SNCB / NS Archive trip report - 'That Which Survives'. UK to the Netherlands for a class 58. 6-8 July 2007

1733 hauls an NS Intercity service near Moerdijk. 07/07/2007

 

Eurostar set 3013 at Waterloo ready to form my 
train to Brussels 06/07/2007. 

Aside from a short foray to Ireland in 2006 to sample the 'Thumper' DEMU's, this really was my first 'proper' rail trip abroad- and again in search of some British design. 

We all have regrets over trains that we have missed due to simply being too young or not not having the knowledge of them. One of these regrets for me was missing the class 58's, which worked their final train on 3rd September 2001. The class had gone on to work abroad in France, Spain and the Netherlands and with no prospect of further work in the UK it was clear that if I wanted to see the class in operation I would need to head further afield. 

2021 arrives into Brussels Midi with an international train from Luxembourg with Swiss coaching stock. 06/07/2007.

Shunter 8219 prepares to detach stock. 06/07/2007.

My friend Jonathan from the model railway club had travelled on several railtours run by Mercier Charters and suggested that this would be a good opportunity to sample a class 58 now working with ACTS in the Netherlands. After the details were thrashed out everything was set and we were booked on Mercier's 'That Which Survives' tour for 7th July 2007. 

The tour started in Rotterdam and we would make the journey in both directions by rail - the first serious travel I had done abroad and my first trip on Eurostar since a family holiday to Disneyland in 1996! 

High speed rescue locos fitted with Schaffenberg couplers, 5506 and 5501 arrive into Brussels Midi. 06/07/2007.

2717 arrives into Brusselles Midi. 06/07/2007.

1352 arrives into Brusselles Midi. 06/07/2007.

Plan V 854 is stabled next to Raillion 1602 at
Rotterdam Centraal. 06/07/2007

2007 was the final year of Eurostar operations from Waterloo International before the move to St Pancras and it was good to get some slightly better photos of the operation than those I gook on my dad's camera in 1996! 

The Eurostar was taken through to Brussels where we had a couple of hours before transfering on to Rotterdam by Thalys. 

Raillion 232 909 passes through Rotterdam 
Centraal next to a 'Koplopper' 06/07/2007.

This was my first time in Belgium and I can't pretend that I knew what the trains were at the time- before the influx of the current Vectron fleet there were plenty of older locomotives to see and looking back it is pleasing to see that I managed to capture one of the powerful class 20's before they were withdrawn. We were lucky to also catch a pair of high-speed line rescue class 55 locos which arrived and reversed in the station. Some shunting was also taking place- something quite unfamiliar now in the UK rail scene. 

1753 hauls a rake of ex-German ICK coaches (withdrawn in 2009) into Rotterdam Centraal. 06/07/2007.

1713 hauls a DD-AR set at Rotterdam Centraal. 06/07.2007.

Our transfer on to Rotterdam was by an Amsterdam bound Thalys- I had long had a fascination with the TGV and this was the closest I had come to having a ride on one. The ride was enjoyable, though very little of the journey was actually covered on high-speed lines at this point. I have not travelled by Thalys since this trip, partly due to the loco hauled options available on the route (and the usual expense of taking the Thalys!).

An ICM 'Koploper' at Rotterdam Alexander 08/09/2007

After arrival at Rotterdam there was some time to watch the trains of Nederland Spoorwegen in their distinctive yellow and blue. Particularly pleasing were smart NS 1700 locos working with loco-hauled stock at the time. These locos also worked push-pull double deck DD-AR sets, which confusingly sometimes had a 1700 and sometimes a driving motor coach. 

Other distinctive units working for NS included the distinctive 'dog nose' 2-car Plan V 'mat 64 units that I really which I had showed some more attention! Quickly established as a favorite were also the ICMm 'Koplopers', translating as 'Head Walker' reference the gangways which could be connect units from their noses, the cab being positioned high up on the unit 'jumbo jet' style. 

