The Railway Magazine - December 2018 - Preview by Mortons Media Group Ltd

FLYING SCOTSMAN NAMEPLATE SELLS FOR £64,000

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■ Talgo chooses Scotland for new factory

■ Brake issues delay TPE’s ‘Nova 3’ ■

Nodding along: Class 143/144 ‘Pacers’

West Somerset faces three-month closure

Rail revival plans in Fife

How LNER pioneered nonsteam traction

WATERLOO ACCIDENT REPORT RAISES SPECTRE OF CLAPHAM

The

EDITORIAL

Editor: Chris Milner Deputy editor: Gary Boyd-Hope Consultant editor: Nick Pigott Senior correspondent: Ben Jones Designer: Tim Pipes Picture desk: Paul Fincham and Jonathan Schofield Publisher: Tim Hartley Production editor: Sarah Wilkinson Sub-editor: Nigel Devereux Editorial assistant: Jane Skayman Classic Traction News: Peter Nicholson Operations News: Ashley Butlin Narrow Gauge News: Cliff Thomas Metro News: Paul Bickerdyke World News: Keith Fender By post: The Railway Magazine, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR Tel: 01507 529589 Fax: 01507 371066 Email: railway@mortons.co.uk © 2018 Mortons Media ISSN 0033-8923

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Accepted photographs and articles will be paid for upon publication. Items we cannot use will be returned if accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope, and recorded delivery must clearly state so and enclose sufficient postage. In common with practice on other rail periodicals, all material is sent or returned at the contributor’s own risk and neither The Railway Magazine, the editor, the staff nor Mortons Media Ltd can be held responsible for loss or damage, howsoever caused. The opinions expressed in The RM are not necessarily those of the editor or staff. This periodical must not, without the written consent of the publishers first being given, be lent, sold, hired out or otherwise disposed of in a mutilated condition or, in any unauthorised cover by way of trade or annexed to or as part of any publication or advertising, literary or pictorial matter whatsoever.

This issue was published on December 5, 2018. The next will be on sale on January 2, 2019.

Original Welsh Highland Railway Hunslet 2-6-2T Russell returned to its former stamping ground on November 25 for the first time since 1937. The historic trial run took the loco through Aberglaslyn Pass en route to Beddgelert. MICHAEL CHAPMAN

Waterloo incident is a wake-up call

HIRTY years ago, on December 12, 1988, a busy commuter train ran into the back of another packed train, which had stopped at a red signal outside Clapham Junction. Moments later a third train hit the wreckage. It was a catastrophe in which 35 people lost their lives and 484 were injured. It’s a day I can never forget as it was also my first wedding anniversary. My pager bleeped around 08.45 and displayed the awful news of a serious train crash. In the subsequent public inquiry report by Sir Anthony Hidden, recommendations included ensuring work was independently inspected, and a senior project manager be made responsible for all aspects of any major, safety-critical project, such as re-signalling work. Very worrying, therefore, was the collision in the throat of Waterloo station in August 2017 between a passenger and engineering train, found to have been caused by undocumented wiring, coupled with a question over the competence of the person checking the work. There were fortunately no injuries in last year’s incident because it was a low-speed collision, but

Time for more innovative thinking? THE rail industry is often accused of a lack of innovative thinking, so I take my hat off to Virgin Trains for sticking it’s neck out and removing off-peak ticket restrictions on a Friday afternoon. The result has created a much more even flow of passengers in the afternoon as well as a far greater chance of getting a seat through the resultant reduction in overcrowding, and rather than the cheaper fares reducing revenue, it has very slightly increased revenue. It’s also probably reduced the dangerous concourse stampedes that occur when the platform

TRAIN OF THOUGHT

Editor’s Comment

nevertheless there were chilling echoes of the Clapham crash 30 years previously. It also begs the question how rife the practices uncovered by RAIB are among signalling contractors and others. And equally concerning, is whether some of the recommendations of the Hidden report, which were adopted and remain in use today, are being passed on to today’s technicians. Are the lessons learnt after Clapham starting to fade? Britain has an exceptionally safe railway network, but there is no room for any short cuts, sloppiness or complacency in working practices, regardless of the pressure to hand back possessions on time. Network Rail and its contractors must view the Waterloo collision as a wake-up call. appears on the departure boards. Passengers are delighted with the change as it can also extend their weekend by several hours, and staff are less stressed, too. Whether other operators make the same move or extend it to other days remains to be seen, but it’s pleasing to see new ideas trialled with great success. Hopefully, there will be a few innovations in the pipeline to benefit the passenger.

Season’s greetings THE editor and staff wish all readers of The RM a very Happy Christmas and peaceful New Year. CHRIS MILNER, Editor

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December 2018 • The Railway Magazine • 3

Contents

December 2018. No. 1,413. Vol 164. A journal of record since 1897.

Headline News

The first Class 755 bi-mode unit built by Stadler has arrived in the UK. JOHN A DAY

Northern denies crisis talks; Virgin scraps Friday ticket restrictions; ‘Scotsman’ nameplate sells for £64,500; Vintage Trains launches main line 'Polar Express'; Talgo plans Scottish factory; West Somerset closes for three months; TPE's ‘Nova 3’ delayed until May; Porterbrook ‘Flex’ sets for new year debut; Immingham coaling tower demolished; Days of lineside permit numbered?

On the cover

MAIN IMAGE: The Great Western Society’s re-created Churchward ‘Saint’ 4-6-0 stands alongside the GWR shed at Didcot Railway Centre after making its public debut in BR black as No. 2983 Redgauntlet. The appearance was for a one-off Black Saint Weekend on November 17-18. PETER ZABEK INSET 1: Nearing the end - the ‘Pacers’. INSET 2: Another Scottish rail revival on the cards? INSET 3: A Tyneside electric at Newcastle.

Track Record The Railway Magazine’s monthly news digest 66 Steam & Heritage

Public debut for ‘Saint’ at Didcot; Frames cut for ‘County’ 4-4-0 new build; Caledonian blue duo together again; Ashburton closure remembered 60 years on.

72 Industrial 74 Steam Portfolio 76 Irish 78 Narrow Gauge 80 Railtours 82 Heritage Trams 85 Classic Traction 87 Classic Traction Portfolio

A new Northern Rail Class 195 DMU at Liverpool. TONY MILES

88 World 90 Metro 92 Network

Network Rail consults over Croydon bottleneck; Railway Heritage Trust invests £5m in projects; Kidderminster station to be redeveloped; Exeter depot expansion.

96 Traction & Stock

First Class 444 refurbished; Northern’s new Class 195 previewed; South Wales to get Class 144 ‘Pacers’ as stop gap?

Boilered ‘Patriot’ makes public debut at Crewe. BOB SWEET

100 Traction Portfolio 102 Stock Update 103 Operations

Regulars Nick Pigott's new opinion page looks at some recent railway positives and negatives.

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12 Railways in Parliament

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60 Panorama

Our regular gallery of the best railway photography from around the world.

108 Meetings

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12 Up and Down Lines

54 Readers’ Platform 58 Subscription Oﬀer

The Railway Magazine’s audited circulation of 36,072 copies per month makes it by far the

Panorama: Nocturnal Class 50s. JACK BOSKETT

112 Heritage Diary

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Details of when Britain’s unique collection of heritage railways and railway museums are open.

121 Reader Services 122 Christmas Crossword

Class 91 No. 91119 Bounds Green Intercity depot 1977-2017 looks superb in its original InterCity livery at King’s Cross on November 18, ready to depart with the 18.27 to Newcastle. The loco suffered significant fire damage after snow and ice ingress as a result of the ‘Beast from the East’ storm last March, and has been extensively rebuilt by Bounds Green engineering staff. Emerging in the ‘Swallow’ livery was also a fitting finale before Hitachi took over the depot, and with it responsibility for all train maintenance at the North London location in preparation for arrival of Class 800/801 IET sets, which will replace many of the Class 91 and Mk4 carriage sets used on the East Coast route. Barring incidents, No. 91119 is expected to be one of the last of the class remaining in service. GEOFF GRIFFITHS

Features 14 Addicted to Steam?

