Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2022 i The Railway Magazine

July 1897: Issue 1 WE called at Paddington to interview Mr Joseph Wilkinson, general manager of the Great Western Railway. After explaining the purpose of our visit, Mr Wilkinson wished to know why we had chosen the GWR for the first of the series of Railway Magazine interviews. We explained that, as the GWR was widely known as the Royal Railway, we could not do better in this Diamond Jubilee Year [of Queen Victoria] than commence at Paddington. Upon hearing this explanation, Mr Wilkinson’s face lit up with a genial smile, and he replied: “Well, it so happens that I now have a gentleman waiting to see me for the purpose of arranging the running of the Royal Train, by which the Queen will travel from Windsor to Paddington on…

“TO anyone who has even a superficial knowledge of English railways, it is scarcely a matter for surprise that continual additions are being made to them,” wrote Bertram Fletcher-Robinson. His article for the very first Railway Magazine in July 1897 drew attention to what he called the “senseless opposition” to new railways and “the errors of landowners in our fathers’ and grandfathers’ time” which had made modern additions necessary. But while Mr Fletcher-Robinson, a respected author who counted literary contemporaries Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and P G Wodehouse among his friends, said this meant the majority of new railways were being built for “the shortening of circuitous routes and the opening-up of populous districts often carefully avoided by the main line”, he explained the decision by the Manchester, Sheffield and…

A kindly soldier MY dad worked most of his life in Swindon Works and, although I was not all that interested in railways then, I was occasionally to be found at Swindon station jotting down numbers in my notebook. One day, a young soldier on his way back to duty asked me what I did with the numbers. Seeing that I had no idea what he was talking about, he went off and came back from the WHSmith kiosk with an Ian Allan ABC (Western Region) 1958 edition, which he presented to me. It cost two shillings and sixpence, which must have been a fortune for him in those days. I wish I still had the book – but what I do have, thanks to his generosity, is a life-long…

FROM the magazine’s very first edition and throughout its history, an essential element to its success has been advertising content. Businesses of all sizes, selling a huge variety of goods or promoting a massive range of events have known that perhaps the most effective way to communicate with their ideal audience is advertising. Some firms have been with us for many of those years, some we’ve welcomed aboards more recently, but all know it’s a great way to speak to you, our reader. Here just a few help us celebrate in this special anniversary edition of TRM.…

SIXTY years ago, The Railway Observer recorded the details of the last summer of through services using the Somerset & Dorset line to join the North and Midlands to the South Coast at Bournemouth. Having come under Western Region control in 1958, it soon became apparent that the line was likely to be run down, and the ending of through services was a major step in that process. For most of the year, the route was served only by the ‘Pines Express’ running through from Manchester to Bournemouth West, but the summer Saturday timetable provided numerous other inter-regional trains. The change from the Midland Region being responsible for the motive power to the Western saw little happen in the first couple of years, with a number of BR Standards of…

DESPITE all good intentions, the refurbished Poole Park Railway is not ready to open – although works trains have been run. On June 3, Coun Mark Anderson, portfolio holder for Environment and Place at BCP (Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council) said: “Good progress continues to be made and our contractors have completed works to both the engine shed and tracks. Works to improve the fencing, update various elements at the station and some minor groundworks are underway. “We were recently informed that there will be a delay in us taking delivery of the fully electric engine, which is disappointing, but reflects the national picture in sourcing bespoke machinery. In light of this, we are already making enquiries to source a temporary loco which will allow us to open as expected…

WORK to lay foundations that will pave the way for the electrification of the Fife Circle is getting underway. In the first phase of a project which will cost £55m, Network Rail will begin to pile the foundations for the masts to carry the overhead wires between Haymarket and Dalmeny, just south of the Forth Bridge. The aim is to have 25 Single Track Kilometres (STKs) electrified by December 2024 as part of Scotland’s aim to decarbonise its network by 2035. Further phases of work will see the partial electrification of lines in Fife totalling a further 104 STKs, with the aim of introducing battery electric multiple units to replace life-expired DMUs which will be phased out. Partial electrification provides a reduction in infrastructure and associated capital expenditure costs but…

