Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2025 i The Railway Magazine

THE Northumberland communities of Ashington and Seaton Delaval regained their passenger service on December 15 – just over 60 years after it was lost as part of cuts recommended in Dr Richard Beeching’s Reshaping of British Railways report. Running north-easterly from the East Coast Main Line at Benton North Junction, a 15 mile stretch of the former Blyth and Tyne Railway route (which continued in the meantime to be used by freight, currently consisting of traffic to and from the Port of Blyth and biomass deliveries to Lynemouth Power Station) has undergone a £298.5million transformation to allow it to serve local passengers once again. Branded the Northumberland Line, delivery of the project has been led on behalf of Northumberland County Council by AECOM, with Morgan Sindall Infrastructure appointed as principal…

THE Brecon Mountain Railway (BMR) was dealt a pre-Christmas blow by a major landslip during the night of November 23/24, amid Storm Bert. The 1ft 11¾ in-gauge BMR had commenced its Santa season trains on November 23, but had to suspend operating on the following day due to a length of hillside sliding away, leaving the trackbed close to a precipitous drop exactly halfway between Pant and Pontsticill stations. The immediate effect was suspension of all Santa train operations until December 7, while efforts were made to resolve the situation. The BMR is working with Merthyr Borough Council engineers, who need to undertake repairs lower down the hillside, to establish whether a potential permanent solution could be achieved together with their works. A Vale of Rheidol Railway permanent way team…

BLACKPOOL Transport’s managing director says it aims to have heritage trams operating along the town’s Promenade again later this year, after the sudden suspension of services before Christmas prompted fears over their future, writes Graeme Pickering. December’s announcement from the company’s Heritage Tram Tours division, citing challenges of continuing to operate vintage vehicles alongside modern trams, led to the establishment of a petition, and Blackpool South MP Chris Webb called for Blackpool Transport to urgently clarify the situation. “I can confirm that the future of our heritage trams is safe,”its MD Jane Cole said in a statement after the news broke, adding that it aimed to have them back in operation in 2025, but she added there were“complex operational issues”to be addressed before that could happen. Responding directly to The…

ASSEMBLY of the pair of tunnel boring machines (TBMs) which will excavate the final 4.5 miles of HS2 route into the eventual terminus at Euston, is underway, ahead of their launch this year. The two machines, Karen (named after pioneering female train driver and campaigner Karen Harrison, initially based at Old Oak Common depot) and Madeleine (taking its name from Madeleine Nobbs, president of the Women’s Engineering Society from 1959-60 and a passionate advocate for women in engineering, having decided to pursue her own career in the industry in the 1930s) were unveiled by HS2 Ltd in December. Both weighing 1250 tonnes, they were lowered into the underground box at HS2’s Old Oak Common station site using a 750-tonne crane, and will be launched from its eastern end. They are…

“No. 150001 began operating in public service from November 5, 1984 between Derby and Matlock, although its official introduction took place on November 19” THE early 1980s saw British Rail look at options for replacing some of its First Generation DMUs, in particular those types that had not been refurbished or were fitted with blue asbestos insulation. One option tried was the two Class 210 diesel-electric multiple units, which appeared in 1982 and were trialled on services out of Paddington. Like the earlier DEMUs on the Southern Region, they had a body-mounted engine in one of the driving cars, rather than the underfloor engines of the First Generation Class 100-131 DMUs. Although the ‘210s’ proved to be successful, they were also expensive to build and maintain, and this caused BR…

AFTER nine years of mainline running, ex-LMS 4-6-0 No. 46100 Royal Scot ran its farewell mainline trip on December 3, a private charter called‘The Chairman’s Special’. The 1927-built 4-6-0 ran outbound from London Victoria to Canterbury East, returning via Folkestone, Paddock Wood and East Croydon. Departing nine minutes late from the capital, the train reached its outbound destination over a minute early and returned to London at 16.41. This marked the end of a popular mainline career for the engine, having spent the years 1963-1989 on display at Butlins Skegness prior to being moved to Bressingham Steam Museum. Returned to steam in early 2009, Royal Scot ran for a few weekends in unfinished LMS Crimson Lake at the West Somerset and Llangollen Railways before being stopped for rectification work. This…

‘JUBILEE’No. 45596 Bahamas is to make an unassisted climb to Shap Summit for the first time in preservation. The ascent of Shap will then be followed by a southbound run over the Settle & Carlisle line. The occasion will be Vintage Trains’first railtour of 2025, which will run on March 29. Starting diesel-hauled at Birmingham New Street (06.55), the‘Shap Mountaineer’will call at Wolverhampton, Stafford, Crewe, Warrington Bank Quay and Preston before the train continues to Carnforth, where the diesel will be replaced by Bahamas ahead of the five-and-a half-mile climb of Shap, with its gradients of up to 1-in-75. After a break of around three hours at Carlisle, the‘Jubilee’will work the return via Appleby and Settle to Hellifield, where the diesel takes over for the return back to Birmingham. Passengers…

