Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2020 i Rail Express

CLASS 20 EE Type 1s Nos. 20007+20142 kept the flag flying for the class on September 3 when forming a Loram training run to Devon, heading south as the 0Z16/09.45 Derby RTC-Plymouth the pair returned to base the following day. September 4 also found No. 20096 out on the main line, the green-liveried ‘chopper’ accompanying Type 3s Nos. 37667+37688 on the 11.00 Barrow Hill-Crewe light engine run and passing Lichfield Trent Valley in the early afternoon. CLASS 37 THE last week of Rail Charter Services trips between Skipton and Appleby saw Nos. 37667 and 47712 in use each day up to and including September 11, although the Type 4 also worked the following day (see Class 40 notes and page 77). With saloon No. 975025 in tow, No. 37421 travelled…

WITH Direct Rail Services looking likely to end its involvement in Network Rail test train work in the near future, there were worries that No. 37425 – the one and only Sir Robert McAlpine / Concrete Bob – might never return to the main line after its G exam at Loram Derby. This work started in May 2019, and saw the Type 3 repainted into classic Regional Railways livery at the start of this year, albeit without branding. But its extensive overhaul and DRS’ recent reorganisation back under direct control of the National Decommissioning Authority looked set to veto its comeback. Happily these fears have not been realised, and No. 37425 finally departed the Derby RTC site on September 12 at the rear of a 0Z38 light engine move to…

FOLLOWING on from the news last month of GBRf’s acquisition of new Class 66 locomotives from Europe, the first pair have already arrived in the UK. The morning of September 18 saw Beacon Rail’s No. 29005 (which also wears No. 92 80 1266 029-8 D-HHPI, to be renumbered No. 66794), unloaded at Immingham Dock, while colleague No. 29004 (No. 92 80 1266 027-2 D-HHPI, to be renumbered No. 66793) disembarked three days later on the 21st. Notably the pair are currently named after key figures at Beacon Rail, with the former dedicated after former director Dave Meehan and the latter after Ted Gaffney, the CEO from 2012-2019. Both locomotives were originally delivered to HSBC Rail in 2003 (as Nos. 6610 and 6608 respectively), being hired to ERS Railways in the…

CLASS 142 ‘PACER’ THE increase in the number of timetabled services on September 14, coupled with the need for four-car trains to enable social distancing, saw the number of Class 142 diagrams in the Manchester area increased from five to eight. As a result, three sets that had been stored at Heaton (Newcastle), Nos. 142018/70/94, ran to Newton Heath on September 9, having previously undertaken a test run to Hexham and back two days earlier. No. 142094 was put into service on September 11, with the other two following on September 14. CLASS 144 ‘PACER’ HAVING run from Keighley to Heaton on August 27, ‘144E’ set No. 144012 formed the 5Z44/12.00 Heaton-Doncaster Down Decoy on September 12 with Nos. 144015/21, while Nos. 144008/18 ran from Heaton to Worksop on September…

Correct to September 27, 2020 Allocations 40728 NL/EMHQ-HQ/SBXH40803/09 off registration – scrapped 42229 off registration – scrapped 44073 off registration – scrapped Sold DATS: 12064/91 Modifications W44078 TGS-TGF Preserved  NRM Shildon: 40732 Stored/stopped locations  Crewe DD: 41160/66/67 Doncaster Wabtec: 42023/33/54/77/78/87/96, 42185, 42580 Eastleigh Works: 41183 Glasgow Works: 40622, 42007, 42125, 42564 Leicester: 40728 Neville Hill: 40708, 41083, 41159, 42130, 42228/86, 42322, 44050 Wolsingham: 40402 Worksop: 6352 Disposals  C.F. Booth, Rotherham: Cut dates: August 20: 40809, 42049; August 21: 42076 Sims Metals, Hull: Arrival dates: September 3: 11329, 12218; September 4: 10317, 12462 Sims Metals, Newport: Arrival dates: September 14: 40115/17,44060/68/69/91 Liveries  Carmine & Cream: 6705/06 InterCity: 10416, 11068 Named 6705 Ardnamurchan 6706 Mount Mgahinga…

