Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2023 i The Railway Magazine

First Avanti Class 807 EMU goes main line HITACHI-BUILT EMU No. 807002 became the first of its class to start main line testing when it ran two round trips between Darlington and Doncaster on May 15/16, it being hauled from the Newton Aycliffe factory to Darlington by ‘Grid’ No. 56098. The fleet of 10 seven-car ‘807s’ are destined for use with Avanti on the West Coast Main Line which, along with 13 Class 805 bi-modes, will replace the operator’s fleet of 20 Class 221 ‘Voyagers’. Full peak timetable on Elizabeth Line FROM the May timetable change, peak time services on the Elizabeth Line between Paddington and Whitechapel increased to up to 24 trains per hour (tph) – a train roughly every two-and-a-half minutes. Previously 22 tph, the addition of two…

Maintenance drones EASINGTON MP Grahame Morris asked what steps the Office of Rail and Road has taken to assess the safety of Network Rail’s Modernising Maintenance programme. Transport Minister Hugh Merriman replied: “The Office of Rail and Road is monitoring Network Rail’s workforce modernisation plans to ensure that it is not compromising on efficient and safe delivery. The ORR attends the Network Rail Safety Validation panel that is working through the management of the change process that NR is following. “NR continues to explore technological solutions that could be deployed to conduct maintenance more safely and efficiently. A good example of this is the adoption of drones which are already being used to supplement standard maintenance and inspection activities with various use cases identified including structures, track and overhead line…

THE Coronation, according to Network Rail, saw the largest number of armed forces personnel moved by train since Winston Churchill’s funeral in 1965 and the first troop trains since the Falklands War in 1982. In an operation codenamed ‘Project Golden Orb’, around 5000 Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force and Commonwealth forces personnel were taken to and from Waterloo station on nine special trains. South Western Railway operated seven trains formed of EMU stock from Portsmouth, Farnborough, Aldershot, Camberley and Windsor; and there were two loco-hauled services operated by West Coast Railways from Tring. Trains were used as it would have needed around 100 road coaches to move the 5000 personnel and, even if available, there was no suitable place to park them in central London. Even the military guards’…

SAMUEL Waite Johnson designed exceedingly handsome locomotives. Some aesthetes would even claim his 4-2-2 ‘Spinners’, with their 7ft 9½in driving wheel diameter, had the most pleasing appearance of any locomotive, worldwide. The nickname derived from the resemblance of their speeding huge ‘drivers’ to Sleeping Beauty-type spinning wheels. Born in 1831, Johnson was educated at Leeds Grammar School before becoming a pupil at locomotive manufacturer R B Wilson & Co, where he worked as a draughtsman under David Joy. He assisted on the production of ‘Jenny Lind’ locomotives, of which 24 went to the Midland Railway, where he was eventually appointed chief mechanical engineer in 1873. Such a position in one of the top four Victorian railway companies commanded a salary rising to £3500 per annum, some £410,000 in current terms,…

STAR LETTER Paddington returns I FIRST travelled to London from my home in Australia in November 1975 as a 22-year-old and stayed at the London Walkabout Club at Lancaster Gate. I was always a train enthusiast and had joined the New South Wales Rail Transport Museum in 1974. Lancaster Gate is quite close to Paddington, and it was there that I purchased a copy of The Railway Magazine at the WHSmith outlet. I enjoyed the magazine and have read it ever since. Every few years, my wife and I come back to London and we stay at the Corus Hotel at Lancaster Gate – only a few yards from where the Walkabout was located! We recently visited in late April and were there for all of the buzz in the-lead…

CLASS 313 EMUs have been featured frequently in the pages of both The Railway Magazine and The Railway Observer since their introduction to service in 1976. They had their genesis in the 4-PEP (Class 445) and 2-PEP (Class 446) suburban EMUs, the prototypes of which entered service in 1971. However, there were no production models. The ‘313s’ were British Rail’s first dual-voltage EMUs, having both a pantograph for 25kV overhead AC lines and contact shoes for 750V DC third-rail systems. This gave them a huge degree of operational flexibility in comparison with older EMUs. They were ordered in conjunction with electrification of the Great Northern route from King’s Cross to Royston via the East Coast Main Line and the Hertford Loop. They were specifically intended for inner suburban services, with…

