Innehållsförteckning för August 2022 från Railways Illustrated

TWO LEADING freight operators got in on the spirit of The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations with the repainting of two locomotives into special jubilee-inspired royal purple liveries. First to appear in a celebratory livery was GB Railfreight’s ‘new’ 66734, which emerged from the paint shop at Arlington Fleet Services on June 1, just in time for the special four-day jubilee weekend. The newly reliveried locomotive becomes GBRf’s 100th Class 66 and is the second locomotive to carry the number 66734, as the original one bearing the number was written off after hitting a landslide and derailing down an embankment at Loch Treig in June 2012, with the Class 66 being broken up on site following component removal due to the difficulties of recovering it from the isolated location. The latest…

A TENDER notice has been issued by Great Western Railway for 30 four-car electric multiple units. Published on May 31, the contract is for six years and GWR wants the deal to begin on August 1 this year, through to May 29, 2028. The deadline for bids was June 30, after this issue of Railways Illustrated went to press. The notice states that the trains would need to enter service from April 1 next year. The notice suggests that the EMUs would operate anywhere on the electrified GWR network but would primarily operate between London Paddington and Swindon, with the ability to cover services into Cardiff Central. It stipulates that the EMUs must be capable and approved for 110mph running, can operate in multiple or up to three trains, and…

FIRSTGROUP OPERATOR Great Western Railway has been awarded a National Rail Contract by the Department for Transport to continue operating the Great Western network for a period of at least three years. The contract will run until at least June 21, 2025, with potential for a further three years at the discretion of the Secretary of State. As part of the arrangement, GWR states that it will invest in developing digital, smartcard and mobile phone ticketing to ensure it is best placed to respond to changing customer habits, with paperless ticketing sales now representing 85% of all transactions made. Other highlights of the contract include a new smart card scheme for Bristol and the surrounding area, improvements to accessibility, additional services to Gloucester and Westbury from Bristol, and more than…

THE MAIN line overhaul of Europhoenix-owned Class 37/9 ‘Slug’ 37901 Mirrlees Pioneer has been completed at UK Rail Leasing’s Leicester Depot, with the locomotive making its return to the main line for the first time in more than two decades with a test run on June 16. It has undergone an extensive overhaul, including a complete bogie overhaul, with new wheelsets and other repairs, as well as the fitting of mandatory safety equipment that was not required when the locomotive last operated on the main line in 1998. It was originally hoped to return it to service in the autumn of last year, but a number of issues delayed its return. Circular run The test run on June 16 by Rail Operations Group – with 37510 Orion accompanying it as…

The third Class 43 High Speed Train power car to be repainted into Locomotive Services Group’s distinctive Midland Pullman blue and white colours – 43047 – emerged from the workshops of Arlington Fleet Services at Eastleigh on May 31. The power car had been expected to depart for Crewe Diesel Depot in early June, but it is understood that the Class 43 requires attention to one of its traction motors and it remained at Eastleigh as this issue of Railways Illustrated was being prepared, although it is likely to have moved north by the time this issue appears in print. The popular Midland Pullman luxury dining HST has been operated in recent weeks by dedicated power car 43046 Geoff Drury 1930-1999 and InterCity-liveried 43049 Neville Hill, while the second Midland…

LSL plans ScotRail Mk.3s The surprise appearance of two Mk.3a TSOs, fully-finished in 1980s ScotRail colours, outside Locomotive Services’ Crewe depot in mid-June has sparked speculation that the company is in the process of putting together a recreation of an Edinburgh-Glasgow push-pull set. Of the two, 12171 was previously repainted in InterCity colours during 2020 but had not seen any use since, while it has been joined by 12111 which also carried the livery. The sighting would certainly explain the acquisition of Mk.2f DBSOs 9704 and 9707 from DRS back in March, and it would not be a particularly difficult job to reinstate the cab front gangway connection that was removed in 1990/91 to create the correct look. Steam Dreams sold June 1 brought the news that the Steam Dreams…

Great Western Railway continues to apply suitable nameplates to its Castle Class 255 short-formed HST sets, with the latest recipient being 43040, which is now named Berry Pomeroy Castle. As with most of the other Castle names, the nameplates for 43040 were applied without ceremony at Laira depot in Plymouth, although the power car has been in the news this month as it was chosen to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War in 1982 and vinyl roundels have been applied to the bodysides. Three GB Railfreight Class 66s have been named over the past few weeks, with 66734 gaining a vinyl Platinum Jubilee nameplate upon its repainting into Platinum Jubilee purple and grey at Eastleigh. It is understood that the cast nameplates for 66734 were…

