Innehållsförteckning för February 2023 från Railways Illustrated

It’s been another busy month on the railway, with plenty of news to fill our pages. Since the last issue we have said goodbye to another British Rail-era train fleet, with the retirement of the final Class 315 EMUs operated by MTR Elizabeth line between London Liverpool Street and Gidea Park on December 9. The loss of the 42-year-old trains was mourned by many enthusiasts, but they have served the railway well over their long working lives. It has also been confirmed over the last few weeks that Great Western Railway has advanced its plans to retire the popular but increasingly elderly, expensive and environmentally unfriendly Castle Class short-formed HST sets. The number of sets required each day was reduced from the December timetable change, and they will be phased…

WEST MIDLANDS Railway has returned one of its Class 323 electric multiple units into a variation of the Regional Railways Centro green, blue and grey livery, as carried by the fleet when first delivered to BR in the West Midlands 30 years ago. The Class 323 are used on WMR’s Cross City line but are due to be replaced in 2023 by the new Alstombuilt Aventra Class 730 EMUs. A total of 26 Class 323s are in service with WMR and 17 are used by Northern. A number of the current WMR units are due to be cascaded to Northern once the Class 730s enter service. On December 19, 323221 emerged from Soho depot in Centro livery, although the design is slightly different to the original to comply with modern…

THE OFFICE of Rail and Road has approved the introduction of new open access services on the Great Western Main Line, to be operated by Grand Union Trains between Carmarthen and London Paddington. The services will operate five return journeys each day between Carmarthen, Llanelli, Gowerton, Cardiff, Newport, Servern Tunnel Junction, Bristol Parkway and London Paddington. Network Rail disputed the application due to concerns about capacity, but the ORR has now directed it to enter into a contract with Grand Union. The service will be operated by a new fleet of bi-mode trains capable of operating under electric or diesel power due to not all of the planned route being electrified. Grand Union says that service should commence at some point in 2025. The ORR states that it supports new open…

EAST MIDLANDS Railway has been showcasing the seats that are due to be fitted to the new Hitachi-built Class 810 Aurora fleet, giving a glimpse of what passengers can expect from the trains when they enter service. Examples of the Standard Class seats were showcased at Nottingham and Derby stations, while First Class seats were displayed at Sheffield station. Working with Derby-based design firm DGDESIGN, EMR has taken a proven seat design produced by Italian manufacturer FISA and refined it to offer enhanced comfort and support for passengers. The operator says that the appearance of the seats has also been improved to match what EMR believes customers expect from an Intercity service. The rework has included increasing the size of the cushions, headrests and armrests, making sure that high quality…

RAIL MINISTER Huw Merriman MP visited Okehampton station on the Dartmoor Line on November 28 to celebrate the first anniversary of the line’s reopening and to officially open the restored station building. The Dartmoor Line was the first route to be reopened under the Government’s Restoring Your Railway fund, with more than £40 million invested in the restoration of the route, part of which previously operated as a heritage railway over the mothballed freight line between Coleford Junction and Meldon Quarry. Now on the national network once again, with the land owned and maintained by Network Rail and services operated between Exeter and Okehampton by Great Western Railway, the line has been deemed a great success, with 250,000-plus journeys made since it was opened by former Secretary of State for…

The BAM Nuttall Partnership Award Lowdham signalbox (Lowdham Railway Heritage) Manchester Oxford Road (Slice Pizza Ltd) The Great Western Railway Craft Skills Award Dover War Memorial (Network Rail) Garsdale signalbox (Colt Construction Ltd) The Arch Company Award for Urban Heritage Earls Court Light Boxes (Transport for London) London Paddington – Macmillan House Block B West Façade (Network Rail – Wales and Western and Spence Refit Ltd) The Translink Structures Award Glasgow New Clyde bridge (Taziker) Haltwhistle footbridge (Network Rail and Colt Construction) The London Underground Operational Enhancement Award Parkend signalling (Dean Forest Railway) Wellingborough (Network Railway) The Railway Heritage Trust Conservation Award Leeming Bar station (Wensleydale Railway Association) York Tap (York Tap Ltd and Pivovar Ltd) The Hendy and Pendle Trust Volunteers Award Bere Alston signalbox (Devon and Cornwall Rail…

