Rail Express January 2015 by Mortons Media Group Ltd

Seven more ‘66s’ for GBRf

DMU shortfall:

DfT asks for review

Essential reading for today’s rail enthusiast

WEST COAST

‘WHISTLERS’

LOOKING BACK ON

A GOLDEN AGE FOR CLASS 40s

RAIL EXPRESS No. 224 JANUARY 2015

On board with 41001

+PLUS

40145:

40 PAGES OF MODELLING Hornby’s 2015 range announced ● Full news round-up from Warley ● Departmental vans in detail ●

How did the preserved machine perform on the East Coast race track?

Editor’s comment PRINT & DISTRIBUTION Newstrade & distribution COMAG, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE.

Paul Bickerdyke

01895 433600 Printed by William Gibbons and Sons, Wolverhampton Published Third Thursday of every month

Rail Express Editor

This issue December 18, 2014 Next issue January 15, 2015 Advertising deadline December 22, 2014

Visions of the future…

HIS month has seen the launch of Siemens’ Velaro e320 and Hitachi’s Super Express trains, both a big part of the future look of railways in Britain. They were launched by chance on the same day, the e320 at St Pancras and the Super Express in Japan, and both should be in service within the next couple years (see pages 16/17) . The 17 e320s will boost Eurostar’s existing fleet and allow new destinations to be served, including Amsterdam, which is currently one of the most lucrative airline routes in Europe and ripe for conversion to highspeed rail travel. The sleek new trains should transform travel between the British and Dutch capitals in the same way that the Class 373s did for Paris when Eurostar first started running 20 years ago. Hitachi’s Super Express trains will be the new face of inter-city travel on the Great Western and East Coast Main Lines. A massive 122 sets will be built in various combinations of five and nine-car, electric and bi-mode, with all but the prototypes being assembled at the company’s new train factory in Newton Ayclifffe, County Durham. They should transform travel on these two keys routes – particularly on the Great Western, where they will be the biggest single change since the introduction of HSTs in the 1970s. Speaking of new orders, GBRf seems to have ‘pulled a blinder’ for seven more Class 66s (page 14). The introduction of new European legislation on diesel engine emissions means there is a deadline of December 31 for any non-compliant locos to be delivered. With time running out to build further complete locos, GBRf realised it was only the engines that needed to arrive by the end of the year, and so it has secured power units for seven

more locos. Five will be brand new, one will be that recovered from Loch Treig casualty No. 66734, with the seventh being sourced from within Europe. The power units will be registered by the end of the year and the rest of the locos built at a later date. Clever stuff.

... AND THE PAST

If the above represents today’s cutting edge, in the early 1960s that role went to English Electric’s Class 40s, which were at the forefront of modernisation of the railways then still dominated by steam. We take a look back this month to their short-lived time in the sun on the London Midland Region, when the ‘Whistlers’ were in charge of the many prestigious named expresses out of Euston. Oh for a time machine to sample those daily Class 40-hauled turns from London to Glasgow, including some non-stop runs as far as Carlisle! Thankfully today we can still sample a ‘40’ on the main line courtesy of the CFPS. Its No. 40145 is always well turned out, and the recent run to Saltburn was no exception. The return leg provided the opportunity to record the loco on the East Coast race track between Darlington to York and, as we find on page 33, it was in excellent form hauling load 10 and a Class 47. ■ With the end of the year upon us, I would like to wish all our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Here’s to 2015 and what our ever-changing railway-scene brings. And if you’re looking for a last minute present, why not consider a subscription to Rail Express? Please turn to page 24 for our latest offers.

Paul Bickerdyke

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Issue No. 224 January 2015

CONTENTS This innovative shot was taken by 13-year-old Matthew Plumpton at Hereford on November 29. Rather than go for a conventional shot of DBS ‘Shed’ No. 66039 heading south with the 6V75 Dee March to Margam empty steel working, he opted instead for a shot of a camera videoing the approaching train, giving a very effective result. Matthew Plumpton

Why not take out a subscription? See page 24 for the latest deals. 8 NEWS Virgin branding for East Coast as franchise is re-let; Vossloh to sell transportation arm and Freightliner up for sale; DMU shortage prompts government review; GBRf outwits EU emissions legislation to get another seven Class 66; Class 387s go main line; bye-bye to Bescot as former diesel depot is demolished; temporary theatre erected next to King’s Cross.

