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BRITAIN’S BEST-SELLING RAIL TITLE July 2016
WHAT ‘BREXIT’ COULD MEAN FOR OUR RAILWAYS
RAILTOUR HOLIDAY GUIDE WEST COAST RAILWAYS FINED £200,000
ON’ ‘UNIAN M
CHASEWATER: A CINDERELLA STORY
JOHN CAMERON PART 2
FIRST GWR CLASS 800 UNVEILED
Contents
July 2016. No. 1,384. Vol 162. A journal of record since 1897.
Headline News
Chaos for GWR after Paddington derailment - p6.
West Coast fined £200,000 for Wootton Bassett incident; Paddington SPAD causes traffic chaos; heritage lines in £1million DfT giveaway; world's longest rail tunnel opens; IEP to make passenger-carrying debut on GWR; strikes continue to disrupt trains in Scotland, Sussex and Kent; Virgin introduces free on-board entertainment.
On the cover
MAIN IMAGE: Only time will tell if the UK electorate's decision to leave the European Union will have any adverse effect on the international rail link from London to Paris and Brussels. New Siemens Eurostar set No. 374012 stands at St Pancras International during a press preview of the train last November. CHRIS MILNER INSET 1: Bagnall 0-4-0ST Linda at the Chasewater Railway - see p44. ALISTAIR GRIEVE
INSET 2: The second part of our interview with John Cameron - see p14. INSET 3: GWR unveils its first Class 800 in green livery at North Pole depot. GWR
Track Record The Railway Magazine’s monthly news digest 66 Steam & Heritage
Keighley's 'Ironclad' to steam again; Foremarke Hall returns; Maunsell Mogul on track for main line return; boiler lift brings Clun Castle return closer.
72 Industrial Steam 75 Steam Portfolio 78 Traction & Stock
Rail Operations Group buys Riviera Trains' Class 47s; first Class 700s in service with Thameslink; GWR Class 387 testing begins; special vinyls for Queen's 90th birthday.
84 Classic Traction
Pristine restoration for GWSR Class 37; 'Hymek' joins Spa Valley gala line-up; Class 50 gets InterCity livery.
86 Traction Portfolio 90 Network
Borders Railway figures shatter predictions; first tracks for Queen Street tunnel; more network flood damage.
92 Metro 93 Miniature 94 Freight 96 Narrow Gauge
New L&B Lyn to run next year; Fairbourne celebrates best ever gala; Tracks to the Tranches special report.
100 Railtours 104 World 106 Operations
Our round-up of news from the train and freight operating companies. Left: Foremarke Hall returns at Toddington - p71
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37 Meetings
Details of railway society meetings near you.
42 Readers' Platform
Your thoughts on the topics that matter to you.
60 Panorama
Our monthly gallery of the best railway photography.
audited circulation of makes it by far the
12 Multiple Aspects
The latest railway books under the spotlight.
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Regulars
40 Reviews
Newly outshopped Ivatt '2MT' 2-6-2T No. 41298 approaches Deacons Lane Bridge on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway with one of its first trains since the completion of its restoration at Havenstreet. NICK GILLIAM
Panorama - p60
64 From The RM Archives
What The RM was reporting 20, 50 and 100 years ago.
112 Heritage Diary
Opening times of steam centres and heritage railways.
122 Prize Crossword and Where Is It?
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Features
14 Scotland's Union Man: Part 2
28 Tales from the Launch Pad
44 Chasewater: A Cinderella Story
Nick Pigott concludes his interview with Union of South Africa owner John Cameron, who explains how he acquired his famous Gresley 'A4’ and talks of his career as chairman of ScotRail.
To mark 30 years since the launch of Network SouthEast, former NSE PR man Dennis Lovett recalls some of the behind-the-scenes events that led up to the introduction of this hugely successful brand.
22 Electro-Diesels in the Highlands
32 Same railway, different location
Cliff Thomas presents another entry in our Lazarus Lines series, this month looking at the narrow gauge Lincolnshire Coast Light Railway, a line which has existed in two completely different locations.
