CONTENTS IssueNo. 350July 2025
GB
Railfreightisregearing 12 Class66s forwork on heavier aggregate trains,and five(66793-796 and66779) have been completedwith renumbering inthe 66/6sub-class. On May25, newlyrenumbered No. 66693 (ex66793) is seen at Marchwithwithtrain 6L37 from Hoo JunctiontoWhitemoor JOHN RUDD
FEATURES
36 DIESEL GALA PICTORIAL
Some of thebest action from the Swanageand Severn Valleydieselgalas in afour-pagepictorial special.
66 HOWNETWORKSOUTHEAST CHANGED THE FACE OF TRAVEL
Steve Knight talkstoChrisGreen about the launch of the Network SouthEast, andhis views on the railway of today.
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MODELLING
Reviewedthis month areHornbyversions of Hitachi’s 140mph Class 395‘Javelin’ which connects London and Kent,and the bright blueopen access Class 803usedby Lumo. Also on the review desk is Heljan’s ‘O’ gaugeCCT van, YMA/YMO‘Salmon’ wagons from Hornbyand Irish Railway Models’ 35-ton CIEtank wagons. For‘N’ gaugemodellers, Bachmann’s Travelling Post Ofce NTXvehicle is spotlighted. Techniques formodelling scenic details in styrene areexplained, and the Newsdesk pages have details of manyforthcoming newmodels.
NEWS
8 HEADLINE NEWS
South Western Railwayisrenationalised, Class 222 ‘Meridians’ forLumo’s Stirling operation, Shorter Mk.4 sets,Class 730/2s enter service, firstGBRf Class 99s arriveinthe UK.
16 POWERBYTHE HOUR
Scrapman claims first Class 67
22 UNITS
More‘Networkers’ sent fordisposal.
25 COACHES
West CoastRai lway acquires GWRHST stock.
26 POWERSCENE
Around-up of this month’s interesting and unusualworkings, class-by-class.
34 PRESERVATION
‘Peak’ to return to ButterleyfromEast Lancs.
36 DIESEL GALA PICTORIAL
73 TIME TRAVELLER
Alook back at whatwas happening 10,20, 30, 40 and50years ago.
74 SHUNTERS AND INDUSTRIALS
Endof the line forClass 08satCelsa, Cardif
75 WAGONS
76 RAILTOURS
Tour cancellationsbecominga newconcern.
78 IRISHANGLE
Framework agreements signed forDublinPort.
81 BOOK REVIEWS
82 LU WORLD
Appeal launched for‘Q’ stock restoration.
With the impressive ruins of CorfeCastleasa backdrop,Network South East Class 47 No.47715 Rail Engineering Solutions worksacrossCorfe Commonwith the 10.00 Norden to Swanage on May9 STEPHEN GINN
EDITORIAL
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In perfect light,LocomotiveServices Group’s ‘Oban &West HighlandPullman’ tour is led by powercar No. 43047 which crosses Loch Awewiththe return 15.35 Oban to Preston dayexcursiononMay 14.Atthe rear is No.43059. PHILMETCALFE
Anew dawn as South Western Railway is renationalised
SOUTH Western Railway(SWR) was renationalisedonMay 25, marking the first step under thePublic Ownership Acttotakeoverthe former franchises as partofthe Government’s transition towardsthe creation of Great BritishRai lways (GBR).
SWRhad been run by First Group/MTR since August 2017.
The first full service to run underDepartmentfor Transport control wasthe 06.14 Waterlooto Shepperton formedofClass 701 No. 701046. On boardwas Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander who called the step “a newdawnfor our railways”.
She added that legislation wi ll come later in the year to set up Great British Railways,integrating the management of track and train. “One team, one railway,delivering higher passenger standards,”she said. It is acultural reset aimed at insti lling asense of pride back into the railways and amove whichwill save the taxpayerupto£150 million ayear in management fees.
“Operators wi ll have to earn the right to be called Great British Railways,”MsAlexander added.
The transition means that SWRjoins four other operators who were under state control beforelegislationwas passed –Southeastern, TransPennine, Northern and LNER. Services are being transferred to the DfT when fixed term contracts reach the end of their minimum term, or where theycan be ended early, ensuring taxpayers paynoadditional costs forbreaking contracts.
With the SWRbrand nowpartof the Department forTransport Train Operator (DFTO),5600 staf have transferred to the public sector with TUPE legislation protecting existing payand conditions.
HeadingupDFTOischief executiveofcer Robin Gisby, a former NetworkRai ldirector.With fiveformer operators now under DFTO, this accounts for18,500 staf and around aquarter of all passenger services.
Next, on July20, c2c wi ll come under Government control followedbyGreater Anglia on October 12. That leavesGovia Thameslink Railway(incGatwick Express, Southernand Thameslink), Avanti West Coast, GWR, East Midlands Railway, Chi ltern Railways, West Midlands Trains/London Northwesternand CrossCountry to be renationalised by the end of 2027.
By coincidence, the first train to run in the Privatisation erawas by SWR’s predecessor South West Trains on February4, 1996, What changes wi ll passengers see?Initiallythe changes wi ll be
purelycosmetic with GBR stickers and the Union flag being appliedto the side of trains. There’snosign of afullybranded GBR train just yet. That and awider rollout of GBR branding wi ll takelonger
What is li kely to remain forthe foreseeable future, unti lmore stafare recruited, areshort term cancellations due to alackof staforrestday working issues. It is after all the same staf,same management.
As moreoperators arerenationalised and the process of GBR evolvesand strengthens, accountabi lity wi ll move from operators to the DfT,along with hopes of greater stabi lity,reliabi lity and improvedintegration of track and train. This should eventually lead to better decision which wi ll benefit the passenger especially when services areinterrupted.
Forsome time, the widespread
public opinion that ticket prices are too high remains, however,with all other former franchised operators controlled by the DfT –which also sets fares–expectations that ticket prices wi ll fall aremisplaced as Government would have done this by nowhad it wanted to. At present Government takes all the fare moneyand pays operators amanagement fee. What is very much expected is a simplification of ticket types and fares, something promised by the previous Government.
