Issuu

INSIDE LONDON UNDERGROUND’S

‘A’ STOCK RAT

as the unit bows out of service for the last time

RETRO FREIGHT The amazing loco variety passing through ‘Kenny O’ in the 1960s/70s

Essential reading for today’s rail enthusiast

IETs ON TRIAL

RAIL EXPRESS No. 261 FEBRUARY 2018

They’re replacing HSTs, but how do they perform?

■ SECOND MAIN LINE ‘40’ MODELLING SECTION ■ 2018 RELEASES

Bachmann, Farish & Hornby

■ CARGOWAGGONS

Profiling these versatile flats

■ REALTRACK ‘156’ Now out in ScotRail livery

Locomotive Services hires 40013 in three-year deal

STORED LOCOS Full listing of every loco and where to find them

Issue No. 261 February 2018

CONTENTS

HIGHLAND ‘AZUMA’: Hitachi bi-mode No. 800101 became the first of its type to reach Inverness on December 15, when it ran as the 5X71/08.44 from Doncaster Carr IEP Depot. The trains, which will be known as ‘Azumas’ by Virgin Trains East Coast, will replace HSTs to serve five Scottish cities from 2019. Depot facilities at Aberdeen, Inverness and Edinburgh will be upgraded to service the new fleet. No. 800101 is pictured heading north on the approach to Gleneagles, Perth and Kinross. VTEC

FEATURES

NEWS

0-60: CLASS 800 Do the new Hitachi bi-modes match the HSTs they are replacing? Neville Hill takes a trip on the new services to find out.

Fare rises seen as unsustainable; Freight locos to get ECTS in-cab signalling; First TPE ‘802’ under construction; New MML timetable is bad for commuters; No. 40013 to go main line in 2018; Plan launched to rebuild railways on the Isle of Wight; CAF’s Newport factory takes shape; East West plan accelerated; London Bridge reopens.

INSIDE THE ‘A’ STOCK RAT An LU World Special taking a last look at the now-retired Metropolitan Line leaf-buster.

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RETRO FREIGHT: ‘KENNY O’ Looking back to the amazing variety of traffic and locos that used the strategic West London Line in the late 1960s and 1970s.

REGULARS 30 31

REVIEWS

TIME TRAVELLER

Bachmann, Farish and Hornby have set out their product releases for 2018, and there is a juicy selection of modern traction coming our way – including a Class 251 Blue Pullman unit. We also profile the versatile Cargowaggon fleet, while reviews include Realtrack’s Class 156 DMU.

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RAILTOURS

PRESERVATION

POWER BY THE HOUR TransPennine debut for Class 68s; ‘66s’ handed over to GBRf; Colas Type 4s collected.

STORED LOCOS 2018 A full list of all currently stored TOPS locos and where to find them.

Looking back 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago.

MODELLING

££21.50

Diesels reach G-WR Broadway station; Bo’ness ‘27’ back in action; WSR increases diesel mileage.

A selection of recent modern traction books.

FFROM ONLY

Saphos announces first tours; Charity begins with GBRf; The ‘And then there’s more’ tour.

EXPRESS MAILBAG An LMS shunter survivor; A modern ‘Caboose’?

HEADLINE NEWS

POWERSCENE Our round-up of key workings.

UNITS GWR electrification reaches Didcot.

SHUNTERS End of an era as ‘08s’ leave Old Oak.

COACHES WCR rounds up Northern Belle acquisitions.

WAGONS Final GBRf sand hoppers delivered.

IRISH ANGLE Dublin tram extension uses former main line route.

GWR is busy phasing in Class 800 bi-modes, but the big question is how do they perform? We find out on page 14 – but back on September 13, 2017, No. 800003 passes through Tilehurst with a test working from Reading to Newport. James Bushnell

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 Monthly This issue January 19, 2018 Next issue February 16, 2018 Advertising deadline February 1, 2018 ISSN No 1362 234X

