Table of contents for May 2026 in Rail Express

THE use of Mk.3 rolling stock by Chiltern Railways came to an end on March 18, when the last rake in use, set AL04 was stopped. Formed of Nos. 82309, 10271, 12607/14/03/18/19 and powered by No. 68011, the set’s last passenger working was 1H12 07.46 Princes Risborough-Marylebone. It brought to an end more than 18 years of operation of Mk.3 loco-hauled trains out of Marylebone, which began in 2008 with Wrexham & Shropshire operations in 2008. The next day, set AL04, with the addition of spare DVT No. 82302 along with TSO No. 12627 and DVT No. 82303 which had been out of use for some time, were moved by Nos. 68011 and 68012 in top and tail formation from Wembley LMD to Nemesis Rail at Burton-on-Trent for storage. Set…

ANGEL Trains has, following several months of negotiations with the 400 Series Preservation Group and the East Kent Railway Trust, donated the final Class 466 to be constructed, No. 466043, for preservation. Ownership of the Networker has been transferred to the East Kent Railway Trust, although the 400 Series Preservation Group, which already has a significant presence at the East Kent Railway, will act as the unit’s custodians. No. 466043 was selected for preservation not only because of it being the last ‘466’ to be constructed, but also because of its condition. Stopped in 2021, it has only covered 500 miles since its most recent C4 running gear overhaul. Initially stored at Worksop, it was transferred to Ely Papworth in March 2025. Following its entry into preservation, the two cars…

AN EXPANSION in the range of Graham Farish Class 20s has been announced by Bachmann and this includes a digital sound option for the first time. First introduced in 2012, the modern standard model is a popular one in the range. It is produced in both train reporting disc and four-character headcode box form with small cab side windows. It has been a popular model and each release usually sells out quickly. However, the tablet catcher locomotives which were fitted with distinctively large cab side windows to allow footplate crews to reach single line tokens has been notably missing from the range. They were originally allocated to Scotland including extensive use in the Highlands and on Speyside routes where one of the proposed models, No. D8032, was a regular sight…

TWO MICRO LAYOUTS portraying famous viaducts on the iconic railway from Glasgow Queen Street to Oban and Mallaig were exhibited at the recent Scottish Micro Layout show in Elderslie. Both The Viaduct at Loch Nan Uamh and Orchy Viaduct attended with owner and builder Tony Gillanders who won the ‘Little Narrow’ cup (dedicated in memory of the late Mr Kevin Whyberd) for best in show. That was no mean feat because the quality of the show was very high across the board. Layout concept Both layouts are simple, modelled with single track across the viaducts and with emphasis on the glorious surrounding landscape. The viaducts are compressed slightly to fit a micro layout footprint. The landscape to the rear of Orchy Viaduct is a photographic backdrop of the surrounding mountains.…

OOGAUGE4mm scale 1976 to presentERA First impressions ANOTHER BRIGHT ORANGE box means another Cavalex Models Class 56 and the model of No. 56134 Blyth Power in Trainload Coal livery looked as polished and tidy as No. 56023 which was reviewed in the April 2024 issue. First impressions are of a museum quality model adorned with a swathe of exquisite detail which looks like it was made at a BREL workshop rather than a tooling room such is the level of realism. It is fitted with no glue traces and all properly seated in place. The real-world No. 56134 was a late-build locomotive assembled at BREL Crewe and as such has the ultimate Class 56 body shell style and cab shape. The model includes all of the locomotive specific detail relating…

THE18-month search for a site for a new maintenance depot for its fleet of Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) EMUs and BEMUs is now over as IE announced on March 16 that a location near Kilcock station on the Dublin-Sligo line will be developed. With all legal issues expected to be a formality, the facility is due to open in 2031 and be the main depot for an anticipated fleet of up to 750 vehicles. Fifty locations in the Greater Dublin area were investigated before the Kilcock option was chosen. With Kilcock situated on a single line 4½ miles on the Sligo side of Maynooth, reinstatement of double track from Maynooth will be undertaken, reversing the lifting of one line in a programme carried out between 1928 and 1931 as…

