Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2024 i Railways Illustrated

There can be no disguising it – the Government’s U-turn on the proposals for mass ticket office closures at almost 1000 railway stations is an embarrassing climbdown, no matter how much Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper tried to paint it as a directive to the train operators who had fronted the proposals, alongside the Rail Delivery Group. The decision to not proceed and the way it was announced by Mr Harper was clearly designed to make it look like the train operators were behind the move, when they were simply implementing a process largely driven by directives from the Department for Transport. By intimating it was down to the TOCs allows the politicians to distance themselves from what has been proven to be a hugely controversial and unpopular…

A MAJOR project to upgrade and improve the station at Gatwick Airport has been completed. The improved station, which opened on November 21, now features a second concourse and airport entrance, which will double the space available for passengers. The airport sees about 40% of its passengers arriving by rail. The concourse provides a new entrance for people accessing the airport terminal from the railway station, while the original concourse is now used for people exiting the airport. As part of the project, the existing concourse, station footbridges, and the South Terminal linkspan have been refurbished and reconfigured to provide a direct one-way system to the airport from the station. Eight escalators and five lifts have been provided to improve accessibility. These, along with four new stairways and widened platforms,…

ALSTOM HAS secured an eight-year contract extension to continue the maintenance, overhaul, servicing and cleaning of CrossCountry’s fleet of 34 Class 220 Voyagers (220001-034) and 24 Class 221 Super Voyagers (221119-141/144). Arriva-backed CrossCountry recently secured a new National Rail Contract from the Department for Transport – which came into effect on October 15, 2023 – with the operator awarded a new core term of four years and a maximum possible term of eight years from the DfT (Railways Illustrated issue249). The new contract extension, which is valued at about £825 million, will see Alstom continue to work on the two Beacon Rail-owned CrossCountry fleets at Central Rivers depot in Staffordshire. The existing fleet of 58 trains will be bolstered by seven additional Class 221s, which are due to be cascaded…

Trials of a battery-powered Class 08 are underway at Barrow Hill, ahead of the shunter moving to a PD Ports site for further evaluation. Positive Traction has rebuilt 08308, the conversion taking place at the Independent Rail Services facility at Chesterfield. The Class 08 was part of the RMS Locotec fleet but had been stored at Wolsingham on the Weardale Railway for several years having suffered a failure at Inverness. The ‘08e’ project replaces the English Electric 6KT engine fitted to the locomotive with a PT Powerpod, while controls are provided by the PT Powertrain system. PT says that the 08e prototype is rated at about 450hp and its tractive effort has been increased from 35,000lbf to 45,000lbf (200kN), the equivalent of a Class 33. Positive Traction director Alistair Gregory…

The much-delayed introduction of the Alstom-built Class 730 electric multiple units into passenger service with London Northwestern Railway finally took place on November 13, with West Midlands Railway-liveried Class 730/0 sets 730007 and 730010 forming 2B02, the 06.04 Bletchley to London Euston service. The pair then worked 2T09, the 07.24 London Euston to Tring and 2T10, the 08.10 return, before retiring to Camden carriage sidings to await their afternoon workings, which were booked to be another Euston to Tring service and return before concluding their first day in service working 2B49, the 17.35 Euston to Bletchley. The three-car Class 730/0 sets initially in use on the services are ultimately destined for use in the West Midlands but have been temporarily introduced on West Coast workings out of Euston while the…

Hunslet With 08615 undergoing maintenance at Hunslet’s workshops, 08401 is currently providing cover at Tata Steel’s Shotton steelworks alongside 08823. The shunter is understood to have transferred across to Deeside back in August when 08615 arrived at Barton-under-Needwood. RMS Locotec Following its displacement from Ketton in mid-October, 08762 arrived at the unusual location of the Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre at Dudley. Later in the month, it was noted providing motive power for a pair of FLA intermodal wagons loaded with what appeared to be a new railhead treatment module undergoing trials. Preservation Long-stored Class 03 D2051 departed the North Norfolk Railway on November 1, having been sold to a new owner. In need of considerable restoration, it duly arrived at the Telford Steam Railway the following day. Also…

