Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i The Railway Magazine

A QUESTION I find myself asking rather too often is: ‘Would the rolling stock crisis that is badly affecting the industry have occurred on BR’s watch?’ In excess of 22 Class 345 Crossrail EMUs – more than 200 carriages – are currently stabled at Old Oak Common, standing idle because of the delays and cost increases to Crossrail. And most could remain idle for a few more months until test running and driver training begins. Software engineers are battling to iron out all the problems on the Class 710 EMUs yet to be deployed on Gospel Oak to Barking services. The Class 345 is derived from the ‘Electrostars’, while the ‘710’ software is new and different. These units are now nearly a year late, and this busy line could be…

THREE key post-holders within the West Somerset Railway have been made redundant as part of a staffing review aimed at reducing costs. The cash-strapped railway, which is also selling unrestored Large Prairie No. 4110 to raise much-needed income (see p71), said in a January 22 statement it was reviewing its staffing structure“to improve the efficiency and sustainability of the railway in the long-term”. The three posts affected so far are the head of commercial, head of human resources and head of operations, who have all been informed of the decision. “This is a very challenging time for the railway and we recognise these decisions have a very significant impact on all our staff, but particularly those directly affected,”said West Somerset Railway plc chairman Jonathan Jones-Pratt. “We are very saddened when…

EARLY March will see the relaunch on the railtour circuit of Tyseley’s flagship engine BR(W) 4-6-0 No. 7029 Clun Castle following an extensive overhaul. Clun Castle will get its light and loaded test runs during February (dates to be confirmed), one of which will be to Stratford-upon-Avon. The ever-popular ‘Shakespeare Express’ will be a regular train in the Vintage Trains (VT) calendar, with the operator planning an additional 30 excursions as it substantially ramps up operations. These will include a ‘Cotswold Express’, ‘Welsh Marches Express’ and also excursions to Chester. Press officer Denis Chick said plans are also moving forward to introduce regular evening dining train specials from Moor Street to Worcester as part of the increase in trains operated, and in a bid…

NEW lines, more stations and higher frequencies on key routes are all envisaged under a new 30-year investment strategy for the West Midlands rail network. The Rail Investment Strategy, published by the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE), which co-manages the West Midlands Railway franchise, sets out short-, medium- and long-term proposals to improve rail services across the region up to 2047. Short term ‘wins’ include the return of passenger services and stations on the Camp Hill Line, in Birmingham, and between Wolverhampton and Walsall, better cross-Birmingham connections, better Sunday and evening services, new stations, more train capacity, and improved performance. WMRE has also made high-frequency services of two, four or six trains per hour a priority for all stations, with the busiest urban stations receiving a train every 10 minutes…

BRITISH Steel has announced two more contracts to supply rail for European infrastructure companies to Italian national infrastructure company Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), writes Keith Fender . In total, 86,000 tonnes of rail will be supplied to RFI, all in 108-metre lengths. The order is comprised of 68,000 tonnes of standard grade rail and 18,000 tonnes of British Steel’s premium stress-free (SF), heat-treated rail SF350 rails. These are designed for use in curves or on heavily used sections to minimise the risk of cracks developing in the rails British Steel´s plant in Scunthorpe will make the steel, and it will be moved by rail via the Channel Tunnel to the British Steel-owned rail rolling mill in Hayange, France. The finished rail will then be moved by train…

The intention is good, but we’ve been here before… THE Government’s ‘root-and-branch’ probe into the state of the rail industry will hopefully sort out some of its current woes, but I suspect I’m not alone in having a sense of déjà vu. It’s considered likely, for example, that the report by former British Airways chairman Keith Williams could recommend a ‘controlling mind’ or ‘central command’ to oversee and co-ordinate the many facets of the industry. That’s what the Strategic Rail Authority was set up to do a few years ago – yet it was abolished. It’s also thought possible that proposals will be considered for dividing the network into vertically integrated geographical areas, three of which would be Southern, Western and Scottish. That’s why the BR Regions existed for more…

Any casual lineside observers on September 9, 1931 at Chellaston (some four miles from Derby on the Midland Railway Ashby-de-la-Zouch line) would have been puzzled to see a short stopping train call at their wayside station and then start away again. The same thing would happen another 13 times that day and then 18 times on each of the next two consecutive days. Our observers’ mystification would stem from the fact local services between Derby and Melbourne serving the two intermediate stations of Peartree & Normanton and Chellaston had been withdrawn the previous September. Had the service been reinstated without any publicity perhaps? Regrettably not. Onlookers with a trained eye would have remarked the train featured a diminutive former Midland & Great Northern (M&GN) 4-4-0 tank engine on two strange…

THINK of a railway running through pine forests or scenic mountainous areas covered with snow and your first thoughts are likely to be Switzerland, Austria, perhaps Norway or Sweden. But add to the mix powerful metre-gauge steam locomotives working to a regular daily timetable, hammering up gradients as steep as 1-in-30 to the top of a mountain 3,675ft (1,125m) above sea level and there is probably one place you are likely to find all of these ingredients – the Harz region of Germany. Around the Harz was once the habitat of bears, bison and wolves, but today lynx are more common. Mining was prevalent around seven towns in the upper Harz, the last closing in 2007, but today, with many spa towns, timbered buildings and the option of winter sports,…

