 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
News archive Mar/Apr 2008
For weeks we’d noticed subtle changes – here a re-liveried loco, there an updated station name – but it was only on February 27 that one was officially renamed ‘National Express East Anglia’.
Proceedings began when no.90003 Raedwald of East Anglia and carriage set NC13 with invited guests on board arrived at Liverpool Street with the 09:30 from Norwich. The train was resplendent in the new NXEA silver and off-white livery (although 90003 had been out and about in its new garb since early December). Also on display in the new NXEA colours were units nos. 317506 and 360115.
At Liverpool Street National Express Group chief executive Richard Bowker – complete with tie for once – said: “The transition from one to National Express East Anglia is more than a change of name and livery; it’s about how we do things.” The company announced a programme of improvements and pledged that introducing the NXEA brand across the fleet wouldn’t disrupt services: the new livery would be applied during routine maintenance.
Smaller launch ceremonies were held at Norwich and Cambridge.
Post-holiday problems hit GEML again
Shortly after Network Rail was fined £14m over New Year engineering overruns, the Great Eastern main line has once again suffered post-Bank Holiday stress.
Engineering work in the Shenfield area over Easter was, according to Network Rail, completed on time. However, early in the morning of Tuesday March 25 signalling problems arose when engineers returned the system to use. No trains could run through the area until 10.00, when a reduced service was brought in. Although NR was quick to apologise to NXEA and its passengers, the TOC sought urgent discussions with the Office of Rail Regulation about the incident.
Compounding the morning’s problems, unit nos. 321312 and 321354 both damaged their pantographs in Clacton yard, so no trains could leave Clacton until nearly mid-day; and no. 321332 came off the rails in Colchester yard at blocking the carriage shed’s eastern exit.
156 upgrade programme completed
National Express East Anglia has completed upgrading the interiors of its nine Class 156 two-car dmus. The class operates most rural services from Norwich to Great Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Sheringham, and some between Ipswich and Cambridge, Felixstowe and Lowestoft.
Last to be upgraded (the process involved new carpets, seats and tables) and also first to receive the new NX livery, was no. 156419. Despite being welcomed by an official party at Norwich station on March 10, the unit had been in traffic four days earlier, on Ipswich – Lowestoft and Ipswich – Cambridge trains.
Ely avoiding curve to become bi-directional
Under an agreement reached between the Norfolk Rail Alliance and Network Rail, two-way freight traffic is to be restored on the Ely avoiding curve. Completed in 1890, the curve was singled as part of the Ely – King’s Lynn electrification and signalling work. Freight trains from Norwich and King’s Lynn use it to travel direct to Peterborough, but eastbound trains have to travel in and out of Ely station.
Restoring two-way working over the curve, which may be completed in 2009, will make passenger train operation through Ely much easier.
The Norfolk Rail Alliance was set up in November 2006 to promote investment in the county’s railways.
Punctuality hits the ‘magic 90’
In February National Express East Anglia announced that it had pushed the annual average punctuality of its trains up to 90%, the highest level of the franchise so far. Over the last year 90.1% of services arrived at destination ‘on time’ (i.e. within 5 minutes of the published arrival time, except for InterCity services – within 10 minutes).
NXEA’s main line services (Norwich/Ipswich/Harwich/Clacton/Colchester/Braintree/Chelmsford – London) were below the average, recording 87.9% punctuality, but recent results have shown an improvement.
Andrew Chivers, managing director of NXEA, said that the 90% result fulfilled a commitment made last year. He thanked NXEA and Network Rail employees for their work since March 2007 to provide customers with a better service.
47s prepare for coastal train duties
A shortage of dmus will be relieved later this year when two Cotswold Rail class 47s top-and-tail NXEA trains between Norwich and the east coast. On Mondays to Fridays two trips to Lowestoft are scheduled to run in the morning, and one to Lowestoft and one to Yarmouth in the afternoon.
A pair of ECT Mainline Class 31s was originally pencilled in for the service, but after the company got into financial difficulties, Cotswold Rail stepped in with Class 47s nos. 47818 and 47828.
In preparation for the service, nos. 47818/28 and a three-coach train underwent timing trips from Norwich to Lowestoft and Yarmouth on the afternoon of Sunday March 16.
Improvements at last for Beccles station
Once nominated by local people as the worst eyesore in the locality (NRS Newsletter June 2003), Beccles station is to benefit from a long-awaited Network Rail improvement scheme.
When the scheme gets under way in the Autumn, it will include four items requested by the East Suffolk Travellers’ Association: CCTV over the whole area; provision for a ticket issuing point if required later; a nearby bus interchange and prominent relocation of ESTA’s notice-board.
Trains halted as Fenland potato warehouse blazes...
Train services between March and Peterborough were brought to a halt after a massive fire ripped through a Fenland warehouse.
