Swanage Diesel Gala 2018

33012 arrives into Clapham Junction with the 'Purbeck Explorer' tour taking the LT 4TC to Swanage. 18/05/2018

The May diesel gala at the Swanage Railway is seen by many as a highlight of the year's gala season, and one of the few which I regularly try to attend. This year I was unfortunately only able to make it down to the south coast for the Thursday 'preview day' evening before shooting back towards London for work. My journey down to Swanage was probably the reason that it was worth making the effort for just a few trips on the railway- a mainline train right through from London to Swanage.







As part of the gala additional coaches were being hired in the form of London Transport's 4TC which is based at Ruislip. In order to get the main line registered TC down to the railway the novel decision was made to run a railtour both before and after the gala. Before the gala it would be headed by the Swanage Railway's main line registered D6515 (33012) and the return would be in the hands of 20007 and 20142. As a fan of all things Southern Region I simply couldn't resist the opportunity to take a 33 and TC down the South West Mainline onto their former stomping ground west of Bournemouth. OK- it wasn't a 33/1 with the necessary pipes to work in multiple with the TC, but it was pretty damn close. LT's 4TC is fitted with central door locking and window bars enabling it to operate unhindered on the national network. It was certainly a bit of a surreal feeling to watch the train come to a stand at Clapham Junction, open the slam door, board and the enjoy the satisfying 'clunk' as I closed the door behind me. Settling in to my NSE upholstered compartment it was a most enjoyable journey down to Dorset.

Once on the Swanage railway there was time to enjoy a few rides with the diesels operating that afternoon, the highlight of which was 'Hymek' D7017 which was looking superb! Also sampled during the evening were 73133 and 73136 together with the steam diagram being worked by 34053 'Sir Keith Park'.

Altogether a great afternoon down on the Swanage Railway- I just wish I could have stayed for a bit more of the weekend!

Details of the progress of the Swanage Railway's own 4TC which will be used on the line following restoration can be found here.

The LT 4TC leads a push/pull formation powered by class 73's into Corfe Castle. The Swanage Railway is currently part way through restoring its own 4TC set which will run on the line once completed. 18/05/2018

Autumn RHTT's

73201 Broadlands approaches Kingswood on the Tattenham Corner branch in Surrey on 17th November 2017 with the 3W91 RHTT based out of Tonbridge Yard and operated by GBRf. The train visits several commuter railways which do not see loco hauled traffic.

MPV's while less interesting that the loco hauled operation cover the RHTT
operation in many parts of the country. A Sussex based unit is seen at
Clapham Junction on 24th October 2017 waiting clearance from the
West London Line onto the Brighton Main Line.

In early December the last of the Autumn Rail Head Treatment Trains ran on the network for 2017. These trains provide interest annually covering a variety of lines which may not regularly see loco-hauled traction for the majority of the year. Trains are supplied by all of the major freight companies which also brings a wide selection of traction which this year has included class 20, 37, 56, 57, 66, 67 and 73. The trains jet the rails with water at high pressure to remove a build up of leaf mulch which affects both adhesion of trains and can also interfere with detection of trains by track circuits. As well as loco-hauled RHTT sets Network Rail also use their Multi Purpose Vehicles for many circuits which undertake jetting and can also apply an adhesion modifier to the rails in the form of Sandite paste.

66723 'Chinook' leads 66710 through Camden Road while jetting with the 3W81 circuit from Broxbourne. It doesn't take long for these trains to build up a thick layer of dirt associated with the water jetting. 29.11.2017

20303 and 20305 have been the regular traction for the DRS operated South Yorkshire RHTT during 2017 with 20312 providing backup. Class 20's have been used on these workings once again due to weight restrictions, the DRS fleet now seeing very limited use aside from these duties. Once again 2017 has been mooted as the last year for the DRS class 20's on RHTT duties- only time will tell! 20303 'Max Joule 1958-1999' (re-named from 20301) and 20305 approach Brough with the 3S14 circuit from Sheffield to Hull on 18th November.

73128 'OVS Bullied' stands at the usually EMU only branch terminus of Tattenham Corner ready to continue the 3W91 circuit back towards Tonbridge on 17th November

More 442's delieverED

Southern's 73202 had a special outing on 4th October when it made one of it's longest runs for a good number of years. The former Gatwick Express locomotive, more recently used in connection with the Southern / Gatwick Express class 442 fleet was utilised to move some of the final 'Wessex' units off the Southern patch to Bournemouth where they are currently being assessed for their return to traffic with South Western Railway. On Mondy 3rd 73202 moved some units between Selhurst and Brighton Lovers Walk Depot before transporting 2408 and 2402 through to Bournemouth (via Poole). This is through to have been the first appearance of the Southern liveried class 73 away from it's home patch since it was re-painted several years ago at St Leonards. With the final 442's leaving Southern the following week under their own power to Bournemouth it remains to see what future will bestow 73202.

