Table of contents for April 2019 in Rail Express

THE Government agency Transport for the North expects the use of Northern Powerhouse rail services to grow fourfold over the next 30 years, to reach 760 million journeys annually by 2050. It also expects the decarbonisation of rail operations to be achieved by 2040. There are two aspects to these aspirations – the first being improvements to services using the existing network, and the second being future use of the intended connections with HS2 that will include building a new two-track line to link Liverpool. The longer-term strategy aims to widen the appeal of rail through providing additional services and a network that is easy to navigate, thus enabling wider access to education, training, leisure activities and employment across the North of England. A number of benchmarks have been set…

THE NER 1903 Autocar Trust won two prestigious prizes at the Heritage Railway Association’s 2019 Awards, which were held in central Birmingham on February 9. The team’s superb restoration of Autocar No. 3170 earned it the Rail Express- sponsored Modern Traction Award, plus the Manisty Award – one of the heritage rail industry’s most prestigious awards – which acknowledges an outstanding contribution to railway preservation. The awards honour the restoration of No. 3170 NER from a discovered bodyshell back into full running order. The vehicle was the first to combine an internal combustion engine with a generator and traction motors, thus making it the forerunner of all modern trains and the grandfather of all DMUs. RE editor Paul Bickerdyke presented the modern traction award to the trust’s chairman Stephen Middleton,…

IN the world of photography, prime lenses are frequently placed into three categories: wide-angle, standard and telephoto. Telephoto is broken into further sub-types of medium (85-200mm) and super-telephoto (300-600mm). Super-telephoto lenses have long been the popular choice of professional sports, wildlife and nature photographers, whereas railway photographers have traditionally preferred to use shorter focal length lenses between 35mm and 100mm. However, the considered use a super-telephoto lens offers the railway photographer an interesting and dynamic viewpoint, improving the visual relationship between the subject and its environment. The compression of space makes objects in the foreground, mid-ground and background all seem closer together. They are also a good lens choice when attempting to create simplicity within a chaotic environment. A super-telephoto lens will increase the intensity of the action and enhance…

50 YEARS AGO... APRIL 1969 FINAL WAVERLEY FREIGHT: The daily freight from Millerhill to Hawick, the final working over the northern half of the Waverley Route, ended on April 25. The last train was hauled by Class 17 No. 8606, although motive power for the trip in the three months since the through route between Carlisle and Edinburgh closed included Classes 25, 26 and 40. EAST WEST LIFTING: Track recovery began on the closed Bedford-Cambridge railway in April, starting from the Bedford end and expected to reach Sandy (on the East Coast Main Line) soon after. The section from Sandy to Potton was left in place for a potential heritage railway (the proposed Sandy & Potton Steam Railway, which failed to raise sufficient funding), and that from Lords Bridge to…

A TOUR guaranteed to fill every seat takes place on July 27, when Class 50 ‘Hoover’ No. 50008 Thunderer will work its first railtour since returning to main line duties in 2017, some 18 years after its previous such working. The Branch Line Society is running ‘The Return of Thunder Vac’ in association with the Class 50’s owners, Hanson & Hall Rail Services Solutions. The tour starts at Derby at 07.30 and heads to York and Newcastle where the Tyne Valley line is taken to Carlisle. After a three-hour break, Thunderer then takes on the Settle & Carlisle route, aiming for Leeds and thence Derby for an arrival at 21.20. On the rear will be a DB Cargo Class 67 for ETS duty. Although it has worked in preservation on…

CLASS 50 No. 50017 Royal Oak – bought by the Great Central Railway from Boden Rail (see last month) – has been delivered to the line and is set to make its debut at the April 13/14 spring diesel gala, writes Robin Jones. The ‘Hoover’ was brought by road from Boden Rail Engineering’s Nottingham Eastcroft site and is currently being stabled at Loughborough. In operation condition, it was being used for driver training prior to the gala. The event will also feature East Lancashire Railway-based WR diesel hydraulic Class 14 No. D9537 as special guest.…