A SECOND phase of planned upgrade work took place on the Lymington branch in Hampshire, during a two-week closure, scheduled to last from December 22 to January 6. It saw Network Rail engineers return to the 5.6 mile long, single line route, after replacing nearly a mile of track during an earlier programme of work, last October. Their focus this time was the strengthening of Lymington Viaduct across the Lymington River, between Town and Pier stations. Also set to be completed during the fortnight-long occupation was work to repair, refurbish and strengthen heavily corroded critical steel elements of the structure, along with the replacement of the wheel timbers, which support the line across it. Track over Lymington Town level crossing was scheduled for replacement, too. For the duration of the…

AN early version of‘fracking’ took the form of extracting oil from shale rock in Scotland. The industry dated from the 1860s and covered around 80 square miles in the Bathgate area. Shale rock was broken in a retort and oil distilled at 900 degrees Fahrenheit. At its peak in 1915, production reached three million tons, with around 25-45 gallons of oil distilled per ton. However, by the 1920s, the industry was in decline – partly due to the formation of British Petroleum, which had major oil interests in Iran. Better methods of extraction staved off final closure until 1962. A major operator in the shale fields was the Oakbank Oil Company of Glasgow. In 1908, they introduced three notably large 40 ton-capacity bogie tanks, Nos. 328-330, built by RY Pickering…

PLANNING authority An Bord Pleanála has given approval for the extension of the DART network to Hazelhatch and Celbridge on the Dublin-Cork line by issuing a railway order. It allows for the electrification from Hazelhatch and Celbridge to Heuston station, and to Glasnevin Junction via the Phoenix Park Tunnel, where it connects with the already-authorised DART West Project on the Maynooth line. Known as DART+ South West, the project will include 20 kilometres (almost 12.5 miles) of electrification, installation of six electrical substations, creating a four-track section of route between Park West & Cherry Orchard station to Heuston to enhance capacity and construction of a new station at Heuston West. Phoenix Park Tunnel will also be upgraded. The existing four-track section of railway will be reconfigured with the two most…

LEGISLATION is now in place to return private sector passenger operations to public ownership following Royal Assent being given to the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Act on November 28. The Government subsequently announced that the process will start as the current National Rail Contracts expire, which were negotiated with franchise holders following the collapse of revenue during the Covid pandemic. There has also been a change to the mechanism for transferring control of individual train operating companies, as DfT Operator Ltd has been formed to replace Operator of Last Resort Holdings Ltd. There are currently four operators running under Government control as a result of either financial failure or unacceptable performance, namely LNER, Southeastern, Northern and TransPennine Express. Adding to these will be South Western Railway on May 25,…

HITACHI Rail’s Newton Aycliffe factory in County Durham is to build 14 new trains to be leased from Angel Trains by FirstGroup. Delivery of the five-car sets, which will be equipped with either battery and electric or bi-mode (electric and diesel) traction packages, is expected to begin in late 2027. Part of the‘Class 800 series’of Intercity Express Trains already in service with First’s existing Hull Trains and Lumo open access operations, the new units will be maintained by Hitachi and have been ordered to boost capacity on these East Coast Main Line paths, as well as forming the stock for expanding its Lumo business into Wales and South West England. First announced on December 5 that it had successfully completed the acquisition of Grand Union Trains GWML Holdings, which has…

WHEN The Railway Magazine chronicled the final scheduled diesel unit working into Brighton in its June 2022 issue, Railway Performance Society (RPS) steam specialist Michael Rowe was prompted to consider the history of passenger train steam haulage on the Brighton Line from the inauguration of electric services in January 1933 to the demise of steam over 30 years later. The last 5pm steam-hauled ‘City Limited’ (the lineage of which stretched back to 1841) departed London Bridge on Friday, December 30, 1932 hauled by 4-6-4T No. 332. After a leisurely start to East Croydon, the express tank engine ran the next 29.1 miles to Preston Park in 28½ min, averaging 65mph from Earlswood to Preston Park (pass to pass). The following day, the last steam-hauled ‘Southern Belle’ Pullman left Victoria at…

