Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2025 i Rail Express

AN order for 14 five-car Hitachi Class 80x trains will not only fuel First Group’s open access expansion plans, but it will also secure some 700 jobs at Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe manufacturing facility. In addition to the confirmed order for 70 vehicles, there is an option to build up to 13 more five-car sets worth £450 million, however, this is dependent on other open access applications for new services being granted by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). The order is for electric, battery electric or bi-mode trains (the exact mix is to be confirmed) and will be financed by Angel Trains. The £500 million order value includes a 10-year maintenance package that will be undertaken at existing Hitachi train care facilities. Hitachi is currently building the East Midlands…

CLASS 20 NOVEMBER 2 found Type 1s Nos. 20007 and 20205 sandwiching GWR Mk.3 coach No. 12142 on the 5V20 10.08 Eastleigh-Reading Traincare. That afternoon the pair returned to Eastleigh at either end of vehicle No. 10601. Both locomotives remained at Eastleigh until moving to Kidderminster (SVR) on November 28. Similarly, the Balfour Beatty duo of Nos. 20901 and 20905 were seen stabled at Welwyn Garden City on November 23, following their occasional use between there and Alexandra Palace with the drain train. The LSL pairing of Nos. 20096 and 20107 Jocelyn Feilding 1940-2020 took a trip from Carlisle Upperby to Ayr via Prestwick on November 12, prior to heading to Crewe the following afternoon where they met up with Nos. 20118 Saltburn by the Sea and 20132 having returned…

ANOTHER POPULAR MODEL from the ‘Hatton’s Originals’ range, and one that is in keeping with the winter season, is set for reissue by Accurascale. ZAA snow ploughs have not been produced for some time, making the announcement of four twin packs very welcome. They are set for release later in 2025 and are being produced in limited quantities. The ZZA Beilhack snow ploughs date back to the early 1980s when the need for a medium-sized snow plough was identified. The solution, after trying Beilhack ploughs mounted on Class 20 and Class 37 bufferbeams, was to mount the ploughs on redundant Class 40 and Class 45 bogies, which was found to be a better solution. Ten ploughs were created, of which eight remain in service today, although not in their original…

00 GAUGE 4mm:1ft 1991-1996 ERA OF ALL THE rail blue Class 31s released by Accurascale, No. 31432 has some of the most interesting features. For the first time, the reinforced driver’s windscreen and the associated heavier frame has been modelled on a ‘OO’ gauge ready-to-run Class 31 model. It also enjoys other ‘modern’ features, including the headlight and NRN pods on the cab roofs. The full-size locomotive was a ‘hold-out’ in rail blue, lasting well into Sectorisation. It was eventually disposed of at Wigan Springs Branch in the same rail blue livery. One of the attractive features of this locomotive is the combination of rail blue and the orange warning stripe which is rarely modelled. Further, the reinforced windscreens dates the locomotive reasonably precisely, being fitted in late 1988 before the square…

TT GAUGE 1:120 scale 1980s to present ERA WITH A BRAND-NEW ‘TT:120’ Class 66 on the horizon, Hornby has wisely worked on models which will go with those locomotives when they arrive this winter. Fortunately, a single unit intermodal wagon already exists in its portfolio, previously released under the Arnold ‘TT:120’ brand. The Sffgmss IFA wagon is a useful one for the Hornby ‘TT:120’ range, being passed for operation in Europe and the UK. It will appeal to modellers on both sides of the Channel, being owned by several leasing companies such as Touax in the case of the Hornby version and Ermewa as released in the past under the Arnold label. The Sffgmss has been built in number in several batches. Records indicate a late 1980s introduction, with additional batches constructed…

MISSING in both ‘N’ and ‘OO’ gauge are models of the widely utilised Class 185 fleet constructed for First TransPennine Express as a replacement for three-car Class 158s. Class 158s held TransPennine services together for many years, providing new journey opportunities and high quality stock to meet 1990s passenger expectations. The Class 158 fleet was supplemented by Class 175s for services west of the Pennines. Class 158 and Class 175s were swept away by the new high powered trains with the grunt to effortlessly climb the steeply inclined routes between Sheffield, Leeds and Manchester. The power of a Class 185 was more than enough for good time keeping on flat routes across North Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, resulting in measures to better manage engine use. A total of 51 units were…