The London & North Eastern Railway was an early pioneer of non-steam traction more than 100 years ago. Bob Gwynne, assistant curator at the NRM, tells the story.

20 An Edwardian Gem

24 Nodding Along

In the third and concluding part of the ‘Pacer’ story, Gary Boyd-Hope looks at the life and times of the Class 143 and 144 units.

32 Regenerating railways in the Kingdom of Fife

Chris Milner ﬁnds out more about the North Eastern Railway's petrol autocar, which has been lovingly restored to full working order, along with a few appropriate modiﬁcations.

When it comes to rebuilding railways, Scotland has been more proactive than England. Graeme Pickering explains two schemes that are gaining momentum and which aim to restore rail services to thriving parts of Fife.

NOT ONLY STEAM: Early LNER diesel and electrics - p14

SAVIOURS: The trains which saved rural lines - p24

36 Ghost story

This year’s seasonal ghost story is told by Bob Lumb.

39 ‘Inn’ and out, up and down, round and round

This month’s Practice & Performance, compiled by John Heaton, samples services in Austria, ranging from modern ‘Railjet’ units to narrow gauge steam.

46 Gifts and reviews

If you are still stuck for Christmas gift ideas, our guide should give you a few suggestions.

BACKING FIFE: Scotland’s future rail plans - p32

December 2018 • The Railway Magazine • 5

HeadlineNews Railways call time on lineside photo permits

THE days of the lineside photography permit may be numbered as a number of preserved railways blame rising insurance costs and safety concerns for their decisions to end the issuing of permits to photographers. Lineside passes have traditionally been issued on an annual basis for a set fee. Successful applicants are then supplied with safety handbooks and often given training in Personal Track Safety (PTS) before they are allowed to venture beyond public areas of a railway.

Trespass

Permits enabled photographers to reach parts of a railway that offer better vantage points away from crowds, and have helped keep trespass figures down both on railway and neighbouring land. Yet incidents of lineside damage and safety breaches, where trains have had to stop owing to the actions of a linesider, have caused some railways to rethink this policy. Back in July, the South Devon Railway posted a statement on its website saying: “Unfortunately,

we are no longer in a position to offer Lineside Photography Permits. This is due to the rising administrative and operational burden in managing the scheme and maintaining the appropriate level of safety controls.” More recently, the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway has also elected to enforce a blanket ban on the issuing of permits following a Railway and Other Guided Transport Systems (Safety) Regulations (ROGS) audit. Railway spokesman Ian Crowder said: “The GWSR recently underwent a ROGS audit and it was strongly advised that lineside passes should be withdrawn, and we agreed to act upon that recommendation. “The current system of allowing people to purchase lineside passes and then wander freely along the lineside is unsafe. We have no practical way of policing the use of lineside passes. It is much safer to restrict access to working volunteers with PTS and not allow access for everyone else.” All passes issued in 2018 will continue to be valid until their expiry date of January 31, 2019. However, Mr Crowder added

that: “Photo charters are a different matter and these will be dealt with on an individual basis.” Loughborough’s Great Central Railway has also made the decision to withdraw lineside permits, but not entirely. The railway told current permit holders the “increasing pressure” from its insurers and other bodies was behind its decision to rescind the policy of issuing permits from January 1, 2019.

‘Preferred’

Instead it will continue to issue a limited number of permits to a very small group of “preferred photographers who have loyally supported the railway over the years, and who have conducted themselves safely”. The Isle of Wight Steam Railway has adopted a different approach altogether. It has made available a map of all the best, publically accessible lineside locations that do not require immediate trackside access. “This initiative,” it says, “is to improve our trackside safety, and in the future the issuing of trackside permits for photography will be restricted.”

First Stadler UK ‘Flirt’ unit arrives THE first of a fleet of 34 ‘Flirt’ bi-mode multiple units for Greater Anglia arrived in the UK on November 14. Class 755 No. 755405 was hauled from Ripple Lane to Norwich Crown Point by DB Cargo’s No. 66002 the next day. Rail Operations Group has been

appointed as the test operator for the various safety, performance and acceptance tests. The units are being built by Stadler in Switzerland, with 755405 being the launch set at the Innotrans trade fair in Berlin in September. The set is pictured passing Ipswich. PICTURE: JOHN A DAY

New record as Flying Scotsman nameplate sells for £64,500 ONE of the original nameplates from ‘A3’ Flying Scotsman was sold for a record £64,500 plus buyer’s premium at the GW Railwayana auction in Pershore on November 17. The buyer was an unnamed online bidder. The hammer price beat the previous record of £60,000 for ‘A4’ nameplate Golden Fleece. This plate is from the right hand side and has the number 103, its 1946 LNER number, chiselled into the bottom of one of the mounting webs.

The auction also saw the sale of GWR ‘King’ plate King Henry IV (ex-6020) for £20,000 and a B17 nameplate from No. 61671 Manchester City for £18,000.

PICTURE: JB MEDIA/SAMANTHA SWINFORD

Northern denies ‘crisis talks’ rumour as timetable changes are reduced – with new trains, better stations, more services and faster journeys SUGGESTIONS in the Sunday for our customers. Telegraph on November 4 that “This is the biggest investment Arriva is “locked in crisis talks with into rail in the North in a the Government” over the future generation. But the franchise has of the Northern rail franchise and faced a number of exceptional that it is trying to “renegotiate circumstances, notably the terms” have been strongly denied on-going, late delivery of by the company. infrastructure upgrades. These The story, which was repeated delays were out of our control in other news outlets, said the and have impacted growth in long-running industrial dispute passenger numbers. over the future role of guards and the impact of the chaos which Uncertainty followed the May 2018 timetable “As is standard practice, we are change had “crippled” the in constant dialogue with the finances of Northern. Department for Transport (DfT) According to the report, former about how to improve journeys Transport Minister Jo Johnson for customers in the North.” had answered a parliamentary It has been widely question with the information reported both Northern that in the year to March 2018, and TransPennine Express the subsidy to Northern had risen have been affected badly from £279million the previous by on-going uncertainty year to £282m. This appeared to about schemes, including contrast with the announcement the additional platforms at at the start of the franchise that Manchester Piccadilly, delays to the subsidy to Northern would the completion of infrastructure fall every year. Mr Johnson’s projects, such as the Bolton line answer also confirmed that after electrification, and cancellation of delivering a small premium others, including the Windermere payment in 2017, TransPennine Line electrification. Express had also received a As these formed part of the subsidy in the year to 2018. DfTs commitments set out during Responding to the story, the franchising process, industry a statement issued by a experts confirm both franchises Northern spokesman said: “We will need to agree any changes to are delivering on all of our their contracts. commitments and are investing However, with so much more than £600million to uncertainty over what will be transform local rail in the North delivered and what services will By Tony Miles

6 • The Railway Magazine • December 2018

eventually be able to operate it is no surprise one TOC manager commented: “While we will obviously need to renegotiate, at this point we don’t know what we will be negotiating about.” The fact instructions to delay or cancel most timetable changes in December 2018 came from the DfT has created a situation where the department and the operators will have to re-run parts of their franchise bids to establish the levels of compensation both are due. In October, Rail North noted

Network Rail’s recommendation the December timetable for both franchises should be substantially the same as the May 2018 timetable, in order to “provide a degree of stability” following the chaos in May. Because of this only a small number of limited changes have been allowed. These include the splitting of the TPE ‘stopping service’ between Leeds and Manchester at Huddersfield and the extension of TPE’s turnaround times at Manchester Airport by the insertion of an extra unit into the circuits. Northern is being forced to continue to sub-lease three

Class 185 DMUs from TPE every weekday to work Manchester Airport–Barrow-in-Furness services until its own DMUs are released by the completion of electrification through Bolton. This has led to TPE having to hire a Class 170 from Northern each day to work between Huddersfield and Leeds.

