Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2022 i Railways Illustrated

AFTER THE record temperatures recorded in the UK in July and the disruption this brought to the rail network (Railways Illustrated issue 235), the hot spell continued through-out the first half of August. Despite a period of wet weather in late July, the temperatures started rising again in August, leading to droughts being announced in various parts of the country due to falling water levels in reservoirs and parched ground conditions. Although the effects of the latest heatwave on the railway have not been as disruptive as those experienced in mid-July, the dry ground conditions saw Network Rail ban the use of steam locomotives on the main line due to the higher risk of lineside fires. Additionally, many of our heritage railways chose to remove steam locomotives from their operational…

JUST THREE months after their final day in traffic, August 16 saw the last pair of former Southern Class 455 EMUs depart from Stewarts Lane on their journey to Sims Metals at Newport Docks for scrapping. Hauled by 69001 Mayflower, 455804 and 455819 made up the final 5Q55 10.38 departure from the South London depot. This was the only scrap move of the ex-Southern Class 455s to be undertaken by one of GB Railfreight’s Class 69s throughout the disposal of the fleet, which were retired from service in May. The journey was also the first time a Class 69 had visited South Wales. Earlier movements of the scrap EMUs had seen 66734 Platinum Jubi-lee take 455817 and 455820 to South Wales on July 26 and then, two days later, 455833…

FOLLOWING THE completion of maintenance and the fitting of new vinyls to LNER’s 91110 Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the second Class 91 to carry a commemorative vinyl wrap livery – 91111 For the Fallen – has also undergone attention at Wabtec Doncaster, before having a refreshed version of its special livery re-applied. As with 91110, there are minor differences in the livery to the vinyls applied previously. LNER’s active fleet of 12 Class 91s and eight rakes of Mk.4 coaches are currently passing through Wabtec at Doncaster for essential maintenance, which includes bodywork repairs and repainting. While most of the loco-motives and all coaches will receive LNER’s new InterCity 225-inspired Oxblood colours, the three Class 91s that received commemorative special vinyl wraps – 91110, 91111 and Inter-City Swallow-liveried 91119…

THE FIRST request-stop kiosk on the Far North Line has been installed at Scotscalder station, with the new technology going on trial from August 15. Network Rail announced the initiative earlier in the year (Railways Illustrated issued 229), with the equipment planned to be installed at Altnabreac, Kinbrace, Kildonan, Dunrobin Castle, Rogart, Invershin and Culrain, should the trial at Scotscalder prove successful. Due to their geographical remoteness, patronage at these stations is among the lowest in the UK and they currently operate on a request-to-stop basis, requiring the need for waiting passengers to hand-signal approaching trains to stop at the stations. The kiosks will allow passengers to request an approaching train to stop using a radio system to send a message to the driver’s cab. Passengers on board trains wishing…

NETWORK RAIL hired two Class 37s from Rail Operations Group to act as ‘Thunderbird’ locomotives during the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham between July 28 and August 8. The two locomotives – 37510 Orion and 37800 Cassiopeia – which are sub-leased by ROG from owner Europhoenix, were hired to Network Rail for the duration of the games in case they were required to rescue and recover broken-down trains in the West Midlands that could have resulted in serious disruptions to services at a time when trains in the region were particularly busy. The pair were based at Birmingham’s Soho Depot and had special branding applied to the cabsides while they were being used on the Thunderbird duties. The Class 37s also played a vital role in recovering stranded trains around Birmingham…

THE CLASS 142 ‘Pacer’ which has been in store at Gascoine Wood, North Yorkshire, for the past two and a half years – 142047 – has been offered for sale by its owner. It arrived at Gascoine Wood on March 6, 2020, for storage, along-side classmates 142035/055. A number of withdrawn Class 142s were stored at the site following their withdrawal by Northern, with most departing either for scrap or preservation, although 142047 was retained by site owner MCL Rail. The company has now decide to sell it, which it describes as being in full working order. Whether 142047 will join the large number of preserved second-generation DMUs or face scrapping remains to be seen.…

