Rail Express - November 2014

‘Class 14’ crash for TV’s Hollyoaks

68s begin passenger work ● 66s get stop-start engines ●

Essential reading for today’s rail enthusiast

Last two 44s back together in Derby ● CLASS

● Crowds

flock to Etches Park open day

350

RAIL EXPRESS No. 222 NOVEMBER 2014

How quick off the mark?

40 pages of modelling

Oil terminals through the years ● ‘Pacer’ on the way

●

TO HULL AND BACK! The fall and rise of coal traffic

CONTENTS

Issue No. 222 November 2014

ThaT’s whaT you call a cold sTarT! welcome back No. 50042 Triumph, seen through its selfgenerated fog at Bodmin on september 27 after being started up for the first time since its overhaul began in october 2012. For more preservation news, see page 35. Nick Brook

E IB r 8 sc E 3 B G su Pa 8 NEws

Govia attacks Class 700 design, Class 68 works first passenger train, DBS ‘66s’ get stop-start engine technology, ‘Class 14’ stars in TV crash, EOR marks ‘End of Tube’, battery EMU on test.

14 ETchEs ParK succEss

Thousands flock to Derby to get a first look behind the scenes at the EMT depot.

18 To hull aNd BacK: coal

Park 2 of James Skolyes’ article on Hull freight covers the changing fortunes of coal traffic.

24 0-60: class 350

To Lockerbie with TransPennine Express.

25 ThEN & Now: whITBy

The NYMR has reopened platform 2 for trains.

26 oNEs ThaT GoT away

Classes 123 and 124 disappeared 30 years ago.

MODELLING

we take a look at oil and chemical terminals with photos and trackplans, which offer great potential to modellers, while the latest reviews include heljan’s class 58 and hornby’s 2-BIl electric unit.

Colas Rail’s Class 37s enter service, West Coast takes on Class 47s from Direct Rail Services.

42 PowErscENE

Our class by class review of notable locomotive workings from around the country.

50 uNITary auThorITy

29 ExPrEss MaIlBaG & rEvIEws

53 shuNTEr sPoT

30 lu world

54 coach coMParTMENT

A selection of comments and feedback.

Alstom confident of winning new train orders.

31 raIlTours

Class 60s are still proving popular on tours.

35 PrEsErvaTIoN

Swanage DMU goes for main line overhaul, A1A Locomotives to build ‘31’ shed at Butterley.

24

40 PowEr By ThE hour

27 TIME TravEllEr

November’s news from the past five decades.

11

Diesel and electric multiple unit news.

DBS cull holds firm, FGW ‘08s’ on the move.

First Great Western conversions in full swing.

55 waGoNs roll

First Kirow tilting point carriers arrive in UK.

56 IrIsh aNGlE

Several withdrawn Mk.3s have been moved to Inchicore Works for potential future use.

18 The class 44 ‘Peaks’ were built at derby works as part of the modernisation of British railways in the 1950s and 1960s. The two remaining survivors – Nos. d4 and d8 – have not been together since 1991, but EMT’s Etches Park open day reunited them back in their derby birthplace on september 13. Paul Bickerdyke

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 October 16, 2014 Next issue November 20, 2014 Advertising deadline November 7, 2014

More open days please

E

AST Midlands Trains is to be congratulated for its Etches Park depot open day. Held on a September Saturday – a working day when trains would normally be maintained and serviced there – it took a great deal of organisation and effort by the operator’s staff and management, not to mention the logistical nightmare getting exhibits to the depot and reallocating the day-to-day work elsewhere.

But by any measure it was a success.

More than 6000 people took the opportunity to see behind the scenes at the depot for the first time. Best of all £20,000 was raised for the Railway Children charity, which is a fantastic achievement.

There is an enduring fascination with depots, to get inside and see where the locos and units are maintained, and open days are the only chance to do so these days. The trouble is there are so few of them.

In 1985, for example, there were at least 10 open days at depots and works around the country, and even in the dying days of British Rail in 1994 there were still half a dozen. Nowadays we are lucky to get more

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

than the commendable annual event held by DRS at its Carlisle and Crewe bases.

We can’t compare apples with pears though. British Rail was a publicly owned organisation covering the whole country, whereas today we have a myriad of private freight and passenger companies focused on their own operations – each with its own priorities and finite resources.

There have been some notable events in recent years, however, such as those at Carnforth, Eastleigh Works and now Etches Park. They’re not just for enthusiasts to come in and get a list of numbers, as they attract local residents and families too, giving potential employees of the future an insight into railway careers. As EMT has shown, there is some good PR to be gained.

So, how about it DB Schenker, could we have one at Toton? Wabtec, any chance of Doncaster or Loughborough? And West Coast, what about Southall?

To paraphrase the line from the movie Field of Dreams: open it and they will come!

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)

RailExpressEditor@mortons.co.uk

Tel: 01507 529540 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

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NEWS

New Thameslink operator criticises Class 700 EMUs

With only a few of the 1160 vehicles built, GTR says the interiors are not suitable for longer distance journeys.

By ‘Industry Witness’ GOVIA Thameslink Railway, which runs the new Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise launched in September, has criticised the design of the Class 700 EMUs it will have to use on its Thameslink routes when they are introduced to traffic from 2016.

The operator says insufficient attention has been paid to amenity standards for longer distance journeys.

GTR replaced First Capital Connect as the operator of Thameslink services on September 14, the same day it also took over Great Northern commuter services from King’s Cross.

It is due to absorb the Network SouthCentral network in July 2015, although the Southern and Gatwick

Express brands will be retained. The first Class 700 vehicles have been manufactured by Siemens as part of the £1.6 billion contract.