Congestion

The only significant change for Northern is the splitting of the Manchester Victoria-Leeds-York stopping service at Leeds, which TfN says will “reduce the amount of delay ‘imported’ across the Pennines following delay incidents”. TransPennine Express has now bid to introduce its new Liverpool to Glasgow services using the new CAF ‘Nova 2’ EMUs from May 2019, but otherwise it has amended the train service requirement in its contract and proposes to continue: ■ the stopping pattern on the ECML ■ Manchester to Scotland services ■ Sunday services at Manchester Airport ■ Continuation of the split of the Manchester to Leeds stoppers at Huddersfield and the extended turnarounds at Manchester Airport. Northern’s May 2019 timetable

submission is essentially the one it had originally planned to introduce in May 2018, but with a few changes, such as operating an hourly Blackpool to Hazel Grove service rather than Blackpool to Macclesfield, an increase in Southport to South Manchester services from two to three trains per hour in the peaks, the extension of Sheffield to Retford services to Gainsborough Central, and an increase in peak calls at Davenport and Woodsmoor. Congestion between Stockport and Manchester means Northern will not be able to progress with its promised second hourly Greenbank to Manchester service. This is bad news for users of the mid-Cheshire line, who currently face having to change trains in the peaks at Stockport, and who have long been promised an increase in services to two trains per hour. While work continues to find paths, Northern has applied to run a second train per hour between Chester and Altrincham, linking in to Metrolink services. A senior Northern manager told The RM: “The pathing beyond there into Stockport and Manchester is the issue. “We aren’t letting go of the original propositions, but we can’t get them into this timetable. “This flags up the whole issue about how do you try and run services you know there is a

Have you got a story for us? Email: railway@mortons.co.uk

Talgo picks Scottish site for UK factory By Ben Jones

LONGANNET in Fife has been selected by Spanish train builder Talgo as the site for its proposed UK factory. The location is currently occupied by a closed power station, and has been chosen as it is rail-connected, close to sea ports at Grangemouth and Rosyth, and in a region with a good supply of skilled workers. The announcement on November 14 also included the news Talgo plans to build a dedicated ‘innovation centre’ in Chesterfield. Up to 1,000 people could be employed at Longannet if the £40million factory goes ahead. Construction could begin in February 2020, and the first trains rolling out within 18 months. Talgo is one of five bidders shortlisted for the £2.75billion HS2

train contract and is also talking to bidders for the next East Midlands and West Coast franchises. It also has its eye on future new train contracts in the UK, as fleets increase by between 40% and 85% over the next 30 years. Talgo also plans to export rail vehicles and components from Longannet to ‘emerging markets’ overseas as its factories in Spain are at full capacity. The 70,000sq m factory will utilise part of the current power station site and include a test track. Talgo is in discussions with the Scottish Government and Network Rail about access to the national rail network. It is also working with the devolved government on plans to develop the line between Dunfermline and Alloa, which provides access east and west from Longannet, including possible electrification and the

return of passenger trains. In addition, Talgo has announced the development of an ‘all Britain’ strategy to protect and grow the UK supply-chain, and provide opportunities for young people rather than simply assembling kits of parts produced elsewhere in the world. Talgo president Carlos de Palacio said: “This has been a tremendously challenging mission for Talgo, and I have personally seen excellence in all corners of the UK. It has been a difficult decision to make. “The establishment of a manufacturing facility at Longannet is a significant part of Talgo’s future strategy. However, our plans do not end in Scotland. “Talgo’s aim is to establish true UK manufacturing, requiring the ‘Best of British’. Our 18-month mission has revealed a determination and willingness across Britain to do

An aerial view of the Longannet site before the closure of the power station. GOOGLE MAPS

just that.” The company’s UK director Jon Veitch added: “This is not only an exciting day for Talgo, it is an exciting day for the UK. When Talgo started this process, we were looking for just one site. However, we soon realised that all parts of the UK had something to offer. “We have learned about the many rail-related initiatives across the UK, intended to

boost capability for research, development, and testing. “There is an engineering renaissance under way, and I want Talgo to be a leading partner.” Talgo has also revealed it is talking to the Welsh Government about operating the proposed test facility at Onllwyn, near Neath. The company built its first rail vehicles in 1942, and is best known for its patented lightweight trains.

Virgin scraps Friday peak-time ticket restrictions after successful trial PEAKTIME ticket restrictions on Virgin Trains services from London Euston on Fridays have been permanently lifted after a successful three-month trial. The restrictions meant passengers using off-peak tickets were unable to travel between 16.00-19.00, and this led to intense overcrowding on services after

the peak period ended. By lifting restrictions, passengers with off-peak tickets can travel when it suits them on a Friday. This has had the effect of spreading the passenger flow through the afternoon and early evening, resulting in less crowded trains. The move has also generated extra revenue for Virgin.

It said: “While the cheapest tickets are always available in advance, those who decide to travel on the spur of the moment can now secure a cheaper off-peak ticket any time after 09.30 on a Friday, instead of after 19.00. During a media briefing in November, Virgin said it was now carrying 39 million passengers

annually with numbers still rising. It also added £7.5m is being invested to improve wi-fi on the ‘Pendolino’ sets, and had pushed on with its arrangement with Amazon to sell tickets using Alexa, the voice-controlled device. Purchase of m-tickets (tickets sent to and carried on a mobile phone) using the Virgin Trains

mobile phone app online, now account for 31% of all ticket sales by the company, and Virgin aims to push this to 50% by the end of March 2019. ■ The DfT is expected to make an announcement in early December regarding a possible extension of the West Coast franchise by up to 12 months.

demand for when there is limited capacity?” Transport for the North (TfN) continues to express concern over the poor performance of services, particularly those which pass through Manchester. A spokesperson said: “The industry is considering options that could help reduce the performance risks associated with the increased train frequency.” This is particularly important through the Castlefield corridor, where performance is poor on a daily basis.

Concerns

TfN, which includes the Rail North Partnership, is carrying out a review of timetable planning, peak paths and rolling stock provision for: ■ Train plans already contracted for Northern and TransPennine Express franchises that started in 2016; ■ All services on the transPennine route between Liverpool/Manchester Airport and east coast destinations; ■ Possession plans and other train timetable increments required to deliver benefits of the Transpennine Route Upgrade. Northern and TPE continue to voice concerns about the new Ordsall Chord and the problems it has created through the Castlefield corridor. One manager said the chord has created “more problems than people thought” adding “it’s not working as you would want it to”.

Ribblehead is one of the most attractive locations on Northern’s vast network, and is where Class 158 No. 158793 drifts away from the viaduct working a Carlisle to Leeds train on February 9. JOHN HALES

Local users continue to ask what is happening with the proposed construction of additional through platforms at Manchester Piccadilly (platforms 15 and 16), which experts suggest would play a key part in improving performance through the Deansgate corridor. According to the DfT, the project

is technically still on the Secretary of State’s desk despite a general lack of enthusiasm for the project at DfT and within Network Rail. Secretary of State Chris Grayling has suggested new Network Rail CEO Andrew Haines is unsure whether additional infrastructure would resolve the congestion issues on its own.

The minister has given conflicting statements that he has asked for proposals from Network Rail – either by the end of the year or before next summer. Whatever is decided one industry source commented: “If it’s not infrastructure, then we need to find a solution to be able to run reliably through that

corridor and the alignments nearby. “It’s still not working optimally, and if you have problems elsewhere on the network it makes it more complicated to get through there because it needs to operate in a robust manner. “The main need is to get the trains through in a regular way.”

