Rail Express March 2015

THEN

& NOW Reddish

THE BATTERY EMU STORY ...as No. 379013

goes into service

Essential reading for today’s rail enthusiast

Class 31/4s THE SECOND COMING

www.railexpress.co.uk

Full story of the 1980s batch

RAIL EXPRESS No. 226 March 2015

Class 89 Main Line Return!

40 pages of modelling ! Modelling London’s Widened Lines ! Mk.1 suburban stock in detail ! New ‘03’, ‘37’ and 4-VEP reviewed

Recalling life

AS A DERBY TRAINMAN

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 February 19, 2015 Next issue March 19, 2015 Advertising deadline February 27, 2015

Locos that refuse to die

I

HAVE great memories of the 1980s batch of Class 31/4s. I was working for a time in Bradford and, if on the right shift, could commute from Leeds behind one of these on a working from Hull. This was often used as one of the first turns for the newly converted locos after being released from Doncaster, allowing the latest one to be picked off practically every fortnight during the 1984/85 period.

Anyone familiar with the line from Leeds to Bradford Interchange will know what a slog it is in either direction, a near 10-mile ‘hump’ with some steep climbs at both ends. So the ‘31s’ had to work hard to get their rake of Mk.1s moving, and it was a great way to start the day.

The history of these locos is covered in our main feature this month, which includes a remarkable fact: they were given a heavy general overhaul to see them into the 1990s. Thirty years on, however, 11 of the 45 conversions are still with us, including two currently active on the main line.

But we have got used to seeing locos from the British Rail era back on the main line. The resurrection of Class 56s from total withdrawal is a classic example, while others such as ‘20s’, ‘37s’ and ‘47s’ never really went away.

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

Now there is the prospect of another type returning in the form of the unique Class 89. The 6000hp electric loco has had two previous spells on the main line, firstly in the late 1980s as a prototype for a possible new fleet and secondly in the late 1990s when East Coast operator GNER had a shortage of motive power.

The loco has been owned by the AC Loco Group since 2006 and stored at Barrow Hill. Now that the Group has been contracted to supply locos to work the Caledonian Sleeper empty stock moves at the London end (see page 9), profits from the deal will be ploughed back into restoring No. 89001 to the main line. And once there, hopefully it will be just a small step to seeing it working the odd railtour or two.

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More nostalgia

I just want to mention two new items starting this month. One is a 12-part series by Tim Helme recounting his time as a freight guard at Derby in the early-1990s, which is a humorous tale of life working for ‘old school’ BR; while ‘Hellfire Corner’ looks back at some great bashing moments from the past. If you have any photo contributions for this, do get in touch.

Paul Bickerdyke

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 Production manager Craig Lamb

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Publishing director Dan Savage Publisher Tim Hartley Designer Sarah Scrimshaw Reprographics Jonathan Schofield, Simon Duncan Subscription manager Paul Deacon Circulation manager Steve O’Hara

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)

RailExpressEditor@mortons.co.uk

Tel: 01507 529280 Editorial address Rail Express Magazine, Mortons Media Group Ltd, PO Box 99, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6LZ Member of the Professional Publishers Association

David Russell Preservation Railtours Unitary Authority Coach Compartment

Gareth Bayer Wagons Roll

William Watson Irish Angle (with Alan McFerran)

Independent publisher since 1885

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Issue No. 226 March 2015

CONTENTS

N IO 4 T P 8 RI S p C BS FER SU OF 8

HEADLINE NEWS Unique Class 89 set to come out of retirement and return to the main line; GBRf prepares for sleeper contract; Barrow Hill announces ‘Rarities’ gala; two loco-hauled sets for Northern Rail; Govia on the ropes over Thameslink; Porterbrook sells Mk.3s.

16 NO WIRES REQUIRED! The battery-fitted Class 379 has been on passenger trials on the Harwich Town branch.

20 CLASS 31/4s: THE SECOND SERIES The gap between first- and second-generation DMUs in the mid-1980s saw a mini loco-hauled renaissance with a new batch of ETH-fitted ‘31s’.

28 WARRINGTON SPEEDLINK Looking back to the time when Arpley was the north-west hub for wagonload freight.

32 0-60: CLASS 158 Neville Hill tests out his favourite ‘Sprinters’.

33 THEN & NOW: REDDISH The home to the Class 76s is now a housing estate.

34 TIME TRAVELLER

March news from 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years ago.