16 NEWS FOCUS: e320 & IEP LAUNCHED Both the new Siemens e320 for Eurostar and Hitachi’s Super Express IEP for the Great Western & East Coast Main Lines were launched on the same day.

18 CARRY ON SCREAMING Simon Bendall travels on the first passenger train to be hauled by HST prototype power car No. 41001.

20 WEST COAST ‘WHISTLERS’ Rail Express looks back 50 years to a golden age for Class 40s hauling named trains out of Euston.

26 ONES THAT GOT AWAY: CLASS 506 These LNER-designed units disappeared 30 years ago.

28 REVIEWS & EXPRESS MAILBAG

Books, camera phone photography, plus more cut-off stations and when is high-speed not high-speed? .

30 0-60: CLASS 365 Neville Hill visits the Cambridgeshire Fens.

31 LU WORLD ‘D’ is for departmental unit, LU sets passenger record.

32 RAILTOURS CFPS ‘40’ reaches Saltburn; PLUS ‘0-60’ Extra: how did the EE machine perform on the East Coast racetrack?

34 PRESERVATION Third ‘Teddy Bear’ for ELR; BARS hires ‘50’ and ‘33’; Derby Lightweight moves to EVR; Class 101 scrapped.

MODELLING There is much to review this month with all the news from Warley plus the announcement by Hornby of its releases for 2015. The Class 50 serial comes to a conclusion, while our D&E files looks at departmental vans.

38 POWER BY THE HOUR Colas hires Boden ‘Hoovers’ as its third ‘60’ returns; FGW ‘57’ ventures into East Anglia.

40 POWERSCENE Our nationwide round-up of notable locomotive workings over the past month.

50 UNITARY AUTHORITY Refurbished ‘456s’ enter service with SWT.

53 SHUNTER SPOT DBS active shunters return to double figures.

54 COACH COMPARTMENT Great Anglia takes ‘Pretendolino’ Mk.3 set.

55 WAGONS ROLL GW electrification vehicles get ‘DR’ numbers.

56 IRISH ANGLE Plans announced for a second luxury charter train; overhaul of cross-border fleet begins.

The CFPS’ well turned out ‘40’ No. 40145 (as pre-TOPS No. 345) stands at York with the Compass Tours charter to Saltburn on November 29. With ten coaches and a Class 47 in tow, the EE machine put in a sterling performance on the East Coast Main Line north of York - see page 33. Adam Gibbons

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NEWS

Virgin branding for East Coast as franchise re-let More trains, seats and destinations are promised as Stagecoach and Virgin win the key inter-city route. By ‘Industry Witness’ THE Department for Transport surprised the rail industry on November 27 when it announced that the Stagecoach-Virgin ‘Inter City Railways’ consortium had won the prestigious East Coast franchise. Just 24 hours earlier, those monitoring the share prices of all the bidding firms were confidently predicting that Keolis-Eurostar had won the deal. First Group was the other firm to lose out. The headline improvements promised by Inter City Railways include new trains, more seats and more services. There will be 23 new services from King’s Cross to current destinations, including those less well served such as Bradford, Harrogate, Lincoln and Stirling, plus plans for new direct links to Huddersfield, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Dewsbury and Thornaby. With 65 new Intercity Express trains being introduced from 2018 (see also page 17), there will be 3100 extra seats for the morning peak by 2020 and 12,200 additional seats across the entire train fleet – representing a 50% increase on today. The journey times from London to Leeds will be reduced by 14 minutes and

from London to Edinburgh by 13 minutes. Although Virgin Trains holds only a 10% share in the winning joint venture with Stagecoach, the trains will be branded as a Virgin operation, meaning that both Anglo-Scottish main line routes will feature rolling stock in the same apparent ownership. There are immediate questions about whether the Competition and Markets Authority will find this acceptable, but it has to be assumed that the Department for Transport would not have chosen the new operator if objections on the grounds of reduced competition had been expected. It is likely that the 90% share of the business held by Stagecoach will be seen as a dominant interest, unlike the West Coast where Virgin has the majority 51% interest.

