Rail Express October 2016 preview

HSTs

Full story of their introduction to traffic in 1976

ISLE OF WIGHT

DIESELS

BEGIN! Essential reading for today’s rail enthusiast Steam railway to hold its first ever non-steam gala

■ Belmond’s latest luxury train starts work x a

RAIL EXPRESS No. 245 OCTOBER 2016

■ NEW FLEET FOR EAST ANGLIA

Z

All DMUs, EMUs and hauled stock to go

40 PAGES

OF MODELLING ■ MODELLING HSTs

The buffer-fitted power cars

■ NCB TAR TANKS

Focus on a forgotten fleet

■ IN-DEPTH REVIEWS Locos, sets and accessories

0-60

TRIALS

Find out what’s the fastest diesel loco

CONTENTS

Issue No. 245 October 2016

METROPOLITAN ‘CHOPPER’: Michael Owen’s Class 20 No. 20142 was released back into traffic on August 31 sporting lined maroon livery as carried by ex-Metropolitan

Railway electric loco No. 12 Sarah Siddons. The loco, which has also been named Sir John Betjeman, is pictured at West Ruislip that day after running light engine from Boden Rail Engineering in Washwood Heath, Birmingham, where the work was done. The ‘20’ was due to take part in a series of London Underground special trains in September, but these have been cancelled due to planned industrial action. Mark Lawrence

8

HEADLINE NEWS

27

Entire East Anglian fleet to be replaced in new Abellio-run franchise; Scarborough ‘Syphons’; Island Line to remain part of SWT franchise;

28

Rare visitor for first IoW diesel gala; EGIP wires installed ‘too low’; West Midlands ITT published; Bomo bye-bye for Class 442s; Driver error to

29

blame for Paddington derailment; Southern gets a ‘Project Board’ as dispute continues; Final Fawley oil trains runs; RAIB investigates Balham

D&E ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT As the Isle of Wight Steam Railway announces

RAILTOURS

74

PRESERVATION

78

POWER BY THE HOUR

80

POWERSCENE

90

UNITARY AUTHORITY

92

SHUNTER SPOT

94

COACH COMPARTMENT

95

WAGONS ROLL

96

IRISH ANGLE

THE ‘JOURNEY SHRINKER’ The full story of how HSTs started running the first ever 125mph timetables 40 years ago on the Western Region in October 1976.

26

0-60: CLASS 57/3 Great Western Railway’s summer Saturday locohauled service provides a new best-ever diesel loco time from 0 to 60mph.

MODELLING

We focus on bufferfitted HSTs and NCB tar tankers in our D&E files this month, while there is news of a Class 92 in ‘N’ and ‘OO’ gauges, and reviews include Bachmann’s MoD trainset and Class 40, Heljan’s 7mm ‘25’, and Farish’s ‘Night Mail’ set.

EXPRESS MAILBAG AND REVIEWS

Falmouth branch locos; Tebay tanks; Wrong ‘Warship’; Canterbury tales.

71

various types of ‘modern traction’ that have

20

TIME TRAVELLER

October news from the last 50 years.

LU WORLD

its first ever diesel gala, we look back over the worked on the island.

A final dose of in-cab banter from the 1990s.

30

tragedy; Grand Hibernian takes to the tracks.

16

DERBY TRAINMAN

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Night Tube services begin at last; Sub-surface lines to become one railway.

Last chance for Rugeley ‘B’ branch; UK Railtours to break new ground at Drax Power Station.

3-CEP heads to Ireland for camping use; ‘Teddy Bear’ returns to Ribble after failure; CIG celebrates NSE 30; Four Class 40s for East Lancs gala.

Two Colas Class 56s back to service; DB cargo puts 20 stored ‘Tugs’ up for sale.

Notable workings listed class by class.

More Class 442s put into store.

Celsa shunter outshopped; Immingham duty ends.

Translator vehicles put into store at Barry.

Deliveries begin of more GBRf Ecofrets.

Belmond train readied for launch.

