Innehållsförteckning för November 2024 från Rail Express

THE first GB Railfreight Class 99 will arrive in the UK next spring, with the fleet of 30 bi-mode locomotives in traffic by the end of 2026. No. 99002 was unveiled to the rail industry at the InnoTrans trade show in Berlin on September 25. The Co-Co locomotive has been built by Stadler in Valencia and it will move to the Velim test track in the Czech Republic where it will remain between January and May next year. Once testing is complete, John Smith, GBRf chief executive, speaking in Berlin, said it was hoped that the first ‘99’ will enter traffic “around about October [next year] time.” As for their introduction, he said GBRf was “still working out where we are going to use the locomotives, as they will be…

A three-day open day at Derby Litchurch Lane, and a special train touring the country, are part of the planned Railway 200 celebrations next year. Network Rail Eastern Region managing director Jake Kelly unveiled plans at Darlington on September 19. The aim is to celebrate 200 years of the modern railway throughout 2025, with plans being finalised to explore rail’s past, present and future. Railway 200 is a partner-led programme of activities and events across the UK, supported by the rail industry, the UK Government, Transport Scotland, Transport for Wales, the Northern Ireland Executive, rail and business bodies, civic and community groups and a wide range of other partners, including Visit Britain and the Museums Association. Rail Minister Lord Hendy said: “Since the first passenger train entered service almost 200…

THE entire Riviera Trains coaching stock fleet, made up of over 60 vehicles, has been sold to West Coast Railways as part of a deal which, following the decision by owner Barry Cordell to step back from main line operations and partially retire, will see the Riviera Trains business wound up and cease trading in the coming months (see Railtours, pages 88-89). During the 2024 summer season, several of the coaches have been loaned to West Coast Railways for use on Jacobite and other services (see RE340 & 341). The fleet, which has been maintained by Nemesis Rail at Burton in recent years, is largely made up of air-conditioned Mk.2 coaches, with a small number of Mk.1 vehicles such as catering cars or generator vans (see table). The majority of…

RAILWAY Support Services wasted little time in putting newly purchased Class 08 No. 08853 into traffic when on September 5 it moved the short distance from Wishaw to Bescot Yard. During the two weeks spent at Wishaw following arrival from Doncaster, the shunter underwent an exam as well as rebranding, the latter seeing the Wabtec logos replaced with RSS lettering but otherwise retaining its existing black livery. Its arrival at Bescot allowed No. 08670 to be moved in the opposite direction, ending a residency of over five years. The other shunter newly acquired from Wabtec, 1966-built Thomas Hill No. 166V, has also been deployed in similar short order, its stay at Wishaw seeing the locomotive lose not only its Wabtec logos but also its Pammy painted name to leave it…

MODELS of the long lived and iconic ICI limestone hopper wagons were first produced under the Hatton’s Originals label, and were exceedingly popular, making them sought after today. The tooling has been acquired by Accurascale which has announced a new run of the wagons for delivery in the spring of 2025. The models represent the wagons acquired by ICI for the block movement of limestone from the High Peak to works in the Northwich area. The wagons were built from 1936 and lasted until 1997-2001 when vacuum-braked traction capable of operating the wagons vacuum brakes could no longer be guaranteed. Livery samples have already been received for inspection, with the usual attention being put into the fit and finish of the models. Fifteen twin packs of the wagon are available…

‘N’ GAUGE 2mm scale 2003 - current ERA Straight from the box ARGUABLY, one of the more colourful of the privatisation liveries is the vibrant blue, red and orange of South West Trains (SWT). It is eye-catching on the full-size trains and equally so on the newest third rail multiple unit model to be added to the Graham Farish range. No. 450073 is one of several new models based on the Siemens ‘Desiro’ to be released this autumn. ‘N’ gauge third rail modellers will also welcome the South Western Railway (SWR) No. 450036 too. The two together could form the basis of a layout theme following South Western Railway’s 2017 franchise award. Notably, many Class 450s remained in their bright SWT colours long after the franchise handover had taken place. The Graham…

THE Gatwick Express operation is popular with modellers, and although there is no dedicated rolling stock available, it has been modelled numerous times using various brands of Mk.2f coaches, and either Lima, Hornby or Dapol Class 73s. The most challenging vehicle is the GLV luggage van which can be modelled in a number of ways. Traditionally, a suitable Mk.1 coach would be carved up to accept MJT Scale Components (MJT) etched sides and cast ends. The coach underframe would be reused and fitted with EMU driving motor car fittings such as a motor alternator, resistance banks and control boxes using plastic fittings from Southern Pride Models. Thankfully, both the MJT and limited parts of the Southern Pride Models ranges are currently available for those who wish to use that route…

