Innehållsförteckning för March 2025 från Railways Illustrated

NETWORK RAIL has donated a historic plaque commemorating a royal visit to Crewe Works by King George V and Queen Mary in 1913 to Crewe Heritage Trust following signalling upgrading works on the West Coast Main Line in the area. Under the £191 million pound Basford Hall Independent Lines digital resignalling project, all train movements at Basford Hall freight depot and the lines which serve it were switched over to the Rail Operating Control centre in Manchester during the Christmas period, resulting in the closure and decommissioning of Salop Goods, Basford Hall Junction and Crewe Sorting Sidings North signalboxes. The 1913 visit to the works by the king and queen was a moment of celebration for the town and the brass plaque commemorating the visit had been displayed inside one…

ALSTOM HAS completed the £25 million refurbishment and modification of 28 four-coach Class 458 third-rail electric multiple units used by South Western Railway. The work, which has been financed by leasing company Porterbrook, took place at the Alstom Transport Technology Centre in Widnes, with each unit taking two weeks to complete. Under the project, the EMU's have had one coach removed to form four-coach trains, with the interior of the trains refurbished and the exteriors repainted into SWR's dark blue and white livery. They have also received modified wheelsets to allow them to operate at speeds of up to 100mph, whereas the previous top speed of the trains was 75mph. The final unit to be completed by Alstom was 458414, which departed Widnes to be returned to SWR following a…

A LONG-ESTABLISHED partnership between GB Railfreight and Aggregate Industries has been further cemented with a four-year contract extension that will see the freight operating company continue to move aggregate materials between Bardon Hill and the Isle of Grain. The relationship between GBRf and Aggregate Industries has been in place for more than a decade and the extended deal will see the freight operator move in excess of five million tonnes of aggregate materials over the lifetime of the contract. GBRf said that the movement of these materials by rail helps to reduce the carbon footprint of the UK's supply chains, while also helping the Government hit its 2050 net-zero obligations and its ambitions to increase goods moved by rail freight by 75% by 2050. The aggregate service removes up to…

A PROMISE made by Tyne & Wear Metro operator Nexus that one of its new Stadler-built Class 555 bi-modes would enter service in 2024 was kept when 555021 became the first of the 46-strong five-coach train fleet to work a Metro passenger service on the morning of December 18. The historic first working saw the new train work the 11.04 service between Pelaw and Monkseaton, operating via Newcastle city centre, heralding the start of a new era for the Metro system and its passengers, with the new trains due to replace the operator's elderly fleet of original Metropolitan-Cammell-built Metrocars, which have been in service since the Tyne & Wear Metro system first opened in 1980 and are now considered life-expired. Stadler is responsible for the construction and ongoing maintenance of…

NETWORK RAIL held a second rail industry summit on December 18 to give passenger user groups and the Government an update on progress on the five-point plan put in place in October to deliver key improvements to the passenger experience at Euston station in London. The event saw Rail Minister Lord Hendy and representatives from the Department for Transport, Avanti West Coast, London Northwestern Railway, Transport for London, the Office of Rail and Road, London Travel Watch and Transport Focus join Network Rail staff for a tour of the station. Senior Network Rail staff also held a round table discussion on the improvements made to the station, as well as the long-term aspirations to regenerate the Euston site in the future. The plan was developed in response to passenger feedback…

Another Class 69 has been completed, with the emergence of 69014 from Progress Rail at Longport following the conversion of another donor Class 56 for GB Railfreight. The locomotive undertook its first main line test run on December 13 from Longport to Bescot and back, with 66307 Ipswich Town provided for insurance. A second main line test took place on December 31, with the newly completed Class 69 working again from Longport to Bescot, with 66724 Drax Power Station accompanying it on this occasion. As with all the Class 69s to be completed so far, it emerged painted in light green undercoat. 69014 became the 14th locomotive to be converted, using the bodyshell and running gear of a Class 56, with 56104 having been the donor locomotive. The Class 69s…