IARNRÓD Éireann’s submission to the National Transport Authority’s consultation on the Draft Limerick Shannon Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy that closed on June 10 sets out timelines on several projects it could deliver, if funded by Government to support the strategy. The consultation outlined four options for expanding commuter rail in the Greater Limerick/Shannon area which include new stations on the Limerick-to-Limerick Junction, Limerick to Ballybrophy and Limerick to Ennis lines. It also features the reopening of disused Limerick to Foynes line mothballed in 2001 and the Cement factory branch to Mungret mothballed in 2007 for passenger services, as well as a new line from Cratloe on the Limerick-Ennis line to Shannon Airport. Option 1 includes the provisions of two new stations. IÉ says that subject to funding, it can redouble…

EFFICIENCIES are needed to create a sustainable railway but the spike in inflation has put added pressure on pay, said Network Rail’s chief executive Andrew Haines ahead of the June strike action, the most significant for 30 years. Mr Haines said: “NR has had very extensive conversations about pay and modernisation with the unions since December 2020, with quite a lot of progress made… [but] inflation has changed immensely, and there is now an expectation for pay rises at a level way beyond anything we’ve had in recent years, with people genuinely feeling the cost of living. “There are some entrenched working practices in the industry and there was a hope that Covid would have made sufficient people see there was a more efficient way of doing things. But the…

DECK segments for what will become the UK’s longest railway bridge are being lifted into place by a 700-tonne launching girder. The machine began work at the end of May on the Colne Valley Viaduct, which will carry the HS2 route for more than two miles – across lakes, the River Colne and the Grand Union Canal – between Hillingdon in West London and the M25. The 160metre-long (525 feet) launching girder, which was made in 2004 for use in the construction of Hong Kong’s East Tsing Yi Viaduct, is the only one of its kind in the UK. It will move from one pier to the next, lifting the deck segments into place, one each side of the pier, to balance the structure and create two half-arches simultaneously. HS2…

REPRESENTATIVES from the Heritage Railway Association (HRA), including president, Lord Faulkner, and chief executive, Steve Oates, were due to meet with the minister responsible for museums at the Department for Culture, Media & Sport, Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay, in late June. The meeting is the direct result of a debate in the House of Lords initiated by Lord Faulkner on May 18. Lord Faulkner asked what steps the Government is taking to support the heritage steam sector in the light of current interruption to coal supplies. Heritage railways generate more than £600m for the UK economy each year and are critical to the tourism economy of many areas. The UK is the world leader in heritage rail with more than 170 heritage railways. The sector attracts over 13m visitors…

WELSHPOOL & Llanfair Light Railway’s (WLLR) May 20-22 ‘Beyer Bash’ marked the 120th anniversary of its Beyer, Peacock 0-6-0Ts No. 822 The Earl and No. 823 The Countess, with a display of visiting locomotives built at Beyer, Peacock’s Gorton works. WLLR’s out of ticket 2ft 6in gauge resident No. 823 The Countess was outside the shed at Raven Square, accompanied by Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways’ 2ft gauge 0-4-0+0-4-0 Garratt K1 and Isle of Man Steam Railway’s 3ft gauge 2-4-0T No. 8 Fenella static on temporary lengths of track. Standard gauge 1885-built steam tram No. 47 (known as ‘John Bull’) from Crich Tramway Village was on a transporter trailer and 0-4-0ST 1827/1879 from the Foxfield Railway periodically steamed back and forth on a length of standard gauge track. Operationally, No.…

EAST Anglia Transport Museum (EATM) marked a half century of public opening on May 29, with one of the busiest days for visitors in its history. Over 1000 people attended the day of celebrations, which featured three trams in operation, including Blackpool Corporation No. 159, which had worked the first public services exactly 50 years earlier. The tram recently returned to use after having its motors overhauled. Also in action were London Transport HR/2 No. 1858 and Sheffield ‘Roberts’ car No. 513. The loop at Hedley Grove was used for the three vehicles to pass each other. First tram On outdoor display was 1904-built Lowestoft open top car No. 14, the first tram to be preserved (in 1962) by the group of enthusiasts who went on to found EATM. They…

