ISSN 1751-8091 RailwayThe Herald 16 March 2007 Issue 76 TheThe complimentarycomplimentary UKUK railwayrailway journaljournal forfor thethe railwayrailway enthusiastenthusiast For the latest issue and copies of all back issues, visit www.railwayherald.com LEFT: On 16 March, BR The blue-liveried Class 73/2 Railway Herald No. 73208 Kirsten powers Issue 76 the luxury 'Queen of Scots' rake of vintage carriages, with No. 73206 Front Cover Lisa bringing up the rear. The train is passing Cox's On the Llangollen Railway, ex-GWR 2-8-0 Mill on the outskirts or No. 3803 heads for Weybridge on a private Glyndyfrdwy on wedding charter from 7 March with a mixed London Waterloo to New freight during a Milton and back. photographers' charter. Chris Nevard The locomotive is currently using the BELOW: The EWS tender from Class 66/0 fleet are now Toddington-based regularly engaged at classmateNo. 2807. David Gibson work in Northern France on aggregate traffic. On Contents 6 March, No. 66062, now Network Rail unveils plans for minus its EWS transfers Humber ports Page 3 on the bodyside, prepares to depart from Marquise Quarry with a northbound Herbie rides again ... on a 'one' service towards Calais. Anglia Class 315! Page 5 Robin Stewart-Smith GNER launches new look HST with bagpipes and poem! Page 6 Regular Sections Railtour News 7 Notable Workings Pictorial 8 Preservation View 13 Submissions We welcome submissions from all readers, especially digital photographs. Pictures should be sent to the editor at [email protected] Good quality scans of colour slides and prints are also acceptable. Currently there is no financial payment made for photographs published in Railway Herald. Where possible we always try to use news photographs taken within the production week of the publication date. Publication The Railway Herald is due to be published every Friday and is available on e-mail subscription or by download from our website - www.railwayherald.com Editorial Team Richard Tuplin Magazine Editor Brian Morrison Contributing Editor John Whitehouse Railtour Correspondent For our team contact list, click here. Editorial Address: The Railway Herald, PO Box 252, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire. United Kingdom. DN17 2WY. Telephone: 0870 28 56041 E-mail: [email protected] Railway Herald is produced by Railway Herald Ltd © Copyright Railway Herald Ltd 2006 National Rail Timetable The entire UK National Rail Timetable is now available as a PDF download from the Network Rail website. Produced in the same fashion as the printed version and ordered by table number, the current timetable is available by clicking here. The railway by-laws and information for enthusiasts are also available online from the Network Rail website, by clicking here. 2 RailwayThe Herald NewsDesk Network Rail sets out plans for Humber ports route upgrades Between them, the Northern Ports handle 34% of the freight that passes through all of the UKs ports and the Humber Ports are one the busiest railfreight arteries in the country. As a result of this and the continuing demand for moving even more traffic, which, for rail can only be a good proposition, Network Rail has unveiled the first phase of a large project to deal with this increase in growth. For the ports of both Hull and Immingham, coal plays a major role, with the consumption of over 62 million tonnes during 2005 and a forecast that by 2015 this figure will still remain high at over 50 million tonnes. Of the coal imported during 2005, some 12 million tonnes arrived in the country through Immingham Docks, with a further 1.5 million through Hull. Certainly Associated British Ports (ABP) ABOVE: Freightliner Heavy Haul, along with EWS, are the prime rail freight hauliers out of both Immingham and Hull. are looking to increase that On 3 March Class 66/5 No. 66511 leads a loaded coal service out of Immingham, past the reception sidings for Humber tonnage through both ports, Oil Refinary, destined for one of the Aire Valley power stations. Richard Tuplin with rail providing the short a 30mph line speed throughout diversions due to engineering both Hull and Immingham. ‘hop’ to the power station, be (with the possible exception of work on the Scunthorpe line) At Hull, ABP are proposing it the Aire Valley generators the swing bridge) and being for a minimal passenger traffic to build the ‘Hull Riverside (Drax, Eggborough or fully signalled under the control and the odd freight working. Container Terminal’ once Ferrybridge) or the Trent Valley of Hessle Road signal box. It has the ability to provide customer contracts have been stations of Cottam and West With this work completed, eight extra freight paths a secured. This will allow the Burton, rather than arriving capacity will jump to 22 day in each direction, while current container operation to through the Scottish