Bluebell Diesel Gala 2016

20905 leads 73119 away from Horstead Keynes with a train for East Grinstead on the Saturday 16th April.

Over the weekend of the 15-17th April 2016 the Bluebell Railway in Sussex held only its second ever diesel gala. Following the success of its almost unprecedented 'Double Deltic' event last year this once 'steam only' line invited an impressive line up of seven loco's from the GBRf fleet to company it's own class 09 shunter for three days of diesel frolics. Present at the railway were 09018, 20901, 20905, 47739, 66770, 73107, 73119, 73136 and 73964  (since the GBRf handed back their class 47's to Rivera trains a Colas example instead filled in in the shape of 47739).

For many the Colas 47739 'Robin of Templecombe' was a draw.

The Bluebell railway has enjoyed a close working relationship with GBRf since the companies first came together to remove spoil by rail from the former Imberhorn Tip, a key task in the railways recent extension to East Grinstead.  Now that the extension is complete- and the Bluebell has a mainline connection GBRf have continued to be involved with the line with stock moves and this gala- tying in with the 15th birthday celebrations at GBRf was the prefect way to continue the relationship.

The pair of class 20's arrive at Horstead Keynes for the first
and final time at Saturday 16th April as 20901 was declared a
failure on arrival with wheelset issues. 

Despite some less than agreeable weather on the Saturday of my visit the line seemed to be very busy- indeed it is reported that the queue for tickets before the first train form East Grinsted was so long that not everybody made the first train- a lesson for the future perhaps despite more than 20 minutes to transfer between Southern and Bluebell trains. Trains continued to be well loaded throughout the day with three sets of stock in use including the London Underground owned 4-TC. Later on there was the added highlight of the Beer-ex train running later into the night. Loco swaps were all carried out at Horstead Keynes on Sheffield Park bound services and for those who wanted it rides were available with the 09 on either the observation coach of the 'Queen Mary' brake van.

The failure of 20901 left 20905 performing several trains on its
own giving the unusual view of a GBRf 20 running bonnet first.

Unfortunately both class 20's failed during the course of the Saturday with 20901 being removed from it's first up working leaving 20905 to soldier on alone- and also causing a 48 minute delay to trains. While the 'failed' 20901 did make a brief re-appearance on an evening train it was with regret that neither class 20 was in operation on the Sunday of the gala- the day where the weather was by far the best for the photographers.

With the weekend of diesel delights over it will now be back to the usual program of 100% steam running for the remainder of the season- but who knows what next year may bring on this line that now seems to be full of surprises?

Another byproduct of the class 20's failure was the opportunity to enjoy double headed class 73's with 73107 and 73136 filling in for one round trip. The class 73/1's had only been intended for use as translator vehicles for the other visiting locomotives.

Introducing the class 73/9

On a dull 20th February 2016 73968 prepares to leave Oban returning the empty sleeper stock to Polmadie depot. This was
 the second weekend which had seen class 73/9's (and the Caledonian Sleeper) reach the town following the
classes passenger debut the previous week- which by all accounts was in far better weather conditions!

First appearing in 1962 the Southern Region's class 73 have become known as a reliable workhorse on the 3rd rail electric systems of South-East England. The locomotives run well on the electric current and their supplementary diesel engines have proved versatile, taking them off the juice on many occasions, but rarely far from their home territory. In the early to mid 2000's as the class lost their passenger work on the Gatwick Express and had all but been consigned to history on freight workings it appeared that the class 73 was reaching the natural end of it's life. GBRf then took on four locomotives for infrastructure work and have grown their fleet ever since, the versatility and reliability of the electro-diesels once again proving itself.

On 18th March 2015 GB Railfreight liveried 73963 'Janice' is pictured at
Clapham Junction on a deliver run from Loughbrough to Tonbridge. 

In 2013 something unexpected was announced; the class 73 was going to receive a major life-extension. A complete re-build with a new engine and traction package would give this ageing workhorse a new lease of life. The first locomotives to begin their re-build, by RVEL at Derby and fitted with Cummins engines will shortly begin working for Network Rail, however the larger and more 'standard' class 73/9 design is undoubtedly the MTU engined version which has been re-built by Brush at Loughbrough. A fleet of more than 10 locomotives will be outshopped from Loughbrough split between infrastructure operations in the South-East of England and in a surprising move, operating the diesel portions of the Caledonian Sleeper train in Scotland. Far from their original area of operation the upgraded 1600hp class 73's will be able to meet the haulage capacities required of them on the routes from Edinburgh to Aberdeen, Inverness and Fort William while also providing train supply to Serco's new fleet of CAF built 'Mk5' sleeper coaches from 2018.

