Felucca’s, a traditional Egyptian wooden sailing boat, at sunset on the River Nile at Aswan, Egypt – 16/09/2022
Dorset
After last weeks ‘filler’ blog entry on the XP64 livery, we’re back! I’ve been on my hols, as has Yoshi who has been staying with his cousins. I’m sure it was a very happy doggo madhouse for a couple of weeks! Have to admit I missed our boy and it was so very good to see his excited face again when we were all reunited together ready to catch up on Yoshi’s favourite TV programme; “Married At First Sight UK”.
Yoshi takes a break during his walkies
Before we went off on my travels, I was up early on Wednesday September 7th 2022 in order to see the departure of the “Welsh Marshes Express” rail tour from Poole on its way to Shrewsbury. The Dorset part of the tour saw top and tailed Locomotive Services Limited Class 47’s in charge, the working being taken over by steam in the form of BR Standard Class 7 No. 70000 ‘Britannia’ at Bristol where the train was taken forward to Shrewsbury and its return back to Temple Meads before the Class 47’s returned the train back to Poole.
LSL Class 47 No. 47593 ‘Galloway Princess’ having arrived at Poole with the empty coaching stock movement (5z64 0400 Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) to Poole) for Saphos Trains “Welsh Marches Express” – 07/09/2022Class 47 No/ 47614 awaits the green with 1Z65 0508 Poole to Shrewsbury “Welsh Marshes Express” excursion at Poole – 07/09/2022
Early morning video of Class 47 No.’s 47593 and 47614 at Poole. I may have messed up the departure shot! – 07/09/2022
Also the same day was an additional Winfrith working; 6Z62 0103 Crewe Coal Sidings (DRS) to Winfrith Sidings with Class 68’s once again taking a train of empty PFA wagons to collect low level nuclear waste from the Magnox site.
DRS Class 68 No. 68002 ‘Intrepid’ with sister locomotive 68016 at the rear powers through Holton Heath with a train consisting of ten empty PFA wagons bound for Magnox Winfrith – 07/09/202268016 ‘Fearless’ at the tail end of 6Z62 0103 Crewe Coal Sidings (DRS) to Winfrith Sidings having passed through Holton Heath – 07/09/2022
DRS Class 68 No.’s 68002 ‘Intrepid’ and 68016 ‘Fearless’ pass through Holton Heath – 07/09/2022
I was enjoying the hospitality of Heathrow T5 when 2 x Colas Class 37’s were in Weymouth working the New Measurement Train which is normally in the control of former HST power cars, but by kind permission, we can share the video below of the train reversing at Weymouth:
Class 37 No.’s 37219 and 37421 work 1Z22 0729 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingsland Road via Weymouth – 07/09/2022 with many thanks to @da_buckley967
The return working of the Winfrith low level nuclear waste train was occupying Dorchester South at around the same time the Class 37’s were passing through Dorchester West with the return NMT working. I at least didn’t have to make a choice as to which train I would have photographed as at that moment I was boarding my BA flight to Egypt. However, with kind permission, we can share the following images of the loaded DRS train at Dorchester South:
DRS Class 68 No. 68002 ‘Intrepid’ with the return working of the loaded low level nuclear waste train working as 6Z95 Winfrith Sidings to Crewe at Dorchester South where the train reversed – 07/09/2022 with many thanks to Scott LewisDRS Class 68 No. 68016 ‘Fearless’ prepares to depart Dorchester South with the return Winfrith – 07/09/2022 with many thanks to Scott Lewis
Thursday 8th September and Thursday 15th September were scheduled dates for steam hauled excursions into Dorset run by The Railway Touring Company. Unfortunately a passenger falling ill and then sadly passing away at London Victoria on “The Swanage Belle” on the 8th meant the train was cancelled prior to departure. Our condolences to family and friends concerned. “The Dorset Coast Express” due to run on the 15th fell foul of the scheduled rail strike which in the event was itself cancelled following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Both trains were to have been worked on the outward leg by LMS Jubilee Class 4-6-0 No. 45596 ‘Bahamas’. “The Swanage Belle” was rescheduled for 22nd September 2022.
Egypt
In 1851 Abbas I, Khedive of Egypt, began negotiations with British engineer Robert Stephenson for the construction of a railway from Alexandria to Cairo. This was only the second railway built in the world and the first on the African continent. The 120 mile line to Cairo was completed by 1856 and work began on a southern extension with a 230 mile section to Assiut finished in 1874.
in September 2022, the majority of Egyptian National Railway services we saw during our stay were hauled by the impressive ES30ACi Light Evolution diesel locomotives built by the American GE Transportation Systems (now owned by Wabtec) and are are equipped with a 12-cylinder, 3200 HP GE Evolution Series engine. The locomotives are capable of passenger and freight train duties and 110 were ordered in 2017, the final units being delivered in March 2021.
I was a little concerned about railway photography in Egypt as UK Foreign Office advice noted that British nationals have been arrested for photographing amongst other things, train stations and bridges. So, during my stay I ensured that permission was asked and if possible I was with my guide or a local travel company agent. I’m pleased to report I wasn’t arrested, and was in all instances greeted by friendly waves, enthusiasm and chat.
We spent a few days in Cairo before flying to Luxor to board the M/S Royal Esadora which would take us along the River Nile to Aswan and back.
M/S Royal Esadora at Edfu – 14/09/2022
The Alexandria Tramway Network – Alexandria is located on the Nile delta in the north of Egypt. We travelled by car from Cairo for the day and as we drove around, our guide enthused over the wooden trams which still survive. The license to build a tramway system in Alexandria was issued on 16 August 1860, and the first line of the network began operating in on 8 January 1863. The system was electrified in 1902. There is an extensive network of 20 tram lines operating on 32 kilometers of track, serving 140 stops, running in the streets of central and western Alexandria as well as the coastal Al Raml line.
Former Copenhagen DUEWAG GT6 – the vehicles are almost 60 years old – Alexandria 11/09/2022Former Copenhagen DUEWAG GT6 unit which were introduced to Egypt between 1969 and 1972 – Alexandria 11/09/2022Tatra-Yug K-1E6 in service on lines 5/6 on the Ramleh tram – the vehicles are fitted with both standard pantographs and trolley poles in order to be operated on both networks – Alexandria 11/09/2022The Japanese Kinki Sharyo units were built between 1975 to 1995. One of the six double-deck iterations on the Ramleh tram – Alexandria 11/09/2022 A restored single Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon car dating from 1925 – Alexandria 11/09/2022A glimpse of Alexandria Railway Station – 11/09/2022
Cairo – Ramsis Railway Station is the main railway station in Cairo and our first glimpse of the lengthy imposing structure was out of the windows of the transfer car taking us from the airport to our hotel on our first night in Egypt. The station is named after Pharaoh Ramses II. We saw a lot about him during our stay in the country!
An older railway station was opened at the site in 1854. Later in 1890 the Egyptian government, driven by a desire to give Cairo a grand entrance way began work on the current, much larger railway station. For most visitors before the advent of air travel, Ramsis station was the entry point into Cairo after arriving in Alexandria by ship. The station is part terminus with some through platforms.
An upgrade to the structure was carried out in 1955 and from January 2001 to early 2011 the station underwent major modernisation being fully upgraded and air conditioned with new marble flooring and the addition of escalators. The railway station has also a connection to the Cairo Metro (which I was unable to photograph), buses, and taxis (although no idea where these were!)
Ramsis railway station exterior, Cairo – 20/09/2022An Egyptian National Railway ES30ACi Light Evolution diesel locomotive having backed onto a rake of coaches at Cairo railway station – 20/09/2022An EMD G16 built by General Motors at Cairo railway station having brought in empty coaching stock. Egyptian National Railway received a total of 111 G16’s in 1960–61 (ER numbers 3301–61) and seventeen G16Ws in 1964–65 (ER numbers 3362–411) – 20/09/2022Cairo Railway Station train shed – 20/09/2022A view from the twenty fifth floor of Fairmont Nile City of an Egyptian National Railways service about to cross the River Nile via the Imbaba Bridge. Just don’t ask what the bar bill was! – 09/09/2022
Luxor – Luxor is a modern city in Upper Egypt which includes the site of the Ancient City of Thebes. The temples of Karnak and Luxor are situated within the city with the Valley of the Kings (which includes the Tomb of Tutankhamun, discovered by Howard Carter almost 100 years ago) and Valley of the Queens located on the opposite west bank of the Nile.
Luxor railway station is located near the centre of the city, the original station having opened in 1898 to accommodate standard gauge trains. The railway between Luxor and Aswan was built to a 3 ft 6 in gauge eventually being converted to standard gauge in 1926. The exterior of the current station is built to reflect the local temples.
Luxor Railway Station exterior – 18/09/2022Luxor Railway Station booking hall – 18/09/2022Luxor Railway Station booking hall – 18/09/2022A Cairo bound train arrives at Luxor – 18/09/2022An EMD G16 in the yard at Luxor – 18/09/2022
Aswan – Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the River Nile at the first cataract (shallow lengths of the Nile where the surface of the water is broken by small rocks and boulders jutting out of the river bed). I was taunted by the sound of passing trains out of my view as I spent time in my cabin or on the sun deck whilst catching up on my reading time.
Aswan Railway Station exterior – 15/09/2022Aswan Railway Station booking hall – 15/09/2022Aswan Railway Station booking hall – 15/09/2022ES30ACi Light Evolution No. 2564 in the bay platform at Aswan – 15/09/2022A line up of ES30ACi Light Evolution locomotives at Aswan – 15/09/2022
Video of our railway sightings while in Egypt, September 2022
Egyptian Railway Museum, Cairo – On our last morning in Cairo, Caroline very thoughtfully surprised me by hiring an Uber which took us into the centre of Cairo and the Egyptian Railway Museum which is located in the eastern wing of Ramsis railway station. I’d been whinging on about trying to fit in a visit throughout our stay. Trying to find a taxi to take us back to our hotel in time for our flight home was a bit of an adventure in itself, but Caroline relished the challenge!
The museum first opened in January 1933 and contains over 300 models and exhibits, a collection of documents, maps and statistical data.
No. 986, fabricated by Robert Stephenson in 1865, on display outside Ramsis Railway Station Cairo – 20/09/2022Saied Pasha locomotive – 1862Saied Pasha locomotive works plate – 1862Sectioned 4-4-2 No. 194 manufactured in 1906 by The North British Locomotive Co. Ltd.Model of the first steam locomotive imported into Egypt – one of six built by Stephenson & Co.Model of a 1957 1700 HP Hanshel diesel electric locomotiveModel of a 1948 1600 HP English Electric Co. diesel electric locomotiveModel of German Hanshel diesel electric locomotive from 1983
Earlier in the week, we enjoyed another mode of transport in the form of a hot air balloon which gave us an exceptional view of the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Deir el Bahri near Luxor:
Hot air balloons over the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut in Deir el Bahri near Luxor – 13/09/2022SS Sudan, built for the Egyptian Royal Family in 1885 was converted into a cruise liner in 1921 and took Agatha Christie and her husband, archaeologist Max Mallowan, on a trip along the Nile in 1933 and is believed to be the inspiration for her most famous work “Death On The Nile” published in 1937. SS Sudan fell into a state of disrepair following World War II but was restored in 1991 and again in 2000I couldn’t resist reading Christie’s novel onboard our ship on the Nile! While in Aswan, we visited “The Old Cataract Hotel” where Agatha Christie stayed and part of her novel “Death On The Nile” is set
We had a wonderful time visiting ancient Egyptian archaeological sites as well as modern railway stations! Huge thanks to our guides while we were in Egypt; Reda and Ahmed who shared their knowledge and facilitated some of the railway station visits.
This weeks blog was created while listening to Alphaville with Deutsches Filmerchester Babelsberg, Alison Moyet, and Handel’s Passacaglia, Suite no. 7 in G Minor, HWV 432/6 ( Modern Piano Solo Version performed by Johan Halvorsen on repeat). All being well, we’ll be back next week!
Class 47 No. 47853 – formerly D1733 – at Poole in a replica XP64 livery – 14/02/2007
The rebranding of British Railways to British Rail on 1 January 1965 was coupled with the introduction of an entirely new livery for the modern image locomotives and rolling stock. I have a great fondness for the BR Blue era. This is the story of its inception.
A mock-up for the BR Mark 2 carriage was displayed at the Design Centre in London between the 4th to 23rd January 1965 as part of “The New Face of British Railways” exhibition. This included many of the features which were later incorporated in the production Mark 2, and trialled in an experimental train designated XP64 – short for ‘Xpress Passenger 1964 project. This mock-up was shown in an orange and grey livery which never actually appeared on rolling stock in service. The XP64 train was used to test technology and carriage arrangements for the planned Mark 2 coaches. The coaches for the XP64 train were painted in a slightly lighter version of what would eventually become Rail Blue, with a 44-inch-wide Pale Ivory stripe centred on the passenger windows, and brown underframe. One locomotive a Class 47 No. D1733 was selected to be painted to match the coaching stock. This established the broad design parameters for BR’s new corporate identity.
The concept described in period BR literature as “solid blue” for locomotives meant no more two-tone green, white lining or a separate roof colour. Apart from observing compliance with BR’s yellow approach-warning policy, paintwork above the rolling chassis would comprise one block of uninterrupted blue. The shade of blue featured in XP64 had pretty much the same colour mix as Rail Blue, but a higher luminance, which made it a bit paler. The shade was subsequently finalised in 1965 as the darker colour, also known as Monastral Blue, which typifies the UK rail scene of the late 1960’s and 1970’s.