Southall departures With the acquisition of Steam Dreams by Locomotive Services, further coaches owned by the charter company have been collected from Southall, this time using road transport. On August 4, Mk.1 Super GUV 94222 was brought north from London to LSL’s Crewe depot, while the same week saw Mk.1 BSK 35453 and Mk.2f RSS 1800 moved to Rowsley for further storage. The latter is the unique Restaurant Self Service buffet car conversion, which has not seen main line use for a number of years. Worksop Mk.4 barriers The two Mk.4 barrier coaches located at Worksop for more than 18 months were collected by D6817 (37521) on August 4, it working back to Locomotive Services’ Crewe depot with 6352 and 6353. The duo was originally brought north from Bounds Green…

The latest loco to receive a new look to promote the benefits of rail freight is 88010, its white and blue scheme being in conjunction with Tesco and carrying the slogans ‘Keeping it cool with less CO2’ and ‘Refrigerated rail cool move’. At Wabtec Doncaster, 91105 has become the second Class 91 in the new LNER colours derived from the InterCity 225 livery, while Mk.4 set NL15 has also been completed but had not been released from Doncaster as this issue went to press. At the same time, 91111 has seen its ‘For the Fallen’ vinyls renewed, again with some minor differences, like the already-completed 91110. With DB Cargo red Class 66s continuing to roll out of Toton at a steady pace, Freightliner examples are now visiting Wolverton Works for…

THE OWNER of preserved main line-registered 86259 Les Ross/Peter Pan is celebrating two decades of being associated with the locomotive that now bears his name. The Class 86 was named Les Ross by Virgin Trains at Birmingham International on September 27, 2002, to mark the last radio show presented on Birmingham station BRMB (now Free Radio) by Les Ross MBE, who had presented the breakfast programme for more than 26 years before deciding to stand down. A lifelong railway enthusiast, Mr Ross had never hidden his interest in trains and railways from his listeners, and it was one of his listeners who suggested that station bosses should get Virgin to name one of their new trains after the broadcaster when it was announced that he would be leaving BRMB. Virgin…

PEAK RAIL is celebrating its most successful event for several years as the railway strives to rebuild its reputation among enthusiasts, with the general manager heralding the August Mixed Traffic Gala as ‘phenomenal’. The event, which ran from August 12-14, featured all of the railway’s operational steam locomotives, along with heritage diesel locomotives Class 25 D7659, Class 44 D8 Penyghent and Class 47 D1501 – the latter making its debut in passenger service on the Derbyshire heritage railway. The Heritage Shunters Trust also operated a number of locomotives from its collection on brake van rides at Rowsley South. Peak Rail general manager Mark Sealey told Railways Illustrated: “The event was phenomenal and I’m still on a high from just how successful it has been. “Despite taking place on one of…

WITH THE long dry spell of weather showing no sign of disappearing, and with only a small amount of rainfall over the last few weeks, the majority of services on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway remain in the hands of diesel locomotives. Hot on the heels of the Diesel and Electric Preservation Group’s 47077 North Star entering service on the Pickering to Grosmont heritage line, Nemesis Rail’s main line-registered 31128 Charybdis has returned to Grosmont to assist with services on the railway, particularly on the main line NYMR services through to Whitby. With the NYMR’s main line-registered Class 25 D7628 Sybilla being out of service undergoing engine and generator repairs, the Whitby trains were initially operated by 31128 at the start of the 2022 operating season, although this was replaced…

With the Mk.2f Driving Brake Standard Opens (DBSOs) having notched up almost 43 years of service, they have long been of interest to modellers. For many years, the only route to one in OO gauge was to modify an Airfix/Dapol/Hornby Mk.2d BSO using one of theconversion kits available, but a ready-to-run solution finally arrived in 2018 from Bachmann. This recreated the DBSOs in their original form with the cab front gangway connection in place, fulfilling the needs of modellers portraying ScotRail operations in the 1980s. Now, four years later, the model has been brought forward in time to represent the vehicles in their post-1990 refurbished condition, which saw the removal of the unused gang-way connection to create a cleaner-looking cab front. This coincided with their transfer to InterCity and redeployment…

