Rail Express April 2017

‘D’ STOCK RAT Inside LU’s new Sandite train

ORDSALL LIFT Key bridge craned into place

Essential reading for today’s rail enthusiast

BR’S BIG SHAKE-UP! AKE UP!

How Sectorisation changed everything

RAIL EXPRESS No. 251 APRIL 2017

THREE SHADES OF GREY

Heavyweight ‘37’ gets retro freight livery

40 PAGES

OF MODELLING

‘PENDOLINOS’

ON TEST

They’re quick, but are they also quick off the mark?

■ DAPOL CLASS 68 Was it worth the wait?

■ KYLE LINE LOCOS The latter years in focus

■ LATEST REVIEWS

New ‘37’, ‘47’ & ‘57’ in 4mm

Issue No. 251 April 2017

CONTENTS NEW CLASS 70 ARRIVES: The first of the next batch of seven Class 70s for Colas arrived at Liverpool Docks on February 24. No. 70812 then spent the next eight days at the docks awaiting transfer to Crewe, which occurred on March 4. Note how the adjacent pipework makes the loco appear to have its own ‘carry handle’!

8

HEADLINE NEWS HS2 bill receives royal assent; New depots for Exeter and Manningtree; Lime Street closed as wall collapses; Freight grant cut will mean reduction in rail traffic; Major railway scrapyard calls it a day; Franchise bidding mania will lead to glut in surplus stock; Severn Valley Railway wins modern traction award; Three shortlisted for East Midlands franchise; Chiltern ‘Bubbles’ to go; ‘Storm Doris’ traction bonus; First Class 88 tour announced; Second City Crossing opens.

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BATTERSEA BOUND! The tunnel boring machines have been lowered underground for the Northern Line's extension to Battersea in South London.

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SECTORISATION AND THE FOCUS ON FREIGHT OPERATIONS

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Books on monorails, railway history and Class 58s are new out this month.

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0-60: CLASS 390

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PANDORA THROUGH WOODHEAD A Moment in Time as EM2 No. 27006 gets ready to enter the famous tunnel in 1959.

MODELLING There is a Kyle Line focus this month, as we look back to the final 15 years of loco-hauled trains on the line, then examine Bachmann’s ex-Class 101 observation car that plied the route back then. We also review new Class 68, ‘37/4’, ‘47’and ‘57/3’ models.

TIME TRAVELLER April news from decades past.

72

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LU WORLD A look inside the first ‘D’ Stock Sandite train.

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RAILTOURS Rare chance for DRS ‘66/3’ haulage; Mercia suspends European tour programme.

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PRESERVATION ‘Western’ appeal successful; Bluebell 4-VEP to go main line; DRS ‘37’ preserved; update on Class 56 Group ‘Grids’; Deltic to visit Spa Valley.

80

Virgin’s ‘Pendolinos’ are quick, but are they also quick off the mark? Neville Hill finds out.

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EXPRESS MAILBAG Last days of the ‘Westerns’; Hong Kong battery locos; 92-hour clock; and Eurostar scrappings.

The 1980s saw a key change in British Rail management as it switched from focusing on regions to business sectors.

25

REVIEWS

POWER BY THE HOUR New locos delivered to UK; DRS reveals loco tender results; Colas ‘67s’ ready for service.

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POWERSCENE Notable workings from around the country.

90

UNITARY AUTHORITY More ‘700s’ introduced on Thameslink.

93

SHUNTER SPOT Cambridge gets a pilot; Changes at Cardiff Tidal.

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COACH COMPARTMENT DRS ‘air cons’ become nuclear escort coaches.

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WAGONS ROLL It's a big month for box wagon deliveries.

96

IRISH ANGLE ‘Thumpers’ vehicles go for scrap.

Loram in Derby has done a fantastic job repainting Type 3 No. 37714 into 1980s-style Trainload triple grey livery. The loco, which is owned by DRS but on loan to the Heavy Tractor Group, is due to be named at the Great Central Railway on March 17 before returning to service at the line’s diesel gala. Paul Bickerdyke

Editor’s Comment PRINT & DISTRIBUTION

Newstrade & distribution Marketforce UK Ltd, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU. 0203 787 9001 Printed by William Gibbons and Sons, Wolverhampton Published Third Friday of every month This issue March 17, 2017 Next issue April 21, 2017 Advertising deadline April 6, 2017 ISSN No 1362 234X

Paul Bickerdyke Rail Express Editor

© Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

Back to the future

I

AM grateful to the Heavy Tractor Group for its invitation behind the scenes to witness the transformation of ‘Heavyweight’ Type 3 No. 37714 from DRS blue livery into a retro look of Trainload triple grey, as pictured on our cover this month.

