The Railway Magazine - December 2014 - Preview

BRITAIN’S BEST-SELLING RAIL TITLE December 2014

GRESLEY P2 IN FRANCE

TRAIN TEASERS! Hours of Christmas fun with our puzzle pages

The inside story

EAST COAST MAIN LINE MAI HIT BY NEW RASH OF RAIL BREAKS

TICKET MACHINES ‘CONCEAL CHEAP FARES’

24 HOURS IN THE LIFE OF A SIGNALBOX

LAUNCHED...

‘HST’2017-style RELAUNCHED...

HST 1972-style

‘WASTEFUL’ TRAINS ■ EUROPE’S LAST WORKING STEAM

The

EDITORIAL

Editor: Nick Pigott Deputy editor: Chris Milner Assistant editor: Nick Brodrick Designers: Tim Pipes and Rosie Ward Reprographics: Simon Duncan Publisher: Tim Hartley Editorial assistant: Sarah Wilkinson Sub-editor: Nigel Devereux Steam & Railtour News: Nick Brodrick Classic Traction News: Peter Nicholson Operations News: Ashley Butlin Narrow Gauge News: Cliff Thomas Metro News: Paul Bickerdyke World News: Keith Fender Chief correspondent: Phil Marsh By post: The Railway Magazine, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR Tel: 01507 529589 Fax: 01507 371066 Email: railway@mortons.co.uk © 2014 Mortons Media ISSN 0033-8923

READER SERVICES

General Queries & Back Issues: Tel: 01507 529529

ADVERTISING

Divisional advertising manager: Sue Keily Advertising: Georga Baker gbaker@mortons.co.uk Tel: 01507 529411 By post: The Railway Magazine advertising, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR

PUBLISHING

Subscription manager: Paul Deacon Circulation manager: Steve O’Hara Marketing manager: Charlotte Park Production manager: Craig Lamb Publishing director: Dan Savage Commercial director: Nigel Hole Published by: Mortons Media Group Ltd, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR

SUBSCRIPTION

Full subscription rates (but see page 28 for offer): (12 months 12 issues, inc post and packing) - UK £51.

Export rates are also available - see page 28 for more details. UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value Added Tax.

PRINT AND DISTRIBUTION

Printed by: William Gibbons & Son, Wolverhampton Distribution by: COMAG, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE Tel: 01895 433800

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTIONS

Accepted photographs and articles will be paid for upon publication. Items we cannot use will be returned if accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope, and contributors wishing material returned by registered or recorded delivery must clearly state so and enclose sufficient postage. In common with practice on other rail periodicals, all material is sent or returned at the contributor’s own risk and neither The Railway Magazine, the editor, the staff nor Mortons Media Ltd can be held responsible for loss or damage, howsoever caused.

The opinions expressed in The RM are not necessarily those of the editor or staff.

This periodical must not, without the written consent of the publishers first being given, be lent, sold, hired out or otherwise disposed of in a mutilated condition or, in any unauthorised cover by way of trade or annexed to or as part of any publication or advertising, literary or pictorial matter whatsoever.

This issue was published on December 3, 2014 The next will be on sale on January 7, 2015

A Christmas card scene on the Churnet Valley Railway as ‘Black Five’ No. 44767 George Stephenson leaves an exhaust trail in its wake as it departs from Cheddleton for Leekbrook on December 5, 2010. LES NIXON

Compliments of the season

M

AY I wish our multitude of readers the compliments of the season. It’s been a remarkable 12 months in terms of progress on the nation’s railway network and the prospects are for even more exciting times ahead with the ‘Super Express Train’ heading our way and the Waverley route set to reopen next year.

As always, The Railway Magazine will endeavour to be your ‘eyes and ears’ and continue keeping you abreast of developments, just as we’ve been doing for the past 117 years.

F you’re wondering what to get a friend or relative for Christmas, why not consider taking out a subscription to The RM? The number of people subscribing to the title is currently going through the roof as more and more of you realise that the world of railways is so fast-moving these days that to miss even a single issue is to fall rapidly out of touch.

Taking out a regular order also ensures you are ahead of the game, as copies normally arrive on your doorstep a couple of days before the issue goes on sale in the shops. There’s even a choice of print or digital versions nowadays if you are

I

TRAIN OFTHOUGHT

Editor’s Comment

desperate for the news almost as it happens. For links to the digital versions, see the foot of this page and for all the other details and latest offers, turn to pages 28-29.

Apart from all that… subscriptions work out a lot cheaper!

T’s wonderful news that the victim of the Great Train Robbers, driver Jack Mills, is to be honoured by the naming of a locomotive after him in December.

As I wrote in this column in the October 2013 issue, it’s been a national scandal that Jack, who was brutally coshed by the mail train gangsters and died without fully recovering from his injuries, has not until now been honoured for his bravery in trying to fight off his attackers. Justice has at last been seen to be done.

NICK PIGOTT, Editor

I

December 2014 • The Railway Magazine • 3

Contents

December 2014. No. 1,365. Vol 160. A journal of record since 1897

Headline News First IEP unveiled by Hitachi; First track laid on Crossrail route: Prototype HST hauls first train for 38 years; Eurostar unveils new e320 trains; ECML hit by new rash of rail breaks; Prime Minister endorses HS3; London Underground smashes record with its busiest day on record.

On the cover

MAIN IMAGE: Swindon-built 4-6-0 No. 7827 Lydham Manor crosses Broadsands viaduct on the Dartmouth Steam Railway on November 4.

ROBERT FALCONER

INSET 1: P2 No. 2001 Cock o’ the North with coal wagons near Paris in the 1930s. From a painting by M A TURNER

INSET 2: The first IEP Class 800 rolls off the production line in Japan – see page 6.

KEITH FENDER

First look at Eurostar’s new trains – see page 6.

INSET 2: Prototype HST power car No. 41001 at Rushcliffe Halt – see page 9.

CHRIS MILNER

Track Record The Railway Magazine’s monthly news digest 79 Traction Update

Scrapped, sold, renumbered, repainted? Full details here.

81 Traction Portfolio 84 Network

c2c begins 15-year franchise; Borders line tracklaying progress; Major consultation on Anglia routes.

86 Freight 88 Railtours

West Coast loses steam access dispute; Claim that S&C electrification proposal would devastate the line and tourism.

92 Classic Traction

“Rat”stars at Dartmouth gala; First World War loco displayed.

95 Narrow Gauge

Teifi Valley to be relaid; Shipbuilder to construct Lyn frames.

Stanier giants meet – see page 65.

97 Metro

64 Steam & Heritage

Second Croydon loop planned; Final Nottingham‘Citadis’ tram arrives.

74 Steam Portfolio 76 Traction & Stock

Old and new in Turkey; Lax regulation a factor in Lac-Mégantic incident ; By train to South Korea’s DMZ.

Two A4s to be withdrawn; Gresley statue for King’s Cross; Scottish war veteran comes home;‘Clun’back in the spring.

Bombardier wins Gatwick Express order; Confusion over ‘Pacer’future; Class 56 hired by Freightliner.

98 World

100 Operations

News from the train and freight operating companies.

The Railway Magazine’s audited circulation of 37,853 copies per month makes it by far the

UK’S TOPSELLING RAIL TITLE!

Regulars 26 Readers’Platform 28 Subscriptions Offer 42 Reviews and Christmas gifts 54 Christmas puzzles 57 Panorama

Subscribe today and save money on every issue.

Another selection of superb images in our monthly showcase.

107 Meetings Details of railway society meetings near you.

Panorama – page 57.

109 Heritage Diary

113 Reader Services

A comprehensive listing of dates when heritage railways and steam centres will be open.

A meeting of two generations of West Coast motive power: As a Virgin ‘Pendolino’heads north, tilting on the curve at Wolverton on November 22, Stanier 8P Pacific No. 46233 Duchess of Sutherland works in the opposite direction hauling a Derby-CoventryEuston special. JOHN STILES

114 Bumper Christmas Crossword

Call 01507 529529 or see page 28 for our latest offers

HeadlineNews

TWO NEW BREEdS Of hIGhSPEEdTRAIN MAKEThEIR APPEARANCE ON

FirstClass800Hitachi ‘SuperExpress

By Keith Fender

ThE new look on the Great Western and East Coast routes became clear on November 13 when hitachi’s Kasado plant rolled out the first of Britain’s next generation of Intercity Express trains.

The 140mph‘Super Express Train’ marks the physical start of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP). The first Class 800/0 five-car bi-mode train was initially presented to a small group of UK journalists, including BBC and ITV News, and then later the same day a much bigger audience at a Japanese media event. hitachi will supply five- and nine-car versions of the train with 866 cars (122 trains) in total, almost all of them built in the company’s soon-to-becompleted UK factory at Newton Aycliffe, near darlington.

At first, the EMUs will be limited to 125mph operation as track upgrades for 140mph operation are not currently planned by Network Rail on either route.

In this respect, nothing has changed since the introduction by British Rail of the 140mph-capable Class 91s… more than a quarter of a century ago.

Many of the IEP trains will be designed as bi-mode sets, with under-floor MTU

Right: The historic moment on November 13 when the first IEP Class 800 train was rolled out at Hitachi’s factory in Kasado. This set is destined for the Great Western.

All pictures: KEITH FENDER

diesel power-packs enabling them to operate over non-electrified routes. Even the‘pure’EMU versions will have a limited number of small diesel power-packs to prevent them becoming complete failures

in the event of overhead power failure or to compensate for onboard power loss.

A total of 57 trains (a mix of 36 Class 800/0 five-car bi-mode and 21 Class 801/0 nine-car EMU) are on order for the Great

TOPPING-OUT CEREMONY FOR HITACHI’S NEWTON AYCLIFFEWORKS THE topping-out ceremony at Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe train assembly plant was performed on October 30. The building, which will now also contain the Hitachi train design offices, will erect the Class 800s and other trains and is due to open next summer. Picture: HITACHI

Western Main Line from London to southwest England and the South Wales cities of Cardiff and Swansea. The PaddingtonBristol section is currently being electrified.

