Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i The Railway Magazine

AT A time when international travel is so heavily restricted, it seems utterly bizarre that the UK Government, which has supported the airline industry through loans, tax deferrals and £1.8 billion of Covid corporate financing, has ignored Eurostar. The 55% French-owned operation is said to be close to financial failure. Since 1994 Eurostar has provided the perfect city centre to city centre alternative to flying – more so as travellers have realigned their travel habits from the unsustainable high level of emissions from aircraft. The St Pancras terminal is far more user-friendly than any airport too. Furthermore, Eurostar services to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam offer a genuine alternative for passengers wanting to reduce their carbon footprint. With news of new sleeper train connections to other European cities poised to begin…

Freightliner in rail trials with Kraft Heinz FOOD conglomerate Kraft Heinz has run atrial train with Freightliner to move foodstuffs from Elst in the Netherlands to the Kraft Heinz National Distribution Centre at Wigan. The project has also involved the Innovate UKsponsored Liverpool-Humber Optimisation of Freight Transport (LHOFT) project, the University of Hull, Oxford Rail Strategies and Network Rail, who worked together to develop an intermodal rail freight solution to move food products. This led to the test train to evaluate the feasibility of delivering Kraft Heinz products by rail. The trial, operated overnight, was considered a complete success and Kraft Heinz will now be considering whether to build on its findings. Emma Dempsey, chief commercial officer for G&W’s UK/Europe Region companies said: “As the largest operator of carbon neutral…

NETWORK Rail has voiced a growing concern over the dangerous activities which have been taking place at level crossings and found their way onto social media sites. In one incident at The Oaks level crossing, Bromley Cross, Bolton – and shared on the site TikTok – a black Volkwagen car was parked across one line and foul of another, with someone having set up a camera on a tripod; the driving putting themselves and rail users at risk. The second clip, captured by a Network Rail camera, shows two young women walking on to Tidemills level crossing near Seaford, Sussex, looking around before one lays on the boarded crossing as the other took several photographs her before the pair walked away. Network Rail said the Tidemills incident is the 17th…

BOMBARDIER has been selected to build a monorail for two lines in Egypt after the Government approved a £1.7bn export finance guarantee. It is the largest amount of financing UK Export Finance (UKEF) has ever provided for an overseas infrastructure project. The 70 four-car Innovia Monorail 300 trainsets for the monorail system will be built at Derby’s Litchurch Lane factory, directly supporting 100 UK jobs at the company and many more in the supply chain. Bombardier’s consortium was named preferred bidder for the project at the 2020 UK-Africa Investment Summit and, with UKEF’s guarantee, has secured the financing needed to fulfil the contract and start production. Bombardier can now invest in its manufacturing centre in Derby where the trains for the Egyptian monorails will be designed and built. This is…

WITH home schooling becoming one of the key aspects of the coronavirus, Network Rail has donated 8,000 refurbished laptops to schools as part of a recycling initiative which is being run by a team of volunteers. The idea to help pupils who are without a home laptop for remote learning during the national lockdown was proposed by Stephanie Hart who works in IT Services at Network Rail. She said: “I’ve been working on this idea in my spare time, so it is just fantastic to see pupils collecting their device. “We’re asking colleagues across Network Rail to nominate schools in need of laptops and we hope to help as many as we can.”…

FARES on all modes of transport operated by Transport for London will rise by an average of 2.6% on March 1, London Mayor Sadiq Khan has confirmed. They are the first rises since his election to the position in 2016. Mr Kahn’s office has confirmed bus and tram single fares will increase by 5p to £1.55 with the daily bus and tram cap raised to £4.65. The Bus & Tram Pass season price is increased to £21.90 for a seven day ticket. Tube fares in Zones 1-6 and other rail services in London where Tube fares apply, Pay As You Go (PAYG) fares will increase by 10p or 20p however, a number of fares, including PAYG fares for children, will remain unchanged. The impact of the pandemic has hit TfL…

Even as Her Majesty the Queen officially opened the new Borders Railway on September 9, 2015, there were still those who said it would be a white elephant, a complete waste of money and could well be closed within a year. How wrong they were proved to be. Taking just two years to build at a cost of £350 million, the 30 miles of relaid trackwork once again echoed to the sounds of trains, the Border communities it passed through connected once again by rail to Scotland’s capital Edinburgh. Just as the original Victorian railway opened-up the isolated towns and villages of southern Scotland, so the re-opened line has had the same effect. Tourist attractions and businesses all reported significant increased footfall. Passenger numbers have far exceeded expectations with 6.67…

Some readers might just remember the Del Shannon No. 4 ‘hit’ of early 1963 carrying the same name as this article, but ‘FLIRT’ has now been hi-jacked by Swiss train builder Stadler as an abbreviation for Flinker Leichter Intercity-und Regional-Treibzug. Presumably by design more than good fortune this already much-anglicised German title further translates into English as Fast Light Intercity and Regional Train, so retaining the same acronym. Surely a train which is both ‘InterCity’ (to use the original British Rail intermediate capital) and ‘Regional’ cannot truly satisfy either market perfectly and therefore barely qualifies as a concept let alone a class of train. However, Stadler has adapted the basic notion to achieve sales in 20 different countries from Russian-gauge Azerbaijan to the automobile-dominated United States. As the UK authorities…