THE Class 40 Appeal has put its Class 37 No. 37190 up for sale. The English Electric Type 3, which last hauled a train in September 2013 and is based at the Midland Railway-Butterley, had previously been expected to return to traffic during 2019. No. 37190 was bought for preservation in 1994, being purchased from Gateshead where it had been stopped the previous year. It undertook its first runs as a preserved loco in large-logo colours in September 2001. After being stopped in 2013, it moved to Boden Rail at Washwood Heath, where it underwent bodywork repairs and a full repaint into BR blue. It returned to Butterley in December 2015 where mechanical work has been carried out. The decision to sell No. 37190 comes less than three months after…

A HIRED-in 2+5 HST set entered service with Hull Trains on February 15, when ex-GWR power cars Nos. 43010 and 43190 worked the 1A92/08.23 Hull to King’s Cross and 1H03/11.48 return. The move follows a long period of problems with the HT Class 180 ‘Adelante’ fleet, which has led to multiple cancellations and bad press for the operator. A set with power cars Nos. 43165/190 arrived at Hull for training to begin on January 29, and crew training began the day after. This included trips over the GN/GE Joint line from Doncaster to Peterborough via Lincoln on February 2. The set returned to Bristol St Philip’s Marsh on several occasions during February, including some power car swaps. Nos. 43165/190 ran to Bristol on February 5, but returned the day after.…

ONE of the oldest diesels in preservation is Reyrolles No. 2 at the Tanfield Railway, a 0-4-0 diesel-electric built in 1933 by Armstrong Whitworth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Normally confined to yard work, it got a rare day of ‘mainline’ operation on February 17 when it took part in the railway’s ‘North Sunderland Sunday’ operating day, re-creating the diesel-hauled passenger trains that ran on the four-mile light railway. Opened in 1898 and closed in 1951, the North Sunderland Railway was a short light railway in Northumberland that ran from Chathill on the East Coast Main Line to the fishing village of Sea Houses on the coast, with an intermediate station at North Sunderland (not to be confused with the city of Sunderland on Wearside). The Armstrong Whitworth diesel Lady Armstrong, a sister engine…

■ TRAFFIC AND TRACTION: On January 24, signalling issues affected platform 4 at Belfast Great Victoria Street station (GVS). Services used the other three platforms during the period of disruption. There are 24 movements into/from platform 4 during the weekday evening peak from 15.30-19.30. Normal service resumed by the next morning. The 08.00 Belfast Lanyon Place to Dublin Connolly ‘Enterprise’ on January 28 was failed at Dundalk. Passengers were transferred to another train from the De Dietrich+Mk.3 train, which was powered by GM No. 233. This loco was replaced by No. 231, which hauled the train empty to York Road for attention. No 233 ran light to Connolly from Dundalk. The Ireland versus England Six Nations rugby union match at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on February 2 saw many supporters use…

FANCY a DCC installation challenge on par with an old split frame chassis conversion? Then look no further than the Bachmann ‘OO’ gauge ‘Wickham’ trolley which is both a lovely model and tiny to boot. It replicates the once numerous engineers' trolley which was used to transport railway workers and their equipment to remote work sites in a (sometimes) quick and efficient manner. They were often found at key locations stored on a separate piece of track, perhaps with a convenient storage shed nearby. It is hard to think of any modeller that would not want one on a layout dating from the steam to diesel transition through to the 1980s. They are common on heritage railways to this day. With DCC being a popular choice of control system, having…

NEGOTIATIONS have resulted in both Northern and the South Western Railway agreeing that a guard will be retained on all services as new rolling stock is introduced. There have been 47 days of strike action on Northern services, which resulted in a major reduction of services, particularly at weekends. The mayors of Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region have both played a part in the negotiations, as they consider the presence of a guard made services more attractive for passengers concerned about on board security and safety in the event of operational incidents. The employment of guards has been guaranteed for the duration of the Northern franchise although the method of working – particularly for new rolling stock that has been designed for driver-only operation – has not yet…