THIS is a superb book. Peter Darley tells the story of the Great Northern’s King’s Cross station and the extensive nearby ‘Railway Lands’ during the last 200 years. The term Railway Lands refers to such things as associated stations, numerous goods depots, potato markets, locomotive sheds and works, coal yards, coal drops and stables that grew up to serve the ever-expanding population of London during the 19th century. The whole gamut of railway activity is covered, from the goods business through transhipment, granaries, hydraulic power, coal supply, fish, fruit, vegetables and milk traffic, livestock, bottle warehousing and building materials. An excellent introductory chapter covers the River Fleet, Belle Isle, Frenchman’s Island, Copenhagen Fields and Battle Bridge in the pre-railway era. Even before the arrival of the railway this area had…

100 YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 1919 BY the retirement of Sir John A.F. Aspinall, the General Manager of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway, on January 31, the British railway service loses one of its oldest and most noteworthy officers. Sir John commenced his career as a pupil of the late Mr John Ramsbottom, and afterwards, F.W. Webb, at the Crewe Works of the London and North Western Railway. The early age of 24 found him manager of the locomotive and carriage and wagon works of the Great Southern and Western Railway at Inchicore, Dublin. He left Ireland in 1886 to take up the newly-created position of Chief Mechanical Engineer of the LYR, the first occasion on which this title was given to a locomotive engineer. THE YORKSHIRE ENGINE COMPANY of Wincobank,…

THE Mid-Hants Railway is not letting the loss of its eastern terminus at Alton get in the way of its 2019 event plans, with an ex-London Transport 0-6-0PT and a Longmoorliveried‘USA’tank booked for its March 8-10 Spring Steam Gala. South Devon Railway-based‘57XX’No. L92 (GWR No. 5786) was confirmed as the first guest locomotive for the event, which will see services operating between Alresford and Medstead & Four Marks. ‘USA’ tank The second visitor is the Kent & East Sussex Railway’s American-built‘S100’0-6-0T No. 300 Frank S. Ross . It will be the locomotive’s first visit away from the KESR since it returned to service, with its Longmoor Military Railway blue livery offering some local interest for the Hampshire line. Other locomotives in steam will include BR‘4MT’ Mogul…

OVERHAUL of the West Somerset Railway plc’s Collett-inspired 2-6-0 No. 9351 will be completed by the West Somerset Railway Association at its Williton base. The former GWR 2-6-2T, which last steamed in 2015, was moved by road from Minehead on January 19. At a meeting on January 14, WSRA trustees agreed to carry out the remaining work at its own expense, and using their own staff, BESST boiler scheme trainees and volunteers. The locomotive is expected to return to service in May in time for the railway’s peak summer season.…

AN INITIATIVE by the Toddington-based 2874 Trust to develop skill and expertise through hands-on experience has been given a £57,400 boost from a Heritage Lottery Fund grant. The project will focus on the restoration of the trust’s Churchward ‘28XX’ 2-8-0 No. 2874 by Dinmore Manor Locomotive Ltd at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. Its goal is to ensure the vital heritage engineering skills needed to maintain and operate steam locomotives continues to be developed, but are also passed on to a new generation of volunteers. Work projects will start during the early part of this year, enabling local people of all ages to begin in heritage engineering, either through hands-on learning of new skills, or developing and safeguarding current expertise to ensure a skilled workforce continues to be available to heritage…

ALL-NEW Gresley ‘P2’ 2-8-2 No. 2007 Prince of Wales has been lifted from its wheels at Hopetown Works, Darlington. The pony, coupled and trailing wheelsets have been rolled out to enable the Mikado’s air braking and electrical equipment to be installed. The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust has said the completion of the pony truck is one of its targets for 2019, along with placing the order for the boiler and the substantial completion of the loco’s tender frames and tank. No. 2007’s wheels, including  the second pair carrying the essential crank axle, are pictured in Hopetown on January 19.…

FORMER Littleton Colliery Manning, Wardle 0-6-0ST Littleton No. 5 (2018/1922) has been donated to the Avon Valley Railway Heritage Trust (AVRHT). The 18in-cylindered loco pioneered preservation services at the Great Central Railway. It had previously been in private ownership, but has been in store at Bitton for nearly four decades. The loco’s former owners agreed to donate it to the trust late last year, with a formal handover ceremony planned for later this year. The AVRHT will shortly begin fundraising for the first phase of the overhaul, enabling Littleton No. 5 to be stripped down for assessment.…

THE Railway Preservation Society of Ireland has released details of its first two major railtours for the first half of 2019. First up is the ‘West Awake’ (a play on the well-known song The West’s Awake, by The Dubliners) diesel tour on Saturday, April 13, which, like the previous diesel-hauled railtours, is a fundraiser for the overhaul of the society’s General Motors locomotives Nos. 141 and 134. The tour will originate at Dublin Connolly at 07.50 and head west to Athlone, then take the line to Claremorris and Manulla Junction, where it will branch north to Ballina. After a short break to allow the locomotives to run round, the train will return to Claremorris and then out to Westport. A further stop will be made here before the tour makes…

