Railways Illustrated May 2025 issue **20 PAGE FREE PREVIEW** by Mortons Media Group Ltd

When Class 50s worked freight trains

repaints 37 in retro steel livery

RAILWAY WORLD – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Diaries

EXCLUSIVE: GBRf requests ETS for 10 Stadler Class 99s?

down, three to go: GBRf’s latest Class 69 livery revealed

Welcome

Welcome to the May issue of Railways Illustrated,and hopefullyyou won’thave failed to noticethereisa newname in the editor’s chair.Well, Isay new,Imeanold, as I’mdelighted to havetaken up the opportunity to steer the magazine forwardfor asecond time.

Imuststart by expressing my sincereheartfelt thanks to Andy Coward forhis stewardship over the lastthree yearsorso. He’s an excellent writer and an all-round decent man. Iwish him well in his newrolebackworking forWest Midlands Metro.

Andy has lef the magazine ingood shape, andI intend to carrythaton. Therewill be the odd tweak hereand there, but nothing major.As always,I’m open to suggestions, ideasand contributions, be theywords or pictures, so feel free to contactme at rieditor@mortons.co.uk –I’m keeping the same email, which will makethings easier

When the opportunity came to take over the reins again, it wasa no-brainer.I metwith publisher Tim Hartleyoverlunch in Sleaford just beforeChristmas and a‘deal wasstruck’pretty quickly,which made forafestiveperiod thatwas even moreenjoyable than usual.

Of course, in the intervening 10 yearssincemy departure, Ihavecontinued to writefor Railways Illustrated,soIguess youcould say I’mcoming up foranunbroken twodecades ser ving you, the reader! I’mreassuredfromthe positive

commentssinceIannounced my return thatit’s the rightdecision.

I’malready back in thegrooveand I’msure you’ll runintomeatgalas,heritagerailways and on charter trains as Iget to the heart of the subjects thatmeansomuch to us.

As always, we will be ‘going big’ on the heritage scene –the preser vedlocomotives, the railways theyrun on, and the main line scene. We’ll also bring youthe bestofthe modern railway,bethat an elderly Class 37 or 47 or bang up-to-date with the latest kit,likeClass93s and 99s.

Whatwewon’t bog youdownwith is the policy, politics and structure–we’ll leavethattoour friends at other magazines.I knowyou want to seemoreSulzerand EnglishElectricthanHS2 bridges andelectrification conferences! But I’ll be digging intothe detail to getafew exclusive stories and of-diar ybitsand pieces

As always, Railways Illustrated will be the biggest supporter of heritage railways andcharter promoters as itsreadersare their passengers and customers. We will neverbeafraid to call out those not delivering as theyshould be doing, but let’shope thatisnot tooofen!

We arealso supportingthe Rail 200 festivities this year as we celebratethe 200 yearsofthe railway,and we aimtogivethe Alstomevent at Derby in Augustplenty of coverage in the run-up and afer,ofcourse.

KEEP IN TOUCH

If youhaveany comments, photographic contributions,featuresuggestions, or constructivefeedback,please contact Pip Dunn by emailat rieditor@mortons. co.uk or via thepostaladdress provided on page 4.

Comingupinthisissue

The big news this issue is GBRf is onthe verge of signing adealtohave10ofits newClass 99s fittedwith electric train supply,and with it anew sub-class, the 99/4s.

The rumoursthatColas wasgoing to have some of itsClass 37s repoweredare,manywill be pleased to hear,not true.However,itisnow embarking on major exams which will see them in trafic foragood whilelonger,sothat’sgood news. Class 37s at 70 is definitely on!

We present ourannual look ahead at the summer season of diesel galas, and Ihavetosay it has gotmeadding datesintomydiary– Ican seemanyvisitstoheritagerailwaysaroundthe countryoccupying my time this year.I’vealready blocked of the Severn Valley, the North Yorkshire Moors, EastLancs and GreatCentral eventsinmy already busy calendar I’malso looking forwardtotrying to gettosome of the country’ssmaller railways and givethem the coverage Ifeel theydeserve

The main featureinthis issue looks back on Class 50s working freight trains. It beganlife some time agoasacommission forour sister publication, TheRailway Magazine,and is now finally seeing the light of day,I’m pleased to say.

Paul Roberston,a prolific photographer in his ownright,has in recent yearsbought up afew collections and presentsasuperb selection of green diesels in the 1960s (and, ahem, onefrom 1971, but let’snot split hairshere!)

Ihavea lotofgreat Nostalgia pictorial features in thepipeline… I’msuremostreaders won’tobject to one an issue looking back at the green era, the BR blue eraand, even, thesectorisation/early privatisation era?

TenPictures comes from thelens of my good friend Paul Waring, and he’s put together agood mix of great images from his digital years. Some of the shots which only seem likeyesterday are actually 20-odd yearsold.

Ihope youenjoythis issue,and Ilook forwardto welcomingyou to agreat magazine everymonth.

Pip Dunn

On Sale Date: Usually first Thursday of the month

This Issue On Sale: April 3, 2025

Next Issue On Sale: May 8, 2025

EDITOR: Pip Dunn

ARTEDITOR: Kelvin Clements

PAGE DESIGNERS: Druck Media

PRODUCTION EDITOR: Lucy Wood

PUBLISHER: Tim Hartley

PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: DanSavage

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66 10 Pictures: Paul Waring

This month’s 10 Pictures comes from Derbyshire-based Paul Waring. He thanks his dad forhis passion forthe railway,with the pair taking regular days out by train from when Paul wasveryyoung. These trips could involveaday of ‘depotbashing’ or just asimple day out by the lineside watching the trains go past.

Recreating the

Highland

freight

On March 9, 26038 and agoods train washired foraphoto charter at the Bo’ness &Kinneil Railway.Chris Gee provides the pictures.

The easiestand cheapestway to getyourcopy of RailwaysIllustrated each month is to take out asubscription. Full detailsare on page 64/65. At the moment,a subscription by Direct Debit means youwill beat any pricerises, you usually receivethe magazine earlier than the on-sale date,and youwon’t miss an issue.

TenETS Class99s on thecards

GB RAILFREIGHT is expectedtohave 10 of itsClass 99 Electro-diesel locos fittedwith Head End Power–orElectricTrain Supply (ETS) as it is referred to in the UK.

This would allowittowork on the RoyalScotsman trains without the need forthe train to include ageneratorcar,which in turn would allow Belmond to dispense withits generatorcar,currently in Mk.3 99968.

As well as the generator, thatcoach has four berths forpassengers, but replacing it wouldallowanextra full sleeper coach to be incorporated in the train. This would giveRSthe scope to carry anotherfour passengers, thus increasing patronagefrom36to40, making each train 10% morecost-efective. It could be that99968 is merely rebuilt internallyto provide extraaccommodation

Using Class 99sonthe RoyalScotsman would allowGBRftoexploit its 25kV AC capability on those sections of itsitinerarywhich run under the wires. Their 2415hp engineswill bemorethan capable when on

non-electrified lines. It would also release Class 66s forfreight work. It would also enable Class99s to be available forother passenger work, such as charters. However,using Class 99s on Caledonian Sleeper trains would only be possible if some locomotives arefittedwith Dellner couplers, but would enable traintorun from Euston to Inverness without changing locos FittingDellner would be acostly modificationwhich wouldprobablyonlybe viable if CS wanted them.

The 10 locos areexpectedtobe numbered in adiferentsub-class, 99/4s –99401-410. Thereare also unconfirmed reportsthatGBRf will be exercising the option for20moreClass 99s to makethe fleet 50 locomotives. It is still the plan that99001-003 will arriveinthe UKthisyear; 99001 is currently at the test trackatVelim in the Czech Republic,with99002/003 built and undergoing further testsin Valencia. Production of locos will resume with99004oncethe first three havebeen accepted forUKuse.

They willwork the RoyalScotsman and other charter trains. It also expectedthatthe fullorder of 50 Class 99scouldnow be exercisedas well, which would then see GBRf take deliveryof99001-040 and 99401-410. GBRf

NR announcestourofRail200 Inspiration touringtrain

NETWORKRAIL’S newexhibition train, Inspiration,will tour thecountryto mark 200 yearsofthe modern railway and makestops at manylocations.

The mobile attraction –developed in partnership with the National RailwayMuseum –will showcase the past, present and futureofthe rail industry to an estimated200,000 visitors.

Four Mk.3coaches acquired by NR arebeing converted intothe exhibition train,called Inspiration because it will promote rail innovation and careers. Supported by a£250,000 National LotteryHeritageFund grant and operated by GB Railfreight,itwill make60stops in England,Scotland and Wales as part of the year-long Railway200 celebration. AClass 66 will be used to haul the train, and a special liveryisplanned forit.

Afer starting at the Severn Valley RailwayinJune, the bicentenarytrain will be at Doncaster’sFreightliner depot during August15-18. The launch schedule also includesavisit to Darlington station on September 10-19, the month which in 1825 saw the openingofthe Stocktonand Darlington Railway Inspiration will also be at the National RailwayMuseumonAugust 23-31 and Shildon Locomotionfrom September20toOctober 1.

The exhibition coaches comprise Railway Firsts, exploring rail’sinnovation and development,Wonderlab on Wheels, featuringinteractive STEM-based learning, Your Railway Future, acareers carriageshowcasing some of the morehidden roles in rail, and the Partner Zone, ofering a free, flexible exhibition space.

Emma Roberts, programme manager forRailway 200, across-sector,Government-backed campaign, said: “This special exhibition trainwill provide a unique visitor experience forhundreds of thousands of people around Britain, including many schoolchildren.

“Inspiration will excite,enlighten, entertain and encouragepeople to take afresh view of therailway,as part of itsbicentenarycelebrations.

“It will also invitevisitorstoconsider acareer in rail by showcasing the extensivevariety of roles available. We look forwardtowelcoming them on boardfor anunforgettable and potentially life-changing experience.”

