Innehållsförteckning för April 2025 från Railways Illustrated

AS MENTIONED in our Welcome page, Railways Illustrated editor Andy Coward left the title following completion of this issue to return to the light rail sector, having been appointed operations improvements manager on West Midlands Metro to help prepare the tramway for its forth coming expansion. Taking over is experienced magazine editor, author and journalist Pip Dunn, who previously edited this magazine between 2006 and 2015, and who has remained a columnist and contributor ever since relinquishing the editor’s role a decade ago. The incoming editor said: “It really is a privilege to be returning as editor of Railways Illustrated a decade on since I stepped down. Andy has done a fantastic job over the last few years in retaining its place as the best railway journal for those interested…

EAST MIDLANDS Railway has enhanced its passenger facilities at London St Pancras International station, with its ticket office relocated and additional ticket barriers provided to help improve passenger flow at the station. The relocated ticket office – which has been installed on the concourse close to Platforms 1-4 at the station – also includes a passenger assistance lounge, providing a dedicated waiting area for passengers requiring assistance or advice. An accessible toilet and baby changing amenities have also been provided. Additionally, EMR has installed five extra single ticket gates and two wide-aisle gates, allowing the operator to speed up passenger boarding of trains and enabling faster exits during busy periods. The work on the additional barriers was carried out over Christmas while the Midland Main Line was closed for-engineering works.…

NEXUS HAS outlined its plans for the continued rollout of its new £362 million Stadler Class 555 fleet, which is currently being introduced into service on the Tyne and Wear Metro network. The first of the 46-strong five-coach train fleet entered service on the Metro system on December 18, when 555021 was officially launched into passenger service by North East Mayor Kim McGuinness, with one daily diagram worked by the new trains each week-day in December and January. It was originally planned that the first of the new trains would enter service before the end of 2023, but the amount of testing and commissioning required saw this target delayed by about a year. Stadler is responsible for their construction and ongoing maintenance, with 13 Class 555s delivered to Metro’s Gosforth…

The latest project to re-engineer a Class 08 was publicly demonstrated for the first time at Kidderminster on the Severn Valley Railway on January31. Dubbed the HydroShunter, the scheme to re-power 08635 is a collaboration between Vanguard Sustainable Transport Solutions and the SVR and is the culmination of four years of work to date. The first stage of the rebuild saw the shunter converted to battery power, with charging carried out via a shore-supply. Ultimately, it will be fitted with a hydrogen fuel cell to charge the batteries while it is in operation. This work will be the next phase of the conversion, with Vanguard having already obtained the fuel cell. The SVR acquired 08635 from the Stockton scrapyard of TJ Thomson in April 2007, originally to serve as aparts…

Following much speculation in recent months about the future of the freight locomotives, Colas Rail Freight has stored three of its Class 56s, with 56087/094/096 all officially removed from service with the operator at the end of January. While both 56087 and 56096 had been out of traffic for some time at Boden Rail Engineering’s depot at Colwick, Nottingham, 56094 was operational but in need of an overhaul, the funding for which has not been approved.56094 was temporarily reinstated a week later on February 5, due to a short term traction shortage. Colas’s remaining operational fleet of Class 56 sconsists of 56049/051/078/090, 56105/113 and 56302, while the freight company also has Class 37s and Class 43 HST power cars, Class 66s and a pair of Class 67s in its locomotive…

CLASS 150 21/1 – 150253 5Z53 08.00 Cardiff Canton-Landore, withdrawn as due C6 overhaul. 31/1 – 150261 5V83 11.40 Wolverton-Exeter, ex-C6 overhaul. 1/2–150219 5H70 08.26 Exeter-Wolverton, for C6. CLASS 158 15/2 – 158754 5E17 10.34 Kilmarnock Bonnyton-Neville Hill, ex-C6 overhaul. 16/2 – 158755 5S08 10.49 Neville Hill-Kilmarnock Bonnyton, for C6. CLASS 175 27/1 – 37901 + 175009 + 37510 7Q84 11.03 Ely Papworth-Laira. 29/1 – 37510 + 175006 + 37901 7Q46 06.04 Landore-Ely Papworth, last Class 175 to be removed from Wales. 4/2 – 37800 + 175010 + 37901 7Q84 11.03 Ely Papworth-Laira, move cancelled at Leicester due to unit defect and shunted onto depot. CLASS 180 30/1 – 37901 + 180113 + 37510 7Q36 21.54 Ely Papworth-Alstom, Widnes. CLASS 318 6/2 – 37884 + 318251 5Q08 10.21 Shields-Kilmarnock Bonnyton,…