As summer gets into full swing, we present our second special holiday supplement for this year. There are inspirational ideas for late-season rail holidays and a look ahead to what some of the rail tour specialists are offering for 2017.
ELECTRODIESELS: Class 73/9s in Scotland - p22
NSE AT 30: Tales from behind the scenes - p28
INDUSTRIAL HEART: Chasewater Railway - p44
For this month's Practice & Performance John Heaton examines the work of the Class 73/9s on the 'Caledonian Sleeper' in Scotland, and joins them for a run over the taxing Highland Main Line.
The preservation journey of the Chasewater Railway has been a true rags-to-riches tale, from a rag-tag backwater collection to royal recognition for its volunteers. Gary Boyd-Hope tells its story.
49 Rail Tourers’Guide
July 2016 • The Railway Magazine • 5
PRACTICE & PERFORMANCE
ELECTRODIESELS INVADE
THE HIGHLANDS
I
After an extended commissioning period, rebuilt Class 73/9s are taking over Caledonian Sleeper portions in Scotland. John Heaton FCILT samples the performance of these locos with a trip over the testing Highland Main Line.
t is the wee small hours at Edinburgh Waverley, but the station is a hive of activity. There used to be nothing unusual about such a statement, but the loss of parcels traffic and the handling of the remaining Royal Mail at purpose-built terminals have resulted in most stations falling silent, and even closing, in the hiatus between first and last local passenger trains. Not so in Scotland’s capital city when the Caledonian Sleepers are around. There are two pairs of sleeping car trains between London and Scotland, starting their journeys on Sunday to Friday evenings. One is known colloquially as ‘The Lowlander’, departing each end just before midnight to give a business-friendly arrival time. The other is the former ‘Royal Highlander’, serving the diverse
triple markets of Aberdeen, Fort William and Inverness in a giant train that combines southbound, and divides northbound, at Edinburgh.
Waltzing
An invitation from new franchisee Serco and its contractor for traction, GB Railfreight (GBRf), brought me to this scene at 03.55, trying to awaken my brain from the rhythms of Freightliner’s Class 90 No. 90047 waltzing me gently north along the West Coast Main Line and ‘over the border carrying the journalist and his voice recorder’. Tumbling onto the platform in unfamiliar heavy safety boots and donning hi-viz jacket, bump cap and gloves proved an even greater
challenge, as I simultaneously attempted to exchange introductory details with GBRf acting regional manager Steve Turner. Duly safetybriefed, I looked along the platform to discern a shape through the glare of oncoming headlights that were approaching the erstwhile rear vehicles of the 21.16 (working time) from London Euston. Sure enough, this was what I had come to see: two refurbished, updated and pristine Class 73 electro-diesels. Back in the 1960s, when I had first encountered these locos, they seemed scarcely credible replacements for Bulleid Pacific steam engines. I would never have believed that more than 50 years later I would be climbing into the cab of one heading for the twin summits of Druimuachdar and Slochd in charge of even
Above: The modern control desk of the re-powered Class 73. Note the iPad which drivers use for a variety of operational tasks. Driver Andy Gray is at the controls. TRANSPORT REPORTS LTD Left: Preparing for the off! Nos. 73967 and 73966 stand at Edinburgh Waverley’s platform 11 on May 20. TRANSPORT REPORTS LTD
22 • The Railway Magazine • July 2016
PRESERVED LINE FOCUS
CHASEWATER: A CINDERELLA STORY With its origins stretching back as far as 1959, the Chasewater Railway has come a very long way in almost six decades. From a low point in the early 1980s when the railway effectively closed, it has bounced back with a vengeance, to the point where its volunteers’ efforts have received royal recognition. Gary Boyd-Hope explains.
O
N THE evening of June 1, at the Chasewater Railway’s Brownhills West headquarters, a gathering of the line’s working members sat with mouths agape and expressions ranging from shock to delight as chairman Mark Sealey revealed that the railway had been selected to receive the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. For the small band of dedicated volunteers that give up their free time to run trains over this twomile length of former colliery railway, recognition for their efforts does not come much higher than this. It is most certainly a far cry from the days of the mid-1980s when the number of active volunteers was down to single figures and the railway was forced to sell off a number of items of rolling stock simply in order to survive. How times change!
