Innehållsförteckning för December 2021 från Rail Express

SIX train drivers employed by GTR operator Southern have successfully completed a cycling event to raise awareness of mental health issues and exceeded the amount they were aiming to raise for charity. The team of six, led by Andy Johnson, who starred in our ‘In the Cab’ feature in the October issue, took part in the 55-mile London to Brighton Cycle Ride on September 19. Aiming to raise £2000 for charity Campaign Against Living Miserably, they actually achieved donations totalling over £3500 (including Gift Aid), a terrific result. Andy wishes to thank all Rail Express readers who kindly donated to the cause.…

GWR will run its Class 387 fleet daily between London Paddington, Bristol and Cardiff from the December timetable change. There will be one train pair on weekdays and several at weekends. The full list of diagrams is as follows: CLEARED FOR TAKE-OFF: Still in Gatwick Express colours, but with branding removed, ‘Electrostar’ No. 387201, on hire to GWR, makes a rare appearance in South Wales partnering GWR No. 387143 on crew training runs between Swindon and Cardiff, here having just left Cardiff Central working 3Z29 11.20 Cardiff Central-Swindon Cocklebury. Martin Turner…

CLASS 20 Following their use on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, each locomotive handling trips to Whitby, Nos. 20142+20189 took charge of five MRA wagons forming the 6Z71 13.00 Doncaster Decoy-Derby RTC on September 28. Next day at either end of a KFA flat wagon that required turning, the pair powered the 4Z34 12.35 from Derby RTC out and back via Humberstone Road and Trent Junction. No. 20142 subsequently returned to the NYMR in the middle of October and handled Whitby trains regularly. Having been at York NRM since taking Pacific No. 60163 Tornado from Grosmont on September 27, ‘Type 1s’ Nos. 20007+20205 ran light to Derby RTC on October 9 (Aldwarke Junction at 14.15). Five days later the pair moved classmate No. 20189 from Derby to Tyseley, while Nos.…

DRS made the much anticipated announcement in the second half of October that it planned to divest itself of a number of redundant locomotives from the XSDP stored fleet. The news also brings to a close the incredible origin story of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority-owned rail company which began operations in January 1996, utilising Class 20/3 locomotives Nos. 20301-20305, which had been extensively refurbished by Brush Traction at Loughborough the previous year. As well as the five original 'Type 1's, the tender includes the remainder of the Class 20/3s on DRS’ books, Nos. 20308, 20309 and 20312, a pair of Class 37s Nos. 37606 and 37703, two Class 57s, Nos. 57302 and 57311, as well as four Mk.2 coaches and a quantity of Class 20 and 57 spares. The eight…

MANGAPPS ‘03’ PROGRESS DURING October, Mangapps Railway Museum’s No. D2018 (03018) had its power unit removed for rebuilding. The loco, which has been based at Mangapps since 2004 and spent many years in industrial service at a scrapyard near Willesden, has yet to operate in preservation. KESR CLASS 08 REPAIRS BEGIN MOVED to the Avon Valley Railway for overhaul in September, No. D4118 (08888) has had its remote control equipment and associated wiring removed. The loco’s power unit is to be lifted out to enable it to be split in advance of its main generator, auxiliary generator and traction motor blower motor to be sent away for testing/assessment. ‘CHOPPER’ STARTED FOLLOWING an engine overhaul at the Epping Ongar Railway, No. D8001 (20001) was successfully started on October 16. WATERMAN’S ‘RAT’…

TO free up space at the company’s Wishaw workshops, Railway Support Services has offered two ‘08s’ up for sale, but on condition that they go into preservation. No. 08568 has been totally stripped for rebuilding (which will now obviously not take place), while No. 08709, although essentially complete, is in a poor condition and needs a complete rebuild.…

While future Underground passenger usage and therefore a continuous income flow continues to remain uncertain, TfL is still to feel the implications of June’s £1.08bn central government bailout agreement. The conditions imposed include a commitment by TfL to find savings of, or to increase income by, £300m in the 2021/22 financial year. The organisation has separately committed to identify increases of revenue of between £500m-£1bn annually from 2023. The plan to extend the Bakerloo Line beyond Elephant and Castle during the mid-2030’s southbound to Lewisham has already been officially mothballed. Now the stretched purse strings have caused TfL to announce that it can no longer commit to the level of funding previously intended for the Elephant and Castle Station Capacity Upgrade (ECSCU) project. So that the project is not delayed,…

