Innehållsförteckning för April 2023 från Railways Illustrated

Last year we witnessed two new train fleets enter service onto the rail network, with the CAF-built Class 196s going into traffic with West Midlands Railway in October, quickly followed by the similar Transport for Wales Class 197s – also built by CAF – just a matter of weeks later. However, the new year has already seen the number of new train fleets entering service matching those for the whole of 2022. TfW introduced its Stadler-built Class 231 diesel multiple units in January, while just a few days later Merseyrail finally begun the introduction of the long-awaited Class 777s, which will replace the elderly Class 507 and Class 508 electric multiple unit fleets. As reported in issue 240, Merseyrail currently tops the Office of Rail and Road’s table for the…

IN ADVANCE of its three-day ‘The Push-Pull Scottish Tour’, which was due to take place from February 24-26, just after this issue of Railways Illustrated closed for press, Locomotive Services Group’s retro ScotRail-liveried push-pull train emerged onto the main line for testing on February 6. The recently repainted train was accompanied by preserved 47712 Lady Diana Spencer, which has returned to service after a bogie overhaul and which is also painted into the attractive British Rail ScotRail livery. The locomotive is owned by the Crewe Diesel Preservation Group but on long-term hire to LSG, while the coaching stock is formed of five repainted Mk.3 coaches and a Mk.2 Driving Brake Second Open. For the first test runs, the push-pull train operated between Crewe and Chester, being driven both from the…

NEW OPPORTUNITIES are being explored by Porterbrook for the 19 Class 769/9 tri-mode units that are about to be sent off-lease by Great Western Railway. A Porterbrook spokesperson confirmed that although the rolling stock leasing company was looking into new homes for the trains, there was nothing more that could be said at the moment. The four-car Class 769s are being returned to the ROSCO having never been used in passenger service by GWR. The trains were rebuilt from redundant Class 319/4 electric multiple units in 2018, with deliveries beginning the following year. However, the coronavirus pandemic affected training and the decline in predicted passenger numbers has meant they will now be sent to Long Marston for storage instead of entering traffic with the operator. A Railways Illustrated source has confirmed…

IN CONJUNCTION with National Apprenticeship Week, Alstom opened its new Training Academy at its Litchurch Lane works in Derby on February 7. The £250,000 facility, to help Alstom’s apprentices develop the skills and knowledge required for a career in the rail industry, was officially opened by Derby MP Dame Margaret Beckett DBE PC MP, accompanied by Alstom UK and Ireland managing director Nick Crossfield. It has 17 permanent teaching staff, offering 1600 square metres of learning space that features four classrooms, a canteen, coffee area and break-out study areas where new trainees have their inductions. The academy also features a training hall containing a Class 730 Aventra bodyshell and Class 701 and Class 730 cabs to give apprentices practical experience of working on carriages before they join the live manufacturing…

EUROSTAR GROUP, which incorporates mainland European operator Thalys and cross-channel operator Eurostar, launched its new brand in Brussels on January 24 and announced plans to carry 30 million passengers per year by 2030. In 2022, Eurostar carried 8.3 million passengers, while Thalys carried 6.5 million. When the alliance between the two companies was first announced in September 2019, the ambition was to increase the 19 million carried then to 30 million, although the pandemic has since had an impact on both operators. From the end of this year, all customer touchpoints – including the company’s 51 trains (25 in the Eurostar fleet and 26 in Thalys’s) – will carry the new look, which will use the Eurostar name. The company said Eurostar was chosen “due to a high consumer awareness…

Beacon Rail The massed ranks of Class 18s awaiting deployment at Wolverton Works has increased further with 18009 arriving from Burton upon Trent in the second week of January while 18010 made the same journey on February 6. HNRC At Barrow Hill, the resurrection of 08799 has been completed following the initial work undertaken at Shackerstone during 2021. The Class 08 is now finished in HNRC orange paintwork. At Cardiff Tidal, 08630 returned from a wheelset change at Burton Wetmore on January 18, allowing 08389 to depart initially for Leeds Midland Road for tyre turning. With tyre turning completed, it then moved on to Burton on January 30. The three year sojourn of 08865 at Central Rivers came to an end in late January with the return of 08943 to…