HERE is a real treat for enthusiasts of the Isle of Wight’s railways from Railfilms. Up until the immediate post-Second World War era the island had a substantial 55-mile rail system that linked Ryde Pier to Ventnor, Newport, Cowes, Yarmouth, Freshwater and Bembridge. However, by the end of 1966 only the line from Ryde to Shanklin was left in operation. Paul Atterbury, a well known expert from the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, recounts the story of these lines and visits many parts of the original railway system. His love of the island’s vintage railways shines through in his excellent and informative commentary. There is plentiful monochome and colour archive film of the railway operations he describes. He also visits the Isle of Wight Steam Railway to reveal this superb five-mile long…

LAST month’s article on the Blue Pullman brought back quite a few memories. I was fortunate to be serving a fitting/ turning apprenticeship at Bristol Bath Road from 1963 to 1968. Occasionally we would have the opportunity to work with the fitters and electricians on Saturday mornings at Doctor Day’s, where the Blue Pullman was serviced and kept when not in use. We would also work on the hydraulic locos in service at the time, including the ‘Warships’, also fitted with the MAN engines. It was interesting to read that the Pullman engines had come from Germany and were considered to be more reliable than the ones built by NBL. One possible reason given was the use of lower grade steel in the NBL engines, I think this was probably…

THUMBING through the pages of The Railway Observer, for many years amongst the locomotive fleet changes, there have been frequent references to the happenings at the Brush Works at Loughborough including acredit to ‘our Brush correspondent’. While the RO column reported on the locomotives present it rarely betrayed much about the daily production challenges and politics associated with every large company. Even the history of the company itself is far from straightforward. Brush Traction, as a division of Brush Electrical Machines, changed to a company in its own right and weathered the demise of Hawker Siddeley to pass into BTR ownership, then FKI and Melrose. Such changes saw Brush Traction survive them whereas some other Brush companies did not. Now under Wabtec control, the name (Brush Traction) was retained, albeit…

THE LNWR George the Fifth Steam Locomotive Trust’s project to re-create one of Crewe’s long-lost Bowen-Cooke 4-4-0s – No. 2013 Prince George – took a big step forward at the end of last year with the cutting of the locomotive’s rear main frames. The work on the 23ft long plates was undertaken by TATA Steel of Wednesfield, and after profiling and painting they were delivered to the Trust’s Nottinghamshire base in mid-December. Here they join the front-end portion of the frames that the trust had cut back in 2014; the frame plates of the ‘George the Fifth’ frames were made in front and rear sections that overlapped between the cylinders and the motion plate. This was owing to the limited size of machine tools available at the LNWR’s Crewe Works.…

GREG Wilson’s Batt Holden Ltd has added a third ex-USATC ‘S160’ 2-8-0 to its stable with the arrival of No. 3278 Franklin D Roosevelt at the Churnet Valley Railway (CVR). Agreement The 1944-built ALCO loco was moved from Tyseley Locomotive Works to Froghall Junction on November 27, almost a year after an agreement had been reached for the loco to join the Batt Holden family. Its move to Staffordshire was delayed by the rebuilding of the Tyseley turntable and the coronavirus pandemic. No. 3278 had been undergoing overhaul at Tyseley and arrived on the CVR in a semi-dismantled state. The agreement with Batt Holden will see its overhaul completed at Cheddleton, after which it will join Batt Holden’s other operational ‘S160s’ – Nos. 5197 and 6046 - for the duration…

YORK’S National Railway Museum is to undertake a £500,000 refurbishment of its ‘Station Hall’ exhibition space this spring thanks to a grant from the Friends of the National Railway Museum. The charitable organisation, which supports the work of the NRM, has raised £300,000 from its members to redevelop and refresh Station Hall’s permanent exhibitions, which are housed inside the Grade II listed former York goods station building. Akey focus of the project will be the re-display of the royal carriage collection, which includes Queen Victoria’s original LNWR saloon of 1869. William addition The six vehicles will be marshalled into complete royal trains and matched with appropriate period locomotives. A new addition to the hall will be Class 47 No. 47798 Prince William; one of a select number of locomotives to…

SENTINEL 4wVBT Ann (7232/1927) is expected to steam at its East Lancashire Railway home during the spring following a rapid overhaul by its new owners. The former British Tar Products, Cadishead, locomotive only moved to Bury from its longtime home at Embsay in July of last year, and within a week was running on compressed air. Since then the owners have conducted a comprehensive overhaul including fitting a new cab floor and various platework repairs, a complete overhaul of all boiler fittings and pipework, plus the fitment of a brand new vacuum brake system and ejector allowing it to be used on passenger trains. The vertical boiler required a new firebox, but by a stroke of luck one of the owners was put in touch with someone who had a…

THE Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway has appointed James Brett as its new general manager. He will commence work on February 1, enabling a handover period with Charles Spencer who steps down on March 31 after six years in the job. Mr Brett was a unanimous appointment following a process which saw 42 job applications. For the last six years he has been facilities and infrastructure manager at Derbyshire's Crich Tramway Village, the brand name for the National Tramway Museum.…