The building which caught fire on February 25 was a potato warehouse at Funtham's Lane, King’s Dyke, near Whittlesey. As crews from across Cambridgeshire fought to bring the blaze under control, workers at the nearby Hanson brickworks were evacuated.
Trains terminated at either Ely or March or Peterborough and Cross Country Trains, East Midlands Trains and one had to provide bus replacement services. Freight sevices were diverted via the North London Line and Cambridge. Two days later a small fire could still be seen and passing trains were being restricted to about 15mph.
Funtham’s Lane has been the scene of several road-rail collisions over the years, as Rod Lock recounted in his feature which was published in NRS Newsletter Sep/Oct 2007 (p12).
...while Eccles Road sees new potato traffic
Norfolk saw an innovative, but brief, freight flow on three Tuesdays in February and March when EWS ran trainloads of seed potatoes from Doncaster to Johnson Logistics’ depot at Snetterton, near Eccles Road station.
The 6L99 working, for Doncaster-based firm Higgins Group, consisted of six IZA cargo wagons. The potatoes began their journey at Elgin on Monday morning and reached Doncaster via Laurencekirk and Mossend.
Although six trains had been planned, a shortage of seed potatoes meant that only three ran. On February 19 no. 66057 was in charge of the first train, on March 4 it was 60018, and no. 66159 headed the final working on March 18.
A new stop on the Fen Line?
The railway between King’s Lynn and Ely may get a new station if development propsals for the area are given the go-ahead.
Developer RLW (=Royal London Waterbeach) Estates plans to build an ‘eco-town’ on MoD land north of Waterbeach village and land next to the railway. As well as having schools, shops and leisure facilities, it would be served by a new station, possibly called Waterbeach Settlement, with ‘a frequent, high capacity, integrated rail service’ to Cambridge, operational when the first houses are built.
Woman killed in fog by train at Attleborough crossing
An elderly woman using a foot crossing near Attleborough station was killed when she was hit by a train.
Accompanied by a friend and a dog, 83-year-old Margaret Thomson was using the Leys Lane crossing, 600 metres south-west of Attleborough station on Febrary 13. Out of the fog came an East Midlands Trains dmu to Norwich which passes non-stop through Attleborough, and the unfortunate Mrs Thomson couldn’t get out of its path in time.
The service which hit her was the 1L05 07:06 Mansfield Woodhouse – Norwich, the only EMT train each day which starts its journey at Mansfield Woodhouse. The line was closed for the rest of the morning while investigations took place. Local residents have called for warning lights to be installed at the crossing.
Steamy Affairs goes into liquidation
A company which for several years organised steam-hauled railtours from its west Norfolk headquarters has gone out of business.
Steamy Affairs’ office was in Terrington St Clement near King’s Lynn before the company was bought a year ago by Adrian Parcell, owner of the Cotswold Rail Group (NRS Newsletter May/June 2007). Steamy Affairs then moved its base to Gloucester.
Now the firm has gone into liquidation. BBC Look East carried a report alleging that it failed to give refunds to customers who paid for trips which never materialised. The Cotswold Group said that it had been unable to overcome Steamy Affairs' financial difficulties.
Passengers’ champion honoured by FCC naming
Rufus Barnes, who is the retiring Chief Executive of London TravelWatch, was recognised when First Capital Connect named Class 365 emu no. 365536 after him in March. Rufus, who has led London’s statutory passenger and transport user groups for over 25 years, also received a Lifetime Achievement Award for services to transport in London at the recent London Transport Awards
Teenage rail vandal given custodial sentence
A King’s Lynn youth has been sentenced to four months’ custody after he was caught throwing a road barrier on to the railway track.
Motorists raised the alarm when they saw Brian Forrest, 18, throw the plastic barrier over the A149 Hardwick Road bridge on to the London line used by the hourly First Capital Connect services. Forrest was convicted on February 8 following a trial at Norwich Crown Court. A 15-year-old boy was also involved and was given 18 months’ detention for the vandalism as well as other offences.
DfT cash for Diss and Watlington stations
Under its Access for All scheme, the DfT contributes to station improvements such as step-free access to platforms, hearing induction loops and passenger information screens. Among the stations to benefit from this scheme in 2008-09 will be Diss and Watlington. In partnership with Norfolk County Council, the DfT will invest £50,000 at Diss to provide a ramp leading to the down (Norwich-bound) platform. A £170,000 programme at Watlington, near King's Lynn, will improve parking arrangements.
The down platform at Diss can only be reached at present via the footbridge or a steep flight of steps. Last year campaigners submitted a 500-signature petition which asked Network Rail to improve the access (NRS Newsletter Mar/Apr 2007).
Heritage, Narrow-Gauge and Miniature
Quad-Art project nears completionFive months after two coaches of the the M&GNJRS’s quad-art set arrived back at Sheringham (NRS Newsletter Nov/Dec 2007), work on the remaining pair is nearly complete. Steve Allen, who visited West Coast Railway Co's Carnforth works at the end of February, reported that Third no. 8862 was finished, while Brake Third no. 8861 was three-quarters complete. The pair will return together to Norfolk, probably in the next few weeks.
