Innehållsförteckning för May 2022 från Railways Illustrated

At Paddington, the entrance to the Elizabeth Line is situated alongside Platform 1 on Eastbourne Terrace. The station is underground, and escalators and lifts are provided to access it. Descending the escalator, the first thing that hits you is the sheer size of the station; it may be beneath the ground, but the ticket hall is vast and covered by a large glazed canopy, complete with an attractive cloud effect etched onto the glass. At platform level, again the sheer size of the area is amazing, with platforms long enough to accommodate 11-coach trains, although initially TfL has confirmed that it will operate ninecoach units on the new route. The platforms are wide and lit well, with plenty of seating, signage, and route maps. Sliding platform doors are provided to…

THREE DEVASTATING named storms brought chaos to the UK in mid-February, with the railway network suffering more than its fair share of the resulting damage. Storm Dudley struck first, on February 16, bringing winds of up to 90mph, uprooting trees and causing numerous disruptions to service while Network Rail staff cleared the resulting debris. Worse was to follow with the arrival of Storm Eunice two days later. As the storm approached, bulletins advised people not to travel, with forecasters issuing a rare red danger to life warning. Services throughout the country were severely affected during the day, with record wind speeds being recorded. Network Rail The approach of Storm Eunice saw all train services cancelled in Wales – believed to be the first time this has ever happened, with Network…

TRAIN OPERATORS have responded to Ukrainians coming to the UK following the Russian invasion of their country by offering free onward travel from the point where they arrive in the country until they reach their destination in the UK. The Rail Delivery Group has worked with the Government on the scheme, which will see every UK train operator – alongside many bus and coach operators – allow free travel to Ukrainians arriving in the country who have been forced to leave their homes. It mirrors similar schemes launched by other European countries to provide a safe passage. The scheme, which started on March 20, means that Ukrainian nationals can to travel for free on the network by showing their Ukrainian passport and a boarding pass, or a ticket showing arrival…

THE WEEKEND of February 26/27 saw the return of some electric locomotives that previously dominated the route before the current order of Pendolinos and Voyagers took over passenger services. On February 26, Locomotive Services 87002 Royal Sovereign and preserved 86259 Les Ross / Peter Pan were in action on tours, with both locomotives leaving London Euston station within minutes of each other. 87002 was booked to haul LSL’s InterCity ‘The Clansman’ tour, departing Euston at 06.55, with the train headed by the Class 87 as far as Mossend. LSL’s Class 47s 47593 Gallo  way Princess and 47614 took over to haul the train through to Inverness, before returning the following day back to London. The train also comprised LSL’s matching InterCity-liveried stock and DVT. Electric blue 86259 departed Euston 13 minutes…

THE FINAL Vivarail Class 484 unit – 484005 – has been delivered to South Western Railway’s Island Line, completing the five-strong replacement train fleet that has been introduced onto the Isle of Wight following a £26 million project to upgrade and improve the Island Line Island Line reopened to passenger on November 1, some seven months later than originally envisaged, after the new train fleet was affected by software issues, and infrastructure works were damaged by flooding and other delays. An hourly service was initially introduced but a passing loop has been installed at Brading as part of the improvement works to allow service frequencies on the line to be increased to every 30 minutes. While peak-time services were enhanced in December, it is thought that SWR will introduce the…

Class 456 EMUs go for scrap In a surprise move, the last three Class 456s remaining at Wimbledon depot have been sent straight for scrapping – rather than joining the rest of the fleet in store at Long Marston. Following their withdrawal from traffic with South the two-car EMUs were progressively hauled away for storage, leaving just 456001, 456005 and 456017 to depart by road, due to wheelset and traction motor defects that prevented rail transfer. However, when 456005 was loaded onto lorries at Wimbledon on February 28, its destination was not Long Marston but the Sims processing facility at Newport Docks. Both 456001 and 456017 then made the same trip on March 1 and 2. Alex Ayre Southern Class 455s to be withdrawn The entire fleet of Class 455…

