Rail Express July 2015

CRossRAil

TunnElling ComPlETE

sPECiAl REPoRT AnD PiCTuREs insiDE

lAnguAgE, TimoThy!

DERBy TRAinmAn lEARns ThE lingo

Essential reading for today’s rail enthusiast

Tracking down

Polish

‘Class 83s’

FREE! Forth Bridge

RAIL EXPRESS No. 230 JULY 2015 £4.30

A4 print

Highlander returns german exile 59003 back in traffic

moRECAmBE’s Am1s:

A modern traction dinosaur www.railexpress.co.uk

40 pages of modelling ■ Tinsley’s volcano-named ‘37s’ ■ DEMU Showcase round-up ■ LU ‘S’ Stock in ‘OO’ gauge

CONTENTS

Issue No. 230 July 2015

WEST COUNTRY ‘THUMPER’: DEMU No. 1118 was moved from the West Somerset Railway to the Dartmoor Railway on June 3, the train running as the 5Z67/14.30

Minehead to Okehampton, although it actually originated at Williton. The unit was hauled by Freightliner’s Shanks-liveried Type 5 No. 66522, the trip seen passing Cowley Bridge Junction on the approach to Exeter Riverside Yard, where it ran round. For more preservation news, see p75. David Mitchell

8

15

22

26 27

HEADLINE NEWS

Three shortlisted for Greater Anglia; bid to bring back GNER brand to East Coast; exiled ‘59’ back in traffic; Borders Railway driver training begins; passenger numbers rise more quickly than forecast; diesels to the rescue at NYMR; Network Rail ups pay offer to avert strike action.

28

DERBY TRAINMAN

Part 5 and Tim Helme learns to talk the talk.

28

REVIEWS

29

EXPRESS MAILBAG

30

TIME TRAVELLER

71

LU WORLD

72

RAILTOURS

75

PRESERVATION

Thameslink’s stopgap EMU is put in the spotlight and under the stopwatch.

80

POWER BY THE HOUR

MORECAMBE’S AM1 EMUs

82

POWERSCENE

SPECIAL REPORT: CROSSRAIL

Tunnelling on the mammoth £14.8bn project is now complete, marking the halfway point in the construction timetable. Here we look at the state of play above and below ground along the central tunnel section through London.

IN PURSUIT OF POLISH ‘ROARERS’

A version of BR’s Class 83 electric is alive and well working freight and passenger duties in Poland. Mark Darby describes the locos, where to see them and how to get there.

0-60: CLASS 387

Built in 1914, these modern traction dinosaurs played a part in the development of AC power.

MODELLING This month there’s an in-depth look at Tinsley’s volcanonamed ‘37s’, plus Colas coal operations and tanks in trouble; reviews including Heljan’s ‘O’ gauge railbus; and all the news from the recent DEMU Showcase

90 93 94 95 96

A selection of the latest modern traction books.

Stratford’s ‘47s’, Scottish ‘40s’; New Zealand Mk.2s.

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Looking back to July news over the decades.

Is it time to install platform doors at every station?

Laira shunters pull in the punters for charity tour.

Class 58 to move to Leicester?; first run for Romanian ‘Grid’ at Swanage, but green ‘37’ fails.

DRS sacrifices three ‘37s’ to gain two.

Our class by class round-up of notable workings.

UNITARY AUTHORITY

More ‘319s’ start work with Northern.

SHUNTER SPOT

Traditional Traction expands its reach.

COACH COMPARTMENT

FGW Composite conversions near completion.

WAGONS ROLL

Arlington completes first MPV KHA conversion.

IRISH ANGLE

RPSI to use redundant Dublin Connolly loco shed.

Former German exile No. 59003 Yeoman Highlander has been refurbished and returned to traffic by GBRf, making its debut at the West Somerset Railway’s gala on June 5-7, seen heading the 15.45 Minehead-Bishops Lydeard past Doniford on the middle day. Mark Few

Editor’s comment PRINT & DISTRIBUTION Newstrade & distribution COMAG, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE.

Paul Bickerdyke

01895 433600 Printed by William Gibbons and Sons, Wolverhampton Published Third Thursday of every month

Rail Express Editor

This issue June 18, 2015 Next issue July 16, 2015 Advertising deadline July 2, 2015

Crossrail over halfway there

B

Y any measure, Crossrail is a massive undertaking. The £14.8 billion scheme is officially Europe’s largest construction project, with 26 miles of tunnelling and 10 new stations on the route.

In a city that is used to seeing construction projects, with its ever-changing skyline, Crossrail still stands out in London because it is a multi-site affair. All the way along the roughly 10-mile route from Paddington to the Docklands there are visible signs of activity, any one of which would be counted as major construction.

At street level, work is focused on building the new stations, most of which are essentially still holes in the ground - except for Canary Wharf, the station box for which was the first project completed, even before tunnelling had begun in 2012.

But above ground is the proverbial tip of the iceberg, and it is below street level that much of the work is taking place.

A milestone was reached at the end of May when the final tunnel drive came to an end at Farringdon. This meant that around two-thirds of construction is now completed and marked the halfway point on the timeline to opening.

The numbers associated with the tunnelling are staggering - 3.4 million tonnes of spoil, 200,000 concrete lining segments, eight 1000tonne tunnel boring machines. And all this

ISSN No 1362 234X ©Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this

contrasting with the laser-guided, millimetreprecision route the TBMs had to take threading their way through the existing subterranean infrastructure, of which there is plenty in London.

Our special report this month on pages 15-21 takes a look at how far the project has come so far. When it opens in 2018, the service will transform rail travel across the capital. A journey from Paddington to Liverpool Street today takes about half an hour, including changing from train to Tube and waiting times; with Crossrail the through journey will take 10 minutes. New journey opportunities will also open up, such as Heathrow to Gatwick via one change at Farringdon.

For London and the South East, where new figures show that 70% of all rail journeys are made (see page 10), Crossrail cannot come soon enough to take pressure off the ever-growing demand.

Highlander: there can be only one

It is good to see No. 59003 Yeoman Highlander back in action in this country. The loco is now something of a celebrity after its 17-year exile in Germany, and it has been returned to sparkling condition at Eastleigh Works for GBRf. The ‘59’ has more starting grunt than either a ‘60’ or ‘66’, and as the only one of its type owned by the freight firm, it will be interesting to see where it is put to work.