England and Wales have the British Pullman and Northern Belle, Scotland the Royal Scotsman, and now Ireland has its own luxury train following the launch of the Grand Hibernian, which will travel around the island of Ireland. Pre-launch gauging trials on August 28 saw GM No. 233 haul the train through Dunmurry soon into its journey from Belfast to Dublin. Chris Playfair

HEADLINE NEWS

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East Anglian passenger fleet to be replaced by new EMUs and bi-modes

Out go the current EMUs, DMUs and loco-hauled stock, and in come new ‘Aventras’ and ‘Flirts’.

By ‘Industry Witness’ THE new nine-year East Anglia franchise, won by current Greater Anglia incumbent Abellio (see last month), will see brand new fleets ordered for all routes as part of a £1.4 billion investment. This includes orders for the first main line vehicles for this country from Switzerland-based Stadler Rail, as well as the previously announced deal with Bombardier in Derby.

Abellio, a subsidiary of the Dutch national operator NS, is to order a total of 1043 new vehicles for delivery between January 2019 and September 2020. Bombardier will supply 665 ‘Aventra’ vehicles, similar to the Class 345 sets launched recently for Crossrail (see last month), while Stadler will build 378 vehicles of its ‘Flirt’ multiple units. The Bombardier fleet will be formed of 22 10-car and 89 five-car EMUs; Stadler’s will comprise 20 12-car EMUs plus 24 fourcar and 14 three-car bi-mode sets.

The 'Aventras' will be used on Great Eastern and West Anglia commuter services. Their interiors will differ from the Crossrail Class 345s to reflect longer journeys, with less standing room and more seats.

‘Flirt’ EMUs will be used on London to Norwich, Stansted Express and West Anglia routes, while the bi-mode versions are for use on secondary and rural routes. ‘Flirts’, or Fast Light Innovative Regional Trains, are articulated trainsets first introduced in 2004, of which more than 1000

SCARBOROUGH ‘SYPHONS’: The ‘Independent

Yorkshireman’ railtour on September 3, the third joint charter organised by Virgin Trains, DRS and our sister title The Railway Magazine, ran from Chester to Scarborough powered

by Nos. 37603, 37604 and 57309, and raised more than £10,000 for charity in the process. The train was routed over the new flyover at Norton Bridge for a reversal at Stafford, then via the Crewe avoiding lines, Warrington Bank Quay, Manchester Victoria, the Calder Valley and Wakefield Kirkgate. The return was via Pontefract Baghill, Sheffield, Derby and Lichfield Trent Valley.

The rake included five of the Riviera Mk.2s recently repainted into blue/grey livery. The ‘37s’ are pictured after arriving at a very wet Scarborough alongside an East Midland Trains Class 222.

Chris Milner

8 RAIL EXPRESS October 2016

units are already in use or on order with railway companies across Europe, including NS in the Netherlands.

The output of an electric four-car unit is typically 2700hp, with maximum speed in the range 75-125mph. Bimodes have 1000hp diesel propulsion modules, with the number installed depending on the traffic requirements.

CURRENT FLEET

The fleet they will replace is made up of 937 vehicles, the oldest being 46 four-car Class 317 units dating from 1981. The Mk.3 coaching stock in use on Norwich services is of a similar age. There is, however, some relatively modern rolling stock that will be displaced – including 12 Class 170 sets, which will be a valuable resource to strengthen services elsewhere in the country that rely on diesel-powered units (see also story on page 90).

Modern electric trainsets will also be available for alternative use, including the fleet of 21 Class 360 four-car Siemens ‘Desiro’ units supplied in 2002-03, and the recent 30 Class 379 four-car ‘Electrostar’ trains built

by Bombardier in 2011 for Stansted Express services.

In the period before the new fleet is delivered, Abellio will continue to refurbish existing rolling stock, while some services will be strengthened as a result of the transfer of rolling stock currently in use by Govia Thameslink Railway.

The replacement of older vehicles will be welcomed by Network Rail, as the new trains will result in all vehicles

being equipped with Controlled Emission Toilets to eliminate discharge direct to the track. Trains will also have free wi-fi, and the latter will also be available at every station.