Paul Bickerdyke Rail Express Editor

IETs in the spotlight T HIS year will see the start of a massive change to both the Great Western and East Coast main lines, as new Hitachibuilt Class 800 bi-mode IETs, and the electriconly Class 801 version, take over from existing stock. On the Great Western, this essentially means replacing HSTs that have been in continuous use since 1976. Despite the fact they are now 40-year-old technology, HSTs are a hard act to follow. Various refurbishments over the years have seen the power cars fitted with new engines, and the Mk.3 coaches have had ever more seats squashed in. But despite all that, they remain one of the quickest, reliable, and most comfortable trains ever to run in Britain – a true design classic, and one that is thankfully set for continued use with the likes of ScotRail. Putting aside for now any debate about passenger comfort, especially on long journeys such as Paddington to Swansea, the main question is whether IETs can bring down journey times – something that each new generation of train has traditionally been able

to do. The answer so far, however, seems to be “not necessarily”. Running in electric mode, the Class 800s seem quicker than HSTs; in diesel mode, they do not. The order for bi-mode IETs was hastily increased when Great Western electrification was scaled back, the bi-modes offering the Department for Transport a face-saving stop-gap solution. However, the diesel mode was originally designed for the trains to reach more distant destinations beyond the reach of the main line wires, and not to match HSTs on the core main line services. Achieving significant reductions in journey times will depend on running most of the trip in electric mode, which is not yet possible. And so for now, as our feature on pages 14/15 discovers, the IETs are going to struggle. Paul Bickerdyke

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Simon Bendall Editor Rail Express Modeller

Christopher Westcott

David Russell

Power by the Hour Shunters Name Game Spectrum

David Rapson

Preservation Units Coaches

Gareth Bayer Wagons

LU World (with Piers Connor)

Powerscene

William Watson Irish Angle (with Alan McFerran)

‘Industry Witness’ News Writer

END OF THE LINE? A fascinating scene full of detail at C F Booth’s scrapyard in Rotherham on December 30. On the left is stored Class 56 No. 56128, which may yet have a future, while on the right is one of the last surviving Metropolitan Line ‘A’ Stock driving cars, No. 5113. There are also various industrial shunters, including yellow-liveried TOPS-registered No. 01565 in the centre, and the recently delivered green TTA fuel tanks await their fate in the background. A full round-up of all stored TOPS locos is on pages 78/79, while there is more on London Underground ‘A’ Stock on pages 17-19, plus wagon news on page 95. Phil Chilton

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HEADLINE NEWS

Fares rise seen as unsustainable Ticket price hikes have outstripped wage increases yet again, contributing to a levelling off in passenger numbers. By ‘Industry Witness’ JANUARY saw the price of regulated train fares rise by 3.6%, which is determined by the rise in inflation as measured by the Retail Prices Index in July 2017. The increase compares with the calculation that average pay has risen by only 2.1% in the same period. This is not the first year in which fare rises have outstripped wage rises as, over the past eight years, controlled fares (which include season tickets) have risen by 32%, while wages have increased by 16%. The Government appears to have conceded that the ever-widening gap is unsustainable and that the more widely used Consumer Prices Index – which is judged to reflect the overall cost of living – could be used in the future. Using this figure, inflation was 2.6% in July 2017. Even before the current increases, there was evidence that demand for rail travel is falling. Although the country’s economic growth is close to 2%, rail journeys fell slightly in the period from July to September last year – from 433 million to 429 million – but there was a

9.4% fall in the sale of season tickets, which are used by a third of all rail users. Advance fare purchases rose by 8.7%, but they continue to make up less than 5% of all tickets purchased. This is a trend that should worry policymakers if it continues. Network enhancement plans are based on annual journey growth of 2.5% and if that disappears some very expensive projects will look to have been unnecessary.

fares were subject to minimal increases. There have been local initiatives to link improvements with the price of travel. One particular case is the initiative by the former West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive to fund the leasing of additional Class 158 rolling stock to improve the journey experience in the area, for which an annual supplementary increase of 2% was applied to relevant Northern Rail fares. As reported in a separate story (see opposite), the poorer service standards for commuters that will follow the introduction of the May 2018 Midland Main Line timetable should allow for a standstill in the level of fares at stations effected, although there is apparently no flexibility to do this.

“Network enhancement plans are based on annual journey growth of 2.5%.”

UNFOCUSED APPROACH

The concept of nationally applied regulated fares is a blunt instrument that lacks any common-sense approach to the value that passengers actually buy. The scheme superseded an earlier regime where the quality of the service and competitive factors were taken into account. For example, when the Chiltern route was modernised and equipped with new rolling stock, fares rose considerably. But on routes operating with elderly trains and a generally poor travelling environment,

