Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i Rail Express

TWO Class 43 power cars have received retro liveries as CrossCountry marks the end of High Speed Train operation in September. Both owned by Angel Trains, Nos. 43207 and 43208 have received original HST blue and yellow and InterCity Swallow liveries respectively, and have also been renumbered back to their original identities of 43007 and 43008. They join No. 43184 Laira Diesel Depot, which was released in InterCity Executive last year. The three ‘43s’ were lined-up for a photoshoot at Laira, where the painting and vinyling was undertaken, on July 31. As this issue of Rail Express went to press, Nos. 43007/008 had yet to return to traffic. An XC spokesperson said: “Our High Speed Trains have served the CrossCountry network well for over 40 years. We’ll oversee a phased…

THREE Class 43 High Speed Train power cars and 11 Mk.3 coaches have been exported to Mexico. Former Great Western Railway Castle power cars Nos. 43022, 43158/170 and Mk.3 Trailer Firsts (TF) Nos. 41091, 41100, Trailer Standards (TS) 42026, 42179, 42401/402/405 and Trailer Guard’s Standard (TGS) 44034/061/063/094 were all moved by road from Ely Papworth sidings to Great Yarmouth harbour between August 2 and August 8, ahead of being loaded onto a ship for their journey to Central America. They are expected to dock at Altamira, in Tamaulipas state on Mexico’s Gulf Coast. Nos. 43022 and 43158 only arrived at Ely under their own power on July 31 (see Power By The Hour), having run from Kings Norton having left Laira on July 28. The rest of the Mk.3s have…

BRITAIN’S largest freight operator, DB Cargo UK, has stored its final five operational Class 90s, Nos. 90021/026/028/035/039. From an operational pool of 12 locomotives at the end of 2022, the operator has removed the final ‘90s’ from service with CEO Andrea Rossi citing high energy costs that cannot be passed on to customers as the reason for their withdrawal. Nos. 90021/026 were in the WEAC pool and Nos. 90028/035/039 were in the WEDC pool. All five electrics have moved to the WQBA Level 2 storage group. Nos. 90035/039 had previously been stored in mid-April, although the former was reactivated a few weeks later. The Class 90 diagrams will be covered by Class 66s. The previously stored members of the class were also downgraded during the same period, Nos. 90019/020/024/034/036/037 moving…

BRITAIN’S last wagon builder, Nottinghamshire-based WH Davis (WHD), will build 60 JNA bogie box wagons of a similar design to its recently completed fleet for Land Recovery. Construction will start in September, after the completion of the latest batch of 30 IIA-D biomass covered hoppers for Drax Power. While the body is expected to be identical to the previously delivered vehicles, the major difference will be the adoption of a wagon-mounted brake system, which will see some of the brake equipment moved back to the underframe. Notably, not all are for the same customer, with only the first 25 allocated so far. The remainder are being assembled on a semi-speculative basis, with box wagons continuing to be in high demand from rail operators. In other news from WHD, the first…

COACHES ANGEL Trains has sent four off-lease power door High Speed Train coaches to Sims Metals at Newport for cutting up. Former Great Western Railway Trailer Standard (TS) Nos. 48116/134/135 and Trailer Guard Standard (TGS) No. 49113 are the first ex-GWR HST vehicles rebuilt with new doors to make them compliant with accessibility regulations to be disposed of. Two of the coaches sent for scrap had spent less than three years in traffic in their rebuilt form. Nos. 48134 and 49113, which were converted from Nos. 42264 and 44008, were released from Wabtec, Doncaster on April 23, 2020 and formed part of set GW13. The set was last used in early March. The other two coaches had been in traffic a little longer, having emerged from conversion in August 2019…

IN RE321, I concluded: “TfL cannot rely upon the current model of post-pandemic passenger income as its principal source of income” and that a realistic long-term sustainable financial model needs to be found. In May, Appendix 1 to the Statement of Accounts in the TfL Budget 2023-24 document referred to: “In 2024/25, TfL is able to fund around three-quarters of its total £2 billion capital investment, but a Government funding contribution of £475 million is assumed.” This financial gap of £475m to support capital funding projects was repeated at the London Assembly by both Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London and Andy Lord, TfL commissioner, during a meeting on July 6. The loss of TfL’s annual Government grant prior to the Covid-19 pandemic has focussed thinking and spending policies for much…