Paul Bickerdyke

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EDITORIAL

Simon Bendall Editor Rail Express Modeller Power by the Hour Shunter Spot Name Game Spectrum

Editor Paul Bickerdyke

David Rapson Powerscene

Christopher Westcott LU World (with Piers Connor)

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HEADLINE NEWS

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Three bid for Greater Anglia

Past and present operators are in the running for the redrawn Anglian franchise due to start in late 2016.

By ‘Industry Witness’ THE current Greater Anglia franchise operated by Abellio will be replaced in October 2016 with a redrawn East Anglia contract.

The changes reflect the transfer of Shenfield electric services to Crossrail and the north east London services to Chingford, Enfield Town, Cheshunt and Upminster to London Overground, both of which took place at the timetable change in May. The Department for Transport has announced a shortlist of bidders for the new franchise, which are First Group, National Express and a joint venture between Abellio and Stagecoach. The latter is a surprise,

as the current Greater Anglia contract is held by Abellio on its own. The benefit of Abellio bringing in Stagecoach as a partner will be experience of working in a deeper alliance with Network Rail, as is the case with South West Trains. Similar measures have not been implemented in the current day-to-day relationship between NR and Abellio.

First Group has experience of the East Anglia network, as it formerly held the Great Eastern franchise when this was a separate operation.

During this time, it introduced the initial fleet of Siemens ‘Desiro’ Class 360 electric multiple units on outer suburban services, which remain in use on these routes today. National

Express is also a former operator of the Greater Anglia franchise, which it lost to Abellio in 2012 in a decision linked to its withdrawal from the East Coast Main Line franchise. This caused the company considerable reputational damage with franchising officials at the time.

The bidders have been asked to improve services and, in particular, outline how the GE Main Line Taskforce recommendation of reducing journey time between London and Norwich can be achieved.

There is also a call for better connections between the larger towns and major population centres beyond the region. Abellio has previously indicated that if it wins the new

franchise it will order new rolling stock for the London to Norwich route so that the fleet of locomotive-hauled Mk.3 vehicles can be withdrawn by the end of 2019. This avoids spending an estimated £12 million to make the fleet compliant with new regulations covering vehicle access for passengers with reduced mobility.

It has previously been speculated that the Class 91+Mk.4 sets, which will be cascaded from the East Coast route once the new Hitachi-built IEP trainsets are delivered, would be employed on the Great Eastern Main Line. But it would appear that multiple unit rolling stock is preferred, given the ability to provide more seats in a given length of train.

SVR DIESEL DEPOT TAKES SHAPE: Work is progressing well to build a dedicated £600,000 diesel maintenance facility for the Severn Valley Railways’ modern traction fleet. Located adjacent to Kidderminster station, the three road depot includes an inspection pit, 10-tonne overhead crane and 25-tonne lifting jacks. When it opens at the end of the year, it will allow up to six locos to be worked on at any one time, work which often has to be done in the open at present. The enormous structure is seen in the background as Class 67 No. 67005 Queen’s Messenger passes at the rear of a VSOE special from Victoria to Bridgnorth, hauled by ‘Deltic’ No. D9009 Alycidon, which was running as part of the SVR’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Brian Sharpe

Bid to bring back GNER brand on the East Coast ALLIANCE Holdings, a subsidiary of Arriva and hence Deutsche Bahn, is hoping to be granted rights to operate open access services on the East Coast Main Line under the GNER brand.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is set to offer further train paths to one operator on the route in July, which could see extra trains running as early as 2018.

8 RAIL EXPRESS July 2015

The Alliance plan is to run limited stop services from King’s Cross to Edinburgh in three hours 45 minutes – about 30 minutes quicker than most trains now – using new build ‘Pendolinos’. The idea is to offer a variety of classes, from economy to private pods, to compete against airlines between the two capitals. The GNER brand was previously owned by

Sea Containers, which ran the East Coast franchise from 1996 to 2007, but had it taken away after getting into financial difficulties.

Also competing for the extra East Coast paths is First Group, which wants to run budget trains between London and Edinburgh with no First Class carriages, while Virgin Trains East Coast wants the paths to run services to

places such as Middlesbrough. The key for the open access operators is to convince ORR that it will not take revenue away from Virgin Trains, which has to pay the Treasury £3.3 billion over the next eight years.

Alliance’s managing director Ian Yeowart, said: “This is an opportunity for the taxpayer to get the benefits of HS2 without spending any money.”

HEADLINE NEWS

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Highlander back in traffic Former exiled Class 59 No. 59003 is now ready to start work for new owner GBRf.

By Simon Bendall THE eagerly awaited return to service of No. 59003 Yeoman Highlander finally took place on May 29. Repatriated to the UK last October by GB Railfreight, the long absent machine has spent the intervening period undergoing overhaul and conversion back to UK specification at Eastleigh Works.

Repainted in standard GBRf colours, No. 59003’s first move under its own power on UK metals since 1996 involved a short test run in the company of No. 66717 on May 29, this being the 0Z59/10.00 Eastleigh Works to Guildford via Fareham and Havant, and the 0Z60 12.20 return via the same route.

Still retaining its cast name and number plates, the finishing touches were then applied

by Arlington Fleet Services. June 3 saw No. 59003 depart the works behind No. 66763, the duo being bound for the Great Western centre at Didcot as the 0V27/10.18 working.

Here, Nos. 45060 and 56006 were collected before the quartet continued on to the West Somerset Railway for the following weekend’s gala.

The ‘59’ starred in the gala, operating passenger trains between Bishops Lydeard and Minehead. Representatives of GBRf, ElectroMotive Diesel (the original manufacturers), Arlington Fleet (UK Conversion) and Heavy Haul Power International (previous owners) attended a small rededication ceremony at Minehead to commemorate the return of the locomotive to UK service. GBRf says it bought Yeoman Highlander for its heavy haul capability, which can be used to shift anything from stone aggregate to oil tankers.

GBRf’s new toy No. 59003 Yeoman Highlander at Eastleigh on May 29, about to work a test run to Guildford and back. This was its first working under its own power in Britain since 1996, hence why stablemate No. 66717 went along as insurance. Compare how it looks here with the cover shot and note that the paintwork still has to be finished off. Joe Loughlin Left: How the loco looked on its return to Britain last year. The ‘59’ is dragged behind No. 47815 past Slitting Mill, Chesterfield, on October 13 as the 0Z59/1100 Immingham to Eastleigh.

Gary Schofield

operate the longest daily service anywhere in Scotland, with trains running from 05.20 until nearly 01.00 the next day.