A DD-AR set is pushed into Rotterdam Centraal by a 1700 loco. These sets have since been re-formed to Intercity format with motor coaches as NIZ units or scrapped. 06/07/2007.

A pair of 'Plan V' units at Rotterdam Centraal 07/07/2007

A trio of 6400 locomotives hauls a freight through Rotterdam
Alexander 08/07/2007.

Freight traffic through Rotterdam Centraal was plentiful, levels not seeming to be affected severely by the opening of the freight only 'Betuweroute' just a few weeks earlier. Some of the most unusual locos on offer were the DB Railion 232's, which I now know well as 'Ludmillas' which worked many of the international trains from Germany. Infact, these 232's would have been my first introduction to German railways.

'Ludmilla' 232 109 is seen near Moerdijk with an iron ore train. 07/07/2007.

A trio of 6400's with a coal train near Moerdijk. 07/07/2007.

As well as the strange foreign locos there was of course some familiarity in the class 66's that were operating for various freight companies. The locos however which did not grab my attention were the Mak 6400 locos which operated in multiple on heavy freight trains- to my eye these were very boxy and looked a bit too much like shunters.

In the striking livery of Vos Logistics, 5814 (58038) powers up before leading the empty stock away from Rotterdam Centraal after working the 'That Which Survives' charter for Mercier Tours. The station has been totally transformed since and is almost unrecognisable- however the footbridge, new at the time is retained within the new structure. 07/072007.

6703 is at the head of the train which is part way through a 
locomotive re-shuffle at Utrecht Centraal. 07/07/2007.

The day of the railtour dawned and stock was brought into Rotterdam Centraal by 5814, ex BR 58038, one of the three class 58's used by ACTS along with 5811 (58039) and 5812 (58044)- 5813 was missed from the number sequence. 

5814 was the third and final class 58 to be shipped to the Netherlands for ACTS and unlike its sisters was not outshopped in the companies blue and yellow livery but instead carried the striking black and orange scheme of Vos Logistics, a major customer. 

5814 attaches to the front of the train, with 1251 
in position at the head to work forward. 07/07/2007.

Also found on the train were examples of ACTS' other heritage traction, and ex-Belgian class 62 diesel, 6703 and an ancient ex-NS Baldwin 1200 class, 1251. 

Full details of the railtour including the routings can be found at the excellent www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk. 

With the other locomotives detached, 6703 performs a photographic run past on the Moerdijk branch. 07/07/2007.

Baldwin designed 1251 is shunted at Utrecht Centraal. 07/07/2007. 

Another first for me was a lineside photo stop- something very much consigned to the history books in the UK but still possible it the slightly less risk adverse countries abroad. The train pulled onto a branch line near Moerdijk and participants had the option to disembark before the train propelled back, ran past us and then set back again to pick up the passengers. This train having rather more British cranks than European the process was not well understood and became protracted as people scattered everywhere, thrilled with the liberty of being allowed off the train and onto the track! The view of the runpast itself was challenging for light, but a number of good pictures were achieved of the mainline which passed above the branch at this point, indeed we used its embankment as a vantage point- this definitely would not be allowed back home. 

1760 flies past the photo stop location at Moerdijk. 07/07/2007.

1849 passes Moerdijk with an intercity service. 07/07/2007.

6703 at the end of the line in the freight terminal at Moerdijk. 07/07/2007.

Very obviously related to the familiar English Electric class 08,
661 is attached to the front of the train at Beekbergen. 07/07/2007.

Another highlight of the trip was running over the preserved lines of Veluwsche Stoomtrein Maatschappij, including being powered by their class 661 shunter, the sisters of the familiar class 08 back home. 

Unfortunately the tour ran into some timing issues and subsequent lineside photo stops had to be omitted. The train was also re-routed at the end of the day due to a combination of a power failure in the Utrecht area and the need to make up for lost time, unfortunately that meant missing a rehearsal and consequently we would not be hauled by the 58 again, arrival back into Rotterdam Centraal (still around an hour late) was behind 1251 and 6703. 

