Table of contents for September 2017 in Rail Express

A LARGE number of historic depots have survived into the 21st century – though, in some cases, there may be nothing remaining from the steam era except perhaps for a wall or outbuilding. Although many new depots were built as a result of the 1955 Modernisation Plan – the new diesels having different needs to steam locos – it usually made sense to build on existing sites. Sometimes, a depot would be closed to steam while the site was redeveloped for modern traction. But usually the old and new orders operated side by side for a few years, a less than ideal situation when complex new locomotives had to be looked after amid decades of filth from ash, coal, grease and boiler wash-outs. Toton, in the Midlands, is the largest…

50 YEARS AGO... SEPTEMBER 1967 ▪ CENTRAL WALES LINE THREAT: British Railways issued a formal proposal to withdraw passenger services over the 90 miles from Craven Arms (Shropshire) to Llanelli (Carmarthenshire). The mostly singletrack route runs through sparselypopulated rural areas, and wasyear. Happily the proposals were once again rejected, and the line remains open in 2017 40 YEARS AGO... SEPTEMBER 1977 ▪ FIRST EAST COAST HST DELIVERED: British Rail’s Eastern Region formally accepted its first Inter-City 125 HST from the builders BREL at a ceremony in York on September 7. Set No. 254001 then took part in a press demonstration run to Darlington and back. A limintroduced in May 1979, when the prestigious ‘Flying Scotsman’ service was planned to have an hour shaved off its schedule over the 393 miles…

SITTING just inside the London Transport Museum’s store at Acton (West London) are four ‘Q’ Stock cars, each waiting their turn to be restored to working order. The fact that a ‘Q’ Stock Project even exists can be attributed to the late Bob Greenaway, not to mention his significant bequest to the London Transport Museum Friends. This donation was made explicitly so that efforts could be made to return a ‘Q’ Stock train to operational condition. Alongside this sizeable bequest, further donations have helped the fund grow to around £500,000. Also credited by many others is Bob Bird, the LTM’s senior curator, who has ensured the cars have remained in existence, as well as squirrelling away a multitude of suitable parts. The LTM sees the value of operating the four…

THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway and East Lancashire Railway were both targeted by vandals in July, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage to rolling stock. In both instances, arrests were made within a few days of the incidents. The attack at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway saw the rake of ‘Teak’ stock, which has been restored by the LNER Coach Association, heavily vandalised in the early hours of July 23, with windows and interior fittings being damaged. At least one vehicle, buffet car No. 641, is unlikely to return to service this year. An appeal was launched to raise funds to restore the vehicles, and the NYMR says it has been overwhelmed by the support it has received to date. At the East Lancashire Railway, attacks took place on…

THE plan to remove eight Class 66s from traffic and place them in warm store at Cardiff Wentloog appears to have been abandoned by Freightliner, given the following observations in July. As the month began, only four of the GMs – Nos. 66596, 66954, 66956 and 66957 – had been stored in the DHLT pool in South Wales, with Nos. 66595 and 66597 – which were returned to traffic in late June – still active. Initially remaining in the DHLT pool, this latter duo was fully reinstated to the Heavy Haul DFHH pool in mid-July. The evening of July 12 found the four Wentloog residents collected by No. 66511 and hauled north to Crewe Basford Hall, the convoy also including No. 66955. This latter loco had been earmarked for storage…

CLASS 319 FLEET STATUS (AS AT JULY 26) ALTHOUGH delays in the delivery and introduction of Class 700 ‘Desiro City’ units meant that Govia Thameslink Railway was unable to withdraw all of its Class 319s by the end of June as originally planned, further units were handed back to owner Porterbrook during July and taken away to Long Marston for storage. Towards the end of the month, 20 sets were still in use on Thameslink services. The first two units to be taken out of traffic in July and sent away for storage were Nos. 319423/430 on July 8, which departed behind No. 37884 as the 5M94/10.42 Hornsey- Long Marston. These were followed by Nos. 319003/421 from Hornsey on July 10 and Nos. 319012/215 the next day. Nos. 319425/428 arrived…

IN yet another blow to competition within the European wagon leasing market, Hamburg-based wagon lessor VTG has reached an agreement to purchase CIT Rail Holdings (Europe) SAS – previously NACCO SAS. The deal is worth approximately €780 million plus a further €140 million to cover further investments made by the NACCO Group between January 1 and the closing date of the sale. This is expected to be completed in the final quarter of this year, although it is subject to clearance by the relevant antitrust authorities. The sale comes just 28 months after CIT, a US transportation finance specialist, acquired the Paris-based NACCO Group, giving it a 9500-strong wagon fleet in Europe serving 150 customers in 16 countries. NACCO was founded in 1972 and grew to become the fourth-largest private…