FORMER Northern Line 1959 Stock trailer car No. 2044 has been returned to in-service condition at the Mangapps Railway Museum. The 1923-style heritage red and maroon livery has been painstakingly stripped back to the base aluminium and repolished. The car is one of seven (formed from two units) that became the Northern Line’s ‘Heritage Train’, being repainted into the retro livery to commemorate the line’s centenary in 1990. It has been preserved at Mangapps alongside fellow ‘Heritage Train’ Driving Motor car No. 1030 since May 2001, but was purchased by Ian Allington in November 2015 after its sale to a local school for use as a library fell though. RESTORATION TASKS One of the first jobs was repainting the solebar black, but it was the realisation of the cost and…

THE 125 Group and Porterbrook have completed paperwork to transfer power car No. 43089 into preservation. It is the first of two power cars being donated to the Group by the leasing company after being handed back by East Midlands Railway. They will also be joined by three Mk.3 coaches from the former EMR fleet, Nos. 40741, 41067 and 42119. With no opportunity to operate No. 43089 at the GCR(N) at present, as the line is still closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the power car has been placed on short-term loan to Data Acquisition Testing Services (DATS) for use on test trains and stock movements. One of its first duties as the first preserved Class 43 to operate on the main line was on arun from Leicester to Long…

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PUT up for sale by the Bodmin & Wenford Railway earlier this year, ‘Crompton’ No. 33110 left its former base on September 21, following completion of its purchase by Stewart Robinson. It has been moved to aprivate site in Essex for bodywork attention and other repairs to be carried out. The loco’s new owner has close ties with Mangapps Railway Museum, and also owns Nos. 03197 and 33202 Dennis G. Robinson which are based there. Also owned are Nos. 03020 (being restored in Essex) and 33018, which was bought in 2013 and is also undergoing restoration. The acquisition of No. 33110 means that Stewart Robinson now has a member of each Class 33 sub-class. No. 33110 entered preservation in 1993 following withdrawal the previous year. After restoration, it returned to…

CONSTRUCTION of the last series of ‘Seacow’ 40t ballast hopper wagons was shared between Ashford and Shildon works, with 251 wagons being constructed in 1981 and 1982. The design was similar to 1950s ‘Walrus’ ballast wagons and 1970s AFI bake-fitted vacuum braked YGH ‘Sealion’ wagons which were introduced alongside a small batch of air braked YGB ‘Seacows’. The 1980s design followed the same basic design of the Southern Railway/LSWR ballast wagon constructed by Metro-Cammell and Shildon-built wagons except for the use of welded side ribs and different bogies and other details. They rode on Y27C bogies instead of Gloucester bogies fitted to the 1970s YGH and YGB wagons making them distinctly different in character. Early liveries included a strange pale grey scheme and the more common engineers’ mid grey with…

INTRODUCED in 1982, the YCV 34t ‘Turbot’ ballast wagon was a rebuild of redundant ‘Bogie Bolster E’ wagons which were found to be less than useful for steel traffic due to their short length, leaving a large fleet of wagons in relatively good condition looking for a new use. Constructed in 1960 and 1961, most of the original 1200-strong fleet of Bogie Bolster E wagons was rebuilt with three new drop-side doors per side with sprung retarders. Fixed ends were fitted with angled panels to prevent the build up of material on, and damage to headstock fittings. Nearly 1000 wagons were rebuilt, retained the original underframe, Davis and Lloyd bogies and vacuum brake gear, despite the increasing adoption of airbrakes in infrastructure and revenue wagon fleets during the 1980s. Numbered…

THE Department for Transport announced the end of rail franchising on September 21, as the Government took direct control of running and financing services while it looks to introduce a replacement approach long-term. This brings to an end 24 years of franchising since the former nationalised British Rail was split up in the mid-1990s. The Government said this is the first step to bringing Britain’s fragmented network back together. The franchise agreements have been replaced by Emergency Recovery Measures Agreements (ERMAs) for the duration of the pandemic, that prepare the ground for a new railway as part of its commitment to replace the current system. The ERMAs are claimed to have tougher performance targets for lower management fees up to a maximum of 1.5% of the cost base of the…

UPDATING last month’s story about the derailment of the 6A11/21.52 Robeston-Theale DB Cargo/Puma Energy diesel/fuel oil service on August 26, at Llangennech, the 10 damaged tanks have been cleared from the site to allow reconstruction and clean up to be completed. Marley Industries (France)-built TDA tankers Nos. TIPH 78202 and TIPH 78257 were unable to be recovered and were cut into sections on site for removal, while the other eight vehicles were transferred to Long Marston (TEA Nos. VTG 88101, 33 70 7792 005-1, 33 70 7792 006-9, 33 70 7792 015-0 and 33 70 7792 016-8) or Milford Haven (TDA No. TIPH 78255, TEA Nos. GERS 89005 and 33 70 7899 044-3). Most are likely to be scrapped.…

