Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i Railways Illustrated

The announcement at the beginning of March that CrossCountry is to dispense with its fleet of High Speed Trains has attracted much attention. The HSTs are used on long-distance services across the CrossCountry network and have been in use with the operator since 2008, just after Arriva took over the franchise in November 2007. They are expected to be gone by October. No one is denying that the HSTs have served the railway well during their lifetime, but most of the power cars and Mk.3 coaches that operate with them are now more than 40 years old and they are increasingly expensive to maintain. Maintenance is carried out at Plymouth Laira depot by Great Western Railway, but as GWR is also now running down its remaining HST Castle Class sets,…

THE FIRST five-car Class 555 electric multiple unit was delivered to Tyne & Wear Metro’s Gosforth depot on February 28, heralding the start of a new era for the Metro network. 555003 is the first of 46 new five-car EMUs built by Stadler Rail in Switzerland to be delivered to the UK, and it was followed by 555004, which arrived at its new home at Gosforth on March 10. The trains will now undergo a period of testing and commissioning, along with driver training, before entering passenger service in the autumn. Tyne & Wear Metro operator Nexus says the new trains will gradually replace the original train fleet – which dates back to the opening of the Tyne & Wear Metro in 1980 – over the next couple of years.…

DIRECT RAIL Services has announced that its depot open events will now take place every two years, rather than annually as they have in the past. DRS parent organisation Nuclear Transport Solutions has taken the decision to allow more planning time between events, with the next open day now scheduled to take place in 2024 at Carlisle Kingmoor. NTS’s interim managing director for rail, Julie Nerney, said: “The open day of 2022 was a huge success, with about 3500 attending and raising more than £39,000 for our sponsorship and donations fund. “We want to ensure that our next event is even better and to offer the best experience for our guests, that planning takes time, and a switch to a biennial schedule allows us to do that. “I want to…

COLAS RAIL Class 43 High Speed Train power car 43277 has returned to service with the operator – almost exactly a year after it moved to the South Devon Railway at Buckfastleigh for a major overhaul by the SDR’s commercial engineering company. The locomotive has been completely overhauled by South Devon Railway Engineering since arriving at its base on March 11, 2022. With work completed, it was moved by road back to Loram at Derby on February 23. The power car has been painted into an attractive hybrid Colas/Network Rail livery, incorporating Colas’ deep orange paintwork on the majority of the power car, with Network Rail’s bright yellow colours at the other end, separated by a thick black angled band over the radiator grilles. Its first working took place on…

WEST MIDLANDS Metro CAF Urbos 100 Tram 39 was named Don & Roy Richardson by West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and Roy Richardson in a short ceremony at the tramway’s Library tram stop in Birmingham city centre on March 2. The Richardson twins were responsible for several significant and popular business developments in the region, such as the Merry Hill Shopping Centre and the Star City entertainment complex. Roy and Don also established the Richardson Brothers Foundation, which has supported the region’s less fortunate through dozens of community groups and charities. Mr Street, who is also chair of the West Midlands Combined Authority, said: “When I was asked to think about who should be nominated for this wonderfully West Midlands honour, Don and Roy Richardson stood out straight away. “The…

TRANSPORT FOR Wales took the majority of its Class 175 DMU fleet out of service in early March for enhanced maintenance following a series of three engine bay fires – which TfW described as ‘thermal events’ – involving the trains. 175008 was stopped at Wrexham after an engine bay fire on February 8, and 14 days later 175101 also suffered fire damage at Wilmslow. The most recent incident happened on March 1, involving 175007, although the fire was quickly extinguished and the DMU was able to return to depot under its own power. It is understood that the issue has been identified as being due to a build-up of debris, leaves and other contaminants in and around the engine bays. As a result, a programme of deep cleaning of the…