A MASSIVE PREMIUM

The franchise is due to run for eight years from March 2015, with provision for a one-year extension, and is due to pay a significant premium of £2.3 billion (at current day values) to the Government for the operating rights. At first sight, this is not dissimilar to the current level of profits earned by the publicly owned East Coast business, but it reflects a very different cost base

given a future rise in fleet expenses. The present rolling stock in operation ranges from 25-year old Class 91 and Mk.4 sets to HSTs, which are close to 40 years old. It has been previously suggested that the capital cost of replacement IEP trains, which will be up to £3 million per coach, would eliminate the potential for profitable operations in the immediate years following introduction, but clearly increased revenue forecasts in the Stagecoach-Virgin bid have been sufficient to meet these liabilities. There is seen to be a revenue benefit from the use of the Virgin brand, which is supported by research conducted by Passenger Focus, the official rail industry voice for users. In a measurement of the trust passengers have in train operating companies, it was found that Virgin was more highly rated than any other operator, with users believing its ethos was to always do the right thing. Despite this, the figures look to be very challenging as the number of long-distance passengers did not grow at all in the 2013/14 financial year, with industry statistics dominated by the increasing number of users in London and the South East. There is, however, the prospect of gaining market share from air travel on

the Anglo Scottish services, given the faster journey times once the IEP fleet is introduced. Figures previously produced by Alliance Rail Holdings suggest that the 65% market share held by the airlines could be significantly reduced if 140mph services were introduced. With both main lines between England and Scotland now operated by consortiums involving Virgin Trains, the regulatory authorities may now feel it beneficial if Alliance Rail’s open-access services, which are planned to use ‘Pendolino’ rolling stock, are authorised.

ROLLING STOCK PROVISION

The Class 800 bi-mode and Class 801 electric trainsets ordered from Hitachi for the East Coast Main Line will start to be introduced in 2018, with the complete fleet in service in time for a timetable upgrade in May 2019. Pre-production trains built in Japan will be seen on the ECML in 2015 as part of the testing of the prototype electric unit. The 65 East Coast IEP trains are made up of 30 nine-car Class 801 electric sets, which are a like-for-like replacement of the Class 91+Mk.4 sets, with the addition of 12 five-car electric sets. All these have an auxiliary diesel engine, which allows slow-speed running when the electric current is unavailable, and

Vossloh to shed transportation arm VOSSLOH has revealed that it wants to dispose of its transportation arm, despite it making good profits. The company claims the restructuring move will enable it to concentrate on the rail infrastructure segment of its activities. The transportation side, embracing the locomotive building plants at Valencia and Kiel, is likely to be sold to a third party or partner firm, and this is planned to take place by 2017.

GOOGLE THIS! The bizarre sight of a temporary theatre being built alongside King’s Cross station, and in the shadow of St Pancras, on a parcel of land owned by Google that is eventually to become a £1 billion office development. The theatre will stage a production of The Railway Children, which has previously been shown in the capital at the former Waterloo International station. The play includes a steam locomotive being pushed into the auditorium at various times, for which track has been laid, and a small battery-powered shunting loco hired in from Holland. Workers can be seen building the seating tiers on November 28, while in the background ex-LSWR steam loco No. 563 is peeping out of its shed. The play is due to run through to March. Paul Fuller 8 RAIL EXPRESS January 2015

Vossloh sees its future markets as being in Russia, China, the US and Western Europe, and loco building is no longer a core business with enough future potential for growth. The UK’s involvement with Vossloh came fairly recently with the building of Direct Rail Services’ Class 68 machines at Valencia. The company introduced its 20 ton axle load ‘Eurolight’ loco, from which the ‘68s’ are derived, in 2010.