A rounder Helvetica style font for the application of fleet numbers, which was dubbed Rail Alphabet was also employed to accompany a new double-arrow logo which would become the centrepiece of the BR brand and which is recognisably the symbol for a railway station even today. However, at the XP64 stage, no final decision had been made on how the double-arrow logo would be applied on locomotives and carriages. During the promotional period in 1964 No. D1733 ran with temporary stick-on BR logos in white with a bright red backing. After these logos were removed in the early autumn of 1964, No. D1733 continued to run with no logos at all until it received a standard Rail Blue repaint towards the end of 1969. As XP64 prototype, No. D1733 featured hybrid yellow warning panels which curved round onto the bodysides in the same way that the full yellow ends would. Therefore, XP64 blue did not have the full yellow warning ends eventually insisted upon by the British Railways Board’s accident prevention service, but neither did it have the standard small yellow warning panel being applied in the early 1960’s green livery era.
No. D1733 would remain the only blue-liveried BR diesel locomotive for more than two years, during which time new-build Brush Type 4 diesels continued to receive the then familiar two-tone green livery. Beginning in November 1966, however, the Falcon Works at Loughborough produced No.’s D1953-D1961 in BR blue with full yellow ends, the final nine Class 47s from a fleet which totalled 512 locomotives.
Older locomotives began to be repainted in Rail Blue from late 1966 onwards, as well as the final batch of BR/Sulzer Type 2s (later Class 25) No.’s D7660-D7677 were completed in BR blue at Derby in 1967. The last of the English Electric Type 1s, D8178-D8199 and D8300-D8327, followed soon after, also in BR blue from the start.
In October 1967 the first of what would later become the English Electric Class 50’s, D400, entered service in blue, again with full yellow ends. These being the first new diesel class exclusively delivered in BR blue livery.
Class 47 No. 47853 – the former D1733 – at Poole in a replica XP64 livery – 14/02/2007
In 2001, as passenger work for diesel locomotives operated by Virgin CrossCountry came to an end, a number of their Class 47s were painted in heritage liveries that they had carried in the past, including the former D1733, now 47853, which once again carried a near-exact copy of the XP64 livery.
Riviera Trains Oxford Blue liveried Class 47/8, No. 47839 ‘Pegasus’ seen in the carriage sidings at Poole. This particular length of track is currently out of use. Later sold to Direct Rail Services, although it never worked for the company being used as a source of spares, and was cut up at Eastleigh Works – 14/02/2007Class 47/8, No. 47839 ‘Pegasus’ at Poole – 14/02/2007
Video from 14th February 2007 featuring Class 47 No. 47853 – formerly D1733 – at Poole in a replica XP64 liveryXP64 appeared on the cover of Ian Allan’s “Combined Volume” c1965
Wednesday 31st August to Tuesday 6th September 2022
Yoshi train spotting on the end of Westbury station with Colas Class 56049 ‘Robin of Templecombe 1938 – 2013’ in the background – 03/09/2022
This week kicked off with two Weymouth bound rail tours in two days when “The Dorset Coast Statesman” and “The Dorset Coast Express” passed through our patch.
LSL Class 47 No.’s 47828 and 47853 (47614) round the curve into Hamworthy with the “Dorset Coast Statesman” – 31/08/2022LSL Class 47 No.’s 47853 (47614) and 47828 with the return “Dorset Coast Statesman” arriving at Poole – 31/08/2022
LSL Class 47 No.’s 47828 and 47853 (47614) with the “Dorset Coast Statesman” – 31/08/2022LMS Jubilee No. 45596 ‘Bahamas’ is captured between Branksome and Parkstone working the outward leg of “The Dorset Coast Express” 1Z82 0845 London Victoria to Weymouth – 01/09/2022Class 33/0 No. 33025 at the head of the return working of “The Dorset Coast Express” 1Z84 1635 Weymouth to London Victoria. Because of a problem with traction equipment, the tour was terminated at Clapham Junction – 01/09/2022LMS Jubilee No. 45596 ‘Bahamas’ at the rear of “The Dorset Coast Express” return working 1Z84 1635 Weymouth to London Victoria. The cut track on the pointwork for the Hamworthy Branch can clearly be seen, with the replacement frog for the point lying between the up and down lines. From December 12th 2022 the timetable includes a weekday “runs as required” freight service down the Hamworthy Branch to Hamworthy Blue Circle Industries (BCI) at 07:52. There is as yet no indication of a return working – 01/09/2022
LMS Jubilee No. 45596 ‘Bahamas’ and Class 33/0 No. 33025 with The Railway Touring Company excursion “The Dorset Coast Express” (With grateful thanks to @da_buckley967 for the Weymouth section, and G E Barrett for Winfrith) – 01/09/2022
No. 45596 ‘Bahamas’ managed to start a couple of minor line side fires between Dorchester South and Weymouth which caused delays to services until the flames were investigated and extinguished. The original intention was for Swanage based SR U Class 4-6-0 No. 31806 to run light engine to Weymouth to haul the train to Southampton, where it would reverse and head to London via Romsey once again in the care of the Jubilee locomotive. In the event, Class 33/0 No. 33025 which was on the rear of the tour from London worked the return section as far as Southampton Central because of the risk of line side fires.
Yoshi and I eventually saw No. 31806 on Sunday 4th September 2022 working the services on the Swanage Railway. In connection with the last seagoing paddle steamer ‘Waverley’ No. 31806 carried a special headboard on some trains in honour of the visiting ship.
Video of SR U Class 4-6-0 No. 31806 on the Swanage Railway – 04/09/2022
As we were in the area, Yoshi and I took a stroll along retired Victorian pier at Swanage to see ‘Waverley’ arrive to pick up passengers for a cruise to see the Bournemouth Air Show. Built in 1946, ‘Waverley’ sailed between Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde and Arrochar on Loch Long until 1973 when she was sold to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society for £1. She has since been restored to her 1947 appearance and now operates passenger excursions around the British coast.
‘Waverley’ is the 16th Clyde built vessel to be named after Scottish novelist and poet Sir Walter Scott’s (1771-1832) first novel published in 1814. She was ordered by the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) to replace an earlier paddle steamer of the same name which was sunk by aircraft on 29th May 1940 during the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk.
Waverley, the last seagoing paddle steamer in the world approaches Swanage – 04/09/2022Yoshi watches from the end of Swanage’s historic pier as Waverley arrives to take passengers for trip to watch the Bournemouth Air Show – 04/09/2022Waverley alongside Swanage Pier – 04/09/2022Yoshi takes the air at Swanage Pier with Waverley in the background – 04/09/2022Waverley moored alongside Swanage Pier – 04/09/2022
The Swanage Railway announced this week that LNER A3 Class 4-6-2 No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ would be visiting the line from 19th October to 6th November 2022. ‘Flying Scotsman’ has recently undergone an extensive overhaul and celebrates her 100th birthday on 24th February 2023 and is sure to attract a lot of interest from enthusiasts and the general public.
Yoshi met up with No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ when she visited Southampton on 6th June 2021 and is looking forward to catching up again in October!
The iconic locomotive will be hauling passenger trains from Swanage to Norden from Saturday 22nd October to Wednesday 26th October 2022 and on static display at Swanage station on Thursday 20th October and Friday 21st October 2022 and again from Thursday 27th October to Sunday 6th November 2022.
LSL Class 47 No.’s 47593 ‘Galloway Princess’ and 47614 (47853) approaching Creech St. Michael working Saphos Trains “English Riviera Express” 1Z60 0545 Crewe to Dartmouth Kingswear – 03/09/2022
Saturday 3rd September 2022, Yoshi and I headed to the Taunton, Somerset area for the second week running, this time to see BR Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 “Britannia’ in charge of Saphos Trains “English Riviera Express” 1Z60 0545 Crewe to Dartmouth Kingswear storm Whiteball. I was quite pleased to find the BR Standard allocated to this tour as I’d been itching to see her working all summer. As well as ‘Britannia’ we saw LSL Class 47 No.’s 47593 ‘Galloway Princess’ and 47614 (47853) passing Creech St. Michael with the train prior to the steam locomotive taking over at Norton Fitzwarren. Shortly after ‘Britannia’ passed by our line side position another tour hurtled by in the form of top and tailed WCRC Class 47 locomotives No.’s 47746 ‘Chris Fudge 29.7.70 – 22.6.10’ and 47815 ‘Great Western’ working 1Z84 0824 Birmingham International to Paignton – I almost missed these two as I was under the impression they were due an hour later than they actually were!
Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70000 “Britannia’ in charge of Saphos Trains “English Riviera Express” 1Z60 0545 Crewe to Dartmouth Kingswear on the ascent to Whiteball tunnel – 03/09/2022
A quick perusal of the rail-gen groups flagged up a Class 56 working to Westbury on a train of spent ballast and scrap sleepers and unique “Steel On Steel” liveried Class 60 No. 60062 working 6B33 1137 Theale Puma to Margam T.C. Ruling out the Class 56 due to time constraints, we jumped in the car and headed up the M5 to Pilning, South Gloucestershire, with time to spare before the Class 60 appeared.
DB Cargo Steel On Steel liveried Class 60 No. 60062 ‘Sonia’, with her striking flame design celebrating the important role DB Cargo UK plays in supporting the UK’s metal transportation market, working 6B33 1137 Theale Puma to Margam T.C. The special livery is part of the company’s “Freight Belongs On Rail” campaign – 03/09/2022
We were also able to see one of the two parliamentary service trains which stop at Pilning each week. Parliamentary trains, also known as ghost trains, are passenger services operated to comply with the Railway Regulation Act of 1844 that required railway companies to provide inexpensive rail transport for less affluent passengers. The act required that at least one such service per day be run on every railway route in the UK. Although this is no longer a legal requirement, the term describes train services that continue to be run to avoid the cost of formal closure of a route or station but with reduced services often to just one train per week. As platform two is currently out of use at Pilning, the footbridge providing access having been removed in 2016, the two stopping services travel in the same eastbound direction. Currently the times for these trains are Saturday at 08:33 (Cardiff Central to Weston-super-Mare service) and 15:32 (Cardiff Central to Penzance service). Because there are no stopping westbound trains, a fares easement is in place which allows passengers to travel to Severn Tunnel Junction in order to return eastbound to alight at Pilning.
You can bark along with our day by watching the video below:
Video form September 3rd 2022 including 70000 ‘Britannia’, Class 60 No. 60062, GWR Castle HST sets and IEP’s – 03/09/2022
On our way home, we popped into Westbury to see if we could see the Class 56 loco which had arrived there earlier, and to use the loo! As it turned out, the No. 56049 ‘Robin of Templecombe 1938 – 2013’ could not have been better positioned for a photograph! With thanks to @da_buckley967 for the company and rail gen updates!
Class 56049 ‘Robin of Templecombe 1938 – 2013’ sits in the Colas sidings at Westbury -03/09/2022Nameplate detail of Class 56049 ‘Robin of Templecombe 1938 – 2013’ – 03/09/2022Freightliner Class 66 No. 66512 preparing to work 6Y16 1934 Westbury Down Yard to Burngullow Junction – 03/09/2022GWR Class 158 DMU No.’s 158760 and 158750 await departure from Westbury – 03/09/2022GBRf Class 66 No. 66722 ‘Sir Edward Watkin’ Westbury – 03/09/2022
In other news, The Railway Heritage Trust is interested in the restoration of the LSWR goods shed at Wool which although is in quite a poor condition still retains its original sliding doors and office partition.
A visit today to #Wool Station to see a potential restoration project. An original L&SWR goods shed in need of a future use, complete with original sliding doors and office partition. @PurbeckCRP@SW_Helppic.twitter.com/ydQZD9D51p
— RailwayHeritageTrust (@RailwayHeritage) August 8, 2022
That’s it for this week – we’ll be back soon. Thanks for being there! Bye for now.
Yoshi was very excited to see the cab of Class 55 Deltic No. 55008 ‘The Green Howards’ when he visited the Barrow Hill 150+2 Celebration Gala – 28/08/2022
In contrast to last week, Yoshi and I have been kept reasonably busy over the last seven days.
New Measurement Train
Colas operated NMT Class 43 No. 43299 at Yeovil Junction heading 1Q23 0556 Reading to Salisbury via Exeter St Davids seen at Yeovil Junction – 25/08/2022 (Image courtesy of Scott Lewis)NMT carriage from 1Q23 0556 Reading to Salisbury via Exeter St Davids seen at Yeovil Junction – 25/08/2022 (Image courtesy of Scott Lewis)NMT Class 43 No. 43274 at the rear of 1Q23 0556 Reading to Salisbury via Exeter St Davids seen at Yeovil Junction – 25/08/2022 (Image courtesy of Scott Lewis)
Yoshi’s North Dorset Correspondent sent us video and photos of the New Measurement Train which passed through Dorset on the Salisbury to Exeter line on Thursday 25th August 2022.
Network Rails’ New Measurement Train running 1Q23 0556 Reading to Salisbury via Exeter St Davids seen at Yeovil Junction – 25/08/2022 (With many thanks to Scott Lewis)
South Western Railway (SWR) services between between Tisbury and Gillingham have emergency speed restrictions currently imposed because of the warm weather. Network Rail says the conditions have dried out the clay beneath railway embankments which can result in shrinkage and movement of the rails. SWR will be announcing a temporary, revised timetable on Friday 2nd September 2022 with the likelihood there will be a reduced number of services between Salisbury and Exeter St Davids and journeys will take longer than usual.
87002 ‘Royal Sovereign’
On Friday 26th August 2022, Yoshi spent the day with his cousins while I was in London escaping from martian invaders at Jeff Wayne’s The War of the Worlds: The Immersive Experience, which I can thoroughly recommend. After surviving the alien threat, I headed off to London Euston to see Locomotive Services Ltd’s “The Friday Charter” which, for only its second weekly run, between London and Manchester / Crewe was hauled by Class 87 No. 87002 ‘Royal Sovereign’ and a fine sight she looked at the head of a rake of Inter-City Executive liveried carriages. There were a number of railway enthusiasts waiting on platform 16 to see the train depart and it was good to see many were from a younger generation than myself, hopefully assuring interest in railways survives.