New wagons The remaining 15 of the 30 additional IIA biomass hoppers for Drax Power were released from the Shirebrook workshops of WH Davis on October 24, more than two months after the other half departed. Powered by 66169, 83 70 0698 240/242-255 were taken to Milford Sidings. Meanwhile, GB Railfreight received a further 10 FEA-G twinsets on October 16, 66767 working from Dollands Moor to Peterborough with 81 70 4663 221 to 240. Shirebrook news WH Davis is to shorten a further batch of IIA hoppers to create additional HYA aggregate hoppers for GB Railfreight. November 9 saw 66788 arrive at Shirebrook from York Holgate with 24 donor wagons in the form 37 70 6955 225/35/48/57/65/67/73/74/7⅞2/84/86-88 and 83 70 6955 312/15/20/21/23/29/30/31/42/43. Meanwhile, WH Davis will also carry out overhauls…

West Coast Railways has added a third Northern Belle-liveried Class 57 to its fleet in the form of 57315, the freshly repainted loco being noted outside Carnforth during October. The ʻbodysnatcher’ has been out of traffic for the best part of three years undergoing overhaul and once completed will provide the company with additional traction for the luxury train as availability of the dedicated pair 57313 and 57601 has been poor throughout 2023. Early November saw former Cross-Country HST power car 43285 join the Colas Rail fleet and, as a result, it now carries the company’s yellow diamond logo on the bodysides over its previous colour scheme. Also with new brandings is Freightliner’s 66413, which gained Tarmac and Fox Group logos on its orange bodysides at Midland Road in mid-November.…

FOLLOWING COMPLETION of repairs and a repaint at Shackerstone on the Battlefield Line, privately-owned 20087 has moved to the Kent & East Sussex Railway on an initial one-year hire deal, which may be extended subject to agreement between the locomotive’s owner and the railway. The BR blue Class 20 – which was recently sold by previous owner Harry Needle Railroad Company – is seen as an important addition to the KESR, with general manager Robin Coombes telling Railways Illustrated that its arrival would provide much-needed increased resilience to the line’s locomotive fleet. The Class 20 will be used to support KESR passenger and engineering services, working alongside resident Class 14 D9504. Mr Coombes said that the railway was currently investigating the possibility of holding a diesel gala at some point…

NEMESIS RAIL’S 47701 was moved to the Wensleydale Railway in early November to support the operation of ‘Polar Express’ services on the railway. The newly repainted Class 47 will be used alongside the Pioneer Diesel Group’s 33035 on the annual Christmas-themed trains, which are usually top-and-tailed with a steam locomotive at one end and a diesel at the other. The steam locomotive being used on the ‘Polar Express’ services this season is Riley & Son (E) Ltd’s Stanier 5MT 4-6-0 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier. The Class 47 was pressed into service on the railway almost immediately after its arrival, over the weekend of November 11/12. The locomotive has not worked a passenger train for a number of years, last seeing service while it was based on the erstwhile Dartmoor Railway.…

At 20 miles, the West Somerset Railway is the UK’s longest heritage railway, linking the popular seaside town of Minehead with Bishops Lydeard, along with an extension to the railway’s main line connection with Network Railat Norton Fitzwarren – mid way between Bishops Lydeard and Taunton – which is mainly used during special events. It’s a beautifully preserved railway with bags of Great Western Railway charm and character. The diesel locomotives on the WSR also look very much at home, a fleet with a heavy 1960s Western Region influence. Responsibility for its maintenance and operation falls to the Diesel & Electric Preservation Group, which is based at Williton, midway along the WSR route. Maintenance and restoration work is concentrated in the former goods yard and a two-road shed which was…

