Sommaire pour May 2018 de Rail Express

 THE National Audit Office has completed a report about the cutbacks in electrification that the Government announced last year. “This is probably the first public admission by the Government that investment in HS2 will impact on the classic railway” The cutbacks followed a rise in costs that meant Network Rail had to ask for an additional £2.5 billion to complete the programme by 2019. Funding for the full Great Western project had increased from £1.6 billion in 2014 to £2.8 billion in 2016, with the Midland Main Line work increasing from £633 million in October 2013 to £1,181 million a year later. There was also a small rise in the cost of the Windermere branch electrification to £35 million. The Government therefore decided to scale back the work, which included…

THE Department for Transport has issued a formal invitation to tender to the three bidders looking to introduce HS2 operations in 2026 alongside existing West Coast Main Line services. The DfT previously asked potential bidders to team up with companies that already had experience operating high speed lines, and this is reflected in the make-up of those taking part in the competition. The current West Coast operator, the Virgin/Stagecoach consortium, has teamed up with SNCF as the operator of high speed routes in France, with First Group bidding with the Italian operator Trenitalia, and MTR choosing the Guangshen Rail Company of China as a partner. The scheduled end of the franchise is in 2031, so there will be a period of running the ‘classic’ railway on the West Coast Main…

“The light railway had been built to relieve pressure on the overworked Oakleigh Sidings” THE Cheshire town of Northwich was a major centre of chemical manufacture for much of the twentieth century, a development that dated back to the 1870s when John Brunner and Ludwig Mond opened a works at nearby Winnington to produce soda ash (sodium carbonate) by the Solvay ammonia-soda process. By 1926, the year that Brunner Mond became part of the giant chemical conglomerate Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI), it had also acquired a second soda ash works at Lostock, to the east of the town, while in 1927 a third works was opened at Wallerscote. Subsequent expansion –driven by burgeoning demand from the glass, detergent and chemical industries – meant that by 1970 over a million tons…

OUR ‘Class 40 poster poser’ in the last issue (page 19) created a great deal of debate, and we were flooded with letters and emails from readers falling into two camps of either ‘fake’ or ‘real’. It has to be said that most people thought the photo was fake – and understandably so with key questions to be answered, such as why is such a serious crash not known about already, why was the loco repaired and not written off, where was the work done, and why is there no photographic evidence from whichever works did the repairs? A number of readers also questioned the health and safety aspects on display, with the fitter working under the raised up nose of the ‘40’, which surely must have been a serious…

50 YEARS AGO... MAY 1968 ■ DARTMOOR CLOSURE: Passenger services between Okehampton and Bere Alston via Tavistock were withdrawn from May 6, leaving separate services to operate from Exeter to Okehampton and Plymouth to Gunnislake. Okehampton lost its passenger service in 1972, but the line remained open for stone traffic from nearby Meldon Quarry. There is now a growing campaign to reopen the line to provide an alternative route between Devon and Cornwall following a series of bad winters in which the line through Dawlish has suffered closures. ■ NOTTS FAREWELL: The remaining sidings on the site of the former Great Central and Great Northern station at Nottingham Victoria station were closed from May 27. The last through service to Marylebone was in September 1966 and the station had closed…

PREVIOUSLY based at the North Norfolk Railway, Class 04 No. D2280 has been sold and moved to a new home at the Gloucestershire-Warwickshire Railway on March 22. The loco has become part of the line’s steam loco department fleet at Toddington, although it will require restoration before it can be used for shunting, having not operated for more than 20 years. Despite being withdrawn from BR service as long ago as 1971, No. D2280 did not enter preservation until 1997. In between, it spent more than 25 years in industrial use with Ford as No. 2 at Dagenham – working alongside No. D2267 (No. 1), which had been acquired in 1970. The pair arrived at the North Norfolk Railway in 2000 after a spell at the East Anglian Railway Museum,…