1Z41 1742 London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly departs London Euston behind Class 87 No. 87002 – 26/08/2022
On our way home from London Waterloo, I was able to see Class 701 No. 701046 depart on a mileage accumulation run.
Class 701 No. 701046 at the platform 6 buffer stops of London Waterloo having worked into the SR terminus working 5Q42 1844 Eastleigh to London Waterloo. The unit would form the 2114 5Q43 London Waterloo to Eastleigh TRSMD departure. Note the new Arterio branding under the SWR logo – 26/08/2022
Video of Class 701 mileage accumulation runs – August 2022Class 701 No. 701038 seen at Poole Storage Sidings working 5Q51 1115 London Waterloo to Eastleigh – 24/08/2022
Great Dorset Steam Fair
Yoshi didn’t make it to this years Great Dorset Steam Fair which is held at Tarrant Hinton near Blandford Forum, but his cousin the collie Jess had a great day out and sent us the following images of out of ticket Rebuilt Battle of Britain Class Bullied Pacific No. 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’ which was on show healing to demonstrate heavy haulage and loading / unloading courtesy of heavy haulage contractor Allelys.
No. 34053 is currently out of ticket following her recent stint at the Spa Valley Railway – 27/08/2022 (Image courtesy of G. E. Barrett)Nameplate detail No. 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’ (Image courtesy of G. E. Barrett)Smokebox close-up of No. 34053 ‘Sir Keith Park’ (Image courtesy of G. E. Barrett)
GBRf Staff Charter
GBRf liveried Class 50 No.’s 50049 ‘Defiance’ and 50007 ‘Hercules’, the latter still running with one side disguised as No. 50034 ‘Furious’, having passed Cogload Junction north of Taunton working a GBRf staff charter from Warrington to Paignton and return – 27/08/2022
Saturday 27th August Yoshi and I visited a friend in the Taunton area. We of course looked to see on Real Time Trains for any interesting workings we might be able to see while in Somerset. As luck would have it, GBRf organised staff charter hauled by two Class 50 locomotives were perfectly timed for our visit. We parked up at Creech St. Michael adjacent to the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal and walked alongside the waterway until we reached the over bridge just south of Cogload Junction which was to be our vantage point.
The Bridgwater and Taunton Canal – 27/08/2022
The Canal was engineered by James Hollinsworth and opened in 1827. The original section ran from Taunton to Huntworth where it joined the River Parrett. Ten years later, in 1837, the canal as extended from Huntworth to Bridgwater dock where a lock was made to join the River Parrett. This was to be blocked off when the docks closed to coastal shipping in 1971.
In 1866 the Canal was under considerable pressure from the railway and was eventually sold to the Bristol & Exeter Railway Company, although control eventually passed to the Great Western Railway. There was no interest in promoting commercial traffic on the Canal which slowly declined in preference to the much quicker railway. In 1907 the last barge tolls were collected after which the Canal became a water course. In 1947 the British Transport Commission took over responsibility of the Canal and later still in 1962 the British Waterways took over its management.
A noticeable feature on the Creech section of the canal is “The Old Engine House”, built in 1827 to pump water into the canal from the RiverTone, originally housing a beam engine pump, and later two locomotive boilers which worked a centrifugal pump delivering 125,000 gallons per hour. Eventually the engine house supplied the water troughs fixed between the nearby railway lines, so that steam engines could pick up water from the troughs in the railway tracks without having to stop, saving valuable time for through express services.
GBRf staff charter; 1Z18 0732 Warrington Bank Quay to Paignton and 1Z20 1641 Paignton to Warrington Bank Quay – 27/08/2022
Barrow Hill
An early start on Sunday August 28th saw us heading North to Barrow Hill near Chesterfield for the deferred event celebrating 150 years since the opening of the roundhouse in 1870. Intended to take place in 2020, Covid meant that the gala could not take place until two years after the anniversary. Known as Staveley Roundhouse until 1948 when it was renamed as Barrow Hill to avoid confusion with an ex-Great Central Railway shed located nearby, it was built to a standard Midland Railway square shed design in 1870 with a central turntable under cover. The shed was operational from 1870 until 9 February 1991 and Grade II listed in the same year. Chesterfield Borough Council purchased the building and surrounding yard from the British Rail Property Board in December 1996. During the interim years, the Roundhouse and associated buildings were heavily vandalised and came dangerously close to being lost forever. The site reopened to the public in July 1998 after the building was restored by the Barrow Hill Engine Shed Society
Recreated Baby Deltic Class 23 No. D5910 ( formerly Class 37 No. 37372) took centre stage on the turntable while GBRf Class 69 No. 69003 was named ‘The Railway Observer’ the day before our visit. GWR 1500 Class 0-6-0PT shunting engine No. 1501 was in steam working shuttle trains from the Roundhouse Halt up the Springwell branch line. Midland Railway 158A Class 2-4-0 No. 156 was on display alongside Midland Railway Compound No. 1000, the first time in several years the two Midland Railway locomotives have been seen together.
It was a little on the warm side, so we took care to ensure Yoshi had lots of water and shade during our time at Barrow Hill. It was quite busy on arrival, but numbers thined out during the day.
Baby Deltic Class 23 No. D5910 (formerly Class 37 No. 37372) Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 85 No. 85006 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 81 No. 81002 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 45 No. 45105 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 02 No. 02003 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Great Western Railway Class 2-6-2T No. 5164. Built in 1930. On loan from the Severn Valley Railway at Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Hawthorn Leslie 0-40ST No. 2491 ‘Henry’. Built in 1901. Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Great Central Railway Class 11F (LNER Class D11)4-4-0 No. 506 ‘Butler Henderson’ built in 1919. On loan from the National Railway Museum at Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Nameplate detail of Great Central Railway Class 11F (LNER Class D11)4-4-0 No. 506 ‘Butler Henderson’ built in 1919. On loan from the National Railway Museum at Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 20 No. 20905 ‘Dave Darwin’ Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Midland Railway 156 Class 2-4-0 No. 158A. Built in 1866. On loan from the National Railway Museum at Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Midland Railway Compound Class 4-4-0 No. 1000. Built in 1902. On loan from the National Railway Museum at Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022GER Class G58 (LNER Class J17) 0-6-0 No. 8217. Built in 1905 at Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Vulcan Foundry 0-4-0-OST No. 3272 Vulcan. Built in 1918 at Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 08 No. D4092 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022GBRf honoured the Railway Correspondence & Travel Society (RCTS) by naming Class 69 No. 69003 ‘The Railway Observer’ after the Society magazine at Barrow Hill. – 28/08/2022Nameplate detail of Class 69 No. 69003 ‘The Railway Observer’ at Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 69 No. 69003 ‘The Railway Observer’ at Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Yoshi with Class 69 No. 69003 ‘The Railway Observer’ at Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 66 No. 66726 ‘Sheffield Wednesday’ Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 91 No. 91120 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 91 No. 91117 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 83 No. 83012 at Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022The unique Class 89 No. 89001 ‘Avocet’, was built as a prototype in 1986 for a fleet that was never ordered. Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 37 No. 37610 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 37 No. 37612 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 45 No. 45060 ‘Sherwood Forester’ Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 82 No. 82002 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 82 No. 82002 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 20 No. 20304 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 20 No. 20301 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 08 No. 08956 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022EMR Class 156 No. 156498 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 27 No. 27066 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 50 No. 50008 ‘Thunderer’ Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Yoshi with Class 50 No. 50008 ‘Thunderer’ Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 67 No. 67007 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Yoshi with Class 67 No. 67007 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 67 No. 67007 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022DC Rail liveried Class 56 No. 56091 ‘Driver Wayne Gaskell’ at Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 37 No.’s 37219 ‘Jonty Jarvis’ and 37901 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 37 No. 37901 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 37 No. 37667 ‘Flossie’ Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 37 No. 37667 (D6851)’Flossie’ with Class 47 No. 47769 and Class 20 No. 20314 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 55 No. 55015 ‘Tulyar’ Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Yoshi gets up close to Class 55 No. 55015 ‘Tulyar’ Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Cab of Class 55 No. 55008 ‘The Green Howards’ – Barrow Hill 28/08/2022
Although Yoshi clearly took a liking to the Deltic locomotives, he was a little unsure about the metal steps leading up to the door of No. 55008 ‘The Green Howards’, so we reversed back down to the security of ground level. However, Scott kindly took the following video of the Napier Deltic engine simulation which we can all enjoy!
Napier Deltic engine simulation (Courtesy of Scott Lewis)Class 03 No. 03066 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022No. 1501 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 02 No. D2868 Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022Class 07 No.D2996 (07012) Barrow Hill – 28/08/2022
Video of Barrow Hill 150 +2 Celebration Gala shuttles – 28/08/2022
After our visit to Barrow Hill, we journeyed home via DB Cargo operated Toton Traction Maintenance DepotChanges and currently the only TMD within DB Cargo UK where heavy maintenance is carried out on locomotives. Our visit was to see the lines of withdrawn Class 60 locomotives currently in store. I was surprised by the number of diesel engines slowly rotting away.
Class 60 locomotives at Toton – 28/08/2022 (Image courtesy of Scott Lewis)Yoshi having surveyed the Class 60 locomotives at Toton – 28/08/2022 (Image courtesy of Scott Lewis)
In other news, Network Rail have been granted retrospective listed building approval for adorning the pedestrian bridge at Wareham railway station with a heritage style roundel sign which has been in place on the grade 2 station site since November 2021. The station was built in 1864 and listed for its historical and architectural importance in 1976. Network Rail said they did not realise the footbridge which is a later addition to the station buildings was included in the listed status.
Shame about the lamppost! The Wareham station sign as seen on 03/01/2022
Swanage Railway resident Class 33/1 No. 33111 was taken to Bristol St. Phillips Marsh depot on a low loader for wheel turning this week following her recent failure on the heritage branch.
On Bank Holiday Monday Yoshi popped down to Poole Quay to see the arrival of Steamship Shieldhall, launched in 1955 for the transport of treated sewage sludge down the river Clyde to be dumped at sea – 29/08/2022
This week’s blog has mostly been put together with the sound of Alexi Sayle’s “Strangers on a Train” gracing our ears. We loved the idea of combining the “Tank Museum” at Bovington with “Monkey World” and creating a monkey tank driving nightmare. Many thanks for popping by and for your comments, corrections and updates. Thank you to Caroline for helping out with video and putting up with me. And finally a big thank you for Scott for taking the driving seat on Sunday for our trip to Derbyshire. See you in seven!
We went to a meal on Saturday evening with friends and as a parting gift, we were all given a personalised cup cake, which was a lovely thought. Mine was a train. No idea why! As responsible paw-rents, we did not allow Yoshi to taste the cup cakes, although as you can see, he was very interested in trying. Look, it’s been a quiet week, humour me!
With two days of strike action by RMT members during this period, there has not been much notable activity on Yoshi’s home patch. A scheduled steam rail tour to Weymouth on Thursday 18th August, the first of the strike days was cancelled.
Work replacing sleepers and re-ballasting continues on the Hamworthy Branch. Although the branch is still cut off, a “stop” sign protecting the main line was in evidence on 18th August 2022
South Western Railway’s recent release of its 2022/23 business plan did not include any plans for the introduction of their long delayed £1 billion fleet of 90 new Class 701 EMU’s, with only the hope that the Arterio trains would see service as soon as possible. The trains, built at Alstom in Derby, had been scheduled to enter traffic in 2019 but have been plagued with faults preventing the start of driver training and train acceptance. Without the new rolling stock, SWR are unable to operate a full pre-COVID timetable and with overall passenger numbers at 70% of pre-COVID levels any previous plans to increase services in December 2022 have been deferred. On Wednesday 17th August, we caught a glimpse of SWR Class 701 No. 701048 on a mileage accumulation run at Poole:
Class 701 No. 701048 at Poole – 17/08/2022
From The Archive
This week in..
2019: Sunday 18th August 2019 found Class 33/0 D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ and GBRf Class 73 No. 73107 ‘Tracey’ top and tail London Underground liveried 4TC working 1Z74 1626 Swanage to London Waterloo “The Swanage Sunday Special No.4”
2016: The Railway Touring Company ran “The Dorset Coast Express” on 17th August 2016 employing LMS Jubilee Class 4-6-0 No. 45699 ‘Galatea’ and Class 33/2 No. 33207 ‘Jim Martin’ in top and tail formation.
