This day in history 06 December
Images
Carlisle: Holbeck Peak D53 'Royal Tank Regiment', photographed shortly after arrival at Carlisle on 6 December 1968 with train 1S49, the 10.25 Leed City - Glasgow Central.
Carlisle: D5338 prepares to leave Carlisle on 6 December 1968 with the 1pm train for Edinburgh via the Waverley Route. North end station pilot no D3534 stands alongside.
Carlisle: Holbeck Peak D53 Royal Tank Regiment struggles away from Carlisle with the 10.25am Leeds City - Glasgow Central on 6 December 1968. The train waiting at platform 7 is the 1pm service to Edinburgh Waverley via Hawick, with D5338 in charge.
Hawick [2nd]: Platform scene at Hawick on 6 December 1968 as EE Type 4 no D211 arrives with the 9.30am Edinburgh Waverley - Carlisle - St Pancras.
Belfast York Road: Ex-Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway 0-6-4T No. 27 Lough Erne still in reasonable condition on York Road shed in December 1969, having been withdrawn from shunting duties earlier that year. Contrary to appearances, the loco was built as late as 1949, although the basic design was some 45 years older.
Belfast York Road: Scene on shed at Belfast York Road in December 1969. Although this LMS Derby built 2-6-4T looks to be out of use, some of its classmates were still active at that time working spoil trains from near Larne to Belfast in connection with construction of the M2 motorway. This traffic ceased in the summer of 1970.
Belfast York Road: View of an industrial Belfast long since gone, taken on 6 December 1969. The shed on the right was the only covered accommodation available at York Road depot for the handful of 'Jeep' 2-6-4Ts retained for working M2 motorway spoil trains. All the locos visible here - from l to r Nos. 5, 4 and 50 - were still active at the time and in steam, even though it was a Saturday with nothing moving.
Carmyle Goods Yard: Up or Down ? Track ID/mileage plate on W side of main track but on a higher level at Carmyle sidings just N of bridge over Clyde. Numerals 26 BUT fixed to post upside down as 97.
Forth Junction: Railway Terrace on the south side of the line, in a view looking east.
Mouldron Junction: Looking to Mouldron Junction from the former branch which ran to Levenseat Quarry and Mouldron Colliery. In the distance the line runs off to Fauldhouse station.
Camps Viaduct: Camps Viaduct is a large structure on the North British Railway's Camps Branch near the terminus of the line which served a quarry and limeworks. Closer to the junction at Uphall was the Pumpherston Oilworks. The viaduct now carries a footpath.
Pumpherston Oil Works: This view shows the Camps Branch running south towards Camps Viaduct. The land to the right of the railway trackbed, now a footpath, had been the Pumpherston Oilworks. It is now partly vacant and partly a golfcourse. The works had a slow decline with the crude works closed in the 1920s, refinery in 1964 and some parts in use until the late 1970s and even 1990s.
Philpstoun: A Dunblane - Waverley service approaches Philpstoun in 2003.
Addiewell Goods [NB]: This is the site of the North British Railway's Addiewell terminus looking north west towards Addiebrownhill and Stoneyburn. It has been landscaped here but the line ran from bottom right to run round the left side of the church and on to a junction by East Whitburn. The line continued east as a private line worked by the NBR to service various works. The church has lost its spire since the 1960s and Addiewell has lost its industry.
Johnstone: 66211 about to pass through Johnstone station at a crawl, heading east with coal for Longanett PS. The Class 318 is a Largs service.
Edinburgh Waverley: Platform juggling at Waverley during major works in December 2006. Here a 158 arriving from Bathgate with a train destined for Newcraighall takes the south side crossover to reach the new platform 7, thus avoiding the Virgin CrossCountry service to Plymouth awaiting departure at platform 11. The yet to be commissioned platform 10 is visible between the trains.