Eventually there will be 1160 vehicles formed into 60 eight-car and 55 12-car sets for future Thameslink operations. They will be introduced between 2016-18 with the first units operating between Bedford and Brighton. Although the future pattern of Thameslink services will be dominated by metro-style routes, there are a number of longer distance operations between Bedford, Peterborough and Cambridge to the south coast and Gatwick Airport.

Sitting at tables or in seats with drop-down trays are a necessity for these longer journeys given the likely

consumption of refreshments. It is reported that Govia has been dismayed there is no provision for this obvious requirement, and that the contract with the Department for Transport does not allow any change to be made to the specification.

Given the long period of delivery over the next four years, it is felt that there needs to be more flexibility to reflect operating experience and passenger expectations.

The Government-sponsored procurement of Class 700 Thameslink and Class 800 InterCity Express Programme trains has not been regarded by the industry as an example of good practice in producing equipment at a competitive price, although it was hoped this would be

offset somewhat by high passenger amenity standards.

The review of the way the industry was organised that took place after the failure of the process to award the West Coast franchise in 2012 led to a judgment that it was a better option for train operating companies to resume the past relationship with leasing companies in acquiring rolling stock.

This has recently happened with an order by South West Trains for a further 30 five-car ‘Desiro’ units to provide an additional 24,000 peak hour seats for travel to/from Waterloo on shorter distance journeys. The purchase of these vehicles will be financed by Angel Trains and they will be maintained at Wimbledon depot with additional stabling facilities at Woking.

Trials begin in Japan of Class 800 Intercity Express Programme trains THE first of three pre-series Class 800 intercity trainsets ordered under the Department for Transport’s Intercity Express Programme has begun lowspeed running trials on the test track at Hitachi’s Kasado factory in Japan.

Class 800 is the bi-mode version of the Intercity Express Programme

trains, with the Class 801 being the electric-only version.

The first set will be delivered to Britain next year for testing on the East Coast Main Line or on the Old Dalby test track near Melton Mowbray.

The production-series train sets will be assembled at the company’s new

factory being built in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

The newly electrified Great Western franchise will operate 36 five-car unit Class 800s and 21 nine-car Class 801s, while the East Coast franchise will run 13 nine-car and 10 five-car Class 800s plus 30 nine-car

and 12 five-car Class 801s. The floors in the bi-mode vehicles with MTU engines will be higher than those without, necessitating a transition gangway plate.

A nine-car set will have five coaches with underfloor engines and a five-car will have three.

First passenger duties for DRS Class 68s fleet THE first passenger working for Direct Rail Services’ fleet of Class 68s finally occurred on September 23 when Nos. 68006 and 68005 top-and-tailed the 1Z25/06.23 Glasgow Central-Gleneagles ‘Golfex’ for the Ryder Cup. Later that day they worked the return 1Z56/18.29 Gleneagles-Glasgow Central, before working similar diagrams over subsequent days to Sunday 28th.

Deliveries of the currently 15-strong Class 68 fleet began in January, and after some initial teething troubles, they have recently been put to work on a range of duties including intermodals, stock transfers and driver training. Six locos (Nos. 68010-015) have been subleased to Chiltern Railways and are due to replace DBS Class 67s on passenger work from Marylebone in the near future.

The first passenger working was originally planned to be Pathfinder’s ‘Caterpillar Cat’ railtour from Eastleigh to Crewe for the DRS open day on July 19. However, the teething troubles had still not been fully resolved by then and the tour was worked instead by Nos. 57008+57009.

The Ryder Cup saw other ‘Golfex’ extras from Glasgow to

8 RAIL EXPRESS November 2014

No. 68006 at Glasgow Central on September 25 after arriving back from Gleneagles. No. 68005 was at the rear. John Mac Pherson

Gleneagles worked top-and-tail by Nos. 57302 and 57303 (September 25-28) and Nos. 67007 and 67011 (September 27-28).

■ As this issue closed for press, it is understood that a first Class 68 could start work with Chiltern Railways on October 21 on the 07.44 Banbury to

Marylebone diagram. In connection with this, silver-liveried No. 68010 arrived at Chiltern’s Wembley depot at the start of October.

RETRO FREIGHT

To Hull and back

In the second part of his look at the changing fortunes of rail freight traffic through Hull Docks, James Skoyles charts the ebb and flow of coal traffic, which has switched from exports to imports.

Part 2

H

ULL Docks was once a major exporter of coal from Britain’s thriving mining industry.

However, the decline of the industry, especially following the miners’ strike in the mid-1980s, saw the tide begin to turn from export to import.

Privatisation of the energy supply industry in 1989 brought cheap coal imports into the country through Hull Docks for the first time, from Russia, Australia and South Africa. Trial workings for energy generators Powergen and National Power saw 40,000 tons of South African coal imported through Hull’s No. 10 Quay for burning in the power stations at Ferrybridge, Eggborough and West Burton.

British Rail was quick to develop a method of working to handle 36-wagon ‘Merry-go-round’ (MGR) trains on these flows. The train was split into two portions at Hedon Road Sidings, before two dock pilot locos would top-and-tail each half to No. 10 Quay and back.

BR’s Railfreight Coal sector had no Knottingley-based train crew that knew

the road to Hull, so the trains were worked by Doncaster men from Milford West Sidings via Doncaster Down Decoy and Hexthorpe Sidings. However, Doncaster drivers did not know the road from Hessle Road Junction, so they were route conducted by Hull-based crew.