LMS Jubilee Class 4-6-0 No. 45699 ‘Galatea’ working 1Z67 0842 London Victoria to Weymouth on the approach to Dorchester South – 17/08/2016Class 33/2 No. 33207 ‘Jim Martin’ on the rear of 1Z67 0842 London Victoria to Weymouth nearing to Dorchester South – 17/08/2016
2014: SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34067 ‘Tangmere’ and Class 33/0 No. 33029 with the return 17th August 2014 “The Weymouth Seaside Express” – 1Z83 1700 Weymouth to Bristol Temple Meads
SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34067 ‘Tangmere’ at Weymouth Jersey Sidings – 17/08/2014Nameplate detail of SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34067 ‘Tangmere’- 17/08/2014SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34067 ‘Tangmere’ alongside Class 33/0 No. 33029 in Weymouth Jersey Sidings – 17/08/2014
“The Weymouth Seaside Express” – 17/08/2014BR Standard Class 7 4-6-2 No. 70013 ‘Oliver Cromwell’ passing through Upwey with Railway Touring Company organised “The Dorset Coast Express” 1Z67 0844 London Victoria to Weymouth. No. 70013 was one of the four locomotives which worked the farewell to steam rail tour on British Railways in 1968 – 20/08/2014WCRC Class 37 No. 37706 on the rear of “The Dorset Coast Express”. Due to the unavailability of an additional steam locomotive the Class 37 worked the return tour as far as Southampton Central, where the train reversed for the onward journey to London Waterloo via Laverstock once again under the command of No. 70013 ‘Oliver Cromwell’ – 20/08/2014
2013:
DRS Class 37 No. 37402 with inspection saloon No. 975025 ‘Caroline’ departing Dorchester. ‘Caroline’ was converted from the buffet car of a former Hastings DEMU in the late 1960’s for use as a saloon for the General Manager of the Southern Region of BR to entertain VIP guests, but was also used by the engineers for line inspections and assessments. Originally numbered TDB975025 and with a kitchen and catering on board, she became known as the “gin palace” and an invitation to travel became something of a golden ticket. ‘Caroline’ formed the first standard gauge passenger working into the Channel Tunnel on 22nd October 1992. ‘Caroline’ now resides at Derby with LORAM/Network Rail and is widely used for track inspections, line repair assessments and still, occasionally, to entertain VIP’s. ‘Caroline’ has been earmarked for the national collection once her service life is over – 21/08/2013
2012:
SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34067 ‘Tangmere’ storms up Bincombe Bank at Upwey deputising for No. 5029 ‘Nunney Castle’ with The Railway Touring Company “Weymouth Seaside Express” rail tour. These were a popular series of Sunday excursions which ran from Bristol Temple Meads to Weymouth – 19/08/2012
2011:
Back in August 2011 friends invited me to go along to a book talk and signing being given by author Neil Gaiman (who is currently enjoying success with the Netflix adaption of his “The Sandman” work). This seemed like a great idea, however the location was Edinburgh. Obviously, that’s not a short hop from Dorset being a distance of 548 miles, but after some investigation, I found I could travel from Weymouth to Edinburgh by coach for £9. Which at the time of booking seemed like a real bargain.
The first coach on my journey to Edinburgh ready for loading and departure from Weymouth at 1815. I needed to change coaches at Bournemouth and London Victoria – 15/08/2011The second coach just after arriving at London Victoria Coach Station @2210. This was a very nice coach with plush, comfy leather seats – 15/08/2011The third coach on lease to National Express stands at Charnock Richard Motorway Services during the 0300 driver fag break. This coach reminded me of the ancient vehicles which were employed on school trips all those years ago when the state was trying to educate me. And indeed, all those years ago when schools could organise trips without fear of litigation. My school ran a trip to Woodhams’ Barry Island scrap yard once. Nobody lost a limb and we all came back safe and sound after clambering all over the rusting steam locos. Oh, the memories came flooding back. Uncomfortable seats with harsh fabric made from the short sharp ear hair plucked from goblins, no leg room, defective air-con and the faint smell of sick – 16/08/2011
I thought I’d get some sleep on the coach from London to Edinburgh as the countryside passed by in darkness. I realised it wouldn’t be much of a deep sleep, more likely that light sleep where you’re semi-conscious of the movement of the transport you find yourself traveling in and when you wake up, you discover you’ve dribbled down your front. Or is that just me? Things started badly as we weaved our way through the streets of London and the driver turned on all the interior lights and the radio. The sound of Smooth Radio cut through my own choice of entertainment playing through my earphones making listening to my iPod difficult, and when a section of my fellow passengers started singing along to Simply Red, impossible. Eventually, as a woman a couple of seats in front of me started to wave her arms around in time to Bread’s “Make It With You”, I seriously doubted my decision to travel by coach, although in hindsight, she may have just been trying to get the overhead seating airflow to work.
Eventually, after driving all through the night, we arrived in Edinburgh and I headed off to Waverley railway station to make use of the excellent shower facilities available to weary travellers for the princely sum of £5 – for which you get a shower pack including shower gel and the loan of a towel. I checked Network Rail’s webpage on Edinburgh Waverley just now and the showers still cost £5. How reassuring.
After freshening up, I took a stroll along Princes Street and took in the landscaped gardens in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle – 16/08/2011I took a local bus out to Ocean Terminal to see The Royal Yacht Britannia – 16/08/2011The Royal Yacht Britannia. Again. Taken from the other end to that in the previous picture (someone can remind me of the correct nautical terms in the comments – thanks very much) – 16/08/2011
After visiting the shopping centre at Ocean Terminal, I headed back into the city with the intention of taking some railway photos from Princes Street Gardens, but because of very heavy rain I instead took shelter in the (then) new National Museum of Scotland.
The Wylam Dilly was built in 1813 and is one of the oldest surviving steam locomotives in existence. By strange coincidence, 1813 was the same year the coach I travelled on from London to Edinburgh was built – 16/08/2011The Wylam Dilly is named after the Wylam Colliery where it was used to pull coal wagons along the Wylam Wagonway to the river near Newcastle upon Tyne. A ‘dilly’ was the name used for the coal trucks used on the wagon way. Don’t tell me I don’t set out to educate – 16/08/2011Also in the National Museum of Scotland was Dolly the Sheep, a Finnish Dorset crossbreed and famous for being the first mammal to be cloned. She has to stand really still as she revolves around in her glass box. At night she drives around the museum in cars – 16/08/2011This is Sir Jackie Stewart’s racing car which can be found in the National Museum of Scotland. I observed that there was not much room to take home the weekly shop, but Dolly the Sheep likes how it handles corners – 16/08/2011
After visiting the museum and the rain abated it was time to find the location of the Edinburgh Book Festival and an interesting hour or so in the company of Mr Gaiman. While loitering for my friends to arrive, I inadvertently started a ramshackle queue, so front row seats awaited us. Go me!
A view of the approaches to Edinburgh Waverley – 16/08/2011Following chats, catch ups and pizza with my pals after the Neil Gaiman signing, I headed back south on another coach for the long journey to London. Actually, it was the same rubbish coach I had arrived in Edinburgh on earlier that day. Same drivers, but a different smelly bloke in the seat in front of me. You can imagine my enthusiasm when we met the above sign on the M6 at 4am – 17/08/2011Arrival into London Victoria Coach Station was over an hour late – 17/08/2011As my connecting coach to Bournemouth was due to depart a few hours after my arrival in London, I took the opportunity to stretch my legs and take in LNER A1 Class 4-6-2 No. 60163 ‘Tornado’ and empty coaching stock being moved into London Victoria railway station by EWS liveried Class 67 No. 67008 ready to form “The Cathedrals Express” rail tour to, of all places, Weymouth – 17/08/2011EWS Class 67 No. 67008 with the ecs for “The Cathedrals Express” nears London Victoria – 17/08/2011EWS Class 67 No. 67002 ‘Special Delivery’ and LNER A1 Class 4-6-2 No. 60163 ‘Tornado’ on the rear of the empty coaching stock movement into London Victoria – 17/08/2011LNER A1 Class 4-6-2 No. 60163 ‘Tornado’ departs London Victoria bound for Weymouth piloted by Class 67 No. 67002 ‘Special Delivery’ as the steam locomotive had no fireman at this point of the journey – 17/08/2011Former Wessex Electrics Class 442 No’s 442420 and 442410 on a Gatwick Express service with a SouthEastern Class 465 in the background – 17/08/2011Southern Class 455 No. 455839 with an unidentified SouthEastern Class 465 on the approaches to London Victoria. No. 455839 was one of the first Southern Class 455’s to be sent to Newport Docks for scrap earlier this year (The final journey being hauled by Class 47 No. 47727 along with sister Class 455 No. 455839 on 4th May 2022) – 17/08/2011The start of my own journey from London to Weymouth. However, by the time we reached Bournemouth I couldn’t take any more coach travel and I bailed out and took the train for the remainder of my trip – 17/08/2011SouthWest Trains liveried Class 444 No. 444005 having emerged from Bincombe Tunnel with a London Waterloo to Weymouth service – 17/08/2011 I arrived in Weymouth ahead of the steam tour and was able to see LNER A1 Class 4-6-2 No. 60163 ‘Tornado’ exiting Bincombe Tunnel on the run down into Weymouth with Steam Dreams “The Cathedrals Express” – 17/08/2011LNER Peppercorn Class A1 4-6-2 No. 60163 ‘Tornado’ was built between 1994 and 2008 to an original design by Arthur Peppercorn, the last Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Eastern Railway. She was the first newly built British mainline steam locomotive following the completion of BR Standard 9F Class 2-10-0 No. 92220 ‘Evening Star’ in 1960, and the only Peppercorn Class A1 in existence after all the original locomotives of that class were scrapped. In 2017 No. 60163 became the first steam locomotive to officially reach 100 mph on British tracks for over 50 years – 17/08/2011 Nameplate detail for LNER A1 Class 4-6-2 No. 60163 ‘Tornado’ – 17/08/2022No. 60163 ‘Tornado’ worked “The Cathedrals Express” from London Victoria to Weymouth and then went tender first with her support coach to Yeovil Junction for turning while the train followed with Class 66 No. 66101 in charge. ‘Tornado’ took charge of the rail tour once again on departure from Yeovil on the return journey to London Victoria via Sherborne and Salisbury – 17/08/2011DB Class 66 No. 66101 assists with No. 60163’s support coach in the sidings at Weymouth – 17/08/2022
Video of “The Cathedrals Express” and light engine + support coach movement in the Weymouth area – 17/08/2022
2010:
Class 47 No. 47580 ‘County Of Essex’ heads 1Z62 0614 Shrewsbury to Weymouth “Dorset Coast Statesman” approaching Upwey – 19/08/2010Also at Upwey, Class 47 No. 47826 with Scarborough Spa Express branding works the return “Dorset Coast Statesman” 1Z63 1637 Weymouth to Shrewsbury – 19/08/2010The Railway Touring Company ran “The Dorset Coast Express” from London Victoria to Weymouth and back on Wednesday 18th August 2010. Having assisted at the rear of the main train on its return leg hauled by LNER A4 4-6-2 No. 60019 ‘Bittern’, SR N15 Class 4-6-0 No. 30777 ‘Sir Lamiel’ runs light engine with support coach to Weymouth, before running round and proceeding to Yeovil Junction for servicing at the mainline steam centre – 18/08/2010
Video of LNER A4 4-6-2 No. 60019 ‘Bittern’ during the 2010 summer season of “The Dorset Coast Express” rail tours. This is the result of experimenting with reformatting my 4:3 aspect ratio video footage in 16:9, however I’m not happy with the compression rate. But I’ll post it here at the bottom of the page, so probably nobody will notice!
That’s all for this time. Thanks for reading and for your corrections and comments to previous entries. Hopefully we’ll have our feet firmly back in 2022 for next weeks instalment. Join us again in seven days to find out!
Swanage Railway Class 33 Crompton diesel locomotives were in service from Sunday 7th August 2022 because of the fire risk presented by using steam traction. The driver of No. 33111 hauling the 1030 Norden to Swanage train collects the token to proceed on to Swanage while sister locomotive No. 33012 (D6515) ‘Lt. Jenny Lewis RN’ waits to depart Harmans Cross with the 1030 Swanage service to Norden – 07/08/2022
Ultrasonic Test Train & DBSO’s
Wednesday 3rd August saw a scheduled visit of COLAS Class 37 No. 37099 with an Ultrasonic Test Train visiting the Bournemouth to Weymouth line. Due to pass through Poole around 2315, a late departure from Eastleigh meant the train actually passed at 0009 as it headed to Weymouth. I decided on Poole as my location to see and film the train as a stop of a couple of minutes had been programmed into the schedule and I thought I’d be able to get a couple of quick photographs as well as video. In the event the train sailed straight through the station and to disappoint me even further, the locomotive was at the rear of the train propelling rather than pulling the Network Rail stock.
Class 37 No. 37099 and DBSO No. 9708 working 3Q02 2143 Eastleigh East Yard to Eastleigh East Yard at Poole – 04/08/2022
However, this gives me an opportunity to witter on about the MK2 Driving Brake Second Open (DBSO) coaches currently employed on several test trains which enables a locomotive hauled train to be driven from either end. Famously the Bournemouth to Weymouth route operated a push-pull system for many years following the 1967 electrification of the Waterloo to Bournemouth line with Class 33/1 locomotives paired with unpowered 4-TC units traversing the tracks between Bournemouth to Weymouth. A similar concept was introduced by BR Scottish Region in the late 1970’s / early 1980’s when a number of MK2 brake coaches were modified and fitted with driving cabs, but still retaining their end corridor connections. The motive power was provided by Class 47/7 locomotives which were modified Class 47/4’s to enable push-pull working on Glasgow – Edinburgh services, replacing trains run by top and tailed Class 27 locomotives which were proving costly to run and unreliable.
Push-Pull Class 33/1 No. 33104 propels two 4-TC units away from Dorchester forming the 1533 Weymouth to London Waterloo service. The Class 33 would be removed at Bournemouth and the 4-TC coupled to motorised 4REP units for the onward journey to London Waterloo – 15/04/1983
The DBSO’s were cascaded to the Great Eastern Main Line in the late 1980’s when Glasgow – Edinburgh services began to utilise new Class 158 DMU’s, which doesn’t seem much of an upgrade to me! At this time, the corridor connection was removed enabling a larger cab. They continued to run into the privatisation era becoming part of Anglia Railways and later the One franchise, the last being withdrawn from service by the close of 2006, being replaced by more modern MK3 Driving Van Trailers. At this point Network Rail took ownership of five DBSO vehicles for the purpose of running test trains in push-pull mode.
