Table of contents for August 2019 in Rail Express

FOLLOWING a series of high-profile delays, failures and cancellations due to issues with its CAF-built Mk.5 stock, Caledonian Sleeper has put back the introduction of the new trains on its ‘Highlander’ route until at least September. This gives a stay of execution to the Mk.2-based train from Euston to Inverness, Aberdeen and Fort William. A statement by CS said: “Our decision has been taken to allow CAF to complete the further work required on the carriages to ensure that they are fit for purpose to be accepted into service. This is intended to ensure that when they do enter service our guests have the best possible experience.” With a new date for the switchover still to be announced, the company has given booked passengers the option of cancelling or still…

THE National Collection’s Class 414 2-HAP unit No. 4308 celebrated its 60th birthday at Locomotion in Shildon on June 27. The EMU is believed to be the most travelled vehicle in the collection, and has had the most money spent on it after celebrity steam loco No. 60103 Flying Scotsman. The two-car unit is halfway through a thorough internal and external restoration, which has seen DMBSO (Driving Motor Brake Standard Open) No. 61275 superbly turned out in BR blue/grey livery on one side and Network SouthEast on the other – the first vehicle in the collection to carry a dual livery. DTCSO (Driving Trailer Composite Second Open) No. 75395 has now taken its place in the workshops for restoration to begin, and this will be finished to match No. 61275.…

THE Sinfin branch, which is accessed at Melbourne Junction about one-and-a-quarter miles south-west of Derby, was originally laid in 1868. From Melbourne Junction it ran to the Stenson Branch at Chellaston West Junction before diverging at Chellaston East Junction and continuing on via Melbourne to Ashby-de-la-Zouch on the Leicester to Burtonupon-Trent line. The line was never much of a success, however, and lost its passenger service in 1930 – although the section south of Chellaston became the Melbourne Military Railway during the Second World War. This line survived under British Rail until 1980 then was lifted in 1988, and today much of it is National Cycling Route 6 ‘The Cloud Trail’. The northern section between Melbourne Junction and Chellaston West Junction was severed in 1973, but just over a mile…

IT is January 10, 1986 and Type 3 ‘Crompton’ No. 33038 rests at the blocks of the old Liverpool Street station in the shadow of the Great Eastern hotel. Very unusually, the ‘33’ had been in passenger action that day on the West Anglia Main Line – beginning with the 1H18/12.05 to King’s Lynn and 1C87/16.00 return, then the 1H38/19.35 to Cambridge and 1C92/21.50 return. Class 33s were long associated with the Southern Region, mainly allocated to depots at Hither Green (south east London) and Eastleigh. However, the mid-1980s saw Stratford depot take on some of the heavy repair work, which is how HG-based No. 33038 found itself in the East End that winter. Fixed and available for work, and with a shortage of Stratford’s more usual Class 37 and…

THE eight GBEE pool Class 20s previously employed on GB Railfreight’s London Underground stock moves – Nos. 20096, 20107, 20118, 20132, 20311, 20314, 20901 and 20905 – have now gone off hire following the end of that contract. The final move took place on June 15, when GBRf-liveried Nos. 20901 and 20905 headed a 7X08/11.15 Derby Litchurch Lane-Banbury with LU ‘S’ Stock sets Nos. 21552 and 21551. No. 66787 was on the rear. All the ‘20s’ are now stored at Barrow Hill. With HNRC having taken over at the former Worksop Wagon Works, now repurposed for stock storage, revised NSE-livered No. 47715 has moved there from the Wensleydale Railway to provide ETS supply. It was transferred south on June 19 by No. 66764 working as a 0Z71 light engine move.…

CLASS 20 AS expected, the regular use of Type 1 locomotives by GBRf came to an end on June 18, with the final transfers of London Underground ‘S’ Stock between Derby and West Ruislip. Along with No. 66787, the two GBRf-liveried Type 1s Nos. 20901+20905 handled the few remaining moves during the first two weeks of the month. On June 6, the trio ‘top and tailed’ the 7X08/6X08 16.09 Derby Litchurch Lane to Banbury and thence West Ruislip with units Nos. 21373/21374. Three more departures followed, firstly on June 11 with sets Nos. 21323/21324, June 13 with Nos. 21539/21540, and the last on June 15leaving Litchurch Lane as 7X08 at 09.44 with sets Nos. 21551/21552. All three locomotives returned north with the barrier wagons three days later whereupon the two…

