Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2023 i The Railway Magazine

New Street bull named ‘Ozzy’ THE 10-metre high mechanical bull, made for the 2022 Commonwealth Games from scrap machinery recovered from Birmingham and West Country factories, has been named Ozzy, after local heavy metal band lead singer Ozzy Osbourne. Two thousand suggestions were whittled down to a shortlist of four – the others being Brummie, Bostin, and Boulton – which together attracted a total of 28,000 public votes. The bull is being rebuilt on the concourse at Birmingham New Street station and unveiled on the first anniversary of the games. Wythall’s July gala A MINIATURE railway gala will be held at the Transport Museum Wythall on July 22/23. The Worcestershire venue will be operating locos of all type on its multi-gauge railway owned by the Elmdon Miniature Engineering Society (EMES).…

Headline News Improving Lincs rail SIR John Hayes, the South Holland and the Deepings MP, wanted to know what steps the DfT is taking to invest in infrastructure in Lincolnshire. The minister replied: “Investment will see us continue to support ambitious and transformative growth plans for our railways, particularly in the North and Midlands. The way people use the railway is changing and we are investing to make sure it supports passengers, freight and the economy for the future. “The Integrated Rail Plan commits to upgrading and improving line speeds and capacity on the East Coast Main Line, which will have benefits to services to Lincoln. We have provided NR with early-stage development funding to begin consideration of how these ambitious route-wide plans can be delivered as efficiently as possible.…

RM Archive 100 YEARS AGO JULY 1923 Accident inquiries in 1922 DURING the year 1922 there were 27 inquiries into railway accidents as compared with 18 in 1921, 25 in 1920, 30 in 1919, 69 in the five war years 1914-1918, and 30 in 1913. The 27 accidents in 1922 included 15 train collisions, two buffer-stop collisions, five derailments and five locomotive failures. Of the 15 collisions, six were due to drivers passing signals at danger in clear weather, and two occurring during fog. One collision arose through a signal being frozen in the ‘clear’ position. Of the five derailments, three were caused by the permanent way being defective, one by a failure of signalling apparatus and one by four-wheeled vehicles being placed in front of heavier stock. 50…

LNER ‘A4’ Pacific No. 4464 (60019) Bittern is to be returned to service for the main line by volunteers from the Sir Nigel Gresley Locomotive Trust (SNGLT), working together with Locomotive Services Group (LSL). Building on the existing agreement for LSL to operate ‘A4’ No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley on the main line, SNGLT has established a separate trading entity, SNG Engineering Ltd. (SNGE). The overhaul will be carried out at a new engineering and storage facility at an as yet undisclosed location in North Yorkshire. The facility, which is already secured, will be an LSL establishment but occupied by SNGE. Once the site is up and running, expected to be in 2024, Bittern will be transferred from its current storage location in the old Hornby building at the One:One…

THE Nene Valley Railway Wagon Group formally opened its museum on the evening of June 2, at Peterborough Nene Valley station. Housed in banana van No. B881987, it is open on operating days and is accessible from the bay platform. Tim Hobman, who leads the wagon group and has been working on the museum for the past three years, said: “During the first two decades of the NVR, freight stock was cared for by the original wagon group led by Norman Pannell, which disbanded in the late 1990s. “In 2011 while I was restoring my brake van at Wansford, I was approached by Paul Foxwell with the notion of forming a new wagon group. Joined by Phil Halstead, who remains part of the group, we worked well together. Tragically, in…

AFTER several years of planning, the Bulleid 4DD Group reunited the two surviving cars of the 630V dc third-rail Bulleid-design Class 4DD EMU at Hope Farm, Sellindge, Kent on May 23. Class 4DD DMBS No. S13004S, based for many years at the Northamptonshire Ironstone Railway Trust (NIRT) has been saved from being cut up. BR Southern Region introduced two sets of four-car double-deck trains in 1949 in an attempt to reduce overcrowding on the commuter lines of South East London. They were the only such trains to run on BR as they did not fulfil expectations. However, they survived in regular operation for 22 years until withdrawn in 1971. Remarkably, DMBS vehicles Nos. S13003S and S13004S (both from set No. 4002/4902) still exist in preservation, albeit having deteriorated due to…