PLANS to move the pair of TransPennineliveried Class 68s by rail from the UK to the Czech Republic for trials with the new Mk.5 coaching stock at the Velim test track descended into farce during March. As detailed last issue, Nos. 68019 and 68021 reached Wembley Yard on March 1 behind No. 47813, but it was a further five days before the weather allowed the duo to continue onwards to Dollands Moor, this time with No. 37601 up front. However, the French authorities refused to accept the pair, forcing the transfer to be postponed. No. 37608 thus returned them to Wembley during the evening of March 8, before the trio continued as the 0Z68/11.32 Wembley-Gresty Bridge the next day. A second attempt to get Nos. 68019 and 68021 across the…

CLASS 20 FOR the best part of mid-March, Nos. 20118+20905 and 20311+20314 were fully utilised on the movement of London Underground stock between Derby, Banbury and West Ruislip – the quartet handling five trips from Chaddesden between March 6 and March 20. On the 22nd, however, Nos. 20096+20107 replaced the HNRC ‘20/3s’ on the 7X08/16.09 Chaddesden-Banbury with LUL sets Nos. 21507/08. Heading north with sets Nos. 21079/80 early on March 25, forming the 23.45 from West Ruislip, an operating problem resulted in the train being terminated at Bicester North. Two days later, Nos. 20096+20107 and Nos. 20118+20905 powered the 6X08/22.40 Banbury-West Ruislip with sets Nos. 21015/16, which had been taken north to Chaddesden back on March 10. The BR blue pairing of Nos. 20189 and 20205 ran light from West…

TIMES continue to be tough for the Class 08 hire fleet operated by RMS Locotec, with the period under review bringing the end of two more duties. These follow on from a difficult 2017, when RMS Class 08s were ousted from several contracts by the rapidly expanding Railway Support Services, leaving several shunters sidelined without work. Late-February saw No. 08871 depart Tata Steel’s Trostre works in South Wales, where shunting operations are now understood to be in the hands of Hunslet and a small fleet of industrials. The former Cotswold Rail machine was taken to Ilford, allowing No. 08573 to leave the East London depot around February 27 bound for RMS Locotec’s maintenance base at the Weardale Railway. However, the wintry weather that arrived at this time intervened, with No.…

AFTER several months of delay, the first batch of ARI (Romania)- built biomass hoppers for the new Lynemouth Power Station flow have now arrived in the UK. IIA-C wagons Nos. 83 70 0689 002-9 to 024-3 (total 23) were delivered to Dollands Moor in the first week of March, moving north on the 9th in the care of No. 66729 Derby County as a 4Z84/05.07 Dollands Moor-Doncaster Decoy working. The wagons had still to be accepted for traffic by the end of the month but initial biomass services from Tyne Dock to the 420MW plant at Lynemouth commenced in mid March using GBRf’s existing IIA biomass hoppers. OTHER DEVELOPMENTS On March 15, No. 66778 Darius Cheskin was dispatched light engine to WH Davis at Langwith Junction to collect 11 cut-down…

MARCH saw two more limited edition Bachmann locos find new distributors following the withdrawal of the retailers that originally commissioned the ‘OO’ gauge models. Now available to preorder from Peterborough-based Trains4U (www.trains4u.com) is Class 37/4 No. 37419 in DB Schenker red, a model that was first announced by Olivia’s Trains. Due for release in the summer, it is priced £159.95. Already available is ScotRail-liveried No. 47712 Lady Diana Spencer, which was originally a Kernow Model Rail Centre commission but has now appeared as another Bachmann ‘regional’ limited edition. This is only available from retailers in northern England and Scotland and has a recommended retail price of £159.95. www.bachmann.co.uk…

 THE Government has completed consultation on a proposal to divide the Great Western franchise when the contract is renewed in April 2020, although there is some speculation that there could be another extension to the existing First Group operation until 2022. The reason for lengthening the contract would be to allow more time for the electrified routes and use of new Class 800 bi-mode rolling stock to become established. “Larger franchises do not have the localised market knowledge to reverse the fall in passenger numbers ” The core of the boundary change would be the creation of a West of England franchise that would run trains between Penzance and London Paddington via the Berks and Hants route plus the associated secondary routes and branch lines. This would include services between…