WITH refurbished axleboxes in the horn guides, the wheelsets of ex-Eastwell Iron Ore Company 3ft gauge Hudswell, Clarke 0-4-0ST Lord Granby (633/1902) have been rolled into position under the frames, although the springing arrangement requires refurbishment before the loco is truly re-wheeled. The springs themselves are in good condition but associated components such as spring hangers and pins require attention. Livery solution Restoration of the locomotive is being undertaken by Eastwell History Group. Work completed includes refurbishing the frames, wheelsets, cab, coal bunkers, smokebox, tank and chimney. Examination of the boiler revealed significant work would be required, including replacement of the inner firebox. The bores of the cylinders were also found to be in poor condition. The decision has therefore been made that restoration will be restricted to conservation and…

THE Irish Steam Preservation Society (ISPS), which operates the 3ft gauge Stradbally Woodland Railway in Co. Laois, has launched a new SOS (Support Our Steam) appeal to ensure the railway can continue running after the Covid-19 crisis has abated. The society took the decision to close the railway last March as part of the Republic of Ireland’s nationwide measures to counteract the spread of the virus. As a consequence the line’s resident steam locomotive – ex-Bord na Móna Andrew Barclay 0-4-0WT No. 2 Róisín (2264/1949) – has not turned a wheel in almost a year, but the ISPS is still paying overheads without the income stream from the passenger operation. Money raised through the Support Our Steam appeal will help to ensure that the railway can reopen to the public…

NETWORK Rail, South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive and Stagecoach Supertram have launched the Tram Train Pilot Learning Hub to share their experience of designing, constructing and operating Britain’s first tram-train system. Tram-trains have been running between Sheffield Cathedral and Rotherham Parkgate via Rotherham Central for two years in a pilot scheme funded by the Department for Transport. The hub is an online resource available free of charge to help with future light and heavy rail hybrid schemes. It is owned and managed by Network Rail, and applications for access can be made by emailing tramtrainlearning@networkrail.co.uk.…

PREPARATORY works are underway on the Segro Logistics Park Northampton Gateway – a new strategic railfreight interchange (SRFI) close to the West Coast Main Line near Roade in Northamptonshire. The 450 acre multimodal logistics hub, located next to junction 15 of the M1, is designated as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project and will feature five million square feet of storage. The 35 acre facility will be connected to the WCML and built to handle up to 16 775 metre long intermodal trains per day. The site is expected to create around 7,500 jobs. Construction is expected to start later this year and infrastructure works should be completed by the end of 2023.…

NRM Class 47 for static display NATIONAL Collection Class 47 No. 47798 Prince William, a main-line registered loco in Royal claret livery, is to join the Royal carriages in a new display in the Station Hall, York. This is part of the hall’s refurbishment, to be undertaken between the spring and 2022. Island Line Class 483s preserved THE London Transport Traction Group (LTTG) has been allocated former Island Line LT 1938 Stock, Nos. 483006 and 438008 (RM Jan. p71) for preservation on the Epping Ongar Railway. Set No. 483007 is being donated to the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. Lavender Line ‘Thumper’ for overhaul at Cranmore CLASS 205 DEMU DMBS No. S60117 arrived at CTMS, the commercial arm of the East Somerset Railway, on December 2, for overhaul on behalf…

THE two Class 143 ‘Pacers’ destined for the Vale of Berkeley Railway project at Sharpness, Gloucestershire (RM Jan. p68), have gone into storage at the RSS yard, Wishaw. They will be sheeted over and engines started up and run every week. First to arrive was No. 143612 (DMS No. 55653 and DMSL 55678). The other, No. 143603 (DMS No. 55658 and DMSL No. 55689), was to join it later. Together with other off-lease GWR Class 143s, Nos. 143618 and 143617 plus Class 150207, it ran in convoy as 5D81 from Exeter depot to Bristol St Philip’s Marsh on December 30. Class 121 ‘Bubblecar’ No. W55025 ‘Pandora’, currently stored at Long Marston, is expected to be moved to Honeybourne airfield, Worcestershire for temporary storage, and then moved to the Sharpness site…

MONTHS of preparatory work came to fruition over the Christmas holidays and in late-January as two major projects to reduce congestion at the southern end of the East Coast Main Line (ECML) took major steps towards completion. Between January 16 and 24, an 11,000 tonne concrete box tunnel was pushed into place under the ECML at Werrington Junction, north of Peterborough. After the temporary removal of the three ECML Up and Down main lines above, the tunnel was pushed into position at a rate of 150cm per hour along pre-installed guiding supports and hydraulic jacks. Weighing more than the Eiffel Tower, the 155-metre long curved structure took nine months to construct alongside the railway. Limited service Network Rail chose this method of construction to avoid the need for alengthy closure…

GREATER Anglia and local stakeholders have agreed to fund the remodelling of March station in Cambridgeshire. An open-plan ticket hall and waiting area, accessible modern toilet facilities, retail outlets, and an upgraded and extended car park will be provided at the station as part of the £9.5 million Fenland Stations Regeneration Project. The project aims to improve passenger facilities at three Fenland stations – Manea, March and Whittlesea – on the Ely-Peterborough line. The preferred public design will go forward, following completion of the tender exercise, to detailed design and construction this spring with work expected to be complete by the end of 2021. GA has already installed new waiting shelters at Manea and Whittlesea, new cycle facilities at March and completed feasibility studies and designs for new car parks…

