Innholdsfortegnelse for March/April 2024 i Traction

Before I talk about the contents of this issue there is some exciting news about the future of TRACTION. From the next issue TRACTION will merge with BRM (BRITISH RAILWAY MODELLING). The number of pages devoted to the prototype railway will be similar but instead of TRACTION being bi-monthly TRACTION IN BRM will appear in every issue… that’s EVERY FOUR WEEKS. Many of TRACTION’s existing readers have requested that the magazine should appear more frequently so we are pleased to be able to fulfil this request! There are more details on the inside of the back cover on page 51. Now let’s look at the contents of this issue. We start with a fascinating account of two photographic expeditions made by John Dedman to the Coalville line when, in 1986,…

A further major reorganisation of Bath Road depot’s configuration took place during the 1980s. A new concept known as Component Exchange Maintenance (CEM) was created as a means of reducing the down time and costs incurred overhauling locos and rolling stock in main works. Instead of taking a loco into works, stripping it down and then waiting for the various major assemblies to be overhauled before reuniting them at the end of the process, a float of spare major assemblies such as power units and bogies was created to be supplied to maintenance depots ready to be swapped over, enabling the traction to be returned to service much more quickly. Traditionally, regional maintenance depots carrying out exams on locos up to levels D and E were classified as Level 4…

Completing the first run of Accurascale’s Class 37, our eyes are turned to the earliest batch of five locomotives built from the end of 1960, with split headcode boxes and interconnecting nose doors, buffer surrounds, early style cantrail grilles and round OLEO buffers. Accurascale has gone to the nth degree in achieving even the smallest differences, with early windscreen surrounds, double rows of rivets on the roof, absence of corner grab irons, boiler exhausts and steam valves and original underslung fuel and water tanks, with the sum of these parts making a very pleasing whole. Our review model of D6704 wears its BR green well, with a superb lion and wheel emblem and full yellow ends, placing it in the later 1960s when it had moved from working from Stratford…

Accurascale has revealed plans to raise £10,000 for Samaritans with a very special exclusive model of the forthcoming Class 66 no 66415 in Freightliner orange livery with black striping. Following on from the great success of its first charity fundraising model for Prostate Cancer UK, Accurascale has decided to work with its customers once again, this time focusing on mental health. The model 66415 is currently in production and will arrive with the rest of the first production run of the Class 66 locomotives in the first quarter of 2024. It will come complete with presentation packaging and offered in both DC/DCC Ready and DCC Sound Fitted formats priced at £169.99 and £259.99, respectively. The locomotive will be available to order exclusively via the Accurascale website only and with production…

In 2006 FM Rail decide to revive the ‘Blue Pullman’ concept in an attempt to emulate the first BR ‘Blue Pullmans’ that ran out of St. Pancras and Paddington. A rake of Mark 2 air conditioned coaches and a pair of Class 47/7s were repainted in Nanking blue livery and used on special trains to a vairty of destinations. After FM Rail ceased trading the trains were operated by Cotswold Rail. Gavin Morrison’s photos show a selection of the workings of these trains…

At the time, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I had the impression that the area was dominated by Class 20 and 56 traction. Living on the south coast this was an attractive proposition but it was 1986 before I managed to make a visit with my good friend Ian, who was a keen Class 20 fan. It turned out that the most common locos on the route for our visits were relatively new Class 58s. We made two visits in June of that year; the attached lists show all the workings which we observed. On both visits we also spent some of our time on the cross-country route through Burton-on-Trent which could make a future article. We started our first visit at Drakelow and our first sighting on…

It’s easy to forget just how many special trains to seaside destinations were operated over bank holidays by British Rail in the 1970s. Some of these would be charter trains run for private companies for their employees, whilst others were mystery tours or seaside preview specials run by BR. There was still a large pool of Mark 1 coaches available for use at peak times, whilst there were hundreds of main line diesels with no freight work over the holidays. Similarly there were many train crew who had good route knowledge and wanted to earn overtime. For the railway enthusiast it gave the chance to see locomotives from other parts of the country. Over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend in 1970 David Wharton spent the Sunday morning, the 24th May,…