THE West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Board has agreed a strategy for extending the West Midlands Metro system beyond Dudley – however, funding still needs to be sourced for the line to reach its originally-planned terminus. A year ago, the decision was made to split delivery of the Wednesbury-Brierley Hill extension into two phases because of rising costs and supply chain pressures. Work on the completion of the route as far as Flood Street in Dudley (due to open next year) continued while options were explored for additional financial support to finish the remainder of the line. Business case approval Subject to business case approval, a £60 million grant from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which was part of the region’s Deeper Devolution Deal, will be used…

DB Cargo UK continues to adjust the composition of its fleet of Thrall Europa-built BRA/ BYA ‘Nissen Hut’ hooded coil carriers. In 2021/22, some 31 wagons were heavily modified by the former Marcroft Engineering works at Stoke-on-Trent. Their three-piece sliding hoods were removed and the end bulkheads cut down, while the interior decking was modified to allow the carriage of both steel slabs and coils. A full repaint into DB Cargo ‘traffic red’ colours also took place involving Nos. 964018/033/035, Nos. 966002/007/009/011/017/040/041/047/049/050/071/07 4/079/097/100/117/145/159/161/171/201/205/209/310/23 3/244/247. A less extensive programme has now been undertaken on a second batch of wagons. While the lightweight hoods have been removed, only limited interior repairs have been done and no repaints have been carried out. The modified wagons are in use between Margam and Llanwern/Corby. Modified…

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 and 8 Feature near the summit of the line between Taunton and Exeter (9,6) 9 Jacket associated with obsessive trainspotters! (6) 12 Station between West Drayton and Slough (4) 13 and 14 ‘___ Line’, modern branding of the line between Nottingham and 19 across (5,4) 17 Name of GWR 2-8-0T No. 5239 on the Dartmouth Steam Railway (7) 18 Greater London locations with ‘Central’, ‘Downs’ and ‘Wick’ stations (7) 19 Station between Sheffield and Retford (7) 22 ___ Hall, GWR No. 5987 (7) 24 Record label that produced Peter Handford’s ‘Transacord’ railway recordings (4) 25 City of ___, GWR celebrity loco No. 3440 (5) 26…

AFTER being closed for two months of repairs following the discovery of a crumbling abutment, Nuneham Viaduct – and thus the main line between Oxford and Didcot – reopened on June 9, writes Chris Milner. The 160-year-old abutment supporting a twin bowstring bridge over the River Thames had been sinking, and on April 3 the decision was made that the line had become unsafe for rail traffic. In the intervening 10 weeks, a programme of emergency repairs began with contractor Balfour Beatty taking a major role in the challenging repair. The work began by driving 24 15-metre steel piles into the bed of the River Thames to create a solid platform for the temporary structure that would hold the weight of the viaduct while the abutment was demolished and rebuilt.…

HS2 News THE first of the 1800 tonne ‘V’-shaped piers that will support the two-mile long Colne Valley Viaduct have been completed. The viaduct, near Hillingdon, on the western edge of London, will take the high-speed line over the Grand Union Canal, River Colne, local roads and a series of lakes that lie between the section of route underneath the capital and the 10-mile tunnel under the Chiltern hills. Eleven of the piers – which, in order to support the 80 metre (262 feet)-wide arches over the water are twice as large as the 45 land-based ones – are being constructed for the viaduct to curve eastwards over the lakes. Cofferdams were put in place to hold back the water while foundations, 60 metres deep, were built into the lake…

AT 10.00 on Wednesday, April 26, the rail container terminal at Felixstowe North was busy. Four Class 66 locomotives in a range of liveries stood ready for action, with two GB Railfreight examples already at the head of their trains: 4M29 (10.28 to Birch Coppice) and 4M33 (10.46 to Hams Hall). Both destinations are in North Warwickshire – Birch Coppice is on the freight-only branch from Kingsbury ground frame, which is about five miles south of Tamworth (high level platforms) on the Birmingham line. Hams Hall is an intermodal terminal on the north side of the Birmingham-Nuneaton line between Coleshill Parkway and Whitacre Junction, on the site of the former coal-fired power station. Both flows exemplify the expansion of rail traffic between Felixstowe and the West Midlands following massive growth…