Bidders shortlisted for £2bn track and systems contracts HS2 has announced the shortlisted bidders for its track systems, switches and crossings, and tunnel and lineside mechanical and electrical (M&E) systems contracts. Worth more than £2billion, the contracts cover around 174 miles of high-speed track on Phases 1 and 2a of the new railway between Euston, Birmingham and Crewe. The winning bids are expected to be announced next year. Track systems contracts are split into four lots: London/ Birmingham Urban, valued at £434m; Open Route Central (£526m); Open Route North (£566m) and Phase 2a (£431m). Balfour Beatty Group, ETF SAS, TSO SAS (BBVT Joint Venture), Ferrovial Construction and BAM Nuttall (Ferrovial-BAM Joint Venture), Colas Rail have been shortlisted for all four lots, with STRABAG AG UK/Rhomberg Sersa UK also invited to…

MORE than 460km of 2ft 6in (762mm) narrow gauge lines as well as nearly 70km of 1676mm broad gauge secondary routes in the Indian state of Gujarat are scheduled for closure. Proposals made in October by Indian Railways to close 11 sections of line were approved in the middle of December. The decisions have been made as the lines are ‘uneconomic’, although in some cases they provide the only possible means of public transport for rural towns and villages. While the closure decision has been made, no date has been set to actually suspend services and some of the lines are still operating; some already had services suspended. In many cases there has been opposition from local people with retention of at least some of the lines suggested as potential…

AS WE enter 2021, with no sign of the coronavirus subsiding and with movement and travel restricted due to further lockdowns, the future of heritage railways and museums is a growing concern. In this third and more stringent lockdown than before, all heritage lines are closed – and many would have been over the winter, even without the pandemic. But that doesn’t lessen the bills they face – council tax, utilities, insurance, infrastructure maintenance and loan repayments – all of which need to be paid. Grants to railways, and not all railways qualify, have been unequal depending whether that railway is in Wales or England. Welsh grants were a maximum of £150,000 but some English lines have received more that 10 times that. With so many interruptions to heritage operations,…

NEW guidelines aimed at improving the design and safety of level crossings have been welcomed by the rail industry, traffic authorities and local authorities. Published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) on January 20, the draft Principles for Managing Level Crossing Safety Proposals are designed to prioritise risk assessments at level crossings and provide practical advice on how to recognise and manage risks that affect the safety of users. The ORR aims to give the industry greater confidence in putting forward groundbreaking designs to reduce risks by focusing guidance on the need to consider how level crossings are used by the railway, highway and pedestrians. The principles also highlight the importance of collaboration to remove and manage risk and how cost-benefit analysis can be used in decision making.…

SUGGESTIONS the Government may scrap the eastern leg of HS2 via Toton and Sheffield to Leeds appear to have been laid to rest after Andrew Stephenson, the HS2 minister at the Department for Transport, published new safeguarding directions for phase 2b on January 21. Mr Stephenson said the final design of the HS2 Phase 2b Eastern Leg will be determined by the government’s integrated rail plan, which it aims to publish early this year. In addition, the latest safeguarding update includes a site east of Leeds required by the HS2 which would support the potential integration between HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail. He added:“The developer of the site has been made aware of the safeguarding directions prior to their publication as has the local planning authority, Leeds City Council. “By…

Great Central Railway – Sheffield Main Line Services (From The MS&LR Period To British Railways) By Bob Pixton BOB Pixton has produced a substantial volume of photographs, maps, charts and timetables that vividly illustrate the huge variety of activity on the railways in the Sheffield area between roughly the Edwardian period and the steam era of British Railways. This valuable illustrated history interprets the title quite broadly to extend out from Sheffield as far as Godley and Mottram in the west and Retford in the east. Major themes are the huge amounts of coal traffic and the significant east to west passenger services via Penistone. The author has striven to include steam era photographs and to cover the pre-electrification MSW system. These fascinating images are all monochrome and each one…

Panorama is brought to you in association with Porterbrook – delivering a safe, reliable and sustainable railway www.porterbrook.co.uk…

CORNWALL’S Bodmin & Wenford Railway has launched a new fundraising appeal to help complete the overhaul of its ‘4575’ Small Prairie No. 5552 after almost a decade out of traffic. The 2-6-2T is regarded as the railway’s flagship locomotive, having first arrived on the line as a Barry hulk in 1986. It entered service upon the completion of its restoration in 2003, and ran through to the end of 2012 when it was withdrawn for its first 10-yearly overhaul. The project is due for completion later this year, but the railway’s decision not to run any trains during 2020 as a result of the coronavirus has led to a deficiency in funds to finance the work. At the time of writing the boiler overhaul was nearing completion while the rolling…

THE 6880 Betton Grange Society says it needs just £80,000 in order to complete the construction of its Collett ‘Grange’ 4-6-0 re-creation, No. 6880 Betton Grange. Last year’s closure of Tyseley Locomotive Works (TLW) during the first lockdown, and the subsequent restrictions surrounding the use of volunteers on site, hampered progress on the locomotive. However, the society has since commissioned TLW to complete the outstanding work on the loco, and set a target date for its first public steaming during this coming September. Rebuilding of No. 6880’s Standard No. 1 boiler (ex-No. 7927 Willington Hall) was completed last November, and both it and the smokebox are now in situ, but work is still needed to complete the superheater header and fit the main steam pipes. The boiler cladding sheets were…

