Índex per April 2018 a Rail Express

THE award of the ScotRail franchise in 2014 followed a highly contested competition that saw Abellio win out with promises of high-quality management processes. The award was considered controversial at the time, because National Express’ bid included a requirement for revenue support of £747 million over the seven-year contract compared with £776 million in the Abellio bid. First Group, which was the incumbent operator, judged that it would need £812 million to meet the operational needs. Having agreed to pay Abellio £29 million more for its quality promise, Transport Scotland was not going to be easily let down by product deficiencies, which is why recent failures to meet service benchmarks has incurred a penalty of £3 million. The benchmarks were formalised by the creation of a Service Quality Incentive Regime,…

ABELLIO Rail Cymru has withdrawn from the race to win the next Wales &Borders franchise after the collapse of bidding partner Carillion in January. It was originally thought that Abellio could continue its bid, but the decision of Amey to acquire the assets of Carillion Rail has changed the situation because Amey is already involved in the competition as a bidder with Keolis. The bidding arrangements for the new Wales & Borders franchise, where a new 15-year contract is due to begin in October this year, has followed a different process to that used by both the Department for Transport in England and Transport Scotland. An Invitation to Tender document setting out the delivery requirements for railway services has not been issued. In its place, a ‘competitive dialogue’ was launched…

50 YEARS AGO...APRIL 1968 ■ WIGAN SPRINGS BRANCH OPENS: A new traction maintenance depot in Wigan was officially opened on April 3, as part of the London Midland Region’s North West modernisation programme, and was described as the only depot of its kind on the 114 miles of main line between Crewe and Carlisle. It was designed for maintaining and servicing diesel-electric locomotives and (given that electrification north of Crewe had yet to go ahead) had future provision for electric locos and rolling stock. The TMD was built on land formerly occupied by Springs Branch steam shed, which had closed in December 1967. The three-road shed was built to hold up to 12 Type 4 locos, each road having full length inspection pits, while one road also had four 20-ton…

WORK has begun to build a new £23.3 million workshop at London Underground’s Acton Works, in West London. The 550sq m facility will initially host all 85 of the Central Line’s 1992 Tube stock fleet during their upgrade and refurbishment work, and is due to be ready to accept the first unit in April 2019 – although work is due to begin on the fleet two months before that. The construction works, contracted to a joint venture called Morgan Sindall BeMo, are to the rear of the buildings on the site of former sidings that were removed during 2017. The building will join others on the 13.4 hectare Acton Works site, which was established in 1922 as the main LU overhaul facility. The new workshop will contain four 160 metre…

FURTHER expansion of the Locomotive Services fleet took place in early February with the acquisition of ‘Peak’ No. 45118 The Royal Artilleryman – which has been located at Loram (formerly RVEL) at Derby since 2009 – by its Locomotive Diesels business. The loco last ran at the Northampton & Lamport Railway until copper thieves struck in 2008, stripping the ‘Peak’ of all its cables and rendering it inoperable. The loco moved to Derby for repairs but they have yet to be completed, and in 2014 the Class 45’s owner, David Young, announced it was for sale. LSL spokesman Peter Greenwood confirmed to Rail Express that Locomotive Diesels Ltd had bought the ‘Peak’. He added: “We are currently doing a detailed assessment of the loco’s condition with a view to understanding…

THE day that some thought would never come finally arrived on February 8 as No. 37407 rolled out of Loram, Derby, on its long-awaited first test run. This marked the end of the mammoth rebuild of the Type 3, which has taken some two and half years to complete and rumoured to have cost well over £1 million. Partnered with No. 37422, the BR large logo-liveried machine led the 0Z31/10.47 Derby RTC-Derby RTC working via Stoke, Crewe and Stoke, 18 years after it last worked on the main line. No. 37407 was next noted on February 17, running solo as the 0E07/10.41 Derby RTC-Norwich via Grantham and Ely. Two days later, it was teamed with No. 37425 on the Norwich to Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth loco-hauled diagram, the returnee performing…