Heljan has updated its existing Class 57 tooling for OO gauge. Among the key changes is smart and sharp new paint finishes, an upgraded chassis with 21-pin decoder socket, LED lighting and switchable tail lamps. New liveries that have not been previously modelled include First Great Western, West Coast Railways ‘Northern Belle’ and Network Rail yellow. Old favourites return in Virgin Thunderbirds ‘Brains’ and ‘Virgil Tracy’ liveries. The performance is still as good as ever and the LED lighting is a definite improvement for these post-2000 locomotives. Available to buy now from Heljan stockists costing just over £150, delivery is expected between January and March this year.…

Doncaster is famous amongst railway enthusiasts for its location on the ECML but that line was by no means alone in the early years of railways in serving the town. In the same year that the GNR opened between Peterborough and Doncaster, in 1849 the South Yorkshire Railway (SYR) - in the fullness of time to be incorporated into the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (later Great Central Railway) - was opened linking Doncaster to the North Midland Railway at Swinton; two years later the line was extended to Barnsley. Coal mining at this date was all to the west of Doncaster, so this important line tapped into the South Yorkshire coalfield. Heading west from the town, the land soon rises from the Humber plains through a high limestone ridge…

Following the end of Speedlink in 1991, an ‘Enterprise’ freight network evolved. The Somerset town of Bridgwater was still quite busy with rail freight. A St. Blazey to Newport service often called, although it was not an easy operation to detach and reattach wagons in the rather cramped yard surroundings as freight haulier, M. Thomas Management Ltd., also used the location. This firm also had a terminal in Plymouth Friary at one time. Plans to build up further rail freight flows, initially linking into Avonmouth traffic and including containers, were now in hand. By the early 2000s, bottled water was being rail delivered to the location, now known as Bridgwater Charter-Rail, with pet food being back loaded. A contract for building materials (including roofing tiles), for use particularly in the…

With his son and daughter flying the nest, Martin Austin finally had a bit of space where he could build a small layout. He wanted a layout that resembled a setting that could have been a real place, and it needed to be interesting to operate, so a terminus station with a run around and goods depot with shunting was high up the list. After returning from visiting family in Canada, Martin decided to name the layout after the area where they live in Greater Vancouver, Aldergrove (about 40 miles east of the city). The theory is that ‘Aldergrove’ was formerly a through station. Come the ‘Beeching Axe’, the line beyond ‘Aldergrove’ was closed, together with a small branch to the coast, which is now a public footpath. The layout…

Hornby is playing catch up in 2024, with noticeably fewer new models announced in its annual reveal. That said, there is still plenty to be excited about, plus further announcements later in the year planned, including a separate TT:120 update. Here are some of the diesel highlights; • GNER Class 43 HST Bo-Bo Train Pack – out in August 2024 – priced at £359.99 FGW, Class 153, No. 153361 - Era 9 - out in May 2024 – priced at £152.99 • GBRf, Class 66, Co-Co, 754 Northampton Saints - Era 11 (Sound Fitted) – out in July 2024 – priced at £139.99 • BR, Class 08, 0-6-0, 08570 - Era 7 – out in November 2024 – priced at £189.99 • BR, Class 09, 0-6-0, D4100 Dick Hardy -…

With a family and a full time job, finding spare time to get out and photograph trains can be hard so, when I do manage to get out for a day, it is important to make sure that it is worthwhile. Something I have tried to do is make sure I dedicate a day’s leave around my birthday to go somewhere different and in the past I have visited Liverpool, Clay Cross and Tamworth. In early July 2012, with the weather decidedly not ideal for photography, even finding a day suitable for photography was going to be a challenge. I considered two possible locations, both previously visited and within an hour and a half of my home in Sheffield, one being Barnetby photographing Class 66s under the semaphores at the…