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AS REPORTED in Railways Illustrated issue 240, the loan period for the National Railway Museum’s former West Coast Main Line AC electric locomotive 84001 has expired, with the Class 84 returning to York for the first time in almost 23 years. The locomotive had been on loan to the Museum of Scottish Railways on the Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway, but the Class 84 returned to York on January 24 following the end of its loan period and in readiness for the arrival of 91131, which has now been preserved by the MSR at Bo’ness. The Class 84 arrived back at York on a low-loader on the evening of January 24 and was unloaded the following morning into the yard at the neighbouring York Holgate Engineering Works. West Coast Railways 47245…

CLASS 207 ‘Thumper’ diesel electric multiple unit 1305 (207202) arrived at Sheffield Park on its new home at the Bluebell Railway on January 19, following its purchase by the railway from the Coulsdon Old Vehicle and Engineering Society. The two-car DEMU is formed of Driving Trailer Second S60904 and Driving Motor Brake Second Open S60130. The unit last ran in passenger service on the East Lancashire Railway more than a decade ago. It is operational but in need of extensive bodywork repairs ahead of it entering service on the East Sussex heritage line. The ‘Thumpers’ were introduced by British Rail in 1962 for use on the Southern Region, specifically along the Oxted Line to East Grinstead and Tunbridge Wells West. Bluebell Railway locomotive engineering director Paul Russell said: “I am…

03179 – Rushden: In early January, the compressor overhaul was nearing completion, with the pully wheel back refitted. The pipework is awaiting a coat of gloss white and filling with oil and then the compressor will be ready to be replaced. Another job that has been waiting a while was plumbing the radiators in. It’s been one of those tasks that the team decided to attack when the weather wasn’t great, and it is now all plumbed up with water in. This also meant that the new thermostat in the engine for the cab gauge could be fitted as the water level lowered, filling the radiators. Work has also progressed on the outside steps, removing the final bits of built-up rust and cleaning them up ready for painting. These are…

Winter can be a rewarding time of year for railway photography, with the potential for crisp, frosty days and a landscape transformed by deep snow. Short days offer the opportunity for glints and silhouettes, and night photography is possible in the late afternoon! However, those same fabulous conditions can present a challenge for operating a safe and reliable railway. As operations director for Network Rail’s north and east route, I am accountable for all the activities we undertake to deliver the aforementioned safe and reliable railway during each of the seasons. My seasons delivery team, led by Charlotte McCarthy, works across the Network Rail departments and with our train and freight operating colleagues to ensure we are ready for whatever the winter weather brings. Winter has become one of our…

David Barnsdale The photographer featured in this month’s 10 Pictures is Lincolnshire based David Barnsdale –another of our loyal band of regular contributors to the pages of Railways Illustrated. David is now happily retired after a 40-year career working in the NHS, and retirement has brought him much more time to enjoy his railway photography hobby. David lives near Lincoln, and even though he is well-travelled – both in this country and abroad over many years – Lincolnshire has been his home county throughout his life. Railways have also been in David’s life since birth, as his father was a signalman at Wilsford, near Sleaford, when David was a baby. So, from a very early age he would spend some of his time with his dad in the signalbox. This…

A favourite time of mine for photography is when the short RHTT season is operating between October and December, as this is a great chance to photograph some different locomotives on these workings. DRS Class 57 locomotives are not seen on the GN&GE Joint Line very often, so this was a good opportunity to capture this once-a-year positioning move. The four RHTT sets and 57002 will be based at Stowmarket for covering the East Anglia diagrams through the autumn RHTT season and this working was to move the sets from York to Stowmarket, ready for the start of the autumn leaf fall services. This location, south of Sleaford and through the other side of Kirkby La Thorpe village, is a great place to take photographs and features a nice wide…