The work has been done at Loram in Derby, and we covered its arrival there in the last issue. Four weeks on from then and it is fair to say the result is nothing short of stunning – with the loco looking practically brand-new. Loram, which has a reputation for quality paint work, has gone out of its way to get the livery as authentic as possible – and, not only that, but the way the paint has been applied means it is guaranteed to last in mint condition for years.

The loco is due to make its first public appearance in its new guise at the Great Central Railway’s diesel gala on March 18/19, just after this magazine hits the shops. But it will also be in operation there on various dates throughout the

rest of the year, and I would urge you to make a visit to see just what an excellent job has been made of it.

It is also great to see the 1980s’ Sectorisation period brought to life again in this way, as it was a key stage in the evolution of British Rail. The switch from geographic management to one focused on different business sectors was a significant change in approach, one that arguably paved the way for eventual privatisation in the following decade.

Our main feature covers the early years of Sectorisation from 1982 – a fascinating period of change in railway culture where, for the first time, freight trains no longer had to play second fiddle to passenger services.

Paul Bickerdyke

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Simon Bendall Editor Rail Express Modeller

David Russell Preservation Unitary Authority Coach Compartment Railtours

Power by the Hour Shunter Spot Name Game Spectrum

David Rapson

Wagons Roll

LU World (with Piers Connor)

Powerscene

William Watson Gareth Bayer

Christopher Westcott

Irish Angle (with Alan McFerran)

‘Industry Witness’ News Writer

ORDSALL ARCH: A key stage of the Ordsall Chord link was completed on February 21 when the arch for the bridge over the River Irwell was lifted into place. Ordsall Chord will be a major part of the rail network in Manchester, allowing trains to run direct between Victoria and Piccadilly stations for the first time, opening up new possibilities for services across the North of England. The quarter-mile link was first proposed in the 1970s, but the current project dates back to 2010. Construction was delayed by various objections, not least because it cuts through rail access to the city’s Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI). The bridge arch took two crawler cranes to lift into place, the larger of two – said to be the biggest of its kind in the UK – arrived on 35 lorry loads and needed the smaller one to build it over ten days. With the bridge in place, the rest of the work will be completed relatively quickly and the line should open in December this year.

All photos by Paul Bickerdyke

This Network Rail graphic looking north shows how the completed chord will look, connecting the lines west of Piccadilly at the bottom to lines west of Victoria at the top. It also clearly shows how the main line connection into MOSI, bottom right, has been severed.

Above: The 1200 tonne steel ‘network arch’ is slowly inched across the River Irwell by the two cranes.

Above right: Gently does it! Engineers guide the arch over the last few feet into its correct position.

Right: At street level outside Liverpool Road station – now part of MOSI but originally the 1830 terminus of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. The new chord runs over the end of the road.

Left: A view from inside MOSI, where its running line and main line connection have been cut short by the new link.

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HEADLINE NEWS

HS2 bill receives royal assent Approval by Parliament means construction of the high speed line from London to Birmingham can begin.

By ‘Industry Witness’ CONSTRUCTION of the first phase of HS2 is expected to start within weeks now that royal assent has been given following approval by Parliament.

The bill for construction was first published on November 25, 2013, and a total of 820 petitions were received for consideration by the Government. The changes that took place as a result of debate by both Houses of Parliament included an increase in the tunnelled section from 12 to 31 miles, mainly to protect the landscape in the Chilterns.

The line will run from London Euston, with trains calling at Old Oak Common and then running non-stop to Birmingham Interchange, which will provide passengers with onward connections to the West Coast Main Line and Birmingham International Airport. The route then terminates at Birmingham Curzon Street, where the layout will allow trains to continue to Lichfield and a

junction with the WCML. Operations to Birmingham Curzon Street are expected to start in 2026, with services being extended to Crewe the following year. Further extensions from Birmingham to Manchester Piccadilly and Leeds are expected to be built by 2033.