CALL FOR FULL REOPENING THROUGH TO CARLISLE

Even before the Borders Railway has reopened to Tweedbank, talks have been held within Transport Scotland about the possibility of extending the former Waverley Route southwards. This news emerged in response to a parliamentary question tabled by MSP Jim Hume. The immediate beneficiaries would be an extension to Melrose (population 1600),

St Boswells (1400) and Hawick (14000).

There are isolated communities south of Hawick, which would require a diversion where the trackbed has been built on, but it would enable through and diversionary services to be run.

From Longtown the West Coast Main Line could be used rather than the original Waverley line to Carlisle.

■ FREIGHTLINER Class 66 No. 66528 was named Madge Elliot MBE – Borders Railway Opening 2015 in a ceremony at Waverley station on June 4. Madge Elliott is a resident of Hawick who campaigned against the closure of the Waverley Route in the 1960s and since then for its reopening.

Diesel railtour to visit Tweedbank in September A RAILTOUR to run over the newly reopened Borders Railway has been announced by Pathfinder Tours for September 18-19.

Starting at Eastleigh, the tour embraces numerous interesting freight lines en route, such as the Crewe Independent, the goods lines at Carlisle and, on the return, non passenger lines at Millerhill and on the Blyth & Tyne.

EDINBURGH TRAM SUCCESS IN ITS first year of operation, the Edinburgh tram system attracted almost five million passengers, regarded as a resounding success and one that beats the set target. Despite its immensely troubled construction and cost over-run, the city has embraced the system since it opened to the public on May 1, 2014, running from Edinburgh York Place to Edinburgh Airport, a distance of 8.7 miles.

The success of its first year will undoubtedly help the case for extending the system. In December 2014 Edinburgh Council inaugurated an investigation into extending the existing line to Leith – the destination of the original concept.

‘D-TRAIN’ WELSH BACKLASH

Driver training begins on Borders Railway WITH construction work all but complete, work has begun to train ScotRail crews on the rejuvenated line from Edinburgh to Tweedbank ahead of its planned opening on September 6.

The line is part of the former through ‘Waverley Route’ to Carlisle, which closed in 1969 under the Beeching cuts. The 35-mile, £350 million reopened section represents about a third of the length of the former main line to the south. It will be the longest section of line to be reopened since the 1960s.

Around 60 drivers need to be trained, with four return journeys being made each day. Once open, trains will

in brief

The run to Tweedbank will take place early on the Saturday prior to the normal daily timetable starting.

Two Class 66s are booked to power the trip, and there will be full amenities provided, including buffet, real ales and ‘Gricers’ grill.

■ STROUD-based Pathfinder Tours will operate its 1000th railtour on May 20 with a trip from Exeter to Shrewsbury via

the Heart of Wales line. Pathfinder has been operating about 30 trips a year since 1973, when it was known as F&W Railtours, and carried about 350,000 passengers. General manager Peter Watts said, “Back in 1973 I never thought that we’d get to 1000 trains. I am very grateful to everyone who has been involved with Pathfinder over the years to make it the success it is today.”

OPPOSITION to using rebuilt ‘D78’ Stock fitted with diesel power units has come from the RMT union and Welsh MP Hywel Williams.

Arriva Trains Wales has been in contact with Vivarail, the company refurbishing the former Tube stock at Long Marston, with a view to using them on North Wales services.

The RMT’s Mick Cash said that it is a move that threatens both jobs and safety in one hit.

Vivarail’s Adrian Shooter responded: “It goes without saying that no train can be run without meeting all relevant safety regulations”. ATW said it was a matter for the Government.

WABTEC WINS ‘321’ CONTRACT

FOLLOWING a trial lasting 15 months using refurbished Class 321 No. 321448, owner Eversholt has awarded Wabtec a contract worth £60 million to refurbish the whole Class 321 fleet. The project, dubbed ‘Renatus’ (latin for ‘born again’), took account of passengers’ reactions to various interiors of the trial unit.

The fleet comprises: 66 x Class321/3; 48 x Class321/4 and 3 x Class321/9. Eversholt Rail is part of Hong Kong-based CK Investments and owns approximately a third of the UK’s traction and rolling stock.

BML2 KEEPS UP PRESSURE THE campaign by the BML2 group to reopen the closed route south of Uckfield through Lewes to Brighton continues apace. Numerous politicians through the years have indicated their support. The Conservatives have recently said they would look at the project.

Besides reopening the closed route from Uckfield, the group is also proposing a new link from Uckfield to Brighton via Falmer – home of Brighton & Hove Albion’s Amex stadium and Brighton and Sussex universities.

Tunbridge Wells West would also be connected to the Brighton Main Line 2 project.

POWER STATION TO CLOSE SSE has announced that rail supplied Ferrybridge ‘C’ Power station will stop generating and close from 2016. Some 180 people work at the plant together with more contractors. Unit 4 at Ferrybridge suffered a serious fire in July 2014 and will not reopen.

Unit 3 is the one to cease next year.

Ferrybridge is the third power station to be built on the site since 1924. Often referred to as ‘Ferrybridge C’, it first fed electricity into the national grid in February 1966. A new multi-fuel ‘waste to energy’ plant being built alongside is not affected by the closure.

July 2015 RAIL EXPRESS 9

SPECIAL REPORT: CROSSRAIL

Tunnelling complete!

The £14.8 billion Crossrail project is well over halfway complete after the last tunnel boring machine broke through into Farringdon station box in late May.

T

HE Crossrail project, Europe’s largest construction scheme, reached a major milestone at the end of May with the completion of the 26 miles of tunnels. This marks the halfway point time-wise in the £14.8 billion project, and means that two-thirds of the work has now been done.

The final breakthrough occurred at Farringdon at 05.30 on May 23 when tunnel boring machine (TBM) Victoria arrived from Limmo Peninsula, near Canning Town, in east London. The TBM then moved forward into the station box to add the final tunnel rings behind it, which was completed on May 26.

The idea for a cross-London underground main line between Paddington and Liverpool Street dates back to the 1940s, and the term ‘Crossrail’ was first used in a 1974 rail study by the Department of the Environment and the Greater London Council. But it was not until 2005 that a Bill was put before Parliament to build such a scheme, which gained Royal Assent as the Crossrail Act in 2008.

Construction began at Canary Wharf in 2009 to build the station box and its associated office and retail development. But it was May 2012 when tunnelling got underway at the Royal Oak portal, just to the west of Paddington, where the Crossrail route will leave the Great Western Main Line for the 10-mile journey under the capital.