AN agreement has been reached between the East Lancashire Railway and the Battle Of Britain Locomotive Society, for the upkeep of SR Bulleid Light Pacific No. 34081 92 Squadron. Details were shared by the ELR on December 4, with BBLS chairman Ian Bowskill making an official statement shortly afterwards.“It’s not a decision we have taken lightly,”said Mr Bowskill,“but our prime aim has to be the secure future of the loco, and the partnership we are entering into should ensure this.” The deal includes an offer to undertake the next overhaul of the engine, in light of dwindling volunteer numbers at the BBLS, and the higher costs to undertake the work than current funding would permit. A spokesperson for the ELR confirmed the BBLS will retain ownership of the locomotive, while…

THE overhaul of Vintage Carriage Trust’s Haydock 0-6-0WT Bellerophon, built in 1874, is now seeing significant progress following a hiatus after the covid pandemic and other factors intervened. Boiler work involves new girder stay bolts and ferrules, smokebox steam pipes and overhauled fittings. New tubes and cladding are also required, with a new smokebox already purchased and awaiting fitting. The chassis is said to be in reasonable condition having had extensive work, including the replacement of an axle plus rebored cylinders during its previous operational period. It only needs fitted bolts for the hornguides and the usual pins and bushes required at most 10-year overhauls. One major job being considered is to retyre the locomotive. When originally restored to working order in the 1980s, a spare set of‘Austerity’ tyres was…

HAVING been displayed at the Severn Valley Railway’s Highley Engine House since July, the Talyllyn Railway’s (TR) out-of-ticket Andrew Barclay 0-6-0T No. 6 Douglas was moved to the NEC in Birmingham to appear as a prototype inspiration exhibit during The National Festival of Railway Modelling show over November 23/24. The presence of the loco presented the TR with an excellent opportunity to promote its‘75 Appeal’(RM, May 2024). The majority of personnel staffing the TR stand over the exhibition weekend were from the TR’s Young Members Group, some of whom attended during setting up to spend “a good few hours”polishing the plates and waxing the paintwork. Members of the group have become increasingly involved with running the TR publicity stand at exhibitions. They were also present during a recent model railway…

THE National Tramway Museum at Crich will be the new home for Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society’s three electric tramcars. The transfer of Birkenhead No. 20, Wallasey No. 78 and Liverpool No. 762 completes the relocation of the entire MTPS tram collection from Wirral Transport Museum. Beamish Museum in County Durham became the new base for Lisbon No. 730 after Big Heritage (which became custodian of the Birkenhead visitor attraction in late 2023), requested it to be moved, stating it did not fit its new narrative. It also asked MTPS to continue work on Birkenheadbuilt Isle of Man horse tram Nos. 11 and 47 off-site, although it added at the time that it would be“delighted to welcome them back”when completed. BH said this would avoid interruption of their restoration due to…

THREE different trains were used in late November and early December as part of the testing of European Train Control System digital in-cab signalling on the East Coast Main Line between Welwyn Garden City and Hitchin. As part of the £1.4 billion East Coast Digital Programme (ECDP), ETCS is being introduced from London King’s Cross to Grantham on the ECML. The technology was commissioned early last year between Welwyn and Hitchin, and the first passenger and freight services are expected to begin using it in late 2025. The project is expected to be completed between the capital and Grantham by 2030. Grand Central Class 180, No. 180108 (which, along with the rest of the GC Class 180 fleet was fitted with equipment, allowing it to work with ETCS some time…

LOCOMOTIVES Allocations56104 LR/UKRL-RR/GBRG66003 WBAT-WBVT66019 WBRT-WBAT66032 WBVT-WBAT66044 WBAT-WBRT-WBAT66152 WBAT-WBRT-WBAT66154 WBRT-WBAT66161 WBRT-WBHT66165 WBAT-WBRT-WBAT66172 WBAT-WBRT66179 WBRT-WBAT-WBRT66206 WBRT-WBAT-WBRT66549 DFIM-DFLS-DFIM66587 DFLS-DFIN90046 DFLC-DHLT92019 CE/WFBC-WQ/WQBA Renumbered56104 – 6901466147 – 6665829003 – 66316 Liveries DB Cargo red: 66057, 66186Branding removed: 67028 Names removed43162 Caerhays Castle Sold Romic: 43160/62 Preserved Plym Valley Railway: 43063, 43161 Stored/stopped locations Mid-Norfolk Railway: 43160/62Plym Valley Railway: 43091 Operational37423 88008 MULTIPLE UNITS Allocations321303/04/10/25 sent for disposal 387128/29/72/73/74 HE-SL507003/07/18/23 sent for disposal720139/44 HQ-IL720502 HQ-IL730209/23/34/35 newly delivered HQ/ EJHQ756106/11 HQ-CF807008 newly delivered HQ/HFHQ807002/06/08 HQ-OY63006 (321332) sent for disposal78080 (321332) sent for disposal Renumbered153331 – 153531458514 – 458414458519 – 458419 Named 231005 Gavin & Stacey 701031 Nighthawk Names removed507023 Operations Inspector Stuart Mason Liveries White: 769006 Formations 458414: 67614+74014+74114+ 67714458419: 67619+74019+74119+ 67719 Now in passenger traffic555021720139/44720502756106/11807002/06/08 Back in traffic458405/06/18 Stored/stopped locations Cockshute: 74403/37Crewe: 197027Derby: 701518/24Eastleigh T&RSMD: 701018Ely:…