Industrial Steam ANDREW Barclay 0-4-0ST Stanley (1659/1920), one of only a handful of surviving locomotives known to have worked on parts of the current Tanfield Railway before preservation, has returned to the line. Stanley was built for East Tanfield colliery, now the southern terminus of the railway, in 1920. Over a century after it was originally delivered, Stanley returned to the same spot on April 17, as it heads towards a return to traffic. Apart from occasional trips away for repair, the locomotive stayed at East Tanfield colliery until July 1954, when the 14in cylindered machine was transferred to Marley Hill engine shed on the Bowes line – the same shed that now forms the base of the Tanfield Railway. Here it eventually became Area No. 32, serving the shed…

Miniature THE Ruislip Lido Railway (RLR) at Ruislip, Hillingdon, London, is Britain’s longest 12in gauge railway, at 1¼ miles, with a balloon loop. A busy gala on May 13/14 saw 2-6-2T Christopher visiting RLR from the Littlehampton Miniature Railway, West Sussex for the first time. Built by Exmoor Steam Railway (191 of 26/10/1991) as Lorna Doone it has since resided on several railways, been rebuilt and regauged – and the wheel arrangement changed on numerous occasions (RM October 2021, p76). Over the years this loco has been gauges 12¼, 10¼ and 12¼in again; an 0-6-0T, 0-6-2T and 2-6-2T, and allocated ESR builder’s Nos. 191, 191RB and 310. Also in operation over the weekend was the sole resident RLR steam loco, Hunslet-style 2-4-0ST+T No. 6 Mad Bess (RLR/R. Weaver 1986-1998).…

On April 14 unbranded AWC Class 805 No. 805001 ran ECS (Empty Coaching Stock) from Oxley, Wolverhampton as the 5Q80/21.17 to Carlisle and back overnight. On Friday, April 15 the Class 805 unit called briefly at Platform 3 at Lancaster at 23.08 before continuing northwards. In daylight on Monday, April 17, No. 805001 ran ECS on the 5Q87/08.07 from Oxley to Carlisle and back as 5Q88/10.51. On both occasions, when seen passing Lancaster, No. 805001 had a raised pantograph. Just over a week later on Tuesday, April 25, it ran from Oxley, Wolverhampton as the 5Q90/18.43 to Glasgow Central and returned overnight as 5Q91/23.12. A Milton Keynes to Lancaster service was diagrammed through Bolton and Chorley on Sunday, April 30, formed of Class 390 No. 390128. The operational Class 91s…

SIGNALLING CENTRES IN THE NORTH EAST: 2A LEEDS By Richard Pulleyn AS THE latest in the ‘Signalling Centres’ series, this is the first of two parts covering the complex history of railways and signalling around Leeds. The city was served not only by the North Eastern Railway but also by the Midland, GNR/L&Y and LNWR companies. This volume focuses on the former NER line east of Garforth and the Leeds Northern route to Bramhope tunnel. It also includes a detailed history of Leeds City station from earliest times, through successive expansion schemes to the present day. The author has drawn on extensive research over many years using primary sources wherever possible and is supported by many well known photographers and railwaymen, who have shared their memories of the Leeds area.…

THE relocation of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust from Hopetown Works to the nearby brand-new, purpose-built works within the Darlington Railway Heritage Quarter got underway in late May. Owned by Darlington Borough Council, the new £4.5 million two-road building will provide many of the facilities required for constructing and operating the A1SLT’s locomotives, including a main line rail connection and inspection pits. Following a detailed site visit by Network Rail, DBC and A1SLT personnel, a clear preferred layout has now been finalised for the trust’s new home. The plan will allow a full-length charter train to arrive into the site without being split. Expenditure has also been reduced by only using one span of the bridge over nearby Otley Terrace, while major signal cable movements have been avoided. Almost all…

Headline News MARK Winter was a later-comer to the railway industry, having completed a law degree and then qualifying as a barrister. He then switched track to work in finance, and has held some very senior positions, including senior treasurer for Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank and Barclays Bank, and also head of funding and capital markets at Bradford and Bingley. Along with fellow directors and shareholders, he invested in UK Rail Leasing (UKRL), which was established in 2013, having spotted the potential of the business. He now holds the position of managing director of UKRL and is fully focused on developing the businesses. Although not a career railwayman, Mark’s enthusiasm has seen him lead the transformation of the business from one that was purchasing locomotives and associated railway…

