RM TOSPONSOROPENDAYATDERBY
BRITAIN’S BEST-SELLING RAIL TITLE August 2014 • £4.25
ABOUT TURN!
DBS allows use of St Blazey turntable
SIGNALLING
SUNSET:
LIST OF CLOSURE DATES FOR EVERY SIGNALBOX IN THE UK EXCLUSIVE
THE QUEEN’S ORANGE ARMY
‘CHILTERN 68s’UNVEILED P2 FUND HITS A MILLION!
Contents
August 2014. No. 1,361. Vol 160. A journal of record since 1897
Headline News
‘Teddy Bears’ picnic? Nine in East Lancs ‘lash-up’ - see p7.
Major investment in Cornwall’s railways; New GBRf Class 66s arrive; MTR to run Crossrail services; NatEx retains c2c franchise; New frame sections needed for‘Scotsman’; Open day planned for Etches Park; P2 frames make public debut; Aeroplanes in train crash; Hitachi reveals A-train interiors.
On the cover
MAIN IMAGE: GB Railfreight Class 66 No. 66756 is craned onto the quayside at Newport on July 11. The loco is one of the final batch of Class 66s to be built. BOB SWEET
INSET 1: Two of Chiltern Railways new Class 68 locos, Nos. 68010 and 68011. INSET 2: The best team photo ever? The Queen poses with some of the Reading workforce on completion of the station rebuild. PA.
Track Record The Railway Magazine’s monthly news digest 79 Traction & Stock
First SWT Class 456 conversion completed; More Class 56s for Leicester; Extra Class 67 diagram for Arriva Trains Wales.
82 Traction Portfolio 84 Traction Update
Scrapped, sold, renumbered, repainted? Full details here.
86 Freight 88 Network
Special style catenary for Bath; Glasgow Airport line re-think; More Paddington spans to be refurbished.
90 Narrow Gauge
Several firsts at Llanberis gala; new owners at Cleethorpes. Wizarded off to Watford. Main line bow out - see p74.
62 Steam & Heritage
Government’s £1million towards GCR bridge; Bunch locos leave Mid-Hants; 28XX scrapped; Lottery cash for‘Can Pac’.
72 Steam Portfolio 74 Railtours
Steam charters hit by firefighter strikes; Bittern to bow out in December; Second‘Javelin’railtour planned
92 Metro 95 Classic Traction
‘Crompton’named after RN pilot; DRS takes back 37401.
100 World
End of the line for Baltic train ferries; More orders for Stadler.
102 Operations
News from the train and freight operating companies.
Regulars Our location this month is Reedham Swing Bridge, on the Norfolk Broads.
23 All Change This month’s ‘then and now’features East Midlands Parkway.
What The RM was reporting 20, 50 and 100 years ago.
46 Reviews 54 Multiple Aspects 54 Railways in Parliament 56 Panorama
Our regular showcase for creative railway photography.
The Railway Magazine’s audited circulation of 37,853 copies per month makes it by far the
UK’S TOPSELLING RAIL TITLE!
15 Location
25 Readers’Platform 28 Subscriptions Offer 42 100Years Ago
Neasden-built‘E’class 0-4-4T‘Met1’ drifts into Acton with an empty stock move from Ruislip to Northfields on July 26 ahead of the London Transport Museum’s repeat series of heritage specials on the Underground. On the rear of the wooden-bodied Metropolitan carriages are Bo-Bo electric No. 12 Sarah Siddons and 4575 class small‘Prairie’No. 5521. The latter is standby to‘Met1’on the August 2 and 9 Hammersmith 150 specials, but is due to run to Chesham on August 16-17. PETER ZABEK
Misty morning freight. See Panorama - p56
108 Meetings Details of railway society meetings near you.
109 Heritage Diary
A comprehensive listing of dates when heritage railways and steam centres will be open.
113 Reader Services 114 Prize Crossword and Where Is It?
Subscribe today and save money on every issue. Call 01507 529529 or see page 28 for our latest offers
Features
16 The resignalling of Britain’s railways
Britain’s railway network is in the midst of a substantial transition in how trains are signalled. Michael Rhodes and Chris Milner explain the move from the familiar semaphore to ERTMS.
30 The Gwili Railway - small line, big ambitions
Cliff Thomas continues the‘Lazarus Lines’series and visits the Gwili Railway in West Wales line, where its
SEMAPHOREFAREWELL: Aneweraofsignalling-p16
remote location is both an attribute and a restriction.
36 Practice & Performance: Trans-Pennine Expansion
The ‘Desiro’ family of DMUs and EMUs has transformed rail services over trans-Pennine routes. For this month’s Practice & Performance, John Heaton rides a selection of services including a charity special duty with a Class 350/4.
47 ‘Railwayacs’ and ‘Locoists’
railway enthusiasm goes back well beyond the 1940s, and that one of the earliest recorded train spotters was, in fact, a woman!
62 Ten minutes, ten questions: Virgin Trains stalwart This month, former Virgin Trains press officer Jim Rowe, who has just retired after 47 years on the railway, is asked the questions by Steven Knight.
