Innehållsförteckning för December 2022 från Rail Express

ON October 19, at around 19.55 the 6C00 17.15 Clitheroe-Carlisle was involved in a derailment at Petteril Bridge Junction, ¾ mile south of Carlisle station. Seven loaded cement wagons in the train hauled by GBRf’s No. 66739 Bluebell Railway derailed, with two descending an embankment and one upending in the River Petteril. While fortunately there were no injuries, the derailment caused extensive damage to the permanent way and blocked access to both the Settle & Carlisle and Newcastle-Carlisle routes, resulting in considerable disruption to services. Newcastle trains operated as far as Wetheral or Haltwhistle, while those on the S&C operated to Appleby, with a bus connection to Carlisle. Disruption continued into November, with no estimate of when the line would reopen when Rail Express went to press. RAIB commenced an…

HEADLINE NEWS I love anniversaries, milestones and (especially) birthdays. Another glorious, successful trip around the sun, with so much that can change within that time. A lot can stay the same, too. In 1972, my home away from home began its operations. For the last 50 years, rail, road and sea have come together in a beautiful dance at Southampton Maritime to assist in moving toys, clothes, food, drink and everything in between all over the world. Perhaps I’ll be out here moving some things with your name on! It gets me thinking about how we really do live in instant times. We are so fortunate to be able to order something online and potentially get it the next day, if not sometimes hours later. It’s an old idea that…

ERS PROVIDES EXTRA FOR SILVER SCREEN ERS coach BUO No. 9807 paid a short visit to Duke Island Studios at Park Royal, London, for a filming contract during October. It has since returned to Great Yarmouth. DATS MK.3 STOCK MOVES TO GASCOIGNE WOOD RUNNING as two separate convoys, 15 coaches operated by Data Acquisition & Testing Services (DATS) have been moved to Gascoigne Wood. The first convoy, comprising Nos. 10237, 11090, 12032/064/097, 82115/136, arrived from Brush, Loughborough, on October 17, power car Nos. 43050/076 being used as traction. The next day saw the same power cars form the 5Z43 10.23 Leicester-Gascoigne Wood, taking Nos. 11018/048/074, 12078/092/122/133/138 north for storage. Eight coaches which were moved to Gascoigne Wood in September undertook their first charter outing from their new base on October…

BARROW HILL ARRIVALS OCTOBER saw the arrival at Barrow Hill of three locos for attention, the first being the Royal Scot Locomotive and General Trust’s pioneer production Deltic No. D9000 Royal Scots Grey, which ran under its own power from Crewe on October 11, for attention to its second power unit by HNRC. It was followed later in the month by another Deltic, No. 55009 Alycidon, which returned to the DPS depot from the Severn Valley Railway behind No. 57010 on October 25. The subsequent discovery of a cracked exhaust silencer has caused its main line return to be put back to 2023. A further arrival in late October was ‘Peak’ No. 46010, which was brought north by road from the Nottingham Heritage Railway for repairs. ‘TEDDY BEAR’ POWER UNIT…

NARROW GAUGE was Bachmann’s focus for its winter collection. Consequently, the only newly tooled model is the EWS ZCA ‘Sea Urchin’ for ‘OO’ gauge, being sold under the EFE Rail label. Consequently, reissues dominate as a result, except for a smattering of new Scenecraft buildings. New EFE Rail ZCA The sole new ‘OO’ gauge model in the November programme of interest to D&E modellers is the ZCA ‘Sea Urchin’ ballast and spoil wagon which date from 1997. They are conversions based on air-braked SPA/ZAA plate wagons which were undertaken for EWS. SPAs were rebodied with low, fixed sides for ballast and spoil traffic. They retained their original ends, fitted with a cap together with SPA numbers with the ‘DC’ prefix being added. Conversion commenced in 1997 with the first batch…

Southern Railway banana vans DIAGRAM D1478 and D1479 banana vans are added to the growing and increasingly diverse collection of ‘OO’ gauge Accurascale wagons. They were specifically designed to convey bananas from import docks to ripening facilities and distribution points in the hinterland in the best possible condition. It was lucrative business for all of the railway companies, justifying the construction of vehicles capable of transporting them safely in all conditions, which meant they were fitted with heating, insulated and in some cases, ventilated too (the featured Southern Railway vans did not have ventilation). The Southern Railway (SR) constructed its banana vans in 1935 to supplement a fleet of pre-group vehicles when Fyffes moved its import base to Southampton Docks two years earlier. Two hundred vans were constructed to Diagram…

