37 517 at Caergwrle on 21 August, with 6F59
Arpley-Dee
Marsh. (Warren Desmond)
Ian Bowland's picture above shows Virgin 'Thunderbird' 57 303 Alan Tracy on standby duty at Crewe on 21 August. This locomotive has had an extremely varied career: built as D1957 in 1966, it became 47 261 under the TOPS numbering scheme of the 1970s, then was renumbered 47 554 when it was fitted with electric train heating to become a Class 47/4. In 1979 it was chosen to be equipped with push-pull controls for Edinburgh - Glasgow workings, being renumbered 47 705 and named Lothian. In the early 1990s it lost its name and found itself working on the London Waterloo - Exeter line after Class 158 railcars took over the Scottish run.
In the run-up to privatisation in 1995, the British Rail Special Trains Unit was sold lock, stock and barrel with a fleet of locomotives and coaches to Waterman Railways, a company founded by pop record producer Pete Waterman. At the time, Mr Waterman believed he was promised by the Government that his company would have a virtual monopoly of charter train workings, but in practice this never occurred, several companies entered the market and Waterman Railways' business plan fell apart. (An interesting interview from the time is on the Web.) The Class 47/7 locomotives which had been part of the deal were sold on, mostly to Fragonset Railways, but 47 705 found itself with charter train company Riviera Trains, by now carrying the name Guy Fawkes whom Mr Waterman no doubt saw as a hero after his interaction with the Government.
As the 21st Century dawned, 47 705 spent a lot of time stabled at Chester on standby duties. The original idea seems to have been was to be able to rescue any Class 175s which gave problems during testing, but as things turned out, very few 175s were actually available for testing, and 705 found itself being used a few times to help out the loco-hauled North Wales Coast trains as Class 37 haulage soldiered on through the year 2000. John Skipsey's picture above shows such an occasion at Chester, and there a couple of picture reports out on the Web: here's one by Alan Crawshaw from August 2000, and there's one by Ian Bowland from the very last days of 37 haulage in January 2001.
The next (and final?) chapter, in 2002, saw 47 705 move from Riviera
Trains to its fourth owner, Porterbrook Leasing, as it was judged
suitable
for conversion to a Class 57/3 'Thunderbird' locomotive for use by
Virgin
Trains. Overhauled by Brush at Loughborough and fitted with a General
Motors
engine, it is now 57 303 Alan Tracy. As the 57/3s are
to
be seen hauling Pendolino units to and from Holyhead from late 2004 if
current plans are followed, it will perhaps be seen again on the North
Wales line in due course. - 23 August
47 737 Resurgent passing Valley with the 13:56 Holyhead - Birmingham, 18 August (John Lewis)
Harking back for a last word on the incident on Stockport station on 26 July which resulted in my getting a telling off from the constabulary. Some of our many correspondents on this issue asked for a picture showing the scene of the alleged crime, so we present above a view of the now-legendary 'line' to which the 'do not cross the line' wording on the signs was claimed to refer. The marking in question can be seen running across Platforms 1-2 by the catenary supports in the foreground. As can be seen, there is little about most of the area beyond this mysterious line which can be said to be an unsafe position: the edging to the right was renewed during the changes made in preparation for Eurostar (ha ha!) and the 'mind the gap' legends on Platform 2 continue unabated to the end. At one time there was a bay platform here, now filled in.
Presiding over the scene is the impressive Stockport No. 2 signalbox, built in 1890 with a 135-lever frame, reduced to 90 levers in 1955 and still going strong in the world of the Pendolino, although its replacement signalling centre is already in partial use and its last goodbye should be within the next couple of years.
Below the picture I took on 26 July (with a telephoto lens setting) from well short of the end of the platform just before men in yellow coats started yelling at me. Strangely, the loco was 47 746 The Bobby .... anyway, there is a new station manager at Stockport, who has (we are told) agreed that 'do not cross the line' refers to the railway line, and that enthusiasts are welcome on Stockport station provided we do not put ourselves in unsafe positions at the edges of platforms or down platform ramps. Apparently there have been one or two cases of people standing on platform edges leading the signallers to report them as possible suicide cases. The station staff (including the Noble Securities people) have, it seems, now been asked to speak politely to anyone they consider to in an unacceptable position. So we'll see what happens; let me re-iterate that this website in no way condones unsafe behaviour by railfans, but neither does it approve of bored employees of security contractors enlivening their day by picking on soft targets.
