New traction for the Gatwick Express

387203 and 387201 call at Harpenden with a service to Bedford on 16th February. The new Gatwick Express trains had yet to enter service on airport express services from Victoria and are still awaiting the details of their branding to be applied. The trains will seldom get to use their 25kv AC capacity once in full service on the Victoria - Gatwick Airport - Brighton route.

This week the new order on the Gatwick Express worked its first services on the premium London-Gatwick Airport-Brighton route with deployment of the first class 387/2 trains. The latest 'Electrostars' built by Bombadier at Derby have been delivered from late 2015 and will over the coming months replace the class 442 trains which are currently working the airport express services. Prior to their deployment on the Gatwick Express several 387/1's have seen use on Thameslink services from Bedford to Brighton, where your author was able to catch up with a pair of these brand new trains in their striking red livery.

Standard class on the 387/2 showing the luggage space, 2+2
seating and red/blue colour scheme.

The 1st class section on the new Gatwick Express. The 1st
class supplement may buy privacy but it doesn't seem to
entitle the passenger to any enhanced comfort!

The 387/2's will be the second dedicated fleet of trains built for the airport express service since it commenced in 1984- the first being the class 460 Junipers which worked trains to the airport until 2012 when they were all withdrawn to be amalgamated into the South West Trains fleet as part of the class 458/5's. The most famous trains of the airport service were undoubtedly the original express fleet of class 73's hauling Mk2 coaches with a GLV driving trailor on the country end of the set.
The new Electrostars will bring wi-fi and power points to the airport service and be more friendly to those with disabilities. The future of the undoubtedly more comfortable class 442 fleet is currently unknown although there are indications that Southern may keep a small number of the trains in the short-medium term.

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.

OBB Austria 4th-7th February 2016 Vienna and Semmering

RailJet Sandwich. 1216-234 is sandwiched between two RailJet sets. I took this train to Wien Hauptbahnhof from the airport.
Upon arrival the RailJet set atattched to another for the onward journey.

A short trip to Austria because I could and because I had not visited properly before. Having worked now for a year on the railways it was also time to celebrate the arrival of my first set of FIP coupons. The aim was not necesarilly to score lots and lots of locos in Vienna but to have a few good runs on the Austrian network and hopefully come home with a few decent photos as well.

Thursday 4th February-

One of the main purposes of the trip was to catch up with some of OBB's fairly elderly class 1142's. Here 1142-661 is seen at Wagram-Grafenegg with the 15:04 from Wien Franz Josefs Bahnhof to Krems an der Donau.

1063-029 shunts in the station at Krems an der Donau.

It was an early start for the first train to Gatwick- My EasyJet flight at 08:20 potentially cut it slightly fine but was made with ease- I was even able to enjoy a Gatwick 442 from Clapham Junction to East Croydon (perversely it didn't stop at the airport!). In another first for me I went for a big carry-on bag (as I got a suitable one for Christmas) and this turned out not to be too much faf on the plane and did ensure I was out of the airport at Vienna with the minimum of fuss.
On arrival at Vienna you are very much pointed in the direction of the CAT (city airport train) to reach the centre of town, but at 13 euros single (and no FIB discount) I elected to take an equally comfortable RailJet with 1116 234 to Vienna Hauptbahnhof for an S-Bahn on to Mitte, which was near where I was staying. Had I not been bothered about traveling in comfort an S-Bahn would also have done the trip for 2.20 euro (or on FIP). Passing a large yard en-route to the city I passed the only old liveried orange loco I would see for the whole trip- a class 1142.
Having dropped my bags off it was off to search for some 1142's which was the primary purpose of the trip. The line with the largest concentration of workings in the Vienna area was that to Krems an der Donau so I set off to Franz Josefs Bahnhof for the 14:05 to Krems. The station can hardly be described as nice, and certainly not photogenic! It did however provide me with some lunch and then the somewhat unexpected sight of MAV 370006 sitting on some OBB double deck stock.

2016-030 at Krems an der Donau with the 16:23 to St Polten.

Shortly before departure time 1142 624 rolled in with the 14:05 to Krems which I took as far as Wagram-Grafenegg as this looked like a reasonable place to get a photo and drop back to the next train. The following train into Vienna produced 1144-059 vice a 1142 and as I didn't run fast enough back to the station from my photo spot I missed it- 50 minutes to explore this tiny village then before the next 1142 to Krems! Fortunately this all worked well as the sun re-appeared just in time for a nice picture of 1142-611 arriving- and I managed to get on the train this time for the short run to Krems. It was a quick connection, but with just enough time to photograph a railcar and 1063-029 shunting before I boarded 2016-030 on the 16:23 to St Polten. Shortly after leaving Krems diesel 2143-037 was seen on shed. I wasn't aware that these locos were still in use with OBB but it certainly looked serviceable and I also saw another example later in the week parked in the Vienna area. I'm a big fan of OBB intercity loco hauled trains, and it was one of these with 1116-093 which took me on from St Polten to Linz for dinner and a few 1142 night shots.