Early days
The Chasewater Railway of today was born out of the vision of one man – Noel Draycott. A resident of Swanley in Kent, Draycott was the brains behind the Railway Preservation Society (RPS), a national organisation that had been created to try and co-ordinate the efforts of railway preservationists around the UK. The idea was that the RPS would be formed of regional groups, or districts, which would then set up their own base of operations, preferably on a section of railway that could be leased for operation by the RPS. The first such district to be established was the Railway Preservation Society – West Midlands District, which had its inaugural meeting in Stafford on November 21, 1959. The RPS was a commendable, if somewhat unworkable, idea. Only two other district groups managed to achieve anything significant: the Scottish Railway Preservation Society prospered to eventually establish the successful Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway, and the London Railway Preservation Society, which went on to create the Quainton Railway Society collection at today’s Buckinghamshire Railway Centre. As for the West Midlands District, by June 1960 it had secured a rail-connected site at Hednesford, near Cannock, where it moved its two derelict six-wheeled coaches that had been gifted to it by the National Coal Board. These were later joined in 1961 by LNWR 0-6-2 ‘Coal Tank’ No. 1054, ex-LBSCR ‘E1’ 0-6-0T No. 110 (which from 1927 had worked for the Cannock & Rugeley Colliery Company at Cannock Wood Colliery as its No. 9) from 1963, and a host of other items of rolling stock and artefacts.
44 • The Railway Magazine • July 2016
The first trains to operate at the Chasewater site ran in June 1968 with Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0ST Asbestos (2780/1909) in charge. Here, Asbestos runs across a decidedly fragile-looking Causeway with the Maryport & Carlisle Railway six-wheeler and an ex-GWR ‘Toad’ in tow during that summer. CHASEWATER RAILWAY
As the collection grew, additional space became a priority along with the need for a running line. It was time to move.
Destination Chasewater
The need for a new base eventually resulted in three branch lines being given serious consideration as possible homes. In the end the group plumped for a truncated section of the Midland Railway’s Aldridge to Brownhills branch along the shores of Norton (now Chasewater) Reservoir. Dating back to 1881, the line had been built by the Cannock Chase & Wolverhampton Railway, with part built by the Midland, and for years had served several NCB collieries until the cessation of coal traffic in the early 1960s. The RPS was able to secure a 25-year lease on a two-mile section in 1964, at a time when the Aldridge-Brownhills Urban District Council was developing an area of public parkland around the reservoir, so the two projects complemented each other well. As the new site at Chasewater was cleared the stock from Hednesford was gradually transferred, eventually being completed by 1970. The first public open day on the new site was on June 29, 1968 when ex-Turner & Newall (Trafford Park) Hawthorn Leslie 0-4-0ST Asbestos (2780/1909) did the honours. As the number of open days increased and the RPS started to operate the railway on a regular basis, a wholly owned subsidiary known as the
Chasewater Light Railway Company was set up to run the line on behalf of the group. The membership, meanwhile, felt that the somewhat long-winded title of Railway Preservation Society – West Midlands District was in need of change, and the Chasewater Light Railway Society was born. A high point for the rebranded society came in 1975 when its restored former Maryport & Carlisle Railway six-wheeler was sent to represent Chasewater at the Stockton & Darlington 150th anniversary cavalcade at Shildon. However, behind the scenes, events were taking a different turn.
Vandals and theft
If establishing an operating railway was not difficult enough, the Chasewater Railway had to combat repeated attacks by vandals and even theft. In the words of the railway’s operations director Christian Hatton, “if it wasn’t bolted down it got nicked”, and this is no exaggeration. A prime example was the ex-GWR parachute water tower that the society had obtained from Cleobury Mortimer, and which was cut up and carted off by metal thieves before they had the chance to re-erect it. A secure compound was established at the railway’s then headquarters at the old Brownhills West station, where a platform had been erected, but there was no covered accommodation and all restoration and maintenance was carried out in the open air.
