The Railway Magazine – August 2019

104•TheRailway Magazine•August2019

GWRgives ‘Castle’ names

to itsHST powercars...

GWRhas unveiled aseries of

new cast nameplateswith

‘Castle’names thatwill be

appliedto its HST powercars.

TheHST powercars are

used on the shortened 2+4

formations,which run between

Bristol andPenzance.

Theplatesare of anew design

and featurethe outline ofa2+4

HST set aswell as an outline of

the eponymous castle.

Theplateshavebeen

producedby Newton Replicas.

GWR’s decisionto name the

shortHST sets‘Castle’and now

to bestow names on them is a

wonderful throwbackto steam

days.

In addition,GWR as

resurrectedthe Class 255

designation.This wasoriginally

allocatedbyVirginTrains for

its plan in 2002to crea te 14

shorterHST sets,which were

to be called‘Challenger’units,

and used on the cross-country

services itranatthe time.

Theprojectwas abandoned

because the thenStra tegi cRail

Authorityplannedto transfer

most of the stockto Midland

Main LineforLondonto

Manchester‘ProjectRio’services

during theWest Coast Route

Modernisation scheme.

Themajorityofthe names

have been carriedby previous

...andrevives Class2 55 designation

Soon to be named:AGWR‘Castle’HST shortset with powercar Nos.43154 and 43092 passes along

the seawall at Dawlish on July6with the 12.52 Exeter St Davids-Plymouth service. Constructionwork

on thewall is carried out as the tide goes out.PAUL ABIGGS

Thedisplayofnew nameplatesatSTEAMSwindon.DARREN FORD

Twoofthe nameplatesshowing

the individual detail.JACK BOSKETT

GWR steam locos,while five

names arenew.GWR has had a

23 rdplate cast –Castle-an-Dinas

–but it is notyetalloc ated.

It also plan stor eplacethree of

the nameplatesonits four Class

57s with new ones in similar

style .Nos.57602/3/5 will get

new versions ofTotnes,Tintagel

andRestormelCastleplates,

but whathappensto 57604

PendennisCastleis not clear.

Thenameplateswere

displayedatSTEAMSwindon

during July,and other

nameplatescarriedby GWR

powercars –includingHarry

PatchandSirKenneth Grange–

will remain on displayuntil the

end of theyear

Thenames (inalphabetical

order)forthe powercars are:

■BerryPomeroyCastle

■CaerphillyCastle

■CardiffCastle

■CastleDrogo

■ChepstowCastle

■ChûnCastle

■ComptonCastle

■Cromwell’sCastle

■DunsterCastle

■KingswearCastle

■LauncestonCastle

■NewportCastle

■OkehamptonCastle

■PowderhamCastle

■RougemontCastle

■StCatherine’s Castle

■St MawesCastle

■StMichael’sMount

■Ta untonCastle

■TregennaCastle

■TrematonCastle

■WaltonCastle

Firstproduction

HSTmakes brief

Swindon visit

THE first production HST125
powercar –No. 43002Sir
KennethGrange–visited STEAM
in Swindonforthe opening of a
uniqueexhibition of nameplates
forthe‘Castl e’class HSTs.
Sincethe HSTsfinished,the
powercar has beengivena
full repainttomimic its 1976
condition as close as possible,
andwas on displayint he
museum’s car park.
Thepower carwasonits
waytoNationalRailway
Museum,York, whereitwill be a
permanentexhibit.
However, the NRMwasn’t
quitereadyforthe powercar,
so it movedtoPottersat Ely for
temporarystorage.
JACK BOSKETT

Heathrow ExpressClass387sexternal livery revealed

THE first units ofafleet of

Class 387s thatwill takeover

Heathrow Express servicesby

December have beenreturned

fromBombardierIlford with a

new external livery.

GWR is takingover

responsibilityfor the

15-minutefrequency

operations,and the current

Class 332s,now morethan

20 yearsold and not fitted

with TPWS, will beretired and

replacedby adedicatedfleet

of 12 Class 387s.

Thesets come from GWR’s

ownfleet of 45 Class 387s,and

twosets –Nos.387130 and

387140 –havebeen finished

externally,but not internally.

Work to co mpletethe

internal fit is ongoing.

SetNos.387130 and 387140 in the depot sidingsat Reading displaying the newHeathrowExpress

liver y.DARREN FORD

A£2MILLION

refurbishmentfor Class 92

No.92006 has been

completedat Wabtec Brush

on behalf of GBRailfreight.

Thelocolast ranin2006,

andwas stored inFrance.

It will join theCaledonian

Sleeper fleet,and has

been fitted withDellner

couplings along with

powerupgrades.

No.92006 will need

to co mpleteaseries of

test runs beforebeing

committedto the sleeper

loco pool.

£2milli on

refurbishment

forClass 92

T fth lt h i

endoftheyear. ■

■

Traction &Stock TrackRecord

COMPILED BY

CHRIS

MILNER

Call: 01507 529589

email: cmilner

@mortons.co.uk

Yo urreports and

pictures aremostwelcome.

Highlycompetitiverates

arepaid,especiallyif

exclusivetoTheRM.