TUNNELLING BEGINS

Tunnelling was broken down into 10 tunnel drives using eight different TBMs, two being used twice (see graphic). Drive X covered the 4.25 miles of twin-bore tunnel from Royal Oak to Farringdon using TBMs Phyllis and Ada; Drive Y was from Limmo Peninsula to Farringdon using Elizabeth and Victoria; Drive Z was from Pudding Mill Lane to Stepney Green (joining the tunnels made by Drive Y) using Jessica and Ellie; and Drive H was from Plumstead to North Woolwich, a

route separate from the main tunnels to take Crossrail under the Thames, using Sophia and Mary. Jessica and Ellie were then reused to tunnel from Limmo to the Victoria Dock portal, near Custom House, in the Docklands area.

The German-built TBMs were like moving factories, threading their way around the existing tunnels and underground infrastructure of London with near millimetre-precision. Each weighed around 1000 tonnes with a diameter of 7.1m and measuring 150m in length. The cutting head was pressed against the earth by hydraulic rams and excavated material transported away by conveyor. As the head moved along, concrete tunnel rings were installed behind by a gang of 12 tunnel workers, with another eight proving a link to and from the surface.

GOOD FOR 120 YEARS

The concrete lining has been designed to last at least 120 years, and more than 200,000 individual segments have been used, each complete ring being formed of seven segments and a keystone.

Tunnelling is deepest at Finsbury Circus, near Liverpool Street, where it is 42m below ground. The record for the most tunnelling achieved in one day is held by TBM Ellie, which moved 72m on April 16, 2014, between Pudding Mill Lane and Stepney Green.

The TBMs excavated about 3.4 million tonnes of material between them, around half of the total amount excavated by the project as a whole.

Nearly all of the material is being reused, most notably three million tonnes being shipped to Wallasea Island in the Thames estuary, where it is helping to create a wetland nature reserve.

With tunnelling complete, TBMs Mary, Sophia, Jessica and Ellie have been dismantled and returned to their manufacturer Herrenknecht so that parts can be reused on other tunnelling projects. Victoria and Elizabeth have also

Construction workers look on as tunnel boring machine Victoria makes the historic final breakthrough into Farringdon on May 23. All images this page: Crossrail Ltd

been dismantled, but their front ‘cans’ have been left in the tunnel, and trains will eventually pass through them. Phyllis and Ada were dismantled except for the front ‘cans’ and cutterheads, which have been left buried at Farringdon.

TRACK LAYING

Work will now focus on completing the stations, laying the tracks, and installing power and signalling. Ten new stations are being built: eight underground at Paddington, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Farringdon, Liverpool Street, Whitechapel, Canary Wharf, and Woolwich; and two overground at Custom House and Abbey Wood. Track laying has already begun on the surface at Abbey Wood, near the Plumstead portal, but no tracks have been laid in the tunnels yet.

The following pages show the state of work above and below ground at the new stations on the central section.

Services are due to start running

Graphic showing the 10 tunnel drives, the TBMs that made them, and the dates they were completed.

through the central tunnels from the end of 2018, with the full service between Reading/Heathrow and Shenfield/Abbey Wood following a year later in December 2019. Trains will be operated by MTR Crossrail, under contract to Transport for London, which won the franchise in June 2013. Although Crossrail is still three years away, MTR has already started running Metro services between Liverpool Street and Shenfield since the May timetable change.

Crossrail trains will be formed of new Class 345 EMUs, which are being built by Bombardier in Derby at a cost of £1 billion. The fleet of 65 nine-car ‘Aventra’ units will be based at a new depot at Old Oak Common, on the site of the former diesel depot.

Up to 24 trains per hour will run through the central tunnel section when the full service is introduced, with an estimated 200 million passengers using it every year – which is more than half a million every single day.

One of the eight giant TBMs, Mary, undergoing factory testing in Germany ahead of shipping to London in January 2013.

July 2015 RAIL EXPRESS 15

SPECIAL REPORT: CROSSRAIL

ROYAL OAK PORTAL: Construction of the portal began in January 2010, and it was

from here that tunnelling proper began in May 2012 when TBM Phyllis set off for Farringdon, followed by Ada boring the adjacent tunnel. The portal is just west of Paddington, and it is here that Crossrail services will leave the Great Western Main Line (right) for the 10-mile journey underground to Custom House and Pudding Mill Lane in east London. Unless stated, all overground pictures taken on June 4 by Paul Bickerdyke

PADDINGTON: The entrance to the Crossrail station at Paddington will be on Eastbourne Terrace, along the south side of the main line station. This used to be where the taxi rank was located, but this has been moved to the opposite side instead. This is the view looking east towards the city centre.

INSET: A graphic showing how the multi-layered entrance to the Crossrail station will look.

PADDINGTON

ROYAL OAK PORTAL

District & Circle Lines

PADDINGTON: Showing where the twin single-bore tunnels emerge into the station box, taken on March 25. All underground pictures: Crossrail Ltd

16 RAIL EXPRESS July 2015

PADDINGTON: The cavernous station box under Eastbourne Terrace will house an island platform serving trains in both directions.

TIME TRAVELLER GATEX ‘73s’ BOW OUT: The use of Class 73s and Mk.2s on the Gatwick Express service officially ended on July 28, 2005, after more than 21 years.

Their use lasted longer than expected due to problems with the replacement Class 460 EMUs (themselves now displaced by Class 442s and withdrawn to be reused in the Class 458/5 conversion programme).

The final services scheduled to be loco-hauled were the 13.00 VictoriaGatwick and 13.50 return, which was top-and-tailed by Nos. 73202 and 73208.

No. 73202 was then retained by GatEx for non-passenger and ‘Thunderbird’ duties. It had been named Dave Berry in a ceremony at Stewarts Lane depot on July 22. The outbound working is seen at Clapham Junction sporting the same headboard worn for the service launch on May 10, 1984 – although it needed a section cutting out for the headlight fitted since the 1980s.

YEARS AGO...

50

JULY 1965

■ MORE LINES GO, BUT IoW AVOIDS TOTAL CLOSURE: The Minister of Transport agreed to the withdrawal of services between Oxford and Cambridge via Bletchley and Bedford. The decision meant the closure of 24 stations on the 77-mile route that linked the London Midland and Eastern Regions.

In Scotland, the Minister consented to closure of the line from Dunblane to Crianlarich, but refused consent for the withdrawal of local services between Fort William and Mallaig. Glasgow Buchanan Street would also close, with services switching to the nearby Queen Street, instead.