HAVING previously sent three sets to differing scrapyards in April, Eversholt began large scale disposals of its Class 313 fleet in June. The first to depart were Nos. 313031/123, which were collected by No. 57312 Solway Princess on June 3 and moved as the 5Q56/10.52 Hornsey-Sims, Newport. They were followed a week later by Nos. 313027/029, hauled by the same loco but on this occasion running as the 5Q78/10.52 Hornsey-Sims, Newport. Next to move to Newport were Nos. 313018/046 on June 17, again using No. 57312. This pair of units had been in service two days previously. June 17 also saw Nos. 313062/063, which had been stabled at Hertford North CS for standby use for over two months, return to Hornsey to be prepared for movement to the scrapyard. This…

ROAD and rail transport firm Ed Murray has acquired Thomas Hill 4wDH ‘Hanson No. 4’ (works number No. 200V) from the Hanson Quarry at Whatley. The shunter had been in store for some time, but with no further use planned it was sold and moved to the new owner’s workshops at the Chasewater Railway in April for an overhaul. Also acquired from Hanson was ‘Gronk’ No. 08652, but this remained onsite at Merehead in June awaiting collection in due course. ■ The two Ed Murray GECT shunters originally at Tees Port, Nos. 261 and 268, have now both moved to Port Talbot.…

HAVING been reformed back into an eight-car set for the GWR HST farewell tour on June 1 (made up of Nos. 41160, 40755, 42016/554/005/015/361 and 44005), set LA72 was reduced back to a four-car formation soon for continued use with GWR. It is one of nine ‘slam-door’ rakes still in use with GWR to provide temporary cover until sufficient rebuilt coaches are available (see table). The fifth rebuilt rake, GW05, was released on June 19 and power cars Nos. 43122/153 were used to move it as the 5V84/11.34 Wabtec Doncaster-Laira. The set was formed of just three coaches, Nos. 48114 (ex-42317), 48115 (ex-42285) and 49105 (ex-44090). The fourth coach for this set, No. 48113 (previously Nos. 48102 and 42177) was one of the first vehicles to be released back in…

W H Davis at Langwith Junction (Derbyshire) has released 12 further repurposed HYA hoppers, all former IIAs, which are expected to join the other recently released HYAs on Cemex traffic flows out of Dove Holes Quarry, Peak Forest. Of note is that 10 of the wagons are leased from Touax Rail (Nos. 37 70 6791 009/011/018/034/035/061/071/073/075/083), the first batch of a planned 21 vehicles. In a welcome move, the wagons wear large blue Touax brandings in the centre of the bodyside. With the company celebrating the 65th anniversary of its Rail Division in 2019, we hope this is the start of a trend with a move away from the usual small yellow logos that usually adorn the French lessor’s fleet in the UK. They also wear GBRf (client) and Cemex…

WITH an improvement in the economic situation and a continuing increase in population, demand for public transport in the Greater Dublin area continues to increase. Investment in Irish Rail (IR), Light Rail Transit (LRT) and bus services to cope with present and future demand – with an emphasis on environmentally-friendly modes and vehicles – is recognised by the Government as essential. Numerous official reports over many years have underlined this policy, but progress generally has been sluggish. However, a significant development announced jointly on May 29, by the National Transport Authority (NTA) and IR, may help to reverse this trend. This was an invitation for Expressions of Interest in regard to the supply of 250-600 new multiple unit vehicles over a 10-year period. These would be ordered using a framework…

THREE special edition ‘OO’ gauge models of Class 73s in late 1990s and early 2000s condition (pre-GBRf ownership) commissioned from Dapol by Olivia’s Trains, will be available by the end of July. Limited to a production run of 300 for each of the three liveries, they are priced at £146 for the DCC-ready version and £282 for digital sound. The livery and numbers have not been produced on the Dapol ‘OO’ gauge Class 73 so far and include Network Rail yellow, EW&S maroon and gold together with Fragonset Railways (FM Rail) black. For more details, visit oliviastrains.com Network Rail No. 73212 (OLIV005) Likely to be the biggest seller of the three new models, No. 73212 was painted in Network Rail (NR) yellow alongside sister locomotive No. 73213 after a period…