The introduction of bi-mode units will result in new journey opportunities, as it will be more economic to run services using overhead wiring where available. This will particularly benefit Lowestoft, where four through services will be operated on the East Suffolk line to London. The Norwich to Cambridge route, which has become increasingly popular since its introduction in September 2002, will be extended to reach Stansted Airport.

There is also a commitment for at least two trains per hour to call at the new Cambridge North station, which serves the developing science park area. Sudbury branch services will also benefit by the offer of through trains to Colchester and Colchester Town.

INCREASED FREQUENCIES

Most lines will see an increase in services, with the frequency between Liverpool Street and Southend increased to four per hour, and Hertford East receiving three trains per hour. The Peterborough to Ipswich route, which currently has a two-hour interval, will be made hourly. On the main line route to Norwich, two return services per day will have a 90-minute schedule, a 12-minute improvement on today, but capacity restrictions prevent this from becoming a regular timing. The frequency, however, will be improved from two to three per hour.

MORE SERVICES AND SEATS

Local authorities continue to press for faster services throughout the day, with the Great Eastern Main Line Taskforce pressing for journey times of 40 minutes to Colchester, 60 minutes to Ipswich, and 90 minutes to Norwich. Network Rail has estimated that £475 million of infrastructure upgrade work would need to be spent to achieve this.

The additional services will be a significant challenge to NR as, for the most part, the route is a two-track railway that must also accommodate a growing number of freight services operating from Felixstowe over the cross-country route to Peterborough.

Despite this, there is a new performance requirement that 92.9% of trains should run on time, which is classed as within five minutes of booked time, extended to 10 minutes on longer routes.

The overall effect of the timetable changes will mean there will be 1144 additional weekday services and, by 2021, an additional 32,000 seats on trains arriving at Liverpool Street in the morning peak.

In financial terms, Abellio has made a significant commitment with an overall investment of £1.4 billion and franchise premium payments of £3.9 billion. No information of the staging of these payments has been released, but they will clearly require double-digit percentage passenger growth once the new fleet is commissioned.

In 2015, the premium paid by Abellio was £182 million, a long way off the average future payment of £433 million per annum. E

NOSTALGIA

The ‘Journey Shrinker’

October 1976 saw HSTs start running timetabled 125mph services that transformed inter-city travel.

Kevin Daniel and David Russell take a detailed look at the fleet introduction, which was not without problems.

Brand new power car No. W43022 leads a train of ex-works HST stock through the now closed and demolished Rotherham Masborough on August 26, 1976. Note the three catering vehicles behind the power car making up the formation. Pete Robins

A

UGUST 2016 marked the 40th anniversary of HSTs starting in regular passenger service.

Initially operated at 100mph until the timetable change on October 4, 1976, they were quickly taken to by the travelling public.

However, HSTs were less readily accepted amongst the rail enthusiast community. They were seen as being responsible for the withdrawal of many popular first generation diesels, such as the ‘Westerns’ and then the ‘Deltics’.

Consequently, detailed information about the composition and operation of the HST fleet in those early days has always been in short supply. To mark the 40th anniversary, it seems appropriate then to revisit 1976 and recount how the Western Region prepared and implemented the first stage of the HST project.

ORIGINAL ORDER

British Rail’s submission for 27 sets for the London-Bristol/South Wales routes was made in 1972 and approved by the Minister for Transport in October 1973.

An order was placed with BREL for the construction of the trains in 1974.

The order consisted of 54 DMBs (Driving Motor Brakes/Power Cars, Nos. W43002-55), 54 TFs (Trailer

20 RAIL EXPRESS October 2016

Firsts, Nos. W41003-56), 81 TS (Trailer Seconds Nos. W42003-83), 27 TRSBs (Trailer Restaurant Second Buffets, Nos. W40001-27) and 27 TRUKs (Trailer Restaurants, Nos. W40501-27), plus a pair of spare power cars.

In 1975, due to a downturn in the economy, and a reduction in the demand for full meal provision on inter-city services, the order was amended. The last seven TRUKs (Nos. W40521-27) were cancelled to be replaced by seven additional TS (Nos. W42084-90).