CLASS 20 ON February 1, the 7X08/16.09 Derby Chaddesden-Banbury (for West Ruislip) ‘S’ Stock working had the English Electric pairs of Nos. 20107+20118 and 20096+20314 either end of LUL sets Nos. 21359/60. The same quartet brought sets Nos. 21027/28 to Derby on February 3 and took Nos. 21471/72 to West Ruislip that night. No. 20132 replaced No. 20118 and No. 20311 substituted for No. 20096 for the trip south on February 8 (with sets Nos. 21075/76), and the quartet operated three more stock transfers before No. 20905 replaced No. 20132 on the 7X08/15.51 Chaddesden-Banbury on February 17. Five days later, 7X08 had Nos. 20096+20905 together with No. 20311+20314 when taking LUL sets Nos. 21459/60 to West Ruislip. Elsewhere, Nos. 20189+20205 ran light from West Ruislip to North Pole late on…

EASTERN Rail Services has gained its first main line coaching stock hire contract in a deal which has seen Mk.2f BSO No. 9513 dispatched to Scotland for use on Caledonian Sleeper duties. The vehicle is being provided for use on the Edinburgh to Fort William ‘portion’, a duty previously covered by a coach hired in from Riviera Trains. It will be used on alternate weeks, enabling the Caledonian Sleeper brake coach to undergo maintenance. No. 9513 was outshopped from Washwood Heath in InterCity livery in November 2017, following a brake and bodywork overhaul plus repainting by Boden Rail. It was last used on ‘Train to Christmas Town’ specials at the Weardale Railway in December. No. 9513 was moved by 66724 Drax Power Station as the 5S20/16.00 Bishop Auckland-Polmadie via the…

AS THE early 1980s began, British Rail was still saddled with a large number of elderly and unfitted ballast wagons of limited capacity and speed. Therefore, during 1982, the rebuilding of 1000 Bogie Bolster E wagons into a new fleet of 34t capacity ballast and spoil carriers was authorised. The resulting wagons were recoded as YCV and were given the Fishkind name of ‘Turbot’. Originally, the order, to Lot 4021, was to have been undertaken at Derby Litchurch Lane but, in the event, this was amended before the rebuilding project had begun to BREL’s Shildon Works. However, the project was still ongoing when the works at Shildon closed in 1984 so the task was then transferred to BREL’s Swindon Works, only for that workshop to suffer the same fate in…

THE trio of SJA box wagons was converted from HEA hoppers in 1989 on a prototype basis to see if a new scrap-carrying fleet could be created. Rebuilt at Cardiff Cathays, their full history is detailed on pages M22-M23 but a production order never materialised, leaving the three wagons as an interesting curio among the BR fleet. As modellers frequently gravitate towards such interesting stock, late 2017 saw Stenson Models release a 4mm scale etched conversion kit for the SJAs. This is intended to be used with the Bachmann MEA box wagon and includes parts for the bodyside inspection doors, the angled shield over the brake pipes and the underframe bracket for the air brake distributor (Picture 1). Pick a donor Some care needs to be taken when selecting suitable…

A SUSTAINED period of cold weather in February and March brought more than a week of disruption to rail services as the so-called ‘Beast from the East’ saw heavy snow, winds and ice affect all parts of the country. One of the main problems was the powdery nature of the snow, which was easily blown around in the winds, causing impassable drifts and quickly re-covering any just-cleared lines. Bad weather first hit the south of England on February 27, which then spread north and west over the following days. Scotland was hit the worst, and there were no Anglo-Scottish trains at all from the evening of Wednesday, February 28 until Sunday, March 4, but disruption continued into the following week on rural lines across Britain as routes were checked and…

THE British Railways Modernisation Plan of 1955 included orders from four manufacturers for ‘big’ Type 4 locos. English Electric’s offering used a Mk.2 version of its 16-cylinder SVT power unit rated at 2,000hp, a development of the Mk.1 type that had been used in the previous LMS (Nos. 10000 and 10001) and SR (Nos. 10201-10203) prototypes that emerged in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The initial order was for 10 locos, the first of which, No. D200, emerged from EE’s Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows in March 1958 with the other nine (Nos. D201-209) following over the next six months. Follow on orders saw a further 190 examples built at Vulcan Foundry – with the exception of 20 (Nos. D305-324) at the RSH plant in Darlington – and delivered between…

