The Railway Dog

Category: Class 56

  • Mostly Swanage

    The Sun sets on Class 52 No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ as she awaits the start of another day at the Swanage Diesel Gala – 10/05/2024

    April 25th to May 16th 2024

    It’s been a while… where did we get to last time? Ah yes, Class 52 “Western”, the New Measurement Train, engineering trains, Swanage and such like. I think this post may be a case of deja vu as many of these topics appear once again. But first, we had a trip to Derbyshire to attend a wedding via Bridport where we bumped into Ninth Doctor Who actor Christopher Eccleston (outside the toilets, no less). Chris was attending a screening of Ken Loach’s “Kes” (1969) as part of Bridport’s Film Festival 2024 ‘From Page To Screen’ series. It was great to see the film on the “big screen”.

    Christopher Eccleston chats about “Kes” as part of the Bridport Film Festival – 25/04/2024

    Having dropped Yoshi off at his cousins, we headed to Derbyshire for wedding celebrations at the beautiful Buxton Pavilion. We arrived in good time and checked into our hotel which meant we had time for a wander into Buxton before the wedding ceremony.

    I was lucky enough to see a pair of Class 66’s top and tailing across Spring Gardens Viaduct as we looked for a pub to have lunch. I managed to get a shot of No. 66044 operating as tail gunner, but an hour or so later, I was able to see this “Shed” and sister loco No. 66156 continue on their way after reversing at Buxton Up Relief Sidings.

    DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66044 at rest on Spring Gardens Viaduct, Buxton on the rear of 6H52 1305 Download Briggs Sidings to Ashburys SS – 26/04/2024
    Video of DB Cargo Class 66 No.’s 66044 and 66156 working 6H52 1305 Download Briggs Sidings to Ashburys SS at Buxton – 26/04/2024

    Following a wonderful wedding ceremony in the Buxton Spa Botanical Conservatory, as if the day couldn’t have been more fabulous, the bride and groom had arranged for the Buxton Pavilion Gardens Miniature Railway to be in service.

    Steam Outline 0-6-0 diesel-hydraulic No. 2000 ‘Edward Milner’ in Wedding Day Special service on the Buxton Pavilion Gardens Miniature Railway – 26/04/2024
    Steam Outline 0-6-0 diesel-hydraulic No. 2000 ‘Edward Milner’ on the Buxton Pavilion Gardens Miniature Railway – 26/04/2024

    The railway first opened in 1972 as a 10 1/4″ gauge line. Trains were initially hauled by ‘Borough of Buxton’ a Shepperton Metal Products locomotive. In the winter of 1998, the line was regauged to 12.25″ in order to accommodate Alan Keef stock. Steam Outline 0-6-0 diesel-hydraulic No. 2000 ‘Edward Milner’ was built in 2000 and is named after the designer of the park it runs in.

    Video of Steam Outline 0-6-0 diesel-hydraulic No. 2000 ‘Edward Milner’ in Wedding Day Special service on the Buxton Pavilion Gardens Miniature Railway – 26/04/2024

    After an evening of celebration, the following day we travelled north for a stay in Holmfirth via a quick look in at Cemex Peak Forest.

    DB Cargo Class 66 No.’s 66200 (left) and 66206 with GBRf No. 66707 ‘Sir Sam Fay GREAT CENTRAL RAILWAY’ behind at Cemex Peak Forest – 27/04/2024
    DB Cargo Class 66 No.’s 66044 and 66028 on the Peak Forest Stabling Point – 27/04/2024
    GBRf Class 66 No. 66752 ‘The Hoosier State’ at the head of an engineers train rests at Chinley – 27/04/2024

    We returned to Dorset, stopping off at National Trust Moseley Old Hall, a Grade II* listed Elizabethan farmhouse situated north of Wolverhampton. The house is notable as one of the hiding places of King Charles II during his escape to France following defeat at the Battle of Worcester in 1651.

    National Trust Moseley Old Hall – 29/04/2024

    Constructed in approximately 1600 by Henry Pitt, few structural changes were made to the hall until around 1870 when the outer walls were replaced by bricks and casements replaced the Elizabethan windows.

    Tuesday 30th April saw Swanage Railway resident Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny lewis RN’ working 0Z33 0920 Swanage to Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) in advance of booked railtour duties later in the week for the Branch Line Society (BLS). We saw the “Crompton” working light engine through Hamworthy.

    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny lewis RN’ working 0Z33 0920 Swanage to Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) light engine through Hamworthy – 30/04/2024
    Video clip of Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny lewis RN’ working 0Z33 0920 Swanage to Eastleigh Arlington (ZG)

    Later the same day Bournemouth depot received another newly refurbished South Western Railway (SWR) Class 458 electric multiple unit (EMU) and despatched another to Widnes Transport Tech to enable modification works. Both of these unit drags involved GBRf Class 69 No. 69008 ‘Richard Howe’ running round at Poole.

    GBRf Class 69 No. 69008 ‘Richard Howe’ at Poole High Street Level crossing leading SWR Class 458 No. 458401 reporting as 5Q64 1534 Southampton Central to Bournemouth TRSMD – 30/04/2024
    GBRf Class 69 No. 69008 ‘Richard Howe’ at Poole station running round working 5Z66 2018 Bournemouth TRSMD to Eastleigh Yard – 30/04/2024

    458527 5Z66 2018 Bournemouth TRSMD to Eastleigh Yard – 30/04/2024

    Video of GBRf Class 69 No. 69008 ‘Richard Howe’ on Class 458 EMU drags – 30/04/2024

    In the early hours of Wednesday May 1st, I set out for Maiden Newton to see GBRf Class 66 locomotives No.’s 66725 ‘Sunderland’ and 66719 ‘Metro-Land’ working the South West Weedkiller reporting as 3Q98 2309 Exeter Riverside New Yard to Exeter Riverside New Yard. I really enjoyed this little excursion, the train ran more or less on time and as it had to stop at Maiden Newton where the driver needed to pick up a token to allow onward travel through single line sections of track, I had ample opportunity to take photographs as well as recording video.

    GBRf Class 66 No. 66725 ‘Sunderland’ at Maiden Newton leading on the outward leg of the South West Weed killer 3Q98 2309 Exeter Riverside NY to Exeter Riverside NY – 01/05/2024
    GBRf Class 66 No. 66719 ‘Metro-Land’ pauses at Maiden Newton during weed killer duties having reversed at Dorchester Junction working 3Q98 2309 Exeter Riverside NY to Exeter Riverside NY – 01/05/2024
    Video of GBRf Class 66 locomotives on the South West Weedkiller at Maiden Newton – 01/05/2024

    As our regular reader will know, we enjoy walking along old railway lines, and on Thursday 2nd May, we revisited the Rodwell Trail in Weymouth, the former trackbed of the line from Weymouth to Portland.

    Yoshi on the Rodwell Trail, with the Isle of Portland in the background – 02/05/2023

    For The Record: the North Dorset New Measurement Train passed through Gillingham and Sherborne with High Speed Train Class 43 power cars No.’s 43062 and 43274 reporting as 1Q23 0556 Reading to Salisbury via Exeter New Yard on 2nd May 2024. As we were walking along the old railway track bed in Weymouth, we missed this working, but friend of this blog, @smithy.377 kindly shared the video of the same consist running through Highbridge working 1Z18 1539 Paignton to Taunton the following day.

    New Measurement Train at Highbridge, courtesy of @smithy.377 – 03/05/2024

    On the weekend, the Saturday involved a drive to Exeter to see one of those BLS tours involving Class 33 No. D6515 we mentioned earlier. The Star Wars themed “May the Fourth be With You” charter originated and finished at Eastleigh running via Portsmouth, Westbury, Exeter, Yeovil, London Waterloo. Advertised as utilising the London Underground Class 438 4TC stock hauled by the preserved 71A Locomotive Group’s Class 33 and a GBRf Class 73/1 the reported addition of two Class 59 freight locomotives to pilot the train between Westbury and Exeter was too good to miss. Add to this the possibility of photographing two other rail tours in the West Country and a grand day out was in store. On the day we were surprised to learn that in fact three Class 59’s were being added to the train, meaning there were more locomotives than coaches!

    Class 37 No.’s 37518 and 37668 passing Highbridge with Saphos Trains “English Riviera Express” 1Z36 0424 Nantwich to Kingswear – 04/05/2024
    Steam traction took over the “English Riviera Express” 1Z36 0424 Nantwich to Kingswear at Taunton. Southern Railway West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34046 ‘Braunton’ prepares to storm Whiteball – 04/05/2024
    LSL owned Class 47 No. 47828 seen at the rear of 1Z36 0424 Nantwich to Kingswear – 04/05/2024
    Class 37 No.’s 37518 and 37668 at Whiteball with Pathfinder Tours “The Spring Cornish Explorer” 1Z65 0553 Dorridge to Penznce – 04/05/2024
    Featuring five engines, including three different liveried Class 59 Locomotives, the Branch Line Society’s “May the Fourth be With You” charter featured No.’s 59202 ‘Alan Meadows Taylor’, 59101 ‘Village of Whatley’, 59104 ‘Village of Great Elm’ with No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ on the approach to Exeter St. Davids. No. 73136 ‘Mhairi’ was on the rear of the London Underground 4tc set. The reporting number for this section of the rail tour was 1Z73 0648 Eastleigh to Exeter Central – 04/05/2024
    Freightliner Class 59 No.’s 59202 ‘Alan Meadows Taylor’, 59101 ‘Village of Whatley’, 59104 ‘Village of Great Elm’ with No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ and No. 73136 ‘Mhairi’ (at the rear) bring the LU 4tc set into Exeter – 04/05/2024
    GB Railfreight Class 73 No. 73136 ‘Mhairi’ on the rear of the BLS “May the Fourth be With You” charter at Exeter St. Davids – 04/05/2024
    After piloting c into Exeter Central the three Class 59’s departed 59104 ‘Village of Great Elm’, 59101 ‘Village of Whatley’, 59202 ‘Alan Meadows Taylor’ worked back to Westbury as 0Z73 1359 Exeter Central to Westbury Tarmac BY – 04/05/2024
    Now sole leading engine on the BLS tour, Class 33 No. No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ departs Exeter Central on the next leg 1Z33 1440 Exeter Central to London Waterloo – 04/05/2024
    We also caught the Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ hauling the BLS charter “May the Fourth be With You” through Sherborne – 04/05/2024
    Video of BLS charter “May the Fourth be With You” and other trains – 04/05/2024

    The first Dorset Hot Air Balloon & Music Festival caught our attention on Sunday 5th May. Having read about traffic issues getting into the event on the Saturday and other largely negative reviews online, it was with some trepidation that we set off for Dorchester. We sailed into the car park with no problems, save the need for careful driving on a very muddy field. The music was provided by tribute acts to the likes of Neil Diamond, Ed Sheeran and Jess Glynne while a fun fair took up a large part the main arena. Unfortunately for visitors hoping to see a flurry of hot air balloons taking to the skies, weather conditions meant we were only able to witness three balloons lifting off. But they were a fine sight to behold all the same, and a very relaxing mode of transport to watch. I think there were some valid criticisms about the event organisation, but some were also unfairly exaggerated. Nevertheless, if suggestions are taken on board and improvements made, I look forward to this being an annual event in the Dorset calendar. The organisers can not, of course, be held responsible for the weather conditions!

    Weather conditions on the Sunday of the Dorset Hot Air Balloon & Music Festival meant only experienced balloonists could take to the air. The Wallace & Gromit balloon was a favourite! – 05/05/2024
    Wallace & Gromit head up into the skies – 05/05/2024

    The dispute between the ASLEF union and train operating companies continue and the 7th May saw SWR drivers calling a strike day.

    All stop at Weymouth on the South Western Railway drivers strike day. SWR Class 444 No.’s 444004 and 444007 stand idle in Weymouth – 07/05/2024
    Celebrity Pride liveried SWR Class 444 No. 444019 in platform 3 at Weymouth – 07/05/2024

    Although SWR drivers were on strike, this did not affect drivers from the freight companies working. DB Cargo Class 66 No.’s 66148 ‘Maritime Intermodal Seven’ and 66025 worked engineers train 6N65 2140 Eastleigh East Yard to Moreton. We videoed the train passing through Poole.

    Video screenshot of DB Cargo Class 66 No.’s 66148 ‘Maritime Intermodal Seven’ and 66025 working 6N65 2140 Eastleigh East Yard to Moreton through Poole – 07/05/2024
    Video of DB Cargo working 6N65 2140 Eastleigh East Yard to Moreton – 07/05/2024

    8th May and time for my favourite railway working of the year; the arrival of the Swanage Railway Diesel Gala convoy of locomotives. This year the positioning move aroused much interest as it was headed up by Class 52 diesel-hydraulic No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ with Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC) Class 20 No.’s 20302 and 20311 along with Class 50 No. 50021 ‘Rodney’ in tow. We saw the consist passing through Hamworthy as it made its way over to the Purbeck heritage line.

    Convoy! Always a highlight of the year – the Swanage Diesel Gala convoy with visiting guest locomotives passes Hamworthy with Class 52 “Western” No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’, Harry Needle Railroad Compay Class 20 No.’s 20302 and 20311 with Class 50 No. 50021 ‘Rodney’ bringing up the rear reporting as 0Z53 1544 Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) to Swanage – 08/05/2024
    Class 50 No. 50021 on the rear of the Swanage bound locomotive convoy 0Z53 1544 Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) to Swanage – 08/05/2024

    The following day, May 9th, and further Gala attractions made their way through Dorset in readiness for the annual Diesel Gala and Beer Festival as Colas Class 37 No. 37219 ‘Jonty Jarvis’ ran light engine reporting as 0Z37 0946 Westbury Down TC to Swanage. We saw the locomotive as she ran through Hamworthy

    Colas Class 37 No. 37219 ‘Jonty Jarvis’ running light engine as 0Z37 0946 Westbury Down TC to Swanage passing Hamworthy – 09/05/2024

    GBRf had promised to provide a Class 69 locomotive for the Swanage Diesel Gala, with No. 69007 ‘Richard Trevithick’ being the ear marked example. In the event, this locomotive was declared a failure at Eastleigh and was replaced by fellow class member No. 69002 ‘Bob Tiller CM&E’. The Class 69 was scheduled to travel to Swanage as part of the BLS “The Jurassic Crompton” charter, again employing the London Underground Class 438 4TC coaching stock along with “Crompton” diesel Class 33 No. D6515 ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’. As a result of a temporary issue with the Electric Train Supply (ETS) on No. D6515, GBRf Class 73 No. 73109 ‘Battle of Britain’ was added to the consist to provide the ETS.