The most notable repaint activity in recent weeks has centred on the unit fleet, with 465908 emerging from Wabtec, Doncaster, in early February returned into Network SouthEast colours, albeit with pale grey doors to comply with current day accessibility regulations. The Southeastern unit is expected to play a part in Alstom’s The Greatest Gathering event at Litchurch Lane in Derby in August and will also serve as a tribute to the Networker sastheir rundown intensifies. At Arriva Traincare’s Crewe facility, 170101 has become the first recipient of the revised red and grey Cross-Country livery as its refurbishment neared completion in mid-February. Also at the Cheshire depot, 168001 has joined classmate 168003 in the revised, predominately blue, Chiltern Railways livery after under going a refresh of its own. Three further Class…

THE DELTIC Preservation Society is celebrating the first powered movements of preserved Class 55 Deltic D9015 Tulyar at its Barrow Hill base on February 15 – almost 28 years since the locomotive last turned a wheel under its own power. The locomotive was taken out of service at its previous home base on the Midland Railway–Butterley in April 1997 for a major overhaul. However, for a number of reasons the overhaul has taken far longer for its owning group to complete than was ever envisaged. Now based at the DPS Depot facility at Barrow Hill, the society has been progressively working on rebuilding Tulyar for the past few years, with a dedicated team of volunteers actively involved. With its restoration reaching an advanced stage, the two Napier Deltic power units…

NORTH WEST Rail Charters are running an evening photographic charter on the Churnet Valley Railway on March 16, using visiting Waterman Railways Heritage Trust Class 25 D7659. The evening will run between 6pm and 9.30pm with BR green D7659 posed in and around Froghall station on a rake of maroon Mk.1 coaches fora 1960s recreation. The event is restricted to a maximum of 25 photographers and the cost of the event is £45, with pre-booking essential. The Class 25 – which is usually based at Rowsley South on Peak Rail – is currently on hire to the CVR where it has been used to supplement the resident locomotive fleet, assisting with the railway’s Polar Express services before Christmas, as well as being used to haul works trains over the…

FORMER NORTHERN Rail Class 142 second-generation Pacer diesel multiple unit 142035 was disposed of from the Wensleydale Railway in late January with a road move for both cars to the Bishop Auckland yard of J Denham Metals for scrapping. The set arrived at the line under its own power in June 2020, as one of a number of Pacer derivative DMUs to be moved to the North Yorkshire heritage railway. 142035 was operational when it arrived on the railway and made its passenger debut on September 10, 2022, although this reinstatement was only ever intended as a temporary stay of execution. The owner of the unit, the North Yorkshire Pacer Group, had always intended to use 142035 as a spares donor to aid the ongoing preservation of classmates 142018 and…

RETRO RAILTOURS owner James Palmer has purchased two-car 101680, which has been out of traffic for several years and which the North Yorkshire Moors Railway had previously announced would be stripped for spares before being scrapped. 101680 was one of the last Class 101s to remain in main line use with First North Western until its withdrawal from Longsight Depot at the end of 2003. The set consists of Driving Motor Brake Standard 50204 and Driving Motor Composite Lavatory 51511 and was purchased for preservation on the NYMR. Returned to service in May 2005, it remained in use there for almost eight years before being retired in need of an overhaul in January 2013. The arrival of 101685 on the NYMR in 2014 saw the requirement to overhaul 101680 fall…

D9525 – Wirksworth: The defective generator has been swapped out with an overhauled replacement. However, this is not as straight forward as it sounds, as the B-end roof section needed to be removed, before also removing the B-end front section, then finally taking the brake frame out before clear access to the generator was possible. Once cleared, the area was given a quick clean before the new generator was then lifted into place, with the alignment checked and then fully bolted down. The brake frame was then lifted back into position and also bolted to the frames, with the front section then refitted before, finally, the roof section was refitted. More progress was made on the locomotive’s overhaul in mid-January. The main engine bay roof has been unbolted ready to…