EWS type 5 No. 56060 slowly departs Hull Coal Terminal with the 7F40/08.25 to Ferrybridge ‘C’ Power Station on May 23, 2001. At this point the train is still passing over the weighbridge and will be doing no more than 3mph. Once clear, the train will make its way to the Hull Docks train office and await its path along the branch to Hessle Road Junction and the main line. Photos by Tony Buckton unless otherwise stated

That initial contract was deemed a success, so Railfreight Coal planned for more traffic using drivers based at Worksop, Doncaster and Knottingley.

This was much to the displeasure of the Hull-based train crew, who wanted – and indeed expected – to work any coal traffic coming off the docks.

Associated British Ports (ABP) and local firm Hull Bulk Handling applied for a freight facilities grant to build a dedicated coal-loading pad on an expanse of land between Queen Elizabeth Dock and Saltend. The grant was awarded in 1991 and work began on building the overhead conveyer belt

Performance

Just how nimble are today’s locos and units, and what’s the quickest off the mark?

I

T IS not that ‘Desiros’ are hard to find, it is just that level and level-ish starts are much rarer than you might think, making it harder to record a valid timed run for the purpose of this series.

London Midland’s Class 350s are now operating at 110mph, regularly reaching such speeds on fast line runs from Euston to Ledburn Junction (near Cheddington, Buckinghamshire) with Birminghambound trains, but there is usually something around to interfere with the relatively level starts from Bletchley and Wolverton.

The same company also has a large share of the Liverpool Lime Street to Birmingham New Street market, but starts that initially appear level, such as from the likes of Hartford and Winsford, involve

Neville Hill scours the West Coast Main Line in search of ‘Desiro’ runs. gradients typically of 1-in-400. Northbound from Crewe is level, but platform exits to the main line are heavily restricted. North of Preston, the smart new TransPennine Express Class 350/4s are proving popular, but level starts in the Northern Fells are obviously few and far between. Further north again, Lockerbie offers possibilities, situated in the middle of a consistent 1-in-528 southbound climb and northbound fall.

Striking out into new territory, the tables show accelerations from a Lockerbie stop in both directions with the same unit, with the 0-60mph time and RE Factor taken as an average of the two. There was a difference of some 6½ seconds between the two

timeS ANd ScoreS SummAry Rank No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

0 to 60 time (secs) 357017+357033 50 323224 51 350403 54 185113 68 375606 70 180110 83 220007 94 43285/43321 96 166205 102 168003 103 D1015 174 67006 179

RE Factor** 15673 14658 16397 11088 12715 8514 7610 9050 11391 10640 10110 8030

Location

Issue

Notes

East from West Ham SW from Chelford Nth/Sth from Lockerbie North from Northallerton North from Wye North from Grantham East from Taunton South from Burton West from Tilehurst South from High Wycombe South from Banbury North from Tamworth

May 2014 Aug 2014 Nov 2014 Oct 2014 Jul 2014 Jan 2014 Apr 2014 Jan 2014 Mar 2014 Jun 2014 Jul 2014 Feb 2014

A sizzling LTS record A credit to Longsight Another class act from Siemens Disappointing in ideal conditions Third rail, but not third rate Working on four or five engines?

Disappointing derated acceleration HST workhorse Showing the effects of low gearing More strength at mid-range speeds 50 years old and still going strong A majestic effort

figures, which is around what might be expected, giving a 0-60 time of 54 seconds. Lockerbie residents can now enjoy these regular services and super-smooth units.

The high RE Factor is a result of getting close to current table-topping Class 357s with a heavier load.

Lockerbie to beAttock StAtioN Unit Vehicles/tare/ gross tonnes Train Date Recorder Miles 0.00 0.01 0.04 0.09 0.17 0.30 0.50 0.82 1.37 1.85 5.92 8.66 11.06 13.91

350403 4/170/178 17.06 Glasgow C-Man Airport May 27, 2014 Neville Hill

Timing Point Lockerbie d

Sch 0

Dinwoodie Wamphray Murthat Beattock pass

9½

MS 0 00 0 07 0 13 0 20 0 28 0 38 0 51 1 08 1 34 1 54 4 22 5 59 7 25 9 10

MPH 1L 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 102 102 100/95 102

Lockerbie to GretNA Jct Unit Vehicles/tare/ gross tonnes Train Date Recorder/Position Miles 0.00 0.02 0.05 0.10 0.18 0.35 0.56 0.94 1.47 2.34 5.64 12.30 15.48 17.12

Timing Point Lockerbie d

350403 4/170/178 13.00 Man A to Glasgow C May 27, 2014 Neville Hill Sch 0

[2] Ecclefechan Cove Quintinshill Gretna Jct

10 13

MS 0 00 0 09 0 15 0 21 0 30 0 43 0 57 1 18 1 43 2 19 4 21 8 20 10 14 11 14

MPH 1L 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 98 101 97 101

NOTE: Both runs timed to 1/100th of a second and rounded to nearest full second 0-60 time: 54 seconds RE FACTOR**: 16397 COMMENT: Another class act from Siemens NOTE: **The RE Factor is calculated using a formula based on time, load and rated horsepower. A higher score is better.

LEFT: TransPennine Express ‘Desiro’ No. 350405 drifts down the almost level 1-in-528 gradient into Lockerbie on June 28 with a working from Manchester Airport to Edinburgh Waverley. Ross McKinna

24 raIL eXPreSS november 2014

PRESERVATION

A1A Locomotives to build shed at Butterley Purpose-built facility should open next summer with space for four Class 31s.

PLANNING permission has been granted for A1A Locomotives Ltd to construct a shed on the Swanwick site at the Midland Railway – Butterley.