FOLLOWING electrification of the busy commuter line connecting San Francisco and San José and introduction of new Stadler-built double-deck EMUs, most of the previous fleet of diesel loco hauled push-pull trains has been donated at nominal cost to the Peruvian capital Lima, where it will be used to operate a brand-new commuter rail service on an existing standard gauge line. A ceremony held at Monserrate station in Lima on November 16 and attended by rail officials and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was held to transfer 19 F40PH locomotives and 90 double-deck coaches from Californian rail operator Caltrain to the city government in Lima. The ex-Caltrain sets will be used on the Ferrocarril Central Andino (FCCA) operated line between Desamparados station in central Lima and Chosica around 25 miles…

Network Rail has reverted to displaying live train information on the big advertisement screen at Euston station as a result of passenger feedback. Smaller screens had been installed at right angles to the main screen early in 2024, with the large screen across the concourse width displaying advertising. The change drew criticism from passengers and watchdog groups over safety at the station, especially when there were delays and the concourse became overcrowded. The former advertising screen is seen under test with train information on December 4.…

THE first of the Tyne & Wear Metro’s new fleet of five-car Stadler-built Class 555s was introduced on the morning of December 18 – a year later than had been anticipated when deliveries began. No. 555021’s inaugural journey was from Pelaw in Gateshead (where it entered service at 11.04) to Monkseaton on North Tyneside via Newcastle. It is one of a fleet of 46 units ordered from the Swiss manufacturer that will gradually replace the system’s original Class 599‘Metrocars’. Generally used in pairs, these two-part articulated Metro-Cammell sets have been in use since the Metro opened in 1980, and have become increasingly challenging to maintain due to their age and difficulties in obtaining spare parts. When the £362 million deal for the Class 555s was announced in early 2020, it…

EARLY December saw the completion of the two 159m (nearly 522ft) long steel spans on the two parallel viaducts being constructed over the River Cole near Coleshill in Warwickshire, as part of HS2’s Delta Junction. Contractor Balfour Beatty VINCI was in charge of the operation in which the eight prefabricated ‘U’-shaped welded steel box girder sections, weighing between 76 and 273 tonnes each, were put into place. They were moved on site to the lifting position using self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs). Lifting was performed using a Liebherr LR 1600-2 crawler crane with a 600-tonne capacity. The crane has the ability to operate at a height of up to 50m (164ft). Infrastructure Consisting of embankments, cuttings and a total of 13 viaducts, crossing existing railways, roads, rivers and floodplains, the Delta…

THE playing field at my school in Hyde bordered the Manchester to Sheffield 1500V DC line, and was a regular haunt for those of us who preferred ‘train watching’ to the more usual sporting activities on the field. It was there I discovered that Eric Oldham, one of the photographers whose work appeared in Trains Illustrated, lived close by. As a novice teenage photographer, I decided he might be able to give me some advice about my own photographic journey, and so began my quest to meet him. I soon learnt that Eric ran a confectionary business in the town and my journeys there to buy an iced bun or two became quite regular. Then having plucked up courage to compliment him on the pictures I had seen, his advice…

Subscribe and read previous issues at www.railwaymagazine.co.uk/archive 100 YEARS AGO JANUARY 1925 City Railway reopens A SPECIAL train was run from Moorgate to Clapham Common on December 1, at 11.30am, thus marking the restoration of public train services over this section of the old City and South London Railway, now to be known as the City Railway. The passengers included directors and officers of the associated Underground companies, MPs, mayors and officers of the Ministry ofTransport who were given the honour of making the journey before the line was opened for general traffic an hour later. Welsh Highland cuts OWING to working losses since the railway opened in June 1923, the passenger train service on the Welsh Highland Railway was discontinued on December 15 last, but goods traffic is being continued.…