The NRM’s Bob Gwynne reveals that the start of
THINKING BIG: Gwililineextensionplans-p30
DESIRABLE‘DESIROS’:TransPennineexpansion-p36
August 2014 • The Railway Magazine • 5
HeadlineNews
Expansion everywhere! Huge number of rail projects to benefit from new growth fund A WHOLE raft of rail and metro projects around the country are to go ahead with money from Local Growth Funds, the Government announced in July. In the Midlands, finance will be provided for the Midland Metro extension to Curzon Street (for HS2) and onwards to Adderley Park. In addition, there will be an extension to Centenary Square, Birmingham, to link in the west side and business districts. At Wolverhampton, the Midland Metro will be extended to the railway station, where a fully integrated multi-modal transport hub is to be built. As part of the project, the city’s 1960s-vintage station will be rebuilt. In Manchester, there will be funding for 12 more trams, and at Blackpool, there will be a loop so that tram services can serve Blackpool North station. Much-delayed funding will also be provided to improve the CoventryNuneaton rail service, with a new bay at Coventry, new stations at Ricoh Arena and Bermuda Park and a signalling upgrade. There are plans for a major facelift of Cardiff Central station and at Cannock, Staffs, plans will move forward for a road/rail freight interchange. At Bodmin Parkway, the station is to be refurbished along with creation of a West Cornwall transport interchange. At the London end of the GW Main Line, there is a commitment to build a connection from the west to Heathrow Airport beginning in 2017, along with improvements at Maidenhead, Iver and Taplow and a bus-based rapid transit
system to link with Crossrail services at Slough. Blackburn & Darwen Borough Council will fund a £13million project to redouble a two-mile section of the Bolton line, enabling a half-hourly service to be introduced between Blackburn and Manchester at off-peak periods. Provisional approval has been forthcoming to extend the trans-Pennine electrification from Selby to Hull, and at Bristol, the Metro-West project will move forward through money to reopen the lines to Henbury and Portishead, together with the provision of a half-hourly crosscity rail service. Other notable expansion schemes include the go-ahead for Worcester Parkway station; reopening of the Halton curve for direct Liverpool-Cheshire/North Wales services; a study into reducing journey times between Nottingham and Lincoln; an engineering feasibility study into the reopening of the March-Wisbech line; construction of Thanet Parkway station; a new station south of Reading; redevelopment of Bletchley; and a £4.6m investment at Taunton. ■ Euston is to benefit from a £12.5million development project. Phase 1, which is underway, will see the piazza outside the station cleared of kiosks and replaced with grab-and-go food units The success of balcony-based retail outlets, such as those at King’s Cross, Waterloo and Manchester Piccadilly, has encouraged NR to plan an 8,000sq ft balcony for Euston overlooking the main concourse (see illustration on right).
HS2 headquarters to be in Birmingham
TRANSPORT Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has confirmed that the construction headquarters for HS2 will be in Birmingham. The HQ will open next year and house 1,500 staff. Some will relocate from London, but many of the jobs will be locally sourced. Three leading designers – Paul Priestman, whose company
designed the ‘Pendolino’, Thomas Heatherwick (creator of the new London ‘Boris’ bus) and London Eye structural engineer Jane Wernick, have been asked to create design principles for HS2. ■ Staffordshire County Council has rejected calls to join the anti-HS2 group of local authorities, 51M, despite a 5,000 signature petition.
BIRMINGHAM NEW STREET: The remarkable blue glass domes of the station’s atrium taking shape in July.
CARDIFF: Showing how the historic Great Western Railway frontage will be blended with the modern wavy line roof.
EUSTON: A computer graphic showing how the balcony over the concourse will look.
Felixstowe branch doubling back on the cards PROPOSALS to improve one of the busiest sections of single-track railway in Britain – the four-mile Felixstowe dock branch – are back on the agenda. The Department for Transport has given the go-ahead for the necessary strips of land to be compulsorily purchased to enable a second track to
be laid. Doubling has long been an ambition of Felixstowe Port, Network Rail and freight operators, but although compulsory purchase permission had been granted previously, it expired when the port’s expansion was shelved due to the economic recession of 2008.
Endofsemaphoresignallingbrought forwardasCornwallgetsbigfunds
A MULTI-MILLION pound package of improvements for rail services and rolling stock for Cornwall was announced by Prime Minister David Cameron on July 3. The county, badly hit by the closure of the main line at Dawlish for eight weeks earlier this year, will receive £146million to boost rail-based tourism and improve the ‘Night Riviera’ sleeper service. The scheme sounds the death knell for Cornwall’s famous semaphore signalling, the replacement of which has been brought forward five years from 2023 to 2018. The major upgrade will eliminate all the manual signalboxes between Totnes and Penzance, with new colour lights enabling a 30-minute frequency of services on the Cornish main line. Also to be upgraded will be the interiors of the Penzance-London Paddington sleeping car trains, which are to be fully refurbished and receive a brasserie-style bar, putting paid to renewed fears that the service might be axed. This work is to be contracted to
Wolverton-based Knorr-Bremse Rail. Maintenance of the carriages will be switched to Penzance’s Long Rock depot, safeguarding jobs in the duchy and creating new training opportunities. The package comprises £103.5million from Network Rail, £4.5m from First Great Western, £9m from the Department for Transport and £29.6million from Cornwall Council and the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Local Enterprise Partnership. In a separate development, the DfT has agreed to a re-draft of the FGW timetable in Devon and Cornwall, the first major one for a decade. Among the changes, the 07.06 Paddington-Paignton service will run to Penzance, providing earlier arrivals in Cornwall; the 07.30 Paddington-Penzance switches to Paignton; and the 10.39 PlymouthPenzance will use an HST, rather than a DMU. On the negative side, the Government has also announced financial support for an improved air service between London and Newquay.