THE COMPLETED bodyshell for the first Class 93 tri-mode locomotive being constructed by Stadler at Valencia for Rail Operations Group was unveiled at the end of July. This now allows Stadler to begin work on installing the components and sub-systems required by the locomotives, including pipework, cabling, traction systems and other equipment. Rail Operations (UK) and Stadler signed a framework agreement in 2021 for 30 Class 93s, with an initial batch of 10 ordered. The Class 93 is a ‘Bo-Bo’ mixed-traffic locomotive based on Stadler’s Class 68 and Class 88s, which were built for Direct Rail Services and have been operating successfully in the UK for several years. The Class 93 design is the first tri-mode locomotive to be built for the UK rail market and the first designed by…

NETWORK RAIL reported that more than 800,000 people passed through Edinburgh Waverley station during the first week of the annual Edinburgh Festival, which took place in the city throughout August. In the first seven days of this year’s festival, 806,136 people travelled through Edinburgh Waverley, up from a figure of 446,936 during the first week of the 2021 festival. Network Rail interim station manager Chris King said: “We are very proud to be playing an essential part in the city hosting the highly-anticipated 75th anniversary of the Edinburgh Festival. “We saw huge numbers passing through Waverley during the first week and would expect that to continue over the coming weeks.” The Festival closed on August 29.…

DESPITE HIGH temperatures in the UK throughout July and the first half of August, which saw parts of the country declared as being in drought, Network Rail’s preparations for the autumn leaf fall season are in full swing – with the first Railhead Treatment Trains heading away from their base at York. The RHTTs were introduced by Network Rail to deal with the problems caused by decaying leaves falling from trees and settling on the rails. Through the passage of trains and autumnal weather, the leaves become ground onto the railhead and form a mulch, leaving a thin black layer on top of the rail. This mulch can create hazardous conditions for trains, similar to the effects of black ice on the roads, making it difficult for braking trains to…

EAST MIDLANDS Railway has created a rainbow livery to celebrate Pride and to promote diversity in its work-place, which will be applied to two trains from within the EMR fleet. The rainbow ‘swoosh’ design and tagline #LetsRollWithPride has already been applied to 158773, which was launched into service in its new guise in early August. ‘Stronger Together’ is one of six employee network groups within EMR set up to represent LGBTQIA+ employees, as well as promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace. EMR duty depot delivery manager and LGBTQIA+ network lead Jacob Lane said: “The idea for a Pride train came about after a discussion in one of our network meetings. We thought this would be an awesome way of showcasing our commitment as a network to set EMR on…

AS REPORTED in the last issue of Rail-ways Illustrated, a 2.8-mile extension has been opened by London Over-ground from Barking to a new station at Barking Riverside. The extension and station were brought into use on July 18 and built to provide improved transport links to the Barking Riverside area. This area is a key regeneration project, delivering more than 10,000 new homes and a range of community, commercial and retail spaces along a stretch of the River Thames. The new extension allows travel between Barking and Barking River-side by train in seven minutes, as opposed to a 25-minute bus journey linking the two areas. Four trains per hour will operate, providing Barking Riverside with connections to the District and Hammersmith & City lines into central London and c2c trains…

DIRECT RAIL Services has told Rail-ways Illustrated that it intends to use its fleet of Class 57/3s on railhead treatment trains this autumn. Five locomotives have returned to DRS from a sub-lease to Rail Operations Group, and while sources have suggested the lease was terminated due to the 57s requiring expensive maintenance, a decision has been made to return the locomotives to service. So far 57305 has been reinstated, and it is expected that 57301/303/310/312 will follow in due course. DRS said the RHTT traction plan would include Class 37s, 57s, 66s and 68s. The Class 37s are currently being disposed of by the company as part of sale and leaseback arrangement (Railways Illustrated issue 235), while 66301-305 are all due to be transferred to GB Railfreight in October.…

More video survey 153s Network Rail is to expand the number of Class 153 video survey units following the success of the first two conversions, 153376 and 153385. Now also allocated to the QTRV pool are 153379 and 153384, the former East Midlands sets being collected by road from Long Marston in mid-June and early August respectively. Both have initially gone to the Derby premises of Millenium Site Services, located on an industrial estate not far from the Derby RTC and specialising in bodywork repairs and preparation. Indications are that NR may acquire another one or two sets in due course. Grand Central Class 180 formations – August 2022 180101 – 50901 54901 55901 56901 59903 180102 – 50902 54902 55902 56902 59902 180103 – 50912 54907 55906 56903 59905…

