Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2017 i Rail Express

FIRST-MTR has been awarded the next South West Trains franchise to operate services from Waterloo, starting on August 20 for a period of seven years. The consortium ownership has a holding of 70% by First Group and 30% by the MTR Corporation of Hong Kong. In operational terms, the headline change is the return of 18 Class 442 ‘Wessex Electric’ sets for use on Portsmouth main line services, and the replacement of rolling stock used on local services with a fleet of new trains. Changes have taken place in the way passenger capacity is measured, as the reference to the number of seats has been changed to the amount of space available. This reflects the current design of rolling stock for metro services, where comfortable standing is seen as preferable…

THE 7Z15/17.05 Merehead to Acton loaded Mendip Rail aggregates working derailed at East Somerset Junction (Witham Friary) on March 20, requiring an intensive five-day effort to recover three HOA and three IIA wagons and then return the damaged track to serviceable condition. This was the same location as a similar incident on November 10, 2008, involving Nos. 59202 and 59204. The train, this time powered by No. 59001, was comprised of 38 VTG Rail UK HOAs, NACCO Rail IIAs and ex-Foster Yeoman JHAs. The derailed hoppers, which included Nos. 81 70 6957 074-2, 37 70 6955 115-0 and 37 70 6955 122-6, were the 24th-29th vehicles in the train. The site was immediately quarantined awaiting the arrival of the RAIB. The following day the lead 21 wagons were removed to…

THE story of London Underground’s ‘D’ Stock begins in the early 1970s. As the then new ‘C’ Stock trains arrived onto the Circle and Hammersmith & City Line, displaced ‘CO/CP’ trains that were built from 1937 onwards were cascaded across onto the District. This in turn allowed older ‘Q’ Stock trains, the oldest of which dated back to 1923, to be withdrawn. The red-liveried ‘CO/CP’ trains joined the mostly younger silver or white ‘R’ stock, some of which had been converted from older ‘Q38’ stock supplemented by new orders in the late 1940s and 1950s. Throughout its history, therefore, the District had never operated with uniformed stock. Coping with all the different stocks made maintenance all the more difficult, and so designs were drawn up for a uniform fleet. Officially…

DETAILS have been released of this year’s trips for the luxury Royal Scotsman train in Scotland, with the season beginning on April 17. The ‘Classic’ five-day/four-night tour leaves Edinburgh at 13.45 for Keith via Aberdeen; day two is 08.33 Keith to Kyle; day three 08.39 Kyle to Carrbridge (then empty stock to Boat of Garten on the Strathspey Railway); day four is 13.15 Kingussie to Dundee; and day five 07.30 Dundee to Edinburgh (the stock shunts out of the bay into the main platform before the loco runs round, so it actually departs Dundee properly at 08.07). The ‘Classic’ trip will require one loco this year, which should usually be either of GBRf’s specially-liveried Nos. 66743 and 66746. It is due to run on April 17, 24; May 1, 8,…

A BRAKE fault with No. 50035 Ark Royal prevented it from attending the Bluebell Railway’s gala on March 31-April 2. Despite the efforts of volunteers, who worked late into the evening the day before the loco was due to leave Kidderminster, they were unable to fix the problem, which meant only No. 50049 Defiance was able to attend from the Severn Valley Railway. It was collected by Nos. 20189/205, which had been procured owing to the earlier withdrawal of the NRM’s No. D6700 from the event. At very short notice, GB Railfreight kindly supplied Nos. 73107 Tracy and 73119 Borough of Eastleigh to stand in for No. 50035.…

THE rehabilitation of the Caledonian Sleeper Class 73/9 fleet was largely completed during March, with the rebuilt locos once again allowed to operate the sleeper services without Class 66 assistance. This followed successful trials of the alternator modifications carried out at Brush Traction. With Nos. 73967/68/70 already modified, No. 73971 was released from Loughborough on March 6and headed to Doncaster, from where it continued to Edinburgh two days later. The 16th also saw No. 73966 outshopped, it going directly to Craigentinny, and leaving just collision damaged No. 73969 still at Brush. March again brought the diversion of the Fort William sleeper to Oban due to engineering work, the train being worked by ‘top and tail’ Class 73/9s. The first weekend of the month saw Nos. 73967 and 73970 provided for…

