Innehållsförteckning för May 2022 från Rail Express

“CHALLENGING trading conditions and economic uncertainty” are two reasons cited by the Swanage Railway for its decision to postpone its planned trial of DMU operated through services between Swanage/Corfe Castle and Wareham until 2023. The line had hoped to begin running its through trains over Network Rail tracks on 90 days this year, but says its business is still recovering from Covid, which has badly affected customer and staff confidence. A further reason for the delay is that of the completion of the Swanage Railway’s train operating licence application to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). It says: “The extensive work required to put in an application to the Office for Road and Rail (ORR) for operating trains to Wareham has been very detailed and has taken longer than…

THROUGH a sealed bid charity auction Eastern Rail Services (ERS) is offering readers the chance to obtain a one-off piece of modern image railwayana, in the form of a metal roundel from a former European Passenger Services (EPS) generator van. All you have to do is submit your bid, by post or email, by the deadline of 17.00 on Friday, May 27, 2022, and the highest bidder wins. The steel roundels, known affectionately as ‘Polo mints’ by enthusiasts for obvious reasons, were carried on traction and rolling stock belonging to EPS, the company that was originally due to launch night trains through the Channel Tunnel in the 1990s. A new fleet of ‘Nightstar’ sleeping coaches was ordered, but by the time they’d been completed it had already been decided that…

COLAS RAIL HST power car No. 43277, which moved from Arley on the SVR to Loram Derby in December, has been on the move again, being dispatched by road to Buckfastleigh on the South Devon Railway, arriving on March 11. SDR Engineering, the contract engineering business of the heritage line, has signed a deal with Colas to return the Class 43 to working order in an arrangement that also includes component renewal and a repaint. No. 56105, which has been stranded north of the border at Grangemouth since November with wheelset issues, has finally begun its journey south for rectification. The errant ‘Grid’ was moved by rail to Bo’ness for onward movement by road. Surprisingly, this is not the first time that No. 56105 has visited the Bo’ness & Kinneil,…

As reported in last issue’s Headline News, Groupe CAT has been employing refurbished ex-STVA/Wincar TALT 489 (two-unit UIC code Laaefrss) and TALT 8000 (four-unit UIC code Laaefooss, ex-two-unit TAL 489) car carriers on its recently commenced service from a new DB Cargo loading facility at Toton to terminals in France and the Czech Republic. Also spotted on the new flow – albeit not loaded – was the unique TAL 891, No. 23 87 4375 000-8, which has not yet been repainted and was the only member of the four-unit fleet to actually be built to this length. Arlington Fleet Services at Eastleigh Works has been undertaking the work to freshen up the operator’s wagons since late 2019. However, it wasn’t until 2020 that the classic IPA double-deck car carriers began…

THE Midland Railway-Butterley took the step of cancelling its services on two consecutive weekends in March, amid concerns over the supply of red diesel, which has recently increased in price by a considerable amount. In a statement, the line said: “Escalating prices and supply issues are forcing us to conserve fuel ahead of planned events in April.” The March services had been due to be operated by the line’s resident Class 108 DMU. Meanwhile, uncertainty over the supply of coal caused the East Lancashire Railway to ration its use of steam locos during March and April. Diesel traction was substituted on four days, while top and tail steam/diesel operation, meaning less use of coal, took place on other occasions. The Severn Valley Railway also plans to make greater use of…

April 22-24: Ecclesbourne Valley Railway April 23/24: Dean Forest Railway (DMU) April 23/24: Epping Ongar Railway April 29-May 1: Great Central Railway May 6-8: Swanage Railway May 19-22: Severn Valley Railway May 27-29: Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway June 9-11: West Somerset Railway June 10-12: North Norfolk Railway June 10-12: Keighley & Worth Valley Railway June 18-19: Midland Railway – Butterley (DMU) June 30-July 2: East Lancashire Railway July 15-17: Mid Hants Railway July 29-31: Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway August 5-7: Ecclesbourne Valley Railway August 12-14: Spa Valley Railway August 12-14: Caledonian Railway September 3-4: Llangollen Railway September 10-11: Middleton Railway September 16-18: East Lancashire Railway September 17/18: Dean Forest Railway September 17/18: Epping Ongar Railway September 23-25: Mid-Norfolk Railway September 29-October 2: Severn Valley Railway October 8-9: Llangollen Railway (DMU)…