Vossloh product No. 68014 broke new ground for the class on December 6 when the Chiltern-liveried machine arrived at Leeds, while working Pathfinder’s ‘Yuletide Yorkshire Explorer’ tour from Newport, South Wales. It travelled via Birmingham, Preston and Skipton, and marked the first railtour use for the class. Nigel Cockburn

Follow us on twitter @railexpress can also maintain on-board services in working order. The Class 800 bi-mode trains are made up of 13 nine-car trains, which are a like-for-like replacement of the current High Speed Train fleet allocated to the route, with the addition of 10 five-car units. This rolling stock can operate as an electric unit, where overhead line equipment is provided, and it has diesel power capable of maintaining timings on non-electrified routes. This will allow the present through services to continue between London and destinations in Scotland. Trains will be maintained at a new facility at Doncaster, with depot upgrades at Neville Hill, Heaton, Craigentinny, Polmadie, Aberdeen and Inverness on the basis of a 27-year contract negotiated by the DfT. This would appear to put the IEP service life on current routes beyond the commissioning of the expected HS2 Leeds extension in 2034.

NEWS DVT, as passengers can then be carried in all vehicles, while the 26 metre coach length is a further factor in increasing the number of seats. There will be faster journey times, and the aim is to have regular services that reach Edinburgh in four hours, calling only at Newcastle, and Leeds in two hours, which is also likely to see a reduced stopping pattern. There is no change in the maximum speed of 125mph, despite the train having a 140mph capability, until signalling changes are made. It has become a feature of recent franchise bids that societal benefits are offered and this contract is no exception with agreement to establish a new apprenticeship scheme in partnership with local authorities, a programme offering trainee positions and job trials for unemployed people at locations on the route, and an ex-offenders initiative to help people gain employment in good jobs. Martin Griffiths, Stagecoach chief executive, has said there will be various schemes to deliver a more personal travel experience for passengers by investing in enhanced training for the people who provide the service. Crucially, a new process to provide extra customer service resources during times of disruption will be implemented. There will also be a reversal of policy to focus on advanced tickets with a commitment to reduce the price of Standard Anytime fares on long-distance journeys to and from London and Stevenage by 10%.

“IEP service life is beyond the expected HS2 extension to Leeds in 2034”

TRAIN SERVICE PLANS

There will be a range of new through trains with a regular interval operation from London to Lincoln and Harrogate. Other destinations to gain new services will be Huddersfield, Sunderland and Middlesbrough. Some changes will be made in the December 2015 timetable using the existing rolling stock, with Stirling being added to the East Coast network. In total, the seating capacity of the fleet will rise by 12,200 – a 50% increase over the current capacity. This is in part due to the use of distributed power in place of power cars or a locomotive and

Network map of East Coast services under the eight-year deal won by Stagecoach-Virgin.

PROGRESS ON GW ELECTRIFICATION: Work to wire up the Great Western Main Line has seen the first masts go up in Reading station, as shown on December 3 as Colas Rail’s No. 70805 works through from the east with the 6V62/11.22 Tilbury Riverside to Llanwern empty steel train. This is believed to be only the second time that a General Electric machine has worked this train. James Bushnell

January 2015 RAIL EXPRESS 9

PERFORMANCE

Just how nimble are today’s locos and units, and what’s the quickest off the mark? Neville Hill visits the flat lands of the Fens north of Cambridge in pursuit of ‘Networker’ Class 365 EMUs.

LASS 365 ‘Networkers’ can no longer be considered to be modern electric units, but they have a fine pedigree that originated two decades ago in the York Works of ABB. The units remain first choice for the sprightly Cambridge expresses from King’s Cross, with one per hour extended to King’s Lynn as a single four-car set across the flat and often bleak Fenland scenery. Consulting a map indicates a number of possible locations for recording level 0-60mph accelerations. But infrastructure restrictions on the exit from stations, such as the double to single line connection northbound from Littleport, soon reduce the scope. Northbound from Waterbeach looked promising, but level crossing work resulted in a cautioned start when timed. However, No. 365522 produced a brisk start from Downham Market reaching 60mph in 0.57miles and taking just 58.37sec.

TIMES AND SCORES SUMMARY Rank

No.

0 to 60 time (secs)

RE Factor**

Location

Issue

Notes

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.