The cost estimate, including the provision of rolling stock, is £73 billion and a workforce of 25,000 will be employed.

The Government is creating a new West Coast Partnership franchise for the operation of services, which will absorb the current franchise on the existing route out of Euston that is currently operated by Virgin Trains. The aim is to optimise the integration of services operated on the new infrastructure with destinations reached on the existing network so that there is the feel of a single railway. A 10-year contract

8 RAIL EXPRESS April 2017

NO HS1-HS2 LINK

It was the original intention that a link would be built between HS2 and HS1 by enhancing the North London Line, but this will not now take place – in part because of the disruptive effect on the local community. There will also be no station at Heathrow Airport, and to access the airport will mean passengers changing at Old Oak Common.

The lack of a connection with HS1 has led to the decision that the line will not be used for freight services, as the benefit of running international services using rolling stock built to the continental gauge will not be available. As a result, no domestic freight terminals will be connected to the route.

The Government has started the

“Wolverton Works could be used to build the trains”

New depots for Exeter and Manningtree GREAT Western Railway and Greater Anglia have both announced new depots will be built to house some of their new stock now on order. The GWR depot will be alongside Exeter St Davids station, while the GA one will be just north of Manningtree on the Essex/ Suffolk border.

The £40 million depot in Exeter will house more of GWR’s regional fleet displaced by the introduction of Hitachibuilt IEP sets from this year. It will be built alongside the existing servicing facilities, and will provide enhanced servicing, cleaning and maintenance facilities. The plans also include office and welfare facilities for staff. Subject to planning consent being secured, construction is expected to begin in spring 2018 for opening in mid-2019.

Greater Anglia’s new facility will be built in Brantham on the site of a derelict chemical works factory on the north bank of the River Stour. It will be used for stabling and light maintenance of about 20 of the new trains due to arrive in East Anglia from 2019, which will be commissioned into service from the new depot. The electrified depot is expected to open in December 2018 with 13 servicing sidings and a twotrack, 300-metre shed that will have inspection pits, overhead cranes and a wheel lathe.

Design work and construction planning has begun, and the site is due to be cleared in March so that building can begin in summer. E

commencing in April 2019 is to be offered, with the option of a two-year extension.

Right: How the new GWR depot at Exeter will sit alongside the existing maintenance facility (left) and St Davids Station.

GWR Below: The site of the new Greater Anglia depot alongside the Great Eastern Main Line just north of Manningtree by the River Stour.

Greater Anglia

procurement process for an initial fleet of 60 trains, which are likely to cost £2.75 billion and have a maximum speed of 225mph. The fleet is to be maintained at a new depot at Washwood Heath in Birmingham (part of the site is currently used by Boden Rail), which will also be the location of the HS2 Control Centre.

An industry event is to be held on March 27 where interested companies can find out more about the bidding requirements and process. This will be followed by the pre-qualification questionnaire, which will provide further details of specification. A number of international train makers are expected to be interested, and there has been speculation that Wolverton Works could be used for construction.

Once bidders have been shortlisted, a formal invitation to tender will be issued in 2018. The contract will be awarded at the end of 2019 so that trains will be ready for the planned opening date in 2026. E

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HEADLINE NEWS

Lime Street closed by collapsed wall ALL rail services into and out of Liverpool Lime Street were cancelled during the evening peak on February 28 after a wall collapsed in the cutting on the approach to the station.

Network Rail said the wall at the top of the cutting had been loaded with concrete and cabins by a third party, which then collapsed around 17.45 sending 200 tonnes of rubble onto the four tracks below. It also damaged the overhead live wires.

The site required an extensive clear up and repair, and was not expected to reopen until March 9.

A Network Rail spokesperson said: “Our activities are in three steps: firstly, making the location safe. This will allow us to start step two, safely accessing the tracks below to clear the debris, before step three, repairing the damaged railway.

Overnight we removed 60 tonnes of soil and five large containers, each holding many tonnes of material, from the top of the cutting, to prevent further slips.”

The closure of Lime Street caused major disruption as passengers had to travel via Merseyrail local trains and Liverpool South Parkway. TransPennine Express services terminated at Manchester Victoria and Piccadilly, with

CHINNOR ANNOUNCES THREE-DAY DIESEL GALA

An aerial view of the site where the wall collapsed after being loaded with concrete and containers.