Alstom Fresh from repairs, 08954 ended its near eight-month stay at Eastleigh Works on February 16, the low-loader making the long journey north to Polmadie, where the shunter was last based in 2020. Two days later, the lorry was back on the south coast with 08451 on board for attention by Arlington Fleet Services. Meanwhile, at Longsight, 08790 has become the latest recipient of the Longsight TMD nameplates, these transferring between the Alstom fleet depending on which locomotive is resident at the Manchester depot. Martyn Hilbert HNRC A busy start to March saw 08924 returned to Cardiff Tidal on the 2nd after repairs at Barrow Hill. The low-loader then headed to Long Marston collect 08701, where it had resided since January 2016 following purchase from DB. Having not worked since…

David Green PLANS BY the East Lancashire Railway to establish improved facilities at its Baron Street Locomotive Works have received a boost, following planning approval for a proposed £12 million refurbishment of the works, as well as the construction of a new steam running shed and carriage shed on the site. The proposals will also see new workshops and training facilities incorporated into the Locomotive Works building. The Grade II-listed Locomotive Works, located at Buckley Wells in Bury, is believed to be the oldest-surviving such structure, with parts of it dating to the 1850s. It has been occupied by the ELR since the summer of 1993 after the then-empty building was purchased from British Rail by Bury Council. Until August 1991, the depot was used by BR for the stabling…

FOLLOWING THE recent repainting of Crewe Heritage Centre’s 87035 Robert Burns into Virgin Trains red and grey livery, it has been confirmed to Railways Illustrated that Mk.3a TSO coach 12114 and DVT 82118 will be repainted into the same livery to form a short exhibition depicting the early period of privatisation when Virgin Trains ran both the West Coast and CrossCountry franchises. Both vehicles, which are owned by the Crewe Heritage Centre Trust, currently carry the white and grey Greater Anglia livery applied for their final period of operation before withdrawal. Once repainted, the coach and DVT will be exhibited alongside 87035. 87035 was renamed and rededicated at Crewe Heritage Centre on March 15. The ceremony was conducted by Hornby Hobbies marketing and development director Simon Kohler. Andrew Jeffery…

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The date is September 1955. I had celebrated my 12th birthday the month before and was beginning my second year at Loughborough College School. I travelled to school from my home in Thurmaston, some four miles north of Leicester, by Midland Red bus and then train from Syston station. In my first year during those daily train journeys, I had noticed some of my contemporaries eagerly recording the numbers of the locomotives passing us on the adjacent two freight tracks and recording them in various styles of notebook. Having established why, I resolved to join them in this new scholastic year and I became a trainspotter – or ferroequinologist, as I preferred, to avoid derogatory ‘spotting’ remarks! The place is Loughborough Midland station. I had reached the bottom step of…

With the number of diesel and electric locomotive types not yet produced in model form now largely exhausted, ready-to-run manufacturers are increasingly looking to new areas for subjects to model. This has brought long-overdue attention to Electric Multiple Units where Southern Region modellers have already reaped the benefits of several new models. In contrast, overhead electric EMUs have remained largely neglected, certainly in OO gauge. The situation is somewhat different in N gauge, with Graham Farish having produced the Class 350 Desiro and with the Class 319 and bi-mode Class 769 conversions both on the way. Meanwhile, Revolution Trains has targeted the much-requested PEP-derived types with the Class 313 and Class 314 under development initially. Further ahead in the production process are models of the Mk.3-based Class 320 and Class…

In October 2021 the UK railway network welcomed new open access operator Lumo onto the East Coast Main Line. Andy Coward speaks to Matthew Lee, from Lumo, about an interesting first six months of operation for the company. The Western Locomotive Association owns two former BR Western Region Class 52 ‘Western’ diesel hydraulic locomotives, based on the Severn Valley Railway. We find out more about the WLA in our latest preservation profile. Chris Hopkins takes a photographic look at the Class 313 electric multiple unit fleet, as another former BR train fleet prepares to enter its final few months in service before being permanently retired. In many ways, the restoration of 43018 and 87035 at Crewe Heritage Centre may be seen as a waste of time, but as Andy Coward…