THE LLANGOLLEN Railway Trust is celebrating the successful operation of a test train through to its newly-constructed terminus at Corwen Central, which is now nearing completion. The test train on May 28, which was operated to gauge clearances to the newly-built island platform and other structures following completion of trackwork at the station, saw the Llangollen Diesel Group’s Class 47 1566 haul four empty Mk.1 coaches and a Great Western Railway Observation Saloon under an engineering possession. The train was crewed by Mark Smales, Iain Ross and Mike Williams, who are all long-standing volunteers on the North Wales heritage line. Llangollen Railway services were extended from Carrog to a temporary station at Corwen in 2014, although this was taken out of use at the end of the 2018 operating season…

TWO ATTACKS on the Pacer Rail Group’s preserved Class 142 ‘Pacer’ 142055 by vandals at its home base on the Foxfield Railway in Staffordshire have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage. It was targeted on two separate occasions, the first on June 7, when the unit was broken into and fire extinguishers were let off in the saloons of the DMU, causing damage to seating and interior fittings that had previously been refurbished. A more serious incident occurred three days later when vandals smashed almost every window and glazed door panel. The PRG has stated that repairs could cost about £25,000 if replacements have to be bought new. Devastated volunteers from the group attended the following day to clean up the broken glass and assess the damage as best…

FORMER GREAT Western Railway Class 143 ‘Pacer’ 143618 has entered preservation on the Plym Valley Railway, arriving from St Philip’s Marsh depot in Bristol on May 30. The Class 143, consisting of DMS 55659 and DMSL 55684, was a common sight in Devon for many years and regularly worked between Paignton and Exmouth for GWR before being withdrawn in December 2020. It has remained in store at St Philip’s Marsh ever since. Following delivery to Marsh Mills on the PVR, 143618 has been extensively cleaned and will have maintenance exams and conversion training for staff before entering service at some point in July. The PVR says that having another second-generation DMU gives the railway flexibility, allowing it to maintain a service whenever one of the line’s ‘Pacers’ is undergoing planned…

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For all of the outstanding rolling stock that Accurascale has produced over the last few years, there has been a persistent question over how the manufacturer would fare when it made the jump to powered items. Not only would these bring a new level of complexity, but also the greater scrutiny that comes with such items and their higher price tag. To announce that your first UK outline diesel would be one of the most popular and studied classes of all time in the Class 55 Deltics was, therefore, a brave choice. Unveiled back in November 2018, the company has undoubtedly learnt a lot in the intervening period, sometimes the hard way, but those lessons have helped inform the development of the various locomotive types that will follow. Indeed, for…

A WEEK after The Queen visited Paddington’s Elizabeth line to officially mark its completion, Transport for London welcomed the first fare-paying passengers onto the new line between Paddington and Abbey Wood. Services were launched from each end at 06.30 on May 24, with TfL estimating that about 1000 passengers were waiting to travel on the first service from Paddington, with a further 600 turning up for the first Elizabeth line service from the Abbey Wood end of the new route. The first morning saw services operating generally well and running to time, with good passenger loadings observed. A fire alarm at Paddington at around 8am saw the new station temporarily evacuated, with trains terminating at Tottenham Court Road for about 20 minutes until the all-clear was given. The new railway…

TRANSPORT FOR Wales has been left with a shortage of Class 150 DMUs after two of its units were significantly damaged in an incident at Craven Arms late on May 23. 150240, 150279 and 150242 were forming 1V78, the 20.43 Crewe to Cardiff service, with 49 passengers and two crew members on board when 150240 struck a mini-digger that had been abandoned on the line, while the train was travelling at approximately 60mph. The mini-digger was one of two stolen from the premises of a plant hire company located alongside the line. With parts of the machine going underneath the ‘Sprinters’, extensive damage was caused to underframe components, including ruptured fuel tanks, with Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service attending to deal with the resulting fire on the DMU. Damage was…

