and Dolly played a major part in keeping it alive.

Today, the Dollywood Express carries visitors through the mountains at Dolly Parton’s Dollywood theme park. But this isn’t some modern replica built simply to provide a little steam-age atmosphere.

At its heart are genuine historic locomotives with working lives stretching back decades.

No. 192, “Klondike Katie”, a Baldwin 2-8-2 built in 1943 for the United States Army Transportation Corps. After serving the military, she went to the White Pass & Yukon Route, where she worked in Alaska and Yukon before eventually making her way to Tennessee.

She was already working on the railway when the attraction became Dollywood in 1986. Indeed, the railway itself predates Dolly: it opened as Rebel Railroad in 1961, with Klondike Katie among its attractions.

But Dolly’s arrival transformed the operation.

She made it one of Dollywood’s signature attractions. Millions of visitors have since experienced a genuine working steam locomotive travelling through the Smoky Mountains. Dollywood says the park has consistently attracted more than two million visitors a year

No. 70, “Cinderella”, another former White Pass & Yukon Route Baldwin, dates from 1938. She too became part of the Dollywood story, with the railway’s engineering team continuing to maintain and operate these historic machines rather than simply putting them behind glass.

Dolly Parton’s contribution to railway preservation wasn’t about founding a traditional heritage railway or becoming a railway enthusiast overnight.

It was about giving historic railway equipment a sustainable reason to exist.

The Dollywood Express turned preservation into an experience.

21/08/2026

“A track geometry irregularity existed immediately before the point of derailment.”

The first findings from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch into the devastating Lewes derailment have now been released — and there are already some significant details emerging.

On Thursday 13 August, Southern service 1F34, the 14:24 London Victoria to Eastbourne, derailed around a mile north of Lewes.

The train was formed of two Class 387 units, with the rear three vehicles leaving the rails and overturning onto the embankment.

Around 150 people were on board. 30 were injured, with 20 requiring hospital treatment, some seriously.

Now RAIB says its preliminary examination has found:

Marks on the rails are consistent with the wheels of the rear vehicles climbing over the rails.

The train was travelling at approximately 65mph approaching the derailment site, below the 70mph maximum permitted speed.

CCTV from the train involved — and from trains which passed beforehand — shows that a track geometry irregularity existed on the immediate approach to the derailment point BEFORE the accident.

There was evidence of previous track maintenance activity in the area.

RAIB has received several reports from passengers of rough riding at the location on other trains.

And then there is the weather.

The accident occurred during a sustained period of hot and dry weather, with temperatures around 27°C. The railway embankment is constructed from clay and sits on alluvial deposits — materials which can move as moisture levels change.

RAIB says there is no evidence at this stage of a significant embankment slip immediately before the accident, although there is evidence that movement had occurred previously.

The investigation is now digging much deeper.

The black box data from the front vehicle has already been downloaded and is being analysed, while the remaining data recorders will be recovered as the three overturned vehicles are removed.

But this is not the final answer.

RAIB is very clear that its investigation is ongoing and that some of these findings may be refined.

18/08/2026

13/08/2026