Heljan’s recent run of new models continues unabated with the arrival of another locomotive type in O gauge – the Class 73 electro-diesels, or EDs – hitting the shops just a few months after the Class 58. The manufacturer has once again gone to town on the number of releases, with no less than 11 liveries appearing simultaneously in this first batch. All of the models depict the production JB or Class 73/1 machines, these having a number of differences when compared to the initial six locomotives that made up the JA or Class 73/0 sub-class. This is not surprising as it allows vastly more liveries to be offered, but it does mean that anyone looking for a green example is out of luck, as the colour scheme was confined…

Railways ILLUSTRATED The export of 16 former Freightliner Class 86/6 to Bulgaria will see new life breathed into some of these classic British-built AC electric locomotives after a lengthy period in store. Respected author and railway historian Anthony Sayer tells the story of how they have now joined other exported British-built locomotives in finding a second working life in Eastern Europe. The East Somerset Railway-based Cranmore Traincare and Maintenance Services has gained an enviable reputation for the standard of work it carries out on a whole host of railway vehicles, principally Mk.1 coaching stock. Andy Coward visits Cranmore to meet CTMS production manager Nigel Dyson and find out more about this thriving restoration business. Ian Edmondson returns with the second instalment of his photographic study into the various liveries carried…

A CONTROVERSIAL plan to close almost 1000 railway ticket offices was sensationally scrapped by Transport Secretary Mark Harper on October 31, after Transport Focus and London TravelWatch – responsible for analysing the responses to the public consultation – said they were formally objecting to all of the proposals put forward by a number of train operating companies. Announcing his decision just after the two organisations published their objections, Mr Harper said: “The consultation on ticket offices has now ended, with the Government making clear to the rail industry throughout the process that any resulting proposals must meet a high threshold of serving passengers. “We have engaged with accessibility groups throughout and listened carefully to passengers, as well as my colleagues in Parliament. The proposals that have resulted from this process…

SPANISH TRAIN builder Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) has been awarded the €500 million contract to provide a fleet of 10 tri-mode trains for London North Eastern Railway. Although further technical information has not yet been released, CAF says the trains will be based on its Civity UK design and fitted with state-of-the-art safety technology, along with the most stringent requirements in interior design and comfort. A date for their introduction into service with LNER will be made in the future. The 10-coach trains will be assembled at CAF’s Newport facility in South Wales. They will be capable of operating on overhead electrification, battery, or diesel power, and LNER said that their introduction will provide a reduction in emissions, particulates, and noise and vibration pollution. The fleet will also lower…

A SPECIAL charter train taking a pair of Class 508 electric multiple units on a tour of the Merseyrail network, which was organised in conjunction with the Branch Line Society, raised £12,200 for four good causes nominated by Merseyrail. ‘The 5:08 Sunset’ was organised to mark the pending withdrawal from service of the BR-built EMUs which have operated services on the Merseyrail network, alongside the similar Class 507s. The trains are now the oldest operational passenger EMUs in use in the UK following the withdrawal of the Class 313s operated by Southern in May 2023. The October 29 tour took 508139 and 508141 across the Merseyrail network and saw the train operate along the Stock Interchange Line and both depots, which are not normally used by passenger services, while several…

EAST MIDLANDS Railway has begun a £3 million project to replace the seat covers and renew the foam padding in standard class accommodation in its 27-strong Class 222 Meridian fleet, which the operator currently uses on its Intercity services. The work is being carried out in advance of the trains being released by EMR following the introduction of the new Class 810 Aurora trains, which are expected to begin entering traffic with EMR services during 2024. A total of 5272 fixed seats and 243 tip-up seats are to be refurbished, with the new covers finished in a neutral grey colour. The seat renewals are being carried out on the Class 222s while they are stopped for routine maintenance exams to avoid the need to remove the sets from traffic. EMR…