■ DB CARGO: There were three new WIA (UIC code Seefoors) car carrier arrivals at DB Cargo’s workshops in Stoke-on-Trent during the period under review, none of which have visited the former Marcroft Engineering site for overhaul in recent years. On September 29 it was the turn of No. 85 70 4971 006-7 and this was on site for two weeks, departing on October 13. It was replaced on the same day by No. 85 70 4971 020-8, which in turn left on the 22nd, being swapped with No. 85 70 4971 050-5. ■ FREIGHTLINER: A further 80 Greenbrier-built FFA-G 40ft container ‘twins’ arrived in the country in October, bringing the fleet strength up to just over a half (230 have been ordered). As per the first batch (see November…

■ LOCOMOTIVES: GM No. 219 has received a six-year exam at Inchicore, while Nos. 206 and 221 have also received attention. No. 224 has been withdrawn after being out of traffic since July 6, 2020, when it was failed because of structural issues. NIR GM No. 8208 was used for driver training in the Dublin area on Sunday, September 19. Belmond liveried No. 216 ran light engine from Belfast York Road to Dublin Connolly on October 5. Retro liveried No. 073 has received a repaint. ■ TRAFFIC & TRACTION: IWT container traffic between Dublin Port and Ballina continued during the period under review with many trains being fully loaded. Locomotives used included Nos. 071,074,076,083,084 and 227. Timber traffic between Ballina/Westport and Waterford Sallypark yard has been buoyant recently. Locomotives noted…

ANYONE travelling to/from Bristol this summer is likely to be aware of the major track infrastructure upgrade undertaken by Network Rail around Bristol Temple Meads. The short-term disruption for some travellers also created photo opportunities through unusual workings. But familiar as Temple Meads may be to many, the Bristol area – defined in 50 Years of Railways around Bristol as stretching from Charfield in the north to Bridgwater in the south, Pilning in the west and Box/Chipping Sodbury in the east, plus the important Avonmouth docks complex – covers a far wider expanse of lines and types of traffic than some may realise. In this book, Paul Stanford tells the story of how railways in the locality have developed since the 1970s in a judicious mix of words and pictures,…

IT will be a bumper year for heritage traction on the main line in 2022 if Locomotive Services’ published programme is anything to go by. Through its Inter City subsidiary, the operator plans to attach Classes 20, 37, 40, 45, 55, 86, 87 and 90 to haul charters next year. Class 45/1 No. 45118 The Royal Artilleryman, currently under renovation, is booked to run two specials, with one of them taking the ‘Peak’ back to its former stomping ground – the Midland Main Line to St Pancras. The ‘Peak’ has had several owners in recent years, before being acquired most recently by Locomotive Services. The loco was withdrawn from Tinsley in May 1987. It is currently at Barrow Hill being put back to operational condition, its bogies are under overhaul…

TRAILER packs for the Hornby ‘OO’ gauge Class 370 APT-P were released in October, ahead of the two APT-P train packs due this coming winter. All eight intermediate trailers for half set Nos. 370001-002 and Nos. 370003-004 are now available, together with Non-Driving Motor (NDM) power car No. Sc 49004 which will allow the five-car (R3873) and seven-car (R3874) train packs to be made up into 14-car trains. Each train pack will provide the required NDMs, Driving Trailer Standards (DTS) and the two Trailer Brake First vehicles. The seven-car set also includes the APT-U Development Coach which would not be included in a standard 14-car set. Four coach packs per set are available containing a pair of Trailer Standard (R40011/A); Trailer First (R40014/A), Unclassified Trailer (R40013/A) and the TRBS catering…

TRANSRAIL FREIGHT was formed when BR Trainload Freight was divided up in to three competing regional rail freight companies in 1994. Wagons and locomotives were divided up between the three companies which were eventually launched as Mainline Freight, LoadHaul and Transrail Freight in mid-1994. Unlike the other two companies, Transrail Freight did not apply new liveries to its locomotives, retaining Trainload Freight colours and applying its logo on the sides along with Transrail legends and a red flash at one end, producing what some modellers call ‘Big T’ livery. They were acquired by Wisconsin Central Ltd (North-South Railways) in February 1996, with the merged company becoming EWS later in the year, thus ending the short life of the three regional companies. However, despite this short trading time, the image of…