THE last Elizabeth Line station to welcome passengers was Bond Street in central London, which opened on October 24. Two weeks later, Elizabeth Line trains started through running from the GEML to central London (terminating at Paddington Low Level), while trains from the GWML started running through to Abbey Wood. November 6 also marked the first day of Sunday running for the Elizabeth Line. The third phase, due by May 2023, will see full through running from the GWML to GEML destinations and Abbey Wood, with increased frequencies. Services were running well during our visit, though there were slight delays outside Paddington moving to/from the main line. We tweeted TfL about the confusion caused by in-car route maps not having been updated – they tweeted back to say the process…

THE UK’s only purpose-built research and development facility dedicated to Very Light Rail (VLR) and other low-cost rail applications was informally opened on October 24. The Very Light Rail National Innovation Centre (VLRNIC) is the brainchild of, and will be operated by, the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation (BCIMO), a not-for-profit research and technology organisation. Located on the site of the former Dudley heavy rail station (closed in 1964) and then the pioneer Dudley Freightliner Terminal (closed in 1989), the building provides laboratory and office space, as well as rail facilities, including a 2.2km test track. This runs on the bed of the former South Staffordshire line and is currently leased from Network Rail. The track ends next to the centre with a 15-metre radius turning loop. A rapid battery…

TEAMS from Network Rail have painstakingly restored an iconic railway sign just north of York station, following a request from the daughter of the man who made it almost 90 years ago. The sign was made and installed in 1938 by an engineer’s apprentice aged just 17. Building the 50ft sign by hand, using a chisel, saw and drill took two weeks. NR teams carried out work to refresh, repaint and restore the sign, which had been looking rather weathered. A new maintenance regime has also been put in place to make sure that the sign remains in good condition.…

CAF-built Class 196 finally made it into passenger service on October 17, (see Headline News, p9). Shortly before, Rail Express had the opportunity to sample a return journey between Wolverhampton and Shrewsbury. After our last poke around a static No. 196112 in the summer (see First Impressions, August issue) this was a chance to sample ride quality and assess noise levels. We deliberately sat ourselves over a bogie, though our location opposite the second (non-PRM) WC was coincidental. As we pulled smoothly away from Wolverhampton, the roar of second and even third generation DMU engines was curiously absent. With no sound level meter to hand we weren’t able to measure db(A), but we can tell you it was pleasantly quiet. Certainly, you will be able to hear the smartphone conversation…

GOLDEN OCHRE ‘31’ TO GO BLUE FOLLOWING a ballot of shareholders at its AGM, the Type One Locomotive Company has announced that its Class 31, No. D5830, will be painted in BR blue as No. 31463, once its overhaul is completed. Currently receiving attention at Ruddington, it has carried golden ochre (an experimental colour scheme applied to No. D5579 in the 1960s) since 1999. Also in this livery is No. 31190 at the Plym Valley Railway. DEBUT PRESERVATION RUN FOR HST POWER CAR THE weekend of October 15/16 saw power car No. 43089 make its debut passenger runs in preservation, when it was used with No. 43048 on services at the Midland Railway-Butterley. Another power car, Northumbria Rail/125 Preservation’s No. 43045, was started up for the first time since its…

NIR 3000 Class DMUs Nos. 3001-6 and Irish Rail 22000 and 29000 Class units are used on the cross border route between Belfast and Dublin if a loco-powered De Dietrich/Mk.3 train is not available. However, a five-car 22000 Class ICR has been diagrammed as in previous years during the leaf-fall season, to work the weekdays 07.35 Connolly-Lanyon Place, 10.35 return and 10.00 ex-Connolly, 13.05 return on Sundays. This traction type can cope better than a loco-powered train with poor adhesion conditions that can be found on sections of the ‘Enterprise’ route. ICR unit No. 22x39 was in use on the first day of the altered diagram, October 3. A five-car ICR also worked the 16.50 Connolly-Lanyon Place, 20.05 return on October 6. Belmond liveried GM No. 216 and De Dietrich/Mk.3…