A further 65 trains are on order for the ECML from London to Edinburgh and Aberdeen via York. This batch will be a mix of 13 Class 800/1 nine-car bi-mode and 10 Class 800/2 five-car bi-mode and 12 Class 801/1 five-car and 30 Class 801/2 nine-car EMUs. Although assembly of all but the first few vehicles will be at Newton Aycliffe, many components, including car bodies, will be made in Japan and shipped to Britain. The new factory will start assembling trains in late 2015 with

Eurostarunveilse320trains EUROSTAR has marked the 20th anniversary of the start of passenger services from London to the Continent with the official unveiling of its secondgeneration e320 high-speed trains.

One of the three sets in the UK, No. (37)4012, was posed at St Pancras for the ceremony on November 13.

Eurostar chief executive Nicolas Petrovic announced that, in addition to the 10 trains ordered, the company had signed a heads of terms agreement with Siemens for an additional seven trains, which with the refurbishment of the existing trains, represents an investment of £1billion.

Based on the Siemens‘Velaro’design used in Germany, China, Russia and Spain, the trains are rated at 16,000kW (21,456hp) and have a maximum speed of 200mph (320km/h). They will be numbered in the Class 374 range, the power car displaying the last four digits only in the same style as Eurostar’s first-generation Class 373 sets.

Each of the new trains has 16 carriages and is 400 metres long, but unlike the 373s, they do not have separate power cars because traction power is distributed throughout the train.

The e320s have 894 seats compared to the 750 of their predecessors, an increase of just under 20%. Braking is

regenerative, rheostatic and pneumatic.

Interior and exterior styling has been designed by Pininfarina and the interiors are radically different to the older Eurostars. Of the 16 carriages, six (three at each end) are designated business premier or standard premier class, with seating finished in brown or beige, laid out in a 2+1 formation, and burgundy coloured carpets. The difference between the two premier classes is that passengers in business premier will be served food from menus created by chef Raymond Blanc. Galleys to prepare and heat food are located in carriages 2 and 15.

Business and standard premier carriages will be numbered 1-3 and 14-16, and there are also two VIP coupés in carriages 3 and 14.

The remaining 10 carriages (numbered 4 to 13) are standard class, with seating in either blue or grey, in a 2+2 style. The seat cushions are extendable to provide additional knee support. Carriages 8 and 9 in the centre of the set will each house a buffet car, which will have a large circulating area, but set in a back-to-back formation so able to cater for the eight carriages of each half set.

There will be 32 seats in the buffet cars, and wheelchair users get increased space.

Wheelchair ramps will be stored on board.

The design of the seats in both classes

6 • The Railway Magazine • December 2014

New Eurostar e320 set No. (37)4012 being shown to stakeholders, press and other invited guests at London St Pancras on November 13. CHRIS MILNER

will permit reclining, the seat moving within its‘shell’, unlike airliner seats that encroach on the space of the passenger behind.

In all carriages there are information screens suspended from the ceiling that denote the carriage number, train speed and other information. Also, the trains

have free wi-fi throughout, passengers accessing it through a portal that will offer city guides and destination information.

Each seating bay will have both UK and continental power sockets. There is a multi-lingual electronic reservation system, and luggage space is generous with overhead racks and free-standing

Have you got a story for us? Email: railway@mortons.co.uk

THE SAME DAy…

‘Passengers better off buying online or at stations’

Train’rolled outinJapan

Ticket machines ‘conceal cheap fares’

Right: The second GW set on the Kasado production line. Testing of the Class 800 is planned to take place at Old Dalby, on the ECML and HS1.

passenger service on the GWML due to start in June 2017 and on the ECML in 2018.

The trains are being supplied to new rolling stock lease-and-maintain company Agility Trains, in which Hitachi is the biggest shareholder (70%).

Agility has a contract with the British Government to provide the trains for more than 25 years to whichever operators are selected to run the passenger franchises on the Great Western and East Coast routes in that time. The contract for the trains and maintenance for 27½ years is worth around £5billion.

Of the three sets built in Japan for detailed testing, two (Class 800/0 five-car bi-modes) will ultimately become GWML trains 1 and 2. The third will become train 58, which will be the first East Coast Class 800/1 nine-car bi-mode.

As the first GW train was being presented to the media on November 13, the other two were noted under construction (see picture) with the nine-car ECML train the more advanced.

Most of its vehicles were complete and on bogies.

The first will leave Japan by ship in January and be tested in the UK from April. Testing is planned initially at Old Dalby test track, near Melton Mowbray, Leics, where the first train will be formed from vehicles transported by road from Southampton docks.

Testing will then start on the ECML in the spring followed by testing at up to 154mph on HS1.

Left: The cab desk for the Class 800 is based on a Class 395 ‘Javelin’, with its layout providing a contrast with that of the new Eurostar (below).

GBRf starts using the ChannelTunnel

Eurostar’s business premier class with sample food.

The driving cab and desk in the new e320 trains.

Pictures: CHRIS MILNER

units. Although Eurostar took great pride in showcasing the 320km/h units, it will be another 12 months before they are used on international services due to the complex testing, homogolation and certification needed for each country they will run through.

By December 2015, five sets will be certified, with three being used initially on London-Paris or Brussels routes. The remaining sets of the first 10 should be certified by March/April 2016 and,

by December that year, the sets will have started running to the new destination of Amsterdam, calling at Antwerp, Rotterdam and Schipol airport.

There is no timescale yet for the seven-train order announced by Mr Petrovic.

In the same way that Eurostar took on the airlines in 1994 with the London-Paris service and now has the lion’s share of

that market, it believes that given time, it can make substantial inroads into the London-Amsterdam market, now one of the most lucrative short-haul routes in Europe. From May 2015, Eurostar will serve Lyon, Avignon and Marseille.

Mr Petrovic said that since its launch 20 years ago, Eurostar has carried 150million passengers, 10million of them in 2013.

Just a few days before the launch, overnight testing of the e320 on HS1 began, one of the three units in the UK initially reaching 143mph (230 km/h). This was the first high-speed testing and it will be some time before the trains run at their maximum speed and tests are complete, after which they will be handed over for service.

A programme to refurbish the older Class 373 sets and give them an e320style external and internal appearance, has begun at Lille Hellemmes works.

THE first GB Railfreight train through the Channel Tunnel ran on the night of November 3/4 when two of the operator’s Class 92 locomotives double-headed a rake of containers from Calais Frethun to Barking International terminal.

The train, hauled by Nos. 92028 and 92032, was routed via High-Speed 1 and was operated in conjunction with Europorte, which, like GBRf, is a subsidiary of Eurotunnel. The containers were transported for Glasgow-based client John G Russell Ltd and will carry manufactured goods between Barking and the northern French town of Dourges.

GBRf now owns 16 of the 46 Class 92 locomotives, which have been refurbished for their present role. The class was specifically designed in the 1990s for cross-Channel traffic although some were allowed to deteriorate in outdoor storage for years, while others were exported to Bulgaria.

The cross-Channel rail freight market is at last showing signs of picking up after 20 years of disappointing traffic levels.

AN investigation by a national newspaper into ticket machines at stations suggest that many‘conceal’ cheaper fares.

The report by The Daily Telegraph won backing from Passenger Focus, other user groups and Louise Ellman, who chairs the Transport Select Committee. She said: "Passengers are being treated unfairly and being forced to spend more than they should. The industry needs to put things right and if it does not, the Government must get involved.”

In response to the report, one train operator, London Midland, conceded that machines do not offer the best solution and that complex journeys should be bought online or at ticket offices.

Another operator said the sheer combination of fares and journeys made it impossible to load them all into a machine.

The Telegraph research claimed that a passenger using a Northern Rail machine would be charged the Anytime fare of £271 for a first class return to Birmingham, yet an adjacent East Coast machine offered an off-peak option at £145.70.

Queues

Ticket machines are unable to cope with‘splitting tickets’to save money as they normally sell tickets only from the origination station.

Passengers also say that machines won’t sell time-specific tickets such as off-peak until the relevant time has been reached. This can result in the first off-peak train of the day being missed if there are queues at the machines. Group discounts can be hard to achieve at a machine.

With some train operators proposing reductions in ticket office opening hours, there are growing concerns that passengers will be forced to pay more.

The Rail Delivery Group, on behalf of the train operating companies, said: “Over the next few months, changes will be rolled out on all self-service machines to make it easier for passengers to understand the specific restrictions that apply to different ticket options.”

ScotRail to phase out paper tickets

THE new ScotRail franchisee, Abellio, is aiming to scrap traditional tickets and replace them with smartcards.

At the moment, less than 2% of all tickets in Scotland are smartcards even though they were introduced about five years ago. In the Netherlands, where Abellio is an offshoot of the Dutch national operator, smartcards are used for 80% of rail journeys and the operator wants a similar figure in Scotland.

The cards are pre-loaded with cash or season ticket value and can be used to access secure parking areas, book seat reservations or pay for cycle hire, which Abellio is keen to promote.

December 2014 • The Railway Magazine • 7

HeadlineNews FOuRTEENyEaRS aFTER HaTFiELD…

Keolis/Eurostar wins East Coast franchise?

iN late November, it was reported that Keolis/Eurostar had won the franchise for the new East Coast Main Line franchise. a formal announcement was due a few days after we closed for press and details of the winner and what it proposes as regards franchise commitments will appear on The RM website – www.railwaymagazine.co.uk a full report will also appear in the January issue. The new franchise is due to start on March 1, 2015.

Railways are mobile phone‘dead zones’

a TEST of mobile connectivity on Britain's busiest commuter routes has revealed much of the rail network is a blackspot for coverage.

The research, by Global Wireless Solutions, found one in three mobile internet tasks failed, as did one in seven voice calls.

The survey also discovered that most service providers still rely heavily on older 2G and GPRS networks to cover commuters, despite the increased rollout of 4G.