FOLLOWING the move of 32 Orenstein & Koppel-built JHAs for scrap at EMR, Attercliffe, in October (RE343), another 32 wagons have been sent to the same scrapper for destruction. On October 16, Rail Operations Group No. 37608 Andromeda was tasked with a 7E25 09.14 Crewe South Yd to Attercliffe that included Nos. OK 19316/20/3/ 5/9/30/8/46/52/6/8/64/7/78/80/ 3/6. Meanwhile, ROG colleague No. 37884 Cepheus was the train locomotive for an identical diagram on October 29, that had Nos. OK 19301/17/33/41/3/53/5/60/72/4/5/81/4/7/93 in tow. This leaves just 35 of the Foster Yeoman, later Aggregates Industries, wagons still extant from the original batch of 100. Before this year, only one wagon had been scrapped, No. OK 19318 in March 2022. Also for the ‘chop’ are former Amey Roadstone and Hanson Aggregates JHAs, with the first…

THE sale of the four-car 62 Tube Stock [TS] unit 1506-2506-9507-1507, back to London Underground in 2023 for component recovery, has enabled Cravens Heritage Trains Limited (CHTL) to focus on the other vehicles in its collection in the past year. Currently, the three-car 60TS unit that also includes a 38TS trailer is currently at West Ruislip Depot, awaiting attention. However, this work, which in time may see the unit return to working order, cannot commence until the traction motors, currently on loan to London Underground for the Track Recording Vehicle unit, are returned. Meanwhile, pilot locomotive L11 has been repainted in yellow departmental livery during the past year. An additional 10 litres of varnish has since been purchased, following a generous donation from one of the CHTL members. This will…

IT was a case of ‘one in, one out’ with Freightliner’s operational electric fleet during November, as the first of the former DB Cargo Class 90s returned to action with its new owner, although this was balanced by the storage of one of the original 10 Freightliner examples from Management Buyout, No. 90046, which is now designated DHLT. With Sandbach Commercial Dismantlers Ltd (SCDL) having scrapped six members of the class in July and August (Nos. 90017/22/023/027/032/038), fans of the BREL Crewebuilt design will be thrilled by the resurrection of No. 90040. Acquired from DB as part of its September 2023 tender, along with No. 90018, the loco is still in ‘Traffic red’, albeit with the same orange and black Freightliner and ‘zero injuries’ branding as its newly repainted colleagues.…

TWO former Riviera Trains coaches which last saw use on Fife circle loco-hauled services with ScotRail, have been put back into operational service by their new owner, West Coast Railways. Mk.2f BSO No. 9539, which arrived at Carnforth from Burton on August 29, had already received attention at Nemesis Rail’s site before it changed hands. Following completion of work and repaint into West Coast Railways maroon, it appeared on its first passenger working since 2020 on November 21, when it was used on a charter from Carlisle to Chester. Two days later, TSO No. 6183 made its debut appearance with its new owner in the consist of Pathfinder Railtours’ ‘Edinburgh Explorer’. Last used in 2019 it has been repainted out of ScotRail blue into blue/grey, indicating that West Coast Railways…

0 GAUGE 7mm:1ft 1964 to present ERA COACHING STOCK matching its superb new ‘O’ gauge locomotive models has been released by Heljan after a protracted development journey affected by factory closures and other issues. The early Mk.2 stock was found to be worth the wait based on impressions formed when the review models were first unboxed. They look the part and appear to be of strong construction, despite the removable roof moulding. Interior fittings are clearly visible through the large passenger saloon windows, modelled to a high degree of accuracy with neatly tooled seats and tables. The new range comprises 28 different vehicles covering early BR blue era without Inter-City markings through to Sectorisation and the private charter fleet. Rail Express Modeller had the pleasure of testing a TSO finished in Network…

