Rail Express January 2020

LNER BIDS FAREWELL TO HSTs AFTER 40 YEARS ‘Azumas’ take over non-electrified routes

25 YEARS ON FROM IXION’S RETURN

Full story of main line preserved diesels

Essential reading for today’s rail enthusiast

NEW DAWN FOR WEST COA COAST

■ DAPOL CLASS 66s

Printed in the UK

MODELLING SECTION

■ CHOOSING DCC

FIRST ‘PACERS’ SCRAPPED!

■ YELLOW ‘GOYLE’

Northern sends Class 142s on final trip to Booth’s

Six versions announced in ‘O’ How to pick the right system Hornby’s NR ‘31’ reviewed

No. 284

RAIL EXPRESS No. 284 JANUARY 2020 £4.50

as Avanti takes over from Virgin

CONTENTS

Issue No. 284 January 2020

RARE VIEW: Believe it or

not, this is the engine room of a ‘Deltic’ – specifically, the engine room of No. 55015 Tulyar, which is being overhauled by the Deltic Preservation Society at Barrow Hill. The work should get a boost from the new agreement between the DPS and Siemens – see page 14 for details. Paul Bickerdyke

FEATURES

NEWS

16

MAIN LINE PRESERVED DIESELS

8

24

LNER HST FAREWELL

28

31

The full story of the last 25 years since Class 46 Ixion broke the mould.

The reign of East Coast HSTs is over after 40 years, as bi-mode ‘Azumas’ take over.

0-60 CLASS 230

Vivarail’s re-engineered units are put through their paces in our acceleration test.

‘20s’ APLENTY

The fun of moving Class 20s around the depot.

REGULARS 22 32 33

73 74

LETTERS & REVIEWS

Feedback and modern traction books.

MODELLING

There’s great news for ‘O’ gauge fans as Dapol launches six Class 66s in various liveries, while highprofile announcements in ‘OO’ include a ‘37/6’ from Accurascale and GWR’s gas turbine No. 18000 from Heljan/ Rails of Sheffield. Reviews this month include Hornby’s yellow ‘31/6’ and Dapol’s lowerquadrant semaphore signals.

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Uncertain future for the track recording train.

RAILTOURS

UK Railtours goes against the grain!

80

POWER BY THE HOUR

82

POWERSCENE

90

UNITS

93

FROM ONLY

LU WORLD

PRESERVATION

The best ways to get Rail Express every month.

TIME TRAVELLER

New dawn for West Coast as Avanti begins; ‘Azumas’ take over in Scotland; More resilience needed for East Coast Main Line; Bye-bye to Virgin; DfT reveals pipeline for new projects; Major award for Test Car 2 group; Class 142s go for scrapping; ERS takes on surplus coaches; First ‘Paragon’ bi-mode enters service; Deltic Preservation Society teams up with Siemens.

76

SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS

New stories from decades past.

HEADLINE NEWS

Another Class 03 for Mangapps; New home for AC Cars railbus; Lathalmond acquires two local locos; More Mk.3s enter preservation; Further 2020 gala dates announced.

Freightliner buys ‘59s’; LSL acquires electrics.

Notable workings, Name Game, and Spectrum.

Greater Anglia says farewell to ‘Turbostars’.

SHUNTERS & INDUSTRIALS

Relaunch for ex-steam veteran diesel.

94

COACHES

95

WAGONS

96

IRISH ANGLE

More Caledonian Mk.3 Sleepers sold.

LU takes delivery of Kirow equipment.

Irish Rail to order extra DMU cars.

December 8 saw the consortium of First Group and Trenitalia take over West Coast Intercity services out of London under the brand name Avanti, and the following day newly-reliveried ‘Pendolino’ No. 390156 rolled into Euston for the official launch before heading off to Glasgow as a VIP special – see page 8 for more details.

Editor’s Comment PRINT & DISTRIBUTION

Newstrade & distribution Marketforce UK Ltd, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU. 0203 787 9001 Printed by William Gibbons and Sons, Wolverhampton Published Third Friday of every month This issue December 20, 2019 Next issue January 17, 2020 Advertising deadline January 3, 2020 ISSN No 1362 234X

Paul Bickerdyke Rail Express Editor

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

Winds of change

D

ECEMBER saw significant changes on two of our major main line operations, as LNER brought to a close more than four decades of HST operation on the East Coast route and Virgin Trains gave way to Avanti on the West Coast after 22 years in charge.