Cable thefts greatly reduced

HiGH-profile campaigns by the British Transport Police, coupled with Smartwater marking of cables, increased use of CCTV and changes in legislation on the selling of scrap metal for cash, have all contributed to a reduction in railway cable theft. at one time, such crimes were endemic; in 2012/13 there were 287 incidents, but the following year saw a reduction of 36% to 179.

Plan for Kent-Liverpool freight flow

PROPOSaLS to expand the port of Sheerness could see cars being moved to Liverpool by rail.

Operated by Peel Ports, which also operates the Port of Liverpool, Sheerness handles 1.3million tonnes of freight, but Peel believes this could increase by 130% over a 20-year period, with increased freight trains. a new railhead could be built and 1,250 jobs could be created.

Virgin chooses name for Shrewsbury service

THE new Virgin Trains service from Shrewsbury to London will be called ‘The Wrekin Giant’. in a competition in the Shropshire Star newspaper, the name was one of five shortlisted and drew the most votes. The inaugural run of the train is on December 14.

East Coast Main Line hit bynewrashofrailbreaks

a REPORT into the occurrence and management of broken rails on the East Coast Main Line has been published by the Rail accident investigation Branch (RaiB).

The probe was triggered by a relatively high number of rail breaks on the route between 2009 and 2013. in one case, a five-inch section of rail had broken away by a track joint on the ECML at Hambleton, yorkshire.

RaiB says that Network Rail has recognised the relatively high level of breaks on the ECML and is replacing older track components. it has also altered the

maintenance criteria to increase the likelihood of replacing moving (dipped) joints before they cause rail breaks. These measures appear to be reflected in a recent reduction in the occurrence of rail breaks. a number of recommendations have been made to Network Rail by RaiB. One seeks research to improve detection of the very small‘precursor’cracks that usually occur in rails a significant period before the rail breaks. another relates to the wider adoption of lessons learnt from managing rail breaks on the ECML (which was the route

Rail industry remembers the fallen

ON November 11, Britain’s rail industry was universal in its remembrance of all those who lost their lives in land, sea and air conflicts.

Leading the tributes was East Coast, which held a service adjacent to the war memorial at King’s Cross, where 100 serving and retired forces personnel gathered to greet the specially liveried East Coast locomotive No. 91111 For the Fallen as part of a multi-faith act of remembrance. also attending was the Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, and former Transport Secretary, Michael Portillo, who is now presenter of the Great British Railway Journeys TV series. a century ago, more than 700,000 people worked on the railway, and 20,000 of them died after volunteering to serve in the First World War. in Sheffield, East Midland Trains marked Remembrance Day when employee Ron Wiltshire – a longstanding fundraiser for the Royal British Legion’s Poppy appeal, who has raised

A poignant ceremony was held by the King’s Cross war memorial. NETWORK RAIL

£43,000 this year – joined colleagues to unveil the Sheffield City Battalion 1914-1918 nameplate and a giant poppy on ‘Meridian’ No. 222011. EMT continued

Safeguarding‘Crossrail 2’

a TEN-week consultation for local authorities, businesses and residents to air their views on plans to protect the Crossrail 2 route from conflicting development was launched on November 20. The proposed route is from Tottenham Hale and New Southgate to Wimbledon

Railway Book of Year

iaN allan Book and Model Shops have inaugurated the Railway Book of the year awards. all uK railway publishers are invited to submit books published in the 12 months up to November 2015, to be evaluated by a panel of judges.

the wartime theme by distributing ‘trench cake’ at selected stations in its area and on November 14 held a live musical at Lincoln station.

First Great Western staff adorned 100 of its 119 power cars with large vinyl poppy emblems by staff at Laira, Long Rock, St Philip’s Marsh, Old Oak Common and Landore depots.

Virgin ‘Pendolino’ No. 390103 Virgin Hero has been running for most of the year with a poppy on the driving car and many other companies ran trains with a poppy theme.

Left: East Midland Trains staff at the naming of No. 222011 Sheffield City Battalion 1914-1918. Picture: EMT

Ardwick depot open day

a PuBLiC open day was held at Siemens’ardwick depot in Manchester on October 25. The depot maintains the TransPennine Class 185 fleet and is home to English Electric shunter No. 01551 Lancelot.

Hunslet 0-4-0ST Britomart ran steam shuttles on a narrow gauge track.

on which the rail break tragedy at Hatfield took place in 2000), while a third seeks a routine process for identifying and replacing defective rail pads.

■ in a report into the collision between a Class 175 DMu and a rail maintenance trolley near Shrewsbury on January 16, the Rail accident investigation Branch said the crash occurred because the trolley had been placed on a line that had not been blocked to normal train operations, and that the wrong line had been blocked on the advice of a welder who had been misled by paperwork.

Doncaster P2 Mikado Group holds first convention THE Doncaster-based P2 Locomotive Trust – which is aiming to build a streamlined version of No. 2001 Cock o’ the North as opposed to a nonstreamlined No. 2007 – was due to hold its first major convention at the Mansion House, Doncaster, on December 13.

The main speaker was due to be the Great Western Society’s Richard Croucher, who has been a driving force in several new-build projects at Didcot, including the ‘Saint’ and GWR Railmotor.

8 • The Railway Magazine • December 2014

Other speakers include Brian Hall, chairman of the B17 'Sandringham' project, and John Seale and Malcolm Frost from the trust’s engineering committee. Former BR and EWS steam driver David Court will chair the proceedings.

Open to the public, the meeting will be given a rundown of the project, including the latest situation on the construction of the loco’s frames – which have already been cut by Tata

Steel at Wednesfield and are on display at Didcot Railway Centre.

From February 5-12, the trust plans a five-day event at which a selection of the railwayana collection held at Doncaster Grammar School will be on display. There will also be a fundraising dinner on February 6 and a presentation with guest speakers the following day.

Details of the project can be found at www.cockothenorth.co.uk

Have you got a story for us? Email: railway@mortons.co.uk

Sir Kenneth Grange with the HST front-end he re-styled for the production vehicles.

Power car No. 41001 arrives at Ruddington Halt for the photo stop. CHRIS MILNER

Prototype HST power car returns to service

By Peter Nicholson THE only surviving prototype HST power car, No. 41001, was formerly relaunched into traffic at the Great Central Railway (Nottingham) on November 15.

Its return to service after 38 years is the culmination of an extensive restoration project launched in 2011 by the Project Miller team of the 125 Group.

The vehicle is part of the National Collection, but the National Railway Museum has contributed no finance or practical assistance to the restoration.

The inaugural train, named ‘The Screaming Valenta’, was a private charter for invited guests and project supporters. It was operated as a fundraising event as there is still further work to be financed and completed.

The unique working involved a short-set East Midlands Train HST of six carriages, rather than the usual eight.

Top-and-tailed by production power cars Nos. 43045 and 43054, it ran from Derby to Loughborough South Junction,

where it reversed onto the GCR(N) and ran to Ruddington Fields, reversing again at Fifty Steps (Ruddington South Junction).

Upon arrival at the GCR(N)’s Ruddington headquarters, No. 43045 was uncoupled and replaced by No. 41001, which was then shut down while speeches were made, including one by guest of honour Sir Kenneth Grange – designer of the production HSTs’ familiar streamlined shape and honorary president of the 125 Group.

After 85-year-old Sir Kenneth had ceremoniously pressed the starter button, the train ran back to Fifty Steps, where reversal to Loughborough put the prototype on the front of the train. It was now leading a passenger set for the first time since withdrawal by British Rail in 1976.

The 125 Group expressed its gratitude for assistance and sponsorship from the rail industry, particularly East Midlands Trains, which supplied stock and staff free of charge for the occasion. Major

Scientists explore new ways of braking trains

MEANS of braking trains without using wheel-rail adhesion or friction are being explored by scientists funded by FutureRailway.

FutureRailway is an organisation set up by the rail industry to accelerate research, development and innovation and is a collaboration between Network Rail and the Rail Safety & Standards Board.

It has launched a £4million competition to encourage the next generation of inventors, scientists and engineers to devise alternative braking methods.

One experimental project could see trains slowed by the use of eddy currents generated by bogie-mounted magnetic coils, but early trials have shown that

excessive amounts of heat can be generated within the rails by such currents, which would necessitate additional rail fastenings to prevent the rails buckling under certain conditions.

Another competition run by FutureRailway seeks novel technical ideas for environmentally friendly self-powered trains. The entries will be judged by a panel of industry experts from companies such as Bombardier, Siemens, Hitachi and Network Rail, and prizes for the best ideas will be as high as £300,000, with investment funding to follow.

Universities are being specially targeted in a bid to find the next generation of railway inventors.

A comparison of the prototype and production power cars at GCR(N) Ruddington Fields. PETER NICHOLSON

work was undertaken on No. 41001 at EMT’s Neville Hill depot, Leeds, including engine replacement, rewiring and a repaint. The move to Ruddington took place on September 18, 2013, and work has continued there.

The prototype is now the only HST operating with a Paxman Valenta

engine. Power unit No. S508 came from a production vehicle, replaced by an MTU engine, and has been installed in place of 41001’s original engine, which had been sectioned for display.

The unique power car is due to work timetabled trains on the GCR(N) next year.

Bristol-Filton line to be quadrupled A SECOND pair of tracks is to be reinstated in the Bristol area to cope with increased traffic.

The tracks will run for a distance of just under 10 miles from Dr Day’s Bridge Junction (east of Temple Meads station) to Filton South Junction, near Bristol Parkway.

The present set of double tracks through Lawrence Hill and Stapleton Road stations have become a bottleneck due to having to serve the Swindon, Cheltenham and South Wales routes as well as the Severn Beach branch and freight-only Hallen Marsh Junction/Avonmouth loop.

Known as Filton Four Tracks, the £33million project contract has been awarded by Network Rail to Taylor Woodrow and will include preparation of the route for electrification, with four bridges being rebuilt to accommodate overhead line equipment and a further 13 structures being rebuilt or refurbished.