The following press story from early August (kindly drawn to our attention by David Wood) looks good on the face of it, but we do feel that care must be taken with the type of people to be authorised:
'Rail staff will have new powers to deal with train and station offenders under fresh plans announced by the Government. Under the proposals, British Transport Police would be able to accredit certain rail company and station staff with limited police powers to deal immediately with specific offences and public nuisances on the railways. These staff would be able to tackle a number of offences. They would be able to to issue fixed penalty notices for offences of cycling on a footway, dog fouling, dropping litter, trespassing on a railway, and throwing stones or other objects at trains. These staff could also demand the name and address of anyone acting in an anti-social manner, enforce laws in respect of the consumption and confiscation of alcohol and tobacco and require the removal of abandoned vehicles.'
'Transport Minister Kim Howells said: "We are all aware that the activities of a few inconsiderate people disturb the journeys of many people. "The new measures that we are proposing will give people at the front line of our rail services the powers they need to deal swiftly and effectively with crime and antisocial behaviour. "I believe that by training key staff we can greatly reduce the inconvenience that some people's behaviour causes and free up some of the valuable resources of the British Transport Police."'
Another sidelight mentioned to us by another correspondent is that the wearing of yellow high-visibilty jackets on station platforms is in contravention of Health and Safety Executive regulations, as yellow is considered too close to green, and only orange is permitted. Comments on this would be welcome. - 18 August
47 843 Vulcan arrives at Bangor with the 13:45 from Holyhead to Stafford on 17 August. Picture by Rowan Crawshaw who writes: 'I was planning a ride on the 1D87 14:36 to Holyhead but it was cancelled.' No doubt a result of the problems at Stafford: the Virgin train must have been one of the last to get through before the overhead wires were damaged.
John Lewis writes from Holyhead: 'Some views of the rarely photographed 15:04 (Sundays only) Wales and Borders service to Milford Haven - in this case, 158 842 painted in Western Mail advertising livery - rather appropriate for a North / South service in Wales. Maybe a taste of things to come when the FNW franchise changes hands later this year....Who knows? The photos here include the train just leaving the sidings to be moved into platform 2 (above), and also arriving in platform 2 to form the service. (below) - 18 August
The appearance of two Class 50s (50 031 Hood and 50 049 Defiance) at Chester on a charter on 16 August generated a number of photographic contributions: here is a selection....
Three from Chester (above)...
...one from Wrexham ...
.... and one from Shrewsbury. - 18 August
The 2003 Summer Sunday service on the mid-Wirral railway (now known as "The Borderlands Line") started on 20 July and operates until 7 September. This year an unprecedented variety of day-trip options are available through bus and rail connections with the trains, especially the 1001 service from Bidston which also calls at Upton (1005), Heswall (1012) and Neston (1016).
For example, the rail connection from this train at Shotton will allow a journey to Rhyl of little more than an hour and arrives in Llandudno about half an hour later at 1140. The return connection leaves from Llandudno at 1810 and Rhyl at 1838, with trains in both directions also serving Prestatyn and Colwyn Bay, with arrival back in Bidston at 1955. A sample fare is £9.10 return from Upton to Llandudno! (Just £6 for most railcard holders). Also available at Shotton station - the 1001 from Bidston arrives at 1026 - is the Clwydian Ranger bus service via Loggerheads to the Moel Famau car park, departing from the high street below the station at 1032, returning from Moel Famau at 1620.
A considerable selection of Clwydian Ranger connections are available at Loggerheads for Offa’s Dyke walkers or pleasure riders, including to Llangollen via the Horseshoe Pass. For these services an unlimited travel day ticket costs just £3. The return train from Shotton in this case departs at 1729, with the Moel Famau bus due back there at 1713. Sample day-return fare on the train: Heswall to Shotton and back - just £1.65!
For those who would like a lazier if more adventurous day, a day return ticket to Shotton and a £20 North and Mid Wales Day Ranger ticket (£13.20 for most railcard holders) will cover a variety of amazing scenic "land cruises", including many by bus and the Ffestiniog Railway. For example, Bidston (dep 1001) - Wrexham - Shrewsbury - Cambrian Coast to Minffordd for the Ffestiniog Railway and Conwy Valley Line to Llandudno Junction from where you can pick up the returning train from Llandudno that is mentioned above. Or take the 1225 bus from Wrexham to Barmouth (Arriva service 94) and return to Wrexham by train, changing at Dovey Junction and Shrewsbury. In both cases arrival back at Bidston is again at 1955.
Telephone the Merseytravel Line on 0151 236 7676 for bus and rail connections to Bidston, Upton, Heswall and Neston; 08457 48 49 50 for general rail enquiries; and Traveline (0870 608 2 608) for all other information.