357017+357033 323224 350403 365529 185113 375606 180110 220007 43285 / 43321 166205 168003 91125 D1015 67006

50 51 54 56 68 70 83 94 96 102 103 108 174 179

15673 14658 16397 17515 11088 12715 8514 7610 9050 11391 10640 7806 10110 8030

East from West Ham SW from Chelford Nth/Sth from Lockerbie South from Watlington Nth from Northallerton North from Wye North from Grantham East from Taunton South from Burton West from Tilehurst Sth from High Wycombe Nth from Northallerton South from Banbury North from Tamworth

May. 2014 Aug. 2014 Nov. 2014 Jan. 2015 Oct. 2014 Jul. 2014 Jan. 2014 Apr. 2014 Jan. 2014 Mar. 2014 Jun. 2014 Dec. 2014 Jul. 2014 Feb. 2014

A sizzling LTS record A credit to Longsight Another class act from Siemens Still lively despite their age Disappointing in ideal conditions Third rail but not third rate Working on four or five engines? Disappointing derated acceleration HST workhorse Showing the effects of low gearing More strength at mid-range speeds Slow start masks true performance 50 years old and still going strong A majestic effort

Coming back from King’s Lynn, the driver was making a spirited effort to get away from stations, but two were marred when the motorised rear coach slipped slightly on greasy level crossing rails. This cost only a couple of seconds but it was enough to ruin any chance of topping the table.

The best start was from Watlington, where No. 365529 managed an excellent 0-60mph over 0.55miles in just 55.94sec, but this could probably be beaten on a temperate, dry day. I was told that No. 365518 is currently the best set around, so watch out if you are fortunate enough to encounter

it running a little late with a keen driver on a dry day. The high RE factor of 17515 is the result of a ‘365’ having a lower powerto-weight ratio than, say, a Class 350/4 (10.47hp/tonne compared with 11.3 respectively) but still nearly matching its 0-60 time.

WATLINGTON TO DOWNHAM MARKET Unit Vehicles/tare/gross tonnes Train Date Recorder Miles 0.00 0.02 0.04 0.10 0.18 0.35 0.55 2.57 4.84

365529 4/161/165 12.55 King’s LynnKing’s Cross October 15, 2014 Neville Hill

Timing Point Watlington d.

Sch 0

Stow Bardolph L.C. Downham Market a.

5½

MS 0 00 0 09 0 14 0 22 0 30 0 43 0 56 2 35 6 20

MPH 1½L 10 20 30 40 50 60 76/sigs

Notes: Timed to 1/100th of a second and rounded to nearest full second. Watlington was named Magdalen Road until 1990 (station closed 1968-1975).

0-60 time: RE FACTOR**: COMMENT:

56 seconds 17515 Still lively despite their age

NOTE: **The RE Factor is calculated using a formula based on time, load and rated horsepower. A higher score is better.

LEFT: ‘Networker’ No. 365538 waits to depart the staggered platforms at Watlington with a service from King’s Lynn to King’s Cross on September 23, 2011. The signal box is called Magdalen Road, which was the name of the station until 1990. The box itself is interesting in that it is a Great Central Railway design, built after the GCR became part of the London & North Eastern Railway in 1923. SP Rail

30 RAIL EXPRESS January 2015

TRACTION & ROLLING STOCK

David Rapson

Powerscene

Our authoritative class-by-class review of newsworthy locomotive workings. CLASS 20

ONCE their brief stint on RHTT duties ceased, the Balfour Beatty pairing of Nos. 20142 and 20189 ran light to Ripple Lane on November 3, before heading north to York on November 15 ready to take up route-learning trips. Two days later, the Type 1s were noted at Hartlepool, Sunderland and Newcastle and they continued to perambulate around the North East until November 26. Late on the 29th, Nos. 20142 and 20189 top-and-tailed an engineers’ train from York to Wakefield and at 08.55 on Sunday, November 30, passed Colton Junction with the 6Y85/07.50 Wakefield-York Leeman Road, formed of a dozen PNAs and a Railvac machine. The two GBRf-liveried examples,

Nos. 20901+20905, both newly fitted with mini-snowploughs, started RHTT work based upon Tonbridge on November 17, venturing to Maidstone West, Faversham and Dartford, while that same day, No. 20227 moved from the Midland Railway Centre at Butterley to Ripple Lane to take up shunting duties in lieu of the Balfour Beatty pair.