1142-658 at Linz Hauptbahnhof.

I had a great dinner in a cafe in Linz, where the very astute waiter weirdly wished me a pleasant stay in Austria but also warned me to 'be careful- Austria is famous for it's sausage' (not quite sure what to make of that!!!). By the time I was back at Linz Hauptbahnhof for a RailJet back to my Vienna hotel it was starting to get a bit late. CD 380015 arrived shortly after I did into Vienna Hauptbhanhof with the overnight to Prague/Warsaw- it's really difficult to take photos under those LED lights!






Friday 5th February-

The famous 'Twenty Schilling' view over the Semmering pass. A pair of OBB 1144 locos can be seen with a freight train.

I hadn't really had many thoughts on where I was going to go around Vienna photographically in advance of the trip, and it was only a few days before flying that I started looking into locations. The Semmering pass shone out as being both close to Vienna and an area with spectacular scenery, as well as being busy for both passenger and freight trains. The only problem was the fairly infrequent local train service.

My smart Czeck RailJet train at Wiener Neustadt. The weather
was not looking great for a day of photography in the mountains!

After breakfast it was off to Wien Mitte to take 1144-125 the short hop to Miedling. I had woken to see some sunshine in the sky, but by the time of arrival at Miedling this was very much rain, which shortly turned to sleet. Conditions were far from ideal for photography but at least I had a small glimmer of hope that there may be some snow up in the mountains. 1216-236 was my next train with a Czeck RailJet (no wifi on these ones at the moment) to Wiener Neustadt Hbf, here I picked up a suburban train again (which I could have taken all the way on a slower journey) with 1144-106. As we started to climb into the mountains a thin layer of snow started to appear on the ground and by the time of reaching Payerbach-Reichnenua, to change onto a Talent EMU, it was clear that there would definitely be snow over Semmering. I got off the train at Breitenstien and immediately regretted my lack of planning. I hadn't seen any particularly viable photo location up to this point (or passed any freight trains) and I didn't really know where to go looking. I probably wasted an hour aimlessly wandering trying to find somewhere to shoot the trains (and throwing the occasional snowball at trees), before I headed off on a somewhat blind walk down towards the Katle-Rinne viaduct. This didn't turn out to be too far to walk (30 mins tops) and after a scramble up the mountainside I found myself level with the viaduct. What's more some freight trains started to appear and the sun even made an appearance for a few of them!

1142-664 leads 1144-065 across the Katle-Rinne Viaduct in a patch of sunshine.

I spent a good hour or so here and saw around 7 trains by which time I really felt cold. Having clambered back down the mountain I was pleased to find a path up to the Krauselklause Viaduct where I spent another hour and a half. Traffic initially had dropped off somewhat, but picked up again before I left with a total of 12 trains in this time.

2016-006 crosses the Viaduct with some sort of test/special
coach. These locos may not be particularly noisy but it could
certainly be heard making it's way up the Semmering pass!

There wasn't another train at Breitenstein for a little while, and having realised that the RailJets stopped at Semmering I decided to commence the scenic walk there. Signposts said this was around 2:35 hours and I reckoned I could do it quicker than that, the map didn't seem to show it as much further than I had walked already. I was prepared to ignore the fact that I had found nowhere for lunch and a had just a bar of chocolate and some lemon cake left from my emergency rations from the Spar in Vienna. The walk was spectacular- especially with several inches of snow on the ground and I barely saw another soul as I went. It quickly became apparent however that the walk was going to take that full 2 1/2 hours, especially if I stopped occasionally when I found a nice view of the railway to wait for a train. Some two hours into the walk, from high up in the mountains you reach the '20 schilling' viewpoint looking right across the Semmering valley. It is a spectacular view an I clearly had to wait for a few trains here, despite becoming increasingly concerned that it would be dark before I reached Semmering! Eventually the path began to descend and I saw a welcome 'OBB' sign. This however wasn't Semmering, it was the infrequently served station before, Wolfsburgkogel, and it was definitely getting dark. Fortuitously I found a timetable and there was a train in 15 minutes- that'll save the final 30 minute walk to Semmering I thought. Sadly not. I was using UK time on my camera so of course the train had been and gone! It was definitely getting dark now and there was just enough light to get me through to Semmering, where I then had a 45 minute wait for a RailJet back to Vienna. The walk had taken me just short of 3 hours with some photo stops- but was well worth doing.
The plan was to have traveled over the entire Semmering route to finish the day, but given it was dark, I had still not had lunch, and that it required a tight connection to get the last train back to Vienna I did the sensible thing and went straight back by RailJet, OBB liveried 1216-210 being provided on another Czech set. I headed to the restaurant car for some slightly disappointing sausage with ketchup and mustard- I had decided that the full meals were a bit on the pricey side unless you happened to be eating during 'happy hour'.