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7 Railway Correspondence & Travel Society. RCTS Library, Leatherhead Station Approach, Leatherhead. 11.00. Archive and Library Open Day THURSDAY, JUNE 8 Pennine Railway Society. Doncaster Town Fields Sports Club, Bennethorpe, Doncaster DN2 6AA. 19.30. ‘Rusty Buffers’ Tinsley Footplate Memories’: Philip Benham. Further details on www.penninerailwaysociety.com. Continental Railway Society. St Paul’s Church Centre, Rossmore Road, Marylebone, London NW1 6NJ. 19.15. ‘Two weeks in Indonesia in 1979’ and ‘Congo from Zambia, 1970’: David Thornber. South East Essex Railway Society. Friends’ Meeting House, 18 Dundonald Drive, Leigh-on-Sea SS9 1NB. 19.30. Test Track Night. FRIDAY, JUNE 9 SWRS. The Manor, Slough station. 19.30. ‘Rambling Railwayman’s Recollections’: Geoff Burch. MONDAY, JUNE 12 Oxfordshire Railway Society. Kidlington Baptist Church, High St, Kidlington, OX5 2DS.19.00. ‘The Cholsey & Wallingford Railway’: Dr Tony Stead. Southern Electric…

Porterbrook – delivering a safe, reliable and sustainable railway www.porterbrook.co.uk…

Narrow Gauge WITH the main operating season now in full swing, a trio of steam locomotives have taken up residence at different heritage railway venues – including one which has moved to Eastern Europe. Firstly, with cosmetic restoration of ex-Eastwell Iron Ore Company 3ft gauge Hudswell Clarke 0-4-0ST Lord Granby completed, on April 29 Eastwell History Group moved the loco about two miles from its Stathern Lodge workshop to a purpose-built shed at Crossways Farm, Eastwell. This building, intended to become an Eastwell railway museum, is on the edge of the village a short distance from the winding house at the top of the incline which was a notable feature of the old Eastwell rail system. The project commenced in 2013 when Lord Granby left Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley…

THREE new railtours running in a two-week period have been announced by the Branch Line Society (BLS). The first offering is the ‘Sevington Shoeboxes’ on June 11, an unusual loco-hauled one-way excursion, raising funds for Alzheimer’s Society, as part of GB Railfreight’s 2023 fund-raising programme. With a leisurely start from Tonbridge at 10.45, the train will run via Paddock Wood for another pick-up at Ashford International before running forward to the Sevington loop and reversing to take the through line at Maidstone East and via Swanley and Kent House to Clapham Junction where another pick-up is made. Next, the train makes an anti-clockwise circuit of west and north London to access the East Coast Main Line, running north to Peterborough (set down) and then via Grantham to Nottingham where the…

IN the early hours of May 10, Stadler-built Class 555, No. 555003, became the first of the class to venture out onto the Tyne & Wear Metro system on test. It followed weeks of static trials and movements of the unit (also the first of the five-car trains to be delivered from Switzerland in February) under its own power at South Gosforth depot. Cathy Massarella, major projects director for Metro operator Nexus, said that No. 555003 had “performed really well” on its test trip between South Gosforth and Monkseaton. “It was a proud moment for us to see the train leave the depot at Gosforth and join the main line,” she added. “There were no glitches to report.” Further test runs will take place on different parts of the network…

BALFOUR Beatty Rail Plant (BBRP), based at Hither Green, operates a pair of New Track Construction (NTC) machines built in America during 2004 by Harsco Track Technologies, Nos. 6100944/954. These are full possession-only sets and are coupled to YJA-F self-powered wagons Nos. DR 78701/702, delivered by Harsco to design code YJ025A. Tare weight is 72 tonnes. In recent months the machines have been employed on East West Rail tracklaying. Most of the NTC machinery is, however, modular and mounts on standard FEA intermodal flats supplied by Polish builder Wagony-Swidnica. For example, the sleeper handling gantries carried on FEAs Nos. 640571/575 (design code FE 004G) transfer new steel or concrete sleepers to truss beams that drop them to the track; the truss beams being carried by FEAs Nos. 640572/576 (design code…

IARNRÓD Éireann commenced a second round of public consultation for DART+ Coastal North on May 9, outlining the preferred option which will see the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transit) network extended by 37km from Malahide to Drogheda. The scheme aims to deliver an increased and improved electrified network with additional passenger capacity, which will see the number of trains from Drogheda to Dublin city centre increase from 11 to 24 per hour, with a capacity uplift for commuters from 12,500 to 26,600. There would also be a 50% increase in service and capacity from Malahide to Dublin city centre through an increase from 20 to 30 trains. The second round preferred option includes: Reconfiguration of the existing track layout and associated infrastructure at Drogheda, Malahide, Clongriffin and Howth Junction &…