A view of the wall that fell into the cutting near Lime Street and blocked all rail access. Pictures by Network Rail

About 200 tonnes of rubble fell and damaged tracks and overhead wires.

just a few running through to Liverpool South Parkway; East Midlands Trains terminated at Manchester Oxford Road; and London Midland trains ran to Liverpool South Parkway.

Northern advised passengers not to travel in the region, but ran a limited

service between Wigan/Manchester Victoria to Huyton and from Manchester Oxford Road to Liverpool South Parkway.

Virgin Trains ran as far as Runcorn with replacement buses to Lime Street. Buses also ran between Liverpool South Parkway and Huyton to Lime Street.

Freight grant cut will mean reduction in rail traffic Loss of financial support could see more short-run freight workings switch from rail, leading to increased pollution and more road congestion.

By ‘Industry Witness’ OPPORTUNITIES for rail to compete in the movement of freight traffic over shorter distances have been reduced as a result of a cutback in the budget available to operators applying to use the Modal Shift Revenue Support (MSRS) grant.

In the current year, £20 million was awarded in respect of 41 traffic flows hauled by DB Cargo, Eddie Stobart, GB Railfreight, Freightliner and JG Russell. For reasons of commercial confidentiality the details of individual movements are not published, but most are for intermodal traffic over shorter distances where road transport is cheaper. In total, the effect was to remove more than one million lorry journeys from the road network.

Rail often faces additional costs for terminal operations and road delivery to customers compared to a road haulier operating from a port, manufacturing plant, or quarry direct to the customer premises.

In the next financial year from April, the Department for Transport has reduced the funds available to £15.7 million, with a further reduction to £15.2 million in the following year. The 21% cut suggests the result will be some 200,000 additional Heavy Goods Vehicle movements on the roads in the next year.

IN BRIEF

It is thought by rail experts that domestic intermodal services will be most at risk of transfer to road, such as Tesco operations.

A number of non-containerised movements also qualified for grant in the current year, including £219,000 paid to DB Cargo for movements between Halewood and Southampton and £114,000 for operations between Immingham and Wolverhampton.

Additional quarry output from the Peak Forest was also switched to rail.

EMISSIONS PARADOX

The decision is at odds with Government policy on the reduction of harmful emissions from HGVs, where the environmental benefit ratio compared to the grant cost has been 5:1. It comes at a time when the amount paid by road hauliers for using the road network is estimated to be £6 billion less than the cost incurred for road damage and collisions, and where HGVs are involved in half of fatal motorway accidents, congestion, and pollution.

Rail is undoubtedly a cleaner method of transport. Analysis has shown that an equivalent road journey generates 15 times more nitrogen dioxide pollution, and that HGVs account for 50% of pollutant emissions on the road network.

The current budget level for MSRS grants is also below the level paid in Track Access Grant (TAG) which it replaced. Freight operators received £30 million of TAG payments ten years ago, worth close to £40 million at current money value.

There was also a budget for Freight Facilities Grants until 2005, which allowed freight operators to receive financial support in the provision of wagons, terminals and handling equipment, and was worth £15 million in the final year of availability.

This is small scale spending compared to that committed to enhance the passenger network, where the benefits in terms of environmental pollution are not as great.

The Government continues to influence the choice of the mode through the planning process with, as an example, stipulations about the use of rail from the London Gateway port built on the site of the former Shell oil refinery at Thames Haven. Freightliner is currently serving Birmingham, Leeds, Coatbridge and Bristol from there, with DB Cargo operating to Wakefield, and Manchester Trafford Park with an inbound service from Barry Dock.

A number of trains also make calls at intermediate terminals. E

THE Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway is to hold its largest ever diesel gala on May 11-13, with five visiting locos plus the home fleet. Confirmed so far are Nos. D8059 (20059), D8188 (20188) and 50026 – with two others still to be announced. Resident locos include the unique Class 17 ‘Clayton’ plus any available shunters.

An intensive timetable will see trains operating between 09.30 and 17.00 each day, which in the down direction includes the 1-in-68 climb to Chinnor. Trains will run through to Princes Risborough, but there is not yet a chance to alight there until the new platform opens in the autumn. Diesel driver experiences are also being offered on May 9, plus a limited number of photographic permits that includes a visit to the partially restored Princes Risborough signalbox.