Work on clearing the land prior to levelling and piling has already taken place, after which construction work on the two-road building will be carried out.

It is hoped to have work completed by June 2015.

A1A Locomotives is one of a growing number of diesel groups that are investing in purpose-built accommodation for its fleet of locos. In 2003, the Deltic Preservation Society

constructed a depot at Barrow Hill, and the SRPS Diesel Group has a similar facility at Bo’ness. A diesel shed project is also underway at the Severn Valley Railway, and this is a joint effort by a consortium of loco owners and the railway itself. Building work is due to start before the end of this month.

WORK ON CLASS 31/4 TO BE COMPLETED

The construction of the new facility at Swanwick will enable A1A Locomotives to complete the rebuilding of ‘skinhead’ No. 31418. The loco, which entered

preservation in 1993, joined the A1A fleet in 2002. Although much work has been carried out since then, it is currently stored in the Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust’s shed.

Although A1A Locomotives owns four Class 31s, not all are normally on site at the Midland Railway – Butterley, and one example is normally outbased at the Nene Valley Railway. Since 2009, this has been No. 31108, but, following its movement to the NVR for the gala in late September, it has now been replaced by No. 31271. A1A’s fourth loco, No. 5580, is presently operating at Ruddington.

DIESEL DIARY

Barrow Hill to hold ‘Rarities’ diesel event in 2015 A MAJOR diesel event returns to Barrow Hill in 2015, with the roundhouse staging a ‘Rarities’ gala on April 18/19. Full information will be available in due course, but the event is planned to feature representatives of classes rarely seen at Barrow Hill.

A late addition to the 2014 programme is an event at the Swindon & Cricklade Railway on October 18-19. Classes 03, 08, 09 and 73 should all be in action along with the line’s Class 207 DEMU. The East Lancashire Railway has an Eastern Region theme day on November 8, with two visitors (Nos. 31466 and 55019 Royal Highland Fusilier) expected to be in action along with appropriate locos from the home fleet. This event could be the last chance to travel behind Brush Type 4 No. D1501 for some time, as it is due to be stopped for a top end power unit overhaul before the end of 2014.

At the end of the year, the Mid-Norfolk Railway is holding a Christmas diesel event, with free mince pies on offer and the possibility of visiting traction.

Diesel Galas October 18-19: Battlefield Line October 18-19: Swindon & Cricklade October 19: Buckinghamshire Railway Centre October 24-26: Spa Valley Railway (Beer festival) November 8: East Lancashire Railway (Theme Day) November 8-9: South Devon Railway December 27-28: Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway December 27-28: Mid Norfolk Railway

Mixed traction December 29-30: Gloucestershire-Warwickshire Railway

2015 events March 27-29: Mid Norfolk Railway April 18-19: Barrow Hill May 8-10: Swanage Railway June 12-14: North Norfolk Railway July 17-19: Wensleydale Railway July 24-26: Gloucestershire-Warwickshire Railway September 10-12: Mid Norfolk Railway October 10-11: Gloucestershire-Warwickshire Railway

DMU buffet back in action A CLASS 111 centre car has been returned to its original function after more than 40 years of alternative use as hauled stock, static display, or out of action.

Trailer Buffet Second Lavatory (TSLRB) No. 59575, which was withdrawn from normal service at South Gosforth in July 1973, undertook its first public runs since its restoration on September 13, operating services on the Great Central Railway sandwiched between power car Nos. 50321 and 51427.

After withdrawal by British Rail in 1973, No. 59575 – which is the only survivor of six such vehicles ever built – was purchased by the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, where it was used as hauled stock until it passed to the Manchester Museum of Science & Industry as a static buffet. It was sold to MC Metals for scrap in 1995 but acquired for preservation before cutting took place.

Following spells at the Mid-Norfolk Railway and Butterley, it was sold again to its current owners and moved to the Great Central Railway in 2006.

Much work has been undertaken, including the rebuilding of the interior after asbestos removal. Further work is still required to complete the buffet counter area.

No. 59575 is one of only three surviving DMU buffet cars and the only one to operate this century. Of the other two, Class 120 No. 59276 is also at the Great Central Railway but has been stored out of use at Swithland sidings since the late 1990s. The third vehicle is Class 126 No. 79443, which is undergoing a major rebuild at Bo’ness. It was stripped to a shell during asbestos removal at the NYMR in 1994 and is still some way off being completed.

UKRL LOCO VISITS NENE VALLEY:

Taking part in the Nene Valley Railway’s diesel gala on September 27/28 was Type 5 No. 56081, which is now owned by spot hire firm UK Rail Leasing. The loco has been repainted in Railfreight grey livery, making an incongruous sight at the head of the line’s continental rake of stock heading for Peterborough at Longueville Junction Crossing on September 28. Colin Pottle

November 2014 RAIL EXPRESS 35

TRACTION & ROLLING STOCK

David Rapson

Powerscene Our authoritative class-by-class review of newsworthy locomotive workings.

Class 20

PATHFINDER Tours’ ‘Trent Almighty’ charter of September 6 was blessed with Type 1 motive power throughout with three examples from the Direct Rail Services fleet being involved.

Running as the 1Z77/05.59 CreweCleethorpes, the special had Nos. 20309+20312 at its head with classmate No. 20308 on the rear and visited the Barton-on-Humber branch and Immingham. DRS Type 1 pairings to see freight action during the month included Nos. 20303+20305 powering the 6S54/04.42 Carlisle KingmoorHunterston flasks on September 3, 20309+20312 atop the 6V74/02.00 Crewe CLS-Bridgwater (September 17) and working the 6O62/02.08 Crewe CLS-Dungeness next day, while No. 20308 had No. 57010 for company (September 11) on the 6K41/14.58 Valley-Crewe.

