{"id":6061,"date":"2023-04-19T20:51:52","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T19:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/therailwaydog.co.uk\/?p=6061"},"modified":"2023-04-20T10:09:15","modified_gmt":"2023-04-20T09:09:15","slug":"swr-living-walls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/therailwaydog.co.uk\/?p=6061","title":{"rendered":"SWR Living Walls"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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South Western Railway (SWR) Class 444 No. 444007 arrives into Bournemouth with 5W28 1748 Bournemouth Middle Sidings to Bournemouth empty coaching stock movement – 15\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thursday 13th April was greeted by South Western Railway (SWR) announcing a major fault at @0300 in the cabling that powers the signalling systems at London Waterloo. This knocked out 14 of the platforms. Consequently passengers were advised not to travel on routes into the busiest railway station in Britain with 41.4 million customers travelling through every year. Engineers fixed the problem by 1130, however because of the length of time the lines were blocked SWR was expecting disruption until the end of the day. For some reason, a number of trains between Weymouth and Poole \/ Bournemouth were cancelled. We asked SWR why and were told it was “due to staff and stock displacement”. There were three Class 444 Electric Multiple Units in Weymouth station so I can only assume SWR have not heard of taxis to get staff to Weymouth. Yet again the Bournemouth to Weymouth line is mostly disregarded when it comes to providing a train service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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South Western Railway (SWR) Class 444 No. 444007 forms the front section of 1W28 1703 Weymouth to London Waterloo. Class member No. 444017 joined No. 444007 with the section from Weymouth. Class 450 No. 450041 sits in the bay platform with the 2B68 1802 Bournemouth to Winchester service – 15\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, Bournemouth station has<\/em> been chosen to showcase a new, green addition on the platforms. SWR has introduced new, more energy-efficient vending machines as part of a world-leading, innovative new trial having partnered with Christchurch-based Decorum Vending, who have worked with Regency Design and phs Greenleaf to design the world\u2019s first “living walls” that can be attached to the sides of vending machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Yoshi takes a look at the Living Wall vending machine on platform 3 at Bournemouth railway station. He wanted a Milky Way, but we declined his requests – 15\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The living walls – which are small, self-sufficient, vertical gardens – have been developed to thrive in all locations, whether sunlight, shady or covered, and if the trial at Bournemouth is successful, they will be making an appearance on machines at other locations on the SWR network. The living walls are attached to an advanced vending machine which uses 54% less electricity than previous versions and has a smaller environmental impact through the use of upgraded refrigerants. Annually, each wall consumes nearly 5kg of carbon and produces 2.4kg of oxygen while combatting air pollution and increasing biodiversity. The walls\u2019 structures are made from recycled coffee grounds and all removed plants are recycled back into biomass. Living walls have been proven to effectively reduce harmful nitrogen oxides while providing a boost to biodiversity, by providing accessible habitats for insects and other wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Class 444 No. 444017 departs Bournemouth at the rear of the 1W28 1703 Weymouth to London Waterloo service. A Living Wall vending machine can be seen on platform 2 in the middle of the image – 15\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The new vending machines join other innovations in Bournemouth including station benches made from recycled plastic bottles and a plastic-free dispenser for both still and sparkling water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Class 66 No. 66587 ‘As One, We Can’ with Class 47 No. 47830 ‘Beeching’s Legacy’ tucked inside at Crewe Basford Hall. The Class 47 will be a guest at the Swanage Diesel Gala in May – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We posted photos of our recent visit to the Crewe Heritage Centre last week. We were in Crewe to take part in an Inter City Railway Society organised visit to Crewe Basford Hall Yard, a railway marshalling yard which since the 1970’s has been the stabling and swapping of intermodal trains operated by the Freightliner Group. The yard is situated just under a mile south of Crew railway station and was originally opened in 1901 by the London & North Western Railway (LNWR). During the 1930’s, Basford Hall was the busiest marshalling yard in Europe, handing between 28,000 and 47,000 wagons every week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We arrived in good time at the 1145 meeting point situated at the entrance to Basford Hall. Parking was limited, and we were very grateful that another car shunted forward to allow enough space to squeeze in a Nissan Note. After signing in and handing over our fee, we joined an expectant number of other enthusiasts to await the safety briefing prior to admission into the yard. It was stressed that visitors should be in good health as on a previous visit a member of an enthusiast group had been taking ill through the exertion of walking over uneven surfaces and railway track. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Freightliner Class 66 No. 66561 runs light engine through Crewe Basford Hall – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66078 at Crewe Basford Hall – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The yard, still one of the busiest in the UK for freight traffic, is a nationally important node on the West Coast Main Line (WCML), with most freight trains routed through the yard in order to avoid congesting the nearby Crewe railway station, which is also an important junction on the WCML for passengers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to the privatisation of British Rail (BR), Freightliner trains would run from various locations in the north which were then re-organised at Basford Hall to make whole trains for other locations. In 1992, the destination roster was changed so that all services stopped at Crewe to allow swapping of containers. This meant that any destination or point of origin was possible with only one change. Whilst this process has lessened in the 21st century, Basford Hall is still an important location for the stabling and rearranging of trains for Freightliner’s intermodal network. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freightliner also stable non-intermodal freight trains at Basford Hall, and they have a maintenance location on site for wagons and locomotives, with heavier repairs and maintenance is still undertaken at Leeds Midland Road. A fuelling point was opened at Basford Hall in 1998, when the yard experienced an upsurge in traffic, with further remodelling of the down yard taking place in 2000. The traction maintenance depot (TMD) was opened on site in 2016, with the TOPS code of BA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From left to right: Class 66 No. 66413 ‘Lest We Forget’, Class 90 No. 90004 and Class 90 No. 90046 inside Crewe Vehicle Maintenance Facility (taken from a window looking into the facility) – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Crewe Vehicle Maintenance Facility is comprised of a two-road diesel Loco fuel point and a five-road maintenance shed. The facility operates 24\/7 providing maintenance services for both electric and diesel locomotives across six types, Classes 08, 47, 66, 70 86 and 90. Home to Freightliner\u2019s electric fleet, the Crewe VMF team carry out all planned maintenance activities on these locos including wheelset changes, bogie overhauls and transformer changes. In addition the team carry out servicing, maintenance and repair activities on the diesel fleet from the fuel point and also up to C exams on the Class 66’s in the maintenance shed. The team is currently expanding into class 66 engine work as part of their 2020 maintenance development plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Class 66 No. 66419 ‘Lionesses’ Roar’ stands in number 1 road at Basford Hall Crewe Vehicle Maintenance Facility – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Class 66 No’s. 66951 and 66419 ‘Lionesses’ Roar’ outside Crewe Vehicle Maintenance Facility – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A team of mobile Field Service Engineers, managed from Crewe but strategically located throughout the country undertake planned maintenance and repairs in the field minimising locomotive downtime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Class 90’s stabled at Crewe Basford Hall including No’s. 90048 \/ 90003 \/ 90007\/ 90011 \/ 90010 \/ 90006 \/ 90043 – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Another view of Class 90’s at Crewe Basford Hall – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Class 90 No. 90006 ‘Modern railways Magazine \/ Roger Ford’ with Class 90 No. 90043 at Crewe Basford Hall – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Class 90 No. 90045 at Crewe Basford Hall – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A long line of stored and disused Class 86 locomotives awaiting their fate at Crewe Basford Hall. Rumour is they are being sold to Bulgaria – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Class 90 No. 90050 in very poor condition at Crewe Basford Hall Sorting Sidings – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our visit took just over an hour and I found it very enjoyable, although I understand that some in the group were very frustrated as they were unable to wander down every line of wagons in order to collect the numbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Afterwards, we made the short walk over the road to peer through the fence at Direct Rail Services Crewe facility and were able to obtain the following views:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A modern line up at DRS Crewe Gresty Bridge with Class 68 locomotives No’s. 68027 ‘Splendid’ 68002 ‘Intrepid’ and 68022 ‘Resolution’ – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Class 88 No. 88001 ‘Revolution’ and 57305 at DRS Gresty Bridge – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

At this point we collected the car and drove round to the Crewe Heritage Centre <\/a>which we chatted about last time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our next port of call was Casey Lane which is situated just south of Crewe Basford Hall yard for an entertaining hour of watching trains go by, the highlight for me being a Class 60 on a sand train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Freightliner Class 66 No’s. 66561 and 66590 depart Basford Hall with light engine movement 0Y61 1557 Crewe Basford Hall to Bescot Up Engineers Sidings – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Cappagh liveried DCR Class 60 No. 60028 heads north past Casey Lane with 6M89 0901 Middleton Towers to Ravenhead Sidings – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66074 departs Crewe Basford Hall working 4M25 0628 Mossend Down Yard to Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal Reception RFD as a passing Avanti Class 390 Pendolino heads north- 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our intention was then to pop into Longport to have a look through the fences at Electromotive (EMD) before heading onto Derby for an overnight stay. And although we did drive down to Longport and captured the following images, we were soon on our way back to Crewe!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Class 56 No. 56097 at Longport has been nominated for the Class 69 conversion programme and will become either No. 69015 or 69016 – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Class 56 No. 56009, destined to be converted into Class 69 No. 69015 or 69016 in the yard at Longport with Class 69 No. 69001 ‘Mayflower’ behind. No. 69001 was awaiting release back into traffic following the completion of the first of three packages of planned modifications being rolled out for the Class 69’s including a new drivers seat and cab modifications. Part two is connected with air conditioning while part three is for engine tuning to reduce vibrations – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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69008 (ex-56038) in grey primer at Longport. This conversion is the first to include the additional front connection for stock movements – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As we returned to the car at Longport, we heard a rumbling noise coming trough the station which sounded very much like a Class 37, because it was indeed one of the veteran locomotives which soon passed us top and tailing two FNA flask wagons with a Class 57. A quick look at Real Time Trains revealed the working was heading to Crewe Coal Sidings which would require a reversal in Crewe Station. The timings were in our favour so we headed back up the A500 and the barrier staff at the station very kindly allowed us access to the platforms allowing us to see Class 37 No. 37401 ‘Mary Queen Of Scots’ arrive with Class 57 No. 57309 ‘Pride Of Crewe’ bringing up the rear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Class 37 No. 37401 ‘Mary Queen Of Scots’ arrives at Crewe with Class 57 No. 57309 ‘Pride Of Crewe’ at the rear of two FNA flask wagons working 6Z52 1325 Leeds Balm Road Loco Freightliner Heavy Haul to Crewe Coal Sidings DRS – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Class 57 No. 57309 ‘Pride Of Crewe’ waits to depart Crewe as the driver changes locomotives, the train having been brought into the station by Class 37 No. 37401 ‘Mary Queen Of Scots’ working 6Z52 1325 Leeds Balm Road Loco Freightliner Heavy Haul to Crewe Coal Sidings DRS – 01\/04\/2023<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our afternoon at Casey Lane and Crewe railway station has been distilled into the following video:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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