There has been a mixed reaction to Virgin going, as not everyone is a fan of the ‘Pendolino’ and ‘Voyager’ trainsets introduced during its time. But there’s no denying the company has overseen massive growth in passenger numbers since Privatisation, and everything it did was done with a certain sense of style, so it feels strange that its brand will no longer be seen anywhere on our railway network. After all, Virgin’s reign lasted nearly as longer as the LMS and the other pre-Nationalisation ‘Big Four’ companies.

However, Avanti – the Italian for “let’s go” – is promising to squeeze out even more from the WCML, with additional trains and more destinations served, while also looking ahead to running and integrating the first years of HS2 operation between London and Birmingham.

Virgin is a tough act to follow, but we look forward to seeing what First Group and Trenitalia can do with the franchise.

Rail Express is pleased to consider contributions for publication

Meanwhile, losing HSTs from the East Coast Main Line feels like a bigger loss, as they have been a familiar sight between King’s Cross and Scotland since the late-1970s. Their replacement Hitachi bi-modes represent progress, not least the ability to run on electric power when wires are available, but perhaps they have a long way to go yet to match the iconic status of the HST.

Merry Christmas!

As this is our final issue of 2019, I would just like to say merry Christmas and a happy New Year to all our readers on behalf of the whole team here at Rail Express. We honestly could not do it without your help, and looking at all your photos sent in from around the country is definitely a perk of the job – so please keep them coming!

Paul Bickerdyke

Please do not send images that have already been sent to other publications. Prints & slides are sent at the owner’s risk and must be accompanied by a SAE for return. Digital images can be sent by email, but please bear in mind we may not be able to reply to every one, as we receive hundreds of images each week.

Although care will be taken with submissions, Rail Express assumes no responsibility for loss/damage, however caused. Submitted material may also be used in connection with other Mortons Media Group projects or as content on the internet. Payment for material used will be made promptly. Please send digital submissions to RailExpressEditor@mortons.co.uk or via CD or DVD to the editorial address.

IMPORTANT: Images should be ex-camera with no Photoshop manipulation.

ADVERTISING

Divisional advertising manager Sue Keily skeily@mortons.co.uk Advertising Fiona Leak Tel: 01507 529573 Email: fleak@mortons.co.uk Publishing director Dan Savage Publisher Tim Hartley Production editor Sarah Wilkinson Designers Tracey Markham, Tim Pipes Reprographics Jonathan Schofield Subscription manager Paul Deacon Circulation manager Steve O’Hara

EDITORIAL

Want to know when your next edition of Rail Express is on the shelves?

Editor Paul Bickerdyke Tel: 01507 529540 Email: RailExpressEditor@mortons.co.uk Editorial address Rail Express Magazine, Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ

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Nigel Burkin Editor Rail Express Modeller

Alistair Grieve Shunters

David Russell

Preservation Units Coaches

Gareth Bayer Power by the hour Wagons

David Rapson Powerscene

William Watson Irish Angle (with Alan McFerran)

Christopher Westcott LU World (with Piers Connor)

‘Industry Witness’ News Writer

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR YOUNG

PRIZES

RAILWAY PHOTOGRAPHER

OF THE YEAR

ARE YOU THE

YOUNG RAILWAY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR?

HERE at Rail Express we have a proud, longstanding tradition of highlighting work from many of the country’s best railway photographers. Now RE is seeking to highlight the best from the next generation.

The prestigious Rail Camera Club (RCC) is organising a new photographic competition to give an opportunity for budding and established railway photographers aged 25 and under to showcase their work.

The competition, launched in November, is supported by Network Rail, the National Railway Museum, Jessops Europe Limited, Rail Express publisher Mortons Media Group Ltd, TimeLine Events, the Bahamas Locomotive Society, Bauer Media and Silver Link Publishing.

Entries are invited to illustrate ‘The Railway Seen’ using images with a railway connection that have been taken since January 1, 2019.

Pictures should illustrate the diversity of the current railway scene in the UK and the variety of subject matter available such as steam, electric and diesel traction, contemporary railway vehicles, architecture, people, landscapes, design features and abstract image.

Images can also show how the new blends with the old. However, every picture submitted must have some connection with ‘Britain’s railways today’.

Entries will not be accepted if they have been taken from an unsafe railway location or

a location where the photographer has clearly been trespassing on railway property.

Entries will be accepted from any photographer who is aged 25 and under on October 31, 2020.

There are two age categories: 1 – photographers aged 18 and under 2 – photographers aged 19-25.

Successful entrants will be required to provide proof of eligibility at some stage in the competition. Entries from young people in under-represented communities are actively encouraged to enter.

