Innehållsförteckning för October 2021 från Rail Express

MORE Class 365s have made their way to Doncaster Belmont Yard for storage, leaving the Great Northern region devoid of any ‘Networkers’ for the first time in over 25 years. Following the arrival of Nos. 365520/22 on July 28 (see September issue), Nos. 365506/36 were brought north from Peterborough by No. 37800 the next day. July 31 saw No. 37884 haul Nos. 365508/18 from Peterborough to Doncaster. August 3 saw No. 37884 form the 5A23 13.01 Hornsey-Doncaster Belmont Yard, with No. 365510 in tow. This was the last member of the class to reside at the former home depot of the fleet. The following day saw No. 365539 transferred from Crewe South Yard to Doncaster Belmont by No. 37884. ELY CLEARED The four ‘Networkers’ which had been deposited at Ely…

EVERSHOLT demonstrator No. 321334 undertook its first outing since its rebuild as a ‘Swift Express Freight’ EMU on August 4, when it ran from Doncaster West Yard to Wolverton, travelling via the ECML and North London incline to join the WCML at Primrose Hill. The conversion of the unit has been carried out in conjunction with Ricardo Rail, with the work being undertaken at Wabtec, Doncaster. SCRAPPING PAUSED As further similar conversions are possible, depending on the level of interest generated, Eversholt has paused further disposals of its Class 321 fleet. During the first few months of 2021, some 30 sets were sent for scrap, but since then, another 14 have been placed in store at Gascoigne Wood and Worksop. A further 26 sets, which are not PRM compliant, will…

GLOUCESTERSHIRE Warwickshire Steam Railway resident No. 24081 is to star at the Severn Valley Railway’s autumn gala, which will also feature No. 31466 (on an extended visit from the Dean Forest Railway) and home fleet locos. Originally announced as being an event where passengers would have to remain on the same rake of stock all day, it has now been revised to allow people to change trains along the line as normal, following customer feedback. Class 14 No. D9551 from the Severn Valley Railway will be appearing at the Epping Ongar Railway diesel gala at the end of September. This event will also feature Class 03 No. D2170 (03170), debuting in its new green livery. DIESEL GALAS September 17/18: East Lancashire Railway September 17/18: West Somerset Railway (Mixed Traction) September…

THE restoration of ex-CIE/IR GM No. B134 to full working order at Inchicore Works resumed in late July after the project had been delayed because of Covid-19. Sections of new bodywork that were fabricated off-site have been fitted and the work has included repairs to the cab, access doors, hood and canopy. The locomotive will, as planned, be reliveried with the original colour scheme of grey and yellow after suitable paint colours were sourced.…

July saw the arrival of another batch of ‘OO’ gauge 1990s condition Class 33/0s consisting of six different models spanning late BR to Privatisation including the featured factory weathered No. 33023. Pristine BR blue No. 33052 Ashford is included in the half dozen 'Cromptons' alongside West Coast Railways No. 33025; DRS No. 33029; weathered No. 33025 without nameplates and No. 33008/D6508 Eastleigh in heritage BR green. A seventh model was also set for release: Fragonset black No. 33021, which has been delayed for a few weeks. LED lighting is fitted (we double-checked this time) for forward lighting which includes the headcode panel, side lights and square framed headlights. No red lighting for rear red headcode blinds is installed. Each model is priced at £159 and includes the usual smooth four-axle…

Recent news ofDapol's ‘O’ gauge models includes a further update on progress with its Class 66 project which has reached the engineering prototype stage where the first assembled but undecorated models are currently under evaluation. As reported previously inRail Express Modeller, the models may be pre-ordered from Dapol with no deposit being required. With a price of £336.38 for the analogue version and £475 for a digital sound model, the first batch of models is likely to be very popular. It includes EWS, Freightliner Powerhaul, DRS and a handful of special GB Railfreight livery schemes which have a planned delivery in Autumn 2022. The specification of the model, which will feature sub-class specific detailing, includes LED running lights, cab lights and illuminated driver’s desk panels included in the electronics. Two…

