The Railway Magazine – July 2019

Vegetation clearance has opened up additional picture opportunities by Bincombe No. 2 tunnel, from

where Class 444 EMU No. 444034 emerges on May 22 with the 12.34 London Waterloo-Weymouth

train.STEPHEN GINN

An exiled ScotRail Class 158 – No. 158870, now part of Northern’s fleet – passes Grange-over-Sands

with the 15.30 Manchester Airport-Barrow-in-Furness.ROBERT FRANCE

July 2019 •The Railway Magazine•113

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for a seven-day blockade between
May 27 and June 2 inclusive as
part of the Market Harborough
rebuilding project.
The blockade allowed engineers
to realign the track through the
station and slew the running line
through the new platforms (built
on the site of the old Northampton
Line platforms), refresh 4km of
trackwork, and install new signals.

MOVEMENTS of new Class 710
units reported include No. 710117,
top-and-tailed by Class 57
No. 57305 and Class 37 No. 37611
from Old Dalby to Crewe on
May10.Thenextmovewasfor
No. 710257, top-and-tailed by
Nos. 47813+57303 from Litchurch
Lane to Old Dalby on May 14.
On May 23, Nos. 57305 and
37611 top-and-tailed No. 710107
from Old Dalby toWillesden.
Moves on June 3 involved
Nos. 57305+37601 top-and-tail
No. 710123 from Litchurch Lane to
Old Dalby and then take 710268
from Old Dalby toWillesden.

CLASS 710 units entered traffic
on the Gospel Oak to Barking line
on May 23 when Nos. 710261
and 710269 worked two of the
diagrams.They were joined the
following day by No. 710262.
The introduction of the class has
almost certainly put paid to the
planned use of Class 314s on the
line, with work on No. 314204 at
Eastleigh now at a standstill.

UNUSUALLY, the 2J42,
formed with Class 313 units
Nos. 313027+313061, was held
for 28 minutes at Finsbury Park
on June 1, then diverted to King’s
Cross, arriving at 09.28.They
departed e.c.s. at 10.10.

OBSERVATIONS of Class 717
units in traffic in the w/e May 25
produced Nos. 717002-05/07-09/
11/12/16/18-20/22. Stored
Nos. 717019+717024 moved from
Cricklewood to Dollands Moor on
May 21, with Nos. 717001+717017
going in the opposite direction the
following day. Nos. 717010/13/25
remained stored atWestWorthing.

ASTHE Class 717s enter traffic so
the Class 313s are being stopped.
On June 3, Nos. 313031+313123
were towed from Hornsey to
Sims Metals, Newport, by Class 57
No. 57312.The following week,
on June 10, Nos. 313027+313029
made the same journey behind
No. 57312.

MOVEMENTS of Class 345 units
reported include No. 345059 being
taken from Old Dalby to Old Oak
Common by Class 37 No. 37611
on May 14. On May 20, No. 345023
was returned to Old Dalby from

Crewe by Class 37 No. 37608.

A move again involving Class 37

No. 37608 on May 29 saw new

No. 345062 taken to Old Dalby

before the Class 37 then moved

No. 345023 toWorksop for secure

storage, with other members of

the class to follow. On June 11,

Class 37 No.37611 took No. 345061

south to London, the unit being

seen inWillesden awaiting

movement to Old Oak Common.

SMOKE was spotted under

unit No. 466025 at Orpington

on May 24 while working the

10.05 Sevenoaks-Charing Cross

service along with Nos. 465250

and 465024.The fire brigade

was called, and as a result the

service was cancelled and delays

incurred toThameslink and other

Southeastern services.

MORE doom and gloom for

Southern on May 7 with faults on

several units causing delay and

cancellations.

The 07.01 Brighton-Ore and

08.36 return were diagrammed to

Class 377 No. 377431, but the unit

failed in Brighton Depot prior to

departure.

Secondly, the 06.55 Selhurst-

Watford Junction failed to

the north of Shepherd’s Bush

with a problem in raising the

pantographs on unit Nos. 377206

and 377203. As a result, the 07.24

Watford-East Croydon and the

08.40 East Croydon-Shepherd’s

Bush and 10.00 Shepherd’s

Bush-Clapham Junction were all

cancelled.

The 11.21 Brighton-West

Worthing and the return 12.12

to Brighton were both cancelled

when No. 313214 developed a

fault.