A LIMITED service resumed on the West Midlands Metro network from June 9, following successful testing of the first trams to emerge from a body panel replacement programme. Assurances had previously been given that they would start by the end of May, but operator Midland Metro Ltd said this had not been possible due to what it described as “snagging work” which needed to be completed before the trams met “the quality standards required to be accepted for service”. Detailed assessment The major programme of work involving CAF, the manufacturer of the vehicles, followed a detailed assessment of the fleet, launched after body panel cracks were found on a number of ‘Urbos 3’ trams. These discoveries led to the service being suspended on March 19 – the third stoppage in…

LOCOMOTIVES Allocations 33202 HQ/MBDL Re-registered37901 E PUK-GROG43069 sent for disposal43193/97 sent for disposal66010 WBAI-WBAT66028 WBAI-WBAT67020 WAAC-WAWC67022 WQAA-WAWC67029 WQAA-WAWC LiveriesDB Cargo red: 66147 FL orange: 66605 LNER InterCity: 91127 Midland Pullman blue: 43047 Platinum Jubilee purple +Union flag: 66734 Platinum Jubilee purple: 67007 + Falkland 40 vinyls: 43040 Named43029 Caldicot Castle43040 Berry Pomeroy Castle43171 Raglan Castle66781 Darius Cheskin66786 Cambridge UniversityRailway Club Founded by JuniorMembers 1911 Stored/stopped locationsLoughborough: 60008/09/13/22/38/57/61/64/70/75/80/90/98 Reid Freight yard, Longton: 43300 Operational 67022/29 DisposalsC.F.Booth, Rotherham: Cutdates: May 27: 91108 Sims Metals, Newport: Arrivaldates: May 31: 43069, 43193/97 MULTIPLE UNITS Allocations 144012 sent for disposal197104 newly delivered HQ/HLHQ317342 sent for disposal317515 sent for disposal319013 sent for disposal455802/03/06/08/11/18/21/24/28/29/32/45/46 sent fordisposal701047 newly delivered HQ/HYHQ720106 newly delivered HQ/EBHQ730010 newly delivered HQ/EJHQ77456/57 (319460) sent fordisposal LiveriesBlue: 153376 + Platinum Jubilee emblem: 720558, 745001, 745106,800003…

ITALIAN national operator Trenitalia has 79 new tri-mode diesel, electric and battery powered multiple units on order from Hitachi. These will be used to replace older DMUs and eventually all remaining regional diesel loco hauled services. The new trains designated HTR312 / 412 (HTR = Hybrid Train Rapid with three and four-car versions respectively) and branded as ‘Blues’ following earlier regional train names such as ‘rock’, ‘pop’ and ‘jazz’ (all in English) are due to enter service this summer. Trenitalia retains substantial numbers of diesel loco hauled trains in Tuscany working from Florence (Firenze in Italian). All are worked by the Class D445 BoBos built between 1974 and 1976, powered by 1560kW Fiat diesel engines. Based at Siena depot, the locos work trains from the main station in Florence –…

THE time is the middle 1890s, when the British railway system was approaching the zenith of its power and importance. For the professional railwayman what were the sources of regular information? The monthly Railway Engineer and the weeklies Engineer and Engineering served well on the technical side. Investors and speculators had the Railway Times and Herapath’s Weekly, both somewhat fossilised in appearance and content. Middle management had the long established Railway News to rely on. For ordinary railwaymen there was the weekly Railway Herald. By contrast the growing yet ill-defined body of amateur railway enthusiasts was poorly provided for. Railway Herald, founded 1887, did supply some paragraphs of general interest and in 1896 came Moore’s Monthly Magazine (later to find fame and authority as The Locomotive Magazine). Yet neither offered…

John Heaton FCILT marks our 125th anniversary with a whirlwind tour of five famous railway climbs – high tea and lashings of ginger beer optional. A STEAM-hauled train approaches a station at the foot of a gradient – let us say Tebay, in Cumbria – with a Class 7 loco, going well. What is its load? Will it stop to accept the attentions of the waiting ‘banker’, or will it rise to the challenge of continuing unaided? If we were not lucky enough to have savoured such scenes live, the wealth of recorded footage on digital media now lets us experience them vicariously from our armchairs, instead of an often windswept lineside. Surmounting railway gradients has been the staple diet of performance articles in The Railway Magazine throughout its history,…