BRASS soldering work was concluded in the second part (REM183) of this long and involved project to equip a Bachmann Class 37 model with a Penbits sprung chassis, or more accurately, sprung bogies. The project has involved the fabrication of new bogie sub frames; new bogie bolsters to support the body and chassis on the bogies together with the springs themselves. Testing of an unpowered but rolling chassis was undertaken which showed that the Penbits kit delivered a different performance, the chassis rolling smoothly and with minimal sound over joins in the rails and over the crossing vees in turnouts and crossings. It has a distinctly different feel to it compared to the unmodified model used to push the chassis around the layout during the unpowered testing stint. One concern…

PORTERBROOK and the University of Birmingham’s Centre for Railway Research and Education have announced its hydrogen-powered ‘Hydroflex’ unit is to be tested on the main line following a successful proof-of-concept. The test unit is former dual-mode EMU No. 319001 (now renumbered No. 799001), fitted with a hydrogen powerpack so it can run on non-electrified lines as well as third-rail or under the wires. Hydrogen from onboard tanks and oxygen from the air are combined to produce 100kW of electricity, with the only waste being pure water. Two Lithium-ion batteries are also used to store power as required. Dr Stuart Hillmansen, a senior lecturer at BCRRE, said: “Our prototype shows how hydrogen-powered technology can be incorporated within existing trains, without needing to modify the driver’s controls. It’s an exciting advance because…

THE preserved Class 47 fleet could be said to be in excellent shape. There is a good spread of different sub-classes; they are well dispersed, so everyone can enjoy at least one locomotive nearby; and the vast majority are either operational or are genuinely being restored or undergoing overhaul. Although the National Railway Museum’s Royal ‘47’ No. 47798 is now restricted to base, there are still three main line-registered examples, with another due to return later in the year, providing a little additional variety to the ‘Brush 4’s still operating on the national network. In total there are 30 of the Brush machines in preservation, with 17 operational, eight on the way back, and five either stored or for spares. MAIN LINE-REGISTERED “Despite its historical significance, the NRM declined the…

A QUESTION I am often asked is: “Why Class 40s?” Well, some people like to drive fast cars, experience the acceleration, how fast will it go, and the ‘revs’ building in the process. For me, it is much the same – except I prefer the experience on a train, where the train driver is in control. The distinctive ‘whistling’ sound of a Class 40, the shrill of its engine rising to a crescendo, has no equal in my mind. After seeing all 4057 locos listed in my Ian Allan loco shed book by mid-June 1976, I needed a new challenge – opting first to go out photographing trains, followed by some memorable years chasing ‘40s’. This was not easy, however, as I lived in Swindon – far from their normal…

50 YEARS AGO... AUGUST 1969 ■ KENT CLOSURE ANNOUNCED: The Minister of Transport approved British Railway’s plan to withdraw passenger services between Ashford (Kent) and Ore (Sussex). The decision meant the stations at Ham Street & Orlestone, Appledore, Rye, Winchelsea, Doleham, and Three Oaks & Guesting would close by the end of the year. The line remained open, however, due to the difficulty of providing a practical replacement bus service, something that defeated another attempt to close the line in 1974, meaning that it has survived to become a useful connecting line from the South Coast to Eurostar services at Ashford. ■ YORKSHIRE CLOSURE REFUSED: On the understanding that a modified train service will be introduced, the Minister of Transport refused his consent to the withdrawal of passenger services between…

LONDON Underground and the London Transport Museum celebrated the 150th anniversary of the District Line on June 22/23. Strictly speaking, the anniversary was on Christmas Eve 2018, however, it would have been impossible to operate heritage services then due to planned engineering works. During the June weekend, six heritage services ran between Ealing Broadway and High Street Kensington, three each day. These were ‘top and tailed’ by former Metropolitan Railway steam locomotive No. 1 and 1923 electric loco No. 12 Sarah Siddons, which pulled the trains west and east respectively. Passenger coaches were formed of the Chesham stock Nos. 387, 412, 368 and 394 from the Bluebell Railway, which had been transferred behind electro-diesels Nos. 73107 and 73136 on June 17. The rake also included former District Railway coach No.…