Electrostar cascade hits early snags Despite months of preparation, none of the former Stansted Express Class 379 EMUs were deemed fit enough to enter traffic on Great Northern services from the December timetable change. Their condition has been found to be worse than expected after almost three years out of passenger use and further remedial work is required. Driver training is continuing though, and on January 10 379023 and 379029 ran from Hornsey to King's Lynn, where they will be out-based for several weeks while staff carry out the necessary conversion course. Despite the lack of Class 379s, the release of Class 387s to Southern has commenced, with 25 of the class now expected to move south of the Thames by the end of this year. This was originally planned…

THE DELTIC Preservation Society has received welcome news that the failure of one of the engines fitted inside newly-overhauled Class 55 Deltic D9015 Tulyar (55015) is not as serious as first feared, following an inspection by a specialist engineering company. The locomotive was taken out of service by the DPS in 1997 for a major overhaul, with work accelerated on the prolonged project over the past few years. With reassembly at an advanced stage, the two engines fitted inside the locomotive - power units 417 and 538 – were both successfully started in the overhauled D9015 on July 30 last year, during a private testing session conducted by DPS volunteers at their depot facility at Barrow Hill in Derbyshire. During a public start-up of the locomotive a few days later,…

THE PLYM Valley Railway held a special event at Marsh Mills station on January 5 to showcase the High Speed Train vehicles that recently moved to the Devon heritage railway. Three HST power cars – 43063/091 and 43161 – were delivered to the PVR at the end of November 2024 (Railways Illustrated issue 264) following their disposal by Great Western Railway from the nearby Laira depot. However, only 43063 is to remain on the PVR, where it will be cosmetically restored over the coming months and eventually positioned on an isolated section of track coupled to Mk.3 HST Trailer Restaurant First Buffet 40900, which has been acquired by the railway from its previous owner and is set to be restored for use as a café. 43063 does not have an…

With Heljan having worked its way through many of the BR main line diesel classes in 7mm scale, the Danish manufacturer is now taking a closer look at the neglected world of shunters for its next releases in the senior scale. Due later this year is the Yorkshire Engine Company-built Class 02 – and if that was not small enough, Heljan has gone even further by first releasing the Ruston & Hornsby 48DS. The prototype of the tiny machines was built in 1936 at Ruston's Lincoln works and featured a 44hp Lister engine, works number 177530, going new to the H J Heinz factory in Willesden. As the first of the design, it featured a different style of engine cover and fuel tank to those that followed, this being based…

PUBLICLY-OWNED TRAIN operating company Northern has invited a number of train builders to begin negotiations for the supply a large number of new trains to operate its services. It is part of a phased fleet replacement programme which could eventually see up to 450 new trains built for the train operator. The manufacturers approached by Northern in the ‘Invitation to Negotiate’ step in the procurement process are Alstom, CAF, Hitachi, Siemens and Stadler. The train operator said the trains will all be new, rather than cascaded, and will incorporate the latest technologies designed to meet the present-day needs of passengers, as well as delivering higher levels of comfort, reliability and satisfaction. Delivery timescales have not yet been fully developed, but the operator has set bidders challenging targets for delivery as…

THE NEW Year Honours list has seen a number of railway staff recognised for their work. Heading the list is Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines, who received a knighthood. He was previously one of the youngest leaders of South West Trains and is credited with transforming the franchise, achieving significant improvements in punctuality of SWT services. He joined Network Rail as chief executive in 2018, with the infrastructure company achieving its best ever levels of safety under his leadership. Sir Andrew said: “I am incredibly honoured to receive this award. It's not every day a boy from a comprehensive school in Merthyr Tydfil, or indeed anyone from the railway, is recognised in this way, so it is immensely humbling. It's a tribute to the work of the many thousands…