SOUTHERN is to run a charity tour on Saturday, May 14. ‘The Metro Marauder’ commemorates the end of the Class 455 units on Southern metals. The Branch Line Society is the booking agent. The charity charter will operate on the last day of operation of the class, being the timetable change date. Featuring 2 x Class 455/8 throughout, the charity tour will take in a number of unusual routes for the class and will include a circa one hour comfort and refreshment break in Brighton. A number of other comfort breaks and photo stops will be provided throughout the journey and the tour will include a charity raffle. The route and provisional timings are outlined below. These are indicative until confirmed by Network Rail. London Victoria P14 (dep 09.02) –…

That was a blue Lumo overtaking on the Down Fast line, now a red-stripe Azuma flashing past and a black-and-orange Grand Central Class 180 growling southbound towards King’s Cross. There is no shortage of distractions as I try to concentrate on the performance of this six-car Desiro City, aluminium, electric multiple-unit built in Germany by Siemens. On this trip I had picked up the 12.03 Moorgate to Welwyn Garden City ‘all stations’ local at Finsbury Park for an 18-mile journey through the north London suburbs to its destination. The run has few opportunities to measure a level start but, on the other hand, offers a chance to record consecutive accelerations on the same uninterrupted 1-in-200 rising gradient, at least three of the sections allowing 60mph to be reached. Some then…

QUITE a few collectors in Scotland will be keen to get their hands on Hornby’s latest Class 800 model: No. 800104 ‘Celebrating Scotland’ released this March (R3827 priced at £434.49). The prototype made the debut for Azuma trains on the Highland Chieftain service between Inverness and King’s Cross in December 2019. It is attractively finished in the modern LNER red and grey livery, together with the tartan embellishment applied to coach No. 819104. At first glance, detailing is to a high standard and assembly quality is very good too. It is the second LNER bi-mode Azuma to be produced by Hornby. Class 800/2 No. 801201, a five-car set, was released earlier in 2022. A full review of No. 800104 will appear in the June 2022 issue of Rail Express Modeller.…

AS the ranks of BR-built suburban trains continues to shrink, the time to stop taking them for granted has most certainly arrived and in the case of some classes, gone forever. Whilst a handful of units have been redeployed on other networks such as the Class 319 in the north west of England, new train construction will eventually push them out. A stronghold of BR-built suburban EMUs remains in Scotland on the Glasgow suburban network. Inner suburban services are still routinely served by Class 318 units originally built for the Ayr Line electrification, together with Class 320s and former Class 321s displaced from London Midland suburban services. Sadly, ScotRail Class 314s succumbed during 2019 with 15 of the 16-strong fleet scrapped. This edition of D&E Files is dedicated to the…

AMONG some of the most interesting Railfreight-era wagons to model are two-axle air braked wagons designed to carry chemical liquids, mineral slurries and gasses such as sulphuric acid, caustic soda liquor, carbon dioxide, propane and chlorine. China clay and calcium carbonate slurry traffic added interest to the scene when caustic soda liquor wagons were transferred to china clay traffic. Tank wagons remain the least modelled type in ‘N’ gauge by manufacturers, despite the fact they would be popular additions to Railfreight-era themed layouts. It was not unusual for them to be worked in short block trains, mixed in trains of other wagons in singles, pairs or small blocks, or worked in short feeder trains of the Speedlink period. With so little support from manufacturers beyond petroleum tank wagons, how can…

THE Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) report into the Carmont accident that occurred on August 12, 2020 has revealed that outdated crashworthiness standards exist in the design of Class 43 HST power cars that offer little protection to traincrew in the event of a collision following derailment. Carmont is located between Laurencekirk and Stonehaven on the Aberdeen main line and has a signal box controlling train movements. The train involved was 1T08 06.38 Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street, which had departed punctually, but was stopped at Carmont after information had been received that there was a landslip ahead blocking the southbound line. A decision was taken to return 1T08 to Aberdeen, but it was not known that a further landslip had taken place blocking the northbound line. The train was…

DB Cargo UK says it has successfully operated ‘combi-consists’ that increase capacity and efficiency. In March DBC ran a unique ‘jumbo’ train from Belmont Yard, Doncaster to Barking, East London, carrying a mix of wagons for two completely separate customers. The train consisted of two sets of empty wagons – 21 x MBA wagons for Ward Recycling and 18 x JNA wagons for FCC Environment – with an isolated DIT (dead-in-train) locomotive – in the middle. The MBA wagons had previously been discharged at Immingham in North Lincolnshire and the JNA wagons emptied at FCC Environment’s new waste transfer facility at Tinsley in South Yorkshire. Both sets of wagons were then taken to Doncaster, where the jumbo train was assembled. The train travelled from Belmont Yard to Barking via Lincoln…