On the Isle of Wight, the lines from Shanklin to Ventnor and Ryde to Cowes were approved for closure. However, permission to close Ryde to Shanklin was refused, while Ryde to Ryde Pier head was already due to be retained as a shuttle service for the ferries.

YEARS AGO...

40

JULY 1975

■ STRIKES LEAD TO BIGGER LOSSES: BR published its accounts for 1974 showing a deficit of £157.8 million compared with £51.6m the previous year (equivalent to £1705m and £558m, respectively, at 2015 prices). Estimated passengermiles rose from 18,500 million to 19,200 million, but net ton-miles of freight fell from 14,043 million to 13,230 million, largely due to industrial action in the coal industry and recession in the steel industry. The deficit in passenger operations was put at £340m, while that for freight was estimated at around £60m.

30 RAIL EXPRESS July 2015

YEARS AGO...

30

JULY 1985

■ STRIKE AFFECT LOSSES - AGAIN! British Railways accounts for 1984/85 showed that support for passenger services was £904 million (equivalent to £2.7bn today), around £50m lower than the previous year, while freight made a loss

of £408m (£1.2bn today) – down from a profit of £35m the year before. The miners’ strike was mainly responsible for these.

■ THAMESLINK GETS THE GO-AHEAD: The Government approved a £54 million plan to reopen the Snow Hill Tunnel

between Blackfriars and Farringdon to allow electric trains to run between the Southern and London Midland Regions.

A fleet of 184 new dual-voltage trains was to be built, although in the end only 86 Class 319s were built. The half-mile Snow Hill Tunnel closed to traffic in 1969 and all the track was lifted.

YEARS AGO...

20

JULY 1995

■ MAIL TRAIN DERAILS: No. 47743 The Bobby left the tracks and plunged down an embankment north of York on July 24. The accident happened at Skelton Junction just before 23.30 when the 17.42 Bristol-Low Fell mail train was derailed on the approach to

■ FIRST EVER VINYL WRAP: The very

first all over vinyl livery was applied to EMU No. 321308 to advertise 3M, the company that developed the technology. The unit was unveiled on July 24 and worked services out of London Liverpool Street. It was a test bed to see how durable the vinyl was in everyday railway environment.

trains in the morning rush hour between Liverpool Street and Aldgate, Edgware and Paddington, and King’s Cross and Russell Square. The bus was attacked an hour later in Tavistock Square.

There were 56 fatalities, including the four bombers, and 700 others were injured. The attacks were the worst on London since the Second World War. A memorial was unveiled in Hyde Park by Prince Charles in 2009.

Fear hits the capital and the newspaper headlines of the day said it all. Ellywa

the Ouse Bridge on the Down slow line.

The loco ploughed through a catenary mast, trees and lineside equipment, before coming to rest on its roof. The driver, Collyn Roberts, could only be freed by amputating a leg.

YEARS AGO...

10

JULY 2005

■ LONDON TUBE BOMBINGS: Terrorist struck the capital on July 7, the day after the city had been awarded the 2012 Olympic Games, when suicide bombers targeted three Underground trains and a bus.

The bombers had met up in Luton and travelled down by train to King’s Cross, where they split up to board different Underground Trains.

The bombs exploded on packed

All the product news from the

DEMU Showcase event No .1 35

DIESEL AND ELECTRIC ERA MODELLING

Modelling two of Tinsley’s volcano-named Class 37/4s

R YOU

GEINSG A P 4 0 ELL OD OF M

RTS A T S !

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London Transport Museum unveils new ‘S’ Stock in 4mm

E

Super-size Mk.1 Examining the history of Colas’ coaching stock modelled in 1/32 coal operations

NEWSDESK

Heljan goes all out on ‘Warships’ No fewer than 11 Swindon-built Class 42 diesel hydraulics will be released in ‘O’ gauge in the spring of 2016.

THE start of June saw Heljan confirm its production plan for the upcoming 7mm scale model of the Class 42 ‘Warships’. Scheduled for release in the spring of next year, design work on the much requested model has recently been completed. The specification is to the usual standard with twin motor bogies, directional and cab lighting, and working radiator fans.

Slightly surprisingly, no fewer than

11 different models will be released in order to take into account the various versions of green, maroon and blue that were carried, along with naming and numbering options.

Five of these will be general release models, available from the usual stockists of Heljan’s ‘O’ gauge range. All will be fully finished with names and numbers printed on and include No. D827 Kelly in BR green with

yellow panels along with the BR maroon pair of No. D869 Zest with yellow panels and No. D815 Druid with full yellow ends. Completing the line-up will be the standard blue/full yellow ends duo of No. D866 Zebra and No. 829 Magpie with, respectively, BR arrows on all four cabsides or one on each bodyside.

Meanwhile, six more ‘Warship’ models will be available only from

Tower Models. This sees the above five liveries repeated but minus names and numbers to allow easy personalisation while the Blackpool retailer will be the only source of a Class 42 in BR green without any yellow panels. This again will be supplied in anonymous form.

All six exclusive models will only be produced in small quantities of around 50 each. The RRP of all 11 ‘Warships’ is currently set at £699. www.heljan.dk

Breakthrough on EWS transfers THE long-standing impasse over the availability of EWS transfers appears to have been resolved with Fox Transfers announcing in mid May that it is reinstating its full range of packs. The transfers were withdrawn from sale almost three years ago in the face of onerous licence requirements from DB Schenker, leaving Privatisation modellers with a headache when it came to modelling EWS traction.

The yellow-backed large EWS logos applied particularly to two-tone grey liveried Class 60s and Class 92s are already available again, these costing £7.80 for 2mm, £8.75 for 4mm and £17.70 for 7mm. Maroon EW&S and EWS lettering will also be returned to

the numbering packs as applicable while nameplate sets featuring the ‘beasties’ logos, such as the royal Class 67s, will again be complete.

Fox has also changed its address, this now being Unit 5, Priory Business Park, Wistow Road, Kibworth, Leicestershire LE8 0RX, while the telephone number is now 0116 319 4950. Sadly, the move was overshadowed by the death of company co-founder Jenni Watts on May 19 after a battle with cancer. Once a familiar figure on the exhibition circuit with husband Mike prior to Fox withdrawing from shows, a funeral service was held on May 28. www.fox-transfers.co.uk

C=Rail adds more tanktainers NEWLY released by C=Rail Intermodal are two more liveries on its 4mm scale ‘tanktainer’, this being the 20ft version with full framing rather than the more recently tooled ‘spider’ tank. The new colours cover Stolt, with black framing, and the colourful blue, red and white scheme of Peacock. Price is £9 each.