December 2018 • The Railway Magazine • 7

HeadlineNews SIDELINES Southeastern seeks female drivers

SOUTHEASTERN is aiming to encourage more women to opt for a career in rail. The company wants to increase female applicants for train driver roles to 40% by 2021 in an attempt to boost the number of women in front-line roles. Currently, only 4.5% of Southeastern’s drivers are female – a figure in line with national statistics. Southeastern wants to break the perception of driving trains being a male-dominated occupation.

East West Rail appoints first CEO

THE East West Railway Company, an arms-length body of the Department for Transport, has appointed Simon Blanchflower as its first CEO. Mr Blanchflower was involved in the early phases of Crossrail, the delivery of the Heathrow Express, and was programme director for Thameslink project.

Blackpool impacted by timetable issues

DAY trips to Blackpool slumped by 440,000 as a result of the chaos that followed the timetable change on May 20, and industrial disputes which impacted Northern. Day visitors fell from 1.7million to 1.3million. Blackpool Council’s Gillian Campbell said the electrification should have led to an upsurge in inbound passengers not a decline.

New rail minister

HARROGATE and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones has been appointed as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Transport. The move follows the resignation of Jo Johnson as rail minister on November 9 over his opposition to PM Theresa May’s Brexit deal.

TransPennine Express delays ‘Nova 3’ introduction to May

TRANSPENNINE Express (TPE) is delaying the introduction of its ‘Nova 3’ loco-hauled sets until next May. The sets are being built by CAF in Spain and will be hauled by Class 68s sub-leased from DRS. They had been expected to be progressively introduced from the December timetable change, but acceptance testing has produced a technical issue which prevents the sign-off of the trains. TPE has not alluded to the problem, but The RM understands it relates to ‘brake blending’ between the Class 68 and five-carriage rakes, one industry source saying the braking was too severe. Leo Goodwin, TPE managing director, said: “While we are keen to start the roll out of the ‘Nova 3s’

as soon as possible, it is important we allow CAF to address the issue identified during the train testing process.” Once in service, the ‘Nova 3’ trains will operate between Liverpool, Manchester, Huddersfield, Leeds, York, Scarborough and Middlesbrough. TPE says it is still on course to introduce the Hitachibuilt ‘Nova 1’ EMUs between Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle and Edinburgh, and also the CAF-built ‘Nova 2’ on Manchester Airport to Glasgow/ Edinburgh routes in 2019 and early 2020. ■ Just weeks ago, Caledonian Sleeper delayed the introduction of its new fleet of 75 carriages – also built by CAF – because of unspecified technical problems.

Virgin Trains USA launched By Keith Fender

VIRGIN group has announced it will become a minority investor in start-up inter-city passenger operator Brightline. Brightline started operation in Florida in January 2018 and will be renamed Virgin Trains USA, with rebranding starting in 2019. Brightline operates its Florida services using 10 new 125mph Siemens-built ‘Charger’ diesel locos, and has five four-car rakes of passenger coaches. The rebranding licensing agreement lasts until 2038. Brightline (VT USA) is currently constructing a new line in Florida between West Palm Beach and Orlando, and has submitted plans to build a new line between Orlando and Tampa, which may include a

station to serve Disneyworld. The company is also planning passenger services between Victorville (Los Angeles) and Las Vegas, again with new infrastructure. Virgin Trains USA has also announced plans for a Nasdaq stock market listing, with the aim of raising $100million (£78m) to expand the business. The financial announcement reveals the new company has yet to make any profits, and has debts of $625m. However, there are plans to invest more than $4billion in Florida and a similar sum for the planned Los Angeles to Las Vegas line. Plans to take over some routes currently operated by Amtrak have also been mooted by the company.

Weight gain for IETs

EQUIPMENT to suppress the electro-magnetic interference on the Class 800 IET trains for use on the East Coast Main Line ‘Azuma’ sets has been quoted by the DfT at 750kg per vehicle. This will have an unspecified impact on the power-to-weight ratio of the units when on diesel power.

A livery that will soon change: New Brightline ‘Charger’ locomotive No. 108 at the Siemens factory in Sacramento, California in March 2017. KEITH FENDER

Crisis as 25% of Wales’ trains out of traffic FULLPAGE apologies from Transport for Wales appeared in a number of newspapers in Wales after a shortage of DMUs led to many cancellations and overcrowding. At one point, 36 out of Wales’ 127 trains were under repair, some damaged in floods during Storm Callum, others with wheelset flats or mechanical faults. Extra buses were brought in to supplement the lack of trains.

Rail replacement bus services Colin Lea told BBC Radio Wales: were used on November 24 “We knew the autumn would be between Blaenau Ffestiniog to difficult, especially with an old Llandudno Junction, Wrexham fleet, but we didn’t expect it to Central to Bidston, and Swansea be this bad.” to Carmarthen/Pembroke While he did not want to Dock/Milford Haven/Fishguard “point the finger at Arriva” he Harbour to provide stock for admitted a “very old fleet" had passengers heading to Cardiff been inherited for the Wales versus South In a statement, TfW Africa rugby union international, apologised, saying “customers with planned cancellations on deserve better, adding it was other busy routes. “not what you expected from a TfW commercial manager new operator”.

8 • The Railway Magazine • December 2018

A ‘Nova 3’ and Class 68 on test at Deansgate, Manchester.

Late trains delivery prove costly for Bombardier BOMBARDIER has had to pay and test trips to Milton Keynes compensation to Transport for for the Class 710s has also London for the late delivery impacted implementation of the eight four-car Class 710 plans, and it is questionable EMUs destined for the London how long the sets will take to Overground Gospel Oak to cover the 2,000 fault-free miles Barking service. before acceptance to traffic. The payment is believed to be Software issues with the new around the £5million mark, and trains are also taking time to was revealed in a TfL quarterly resolve. performance report. The trains The lack of available trains should have entered service in has led to 22 timetabled the summer of 2017 after the Saturday services from Gospel line had been electrified, and Oak to Barking being cancelled nearly 18 months later, there is until further notice, plus 24 no planned start date. in the reverse direction. On Services on the Gospel Oak to Sundays, 19 eastbound and Barking line suffered a marked 20 westbound trains are being deterioration during November cancelled until further notice. after a second Class 172 Passengers and user groups (No. 172006) was sent to Ilford are unhappy at the lack of for refurbishment ahead of its clarity from Arriva and TfL over move to West Midlands Trains. exactly what the situation This left the line with six is. There is also anger that TfL, units for six diagrams, and on even with the compensation some days during November, payment, has been unable to unit failures left just four hire in additional trains. sets in service, resulting in The remaining six Class 172 cancellations and overcrowding. DMUs are due to come off lease While the problems persist, on December 31, however ARL daily bus services over part of is negotiating an extension. the route have been introduced All of the driver instructors and could continue into the and driver managers have new year. completed their training on the Cutting back of the Wembley 710s, but formal driver training to Crewe mileage accumulation awaits completion.

Rail ombudsman service launched PASSENGERS who have unresolved complaints with train operators are now able to take them to the Rail Ombudsman service. Train operators resolve most complaints, but as from November 26, an impartial and independent ombudsman for the railway will be the final arbiter in an attempt to drive up customer satisfaction.

