Innehållsförteckning för October 2024 från Railways Illustrated

MID-AUGUST SAW the first planned disposal of a Class 150 Sprinter with the transfer of 150281 from Landore to Sims Metals at Newport Docks for scrapping. The unit had become the second Transport for Wales set to be removed from traffic in the spring as it was due a C6 body overhaul, an expensive repair that owner Porterbrook was not prepared to finance, given the upcoming replacement of the fleet by the Stadler-built Class 398s and Class 756s. DMS car 57281 was the first to be removed by road on August 14, with the DMSL 52281 following the next day, with both vehicles having undergone some component recovery but not as much as might be expected. The first of the fleet to be stopped, 150236, remains at Landore for now…

THE MAIN line return of Class 89 AC electric locomotive 89001 Avocet took another step closer on August 15, when it was collected from UKRL’s Loughborough Works facility by Locomotive Services Group’s Class 37 D6817 (37521) for movement to LSG’s depot at Crewe Diesel Depot ahead of its recertification. The Class 89 is owned by the AC Locomotive Group, and its operating company, Electric Traction Ltd, has been working on reviving the unique locomotive for a number of years. ETL entered into a partnership arrangement with LSG three years ago, which has seen the locomotive returned to service at UKRL in Loughborough, with 89001 taking power on all six of its traction motors for the first time in more than two decades in early July. Now that the locomotive has…

THE FIRST test train to operate along the full length of the 18-mile Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington took place on August 5, with Northern confirming that the new line would be brought into passenger us in December, rather than the summer opening that was originally proposed. The route, much of which was closed to passengers in the 1960s, has been re-established in a £298.5 million project involving the Department for Transport, Network Rail, Northumberland County Council and Northern. The first train, utilising Northern’s 158851, arrived at the new station in Ashington shortly before 09.30 on August 5, as the operator began a series of test runs and driver training on the route ahead of its opening, which is now expected to take place to coincide with the December timetable…

THE FUTURE of the disused signalbox at Par in Cornwall has been secured, with it set to be used as a training facility for Network Rail. The Grade II-listed structure, which was built in 1878, was one of three mechanical ‘boxes to be closed by the infrastructure company in March – along with those at Lostwithiel and Truro – as part of the mid-Cornwall digital signalling installation. However, the company still uses mechanical signalling in West Cornwall, with operational signalboxes at St Erth, St Blazey, Goonbarrow and Liskeard to control movements over the St Ives, Newquay and Looe branch lines. It is intended that Par will be used to help train signallers on mechanical signalling skills for those ‘boxes that still serve the region. A ceremony was held at Par…

A new round of overhead electrification testing commenced on the Midland Main Line on August 11, with Colas HST power cars 43301 and 43303 providing the traction and Europhoenix’s 91117 sandwiched in the middle of the formation for data collection. Making up the rest of the set were former CrossCountry Mk.3s 42097, 42376, 44012 and 45003, which were retrieved from store at the Severn Valley Railway on August 1 by the same HST power cars and taken to UKRL at Loughborough, where they collected the Class 91 before moving on to Leicester the next day. The coaches are now adorned with the logos of the companies involved in the project, namely Colas, Eastern Rail Services, Romic and the Powerlines Group. Over an initial two days of testing, the set made…

The rundown of the Class 507 electric multiple unit fleet on Merseyrail continues, with a further three of the remaining nine three-coach trains due to be withdrawn at the end of August, just after this issue went to print. The last nine sets which have been in service over the past few months have been 507001/003/007/010/016/017/018/023/029, with three six-coach sets generally in use on the Southport and Hunts Cross Northern Line service from Monday to Saturday. Additionally, the Class 507s have also been seeing some use on Sundays, again operating as coupled pairs, running between Southport and Hunts Cross, but regular Sunday use is expected to finish in mid-September. However, from the end of August 507010/016/017 are all due to be stood down and the current six-coach workings between Southport…