An unidentified class 1144 banks a steel train on the
'Fleischmann Bruck' viaduct.

Back in Vienna I waited for a Regional train back to Mitte, which produced 1144-125, just as the day had begun. It was then off to a very nice restaurant near the guesthouse for some well-earned Vienna Schnitzel.
Passenger traffic over the Semmering route was almost exclusively RailJets (both CD and OBB examples), though I did see one northbound IC and the Talent unit which was providing the local service.
Freight traffic was more varied with a mix of Taurus, 1142 and 1144 locos in use in various combinations, usually double headed, 1144's probably being the most common traction. Loco movements were common and a very small handful of trains also had banking locos on the rear.



Saturday 6th February-

One of the older style trams on the Vienna 'inner loop'.

A morning for some finishing off before heading back to the airport.
I went off to explore Vienna on the trams- finding the nice 'old' style trains quite hard to come by. I completed most of the inner city 'loop' and then headed off on a route '1' tram down towards Wien Miedling, because it was an old one and I wanted a ride on it. 1116-165 took me back to Mitte for a quick dash round the city centre with my camera and a hunt to find some chocolate, having missed a photograph with orange and cream liveried 1144-117 at Wien Miedling. I had to settle for an EMU for my final journey to Hauptbahnhof (they are at least loud with opening windows) before taking my final Austrian train, an IC behind 1116-226 where I enjoyed a compartment to myself for the run to Flughaven. On the flight home I got luck in having a seat on possibly the only row of 3 in the whole plane which didn't have a middle occupant. Even better the young lady sitting in the other seat was one of the rare variety that actually spoke so we had a nice chat about Vienna and London.

1144-074 and 1116-254 lead a long PKP coal train across the Krauselklause Viaduct. On the rear of the train were two further banking locomotives 1144-258 and 1144-290. 

Conclusions- 
An excellent trip but obviously too short. I would like to spend some more time in Austria when not limited quite so much by the short days. Having said that seeing some snow up in the Semmering pass was fantastic and I would definitely like to re-visit this line again. There is plenty of loco-hauled action in this country and while I didn't see a lot away from Semmering must be a fair quantity of freight traffic also.

1144-087 leads 1116 -088 through the snow with an attractive front load over the Katle-Rinne Viaduct.

Riding the Glasgow Subway

The London Underground is famous throughout the world. Between it and the Budapest Metro they are the two oldest underground railway systems in the world. The third oldest is somewhat less known- the Glasgow Subway. Completed in 1896 the network consists of a single twin circle of tracks which is contained completely below the streets of Glasgow. Three coach trains traverse an 'outer' and 'inner' circle around the city sitting on the unusual 4ft gauge track. While broadly similar in style to London Undergrounds 'deep' line tubes the Glasgow subway trains, built by Metro-Cammel from 1977-79, are noticeably smaller in size to fit through the very restrictive gauge of the tunnels on the system. Trains are painted in a version of Strathclyde Passenger Transport's orange which has lead to some, particularly in the press, nicknaming the system 'the clockwork orange'.
The network has 15 stations around Glasgow, many with central underground island platforms. Trains take 24 minutes to complete a loop of the Glasgow Subway and run up to every 4 minutes at peak times. Ticketing is now entirely through a 'smart card' system with disposable electronic paper tickets available for single journeys.

Split-box return!

37057 provides power from the rear of 3M05 from Dollands Moor to Derby Railway Technical Centre as it passes South Kenton on 23rd January 2016 

Back in June 2012 I reported on the sad end of 'split-box' class 37's on the mainline with the final withdrawal of DRS' 37087. Little did I imagine then that some 3 1/2 years later I would be writing about the return of not just one, but two real 'split-box' class 37's!
In the second part of 2015 Colas Rail won the contract to provide motive power for Network Rail's fleet of test trains. Their chosen solution was the tried, tested and dependable class 37, and with many of their fleet having come from preservation there has been a sudden influx of variety in the fleet. The need to get locos out and into traffic as quickly as possible has even seen some heritage liveries in use on the network. The star of the new Colas fleet, returning to the mainline towards the end of 2015 has to be 37057 which has been restored to BR Green at Barrow Hill complete with headcode blinds and original style buffer beam cowling.
In an attempt perhaps to source an even more interesting loco Colas have also now taken on hire 37025 from the Scottish Railway Preservation Society- it has had an extensive re-build at Bo'ness and is now resplendent in BR Large-Logo blue, complete with a working steam-heat boiler (though this will be saved for landcruises around Scotland rather than it's work for Colas). Welcome back split-box 37's- who'd have though it in 2016!

Comment: TFL Rail to take over London Suburban Services. Is this the answer?

Crowds of passengers wait to board London Overgrounds 378233 at
Kensington Olympia. New and more frequent trains have transformed the line.