The initial complaint process will still be via the operator, but the free-to-use ombudsman is the ultimate option if the final response from a rail company remained unresolved (often called a ‘deadlock letter’), or if a complaint has not been resolved within 40 working days. Formal decisions by the ombudsman will be binding. For more information see: www.railombudsman.org

Have you got a story for us? Email: railway@mortons.co.uk

WSR to close for three-month ‘re-group’ after investigation

THE West Somerset Railway (WSR) has made the unprecedented decision to voluntarily close for three months from January 2 to April 1, 2019 in order to ‘re-group’ following a visit by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and the issuing of its findings. As a result there will be no running during the February half-term and the annual Spring Steam Gala in March has been postponed. While this will undoubtedly hit the railway financially, and maybe also in terms of morale, the closure equates to only 17 days’ normal running, plus the four gala days, that will be lost. The WSR confirmed to The RM the visit by the ORR staff stemmed from public concerns raised with them on how the railway was being managed, along with issues aired on internet railway forums. However, the WSR plc’s newly incumbent chairman Jonathan Jones-Pratt has stressed in a statement issued following the ORR visit that “there has never been any major safety threat or unreported dangerous occurrence”, but admitted the WSR has “been mired of late with the time-consuming distractions of unnecessary conflicts, unattractive messages, bad feelings and PR, both within the railway and beyond, seen by the outside world who rightly wonder what’s been going on”. The ORR’s visit resulted in an eight-page report of observations and recommendations, but not an improvement or prohibition notice. The WSR board’s decision to

close is purely voluntary in order for the railway to best meet the findings set out in the ORR report. These primarily are centred around five key areas, which Mr Jones-Pratt said the board “had already recognised as weaknesses, and changes were already underway, such as improvements in safety and infrastructure, tightening up procedures, record keeping and compliance, and staff and director appointments”. The railway’s Safety Management System (SMS) has been one of the main areas for scrutiny. The ORR inspector asked for current iteration of its board-approved SMS top level document, and will re-visit at the end of March to check on progress.

Stagnation

In his open and candid statement to members, Mr JonesPratt said he felt the “WSR has almost stagnated in recent years and arguably lost sight of being one of the country’s premier heritage railways, partly because of political distractions of the recent past”. He added: “Our railway has not being singled out by the ORR here, but some elements of our SMS, procedures, corporate governance, appointments and staff responsibilities, plus items of infrastructure, have been identified as requiring updating, action and greater attention going forward. “We will be focusing on the training and competency of all staff who hold safety critical roles, and a new SMS will be written shortly.” The need for good corporate

GWR ‘Modified Hall’ 4-6-0 No. 6960 Raveningham Hall passes Watersmeet with the West Somerset Railway’s 16.15 Bishop’s Lydeard-Minehead train on October 29. QUENTIN HAWKES

governance, free of distractions that could be to the detriment of running a safe, cohesive and successful railway, was highlighted in the ORR report, and the new appointments have already been made to the board, including that of former WSR plc managing director and HRA vice-chairman Mark Smith, who joins as policy and business development director. A new chief mechanical engineer will be appointed to oversee steam locomotive considerations such as boiler washouts, record-keeping and the C&W department. “The ORR has been looking at the standards, inspection and maintenance regime on the WSR, which should be proportionate to the risk from running a 25mph operation,” the railway told The RM.

ORR consults on rail accessibility ‘for all’ NEW proposals have been published by the Office of Rail and Road that significantly revise guidance for train and station operators to make the railway more accessible for all. There is growing concern that passengers with disabilities have suffered levels of discrimination in such areas as the lack of a working accessible toilet on a train and the availability of platform staff with a wheelchair ramp. The ORR wants to see reforms to the Disabled People’s Protection Policy (DPPP), designed to bring greater quality, consistency and reliability to assisted travel for disabled passengers. Most disabled passengers get the help they requested and are satisfied with the service they received, but a new insight

into longstanding problems, particularly the industry systems and processes, often undermine the ability of staff to deliver assisted travel with the consistency passengers expect. The ORR’s aims include: ■ the reliability of assistance for disabled passengers by introducing a new standardised handover process for all mainline stations. ■ improving accessible journey planning by standardising key station accessibility information on facilities, step-free access and staffing to provide a better and more accurate picture of what disabled passengers can expect at each station. ■ reducing the notice period for booking assistance, currently up to 24 hours before travel

■ compensation to passengers for non-receipt of booked assistance. ■ staff training improvements to include disabled people with hidden disabilities, plus refreshed training every two years. Stephen Brookes MBE, the rail sector champion for disabled people, said: “I am particularly pleased to see that they have included matters which I consistently bring to the table, including new arrangements to strengthen communication between stations, and measures to introduce greater accountability for assistance provision. “This all too frequent failure has been a regular criticism shared with me by disabled people. “I hope the rail companies take this forward and work more cohesively with disabled people.”

NAO to probe Crossrail project cost increases

GOVERNMENT spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) is investigating causes of the cost increases and schedule delays that have delayed the Crossrail opening through central LT. The NAO will look at the terms of the additional funding

needed, and the governance and oversight of the programme, along with steps being taken by Crossrail, Transport for London and the Department for Transport to minimise the impact of the cost increases and delays. In July 2018, the Government announced the overall funding

for the project had increased by £600million to £15.4bn, with the DfT agreeing to make £350m of short-term finance available. ■ Junk food advertising will be banned on the entire TfL network from February 25, 2019, in a bid to reduce child obesity in the capital.

“Such standards and necessary inspection procedures should all be documented and appropriate records kept allowing the railway to be able to demonstrate robustly that all safety critical aspects of the railway’s physical attributes are being properly inspected and maintained. “The same goes for the competence of all those engaged in safety critical activities.”

Improvements

In addition to the work on the SMS, the WSR will use the closure period to carry out a number of infrastructure improvements prior to the start of the 2019 season, such as a landslip at Stogumber and the various level crossings on the line. Other infrastructure works are to be looked at on the

permanent way side in order to maintain the current axle loadings, as well as at ‘at risk’ locations such as railway farm crossings. In summary Mr Jones-Pratt said: “We need to get the WSR back onto the highly successful path it has enjoyed for much of the past 40 years. “Our recent investigation by the ORR should be seen by us as a recognisable positive turning point in our history to demonstrate the absolute changes which the entire heritage railway sector, as a collective group, will need to conform to and deliver in the future. “We have to do better and this will enable the WSR to benefit and become truly great again, and the benchmark for others to follow.”

Waterloo collision raises ghost of Clapham A REPORT by the Rail Accident safeguards and remained Investigation Branch (RAIB) in place when the line was on a low-speed collision at returned to service”. London Waterloo on August 15 Records of temporary works between a passenger service were not kept, and neither was and an engineering train the temporary wiring shown on has revealed a number of the design documents. similarities with the Clapham The wiring errors had ‘certain rail crash that occurred on similarities’ with the Clapham December 12, 1988. accident that killed 35 people The incident involved the and injured nearly 500, and 05.40 Waterloo-Guildford, stemmed from poor working led by unit 465015, leaving practices by a signalling platform 11 and hitting a technician coupled with wagon of an engineering train deficiencies in the testing and in a possession on platform 10 commissioning process. at 13mph because the points Simon French, chief inspector were not in the correct position, of Rail Accidents, said: although a green signal was “Symptoms of a deep-seated showing for the departing train. problem should give us all The RAIB report said the pause for thought. points were positioned “Network Rail must develop incorrectly because and reinforce a positive safety uncontrolled wiring was culture within the signal added to the signalling to help engineering profession and overcome a testing problem. educate all staff about how and Furthermore, the RAIB said: why the standards have been “The actions of a functional developed. tester were inconsistent with “This accident starkly the competence expected of demonstrates why the lessons testers. The uncontrolled wiring of Clapham must never be was added without necessary forgotten.”

December 2018 • The Railway Magazine • 9

HeadlineNews

Railways mark the Armistice centenary TRAIN operators, Network Rail and many others held events in the lead-up to the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War and Remembrance Day on November 11. Some trains were specially named, notably GWR, with its

unveiling of IET No. 800306 giving the names of all 2,545 men who worked for the GWR and died during the war. The Hitachi set was named after two of those who died, Flight Sub-Lieutenant Harold Day DSC, the only railway man to become a flying ace, and

Lance-Corporal Allan Leonard Lewis VC, whose name has historically been omitted from the GWR Roll of Honour. Elsewhere on the set were pictures of some of the staff, and descendants of many of the men commemorated attended the

PICTURE: GWR/JACK BOSKETT

PICTURE: FFESTINIOG RAILWAY

PICTURE: SIMON POOLE

unveiling at Paddington station. Other operators’ trains carried special poppy decals, and a large number of services were held at railway stations with war memorials dedicated to railway employees who lost their lives in war and conflict.