Blue/grey ‘The Jacobite’ July and August saw West Coast Railways continue to make regular use of central door locking-equipped Mk.2e/f stock hired from Riviera Trains to facilitate its charter operations centred on Carnforth and Southall. However, the use of the BR blue/grey-liveried vehicles has now spread to ‘The Jacobite,’ with Mk.2f TSOs 6024 and 6067 being hauled to Fort William by 37668 and 37518 on July 15. They were immediately formed into the set of stock used for the morning steam-hauled service to Mallaig, with the use of Mk.1 vehicles now confined to brake and buffet coaches. West Highland Pullman HST completed Newly-refurbished Mk.3 buffet 40804 was released from Eastleigh Works on August 1, having been overhauled and repainted for use in Locomotive Services’ West Highland Pullman HST set. It…

Mendip delivery The first of a new fleet of 203 HOA-B aggregate hoppers for Mendip Rail arrived through the Channel Tunnel early on August 5, with 66792 utilised for the onward transfer to Wembley. Built by Greenbrier in Poland, the new wagons are owned by VTG and finished in the company’s dark blue livery. Following arrival in North London, DB Cargo’s 66120 took over to haul 81 70 6774 076-109 to Westbury the same afternoon. The new HOAs will replace both of the existing JHA fleets, which are now deemed life-expired after more than 30 years pounding the Berks & Hants route from Whatley and Merehead to the capital. Disposals have already begun, with 37800 and 37884 hauling former Hanson JHAs ARC17916/921/929/932, ARC19806/808/817/858/877/879/893/894/898 and ARC19909/912 from Crewe South Yard to…

The two Class 43 HST power cars that will usually be paired with the Locomotive Services Group short-formed West Highland Pullman, 43050 and 43059, have had Loch Morar and Loch Shiel nameplates respectively applied by Arlington Fleet Services prior to their release from Eastleigh Works in July. Meanwhile, the latest GB Railfreight Class 60 to be repainted into the operator’s orange and dark blue colours has gained Cross Fell nameplates, making it the eighth of the 10 GBRf Class 60s to gain one of the names previously carried by the BR Class 44 Peaks. Assuming that the Peak names will be applied to all 10 GBRf Class 60s, just Great Gable and Tryfan remain uncarried. Two Class 66s were named on August 18 in connection with the 50th anniversary of…

THE PROJECT to return Peak 45132 to service on the Epping Ongar Railway took a significant step forward on August 2 when an overhauled main generator was installed into the locomotive, five years after the previous main generator failed during a test run. The Class 45/1, privately owned by preservationist Roger Bray, has not hauled a passenger train for 24 years. It suffered a main generator failure while being prepared for use during a diesel event at the Mid-Hants Railway in March 2000, as it was hauling a convoy of locomotives and coaches up the steep bank to Alton. 45132 moved to a new home at North Weald on the EOR in 2014, where restoration work has been continuing by Team 45, a group of volunteers who have been assisting…

TO COINCIDE with the first anniversary of the final operational CDA china clay wagon fleet being withdrawn from service by DB Cargo, the CDA 375030 Preservation Group unveiled its preserved wagon resplendent in the original ECC International blue colours, with the preserved wagon making two trips along the Plym Valley Railway to mark its cosmetic transformation on August 11. 375030 was bought for preservation late last year and was delivered to Marsh Mills in December. Volunteers from the owning group have since worked hard on its cosmetic restoration, recreating its appearance from when it first entered traffic in the late 1980s. While there remains some further work to do, its look has been transformed and now represents in preservationthe importantroletheCDA fleet played in transporting china clay. The fleet of 125…