HUNSLET ‘Austerity’ 0-6-0ST Whiston (3694/1950) has been withdrawn at the Foxfield Railway pending a full overhaul. On December 31 the loco, which has been a stalwart of the Staffordshire line’s services, became the last loco to operate at Foxfield during 2020 as it undertook permanent way duties ahead of planned track work during the coming months. The same day signalled the end (for now at least) of another Foxfield favourite – Dubs 0-4-0CT No. 4101 of 1901 – which had also reached the end of its boiler certificate. Despite not being used on passenger trains, the Dubs has been a star performer at the railway’s gala events, being currently the only operational crane tank in the UK. In ticket The two withdrawals leave Hunslet‘Austerity’ No. 7 Wimblebury and Beyer, Peacock…

BAGNALL 0-4-2T Isaac was due to leave the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway (L&BR) in January on expiry of its contracted hire period, however, departure was postponed as England went into a new lockdown. Isaac was purchased in 2007 and restored for use at L&BR, where it entered service hauling Christmas trains in December 2013. Its owner, Tim Wilkinson, opted not to renew the contract following disagreements with L&BR management relating to work undertaken in recent years and the use of the loco. Isaac, which is now on the market, will be taken to Statfold Barn Railway and displayed pending sale. Anyone interested in purchasing Isaac can contact The RM which will forward details to the party handling the sale. As things stand L&BR steam in 2021 will be provided by…

THE Ffestiniog Railway Society has launched a £60,000 appeal to finance overhauling Hunslet 2-4-0STT Linda. The boiler certificate of the former Penrhyn loco expires shortly and the loco will be employed on works trains until March 27. The objective is to return Linda to service in time to mark the 60th anniversary of its arrival in 1962 at the Ffestiniog. The overhaul is not expected to be straightforward as Linda’s boiler dates from 1936, the oldest in the fleet, and is likely to require considerable work. The chassis requires re-riveting in places, the saddle tank, extensively repaired 25 years ago, needs close examination and the tender structure requires extensive replacement metalwork.…

THE Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway is progressing its ‘Project Sittingbourne’ programme of improvements to Sittingbourne Viaduct station. With almost £10,000 already invested in new palisade fencing between the station site and the skatepark/former mill, additional security measures are being installed to prevent further vandalism and improve the visitor experience. The project, aided by a £26,500 Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage grant, will provide a second station entrance with disabled access (the existing entry involves a 23-step steel stairway) and proper toilet and hand wash facilities at the station. The developments must be completed by the end of March.…

A TRAIN, albeit 3ft gauge, has run through Maam Cross station for the first time since 1935 as the Connemara Railway Project’s revival of the Clifden-Galway branch continues. The privately-owned ex-Bord na Móna Deutz 0-4-0DM No. LM194 and two four-wheel carriages (a Brake Third and a Composite First Third) have been brought to Maam Cross to run on a temporary ‘pop-up’ narrow gauge line that will be used to promote the group’s aims of returning standard gauge steam (5ft 3in) to this part of Connemara. The plan is for the railway to run during a high-profile media event planned for after the coronavirus crisis passes, which will hopefully feature a visiting steam locomotive. The pop-up railway will be removed after the media event and the current stretch of 5ft 3in…

A NUMBER of privately-owned Blackpool trams stored at Blackpool Transport (BT) Rigby Road depot are to be rehomed after their owners received notice to remove the vehicles by the spring. BT notified the affected individuals and groups during the autumn, requesting the trams in question leave by March 31. Essential redevelopments in order to “re-purpose” the depot for the future of both buses and heritage trams has been cited as reason behind the decision, which could potentially see around 10 trams relocated. The move has been seen as controversial in some quarters, being likened to the mass sell-off of heritage trams following the closure of the ‘traditional’ Blackpool tramway 10 years ago. While such comparisons are somewhat exaggerated, the evictions will result in some trams leaving Blackpool for the second…

HS2 buys French steel RICHMOND Park MP Sarah Olney asked the DfT (Department for Transport) to ensure that HS2 contracts go to UK companies after a 9,000 tonne contract award to supply steel plate for bridges was won by French company Eiffage. Transport Minister Chris Heaton-Harris said:“The Government’s guidance on the procurement of steel was updated in December 2016. “All major government projects are required to take cognisance of the Crown Commercial Service Procurement Policy Note 11/16: Procuring Steel in Major Projects – Revised Guidance. “HS2 Ltd is governed by the Utility Contract Regulations and ensures a fair procurement process which complies with the UK procurement law and the Government policy on the procurement of steel. “I can confirm that the UK steel industry is already delivering for HS2 including…

Call: 01507 529589 email: railway@mortons.co.uk Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM. EAST Midlands Gateway railfreight interchange now has a regular link to the Port of Liverpool following the introduction of a new intermodal train by GB Railfreight. The trains run five times per week on behalf of long-time GBRf customer Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), removing 20,000 lorry journeys per year from the road network. The service is GBRf’s 21st intermodal route, with container traffic between ports and inland terminals continuing to dominate the company’s portfolio.…

THE Aln Valley took delivery of a pair of ‘Pacer’ units in mid-December. On the 14th, the two cars of No. 144004 (DMS No. 55804 and DMSL No. 55827) were delivered to Lionheart station. Tested the same day, they were also noted running under their own power the following day. DMSL No. 55839 and MS No. 55852 from three-car set No. 144016 arrived on the 15th. Two low-loaders and a support van had taken less than three hours to drive north from the Wensleydale Railway, where the DMUs had been stored temporarily. DMS No. 55816 from set No. 144016 was expected to be delivered the next day.…