The company has also confirmed that it

will be releasing its newly-tooled 1980s-90s era 20ft boxes in Freightliner liveries, hopefully for the Warley show in November. These are due to encompass the red/yellow triangle livery from the late 1980s and the plain red scheme with vertical Freightliner lettering. www.c-rail-intermodal.co.uk

‘N’ gauge Class 325 nears completion DUE for release very soon in ‘N’ gauge is the long-awaited resin kit for the Class 325 Royal Mail EMUs. A collaboration between N-Train and Electra Railway Graphics, the four-car kit includes resin bodies, bogies, wheels and pantograph.

Full colour body vinyls will also be

provided with a choice of the original livery with yellow bodyside stripes or the more recent plain red scheme, both with a selection of set numbers. Pictured here is a pre-production resin body, tweaks having since been made ahead of production. www.n-train.co.uk

Railtec unveils transfers for Fife Circle Mk.2f coaches IN TYPICALLY quick fashion, Railtec Transfers has released packs in 2mm and 4mm for the newly reliveried Mk.2 coaches in use on ScotRail’s Fife Circle services. In the latter scale, two packs provide the ScotRail logos with Saltire cross and either Gaelic or English sublettering beneath (3359/60, £3.90 each) while there are currently four packs for individual Mk.2f coaches.

M6 RAIL EXPRESS Modeller July 2015

Providing the white and blue ‘spots’ and other small details, these cater for Nos. 5945/65/76 and 6183 (336163/66, £9.90 each). The smaller size of ‘N’ means that just three sheets are required for the same purpose, pack 3360 containing both logo types (£5.50) while sheets 3361 and 3362 deal with the four coaches (£11.50 each).

Also new in 4mm are sheets

covering the Tinsley unofficial names on Nos. 37107 Fury (£5.90), 37154 Sabre (£4.90), 37298 Victor (£6.50), 45007 Taliesin (£5.90), 45033 Sirius (£5.90), 47005 Harrier (£4.90), 47117 Sparrow Hawk (£4.90) and 47123 Jay (£4.90).

Joining them is a transfer sheet for No. 50050 when restored to BR blue as No. D400 in 1991 (£4.90) and, more up to date, lining (3323, £15.90) and small

details (3320, £5.90) for West Coast Railways coaching stock.

Finally new wagon sheets in 4mm include Mainline Freight stencil lettering, both with and without the blue background (6251, £3.90), numbering for ZCV ‘Tope’ ballast hoppers (6951, £5.90), and Alcan logos and numbering for PCA wagons in the BAHS55531-73 series (7105, £6.80). www.railtec-models.com

Supplement No.135

NEWSDESK

Exclusive 4mm ‘S’ Stock unveiled by LT Museum

In a major surprise, Bachmann has been commissioned to deliver a RTR Underground train by this autumn.

MODELLING of the London Underground network is set to receive a huge boost following the announcement that the London Transport Museum has commissioned an exclusive model of the new sub-surface ‘S’ Stock. Unveiled on May 30 at DEMU’s Showcase exhibition, the highly-detailed ‘OO’ gauge model has been under development in partnership with Bachmann for some three years.

Despite this lengthy development, barely a whisper of the project managed to escape into the public domain, meaning that the manufacturer was able to show off fully finished ‘S’ Stock models to surprised visitors at the event. The model has been developed with the full co-operation of Bombardier and will go on sale from the end of September this year; a lead time from announcement

Dapol presses on with 2mm scale Class 59 ONCE thought to have been shelved, Dapol announced at the end of May that it has carried out a laser scan and full survey of a Class 59 with the full cooperation of Hanson and Mendip Rail.

The company first unveiled its intention to produce an ‘N’ gauge model back in the summer of 2012, this covering all three sub-classes along with launch liveries of Foster Yeoman silver, ARC, National Power and DB Schenker.

Since then, DJ Models has stated its intention to produce its own model of the General Motors design in both 2mm and 4mm with progress made on obtaining permission from the relevant operators but, crucially, no laser scan yet carried out. It remains to be seen how the contest will turn out but Dapol has stated it will have CAD files completed over the summer. www.dapol.co.uk

Supplement No. 135

to delivery that is certainly a change from the current norm.

Innovative design

The core element of the ‘S’ Stock model is a four-car train pack, which is priced £280. This is based on a ‘S8’ set, which is the eight-car variant used exclusively on the Metropolitan Line and will feature the transverse seating fitted to these units. Contained in the pack are Driving Motor vehicles Nos. 21087 and 21088 and intermediate vehicles Nos. 22088 and 24087.

Notably, both DMs will feature what is described as “an advanced low-line drive system which is invisible internally”, indicating that Bachmann now has a new design of mechanism available with all the implications that gives for future multiple units models.

Other features of the driving cars are

directional lighting, illuminated destination displays of Aldgate, and a 21-pin DCC socket. There is no internal lighting.

To complete a full eight-car set, four additional cars will also be available individually, each priced £39.99. These are numbered to match the rest of the set as Nos. 22087, 23087, 23088 and 24088. A seven-car ‘S7’ formation, as used on the Circle and District lines, can be formed by leaving out one of these additional trailers but will not be correct

IN BRIEF ■ R3sprays has been granted official permission by Serco to produce transfers for the Caledonian Sleeper midnight teal livery in 4mm scale. Due for release in the next few weeks, these will cover all of the locomotive types involved in the operation, including the forthcoming Class 73/9s, along with the coaching stock. www.r3sprays.co.uk ■ The next diesel class to be added to Just Like The Real Thing’s 7mm scale kit range will be the North British-built D600 ‘Warships’. The vanguard of the Western’s diesel hydraulic fleet, the five-strong class failed to achieve a decade in service after being superseded by the superior D800 design. The JLTRT model is currently undergoing computer design. www.justliketherealthing.co.uk ■ Replica Railways has confirmed that the long awaited 57ft version of its innovative low-profile powered chassis

is now in production in China and should be released during September.

Suitable for a host of 4mm scale multiple unit designs, the chassis is of diecast construction and drives all four axles. The low height means it does not protrude above window level, giving it a considerable advantage over the designs favoured by the principal ready to run manufacturers. Further stocks of the 64ft version are due in November. www.replicarailways.co.uk ■ Stoke retailer The Hobby Goblin is to move to new, larger premises from July 14, the new address being 54 Hamil Road, Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, ST6 1AU. Offering 50% more space, the new shop also has free roadside parking and will allow the company to enhance both its over the counter services and online presence.