A NEW era for Eurostar began on April 5, with the introduction of through services from St Pancras to Amsterdam. The honour of the first public service fell to Class 374 e320 set Nos. 4013+4014. It left London at 08.31 and reached Amsterdam in 3hrs 41mins, calling at Brussels (1hr 48mins) and Rotterdam (3hrs 1min) at speeds up to a potential 300km/h (188mph). Eurostar first announced plans to serve Amsterdam in late 2010, then in 2013 said services would start in 2016. However, delays to planning, staff training and train approval saw the start date pushed back to this April. A demonstration run for press and guests ran on February 20, formed of set Nos. 4031+4032. The company is hoping to capture a share of the large airline market by…

RAILFREIGHT at Northwich saw a temporary boost in 2005 when trainloads of PFA (pulverised fuel ash) began arriving at Winnington, the PFA then being mixed with cement and used to fill some of the large voids beneath the town that had been created by salt mining in the early twentieth century. Usually two trains of 18 EWS MBA wagons would arrive daily from Drax Power Station, while there were occasional trains from both Uskmouth and Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station, the workings from Ratcliffe being in MJA wagons hauled by a Freightliner Class 66. At the same time, some of the unwanted brine displaced by the PFA/ cement mix was disposed of by rail, with EWS purchasing 16 redundant Class A bogie tank wagons from VTG for the short-distance rail movement from…

TODAY’S London Underground famously dates back to the 3.75-mile privately-owned Metropolitan Railway, which opened on Saturday, January 10, 1863. Since then, the network has expanded and today incorporates more than 250 miles of railway, 270 stations, and 1.37 billion passengers per year. As the network grew and matured, signal cabins were constructed to allow trains to operate safely over the short sections of track they controlled. There are a number of such signal cabins scattered across the LU network. They control the routes whilst ensuring that each train operates as close to the operating timetable as possible. Some may be surprised to learn that the Underground network operates round the clock, with engineering trains often operating after passenger services have ceased. Therefore, all operational cabins are manned at all times,…

THE Weardale Railway’s three surviving Class 141 vehicles were all cut up on site at Wolsingham by a local scrap dealer, J Denham Metals of Bishop Auckland, during the latter half of March. The vehicles were spares donor No. 55510 (its partner No. 55530 from No. 141110 having been scrapped by the same firm in 2009), and complete unit No. 141103 (Nos. 55503 and 55523). Both sets had been purchased in 2000, and No. 141103 was used on the line until late 2013 when it failed during the ‘Polar Express’ season. The scrapping of these early ‘Pacers’ means there are now just two examples in preservation – No. 141108 at the Colne Valley Railway and No. 141113, which is owned by Llangollen Railcars but based at the Midland Railway-Butterley. No.…

THE completion of 25kV AC electrification between Edinburgh and Glasgow via the main Falkirk route into Queen Street station has opened up new ground for electric traction. This was taken advantage of during the long Easter weekend, when Caledonian Sleeper services were diverted via the East Coast Main Line due to engineering work preventing direct access from the West Coast into Glasgow Central. The highlight of the diversions was the arrival of Freightliner’s No. 90046 on the stops at Queen Street at 07.45 on April 2 with the previous night’s 1S26/21.39 departure from Euston (see Headline news). Equally notable was that No. 73971 had been added to the rear at Waverley in order to haul the empty stock away to Polmadie via a circuitous route that took in Springburn, Paisley…

THE last two Class 707 units to arrive from Germany, Nos. 707024/030, made their debut passenger runs on March 13, their first working being the 2V43/15.37 Waterloo-Waterloo via Hounslow. The pair had been delivered to Clapham Yard for acceptance trials on February 24, being moved the previous evening by No. 56303 as the 6X87/22.36 Dollands Moor-Clapham Yard. Earlier in the month, on March 10, Nos. 707021/022 – which had been delivered on February 10 – were put into service. The introduction of these four units ends a process that began in August 2017 (see table) when two sets were used by South West Trains for a single day prior to the transfer of the franchise from Stagecoach to First Group on August 20. Proper entry to traffic began the following…

