Sommaire pour September 2018 de Rail Express

Rail Express|September 2018

Back to the future

FIFTY years ago saw the end of steam on British Railways, with the running of the famous 1T57 ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ on August 11, 1968. Our small tribute to that day is on page 7, with a shot taken from the tour, of the crowds at Liverpool Lime Street and the new order in the form of a new Class 86. Most readers of this magazine were not around then, myself included (just!). But both steam and diesel fans will probably agree the transition period happened too quickly, with steam locos being scrapped with plenty of life left in them, while the rush to diesels introduced more than a few less successful types. We chart those transition years of the 1960s in our pictorial supplement this month (overseas readers will…

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Rail Express|September 2018

West of England plan aborted

CONSULTATION carried out by the Department for Transport on the structure of the next Great Western franchise put forward the idea that a new West of England franchise could be created that would be responsible for the operation of main line services using the Berks and Hants route to Devon and Cornwall, as well as local secondary and branch line services. After reviewing the responses, the Government has decided not to proceed with the idea as it was not favoured by local authorities in the South West. For example, Cornwall Council said there was not enough evidence to provide a convincing case that a split of the franchise into smaller units would benefit passengers. The council said it had a very positive relationship with the current franchise holder and, despite…

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Rail Express|September 2018

IN BRIEF

EAST-WEST UPDATE PLANS to build the second phase of the Oxford to Cambridge East-West rail scheme have been submitted to the Secretary of State for Transport by Network Rail. If approved, it will mean trains can run from Oxford to Milton Keynes, Oxford to Bedford and Milton Keynes to Aylesbury. For this, a section of mothballed track between Bletchley and Claydon Junction needs to be relaid and, if approved, the upgrade work could start in 2019. The East West Railway Company will oversee the project, which has the longterm aim of reconnecting the university cities of Oxford and Cambridge by rail, half a century after the ‘Varsity Line’ was closed. The third phase, reconnecting Bedford to Cambridge, is currently in development. MAY TIMETABLE SERVICES REINTRODUCED NORTHERN has stated that it…

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Rail Express|September 2018

IN BRIEF

RAILTOUR ANNIVERSARY SEPTEMBER 11 marks the 80th anniversary of what is thought to have been the first enthusiasts’ railtour. The LNER had decided to return to service Stirling ‘Single’ No. 1 to promote its new high-speed service from London to Edinburgh, and the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (RCTS) persuaded the company to run a one-off special from London King’s Cross to Peterborough. The trip, which used appropriate vintage carriages, was a great success with a maximum speed of almost 70mph being achieved. No.1 is today housed at the National Railway Museum and it is planned to display the engine, complete with the original RCTS headboard, at the NRM for one week from September 11. DIGITAL SEASON TICKETS VIRGIN Trains claims to be the first UK train operator to offer…

THE eight-year project to deliver ready-to-run models of the Bulleid prototype diesels in ‘OO’ gauge finally reached its conclusion for Kernow Model Rail Centre in July, with the arrival of the second tranche of exclusive models. The first batch debuted last November and encompassed Nos. 10201 and 10202 in their original 1950s black. This time around, the shipment included No. 10203 in both black/silver and BR green, the latter (reference no. K2704) being reviewed here. Delivered in March 1954, No. 10203 incorporated a number of improvements that set it apart from its two sisters, most notably an uprated English Electric engine delivering 2000hp but also a generator of an improved design along with new traction motors. Externally, the bodyside grilles were all made full depth while the door was removed…

3 min

Rail Express|September 2018

1968 and all that

AUGUST 11, 1968 was the momentous day, 50 years ago now, that British Railways ran its final main line steam service – the famous 1T57 ‘Fifteen Guinea Special’ from Liverpool Lime Street to Carlisle and back via Manchester, Blackburn and Settle – ending a process that had taken just over a decade to complete following publication of the 1955 Modernisation Plan. The above photo was taken from 1T57 as it left Liverpool at 09.10 that morning behind ‘Black Five’ No. 45110. A crowd packed the station to see it off, including a policeman (without high visibility clothing) guarding the track at the platform end, but behind the people is the new order in the form of AL6 No. E3146 (later Class 86 Nos. 86017) waiting to leave for Euston. The…

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Rail Express|September 2018

FIRST IET TO PAIGNTON

A Class 800 IET was used on a passenger service to Paignton for the first time on July 28, when nine-car No. 800309 formed the 1C75/08.18 from Paddington and 1A84/13.08 return. GWR’s transformation director Richard Rowland said: “From later this summer, our customers in Devon and Cornwall will see more of these new trains when we introduce our Class 802 versions, which were specifically built to deal with the steep gradients en route to Penzance.” No. 800309 is pictured after arriving at Paignton alongside CrossCountry HST power car No. 43285.…

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Rail Express|September 2018

DOUBLE BOLSTER NOTES

THE Plate wagon design was also used, with two removable bolsters, as a 21 ton capacity double bolster wagon. The bolsters were set at 15ft centres, one directly above each axle, while a distinguishing feature was the addition of a plate and socket on the solebars immediately below each bolster on both sides. Between them, the LMS and LNER produced around 2000 double bolster wagons from 1943 onwards, with BR completing the final such orders as diagrams 1/416 (Nos. B920000-199) and 1/415 (Nos. B920200-399). No further double bolsters were built, indeed at least some of the 1/416 batch may have been delivered without bolsters as regular Plate wagons, while many other examples were similarly converted by the late 1960s, with most of the surviving double bolsters moving into departmental use…

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Rail Express|September 2018

Bachmann adds vintage MoD van

THE small range of Ministry of Defence internal user vehicles offered by Bachmann in ‘OO’ gauge has been expanded again with the appearance of this LMS 12t van in Army green (37-806). This is finished as No. 47555 and is typical of the wagons acquired from BR for the movement of stores and equipment on the internal railway systems of bases across the country. Despite its vintage nature, such LMS vans were noted still in service in the early 1990s and would have fallen out of use later in the decade as the MoD updated its stock to air brake designs. Previously, the internal wagons ran unfitted so vans such as this would have seen their vacuum brake equipment removed. This particular example was noted awaiting disposal in 1989 and…

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Rail Express|September 2018

December upgrades postponed

“This will result in the renegotiation of relevant franchise contracts” THE upheaval caused by the extent of timetable changes in May, which even now have still not been fully implemented by Northern and the Govia Thameslink Railway, has brought about a decision to put off further major changes in December across eight franchised operators. These include Great Western Railway, CrossCountry, TransPennine Express and South Western Railway. London’s new Elizabeth Line will also be affected, as services were due to start on the Great Western route after commissioning of the core central section. The announcement made on July 9 has wide-ranging consequences as the franchises’ revenue assumptions, which were based on running more services, will be invalidated. This will result in the renegotiation of relevant franchise contracts. The problem has highlighted…

4 min

Rail Express|September 2018

IN BRIEF

WOLVERTON WORKS TO BE DEMOLISHED A HIGH court ruling on July 30 has paved the way for Wolverton Works to be demolished. Milton Keynes Council had already granted planning permission for 375 homes to be built on the site, but Historic England objected saying it was “very concerned” about the impact on a nearby conservation area. Wolverton is the world’s oldest continually-used railway works, but now it is to be largely flattened to make way for new development. Part of the site will be retained for asmaller railway facility. ■ The current occupier of Wolverton and Springburn Works, Knorr-Bremse Rail Services, announced on August 6 that it was being sold to Germany-based holding company Mutares, which says it buys medium-sized companies in ‘turnaround situations and facilitates their restructuring needs’. 2019…

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