FLEXIBILITY NEEDED

The Rail Delivery Group is ultimately responsible for fare setting on behalf the Train Operating Companies, but it has chosen to bury its head in the sand about the growing evidence of

unaffordability. The sharp decline in the number of season ticket users in London and the South East has occurred because commuting by rail has become less suited to a wide range of users. The issues are that many passengers using the railway for travelling to work do not work fixed hours on a five or six-day a week basis any more. There could be days in the week spent working from home or travelling elsewhere and journeys may often be made at off-peak hours. If the RDG had shown some creativity, it could have redesigned the season ticket offering to reflect these changes and mitigated the effect of fare increases. The overall income from passengers in 2016 was £9.2 billion, with other charges such as car parking raising this to £10 billion, set against total industry costs of £14 billion. This indicates that passengers pay 70% of the costs with the other 30% funded by the general taxpayer in recognition of societal benefits. Rail users pay a far greater share of rail costs today than a decade ago, when the fares contribution was little more than 50%. E

CUMBRIAN COAST ‘68s’: DRS began training its staff on locohauled stock on January 8, running a set of three Mk.2s ‘top and tailed’ by Nos. 68029 and 68003 as the 5Z57/07.50 Carlisle Kingmoor-Carnforth and 5Z58/12.40 return. The expectation is that one of the current Class 37 diagrams will switch to Class 68 power shortly in order to release Northern traincrew for unit training purposes. The first southbound run is pictured running into Grange-over-Sands. Steve Sienkiewicz ■ Nos. 68030 and 68031 have been re-allocated to the XHTP TransPennine Express pool, raising the total to 12 Class 68s.

Network Rail to fit freight loco fleets with ETCS in-cab signalling NETWORK Rail has contracted Siemens Rail Automation to install European Train Control System in-cab signalling on the main freight operators’ locomotive fleets. The £870 million deal will see ETCS added to around 750 locos owned by Colas, DB Cargo, DRS, GBRf, Freightliner Heavyhaul and Freightliner Intermodal. It forms part of the ‘Digital Railway Programme’ – the industry’s plan to tackle growing demand by allowing more trains to run on the current network.

8 RAIL EXPRESS February 2018

The work will begin in 2022, followed by a wider roll-out in 2024-29. Installation teams will be based at Holgate (York) and Eastleigh. Network Rail says it is also working with smaller freight companies and spot hire firms, which are expected to enter agreements with it in the future. The fitment criteria for ETCS will be based on planned mileage, life expectancy and strategic use. The current contract does not include charter and heritage vehicles,

which will be the subject of discussion with the Department for Transport as part of the review for Control Period 6 (the years 2019-24). The Digital Railway Programme will see signalling move from the lineside to in-cab, and should allow trains to run closer together on existing tracks. Siemens’ Trainguard 200 ETCS system (Level 2, Baseline 3) is designed to ensure trains operate within safe limits and speeds, providing safe movement

authority continuously to the driver through a display. The system permits the driver to operate the train, but it will take over should any speed or distance limits be exceeded. It is compatible with the present Automatic Warning System (AWS) and Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) technology. Freight trains have been chosen first, as they travel across the country, passing route boundaries and interacting with various types of train traffic and signals.

HEADLINE NEWS

FIRST TPE ‘802’ TAKES SHAPE:

IN BRIEF

Hitachi has started building the 19 five-car bi-mode trains ordered by Angel Trains for use by TransPennine Express. Set Nos. 802201 and 802202 are being built at Hitachi’s factory in Kasado, Japan (pictured). The rest of the fleet will be built at the company’s factories elsewhere, but they will be maintained at Doncaster. The trains are similar to the Class 800 sets now being introduced by Great Western Railway, but with higher engine operating power and larger fuel tanks to cope with the gradients on the TransPennine network. They will have a maximum speed of 125mph in diesel mode and 140mph in electric mode. The trains are due to enter service with TPE in December 2019 on routes connecting Northern cities with Scotland. Hitachi

TRAM-TRAIN ‘UNREALISTIC’

Peak-hour stops withdrawn with MML timetable change

New intensive Thameslink timetable will increase train frequencies on the Midland route but with fewer intermediate stops for InterCity trains south of Leicester. By ‘Industry Witness’ THE May 2018 Thameslink timetable will increase train frequencies on the Midland route from Bedford to seven per hour, but the consequential timetable recast means that current peak-hour stops by main line services at Bedford and Luton will be withdrawn. There is likely to be further bad news for longer-distance commuters when the Invitation to Tender is issued for the new East Midlands franchise later this year. This will reflect electrification to Corby, with new semi-fast services for Kettering and Wellingborough that will replace stops by the current InterCity services that link Leicester, Sheffield and Nottingham with St Pancras. The lack of electrification beyond Bedford created a need for main line services to make more intermediate stops during the peak, which has slowed journey times between Sheffield and St Pancras to two hours and 25 minutes, compared with off-peak timings of close to two hours. This has reduced the competitiveness of the longer distance trains, so the plan for the future will be to allow a 60-minute journey time