    As my camera “had issues”, here’s a video screenshot of the Branch Line Society promoted “The Jurassic Crompton” charter train with Swanage resident Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ and GBRf Class 69 No. 69002 ‘Bob Tiller CM&EE’ double heading on the London Underground Class 438 4tc set entering Poole – 09/05/2024
    Old and new pass at Poole! Screenshot of BLS “The Jurassic Crompton” special train headed up by Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’, passing SWR Class 701 No. 701059 on test / mileage accumulation working. Two members of the 701’s crew can be seen taking an interest in the charter – 09/05/2024
    Screenshot BLS “The Jurassic Crompton” charter with GBRf Class 73 No. 73109 ‘Battle of Britain’ bringing up the rear – 09/05/2024
    Video of Swanage Diesel Gala guest locomotives and BLS charter “The Jurassic Crompton” on their way to the Purbeck Heritage line

    Later that evening, a ballast train worked from Eastleigh to Maiden Newton via Dorchester Junction. GBRf provided the traction in the form of Class 66 No.’s 66725 ‘Sunderland’ and 66795 ‘Bescot LDC’. Yoshi was delighted to be reacquainted with GBRf driver Bessie Matthews who spotted our boy from the cab of the leading locomotive at Dorchester South. We saw also saw the train at Dorchester West, but as it was late, and there was no indication when the ballast train would depart for Maiden Newton, we headed home before it left.

    GBRf Class 66 No. 66725 ‘Sunderland’ on arrival at Dorchester South working 6G28 1939 Eastleigh East Yard to Dorchester West – 09/05/2024
    GBRf driver Bessie Matthews recognises Yoshin and says hello at Dorchester South – 09/05/2024
    Yoshi takes a keen interest in GBRf Class 66 No. 66795 ‘Bescot LDC’ as it rests at Dorchester West working 6G28 1939 Eastleigh East Yard to Dorchester West – 09/05/2024
    Yoshi poses with GBRf Class 66 No. 66725 ‘Sunderland’ at Dorchester West. The locomotive was working 6G28 1939 Eastleigh East Yard to Dorchester West – 09/05/2024
    Video of GBRf ballast train 6G28 1939 Eastleigh East Yard to Dorchester West – 09/05/2024

    For The Record: Colas Class 37 No. 37116 worked 3Q07 2031 Exeter Riverside NY to Exeter Riverside NY through North Dorset overnight of 10th May 2024. I had planned on seeing this move at Yeovil in connection with popping out to see the GBRf ballast train, but as the Class 37 ran early, this was not to be. I wasn’t too bothered, I will admit!

    10th May Great Western Railway (GWR) Castle Class 4-6-0 No. 7029 ‘Clun Castle’ supported by Class 47 No. 47773 operated the first of Vintage Trains two day “The Great Western Railway” tours between Birmingham Snow Hill and Plymouth. This tour marked 60 years when the locomotive achieved, what was then, the fastest ever non-stop run between Plymouth and Bristol completed in 133 minutes and 9 seconds. We saw the train heading West at Filton Abbey Wood and on its climb to Whiteball bank in Somerset. Unfortunately the return trip own the following day did not emulate the non-stop run of 60 years previously as ‘Clun Castle’ stalled on Hemerdon Bank. Tysley’s Class 47 No. 47773 which had been shadowing the train at this point came to the rescue and provided assistance. Part of the attraction for me of seeing this working was the steam locomotive working unassisted over the notorious Devon banks. But later timings on the Friday and my desire to attend the Swanage Diesel Gala on the Saturday meant I had to be content with the two viewings I was able to fit in.

    Great Western Railway (GWR) Castle Class 4-6-0 No. 7029 ‘Clun Castle’ at Filton Abbey Wood working “The Great Western” 1Z46 0830 Birmingham Snow Hill to Bristol Temple Meads – 10/05/2024
    Great Western Railway (GWR) Castle Class 4-6-0 No. 7029 ‘Clun Castle’ approaches Filton Abbey Wood station working the first day of Vintage Trains “The Great Western” charter which would see the steam locomotive tackle the Devon banks solo – 10/05/2024
    Support locomotive Class 47 No. 47773 working light engine as 0Z47 1435 Bristol East Depot DBC to Plymouth ahead of the steam hauled charter – 10/05/2024
    Great Western Railway (GWR) Castle Class 4-6-0 No. 7029 ‘Clun Castle’ makes the climb up Whiteball bank near Taunton reporting as 1Z47 1547 Bristol Temple Meads to Plymouth – 10/05/2024
    Video of Great Western Railway (GWR) Castle Class 4-6-0 No. 7029 ‘Clun Castle’on the mainline – 10/05/2024

    The 2024 Swanage Railway Diesel Gala and Beer Festival took place from 10th to 12th May. Nine locomotives took part which involved an intensive three train service in operation with several trains running along the the entire length of the nine-mile line route from Swanage to the River Frome at the limit of the heritage line’s operations on the branch from Wareham. Star of the show was very much the Diesel Traction group’s Class 52 ‘Western’ No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ which visited the Purbeck line for the first time since 2007 and the first time a member of the class which has run on the Swanage Railway since 2011. Alongside the first Class 69 hauling passenger trains on the line, the two Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC) Class 20’s, two Class 50’s and the Colas Class 37, the guest gala fleet was bolstered with Class 24 No. D5054 ‘Phil Southern’ which had previously arrived by road. The visiting locomotives were of course joined by Swanage Railway resident Class 33’s No. D6515 and 33111.

    Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ working a Beerex train to Corfe Castle, passing visiting Class 24 No. D5054 ‘Phil Southern’, the London Underground Class 4tc set and resident Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ – 10/05/2024
    An evening scene in the sidings at Swanage – 10/05/2024
    GBRf Class 73 No. 73109 ‘Battle of Britain’ was on static display at Swanage station. The locomotive was enlisted to assist Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ on mainline railtour duty when the “Crompton” developed a fault – 10/05/2024
    Class 24 No. D5054 ‘Phil Southern’ from the East Lancs Railway. No. D5054 is one of just four preserved examples from the original 151 strong fleet of locomotives and was amongst the first diesel locomotives to be based at Bury. She is seen here at Swanage – 10/05/2024

    Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ was only scheduled to haul the Friday evening “Beerex” trains and it wasn’t to take any further part in the gala weekend. However, issues with the electronic field supply for the Electric Train Heat (ETH) generator on No. 50021 ‘Rodney’ meant the locomotive was withdrawn from running and the timetable had to be revised and No. 50026 was pressed into service. On a Class 50, the ETH generator also powers the radiator fan so the fault meant the locomotive had no cooling fan and without which would quickly overheat.

    Visiting Class 24 No. D5054 ‘Phil Southern’ on the approach to Harmans Cross – 11/05/2024
    GBRf Class 69 No. 69002 ‘Bob Tiller CM&EE’ ( a late replacement for failed sister loco No. 690XX) draws away from Harmans Cross – 11/05/2024
    Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC) Class 20 No.’s 20311 and 20302 hauling the London Underground 4tc set on the approach toCorfe Castle – 11/05/2024
    The London Underground Class 438 4tc set being hauled by the HNRC Class 20’s towards Corfe Castle – 11/05/2024
    Class 52 “Western” Diesel-Hydraulic No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ on the approach to Corfe Castle – 11/05/2024
    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ makes a fine sight departing Corfe Castle – 11/05/2024
    Colas Railfreight Class 37 No. 37219 ‘Jonty Jarvis’ accelerates up the slight incline from Corfe Castle station – 11/05/2024
    Class 33 No. 33111 having departed Corfe Castle station – 11/05/2024
    Carrying a “Sulzer” headboard, Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ departs Swanage as the driver receives the token for the single line working from the signalman – 11/05/2024
    In its Network South East (NSE) livery, Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ powers towards Swanage – 11/05/2024
    GBRf Class 69 No. 69002 ‘Bob Tiller CM&EE’ having past Afflington. The London Underground 4tc set was made much use of during the gala weekend – 11/05/2024
    Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC) Class 20 No.’s 20311 and 20302 hauling the London Underground 4tc set towards Corfe Castle – 11/05/2024
    HNRC Class 20 No.’s 20302 and 20311 double head the London Underground 4tc set across Corfe Common – 11/05/2024
    Swanage resident Class 33 No. 33111 heads a train from Swanage – 11/05/2024
    Class 52 No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ heads a Swanage bound train – 11/05/2024
    Colas Railfreight Class 37 No. 37219 ‘Jonty Jarvis’ hauls the London Underground 4tc set across Corfe Common – 11/05/2024
    Class 24 No. D5054 ‘Phil Southern’ heads towards Corfe Castle – 11/05/2024
    Colas Railfreight Class 37 No. 37219 ‘Jonty Jarvis’ powers towards Corfe Castle with Afflington Bridge behind – 11/05/2024
    My final shot of the day, GBRf Class 69 No. 69002 ‘Bob Tiller CM&EE’ with Corfe Castle in the distance heads across Corfe Common with a Swanage bound train – 11/05/2024

    Unfortunately there was further disruption on Saturday evening when No. 50026, on the back of a six-carriage passenger train, became partially derailed at Castle Corfe station at approximately 1830 – around the same time I was settling down to watch new ‘Doctor Who’ on BBC 1. The evening gala and Beerex services were suspended following the incident. No passengers were injured and no damage was sustained to the carriages on the train. The government’s Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) were advised and they carried out an investigation on the cause of the derailment. The Class 50 was re-railed during the night by rail support service Goodman’s and inspections did not reveal any damage to the locomotive.

    Webcam Screenshot from the Corfe Castle camera showing Class 50 No.50026 ‘Indomitable’ being assessed after she came off the rails. The Webcam feed was later turned off at the request of the Rail Accident Investigation Board (RAIB) – 11/05/2024
    Video glimpse of the 2024 Swanage Diesel Gala

    Also of nite, the Saturday saw a surprise run of a pair of SWR Class 450 EMU’s to Weymouth forming an eight coach train. I was too busy on the Swanage Railway or watching new “Doctor Who” to pop out and see them, but good friend of the blog @da_buckley967 was on hand to capture No.’s 450091 and 450038 in Weymouth station having worked in from Portsmouth earlier in the day.

    Unusual visitors for Weymouth; two four car SWR Class 450 EMU No.’s 450091 and 450038 stand at platform having worked in with a VSTP (Very Short Term Plan) working 1K21 1056 Portsmouth Harbour to Weymouth – 11/05/2024 (Image courtesy of da_buckley967)
    SWR Class 450 No. 450038 forming the rear of 1K32 1903 Weymouth to Portsmouth Harbour at the buffer stops in Weymouth alongside GWR Class 166 No. 166215 working 2V96 1845 Weymouth to Bristol Temple Meads – 11/05/2024 (Image courtesy of da_buckley967)

    A heavily revised timetable was implemented at the Swanage Diesel Gala on the Sunday, but the BLS charter the “Return of the Jurassic Crompton” ran as scheduled, departing Swanage at 1430. We saw the charter train crossing the Holes Bay causeway.

    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ traverses Creekmoor Viaduct with GBRf Class 73 No. 73109 ‘Battle of Britain’, the London Underground 4tc set and GBRf Class 69 No. 69002 ‘Bob Tiller CM&EE’ at the rear working the Branch Line Society railtour “The Return of the Jurassic Crompton” 1Z35 1420 Swanage to London Waterloo across Holes Bay causeway on the approach to Poole – 12/05/2024
    D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ entering Wareham working light engine movement 0z36 1105 Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) to Swanage – 13/05/2024
    D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ pauses at Wareham to pick up Swanage Railway crew as she returns to the heritage railway after the previous days railtour – 13/05/2024

    The other visiting locomotives mostly departed over the next couple of days, with No. 37219 ‘Jonty Jarvis’ leaving first on Monday 13th and a convoy consisting of the No. D1015, the Class 20’s and both Class 50’s heading to Eastleigh on Tuesday 14th.

    Colas Rail Class 37 No. 37219 ‘Jonty Jarvis’ passes through Hamworthy running as 0F75 1030 Swanage to Westbury Down TC – 13/05/2024
    Homeward bound – the Swanage Diesel Gala guest locomotive convoy crosses Rockley Sands Viaduct with Class 52 D1015 ‘Western Champion’ hauling HNRC Class 20’s 20311 and 20302 with 50021 ‘Rodney’ and 50026 ‘Indomitable’ reporting as 0Z50 1032 Swanage to Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) – 14/05/2024
    Video from of the 2024 associated Swanage Diesel Gala mainline workings

    Tuesday and another Class 458 delivery / departure ran, once again in the hands of GBRf Class 69 No. 69008 heading up 5Q64 1534 Southampton Central to Bournemouth TRSMD with refurb SWR Class 458 No. 458413 and returning later on 5Z66 2018 Bournemouth TRSMD to Eastleigh East Yard which took No. 458512 on its first leg to Widnes for refurbishment. These moves ran early and I missed my chance at taking photographs, however I did manage to capture some quick video of the first working as it passed Poole Park.

    Screenshot GBRf Class 69 No. 69008 heading up 5Q64 1534 Southampton Central to Bournemouth TRSMD with 458413 – 14/05/2024
    Video of GBRf Class 69 No. 69008 working 5Q64 1534 Southampton Central to Bournemouth TRSMD with SWR Class 458 No. 458413 – 14/05/2024

    And that brings us to the end of another blog instalment. We’ll be back in a week or so with our report from the Severn Valley Railway diesel gala and an update on out of the ordinary railway workings in Dorset. As always, thanks for reading and for your comments which are appreciated. Be seeing you!

  • December ’23 Catch Up

    Yoshi at Yeovil Junction with Class 67 No. 67006 ‘Royal Sovereign’ was in charge of UK Railtours “Carols At Sherborne Abbey” 1Z15 0715 Peterborough to Yeovil Jn Heritage Platform. The Class 67 locomotives are a class of Bo-Bo diesel electric mainline locomotives which were built for the English, Welsh and Scottish Railway between 1999 to 2000 by Alstom at Meinfesa in Valencia, Spain with drive components (engine and transmission) from General Motors Diesel. Yoshi is a cockapoo dog, a miniature poodle and cocker spaniel mix produced in Wiltshire – 23/12/2023

    December 11th 2023 to December 31st 2023

    The second part of our December blog is finally here! After our trip to the North, we didn’t have to wait long for some local railway themed action as another Class 458 EMU drag from Widnes Transport Tech to Bournemouth depot took place on Wednesday 13th running as 5X73 0722 Wembley Receptions 1-7 to Bournemouth TRSMD. I kept one eye on its movement via the live maps available on the Open Time Trains website, and at one point almost left home early as the train was running well ahead of time.

    GBRf Class 69 No.69008 at Branksome preparing to reverse into the depot with 5X73 0722 Wembley Receptions 1-7 to Bournemouth TRSMD – 13/12/2023

    However, the train was held outside of Eastleigh for a while so I was able to get to Branksome on the train as planned just prior to the arrival of GBRf Class 56 No. 56081 and Class 69 No. 69008 with South Western Railway (SWR) Class 458 No. 458424 sandwiched in-between barrier coaches. The return run taking another Class 458 for refurbishment in Widnes was set for departure the afternoon of the same day, but was afforded three different paths out of the depot. Avoiding the possibility of picking the wrong working and either missing the departure or having a lengthy wait I decided just to remain at home instead!

    GBRf Class 56 No. 56081 with SWR Class 458 No. 458424 in tow arrives at Branksome heading 5X73 0722 Wembley Receptions 1-7 to Bournemouth TRSMD – 13/12/2023

    No. 56081 is to to be retired to Longport in the New Year. While the option for additional Class 69 conversions doesn’t appear to have been taken yet, the planned despatch of the Class 56 to Longport certainly places it in position for potential conversion to No. 69017.