Shortly after this issue hits the news stands in early March, the Heavy Tractor Group’s 37714 Cardiff Canton will return to the Great Central Railway at Loughborough after a six-and-a-half-week stay in Derby, courtesy of Loram UK.Sparkling in a freshly-applied coat of BR Trainload Metals triple grey, the immaculate locomotive should soon be back in service on GCR passenger services and works trains on the heritage line between Loughborough Central and Leicester North. But its short stay at Derby has been far more than just a simple repaint, and the unique partnership between the HTG and Loram continues to bear fruit for both organisations. As a heritage railway, the GCR almost has it all. A varied collection of large ex-BR steam and diesel locomotives, attractive stations and signalboxes, a short…

Although far smaller than the London Underground network, the 4ft-gauge Glasgow Subway is a popular underground railway, responsible for transporting thousands of passengers around the Scottish city every day. The ‘Clockwork Orange’ – as locals affectionately know it – runs for 10 miles in a circular route, serving 15 stations in the West End and city centre, with eight stations to the north of the River Clyde and seven located south of the river. Until last summer, the network was served by a train fleet consisting of 33 individual motor cars, numbered 101-133, built-by-Metro-Cammellat Wash wood Heath in the West Midlands between 1977 and 1979. These were later joined by eight trailer vehicles, numbered 201-208, which were built in 1992 to provide additional capacity for the popular subway. However,…

AMERICAN-OWNED RAILWAY engineering company and train maintainer Wabtec has confirmed that it is looking to close its facility at Doncaster in South Yorkshire once it has fulfilled its current contracted workload at the site. The company operates out of the former wagon works at the Doncaster Works facility, where it carries out maintenance work on railway coaches, wagons and multiple units, as well painting and wheel lathe services. The works is prominently located adjacent to Doncaster railway station on the East Coast Main Line, with the area also being a hub for freight operating companies. It is understood that a skilled workforce of about 400 employees are employed at Doncaster and that Wabtec has entered into consultation with staff affected by the decision. Some may be redeployed to other UK sites…

DB CARGO UK has been awarded a new royal warrant by King Charles III, allowing the freight operator to continue maintaining and operating the Royal Train. The company – under the ownership of Deutsche Bahn and its predecessor, Wisconsin Central-owned English Welsh & Scottish Railway – has now held its warrant continuously since rail privatisation, the renewal marking more than 30 years of continuous service to the royal household. The Royal Train is maintained at Wolverton, and DB Cargo has two Class 67 locomotives – 67005 Queen’s Messenger and 67006 Royal Sovereign – that are painted in a matching Royal Plum livery. DB Cargo also confirmed in its February 10 announcement that both locomotives will now have their Queen Elizabeth II royal cyphers removed, with replacements fitted to reflect the…

CUMBRIAN FREIGHT operating company Direct Rail Services has started a new trial rail service between Teesport and Trafford Park in Manchester, with the first services running in early February. The new service is the first to be operated on the route and uses ultra-low IDA wagons, which allow the use of standard high-cube containers, opening up the route to new customers and products that can be moved by rail. The trial will initially run for up to 12 weeks and if successful it will then be adopted as a permanent rail flow. The service will operate from the PD Ports-owned terminal in Teesport and demonstrates the collaborative work which is going into diversifying supply chains and improving their environmental credentials. Gottfried Eymer, managing director forrailat Nuclear Transport Solutions, DRS’s parent…

THE ALSTOM event held at Derby Litchurch Lane to launch The Greatest Gathering also saw Avanti West Coast temporarily renumber Class 390/0 nine-coach Pendolino 390016 as 390200, naming it Railway 200 in celebration of the historic anniversary. The revised number is prominently displayed on the cab sides, while the Railway 200 logos are positioned on the cab fronts directly below the driver’s windscreen, and the electric multiple unit’s correct original fleet number is still featured on the upper section of the yellow warning panels on the cab front. This is a temporary measure, but the Pendolino is expected to carry the identity throughout the year. It remains officially 390016 on operating diagrams worked by the train. It is intended to be used by the operator in various initiatives this year…