EAST COAST Main Line operator LNER has unveiled another special livery and name on one of its Hitachi Class 801 Azuma electric multiple unit trains to mark the start of the 2025 Railway 200 and S&DR200 Festival celebrations commemorating the first passenger journey on the Stockton & Darlington Railway. The Azuma has been named Darlington with the wording ‘Driving innovation for 200 years’ beneath the main name on driving vehicle 829207, with the vehicle also incorporating the S&DR200 and Railway 200 logos on the bodysides. The special vinyls are coloured orange in a nod to the British Railways North Eastern regional colours. Behind the main Darlington name is a collage of images depicting the history of the S&DR, including Locomotion No. 1, the first locomotive to haul passengers on the…

THE SCOTTISH Government has confirmed that it has instructed ScotRail to procure a replacement fleet of trains for the Inter7City services currently operated on routes between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness using 25 short-formed High Speed Train sets. The government's intention to do so was announced last summer, but few details were released at the time (Railways Illustrated issue 261). However, in a response to a written question about the plan submitted by Aberdeen Central Scottish National Party MSP Kevin Stewart, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop MSP confirmed on December 17 that a contract notice had been published on Public Contracts Scotland, with a more detailed delivery timeline expected to be made available at the point the contract is awarded. The replacement fleet aims to provide a…

NETWORK RAIL has launched a consultation into plans to remodel its station at Manchester Oxford Road, designed to allow the station to accommodate longer trains, while proposed track and signalling alterations will help reduce congestion by removing conflicting train movements. The Manchester Oxford Road Station Remodelling Scheme proposal includes reconfiguring the platform layout to leave a total of three platforms, but with the two through-platforms lengthened to accommodate eight-coach trains, while a new turn-back platform will be suitable for use by six-coach trains, with each platform increased in capacity by two coach lengths from their current configuration. This would allow for increased capacity through the station, while the track and signalling improvements would increase flexibility of train movements and allow an increase in services from 12 to 14 trains per…

The entry into service of Sheaf Engineering Services’ newly-overhauled 37402 Oor Wullie in December is the tenth of the popular and versatile Class 37/4 sub-fleet to return to the main line. Bought from Direct Rail Services at the end of 2023, 37402 has undergone a comprehensive mechanical overhaul and bodywork corrosion repairs, along with a refresh of its Large Logo blue paintwork, before it returned to action during December, being hired to Colas Rail Freight for use on Network Rail test train workings. There are 13 Class 37/4s remaining out of the original 31 modified by British Rail in the mid-1980s and equipped with electric train heat capability. The main operator of the sub-fleet in recent years has been Direct Rail Services, but the company sold its final Class 37s…

CLASS 150 6/1 – 150275 5Q94 09.58 Neville Hill-Long Marston, for C6 overhaul and corrosion repairs. 7/1 – 150237 Landore to Unimetals, Newport by road. 8/1 – 150230 Landore to Unimetals, Newport by road, both this and 150237 for scrap after component recovery. 9/1 – 150279 returned to traffic with Transport for Wales after repairs to the fire damage sustained at Craven Arms in May 2022. The set had initially returned to Canton from Landore in October last year but required further work. CLASS 153 18/12 – The second of the Transport for Wales ‘Active Travel’ conversions, 153552, was released from Landore on a test run, the former 153352 accompanying the first conversion 153531 on a 3Z0007.12 Landore-Crewe via Hereford outing and 3Z01 11.00 return. CLASS 156 15/12 – 156478…

THE HEAVY Tractor Group's 37714 Cardiff Canton was due to leave its Great Central Railway base on January 28, just after this issue went to press, to receive a programme of maintenance at Loram UK in Derby. A great deal of the work, which is expected to take about 12 weeks to complete, will be carried out by HTG volunteers, with the assistance of Loram's extensive specialist facilities. HTG was formed in 2015 when a group of GCR volunteers reached agreement with Direct Rail Services to loan 37714 for use on the East Midlands heritage railway. Arriving at the railway in spring 2016, it made its passenger debut during the April diesel event that year. The first link between the HTG and Loram took place when 37714 moved to Derby…