Class 47/7 No. 47701 ‘St. Andrew’ at Crewe Works – 22/09/1979Scanned from a very dark 110 film negative, Class 47/7 No. 47705 ‘Lothian’ is, er, kick-started at Edinburgh Waverley – 13/08/1980. This locomotive was later converted into Class 57 No. 57303 ( see below )Class 47/7 No. 47707 ‘Holyrood’ at Millerhill depot – 16/08/1982. This locomotive was cut up at CF Booth, Rotherham in February 2010Network Rail DBSO No. 9702 being propelled by COLAS Class 37 No. 37175 into Dorchester West – 16/06/2015Class 37 No. 37175 at the rear of a Network Rail test train at Dorchester West – 16/06/2015DBSO No. 9714 hauled by Class 31 No. 31106 passing through Upwey bound for Weymouth – 17/11/201131106 at the head of a Network Rail test train entering Upwey – 17/11/2011Class 57 No. 57303 ( the former 47705 – see above! ) with One liveried DBSO No. 9710 at Eastleigh – 23/10/2013Another glimpse of Class 37 No. 37099 on the rear of a test train utilising a DBSO passing Upwey – 27/04/2017And here she is again in British Rail days; Class 37 No. 37099 in BR Blue livery seen at Liverpool Street c.1980
The Dorset Coast Explorer
West Coast Railways Class 33/0 No’.s 33029 and 33025 approaches the site of the former Upwey Wishing Well Halt on the climb to Bincombe tunnel with Pathfinder Railtours “The Dorset Explorer” 1Z34 1635 Weymouth to Burton-on-Trent – 06/08/2022
Saturday 6th August saw Pathfinder Tours run a rail tour from Burton-on-Trent to Weymouth via different scenic routes out and back. On the outward run the train made a circular journey through Central Southern England via the Cotswolds, the Vale of White Horse into the Thames Valley and Reading before heading south to Basingstoke, Winchester and Southampton. A run through the New Forest National Park to Bournemouth and Poole followed prior to passing through Dorset heathlands and Dorchester South before arriving at the seaside resort of Weymouth. The return journey went via Dorchester West and through Somerset by way of Yeovil and Castle Cary on to Wiltshire reaching Westbury and the Avon Valley with a stop at Bristol Parkway before heading back Severnside to Cheltenham Spa and the return to Burton-on-Trent. £299 would have gotten you a seat in Premier Dining with a Standard Class ticket costing £125 ( First Class was also available at £185 a seat ). Over the last 20 years or so, Standard Class seating on charter trains has been reduced in favour of more profitable First Class and Premier Dining seating as a result of the changing demographic of passengers.
Displaying the 91 headcode which denoted London Waterloo to Weymouth fast services back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, West Coast Railways Class 33/0 No. 33025 leads classmate No. 33029 on the approach to Wareham with Pathfinder Railtours “The Dorset Explorer” 0545 1Z33 Burton-on-Trent to Weymouth – 06/08/2022
The motive power provided by West Coast Railways of two Class 33/0 locomotives was of particular interest to me as these were a regular sight during my trainspotting days back in the late 1970’s / early 1980’s when 33/1’s hauled everyday passenger services via the South with less frequent visits of 33/0’s and, if extremely lucky Class 33/2’s. Class 33/0’s were regular performers on the Bristol to Weymouth route.
With thanks to @radioc71 and G E Barrett for additional video footageClass 33/0 No. 33025 ‘Sultan’ in BR days approaching Westbury – 23/12/1982Class 33 No. 33025 ‘Sultan’ at Banbury – 19/06/1982Class 33 No. 33029 approaches Dorchester South with an inter-regional service – 20/06/1982
Hamworthy Branch Update
Sadly no video of rail/road vehicles taken from the undergrowth this week, but work continues along the Hamworthy Branch with sleeper renewal, tree clearance and an access gate added to Lake Road.
BR Class 121 ‘Bubble Car’ No. W55028 at the head of the 2100 departure from Corfe Castle. This single car unit replaced one of the driving cars from the three car Class 117 diesel multiple unit which had experienced technical issues – 06/08/2022
Late Saturday afternoon, August 6th, a line side fire broke out on Corfe Common, the smoke of which could be seen from across the harbour in Poole. Consequently it was announced that during the current prolonged spell of dry weather, all Swanage Railway services would be diesel hauled. I was planning on popping down to visit the railway as the resident diesel-multiple unit was running evening trains in conjunction with a fireworks display at Swanage. I was delayed in traffic because emergency services were hard at work extinguishing the fire and damping down, but saw SR Battle of Britain 4-6-2 No. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’ manoeuvring her coaching stock at Swanage after passing the fire damaged area at Corfe prior to the DMU running. Sunday morning, I couldn’t resist seeing the two Swanage Class 33 diesel locos passing each other at Harmans Cross on the first trains of the day.
Video of Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th 2022 at the Swanage Railway SR 4-6-2 Battle of Britain Class No. 34072 ‘257 Squadron’ preparing to move empty coaching stock at Swanage after bringing in the last steam hauled service of the day, and for the foreseeable during the current hot spell – 06/08/2022
Great Train Robbery
Plaque at Crewe Railway Station in memory of driver Jack Mills and second man David Whitby whose Home Depot was Crewe
8th August saw the 59th anniversary of The Great Train Robbery when £2.6 million was stolen from a Glasgow to London mail train. It has always puzzled and frustrated me as to why the gang who perpetrated the crime were often cast as latter day Robin Hood figures and the robbery itself as non-violent and victimless. The assault on driver Jack Mills was brutal and he sustained injuries that he would not recover from, having been beaten over the head with a metal bar. Jack Mills retired from the railways in 1967 and died in 1970 of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Epilogue
Yoshi had a haircut this week, he has really been feeling the heat in the last few days
In other local news, a rail grinder visited Poole in the early hours of Sunday morning top and tailed by GBRf Class 66 locomotives No’s 66776 ‘Joanne’ and 66766 ‘Gail Richardson’. A rail grinder is used to restore the profile and remove irregularities from worn track to extend its life and to improve the ride of trains using the track. No matter how many times I check the schedules on Real Time Trains (RTT) something will invariably sneak through. The train was scheduled to reverse at Hamworthy, but I can’t find any evidence of it having done so, but this isn’t to say it didn’t! To be fair, even I would have probably stayed tucked up in bed at the time this working was scheduled to run.
The RMT strike day called for August 18th ( other strike days / unions are available ) has put paid to another steam hauled rail tour to Weymouth, although the current run of dry weather would have probably done the job. Fingers crossed the September 1st Railway Touring Company organised “Dorset Coast Express” will run – Mick take note!
This weeks The Railway Dog was thrown together while listening to Gerry Beckley, China Crisis, David Bowie and PJ Harvey. Thank you for your kind comments, corrections and updates – I really appreciate them!
SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ pauses at Harmans Cross with the Swanage Railway’s recreation of “The Royal Wessex” 1700 departure from Swanage – 27/07/2022
Swanage Railway recently launched a re-creation of the 1950’s era “Royal Wessex” train including the option to reserve seats in a heritage carriage designed by Richard Maunsell, the chief mechanical engineer of the Southern Railway in the 1930’s, after it was painstakingly restored by a group of volunteers. Maunsell carriages would have been a familiar sight on the Swanage branch line until the 1960’s when they were withdrawn from service. The “Royal Wessex” was introduced in 1951 and departed London Waterloo with portions designated for Swanage, Bournemouth West and Weymouth. Carriages were detached from the main train and attached to a local branch line service to take passengers to their chosen destination. The Swanage portion consisted of two carriages which were separated from, or for the return working; joined to, the main train at Wareham. The Swanage initiative sees the Maunsell carriage carrying “Royal Wessex” name boards with the locomotive hauling the train having a headboard.
“Royal Wessex” name board as carried by the restored 1930’s Maunsell Carriage – July 2022No. 34028 sporting “The Royal Wessex” headboard – July 2022
Swanage Railway ‘The Royal Wessex’ – July 2022
47 On Tour
Class 47 No. 47830 ‘Beeching’s Legacy’ pauses at Gillingham, Dorset to cross with a late running Exeter to Salisbury service while working 0V45 0835 Southampton to Exeter St. Davids – 28/07/2022 (Photograph courtesy of Scott Lewis)
In connection with 19th -23rd September 2022 engineering work scheduled to take place between Axminster and Pinhoe, Freightliner celebrity locomotive Class 47 No. 47830 ‘Beeching’s Legacy’ has been working route learning trips between Southampton Maritime and Exeter St. David’s on selected days over the last couple of weeks, which meant the locomotive briefly visited Dorset. We were very kindly sent the images and video reproduced on this page by Scott Lewis, who I’m now going to call Yoshi’s North Dorset correspondent.
28/07/2022 (Video courtesy of Scott Lewis)Class 47 No. 47830 ‘Beeching’s Legacy’ at Gillingham, Dorset – 28/07/2022 (Photograph courtesy of Scott Lewis)
The engineering work will see a five-day closure of the line with a £5m project undertaken that includes landslip prevention work at Honiton tunnel which will involve the installation of two retaining walls, 32 metres and 16 metres in length accompanied by sheet piles that consist of metal posts with concrete planks for additional support to protect the line from future closures. Weather resilience work will also improve and supplement drainage systems.
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Diesel Gala
I found myself with time on my hands on Friday 29th July, so Yoshi, one of Yoshi’s hoo-man uncles and I took ourselves off to the Gloucestershire Warwickshire, a beautifully striking railway in the Cotswolds. The 2022 diesel gala employed the railways’ home fleet, supplemented by visiting Class 55 Deltic locomotive No. 55019 ‘Royal Highland Fusilier’ – the first ever visit of a locomotive of this iconic class. To be honest, the appearance of the Deltic first attracted me to the notion of attending this gala. The Gloucestershire Warwickshire is a railway I have not visited previously, but I’ll certainly be returning after having a very enjoyable day.
Yoshi at Toddington with Class 55 No. 55019 ‘Royal Highland Fusilier’ – 29/07/2022
The Stratford-Upon-Avon to Cheltenham Railway was constructed between 1902 and 1906 by the Great Western Railway (GWR) for the purpose of achieving a faster and more direct route between the Midlands and the South West, although this necessitated avoiding difficult terrain to allow gentle gradients and sweeping curves enabling high speed running. Extensive cuttings, embankments and a long tunnel at Greet were required, and unfortunately some of the stations were located some distance from the villages they purported to serve. As with many railways, usage began to decline in the 1950’s with passenger services being withdrawn on 7th March 1960. Use for freight and as a diversionary route continued until a derailment outside of Winchcombe station saw a cessation of all traffic with the line finally closed in November 1976, the track being lifted in 1979. Two year later, in 1981, the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway plc was formed and they acquired the 14.5 miles of track bed between Cheltenham Racecourse and Broadway. Stations, signal boxes etc. have been reopened or rebuilt from scratch resulting in a very attractive railway.
The diesel gala featured the following locomotives:
Visiting Deltic Class 55 No. 55019 ‘Royal Highland Fusilier’ is owned by The Deltic Preservation Society and its home base is Barrow Hill in Derbyshire. 22 Deltic were constructed for use on the East Coast Mainline, entering traffic between 1961-62.Brush type 4 Class 47 No. 47105 is owned by the Brush Type 4 Fund and a permanent resident on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. The locomotive was purchased in January 1994 and is seen here approaching Toddington – 29/07/2022Brush type 4 Class 47 No. 47376 s owned by the Brush Type 4 Fund and a permanent resident on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. The Brush Type 4 Fund was formed in 1992 No. 47376 was purchased in November 2002. The locomotive received a replacement engine from No. 47295 prior to arriving at Toddington in 2003.Sulzer Type 4 Class 45/1 No. 45149 was built at Crewe in 1961 and was withdrawn from British Rail service in 1987. The locomotive is owned by The Cotswold Mainline Diesel Group and is a permanent resident on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway..English Electric Type 3 Class 37/0 No. 37215 was built in 1963 at Newton-le-Willows being preserved in 1994. The locomotive is owned by The Growler Group and is a permanent resident on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.Sulzer Type 2 Class 24 No. 24081 (D5081) was preserved in 1981 and is a permanent resident on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway having remained operational throughout its preservation years. The locomotive is owned by the 24081 Loco Group.English Electric Type 2 Class 20 No. 20137 was built in 1966 at Newton-le-Willows and was purchased privately from British Rail in 1994, returning to working order in 1995. The locomotive is a permanent resident on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway. (Seen here with class mate No.20228 (D8327) which is undergoing restoration – with their single cabs Class 20’s mostly spent their time coupled nose to nose in pairs to provide 2,000hp and to improve driver visibility).English Electric Type 2 Class 20 No. 20228 (D8327) which is currently undergoing restoration. Sulzzer Type 2 Class 26 No. D5343 (26043) was one of 47 locomotives built by the Birmingham Railway & Carriage Works (BR&CW) in Smethwick, entering service in October 1959. During January 1993, whilst allocated to snow clearance duties between Perth and Blair Atholl, 26043 suffered a power earth fault. Repairs were not authorised and it was withdrawn on 19th January 1993. Initially stored at Perth, it was then moved to MC Metals in Glasgow for asbestos insulation removal, which entailed major dismantling of the cab interiors. The loco was purchased by the Cotswold Mainline Diesel Group in late 1993 and it arrived at Toddington in April 1994.English Electric Type 3 Class 37 No.D6948 (37248) was built by English Electric at the Vulcan Foundry, Newton le Willows, Lancashire and was delivered to British Railways’ Cardiff Canton depot on the 30th October 1964 and withdrawn from service in 2003. After two years in storage at Margam, it was purchased by three Growler Group members in conjunction with West Coast Railways Limited to whom the locomotive was loaned as part of an agreement to restore it to working order for mainline operations, entering WCRC service in 2006. The loan agreement ended in 2009 and the loco entered preservation, becoming a permanent resident on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway in 2010.
Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway Diesel Gala 2022
It was an extremely hot day and we took every opportunity to keep Yoshi cool, in the shade and hydrated. I have also bought a hat for future railway days out in the sun, because I was told to, and I sometimes do what I am told! All in all an excellent day out, with good company and another heritage railway with friendly, enthusiastic and helpful volunteers. I even got back home in time to watch the last episode of Neighbours.
Test Train Delays
August kicked off with the scheduling of test train 1Q51 running from Derby Railway Technical Centre to Eastleigh via Weymouth. Our regular reader may remember that the July instance of this working didn’t make it to Weymouth, the train being curtailed at Eastleigh. This time, the test train made it as far as Wool before it was reversed, missing out the Wool to Weymouth section. This was because the 1605 departure from Waterloo developed a fault and it ground to a halt at 1829 just before reaching Wool station, blocking the line to Weymouth and causing following services knock on delays and cancellations. The 1Q51 test train was eventually caught up behind the failed service train.
GBRf Class 73 No. 73965 ‘Des O’Brien’ approaching Branksome working 1Q51 1115 Derby R.T.C. to Eastleigh East Yard – 01/08/2022
Unaware of this, I had ventured out to Branksome in order to see the train in daylight as it usually traverses the Bournemouth to Weymouth section in darkness most of the year. However earlier disruption on the network meant that delays to services resulted in late running empty coaching stock from Poole to Bournemouth T&RSMD passing on the up platform where I was stood, obscuring the 73’s from view as they headed down towards Weymouth. I consoled myself with the knowledge I would have another shot at getting some video on the return leg. However, becoming aware that the test train was sat between Wareham and Wool via the Open Train Times webpage, Yoshi and I set off for Wool to investigate.
On arrival at Wool we were able to see the failed Class 444 EMU (No. 444021) sitting just outside of Wool station.
The lights of Class 444 No. 444021 can be seen just up the track from Wool station – 01/08/2022
By the time the ailing 444 was rescued by a fellow Class 444 at 2211 and the train reversed to the Up line via a set of points situated outside of Wool to clear the line, the test train was well behind schedule. The decision was made to cancel the run to Weymouth and to reverse the train in Wool station – as you can see in the video below:
1Q51 1115 Derby R.T.C. to Eastleigh East Yard – 01/08/2022GBRf Class 73 No. 73963 ‘Janice’ at Wool awaiting reversal of 1Q51 1115 Derby R.T.C. to Eastleigh East Yard – 01/08/2022
Hamworthy Branch
More news on the reopening of the Hamworthy Branch, which was finally acknowledged by Network Rail as happening in a mailing to residents living near the railway line:
I will admit to once again failing to get a decent image of a rail/road vehicle on the branch. I’m considering sending in Yoshi with a doggo-cam to get better shots from the trackside, but in the meantime I’ll share the following video of ongoing sleeper replacement near Hercules Road Access Point ( formerly Butts Crossing ) for reference:
Hamworthy Branch Maintenance Work – 27/07/2022
For a far better glimpse of the road / rail traction being employed on the Hamworthy Branch, Kev Scott has kindly given us permission to link to his video of a Komatsu Rail Rider passing over Hamworthy Park Level Crossing. Don’t forget to check out Kev’s other videos on his You Tube page!
https://youtu.be/rKWsWxTmpPI
Class 701 on Test
Class 701 No. 701034 seen running through Hamworthy with test train 5Q56 1612 Eastleigh TRSMD to Weymouth – 02/08/2022
Another week passes by and South Western Railway Class 701 electric multiple units are still undergoing test runs. This week however, unit No. 701034 ran west of Poole to Weymouth and Wareham on Tuesday 2nd August. Two runs took place, the first from Eastleigh TRSMD ran to Weymouth as 5Q56, the unit then forming 5Q57 to Brockenhurst. The driver and any onboard support crew would hopefully have had time for a cup of tea and cake before departing Brockenhurst at 2114 bound for Wareham as 5Q58 before returning to Eastleigh TRSMD as 5Q59 where the unit was then put to bed at around 2330.
Class 701 No. 701034 at Weymouth preparing for departure with 5Q57 1838 Weymouth to Brockenhurst – 02/08/2022 (Photograph courtesy of @da_buckley967 )
Video of Class 701 No. 701034 working evening test runs. With thanks to G E Barrett and @da_buckley967 for their kind permission to use their footage taken at Dorchester South and Weymouth respectively – 02/08/2022
This weeks ‘The Railway Dog’ was written to the accompaniment of Bear’s Den, Pink Floyd and Bernard Cribbins. I’ve enjoyed the collaborative feel to this weeks blog and my thanks to everyone who has agreed to the sharing of their material, it is much appreciated. Thanks again for reading and for corrections and observations. All being well, we’ll be back here next week for more of the same!
Old meets new at North Pier, Blackpool – 13/07/2022
Blackpool
As we mentioned in our last blog entry, Yoshi and I spent a few days in the North West a couple of weeks ago when we took the opportunity to take a trip on a heritage Blackpool Tram. The Blackpool Tramway runs from Blackpool to Fleetwood, originally opening in 1885 and is one of the oldest electric tramways in the world. It is operated by Blackpool Transport (BT) and runs for approximately 11 miles. The last time I visited Blackpool was probably in 2007 when David Tennant, who was at the time playing the Tenth Doctor in BBC TV’s “Doctor Who”, switched on the illuminations. This was just prior to the announcement that the UK Government had agreed to the joint BT and Blackpool Council bid for funding towards the upgrade of the tram track network, with £60.3m coming from Government coffers. The remainder of the £85.3m cost came from Blackpool Council and Lancashire County Council which contributed @ £12.5m each. The Government’s funding allowed the entire tramway to be upgraded with 16 modern and accessible Bombardier Flexity 2 trams being introduced in 2012 replacing the traditional fleet of ageing cars.
A number of the old trams which I was familiar with on my previous visits have been retained with some having been lovingly restored to form a Heritage Fleet and modified, widened Balloon trams as part of the main fleet. The depot at Starr Gate houses the Flexity 2 trams with Rigby Road Depot, near Manchester Square, housing the traditional trams. A great deal of effort has been made to ensure that the traditional trams have a future in Blackpool and I was pleased to see one on a run out as we arrived in Fleetwood for our stay at the North Euston Hotel. Thinking perhaps these only ran at weekends, I asked a driver of one of the modern trams about the heritage fleet and was directed to a website dedicated to Blackpool Heritage Trams. From here, Yoshi and I booked a one hour promenade tour which picked up from North Pier on its way to Bispham before heading back all the way to the Pleasure Beach in the south of Blackpool before turning once more and returning via the Golden Mile, dropping us off where we started. I was delighted to see that the tram car operating our trip was one of the recognisable and iconic Balloon cars, so named because of their rounded streamlined appearance, in traditional Blackpool 1940s “Wartime” green and cream livery.
Yoshi waits to board the tram for his Blackpool promenade tour – 13/07/2022
The Balloon trams were originally called “Luxury Dreadnought” cars and had been commissioned in 1933 by Walter Luff, the controller of the Blackpool network, in a bid to modernise the tramway’s fleet which had been working the tracks since the early years. 27 trams were constructed by English Electric between 1934 and 1935, the first being delivered on 10th December 1934. They were built with central doors and stairs, with a maximum capacity of 94 passengers. Half-drop windows provided ventilation with Art Deco curved glass electric lighting providing illumination. The initial thirteen were open-topped and the remaining fourteen were enclosed, these having sliding roof windows and thermostatically-controlled radiators.
Yoshi after enjoying a snooze on Balloon tram No. 700 – 13/07/2022
Between 2009 and 2012, Balloon car No. 700, which was to provide transportation for our journey, along with sisters 711, 713, 719 and 720 were modernised so that they could continue to operate in service following the refurbishment of the whole tramway to light rail standards. New widened doorways were fitted to allow more accessibility, with driver operated doors which fit to the new platforms built at tram stops for the modern Bombardier trams. Fixed seats and new passenger information displays were also fitted to match the new trams. Speedometers were also retrofitted to the driving consoles, which seems like a very good idea to me!
Yoshi considers driving off in Car No. 700 – 13/07/2022
We really enjoyed our trip on the heritage tram, and thoroughly recommend the experience should you find yourself in Blackpool. You can join us on our tour of Blackpool promenade as well as view some of the Flexity 2 trams in our video below:
Yoshi takes time to check out Flexity 2 tram No. 010 at Fleetwood Ferry – 11/07/2022
For a reminder of what it used to be like, here’s a video of Blackpool Trams from October 1999, featuring a brief glimpse of some of the famous illuminated trams:
Dorset Coast Express
Thursday 21st July saw another steam excursion to Weymouth subjected to alterations, this time because of the dry weather and subsequent risk of line side fires, the planned steam motive power was replaced by two Class 47 diesel locomotives. Fingers crossed all goes to plan for the next scheduled The Railway Touring Company Dorset Coast Express in August!
Class 47 No. 47772 ‘Carnforth TMD’ leads 1Z82 0845 London Victoria to Weymouth past Poole carriage sidings – 21/07/2022Class 47 No. 47813 with the return working of the Dorset Coast Express racing through Hamworthy – 21/07/2022
Around Taunton
Video screen grab of Class 47 No.’s D1935 / 47805 ‘Roger Hosking MA 1925-2013’ and D1944 / 47501 ‘Craftsman’ power the “Cornish Riviera Statesman” rail tour up Whiteball bank – 23/07/2022
Saturday saw Yoshi and I in the Taunton area as we went to see a couple of rail tours and hoped to catch celebrity High Speed Train power car No. 43384 which has been outshopped in a retro livery by CrossCountry Trains. First on our radar was Statesman Rail’s “Cornish Riviera Statesman” working Derby to Penzance and double headed by Brush Type 4 Class 47 No.’s D1935 / 47805 ‘Roger Hosking MA 1925-2013’ and D1944 / 47501 ‘Craftsman’, both resplendent in British Rail two-tone green livery. I just had time to set up for a video capture when the train passed by several minutes ahead of schedule, meaning my camera was still asleep in its bag. Also running ahead of schedule was The Railway Touring Company operated “The West Somerset Express”, which like their tour to Weymouth a couple of days previously had been advertised as being steam hauled, but were deputised with West Coat Railways Class 47 No.’s 47813 and 47772 ‘Carnforth TMD’ again in top and tail formation. This tour originated from London Paddington and was destined for Minehead on the West Somerset Railway (WSR) – the longest heritage railway in the UK. On arrival at Bishops Lydeard, the first WSR station after leaving the main line, the Class 47’s were replaced with a pair of steam locomotives to take the train forward. We saw Great Western Railway (GWR) Inspired 2-6-0 9351 Class WSR Mogul No. 9351 and GWR 7800 Class Manor No. 7822 ‘Foxcote Manor’ hauling the train nearing Crowcombe Heathfield producing some fine acoustics. You can follow our day in the video below, which also includes some CrossCountry Trains and GWR Castle Class HST’s:
CrossCountry Trains (XC) recently outshopped Class 43/3 No. 43384 from Plymouth Laira Depot in a revised High Speed Train livery, known as Intercity Executive, first carried back in the 1980’s. At the time the Intercity yellow and grey livery replaced the original blue and yellow colour scheme that had been used since the introduction of the fleet. CrossCountry has confirmed that the repaint comes as part of marking the 40th anniversary of the introduction of the InterCity 125 by British Rail on to the North East to South West route. Other celebrations include a special Railway Benefit Fund charitable XC HST rail tour on the 27th September 2022 travelling from Leeds to the Severn Valley Railway including a run along the heritage railway itself. An HST power car will be named at Kidderminster to mark the anniversary.
Class 43/3 No. 43384 is seen leading on 1V52 0658 Edinburgh Waverley to Plymouth as it nears Creech St. Michael – 23/07/2022
Eastleigh Grid
Class 56 No. 56081 approaches Shawford working 5O07 1049 Leicester L.I.P. to Eastleigh East Yard hauling Arlington Fleet barrier vehicle’s No. 64664 ‘Liwet’ (Ex Class 508 DMSO from unit 508207) and 64707 ‘Labezerin’ (Ex Class 508 DMSO from unit 508116) ex EMU Barrier coach set T7 – 24/07/2022
Yoshi and I were busy with our chores on Sunday morning when we discovered GBRf Class 56 No. 56081 was on its way from Leicester to Eastleigh with barrier vehicles in order to collect Network Rail’s European Railway Traffic Management System (ERTMS) lab train No. 313121 – this was too good an opportunity to miss and we put down the duster and polish and jumped in the car and set off for Shawford. This is more than likely our final opportunity to see this particular Class 56 in its current form as it has been earmarked for conversion as part of the Class 69 programme.
On our way back home, we had a quick look in at Eastleigh Works and saw the remaining four cars of Wessex Electric Class 442 EMU No. 442412 had been shunted around and were now visible adjacent to the road. Based on the British Rail Mark 3 carriage as used in HST sets, the 442’s were introduced as part of the Bournemouth to Weymouth electrification programme in the late 1980’s and, in my view at least, were the best EMU to have run in the UK.
GBRf Class 73 No. 73141 ‘Charlotte’ at Eastleigh Works – 24/07/2022The remaining four coaches of Class 442 No. 442412 in faded “Express” livery at Eastleigh Works – 24/07/2022
701 On Test
Class 701 No. 701017 passes the site of the former Boscombe railway station working 5Q52 1724 Staines Up Loop to Eastleigh TRSMD via Bournemouth – 25/07/2022
Another week passes by and Class 701’s are still running test trains to Bournemouth and Poole prior to their introduction into revenue earning service. This week we went to take a look at the site of the former railway station at Boscombe which was located between Bournemouth Central and Pokesdown. The station opened in 1897 and served The Royal Victoria Hospital and the shopping area around the Royal Arcade. Boscombe had a goods yard which received traffic for despatch from a large area of Bournemouth along with a coal depot and sidings. The substantial brick built buildings were demolished a few years after closure in 1965. The site now houses business units and threatening signs about unofficial parking. The road bridge which goes over the railway at this point has had footbridges added to each side and these have very high fencing installed for safety reasons.