Edinburgh Waverley: Cunning plan. View west along platform 20 at Waverley on 6 December 2006 showing the stairway linking the cross-station walkway with the back door to the new Klondyke platform on the other side of the south wall. Beyond the walkway a corresponding lift shaft is under construction. See image [[62457]]
Edinburgh Waverley: Hole in the wall, December 2006. A doorway being formed in the south wall to provide access between the new Klondyke platform and the stairway on the other side, which will lead to the cross-station walkway.
Edinburgh Waverley: Thats better.. View east as the 1105 Voyager for Birmingham New Street arrives for boarding at 19 alongside the new Balmoral platform in December 2006.
Edinburgh Waverley: 'So... this must be what they call a platform....' High level inspection, Waverley north side, 6 December 2006.
Portobello Freightliner Terminal: EWS 66078, having brought its load of imported Russian coal up the branch from Leith Docks, is held at signals at Portobello East Junction on 6 December 2006. The train is alongside the old Portobello Freightliner terminal awaiting the clear onto the ECML and the road to its ultimate destination, Cockenzie power station. Photograph taken from a passing train.
Edinburgh Waverley: The 1205 Virgin Cross Country service to Plymouth on 6 December 2006 standing opposite the hole in the wall of Waverley's the new Klondyke platform. The hole will provide access to the cross-station walkway in the background via a new stairway on the other side.
Haymarket: The 0755 Inverness - Kings Cross 'Highland Chieftain' runs into platform 1 at Haymarket on 6 December 2006 with the under construction bay platform 0 on the right.
Edinburgh Waverley: Progress on the installation of the stairway and escalators that will link the western concourse with the cross-station walkway and the modernised Waverley Steps. Position on 6 December 2006 with passengers currently using the temporary stairway in the background giving access to Waverley Mall.
Edinburgh Waverley: One of the locomotives regularly deployed on sleeper services at the time, no 90027 'Allerton T&RS Depot', seen here stabled at the east end of Waverley on 6 December 2006. The locomotive is still carrying BR Railfreight Distribution livery. see image [[9621]].
Haymarket: Looking east along platforms 0 and 1 towards the main Haymarket station on 6 December 2006. Trains to and from Waverley stand at platforms 1 and 2, while a contractors vehicle is in the new bay platform 0.
Haymarket: Troop withdrawals underway at Haymarket on 6 December 2006, with construction work on the platform 0 project now virtually complete. No, I have absolutely no idea what he is doing.
Edinburgh Waverley: Looking west from the temporary footbridge over the new Balmoral platform on 6 December 2006, with various bits of platform furniture now beginning to appear.
Kingussie: Just north of Kingussie all the farmland has disappeared under floodwater. In one area the railway embankment is the only dry land to be seen.
Thatcham: A Paddington bound HST approaches Thatcham LC at speed on 06 December 2008.
Bo'ness: Santa's Polar Express loading for the third round trip between Boness and Birkhill on 6 December. Locomotive 80105 simmers in the frosty afternoon as the well wrapped patrons take in the exciting scene.
Thatcham: 165129 calls at Thatcham with a local service to Newbury on 6 December 2008.
Bo'ness: View into the winter sun showing 80105 at the head of Santa's Polar Express from SRPS Boness on 6 December 2008.
Plates, signs, notices etc: Commemorative plaque on the side of Barclay 0-6-0ST 2139 of 1942, now preserved on the Swindon and Cricklade Railway.
Newbury Racecourse: A First Great Western HST races west through Newbury Racecourse station in December 2008.
Thatcham: 166208 passes Colthorp Crossing SB just east of Thatcham on a Paddington bound service on 6 December 2008. The signalbox is now relegated to the status of a gate box as the area is now controlled from Reading.
Kinneil: BR Standard class 4MT 80105 restarts an SRPS Santa Special at Kinneil on Saturday 6 December.
Hayes Knoll: The Swindon & Cricklade Railway's restored Barclay 0-6-0ST Salmon in action on 6 December 2008.
Thatcham: A First Great Western HST bound for Paddington runs east through Thatcham on 6 December 2008 as a westbound Class 165 on a local from Reading to Bedwyn approaches the station.