The work, which is being included as part of the Great Western route modernisation programme, will result in the quadrupling of one of the most crowded sections of line outside London.

It is due to start in December and is expected to take three years.

Northampton‘Castle’station building set for opening AN all-new station building at Northampton was undergoing finishing touches in November ready for an opening two months later than planned.

Described as a new ‘gateway’ to the town’, the two-storey, 27,000sq ft station has cost £20million and is almost twice the size of the single-

storey 1960s-era structure it replaces.

It has a large glass façade, improved booking office facilities, a greater circulation area, more waiting areas, and additional space for retail outlets.

The next phase of development will see the old building demolished and in its place a 1,270-space, multistorey car park will be constructed,

enabling the current car park to be used for the construction of commercial properties.

The station also has a new footbridge and pick up/drop-off area.

Curiously (in the absence of any other railway station in the town these days) it is to revert to its original name of Northampton Castle.

December 2014 • The Railway Magazine • 9

HeadlineNews

London Underground breaks Olympic record with busiest day in its history

THE astonishing rise in passenger figures on the London Underground reached new heights on Friday, November 14 when the network achieved a new record for the number of journeys in a single day – 4,576,000.

This breaks the record set during the London Olympics when 4,544,000 people travelled on August 7, 2012.

The figures for November 14 were enhanced by an offer of free travel for 172,000 people made by the Mastercard credit card company promoting a contactless ‘wave-and-pay’ card rival to Oyster, but ridership figures this year are 7.1% up on last year anyway.

Another record was set in the week beginning September 22 when the Underground recorded the highest weekly number of passengers in its history – 26.1million.

LUL chief operating officer Phil Hufton said: “This shows why it is so important that we are upgrading the system – work is well underway on the modernisation of the Northern, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines.”

During 2013/4, the Tube carried

1.265billion passengers, up by a third in 10 years and creating a new record.

Records look set to continue falling as London’s population is set to grow from 8.4million to around 10m by 2030. This is said to be equivalent to an extra Tube train full of people every three days for the next 15 years.

■ The number of passenger journeys

made on the British main line network during the first quarter of the 2014/15 financial year was 393.9m – a rise of 2% over the same period the previous year, which in itself was an all-time high.

Freight, however, declined 7.1% yearon-year to 27.5million tonnes, due partly to recent mild weather creating a smaller demand for coal.

First Crossrail tracks laid

THE first section of track to be used by Crossrail trains has been laid on a new bridge in west London.

It runs over the 120-metre long Stockley flyover and will initially be used

by Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect services from next year.

It is the largest single-span bridge to have been installed anywhere on the Great Western network since the days of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and will ensure that services heading towards central London will be able to join the GW Main Line without conflicting with other rail traffic.

removed and their cylindrical carcasses will then be lined with concrete to form a section of running tunnel (Elizabeth in the eastbound bore and its twin on the Reading-bound tunnel).

Two of the other six Crossrail TBMs will be buried alongside their running lines and the other four will be dismantled and sold back to their

A SIGNALLING fault on the Birmingham to Stratford-upon-Avon line, which began on November 18, was still preventing trains running four days later.

The fault, near Whitlock’s End, led to a rail replacement service from Shirley to Stratford, while engineers battled to fix the fault. But by day 3, all services from Birmingham Snow Hill to Stratford had been suspended.

Specialist engineers were drafted in with other staff walking the 15-mile route inspecting cables, as the nature of the fault was not apparent.

Chiltern was taking passengers for Stratford to Warwick Parkway, who continued their journey by bus.

Services finally resumed on November 22.

100 freight sites handed over to Network Rail

CROSSRAIL TRAINS WILL RUN THROUGH THE SHELLS OF TWO TUNNEL-BORING MACHINES WHEN Crossrail tunnel-boring machines Elizabeth and Victoria finish creating the Stepney Green-Farringdon section next year, their shells will be left on the route of the line for trains to run through.

Normally, such machines are extracted for re-use or‘shunted’off to one side of the line and buried, but for this pair, the internal mechanisms will be

Signal fault halts trains for four days

German manufacturer, Herrenknecht, for reconditioning and further use elsewhere.

Crossrail tunnelling is now almost 90% complete and Elizabeth and Victoria are expected to finish their work in spring 2015, having recently passed the site of the future Whitechapel station.

AGREEMENT has been reached between Network Rail and DB Schenker, Freightliner and GB Railfreight to transfer ownership of 105 leasehold freight locations to Network Rail.

The move represents the first substantive change in the strategic management and development of Britain's rail freight estate in the two decades since the Privatisation process handed the sites to the freight operators.

The change took place on October 31.

The transfer covers 87 sites from DBS, 15 from Freightliner and three from GBRf, and includes such locations as Eastleigh yard, Doncaster Down Decoy and West Drayton.

It is intended to make them more readily available to the growing number of rail freight operators and end users, thus increasing competition.

Chiltern targets Cowley by 2020 CHILTERN Railways-operated Mainlineliveried Class 168 No. 168219 ran between Oxford and Morris Cowley on the remaining stub of the Princes Risborough to Oxford line on November 5, writes Phil Marsh.

The train was organised on behalf of local stakeholders who want to tap into the huge potential in south-east Oxford, with the opening of two stations – Oxford Science Park and Oxford Business Park – on what is currently a 2½-mile freight branch.

About 7,500 people work there now and combined with growing traffic congestion and a more mobile population, the introduction in September 2015 of the MaryleboneOxford service makes the case for the reopening financially viable.

The service would be extended from

Oxford, which will free-up capacity at Oxford’s main line station as the freight branch would be used as a long turnback siding. Trains would take five minutes between Oxford to Oxford Science Park and another five minutes to Oxford Business Park.

Chiltern managing director Rob Brighouse told The RM that a half-hourly service was planned and could be operating in 2020 after the freight branch has been brought up to passenger standards. Currently the line is controlled by a token between Kennington Junction and the end of the line. He added that by then trains would be operating from Bedford, Bicester and Milton Keynes, creating more demand for commuters.

The special ran as far as the Network Rail boundary with the BMW car sidings and then returned west to a temporary

Chiltern’s trial run of ‘Turbostar’ No. 168219 arriving at the temporary Oxford Science Park station on November 5. CHRIS BEHAN

platform at Science Park, where a special runpast took place.

Mr Brighouse did not rule out a future expansion by Chiltern Railways at Princes Risborough, where the operator would

like to see a cross-platform interchange with the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway, for use by passengers who currently use a rail connection bus on that route.

London Midland to be split intoWest Midlands Rail andWest Coast Connect?

THE London Midland train operating company might be broken up into two separate businesses when the franchise expires in 2017.

The Department for Transport is said to be considering proposals to split the Birmingham and Wolverhampton area local services from the West Coast Main Line semi-fast trains, giving the first the

provisional name of West Midlands Rail and possibly calling the latter West Coast Connect.

The local services would be partly managed by a consortium of 14 West Midlands local authorities, putting the region on a similar footing to those in Greater London, Greater Manchester and Merseyside, although full

10 • The Railway Magazine • December 2014

devolution is unlikely to take place straightaway as the DfT prefers a phased handover.

The main line services, which connect London Euston with Northampton, Rugby, the Trent Valley stations, Crewe and Liverpool as well as Birmingham, could possibly be merged with, or bolted onto, the InterCity West Coast franchise,

currently operated by Virgin Trains.

The idea is not all-new as, under a previous franchise, services were divided into Silverlink County and Silverlink Metro.

The London Midland franchise is due to expire in March 2016, but is to be extended by a direct award management contract until June 2017.

December 2014 • The Railway Magazine • 11

HeadlineNews New locomotive – but Scunthorpe steelworks faces uncertain future

CLASS 20 No. 20110 has been transferred from the Wensleydale Railway to Scunthorpe steelworks.

The HNRC-owned Type 1 brings to three the number of such locos shunting the steelworks and a fourth is expected to follow.

■ As we closed for press, it was announced that Tata Steel is negotiating to sell the steelworks to Swiss-based firm Klesch Group and that renewal of the plant’s coke ovens may be put on hold.

Loco to be named after Jack Mills

GREAT Train Robbery loco driver Jack Mills is to be honoured with the naming of a DB Schenker loco at Crewe on December 2. A memorial plaque to Mills, and assistant David Whitby will be also unveiled near the signing-on point.

Union in strike threat Prime Minister endorses over sewage on track HS3… and slams‘Pacers’ THE need for a high-speed railway across the Pennines has received the personal backing of Prime Minister David Cameron.

Speaking in Leeds at the end of October, Mr Cameron threw his weight behind Chancellor George Osborne’s plan for a“Northern powerhouse”driven by an HS3 line linking Liverpool and Manchester with Leeds and Hull.

In post-industrial Britain, the Northern cities have lost much of the agendasetting importance they enjoyed until the end of the 1960s and England has consequently become a more Londoncentric nation, but Cameron and Osborne

both recognise the importance of re-balancing the economy by pressing ahead with both HS3 and HS2 to ensure that there is full connectivity between north and south.

“High-speed rail is really exciting and the combination of the two high-speed lines is incredibly powerful,” the Premier told the Leeds meeting. HS2 supremo Sir David Higgins also addressed the meeting, stressing that HS3 would be a‘Crossrail of the North’.

■ The Prime Minister has also entered the controversy over the continuing use of four-wheeled‘Pacer’trains. See page 77.

Battery EMU hits 100mph

EXPERIMENTAL battery-powered EMU No. 379013 (pictured in Nov issue, p78) undertook test running at up to 100mph on the Southminster branch in mid-October. The Greater Anglia ‘Electrostar’unit has six underfloor rafts of batteries, which are charged by regenerative braking.

Abbey line shut for upgrade

THE Watford Junction-St Alban’s Abbey line closed on November 29 and will remain shut until December 29 in order to carry out work on the manually operated junction with the main line.

Further closures are planned in February and early April.

Burton tram coming home

A GROUP of British enthusiasts has bought the last-surviving vehicle from the Burton & Ashby Light Railway at an auction in Detroit, USA, and will repatriate it to Britain.