Just how nimble are today’s locos and units, and what’s the quickest off the mark? THE aim here was to record a single Class 159 on a level start somewhere on its predictable stamping ground. How difficult could that be? Well, the first two trips to the Exeter-Waterloo line managed to produce all kinds of combinations: Class 159/1s, mixed sets of ‘159’ sub-classes, double sets of the same class, and even two Class 158/159 five-car lash-ups. Suitable level starts are also hard to find, the best being Tisbury in the down direction, but train timers will not be surprised to discover that the driver of my only single Class 159/0 run from Tisbury failed to use full power for the first 25 seconds. There are, of course many valid reasons…

IT is a shame the North East is so deprived of railtours starting in that neck of the woods, a result of the nearest rolling stock providers being at Carnforth or Bo’ness and the associated costs in moving empty stock from there. North East Railtours is still flying the flag, however –run by Bill Millar, who has been running tours since 1973. Thus Monday, May 27, might be a date to pencil in for a foray from the Tyne to Harry Potter land. Using the SRPS Mk.1 set, North East Railtours is running the unnamed tour from Newcastle to The West Highland Line, with Oban as its destination. DB Cargo is the operator, and traction is either two Colas Class 37s or, alternatively, one Colas 37 and the SRPS’ No.…

RECENTLY-outshopped in Derby RTC colours as No. 97205 at the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway, No. 31163 is set to embark on a tour of other railways following an appearance at its home base gala on April 5-7. At the beginning of May, it will visit the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, after which it will appear at the Severn Valley Railway later in the month. The KWVR is also expecting some support from main line operators, and it is hoped that GBRf can supply a pair of Class 73/1s for the event. There is also the possibility of other main line traction appearing. Diesel Galas March 16/17: Ecclesbourne Valley Railway (DMU) March 23/24: Ribble Railway April 5-7: Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway April 5-7: Mid Norfolk Railway April 6/7:…

THE Hanson Cement site at Ketton features on this page from time to time, as its internal rail movements are operated by a pair of RMS Locotec Class 08s, currently Nos. 08375 and 08622. However, the company does have another rail connected site that rarely features and that is the former Ribblesdale Cement site at Clitheroe in Lancashire. On site are two GECT (GEC Traction, Vulcan Works) 0-6-0DH shunters, Nos. 9 (5401) and 10 (5396), both built in 1975. Unlike the Ketton shunters, however, they see very little work as most of the shunting on site is done by the mainline engine (currently GBRf) that brings in the cement train. They are only used if the mainline engine cannot complete the shunt, or if a cripple wagon needs to be…

AFTER a gap of just over two years, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) has accepted the first examples of its third batch of brand-new nuclear flask wagons. Reported in last month’s issue as nearly completed, Nos. 11 70 9229 018/9/23-6/8/30 were dispatched from WH Davis’s Langwith Junction workshop on February 7. The large logo pairing of Nos. 37407+37403 did the honours, working a 6Z37/12.10 to Crewe CLS (see pages 6/7) for onward movement to Sellafield for commissioning. They were reported at the Cumbrian reprocessing plant one week later on February 14. The eight FNAs (UIC code Uas) are the first third of a new order of 24 vehicles that will make the eventual fleet of “new generation” nuclear flask wagons 40-strong. The first 10, Nos. 11 70 9229 001-010 were…

THIS year will mark the tenth anniversary of the start of the Dublin Port (North Wall) to Ballina container service, which IR operates in conjunction with International Warehousing & Transport (IWT). Initially two trains ran per week, with loading and unloading at North Wall being carried out on the Alexandra Road Tramway. Subsequent development of the service has included an increase in frequency and improvements to the terminal facilities. The inconvenient and time-consuming procedure of using the tramway for loading and unloading stopped in 2011 when a new dockside yard called the Common User Container Terminal was opened. Connected to the tramway by a single line, this facility gives convenient transhipment between train and ship. The €1.5 million investment by the Dublin Port Company underlined the more positive approach by…