10 • The Railway Magazine • August 2014
A map showing existing lines in Devon (dark blue) and the optional routes considered to bypass Dawlish (red).
Have you got a story for us? Email: railway@mortons.co.uk
Mid-Norfolk’s RM-backedgalasmashedallrecords
THE Railway Magazine-supported West Coast gala at the Mid-Norfolk Railway broke all the line’s records with more than 6,500 passenger journeys and a further 1,000 platform ticket sales. The three-day gala, held from May 30-June 1 and backed by The RM and our sister title Heritage Railway, featured appearances by three West Coast Railway Co main line steam locomotives – ‘Royal Scot’ No. 46115 Scots Guardsman, ‘Jubilee’ No. 45699 Galatea and 8F No. 48151. To reach the East Anglian line, they ran under their own power from Carnforth depot with a full rake of BR-liveried maroon coaches, forming what is thought to be the first triple-headed main line steam special (see report and picture, July RM). The three locos worked turn-andturn-about on the 12-mile MNR between Dereham and Wymondham Abbey over the three days, with the 8F also running light engine to Hoe on June 1. The event’s proceeds are understood to have covered the loco hire costs on the second day and made a five-figure profit, enabling the railway to put the proceeds towards an engine shed and continued restoration of the line to County School station. “The gala has been an absolutely magnificent event and we’re extremely grateful to West Coast and to Mortons Media (publishers of The RM) for the
The first A4 to run on the Mid-Norfolk Railway: Gresley “Streak” No. 60009 Union of South Africa lines up with the other LNER stars of the East Coast gala on June 26 – K4 2-6-0 No. 61994 The Great Marquess and N2 0-6-4T No. 1744. FRANK RICHARDS
support,” said organiser James Steward. But the go-ahead MNR didn’t stop there! Just over three weeks later, on June 26-29, the previously diesel-only railway staged another major steam gala, this time with an LNER flavour. The East Coast gala starred A4 No. 60009 Union of South Africa, K4 2-6-0
No. 61994 The Great Marquess, ex-GNR N2 0-6-2T No. 1744 and ex-NER Y7 0-4-0T No. 1310. A Cockerill 0-4-0VBT in Yaxham station yard made it five engines in steam – the railway’s biggest collection to date. Spread over four days, the second gala wasn’t quite as busy as the first but
is still reported to have made a fivefigure profit. ■ The MNR shed appeal needs to raise £90,000, of which about £20,000 has so far been raised. To donate go to: www.mnr.org.uk/shedappeal For full East Coast gala report, see Steam News pages.
... andTracks to theTrenches team digs for victory too
THE Apedale Valley Light Railway is turning the clock back to the early 20th century on September 12-14 to mark a century since the start of the First World War. Its Tracks to the Trenches event will bring together seven Great War Motor Rail tractors, used on lightly laid supply railways close to the Front Line, including – for the first time – all four types of War Department Motor Rail machines. Five steam locomotives will represent British, American, French and German armies from the 1914-18 conflict and the Second World War. In July, the railway’s volunteers were busy digging First World War-style trenches (pictured) in order to stage battle scenes. The 2ft-gauge Apedale Railway’s event is backed by The Railway Magazine and its ‘sister’ title Heritage Railway. For further information: 0845 0941953 or www.ww1-event.org
Cost benefits for Dawlish diversions don’t stack up, says NR THE cost of building a diversionary line away from the sea wall at Dawlish would represent poor value for money, a Network Rail report says. Following the storms on February 4-5, which closed the line for several weeks while repairs costing £24million were carried out, Network Rail agreed to look at alternative routes. Further work costing £13m is still to be carried out, including protection of the line from rock falls and general strengthening. Prior to the February damage, basic maintenance and repair work had been running at an average of £800,000 per year. NR has looked at further strengthening the line and estimates that this would cost between £398m and £659m spread over four budgetary control periods. Alternative options (see map, left) include reopening the ex-LSWR route via Okehampton and Tavistock, rebuilding the Teign Valley line, plus a choice of five routes on all-new
alignments running inland of Dawlish and Teignmouth. Two of these would have substantial tunnel sections. Using the DfT’s benefit-cost ratio (BCR) analysis, the five new routes range between 0.08 and 0.17. Costs vary between £1.49billion to £3.1billion. Reopening the LSW line (Route A), favoured by many, would be the cheapest at £875m but would have a BCR of 0.14 and is thus considered poor value for money. NR says Meldon viaduct is in a weakened state and would have to be replaced by a new one. In Tavistock, part of the trackbed has been built upon. The Route B option, reopening the Teign Valley route, would produce a low average speed profile of between 45-50mph. It would cost £470m and have a BCR of 0.29. The route would need considerable infrastructure work as one of its tunnels (Perridge) has partly collapsed. The five shorter ‘C’ options would all
run inland of Dawlish (see map), but the cost of these all-new 125mph routes’ cut-off lines (C1 to C5) would be, respectively, £3.1bn, £2.52bn, £2.25bn, £1.56bn and £1.49bn (ranging from BCR 0.08 to 0.17). All would involve at least one new tunnel. The Destination Okehampton Working Group commented that although all the routes are described by NR as poor value for money, Route 1 is the only one that would provide additional traffic – and that if it was located in Wales or Scotland, its BCR would justify its reopening. The report will be considered by the Transport Secretary, who will make an announcement next year. ■ Regardless of the outcome of the above, Devon County Council is to push forward the bid to reopen the section from Bere Alston to Tavistock. It envisages it being rebuilt between 2017 and 2020 using a Transport & Works Act or a Development Consent Order. The cost is estimated at £33m.