FURTHER HST coaches belonging to Porterbrook and First Group have been disposed of from Long Marston, where they had been stored since being removed from service by Great Western Railway. Three vehicles (Trailer First Nos. 41160/166/167) have been acquired by Locomotive Services Ltd for its growing fleet. They were collected by No. 37688 Great Rocks, which formed the 5Z22/11.36 Long Marston-Crewe HS, on September 7. A week later (on September 14), six vehicles Nos. 40115/117,44060/68/69/91 departed for scrapping. No. 66713 Forest City was used to move the coaches, initially to Worcester, then forming the 5Z91/14.00 Worcester Yard-Sims, Newport. The disposal of Nos. 40115/117 means that Porterbrook has now sold all the micro-buffet (401xx) series coaches, which were converted from TS (Trailer Standard) vehicles in 2009/10. One survives with Locomotive Services…

RAILWAY Support Services has acquired Thomas Hill 4wDH No. 133C (a 1963 rebuild of a Sentinel vertical-boilered steam locomotive, hence the ‘C’ for conversion) from Bill Parker’s Flour Mill workshop in the Forest of Dean. This will be used as a backup for RSS’ Thomas Hill Vanguard 4wDH No. 184V at Stoke Axiom wagon works, as well as to increase the company’s overall fleet flexibility. No. 133C was moved to the Chasewater Railway in August where it will undergo a full overhaul, an upgrade of the operating systems to a more modern specification, and a replacement engine. The shunter used to work at ARC’s Westbury Quarries in tandem with TH 4wDH No. 136C, which was first preserved by the North Somerset Railway at Radstock. Following a period of storage at…

THE London Transport Museum has won the Temporary or Touring Exhibition of the Year prize at the 18th annual Museums Heritage Awards. Although it had to be held online, the event acknowledged the ground-breaking initiatives of the past year, being impressed how the look and feel of an abandoned station environment was transported to an exhibition space in a museum. The judges noted that the number and variety of rare archive photos, objects, vintage posters, secret diagrams and decorative tiles brought together in one place was very ambitious and truly original. The museum reopened after more than five months on September 7, and the Hidden London exhibition has been extended to the end of 2021. It has also hosted online Virtual Hidden London tours on YouTube, which will be available…

AFTER a very successful first month of its ‘Pioneer’ diesel-hauled trains, offering three round trips between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth on Fridays throughout September, the Severn Valley Railway is continuing to operate a diesel diagram each week in October, using a mix of Fridays and Sundays. In action on October 18 should be No. 40106 (which is due to return from the ELR a few days before), with the '40' working 'top and tail' with No. D1062 Western Courier on October 23. The Great Central Railway is also having some diesel running days, and the next, featuring No. 37714 Cardiff Canton, is due to take place on October 23. S&D AUTUMN GALA The Somerset & Dorset Railway at Midsomer Norton is planning a mixed traffic gala on October 31 & November…

DESPITE being limited to only having 12 volunteers working at any one time to aid social distancing, the DPS made progress on its locos during September. Timing checks have been taking place on spare power unit No. 451, which is to be fitted to No. D9009 (55009) Alycidon to replace a unit that needs some remedial work and a refurbished generator. On No. D9015 (55015) Tulyar, cab heater work has been carried out prior to starting on rebuilding the cab fittings. Attention has also been given to the power unit mounting feet. The cab of No. D9008 (55008) The Green Howards, which has been away for refurbishment and lengthening of the bodyside section, was due to return from Crowle Engineering in October.…

ON August 21, No. 082 and the train of three vehicles ran from Portlaoise PW Depot and used the up fast line on the four-tracked section from Hazelhatch to Heuston. After running round its train, No. 082 hauled it over the down slow line to Hazelhatch and thence to Kildare where the locomotive again ran round. No. 082 then hauled the Sperry train to North Wall using the up slow line of the four track section. The same locomotive was again in charge on the 24th when it worked the train from North Wall to Dundalk and returning the next day. After running round, No. 082 and its train then departed North Wall at around 14.20 bound for Portarlington. The loco was replaced at Inchicore by No. 072 and after…