The 27 trains were designated Class 253 DEMU and were to be formed in permanent sets, numbered 253001027. The formation of sets 253001-20

was to be DMB-TF-TF-TRUK-TS-TRSBTS-TS-DMB and sets 253021-027, DMBTF-TF-TRSB-TS-TS-TS-TS-DMB. By the end of 1975, much of the infrastructure work was nearing completion that would allow the first phase of HST operation to be implemented, such as permanent way upgrades and construction of the HST maintenance depots at Old Oak Common (London) and St Philip’s Marsh (Bristol).

The Western Region was well aware that the introduction of HSTs would need to be phased, as the delivery period for the new trains spanned a 15-month period. A plan was formulated for a partial 125mph

DELIVERIES COMMENCE

Initial sets formed for pre-October 1976 services Diagrams 1 & 2: 253001 253003 253005

43003 41003 43007 41007 43012 41012

41004 41008 41011

40001 42029 40003 42009 40002 42027

42003 42033 42015

42004 42034 42016

42005 42035 42017

43002 43006 43010

41006 41010 41029

40007 42042 40004 42030 40008 42048

42006 42012 42024

42007 42013 42032

42008 42031 42026

43004 43008 43016

Diagrams 3 & 4: 253 002 43005 41005 253 004 43009 41009 253 008 43017 41017

timetable from October 1976, consisting of eight services each way on the London-Bristol/Weston-SuperMare route, and 15 in each direction on the London-Swansea route. This required 17 complete sets, working 12 daily diagrams, with two standby units, and three to cover fleet maintenance.

It was the intention that the trains were to be kept in fixed formations with power cars and trailers sharing the same examination and maintenance cycles. A diagramming constraint was the need for each set to have a routine A-exam at either of the newly constructed depots in London or Bristol every second day or at 1600 miles, whichever came first.

At the beginning of 1976, the first power cars and trailers, built at Crewe Works and Derby Litchurch Lane respectively, were nearing completion.

Trailer car production was staggered so that initial construction commenced on a build of TS vehicles, because proportionally more of this type were required than any other. First class and catering vehicle construction started a little later, the first of these vehicle types rolling off the production line in April 1976.

BACHMANN RELEASES MILITARY TRAINSET T

No .1 50 DIESEL AND ELECTRIC ERA MODELLING O G

PUSH-PULL HST Modelling the buffer-fitted power cars

YOUR

40 PAGES

OF MODELLIN

START

Examining the vintage tar tanks of the National Coal Board

HERE!

Super ‘Rat’ – first look at Heljan’s new 7mm Class 25

G

MODELLING

Modelling the HST DVTs

There are several ways of modelling the HST power cars fitted with buffers, the easiest being to buy the readyto-run Hornby model. However, only limited use has been made of this tooling with both InterCity and Virgin colours still to appear, while it also does not currently take account of such original features as the guard’s compartment windows and headlight style. Daryl Harris-Saxton thus went ‘old school’ for his models, taking a saw to the Lima model.

DURING 1987-89, eight HST power cars (Nos. 43013/14/65/67/68/80/84 and 43123) were modified to act as surrogate Driving Van Trailers to allow the new Class 91s to be tested and then introduced into passenger service as the construction of the new Mk.4 coaching stock was running rather behind schedule.

The modifications included the removal of the front skirt and fitting a traditional bufferbeam while the TDM (Time Division Multiplex) push-pull equipment was also installed to enable the power car to remotely control the Class 91 at the other end of the train.

So extensive were the modifications to the cab front framing that the bufferbeams were left in situ after the DVT role ended, making the eight Class

43s instantly recognisable today.

Many years ago, I purchased a Hurst Models bufferbeam conversion kit and a Lima power car but had not got round to the project until recently.

The Hurst kit contains enough parts to convert two power cars, which worked out well as my two favourite liveries are InterCity Swallow and Virgin Trains red/ grey, so I decided to model one of each but both depicting my ‘pet’ loco No. 43068 at different stages in its life.