Admission to the train will be free but normalentrycharges to heritagesites and museums apply. Prior booking is required, with early registrations of interestnow open

Meanwhile, the latest attractions to be addedtothe Greatest Gatheringevent at Derby LitchurchLane on August1-3 include: diesel locos –C las s3 3D 651 5 Lt Je nnyLew is RN,Europhoenix’s37501 Teesside Steelmaster,40106, HST powercar 43159, WCRClass 47, 50033 Glorious,55009 Alycidon,D9015 Tulyar, 55019 RoyalHighland Fusilier and 58023 Leicester Depot;electriclocos –9 1101 Flying Scotsman ,9 1111 Fo rt he Fa llen ROG Cl ass 93, 12 Sarah Siddons;EMUs– aNorthern Class 331, LNwR Class350, 390119 Progress,507001, 799201; steam locos –CoalTank 1054, Furness 20, 46115 ScotsGuardsman;and coaching stock –the LUL’s4-TCset and LMS saloon 45029.

The itineraryof Inspiration:

Dates

June 27-July 6

July 8-10

July 12-15

July 18/19

July 20/21

July 23-29

August1-3

Location

Severn ValleyRailway,Kidderminster

Birmingham Moor Street station

Eustonstation

Waterloo station

Margate

Bluebell Railway

AlstomDerbyLitchurch Lane, August7-10 Norwich

August11-14 Lowestof August16-17 Freightliner DoncasterRailport

August23-31

National Railway Museum, York

September 10-17 Darlington station, September 20-October 1 Locomotion museum, Shildon

HNRCStooverhaulColas 37s

HNRC SWEITELSKY is starting an F-examprogramme on the Colas Class 37 fleet, with 37421 the first in line forthe work.Colas has sevenClass 37s in itsfleet, 37057/099/116/175/219/254/421, and it hires locos from HNRCSand Sheaf Engineering as required to fulfil itsinfrastructuremonitoring contractwith NetworkRail HNRCS’sDan Ryder has spoken about the company’splans followingthe acquisition of HNRC.Hetold RailwaysIlustrated:“We aredoing an assessment of all the fleet. Most of the 20s and 37s will be retained, but we need to getafull assessment [of the assets]beforewestart any

disposal. We need to getthe house in order,sotospeak.Weare also waiting on [the next roundof] Network Rail contracts.”

Meanwhile, HNRCShas sent 08500 forscrap,and many of the other 08s thatare spareparts do no rs or be yo nd econom ic repair arealsoexpectedtobe disposed of Other locomotives which face an uncertainfuturewiththe company will be some of the moreheavily stripped Class 20/3s, the two Class 73/9s, and possibly some of the Class 37/0s. It is also likely that many of the industrial shunters will be sent forscrap or sale.

Stadler is planning to fit ETSto10ofits Class 99s forGBRailfreight, which will be Class 99/4s.

Threenew trains from UK Railtours

UK RAILTOURS has added three extra trains to its2025 programme.

The ‘Deva Victrix’isset forMay 10 and heads to North Wales. Passengers canalight at Chesterorstayonboard to visitthe Quay sidingand theninto the Glan Conwy freight depot, at Llandudno Junction. The train starts at Euston, being aGBRf Class 57/3 to Chester, and then aClass 60 will work along the North Wales coastand back to Crewe. Thereisalsoanof-train option to visit the Llangollen Railwayortakeahorse-drawn boat trip on theLlangollenCanal.

The ‘Thundering Shed’ is setfor the following Saturday,May 17, and starts at theChinnor &Princes Risborough Railway,with aDBCargo Class 66 leading and Hanson &Hall’s 50008 Thunderer on the rear of the London Underground’s4-TCset.

Afterreversal at Princes Risborough, 50008 will head north to Bicesterand then to Oxford.Aferreversing again, the66willtakethe trainover the recently reopened line to Bicesterand Bletchleyand on to Milton Keynes and Northamptonfor abreak

The return to Chinnoristhe 50 to Oxford and the66toPrincesRisborough forthe 50 back into Chinnor

Finally,the ‘SoulExchanger’isset forMay 24 and is areminder of days past when through Summer Saturday trains ranfromEustontoAberystwyth.This will leaveLondon behinda 47/57 locoand run via Rugby, Nuneatonand SuttonPark to Wolverhampton, whereitwill giveway to two Class37s,atleast oneaNRClass 97/3, forthe run to Aberystwyth. Thereis the option of aride on the Vale of Rheidol Railway.

Westernheads to Plymouth with VintageTrains

VINTAGE TRAINS is taking theDiesel Traction Group’s D1015 Western Champion from Birmingham NS to Plymouth on May 10, with the added bonus of atrip overthe SouthDevon Railway to Buckfastleigh added into the itinerary.

The train will run via Warwick Parkway, Oxford and BristolTMbefore heading west through Somerset intoDevon via Taunton and Exeter St David’s. It willtravelalong the famous

Dawlish seawall and thenclimb the Devonbanks of Dainton, Ratteryand Hemerdon unassisted.

On the return, the train will stop at Totnes and then head along the Dart ValleytoBuckfastleigh,the firsttime aClass 52 has tackled this seven-mile branch line.

VintageTrains isunderstood to be also looking to take D1015toCarlisle via both the WCML and Settle &Carlisle lines.

VT’s37240 is close to returning to trafic, buta proposed April 12 trip along the Central Wales line has been shelved. The firm told RI:“In terms of atestrun, 37240 will be tested in the local area,similar to whatwewould do with steamlocos, andthis would culminate in aloadedtestrun. Thatis due to happen in the comingweeks. Oncethatisall signed of,itwill likely build up mileageasasupport loco on our other trains to really bed it in.

“In terms of the work on the loco, this has been completedand is just awaiting running-in and testing. In terms of the livery, thelong-term plan is to repaintitintoBRgreen butatthe moment it is still in Transraillivery.” Some work has been carried out on VT’sothermain line loco, 47773, during the winter.Oncethe 37 is up and running, it will take over moreof the rostered duties to allowfor more work to continue on the 47.

UK Railtourshas announced anumber of new chartersfor the early summer months, heading to avariety of destinations and using amix of traction. On February22, 20142 Sir John Betjeman waitsatWorcester Shrub Hill on the rear of its ‘ShakespereanSonnet’ trip from Paddington to Stratford-on-Avon. Pip Dunn

One of the most audaciousCoastwayworkingsof2025, on March16, 73128 The Kent &EastSussexRailway and73107 Tracy pilot66782, which had failed at Christs Hospital to the south of Horsham, approaching the end of the engineering block in order to originally work the 6G16 BillingshurstEastleigh Eastyard. The EDs were working 3Y07,the 05.05TonbridgeWestYard-Tonbridge West Yard circular SITT duty and were commandeered to rescue 6G16. Some four hourslate, the trainpasses Havant heading to Totton Yard. SteveStubbs

Harr yNeedlesells Class47s

HARRYNEEDLE has sold four of the fiveClass 47s thatheretained and were notpart of the sale to Swietelsky

47703 has been acquired by Nemesis Rail, 47715 Haymarket by Rail Engineering Solutions and 47843/847 by West CoastRailways. 47785 remains at the Wensleydale Railway andits futureisunclear

Of these sales, RES’s Mike Vaughan told Railways Illustrated:“Over time, 47715 will be returned to main line co ndition. RES de ve lops OT MR systems,and we will use47715asa testbed forthat.

“Wewill forthe latest version of OTMR to be used as ademonstratorfor our customers. Anew livery is planned forthe locomotive. We will move it from Worksoptoanew base, possibly at Crewe, Leicester, Derby RTCorPrinces Risborough –ithas still to be decided. The main focus nowis to getitupand running. Luckily,the tyres aregood.”

This loco, whichwas withdrawn by EWSi nN ove mber 1996, wa s bought by Fragonsetrailways in 2001, but while repainted black and named Poseidon,itnever actually returnedtothe main line.Itwas sold to Cotswold Rail and then to HNRC, which returned it to useonheritagelines.

Afer 31190/454, 47703 is the third locothatNemesis Rail has bought which waspreviously owned by FragonsetRailways,the company which went bust in early2007, with Martin Sargent and RogerBulmer then setting upNemesis Rail at Buron-upon-Trent

It hasn’trun on the main line for decades, havingbeen bought by HNRC in Februar y2008 after Cotswold Rail ranintofinancial dificulties. It wasmorerecently usedasa carriageheateratWabtec’sDoncaster site. Nemesis is already planning to return 47701 to the mainline, and it is possible that47703 could do likewise.

GBRf fornew Belmondtrain

GB RAILFREIGHT is duetosigna contract to become theoperator of thenew Belmond Britannic Explorer luxurytrain, which is settostart running this year

Thetrainswilluse arakeofex-Irish Mk.3 coaches acquired by Belmond a decade agofor use on itsGrand Hibernian luxurytrain in Ireland thatlaunched in 2016.The coaches arenow at the AssentasiteatHamilton forconversion.

The coaches were built by BREL at DerbyLitchurch Lane in 1984-88 for use in Ireland and lastedintraficwith

Iarnród Éireann until 2008/09. They areexpected to be renumbered for use on Network Rail.

GBRfhas been operating the Royal Scotsman forBelmond since2015, usually hauled by oneofthe twodedicatedClass 66s –66743/746 –which wear RS livery. It is likely this will switch to Class 99/4s in the near future.

Theother Belmondtrain,the British Pullman,isoperatedbyDBCargo and expectedtoremain sofor the foreseeable future.

WCRhas acquired 47843/847 for spareparts andwerecollected by 37518/685/706 on March10and takentoCarnforth. Theywerelast

owned by RivieraTrains and hired to GB Railfreight and havenot run for severalyears afer sale to Rail Operations Group

Tf W’snew bike Class

153/5s entertrafic

THEFIRST of six fully refurbished Class 153/5 ‘cycle travel’ trainshas been put intotrafic by Transport forWales on the Heart of Wales Line. The first unit in trafic is 153552, which waspreviously153352.

The first working by a153/5was on February25, when 153552 joined 153382 on the 05.16 Swansea-Llandovery.Aferreturning to Swansea, they worked the 08.56 Swansea-Shrewsburyand 13.54 return.