SHUNTER lovers will be delighted by news from Heljan of a new model of the Yorkshire Engine Co. 0-4-0DH shunter or BR Class 02 in ‘O’ gauge, with a proposed delivery date of late 2021. It has been quietly under development in the last few months with the final design approved and metal being cut for the tools at the time of Heljan’s announcement in mid-September. ‘OO’ gauge modellers are not forgotten with a model set for release shortly after the ‘O’ gauge model in early 2022. The Class 02 was designed as a dock and goods yard shunter with a short six-foot wheelbase allowing them to negotiate the sharp curves common in dock and industrial locations. Introduced in 1960 and 1961 as direct replacements for the L&Y ‘Pug’ steam…

FEW BR Class 414 2-HAP third rail EMUs remained in their original formations after the mid-1980s following the formation of 2-CAP EMUs; building of Gatwick Express GLVs and withdrawal of the heavily asbestos contaminated later builds of 2-HAP units between 1982 and 1984. This left a single 1951-type unit and a handful of 1957-type Phase 1 and Phase 2 units to see renumbering under the TOPS numbering system as Class 414 in 1987. The class was introduced in 1957 and built in four batches with notable external detail differences important to modellers existing between them. The Kent Coast electrification project created the need for middle suburban EMUs with better facilities than EPB stock including First Class accommodation and lavatories. A similar need on the South Western Division saw a total…

I THINK Archimedes was on the right track (no pun intended) when he said ‘Give me a lever big enough and I will move the world’. I do not think any levers I pulled in my railway career moved the world, but they might have helped to revolve it a little. Ground frames – basically a set of manual point levers – were once a common sight dotted all around our railway network, mainly used to enable a loco to run round, allow a train to enter or exit a siding, or operate an emergency crossover. However, track and signalling upgrades over the years have rendered many of these quaint lineside features obsolete. Where once a shunter or member of the train crew would have to pull a set of…

LOCOMOTIVE Services ran aprivate charter from London to Scotland over the weekend of September 25-28, which featured heritage diesel and electric traction, plus gave a first glimpse of newly-converted Mk.2 ‘observation’ coach No. 6705. The stock (formed north-south as Nos. 6311, 17159, 10520, 6708, 99993, 6706 and 6705) was taken from Crewe to Euston on the first day ‘top and tailed’ by Nos. 40145 and 90001, after which the ‘90’ took charge as the 12.32 departure to Mossend, near Glasgow. From there the green-liveried duo of Type 3s Nos. 37521 (6817) and 37667 (D6851) took over to run down to Aviemore, where the train spent the night on the Strathspey Railway. Day 2 saw the ‘37’s take the train as a 09.52 Aviemore to Kyle of Lochalsh and 18.00 back…

AFTER a gap of around 15 years, Class 322s have resumed working out of Liverpool Street. Nos. 322484/485 undertook their first duty with Greater Anglia on September 17 when, with No. 321356, they formed the 1N44/17.07 Liverpool Street-Clacton/Colchester Town. Like the Class 321/9s, which have recently been put into use by Greater Anglia, the pair retain Northern colours. No. 322481-483 are also being prepared for service. The Class 322 fleet was constructed in 1990 for dedicated use on the new ‘Stansted Skytrain’ service (now known as ‘Stansted Express’), serving the new airport that opened in 1991. They also saw use on First North Western’s short-lived Manchester Airport to Euston operation. Increasing capacity requirements on the Stansted route saw them replaced by pairs of Class 317s, and, after being deployed on…

THE arrival of JNAs Nos. 81 70 5500 769-803 in the UK as August ticked over to September brought to a close the latest chapter in the incredible story of Astra Rail’s (now Greenbrier-Astra Rail) all-conquering 101-tonne box wagon (UIC code Ealnos). Delivered at a rate of roughly 200 wagons a year since 2016 (although none were manufactured in 2018), they are used by DB Cargo (TOPS code MMA), GB Railfreight, and all the major leasing companies, and are now an almost ubiquitous sight over much of England and Wales. Having made their way through the ‘Chunnel’ to Dollands Moor, the final 35 silver JNAs moved to North London on September 5 behind No. 66187 as the 4B20/07.35 to Wembley Yard, before continuing behind DC Rail’s No. 56103 in charge…

LOCOMOTIVE Services’ reborn ‘Midland Pullman’ HST is set to travel over many routes next year, with the company announcing at least one tour every calendar month. The sold-out inaugural launch trip planned for November 22 this year, will use much of its 1960s predecessor’s original route as possible from St Pancras to Manchester, albeit diverted north of Derby to run via Edale instead of Matlock due to the latter line falling victim to the Beeching cuts. The standard HST set is being reliveried into the Midland Pullman’s Nanking Blue livery, and its First Class trailers are being upgraded. New tours announced for 2021 are as follows: January 21: ‘Settle & Carlisle Pullman’ to Carlisle from London St Pancras and stations to Leicester; February 6: ‘Settle & Carlisle Pullman’ to Carlisle…