MOST depots built for diesel or electric locomotives and units were the direct result of the 1955 British Railways Modernisation Plan, but a few preceded this such as EMU depots on the Southern or Reddish, in south Manchester, which was built for the Woodhead electrification scheme. While many diesel depots were built on the site of former steam sheds, others were built from scratch. Most were on the site of sidings, but some were on green field sites – especially those built to serve major new marshalling yards, which were another result of the Modernisation Plan – such as Tinsley, near Sheffield. Some of these new depots proved to be short-lived and were gone by the end of the century, examples being Reddish, Blyth Cambois, Finsbury Park and Shirebrook. Privatisation…

THERE has been a reported 1.1% fall in Tube passenger journeys, from 421.2 million in 2016 to 416.7 million in 2017, but London Underground (LU) still recognises the long-term trend is likely to rise. Therefore the continued battle between capacity and demand continues to be fought, and either capacity needs to increase at huge expense or commuting times need to lengthen. Long-term station upgrade work is being concentrated at stations and lines with the highest passenger demand. In the meantime, LU has increased the length of the Northern Line timetable, and from January 29 the evening rush hour has been increased from 17.30-18.30 to 17.00-19.00. The longer rush hour status means 24 trains per hour (tph) now run on both the Bank and Charing Cross branches, while 30tph will travel…

FOLLOWING the announcement in January that No. 50033 Glorious is to be returned to working order, the Fifty Fund and Class 50 Alliance reached agreement with Tyseley Loco Works on February 5 to take the loco on loan for a period of three years. Glorious will move to the Severn Valley Railway later in the year, becoming the sixth member of the class to come under the Alliance’s wing, and should appear at the SVR’s Class 50 Golden Jubilee event in October. Tyseley Loco Works is providing some finance towards the initial restoration of No. 50033, but the Class 50 Alliance is keen to stress none of its own or Fifty Fund finances will be used on the loco, which will instead have to generate its own funds by means…

THE period under review saw a diverse range of developments, with the DRS Class 68s earmarked for use on the new TransPennine Express loco-hauled trains. Most notably, the last two of the fleet were added to the XHTP pool during February, No. 68029 being followed by No. 68032, with both duly stopping at Crewe Gresty Bridge by mid-month to join the queue for modifications. Shortly afterwards, Nos. 68023 and 68026 were both temporarily reallocated to the XHVE pool, bringing their return to use on DRS traffic. No. 68026 had begun the month in store at Barrow Hill but was retrieved on February 2, No. 57301 transferring both it and No. 68020 back to Crewe, leaving just No. 68024 out of use at the roundhouse site. Nos. 68023+68026 duly powered the…

LATE February brought a welcome return to traffic for No. 37099 Merl Evans 1947-2016, nine months after its career-threatening major engine failure. With a new power unit finally fitted, the Type 3 ran from Barrow Hill to Derby with No. 37607 on February 21 while, five days later, it was paired up with No. 37421 to work the 1Q90/15.32 Derby RTC-Ferme Park plain line pattern recognition test train. This ran overnight by way of Cambridge, Liverpool Street, Hertford East, Chingford and Enfield Town before the duo visited the c2c network the next afternoon. The return of No. 37099 has allowed No. 37611 to be released from test train duties and be returned to Europhoenix. The loco arrived back at Leicester on February 27, where it will receive Dellner couplings in…

AFTER a period that saw several units kept in ‘warm store’ at Peterborough following the introduction of limited Class 700 workings on Great Northern services, Govia Thameslink Railway has begun handing back its Class 365 ‘Networker’ units to Eversholt. In turn, the leasing company has begun moving the units to Ely for secure storage – Eversholt being the second firm to make use of the Potter Group site after Angel Trains has used it for Class 442 EMUs and HST stock. The first pair of units to be sent away for store were Nos. 365501/505 on February 15, these being moved as the 5Q65/11.06 Hornsey-Ely Papworth by No. 57301 Goliath. They were followed three days later by Nos. 365527/533, which passed through Ely on the 5Q65/14.25 Hornsey-Ely Papworth behind No.…

