Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i Rail Express

DIRECT trains from Swanage to Wareham began running on April 4 as a trial operation. Using the Swanage Railway’s Class 117 diesel multiple unit and Class 121 single-car to form a four-coach train, the trial will operate until September. Tickets for the service will be available from South Western Railway as well, allowing passengers to add Corfe Castle and Swanage to their tickets. This is the first time such a ticket has been available on the national network since the railway was closed by British Rail on January 1, 1972. Trains will operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until September 10. The first train leaves Corfe Castle at 10.44, with the others leaving Swanage at 12.14, 14.23 and 16.23. Wareham departures are at 11.19, 13.05, 15.19 and 17.19. The…

GOVERNMENT has confirmed delays to the construction of High Speed 2. In a statement on March 9, Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper claimed that over £40 billion was being invested to transform transport across the country over the next two years. However, in the same statement the Department for Transport said that “in recognition of inflationary pressures and to help balance the nation’s books, the next two years will be used to rephase construction and optimise future delivery of Phase 2a between Birmingham and Crewe so this is done in the most cost-effective way. This aims to deliver high-speed services to Crewe and the North West as soon as possible after accounting for the rephasing of construction. “At the same time, the Government will take the time to…

IN order to create space at Eastleigh, up to 16 Rock Rail/South Western Railway Class 701 Aventra electric multiple units are to be sent to Long Marston for storage in advance of their planned introduction later in the year. The first set, No. 701004, arrived at Porterbrook’s facility on March 24, its transfer being carried out by GB Railfreight No. 47749 City of Truro. Also during the same month, the last two of nine units (see table) for storage at Marchwood arrived at the Ministry of Defence site, these being No. 701046 on March 22 and No. 701043 the next day. GBRf No. 47749 was also used to move both sets. The same Brush Type 4, along with classmate No. 47727 Edinburgh Castle/Caisteal Dhùn Èideann, was used to return No.…

CLASS 20 Creating plenty of interest en route, Nos. 20142 Sir John Betjeman+20189 led the 6Q77 14.22 Crewe Carriage Sidings-Kirkdale on March 5, comprised of translator wagons and new Merseyrail units Nos. 777012/016 with RailAdventure power cars Nos. 43468+43480 bringing up the rear. On March 11, the blue-liveried No. 20189 teamed up with Scottish Railway Preservation Society No. 37403 Isle of Mull to work Vintage Trains’ ‘South Wales Explorer’ from Dorridge to Cardiff Central, later traversing the freight branch from Ystrad Mynach South Junction to Cwmbargoed before heading back to the West Midlands. Locomotive Services Nos. 20096 Jocelyn Feilding 1940-2020+20107 left Crewe for Eastleigh on March 17, and three days later had charge of the 5Z20 10.13 Eastleigh Works-Southall with seven vehicles including High Speed Train Mk.3s Nos. 41108/160 and…

NEW TRAINS WALES can rightfully argue that it has received little rail investment for many years. Electrification to Swansea was curtailed at Cardiff Central; the original plan of wiring the Valleys never happened and the most recent Office of Rail and Road (ORR) figures showed that Transport for Wales operates the second oldest train fleet in Britain, with an average age of 29.4 years. Pacers dominated coverage about the state of the north of England’s rail system and yet they continued to operate commuter services in and around the Welsh capital until 2020. Long-distance trains from Manchester to west Wales can be operated by two or three-car trains, and with current problems with rolling stock, two-car Class 150/2s or even pairs of Class 153s have been operating on this route.…

THE relatively flat Brunelian railway along the south Devon coastline has some suitable stretches for assessing 0-60mph performance. Leaving Starcross in either direction is absolutely level, but the tight curvature met by eastbound trains before Powderham and the intervention of controlled-approach signalling for westbound trains before Dawlish Warren spoils comparisons. So, it was back to Newton Abbot to examine how quickly the Class 150s could reach 60mph on the slightly downhill start to the River Teign crossing and then compensating curvature until the 60mph speed restriction ends. Most of the Paignton-Exmouth local trains are formed of a pair of Great Western Railway Class 150/2 Sprinters, but the vast majority of these trains now use Platform 1 on the Down side and have to ease, albeit slightly, at 40mph to cross…