CLASS 20 HAVING kept each other company for the best part of six months, BR blue-liveried English Electric Type 1s Nos. 20096+20107, along with Nos. 20314 (HNRC orange) and 20905 (GBRf), were noted in charge of the 7X10/04.18 Banbury-Derby Litchurch Lane on March 2 conveying LUL ‘S’ Stock units Nos. 21081/82. Later the same pairs ‘top and tailed’ the 7X09/15.55 Litchurch Lane-West Ruislip with set Nos. 21063/64, and then transferred set Nos. 21065/66 to West Ruislip on March 9. Earlier that day, the foursome ran north from Banbury with set Nos. 21083/84. March 21 saw a notable change to the line-up, with No. 20311 taking the place of No. 20905 at Barrow Hill. Not only did this restore matching pairs of liveries, but also marked No. 20311’s return to service…

OF the various shunter hire operations, Railway Support Services has been by far the most proactive in picking up the pieces left by the demise of the DB Cargo shunter fleet. March continued the trend seen over the winter, with further Class 08s being prepared for deployment on new and existing contracts. It is understood that RSS has picked up another contract with a train operating company, which will see the incumbent provider of Class 08s displaced, but the firm was remaining tight-lipped until the changeover takes place, which is expected this month. In the meantime, March saw No. 08480 readied for service at RSS’ maintenance base at Wishaw (Warwickshire), this including a service and repaint in house colours, the former Toton No.1 losing its unique reversed EWS yellow and…

THREE Pullman coaches that have been a feature of the seafront at Seaburn, near Sunderland, have been moved after more than 30 years. Padua, Rosalind and Sapphire arrived in Seaburn in 1988 to form part of the Puffin’ Billy Hotel & Restaurant, which later changed its name to the Pullman Lodge Hotel & Restaurant until the business closed last year. They have now been acquired for use in the redevelopment of Folkestone Harbour, which will be a more appropriate location as the three were once part of the ‘Orient Express’ between London Victoria and Dover. Preparatory work was done by Railway Support Services, including disconnecting the vehicles and making sure the wheels would turn after 30 years in the sea air. They were then moved over the weekend of March…

THE Lisburn/Lurgan Ballast Rehabilitation Project (see last issue) continued during the period under review, the six-week project between Lisburn and Moira running from February 14 to March 25. The used ballast, which was removed using the hired-in 13-wagon Irish Rail spoil train, has been unloaded by an excavator at a site adjacent to the closed station at Ballinderry on the Lisburn to Antrim branch. This branch features significant adverse gradients from the junction at Lisburn for around five miles, which has caused difficulties with adhesion. The problem has been rectified by treating, as required, the railhead in the affected area with water sprayed by NIR’s Geismar-built waterjetter, which is based at Belfast Fortwilliam Traincare depot. On March 22-23, the nocturnal positioning movements carried out prior to the start of the…

THE first weekend of May, the 6th and 7th, will see the Mickleover Model Railway Group stage the Derby Model Railway Exhibition for the third year running at the Grade II listed Roundhouse. Situated next to the city’s station, the former Midland Railway structure now forms part of Derby College. With the show having grown in popularity since moving to the restored venue, this year will see a third area utilised for exhibits, allowing over 75 layouts, traders and other stands to be present. As ever, a good number of high quality D&E layouts will be in attendance with ‘N’ gauge being represented by Steve Farmer’s Tanners Hill and Tinner’s Wharf from Peter Johnston. Moving up to ‘OO’, the show will see the debut of Aberdeen Kirkhill by Glenn Daniel…

ALTHOUGH the Stockton scrapyard of TJ Thomson may be no more (see last month), the four Thomas Hill shunters based there and assigned Class 01/5 TOPS numbers all escaped, writes Simon Bendall. It is understood that Nos. 01555, 01567, 01568 and 01569 are all now owned by plant hire specialists Ed Murray & Sons, the company also owning No. 08598 and other industrials. All were removed to new locations during February, with No. 01568 heading to the Chasewater Railway on February 24, where it was undergoing repairs during March. Of the others, No. 01567 has been noted at the Cobra Railfreight terminal in Middlesbrough, while No. 01555 is believed to be at Hartlepool Steelworks and No. 01569 stored at Lackenby.…