00GAUGE 4mm:1ft 1940s ERA EXPRESS RATING BEATEN to the punch by just a few days, the first release of Oxford Rail’s new ‘OO’ gauge Warwell reached retailers at the very end of June, coming in just behind the array of such wagons from Hattons. This depicts No. MS1 in a War Department khaki green livery and lettered as on loan to the Great Western Railway (OR76WW001). While this 1940s appearance is beyond the remit of Rail Express Modeller, the wagon is well worth a look as more relevant versions are promised later in the year and it also has the potential for conversions. Putting it head to head with its rival, the two score pretty much evenly in terms of the overall shape and detail. The Hattons model has superior…

REALTRACK Models pulled off something of a surprise for many modellers last November by unveiling fully-functioning samples of its next ‘OO’ gauge multiple unit project at the Warley show. Many had expected that the follow up to the award-winning Class 143/144 would be the related Class 142 but instead it was the Class 156 that greeted visitors to the manufacturer’s stand. Developed largely in secret over three years to avoid any competition from the more established companies, the model of the two-car Metro-Cammell ‘Super Sprinters’ has been created in partnership with Rapido Trains, further cementing the Canadian manufacturer’s growing presence in the UK market. Untapped potential It is somewhat surprising that the Class 156 has not been selected before now for a modern day rendering. While the Lima, now Hornby,…

Just £159.99 Includes free UK delivery. NOW IN STOCK Rail Express limited edition Bachmann ‘OO’ gauge Class 66 GB Railfreight No. 66720 in ‘Rainbow’ competition livery For INTERNATIONAL ORDERS, please speak to our Customer Services team. AFTER an absence of several years, Rail Express can once again offer readersachance to buy an exclusive model… atafantastic price. Launched to the public at WarleyNational Model RailwayExhibition 2015, our limited-edition model is the unmistakable GB Railfreight’s No. 66720,adesign that came about after the company held a competition for the children of its employees to come up with a locomotive livery. The winning entry wasunveiled in July2011 and was the handiwork of Emily Goodman, then aged six. Emily came up with twodesigns; on one side of the loco is depicted the ‘day’ and features the sun, birds…

CLITHEROE BASED AIR-BRAKED CEMENT WAGONS Note: Initially 11 of the Railease PCAs were assigned to Clitheroe, but this number had increased to 15 by 1987. THE Ribblesdale Cement Company’s works at Clitheroe, which opened in 1937, is situated at the end of a short branch just north of the station on the Blackburn to Hellifield line – a branch that was then already serving the Horrocksford Lime Company. Outgoing cement was initially dispatched in bags, but in the 1950s, British Railways introduced the 22-ton capacity bulk cement ‘Presflo’ wagon and, by the early 1970s, some 73 ‘Presflos’ were allocated to Clitheroe workings. Primarily used to supply the Gartsherrie Works of the Clyde Cement Company (a Ribblesdale subsidiary) situated at Gunnie, near Coatbridge (North Lanarkshire), the BR ‘Presflos’ also handled a…

AFTER a year in the planning, UK Railtours hasmanaged to secure no less than two separate trips to the Rail Innovation & Development Centre (RIDC), Melton – what was formerly known as the Old Dalby Test Track. This intensively-used test line has two days free between Christmas and the NewYear, so UK Railtours has arranged ‘Pieman 1’ on Thursday, December 28 and ‘Pieman 2’ on Friday, December 29. On both days, the tours run from London Euston routed via Bletchley and Bedford to Leicester, then on to Melton Junction not far fromMeltonMowbray, ‘capital’ of pork pies! Here reversal takes place to permit the specials to traverse the 13.5-mile test track to Edwalton. On the return fromEdwalton, the ‘Pieman 1 & 2’ will take a left turn to reach the Asfordby…