Vale of Rheidol station reopens WELSH Government Transport Minister Edwina Hart reopened the Vale of Rheidol Railway’s Aberffrwd station on June 19 following major upgrades. Funded through a Welsh Government rural development scheme, many of the VoR’s stations have received raised platforms, replica buildings, traditional fencing and (at Devil’s Bridge) gas lighting. VoR chairman Peter Rampton is pictured addressing the crowd at Aberffrwd. After the speeches, the station was blessed by the Venerable Dr Will Strange, Archdeacon of Cardigan. Picture: PETER JOHNSON
August 2014 • The Railway Magazine • 11
LAZARUS LINES
Dan-y-Coed – 2½ miles from Bronwydd Arms – began in mid-1997 and the new section was officially opened on March 31, 2001, the first services featuring ex-LMS 2-6-2T No. 41312, which is owned by John Jones, a Gwili member
hailing from the Carmarthen area. Having reached Dan-y-Coed, the GR decided not to press on to Cynwyl Elfed and Llanpumpsaint for the time being as that would involve significant expenditure on bridge works.
The railway’s Class 117 diesel multiple unit, optimistically bearing the name Carmarthen on its destination blind, shunts over the level crossing at Bronwydd Arms on September 29, 2013. ROB PHILLIPS
32 • The Railway Magazine • August 2014
Instead it turned its attentions to the commercially more promising southern extension. Two miles or so south of Bronwydd Arms lay the site of a one-time interface with the London & North Western Railway – Abergwili Junction. It never originally had a station, but is located alongside the main A40 road on the outskirts of the county town of Carmarthen. In 2004, planning permission was secured for a terminus, to be called Carmarthen North. The £5million proposal envisaged a brick-built building in 19th century Great Western style with the old embankment cut away to present an unobstructed view of the station from the road. A carriage shed was projected, largely obscured behind a hillock, with the visible front having a traditional-style GWR brick-built gable. There would also be a 150-space car park. While efforts were made to raise the funds, the GR began preparing to convert Bronwydd Arms from a terminus to a through station, including remodelling the yard, extending the engine pit, installing a new ground frame and restoring stock required for an expanded operation. A Push to Carmarthen North appeal was launched in 2004, but brought a disappointing response. After a year, it had failed to raise sufficient cash to even employ a project
Above: A Gwili resident locomotive, Vulcan Foundry 0-6-0ST ‘Austerity’ Haulwen, pauses in the platform at Bronwydd Arms. This view is looking north in the direction of Dan-y-Coed. THOMAS SPAIN Left: Class 14 No. 14901, on the tail of a train running into Llwyfan Cerrig, crosses one of the many river bridges that add to the scenic attraction of the Gwili Railway yet give the line a significant repair and maintenance headache. ROB PHILLIPS
manager to prepare tender documents and deal with administrative tasks. Further years passed with little apparent progress Undeterred, the volunteers quietly got on with the task of edging the railhead south from Bronwydd Arms as and when track became available, managing to lay 300 yards by early 2007. Then, in 2009, the project was ironically revitalised by misfortune elsewhere. The Swansea Vale Railway, which had been struggling for some time, had finally closed in 2007. Agreement was reached for most of its assets, including track, to be relocated to the Gwili Railway and this was done in 2009, assisted by contractors financed from Swansea Council’s compensation package. The Swansea Vale Railway Society retains its identity within the Gwili organisation, for the GR has a history of embracing local railway groups in need of a home, having provided a base for the Vale of Neath Railway Society, the Caerphilly Railway Society and the Railway Club of Wales (although the latter has since moved to other sites). The rail and sleepers delivered from Swansea were sufficient to complete the southern extension and there was enough signal & telegraph equipment to not only cover Carmarthen North, but also to put aside for Conwyl Elfed, on the future northern extension.