The Balfour Beatty duo of Nos. 20142 and 20189 always attract attention, especially when they have the likes of steam locomotive No. 60163 Tornado in tow as on September 10 when the Type 1s accompanied the ‘Pacific’ and its support coach from Southall to Orton Mere on the Nene Valley Railway.

Four days later, they took ‘Peak’ No. 44008 from Derby Etches Park to its base at Matlock following its open day appearance and on September 15, similarly moved No. 31271 and pioneer HST power car No. 41001 to Hotchley Hill. On September 18, the ‘20s’ took seven loaded JRAs south on the 6Z20/15.20 Chaddesden-Willesden Euroterminal, returning to the East Midlands next day with one such wagon and a railvac machine in tow, before handling the 6Y85/09.15 Gascoigne Wood-Chaddesden

engineers’ train on September 21, passing Chesterfield at 10.56.

Class 33

A NOTEWORTHY sight on September 18 was that of No. 33012 Lt Jenny Lewis RN passing through Bournemouth station at 11.30 in charge of the 5Z12/10.13 Swanage-Eastleigh Works with four ‘heritage’ DMU cars in tow, viz Nos. 51388, 59486, 51346 and Class 121 ‘bubble car’ No. 55028. The ‘Crompton’ returned light engine to the Swanage Railway later that afternoon, being noted at Southampton at 16.00.

Class 37

TYPE 3 No. 37668 has been restored to main line running by West Coast Railways and on September 22, the loco undertook a test run from Carnforth to Hellifield and back with No. 47245 before teaming up with No. 37518 to

work the 5Z97/18.46 PrestonCarnforth empty stock later that same day. Both locomotives then moved north to Craigentinny on September 25 where Nos. 37668 and 37685 were paired together to handle the 1Z40/ 13.43 Edinburgh-Boat of Garten ‘Royal Scotsman’ the following day. No. 37668 last worked a passenger service on December 29, 2003, when along with No. 37698, it powered Pathfinder Tours’ ‘Settle & Carlisle Circular No.2’ from Crewe via Chester, Northwich and Moorthorpe.

On September 24, West Coast’s No. 37516 could be found working the ‘Royal Scotsman’ single-handed from Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness where it was replaced by 47854 for the run to Keith.

Three days later, Nos. 37516+ 37518 were to be found in charge of the 1Z88/05.44 Newcastle-Stranraer and

Weight restrictions mean that not many locos ever make it to the end of the Gunnislake branch in Cornwall, which is the furthest west you can still go on former Southern Railway metals. But on the evening of September 16, Network Rail Class 31 No. 31105 arrived with the 3Q56/18.58 from Plymouth Laira, making an atmospheric sight at the rural terminus. Dan Phillips

42 RAIL EXPRESS November 2014

Like the majority of chemical terminals, the BASF works at Seal Sands, Teesside, employed its own locomotive to shunt wagons within the confines of the site. Opened by Monsanto in 1969, the plant produced hydrocyanic acid (HCN) from anhydrous ammonia and sulphuric acid. On August 19, 2001, No. EEV3870, a 0-6-0 diesel hydraulic, shunts the discharged HCN tanks inside the BASF site. Note the use of barrier wagons even within the works when moving the tank wagons used to transport this deadly chemical. David Ratcliffe Cover picture: With less than a year to go until rail deliveries ceased, three Esso TTA tankers rest alongside the small oil terminal in the picturesque surroundings of Mallaig station on August 25, 1992.

Meanwhile, No. 37408 Loch Rannoch completes its run round prior to forming the 14.20 departure to Fort William. Antony Guppy

Editor’s comment

Simon Bendall Rail Express Modeller Editor

6

Newsdesk: Latest developments

In a bumper month for news, Realtrack shows off its new Class 143 DMU, while Bachmann does likewise with its retooled ‘Warship’.

A funding campaign for a 2mm ‘Pendolino’ is also unveiled.

10

27

Reviews: Invicta Mk.1 CCT

28

Reviews: Hornby 2-BIL

Rounding off the Mk.1 CCT releases from Invicta Model Rail is the weathered BR blue release, which is examined here. Also new is a further diverse batch of 4mm scale resin buildings in Hornby’s Skaledale range, including a high street bank.

One of Hornby’s most successful models of recent years, the 2-BIL EMU has returned in two new liveries, namely BR blue and BR green with yellow panels.

Express rating

Modeller’s Guide: Oil terminals

In the latest article examining freight facilities, David Ratcliffe looks at oil and chemical terminals through the years, these comng in a variety of sizes. As well as numerous photos, track plans also feature.

18

Modelling: A better Class 47 #2

In the second part of his feature setting out how to make the most of the Bachmann Class 47, Jonathan Hughes turns his attention to the bogies; the amount of work required proving to be a surprise.

24

Exhibition diary

26

Reviews: Heljan Class 58

A breakdown of our Express rating system

31

Reviews: Hornby CCT & Mk.3s

Continuing the deluge of releases from Hornby is the newly tooled LNER Covered Carriage Truck, while the Mk.3s also appear once again – this time carrying BR blue/grey and with new illuminated interiors.

32

Reviews: Bachmann/Farish

It has been a long time since Network SouthEast liveried coaching stock appeared in Bachmann’s range, so the release of the Mk.2a TSO in the earlier light blue variant for the first time is highly notable.