Long-withdrawn 86251 moved from Freightliner’s facility at Crewe to CF Booth scrapyard in Rotherham on December 1 after the locomotive was purchased by Europhoenix. The Class 86/2, which still retained its rather weathered Virgin Trains red and grey livery, was taken out of service more than 20 years ago in October 2002, when the locomotives were displaced from Virgin services following the introduction of the Class 220/221 and 390 fleets. After withdrawal, it was one of a number of Class 86s to be purchased by Europhoenix for possible reactivation for use with open access operators in Bulgaria and Hungary. However, 86251 was not selected for reactivation and was subsequently one of three Class 86/2s – 86229/247/251 – to be sold to Freightliner as spares donor locomotives for its fleet of…

CLASS 156 8/12 – 156448 Heaton to Wolverton by road for repairs. CLASS 315 5/12 – 37884 + 315838 + 315847 5Q86 11.04 Ilford-Sims, Newport. 9/12 – Last day of Class 315s in passenger service. 315857 + 315853 worked 2C59 07.43 Gidea Park-Liverpool Street and 2C62 17.35 Liverpool Street-Gidea Park. Sets 315856 + 315837 did 2C73 08.13 Gidea Park-Liverpool Street and the final working of 2C76 18.04 Liverpool Street-Gidea Park. CLASS 318 1/12 – 37884 + 318265 5Q06 09.07 Kilmarnock Bonnyton-Yoker. 1/12 – 37884 + 318252 5Q08 13.59 Yoker-Kilmarnock Bonnyton. Unit Deliveries CLASS 345 As expected, the final two sets to be lengthened to nine-car formation were back in service by the end of November, with 345042 noted on the 22nd and 345056 by the 29th. CLASS 455 30/11 –…

The Western Locomotive Association’s preserved Class 52 diesel hydraulic locomotive D1013 Western Ranger marked the 60th anniversary of it emerging from Swindon Works on December 13. The ‘Western’ is currently midway through a major overhaul by the WLA at Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway. A bogie overhaul for the locomotive is the main focus of fundraising initiatives being undertaken by its owner. The Bury Valiant Group is the latest preservation group to benefit from the donation of a Class 56 engine by GB Railfreight, removed as part of the ongoing Class 69 conversion project being carried out by Euro-Motive Diesels at Longport. The power unit has been delivered to Bury and will be used as a source of spares for 50015 Valiant, with the engine principally containing a compatible crankshaft.…

AUTHOR: Kim Fullbrook PUBLISHER: Pen and Sword Publishing ISBN: 978-1-39909-476-4  PRICE: £25 WEBSITE: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk THIS MONTH’S selection focuses on railway photographic albums, the first being a great album of images looking at trains that have been diverted away from their usual routes, usually as a result of engineering works. Compiled by Kim Fullbrook, this is an impressive collection of photographs looking at train diversions around the UK rail network, both during the British Rail period and also following privatisation in the late 1990s. The privatisation era has seen a proliferation of train operators and liveries adorn our trains, and many of these are featured within the pages of this publication. It also graphically illustrates just how much our railway has changed over the years, with several locomotive designs and liveries featured…

AUTHOR: Martyn Hilbert PUBLISHER: Fonthill Media  ISBN: 978-1-78155-864-5 PRICE: £19  WEBSITE: www.fonthill.media THE NAME Martyn Hilbert needs no introduction to regular readers of Railways Illustrated, as Martyn is a regular contributor to our pages each month. This new photographic album released by Fonthill Media is the latest publication of Martyn’s images and features a varied selection of locomotives and units pictured during the era of BR blue, which dominated our railways between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s. Martyn has travelled extensively around the rail network with his camera over the years and has an impressive archive of photographs, with this selection showing just what a talented and prolific photographer he was and still is to the present day. The book takes us on a pictorial journey around the six…

A man who fraudulently claimed £35,000 in delay repay compensation from Greater Anglia in just two weeks has been given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. Michael Parker claimed compensation multiple times using the same ticket in December 2019. Fraud investigators uncovered the scam when analysing claims made during the pandemic. From the December timetable change, Southeastern abolished its First Class accommodation from all its train fleets. According to the operator, there were just 28 First Class season ticketholders across its network post-pandemic. All former First Class seating has been declassified from the Southeastern fleet, creating up to four million more seats across the network each year. Govia Thameslink Railway has supported the Stevenage FC Foundation to ensure that disadvantaged children don’t miss out at Christmas through a…