Under GBR therewillberigorous performance standardsbut thereare no indications what the penalties wi ll be if those standards arenot met.
■ The 05.36 Woking to Waterloo wasthe first renationalised SWR but engineering work meant passengers changed to arai l replacement bus at Surbiton. E
MoreLNERservices to Bradford
LNER has increased the number of services between London King’s Cross and BradfordForster Square, which wi ll provide the 2025 City of Culture with an additional36,000 seats each week.
Beforethe Maytimetable changeLNER had twoupservices from Bradfordand onedown service, but thereare nowseven up andseven downservices to and from King’s Cross. Sundayservices have doubled to twoineach direction.
The extraservices stem from the construction of anew platform (Platform 0) which wi ll ease congestion. Improvements have also been madetothe station’s infrastructure.
Opening on May19, the platform and other improvements have cost £35mi llion, with funding from the Government. Minister for Local Transport Simon Lightwood said: “You cannot achieve real growth without the transport connectivity to support it. We have
an ambitious Plan forChangethat’s making arealdiference forthe people of West Yorkshire.”
To promote the additional Bradfordservices, LNER has introduced afares promotion. From the end of Maytomid-November, 55,000 tickets areavailable at £30.60 or less, one way, between Bradfordand London, with thousands of school holidaytickets priced under £40 one way. Single tickets fortravelbetween Leeds and Bradfordare on ofer at £2.80.
The simple ‘coming soon’ branding being applied to former SWRtrains. This is on aClass 701 ‘Arterio’ unit.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander.
LNER marks225 day with anaming
TRAIN operator LNER held its first ever225 dayonMay 22, which celebrated the many years of stalwart service the Class 91 and Mk 4sets have delivered on East Coast Main Line services.
The dayincluded the naming of No. 91106 as Swallow–InterCity 225 since 1989 which was undertakewithout ceremonywith thenewly-named loco booked to work 1D09 10.03 King’s CrossLeeds whereinvited guests were able to join the return working, 1A30 12.45 to King’s Cross. They were able to talk to some of the staf who have worked with the
225since introduction. Also on boardwas acollection of 225 memorabilia curated by historian and TV presenter Tim Dunn, and staf handed out some giveaways Membersof the 225 Group, whose aims aretosupportthe longevity of the 225 beyond mainline service and into preservation, also hada strong presence onboard.
With the recent Maytimetable change, the number of 225 diagrams have been reduced by one and althoughLNER wi ll eventually replace the 225s with afleet of ten ten-car tri-mode trainsbui lt by CAF, fleetengineerNickDudleyindicated
the currentplans aretophase the 225 fleet out by December 2028.
LNER retains 12 Class 91s on its booksincluding the special liveried Nos. 91110 Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and No. 91111 For the Fallen.
Newly-named Class 91 No. 91106 Swallow–InterCity 225 since1989 arrives at LeedsonLNER’s 225 Day, May22with the 1D09 10.03fromLondon King’sCross. CHRISMILNER
First steps forTyne &Wear Metroextension
THE first tentative steps foran extension to the Tyne &Wear Metro Network have been made following the appointment of technical consultant firm Arup to provide specialist design work for an eight-mi le (13km) extension to Washington.
North East MayorKim McGuinness’ ambition to transform local transportand create anintegrated network spanning the region.
The route would use former railway alignments to connect Pelaw and South Hylton via Washington.
IN BRIEF
MAN ARRESTED AFTER TFW TRAIN HITSTRAILER
ACOLLISION on May22between aTransport forWales serviceand tractor and trailer has resulted in the arrest of a32-year-old man from Bromyard on suspicion of endangering safety on the railway.TfW’s08.30 Manchester PiccadillytoCardiftrain, led by DVTNo. 82229, hit atractor and trailer at 80mph whichwas being driven across auser worked crossing fitted with telephones at Nordan Farm, between Ludlowand Leominster.Loco No. 67029 wasat the rear
The DVTwas not derailed but substantiallydamaged. Around 15 of the 66 passengers were injured in the collision, one being air-lifted to hospital.
RAIB sent ateam to gather evidence as part of apreliminary investigation and later confirmed the lineside telephone had been used to contact the signaller.The line reopened at around 17.00 the next day.
RAIL BENEFIT FUND CHARITY AUCTION GETSUNDERWAY
THE Rail Benefit Fund (RBF) has launched its 2025 auction of Rail Experiences aiming to raise £25,000 to support railway workers and their families during times of hardship. The unique experiences include atour of the British Pullman at Stewart’sLane, aClass 168 cab ride, atour of the roof and clock toweratKing’sCross, visits to signalling centres and asession in aClass 66 simulator. More experiences arebeing added. Visit go.eventgroovefundraising.com/ auction2025/Campaign/Details
HS2 DONATES BALLAST TO BLUEBELL RAILWAY
The project forms akey partof SOUTHEASTERN has completedthe interior refresh of its 29-strong fleet of 140mph Class 395 ‘Javelin’trains.
The extension would be the first newMetroline formorethan 20 years and provide anew route between the cities of Sunderland and Newcastle.
Arup wi ll work with metro operator Nexus to deliver key preparatory work forthe project.
On June 4, the Government announced it would provide funding of £1.8bi llion forthe scheme.
First phase of Class 395 refresh concluded
been delivered in partnership with Eversholt Rail and Hitachi Rail
The£27 mi llion upgrade programme is afirst step of a two-step programme and has
The first phase included interior re-painting,new carpets and new seats, at-seat USB chargepoints andenergy-efcient LED lighting,
whi le asecond phase wi ll see fitment of anew CCTV system, a newpassenger information and onboardmedia screens wi ll provide real-time updates andtravel information.
HS2 Ltd has donated 4000 tonnes of ballast to the Bluebell Railway which will be used as part of work to reopen platform 1at Horsted Keynes station, aplatform which has been out of use since 1914. The ballast camefrom speciallyconstructed sidings at West Ruislip whichhad been used forconcrete segment delivery during tunnelling work.
DRONES USED TO SPOT TRACK TRESPASSERS
NETWORK Rail has taken to using drones to spot trespassers on the tracks. During recent school holidays,working with Northern and the BTP, acrackdown was implemented on the Durham Coast and Bishop lines. Further use of the aerial technology is expected over the summer holidays.