THE SCOTTISH Railway Preservation Society’s preserved Class 37/4, 37403 Isle of Mull, has returned to main line use for the first time since its hire to Direct Rail Service came to an end. The locomotive was last used by DRS in February 2019 before being returned to its owners, but throughout last year it has received an overhauled engine and other repairs at the SRPS diesel fleet base at Bo’ness on the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway before returning to use on the BKR at the railway’s post-Christmas diesel event. On March 19, the locomotive joined West Coast Railways’ 37685 to work its first main line train in more than three years, hauling an SRPS charter from Linlithgow to Aviemore in connection with the Strathspey Railway’s spring diesel event. Simon Jones…

ONE OF the worst affected routes following the storms was the Cambrian Line, which suffered 33 washouts over a half-mile stretch of the line near Welshpool, leaving sections of the track unsupported. Network Rail has been working on repairs to the damaged railway throughout March and announced that it hoped the line would reopen during the first week of April. In addition, NR is to install 5000 tonnes of rock armour to protect the railway from similar flooding issues in the future, with £2 million of emergency funding awarded to try and protect the line from similar issues in the future. Rock armour acts as a barrier to stop the ballast from being washed away by reducing the speed of the water and restricting its flow. NR’s Wales & Borders…

THE LATEST Class 43 HST power car to be dispatched for scrapping has been former LNER power car 43313, which has been progressively stripped of components over the last few months at Plymouth Laira depot. Owned by Angel Trains, it is one of a number of Class 43s sent to Laira as either spares donors or for component exchange for the GWR ‘Castle’ and CrossCountry HST fleets. The stripped shell of the power car, which was taken out of traffic after being involved in a collision at Bounds Green, was craned onto a low loader on February 23 and taken to Sims Metals at Newport Docks for disposal. Richard Lillie…

SOUTH DEVON Railway Engineering has taken delivery of Colas Class 43 HST power car 43277, having won a contract to carry out work on the vehicle, along with a repaint. 43277 is one of five HST power cars (the others being 43251/257/272/274) that were leased to Colas last year by Porterbrook. The fleet is to be used on Network Rail infrastructure works, along with supplementing the NR power cars that are used on the New Measurement Train (43013/014/062, 43290/299). The quintet of Colas power cars were initially moved to the Severn Valley for storage at Arley, before 43272 and 43274 were taken to Derby for reactivation, followed shortly afterwards by 43251 and 43257, leaving 43277 at Arley, until it too was moved to Derby in December. It is now the…

CLASS 121 23/2 – 977873 (55022) Southall to Locomotive Services, Crewe. Bubble car had been stored at Southall since late 2016 following its acquisition from Chiltern Railways by LSL. CLASS 150 19/2 – 150202 5Z45 06.25 Exeter-Wolverton, for C6 overhaul. 20/2 – 150248 + 150265 + 150246 1A86 14.13 Exeter St. Davids-Reading via Swindon, 1Z92 19.01 return, short notice additional service due to storm disruption, taking the Sprinters far outside of their normal territory. CLASS 156 12/3 – 156422 5D56 10.05 Wolverton-Derby Etches Park, renumbered from 156922 after refurbishment and repainted in Northern colours ahead of future transfer. 12/3 – 156918 5A56 14.42 Derby Etches Park-Wolverton, for refurbishment. CLASS 196 15/2 – 169008 + 196012 5Q66 11.54 Donnington RFT-Tyseley. 1/3 – 57312 + 196109 5Q94 11.34 Tyseley-Long Marston. 2/3 –…

Another quiet period for locomotive repaints saw just two Class 66s outshopped from Toton in DB red to join the attention-grabbing 69004 in its BR Research colours. The fourth Class 69 has attracted a lot of attention following its repaint, with rumours that the next locomotive to be completed, 69005, is also expected to emerge in a special one-off livery. The interim West Midlands Railway orange and grey livery is now extinct on the Class 170s following the repainting of 170505 into EMR purple, even if a number of the class have yet to make the transfer from west to east. Fresh from Wolverton, 156422 is now in Northern blue and white but with EMR branding, while the former 156922 awaits release to its new operator. LOCOMOTIVES DB Cargo: 66086/99…