    Later on the same day, the Snow & Ice Treatment Train (SITT) ran from Totton to Dorchester South and back as 3Y89 2211 Totton Yard to Totton Yard with Class 66 No.’s 66743 and 66772 ‘Maria’. I toyed briefly with the notion of driving to Dorchester to get a photo of No. 66743 in its Belmond Royal Scotsman livery, but decided against it on this occasion.

    GBRf Class 66 No.’s 66743 and 66772 ‘Maria’ passing Hamworthy with 3Y89 2211 Totton Yard to Totton Yard – 13/12/2023

    Saturday 16th December was a bit of a road trip so I could see what could well be the final DB Cargo (DBC) Class 60 hauled railtour as the class are to be ‘retired’ in April 2024 by the Deutsche Bahn owned freight operator following an announcement it is to eliminate the use of its Class 60 locomotives by re-gearing ten of its Class 66 loco’s to provide an enhanced tractive effort.  As most of its services are operated by Class 66 locomotives, with the Class 60’s only seeing limited use, DB Cargo concluded that if services operated by its Class 60 locomotives could be transferred to Class 66’s with a higher tractive effort, it would benefit its customers and the company.

    DB Cargo has also said that in the future they are going to focus on contractual railtour operations, with the likes of the Belmond British Pullman trains, and less on the ‘ad hoc’ operations for other tour promoters, such as Pathfinder Railtours who were running “The Festive Midland-Ian” which was promoted as an attempt to try and cover as many freight lines, loops and locations as possible in the West Midlands, featuring some “rare track”. The requested motive power had been Top & Tail DBC Class 60’s but, due to the low numbers of the class remaining in service, on the day DBC were forced to substitute a Class 66 for one of them.

    Pathfinder named the railtour “The Festive Midland-Ian” after Ian Loveday who devises and helps with many enthusiast rail based excursions. Ian often advises and assists with access to heavily sought after lines including this 16th December charter.

    The route for the tour was confirmed as:  GLOUCESTER, CHELTENHAM SPA, WORCESTER SHRUB HILL, Kidderminster DGL, STOURBRIDGE JUNCTION, Stourbridge DGL, Rowley Regis UGL, BIRMINGHAM SNOW HILL, Up & Down Small Health Goods, Caledonia Yard, Up & Down Small Heath Goods, Tyseley Up Through Siding, Dorridge UPL, Leamington Spa UCV, Fenny Compton UGL, Banbury DGL, Banbury Reservoir Sdgs – BANBURY (Break), Fenny Compton DGL, Kineton Branch NR Limit, Leamington Spa DCV, Hatton DGL, Dorridge UDGL, Birmingham New Street (non-stop), Wolverhampton Logistics Centre, Bescot Stadium, Bushbury DGL, Stafford RMT, Oxley Chord, Wolverhampton, Bescot Stadium, Bescot DGL, Aston, BIRMINGHAM NEW STREET, Rowley Regis DGL, STOURBRIDGE JUNCTION, WORCESTER SHRUB HILL, CHELTENHAM SPA, GLOUCESTER

    I decided to head to Banbury as I remembered an accesible road bridge close to the Tarmac works which in turn is adjacent to Banbury Resevoir sidings. “The Festive Midland-Ian” is believed to be the first passenger train to visit to the Reservoir stone terminal sidings at Banbury. On the way, I took a slight detour so I could pick up @smithy.377 and looking at the timings available to us on real Time Trains, we realised we’d have a few passes of the train as it worked its way along Banbury Goods Loop and back before tackling the stone terminal sidings. We also enjoyed a few other passing passenger trains and a couple of freights.

    Chiltern Class 58 No. 68012 (set AL04/ DVT 82309) propels 1H27 08:19 Stourbridge Junction to Marylebone towards Banbury railway station – 16/12/2023
    Freightliner Class 70 No. 70014 working 4O27 06:49 Crewe Basford Hall SSM to Southampton Marine Container Terminal nears Banbury – 16/12/2023

    The railtour had to arrive at Resevoir Sidings prior to the arrival of a scheduled GBRf stone train which was confirmed as running on the 16th. The Pathfinder tour was then diagrammed to head into Banbury for a brief layover before heading back up the mainline towards Wolverhampton. I had read the previous day that the Class 66 would be leading towards Banbury, but I was very pleased to see the Class 60 at the front as it rounded the distant curve heading for down goods loop. This meant that we managed to get numerous shots of the leading locomotive and led me to abandon any thoughts of chasing the train up to Fenny Compton and possibly beyond.

    DB Cargo Class 60 No. 60024 hauling “The Festive Midland-Ian” 1Z60 0545 Gloucester to Banbury towards Banbury on the Down Goods Loop – 16/12/2023
    DB Cargo Class 60 No. 60024 hauling “The Festive Midland-Ian” 1Z60 0545 Gloucester to Banbury – 16/12/2023
    DB Cargo Class 60 No. 60024 hauling “The Festive Midland-Ian” 1Z60 0545 Gloucester to Banbury towards Banbury on the Down Goods Loop – 16/12/2023
    GBRf Class 66 No. 66740 ‘Sarah’ arrives with 6G34 02:59 HINDLOW GBRF to Banbury Reservoir Redland Aggregates – 16/12/2023
    GBRf Class 66 No. 66740 ‘Sarah’ prepares to run around her train; 6G34 02:59 HINDLOW GBRF to Banbury Reservoir Redland Aggregates – 16/12/2023
    Class 66 No. 66194 takes charge of the second leg of “The Festive Midland-Ian” 1Z61 1211 Banbury to Wolverhampton Walsall Street Steel Terminal – 16/12/2023

    After seeing the Class 66 No. 66194 taking “The Festive Midland-Ian” back towards Wolverhampton, I opted to return home via Didcot in the hope that I could get a photo of special King Prince Charles Coronation liveried Class 66 No. 66023 which had been showing as being on Didcot Fuelling Point. On arrival at Didcot railway station, we were allowed up onto the platforms by Great Western Railway gateline staff, but unfortunately, the No. 66023 was nowhere to be seen. @smithy.377 later discovered the locomotive was inside a shed and therefore out of sight of our cameras. We were able to photograph a few other DBC Class 66 locomotives however.

    In red DB Cargo livery Class 66 NO. 66149 in Didcot Yard – 16/12/2023
    Still carrying EWS livery, DB Cargo Class 66 locomotives No.’s 66083 and 66063 at Didcot – 16/12/2023
    Video from Banbury on 16th December 2023 featuring DB Cargo Class 60 No. 60024 and Class 66 No. 66194 top and tail working “The Festive Midland-Ian” from Pathfinder Railtours; 1Z60 0545 Gloucester to Banbury & 1Z61 1211 Banbury to Wolverhampton Walsall Street Steel Terminal. Other trains featured include:
    68012 (set AL04/ DVT 82309) – 1H27 08:19 Stourbridge Junction to Marylebone
    221139 – 1M30 07:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly
    221137 – 1O08 07:25 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth
    70014 – 4O27 06:49 Crewe Basford Hall SSM to Southampton Marine Container Terminal
    168108/168106 – 1R17 09:02 Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street
    168218/168328 – 1H28 09:13 Birmingham Moor Street to Marylebone
    220031 – 1V83 06:23 Newcastle to Reading
    168004 / 168xxx – 1H30 09:43 Birmingham Moor Street to Marylebone
    168xxx/ 168107 – 1R19 09:32 Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street
    168xxx/ 168217 – 1R21 10:02 Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street
    66740 ‘Sarah’ – 6G34 02:59 HINDLOW GBRF to Banbury Reservoir Redland Aggregates
    168001 ‘Adrian Shooter’/168xxx – 1H33 10:43 Birmingham Moor Street to Marylebone
    220027 – 1O12 09:25 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth
    220033 – 1M38 09:45 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly
    168322/168215 – 1R25 11:02 Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street

    Engineering works at Middle Stream Bridge near Wool on Sunday 17th December meant there were no trains running in the area. Yoshi and I had a little “family” trip out to Weymouth and I grabbed a couple of photographs of track machines resting between duties on our way home.

    Balfour Beatty Matisa B66UC Tamper No. DR75501 in the sidings at Dorchester South prior to working the following days 6Q66 05:00 Dorchester Junction to Eastleigh East Yard – 17/12/2023

    A tamping machine or ballast tamper, informally simply a tamper, is a self-propelled, rail-mounted machine used to pack (or tamp) the track ballast under railway tracks to make the tracks and roadbed more durable and level. Prior to the introduction of mechanical tampers, this task was done by manual labour with the help of beaters. As well as being faster, more accurate, more efficient and less labour-intensive, tamping machines are essential for the use of concrete sleepers since they are too heavy to be lifted by hand.
     
    At its most basic, a tamping machine only packs the ballast. Some modern machines, sometimes known as tamper-liners or tamping and lining machines, also correct the alignment of the rails to make them parallel and level, in order to achieve a more comfortable ride for passengers and freight and to reduce the mechanical strain applied to the rails by passing trains. This is done by finding places where the sleepers have sunk from the weight of the passing trains or frost action, causing the track to sag.
     
    The B 66 UC is a high-performance universal continuous action tamping machine designed for normal and high-speed lines. In addition to the plain line, it can handle the heaviest switches and crossings, especially those with concrete sleepers. This machine has a tamping shuttle fitted with four tamping units and a lifting and slewing clamp. In addition to these tools, telescopic diverging track lifting devices can be used when handling heavy switches and crossings. The very responsive shuttle allows a substantial output on plain line despite the fact that this is a single-head machine. The longitudinal stroke of the tamping units is long enough to position the units in a way to easily and quickly tamp Y shaped sleepers. Located in the centre of the machine, the tamping cabin provides an excellent visibility on the tools and the track. Thanks to the machine’s user-friendliness and its ergonomic controls, only two operators are needed to operate the B 66 UC to its full potential.
     
     Loram C44 Rail Grinding Machine No. DR79301 in Wool Sidings. It will depart for Poole on 19/12/2023 as 4Q01 23:44 Wool MOD Siding Freightliner Heavy Haul to Poole – 17/12/2023

    A railgrinder is a permanent way maintenance train used to restore the profile and remove irregularities from worn tracks to extend tracklife and to improve the ride of trains using it.
     
    The C44 Series Rail Grinder is designed with advanced technology features that also meets stringent international standards, weights and clearances. The C44 Series complies with the W6A clearance diagram and the axle weights of international commuter lines and freight rail applications.
     
    Loram’s C44 rail grinder delivers high-efficiency re-profiling of the railhead, removing or reducing rail corrugations, corrosion, joint mismatches and other railhead surface irregularities with industry-leading productivity.

    Monday 18th December and with all lines re-opened, it was the turn of the monthly Colas test train from Derby RTC to Eastleigh East Yard via Weymouth running as 1Q51 1115 Derby R.T.C.(Network Rail) to Eastleigh East Yard employing the usual traction of GBRf Class 73 locomotives. This time it was the turn of No.’s 73964 ‘Jeanette’ and 73962 ‘Dick Mabbutt’.

    GBRf Class 73’s No.’s 73964 ‘Jeanette’ and 73962 ‘Dick Mabbutt’ passing through Hamworthy working 1Q51 11:15 Derby RTC Serco to Eastleigh East Yard – 18/12/2023

    Another day out to see a railtour took place on Saturday 23rd December, this time closer to home as DB Cargo Class 67 No. 67006 ‘Royal Sovereign’ was in charge of UK Railtours “Carols At Sherborne Abbey” 1Z15 0715 Peterborough to Yeovil Jn Heritage Platform. No. 67006 is one of two class members painted in a special Royal Claret livery and as such would be primarily tasked with working the Royal Train. However, the locomotive is often used for special charter trains and other occasional passenger services when not fulfilling her Royal duties. We took a roundabout route to see the railtour, taking in Totton Yard so I could finally get a clear photograph of GBRf Class 66 No. 66743 in Belmond Royal Scotsman livery as it is was still being employed on the SITT along with No. 66772 ‘Maria’.  I also popped in on Freightliner Southampton Maritime and Eastleigh (which admittedly was rather quiet!)

    GBRf Class 66 No. 66743 at Totton Yard – 23/12/2023
    GBRf Class 66 No.66772 ‘Maria’ on the rear of the SITT at Totton Yard – 23/12/2023
    GBRf Class 66 No. 66743 and No.66772 ‘Maria’ in Totton Yard on the SITT. The train was scheduled to head to Eastleigh East Yard later that evening where it would remain over the Christmas period – 23/12/2023
    Freightliner Class 70 No. 70001 at Southampton Maritime – 23/12/2023
    FL Class 66 No.’s 66606 and 66570 at Southampton Maritime – 23/12/2023
    Class 08 diesel shunter No. 08785 at Southampton Maritime – 23/12/2023
    A trio of FL Class 70’s at Southampton Maritime; 70007, 70002 and 70005 – 23/12/2023
    Class 153 Video Inspection Unit (VIU2) No. 153376 at Eastleigh – 23/12/2023
    DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66158 on a DB Infrastructure Train destined for Abbey Street Junction for work over the Christmas period at Eastleigh – 23/12/2023

    Always looking for a new photographic location, I had time to scout out the western portal of Gillingham tunnel. After parking up at the side of the road above the tunnel, Yoshi and I made our way along a public footpath through fields which are adjacent to the railway track. A trio of sheep were not too sure about our arrival and took off to the opposite corner to watch us from afar. Yoshi, thankfully, showed little interest in the ovine beasts and settled down at my feet as we waited for the Class 67 to turn up hauling its train.

    Class 67 No. 67006 ‘Royal Sovereign’ emerges from Gillingham Tunnel hauling 1Z15 0715 Peterborough to Yeovil Jn Heritage Platform – 23/12/2023

    After seeing the train at Gillingham tunnel, I popped into Yeovil Junction in time to see the locomotive running around her train which was being serviced after dropping off the passengers in Sherborne for the festive carol service at the Abbey the tour was named after.

    Class 67 No. 67006 ‘Royal Sovereign’ runs around its train at Yeovil Junction – 23/12/2023
    Crests applied to Class 67 No. 67006 ‘Royal Sovereign’ – 23/12/2023
    Class 67 No. 67006 ‘Royal Sovereign’ reversing back onto the coaching stock to form the return leg of the “Carols At Sherborne Abbey” railtour – 23/12/2023
    Class 67 No. 67006 ‘Royal Sovereign’ at Yeovil Junction whilst the coaching stock employed on the “Carols At Sherborne Abbey” railtour is serviced – 23/12/2023
    Video of 67006 ‘Royal Sovereign’ working “Carols At Sherborne Abbey” 1Z15 0715 Peterborough to Yeovil Jn Heritage Platform
    Also includes the following passing trains:
    Gillingham Tunnel:
    159020/159013 – 1L25 1021 London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids
    159012/159105 – 1L44 1125 Exeter St Davids to London Waterloo
    Yeovil Junction:
    159003/159015 1L29 1120 London Waterloo to Exeter St Davids

    On my way home from Yeovil, I made another slight detour to take a look at the Swanage Railway’s “Polar Express” operation, this years seasonal offering from the Purbeck Heritage line, which I had so far not managed to see in 2023. “Polar Express” trains started running on 17th December and continued through to 30th December. With failing light which rendered photography of moving trains difficult, I waited for the late running 1445 trip from Swanage to show at Corfe Castle with resident Class 33 No. 33012 (D6515) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ hauling the outward run and Southern Railway 4-6-2 West Country Class No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ with “Polar Express” emblazoned on her tender, working the return. I followed the train down to Swanage and as darkness fell this only enhanced the colourful lights within the carriages.