THE electrification of the Midland Main Line as far as Bedford, which was given the go ahead in 1976, brought with it a requirement for new electric multiple units to replace the Class 127 fleet which had operated out of St Pancras since their introduction in 1959. The 30 four-car suburban diesel multiple units, which had not been included in any refurbishment programme, were non-standard, featuring hydraulic transmission and Rolls-Royce engines. Electrification work was not due to be completed until 1982, and in 1978 an order was placed for 48 four-car units, which were given the designation Class 317. The larger number of vehicles was to cater for the anticipated increase in passenger numbers and frequency of services as well as the extension of workings to Farringdon and Moorgate, which…

SIEMENS officially opened its £200 million Goole Train Manufacturing Facility on October 3, in a ceremony attended by Secretary of State for Transport Louise Haigh, and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. The event saw Siemens Mobility not only open the site, which will be used to manufacture 80% of the new Piccadilly Line trains which will start entering traffic next year, but a £40 million bogie assembly and service centre was also confirmed for the site. This will incorporate and expand the company’s current capabilities to overhaul bogies from UK fleets, including the 3224 vehicles across 572 trains that it currently maintains. This is further investment on top of the manufacturing facility and secures around 100 existing jobs as well as creating a further 200. The bogie facility will be…

ENGLISH Electric Type 3s will again be used during the railhead treatment train (RHTT) season, with Colas Railfreight taking over the two York Holgate-based circuits, one of which requires RA5 motive power (under 19.0 tonnes axleload) which includes all Class 37s except the ballasted ‘Heavyweight’ variants, Class 37/7 and ‘37/9’. As additional cover, Colas has hired No. 37425, which carries Regional Railways livery, from Harry Needle Railway Company, and which was a stalwart of the final year of Direct Rail Services RHTT operations in 2023. As this issue of Rail Express went to press, the ‘37/4’ was assigned to Network Rail infrastructure monitoring duties. A shakedown run took place on September 27, featuring Nos. 37254 Cardiff Canton and 37116 working a 6Z15 09.50 York-York circular via Scarborough, although Rail Express understands…

CLASS 20 On the occasion of a test run for Pacific No. 60532 Blue Peter on September 2, Locomotive Services Type 1s Nos. 20118 Saltburn-by-the-Sea and 20132 tagged onto the rear of the coaching set to act as insurance on the circular journey from Crewe to Chester, Shrewsbury, Stafford and back. LS stable companions Nos. D8096 (20096) and No. D8107 (20107) Jocelyn Feilding 1940-2020 travelled light from Carlisle to Springburn and Coatbridge on September 10, and again the following day, while on September 12 they ventured to Edinburgh Waverley, Joppa and Shotts. A Vintage Trains charter from Birmingham New Street to Plymouth on September 27 was hauled by Nos. 20142 Sir John Betjeman an d 20189 as far as Bristol East where a pair of ‘Castle’ Class steam locomotives took…

TWO classic 1970s-era wagons have been resurrected for Piccadilly Line trainset deliveries, having been sidelined since 2019 after the end of S-Stock production at Derby Litchurch Lane. As well as the Dutch-registered IWA timber wagons outlined in previous issues, GB Railfreight will also use a pair of modified RBA-C ‘Polybulks’ barriers/coupling translators for these Siemens Piccadilly Line ‘2024’ stock moves. VTG Rail Nos. 33 70 9382 000/049 were recorded at the operator’s new Peterborough facility receiving attention after being in store at March East Yard since the end of the London Underground S-Stock deliveries in 2019. These were rebuilt from a pair of long-stored JIA covered hoppers in 2018 with compatible couplers and high-level brake pipes at one end of each vehicle and supplemented the quartet of KBA barrier wagons,…

Digital sound No. 56060 Newly released Trainload Metals Class 56 No. 56060 The Cardiff Rod Mill comes fitted with a TXS digital sound decoder for £289.99. Coke hopper wagons Delicately detailed models of BR 20t coke wagons slipped into the shops recently. The triple pack of consecutively numbered wagons is priced at £82.99. ‘Railroad Plus’ Class 47s Celebrity Parcels Sector locomotive No. 47522 Doncaster Enterprise appeared in the 2024 range priced at £96.99, along with No. D1683 in BR green. BR green No. D1683 The model of No. D1683 will suit early BR diesel modellers, being finished in a livery variation not often offered with the Hornby Class 47 range. A TXS sound version is available for £144.99. Sealions and Seacows Another welcome release from Hornby is a batch of…