At the invitation of TfL, Rail Express was given special access to the station site and railway viaduct at Barking Riverside on November 2. James Barrow, TfL’s head of programme for Barking Riverside Extension and Steve Balliston, project director for the joint venture – Morgan Sindall Volker Fitzpatrick – were keen to stress the £327 million project, which started on site in 2017, is on track, despite losing 63 days during the pandemic. Currently a live construction site, the new station main build is largely finished and the 1.6km viaduct that will form part of 4.5km of new track through to Barking’s main station is mainly complete. The first test train is expected in April 2022 and full passenger service, provided by new Class 710 EMUs, should follow in the…

THERE has been no greater illustration of the importance of the HST to Britain’s railway network than the impressive survivability of the production power car fleet. Of the 197 examples that were outshopped from BREL Crewe between February 1976 and August 1982, just four had been scrapped prior to Autumn 2021: No. 43173 in June 2003 following the Southall crash the previous September, No. 43011 in June 2002 after being written off at Ladbroke Grove in November 1999, No. 43019 in July 2005 as a result of the Ufton Nervet collision in November 2004, and No. 43140 in May 2021 following the Stonehaven derailment in August 2020. By way of comparison, 135 Class 56s were built during the same period, of which just 37 remain, albeit with three now converted…

A CLASS 317 driving car has been secured by the East Anglian Railway Museum for static display at Chappel & Wakes Colne. DTSO No. 77092 from No. 317345 arrived from Ely Papworth, where it had been stored since March 5, on October 16. The acquisition of the ‘317’ vehicle will enable the EARM to explain the story of the development of railways in Anglia into the 1980s. While four-car No. 317345 was built for use on ‘BedPan’ services out of St Pancras, it became part of the Great Northern fleet (later WAGN and First Capital Connect) at Hornsey in 1988, moving to Ilford as a Greater Anglia set in 2017, before being retired earlier this year. As a static exhibit, No. 77092 will be fitted with displays explaining the story…

FREIGHTLINER has taken the unprecedented step of cutting back its use of Class 90 locomotives in the face of steeply rising energy costs over the last couple of months. There were 23 active members in the fleet before the latest crisis, Nos. 90003-90016 and 90041-90050, with all but No. 90003 being recorded in service in the first half of October. The controversial move came just days ahead of the COP26 UN climate change conference in Glasgow. By the end of the month only eight Class 90s were actually out of use, although none were technically stored, with Freightliner choosing to reduce the use of electric traction on certain diagrams, rather than officially remove locomotives from traffic. This includes Nos. 90004 and 90007 that were at Wolverton at the time of…

COLAS RAIL HST power cars Nos. 43272 and 43274, which departed the Severn Valley Railway for the Derby RTC on September 8, have now entered traffic on Network Rail duties. Their first test run was the 28th, the pair bookending a single Mk.2 on a trip to Barrow Hill and back. They were let loose on a real NR formation on October 3, the mismatched livery pair powering a 1Q18 to Darlington which included OHLE test coach No. 975091 Mentor. Colas Rail’s second pair of power cars, Nos. 43251 and 43257, were moved from Kidderminster on the 13th as a 0Z13 to the Derby RTC to be prepared for test train use. This leaves No. 43277 at the SVR, the Class 43 still being stored at Arley. DC RAIL FOLLOWING…

A newly-formed group, 125 Heritage Ltd, has purchased three HST power cars from Porterbrook for preservation at the Colne Valley Railway, the first of which, No. 43082, arrived at its new base on October 21. It was previously stored at Long Marston, along with Nos. 43071/73, which have also been acquired and will be moving to their new base in the coming weeks. Two of the power cars, Nos. 43073/82 are former East Midlands Railway examples, fitted with VP185 engines. No. 43073 was stopped by EMR in November 2020, and No. 43082 eight months earlier, although the latter example is regarded as being in better condition and it is hoped to have the engine started once the batteries have been charged and it has been assessed. The third, No. 43071,…

MORE HST COACHES ACQUIRED FOR STATIC USE UPSHIRE Primary Foundation School in Waltham Abbey, Essex, has acquired a pair of HST coaches from Porterbrook at Long Marston. TF No. 41165 is to be converted into a new school library, while TS No. 42109 will be used for clubs and community activities. ■ Also set for a retirement in a static role is TF No. 41207, which is to be converted into a holiday let/ camping coach at Stannington in Northumberland, located near the former station on the East Coast Main Line which closed in 1958. Following granting of planning permission in early October, it arrived from Ely later in the month. CHURNET EXPANSION PREVIOUSLY located at Peak Rail, unrestored Mk.1 CK No. 15663 arrived at the Churnet Valley Railway during…