MODELLING There’s a London Widened Lines theme to this month’s issue, with a layout based on the urban railway plus modelling the Mk.1 suburban coaches and a pictorial of their last days in use – all backed up with comprehensive news and reviews.

75 LU WORLD Upgraded Tottenham Court Road station opens.

76 LIFE AS A DERBY TRAINMAN The start of a 12-part series taking a wry look at working as a freight guard in the early ‘90s.

THIS is the moment on February 5 when track laying on the 30-mile Borders Railway reached the terminus at Tweedbank, just four months after the first rails were laid. The view is from the south end of the platform, with GBRf Nos. 66761+66741 powering the track-laying train. Services are due to begin in September. Iona Butlin

77 EXPRESS MAILBAG & REVIEWS Reader comments and feedback.

78 RAILTOURS Reviews, news, diary and our new nostalgia feature ‘Hellfire Corner’.

81 PRESERVATION Fearless sold to Boden Rail; ‘Deltic’ bodywork overhaul; no ‘Western’ for Swanage.

86 POWER BY THE HOUR Brush Class 73/9s reach 11 examples; fifth Class 60 for Colas, DBS withdraws five ‘Tugs’.

88 POWERSCENE Our class-by-class review of notable workings over the last month.

98 UNITARY AUTHORITY Northern ‘319’ cascade makes good progress; Class 387 deliveries continue.

100 COACH COMPARTMENT Former WB64 Mk.3 set in service with Anglia.

102 SHUNTER SPOT Last operational ‘09’ returns to Knottingley.

103 WAGONS ROLL Two more MGR hoppers saved for posterity.

104 IRISH ANGLE IR passenger numbers up; new look for DD ‘Enterprise’ stock; GM in wheelskate trial.

FRONT COVER: Our main feature tells the story of the 1980s batch of Class 31/4s, with 1989 seeing a pair of ‘31s’ restored for an out and back working from Manchester to Paignton using a Mk.3 set. On June 24 that year, Nos. 31465+31405 call at Dawlish with the 08.40 Paignton-Manchester. Ivan Stewart Collection

FLEET HISTORY

Class 31/4s: THE SECOND SERIES

Faced with trans-Pennine DMU replacement and the increasing run-down of steam-heat equipment in the early 1980s, BR introduced a rebuild programme for more electric train, heat-fitted Class 31/4s. Gareth Bayer tells the story, with additional information supplied by Gerard Fletcher.

No. 31318, destined to become No. 31451, during its conversion at Doncaster Works on July 28, 1984. To the right are new-build Class 58s Nos. 58016 and 58017.

No. 31456 at Manchester Piccadilly in 1985, about to work over the South Pennine route to Sheffield via the Hope Valley. To the left is EMU No. 303004, which had recently been drafted in to replace the Class 506 units on the Hadfield and Glossop routes.

Just a few months out of Doncaster Works, No. 31433 stands at Lancaster on May 29, 1984 with the 15.52 to Hull via Leeds, formed of four Mk.2s.

20 RAIL EXPRESS March 2015

FLEET HISTORY

T

HE mid-1980s saw a minirenaissance in loco-hauled passenger services, as ageing first-generation DMUs were withdrawn, while replacement second-generation types were still being developed.

In the North of England, this saw the trans-Pennine Class 123 and Class 124 units all withdrawn by the end of 1984 (see RE November 2014), with the gap until the arrival of new ‘Sprinter’ DMUs being filled by locos hauling short rakes of stock.

With a need to also withdraw its remaining vacuum-braked, steamheated stock, British Rail authorised a new batch of Class 31/4 conversions to work secondary services over the North and South Pennine routes via Leeds and Sheffield.

The existing batch of 24 Class 31/4s (Nos. 31401-24, see box on page 20) had been displaced from their original empty-stock duties at King’s Cross and Paddington, following the introduction of HSTs. However, more would be needed for the trans-Pennine diagrams planned to start from the May 1984 timetable change, so a further 44 locomotives were cycled through BREL Doncaster, with the majority chosen from the remaining vacuum-braked examples.

The major difference between the original 24 locos and the 1980s batch was a Heavy General Overhaul (HGO) given to each machine to extend its life into the 1990s.

The HGO or ‘refurbishment’ programme was later rolled out to the

original series of Class 31/4s from 1984, followed by Class 31/1s for Railfreight duties from 1985.

