January 2021 – RailwayWorld.net

“This is Carbis Bay: alight here for the G7 Summit”

News that Prime Minister Boris Johnson shares a love of trains with new US President Joe Biden presents them with a classic bonding opportunity when the two men get together in June for the G7 Summit of world leaders.

Johnson’s choice of venue – the Carbis Bay Hotel – stands just below Carbis Bay station on the delightful St. Ives branch, so giving the two world leaders an opportunity to sample the scenic delights of the 4¼-mile line.

Five years of lost semaphores

FIVE YEARS after I began touring Britain in search of surviving semaphores to describe and photograph for my planned book seems like a timely moment to take a look back at the many places which have lost their mechanical signalling in that time.

While there are still some wonderful outposts of mechanical signalling, a considerable amount has been lost in the period since 2016, notably on Humberside, in North Wales, Preston to Blackpool North and the Wherry Lines in Norfolk, all of which feature below.

You only live twice

Sunday, 3 January 2021, marks the end of an era on our national railway network, when the last pre-WWII rolling stock to remain in use is finally pensioned off after eight decades of service, and the Isle of Wight’s Island Line closes for its long-awaited upgrade.

Like many others I had planned to pay my final respects to the Class 483s on Sunday, before COVID-19 travel restrictions put paid to my plans. So, to mark this historic and sad occasion, here is a photographic trip down the line featuring shots of the final five of the 1938-vintage units to remain in action.