Voluntary group The Class 50 Alliance, owner and operator of six ‘Hoovers’, organised a dinner in Birmingham on March 12, attended by over 100 guests, to celebrate 30 years of guardianship of the classic English Electric machines. In 1991, the Fifty Fund bought Nos. 50035 and 50044, while No. 50031 was bought privately and placed with the group for maintenance and operation. Concurrently, the Class 50 Society bought No. 50049 and during the intervening years, both groups merged to form the Alliance. Subsequently, the Alliance acquired No. 50007 and No. 50033 is currently on loan for maintenance and operation. The Alliance, based at covered accommodation at the Severn Valley Railway, Kidderminster, has three locomotives registered for main line operation, which it believes is a ‘first’ for a volunteer body, two…

THE number of Class 317s still in service with Greater Anglia has been reduced to just 19 sets, which continue to see use on West Anglia services out of Liverpool Street, as well as on the Stratford-Meridian Water/Bishops Stortford route, sharing workings with Class 720s. Six sets have recently arrived at Ely Papworth for storage. On March 15, No. 57310 Pride of Cumbria arrived with the 5G46 14.10 Cambridge Sidings-Ely Papworth, conveying Nos. 317344/882, which had been taken out of traffic earlier in the month. March 15 also saw Nos. 317512/883 run from Ilford to Cambridge in advance of them being hauled to Ely Papworth by the same ‘57’ the next day. A further move took place on March 17, No. 57310 hauling Nos. 317341/885 from Cambridge to Ely Papworth.…

ON March 13, GM No. 075 worked an Inchicore to Connolly ecs which consisted of seven Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) Cravens coaches and BR van No. 3173. The stock was required for a Connolly to Maynooth and return crew familiarisation trip, which was worked by RPSI steam loco No. 85 that had earlier run light on test from Connolly to M3 Parkway. This was followed by a return trip from M3 Parkway to Clonsilla and a return to Connolly. No. 075 subsequently worked the stock ecs to Inchicore. This was the first use of the Cravens on the main line since October 2020 and the trial run was necessary as the stock is to be used for forthcoming steam and diesel hauled railtours.…

INSPIRED by past family holidays in Cornwall, this adventure was about seeing the railways I was yet to experience in the county, along with ones I hadn’t seen for quite some time. The challenge was to visit every National Rail station in Cornwall in one day, with a visit being a stop at the station by my train (or scheduled to stop, if a request stop). The trip also appealed due to the challenges it produced, in terms of the organisation required with a few ‘tricky’ stations with limited service, including Coombe Junction Halt, Lelant Saltings and St Budeaux Ferry Road. The ‘Cornwall Ranger’ ticket (a bargain at £13.50) was chosen for this trip as it allows travel across the whole of Cornwall for one day and also allows Devon…

BRUSH Type 2 locomotives fitted with London Underground trip-cock gear join the ranks of ‘OO’ gauge Class 30 and Class 31 locomotives announced last month by Accurascale. In its usual style, the company is identifying locomotives with specific equipment not modelled in the past. Four models representing this unusual fleet of Finsbury Park and Hitchin-allocated Class 31s are added to the range. They were delivered with trip-cock gear attached to the bufferbeam fairing of the second man’s side from new, for operation on suburban services between Moorgate and Welwyn Garden City/Hertford North. Furthermore, another new feature hitherto not offered on a Class 31 model in the past is the exhaust panel associated with Mirrlees engines, which is applied to one model, No. D5615, which will be finished in BR green…

HORNBY released a batch of Class 08 shunters in March, the most modern of which is No. 08645 St Piran, decorated with the Saint Piran’s Cross (Baner Peran) livery (R3900 priced at £176.99). It is an up-to-date locomotive model, having been painted by GWR after its reallocation from the depot at Landore to Penzance Long Rock MPD in 2018. It was displayed at the Long Rock MPD open day of April 13, 2019, where the livery was unveiled in support of the Penlee Lifeboat Station. Continuing in date order is orange No. 08715 (R3899, priced at £185.49). The livery is a touch startling but authentic nonetheless, being applied along with the Stratford Cockney Sparrow symbol in 1993. The model is valid for an East London theme between 1993 and 1997…

THIRTY-YEARS seems to be the typical time interval between the introduction of a BR EMU type and the arrival of a mainstream model in either ‘OO’ or ‘N’ gauge. Introduced in 1989 and 1990, the Class 320 and Class 321 family of 25kV AC EMUs is a notable example, with the first models arriving in February of this year in ‘N’ gauge. They are particularly welcome additions to the Revolution Trains range. Some small compromises to save on tooling costs are apparent which is understandable. However, the standard range of Class 320s in ScotRail SPT and Saltire liveries opens out the modelling of the Glasgow suburban whilst main line suburban Class 321s are going to ease the modelling of West Coast and Great Eastern themed layouts. The review model (also…