Needlefield Carriage Sidings: The old carriage cleaning sidings at Inverness have been replaced with this container handling facility. Stobart Rail delivers containers for Tesco here every day except Sunday. 66411 in Stobart Rail livery has brought in the train on 6 December.
Thatcham: A First Great Western service to Bedwyn, formed by 3 car Turbo Express unit 166208, approaches Thatcham, between Reading and Newbury, on 6 December 2008.
Newbury Race Course: A westbound HST passes through Newbury Race Course station on 6 December 2008.
Thatcham: DMU 165129 calls at Thatcham station on 6 Dec 2008 with a Reading - Newbury service.
Scorton [Lancashire] [1st]: The footbridge at Broad Fall Farm near Scorton is exactly 12 miles north of Preston, and just south of the site of the former station, which closed in 1939. Here, a Pendolino leans on the curve as it heads south. Map Ref SD 503478.
Thatcham: Non-stop westbound through Thatcham for a First Great Western HST on 6 December 2008.
Thatcham: 166208 heads towards Reading with a service to Paddington having just crossed over Colthorp level crossing, east of Thatcham in December 2008. See image [[21898]] for a view in the opposite direction, also taken from the footbridge that used to be located here, removed during the electrification work
Newbury Race Course: A Paddington bound First Great Western HST runs east through Newbury Race Course station on 06 December 2008.
Glasgow Central: Ice to meet you! Snow covered 314208 and 318255 stand at platforms 14 and 15 at Glasgow Central station on 6th December 2010.
Glasgow Central: 156513 departing from Glasgow Central on 6th December with a Barrhead working.
Greenhill Lower Junction: Greenhill Lower sees 170454 struggling through the heaviest snowfall in Central Scotland for many years on 6th December 2010. The temp was as I recall about -20.
Glasgow Central: 185124 leaves Glasgow Central for Manchester Airport on 6th December 2010. This service, like many others, was running very late due to the heavy snowfalls that day.
Pollokshaws West: 156510 departs Pollokshaws West in heavy snow on 6th December on a service to Barrhead
Stirling: The morning of Monday December 6th 2010 saw all forms of transport in Central Scotland seriously disrupted through a combination of heavy snow and plunging temperatures. This photo was taken at Stirling on that day when conditions were rapidly deteriorating and almost all services were being either cancelled or abandoned. An exception was the 9.51 Alloa to Glasgow Queen Street, shown here battling through to collect passengers prepared to face an uncertain future. What Class 156 DMUs lack in style and comfort, they make up for in ruggedness, weight and endurance, and this unit managed to take on the weather and get through to its destination.
Carrbridge: Platform view looking north at Carrbridge station on 6 December 2010.
Glasgow Central: A snow covered Class 156 draws into Platform 3 of Glasgow Central on 6th December, passing 390018 waiting to depart for London Euston. Most services that day were problematic at best due to the heavy snow, with many running late or, in some cases, not at all.
Pollokshaws West: 156476 arriving at Pollokshaws West in heavy snow on 6th December on a Glasgow Central service
Glasgow Central: 334012 is the next Class 334 unit to receive the new Scotrail blue livery. Here it stands at Platform 13 of Glasgow Central, having arrived from Wemyss Bay, partially vinyled at the ends and rubbed down in preparation for the new coat to be applied.
Penhelig: 158820 leaves Penhelig after picking up a passenger and heads towards the east side tunnel on the 13.26 service to Machynlleth. For a small halt there is a substantial wooden waiting room on the platform.
Tonfanau: Tonfanau, between Tywyn and Fairbourne, looking north from the adjacent road crossing in December 2011.
Aberdovey: 158821 departs Aberdovey on 6 December with the 10.09 ex Birmingham International service to Pwllheli, with the short low cost raised platform structure visible.
Princes Street [Tram]: A 'road train' providing a Tram Substitution service along Princes Street on 6 December.
Swindon: Looking west from the road bridge adjacent to the branch into the Keypoint Railfreight terminal/interchange on the east side of Swindon as a First Great Western HST passes by en route to Paddington.
