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News archive Jan/Feb 2008
Rail travellers were furious to discover that, after Liverpool Street station had shut for ten days over Christmas and New Year, trains had not resumed as advertised on January 2.
Bridge demolition for the East London extension and OHL upgrades on the approach to Liverpool Street were due to finish on January 1, but late that night Network Rail announced the work had over-run. Norfolk and Suffolk customers were urged not to travel to London on January 2 unless necessary, and trains still terminated at Stratford. Later that day the 16.30 to Norwich was the first to depart from Liverpool Street, but Shenfield and Southend services did not resume until 06.35 on January 3.
Press advertisements offered apologies to travellers, and Andrew Chivers, one’s managing director, was reported to have sent a stinging email about this ‘major failure’ to Network Rail. Through special funding from NR, season ticket holders can be reimbursed for January 2 and 3, and other ticket holders who were delayed can also get compensation.
EMT downgrades Norwich – Liverpool trains
Passenger groups, backed by Norwich South MP Charles Clarke, have reacted in dismay at the news that shorter, older dmus now run between Norwich and Liverpool.
When East Midlands Trains (EMT) took over the Norwich – Liverpool route from Central Trains in November 2007, it promised a better service. However its Turbostar Class 170 dmus have been replaced by 2-car Class 158s. According to EMT, the change has the approval of the DfT and the Class 158s are due be refurbished later this year, with more seating added. “When we took on the franchise we had to give the 170s to another franchise,” said an EMT spokesperson.
Peter Lawrence, NRS member and President of rail pressure group Railfuture, described the move as a backward step. “If the 158s are going to be refurbished with more seats,” he said, “there could be less legroom, so they won't be so comfortable.”
More 321s on the way for one/NEEA
On January 30 the DfT published a document showing which TOCs will receive the 1,300 extra carriages promised by the government last year. In most instances the stock will be cascaded from other operators, but there is an element of ‘new build’.
The document says that one/National Express East Anglia will need 188 extra emu vehicles by 2014. As a result the company is likely to take on some of the class 321 units from London Midland’s suburban fleet.. In addition, one/NEEA will get new emu’s for the Stansted airport service, thereby releasing Class 317s.
On-schedule opening for new Ely bridge
A six-month reconstruction programme saw the new bridge spanning the River Ouse at Ely completed on time and open to traffic before the year end. The original bridge had been damaged beyond repair by a freight train derailment on June 22 (NRS Newsletter Jul/Aug 2007).
The new bridge’s centre span was craned into place over the weekend of December 15/16 and new track and signals were then installed. The first revenue-earning service to cross, on Dec 20, was 4L85 08.57 Leeds - Felixstowe headed by no. 66517. one’s Ipswich to Peterborough passenger services resumed their normal timetable the next day. While the bridge was out of action a bus replacement operated between Bury St Edmunds and Ely.
The new bridge, steel decked and with a 30m span, sits on independently-piled reinforced concrete abutments and box culvert side spans. It carries a single track across the river but can take two if required later.
Fen Line halted by power cut
As well as blacking out many homes and businesses in Downham Market, an early-morning power cut on January 31 knocked out rail signalling. Northbound Fen Line services were stopped at Ely, and after a delay a bus replacement to King’s Lynn was brought in. Once electricity had been restored,normal rail services recommenced with unit no. 365525 on the 10.45 King’s Cross to King’s Lynn and no. 365512 on the 11.56 southbound equivalent.
Ticket office is back at Attleborough
Attleborough, unstaffed for decades, is the latest station to have ticket office services brought back. Tickets can be bought at the station from 07.00 – 11.00 on Mondays to Fridays, and also when Norwich City FC play at home.
Part-time ticket staff are already employed at Brundall, North Walsham and Wymondham. one says it will restore staffing to previously unstaffed rural stations where it can.