THREE-CAR Class 503 (AM3), a 1938 LMS EMU for Mersey/Wirral lines, is currently stored in the One:One Collection building at Margate – a temporary arrangement following closure of the Electric Railway Museum. Owned by Heritage Electric Trains Trust (HETT), along with Southern 4-SUB set No. 4732, it is moving to Hope Farm, Sellindge, along with ‘spare’ 4-EPB TSO No. S15354 from set No. 5176. This is a donor vehicle for the 4-SUB set. These four cars join several other historic EMUs in Kent and will be sheeted over. Before the move can happen, an extra track and a point needs to be laid at Sellindge, for which earthworks are underway. Because a restoration and finance plan is in place, the Class 405, 4-SUB will remain at Margate having been accepted…

Millions spent on St Ives track replacement MORE than £3 million is being spent to renew track on the St Erth-St Ives branch in west Cornwall this winter – the biggest investment in the area since the 1950s. Around 1.5 miles of life-expired track, 3,600 new sleepers and more than 400 tonnes of ballast is being replaced between Carbis Bay and St Ives, with work expected to be complete by February 8. Manea bridge repairs complete EMERGENCY repairs were completed to 57 pairs of wheel timbers on two bridges near Manea, on the Ely-Peterborough line, in December. The repairs were brought forward after 53 pairs of timbers were found to need urgent replacement during an inspection late last year. In addition to replacing more timbers than planned, 2,000 metres of…

NETWORK Rail took advantage of the Christmas and New Year holidays and the enforced lull in passenger traffic to undertake engineering work at hundreds of locations in late-December and early-January. On the West Coast Main Line (WCML), the latest phase of resignalling work took place at Birmingham New Street, overhead line equipment (OLE) renewals were carried out near Watford, Liverpool and Crewe and track upgrades were undertaken at Euston, Preston and Ardwick in Manchester, as well at Aylesbury on the Chiltern lines. South of the River Thames, track, switches and crossings were replaced and vegetation cleared at Nine Elms between Clapham Junction and Waterloo (see separate story), bridges strengthened on the Worting Jct-Salisbury line near Andover and at Portcreek Jct near Portsmouth. Further switch and crossing replacements took place at…

THE National Transport Trust’s latest Red Wheel plaque was unveiled at Burntisland in Fife on December 16. NTT vice-president John Cameron revealed the plaque to commemorate the train ferry that plied the Firth of Forth between Burntisland and Granton from 1850 until the opening of the Forth Rail Bridge in 1890. Designed by Sir Thomas Bouch, the ‘floating railway’ was the world’s first seagoing train ferry and reduced the Edinburgh-Dundee transit time from three days to just four hours, carrying 29,000 wagons in its first six months.…

LANDLOCKED Afghanistan now has new rail connections to two of its neighbours as lines have opened in recent weeks. On December 10 the first railway linking Iran with Afghanistan opened. The line from Khawf, Iran to Rozanak, Afghanistan is built to standard gauge and an extension to the western Afghan city of Herat is under construction. On January 14, a 24km 1520mm-gauge line opened between the town of Aqina, on the Afghan border with Turkmenistan, and the northern Afghan town of Andkhoy. Another link between the Turkmenistani network and Afghanistan is planned as 173km 1520mm gauge line from Towrgondi on the border to Herat is also planned. The cross-border section to Towrgondi dates from the 1960s. A line from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan already existed with the first 16km built by…

A SERIES of reports has highlighted a lack of resilience through the ‘Castlefield Corridor’. It follows a significant fall in the punctuality and performance of services through Manchester from May 2018, after an ambitious new timetable was introduced to make full use of the new Ordsall Chord. As a result, the Department for Transport has launched a new consultation providing three options on how performance on the rail network in and around Manchester can be improved. It was noticeable during the first Covid-19 lockdown, when fewer trains ran, that the reduction in services through the corridor resulted in a marked improvement in service performance, underlining the issues raised by the reports and making a strong case to change the May 2018 train service plan. The decision to opt for a…

A PROPOSAL by Highways England to demolish more than 100 structures on disused railways which could potentially hamper future railway reopenings has been condemned. When the British Railways Board was wound up in 2013, responsibility for nonoperational railway land was transferred to the Highways Agency, part of DfT. Now renamed Highways England (HE), the plan is to demolish 134 structures to reduce or eliminate the risks they present. In addition, some cuttings are being infilled. One campaigner likened the action as “finishing off what Beeching started”. Leading the fight against the agency is the HRE Group, an alliance of walking, cycling and heritage campaigners and greenway developers who see the Historical Railways Estate as a future transport asset. Of the 134 structures under threat, their analysis was 40 had no…

THE Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has launched an enquiry into a ‘near miss’ between a South Western Railway train and a Network Rail mobile operations manager (MOM) on December 19. While retrieving a bag from the track at Rowlands Castle station in Hampshire, the MOM came one second from being struck by the train passing through the station at 60mph. Initial investigations suggest he was not aware of the train approaching as he had contacted the wrong signalbox to check.…