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Editor: Simon Bendall REMeditor@mortons.co.uk Contributing writer & modelmaker: Alex Carpenter Publisher: Tim Hartley Designer: Rosie Ward Reprographics: Jonathan Schofield, Simon Duncan Advertising: Fiona Leak Tel: 01507 529573, fleak@mortons.co.uk Customer services, back issues and subscriptions: Telephone: 01507 529529 (24hr answerphone) Fax: 01507 525263 Email: railexpress@mortons.co.uk

With only a month to go until the Warley National Model Railway Exhibition at the NEC in Birmingham, the many D&E attractions on show are previewed. Includes a full diary listing for November.

After a long absence, during which time demand has soared, the Heljan Class 58 has returned in a host of liveries, although this time around the models are only available exclusively from Olivia’s Trains.

This month sees a welcome return for Heljan’s re-creation of the Class 58, the BREL Type 5 having been absent for far too long after the previous batch proved to be slow sellers. In the interim, considerable pent-up demand had developed, this serving to fuel prices on the second-hand market for certain liveries. Now available only from Olivia’s Trains, for modellers of the 1980s onwards, it is good to have the ‘Bones’ back. Also due in the coming months is Realtrack’s new Class 143 ‘Pacer’, this issue containing the first look at fully finished examples of the model. While the well-known proprietors could doubtless write an enlightening book on the pitfalls of dealing with a factory on the other side of the world, the long wait looks to have been well worth it.

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A Wider View: EMT recovery vans

The Derby Etches Park open day saw a range of exhibits on show. However, one that many may have overlooked was the pair of East Midlands Trains emergency response and recovery road vans.

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NEWSDESK

Campaign launched to fund 2mm ‘Pendolino’ Plans have been unveiled for a crowd sourced project to produce a Virgin Trains Class 390 in ‘N’ gauge.

AMBITIOUS plans have been unveiled to produce an ‘N’ gauge Class 390 ‘Pendolino’ tilting EMU using the increasingly popular method of crowd sourcing.

Fronted by well-known ‘N’ gauge modellers Ben Ando and Mike Hale, the aim of the scheme is to raise £250,000 in pledges to allow the manufacture of 1000 complete ninecar models of the West Coast units.

If successful, the models would be produced by DJ Models and be fully compliant with today’s mechanical and detail standards in the smaller scale. Recognising that many modellers may want to drag the unit with a diesel loco, a removable valance will be provided on the driving cars to allow a coupling to be fitted.

As with several other recently

announced models linked to DJM, the group behind the scheme, which is officially known as the N gauge Pendolino Project, is looking to raise the necessary funds up front to allow the model to proceed. This process will be carried out via the Kickstarter website, where modellers can pledge £250 in advance and eventually be rewarded with a complete fullyfinished nine-car Class 390 model.

Seen as a desirable item in ‘N’ gauge, the project has been launched following confirmation from Dapol that it has abandoned its ‘Pendolino’ model. This was announced several years ago but failed to progress much further. The group hopes to launch the Kickstarter scheme by the end of this month, this then running for a fixed period of time. Only if the full

target is reached will any money be taken, which will then be used to fund the development of the model.

Recognising that £250 is a lot to pledge to the project and that not everyone might want a full nine-car set, three smaller amounts are also available, which in turn bring a lesser reward. These encompass £140 for the powered Driving Motor First, intermediate Motor First and Pantograph Trailer First (vehicle types DMRF-MF-PTF), £75 for the unpowered Driving Motor Standard, intermediate Motor Standard and Pantograph Trailer Standard Buffet (DMS-MSPTSRMB) and, finally, £45 for the intermediate Motor First, Trailer Standard and Motor Standard (MF-TSMS). These options would allow a six-car set to be formed for £215 for

example while the £45 option would also give the necessary vehicles to allow an 11-car ‘Pendolino’ to be created.

For those who pledge the full £250 amount, there will be a choice of four set numbers, while anyone ordering all four sets will be able to nominate which identities they would like to see produced. Assuming the project is successful in delivering the 1000 models, the tooling will then pass to DJM after a period of time, where any further models produced will feature a higher RRP of £350.

Further details can be found at www.ngaugependolino.com

NGS Rover ‘Cube’ makes progress THE ‘N’ Gauge Society is now making good progress on the kit for the original incarnation of the KSA wagons, this following on from the release of the Colas Rail timber carrying conversion back in the spring.

Pictured here (courtesy of Bernard Taylor) is the recently completed master for the model, this featuring an etched brass rendering of the distinctive hood, which will appear in resin on the finished kit.

Tooling commences on APT-E LESS than three months after the project was unveiled, Rapido Trains commenced tooling on its gas turbine Advanced Passenger Train model during mid September.

It is hoped to have the first samples of the ‘OO’ gauge model, which is being produced in conjunction with the National Railway Museum and its retail arm Locomotionmodels.com, on display at Warley in late November.

With much interest in the project, strong pre-orders are reported ahead of the APT-E’s release towards the end of next year. The ordering process remains open until April 30, 2015, to give would-be purchasers the chance to inspect the pre-

production samples first.

Orders can be placed by visiting www.locomotionmodels.com or telephoning Locomotion on 01388 771439 with a £50 deposit required.

As a reminder of the prices, a standard DCC ready four-car set is £225 while a DCC sound version is also available for £325. Two CAD images are shown here, giving a flavour of how the model will look as well as the mechanism design in the power cars.

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More work is needed to add details and check for ease of assembly, but the society hopes to release the kit some time next year. In this form, the KSAs are best known for transporting car components between the Rover plants at Swindon and Longbridge in the mid to late 1990s. www.ngaugesociety.com

JLTRT plans fully finished wagons THE Gauge ‘O’ Guild show at Telford in early September saw Just Like The Real Thing announce its intention to produce fully finished BR wagon stock in 7mm.