ECOFRET wagons eliminate unused space on intermodal trains caused by the lack of 20ft containers to balance the loading of 40ft containers on standard length wagons. It has a 40ft loading deck to optimise the loading of intermodal trains where the deep sea container market is dominated by 40ft containers. Ecofret wagons also optimise the number of containers that may be carried for a given train length. Hi-cube 9ft 6in tall containers can also be carried on Ecofret wagons over lines cleared for W10 loading gauge. The FWA Ecofret was revealed by VTG at the Multimodal exhibition in May 2012, with Freightliner placing orders for twin-unit ‘Shortliner’ sets which see regular use on Freightliner flows originating from Southampton.GB Railfreight ordered three-unit sets which appear regularly on its services radiating from…

A USEFUL industrial diesel shunter with wide appeal is the first ready to run locomotive model to be produced by The N Gauge Society (NGS). It has resulted in a tiny model with advanced electronics and excellent performance. A locomotive with narrow bonnets and short wheelbase is an ambitious project to undertake in ‘N’ gauge, but the new model of the Hunslet 0-6-0DH shunter is undoubtedly a success, as measured by its performance during layout testing and the high quality detail applied to it. Hunslet 0-6-0DH shunters were first introduced in the 1960s with the last example being assembled in 1988 for Caledonian Paper. They remain in use today with at least 20 examples in service and several more in preservation. Customers of the Leeds-built locomotives included the National Coal…

WOOD planking in ready-to-run wagons is usually uniform and rarely painted in realistic colours. The modeller is left to find ways to achieve that seemingly elusive bleached, dirt and rust stained appearance of railway wood, which is not a bad thing because artistic modelling is how you add character to your collection. Weathered wood is easy to do when the right matt paint colours are used and with a light touch. When unpainted weathered wood effects are applied to model wagons, whether they be bogie bolster wagons, ballast wagons or box wagons, a new level of realism can be achieved with a few hours of work. The process falls firmly in the artistic side of modelling, providing the chance to introduce a variety of different textures and colour shades which…

REFURBISHED (life extension, overhauled) Class 31s have followed on from the original condition Class 31/1 model released by Heljan a few years ago. They utilise the same powerful twin motor drive as the first batch of Class 31s and much of the rest of Heljan’s ‘O’ gauge model range. The bodyshell is tooled with four character headcode boxes with marker lights which represents the majority of the class in late-life condition. Life extension overhauls on the class started in the 1980s and was carried through to the early 1990s resulting in outward changes in the appearance of the Class 31s. It was applied to locomotives that were to remain as standard Class 31/1s alongside the 24 locomotives converted to Class 31/4s with electric train supply (ETS) equipment in the 1970s.…

The timetable produced by LNER for the start of accelerated services on the East Coast main line from May 2022 has resulted in such a crescendo of criticism from stakeholders that the Government owned franchise is being forced to rework the proposals. Network Rail has identified that this is exactly the set of circumstances that preceded the start of the Thameslink timetable in May 2018, when changes were made that brought a delay in finalising the timetable, leaving insufficient time for traincrew diagrams and resultant route learning to take place. NR has realised that if a timetable rewrite is to take place it is likely that the system operator function responsible for the train planning and timetable production role will be unable to do the work in the time that…

TRANSPORT Scotland, the public sector body which will take over responsibility for rail services within Scotland when the franchise with current holder Abellio ends next year, and will specify the timetable to be provided by ScotRail, has decided to make a permanent reduction in the number of trains operated in the May 2022 timetable, with the aim of saving up to £40 million every year. It is anticipated that 300 daily services will be withdrawn out of the 2400 provided prior to the pandemic, as Transport Scotland believes travel patterns will not return to those seen previously. FRANCHISE FAIL The proposed cuts come after the Scottish Government decided to terminate the ScotRail franchise held by Abellio at the end of March 2022, rather than continuing with an Emergency Recovery Measure…