Princes Street [Tram]: More tram substitutes...? Two London Transport 'Routemasters' parked on Princes Street on 6 December providing seating for a local fast food outlet.
Swindon: A First Great Western HST approaching Swindon from the east on 6 December 2011.
Penhelig: For a small halt there is a substantial wooden waiting room on the platform. The waiting shelter is mounted on built up foundations and wooden steps alongside give access to platform level. There is also a flight of steps from the road, so definitely not a step free access station.
Penhelig: 158820 leaves the east side of Aberdovey No 4 tunnel as it approaches Penhelig on 6 December with a Pwllheli - Machynlleth service.
Wnion Halt: Rail bridges over Afon Wnion, complete with access steps to trackbed level, still extant in December 2011 alongside the A494 a short distance north of Rhydymain on the former route between Bala and Dolgellau.
Loughborough Midland: All touchy feely - this 3-dimensional tactile map at Loughborough is not only useful for the partially sighted, but is admirably detailed - it even shows the platform-less through line on the Falcon Works side.
Kinghorn Community Centre: At Kirkcaldy Museum on 1 December and Kinghorn Community Centre six days later, paintings were on display and narratives enacted from a new booklet by Maureen Sangster and Sheena Berry about stations on the Fife Circle.
Hayes Knoll: The Swindon and Cricklade Railway has taken delivery of another working steam locomotive bought from the Spa Valley Railway. Polish TKH 0-6-0T No 3135 Spartan was working the Santa Specials at Hayes Knoll on 6 December.
Woodacre Crossing: The Yuletide Yorkshire Explorer ran from Newport in South Wales to Leeds on 6th December. The train was hauled throughout by Chiltern Class 68 68014 and took a circuitous route round Birmingham and Manchester. It is seen here heading north at Woodacre prior to taking the Carnforth to Skipton route. Note the small headboard above the right buffer.
Hayes Knoll: Polish TKH 0-6-0T No 3135 Spartan in action on the Swindon and Cricklade Railway at Hayes Knoll on 6 December 2014 see image [[49680]].
Buckshaw Parkway: DRS 68014 working the 1Z68 Newport to Leeds via Manchester and Carnforth Yuletide Yorkshire Explorer passing Buckshaw Parkway on dull and damp 6 December 2014. See image [[49682]]
Warriston Viaduct: The original EL&N viaduct over the Water of Leith at Warriston, looking west along Warriston Road on 6 December 2016. The photograph shows a small section of the considerable flood prevention measures put in place along various stretches of the Water of Leith in recent years. For a comparison see image [[3215]].
Stormy Loops: Dreich Day. As you can see from todays photo it's a rather miserable morning here in South Wales (06/12/16). 37175 passing Stormy Down Loop with a Canton to Derby train via the Mid Wales line.
London Euston: 86101 Sir William Stanier on arrival at Euston with the up Lowland Sleeper on 6th December 2017.
Plymouth: Looking along platform 4 at Plymouth on 6 December 2017, with the 1256 First Great Western service to London Paddington boarding.
Cathcart West Junction: The 'N' on the toy signal at the south end of Cathcart station indicates thet the road is set for a Neilston train - which is just as well. Coming in from the left is the Newton line, used by trains which are going via Maxwell Park and therefore (just) avoiding Cathcart. So close and yet no platforms (nor have there ever been, so far as I know). Alternate Newton Trains go via Queens Park and take the North Junction, well clear of the station.​​
Thrumster: Ian Giles collects the Stagecoach Volunteers Award at the National Railway Heritage Association for the restoration of Thrumster station. 6th December 2017
Coleshill Parkway: Still life at Coleshill, looking east towards Nuneaton. The square tower on the right is labelled Air Liquide, and is a recent addition to the skyline. There is a set of points leading to an entrance to Hams Hall freight depot near the signal on the left.
Constitution Street [Tram]: Looking south along Constitution Street, with tram track being installed, on 6th December 2020. In the distance is Calton Hill, close to the present terminus of the tram line.