Swansea Vale locomotives and stock added to the Gwili’s motive power options and its volunteers helped swell the workforce. Even with the free track (probably worth about £100,000), the extension will still have cost £250,000 by the time it opens. Fortunately, there has been significant help in the form of grants from sources including Carmarthen County Council’s Rural Development and County Collaboration Funds and CWM Environmental, support for which the railway is extremely grateful. Gwili members have also dug into their pockets to raise matching funds. Even so, the plans for the new terminus have had to be scaled back. After resolving an issue concerning one of several un-gated crossings, the railway hired contractors in 2012 to clear decades of tree growth from the final
mile of the route, opening up views of the valley not seen in half a century. Earth-moving equipment followed to deal with clearance of drains and culverts and, in January 2013, tracklaying resumed. Five thousand tons of ballast were laid, aided by two ballast wagons and a ‘Shark’ ballast plough on free loan from the Severn Valley Railway. Although the name Carmarthen North would perhaps have helped more prospective visitors to pinpoint it on a map, the railway decided last year that the terminus would be named in English and Welsh as Abergwili Junction/Cyffordd Abergwili. It now consists of a simple run-round loop and unadorned six-coach platform, built by contractors between July and September last year. There is not even a car park at the moment, but as funds become
In Great Western and British Railways Western Region days, Conwyl Elfed was known simply as Conwil (anglicised spelling). This BR-era view depicts a train hauled by ‘Manor’ 4-6-0 No. 7804 Baydon Manor. COLOUR-RAIL.COM
August 2014 • The Railway Magazine • 33
THE HISTORY OF TRAINSPOTTING DIFFERENT FORMS OF ENTHUSIASM
Rail enthusiasm comes in all forms. There are no mechanical aids here as volunteers with picks and shovels hack away at the rocks during the construction of the Ffestiniog Railway’s Dduallt deviation in March 1969. JOHN RANSOM
Extreme enthusiasm: Members of the Branch Line Society like to go to the limits – literally – by travelling the full length of every siding on a railway system in so-called ‘buffer-kissing specials’. Here, a BLS brakevan special, hauled by 350hp shunter No. 08444, visits one of the depot yards on the Bodmin & Wenford Railway on November 23, 2013. JIMMY JAMES
Even lines of locos for scrap have an attraction. Fell diesel No. 10100 dumped at Derby Works soon after the removal of its power plant. In the same line on April 21, 1960, is Bo-Bo No. 10800. M J WADE
Until then, the few railway periodicals in existence had been aimed primarily at engineers, managers and shareholders. In 1899, Holland & Co, railway booksellers based in Birmingham, published a range of titles relating to the London & North Western Railway, including The Register of All L&NWR Locos, by S Cotterell and G H Wilkinson. This book, by enthusiasts for enthusiasts, included precise notes, class details and lists of numbers. The authors claimed for it the distinction of being “the first and only book ever devoted entirely to the locomotives of one railway company”. They also noted that “among the young people and many admirers of a good engine, the locality and even the sheds frequented by the locomotives are a source of great interest”. Clearly, railway enthusiasm as it was to manifest itself during the 1950s/1980s period had by then taken a firm hold – and this was
more than 20 years before Ian Allan had even been born! Handily pocket-sized, the L&NWR book contained a section at the rear requesting ‘Names, Numbers and Dates wanted’. In the same year, ‘The Railway Club’ was founded for enthusiasts, and a year after that ‘the Whitaker of the Railway Service’ – The Railway Yearbook – was published for the first time. The year 1899 was a good one for railway enthusiasm, for it also saw the start of the Locomotive Publishing Company, originally formed by the Bell brothers and A C W Lowe, who all worked for the Great Eastern Railway at Stratford Works. From 1896, they had been publishing Moore’s Monthly, which by 1897 had become The Locomotive. Moore’s Monthly derived in part from the railway paintings of F Moore, an alias for Tom Rudd – an illustrator, then aged 38, who one of the Bell brothers had met while
On June 30, 1938, officials of the LNER demonstrated enthusiasm with the running of GNR Single No. 1 to mark acceleration of the‘Flying Scotsman’. It is seen at Stevenage alongside A4 No. 4498. RM ARCHIVE
The use of unusual engines over remote and rural routes on railtours is a sure way to fill a train. On June 18, 1962, former North British 4-4-0 No. 256 Glen Douglas stands at the delightfully named Rumbling Bridge station, on the Alloa-Kinross line. This SLS/RCTS joint Scottish tour ran for seven days covering most lines north of the border. S CREER
50 • The Railway Magazine • August 2014
“Can we cab it, mister?” A group of young schoolboys crowd round the cab of A1 No. 60158 Aberdonian as it pauses at Doncaster on July 10, 1964. J P GOSLING
observing trains on the Great Northern Railway. (As ‘F Moore’, Rudd was to go on and document the pre-Grouping and Grouping scene in full colour, with more than 626 separate railway subjects to his name). General interest in locomotives was sufficient in 1901 for publications like The Railway Times to appear. This was the print equivalent of a modern ‘blog’, containing locomotive notes and lists and circulated to ‘locoists’ in South London. An early copy has the list of LNWR ‘Precedents’ with crosses next to five of them and gives details of ‘locomotive observations’ (i.e. spotting) at Euston, Paddington and King’s Cross. However – confirming that ‘spotting’ was already well established – the author felt a need to distance himself from such fellow railwayacs, for he wrote: “To my mind, to take a public interest in engines and railways is right and proper, but to be seen at a station writing down the numbers of engines as they pass is childish… I make my notes in a quiet corner if possible… so that I may be, for all the casual observer knows, jotting down a stray thought or a business note”.