THE WESTERN Locomotive Association has announced it will be temporarily changing the identity of Class 52 ‘Western’ diesel-hydraulic D1062 Western Courier as long-scrapped D1040 Western Queen to celebrate The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. The WLA owns two of the seven surviving Class 52s, both of which are based on the Severn Valley Railway, and the decision to recreate D1040 comes as a number of heritage railways are coming up with ideas to celebrate the jubilee. D1062 is painted into BR blue livery with full yellow ends, which was also carried by D1040, and the locomotive is not expected to be repainted, as its paintwork remains in good condition. The first public appearance of the locomotive in its new guise will be at the SVR’s Spring Diesel Festival, which takes place…

THE CLASS 14 diesel-hydraulic locomotive offered for sale recently by the Heritage Shunters Trust (Railways Illustrated, December 2021) has been sold to a consortium at the nearby Ecclesbourne Valley Railway and was delivered to its new home in February. BR green liveried D9525 has joined D9537 Eric on the Derbyshire heritage line, with work beginning straight away on its revival. The locomotive is not currently serviceable, having suffered an engine failure while under test by its previous owners. Chris Baily, spearheading the consortium of EVR members who have bought the locomotive, told Railways Illustrated that its engine will be removed to allow repairs to be carried out. Repairs are also required to its crankshaft and bearings, but this is repairable and is work that Mr Baily and his team have…

Stephen Ginn Nigel Valentine John Hales Chandler Tilling David Barnsdale Stephen Ginn…

As the Class 47 enters its seventh decade in service on the national network, the number of operational locomotives still in action on Network Rail metals is now very much depleted from the heyday of the 512 that made up the entire fleet. Following privatisation, Class 47s have been used at various points by EWS, Direct Rail Services, Fragonset (and later FM Rail), Colas Rail Freight, Victa Railfreight, Riviera Trains, Virgin Trains, One, Anglia Railways, First Great Western, First North Western, GNER, ScotRail, Valley Lines, and Rail Operations Group, among others. However, all of these operators have now ceased their use, leaving the small number of active Class 47s remaining in use with only four companies. By far the largest user of the Class 47s is Carnforth-based West Coast Railways,…

AUTHOR: David Hayes PUBLISHER: Amberley Publishing ISBN: 978-1-39810-249-1 PRICE: £17.99 WEBSITE: www.amberleybooks.com WE ARE so fortunate in the UK to be surrounded by some stunning and dramatic landscapes and one area where these are found to good effect is The Pennines. One of the latest releases from Amberley Publishing takes us on a photographic journey of the rail network that runs through The Pennines, featuring the truly excellent photography of David Hayes. This doesn’t follow the traditional Amberley layout for of photo books and the result is far better, in my opinion. There is no white space around the picture, allowing them the space to breathe, and the result is a stunning compilation of images, the majority of which are produced in colour. The captions are brief but contain all…

All around the country at heritage lines and on some private sites are derelict British Railways Mark 1 (Mk.1) coaches, patiently awaiting the call for restoration or scrap. These coaches, which were built in their thousands, are an instantly recognisable part of our railway history. I travelled to Hemel Hempstead to meet a man who aims to breathe new life into unloved, derelict Mk.1 coaches – converting them for the private luxury market rather than for operation on heritage railways – and his enthusiasm shines through. “The Mk.1 coach is as iconic as the Routemaster bus and is an instantly recognisable classic British design,” explains Armin Obrecht, the founder of the aptly-named Iconic Railway Coaches, who is showing me around the first such carriage that his company has re-purposed into…