While few details were available as this issue went to press, the new venture

will see the models produced in small pre-ordered batches by hand with the customer able to specify the livery and number.

Among the first types to be released will be the ZEV ‘Catfish’ and ZFV ‘Dogfish’ ballast hoppers, these carrying a price tag of around £80 each. It is hoped to have the first batches ready by December with the company having plans to produce other engineers’ types next year if the first wagons are a success. Pictured here (courtesy of Tom Harwin) is an early sample of the ‘Dogfish’ body with ‘slag ballast’ height extensions in place. www.justliketherealthing.co.uk

Bachmann to rerun popular hoppers IN A welcome move, two of Bachmann’s most recent ‘OO’ gauge wagon models, the Covhop and the Polybulk, are to be given a rerun.

Released earlier this year, the BR grey and plain BR bauxite versions of the Covhop soon sold out while the Polybulks proved to be equally popular, leaving many modellers unable to obtain them. Expected to be a straight rerun with the same running numbers, all

three versions of the Covhop are due around the end of the year, with the Polybulk following in 2015 in just pristine and weathered Traffic Services green.

All of the wagons will appear at the revised prices introduced back in the spring, meaning the retail price on the pristine Polybulk is now £54.95 with the weathered variant at £60.45. www.bachmann.co.uk

Supplement No.127

Modeller’s Guide

The vast majority of oil terminals still in use today tend to be expansive affairs geared towards handling block trains of 102t TEA tankers. One such terminal is Westerleigh, near Bristol, which is served on a daily basis from either Lindsey or Milford Haven. On July 21, 2012, No. 60091 undertakes some shunting before powering the 6E41/11.41 departure to Lindsey. Mark Few

Modeller’s guide to oil and chemical terminals

The 1960s witnessed a surge in the number of oil terminals across the country as block movements of petroleum and other oil-based products by rail increased. David Ratcliffe details the typical characteristics and operations of these facilities. All photographs by the author except where stated.

THE increase in block petroleum train working in the 1960s was accompanied by the opening of numerous rail-served oil terminals across the country.

Some of these were operated by independent storage and distribution companies and were supplied from

several refineries, while others belonged to the major oil producers and were often served from only a single refinery.

Most of the terminals handled a range of petroleum products, although bitumen and liquid petroleum gas were largely dealt with at dedicated locations

The Cory terminal at Chichester comprised a single siding served by a weekly train conveying kerosene and diesel from the Shell Haven refinery near Thames Haven, East London. Pictured in April 1991, a rake of TTA tankers was present.

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owing to their different characteristics.

Large industrial concerns such as British Steel and ICI also often had dedicated sidings within their works for unloading trainloads of fuel oil.

Terminal design

The 1960s terminals, such as the Hargreaves depot at Liversedge, Yorkshire, were usually designed to accommodate a complete trainload of up to 28 two-axle or 14 bogie tank wagons on either one or two discharge sidings.

A third track could often be found at some of the busier locations, such as the Lancashire Tar Distillers depot at Weaste. Here, the third siding was dedicated to fuel oil unloading, which reduced the need to flush out the pipework and discharge manifolds when switching between the lighter and heavier oil fractions.

Shunting was often undertaken by the BR train locomotive with reach wagons being provided at locations where the loco would otherwise have to pass beyond the terminal stop-board to correctly position the wagons for unloading.

As the oil terminals at Ashton-inMakerfield and Sunderland South Dock could only be reached by a lengthy propelling move, a modified brake van, fitted with warning horns and a brake control on the end verandah, would be marshalled at the front of the train for such moves. These propelling vans were either kept at the destination or else marshalled in the arriving train.

Chemicals

As many of the chemicals transported by rail were used as intermediates in the manufacture of other chemical compounds, they often moved between the larger chemical plants. However, many smaller facilities were also rail served, including the Ciba-Geigy works at Duxford and the Roche pharmaceutical plant at Dalry.

The tank farms situated at Barry, Eastham, Immingham and Seal Sands were also rail served, while the Seal Sands branch was also the location of a BASF works. Similar to many chemical companies, BASF operated its own locomotive to shunt wagons around its site, BR simply delivering and collecting the trains from a loop within the plant.

supplement No.127

MODELLING

Brushing up a ‘Generator’ Work continues on improving the 4mm scale Bachmann Class 47 as Jonathan Hughes turns his attention to the bogies, an area where there is significant scope for making alterations.

I ADMIT that when I started this project, it was intended as a simple follow up to what had turned into a bit of an epic – my ‘P4’ gauge Class 55 ‘Deltic’. However, it ended up being anything but simple.

One major difference was that with the ‘Deltic’ there are plenty of aftermarket bits available from the likes of Shawplan for the majority of areas that need to be corrected. In contrast, the variety of parts for the Class 47 is currently more limited, partly as it is a more recent model.

I will accept that this does allow more room for some ‘proper modelling’, but in retrospect I think it would be nice to see some of the tasks I had to tackle eased with a greater number of bits before I do another of these, as the project did start to get away from me a little. One example was that of the bogies, which ended up needing more reworking than I originally envisaged.

A comparison of the most readily available Class 47 sideframes with Bachmann on the left and Heljan on the right. Both have issues, such as the undernourished spring detail on the Bachmann and poor end detail on both.

The bogies of the early Bachmann Class 47 releases (which have since been altered on more recent models) share their tooling with those of the Class 57. While similar in structure, there are a number of differences such as additional pipework and framing along with sandboxes on the Class 57 that should not be seen on the ‘47’.

