Rail Express June 2025 issue **20 PAGE FREE PREVIEW**
Star of the four-day SwanageRailway dieselgala(May8-11) wasundoubtedlythe Southern Electric Traction Group’s superbrestoration of 4-VEP No. 3417, seen being hauled pastCorfeCommon by GB Railfreight Class 73 No. 73128 Kent &East SussexRailway on May9 BRAD JOYCE
FEATURES
66 RISING TO THECHALLENGES
Chris Mi lner talkstoSevernValley Railway managing director Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster about howthe heritage linehas faced and overcome someverydifcult challenges.
74 THE WAYWEWERE
Adelve into the archives forsomeclassic diesel pictures from the1950s and 60s
REGULARS
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MODELLING
Recentlyreleased, the Hornbymodel of Greater Anglia’s Class 755 ‘Flirt’ is put through its paces as one of thismonth’s reviews. Heljan hasproduced an ‘OO’ gaugeClass 02 shunter which also goes under the spotlight, while the second part of our ‘Modellinginstyrene’ feature looksathow to build structures. For modellers of the Irish scene,‘H’ vans and grain wagons arereviewedindetail, plus our usual news round revealsa‘Deltic’ anda‘Bubble Car’ forTT:120 modellers
8 HEADLINE NEWS
SanderfaultsrevealedinTalerddig crash,Tramtraintestingbegins in Wales, Arriva aims for open access Newcastle-Brightonservice.
16 POWERBYTHE HOUR
Romic buys twoClass 20s, and moreHST powers cars areexportedtoMexico.
Around-up of this month’s interesting and unusualworkings, class-by-class.
34 PRESERVATION
Class 26 prevented from leaving Llangollen. 36
38 SHUNTERS AND INDUSTRIALS
Swietelsky slimsdownits shunter fleet.
39 WAGONS
73 TIME TRAVELLER
Alook back at whatwas happening 10,20, 30, 40 and50years ago.
76 RAILTOURS
‘Statesman’ trainpreparingtoreturn after refurbishment.
78 IRISHANGLE
Newhome forfour preservedlocomotives.
80 LU WORLD
Piccadi llyupgrade worksprogressing.
Atrulymagnificent lineup of Class50s around the Kidderminster turntable, during a night shoot at the Severn ValleyRai lway on October 1, 2024. The railway is featured on page 66. JACKBOSKETT
EDITORIAL
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TwoofLNER’s Class 91 fleet,Nos.91119 BoundsGreen Intercity Depot and 91107 Skyfall stand outside NevilleHillTraincare depot on April19, during a charity photoshoot attended by morethan50photographers. Class 91s were also positioned insidethe depot, with anumber of class08s also part of the event. Morethan £3500 wasraisedfor charity andthe proceeds will be split equally between the Martin House Hospice, Andy’s ManClub, alocal Leeds food bankand Cancer Research. Supportfor the event wasprovided by both LNER andNorthern who use Neville Hill depot. CHRIS GEE
HEADLINE NE WS ChrisMilner
Arriva bids foraNewcastleBrightonopen access service
THE ArrivaGroup has submitteda track applicationtothe Ofce of Rail and Road to begin anew direct service betweenNewcastle-uponTyne to Brighton via Gatwick Airport. Their plan is forfive trains per dayunder the GrandCentral banner,the company’s established open access operator,which could be begin from December2026. Routing forthe proposed service is Newcastle, Durham, Darlington,
Part of that route mirrors that of the ‘SussexScot’ service between Glasgow and Brighton, which dates from the 1980s. It waslater rerouted via Manchester Piccadilly,before
being cut back to aManchesterBrighton service in Sept 2002. The service ceased completelyin2008 following CrossCountry winning the franchise from Virgin Trains Arrivasaystheir proposal would connect underserved communities in the UK andenhance longdistance connectivity without the needtointerchangeinLondonor Birmingham formanypassengers. It adds that the proposal is part of
ArrivaGroup’s broadercommitment to strengthening regional connectivity andmaking better use of availablerai lcapacity Rolling stock forthe service could be Class180 or 221DEMUs. Onlylastmonth Arriva announced it had been granted an extensionofexisting access rights to 2038, andannounced an order fornine Hitachihybridtrainsworth £300million. E
Next stopBrighton? GrandCentral Class 180 ‘Adelante’ No. 180102 passes Hurn Road footbridge, PeterboroughonMarch 5, with the 12.30 Sunderland-King’s Cross service CHRIS MILNER
Realtime Trains launches Realtime Tickets
WELL KNOWN forits sourceofrealtime train information, along with the‘Know Your Trains’ featurewhich shows whichtrain is operatinga specificservice, Realtime Trainshas launched anew ticketing retai ling operation forGreat Britain which it sayswillcomplement its existing product ofering.