MARCH 7 saw the 11 TTA tank wagons purchased for the National Wagon Preservation Group’s Project:- Petroleum initiative moved from their storage location at Gascoigne Wood to the Dean Forest Railway. The move was facilitated by Loram UK, which sent 37418 An Comunn Gaidhealach for the transfer. Now they have arrived at their new home, the wagons are all expected to undergo maintenance tasks. They will also be cleaned, with repainting expected to be carried out next year. Eight of the wagons were purchased by the NWPG, while the other three have been bought by individuals. Chairman of the Forest of Dean Railway, Adam Dickinson, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by NWPG to be the host railway for this recently-created unique fleet of petrol tanker wagons. Once…

CLASS 156 17/2 – 156403 5B33 17.48 Crewe Carriage Sidings-Newton Heath, transfer to Northern following repainting. CLASS 313 10/3 – 37800 + 313202 + 313214 + 313217 5Q86 10.24 Brighton Lovers Walk-Eastleigh Works, off-lease sets removed from Southern property. CLASS 317 15/2 – 37884 + 317885 + 317341 5Q76 08.00 Ely Papworth-Sims, Newport. 22/2 – 37884 + 317339 + 317340 5Q76 08.59 Ely Papworth-Sims, Newport. 1/3 – 37884 + 317507 + 317510 5Q76 08.59 Ely Papworth-Sims, Newport. 8/3 – 37800 + 317508 + 317343 5Q76 08.00 Ely Papworth-Sims, Newport. CLASS 318 27/2 – 37800 + 318252 5Q06 09.03 Kilmarnock Bonnyton-Yoker. 27/2 – 37800 + 318255 5Q08 13.59 Yoker-Kilmarnock Bonnyton. CLASS 321 24/2 – 321313 + 321323 5H72 11.48 Clacton-Wembley, off-lease and for store. CLASS 350 9/3 – 37601 + 350129…

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THE NORTH Yorkshire Moors Railway’s resident 37264 had a rare trip on the main line when it was moved by main line-registered 31128 Charybdis from Grosmont to Freightliner’s base at Leeds Midland Road for tyre turning. The locomotive, which was used extensively on NYMR services in 2022, was moved across to the Freightliner depot on a snowy March 10, with its appointment with the wheel lathe taking place over that weekend. The Class 31 remained at Leeds over the weekend and was used to return 37264 to Grosmont on March 13. 31128 was hired by the NYMR to assist with its services during the 2022 season and has remained at the railway throughout the winter, rather than returning to its usual base at Nemesis Rail’s Burton Wetmore site.…

A HOST of visiting main line traction is promised by the Severn Valley Railway for the annual Spring Diesel Festival, taking place this year from May 18-21. The event marks the start of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the diesel preservation movement, with the founding members of what went on to become the Diesel Traction Group securing Class 42 diesel hydraulic Warship D821 Greyhound from BR in 1973. Its purchase saw D821 become the first ex-BR main line diesel locomotive to be secured for preservation. The Warship is now based at Kidderminster diesel depot on the SVR but has been out of traffic for the past two years undergoing bodywork repairs and a repaint into BR blue with full yellow ends. All of the SVR’s operational home fleet…

THE SWANAGE Railway has announced the first three visiting locomotives attending its popular annual diesel gala event, which is due to take place from May 12-14 this year. Joining the Swanage Railway’s resident Class 33s, D6515 Lt Jenny Lewis RN and 33111 will be the Class 40 Preservation Society’s main line-registered D345, along with the Peak Locomotive Company’s BR blue 45108, making its first appearance away from the East Lancashire Railway for a number of years. Visiting courtesy of Freightliner is the freight operator’s 47830 Beeching’s Legacy, which is the last remaining Class 47 still used by the company. It is expected that further visiting locomotives may be announced for the event, but these had not been revealed as this issue of Railways Illustrated closed for print. As with previous…

Preston, Lancashire (granted city status since 2002), is located on the lowest point of the River Ribble between the Pennines and the Irish Sea. Since Roman times, commercial shipping had been a feature at this strategic location. In 1825, the first commercial quay and warehouses were built by the Ribble Navigation Company to facilitate trade, as the industrial age gathered pace and larger ships became the norm. The North Union Railway, which had opened the route from Wigan to Preston in October 1838 (now part of the West Coast Main Line), promoted and built – in 1846 – a short one-mile, steeply-graded single line branch from Preston station to what was then Victoria Quay on the tidal River Ribble, its primary purpose then being the shipment of Wigan coal in…