THE Diesel & Electric Preservation Group’s No. D7018 re-entered traffic on June 20, almost 24 years after it had to be taken out of service owing to a major engine failure. The ‘Hymek’ had been close to a return for some time, and first had a test run back in 2016, but this showed up a number of faults and so it was October 2018 before it next ventured out under its own power. No. D7018 was the last ‘Hymek’ to be withdrawn by BR, being removed from traffic in March 1975 after just over 14 years in service, and has now spent more than three times that length of time in preservation. Initially based at the Didcot Railway Centre, it moved to the West Somerset Railway in 1991. After…

THE Nene Valley Railway has added ‘Peak’ No. D4 Great Gable to the lineup for its gala in October. The Class 44 will join No. 45041 Royal Tank Regiment (which is based on the line until 2023), ‘Deltic’ No. 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier and the resident Class 14s. The South Devon Railway’s 50th Anniversary diesel gala on July 19-21 sees Class 31 No. 5518 (31101) visit from the Avon Valley Railway. It will be the first time the Brush Type 2 has strayed away from its home at Bitton since it arrived there from the Battlefield Line in 2014. Diesel Galas July 19-21: South Devon Railway July 26-28: Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway August 2-4: Spa Valley Railway August 3/4: Llangollen Railway (mixed, 1960s) August 10/11: Ecclesbourne Valley Railway September 6-8: Great…

FOLLOWING the news that No. 37175 donated its bogies to Class 37/4 No. 37421 (see last issue), a second Colas Class 37 has now had a bogie swap. No. 37116 has received the bogies from No. 37075, the preserved example based at the Keighley &Worth Valley Railway. Nos. 37025 and 37521 transferred No. 37075 to Boden Rail at Nottingham Eastcroft for the changeover on June 3, with the unbranded Railfreight triple-grey ‘tractor’ being returned to Keighley four days later on the 7th by Nos. 67027 and 37521. The newly reshod No. 37116 was then sent out on a test run on June 18, working light engine as the 0Z37 Eastcroft to Allington Junction and return. RHYMNEY LOCOS Meanwhile, No. 37025 moved to Cardiff Canton on June 8 to join Nos.…

RAILWAY Support Services has been busy in the period under review and at one stage had more work than available locomotives, resulting in the hire of No. 08757 from the Telford Steam Railway to cover a GBRf contract at Felixstowe, the ‘08’ being moved there on June 19. Recent acquisition from Bombardier, No. 08846, paid a visit to Bristol St Philip’s Marsh on June 22, for tyre turning, whilst No. 08568 was moved from Wishaw (Warwickshire) to Tyseley for attention. The end of May saw No. 08939 (which has been out of use for almost eight years) transferred to Neville Hill depot, Leeds, following repairs at Wishaw. Then the start of June saw No. 08632 move from Wishaw to Eastleigh to replace No. 08511, although almost a month later No.…

TOOLING is underway for a completely brand-new ‘OO’ gauge model of the Class 45/0 and Class 45/1 by Heljan, to be offered in a variety of different liveries. It follows the extensive work undertaken during the development of its ‘O’ gauge Class 45 and will add impetus to what many modellers regard as a much neglected locomotive class compared to locomotives such as the Class 37 and Class 47. Constructed at Derby between 1960 and 1962 with Sulzer 2500hp engines, the 127-strong fleet of BR Type 4 locomotives (later to be classified as Class 45 under TOPS) were a development of the 10 ‘pilot scheme’ Class 44s numbered D1-10 which were named after English and Welsh mountains, resulting in the ‘Peaks’ name being adopted. When built, Class 45s were numbered…

BRITISH STEEL owned and operated a large fleet of bogie iron ore tippler wagons, TOPS coded PTA, constructed in three batches by Redpath Dorman Long in Middlesbrough in the early 1970s. Comprising of a heavily ribbed body with air brakes and riding on BSC Axle Motion bogies, they were designed to be worked in block rakes with conventional draw gear on ‘outer’ wagons and specialised knuckle couplers within each set of wagons. Unloading at the receiving steel works used rotary tipplers which required the ‘inner’ wagons to be equipped with draw gear that allowed the wagons to be rotated without being uncoupled from the rest of the train. They were employed on imported iron ore and some limestone flows supplying steel making plants at Consett, Ravenscraig and Llanwern, the latter…