Out with the saw

The two Lima models were stripped down completely, removing all the glazing and separately fitted items,

M10 RAIL EXPRESS Modeller October 2016

such as the exhaust deflector. The first job was to carefully remove the front skirt from the bodyshell, for which I used a razor saw in a slow and steady manner (Picture 1) being careful not to cut away too much. Once the bulk of the skirt was removed, the remainder was filed down. The modified bodyshell should be able to sit completely flat, a sheet of glass being used to test this on.

The Lima HST moulding represents the later build without the guard’s compartment windows. As all the

modified power cars were from the earlier batch, they initially retained the side guard’s windows at conversion but some lost the rear window next to the gangway. The windows thus need to be added with the side windows being marked out using the luggage door window as a positioning guide (Picture 2). The windows were then drilled out and filed to their final shape (Picture 3) with the rear window added in a similar manner (Picture 4).

The Lima tooling has a weird vertical seam on the cabsides,

Supplement No. 150

RAILTOURS

Gary Boyd-Hope

Last chance for Rugeley ‘B’ branch A FINAL opportunity to traverse the 1½-mile Rugeley Power Station branch is being offered by the Branch Line Society on October 7 when it takes a West Coast Railways Class 37 and 47/57 on its ‘Cliffe Hopper’ railtour.

Rugeley ‘B’ was switched off on June 8 and decommissioning of the power station is underway, with full demolition expected by 2019. Whether the rail link, which is currently being temporarily used to stable Chase Line infrastructure trains, will be used for the outward removal of waste remains to be seen, but it is unlikely that any railtours will be permitted to access the branch after the

BLS tour. For those who still need this rare track, this is an opportunity not to be missed.

As the name of the tour suggests, the train is also booked to make an exceedingly rare run over the Cliffe Vale branch to the IMERYS china clay plant near Stoke-on-Trent. Like the Rugeley branch, only one railtour has ever visited the branch previously, which can also be said for the Dudley reversing facility that the top-and-tailed train will traverse between Cliffe Vale and Rugeley.

The train is provisionally timed to leave Crewe at 08.35, picking up at Stoke before heading over the Cliffe Vale

branch to the Network Rail boundary at the very least. After reversing the train returns to Stoke, then carries on to Stone, Stafford, Wolverhampton and Walsall where it reverses again and proceeds via Pleck Junction on to the Up Dudley Siding. Another reversal and a return to Walsall sees the train then reach Rugeley Power Station Junction.

Once on to the branch, the train will carry on to the end and include the limestone unloading and Gypsum loading line, plus the hopper house.

After exiting via the Outlet Road, the railtour will go by way of Rugeley Town and reverse before returning to

Rugeley Power Station Junction and on to Rugeley Trent Valley, Rugeley North Junction, Stafford Trent Valley Junction, the newly extended Up and Down Goods, Stafford Royal Mail Terminal, Doxey Junction, Norton Bridge Junction and back to Stoke and Crewe, arriving circa 16.34.

A donation will be made to Millie Bea’s Walking Wish, a charity that the power station staff support, which is looking to raise £40,000 to fund a fivehour operation to enable a very brave 2½-year old girl to walk.

Further details can be found on the BLS website at www.branchline.org.uk. E

Already heading the long way round from Waterloo to Portsmouth via Ramsgate and Brighton, Pathfinder’s ‘Buffer Puffer’ on August 20 also took in the Sheerness branch in Kent. Top-and-tailed by Type 1s Nos. 20107 and 20314, the tour is seen crossing the Kingsferry Bridge at Swale as it leaves the Isle of Sheppey. Adam McMillan

‘Buffer Puffer’ took ‘20s’ to Portsmouth the long way round THERE are early starts and there are early starts – and the 04.45 departure time for Pathfinder Tours’ ‘Buffer Puffer’ on August 20 certainly fell into the latter category.

The tour began at Eastleigh with Harry Needle Class 20s Nos. 20107 and 20314 working the seven-coach train in top-and-tailed formation. The Type 1s were initially bound for Waterloo, but began the day in the opposite direction with a return jaunt to Lymington Pier. The route to Waterloo then took the train via Basingstoke and Woking, arriving in the capital three minutes down at 09.40.

