Adam OConnor

In West Yorkshire, the campaign to reopen a disused railway tunnel as part of an ambitious cycle network is approaching a critical point with the completion of on-site investigations by engineers acting for Bradford Council. Once complete, their study will inform decision-making about the viability of repairing the tunnel – parts of which are in […]

In South Wales, the campaign to reopen a disused railway tunnel as a foot and cycle path has passed a crucial milestone with the completion of a detailed examination into its condition. Connecting two former coal mining valleys, it’s hoped that Rhondda Tunnel will boost the local economy by enticing tourists and creating jobs. But […]

One of York’s most anonymous buildings houses the railway’s engineering memory - an archive of around nine million records dating back to the 17th century, but still expanding to take in documents from the 13,000 or so live projects...

A new footpath has been officially opened across Torksey Viaduct, bringing function to a structure that has been quietly rusting since the railway it was built to carry closed in 1959. Designed by John Fowler in the late 1840s, the viaduct prompted considerable debate amongst the engineering fraternity due to...

Unique is an overused word and it’s often applied erroneously. Whilst all rail projects are different – due to the location and scheme design – there is always some commonality between, for example, every bridge replacement or track renewal. But the same cannot be said of the events at Farnworth last...

New drainage systems are being installed on two Grade II listed viaducts as part of a £17 million investment on the West Coast Main Line. Dating from the 1840s, the structures’ original drainage had failed, causing track quality issues and numerous brickwork defects which are undergoing repair. An 11-day blockade...

The railway network has suffered the consequences of a very wet winter, with some sections of line closing for several weeks. In North Wales, the Conwy Valley branch has been out of action since the 27th December due to the effects of severe flooding. Since then, a small orange army,...

Before the advent of Xboxes and all-singing smartphones, kids signed up to a vivid, multi-sensory game accessed through a portal at the far end of the kitchen, known as ‘outdoors’. In the black and white era – albeit slightly rose- tinted – this was unfettered by health and safety, the...

Doncaster punches above its weight. From some angles, it looks like a dozen other Yorkshire towns – Rotherham, Castleford, Pontefract – but its position is significantly elevated by its strategic importance as a railway hub. It’s Crewe, but the right side of the Pennines. With six routes converging, Doncaster’s population can...

For those of us afflicted by a get-on-with-it culture and a lifestyle built on thrift, there is something rather uncomfortable about HS2. Back in the autumn of 1890, visionary industrialist Sir Edward Watkin presented to Parliament his proposals for an ambitious new main line – 92 miles in length –...