BRITISH Rail Engineering Ltd York Works delivered the first Class 165 DMUs to the Thames and Chiltern Division of BR’s Network SouthEast in 1990. The initial batch consisted of 28 two-car units (Nos. 165001-28) and 11 three-car sets (Nos. 165029-39). The class sported NSE livery and, after some initial runs in the Thames sector, they transferred to Chiltern based at Aylesbury depot, from where they operate to this day as part of the Chiltern Railways fleet. They were known as ‘Network Turbos’, commonly abbreviated to ‘Turbos’, and by 1992 delivery had continued to include a further 17 three-car sets, Nos. 165101-117, and 20 two-cars numbered Nos. 165118-137. The ‘165/1s’, by now christened ‘Thames Turbos’, were based at Reading depot and set to work on services from Paddington. They worked mainline…

THE East Lancashire Railway held a very successful small engines weekend on June 10/11. In addition to ex-BR types, a number of industrials were in use that weekend. Making a welcome change from its familiar ‘Thomas’ duties, Hudswell, Clarke 0-6-0T No. 32 Gothenburg (680/1903) – unusually carrying its name on the tank side – was used on local passenger shuttles. These Manchester Ship Canal locos all originally carried names on the tank sides, but because of protests during the First World War, the nameplates were removed and one was placed inside the cab where it would not be seen by the public. Sentinel 4wVBTG Ann (7232/1927) was also in use and made a superb sight hauling British Tar Products tankers – the company for which it was built. A popular…

TO mark the anniversary of the opening of the Hastings Miniature Railway (HMR) on June 5, 1948, a superb gala was held on June 3-5 with 10 locos in operation. These were residents Pilgrim, Edmund Hannay, Firefly, Cornish Pixie, Uncle Jim, Speedy Fizzle and Falcon. Visiting were No. 1908 Ernest Henry Upton from Eastleigh Lakeside Railway; Jerry Lee from Ropley Miniature Railway, and Meteor 5 from Vanston Woodland Railway. Resident Royal Scot was due to appear but it is in need of attention, which it will receive at Eastleigh. It is not possible to say how many passengers were carried because many had multi-ride tickets and there were a number of invited guests, but it was estimated as being about 4500. The Grand Finale was a 10-loco-header passenger train hauled…

A BIG step in the restoration of the former station building at Wingfield, Derbyshire, has seen the Victorian station reroofed in 4200 Penrhyn Heather Blue slates from North Wales, replacing their 180-year-old predecessors on the main station and parcel shed buildings. The Grade II* listed station sits alongside the Derby-Sheffield main line, just north of Ambergate. Built by the North Midland Railway, the station dates from 1840 and is the sole survivor of railway architect Francis Thompson’s notable sequence of picturesque stations between Derby and Leeds, and is widely regarded as his finest work. Closed by British Railways in 1967, the station fell into a state of serious disrepair, deteriorating over a period of 30 years before compulsory purchase by Amber Valley Borough Council due to neglect. In November 2019,…

TRANSPORT for Wales has confirmed that engine filters blocked by pollen has been one of a number of problems experienced by its Class 230 units since they entered service three months ago. Following testing and crew training, which was hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic, battery overheating incidents and the collapse of train supplier Vivarail, the three-car diesel-battery hybrid units entered revenue-earning service between Wrexham Central and Bidston, No. 230010 working the first train on April 3. “Several separate technical issues have been experienced since the entry into service,” TfW’s rolling stock strategy manager Andrew Gainsbury told The RM. “These have generally been very minor issues, some related to staff not being familiar with the fleet, and quick resolutions have already been put in place.” Pollen, blocking filters in the engines…

LOCOMOTIVES Allocations 20118 HNRL-LSLO20132 HNRL-LSLO20302 LSLO-HNRS20305 LSLO-HNRS37059 LSLO-HNRS57002 XWSS-XHSS66309 GBLT-GBSD70015 FD/DHLT-LD/DFIM90029 WQAA-WQBA LiveriesArlington green: 08567Blue + Celebrating the King’sCoronation vinyls: 66023DCE Dutch: 73119GBRf: 69008 Named66190 Martin House Children’s Hospice66433 Carlisle Power Signal Box50th Anniversary 1973-202368034 Rail Riders 202069006 Pathfinder Railtours PeterWatts 50 years service 1973-2023 Names removed20905 Dave Darwin 37402 Stephen Middlemore23.12.1954-8.6.201343170 Chepstow Castle43171 Raglan Castle66303 Rail Riders 2020 Stored/stopped locationsEly: 43170 Worksop: 08623, 08714, 09201, 57002 Operational 70015 DisposalsAlizay, France: Cut dates: May: 58001/04/26/32/34/38/42EMR Kingsbury: Arrival date: June: 43052 MULTIPLE UNITS Allocations 197027/29/30/31 newlydelivered HQ/HLHQ 197117 newly delivered HQ/HLHQ230007/09 newly delivered HQ/HLHQ701053/54 newly delivered HQ/HYHQ710374 newly delivered HQ/EKHQ720132/33/36 newly delivered HQ/EBHQ730037/39/40/ 41 newly delivered HQ/EJHQ LiveriesEMR Purple: 170203, 170271 Northern: 156409 Pride: 801226 SWR: 444001/28/32, 450062/84, 450102/17 + Pride vinyls: 803003 + Proudly from Newcastle. The Home of Stephenson’s…