Tram No. 14 worked on the line until its closure in 1927.

‘Silver surfers’ on the rise

A MEMBERSHIP survey by the LNER Society has found that 80% of members who responded have internet access.

“This is very encouraging when it is considered that nearly half our membership are over 70 years of age,” says society secretary Anthony Moss.

12 horses killed by trains

AT least 12 horses were killed by two CrossCountry trains running between Birmingham and Stansted Airport on November 19. BT Police are trying to trace the owners and establish how they came to be on the track.

Borders fans in Carlisle push

WITH tracklaying in progress and a start date of September 2015, campaigners for the Borders Line reinstatement are now pressing for the former Waverley route to be extended from Tweedbank to Carlisle.

Train fire at Charing Cross

CHARING Cross was evacuated on November 24 after a carriage of the 10.55 to Robertsbridge caught fire due to a third-rail fault. One vehicle of EMU No. 375611 was damaged.

Horwich to be demolished?

THE ex-Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway’s Horwich Works buildings are reported to be under threat of demolition to make way for a huge housing estate.

Cottesmore expansion

THE former Rutland Railway Museum, now known as Rocks by Rail, has won grant aid to build an exhibition hall at its Cottesmore site.

Replica 4-4-4-4 planned A GROUP proposing to build a $1020million replica of one of America’s most striking steam locomotives – a Pennsylvania Railroad T1 4-4-4-4 – has commissioned British artist Jonathan Clay to produce this image of what it would look like.

The 120mph-capable locomotive will be numbered 5550 and is to be built by the Pennsylvania Railroad T1 Steam

Locomotive Trust, which says it has been inspired by the feat of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust in building No. 60163 Tornado. The US group is to copy the A1 and P2 builders’ tried and tested covenanter and founders’ club structure to raise funds for the 53rd member of the class.

The T1s were introduced in 1942 and none survive. Painting by JONATHAN CLAY

Former driver gets suspended jail sentence A FORMER Capital Connect train driver has received a suspended jail sentence after ignoring safety systems on a CambridgeLondon train last year.

It was on October 8, 2013, when Scott Walford was driving the 20.40 CambridgeKing’s Cross, that he passed a red signal at Hitchin, leading to automatic application of the brakes.

In a prosecution brought by the Office of Rail Regulation under the Health & Safety at Work Act, it was said in court that Walford deliberately reset the system and continued on without

seeking the required authorisation.

Prior to leaving Cambridge, Walford had also failed to set up his cab-secure radio, which prevented any direct contact from the signaller. As a result of his actions his train ran“out of control”, putting himself, passengers and train staff at risk of a serious incident, the court was told.

Following the incident, Walford was dismissed by First Capital Connect.

He was sentenced at Stevenage Magistrates Court to three months in prison, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to pay costs of £500.

Second derailment in a year at Longleat THE 15inch gauge Longleat Railway was rocked by another derailment on November 16, writes Cliff Thomas.

The incident is under ORR investigation and details were sparse as we closed for press, but it appears that the rear bogie of the last carriage of a nine-vehicle train hauled by No. 5 Ceawlin (a diesel-hydraulic with the outline of a GWR 2-8-2T) left the rails during a private operation to Longleat’s new Santa’s Grotto attraction.

The train, apparently running in reverse, is reported to have been travelling at low speed and the carriage remained upright.

No injuries to passengers or staff are reported, and passengers were able to leave the incident location on foot.

A statement published by Longleat on November 19 identified the cause as operator error, commenting:“A breach in

12 • The Railway Magazine • December 2014

communications protocol resulted in the points not being repositioned to receive the reversing train.” The statement confirms that two staff were aboard the train at the time and,“both have been removed from their duties”. The railway anticipated running normal services to follow in the run-up to Christmas.

The accident occurred before the Office of Rail Regulation has had a chance to report on a derailment on August 20 when carriages derailed, with one landing on its side, resulting in six passengers being injured, including a woman who suffered leg fractures and had to be airlifted to hospital in Bath (RM Sep).

The RM has learned the loco hauling the train in August was 6wDM No. 7 Flynn (AK79/2007), not Exmoor-built 2-6-2T No. 6 Rudolf as reported elsewhere.

BRITAIN’s largest transport union is threatening industrial action over human waste being flushed on rail tracks.

It follows complaints that railway and train maintenance workers are having to endure unpleasant discharges from on-board toilets as they go about their duties.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) says the problem can be easily solved by new technology that is widely available and it wants train operators to bring forward plans to implement it.

Effluent retention tanks have yet to be fitted on almost 10% of carriages with toilet facilities on ScotRail services, and while the Scottish Government has pledged that they will be compulsory under its new franchisee, it gave companies bidding for the contract a deadline of 2020 to fit them.

Effluent

Although Transport Minister Keith Brown has said that new ScotRail franchise holder Abellio will discharge no sewage on tracks by December 2017, the RMT has said it is not prepared to wait more than three years and wants the deadline brought forward to April 2016.

The Scottish Government has confirmed that trains dump waste directly on tracks run on some of the busiest routes in the country. They include services between Glasgow Queen Street and Alloa, Oban, Fort William and Mallaig.

Overall, there are 48 ScotRail carriages with passenger toilet facilities that are not connected to effluent retention tanks. East Coast also operates trains that dump waste on to tracks.

The Department fort Transport says the ScotRail franchise operator is to implement a programme of having all rolling stock fitted with controlled emission tanks."

Anti-trespass warnings appear at New Street

PROBLEMS with passengers avoiding the station rebuilding work by nipping across the tracks to change trains has caused Network Rail to fit ‘Keep off the Track’ signs at Birmingham New Street.

HeadlineNews Extra

Welshelectrificationand Spotlight on franchise row settled A ROW between the Welsh and English governments over who should pay for the electrification of the Welsh Valley lines has been settled.

The agreement will see Westminster providing £850million for the electrification of the main line to Swansea plus a further £125million towards Valley Lines electrification. The remainder of the £463million funding for the Valleys will be found through reduced costs and increased revenues due to the longer and faster services envisaged by the replacement of‘Pacers’with EMUs.

There has also been agreement between the two governments that when the Wales rail franchise comes up for renewal, the decision on the new franchisee will be that of the Welsh Government.

First Minister Carwyn Jones said: "Together with an agreement to fully devolve power over the Welsh rail franchise, this will allow the Welsh Government to move forward with its ambitious plans to create the efficient and reliable rail service Wales needs and deserves."

Ufton Nervet multiple-death-crash crossing to be replaced by bridge TEN years after the catastrophic crash involving a Great Western HST and a car at Ufton Nervet level crossing, which killed seven people and injured 120, plans have finally emerged for a bridge over the line.

On November 6, 2004, a car driver deliberately placed his vehicle on the Berkshire crossing – but since then there have been four further deaths at the crossing and a number of near misses, even though Network Rail has implemented safety measures, including moving points that played a key part in the 2004 accident.

Andrew Main, who lost his daughter and partner in the 2004 crash, said:“It is staggering it has taken so long. It beggars belief”. The RMT union has also been pressing for a bridge to be constructed.

Two years ago, Network Rail didn’t have the funds for a bridge, having underestimated the costs, and there were also negotiations with landowners. But now funding has been found in the electrification budget for the GW main line and designs have been submitted to West Berkshire District Council for approval.

Track returns to Invergarry station TRACK has been laid alongside the platform of the former Invergarry station, on the long-closed Invergarry & Fort Augustus Railway.

The station is subject of a project launched in 2012 to rebuild it and establish a railway museum dedicated to the Invergarry & Fort Augustus Railway.

It’s been more than 65 years since the track was lifted by the London & North Eastern Railway and it’s the only station on the Spean Bridge to Fort Augustus line that hasn’t been built on in the intervening years.

Staff from Network Rail’s maintenance delivery unit in Glasgow joined forces with local volunteers to prepare the trackbed to receive ballast and sleepers. As we closed for press, 34 x 60ft lengths of bullhead rail were due to be laid in the former platform 1.

Next year, further progress will be made, including tracklaying in platform 2 and turn-out points.

A replica signal cabin and station sign will also be installed. An application for lottery funding is to be made

for a replica station building.

The station is situated behind the Great Glen Water Park, off the A82 at Laggan Swing Bridge. It is on the Great Glen Way, a Sustrans National Cycle route and the Great Canoe Trail.

See www.stationproject.org.uk or www.invergarrystation.org.uk

UK Rail Leasing

Chris Milner visits Leicester depot, home of UK Rail Leasing, the country’s newest locomotive hire, maintenance and restoration company.

ANYONE heading through Leicester by train recently will have noticed the activity that has been taking place at the former DB Schenker depot.

In the sidings and in front of the depot building, Class 56s have been noted in various states of repair and refurbishment. In fact the depot has been taking on the appearance it had back in the early 1980s when Class 56s were the staple motive power for the many aggregate and coal trains emanating from Leicestershire.

Now, the refurbished locos are beginning a new lease of life and in a fresh livery – ‘Railfreight’ grey.

It was in the autumn of 2013 that UK Rail Leasing (UKRL) was founded by Mark Winter, former group treasurer at Ulster Bank, together with Class 56 owner Ed Stevenson, who saw the business opportunity to provide Type 5 traction for spot hire to freight companies.

The lead time of 18-24 months for new locos, coupled with the cost – around £3million to build a Class 70, matched by high lease costs – together with question marks over the relatively unproven Class 68, will allow UKRL to find its niche.

The growth of freight traffic, whether it be containers from ports, short-term aggregate traffic or increased numbers of infrastructure trains, has placed an extra burden on freight companies.

Recent changes to EU emission rules have also curtailed the building of new

locos, despite a recent softening of attitudes, so UKRL’s business model provides the right solutions. The company has sourced a number of redundant Class 56s (including some that had been sold by DBS to EMR for scrap). All had lain dormant after their work with Fertis during the LGV Est construction in France was completed in 2006. Many of the locos had life in them, but DBS dumped them at the stroke of a pen.

