Railways – Page 3 – Railway Miscellany

From the Archives – DUMBLETON HALL

I recently read that Great Western Railway (GWR) 4900 ‘Hall’ class 4-6-0 4920 DUMBLETON HALL had been bought by Warner Brothers and exported to Japan for display in the Harry Potter exhibit at Warner Bros Studios Tour in Tokyo.

GWR 4900 class 4-6-0 4920 DUMBLETON HALL-20130807 GWR 4900 class 4-6-0 4920 DUMBLETON HALL
South Devon Railway, 7 August 2013

Built at the Great Western Railway’s Swindon Works in 1929, 4920 was withdrawn from Bristol Barrow Road shed by British Railways in December 1965 and sent for scrap. Preservation beckoned in June 1976 and 4920 became the 82nd departure from Barry scrapyard, finally returning to steam in 1992 on the Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway (now known as the Dartmouth Steam Railway).

The locomotive’s owners subsequently purchased the Dart Valley Railway (now known as the South Devon Railway) and 4920 was loaned to various heritage lines before returning to the Dartmouth Steam Railway where it was last steamed in October 1999 before moving to Buckfastleigh on the SDR for storage.

Above is the only pic I have (and now likely will ever have) of 4920, taken during a flying visit to the SDR in August 2013.

Spotted Today – 66717 Good Old Boy

66717-20220106 66717 Good Old Boy
Erewash Valley Line, 5 January 2022

Spotted today, a very grubby 66717 Good Old Boy approaching the site of Shipley Gate station on the Erewash Valley Line with train 6X01, the 10.18 loaded rails from Scunthorpe Trent Terminal Complex to Eastleigh East Yard.

Spotted Yesterday – 66715 VALOUR – IN MEMORY OF ALL RAILWAY EMPLOYEES WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY

66715-20211122 66715 VALOUR – IN MEMORY OF ALL RAILWAY EMPLOYEES WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY
Alrewas, 22 November 2021

Spotted yesterday, GB Railfreight’s 66715 VALOUR – IN MEMORY OF ALL RAILWAY EMPLOYEES WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY approaching Alrewas level crossing with train 4F62, the 12.58 intermodal service from East Midlands Gateway to Seaforth Container Terminal.

The locomotive’s name is rather appropriate as the National Memorial Arboretum is only a few hundred yards east of where I was standing…

On This Day… The Great Gathering

Eight years ago today I spent an enjoyable couple of hours at the National Railway Museum (NRM) photographing all six preserved London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) class A4 locomotives at ‘The Great Gathering‘

The Great Gathering-20131111e 60007 SIR NIGEL GRESLEY & 60008 DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
National Railway Museum, 11 November 2013

Gathering all six A4s together was no mean feat, although four of the locos were located in the United Kingdom, 60008 DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER was housed in the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay, Wisconsin and 4489 DOMINION OF CANADA was in the Canadian Railway Museum in Montreal!

The Great Gathering-20131111g 60009 UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA, 4464 BITTERN, 4468 MALLARD & 4489 DOMINION OF CANADA
National Railway Museum, 11 November 2013

I did manage to get all six locos in one image (just) but the distortion caused by the wide-angle lens used makes 60007 and 4489 look twice as wide as the others so you’ll have to make do with two separate pics!

Spotted Yesterday – 170404 and 170395

170404 & 170395-20211025 170404 & 170395
Tweedbank, 25 October 2021

Spotted yesterday at Tweedbank Station on the Borders Railway in Scotland, a pair of ScotRail class 170 ‘Turbostar’ diesel multiple units.

170404 was originally built for ScotRail services whereas 170395 (which had arrived with train 2T78, the 11.25 (SSuX) service from Edinburgh) was built for Hull Trains, entering service in March 2004, only to be replaced in May 2005 by class 222 ‘Pioneer’ diesel-electric multiple units (themselves now in service with East Midlands Railway).

There can’t be many three-car DMUs currently in service in the UK that have worked into two capital cities but 170395 is one of them, working into London King’s Cross with Hull Trains and Edinburgh with ScotRail.

From the Archives – Welford and Kilworth Platform Shelter

Last week I spent a couple of days chugging along the Grand Union Canal on a narrow boat, setting off from North Kilworth Marina in Leicestershire. Whilst looking at our route on the Ordnance Survey map I noticed a dismantled railway line immediately west of the marina and naturally (for me anyway) I did a little research and discovered there had been a station nearby…

Welford and Kilworth platform shelter
Electric Railway Museum, 25 May 2013

Welford and Kilworth station, on the London & North Western Railway (LNWR) line from Rugby to Stamford, opened on 1 May 1950 and had an uneventful existence until closure on 6 June 1966 and although the main station buildings were demolished, the down (Stamford-bound) platform shelter (dating from 1878) survived and ended up on display at the Electric Railway Museum at Coventry (where the above photo was taken during an open day in 2013.)

Sadly the museum was forced to close in 2017 but most, if not all the exhibits were found new homes and I believe the shelter ended up at the Battlefield Line.