SHED TALK CLASS 20 ON July 16, Nos. 20118 Saltburn-by-the- Sea and 20132 Barrow Hill Depot were involved in the GBRf charity tour, which had originated at Ipswich (see also Class 66 section and photo on page 77). The two Railfreight Red Stripe-liveried Type 1s powered the 1Z20/13.29 circular tour from Peterborough, heading out via Luffenham to Loughborough, Toton, Sheffield, Shireoaks, Gainsborough, Lincoln, Sleaford and Spalding and returning to Peterborough at 18.19, having covered more than 200 miles with their 11-coach train. By July 24, Nos. 20118 and 20132 had moved on to Barrow Hill. Only a handful of London Underground stock moves took place during July, with two pairs of Class 20s formed of Nos. 20107+20905 and 20311+20314. On July 11, the quartet reached Derby Litchurch Lane with ‘S’…

DELAYED since the spring, Railway Support Services was finally able to deliver two of its Class 08s to Norwich on July 18. These will be used on the company’s latest contract, which is providing shunters to Greater Anglia at Crown Point depot – yet again ousting incumbent provider RMS Locotec. The Norwich shunters are used daily on the depot, and can also be found in Norwich station on occasions if a locohauled set needs recovery. Much of the delay can be attributed to paperwork and arranging a suitable delivery method and date that worked for all parties, RSS wishing to eschew the normal arrangement of unloading at Dereham on the Mid- Norfolk Railway and then a slow speed rail transfer to Norwich. This method is necessary due to the low…

IT is now30years since IarnródÉireann/ Irish Rail was established and, to mark the anniversary, the company’s management decided to reliverya071 Class locomotive – a class that the company inherited from Córas Iompair Éireann (CIE). No. 073 was the locomotive selected, as it was undergoingabodywork overhaul at InchicoreWorks. The livery chosen for No. 073 was the initial IE/IR one, which was anadaptation of the CIEorangeand black scheme enhancedwithwhite lining and the newcompany logo. No. 073 is the second of theGeneral Motors-built class to carry a 'heritage' paint scheme followingNo. 071 in May 2016. No. 071 received a retroorange andblack livery to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the delivery of the 18-strong class to Ireland in 1976. This repaint proved tobe very popular, and probablyhelped influence thedecision to invest yet again in…

SKIPTONBASED Ellis Clark Trains has released details of a new range of ready-to-run ‘O’ gauge Mk.1 coaches that is being developed in conjunction with Scale Link and Darstaed, which is traditionally a manufacturer of tinplate models. These fully finished vehicles will be to scale and highly detailed, including etched brass sides, ABS plastic roof and ends, and metal underframes. Also promised are working Kadee buckeye couplings, detailed interiors with pre-installed working lights, functional corridor connections and sprung buffers. The initial releases, which are expected around September this year, will be supplied as sets of four Mk.1s, consisting of two Brake Second Corridor (BSK), a Composite Corridor (CK) and a Second Corridor (SK). Priced £750 per set, six liveries will be available in the form of carmine/cream, maroon, green, chocolate/cream, blue/grey…

THE privatisation of the railways brought with it a burst of new HST liveries as the 1990s drew to a close, this including Great Western Trains, which was acquired by a management buyout in 1996. Although the new operation soon unveiled a classy ‘Merlin’ livery of green and ivory, this gave way to a revised appearance when the company was taken over by First Group. Starting in 1999, new gold pinstripe vinyls were applied over the existing livery, dramatically changing the appearance of the fleet within a matter of months. Widely dubbed ‘Fag Packet’ due to the similarity to the Superkings cigarette branding of the time, the distinctive green, gold and white First Great Western (FGW) livery was replicated in 4mm by Lima in 2000. As the years have gone…

FIRST established in Sheffield in 1865, the Yorkshire Engine Company built industrial shunting locomotives at its Meadowhall Works until the site closed in 1965. After being purchased by the United Steel Company in 1948, the Yorkshire Engine Company constructed its first diesel in 1949, while the first of its well known ‘Janus’ 0-6-0 diesel-electric shunters was built at Meadowhall in 1956. Named after the Roman god who was depicted with two identical faces, since he could look into both the future and the past, the locomotive's centrally positioned cab provided excellent all-round visibility. The two six-cylinder Rolls-Royce C6SFL 200hp engines, one situated at each end, gave the ‘Janus’ a combined output of 400hp. In later examples, the engines were uprated to 220hp, which increased the maximum tractive effort from around…

OF the 100 Class 60s constructed by Brush at Loughborough between 1989 and 1992, some 25 examples – just a quarter of the fleet – remains in active service, with the remaining 75 stored. Of the active examples, DB Cargo operates 15 and Colas has 10, which were purchased from DB Schenker in 2014 and subsequently overhauled at Toton. Despite being built for freight traffic, all 100 Class 60s have appeared on passenger duties at some point, be it on charters, preserved railways or on timetabled services/rescues. The first recorded working occurred on September 28, 1990, when No. 60006 Great Gable rescued failed No. 47558 Mayflower at Horton in Ribblesdale while working the 2M17/10.47 Leeds-Carlisle. It was the following year that the first charter working took place, when Nos. 60032…