ISLE of Man Department of Infrastructure (DOI) has been fined £18,000 and ordered to pay more than £4,000 in costs in relation to health and safety charges. The case arose from the August 4, 2017 incident when Snaefell Mountain Railway (SMR) tram No. 2 ran over the level crossing at Bungalow without stopping, seemingly out of control, before the crew managed to halt its progress ( RM Headline News, Sept 2017). DOI had been charged with 15 counts of failure to discharge a duty and two of failing to comply with regulations. However, 12 of the charges were withdrawn, and at the December 13 court hearing the department pleaded guilty to the remaining five charges relating to health and safety of the passengers and crew. The breaches…

PIONEER Charles Roberts’ ‘Coronation’car No. 304 made its first runs along Blackpool’s famous promenade in more than two years on December 11 as work to return the 1952-built single decker to service with Blackpool Heritage Tram Tours (BHTT) continues. The car, which was restored for the TV series Salvage Squad in 2002, was in action for the first time since July 2016 to test the VAMBAC (Variable Automatic Multi-notch Braking and Control) acceleration and braking, and check the vehicle’s 24v inverter charging system, following the fitting of new batteries. No. 304 was trialled between Foxhall and Pleasure Beach owing to single-line operation north of Talbot Square, with BHTT engineers being well satisfied with the VAMBAC’s performance. This now paves the way for No. 304’s owner, the Fylde Transport Trust (FTT),…

MORE than 330 engineering projects took place across Britain over the Christmas and New Year holidays in a £148million programme delivered by 25,000 Network Rail staff and contractors. Projects ranged from major blockades running right through the holiday period to smaller interventions designed to repair or upgrade the railway at important locations. Among the larger engineering tasks were the completion of the Weaver to Wavertree resignalling on Merseyside, including the transfer of control in the Allerton, Speke and Garston areas to Manchester Rail Operating Centre (ROC); track replacement at Holloway on the approaches to London King’s Cross; further replacement of overhead line equipment (OHLE), dating from the 1950s, on the Great Eastern Main Line; and track renewal at Battersea Pier Junction, close to London Victoria. The latter replaces track from…

A £10.55 MILLION plan to build a new station near Peterlee on the Durham coast line has been given the go-ahead by local authorities. Horden station, between Seaham and Hartlepool, will be funded by Durham County Council, supported by £4.4m from the Department of Transport’s New Stations Fund and a grant from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership. It will feature two 100m platforms connected by an accessible footbridge, waiting shelters, a 136-space car park and bus stops. A new access road, footpath and cycleway will also be created. Around 70,000 passengers each year are forecast to use the station when it opens in spring 2020. The station will link Horden into the local and regional rail network, served by hourly Arriva Rail North trains in each direction, providing links…

THE root and branch review of the railways being undertaken by Keith Williams, former chairman of British Airways, could be the most important review of our railway system for decades. Last year was disastrous for Britain’s railway, and I won’t labour the point with the reasons, but a few are noted in my other comment this month. Despite the gloomy headlines last year, our rail industry has a lot to commend it, run by staff we can be proud of, and I believe in 12 months’ time, when 2019 is reviewed, there will be many highlights. The Williams Review will look at factors including integration, devolution, improvements, value for money, freight and passenger services, HS2 and overall railway funding as part of its wide-ranging terms of reference. The review has…

TICKETS for the June 8 open day at Crewe diesel depot will go on sale at 10.00 on February 6. A planned line-up of more than 30 locomotives and units means the event is shaping up well, according to organisers. The charity All Change event is being held at the Locomotive Services Limited (LSL) depot, next to the station, which has undergone an amazing transformation since Jeremy Hosking decided to base his railway operations there. Virgin Trains staff based at Crewe station are organising the event with LSL and The RM as media partner. Money raised will be donated to the NET Patient Foundation, which helps sufferers of neuroendocrine tumours, and the Rethink charity, which provides help and support for people affected by mental illness. It…

THE Department for Transport has been accused by Getlink (the new name for Eurotunnel) of being ‘distortionary and anti-competitive’. The criticism comes as the deadline to Brexit gets closer, and the Government continues to make contingency plans in the event of a ‘no-deal’ outcome being the terms on which the UK leaves the European Union. In a leaked letter to Secretary of State Chris Grayling from Getlink chairman Jacques Gounon, he takes issue over the £107million offered to ferry operators to provide additional cross-channel freight capacity. Getlink, it would appear, had not been consulted or approached, and M Gounon says the move is a “unilateral breach of the concession agreement with Eurotunnel”. M Gounon reminds Mr Grayling Getlink offers the shortest journey times and is the most efficient method of…

EIGHT passengers on board a Danish Railways IC4 DMU were killed and 16 injured on January 2 while crossing one of the Storebaelt (Great Belt) bridges, between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen, writes Keith Fender. The train was hit by a loose HGV trailer on a passing ‘piggyback’ freight train. The accident occurred during storm-force weather conditions. The Storebaelt comprises two long bridges, totalling 13.4km, connected by an 8km-long rail tunnel crossing part of the Baltic Sea. The freight train was bound for the Carlsberg brewery in Fredericia and was carrying HGV trailers loaded with empty beer crates from the Copenhagen area. DB Cargo operates the trains for Carlsberg and runs up to 30 trains per week on the route. Following the accident, new rules were…