Realtime Tickets provides a newway to buy train tickets with asimplified approach to complex railwaydata structures. Additionally, Realtime Tickets has worked with agroup of travel journalists to develop acurated list of more than 170 travel destinations by
train with ideas of placestovisit andlandmarks at each destination underits ‘Daytripper’ option.To usethis, the customerenters a starting point, budget, numberof passengers, departure time and date along with anyrai lcarddetai ls, and the Daytripper option wi ll suggest destination ideas
Arecentstudy by Jacobsfor Raileasy, Realtime’s technology partner,indicatedthata significant amountofrevenue could be generated forthe railwayindustry by introducing products such as Daytripper,that use diferent search criteria suchasbudgets
Futureenhancements planned forDaytripper include the ability to constrainsearches by time travelled ratherthan price, ‘takeachance’ whereDaytripperautomatically selects adestination, plus expanding the number of destinations.
RealtimeTickets also supports the usual rangeoftickets avai lable from thirdparty retai lers,including Advancetickets,but with the added benefit of automaticsplitticketing Thereare no booking fees unless asaving is foundthrough split ticketing,and the chargewillbea smallproportionofthatsaving TomCairns, managing directorat
Realtime Trains,said:“After 12-anda-halfyears of working with realtime traininformation, I’mdelighted thatwe’ve been able to bring our unique perspective on data to the rail retai lspace with ourDaytripper product. Innovation however, isn’t just aboutnew things –it’s also aboutbetterunderstandingofdata andIthink we’veachievedthat through ourA2B serviceaswell.”
RealtimeTrainshas addedWest Midlands Trains,encompassing West Midlands Railwayand London Northwestern Railway, to its ‘Know Your Train’ featurewhich nowcovers 19 passengertrain operators.
HEADLINE NE WS Chris
Sanderfaults revealed in Talerddig crash
AN interim report from the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) into afatal collision between two Transport forWalesClass 158 DMUs indicates that oneofthe units had twoblocked sander pipes.
In the incident on October 21, 2024, unit No. 158841 (1J25), travelling west as the 18.31 Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth with 31 passengers on board,collided with No. 158824 (1S71, 19.09 Machynlleth to Shrewsbury) with six people on board. Thecollision was1080 metres beyond the block marker at Talerddig passing loop,
wherethe westbound train should have stopped. Precedence had been given by the signaller to the eastbound train which wasclimbing asteeper gradient.
FollowingStormAshleya few days earlier,rai ladhesion conditions had been declared as ‘moderate to poor’ forthe area, with the increased risk of railhead contamination from leaves.
Althoughthe driver of 1J25 made brakeapplications on the approach to the loop, the wheels began to slide because of rail contamination,the train exited
The blocked sanders on vehicle No. 57841. CourtesyRAIB
Train
wrap
celebrates diversity
ASPECIALLYdesigned train wrap which has been applied to Avanti West Coast ‘Evero’set No. 807010, celebrates the ethnicity of employees and communities across its network.
The “Together We Roll” wrap –abrightlycoloured tapestry –was
the loop and collidedheadonwith 1S71 on adownwardgradient at an impact speed of 30mph. Train 1S71 waspushed backwards approximately35metres by the collision. The passenger who died, and all passengers with serious injuries were travelling in the rear carriageoftrain 1J25.
The RAIB investigation found four defects with the sanders of vehicle No. 57841, the leading vehicle of the westbound train. These were:
1. Asander isolation switch not allowing electricalcurrent to pass.
2. Arelay,defectivewhen tested,
produced followinganidea from Avanti frontline employees to celebrate andrepresent people who live and work on the West Coast Main Line.