There was considerable surprise back in February when Bachmann announced the return of the Class 143 Pacers as part of its EFE Rail range. The OO gauge models were originally produced by Realtrack Models back in 2014/15 in two then current liveries before going out of production. The tooling has now resurfaced with several alterations, both cosmetic and electrical, in a selection of long-desired liveries under the EFE banner. This Bachmann-controlled range has become something of a catch-all since its introduction but is generally for models where the manufacturer does not own the tooling but rather produces and distributes the items in conjunction with another company or directly with a Chinese factory. When originally produced by Realtrack, the Class 143 only appeared in the First Great Western ‘local lines’ scheme…

GREATER ANGLIA will run a ‘Class 321 Farewell’ charity charter April 29 to commemorate the forthcoming withdrawal of the final Class 321s still in use with the operator. The charter will raise funds for three charities relevant to the Greater Anglia operating area, these being East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), Havens Hospices and the Railway Mission. The charter will run from London Liverpool Street to Clacton, Walton, Harwich Town, Stowmarket, back to Shenfield, to Southend Victoria and finally back to London Liverpool Street, covering many of the core routes that the Class 321s have been closely associated with for much of their working life. The trip will also include journeys over a number of loops and sections of track not normally used by scheduled passenger trains. The train is scheduled…

THE IMPENDING withdrawal of the Southern Class 313 electric multiple units is being commemorated with a special charity railtour starting and finishing at Brighton on April 29. The ‘PEPs on Tour: Sussex Rambler’ charter, being organised by the Branch Line Society and operated by Southern, will feature a pair of Class 313s working the special train, with some unusual lines included in the itinerary. Although there will be no catering facilities provided, passengers are able to bring their own food and drink, and there will be a break of about an hour at Littlehampton. The fare for the tour will be £62.60 for all passengers aged over 18 and £31.30 for accompanied under-18s. The event will also include a charity raffle, with all proceeds from it donated to Railway Children…

A MURAL commemorating one of the UK’s first female train drivers will remain in place at London Euston station as part of a campaign to encourage more women to consider a career in rail. The mural depicts former BR driver Karen Harrison, who in 1979 became one of the first women train drivers. It was placed at London Euston in late January as part of a recruitment campaign by Avanti West Coast aimed at attracting more women to take up a career as a train driver. It was originally intended that the mural would be removed after a month, but agreement has been reached between AWC and Network Rail for the image to remain on display. Designed by street artist Akse, it has been updated with new wording. A recent…

The first of two Class 57/3s to be prepared for Locomotive Services Group at Arlington Fleet Services, Eastleigh, has seen 57311 repainted into lined black livery. The locomotive was bought by LSG from Direct Rail Services last year, along with 57302 Chad Varah, and it is expected to be used mainly in support of steam specials operated by LSG subsidiary Saphos Trains. The Class 57s’ couplers have been removed and the recess on the cab fronts plated over. The new livery – which features lining in a similar style to that applied to a large number of British Railways steam locomotives – is also reminiscent of the LNWR-inspired black livery applied to several Class 47 by the erstwhile Waterman Railways in the 1990s. These locomotives had the same style of…

390118 had become the latest Avanti West Coast Class 390/1 Pendolino to undergo internal refurbishment works by Alstom at Widnes, following 390151, which was returned to AWC following the completion of work in late February. Two-thirds of the 35-strong Class 390/1 Pendolinos have now been refurbished, with those completed in order being 390125/123/148/155/156/154/157/131/124/104/119/128/103/115/114/127/129/141/107/126/122/151/118. This takes the tally of those Class 390/1s completed to 23 of the 11-coach trains. AWC also operates 21 Class 390/0s, although none have yet been refurbished, with the Class 390/1s being treated ahead of the nine-coach Class 390/0s. Avanti West Coast Pendolino refurbishment as at March 15, 2023 Class 390/1 completed: 390103/104/107/114/115/118/119/122-129/131/141/148/151/154-157 Class 390/1 to be refurbished: 390112/117/121/130/132/134-138/152/153 Class 390/0 to be refurbished: 390001/002/005/006/008-011/013/016/020/039/040/042-047/049/050 Withdrawn: 390033…

