Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2025 i Rail Express

THE Arriva Group has submitted a track application to the Office of Rail and Road to begin a new direct service between Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Brighton via Gatwick Airport. Their plan is for five trains per day under the Grand Central banner, the company’s established open access operator, which could be begin from December 2026. Routing for the proposed service is Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, Northallerton, York, Doncaster, Sheffield, Derby, Burton-on-Trent, Birmingham New Street, Warwick Parkway, Banbury, Oxford, Reading, Wokingham, Guildford, Redhill, London Gatwick, Haywards Heath and Brighton. Part of that route mirrors that of the ‘Sussex Scot’ service between Glasgow and Brighton, which dates from the 1980s. It was later rerouted via Manchester Piccadilly, before being cut back to a Manchester-Brighton service in Sept 2002. The service ceased completely in 2008…

AN 18-day closure of the busy six-lane A46 Kenilworth Bypass was needed from mid-April, to slide a 14,500 tonne bridge into position as part of the HS2 project. The box section, the heaviest ever constructed in Europe, will take the HS2 line under the A46, and was built on land next to the road and slid into position during a continuous closure. Using this method has avoided two years of lane closures and speed restrictions on the road that connects Coventry to the M40. The first stage involved the demolition of a 200m long section of the old road, and the excavation of around 35,000 cubic metres of material, to make space for the box to be pushed into place. THIS material – mostly earth and sandstone – was stockpiled…

THE three blue/grey Mk.2f TSO vehicles (Nos. 5985, 6064 and 6158) modified with opening windows by Riviera Trains prior to their sale to West Coast Railways, have been sent north to Fort William for use on Jacobite steam services to Mallaig. They were moved as the 5Z37 08.02 Carnforth-Tom Na Faire depot by No. 47746 Chris Fudge 29.7.70-22.6.10 on May 3, with Mk.2f RFO No. 1212, FO Nos. 3356/64 and BSO No. 9526. Together, the seven coaches make up the second rake for the ‘Jacobite’ operation, which began operating between Fort William and Mallaig on May 5. The movement of these three coaches to Fort William will be disappointing news for those who have enjoyed their appearance on tours featuring heritage diesels; they had been included in the formation of…

THE first steps towards reducing the number of Class 08s on Swietelsky’s books have taken place with the sale of four locos, these moving en masse to the Stonegravels bus garage in Chesterfield that now serves as the maintenance centre for RMS Locotec and associated company Positive Traction. First to depart Barrow Hill on the short journey was No. 08428 on April 24, with Nos. 08782 and 08786 both following the next day and then No. 08742 on the 28th. None are operational, indeed No. 08782 currently has no power unit, so can perhaps be regarded as spares donors or fodder for further battery conversions. Two industrials have also been sold to the Hunslet Engine Company. Best known for its time based at Peak Forest, RMC-liveried Sentinel No. 10186 was…

00 GAUGE 4mm scale 1960 to 1975 ERA IT IS THE turn of 4mm scale modellers to add the attractive little Class 02 0-4-0DH shunter to their collections. Although only 20 Class 02 locomotives were built for British Railways in 1960 and 1961, they gained quite a following due to their use in industry, following withdrawal from service after a relatively short career on the main line. Layouts with industrial and dock scenes incorporating sharp curves will find the Class 02 appropriate shunting power because that was their primary role. Sadly, the loss of that type of railway saw many short wheelbase shunting locomotives such as the Class 02 taken out of service long before they became life expired. Fortunately, private companies snapped up Class 02s (and others) due to their relatively…

STRUCTURE MODELLING is the perfect application for styrene plastic. Very detailed and accurate structures can be assembled relatively quickly using it, supported by strip, rod and other shapes. There are pitfalls to avoid and useful work rounds and work dodges that can be employed to complete a realistic building. Structures do not have to be built entirely from styrene material. They can be detailed with etched metal parts, fitted out with glazing made from alternative clear materials (acrylic), and we can take advantage of detailing parts for window frames, rain water goods, doors, and roofing materials. Embossed (vacuum-formed) styrene sheet has a major role to play for brick work, stone, tiles, slates and other textures. So where do we begin? Well, a few notes on how to find the dimensions…

AFTER a major renovation, Locomotive Services’ ‘Statesman’ luxury train makes its return appearance on September 10. The Pullman-liveried set’s first outing is the ‘Snowdonia Statesman’, originating at Cardiff Central, calling at stations to Birmingham New Street. Destination is Betws-y Coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog. Locomotive Services invariably uses Arlington Fleet Services at Eastleigh to undertake contracted rolling stock painting and the ‘Statesman’ carriages have been there for that purpose. Internal work is being undertaken at their Crewe base. An extensive programme from the inaugural run will see the Pullman-liveried set visit many parts of the country: September 24 – ‘Dorset Coast Statesman’. Stations from Nottingham to Bedford, destination Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth. October 8 – ‘Snowdonia Statesman’. Stations from Durham to Rochdale. Destination Betws-Y-Coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog. October 14 – ‘Cornish…