Clampdown on fare dodgers
A new Revenue Protection Office has opened at Ipswich station. Revenue Protection Inspectors based at the office, which is on the London-bound platform near the customer services centre, will work with the British Transport Police and one’s main line route team to cut down persistent fare avoidance. They will also tackle anti-social behaviour and infringements of railway bye-laws.
Train driver badly hurt after freak ‘bridge bash’
The driver of a train heading for Norwich had to be cut from his cab on February 1 after his dmu crashed into a footbridge. A tipper truck hit the footbridge at Barrow upon Soar, causing it to collapse on to the line. Moments later, unit no. 158856 working the EMT 06.13 Nottingham – Norwich service, collided with the debris.
The 31-year-old driver was trapped in the cab for 21/2 hours. He suffered serious leg injuries and was taken to the Leicestershire Royal Infirmary. The Midland main line was closed for around 24 hours, with trains from London St Pancras unable to go further north than Leicester.
FCC - by royal appointment
To travel from Sandringham to a reception for Commonwealth guests on January 3, HM the Queen took a scheduled First Capital Connect train from King's Lynn to King’s Cross. She and the Duke of Edinburgh also returned by train later that day. A FCC spokesman confirmed that the Queen travelled using a regular ticket but “we don’t know if she used her senior citizen's rail card!”
The anti-rail Eastern Daily Press headlined the story “Why ER went by BR” – snappy maybe, but more than 10 years out of date
Takeaway driver takes a wrong turn
Norwich – Lowestoft trains had to be stopped for around an hour after a takeaway delivery driver mis-read his car’s sat-nav instruction and turned on to the line at Oulton Broad North. On the evening of January 15 the driver, a foreign student, wasattempting to turn right immediately after the level crossing, but drove on to the railway instead. He and his passenger tried to push the car out of the way, but to no avail. Police were summoned and train services halted until the car had been towed away.
More automation down at the station
A third ‘TicketXpress’ automatic ticket machine has been installed at Norwich station. The Scheidt & Bachmann machines offer a full range of tickets and accept cash, credit and debit cards. Situated in the ticket office foyer area and on the concourse, theyhelp reduce queuing times in the Travel Centre.
Swing bridges to be updated
2008 will see Network Rail refurbish three local swing bridges.
The 100-year-old Oulton Broad swing bridge closed between February 9 and 15 so that it could be updated. The process included better navigational lighting, a standby generator, steelwork repairs and a full repaint. Swingbridges at Reedham and Somerleyton will undergo similar treatment later in the year. The total programme will cost £4.5m.
The Norwich-Lowestoft line will also close from March 3 to 10 for engineering work. Replacement bus services will be laid on during the closures, and Norwich – Yarmouth trains via Reedham will instead run via Acle.
Sizewell A shutdown brings local ‘flasks’ to an end
Nuclear flask trains from Leiston, whose haulage by DRS Class 20s has long been an attraction for photographers, have come to an end.
Sizewell A nuclear power station shut down on December 31 2006, setting in motion a 100-year-long decommissioning process. Flask trains continued running for several months, in order to remove spent radioactive material for reprocessing. But, as briefly noted in the last issue’s Lineside Observer, the last train ran on October 3, worked by DRS nos. 20313 and 20314. The ‘Suffolk Latch’ railtour on July 21 2007 may have provided the last opportunity for enthusiasts to travel over the branch.
Sizewell B, the UK's only large pressurised water reactor (PWR), generates a different type of waste, and it is not taken to Sellafield for reprocessing.
Grand finale for East Anglia RHTTs
With the leaf-fall season at an end, December 17 saw the bulk of the DRS-operated RHTT equipment leave its Stowmarket base in style.
Long before dawn nos. 37667 and 57009 conveyed failure no. 20314, on a wheelskate, over Mid-Norfolk metals to Dereham. Next away, on the 6Z06 07.55 Stowmarket – York, and reportedly waking up the morning commuters, were nos. 37603 and 37601 with a train of tanks between them. Later that morning nos. 20312/15/311 formed the 0Z07 0920 Stowmarket – Crewe. They collected no. 57009 at Norwich, and the mighty quartet was observed passing Long John Hill at 10.06.