What UKRL has done is to buy those that still have a reasonable degree of residual life in them. Some of the shareholders have added their own locos or spare parts as assets of the company, and the result is that there is now a fleet of 15. In addition, UKRL has two Class 37/9s and an option to take on three Class 33s. One of the 37s is used as the shed shunter, the other is at the MidHants Railway.

‘Cottage industry’

As with any old machinery, spare parts are the key, but fortunately engine parts are readily available. There’s no problem getting bogies, traction motors or alternators overhauled, but UKRL is looking at developing a ‘cottage industry’ for the manufacture of some parts as well as working with other Class 56 owners to pool their purchasing power.

The company has six directors and a dozen shareholders, both individuals and companies, and rather than just be

Nos. 56081, 56104 and No. 56007 in front of the depot. UKRL plans to recommission the fuelling point, whose two storage tanks can be seen on the facing page.

Emissions: EU softens attitude A SURPRISE change of heart by the European Union may ease the strict emissions regulations prohibiting the use of new diesel locomotives in the UK from the end of this year.

Operators such as DRS and GBRf have been rushing to get all-new Classes 68 and 66 built and delivered before December 31 to beat the deadline (RM Sep), but because diesel engine manufacturers have been unable to design a power unit that will both meet the new Stage 3b emissions levels and stay within the UK loading gauge, the EU is to postpone the

decision to give the builders time to come up with suitable-sized engines.

Two manufactures, Caterpillar and MTU, believe they can develop such a power unit as long as they receive enough orders that justify the research and development outlay. The EU’s U-turn gives them time to work with operators on such modification.

In the meantime, British freight hauliers are likely to continue reinstating‘dirtier’ first generation traction to cope with demand during the new-build hiatus that is bound to occur next year as a result of the original December deadline.

14 • The Railway Magazine • December 2014

At present, Class 37/9 No. 37906 is being used as the Leicester depot shunter.

Have you got a story for us? Email: railway@mortons.co.uk

Renaissance at Leicester: Where weeds once grew tall, Type 5s Nos. 56007, 56081 and 56098 line up in immaculate condition on November 7. Pictures: CHRIS MILNER

a loco-hire company, it has other strands to its business. One is re-engineering locos, and the third is maintenance and overhaul for third parties; it is for the latter reason that blue, preserved No. 56006 is at Leicester.

At a future stage, UKRL plans to recommission the fuelling point at the depot, which could be used by any company. The sidings, albeit overgrown at present, could provide stabling for other operators as there are long-term plans to build an island platform on the east side at Leicester station. Plus, when electrification comes to the Midland Main Line, storage for wagons and other vehicles will be needed.

The company moved onto the site in August last year and has a long lease on the 10-acre depot and sidings. It was fortunate that a previous occupant had increased the roof height and added new power and air lines, so no work was needed to the structure. The depot offices are still used as a signing-on point for DB Schenker drivers, with UKRL having the workshops. The footprint of the old steam roundhouse (British Railways code 15B) is now a car park for rail staff.

While refurbishing a locomotive makes economic sense compared to new build, UKRL plans to eventually embark on loco re-engineering.

Legislation allows the engine to be

replaced and the plan is to use one that will provide better performance, efficiency and fuel economy, without the need for costly and complex exhaust scrubbers.

UKRL took a conscious decision to work closely with Brush Traction on its fleet refurbishment plan, using in-house competencies to carry out the re-work of the locos, but then handing them to Brush to qualify the work, carried out through a stringent test procedure, before load-banking the locos and final sign-off.

Supportive

It is tough for a newcomer to break into the UK rail market. PostPrivatisation history has shown that there have been a few companies, either running operations on a shoestring or cutting corners, that have eventually bitten the dust, which makes bigger freight companies – DB Schenker, Freightliner and GB Railfreight – rather cautious about dealing with ‘minnows’.

But UKRL has been working closely with Freightliner for many months, and Mr Winter said the company been incredibly supportive. The relationship has led to UKRL being given accepted supplier status by Freightliner.

While no timescales on the contact were revealed, Mr Winter said it

represented a substantial commitment

by Freightliner. The international haulier has taken two UKRL locos that will be used to shunt wagons in Basford Hall Yard, Crewe, freeing up other locos. The first – No. 56081 – moved to Crewe in November and will be followed by a second. There is an option on a third as a ‘float’ loco.

Servicing and ‘A’ exams will be done at Crewe, but other exams and any major repairs will see the locos returned to Leicester. No. 56081 has around 7,000 miles left on its engine and Nos. 56104 and 56098, which are the next to be completed, have overhauled engines with zero hours. They will be followed by No. 56018, one of the Romanian-built locos.

By next summer, UKRL aims to return Nos. 56060, 56032, 56065 and 56037 to traffic meaning more than half its fleet will be active. Other locos will be returned to service depending on the growth of the business and demand by customers.

Mr Winter says he is talking to other freight companies about taking on UKRL locos, and that one is adopting a ‘wait-and-see’ stance on the outcome of the first two hired by Freightliner.

In the same way that GBRf has re-engineered its Class 73s, UKRL is working on traction and fuel-economy

Waiting in the sidings for their own ‘rebirth’ are weatherbeaten Fertis-liveried Nos. 56106 and 56069, with 56098 on the right.

UKRL FLEETLIST Number Livery 37905 BR green 37906 56007 56009 56018

Railfreight grey BR blue Light blue Fertis grey

56031 56032

Fertis grey Fertis grey

56037 56038 56060

EWS Fertis grey Fertis grey

56065 56069 56077 56081

Fertis grey Fertis grey Loadhaul Railfreight grey Railfreight grey Railfreight grey Fertis grey

56098 56104 56106

Location Mid-Hants Railway Leicester Leicester Battlefield Line Brush Traction Loughborough Leicester Washwood Heath Battlefield Line Leicester Washwood Heath Leicester Leicester Battlefield Line Basford Hall Yd Leicester Leicester Leicester

Notes: Correct to November 7, 2014.

The company also has options on three Class 33s.

The Class 56 Group’s preserved No. 56006 is also stabled at the depot as is Europhoenix’s No. 37906, but not expected to by used by UKRL.

enhancements, along with an improvement in tractive effort closer to that of a Class 66, but at a cost no more than half that of a new loco.

Such a move would be governed by finding the right medium-speed power unit so as to avoid alternator replacement and a vast increase in costs. Also under consideration is a two-engine option with stop-start technology.

UKRL has also taken the decision to supply Type 5 locos, and while there are no more Class 56s available, there is still a very large number of Class 58s stored. Most of those are in France or Spain, but, there are a few at Eastleigh and Toton, which could be candidates for re-activation, not to mention a large number of redundant Class 60s.

It’s a bizarre but welcome situation, and the future for first generation traction has never looked better.

December 2014 • The Railway Magazine • 15

PRACTICE & PERFORMANCE

FUEL ECONOMY or FALSE ECONOMY? T

Passengers may not realise it, but fuel-saving policies are taking effect on train performance. John Heaton FCILT takes a hard look at a tricky subject and discovers saving fuel can delay your train.

HE Class 221 ‘Voyager’ leaves Tiverton Parkway on a sunny morning with a dry rail and I take stopwatch timings as we accelerate up the 1-in-115 gradient towards Whiteball.

But something is wrong. Where is the ‘pzazz’? Why does it seem to be labouring?

What has been done to cause such reduced performance from these 3,750hp machines, with their power/weight ratio of 13.25hp/tonne, that now makes them barely better than a 10.8hp/tonne CrossCountry HST? I turned to Dr David Stannard, who has recently retired from Jodrell Bank, for assistance.

As one of the Railway Performance Society’s technical officers, David has used both North West and West Midlands ‘Ranger’ tickets to measure the performance of more than a thousand ‘Voyager’ climbs from Stockport to Macclesfield and on Madeley bank, between Crewe and Stafford. The resultant modelling has resulted in a comprehensive study that sheds light into what has been happening.

Just an initial word of explanation about the terms used in this article. The general term ‘Voyager’ has been used for Class 220s and Class 221s regardless of ownership, although the Virgin 221s, retaining the names of famous

explorers, are probably the only remaining authentic ‘Voyagers’. Even these are more correctly termed ‘Super Voyagers’ as, unlike their CrossCountry cousins, their tilt mechanism remains operative.

The modern railway industry is bound (some might say ‘hidebound’) by a complex series of contracts. At the heart of this matrix rests the relationship of train maintenance companies, in this case Bombardier, and train operating companies (TOCs). In simple terms,

“It is self-evident that a train on reduced power will need to work at full power longer to reach the maximum permissible speed.” the TOC wants a fault-free unit provided for the diagram to which it has been allocated at the lowest possible cost. The maintenance company is committed to providing greater efficiency by suggesting methods of reducing costs within these parameters.

The ways in which a TOC can economise are relatively limited and there are few who

CrossCountry ‘Voyager’ No. 220017 climbs Whiteball bank on April 10 with 1M49, the 09.40 Penzance-Manchester Piccadilly service. STEPHEN GINN

16 • The Railway Magazine • December 2014

would dispute that it is Network Rail that has greater scope to control the cost of rail transport. Fuel is one of the largest headings that a TOC and the train maintenance firms can influence. This has been rising in comparative terms for at least 40 years and has experienced increasing environmental, and therefore political, importance this century.

Parallel to such developments has been a reduction in the influence of operators within the rail industry, firstly their subjugation to business managers who then seem to have become dominated by their financial and engineering advisers. It’s a long way back from there to operational discipline.

The result has been an unchallenged belief that the timetable contains lots of spare time that can be frittered away by slower acceleration, lower top speeds and early coasting.

Detailed recording of train running reveals that most CrossCountry net schedules cannot routinely be kept, even when completely unchecked. How then do trains manage to arrive punctually? Well, many do not. The current moving annual ‘below 10min late’ average for CrossCountry is 87% (including the Class 170 network) and the average ‘below 1min late’ figure for long-distance trains of all companies was 55% in 2012/3. That is a lot of trains needing their designed full power to recover time rather than idling and coasting.