THE OFFICE of Rail and Road has published its annual data on the average fleet age across UK train operating companies, with open access operator Lumo retaining its crown for operating the youngest fleet. Lumo’s place – tabling an average fleet age of 1.8 years, as of March 31, 2023, when the survey was taken – is mainly due to the small overall fleet size operated by the East Coast Main Line company, comprising five Hitachibuilt Class 803 electric multiple units (803001-005) which entered service on the ECML in late 2021. Another ECML open access operator with a relatively young fleet is Hull Trains, which also only has five Hitachi-built Class 802 Paragon units (802301-305) for its services, these units having entered service in December 2019. The dubious honour of…

Almost two years after it was stopped for a G-exam and the fitment of European Train Control System signalling equipment, Network Rail’s Class 43 buffer-fitted power car 43013 Mark Carne CBE returned to service on the New Measurement Train on November 12, 2023. 43013 is the first of Network Rail’s three dedicated NMT power cars to return to service, with 43014 and 43062 expected to follow. While the trio have been out of traffic, Network Rail has been leasing 43290/299 from Porterbrook, but these are now understood to be being used sparingly due to the amount of engine hours amassed by the pair. The NMT power car fleet is maintained by Loram UK at the former Railway Technical Centre in Derby and operated by Colas Rail, which also uses Class…

Class 175s finish Transport for Wales ceased using Class 175s in passenger service from mid-October. The last two sets in traffic were 175101 and 175109, which were deployed on Cardiff to Maesteg diagrams on October 16, before being paired up early the next morning to form 1W90, the 05.12 Cardiff-Holyhead as far as Chester, where they were swapped for a Class 197 and retired to the depot. By mid-November, none of the class had re-emerged into passenger traffic, but regular empty stock movements were still taking place between Landore, Crewe, Chester, and Holyhead to get the class ready for handing back to Angel Trains. Despite much speculation, a new operator has still to be confirmed for the DMUs, although sets continue to visit Ilford for repairs. For example, 175001 returned…

There are just two namings to report during this period. Freightliner named 66508 City of Doncaster ahead of an event hosted at Doncaster Railport Terminal to celebrate the 100th anniversary of legendary A3 4-6-2 steam locomotive 60104 Flying Scotsman, which was returned to its birthplace over the weekend of November 11/12. The naming of 66508 was organised in recognition of Doncaster being awarded city status as part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022. The same event also saw 66623 unveiled as Lest We Forget, gaining the nameplates and crests that have recently been removed from 66413. Another Freightliner Class 66 to have lost its name plates is 66526, which lost its Driver Steve Dunn (George) name at Leeds Midland Road depot in October. The locomotive was named in…

THE LONG-HELD ambition of the AC Locomotive Group’s operating company, Electric Traction Ltd, to return unique Class 89 AC electric locomotive 89001 Avocet to the main line under its own power is nearing completion. The former East Coast Main Line prototype is expected to move from UK Rail Leasing’s facility at Falcon Works in Loughborough to Locomotive Services Group for testing before the New Year. Glenn Edwards, from ETL, told Railways Illustrated inmid-Novemberthat work on 89001 is now at an advanced stage, with most of the outstanding tasks required to return the unique locomotive to main line use now complete. Most of the work has been completed by ETL’s engineering team, led by Paul Steane, with assistance also provided by UKRL, and outside contractors have been employed for the installation…

THE FIRST main line charter to be worked by a preserved high-speed train has been hailed a success by the train’s owning group. ‘The Midland Venturer’, on October 28, saw the 125 Group operate a six-coach HST from Ilkeston to London St Pancras. Preserved HST power cars 43089 and 43159 Rio Warrior operated the inaugural tour from the East Midlands town, the closest Network Rail station to its Midland Railway – Butterley base, the train then picking up passengers at Nottingham, Chesterfield, Sheffield, Derby and Leicester en-route to London St Pancras – taking the train back over familiar Midland Main Line territory that was regularly worked by HSTs until the trains were removed from passenger traffic by East Midlands Railway in May 2021. After a four-hour break in the capital, the…