FOLLOWING THE construction of a £70 million maintenance facility by Stadler at Gosforth for the pending arrival of the new Class 555 Metro trains, the original depot on the site was closed on Thursday, January 19. The depot has been used by the Metro since being taken over from British Rail by the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (now Nexus) in 1980. It was built by the London and North Eastern Railway and opened in 1923. After being handed over by BR in 1980, the building was fully refurbished and equipped with overhead lines, inspection gantries, wheels lathes and lifting jacks. However, with the first of the 46 new Stadler-built five-coach Class 555 fleet, train maintenance has now shifted to a new facility constructed on the same site and…

THE OFFICE of Rail and Road has welcomed Avanti West Coast’s plans for making improvements in releasing timetables to passengers ahead of travel. The move comes after the ORR wrote to AWC on January 24, calling on the train operator to make significant improvements and to submit an improved recovery plan for timetable production by February 2. The problem was particularly noticeable at weekends in January, with passengers only given a few days’ notice of train timetables against which to book a ticket to travel. The ORR said that AWC’s more resilient recovery plan shows a pathway to a full and sustained recovery and to producing and finalising timetables in line with current industry norms by mid-May. The organisation also noted that engineering works taking place on the West Coast…

WITH THE rundown of Great Western Railway’s HST fleet expected to accelerate throughout 2023, it is understood that a second Class 43 power car from the 35-strong Castle class fleet has been permanently stood down. 43022 Nether Stowey Castle worked its final services on January 21, following 43041 St Catherine’s Castle, which was stopped late last year. The power car has been stopped due to it requiring a G exam and an overhaul to its MTU4000 engine. 43022’s final passenger working was the 18.00 Cardiff Central to Plymouth service, and it was stood down after returning to Laira. GWR has announced that its use of the short-formed HST Castle sets is due to be reduced and completely removed from regular timetabled use from December 2023, although some may be retained…

Avanti Class 805 makes WCML debut The two Class 805 sets so far delivered were moved from Old Dalby to Oxley on February 2 to commence their main line testing programme, 56081 being the notable power to haul 805001 and 805003. The first run over the West Coast Main Line took place four days later, with 805001 on its own forming 5Q30, the 08.38 Oxley to Glasgow Central, and 5Q31, the 13.58 return. The trips were repeated by the same unit on February 7 and 9, although the destination was switched to Polmadie on the latter occasion. Marchwood storage for SWR Class 701s With Class 701 units littering South Western Railway depots, late January saw a number of sets moved to the former military port at Marchwood for secure storage…

As reported on page 18, all of LNER’s remaining operational Class 91s have now been repainted following the release of 91107 in the Intercity-derived livery on February 14. Two more Mk.4 sets have also been completed, with the last one taken into Wabtec at the same time as 91107 on February 1. At the Nemesis Rail depot in Burton upon Trent, 37606 has been observed returned to 1980s Railfreight original grey carrying its previous identity of 37508. The locomotive, which was last in service with Direct Rail Services, has yet to return to main line use. DB Cargo at Toton is continuing with the repainting of its Class 66 fleet into DB Cargo’s red and grey livery, with 66025 the latest to emerge. 800321 is now in usual GWR green…

THE NATIONAL Railway Museum’s Class 52 diesel-hydraulic Western locomotive D1023 Western Fusilier moved from the Railway Museum in York at the end of January to Didcot Railway Centre on a five-year loan. The Class 52, used to haul the ‘Western Tribute’ farewell railtour alongside D1013 Western Ranger on February 26, 1977, is not currently operational and there are no plans for it to be returned to service while it is on loan to the DRC. The locomotive will be displayed inside the locomotive shed at Didcot, an area where the Westerns regularly worked during their working lives on British Rail. Western Fusilier was built by British Railways at Swindon Works in September 1963 and was withdrawn in February 1977 after hauling the Western farewell charter, moving to York after it…