The six unitsbeing converted are153307/328/331/352/968/972, with their fourth digit changing to the number five. The y will work in multiple with Tf W’s otheractiveClass 153/0s and when the full Class 197 and 756 fleets havebeen accepted into trafic, Tf Wwill retain the seven Class 153/0s it owns outright –153303/312/318/327/353/362/382 –toworkthe HeartofWales Line withthe 153/5, whichitalsoowns.

The second completedconversion,153531(ex-153331),was releasedfromLandoretoCanton on February26tobepreparedfor trafic and wasjoined by 153528 (formerly153328) on March12.

The latter unit undertook itsfirst test runs following conversion on February19/20, running from LandoretoCrewe via Herefordon both occasions with 153531.

Porterbrook 153320/323/325/ 329/333/361/367/369, plus the nine Class 153/9s (which do not haveoperational toilets), will then be returned to their owner and disposed of

By the summer,TfW hopes all six unitswill be in trafic, allowing passengerstobring up to 12 bicyclesand e-bikesonboard trains thatrun between Swanseaand Shrewsburyvia Llandrindod –10 in the 153/5 and twoina153/0. The unitshavebeen refurbished by ChrysalisRail, at Landoredepot, Swansea, in partnershipwithTfW Until thatpoint,only twobikes can be brought on boarda Class153, in line with all other TfWtrains. TfWsaid the 153/5s arebeing introduced to tap intothe walking and cycling opportunities in Swansea, Carmarthenshire, Powys and Shropshire. Theywill also ofer additionalseats compared with the single-car trains thatcurrently operateonthe line.

Each bikecarriageisinaspecially designed liverytoreflectthe best the Heart of WalesLine has to ofer. The projecthas seenanumber of seatsremovedfrom six of Tf W’s Class 153 trains to make wayfor 10 bikespaces, with room fortandems too. The carriages will be coupled to aStandard Class carriagewhich includes afully accessibletoilet and spacefor afurthertwo bikes, making up the totalof12.

Running in two-carformation, the cycle carriages will offer a totalof108 seats, an increase of 42 compared with the single-carriagetrains thathavepreviously operated on the line.

153552 entered serviceinFebruary, and the remaining fivewill join the fleetinthe run-up to thesummer to ensureasmooth introduction

HSTpower carcatches fire

SCOTRAIL HST powercar 43021 caught fireatthe TayBridgein Dundee while leading 1A79, the 09.30 Edinburgh-Aberdeen, on February28. The rear locowas 43181 and the trailerswereset HA23.

ScotRail engineering director MagnusConn said:“Therootcause of this incident is still under investigation. Initial findings confirm it wasnot due to an engine fault or relatedtofuel or oil.”

Deltic nameplate hammer pricesmashes auctionrecord

AN AMEPLAT E from 5500 5 The PrinceofWales’sOwn Regiment of Yorkshire brokethe record fora diesel loconameplate soldatauction on February23, when it went under the hammer for£35,100, whichafer costswent up to £41,418.

It is the thirdClass 55 nameplate to breakthe record,with 55018 Ballymoss previously selling for£32,400 in 2023 and 55014 The DukeofWellington’sRegiment, which held the record forseveral yearswhen it wassold for £31,400 in 2002.

NewasD9005 in May 1961 and allocatedtoGatesheaddepot, Newcastle, the locowas officially named at York on October 6, 1963. As the run-down of the Class 55s started due to being replaced by HSTs,now numbered 55005,inMay 1979 it transferred to York depot. The loco

wasthree months shy of accumulating 20 yearsintrafic when it was withdrawn on February21, 1981, and takentoDoncasterWorks.

However, unlikeother 55s which were scrapped within afew weeks of arrival, 55005 wasretained for ashort while. This wasbecause the National Railway Museum had laid claim to 55002 The King’sOwn YorkshireLightInfantry fordisplay afer itswithdrawal. However, were 55002 to havesufered aserious accident,the desiretohavea‘Yorkshire’ Delticmeant 55005 avoidedimmediate disposal until 55002 wassafely handed over

Afer the class wasfinally withdrawn in January 1982, other locos jumped the queue forbreaking up anditwas notuntil February1983 when cutting up of 55005 wasundertaken.

Class47works servicetrain

THE EARLY hoursofMarch 3saw an unexpectednighttime passenger working foraClass 47 whenWest CoastRailways’47815 Great Western wascalled to assist1N36, the 22.05 King’sCross-York,fromPeterborough to Doncaster, diverted via Spalding and Lincoln.

The train, aMk. 4set hauledby 91109 Sir BobbyRobson,was held at Peterboroughdue to ablockageon the ECML. As it wasthe lastnorthbound LNER of the day,the decision wastaken to divert it.

It arrived at Peterboroughat just gone midnight,some 76 minutes late,

and by the time the green Brush Type 4was added, it was129 minuteslate setting of along the GNGE Joint Line.

The train arrived at Doncaster nearly three hourslateat02.50, whereitwas terminatedand passengers takenforward by road transport.

This is the first Class 47 to work a ser vicetrain in 2025 and demonstratedthe value instationing two WCRlocos at Thunderbirdsonthe ECML.

Therewereonlythree main line Class 47 workings in 2024 and allof them were rescuemissions on the ECML using the WCRThunderbirds.

NetworkSouthEast returnstoCharing Cross

FEBRUARY25 saw Network SouthEast return to CharingCross forone day only when re-liveried Class465 Networker 465908 wasoficially unveiled in its retro coloursand named Chris Green Passengersarriving on the concourse were greetedwithNSE signageand clock on the main departureboard and

in afitting touch, all the pre-recorded station announcementsweretweaked to broadcastthe prefix ‘NetworkSouthEastserviceto…’ 465908 arrived forits dayofgloryas the 09.00 ECSfromGillinghamdepot, with 465192 on the rear.Afer the pair were uncoupled and 465192 departed

forGrove Park carriagesidings, the ceremony commenced, hosted by Southeastern MD SteveWhite. Rail MinisterLordPeter Hendy was one of twoguests of honour and in an unscriptedspeech notedthe durability of the railways through twoworld wars,the Covid-19 pandemic and to today’sRailway 200 celebrations, and saidhelooked forwardtoa“marvellous future.”LordHendy notedthe Government’sdeterminationto changethe railway,stating that the present regimecosts toomuch, and he described bringing infrastructure and operations together as an obvious solution

Mr Whi te then int ro duced the second guestofhonour,Chris Green, as “the railway’sBrian Clough –a genius thatcreated so much success.”

In his speech, Mr Green remembered Network SouthEast’sdesiretobe noticed, hencepainting trains like “spearmint toothpaste,” andsaidthat NSEshowedwhatcould be “achieved by working together acrosstrack and

train and putting customersatthe heart of decision-making.”

He also re ca lled thatC haring Cross wasa fitting location forthe ce re mony as it wa si nt he adjacent Charing Cross Hotelthatthe contractfor the Networkerswas signed in 1989. He looked forward to 465908 doing “laps of honour ” around Kent in thefuture.

Sophie Barker,ofSoutheastern’s majorprojectteam, then outlined the futur e, looking fo rw ar dt o train procurement options including improved accessibility,full air co ndi ti oni ng and small traction batteries foruse in situations of loss of powerdue to trespass or frozen conductorrail.

Fo ll ow in gt he sp ee che s, Lo rd Hendy and Mr Gr een lifted the curtain to re veal –ver yfittingly –the latter ’s name adorning the unit.MrWhitethen concluded by noting thatthe repaint had been a gif from Angel Trains and carried out by Wabtec at Doncaster.

AnameplatefromDeltic 55005 The PrinceofWales’sOwn Regiment of Yorkshire has sold at auction foranew record of £35,100. On May 27, 1978, the locomotiveworks 1S21, the 10.55 King’sCross-Edinburgh. Rail Photoprints

The first servicetrain passenger working by aClass 47 this year happenedovernight on March 3when 47815 Great Western wascalled to drag aheavilydelayed 22.05 King’sCross-York from Peterborough to Doncastervia Spalding. The 47 waitstoset of with 91109 Sir BobbyRobson in tow. The train wasterminatedatDoncasterthree hourslate Colin Barker

On February25, 465908 arrives emptyfromGillingham, proudly displaying itsretro Network SouthEastlivery. David Staines

Hungarian47tourcancelled

THE BRUSH Type 4Fund has been forced to cancel itsplanned May 17-19 tour in Hungaryusing 47375 and an ex-BR Class 56 and twoex-BR Class86s. NigelAntolic,fromthe BT4F,said: “It is with aheavy heart thatwehave made the decision nottoproceed with running the tour.”

The first issue wasthe news that KomplexRail, which operates47375, had ceased running trainsdue to financial dificulties. In order forittoresumeoperations, the national operator required thedebttobesettled,and abusiness plan put in place. This washighly unlikely to havehappenedbyMay.

Secondly came the news thatdue to areorganisation within the Hungarian state railway company,MÁV-HÉV wasnolonger allowedtoadminister and run charter trains outside of its ownsuburban lines.

Nigel sai d: “This fo rced us to look fo ra nother prov ider,w ith

Continental Railway Solution (CRS) and MAVRailTours being theonly options available to us. Because CRS wasoriginally chartered by MÁV-HÉV to run the train intoCroatia and Sloveniaand providethe coaching stock,itsounded logical to ask CRS to plan thewholetrip

“CRSsaid it would be able to run our train andgaveusaninitial estimate of the cost withthe tour plan as previously advertised. When the actual quote arrived,the cost had increasedsignificantly –and four locomotives were missing [from the itinerary].

“Weasked it why some locomotives were lefofthe quote, with CRSclaiming thatV-Híd asked for[excessive money] forits machines, so it had not included them. All we cansay about this cost forhiring V-Híd locos is that we certainly didn’t payanything like thatamount forlastyear’sV-Híd M62s.