It has been announced this week that following a long campaign by London Mayor Boris Johnson commuter rail services into London will be taken over by Transport for London. Starting from 2018 with SouthEastern's suburban routes, services will be re-branded as 'London Overground' and full control within the London area will pass to TfL. The change, it has been said, will 'increase capacity' and 'eventually bringing an end to cattle truck conditions' faced by commuters. By transforming services in the south east in the same way that London Overground has transformed it's existing services (increasing ridership on these six-fold) TfL believes they can increase capacity and run a truly metro-style service on these routes.
One thing is absolutely certain- the arrival of London Overground on the wider suburban network is not going to be a quick fix. Let's take a look firstly at how TfL has transformed one of it's existing routes- the West London Line from Clapham Junction to Willesden Junction. Just 10 years ago this route was something of a forgotten backwater of the capitals rail network. An outdated 3-coach Silverlink Metro train would run every 30 minutes calling at the four stations on the route, and it was rarely busy. Look back 10 or so years further and the route only had a peak time shuttle from Clapham Junction to Kensington Olympia! London Overground has undoubtedly transformed services here- today they provide modern 5 coach walk-through trains at least every 15 minutes seven days a week. Two new stations have opened on the line and all stops are fully staffed. The line has better connectivity with many trains running through to Stratford in East London, and the real result is in ridership- trains are busy, and at peak times already nearing capacity.

In July 2006 the new West London Line station at Shepphards Bush (and the Westfield Shopping Centre next door) is still under construction as Silverlink Metro's 313109 passes with a train to Clapham Junction.

TfL has successfully invested in under-utilised infrastructure and transformed a marginal route into one that is now popular, profitable and a core part of London's transport network.

Class 455's are the mainstay of commuter traffic through Wimbledon- a
service which London Overground would like to take over- but how will it
boost services from the 18 trains an hour which already run at peak times?

Let us now look at one of the routes which TfL aspire to control in the future, also passing through Clapham Junction is the busy commuter service from Wimbledon into London Waterloo- currently operated by South West Trains. Unlike the West London Line this route is already one of the busiest commuter routes into London. Eight coach trains make the journey from Wimbledon into Waterloo up to 18 times per hour, with a train almost every 3 minutes at peak times. With the current infrastructure capacity has been reached on the line- there is physically no room for more trains. At peak times trains are also already full. By the time that TfL may take over this route (2019 at the earliest) a 25% increase in capacity will have been delivered with 10 coaches running on most trains- this still will not solve the capacity crunch and crush loadings on the route. Unlike the take over of Silverlink Metro there will be no quick wins on a route such as this.
What could London Overground therefore bring to a route such as this?
Obviously if the change in management of the line were to bring more capital investment that would be a good thing. There are ways, at great expense, that capacity could still be increased on the route- it may be possible to lengthen platforms again to introduce 12 coach trains. Technology upgrades with the use of Train Management Systems (TMS), and in-cab signalling could improve the flow of trains allowing more to be squeezed onto the network. Finally new trains could be procured with more and larger doors, walk through gangways and a metro style seating layout- this however would not be a small investment- more new vehicles would be needed for this service than London Overground's entire current fleet! Of course the long term answer for this route is to build Crossrail 2- but that is another topic altogether!

Gone and not missed- class 313 121 pauses at Caledonian Road
& Barnesbury in 2006. This route now has new class 378 trains
under the London Overground brand.

Further considerations need to be taken in with TfL's proposal- unlike their current routes many of those they are proposing to operate are not simple 'enclosed' systems- from several terminals the current operators run out to many many different destinations. There are also long distance services to consider, which share tracks and infrastructure with the trains TfL will plan to run. Then there is the small issue of what happens outside of the London Boundary- Metro style trains already continue far outside of the reaches of the Mayors authority into Surrey, Kent and Sussex. What will the impact be for these outlying (but very much essential) services?
TfL certainly faces a challenge in taking on London's commuter network and those customers who think that a sudden change in management will bring about a rapid improvement in services may be saddened to find that this is not the case. Everyone in the transport industry would like to see capacity raised on these lines but there are no easy answers, and they certainly don't come cheap. Whether it is TfL or a franchised TOC which ultimately runs these services the fact remains that these are some of the busiest railways in the world and that will be a challenge for any operator to take on.

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!).

Rumbling to Rhymney

One of the most famed of all the 37/4's, sadly now scrapped following an incident in this very location, 37408 'Loch Rannoch'
prepares to run around it's train at Rhymney on a sunny Saturday 19th March 2005. 37425 and 37411 were also in use this day.

A freshly painted 37417 'Richard Trevithick' stands at Cardiff
Central having arrived from Rhymney on 27th March 2004.