TRAINS ON Peak Rail are set to return to operating through to Matlock Town station for the 2023 season, which starts on March 11. Since the railway opened its extension from Matlock Riverside station on the outskirts of the town, trains into Matlock – which has a cross platform interchange with East Midlands Railway services – have had to be operated by two locomotives in top-and-tail formation at either end of the train. Following the appointment of general manager Mark Sealey last March, the decision was taken to terminate services at Matlock Riverside on non-event service days due to the costs of operating two locomotives on the service trains, which restricted use of the locomotives for use on dining services or footplate experience courses. Mr Sealey told Railways Illustrated that modifications…

PRIVATELY OWNED 37109 has been repainted into Railfreight triple grey livery with Metals Sector branding following bodywork repairs at its East Lancashire Railway base. The locomotive has been based on the ELR since first being preserved in 2007. Withdrawn by English Welsh and Scottish Railways in January 2004, it arrived on the ELR in late 2007 carrying faded and weatherworn EWS colours, which it retained for its first operating year in preservation. It was repainted into BR blue in early 2009 and has remained in this livery until being stopped for bodywork attention and a repaint last autumn. The repaint has been carried out in the ELR’s Carriage and Wagon Department workshops, at Buckley Wells in Bury, by contractors Heritage Painting. At the end of January there remained just a…

Like probably everyone else, I have a love-hate relationship with winter. In terms of my railway photography, it’s certainly one of my favourite seasons, yet in other ways it’s also one of the worst. Prolonged bad weather with shorter daylight hours and longer nights never appeals, but when snow and frost is forecast it can substantially transform the landscape at many lineside locations and, in return, give you some of the best ‘picture postcard’ moments possible for photography. Most of the images I have taken have been purposely under-exposed just in the event that highlights are not recoverable in the raw files. This probably now sounds like an outdated technique, considering the latest camera sensor, that have improved greatly from those of 10 years ago, but it is still a…

I went to the attractive Cumbrian station at St Bees originally for the DRS Class 37 locomotives that were running on the Northern service between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness at the time. Therefore, it was a nice bonus to capture 37116 and 37421 on a Network Rail monthly Carlisle to Blackpool North test train while I was there. It was a glorious summer evening, so I set myself up on the footbridge for my shot and was very pleased with the end result. The contrast between the yellow and orange of the train and the greenery all around, the hill in the background and the lovely blue sky makes this one of my favourite photographs. A return trip to St Bees for some more railway photography is on a long to-do…

A common complaint in the model railway world concerns a lack of suitable rolling stock for all the shiny new locomotives in their colourful liveries to haul. With the release of its new Class 92 just before Christmas, Accurascale has now gone some way towards alleviating this grumble by providing a full suite of Mk.5 coaches. The Caledonian Sleeper electrics can therefore now be paired with matching stock to the same high standard while, as an add-on, the TransPennine Express pushpull sets have also been produced. The latter can be partnered with all those TPE-liveried Dapol Class 68s that up to now have had little to haul. The origin of the Mk.5s dates back to 2015/16, when Caledonian Sleeper and TPE both made commitments to order new passenger stock…

LESS THAN a week ahead of the introduction of the new trains in Merseyside, Transport for Wales successfully introduced its second fleet into service. The first Stadler-built Class 231 diesel multiple unit entered service on the Rhymney Valley line from January 18. Debut day saw 231007 work the 05.46 Cardiff Central to Penarth service, before forming the 06.02 Penarth to Bargoed, the 08.03 Bargoed to Rhymney and then continuing on the route throughout the day before coming out of service at Cardiff Central at 16.01. The same diagram has continued to be operated by the Class 231s since their initial launch, although this is set to be increased in the near future, and a second Class 231 was in use on services on February 4 in connection with the Six…

TRANSPORT FOR Wales officially launched its new Class 197s at a ceremony at Llandudno in North Wales on January 26, where Class 197/0 diesel multiple unit 197007 was named Happy Valley after a competition was launched for children to choose a name for the trains. Although the Class 197/0s actually began entering traffic with TfW on November 14 last year on services between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog (Railways Illustrated issue 239), the event on January 26 marked the official launch of the new fleet, with a number of the two-coach Class 197/0s now accepted into traffic. As of the end of January, the Class 197s were only in use on three daily TfW diagrams, but this is set to be increased over the coming weeks. The new trains, which are…