The design wascreated by digital artist,BarakaCarberry,who describes it as ‘scenes of people, culture, colours, and joy’. The artwork spans all sevencarriages of Everoset No. 807010, and the new-look set will be introduced into passenger service this summer,therebycompleting the roll out of the ‘Evero’fleet.Picture: AVANTI WESTCOAST
which would have prevented automaticsander operation.
3. Orifice plates installed incorrectly which could have led to areduced sand delivery rate.
4. Blocked sanderhoses.Subsequent DNA analysis revealed this was probablytreedebris.
Because of service disruption the previous day, unit 158841 was stabled overnight in aplatform at Chester rather that at Crewe.This meant that at the start of duty on the dayofthe collision, adriver was unable to reach equipment on the train’s underframe and press the sander test button to check it was working. Post-accident testing on vehicle 52841 at the rear of 1J25 showedone of the sand delivery hoses wasalmost entirelyblocked.
RAIB said it wasunclear whether the electrical faults in the sanding equipment had been caused as aresult of the collision, or during removalfromthe collision site. Since the collision, National Incident Reports have been issued to warn of the blocked hoses and electrical defects and the need foradditional checks. The full RAIB report, expected later in the year, wi ll include anyrecommendations. E
Avanti re cordr un bid postpon ed
AN attempt by Avanti West Coast to break the nonstop recordfor travel between London Euston and Glasgow Central, which wastohavetaken place on May7,aspart of the Rail 200 celebrations, has been postponed
Afault afecting twosignals at Primrose Hi ll has led to atemporary speed restriction in the area,and this could hamper the bid attempt.
An attempt in 2021 at breaking the recordof3hours 52 minutes and 40 seconds, set by an Advanced Passenger Train in 1984, failed by just 21 seconds, and with every second counting, temporary restrictions are to be avoided.Atpresent thereisno timescale forrepairing the signals, but alate summer date is apparentlybeing considered foranew bidattempt.
LNER to cel eb ra te wi th ‘225 day’
LNERiscelebrating its InterCity225 stalwartsbyholding a‘225Day’on May22.
With the locomotives and Mk.4 carriagesmorethan 35 years old, LNER wi ll host its first ‘225 Day’, honouring avery popular fleet of trains, and celebrating people’s memories.
On the day, an LNER Class91 loco wi ll be named, whileother InterCity 225sets operating in passenger service wi ll have speciallydesigned merchandise and giveaways on board
Dr Linda Wain,engineering director at LNER, said: “OurInterCity 225trainshavebeenrunning up and
down the East CoastMain Line for many years now, anditfeels right thatwecelebrate allthattheyhave achieved.
“Intheir swansong yearswe want to recognisethe mammoth impact they have hadonthe rail industryoverthe past four decades.”
One Class91, No. 91131 Sir Henry Royce, the last locomotive builtatCrewe Works, has been preservedand is displayedatthe MuseumofScottish Railways at Bo’ness.
Of the 31 locomotives built, 15 survive,either operational or stored E
Direct trains to Switzerland?
TRANSPORTSecretary Heidi Alexander hassigned aMemorandum of Understanding (MoU) that could pave the wayfor adirect rail service from London to Switzerland.
In signing the MoU with Federal Counci llor,Albert Rösti, it wi ll laythe groundwork forfuturecommercial services that could boosttourism to the UK, support jobs and businesses and strengthen cross-border trade.
The move wi ll also supportthe
growinginterest in direct rail services to places other thanParis,Brussels and Amsterdam,which is partly driven by agrowingdesire to travelmore sustainably
Ajoint workinggroup wi ll be established,bringingtogether government andindustry experts from both countriestoexamine how toovercome the commercialand technical barriers,including Channel Tunnel safety requirements
THEDepartment forTransport has said Greater Anglia wi ll be the thirdtrain operator to be nationalised and wi ll be taken overbyDepartment forTransport OperationsLtd (DFTO) on October 12. The operator hasconsistently performed highly, often achieving apunctuality levelof94%.
South Western Railwayisdue to come under full Government controlfromMay 25, with c2c following on July20.
TheDfT has indicated the intention to transfer an operator’s services to its control at roughly three month intervals.