members felt it was straying from locomotive matters. A young bank worker, L E Brailsford, founded the Stephenson Locomotive Society (SLS) as a result, and within two years George Burtt, a professional railwayman on the LBSCR, had split from the group to form the Institute of Locomotive Engineers. 1911 was also the year the Cambridge University Railway Club was founded. Armed with GWR and LNWR fleet lists, those Edwardian and post-Edwardian enthusiasts were clearly keen to add the locos of other companies to their repertoires and in 1912 a list of ‘Great Northern Railway engines and where stationed’ was published. So, before the First World War, there were numerous people in Britain spotting and (if they could afford it) photographing trains. There were also train-timers such as Charles RousMarten and Lord Monkswell (who was SLS president in the 1920s and whose detailed notes, starting in 1896, have survived). There were also shed visits and overseas trips. The
latter were not just for the privileged few, as railway workers with access to travel concessions took part in some of the early ‘overseas’ meets. There were more than 670,000 employees in the UK in 1923, all of whom were encouraged to take an active interest. The Grouping of railway companies that year made study of them somewhat easier, particularly when the companies started to think about their marketing and recognised that (to paraphrase former British Rail chairman Peter Parker) “steam locomotive enthusiasm warms the market for rail”. Four years before the Grouping, the GWR, presumably having noticed the success of the Waterlow’s version, had published its own list of GWR engines (the NRM’s copy is annotated) and in 1925 the Southern Railway issued a booklet that not only listed named locomotives but those that simply had a number. Collecting ‘namers’ only was at that time an accepted part of the hobby and is mentioned in a number of magazines of the time. Three years later, the
Dedicated
The Railway Times ran to more than 250 issues and ended publication in 1926. In 1908, it also listed Great Eastern London Motor Omnibus numbers, surely the earliest reference to a practice the public at large finds even more baffling than train spotting – bus spotting. In 1903 ‘A register of all the locomotives now in use on the London & North Western Railway’ was published. Compiled by C Williams, it went through several further editions, the last in 1922. At the time of first publication, there were more than 2,700 locomotives on the LNWR, so it would have taken a dedicated and wealthy ‘locoist’ to have seen even half of them, especially given the virtual non-existence of private cars in those days, coupled with the fact that many engines would have been based at small sheds at the ends of rural or goods-only branch lines. In 1909, the Railway Club went through what was called ‘the great schism’ because some
Modern traction has its own following. An excellent example of‘Deltic’worship is displayed at Newton Abbot on June 23, 2012, as No. 55022 Royal Scots Grey calls on the way to Penzance with one of Pathfinder Tours’‘Mazey Day’ specials. In the last days of the class on BR, enthusiasts even took rubbings of the locos’nameplates. GAVIN MORRISON
August 2014 • The Railway Magazine • 51
RailtoursTrack Record COMPILED BY
NICK BRODRICK
Call: 01507 529589 email: nbrodrick @mortons.co.uk
Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM.
Portable GSM-R kit fit for a‘King’
COLLETT‘King’No. 6023 King Edward II will be able to join its Didcot Railway Centre stablemate, steam railmotor No. 93, on the main line this year. The move is being made possible thanks to a new derogation that will allow No. 6023 to share a portable GSMR (Global System for Mobile Communications – Railway) radio with other members of the Great Western Society’s loco stud. The‘King’and railmotor will not need to have permanently fitted equipment, unlike other locos that currently run on the main line, thanks to the exception made by the Railway Safety & Standards Board. Most locos have had equipment fitted and paid for by Network Rail because of ‘grandfather rights’ahead of the phased introduction of the new train-signaller interface. Neither the‘King’nor the railmotor (which first ran in 2011) have such right of passage, so the cost of fitting dedicated systems to each would have been prohibitively expensive to the GWS.
Shuttles
Not only can Didcot now go ahead with an order for the GSM-R equipment, it is also finally completing the installation of No. 6023’s Train Protection Warning System (TPWS) and On-Train Monitoring Recorder (OTMR) around the end of August. Main line testing arrangements have yet to be finalised before the singlechimneyed‘King’can haul a charter train. It is still preparing to take its main line bow, but the railmotor first ran on the main line in November 2012 when it shuttled over south Cornwall’s Looe branch. A further weekend of main line running is proposed for the railmotor on October 18-19 between Southall and Brentford, but unlike two years ago, it should be joined by its‘sister’ auto-trailer No. 92 for the trips. The GWS is working with First Great Western and Network Rail to run the trains, but final confirmation and ticket details are still awaited. The mobile nature of the new GSM-R gear means that other Didcot locos, including current workshop projects No. 4079 Pendennis Castle and‘Hall’/’Saint’ conversion No. 2999 Lady of Legend, will be able to fulfil their main line potential in the future.
Charters‘fire-fight’the effects of strike action
A LENGTHY row over firefighters’ pensions impacted on nine main line steam-hauled charters, as dry conditions led to an increased risk of lineside fires sparked by steam locomotives. The Fire Brigade Union’s strike action has thwarted, or at least seriously affected, main line tours, leading to restricted steam haulage. In two cases charters were either cancelled or postponed. The strike action was spread over 10 dates in June and July. The absence of fire crews was a risk that charter companies DB Schenker and West Coast Railways were not able to take, under instruction from Network Rail. That prudence has been in case a locomotive ran low of water (as afflicted Bulleid Pacific No. 34046 Braunton at Folkestone on March 29 when it suffered injector failure), or in case of lineside fires, a risk that is significantly intensified in summer. The first strike to affect passengers was staged on June 21 when Steam Dreams was forced to field a diesel on the first of its Kent ‘Cathedrals Express’ circulars, before ‘Black Five’ No. 44932 was allowed to haul the evening train. Even so, its use was only possible because the Fire Brigade Union’s strike had ended one minute before its rescheduled departure from London Victoria! Since then, the strikes have lengthened and as the main line steam specials’ season reaches its peak, promoters have been forced into making changes to itineraries to include diesels at certain times when firefighters have ‘downed tools’.