THE OPERATIONAL diesel multiple units on the Midland Railway – Butterley are set to be boosted with the entry into service of Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive orange and tan-liveried Class 142 Pacer 142013, which will make its passenger debut on the railway during the line’s September 21/22 DMU Gala. The event will also see first-generation Class 108 twin-car set LO262 in use, along with second-generation 141113 and 142011, while the sole-surviving Class 100 DMU – currently undergoing restoration – will be on static display, alongside Class 114, Class 115 and Class 127 DMU vehicles also based on the MRB. The two Class 142s were purchased by DMU preservationist Evan Green-Hughes following their withdrawal by Northern and moved to the MRB. Mr Green-Hughes’s original intention was to overhaul 142013 and…

The North British Type 2 B-B Diesel Hydraulic Locomotives BR Class 22 Detailed Insights AUTHORS: Anthony Sayer PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword Publishing ISBN: 978-1-39907-827-6 PRICE: £28 WEBSITE: www.pen-and-sword.co.uk ANTHONY SAYER has carved out quite a niche for producing well-researched and detailed books looking at some of those lesser-known locomotive designs that haven’t always received the same level of attention than some of the more popular types that have been extensively written about. His latest book, published by Pen & Sword, is the second volume of a definitive study of the North British Type 2 diesel-hydraulic locomotives which were built for the Western Region of British Railway, another product of the 1955 Modernisation Plan, but which fell out of favour with BR and were rather prematurely withdrawn, with none of the locomotives surviving…

THE AWARDING of a £60 million contract to Alstom for the refurbishment of CrossCountry’s Class 220 Voyager and Class 221 Super Voyager fleets has provided a further boost to Litchurch Lane Works in Derby, which was threatened with closure just a few months ago. It was announced earlier this year that CrossCountry’s train fleet would all be refurbished, with the trains having now been in service for more than two decades. Alstom said that design work in preparation for the project has begun and the first train is expected to arrive at Derby for the start of work next year, with completion of the contract due at some point in 2027. In total, 312 Class 220/221 vehicles are to be refurbished, which encompasses the existing CrossCountry fleet and the 12…

A DECISION by CrossCountry to introduce a temporary timetable for 13 weeks between August 10 and November 9 – reducing the overall number of services operated by the Arriva-backed company during the period – was greeted by anger from Transport Secretary Louise Haigh. The operator said the service reduction is necessary due to the effects of prolonged industrial action across the rail industry, meaning they have been unable to deal with the backlog of training required by drivers which accumulated during the Covid-19 pandemic. The introduction of the temporary timetable will allow as much training as possible to be completed to reduce the backlog, according to CrossCountry, while also reducing the number of on-the-day cancellations. The operator said services will be bolstered with additional coaches wherever possible, while from November…

A SERIES of three passenger train services operated to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the opening of Drax Power Station has raised more than £30,000 to benefit Martin House Children’s Hospice. The trains, which ran on August 17, were organised in partnership with DB Cargo, GB Railfreight, Freightliner Heavy Haul and the Branch Line Society (BLS), covering areas of the power station rail network usually restricted for freight trains that work into the power station, transporting huge quantities of biomass used for electricity generation. The children’s hospice, near Wetherby in West Yorkshire, has been the official charity partner of both the BLS and also Drax Power Station for several years. More than £300,000 has been raised by the BLS through the operation of numerous fundraising trains to assist the vital…

SIR KENNETH Grange, the celebrated industrial designer who helped to transform the appearance and aerodynamics of the British Rail High Speed Train, died on July 22. His death was announced just a few days after his 95th birthday by Pentagram, the company he co-founded in 1972. Sir Kenneth, who was knighted for his services to design is 2013, was responsible for the design of many familiar household objects, such as kitchen appliances for Kenwood, irons and washing machines, typewriters, the Kodak Instamatic camera, and Anglepoise lamps. In the commercial sector he also designed pens for Parker, computers for Reuters, postboxes for Royal Mail, the London TX1 black cab and the UK’s first parking meters. However, despite this impressive list of products for which he played a significant part in their…