Fylde Road Viaduct: The last arch at the north end of the mainly brick Fylde Road Viaduct is this stone structure, which still carries the WCML. Now hidden away at the back of a tyre distributor's car park this bridge once spanned the Lancaster Canal but the section in the city fell into disuse in the 1950s, was dewatered and eventually filled in. 6th December 2020
Charlestown Junction: 68004 nears Charlestown Junction, having just passed the former Elbowend Junction, with the Grangemouth - Aberdeen Craiginches intermodal service, diverted through Fife because of engineering work on 6th December 2020.
Constitution Street [Tram]: Looking north towards the docks along Constitution Street, with track being laid, on 6th December 2020.
Inverkeithing East Junction: 70816 passes Inverkeithing East Junction, with a Hilton Junction to Millerhill empty ballast, on 6 December 2020.
Glasgow Central: Green Pendolino 390121 newly arrived at Glasgow Central from London Euston on 6th December 2021.
Events
Events from the chronology which occured on this day. This generally lists events before 1995, the creation of the website.
News
These are old news items which which occured on this day. This generally lists events after 1995, the creation of the website.
| Year | Companies | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Work begins on Edinburgh Park station | Construction of the access roads to Edinburgh Park station begins. These roads will be used during the construction of the station. The station is due to open by the summer of 2003. The views in the photographs look east. |
| 2002 | All 40 new Juniper trains delivered to SPT | Strathclyde Passenger Transport has taken receipt of the final of its 40 new Juniper trains. A formal ceremony at Glasgow Central marked the occasion. To date National Express, franchise holders of ScotRail, has introduced 66 new diesel and electric trains since 1997 worth £200m. |
| 2004 | Deadline for East Coast rail bids [BBC News] | Rival companies hoping to run the East Coast Main Line are due to submit their final bids to the Strategic Rail Authority. |
| 2004 | Two die on level crossing [BBC News] | A train crashes into a van on a level crossing in Lincolnshire, killing two. |
| 2005 | Ladbroke evidence ^insufficient^ [BBC News] | No individual will be charged over the Paddington rail crash but Network Rail will be prosecuted, the CPS says. |
| 2007 | Power station may extract methane [BBC News Article] | Scottish Power plans to extract methane from beneath one of its coal-fired power stations. |
| 2011 | Scottish Government to build high-speed rail link [Herald] | Alex Neil, the Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure, will confirm that ministers intend to fund a 250mph line starting in the Central Belt at the same time as work takes place on a new fast route in England. It follows concern that Scotland has so far been sidelined from the high-speed rail revolution that has promised to transform intercity travel in England. The announcement marks a major policy shift for the Scottish Government, which had previously complained about the time it would take for a route to reach Scotland after starting in the UK capital. However, work on a Scottish leg is only likely to get under way after 2025, as money has already been earmarked for dualling the remainder of the A9 between Perth and Inverness |
| 2012 | Kintore railway station to be ropened to travellers after 50 years [STV] | A railway station in Aberdeenshire will reopen after 50 years, Transport Minister Keith Brown has announced. Mr Brown said Kintore station would reopen between 2014 and 2019. The station was closed in the 1960s after more than 100 years in service. |
| 2015 | Trams return to the streets of Birmingham [ITV] | Trams returned to the streets of Birmingham today for the first time since 1953 as the first of the new vehicles pulls into Bull Street at 7:50. It is the first step in the opening of the £128 million city centre tram extension. [Sent in by various contributors] |
| 2015 | Mega train delivers Australian record [BBC News] | Australia^s longest-ever grain train has rolled across north-western New South Wales carrying 5,000 tonnes of wheat. Comprised of five locomotives and 73 wagons stretching 1.3km (0.8 miles), the train left the town of Narrabri on Wednesday. It later unloaded its cargo of wheat bound for markets in Southeast Asia at the port of Newcastle. Drones shot video of the bright yellow train as it snaked its way across the Australian countryside. |