SRPS headstoEngland

THE SCOTTISH Railway Preservation Society ranit‘SevenCounties Rambler’charter on March 8, which took itsrakeofMk. 1and Mk .2 coaches intoEngland fora circular trip in the Northern Fells. Thetrain,operatedbyLocomotive Services,started at Linlithgow hauled

by Railfreight grey 20118 Saltburnby-the-Sea and 20132, which ranto Carlisle via Shottsand the Glasgow Sou’ Westernroute throughDumfries. Heretheywereswapped forBRgreen classmates20096 and 20107 Jocelyn Fielding,which were standing in for 50050 Fearless.Theyran via the Settle

The SRPSran its‘Seven Counties Rambler’charteronMarch 8using twopairsof Class 20s and apair of Class 37s. The middle section of theday wasa circular run from Carlisle, out via the S&C and returning from Prestonvia Shap.20096/107 –running as D8096 and D8107 –come of RibbleheadViaduct Phil Chiton

Newlookfor locos

TWOLOCOS were expected out of the paintshops as this issue closed forpress, with 37422 at UKRL at Lo ugh borough fo rrepai nt in g intothe newSwietelsky liver y, which will be different to the HNRCSorangecurrently seen on 20302/311/314 and 37405/607. Meanwhile, 69014 h as be en at Arlington FleetServices fora repaint intoacaramel and chocolate liveryinspired by the 1960s Brush/Sulzer 4, 000hp Ty pe 5 HS4000 Kestrel.

“However, in the meantime, V-Híd Cargoceased to exist, andprices are nowprovided by adiferentcompany called V-Híd AssetManagement.

“Wethenasked forCRS to revise the quote to provide fora one-day tour with the locomotives we asked for, only to be told thatthe deposit paid did notcover afresh quote!

“This lef us with theonly option available– to poll passengerson whether theywould book on atour with whatwas on offer.Unfortunately,the resultsspeak forthemselves. As apreservation group,we really can’taford to gamble with our resources, and we will havetoaccept we will lose our deposit.”

Nigel acknowledged thatmany will havealready booked flightsand hotels and said movesare afootto provide some sort of ‘exclusive’ rail interestinthe countryfor those who aregoing to travel regardless.

and Carlisle line to Hellifield, then via BlackburntoPreston andbacknorth on the WCML via an assault of Shap Back at Carlisle, 37403 Isle of Mull, whichhad been on the rear allday, wasjoined by 37409 Loch Awe, and theyreturned the train to Scotland via the Tyne Valleyand therecently upgraded Blyth and Tyne Route. At

He concluded: “Our biggestregret is letting all our passengersdown. We knowhow dificult and costly it is to book flightsand hotels, and to arrangeannual leave. The expense is significant,and we aretruly sorry. The twotourswehaverun in Hungary were both well supported, with our trip lastyearbeing exceptional.To allthosewho travelledwithus, we thank youfor your support.Toall those looking to book with us forthe first timethis year,we aregrateful to youtoo.Again,our humble apologies.

“Will we be able to come back from this? We arenot sure, to be honest. With little in the wayofoptions for tour operators,this could be the final curtain. We would love to havehad another bash at getting 47375 out and to ofer whatcould be afinal chance at bagginga 56 and 86 in Hungary. The futurefor these V-Híd machines is uncertain but neversay never!”

Grantshouse Loop,37409 ranround foroperational reasons forwhen the train arrived back at Linlithgow TheSRPSMK. 1stock will be based at Crewefor the summer and used on some of itstrains, such as the June 21-23 Class20tourtoKyleofLochalsh, but also forthree InterCity trips on June 6, July 12 and July 26.

HSTs on themove

ANUMBER of HSTpowercarshave been movedabout,some forscrap and othersready forpreparation forexportbyRomic to Mexico.

On March 2, 50008 Thunderer collectedex-LNER 43112/238/319 from Derehamand took them to the Nemesis Rail siteatBurton-upon-Trent.ThenonMarch 3, 43153/194 lefLairaand were movedunder their ownpower by Hanson &Hall to Dereham via astopoveratChaddesden.

The next move wasonMarch 7when ROG’s37884 Cepheus and freshly repainted 37501 Teesside Steelmaster collected43017/020, 43174/191at Ely Papworth Sidings and took them to the Mid-Norfolk Railway

43174/191 were lefatthe heritagerailway, and the two37s then to p- and-ta iled 43017/020 as 0Q98, the 13.28 Dereham-Burton WetmoreSidings.

Alsomoving to Burton have been 43160/162, which were takenby road on March 4and 7respectively, while 43315 wastaken by road form Ely to Derham on March 7. Meanwhile, afer repairstoits cab undertaken by BrodieRail Engineering at Kilmarnock,43129 has been returned to ScotRail,while 43185 has been broken up forscrap by EMR at Liverpool in late February. 43006/027 havealso been sent to EMRatKingsburyfor scrapping in late February.

2when it

An unusual move for50008 Thunderer wasonMarch

worked 5M43, the 15.31 Wymondham-Chaddesden, taking 43112/238/319 to Burton in readiness fortheir preparation forexport to Mexico. The Hanson &Hall 50 passes Whittlesey running some 40 minutes early. PipDunn

LSL57onhiretoGWR

GWRPowercars43156 Maen Castle and 43186 TauntonCastle haul 57602 Restormel Castle and itstrain of sleeper coaches from Plymouth LairatoPenzancepast Crugwallins on March 12. The 57 hadfailed thatmorningand theHSTs, with their trailers, dragged it back from MenheniottoPlymouth. Jon Hird

DUE TO ashortageofser viceable Class 57s, GreatWestern Railway has hired 57311 The Institution of Mechanical Engineers from LSLto provide coverfor itsNight Riviera sleeper operations between Paddingtonand Penzance.

It joins 57312–inROG blue, butpart of the GB Railfreight fleet–incovering forthe two57/6s which areundergoing aF-examprogramme, 57604/605.

Ex-DRS57301 has finally been returned after hand-backrepairs and is nowpart ofthe GBRf fleet, and itisexpectedtomove to GWR to join 57312.

Therewas more trouble forGWR on March 12 when 57602, working 1C50, the23.45Paddington-Penzance, failed witha loss of power near Menheniot. The train wasduly cancelled and 43156 MaenCastle and

43186 Taunton Castle,with their fourcoach Castle setofMk. 3s, were sent from Plymouth to drag the stricken trains back to Laira.

The powercarsthen were removed from their trailersand coupled backto-back to take the sleeper stock to Penzance as 5Z50,the 12.03 Plymouth-Long Rock TRSMD.

With 57602failed, and57603 undergoinganexamatLongRock, it means forashort period all four 57/6s were inactive.However,57602 was repaired at Lairaduringthe day and

ranlight to Penzancetowork 1A50, the 21.45 to Paddington thatnight However, 57311 then sufered some issues, so with loco availabilitystill poor,tocounteractthis, GBRf was able to hastily despatch 57305 to work 1C50 on the night of March 12. The ECSwas brought in by 57312, which remained on the rear of the train to Reading, where it wasthen addedto57602’sUptrain to actas the release locoatPaddington and return the coaches to Reading where theyare maintained.

Newlookfor CrossCountry Turbostar

Asecond Freightliner locohas beenpaintedinananniversarylivery, with 66501 being unveiled in anorangeversion of the greenlivery applied to 70008. Freightliner

CROSSCOUNTRYTRAINS has taken deliveryofits first refurbished Class 170 Turbostaraferoverhaul.170101 is the first of 29-strong fleet to be upgraded and nowsportsastriking pink/red livery. Next in line is 170102, which wasbeing worked on at Arriva Traincare’sCrewe site. TheXCT Turbostarfleet,all leased from Porterbrook,comprises all17 ex-Midland Mainline Class 170/1s –10 three-car units(170101-110) and seven two-carsets(170111-117). Another 12 three-car unitssupplement them –170397/398 and170618-623/636-639 –giving afleetof80vehicles

All arebased at Tyseleydepotin Birmingham and used on twocoreroutes, NottinghamtoCardif via Birmingham NS and Birmingham NS to Stanstead Airport via Leicesterand Peterborough.

The refurbishment programme sees newtables, seatsand carpets fitted, and passengerswill also nowbenefit from mainsand USBplug sockets at all seats. Thereisafull interior and exterior repaint, refurbishedtoilets, and improved passenger screens with moreinformation. This is also an increase in the number of StandardClass seatsfollowing the removal of the First Class seats. NewCCTVand automatic passenger counting equipment is also added to the trains.

Because some unitswill nowno longer haveFirst Class seats, XCThas declassified itsunrefurbished Class 170s, so First Class seatsare available to StandardClass passengers.

The Class 170 re furbishment programme is due to run until2028, with theupgrade of thefirm’sfleetof 70 four and five-carBeaconRailClass 220/221 VoyagerDEMUs due to start laterthis year

Newunits into traf ic

ALL BUT one of the Transport for Wales Class 756 Stadlerbi-mode unitshavenow entered traffic, with just756110 to carrypassengers forthe first time.

The penultimate Tf WClass 756 bi-mode unit to enter trafficwas 756101, whichwas put intouse on March 10, and followed756103 on Februar y20onthe 05.24 Cardif-Merthyr Tydfil, 756109 on February27, and 756113 on March

6. The seven756/0 three-car sets haveyet to enter trafic. Another Class 197 intotrafic was 197029 on February22, when it worked the 04.46 Chester-Crewe. FivemoreClass720s haveentered use with Greater Anglia. On March 1, 720141, 720503/510/516 all carried passengersfor the first time, followedby720143 on March 3. The only GA 720s yettocarrypassengers are720104, 720504/505/534.

The poor availability of Class 57s has ledtoGWR hiring 57311 The Institutionof Mechanical Engineers from LSL. On March 11, the LNWR black 57 calls at St Austell with 1C50, the23.45 Paddington-Penzance. JonHird

CrossCountryTrains’first Turbostar to be refurbished andre-liveried,170101, stands at Birmingham New Street XCT

Europhoenixgoesback to 1987 with Retrosteel Class37

EUROPHOENIX’S 37601 has been repainted intothe light blue British SteelliveryitcarriedfromFebruary 1987 and in the process regained its previous number of 37501. It has also been reunited with aset of Teesside Steelmaster nameplatesit carried from March1987 untilJanuary 1991

The repaint,undertaken by UKRL at its Loughborough siteinMarch, has slight tweaks, such as sporting an EPXlogo, but is an excellent representation of the original liverybestowedon37501, with white ThornabyKingfishers,British Steel logos and cant rail stripes.