CLASS 31

BARS Brush Type 2 No. 31601 has continued to hog the limelight in the absence of No. 31190. Three days after working the 6Y57/23.00 Motspur ParkTotton Yard with No. 56312, it ran from Eastleigh Works to Taunton with NSE-liveried Class 50 No. 50026 Indomitable on November 19, the latter being destined for use at

Okehampton over the winter. November 21 found No. 31601 en route from Bristol Barton Hill to Wembley LMD with Chiltern Mk.3 coach No. 12616, before returning to Taunton on November 24 towing ‘Crompton’ No. 33103 from Burton Wetmore and moving the Class 33/1 to Meldon Quarry next day. The next job undertaken by No. 31601 was to haul partially repainted No. 47712 from Crewe Heritage Centre to Derby (November 27) and thence to Wolsingham, on the Weardale Railway, the following day.

CLASS 37

DRS Type 3s Nos. 37409 Lord Hinton and 37259 found themselves on a Daventry to Coatbridge intermodal working on November 7 after DBS electric

locomotive No. 92029 Dante expired en route north of Preston. The Type 3s were despatched from Carlisle to assist the train forward and worked through to Coatbridge after dropping the Class 92 off at Kingmoor. The following day, the same Type 3s, along with Nos. 37611+37218, formed half of a quartet atop the 6K73/17.18 Sellafield to Crewe CLS. Delivered new a little matter of 52 years ago this month, No. 37602 (originally D6782) covered plenty of ground during November, starting with a trip along the Sharpness branch to Berkeley Power Station on November 7 with No. 37218. By November 18, however, No. 37602 had ventured to Inverness, where it was paired up with No. 37612 to work the 6S99/15.18

Network Rail yellow-liveried Type 2 No. 31233, which was built in 1960, heads the 3Z35 Swansea to Derby test train at Briton Ferry, Neath Port Talbot, on November 15. Ceri Kiff

40 RAIL EXPRESS January 2015

TRACTION & ROLLING STOCK Name game

by Simon Bendall

LOCO NAMINGS Brush, Loughborough 11.14 73961 Alison Reapplication of nameplates to the rebuilt Class 73, following the completion of commissioning runs at the Great Central Railway. Crewe station 90036 Driver Jack Mills Named in memory of the driver who was assaulted during the Great Train Robbery in 1963, Crewe being his home town.

02.12.14

UNIT NAMINGS Barnstaple station 27.11.14 150261 The Tarka Line The First 25 Years 1989-2014 Named to mark the 25th anniversary of the creation of the community partnership that promotes the Barnstaple branch, which today consists of Devon County Council, First Great Western, North Devon Council, Barnstaple Town Council and the Tarka Rail Association. 156448 Bram Stoker Creator of Dracula Whitby station 01.11.14 Named after the Irish-born author, who stayed in Whitby in 1890 and used the town as part of the inspiration for his famous novel. Sheffield station 11.11.14 222011 Sheffield City Battalion 1914-1918 Naming of the ‘Meridian’ as part of East Midlands Trains’ commemorations for the centenary of the First World War. The Sheffield City Battalion served in both Egypt and France during the war, losing 513 men in three days of fighting at the beginning of the Battle of the Somme. In addition to the vinyl names, the unit has also received poppy logos. 395014 The Victoria Cross MMXIV London St Pancras station 15.11.14 Naming of the ‘Javelin’ prior to working UK Railtours’ ‘The Victoria Cross’ around Kent. The unit sported large poppy and Victoria Cross emblems on the sides.

Inverness Rose Street-Georgemas Junction flask train; this running a day late after RETB problems with No. 37608. Having returned south, No. 37602 was in Somerset on November 25 with No. 66428 on the 6V74/02.00 Crewe CLS-Bridgwater. The ‘Festive Portsmouth Explorer’ charter of November 29 was something of a misnomer as it was booked to stand for only 16 minutes at Portsmouth Harbour. Running as the 1Z36/07.02 Stafford-Eastleigh, the tour was topand-tailed by Nos. 37218 and 37688 and ran well to Swindon, where operational problems were encountered, causing a delay of almost an hour. As a result, the return trip (1Z38) was held back for 60 minutes in order to leave Eastleigh at 16.31. Among the regular array of test train workings during the month was the appearance of Nos. 37607 & 37609 at Liverpool Street station and later at Marks Tey on November 20, prior to heading off to Broxbourne that same afternoon. The branch line from Sandbach to Northwich via Middlewich witnessed the appearance of No. 37667 on November 27 with an ultrasonic test train from Crewe, which later ran to Chester, Altrincham and Stockport, before returning to Crewe by the same route. No. 37409 passed Camden Road at 15.20 on November 26, hauling repainted Mk.3 coaches Nos. 10214 and 12030, forming the 5Z37/13.56 Wolverton Works-Norwich Crown Point. Two of the West Coast Railways fleet, Nos. 37668 and 37706, have recently undertaken Network Rail route filming trips with the latter pottering between Paddington and Reading on November 25. Meanwhile, having handled the 5V42/11.23 CarnforthSouthall empty stock trip with No. 47746 on November 6, No. 37668 was out filming between Bristol, Cardiff and Swansea on November 12.