    Class 33 No. 33012 (D6515) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ heads up the 1445 “Polar Express” service from Swanage – 23/12/2023
    SR 4-6-2 West Country Class No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ heads towards Swanage after stopping at The North Pole (Norden) with a “Polar Express” train – 23/12/2023
    Class 33 No. 33111 and LSWR 4-4-0 T9 Class No. 30120 in the sidings at Swanage while Class 33 No. 33012 (D6515) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ waits with a “Polar Express” service in the station – 23/12/2023
    Class 33 No. 33111 at Swanage – 23/12/2023
    LSWR 4-4-0 T9 Class No. 30120 at Swanage – 23/12/2023
    Class 33 No. 33012 (D6515) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ awaits departure of the 1645 “Polar Express” service from Swanage – 23/12/2023
    Darkness falls on Class 33 No. 33012 (D6515) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ as she awaits departure of the 1645 “Polar Express” service from Swanage – 23/12/2023
    Swanage Railway’s “Polar Express” – 23/12/2023

    With SWR Desiro Electric Multiple Unit’s (EMU’s) remaining in the old South West Trains (SWT) livery now in single figures, it has been reported that Class 450 No. 450111 and Class 444 No. 444040 ‘The D-Day Experience Portsmouth’, both wrapped in a striped form of the South Western Railway grey livery, will be the last two units to be painted into standard SWR colours.

    Class 450 No. 450111 at Eastleigh working 2B32 0902 Bournemouth to Winchester – 23/12/2023
    Side view showing the “stripey” South Western Railway livery carried by Class 450 No. 450111 at Eastleigh
    Class 444 No. 444040 ‘The D-Day Experience Portsmouth’ at Poole having arrived with 1B31 1357 Brockenhurst to Poole – 24/12/2023
    Side view of Class 444 No. 444040 ‘The D-Day Experience Portsmouth’ – 24/12/2023
    Bodyside detail of Class 444 No. 444040 ‘The D-Day Experience Portsmouth’ – 24/12/2023
    Class 444 No. 444040 ‘The D-Day Experience Portsmouth’ at Poole forming the 5B31 1437 Poole to Poole Storage Sidings ECS – 24/12/2023

    The original South West Trains train livery used the Stagecoach Group colours – red, blue and orange – in a similar style to the Network South East (NSE) livery. Some detail variations were introduced before a major updating of the group’s design identity in 2000. New logos and typefaces were developed, as well as new bus and train liveries.

    An unidentified Class 442 “Wessex Electric” EMU on the approach to Wareham in Network South East Livery at some point in the late 1990’s
    Another unidentified Class 442 “Wessex Electric” EMU, carrying the original South West Trains livery based on the NSE style previously carried by the trains, nearing Upwey station – 05/09/1998
    Class 442’s at Dorchester South in the revised SWT livery in the early 2000’s

    The second-generation South West Trains liveries, designed by industry specialist Best Impressions, have swooshes of the Stagecoach colours, which sweep back from the nose of the train to give an impression of movement. There were three versions of the livery employed – white on the Class 444 and 159 trains used on many longer-distance services, red on Class 455 and 456, and blue used on Class 458 and 450 trains.

    SWR Class 444 No. 444034 on the approach to Weymouth showing the colours of its former operator SWT – 01/05/2020
    The final South Western Railway Class 444 in South Western Trains livery No. 444045 arrives at Hamworthy working 1W55 0735 London Waterloo to Weymouth – 30/12/2023
    SWR Class 450 No. 450060 in blue SWT colours at Weymouth – 20/05/2020
    Class 450 No. 450088 departing Hamworthy with an early morning Weymouth to Brockenhurst stopping service – 23/12/2021

    The final Desiro’s to be re-liveried from former SWT colours into SWR grey are No.’s 450031, 450099, 450116 and 444045.

    For completion: a Class 455 No. 455854 in the SWT red livery with a London Waterloo bound service at Clapham Junction – 10/12/2022

    The final railtour of 2023 bordering on the Dorset area was run by UK Railtours employing DB Cargo Class 66 locomotives booked for use in a top and tail formation. “Another Awkward Week Adventure”, named because of those so called awkward days between Christmas and New Year originated in Peterborough. Problems with one of the locomotives; No. 66185 meant the railtour left 60 minutes late from its originating station after No. 66028, which had been the rear locomotive, was removed from the back of the train and re-attached to the front with No. 66185 remaining inside. This was how Yoshi and I saw the train after it had passed through Winchester on its way to Eastleigh. Here passengers had the option to detrain and take a bus to the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu or remain onboard for some rare track miles into Southampton Eastern and Western Docks.

    DB Cargo Class 66 No.’s 66028 and 66185 ‘DP WORLD London Gateway’ double heading 1Z66 0730 Peterborough to Southampton Eastern Docks “Another Awkward Week Adventure” railtour west of Winchester – 30/12/2023

    I next moved onto Southampton where I fancied filming the excursion crossing Canute Road which is adjacent to the former Southampton Terminus railway station which served the Port of Southampton and Southampton City Centre from 1839 until 1966. The former Terminus station building is now a casino and The South Western Hotel opened by the LSWR in 1872 has been converted into private apartments. Of the station platforms, all that remains is the glass canopy and a single line that runs from Northam junction to the Queen Elizabeth II Cruise Terminal. The private road into where the platforms once stood is now a car park.

    DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66028 crossing Canute Road, Southampton with 1Z66 0730 Peterborough to Southampton Eastern Docks – 30/12/2023
    Disgraced DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66185 ‘DP WORLD London Gateway’ dead in the consist of 1Z66 0730 Peterborough to Southampton Eastern Docks – 30/12/2023
    DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66158 runs light engine across Canute Road, Southampton as 0Z66 1340 Eastleigh Down Carriage Shed to Southampton Eastern Docks – 30/12/2023
    After running light into the docks, DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66158 leads out working 1Z67 1402 Southampton Eastern Docks to Southampton Western Docks – 30/12/2023

    Our final location was the footbridge over the railway line between Southampton Central and Millbrook ready to catch the train head towards Western Docks and out again Yoshi waited in the car as the weather, already very windy, turned increasingly wet! I photographed the railtour on its outward leg into Western Docks, but by the time it returned (running late) the light had gone and I didn’t want another DSLR to fall foul of water damage in 2023! Instead I managed some dodgy video which can be seen lower down the page.

    Back leading the tour again; DB Cargo Class 66 No.’s 66028 and 66185 ‘DP WORLD London Gateway’ on the approach to Millbrook heading up 1Z67 1402 Southampton Eastern Docks to Southampton Western Docks – 30/12/2023
    DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66158 at the rear of 1Z67 1402 Southampton Eastern Docks to Southampton Western Docks on the approach to Millbrook – 30/12/2023
    “Another Awkward Week Adventure” DB Cargo Class 66 No.’s 66028 and 66185 ‘DP WORLD London Gateway’ and 66158: 1Z66 0730 Peterborough to Southampton Eastern Docks / 0Z66 1340 Eastleigh Down Carriage Shed to Southampton Eastern Docks / 1Z67 1402 Southampton Eastern Docks to Southampton Western Docks / 1Z68 1531 Southampton Western Docks to Eastleigh – 30/12/2023

    One final festive gift courtesy of GB Railfreight saw the SITT run to Weymouth on New Years Eve as 3Y88 1200 Totton Yard to Totton Yard, top and tailed by Class 66 locomotives No.’s 66723 ‘Chinook’ and 66772 ‘Maria’. The SITT with the same two Class 66’s in charge was also the first locomotive hauled train into Dorset early on New Years Day 2024 when it returned as far as Bournemouth in the early hours working as 3Y89 0100 Totton Yard to Totton Yard.

    GBRf Class 66 No.’s 66723 ‘Chinook’ and 66772 ‘Maria’ at Hamworthy on SITT 3Y88 1200 Totton Yard to Totton Yard – 31/12/2023
    Close up of the helicopter decal on the side of GBRf Class 66 No. 66723 ‘Chinook’ – 31/12/2023
    GBRf Class 66 No. 66772 ‘Maria’ at the rear of the SITT 3Y88 1200 Totton Yard to Totton Yard. Classmate No. 66723 ‘Chinook’ leads – 31/12/2023
    GBRf Class 66 No.’s 66772 ‘Maria’ 66723 ‘Chinook’ passing Hamworthy working the return SITT 3Y88 1200 Totton Yard to Totton Yard – 31/12/2023
    GBRf Class 66 No.’s 66772 ‘Maria’ 66723 ‘Chinook’ working the return SITT 3Y88 1200 Totton Yard to Totton Yard (Dorchester South video courtesy of G E Barrett) – 31/12/2023

    For The Record

    Following 16 days closure for engineering work on the West of England Line, the line between Salisbury and Yeovil Junction re-opened on Monday 11th December while landslip repairs were affected by flooding at Crewkerne tunnel which extended the duration required for work to be completed with SWR advising customers not to attempt to travel between Yeovil Junction and Exeter St David’s until Wednesday 13th December.

    Class 66 No. 66732 ‘GBRf The First Decade 1999-2009 John Smith – MD’ at Dinton near Salisbury during the 16 day engineering possession. TV screen grab from BBC South Today – 01/12/2023
    Class 66 No. 66732 ‘GBRf The First Decade 1999-2009 John Smith – MD’ at Dinton near Salisbury. TV screen grab from BBC South Today – 01/12/2023
    Class 66 No. 66790 ‘Louise’ at Gillingham. TV screen grab from BBC South Today – 01/12/2023

    Thanks for reading, that’s it for 2023! Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year. We’ll leave you with a pic of Yoshi at Durdle Door. Be seeing you!

    Yoshi took an early morning trip to Durdle Door to see the sunrise – 22/12/2023

  • Class 458

    DB Class 66 No. 66013 awaits departure from Bournemouth in the early hours of Saturday working 6N04 0029 Eastleigh East Yard to Sway – 04/11/2023

    November 3rd 2023 to November 10th 2023

    Engineering work over the weekend in Hampshire meant that a replacement bus service operated between Southampton and Bournemouth with a shuttle train service between Bournemouth and Weymouth. The early hours of Saturday morning saw an engineers train originating from Eastleigh East Yard scheduled to reverse at Bournemouth before working back in the direction it had come towards Sway as 6N04 0029 Eastleigh East Yard to Sway. Despite the last passenger service arriving from London Waterloo yet to arrive, Bournemouth railway station was locked up on my arrival. I had hoped to practice some night photography with the DSLR mounted on a tripod, but had to resort to using the phone camera instead! Thankfully Bournemouth has several gates and fences from which it is possible to see trains arriving and departing and I didn’t have to wait long before Class 66 No. 66034 appeared into view.

    Video screen grab of DB Class 66 No. 66134 arriving at Bournemouth with 6N04 0029 Eastleigh East Yard to Sway engineers train – 04/11/2023
    DB Class 66 No. 66013 at the London end of 6N04 0029 Eastleigh East Yard to Sway – 04/11/2023
    DB Class 66 No. 66013 which worked into Bournemouth at the rear of 6N04 0029 Eastleigh East Yard to Sway – 04/11/2023
    Video of 6N04 0029 Eastleigh East Yard to Sway at Bournemouth – 04/11/2023

    I thought it was about time that I caught up with one of the South Western Railway (SWR) Class 458’s which have been on test runs from Bournemouth Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot (T&RSMD) to Basingstoke, Southampton and Havant over the last few weeks. So, on Friday afternoon I found myself back on Branksome railway station awaiting the arrival of No.’s 458405 and 458407 working 5Q91 1320 Basingstoke to Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D, that days return trip for the units.

    SWR Class 458 No. 458405 leads into Branksome with 5Q91 1320 Basingstoke to Bournemouth TRSMD – 03/11/2023
    SWR Class 458 No. 458407 having arrived at Branksome as the rear unit working 5Q91 1320 Basingstoke to Bournemouth TRSMD about to reverse back into the depot – 03/11/2023

    The Class 458 (5-JUP) third-rail electric multiple unit (EMU) belong to the Alstom Coradia Juniper family, built at Washwood Heath, Birmingham between 1998 and 2002 for South West Trains (SWT). The order for the original fleet of 30 four car trains was placed in 1997, and delivery of the first unit followed in October 1998. On introduction the new trains were troubled by several issues, including leaking roofs with water entering the driver’s cabs and passenger areas. Onboard electronics repeatedly failed, affecting the air-conditioning and traction systems, and the Train Management System (TMS) software also proved to be unreliable.  Unique amongst the Juniper family of trains, the Class 458’s were provided with end gangways on the driving cars allowing passengers and crew to move between coupled units, however, further frustrations were encountered when it came to coupling the units together which could take up to 30 minutes – a great deal longer than the usual few minutes expected across the network. SWT therefore had no choice but to treat the 458’s as being semi-permanently coupled in pairs. The first Class 458 ran in revenue earning service in February 2000, but even then only two units (No.’s 458004 and 458005) were available for use. The protracted and problematical introduction of these units influenced SWT’s decision in April 2001 to replace the rest of its slam door EMU’s with an order of 785 Siemens Desiro Class 444 and 450 vehicles.

    Reliability remained poor and in January 2004 SWT announced that they would withdraw the entire Class 458 fleet at the December 2005 timetable change in readiness to return them to leasing company, Porterbrook, in February 2006. It was later agreed that the Junipers could stay in service on a pay-per-use basis beyond the original end of the lease.  In September 2006 the Department for Transport (DafT) awarded SWT a new ten-year contract to operate the South Western franchise, commencing in February 2007.  SWT therefore implemented a new rolling stock plan that called for the withdrawal of its 24 Class 442 “Wessex Electric” units  with Class 444 and 450 Desiro’s taking over their diagrams, with any short falls in service levels being covered by re-activating the Class 458 fleet. Between 2008 and 2010 the fleet was ‘refreshed’ at Bournemouth Traincare Depot, during which process the units were fitted with CCTV, new seats and tables in first class, and modified Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations (RVAR) 1998 compliant lavatories and doorway lights. The interiors were also cleaned and repainted.

    How the exterior of the Class 458’s originally looked – No. 458006 stands at Weymouth during a test run – 18/08/2008 (John Chappell)

    The first unit to be refreshed No. 458006 was involved in test runs to Weymouth in August 2008. Later the same year trials of regenerative braking were undertaken between Weymouth and Dorchester South and Wareham using No.’s 458027 / 458002 or 458029 as the calibration unit with Gatwick Express Class 460 No. 460001 on passing tests along with slam-door units 3-CIG No. 1497 and 4-VEP No. 3417 as static units. Energy produced by a standard train braking is lost, but a regenerative braking system returns electricity to the third rail system, allowing trains in close proximity to draw on the electrical supply. These and subsequent trials were successful with regenerative braking enabled across all 30 Class 458 units by mid-2011.