REWORKING old ‘OO’ gauge Lima Mk.2 coaches is a useful exercise, particularly considering that a current model of a Mk.2b or Mk.2c coach does not exist. Both types can be modelled from the Lima Mk.2b model using similar techniques described in this article, to give new life to some Lima Mk.2f coaches residing in the author’s collection. They have been collected over several years for around £6 to £10 each, stockpiled for modelling late 1980s, early 1990s cross-country sets. They will be matched with Mk.1 buffets, a smattering of Mk.2b and Mk.2c coaches together with Mk.2d BFKs. This article shows how they can be brought up to a good standard so they will not look out of place when placed alongside newer models. The differences might show when mixed in…

NORTHERN launched the first of its new fleet of trains into service on July 1, seven months after they were originally planned to start due to technically difficulties found during testing. The first day saw seven DMUs and two EMUs start on the Manchester Airport-Liverpool/Cumbria and Leeds-Doncaster routes respectively, but the new trains will be rolled out to routes across the Pennines, South Yorkshire and Chester in due course. The rest of the 101-strong fleet will be phased in over the coming months as they are accepted for traffic. There will be 58 Class 195 DMUs (comprising 25 two-car and 33 three-car sets) and 43 Class 331 EMUs (as 31 three-car and 12 four-car sets). All are built by CAF based on its ‘Civity’ platform so externally look very alike…

ALTHOUGH the Welsh Government is to take over ownership of the Core Valley Lines in South Wales from Network Rail as part of the development of the South Wales Metro system, no other change in rail infrastructure responsibility is to take place. The decision to reject any further transfer to the devolved administration in Wales is contained in a new Framework Agreement between NR and the Department for Transport. Unlike the situation in Wales, it confirms that the Scottish Parliament will continue to have full responsibility for managing its own relationship with NR for the rail network in Scotland. This will disappoint Transport for Wales (TfW), which was created as a Welsh Government Agency to manage the operation of the Wales and Borders franchise run by the Keolis/Amey joint venture.…

THE double Class 458/5 Alstom ‘Juniper’ set left the redundant gasholders of Reading in its wake, travelling via prosperous Wokingham then through the playgrounds of the rich and famous – such as Ascot, with its royal racecourse, and Sunningdale, with its groomed golf course. This was a stopping train to London Waterloo serving many of the Home Counties’ most select postcodes. In one respect, though, the train had strayed from civilisation because the line beyond Wokingham is deemed unworthy of being shown in the usual gradient publications. In order to judge whether the track between stations qualified as ‘level enough’ for this series, the recorder has to trust the GPS altimeter. This is not the most exact of instruments in absolute terms, but can usually be relied upon to record…

THE first London Underground train travelled over the full length of the extension from Kennington to Battersea on June 10. The exercise marked the completion of the tunnels and track, but the engineering train also carried 750 metres of power cable into the extension, which has since been installed. Despite the line itself being complete, the two-mile extension is not due to open to services until 2021. Attention will now move to the fitting out of the new stations and the installation of signalling used on the Northern Line. This is the first Tube line extension since the Jubilee line reached Stratford in 1999.…

STATESMAN Rail has already put down in stone the dates for its tours next year, ideal for those who book holidays way in advance and do not want to clash with the chance of sampling this luxury train’s excursions. There are, understandably, four tours emanating from Statesman Rail’s home base at Crewe. But the majority start from pick-up locations all around the country in keeping with the operator’s current practice. New for next year are luncheon excursions over the scenic Settle & Carlisle Line, while the catering will be totally new, having been recently brought in-house. The coaches remain the same fleet of Mk.2 carriages kept and maintained at Crewe, with traction provided by two of Locomotive Services’ Class 47s. The S&C trips will run on March 14 (from Crewe),…