CLASS 47

With steam railmotor No. 99093 in tow, West Coast’s No. 47237 formed the 5Z92/22.43 Southall-Didcot late on November 7. After heading through

DRS ‘37s’ Nos. 37609 and 37607 visited the Ironbridge Power Station branch on November 24, top-and-tailing the 3Q01 Network Rail test train from Derby to Shrewsbury. The train is pictured passing the long-closed Coalbrookdale station, which is now home to the Green Wood Centre, offering workshops in skills such as coppicing, charcoal making, coracle design and willow work. Mike Hemming

Maidenhead at 23.35, the pair spent an hour awaiting the booked path at Reading station. The transfer of 13 empty coaches from Tyseley to Carnforth saw Nos. 47580 County of Essex and 47245 heading through Stafford on November 13, and five days later, Nos. 57001+47832 had charge of a rake of mainly Statesman coaches, forming the 5T43/14.13 TyseleyCarnforth. No. 47746 ‘tailed’ the 1Z87/06.50 Poole-Bristol, hauled by ‘Black 5’ No. 45407 on November 27, a service which returned to Dorset headed by ‘Pacific’ No. 34067 Tangmere, still with the Type 4 on the rear. Following electrical repairs and a repaint, No. 47760 (still fitted with its minisnowploughs), along with No. 57313, successfully handled the 1Z85/05.28 Cambridge-Edinburgh charter on November 29, a first passenger duty this year for No. 47760.

Colas Railfreight’s No. 47739 Robin of Templecombe 1938-2013 accompanied No. 56087 on the 6E07/14.50 Washwood Heath-Boston Docks and the loaded 6M08/20.16 return on November 11, before teaming up with stable companion No. 47727 Rebecca on the 6C01/23.32 Bescot Engineers Sidings-Bordesley Junction ballast late on November 14. No. 47739 was also recorded in charge of the 6V62/11.22 Tilbury Riverside-Llanwern steel on November 26, having come to the rescue of a sick-sounding No. 60021 at Acton. The Direct Rail Services duo of Nos. 47818 and 47828 handled the local Anglian shuttle services at the beginning of November, although the former set off for Doncaster with buffet No. 10203 on November 7, by which time Nos. 47805 and 47828 had been paired together (in top-and-tail mode as usual) to work the shuttles

for the remainder of the month. After a spell out of use, No. 47818, along with No. 47790 Galloway Princess, took a set of empty DRS coaches from Crewe to Preston on November 22 ready to start working Christmas ‘shuttles’ for Northern Rail between Preston, Buckshaw Parkway and Manchester Victoria. The first such train that morning ran as the 2Z04/08.35 Buckshaw Parkway-Manchester Victoria and the last of 11 such workings as the 2Z29/22.20 Manchester VictoriaPreston, which terminated at 23.18. The empty stock returned to Crewe the next day and the same locos covered the diagram once more on November 29.