A new website will be launched at the same time but the phone number will remain unchanged. www.thehobbygoblin.co.uk

in all details, such as the interior layout and numbering. A full eight-car set can be purchased together at a cost of £439.

Ordering options

The London Transport Museum is now accepting pre-orders via its website (www.ltmuseumshop.co.uk) with full payment being taken immediately prior to postal dispatch commencing from September 29. Orders can also be made by phone on 0207 565 7295, which will be sent from October 5 onwards. Models will also be on sale at the Acton Depot open day on September 27.

Proceeds from the sales of the model will go towards supporting the museum’s collection and activities. A YouTube video of the model in action can be viewed at http://youtu.be/sgG3dgyPZ-Q

Modern day living from Preiser NOW available from Gaugemaster is the latest addition to Preiser’s HO scale range of home interior detailing sets.

This portrays a living room scene with a family of five watching television (10649, £16.25). The six-part set consists of a couch and armchair with fixed figures, a standing mother, bookcase, table festooned with cups and bottles and a flat screen TV showing, inevitably, football. Although quite expensive, the set is very well finished and surprisingly effective. www.gaugemaster.com

July 2015 RAIL EXPRESS Modeller M7

D&E FILES

Colas Rail coal operations To mark the release of the Bachmann HHA hopper with Colas brandings in ‘OO’ gauge, Gareth Bayer details the four-year history of the company’s coal services, which were disappointingly suspended three months ago following an increase in carbon taxes.

Colas Rail’s small fleet of Class 66s were the mainstay of the operator’s coal trains between 2011 and 2014, only beginning to give way to Class 70s last December. The initial coal services originated from Wolsingham on the Weardale Railway with No. 66841 seen heading the inaugural 6Z66/12.00 Fridays-only working to Ratcliffe Power Station on July 1, 2011. The location is Burton Lane Crossing, near Burton Salmon, while the GM loco is today GB Railfreight’s No. 66742. Neil Harvey

COLAS Rail began moving coal from Wolsingham, on the Weardale Railway, on June 16, 2011, when Class 66/8 No. 66842 powered a 6Z66/10.45 service to Tata Steel’s Scunthorpe Works. This was the first freight to use the line since the cessation of the cement flow from Blue Circle’s Eastgate works in 1993.

The train was carrying about 1200 tonnes of high quality coking coal, which had been brought out of the ground at the Park Wall North opencast site, some five miles north-east of Wolsingham. The service was formed of 19 former Freightliner Heavy Haul

102.6-tonne HHA hoppers, all of which had been stripped of the branding of their previous operator. Two wagons were later given Colas ‘hard hat’ logos on both sides (Nos. 370280/3) along with UK Coal branding on one side only.

The return empties ran under a 4Z66 headcode.

The new freight operation was the culmination of several years of effort on the part of the Weardale Railway.

British American Railway Services (BARS), a subsidiary of US-based Iowa Pacific Holdings, invested in a 75% stake in the line in 2008 and by early 2010, the railway had completed its

Just two HHA hoppers gained Colas logos, Nos. 370280 and 370283 being treated for promotional purposes ahead of the Wolsingham services starting. In both cases, the vinyls have not worn well as evidenced by No. 370280 as it passes Water Orton on June 26, 2014. Mark Franklin

M26 RAIL EXPRESS Modeller July 2015

project to link up with the national rail network at Bishop Auckland.

Significant changes were also required at the Wolsingham depot site, with a new long siding and coal loading pad next to the maintenance shed.

Even with these alterations, the trains had to be split into two halves for loading. All shunting at Wolsingham was provided by a RMS Locotec Class 08; another BARS subsidiary company.

Power station coal

After a handful of trains to Scunthorpe over the first two weeks, July 1, 2011, saw an additional working to E.ON’s

Ratcliffe Power Station in Nottinghamshire, running under the same 6Z66 headcode. The Ratcliffe flow frequently loaded to 20 wagons, drawn from the 21 vehicles in Colas’ Pool 7500 (Nos. 370252/4/63/7/8/ 74/6/80/2/ 3/5/7/8/90-2/6/300-2/4), with the odd appearance of a Freightliner HHA covering for maintenance.

After the service settled down, the headcodes were changed to 6M86 Wolsingham-Ratcliffe (4E43 return) and 6D86 Wolsingham-Scunthorpe (4N42 return). As many as six trains were run each week on some occasions.

The other 19 HHA hoppers operated by Colas were left in unbranded condition, as demonstrated by No. 370292 at Doncaster on June 22, 2013. Although the Freightliner logos were removed, the original green underframe remained beneath the dirt as evidenced by the clean sections around the door instructions and other small lettering.

Mark Franklin

Supplement No.135

D&E FILES

The low winter sun highlights No. 70804 as it powers through Pilning with 20 HHAs after traversing the Severn Tunnel on December 29, 2014. Less than two weeks earlier, the class had received approval to work into Avonmouth Docks, ending the dominance of the Class 66/8s on Colas coal workings. On this occasion though, the loco was bound for Gloucester Yard with the late-running 4C30/08.58 empties from Aberthaw Power Station. Mark Few

Although originally contracted to last for three years, the final Wolsingham coal ran after just 27 months on October 2, 2013. Services were hauled almost entirely by Colas’ small fleet of Class 66/8s, with the exception being the use of DRS’ No. 37402 to haul a failed No. 66848 and its train between Darlington and York on July 1, 2013.

Coal from Bristol

This was not the end for Colas’ coal business as it began a new flow from

Portbury/Avonmouth Docks on September 24, 2013. Initially serving only Ratcliffe Power Station, the trains (6M87 loaded/4V70 empties) ran via Didcot, Birmingham, Leicester and Toton (for run round). The 17 or 18 wagon sets (later extended to 20 HHAs) were stabled at Gloucester Yard when not in use.

Trains were either pad loaded at Portbury or from the huge silos alongside the River Avon at Avonmouth.

Again, Colas Class 66/8s dominated in the first year or so of operation with the

Class 70/8s absent from these trains until No. 70803 did the honours on December 20, 2014, following the granting of route clearance in the docks complex. After this, the GE machines were regularly diagrammed to cover the 400-mile round trip, with additional Colas coal workings also seeing them visit Aberthaw Power Station in South Wales.