In final post and summary of 2015 I mentioned how good it is to see some regular class 37 hauled trains returning to the national network both in Cumbria and Anglia. For many of the younger (but not too young) generation the last days of the 37/4's are associated with the North Wales Coast route. I myself was 'too late' to enjoy the 'tractors' on this scenic railway but did not miss out sampling these fine machines in South Wales on the Rhymney Valley line where the class maintained some work until 2006.

For several years three class 37/4's were required each day from Cardiff Canton to operate peak weekday commuter services; 3 trains from Rhymney to Cardiff Central (and Radyr) in the morning and return in the evening. Saturdays were were the fun really started with class 37's booked to work all trains from Cardiff to Rymney with an hourly departure in each direction. The line up the valley is steep in places and the regular stops meant the locos often put on a good show.

37425 stands at Cardiff Central at the end of the 'Rhmyney Gala' day 04/12/05

Early in 2005 with the end of loco haulage on the line drawing nearer Arriva Trains Wales sponsored the re-painting of two class 37's to mark the event. 37411 was out-shopped from Toton in BR green as 'Caerphilly Castle/Castell Caerffily' while 37425 emerged in BR Large Logo blue as 'Pride of the Valleys/Balchder y Cymoedd'. Even more exceptionally when the curtain was finally coming down on the class 37's in South Wales a 'gala' event was organised on the Rhymney valley line on Sunday 4th December 2005 (the line not usually seeing a Sunday service) with additional locomotives drafted in enabling hourly trains to be top and tailed on the line. Locos in use represented the classes which had been used on the line over the years and were 33207, 37411, 37419, 37425, 47854, 50031 and 50049.

My final class 37 in the Welsh valleys- 37406 'The Saltire
Society' works the 17:01 Cardiff - Rymney on 21 October 2006.

This should have been the end for class 37's in the Welsh valleys, but early in 2006, due to cited overcrowding one return trip was re-introduced Monday to Friday between Rhymney and Cardiff. There would be no return to the Saturday bonanzas and with far less ceremony the final class 37 to reach Rhymney was 37410 with the 17:01 Cardiff- Rhymney on Friday 8th December 2006. The train returned to Cardiff the following Monday and, for the final time, that was the end of class 37 hauled passenger trains in the South Wales valleys.

Looking back on 2016

The semaphores at Barnetby East sadly did not see out 2014 as they fell victim to the North Lincolnshire resignalling project at the end of the year. Coal traffic also vastly reduced with the reduction in generation at coal power stations and the closure of further collieries. 66201 is seen at Barnetby in November 2015.

2015 has once again proven to be a fascinating year on the railways. Here in the UK we have seen the railways once again attracting more passengers than ever as well as maintaining a fantastic safety record. The year saw the full roll-out of class 68's to Chiltern Railways mainline services- a new locomotive class that has rightly already got a great following. While Chiltern have seen new locos take up squadron passenger service it has also been fantastic to see some old favorites return to use. When Arriva Trains Wales finally dispensed with class 37 haulage on the Rhymney Valley line in 2006 few could have imagined that in 2015 it would once again be possible to sample the fantastic class 37/4's on regular passenger trains. The 37 hauled operation on the Cumbrian Coast has to be one of the most interesting developments for enthusiasts in many years. 37's have also returned to East Anglia displacing class 47's (which have, for now, no booked passenger work) on the Angilan 'short set' which shuttles between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Interesting traction times have also abounded for the new operator of the Caledonian Sleeper which due to unreliability of it's class 92's and a wait for delivery of new class 73/9's has led to a range of traction seeing use on it's trains including class 47's and even heritage electric class 86's and the sole UK registered class 87.

37411 and 37427 pass outside Cardiff Queen Street in 2005
on the Rhymney Valley line. While neither loco is extant ten
years later some of their classmates are once again in front
line passenger service.

Of course as well as positives there are also some losses during the year including the closure of the last deep coal mine in the UK and the vast reduction in the tonnage of coal being moved on our railways. The loss of the traditional semaphore signalling in North Lincolnshire will disappoint many photographers across the country- the freight hotspot of Barnetby will never quite be the same again and I was sad that I could not join the many other enthusiasts who headed up for one last time in the last days of semaphore operation.

On a personal note 2015 has been a great year for me. Joining the railway profession 12 months ago was a move that has most certainly paid off (and kept me busy!) and I look forward to many more years in this fantastic industry wherever it may take me. I have also had the chance to enjoy some great rail trips to some of the regular destinations in near Europe as well as some more exotic trains in the former USSR states of Latvia and Lithuania as well as something really quite different more recently in Sri Lanka. Regular readers will also have noticed that this blog is now updated almost every week. My readership is up once again in 2015 and the number of posts during the year has almost doubled.

I do enjoy the chance to see some more interesting locos abroad and my trip
to Latvia and Lithuania certainly achieved this. 2M62-0924 is pictured
between Krustpils and Daugavpils in Latvia with a heavy freight train
during October 2015.