Our colleagues over at Mortons Books have given us three copies of their brand new book, The Steam Engines of World War II In Europe (worth £40 each), and they must be won by The Railway Magazine readers! Follow author Philip Horton’s pursuit of these fantastic steam engines during the Second World War when they were still at work and into preservation. For your chance to win, all you have to do is go to www.railwaymagazine.co.uk and enter on the competition page. ■ There are no cash alternatives available. The winners will be the first names drawn at random. Terms and conditions apply. Closing date is March 7, 2021. To view the privacy policy of MMG Ltd (publisher of The Railway Magazine) please visit www.mortons.co.uk/privacy…

THESE DVDs cover the story of Great British Named Trains and Expresses through evocative period postcards (frequently artist’s illustrations) – complemented by photographs, rare monochrome and colour archive film and an informative commentary. These two intriguing programmes focus on the producer’s own substantial private postcard collection of railway images to tell the story of these famous trains right through to the modern era. Because of early technical limitations in cameras and the limited number of serious photographers who tackled railway subjects, these superb postcards reveal in colour trains that were rarely recorded even in monochrome. All too often we think of the pre-Second World War era in ‘black and white’. These postcards reveal in full colour the glory of the pre- and post-1923 Grouping liveries: Highly-evocative images that capture a…

Possible re-use for Moorswater line I WAS interested to see in the latest edition the final train of china clay wagons leaving the Moorswater (Liskeard) depot in Cornwall. I am a former district councillor for that area, and a few years ago considerable effort was put into proposing this short rail link to Moorswater from the existing Liskeard to Looe branch line. Even the railway authorities were receptive to the proposal, and provided a possible timetable to fit into the existing timetable. Roads towards the ever popular fishing port at Looe are simply a nightmare and parking difficult and expensive. Using the ‘china clay line’ to Moorswater with a car park on existing railway land alongside the tracks seemed to make sense, especially being so close to the main A38…

100 YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 1921 Railway Statistics THE 10th issue of Railway Statistics now published shows that during the month of September last, the number of passengers (exclusive of season-ticket holders) conveyed by the railways in Great Britain was 127,180,216, or 7.2% more than in the corresponding period of 1919. The number of workmen carried was 35,726,852 or 28.09% of the total. Freight traffic carried during the four weeks ended October 10 amounted to 27,006,843 tons, an increase of 266,931 tons, or 1% compared with the preceding four weeks. As regards rolling-stock, the number of new locomotives put into traffic during the past year to October 10, was 321, against which must be set 229 locomotives condemned. 50 YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 1971 Pendennis Castle steamed PRESERVED GWR 4-6-0…

THE North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) has closed its emergency Covid-19 ‘crisis appeal’ after raising more than £440,000 through public donations. The resilience appeal was set up at the beginning of the first national lockdown last spring to raise vital funds to help offset the loss of income. Thanks to considerable public exposure online and in the media, and undoubtedly helped by the NYMR’s ‘celebrity’ status as ‘Yorkshire’s Steam Railway’, the donations rolled in. ‘Generosity’ “The generosity of our members and the local community has been staggering; raising an incredible amount which will help get us back on our feet,” said NYMR general manager Chris Price. “From the whole team at the railway, thank you! We’ve had phenomenal support, and this funding has enabled us to retain our people and…

Aln Valley line lifts operating ban ALNWICK’S Aln Valley Railway has lifted a self-imposed operating ban after being given the green light from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). The ban, which was implemented by the AVR’s operations manager, was put in place to allow the railway to address certain ORR concerns over its safety management and record keeping systems. On December 18 the ORR, having reviewed progress, cleared the railway for a return to operation. SVR completes Falling Sands repairs CONTRACTORS completed the £1.25 million restoration of the Severn Valley Railway’s Falling Sands Viaduct on December 14. Among the final tasks was the installation of four capping stones at the Bewdley end of the structure, which had been salvaged from a Liverpool & Manchester Railway bridge close to…

■ THE Isle of Man’s Groudle Glen Railway is celebrating this year’s 125th anniversary of the line by rejuvenating its Lhen Coan terminus station. The first stage of the ‘Lhen Coan 125’ project saw the platform paving replaced in time for Christmas operations. Further developments involve replacing all station trackwork and points with new heavier rail and plastic sleepers, a new shop and booking office and a new waiting room. ■ A 10-year overhaul of National Trust-owned Hunslet 0-4-0ST Hugh Napier has been completed by the Ffestiniog Railway. The ex-Penrhyn quarry Hunslet returned to steam on December 3 and following valve gear adjustments undertook further test runs on December 12 hauling an African DZ wagon full of wet ash to provide a suitable load. ■ ALFORD Valley Community Railway has…

THE New Glyn Valley Tramway & Industrial Heritage Trust has acquired Ruston & Hornsby (LBT 371932/1954) from a now-closed museum in Holland. The loco and three wagons were delivered without publicity to the trust’s base at the old Glyn Valley Tramway loco shed in Glyn Ceiriog during September 2020. Negotiations to secure the loco were undertaken in 2019 but coronavirus delayed delivery. This is the first locomotive to be owned by the trust. The intention is to lay track in the shed yard and operate the loco in a demonstration mode. Aspirational drawings have been prepared for track layouts at both Glyn Ceiriog and the ‘Coal Yard’, a separate location in Glyn Ceiriog also owned by the trust.…