THE DIESEL & Electric Preservation Group has raised more than £10,000 towards the bodywork overhaul and repaint of Class 35 Hymek locomotive D7017 in preparation for celebrations planned later this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its preservation on the West Somerset Railway in 1975, which remains its home base half a century later. D7017 is one of four Class 35s to survive in preservation out of the original 101 locomotives that made up the BR Western Region Hymek diesel-hydraulic fleet, with classmate D7018 also owned by the DEPG and based at the WSR, while D7029 is owned by the Diesel Traction Group and undergoing an extensive overhaul at Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway. The Bury Hydraulic Group operate and maintains D7076 on the East Lancashire Railway. A…

HASTINGS DIESELS is to return a second Class 201/202 ‘Thumper’ Diesel-Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) to the main line following the unveiling of two overhauled vehicles during the festive period, with a third well on the way to completion. Notably, this eventual four-car formation will be finished in BR blue and grey, with Driving Motor Brake Standard (DMBS) 60000 Hastings giving a flavour of what's to come when it undertook its first main line outing in 20 years on January 8. The past 12 months have seen the motor coach reactivated and it has undergone an extensive overhaul at St Leonards, receiving bodywork, mechanical and electrical repairs, along with the fitting of controlled emission toilets, central door locking, a GSM-R (Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway) digital radio and OTMR…

FORMER IRISH Rail steam heat boiler van 3178 has been given a cosmetic overhaul by the Great Central Railway and now carries BR blue with its original Mk.1 BSK identity of 34590 reapplied. This is the last survivor of the five boiler vans returned to the UK in 2007 following withdrawal, the rest having been scrapped over the intervening years. The coach is operational and made its debut in its new guise on December 28 behind 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier. The vehicle was also in service on the New Year's Eve Night Rider event, where it was used to provide train heat to the Mk.1 rake of stock worked in top-and-tail formation with Class 37 D6700 at the Leicester end and BR Standard 5 steam locomotive 73156 at the Loughborough…

Investing in the maintenance, repairs and heavy overhauls for preserved diesel locomotives is essential for their long-term viability and survival, with many of those locomotives currently in the heritage sector having been preserved for far longer than they were in service with British Rail or the privatised rail companies that succeeded it in the mid-1990s. With the majority of our heritage railways unable to offer much in the way of covered accommodation for diesel locomotives when not in use, the ravages of time and the dramatically changing UK climate are generally not kind to them. Added to that, maintenance facilities for working on diesel locomotives can often be rather sparse and over time these precious machines deteriorate, with rain, condensation and dust always managing to find their way in, no…

Railway photography for me is about two things: a record for capturing a point in time to preserve a memory and an art form to create a great-looking image. Sometimes for me that is to recreate an essence of how things used to be. I'm always looking out for a composition that takes me back to when I was young, particularly the early 1980s. I like the challenge of capturing an image that looks almost like it could have been taken in the past. This is hard because modern details creep into the scene. It requires a suitable subject, an appropriate backdrop, often some tight composition to exclude modernity, and some compromises. It's rarely going to be a perfect recreation of the past, but it is great fun trying to…

GB RAILFREIGHT announced in mid-January that the first of 30 Class 99 hybrid locomotives has been moved by road from train builder Stadler's Valencia factory in Spain to the test track facility at Velim in the Czech Republic. There, 99001 will undergo a rigorous programme of testing and commissioning prior to the locomotive being delivered to the UK, with it expected to arrive in early summer. The Class 99 is capable of being powered using diesel fuel or overhead electrification and is seen as a possible long-term replacement design for the Class 66, which is the most widely-used locomotive type in use with in the UK rail freight industry. They are the first heavyhaul freight locomotive design capable of moving significant volumes at main line speeds on both electrified and…