On hometurf,Class91No. 91114
DurhamCathedral speedsnorthover Tallingtonlevelcrossing on May9, with 1D19, 15.03LondonKing’s Cross to Leeds.. SIMON FORD
GB Railfreightloco promotes
THE latest repaintinGB Railfreight’s Class69fleethas been releasedfromEastleigh Worksafter painting by ArlingtonFleet Services. No.69013 (previously 56312) carries ablack livery with whitecab windowsand promotes‘AndysManClub’, a peer-ledsuicide prevention
charity aimed at ending the stigma surroundingmen’s mentalhealth andhelping menthrough thepower of conversation
The club, formed in 2016, hasnearly300 free support groups nationwide,which are backed by 2500 volunteers. Its website is andysmanclub.co.uk
Landmark dayasHS2 tunnel breaksthrough in Birmingham
HS2’S giant tunnelling machine Mary Ann completed the first bore of what wi ll become thelongest railway tunnel in the West Midlands.
The 125-metremachine began constructing the 3.5 mi le (5.8km) BromfordTunnel,which starts at Water Orton andextendstothe
Birmingham suburb of Washwood Heath, in July2023.
The name Mary Ann (Evans), was chosen by the localcommunity,ina nod to the Warwickshire-born writer better known by her pen name George Eliot.
The TBM has bored the tunnel under the Park Hall Nature Reserve, the M6 motorway,and the meandering River Tame –which was crossed (or passed underneath) four times, with aheadspace as lowas fivemetres.
THE Washwood Heath site, where Mary Ann brokethrough, wi ll soon become the nervecentrefor
HS2’s operations. Next to the tunnel portal, HS2’s Depot and Network Integrated Control Centrewillbe bui lt.
The TBM excavated around one mi llion tonnes of spoi lduring the tunnel drive.
Inline with HS2’s sustainabi lity policy, the excavated earth is being reused to support construction of the nearbyDelta Junction.
Elsewhereinthe West Midlands, progress is also being made on the Delta Junction which wi ll taketrains into Birmingham city centre, with the first deck recentlycompleted on the River Tame West Viaduct.
‘Short’closureasbox section is slid into place under busyA46
AN 18-dayclosureofthe busysixlane A46 Keni lworth Bypass was needed from mid-Apri l, to slide a 14,500 tonne bridgeinto position as part of the HS2 project.
The boxsection, theheaviest everconstructed in Europe, wi ll take the HS2 line under the A46, and was builtonlandnextto the road and slidintoposition during acontinuous closure.
Usingthis method has avoided twoyears of laneclosures and speed restrictions on the road that
connects Coventry to the M40.
The first stageinvolvedthe demolition of a200m long section of the old road,and the excavation of around 35,000 cubic metres of material, to makespace forthe box to be pushed into place.
THIS material –mostlyearth and sandstone –was stockpi led on site forreuse later.The second stage involved pushing the 42m wide
structureinto position at an average speed of 6.5 metres per hour,for atotal distance of 64 metres. This wasachievedover10hours.
DURING the final stageofthe operation, the embankment which carries the road wascarefully reconstructed, the newcarriageway put into place and the road was reopened to trafc 30 hours ahead of schedule. E
Highland landmark work completed
AYEAR-LONG restoration project of Glenfinnan Viaduct, costing £3.4 mi llion, has been completed.
Contractor AmcoGifen has undertaken concrete repairs sympathetically, taking care to
replicate its heritageappearance. Engineers have also protected the piers from erosion caused by the fast-flowing River Finan. Five ki lometres of lineside fencing near the viaduct is also being renewed.
Tunnel portal extensions aUKfirst
HS2’S contractors have completed work on apair of innovative extensions to the southern portal of HS2’s longest tunnel to eliminate the possi bi lity of ‘sonic boom’ being created by high-speed trains entering at 200mph.
TheYare at the southern end of the 10-mi le Chi ltern Tunnel in northwest London. Simi lar structures are under construction at the northern portal in Buckinghamshire. The extensions are220-metres long and wi ll reduce ‘micropressurewaves’.
