Sommaire pour June 2019 de Rail Express

Rail Express|June 2019

Long Rock: long way, but worth it

I MUST begin this month with thanks to Great Western Railway, Network Rail, GBRf and everyone else involved with staging the open day at Long Rock depot, Penzance, in mid-April. Travelling down by train, and taking the opportunity to catch as many of GWR’s last remaining full-length HST diagrams as possible before they end in May (but more of that next month), I was reminded just how far away Penzance can feel – not least because the near 80 miles from Plymouth still take around two hours to cover by rail. But that is not meant to be a negative in any way. It is a fantastic journey, one well worth making, travelling through stunning scenery and with much to savour from a rail enthusiast’s point of view – such…

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Rail Express|June 2019

DC ‘Grids’ power stone traffic

REACTIVATED in February 2019 after five-and-a-half years out of use at Washwood Heath and Leicester while undergoing a top-end engine overhaul and attention to other issues, No. 56091 has now received its long-promised repaint out of debranded Fertis livery. The ‘Grid’ was released after its month-long repaint into DC Rail Freight dark grey at Willesden on April 25. It then worked a 0Z65 light engine move to Leicester, before partnering up with No. 56103 for a 0Z56 test run to Crewe and back to following day. The loco’s first revenue-earning run in the new look was three days later on the 29th, when the duo powered a 6Z57/16.54 Chaddesden Sidings to Carlisle Kingmoor VQ with a set of JNA/ KEA box wagons. DCRail is part of the Cappagh group of…

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Rail Express|June 2019

‘Leg up’ for Bletchley flyover

THE East West Rail Alliance of Network Rail, Atkins, Laing O’Rourke and Volker carried out a minor but vital electrification project under and around the Bletchley flyover over Easter. When the West Coast Main Line was electrified in the 1960s, the overhead wires were hung from the flyover decking. But, as it is due to be lifted for renovation as part of the EWR Project, the wire arrangement had to be revised. The Easter project, completed on May 6, has seen nine new masts erected under and around the flyover. A 60 metre ‘contenary’ wire has also been installed under the flyover, which is where the contact and catenary wire are combined due to height constraints. The 60-year-old flyover requires new crossbeams to permit higher loadings on the existing supporting…

SPECIAL liveries and plaques have been applied to DRS locomotives, including Class 47s and 57s, to match the umber and cream scheme applied to Northern Belle stock that operates as a prestige train on dining and charter services throughout the country. It’s a popular livery that prompted Graham Farish to reissue its former Virgin Trains Class 57/3 model as No. 57305 Northern Princess, neatly finished in umber and cream livery with Northern Belle markings and plaques (371-661). Sister locomotive, No. 57312 Solway Princess, similarly finished to make up the pair that were often seen working in top and tail formation with the Northern Belle set, does not feature in the current Graham Farish catalogue, but could be modelled by renumbering and renaming No. 57305. Both locomotives were not restricted to…

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Rail Express|June 2019

Abellio takes over East Midlands

A NEW East Midlands franchise has been awarded to Abellio after the two other bidders Stagecoach and Arriva were disqualified as they refused to meet Government proposals for reducing a deficit of up to £6 billion in the Railway Pension Scheme. The eight-year contract will start on August 18. The issues about dealing with the pension fund deficit are disputed by Stagecoach, which has also been disqualified from bidding for the West Coast Partnership and South Eastern franchises. This is a decision that will result in the elimination of all Virgin rail operations in the UK given their partnership with Stagecoach for the West Coast competition. The choice for WCP is now between a consortium of MTR (Hong Kong) and the Spanish operator RENFE, or First Group and its partner…

4 min

Rail Express|June 2019

IN BRIEF

DONCASTER DERAILMENT THE Rail Accident Investigation Branch has released its report into the loco derailment at Doncaster on December 21, 2018, when a train formed of four light locomotives left Roberts Road depot in Doncaster following wheel reprofiling. While the train negotiated a tight curve, the third locomotive in the formation derailed, blocking the line for 36 hours. The accident highlights the increased risk of derailment for vehicles with newly-turned wheels with P1 profiles operating on curves without a check rail or adequate lubrication. The report states the importance of track curves of around 200 metres radius or less on passenger carrying lines being fitted with check rails. ‘TRACTOR’ STORED CLASS 37/6 No. 37605, which was placed in the stored XHSS pool after derailing at Doncaster on December 21 (see…

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Rail Express|June 2019

Two-year delay to full Crossrail start

CROSSRAIL has announced that the central section using the new tunnels underneath London will now open between October 2020 and March 2021, some two years after the original plan of December 2018. The issues are delays in building the stations as well as difficulties interfacing the different signalling systems on the route. Somewhat amazingly at this stage, Crossrail has revealed it still has to create and test software that will integrate the train operating system with the three different signalling systems. When trains do start running, they are unlikely to be able to call at Bond Street station while work there is finished off. Each Elizabeth line station has more than 50km of communications cabling, 200 CCTV cameras, 66 information displays, 200 radio antennas, 750 loudspeakers and 50 help points.…

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