73967 prepares to work the 04:50 Edinburgh - Oban diverted Caledonian
Sleeper service on February 20th 2016.

The first passenger working north of the border was on Saturday 13th February when 73967 worked the 04:50 Edinburgh - Oban portion of the Highland Sleeper with 73968 dead on the rear for the return trip. The train itself was diverted to Oban as engineering works were blocking the line to Fort William, the 73/9's route availability of 5 making the diversion possible as heavier locomotives are banned on this line. While the locomotives look, and most certainly sound, different they do still retain much of their 'class 73' character with all locomotives retaining their option of electrical working from the 3rd rail and with the Southern based locos also retaining their 27-way multi-working cables (though re-positioned to allow the provision of new lighting clusters). GBRf have signed a 10 year deal with Network Rail to use the locomotives in Southern England and following the significant investment it is likely that the re-built class 73/9's will now be with us for a significant time to come.

Picture of the week- 16th January 2016

Living on the Southern Region I have seen most of the Class 73 Electro-Diesel fleet which have been operating over the last few years. There has however been one that always seems to escape me- Network Rail's 73138. While it should be one of the easiest of the ED's to capture with it's workings usually limited to the regular Network Rail test trains it just never seems to be on them when I go to see them. Like so much in life however 'good things come to those who wait' and 73138 turned up for me, quite unexpectedly, on a test train at Waterloo this week (14/01/2016). While the weather could have been better it was great to finally get the loco on camera- especially with the 'normal' end leading (the other cab of the loco has a rather peculiar track recording camera 'nose' attached to it!).

RHTT time again

Class 20's on a loco hauled RHTT at Epsom Downs? Who would have thought it! 19/10/2015

It is that time of year once again when the days draw in and the leaf busting trains come out to play.
As with last year GBRf are providing locomotives to haul various rail head treatment train (RHTT) diagrams from Tonbridge and Horsham with classes 20, 66 and 73 having seen action so far. Here are a few photos of the GB pairs on the southern region.

73141 'Charlotte' leads an RHTT towards East Grinstead across Riddlesdown viaduct. This is a shot I first tried last year (http://trains-today.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/picture-of-week-26th-october.html) and liked so much that I just had to come back. Maybe next year the sun might shine as well?

The 3W91 diagram visits some some very rare 20 haunts indeed. 20901 stands at Sutton waiting time having run up from Epsom Downs. Sadly the class 20's failed later in the day and were taken off the diagram. 19/10/2015

Early Bluebird

It is already warm at 06:20 on the hottest day of the year as 73141 'Charlotte' leads a test train and 73201 'Broadlands' through Hersham on 1st July 2015. This time of year, with super long days, brings about all sorts of opportunities that cannot be taken at other times. This photograph is possible for just a few months as at other times of the year the sun rises on the other side of the railway. 

By next summer it is highly likely that the class 73/0's from GB Railfreight will have been replaced by Network Rail's own class 73/9's. 

The train here is seen with the first leg of its days schedule, 1Q85, from Woking to Waterloo. On the next part of the trains duty while heading down to Southampton the test vehicles developed a fault resulting in the train returning early to Hither Green.

Comment: Charter Expectations

Many within the hobby, and indeed outside, enjoy the opportunity to travel by special charter trains. They can offer the chance to travel over interesting or 'rare' track, behind steam or heritage locomotives, in traditional rolling stock, or a pleasant day out often with full dining services being offered.

The charter market has suffered some ups and downs in recent times, but always seem so to re-surge with a quality product for those who enjoy these trips. 

I can't say that I travel on a huge number of charters- usually just a handful each year, but I almost always have a good day out. One promoter which I travel with, and almost always sing the praises of is UK Railtours. They run regular trips and really know what they are doing. They offer good value days out usually with sensible itineraries and reasonable start/finish times. The company is professional and always provides great service- in short, their trains deliver exactly what they say they will. 

Last weekend I travelled on UK Railtours 'Alpine Sunbeam'- a charter mostly aimed at enthusiasts with class 73's at the helm and a handful of unusual routes. As usual, the company deliver what it said it would (With the exception of the Newhaven Marine branch which was unaccessible and out of UK Railtours control). However the trip did fall slightly short of what I would expect from an enthusiast tour with the class 73's so far from my seat that I could neither hear or see them, the locomotives being off the end of almost every platform the train stopped at, and the lack of breaks during the trip (the only break being for half an hour at 11am).

