The Railway Magazine January 2023

AS this is the first issue of 2023, I would like to start by wishing all readers of The Railway Magazine a very Happy New Year. Due to the changes in our production cycle through the holiday season, I write this just before Christmas knowing that we won’t be published until early January. So, what kind of a year can we look forward to? At the time of writing, the series of strike dates across the rail industry – and beyond – were ramping up, with calls on both sides for talks and an early resolution. We can only hope this becomes the case soon, so that everyone involved in railways can refocus on the recovery from the pandemic, which is still not complete. Perhaps the railways will never be…

BOTH the Ivatt Diesel Recreation Society (IDRS) and Class 40 Preservation Society (CFPS) have benefited from the donation of Class 56 power units from main line freight operator GB Railfreight. These units have become available as they are being replaced by General Motors engines during the Class 56 to Class 69 conversion programme. IDRS has taken delivery of a Ruston Paxman engine and alternator for use in the project to re-create LMS No. 10000. The society already owns an English Electric 16SVT power unit, which is intended to be the first-choice engine in the new loco, but this low-hours power unit is a backup, as will be a 16SVT promised to the project, which is still situated on a military base. GBRf’s engineering strategy director Bob Tiller said: “I am…

ONE fleet of Vivarail Class 230s has been temporarily withdrawn from service and the introduction of the class with two other operators is on hold, due to uncertainty over maintenance and technical support, after the manufacturer went into administration. The company, which employed around 70 staff at six UK locations, including its headquarters at Southam in Warwickshire, announced that it had appointed administrators from Grant Thornton on December 1. With effect from the following day, London Northwestern Railway (LNR) suspended operation of its three Class 230 two-car diesel sets, used on the 16-mile Marston Vale route between Bedford and Bletchley, and introduced a bus replacement service. Until it ceased trading, maintenance of the fleet had been undertaken by Vivarail technicians at Bletchley depot. LNR’s engineering director John Doughty said it…

Class 58 available for heritage railways THE Class 58 Locomotive Group (C58LG), on behalf of the loco owner, is inviting expressions of interest for operational opportunities and gala invitations for Class 58 No. 58023. At present, this is the only loco of the class operational in the UK, with the C58LG’s own example No. 58016 expected to be a further two years at least before it returns to service. No. 58023 was built in 1984 and was withdrawn from main line service in July 1999. While many of the once 50-strong class were sent abroad for further use, this example remained stored at Toton depot until acquired for preservation. It is privately owned and is currently located at UK Rail Leasing’s Leicester depot. The ‘Bone’ has recently returned to use…

Parliamentary service replaced by bus THE Parliamentary train service operated by Chiltern between West Ealing and West Ruislip, comprising a single journey on Wednesdays, has become a rail replacement bus from December 14. While the operator of the bus was unknown as this issue went to press, it is scheduled to run non-stop to West Ruislip, departing West Ealing at 11.17 and arriving at 11.42, six minutes later than the train managed at 11.36. The last Chiltern train service for the foreseeable future on the route was operated by Class 165 No. 165037, which arrived at its destination 36 minutes late after a trespasser had to be removed by police on the railway at Denham. Avanti developments WEST Coast ‘Pendolino’ No. 390127 (Train Set 16) re-entered service in mid-December after…

WHERE do you start when looking back at Adrian Shooter’s railway career? He joined BR as a management trainee in 1970 aged 22, spending time in engineering roles at depots around the country, followed by a spell as area manager at London St Pancras, and being involved in setting up Red Star Parcels and Rail Express Systems. After Privatisation in the mid-1990s, he became the first managing director of Chiltern Railways, then in 2012 founded Vivarail to rebuild redundant London Underground ‘D78’ Stock trains as DMUs and EMUs. Away from the main line, he was elected to the Ffestiniog Railway Society’s board in 1971; and at 23 he was the society’s youngest director. In 1979, he became the FRS’s managing director, a position he held until his resignation in 1981.…