Repaired IET released The first of Hitachi’s Class 800s to have its cracks attended to was released from Eastleigh Works on February 21, with LNER Azuma set 800205 returning to Doncaster Carr via Reading. Since arriving on September 30 last year, the fractures around the lifting points have been investigated and repaired, while the mounting points for the bogie yaw dampers have also been strengthened. The next LNER set to arrive at Eastleigh was 800113, this coming south from Doncaster on March 1. Also still at the Arlington Fleet Services workshops are GWR sets 800026 and 802003. Flirt for Flex at TfW The second of the Stadler-built Class 756 ‘Flirts’ for Transport for Wales was brought north from Dollands Moor during the evening of February 27, with 92036 and 66001…

To mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, South-eastern ‘City Beam’ 707001 was named Spirit of Ukraine on February 24 in a ceremony conducted at Cannon Street station. The naming was organised to mark the friendships and connections formed between Ukrainians who have settled in the communities served by the rail operator and the many people who have welcomed them. The electric multiple unit was named after a minute’s silence took place, and the event also included performances from the Canterbury 4 Ukraine Women’s Choir. Newly overhauled Colas Rail Class 43 HST power car 43277 was named Safety Task Force by Safety Task Force director Nick Millington MBE in a ceremony at the Rugby on-track plant depot on March 3. The Safety Task Force initiative was set…

ANOTHER OF the Class 20s recently offered for sale by Harry Needle Railroad Company has been bought by the Yorkshire Dales Railway Museum Trust. It arrived at its new home on the Embay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railway on February 21. D8110 (20110) was purchased by the YDRMT after a number of trust members supported the acquisition of the locomotive, which will be used on services on the E&BASR’s route between Embsay and Bolton Abbey. It is also expected to see use on engineering trains on the heritage line, as well as acting as a standby in the event of a failure of one of the line’s steam locomotives. D8110 has in recent months been located at the Battlefield Line in Leicestershire and enjoyed a farewell running weekend on February…

THE BURY Valiant Group carried out a traction motor swap on 50015 Valiant over the weekend of February 25/26 at Baron Street Locomotive Works on the East Lancashire Railway. The BVG had one of its spare Class 50 traction motors overhauled last year and this has now been exchanged with a defective motor on the locomotive. The swap was carried out by BVG volunteers, assisted by ELR staff, and the lift was possible thanks to the loan of Class 50 lifting brackets, which were supplied by the Class 50 Alliance. Initial testing of the locomotive has shown that the motor is performing as it should, although further testing was expected to take place during March. The BVG is still seeking donations to assist it, having spent in the region of…

THROUGH TRAINS to the Swanage Railway from Wareham using preserved DMUs are to operate four days a week between April and September, providing a direct rail link to the heritage line from the national rail network. The trial service will operate on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from April 4 to September 10, with the first train departing Wareham at 11.19 and the last train leaving Swanage for Wareham at 16.20. The service will be crewed and operated by West Coast Railway on behalf of the Swanage Railway. The trains will mainly be operated using the Swanage Railway’s three-coach Class 117 diesel multiple unit, with a single-car Class 121 available at busier times. Both have been upgraded and fitted the same technical, signalling and safety equipment to allow them to…

03179 – Rushden: The compressor has now been refitted and oil is on order. The team will now look at getting the new upright air tanks painted and put into place. A set of rods are also now ready, which require one more coat of gloss before they are fitted. D2302 – Moreton-on-Lugg: Two major components – the new exhaust silencer and the rebuilt coolant radiator – were refitted in January. Other work done on the engine included giving the block a full repaint in Gardner Grey and refitting the inlet and exhaust manifolds, along with their associated heat shields, one of which needed some repairs. The exhaust manifold was then connected to the silencer. With D2302’s starter motor returned after being borrowed by D2578, both starter motors were refitted…