IN preparation for No. 37003’s 60th anniversary in 2020, the Class 37 Locomotive Group has announced an overhaul programme to return the loco to service in time for this milestone event. ‘Project 3-60’, as it is known, will see the loco returned to 1960 condition as No. D6703 in green livery, enabling the loco to be gradually brought up to date through its various incarnations in the following years. The work on No. 37003 will be carried out at Leicester depot by UK Rail Leasing, and it is expected to arrive there from the Mid-Norfolk Railway before the end of April. There are three major areas of work to be carried out: power unit rebuilding and recommissioning, bodywork repairs and a repaint. No. 37003 was stopped at the MNR in…

THE Class 47 Preservation Project’s No. 47771 left the Colne Valley Railway, where it had been located since June 2003, on March 20, moving by road to Southampton Maritime to allow transfer by rail to Eastleigh Works. The loco is to be restored to working order and will, in due course, move to a new base at the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway. Formerly No. 47503 and named The Geordie between 1988 and 1991, the Brush Type 4, which was also named Heaton Traincare Depot from 1993 until its withdrawal, has yet to operate in preservation. Restoration work began on the loco soon after its arrival at the CVR, but it suffered a major setback in 2009 when copper thieves visited the loco and stole a number of components, including…

A CLASS 88 is set to be one of the star attractions at the Severn Valley Railway’s gala on May 18-20, which should feature around 25 locos in action. This addition to the line-up was announced officially on March 30. The full list of locos that should be operating reads: visitors Nos. D8568 (Class 17), 20189/205, 31271, 33035/108, 45041/060,47192/828, 50008, 55022, 667xx, 739xx, 880xx and a DB Cargo loco (identity still to be announced); home fleet Nos. D3586 (08471), D4100 (09012) or 12099, D9551 (Class 14), 50007/31/35/49, D1015/62 (‘Westerns’) and industrial D2961. A week earlier is the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway’s event and, in addition to the visitors mentioned last month, there will be Nos. 45041 Royal Tank Regiment and a GBRf Class 66. The visiting Class 20s, Nos.…

DELIVERED in late February, Colas’ latest Class 70 No. 70812 duly departed Liverpool Docks on March 4, running light as the 0K70/14.15 to Basford Hall. Two days later, it left Crewe as the 0Z98/15.05 to Bescot via Stafford, Rugeley Trent Valley and Cannock, where it met up with classmate No. 70809 to go forward together to Hinksey Yard, Oxford. Westbury was reached on March 7 before No. 70812 continued as the 0Z70/11.45 Westbury-Tavistock Junction on the next day. The GE machine remained at the Plymouth yard until March 17, when it ran the short distance to Laira to accompany a repaired No. 70803 on a test run. The latter had been out of service since its collision in a possession near Ivybridge on February 27 last year – repairs to…

EMU driver training between Reading and Didcot began on March 20, No. 387140 seeing use on the first day and No. 387133 two days later. The ‘Electrostars’ should begin passenger operations on the line later in the year. After a spell at Reading Traincare Depot for training, Nos. 387130/131 returned east behind No. 37800 as the 5G87/12.21 Reading-West Ealing EMU Sidings on February 21. Three days later, they were back in use on Paddington-Hayes & Harlington services. Also on February 21, Nos. 387138/139 moved in the opposite direction to Reading, where they joined Nos. 387140/144. A further move on March 8 saw Nos. 387135/137 hauled to Reading by No. 57306 Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate 175, the loco returning with the aforementioned Nos. 387138/139. This was the first of several moves…

THE two former ‘Pretendolino’ Driving Van Trailer vehicles, Nos. 82101/26, have been moved from Loram at Derby to MoD Longtown for storage. No. 82126 was taken north by road in mid-March, with No. 82101 following on March 24. Both cars have had some bodywork repairs undertaken at Loram since their arrival there in April and June 2016 respectively. No. 82126 was last used in early 2016, having been temporarily transferred to Greater Anglia with the rest of the ‘Pretendolino’ rake in late 2014. It was handed back to owners Porterbrook upon completion of Greater Anglia’s DVT overhaul programme, and then transferred to DRS. The other DVT, No. 82101, has not been used since 2012. It was one of two spare ‘Pretendolino’ cars until 2012, when it was taken off lease…

THE number of DEMU vehicles on Northern Ireland Railways' books has once again been reduced, with the scrapping of Motor Coach No. 8094 on March 11. The yellow-liveried Sandite vehicle had been stored unserviceable at York Road, Belfast, after proving to be problematic during the 2014 season, and was replaced in the four-car unit by No. 8090 prior to the start of the 2015 season. Ahoghill-based metal recycling company Thomas Hamill was again contracted to carry out the scrapping, and No. 8094 was cut in two prior to its transfer by road to the company’s premises for final disposal. No. 8094, as No. 94, entered traffic during April 1978 – being one of the second phase of 80 Class vehicles ordered by NIR from BREL. When NIR adopted a sectorisation…