00 GAUGE 4mm:1ft 1970 to present ERA Unpowered model ON TRACK PLANT (OTP) models are almost non-existent in ‘OO’ gauge. This deficiency has been pointed out in Rail Express Modeller in the past when locomotive classes are increasingly being duplicated. The arrival of the EFE Rail YOB 12-ton Plasser crane (no matter the origins of the CAD) is a welcome development and hopefully its sales will be good enough to encourage manufacturers to look at other items of OTP. It is an unpowered model because of the complexity of motorising it could push its cost to unacceptable levels. Usually, they were transported to work sites within infrastructure trains making the unpowered version quite acceptable to most modellers. Powering it simply for use in yards or engineer’s possession scenes was seen as commercially…

SHIREBROOK Diesel Depot’s superb steel and glass running shed structure still survives though long out of railway use, heavily modified and no longer rail-connected to the line between Mansfield to Worksop. The demise of the depot came following the closure of several local collieries in the Nottinghamshire Coalfield, at a time when coal mining was declining as a major UK industry and coal-fired power stations were being phased out in favour of cleaner energy generation. The huge volumes of coal traffic served by Shirebrook-based locos steadily disappeared after the end of the 11-month long miners’ strike which began in March 1984. Now the depot building is mostly surrounded by stacked container storage and rampant vegetation. One could easily miss its original railway use when passing by on an East Midlands…

THE conversion of a Class 08 shunter to a battery-powered, emission-free shunter is proving to be a great success. It was back in October 2023 that Positive Traction unveiled its re-engineering of former Inverness-based No. 08308 at Barrow Hill Roundhouse, to what it calls an 08e. But now the shunter has more than proved its ability by successfully hauling 1000 tonne aggregate trains at Whatley Quarry, Somerset. The 08e was in Somerset with Heidelberg Materials from October 14 to 25, during which time it was tested with loads starting at 600 tonnes, and with gradual increases, managed 1000 tonnes in both pushing and pulling modes. In comparison, Whatley’s conventional 08 stalled hauling 800 tonnes. With the equivilent of 450hp on tap and a tractive effort of 45,000lb, the 08e easily…

RAIB crash investigators analysing the collision at Talerddig on October 21, between two Transport for Wales Class 158 DMUs and where one passenger died, have revealed that the automatic sanders fitted to the 18:31 Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth unit No. 158841 were blocked and apparently unable to discharge sand. This train collided with 1S71, the 19.09 Machynlleth to Shrewsbury (158824) some 900 metres west of the passing loop at Talerddig. The train from Shrewsbury (1J25) had 37 passengers on board, the other train had just four. RAIB say it was the sanding hoses on the leading vehicle which were blocked and apparently unable to discharge sand. The investigation has also revealed conflicting evidence relating to the speed of the trains at the point of collision. Initial analysis indicates train 1J25 was…

NOVEMBER 27 saw the arrival of the first Class 175 at Laira for staff training, in advance of their introduction on Great Western Railway services in the West Country. This move is expected to spell the end for the ‘Castle’ HSTs in the West Country in 2025. Two-car set No. 175002 was hauled from Ely Papworth to Laira by Nos. 37510 Orion and 37407 Blackpool Tower in a lengthy move which took over 18 hours and ran via Peterborough, Leicester, Wolverhampton and the Shrewsbury and Newport avoiding curves. A second set, three-car No. 175108, was expected to arrive at Laira in early December. It is planned to have the first examples in traffic with GWR in May 2025, operating in Devon and Cornwall. The Class 175 fleet last saw service…

TWO of the Stratford 47 Group’s locomotives, Nos. 47580 County of Essex and 47596 Aldeburgh Festival, have been sold to the Mid-Norfolk Railway, along with the group’s stock of spares and tooling, following a decision to dispose of its fleet. Both Class 47s have been based on the line for some time – No. 47580 since it last ran on the main line in 2021, and No. 47596 since its arrival from Tyseley in 2006. The decision by the Stratford 47 Group to offer its fleet for sale comes as a result of a lack of volunteers to maintain its three locos. This is a problem faced by a growing number of owning groups, both steam and diesel. It was felt that by selling Nos. 47580/96 to the Mid-Norfolk Railway,…