ACCURASCALE grabbed the attention of diesel and electric modellers at Model Rail Scotland this February, with an announcement of new ‘OO’ gauge models of the Class 92 and Mk.5 hauled stock currently being delivered to Caledonian Sleepers and TransPennine Express by CAF of Spain. Four of the slightly wider Mk.5 Sleeper vehicles will be produced, including the Accessible Sleeping Car, Sleeping Car, Club Car and Lounge Car. They will be an excellent match for the ‘OO’ gauge Class 92 announced at the same time. Taking advantage of the widely acclaimed Class 68 model by Dapol are models of the TransPennine Express Mk.5a vehicles comprising of a Driving Trailer, Standard Class vehicles and a First Class/Guard’s vehicle in five-car formations. Accurascale is working on the exact specification for the models which…

REWORKING any ready to run model involves painting work of some description, regardless of the complexity of conversion work or detailing. It can take the form of re-spraying one or two livery colours to correct them – as many ScotRail modellers are doing to the Oxford Rail Mark 3a coaches – or a full repaint, as is the case with No. 56031 Merehead which is being finished in clean condition as allocated to the Southern Region in the early 1990s (Nos. 56036 and 56049 were also finished in the same livery). Learning to use an airbrush and compressor is time well spent alongside being able to apply masking to paint even the most complex livery. Lining pens such as the ‘Easi-Liner’ also require practise to learn, and knowing how to…

ELECTRIFICATION of the West Coast mainline saw the end of Midland Pullman services in 1967, the pair of six-car sets being transferred to the Western Region to join the three eight-car sets which commenced operations on the WR in September 1960. Constructed in 1959-60 by Metro-Cammell, the Midland sets began operation in July 1960, running from Manchester London Road to St Pancras in the morning and returning in the evening together with a short-lived daytime fill-in turn to Leicester and Nottingham. The service ran via the Midland mainline until faster electric-hauled Pullman services commenced on the newly electrified West Coast mainline. Of all-steel construction, the Pullman sets were built as diesel electric multiple unit trains with a driving motor car positioned at each end of the set in the format…

THE long serving HOP24 coal hopper wagon first offered by Accurascale in ‘OO’ gauge has now been released in ‘O’ gauge, moulded in plastic and decorated with a wealth of separately applied details. Eight separately numbered wagons covering both TOPS and pre-TOPS eras have been modelled, finished in BR unfitted grey livery with a variety of markings. It represents a design of the wagon which accounts for a significant number of HOP24 wagons constructed between 1954 and 1965 including Diagrams 1/148 and 1/154 of which 3462 wagons were constructed at Shildon Works. The review sample is No. B333722 with TOPS identifying it as an HUO dating it from the 1970s onwards. Hopper body Composed of styrene plastic, the hopper body is a one-piece moulding including sides, ends and the dividers…

DESPITE the best efforts of the Deltic Preservation Society in getting No. 55009 Alycidon ready for its booked tour on March 2, the loco sadly failed soon into the journey with a traction motor flashover. The UK Railtours/A1 Steam Locomotive Trust ‘Auld Reekie’ tour ran from Doncaster to the Scottish capital behind steam loco No. 60163 Tornado, with the ‘Deltic’ coming on for the return leg. It departed on time at 17.20, but was 33 minutes late by Drem and 84 minutes late on the approach to Berwick-upon-Tweed, where it was looped and stopped. Rescue came in the form of DB Cargo’s No. 67004, which took the train forward to reach Doncaster two hours late just after midnight. The ‘67’ then hauled the ‘Deltic’ to Burton-on-Trent on March 4. The…

RESEARCH has been carried out among passengers by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the Train Operating Companies as a single entity, to gauge opinion about the current structure of fares. It comes at a time when the use of traditional season tickets for peak-hour travel is declining, and the RDG has suggested that what is described as the ‘cliff-edge’ difference between peak and off-peak fares should be abolished. Data collected indicates that more regular pricing of fares throughout the day would bring benefits in reducing overcrowding during the shoulder peak, which is generally before 16.30 and after 18.30. This overcrowding is an own goal as a result of a previous policy change, when the unrestricted use of the return part of an outward off-peak ticket was curtailed as…