Access Point Information, Station Approach, Boscombe – July 2022Station Approach, Boscombe – July 2022Station Approach, Boscombe – July 2022
Class 701 No. 701017 was this weeks unit on test as seen in this video – 25/07/2022
Hamworthy Branch
More activity on the mothballed Hamworthy Branch this week as temporary traffic lights were put in place at the crossing on Ashmore Avenue on Tuesday 26th July. Road / rail vehicles were also in evidence along the branch moving ballast. Sleepers and sections of track have also been marked up, possibly for replacement. Network Rail have successfully applied for a road closure permit on Lake Road, presumably to enable work to be carried out on the railway bridge which is located there.
Pressure washing Ashmore Avenue crossing on the Hamworthy Branch – 26/07/2022
We arrived just too late for a decent shot of a road / rail vehicle working on the Hamworthy Branch at Hamworthy station, but we thought we’d share this anyway! 26/07/2022
Weymouth Railway Heritage Trail
In the past week or so, new signage has popped up around Weymouth on the route of the former Weymouth Harbour Tramway which last saw use in 1999 and was dug up by the local council in an act of vandalism in 2020/21 with most of the track being removed at this time. With no sense of irony Weymouth Town Council, Dorset Council and South Western Railway have installed information boards celebrating Weymouth’s unique railway history.
The remodelled station forecourt at Weymouth – July 2022Weymouth Railway Heritage Trail information board ‘The Station’ – July 2022Weymouth Railway Heritage Trail information board ‘The Track’ – July 2022Weymouth Railway Heritage Trail information board ‘The Loop’ – July 2022Weymouth Railway Heritage Trail information board ‘The Quay’ – July 2022
This weeks “The Railway Dog” was mostly written to the sounds of Faeland, Hollow Coves, The Teardrop Explodes and Sibelius Symphony No. 5. Thanks for visiting. Comments and corrections are, as ever, always welcome and we really appreciate it when you point out typos or grammatical errors. We’ll be back next week, we hope you’ll join us.
DB Cargo Class 67 No. 67025 in operation with Transport for Wales waits departure at Crewe with 5K67 0951 Holyhead Car. M.D. Empty Coaching Stock working to Crewe C.S. – 16/07/2022
Fleetwood
The North Euston Hotel, Fleetwood
Yoshi and I spent much of last week in the North West of England as we made The North Euston Hotel in Fleetwood our base. The hotel was commissioned by Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood, designed in the Greek classical style by architect Decimus Burton and built between 1839 and 1841 to serve overnight passengers making the journey by rail from London Euston who were destined for steam ships which would provide onward travel to Scotland where after disembarking at Ardrossan they would take the train on to Glasgow. Fleetwood was the northern most station at the time, hence the name “North Euston” for the hotel, and the railway was yet to run over the Shap hills. Queen Victoria made the journey in 1847 and stayed at the hotel, although I’m sure she didn’t stay in our room. The first manager of the hotel, Corsican born Xenon Vantini, had been a courier for Napoleon Bonaparte and was also the first person to open a refreshment room at Wolverhampton railway station. In 1859 following a decline in fortunes, the hotel was sold to the government and was converted into a school of musketry and later, in 1867, an officer’s quarters. The building existed in this form until the 1890’s when it was purchased by a group of London businessmen who converted it back into a hotel. The North Euston is currently owned by local business families. Yoshi very much enjoyed his morning sausage for breakfast and we celebrated our dubious achievement of coming last in the Sunday evening pub quiz which was a lot of fun.
The railway to Fleetwood was opened on 15th July 1840 as the Preston & Wyre railway and was also the vision of Sir Peter Hesketh Fleetwood it being designed to connect the then new port of Fleetwood on the Fylde coast to Preston. The railway was constructed by George and Robert Stephenson with contribution from Joseph Locke. Its glory days lasted only six years until a direct route over Shap was finally achieved. The railway was absorbed into the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway ( later the London Midland Scottish Railway as part of the Big Four groupings in 1923) and extensions were built to Blackpool and Lytham to cater for the growing number of passengers traveling to the seaside. Fleetwood would become, for a time, one of the largest and most successful fishing ports in the UK but by 1970 the railway from Poulton-le-Fylde to Fleetwood was closed to passenger traffic and later, in 1999, to freight workings.
Thornton Station is located in the heart of Thornton town centre – July 2022Until the late 1980’s a signal box operated the crossing over Station Road, Thornton – July 2022The current station buildings were the first built by the then newly formed London Midland Scottish Railway (LMS) in 1927 – July 2022
In 2006, the Poulton & Wyre Railway Society was formed with the aim of reopening the railway. Since then, much work has been carried out in clearing sections of the line from the ingress of nature and a Class 108 Diesel Multiple Unit was purchased for restoration and use on the line. More recently, the Poulton-Le-Fylde to Fleetwood line was subject to a study as part of the UK Government’s Restoring Your Railway programme. In June 2022 it was announced that the scheme should progress further and Network Rail will receive funding to produce a detailed plan for the revival of services. The Poulton-Le-Fylde & Wyre Railway Society have now turned their attention to developing a heritage railway centre which will eventually house a collection of railway artefacts and memorabilia for public viewing.
Churnet Valley Railway
Having heard that Class 33/1 No. 33102 was hauling trains, Yoshi and I spent Tuesday morning ( 12th July 2022 ) visiting Cheddleton on the Churnet Valley Railway, a preserved heritage line in Staffordshire. I grew up with 33/1’s providing the daily motive power on local passenger services between Bournemouth and Weymouth, and even though No. 33111 lives on at Swanage, our local heritage railway, it was fantastic to hear the Crompton’s Sulzer engine at work hauling a passenger train.
The Churnet Valley railway dates back to 1849 following the formation of The North Staffordshire Railway Company (NSR) in 1845. Falling passenger numbers saw the Beeching Report include the Churnet Valley line and its associated branches which became earmarked for closure with the final section from Leek Brook Junction to Oakamoor quarry lasting out until the late 1980’s as it was used for freight traffic. In 1992 the newly formed Churnet Valley railway (1992) PLC began talks with the Department of Transport with a view to operate the line. Trains currently run between Froghall and Ipstones, but the ambition is to run services into the Staffordshire market town of Leek for the first time since 1965. And they have an eye on the clock to achieve this as the railway needs to run its first passenger train into Leek by 1st December 2022 or lose a £1.4m EU grant. This means all track must be laid on the 0.5 mile extension, with additional resources being provided for a triangle at Leek Brook Junction, and a platform constructed at Leek. It really is a very picturesque railway with extremely friendly volunteers, Yoshi and I were escorted around the workshops to get a closer view of locomotives stabled there, and I wish them every success with their endeavours and look forward to a return visit in the future.
Cheddleton Station which was to be demolished in April 1974 but saved by the actions of local businessman and parish councillor Norman Hancock who parked his car on the level crossing preventing access to bulldozers giving sufficient time for the building to be Grade II listed – July 2022Cheddleton Station – July 2022Time for a cuppa! Yoshi waits for the kettle to boil in the booking hall of Cheddleton Station – July 2022Class 33/1 No. 33102 ‘Sophie’ awaits departure from Cheddleton – 12/07/2022Class 20 No. D8057 (20057) sits outside the repair shed at Cheddleton – 12/07/2022S160 Class 2-8-0 No. 5197 was built by the Lima Locomotive Company in Ohio, USA and exported to China in 1946. The United States Army Transportation Corps Class S160 were designed for heavy freight work across Europe during World War 2 with a total of 2,120 being built they eventually worked all over the world – 12/07/2022Class 25 No. 25322 ‘Tamworth Castle’ was the final Class 25 locomotive to see mainline service with British Rail. She is currently in store at Cheddleton Yard awaiting restoration – 12/07/2022Yoshi inspects Class 33 No. 33021 ‘Eastleigh’ in Post Office Red style livery. This locomotive was amongst the first privately owned diesel locomotives to be used on the mainline – 12/07/2022The Churnet Valley Railway has acquired Class 47 No. 47292 for an initial loan period of five years supplementing Class 33 No.’s 33021 and 33102 for use on passenger trains – 12/07/2022
On our way back to Fleetwood, we stopped off at Acton Bridge for an hour or so, primarily to capture Class 37 No. 37884 which was diagrammed to pass through with 0M58 Kilmarnock Long Lyes T.C. to Derby R.T.C. – which can be seen in the video below:
Southport
On the Wednesday, Yoshi and I took a trip on a heritage Blackpool Tram – more about that adventure next week – but first that we made a brief visit to Southport and Formby. Southport railway station is the terminal of the Southport branch of the Northern Line of the third-rail electric Merseyrail network, and the diesel-operated Manchester to Southport line. The station and services to Liverpool and Hunts Cross are operated by Merseyrail, with Manchester services operated by Northern Trains. The current station opened as Southport Chapel Street on 22 August 1851 and once boasted eleven regular platforms and two excursion platforms. Six truncated platforms are now in use (platforms 1-3 for Liverpool trains and 4-6 for Manchester services), the remainder having been demolished to make way for car parking. In 1970 the former terminal building was replaced with a shopping centre.
New Stadler Class 777 trains are currently being tested, and one was scheduled to visit Southport that morning on test run. Despite the best attempts at numerous roadworks and traffic queues, we made it just in time to see Class 777 No. 777015 arriving. Members of The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers ( RMT – what these initials mean was one of the pub quiz questions I actually answered correctly! But I digress…. ) Anyway to continue; RMT members recently voted in favour of the proposed crewing plans for the new fleet which brings a five-year dispute to its conclusion. Merseyrail still has to reach agreement with the drivers union, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), but intends to introduce the new Class 777’s into service later this year. Currently, 17 out of the 53 units purchased have been delivered to the UK. The arrival of the Class 777 fleet will see the demise of both the Class 507 and 508 electric-multiple units (EMU’s).
The Class 507’s were built to work on Merseyside, replacing the London Midland Scottish Railway (LMS) built Class 502 units on Northern line services from Liverpool to Southport, Ormskirk and Kirkby. 33 sets were built by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) in York from 1978 to 1980 followed by 43 Class 508s constructed between 1979 and 1980. They were the second and fourth variety of BR’s then standard 1972 design for suburban EMU’s, which were derived from the prototype 2PEP and 4PEP EMU’s introduced in 1971 and eventually amassed 755 vehicles across five Classes (313/314/315/507/508). Originally, the Class 508’s were built as 4-car units for the Southern Region of British Rail working out of Waterloo on former London South Western Railway (LSWR) routes. From 1982 to 1984 they were reduced to 3 car units (one of the trailer cars was removed to be incorporated into the Class 455/7 EMU’s) and transferred to Merseyside to replace the former LMS Class 503 units that operated Wirral line services to New Brighton, Rock Ferry and West Kirby. Following rail privatisation the two fleets became interchangeable and work both sides of the Mersey. They are the oldest EMU’s still working in the UK after the Class 313’s.
Yoshi with Merseyrail Class 507 No. 507020, Southport – 13/07/2022Yoshi compares the differences between EMU’s with a study of Merseyrail Class 508 No. 508140, Southport – 13/07/2022Merseyrail Class 777 No. 777015 having arrived with 5T02 0917 Sandhills Reversing Sdg to SouthportSouthport – 13/07/2022Northern Trains Class 769 No.’s 769424 & 769456 Southport – 13/07/2022Northern Trains Class 150 No. 150128 and 150134 Southport – 13/07/2022Merseyrail Class 507 No. 507020 Southport – 13/07/2022Merseyrail Class 507 No. 507020 and Class 508 No. 508131 stand side by side at Southport – 13/07/2022Merseyrail Class 508 No. 508126 at the buffer stops, Southport – 13/07/2022Merseyrail Class 777 No. 777015 awaits departure of 5T03 1008 Southport to Kirkdale C.S. Southport – 13/07/2022
Crewe
After breakfast on Thursday where we spent a few enjoyable hours watching freight movements around Crewe Basford Hall. You can relive this by playing the video below:
We returned to Dorset on Friday, eschewing the opportunity of capturing two Colas Class 37’s at rest in Blackpool North Railway Station which had worked a test train from Carlisle in the early hours. However, the next day; Saturday 16th July, I was back in Crewe, this time without Yoshi, so I could attend the Direct Rail Services (DRS) Open Day at their depot at Gresty Road. Understandably, dogs were not allowed on site, so Yoshi spent the day with his mum, while I endured the heat of the day without my fluffy sidekick. Many thanks to Scott for driving and for his company.
The Open Day coincided with LMS Coronation 4-6-2 No. 6233 ‘Duchess Of Sutherland’ passing through Crewe railway station with the Railway Touring Company’s “Cheshireman” rail tour from London Euston to Chester. (1Z86 0639 London Euston to Chester with Class 47 No. 47813 providing support at the rear). The station was extremely busy with the influx of enthusiasts in the town to visit the DRS site, but I managed to catch a short video clip of this magnificent locomotive departing Crewe. Later that day, SR Merchant Navy 4-6-2 No. 35018 ‘British India Line’ worked into Crewe light engine and support coach as 5Z46 Carnforth Steamtown to Crewe Heritage Centre for servicing ahead of rail tour duties scheduled for the following day:
Crewe 16th July 2022
3,500 people attended Nuclear Transport Solutions’ (NTS) rail division DRS’s open day, the first one to be held for a number of years because of the Covid pandemic. There were two locomotive naming’s at the event – the first saw Class 66 No. 66422 being unveiled as ‘Max Joule’ in tribute to one of DRS’s founders and former Managing Director who died in 1999. The second naming was for Class 66 No. 66424 which was named ‘Driver Paul Scrivens’ who had been a driver with DRS for more than 20 years. An emotional tribute was delivered by colleague Tim Howlett before the new plate was unveiled by Paul’s sister Emma.