THE Downpatrick and County Down Railway (DCDR) is seeking a home for railbus No. RB3, built in 1981 by BREL (No. RDB 977020) in Derby as a prototype lightweight vehicle, using a Leyland National bus body and a high-speed freight underframe. Before being acquired and regauged for use by Northern Ireland Railways in 1982, it was used as a demonstrator in the Bristol area. After crossing the Irish Sea it saw service primarily between Coleraine to Portrush but proved to be unsuitable to deal with the passenger flows. It was moved to inspection duties, before finally being withdrawn by NIR in December 1992, and spent a brief spell on loan from Translink to the Folk and Transport Museum in Cultra, before arriving at Downpatrick & County Down Railway in 2001.…

Sleepers move to Government control THE Scottish Government took over control of Caledonian Sleeper services from June 25, replacing previous operator Serco. Minister for Transport Fiona Hyslop said: “It is fitting that we recognise the successes of the staff and management at the Caledonian Sleeper who have transformed this service, and who will remain as valued members of the team. I give my reassurances that there is a continued role for them to play in the future success of the service.” At the same time GBRf announced a new seven-year deal to provide Class 92 and 73 traction for the sleepers, which run between Euston and Glasgow, Edinburgh, Fort William, Inverness and Aberdeen on six nights a week. NR chair reappointed LORD PETER Hendy of Richmond Hill is to serve…

Headline News ANDREW McLean was born in Edinburgh and educated at the city’s Portobello High School. He studied history at the University of Edinburgh and Herriot Watt University, and later gained a postgraduate diploma in Archive Administration at the Society of Archivists. Having worked as archivist at both United Distilleries and the Royal Bank of Scotland, he became head of collections at the Mount Stuart Trust on the Isle of Bute, later becoming curator covering several high-profile National Trust locations and properties, including George Stephenson’s birthplace. Andrew joined the National Railway Museum in June 2014 as head curator, being promoted in July 2017 to assistant director and head curator. His book, The Flying Scotsman: Speed, Style, Service was published in 2016. He sits on the Railway Heritage Designation Advisory Board…

LIFE throws up moments of serendipity and opportunity that ought to be grasped with both hands. Since the publication of my first book in 1984, I have been fortunate to experience many more – not least during work on my three books about rebuilding the Welsh Highland Railway in the late-1990s and 2000s. With the help and grace of the railway authorities, and during numerous visits, I have walked virtually the whole length of the new line from Caernarfon to Porthmadog and witnessed first-hand some of the challenges and tribulations that had to be overcome to give us what we have today, a truly wonderful narrow gauge railway. There have also been joys and unexpected bonuses along the way, and many friends made. In this article I have sought to…

Send your letters to: The Railway Magazine, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR. email: railway@mortons.co.uk NB. Publication of a letter does not imply that the Editor or staff of The Railway Magazine necessarily agree with its contents. STAR LETTER How steam returned to the Southern I RECENTLY heard that an old friend of mine, Steve McColl, had passed away a couple of years ago. I first met Steve when he was a manager in Liverpool in 1984, and I have never known anybody before or since who could cut red tape like him. Being an enthusiast himself, he did not keep information to himself, and would even put up lists at Lime Street of Class 40 rosterings. He supplied me with a lineside permit so I could photograph…

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

WELSH Highland Heritage Railway’s (WHHR) ex-WDLR Baldwin 10-12-D No. 794 (BLW44699/1917), restored ‘as’WHR No. 590 (picture, RM Headline News, June), was launched into service at Gelert’s Farm on May 27. The locomotive returned to Britain in 1985 following post-First World War military service in India. Early restoration work undertaken for its owners, the Imperial War Museum (IWM), was abandoned and No. 794 was placed on loan to what is now WHHR in 2003. Following protracted efforts to return the loco to operation, restoration was finally completed by the Vale of Rheidol Railway. The May 27 launch event included the ceremonial handover (agreement to gift ownership to WHR Ltd was reported by The RM, April) of No. 794 by an IWM representative to Welsh Highland Railway Ltd chairman, Graham Farr. Test…