NEWSDESK IT’S a busy autumn in store for Bachmann (www. bachmann.co.uk) with a number of new tooling projects and important ‘N’ gauge developments coming to fruition. The headline act has to be the refurbished Class 411 4-CEP development with two different models being offered. There is confirmation of the brand-new Newton Chambers car carriers being added to the EFE Rail range as reported last month. An additional Class 144 finished in GWR green livery will attract interest too. A brand-new two-car Class 158 in ‘N’ gauge is finally to fall out of the pipeline with additional liveries and numbers being announced alongside digital sound versions. This exciting addition to the Graham Farish range is sure to sell well given the growing interest in Class 158s. The range is further strengthened…

00GAUGE 4mm:1ft 1934 to late 1980s ERA A REMOVABLE ROOF and exquisite interior detailing are just a couple of the attractive features of Rapido Trains UK’s latest brake van model, the GWR Diagram AA20 ‘Toad’. A round dozen models were released, including two departmental brake vans, of which No. DW17244 will be of interest to D&E modellers. The remainder are vans labelled for revenue use in the GWR period and early BR era until the mandated use of brake vans was discontinued in 1968. The prototype vehicle was TOPS coded ZXO and, like so many departmental wagons, received modifications to suit its departmental role which can be added (or subtracted) by the modeller to develop the character of the model which is a close fit to the prototype. No.…

REVIEW 00 GAUGE 4mm:1ft 2014 onwards ERA Wagons for the modern DRS layout THREE BATCHES of the ‘new generation’ nuclear flask wagon were constructed for the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority by WH Davis, with the first of 40 wagons appearing in 2014. It replaced the older FNA wagon design with a wagon similar in shape, but riding on Barber BER22.5 ‘Easy Ride’ bogies. The wagons are used to transport spent nuclear fuel from existing power stations and sites undergoing decommissioning, including material from the large site at Dounreay which sees the wagons operated as far as the north of Scotland over the Far North Line. The wagons are operated by DRS in trains ranging in length from one to five FNA-D wagons and no longer with barrier wagons. The use…

THE first of 94 new trains for the Piccadilly line has arrived by rail at Wildenrath, Germany, for testing. Siemens Mobility is building the trains, with around half of the fleet to be constructed at the company’s new site near Goole, which Siemens said is currently in the final stages of being fitted out. Production at the site is due to begin early next year. The first train was built in Vienna and left the site at the end of July. While at the German site, the nine-car train will undergo acceleration and braking tests, noise and vibration trials as well as testing of all the equipment on board the train as well as all the equipment with which it will interface. Siemens said that the first train should enter…

AROUND 2600 new vehicles need to be ordered by 2030 to remove the risk to the train factories and supply chain in this country, according to a new report. The UK Rolling Stock Industry – making 2023 the year of opportunity not crisis, published by the Railway Industry Association (RIA), said Government clients need to make decisions this year to allow the procurement and private financing of rolling stock upgrades or replacements of around 2600 vehicles by the end of the decade. RIA highlights that in the past three-and-a-half years the only significant order for new or upgraded trains has been for 54 trains from HS2 Ltd in December 2021. The previous order was for the Class 805 bi-modes and ‘807’ electric multiple units being built by Hitachi for Avanti…

TRANSPORTATION of bulk ore from Tara Mines, Navan, to the Alexandra Road terminal at Dublin Port, ceased on July 5, with Nos. 073 and 083 each being active on empty workings and light engine movements on that day. The flow had gradually diminished after the announcement by owner Boliden on June 13, that the mine was to cease operations temporarily (RE 327). During the period before the traffic ceased, the use of one train each day was sufficient to move the remaining material to the dockside transshipment terminal for export to the smelter(s) in Scandinavia and mainland Europe. The Navan mine had experienced some temporary shutdowns over the years since 1977, when it started production, but mining eventually restarted. However, it was unclear as to when the operation would restart…

CROSSCOUNTRY is commemorating the withdrawal of its High Speed Train (HST) fleet by running a charter on September 26, ‘The Pines Express’ from Leeds to Swanage. A mini tour then follows, ‘The Bournemouth Belle’, from Swanage to Bournemouth and return. The original ‘Pines’ ran from Manchester London Road (later Piccadilly) to Bournemouth via Bristol, Bath and the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway south to Branksome Junction, near Poole, and onto to Bournemouth, pine trees being prevalent in this part of the country. This means the end of full-length HSTs but, of course, shortened rakes still operate in the West Country and Scotland. The tour sold out immediately – hardly surprising in view of the £95 charged. Booking agent The Branch Line Society (BLS) has a waiting list for this tour,…