Adrone imageshowing the A46 boxinposition after the slide. HS2 LTD
Tunnel boring machine Mary Ann breaksthrough at Washwood Heath at the end of its3.5 mile drive, on May9 HS2 LTD
Romic purchasestwo Class20s
as morepower cars exported
MichaelOwen’s fleet of English ElectricType 1s isreduced to three as Romic Groupacquiresits first non-HSTlocomotives, while Mexico’s second batchofClass 43s has nowsailedfromGreat Yarmouth
ROMIC Group, best known for exporting HSTtrainsets to Mexico and Nigeria, and the lease of Mk.3 coaches foroverhead line test trains, has acquired its first non-HSTmotive powerinthe form of BR green No. 20007 and BR blue No. 20205, from Michael Owen’s company 20189 Ltd. No. 20007 is notablythe oldest operational main line-registered locomotiveinthe UK and wasnew as D8007 to the former North London Railway motivepower depot at 1D Devons Road (Bow) on
September 19, 1957, the EE Type 1 beingsoold that itevenpre-dates the famous1958changeoverthat sawthe MPD become Britain’sfirst diesel-only shed. Its counterpart entered trafc at 50D York North almost adecadelater on Apri l22, 1967, and wasone of the last 50 or so membersofthe classtobe delivered in the newBritish Rail corporate blue scheme.
The twoEEmachines have been regulars on the network since being reinstated in December 2017, for
No. 20007, and February 2015, for No. 20205. Theirwork has included hire to Victa Railfreight forshunting at Ripple Lane/Peak Forest and an intermodal demonstration between Immingham and Doncaster,Network Rail Railhead Treatment Trains, and various stock movesfor LoramRail (for which theywerebranded)and Rail Operations Group Romic wi ll assume ownership of the pair from May21and announced it intended to makethem avai lable forspot and longer term hire, but
Class 20 Nos. 20205and 20007passLow Moor,Pershore, on February 22, with UK Railtours’ ‘Shakespearean Sonnet’ excursion from London Paddington to Stratford-upon-Avonvia Long Marston and Kidderminster CHRIS MILNER
BEACONRAIL
Confirming its handback to Beacon Rail from Direct Rail Services (RE348), No. 68029 at Brush Loughborough has swapped from XHTP to the private owner MBDL pool, bringing the total number of Class 68s now allocated to the mootedChiltern Railways Mk.5A project to nine, with Nos. 68020/022/026028/030-032.
COLASRAIL
Asecond Class 56 has been placed on restricteduse, No 56113being confinedtoBoden Rail’s Colwick TMDatRectory Junction. Thisjoins
No. 56095 which sees occasional use at Colas’ Rugbydepot, and leaves Nos. 56049/051/090 and 56302 in the operational fleet, while Nos. 56078/087/096/105 areall stored at Colwick.
DC RAIL
The beginning of Aprilsaw DCR’s latest acquisition, ex-Class 56 Group No. 56301, ofciallytakeits place on the company’s roster being redesignated to the DCROpool, exUKRL.Meanwhile, GB Railfreight’s No. 60096 Skiddaw wasstill on hireto the operator in earlyApril, although this had changed to No. 60085 Snowdon –last used by DCR in January –bythe end of the month.
has also listed them forsale to the global market on its website.
The sale means that 20189 Ltd’s roster of Class 20s is nowcomprised of preserved BR blue No. 20048, acquired in February 2021 and currently at the Epping Ongar Railway, and main line operational Nos. 20142 Sir John Betjeman and 20189. They currently wear London Transport maroon and BR blue respectively, although bothwerenotablyturned out in Balfour Beattycolours during 2014-5. Michael Owen has long been associated withClass20s and also rostered No. 20057 untilitwas sold tothe Churnet ValleyRailway in December 2016. Meanwhile, his MOLO pool on TOPS also includes the Class 20 LocomotiveSociety’s main line No. 20189 SherlockHolmes,which wears the matching LT maroon livery as No. 20142.