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2023 has proven to be quite a year for the High Speed Train fleet, which first entered service on British Rail in 1976. Power cars and Mk.3 HST trailer coaches have been exported to Mexico and Nigeria; full-length sets no longer operate daily in England, while the first preserved set has recently operated a main line charter. The long-term future of the ScotRail Inter-7City sets continues to remain uncertain, with drivers’ union ASLEF keen for them to be removed from traffic as soon as possible due to concerns regarding their crashworthiness following the tragic derailment of one of the trains at Carmont on August 12, 2020. Meanwhile, RailAdventure continues to expand operations using its four serviceable buffer-fitted power cars for various rail services moves, as Locomotive Services Group continues to…

As operations director for Network Rail’s North and East Route, my area of responsibility stretches from North Derbyshire/Nottinghamshire, through North Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and County Durham to Northumberland and briefly into Cumbria. Within that broad area is an eclectic mix of signalboxes of different ages and differing methods of operation. These range from the modern 2014-built Railway Operating Centre in York to some real gems in beautiful locations, such as Kirkham Abbey signalbox. The methods of signalling range from the more common absolute block and track circuit block signalling through to tokenless block, one-train working and no signaller token working. I still have lots of lever frame ‘boxes, complete with block instruments and bells, along with NX (entrance/exit) panel power signalboxes and modern Visual Display Unit workstations in our most modern…

Railway photography for me is about two things. Firstly, it’s a record for preserving memories of an event or point in time and, secondly, it is an art form to create a great-looking image. Sometimes, for me, that is to recreate a scene of how things used to be. I’m always on the lookout for a composition that takes me back through the decades to when I was a young spotter, trying to capture an essence of those great times, particularly the 1980s. I like to challenge myself to capture an image that looks almost like it could have been taken back then. This is hard sometimes, because modern details can creep into the scene, meaning you must work hard at planning the image, but sometimes you just have to…

A SIGNIFICANT financial loss and other commercial factors has led to DB Cargo consulting with ASLEF in relation to the possibility of reducing its train crew resource by approximately 10%. In a statement issued to DBC staff by chief executive officer Andrea Rossi, he said: “Despite our recent and ongoing efforts to improve our operations, financial efficiency and profitability, regrettably we remain on course to report yet another significant loss this year. Significant softening of some of our core markets, our recent exit from some unprofitable contracts, and loss of business to our competitors means we are running over 25% fewer trains every week – but with the same level of resources. “Our costs have also increased exponentially over the past 18 months due to external factors like the invasion…

JUST 10 days short of the first anniversary of the withdrawal of services on the Bedford to Bletchley Marston Vale line, passengers were finally able to travel on the route again from November 20. Train services on the 16-mile route have been reintroduced by London Northwestern Railway on a limited morning and afternoon peak time weekday basis, pending the introduction of a full timetable in the New Year following completion of driver training on the Class 150/1 diesel multiple units now used on the line. At times when train services are not operating on the route during the week and at weekends, a rail replacement bus service will continue to serve the 12 stations along the line. The initial service will feature four trains a day in each direction – two…

THERE COULD be a new operator on the St Pancras International to Paris route within three years, after Evolyn announced plans for a new service on October 11. However, there is confusion regarding what trains it will use and how they will enter service so quickly. The company claimed that trains would start running in 2025 and that the service would be fully operational in 2026. Evolyn has Spanish and French financial backing. In a statement, Jorge Cosmen, Evolyn’s chief executive officer, said: “The acquisition of 12 high-speed trains, to be expanded to a minimum of 16 according to our forecasts, is the definitive step in the materialisation of a high-speed rail operator that has been under development for three years. “We know that the governments of the United Kingdom…