The open day raised over £39,000 from sponsorship and donations which is an amazing figure that will go to deserving causes across the UK. It was a fantastic event, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Because of the hot weather, DRS made bottles of water available at points across the site, which was very welcome.
Locomotives on display were:
Class 37 No. 37218 in retro DRS livery – 16/07/2022Class 37 No. 37401 ‘Mary Queen Of Scots’ – 16/07/2022Class 37 no. 37419 ‘Carl Haviland’ – 16/07/2022Class 37 No. 37425 ‘Concrete Bob’ – 16/07/2022Class 68 No. 68025 ‘Superb’ – 16/07/2022Class 57 No. 57312 – 16/07/2022Class 88 No. 88002 ‘Prometheus’ – 16/07/2022Class 68 No. 68006 ‘Pride of the North’ in special green livery showcasing the environmental benefits of rail freight and how a diesel locomotive can reduce emissions by using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel – 16/07/2022Class 66 no. 66303 ‘Rail Riders 2020’ – 16/07/2022Class 68 no. 68009 ‘Titan’ – 16/07/2022Class 66 No. 66422 ‘Max Joule 1958-1999’ – 16/07/2022Class 66 No. 66424 awaits its naming ceremony – 16/07/2022Class 57 No. 57304 – 16/07/2022Class 88 No. 88009 ‘Diana’ – 16/07/2022Class 66 No. 66429 – 16/07/2022Class 37 No. 37424/37558 ‘Avro Vulcan XH558’ – 16/07/2022Class 88 No. 88001 ‘Revolution’ – 16/07/2022
On our way to the DRS Open Day, we stopped off at Longport to peer through the fence at Electro-Motive Diesel Limited’s (EMD) site and witnessed some shunting around of locomotives, mainly Class 56 / Class 69 conversions which are ongoing.
With 69006 stencilled on the bodyside, the conversion of 56128 is almost complete. Longport – 16/07/2022The empty shell of Class 56 No. 56032 awaiting a second move to Marcroft Engineering with 69007 ( ex-56037 ) in the background – 16/07/202256038 is being converted into 69008 and is still on accommodation bogies but some of its new innards are in place. An extra hole has been cut in the cab front ends to accommodate an additional connection with this locomotive likely being the first for use by the GBRf Rail Services sector which handles stock movements – 16/07/2022Class 56 No. 56009 sits in the yard at Longport. The locomotive was unofficially renumbered No. 56201 when it was converted for use as an engineering test bed by Brush Traction in order to assess refurbished Paxman engines of sister class members – 16/07/2022Former DB Cargo UK Class 66 No. 66048 rests on accommodation bogies at Longport. The locomotive was damaged when it derailed at Carrbridge in January 2010 and it ended up down an embankment. It was sold to EMD in March 2016 after being initially disposed of for scrap. It’s unclear what the future holds for this Class 66 locomotive – 16/07/2022
On our way home we diverted to Keynsham to refuel the car and restock with drinking water. Fortuitously, Class 37 No.’s 37901 and 37800 were scheduled to pass through top and tailing an Eastleigh Works to Swansea Landore stock move consisting of a Great Central-liveried Mk4 set and an LNER-liveried Mk4 set (5Q79 1826 Eastleigh Arlington to Landore). This made a fantastic epilogue to the day!
Class 37 No. 37901 heads an Eastleigh Works to Swansea Landore stock move consisting of a Great Central-liveried Mk4 set and an LNER-liveried Mk4 set with 37800 on the rear approaches Keynsham station – 16/07/2022.
Dorset NMT
While we were away it was a quiet week on the Bournemouth to Weymouth line, with only the New Measurement Train of particular interest on the main line as far as I’m aware. HST Class 43 power car No.’s 43272 and 43257 were in charge of 1Q18 0719 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingsland Road on Wednesday 13th July 2022.
Class 43 No. 43257 sits in Weymouth station – 13/07/2022. Photograph courtesy of @da_buckley967Class 43 No. 43272 preparing to depart from Weymouth – 13/07/2022. Photograph courtesy of @da_buckley967
My brother popped out to see the NMT return through Dorchester West on its way to Bristol and his video which he captured especially for Yoshi can be seen here:
In other news, Swanage resident Class 33/1 No. 33111 headed off by road to the Mid Hants Railway (MHR) to participate in their 2022 diesel gala. I had considered visiting the MHR on Sunday, but felt it was far too hot for Yoshi to be out and about, so we decided to stay home and catch up on some gardening.
The recent heat wave also resulted in speed restrictions being imposed on main line services by South Western Railways (SWR), including those on the Bournemouth to Weymouth line, with the increased risk of tracks buckling. Reduced services were introduced on Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th July 2022 in a bid to give passengers certainty over which trains would run. There was also a steam ban imposed by many heritage railways and on the main line. This includes the Railway Touring Company’s “Dorset Coast Express” excursion to Weymouth on Thursday 21st July which will now be diesel hauled throughout.
Great Western Railways were under fire in the local press this week, when the Dorset Echo reported chaotic scenes at Weymouth station where passengers were turned away from trains as they tried to return home. The 1728 departure to Bristol Temple Meads from the Dorset seaside town was formed of just two carriages meaning station staff and police had to request some travellers to wait for the next service which was due to leave an hour later. Not so long ago a High Speed Train was regularly employed to run a relief service to Weymouth via the West route on Summer Saturdays in order to cater for anticipated increased passenger numbers.
That’s all for this week – join us next time when we recount our trip on a heritage Blackpool Tram. Many thanks for reading, and for continued contributions, comment and corrections which are very much appreciated!
Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ on a loaded test run as part of mainline certification nears Furzebrook on the Swanage Railway. Class 33 No. 33012 / D6515 ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ takes up the rear – 09/07/2022
Lynton & Lynmouth
We took Wednesday off to visit friends who were holidaying in North Devon near the twin villages of Lynton and Lynmouth. Lynton was built on flat land 500 feet vertically above the beautiful fishing village of Lynmouth. I can never remember which is which, but until Easter Monday 1890 the only way you could travel between the two was via a very steep road. That is until the opening of the water powered funicular railway which had been approve by an Act of Parliament two years previously. Now established as a popular visitor attraction the original role of the cliff railway was to transport passengers and goods between Lynmouth harbour and Lynton. It is the highest and steepest totally water powered railway in the world.
The view from the Lynton terminus of the Lynton and Barnstaple Cliff Railway – 06/07/2022
The project to build the railway was the funded largely by publisher, MP and philanthropist Sir George Newnes who wanted to relieve the burden placed on the horses which laboured up the steep hill. The railway was designed by George Croydon Marks an early pioneer of funicular railways and devotee of Isambard Kingdom Brunel while the actual construction was carried out by local builder Bob Jones whose family are still involved in running the funicular today. The original mechanical design remains substantially unaltered.
The environmentally friendly railway works on a simple balancing principle using water as ballast which has been collected by gravity from the West Lyn River and stored in reservoirs. Each car has a 700 gallon tank mounted between the wheels with a smaller 10 gallons tank for the braking system. The two cars are attached to each other by two hauling cables and two balance cables which run around large pulley wheels at each end of the tracks. When each car is docked with full tanks of water, the cars are balanced and ready for passengers to board. Once the brakes are taken off the lower car discharges water until it is lighter than the top car which descends under the additional weight which causes the lower car to be pulled up the track. Our video of the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway can be seen below:
In a future railwaydog blog, we’ll be taking a close look at the three Bournemouth Cliff Lifts.
Bournemouth Fisherman’s Walk Cliff Lift, built in 1935, is currently out of action due to a landslide. It links Boscombe and Southbourne with the beach – 13/02/2021
Lynton & Barnstaple Railway
We had fully intended to visit The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, but we had lots of catching up to do as well as finding ourselves distracted by goats that we decided to save this narrow gauge railway for another visit when we had time to do it justice. As a taste of what to expect, our friends visited on Thursday and sent us the following images to share, for which we are very grateful.
Baldwin 2-4-2 tank No. 762 ‘Lyn’ on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway – 07/07/2022Baldwin 2-4-2 tank No. 762 ‘Lyn’ on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway – 07/07/2022
The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway originally opened in 1898 and closed in 1935. The current railway is just the start of a project to rebuild the narrow gauge line and trains currently run between Woody Bay Station and Killington Lane, a round trip of two miles.
Poole Park Railway
Postcard view of Poole Park Railway circa 1970/80’s
The 260mm gauge Poole Park railway was first operated in 1949 by Southern Miniature Railways Ltd. In 2017, Poole Borough Council ended their tenancy agreement with Chris Bullen who had operated the railway since June 2005 and awarded a thirty year concession to Friends Of Poole Park for its operation. However following behind the scenes disputes, walkouts and a derailment in 2018 the concession was withdrawn and a notice to quit issued. Now in the hands of Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole Council (BCP) and following a successful tendering process, Shropshire based Track Systems UK began work on renewing the infrastructure, traction and rolling stock.
Despite progress on the £480,000 revamp of Poole Park Railway having been made with work completed on the new engine shed and track there has been a delay in the delivery of a fully electric engine for use on the popular attraction. Efforts to source a suitable temporary engine are ongoing. Carriages are currently being constructed off-site which are expected to be delivered shortly. When re-opened the railway will be run by volunteers and BCP environmental team.
Saturday 9th July 2022
Class 33 No. 33012 / D6515 ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ leads Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ through Norden – 09/07/2022
Saturday was far too hot for Yoshi to venture out, so while he stayed home drinking cold mocktails and being well looked after, I headed to Norden to see Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ on a loaded test run as part of its mainline certification on the Swanage Railway. Class 33 No. 33012 / D6515 ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ provided support.
West Coast Railway Companies Class 47 No. 47826 nears Dorchester working the “Weymouth Harbour” 1Z47 0823 Birmingham International to Weymouth – 09/07/2022WCRC Class 47 No. 47804 heads the “Weymouth Harbour” empty coaching stock past Dorchester Junction heading to Yeovil Pen Mill for stabling as there was no room to accommodate the stock at Weymouth – 09/07/2022
There were scenes reminiscent of my misspent childhood Summer Saturday’s as five Class 47 diesel locomotives passed through Dorchester on their way to Weymouth as three rail tours visited Dorset on Saturday July 9th 2022. It could have been the 1980’s if I hadn’t had to fill the car up with fuel. First up was the Northern Belle organised “Weymouth Harbour – The Dorset Coast” which originated from Birmingham International. For £370 you could enjoy all the comforts of the Northern Belle luxury trains welcome Bellini cocktail, a three-course brunch, tea and coffee, oyster tasting with sparkling wine in Weymouth, a champagne reception and a five course dinner which included cheese and biscuits. What’s not to like? Apart from the seafood in my case, obviously. I’m sure cheesy puffs would be an acceptable alternative.
Double-Headed Class 47 No.’s 47853 and 47805 hauling the “Dorset Coast Statesman” heads through Dorchester – 09/07/2022
Statesman Rail provided the “Dorset Coast Statesman” which set out from Norwich in the early hours with passengers able to pick Bournemouth, Poole or Weymouth as their destination. Pullman dining, which also boasted cheese and biscuits, was available from £330 and First Class ( non-dining ) tickets could be purchased from £175.
SR rebuilt Merchant Navy No. 35028 ‘Clan Line’ hurtles through Hamworthy with “The End Of Southern Steam” rail tour – 09/07/2022
Finally The Railway Touring Company brought steam to Dorset with “The End Of Southern Steam” excursion which also provided passengers the opportunity to visit Weymouth for the afternoon. This tour marked 55 years since the end of steam on the Southern Region of BR. On the 9th July 1967 the final regular steam hauled passenger train arrived at London Waterloo, signifying the end of steam in the South. Departure on 9th July 2022 was steam hauled from London Victoria behind SR rebuilt Merchant Navy 4-6-2 No. 35028 ‘Clan Line’ through to Yeovil Junction where the steam locomotive was detached for servicing and turning while the rest of the train continued to Weymouth diesel hauled. ‘Clan Line’ then followed light engine to Weymouth in order to haul the train up Bincombe Bank and back to London via Bournemouth. At the time of writing, I’m not aware if cheese and biscuits were on the menu, however ticket prices ranged from £130 for Standard class, £195 for First class and £295 for Premier Dining.
Class 47 No. 47813 at the rear of “The End Of Southern Steam” rail tour, Hamworthy – 09/07/2022
The afternoon schedule was disrupted by a signalling issue between Dorchester South and Weymouth which resulted in all lines being blocked for a while. This delayed the arrival and departure of “The End Of Southern Steam” (37 minutes late arriving and 48 minutes late departing) and the departure of the “Dorset Coast Statesman” (43 minutes late departing).
A compilation video covering 9th July rail tours to Weymouth is below:
Class 47’s at Dorchester in days gone by:
Class 47 No. 47455 approaches Dorchester South – 29/05/1982Class 47 No. 47152 passes Dorchester Junction Signal Box – 14/07/1980Class 47 No. 47237 heads away from Dorchester West – 20/08/1981
That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading. Comments and corrections welcome. We’ll be back for another round-up soon!
We were being truthful about being distracted by the Lynton goats. Yoshi wisely kept his distance!