ScotRail adopts Grace’s sign for accessible toilets SCOTRAIL has become the latest organisation to install ‘Grace’s Sign’at accessible toilets in its stations across Scotland. The sign shows a standing person with a heart to symbolise people with invisible conditions. The sign was designed by 13-year-old Grace Warnock, who has Crohn’s Disease. She came up with the idea for a more inclusive sign after facing criticism from strangers when she used accessible toilets. Woman (34) rearrested over 2018 fire at Nottingham station BRITISH Transport Police have re-arrested a 34-year-old woman following extensive enquiries in connection with the fire at Nottingham station on January 12, 2018. Gemma Peat, from Nottingham, has been charged with one count of arson with intent or being reckless to endanger life. She was remanded to appear at…

London dominates budget SIR John Hayes, MP for South Holland and The Deepings, in Lincolnshire, asked what proportion of the Department for Transport’s budget is spent in London. Transport Minister Jesse Norman replied: “It is notoriously hard to attribute the benefit and location of public investment in transport infrastructure accurately. “Figures on public sector expenditure at a regional level are part of the Government’s Country and Regional Analysis (CRA) statistics. “These provide statistical allocations of public spending according to where the benefits of that spend are accrued, although the complexity of transport networks means that it is not always possible or appropriate to allocate transport spending on a ‘who benefits’ basis. Where this is the case, expenditure has been apportioned based on actual regional spend rather than where the benefit…

PURCHASE of a pair of former Class 77 bogies from the EM2 Locomotive Society has been concluded, with ownership passing to the LMS 10000 Society on December 31. The bogies will be moved to a secure location, where they will be stripped, cleaned and shot-blasted to bare metal and painted after non-destructive testing. Full reports will also be produced regarding the state of the bogies, bearings and axles, along with any other work needed. The first choice for brakes will be those already on No 58022 Assessments will be made to ensure no new stress points are created in the bogie frame by the new brakes, which will be the third design the bogies have hosted since 1953 Although the EM2 and D16/1 designs shared all but identical bogies, the…

George says: “Painting the exterior has been one of the main tasks. After repairing, sanding and filling where necessary, we had a thorough clean up in the workshop, then tack-ragged the entire exterior of the carriage, using a special cloth to capture the smallest particles of dust. The secret to successful painting is definitely in the preparation. This carriage had some previous coats of paint that we could build on, except where we’d had to go back to bare metal. “We apply one coat of primer, then two undercoats before adding two top coats and finally two varnish coats. At every stage, it pays to get things right. With the primer and undercoats, you sand back if you spot a run, to get the best possible finish for adding the…

Excessive time delays and costly tunnelling blight major projects THERE are two fundamental problems affecting both Crossrail and HS2. First is the excessive time required to carry out a major project. Crossrail emerged as a project in the mid-1980s and yet more than 30 years later we are still waiting to see this scheme come to full fruition. During that time China’s railways have gone from Third World to world leader. It is hardly surprising that in 30-odd years costs have soared because of inflation, ridiculous senior salaries and unforeseen items, while the estimated benefits have plummeted. A railway with no trains in operation doesn’t earn any revenue. The second problem is the general perception that tunnelling is seen as the universal answer to‘planning difficulties’ so as to‘protect’such things as…

Gloucester needs a Parkway station A PARKWAY station will be built on the Birmingham to Bristol line to serve Worcester, but a city that has been crying out for a parkway for years must be Gloucester. Since the closure of the Eastgate loop, fewer and fewer main line trains call at the city. It is perhaps ironic more trains called there when they had to change the loco from one end of the train to the other. As regards the least used station in Britain, has anybody checked the figures for Polesworth, near Tamworth? With only one train per day, the 07.23 to Crewe, I would have thought it would have a good claim to the title. Alex Owen Coventry To answer Mr Owen’s question regarding Polesworth, in the most…

The Railway Observer has evolved over the years as an important source of reference to amateur and professional authors. The format was set in the pre-1939 issues, where pages were set aside for each of the‘Big Four’to outline new builds, engines in the works and day-to-day workings, as well as out of the ordinary occurrences. The September 1934 RO, for example, devoted a page to the appearances of the first Stanier‘Black Five’No. 5020 on arrival at Crewe Works from the Vulcan Foundry. In October 1936 the first of the Collett‘Grange’class 4-6-0s – No. 6800 Arlington Grange – was described. A number of editions in 1938 found space to describe the inauguration of the Mid-Sussex line electrification. Despite the restrictions imposed by the Second…

GREAT Western Prairies large and small will be the main attraction at the Dean Forest Railway’s June 7-9 steam gala as the Llangollen Railway’s Large Prairie No. 5199 joins the DFR’s home fleet for the annual Royal Forest of Steam. Up to four locomotives in steam are expected to appear at the event, with the visiting ‘5101’ being the main attraction alongside resident ‘4575’ No. 5541. Ex-Longmoor Military Railway ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST No. WD152 Rennes will also be in service during the gala, joining the Prairies on a full timetable of freight and passengers workings, which is also to feature double-headed operation. Furthermore, for just £10, visitors will have the opportunity to take control of one of the locomotives at Norchard Low Level station. Visitors to the…