    Class 460 Gatwick Express EMU No. 460001 at Weymouth during regenerative braking test runs. It’s no surprise these units earned the nickname of “Vaders” – 24/10/2008 (John Chappell)
    Class 460 No. 460001 at the buffer stops in Weymouth during regenerative braking test runs – 24/10/2008 (John Chappell)
    Class 458 No. 8029 and Class 460 No. 460001 at Weymouth taking part in regenerative braking tests – 25/10/2008 (John Chappell)

    By the end of 2012 the fleet was achieving an average distance of 106,049 miles between significant failures making them the most reliable fleet in the UK with the first to achieve six figure mileages. It was around this time that SWT looked to supplement their fleet with additional Desiro units, but a request for funding was turned down by DafT.  Instead a £42 million proposal was accepted from Porterbrook whereby the Class 458 fleet would reconfigured into five car trains for use on suburban services by supplementing the original four carriage units with vehicles extracted from the Class 460 fleet, which Porterbrook also owned and was at that time being released from service with Gatwick Express.  The Class 460 cars would be comprehensively rebuilt to match the Class 458 units providing a total fleet of 36 5-car units that would be designated Class 458/5 providing increased capacity on services into London Waterloo. The contract for the conversion work was awarded to Alstom who in turn contracted Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation (Wabtec) based in Doncaster. The traction motors were re-geared to reduce the train’s maximum speed from 100 mph to 75 mph reducing the likelihood of overheating when making frequent stops and starts, and because the higher speed was deemed unnecessary on suburban services. The first two converted Class 460 units entered into passenger service in March 2014 which enabled SWT to release original Class 458/0 units for rebuilding, the project being completed in March 2016.

    Class 458 No. 458503 stands in the shed at Bournemouth TRSMD – 28/01/2023

    In August 2017, the South Western franchise became a FirstGroup/MTR joint venture named South Western Railway (SWR) who ordered a new fleet of 750 vehicles to be designated Class 701 from Bombardier Transportation intended as replacements for Class 455, 456, 458, and 707 on South Western suburban services from late 2019 onwards. As regular readers will know, continuing delays to the Class 701 program, with these trains yet to enter passenger carrying service, have kept all four older fleets in use into the 2020’s.

    Class 458 No. 458530 adjacent to the train-wash at Bournemouth Depot, once the line to Somerset & Dorset Railway terminus at Bournemouth West – 28/01/2023

    In March 2021 SWR announced that 28 Class 458/5 units would be refurbished and redeployed on long-distance services along the Portsmouth Direct line. This was as a result of the company deciding to abandon their original plan to use upgraded Class 442 units for this purpose citing continuing technical difficulties and future problems complying with accessibility regulations.  As part of the refurbishment the Class 460 vehicle previously added is being removed and the passenger saloons modified by Alstom at Widnes Transport Tech in Cheshire at a cost of £25 million. The original maximum speed of 100 mph will be restored and the reconfigured units, leased from Porterbrook until 2027 at least, will be based at Bournemouth Traction and Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot. The first two units sent for refurbishment were No.’s 458507 and 458517 which arrived in Widnes during August 2022.

    Video of Class 458 No. 458405 and 458407 on test at Branksome – 03/11/2023

    5X73 0812 Wembley Receptions 1-7 to Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D  ran on Wednesday 8th November consisting of Class 47 No. 47739, Class 56 No. 56081 and refurbished Class 458 No. 458428. I saw the train arriving at Branksome.

    GBRf Class 47 No. 47739 slows on arrival at Branksome to allow a driver to climb down from the locomotive ready to take control of Class 56 No. 56081 and lead in to Bournemouth Depot with Class 458 No. 458428 – 08/11/2023
    Class 56 No. 56081 at Branksome working 5X73 0812 Wembley Receptions 1-7 to Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D into the depot – 08/11/2023

    The planned return working as 5Q73 1612½ Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D to Widnes Transport Tech this time with the locomotives transporting un-refurbished Class 458/5 No. 458524 was cancelled as route clearance was withheld because of paperwork issues, the consist actually getting away the following evening as 5Q73 1810 Bournemouth TRSMD to Widnes Transport Tech. With only 20 minutes notice from the train movement being added to Real Time Trains, I was unable to get over to Branksome to see it depart. However, things didn’t go quite to plan as the train came to a stand at Christchurch because the brakes on the Class 458 were found to be on! If the brakes developed a fault in transit, or someone forgot to release them prior to departure is a moment of speculation at present. Eventually, after causing much disruption to passenger services as the up line was effectively blocked, the train reversed wrong line to Bournemouth. It then returned to the depot where the unit was removed from the consist and moved to the maintenance side of the yard. Many thanks to Bob for alerting me to the fact the train had been stopped at Christchurch as well as keeping me updated. Thanks also to Jamie and Nick for updates. I was otherwise occupied watching Heaven 17 at the O2 Academy in Boscombe!

    Heaven 17 on stage at the O2 Academy in Bournemouth – 09/11/2023

    Opened in 1895 as the Grand Pavilion Theatre it became The Boscombe Grand Theatre in 1899 and renamed Hippodrome in c.1910.  First used as a circus, the venue was built as part of a development including the spacious Boscombe Arcade and Salisbury Hotel. Throughout its life the building has experienced several changes including being converted into a dance hall, a Royal Ballroom and was a renowned venue for the disco era of the 70’s, club acts of the 80’s and the dance explosion of the 90’s.  It consists basically of three, very tall, mullioned and transomed windows each surmounted by a Flemish gable. The auditorium is beautiful and looks very much like an early music hall. Above the flat main floor is a shallow balcony carried on iron columns with a semi-circular end and straight side arms and an openwork iron balustrade incorporating acanthus leaf decoration. Tall, slender iron columns rise from the front edge of the balcony to support a curved ceiling and lateral arcade, with florid openwork spandrel decoration. A wide promenade runs around the rear of the balcony, above which, carried on a further ring of columns, is a second, shallower balcony set back behind the arcade. The galleries originally ran straight up to the proscenium wall, but in 1910 a range of paired boxes were placed either side, flanked by giant composite columns and decorated with Baroque plasterwork. At the same time the proscenium was reconstructed – a tall plaster frame, straight-headed with rounded corners.  In December 1982 it reopened as The Academy night club with a flat floor but with the stage remaining in place. The main auditorium is still the heart of the Grade II listed hall which became a music venue in 2009 following a major refurbishment in 2006.

    References: 

    O2 Academy Bournemouth (2017) Retrieved from: https://database.theatrestrust.org.uk/resources/theatres/show/584-o2-academy-bournemouth  

    Academy Music Group (2023) Retrieved from: Company: O2 Academy Bournemouth | Academy Music Group)

    The Class 56 and the Class 47 finally left Dorset on Friday 10th November taking the barrier coaches with them, but no Class 458/5 for refurbishment. This time I had almost 30 minutes to drive over to Branksome railway station and just made it as No. 47739 crawled out of Bournemouth TRSMD.

    Class 56 No. 56081 makes a stirring departure from Branksome working 5M55 1232 Bournemouth T&RSMD to Leicester L.I.P. – 10/11/2023
    Class 47 No. 47739 at the rear of 5M55 1232 Bournemouth T&RSMD to Leicester L.I.P. departing Branksome – 10/11/2023
    SWR Class 159 No. 159105 arrives at Branksome forming 5Y14 1141 Salisbury TRSMD to Bournemouth TRSMD – 08/11/2023
    Workings at Branksome on 8th and 10th November 2023

    For The Record:

    In other news, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole are to get new dedicated Transport Safety Officers (TSO’s) on public transport to help stamp out anti-social behaviour on buses, trains and trams as part of a £2.5m Department of Transport funded pilot scheme. The TSO’s will patrol targeted routes and locations, working in co-ordination with local police forces and the British Transport Police (BTP). The officers will work to improve safety with an emphasis on engagement and education, however, they will also hold the power to issue fixed penalty notices in response to certain antisocial behaviour. Along with the BCP area, Lancashire, Stoke-on-Trent and Thurrock will also be part of the trial scheme and local authorities will be able to develop and implement approaches that deal with the specific needs of their local area.

    Despite a good summer season and a 19% increase in footfall generally, the Swanage Railway is still experiencing lower visitor numbers than before the pandemic while costs have continued to rise, especially in coal and energy costs due to the war in Ukraine, plus unexpected expenditure such as the repairs to Bridge 11. In an attempt to ease the situation, a “Save Your Railway” appeal has been launched with the aim of raising £450,000 to support the heritage line through to the beginning of the 2024 running season. In the meantime a programme of changes are being implemented designed to make the heritage line more efficient and effective, attracting increasing numbers of passengers. To donate, please click through here.

    The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT) and Rail Delivery Group (RDG) have both agreed on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the ongoing rail dispute over pay and conditions. The MoU sets out how the dispute can be developed with a mutually agreed way forward. Some of the agreements include a backdated payrise for 2022 as well as staff and job security guarantees. This will now be put forward to RMT members employed by each of the Train Operating Companies (TOC’s), including SWR and Great Western Railway (GWR) in a referendum vote. If accepted, the MoU will terminate the national dispute mandate and create a pause in industrial action over the Christmas period and into Spring.

    The monthly 1Z22 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingsland Road test train via Weymouth was turned around at Yeovil Pen Mill (again) without reaching the Dorset seaside town on 8th November 2023. This time Class 43 HST power cars No.’s 43257 and 43274 were deprived of sea, sand and ice-cream.

    That brings us to the end of another blog entry. Thanks for reading! Be seeing you!

    Yoshi enjoyed our morning walk around Holes Bay on 07/11/2023

  • Yoshi’s Déjà vu

    July 20th 2023 to July 25th 2023

    This last few days have been rather quiet on our patch. However, there was a replay of last Tuesday / Wednesday when another South Western Railway (SWR) Class 458/4 electric multiple unit was moved from Widnes Transport Technology Centre, run by Alstom, down to Bournemouth Traction & Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot complete with feelings of déjà vu as delays were again caused by paperwork gauging issues. Originally scheduled to arrive at the depot near Branksome railway station at 1426 as 5Q65 0903 Wembley Receptions 1-7 to Bournemouth T&RSMD, the train was held at Woking for several hours before being allowed to proceed with a new headcode denoting it was ‘out of gauge’ running as 5X65 1405 Woking to Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D. Arrival into Branksome was at 1609, around an hour earlier than the scheduled revised path.

    Making their second visit in a matter of days, GBRf Class 56 No. 56081 top and tail with converted Class 56 and now Class 69 No. 69008 arrive at Branksome working 5X65 1405 Woking to Bournemouth T&RSMD – 21/07/2023
    SWR Class 458/4 No. 458407 awaiting reversal of the train on its way into Bournemouth depot stands in the consist at Branksome – 21/07/2023
    Class 69 No. 69008 at Branksome at the head of 5F66 1955 Bournemouth T&RSMD to Leicester LIP running in the earlier, original slot 5Q66 1750 Bournemouth T&RSMD to Widnes Transport Tech which should have seen another Class 458 EMU heading north. Instead the 56/69 combo left with the barrier coaches only – 21/08/2023

    Monday July 24th saw the return of Swanage Railway based Class 33/0 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt. Jenny Lewis RN’ from her trip to the Watercress Line. It so happened that I was in the Southampton area as ‘Jenny’ was hauling the London Underground 4-TC unit into Eastleigh Arlington works. I wasn’t quite prepared for this working to be running 45 minutes ahead of schedule and my planned photographic opportunity at Shawford had to be abandoned in favour of the popular Campbell Road bridge situated next to the railway works and, as it was, the train was already passing through the station as I arrived at my second choice vantage point.

    Returning from her stay on the Watercress Line, Class 33/0 No. No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt. Jenny Lewis RN’ hauling the London Underground 4TC set passes Eastleigh with the early running 5Z40 0940 Alton to Eastleigh Works GBRf on her way home to the Swanage Railway – 24/07/2023
    Having worked light engine to Eastleigh Arlington to collect a Pullman coach, DB operated Class 67 No. 67006 ‘Royal Sovereign’ in Royal Claret livery awaits clearance to return to Stewarts Lane forming 5Z25 1302 Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) to Stewarts Lane T&RSMD. In the event this move was cancelled as the coach was not yet ready to go and the Class 67 with the Pullman car eventually ran the following day. This Class 67 is one of the locomotives used to haul the Royal Train as required – 24/07/2023
    Class 66 No. 66791 operates 6V41 1450 Eastleigh East Yard to Westbury Down TC – 24/07/2023
    Freightliner Class 70 No. 70004 ‘The Coal Industry Society’ on the approach to Eastleigh railway station working 4O90 0604 Leeds Freightliner Terminal to Southampton Maritime Container Terminal as the 1M50 1245 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly CrossCountry service formed of Voyager set No.’s 220008 and 221127 pass on the Up Fast – 24/07/2023
    Class 66 No. 66781 ‘Darius Cheskin’ stops for a crew change at Eastleigh working 4M46 1424 Southampton Western Docks (GBRF) to Trafford Park Euro TML GBRF – 24/07/2023
    Not many SWR Desiro units remain in the colours of former operator South West Trains (SWT). Class 450 No. 450082 awaits the “Off” at Eastleigh forming 2B48 1302 Bournemouth to Winchester – 24/07/2023
    Still in the original South Western Railway livery which has light grey stripes in the white part of the bodyside, Class 450 No. 450111 departs Eastleigh with 2B35 1349 Winchester to Southampton Central – 24/07/2023
    Another old SWT livery variation is seen on Class 158 DMU No. 158882 on the “Romsey Rocket” service 2R62 1656 Salisbury to Romsey – 24/07/2023
    Newly repainted and with silver buffers DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66190 ‘Martin House Children’s Hospice’ on the early running 4V39 1736 Southampton Eastern Docks to Morris Cowley MAT – 24/07/2023

    Further afield we were interested to learn that the famous “Jacobite” steam train service operated by West Coast Railways (WCR), which runs  from Fort William to Mallaig and return, are currently suspended. The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) has released a statement regarding the issues of concern found with the train. Things first went awry on Friday 9th June 2023 when a safety inspector visited “The Jacobite” service, and found failings which were considered a breach of Health and Safety. The ORR issued West Coast Railways with a prohibition notice that came into effect on the 15th June and prevented them running “The Jacobite” until the ORR was satisfied that the issues were rectified.

    More recently, on 14th July a further inspection found failings that breached the earlier prohibition notice and the conditions in WCR’s Railway Safety Regulation Exemption Certificate in relation to the management of the hinged door rolling stock employed on the service. The train operates on the main line under an exemption, granted by the ORR, that allows the continued use of heritage rolling stock without central door locking.

    The ORR says it is working with WCR to make sure robust safety arrangements are in place which will allow the use of heritage carriages on “The Jacobite” in the near future, and in the mean time, WCRC can use alternative carriages to operate “The Jacobite”.