AN interim report from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) into a fatal collision between two Transport for Wales Class 158 DMUs indicates that one of the units had two blocked sander pipes. In the incident on October 21, 2024, unit No. 158841 (1J25), travelling west as the 18.31 Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth with 31 passengers on board, collided with No. 158824 (1S71, 19.09 Machynlleth to Shrewsbury) with six people on board. The collision was 1080 metres beyond the block marker at Talerddig passing loop, where the westbound train should have stopped. Precedence had been given by the signaller to the eastbound train which was climbing a steeper gradient. Following Storm Ashley a few days earlier, rail adhesion conditions had been declared as ‘moderate to poor’ for the area, with the…

ROMIC Group, best known for exporting HST trainsets to Mexico and Nigeria, and the lease of Mk.3 coaches for overhead line test trains, has acquired its first non-HST motive power in the form of BR green No. 20007 and BR blue No. 20205, from Michael Owen’s company 20189 Ltd. No. 20007 is notably the oldest operational main line-registered locomotive in the UK and was new as D8007 to the former North London Railway motive power depot at 1D Devons Road (Bow) on September 19, 1957, the EE Type 1 being so old that it even pre-dates the famous 1958 changeover that saw the MPD become Britain’s first diesel-only shed. Its counterpart entered traffic at 50D York North almost a decade later on April 22, 1967, and was one of the…

CLASS 20 EE Type 1 interest increased towards the end of the month, when the Balfour Beatty duo of Nos. 20901 and 20905 left Stapleford & Sandiacre bound for Crewe on April 22. Next day they began a trek north with the drain train forming the 6J09 09.11 Crewe Gresty Lane-Oxenholme, going on to Bridgeton and reaching Slateford on April 25. UK Railtours’ ‘East Anglian Freighter’ started out from Carnforth behind Type 3 No. 37403 Isle of Mull on April 26, collecting Type 1s Nos. 20007 and 20205 at Kings Norton, thereafter forming the 1Z38 15.31 to Stratford passing Gospel Oak at 20.00. Next day the tour continued to Lowestoft, Felixstowe Creek and Southend Victoria. The train terminated at Crewe on April 28 although the Class 20s came off at…

JUST over eight months since the first delivery of 34 VTG Rail-leased HOA (UIC code Fanpps) hoppers for the Freightliner-operated Hanson/ Aggregates Industries joint venture, the remaining 33 wagons of the 203-strong order made their journey through the Channel Tunnel on April 13, moving north the following day. GB Railfreight operated the 6Z66 03.45 Dollands Moor to Wembley leg with Nos. 66772 Maria and 66722 Sir Edward Watkin top and tailing wagon Nos. 81 70 6774 246 to 81 70 6774 278. As with previous deliveries, a Freightliner locomotive was waiting to take the train of Polish-built hoppers forward, No. 66519 operating the 6V31 09.06 to Merehead. The Greenbrier Europeconstructed HOAs have replaced 245 JHAs that were delivered to Foster Yeoman and Amey Roadstone (ARC) respectively between 1988 and 1991,…

00 GAUGE 4mm scale 1991 to present ERA INTERNATIONAL and domestic steel traffic produces quite varied trains even today, and the Fauvet-Girel IHA-F (UIC coded Sfhimmns) is just one of a number of covered steel-carrying wagons designed to protect steel from weather damage. Introduced in 1991 for use in domestic and cross-channel steel traffic, a total of 250 IHA-F wagons were eventually constructed by 1998. They have seen regular use on numerous flows, including steel coil imported through UK ports, along with traffic from UK steel plants and terminals. IHA-F wagons remain in regular use today. The wagons are quite short in length due to the high density of steel loads. They ride on Y25 bogies and feature a single access platform located over the headstocks at one end of the wagon.…

LIKE many heritage railways, the Severn Valley Railway has faced some very difficult times recently. Two years ago, in the post-Covid recovery period, the railway suffered from a drop in passenger numbers which also resulted in a reduction of spending in the railway’s cafe and shops. Visitor confidence was slow to pick up. On top of that, the railway – along with all other heritage and visitor attractions – faced sharp increases in running costs as a result of the invasion of Ukraine. The situation was so severe 18 staff were made redundant, ‘Black Five’ steam loco No. 45110 was sold, and a survival appeal was launched to help build up cash reserves. There were timetable cuts, vacancies remained unfilled and only essential work on infrastructure and rolling stock was…