Looking ahead to 2016 it is almost impossible to predict what surprises the railway may have in store. It looks as if we may seen further class 37's returning to the mainline from the Heritage sector and as the railway continues to grow further new trains will be delivered throughout the year to boost capacity. In Europe it has sadly already been announced that all sleeper trains run by DB in Germany are to cease, while elsewhere it is likely that the number of traditional loco hauled trains will continue to reduce.
Whatever 2016 brings I hope you find it enjoyable and, as usual, I am sure the railways will not fail to surprise!
- James

Picture of the Week - 20th December 2015

As Autumn gives way to Winter photographic opportunities change. The run up to Christmas is often a rewarding time to be out taking photographs with cold crisp mornings and trees now fully devoid of their leaves in addition to a large number of extra charter trains running in the lead up to the festive season. This season however has got off to a strange start - those cold crisp days have not happened and instead the UK has seen one of the warmest (and cloudiest) December's on record. Many of the usual steam trips have also fared badly with diesel replacing the planned steam on a number of trains in recent weeks. This photograph, taken on one of the very few sunny days this month shows recently re-painted 67015 joining onto the South West Mainline at Byfleet & New Haw with a Christmas Belmond Pullman excursion to Winchester.

Sri Lanka Observations - 23/11 - 06/12 2015

M10 944 reverses on the bridge outside Colombo Fort Station.

Observations from a 'normal' holiday to Sri Lanka, with as many trains as I could fit in.

23/11
Visited a location just to the West of Colombo Fort in the late afternoon.
Observed M10 916 arriving on a train from the Galle direction. M10 944 was observed shunting (presumably running around a train at Fort)





24/11

M8 842 passes the Batticaloa train at speed with an express bound for Colombo.

An early start to catch the 06:05 train from Colombo Fort to Batticaloa (as far as Habanara). M4 756 was the train loco which proved to be a very rateable machine. We were traveling in reserved 2nd class (this train is 2nd and 3rd only) which, like most of the train, was not particularly busy. The journey of around 6 hours cost about 600 rupees (£3). Leaving Colombo we passed several commuter trains, most formed of DMU's but several with locos and stock, some of these probably being the end of longer distance overnight 'night mail' trains. Commuter trains into Fort at this time were extremely busy with all space used and many people hanging onto the outside of doors. At Kurunegala we passed a loco hauled train with what looked like an M2 and another short train stabled with M7 806.

M4 743 passes through Semaphore signals as it approaches
Maho junction with a mixed t

The train was paused at Wellawa for M8 842 to pass non-stop which made a nice photo (having climbed down from the train and crossed over to the bank having worked out something was going to pass us). At Maho Junction the train reverses and the M4 loco was run around and turned so that it would continue to lead 'nose first' to Batticaloa. M4 743 also pulled into the station with a mixed train from the northern line for connections. As with much of more rural Sri Lanka this juction station contains a nice collection of 'British' looking semaphore signals. I got chatting the the crew of the train before leaving Maho Junction and found myself sharing the cab with the driver and secondman for the next section of the jounrey, passing Hunslet shunter class Y 699 on leaving Maho Junction. The track quality was significantly poorer off the main line and train speed reduced somewhat. Many signals on beyond Maho Junction appear to be out of commission with the line beeing worked by token block. There was a pause at Moragollagama station to pass another train.

Our journey with M4 756 comes to an end at Habanara.

This was the first time I had encountered the slightly odd passing procedure (which seems common) whereby at a single platform station with loop the train pulls in, calls, and then sets back beyond the station approach points and then pulls into the unplatformed loop to await the train in the opposite platform to pass. We were running late (so this may not have been the usual passing place) and had to wait some time for the passing train led by M4 751 to pass.
Time to make frineds with the station groundsman and show some pictures of the UK railways to the staff, which generally went down quite well! The ALCO back on the move again we eventually arrived into Habanara around 1 hour late. A really excellent train ride with hawkers selling food through the train and massive window (and doors) to lean out of. Friendly crews and a really great loco- what more could you want!?

27/11

M6 797 will be our traction into the mountains. Seen herea at Peradeniya Jcn.