MAKING the right choices for turnout control is one of the more important decisions a modeller can make when embarking on a new layout project. Hopefully, the layout will become an enjoyable project (they are never finished after all) which will be reliable and fun to operate. Selecting the right components, including point motors (machines) at the start, will do much for reliability and subsequent satisfaction with the hobby. Layout planning It is at the layout planning stage that point motor types and size should be carefully considered. For example, a stall motor such as the Circuitron ‘Tortoise’ has a large mounting footprint and might be hard to fit in any number where there are complex junctions, something ‘N’ gauge modellers have to consider. Baseboard framing has to be planned…

THE Government has issued London & South Eastern Railway Limited (LSER) a £23.5 million penalty notice as a result of a breach of contract. This is on top of the £64million owed to the taxpayer being recovered by the Department of Transport, after deciding not to renew LSER’s contract in October 2021. Since then, Southeastern services have been run by the Operator of Last Resort (OLR). The DfT says that the confirmation of the latest penalty reflects the seriousness of the misconduct over a substantial period and the action taken sends a clear signal to all rail operators that breaches of public trust will not be tolerated.…

FIGURES published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) show that for the three months between October and December 2021, passenger numbers were at a level of 62% when compared to the similar period two years before the pandemic occurred. The total number of rail users was 285 million, compared to the 461 million carried two years before. As well as reduced numbers, there have been significant changes in the pattern of travels with a sharp decline in the use of season tickets, which accounted for only 48 million journeys – a third of the previous volume. Although there have been reductions in the timetable the train kilometres operated in the three-month period represented 88% of the pre-pandemic figure, indicating the amount of excess capacity compared to actual passenger…

A RAIL freight terminal in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, has become the first in the UK to demonstrate an innovative overhead electrification system, which could spell the end of the need for ‘last mile’ diesel/battery power for locomotives running on electrified rail routes. The system could also help contribute to the rail freight industry’s net zero ambitions. The Decarbonisation & Electrification of Freight Terminals (DEFT) project, funded by the Department for Transport and Innovate UK, has seen project partners Furrer+Frey GB, Tarmac and GB Railfreight take a concept from the drawing board and turn it into reality. Freight trains are typically loaded and unloaded from above, preventing the use of 25kV OHLE typically used on electrified routes on sidings and in terminals. The need for a diesel shunter or a train locomotive…

CLASS 20 With five MRAs in tow Nos. 20189+ 20205 hauled the 6Z20 14.40 Doncaster Wood Yard-Derby RTC on March 4, two days after ‘top and tailing’ two Merseyrail Class 777 units on the 5Q20 05.18 Kirkdale TMD-Crewe CS with classmates Nos. 20007+20142. The latter pairing then found use moving Railvac No.3 from Whitemoor to Butterley (MRC) on March 7, while Nos. 20189+20205 hauled No. 50008 from King’s Norton to Barrow Hill on March 10. Further Merseyrail stock transfers occurred on March 16 when the quartet of Type 1s formed the 5Q20 22.39 Warrington Arpley-Kirkdale with two of three units brought north earlier in the day from Dollands Moor. Next morning the other unit, No. 777049, was transported by the four Class 20s from Warrington Arpley to Crewe CS. CLASS…

AFTER the cutting of Nos. 91132 in March 2021 (Sims Beeston) and 91102, 91113, 91126 and 91129 in May 2021 (Sims Newport), a third batch of Class 91s has been released from Wabtec Doncaster for scrapping. Heavily stripped SAXL pool locomotives Nos. 91103, 91104 and 91108 were originally made available for disposal only in a tender document released by owner Eversholt in May last year and it has now been revealed that CF Booth was the winning bidder. The first to make the short road journey from Doncaster to Rotherham was No. 91104. This worked its last train in February 2020, before being officially stored at Bounds Green the following month. It moved to Booths on March 23. The next day (24th) it was the turn of No. 91103 –…

MARCH saw the departure of the last four coaches which had been located at Dalton Transport & Storage’s premises near Thirsk for 14-16 years. All four have been sent to CF Booth at Rotherham for scrap, and will yield parts for Eastern Rail Services vehicles at Great Yarmouth. The first to leave was ‘Dutch’ liveried No. 977787 (formerly Mk.2c BSO No. 9453) on March 8, with Mk.2c SO No. 6414 following the next day. The latter, still in blue/grey livery, carried ‘Ridings Railtours’ branding, and was one of six vehicles which saw some use in its previous ownership. However, unlike the other five (Nos. 99020-025), it was never main line certified, and ran on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway during 1993/94. In 1995, it was moved to Melmerby Industrial Estate,…