OCTOBER has been good for preserved industrial diesel shunters, with at least three being coaxed back into life after many years sat out of traffic. At the Chasewater Railway recently arrived Thomas Hill Vanguard No. 103c has been restarted after at least 20 years out of use and is due to enter the workshops for a full overhaul. Also in Staffordshire, at the Foxfield Railway, Kerr Stuart 6wDM No. 4421/1929 Rom River has also been restarted and again a return to traffic is on the cards. One of only a handful of diesel locomotives built by Kerr Stuart, No. 4421 is one of the earliest diesel locomotives built in the country and believed to be the first purpose-built standard gauge diesel. Originally built to run on a standard gauge branch…

RAIL container traffic returned to the Port of Waterford (Belview) on September 29, when a service to Ballina, operated by Irish Rail on behalf of XPO Logistics, was introduced. It will initially run once per week in each direction, but frequency will be increased as the traffic develops. The Ballina to Belview service runs on Tuesdays, with the return working on Wednesdays. The inaugural train from Belview was worked by GM No. 072, with the dedicated vacuum braked 18 wagon consist fully loaded with 10 box containers and eight tank containers – the wagons had been worked empty from Dublin North Wall on September 24 by No. 072. Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and Irish Rail CEO Jim Meade were at Belview for the departure at around 11.00, with arrival in…

ETHELS AT INVERNESS I THOROUGHLY enjoyed Gareth Bayer’s two-part look at ex-departmental locos in the Fleet History section. In the first part (September issue) reference is made to the three ‘Ethel’ units being withdrawn and taken for storage at Inverness depot for possible reactivation. I was in Inverness in May 1994 and actually took a photo of the three lined up in Rose Street sidings at the back of Inverness depot. They were stored along with several other withdrawn locos, 14 Class 26s and one Class 47, No. 47642. Apologies for the poor quality of the shot, but it was the one and only chance I had to record the locos before they were taken away shortly afterwards to MC Metals in Glasgow for scrapping. Express Mailbag Your letters, emails,…

Livery samples for GNER Mk.4 coaches arrived at Hornby during October, showing a further and tantalising glimpse of the exciting project to rework Hornby’s 'OO' Mk.4 coach range to match the high standards being set by its newly tooled Class 91s. Finished in the striking GNER blue and orange scheme, the stock looks very refined with flush glazing and bogies with a good level of depth to the sideframes. The coupling system is different to that used in the Mk.3 stock and one picture shows the bar coupling arrangement which is fitted to a kinematic coupling mechanism. At the same time, images of the Mk.3 HST trailers in First Great Western ‘Dynamic Lines’ scheme were revealed, showing the models adorned with the complex dazzle decoration applied over a good vibrant…

A SPECIAL trial run of Lumo electric set No. 803001 took place on October 21, ahead of commercial operations launching on October 25. Services started with two train pairs each day, with a third due to be added in December. Five daily pairs are expected to run in 2022, utilising Lumo’s fleet of five 5-car Hitachi-built EMUs which, unlike their LNER ‘Azuma’ and Hull Trains’ ‘Paragon’ cousins, are fitted out with single-class accommodation. Lumo is primarily targeting flyers travelling between Edinburgh, Newcastle and London airports. The train service runs directly between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh, with intermediate stops at Stevenage, Newcastle and Morpeth. Around 400 seats are available in each unit (between 54 and 94 seats per car). Introductory advance purchase single fares were low at £19.90, though huge…

TRANSPORT is responsible for 32% of UK greenhouse gas emissions and rail demonstrations took place at the COP26 conference in Glasgow earlier this month to illustrate progress being made towards implementing Network Rail’s initial Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy published in July 2020. New concepts showcased at COP included: ■ Vivarail’s Class 230 battery powered unit No. 230001, that has been re-engineered from withdrawn London Underground rolling stock. It operated a series of demonstration runs between Glasgow and Kilmarnock which allowed the fast-charge system to be used. ■ Porterbrook Leasing and the University of Birmingham displayed the Hydroflex Class 319 conversion that has been jointly developed with the intention of allowing the function of the hydrogen tanks, fuel cells, traction batteries and control system to be explained. Certification has been gained…

SOUTHEASTERN retired the last of its Class 465/2 sub-class units on October 15, when the final examples were removed from traffic. The 16 units (Nos. 465235-250) were the only members of the four Class 465 sub-fleets not to have undergone any major upgrades since their construction – the 97 Class 465/0 and 465/1 sets were fitted with a new Hitachi traction package in 2009/10, while Nos. 465201-234 were reconfigured with first class seating in 2005 and renumbered into the 4659XX series. By late October, most of the ‘465/2’ sets had made their way to Worksop for secure storage. Taken north from Gillingham to the HNRC site by No. 37884 Cepheus in recent weeks have been Nos. 465241/244 (September 27), 465250 (September 30), 465247 (October 4). 465242/248 (October 11) and 465238/249…