Second batch departs
Following the transport of Nos. 43027/153 to Great Yarmouth Docksatthe end of March, (RE348), afurther six Class 43sand 10 Mk.3 trailer coaches made asimilar road transfer down the A47 from theMidNorfolk Railwayinthe first week of April. Ex-Great Western Railway Nos. 43160/162/194 and ex-LNER Nos. 43238 and 43312/319, the latter all recentlyrepainted in primer grey at Nemesis Rail,made themove, ashort step ahead of their export to Mexico. Loading aboardthe Dutch-registered cargo vessel Morgenstond II began in the thirdweek of the month andit departed forBelfast on April25, with its next call at Mobile, Alabama, before the powercars complete their journey to Mexico. E
DB CARGO
Six Class 66s movedfromthe WBAT pool (DBC Class 66) into storeWQAA during April, which includes three original EWS maroon/gold examples, Nos. 66076/087/089, No. 66075 in the same scheme albeit with DB logos, DB ‘Powered by HVO’ branded No. 66085, and standardDBliveried No. 66002. Meanwhile, No. 66205 has swappedwith No. 66003 on the Victa Railfreight shunting duty at Peak Forest, the pairalso exchanging WBAT and WBVTpool codes, the latter for Victa, at the same time.
Finally, former EWS Nos. 66015/ 199 have been outshoppedatToton in DB ‘Trafc red’, further reducing the number of currentlyactive
locomotivesintheir delivery paint to just 16.
The Toton paintshop also completed the DB makeoverof No. 92011, formerly named Handel, during April, reducing the number of active Class 92s in this country retaining theiroriginal names to just twolocomotives– No.92041 Vaughan Williams,and GBRf’s No. 92044 Couperin. However, most stored examples still carry their original identities, as do around half of the Brush-built machines that were exported to Eastern Europe. No. 92011, which is still stored WQAA, departed the Nottinghamshiredepot forCrewe International ElectricMaintenance
Depot on April15, sandwiched between Nos. 66001and 66039/ 112, the latter pair being taken on to Progress Rail/EMD Longport forattention.
FREIGHTLINER
The restricteduse DFLSpool, has resumed its purpose with the allocationof13Class 66sduring April, although by the first few days of Mayfive locomotives had already been returned to their original pools. Transferred from DFIM (Freightliner Class 66) were Nos. 66503/504/532/534/537/541-543, although Nos. 66532/534 were both onlytemporary placements. From DFIN (Freightliner low-emission Class 66) were Nos. 66419, 66587/596, although onlyNo. 66587 remainedat the time of writing. Finally, the Heavy Haul Class 66/6 DFHH contingent provided Nos. 66505/613/620, although the first of those wasback in unrestricted duty in earlyMay
GB RAILFREIGHT
No. 57310, one of just twoofthe GBRf Class 57/3s to wear the operator’s corporate colours along with No. 57306, has been honoured with anew name, the thirdithas carried since being released after its EMD rebuild in July2003. The UK Railtours nameplates were unveiled at Southend Central during the ‘Thames Meanderer’ railtour on April 12. Back in Virgin days,No. 57310 was named Kyrano,while DRSdedicated it PrideofCumbria, while it wasalso named twice during its previous lives as Nos. 47563 (Women’s Guild)and 47831 (Bolton Wanderer). The former ‘Thunderbird’ is the second locomotive in the GBRf fleet to be named after a charter train company, the first being No. 69006 Pathfinder Railtours
April28was ared-letter dayfor the Class 69 fleet, with No.69016 –nowofciallyrenumbered from 56097 –forgoing the usual local test run for ablast all the way to Eastleighfor repainting, the 0O69 from Longport including No. 66729 DerbyCounty just in case. This has notablyleapfrogged Romanian No. 56009 (to become 69015) due to the poor condition of the loco’s bodywork. Moreimportantly, the Arlington paintshop released fellowEast European-built No. 69013 (ex-56003 and 56312) in an all-over black with grey roof and white window surrounds with prominent branding on the sides with hashtag #Itsokaytotalk to support Andysmanclub, amen’s suicideprevention and mental health charity that hasgroups meeting around the country
With just one Class 69 left to be completed, thereisnoindication that either of the twoother ‘Grids’ at Longport, Nos. 56081 and 56303 (ex-56125), will be includedin
the programme, withbothsat on accommodation bogies, facing an uncertain future.
Finally, No. 66744 has become the rare example of aGBRf locomotive to lose its nameplates, the former Crossrailnow denuded after arepaint from the Europorte-inspired livery to the nowstandardscheme.
GREAT WESTERN
Over ayear-and-a-halfafter its ‘G’ exambegan at LairainSeptember 2023, GWR green-liveried No. 57604 Pendennis Castle has finallyreturned to the main line, leaving the confines of the Plymouth maintenance depot light engine as a0Z57 11.00 to Longrock (Penzance) on April29.