Very foreign looking steam locos are assembled on the depot at Beekbergen. 07/07/2007.

1745 is seen from a passing train on the outskirts of Utrecht. 08/07/2007.

With the railtour completed Sunday was at our leisure to explore the railways of the Netherlands. We took a train from Rotterdam to Utrecht where we would visit the Dutch national railway museum. To reach the museum itself a shuttle train runs from the main station directly into the museum site this is a regular NS train rather than any sort of heritage service. 

1202 restored and cared for by the Dutch Railway Museum makes an unexpected appearance at Utrecht Centraal. 08/07/2007.

1767 is on the rear of the museum train. 08/07/2007.

Back at Utrecht Centraal after visiting the museum we got lucky, while standing on one of the platforms with our cameras somebody started shouting at us in Dutch- initial thought was that there was some sort of problem, as unfortunately is so often the case, however gesturing that we didn't understand the man went away. A few moments later we realised what he was likely shouting at us about- preserved 1212 looking very smart its original blue livery arrived with an empty stock working. So the shouting man was a friend not foe! 

Probably my first sighting of an ICE train, 4601 at Utrecht Centraal. 08/07/2007.

The familiar class 66 has become commonplace in the Netherlands,
6601 is seen at Utrecht Centraal for ERS Railways. 08/07/2007.

Having picked up our things again in Rotterdam it was now time to head back home. We were once again booked on the Thalys to Brussels and then the Eurostar back to London Waterloo. There was some time to spare in Brussels so we elected to hop off the Thalys a stop early at Brussels Noord in order to pick up one of the many loco-hauled options into Brussels Midi. The train we happened upon was one of the 'Benelux' services which would itself have originated from Amsterdam before following the route of our own Thalys through to Brussels. 

1184 calls at Rotterdam Centraal with a 'Benelux' service. 08/07/2007.

These trains were hauled by Belgian class 11 locos which were dedicated to the international Brussels - Amsterdam service. The class 11 itself was in the twilight of their career, being replaced on the Benelux service two years later in 2009 due to the high number of failures on the high profile service. They would remain in traffic on domestic duties until final withdrawal in 2012. The Benelux service was taken over by class 186 'Traxx' locos on an interim basis until the planned delivery of the ill-fated V250 'Fyra' EMU's from Ansaldo-Breda. As of 2020 the 'Traxx' locos are still working the international service. 

1191 is seen passing Lage Zwaluwe with an Amsterdam bound 'Benelux' service. The loco pulls a collection of ICR coaches carry the livery of NS (blue/yellow), the special 'Benelux' livery (red/yellow) and the new Fyra scheme.

5814 runs around the train at Dieren on the preserved line. 07/07/2007.

As often seems to be the case on my visits, the weather in Brussels was poor and before long we had been whisked back home by Eurostar. 

A very enjoyable first trip to Europe. It would be several years before I would return properly, and the ACTS class 58's would be long gone.

A pair of 'Plan V' units seen near Moerdijk- these units finally bowed out of service in 2016 after 55 years of service with NS.