OUT of action since March 2019, the Class 56 Group’s No. 56301 undertook a main line test run from UK Rail Leasing’s Leicester depot on July 12, in advance of it being hired by DC Rail. The Fastline liveried ‘Grid’ ran to Barrow Hill and back, with GB Railfreight No. 47749 City of Truro in tow for insurance purposes. Following the successful outing, No. 56301 began its use with DCR on July 24, running from Leicester to Chaddesden Sidings, Derby, to be paired up with DCR No. 56091 Driver Wayne Gaskell. July 27 saw the pair operate the 6Z60 09.51 Willesden-Merehead Quarry and 6Z61 16.28 return, rekindling memories of the 1980s when Class 56s visited Merehead on a daily basis. No. 56301 last saw regular main line use towards the…

OPERATORS have been introducing new trains in recent months and years, with others beginning to unveil their new fleets. Many have also been delayed as the pandemic continues to lurk over the rail industry, with its impact being felt across various aspects, one being training staff on new trains. On June 30, West Midlands Trains (WMT) unveiled three-car Aventra No. 730018 at Milton Keynes Central (RE327). The electric multiple unit is one of 48 Class 730/0s ordered for WMT’s West Midlands Railway operations and will eventually be used on the Lichfield-Birmingham-Redditch/ Bromsgrove Cross City Line, the Walsall-Birmingham-Wolverhampton and Rugeley-Birmingham International routes. Alstom at Derby Litchurch Lane is building them, with 42 sets so far released. The order, originally placed in October 2017, was for 36 three-car Class 730/0s, 29 five-car…

PETER Watts greets you with a smile. This friendliness is what has helped him to create what he describes as a “family” amongst those who have travelled and worked on the charters he has organised since the first one ran on June 10, 1973. So much has changed since that first train ran. Then, under the Fielding & Watts banner – F&W, ‘The Snowdonian’ ran from Gloucester to Pwllheli. This was powered by No. 1644 (now No. 57009) to Gloucester from where it was replaced by Class 24s Nos. 5079 and 5087 (which became Nos. 24079 and 24087 respectively). In those early days, Peter says the charters were about non-passenger traction and track. There was a lot more variety to choose from, however getting those locomotives for the trains could…

00GAUGE 4mm:1ft 1977 to early 2000sERA First impressions CONSTRUCTED IN 1977, the Standard Wagon 51t TUA wagon was leased to ICI by Tiger Rail/TRL for Caustic Soda liquor distribution from ICI Mond works before being transferred to ATO Chemicals. What gives this small fleet of two-axle tank wagons something of an interesting twist is their use as china clay slurry tank wagons. Initially, 12 wagons were modified and leased to English China Clays in 1988, where they could be found working on long distance flows between Burngullow, Mossend and Aberdeen. Eventually, more of the TUAs found themselves on china clay slurry traffic without any livery changes, a traffic some continued to serve until around 2004, despite many being stored out of use in various locations by this time. The brand-new…

CHILTERN Railways unveiled its ‘Right Route’ to 2030 vision at Westminster on July 19, with the aim of introducing new trains and improved rail services by the start of the new decade. As revealed in RE327, the operator wants to replace its existing Class 165 fleet with a new fleet, which would likely include battery technology. Launching its vision, the operator makes the case that Office of Rail and Road (ORR) figures show that its fleet has an average age of 28.9 years, making it the third oldest in the country, however it is the oldest fleet without a replacement being introduced. The operator states that while the communities it currently serves continues to grow, the fleet continues to age. CR managing director Richard Allan said: “We are determined to…

THE public consultation into proposals to close up to 974 ticket offices across Department for Transport-controlled operators (RE327) has been extended until September 1. The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) confirmed the extension on July 26, the day the original consultation was due to close. Transport Focus and London TravelWatch said that more than 170,000 responses had been received by the original final day. In a statement the RDG said: “in increasing the time available, train operators are listening to feedback and hope that more people will have their say in how tickets are sold at stations. Together with the extensive and ongoing engagement with accessibility groups, as well as the independent passenger watchdogs scrutinising the proposals, the responses will shape the final plans so that all passengers are supported as…