Refurbishment

The HGO subtly changed the appearance of the Brush-built locos. Eliminated as a typical area of corrosion was the waistheight bodyside band, made famous on Finsbury Park’s white- stripe specials.

The rounded bufferbeam fairing was also removed for the same reasons, uncovering the angular frame underneath. The steam generator was taken out and the area around the water filler steps was reskinned. The headcode panel and boiler exhaust were plated over, and any locomotives still with cab front connecting doors had these removed and replaced by a riveted plate,

which had two footholds matching the same positions as the original doors.

Finally, for the new ETH-fitted locos, the jumper was mounted in a different place to the original batch, with a cut-out being made for it at the base of the cab on the driver’s side. Internally, the Class 31/4s received the same Brush ETH alternator as before, along with air-brake equipment as standard.

The first to emerge from Doncaster was No. 31425 at the end of September 1983, with Nos. 31426-32 following by Christmas of the same year. Notably, the donor locos for the first six conversions (Nos. 31274, 31193, 31194, 31211, 31269 and 31265, respectively) had been in store at Swindon for various periods due to the recession at the start of the 1980s.

❯

About a year after its conversion from a Class 31/0, ETH-fitted No. 31441 heads a typical working for the fleet hauling a short rake of Mk.1s as the 12.35 Hull to Lancaster at Leeds on March 23, 1985.

All pictures by DC Collection unless stated

March 2015 RAIL EXPRESS 21

TRACTION & ROLLING STOCK

Colas took over operation of the Lindsey to Preston oil tank working from DB Schenker in January, the first working being on the 7th, but motive power remained in the hands of Class 60s. On January 19, the company’s No. 60076 passes the sad remains of the once vast Healey Mills marshalling yard, west of Wakefield, with the 6E32 empty working back to Lindsey. Some of Healey Mills yards may yet be used as part of the trans-Pennine electrification project. Michael Rhodes

94 RAIL EXPRESS March 2015

(Nos. 67026 Diamond Jubilee and 66161 were the others) atop the 6X38/13.50 Eastleigh Yard-Didcot before taking up duty on the 6A49/07.32 Didcot-MoD Bicester (presently diverted to run via Aylesbury) on both January 14 and 15.

No. 67030 traversed the East Coast Main Line on January 2 with a Mk.4 set and the aforementioned No. 91125 in tow forming the 5G25/10.30 Belford-Bounds Green, as did No. 67016 (January 30) hauling No. 91103 and coaches from Doncaster to Bounds Green.

Nos. 67008 and 67015 top-andtailed a ‘British Pullman’ charter from Victoria to Bath Spa on January 17, while two days later No. 67008 worked alone when moving four RBAs and two VGAs northwards as the 6Z02/09.45 Wembley-Bescot.

Following its use on the morning Fife circle commuter service (January

31), No. 67009 handled the 6B41/08.24 Powderhall-Oxwellmains ‘binliner’ and 6B44/11.00 return.

CLASS 68

HEADING north through Preston during the afternoon of January 2, No. 68003 Astute had charge of the 4Z37/10.48 Daventry-Motherwell TMD with No. 37605 dead-in-train.

The latter locomotive had powered the freight between Daventry and Crewe. Four days later, the 4S44/12.13 Daventry-Coatbridge was recorded at Oxenholme behind Nos. 68004 Rapid and 66424 after the latter had failed around Nuneaton.

Having done little work thus far, No. 68015 took charge of the 6Z96/12.21 Crewe Basford Hall-Toton on January 7 and worked the train a second time on January 19 when recorded at Water Orton with five loaded autoballasters in tow. The following morning, No. 68015

TRACTION & ROLLING STOCK

Reliability of First Great Western’s Class 57/6 fleet is going through another rough patch, leading to loco hire-ins from the DRS stable. On the night of January 23, this took the form of ‘Northern Belle’ liveried No. 57312, which powered the down sleeper from Paddington to Penzance and is seen the following morning after taking the stock to Long Rock depot for servicing. The loco was covering for stablemate No. 57303, which had been stopped for a ‘B’ exam. James Austin

passed Colwich at 10.25 in charge of the 6U76/08.59 Basford HallMountsorrel, powered by No. 68007 Valiant on January 23 and by No. 68008 Avenger on January 27 (heading through Leicester station at 10.45).