STOPPED after the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway gala in May, and subsequently taken to Derby Etches Park via the Severn Valley Railway, prototype HST power car No. 41001 has been moved again, this time to Neville Hill for repairs. The transfer took place on June 29 when East Midlands Trains’ No. 43484 was used to haul No. 41001 between the two depots, providing the highly unusual (and possibly first?) sighting of production and prototype HST power cars working ‘back to back’ on the main line. Engine repairs will be carried out to No. 41001, which was taken out of traffic as a precautionary measure. It has since been found that the power unit has afailed cylinder compression ring. The 125 Group, custodian of the NRM-owned power car, has expressed…

NOT entirely unexpected is the news that DB Cargo will be divesting itself of the six Class 59/2 locomotives following the loss of the high profile Mendip Rail contact to Freightliner, a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming. Delivered in 1994 (No. 59201) and 1995 (Nos. 59202-59206) in the bold blue, grey, white and red livery of electricity generator National Power, along with matching coal and limestone hoppers, the colourful fleet was barely in service two years before NP agreed to sell up to the newly-formed English Welsh & Scottish Railway. By 1999, EWS was experimenting with the heavy-hauling ‘59/2s’ away from their Ferrybridge home, deploying them on the Port Talbot-Llanwern iron ore circuit and out of Peak Forest on stone trains. After a period working aggregates services in the South…

JUNE saw the arrival of further Class 345 units at Harry Needle Railroad Company’s recently-opened facility, joining No. 345023 which arrived in May (see last issue). The first to appear was No. 345056, which was collected from the Crossrail depot by No. 37611 Pegasus on June 12 and moved as the 5Q26/10.33 Old Oak Common-Worksop. Five days later, No. 345057 was brought north from Old Oak Common by No. 37601 Perseus, and on June 19 the same ‘37’ formed the 5Q26/09.00 Old Oak Common-Worksop with No. 345058. ANOTHER DELIVERY Following completion of trials at Old Dalby (where it had arrived on May 2), No. 345061 departed on June 11 behind No. 37611 as the 5Q73/14.15 Old Dalby-Old Oak Common. June 21 saw No. 345063 released from Bombardier, the unit being…

THE final BREL-built (80)80 Class DEMU vehicle to be on NIR’s books, No. 8097, was removed by road from Belfast York Road on June 8, by metal recycling contractor Thomas Hamill & Sons and taken to its premises at Ahoghill, near Ballymena, for disposal. The vehicle was cut in two before its final journey. No. 8097, latterly aSandite application vehicle, had been stored at York Road since November 2017 when it and the three other DEMU vehicles of the Sandite train plus a spare trailer were sidelined following the introduction of the Windhoff-built MPV No. 99 70 9428 011-9. The scrapping of No. 8097 brought to an end the era of the DEMU ‘Thumpers’ on the railway network of Northern Ireland – an era that started in July 1966 when…

AN important and exciting model for Irish railway modellers is the CIÉ 42ft intermodal wagon, also known as ‘Bogie Liners’, being developed in ‘OO’ gauge by Irish Railway Models (IRM). The first pre-production samples have arrived allowing a close view of this much anticipated model and associated containers. Introduced in 1972 and used on Bell and B+I container trains, the wagons remain in service today, including departmental trains and weed spraying duties. The samples allow IRM to inspect the models, including the containers, and to make tweaks before authorising the models for production. The wagon will feature highly detailed brake equipment, metal wheel sets gauged to ‘OO’ gauge and models of Sambre et Meuse Y33 bogies capable of being converted to 21mm gauge. The ends of the wheel set axles…

HORNBY quickly latched on to the popularity of departmental and research stock and as the company has discovered, yellow departmental stock sells well. Two new Mk.1 departmental coaches have been released, both neatly finished in BR departmental yellow with black markings as Old Oak Common TMD BTU vehicles. Both models are well detailed with flush glazing, interior fittings and correctly sized metal wheels fitted to good representations of B1 bogies. Hornby has chosen to use its standard Mk.1 BSK and BG models for these coaches, both of which are a close fit to both coaches. QPA No. ADB 975574 (R4902) Old Oak Common TMD Tool Van with rerailing equipment legends, TOPS coded QPA and numbered ADB 975574 has been represented by Hornby’s BSK model, priced at £36.99. The full size…