Freightliner named its recently repainted No. 66413 Lest We Forget. At heritage railways, trains ran with wreaths on the smokebox, and at Tan-y-bwlch on the Ffestiniog Railway, a new memorial was unveiled (see p78). PICTURE: ANDREW PLUMMER

PICTURE: GREATER ANGLIA

PICTURE: MARK V PIKE

PICTURE: FREIGHTLINER

OBITUARY: NORMAN PREEDY – 1943-2018 IT IS with sadness we record the passing of railway photographer Norman Preedy, who has died at his Gloucester home. He was 75. He was born in Newton Abbot in 1943, but in 1956 the family moved to Gloucester, and it wasn’t long before Norman was travelling by train to Swindon to see what rarities were lurking in the works yards. Norman’s photography covered steam, but he was passionate about diesel hydraulics, too. He travelled widely, with Tamworth becoming a regular destination, but – perhaps surprisingly for a West Country lad – the Gresley ‘A4s’ were to become his all-time favourites, and he made numerous clandestine trips to King’s Cross Top Shed in the hope of seeing them all. After securing a West Coast lineside permit, he splashed out on a Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex camera in 1964... but another type of splash all but wrecked

it when the camera fell into Dillicar water troughs! Few depots eluded Norman as he travelled around the UK in the quest for steam, but when it all came to an end in 1968, he failed to find the same fascination in the industrial or foreign scene, preferring to point his Pentax 6x7 at modern traction and, eventually, at heritage steam. Both his black and white and colour images were regularly published in books and magazines throughout the 1970s and 80s. Norman also authored a series of pictorial books for Bradford Barton covering a range of locomotive classes or geographic areas of the UK. One of his great strengths was his enormous collection of locomotive prints, which he would make available to fellow enthusiasts at very reasonable prices – always annotating the reverse side with full caption details underlined by his trademark double red biro lines!

10 • The Railway Magazine • December 2018

PICTURE: SCOTRAIL

Tyseley makes TOC debut with Birmingham ‘Polar Express’ festive trains VINTAGE Trains (VT) was set to return to full main line steam charter operation as an independent train operating company on November 29 with the first of its new ‘Polar Express’ festive specials from Birmingham Moor Street. The trains are based upon the 2004 film of the same name, and are scheduled to run four times a day on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and five times on Sunday, every week up until December 23. The experience is described by VT as “full theatrical re-creations of the classic children’s tale”, with train scenes from the movie brought to life on board by a troop of actors, as dancing chefs and waiters serve cookies and hot

chocolate to passengers. At the ‘North Pole’ (Tyseley depot) the trains are greeted by Santa, who later joins the train and presents every child (and adult) with a special souvenir gift on the return run to Moor Street. Tyseley-based ‘Hall’ 4-6-0 No. 4965 Rood Ashton Hall operated four outbound rehearsal trains on November 24, top-and-tailed with Class 50 No. 50007 Hercules, which VT says were a complete success. The ‘Hoover’ was provided owing to there being no run-round provision at either end. VT press officer Denis Chick said: “The whole team is very focused on making this a great success so that we can give it serious consideration for 2019.”

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DETAILS

All change as Great Western takes over HEX

GREAT Western Railway (GWR) is now operating to Heathrow Airport under contract to Heathrow Express (HEX). Stage 1 of the changeover has seen HEX staff transfer to GWR, with the Class 332 EMUs continuing to operate express services between the airport and London Paddington. Stage 2, planned for the December 2019 timetable change, will see the ‘332s’ replaced by a fleet of dedicated GWR Class 387 ‘Electrostar’ EMUs. Modifications will include new interiors better suited to the intensive airport shuttles and the installation of European Train Control System (ETCS) equipment necessary for working over the airport branch. Porterbrook, which owns the GWR ‘387s’, is committed to installing ETCS by December 2019. Discussions are on-going about how this will be achieved. Bombardier has been contracted to refurbish the interiors. The former ‘Heathrow Connect’ all-stations services have been operated by TfL Rail since May, using a mix of Class 360/2s and new Class 345s, although these will eventually be replaced by Crossrail services.

Have you got a story for us? Email: railway@mortons.co.uk

Converted Class 769s set for Northern debut in New Year By Ben Jones

TESTING of Class 769 ‘Flex’ bi-mode trains converted from former Thameslink Class 319s has now reached an advanced stage, with production of sets for Northern, Transport for Wales and GWR set to ramp up over the coming months. The two pre-production sets – Nos. 769434 and 769456 – have been undergoing dynamic testing at the Great Central Railway for several weeks, including running at up to 75mph and multiple working in various scenarios to prove the concept. Arriva Rail North is expected to take delivery of ‘Train 3’, the first production set, in January. The fourth and fifth trains are already at Brush in Loughborough for conversion and will shortly be joined by the sixth of the planned eight sets. Once their testing is complete, Nos. 769434/456

will return to Northern for refurbishment and PRM accessibility modifications. The other six units being converted (Nos. 319424/431/ 442/448/ 450/458) have already received these upgrades. Northern plans to deploy its ‘769s’ to replace Class 142s and 150s on a cyclical diagram covering Alderley Edge to Wigan and North Western to Stalybridge stopping services, which includes electrified and non-electrified routes around Manchester.

Tri-mode

Once the Northern order is complete, attention will turn to the Class 769/0s destined for KeolisAmey/Transport for Wales Rhymney Line services, and 19 tri-mode sets for Great Western Railway (GWR). TfW is reported to be taking up the option of an extra four sets, increasing its fleet from five to

‘Flex’ Class 769 No. 769434 takes the curve at Kinchley Lane during a test run on November 5. BEN JONES

nine, which will be used largely as DMUs to free up Class 150s for PRM modifications in 2019. The five sets so far confirmed for Wales are Nos. 319002/003/ 006-008. GWR is expected to receive the first of its modernised 25kV

BATTERY POWER FOR CLASS 455s CLASS 455 suburban EMUs released by South Western Railway (SWR) from 2020 could be rebuilt with battery packs to allow their use away from the electrified network. Porterbrook is looking at various options to make its assets more attractive to operators, with momentum increasing to eliminate diesel trains from urban areas, and a large number of electric units due to come off lease in the next few years. SWR’s fleet of 91 Class 455s have received energy efficient new Vossloh-Kiepe AC traction packages in recent years, but are to be replaced by new Class 701 ‘Aventra’ EMUs by

December 2020. However, Porterbrook’s engineering team has investigated the potential for adding batteries to the four-car EMUs, and believes they would be even better suited to bi-mode operation than the Class 319s currently being rebuilt by Brush.

Innovative

The modernised ‘455s’ have regenerative braking capability, which would be able to recharge the train’s batteries during braking. No operator has yet been suggested for the rebuilt EMUs, but while the next Southeastern franchise is thought to be an unlikely

destination, they could find a use with Southern. A Porterbrook spokesman told The RM: “Now that electrification is off the agenda, we are looking to steal a march on the rest of the industry by offering innovative solutions to re-use EMUs and help operators to increase capacity and quality for passengers.” Porterbrook is also developing designs to convert Siemens Class 350/2 EMUs into ‘BatteryFLEX’ trains capable of working away from 25kV AC overhead routes (RM Nov), and has investigated the possibility of fitting battery packs to Class 323 EMUs once they are released by Northern and West Midlands Railway.