Sheffield Icons

3rd June 2017 marked the 60th anniversary of the handover of pilot scheme D8000 from English Electrics Vulcan Foundary at Newton-le-Willows to British Railways. The first of 20 pilot scheme diesel locos which would lead to a successful production run totaling 228 engines had appeared on the rail network. The class 20's soon found their worth and were a familiar sight throughout the early diesel era, often working in pairs bonnet-to-bonnet providing a lightweight 2000hp power solution (and also removing the issue of the poor visability for the loco crew when driving 'bonnet first'. While withdrawal of the class by BR began in the mid 1980's some members of the class did make it through to the privatised era, most notably with DRS employing a fleet of up to 15 modified class 20/3's. In more recent years Harry Needle Railroad Company (HNRC) has returned several class 20's to the main line for hire contracts, including to GBRf for work delivering London Underground S-Stock train sets from Derby.
On Sunday 16th July GBRf ran one of their occasional charity trips the 'Charitably Chibble' tour from Ipswich to Basingstoke (via Sheffield) employing a pair of HNRC class 20's for the section north of Peterbrough. GBRf turned out 20132 and 20118, the pair of Railfreight Red Stripe and undoubtedly the best looking locomotives of the class on the network today. As well as raising more than £21,000 for charity GBRf provided a great day out behind these locomotives of 60 year design vintage. While 20's were never common on passenger trains they certainly would have been regulars to the Sheffield area with many of the class being based at the large marshalling yard at Tinsley. 20132 and 20118 are here pictured at Sheffield station, overlooked by an icon of the Sheffield skyline the Park Hill estate, another product of 1957 when construction began. This modernist estate of 995 dwellings took influence from the work of French architect and urban planner Le Courbusier was initially popular but fell into decline in the 1980's and 90's. Controversially the estate was awarded Grade II listed status in 1988 becoming the largest listed building in Europe. Renovation of Park Hill began in 2009 and full completion of the scheme is expected in 2022.

37's to the Far North

37025 'Inverness TMD'  and 37421 at Wick preparing to head south with the SRPS 'Far North Explorer' tour on 3rd June 2017.

Those who know me will know that I don't tend to travel on many railtours- Given the choice I would much prefer to chase down the traction of my choice on service trains for a more 'genuine' ride. However I do make exceptions and when the Scottish Railway Preservation Society announced a tour to Wick and Thurso with a pair of classic class 37's it was an easy decision to book a few days off work and head north of the border.

37421 lead the tour from Inverness to Georgemas Junciton. During our first
photo stop at Helmsdale it catches the first of the days sunshine.

I had travelled the Far North line once previously, on a trip to Inverness with a class 158 which is the staple traction for the line, operated by Scotrail. The line is highly scenic (though the poor weather on this occasion did little to show off the landscape to me). The line is incredibly rural by nature and sees just 4 trains in each direction on weekdays. Thurso, the most northerly station in the UK and one of the termini of the route is 154 miles north of Inverness and a staggering miles north of Edinburgh (with a journey time of some 8 hours!). It was clearly going to be an epic trip and in light of the distance our train was due to depart from Edinburgh around 22:00 on the Friday night travelling overnight by way of Perth and the Highland Mainline to reach Inverness around dawn. We would then continue to Georgemas Junction to reverse before visiting both Thurso and Wick before beginning the long and scenic journey back to the Scottish capital. Overall this would involve more than 24 hours with our chartered train.

Friday 2nd June came and after a day in and around Edinburgh it was time to wait for our train at Waverley. As expected traction was a pair of 37's in the guise of preserved 37025 'Inverness TMD' and Colas Rail's 37421 (working it's first passenger train since withdrawal by EWS in 2004). For the run north I would be located towards the rear of the train formed of the SRPS Mk1 coaches. This was perfect- hopefully the chance to get some sleep and of course this would mean that the loco's would be at our end of the train for the daylight run south.

Sleep was of course hard to come by- and I'm not sure my poor earplugs, face mask left from the sleeper the previous night or the toasty ambiance of the coach (heated by the ETH on 37421) did a lot to help. Nor did the passengers opposite who gave a running commentary on how they could not get to sleep! Never mind- I was never going to get a good night's sleep in a standard seat on a Mk1 coach heading through Scotland overnight!

Leaky steam heat pipes powered by 37025's boiler.