A somewhat circuitous route to Eastbourne followed, getting underway

again at 09.56 and heading eastwards into Kent. Good time was kept until Dartford where three minutes were lost, but time was quickly gained and by the time Kemsley was reached on the Sheerness branch the ‘Choppers’ were running seven minutes early. A 30-minute layover at the coastal town put the ‘Puffer’ back on schedule, and it then fluctuated between being a few minutes up or down through Whitstable, Ramsgate, Ashford, Rye, Hastings, Bexhill and Eastbourne, rolling in six early at 16.06.

At 16.38 the tour moved off again, this time heading for Lewes and then along the south coast through Brighton

and Hove and on to the branch for Littlehampton. It had left Eastbourne bang on time and achieved the same result on its arrival at 18.47.

A typical railtour would be coming to an end around this time, the passengers already having been aboard for more than 14 hours. Yet these were hardy folk, and there were around six hours still to go. At 19.21 the Class 20s bade farewell to Littlehampton and continued westwards along the coast for the 35 miles to Portsmouth Harbour by way of the Bognor Regis branch. Timing had largely been a few minutes up between Barnham and Portsmouth, arriving at the harbour five early at 20.49.

Waterloo beckoned once more, the train getting away on time at 21.15 but this time taking the more direct route via Eastleigh, as followed in the early hours of the morning, and thereby completing a circuit of Hampshire, Sussex and Kent.

Time had steadily been lost during this leg, and the train was 15 minutes late when it finally came to a stop in Waterloo, arriving after its scheduled departure time.

Consequently the 00.13 departure back to Eastleigh was 18 minutes behind time, which was retained pretty much all the way back and the tour finally came to an end at 01.37 – almost 21 hours after setting out the previous morning.

October 2016 RAIL EXPRESS 71

PRESERVATION

‘CIG’ commemorates 30 years of NSE AT an event organised by the Network SouthEast Railway Society (NSERS) on August 13 at Finmere, on the Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire border, Phase One 4-CIG No. 1753 was named Chris Green by the man himself (pictured below) in recognition of him conceiving the NSE brand 30 years ago.

The society hopes to repaint the unit into NSE colours in due course.

The two-day gala featured trips along the short running line on the EMU powered by ex-Eurostar electro-diesel No. 73130, now owned by the Coulsdon

Old Vehicle Engineering Society. The Finmere site was opened to the public for the weekend, which is also home to former Network Rail de-icing and Sandite units Nos. 930204 (below, right) and 930206 (right) – the latter is the ex-EPB No. 5703 now converted to staff accommodation.

NSERS used the event to launch its new portable museum, which is available to visit other railways and events. See the society’s website at www.nsers.org for more details.

Photos: Paul Colbeck/Project Commuter

October 2016 RAIL EXPRESS 75

UNITARY AUTHORITY

David Russell

More Class 442s put into store The former ‘Wessex’ and Gatwick Express fleet continues to decline.

THE number of Class 442 units in service with Govia Thameslink Railway was reduced to 14 examples by late August and, within the next few weeks, a further eight sets are likely to be removed from traffic. This will leave just six in service to cover four peak-hour workings.

More units have been taken away for storage, No. 442407 being collected from Three Bridges by Class 47 No. 47812 on August 2, departing as the 5Q42/12.05 Three BridgesEastleigh Works. After removal of its shoegear at Eastleigh, the unit left behind the same loco on August 10 as the 5E42/10.33 Eastleigh Works-Ely Papworth Sidings – joining No. 442422, which had arrived seven days earlier.

No. 442423 joined them on August 17, moving as the 5E42/12.49 Eastleigh Works-Ely Papworth Sidings sandwiched between Nos. 47812 and 37884.

WARM STORE

August 12 saw No. 442403 leave Stewarts Lane, being hauled by No. 37884 as the 5O37/09.02 Stewarts Lane-Eastleigh Works. This unit is one of three sets being kept in operational condition by Rail Operations Group and, five days after its transfer, it worked the 5O41/09.33 Eastleigh WorksBasingstoke and 5O42/10.12 return with No. 442418 for company.

Later that day, the third unit in warm store No. 442415 operated the 5O43/13.38 Eastleigh Works-

Basingstoke and 5O44/13.27 return. A further run to Basingstoke with Nos. 442403/418 took place on August 22.