EXACTLY THREE years after the historic station building and canopies on Platform 1 at Troon were destroyed by a severe fire, the replacement station building has opened – just in time to greet thousands of spectators heading to the 152nd Open championships at the nearby Royal Troon Golf Club. The fire on July 17, 2021, caused extensive damage to the wooden building and the attached canopies over Platform 1. Following demolition of the damaged remains of the structure, Network Rail produced three options for its replacement, with proposals presented to the local community, council, and other stakeholders. These included a like-for-like replacement, a building that looked the same as the original on the exterior but with a different internal layout and facilities, and a more contemporary replacement structure. The chosen…

The movement of 12 long-stored former DB Cargo Class 60s from Toton to their new owner, Land Recovery, was completed in early August, two months after the first of the dozen locomotive departed from the Nottinghamshire depot. The locomotives are all unserviceable and the majority have not worked for more than 15 years. Following their transfer from Toton, the Class 60s have been moved to Land Recovery’s site at Radway Green, near Alsager, in Cheshire, where they have been positioned on track panels pending further developments on any refurbishment works to be carried out on the locomotives. Land Recovery was acquired by Aggregate Industries earlier this year. The Class 60s now stored at Radway Green are 60012/032/036/037/048/052/068/077/078/084/089/093. Originally offered for sale by DBC in November 2023, it is not known…

Networker scrapped The week commencing July 29 saw the first Class 465 Networker cars dispatched for scrap with the removal of the intermediate trailers of 465235 from Wabtec, Doncaster. Vehicles 72787 and 72788 were taken by road to the Rotherham scrapyard of CF Booth’s for processing, having been out of traffic since the autumn of 2021. The two driving motor cars from 465235, 65734 and 65784 have recently been noted in the yard at Wabtec in an extensively stripped condition and are likely to soon make the same journey. Meanwhile, sister Metro-Cammell set 465237, which was stopped at the same time, has been sold to the Romic Group. This set was transferred from storage at Ely Papworth to Great Yarmouth by road on August 5/6, a lack of gauge clearance…

Recent weeks have seen GB Railfreight-operated motive power at the forefront of much of the repaint activity, none more so than the release of 66301 from Eastleigh Works in late July finished in a gold livery to mark the 50th anniversary of Drax Power Station. Now painted in GBRf house colours are 60076, 66314 and 66315, after attention at Toton for the Class 60 and Loughborough for the 66s. Equally notable was the release of 50007 and 50049 from the Arlington workshops at Eastleigh on August 9, both having lost their GBRf blue and orange garb after five years. Both Class 50s are now finished in Large Logo blue, with 50007 returning to the ever-popular BR livery for the first time in 40 years. The emergence of 37901 from the…

Railways Illustrated is written by enthusiasts for enthusiasts, providing the latest news and developments on the national rail network and from our standard gauge heritage railways. This is the title for anyone who likes heritage diesel and electric traction and showcases some of the best railway photography around. As well as an established team of writers, we also welcome contributions from you, our readers. Take out a subscription, save cash in the process, and take your place in our fantastic railway community. ANDY COWARD, EDITOR WHICH RAILWAYS ILLUSTRATED SUBSCRIPTION SUITS YOU BEST? 1: 12-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION BEST VALUE 12 print issues for £47 Direct Debit 12 print issues for £52 credit/debit card SAVE £17 2: SIX-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION 6 print issues for £25 Direct Debit 6 print issues for £27 credit/debit card…

THE MIDLAND Railway – Butterley’s Rails and Ales mixed traction event over the weekend of July 21/22 saw DB Cargo supply recently re-geared 66654 to work services over the Derbyshire heritage railway. DBC is currently midway through a project to re-gear 10 of its Class 66 locomotives to allow them to work heavier services which were previously hauled by the freight operator’s now-withdrawn Class 60 fleet. For the event, the Class 66/6 worked in top-and-tail formation on a rake of Mk.3 HST trailers and the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust’s Mk.1 BCK 21232, with the 125 Group’s 43025 Exeter at the other end of the train, providing something of an unusual sight. LMS 0-6-0T Jinty steam locomotive 16440 and the Peak Locomotive Company’s D4 Great Gable were also in service…