Freightliner Resident since the start of April, 08691 has been repainted into Freightliner’s orange and black livery during maintenance at Nemesis Rail’s Burton depot. The shunter has also lost its Terri nameplates, which had been applied back in October 2003 while based at Felixstowe. Hunslet Former Hams Hall pilot 08401 has survived the fire damage it incurred at the Midlands container terminal back in February, it being released from repairs at Barton-under-Need-wood in mid-July. Taken north to Edin-burgh, it is now on hire to Hitachi at Craigentinny alongside 08472. Its arrival allowed 08596 to be brought back south, this initially going to the Stoke yard of haulier Reid Freight Services to await onward movement. At Daventry, the former British Steel GEC-built shunters owned by parent company Ed Murray have found…

THE CLASS 50 Alliance has announced plans for a celebratory operating day to commemorate 30 years of partnership between the Fifty Fund (now the CFA) and the Severn Valley Railway. On September 24, a Class 50 from the CFA fleet will haul services on the diesel diagram, working the 09.45 and 13.45 departures from Kidder-minster and the 11.45 and 15.55 departures from Bridgnorth. The owning group is inviting volunteers, former volunteers, and followers of the Class 50s in general to join it in celebrating a three-decade association with its home railway, with the group also teasing that there could be a ‘few surprises’ on the day. The first locomotive belonging to the Fifty Fund to be operated on the Severn Valley Railway was 50031 Hood, although this Class 50 is currently…

THE GLOUCESTERSHIRE Warwick-shire Railway’s summer diesel event from July 29-31 saw a predominantly BR blue locomotive fleet of heritage diesels hauling services on the railway between Cheltenham Racecourse and Broadway. Making a first-in-class appearance on the heritage railway was Class 55 Deltic 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier, which was supplied by the Deltic Preservation Society. Also in service during the event were 20137, 20228, Class 24 5081, 37215, 45149, 47105, 47376 Freight-liner 1995, with all locomotives except 20137 and 47376 operating in BR blue. Tours of the GWR diesel shed at Toddington were held throughout the event, with out-of-service 26043 and Class 37 D6948 on display. The Class 26 is nearing the end of extensive bodywork repairs and is due to be repainted, although part of the locomotive was finished in…

A SPECIAL running day on the Plym Valley Railway saw the line’s two Pacers working on an intensive basis throughout the July 31 Pacer Pair Running Day. 142023 and 143618 were both in operation, heading passenger services and driver experience taster sessions on the line between Marsh Mill and Plym Bridge. The pair operated both singularly and as a coupled pair during the Pacer -themed running day. While former Great Western Railway 143618 only arrived on the railway at the end of May from store at St Philip’s Marsh depot, the Class 142 arrived on the PVR two years ago following its withdrawal from operating with Northern. 142023 is one of the Class 142s that were originally delivered to the Western Region of BR from new painted in brown and…

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AS THIS issue of Railways Illustrated closed for press, there had been no announcement on the results of the recent Direct Rail Services loco-motive tender, which saw the company offering 12 Class 37s and 57002 Rail Express for sale. Although DRS is disposing of 37069, 37602 and 57002 as outright sales, the remaining Class 37s – 37218, 37401/402/407/419/422-425, 37716 – were being offered by the freight operator on a sale and leaseback arrangement. The deal will see the loco-motives sold but then hired back by DRS to honour its autumn railhead treatment train (RHTT) duties for the duration of its contract with Network Rail. Maintenance of the loco-motives would pass to the new owner of the fleet as part of the leaseback arrangement. Of the Class 37s available for sale…