The only other traction variation occurred on March 19, 2014, when Colas’ No. 56096 was called upon to rescue the 4V30/08.25 RatcliffeAvonmouth empties (powered by

No. 66848) from Elford Loop, near Burton. The Europhoenix-liveried ‘Grid’ dragged the train as far as Washwood Heath.

The imposition of increased tariffs on fossil fuel-burning power stations from April this year has led to a huge shake up in the rail freight industry, with a large number of coal hoppers being placed into store. Colas has not been immune, with No. 70810 moving 20 of the HHAs from Gloucester to Exeter Riverside Yard on March 31 to await an upturn in traffic.

Bachmann HHA gets Colas makeover DESPITE the popularity of Colas Rail locos in model form, the ready-to-run and kit manufacturers have been far less willing to provide suitable rolling stock to accompany them, at least in 4mm scale. This is despite regular requests for the various designs of bogie timber wagons, not to mention covered steel carriers and modern petroleum tankers.

Happily, Colas’ coal operations can now be re-created with relatively little work thanks to the reappearance of the Bachmann HHA coal hopper with the distinctive hard hat logos. Available in

Supplement No. 135

both pristine and weathered forms, the latter is pictured here, depicting No. 370280 (38-034, £42.95).

Already seen with Freightliner brandings, the HHA remains a highly impressive model and demonstrates what Bachmann can do when it opts to cover a current-day wagon. The imposing bulk belies some nice touches, such as the separate handbrake wheels and detailed TF-25 track friendly bogies.

Fortuitously, the Colas HHAs all came from the later build of the hoppers, meaning the body-mounted handbrake wheels are correct; earlier wagons

GAUGE 4mm:1ft

20112015

EXPRESS RATING

ERA

having these as bogie mounted.

The factory weathering is very effective for once, serving to dull both the silver and green to a pleasing level.

The painted-out Freightliner logo and distressed Colas replacement are also well executed, as is the rest of the printing.

The only real issue is that Bachmann is not producing an unbranded HHA in the same condition,

meaning that, with only two wagons carrying Colas logos out of 21, a representative rake cannot be assembled without resorting to some logo removal. Other than this though, it is an excellent release.

Review by Simon Bendall

❒

Bachmann Europe plc, Moat Way, Barwell, Leicestershire LE9 8EY. Web: www.bachmann.co.uk

July 2015 RAIL EXPRESS Modeller M27

PICTORIAL

The appearance of DB Schenker-liveried No. 66097 at the Didcot Railway Centre diesel gala on May 23 afforded a chance to photograph its recently applied new warning notices. The white and orange labels can be seen on the cab doors and battery box. Stabled behind is gas turbine prototype No. 18000. Simon Bendall

Auto-start warnings for DBS ‘66s’ The fitting of engine stop-start technology to the DB Schenker Class 66s has brought new external labelling.

AS REGULAR readers of the Power by the Hour column will know, DB Schenker is currently undertaking a modification programme on its Class 66 fleet to fit automatic engine stop/start technology (AESS). First installed in February 2014 on No. 66176 as a trial, a fleetwide upgrade is now underway with a number of locos being completed every month.

All of the UK-based fleet of DBS ‘Sheds’ are due to be fitted by the end of 2016.

Designed to reduce carbon emissions by 4500 tonnes by the end of 2015, the equipment will also save several million litres of fuel every year.

Working in a similar manner to many modern cars, the engine automatically shuts down after 10 minutes once a loco

is stationary and idling, providing sensors detect that the battery voltage and engine and oil temperatures meet the required parameters. Once the driver applies power, the system should restart the engine again within 10-20 seconds.

As far as modellers are concerned, the modification has brought the appearance of new warning notices on

all four cab doors as well as the battery box covers on each side. These warn maintenance staff to deactivate the AESS system before carrying out work in order to guard against unexpected engine start-up or shutdown. While a relatively minor detail, it is small touches such as this that can personalise a model or date it to a particular period.

Ballast glues from Deluxe Materials NOW available from Gaugemaster are two new products in the Deluxe Materials range for carrying out that most tedious of modelling tasks, namely gluing ballast.

The first of these is ‘Ballast Bond’ (AD-75, £5.25, pictured below), which is a liquid adhesive designed to be used for fixing ballast and scenic scatter materials. It is supplied ready to use in a

Supplement No. 135

100ml bottle, this coming with a thin flexible tube that can be pushed onto the top of the nozzle of the bottle to aid application into inaccessible places. Care needs to be taken with this tube applicator as it is quite fragile but it is available separately if necessary.

The product is advertised as being of low viscosity to give rapid and efficient spreading. This is certainly the case and care needs to be taken to ensure that not too much is applied since it runs out of the nozzle very easily. The adhesive was tested to see how well it performed on gluing ballast and when fixing scenic materials. On the former, it performed very well, although you need to be careful with the application to ensure that it only goes where needed.

On fine scenic scatter material the result was less successful, with some discolouration being evident.

Performance on more clumpy material was better with no change in the colour when dry, but the thinness of the liquid meant that not all the clumps were adequately fixed. Better results were obtained when the adhesive was painted

on first and the powder material scattered over the wet adhesive, but the fixing of the clumpy material was less successful.

The ‘Ballast Bond’ is undoubtedly a useful time saver when fixing ballast and is particularly good for small areas but needs care in its use. For fixing scenic material, either PVA-type glue or a spray adhesive would be far more effective.

Powder adhesive

Also new is a ‘Ballast Magic’ starter kit (AD-76, £13.95, right), which contains an adhesive in powder form that is designed to be mixed dry with ballast or other material to fixed. The pack also includes a small spray bottle to be filled with water to wet the adhesive powder, a mixing cup and a spatula.

Once the fine powder is mixed with the ballast or scatter, the mixture needs to be laid in place and water then sprayed over the top. When used for fixing ballast, you need to ensure that sufficient adhesive powder is employed and that it is thoroughly mixed in, otherwise some gaps may occur. The instructions suggest that several light

coats of water may be necessary to ensure everything sticks, which makes it something of a laborious process.

A good result was obtained when using this adhesive with fine powder scatter materials but, as might be expected, it was less successful with clump material. Although the spray bottle produced a fine spray of water, it was surprising just how much this delivered so care needs to be taken to ensure that the water does not get into unwanted places. The dry powder adhesive is also available as a separate item (AD-74, left), although at £9.50 for 125ml it is not a cheap option.

Review by Terry Bendall

July 2015 RAIL EXPRESS Modeller M33