Entrants should submit a diverse portfolio of six images based on the theme. They should be RGB JPEGs, a maximum file size of 10MB and with a minimum size of 3000 pixels along the longest edge.

Details of each image (name, entry category, picture title, image file number and contact details) must be provided on the entry form when images are sent.

There is no entry fee.

Images can be taken on any piece of image-taking equipment, including cameras and phones. Each entrant will be required to provide details of the equipment used and any relevant technical information.

■ To enter the competition, visit our website: www.youngrailphotographeroftheyear.co.uk Entries must be received by November 1, 2020. The winners will be announced as soon as possible after January 1, 2021.

■ Category 1: A Level 1 or 2 Photography Course provided by the Jessops Academy, depending on the winner’s experience. Winners, if aged under 16, must be accompanied by an adult; a year’s subscription to one or more magazines published by the sponsors; a tram-driving experience at the Heaton Park Tramway; a ‘Behind the Scenes’ visit to Rail Story, Ingrow, on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (KWVR); a voucher towards a photographic event organised by TimeLine Events (aged 16 and over); complimentary Day Rover tickets for two to travel on the KWVR; a behindthe-scenes photographic opportunity at the National Railway Museum, York, plus a selection of NRM merchandise; a bundle of books provided

by Silver Link Publishing; and an opportunity to contribute to the RCC print folios.

■ Category 2: A Nikon P900 bridge camera provided by Jessops Europe Limited; a year’s subscription to Rail Express; a railway-related prize offered by the East Lancashire Railway; a ‘behind-the-scenes’ visit to Rail Story; a TimeLine Events voucher; complimentary Day Rover tickets for two to travel on the KWVR; the same NRM package as outlined above; a bundle of Silver Link Publishing books; and the opportunity to contribute to the RCC folios.

There will be a single winner chosen from all the entries received. Network Rail will be providing an opportunity for the winner and a guest to ascend to the top of the Forth Railway Bridgee and to take picturess from this unique vantage point.

Right: Standing on the top of the 361ft-high Forth Bridge and looking through the girders to the train deck as a ScotRail Class 158 speeds towards North Queensferry.

Chris Milner

A late running 6J37 Carlisle to Chirk loaded log train, headed by Colas’ No. 70809, nicely coincides with the sun setting at Ribblehead on a frosty November 29, 2019. Stephen Veitch

January 2020 RAIL EXPRESS 15

EAST COAST FINALE

LNER bids farewell to HSTs

December witnessed the end of HST operation on main line East Coast services as ‘Azumas’ take over the operator’s non-electrified routes.

B

Y the time you read this, the era of East Coast HSTs out of King’s Cross to the North of England and Scotland will almost be over, with just the farewell tour due to run after more than 40 years of service on the route.

HSTs were first introduced to the Western Region out of Paddington in 1976 (as 2+7 Class 253 sets), with the Eastern Region out of King’s Cross coming the year after (as 2+8 Class 254 sets). A speeded up timetable followed from May 1978, but full introduction of HST services to Scotland was hampered by the Penmanshiel tunnel collapse north of Berwick-upon-Tweed in early 1979 (see October 2019 issue),

24 RAIL EXPRESS January 2020

which put the full new timetable back to August 1979.

HSTs then formed the backbone of East Coast Main Line services until electrification of the route in the late 1980s and the introduction of Class 91s+Mk.4 sets, which reached Leeds in 1988, York in 1989 and Edinburgh in 1991. This allowed most ECML HST sets to be cascaded elsewhere, such as the Midland Main Line and CrossCountry routes, but some were retained to serve destinations away from the wires – including Bradford and Skipton (until these too were electrified in 1994), Harrogate, Hull, Aberdeen and Inverness.

 The changing face of LNER at King’s Cross on May 14, 2019 as power car No. 43208 lines up with its replacement in the form of bi-mode No. 800113. Paul Bickerdyke  Low winter sun greets Nos. 43305+43306 at Colton Junction, south of York, on December 10, 2018 as they power the 1E05/07.30 Edinburgh to King’s Cross. Jamie Squibbs

TIME TRAVELLER YEARS AGO...