| 2016 | Plans for three new Leeds railway stations unveiled [RTM] | Leeds is set to get three new railway stations as part of a £270m transport strategy set to be unveiled tomorrow. A new parkway station will be built on the existing Leeds to Harrogate line at Leeds Airport, while new stations will also be built at Thorpe Park and White Rose Shopping Centre & Office Park. The scheme was designed after Patrick McLoughlin, then transport secretary, blocked plans for a Leeds trolleybus scheme, meaning that the council had to decide how to reinvest £173.5m of DfT money by 2021. If the plans are approved, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) and private partners will provide the rest of the funding, bringing the total budget to over £270m. [From Richard Buckby] |
| 2016 | Britain^s most and least used train stations revealed, with one getting just 12 passengers a year [Telegraph] | An East Cambridgeshire rail station has been named the least used in the country for the second year in a row, with just 12 people using it throughout the whole of last year. Estimates from the Office for Rail and Road show that a dozen passengers boarded or exited a train at Shippea Hill station throughout 2015/16 - one a month. This was the smallest number of passengers for any station in the country last year with the number of people arriving at or departing from the station decreasing compared to 2014/15, down from 22. [From Mark Bartlett] |
| 2016 | Bad Aibling train crash: German controller jailed [BBC News] | A German court has sentenced a train controller to three and a half years in jail over a rail disaster in Bavaria which killed 12 people and injured 89. The 40-year-old defendant, named as Michael P, admitted making a signalling error and dialling the wrong emergency number. Two commuter trains collided near Bad Aibling in February. The controller also admitted having played a computer game on his mobile phone just before the crash. [From Richard Buckby] |
| 2016 | Chris Grayling unveils plans for fully privatised rail line [Guardian] | The government has unveiled plans for a fully privatised railway line, with track and trains operated by the same company. A new line linking Oxford and Cambridge will not be developed by Network Rail, the owner of Britain’s rail infrastructure. Instead, a new entity will be responsible for track and infrastructure, as well as operating train services, under proposals drawn up by the transport secretary, Chris Grayling. |
| 2019 | Aberdeen railway heritage society receives royal recognition for turntable restoration [Press and Journal] | Their members have spent years refurbishing a former railway site in an effort to create a new age of steam in the Granite City. |
| 2019 | Flooding closes part of West Highland railway line [BBC News] | The line closure affected services between Glasgow Queen Street and Mallaig. |
| 2019 | Scotlands railways is the story that keeps on giving but often not in a good way - Alastair Dalton [Scotsman] | Train operators like ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper crave positive headlines but all too often they shoot themselves in the foot, writes Alastair Dalton. |
| 2019 | West Coast Rail: Preston-to-Scotland rail fares to be capped [BBC News] | The UK^s competition watchdog agrees to cap rail fares on certain routes between Scotland and Preston. |
| 2019 | Hitachi to supply inter-city trains for Avanti West Coast services [Railway Gazette] | UK: First Trenitalia has awarded Hitachi Rail a contract to supply and maintain 23 inter-city trainsets for use on Avanti West Coast services. The contract announced on December 6 is worth £350m. Due to enter service from 2022, the 200 km/h trains to be assembled at Hitachis Newton Aycliffe factory would come in two versions. Hitachi is to supply 10 seven-car electric trainsets with 453 seats to be used on services to the West Midlands and Liverpool, and 13 five-car bi-mode trains with 301 seats for services to north Wales. The latter would replace the existing fleet of Class 221 Voyager sets supplied by Bombardier. |
| 2019 | ScotRail back to old station skipping tricks [Fife Today] | A crucial ScotRail commuter service through Fife skipped stations this morning, missing out five stops in the area, with the operator blaming a crew shortage. |
| 2019 | Serco agrees Caledonian Sleeper improvement plan [BBC News] | Operators of the Caledonian Sleeper admit the service has been ^unsatisfactory^ following a ^number of issues^. |
| 2019 | Network Rail awarded for preserving its railway heritage [Network Rail] | Network Rail has been awarded a National Railway Heritage award for its work on the refurbishment of the South Esk viaduct at Montrose. |