At Inverness the first signs of 'proper' daylight (it never got totally dark all night really) were appearing on the horizon and while our locos were taken off the train and fueled the decision was also taken to swap them around putting 37421 at the head of the train. This loco was providing our heat- but with 37025 having a fully functioning and certified steam heat boiler the opportunity was too good to turn down. 37025's boiler was fired up and soon steam heating was warming the train (this being only the second occasion in preservation that a diesel train has been steam heated on the mainline). Unfortunately some leaky steam heat pipes in the stock did not help the passengers at the back of the train where it became distinctly chilly for the run up to Thurso! Breakfast was served before Georgemas Junction where the train was shunted to allow for the first southbound unit to pass our train. One locomotive was also run around so that our train could be 'top and tailed' for the branches to Wick and Thurso. After the stock had been watered we continued with 37421 powering alone to Thurso.

Here we left the train and took advantage of the optional coach tour to the very north of Scotland (well, as we had come this far!) heading to Dunnett head (the most northerly point in the UK) and to the more famous John O'Groats.

Re-joining the train at Wick the locomotives had been run around again to leave 37025 on the business end with 37421 once again tucked inside for heating purposes (37025 is through wired for ETH, however there was some concern the cables may not have been long enough to master the severe curves on this route!). The sun had come out and with the locos on our end of the train heading south into the Scottish Highlands this really was something to savour. The tour lost some time at Georgemas Junction waiting for a Scotrail Unit. The late running resulting in an extended stop further south at Brora, now very much in gloomy Scottish weather, to pass another unit while the booked stop at Dingwall unfortunately had to be curtailed (much to the disappointment of those wishing to stop here for Fish & Chips!).

Sunshine had become rain by the time we reached the Highland Mainline.
With 37025 leading our train pauses for a pathing stop at Blair Atholl.

After Inverness the train joins the Highland Mainline, no less scenic than the Far North routes but with a much increased linespeed and full semaphore signalling in many places. After climbing up from Inverness our train is recessed in order to let a Virgin Trains HST pass on the daily 'Highland Cheiftan' from London Kings Cross- this passes at speed proving this really is a main line despite the altitude and passing loops! Climbing on to Slochd and then Drumochter summits is a real test for our locomotives- excellent sound effects are heard from the head of the train with the locos left at full boar for some 20 minutes climbing the gradients.
A photo/pathing stop takes place at Blair Atholl as my journey begins to feel near to its end. Our train is now running to time having missed the long lay over at Dingwall and arrival at Perth, where I would leave the train, is on time at around 22:30. Those staying on to Edinburgh will enjoy another 2 hours of the class 37's but after 24 hours with this train I am definitely ready for bed.

What an excellent tour this has been- Great scenery, locomotives, company and even weather (in the most part). I'm sure I will be back again before too long for another SRPS tour- Kyle of Lochalsh must be high on my list now to reach with some classic Scottish 37's?

A final view of the train at Perth where we would leave for a proper bed. The train would continue to Edinburgh Waverley.

Welcome Home Wessex!

2415 prepares to leave 2418 out of Waterloo following the first ROG charter. Until 2007 this would have been an everyday scene.

On bank holiday Monday 29th August the Rail Operations Group ran their first passenger charter. The trip was a simple first itinerary using a pair of class 442 EMU's for a return run from Waterloo to Bournemouth. The ROG have so far specialised in performing stock transfers, particularly with their two class 37's fitted with Dellner couplers to avoid the use of barrier vehicles. The recent award of a passenger licence opens up more opportunities for ROG to expand their business, and with a fleet of 5 'passenger' class 47/8's recently acquired hopefully this is a company we can expect to see more of in the charter market.

2406 and 2405 lead a Gatwick Express into Victoria, the
re-building of Battersea power station being very much evident.

The class 442's used on Monday's charter are some of the stored fleet which have been released from Gatwick Express duties and which are currently in the care of the ROG at either Eastleigh or Ely. The later are being kept 'warm' by one of the class 47's, while the Eastleigh based fleet are being used on 'warming runs' on the national network to keep the units in good condition. The fleet were built for use on the Wessex route after the Weymouth electrification from 1988 and worked here until 2007 when the fleet were withdrawn before moving to Gatwick Express. For many the South West Main Line still feels like home for the 442's- but with their future far from certain, will I ever see one at Waterloo again? I'd like to think so.

