ISSN 1751-8091 RailwayThe Herald 15 June 2007 Issue 87 TheThe complimentarycomplimentary UKUK railwayrailway journaljournal forfor thethe railwayrailway enthusiastenthusiast For the latest issue and copies of all back issues, visit www.railwayherald.co.uk The FIRST PICTURES! Railway Herald New look as DRS' Issue 87 Class 47 gains Compass livery! Front Cover The South Devon Railway's resident Class 37 No. 37321 Loch Treig arrives at Buckfastleigh with a service from Totnes on 9 June. Brian Garrett Back Cover The 11.15 Venice- Simplon Orient Express from London Victoria to Folkestone Harbour on 31 May, passes Shortlands, hauled by EWS Class 67 No. 67021 with classmate No. 67027 on the rear. Brian Morrison Contents New advertising vinyl unveiled on 'one' Class 156 Page 3 First GBRf's Wellingborough Rail Terminal opens. Page 4 Sarah Siddons takes to the rails again; the first of many journeys? Page 6 Submissions Direct Rail Services has No. 47802 is due We welcome submissions from all unveiled a new look for its to depart for Carlisle readers, especially digital photographs. Class 47 fleet. Kingmoor over the Pictures should be sent to the editor at Class 47/4 No. 47802 weekend, being replaced at [email protected] arrived at Springburn Springburn by No. 47501, Good quality scans of colour slides Works on 3 May for a which is also expected to and prints are also acceptable. Currently repaint. Its emergence gain the new livery. on 12 June, wearing the It is expected that DRS's there is no financial payment made company's new 'Compass' newly-acquired Class for photographs published in Railway livery marks a new era 57/0 fleet, will also be Herald. Where possible we always try to for the class. Previously, outshopped in the new use news photographs taken within the only the Class 66 fleet colour scheme. production week of the publication date. has carried the 'Compass' The new look Class 47/4 No. livery, with all Class 20s, 47802 is pictured at Springburn Publication 37s and 47s wearing the Works on 8 June. All: Bill Wilson The Railway Herald is due to be standard blue colour (with thanks to Direct Rail published every Friday and is available scheme. Services and Alstom Springburn) on e-mail subscription or by download from our website - www.railwayherald.com Victa Westlink Rail livery takes to the rails as well! BELOW: Previously the only member of the former FM Rail fleet to carry the company's revised livery, No. 47832 Driver Editorial Team Tom Clarke O.B.E., now de-named, has been outshopped from Barrow Hill Depot wearing the new black and white colour Richard Tuplin Magazine Editor scheme of Victa Westlink Rail. The loco is pictured at Barrow Hill on 13 June. No. 47832, which will be primarily used on Brian Morrison Contributing Editor the Hertfordshire Railtours programme of dining trains, will make an appearance at the West Somerset Railway's 'Mixed John Whitehouse Railtour Correspondent Traffic Gala' over 16/17 June. P Barton 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 2006-2007 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 FIRST PICTURES! NewsDesk Attractive 'Chapelfield' livery for 'one' Class 156 News In Brief n Ben Wallace MP officially 'unveiled' the new station information screens at Lancaster on 13 June. Network Rail and the Department for Transport have jointly invested £6.6 million to make brand new customer information screens available at 24 stations on the West Coast Main Line. The new screens use the latest display technology, a mixture of orange LED displays in strong sunlight areas and flat screens in waiting rooms and the ticket office. Both meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act because they are clearer to read and have large characters. 'one' railway has recently vinyled a n Class 73/1 No. 73133, diesel multiple unit currently the yard following a deal which shunter at Network will promote a local Rail's Taunton yard, shopping complex. has now been granted The unit, Class 156 permisson to use the No. 156402, has been whole of Fairwater Yard reliveried to promote the including the signalled £275 million Chapelfield section to the west shopping centre in end headshunt. Driver Norwich. training has started this This is the first of week.. ‘one’s Class 156 trains to be ‘wrapped’ in n "Passenger numbers promoting a commercial are up, journey times partner’s products are down and trains – the partnership are more likely to run with Chapelfield is on time" according particularly appropriate to Edward Leigh as it is designed to MP, Chairman of the encourage even more Committee of Public people to take the Accounts, speaking on environmental choice in the