WESTERN Region locomotives along with modern variations, dominate the second run of the Accurascale Class 37. Each of the eight new models will be produced with features specific to the applied livery and its time frame. Whilst variations existed within Class 37s from new, the real challenge comes with tooling modern variants where virtually every locomotive is different in some way due to repairs, upgrades and modifications. It’s the Western Region’s turn BR green locomotives with D-numbers are introduced in the second run, with Western Region features including the lamp iron arrangement. First up is centre headcode No. D6600 in BR green with small warning panel as allocated to Cardiff Canton from new. Another South Wales freight engine added to the range is centre headcode No. D6956 in BR green…

SIMPLE reworking projects can produce a different-looking model with personalised modelling touches. They are completed in a long weekend, using materials such as acrylic paint for weathering and finishing to save time. In a short, minimalist project, the EFE Rail/Heljan 4mm scale Class 58 converted to ‘EM’ gauge in last month’s issue is reworked as Mainline Freight No. 58009. It was completed over a long weekend and produced a customised model for a 1995-1996 layout time frame. The base model Whilst not matching the finesse of recent ready-to-run locomotives in ‘OO’ gauge, the Heljan Class 58, first released around 2008, remains a solid model which is well proportioned and nicely detailed. Its true strength is its robustness and a smooth, powerful mechanism. It has relatively simple electronics which makes modifications…

RAIL Express editor Richard Clinnick presented the Crewe Diesel Preservation Group (CDPG) with the Heritage Railway Association Mortons Media Rail Express Modern Traction Award at a ceremony in Birmingham on March 11. The CDPG won the award for returning an operational push-pull Class 47/7 and Driving Brake Standard Open (DBSO) set to the main line for the first time in almost 33 years (RE323). Using stock provided by Locomotive Services, including DBSO No. 9707, No. 47712 Lady Diana Spencer returned to its old Edinburgh-Glasgow Queen Street stomping ground and the Highlands between February 24-26. The award was collected by CDPG members Brian Bailey, Andrew Quayle and Jonathan Rawlinson at an HRA awards event. This was just over a month before the CDPG celebrated the tenth anniversary of buying the ‘47’…

WORK is underway on the construction of a new maintenance facility at UK Rail Leasing’s Leicester depot. At an event at the site on March 14, UKRL confirmed that the new facility should be complete by the end of the year. It will provide capacity for four locomotives on two pitted roads. The shed, which will cost £1.5 million, has been designed to maintain new classes of locomotive as well as providing UKRL with the ability to provide extra capacity to expand its maintenance business. HSBC UK provided a development loan for the structure. UKRL confirmed that once the new facility is operational early next year, 15 new jobs will be created. The company already maintains DCRail and GB Railfreight fleets as well as providing overnight servicing for CrossCountry Class…

SIX former Virgin Trains ‘Thunderbird’ Class 57/3s are set to transfer to GB Railfreight once Direct Rail Services returns them to Porterbrook. Nos. 57301/303/305/306/310/312 will transfer to GBRf, leaving DRS with Nos. 57304/307-309, which are in the XHVT pool. Currently, Nos. 57301/303/306 are stored, while No. 57305 is in the XHAC pool and 57310 is in the XHSO pool. They are expected to be used on multiple unit transfers and seasonal duties such as railhead treatment trains, as well as providing additional cover while Class 69s undergo modifications at Longport. One locomotive, currently No. 57312, will be used by Great Western Railway. This moved to GWR on March 14, replacing No. 57305, which was due an exam. The six ‘57/3s’ will retain their translator equipment and modified drop down heads…