Euro Parliament improves passenger rights By Keith Fender

THE European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly in favour of improved passenger rights for rail users across Europe. The changes have yet to be approved by EU member governments and will not come into effect until 2019 at earliest. The new rules will apply in the UK during the ‘Brexit transition period’ – on the basis one is agreed – if they

have become law by then. Major changes include increasing compensation from the current 25% to 50% of the ticket price for delays longer than an hour, with 75% for more than 90 minutes delay and 100% for excess of two hours delay, and retaining the current right to continue the journey or use an alternative route. The proposed new rules also mean passengers holding several tickets for one long journey will have the same rights for the

whole journey, and rail operators can no longer use force majeure (ie: circumstances outside their control) as a reason to decline compensation. The new approved passenger rights also include a requirement for all trains to accommodate bicycles with passenger assistance for those who need it to be provided at all times at stations with more than 10,000 passengers a day and at three to 12 hours’ notice at all other stations.

Living wage feeds £800m into Scottish economy

SCOTRAIL has contributed £800million to the country’s economy since becoming one of the largest organisations in Scotland to receive living wage accreditation. In addition to the benefits to ScotRail’s 5,000 employees, £250m is also spent each year on the extended supply chain, with all major contracts requiring companies to pay

their employees the living wage. ScotRail head of economic development James Ledgerwood said: “ScotRail is committed to operating to the highest social and ethical standards, and a critical part of that is our pledge to be a living wage employer.” Transport Scotland’s director of rail Bill Reeve added: “The ScotRail franchise is a great

example of how the Scottish Government leads by example. “It is the largest single contract let by the Scottish Government, and requires not only that all ScotRail staff, but also all staff of ScotRail’s sub-contractors, receive at least the living wage. “The economic benefits of this are clear to see and we urge other employers to become living wage-accredited too.”

AC/750V DC/diesel sets fitted with air-cooling by mid 2019, after which deliveries will continue steadily though to early 2020. Nos. 319422/423/ 425/427/428/ 430/432/435- 440/443/445/ 447/449/452/ 459 have been allocated to GWR. All trains will visit Wolverton Works for PRM modifications before conversion into Class 769/9s at Brush, after which they will return to Wolverton for the installation of new air-cooling systems and upgraded interiors.

'HydroFLEX'

The GWR ‘769/9s’ will replace Class 165/166 DMUs on the North Downs route, where their 750V DC third-rail and diesel capability can be exploited. However, the fleet will also allow GWR to release Class 387 ‘Electrostar’ EMUs from Thames Valley routes to work Heathrow Express services (see separate story on p10). Porterbrook says it is in discussions with several parties interested in acquiring ‘Flex’ trains, both current customers and new operators looking to eliminate diesel trains on routes

which feature both electrified and non-electrified sections. Their rolling stock asset manager estimates that of the 86 Class 319s released by Thameslink, the number still requiring new homes is down to single figures. One of those already spoken for is No. 319001, which is to become Porterbrook’s ‘HydroFLEX’ demonstrator and the UK’s first standard gauge hydrogenpowered train. Hydrogen fuel cells and batteries developed by the University of Birmingham will be installed on the unit’s PMOS vehicle. Using proven technology developed by Brush for the Class 769 project, the new power sources will be married with GEC traction package. Despite various challenges related to using hydrogen as a power source for trains, it is hoped the train will be ready in time for the ‘Rail Live’ event at Long Marston in July. One other ‘319’ earmarked for special duties is No. 319454, which will become an ‘Innovation Train’, offering a platform for the UK rail supply chain to showcase new ideas, products and technology.

Immingham coaling tower is no more

THE mechanical coaling plant at Immingham depot has been demolished. The 80ft-high tower, known locally as ‘the cenotaph’, was knocked down earlier this year for safety reasons. Its demise means the concrete structure at Carnforth shed is now the only one of its type left in Britain. The Immingham plant was built for the London & North Eastern Railway in the 1930s, and was last used for coaling locomotives on a regular basis in 1966. Unlike the majority of such buildings, it was not demolished by explosives following closure of the steam shed (code 40B) as vibrations caused by its fall would have damaged sensitive scientific instruments in nearby industrial premises. It was also close

to major gas and crude oil pipelines. It thus survived as a north Lincolnshire landmark for more than half a century, but was recently found to have developed a form of ‘concrete cancer’, rendering it structurally unsafe. Its steel reinforcement was still in good order, but the deterioration in the strength of the concrete enabled contractors for DB Cargo to bring it down piece-by-piece, using a hydraulic pecker crane. Also demolished this year has been the nearby ex-BR Eastern Region diesel depot at Immingham, which was pulled down in late August after standing mothballed for several years. It had most recently been used for the storage of withdrawn locos.

December 2018 • The Railway Magazine • 11

Up & Down Lines By Nick Pigott

■ Feel free to contact me on npigott@mortons.co.uk if there’s anything on the subject of railways you believe needs praising or panning.

‘A4’ 60010: This had better not be a kick in the teeth! DISPLAYS of apparent ingratitude wouldn’t seem to come much harsher if reports of the treatment meted out to the ‘A4’ Dominion of Canada are anything to go by. In 2012, No. 60010 – in somewhat neglected condition – was shipped back to Britain from Canada and externally restored by the National Railway Museum for the ‘Mallard 75’ anniversary celebrations. No expense was spared in magnificently converting it to LNER blue-liveried No. 4489. Although the Canadian Railway Museum never bought the Pacific (it was donated by BR in the 1960s), there were many in the UK who’d have been happy to see a purchase price paid to keep it here, but the Canadians insisted on it being returned. Now, just four years later, it has been moved from the main climate-controlled exhibition hall and placed in a building described by ex-NRM head Steve Davies as “the equivalent of a garden shed”. The Canadians say the Gresley masterpiece will be safe from deterioration in its new abode… but if they no longer consider it worthy of a prime position, they should at least have the decency to give someone in Britain a chance to buy it now.

Train drivers should be selected on merit

SOUTHEASTERN wants at least 40% of its driver applicants to be female by 2021. The current level is about 4%, similar to other operators. Gender equality in the workplace is both desirable and essential, but so-called ‘positive action’ is potentially risky as it doesn’t necessarily produce the best person for the job. In the interests of excellence, train drivers should be appointed on the basis of one thing and one thing only – merit! If interviews are conducted fairly and the female candidates are good enough,

Risborough, which is to be congratulated for its enterprise and persistence. Not yet linked to the main line but showing a marvellous rise in passenger figures as a result of its Broadway extension is the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, which fully deserves every bit of its success. If the Rother Valley/Kent & East Sussex partnership can overcome their difficulties with local objectors, and the Great Central can find the money to reinstate its Loughborough embankment, there’ll be two more pieces of the old jigsaw back in place. The traditional boundaries between main line and heritage are quite rightly blurring. To use a quote from a well-known timetravel movie, it’s a case of ‘back to the future’ and long may it continue!

in any case be limited to long journeys, based either on mileage or time (a minimum of two hours for example). In my own experience, reservations are frequently the cause of arguments as newly boarded passengers block aisles claiming someone’s in their seat. Even when ‘offenders’ begrudgingly agree to move, they usually take as long as possible to gather their effects before joining the queue of miserable souls shuffling along looking for a place of their own. Sometimes it’s not even the incumbent passenger who’s in the wrong. I recently witnessed a businessman refuse to give up his seat in a crowded train to a middle-aged lady, pointing out correctly the electronic screen above the window stated ‘Not Reserved’. At first I considered him unchivalrous, but after an ill-tempered exchange of views that embarrassed everyone within earshot, the woman re-examined her ticket and realised she was in the wrong carriage! Personally, I now only request reservations if I’m travelling with friends or family. Otherwise, I adopt the rail equivalent of ‘flying by the seat of my pants’!

Seat reservations: Not worth the cards they’re printed on?