Bramley Line squashes ‘folding’ rumours
The group attempting to reopen the mothballed March – Wisbech Bramley Line has refuted allegations that it intends to give up. The rumours grew after the group took the decision last year to sell its coaching stock, five Ex-Gatwick Express vehicles which have been stored in March up yard since February 2005. The decision was taken, says the Bramley Line Committee, because the carriages were being subjected to constant vandalism.
New North box at Dereham
On March 10 the Mid-Norfolk Railway’s ‘new’ Dereham North signal box was lifted by crane on to prepared foundations next to the London Road level crossing. The diminutive structure once controlled Laundry Lane crossing in Lowestoft, on the Norfolk & Suffolk Joint line which closed in 1970. Restoration of the box will commence now that it is in its final position.
The original Dereham North signalbox was relocated to a garden at Mattishall, near Dereham, where it served as a summerhouse for 30 years. In 2006 it was moved to Hindolveston.
B12 to go green
Following a vote by the M&GN Society Council, its B12 4-6-0 will return to traffic in apple green livery as LNER no. 8572. The decision is logical, says the Society, as the imminent return of the quad-art set means that a green loco will soon have a very attractive set of teak coaches to run behind it.
MNR’s 31 back in action
After a two-year break, Mid-Norfolk Railway-based-based Class 31 no. 31235 returned to service in time for the line’s diesel gala on March 14-16. It worked alongside sister loco no.31438, as well as no. 47596 and a guest loco, DRS’s no. 37038. The weekend also included the unusual sight of no. 08631 Eagle hauling trains from Dereham to Yaxham.
With both the MNR’s Class 101 dmus out of traffic at present, all regular services are loco-hauled.
GWR heavy goods tank visits NNR
GWR heavy goods 2-8-0T no. 5224 arrived at the North Norfolk Railway from its North Yorkshire Moors Railway base on March 19. It helped cover for a loco shortage, as BoB 4-6-2 no. 34081 92 Squadron was being prepared for a boiler inspection, and J15 0-6-0 65462, which starred in two NYMR ‘LNER gala’ weekends, needed repairs on its return.
The GWR loco last visited the NNR for a gala back in September 1994, when it stood in for B12 4-6-0 no. 61572 whose return from restoration in former East Germany had been delayed.
Now Bure Valley drops Thomas too
Hard on the heels of the North Norfolk Railway’s decision not to run a ‘Thomas’ event in 2008 (NRS Newsletter Jan/Feb 2008) the Bure Valley Railway has come to the same conclusion. Like several other heritage lines, the BVR has found itself unwilling to comply with HIT Entertainment’s contractual terms.
Away from the tracks
Whitwell to see a loco once
moreIt closed to passengers in 1959 and to goods five years later. Now the ex-M&GN Whitwell and Reepham station is slowly emerging from its 40-year hibernation. Mike Urry who bought it last year (NRS Newsletter Sep/Oct 2007) had the first lengths of track delivered to the site on March 20, and laid them soon afterwards. Mike has now arranged the purchase of a diesel shunter from Hardingham-based loco dealer Great Eastern Traction (Norfolk). Powered by a Perkins 162 bhp engine, it was built in 1977 by Baguley-Drewry at Burton-on-Trent (works no. BD3733) for the MOD at Gosport.
Mike is looking for original pictures, drawings or plans of Whitwell & Reepham. He can be contacted at mike@whitwellstation.com
Darsham coach bodies saved...
Two ex-GER coach bodies which for years formed a Suffolk bungalow (NRS Newsletter Mar/Apr 2007) have been rescued.
The 3rd-class suburban coaches, clearly marked with ‘GE’ and their numbers 1528 and 1578, were located north of the A12 level crossing at Darsham before the site was redeveloped last year. A third carriage at the rear of the site, a six-compartment vehicle which dated from the late 1880s, proved to be beyond restoration.
New owner of the pair is Keith Beacham who has moved them to his home near Saxmundham. From the Darsham parish historian he learns that the bungalow was built in 1928, and that two similar bungalows survive locally.
Keith intends to restore just one. Anyone interested in taking the second body should contact him on 07703 128916 or keith@beachams.net .
He has also located another carriage body sited in the Waveney Valley, for which he has found temporary storage nearby. Keith would welcome any ideas as to its origin.
...while remains of another are discovered
Recently discovered after many years on private land just outside Norwich are the remnants of yet another pre-grouping coach. Used as an office for many years until the early 1950s, the coach is thought to have been abandoned since then. Little remains, but anyone interested in visiting it before it collapses completely is advised to contact Howard Brissenden via h.brissenden@clara.co.uk
Top of page
Home Page