MERSEYRAIL HAS once again topped the annual Office of Rail and Road survey of passenger trains fleet for operating the oldest train fleet. Merseyrail services are operated by Class 507 and Class 508 EMUs built by British Rail between 1978 and 1980. The introduction of Class 777s will see them move towards the top of the table when the old trains are withdrawn. The same applies for Transport for Wales Rail, which the ORR confirms has the second oldest fleet in operation. TfW Rail is commissioning several new train fleets that, again, will see the operator’s average fleet age reduce dramatically once the new ones have entered service. Lumo has the youngest fleet, with its Hitachi Class 803 EMUs having only been in service for a few months on March…

REPAIRS TO the damaged bridge at Ketton, which caused disruption to train services operating between Leicester and Peterborough (Railways Illustrated issue 239), were completed in time to allow normal services over the route to resume on November 23. Fosters Bridge, which crosses the A6121 Stamford Road at Ketton in Rutland, was struck by a Rutland County Council refuse lorry on November 5. Such was the nature of the severe damage caused to the structure, one of the two bridge decks had to be removed and replaced with a new deck before ballast and track could be relaid. Network Rail’s East Midlands route director, Gary Walsh, said: “We are really sorry for the disruption that passengers have faced over the last few weeks. “Our teams have worked day and night to…

GOVIA THAMESLINK Railway invited guests, including Railways Illustrated, to Selhurst depot on November 30 to show the work currently being done on the operator’s fleet of Class 377 and Class 387 ‘Electrostar’ electric multiple units. The work is being done at Selhurst by Alstom and is intended to level up the Electrostar fleet, which consists of 270 trains and a total of 1086 coaches, which were built between 2001 and 2016. The vast majority of the trains are Southern’s Class 377 EMUs, with the older-built vehicles requiring more attention than some of the more recently built trains, as the newer vehicles incorporate some of the features included in the levelling-up scheme, which has been named Project Aurora. When completed, all the trains will feature the following improvements: ■ At seat plug…

The ongoing internal refurbishment project on Avanti West Coast’s fleet of Class 390 Pendolinos has now seen a third treated by Alstom at Widnes, with 390114 and 390127 both re-entering service on the West Coast Main Line since our last issue was published. 390129 was admitted to Widnes in early December and this set should be completed and back in traffic by the time this issue of Railways Illustrated goes on sale in early January. The 17 Pendolinos that have been refurbished so far, in order of completion, are 390125/123/1 48/155/156/154/157/131/124/10 4/119/128/103/115/114/127/129, leaving 18 Class 390/1s to still be treated. AWC has a fleet of 56 operational Class 390s, split between 21 nine-coach Class 390/0s and 35 11-coach Class 390/1s. Another of the trains, 390033 City of Glasgow, was withdrawn…

WITH CHRISTMAS and the new year approaching as these notes were being compiled, there has been little activity in terms of namings during the period under review. Direct Rail Services 88010 has regained its former name Aurora, although the new nameplates are vinyl replacements applied to the locomotive’s bodysides. 88010 was unveiled in a promotional vinyl wrap to promote the refrigerated movement of goods by rail earlier in 2022, and its cast nameplates were removed at the same time. The only other naming that has taken place has been the application of vinyl Roger Sumner nameplates onto West Midlands Railway 172342. Below the main name is the sub-line ‘The last steam driver at Worcester’. The number of DB Cargo Class 66s being repainted into their corporate red and grey livery…

Work on the installation of a replacement bridge over the A60 at Loughborough occurred in November, as work to reunify the Great Central Railway between Ruddington and Leicester North took an important step forward. The new bridge, which consists of two single-track decks, was lifted into place over the weekend of November 26/27. The original 120-year-old bridge that spanned the road was removed in October, having been declared unsafe to continue carrying trains over it following numerous bridge strikes and it being found to be suffering from severe corrosion. While the original bridge abutments have been reused, they have been reduced in height and two new specially designed and manufactured pre-formed concrete support sections were lowered into place to support the new structure following the removal of the old bridge.…