Train contract award is a big gamble on jobs

WELCOME to The RM’s new opinion column, in which we’ll be tackling some of the topics readers must wonder about themselves as they travel about by train or read magazines, newspapers, websites and social media. We’ll also be looking at the wide-ranging facets of history and nostalgia that make the vast subject of railways such a fascination for us all. So it’s ‘up’ for good and ‘down’ for bad. they’ll land the jobs anyway without artificial assistance, so for companies to yield to political correctness and deny themselves the highest-possible calibre of staff on the basis of birth is ridiculous. West Midlands Railway has the right idea, saying it has no plans to run a recruitment campaign aimed specifically at women and that it welcomes applications from all genders and backgrounds. Southeastern, on the other hand, plans to implement what is sinisterly referred to as ‘mandatory unconscious bias training’ and considers it vital to have a workforce that reflects the diversity of its passengers. Why? What difference does it make? I’m a passenger and I don’t care who on earth’s driving as long as they’re good at their job. All-women shortlists and imposed quotas were introduced in a bid to redress centuries of male domination, but it’s unfair and hypocritical to discriminate against today’s generation of young men and make them pay for the errors of a past they had no control over. Two wrongs don’t make a right and this misguided policy should have no place on our railways.

Back to the future as the rail map keeps growing

THE many station and passenger line openings in recent decades have seen a welcome expansion of the national network – so refreshing after the cutbacks of the 1960s and ’70s. But let’s not overlook the significant contribution the heritage sector has made to the nation’s rail map. The latest railway to provide a main line interchange is the Chinnor & Princes

READER Malcolm Oates has emailed me to make some highly pertinent points about seat reservations. Last year he travelled more than 18,000 miles using rover tickets with a senior railcard and found the following: ■ A huge number of people who make reservations fail to turn up. In some trains, as many as half the seats with cards protruding from their headrests were vacant. ■ On some other services, the operating company had failed to indicate the reserved seats, either by not placing cards or by leaving digital monitors blank. He suggests a booking surcharge of £5 might ameliorate the first problem and wonders whether reservations should

MANUFACTURERS Bombardier and Hitachi both maintain train-building plants in Britain, providing thousands of jobs. Siemens so far hasn’t managed to build a factory here, let alone a train… yet it’s to the latter the UK’s latest multi-billion pound fleet construction contract has been awarded. Already, job losses are being predicted at Bombardier’s Derby Works. The railway history of Britain is littered with peculiar decisions, but unless the Government has the lucrative HS2 fleet contract up its sleeve for the other two firms, I fear the chronic political uncertainty the country faces over the next few months could render this one of the most short-sighted of all.

Railways in Parliament

by Jon Longman

Dawlish funding

LUKE Pollard, the Plymouth MP for Sutton and Devonport, asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to page 67 of the Budget 2018 Red Book, what funding he has allocated for resilience work at Dawlish. Treasury Minister Robert Jenrick replied: “The Government committed to £15million of funding in November 2016. The essential improvement works are to strengthen the cliffs and protect the sea wall at Dawlish. Further plans for major improvements of the sea wall at Dawlish will be published in the summer of 2019. “Overall, we are investing more than £400million in the rail network in the South West and will continue to work with Network Rail and the Peninsula Rail Task Force to explore the potential for longer-term improvements from summer 2019 onwards.”

Bees get green light

MANSFIELD MP Ben Bradley asked the Secretary of State for Transport in the House of Commons, what steps his department have taken to support the National Pollinator Strategy on railway lines. Transport Minister Jesse Norman said: “Network Rail is exploring opportunities to create new pollinator habitats across its estate. A range of initiatives is aimed at protecting pollinators, such as the Green Transport Corridors Project in Cumbria and South Yorkshire.”

Catenary competition

LORD Bradshaw asked Her Majesty’s Government in the House of Lord’s whether the DfT has made an assessment of the shortlisted submission made by Moxon Architects with Mott MacDonald to the RIBA aesthetic overhead line structures competition on the cost

12 • The Railway Magazine • December 2018

of railway electrification. Transport Minister Baroness Sugg replied: “This is an industry-run competition, supported by DfT funding, to identify Overhead Line Structure designs that minimise impact on the surrounding environment. The DfT has not played a part in the assessment process.”

East-West delay

LORD Patten asked why work to assess the contribution of the East West Rail programme to both regional and national economic growth has not yet been completed. Baroness Sugg replied: “The newly created East West Railway Company is in the process of evaluating the economic benefits of the railway. “We expect an economic assessment of the next phase of the project, between Bicester and Bedford, to be published in the coming months.

“Analysis on the Central Section, between Bedford and Cambridge, is also being progressed. “East West Railway Company is planning to hold a public consultation on route options for the central section in the early part of next year.”

Azuma rollout

BARNSLEY Central MP Dan Jarvis asked what the timetable is for the new ‘Azuma’ trains to begin services on the East Coast Main Line. Transport Minister Nusrat Ghani said: “LNER plan to bring the new trains into service from early 2019, to ensure passengers get the best possible customer experience. “The department is working with Hitachi, the ORR, LNER, and Network Rail to ensure these new trains enter service on the ECML as soon as possible, with rollout scheduled to be complete by 2020.”

EARLY ELECTRIFICATION

A Tyneside electric passenger train leaving the High Level Bridge at Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1948. In 1904 the North Tyneside lines became one of the first railways in Britain to be converted for use by electric passenger trains. The South Tyneside lines were electrified in the 1930s. NRM

Addicted to steam? Early LNER non-steam traction to the birth of ‘British Railways’ Bob Gwynne takes a fascinating look into the history of pioneering electric and diesel

traction and its use by the London & North Eastern Railway (and other companies) up to the formation of British Railways in 1948.

hen people talk of the London & North Eastern Railway the names Mallard and Flying Scotsman inevitably come up, possibly followed by triumphs like the ‘Silver Jubilee’, flag bearer for the country’s first network of ‘high-speed trains’, which were marketed as such. And all backed by a superb publicity department that was inventing what is now called ‘brand management’ as they went along. Many posters and advertising images survive from this time giving an impression of an elegant world of travel opportunity on the ‘drier side of Britain’. No surprise then the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) remains a symbol of a ‘golden age’ of rail in the heyday of steam. Quite whether this golden age existed outside of a small group of ‘platform enders’ and businessmen is open to debate. If you were a shareholder, or a member of the footplate crew on a rough-riding ‘Shire’ chasing time on a damp day, your view of the LNER is likely to have been quite different. The LNER did of course exist at a time of major economic turmoil. Being on the ‘drier side’ of Britain was hardly a consideration for the locked-out miners who derailed the ‘Flying 14 • The Railway Magazine • December 2018

Scotsman’ in 1926, or for the Jarrow marchers protesting against mass unemployment 10 years later. The UK’s economic gloom only began to lift in the late 1930’s with re-armament, though very few of those finding employment would have wanted another major world war given the trauma of the First World War was still fresh, with new war memorials in place the length and breadth of the land.

Flowering

However, if reality was not quite in line with the image conveyed, nonetheless an impression of innovation and enterprise comes through today, inextricably bound up with what proved to be the last great flowering of the steam age. The dominance of steam does, however, obscure the fact the inter-war period was the time when the obvious advantages of electric power came to the fore. It was also a time when what was called the ‘oil engine’ (we call it the diesel engine), developed into a powerful and economical prime mover and started its journey from powering ships to powering trains. Of the ‘Big Four’ railway companies created after government control during

the First World War, the LNER is a good example as to why these developments did not get as far as they might have done, despite interest from private companies, engineers and government. A constituent part of the new LNER (and at the time of the ‘Grouping’ a relatively profitable one) was the North Eastern Railway. The NER’s chief mechanical engineer (CME) Vincent Raven had visited America on three occasions, latterly in 1920, and was friends with Charles Merz, one of the founders of the National Grid. Raven and Merz together

Armstrong Whitworth diesel electric railcar Lady Hamilton at Scotswood. In 1932, it ran from King’s Cross to Newcastle in what was then the longest run by a diesel electric rail vehicle. NRM/BRIAN WEBB COLLECTION

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