LOCOMOTIVE SERVICES Group’s subsidiary charter company Inter-City is running a series of four weekly afternoon charter services along the West Coast Main Line between Crewe, London Euston and Manchester Piccadilly. ‘The Friday Charter’ is scheduled to run every Friday afternoon for four weeks between August 19 (just after this issue closed for press) and September 9. The southbound service leaves Crewe at 14.29, running non-stop to London Euston with a scheduled arrival time in the capital of 16.12. Heading north, the train departs London Euston at 17.27, calling to set down passengers at Birmingham International (18.40 arrival), Birmingham New Street (18.54), Wolverhampton (19.14), Stafford (19.40), Crewe (20.04) and Wilmslow (20.24), before arriving in Manchester Piccadilly at 20.45. It is only possible to join the train at Crewe heading south and…

THE PUBLIC vote for the location of the new Great British Railways headquarters closed on August 15, with the six towns and cities selected to go through to the final awaiting a decision from the Secretary of State for Transport on which has been chosen. Birmingham, Crewe, Derby, Doncaster, Newcastle and York were the locations selected to go through to the second stage of the national competition, in an announcement made on July 5. The final decision as to where the new headquarters will be based is being considered on the basis of the following criteria: Great British Railways Transition Team’s assessment of the applicantsExpressions Of Interest against the selection criteria. Understanding gained from visits (as is relevant to the selection criteria). The result of the public vote. Other public…

THE LATEST Class 69 to emerge from Progress Rail’s Longport plant has moved to Arlington Fleet Services at Eastleigh for repainting, ahead of joining the growing fleet in use with GB Railfreight. The new locomotive, converted to 69006 from 56128, departed Long-port on August 11 for the move south, running light engine to the Hamp-shire works. Just over two weeks earlier, on July 25, the locomotive was used along-side 66739 Bluebell Railway from Longport to Hams Hall as a test run before it returned to Longport light engine later in the day. It is more than 23 years since 56128 was withdrawn from traffic by EWS in 1999, and several ownership changes have occurred in the intervening period. Once owned by Hanson Traction and becoming part of the BARS-operated Devon…

GREAT WESTERN Railway has applied celebratory vinyl graphics to Class 800 Intercity Express Train 800316 following the success of the England team in the Women’s European Football Championships at Wembley on July 31. The Lionesses beat Germany 2-1 in extra time at the final of the championships, which saw matches held in football stadiums throughout the UK for the duration of the event, culminating in the Wembley final. GWR’s recognition of the achievement was unveiled on 800316 the following morning, with a vinyl graphic of the cup being held aloft alongside the three lions England football logo and the wording ‘It’s come home!’ applied, and the word ‘#Lionesses’ below. GWR’s human resources director, Ruth Busby, said: “The Lionesses have captured the hearts of the nation with their performances over the…

THE IPSWICH Vehicle Maintenance Facility (VMF) was brought into use at the start of July, with operations switching from the existing stabling point adjacent to the Suffolk station. Freightliner, which operates the VMF, has occasionally been using the new depot – which features a wheel lathe, fuelling point, and maintenance facilities – for a few months following completion of its construction. Located next to Ipswich Yard, the Vehicle Maintenance Facility is not electrified, meaning the operator’s Class 90s must be shunted by Class 08s, and Freightliner currently has 08785 and 08891 at the VMF. These are also used to shunt wagons undergoing maintenance at the site. Despite the transfer to the new facility, Freightliner is still using the former stabling point, although this is expected to decline in the coming…

After a busy couple of months for locomotive and unit namings, the latest period under review has been much quieter, with more locomotives losing their names than gaining new ones. Yet another Great Western Rail-way Class 43 HST power car has received a ‘Castle’ themed name, with 43010 the latest recipient of Class 255 Castle nameplates, becoming Lydford Castle in July. As with most of the other namings of the GWR Castle power car fleet, the nameplates for 43010 were applied without ceremony at Plymouth Laira Depot. The only other locomotive to gain a new name this month has been Direct Rail Services 66425, which has been named Nigel J Kirchstein 1957-2021 after a former employee of the company, who passed away last year. It is understood a private naming…