WISBECH in Cambridgeshire, once blessed with two stations on two separate lines, is today one of the largest towns in the country without a local railway station. Reopening of the mothballed seven-mile line from March has been an issue of considerable importance to the local community ever since it was closed to passengers in 1968. Many believe the town has suffered considerably since then, and today the town is notable for its high level of unemployment and below-average health and education. And those who support reopening argue that the line would connect Wisbech’s population – currently around 35,000 – to the national rail network, enabling easier access to workplaces and providing direct access by rail to Cambridge. This in turn would help to revive an impoverished community that has not…

THE history of London Underground's Metropolitan Line is a very precise and definitive story, representing the launch of the world’s first inner-city underground metro railway system. It had an opening ceremony and inaugural special train service between Paddington and Farringdon for the Lord Mayor and guests on January 9, 1863, with public services commencing the following day. Nailing down when the District Line became a railway in its own right, however, is a little more complicated. The success of the first underground railway quickly created demand for more to the main line stations around London – in effect, the birth of the idea of a Circle Route. Permission was granted for the Metropolitan Railway to extend its railway east towards Tower Hill, whilst another organisation, the Metropolitan District, was permitted…

THE Class 56 Group’s No. 56301 is set to receive a new set of bogies, courtesy of GB Railfreight donor loco No. 56007. In an agreement mutually beneficial to both parties, the freight company is supplying the bogies in return for the loco’s recent use at Peak Forest, where the ‘56’ has been used for shunting duties since October 2018. The long-term future of the bogies under No. 56301 have been giving cause for concern for some time, as the former Fastline loco’s wheelsets have tyres that can no longer be given another turn for use on the main line. Consideration had previously been given to swapping the bogies with those under No. 56006 (which is based at the East Lancashire Railway). The latest development will enable No. 56006 to…

THE run-down of Great Western Railway’s HST fleet moved forward another step in February, with the placing of the two surplus power cars into store at Long Marston, writes David Russell. Nos. 43053 (formerly University of Worcester) and 43069 arrived from Laira on February 15, bringing with them a rake of eight coaches (see Coaches, page 94). No. 43053 had last seen use on January 30, while No. 43069 was stopped at the end of December. The two power cars are among 21 owned by Porterbrook and due to be handed back by GWR before the May timetable change. Of these, Nos. 43193/197 were at Laira in late February being prepared for handback, while No. 43087 has been stored at Landore since January 3. Other power cars stopped for return…

CLASS 20 INTERSPERSED between the use of No. 66764 on LUL stock workings, the foursome of Nos. 20096+20107 and 20901+20905 were recorded either end of the 7X08/15.19 Derby Litchurch Lane-Banbury (for West Ruislip) with LUL sets Nos. 21017/8 on February 14. Two mornings later, the same quartet handled the 7X10/02.04 Banbury-Litchurch Lane with sets Nos. 21417/8, arriving in Derby station at 07.35. In between snowploughs Nos. ADB965209+ADB965231, Type 1s Nos. 20189 and 20142 formed the 7Z20/10.43 Derby RTC-Stoke and back test run on February 21 passing Uttoxeter at 13.10 on their way back to Derby. The next morning Nos. 20205+20142 ran light from Derby to Crewe, passing Alsager at 10.20 and heading back from whence they came 20 minutes later. CLASS 37 DIRECT Rail Services’ and Pathfinder Tours’ joint ‘jolly’…

TWO more Class 378 units have been reduced from five to four cars for use on the Gospel Oak to Barking Line (GOBLIN) pending the late introduction of the new-build Class 710 ‘Aventras’. No. 387206 entered service on the line on February 12, joining No. 387232, with No. 387209 following later in the month. The units have been made available by temporarily dispensing with any ‘hot spare’ units on the East London and North London lines. Inevitably, this will lead to cancellations occurring there on occasions. Late January saw a third ‘Turbostar’ No. 172003 stopped by London Overground and moved to Ilford to be prepared for its transfer to Tyseley and reuse by West Midlands Railway. Another two sets, Nos. 172005/008, were taken out of traffic the following month, running…