THE ECCLESBOURNE Valley Railway has stated that more than 1000 visitors attended its special 60th anniversary Class 14 reunion, which saw seven of the 19 surviving locomotives brought together. The four-day event on July 25-28 was organised to mark the final workings of EVR-based D9537 prior to major overhaul. It was also originally planned that classmate D9525 would also enter service at the gala following its rebuild after changing ownership and moving to the EVR in early 2022. However, D9525 suffered a seized engine during testing earlier this year – although it is now expected that it will receive D9537’s engine while its own damaged engine is rebuilt. Joining the EVR pair were D9504 Jon Grimwood from the Kent & East Sussex Railway, D9523 from the Wensleydale Railway, 9529 from…

THE SPA Valley Railway’s gamble of bringing in three guest locomotives for its summer diesel event proved successful, with just over 1000 visitors attending the three-day event on August 2-4. As the SpVR does not have a main line connection, visiting locomotives must be brought in by road, and the cost of moving 03063 Paul A Mobbs and 33202 Dennis G Robinson from the Mid-Norfolk Railway, along with 50021 Rodney from Eastleigh Works, represented a significant expenditure for the railway. However, SpVR commercial and finance manager Jonnie Pay said that the event had been a commercial success, generating a modest profit after all costs were taken into consideration, and he was pleased with how the event was received by visitors. Mr Pay told Railways Illustrated: “It was an excellent event…

THE LEGAL ownership of East Kent Railway-based Class 457 electric multiple unit Driving Motor coach 67300 has been transferred by the Suburban Electric Railway Association to the Heritage Electric Trains Trust after the vehicle was donated to the EMU preservation charity. The arrangement is seen as being in the best interests for the future of the vehicle, which was originally secured for preservation by the SERA in 2000 and was previously located at the now-closed Electric Railway Museum in Coventry. The original purchase of 67300 was funded by the sale of shares, but no formal structure was put in place. It was decided that this could not continue in the long term, and as a registered charity, HETT was best placed to become the vehicle’s new owner. It will remain…

More than 26 years after the first locomotive landed on Immingham Docks, the Class 66/0s delivered to English Welsh & Scottish Railways (EWS) continue to dominate the rail freight sector. It’s only now that a possible replacement locomotive design is being considered, with Rail Operations Assets Ltd (ROAL) ordering tri-mode Class 93s and GB Railfreight ordering the bi-mode Class 99s, both from Stadler. These follow on from the Direct Rail Services Class 68s and 88s, along with the Class 70s used by Freightliner and Colas Railfreight. However, none of these fleets come close to the large number of Class 66s ordered by EWS. But it is also interesting that not all of the 250 Class 66/0s – which were delivered to the UK between 1998 and 2000 – remain in…

It’s somewhat unique among the surviving Class 37 fleet, but the recent repaint applied to 37901 has attracted much attention, rekindling memories of how the locomotive looked in the early 1990s and recreating a particularly popular colour scheme that is admired by many modern traction enthusiasts. Owned by spot hire company Europhoenix and based at UKRL’s depot at Leicester, 37901 is a remarkable survivor, having been withdrawn by EWS in 1998, bought for preservation, and then sold again for a main line reactivation that was subsequently cancelled, leaving it facing an uncertain future once again. Things could have ended very differently for the Mirrlees-engined Class 37/9. Even to the present day, Class 37s continue to play an important part of the modern railway, well over six decades since the first…

A TRIAL using Class 769/9 tri-mode units for freight purposes is expected to begin in September, Porterbrook has told Railways Illustrated. Two four-car 769/9s are currently at Wabtec Rail, Doncaster, where they are being prepared for the work. The units, 769935/949, arrived there in July. A Porterbrook spokesperson said: “They are for express freight conversion. The plan is for them to be released into traffic in September to start a trial with a freight operating company.” Sources suggest Freightliner will be trialling the units, although the route remains unknown. Meanwhile, two former Transport for Wales Flex units, 769002/006, have moved to Brodies at Kilmarnock. The Porterbrook spokesperson told Railways Illustrated: “The plan is certainly for them to return to operations, either in passenger or freight use, but right now I…