Following successful trials of Positive Traction’s prototype 08e battery shunting locomotives at Whatley Quarry in Somerset last year, Heidelberg Materials has ordered one of the locomotives from the company. Heidelberg hosted the prototype 08e locomotive, 08308, at its Somerset quarry facility for two weeks of trials in October, where the battery locomotive was put through its paces and its performance monitored on a range of loads and gradient workings. The prototype 08e used for the testing was configured with two PTPowerpod battery pods, which delivered sufficient power to haul morethan 1000 tonnes up the steepest gradients with some headroom. Heidelberg has now supplied 08296 from its fleet as the recipient to be converted by Positive Traction into its first zero-emission battery shunting locomotive, which will support internal rail operations at…

Yarmouth arrivals The Eastern Rail Services Mk.3 stock employed on the latest Class 93 test runs between Crewe and Carlisle was transferred to Castle Donnington on February 1 and then continued onwards to Great Yarmouth 10 days later. 37901 was in sole charge of the second working, returning 10229, 10413, 11078/095, 12021/064/091/098 and 82306. On February12, the Mirrlees-engined Type 3set out for Ely Papworth with the Mk.2f trio of 5919, 6046 and 9525 to act as barrier coaches to collect HST trailers 40715, 40734, 42024, 42506 and 42584. The consist then headed back to Yarmouth later that afternoon, but5919 subsequently derailed on one bogieas the train was shunted into the carriage sidings. Recovery was carried out over night, with the move completed the following morning. Meanwhile, recently acquired Mk.2f FO…

The current period of review has featured just two namings to report in recent weeks. Firstly, Avanti West Coast Class 390/0 Pendolino 390016 was named Railway 200 at Alstom’s Litchurch Lane facility in Derby on January 30 during a launch event for the media and invited guests, held by the train builder to preview plans for The Greatest Gathering (see page 14). The other naming to report this month is the transfer of the Driver Jack Mills nameplates by DB Cargo from stored electric locomotive 90036 and onto newly-repainted 66126 at Toton depot, following an approach to the freight operator by Railways Illustrated columnist and incoming editor Pip Dunn. The Class 66 is one of five locomotives recently returned to the operator following a five-year hire period to Direct Rail…

THE LATEST photo charter to be organised under the Northern Diesel Photo Charters banner by Railways Illustrated columnist Chris Gee took place on January 31 at the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway. The evening session featured an engineering train recreation consisting of a small number of Grampus and Dogfish wagons loaded with ballast and new sleepers. Eastern Rail Services 31452 was employed to haul the train along the Yorkshire Dales heritage railway, as well as also serving as the focal point of the charter, provided for the evening courtesy of its owners. The Class 31 has been on loan to the E&BASR for the past few months in connection with a filming contract, with it expected that the locomotive will return to its home base at Vauxhall Carriage Sidings…

CROMPTON 33109 Captain Bill Smith RNR played a leading part in the East Lancashire Railway Winter Diesel Day on February 8, with the Departmental grey locomotive working its final services on the Heywood to Rawtenstall line prior to withdrawal for a major overhaul. The popular locomotive has been a consistent performer on the railway for the past 17 years and is owned by a consortium of ELR volunteers, many of whom are also connected with the other Class 33/1 based on the line, the currently under-overhaul 33117. However, as 33109 now requires significant bodywork and mechanical attention, the decision has been taken to take it out of service to allow this work to get underway. It is now planned that the locomotive will undergo much-needed attention, and it is unclear as…

THE LLANGOLLEN Railway diesel fleet is being boosted with the arrival of Class 14 diesel-hydraulic locomotive D9525, which is relocating to the North Wales heritage railway from the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway in Derbyshire on an initial year-long loan. It was expected that the locomotive would be delivered to Llangollen at the end of February, after this issue had gone to press, with it expected to see regular use between Llangollen and Corwen throughout the 2025 operating season. If the visit is deemed a success, there is an option for the loan period to be extended. D9525 is operational, having returned to service on the EVR last autumn, although it has been undergoing some maintenance work over the winter and is currently having its rods refurbished, with these expected to be…