With Gatwick Express services gradually going over to Class 387/2 operation within the next few weeks, the remaining Class 442 duties will be: 1F82/07.12 Eastbourne-London Bridge; 1B08/07.32 Brighton-London Bridge; 1B47/17.57 London BridgeBrighton; 1F83/18.23 London BridgeEastbourne. E

A view of Eastleigh Works from the air, taken from a flight coming in to land at Southampton Airport on August 13. Visible in the yard are four Class 442s, Europhoenix Type 3 No. 37884 and several other units and wagons. Jack Betts

CLASS 442 FLEET STATUS: AUGUST 2016 In service with GTR Stored/operational at Eastleigh Works Stored at Ely Papworth Sidings Stored at Three Bridges

442401/402/404-406/408/410/411/ 413/414/417/419/421/424 442403/415/418/420 442407/422/423 442409/412/416

Surplus DMUs: what’s up for grabs in a future stock cascade?

THE past few months have seen large numbers of new rolling stock orders announced and, as a result, many DMUs and EMUs will be cascaded between Train Operating Companies or become surplus to requirements. The accompanying list details all diesel multiple unit fleets that are currently due to go ‘off lease’ but have yet to be allocated any subsequent work.

The Class 142s are not expected

to see any further use. As well as the problems with PRM/TSI (disability) compliance, the units are now in excess of 30 years old and have been in service longer than many of the first-generation DMUs they replaced.

CARDIFF VALLEYS

Arriva Trains Wales has 15 Class 142s on its books that will need replacing by 2020, and one option could be to

DMU OFF-LEASE DATES Class

Number

TOC

Dates

142 144

79x2-car 13x2-car 10x3-car 17x1-car 5x1-car 9x1-car 5x2-car 9x2-car 8x3-car 4x2-car 8x2-car 22x3-car

Northern Northern Northern Northern Greater Anglia Great Western Railway ScotRail Greater Anglia Greater Anglia Greater Anglia London Overground TransPennine Express

2018-2019 2018-2019 2019 2019 2019 2017 2018 2019 2019 2019 2018 2019-2020

153

156 170 172 185

90 RAIL EXPRESS October 2016

use some of the Class 144s if a rebuild programme similar to that carried out on ‘ePacer’ No. 144012 was to take place.

ATW and GWR’s Class 143s will also require a similar upgrade if they are to remain in service.

An alternative for Cardiff Valleys services would be for ATW to cascade some of its Class 150/2s on to these duties. This could be done by leasing additional single-car Class 153s, possibly converted back to two-car Class 155s.

The ‘153’ fleet requires work to make it PRM/TSI compliant, and whether the entire class is modified or some units are retired from service (they will have been in service for more than 30 years in 2018) remains to be seen.

An option to rebuild them back to Class 155 configuration, removing the small cab to provide easier access to passengers at that end of the car, is being considered. The former GWR Class 153 sets are expected to move to London Midland to enable its Class 150s to be released to Northern in June 2017.

Five ScotRail Class 156s are to be transferred to Northern, with another five

yet to be reallocated to any other TOC. Greater Anglia’s nine sets will become available the following year, with East Midlands Trains or Northern being the most likely destinations, where they could provide extra capacity.

TURBOSTARS IN DEMAND

There is likely to be plenty of interest in the Class 170 and 172 units, and ScotRail is retaining 13 sets that were previously earmarked to go off lease. CrossCountry and London Midland both operate Class 170s, and often suffer from overcrowding issues.

Some 22 Class 185s are to be released from Trans-Pennine duties in 2019-20, and the Department for Transport has invited bidders for the South West Trains franchise to include these in their plans if so wished. This is a logical option as they could be maintained at Siemens’ Northam depot.

An alternative use for the ‘185s’ would be with Northern, which requires 18 units of at least Class 170 quality from 2022, and this would enable to units to remain based at Manchester Ardwick.

IRISH ANGLE

William Watson & Alan McFerran

Belmond train readied for launch Testing of the luxury coaches and dedicated loco was conducted on various routes ahead of the planned start date.