CLASS 20 WITH the scheduled steam locomotive unavailable, English Electric Type 1s Nos. 20189+20227 undertook the Sunday ‘Shakespeare Express’ trips between Birmingham Snow Hill and Stratford-upon-Avon on August 1. Departing from Snow Hill at 10.00 and 14.07 and returning from Stratford at 12.52 and 16.18, the two Class 20s also handled the diagram on the following three Sundays prior to 4-6-0 No. 7029 Clun Castle returning to action on Bank Holiday Sunday, August 29. They also managed a return to former haunts on August 4 when powering ‘The Jolly Fisherman’ 1Z85 07.27 Tyseley Warwick Road-Skegness and 18.25 return, while Nos. 47773+20189 double headed the 1Z25 08.45 Tyseley-Scarborough and 18.05 return on August 25 with the Brush Type 4 leading on both journeys. A further trip to the seaside was planned…

SINCE No. 37194 was retired in January 2015 and subsequently cut up at CF Booth, Rotherham, in February 2017, the DRS Class 37/0 fleet has been remarkably static, with no further withdrawals or disposals. However, with the Kingmoor-based operator transitioning away from the iconic English Electric machines, it seems unlikely that this situation will remain the same for much longer. As of the end of July, the fleet of unrefurbished machines totalled five, with Nos. 37038, 37059 and 37069 still in the XHNC ‘active’ pool – although sadly No. 37038 did not make it out of June in operational condition – and Nos. 37218 and 37259 stored XHSS at Carlisle Kingmoor. There was the first sign of a reshuffle of the operational roster in August with the move of Nos.…

NORTHUMBRIA Rail Ltd has been successful in a bid to acquire Class 442 Driving Trailer No. 77382 from set No. 442401. A ‘Plastic Pig’ DTSO was first listed by the Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board back in 2015, but was never part of the NRM’s collecting plan – a common misconception is that all RHDAB designations are destined for the National Collection. When another home found itself unable to take it early in 2021, the Science Museum Group sought interest from other groups/ bodies wishing to take the vehicle on as a heritage asset. Northumbria Rail responded and its bid was accepted, ownership being transferred from Angel Trains. Northumbria Rail already owns one of the prototype Mk.3 HST coaches, No. 42356 (originally 42002), which, like the ‘442’ car, is located…

AT the start of August Clayton Equipment shipped the fifth Hybrid+ CBD90 of a seven-locomotive order to Tata Steel in Port Talbot. Work then commenced on the first of the 15 Class 18 Hybrid+ CBD90 locomotives for Beacon rail. At the same time, and showing the breadth of the firm’s operation, it supplied five CB12.5 lithium-ion underground battery mining locomotives to a mine in Canada which is believed to be one of the world’s first mines wholly operated by battery electric-powered vehicles (EVs).…

THE location of a permanent home for prototype 86 tube stock car 16 continues to evade the London Transport Museum (LTM). Pre-Covid, plans were forming for the car to be moved across from the Museum’s store at Acton, to the other side of Acton Town station, into Acton Works. The intention was for it to be used by London Underground (LU) apprentices, giving them engineering experience on a vehicle that was structurally and mechanically similar to rolling stock that remains in passenger service. Senior curator (vehicles and engineering), Katariina Mauranen, has confirmed that these plans have now sadly fallen through. As an Arts Council-accredited museum, the LTM follows strict ethical protocols when disposing of vehicles. With discussions with technology and transport museums having already been explored, the museum has been…

IT has been revealed that GBRf is to acquire the lease for the 46 JNA-U ‘Megabox’ wagons (UIC code Ealnos) that are being manufactured at WH Davis’s Langwith Junction site, utilising recovered bogies and braking equipment from HHA coal hoppers (see May and July issues). Commissioned by lessor Beacon Rail, the 75m3 capacity wagons will replace the Touax Rail JNA-S boxes on the Collyhurst Street (Manchester) and Whitehall Road (Leeds) to Roxby (Scunthorpe) flow for waste management company Biffa. This train carries noncombustible and non-recyclable inactive waste from the Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire conurbations to the huge landfill site between Roxby and Winterton. They may also appear on the new services from Renwick Road in Barking which opened in May. The JNA-S fleet (GERS 4400-4425) was ironically very similar…