THE four-strong volunteer group working on the restoration of Glasgow ‘Coronation’ tram No. 1245 at Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life in North Lanarkshire, believe that it could be virtually complete by the end of the year. Work on the tram has been taking place at Summerlee over the course of the last 12 years, and the last 18 months have seen steady progress, helped by a grant of £22,500 from North Lanarkshire Council. Most recent tasks have included installing cladding and glazing, although there have been delays in completing the lower deck windows due to supply chain issues. The downstairs lighting has been refurbished and new bi-fold doors have been made and are now being fitted. Volunteer Charlie McAloon says the next big purchase for the tram will be…

SINCE the operation of the first main line tour using a Class 50 in private ownership on November 1, 1997, the Class 50 Alliance (C50LA) and the Fifty Fund are approaching a century of railtours, and to celebrate their 100th charter train, Pathfinder Tours have agreed to organise ‘The Pilgrim Centurion’ excursion from Swindon to Edinburgh on September 16 – which will also be the 50th Pathfinder tour hauled by C50LA locomotives. In the 25 years since that first tour with No. 50031 Hood, the main line fleet has been enhanced by class members Nos. 50007 Hercules, 50044 Exeter and 50049 Defiance, which have hauled charter trains over a wide range of routes, taking in much of Scotland, England, and Wales, operating both inside and outside their traditional stamping grounds.…

BUILDING materials supplier Cemex says improvements to five of its rail terminals will support its plans to move more loads by train. Changes to track infrastructure at the company’s Selby site in North Yorkshire allow longer trains to be accommodated, giving the potential to reduce road movements. Turnarounds can also be completed more efficiently and safely. At Dove Holes in Derbyshire, two reception lines have been relaid. As this was adjacent to the national rail network, planning and coordination with Network Rail was required. Work at the Cemex depot at Bletchley was also carried out in collaboration with Network Rail. A CCTV system now allows ground staff to monitor train offloading away from the discharge area, reducing their exposure to noise and dust. Walkways Improvements have also been made to…

Unbranded, plain white, Class 805 Nos. 805001+805003 ran on Tuesday, May 16 on a 5Q30/08.49 Oxley, Wolverhampton to Glasgow Central and 5Q31/13.31 return. This diagram with the same two Class 805s ran for the next two days. On each occasion both EMUs had a raised pantograph. They were observed passing Thankerton on Wednesday, May 17. Although most AWC Anglo-Scottish passenger trains are worked by Class 390 EMUs, one remaining double Class 221 DMU service to Glasgow Central from London Euston is the 9S77/13.33 which starts out from Birmingham New Street at 05.56 with 1R02 for Euston. Next it is back to Birmingham New Street on the 9G08/08.26 before returning Euston at 10.21. Then they run to Glasgow (9S77) and from there the Class 221 duo complete their day’s diagram with…

Three-train crash in India: nearly 300 people killed THE worst railway accident in recent years in India occurred on June 2, in the early evening, when a passenger train collided with a freight train and the wreckage hit the rear of another train passing at the same time. The ‘Coromandel Express’ (Train 12841) from Shalimar, near Kolkata to Chennai collided with a stationary freight train carrying iron ore near Bahanaga Bazar in the north eastern state of Odisha at around 128kph (80mph), leading to a major derailment. Another train, the ‘Bengalura – Howrah Express’ (train 12864) passing through the accident site simultaneously, running two and a half hours late, was struck by some of the ‘Coromandel Express’ carriages, causing the last few of its vehicles to be derailed. Almost all…

LAST TRAINS – DR BEECHING AND THE DEATH OF RURAL ENGLAND By Charles Loft WITHOUT a doubt, this book succeeds in its aim of giving perspective regarding how Governments before and during the Beeching era, and those who fought some of the individual closures, perceived the railways in relation to other transport infrastructure. In this unflinching and carefully-chronicled account, Charles Loft sets the scene by considering the challenges faced in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, the formation of the British Transport Commission and the ramifications of the 1947 Transport Act. The author takes a chronological journey through the evolution of these initial postwar policies and their impact on the railway system, and has built the narrative around individual cases. For anyone with an interest in railway history,…