Record visitor numbers to LT Museum DURING March, the London Transport Museum (LTM) announced that it had welcomed 449599 visitors through its doors during 2025. This represents an increase of 6 per cent than 2024. Similarly, ‘Hidden London’, the LTM’s brand that allows visitors to explore closed Tube stations has seen an increase in visitor numbers. Perhaps in part, this is because the age limit for ‘Hidden London’ tours has been reduced from 16 to 10. These figures follow on from the change in Directorship and CEO from Sam Mullins to Elizabeth McKay in 2023, as well as a rebranding exercise in July 2024 (see ‘West End Girl’ interview feature article published in RE 341, October 2024). This rebranding included re-imagining Edward Johnston’s 100-year-old iconic ‘bullseye’ design as well as…

WITH Mk.3 operations having now ceased on Chiltern, the six XHCE pool Class 68s that were deployed to these trains since December 2014 have now returned to Direct Rail Services at Crewe Gresty Bridge for any handback repairs. Nos. 68010-015 notably wore the same grey/silver paint scheme as the previous group of Class 67s allocated to these trains, Nos. 67010/012/013/014/015, which had carried this livery for the Wrexham & Shropshire open access operation which ran between and April 2008 and January 2011, so this historical connection has now been severed. More recently, No. 68014 carried ‘Greener Future’ brandings to advertise the use of Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO) to power the locomotives and these unique vinyls have also been consigned to history following their removal at Eastleigh towards the end of…

CLASS 20 BALFOUR Beatty Nos. 20901 and 20905 returned to Scotland with the drain train on March 6 forming the 6J09 09.18 Penrith-Slateford and going on to Carmuirs West Junction late the following day. During the evening of March 8, the train was recorded at Dundee heading north and ten days later left Inverurie bound for Aberdeen Craiginches. Nos. 20901 and 20905 returned to Crewe on the last day of March. Another pairing, that of Nos. 20142 Sir John Betjeman and 20189 moved a Kirow crane and runners from Ashford OTPD to London Gateway on March 6 before taking the crane to Hither Green three days later and Gloucester Horton Road via Kemble on March 11. They too appeared on a drain train when powering the 6J08 10.30 Hither Green-Woking…

50 YEARS AGO… MAY 1976 ■ INDICATOR FOR EDINBURGH THE FIRST STAGE of a new passenger information system at Edinburgh’s Waverley station went live on May 31. The project, costed at £60,000, provided a 45 foot long by eight-foot high Solari (flip panel) display above a new central entrance area to platforms 12 to 18. 40 YEARS AGO… MAY 1986 ■ BRB HQ FOR SALE A FOR SALE notice appeared outside the British Railways Board’s headquarters offices at No. 222 Marylebone Road in London in late May. The 1899 building was the former Hotel Great Central. It was bought by the original LNER in 1946. Staff working at 222 in 1986 were relocated to offices at Paddington Station or to Euston House. The building reverted to being a hotel. ■ STATION OPENINGS…

THERE HAVE been signs that the UK model railway market was about to see some significant changes in 2026 and the recent acquisition of Danish model maker Heljan by Accurascale is perhaps an indication of how things may evolve in the future. Accurascale has stated that the Heljan brand will continue and its impressive seventy-year history will be built upon with upgraded models and new products featuring higher levels of detail and fidelity to the prototype. The innovative spirit that Heljan is famous for will continue, with new models being built around the solid, robust technology that has given Heljan a good name in the hobby. Onward development will see upgrades in electronics and more onboard digital sound options. It marks a new chapter for the company which will still…

THERE seems to be only bad news for railtour operators - and passengers - resulting from America’s attack on Iran. Some airlines are already imposing fuel surcharges and this is very likely happen to the railtour market, especially for tours booked in advance. It could inevitably lead to booking cancellations, which in turn creates more difficulties for operators, already reeling from the affect of cost of living increases. There is increasing evidence of tour operators offering discounts to try and sell seats. The conflict in the Middle East has resulted in higher inflation (with fuel costs escalating) and lower discretionary spending under which railtours fall. There is also a lack of consumer spending and confidence. Reports suggest that about half of UK consumers are cutting back on spending or delaying…