JOHNSON 0-6-0T ‘Half Cab’ No. 41708 looks set to become part of the Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society (BHESS) collection after agreement was reached with the locomotive’s owners for the Staveley roundhouse to acquire the loco. The 1880-built Midland Railway veteran is owned by the 1708 Locomotive Preservation Trust, but has been the subject of previous attempts to purchase it by Barrow Hill in the last 10 years. However, discussions always fell foul of a long-running saga over who the locomotive’s legal owners were, two of its trustees claiming the engine was in fact theirs. This latest attempt by the BHESS was made last autumn after the 1708 Society said they have documents which prove their legal ownership. The deal is expected to be completed imminently, and the BHESS already…

82045 moves onto Severn Valley metals JANUARY 23 was a big day for The 82045 Steam Locomotive Trust, seeing its new-build BR‘3MT’2-6-4T lifted from its concrete erecting pad at Bridgnorth, and transferred to the Severn Valley Railway’s metals for the first time. No. 82045 was subsequently moved to the railway’s erecting shop, where work can continue on the locomotive under cover for the first time during the winter months. September finale for BR black Calbourne ? THE Isle of Wight Steam Railway’s flagship Adams‘O2’ 0-4-4T No. W24 Calbourne will make its final public appearances in its current BR lined black livery during a special weekend on September 28-29. The unique survivor’s boiler certificate expires at the end of the year, but it is…

Barclay Edmundsons overhaul begins... WORK has started on the overhaul of the Rushden, Higham & Wellingborough Railway’s cut-down Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST Edmundsons (2168/1943) at its Rushden base in Northamptonshire. The project is expected to take two to three years to complete, during which time the ex-CEGB Barford Power Station loco will be returned to as-built condition and will lose its rear bunker in the process. …as Bon-Accord’s boiler heads south MEANWHILE, work on the overhaul of fellow Barclay 0-4-0ST Bon-Accord (807/1897) is making headway at the Royal Deeside Railway. Stripping of the former Aberdeen Gas Works loco began in October, with the boiler being lifted in early November. This has since been sent to…

BELFAST City Council’s Growth and Regeneration Committee, together with three other councils, has agreed to fund a £30,000 feasibility study into the introduction of high-speed trains linking Belfast and Dublin. A motion to establish a high-speed rail link between the two cities was submitted in 2016, with a goal of reducing the current journey time of two and a quarter hours to just one hour. The benefits put forward include economic growth for cities and their surrounding environs, job creation and a much shorter commute time along the Belfast to Dublin corridor. The funding was expected to be approved when Belfast City Council met on February 4.…

THE Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway’s (Ff&WHR) June 21-23 event featuring Welsh Highland Heritage Railway’s (WHHR) Hunslet 2-6-2T Russell ( RM Jan) has been tagged Welsh Highland Railway – Past, Present and Future. The theme links with marking the 21st anniversary of Ff&WHR trains running out of Caernarfon and opening of the new Caernarfon station. Construction of the new Welsh Highland station building at Waunfawr is well advanced and likely also to be opened during the event. War Office Locomotive Trust’s Hunslet 4-6-0T WDLR No. 303 will visit the event, joining WHHR’s Russell . Plans remain at an early stage, but the intention is for heritage trains to run between Minffordd, Porthmadog and Beddgelert during intervals between regular passenger services. In…

ROYAL Arsenal Narrow Gauge Railway (RANG) has almost completed restoration of Severn-Lamb steam-outline 4wDH Busy Basil and a rake of carriages. They will be used on a new 2ft-gauge line to be constructed at Crossness Pumping station in South London ( RM Jan 2018), aided by a £29,800 grant from Enovert Community Trust. RANG has launched a £18,500 appeal to buy track and points for the 700-metre line on the trackbed of an 1860 contractor’s railway laid during construction of the pumping station.…

WELSHPOOL & Llanfair Light Railway (WLLR) representatives signed a memorandum of understanding between WLLR and TaiSugar during a visit to Taiwan’s December 8-9 sugar festival. The deal effectively twins WLLR with the five short heritage lines operated by the sugar corporation. In 2017 WLLR signed a ‘sister railway agreement’with Taiwan’s Alishan Forest Railway. WLLR’s Barclay 0-4-0T No. 8 Dougal (2207/1946), visiting Taiwan for six months ( RM Nov 2018) has been steamed at reduced pressure of around 80psi. Dougal requires boiler work but is still in ticket. The reduced pressure is adequate to operate over the short and flat TaiSugar line.…

Manchester No. 765 heading to Beamish HEATON Park Tramway’s Manchester Corporation ‘Combination Car’ No. 765 is going on loan to Beamish Museum in order to take part in the popular annual Great North Steam Fair on April 11-14. The 1914-built car was expected to reach the County Durham museum by early February, and will stay until late June. Following maintenance work, to be carried out at Beamish, No. 765 will work on most weeknds during its stay. ‘Standard’ No. 143 set for 2019 comeback ON-LOAN Blackpool ‘Standard’ car No. 143 has become the priority for the team in charge of the heritage fleet at Rigby Road depot. The 1924-built car, owned by the Fylde Transport Trust, is the only one of seven surviving ‘Standards’ in near original condition with open…