ports and trains a day in each direction, at the same time reducing move from Queen Elizabeth requiring a long rail journey while retaining the current movements through the key Dock, allowing Finland south that uses valuable freight 16 hours a day opening hub of Doncaster and providing Terminal, the ports dedicated paths on the network. times. This investment and a more direct routing of coal paper-handling facility, For rail, the main problem the enhancement to the services for Cottam and West room for expansion. ABP is network capacity. available operations should Burton power stations. has also identified the need Immingham already has over provide enough capacity The route is to be opened for additional bulk handling 300 rail movements a week for the proposed increase in 24 hours a day, five and a half capacity for coal imports. As (encompassing power station freight traffic and will not days a week. The main traffic a result a new riverside bulk and steelworks coal, petroleum have a detrimental effect on will be coal, bound for the terminal on the eastern limit products and Enterprise traffic), the passenger service into previously mentioned power of the port, between Queen while Hull has 52. and out of Hull. Work on stations, plus the Midlands Elizabeth Dock and the Saltend On the north bank of the the infrastructure should stations of Rugeley and Chemical Works, is planned for Humber, the main point of commence from summer this Ratcliffe. It is also likely that construction. It will include congestion is the five-mile long year, with completion due in the long petroleum workings a new jetty into the Humber single track Hull Docks branch. spring next year. to Kingsbury in the Tamworth Estuary and will take smaller Limited paths coupled with On the south bank of the area will be routed this way, vessels than Immingham severe speed restrictions and Humber, Immingham plays to provide some relief to the Humber International opening times of only 16 hours a major part in a number of Lincoln route. Terminals (HIT) one and two. It a day, means that only eight industries. Currently trains Extra signalling staff are is estimated that the investment trains a day in each direction departing from the port being recruited for the four needed for the development can traverse the branch. To run westwards to Barnetby, manual boxes at Brigg, Kirton will be between £55 and £110 deal with the increased where two route options exist; Lime Sidings, Northorpe and million depending on the final requirements for paths, continuing westwards through Gainsborough Central, and specification. Network Rail and ABP are to Scunthorpe to Doncaster repair work to embankments In the long term, Network undertake a major rebuild on and the ECML or heading and some bridges along the Rail is to look at the possibility the branch, starting with Hessle southwards through the route, along with drainage of additional loops between Road Junction, where the route semaphore haven of Lincoln work in Kirton tunnel is to Hull and Selby, to allow the diverges from the main Hull- (where route options for be undertaken. Currently increasing freight traffic the Selby line. The layout here is to Doncaster, South Yorkshire there are no plans to increase required number of paths, be replaced by a double track and the East Midlands exist). capacity of the route further, by while not inconveniencing the junction, enabling easier access To deal with the expanding doubling the single line sections passenger service or preventing to the branch, plus around 1.5 traffic out of Immingham, from Kirton Lime Sidings to it from being expanded. miles of double track on the Network Rail is to reinstate Northorpe loop and Northorpe An area that is likely to cause branch itself, a quarter mile of the third route out of Barnetby, Loop to Gainsborough. Traffic operational concerns in the which is on the port side of the running South West through should commence using the coming years is the semaphore boundary and is being funded the market town of Brigg to Brigg route from late 2007/ signalling around Barnetby, by ABP. Gainsborough Trent Junction. early 2008, once the remedial although Network Rail say The speed restrictions on This line is currently only work has been completed. it will be 2011 or 2012 at the the route are to be removed open on weekends (with In the longer term, far more earliest before this will be with the entire branch having the exception of occasional improvements are planned for considered for replacement. RailwayThe Herald 3 Intermodal expansion for Southampton Signallers' strike called off Both EWS and increase the number of Doncaster Railport (arr. Following a way forward, and Freightliner have trains operated from four 00.20) and 4H34 21.39 constructive meeting the suspension of the recently commenced to 10 a day.