ROVER 1: 2015 IN 2014 Barry asked me: “Do you have any plans for your 50th next year?” I replied: “Apart from playing golf at St Andrews, no.” Then he said: “Do you fancy doing an All-Liner. And as I’ll be 50 in 2016, do another one and treat ourselves by going 1st Class?” My reply: “Oh yes!” We dusted off the rail atlas, logged onto Realtime Trains and started to plan our journey. We both agreed from the onset that as well as covering as many lines that we hadn’t done, we would try and get in as many loco-hauled trains as possible, as they were becoming a thing of the past on the rail network. When planning, it became evident that a lot of the lines we would…

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. RAIL EXPRESS @railexpress Preview trip to Shrewsbury on 196101. If you want to sample the units yourself, they go into passenger service on Brum-Shrewsbury route NEXT WEEK! Richard @Richlovestrains Replying to @railexpress and @WestMidRailway Obviously functional, not very pretty. Rail express @railexpress Replying to @Richlovestrains and @WestMidRailway We remember people saying that about the 170s they're replacing. Carl" 50035ArkRoyal" @ArkroyalDavis Replying to @railexpress and @WestMidRailway Nicer looking unit than the 195. Hope they offer…

RAIB PUBLISHES MORE REPORTS THE Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) published two reports in October. On the 13th it released its findings into the collision between a passenger train and a hand trolley at Challow, Oxfordshire, nearly a year previously, on October 21, 2021. Four days later, the RAIB published its report into the collision between a train and agricultural equipment at Kisby user worked crossing, Cambridgeshire, on August 19, 2021. A total of seven recommendations were made by RAIB, six addressed to Network Rail and the other to the Health & Safety Executive. Three learning points were also identified. Both reports can be accessed on the RAIB website: www.gov.uk/raib-reports NUCLEAR TRAIN CONCERNS PUBLIC sector organisation Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA), working with a number of other parties, published a…

PROVIDING another throwback to the 1980s, Locomotive Services has completed the repainting of six vehicles into the attractive ScotRail colour scheme which first appeared in 1984. It was carried by locos and coaching stock used primarily on Scottish internal workings, including the push-pull workings which ran with a Class 47/7 and Mk.2 DBSO between Edinburgh and Glasgow (and also to Aberdeen). The make-up of the set is different to that of the rakes operated by ScotRail in the 1980s, owing to the operational requirements of the charter operator. The buffet car in the set, No. 10404, is the first Mk.3 catering vehicle to gain the original ScotRail colour scheme, and no Mk.3b coaches have carried ScotRail colours before. However, two of the coaches have previously carried ScotRail colours – as…

TRANSPORT for London’s (TfL’s) decision to go ahead with the introduction of fully automated signalling north of Finchley Road on the Metropolitan Line, part of the Four Lines Modernisation programme (4LM), could create challenges for future heritage stock operating on London Underground (LU). The planned modernisation includes sections of track currently commonly used by heritage traction, between Harrow-on-the-Hill and the termini at Watford, Amersham and Uxbridge. When the 4LM project was initially planned, all sections of the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan Lines, LU’s Sub-Surface Railway (SSR), would be fitted with automatic signalling. The aim was to operate all four lines as a single railway system, using new S7 and S8 Stock, automatically synchronising services within central London. The signalling upgrade to Automatic Train Operation (ATO) was divided…

00GAUGE 4mm:1ft Circa 2000 to present ERA NUCLEAR WASTE CONTAINERS A NEW RUN of the four-wheel former CAWD-registered PFA container wagons has been released this autumn, making this the third batch of this remarkably popular little wagon. Once again, new running numbers have been applied with more Cawoods, British Fuels and BNFL containers. Furthermore, the third batch contains something quite new and hitherto not modelled: new, specialised nuclear containers relating to the DRS-era. They are particularly specialised (and colourful) making them very appealing, especially in short trains which will fit compact layout themes. Accurascale has applied its very tough stance to production of the new loads for the PFA, researching the containers very thoroughly, which is no mean feat considering the sensitivity of the loads the various containers and…