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 Class 50 No. 50001 (11)9 Scottish steam shed 60A (9)10 Word following Arnos and Ladbroke in London Underground station names (5)11 ‘Peak’ No. D10, and Class 60 No. 60094 (6)12 London Underground station, scene of a serious accident in 1975 (8)13 Class number of 50 electrics built by BREL at Crewe, 1987-90 (6)15 Seaside terminus of a line from Boston (8)18 Name given to a Class 150 DMU (8)19 British ___, works formerly rail-connected at Rushcliffe Halt, now on the GCR (Nottingham) heritage line (6)21 Austrian composer commemorated by Class 92 No. 92007 (8)23 Seaside resort served by Norfolk’s ‘Bittern Line’ (6)26 Merddin ___, Ffestiniog…

No new Piccadilly platforms NETWORK Rail’s long-proposed plans for the construction of two new platforms at Manchester Piccadilly station have been withdrawn. The Department for Transport says it has asked the Manchester Task Force (a cross-industry group, including NR, train operators, Transport for Greater Manchester and Transport for the North) to “consider alternative options to better serve passengers and support the £26 million already injected to improve services at Manchester Piccadilly, Airport and Oxford Road stations.” Confirmation came in an announcement of £72 million of DfT funding for rail improvements, including a third platform and turnbacks for Salford Crescent station and additional platform entrances and exits for passengers at Manchester Victoria. The Government claims it will reduce delays, bottlenecks and overcrowding, but Northern Powerhouse Partnership chief executive Henri Murison said…

THE Rail Accident Investigation Branch’s annual report indicates that 461 incidents were advised in 2022, of which 22 were of a severity that required a detailed on-site examination to establish cause and identify future mitigations. None of the events resulted in the issue of a statutory notice preventing operations. A summary of statistics over five years shows there have been 17 main line derailments, with freight recording 10 and passenger trains seven. There were 17 collisions that involved eight between trains and nine with obstruction to the track. Potential weakness The management of extreme weather conditions has become a higher safety priority and the RAIB found that more blanket emergency speed restrictions and closures are being applied in response to forecasts of extreme heat and storms. A potential weakness in…

RAIL has been used to move more than 10 million tonnes of material to and from HS2 construction sites so far, meeting a target originally anticipated to be achieved in 2030. Working in partnership with Network Rail, freight operating companies and materials suppliers, it has taken just over two years to reach such a significant volume. HS2 Ltd now predicts that construction of Phase One of the high speed line will now account for a total of 20 million tonnes of aggregate being moved by rail, removing the need for an estimated three million lorry journeys. The achievement was celebrated at a gathering at Tarmac’s Tunstead Quarry, near Buxton, involving freight operators, suppliers and other rail-related businesses. ‘Vital role’ David Speight, HS2 Ltd’s delivery director for main works civils on…

RM Archive 100 YEARS AGO JUNE 1923 New LNER stock ORDERS have been placed by the London and North Eastern Railway for locomotives and rolling-stock at the company’s workshops and with private builders. ■ Locomotives: Gorton, ten 4-6-0 express goods tender engines; Stratford, ten 0-6-0 shunting engines, ten 0-6-2 suburban tank engines; Doncaster, fifteen 2-8-0 three-cylinder coal engines, ten 0-6-0 shunting tank engines; Cowlairs, twenty 0-6-2 goods tank engines and Darlington three 4-6-2 express passenger engines; total 78 locomotives. ■ Carriages: York, 99 bogie vestibule and non-vestibule vehicles, 30 suburban carriages; Stratford, 44 suburban carriages; Doncaster, 64 suburban carriages; Dukinfield, 23 suburban carriages, 3 bogie vans, 9 carriage trucks; total 272 vehicles. ■ Sleeping cars: Doncaster, two twin-sleeping cars; York, six single sleeping cars. ■ Wagons: Darlington, 4000 12-ton…