00 GAUGE 4mm scale 2016 to present ERA The prototype CLASS 801 ‘Azuma’ trains for the East Coast route operated by LNER were constructed from 2016 and entered service from September 2019. Delivery of this large fleet of trains was completed in 2020. Twelve five-car Class 801/1s and 30 nine-car Class 801/2s were intended to replace Class 91 and Mk.4 coach formations on electrified routes, although a small number of the older trains will remain in service until their replacement in 2027. The Hornby train pack The new Hornby Class 801 five-car ‘Azuma’ train pack (R3965) can be used to model both five- and nine-car formations. It is numbered as Class 801/2 No. 801214, consisting of DPTF-MF-MS-MS-DPTS which is not exact should the model be needed to represent a Class 801/1,…

GALA PICTORIAL GB Railfreight supplied examples of Class 08, ‘47’, ‘57’, ‘66’ and ‘69’ from its fleet of locomotives for a two-day gala at the Nene Valley Railway. The event also featured NVR resident Class 14 No. D9529 and ‘Peak’ No. 45041 The Royal Tank Regiment. To attract enthusiasts across both days, different examples from the ‘57’, ‘66’ and ’69 fleets attended on September 7, compared to September 8. In action from the GBRf fleet on the first day were Nos. 08632, which is usually based at the nearby GBRf depot at Peterborough, 47727 Edinburgh Castle/Caisteal Dhùn Eideann, 57310, 66799 Modern Railways Diamond Jubilee and 69003 The Railway Observer. The ‘08’ was used on shuttles on the Fletton branch with the ‘14’. The following day, GBRf sent Nos. 57303, 66312…

A NEW Iarnród Eireann (IE) system-wide timetable was introduced on August 26, and was to be valid until further notice, however it was subsequently reviewed and from September 16 many services in the Dublin Connolly area were altered, mainly because congestion was occurring at Grand Canal Dock and Connolly stations. However, most of the proposed changes reported in RE339 were implemented in the August 26 document, and the Cross Border ‘Enterprise’ service became two-hourly but continued to be subject to bustitution between Belfast Lanyon Place and Newry while trains ran between Portadown and Dublin Connolly. The service is augmented on Mondays to Fridays by trains from Newry/Dundalk to Connolly and vice versa that will start from and terminate at Belfast Grand Central Station (GC) when it opens, and an hourly…

THE first electric trains have successfully completed test runs on the newly-electrified railway between York and Church Fenton as part of the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU). TPE No. 802211 was used for the tests, which operated on the section between Church Fenton and Colton Junction. The overhead line electrification was completed in July, and energised recently. Adam Sellers, TRU senior sponsor, said: “This is a major achievement in our plans to bring cleaner, faster and better travel to the people of the North of England. “The test trains successfully demonstrated that the new overhead equipment is operating as it should, ahead of the introduction of electric services in the future. “People can see that TRU is very much in the delivery phase now and the benefits of all our teams’…

THE use of Class 323s on the Birmingham Cross-City line and other routes in the West Midlands came to an end on September 27, when the last sets were removed from normal service. After this date, two sets (Nos. 323221/222) operated a joint West Midlands Railway/ Branch Line Society charity charter from Birmingham to Liverpool and back on September 29, and a staff event took place on October 4. The final day of timetabled workings on September 27 saw Nos. 323222/240 in action as a six-car set. Their last two workings were the 2O70 22.09 Lichfield Trent Valley-Bromsgrove and 2G75 23.31 Bromsgrove-Birmingham New Street, which arrived at its destination shortly after midnight on September 28. Stopped earlier in the month, Nos. 323215/216 ran from Soho to Wolverton for storage on…

LESS than four years after it entered preservation, Brush Type 2 No. 31190 has been sold by its owner and could be returning to the main line as part of the Nemesis Rail fleet. A resident at the Plym Valley Railway since it was purchased from RMS Locotec in 2021, the Class 31, which carries golden ochre colours as applied to No. D5579 in the early 1960s, did not operate in preservation at its Devon base. It departed for Burton-on-Trent by road on September 3. After withdrawal from service by EWS in 1999, No. 31190 saw use with various main line companies, including Fragonset, West Coast Railways, RVEL and Hanson Traction. It was retired from work on Network Rail lines in 2015, and between 2017 and 2019 was used on…