The Swallownameplate on No. 91106. Both:CHRISMILNER
HEADLINE NE WS Chris Milner
Lumo securesf iveClass
222s forStirling operation
FIRSTGROUP has entered into rolling stock lease agreements with Eversholt Rail forfive Class 222 ‘Meridian’ units which wi ll be used on its Stirling to London Euston open access services under the Lumo brand.
Just days afterwards, Alstom said it had signed a£50 mi llion contract with FirstGroup and Eversholt Rail forthe unit refresh and maintenance of the fivesets.
Last year First acquired Grand Union WCML which included track access rights forthe Stirling operation and sayonce the service has settled, revenues of around £50 mi llion annuallyare expected.
First saythe fiveClass 222s wi ll be six-car formations and used to operatefour return services a day(three on Sundays)with an additional, fifth dai ly return service between Preston and London, sevendaysaweek. Currentlythe ‘Meridians’ arepart of the East Midlands Railwayfleet, and their replacement is expected to begin from around September by bi-mode Hitachi Class 810 ‘Aurora’ trains.
The reformed units wi ll have around 340 seats and intermediate calling points areLarbert, Greenfaulds, Whifet, Motherwell, Lockerbie, Carlisle, Preston, Crewe, Nuneaton and Mi ltonKeynes
First is aiming to commence the service in mid-2026however,with onlyatrack access agreement unti l 2030, the plans areto evaluate opportunities foranextension and look to introducing electric or bi-mode trainsfromthe Group’s recentlyannounced £500m rolling stock order with Hitachi.
The units transferring wi ll be the EMR sevencar set Nos. 222001-4, which wi ll each lose onevehicle, along with one other five-car unit, probably222005 which wi ll be reformed. With First taking fiveClass
First Group submits open access plan forHereford
AFORMAL applicationtorun open accessservices between Hereford and London Paddington has been lodged by First Groupwith theOfce of Rail and Road.
Under its Lumo brand, the plan is fortwo return journeys aday (one on Sundays)between London Paddingtonand Hereford, calling at Bristol Parkway and Severn Tunnel Junction, but also providing adirect service to the Capital from Cwmbran, Pontypool &New Inn and Abergavenny.
First, who have just relinquished their SWRcontract, also lose their GWR and Avanti West Coast contracts under current Government renationalisationplans and are pushing on with openaccess opportunities.
The newservices would help mitigate the unevengaps in the
current timetable. At present Herefordisservedbyfour GWR services to Paddington via the Cotswold line, with weekdayuptrain departures at 05.23, 13.18, 15.18 and 22.00.
First also believe the service would stimulate amodal shift for people living in theTorfaen and Monmouthshire counci lareas and supporttourism along the route.
The newservice would operate in conjunction with newopen access services to Carmarthen, due to commence in December 2027, and this new service could begin at the same time. An industry-wide consultation is thenextstage.
Back in December 2024, First Group placed an order with Hitachi for14five-carelectric, battery electric and bi-mode trainswhich wi ll be funded by Angel Trains.
222s, the fate of the remaining 22 sets primari ly hinges on ScotRai l’s current tender to replace its aging HSTfleet.
ForAlstom, their contract comprises twokey components which includes aTrain Services Agreement(TSA) with FirstGroup –valued at approximately£40 mi llion –with maintenance and overnight servicing undertaken at Alstom’s Central Rivers faci lity
The other element is a£10 mi llion fleet modernisation programme in conjunction with Eversholt Rail
which wi ll be carried out at Alstom’s Widnes site. The refresh involves installation of new, ergonomically designed seating, upgraded passenger wi-fi forimproved on boardconnectivity,and afull exterior repaint to align with Lumo’s branding.
The modernisation also includes newCCTVsystems and Intelligent Engine Start-Stop (IESS) technology, which automaticallyshuts down and restarts the train’s engine when stationary –improving fuel efciency and reducing emissions. E
CHANCELLOR of the Exchequer
Rachel Reevesconfirmed a £15.9 bi llion investment in public transport on June 4, aheadof awider public spending review, detai ls of which were released in June 11 –after this issue closed forpress.
Funding of £2.4 bi llion was confirmed foranextension of the West Midlands Metrofrom Birmingham City Centreto newsports quarter near to St Andrewsfootball ground, and the first phase of newmasstransit network from East Birminghamto North Solihull.
Manchester receives £2.5 bi llion, some of which wi ll be used to extend the Metrolink to Stockport along with newtram
stops in Bury,Manchester and Oldham. Of that amount, £530m is to renewparts of the tram network and provide afleet of newvehicles.
In the northeast, £1.8 billion will be provided to extend the Tyne &Wear Metro from Newcastle to Sunderland viaWashington. Nearbyinthe Tees Valley, thereis £60 million to build aPlatform 3 extension at Middlesborough. In the West of England, £150 mi llion wi ll fund newrai l regional infrastructure, including measures to support additional services between anew station at Brabazon (Fi lton) and the city centre. The remainder of the £15 bi llion wi ll be forregional busrelated schemes.
Avisualisation of the expected livery to be carried by the refurbished Class 222 units under the Lumo brand. The cabside stripes bear aresemblance to the ‘speed whiskers’ that adorned the front of SirWilliam Stanier’sstreamlined ‘Coronation’ Class Pacific locomotives in the 1930s.
Alstom wins £50 million refresh andmaintenance contract.
’ELLO, ’ELLO, ’ELLO: CLASS 69 NAMED BRITISHTRANSPORTPOLICE
GB Railfreight has introduced yetanother livery variant to its modest Class69fleet, with No. 69016 beingoutshopped in blue and white with Battenburgmarkings and named British Transport Police.On the side isthe 61016-text number to report railwaycrime or incidents to the BTP. Painted by Arlington Fleet Services, Eastleigh, the loco wasnamed at London Waterloo on May30byBTP Assistant Chief ConstableSeanO’Callaghanand GB Railfreight’sCEO John Smith. The idea for the livery wascreatedbyPcIan KennerleyofBTP and GBRf TrainManager,Bessie Smith Pictures: KENBRUNT
Street running demo for CoventryVLR
ANEW mi lestone has been passed in the development of Coventry’s VLR (very light rail)project.