Steam & Heritage THE reinstatement as a heritage railway of the missing rail link between Bodiam and Robertsbridge Junction, a station on the Tonbridge to Hastings main line, has been given the go-ahead following the granting of a Transport & Works Act Order (TWAO). The order was applied for by Rother Valley Railway Limited (RVR), working in partnership with the Kent & East Sussex Railway which operates the existing heritage line between Tenterden and Bodiam. Planning permission was granted on March 22, 2017. The Rother Valley Railway (Bodiam to Robertsbridge Junction) Order was applied for on April 19, 2018. The public inquiry relating to the TWAO was held between July 6 and August 4, 2021 – plus September 2/3, 2021. The order was granted on May 9, 2023. The anticipated…

A CONTROVERSIAL £1.5bn proposal to redevelop London Liverpool Street station with a new hotel and 109 metre high office block over part of the site has gone forward to a formal planning application. The plans were first revealed last November. Network Rail, Elizabeth line operator MTR, together with property design specialist Sellar (who were involved with the Shard and Paddington Square projects) have jointly applied for planning consent for a regeneration and upgrade of Liverpool Street station. As well as the hotel and office block situated in two towers above the station – one 15 storeys high, the other up to 21 with a rooftop cafe and swimming pool – there is a proposal valued at £450m to address capacity and overcrowding problems and improve access for disabled passengers. These…

HITACHI Rail will remain responsible for maintenance of the 36-strong fleet of Class 802 Intercity Express Trains, which it built for Great Western Railway’s West of England services, until 2028. The manufacturer says the contract extension, valued at over £300million, will help support over 500 depot jobs in the region, as well as the UK supply chain. Laira depot in Plymouth will handle the majority of work on the Class 802s. Reliability of the sets has improved by 94% since their introduction in 2018, the best recorded period of performance so far being Summer 2022 when 28,357 miles per technical incident was achieved. Hitachi said it plans to continue its investment in digital technology such as onboard monitoring of bogie and wheelset conditions. GWR takes ownership of former Vivarail D78…

LOCOMOTIVES Allocations 31270 re-registered HQ/MBDL37069 XWSS-XSDP37402 XWSS-XSDP37423 XWSS-XSDP37424 XWSS-XHSO43046 SBXL-LSLO43047 SBXL-LSLO43049 SBXL-LSLO43055 SBXL-LSLO43058 SBXL-LSLO43059 SBXL-LSLO43083 SBXL-LSLO57002 XHSO-XWSS57301 XWSS-XSDP57303 XWSS-XSDP57305 XHAC-XSDP57306 XWSS-XSDP57310 XHSO-XWSS-XSDP60004 re-registered WQ/WQCA60014 re-registered WQ/WQCA60018 re-registered WQ/WQCA60020 TO/WCBT-WQ/WQBA60060 re-registered WQ/WQCAHQ/DCRS60065 TO/WCAT-WQ/WQBA60100 WQAA-WQBA66018 TO/WBAE-WQ/WQBA66230 WQBA-WQCA66309 newly registered RR/GBLT66552 FD/DHLT-LD/DFIM67001 CE/WAAC-WQ/WQBA90035 WQ/WQBA-CE/WEAC LiveriesBlue: 20168 DB Cargo red: 66168/90 Midland Mainline Project Rio: 43159 + Birmingham 2022Commonwealth Games: 37611 Named08703 Steve Blick (Concrete Bob) ShunterSpot37611 Denise43184 Laira Diesel Depot CrossCountry66718 Peter, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill of Imber in the County of Wiltshire Names removed37409 Lord Hinton37611 Pegasus73202 Graham Stenning Renumbered: 77501-66309 PreservedPrivate at the Colne Valley Rly: 08706 125 Group at Ruddington: 43025 125 Heritage at Colne Valley: 43023, 43165 Stored/stopped locationsCrewe ETD: 67001 Crewe Gresty Bridge: 37402, 57310 Laira: 43088, 43158/70 Longport: 60014 Loughborough: 60018 Peak Rail: 97301 Stowmarket: 57002…

ARGENTINA’S railways continue to use diesel locos supplied by North American builders in the late 1950s/early 1960s, plus others constructed in Spain in the 1960s. More modern Chinese-built locos and electrification have replaced many old diesel locos working commuter rail services around Buenos Aires in the last decade. While the number of routes and services operated by 1950s/60s vintage diesels has reduced considerably, there are still more than almost anywhere else in the world. Following electrification of the ‘Roca’ routes from the city’s Plaza Constitución station in 2017, the older diesel locos have migrated to services in the city’s suburbs. The older EMD and Alco design passenger diesel locos are mostly based at Haedo depot, on the Sarmiento Line from Once station, and as a result are found working outer…