Magazine i
Rail Tourers’ Guide
With the ever-present sander riding on the front bufferbeam and coal breaker busy in the bunker, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway's 'B' class 0-4-0ST No. 792 works hard on a two-coach charter train between Rangtong and Chunabhatti during a Darjeeling Tours visit to the world-famous line. DAVE BENSON-PHILLIPS
2016
Panorama
Although only taken 10 years ago, several aspects of this scene at Cork Kent station on June 30 have already been consigned to the history books. In that short time Iarnród Éireann has replaced the corporate orange & black colour scheme with a new ‘InterCity’ livery, the IE ‘3-pin plug’ logo has been superseded by a new bi-lingual design, the Mk3 and Mk2 coaching stock has been withdrawn, and the Class 201s have largely lost their distinctive early livery. FIONNBARR KENNEDY
60 • The Railway Magazine • July 2016
Dave Owen, Llangollen Railway’s chief mechanical engineer, looks out from the footplate of newly repainted Collett ‘Manor’ 4-6-0 No. 7822 Foxcote Manor as it works the last train of the day away from Carrog during the railway’s Victorian Weekend on May 13. PHIL JONES
Classic Traction Track Record COMPILED BY
PETER NICHOLSON Call: 01507 529589
email: classic.traction @btopenworld.com
Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM.
SIDELINES Didcot heritage diesel days
THERE are four more days this season when Didcot Railway Centre offers diesel train rides: September 10-11 and 17-18. This is either in GWR railcar No. 22 or behind Class 14 No. D9516.
Electric Railway Museum open days
THE Coventry EMU museum is open to visitors on July 9-10, August 13, September 10-11 (heritage open weekend), and October 8.
Swanage evening DMU service
THE Swanage Railway is running its Class 108 DMU on Saturday evenings from July 23-September 4. Discounted fares are available for travel after 18.00.
Pristine restoration for Class 37 AN INTENSIVE restoration of a former Western Region Class 37 has concluded at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, with the loco being unveiled in livery it carried when built in 1964. D6948 emerged from English Electric’s Vulcan Foundry in October 1964 and was allocated to Cardiff Canton depot, later becoming No. 37248, before being bought privately by four Growler Group committee members in 2005. Between 2006-9 the loco was loaned to West Coast Railways and made regular appearances on charter trains such as the‘Royal Scotsman, but in May 2009 spent a few months at Ruddington, home of the GCR (Nottingham), before delivery to Toddington on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway – its new home. After a few appearances at the G/WR, in December 2010 group members began an ambitious project to return the loco to ‘as-built’condition, which included the retro-fitting of a steam heat boiler. More than five years of work has included a full strip down of the locomotive’s bodywork and cabs, fabrication and re-fitting of original bodyside skirts, working headcode boxes, water delivery hatches, and overhaul of key components, together
A pristine D6948 prepares to leave Toddington with its loaded test run to Cheltenham Racecourse on June 12, in company with Class 37/0 No. 37215. No. 37215 was there in the event of a failure and for the purpose of only providing additional weight. PETER A SMITH
with the removal of non-original equipment, subsequently added over its lifetime. Repairs were not straightforward, with three steam heat boilers being used to make one good unit. Removal of ballast weights was needed to permit the installation of a steam-heating pipe to both cab ends. During the overhaul of the power unit, problems were discovered that necessitated a partial rebuild with a number of refurbished parts. At the end of the rebuild, the
group repainted the loco into BR green with a grey roof, and added Western Region lamp brackets, 86A (Cardiff Canton) shed plates, and WR blue route-availability spots on the cabsides, exactly as it was when delivered. Started for the first time on April 10, with several faults rectified, the loco took power on May 2, with a second test run three weeks later from Toddington to Laverton. With further testing and a loaded test run complete, the loco is set to star at the G/WR’s
three-day diesel gala from July 29-31. The gala line up will include (subject to availability) Class 20 No. D8137, Class 24 No. 5081, Class 26 No. 26043, Class 37 No. 37215, Class 47 No. 47376 and electro-diesel No. E6036. Also running will be Class 117 DMU No. L425 and Class 122 No. 55003. During the gala, some services will run north of Toddington and offer a 24-mile return trip. More gala details at: http://tinyurl.com/zqera4w