publication of the travelling by train to visit Committee's report on one of the region’s most the modernisation of the popular and modern West Coast Main Line. shopping centres. In the 30 months There are also since Pendolino services key benefits for rail were introduced, annual passengers as the interior passenger journeys of the train has been fully have increased by refurbished with new 36%, with 20 million seat covers and carpets as passenger journeys in part of the initiative with the 12 months to the Chapelfield. end of March this year. Virgin Trains says more customers are giving up TOP: Newly vinyled by 'one' short haul airline travel to promote the Chapelfield shopping complex, Class in favour of the train, 156 No. 156402 was shown citing the environment wrapped for the first time at as one of the principal Norwich station on 4 June. reasons for doing so. In addition, the time- MIDDLE: The model on the keeping of rail services side of 'one' Class 156 No. has improved with time- 156402 at Norwich kindly keeping performance poses for our photographer 'beside herself' at Norwich across all Virgin West station! Both: Brian Morrison Coast services at exactly 90% during the most RIGHT: The new look interior recent four-week period, of No. 156402. Darren Johnson which ended on 26 May. RailwayThe Herald 3 FirstGBRf Wellingborough Rail Terminal officially opens to traffic NewsDesk The new Wellingborough Rail welded rail up to 216 metres-long, Terminal of FirstGBRf was officially which once supplied by Corus at opened by Mark Thurston, Deputy Scunthorpe, will be stock piled at the Chief Programmes Officer of Metronet depot. The facility has been funded by Rail and John Smith, Managing Metronet. Director of FirstGBRf on 12 June. With the terminal up and running, The facility, which will be used to FirstGBRf will run trains over 400 collate and load materials for Metronet meters in length directly from possessions on the Underground Wellingborough into possessions on the network is unique in the UK, allowing Underground network as part of the 10 the rail and sleeper delivery train to be year £80 million contract awarded by stabled and loaded with continuous Metronet in 2005. ABOVE: Looking northwards along the new Wellingborugh Rail Terminal. The FirstGBRf complex includes the concrete pad and rail loading cranes, plus the sidings to the west of the terminal. The Midland mainline is on the far left, beyond the sidings. BELOW & RIGHT: The three overhead cranes at Wellingborough can be used to load individual lengths of rail or sleepers on to trains. They are technologically advanced to allow all three cranes to be remotely controlled by one person, and to work in tandem when loading rail. All: Richard Tuplin 4 RailwayThe Herald NewsDesk Weather problems bring chaos The railway system used cross-city lines. in the Midlands and By lunchtime only North of England faced a skeleton service serious disruption on 15 was operating from June following over 12 Birmingham New ABOVE: The 15.17 Northern Rail service from Scunthorpe via Sheffield arrives at its Lincoln hours of constant and Street on the cross-city destination on 30 May 2006, formed of Class 144 Pacer No 144011. Brian Morrison heavy rain. south to Redditch and By breakfast time two trains an hour to Farewell to Lincoln's semaphores the entire network Wolverhampton and surrounding beyond, although trains The first phase of the £55 million between Sleaford and Lincoln. Birmingham was at to London Euston project to completely renew the Northern Rail's hourly service between a halt due to areas of seemed to be back on track and signalling through Lincoln Sheffield and Lincoln will terminate/ serious flooding, with schedule. starts in August and includes a new start at Gainsborough Lea Road, with Virgin West Coast and A railtour casualty is signalling control centre being built a replacement bus service operating Cross Country services Heartlands' Bristol to at West Holmes. between Gainsborough, Saxilby and severely affected. Glasgow charter, which There will be no rail services at all Lincoln. Central’s local network is reported to have through Lincoln from 11 August to 2 A second phase of the work is was also at a stand, been postponed until September; Central Trains will replace scheduled to follow in summer 2008, including the heavily 30 June. trains running between Lincoln and when on this occasion trains through Newark, Lincoln and Gainsborough, Lincoln will cease to run for six weeks Lincoln and Cleethorpes, and Lincoln between July and September! The and Spalding with buses, which will new track and signalling should be call at local stations in between.