Out of 69 CrossCountry trains used in the last 12 months, just 37% were early, on time or ½min late at the point I alighted with an average for all these trains of 7min late. Another five were cancelled. Those that do manage to be precisely on time have often ‘borrowed’ unused timetable allowances or made net gains on station times such as the typical 10 minutes at Birmingham New Street allowed for southbound off-peak Scottish-South West trains, or the similar amount northbound at Bristol Temple Meads.

The first fuel-saving initiative was the downrating of ‘Voyager’ engines from 750hp to 700hp that occurred on Virgin in late 2009 and on CrossCountry in the second half of 2010.

A 50hp reduction in engine power should produce a fall of around 40 rail horse power (rhp), but the study by the Railway Performance Society (RPS) reveals that the actual decrease was less than 10rhp for Class 221s and only 14rhp for Class 220s.

This could be explained by the engines having been set up at, say, 5% above their nominal power output, with the traction power output being limited by the Alstom Voyager

e world’s longest-running railway series, established in 1901

“Reduced punctuality creates delays, diminishes morale and damages public relations.” traction control system. The benefits claimed for this initiative are a 2% reduction in the fuel bill and longer engine life.

Turning to my own experience in the West Country, the fastest time of which I am aware from leaving Taunton to entering Whiteball tunnel on the 1-in-80 climb of Wellington bank is 6min 58sec for a Class 220 with an expectation of around 7min 03sec. Within the influences of different driving techniques and weather conditions, the reduction to 700hp was not discernible as it remained normal to record the front cab of Class 220s reaching the tunnel in a shade over 7min.

Perhaps buoyed by this apparent success, the engineers devised further ‘efficiencies’. Each Class 220 vehicle is around 7.5 tonnes lighter than its Class 221 counterpart, so trains diagrammed for Class 220s were initially given shorter net running times when accelerating.

This amounted to 1½min on the 76 miles from Bristol Temple Meads to Exeter, but it meant that a Class 221 straying onto a Class 220 working was short of time. Accordingly, the situation was reversed. All trains were placed on Class 221 timings and Class 220s therefore enjoy an advantage of around 12min on a Glasgow Central to Plymouth (via Edinburgh, Newcastle and Leeds) run, pro-rata to the Bristol-Exeter differential timings. In practice, this margin was often used to recover time, thereby achieving PPM (public performance measure) while offsetting the extra fuel expenditure by saving consequential delay minutes and customer compensation payments.

The engineers saw this situation from a different perspective. To prevent Class 220s using more fuel than necessary on these Class 221 schedules, their traction control system software was tweaked to reduce their output by another 5% but this measure did not manifest

Emerging from the 1,092 yard Whiteball tunnel, No. 220008 speeds south towards Exeter St David’s on July 5, 2013, with the 09.00 Glasgow Central-Penzance CrossCountry service. STEPHEN GINN

TABLE 1:‘VOYAGER’ RELIABILITY SUMMER 2011 TO SUMMER 2014 Date From

To

August 2011 Feb 2013 August 2013 Feb 2014

April 2012 July 2013 Jan. 2014 July 2014

CrossCountry Class 220s Sample Working Low Size Normally Power % % 82 78 1 44 73 0 104 57 18 92 52 24

itself in reduced performance and it was not until the implementation of the next device – ‘acceleration rate control’ in the summer of 2011 – that it became noticeable in the RPS study.

This third measure was aimed at preventing trains gathering speed too quickly downhill and thereby further limit the sprightly Class 220s to the Class 221 standard to which they were

No longer a tilting train, five-car ‘Super Voyager’ No. 221139 departs from Stoke-on-Trent on November 6, while working the 10.07 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads. The service had started at Macclesfield due to severe late running on its northbound leg and was consequently about 10 minutes late at Stoke. TONY MILES

Engines out % 21 27 25 24

Virgin West Coast Class 221s Sample Working Low Size Normally Power % % 59 54 12 58 66 12 64 58 12

Engines out % 34 22 30

scheduled. For good measure, CrossCountry Class 221s were subjected to the same limitation, even though the sectional running times they were using did not cater for it.

One might pause for a moment to consider the resources employed in limiting the performance of perfectly capable units that could have been used to improve unsatisfactory ones. What might have happened to revenue if the same resources had been ploughed into infrastructure upgrades to match the ‘Voyager’s’ original capabilities?

Just how much money has been wasted by purchasing engineering over-specified, uncomfortable ‘Voyagers’ that are too small for the business on offer? How much has been squandered on fitting the CrossCountry Class 221s with heavy tilt mechanisms that are now disarmed, but still have to be carted around the country?

In a search for even greater economy, the radical decision was taken to isolate one engine of each CrossCountry Class 221. The sectional running times are based on all engines running, so timetable allowances are being used for fuelsaving instead of engineering work, pathing or ad hoc events. There is actually a roster stating which of the middle three cars should be turned off on each day of the week but it is not unusual to find the end cars isolated. In these circumstances the planned middle car isolation will normally have been re-started. It is understood that a unit with a history of trouble with one particular engine will not have a ‘good’ engine isolated, thus reducing the chances of a double failure.

The planned isolation of one engine does not deliver a 20% fuel saving of course. The December 2014 • The Railway Magazine • 17

PRACTICE & PERFORMANCE other engines need to work both harder and for longer. The true reduction is likely to be below 10%. Isolation also causes overloading of crossfed auxiliaries and a fear that air conditioning equipment might not control temperatures in hot weather has led to the suspension of deliberate isolation in high summer. This policy is extended to peak leaf-fall when extra ‘distributed power’ is needed to cope with low adhesion.

Re-activation of a planned isolation had originally to have the prior consent of Cross Country Maintenance Control, but common sense has eventually prevailed. If a second engine is lost or drivers need the fifth engine to regain time they can now exercise their own initiative by restarting the engine and subsequently informing control. However, the driver is still required to proceed to the middle of the train, often at busy stations and fighting an army of passengers with luggage, to gain access to a cubicle before resetting a circuit breaker.

On one trip with a deliberately isolated engine, a northbound Anglo-Scottish on which I was travelling, was delayed at Dawlish Warren by a points’ failure. On leaving Exeter St David’s 11min late with little chance of any time recovery, I immediately suspected a second engine was underperforming. Despite recovery and pathing allowances, the train was 12min late at Bristol Temple Meads. Arriving at Temple Meads 5½min after we should have departed, the driver was encountered walking back along the platform to turn on the deliberately isolated engine. A plume of smoke, reminiscent of starting a ‘Deltic’ on a cold morning, enveloped the platform observers and the driver returned to the cab. Yet another 2min delay had been incurred.

To an engineer and a finance director, the 12min late arrival at Bristol would seem to have been caused by the Dawlish Warren malfunction and the failure to regain time due to a failed engine and an isolated engine would go unrecorded.

In my more cynical moments, I sometimes wonder how many ‘Voyagers’ return to depot at night without suffering an engine failure during the day. The ‘Golden Spanners’ Modern Railways awards always show the fleet in a good light. In fact, the old rules of ‘miles per 5min casualty’ and the new rules of ‘miles per technical casualty’ are both favourable to a highcapability, distributed-power unit. A ‘Voyager’ will normally complete each monitored section without triggering technical incident failure.

The way in which this flatters performance is clearly shown in the RPS study statistics (see Table 1). In early 2014, 24% of a 92-train CrossCountry Class 220 sample were operating

The new branding on the outside of Arriva ‘Voyagers’, denoting German control of the operator. TONY MILES

18 • The Railway Magazine • December 2014

Flashback to the days when Virgin ran both the West Coast and CrossCountry franchises. Pioneer Class 220 No. 220001 pauses at York on October 11, 2005, with a Bristol to Newcastle service. CHRIS MILNER

TABLE 2:TIVERTON PARKWAY-TAUNTON Loco Vehicles/tare/gross tonnes* Train Date Rec/Position

220008 4/186/210 09.25 Plymouth-Aberdeen November 19, 2009 J Heaton 1st of 4

Miles 0.00 3.34 4.18 7.09 9.69 11.28 12.90 14.20

Sch 0 [1] 5

Timing Point Tiverton P d Whiteball Whiteball TEP Wellington Bradford Victory Silkmill TAUNTON a

MS 0 00 3 01 3 32 5 14 6 44 7 41 8 40 10 12

11 12½

220005 4/186/210 11.25 Plymouth-Dundee September 11, 2014 J Heaton 1st of 4 MPH T 95 100 104 104 100 97

Sch 0 4

MS 0 00 3 17 3 51 5 40 7 17 8 19 9 24 11 25

10 11½

MPH 1L 86 90 99 94 92 85

[1]= 1min recovery time

with an engine ‘out’ due to a fault. The remaining engines were donating train supply to the faulty coach and coping with the various power-reduction initiatives.

In the same period, 30% of Virgin Class 221s had a failed engine out of a sample of 64.

Since the monitoring was done mainly in the 09.00-15.00 period the figures would probably be higher by late evening. Many of the ‘37,931 miles per technical incident’ that won for the class the ‘Golden Spanner’ gold award will have been completed with one engine not working.

Translating these observations into actual

performance, Fig 1 (page 20) shows a graph of performances passing Cheadle Hulme and heading for Macclesfield. The average maximum speed at Milepost 4 (between Poynton and Adlington) for a Class 220 in original condition was 102½mph. After the software ‘upgrade’ this fell to 100½mph. A Class 221 with all engines working could be expected to reach 99½mph… …and with a planned single engine isolation just 91mph.