‘High risk’ Cottonmill Crossing wins reprieve STRONG opposition from local residents has forced Network Rail to reverse its decision to close Cottonmill Lane foot crossing in St Albans. NR planned to shut the crossing because of repeated misuse by some of the 800 users each day. It is rated as the sixth highest risk of the 770 level crossings on London North Western Route. Further safety improvements will now be made, including straightening the crossing to remove a skewed approach, new gates and fencing and resurfacing to provide a high-visibility yellow surface designed to reduce the risk of wheelchairs or pushchairs becoming stuck. A 20mph speed restriction for passing trains will also remain in force. Colchester celebrates 175th birthday DECEMBER 18 saw Greater Anglia celebrate the 175th anniversary of Colchester’s…

TRAIN, tram and bus passengers in South Yorkshire will be able to take advantage of a new‘smart’ ticketing system across the region this year. South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) has selected Glasgow-based Rambus to deliver a multi-operator ticketing system, allowing passengers to buy a range of flexible tickets, valid on all three forms of public transport. These tickets can then be loaded onto a smartcard via on-vehicle ticketing machines or used through compatible smart phones. For more information on the TravelMaster system, visit: http://sytravelmaster.com/…

CONSULTATION is now underway on five possible corridors for the central section of East West Rail between Bedford and Cambridge. The routes have been costed at between £2billion and £3.4bn and would require new sections of railway linking the Midland Main Line, the East Coast Main Line, near Sandy, and Cambridge. The cheapest option – Route A – features a corridor from the Marston Vale line, south of Bedford, running via a new Bedford South station, and a relocated station at Sandy and a new line through Bassingbourn. The £2.6bn Route B would follow a more northerly course from Bedford South via Tempsford and Cambourne, while Route C (£2.5bn) would also serve Bedford South and Tempsford, before swinging south on to the ECML to serve the Sandy station and Bassingbourn.…

WEST Midlands Trains (WMT) has indicated that by May at the latest it will have introduced two-car DMUs on Coventry to Nuneaton services, replacing the Class 153. The replacement units are likely to be two-car Class 172s, displaced from Gospel Oak to Barking services. WMT added that the service will be extended to Kenilworth and Leamington Spa as part of phase 2 of the NUCKLE project to link Nuneaton, Covertry, Kenilworth, Leamington. Once a new north-facing bay platform has been built at Coventry, a half-hourly Coventry to Nuneaton service will operate. WMT says it is working with the DfT on options to improve services on the Nuneaton to Birmingham route. These are currently operated by CrossCounty, but suffer from overcrowding at peak times. There is no further information on how…

NEW Rail Minister Andrew Jones had the chance to understand the challenges of train driving as he took the controls of a High Speed Train simulator on November 29. The minister was visiting the East Midlands Trains (EMT) academy to launch a new apprenticeship programme for train drivers, which is part of an industry-wide initiative to standardise training across all operators, passenger and freight. Mr Jones said:“I’ve not driven a train simulator before. “The first thing to note is the mass of information that comes at you, and we were only travelling quite slowly.” With the industry gearing up to train more than 1,000 new drivers in the next 12 months, the previous Level 2 Rail Services framework no longer meets the level of competence required for a train driver…

THE name Dr L A Nixon first came to my attention 54 years ago. I’d just had my first contribution printed in the RM and was showing it to my parents when they noticed their young son’s name was in the list of credits next to that of a doctor. As a result of their surprise, a name that might otherwise have passed me by became indelibly printed on my mind, and it was thus with a strange feeling that I found myself sitting in judgement on the doctor’s own contributions when I entered railway journalism a quarter of a century later. Les Nixon began photographing trains in 1949, and to mark his 70 years behind the lens, I travelled to his Derbyshire home to chat about his life and…

PRESIDENT of the Ivatt Diesel Re-creation Society is Stan Fletcher, who between 1947 and 1983 was a commissioning engineer with English Electric His role included being part of the team at Derby that built and tested No 10000 and its twin 10001 When he first became involved No 10000 was a frame minus wheels His job entailed travelling behind the ‘Twins' during their first 150,000 miles on the Midland and West Coast main lines This included initial runs from Derby over the Matlock line that is now Peak Rail Celebrities Now in his 98th year, Stan was at Rowsley on Peak Rail during October 2018 to take part in filming for a future society video and sign a‘Royal Scot' booklet dating from 1949 On June 1, 1949 the‘Twins' hauled their…

Talyllyn & Corris Steam Locomotives – The Appendices to Volumes 1 & 2 By Martin Fuller THIS is a very unusual volume, not being a standalone work but comprising appendices and additional material relating to the author’s previous Talyllyn & Corris Steam Locomotives  books, Volume 1 Pre-preservation and Manufacturers (2014) and Volume 2 Early Preservation and Locomotive Rebuilds (2017). Unusual maybe, but most definitely welcome. The previous two books were highly successful in presenting excellently researched material, which appeared to provide everything one might want to know about the Talyllyn Railway’s steam locomotive fleet and considerably more besides – including the companies which built them. In reality, there was even more available. It transpires the author had been obliged to cut back several areas of material and ideas for study…