GERMAN TRANSPORT company Deutsche Bahn AG has agreed to the sale of Arriva Group to global investment firm I Squared Capital – which will see the Arriva-operated train companies transferred to the new owner during 2024, subject to final conditions and approvals being met. In terms of its UK rail operations, Arriva is currently responsible for the operation of CrossCountry, Chiltern Railways, Grand Central and London Overground operator Arriva Rail London, the company also having a heavy presence in bus services throughout the UK. DB took over Arriva Group in 2010, but as part of DB’s Strong Rail Group strategy, the company announced that it intended to sell Arriva to enable additional growth in rail transport in Germany, allowing it to focus on its core business. Arriva Sweden and Portugal…

TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS will continue to lease Class 68s and Nova 3 Mk.5A fleet until May 2024, despite having no plans to use them beyond December 2023 – while also cutting the number of services the company is operating. TPE was taken back into public control on May 28, 2023, and a subsequent deep dive into the operator has found various ways to improve performance. This included, initially, removing the locomotive-hauled trains from the southern Pennine route to Cleethorpes, with a subsequent decision made that the trains should be entirely removed from the TPE network. This decision was based on the poor availability of the trains since their introduction, combined with issues surrounding driver training. Although the operator has 13 rakes of five Mk.5A coaches within its Nova 3 fleet, TPE…

The number of operational Class 60s remaining in service with DB Cargo had dropped to four in mid-November, with nine of the freight locomotives being stored in October and November. In October 60001/007/010/017/044/059/066 and 60100 were all officially taken out of service, with 60015 also being stored in early November after it failed at Lincoln with an exhaust fire on October 26 while working a tanker train from Humber Oil Refinery to Kingsbury. Many of the locomotives concerned are now close to requiring significant overhauls, which have not been authorisedw by DBC. Still in service with the operator in mid-November were 60024/040/062/074 and it is currently unknown if these will be stored in the near future or kept operational.…

CLASS 166 19/10 – 166201 5Q89 09.04 Wolverton-St Philip’s Marsh. 19/10 – 166207 5Q70 12.39 St Philip’s Marsh-Wolverton. CLASS 197 17/10 – 66594 + 197115 6Q97 10.02 Donnington RFT-Crewe CS. 24/10 – 66597 + 197107 6Q97 10.02 Donnington RFT-Crewe CS. 1/11 – 90015 + 197031 6Q97 11.01 Wolverton-Basford Hall. 2/11 – 66517 + 197031 6Q97 06.23 Basford Hall-Donnington RFT. 8/11 – 66591 + 197116 6Q97 11.01 Wolverton-Crewe CS. New units introduced to traffic during late October/early November were 197106/108/109, with 197120 delivered to Donnington Railfreight Terminal from CAF’s Newport assembly plant. CLASS 313 All the former Southern Class 313s stored at Eastleigh Works, except for 313201, have now been scrapped on site by Raxstar, the cut dates for the last four sets being 313208 – 62536 25/9, 71220 26/9, 62600…

Yarmouth exports The second shipment of Mk.3 coaches departed from Yarmouth Docks on November 5, featuring 11 former Great Western power-door trailers destined for a new life in Nigeria. Loaded aboard the Panthera J were TS 48101/103/113/115/125/131-133 and TGS 49101/107/111, all having arrived at the docks by road from Yarmouth carriage sidings during the preceding week or so. Former CrossCountry Mk.3s will form future shipments and these began to arrive at Yarmouth on October 16, with 43239 and 43366 moving 41026, 41035, 42037, 42051, 42342 and 42379 from Ely. This move was repeated on October 30 with 42038, 42052, 42053, 42097, 42380 and 44012 arriving between 43007 and 43378. A third rake was delivered to Yarmouth from Barrow Hill on November 11 by 37611, featuring 41193, 42234, 42290, 42366, 42369,…