HST SET TO ELY STORED at Neville Hill since it returned from Barrow Hill on June 15, set NL51 (made up of Nos. 41120/50, 40748, 42091/150/154 and 44094) ran to Ely Papworth with power cars Nos. 43307/17 on September 29. The set was the last rake of HST coaches at Neville Hill, all other former LNER/ EMR sets having been sent away earlier in the year. MORE ERS FILMING DURING October, Eastern Rail Services Mk.3a RSM No. 10413 was temporarily moved from Great Yarmouth to Bristol Docks to take part in a BBC filming contract. TPE MK.5 STOCK SWAPS OCTOBER 25 saw set TP03 (Nos. 11503, 12707-709/803) hauled from Longsight to Gascoigne Wood by No. 37611, and TP05 (Nos. 11505, 12713-715, 12803) move the opposite direction. TP03 had previously been…

THE 16 SVT Society’s No. 40118, housed at Tyseley Locomotive Works/ Birmingham Railway Museum since it entered preservation in 1988, is set to move to a new home at the Battlefield Line before the end of the year. The ‘Whistler’ is having to vacate the site as the space occupied by the loco is required by Tyseley/Vintage Trains for its growing operation – having gained TOC status in 2018, it is now operating an increasing number of charters, as well as undertaking third party restoration work. The transfer of the loco to the Battlefield Line will enable the loco’s restoration to continue, and the owners say they are close to achieving a startup for the first time in preservation. No. 40118, which was one of 20 examples to be constructed…

SEVERAL more railways have announced dates for diesel galas in 2022, including the Severn Valley Railway, where its main event moves back to its usual May slot. In advance of that, the end of this year will see the Class 40 Preservation Society’s No. 40106 in action between December 26 and 31, operating two return trips from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth each day – no doubt its steam heat capability will be most welcome! DIESEL GALAS/EVENTS 2022 January 2: Great Central Railway (Deltic anniversary event) March 18-20: Strathspey Railway April 1-3: Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway April 29-May 1: Great Central Railway May 19-22: Severn Valley Railway…

AMBITIOUS plans for a four-day GBRf charity railtour organised by Paul Taylor and a team of dedicated volunteers had been postponed from April 2021 until September in a bid to avoid disruption by Covid-19. So it was that a fully-booked 12-coach Riviera Trains charter set, running under the slogan ‘This Time it’s Personal’ started from London Victoria at 09.45 on Thursday, September 2, bound for London Gateway and headed by No. 66769 LMA League Managers Association, the cavalcade including Nos. 73963 Janice and the newly named No. 73965 Des O’Brien. Booked via Willesden, Blackhorse Road, Barking and Grays, the railtour obtained a better path than had been predicted and reached its destination 20min early. With the Two Class 73/9s leading, the special then headed for Harwich International, with a reversal…

FEW scenic items declare the era and geography of a layout setting better than a correctly decorated and labelled public service bus (or two). To that end, the brand-new 1:76 scale West Midlands Daimler Fleetline double-deck bus model launched by Rapido Trains in October will be widely welcomed by those modelling the 1970s and 1980s West Midlands railway scene. Daimler and latterly Leyland Fleetline double-deck buses were supplied to various operators in large numbers in the 1960s and 1970s, with coachwork to suit operator requirements fabricated by several different builders. They were synonymous with the BR era, making the model an ideal addition to a layout. Rapido Trains’ new Fleetline bus is modelled as it was operated by West Midlands PTE and West Midlands Travel, with appropriate liveries and standard…

IN response to a need for further coal haulage capacity following the nationalisation of the railways, a programme of mineral wagon construction commenced, starting with huge numbers of 16-ton mineral wagons of various types. Further increases in capacity within trains of a given length were sought, resulting in the building of 21-ton mineral wagons with features similar to 16-ton minerals. A batch of 1000 unfitted riveted bodied 21-ton wagons to Diagram No. 1/110 was built by Metro Cammell in 1950 and 1951, wagons outside the scope of this review (Nos. B200000-200999). Concurrently, three batches of 500 welded bodied 21-ton mineral wagons were built by three builders to Diagram 1/107, the type represented by one of the two new Accurascale models (Nos. B201000-202499). There was a hiatus of about 10 years,…