GROSMONT INTERLUDE: The crew of Type 3 No. 37403 Isle of Mull take a break at Grosmont, North Yorkshire Moors Railway, on June 16 while working the 16.30 ‘Yorkshire Express’ to Whitby, as ex-LNER ‘J27’ 0-6-0 No. 65894 (NER ‘P3’ No. 2392) approaches with empty stock to form the 16.30 ‘Moors Explorer’ to Pickering. HAYDEN SHEPPARD COCKWOOD ‘DUCHESS’: A different view of Cockwood Harbour, Devon, on May 28 as LMS ‘Princess Coronation’ No. 6233 Duchess of Sutherland slips past almost unnoticed at the head of the Railway Touring Company’s ‘South Devon Explorer’ returning from Plymouth to Woking, with the steam locomotive booked as far as Taunton. JOHN LABRUM URBAN JUNGLE: Freightliner’s No. 66517 heads away from Manchester Oxford Road towards Piccadilly while running light engine from Brindle Heath (Salford) to…

Like us facebook.com/TheRailwayMagazine Follow us @railwaymagazine Follow us therailwaymagazine THE Rail Industry Association says scrapping HS2’s proposed Golborne link will create a West Coast Main Line bottleneck “which in turn will negatively impact outcomes for passengers, decarbonisation and levelling-up.” Intended to deliver faster journey times and a full HS2 service, while also releasing capacity on the West Coast Main Line, the 13-mile spur would have left the main HS2 route north of Knutsford and connected to the WCML south of Wigan. The Union Connectivity Review published last November suggested that it did not resolve all of the constraints and an alternative connection to the WCML may be more beneficial. Unless an alternative is found, however, HS2 traffic bound for North West England and Scotland will have to use the already…

GBR ticket link to TfL CONTACTLESS ticketing is being extended and York Central MP Rachel Maskell was concerned about Department for Transport (DfT) plans to integrate Transport for London’s (TfL) single ticketing infrastructure with that of Great British Railways (GBR). Transport Minister Wendy Morton explained: “The Government has committed to expanding Pay As You Go (PAYG) in the South East through extending the TfL contactless system. “This will significantly increase the number of passengers who will be able to travel using contactless ticketing between National Rail and TfL modes. Further integration of these systems with National Rail will be a matter for TfL and Great British Railways. “Last year’s spending review set aside £360 million investment to modernise industry ticketing and retailing systems. We also announced alongside the Integrated Rail…

THE Somerset & Dorset Railway Heritage Trust (S&DRHT) has launched a £55,000 appeal to repurchase its resident Sentinel 4wVBTG No. 7 Joyce (7109/1927), after being offered the opportunity to secure the locomotive for the Midsomer Norton set-up by its owner, Andy Chapman. The ex-Croydon Gas Works locomotive is the last-surviving double-engined Sentinel, and first arrived at Midsomer Norton in 2004. It had initially been bought by the S&DRHT owing to its similarity to the pair of locomotives – BR Nos. 47190 and 47191 – that had been based at nearby Radstock. However, after only basic cosmetic work, Joyce was sold to the current owner in 2010, who returned it to steam over the next six years. Since then, it has been a popular performer at the railway, and was even…

THE Severn Valley Railway’s May 19-22 Spring Diesel Gala was the first large-scale diesel event since May 2019. This was a great success with around 4800 passengers carried, more than previously. Despite increased costs, the occasion turned in a healthy profit. Inevitably, with an event fielding so many locos, some were unable to appear. These were two Class 20s, ‘Deltic’ No. D9009 Alycidon, and the DBC Class 67. Replacements were Swanage Railway-based Class 33 No. D6515 Lt Jenny Lewis RN, GBRf’s ‘ED’ Class 73s Nos. 73107 Tracy and 73136 Mhaira. Other visitors were Class 44 No. D4 (44004) Great Gable and Class 46 No. D182 (46045), DRS Class 68 No. 68003 Astute and GBRf’s latest Class 69, No. 69005 Eastleigh. Jonathan Dunster, SVR deputy chairman and chairman of the SVR…