THE NETWORK SouthEast-liveried Class 50 based on the Mid-Hants Railway should return to traffic in the summer following the completion of generator repairs that have silenced the locomotive for the past two years. 50027 Lion suffered a main generator failure while operating a line-checking run along the MHR on December 31, 2021. It was subsequently found that the generator had gone to earth, necessitating its removal to allow it to be examined and repaired by outside contractors. Locomotive custodian Andy Fuller told Railways Illustrated that damage to the main generator had, thankfully, proved to be minimal, but it has still required a thorough clean and some maintenance work before successful readings were provided when tested, and it has also been given a repaint. He explained: “It is probably 35 years…

THE HEAVY Tractor Group has taken advantage of 37714 Cardiff Canton not being required in traffic on the Great Central Railway – along with the welcome provision of shed space at Loughborough – to carry out planned heavy maintenance on the locomotive ahead of the 2024 operating season. The Railfreight triple grey-liveried Class 37 was moved into the shed at Loughborough during October to allow its owner to undertake some scheduled jobs on the locomotive. Andy Gillett, from the HTG, told Railways Illustrated that the work on 37714 would not be easy to complete during the main operating season. Among a host of maintenance tasks tobecompleted, bothexhaustersand compressors have been removed for cleaning and servicing. One of the exhausters was found to be leaking and will be replaced by an…

THE PRESERVATION attempt by the 400 Series Preservation Group to save retro blue and grey-liveried first-built Class 313 electric multiple unit 313201 has been successful. The sale of the three-coach unit to its new owners was completed on October 19, 2023, following agreement between the preservationists, Beacon Rail and Arlington Fleet Services. The three-coach EMU will remain based in operational condition at Eastleigh and successfully moved around the yard at the works under its own power for the first time as a preserved unit in early November. A statement published on the 400SPG’s Facebook page read: “Our thanks go to those at Beacon Rail and Arlington Fleet Services for ensuring the first built Class 313 was secured to a good home. Thanks also goes to all of those who have…

THE FIRST vehicles in a new-look ‘Polar Express’ hire fleet being prepared for PNP Events emerged from Nemesis Rail’s Burton depot at the start of November in the form of overhauled Mk.2aTSOs 5292 and 5376. The company holds the rights for the immensely popular ‘Polar Express’ trains in the UK, which are staged under licence at several heritage railways in the run-up to and during the festive period. In previous years, the company has hired out former Greater Anglia Mk.3a TSOs to railways that required suitable stock, but as of mid-November 12061/079/090 and 12137/146/164/167 all remained at Burton. The switch to Mk.2s is seemingly to provide a more appropriate setting, with 5292 acquired from Riviera Trains and 5376 from the Great Central Railway (Nottingham). Both coaches have received attention at…

D2051 – Horsehay: After more than 20 years in store at the North Norfolk Railway, the Class 03 was collected on November 2 and taken to a new home at the Telford Steam Railway, where it will be restored. D2063 – Dereham: Another Class 03 to leave the NNR recently is D2063, which has moved to the nearby Mid-Norfolk Railway. It was bestowed to the MNR by its previous owner, Paul Mobbs, who died in 2021. It was delivered to Dereham in October. 03162 – Llangollen: There has been some more progress recently on the restoration of 03162, with the brake gear being removed from the underside of the locomotive. Both bufferbeams have been needle-gunned, while the front bufferbeam has also been sanded down and primed. The removal of rust…

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an active interest in locomotive liveries. As a keen railway photographer, the Class 60s have gone on to be the locomotives I have probably chased after the most, and I’m delighted to showcase a small selection of my photographs here in Railways Illustrated. Since first emerging from Brush Works, the Class 60s have worn more than 30 different liveries, not including many of the less obvious variations to the livery designs on top of the main versions. It must be said that when I first saw the chosen design for what would become the Class 60 heavy freight locomotives, I was less than enthusiastic. Of the two mock-ups produced ahead of the final build, I’d have much preferred the more…