Support needed for Bulleid DD restoration Royal Scots Grey to visit Nene Valley HOPES of restoring a former Bulleid 4-DD double-deck vehicle are moving forward after the Bulleid 4-DD Double Deck EMU Group confirmed it is working with the owner on the restoration of vehicle No. 13003 from set No. 4002. At the end of last year, the group set up Yahoo and Facebook interest groups to increase awareness, even
though just two carriages from the two experimental sets that were built in 1949 survive. The group aim to restore No. 13003 as an exhibition coach, the vehicle being based at Sellindge, Kent. In addition, the group is seeking photographs or passenger memories of travelling between Charing Cross and Dartford in the rather
cramped carriages, one train able to seat 552 with a further 150 standing. The group has more information on its website: http://www.bulleid4d ddoubledeck.co.uk or it can be contacted at contact@ bulleid4dddoubledeck.co.uk The Yahoo group address is: kentbulleid4ddemugroupsubscribe@yahoogroups.co.uk
InterCity 50 awaits finishing touches
CLASS 50 No. 50031 in a non-authentic InterCity livery at SVR Kidderminster on May 22. The loco needs cabside numbers, Hood nameplates, and InterCity logos. PETER NICHOLSON
84 • The Railway Magazine • July 2016
‘DELTIC’ No. 55022 Royal Scots Grey will visit the Nene Valley Railway next month, owner Martin Walker has confirmed. In its guise of No. 55007 Pinza, and with white window surrounds, the loco will spend a couple of months at the railway, and star in several events. Expected to arrive around August 14, ‘No. 22’ will be joined by ‘A1’ No. 60163 Tornado, and together the two locos will spearhead an East Coast Revival weekend, planned for August 27-29.
In addition to the East Coast gala, the ‘Deltic’ is expected to operate a limited number of driver experience days, and possibly a few days on NVR regular services. Most services with the ‘Deltic’ are expected to use the BR Mk1 coaching set, which will hopefully have been lengthened to seven coaches. In October, No. 55007 will take part in the NVR’s autumn diesel gala on the 14th and 15th. Further information at: www.nvr.org.uk
Gala date move proves successful THE decision by the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) to move its annual diesel gala from the autumn to late spring has proven to be a wise one, with the three-day event seeing just under 4,700 passengers travelling. At the previous diesel gala, last October, the SVR carried around 3,200 passengers, but the 50% increase is far in excess of expectations and the figure the railway budgeted for. A further fillip to the May 20-22 gala weekend was the formal opening of the Kidderminster diesel depot, as reported in Headline News (RM June). In addition the attraction of two Network Rail Class 73/9s –
a DRS Class 37 and 68 – as well as the railway’s own fleet has helped increase patronage. The builder’s plate from 68025, reported stolen, was returned anonymously by post to the railway some days after the event. The SVR is hoping to repeat the diesel gala next spring. The next big diesel event on the SVR calendar is the Western weekend, from August 27-29, which will mark the 40th anniversary of the end of the ‘Western’ hydraulic class on BR. Two locos – D1015 Western Champion and D1065 Western Courier – will be the star performers. For a selection of gala pictures, see pages 86-87.
World Track Record COMPILED BY
KEITH FENDER
Call: 01507 529589
email: railway@ mortons.co.uk
Norfolk Southern sees off takeover
– but steam programme may be sacrificed
Your reports and pictures are most welcome. Highly competitive rates are paid, especially if exclusive to The RM.
Express link for Paris CDG Airport PLANS for the construction of an express rail link between Paris and its main airport have been published. The new CDG Express route will start at a new terminal built alongside the western side of Paris Gare de L’Est, and use mostly current alignments via the route of the Petite Ceinture Paris inner ring line to join the route from Paris Nord via Drancy, used by RER line‘B’ trains to the airport. Rather than use the airport branch the new CDG Express service will continue east and branch north using new tracks built alongside the western side of the LGV Connexion high-speed line into the TGV station, which is built under terminal two at the airport. French Railways (SNCF) has been awarded the concession to build and operate the route by the Government with the aim of starting services by 2024 at latest. Construction costs are estimated to be in the region of €1.7billion.