ANNOUNCED at Warley last November, Realtrack Models’ new ‘OO’ gauge Class 156 DMU is making good progress with the end of March bringing the arrival of a full factory-decorated sample. As detailed previously, the two models in the current ScotRail Saltire livery have moved ahead of the trio of First Group units in the production schedule and it is this pair that is due to go on sale at the DEMU Showcase event on June 3-4. Manufacturing partner Rapido Trains has provided these pictures of the decorated sample exclusively to Rail Express Modeller, giving a good idea of how the finished model will look. As might be expected on such a complex livery, a number of adjustments still need to be made, such as the colour of some of the…

LATE March saw Kernow Model Rail Centre unexpectedly unveil the first pre-production samples of its ‘OO’ gauge Southern prototype diesels. First announced way back in 2010, development of the exclusive models has been a difficult and protracted affair, not aided by a lack of detailed drawings. However, last year saw a set of drawings located, allowing tooling to quietly take place, Kernow working directly with a Chinese factory in this instance. The trio of Bulleid-designed locos, Nos. 10201-03, were built in the first half of the 1950s and featured an English Electric engine and 1Co-Co1 wheel arrangement. Very much the forerunners of the Class 40s, the trio were initially deployed on the Southern Region before moving to the London Midland and the West Coast Main Line in 1955. Withdrawn in…

THE latest addition to Kernow Model Rail Centre’s ever increasing line-up of exclusive Bachmann limited editions is an interesting one, taking the form of push-pull Class 47/7 No. 47706 in its famously scruffy ScotRail colours (31-653Z). Limited to 512 examples, a standard DCC ready model is priced £159.99 with DCC fitted and DCC sound versions also available, retailing at £179.99 and £259.99 respectively. The 4mm scale model recreates the loco following its transfer away from Scotland and onto Network SouthEast loco-hauled duties via a short stint with the Parcels sector. Reallocated to Old Oak Common in the early summer of 1991, it was briefly deployed on services along the Thames corridor before joining its sub-class sisters on the Waterloo-Exeter route later in the year. As the loco was only on…

ALSO newly released by Gaugemaster are two further additions to its range of working 4mm scale lamp posts, these portraying a current day style with white lighting, as increasingly found at stations, in car parks and as street lights. Pack GM829 (£15.95) contains four single-head lights while GM830 (£13.95) features three double-head lamp posts. Two posts in each pack also sport a height-adjustable round CCTV camera, one of each style being pictured here. The posts are made from stainless steel tubing with plastic heads and bases, while the height is adjustable up to a maximum of 100mm. The plastic mouldings are all finished in light grey and could be painted in a different colour if desired, as could the posts. The lamps are supplied ready wired with each pack also…

AFTER an absence of several years, Rail Express can once again offer readers a chance to buy an exclusive model… at a fantastic price. Launched to the public at Warley National Model Railway Exhibition 2015, our limited-edition model is the unmistakable GB Railfreight’s No. 66720, a design that came about after the company held a competition for the children of its employees to come up with a locomotive livery. The winning entry was unveiled in July 2011 and was the handiwork of Emily Goodman, then aged six. Emily came up with two designs; on one side of the loco is depicted the ‘day’ and features the sun, birds in flight and an extensive rainbow, while the opposite ‘night’ side includes the moon, a shooting star and…

GREATER Anglia has released these images of how its new trains should look when they are delivered from 2019. Swiss firm Stadler is supplying 38 three and four-car bi-mode ‘Flirt’ units for use on regional routes plus twenty 12-car EMU versions for inter-city and Standsted Express services; while Bombardier will supply 89 five-car and 22 ten-car ‘Aventra’ EMUs for West Anglia and Great Eastern routes – atotal of more than 1,000 new carriages. Each will include free wi-fi, at-seat plug and USB points, air conditioning and passenger information screens.…