THE third week of February saw the first Stoke ‘cut ‘n’ shut’ HRA hopper wagon moved outside of the DB Cargo facility’s paintshop after being repainted in DB red. Former HTA No. 310501 has been renumbered as No. 41 70 6723 002-5 and, unlike many previous conversions such as the HKAs and MXAs, there is no evidence of its former identity. There is, however, a rather useful large number on the top left of each side - sadly probably positioned there to keep it out of reach of the graffiti hooligans. The second ‘production’ wagon has also been reduced in length, No. 41 70 6723 003-3 (previously No. 310378) was spotted being moved into the paintshop on February 21. A total of 35 HTAs are expected to be given the…

DURING 1987, with domestic coal traffic in terminal decline, some 131 redundant HEA hopper wagons were transferred to the Railfreight Metals sub-sector and recoded as HSAs for further use as scrap metal carriers. The only modification for this new role was the plating over of the bottom hopper doors. Inevitably, the comparatively lightweight bodies of the HSAs soon began to be damaged by the electromagnets used for unloading the scrap metal. Consequently, during the summer of 1989, three hopper wagons, Nos. 360040, 360761 and 361486, were rebuilt with reinforced high-sided box bodies. Recoded as SJAs on TOPS, the conversion work was carried out at Cardiff Cathays with all three finished in all-over Railfreight red rather than sub-sector grey/yellow. The new box bodies were very similar to those employed by Railfreight…

“Charter trains boost local economies and a sense of pride and nostalgia in the railway” THE Government has awarded Network Rail an increased budget for Control Period 6 from 2019-2024 despite fears that funding would be cut now that NR accounts are on the public books. The five-year budget has been set at £47.1 billion, which is an increase from £38 billion in the previous five year period to 2019; the equivalent of £41 billion after adjusting for inflation. It had been feared that the decision to classify Network Rail spending as a public liability would lead to cut backs, particularly given the cost over-run of electrification projects, which eroded confidence that rail investment represented value for money. More money is to be made available for renewals, with £18.5 billion…

VIVARAIL has announced an agreement with West Midlands Trains to build three new Class 230 ‘D-Trains’ for use on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley from December 2018. These will be the first trains to be introduced within the new franchise, which has more than 400 new vehicles on order with other manufacturers. Vivarail’s chief executive officer Adrian Shooter said “As a West Midlands-based company it will be extremely gratifying to see our trains running on local lines and we look forward to passenger feedback. Our trains will be built to the high standards West Midlands Trains has committed to and will provide the flagship service for the region.” ■ Meanwhile, a battery-powered version of the Class 230 is in its final build stage and is expected to…

FROM an operational point of view, the ‘40s’ were quickly outpaced by developments in diesel engine technology - meaning that just a few years after their introduction in the late 1950s, they were judged overweight and underpowered for the most prestigious jobs. However, the sight and sound of these fine EE machines quickly became a firm favourite with enthusiasts, attracting a cult following right through to the end of normal passenger workings in January 1985. This has ensured that of the 200 ‘Whistlers’ built, seven are now safely in preservation – four of which are operational, one almost ready for use again, and one still undergoing its preservation overhaul. The only one currently not being worked on is the NRM’s pioneer No. D200 (40122). There were 125 EE Type 4s…

Completing an initial comparison of HST vs IEP, Neville Hill returns to the Great Western Main Line to see how the Class 800s get away from a standing start in electric mode. IT IS fair to say the performance of the Class 800 five-car IETs on diesel power is unsatisfactory, with around 118-120mph as a top speed on level track in still air (see also February issue). The statement needs balancing, however, with the fact they were never designed to match HSTs on unelectrified 125mph lines. Deletions from the Department for Transport’s plans, and implementation delays by Network Rail, have meanwhile exposed the inadequacies of the original 750hp output per diesel engine. Even so, the Great Western Railway train operating company seems to have been remarkably supine in accepting trains…

Your letters, emails, feedback and other comments are always welcome. Contact us at Rail Express, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR; or email: railexpresseditor@mortons.co.uk. The editor reserves the right to edit all letters, and the views expressed here are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the magazine. MORE LINESIDE RELICS I ENJOYED Christopher Westcott’s article on ‘The Shenfield Shark’ (March issue), but another relic exists beside the Catford Loop Line in South East London. Mid-way between Beckenham Hill and Ravensbourne is a BR diagram 2/904 Flatrol wagon, which has been dumped to the west of the Up line. Buried deep in ballast, earth and vegetation growth for years, trackside clearance in 2012 gave me the opportunity to photograph it from the adjacent public…