The Class 57/6,which has yetto receiveits anticipated repaint into the same livery,made itsreintroduction to revenue-earning employment on the 1A50Upsleeper to London Paddington thefollowing day, with No. 57602 on the rear forinsurance. Happily,itisreported to havearrived severalminutes early, ararity forthe ‘NightRiviera’ nowadays.Ithas been replaced at LairabyNo. 57605, which took the place expected forNo. 57603 after sufering apower unit failure in January
HNRCSWIETELSKY
The first locomotiveinto the new HNRCSwietelskylivery,No. 37422, wasnamed Pegasus,complete with winged-horsemotif incorporated in the ’plate, at an event at Worksop on April10, having run from Loughborough on the first dayofthe month. The locomotiveisthe second Class 37 to be named after the Greek mythological creature, Europhoenix’s No. 37611 so dedicated in April2017. However, No. 37611 wasdenamed on its repaint into Rail Operations Group ‘PCB’ livery in April2023 and rededicated Denise amonth later at Birmingham Moor Street.
As forNo. 37422,ithas unsurprisinglyreceived atweak at the No.2 end with the orangewindscreens and bonnet tops being repainted dark blue, likely to reduce glare. The Class 37/4, which had lastworkedtrains for DRSinJanuary 2024, went into service forits newowneronApril 21, being sent on hireto Colas Rail to partner with No. 37610 on Network Rail infrastructuremonitoring duties north of the border.Itreportedlysufered engine problems and other ancillary equipment issues during the trip but wasretained onthe circuit forthe return to DerbyonMay 2.
Updating the story in RE348 on the disposition of the final five Class 47s on the HN Rail roster –Nos. 47703/715, 47785 and 47843/847 –none of which passed to HNRCSwietelskyonthe sale of the company, No. 47703 has
nowtransferred to the NRLOpool and returned to the Nemesis Rail depot after 11 years away,behind West Coast RailwaysNo. 57009 G.J. Churchward on April8,initiallyasa 0Z47 13.37 to Worksop wherethey collected apairofcoaches forthe final 5Z37 15.54 leg to Burton-uponTrent.
In September 1997 the Class 47/7 wasnotably the first member of the Fragonset fleet to debut in its owners’ colours, whereitgained the name Hermes.Whether sentimentality playedany part in the purchase is unknown, with some of the directors of Nemesis Rail also being veterans of the Fragonset and FM Rail operations.
As forthe other ‘shove’tobesold, Rail Engineering Services No. 47715 undertook itsfirst passenger runs since 2018 at the Chinnor &Princes Risborough diesel gala on April6.The
companyalso revealed that it will be taking the former Haymarket 47 to the Greatest GatheringatDerby Litchurch Lane in the first weekend in August.
Not mentioned in RE348 was No. 47785, the former FionaCastle, at Leeming Bar on theWensleydale Railway. This wasthe only oneof the five‘Brush 4s’ to remain unsold, not helped by it beingsubstantially robbed of copper whilebased at KirkbyStephen over adecade ago. Therehas been no changetoWCRC Nos. 47843/847,which areboth at Carnforth. The future forthese three does not look good.
LOCOMOTIVE SERVICES
The latest Class 47 to berefreshed at Arlington Fleet Services at Eastleigh WorksisNo. 47593 Galloway Princess, which ransouth to theHampshire
West Coast Railway’s No. 57009 GJChurchward passes Chevin, Derbyshire, on April8,hauling No. 47703 and twoMk.2carriages to Nemesis Rail,Burton-onTrent. The former Fragonset livery wasalmost eradicated in August 2014, ahead of aplanned repaint which nevertook place. PHIL CHILTON
Carrying its new Pegasus nameplates, the first loco to carry the HNRC Swietelsky livery,No37422, runs through Derbystation with No. 37425 Sir Robert McAlpine/Concrete Bob as 0M61 from Barrow Hill to DerbyRTC on April21. SAMPEDLEY
it swapped the WesternRegion for amove to Longsight and the IWCP InterCity West Coast Class 43 pool
Exactlythree years later in May 1998, it wasback to LairaasVirgin Trains concentrated its CrossCountry and WCML powercar fleets at the Devonfacility.Itwas notablythe last member of the class to wear InterCity livery,albeit without branding, and it retained this appearance untilitwas returned to Angel Trains in April2001. TakenonbyFirst Great Western it relocated to St Philip’s Marsh depot and debutedthe ‘Barbie’ Class 180 livery on the HSTfleet in theJuly, temporarily gaining the number 43001 and astainless-steel horn grille complete with pink First logoat the same time! It wasquicklyre-allocated to Lairaand on November 6, 2004, it wasthe trailing unit in the fatal Ufton Nervet levelcrossing crash. While the lead powercar waswritten of, No. 43029 wasrepaired and eventually returned to service in February 2006.