DIRECT RAIL Services could offer its Class 37s for sale again – with new locomotive orders also in the pipeline. The Cumbrian freight operator says is considering once again putting its 11 remaining Class 37s up for sale with a leaseback option. The operator has also confirmed that the Class 37s will be put into warm storage for most of 2023, ahead of the start of the railhead treatment train (RHTT) season, although some of the locomotives will still see occasional use. However, three which are currently out of service – 37402 Stephen Middle-more, 37423 Spirit of the Lakes and 37424 Avro Vulcan XH558 – will not be returning to traffic with DRS, while 37407 Blackpool Tower could yet be repaired if there is a need for it. Speaking to…

GB RAILFREIGHT has stopped its Class 69 fleet to allow the locomotives to undergo improvement works. The freight operator has taken delivery of seven Class 69s, although only six have so far been used by the company. The locomotives have been completely re-engineered and rebuilt using redundant Class 56 bodyshells in a project being managed by Progress Rail’s Electro-Motive Diesel at its Longport facility. They are being fitted with replacement General Motors 12N-710GB-T2 diesel engines, along with new alternators, electrical modifications and refurbished modern cab interiors. GBRf has 16 of the locomotives on order. While GBRf has not specified the exact reason for withdrawal of the fleet, it said it should be back in service within a couple of months. A spokesperson for GB Railfreight said: “We have embarked upon a…

THE SEVEN Class 91s in store at Doncaster Belmont Yard have been released by owner Eversholt Rail for disposal, with six destined for scrapping and one for preservation. 91112/115/116/118/121/125 are to be scrapped by Sims Metals at Newport Docks. The first movement should have taken place on January 30, but issues with one of the doomed locomotives saw the move postponed by a few days, with Rail Operations Group’s 37510 Orion collecting 91112/115/125 on February 3 from Doncaster for their appointment with the scrap merchant. 91116/118/121 had yet to follow their classmates to the South Wales scrapyard as Railways Illustrated went to print, but they are likely to have been delivered before this issue goes on sale in early March. The movement of the six locomotives marks the halfway point…

Bulleids on the main line February 13 brought the unexpected sight of a trio of Bulleid-design Southern coaches back on the main line as part of a stock transfer from Carnforth to Hull. Hauled by Stanier 5MT 4-6-06 steam locomotive 44932, the stock was destined for a weeklong filming job at Paragon station, with the 5Z62 working also featuring 47804 on the rear. The three Bulleid coaches had all been hired from the Bluebell Railway and were Third Opens S1464S and S1482S, along with semi-open Brake Third S2526S, these being registered on TOPS as 99460-62 to facilitate their transfer over Network Rail metals. Also hired from the preserved line was Mk.1 RMB 1818 and the four Southern green vehicles were joined on the trip by West Coast’s own maroon Mk.1s…

New deliveries With the last batch of Wascosa FEA-Ws delivered on January 11, this was followed by the final set of new MLA ballast opens on January 30, 66726 powering 6Z67, the 03.45 Dollands Moor to Eastleigh with 81 70 5932 431-460. Two train-loads of JNA box wagons also made the journey from Dollands Moor, with January 18 seeing 92044 depart at 02.00 for Wembley with 81 70 5932 611-640, while 66726 made a similar early-hours journey on January 25 with 81 70 5932 782-806 in GBRf blue. Also for the company are new FEA-G container flats 81 70 4663 021-040, which 66760 moved as 6Z92, the 03.45 Dollands Moor to Wembley on February 4. Shirebrook latest The first shortened HYA hoppers to be completed for some months were released…

Again, the last month has been a quiet period for namings. As reported on page 12, Transport for Wales 197007 has become the first of the CAF-built two-coach trains to be named by the operator, with the unit being named Happy Valley by Year 5 pupil Tabitha Shields from Tudno School in Llandudno on January 26 at Llandudno station. Harry Needle Railroad Company’s 08799 has also gained the Ian Goddard nameplates previously carried by 20096 following its revival and repainting into HNRC orange. Mr Goddard, who died in 2016, was an active member of the now defunct South Yorkshire Railway at Meadowhall and had previously also owned Class 14s D9500 and D9525. The two de-namings listed this month both come from rolling stock being sent for scrap, with 508123’s William…