FREIGHTLINER HAS sold its last-remaining Class 47 locomotive, 47830 Beeching’s Legacy, to Locomotive Services Group. The two-tone green Class 47 had been used by Freightliner in recent years for rail services duties, empty stock moves, wagon moves, crew training and route learning duties. It attended the East Lancashire Railway at the end of June, although with only a handful of drivers still ‘signing’ the Class 47, as well as it now requiring mechanical attention, a decision was taken by Freightliner to sell the locomotive. As such, 47830 has become the third Class 47 to move from Freightliner to Locomotive Services, following 47811/816, although these were acquired as spares donor locomotives, with 47811 having since been scrapped. Excluding 47830, the LSG Class 47 fleet currently consists of 47501/593, 47712, 47805/810/816/828/841/853. Of…

THE ALSTOM-BUILT Class 175 Coradia diesel multiple unit fleet is set to be employed on Great Western Railway services, although a transfer date from their current storage locations has yet to be confirmed. Internal GWR documents seen by Railways Illustrated state that all 27 units – consisting of 11 two-coach Class 175/0s (175001-011) and 16 three-coach Class 175/1s (175101-116) – will be moving to the operator. Built between 1999 and 2001 and refurbished by their manufacturer from 2019 to 2021, the Angel Trainsowned fleet had most recently been leased by Transport for Wales Rail but were withdrawn last year by TfW following the introduction of new CAF-built Class 197 DMUs. The trains are all currently in store, located at either Landore or Potter Logistics facility at Ely Papworth. It…

TRANSPENNINE EXPRESS has announced that it will revert to its full timetable from this coming December after the operator reduced its services last year due to a driver training backlog, which resulted in high levels of service cancellations. TPE was brought back into the public sector by the Government in May 2023 and, speaking at an event for the media hosted by TPE and Siemens at Ardwick Depot in Manchester, TPE managing director Chris Jackson said his three priorities when he joined the business last year were to get its trains running on time, to reset internal and external relationships, and to support the massive Transpennine Route Upgrade project. Admitting that trust in TPE had been dented, he said improvements are being made by the company that have seen an…

GB Railfreight GBRf has announced that it is to lease four of the Clayton Class 18s from Beacon Rail to support its operation of infrastructure yards on behalf of Network Rail. The first of these were deployed ahead of the official announcement, with 18012 departing Wolverton Works for March Whitemoor Yard on July 15, while 18015 was unloaded at Eastleigh three days later. By early August, driver training was underway at both locations, with 18015 recorded shunting its first trains on August 13. HNRC The contract to provide a shunter at Speke Yard, Garston, for shunting automotive traffic has reverted to HNRC with a freshly-repaired 08700 arriving on Merseyside from Worksop on July 9. Previously unrecorded is the transfer of 08596 from the Stoke yard of Reid Freight Services to…

THE LONG-RUNNING rebuild and overhaul of D9015 Tulyar by the Deltic Preservation Society reached a significant moment on July 30. The preserved Class 55 Deltic was started for the first time in more than 27 years, as the mammoth restoration of the former East Coast Main Line stalwart approaches its final stages. The initial start-ups were carried out at the DPS Depot at Barrow Hill in private, with the No.1 end engine (power unit 538) the first to be started by volunteer Geoff Brain, and no problems were encountered. The engine was only run for a short time before being shut down again so that checks could be made, and the oil levels topped up. It was then restarted for about 20 minutes while further checks were made of the…