Picture of the week - 25th November 2015

The Bellmond Pullman (formerly Venice Simplon -Orient-Express) makes regular luxury excursions from the London area providing fine dining and an interesting day for those who can afford the tickets! Most trips with this train, with vintage 1920's and 30's 'Pullman' carriages are behind modern class 67 diesels, along with several trips each year worked by steam. Very occasionally more interesting heritage traction gets a turn on the train such as on 16th July 2015 when the Pullman was hauled by Deltic D9009 'Alycidon' on a UK railtours trip to the Severn Valley Railway. Here the train is seen near Gerrards Cross on the Chiltern Main Line heading north.

Double Thumpers at the Spa Valley

Different styles of Thumper meet at Eridge on the Spa Valley Railway. 1317 and 1133 on loan from the Lavender Line.

The weekend of 4th and 5th July 2015 marked a historic occasion for the Spa Valley Railway- it was 30 years since the closure of the original line from Eridge to Tunbridge Wells.
To mark the anniversary it was decided to do something special, and thanks to many very generous donations to raise the funds for road transportation it was agreed to bring a 'guest' class 205 Thumper unit to the line to join the resident class 207.

'Oxted' 2D 1317 was one of the units working on the line on its very last day, so it was fitting that the DEMU was purchased by the Spa Valley Railway when it finished its service with Southern (numbered 207017) in 2004. It has been restored to blue/grey livery as it would have worn on the last day of service. In the future the the unit will also be re-united with it's original trailer coach which is currently being restored. 1317 has been restored beautifully and is in many ways the best example of a thumper in preservation- it will be the only three car set, and also unlike the remainder of it's class mate and the class 205's it retained its original filament lamps throughout it's BR career while other units received more modern strip lighting. The units has been finished internally with prototypical 'trojan' moquette seat covers and looks quite the part.

1133 at Eridge. The author recalls traveling on the Uckfield
line with this unit on many occasions- and photographing it in
the near platform - still used by Southern services today.

1133 is a slightly older 'Hampshire' unit which passed to the Lavender Line on completion of its service with Southern (as 205033) on the (London)-Oxted-Uckfield and Ashford-Hastings routes. The motor car has been restored to a high standard and currently runs with the restored driving trailer coach from 205021, on loan from Hastings Diesels. While 1133 did not run on the final day of the Tunbridge Wells - Eridge line (that honour befell 1125 which hauled the final train) the unit did take part in the final 'Last Thump' railtours bringing down the curtain of the class running on the British main line for Southern.

Complete with the headboards from 30 years ago 1317 prepares to lead the 4 car train away from Eridge.

On the Saturday the two units operated all services on the line and the weather was beautiful from start to finish making this a fantastic, and well supported day out. Later on in the evening both thumpers joined together to run as a 4 car train. There was even a special photo-shoot organised at Eridge where the units were shunted into adjacent platforms in order to re-create the side by side photograph from 30 years earlier.

Recreating the scene from 30 years previous. 1317 and 1133
stand side by side at Eridge.

The two thumpers pass at Groombridge. The different in front
end styling can clearly be seen.

All in all I think everyone agreed that this was a splendid day out and one which no thumper fan would want to have missed. If you did- 1133 will be staying at the Spa Valley for the summer affording a few more opportunities to catch the DEMU's together- the next at the railways summer diesel gala from 30th July- 2nd June.

1121's trailer leads 2H 1133 at Ford Farm Crossing. The second
track is the mainline from Oxted to Uckfield.

Also running on the Saturday was another DEMU- Hastings Diesels 1001, these days the only Thumper to get a chance to stretch its legs on the mainline network. A sighting of 1001 working the Warwickshire Wanderer tour brings the total number of 4-SRKT engines heard for the day to four- not something easy to achieve since 2004 when thumpers bowed off the main line!

1001 with the Warwickshire Wanderer railtour bound for Stratford on Avon seen passing Wandsworth Town.