Work on the final testing and commissioning of the new Elizabeth Line in London is now nearing completion, with Transport for London stating that the opening of the new route should take place before the end of June. Railways Illustrated was invited to attend a preview of the route on March 7, where Crossrail chief executive Mark Wild and Transport for London’s chief operating officer, Andy Lord, provided a guided tour of the new Elizabeth Line stations at Paddington and Liverpool Street, with the invited guests also travelling between the two stations on one of the trains currently undergoing testing. Although a date for the opening of the long-delayed route has not yet been confirmed, it is clear that testing is now at an advanced stage and much of the…

THE RAIL Accident Investigation Branch has released its report into the fatal derailment of a ScotRail Inter7City train at Carmont following torrential rainfall on August 12, 2020. The train involved in the accident, 1T08 – formed of Class 43 HST power car 43140, Mk.3 trailer 42145, 42564, 42007, 40622 and trailing power car 43030 – was returning to Aberdeen after a blockage on the line ahead had been reported. It derailed after striking debris on the track that had been washed out of a drainage trench. The derailed train, travelling at 73mph, deviated to the left before striking a bridge parapet, with the train scattering around the site and the lead power car and first three vehicles all suffering extensive damage. Train driver Brett McCullough, conductor Donald Dinnie, and passenger…

A MAJOR project to prepare Derby Etches Park depot has begun in readiness for the arrival of the new Hitachi bi-mode Class 810 Aurora train fleet currently being built at Newton Aycliffe and being introduced by East Midlands Railway from next year. The £35 million pound project, which is largely funded by rolling stock company RockRail, will see the depot’s track layout modified to accommodate the new Aurora fleet that EMR says will also help to improve the operational flexibility of the depot. A new carriage wash plant is also to be built at the depot, and the fuelling and servicing facilities are to be upgraded, with the fuel road being extended to allow it to accommodate two five-car trains. The north shed of the depot, in which trains are…

DB CARGO invited guests to Toton Depot to view the new £2.6 million automotive transfer facility that has been established at the Nottinghamshire depot in conjunction with Groupe CAT for the import and export of cars for motor manufacturer Toyota. The trains are carrying new-generation hybrid Toyota Corolla cars – manufactured in nearby Derby – to Valenciennes in northern France, while Toyota’s Aygo, Yaris and Yaris+ models are imported on the return leg to maximise efficiency. Fully loaded trains carrying about 260 vehicles are now initially operating twice a week between the two locations, a movement that previously took five days by road but now takes just one day by train. It is estimated that carbon emissions will be reduced by around 2300 tonnes every year. The contract between DB…

HARRY NEEDLE Railroad Company (HNRC) has strengthened its Class 37 fleet with the purchase of the four Class 37s recently offered for sale by Direct Rail Services – as the Cumbrian freight operator moves to modernise its fleet and dispose of the majority of its ‘heritage’ locomotive fleets. Joining 37703, which HNRC recently took delivery of following another DRS tender last autumn, are 37405, 37603/604/609, although it is not yet known how many of these locomotives will be revived by the company and which will be used by spares for the operational Class 37 fleet. HNRC already hires 37610 and 37612 to Colas and is working to reactivate 37607 at its Barrow Hill engineering facility. HNRC has confirmed to Railways Illustrated that it has successfully bought the locomotives but has…

More JNAs for GBRf With the current insatiable demand for box wagons, GB Railfreight has reached agreement to lease a further 50 JNAs, which will once again be built by Greenbrier Europe and owned by Porterbrook. These will be used to support future growth in the construction sector. Meanwhile, GBRf received another new FWA Ecofret triple-set on February 14 with the release of 83 70 4520 328-3, 83 70 4521 100-5, and 83 70 4520 329-1 from WH Davis at Shirebrook. Taken to Doncaster by 66750, the transfer also included shortened HYA hoppers 371074-77/80 and 37 70 6791 000/28/37/38/48/51/68. Earlier, the locomotive had arrived with 37 70 6955 227 and 83 70 6955 306/14/37/41 for the same conversion work. More Wascosa FEAs Two more rakes of yellow-painted Wascosa-owned FEA container…