■ TRAFFIC AND TRACTION: Disruption to services in the Limerick area on August 4 was caused by signalling problems and a level crossing being damaged by a road vehicle. On August 5 the 15.00 Connolly-Sligo, worked by 4-car ICR DMU No. 22x15, failed between Maynooth and Kilcock. Assistance came from Maynooth in the shape of 4-car DMU No. 29x10 which removed the failed unit to Enfield, then hauled it to Connolly. Also the same day, the evening peak hour service between Bray and Greystones was suspended after a bridge strike at Bray. The morning of the 6th saw Malahide- and Howth-bound DART services temporarily suspended because of OHLE issues in the Killester/Raheny area. The 15.25 Cork-Heuston on August 9 was terminated at Portarlington and passengers transferred to another service. Evening…

LAST month we started to look at machines that joined the departmental ranks after withdrawal from the revenue-earning fleet with no powered role, at least not one that required the use of their traction motors. A surprising number of locomotives, from a wide variety of classes, took on these temporary roles, often hidden away from the general public. Acting as test units, spares donors and, the ultimate ignominy, stripped of their engines and other equipment to act as power unit test beds or transporters, they are now appreciated for the unique vehicles they were. POWER UNIT TRANSPORTERS/TEST BEDS CLASS 50 The first Class 50 to be withdrawn was No. 50011 Centurion in February 1987, which had been refurbished just four years previously in April 1983. It was moved to Crewe…

NO apologies for a return visit to Liverpool Street. The investment by Greater Anglia in new units as a means of securing the franchise under the now officially discredited old system might not work under the Great British Railways regime, but at least the residents on the Norwich and Cambridge lines have new trains. Whether ‘new’ means ‘better’ depends on what value you place on comfort, but the seating layout of Bombardier's Class 720 Aventras (designed before the manufacturer's takeover by Alstom) does nothing for the concept of distancing, social or otherwise. On the other hand, performance is undoubtedly better on the Colchester Town and Clactonon-Sea services than the displaced Class 321s. The best section for alevel start on the Norwich main line is westbound from Kelvedon – absolutely level…

A choice of York or Harrogate is the option for Pathfinder Tours’ ‘The Northern Star’ booked to run on Saturday November 20. Haulage will be a DB Cargo Class 67, using Riviera Trains’ Eastleigh-based Mk.1 set. Starting at Salisbury, pick-ups are stations to Leamington Spa. While York’s attractions are well known, those at Harrogate are perhaps not so familiar but for those not indulging in the dining option (£269), the compiler can thoroughly recommend his home town’s Betty’s tea room which is renowned throughout Yorkshire and which is patronised by England’s football manager, Gareth Southgate, who lives nearby.…

Rails of Sheffield have announced a collaboration with Cavalex Models to produce the REDA-registered PGA aggregate hopper wagon (PG012A) in ‘N’ gauge. The project is well advanced with livery samples having already been approved and the models reported as being in production with a late 2021 delivery slot. Rails of Sheffield are offering the models in five different liveries over eight packs including the original Redland livery scheme; intermediate Redland livery of red lettering on a green wagon together with Lafarge white, patched white and unbranded white livery. Each pack will contain three individually numbered wagons which are priced at £89.95. www.railsofsheffield.com/collections/ ngauge-pga-hopper-wagons…