The next encounter with the railways was a journey on the Highland line from Peradeniya Junction to Ella (Most trains from Colombo stop at the junction some 10km from Kandy with only a few slower trains running through on the line from Kandy to Baddula) on the 12:30 train. This station again has an impressive array of semaphore signals, a traditional looking box, and platforms on two sides of the triangle. The station also has an easily vieweable array of block equipment and you can see into the back of the ticket office where the Edmondson card tickets are still issued for journeys. The train from Colombo arrives backwards, having taken the '3rd' side of the triangle it then reverses into the Badulla bound platform to negate a run-round. The loco for this journey was Henschel built M6 797 which while good fun really didn't compare to the Alco M4 a few days earlier. Unfortunately on this train we were booked into the 'Expo Rail' coach, one of two privately run 'luxury' coaches which run on Sri Lankan Railways, the other being the 'Rajadhani Express' coach. While most 'Expo' coaches have an open air viewing balconly, ours did not. The coach is air conditioned and has TV screens, fairly comfortable seats, which were all facing in the opposite direction to travel, and provides meals- imagine aircraft food. Fortunately the small windows did still open (no good if you had a 'virgin style' wall next to your seat though!) and after a while passengers caught on to the fact that the crew didn't mind people leaning out of the door on this very scenic train ride. Either way if you are a rail enthusiast being couped up in the Expo coach is not ideal- 3rd class looked much more fun in the traditional coaches with big doors and windows! The train soon starts to climb up into the hills and through tree planatations- only the British love for tea could really explain why a railway was built through such difficult terrain. Again I managed to escape the luxury of the 'Expo' carriage for a ride in the cab, where the friendly crew happily pointed out the sights of Waterfalls and mountain loops as the journey progressed. It was interesting to note that instructions to the driver were still handed up to the cab in English, which is widely spoken to at least some degree. The secondman held on to my photo of Waterloo station as a souvenier!
A mixed train was passed at Nawalapitty (possibly a W3 loco) and another passenger with M6 785 at Watagora. A final mixed train was passed at Pattipola with M6 795. Despite these observatiosn is it worth noting that two of the 5 trains each day on this route are now handled by the S12 'Chinese' DMU's.

28/11

An S12 Chinese DMU crosses a significant viaduct on the
mountain line between Ella and Badulla.

Our first 'disaster' with Sri Lankan railways was the short 20km hop from Ella to Badulla which I had insisted on doing by train. The timetable revealed the 'Goods' train would be perfectly timed at around 13:24 from Ella, and would also give me a chance to travel on my frist 'mixed' train. Unfortunatly on arrival at the ticket office the clerk was not keen to sell us our Edmondson tickets claiming that the train was 1 hour late today. This wasn't a terrible issue so we decided to wait it out. After the hours delay it was abundantly clear that the train was still not about to arrive now being just 'late'. The next train at 15:14 was scheulded to be an S12 DMU and having waited over 2 hours by the time it arrived (also late) there really was no alternative but to take it. I don't know what happened to the 'Goods' or if it ever turned up. Quite a waste of an afternoon, but the journey on the final section of the line to Baddula was at least a scenic one!

S12 933 has reached journey's end at Baddula. A number of services in this route are now in the hands of these Chinese DMU's instead of the more traditional loco hauled coaching stock.

03/12

M10 944 at Galle.

Popped into Galle station on a quick fact finding mission. I was suprised to find a train in the station which turned out to be the the 2:45 to Kandy with M10 944. Tickets are rarely checked on the trains, but are at stations, so I could not get down to get a photo without a platform ticket. Fortunatley there was just time to purchase this for 10 rupees (about 5p) before the train departed.






04/12

M2 626 'Montreal' waits to depart from Matara towards Galle.

After a few more days away from the rails we would meet them again at Matara on the southern tip of Sri Lanka. We had made good time by bus to reach the station for the 09:40 Vaunia Express (which I would talke to Mount Lavinia to spend an afternoon train hunting). The train loco was Canadian M2 626 'Montreal' while 1954 built M2 569 'Ontario' was sitting in another platform with the 10:25 mixed train to Galle. This train was formed of the older style red coaches with unreserved 2nd and 3rd class on board. Matara station has a useful pictoral display of all different classes of diesel loco (broad and former narrow gauge) and DMU which have been used in Sri Lanka. The train left on time and passed M10 944 between Matara and Galle. M4 756 was on shed at Galle. On arrival at Galle the loco runs around before continuing north towards Colombo. Heading north we passed M8 877 at Gintota and M7 800 was passed with a short train stabled at Aluthgama before we passed M2 591 here with another southbound express.

M2 626 runs around it's train in the terminal station at Galle.

By the time I arrived at Mount Lavinia for an afternoon of photography the weather had turned for the worst and it was now decidedly wet and grey- had nobody told the weather that it was the dry season? I didn't have an awful lot of luck with photographs here- having noted the timetable at the station the first train I thought would be loco hauled failed to appear and even the first DMU photo was 'disturbed' by some locals on the beach who wanted to befriend me and promised me a 'good time'. The northbound loco eventually passed while I was in a cafe eating lunch and the next southbound train which I had reckoned on a loco turned out to be an S12 DMU for Matara.
The first loco to actualy grace my camera was the ECS for the 16:10 to Polgahawela with M10 945 which passed at around 15:35. The light had improved a little on earlier but it was not the nice sunny shot I had come for. Being farily wet and defeated I decided the best course of action was to have a ride with the M10- which sounded very good!
There was just time to photograph the 15:52 to Panadura which I was convinced would be a unit at the station, ths turned up with M4 743.
The M10 run up to Colombo Fort was very good- these locos which were new in 2012 are some of the loudest I have come across. Coupled with running right along the coast and the opening doors the ride was certainly good fun- and very cheap.