Later, 37501 had coloured Kingfisher logos and then adarkerblue solebar stripe, but this wasremoved. Laterstill, blacknameplatesand then black British steel logos were added and laterhad black Teesrail in awhite border addedtothe cabsides.Itwas paintedintoTrainload Meal livery in August 1989 butretainedits name

Nowthe oldest main line Class37, it wasnew as D6705 in January 1961 and became 37005 in February1974, beforebeing selectedtobe the first Class 37/0 to be refurbished as aClass 37/5 in June 1985, emerging in RailfreightgreyliveryinApril 1986.

It wasone of 12 Class 37/5s selected to be converted to Class 37/6s foruse on Nightstar trains, aprojectthat neverhappened. It wassold to DRS

in February2008 and then Europhoenix in April 2017.

It is the secondEPX Class 37 to repainted intoaretro BR livery following 37901 Mirrlees Pioneer returning to Trainload Metals livery

More unit changesonGTR

MORE CLASS 379s haveentered traffic on the GreatN orthern routes, allowing moreClass 387s to move to the Southern operation.

On March 4, 379016 entered traffic on the 17.24 King’sCross-Letchworth Garden City,while 379026 also entered use the same day on the 06.35 Peterborough-King’s Cross. 379002/022 were thefirst to enter traffic on Februar y10

and 379017/020 were due to enter serviceinlateMarch

The unitsthathavemoved to Southern are387123/128/12/302 and in April 387111/113/301/ 303 /305/ 30 6. The yw ill allow 377/1s to move to Southeastern; 377121/122 havealready made the switch and 377123-130 aredue to move in numerical orderduring the newfew months.

Tram-trainsmoveto OldDalby

SEVERAL OF the ne wSta dl er Class 398 tram-trains destined for use with Transport forWales have been movedtothe RIDC test track near Melton Mowbray fortesting.

Bran d-n ew 398024 /0 25 we re takenbyroad, while 398017/022 we re move dbyrail from Ta ff Wells by Rail Adventureusing 43465/484.

Class320sfor refurbishment

ASTA RT has been made on ScotRail’sClass 320/4 C6 overhauls. The first of the three-car inner suburban EMUs, 320415, movedtoWolverton forrefurbishment under itsown powerfrom York on March 2, undertaken by Rail Operation Group

Along with the core C6 scope elementssuch as an external

repaint,doors, brakecontrollers and the like, therewill be light interior refreshworkwhich will include atouch-upoflino and seat covers

The Class 320/3s and 318s have both had the work completed. Each unit willtakeabout four we eks to co mpl ete, with the programmeexpected to endin summer 2026.

GWRconfirmsClass 175deal… at last!

ONE OF the worstkept‘secrets’ in the ra il industr yw as final ly confirmed on March 10 whenGWR finally announced thatcontracts had been signed with Angel Trains forit to take 26 ex-Transport forWales Class 175s.

The deal is for10ofthe Class175/0 two-carsets, 175001-007/009-011, and all 16 three-car Class 175/1s, 175101-016. Fire-damaged175008 is excluded from the deal and will presumably be used forspares.

Movesofthe unitshaveramped up in recent weeks and areexpectedto be even morecommonplaceasthey aretransferred from storageinEly to Lairafor recommissioning.

Rail Operations Group and Europhoenix havebeen undertaking the movesusing top-and-tail Class 37s and barrier wagons.

On February25, 175010 wascollected from Leicester–having been dumped forthree weeks afer it ranintoissues on itsmovetoPlymouth LairaonFebruary 4–by37423 and37901 Mirrlees Pioneer and returned to Ely as 7Q50, the 11.15 LeicesterLIP-Ely Papworth Sidings. The same 37s the collected 175007 twodays lateras7Q84, the 11.03 ElyPapworthSidings-Laira TRSMD, running viathe WelshMarchesas usual. On March 4, 37510 Orion joined 37901 on 7Q70, the 03.09 Ely Papworth Sidings-Wolverton, taking 175001/003.

Europhoenix’s37601 has been outshopped in British Steel blue as 37501 Teesside Steelmaster.Itwas unveiled in the sunshine at UKRL’s Loughborough works on March 5. ChrisGee

One of the first duties for37501 in itsretro look waswhen it hauled43020 and 43017, with 37884 Cepheus on the rear,of0Q98, the 13.28 Dereham-Burton-uponTrent,onMarch 7, seen passing Werrington, Peterborough Stuart West

RailwayphotographerLes Nixondiesaged88

THE RAILWAY world has lostone of itsmostfamous photographers with the deathofDrLes Nixon, aged 88, on February17. As well as being an expert with the camera, he penned many books and columns in railway magazines, mostnotable the monthly photoguide in Modern Railways Pictorial inthe early 1980s. Born in 1936 to parentswho met whilebothworkingonthe railway, theydissuaded himfromfollowing intheir footstepsdespitehis aspirationstobecomeanenginedriver likehis father.Instead, he studied for adegreeand PhDinorganic chemistryand becamea tutor at Shefield Polytechnic. Helived in Hathersage in the Peak Districtand lovedphotographingall areasofthe railway but

Bury HydraulicGroup volunteerwillbemissed

MARTIN TOTTLE wasa well-known and much likedvolunteer forthe BuryHydraulic Group and adriver at the EastLancashireRailway,and regularly seen driving the lines Class 14, 35, 42 and 52 hydraulics, passed away in late-Februaryaged53.

He started volunteeringatthe Lancs aged 18 on D5054and then joined the BHG, regularly working anddriving D9531,D7076, D832 and D1041, but would work on any of the locos based or visiting the RLT and wasone of the akin driversof the group

He also worked at LNWR and laterPorterbrook

Neil McCannon who worked closely with Martin at the ELRsaid: “He wasalso the ‘main man’atany party and the lifeand soul of the railway,hewill be sadly missed.” He sufered anumberofstrokes in recent years. He leaves twosons Jack 12, and Jamie, 9.

had arealpassion forthe trans-Pennine lines,especiallythe Woodhead line, and also Scotland.

Railways Illustrated editorPip Dunn said: “When my interestinrailways beganway back in 1981,Les Nixon’s name wassynonymous with quality photographs, be they in thepages of the magazines at thetime,but also many books. His BR Colour Album and British Rail in Colour aretwo of my all-time favouriterailway books, while BR North of the Border,which is co-authored with another legend of railway photography,Peter JRobinson, is another superb book that everyone ought to own.

“Along with thelikes of BrianMorrison, Colin Marsden, Gavin Morrison and John Whiteley, it wasthe books penned by LesNixon thatnot only cemented my interestinmynew hobby, but which also educated me.

“When Ibecame aprofessional railwaywriterin1996, Iwould talk to Les regularly,requesting images from his archiveorasking him to nip out to shootsomething of interestclose to his home. Nothing wasevertoo much trouble forLes, atruly amenable and lovely man who wasalways happyto help.Hewill be sorely missed, but Ialso know Idoubthewasteda singleday of

IN BRIEF

Therewas an unusual freight working by twoGBRf Class 73s on February26when 73201 Broadlands and 73107 Tracytop-and-tailed a rake of IZAwagons that had been sent to Ashfordfor tyreturning. They were returned on 6Z81, the 13.30 AshfordDownsidings-Dollands Moor The EDsreturnedlight to Tonbridge after depositing the wagons.

One of twoClass 20s hired by HRNC Swietelsky to Breedon Aggregates, 20168 Sir George Earle,was returned to Hope Cement Works in Derbyshire on February28after attention at Barrow Hill. The loconow sportsSwietelsky branding on its Breedon bluelivery.

Beacon Rail 221104 visited Wrexham on March 11 for gauging trails. The six off-lease Class 221 units, 221101-106, are earmarked forthe newopen access operation from the town.

Colas Rail has agreed to send a Class 56 to the SwanageRailway diesel galaonMay 8-11. Meanwhile, 56078 is the latest Colas Class 56 to be stood down fortraffic.

The tenth Class 66/6 for DB Cargo,66660, has entered traffic. It wasformerly 66161. However, thefiveother 66/0s identified forconversion, 66155/165/172/181/197, have been movedout of the WBHT pool back intothe WBAT.

Both 08649 and 37207 have been returned to theVLR Innovation CentresiteatDudley in earlyMarch.

On March 6, 37901 wasused to move arakeof19JHA wagons from CreweSouthYardtoEMR at Attercliffefor scrapping.

hislife. My thoughts go outtohis wife Carol and children Davidand Louise.” Leshad dementia and Alzheimer’s and movedintoacarehomeinSheffield in November 2024.

Tributes paid to Diesel Traction Group’sSteve Hampton

STEVE HAMPTON, awell-known face manning theDieselTraction Group’s sale stand, died in late Februar y. Philip Sawyer,ofthe DTG, said: “The DTGhas lost a real stalwart with the passing of our sales oficer SteveHampton at the alltoo young ageof61.

“Steve has brought in much-needed funds formany yearsand our sales stand won’tbethe same without him. He wasalways willing to accept achallengeand undertook the sales role

even though it ‘wasn’t his thing’ to begin with. He will be greatly missed by all thosewho knewhim.”

LesNixon lovedphotographing the Woodhead line before itsJuly1981closure. On March 22, 1981, he captured the lastdiverted loco-hauled passenger train on the line –45101 heads the 07.46 St Pancras-ManchesterPiccadilly as it passes Torside. LesNixon

LesNixon

Martin Tottle

SteveHampton

Coaching Stock News

HD08 to be formed

The long-delayed introduction of an eighthloco-hauled setbyTransport forWales is to go ahead afer the four Mk.4coachesstoredatBristol Barton Hill sinceOctober 2023 were retrieved. February26saw 11316 and 12526 arriveatWorksop by road,with 10305 and 12308 following soon afer forpreparatory work to commence. All requiresignificant work,having notcarried passengerssince 2020 and subsequently deteriorating in open store. The other twovehicles earmarked forHD08, 12215 and 82220, remain at Landore.