Didcot Railway Centre has concluded a legal agreement that will permit significant expansion on the western edge of its 25-acre triangular site, which is bounded on all three sides by operational rail lines. For this reason, expansion was always thought impossible, however the breakthrough came with the recent signing of a sublease with DB Cargo for former railway sidings, now disconnected from the network. The agreement gives the Great Western Society access to an additional 2.3 acres of land for 40 years at a peppercorn rent. The centre, which is celebrating 60 years of existence this year (see our sister publication The Railway Magazine for full details) expects to use the land, which requires fencing and extensive undergrowth clearance, to store rolling stock and other items awaiting restoration to free…

Rail users are facing a rise of 4.8% in the cost of tickets from January 2022. This is in respect of controlled fares where prices are set by Department for Transport. The ticket types covered are standard class season tickets, ordinary and saver fares. The calculation is based on the level of inflation using the retail prices index recorded in July 2021, which amounted to 3.8%, plus a supplement of 1% that has been levied by the Government as a contribution to the cost of infrastructure enhancement to cater for rising passenger numbers. The increase follows a 2.6% rise in the level of controlled fares in March 2021, which reflected the RPI increase of 1.6% in July of the previous year plus the 1% add-on. TOC DISCRETION Train operators have…

DC RAIL STORED at Toton since February 2009 and sold to an unnamed private buyer in October 2019 (see December 2019 issue), No. 60060 has finally been moved away from its long-term Nottinghamshire home. On August 5, the erstwhile James Watt was transferred by road to Knighton Junction, a few miles south of Leicester station. The following day it made the second stage of its journey, being tripped to UKRL’s Leicester depot by HN Rail Class 20s Nos. 20118 & 20901 in top and tail formation under an 0Z60 headcode. Here it will be used as a spares donor for the DC Rail fleet. DB CARGO AUGUST was a quiet month for the DBCUK fleet, with only No. 90028 sidelined WQAA at Crewe EMD, although colleague No. 90040 was further…

TWO convoys of Mk.4 coaches were hauled from Worksop to Wabtec, Doncaster, during August, to enable reactivation work to be carried out prior to them being returned to traffic. The first to move was a rake of vehicles for LNER, along with a pair of spare coaches. Nos. 10315, 11318/416/418,12202/213/312/428/433/467,82215/222 were hauled from Worksop to Doncaster by Nos. 37601 Perseus and 37611 Pegasus on August 9. The rake being returned to service with LNER is made up primarily of vehicles from the former BN16, but with some coaches originally part of BN14 and BN18. This is due to some vehicles from the original formation having been scrapped or sold to Transport for Wales. The ‘new’ set will be known as NL16 (see accompanying table, which details LNER’s retained Mk.4 fleet,…

THE Deltic Preservation Society is to carry out a major push to return No. D9015 Tulyar to working order in 2022, some 25 years after it was stopped for overhaul. The Deltic last ran in April 1997, when it was withdrawn from service at the Midland Railway-Butterley for a major rebuild. The overhaul, which has been ongoing for over two decades, has involved fitting new bodyskin, panelling and framework, as well as a rewire and overhaul of many components. The work has been protracted owing to a number of factors, with volunteer resources often being taken up maintaining and operating Nos. D9009 Alycidon and 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier, both of which have seen main line action during the past 20 years. In addition, in the same period, the DPS has…

Express Mailbag Your letters, emails, feedback and other comments are always welcome. Contact us at Rail Express, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR; or email: railexpresseditor@mortons.co.uk. The editor reserves the right to edit all letters, and the views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the magazine. HST HEART FAILURE IN response to Richard Cresswell’s query about HEART-LINE branded HST power cars (September issue) I would suggest the power car with the heart is 43190, not 43198. One pair of power cars (43189 & 43190) had HEART-LINE branding applied for the start of summer 1982 timetable if my memory is right, when full HST services were introduced on the North East to South West route – the Heart-Line referencing the route…