THE letter from Robert Hope ( RM Jan) makes the case that the UK fell behind the rest of the world by continuing to build steam locomotives when it was clear the way forward involved diesel traction. It is postulated this was due to an unholy alliance of politicians and trade unionists seeking to preserve an outdated and sclerotic system. However, I think your correspondent misses the most important point in the whole discussion. It is clear from the autobiographies and biographies of engineers such as H G Ivatt, R A Riddles and E S Cox that they were well aware of the technological advances, and they were equally aware that continuing to build steam locomotives was not a forward-looking policy. The reason the UK continued to…

December issue: P64 - Castlethorpe is in Buckinghamshire, not Northamptonshire. January issue P4/5 - Last month’s contents page contained an image in which extra carriages were added digitally to the consist following a compositional error. For the record, ‘A4’ No. 60009 was hauling 11 carriages and a diesel, and not 14 shown in the picture. The photographer has apologised for his error. P19 - GWR class 165/1 units are being fitted with air-cooling equipment not air conditioning. P27 – The RM has been advised Pullman car Zena was axed and preserved by the late Terry Robinson of Doncaster, not Ron Ainsworth. It moved to Market Overton, together with Terry’s Avonside 0-4-0ST Fred. P67 – The spelling of Harwarden…

HAWKSWORTH‘Modified Hall’ No. 6989 Wightwick Hall will have its public launch into traffic at Buckinghamshire Railway Centre (BRC) on March 3, marking the culmination of the BR(W) 4-6-0’s four-decade restoration. No. 6989 became the 150th ex-Barry Scrapyard locomotive to steam on December 11 ( RM Jan) when it made its first independent post-restoration moves since arriving in Buckinghamshire in January 1978. The March 3 launch will provide the public with a first opportunity to see the 1948-built loco in action, along with the spectacle of seeing two Hawksworth locos in steam together at the BRC. Joining Wightwick Hall will be‘94XX’ 0-6-0PT No. 9466, formerly owned by the late Dennis Howells, with both locomotives working trains on the BRC’s demonstration…

COLLETT‘56XX’0-6-2T No. 5619 will be joining the line-up at the Severn Valley Railway’s March 15-17 Spring Steam Gala – 22 years since it last graced the Bridgnorth to Kidderminster line. The Telford Steam Railway-owned heavy-freight loco becomes the seventh Swindon-designed tank engine attending the event, including Didcot-based Large Prairie No. 4144 and the Llangollen Railway’s‘64XX’0-6-0PT No. 6430. The presence of the BR black No. 5619 adds to an already strong Welsh theme, with all of the starring locomotives having been based in the Principality at some point in their careers, with the exception of‘14XX’0-4-2T No. 1450 and‘15XX’0-6-0PT No. 1501. No. 5619 spent most of its career around Barry and South Wales, while No. 6430 spent time at Ebbw Junction and Radyr sheds as well as Severn Tunnel Junction and Tondu,…

THE Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust’s (PRCLT) BR ‘4MT’ tank No. 80080 will join classmate No. 80097 at the East Lancashire Railway during early March after overhaul at the PRCLT’s West Shed base on the Midland Railway-Butterley. The loco, which spent much of its previous boiler ticket on hire to the ELR, had new piston rods fitted at the end of 2018, and was steamed for the first time during late January. Brighton-built No. 80080 is scheduled to work two weekends of running-in at the MR-B on February 16-17 and 23-24. No. 80080 will stay in Lancashire for an initial period of five years.…

Correction to NVR gala ticket prices IN LAST month’s issue we erroneously printed the wrong ticket prices in a news story about the Nene Valley Railway’s South Steam Gala on March 9-10. We said adult tickets were priced at £12 each, whereas they are actually priced at £21. Tickets for senior citizens are £18, child tickets £10 and family tickets £50. See www.nvr.org.uk  for more information. ‘A’ class and ‘2MT’ to Wirksworth this year ANDY Booth’s Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway‘A’class 0-6-0 No. 52322 will provide the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway (EVR) with its primary motive power for the first part of the peak season. It will visit from April 16 until June 16, when it will be replaced by Great Central-based BR‘2MT’Mogul No. 78018 until September 8. The visits…

LOUGHBOROUGH-BASED Riddles‘2MT’Mogul No. 78018 will star at the East Lancashire Railway’s Spring Steam Gala. The‘Snowdrift at Bleath Gill’ star, owned by the Darlington Railway Preservation Society, will take part in the March 8-10 event, which will also feature the official launch of newly restored‘4MT’tank No. 80097 and the return of its classmate No. 80080 (see separate story). Also taking part will be Bulleid‘West Country’ No. 34092 City of Wells , Ian Riley’s Stanier‘Black Five’ No. 45407, L&Y‘A’class 0-6-0 No. 52322 and ex-‘Austerity’ 0-6-0 No. 2890, and former Manchester Ship Canal 0-6-0T No. 32 Gothenburg .…