AFTER a number of delays, the first HST coaches to be made PRM TSI compliant emerged from Wabtec on March 12 and, with Great Western Railway facing a shortage of DMUs after the departure of some sets to Northern, the set was pressed into service just over two weeks later. The four vehicles, which are the first of more than 200 planned to receive sliding doors for GWR, CrossCountry and ScotRail before the end of 2019, departed Doncaster West Yard behind No. 47813 as the 5V24/18.45 to Laira with barrier coaches Nos. 6340/44. All four refurbished vehicles have gained new identities, these being Nos. 48101 (ex-42168), 48102 (ex-42177), 48111 (ex-42093) and 49101 (ex-44055). A further two GWR coaches, Nos. 42102 and 44079, are at Doncaster for rebuilding and will emerge…

FEBRUARY 27 marked the start of a period of severe winter weather which affected most of the Republic of Ireland. Prolonged snowfalls and high winds – thanks to the ‘Beast from the East’ and subsequently Storm Emma – saw all forms of transport experience difficulties. Most freight traffic was cancelled on and from February 28. An additional problem was the closure of the Dublin to Rosslare Europort line between Dublin Pearse/Grand Canal Dock and Bray because of tidal flooding in the Sidney Parade to Dun Laoghaire section. This line was also blocked in the Kilcoole area between Greystones and Wicklow after sea defences were breached and the single track was covered with rocks and other debris. On March 1, as the weather deteriorated further with snow blocking pointwork and drifting…

WITH the BR plate wagons close to release, The Model Centre (TMC) has unveiled its next exclusive ‘OO’ gauge wagon project with Bachmann. This will be the 24½ ton mineral wagons as built to diagrams 1/115 and 1/118 and which were primarily employed on power station coal flows. The largest of the various mineral wagon designs, many lasted into the 1980s by when they were classified as MEO on TOPS. Expected to be released next year, the tooling will take account of various detail differences, including three different bodies, two types of axlebox and a trio of buffer designs. Six individual wagons will be released, all in BR grey with a variety of different details and brandings, while there will also be three twin-packs with similar characteristics. Prices for the…

THE second weekend of May, the 12th and 13th, will see the Derby Model Railway Exhibition again take place at the city’s historic Roundhouse venue, this being the fourth show to be staged at the Grade II listed former Midland Railway locomotive works. Organised by the Mickleover Model Railway Group, the event will continue in the enlarged format introduced last year and maintains its tradition of featuring a strong line-up of diesel and electric era layouts. In ‘N’ gauge, these include the current day re-creation of Hinksey Yard from the Epsom & Ewell MRC and the equally contemporary Neely by Terry Metcalfe. Meanwhile, in 2mm Finescale will be the blue era Hallam Town from Alan Whitehouse. Moving up to ‘OO’ gauge, one of the main attractions will be the full…

BOTH the Department for Transport and Network Rail have announced plans to encourage investment in new non-Government funded rail projects. One of the first to benefit will be the proposed southern rail link to Heathrow Airport. A company called Heathrow Southern Railway Limited (HSRL) is already in existence with the aim of financing the £1.6 billion plan to create new spur lines that will connect the airport’s current rail lines to those to London Waterloo, Basingstoke and beyond. Track and signalling would remain in the ownership of HSRL, matching the arrangement for the existing Airport branch from the Great Western Main Line, with the investment being paid off in track access charges paid by train operators. In addition to this specific project, the DfT has said it wants to create…

FEBRUARY saw the Department for Transport announce four bidders for the next East Midlands franchise, a process that had been paused and restarted after the cancellation of electrification north of Kettering and Corby in July 2017. The four bidders are Abellio, Arriva, a FirstGroup/Trenitalia joint venture and current operator Stagecoach (as East Midlands Trains), which from 2019 will be charged with improving stations and ticket buying facilities, plus introducing new stock to cope with rising passenger demand – in particular how to plug the gap between HSTs becoming non-compliant with PRM (Persons with Reduced Mobility) legislation in 2020 and the earliest possible delivery of new bi-mode stock in 2022. The current East Midlands franchise has been in operation since November 11, 2007 and is made up of routes that were…