    The full statement from the ORR reads:

    “A safety inspector from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) visited the Jacobite service run by West Coast Railway Company Limited (WCRCL) on Friday 9 June 2023. This inspection found safety failings which ORR considered breached Health and Safety Legislation and accordingly ORR issued WCRCL with a prohibition notice which came into effect at 00:01 on 15 June 2023 and which prevented it from running until WCRCL was satisfied that it could rectify the issues raised in that notice. The prohibition notice is published at P/KB/14062023 West Coast Railway Company Ltd prohibition notice (windows.net). The Jacobite service recommenced on 15 June 2023.

    Safety inspectors from ORR subsequently visited the Jacobite service run by WCRCL on Friday 14 July. This inspection found safety failings which ORR considered breached the earlier prohibition notice and the conditions contained in WCRCL’s Railway Safety Regulation Exemption Certificate. This type of exemption certificate is required for all train operators who want to use carriages without central door locking fitted – ordinarily heritage carriages of the type used on the Jacobite service. Due to the safety issues identified, ORR has revoked WCRCL’s Exemption Certificate. WCRCL will continue to be able to use carriages without central door locking fitted on its other services in accordance with the conditions of a new Exemption Certificate.

    ORR is working with WCRCL to ensure robust safety arrangements are in place to allow WCRCL to use heritage carriages on the Jacobite line in the near future. In the interim, it is open to WCRCL to use alternative carriages to operate the Jacobite service.”

    It’s one of my favourite railway journeys and I have been lucky enough to travel between Fort William and Malliag a few times over the years, most recently in 2020. 

    Our 2021 “Jacobite” experience
    “The Jacobite” at Fort William in September 2019

    “The Jacobite” commences its journey at Fort William, the largest town in the Highlands and is situated at the southern end of the Great Glen, in the shadow of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain. This area is a great location to use as a base when discovering the West Highlands. One of the highlights on the journey is crossing the 21-arched Glenfinnan viaduct (a location made famous in the Harry Potter films) which overlooks Loch Shiel and the Jacobite monument.

    Yoshi and I at Fort William with LNER K1 No. 62005. We could both do with a haircut! – 11/09/2019
    LNER Thompson/Peppercorn K1 Class No. 62005 was designed by the London and North Eastern Railway, built by the North British Locomotive Company in their Queen’s Park Works, Glasgow as NBL no 26609 and delivered to the fledgling British Railways in June 1949. She has been used for several seasons on “The Jacobite” service. She is currently undergoing an overhaul – 11/09/2019
    Yoshi and I at Fort William with LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 44871. The locomotive was one of four engines chosen to take part in the famous “Fifteen Guinea Special”, the last scheduled mainline passenger train to be hauled by steam locomotives over British Rail metals which took place on 11th August 1968 – 22/06/2021
    LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 45212 crosses Glenfinnan viaduct with the morning “Jacobite” service – 23/06/2023

    The end of the line, Mallaig was founded during the 1840’s when the owner of the North Morar Estate, Lord Lovat, divided up the farm on the coast here into parcels of land and encouraged his tenants living around Loch Morar and Loch Nevis to resettle in what became Mallaig and establish a fishing village. Today Mallaig is a busy fishing port and ferry terminal with services to Skye and the Small Isles.

    LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 44871 at Mallaig shunting stock for the return “Jacobite” working to Fort William – 22/06/2021
    “The Jacobite” filmed between Fort William and Mallaig in 1995. The final shot of this compilation is where my 8MM camcorder sighed and died. I didn’t think the footage was recoverable, but here we are!
    Scenes of “The Jacobite” from July 1996

    I have not mentioned the UK government plan to close railway station ticket offices at the majority of stations under the guise of changes proposed to bring station staff closer to customers because of the ridiculous short period of time given for the consultation process which was originally set to run for 21 days from 5th to 26th July. However this process has now been extended to end on 1st September 2023. Much of the covergae in the press focussed on the plan being an initiative driven by the Train Operating Companies wanting to cut costs and boost profits. This myth was perpetuated by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) taking ownership of the announcement, but there can be no doubt that this is an initiative from the Department For Transport (DaFT) under pressure from the Treasury and most likely the helicopter loving incumbent of No. 10. 

    This is a bad and impractical idea. As a user of the railways it is clear that ticket vending machines do not offer the full range of available ticketing and, by my experience, are often out of order. There is also a valid argument that ticket machines are not fully accesible.

    If you’d like to register a comment, please visit:  Train station ticket office consultation – Transport Focus

    Thanks for visiting. As always your comments, corrections and observations are most welcome. Be seeing you!

  • Severn Valley Diesel Gala 2023

    Yoshi took a liking to RailAdventure Class 43 No.’s 43465 and 43484 which only hauled trains on the Friday of the 2023 Severn Valley Diesel Gala and seen here on display the following day at Kidderminster – 20/05/2023

    Last week we were enjoying the sun in Cornwall, so our report on our visit to the 2023 Severn Valley Diesel Gala ( which took place 18th – 21st May) is slightly delayed until now. We hope you found our mini blog about Promenade Plantée in Paris interesting and a bit different last week, but for now let us catch up with events at the Severn Valley.

    Saturday was my chosen day to visit the SVR as I was heading to the West Country the following day. The timetable for the gala was a packed affair with a large roster of resident and visiting locomotives scheduled to run, many of which were provided by freight and passenger operating companies. Indeed, the SVR event was undoubtably the biggest diesel gathering in the UK calendar for 2023, with its planned four-day extravaganza intended as a celebration of 50 years of diesel preservation. An early departure from home was required in the hope of seeing everything running. A few missed turnings and a closed motorway junction delayed our arrival time but in the event we arrived at Highley just in time to see sole-surviving Clayton Class 17 No. D8568 arrive with the first train of the day from Bridgnorth. Unfortunately there were no available parking spaces at the station, so we reversed out and headed up out of the car park to find alternative facilities. Although I later managed to capture a short video clip of the Clayton running light engine within the Highley station area, the locomotive avoided my camera lens for a still photo opportunity. As this particular diesel had been at Swanage the previous weekend, I didn’t mind too much!

    They even made a special badge to celebrate 50 years of Diesel Preservation!

    We had however trooped back down to Highley station in time to see Class 31 No. 31270, quite suiting her Regional Railways livery, arriving with the 0845 departure from Kidderminster. Although the first two trains on the Saturday were spot on for their time-keeping, it didn’t take too long for the timetable to go awry and things became progressively more delayed as the day went on.

    Peak Rail’s Brush Type 2 Class 31 A1A-A1A No. 31270 ‘Athena’ in British Rail (BR) Regional Railways sector livery approaches Highley. No. 31270 was built by Brush Ltd in Loughborough in 1961 and carried the pre-TOPS number D5800. She was withdrawn from traffic on 26th May 2000. She never carried this livery or the nameplate while in BR service – 20/05/2023
    Colas Rail Freight Class 56 No. 56051 ‘Survival’, built in 1978, on the approach to Highley with the Locomotive Service Ltd (LSL) restored ScotRail MK3 carriages that reproduce the push-pull stock used between Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen in the 1980’s – 20/05/2023
    Scottish Push-Pull Class 47 No. 47712 ‘Lady Diana Spencer’ prepares to depart Highley. This locomotive and rake of air braked push-pull stock was paired with different visiting locomotives throughout the gala, top and tailing between Kidderminster and Highley. I thought it was a shame the loco and stock didn’t perform at least one run a day in push-pull mode as it had reportedly done on the Thursday – 20/05/2023
    Class 47 No. 47712 ‘Lady Diana Spencer’ nameplate – 20/05/2023
    Diesel- Hydraulic Western Class 52 No. D1062 ‘Western Courier’ departs Highley. This locomotive was built at Crewe Works and entered service at London’s Old Oak Common shed on 6 May 1963. She was withdrawn by British Rail on 23 August 1974 after 1,096,000 miles in service. Courier was an early withdrawal but was lucky enough to share “mascot” duties with Class 42 Warship No. D818 ‘Glory’, being placed on the turntable at Swindon works and given a repaint by the apprentices – 20/05/2023
    Class 37 No. 37263 displaying departmental grey livery approaches Highley. No. 37263 was introduced into traffic in 1965 and is visiting from the Telford Steam Railway – 20/05/2023

    The weather was extremely warm and I made the decision to stay on the viewing balcony at Highley as this ensured Yoshi was able to stay in the shade and not get over heated. He also seems to like it there as he gets lots of fuss from passers by and doesn’t seem too bothered by the trains passing below. It’s also close to the cafe, so despite issues with the new coffee machine, what could be better? On the downside, of course, it means that my photographs and video from Highley are from much the same two angles, but I’ll take this provided our boy is comfortable.

    Yoshi takes to the shade at Highley – 20/05/2023
    DB Cargo provided Class 60 No. 60062 ‘Sonia’ in her striking fiery Steel On Steel livery. Class 47 No. 47712 is on the rear – 20/05/2023
    Class 60 No. 60062 ‘Sonia’ approaches Highley – 20/05/2023
    Close up of Class 60 No. 60062 ‘Sonia’. The locomotive carries this special livery to celebrate the important role DB Cargo UK plays in supporting the UK’s metal transportation market. One full train load of steel coil can produce over 1,000 new cars or 60,000 white goods – 20/05/2023
    Class 50 No. 50035 ‘Ark Royal’ departs Highley with a Kidderminster bound train. There are several Class 50’s based on the Severn Valley but only one example was in operation over the gala as the GBRf pair No.’s 50007 and 50035 were undergoing some maintenance between mainline outings, while No.’s 50033 and 50044 were in the Traction Maintenance Depot and No. 50031 is currently minus a fuel tank – 20/05/2023
    Maybach Music as Class 52 No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ arrives at Highley. No. D1015 is one of seven preserved Western locomotives from the original 74 built by BR at Swindon and Crewe – 20/05/2023
    Push-Pull fitted Class 33 No. 33108 in revised departmental “Dutch” livery (so named because of the similarity to the Dutch State Railway colours later adopted by the BR engineers sector) was in service following an overhaul – 20/05/2023
    Resident Class 31 No. 31466 in English Welsh Scottish (EWS) livery on the approach to Highley. The Class 31 locomotives received a number of derogatory nicknames over their years in mainline operation including Goyles (short for “gargoyles” in reference to the perceived ugliness of the design), Peds (short for “pedal cars” in reference to their speed and pulling power) and Gurglers, after the noise they made. 26 members of the class have been preserved – 23/05/2023
    Yoshi relaxes at Highley – 20/05/2023

    At some point we knew we had to move on from our balcony position, essentially to get photos of locomotives which were not planned to make it to Highley. Our original plan was to journey to Bewdley and then onto Kidderminster. As Bewdley can be somewhat busy on an average day and with this being the busiest I’d ever seen the Severn Valley, I opted instead to head straight for Kidderminster. This would mean we’d miss seeing the visiting Class 20 locomotives (No.’s 20048 and 20189) heading to Bridgnorth, but these were scheduled to return later. Unfortunately, things didn’t go quite to plan and one of the Class 20’s, No. 20048 failed and was removed from the train on reaching Bridgnorth and didn’t make the return outing. Another Class 20, No. 20142 in red London Transport livery was in attendance for the gala, but was not in use, or indeed visible, on the day of our visit.

    Direct Rail Services (DRS) Class 88 No. 88004 ‘Pandora’ awaits her turn while Class 33 No. 33108 prepares for departure form Kidderminster – 20/05/2023
    DRS) Class 88 No. 88004 ‘Pandora’ and Class 33 No. 33108 at Kidderminster – 20/05/2023
    Line up of No.’s 88004, 33108 and 57307 at Kidderminster – 20/05/2023
    Colas Freight Class 56 No. 56051 ‘Survivor’ passes DRS Class 88 No. 88004 ‘Pandora’ at Kidderminster – 20/05/2023
    Direct Rail Services (DRS) Class 57 No. 57307 ‘Lady Penelope’ awaits action in the sidings at Kidderminster – 20/05/2023
    DRS pair Class 88 No. 88004 ‘Pandora’ and Class 57 No. 57307 ‘Lady Penelope’ at Kidderminster – 20/05/2023
    Class 88 No. 88004 ‘Pandora’ at the head of the ScotRail stock in Kidderminster. Ten Class 88 locomotives were built in 2015/16 by Stadler Rail Valencia. They are dual-mode locomotives that are fitted both with a pantograph to collect electricity from overhead wires, and a Caterpillar diesel engine. They are the first dual-mode locomotive in the UK to use the 25 kV AC electrification – 20/05/2023
    Class 50 No. 50035 ‘Ark Royal’ runs light engine out of Kidderminster. No. 50035 was the first BR Class 50 diesel locomotive to enter preservation The locomotive was built at English Electric’s Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows and entered BR service as No. D435 at Crewe in August 1968, being given the number 50035 in March 1974 under the TOPS scheme. She was withdrawn from service on 5th August 1990 – 20/05/2023
    RailAdventure Class 43 No.’s 43465 and 43484 on static display at Kidderminster. The pairing hauled trains on the Friday only – 20/05/2023
    RailAdventure Class 43 No.’s 43484 and 43465 at Kidderminster. RailAdventure signed a partnership deal with Hanson & Hall Rail Services in April 2021 having purchased eight Class 43 power cars, which will run back to back to operate domestic services. RailAdventure is based in Munich and has been involved in delivering new trains from Europe to the UK, such as the new Merseyrail Class 777 trains – 20/05/2023
    Network Rail Class 73 “Minions” No.’s 73951 ‘Malcom Brided’ and 73952 ‘Janis Kong’ were on display at Kidderminster over the gala. The two locomotives were withdrawn from service in mid-May. The pair were rebuilt by Loram in 2011/2015 with their English Electric engines being replaced by two newer, more powerful and lower emission Cummins QSK19 engines each rated at 750hp. Their acceptance into traffic was heavily delayed until 2016 and endured initial teething problems which were resolved and they became well liked by crews. They were used mostly on infrastructure monitoring trains. They are, however, non-standard locomotives and have limited crews trained to work on them. Network Rail currently lease five MTU-engined Class 73/9’s so the “Minions” are surplus to requirement – 20/05/2023
    Electro-Diesel Class 73 No.’s 73951 and 73952. The locomotives are scheduled to depart for warm storage, possibly at Peak Rail, by road – 20/05/2023

    The new footbridge across the railway line just outside of Kidderminster station has been rebuilt after an absence of a year or two, so following a brief sojourn looking at the static exhibits, sales stands and taking a few photographs of departing trains we marched round to see what the view was like from the bridge and spent most of the rest of our visit here.