THE COSMETIC restoration of former First Great Western Class 43 HST power car 43018 at Crewe Heritage Centre has received a welcome boost thanks to train operator Great Western Railway. The heavily-stripped power car arrived at Crewe in late 2020, having been used as a spares donor at Haymarket for the ScotRail Inter-7City HST fleet. It was donated to CHC by Angel Trains, but upon delivery was found to be in much worse condition than originally stated when it was offered. However, it was decided to accept the power car and set about cosmetically restoring it (Railways Illustrated issue 232). The power car was missing its engine and most of the other main components, so it was only ever intended to be a cosmetic restoration, with the project to rejuvenate…

AN EVENT to mark the 60th anniversary of the Class 14 diesel-hydraulic locomotives is to be held on the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway next year – a decade after the groundbreaking 14s@50 celebration, which was held on the East Lancashire Railway in July 2014. The four-day event will take place from July 25-28, 2024, on the EVR’s route between Wirksworth to Duffield. The railway also features a short branch line from Wirksworth to Ravenstor, usually in use only during special events on the line. Although the final line-up of locomotives taking part is still to be confirmed, the previous reunion saw more than half of the 19 surviving examples attend. The highlight was an evening ‘beerex’ train on the Saturday of the event that was hauled by nine of the popular…

At less than a mile in length, the Colne Valley Railway, located near Halstead in Essex, is perhaps not what you might consider to be a natural habitat for a small fleet of preserved InterCity 125 high speed train vehicles – but that’s exactly what visitors can now expect to find, thanks to the efforts of a small team of volunteers. While the CVR was home to a number of Class 31s and a Class 141 Pacer a few years ago, these have long since departed, and prior to the arrival of the HST, the mainstay of the diesel fleet in recent times has been a Class 03 shunter, a twin-car Class 117 DMU and a Class 121 Bubblecar. Both the DMU and Bubblecar are owned by Pressed Steel Heritage…

I had to include a photo from my home city of Lincoln in my 10 Pictures selection. Though I do not visit the station for photography on a regular basis, it’s nice to catch a steam-hauled charter when one visits. As the station was already packed with passengers and photographers awaiting the steam special, I decided to go for a slightly different angle for my image – standing on the High Street level crossing looking back at the station. This photo, which was taken in July 2007, was before re-signalling, so the semaphore signals and High Street signalbox were still in use. Every time I see this photo, I always see something that I have missed when looking previously – and it’s certainly a busy photo. The 8F is letting…

Like many others, I love the Settle and Carlisle line for photography and, in particular, Appleby as a location. It’s a very attractive station with plenty of nice features to include in photographs. For this shot I decided to wander down the platform beyond the footbridge and take my photo from platform level. The attraction of this particular working is that you can get any combination of locomotives on this working from the DRS fleet. It also contains a variety of wagons in the consist as well. Although on this day it was a more standard locomotive and consist, it still makes for an interesting photo with the semaphore signals, signalbox, station lamps, greenery and a pleasing sky all making for what turned out to be a nice photograph.…

➔ The 30 Class 67 locomotives have enjoyed mixed fortunes since first arriving in the UK in 1999, but they are still employed on a variety of workings 24 years later. The fleet carries a range of liveries, and in the next issue we look at the various colour schemes carried by them. ➔ Based at Strawberry Hill, the Bluebell Railway’s preserved 4VEP 3417 is undergoing a comprehensive overhaul by the Southern Electric Traction Group. Andy Coward heads to Twickenham to view progress and find out more about the project. ➔ Next issue’s 10 Pictures comes from the lens of Leeds-based enthusiast and photographer David Hill, who has travelled extensively on the UK railway network behind steam and more modern traction, with both featuring equally in his selection. ➔ In…