No. 20314 remained at Dereham for nearly a month before being taken by road on January 15 to Brush, Loughborough, for repairs.
Crown Point wins a Golden Spanner
The annual ‘Golden Spanner’ awards recognise improvements in rolling stock reliability across the UK rail industry. The latest ceremony, organised by journal Modern Railways, saw two prizes go to the team at one’s Crown Point depot.
In partnership with train manufacturer Bombardier, Crown Point won a Golden Spanner for operating the best new-generation dmu for its Class 170 trains. On a moving annual average (MAA), one’s 170 fleet recorded a class-leading 14,617 miles per technical casualty at the end of last period.
The Crown Point team also won a Silver Spanner in the ‘most improved intercity fleet’ class for its Class 90 locomotives and Mk3 carriages
one records improved performance and reduced complaints in latest ORR data
The Office of the Rail Regulator published its National Rail Trends for June – September 2007 period in December. For local operator one, they showed improved punctuality and a declining amount of customer complaints.
Punctuality over the period hit 90.8%, up 3.3% on the previous year. Passengers’ complaints fell from 59 per 100,000 journeys to 33 per 100,000 journeys. According to one, this was due to improved punctuality, upgrades to trains and more reliable air conditioning.
Parking partnership
Under a recently-signed partnership agreement, National Car Parks (NCP) is to manage all one’s 62 pay car parks. NCP will invest over £1m in the project. It says that motorists will benefit from high standards of service and safety and new ways of paying for tickets.
Heritage, Narrow-Gauge and Miniature
Mid-Norfolk sojourn for ‘teddy bear’ and pannierThe Mid-Norfolk Railway has announced this year's visiting locomotives.
Class 14 0-6-0 no.D9521 from the Barry Island Railway is scheduled to arrive in time to work public services on the weekend of May 24-26. Appropriately for a class often known as ‘Teddy Bears’, its workings will include the family-oriented ‘Teddy Bear Specials’ on May 26. On June 15 no. D9521 will take part in a ‘Transport Through the Decades’ day and on July 5-6 it will work a West Country-flavoured Mixed Traction Event alongside WR 0-6-0PT no 9466, which is returning to the MNR for a third year. No. 9466 will stay to operate MNR services until August 31.
There have been reports, so far unconfirmed that Bressingham’s LMS 4-6-0 no. 6100 Royal Scot will undergo running-in turns on the MNR in the autumn following the completion of its overhaul.
Conibeare returns to the BVR
At the beginning of January the Bure Valley Railway welcomed back Paul Conibeare, who was the line’s general manager from 1995 until 2002. Paul, who now occupies a similar post at the West Somerset Railway, had the opportunity to drive the BVR’s two Indian Railways-inspired ZB class 2-6-2s: no. 6 Blickling Hall and no. 7 Spitfire.
Record visitor numbers at Carlton Colville
In 2007 more people visited the East Anglia Transport Museum than ever before. Despite wet weather putting off tourists in June and early July, by the end of the season on September 30 no fewer than 16,068 visitors had been admitted to the Carlton Colville site to ride the trams, trains and trolleybuses.
Thomas puffs out of Sheringham
In November heritage railways which run 'Days out with Thomas' were told by licence holder HIT Entertainment that it was introducing a costly new set of conditions. These include obtaining an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check for all staff and volunteers (irrespective of where they work), and hiring the ‘Fat Controller’ from an approved agency.
Among the lines to have found the demands too onerous is the North Norfolk Railway. In a statement it said it had been ‘unable to conclude an agreement with HIT Entertainment for a licence to hold Thomas events for the foreseeable future’. Instead, the NNR plans to hold a ‘Family Weekend’ on May 24/25.
Meanwhile the Bure Valley Railway will hold just one Thomas event this year, on the weekend of September 27/28.