The Class 67s have proved to be versatile locomotives, able to operate both on freight and passenger workings. The first to arrive in the UK was 67003, which was unloaded from Newport Docks on October 6, 1999, with the remainder all delivered during 2000. They have gone on to become one of the most colourful fleets of locomotives in the UK, with members carrying an array of liveries, ensuring they remain popular with enthusiasts and photographers. The 30 locomotives were built for English Welsh & Scottish Railways by GEC Alsthom under licence to General Motors, in Valencia, Spain, being delivered to the UK in EWS red and gold colours. The Class 67s, like the Class 66 locomotives before them, featured a bodyside ‘flash’ effect on the wide gold-coloured band, rather…

Built in 1985/86, the 25-strong Class 143s featured bodies built by Walter Alexander, which were married to Andrew Barclay-constructed chassis at Kilmarnock. The sets were initially based at Heaton for use on services radiating from Newcastle, this including services to Teesside and along the Tyne Valley with 143001-019 carrying Provincial blue, while 143020-025 were finished in the white and yellow of the Tyne & Wear PTE. Like the other Pacer designs, the original mechanical gearboxes employed on the Class 143s proved to be problematic, leading to the first 19 sets being fitted with Voith hydraulic transmission during 1988/89. These were renumbered as 143601-619 to reflect the alteration but the six PTE-sponsored units were not initially modified, leading to renumbering as 143320-325 to reflect the difference. These were duly altered in…

THE RAIL and bus operations under Abellio UK have been taken over by a new company, Transport UK Group Ltd, following the completion of a management buyout of Dutch state-owned shareholder Nederlandse Spoorwegen on February 28. It was announced last August that Abellio UK managing director Dominic Booth was leading a management takeover of the company, allowing Nederlandse Spoorwegen to move away from its UK interests. The buyout passed all formal approval processes in February, allowing the deal to be completed. In terms of its railway interests, Transport UK Group will now assume responsibility for those operations that were managed by Abellio, these being Greater Anglia, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Railway and Merseyrail. The company had also previously controlled the ScotRail and Northern operations. Transport UK Group managing director…

THE GOVERNMENT has confirmed that the 18-mile Northumberland Line between Newcastle and Ashington will reopen to passenger traffic in 2024 – the second route due to be brought back into use as part of the Government’s Restoring Your Railways scheme. The project, promoted by Northumberland Council, is being delivered in conjunction with Network Rail and train operator Northern. Six new stations are being constructed at Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland Park. Journey times between Newcastle Central and Ashington are expected to be about 35 minutes. The route is currently used as a freight-only line and the freight traffic is expected to continue using it. Northumberland County Council leader Glen Sanderson said: “We are delighted to have reached this major milestone, which gives the green light for the…

CROSSCOUNTRY CONFIRMED in early March that it will be phasing out its High Speed Train fleet this year, with the final trains expected to be removed from traffic in October. CrossCountry operates its HSTs on some of its longer distance services, with the trains currently in use on two daily diagrams during the week, increasing to three diagrams during the summer. Despite their popularity, they are viewed as expensive to maintain, and it is understood that the trains will be replaced by pairs of Class 220 Voyagers from CrossCountry’s existing fleet, with no additional rolling stock expected to be provided as replacements for the HSTs in the short term. A statement issued by CrossCountry staff by managing director Tom Joyner, which has been seen by Railways Illustrated, said: “While our…

THE SCOTTISH Government has confirmed that it will take over the operation of the Caledonian Sleeper from June 25, following the announcement made last year that the current franchise operated by Serco would be terminated early (Railways Illustrated issue 238). A statement made by Scottish Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth to Parliament on March 2 said: “Having stated in October that the existing Caledonian Sleeper franchise would come to an end in June 2023, I want to give rail staff and passengers as much certainty as I can about the future. “With the franchise ending on June 25, 2023, we have carefully assessed the options for successor arrangements in accordance with the current legislative framework. “This decision has been taken following a detailed analysis of the options available and in…