THE PEAK Locomotive Company has had a particularly successful year, with all four of its locomotives having been in use on its respective railways during the run-up to Christmas. The PLC owns four Peaks, with Class 44 D4 Great Gable, 45041 Royal Tank Regiment, 45108 and Class 46 D182 all in its care. On the Midland Railway – Butterley, D4 was given a B-exam in October and has then operated on several occasions in the absence of any other serviceable diesel locomotives. As well as being used for permanent way trains, stock movements and operating staff training, Great Gable also operated services in top-and-tail formation with a steam locomotive on Bonfire Night, November 5. D4 was also in use on the MRB’s Santa special services, again operating top-and-tail on the…

We all want a safe railway, that’s a given, but the Office of Rail and Road’s belief that all Mk.1 charter coaches should have central door locking (CDL) fitted or be removed from the network is wholly unnecessary and totally unwelcome. I get the need for CDL should there be train after train of Mk.1 stock, operating all over the network and taking commuters on a tight schedule into major cities as it was in the 1970s and 1980s, with people opening doors – and even alighting – before their train came to a standstill. But that just doesn’t happen anymore – and hasn’t done so for more than 20 years. I reckon the chances of having any more than four or five sets of Mk.1s operating on the network…

AUTHOR: Andy Gibbs  PUBLISHER: Amberley Publishing  ISBN: 978-1-39810-752-6  PRICE: £15.99 WEBSITE: www.amberley-books.com THIS IS a photographic study of the West London Line between Clapham Junction and Willesden Junction, with the images mainly – but not all – taken between the 1970s and the 1990s. The book, compiled by Andy Gibbs, charts a visual history of the route during the period to show a wide range of passenger and freight workings. As with most of Amberley Publishing’s books, it is a softback book with the majority of its 96 pages containing two images per page and informative captions giving details of the trains, locations and workings. While there is a smattering of steam locomotives featured, the vast majority of the content is from the BR blue era, although more contemporary liveries are…

GW Railwayana Auctions held its latest live internet and email sale of 800 lots over two days on November 11/12. The star item of the sale was undoubtably a Crianlarich Lower totem, which was keenly contested to £30,000. Scottish signs were popular, with a black and white Kyle of Lochalsh, complete with stag emblem, reaching £4000. Both of these signs set new records for their category. Demand is still proving strong in all categories of railwayana coming onto the market, despite the cost of living issues currently affecting much of the country, with very few unsold items. Steam Nameplates: Schools Class-Harrow (30919) £14,500, King Arthur Class-Sir Blamor De Ganis (30797) £6900, Schools Class-Wellington (30902) £6800, New Zealand (45570) £6400, King Arthur Class-Sir Dodinas Le Savage (30796) £6300, Pitchford Hall (4953) £5300,…

DECEMBER SAW an increase in the ongoing strike action affecting the railways in the run-up to Christmas, with more dates announced for action in January by both the RMT and ASLEF. Despite ongoing discussions between the unions, Network Rail and the Rail Delivery Group (representing the train operating companies), as this issue of Railways Illustrated went to print on December 21 there was no sign of a resolution in the majority of the disputes. These have been ongoing since last summer, with calls for the Government to break the deadlock. The RMT held two 48-hour strikes on December 13/14 and 16/17, with further action from 6pm on December 24 until 6am on December 27. On December 20, it was announced that strike action would also take place by RMT members…

A STORY about a possible tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pathfinder Tours, along with other possible charters planned for 2023 appeared in the last issue of Railways Illustrated (issue 239) within our From The Front Coach column. While the information surrounding this story was received in good faith, we have subsequently been informed by Pathfinder Tours that the charters, dates, possible routes and traction mentioned were detailed from initial discussions and had not been finalised. A full programme of tours for 2023 will be published on the company’s website in due course. Railways Illustrated apologises for any erroneous information that was contained in this story. All details of charters to be operated by Pathfinder Tours can be found at www.pathfindertours.co.uk…

A COMMEMORATIVE event to mark the pending withdrawal of the final Class 315 EMUs from MTR Elizabeth line peak time services was held on November 26, with the celebratory event raising more than £13,000 for the Railway Children charity. With the remaining Class 315s going off-lease after running their last services on December 9, the final examples were used on London Liverpool Street to Gidea Park morning and afternoon peak services in their final weeks following the Elizabeth line service changes from early November. The special event saw 315847 and 315856 operate four return services between London Liverpool Street and Shenfield, with the day split into a morning and afternoon session, and each session seeing the Class 315s make two non-stop return trips between the two terminus stations. About 175…