A Mk.1 BSK (Brake Standard Corridor) that last ran in the early 1990s returned to the main line on February 8, when it was moved from Southall to Carnforth by No. 33207 Jim Martin. No. 35447, which last saw use as part of the NWRX fleet on the Paddington-Oxford route, had been located at Southall, where it had been used as a static support coach, for over 25 years. The heavily-graffitied coach was painted into chocolate/cream colours some years ago, having previously carried Network SouthEast livery.…

TWO groups of HRA (cut down former HTA coal hopper) conversions departed WH Davis, Langwith Junction, in the first three weeks of February. On the 13th, No. 67028 worked a 4Z20 to Toton comprised of Nos. 41 70 6723 015-017/108-110 (ex-310333/549/721/910, 311034/052, order unknown). Eight days later, on the 21st, No. 66025 was in charge of just four HRAs (Nos. 41 70 6723 007/021/039/104) and barrier wagon No. 964025 on a similar 4Z21 trip to the Nottinghamshire yard. Interestingly, No. 41 70 6723 007-4 (one of the batch converted at DB Cargo, Stoke) was still unpainted and also wears its former No. 310694 number. As reported last issue, this conversion had moved to WH Davis from Stoke on January 18.…

■ TRAFFIC AND TRACTION: A total possession of the Mallow to Cork section was imposed each evening on Mondays to Thursdays from January 21, to allow work to be carried out in Cork tunnel. The possessions, which were scheduled to be in force until February 28, saw bustitution of the 21.00 Heuston to Cork, 22.00 and 23.00 Cork to Mallow, and 22.30 Mallow to Cork services. During the periods of disruption, the 10.00 Heuston to Cork was worked by an eight-car ICR DMU formation (as 3+5) to position a three-car unit at Cork for the following day’s 06.15 express service to Heuston; the five-car unit returned to Heuston as the 13.25 ex-Cork. On January 21, the 16.25 Cork-Heuston struck and killed nine deer on the track between Limerick Junction and…

A VIEW of the forthcoming DJ Models ‘OO’ gauge Class 92 have emerged alongside the news that design work is essentially complete and has progressed to the tooling stage. The 3D print pictures shows a view of how they will appear at this late stage of development. A wealth of detail and a high level of technical specification is apparent in the pictures which, due to file conversions show a couple of minor errors which are to be corrected. In common with DJ Models locomotives, the Class 92 will feature all-wheel drive. It will be powered by a frame-mounted coreless motor and drive shafts fitted to a heavy metal chassis providing the traction required to emulate the power of the full-size locomotives. Electronically, the ‘OO’ gauge model will be fitted…

CLASS 90s have been a colourful part of the railway scene since their introduction in the final three years of the 1980s. Asuccessful design too, which has managed a wide variety of different trains and services, particularly since railway privatisation in the early 1990s. They dominated West Coast Main Line services from their introduction until the arrival of Class 390 ‘Pendolino’ EMUs, and also proved themselves to be very competent traction for Caledonian Sleeper services, maritime container trains and a variety of other traffics. Their tenure on the Anglia main line is soon to come to an end after dominating the service for a decade following their reallocation from Virgin Trains. With the release of the Bachmann ‘OO’ gauge model, the next D&E Files are dedicated to one of the…

RAIL Express is pleased to present the results of another delve into the archive, this time with a selection of images from British Railways’ Eastern & North Eastern Regions in the 1950s and 60s (the Western Region was covered in RE244). We have unearthed a selection of standard and non-standard locos and units from the period of rapid change that saw a rush to replace steam without fully assessing their replacement diesels and electrics. It was also when line closures were at their peak following publication of the Beeching Report. While some of the traction (and locations) pictured here are long gone, it is interesting to note that others are still hard at work on the main line all these years later. We hope you enjoy this slice of nostalgia.…