Another two Class 43 high speed train power cars have been taken out of service with Great Western Railway as the rundown of the Castle Class HST fleet continues. 43160 Castle-an-Dinas was withdrawn on February 18, with its final service being the 18.00 Cardiff to Plymouth GWR working. Upon arrival at Laira, it was removed from its train and moved to the nearby Lipton sidings for storage the following day. Next to go was 43005 St Michael’s Mount, less than a week later on February 24. The final working for the doomed power car was the 19.00 Cardiff to Plymouth service, after which it was permanently stood down after arriving back at Plymouth Laira. The loss of these takes the tally of GWR Castle Class HST power cars withdrawn to…

New deliveries A further batch of 30 JNA box wagons for VTG was moved north from Dollands Moor on February 25, with 66740 taking 81 70 5932 641-670 to Wembley. 6Z92, the 03.40 Dollands Moor to Wembley, was repeated on March 4, this time with 66723 and 92044 heading further FEA-G twin sets for GB Railfreight in the form of 81 70 4663 042-060. These were moved on to Peterborough Yard the next afternoon by 66787 leading 66723. Loram movements Recent weeks have seen 37418 busily engaged moving rebuilt JNA-Y ballast boxes away from the Loram workshops at Derby and bringing in further MRA sets for conversion. On February 10, a set of the latter, 501039/099/235/236/237, was brought in from Doncaster and the move was repeated 13 days later with…

AS REPORTED in Railways Illustrated issue 240, Class 91 electric locomotive 91131 – the last locomotive to be built for British Rail at Crewe Works – has entered preservation at the Museum of Scottish Railways. It was delivered to its new home on the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway on March 9. The Class 91, which was last in service on the East Coast Main Line with LNER until being stored in April 2020, had been in store at Doncaster Belmont yard with six other off-lease Class 91s; the other locomotives were all taken for scrapping at Sims Metals, Newport, during February. 91131 was moved around to Wabtec’s works at Doncaster at the end of January, in preparation for its collection by low-loader. The locomotive has been donated to the Museum…

THE CLASS 309 ‘Clacton’ EMU currently based on the Lavender Line has been put up for sale by the Clacton Express Preservation Group after the benefactor who loaned the finance required to purchase the unit decided to step back from the project. 309624 was bought in early 2022 after the Lavender Line offered the three-coach EMU for sale, along with a number of other vehicles that the railway decided it no longer needed. The CEPG launched an appeal to save the unit for preservation and attracted a backer who agreed to fund the purchase of the Class 309. Since being sold, the unit has remained at the Lavender Line, where it is being stored on a commercial basis. The CEPG has been looking at various sites where the unit could…

THE GREAT Central Railway has reinstated passenger services over its branch line between Swithland and Mountsorrel, while part of its operating line has been closed to allow two bridges to be replaced. The bridge replacement works on either side of Quorn & Woodhouse station mean that GCR trains are unable to operate on the railway’s double-track main line between Rothley and Loughborough, with the stations at Quorn & Woodhouse and Loughborough Central closed from February 24 until works on reinstating trackwork over the new bridges has been completed. The railway is expected to reopen in early April. The Mountsorrel branch was built to carry stone traffic from a local quarry but was taken out of use in the 1950s, with the track along the route being lifted. However, the branch,…

The Class 47 is owned by the Crewe Diesel Preservation Group but on long-term loan to LSG, and the locomotive has been used on various charters, although it has spent much of the last two years out of service while it underwent a bogie overhaul, being fitted with new tyres as part of the works. For the train, five former Greater Anglia Mk.3 coaches have been refurbished (First Opens 11066/082, Standard Open Buffet 10404 and Standard Opens 12111/17), along with former Direct Rail Services Mk.2 Driving Brake Second Open 9707, with all six coaches repainted into the popular and attractive ScotRail blue stripe livery that was carried by the push-pull sets in Scotland from the mid-1980s. Sell-out debut The three-day charter went on sale in early December and quickly sold…

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