VOLUNTEERS at the Bluebell Railway have begun a cosmetic restoration of their historic Manning Wardle Class K 0-6-0ST Sharpthorn, works number 641 of 1877. The locomotive has unfortunately had to be stored outside for many years due to a lack of covered accommodation. This has not enhanced its external condition and the soft wood buffer beams fitted some years ago for cosmetic enhancement have badly rotted during this time, while the paintwork has also suffered. The locomotive’s turn for cosmetic restoration and display has now arrived thanks to a successful application to the Bluebell Railway Trust for a small project grant. Volunteers have already started to scrape back the paint and wire brush the surface rust before treating the exposed metal with a protective coat of rust-inhibiting paint on the…

QUORN Wagon & Wagon, a group of dedicated volunteers at the Great Central Railway, which looks after more than 100 vehicles, has completed the restoration of two‘Catfish’ ballast hopper wagons. Nos. DB983393 and DB993560, owned by Nick Tinsley, were among a total of 716 such wagons built between 1954 and 1961 by Metro-Cammell. Just 16 are believed to have survived into preservation, few of them restored. The former dates from 1957 and has been preserved on the GCR since 1978, when it was rescued from the yard at Loughborough Midland, where it had been damaged during a derailment. It received repairs to a bent underframe and suspension, as well as replacement wheelsets, before transfer to Mr Tinsley. The latter was built the following year and arrived at the Great Central…

THE new CB12 battery-electric Co-Co locomotive built for the Bure Valley Railway (BVR) by Clayton Equipment Ltd (RM, June 2024), was delivered to the 15in gauge Norfolk line on November 13. BVR hails it as being the first all-new design and build battery electric locomotive for passenger haulage on a UK statutory regulated railway of any gauge. It weighs 13.6 tonnes and will be capable of hauling BVR’s heaviest trains. It is now undergoing a period of commissioning and testing before entering service. The board of fellow 15in gauge operation, the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway (RHDR) is seeking to raise £10 million over the next 10 years. No details have been confirmed but it is understood the sum is viewed as necessary to achieve infrastructure and facility improvements and…

THE Stratford Class 47 Ltd preservation group has ceased operations, with two of its three engines already finding a new home at the Mid-Norfolk Railway (MNR). The group, which was the owners of Nos. 47367, 47580 County of Essex and 47596 Aldeburgh Festival, has cited being unable to maintain its fleet due to a lack of active volunteers, as the reason for its unexpected action. Both No. 47580 – which is mainline registered – and No. 47596 have been purchased by the Mid-Norfolk Railway Preservation Trust, together with the group’s stock of spares and tools, but‘47/3’ No. 47367 remains unsold pending its future. Serious offers for the engine are invited, and prospective buyers should contact the group’s engineering director by email at bevan_47596@sky.com In a final statement, the group added:“Drawing…

TRANSPORT for London commissioner Andy Lord has revealed that an independent review will be held into last year’s cyber attack on the organisation. TfL board members will have oversight of the process, which could be carried out in phases due to the organisation still recovering from last August’s incident. In his December report to its board, Mr Lord said that work to address the impact was ongoing, but that TfL was “slowly getting back to normal”. Its inquiries have identified that the attackers managed to access“limited customer data”, including the bank account details of around 5,000 people. They were subsequently contacted by TfL and offered support and advice. Containment The need to restrict access to information and computer systems to contain the threat continued to have an impact on some…

AN on board system which uses electrolysis to remove carbon residue from engines, improving efficiency and lowering emissions, is being piloted by Harry Needle Railroad Company as a way of extending the useful life of older diesel locomotives. HNRC Class 08, No. 08892 has been fitted with the Advanced Hydrogen Technologies Engine Carbon Clean system. It uses electricity generated by the locomotive to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is fed throughout the engine from the air intake, dislodging carbon. AHT says that, within the space of a few months, the carbon build-up dissipates, allowing the engine to operate more efficiently and cleanly. Data drawn from testing No. 08892 showed an 8% decrease in CO2 emissions and reductions of 27% and 39% in carbon monoxide and formaldehyde output…

RHTT A STALWART of the Rail Head Treatment Train operation out of the GB Railfreight base at Stowmarket has been Class 66 No. 66799 Modern Railways Diamond Jubilee, which had worked consistently since the operation began on October 7 until it was eventually replaced on December 4. No. 66303, which was paired with No. 66774 was replaced by No. 66710 Phil Packer BRIT around November 7 while No. 66776 worked with Nos. 66747 and 66719 with 66725 for the early part of November. No. 66718 was noted with No. 66744 at Manningtree on November 20, working 3S60/09.00 Stowmarket DGL to Stowmarket DGL running some 20 minutes behind schedule, while at Stowmarket later in the afternoon Nos. 66799 and 66717 were noted on 3Y51/13.30 returning from a visit to Whitemoor Yard.…