THE CLASS 50 Alliance’s main line-registered locomotives, 50007 Hercules and 50049 Defiance, have emerged from a repaint into Large Logo blue by Arlington Fleet Services at Eastleigh Works, after carrying GB Railfreight colours for the past five years. The C50A announced earlier this year that the two Class 50s would undergo corrosion and bodywork repairs before moving to Eastleigh for a repaint. While the locomotives no longer carry GBRf livery, their owner will continue to work in partnership with GBRf should the freight operator need to make use of the pair. Following the repaint, the two locomotives ran light engine from back to their home base at Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway on August 9 and were reunited with their nameplates and twinning crests. Miniature snowploughs were also fitted to…

WORK ON the cosmetic restoration of long-stored 90050 has almost been completed at Crewe Heritage Centre by the two-man team who between them have transformed several key exhibits at the Cheshire railway museum. The Class 90 – which is owned by Freightliner and was taken out of service almost two decades ago in December 2004 after suffering fire damage – has been placed on longterm loan to CHC. During its 19 years in store, the locomotive underwent extensive component recovery and was little more than a stripped shell when delivered to the heritage centre in October 2023. However, work has been underway on the Class 90 for the past 10 months by CHC volunteers Brian Porter and James Mather, who previously worked on the conservation and restoration of the Advanced Passenger…

WORK IS underway on the North Norfolk Railway to recreate one of the long-scrapped Yellow Diamond Metro-Cammell Lightweight (Met-Camm) diesel multiple units, using two preserved Class 101 vehicles that have been based on the line for the past two decades. Project lead Chris Moxon explained to Railways Illustrated that the two vehicles involved, Driving Motor Brake Standard E51228 and Driving Trailer Standard Lavatory E56062, were originally bought by the North Norfolk Railway PLC in 2003 to form a twin-car Class 101 set to replace a privately-owned Class 117 based on the line at the time. The Class 101 was seen as being more geographically appropriate to the NNR and of a design known to be maintenance-friendly. At the time the vehicles were originally being restored, it was suggested that they…

D2084 – Embsay: The small fleet of dual-braked Class 03s used on the Weymouth Quay line during the late 1960s through to 1972 had a removable oversized electric continuous alarm bell and an amber rotating light fitted over the buffer beam. The owner of D2084, once a Bournemouth (70F) locomotive, has passed on one of these historic bells and its accompanying (though currently non-functional) amber light to be reinstated on the locomotive. The orange cap is missing, and the light needs a quick fix, but it is probably a reasonably quick job to get the light working again. When the bell rings, it sounds a little bit like an old telephone, but it’s still more charming than the air horns when the locomotive enters the sheds. If anyone has information…

It’s a lovely warm summer evening and I’m heading along the West Highland Line on a Mallaig-bound ScotRail service, worked by an active-travel Class 153 and a Class 156. My destination for this particular journey is a station located very close to the highest point on the popular scenic line – or anywhere else on the UK rail network – where I’m spending the night for what could be classed as the ultimate railway enthusiasts’ getaway. While many people travelling over the stunning WHL may be heading a little further afield to the classic Scottish tourist destinations of Fort William, Glenfinnan or Mallaig, my journey from Glasgow Queen Street takes just under three hours, and I’m leaving the train at the railway station featured in some memorable scenes from the…

Accurascale released its Mk.2b coaches in 4mm scale to widespread acclaim back in the spring, these British Rail vehicles being developed alongside models of the Northern Ireland Railways versions and delivered more or less simultaneously. This synergy has now been repeated with sister brand Irish Railway Models offering sets of Mk.2b and newly-tooled Mk.2c coaches in the classic orange and black colours of Irish Rail, ahead of the BR Mk.2c packs arriving shortly. Unlike the NIR Mk.2s, which were a mixture of new builds supplemented by second-hand vehicles acquired over time, the Irish Rail Mk.2b/c were all ex-British Rail coaches. These were purchased in 1990 as part of a deal with the Leicester-based scrap merchant Vic Berry that involved withdrawn Metrovick 201 Class (ex C Class) locomotives being brought over…