LIME STREET ‘DELTIC’: Pathfinder Tours ran the ‘Trans-Pennine Deltic Reprise’ on December 30, recreating the final years of the Class 55s from 19791981 when spare locos could sometimes be rostered on passenger duties between York and Liverpool. The tour was powered by No. 55009 Alycidon, ‘top and tailed' by No. 68031, and is pictured after its arrival at Lime Street. There was also a mini-tour powered by the ‘68’ via St Helens Central, Ince Moss and Newton-le-Willows to turn the train. Mark Youdan

between London and Leicester and a 90-minute timing to Nottingham. Thameslink trains south from Bedford take 12 minutes longer to reach St Pancras than the 45 minutes taken by main line services. Commuter groups argue there has been no effective consultation, although the outcome was all-too clear once it was revealed that more local services using the fast lines would constrain the pathing time available for stops by main line trains.

EAST COAST ANALOGY

As well as issues about the existing stopping pattern of services, there is a plan to increase the use of Luton Airport from a current annual level of 14.5 million passengers to 38 million by 2050. The surface transport plan includes a requirement for four fast trains per hour between the airport parkway station and London, and the installation of a transit system to connect the main line with the airport terminal. The decline in service standards on the MML is similar to the experience of longer distance commuters after East Coast Main Line electrification, when stops were withdrawn from Huntingdon. Journey times have continued to worsen, as additional intermediate

stops have been added to balance train service capacity. Timings of a little over 30min have now become 50min at best. At least after ECML electrification a pricing differential was established that offered passengers lower prices for the use of slower services compared to those charged for travelling on 125mph trains. Interestingly, most passengers from Peterborough to London prefer to pay the premium. There has to be sympathy with the view of the Bedford Commuters Association, which argues it cannot be right to increase fares by 3.6% and then worsen the service. A consequence of the decision to cancel electrification to Nottingham and Sheffield is that the fleet of High Speed Trains is likely to be needed beyond January 2020, which is the deadline for compliance with regulations that vehicles must be suitable for use by passengers with reduced mobility. Rail minister Paul Maynard says this is a matter for the franchise holder to resolve, which is easier said than done as the available capacity to modify vehicles is fully used up upgrading the ScotRail, CrossCountry, and Great Western HST sets. The earliest date for the delivery of new bi-mode trains for the MML is stated as 2022.

A REPORT by the UK Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee has condemned the delays and cost overruns of the Sheffield-Rotherham tram-train project, which could finally open later this year. Network Rail’s early cost estimates were said to be wholly unrealistic, as they rose from an initial £18.7 million to £75.1 million, while the Department for Transport failed to properly challenge the increase. The report also found that both NR and the DfT do not know how much taxpayers’ money has been wasted on future-proofing for an electrification project (SheffieldDoncaster) that has now been cancelled, a decision that affects the north-eastern section of the tram-train route. To make matters worse, the PAC says neither NR nor the DfT have evaluated how the lessons learned during this pilot project could help reduce the costs of future tram-train schemes.

LOTTERY PULLS LEICESTER MUSEUM FUNDING THE Heritage Lottery Fund has told the Great Central Railway that it will not be supporting its plans for a new railway museum at Birstall, on the northern edge of Leicester, after all. It had been hoped that the HLF would contribute £9.5 million to the project, but this has been cancelled due to concerns about the scheme’s progress and risks. The GCR’s managing director Michael Gough said he was “genuinely astonished” to hear the news, adding: “We will now explore a number of alternative plans. I cannot help but feel hurt that Leicester appears to have been overlooked yet again.” The ‘Main Line’ museum project is a partnership between the Great Central Railway, the National Railway Museum and Leicester City Council. It is planned to be built alongside the GCR’s southern terminus at Leicester North.

HYDRAULIC PUMP SAVES FUEL A TRIAL involving a ScotRail Class 170 has found that replacing a standard hydraulic pump with a digital one developed by Artemis Intelligent Power could save up to 9000 litres of diesel fuel per engine per year. The technology was fitted to vehicle No. 79394 in unit No. 170394. Hydraulic units are used to generate electricity to power things like the carriage’s cooling fans, and they account for 10-15% of the fuel consumption. The Artemis digital pump uses computer-controlled valves to switch its cylinders off when not needed, making it more controllable and efficient. Artemis is also the company behind the conversion of DVT No. 82113 into a self-powered ‘loco’ at Bo’ness.