THE Crewe-based Locomotive Services Group has acquired the Steam Dreams railtour company from owner David Buck for an undisclosed sum. The sale also includes Mr Buck’s LNER ‘B1’ 4-6-0 No. 61306 Mayflower, which is currently passed for main line running, and moved to LSL’s Crewe depot a few days after the announcement. LS Group is owned by Jeremy Hosking and the sale brings Steam Dreams into the same family as the Statesman, Saphos Trains, Inter City and Midland Pullman brands, making LSL the dominant player in the tour and excursion market. “The integration of the Steam Dreams business into LS Group operations perfectly complements our existing products,” said Mr Hosking. “As we continue our drive to deliver the highest possible quality of charter train operations in the UK, this acquisition…

CHANGES were made to timetables across the Merseyrail network in June, after a spate of wheel bearing problems reduced the availability of its Class 507 and Class 508 fleet. The issues led to the entire fleet being tested and units found to have the fault being taken out of service for repairs. From June 12, train services resumed (after being substituted with buses) on the Kirkby and New Brighton routes. Beginning the following day, trains were scheduled to run every 15 minutes between Southport and Liverpool Central and every 30 minutes on other lines, although, a week later, routes which usually have services at 15-minute intervals had their Monday-Saturday frequency restored. Root cause Merseyrail said units would be used to strengthen services where possible to provide six-car trains at peak…

Call: 01507 529589 email: railway@mortons.co.uk At about 17.30 on the evening of Friday, May 20, the overhead line equipment tripped out between Lanark Junction and Carstairs. Fairly quickly Network Rail staff established that one of the overhead cables had fallen to earth and that the up line was blocked. It is fortunate that the down line between Lanark Junction and Carstairs also has signalling for up movements to and from the Cloburn Quarry Loading point, which now sees at least one train a day. With power to the OHLE available on the down line, traffic in both directions could use the down line. The worst delay was to 1M18/17.30 Glasgow Central to London Euston, operated by Class 390 No. 390112, which was estimated to be about 80 minutes late when…

WOODHEAD LAMENT 1948-1981 By Kevin Derrick FOR fans of the much-missed Woodhead Line, and there cannot be many who are not, this will be a must-have addition to their book collection. On the face of it, quite pricey perhaps – but this is fully justified and worth every penny. It is mainly a picture-and-caption book, with one or sometimes two images per page adding up to around 300 images in total. All are high quality black and white photos printed on quality paper, backed up by informative captions. As a unique system with its own unique traction, most of the images feature the dedicated EM1 (Class 76) and EM2 (Class 77) locomotives, as well as the ‘Hadfield’ EMUs (Class 506) units that worked local services at the Manchester end. There…

Heljan enters ‘TT’ market The manufacturer has revealed a RTR Class 31 locomotive in 1:120 scale, with delivery expected in 2023. CAD images have been released of a new ready-to-run locomotive for 1:120 scale ‘TT’ gauge. Following the announcement by Peco of a new range of ‘TT’ (12mm) gauge track, Heljan revealed in its trade newsletter that it has worked with partners at Gaugemaster and Peco to introduce six variants of the A1A-A1A locomotives in original condition. The proposed models are as follows, each available with or without DCC sound: No. D5637 in BR Green (ref 3160); No. D5847 in BR Green with small yellow panels (3161); No. 5820 in BR Green with full yellow ends (3162); No. 31136 in BR Blue early/headcodes (3163); No. 31198 in BR Blue late/dominoes…

Sponsored by The crossword winner and two runners-up can choose books worth £50 and £25 respectively from the extensive Nostalgia Collection. Visit us at www.mortonsbooks.co.uk Across 1 Bideford, Westward Ho! & ___ Railway (9)8 and 13 Docklands Light Railway and Elizabeth Line station (6,5)9 and 12 ‘Battle of Britain’No. 3405713 See 8 across14 ___ & Bradninch, former stationeast of Exeter (4)17 ___ Valley Light Railway,heritage line in Murton Park, near York(7)18 Tarka Line station (7)19 Station between Hampton CourtJunction and Effingham Junction (7)22 Companies resulting from theGrouping of 1923 (3,4)24 Model railway manufacturer,now part of Marklin (4)25 Destination of the short-lived‘Fair Maid’ titled train from King’s Cross(5)26 Telegraphic name of a GWR end-door van for carrying cars (4)29 Liverpool & Manchester RailwayNo. 9, and Class 86 No. 86218 (6)30 ___…