THE first commercial ‘N’ gauge models of the D600 ‘Warship Class’ locomotives have been announced by Bachmann, to be marketed under its EFE Rail label. The five locomotives were built by the North British Locomotive Co in Glasgow with the first, No. D600, entering traffic in 1957 where it gained the distinction of being the first Type 4 diesel and the first hydraulic type to be introduced by BR. The remainder were introduced by 1958 and were eventually allocated to Laira depot. Whilst successful in their own right, the lighter and more powerful D800 Class ‘Warships’ were preferred by the Western Region causing the small class of five D600s to be withdrawn by 1967. At the time of the announcement, which was made at The International N Gauge Show (TINGS),…

’O’ GAUGE 7mm scale 1940 to present ERA INSPECTION SALOONS are always popular with modellers, being the perfect one-coach train to slip in amongst regular train services on the layout. Heljan’s brand-new ‘O’ gauge LMS 50-foot saloon is eye-catching to say the least and will fit a compact ‘O’ gauge layout well. The comprehensive level of detail applied to the model is immediately apparent on unboxing, especially the glazing, but more on that later. The first of this type of saloon was built by the LMS in 1940, based on a Stanier design. A further 13 were built by the LMS, followed by five more by BR alongside a couple of conversions. The LMS saloon was very successful and has survived to see service on the privatised railway. Many are preserved…

TT GAUGE 1:120 scale 1961-1992 ERA VACUUM-BRAKED 21t mineral wagons were constructed by BR at its Shildon and Derby workshops from 1961 using an underframe of the same design and dimensions as the similar unfitted MDO wagons. Two diagram numbers were issued: Diagram 1/119 for 1000 wagons (B310000 – 310999) fitted with an empty/loaded change-over lever for the brakes. The second Diagram was fitted with an automated Self-Adjusting Brake device and numbered B311000-314999 which is represented by the brand-new Hornby ‘TT:120’ model released this summer based on the applied number. A total of 3950 Diagram 1/120 wagons were built between 1961 and 1963, making it an attractive model to produce for TT:120 – particularly with Class 37s currently in development because 21t mineral wagons were particularly common in South Wales for…

INTRODUCED IN 2003 to replace slam-door Mk.1 EMUs, the Siemens ‘Desiro’ Class 450s are now achieving 20 years in regular service on the network of main lines that feed into London Waterloo, along with south coast routes. When first seen on the main line, the Class 450s were certainly eye-catching, being finished in Stagecoach colours of blue, red and orange which suited their smooth sided appearance well. Despite problems with traction power supply which had to be upgraded for the new trains, the large fleet of 127 units settled into service alongside their sister EMUs, the long distance Class 444s. Following the change in franchise operator in 2017, the units were refurbished, which involved reducing the number of First Class seats among other modifications. Mention should also be made of…

TRANSPORT for London (TfL) has returned to its position that it is not exploring the option of driverless trains. The organisation had previously made this statement in response to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request in February 2022, when asked about plans with regards “self-driving buses and Underground trains”. However, the August 2022 letter funding agreement to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, from the then Secretary of State for Transport, Grant Shapps, forced TfL to reverse this position. The letter, which laid out the terms and conditions of the final £3.6 billion funding agreement, followed the significant loss of income because of the Covid-19 pandemic. On page 5, the Department for Transport (DfT) listed seven terms related to TfL accepting the need to explore the introduction of driverless trains.…

RAILTOURS IT’S the end of an era in the railtour scene, after it was confirmed that Riviera Train’s fleet of more than 60 carriages has been acquired by West Coast Railways. Riviera Trains, which has existed since 1995, will soon cease to be. Formed by Barry Cordell and Charles Paget, the former is likely to take a back seat, whilst Charles Paget will become business manager at WCR. The origins of Riviera Trains go back even further. Three prominent railway personnel closely associated with the Severn Valley Railway formed RPR – these initials standing for David Russell, Charles Paget and Bernard Rainbow MBE, whose purpose was to secure Mk.1 carriages for the thriving heritage railway. Meanwhile, it is business as normal for Pathfinder Railtours. Pathfinder became part of Riviera Trains…