N&W ‘J’ class 4-8-4 611 and 20 coaches operating a charter service from Roanoke to Lynchburg on May 7, seen near Montvale. AD VAN STEN
US CLASS 1 railroad Norfolk Southern (NS) spent many months trying to avoid a takeover bid from Canadian rival Canadian Pacific, with the takeover battle finally ending in April as Canadian Pacific withdrew its offer. During the‘battle’NS embarked on a major cost reduction programme resulting in many job losses; one of the consequences of this was withdrawal of support for future steam excursions from
next year, although the 2016 programme is secure. In May, NS hosted former Norfolk and Western (N&W) Class ‘J’passenger 4-8-4 number 611 for a series of excursions. Fourteen of these 5,100 HP locos were built between 1941 and 1950, designed for 110mph operation of crack express trains, with only 611 in existence today. N&W was unusual in that by the late 1940s most other major US railroads were buying new diesel
locos while it continued to buy new steam locos. The‘J’class was designed to reduce maintenance with a mechanised lubrication system to supply oil to more than 200 moving parts rather than this being done by hand. Despite buying the last‘J’class loco in 1950, all were withdrawn by 1959. However, number 611 survived and was passed to what became the Virginia
Museum of Transportation in Roanoke, which returned the loco to mainline operation in conjunction with NS in 2015. Norfolk Southern contributed $1.5million to the restoration work, financed by selling a painting they owned by abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko. The company has now formally ended its ‘21st Century Steam’programme and it is unclear whether and where 611 might operate in 2017.
Peru firm honour Conrail in 40th anniversary year
Amtrak uses its electric locos on the route between Boston and Washington DC via New York’s North East Corridor route. ACS-64 loco 632 is seen approaching Providence, Rhode Island on May 5 with Amtrak Regional service 173, the 11.15 Boston-Washington DC. KEITH FENDER
Amtrak replaces all its old electrics
US NATIONAL passenger operator Amtrak has now taken delivery of all 70 new ACS-64 ‘Amtrak Cities Sprinter’ electric locomotives, built by Siemens in Sacramento, California. They have now completely replaced older AEM-7 locos – designed by Swedish firm ASEA,
based on the ‘Rc’-type locos in use in Sweden, but built in the USA by EMD between 1978 and 1988. The more modern HHP8 locos, built by Alstom and Bombardier in 1998-2000, were withdrawn first, the last two in November 2014.
104 • The Railway Magazine • July 2016
IN HONOUR of the 40th anniversary of the foundation of Conrail, Peru’s Ferrocarril Central Andino (FCCA) has painted the latest of its former Norfolk Southern GE C39-8 locos, to be rebuilt for use in Peru, in Conrail livery. FCCA is part owned by US rail investor Railroad Development Corporation. Conrail has been seen as a forerunner for the successful commercial operation of parts of the US rail freight industry, and as an example used by several foreign governments, including Peru, to re-vitalise their rail industries. Conrail was a major freight railroad in the USA, created by the US Government in 1973 to take over a series of routes in the north east of the USA from multiple insolvent former private companies. Despite opposing the move President Nixon signed
FCCA 1030 (formerly Norfolk Southern 8604), ex-works in Conrail livery and named James A. Hagen, in honour of Conrail’s former chairman, seen at Chosica depot, east of Lima, Peru on March 28. FCCA
the legislation authorising nationalisation. Conrail began operation in 1976 and initially continued to make losses. De-regulation of US freight railroads in the 1980s led to a gradual turn around, with operators able to charge market rates and earn enough to cover their costs; the byproduct of this being closure
or sale of unprofitable lines. By the mid-1980s Conrail was profitable and in 1987 it was privatised. Between 1997 and 1999 two of Conrail’s biggest competitors – CSX and Norfolk Southern – agreed to buy Conrail and then split it into two parts. For more information on FCCA and its locomotive fleet see The RM (Jan 2016, p64-65).
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