On This Day… A couple of oddities at Ruddington

Nine years ago I visited the Great Central Railway – Nottingham (GCRN) at Ruddington and was intrigued by a couple of strange railway vehicles…

Laboratory 1, RDB 975000-20120715b Laboratory 1, RDB 975000
Ruddington, Great Central Railway – Nottingham, 15 July 2012

RDB 975000 (Laboratory 1) was converted from a British Railways Mk.1 Restaurant Second Open (RSO) in 1970 by the Research & Development Department at the Railway Technical Centre (RTC) at Derby for use as a high speed dynamics laboratory.

The lowered section of roof could be fitted with a pantograph (used to collect power from overhead lines) which could then be observed in operation through the windows in the roof visible in the image below.

Laboratory 1, RDB 975000-20120715a Laboratory 1, RDB 975000
Ruddington, Great Central Railway – Nottingham, 15 July 2012

After lying out of use at Derby for many years RDB 975000 entered preservation at Ruddington in May 2011 but was scrapped in November 2013.

Observation Saloon 6300 HEBRIDEAN
Ruddington, Great Central Railway – Nottingham, 15 July 2012

6300 HEBRIDEAN was built as Class 101 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) Driving Trailer Composite Lavatory (DTCL) 56356 in 1958 but converted in 1987 for use as a locomotive-hauled observation saloon on the Inverness-Kyle of Lochalsh ‘Hebridean’ services.

Withdrawn in 1994, 6300 was initially preserved at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway before moving to Ruddington but has since moved again, to the Barry Tourist Railway.

Spotted Yesterday – 43274 and 43102

Spotted yesterday at Nottingham Station, having arrived with train 1D48, the 15.34 (SSuX) East Midlands Railway service from London St Pancras International…

43274-20210430a 43274
Nottingham, 30 April 2021

and…

43102 (43302)-20210430a 43102 The Journey Shrinker
Nottingham, 30 April 2021

EMR’s High Speed Trains are due for withdrawal in the next couple of weeks so I couldn’t resist the opportunity to photograph the two ‘celebrity-liveried’ power cars on the same train.

43274 (the former 43074, b.1977) is the only power car to wear EMR’s purple livery whilst 43102 (actually 43302, b.1978) has been repainted into the British Rail InterCity ‘Swallow’ livery it carried when it set the world speed record for a diesel train of 148.5mph on 1 November 1987.

43102 (nameplate)-20210430 The Journey Shrinker nameplate (43102)
Nottingham, 30 April 2021

43102 and 43274 returned to St Pancras with train 1B69, the 17.45 SSuX service, departing Nottingham to a chorus of camera shutters firing!

Spotted Today – 37116

37116-20210403 37116
Breaston, 3 April 2021

Spotted today, 37116 (the former D6816, built in 1963 by English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows) passing Breaston (between Long Eaton and Spondon stations) with train 3M03, the 10.52 Colas Rail/Network Rail test train from Dollands Moor Sidings to Derby R.T.C.

The five coach train was made up of Brake Force Runner 96604, Generator Van 6262, Brake Coach 9810, Ultrasonic Test Coach 999606 and Driving Trailer Coach 9702 and was (at this point) running 42 minutes early in spite of having departed Dollands Moor 40 minutes late!

From the Archives – In Dublin’s Fair City…

It being St Patrick’s Day today I thought I’d raid my archives and post a few pics taken during a trip to Dublin that Dad and I took way back in 2004.

An early flight and a quick bus journey got us to Dublin Connolly station/Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile by mid-morning and we spent some time photographing the Irish Rail/Iarnród Éireann diesel locos that were pottering about…

Iarnród Éireann 141 class Bo-Bo Diesel Electric 156
Dublin Connolly station/Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile, 30 June 2004

The locomotive shed at Dublin Connolly station/Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile, 30 June 2004

Then a tip-off from a member of station staff led us around the corner to see this…

LMS (NCC) class WT 2-6-4T No.4, 30 June 2004

No.4, a Class WT 2-6-4T, was built at Derby in 1947 for the London Midland & Scottish Railway’s Northern Counties Committee. Preserved by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland No.4 was (and still is) regularly in use on special trains on the main line.

A less friendly member of staff then told us to ‘clear off!’ so we had a ride down the coast to Greystones station/Stáisiún na Clocha Liatha on a class 2800 DMU (returning on the Dublin Area Rapid Transit unit seen below).

Greystones station/Stáisiún na Clocha Liatha with DART 8510 class 8614 heading for Howth in the platform, 30 June 2004

A dash back across Dublin gave us enough time to take a few photos at Heuston station/Stáisiún Heuston (and enjoy a pint of Guinness!) before our flight home.

Iarnród Éireann 201 class Co-Co Diesel Electric 234 RIVER AHERLOW/ABHAINN NA HEATHARLAÍ
Dublin Hueston station/Stáisiún Heuston, 30 June 2004

Sláinte!