The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 13, Issue 6 (September 1, 1938)
Our London Letter — Electric Locomotive, Montreaux-Bernese Oberland Railway, Switzerland
Our London Letter
Electric Locomotive, Montreaux-Bernese Oberland Railway, Switzerland.
A Famous “Railway Race.”
Some of the most famous trains in the world are among those operating in the Anglo-Scottish services of the London, Midland & Scottish, and London & North Eastern Railways. Traffic between English and Scottish centres this year is exceptionally heavy, and the wonderful Empire Exhibition in Glasgow—where New Zealand has a magnificent show—is bringing rich business to the railways. Many important accelerations have been introduced in the Anglo-Scottish time-tables. The “Royal Scot” express of the L. M. & S., which leaves Euston Station, London, for Glasgow and Edinburgh at 10 a.m. each week day, has been accelerated by 45 minutes, covering the 299 miles from London to Carlisle non-stop at an average speed of 60 m.p.h. In the reverse direction a cut of 25 minutes has been effected in the Glasgow-Euston timings. On the L. & N. E. R., the “Flying Scotsman,” daily trains have been re-timed to complete the journey in each direction between King's Cross and Edinburgh in seven hours, with one intermediate stop at Newcastle. For the first time in its long history, the “Flying Scotsman” this year runs on Sundays as well as on week-days. Fastest of all Anglo-Scottish trains is the “Coronation” streamliner, which occupies only six hours on the King's Cross-Edinburgh journey.
Aids to Travel Comfort.
A Fine Railway Orphanage.
Electrifications Schemes in Europe.
A probable result of the fusion of the German and Austrian railways will be the early electrification of many routes at present steam-operated. At the moment Germany is busy on the electrification of the Nuremburg-Halle main-line and branches, a conversion involving some 220 route miles. In Austria, the Salzburg-Linz section of the main-line between Salzburg and Vienna is being electrified, and a big work likely to be put in hand is the conversion to electricity of the Semmering main-line southwards from Vienna. In neighbouring Switzerland, electrification of the few main-lines still steam-operated is proceeding apace, while further south, in Italy, the 260-mile stretch of track from Salerno to Reggio di Calabria has recently been electrified, giving electric service through from Bologna, a distance of 660 miles. In France, there has recently been witnessed the completion of the important Paris-Le Mans route, and work is proceeding rapidly on the Tours-Bordeaux electrification. Denmark's contribution to the electrification programme takes the form of the electrification of the Copenhagen suburban routes, now proceeding steadily. Holland plans to add another 200 miles to her electric railways this year, while Poland contemplates large extensions to the Warsaw suburban electrification. Altogether, electrification is much to the fore in Europe at the moment.
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