THE FIRST of a fleet of new trains being built by Hitachi for use by Avanti West Coast has begun static testing at Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe facility in the North East. The coaches from a Class 805 have been coupled together to mark the start of an extensive testing programme for the new trains. All of the basic functionality, from brakes to engines and doors to toilets, will be tested prior to the start of dynamic testing later in the year, when the train will move under its own power for the first time. Thirteen five-coach bi-mode Class 805 trains and 10 seven-coach electric Class 807 trains are being built for use by the West Coast Main Line operator at a cost of £350 million. The first of the new…

SERVICES ON the West Midlands Metro tram route were reintroduced on a reduced basis on June 9, having been stopped since cracks were discovered in the operator’s fleet of CAF Urbos 3 trams. Services were withdrawn midway through the day on March 19, when the fleet was brought back to WMM’s depot in Wednesbury for ‘operational reasons’, with operator Midland Metro Ltd later confirming that services would not restart until further notice due to cracks discovered in the body panels of the Urbos 3 trams (Railways Illustrated, issue 231), which required replacement by the manufacturer. A total of 21 Urbos 3 trams were supplied by CAF for use on WMM, entering traffic between 2014 and 2017. However, over the past year the fleet has been stood down on three separate…

ANOTHER THREE redundant Class 43 High Speed Train power cars have been dispatched for scrapping, with the movement of 43069 and 43193/197 to Sims Metals at Newport Dock for disposal on the last day of May. The three power cars, which were owned by Porterbrook, spent their final months at Plymouth Laira depot as spares donors for the Great Western Railway fleet of ‘Castle’ power cars. With no prospect of further work for the locomotives, the three have become the latest Class 43s to be sent for scrapping. With a large number of power cars remaining in store, owned by both Porterbrook and Angel Trains, the list of Class 43s being sent for scrap is growing, although a number of the locomotives have been used to provide parts for those…

Carnforth-based West Coast Railways has wasted no time in returning the first of its five recently-purchased Class 57/0s, with 57012 making a return to service on May 27, when it was operated on a test run in company with 47832 between Hellifield and Carnforth. The Class 57/0 was purchased in February – along with 57008-011 – after the locomotives were put up for sale by former owner Direct Rail Services. Some of the locomotives were purchased for scrapping before WCR stepped in and did a deal to retain them, although it is unknown how many of the five will be revived by the operator. For its test run, 57012 was still carrying DRS compass livery, although the branding and logos had been daubed with black paint prior to their delivery…

A busy period for repaints this past month has seen the emergence of three locomotives in special liveries to mark The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, with the predominately purple looks given to 66734 Platinum Jubilee at Eastleigh Works and 67007 at Toton attracting much debate. Equally comment-provoking was the BR blue and yellow scheme applied to the Stratford 47 Group’s 47580 County of Essex at the Mid Norfolk Railway. Resplendent in a more conventional fresh coat of BR blue, 47270 has returned to action with West Coast after a long absence, while stablemate 47813 now sports the more usual all-over maroon. Following repairs to a collisiondamaged cab, 66605 emerged from the Brodie Rail workshops at Kilmarnock on June 8 repainted into Freightliner orange and black, while DB Cargo sisters continue to…

TWO PRESERVED Class 43 High Speed Train power cars and three Mk.3 trailer coaches are set to move to the Railworld attraction in Peterborough and the neighbouring Nene Valley Railway, where they will join the small group of heritage railways currently providing homes for preserved InterCity 125 HSTs. Now preserved under the brand ‘125preservation.co.uk’, former East Midlands Railway HST power cars 43045 and 43060 (both of which are fitted with Paxman VP185 engines and are currently in store at Long Marston), along with first-built production HST Mk.3 trailer buffet coach 40001 (last operated by Great Western Railway and numbered 40904) will soon move to their new home at Railworld. It is planned that the buffet coach will be regularly open as a static cafe at Railworld when not operating passenger…

A WENSLEYDALE Railway running day using 37250 on June 3 saw the locomotive carry a ‘HMPS On Tour’ headboard in tribute to one of the founding members of the Healey Mills Photographic Society, who passed away in October 2020 following a short battle with cancer. Former South Yorkshire Police traffic officer Steve Jackson was a keen modern traction enthusiast who also enjoyed photography, and travelled regularly on the WR and other heritage lines. Due to pandemic restrictions, two previous attempts for friends of Mr Jackson – or Jacko as he was more commonly known – to come together to remember him had to be postponed, although it finally proved possible for his friends to reunite and pay their respects at the WR on June 3, sharing memories of their times…