WITH static tests largely completed at Carlisle Kingmoor, No. 88002 Prometheus became the first Class 88 to venture onto the main line on March 20. The rather low-key outing was undertaken without a proper schedule, the loco running light from the DRS depot at Kingmoor to Upperby via Carlisle station so it could be turned in order to position the pantograph end under an inspection gantry. Departing Kingmoor around 12.30, it was back on shed some 45 minutes later, having run on diesel power throughout. The following day saw the loco’s pantograph raised for the first time in Carlisle Yard as initial electric testing got underway. With this proving satisfactory, a week of main line light engine tests commenced from March 27, No. 88002 working the 0Z88/07.04 Kingmoor-Crewe via the…

VIVARAIL has reliveried its first Class 230 ‘D-Train’ unit following repairs after the engine fire it experienced on test near Kenilworth, Warwickshire, at the end of 2016. No. 230001 was shown off at the company’s base at Long Marston at the end of March. The middle car has also been fitted out with amixture of airline and table seating arrangements. The fire led to a number of recommendations to redesign the mechanical aspects of the diesel units, which are being converted from redundant London Underground forth-rail ‘D’ Stock. The fire also meant No. 230001 missed its chance to go on trial with London Midland on the Coventry-Nuneaten line. However, Vivarail is pressing on with development and is confident it can get back on track. ■ The modular nature of the…

THE growth of Britain’s coastal resorts was fuelled by the growth of the railway network in Victorian times, as trains were the only way for the working population to travel from their homes in the industrial heartlands to the coast for an annual break. This situation continued through to the post-Second World War period, only really declining when car ownership became more widespread and holidays abroad more affordable. Until then, and well into the 1990s, seaside towns across Britain were served by additional trains for holidaymakers – most notably on Saturdays, when otherwise spare freight locos were pressed into service to haul the extra trains. The Lincolnshire town of Skegness has long been a holiday destination for people living in the towns and cities of the Midlands, meaning summer-dated…

THE days of mill owners commuting from the Lancashire coast to their empires in the woollen districts of the West Riding have long since slid away into the mists of time, the remnants of the Morecambe to Leeds and Bradford train service mirroring the fortunes of the industry it formerly served. Nothing more elegant than a two-car Class 144 ‘Pacer’ (ten of the 23-strong fleet also have a powered centre car) was rostered for my 08.18 Leeds to Morecambe. A succession of politicians has promised the ultimate removal of these DMUs, albeit on a receding timescale, and so they are all still in traffic. Joining the diesel unit at Bingley, the contrast between the modern Class 333 EMU I took from Bradford could scarcely have been more striking. Glum Lancaster-bound…

50 YEARS AGO... MAY 1967 ■ FREIGHTLINER BOOST: Two extra Freightliner services were introduced in Scotland, bringing the country's total to seven. One was from Aberdeen from May 1, feeding into the Glasgow to Manchester service , the other was a third service on the Glasgow to London route from May 8. Then a British Railways’ Freightliner train of five wagons left Britain on May 12, for a three-month tour of Europe. Four of the wagons were loaded with standard Freightliner containers, the fifth being reserved for examples of European containers in each of the countries visited. The itinerary included 18 stops in Belgium, Austria, France, Germany, Holland, Italy and Switzerland. 40 YEARS AGO... MAY 1977 ■ A LOW POINT: British Railways’ annual report was released showing passenger miles in…

THE ever-popular large-logo-liveried No. 37025 is set to return to its old stamping ground of Inverness. The loco was first allocated there in May 1982 and, after various other Scottish depot allocations, returned to IS in February, 1992, receiving the name Inverness TMD on March 18, 1994. Failing with traction motor damage on February 24, 1999, the locomotive was duly stored and later secured for preservation by the Scottish 37 Group based at the SRPS depot, Bo’ness. A return to active status took place after much work to renovate the veteran ‘Tractor’ in September 2007. Now, No. 37025 is to set sail to Inverness on a two-day tour on June 2-3. Run by SRPS Railtours, the special leaves Edinburgh Waverley to pick up at Linlithgow, Falkirk Grahamston, Stirling, Dunblane and…

AN agreement has been reached for the BRC Workgroup’s No. 33201 to be based at the Spa Valley Railway for the next five years. The ‘Crompton’ is particularly appropriate on the line, as it was one of the 12 members of the class built to the slimmer ‘Hastings’ line loading gauge –and, as such, would have been a regular performer through Tunbridge Wells in its BR days. No. 33201 arrived at the Spa Valley Railway on March 9, and made its first workings on the line at the diesel gala the following weekend. For the previous two years, it had been based at the Swanage Railway, this following bodywork overhaul at Washwood Heath after its departure from the Midland Railway-Butterley. The arrival of No. 33201 means there are now three…