EIGHT GNER Mk.3 TRAILERS and power car pack from Hornby’s 2024 catalogue were released during the autumn. The arrival of Trailer Restaurant First Buffet (TRFB) No. 40737, which lagged behind the rest of the trailers, completes the train set which is finished in early GNER livery (Sea Containers red and blue) with blue passenger doors. To meet accessibility rules, the doors were subsequently painted in the same red as the mid-height stripe, post-dating the version modelled by Hornby. GNER livery was always regarded as one of the classiest of the Privatisation years, and its loss as well as GNER as an operator is still keenly felt today. The new models, which are all based on Hornby’s retooled Mk.3 trailers and reworked HST power cars, are numbered and lettered to make…

00 GAUGE 4mm:1ft 1944-1990s ERA CLARK RAILWORKS released its first ‘OO’ gauge model in the autumn of 2024, and a little beauty it is too. The 25t ‘Lowmac EP’ to BR Diagram 242/2 is perfect for D&E modellers, and on first inspection the model is a delicate balance between neatly executed detailing and achieving the slightly untidy appearance of the prototypes. Two models were kindly offered for review: BR yellow ZXV No. DB904502 and BR engineers’ olive ZVV No. ADB904504. Both represent BR-built wagons constructed in 1950 by PW McLellan and marked up with TOPS codes relating to use in the 1980s. Both models have maintenance markings for 1987, although their use could be pushed into an early 1990s modelling era too. A detailing pack is included with each wagon containing vacuum…

00 GAUGE 4mm:1ft CLASS 66 LOCOMOTIVES have been part of the Hornby ‘OO’ gauge catalogue almost continuously over the last five years, and the 2024 range was no different, with several new liveries being offered, including two GB Railfreight ‘Europorte’ locomotives. Hornby seems to have a thing about GB Railfreight locomotives, with a Class 66/7 appearing almost every year, in one guise or another. The 2024 range included GB Railfreight No. 66754 Northampton Saints with factory-installed Bluetooth TXS digital sound decoder with a list price of £154.99. Apart from a 21-pin DCC interface linking the drive bogie to power collection, the model has no other electrical circuits. A second Class 66/7 in Europorte livery, No. 66705 Golden Jubilee, is included in the catalogue as a DCC-ready model for £109.99, making the…

TUESDAY, October 29, 2024, marked the start of an hourly service on weekdays between Belfast Grand Central Station and Dublin Connolly. It gives the route its most intensive ‘Enterprise’ service since the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) introduced two Cross Border expresses in each direction on weekdays in August 1947, together with the iconic name. The ‘Enterprise’ name was initially limited to the routes’ premier trains but subsequently became a generic brand name for through trains between the two capital cities. There are eight trains each way on Sundays and the current timetable is valid until December 14. The increased service levels on the jointly operated route required additional funding of £21million (€25 million) which has been provided by the UK Department for Transport, Irish Government and the ‘Shared Island Fund’.…

LUXURY train operator Belmond Ltd is set to inaugurate its third UK train in July 2025, with the launch of the ‘Britannic Explorer’. This will be a three-day touring train where guests will spend the night in sleeping carriages and be served haute cuisine. The luxury hotel owner and operator of the Venice Simplon Orient Express and the Eastern & Oriental Express (Singapore-Malaysia-Thailand) will see this latest venture complementing its existing two trains, the British Belmond Pullman and the Royal Scotsman. Comprising 10 Mk.3 carriages, they will appear in Pigeon Blue – a mid-grey with blue tint. There are two service vehicles, five sleeping cars, made up of one Grand Suite carriage, three carriages with four suites, and one carriage with three suites and a wellness suite including spa. In…