THE SECOND weekend of June proved to be a particularly busy time for heritage modern traction enthusiasts, with three railways holding diesel-themed events. Probably the most popular, judging by the Railways Illustrated inbox, was the first diesel weekend to be held on the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway for a number of years, which took place from June 10-12. The railway was once host to one of the leading heritage modern traction events in the annual diesel event calendar, but the weekend was dropped a few years ago in favour of dedicated diesel running days using the locomotives based on the line. The event featured the line’s operational home fleet, joined by preserved visiting locomotives D6515 Lt Jenny Lewis RN, 33202 Dennis G Robinson and 50026 Indomitable. Representing more modern…

03078 – Embsay: The vacuum-braked Class 03 shunter has moved from the North Tyneside Railway to the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway for a six-month stay to act as a rescue locomotive. 03145 – Moreton on Lugg: The Class 03 is fully operational and occasionally used, but otherwise it is started up at least once a month to check that everything is well with the former Landore cut-down cab shunter. On May 15 it visited the locomotive shed to move a shark plough brake van which is planned for restoration. 03179 – Rushden: The restoration of the Class 03 continues apace thanks to regular working parties and a dedicated team of volunteers working hard to get the locomotive fit for traffic once again. There was a big push in mid-May…

The Pendolino is a train that has often divided opinions among enthusiasts. Its introduction onto the West Coast Main Line in 2002 under the auspices of then-operator Virgin West Coast spelt the end for the remaining Class 86s and 87s on passenger services, as the new order took charge. With all the pizazz expected from the Virgin Trains brand, they were bright and revolutionary, bringing a marked step-change from the trains passengers were used to on the WCML. It’s hard to believe that the Pendolinos – which have a capability to operate at speeds of up to 140mph (although they are restricted to a maximum of 125mph on the WCML) – have now been in service for almost 20 years. It’s fair to say that overall they have proved to…

THE SCOTTISH Borders village of Reston in Berwickshire has rejoined the rail network with the opening of a new station on May 23 – providing a regular rail service for the villagers for the first time since the original station was closed in 1964. The first train to call at the station was the 06.16 TransPennine Express service from Edinburgh Waverley to Newcastle, worked by 802212 (newly named St Abb’s Head), where the train was welcomed by dignitaries and Border Piper Sandy Mutch, who played Scotland The Brave as the Nova 1 arrived. The station, built as part of a £20 million investment from the Scottish Government, is located on the East Coast Main Line. The station has two 270-metre long platforms, each capable of accommodating 10-coach trains and linked…

EAST COAST Main Line operator London North Eastern Railway has unveiled the first of its newly repainted Class 91 electric locomotives and Mk.4 coaching stock rakes, in a paint scheme inspired by the livery carried by the fleet when it was originally delivered to British Rail in the late 1980s. Bearing more than a passing resemblance to the iconic InterCity 225 livery, the new style has a familiar feel to it, while still complying with modern requirements. The main difference between it and the original livery is that the upper bodysides are finished in LNER oxblood rather than dark grey. On the coaches, the doors are finished in grey with white vertical bands next to each door to comply with accessibility requirements for visually impaired passengers. The light brown band…

APPROVAL HAS been given to hold a procurement process to find new train fleets to replace ScotRail Class 156 diesel multiple units and Class 318 and 320 electric multiple units. Scottish Government agency Transport Scotland announced the plan while also announcing electrification plans for the Fife region. The competition will identity a preferred manufacturer and financier for the fleets, which would be used to operate a decarbonised railway on routes covered by East Kilbride, Fife, and the Borders. The East Kilbride branch is being electrified, and discontinuous electrification plans have been confirmed for across Fife. There is currently no intention to electrify the Borders line, although the Scottish Government is keen to rid the country’s railways of diesel-only trains by 2035. Scotland’s Railway managing director Alex Hynes said: “We are…

GREAT WESTERN Railway has dedicated one of its Class 255 ‘Castle’ HST power cars to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the end of the 10-week Falklands War in 1982. A dedication service took place at Plymouth station on June 14, where a special ‘Falklands 40’ livery was unveiled on newly-named 43040 Berry Pomeroy Castle. The ceremony was held on the same date that Argentinian troops surrendered 40 years earlier, bringing the war to an end. The power car was specifically chosen as the last two digits of its fleet number are appropriate to the 40th anniversary, while the Class 255 description used by GWR for its short-formed ‘Castle’ HST fleet also recognises the 255 British military personnel who lost their lives in the fight to liberate the islands following Argentinian…