Olton Hall rattles the window frames at Skipton station as it hurries through on July 12 with the Carnforth-York ‘Wizards Express’. Reports of a lineside fire allegedly started by the locomotive before Leeds saw the train diesel-hauled for the remainder of the tour. No. 5972 (a.k.a ‘Hogwarts Express’) will shortly be going on static display at Warner Bros’ Leavesden Studios, near Watford (RM April). IAN WRIGHT
One such instance was on July 19 when the Railway Touring Company’s ‘Cumbrian Mountain Express’ was electrichauled all the way from Euston, having meant to have changed to A4 No. 60009 Union of South Africa at Carnforth. Instead, ‘Number Nine’ was hooked on to the stock at Carlisle for just the return leg to Farrington Junction, near Preston, via the Settle & Carlisle line. Network Rail confirmed to The RM that its policy is that “steam charters should not
operate directly before or during strike action… except for two special circumstances which were discussed by us and our affected operators”. As this column went to press in late July, a deal between the union and the Government over pensions had yet to yield a positive outcome and further industrial action was likely. To compound the problem faced by promoters and passengers, differing grades of fire-risk alert were introduced by NR in mid-July (see report
below). This means that although an outright nationwide steam ban hasn’t been enforced, the use of an assisting diesel locomotive is a precaution being taken on some charters. One example of this compromise was on the July 24 ‘Cathedrals Express’ between London Victoria and Bristol: the advertised engine, ‘Britannia’ No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell, had a West Coast Railways diesel coupled behind the tender supplying the lion’s share of the power output.
RED,AMBER, GREEN:A NEW WAY OF TACKLING FIRE RISK NETWORK Rail has introduced a new ‘traffic light’ system to simplify fire risk measures and provide clarity for promoters and passengers. The protocol is being trialled this summer. NR’s acting customer relationship executive, Nick Coles, described to The RM how it works: “Ahead of the main summer charter season this year (July to August), NR, in collaboration with our operators, introduced a trial fire risk protocol to manage, on a twice-weekly basis, the fire risk posed by steam charters. “As part of this protocol, our route territories discuss the weather forecast ahead, as well as other information, and
74 • The Railway Magazine • August 2014
data sources, including actual incidents of fire and ground condition reports. They then establish a red, amber or green fire risk status for their respective territories for the forthcoming days. “This fire risk status is then shared with our operators and we jointly discuss, in cases of red or amber status, whether any mitigation can be employed to reduce the risk of fire and allow a particular booked steam charter to still run.” Mr Coles continued: “In simple terms: red means a steam ban is in place and no steam locos are allowed on the route; amber means a steam ban is in place, but steam can operate suboptimally on the route
through an agreed mitigation (such as ‘diesel inside steam’); and green means that steam operations can run as normal.” He added: “Network Rail will continue to work with our operators to best manage steam operations during the remainder of July and into August and September, with a review of the trial fire risk protocol to then be conducted after the summer charter season is over.” A red fire risk status was in force for much of July on the London North Eastern Region, having been triggered by ‘Hall’ No. 5972 Olton Hall (‘Hogwarts Castle’) allegedly starting a lineside fire at Gargrave. The emergency constraint meant that No. 46233 Duchess
of Sutherland had to be removed from its ‘Scarborough Flyer’ at York, which also continued behind a Class 47, on the same day. This restriction has also significantly impacted on the operation of the midweek ‘Scarborough Spa Express’ trains, which saw diesel usage and the intended steam motive power – ‘Royal Scot’ No. 46115 Scots Guardsman – sidelined at York. Mr Coles said that the red status is under continual review and that NR is aware of the “significant” number of charters that stand to be affected. An amber fire risk had been enforced by NR in the fourth week of July in the south of England.
Have you got a story for us? Email: railway@mortons.co.uk
Jeremy Hosking’s‘Streak’ to bow out in December...