LOCOMOTIVE SERVICES Group has pushed back the main line return of pioneer Class 55 Deltic D9000 Royal Scots Grey, as its overhaul approaches the finishing line. D9000 was due to work ‘The Deltic Delight’ charter from Wolverhampton to Newcastle for LSG’s InterCity division on Friday, August 26, but the date of the tour has been pushed back by four weeks to Saturday, September 24. This is to ensure that work on its extensive rebuild can be completed. Purchased along with classmate D9016 Gordon Highlander in late 2017 from Martin Walker, work on the overhaul has been underway at Crewe Diesel Depot for some time; it has received two fully overhauled Napier Deltic power units as part of its rebuild. Work on the locomotive is now at an advanced stage and…

THE SPA Valley Railway’s summer diesel event proved to be another successful gala for the railway, with the line’s home fleet boosted by the appearance of visiting traction from GB Railfreight (73141 Charlotte), the Bury Type 2 Group (Class 24 D5054 Phil Southern) and South Devon Diesel Traction (Class 25 D7612). D7612 was provided for the event as a replacement for SDDT classmate 25185, which had originally been due to attend but was unavailable, while GBRf’s visiting Class 73 was also due to remain on the Spa Valley for a couple of weeks following the diesel event, as it was due to be renamed in celebration of the railway’s 25th anniversary at the end of August, after this issue of Railways Illustrated went to press. Other highlights of the event…

THE CLASS 144 Pacer based on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway has entered service and joined the operational fleet. The entry into service for the DMU – which belongs to the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway Railcar Group – came on August 2, with 144011 charged with operating passenger services on the heritage line between Keighley and Oxenhope. The unit was called into service at short notice; the announcement that it would be used on the railway was only made early in the morning of its debut. 144011 has been based on the KWVR since arriving on the line alongside a number of other Class 144s during the first Covid-19 lock-down in the spring of 2020, with a large number of the second-generation DMUs stored in and around Keighley…

THE OWNER of 50027 Lion has raised £5000 from an appeal towards a £7000 target, as preparations begin for lifting the power unit out of the locomotive to allow repairs to be carried out on its failed main generator. As reported in the last issue of Rail-ways Illustrated, the popular Class 50 based on the Mid-Hants Railway has suffered a main generator failure which will require specialist repairs before it can re-enter service. The appeal, which is being run on the Just Giving website, sought to raise £7000 towards the costs involved in removing the engine and the costs of repairs, which will be largely unknown until the main generator has been fully examined to establish the extent of any damage. It is hoped that the power unit can be…

D2302 – Moreton Park: Restoration work has restarted on the Class 04, with the bonnet top front panel being cleaned and primed where required. This had reached the undercoat stage by the end of July. The loco’s new radiator is also ready to be picked up from the manufacturers and will then be refitted. D2578 – Moreton Park: The cream paintwork in the Class 05’s cab was beginning to look a bit shabby, with rust beginning to show through in places, along with patches of mould. Work began on cleaning the paint-work and, where required, cleaning back to bare metal before treating the rust prior to a coat of primer and undercoat. The majority of the cab, originally cream, had been under-coated by the end of July. On the last…

The demise of the Greater Anglia Class 317s in July sent another design of British Rail electric multiple units into the history books, although in their case it has been something of a long goodbye. However, the removal from traffic of the Southern Class 455s and the South Western Railway Class 456 fleet earlier this year was much quicker than other EMUs of their generation. GA stopped using its remaining Class 317s on July 16, with 317343 and 317508 the final pair in traffic. They were taken for store on July 26, followed by the final pair, 317337/338, two days later on July 28, bringing down the curtain on another class of British Rail built EMUs. GA has been withdrawing Class 317s, with 30 sent for scrap by August 1…

September 28 is a significant date in the history of our railways, as it marks the 60th anniversary of the first locomotive of what was to be designated the Class 47 being handed over for testing. D1500 was the first of a 512-strong loco-motive order, with the Class 47 eventually becoming the largest main line diesel fleet built specifically for Britain’s railway. The Class 66 may have run close in more recent times, but the Class 47 retains that title and will likely do so forever with the decarbonisation factor set to spell the end for diesel traction orders. The pioneer locomotive, D1500, which went on to become 47401 under the TOPS renumbering scheme in 1973, has now almost had as long a career in preservation as it did on…