No. 68007 went from Norwich to Purfleet on January 6 to rescue No. 66302 and later take a retimed 4M71 intermodal working to Daventry. Silver examples continued to appear on Chiltern Railways’ Banbury diagram during January, No. 68012 being noted in charge of the 1H20 BanburyMarylebone on the 8th while No. 68010 had replaced it on the blue/grey Mk.3 set by the 26th. On January 30, No. 68003 became the first member of the type to traverse the Cumbrian coast route when undertaking a driver training trip from Carlisle Kingmoor via Whitehaven and the Dalton Loop before heading back to Carlisle over the West Coast Main Line.

CLASS 70

COLAS Railfreight example No. 70810 undertook an evening test run from Eastleigh East Yard to Bristol Parkway via Reading, Paddington and Swindon back on January 5, the front end of the locomotive being fitted with the rather obtrusive RILA survey equipment. The following night, classmate No. 70807 was similarly employed.

The Royal Duchy of Cornwall continues to be a hunting ground for the type. Nos. 70803+70805, for instance, had charge of a set of autoballasters forming the 6C27/14.43 Westbury-St Blazey on January 8, while Nos. 70804 and 70801 top-and-tailed the 6C26/18.44 Westbury-Penwithers Junction through Liskeard late on January 24. No. 70804 also attracted attention at Paignton station when departing with a Rail-vac in tow, en route from Goodrington Sidings to Westbury, on January 26.

❯

Name game LOCO NAMINGS 08644 Laira Diesel Depot 50 years 1962-2012

by Simon Bendall

Plymouth Laira T&RSMD 12.14

Somewhat belated naming to mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first diesel servicing facilities at the Plymouth depot.

UNIT NAMINGS 153361 Connecting Wiltshire Westbury station 14.12.14 Vinyl ‘naming’ by First Great Western, which also includes the additional text of ‘Celebrating the first year of the enhanced Swindon-Westbury service’ and a route map of the line.

DE-NAMINGS 90043 Freightliner Coatbridge 319365 Transforming Farringdon

LNWR, Crewe Wolverton Works

12.14 -

365537 Daniel Edwards (1974-2010) Cambridge Driver

Bombardier, Ilford

11.14

456024 Sir Cosmo Bonsor

Wolverton Works

-

March 2015 RAIL EXPRESS 95

Modelling Mk.1 suburbans from the Great Northern route in 4mm

No

.1

31

DIESEL AND ELECTRIC ERA MODELLING

Recreating the Widened Lines in the 1970s on Margery Street YOUR

40 PAGES

OF MODELLING

STARTS

HERE!

Hornby releases new LNER/BR Heljan expands its ‘O’ gauge 21t coal hopper in 4mm scale range with debut of VAA van

M4 RAIL EXPRESS March 2015

This issue has something of a Widened Lines theme to it to coincide with the layout feature on Margery Street and its signature stock, the loco-hauled 57ft Mk.1 suburban coaches. Better known today as the core of the Thameslink network, the Widened Lines ran alongside the Metropolitan Line into the City of London at Moorgate, allowing direct access for commuter trains from the Midland and Great Northern routes. Tight and cramped in many places, the threading of the route through the heart of the capital offers much inspiration for those who like their railways urban in nature. On November 4, 1976, No. 31223 dodges the shadows as it runs into the platform at King’s Cross (Metropolitan) with the 07.57 Hertford North-Moorgate. The station later became King’s Cross Midland City and then King’s Cross Thameslink before closing in 2007. Peter Robins

Editor’s comment Simon Bendall Rail Express Modeller Editor

M

7

Newsdesk: Latest developments

Heljan has made advances with its ‘O’ gauge range, showing off the first samples of Falcon and the two Cargowaggons. The Rapido Trains 2mm scale Class 390 ‘Pendolino’ is also to go into production.

10 Layout: Margery Street The Widened Lines in the centre of London have provided the inspiration for plenty of layouts over the years, the latest addition being Jeff Taylor’s Margery Street, which incorporates parcels traffic.

20

30

Reviews: Hornby 21t hopper

True to its word, Hornby has delivered its all new model of the LNER/BR 21t coal hopper within weeks of 2015 beginning. There is also a look at the latest additions to the Arriva ‘WAG Express’ set.

31

Reviews: Bachmann/Farish

It is a weathered look for Bachmann this month as it releases a BR blue Class 03 in 4mm and green Farish Class 37, both with factory dirt. There are also some long-awaited new Scenecraft items.

Modelling: Mk.1 suburbans

To coincide with the layout feature, Alan Monk describes the Mk.1 suburban coaches used on the Great Northern and details how the Bachmann models can be improved and converted into other types.