THE CLASS 507 Preservation Society has finally taken formal ownership of pioneer former Merseyrail three coach Class 507 electric multiple unit 507001 following its withdrawal in November last year. The 1978 BR-built EMU departed Birkenhead North depot on January 23, hauled by Rail Operations Group’s 37884 Cepheus. The unit was hauled along with 507029 – the only other Class 507 remaining on the Merseyrail network – to Unimetals at Newport Docks, where the three coaches from the preserved unit were split by members of the owning group before being loaded onto three road trailers. The following day, 507001 moved from Newport to Allelys yard, near Redditch, where it remained over the weekend, before completing its road transfer to Alstom’s site at Litchurch Lane in Derby. It is being stored on…

The news that the off-lease former Transport for Wales Class 175 diesel multiple units are to be taken on by Great Western Railway for use on regional services looks certain to finally bring almost half a century of High Speed Train passenger operations on the Western Region to an end, with the few remaining short-formed Castle Class HSTs likely to now be in their final year of operation. First introduced into service on the Western Region in 1976, the HST is one of the most successful train designs to come from the British Rail era, with few other designs enjoying such levels of longevity. The classic lines of the trains, devised by renowned and celebrated designer Sir Kenneth Grange, has gone on to become a design icon, which still looks…

Accurascale has now completed its two-part project to fill the last significant gap in the range of OO gauge ready-to-run Mk.2 coaches. Last spring saw the manufacturer deliver the Mk.2b design, and this has now been followed up with the closely-related Mk.2c fleet. It means that, for the first time ever, models of all Mk.2 variants can be procured and accurate rakes of stock assembled, even if the level of detail varies some what. Lima is the only company to have previously marketed Mk.2c coaches in 4mm scale, but they lacked any of the type’s defining features, being simply renumbered Mk.2b models, which in themselves were not particularly accurate in many respects. These faded from the market more than 30 years ago, leaving an opening that has taken far too…

Class 50s on Freight: They might be best known for their capabilities as 100mph express passenger locomotives, but the Class 50s were designed as a mixed traffic machine and during their lives worked all manner of goods trains. From MGRs in the North West, container trains to Nottingham, china clay in Cornwall and waste trains to the home counties, we look back at Class 50s on freight workings from their early days in Scotland and the North West, after their transfer to the Western region and even rare sorties to Yorkshire, East Anglia and the Southern region. Here comes the summer! To help plan you year ahead, read our full round-up of the diesel galas set to take place in 2025 – the dates, the anticipated line-ups of locomotives and…

NETWORK RAIL pleaded guilty to offences under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 in a court hearing on February 14, with the infrastructure company fined £3.75 million, plus costs of £175, 000, following an investigation and prosecution brought by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in connection with the deaths of two track workers at Margam, in Wales. The incident took place on July 3, 2019, when Michael Lewis, Gareth Delbridge and a third worker were carrying out track maintenance work. Mr Lewis and Mr Delbridge were fatally struck by a Swansea to London Paddington passenger service, and the train narrowly missed the third worker who had been with them. They were on the railway without any site or distant lookout protection – a system designed…

CHILTERN RAILWAYS has recovered more than £1.1 million in lost revenue throughout 2024 following a crackdown on fare evasion. The operator’s economic crime, fraud and prosecutions unit (ECFPU) recovered more than £400, 000 of lost revenue in 2023, with the overall total recovered in 2024 being of £1, 051, 287. The unit was originally set up in 2019 and the amount of revenue recovered from fare evasion has steadily increased year on year. In 2024 the operator launched a Buy Before You Board campaign at stations, with posters and vinyl floor signage provided to remind passengers that they must purchase their ticket before boarding a train and that travelling without a valid ticket is a criminal offence. Chiltern said that with so many options for ticket purchasing, such as through…

TRANSPORT FOR Wales has appointed a new head chef and opened a dedicated food preparation kitchen at Newport station, as the operator prepares to launch a series of new menus for its premier dining services on its long-distance locomotive-hauled services. Mark Roberts joined TfW as head chef at the end of last year, having spent the previous eight years working for the popular restaurant chain Wagamama. He is now over-seeing the introduction of new menus for the acclaimed premier dining service, promising a mix of home-style cooking for passengers, with a dash of Asian flavour. TfW is also planning an exciting dining menu as part of the Railway 200 celebrations and further details are expected to be released soon. The new preparation kitchen was completed in January, and a team…