Euston has changed dramatically since the sight of a BR green ‘Duchess’ was an everyday occurrence. No. 46233 rests at the former London & Birmingham Railway terminus on June 28. JOHN TITLOW
‘Duchess’... non-stop to Euston DUCHESS of Sutherland joined the exclusive rank of non-stop main line steam locomotives when it ran between Birmingham New Street and Euston on June 28. Thanks to the addition of an adapted General Utility Van (GUV) to carry extra water supplies, No. 46233 was able to traverse the distance between the ‘second city’ and the capital without stopping, in 2hr 35min. The ‘Princess Coronation’ was hauling Vintage Trains’ ‘The Midlander’, which triumphantly arrived in the capital nine minutes early. The non-stop element of the West Coast Main Line spree was nearly scuppered because Network Rail planners were unable to find a suitable schedule for the train without pathing stops in the week leading up to its departure. However, a viable alternative
was found by turning the ‘Duchess’ to depart north from New Street, rather than direct onto the WCML south from Birmingham. The revised itinerary took the train via Soho Junction, Perry Barr, Aston and Stetchford, prior to rejoining the ‘premier route’ before Birmingham International. Tyseley’s Brush Class 47 No. 47773 was coupled to the rear of the 11-coach train (including ‘GUV’) for operational necessity because of the revised pathing arrangement, which saw the Stanier Pacific having to tackle the steep climb out of New Street: a section of line that is also restricted to 10mph. “We are mindful that we are privileged to be able to go in and out of New Street at all,” Vintage Trains’ Ben Mason told The RM, commenting on the
fact that it was only four years ago that the railtour firm managed to negotiate access for steam charters to use the busy inter-city hub for the first time since 1965. “We set out to run non-stop and that’s exactly what we did,” he said. ■ The ‘Midlander’ gave Duchess of Sutherland entry into a select group of British engines to run meaningful ‘non-stops’ since Flying Scotsman’s King’s Cross to Edinburgh run in 1968. Other notable locomotives in the non-stop blue ribbon category include ‘Castle’ No. 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe and A4 No. 4464 Bittern. ■ Duchess of Sutherland will be shedding its BR passenger green paint scheme in favour of LMS crimson lake livery this winter. It will also be fitted with new tyres as part of its annual maintenance programme.
‘Javelin’railtour success leads to repeat
DETAILS of Bittern’s final main line run on ‘home ground’ have been announced less than five months before its current spell in traffic comes to an end. On December 30, No. 4464 will ease out of King’s Cross and through the familiar haunts of Gasworks and Copenhagen tunnels in charge of the ‘Bittern Farewell Tour’ to Lincoln. The Gresley “Streak” returned to steam after a major overhaul/restoration in 2007 and has thrust itself into the public’s consciousness with a reputation for fine running, particularly on the ECML, culminating in its three acclaimed 90mph exploits of 2013. Passengers will experience one of the first charter trains to run over the newly reinstated Sleaford down avoiding line on the former GNR/GER Joint line between Werrington Junction (near Peterborough) and Lincoln. It is almost certain that colour lights will have
phased out all the wellknown semaphore signals on the joint line by the time of the December jaunt. Fittingly, in view of its high-speed runs, Bittern will return from Lincoln to London via Newark, which means it will be able to take in Stoke bank, past the point at which classmate No. 4468 Mallard attained 126mph in 1938. The garter blue Pacific will then retrace its outward steps from Peterborough, ending its current spell in the limelight at the bufferstops of King’s Cross at around 19.45. No 4464 is owned by Jeremy Hosking, but is in the custodianship of the Royal Scot & General Trust and is maintained and operated by Locomotive Services at Southall. The ex-Flying Scotsman ‘spare’ boiler, bought for No. 4464 by Jeremy Hosking, is currently being worked on by LNWR Heritage’s boilersmiths at Crewe, which will shorten the length of the A4’s next overhaul.
…but before then: Bittern in a New Street‘first’? WILL the sight of a Gresley A4 at Birmingham New Street be a first? That is what charter train promoter Vintage Trains wants to discover as it prepares to take No. 4464 Bittern to the Midlands station this autumn. The trips are part of the garter blue engine’s farewell tour itinerary (see story above). The loco’s withdrawal from the main line for overhaul is looming, but prior to this, it will travel to New Street on October 18 and November 1. The visits form part of
Vintage Trains’ forthcoming autumn/winter tour programme. The Birmingham station, which is currently in the throes of major redevelopment, should also be visited by Tyseley’s ‘Castle’ No. 5043 Earl Mount of Edgcumbe and Chris Beet’s ‘Jubilee’ No. 5690 Leander in 2015. For more details contact Vintage Trains. ■ Do you know of an A4 visiting New Street before? Please let the magazine know at the editorial address on page 3.
Southeastern high-speed set No. 395001 passes Denmark Hill, working the London Victoria Faversham leg of‘The Wandering Javelin’tour on June 21. JAMES BUSHNELL
A SOUTHEASTERN‘Javelin’ran deliberately‘off course’ on June 21 as it became the first of its class to operate a charter train. No. 395001 Dame Kelly Holmes, forming the ‘Wandering Javelin’ on a Midsummer’s Day trip for UK Railtours, took in four London termini: St Pancras,
Victoria, Charing Cross and Cannon Street. The three ex-Southern Region stations are rarely visited by a ‘Javelin’, if ever at all. The ‘Kent Circular’ railtours also exploited hitherto neverbefore-covered track by a Class 395 in the Garden of England,
including the ‘Tonbridge route’ to the ferry ports of Dover and Folkestone. The tour sold out in April and such was the demand for tickets that a second run has been organised for August 23. However, that trip too is already fully booked.
The NRM’s‘Britannia’4-6-2 No.70013 Oliver Cromwell rolls under the former North Eastern Railway overall roof at Beverley on June 28. The Pacific was in charge of the Railway Touring Company’s‘East Riding’ between King’s Cross and Scarborough. EDDIE BOBROWSKI
August 2014 • The Railway Magazine • 75