SEVERE delays to Metro services

from LondonVictoria occurred on

May 14 when the 04.48 Acton-

Crawley NewYard FosterYeoman

service failed atThornton Heath

behind DBC Class 66 No. 66041.

A rescue engine was arranged

from Hither Green, but took two

and a half hours to arrive.

ONWEDNESDAY, May 22, the

Up intermediate signal between

Wokingham and Bracknell

failed again, delaying Reading

toWaterloo services by up to

30-minutes during the morning

rush-hour.

On the same day, the 08.42

Reading-Waterloo service was

formed of two Class 455 units

instead of the usual Class 450s or

458/5s

For the second time in two days,

on Friday, May 24, Reading to

Waterloo services were disrupted

by an early morning failure

associated with Egham Level

Crossing.

At the same time, a signalling

failure occurred at Staines,

disrupting services even further.

Normal service resumed around

11.00.

UNFORTUNATELY, the first of

the SWR summer services from

Waterloo to Corfe Castle viaYeovil

andWeymouth on Saturday,

May 25 got as far asYeovil

Junction, where the service was

terminated‘due to an issue with

the train crew’.The stock which

formed the service then ran empty

to Corfe Castle via Salisbury and

Southampton, and included a

layover of an hour in Poole Sidings.

CharterTrains

A BONANZA of specials ran

through Prestatyn on May 4,

helped by theVictorian festival at

Llandudno over the weekend.

Firstly, at 10.56 was the A1SLT’s

‘Ynys Mon Express’from Leicester

to Holyhead behind‘A3’No. 60163

Flying Scotsman.This had no

tail loco.

Next, at 11.58, was NENTA’s

‘WelshVictorian Highlander’from

Norwich to Holyhead, top-and-

tailed by Class 68 Nos. 68018 and

68033.

At 12.12VintageTrains’

‘LlandudnoVictorian Extravaganza’

from Dorridge to Llandudno

was hauled by BR(W) 4-6-0

No. 7029Clun Castle, with Class

47 No. 47773 at the rear for the

return to Chester, where the train

then reversed to be led home by

No. 7029 viaWrexham.

Finally, at 12.57,WCRC’s

‘Llandudno Day Pullman’from

Peterborough to Llandudno

was top-and-tailed by Class 47

Nos. 47854 and 47832.

FORMER LNER‘B1’No. 61306

Mayflower was observed hauling

the 1Z62/18.54 Holytown to

Penrith train onWednesday,

May 15, with Class 37 No. 37685

on the rear.

CLASS 67 Nos. 67004 and 67021

worked a Horsham to Surbiton and

return Pullman Charter on May 18,

noted passing Arundel, employing

VSOE stock.

CLASS 47 No. 47593 left Stafford

at 09.08 on a Statesman Rail

special from Milton Keynes Central

to Appleby, later resuming its

circuit via the Carlisle area and

the Cumbrian coast. Fellow class

member No. 47501 (as D1944) was

at the rear of the train.

Forty minutes later, UKR’s‘Curvey

Weaver’departed behind Class 66

No. 66083 for theWarrington,

Garston andWinnington areas,

with No. 66078 at the rear for the

many reversals.This charter had

originated at Euston.

A CORRESPONDENT on the

North-East Railtours charter train

on May 27 from Newcastle to

Oban and return, reported that

the train powered by two Class

37s – Nos. 37025 and 37402 –

worked throughout faultlessly

and to time, although held at

Waverley because of a late-running

Tweedbank train.The charter

took two routes around Glasgow,

outward via Shotts, Mossend,

Whifflet, Springburn and Maryhill

with the return through Dalmuir,

Yoker, Hyndland Junction, and

Anniesland to Maryhill.

THE Northern Belle excursion

from Derby, Stoke-on-Trent and

Crewe to Ravenglass on May 31

was hauled byWest Coast Railways

Class 57 Nos. 57601Windsor Castle

and 57313.The train used the

Barrow diversionary loop on both

legs of the charter.

LNER‘B1 No. 61306Mayflowerwas

observed passing Byfleet and New

Haw onTuesday, June 4 on the

‘Sunset Steam Express’.Mayflower

carried aWCR maroon Mk1/Mk2

rake withWCR Class 47 No. 47245

on the rear.

THE Steam Dreams’‘Cathedrals

Express’from Euston to Holyhead

passed Prestatyn on time at 11.09

on June 6 behind former LMS

‘Jubilee’No. 45690Leander, with

Class 47 No. 47245 at the rear.