SOUTHEASTERN'S FLEET of Class 376 electric multiple units are to be refurbished under a project being conducted in association with Alstom and leasing company Eversholt Rail. The Class 376 fleet is made up of 36 five-coach EMUs – numbered 376001-376036 – and they were built by Bombardier under the Electrostar brand and originally introduced into service in 2004. Southeastern said the midlife refurbishment of the fleet, which will be completed by Alstom, will help enhance the passenger experience of the trains and improve operational efficiency on its busy Metro services. Work on the exteriors of the Class 376s has already begun at Ashford Maintenance Centre and includes the application of Southeastern's attractive dark blue livery, as well as the fitting of LED lighting improvements to the Electrostars, with an expectation…

AS REPORTED in issue 264, the Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington opened to Northern services on December 15, 2024, bringing the previously freight-only line back into passenger use for the first time in more than 60 years. However, only two of the six stations being built for the 18-mile route were ready to welcome passengers from the reintroduction date. The £298.5 million Northumberland Line project has been spearheaded by Northumberland County Council and delivered in conjunction with the Department for Transport, Network Rail and Northern. For the opening, which took effect from the December timetable change, services were only able to call at the new stations built at Seaton Delaval and Ashington, as construction work on the other four new stations is not yet complete. While it is planned…

EAST COAST Main Line principal operator LNER opened its second dedicated family lounge at York station on December 16, following the success of a similar facility at London King's Cross station which opened last year. Located on the main concourse at York, the lounge is a welcoming space for families who are travelling with any train operator that serves the station, not just for LNER passengers. It features a children's play area based on York's historic walls, has beach huts with tabletop games, wall games, soft flooring and crawl spaces, and murals that focus on York's landmarks and the city through the ages. There is also space for parents and carers to relax, featuring sofas, wooden benches and coffee tables, as well as a comfortable area for breastfeeding. The Railway…

Austrian rail infrastructure construction company Swietelsky AG confirmed it had acquired 100% of the shares of Harry Needle Railroad Company on January 15 for what was described as an ‘eight-figure sum’. HNRC is along-established provider of maintenance, repair and rental services for locomotives and rail vehicles in the UK, operating out of a state-of-the-art 14 hectare facility in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, with a second dedicated maintenance facility at Barrow Hill, Derbyshire. The company employs more than 30 people and Swietelsky said that in the 2023/24 financial year, HNRC generated an operating performance of about nine million euros. Last June it was announced that up to 26 locomotives belonging to HNRC could be used by Swietelsky after an agreement was signed for the provision of main line locomotives and access to heavy…

The hire of the Class 50 Alliance's main line-registered 50007 Hercules has continued, with the Large Logo Class 50 employed on regular movements of Great Western Railway Mk.3 Night Riviera sleeper coaches between Reading Depot and Arriva Traincare at Eastleigh, where the coaches are having their GWR paintwork refreshed following a programme of C6 overhauls on the stock. The moves have been happening on a regular basis, with the preserved Class 50 usually taking a Mk.3 coach from Reading for repainting, before returning later in the day hauling a freshly repainted vehicle. As this issue of Railways Illustrated was being prepared, 50007's hire came to an end and it was due to return to its base at Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway, with Hanson&Hall Rail Services Solutions classmate 50008…

Yarmouth investment Eastern Rail Services has created a covered work area using scaffolding and sheeting at its base at Great Yarmouth's Vauxhall Carriage Sidings. This is large enough to accommodate a couple of coaches out of the elements while they are worked on. The first beneficiaries were Mk.2f RFO 1220, Mk.2e BUO 9805 and Mk.3a sleeper 10699 as they were prepared for a filming contract on the West Somerset Railway during January. All three were repainted into the teal Caledonian Sleeper livery with fictitious Highland Sleeper branding applied to match Mk.2f lounge car 6703, which already carried the livery. The quartet was hauled away to Bishop Lydeard by 37423 on January 6, before returning to its east coast base 13 days later. Now receiving major attention at Yarmouth are Mk.2f…