TIMETABLED services restarted on both the Limerick Junction to Waterford line and the Nenagh branch (Limerick-Ballybrophy) on August 31. With passenger services having been suspended on the routes for more than five months, it was necessary to first have proving runs. The Limerick to Ballybrophy and return proving run on August 29 featured two-car unit Nos. 2w811+2812. Then on the 31st, units Nos. 2804+2803 and Nos. 2820+2819 operated the 06.30 ex-Limerick timetabled service as far as Nenagh. The two units were then split as planned; Nos. 2804+2803 continued to Ballybrophy while Nos. 2820+2819 worked the 07.45 Nenagh to Limerick service. Nos. 2804+2803 then worked the 10.05 Ballybrophy to Limerick. The first revenue earning trains on the Waterford to Limerick Junction line, the 07.20 ex-Waterford and 09.40 return, were worked by…

THREE different vehicles made up the final build of Mk.2 coaches which were designated as Mk.2f and comprised of a significant number of coaches: First Open (FO) stock numbered 3276-3439; Tourist Standard Open (TSO) numbered 5908-6184; and Brake Standard Open (BSO) numbered 9510-9539. Built at Derby between 1973 and 1975, they were the last of the type to be constructed following a long construction history starting with the XP64 concept and the building of the prototype Mk.2 coach at Swindon works as early as 1963. The Mk.2f is a successful design which remains in use today, although by 2020 it is restricted to departmental and charter workings following the withdrawal of the ScotRail/DRS Fife Circle locomotive-hauled operation. Face-lifting, refurbishments and conversions saw the type enjoy a long operational life with…

A FURTHER use of the Irish Model Rail (IRM) ‘OO’ gauge model of 1971-built CIÉ 42ft intermodal wagons has been exploited by loading them with demountable tanks to make up anicely presented weed spraying train wagon pack. The tanks fit the container lock positions of the wagons having been used on four-wheel wagons before being transferred to the intermodal wagons in the mid 2000s. They are a reuse of old equipment, rebuilt as demountable tanks to ISO container standards from Bullied four-wheel tank wagons, giving the weed spraying train an interesting history including the spraying vans used with the tanks. When upgrading of the weed spray train was undertaken with the ‘new’ wagons, a ‘new’ spraying coach was introduced to replace an older one which was converted in 1978. Often…

THE movement of livestock by rail had started as far back as the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1831, transporting cattle from Ireland that had been landed at Liverpool. Other early workings included imports from the continent to the East coast ports, and internal movements of lean cattle or sheep from hill farms to low lying areas for fattening. In the early 1900s, the principal flow was cattle for slaughter after being shipped from Ireland. By 1913, the ports with lairage for handling imported cattle were at Holyhead and Birkenhead from Dublin; Heysham, Fleetwood, Glasgow and Ayr from Greenore; and Bristol and Cardiff from Rosslare –the main objective being to keep the sea crossing as short as possible. The main parts of this cattle traffic required the use of block…

THE use of slam-door EMUs on the third-rail networks south of London date back to before the First World War, with British Rail continuing construction of Mk.1-based sets right through to the late-1970s. These were ideal for commuter use across the South East – especially the ‘people eater’ types that had a door to every bay of seats, allowing high volumes of passengers to board and alight in a minimum of time. By the end of the 1990s, however, such units were due for replacement while their manual slam-doors were increasingly seen as unsafe. Thus a rolling programme in the early 2000s saw the final large fleets of Classes 411 (CEP), 421 (CIG) and 423 (VEP) whittled away by new sliding-door ‘Desiro’ and ‘Electrostar’ stock, until November 2005 saw just…

I SAW the picture of the Class 37 taken in Rhyl in the September issue (Retro Years, p81) so took the attached photo recently (on September 16) so you can see how things have changed in 25 years. The large modern building behind the old signalbox is a new doctors’ surgery, the green field on the right is now a self-store business full of old shipping containers, and the building behind is Morrisons supermarket. The DMU seen leaving the station is the late running 10.30 service ex-Rhyl to Holyhead from Manchester Piccadilly worked by No. 158822. Glen Wells By email…