DRS Mk.2s to Derby Two former DRS Mk.2f TSOs sold to Network Rail last year were released from Cardiff Canton on March 19. Still in DRS colours, 5995 and 6117 made for an unlikely livery combination, as traction for the 5Z11 12.00 working to the Derby RTC was provided by EMR purple HST power car 43274 and former LNER red 43272. The coaches arrived at Canton in August last year, along with 5971, 6001, 6008 and 6122 and will be used to replace the five Mk.2e BUOs, 9801/03/06/08/10, currently hired from Eastern Rail Services, to provide stock fitted with retention tanks. Further work is required at Derby. Mk.4 developments Mid-February saw a further shuffle of the ex-Grand Central Mk.4 sets destined for use with Transport for Wales. With modifications completed…

Steve Donald AS REPORTED in the last issue of Railways Illustrated, the National Railway Museum’s preserved Class 37 pioneer locomotive, D6700, has moved to Loram UK in Derby as part of its reactivation for use on the Great Central Railway, with the locomotive placed on a five-year loan to the Heavy Tractor Group. The locomotive was collected from York by 37510 Orion on February 24 and moved to Loram’s base at the former Railway Technical Centre, where some work will be carried out on the Class 37 before it moves to the GCR. It is expected that D6700 will make its debut at the GCR spring diesel weekend, which takes place from April 29-May 2. The locomotive is then expected to join the GCR’s operational fleet and will be used…

SECOND-BUILT CLASS 47, D1501, will move from its current home on the East Lancashire Railway to a new base at Rowsley South on Peak Rail. The locomotive, which is owned by the Waterman Railways Heritage Trust (WRHT), has spent its entire time in preservation in the care of the ELR’s diesel department. After running in BR blue as 47402 Gateshead for many years, it was returned to D1501 in as-built condition in 2010. A further bodywork overhaul and repaint in 2017 saw it retain its original two-tone BR green identity. D1501 is operational and has been a popular member of the ELR diesel fleet throughout the time it has been in use at Bury. Its final services on the ELR were expected to take place on the weekend of April…

03145 – Moreton-on-Lugg: The locomotive has had a long run out after reconnecting a gearbox emergency air pump. D2302 – Moreton-on-Lugg: Attention has been given to a leaking fuel isolating cock, ready for the locomotive to be refuelled for an engine restart in the summer. D2578 – Moreton-on-Lugg: The first Sunday in February saw the split flexible hose on D2578’s cooling pipework, running along the top of the engine block, replaced as the first priority. Fortunately the owners had some of the correct 35mm hose to hand, so the repairs were started. As with all supposedly quick and easy repairs, this proved to be not the case, and other bits of pipework had to be removed/repositioned to get at the defective part. The repair was then completed and all that…

Steve Donald Brad Joyce In 1991, the rundown of the Class 50 fleet on British Rail was in full swing. The first locomotives of the 50-strong fleet had been withdrawn in 1987, but by 1991 the withdrawals had accelerated greatly and it was clear the remaining examples would not be around for long. The first Class 50 to be officially bought for preservation was 50035 Ark Royal, which was handed over to its new owners, the Fifty Fund, at the Old Oak Common open day in August 1991. As detailed in the September 2021 issue of Railways Illustrated, an impressive 21 Class 50s went on to be secured for preservation, although three – all extensively stripped – were subsequently scrapped. The Fifty Fund was established for just over two years…

Rob Reedman For this issue of Railways Illustrated, our 10 Pictures come from the lens of Rob Reedman, another regular contributor to the pages of this magazine. Former bus driver Rob is now employed in the rail industry by UK Rail Leasing at Leicester Depot, where he works with a number of different types of locomotives. He also has a keen interest in railways away from work, an enthusiasm he has had since his childhood. Rob comes from a railway family; his dad was a track worker on British Railways. Rob believes he got his interest in trains and railways from his dad and their regular travels across the rail network when he was a youngster. There were often family trips out by train to be enjoyed, and organised railway…