CLASS 56

Former Fertis example No. 56103, along with BARS classmate No. 56303, had charge of the 6Z56/22.20 Peak ForestNorwich limestone working late on November 5, running together as far as

January 2015 RAIL EXPRESS 41

❯

IRISH ANGLE

William Watson & Alan McFerran

Plans announced for a second luxury train Following the launch by Railtours Ireland of the ‘Emerald Isle Express’ in September, VSOE-operator Belmond has announced it will operate a new Mk.3-based luxury train in Ireland from 2016. BELMOND, the company that offers luxury train travel on the Royal Scotsman and Venice Simplon Orient Express, announced on November 5 that it plans to offer a similar ‘rail experience’ in Ireland. The ‘Grand Hibernian’ is scheduled to be introduced in the summer of 2016, and 10 Irish Rail Mk.3 vehicles will be rebuilt to form the train. The company, which also operates a fleet of cruise ships and a chain of luxury hotels worldwide, intends to offer two,

four and six-night packages in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The train will accommodate 40 passengers and include an observation bar car and two restaurant cars plus sleeping cars. Twenty en suite cabins, four of which will be interconnecting, are to be provided and this will be the first time that sleeping accommodation will have been provided for passengers on a train in Ireland. The interiors are to be

designed by James Parks Associates, which has carried out work on other Belmond trains. Irish Rail’s chief executive officer David Franks said: “We are proud and delighted to welcome Belmond’s ‘Grand Hibernian’ to Ireland’s rail network. Rail is a key element of our national tourism product and the launch represents a strong endorsement of Ireland as a destination by Belmond.” The pool of Mk.3s that are

candidates for rebuilding includes Nos. 7103, 7104, 7116, 7120, 7122, 7129, 7130, 7137, 7149, 7158, 7161, 7169, 7171, 7403, 7404, 7601 and 7607. Traction is to be provided by Irish Rail and the coaches will be maintained by the railway company in Dublin. It is believed that the site chosen to be the base for the stock is the redundant valeting shed at Heuston station. This building was previously earmarked for use by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI).

Overhaul of Charter features two GMs and five liveries cross-border fleet begins THE mid-life refurbishment of the IR/NIR De Dietrich-built fleet of vehicles has commenced at Belfast York Road Works, while IR is also undertaking unspecified work on the pool of ‘Enterprise’ 201 Class locomotives. The rolling programme is due to be completed in late 2016. Most of the cross-border services will continue to be worked by two De Dietrich sets and dedicated 201 Class locomotives during this period. However, a 22000 Class (ICR) DMU has been diagrammed to work weekdays from November 16 following the introduction of a new timetable (see also IR traffic news). It works the 07.35, 13.20, 19.00 exDublin and 10.35, 16.05, 21.35 ex-Belfast, the latter replacing the 20.05 ex-Belfast. On Sundays, a 22000 Class unit works the 10.00 and 16.00 exDublin and the 13.05 and 19.05 ex-Belfast. The only significant timetable changes on the ‘Enterprise’ route are on Sundays. There continue to be five services each way between the two capital cities but some departure times have been altered. NIR 3000 Class DMUs have also been authorised for use on cross-border timetabled services, and this type of unit works as required. An additional 10.30 Belfast to Connolly is running on Saturdays for the period running up to Christmas.

56 RAIL EXPRESS January 2015

A ONE-WAY private charter ran from Dublin Connolly to Midleton on November 7 in connection with an internet summit held in the capital. Then rather than return empty, the trip back to Dublin was open to the public at a fare of €25. The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland provided seven Cravens coaches plus ‘BR’ van No. 3185. NIR GM No. 112 had been requested but was unavailable, so instead No. 8113 ran light engine from

York Road to Connolly and thence to Inchicore on November 6 to collect the empty stock. No. 8113 then hauled the empty train to Connolly, where it subsequently failed with a brake issue. Enterprise-liveried GM No. 233 took over and was used to haul the charter to Midleton, believed to be the longest train yet to have visited the reopened line. As there is no run-round loop there, classmate No. 217 followed light engine

from Cork to haul the train back to there, after which No. 233 took over again for the trip back to Connolly. Five liveries were in evidence on the charter – two on the traction and three on the coaching stock. Note the description in last month’s issue of the attractive blue and cream livery carried by RPSI Cravens coaches Nos. 1514 and 1522 omitted to say that the two colours are separated by a thin black line.

GM No. 217 passes Killacloyne, between Carrigtwohill and Cobh Junction, hauling the return of the RPSI’s ‘Web Summit’ charter from Midleton to Cork on November 7. Four different liveries are visible in this shot, with a fifth on loco No. 233, which took over from Cork to Dublin. Finbarr O’Neill