DB sleeper forLSL

The latest acquisition by LocomotiveServices is Mk.3asleeper 10546 from DB Cargo’s company train. This arrived at Creweinmid-Februar y via aroadtransfer from Toton, with the coach due to be refurbished for

inclusion in chairman JeremyHosking’sprivatetrain.

The sleeper wa se xt ens i ve ly modernised by EWSduring2004 when the set wasfirst createdand includes at leastone enlarged cabin with adouble bed. The company train, whichalsofeatures 10211, 11039 and 82146, has languished on TotonTMD sincelastrunning in 2020.

SRPSrefurbishments

The latest pair of Mk.1 coaches to be overhauled forthe Scottish Railway Preservation Society were collected from BarrowHillonFebruar y20, RMB 1859 andTSO 4856 both now carrying BR carmine and cream.

Theduo were returned to Bo’ness behind 37403 Isle ofMull,which had come south thepreviousday with buffet 1730 andFO3096, which arenextinline forattention from RampartEngineering.

This movement to Barrow Hill also included FOs3107 and 3140, which were being returned to Locomotive Ser vices afer aprevious loan, the pair subsequently continuing on to Crewebehind20118 Saltburn-bythe-Sea and 20132 on February20.

WestCoast BGs

Twoofthe Mk.1Super BGs acquired by WestCoast Railways followingits purchase of Riviera Trains lastyear were transferred from Burton to Carnforth on February24. Believedtobe laden with coachspares, 94488 and 94517 were headedby57010 and 57009, with 47812 on the rear

Miscellaneous Mk.3s

NowinNetwork Rail ownership, Mk.3aTSO 12125 wastransferred from Asfordby to DerbyRTC by 37418

An Comunn Gaidhealach on March 12. Four moreformer GreaterAnglia

Unit News

Debut forClass 153/5s

sees 153/9s stood own

The debut of the Transport forWales ActiveTravelClass 153 conversions on February25with 153552 on the Heart of Wales Line has seen the majority of the Class 153/9 sub-class, whichare notfully compliant with current accessibility regulations, removedfromtrafic.

By mid-March, 153906/909/914/ 921/922/926 were stopped at Landore and 153910 and 153935 likewise at Canton,leaving just153913 intraffic. The remaining twoexamples are due to be converted intoActiveTravel units, with 153968 stopped at Crewe sinceNovember lastyearand 153972 at Landoreundergoing the work On the Class 150fleet, 150229 has become the latest Sprinter unit to be withdrawn, it arriving at Landore on March6 to be strippedfor spares

Earlier casualty 150227 wasremoved from the depotbyroadonMarch 11/12, the twocarsgoing to UnimetalsatNewport Docksfor scrapping

Birmingham International debut forTfW Class1972

Transport forWales introducedClass 197s on selectedtrainstoBirmingham International from February17 following the resolution of geofencing and automatic selectivedoor opening issues. The first working wasby197124 with 1I10, the 07.22

Holyhead-BirminghamInternational, beforeitworked 1J15,the 12.08 Birmingham International-Aberystwyth/Pwllheli, as farasShrewsbury. Herea setswaptook placetoClass 158s, anoperational inconvenience thatwill remain until such time as the ETCS-fitted197s areintroduced on the Cambrian Line.

Meanwhile, athree-car Class 756/0 carriedpassengers forthe firsttime on March 16, 756007 forming 2T16, the 12.59 Cardiff-Treherbert.Prior to this, only the four-car Class 756/1s had seen servicewith 756103 entering trafic on February20, followedby 756109 sevendays laterand 756113 on March 6. 756101 became the penultimate 756/1 in trafic on March10when it wasturnedout for2M00, the05.24 Cardiff-Merthyr Tydfil, leaving just 756110 to getits floorsdirty

In contrast, the introduction of the Class398 tram-trainsremains along wayof, with testing nowbeing carried out at Asfordby in an efort to speed up commissioning and fault-finding. Newly arrived at Portbury Docks,398024/025 were delivereddirectly to theMidlands test track by road during the firsthalf of February, while 398017/022 were movedfromSouth Wales by rail to join them on February 25/26.

On both occasions, this involved anocturnal transfer from Taf’sWell depotto Pengam, where Rail Adventurepowercars43465/484 then

coaches acquired at the same time, TSOB 10406 and FOs11092, 11093 and 11101, continue to be worked on at theRTC ahead of forming the Railway 200 Inspiration exhibition train from the summer. Me anwhi le, Ro mic -o wned Mk.3asleeper 10551 wasincluded in atransfer of HSTpowercarsfrom theMid-Norfolk RailwaytoBurton on March 2, 50008 Thunderer having charge of 43238, 43312 and 43319. Four dayslater,the Class 50 was back at Reading to deliver repainted sleeper 10596 from Eastleigh, to whereitreturnedwith 17174 forits fresh application of GWRgreen.

Mk. 5latest

March 5saw 68019 return Mk.5set TP07 (11507, 12719-721, 12807) to Long Marston following the completion of itslatestexamatLongsight Thatafernoon, the Class 68 headed ba ck to Ma nc heste rw it hT P0 5 (11505, 12713-715, 12805) and it wasback at Long Marston eight days laterasa light engine to makethe same return trip to Longsight with TP09 (11509, 12725-727, 12809).

Unit Deliveries

Class Number Operator

398 398024 Transport forWales

hauled them to Asfordby via Kings Norton. Meanwhile, 398027 arrived at Taf’sWell on February25byroad from Portbury.

GreaterAnglia Class720 Aventradeliveries near completion

Theprotractedintroduction of the Class 720 EMUstoGreater Anglia was nearinga conclusion during March with justone unit,720504, remaining at DerbyLitchurch Lane awaiting delivery. Twosetsthathad notpreviously worked on Network Rail were finally released early in the month, with 69012 Falcon 2 delivering 720104 to Willesden forcommissioning on March 3, followedby57303 with the long-absent 720534 on March 14.

Ho we ve r, it is 720505 th at is expectedtobethe lasttocarrypassengers as,although it wastransferred to Alstom’sWembleydepotonJanuary29, it is farfromcomplete, with final assembly expectedtobeundertakeninthe heavy repair shop.Meanwhile, March 1was notableas720141, 720503/510/516 all worked their first GreaterAnglia duties thatday,while 720143 did likewise twodays later.

Peterborough debutfor GreatNorthern’s Class 379 fleet

Class 379s worked to Peterborough in passenger ser vicefor the first

time on March 4when 379022/026 formed 1P82, the 16.42 departure from King’sCross, following the earliercompletionofplatformand gauging checks.

Theyworkedbackthe following morningas1Q85, the06.35 Peterborough-King’sCross, with theQ reporting number being required due to agauging issue with Platform 2atAlexandraPalacethatrequires the signaller to seta particular route. 379026 had returned to trafic on March 3with 379016 doing likewise on the5th,meaning thatwith 379002 thereare nowfourofthe class back in service.

Wrexham visit forVoyager

AClass 221 Super Voyagermade a nowrarevisit to Wrexham General on March 10 to carryout platform checks forthe proposed Wrexham, Shropshireand Midlands Railway open access operator.Previously part of the Avanti WestCoast fleet but nowof-lease, 221104 ranfrom Central Riversvia Shrewsburyas5V21 the, 10.16 departure, beforereturning as 5M21, the 13.20 Wrexham General-DerbyLitchurch Lane.

Unit Focus

CLASS158

15/3 –158755 5E17 08.26 Kilmarnock Bonnyton-Neville Hill, ex-C6 overhaul.

16/3 –1587575S0810.58 Neville Hill-Kilmarnock Bonnyton, forC6.

CLASS159

13/3 –52803 from 159102 movedby road from Long Marston to Unimetals, Beeston, it being largely scrapped by thatevening. This is thelastvehicle from the SalisburyTunnel collision in October 2021 to be disposed of.

CLASS168

6/3 –168329 5F68 13.13 Wolverton-Aylesburyvia Bicester, assisted ba ck by tw oC la ss 16 5s. Un it converted back to diesel powerafer itsunsuccessful battery-diesel hybrid trial. By 14/3,itwas at Banburydepot, with some modifications and rectification work still required.

CLASS170

23/2 –170101 5G70 10.56 Crewe CarriageSidings-Tyseley, released from refurbishment and repaint, the unit re-entering trafic three days laterwith 1P06 08.18 Leicester-Birmingham NewStreet.

23/2 –170112 5K71 14.17 Tyseley-CreweCarriageSidings.

CLASS175

25/2 –37423 +175010 +37901 7Q50 11.15 LeicesterLIP-Ely Papworth. 27/2 –37901+ 175007+ 37423 7Q84 11.03 Ely Papworth-Laira. 4/3 –37901 +175001 +175003 +37510 7Q70 03.09 Ely Papworth-Wolverton.

CLASS196

25/2 –196012 became the first 196 to traverse East-WestRailasdriver training commenced, working5F70

08.38 BletchleyTMD-BicesterVillage, 5F71 09.33 BicesterVillage-Bletchley High Level, 5F72 09.57 BletchleyHigh Level-BicesterVillageand 5F73 10.22 BicesterVillage-BletchleyTMD.

CLASS197

18/2 –37901 +197023 +37510 7Q42 13.29 Long Marston-Crewe South Ya rd ,m oved to CreweC arriage Sidings the following day 22/2 –197029 intotrafic, working 1K01 04.46 Chester-Crewe.

CLASS318

27/2 –37800 +3182515Q15 10.46 K il marnock Bonnyt on- Shields, ex-collision damagerepairs

CLASS320

27/2 –37800 +3203035Q08 14.22 Shields-Kilmarnock Bonnyton, for collision damagerepairs 2/3 –320415 5Q70 09.46 YokerWolverton, forC4bogie overhaul

CLASS321

18/2 –37884 +321313 +321315 5Q76

11.05Wembley-Unimetals,Newport. 4/3 –37218 +321318 +321328 5Q64 09.27Wembley-Unimetals,Newport. 6/3 –37218 +321309 +321323 5Q70 08.05Wembley-Unimetals,Newport.