A220-metredemonstration track has been laid on Greyfriars Road in the city centreand the prototypebattery-poweredVLR vehicle (pictured) has begun street trials forinvited guests. The public wi ll also getachance to samplethe vehicle during late June
The benefit of theVLR is that the track needs excavationto30cm, has little or no impact on utility servicesorthe cost of movingthem, and therebyismoreafordable. In contrast, aconventional tram
track has foundations as deep as ametre andrequires uti lities to be moved. CounO’Boyle who has been driving the project forward, said theDepartment forTransport has released fundingof£12 mi llion which wi ll be used to extendthe current track past Coventry Railway Station to the Coventry University TechnologyPark on PumaWay with completion planned forthe end of 2026.
Cllr Boyle added thatthe counci l had identified anumber ofpotential routes foraVLR network including Walsgrave hospital and Ansty Park, the University of Warwick as well
the investment zone adjacent to Coventry Airport. Coventry City Counci lown the intellectual property rights to the system and have been in talkswith the West YorkshireCombined Authority over the system. PICTURE: CHRISMILNER
IN BRIEF
LOCO RENAMED
AS thisissue closed forpress, the first twoStadlerClass 99 locomotivesfor GBRf from an order of 30 were due to be unloaded at Portbury Docks, Bristol, on June10. Nos, 99001 and 99002 arepart of an order placed by GB Railfreight in Apri l2022, and It wasexpected the locos wi ll initiallybemovedto Leicester,whereStadler has bui lt anew maintenance depot. Unti l certifiedbythe ORR, static training
and testing wi ll be undertaken Some staftraining has already been carried out at theValencia plant, and it is possi ble some testing could also takeplace at a heritagerai lway
GB hopes to have alllocos in trafc by Apri l2026,howevertrain production at Stadler has been recovering from devastating floods that hit the Valenciaregion in October 2024.
As well as running under 25kV overhead supply, which wi ll produce amaximum poweratthe rail of 8275hp, the Class 99 also has a Cummins QSK50 diesel engine developing 2400hp foruse in yards and on other non-electrified lines The Class 99 has amaximum speed of 75mph and wi ll be run on HVO fuel to keep emissions as lowas possi ble. Beacon Rail have financed the fleet.
Longest CrossCountry journeycomes to an end
THE longest possi ble journeyon aCrossCountry service came to an end on May16, with afinal run of its 775-mi le 08.20 Aberdeen to Penzance –aservice with originsin the 1920s.
From the newtimetable, the former 13 hour 40min journeyis cut back to an Aberdeen-Plymouth train –80miles fewer. Beingthe
final working, withits 41 station stops, the train wasbusy, many people using the dayasthe last opportunity to tick the unique trip of their bucket list. The revised train retains its 1V60 reporting number
Between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, the set used wasNo. 221128, whereNo. 220002 was
attached with the pair working as farasBristol, wherethe latter unit wasremoved. Arrival into Penzance wasnine minutes late.
One reason forcutting back the service is operational convenience fortrain crewsand an improvement to setdeployment. The service was also cut back to Plymouth during the Covid pandemic.
GB Railfreight Class 66 No. 66726 wasrenamed from Institution of RailwayOperators to the Chartered Institution of RailwayOperators (CIRO) to mark its 25th anniversary at London Waterloo on May28. The nameplates were unveiled by Phil Sherratt CEOofCIROand GBRf CEO John Smith.
SCOTTISH LINE REOPENS WITH NEW STATION
THE reopening of the Glasgow Central to East Kilbride line on May18has come with the bonus of anew station building opening at Hairmyres. The line has been closed since January to allowNetwork Rail engineers to undertakea £143 million electrification project which also included laying newtracks, upgrading signalling systems and installing 22km of overhead powerlines. New footbridges were erected at Busby, Clarkston and Gifnock stations. The newstation cost£16 million and is located 600 metres west of its original site. Still to come is the reopening of the upgraded East Kilbride station and the start of driver training on electric units later in the summer,The EMUs will replace Class 156s.
HEADLINE NE WS Chris Milner
LNW launches Class 730/2s into service
LONDON Northwestern launched the first train in its 36-strong Class 730/2 fleet into passengerservice on June9
Bui lt on the Alstom ‘Aventra’ platform, the /2 sub-class wi ll replace the Siemens ‘Desiro’ Class 350/2 fleet which is being returned to leasing companyPorterbrook
The 730/2 has five24metre carriages, and asingle Class 730 unit at 120 metres long, is 50% longer than asingle Class 350. This wi ll provide much needed additional seating capacity.Maximumspeed of thesenew units is 110mph,the sameasthe 350s.
Initial deployment wi ll be on the West Coast Main Line (south) between London Euston and Mi lton Keynes Central/Northampton. Then later in the summer,the units wi ll appear on Birmingham NewStreetLiverpool Lime Street services and by the end of the year wi ll be on Euston-Creweworkingsvia theTrent Valley.
The existing three-car 730/0s which areworkingonthe WCML south with their 75mph top speed, wi ll eventuallybemoved to the West
Midlands andhelpsistercompany West Midlands Trains in its plan fora six trains per hour service on Birmingham’s Cross-City line.
LNW engineering director John Doughty said because someClass 350 diagrams arecomplex, the plan is to replace a350 with a730/2 forpartofthe diagram, aheadofa wider rollout as thisistied in with the staftrainingplan. The priority, he said, is to getthe 350/2s of lease. Sevenhavebeen returned andtargetisfor theremainder to beback with the Porterbrook by the endofthe year
Many West Midlands-based drivers arefami liar with the Class 730/0 version which work Cross-City line services and the conversion course to new sub-class version is just one day. However, the units wi ll be newtoNorthamptonbased crewswho requireafull training course. Maintenance of the sets wi ll be undertaken at Bletchley depot, upgraded at acost of £66m.
LNW says it has accepted 33 of
the 36 units ordered, adding that part of the delayfor entry into service has been the need to retrofit additional cab soundproofing because of noise above 90mph. This wasproblem not apparent with the 730/0s because of their lower service speed.