FIRST IET TO HEREFORD HITACHI Class 800 bi-mode No. 800011 became the first of the new fleet to operate in passenger service over the Cotswold Line on December 31 when it formed the 1W03/12.42 Paddington to Hereford via Oxford and Worcester, which arrived at its destination seven minutes late.

February 2018 RAIL EXPRESS 9

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HEADLINE NEWS

Andania to go main line in 2018 A Class 40 has joined the Locomotive Services fleet and more heritage diesels could follow soon. By David Russell ANOTHER ‘Whistler’ is set to return to the main line during 2018 following the successful conclusion of negotiations between Locomotive Services Ltd and the owners of No. D213 (40013) Andania. The EE Type 4 is to join the new TOC’s fleet in a three-year deal and it is hoped the loco will operate two tours during the course of this year once it is certified for operating on Network Rail metals. It is currently located at the DPS depot at Barrow Hill and is due to appear at the East Lancashire Railway’s Class 40 anniversary event in April. No. D213 made its debut runs in preservation in May 2016 after a lengthy, high-quality restoration at Barrow Hill, which included a full overhaul of many components. Sadly, Trevor Dean, who originally saved the loco for preservation back in 1988, passed away in 2011, so he never managed to see his Class 40 in action. The announcement concerning No. D213 comes just weeks after two ‘Deltics’, Nos. D9016 (55016) Gordon Highlander and 55022 Royal Scots Grey were purchased by Locomotive Diesels Ltd and moved to Crewe for evaluation/return to working order. Discussions are understood to be taking place with at least two other loco owners, which could see further ‘heritage’ diesels heading in the direction of Crewe. E Above: No. D213 in action at the East Lancshire Railway on September 24, 2016 – just a few months after its return to operational condition. It is now set to get main line certification in order to operate tours with Locomotive Services in Crewe.

Right: ‘Deltic’ No. 55022 was moved to Crewe on December 11 by DRS’ Nos. 68003 and 66429, the move from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway being pictured at Eaglescliffe (Teesside). It joins classmate No. 55016 at Crewe although both ‘55s’ are currently out of service. Ian Cooper

Plan launched to rebuild closed railways on the Isle of Wight FOLLOWING threats in recent years to close the Island Line and convert it into a tram or guided busway system, the start of the new South Western franchise (including Island Line) in 2017 offered a unique opportunity, not only to modernise the line, but to double its length, writes Phil Marsh. Proposals were unveiled at a public meeting in Shanklin on December 14 by David Pugh of KILF (Keep Island Line in Franchise), new local MP Bob Seely, the Isle of Wight Steam Railway (IoWSR) and the IOW Bus and Rail User Group. The plan centres on Island Line working with the IoWSR, so long as the two lines are connected at Smallbrook Junction, enabling engineering and maintenance operations to be shared using a common base at Havenstreet. The connection would enable heritage services to run into Ryde St Johns, fulfilling the IoWSR’s long-held ambition. The Ryde tunnel floor, which

10 RAIL EXPRESS February 2018

was raised in 1967 to reduce flood risk on the newly-electrified third-rail line, could be reversed using modern pumping and drainage techniques to allow larger gauge stock to replace the Island Line’s current fleet of ex-London Underground 1938 Tube Stock. An IoW delegation visited Vivarail on December 13 to experience the Class 230 trains, which could be suitable for use on the island.

VENTNOR AND NEWPORT

Aspirations to extend the Island Line back to Ventnor (closed in 1966) were also announced, as was the news that studies have been made to identify a route to extend from the IoWSR’s western terminus at Wootton another three miles to Newport (also closed in 1966). The idea is that through trains could run between Newport and Ryde at peak times without interfering with the heritage line’s operations. The most

A view of Smallbrook Junction from the cab of an Island Line train heading south in 2006. The IoWSR heritage line is beyond the fence on the right. Joining up these two routes could bring benefits to both lines and to residents on the island. Phil Marsh

intriguing of the possible alignments is one that would diverge from the original trackbed to follow a circular route via Newport Harbour and the town centre. Mr Seely said he has been in touch with Transport Secretary Chris Grayling about the plan and had been invited to submit more details in early 2018. ■ Part of the reason the Island Line has been under threat is its unusual financial position. The initial 25-year lease

made at privatisation in the mid-1990s makes the costs of signalling and track maintenance to a depth of 30cm from the railhead the responsibility of the franchisee. Network Rail is responsible for track maintenance below 30cm and also for Ryde Pier. Unlike the mainland rail network, the Island Line does not benefit from the Government’s Network Grant and these two factors inflate the line’s ongoing annual loss.