Orbital group welcomes Sheringham link-up - but says it’s not just for the NNR
The organisation behind the Norfolk Orbital Railway project says it is ‘encouraged’ by Network Rail’s agreement to allow a physical connection across Station Road, Sheringham (NRS Newsletter Nov/Dec 2007).
The Holt, Melton Constable and Fakenham Railway Ltd. (HMC&FR) aims to link Network Rail lines with the North Norfolk and Mid Norfolk Railways. David Rees of the HMC&FR says, “To have got to this stage is a very significant achievement. In 1971 we failed in our desperate wish to prevent the link being removed. Many people involved then just did not think it was important. Now we can begin to overcome the practical limitations created by that short-sighted action”.
Although the crossing is likely to be an ‘occasional use’ connection initially, the HMC&FR will continue to push for a full-time link so that Bittern Line trains use the original (NNR) station. The crossing, says the group, must become part of an important public transport improvement for North Norfolk, not just a bonus for the NNR’s heritage activities. Trains that pass over it should provide local people with useful services to varied destinations.
Crane and waiting shelter arrive at Dereham
Two more historic items have arrived at the Mid-Norfolk Railway’s Dereham station.
From Watton comes a LNER four-wheeled hand-operated crane. Donated to the MNR by motor dealer Frank Dye, the 1-ton crane was used at Watton station until goods traffic ceased in 1965. In Dereham goods shed, dismantled and awaiting re-use, lies the ex-GER wooden waiting room from Histon station, Cambridgeshire. Histon was on the Cambridge – St Ives branch, which is undergoing conversion to a guided busway.
Forty Years On
The line between Dereham and King’s Lynn closed on September 7 1968. Later this year the Mid-Norfolk Railway plans to commemorate the 40th anniversary of closure by mounting a photo display of the lines. If you have any pictures or memories which would assist with the display, the MNR at Dereham station (tel. 01362 690633) would be pleased to hear from you.
Walsingham line is a hit with visitors
99% of people visiting the Wells & Walsingham Railway would recommend it to a friend. That’s one of the pleasing results from a survey which the 101/4-gauge line carried out in 2007, its 25th anniversary year. Over 1,000 visitors were asked for their views. 96% found the staff ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’ and 95% would visit again
‘Such figures are rarely achieved in customer satisfaction ratings and would be the envy of any tourist attraction’, said Benedict Cadbury, chairman of the WWLR Supporters’ Group.
GatEx 73 for Dereham
Already home to six classes of diesel loco (08, 20, 31, 47, 50, 56), the Mid-Norfolk Railway’s Dereham yard is soon to welcome a seventh. Privately-owned Class 73 electro-diesel no. 73210, formerly named Selhurst is due to arrive in the Spring. Built by EE’s Vulcan Foundry in 1966, the former Gatwick Express loco is undergoing restoration at Stewart’s Lane depot, London.
Away from the tracks
Save
Melton's water tower, says NNDCAs part of the Melton Constable Conservation Area Appraisal (NRS Newsletter 52/5 p4) North Norfolk District Council proposes that the huge cast-iron M&GN water tower at the south-west corner of the industrial estate should be preserved. As you arrive from the west, says the report, “the three gables loom out of the landscape framed by the adjacent stand of Scots pines.”Though in need of repair, the structure, which is boldly marked with the railway company’s initials, is called “an evocative piece of industrial archaeology” which needs to be formally submitted for listing to safeguard its future.
Christmas role for Cackler
A long-neglected narrow-gauge tank loco has made an unexpected return to the limelight at the Thursford Collection. The Railway Magazine reports that ex-Dinorwic Quarries 0-4-0ST Cackler, which was last steamed in the early 1990s before Thursford’s running line was abandoned, took part in a new family-themed event,‘Santa’s Magical Journey into Christmas’.
Before moving to Thursford, Cackler ran on the Yaxham Park Light Railway, forerunner of today’s Yaxham Light Railway.
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