    Class 50 No. 50035 ‘Ark Royal’ has lost her central headlight (a later addition to the class in service) and is seen departing Kidderminster – 20/05/2023
    Class 37 No. 37263 catches the afternoon sun at Kidderminster. The locomotive is scheduled for a prolonged stay on the SVR over the summer months – 20/05/2023
    DRS Thunderbird rescue locomotive Class 57 No. 57307 ‘Lady Penelope’ runs out of Kidderminster light engine in readiness to attach to a train bound for Highley – 20/05/2023
    Yoshi watches as Warship No. D821 ‘Greyhound’ starts up on Kidderminster TMD – 20/05/2023
    Class 52 No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ carried the identity of lost classmate D1039 ‘Western King’ on one side (to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III), seen approaching Kidderminster – 20/05/2023
    Great Western Railway HST Castle set formed of Class 43 power car No.’s 43186 ‘Taunton Castle’ and 43188 ‘Newport Castle’ ran shuttles between Kidderminster and Arley on all four days of the gala – 20/05/2023
    Class 43 No. 43188 ‘Newport Castle’ which also carries decals reading: ‘Y Cymro – The Welshman’ and a Welsh Dragon leads the GWR Castle HST set out of Kidderminster – 20/05/2023
    D821 ‘Greyhound’ makes a fine sight as she runs towards Kidderminster station. D821 is one of two preserved Warship locomotives from the original 38 built by BR at Swindon Works. Sadly none of the 33 built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow were saved for preservation. D821 has returned to service following an extensive overhaul – 20/05/2023
    Class 47 No. 47712 ‘Lady Diana Spencer’ leads into Kidderminster with a shuttle from Highley – 20/05/2023
    Diesel Traction Group’s Warship No. D821 ‘Greyhound’ resplendent in British Rail monastral blue livery to celebrate 50 years in preservation. No. D821 was the first main line diesel to be preserved by a private group having being acquired from BR in May 1973 – 20/05/2023
    Class 52 No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ as D1039 ‘Western King’ runs to the Traction Maintenance Depot at Kidderminster – 20/05/2023
    Class 52 Western No.’s D1015 ‘Western Champion’ and D1062 ‘Western Courier’ between duties at Kidderminster – 20/05/2023
    Two Western Diesel Hydraulics on to the Kidderminster turntable – 20/05/2023
    SVR Home fleet loco Class 31 No. 31466 on the entry to Kidderminster – 20/05/2023
    A study of Class 40 No. 40106 ‘Atlantic Conveyor’ running light engine into Kidderminster station. The loco was named ‘Atlantic Conveyor’ on 11th August 1984 in memory of the Cunard cargo ship and those on board who lost their lives in the 1982 Falklands war – 20/05/2023
    Class 40 No. 40106 ‘Atlantic Conveyor’ carries “The Caledonian” headboard as she awaits departure form Kidderminster. The locomotive was built at Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns factory in Darlington. The loco features the original four disc headcode system along with interconnecting gangway doors seen on various classes of BR diesels but ultimately under used – 20/05/2023
    Resident Class 40 No. 40106 ‘Atlantic Conveyor’ departs Kidderminster. The locomotive entered into BR service as No. D306, later becoming No. 40106 under the TOPS system in the 1970s. During her last works overhaul at Crewe in September 1978, No. 40106 was repainted into Dark Brunswick green with full yellow ends, thus becoming a firm favourite loco on railtours and other special passenger workings for several years. I fondly remember the cover of the 1979 Locoshed book which featured this loco – 20/05/2023
    20189 Ltd’s Class 20 Bo-Bo diesel-electric No. 20189 worked to Kidderminster solo, nose first, following the failure of classmate 20048 at Bridgnorth. 228 examples of these locomotives were built between 1957 and 1968. Each weighed 73 tonnes and delivered 1,000 hp, they were used to haul mixed freight traffic – often in tandem positioned nose to nose. – 20/05/2023
    Eastfield Scotty Dog depot plaque carried by Class 20 No. 20189 – 20/05/2023
    Last shot of the day; Western Class 52 No. D1062 ‘Western Courier’ prepares to depart Kidderminster. D1062 was bought from BR by the Western Locomotive Association on 4th November 1976, becoming the first Class 52 Western to be preserved  – 20/05/2023

    With 22 locomotives in traffic across the four day event, trains were very busy with the SVR reporting in excess of 4,000 pre-booked tickets sold and with pay on the day passengers a new record was set at over 6,500 visitors across the gala. This will certainly help with the SVR’s current £1.5 million appeal. It was certainly an interesting day, although I have to admit to feeling rather overwhelmed by the number of locomotives involved and my OCD in attempting to catch ’em all! Well done to all involved in the organisation and daily support of the railway.

    Video of our day at the Severn Valley Diesel Gala 2023

    For the record…

    While Yoshi and I were enjoying the delights of the Severn Valley on May 20th, two rail tours visited Dorset. Firstly, Class 47 No.’s 47828 and 47593 headed to Weymouth with the “Dorset Coast Statesman”. Next, LMS Jubilee No. 45596 ‘Bahamas’ journeyed from London Waterloo to Exeter via Sherborne and Yeovil Junction hauling the “Atlantic Coast Express”.

    The Swanage Railway Diesel Multiple Unit service to and from Wareham was cancelled on 23rd May 2023 because of an electrical fault on the unit discovered during a routine inspection. Repairs and testing meant the service resumed the following day.

    Lake Road Bridge on the Hamworthy Branch – 29/05/2023

    The damaged access gate to the Hamworthy Branch at Lake Road Bridge has been repaired. Rumour is that metalwork on the bridge needs further attention before any trains can cross it.

    Warship

    D821 ‘Greyhound’

    D821 ‘Greyhound’ celebrated 50 years in preservation during the Severn Valley Diesel Gala. The locomotive had been procured from British Rail by Colin Massingham, owner of model rail white metal kit company Modern Traction Kits (MTK) and Chris Reid a customer at Colin’s shop in Slough. Along with other financial supporters the pair had hoped to purchase North British Class 22 No. D6319 but a misunderstanding meant this loco was cut up at Swindon. Instead, the pick of the remaining Class 42 “Warship” locomotives which had recently been withdrawn at Plymouth Laira was offered. No. D821 was chosen as she was virtually complete.

    D821 ‘Greyhound’ in Swindon. I was usually very good at keeping a record of dates, but a whole films worth of photos have no details recorded with them – 1980
    D821 ‘Greyhound’ in Swindon – 1980
    D821 ‘Greyhound’ in Kidderminster during the 2021 Severn Valley Railway Diesel Gala – 15/05/2021

    The “Warship” diesel-hydraulic B-B locomotives were based on the West German V200 design, 38 examples being constructed at Swindon between 1958 and 1961. Each locomotive bore a name with all except D800 and D812 being named after Royal Navy vessels, thus the “Warship” moniker used to refer to the class. They were later designated as Class 42’s. The “Warships” took over from “Castle” and “King” Great Western steam locomotives on Top Link work but were deemed non-standard and all were withdrawn by 1972.

    No. D832 ‘Onslaught’ at Bishops Lydeard on the West Somerset Railway – 09/06/2013
    Nameplate of No. D832 ‘Onslaught’ showing the “Warship Class” designation carried under the locomotive name – 09/06/2013
    No. D832 ‘Onslaught’ was guest loco at the 2016 Swanage Diesel Gala and is seen here departing Corfe Castle – 08/05/2016
    No. D832 ‘Onslaught’ at Bishops Lydeard – 09/06/2013

    No. D821 was not the only member of the class to make it to preservation as No. D832 ‘Onslaught’ was also saved after being moved to the Railway Technical Centre (RTC) in Derby following withdrawal from service where it was used for various research purposes. However, a third member of the class, No. D818 ‘Glory’ wasn’t so lucky and, despite being kept at Swindon as a “pet” of the employees and for BR apprentices to work on, was cut up before the works was closed in 1985.

    “The one that got away”; No. D818 ‘Glory’ at Swindon – 06/06/1981

    Thanks for reading and your comments! Next week we’ll tell you all about our trip to Cornwall in search of Sleeper trains, pasties and semaphore signals!

    That 1979 Locoshed Book featuring Class 40 No. 40106 on the cover at a “New Lower Price of 40p!”

  • See Monster

    Yoshi following his footplate visit to LNER Gresley A3 4-6-2 No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ – 06/11/2022

    Wednesday 2nd November to Tuesday 8th November 2022

    Hello faithful reader, here we are, back again for another railway dog blog entry. Settle down – quiet at the back there – and let me regale you with this weeks tales. Or should that be tails?

    Saturday November 5th was scheduled to be a rail strike day, so I had arranged a day out to Weston-super-Mare to visit See Monster, a retired offshore platform which once stood in the North Sea and has now been transformed into one of the largest public art installations in the UK. Located on Weston’s seafront within The Tropicana, the former 1937 lido which once contained an outdoor swimming pool, there is a waterfall, kinetic wind sculptures with a cascade of silvery scales wrapping around the structure. In previous times, the lido has hosted Hollywood legends Laurel and Hardy and more recently- in 2015 – street artist Banksy’s DismalLand, which was the last time I visited Weston-suoer-Mare.

    See Monster at Weston-super-Mare – 05/11/2022

    The planned rail strike was, of course, called off at the eleventh hour on Friday November 4th, but this was too late for the railways to gear up and run anything like a full timetable. However, one movement which did catch my eye was a Rail Head Treatment Train (RHTT) from Swindon Transfer Yard which was running a circuit taking in Bristol, Bath and Westbury top and tailed by Class 56 diesel locomotives. In fact Swindon was playing host to two pairs of Class 56’s at the weekend, but only one set was timed to cross my path on Saturday. Returning from Weston-Super-Mare we kept tabs on the how the train was running via Real Time Trains and decided that Trowbridge would be a safe bet to see the train as it was due to pass twice on its way to and from Westbury. We arrived at Trowbridge railway station just in time to see the consist running through on its first pass. Undeterred by the wait we positioned ourselves on the southbound platform and awaited the RHTT’s return. We were rewarded with the fine sight of Colas Class 56 No. 56105 with No. 56096 at the rear working 3S32 1002 Swindon Transfer Yard to Swindon Transfer Yard.

    Colas Class 56 No. 56105 with 56096 at the rear working 3S32 1002 Swindon Transfer Yard to Swindon Transfer Yard RHTT through Trowbridge – 05/11/2022
    Colas Class 56 No. 56096 at the rear of 3S32 1002 Swindon Transfer Yard to Swindon Transfer Yard RHTT passes Trowbridge with No. 56105 at the front – 05/11/2022

    Trowbridge, like Bradford on Avon which we visited a couple of weeks ago, is another station which was originally opened by the Wilts, Somerset and Weymouth Railway in 1848 as part of their Thingley Junction to Westbury line. It gained a link to Bath and Bristol nine years later thanks to the Great Western Railway which is now the main line, as the original route to Chippenham has been singled and reduced to secondary status. The original station buildings have been replaced with a bland brick structure containing a ticket office on the northbound platform.

    Trowbridge railway station – 05/11/2022
    Trowbridge, Wiltshire – additional footage courtesy of @dabuckley967 – 05/11/2022

    We were spoilt with ‘heritage’ diesel traction on the Bristol to Weymouth line this past week when no less than three Colas Rail Freight operated Class 37 diesels visited the Dorset seaside with test trains.

    In glorious sunshine, I headed to Upwey on Thursday 3rd November to see 3Q14 1037 Westbury Down TC to Westbury Down TC via Weymouth hauled by Class 37 No. 37175 in the distinctive orange, yellow and black Colas livery. Because of generous timings in the schedule, I had a bit of a wait at Upwey, but enjoyed watching the passing South Western Railway and Great Western trains.

    Class 37 No. 37175 nears Upwey in the afternoon sun working 3Q14 1037 Westbury Down TC to Westbury Down TC via Weymouth test train – 03/11/2022

    The weather on the previous day, Wednesday 2nd, had been a different story altogether when top and tailed class 37’s No.’s 37421 and 37254 worked the regular Derby Railway Technical Centre to Bristol Kingsland Road via Weymouth New Measurement Train (NMT), which for most of the year has been powered by Class 43 High Speed Train power cars. As heavy rain showers were forecast, I decided to head to Dorchester West where I would be able to take shelter from the elements if need be in order to see the train pass.

    Colas Class 37 No. 37421 heads up 1Z22 0644 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingland Road as it eases through Dorchester West – 03/11/2022
    Colas Class 37 No. 37254 at the rear of 1Z22 0644 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingland Road powers away from Dorchester West – 03/11/2022
    Dorset Class 37 test trains – additional footage courtesy of @dabuckley967 – November 2022
    Earlier in 2022 the New Measurement Train was in the hands of HST Class 43 power car No.’s 43257 and 43251 working as 1Z22 0747 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingland Road seen here at Monkton near Dorchester – 15/06/2022
    Class 67 No. 67023 ‘Stella’ in Colas Rail Freight livery tops the NMT as it arrives at Weymouth. Thirty General Motors Class 67 locomotives were built in Valencia, Spain in 2000 for English, Welsh & Scottish Railway (EWS), now DB Cargo – 19/06/2019
    Class 67 No. 67027 ‘Charlotte’ at the rear of the NMT seen at Weymouth. Both No. 67027 and 67023 are now part of the GBRf fleet having previously been sold by DB Cargo to Colas Rail in 2017 – 19/06/2019
    Class 43 No. 43062 ‘John Armitt’ having arrived at Weymouth with the New Measurement Train in July 2012. The all over yellow livery gave the train the nickname “The Flying Banana”. No. 43062 was built in 1977 at BREL Crewe works and formed part of HST set No. 254004 for use on East Coast Main Line services. Following the East Coast electrification No. 43062 moved to CrossCountry duties in July 1991. In February 2003 No.’s 43013/014 and 062 were all allocated to Network Rail, based at Derby, for use on the then new High Speed National Measurement Train (NMT). No.’s 43013/014 were selected as they were due major exams and could therefore receive all the specialist work whilst being overhauled. No. 43062 was selected as it had been ‘blacked’ by Virgin Trains drivers due to constant vibrations in the cab after a derailment at Coventry. As part of the overhaul she was fitted with a completely new cab and the vibration problem was eliminated. In the summer of 2009 No. 43062 was sent to Brush at Loughborough to be re-engineered and had the original Paxman Valenta engine replaced by an MTU unit, re-entering service with Network Rail in October 2009 and remains active in 2022 as part of the Network Rail Class 43 pool code QCAR – 26/07/2012
    Nameplate detail Class 43 No. 43062 ‘John Armitt’ – 26/07/2012
    Weymouth was host to the 2012 Olympic Sailing events and temporary station information boards pointed passengers arriving at the station in the direction of Portland Harbour – 26/07/2012
    Debranded Network Rail Class 43 No. 43014 prepares to depart Weymouth after the crew have changed ends – 26/07/2012
    Class 43 No. 43014 powers towards Upwey at the head of Network Rail’s NMT – 17/06/2010

    Sunday 6th November dodging the rain once again, we visited the footplate of LNER Gresley A3 Pacific No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ at Swanage. It was good to see a large turn out on the last day the locomotive was publicly accessable, although this did mean that our visit to the footplate felt a little rushed.