THE Downpatrick and County Down Railway (D&CDR) is to be the permanent future home for four Irish Traction Group (ITG) ex-CIE/IE locomotives, Nos. A3R, 124, 152 and 190 which are currently stored at the West Clare Railway, Moyasta, County Clare. The Northern Ireland-based heritage railway responded positively to the request from the ITG, and covered accommodation for the locomotives at Downpatrick has been made possible by laying a siding into the new locomotive shed. Locomotive Nos. A3R, 124 and 190 have been stored in the open at Moyasta since November 2009, with No. 152 arriving in late 2010. They were to be part of a working narrow gauge/broad gauge railway museum but various planning issues over the years have delayed progress, and while the locomotives have been protected against exposure…

LNER is celebrating its InterCity 225 stalwarts by holding a ‘225 Day’ on May 22. With the locomotives and Mk.4 carriages more than 35 years old, LNER will host its first ‘225 Day’, honouring a very popular fleet of trains, and celebrating people’s memories. On the day, an LNER Class 91 loco will be named, while other InterCity 225 sets operating in passenger service will have specially designed merchandise and giveaways on board. Dr Linda Wain, engineering director at LNER, said: “Our InterCity 225 trains have been running up and down the East Coast Main Line for many years now, and it feels right that we celebrate all that they have achieved. “In their swansong years we want to recognise the mammoth impact they have had on the rail industry…

THE planned visit of Class 26 No. D5310 (26010) to the East Lancashire Railway for its summer gala has had to be cancelled, owing to the imposition of an 80-ton weight restriction on a road bridge which crosses the Shrewsbury to Chester line at Ruabon. The road (the A539) is the only route on which it is possible to move locomotives and rolling stock into and out of the Llangollen Railway. A short notice dispensation was given to enable steam loco No. 6880 Betton Grange to visit the Llangollen Railway in April, but no such exemption was given to allow No. D5310 to move. The Class 26 was due to be sent to the West Coast Railways’ depot at Carnforth for tyre turning in advance of its appearance at the…

00 GAUGE 4mm scale 2018 to present ERA The prototype ‘FLIRT’ or ‘Fast Light Intercity and Regional Train’ describes the bi-mode Class 755 well. The Greater Anglia version, as modelled by Hornby, operates over a mixture of routes in East Anglia, which involve short distance rural stopping services as well as longer regional workings such as the Ipswich-Peterborough route. Class 755s also work on the main line through to London Liverpool Street, although the lack of First Class accommodation can prove problematic on the London route. A total of 38 units were built between 2018 and 2020, being introduced to traffic in the summer of 2019. They replaced Class 153, Class 156 and Class 170 trains and have done so successfully, despite some initial teething problems and noisy cooling systems which prompted…

00 GAUGE 4mm scale 1955 to mid-1970s ERA MODELLING the typical Irish freight scene is becoming easier with IRM’s triangulated chassis wagon range. 12t H Van and bulk grain wagons are the latest to arrive, and must be among the most sophisticated models produced on the triangulated chassis so far. As we have come to expect from Irish Railway Models, they have been produced with excellent tooling for the bodies and underframes. Bulleid H-Van wagons were built at Inchicore works during the mid 1950s, and the builds included unfitted and vacuum-braked wagons, both of which are now represented in the IRM range with the recent announcement for unfitted vans. The H Van models featured in this review are modelled with vacuum brakes and CIÉ roundel logos. The H Van design was also…

50 YEARS AGO… JUNE 1975 ■ FORT WILLIAM STATION MOVE ALL BRITISH Railways passenger services and offices at Fort William were moved to a new transport centre (rail and bus stations) around half-a-mile closer to Mallaig Junction. The move from the former North British station was needed to free up land for a proposed ring road along the seafront. The new station is on the site of the old railway goods depot. ■ NUNEATON SLEEPER DISASTER FOUR PASSENGERS and two Sleeping Car attendants were killed when the 23.30 ‘Night Caledonian’ sleeper train was derailed just south of Nuneaton station on June 6. Excessive speed through a 20mph speed restriction was identified as the cause. The train had left Euston hauled by Class 86 No. 86242, but it had failed shortly…

FORMER London Underground 83 Tube Stock (TS) Driving Motor (DM) car No. 3721, has been scrapped, being cut into three parts. It had been utilised by the Tyne & Wear Fire Service at Washington, Sunderland, for tunnel rescue training. The DM car had been delivered to LU as part of the second batch of 83 TS units for the Jubilee Line in 1988. The 83 TS trains were delivered to London Underground in two batches, with driving motor cars of the first batch of Jubilee Line 83TS trains numbered 36xx, and the second batch of DMs beginning with 37xx. The 83TS were similar in many ways to the District Line D Stock, which were also built by MetroCammell. Both shared the same seat moquette created by Misha Black’s Design Research…