RAIL EXPRESS (RE): You started your career on the railways (on an industrial student placement as a steward with InterCity Onboard Services in BR days). What drew you back, and why, as a driver for Southern? ANDY JOHNSON (AJ): After doing different things in the travel and hospitality industry, I originally applied when I saw an ad for a driver with South West Trains while I was living in Portsmouth, but I chickened out as I had quite a good job in sales. It’s one of those things I regretted ever since, but I went on to become airline cabin crew, which I did for around 10 years. And then one day I thought: I’m going to do something about addressing that regret. By then I’d moved to Brighton and…

FOLLOWING hot on the heels of the sell-out ‘The Devonian’ tour to Preston from Crewe, featuring newly green-liveried D345 in the company of sister ‘Whistler’ D213 on Saturday, October 30, (operated by Inter-City), comes news of a CFPS charter from Crewe to Edinburgh on Saturday, November 13. This tour will also have the company of Shaun Wright’s D213. So far, the charter does not have a name –a welcome innovation for probably many sans headboard! The pristine ‘Whistlers’, resplendent in original green, will be perfectly matched as the coaching stock is LSL’s carmine and cream Mk.1 set. As such, this is a First Class only train. Tickets for non-CFPS members will be £124. There will be two buffet coaches on the train serving the usual range of sandwiches, snacks, soft…

LIVERY samples for the first batch of ten general release ‘O’ gauge Class 56s have been received by Heljan for review and tweaking alongside one special edition ‘Transrail’ model for Tower Models. The first batch represents the final design as fabricated at Doncaster and Crewe (56056-135); the most numerous variant of the class. All of the batch are unnumbered except for Trainload Coal No. 56101; Trainload Construction No. 56110; celebrity BR Large Logo No. 56099 with Tinsley depot embellishments and BR blue No. 56071. The main liveries carried by the Nos. 56056-135 batch of locomotives are represented in the first run covering the life span of the class up to Privatisation and possibly beyond by a few years (mid-1990s). The models will feature the standard Heljan features such as twin…

AIR-BRAKED domestic coal hopper wagons in ‘O’ gauge edge closer with Dapol revealing engineering prototypes of its brand-new models scheduled for a winter 2022 delivery. The pictures show the models at the assessment stage where Dapol has identified some sink marks which are to be corrected before livery samples are authorised. The HBA and HEA coal wagons, which regularly saw use on both domestic coal alongside industrial coke and coal flows, were introduced in 1975 to replace remaining vacuum braked coal wagons. Constructed at Shildon, the design was modified part way through by relocating the end ladders from aposition in the middle to the left side of each end, alongside the fitting of Bruninghaus suspension which permitted the operating speed to be increased from 45mph to 60mph. Earlier builds were…

WHILST it might seem strange to feature a Great Western Railway prototype in Rail Express Modeller, the 'Razor Edge' AEC railcars, built by the GWR at its works in Swindon in 1940-41, spent part of their working lives under BR ownership and lasted until the early 1960s, where they rubbed shoulders with pioneer BR diesel classes in daily service. The type modelled by Heljan features the angular fronts which became known as ‘Razor Edge’, compared to the earlier rounded-fronted cars built by Park Royal and GRCW. Two AEC diesel engines of 105hp were fitted to the GWR-built railcars, which could seat 48 passengers and were capable of 80mph running, except Nos. 19 and 20 which were fitted with high-low ratio gear boxes. The Swindon-built railcars, numbered 19-33, were equipped with…

Hornby reissued its Mk.3 DVT model earlier in the summer in two liveries, including Network Rail No. 82129 (R4990) and InterCity Swallow No. 82116 (R4996). It is a welcome return of a model which has made only sporadic appearances in the Hornby catalogue in recent times. The featured Network Rail model represents one of the four displaced InterCity West Coast Mk.3 Driving Van Trailers (DVT) acquired by Network Rail (Nos. 82111/124/129/145) in 2013 for push-pull operation with test trains to ease the operational issues of running round trains or reduce the use of two locomotives in top and tail formation. An on-board generator was fitted alongside camera and additional lighting equipment to assist with track assessment work undertaken on a regular basis by Network Rail over most of its routes.…