It is not by accident that the maximum permissible speed (mps) at this location is 105mph and one hesitates to ask whether

TABLE 3: CHELTENHAM SPA TO BRISTOL PARKWAY Unit Vehicles/tare/gross tonnes Train Date Recorder/Position Miles 0.00 3.10 5.54 6.25 7.49 11.44 12.63 14.42 18.05 20.65 25.84 27.98 32.42 33.99 35.34 36.84 38.62

Timing Point CHELTENHAM d Churchdown Barnwood Jct Gloucester Yd Jct Gloucester E. Jct Haresfield Standish Jct Stonehouse Cam Berkeley Road Charfield Wickwar Yate Westerleigh Jct Coalpit Heath Winterbourne BRISTOL P

Sch* 0 5 5½ 9½

17 21 23 27

220030 4/186/210 14.07 Man P-Exeter S D March 12, 2010 J Heaton 4th of 4

221127 5/282/295 (four engines working) 14.07 Man P-Paignton September 1, 2014 J Heaton 5th of 5

MS 0 00 2 55 4 27 4 54 5 53 8 25 9 08 10 12 12 23 13 57 17 11 18 34 21 33 23 23 24 30 25 27 27 13

MS 0 00 3 29 5 05 5 46 7 39 10 22 11 06 12 10 14 19 15 52 19 11 20 37 23 38 25 32 26 50 27 50 29 28

MPH 1L 95 95 95 70 100 100 100 100 100 90 93 88/35 40 85 100 1L

*= Summer 2014 schedule Class 220 speeds estimated from averages and averages also published to aid comparison.

Some averages are based on fractions of a second

Ave 63.8 95.5 94.7 75.7 93.6 99.6 100.2 100.0 99.6 96.3 92.8 89.3 51.4 72.5 74.7 60.5

MPH 3L 92/95 75 tsr20 60 92 100 102 101 101 90 90 88/36 40 80 98/100 5½L

Ave 53.4 91.5 62.3 39.5 87.2 97.4 100.7 101.3 100.6 93.9 89.6 88.3 49.6 62.3 90.0 65.4

e world’s longest-running railway series, established in 1901 Network Rail could save money by reducing it to 100mph and persuading Virgin that its ‘Pendolinos’ could also save energy here. If not here, then perhaps elsewhere – and could this be extrapolated into lower design costs for lower speed re-signalling schemes when due? The potential for a downward spiral seems infinite.

Can the timetable accommodate this in the way the engineers believe possible? The RPS study shows the time difference between a Class 220 with all engines working and a Class 221 with one engine isolated is a good 20sec on the six miles from Cheadle Hulme, with more time still to be lost before Macclesfield. Similarly, there is a difference of around 30sec over the 11 miles from Taunton to Whiteball tunnel and there are at least 30 key accelerations on a Glasgow Central-Plymouth run.

On the modern railway, the cry is often heard, “what is the business case”? Well, removal of any spare time that is being used to achieve fuel and maintenance savings on a Glasgow-Plymouth journey would probably be recouped by the sale of just one ‘anytime’ first class Birmingham-Plymouth ticket at £113 to a passenger attracted by the faster schedule.

Are there any more ways to slow trains down? Well, on top of the measures already described, the Government green transport initiative has imposed a biodiesel requirement on rail operators. This is a biofuel content of about 5%, which is predicted by engine manufacturer Cummins to reduce power by ‘less than 2%’. A lot of these 2%s are now beginning to add up.

Has this now used up all the spare time?

“How much money has been squandered on fitting the CrossCountry Class 221s with heavy tilt mechanisms that are now disarmed, but still have to be carted around the country?”

Apparently not. Next on the horizon is a CrossCountry driver advisory system showing when to coast and when not to do so.

The best way of saving fuel by coasting is to accelerate as hard as possible and coast as early as possible. It must be remembered this is governed by the railway parameter of a strict schedule, not the elastic timetable of a car journey. It seems that this initiative might even contradict others already taken. It is self-evident that a multiple unit on reduced power needs to work at full power longer to reach the maximum permissible speed than a higher powered train. This will mean that planned coasting, which has higher potential savings than acceleration control, has to start later.

If recovery time truly exceeds engineering work, journey times could be reduced by their removal. If the unwanted time is to remain so that fuel can be saved, then it should arguably be shown as a performance allowance, but there are some locations where it has just disappeared altogether and has in effect been absorbed in sectional running times. Even those who approve of the current shenanigans should note that there is now no indication to show drivers where fuel saving might take place. They might reply that driver advisory systems will soon tell

Appearances can be deceptive: It’s not a smoky exhaust from this Class 220 leaving Taunton on March 9, 2013, but a steam charter in the next platform. The ‘Voyager’ was on a Manchester Piccadilly to Paignton train. STEPHEN GINN

TABLE 4: BRISTOL TEMPLE MEADS TO DAWLISH Unit Vehicles/tare/gross tonnes Train Date Recorder/Position Miles 0.00 0.89 1.75 5.85 8.00 11.94

Timing Point BRISTOL T M d Bedminster Parson Street Flax Bourton Nailsea Yatton

Sch 0 (½)

16.71 19.66 26.90 33.18 38.96 39.99 44.74 0.00 1.29 2.91 4.50 7.10 10.01 10.85 14.18 0.00 1.78 4.03 8.19 12.88 15.33 16.58 0.00 0.92 1.30 4.84 8.55 10.60 12.25

Worle Jct Uphill Jct Highbridge Bridgwater Durston Cogload Jct TAUNTON a d Silk Mill Victory Bradford Wellington Whiteball TEP Whiteball Tiverton P a d Tiverton Jct Cullompton Hele & B Stoke Canon Cowley Br Jct EXETER S D a d St Thomas City Basin Exminster Starcross Dawlish Warren Dawlish a

13 15 22½ [1] 27½ 31 32½ 2

8 10½ 12 2

10½ [1]13 15

8½ 10½

(½)=½min pathing [1]=1mn recovery rbt=running brake test

220017 4/186/200 All engines working 14.07 Man P-Paignton August 29, 2014 J Heaton 4th of 4

221127 5/283/300 Four engines working 14.07 Man P-Paignton September 1, 2014 J Heaton 5th of 5

MS 0 00 1 52 2 43 5 24 6 42 9 08 sigs 15 25 17 21 21 20 24 57 28 25 29 02 32 31 34 03 1 42 2 48 3 49 5 23 7 10 7 41 10 37 11 30 2 01 3 29 6 06 8 56 10 40 12 41 14 15 1 39 1 58 4 23 7 04 8 41 10 50

MS 0 00 2 01 2 59 5 54 7 10 9 50 sig stop 17 21 19 08 23 26 27 05 30 31 31 08 34 25 35 56 1 54 3 07 4 11 5 46 7 36 8 08 11 04 12 07 2 09 3 38 6 11 9 04 10 46 13 10 14 34 1 48 2 10 4 36 7 21 9 03 11 34

them, thereby attempting to justify its extra costs, whereas a little extra training would do the job at least as effectively. However, it is now clearly the case that journey times are longer than necessary, simply to save fuel.

Ave MPH ½L 28.5 60.9 91.7 99.2 97.1 45.6 91.6 109.1 104.2 100.2 99.7 91.8 45.4 88.6/rbt 93.7 99.6 98.5 95.7 68.0 52.8 92.0 95.4 99.3 84.8 37.2 33.6 71.1 87.8 83.0 76.1 46.0

Ave MPH 1½L 26.4 53.5 84.3 101.8 88.6 38.1 99.3 101.0 103.2 101.1 99.7 86.8 40.7 80.1 89.3 98.5 95.3 94.2 68.0 49.5 91.0 97.9 97.5 86.5 31.3 30.7 61.4 87.2 81.0 72.4 39.3

Table 2 shows the fastest-known Tiverton Parkway to Taunton ‘Voyager’ record, by a Class 220 before any intervention. It is true that some speeds are a little high, but the driver hared off to the toilet on arrival at Taunton!

December 2014 • The Railway Magazine • 19

PRACTICE & PERFORMANCE

Fig 1: A table showing the acceleration times from Cheadle Hulme towards Macclesfield and the impact the loss of one or more engines has on performance.

The speeding saved only 7sec.

The second run shows my most recent and by no means untypical Class 220 trip. Note that surplus time is understated by 1min on the first run and 2min on the second one. Acceleration control took place on the second run after Whiteball and it seemed that the driver indulged in coasting when running late beyond Wellington.

Taking a look at a few more random sections, Table 3 (page 18) shows the 27min 13sec RPS fastest ‘Voyager’ time between Cheltenham Spa and Bristol Parkway. The current schedule is 27min net and gross. There is no chance whatsoever that a Class 221 with one engine isolated can achieve this. Moreover, the inevitably late presentation at Westerleigh Jct is a losing tactic. The Darlington-York section could equally well have been chosen where a late-running Class 221, clocking speeds up to 128mph, achieved the fastest run of its

20 • The Railway Magazine • December 2014

class in 25min 1sec on what is a 24½min net schedule.

Finally, we have the last run I recorded before sitting down to draft this article. It is not a dramatic example but it is typical of an everyday situation. The Class 220 in Table 4 was slightly late from Bristol Temple Meads and being driven hard. Adverse signals were encountered from Yate to Worle Jct following the 5min late 16.00 Cardiff-Taunton entering the Weston-super-Mare loop.

The Class 220 driver then ran as keenly as the various down-ratings and maximum permissible speeds would permit him. There was 1min recovery time approaching Taunton and 1min before Exeter St David’s. With a net 1min saved at stations and with the clear run from Uphill Jct, the train should have been on time at Dawlish. It was 74sec late despite being on Class 221 timings. A four-engine Class 221 would have been later.

Three days later, I was on the same train with a Class 221 that had suffered a failure of the front engine. The detailed comparative results are evident in the table, but it is clear that the down-rated Class 220 could not keep the Class 221 net schedules, despite needing to do so, nor could the Class 221. As it stands, it seems that CrossCountry will be deliberately turning out Class 221s with one engine isolated this winter.

It is likely that many passengers are unaware of the changes and any effect is likely to go unnoticed, even professionally, in the morass of performance statistics and delay attribution processes, but if there is anyone who thinks late running of this order is trivial, I can only hope they are not employed in railway operating.

Reduced punctuality creates consequential delays, diminishes morale and damages public relations. It also causes me to miss the bus up ■ the hill to my home!