THE last planned run of two-axle tank wagons on the main line took place on March 7, when No. 37418 An Comunn Gaidhealach delivered the National Wagon Preservation Group’s owned, and custodian TTAs to the Dean Forest Railway from store at Gascoigne Wood. The NWPG raised more than £16,000 during December and January via its ‘Project Petroleum’ fundraising scheme to enable the purchase. The ‘37/4’, operated by Loram, hauled the former VTG-owned tanks as the 6Z42 09.45 Gascoigne Wood-Lydney. Included in the consist were Nos. VTG 60197, 60591/4/8, 60666/83, 60763/8/9, 60875/8. In a separate move, the Great Central Railway’s pair of vehicles, Nos. VTG 60874/9, were transported by road during March. This leaves nine tankers at Gascoigne Wood, all likely to go for scrap in due course. DEVELOPMENTS ■ DB…

IRISH ANGLE USE of the locomotive-hauled Sperry train to monitor the integrity of the Iarnród Éireann (IE) rails is ending, as the commissioning of a new Geismar Track Recording Vehicle (TRV) No. 701 proceeds. Currently the Sperry train operates twice a year on a system-wide tour of the IE network, however, once the new TRV is commissioned it will replace the locomotive-hauled Sperry train which, in turn, will be disbanded. For the latest systemwide tour, the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) ex-British Railways Mk.1 van No. 3173 was again hired in, having been used for each tour since September 2021, when the previous van to be used, IE No. 3187, was withdrawn due to being life expired. No. 3187 had also been the dedicated spraying van in the IE…

CIRCLING the test track in Velim, Czech Republic, in April 2018 aboard Mk.5A set TP01, it was easy to see why there was optimism ahead for introducing the Nova 3 fleet. Ordered less than two years previously, the Mk.5A fleet, built by CAF, was to help boost capacity on a franchise crying out for extra space across its network. The first set, along with two Class 68s (Nos. 68019/021), had been sent to Velim for testing ahead of delivery to the UK. TPE invited guests to travel aboard the first train during testing. These were the first locomotive hauled coaches ordered for Britain’s railways, other than the Caledonian Sleeper Mk.5s, since the Mk.4s were introduced between 1989 and 1992, and were being introduced onto routes that had been a unit-only…

HORNBY is making excellent progress on its brand-new 4mm scale model of the 45t tank wagon, with prototypes being revealed at the end of March. They are often referred to as TTAs, although braking configurations varied in the huge number of wagons constructed for petroleum and other freight traffic. The pre-production models have modern details such as parabolic spring suspension and airbrakes making it a TTA version, ideal for the BR Railfreight as well as Privatisation era. Two walkway and ladder variants have been revealed so far, alongside livery samples. The new models are fitted out with etched metal walkways and sprung buffers in addition to a wealth of underframe fittings for the eight-shoe brakes and airbrake equipment. The potential of the underframe as tooled cannot be lost on Hornby,…

GREATER Anglia finished using Class 321s on daily passenger diagrams on April 3, some 35 years after the first four-car electric multiple unit was delivered. GA No. 321314, forming the 2F08 22.56 Colchester-Walton-on-the-Naze, was the last to operate a booked train. As this issue of Rail Express went to press, the operator was retaining ‘321s’ for ad hoc duties, while a farewell charter will operate on April 29 (see Railtours). The four-car EMUs were built by British Rail Engineering Limited at York between 1988 and 1991. The first set, No. 321301, was unveiled on September 15, 1988, some six weeks earlier than planned. They began entering traffic in 1989. GA inherited the entire fleet in 2012, other than three ‘321/9s’ which were used by Northern, although they also eventually transferred…