To accommodate the separate sandboxes, the moulding that represents the pipework stops short of the bogie ends and does not reach the brake actuators, which are also essentially missing, or represented by simple drop-in items on some. Thus, the Bachmann items do not present the most complete Class 47 bogies on the market so a comparison with other alternatives was undertaken.

Choose your bogie

One commonly used alternative seems to be replacing the entire frames with those from Heljan. These are widely available as spares and would possibly be relatively simple to fit by rigging up

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Part

2

2 With the moulded pipe runs, springs and other details carved away, rebuilding the details can begin.

some new lugs to the Bachmann gear and wheel unit. Other options might be the old Lima mouldings, which look reasonable but lack some depth, or the ViTrains versions, which actually look very nice, but did not seem to be available as spares. Therefore, I spent some time contemplating the available

options, Picture 1 showing a comparison of the Bachmann and Heljan versions.

The Heljan frames are very nicely moulded and the finish is very crisp.

However, a number of details are added at the cost of accuracy, resulting in a slightly ‘off’ shape to the representation of the bogie casting. The brake actuators are a little clunky and there is also a lack of depth in the brake shoes and inner springs. One fundamental problem discovered was that the axle centres did not line up with those of the Bachmann gear and wheel unit.

On this point, I am not sure which of them is right, but as I would be retaining the Bachmann mechanism, having slightly short bogie sideframes did seem like a step backwards, so the choice was made to keep the original sideframes and correct the detail shortcomings.

Finescale conversion

The degree of work being undertaken

Supplement No.127

REVIEWS

GAUGE 4mm:1ft

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NSE coaches return from Bachmann

The ‘toothpaste’ livery is back on a limited amount of ‘OO’ Mk.1 and Mk.2a coaching stock after a long gap.

IT seems September was the month for long overdue comebacks as, following on from the Heljan Class 58 reviewed a few pages ago, Bachmann returned Network SouthEast-liveried coaching stock to its range with the first new models for around eight years.

The comparisons do not stop there either as, like the aforementioned loco, both the Mk.1 and Mk.2/2a coaches produced in NSE colours proved to be slow sellers and required discounting to eventually shift them.

For this limited return, Bachmann has been much more circumspect and produced only three models, namely the Mk.1 Tourist Second Open (TSO) and Composite Corridor (CK) along with the Mk.2a TSO. While this decision is understandable, it would have been good to see further Mk.2a releases, such as the First Corridor (FK) and Brake First Corridor (BFK), as on its own the TSO is not a great deal of use if you want to

form a full NSE rake of coaches. If following prototype practice, the three coaches cannot be run together either as the NSE Mk.1s were vacuum-braked while the Mk.2a TSO was air brake only.

While the two Mk.1s are merely new running numbers on the previously produced livery, the Mk.2a TSO is more interesting as it is the first time that a Mk.2 vehicle has appeared from Bachmann with the original lighter shade of blue (39-363, £39.95). All of the previous Mk.2/2a releases featured the darker, and somewhat rarer, shade of

blue along with curious off-white stripes, the latter happily not repeated here.

Numbered as 5293, this TSO was a rather late addition to the NSE fleet, joining from the Provincial sector in 1988 and not receiving the livery until the following year. For much of its time in the south, it was allocated to the Waterloo-Exeter West of England pool, eventually moving to Regional Railways’ north-west services in 1993 as the Class 159s arrived.

Traditionally, manufacturers have struggled to get the NSE livery right but

Tartan Arrow LMS BG released

ALSO new from Bachmann this month is the LMS-design 50ft Full Brake in the often forgotten Tartan Arrow livery of red and white, this being numbered as M31389M (34-331, £24.95).

Introduced in December 1966 and lasting into the early 1970s, Tartan Arrow was an overnight express parcels service that operated between London and Glasgow, the private company making use of specially painted BR rolling stock in the form of these Stanier BGs along with Mk.1 GAUGE 4mm:1ft

1960s1970s

CCTs. Eventually operating from terminals at Kentish Town and Bridgeton, the trains also conveyed Freightliner flats carrying Tartan Arrow containers, making for unusual mixed formations.

One of Bachmann’s oldest models, the LMS full brake is rather dated by today’s standards, lacking such refinements as flush-glazing and NEM coupling pockets.

Still, it looks the part in the gaudy livery, this sitting somewhat uneasily on the vintage bodysides with the lettering

prototypically squashed in between the numerous windows. Definitely something of a curio, the new Mk.1 CCT can doubtless be expected to join it in the colours in due course.

A further new ‘OO’ gauge model is the BR 13t sand wagon, which appears in departmental service as No. DB746085 (37-356, £11.95). Carrying the TOPS code ZCO and well finished in engineers’ olive green livery, examples were still in use in the early 1980s. Reviews by Simon Bendall

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GAUGE

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in this case a very good job has been made with an accurate shade of blue along with good reproduction of the stripes and lettering. Some blue overspray was evident around the end detail on the model examined but this is more noticeable in the photos than with the naked eye. With the TSO rekindling memories of Class 50s in action out of Waterloo, hopefully Bachmann will follow up with some more releases so a representative set can be assembled, even if the unavailable Mk.2b/c designs are required for a truly correct formation.

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New lowrelief Farish buildings Two new lowrelief buildings have been added to the 2mm scale Graham Farish Scenecraft range. These encompass a three-storey town house described as a solicitors/ doctors (42-223, £14.95), with various name plaques by the front door. This measures 51mm by 9mm and 74mm tall over the chimney pots. Joining it is a town garage (42-224, £14.95), which is nicely finished with a printed card interior and measures 44mm by 10mm by 54mm.

Supplement No.127