APLAN by East Midlands Railway to close access to platforms from Nottingham station footbridge from February 22 was paused less than a week after being announced following interventions by local MPs and neighbouring businesses impacted by the proposal. EMR announced on January 31 that the footbridge would be closed to rail users following a three-week trial in November, which the operator said showed an estimated-revenue-loss-of £80, 000 during the time of the trial – equating to an estimated-annual loss of about £1.1 million based on those figures. Rail passengers needing to access Platforms 1-6 were advised that they would need use the main entrance of the station and to allow extra time to walk through the station to catch their train. The footbridge, which connects Station Street to Queen’s Road,…

WEST COAST Main Line operator Avanti West Coast temporarily renamed Stockport station as Scott port to mark the launch of the new BBC Radio 2 breakfast show, which is now fronted by Scott Mills. Signs at the station were changed for the day as fellow presenter the Rev Kate Bottley led the celebrations there, which featured the Northants Sings Out choir performing in the ticket hall during the morning. The event was a surprise to the presenter, with the renaming of the station revealed live on air by the Rev Bottley, who also made passenger announcements throughout the morning on the station’s public address system. A miniature version of the Scott port AWC station sign was transported to London on the 06.04 departure, which was then handed over to the…

GOVIA THAMESLINK Railway (GTR) is leasing the 30 four-coach Class 379 Electrostar electric multiple units for use on its Great Northern operation, with the first of the trains entering service on February 10. The first two units – 379002 and 379022 – entered traffic with Great Northern as an eight-coach formation, working the 17.42 service from London King’s Cross to Letchworth Garden City, before working the 07.45 Letchworth Garden City to London King’s Cross train the following morning. It is intended that the Class 379s will continue to work these two specific services each weekday, with further Class 379s being brought into use later in the year. GTR said that the leasing of the Class 379fleetwill allow it to provide additional services between King’s Lynn, Cambridge and London from the…

Regeared DB Cargo 66659 emerged from Toton depot in Nottinghamshire in January, as the conversion of a number of DBC Class 66s for working heavier trains as replacements for the withdrawn DBC Class 60 continues. The latest regeared locomotive has been converted from 66171 and re-entered service on January 24, working the Toton to Boston Sleaford Sidings empty steel hoods, before spending the next few days working the steel trains between Boston Sleaford and Wolverhampton Steel Terminal. 66659 now joins the previous eight DBC regeared Class 66/6s which have been completed and entered traffic with the operator between April and December 2024. The regeared freight locomotives have a lower gear ratio, enabling them to haul heavier trains than an unmodified Class 66, and the project now involves the conversion of…

Networkers for scrap The scrapping of stored members of the Class 465 and Class 466 fleets has commenced in earnest, with the first four complete sets being dispatched to Unimetals at Newport Docks in mid-February. Previously, only the heavily stripped centre cars of 465235 had been sent for disposal, with 72787 and 72788 going by road to Booth’s from Wabtec, Doncaster, at the end of July last year. First to head for South Waleson February 11 were 466005 and 466032 behind 37800, the convoluted cross-country route taking in Peterborough, Loughborough, Burton and Cheltenham. Two days later, the Type 3repeatedthe journey with 466004 and 466009. Acceptance milestone for Welsh Class 197s All 26 of the three-car Class 197/1 sets are now in passenger service following the debut of 197126 on February…

DB unveils new BAA DB Cargo has commenced the assembly of a new fleet of BAA-R steel-carrying wagons at its Stoke workshops, the first examples being rolled out in late January with no advance publicity and placed straight into service. The 60 wagons, numbered 900400-459, feature completely new frames that have been fabricated and painted in Poland by DB Cargo Polska and then transported to the UK for fitting out. This includes the reuse of air brake equipment salvaged from scrapped BR-built BAA wagons, as well as NACO swing motion bogies recovered from redundant HTA coal hoppers. As the new frames are to exactly the same dimensions as the original and now life-expired BAA fleet and reuse existing components, the wagons count as rebuilds and therefore avoid the lengthy type…

THE IMMACULATELY restored four coach Class 403 5BEL Brighton Belle electric multiple unit emerged from the confines of Locomotive Services Group’s Crewe Diesel Depot base on January 28, sandwiched between two LSG Class 20s, returning the train to the UK main line for the first time since the Brighton Belle fleet was withdrawn by British Rail more than five decades ago. The multi-million-pound reactivation of the train has been a long-standing ambition of the 5BEL Trust, which owns six of the 15 vehicles that made up the three five coach EMUs that had a 40-year working life on the railway, being introduced into service in 1932 and withdrawn by BR in 1972. To date, four of the six vehicles owned by the 5BEL Trust have been restored to main line…