AFTER a spell in short-term storage at the Midland Railway-Butterley, No. 31106 has been moved to the Weardale Railway for inspection and routine maintenance, which will be carried out over the next few months. Although the loco has not operated on Network Rail metals since 2013, owner Howard Johnston confirmed to Rail Express that it remains main line certified. The ‘31’ was initially taken from Butterley to Derby by No. 56303 on March 8, continuing the next day behind the same loco as the 0Z56/09.29 Derby-Bishop Auckland, from where it was hauled to Wolsingham depot by No. 31465. The Class 56 was then used to take Nos. 47192/712, which had been used on ‘Polar Express’ trains and a running day in February, back to Crewe Heritage Centre on March 9-10.…

WITH preparations completed, Colas Rail’s newly-acquired Class 67s were released from Toton on March 7, Nos. 67023 and 67027 running light to Derby RTC. Next day, they undertook a test run with Network Rail stock, the 5Z67/10.13 Derby RTC-Peterborough and 5Z68/15.25 return (routed via Swinton, South Yorkshire), while the 9th saw the duo sandwich three yellow Mk.3 DVTs while working from Derby to Crewe via Lichfield. This revealed some minor issues with No. 67023, necessitating its return to Toton the next day for attention. With these attended to, the pair made their first proper test train outing on March 21, the 1Q48/08.31 Derby RTC-Tyseley taking in Leicester, Stratford-upon-Avon, Coventry and Birmingham Moor Street along the way. This was the start of a tour of large chunks of the UK on…

DB CARGO DESTINED for Eastern Europe, Nos. 92003, 92022 and 92026 finally departed Dollands Moor on March 26, sisters Nos. 92019 and 92042 providing traction through the Channel Tunnel on the first stage of their journey across the continent. Out of circulation since the end of 2015, No. 67020 was released into traffic in late March, it initially hauling a repainted No. 325008 from Toton to Crewe Electric on March 26. Next day, the GM ran light to Cardiff Canton to take up Arriva loco-hauled duties as part of the WAWC pool. Also reinstated during March were Nos. 66114/19/86 and 90020 but this came at the expense of Nos. 60019/74/92, 66058/60, 66172 and 67028. DIRECT RAIL SERVICES MARCH brought further developments with the Class 37s sold off by DRS, beginning…

A MAJOR supporter of the Severn Valley Railway has purchased six Seacow hoppers, Nos. DB980015/83/98/142/220/39, from DB Cargo for use on the heritage line during its annual track relaying and ballasting operations. The wagons were tripped to the SVR on March 10 by No. 66068, which handed over to Class 20 No. D8059 (20059) for onward movement to Stourport Triangle Sidings, before heading to Eardington for stabling on March 15. The air-braked Seacows (some are still vacuum-piped as well) will replace the railway’s existing fleet of vacuum-braked Herring and Dogfish hoppers, which have a smaller capacity, but will work well with the railway’s fleet of 15 air-braked Rudd ballast/spoil wagons. Five Seacows will see regular use with the line’s permanent way team, with the sixth being a spare. ■ The…

IT IS a quiet April morning in 1967 at the remote station of Fenchurch St Peter, this being situated on the branch line between Wisbech and Magdalen Road which is where it joins the main line to King’s Lynn. The peace is broken only by the sound of a MF135 tractor cultivating the land adjacent to the railway to form a seedbed for spring sowing. The door of the Great Eastern design signalbox opens and the signalman descends the steps and slowly closes the crossing gates on the straight Fenland road, before returning to the ’box to raise the signal on the line from Wisbech to allow a train to enter the station. The blast of the train horn is heard as a Sulzer Type 2 rumbles through the station…

ANYONE who has spoken to me while doing a demonstration at an exhibition will know I have more than a passing interest in anything related to the Railway Technical Centre at Derby across the decades. The expansion of my locomotive fleet for test trains is an ongoing process, with a number of DRS locos in the various livery styles already completed. Searching for something else to model, my attention was drawn to the two de-branded Class 37/6s taken on by Europhoenix. While it was inevitable that these two locos would eventually be repainted into the company’s grey livery, they neatly fitted within the period when many of Network Rail’s test train coaches were receiving new bodyside pictorial graphics. Research for a donor model led me to Bachmann’s No. 37706 Conidae…