At just gone 20:00, passengers of the 'Alpine Sunbeam' finally get a chance to see and photograph the locomotives, 73136
and 73128 which have been hauling the charter all day. The tour is now over and the locos have been shut down.
There were no other opportunities during the day to see the 73's because of short platforms and very limited stops during the day.

This got me thinking- what reasonable requirements do I have, or even expect from a heritage traction tour? 

I think all tours should, wherever possible, offer the following:

- Comfortable seating

- A hot food service in all classes

- Sensible start times from main stations

- At least one break of a decent length (minimum one hour- with time to leave the station)

- A chance for passengers to stretch their legs- ideally a short break every 4-5 hours as this is quite long enough to be sitting in one place for.

In addition if the main selling point of the tour is the traction:

- There should be a good opportunity for tour participants to see and photograph the locomotives during the day.

- The locomotive should get a chance to work at both ends of the train to give both standard and 1st class passengers a chance to hear and experience it working. 

Charity Railtours 'Four Triangles' tour suffered a loco failure which resulted in a loco swap and a lot of shunting during an extended
stop at Norwich. While this was unplanned and caused delays for the rest of the day- could a loco swap be a feature which could be
scheduled into future tours offering extra traction and an opportunity to view the engines hauling the tour?

I understand that providing everything on my 'wish list' may not always be possible. By virtue of some longer trips early starts and late finishes cannot be avoided. Similarly having a locomotive work from both ends of the train requires run-round facilities to be available and the time to shunt the train.

Also of course trains need to run to their maximum length to make them viable which may often result in the train being longer than many platforms.

I had a thought about the 'Alpine Sunbeam'- how might some of these ideas hypothetically have been incorporated?

With it's sensible start and finish times, the tour could have perhaps been extended. Maybe a break in Brighton could have been added (the train traversed the Preston Park Curve/Brighton avoider in the early afternoon)? This could have given passengers a chance to get off the train and have, say, 90 minutes in Brighton. During this time the stock could, perhaps, have run into Lovers Walk Depot for a double run round. Of course this would also have given passengers a chance to see the locomotives as well- before the tour was over.

Picture of the week- 26th October

It is that time of year again- The nights are drawing in, the clocks have gone back, and we are starting to think about digging out winter coats out of the wardrobe. It also means it is time for the annual leaf busting operation on the UK's railways. This means Network Rail's fleet of sandite and water cannon vehicles are kept busy as they keep the rail network clear. On the Southern region we are used to seeing the fleet of MPV (Multi Purpose Vehicles) running these trains- however this year some turns have gone over to loco haulage with several circuits based at Tonbridge and Horsham using traction provided by GBRf. On Sunday 19th October BR blue liveried 73119 and GB 73213 were set to work on a Horsham based train which would visit East Grinstead and Uckfield among other locations. The train is seen here as it crosses Riddlesdown viaduct on its way to East Grinstead- a location I have wanted to visit for several years!

Good things come in pairs

On February 19th 2012 GBRf liveried 73206 and 204 heading a train from the Thameslink worksite at Cricklewood. 73141 and 73213 are on the rear.

The humble class 73's have now been serving the railway for 50 years since the first JA arrived on southern metals in 1962. Despite having reached their half century mark many of the locos are still hard at work hauling trains just as they were designed to do. Since 2005 when 4 locomotives were overhauled by GB Railfreight the class have become common on weekend engineering trains across the former Southern region. As well as their core work on the SR the class have also found uses slightly further afield- often due to their narrow body design which permits the class to travel on lines barred to larger locomotives. It is for this reason that in early 2012 class 73's have found extensive use on engineering jobs in the Thameslink tunnels- where loading restrictions only permit class 31, 33 and 73 hauled trains.

On March 10th 2012 GBRf 's 73208 (in BR blue) and 73212 (in ex-first group colours) lead a loaded train from Cricklewood back towards the Thameslink tunnels through West Hampstead Thameslink .

Over 5 weeks GBRf has provided up to four pairs of locos for the trains which enter the tunnel from the northern end with wagons being marshalled at Cricklewood. The large requirement for locomotives has seen many of the more interesting 'ED's hired in to supplement GBRf's own fleet on these trains.

March 10th saw both ex-SWT 73109 and 73136 hired to supplement the GBRf fleet. The locos are seen stabled at Kentish Town.

73201 and 73107 were two further hired in locos working on 10th March 2012. The pair of ED's from RT rail are seen leading a spoil train out of the worksite between Kentish town and West Hampstead Thameslink.

The complete train of hired in locomotives- 73201 'Broadlands', 73107 'Redhill 1844-1994', 73136 'Perseverance' and 73109 'Battle of Britain 50th anniversary' trundle towards Cricklewood station.