‘321’ AND ‘317’ UPGRADES GREATER Anglia has announced a £4.7 million refurbishment of its commuter trains in Essex and Hertfordshire. The investment will see 212 Class 321 carriages and 72 Class 317 carriages undergoing a programme that will include new carpets, seat covers, dado panels and interior repainting and cleaning.

Some of the 40 additional Class 321 carriages cascaded in from the Great Northern route will have their extended first class seating removed to increase standard class capacity. The programme for the Class 317s is expected to be completed by the end of the year, while the Class 321 programme will continue into spring 2018.

SCOTRAIL ‘320’ UPGRADE EVERSHOLT Rail has signed a contract with Knorr-Bremse Rail Services to upgrade its fleet of 22 Class 320 trains at Springburn, Glasgow. The £6 million programme will include repainting all surfaces, new flooring, tables and new seat moquette; at-seat power sockets; dedicated cycle space; an enhanced CCTV system; and new interior signage.

The work on the three-car units will start in October and run through to early 2019. ScotRail said that by 2019, 90% of its rolling stock would be either new or refurbished.

TRACKBED ACQUIRED THE Government has agreed to hand over rights to operate the former branch line between Gobowen, Oswestry and Blodwell to Cambrian Heritage Railways.

Several stretches of the line have already been acquired and reopened in parts, but this move allows them to be joined up with an extension of the track to Western Wharf on the edge of Oswestry.

The long-term aim is to extend the railway to the main line station at Gobowen. One of the main problems with reopening the line in full, however, is that it crosses two of the busiest roads in Shropshire – the A5 near Oswestry and the A483 Welshpool road.

April 2017 RAIL EXPRESS 9

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HEADLINE NEWS IN BRIEF MANCHESTER TRAMS OPENS SECOND CITY CROSSING TRANSPORT for Greater Manchester opened its Metrolink Second City Crossing on February 26. This is the latest addition to the UK’s largest light rail network, and will improve capacity within the central area of the city. The new line provides an alternative to the original Metrolink route along Mosley Street, linking Victoria with St Peter’s Square via Exchange Square.

Further additional capacity will be required in the west of the city between St Peter’s Square and Cornbrook once the new Trafford Park line, which is now under construction, opens to the public in 2020/21.

GBRF PLANS HST PARCELS GB Railfreight has announced plans to use redundant HSTs to deliver parcels from Doncaster to north London. The service is planned to start from early 2018 and it is hoped that it will revolutionise how goods are distributed in London – as same-day deliveries are currently almost entirely handled by trucks and vans.

The project would use some of the HSTs displaced from passenger service with GWR by the introduction of new Hitachi-built IEPs. It would be the first time a UK rail freight operator has offered a 125mph service, and also a return to the UK market of dedicated parcel trains.

An aerial view of Thomson’s scrapyard, just south of Stockton station (just out of shot, top right). Most of the land will be sold off for housing. Google/Getmapping

Flame cut numbers from some of the locos that ended their days at Thomson’s.

Major railway scrapyard calls it a day THE Stockton-based firm T J Thomson and Sons has closed its metals processing business and from now on will only deal in metal trading. This means the end of railway vehicles being scrapped on the site just south of the town’s station, which has been open since 1932 and was once one of Europe’s largest metal processors.

The decision was made following the run down in rail connected steelworks, plus the relatively few rail vehicles that

go for scrap these days. The redundant land will be cleared and used for housing instead.

Many diesel locomotives ended their days at Thomson’s, and some of the flame-cut number panels were included in an auction of equipment on March 1.

Famously, however, Class 24 No. D5032 (24032) escaped to work at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in the 1970s, but was only bought by the line last year. The firm’s fleet of six shunting

locomotives have all been cut up or sold, including one to the Chasewater Railway in Staffordshire.

■ HAULAGE FIRM CLOSES: Heanor Haulage has closed down the transport side of its business to concentrate on warehousing and storage. The firm has operated for 75 years, with recent clients including Network Rail, Volker Rail and Balfour Beatty. Its haulage equipment is due to be auctioned off by Malcolm Harrison on March 23/24.

Bidding mania will create a glut of surplus stock The practice of promising new trains to win franchise bids is set to make some existing stock redundant – including a number of relatively recent introductions.