THE last of South Western Railway’s Class 455s were stopped on March 21, in advance of them going off lease later in the month. Of the six sets which remained in traffic beyond the end of 2025, three were taken out of service in February and three in March. Details of the final workings for each of the six units can be found in the table below. While the last passenger outing was in the early hours of March 21, the two sets used on this service, Nos. 5712/32, had been in action throughout the previous day, starting with the 2D90 06.18 Epson-Waterloo. They later visited Hampton Court, Guildford and Basingstoke before forming the 2M75 23.46 Waterloo-Chessington South prior to their final run. Nos. 5716/21, which were retired from traffic…

THE recent shake-up in GB Railfreight’s traction policy, such as standing down its Class 60s, has brought further implications for the shunter fleet beyond offering the unserviceable trio of Nos. 08925, 08934 and 09002 for sale. The drop in traffic levels means that the Class 69s are now under-utilised with some examples stored while others have been made available for use as ‘super-shunters’ with Nos. 69012 and 69015 fulfilling this role at Whitemoor. As a result, the two Class 08s hired from Railway Support Services have been released with both departing Whitemoor in the middle of March. It is perhaps not surprising that the change has been made at the East Anglian infrastructure yard first as the tonnages required to be moved have, at times, tested the limits of what…

A FASCINATING chapter in Colas Rail history has almost been brought to a close with the despatch of 14 of the final 15 KFA timber carriers for disposal. These were the first wagons converted for Colas specifically for the Kronospan traffic into Chirk, the 30 GE Rail Services-leased vehicles being delivered in three batches between 2007-8. They were later followed by 10 NACCO Rail KSAs and 30 Dutch-registered IWAs, both also rebuilt for their new role hauling logs. The donors for the KFAs were the iconic internationally-registered ‘F2’ bogie vans that were built by Linke Hofmann Busch of Salzgitter, Germany, during 1977-9, for VTG, later Tiphook Rail. These were immediately recognisable not just because of their size but also due to the owner name and Ferrywagon lettering emblazoned on the…

NGAUGE2mm scale 1991 to presentERA WITH NEARLY 700 WAGONS still in service today, the FSA and FTA Freightliner intermodal wagons are an important part of the modern freight scene and have been since their introduction in April 1991. It was one of the largest orders to be placed for new wagons for some time (1990) and the first large order placed with an European wagon builder. The order was awarded to Arbel Fauvet (France) for outer and inner intermodal spines capable of carrying three 20ft. boxes or a combination of 20ft., 30ft. and 40ft. containers. Of the 700 wagons ordered, 560 were built as outer wagons and 140 as inner wagons. Details are thus: FSA-O (the letter O indicates an outer) numbered as Nos. 608001-608560. FTA-I (letter I for inner)…

IN THE LAST issue, the methods for building up bespoke platforms and how to put them in the right place in respect to track clearances was covered. Now the platform structure is in place, how do you finish off the surfaces? Reference photographs come into play here, even if your station model is freelanced. The prototype railways will offer direction as to how platform faces and surfaces appear in a given area. There are local styles which may date back to the original builder of the line. Modernisation also has its own influences as the adjacent photographs show. Platform tops The next stage is to model the platform surfaces along with edging. This assumes that you are happy with clearances on curves and against the footsteps of coaching stock and…

MAY 1969 - THE DOWN ‘NIGHT ABERDONIAN’ IT was an ordinary spring evening at King’s Cross station on May 6, 1969, as passengers joined the sleeper train to Aberdeen complete with its brake van loaded with parcels, perishables, flowers and even a live pig in a crate. The motive power for the train was one of the ‘Deltic’ Class 55 locomotives No. D9011 The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers. The ‘Deltic’, together with a train of eleven coaches, weighed a total of nearly 506 tonnes and was 262 yards in length. Its reporting number was 1S60. The braking power was 382 tonnes or 75.5% of the train’s total weight. The oldest vehicle in the consist was twelve years old, and all were coupled with the buckeye system except between the ‘Deltic’ and…