PREPARATIONS for the introduction of the Belmond Grand Hibernian luxury train continued during July and August, with delivery of the last batch of ex-Irish Rail Mk.3s from Mivan Ltd to Dublin and the subsequent commissioning of the refurbished stock and dedicated loco No. 216.

The new venture is a first for Irish Rail and has brought further variety to the contemporary railway scene.

Mk.3 No. 7171 was hauled to Inchicore from North Wall by GM No. 085 on July 21, while GM No. 231 hauled No. 7137 from North Wall to Inchicore on July 25.

Mivan stated on July 27 that the refurbishment and conversion contract had been completed.

Nos. 7116, 7129, 7130 and 7149 were each transferred from the company’s premises at Antrim to North Wall by the end of July, and subsequently hauled to Inchicore.

on August 6 when it worked the 09.35 Dublin North Wall to Ballina IWT container train, then returned to North Wall on the 8th working the 10.05 exBallina IWT service.

An intensive series of test trips with the locomotive and Belmond Mk.3 stock started on August 10 when No. 216 and seven of the coaches worked a 00.25 Dublin Heuston to Thurles test train, which then returned to Inchicore. It had been planned to run to Mallow, but this was abandoned because of a delayed departure from Inchicore to Heuston.

An Inchicore to Mallow and return test on August 11 again featured No. 216 and seven Mk.3s. No 216 was again in charge of another Mallowbound test train the next day, and GM No. 073 released the stock at Heuston after the return trip and hauled it through the wash road.

LOCO TRIALS

During the weekend of August 13-14, three more Mk.3s were added to bring the consist up to its full 10-coach formation (note the maximum number of coaches in a consist when this vehicle type was in company service with CIE/IR was nine).

Dedicated Belmond loco, GM No. 216 River Dodder was released from Inchicore Works around July 21 sporting its new ‘Midnight blue’ livery but bereft of Belmond branding. It underwent yet another test programme

FULL RAKE

Grand Hibernian GM No. 216 River Dodder had a test run on August 6 working the 09.35 North Wall to Ballina IWT container train, the unbranded midnight blueliveried loco seen at Islandbridge Junction in west Dublin with the outbound trip. It subsequently returned with the 10.05 from Ballina on the 8th. Richard Wall

No. 216 was then required for examination at Inchicore and its role was taken over by sister loco No. 215.

On Monday, August 15, No. 215 and the 10 Mk.3s ran from Inchicore to Cork, then undertook a return trip to Thurles before returning to Inchicore.

While in Cork, the train received attention at the maintenance area outside the former loco shed.

No. 215 and the 10-coach train were active again on August 16, when they worked a 06.20 Inchicore to Killarney test, thence via Kildare to Waterford (Sallypark Yard) and back to Inchicore.

The next day (17th), No. 216 was still receiving works attention so No. 215 was again assigned to test duties. It hauled the 10-coach train to Galway, departing Inchicore at 06.40.

The test train then ran from Galway to Athlone, thence to Westport and departing there for Inchicore at 18.50.

ADDED VARIETY

No. 215 transferred the Belmond train from Inchicore to Connolly on August 18. No. 216, which had been released from Inchicore, then hauled the Mk.3s to Dundalk and return before No. 215 took over again for another return trip from Connolly to Dundalk.

At locations where it was necessary for the test locomotive to change ends this was, in most cases, carried out by the train engine itself – either by running round the stock, such as at Kildare and Athlone, or using a loco release road or loop, such as at Killarney and Galway respectively.

With timetabled passenger services worked by either DMUs or locomotive powered push-pull formations, the introduction of the Belmond Grand Hibernian once again sees the reappearance of the orthodox loco-hauled train to IR metals and the requirement for a shunter to be employed. E

With dedicated loco No. 216 on exam at Inchicore, classmate No. 215 was used to haul the full rake of 10 Belmond Grand Hibernian coaches on test from Dublin to Killarney and Waterford on August 16. The 06.20 departure from Inchicore is pictured at Lissivigeen, near Killarney, with the coaches' blue livery covered in a layer of ballast dust. Chris Playfair

96 RAIL EXPRESS October 2016