AFTER teasing us for some time with computer generated images, GB Railfreight’s charity team has released the full itinerary for its four-day jaunt called ‘GBRf 2018 Out of the Ordinary’, which travels around the country from Thursday, September 20 to Sunday, September 24. This mammoth expedition embraces England, Scotland and Wales and includes no less than 18 locomotives. Planned highlights include a Class 86 or 87 into Paddington, a Class 92 into Blackpool and a Class 56 to Fort William. The itinerary and planned traction is as follows. Tickets are available in various classes and for individual days or the whole tour. DAY 1 66782: London Victoria-Salisbury-Bristol Temple Meads. 2x‘73/9’: Bristol-Avonmouth-Newport (set down)-Cardiff Celsa Steelworks. GBRf ‘08’: Shunt moves within Celsa. 2x‘73/9’: Celsa-Gloucester-Didcot West End. ‘86’ or ‘87’: Didcot-Paddington. DAY…

ANDREW Briddon – better known for his assortment of small locos – has acquired 2-HAP No. 4311, one of only two surviving units of this type and one of the large number of EMUs declared homeless following the closure of Coventry’s Electric Railway Museum (ERM) at the end of 2017. A previous planned disposal, which would have seen the EMU move to the fledgling Blaenau Ffestiniog & Trawsfynydd Railway, did not happen. The unit, which was in private ownership and not part of the SERA (Suburban Electric Railway Association) or ERM collections, was due to leave Coventry for its new home at Darley Dale on February 20, but ground conditions at its former home prevented it from being moved. In due course, it is hoped the unit can operate in…

THE beginning of February brought the departure of another former EWS/DB shunter from the Kingsbury scrapyard of European Metal Recycling, the lucky machine this time around being No. 08921 Pongo. Acquired by Railway Support Services, the loco was transferred the short distance to Moveright International’s yard at Wishaw, Warwickshire on the 5th. This represents another remarkable reprieve for No. 08921, which during 2010 became notorious for its regular failures while deployed on the Celsa contract at Cardiff Tidal. The start of that year saw it released from a major E-exam at Wigan Springs Branch, but three visits to Toton would follow in the space of eight months for attention to a variety of faults. However, the ‘Gronk’ did not survive its fourth failure of the year, shifted cranks incurred in…

BELFAST Central station is to be renamed Lanyon Place, which will coincide with a project to improve the main entrance and internal facilities of the through station. Northern Ireland Railways stated that the change has been made to “provide more clarity on where the station is geographically positioned in the city.” Belfast Central, the name it has had since opening in April 1976, was the most important element in the first significant investment in railway infrastructure that the Government made following the establishment of NIR in April 1968. It was the centrepiece of the Belfast Central Railway Project, which saw the reinstatement and upgrading to mainline status of a closed but not abandoned 2¼-mile cross-city freight-only line, and construction of two new stations Central and Botanic. This line, between Central…

THE beginning of March saw Irish Railway Models unveil its production plans for 2018, the focus remaining on producing high-quality ‘OO’ gauge wagons to partner with the existing range of Murphy Models locomotives. All of these CIE/Irish Rail-owned wagons are currently planned to be released during the second half of the year, many in the summer or early autumn, with prices to be announced in due course. Up first is the bogie fertiliser wagon, of which 90 were built to transport palletised fertiliser loads across the country. This model will be offered in twin-pack form with a variety of different sets to cater for branding changes over the years. Providing a very welcome companion to the previously released ballast hoppers will be the ballast plough vans, of which four were…

ANOTHER month, another new Class 47 in ‘OO’ gauge as Bachmann continues to release an array of much requested liveries on the Brush Type 4s. The subject this time around is Railfreight Distribution’s No. 47209 Herbert Austin (31-663), as already seen in ‘N’ gauge just a couple of issues ago and again forming part of the group of models produced to mark last October’s Railfreight sub-sector anniversary. The model portrays a typical member of the Tinsley-based RfD fleet in the early 1990s prior to the widespread application of the life extension modifications. As such, No. 47209 retains its bufferbeam cowls and underframe water tanks while also featuring headlights and cab roof aerials, this combination of details dating it to the 1990-93 period. Additionally, the boiler port blanking panels are of…