From apassenger perspective, during astatic previewat Northampton on May16, the units arebright and airy, which is helped by the lack of asubstantial bulkhead between vehicles. Seating is in a2+2 style throughout, formed in amix of airline style and some four-seatbayswith tables. Powerand USB sockets areatall seats, and thereisa passenger information displayin each carriage. Luggageracks arein each coach too. The carriageshave underfloor heating and intelligent air conditioning, clearoverhead luggageracksand free wifi. Each set has three toi lets, with one being accessi ble.
One oddity is that when the sets
West Coast Railways acquires HSTpowercarsand coaches
By DAVID RUSSELL
TWOHST powercars and 12
Mk.3coacheswith sliding doors previouslyowned by First Group have been acquired by West Coast Railways.
Joining the Carnforth-based operator’s fleet arepower car Nos. 43154/155, which lastsaw use with Great Western Railway in late2023
and have beenlocated at the West Somerset Railway forthe past12 months.
Accompanying them arethe four coaches which makeupset GW03 (Nos. 48105/07/09and 49112) and were stabled at Mineheadinearly June. Afurther eightcoaches –Nos. 48102/10-12/30/49, 49103/04 –havealready been movedto Carnforth fromLaira,see p25.
The accessible area forwheelchairs and prams, with 12 tip-up seats and an accessible toilet.
were ordered, LNW wassti ll ofering first class fares, but in May2023 the companydecided to withdraw first class and this has left the sets with the upgraded and declassified seats in one driving vehicle.
Because of the longer vehicle length, each Class 730/2 has 406 seats, which compares to between 230 and 238 seats on the Class 350/1 and /3 or /4 sub-classes. LNW has signalled an intent to use apair of units on Euston-Trent Valley-Crewe services, which wi ll provide aseating capacity of 812 and wi ll allowfor futuregrowth on this busyroute
On June 6, LNW held aformal launch event, taking guests from Euston to Mi lton Keynes so as to sample the units at speed.
Looking into the future, LNW is keen to progress aBirminghamManchester Airport service using Class 350s,but has also applied to extend its Euston-Creweservice to Manchester Victoria which would open newjourneyopportunities. E
Although therehas been speculation that WCRcould use the vehicles to create adining train simi lar to Locomotive Services’ Midland Pullmanand West Highland Pullman sets, this would requireconsiderablework, as all the coaches acquired are Trai ler Standard(TS)orTrailer Guard Standard(TGS) vehicles with high density seating.
Another possi ble use forthe set is as acrowd-buster forspecial events or during diversions; a‘2+9’ formation would provide seating formorethan 700 passengers. West Coast Railways has previously supplied rolling stock on occasions when extracapacity is required, forexample operating aClass 86 and Mk.2 stock to Euston after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and Class 47-hauled trains between Peterborough and Liverpool St when King’s Cross wasclosed.
AN HSTmade up of coaches with sliding doors would prevent the need forthe use of ‘slam door’ stock on such workings.
Class 730/2 No. 730220 stabled in abay at Northampton on May16.
Originallyplanned as afirst class area, LNW has since gone to one class only, but the first class seats with leather style antimacassars remain and are declassified. ALL: CHRIS MILNER
The standardclass saloon seating. Reduced bulkheads allowgoodviews down the train.
Class 69 to be named North NorfolkRai lway
CELEBRATIONS forthe North Norfolk Railway’s 50th anniversarywillbe enhanced by the visit and naming after the railwayofa GB Railfreight Class 69.
The visit wi ll be another attraction forits Rails&Ales event running from June 13-15, and wi ll featureset an impressive line-up of
diesel andsteam locomotives
The NNRsaysthe loco wi ll join GBRfClass 66 No. 66714 Cromer Lifeboat, Class 40 No. D213 Andania, and Railbus No. E79960.The Railbus wasusedonof-peak services when the PoppyLinereopened in 1975 andreturns forthisspecialevent.
Other tractionwillinclude two
steamlocos,two Class 08s,a Class31and Class37and three heritagerai lcars running in asix-car formation. The real aletentwith around 50 ales andciders wi ll be at Weybourne,with aspecially brewed Golden Poppyale forthe anniversary availableonsale. Moreinformation at www.NNRai lway.co.uk
Moreexhibits announced forthe Greatest Gathering
AS the date of the Greatest Gathering event at Derby’s Litchurch Lane WorksonAugust 1-3gets closer,the exhi bitlist has expanded again. The event wi ll bring together the biggestcollection of locomotives everseen in this country
The organisers have secured the historic LocomotionNo. 1 courtesy of the National Railway Museumto makeararetrip from the north-east. Recentlyarrived from Barrow Hi ll is ‘MidlandCompound’ 4-4-0 No.1000 which wasbui lt in Derby and ‘Jubi lee’ No. 45699 Galatea has also been confirmed, as has9FNo. 92214 from the Great Central Railway
Additionstothe modern traction exhi bits include the uniqueClayton Class 17 No. D8568, Class 24 No. D5054, Class 56 No.56301,Class 37 No. D6700, twoRai lAdventureClass
43 powercars, ‘Peak’ No.46045 and West Coast Railways Class86 No.86401 andClass 57/3.
In addition to the electric locos Nos. 86101 and 87002 from LocomotiveServices Group stable announced last month,LSL wi ll be providingD9000 RoyalScots Grey, No.37401 Mary Queen of Scots, D213 Andania,‘Peak’ No.45118
The RoyalArtilleryman, No.47593
GallowayPrincess,No. 57003 InterCity RailwaySociety. Also confirmedare three Class 50 Alliance locomotives,Nos,50035 ArkRoyal,50044 Exeter and50049 Defiance.
One unusualexhi bit wi ll be NetworkRai l’sAerospatiale AS355F2 Ecureuil II helicopter. Further exhi bits areexpected to be announcedduring June.
IN BRIEF
‘THUMPER’LINED UP FORKESR GALA
THE Kent &East SussexRailway has confirmed the visit of Class 205‘Thumper’ DEMUNo. 1125 for its three-daydiesel gala from July 18-20. The unit is formed of power car No. 60117 and driving trailer No. 60828 which wasrebuilt following the Cowden crashin 1994. Class50No. 50017 Royal Oak is also attending the event.