New wagons Freightliner has ordered anew fleet of 76 aggregate box wagons to be built by WH Davis at Shirebrook. These will be similar to the existing MWA boxes but feature a new, lighter body design to maximise payload and once again use bogies, brake equipment and other components recovered from stored HHA coal hoppers. To be owned by Porterbrook, construction of the wagons is due to begin in March with completion due by the autumn. The first batch of donor hoppers were moved to Shirebrook from York on December 9 to be stripped for parts, with 66502 delivering 370031/037, 370111/ 124/138/162/166/168/179/183/194 and 370208/221/231/232/236. WH Davis is also to build 16 internal user wagons for Celsa for use at its Cardiff steelworks for the conveyance of hot billets. These will…

THE SEVERN Valley Railway is seeking approval from its shareholders and members to reorganise the three separate companies that currently make up the SVR to create a ‘One Railway’ structure. At the present time, the SVR is owned and operated by the Severn Valley Railway (Holdings)plc, while the Severn Valley Railway Company Ltd is the organisation responsible for membership matters and providing volunteer resources for the 16-mile Kidderminster to Bridgnorth line. The railway also has an affiliated registered charity, the Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust. The SVR described the restructure “as a bold and essential move which will bring multiple benefits.” Under the plan, SVR(H) will be converted into a Charitable Community Benefit Society (CCBS), which will then amalgamate with the SVRCL. The SVRCT board is supportive of the plan…

THE EAST Lancashire Railway's low-key Open House day on January 18 proved to be hugely successful, with more than 650 visitors attending the railway to travel behind some of the line's shunting locomotives on a truncated three-mile service between Bury Bolton Street and Summerseat. The event, organised as part of the Railway 200 celebrations, concentrated on the ELR headquarters at Bury rather than the whole railway, featuring Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 1969 Jane Derbyshire and LMS ‘Pug’ 0-4-0 11243 steam locomotives, diesel shunting locomotives ex-Manchester Ship Canal 4002 Arundel Castle, Class 01 11506, Class 03 D2062, 08164 Prudence, 08479 and 09024, and ex-CEGB English Electric battery locomotive 1378 also added to the line-up for a rare appearance on a passenger service. The locomotives were used on an hourly service between Bury…

THE CHANGING fortunes for the two Class 309 electric multiple vehicles belonging to 309624 has seen the first top coat gloss applied to Driving Trailer Composite 75965, which is being repainted into Network SouthEast colours at the East Anglian Railway Museum at Chappel and Wakes Colne in Essex. The distinctive blue, white, red and grey colours were applied to a section of the DTC in December to highlight the on going restoration work being done to the unit which, at this time last year, was under the threat of possible scrapping. The restoration work is being carried out by EARM volunteers, supported by volunteers from the Clacton Express Preservation Group, and has been aided greatly by the provision of undercover accommodation to allow for bodywork repairs and other conservation work…

03119 – Lydney: The group aiming to restore the Burry Port & Gwendreath Valley Railway to passenger use has acquired its fourth locomotive and its second Class 03. 03119 was acquired after a lengthy spell based at the Epping Ongar Railway. The BPGVR was famous for its reduced clearance on a number of bridges, which meant a batch of Class 03s had to have their cabs and exhausts reduced in height to enable them to work on the line. 03119 was one of those modified and will join similarly reduced 03141 at the line, as well as two of the Class 08/09s that were replacements for the 03s in the mid-1980s. Presently, the BPGVR line owns 08994/995 03119, and the other modified Class 03s also had multiple working capability (enabling…

It's now more than 30 years since the Class 50s were eradicated from British Rail, but a project devised by BR in the mid-1980s as the English Electric Type 4s were facing a far from certain future could have seen a number of them retained and employed on heavy freight workings. December 1986 brought welcome news regarding a possible development that would have seen some of the Class 50 fleet taken on by BR's Railfreight sector. This would have potentially meant that the service life of at least 10 of the locomotives would be extended at a time when they would no longer be needed for high-speed passenger workings elsewhere on the network. A proposal had been put forward to modify one Class 50 as a trial, with the chosen…