Express rating A breakdown of our Express rating system

32

Reviews: Heljan VAA van

Promised for some time, the first of Heljan’s new range of 7mm wagons has now arrived in the form of the air-braked VAA/VBA van, a model that could help open up D&E ‘O’ gauge modelling.

24

good

excellent

outstanding

Publisher: Tim Hartley Designer: Sarah Scrimshaw Reprographics: Jonathan Schofield, Simon Duncan Advertising: Fiona Leak Tel: 01507 529573, fleak@mortons.co.uk

Exhibition diary

The exhibitions coming up in March are detailed, this including the ever-popular East Midlands show in Nottingham. We also say goodbye to Barrie Swann, a modeller of note and great friend to many.

✓✓✓✓✓ ✓✓✓✓✓ poor ✓✓✓✓✓ ✓✓ average

✓✓✓✓✓ ✓✓✓ ✓✓ ✓✓✓✓✓ ✓✓✓✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓✓✓✓

Editor: Simon Bendall REMeditor@mortons.co.uk Contributing writer & modelmaker: Alex Carpenter

Pictorial: Widened Lines

Rounding off the coverage of the Widened Lines, Antony Guppy shares some images of the final months of locohauled operations to Farringdon and Moorgate, this being 1976 when everything was blue!

28

ARCH 2 will see Bachmann unveil details of its new 2mm and 4mm ranges for the next 18 months or so, even if it is only less than nine months since the last catalogues were launched.

With the limited number of new announcements in the 2014 ranges having been met with disquiet in some quarters, this latest batch of models can perhaps be considered as a ‘part two’. As such, some of the obvious current day livery gaps that were left unfulfilled last time around can reasonably be expected to be plugged this time.

With the prices of Bachmann models continuing to attract widespread grumbles, could clever use of existing tooling help to ease the pain? After all, with the 2-EPB and Class 205 DEMU already done, there is scope for some ‘cross-kitting’ to deliver further Southern Region units, such as the 2-HAP and maybe even the 4-EPB.

32

Reviews: Hornby 4-VEP

One of the models to suffer the most in Hornby’s production delays, the blue/grey 4-VEP has arrived at long last – we take a look at the improved model.

There are also further new Mk.3s to consider.

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LAYOUT

Margery Street The Widened Lines through the heart of London have long provided a source of inspiration for modellers looking to portray compact urban locations. While many go for the steam/diesel transition era, the latest layout from Jeff Taylor is firmly set in the corporate blue 1970s and the dying days of the Mk.1 suburban coaches.

Photography by Dennis Taylor with trackplan by Gareth Bayer.

IF you look for Margery Street station on any map of the Widened Lines in London, you will not find it. The history of the Widened Lines goes back to the earliest days of the Metropolitan Railway, the route originally being built over 3.5 miles in 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon Street with a connection to King’s Cross and the Great Northern Railway.

Later extended to Moorgate in 1865, the line became popular with commuters as it gave direct access to the City of London. Incidentally, the

term ‘Widened Lines’ comes from when the route was built, as it was necessary to widen the Metropolitan Railway between King’s Cross and Farringdon from two tracks to four.

Serving London

My model of Margery Street assumes that a station was built to cater for the needs of London commuters and the major Post Office sorting depot at Mount Pleasant. If you look at the location of the sorting office today, you will see Margery Street not far away.

I have always had an interest in the railways of London and in particular the workings that crossed the centre of the city. The Widened Lines as modelled for my period of the mid-1970s were unusual in that the infrastructure, such as the track, signalling and stations, were managed by London Transport but the services were provided by British Rail. 1976 was the final year of locohauled services, using the last remaining Mk.1 suburban stock, as electrification got underway in readiness for the introduction of EMUs.

When I started to research the layout, information was a bit thin on the ground but thanks to a number of photo sites on the internet coupled with my own research, I managed to amass quite a large amount of material.

This now forms a folder that I take with me to exhibitions to show people what inspired me.

Laying the foundations

There is nothing unusual in the construction of the layout as the baseboards are made from the usual

An off-peak Great Northern suburban service emerges from the tunnel bound for Moorgate. Formed of a Cravens-built Class 105, these DMUs were the backbone of Widened Lines services for much of the 1970s before electrification. The Bachmann model is perfect for the job but still requires weathering and passengers to be added.

M10 RAIL EXPRESS Modeller March 2015

Supplement No. 131