SATELLITE TECH HELPS SCOTRAIL CUSTOMERS
SCOTRAIL has embarked on atrial of satellite-based wifitechnology to keep its customers connected. The technology uses aLow Earth Orbit (LEO)satellitenetwork and six Class158 trains which work on FarNorthservicesto Wick and Thurso have been fitted equipment as part of asix-month trial. The trains will also work the Kyle of Lochalsh and Aberdeen.
TPE AND RNLIIN FUNDING PARTNERSHIP
TRANSPENNINE Express has launched anew charity fundraising partnership with the RoyalNational Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). With TPE providing services to many northern seaside destinations, it says the move will increase awareness in their lifesaving work.TPE adds that passengers will be able to support the RNLI directly, with the option to donate to the charity through its DelayRepayscheme.
VICTORIAN MAPS RESTOREDATVICTORIA
HISTORIC hand-painted ceramic rail mapsproduced in 1899 by the LondonBrighton&South Coast Railway,have been restored with the aid of agrant from the RailwayHeritageTrust. The maps were part of newentrance to London Victoriastation andhave remained hidden foryears behind telephone kiosksand lateranews stand. Onemap shows the whole LB&SCR network, the otherthe suburban lines. The maps show anumber of lines and stations which no longer exist.
LNER plans shorter Mk 4sets anda return to Newcastle
LNER is planning to reduce the length of itsMk.4 carriagesets used on the East Coast Main Line by twovehicles from December.
Rail Express understands that one TSOand one FO wi ll be removedwhichwillreduce the trai ling weightby80tonnes and therebyimprove the acceleration of the Class 91s which haul them.
Thismove,LNER says,isto morecloselyalignthe acceleration with thatofaHitachi ‘Azuma’.
The new Maytimetablehas seen areduction of oneClass 91 diagram on ECML services, but the proposalsare from the December timetable changeisone diagram wi ll once againgobeyondYorkto serveNewcastle-upon-Tyne
Back in November 2023, LNER ordered10tri-mode trains from CAFwhich wi ll have 10 carriages, with an option forafurther10 units.These newtrains, once approvedand certified, wi ll spell the retirement of the InterCity 225 fleet, whichLNER says is planned forDecember2028.
No.91131, the last locomotive
bui lt at Crewe,ispreserved at the Museum of Scottish Railways at Bo’ness, howevertwo others, Nos. 91110 and91111 arealso designated forpreservation No.91110 attained162mph on StokeBank on September 17, 1989, andisthe holder of the UK speedrecord foranelectric locomotive
First Class67f inally sent forscrap
Notablythe first of the 125mphAlstom/GM locomotives to arriveinthe UK, No. 67003 was dismantled at EMRKingsbury within afew days of arrivingatthe end of June.
JUSTa few months shyofthe 26th anniversary of its debut in the UK at Newport DocksonOctober 6, 1999, long-stored spares donor No. 67003 has made its final journey.
The Class 67, the first of the type to be delivered to this country,was movedbyroad to EMR Kingsbury on May27, and had been substantially disposed of by the end of the month. It wasone of four of the Alstom/GM Type 5s to be stored in October 2019, along with Nos. 67007/017/030, although from that group only No. 67030 remains out of service. Built in the same Valencia factory
as theDirectRailServices Class 68s, Rail Operation Group Class 93s and upcoming GBRailfreightClass 99s, the 30 Class 67s were financed by Angel Trains and were primarily designed to replaceClass 47s on the RoyalMailcontract, as well as charter and other passenger work. With an averageage in the mid-30s, the 95mph Brush machines were increasingly unreliable and triggering expensive penalty payments, while RoyalMail also wanted to see ageneralincrease of mailschedulesthat onlythe new 125mph locomotives couldprovide. No. 67003 arrived aboardthe
cargo ship Fret Languedoc,but its entry into service wasnot as straightforwardasfor its US-built Class 66 cousins. ChecksatNewport Docksdiscoveredthat the Class 67 was5mm out of gaugeonone side, as aresult of the springs not being correctlyaligned.Its planned move to the DerbyRTC wascancelled, as wasthe shippingofthe next four ‘67s’, and sixdaysand one and ahalf tonnes of sandbags later,the high-speed machine was dragged to Cardif Canton at a maximum speed of 30mph behind No. 60089 Arcuil.After the fitment
of shims to the springs, it was towedtoAEA TechnologyinDerby forcommissioning on October 28, making the move to Toton behind No. 47759, and then onto its final destination by No. 58049 Littleton Colliery the following day.
The third numbered member of the class waschosen to lead the fleet into this country while Nos. 67001 and 67002 were still undergoing scrutinyinSpain, the former being subject to various stress tests, while the latter was performing running trials. These included high speed circuits of the test track at La Sagra, Toledo, where it reached 143mph.
Meanwhile, following static testing and the fitment of instrumentation No. 67003 wasfinallycleared for main line trials to begin on November 29, although it could onlyrun with a half tank of fuel while Alstom and GM engineers resolvedaweight issue This wascompleted in January 2000 by the fitting of amodified silencer, similar alterations being undertaken to the locomotives at Valencia awaiting delivery
Despite these problems, No. 67003 handled the testing regime with aplomb,easily clearing its first week of diagrams between London, Bristol and Plymouth with 10 Mk.1 NIA vans without major issues. It wascleared foroperation on RA8 routes at 95mph after afinal test on February 11, which pavedthe way forthe start of driver training at Old Oak Common and the arrival of the first ‘production’ batch of six, Nos. 67001/002/004/005/007/008 Plenty of horsepoweronthis working of 6Z60 10.32 Willesden DC Rail Sidings to Merehead Quarry empty boxwagonshauled by the DCR pairing of Class 56 Nos. 56103 and 56301, which arepassing
Wootton Rivers on May9. STEVE KING
The rarity of HSTpowercars working in Kent as RailAdventurepowercar Nos. 43467 and 43423 pass Hildenborough with working 6Q43fromPelawJunction to DollandsMoor inconnection with the movement of anew Stadler Class555 Tyne &Wear Metrounit. HOWARD LEWSEY
exactlytwo weekslater.The first ofcial revenue-earningrun took place on March1,albeit using No. 67001, some three months after their original planned introduction date of December 1. However, this has been preceded by arescue missionthat sawNos. 67005 and 67008 drag afailed No. 47766 and the Virgin CrossCountry 1V3506.36 Wolverhampton-Plymouth between Wellingtonand Exeter St Davids. Meanwhile, the final quartet, Nos. 67027-030, arrived at Newport on August 4.