Just overayear later, between Apriland August 2007, it wasavisitor at Brush Loughborough forits MTU re-engineering. It wasgiven further upgrades at Wabtec Doncaster in December 2020 as part of the ‘Castle’ programme, finallygainingthe name Caldicot Castle in May2022. It was eventuallystoppedinDecember 2023 beforebeing ofciallystored twomonths later,after which it was movedtoEasternRailServices’ sidings at Great Yarmouth forspares recovery After this it movedtothe Mid-Norfolk RailwayinJanuary 2025 and then on to Kingsbury severalweekslater
Onlythe thirdrenumbered former East Coast Class 43 to be scrapped after Nos. 43300/313, No. 43206 began its career as 43006 at Bristol’s St Philip’s Marsh in August 1976, as part of set No. 253003 with No. 43007.
After fiveyears atOld Oak from May1984-July1989, it headed west to Lairaeventuallybeing ofcially assigned to InterCity and then Virgin Cross Country services during Privatisation. It wasreturned to Angel Trains in 2002 and after periods at Neville Hill and Bombardier’s Doncaster Works, it wasreleased in GNER livery in June 2003 with the name Kingdom of Fife.Ithad actuallybeen allocated to Edinburgh CraigentinnyfromJanuary 2003, whereitstayeduntil being rebuilt with an MTUPowerPackatBrush between October 2007 and January 2008, after which it would be numbered 43206. As its rebuild took placeatthe same time as the National Express takeoverofthe ECML franchise, it emergedfromFalcon Worksnameless
and with awhite stripereplacing its gold and redGNER livery elements. It wasrepainted in the NXECsilver imageinOctober 2009, swappingits white stripe forared Virgin one on that operator,finallygrasping its longsought prizein2015.
Afull Virgin wrap wascompleted by the turn of 2016 but it againswapped brandingsjust twoyearslater as VXEC crashed out in disgrace,the route passing back into Government control underthe brand name London North Eastern Railways.Bythen the newClass 800 ‘Azumas’ were already undergoing testing and to commemorate the approaching end of HSTservices on the ECML No.43206 (alongwith No. 43312) were given a newlivery at Craigentinnyatthe start of December 2019, replicating their as-
delivered appearance, complete with correct set numbers on the coupler cover. The pair worked the four-day ‘Let’s Go Round Again’ tour between King’s Cross, Edinburgh, Inverness and Aberdeen between December 18-21, running afterthe end of scheduled HSTservices, with afinal stafouting on the FifeCircleroute from Edinburgh. The powercars then rantoEly Papworth sidings on the last dayof the year,for storage, beforebeing ofciallystored twomonths later.In February 2024, the pair were moved by road to ERSatGreat Yarmouth, and while No. 43312 has gone on to a newlifeinMexico, No. 43206 moved to the Mid-Norfolk in January this year,and then Kingsbury fordisposal. This brings the total numberof scrapped HSTpowercars to 32
The move wasaClass 7and limited to 45mph, with the consist seen passing Rearsby,
Transport forWales Class 398tram-trainNo. 398022 is returned from the RIDC test track to Pengam on April25, behind Rail Adventurepowercars Nos. 43468/ 43480.
Leicestershire. CLIFFORDCHAMBERS
Nowpart of the DC Rail fleet, No. 56301 crosses Carr Mill Viaduct, St Helens, working 6D85 17.52 RavenheadSidings to Chaddesden Sidings empty JNA’s on April1. DOUGBIRMINGHAM