FOLLOWING three separate fires aboard Class 175s, Transport for Wales removed the 27-strong diesel multiple unit fleet from traffic for checks, before slowly returning the trains to traffic. On February 8, No. 175008 suffered a fire while operating the 1V90 04.25 Holyhead-Cardiff Central with No. 175009, just north of Wrexham. This was followed on February 22 by No. 175101, which caught fire at Wilmslow while forming the 1W23 16.49 Cardiff Central-Manchester Piccadilly, and then No. 175007 suffered a fire at Wilmslow on March 1, while forming the 1W10 06.29 Crewe-Manchester Piccadilly. Jan Chaudhry-Van der Velde, TfW chief operations officer, said: “The Class 175s are maintained on our behalf by CAF at its depot in Chester, and while we have this shortage of rolling stock, we are moving trains around the…

THE Mangapps Railway Museum has purchased Class 04 No. D2203 from the Industrial Rolling Stock Group. The Drewry shunter, which was put up for sale in February, arrived at its new home from the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway on March 28. No. D2203 was one of four Class 04s built with cowcatchers and side skirts for use on the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway, as well as at Ipswich Docks. Mangapps Railway Museum, aware of the locomotive’s importance in East Anglian railway history as it is the only survivor of the small fleet which carried these features, intends to return it to this condition. Delivered as No. 11103 in 1952 and renumbered in 1958, the locomotive was initially based at March for use on the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway,…

TO mark the withdrawal of Britain’s oldest train, the Class 313 electric multiple units (see Headline News), the Branch Line Society is operating the ‘PEPs on Tour: The Sussex Rambler’ on April 29, which will take two ‘313s’ to Portsmouth Harbour, the Littlehampton branch, Haywards Heath, Newhaven, Hastings and Eastbourne. The trip sold out within days. Meanwhile, Greater Anglia became the last to operate Class 321s, which date from 1988 (see Headline News), with the final booked diagrams running on April 3. To mark their withdrawal, GA is operating a charity special on April 29, which will take Class 321s to many of their former haunts. The charter train will support three charities – East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), Havens Hospices and the Railway Mission – and will operate from…

THE quarterly passenger usage statistics published by the Office for Rail and Road (ORR) on March 16, reveal the continuing weakness in demand for rail services in the period between October 1, and December 31, 2022. A comparison is made with statistics for the same quarter three years ago, which was last period unaffected by the Covid pandemic, before travel restrictions were applied from March 2020 when lockdowns were first introduced. A total of 369 million journeys were made in the period covered. This was 80% of the 461 million journeys made three years earlier, but this would certainly have been higher had it not been for nine strike days called by the RMT union and two by the drivers’ union ASLEF. In addition, there was a strike by ScotRail…

REVIEW ZXP No. DW41990 NEW WAGONS are appearing in the Hornby catalogue once again, with Salmon track panel carriers and TTA tank wagons being announced for the 2023 range. A new wagon announced in 2022 arrived in the shops in early 2023: the GWR ‘Loriot Y’ machinery truck or ‘Weltrol WY’ in BR terminology. Two Diagram G39 25t Loriot Y wagons were constructed at Swindon works in 1939 for the carriage of heavy machinery, primarily excavators. One survived long into BR ownership, being allocated to the CE yard at Radyr which was a mecca for wagon enthusiasts at one time. The BR version of the model (R60101) is modelled in as-built condition and labelled as ZXP No. DW41990. The maintenance data panels printed on the right-hand end of the model…

MODELLING IT IS time to delve back into the world of traditional modelling, almost as a counter to the swathe of outstanding rolling stock models being released by several manufacturers. One only has to look at the quality of the new wagon models reviewed in this issue alone to appreciate how much the hobby has progressed in the last decade. It is easy to forget the satisfaction of adding kit-built wagons to the fleet when there are so many new off-the-shelf models to collect. Once, the mainstay for increasing a collection size was the plastic kits for traditional BR wagon kits from Parkside Dundas, together with departmental and air-braked wagons from Cambrian Models. Despite the wide range of new rolling stock available to the D&E modeller, some significant gaps remain,…