By ‘Industry Witness’

NEW STAMP CELEBRATES TRAVELLING POST OFFICE A RAIL employee’s oil painting of staff working on the Travelling Post Office has been chosen to feature in the Royal Mail Heritage: Transport ‘Post & Go’ stamp series. Ian Cryer, professional artist and a guard at DB Cargo, created the oil painting as he travelled on a service from Plymouth to Bristol in 2003. It was completed in the railway sidings and at the Royal Mail depot at Bristol Parkway, where workers posed during their night shift.

The new stamp issue, called ‘Rail and Mail’, has been produced as part of Royal Mail’s 500 year anniversary celebrations.

LARGE LOGO ‘37’ TO HEAD TOUR TO BLACKPOOL THE Scottish Thirty-Seven Group’s No. 37025 Inverness TMD, currently on hire to Colas for use on test trains, is to be used on a SRPS Railtours excursion from Edinburgh, Polmont, Falkirk, Cumbernauld and Motherwell to Blackpool on July 1.

10 RAIL EXPRESS April 2017

ANALYSIS of the new train orders promised by recent successful franchise bids indicates that a greater amount of new rolling stock is being purchased than is justified by either passenger growth projections and the composition of the existing fleet. This is particularly relevant to the Greater Anglia franchise, where the entire fleet is planned to be replaced regardless of age.

It makes sense to have trains of a single type operating on high frequency routes – such as Crossrail, Thameslink, and Merseyrail – as rolling stock with the same acceleration and stopping characteristics allow the service frequency to be optimised, especially with the ambition of 24 trains per hour on the Crossrail and Thameslink central sections.

The Class 700 fleet continues to increase, and by mid-February had reached 45 sets out of the order for 115.

Deliveries are weekly, with the intention that the full fleet will be available by May 2018. This has allowed the transfer of 29 four-car Class 387/1 units to Hornsey for use on Great Northern services, where the maximum speed

of 110mph can be exploited.

Not all the displaced Class 319 fleet of 86 four-car sets have found a new home, however. Even when electrification in the North West is completed, there will be surplus sets – hence the first units going into store (see last month) – although the conversion to bi-mode may make the rolling stock attractive on a wider range of routes.

NEW FLEETS FOR OLD

The first Crossrail Class 345 rolling stock is due to start service in May, and this fleet of 66 seven-car (later nine-car when the Elizabeth Line/Crossrail opens) units will replace the 37-year old Class 315 trains used on Liverpool Street inner suburban services, which are unlikely to find further use.

No cascade is planned either for the existing Merseyrail fleet, which is made up of 59 three-car sets in Classes 507/8.

These will be withdrawn as new four-car units built by Stadler arrive from 2019.

The replacement rolling stock will be made up of 52 four-car sets, although there is an option for 15 further sets if there is traffic demand.

The Greater Anglia bid by Abellio is

the subject of the greatest reflection given a commitment to replace the entire fleet, as if all the vehicles in current use were life expired and unsuitable for deployment elsewhere.

A total of 1,043 vehicles are being supplied by Stadler and Bombardier, and to accommodate the fleet a new 15road depot is to be built at Manningtree (see page 8), which is scheduled to be commissioned by December 2018.

The Class 90 and Mk.3 hauled sets are to be replaced by Bombardier 10-car electric units, and little further work can be anticipated for the displaced equipment. The bulk of the current EMU fleet is made of 644 vehicles of Class 317 and Class 321 designs, which are between 27 and 36 years old with specifications that are no longer compatible with journey expectations.

However, there are also 204 Class 360 and Class 379 coaches, which are 14 years and six years old respectively. New trains are always welcome, but the need for this investment must be queried as it is not obvious where the existing rolling stock will be used in future, particularly as plans for network electrification have been scaled back. E

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HEADLINE NEWS IN BRIEF FIRST CLASS 88 TOUR A FEW tickets have been made available on the first Class 88-hauled passenger train, which is scheduled for May 9. Originally meant to be a VIP-only trip, the limited number of tickets were made available to the public through UK Railtours.

The trip, formed of the Northern Belle set, will start at Euston around 09.15 and run via the West Coast Main Line to Carlisle for a short break before retracing its steps to the capital to arrive at 21.00. Pick up and set down is also possible at Milton Keynes.