    LNER Gresley A3 4-6-2 No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ in light steam at Swanage – 06/11/2022
    The tender corridor through which we gained access to the footplate of ‘Flying Scotsman’. This enabled crew changes to take place without the train stopping. Water could be replenished at water troughs set in the railway tracks via a scoop under the locomotives tender – 06/11/2022
    The firebox and some of the controls on the footplate of ‘Flying Scotsman’ – 06/11/2022
    Yoshi and I in the driving seat of ‘Flying Scotsman’ (Photo G E Barrett) – 06/11/2022
    I think everyone was surprised by how small the window through which the driver of ‘Flying Scotsman’ had to view the track ahead at speeds of up to 100mph – photo courtesy of Scott Lewis
    The drivers seat in the cab of ‘Flying Scotsman’ – photo courtesy of Scott Lewis
    The view looking out along the locomotive from the cab side – photo courtesy of Scott Lewis

    A couple of days later and it was time for No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ to leave Dorset and head north to Bury. I was up early to witness the 0705 departure from Swanage on a blustery and wet Tuesday 8th November.

    With Remembrance Sunday 2022 only a few days away, the following images are from our November 2021 visit to the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas (near Lichfield) in East Staffordshire and is the UK’s national site of remembrance.  It was inspired by a visit to the Arlington Cemetery in the USA. 

    The Railway Industry Memorial was unveiled on 22nd May 2012 is situated within sight of the Derby to Birmingham railway line and celebrates the achievements of the railway family, who gave their lives in times of both conflict and peace.

    Sumatra Railway WW2 Memorial is formed of a replica section of the Sumatra railway, including wooden sleepers and railway track, set on an embankment and commemorates the c700 Allied Far East Prisoners of War who died in its construction.

    The Burma Railway Memorial was created to remember those who were forced to construct the infamous ‘Railway of Death’ during the Second World War. The memorial is constructed from 30 metres of the original track. During the construction of the 258-mile railway over 16,000 Prisoners of War and 100,000 labourers died – one life for every sleeper laid.

    In August 1943, Louis Mountbatten became Supreme Allied Commander South East Asia Command and oversaw the recapture of Burma and Singapore from the Japanese by the end of 1945. For his service during the war, in 1946 Mountbatten was made a Knight of the Garter and created Viscount Mountbatten of Burma and in 1947 Earl Mountbatten of Burma. Two BR Southern Region Class 33’s were named in connection with Mountbatten and Burma.

    Class 33 No. 33027 ‘Earl Mountbatten of Burma’ on display at Eastleigh T&RSMD open day on 29/05/1983. This locomotive was one of only five Class 33’s which carried names at the time this photograph was taken. No. 33027 along with No. 33056 ‘Burma Star’ received their respective nameplates at London Waterloo on 02/09/1980 having been chosen to carry names after working Lord Mountbatten’s funeral train from London Waterloo to Romsey the previous year on 05/09/1979. Always immaculately turned out by the home depot, No.33027 is seen sporting an “Eastleigh Railway Preservation Society” headboard and the buffers are still wrapped in plastic to keep them clean prior to a charity “tug of war” involving the locomotive being pulled along a siding. No. 33027 was introduced into traffic in 1961 and withdrawn in 1991 before being cut up at Eastleigh East Yard the following year
    Class 33 No. 33056 nears Dorchester South on 26/09/1981. No. 33056 was built in 1961 and withdrawn and scrapped in 1991. The Burma Star is a military campaign medal awarded to British and Commonwealth forces who served in the 1941 to 1945 Burma Campaign during World War II

    That’s all we have time for this time. All being well, we’ll be back next week with more. Until then, take care and thank you for your comments, suggestions and updates!

  • SVR Autumn Diesel Bash

    Wednesday September 28th to Tuesday October 4th

    Yoshi at Kidderminster enjoying the last gasp of autumn sun with Class 52 Western diesel hydraulic No. D1040 ‘Western Queen’ in the background – 02/10/2022

    Hello Dear Reader! It’s been a relatively quiet week on the rails in Yoshi’s manor. Engineers trains for the Chetnole track upgrade came and went, utilising the same locomotives on a rota as at the start of the work. Because of the their early departures via Dorchester South, Yoshi and I remained snuggled up in our bed. We had planned on seeing the final two trains depart via Yeovil Pen Mill on the Friday evening, but the rain and winds put us off as we didn’t fancy hanging around for them to make an appearance on an open windswept railway station. In the event it appears they left more or less on time, so it would not have be so tortuous!

    Severn Valley Railway

    Sunday 2nd October found us back at the Severn Valley Railway, this time for their 2022 Autumn Diesel Bash. The main attraction for me being the visit of two GB Railfreight Class 56 locomotives which have been repainted into retro British Rail liveries. The GBRf Class 56’s will eventually be rebuilt as Class 69 locomotives in due course, so we thought we’d take the opportunity to catch these while we can. Only one of the two Class 56 locomotives ran each day over the weekend; No. 56098 on Saturday and 56081 on the Sunday. I hoped that the locomotive not being used would be on static display, but this wasn’t really the case, and only a record shot could be achieved from publicly accessible areas.

    GBRf Class 56 No.’s 56098 and 56081 coupled together at Kidderminster SVR awaiting their return to Old Dalby the following day – 02/10/2022

    Despite this, we had another great day out at the Severn Valley. Even the fact the coffee machine wasn’t working at The Engine House cafe in Highley didn’t dampen my spirits. As we left Dorset and made our way northwards, the weather didn’t look conducive to a day out, but once past Bristol, the sun made a welcome appearance for the rest of the day. Thanks to Andrew and Scott for their excellent company and helping to look after Yoshi.

    Deltic No. 55009 ‘Alycidon’ on the approach to Highley. I first saw this class of locomotive at London Kings Cross in 1977 and they immediately became my favourite diesel locomotives – 02/10/2022
    Class 50 No. 50049 ‘Defiance’ departs Highley – 02/10/2022
    Class 50 No. 50035 ‘Ark Royal’ arriving into Kidderminster – 02/20/2022
    Class 50 No. 50033 ‘Glorious’ awaiting to be rescued at Highley with a ‘local service’ after being declared a failure – 02/10/2022
    Class 31 No. 31466 plays Thunderbird loco for Class 50 No. 50033 ‘Glorious’ at Highley. A minor defect in the Class 50’s air system intermittently prevented the locomotive creating a brake – 02/10/2022
    Class 31 No. 31466 at Highley – 02/10/2022
    Class 52 No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ nears Highley – 02/10/2022
    Class 52 No. D1015 ‘Western Champion’ departs Kidderminster with an evening service – 02/10/2022
    Class 52 No. D1062 ‘Western Courier’ running as classmate No. D1040 ‘Western Queen’ catching the late afternoon sun at Kidderminster – 02/10/2022
    The second man on Class 52 No. D1040 ‘Western Queen’ ready to exchange tokens entering Highley – 02/10/2022
    GBRf Class 56 No. 56081 and Class 20 No. 20048 being used as a translator locomotive for braking near Highley – 02/10/2022
    GBRf Class 56 No. 56081 having arrived at Kidderminster after its sole round trip – 02/10/2022
    GBRf Class 56 No. 56081 prepares to run to the sidings at Kidderminster – 02/10/2022
    Large Logo liveried Class 56 No. 56098 at Kidderminster – 02/10/2022
    Class 09 No. 09012 (D4100) ‘Dick Hardy’ came to the rescue after Class 46 No. D182 was withdrawn from service earlier during the gala – 02/20/2022 
    Class 20 No. 20048 departs Kidderminster on the rear of a train to Bridgnorth – 02/10/2022
    Yoshi chats with the driver of Class 31 No. 31466 during a stop at Bewdley – 02/10/2022
    Our video from the 2022 Autumn Diesel Bash at the SVR

    Class 91’s

    Prior to our Seven Valley adventure, on Wednesday 28th September I was in London for a work meeting and I took the opportunity to pop into Kings Cross on my way to the office to catch a couple of Class 91 departures. I rather like the look of the business end of the Class 91 locomotive.

    A total of 31 Class 91 ‘Electras’ were built by British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL) at Crewe Works from 1988 to 1991 and numbered 91001 to 91031. They were overhauled by Bombardier at Doncaster between 2000 and 2003 and renumbered by adding 100 to their original number, with the exception of No. 91023 which became No. 91132 due to its involvement in fatal accidents at Hatfield in 2000 and Great Heck in 2001.

    The IC225 fleet of 314 Mk 4 carriages built by Metro-Cammell in Birmingham were formed into 30 sets and with the addition of a Driving Trailer Van (DVT) allowed push-pull operation with the Class 91’s. The fleet is now greatly reduced following the introduction of Hitachi InterCity Express Trains (IET) and eight coaching sets have been retained for use on the East Coast Mainline with 12 Class 91’s.

    Over the years the trains have seen several changes in operator as franchises have collapsed and taken over by government backed Operators of Last Resort. GNER was replaced by National Express East Coast, followed by East Coast, Virgin Trains East Coast and currently LNER. Each operator has applied its own livery to the locomotives and coaching stock with most recently LNER simply replacing the Virgin Trains branding with its own. Now, however, the fleet is receiving repaints with those not carrying a celebrity livery receiving a retro style inspired by the original Intercity 225 design of sharp lines and red and white styling, the LNER brand replacing the InterCity lettering and swallow motif which can be seen applied to No. 91004 in the video from 1994 further down this page.

    Class 91 No. 91110 ‘Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ awaits departure from London Kings Cross with the 1003 1D09 service to Leeds. The InterCity 225 fleet leased by LNER is in the process of receiving a full repaint as the rolling stock is brought in for essential maintenance. The repaint of No. 91110 was completed in July 2022 – 28/09/2022
    Side detail of Class 91 No. 91110 ‘Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’
    Side detail of Class 91 No. 91110 ‘Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’
    Side detail and nameplate of Class 91 No. 91110 ‘Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’
    Side detail of Class 91 No. 91110 ‘Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’. In September 1989 No. 91110 achieved 162.8 mph on an overspeed test at Stoke Bank near Peterborough, the fastest ever recorded by a UK locomotive. Stoke Bank is the same location where the world record for a steam locomotive was set at 126 mph by Gresley A4 No. 4468 ‘Mallard’ on 3rd July 1938.
    Class 91 No. 91107 ‘Skyfall’ at Kings Cross platform 2 heading 1D10 1033 London Kings Cross to Leeds. The Class 91 powered IC225 trains have been operating on the East Coast Main Line for 33 years. The Gresley A4’s managed 27 years and the Class 55 Deltics 20 years. The Gresley A3’s and the IC125 HST’s both notched up 40 years of continuous ECML service – 28/09/2022
    Close up of nameplate for Class 91 No. 91107 ‘Skyfall’
    Class 91 departures at London Kings Cross – 28/09/2022
    Class 91 No. 91114 ‘Durham Cathedral’ at York – 04/07/2013
    Nameplate detail of Class 91 No. 91114 ‘Durham Cathedral’ at York – 04/07/2013
    Livery variation applied to Class 91 No. 91114 ‘Durham Cathedral’ at York – 04/07/2013
    East Coast liveried Class 91 No. 91120 at York – 28/08/2011
    Class 91 No. 91101 with Flying Scotsman branding at Doncaster – 05/07/2013
    Class 91 No. 91102 at York – 28/08/2011
    Class 91 No. 91121 at York – 28/08/2011
    Europhoenix liveried Class 91 No. 91117 stands adjacent to unique Class 89 No.89001 ‘Avocet’ at the recent Barrow Hill 150+2 celebrations – 28/08/2022
    The flat end of Class 91 No. 91120 can be seen clearly in this image alongside Class 89 No.89001 ‘Avocet’ at the recent Barrow Hill 150+2 celebrations. The Class 89 was a prototype for an electric six-axle mixed traffic locomotive which did not progress beyond this example – 28/08/2022
    Another view of Europhoenix Class 91 No. 91120 in the company of “Peak” Class 45 No. 45060 ‘Sherwood Forester’ and Class 66 No. 66726 ‘Sheffield Wednesday’ at Barrow Hill 150+2 celebrations – 28/08/2022

    From The Archives

    My first visit to London Kings Cross found Class 55 Deltic No.’s 55002 ‘The Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry’ and 55008 ‘The Green Howards’ await departure in 1977
    In the diesel era the stabling point at London Kings Cross was commonly known as “Passenger Loco”. It was usually used by locomotives that needed a quick service and refuelling before their next trip north. There was a pit inside the shed where an “A exam” could be performed. A few locos would be berthed there during the day between trips and at night. Also from my first visit to The Cross in 1977
    Class 55 Deltic No. 55004 ‘Queens Own Highlander’ stands next to a Class 254 HST set at Kings Cross. The Deltic’s replaced Gresley A3 and A4 Pacific steam locomotives on top link duties before themselves succumbing to the advent of the High Speed Train which in turn were replaced by the Class 91’s – 25/09/1981

    In 1994 what was heralded as being the best ever programme of main line steam specials was announced on 11th August, exactly 26 years after the end of regular steam on British Railways. A big surprise was the announcement of the return to steam at Kings Cross on the weekend of 29th / 30th October 1994 when LNER A4 Pacific No. 60009 ‘Union Of South Africa’, coincidentally the last steam locomotive to leave the East Coast terminus thirty years previously, was booked to haul private charters to Peterborough. Following these successful charter runs, No. 9 found herself imprisoned in Bounds Green depot for six weeks following an “under the wires” ban imposed by Railtrack who declared the locomotive as being out of gauge by 1.5 inches at an overbridge near Primrose Hill Tunnel which could have resulted in a flashover. This led Railtrack to impose a complete ban on all steam movements under overhead wires across the rail network which saw the cancellation of three other rail tours until Railtrack backed down and agreed the locomotive was in gauge all along!

    I went along to Kings Cross on the 30th October 1994 to see the locomotive and train head for Peterborough – but as you can see in the video below my view of the departure was almost ruined by the arrival of Class 91 No. 91004 ‘The Red Arrows’! This Class 91 locomotive was withdrawn in February 2020 and is currently awaiting disposal at Booths of Rotherham, its fate is unconnected with passing in front of me while I was attempting to film steam at The Cross however!

    Steam at Kings Cross 30/10/1994

    Sixteen years later, I was once again able to see steam at Kings Cross – two A4’s this time when No. 60007 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ hauled the Railway Touring Company special train “The Tynesider” from Newcastle to the London terminus with sister locomotive No. 60019 ‘Bittern’ sporting two tenders to facilitate a non-stop run to York as there was no requirement to take on water en-route. I was using a mini DV camera at the time which had a tendency to “hunt’ in low light. Well, in any lighting conditions to be honest. But we include it here as it seems appropriate.

    Steam at Kings Cross 27/11/2010

    Thanks for visiting. We aim to be back again next week and hope to see you again. Thank you as always for comments and corrections which are very much appreciated.

  • Blackpool Redux

    Wednesday 20th July to Tuesday 26th July 2022

    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 – 21/07/2022
    Class 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 – 24/07/2022
    The 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 2022
    Station Approach, Boscombe – July 2022
    Station 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 2022
    Weymouth Railway Heritage Trail information board ‘The Station’ – July 2022
    Weymouth Railway Heritage Trail information board ‘The Track’ – July 2022
    Weymouth Railway Heritage Trail information board ‘The Loop’ – July 2022
    Weymouth 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.