The shock withdrawalofRoyal Mail services in 2004 removedthe raison d’être forthe Class 67’s existence after just overfour years of operation and had immediate implications forthe fleet’s utilisation. The first to be stored were Nos. 67001/018/026/030 in December 2004, although all were eventually reactivated. This stop/start pattern would be the newnormal as the class adjusted to their newduties, which sometimes meant as much as athird of the 30 locomotives were sidelined.
As forNo. 67003, its first brush with storage came in 2009 when it wasbrieflystored in June, which was followedbyfurther timeouts in 2010 and 2011. In September of that year, it wasthe first of three ‘67s’ with Nos. 67001/002 to be outshopped in the rather uninspired unbranded Arrivablue scheme to partner the ‘WAG’express(Welsh Assembly Government-funded)trainsetson the Cardif-Holyhead route.
From 2015, storagenolonger meant temporary downtime, with No. 67019 the first to be permanently taken out of service. This was followedbyNos. 67009/011/026 in 2016. As well as No. 67030 mentioned in the opening paragraph, Nos. 67001/004/018 were all stopped between March2019 and
NEWS ROUND-UP
COLASRAIL
At Loughborough forrepairssince the first week of February, No. 70816 wasback in trafc on April25, working to Rugbydepot under a0Z31headcode. The Class 70 also swapped itstired Colas colours forafresh application of the same livery while at the UKRL facility
Ex-Porterbrook No. 43299 was movedfromDerbyRTC to Peak Rail at RowsleyonMay 16. It is likely to move to Colwick TMDindue course forcomponentrecovery before being disposed of
DB CARGO
The WGBT ‘Guardian Project’ pool, created in October 2024 forNo. 66139 which wasinstalled with internal cab monitoring, has expanded to be 10 strong with the
May2023, while No. 67012 was reallocated to the WQAA stored pool this May. With No. 67002 currentlyatWabtec Doncasterfor ETCS fitment, Nos. 67023/027 were sold to Colas Rail in January 2017 and Nos. 67026/028sold to Transport forWales inMay 2024. PlansbyDBtodispose of class members via tender in December 2023 included No.67003 and Nos. 67001/004/009/011/018/019/030
With four sold, one scrapped, and nine out of use this leavesDBCargo with 16 active examples.
Meanwhile, No. 67005 has received its anticipated Royalclaret repaint, with its nameplates amended to King’s Messenger with the appropriate changes to thevarious plaques andcrests. It departed Toton on May8 with No.67021 on a0K54 to Crewe E
addition of Nos.66004/015/02/04 1/068/079/094/120/136. Most are on maintenance at Toton awaiting the fitment of the newcameras. Meanwhile, after the six Class 66s were stored during April, afurther four have been removedfromtrafc in May, Nos. 66095/119/140/170 all transferring from WBAT to WQAA. Also temporarily out of action is No. 66200, which is at Toton receiving aspecial ‘Rail200’ livery scheme.
DC RAIL
Twoofthe Class 60sstored at UKRL Loughborough have been on the move again, some three yearsafter escaping the confines of Toton. No. 60057 made the 17-milejourneyback to NottinghamshiretoBoden Rail’s Colwick TMDbyroad on May16, having been on site at the former Brush works since June 16, 2022. It wasfollowedby
No. 60075 on May20, which hadbeen stored at Loughborough since June 7, 2022. The twoBrush-built Type 5s are reportedlyfor component recovery, likely to support the maintenance of the fleet which is undertakenbyUKRL at Leicester LIP and Loughborough. The latter facility is also well advanced with the reactivation of No. 60099 forDCRail, while No. 60013 has also commenced its return to main lineoperation at the same location. Otherwise, the operator hasNos. 60008/009/022/038/061/06Ω/ 070/080/090/098 still on site, while GBRf has No. 60018.
FREIGHTLINER
Thereweremultiple swapsbetween the mainClass 66 pools and the DFLSrestricted use group during the middle of May, including anumber of temporary reallocations. These
included No. 66413fromDFIN (Freightliner low-emission Class 66) and Nos. 66512/542fromDFIM (Freightliner Class 66),all of which were back in unrestricted useby the last week of the month. Nos. 66503/504/543 spentafew weeks back in DFIM buthad returned to DFLSbythe time of writing. One way movesfromDFIN to restricted use were Nos. 66506/534/572/585/589, while Nos. 66419/66587, 66537/541 and 66605/620 went in the opposite direction, heading back to DFIN, DFIM and DFHH respectively. This left the number of locomotives allocated to the pool almost unchanged, ticking up from eight to nine.
Meanwhile, No. 66509 has lost its Josiah’s Wish nameplates in favour of new Freightliner Retirement Association ’plates, albeit finished with oddlysmall letters. Earlybatch
Movement of snowploughs from various parts of the country forstorageatthe former Eastriggs MoDdepot has been taking place, with Colas Rail ‘Grids’ Nos. 56051 and 56049 Robin of Templecombe 1938-2013 passing Woodlesfordon May22, sandwiched between ADB965581 and ADB965580, running as a7Z77 move from Doncaster. NICK SANDERSON
Aggregate from Penmaenmawr Quarry is producing Class 60 working, DC Rail’s No. 60055 Thomas Barnardo is approaching Llandudno junction on May22while working 6N91 14.49 to Leyland. RYAN LLOYD
POWERBYTHE HOUR
NEWS ROUND-UP Continued
❮
colleague No. 66502 has gone foranevenmoredrastic image change receiving Andy’s ManClub decals replacing its Freightliner logos, albeit on asmaller scaleto those applied to GBRf’s No. 69013 just twoweeksearlier
Finally, the unique orange No. 70020 has visited Eastleigh Worksfor itslivery to be amended. The Class 70 wasoutshopped with 60th anniversary branding and an additional white stripe along the lines of No.66501 and left the Arlington Fleet Services workshops forSouthampton Maritime on May13. This givesthe operator twoeach of Class66and Class 70 in the green and orange versions of the birthdaypaint scheme with Nos, 66501, 66601 and 70008.