CLASS350

18-20/2 –All four cars of 350264 mo ve db yr oa df ro mC re we to Northampto nK ings Heat ha fter suff ering aw heel bearing fa ult thatrequired awheelskaterecoveryontoCrewe CarriageSidings late lastyear. Unit repaired and back in trafic by 16/3.

CLASS378

22/2 –37510 +3782255Q72 10.55

Alstom, Widnes-Willesden TMD, repainted.

25/2 –37510 +3782295Q36 13.02 Willesden TMD-Alstom, Widnes.

CLASS379

18/2 –57310 +379009 +379012 5Q76

09.20 Worksop-DoncasterRMT,5Q77 1404 return.

19/2 –57310 +379018 +379030 5Q76 09.20 Worksop-DoncasterRMT,5Q77 1404 return.

CLASS397

21/2 –397009 5N39 0727 Wabtec, Doncaster-Longsight via Edinburgh, ex-overhaul.

24/2 –397003 +397008 5E23 09.25 Longsight-Wabtec, Doncastervia Edinburgh, 397008 foroverhaul and repairstodamagesustained during December,i tb eing dis abl ed so hauled by 397003. The latter returned to Longsight the next day

CLASS458

18/2 –37901 +458532+ 37510 7Q99 06.23 Wimbledon-LongMarston. 28/2 –458407 intotrafic, working 2S05 05.22 Waterloo-Weybridge with 458417.

CLASS466

6/3 –37800 +466037 5Q66 10.37

Gillingham-EMR, Kingsbury.

7/3 –37800 +466033 +466043 5Q46

09.45 Worksop-ElyPapworth, 37800 failed near Carlton loop,dragged into loop by 47815 and lef there.

10/3 –37884 +466033 +466043 5Q47

18.42 Carlton Loop-Ely Papworth. 12/3 –37884 +466013 +466027 5Q46 09.45 Worksop-Ely Papworth. 13/3 –37884 +466007+ 466014 + 466025 5Q66 10.37 Gillingham-EMR, Kingsbury.

CLASS555

19/2 –66109 +555008 +555009 6Q23 22.45 Dollands Moor-Wembley. 20/2 –43484 +43465 +555008 + 555009 6Q34 13.45 Wembley-Pelaw

CLASS701

24/2 –57310 +701060 5Q8912.34 Long Marston-Worcester Yard,where

cancelled due to alocoproblem.

25/2 –69012 +701060 5Q91 13.38 Worcester Yard-Wimbledon. 26/2 –69012 +701023 5Q75 09.20

Arriva, Eastleigh-Long Marston. 4/3 –69012 +701002 5Q91 12.34 Long Marston-Wimbledon 6/3 –69012 +701011 5Q75 09.20 Arriva, Eastleigh-Long Marston. 11/3 –69012 +701005 5Q89 12.34 Long Marston-Eastleigh Yard,5Q92 18.17 Eastleigh Yard-Wimbledon. 12/3 –69012 +701006 5Q77 08.00 Arriva, Eastleigh-Long Marston.

CLASS730

20/2 –37510 +730203 5Q57 10.53 Old Dalby-DerbyLitchurch Lane.

24/2 –37884 +730226 5Q72 08.30

Gascoigne Wood-Wembley.

25/2 –37884 +730208 5Q18 09.17

Donc as te rB el mo nt-Gasc oi gn e Wood.

25/2 –37884 +730221 5Q25 12.29

Gascoigne Wood-DoncasterBelmont 5/3 –37510 +730216 5Q23 11.41

Gascoigne Wood-DoncasterBelmont. 5/3 –37510 +730225 5Q16 14.47

Donc as te rB elmont-Gasc oigne Wood.

6/3 –37510 +730203 5Q72 10.00

DerbyLitchurch Lane-Wembley. 8/3 –37510 +730202 5Q72 12.11 DerbyLitchurch Lane-Wembley. 10/3 –3 7510 +7 30209 +7 30222 5Q16 08.54DoncasterBelmont-Gascoigne Wood. 10/3 –37510 +730232 +730233 5Q23 11.42 Gascoigne Wood-Doncaster Belmont

11/3 –37510 +730213 5Q72 10.30 Gascoigne Wood-Willesden TMD. 14/3 –37884 +730205 5Q58 13.41 CreweCarriageSidings-Old Dalby.

CLASS769

24/2 –43480 +43468 +769922 + 20007 +20205 5Q88 16.10 Kilmarnock Bonnyton-Eastriggs. 25/2 –43480 +43468 +769959 + 20007 +20205 5Q89 14.20 Kilmarnock Bonnyton-Eastriggs. 28/2 –37884 +769535 5Q59 10.18 Wabtec, Doncaster-LeicesterLIP 5/3 –37800 +769549 5Q59 10.18 Wabtec, Doncaster-LeicesterLIP

5X81 16.25 ActonMain Line-Eastleigh Works.

CLASS801 21/2 –57303 +801205 5X80 10.40 Eastleigh Works-ActonMain Line, 5Q80 13.06 ActonMain Line-Ferme Park

Pole -Reading, 5X81 15.17 Reading-Eastleigh Works.

CLASS805

14/3 –8050065Q23 09.20 Merchant Park-Wembley, redeliveryfollowing completion of testing role and preparation forpassenger service

Shunter News

Freightliner

March 10 broughtanexchange of pilots at Freightliner’sIpswich depot following the failureof08531.This wa sremo ve dtoN em es is Ra il ’s Burton depotfor repairs, with the low-loader bringing in 08691 Terri as areplacement,thisbeing freshfrom attention of itsown in the Midlands.

PositiveTraction

With atwo-and-a-half month trial with Loramsuccessfully completed, battery conversion 08308 departed from DerbyRTC on February18, the shunter headingbacktoNeville Hill whereitpreviously spent less than aweek in November lastyear.

Railway Support Services

Aquieterperiod than of late for RSSsaw justthe one Class 08 on the move,with08629 returnedto Wishaw on Februar y19following the conclusion of itshirecontract atD aventr y. All shunting at the sprawling freight terminal is nowin the hands of GEC-built industrials

ownedbyEdMurray.Meanwhile, four moreofthe Schoma/Clayton batte ry lo co motiv es purchased from London Underground have been transferred from WestRuislip to Wishaw to await redeployment, the ne wa rrivals en co mpassin g Nos.6,10, 13 and 14.

RMS Locotec

Former Cotswold Rail machine08847 made areturntoWolsingham on February 24 to use theWeardaleRailway’sfacilities to undertakeapower unit liffollowing amain generator bearingfailure. With an overhauled powerunit already available, aswap wasundertaken with minimal delay aheadofthe loco returningonhireto PD PortsatTees Dock

HNRC Swietelsky

With itsuse at theCelsa steelworks in Cardiff concluded, 08630 was collectedlate on March 6and taken north to Leeds Midland Road to undergo tyre turning at theFreightliner depotthe followingnight. This

Wagon News

Newdeliveries

DB Cargo’s ne w-buildBAA steel wagons continue to emerge from the company’sStoke wagonworks at a steady rate,withuptothree appearingevery week .OnFebruar y17, 66117departedfor WarringtonArpley with 900408/410, while sevendays later66150 had just900421 intow

On Mar ch 3, the 6F52 13.01 departuref ro mSto ke incl ud ed 900412/413/422 behind 66179 and it wasa similar pictureonMarch 10, with 66020hauling 900414/415/424. Likethe previousdeliveries, all of these BAAs areconfigured as slab carrierswith onwardmovement to South Wales from Warrington typically taking placeduring the night.

allowedthe shunter to be movedon to Hope Cement WorksonMarch 8to take up anew duty

Less fortunate is 08500 as the stripped shunter wastransferred from Worksop to the EMR scrapyard at AtterclifeonFebruary25, where it wasscrapped within justtwo days.

Plant news

Meanwhile, the latest batchofHOA hoppersfor Mendip Rail washauled from Dollands Moor to Wembleyby 66709 Sorrento earlyonFebruary26, where59206 wasprovidedtotake81 70 6774212-245 onwards to Whatley laterthatmorning.

GBRf steel flow

GB Railfreight commenced operation of itsnewly-won steel slabflowbetween Portbury Docksand Margam Yard on March 3, 66783 The Flying Dustman powering the inaugural loaded working.These trainsare formed entirely of the newly cut-down KEA boxwagons, of which afurther16conversions were released fromWHDavis’s Shirebrook workshops on February24.

On this oc ca sio n, 66784 h ea ded st ra igh tf or Mar ga m with VTG3180/82/84/98/99 an d VTG3200/07-11/25/36/40/43/44. All 16 of these KEAsfeatured in theinaugural working, along with VTG3194, VTG3226 andVTG3237.

Bitumenfinale

The final mo ve ment so ft he VTG-ownedICA bitumen tankers, at leastfor now, took placeonMarch 4, withthe remaining 18 examples departing fromPreston Docks following cleaning.56113 hauled35707790 001/03/05/07/09-14/17/20-22/24/2729 as farasCarlisle Yard,where the train wassplit intotwo portions for onwardtripping to Eastriggs by the ‘Grid’ laterthatday forstorage in the former MoD sidings.

Built in 1998, Plasser &Theurer 08-4 x4/4S -RTs witch and cros sing tamper DR73905 has become thelatestmachine to be exported abroad. Latterly part of the Colas Rail fleet, it washauled from Rugby to Dollands Moor on March 10 by 20007 and20205 foronwardtransitthrough theChannelTunnelon thefirst stageofalong journeytoa newhome in Africa.

Meanwhile, Network Rail’sScottish snowand icetreatment train wasreleasedfrommaintenance at EastriggsonFebruary22, 66846 hauling YXAblowerwagon 99 70 9594 014-1 and Mk.2QXA support coachADB977869 theshort distance to Kingmoor.Ithad been at Eastriggs sinceJune lastyear.