■ BILL Parker’s Manning Wardle 0-6-2T Chevallier left Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway (WLLR) on December 21 and was taken to his Flour Mill works in the Forest of Dean. Chevallier last appeared in public during WLLR’s 2016 gala, subsequently remaining stored other than a couple of test runs following work undertaken by Flour Mill staff. It went out of ticket in April 2020 and had not been expected to remain at WLLR (RM, February 2020). ■ THE Richmond Light Railway has completely overhauled Lister Type R Rail Truck 40407/1954. Purchased last year from 15in gauge Perrygrove Railway where it had resided since 2011 and was known as Pylon, the initial intention had been straightforward re-gauging to 2ft. However, the project escalated with work undertaken involving new wheels and axles,…

TRANSPORT for London is undertaking a £1 million study, funded by external partners, into an extension of the Docklands Light Railway to Beckton Riverside and Thamesmead. The work will help define route options, environmental impacts and transport benefits of the potential extension. TfL says providing new public transport options would support the development of more than 25,000 new homes along the route, as well as improving connectivity across the river. The scheme was included in the transport body’s submission to the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review as one that could support new housing and jobs where they are needed to regenerate London and the wider UK economy. The study is being funded by the London Borough of Newham, the Royal Borough of Greenwich and developers Thamesmead Waterfront, Aberdeen Standard Investments and…

OF THE many statistics being used to highlight the impact of the coronavirus on our heritage attractions, the recorded annual mileages of the Beamish Museum tram fleet for 2020 are among the most telling. Like many attractions, the County Durham open-air museum closed its doors for four months during the first national lockdown and did not reopen them until late July, albeit with restricted capacity. It closed again during the second English lockdown in November, but subsequent Tier 3 restrictions resulted in it only reopening the grounds during December, with no trams in operation. Comparison The annual tram mileages therefore truly reflect the small window of operation the fleet saw during the year, especially when compared to the previous year. Ex-Sheffield Corporation double-deck balcony car No. 264 regained its crown…

IMPROVED schedules and longer trains are helping freight operators to improve performance and efficiency during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the second quarter of 2020-21 saw volumes at their lowest since the current records began 23 years ago. Office of Rail and Road (ORR) statistics for Q22020-21 recorded an 8% year-on-year decline in freight lifted, to just 17.3 million tonnes. Coal traffic collapsed by 46.2% in the same period and now makes up only 1% of the overall total (0.04 billion net tonne kilometres), while other freight sectors dropped by 9% to their lowest point since 2012-13. Decline All commodities saw a decline over the same period in 2019-20, with international traffic down by 30.2%, oil and petroleum 21.6% lower and construction down by 9.3%. Domestic intermodal tonnages were down by…

TWO Class 117 DMUs were moved from one railway to another in November. DMBS No. 51352 and DMS No. 51376 have been acquired by the South Devon Railway from storage at Long Marston. They were owned at one time by the Territorial Army for training purposes and ran on the West Somerset Railway before moving to Long Marston in 2007. Also in November, the Colne Valley Railway received Class 117 DMBS No. 51339 and DMS No. 51382 from the East Lancashire Railway. In December, the Dean Forest Railway took delivery of Class 108 DMSL No. 50632 and DMCL No. 52044 from the Pontypool & Blaenavon Railway. No. 50632 was seen leaving St Philip’s Marsh depot, Bristol by road on December 23 having visited the wheel lathe.…

GREATER Anglia is redeveloping Ilford depot in north-east London to accommodate its new Bombardier Class 720 ‘Aventra’ EMUs. New high-level walkways are being installed to give better access to roof-mounted equipment on the ‘720s’, as well as upgraded maintenance facilities for controlled emission toilets (CET). Also planned for completion in 2021 is a new storage shed, stabling sidings and an upgraded carriage wash. The ‘720s’ will be the fifth generation of EMUs allocated to Ilford since it was opened by the LNER in the 1940s, following in the footsteps of the original Class 306s, 1950s/60s Class 305-308s, 1970s Class 315s and 1980s/90s Class 317/321 units. GA has also opened a new £1.2 million carriage washer for its Class 745/755 ‘FLIRT’ trains at Crown Point depot in Norwich and has added…

AN EXTENDED footbridge and new platform have opened at Wellingborough as part of the Midland Main Line upgrade. The reinstated fourth track between Bedford and Kettering was also brought into use on December 20, completing work to electrify and modernise this section of route for the new St Pancras-Corby electric service due to start in May. Platforms 1-3 have also been extended and improved to reduce stepping distance between platform and trains. The station canopies have been refurbished too, with financial assistance from the Railway Heritage Trust. Gary Walsh, route director for Network Rail’s East Midlands Route, said: “This is a really exciting time. “We’re now working with our colleagues at East Midlands Railway to support driver training and the introduction of electric powered trains on the route, as well…

ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners led by TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham have launched another petition calling for work on HS2 to cease. Despite the High Court rejecting an earlier attempt to stop construction of the new railway in April 2020, the signatories to the new challenge cite many of the same reasons to halt construction. However, Mr Packham said: “The world has changed dramatically since MPs voted on HS2 back in 2016. “HS2 takes us further away from achieving net zero by 2050, it destroys a vast swathe of irreplaceable wildlife habitats and squanders a colossal amount of taxpayers’ money on a business case that was bankrupt even before Covid-19.” ‘Wasteful’ – claim The campaigners are demanding that existing HS2 legislation should be repealed and construction halted, claiming that costs could…