Beacon Rail The latest Class 18 to be completed at the Clayton workshops in Burton upon Trent is 18008, with this locomotive once again heading to Wolverton Works in the final week of November to await future deployment. Railway Support Services InterCity-liveried 08605 was deployed on its first duty for RSS on November 24 with delivery to the HS2 aggregates terminal at Willesden. This allowed 08703 to be retrieved from North London and taken to Wishaw for an exam. Fresh from testing at the Chasewater Railway, 08738 is also back in traffic with deployment to the south terminal at Felixstowe. Unloaded early on December 3, the low-loader then headed for Wishaw with 08511, which requires engine repairs. RMS Locotec Out of use for over three years, 08523 is now back…

In a quiet period for reliveries, most of the interest came from multiple units. The highlight was the return of 323221 to Centro colours at Soho depot, a repaint being required following bodywork repairs and removal of the full body vinyls from centre car 72221, which had been used to promote the British Transport Police. With the class entering what should be its final year in the West Midlands, it was decided to return a set to Centro as a farewell gesture. A number of its classmates have also received bodyside lettering marking 30 years of service. Despite the collapse of Vivarail, 2023 should still see the trial of the Class 230 pioneer on the Greenford branch. As a result, 230001 has been vinyled into GWR green at Bletchley as…

NEIGHBOURING DERBYSHIRE heritage railways Peak Rail and the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway are to host a joint diesel gala over the weekend of April 15/16 – the first time they have co-ordinated their events to benefit visiting enthusiasts. The two heritage lines, which are located within a short distance of each other, are hosting the Twin Peaks event, featuring both railways’ operational diesel locomotives on a special timetable. Fares will be in operation that cover travel on both railways together under one ticket, which also includes a heritage bus service operating at regular intervals throughout each day to allow visitors to make the five-mile connection with ease. EVR parent organisation Wyvern-Rail plc operations manager Helen McKortel said: “We are so excited to be working closely with our friends at Peak Rail…

While long-awaited reform has been delayed due to recent Government turmoil, the rail industry has been left to try and recover from the pandemic when passenger numbers dropped to as low as 4% of pre-Covid figures. There was real fear that passengers would not return, or that if they did, they would not return in the numbers prior to Covid. There were suggestions that even if they did, it could take as long as five years. Then there was the suggestion that working from home would end the commuter market. Instead, a hybrid version appears to have developed, with many working from home on Mondays and Fridays and travelling to work on other days. Of course, the lull in passenger numbers was further hampered by the mixed messages from a…

Eddie Bobrowski In this issue of Railways Illustrated, we bring you 10 Pictures from Lancastrian photographer and retired schoolteacher Eddie Bobrowski. Eddie’s parents married in 1947, and his dad was a keen photographer. The family had hundreds of photographs taken from 1944 arranged neatly in albums. Eddie’s dad was Polish and had been conscripted into the German army, but when liberation came in 1944, he became a member of the Polish Army and moved to Scotland, never returning to his native Poland. Eddie was born in 1949 and soon started to regularly feature in those family photo albums. In 1959, at the age of 10, Eddie went down to the lineside at Saltaire with some friends to do some trainspotting. The first number recorded was BR Britannia 70001 Lord Hurcomb,…

AUTHOR: Paul Robertson  PUBLISHER: Amberley Publishing ISBN: 978-1-39810-398-6 PRICE: £15.99 WEBSITE: www.amberley-books.com RAILWAY ENTHUSIASTS have long had a fascination with visiting railway depots. The large freight depot at Toton, Nottinghamshire, must be near the top of many an enthusiast’s wish list in terms of those depots open to the present day. One of Amberley Publishing’s most recent releases is a fascinating photographic study of Toton Depot and the yards and lines that surround it, compiled by renowned photographer Paul Robertson. The publication consists of images taken over more than six decades, featuring virtually every type of traction that has worked in the area or had an association with the depot. This is a superb collection of images depicting a huge range of traction and trains that have all run through the…

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