VEAspreserved

AnumberofVEA vans previously in internal use at Marchwood have found newhomesinpreservation in recent weeks following aclear-out of redundant wagons at the former militaryport

The Bluebell Ra ilw ay has re ce iv ed 230307/380, wh ile th e De an Fo re st Ra ilw ay is se tt o hav ea ra ke of eigh t. Of these, 230068/114/241/349 and one moreyet to arriveare owned by the ra ilw ay,w hile 230364 has been acquired by The Diesel Electric Shunter Company and 230009 and 230534 by ValleyRailPreservation.These areset to be restored and repainted, many in Railfreight red/grey,tocreateanother demonstration freight train foruse on the line.

Talisman Services

Previously considered part of the RivieraTrains fleet, 08704 is now operating under the banner of Talisman Services. The shunter has been placed on hiretothe EastSomerset Railway,itarriving at Cranmorefrom KnottingleyonFebruary25.

Latest disposals

Af urther 19 HHA coal hopper s havearrived at Shirebrook to be stripped of bogies and other parts by WH Davis foruse with new-build Freightliner boxwagons, afer which the hopper bodies areremoved by road forscrapping.

On February27, 66525 arrivedfrom York with 370025/056/078/080/083 /086/097/098 and 370119/156/158, while the same wo rking on March 4saw 66553 in charge of 370042/047/087, 370118/178/184 and 370228/38.

On February21, 66557 hauled a further 33 JHA hoppersawayfrom WhatleytoCrewe,the working also including former prototype JFA ARC17901. The wagons were then forwarded to EMR scrapyards, with 37800 haulingARC17901/923/927/928 and ARC19807/809/811/818/826/827/ 848/862/889/892/897 to Kingsburyon March 4, while twodays later, 37901 took ARC17902/906/911/913/917/918, ARC19824/825/846/851/860/872/88 5/888/895 and ARC19901/903-905 to Atterclife

TwoKEAsnot required forcutting down to become steel carrierswere removedfromGascoigne Wood by road on March 3, VTG3197 and VTG3213 goingtothe Shildon scrapyar do fN or thern Me ta lR ec ycling. Further wagons havebeen scrapped on siteatTees Yard,with all of the remainingformer National PowerHKA hoppersnow processed, namely 300601/02/04/06/07/10/11 /13/20/21/24/26/ 29-31/33/34/3840/42/44/48/49/52/53/59/62-66/6870/76/78/80/82/84,along with BBA 910305.

Up to three new-build BAAsteel wagons forDBCargo continue to emerge from theStoke wagonworks. DB Cargo UK

Freightliner 08531 exitsIpswich yard on March 10 on the back of aReid Freightlorry, which movedittoNemesis Rail at Burton-upon-Trent. KeithPartlow

Liveries

The emergenceofnewly-renumbered 37501 from the UKRL workshops at Loughborough on March 5certainly attractedplenty of interest, with the Europhoenix locoreturned to the pale blue British Steelliveryitreceivedat ThornabyinFebruary 1987. TheType 3 sportsthe initial version of the scheme thatwas applied 38 yearsago with whitekingfisher depotemblems, although thereare anumber of diferences between the twoincarnations forthose looking closely

Another repaint at Loughborough is 66501, which has anew look following the completion of alengthy and

comprehensiveoverhaul. It has become thesecond Freightliner loco to be given aspecial liverytomarkthe company’s 60th anniversaryalthough, unlikethe greenand yellow of 70008, this employs theusual orange with black and white stripes. At Toton, further classmates havereceived DBCargo redand grey, including newly regeared 66660 and former DRS hire-in66122 and 66011.

Thefirst Class 158toberefurbished and repainted in the purple livery of East MidlandsRailway, 158847, wasall but completeatBristolBartonHill in mid-March. Meanwhile, the repaint of the Class 378

Naming Update

The return of 37501tothe British Steel blue liveryfirst applied by Thornaby in 1987 has seen the locomotivealso regain the accompanying Teesside Steelmaster nameplates. This name originally adorned 37078 before transferring to 37501 in February of thatyear, with the platescarried for almostfour years, afer which they reappeared on 37712in1992.

With 465908 returned to Network SouthEastliverybySoutheastern as part of the Railway 200 celebrations, the finishing touch wasunveiled at Charing Cross on February25when the unit wasnamed afer ChrisGreen, the former directorofthe BR passengersectorwho did so much to revitalise the capital’srail services, including overseeing thedevelopmentand introduction of the Networker fleet.

The la te st additio nt oG WR’s Gr ea tW este rn er ss eries of IET namings saw 800021 named Gill Clay at SwanseaonFebruar y21. The 87-y ea r- old Scout leader is the granddaughter of the founder of the Scouting movement,Robert Baden-Powell, and this year also marks 10 0y ea rs of de ve loping Scouting in Wales, which today is overseen by Scouts Cymru. Alstomcelebrated the long career of one of itsemployees on January28when Widnes-based shunter 08721 wa sn am ed Ke nD avies to ma rk hi s5 0y ea rs of ra ilway service. Thesurprise ceremonyfor the company’s66-year-old movements manager, whohails from Liverpool, took placeatAlstom’s Transport TechnologyCentreand

Locos

British Steel: 37501

DB Cargo: 66011, 66122, 66660

Freightliner orange60thanniversary: 66501

Units

c2c: 357323/328

EastMidlandsRailway purple: 158847

London Overground revised: 378225

Northern: 323219/342

Coaches

BR carmine/cream: 1859, 4856

fleetinthe revisedLondon Overground liverywith black upper bodywork has resumed afer ahiatus of morethan four years, the work now being carried out at Widnes rather than Ilford,with378225 the first to

Named

makethe journeytoMerseyside. Instead, Ilf or di scontinuing to progress through the Class 357 fleet, with twomoreofthe Electrostarsappearing in the whiteand magentac2c scheme.

De-named

commemoratedacareer thattook in train crew and managementroles with British Rail beforehejoined his present employerin2002. Freshfroma 15-monthmajor overhaulatLoughborough, 66501 has returned to trafic without its Japan 2001 nameplatesthatwereunveiled

at the NationalRailway Museum on July 12, 2001. Performed by then Japanese ambassador,the naming marked ayear-long programme of eventstopromote Japanese culture in the UK and coincided with the donation of the Series 0bullettrain driving cartothe museum.

First picture! The latest GBRf Class 69 repaint is 69014, which sportsa variant of the liverycarried by Brush/Sulzer trial locoHS4000 Kestrel from the late 1960s. However, the loco is notbeing named Kestrel 2;instead, it waschristened EMD Longport in recognition of the company thathas built the Class 69s. The immaculate loco wasoutshopped at Eastleigh on March 19 and named aweek later. Bob Tiller

HamptonLoade will be,until furthernotice,the limit whereSVR trains canoperateto. On October 4, 2024, Clayton D8568 waitsto leavewith the 1653 HamptonLoade-Bridgnorth. Pip Dunn

Severn Valley movestowards a solution forits seriouslandslip

Aseverelandslide just northofHampton Loadehas severedthe Severn Valley Railway. Managing director GusDunster givesanupdateonthe situationand thefundraising taking placetorepairand reopen thelinetoBridgnorth.

THE SEVERN ValleyRailwayis one of the country’sbest-lovedand most successful heritagerailways.It runs for16miles from Kidderminster, on the outskirtsofthe Birmingham conurbation, through the delightful Worcestershireand Shropshirecountryside to Bridgnorth.

With sixmajor stations,all lovingly restored and attractions in their own right,itisalso home to an impressive collection of diesel and steamlocos and period coaches. Thereis asteam shed at Bridgnorth and arelatively newpurpose-built diesel depot at Kidderminstertoo

The railway has thrived in recent years, both appealing to the general public and also working withindustrypartnersonthe national railway –the latter aided in no part by the new general manager,Gus Dunster, having spentyears working on therailway, holding senior positions at Network Rail, Virgin Trainsand, untilhis recent retirement,Avanti WestCoast

Recently,the SVRwas rocked by a serious landslip on the final four miles from HamptonLoade to Bridgnorth, and it is working as hard as it canto getthe line rebuilt andreopened –ideally intimefor the lucrative s um me rs ea so n .Tra in sa re st il l running, but only between Kidderminsterand HamptonLoade.

Gussaid: “Weare workingclosely with st ruc tural and ge otechnicalexpertstonarrow down repair options forthe landslip.External expertsmet on February12with the SVR’sconsulting engineer Antony Bartlamtoreviewthe available topographical and borehole data,gathered sincethe incidenthappened at Mor Brook.”

“Itwas aver ypositive meeting,” said Antony.“Thegoodnewsisthat we’venarroweddownthe possibilities to acoupleofpotential solutions. However, there’ssome further work to do beforethe projectteam finalises the routewe’ll take,and

that’swhen we will be able to understand more about the timescale and the costs.”

The SVR’sheadofinfrastructure, Chris Bond, added: “This really isn’t athing we canrush.It’simportant to bear in mind thatthereare extra complicationsinvolved with this particular problem.

“Aswellaschoosing thebestrepair option,wewillhavetoliaise with external agencies andthirdparties, such as landowners andNational Grid, whose powerlines arever y close to the slip site.

“Thereality is that there’s alot of preparatory work to do beforethere arespades on the ground. We are, of course, determined to delivera safe, long-lasting and cost-efectiverepair as quickly as circumstances will allow so we canopen up the northernmost section of our line.”

The ra il wa yw as st il la ble to reopen as planned forhalf term from February15. Gussaid:“We are

delightedthatwestill have 12 miles of the line in full operation.”Indeed, the line wasable to welcome many visitorsfor over the busy school holiday period and subsequently, with plent yo fe ve nt sp lanned despitethe fact the line canonly run to HamptonLoade. Gus said: “Our newBoogie LightsExpress operation during March is agreat example of whatwecan deliver,” adding: “Getting thefull linebackinoperation is ahugepriority,but actually,incivil engineering terms, we aremaking greatprogress. In the meantime, Bridgnorth station will still alsobe‘alive’with steamfootplate rides being made available, to geth er wi th both th eref re shment ro om and Ra ilw ayman ’s Arms pub being open to welcome visitorsthere

“Weare so grateful forthe incredible public response to thisincident Donations arearriving ever yday, andinthe fewofweeks sincethe