The Railway Magazine – July 2019

Now entering their twilight months, a Class 144/0‘Pacer’passes Burton Weir, on the River Don, in Sheffield, on May 14 with a working
from Sheffield to Leeds via Barnsley.ROBERT FALCONER

Class 379 No. 379006 heads a Stansted Express working from
Liverpool Street through the new Meridian Water station on
May 5. The station replaced Angel Road and opened on May 9.
DR IAIN C SCOTCHMAN

Caledonian

Sleeper Class 73

Nos. 73966 and

73969 are seen

passing Birnam

Wood on the

approach to

Dunkeld with

3Z73, the 13.01

Polmadie-

Inverness test

run. This is

believed to be

the first visit of

the new Mk5

coaches to

the Highland

Main Line and

Inverness.

JIM RAMSAY

112 •The Railway Magazine• July 2019

Operations Track Record

Class 57 No. 57312 moved
Nos. 365521 and 365537 south,
with the same locomotive taking
Nos. 365509+365513 on a
5Z61/19.27Yoker carriage Sidings
to Eastfield depot, going forward
to Crewe the following day.

CLASS 334 No. 334017 was
moved on Saturday, June 1
top-and-tailed by Nos. 57305
and 37601 on the 8T10/09.21
Polmadie-Shields RoadTMD,
going forward on the 14.17
Shields Road to Kilmarnock.
No. 334017 had been damaged
near Uphall last July when it hit
cattle, and had been at Polmadie
ever since.

JUST one new Class 385 unit –
No. 385121 – has been delivered
from Newton Aycliffe in recent
weeks, being towed north on
June 4 by Class 67 No. 67012.
In addition, the four units sent
back to Italy for completion have
now been returned.
Nos. 385001+385102 were
taken north from Dollands Moor
to Newton Aycliffe on May 22 by
Class 66 No. 66748, to be followed
by Nos. 385101+385002, hauled
by No. 66753 on June 5.

CLASS 67 No. 67007 hauled
the Caledonian Sleeper north
from April 20 to May 8. Later on

Wednesday, May 8, while working

the 1M16/20.45 Inverness-

London Euston Highland Sleeper

the Class 67 failed at Dalwhinnie.

Rescue arrived in the form of

Class 73 No. 73968.The train left

Dalwhinnie some 338 minutes

late and terminated at Edinburgh.

The next day, Class 67 No. 67015

was on the service and remained

so until May 16.

TEAL blue-liveried Class 86

No. 86101 passed through

Lancaster at 15.15 on May 9

hauling a rake of Caledonian

Sleeper e.c.s. from Polmadie to

Wembley

THE 06.32 Dundee-Plymouth

arrived at Darlington 18 minutes

late on May 4, with the leading

Class 43 power car No.43378 car

lifeless, the train being pushed

from the rear by No.43321.

At Leeds the HST set was

replaced by a four-car‘Voyager’,

although good positioning of the

two sets on adjacent platforms

ensured the service went forward

just 25 minutes late.

Class 47 No. 47813 failed near

Newton Abbott while moving

single power car No. 43303 from

Neville Hill to Laira on May 27.

Both were rescued by Class 43

Nos. 43153+43160 sent from

Laira, the four then continuing

through to Laira.

A DAY spent observing‘Pacers’on

a wet May 8 in SouthYorkshire

riding the local services found that

all stopping services originating

from Sheffield (Adwick/Hull/

Huddersfield/LeedsVia Barnsley

and Leeds via Moorthorpe/York)

were in the hands of Class 142 or

144‘Pacers’(a Moorthorpe service

did have an additional Class 150

added).

Around 75% of services were

worked by Class 144s. Unusually,

the 11.38 Barnsley-Nottingham

(ex-10.04 Leeds) was formed of

No. 142089 in place of the booked

Class 158. It was running one

minute late by Meadowhall.

CLASS 158 No. 158754 was noted

on the Doncaster to Leeds local

service on May 4 in place of the

usual electric multiple unit. It was

seen departing from Doncaster on

the 09.26 service to Leeds. At the

same time three new Northern

Rail Class 331 units – Nos. 331102,

331105 and 331107 – were noted

stabled by the station.

TWO Class 769s – Nos. 769431+

769424 – were moved from

Allerton to DoncasterWabtec

by Class 37 No. 37884 on May 9.

A further move on May 17 saw

No. 769450 being taken from

Brush Loughborough to Doncaster

Wabtec by Class 57 No. 57303.

THE new Class 331 units are

spreading their wings as testing

progresses. On May 10, No. 331002

paused northbound at Preston

at 09.10. Observations on May 17

included No. 331005 in Lancaster

at 08.25, while in Doncaster

the same day, four-car units

Nos.331105 and 331107 were

stabled in theWest yard and

331102 in the station’s north-end

recess. In addition No. 331108 was

at Preston at 09.00.

CLASS 156 units are rare in Leeds,

but No. 156440 was noted in Leeds

station on the first morning of the

new timetable on May 20.

NORTHERN Rail has faced much

criticism in recent months,

and based on the following

observations of the Furness Line

trains on Sunday, May 26 they are

rightly justified. Of 26 timetabled

services, 14 were cancelled, four

more than five minutes late,

and eight within five minutes of

advertised arrival time.

TRANSPENNINE-liveried Class 68

No. 68026Enterprisepassed

through Lancaster at 14.30 on

May 7 taking a rake of CAF‘Nova 3’

coaches e.c.s. en route from

Liverpool Lime Street to Carnforth.

The same test train was noted

again at Lancaster on May 10.

DELIVERIES of new Class 802

units found Nos. 802205+802206

moved from Dollands Moor

to EastleighTMD by Class 66

No. 66732 on May 30, followed on

June 12, when No. 66718 moved

Nos. 802207+802208, also from

Dollands Moor to Eastleigh.

THE latest rake of new Mk5

coaches –TP11 – were moved

north from Portbury to Manchester

Longsight by Class 37 No. 37611

on June 3.

FORMER GWR HST set – in FGW

livery with power car Nos. 43010

and 43020 –passed Peterborough

with a King’s Cross to Hull service

just after lunch time onThursday,

May 30.

CLASS 67 No. 67014 finally gave

up control of the Manchester to

NorthWales workings on April 15,

handing over to No. 67029 until

May 8 when No. 67014 returned

the following day. No. 67020 was

employed on May 22, but failed,

and was rescued by No. 67001,

which worked next day. It is a long

time since one of the original blue

trio (67001-03) worked for Arriva/

TfW, even though these initially

had virtually sole charge. After one

day, No. 67014 regained its place

on May 24.

THE final two Class 172 units have

arrived atTyseley from Ilford, with

No. 172004 moving on May 7

followed by No. 172001 on May 25.

THE vast majority of times stayed

the same when the new timetable

was launched on May 19, but the

biggest change was perhaps the

evening‘Master Cutler’service,

which now departs London St

Pancras at 17.02 (previously 16.47),

and is now in the hands of

a Class 222‘Meridian’instead of the

former Class 43 HST.

THE Midland Main Line was closed

between Kettering and Leicester