WITH MANY heritage railways closed during the winter months, March is generally a somewhat quiet month for heritage diesel events, but a couple of events are due to take place in the time that this issue of Railways Illustrated is on sale, with one line returning to the heritage diesel event calendar and another reuniting some classic diesel favourites. Following the announcement of a special running day for the Branch Line Society on March 28 (Railways Illustrated issue 264), the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway is hosting its first Diesel Gala for a number of years on March 29/30, ahead of the start of the railway’s main operating season. Expected to be in service on the scenic Cumbrian three-mile line are Class 03 diesel shunting locomotives D2072 and D2117, Class 11…

THE PEAK Locomotive Company is running a charter along the Severn Valley Railway between Kidderminster and Hampton Loade on March 8, utilising the group’s 46045. The PLC has chartered the train aiming to raise funds towards the overhaul of a steam heat generator destined for installation into 45041 Royal Tank Regiment on the Nene Valley Railway. Final timings for the day were still awaited as this issue was being prepared, due to the timetables having to be revised following the serious landslip between Hampton Loade and Bridgnorth (see page 6), but it is planned that the Peak will operate three return trip along the SVR, with a buffet coach and observation saloon also provided on the train. Tickets for the train are priced at £30 per person, while one return…

THE NENE Valley Railway operated 125 Preservation’s short-formed HST for its successful Winter Warmer running weekend on February 1/2, marking the first running weekend for a preserved HST in 2025. The HST worked four return journeys between Wansford, Yarwell Junction and Peterborough Nene Valley on each of the two days of the event, with a healthy number of passengers descending on the NVR to travel on the train, which features former East Midlands Railway VP185-fitted power cars 43045 The Grammar School Doncaster AD1350 and 43060 County of Leicester shire, along with ex-LNER prototype Mk.3 Trailer Standard’s 42355/357 and former GWR first built production Trailer Restaurant First Buffet 40904. On the Saturday of the running weekend, power car 43045 carried a wreath in memory of Graham Wade, a volunteer both…

THE NORTH Yorkshire Moors Railway has confirmed the return of three coach Class 101 diesel multiple unit 101685 Daisy. The popular heritage line is seeking to introduce the DMU onto low-peak services as an economical alternative to locomotive-hauled trains, as it works to reduce a financial deficit after difficult trading conditions in recent times (see pages 44-51). NYMR chief executive officer Laura Strangeway confirmed work to revive the DMU – which is understood to have last run in 2021 – would take place throughout the coming months, with an expected return to service towards the end of this year. The owners of 101685 have allocated funding to allow this. It is in reasonable condition but, having been out of service for a few years, it requires some mechanical attention, bodywork…

THE DMU Group (West Midlands) has returned the first vehicle of its three coach Class 101 DMU to service on the Severn Valley Railway, where it will be operated as a hybrid DMU alongside two of the group’s Class 108 vehicles. The Class 101 is formed of Driving Motor Brake Standard 50253, Trailer Standard Lavatory 59303 and Driving Motor Composite Lavatory 50170 and arrived on the SVR in September last year following its purchase from its previous owners and relocation from the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway. The SVR is also home to five Class 108 DMU vehicles belonging to the DMU Group. A three-coach Class 108 set was returned to service last year after being overhauled following a prolonged period out of traffic, while the remaining two vehicles require bogie overhauls…

Running a heritage railway is not an easy job. Many of our favourite lines were set up by groups of dedicated enthusiasts in the wake of the Beeching cuts of the early 1960s, since going on to become significant businesses contributing vast sums of money to their local economies. The herit age railway sector grew rapidly throughout the 1960s and 1970s and those lines that have become firm favourites with enthusiasts now represent significant commercial operations. One of the largest in the UK in terms of overall size and complexity of its operation is the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. It runs for 18 miles through the scenic North Yorkshire countryside between Pickering and Grosmont and also operates timetabled services throughout its main season over a further six miles of Network…

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…