HOW comfortable the 1970s were! My Riviera Trains First Class air-conditioned open saloon beat a modern day Class 390 in every respect except speed. Although that is an important competitive issue, it is a pity we cannot have ‘Pendolino’ speed with Mk.2 or 3 comfort. Loco No. 87002 Royal Sovereign was entrusted with the first leg of ‘The Caledonian’ railtour on October 7, 2017 from Euston to Crewe. The trip was celebrating 60 years since the train’s inauguration (behind a Coronation Class steam loco) and the golden jubilee of the Class 50s, which were deployed in pairs north of Crewe during the late 1960s/early 1970s electrification work. Class 87s were specially built to take over from the ‘50s’, and they were to transform the running over climbs further north, such…

NINE out of Saphos Trains’ initial programme of 12 tours had sold out as this issue went to press. The company achieved this without major advertising, relying instead on the Statesman database of customers and word of mouth. Saphos also offered discounted ticket prices to help kick-start the programme, such as Standard seats reduced from £95 to £45 and First Class from £145 to £70. So the real test will come with next year’s programme and whether there will be a price hike to match those of other operators. So far, no decision has been taken. Part of the Locomotive Services group, Saphos is deliberating whether to utilise its growing diesel fleet on diesel-only tours. This is a distinct market, as many of the original diesel-orientated enthusiasts are now in…

PLANNED for some weeks, March saw GB Railfreight take a Colas Rail Class 70 on hire for evaluation. The selected machine was No. 70814, which began the month on a brief hire to Freightliner, taking charge of the 4O57/13.29 Wentloog-Southampton on March 7. Initially destined for use on biomass traffic out of Liverpool Docks, the GE machine made its way to Merseyside atop the 6M71/16.00 Swindon-Liverpool Alexandra Dock scrap train, arriving in the small hours of March 13. A day later, it was working along the Bootle branch between Liverpool Bulk Terminal and Tuebrook Sidings, a duty that was repeated on March 15 with no apparent issue. A light engine move to Carlisle followed on March 16 before No. 70814 migrated across to Tyne Dock to take up residence on…

IN preparation for their entry to service in May, Northern took delivery of its first four Class 170 units during March. The first pair, Nos. 170475/478, travelled south as the 5Q71/09.00 Haymarket-Neville Hill on March 6, with Nos. 170476/477 running from Haymarket to Holbeck (from where driver training is being carried out) two days later. No. 170476 subsequently moved to Crewe on March 9 for internal refurbishment and application of Northern colours. No. 170475 ran from Neville Hill to Holbeck on March 24 in advance of the start of driver training, which will see the units running to Nottingham on staff familiarisation trips. The first such run (the 5Z01/09.09 Holbeck-Nottingham) ran with No. 170475 on March 27. With effect from the May timetable change, Class 170s are booked to operate…

LATE March saw Dapol make two major announcements of new D&E era models. For 7mm modellers, this was the unveiling of the Gloucester-built Class 122 single-car DMU, this employing the same research as used for the ‘OO’ gauge model. The unit has already reached the pre-production stage, as pictured here, and is scheduled for release at the end of this year. It will be followed by the similar Pressed Steel Class 121, which has been tooled up at the same time. The specification of the model includes dual power bogies, pre-installed speakers with DCC fitted and sound versions available, multiple lighting options and a host of separate and era specific detail. Provisional pricing is £299 for astandard model, rising to £329 for DCC fitted and £454 for sound. Planned liveries…

IN 1929, just three years after the merger that resulted in the formation of Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd, the new company began development of Tunstead Quarry, near Buxton in Derbyshire. Destined to become the largest limestone quarry in Europe, the new complex incorporated both a crushing plant and lime kilns, thereby increasing production whilst still allowing the closure of anumber of older quarries. However, probably the single most important reason for the development of Tunstead was the need to guarantee a reliable long-term supply of high-purity limestone for the company’s chemical works at Northwich, located 25 miles to the west at the heart of the Cheshire saltfield. With developments at Tunstead underway, thoughts turned to transport. Until this time, Brunner Mond Ltd, the ICI subsidiary that owned the works in…