50

JANUARY 1970

■ DIESELISATION ‘TOO QUICK’:

Speaking to members of the Derby Railway Engineering Club at its annual dinner, Mr W G Thorpe – deputy chairman and chief executive of British Railways Board – said that British Railway’s conversion from steam to diesel traction was “Far too sudden a change, far too inadequately planned…

Millions were poured out… it was bad management planning”. Referring to the future, Mr Thorpe hoped that electrification would be extended to Glasgow and, speaking of the proposed Co-Co diesel-electric locomotive with a top speed of 80mph for freight working, he said that BR must design a 4500hp locomotive ‘smartly’. The prototype must be ready by 1972 and would have to be “flogged to death to give the public reliability – no excuses!”

YEARS AGO...

20

JANUARY 2000

■ ENTER ARRIVA: The ownership of Britain’s rail franchises took a new turn on January 24 when Arriva – the only major national bus company then without a rail franchise – bought the Northern Spirit and Merseyrail Electrics

YEARS AGO...

40

JANUARY 1980

■ MASSIVE FARE RISE: British

Railway’s fares were increased by 20% from January 6. Despite rising costs and a progressive reduction in financial support from the Government for operating passenger services, the board pointed out it had held prices for a full year but, in order to meet its tough financial objectives for 1980, needed to raise fares. Its objectives would also be met by cutting costs further through improved productivity and by passenger marketing campaigns to continue the growth experienced in 1978 and 1979, where there had been an overall increase in passenger volume of about 5%.

Higher fare increases would be applied to routes operating new HSTs and on Great Northern Electrics, where there had been heavy investment. Seat reservation fees would also rise from 45p to 50p. operations from MTL for £34.7million.

The two franchises were the first passenger train operating concerns to change hands completely in an outright sale, paving the way for other smaller or less profitable TOCs to be taken over. As part of the deal, MTL’s bus businesses were also taken over by Arriva. The change was not expected to make much difference to rail users, however, as the existing franchise commitments had to be honoured.

The remains of Holborn Viaduct station just before closure. The replacement Thameslink route can just be glimpsed off to the left at a lower level.

YEARS AGO...

30

JANUARY 1990

■ LONDON CLOSURE: Friday, January 26 marked the end of the line for the 115-year-old Holborn Viaduct terminus in central London, which had originally been opened by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway on March 2, 1874. It was built to bring commuters into the city and used to see up to 22 trains per hour in the peak. The decline of Holborn Viaduct had been a gradual process, and at the end the original six platforms had been reduced to just two, and its status was that of a Monday to Friday peak-hour

service only. Its decline was hastened by changes in traffic patterns. A deal with a development company meant that the land could be freed up for new buildings, while BR would get a new station to be named St Paul’s Thameslink (later City Thameslink) at a lower level on the reopened crossLondon Thameslink route, which was due to open from May 1980. To commemorate the closure of Holborn Viaduct – only the second time BR had closed a London terminus (after Broad Street in 1986), Hertfordshire Railtours ran a special train formed of 4-CEPs Nos. 1513 and 1605, which left the terminus at 19.40 – some 12 minutes after the final service train, the 19.28 to Orpington. The special covered various lines to Victoria before ending at Charing Cross. Demolition work was due to begin almost immediately.

YEARS AGO...

10

JANUARY 2010

■ RUNAWAY FREIGHT DERAILS:

Frozen brakes, resulting in almost total brake failure, caused the derailment of a Class 66-hauled intermodal train at Carrbridge, Scotland, on January 4, which blocked the Highland Main Line for a week. DB Schenker’s Stobart-liveried No. 66048 crashed off the rails at the north end of Carrbridge station and ploughed into a thicket of trees at the foot of a small embankment.

The train was the 4N47 Inverness to Grangemouth with 10 intermodal wagons for Stobart on behalf of supermarket Tesco; it was the loco’s first revenue earning service in its new livery, and the first day of the Stobart contract for DBS after taking over from DRS. Running down from Sloch summit at a ruling gradient of 1-in-60, the train was travelling around 55mph when the driver attempted to apply the brakes without success. The train veered left at the north end of Carrbridge station loop and was derailed on catch-points.

32 RAIL EXPRESS January 2020

Derailed No. 66048 where it came to rest amongst the trees at the bottom of an embankment at Carrbridge, Scotland. The loco was effectively scrapped after recovery, although the bodyshell is now at EMD Longport, near Stoke-on-Trent.

The loco and two wagons went down an embankment and the rest of the wagons were scattered between the platforms, damaging track and signalling.

The driver was badly shaken but

uninjured and managed to take the necessary action to protect the line.

The line reopened on January 13, but the loco was not recovered until much later as it required a temporary road to be built.

The RAIB report found that snow and ice had worked its way into the space between the wheels’ brake blocks, and may also have interfered with other parts of the brake mechanisms on the freight wagons.

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