GB RAILFREIGHT
Following aprotracted stayat Eastleigh Works, AndysMan Club-liveried No. 69013 was released from the Hampshire facility on May6and letloose on the national network with its important message. The former No. 56312, née 56003, moved north to Doncastersandwiched between Nos. 66718 and 66783 on a6E15 21.11 to Scunthorpe Trent yard,beforerunning light to Leicester LIP under a0Z69 to receiveits Dellner coupler.This wascompleted by May12and the Class69was moving on again, running back south as a0V76to Bicester MoD.
While the black livery with large slabs of text tooksome getting used to, it wasquickly upstaged by the emergence of No. 69016 on May27inanhomagetothe classic Battenberg paint schemes
worn by BritishTransport Police road vehicles, complete with high visibility fluorescent yellowmarkings around the base of the locomotive.Three days later the former No. 56057 was accompanied by No. 73128 on a0Z72 jollytoWaterloo where the Class 69 wasnamed British Transport Policesee Headline News.The ’plates and crests commendablyresurrect those applied to No. 90012 between July 1993 and April2004, and curiously neverswappedovertoBTP-liveried No. 47829 after their removalfrom the Class 90. The oddball Class 69/73 pairing returned to Eastleigh the same day(0Z73), although not forlong as No. 69016 headed north later that day on a0E15 to Doncaster DecoyYard.
Just as rumour control was assessing whispers that the DB Cargo Class 66/6 programme has been cut short due to underwhelming results, GB Railfreight has begun its ownprogramme of regeared locomotives to match its existing small fleet of former European spec ‘heavy haulers’, Nos.66793-66796. The new12-strong fleet will also be renumbered, again into the same Class 66/6 series as Freightliner and DBC’sexisting batches, to better diferentiatethem from their standardclassmates.
The first four conversions have already been completed, with British Railways green No. 66779 Evening Star the most recent to have visited EMD/Progress Rail at Longport for the upgrade, although others may have been undertaken at UKRL Loughborough. This wasalso the first to be ofciallyrenumbered, gaining the newidentity 66689. Itwillbe followedbyNos. 66757, 66772 and 66777, which have already been so modified, and arelikelytobe renumbered 66667, 66682 and 66687
respectively(each losing 90 from their number). As forthe existing four members in the GBHH pool, No. 66793 has already become No. 66693 (a loss of 100 from its original number), while Nos. 66794-66796 areexpected to receiveNos. 66694-66696.
The other four members of the newfleet have yettobeofcially announced butare expected to be Nos. 66754/755/761/771. If these arerenumbered in apattern that matches the recent conversions then the firsttwo will become Nos. 66664/66665, which will occupytwo of the spots that could have been used by DB Cargofor its second batch of fiveClass 66/6s, further indicating that the operator will no longer continue with plans to extend its programme to 15.
Having almost removedall 10 ROGClass 93s from its Valencia site, Stadler Rail’s Spanish subsidiary have begun to shipGBRf’s Class 99s to the UK, with the first pair, Nos. 99001/002 due to arriveonJune 8.
RAIL OPERATIONS ASSETS LIMITED
The Stadler Class 93 arrivals are coming thick and fast with Nos. 93003 and 93004 nowsafelydelivered to Worksop.The former wasthe first to makelandfall, entering the UK at Portbury DocksonMay 6. It completed its journeynorth the following day. No. 93004 had itspassport stamped at the same border post aweek later on May14and arrived at the HNRC Swietelsky facility the next day. All had been reallocated from MBEL (private owner electriclocomotives) to the GROG pool by the end of the month. Thisleavesjust Nos. 93005/008/009 to complete their journeyfromValencia.
Although the planned freight trials
did not takeplace in May, thefinal day of the month didsee Nos. 93001 and 93002 working apair of out and back light engine movestoNewark, their firstvisit to the East Coast Main Line.
ROMIC GROUP
Nos. 20007 and 20205, have now movedfrom20189 Ltd to their new owner,although the MOLO pool code had not been updated as of the end of May. As reported in RE349, the twoClass 20s were intriguinglymade available to the ‘global market’ on the company’s website, but arenow listed as sold onlineand aresaid to be staying with Romic forspot hire.
Just aweek or so after the Morgenstand II departed Great Yarmouth forMexico, HSTpower cars arealready being movedaround in anticipation of thenextround of exports. May2saw ex-Great Western Nos. 43094 &43122 leave theSevern ValleyRailway forNemesis Rail,Rail AdventureNos. 43468& 43480
Class 37 No. 37501
Steelmaster gets the road at Settle Junction on May28, hauling Class 331 No.331010 from Allerton depottoNeville Hill, Leeds under reporting code 5Q10. TOMMcATEE
Teesside
being tasked with the 5D22 10.55 Kidderminster-Burton Wetmoresidings move that also included four Mk.3 trailers. The formation had arrived at the SVRonSeptember 30 last year direct from Laira, the HSTformation having been stored in February 2024.
Just under three weekslater on May5,RailOperations Group Type 3s Nos. 37501 TeessideSteelmaster and 37800 Cassiopeia were in charge of a5Q58 11.18 ElyPapworth to the Mid-Norfolk Railway move comprised of ex-LNER Nos. 43309/310 and ex-GWR No. 43190. The twoClass 37s made asimilar 5Q48 08.14 transfer twodayslater with ex-LNERNos 43314/317/318, the pair hanging around forthe following weekend’s diesel gala event.
Finally, Romic has indicated that Nos. 43174/191 at the MNR,stored from Great Western service in March 2019and January 2020respectively, will be disposed of beforethe end of June.
Anocturnalviewofthe weedkilling trainatOxley on May28led by Class97/3No. 97303 Dave Berry while hauling 3Q00 Bescot to Bescot viaMachynlleth working. BRAD JOYCE