CLASS 50 TOUR SELLS OUT

SEVERN VALLEY WINS HRA MODERN TRACTION AWARD: The Severn Valley Railway has been presented with the annual Heritage Railway Association Modern Traction Award, which is sponsored by this magazine, for the purpose-built diesel depot at Kidderminster that was officially opened in May last year. Jonathan Dunster (right) accepted the trophy from RE’s editor Paul Bickerdyke at the HRA Awards ceremony, held at the former Wolverhampton Low Level station on February 11. The citation read: “For the opening of a dedicated diesel maintenance depot that will ensure the long-term future of preserved modern traction.”

Three shortlisted for East Midlands Incumbent Stagecoach is bidding against two others to run trains out of St Pancras.

THE Department for Transport has announced three companies have been chosen to bid for the next East Midlands franchise. The three are: current operator Stagecoach; Arriva Rail East Midlands; and First Trenitalia East Midlands Rail, a joint venture company formed by First Rail Holdings and Trenitalia UK. The East Midlands franchise includes intercity services on the Midland Main Line from St Pancras to Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Sheffield, plus regional services in the Midlands.

The new franchise is said to be vital in supporting the Government’s ambitions to make the Midlands region an engine for growth by improving connections within and outside the region. Ministers want to improve the quality, frequency and timings of journeys on the east of the franchise network and to seek to develop new services and connections.

The new franchisee will also be expected to satisfy predicted growth in demand, in particular into London St Pancras, but also for local crowded

services like Derby-Crewe.

Rail Minister Paul Maynard said: “Network Rail is working on improvements which by 2019 will enable the next East Midlands franchise to deliver more carriages and faster journeys over the whole route, including almost twice as many seats into London St Pancras in the peak hours.”

The existing franchise, which was originally due to end in March 2015, is currently due to expire in March 2018, although the Government has the power to extend it further by up to a year. E

STORM DORIS BONUS: Disruption caused by Storm Doris across the country on February 23 led to some additional locohauled services in East Anglia. Both the Norwich-based ‘short sets’ were pressed into service on the main line instead of their usual trips to Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Nos. 37423 and 37419 are pictured arriving at Colchester with the 15.30 from Norwich, which worked back at 17.35. Class 68s Nos. 68021 and 68016 followed ‘top and tailing’ the second set. Al Pulford

A RAILTOUR organised by our sister publication The Railway Magazine, in cooperation with Pathfinder Tours, Riviera Trains and GB Railfreight, sold out with days of going on sale. The 13-coach tour on October 7 starts at Euston but features a pair of Class 50s between Crewe and Glasgow via Shap and Beattock - celebrating 50 years since the introduction of the class but also 120 years of the RM. Standard class tickets sold out within two days, and first and dining classes followed soon after.

FIVE MILLION FOR BLACKPOOL TICKET sales for Blackpool’s revamped tramway system have recorded five million journeys since April 2016. Passenger numbers have been increasing since the tramway reopened in 2012, and sales have topped the five million mark for the first time since 1994.

The news comes as work progresses to extend the tramway from the Promenade up to Blackpool North station. Passenger satisfaction is also up, with 96% of people surveyed saying they enjoyed the experience in the latest figures issued by the Department for Transport.

BEDWYN AND FROME BOOST GREAT Western Railway says it will continue to operate direct services to Bedwyn and Frome following the introduction of the new fleet of Hitachi trains. Electrification will now only extend as far as Newbury, but the bi-mode Class 800/3 – capable of running on both diesel and electric – will allow GWR to continue to operate direct services from Paddington to Bedwyn, Hungerford and Kintbury.

CCTV FOR PANTOGRAPHS VIRGIN'S Class 91s fleet is being fitted with roof-mounted cameras to record footage of pantographs and overhead lines. The footage can be viewed in real-time as the trains move up and down the East Coast Main Line, helping to identify the root cause of any issues with the overhead lines.

CHILTERN 'BUBBLES' TO GO: Class 121 DMUs Nos. 121020 and 121034 are to be withdrawn by Chiltern Railways when the timetable changes in May. The first generation DMUs are the oldest still in passenger service on the main line, and are used for off-peak services between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough. It is understood the units need new tyres, but that no Network Rail specification exists for replacements – a situation that could have knock-on effects elsewhere, such as plans by the Swanage Railway to use a first generation DMU on through services to Wareham. No. 121034 is pictured shortly after leaving Aylesbury on March 3, with the 5P46/16.39 to Princes Risborough. Jamie Squibbs

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