Just how nimble are today’s locos and units, and what’s the quickest off the mark? CAPENHURST TO HOOTON Note: **The RE (Rail Express) Factor provides a weighted comparison of performance, taking into account time, load and rated horsepower. A higher score is better. TIMES AND SCORES SUMMARY THE Merseyrail fleet is now approaching its 40th birthday, with the Class 507 original sets having been built at York Works from 1978. What the units lack in sophistication is compensated by their lightweight construction, tipping the scales at a mere 98 tonnes for a three-car set. In the years since then, increased awareness of unnecessary fuel consumption has been paradoxically accompanied by the design of heavier trains. Most of the Merseyrail 750V DC network is limited to a maximum speed of 60mph,…

FOLLOWING the expiry of a 10-year loan agreement, Class 25 No. D7659 (25309/25909) has been moved from Washwood Heath to Peak Rail, where it joins other items of rolling stock from Pete Waterman’s collection, including ‘Peak’ No. 46035 Ixion. The Sulzer Type 2 had been placed in the care of a West Coast Railways employee, acting in a private capacity, in 2007 with a view to the loco being restored to working order. It was moved to Carnforth, and then to DCR’s Washwood Heath site in 2013, but pressures of other work meant that it was never returned to operational condition. As the final loco to be constructed by Beyer Peacock at Gorton (Manchester) before the works closed, No. D7659 was bought by Pete Waterman in 1988, several years before…

JULY brought further developments with the new Class 88s as DRS completed commissioning work at Kingmoor and put further examples into traffic. However, the 4S43 Daventry- Mossend Stobart/Tesco intermodal and corresponding 4M48 southbound return remained the sole revenueearning employment for the class during the month. This is expected to change in the coming weeks as driver training and modifications are completed, bringing an increase in utilisation. Up to July 2, Nos. 88002-4/6 had all appeared on the Anglo-Scottish diagram, with No. 88008 Ariadne joining this club on July 8 when it took charge of the 4S43/06.40 Daventry-Mossend for its first revenue working. The loco was noted atop 4S43 again on July 12 while No. 88006 Juno was in charge the previous day. July 6 found No. 88007 Electra venturing out…

A NEW system-wide timetable was introduced on July 2. The Belfast to Londonderry service has been improved, with the two cities now linked by an hourly service each way on weekdays – a positive development facilitated by the recent Coleraine to Londonderry infrastructure upgrade. The regular interval hourly-service pattern of the previous timetable (and peak hour variations) has been retained between Belfast and Coleraine. But instead of alternate trains running through to/from Portrush or Londonderry, all now serve the province’s second largest city (Londonderry), although some through trains continue to run between Belfast and Portrush. The through service pattern between Belfast and Portrush on Sundays has been retained. The branch service also continues to offer connections at Coleraine into and out of main line trains, as well as facilitating local…

IN a welcome gesture, Dapol has announced that it is to produce replacement bodyshells for the trio of 4mm scale Direct Rail Services-liveried Class 68s that were affected by the stripe positioning error when released back in February. Despite being a superb model in many respects, many purchasers were left disappointed by the mistake, which saw the entire green ‘swoosh’ printed significantly out of position on one side of the loco. A solution has been under consideration for some time with the manufacturer duly announcing in mid-July that the new bodies will be manufactured as part of the next production run of Class 68s. The limited offer will see new, fully decorated and fitted out bodyshells produced for Nos. 68001 Evolution, 68002 Intrepid and 68005 Defiant, which will be exchanged…

AS is traditional, September sees the exhibition circuit come back to life following the summer lull, bringing with it a quartet of scale specific shows among a host of other events. The Gauge O Guild’s principal exhibition at Telford on September 2/3 is once again the vanguard of these, Guildex being a centrepiece of the 7mm scene with the usual mix of layouts, demonstrations and a host of traders. A week later, it is the turn of ‘N’ gauge modellers to enjoy their major event with the International N Gauge Show taking place outside Leamington Spa. Numerous D&E layouts will be on display with support from both general and specialist traders along with a manufacturer presence in the form of Bachmann, Dapol and Revolution Trains. The weekend of September 9/10…