PETE Waterman’s Class 47, No. D1501 (47402), is set to depart the East Lancashire Railway, which has been its home since 1993, for a new base at Peak Rail. It was due to make its final runs at the ELR on April 2/3 before leaving the line for its new home later in the month. The decision by the Waterman Railway Heritage Trust to relocate the ‘Generator’ (as the first 20 Class 47s were known, so nicknamed as they were fitted with an additional generator to provide Electric Train Heating, rather than an alternator) comes as a result of the loco having suffered internal corrosion in a number of significant areas after many years of outside stabling and storage. The ELR is unable to guarantee covered accommodation for the ‘47’…

MORE HST COACHES SAVED THE Great Central Railway has acquired TRFB No. 40704, which was delivered to Quorn from Ely Papworth on March 7. At present carrying LNER colours, it is due to see static use at Leicester North. Also sold by Angel Trains are former East Midlands Railway/Grand Central TF Nos. 41206/209, which have been moved to a private site near Ely for use as static accommodation. CHURNET VALLEY ARRIVALS DURING March, Mk.1 SK No. 25607 was moved from the Foxfield Railway to the Churnet Valley Railway for contract repairs. Another recent arrival is that of Mk.1 RU No. 1929, which spent more than 40 years as a grounded body at Carnforth (initially when the site was known as Steamtown Railway Centre). It has since gained a set of…

THE INTERNAL restoration of the London Transport Museum’s (LTM) Q Stock Project has moved on to its second car. The interior restoration of Q38 Driving Motor car No. 4417, that includes the overhaul of two compressors and the door engines, has been completed. In addition, the door engines of the Q35 Stock trailer No. 08063, originally saved by the London Underground Railway Society, have also been overhauled as part of the works. LTM volunteers will now focus on the second Q38 Driving Motor car, No. 4416. This car has been stored alongside another Q Stock car, Q23 Driving Motor No. 4184, outside in the LTM’s yard under a protective tarpaulin for the past few years. It will be moved into the museum’s Acton stores depot this year so that restoration…

FORMED in 1997 by a band of Coventry enthusiasts, and specialising in European railtours since 1999, Mercia Charters has closed down its operations. Notice was given to Companies House ‘Application to Strike Off’ on January 17 by director Alan Baylis. This successful tour operator ran no less than 64 trips in its eventful life and had an excellent reputation. Its European tours were often advertised as using former BR locomotives, including examples of Class 58 in the Netherlands and Classes 56 and 86 in Hungary. The company has been dormant since 2017, during which year it announced it was suspending European tours for the immediate future, blaming the large drop of the Pound Sterling against the Euro, together with the uncertain nature of currency fluctuation (not helped with the UK…

■ TRAFFIC & TRACTION: Storm Franklin made landfall during the morning of February 21, with windspeeds of over 75mph being reported. There was widespread disruption to services, with those on the Londonderry line in particular being badly affected. The 06.05 Belfast Great Victoria Street (GVS)-Londonderry was terminated at Bellarena, with passengers for Londonderry transferred by bus from Coleraine. The return working was started from Bellarena. The 06.20 Portadown-Londonderry was also terminated at Bellarena and the return working, 09.38 ex-Londonderry, was started from there. The 09.45 Coleraine-Portrush and 10.02 return were cancelled. A fallen tree blocked the line near Whiteabbey at around 11.00 and Larne and Londonderry line services were suspended temporarily until a PW team had removed the obstruction with the line reopened at around 12.30. On February 23 a…

THE Young Railway Photographer of the Year 2022 book is compiled by John Hillier and Peter Townsend, with a foreword by Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy CBE. It features excellent reproduction on high quality paper, accompanied, in some cases, by the entrants’ thoughts on his or her approach to railway photography, together with explanations of their techniques and influences. What is clear throughout, however, is that their enthusiasm for the hobby shines through.…

DESIGNED from the rails up, the Sentinel 0-6-0 industrial shunter is an excellent addition to the Hornby range, one which has taken eight years to appear after the first four-wheel Sentinel locomotives appeared in the Hornby catalogue. On first inspection, the tooling of the body and other components matches the four-wheel and 0-4-0 versions well, with the moulded detail looking identical. With such a long time span between the two models, this is both noteworthy and nicely considered to ensure that both models will appear consistently detailed when placed together on a layout. The second point that is immediately apparent when unboxing the model is its weight. Diecast metal has been incorporated in the design to give it traction, yet leave the cab area clear of clutter. It seems that…