Following their purchase by Cappagh Group for DC Rail earlier this year, the movement of 13 Class 60s by road from DC Cargo’s Toton depot over two weeks has seen all of the newly-acquired Class 60s now delivered to their new owner. The move of the 13 locomotives – which have all been out of use for more than a decade – was undertaken by road. The first of the Class 60s to move was 60022 on June 6, with the locomotive heading back to its birthplace at the former Brush Works in Loughborough, which remains in rail engineering use following closure by Wabtec at the end of last year. In less than a fortnight, all of the sold Class 60s had followed 60022 to Loughborough. It is understood that…

CLASS 142 June – 142056 scrapped at Eastleigh Works by Raxstar. CLASS 144 Late May – 144012 Long Marston to Sims, Newport, scrapped by early June. CLASS 153 14/6 – 153318 + 153382 5F55 11.30 Landore-Cardiff Canton, both units refurbished, repainted, and received full PRM modifications. As they are both now fully compliant, their numbering as 153918 and 153982 has been reversed. CLASS 156 2/6 – 156909 5A56 10.05 Derby Etches Park-Wolverton. 2/6 – 156419 5A57 13.01 Wolverton-Derby Etches Park, refurbished and renumbered back from 156919, in Northern base colours with EMR lettering. CLASS 196 1/6 – 196002 14.11 Donnington RFT-Tyseley, 196113 is now the only member of the class at Donnington pending the delivery of 196114 from Newport. 13/6 – 37601 + 196005 + 196112 5Q67 14.05 Tyseley-Long Marston.…

A THIRD Class 37 has been delivered to the Great Central Railway, although the locomotive is not destined for a return to action and will be stripped of any remaining spare parts before the remains are scrapped. In a surprise move, former Direct Rail Services Class 37/6 37605 was moved by road from Derby RTC to Quorn & Woodhouse on the GCR, arriving on April 17, with the GCR-based Heavy Tractor Group stating that the locomotive had been acquired by HTG and its partner organisation, Loram UK, as a spares donor locomotive to aid the ongoing preservation of the HTG’s 37714 Cardiff Canton and the National Railway Museum’s pioneer Class 37 D6700, which is on a five-year loan to the HTG. 37605 has undergone component recovery while it has been…

VARIOUS ROAD movements of Mk.1 coaches took place during May. Firstly, BCK 21272 was moved from Cranmore to Williton for contract repainting. Nottingham Heritage Railway-based Mk.1 TSO 4207 has gone on hire to the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. Following arrival from Ruddington, 4207 was immediately admitted to the EVR’s workshops for a fresh coat of BR maroon and maintenance exams prior to entering traffic. Meanwhile, Eastern Rail Services Mk.1 BSK 35292 headed back to Great Yarmouth from Ruddington in mid-May, while early June saw SK 25607 return to the Foxfield Railway after a three-month absence for contract repairs at the Churnet Valley Railway.…

The port of Southampton, situated at the confluence of the River Itchen and River Test and the marine area known as The Solent, is a major container terminal and bulk commodities centre on England’s south coast. Due to its sheltered location and unique tidal profile, Southampton has grown to become the second largest container-handling port in the UK, after Felixstowe, in Suffolk. The major vessel berthing areas are divided into three distinct sections. The Old Dock, referred to in railway terms as Eastern Docks, is situated on a narrow peninsular of land. This is served by a single line branching off from the South West Main Line at Northam Junction, just south of St Denys station, running south for about 1.5 miles. The line enters the dockland at Canute Road…

THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE WILL BE ON SALE FROM AUGUST 4. DON'T MISS IT! → Over the next few years, the East Lancashire Railway intends to completely redevelop its huge site at Buckley Wells, with the restoration of the ELR’s historic 19th century locomotive works building being central to the £17 million project. The development will also see a new carriage shed and steam running shed constructed on the site. Andy Coward visits Bury to find out more about the project. → A growing collection of carriages have moved to Great Yarmouth Vauxhall Sidings over the past two years, with the site now taken over by Eastern Rail Services. Richard Clinnick meets some of the people involved in ERS to learn more about their plans. → Our Pictorial pages next issue…