M10 945 approaches Mount Lavinia with the empty stock for the 16:10 departure.

Once I had arrived at Colombo my simple task was to get back to Aluthgama or Bentota loco hauled. The lack of a timetable was really going to hinder this objective. M10 916 was noticed arriving at Colombo Fort from the East- maybe the perfect trian to head south with- Hopefully this would be the 16:50 to Aluthgama? Having asked the crewe they advised it was not and directed me to an S11 unit to get back to Mount Lavinia- I decided to take this, I could stop off to get some more photos then pick up the next loco in the right direction. Unfortunately the unit didn't stop at Mount Lavinia at all and I am still not entirely sure what train it was, except a busy one. The lack of a timetable really started to cause trouble now as I was stopping at stations where I did not know what trains were going where, or whether the expresses I needed would stop. After jumping off at one station to speak to staff I was promptly advised I needed to get back on the train and ended up riding on a crowded footboard to the large station at Panadura where I at least hoped most trains would be stopping. Unfortunatly I couldn't find a timetable here so had to rely on questions to the booking clerk. The next train to Aluthgama was a DMU so I flagged that, leaving the next train to be the Bentota service which I was fairly certain would be hauled - only problem was I had no idea if it was fast or slow or how long it would take! M10 944 was photographed with a northbound train after which bumped into Daffy who seemed to be doing a lot better for moves than I was! His somewhat out of date timetable guide clearly was very beneficial.
I returned to the station in time for my train to Bentota which turned up to be an all shacks stopper to Galle... and a DMU! Not really wanting to take this I asked the guard if there was an alternative to Aluthgama and was advised there was an express... but he didn't seem to know the calling pattern or when it was arriving. As I was already getting late for dinner and it was dark I took the S10 DMU, Defeated. To be fair, the DMU's are not bad at all with a large above floor power car and are more akin to an HST than what we would consider a DMU. They don't sound too bad either and still have the large opening doors and windows- not a loco though which is what I wanted. To add final insult to injury we paused for along while at Aluthgama- you guessed it, to let the express behind overtake us. This was M10 943 which I clearly could have had a ride on and still made the DMU to my locol shack. Oh well... you win some...

04/12
The final rail trip in Sri Lanka was from Bentota to Colombo.
I was fairly sure again that the local trian from Bentota at 11:05 would be hauled and it was with Loughbrough built M7 800 and finally a mixed train (even if only with one wagon). The train was tediously slow shunting at several stations to let trains pass in the other direction and calling almost everywhere.

Brush built M7 800 pauses en route to Colombo with the slow train.

En route M7 807 and M6 789 were passed with local trains. M6 788 was waiting at Kalutara south with the next train to follow behind us. Following more slow running we were quite late by the time we arrived at Panadura and after sitting there a few minutes the mass excodus of passengers indicated that we were were going to be overtaken by a faster train to Colombo. Not knowing how long our train would be delayed (and quite keen to get a final loco in the book) we crossed over for M2 591 'Manitoba' for the very crowded final run into Colombo. Within minutes or arriving the M7 followed in behind- it would have been a much more comfortable way to arrive in the capital. The local train was quickly re-engined with W3 677 to continue its run to Kandy.

Thus was the end of our Sri Lankan adventure and after leaving our cases in the HUGE lockers at Fort Station we were free to explore the city for our last afternoon.

A commuter DMU works in Colombo.

In conclusion Sri Lankas railways are really good fun, but a little hard work at times! The lack of anything resembling a timetable makes planning journeys incredibly difficult. Information is usually just the time of a train departure with no idea of how long the journey will take, an arrival time or calling pattern. The arrival of the Intercity S12 DMU's has also not helped matters as these turn up on some long distance trains that you would hope would be hauled. On a more promising note the 2012 built M10 locos are very loud and well worth following. During the whole trip I did not come across any Hitachi M5 locos or any Alsthom M9's with the exception of one which was deep inside the shed at Aluthgama.
Railway systems here are very antiquated with Edmondson tickets, ancient signalling equipment and ancient trains. Train crews are friendly and most people speak a good level of English. The country as a whole is well worth a visit.

More British than Britain!

Right now I am sampling the wonders of the railway system of Sri Lanka. Certainly it is quite different from what any London commuter would be used to, with seemingly ancient trains and passengers leaning out of every open doorway (and on the most crowded trains simply hanging on to the handrails outside the doors). However look beyond the foreign mask and you will find hints of the railways colonial past at every opportunity. a lack of recent investment has left many long vanished British traditions thriving here. You can still catch the 'Night mail' across the country and peer into many station offices and you will find wooden clad cases containing ancient block instruments. Outside of the main cities thwrw are also a plethora of semaphore signals to enjoy. The tickets too are something quite archaic!