JULY 2 saw the first of Transport for Wales’ three-car ‘Civity’ Class 197s run in passenger service (RE327), the first such working being the 1K50 08.57 Chester-Crewe, operated by No. 197110. Later the same day, another three-car set, No. 197112, worked the 1W90 16.36 Chester-Holyhead. Further units from the ‘197/1’ sub-class entered traffic soon after, namely Nos. 197104 (July 3) and 197111 (July 11). Other ‘Civity’ units put into service with TfW in recent weeks have been Nos. 197043 (June 30), 197042 (July 4), 197016/020 (both July 6), 197001 (July 7), 197048 (July 20) and 197014 (July 26). Additional diagrams have been introduced on the North Wales coast as well as on the Crewe to Chester shuttle services. July 11 saw No. 197116 arrive at Telford Railfreight Terminal by road…

SHUNTERS & INDUSTRIALS A Class 08 has returned to Peterborough Yard for the first time in more than 15 years following an extension of the shunter hire contract between Railway Support Services (RSS) and GB Railfreight. RSS already provides locomotives to GBRf at Eastleigh Yard, Whitemoor Yard and Willesden Euroterminal, and, on July 7, Peterborough Yard became the latest location to be covered with the arrival of No. 08632 from Wishaw. This marks a welcome return to action for the shunter after more than two years on the sidelines following generator problems in April 2021, while on hire to Loram at Derby. Pictured in this column two issues ago (RE326), it has spent several months undergoing repairs at Wishaw, which has included a repaint out of its obsolete Loram colours…

CLASS 33 With the London Underground 4TC set in tow, No. 33012 Lt Jenny Lewis RN handled the 5Z33 13.00 Eastleigh Works-Alton (Mid Hants Railway) on July 12, the ‘Crompton’ returning to its Swanage base on July 24, after depositing the 4TC back at Eastleigh. West Coast Railways No. 33025 ventured onto the main line on July 22, taking the 5Z51 05.25 Southall-London Paddington empty coaches for a steam-hauled tour to the West Somerset Railway. No. 33025 returned to the terminus that evening to collect the tour stock and ‘Jubilee’ No. 45596 Bahamas. CLASS 37 The ‘East Anglian Explorer’, operated by Vintage Trains, ran outward as the 1Z15 07.56 Birmingham New Street-Norwich on July 19, ‘top and tailed’ by Nos. 37403 Isle of Mull and 47773. A round trip to…

PICTORIAL CLASS 50s may have been a regular sight at many British coastal towns during the summer, but those towns were not found on the east coast. However, on July 15, Nos. 50007 Hercules and 50008 Thunderer ventured to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, powering ‘The Merry Wherry’ charter. Operated by Hanson & Hall and promoted by the Branch Line Society (BLS), this was the first time ‘50s’ had visited Lowestoft, and the first time they had hauled a passenger train between Great Yarmouth and Reedham. It was not, however, the first time a ‘50’ had visited the Norfolk coastal town on a passenger train as pioneer No. 50050 Fearless was used by Anglia Railways on July 10, 1999, to power local services due to a shortage of available diesel multiple…

1970s to present ERA THE LATEST products released by C-Rail Intermodal are reissues of its ‘OO’ and ‘N’ gauge models of common ISO 20ft and 40ft by 8ft 6in (2.6m) ‘dry box’ containers. The ‘N’ gauge containers are decorated both in shipping company liveries and are released as undecorated models too. In addition to the new containers, C-Rail Intermodal has prepared artwork for another run of its ‘N’ gauge tank containers, including H&S Food Trans and Den Hartogh units. ‘OO’ gauge models The three featured containers are beautifully finished with high quality printing for company logos and registration numbers applied over accurate base colours. Two 20ft containers of the continuous external rib design are finished in Hapag Lloyd and Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM21) liveries, the latter being a more up-to-date…

SINCE STARTING in British outline ‘N’ gauge (1:148) scale in 2009, a great deal of experience in the scale has been gained on the journey. Quite a number of exciting new models have also arrived on the scene during that time with the new Graham Farish Class 90 being the latest. Moreover, there has been significant growth of several new ranges of ready to run models. The layout, having been exhibited on numerous occasions and also used during operating nights with friends, had reached the stage where some operating limitations had manifested themselves. Scenery was beginning to show signs of wear in places too. Fundamentally, the layout was reliable and proved to be easy to dismantle and store or transport to shows, making an overhaul worthwhile. The first of several…