Billy Gilpin joins IÉ board of directors BILLY Gilpin will take the role of Irish Rail’s director of railway undertaking from this March. Mr Gilpin comes to IÉ from Serco, where he is currently country manager for Serco Saudi Arabia, and passenger business unit director for SAR Saudi Railway. He previously spent more than 37 years with Translink in Northern Ireland, primarily in rail and bus operations, eventually becoming head of rail service operations. New tyres for RPSI’s go anywhere ‘Jeep’ LMS-NCC ‘WT’2-6-4T No. 4 returned to the RPSI’s Whitehead base on December 30, having worked the northbound‘Mince Pie Special’from Dublin. No. 4 will remain in County Antrim for the next few months while it awaits the fitting of new tyres, which are being shipped from South Africa. GNR(I)‘V’No. 85…

• PHASE one of the Vale of Rheidol Railway’s major redevelopment of Aberystwyth station is due to be complete for the start of the season on February 16. Track in the station area has been remodelled, a new accessible platform, toilet facilities and an interim booking office have been constructed. Edging slabs for the new platform were recovered from the Carmarthen bay platform. • MODEL steam loco manufacturer Accucraft has donated a 45mm-gauge 7/8 in/ft scale model Bagnall 0-4-0ST to Amberley Museum to boost the boiler repair fund of Bagnall 0-4-0ST Peter. The £1,200 model, adapted to the appearance of Peter with a specially applied crimson lake livery, will be sold by sealed bid auction. Bids must be received at Amberley by mid-day February 25. See…

MOSELEY Railway Trust (MRT) completed restoration of Motor Rail & Tramcar Company Ltd 1320/1918 to enable it to make its public debut in its centenary year. The loco hauled the last Apedale Valley Light Railway train of 2018 on December 29. It was built as a 40hp Protected Simplex for the War Department, but was not completed until September 1918, and sold (probably unused) to a Hertfordshire gravel quarry. During industrial service a Dorman 4DWD diesel replaced the original petrol engine and the bodywork was significantly altered. Extensive Restoration was assisted by an Arts Council England PRISM (Preservation of Industrial and Scientific Material) grant worth more than £13,000. Rebuilding the bodywork, to the altered gravel industry form, was so extensive only framing and fittings were capable of re-use. Overhauling the…

THE Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway (WLLR) is planning around a loco shortage for the first half of 2019 following early withdrawal of Beyer, Peacock 0-6-0T The Earl . The overhaul of S F Belge 0-8-0T (ex-No. 699.01) No. 10 Sir Drefaldwyn had been expected to be complete prior to expiry of The Earl’s boiler certificate. However, work on Sir Drefaldwyn has become significantly delayed ( RM Sept 2018) and The Earl has now encountered a problem. WLLR will open the season with Beyer, Peacock 0-6-0T Countess, Kerr, Stuart 0-6-2T Joan, and back-up diesel Diema No. 17…

WELLAND Valley Vintage Traction Club (WVVTC) of Market Harborough is undertaking a full cosmetic restoration of 3ft-gauge Manning, Wardle 0-6-0ST 1675/1906 Kettering Furnaces No. 8 . The project will be undertaken by volunteers and is expected to take two years. It will cost more than £5,000. The dismantled components of the loco, which last ran in the early-1960s, have been stored by WVVTC for 30 years on behalf of Kettering Borough Council. The restoration project follows the transfer of its ownership to WVVTC. The estimated £50,000 cost of restoring No. 8 to steam precludes any plans for future operation.…

ONE of Britain’s earliest railway stations now features significantly improved facilities for passengers after a lengthy upgrade costing £18.95million. Newton-le-Willows has received a new main entrance and ticket office on the south side of the line and other improvements, including a new subway, stairs, lifts, toilets and waiting facilities, plus expanded 400-space car park, cycle parking and a new bus interchange. The station dates from the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1830. The station area has been  redesigned to create a strategic transport hub linking local transport to train services, providing connections across the north of England. The improvements were funded by the Government’s Local Growth Fund, Liverpool City Region and Merseytravel. It opened to the public on January 13. A spokesman for Network Rail described the…

STRUCTURAL steelwork for the large new passenger concourse is now being erected at Glasgow’s Queen Street station. Network Rail completed the installation of the West truss in late-December – the first major piece of the steel structure that will support the new entrance on Dundas Street. Spanning 74m and weighing 70 tonnes, the structure had to be installed in three stages. The steelwork was manufactured in Scotland by J&D Pierce Ltd, based in Glengarnock, North Ayrshire. A 750-tonne crane was used to lift and lower each section into position. The sections were then secured to steel columns using 2,300 bolts. Installation of the steel support structure will continue until the summer and will eventually wrap around the arched train shed, providing extra space to extend platforms. The redevelopment of Glasgow…

LNR extends its advance fare offer LONDON Northwestern Railway passengers on the Birmingham to Euston route can now buy discounted advance purchase tickets up to one hour before departure. Previously, advance purchase tickets were only available up to two hours before a service was due to depart. Tickets are available online, via the London Northwestern Railway App, and at station ticket offices. c2c caters for festive travellers MORE than 500 evening trains to and from London Fenchurch Street were lengthened from four to eight cars in the days leading up to Christmas as c2c sought to provide extra capacity for revellers and shoppers. Almost 10,000 extra seats were provided on weekday evening trains that were expected to be much busier than usual. Cumbrian track upgrades AROUND £3million has been spent…