East Coast… British Rail reborn

Well it seems that British Rail are back, the train was late (albeit by a few minutes), and the WiFi on the train screwed up mid way into it’s use, also lazyness was apparent by the fact that the train was relivered by covering over the national express East Coast logos with new vinyl transfers, one with the logo used by East Coast, one with their web address, I enclose pictures of this

A Metro-Cammell built British Rail Mark 4 coach in a wacky mix of GNER (dark blue and orange) national express (white band), and East Coast (white text on purple background)

At Darlington, prior to the train arriving, I noticed this, apologies for quality issues, this was done in a hurry on my phone as there were some idiots trying to photograph me without consent at the time

it shows the train is running late, per normal of what was British Rail

The laziness of East Coast extended into the train on this map of East coast routes, all references to national express are covered up, the map was put up by national express more or less when they took over from GNER, but East Coast have just been lazy

This was also hurried as the idiots from prior had got on this train and they had actually succeeded in getting a picture of me without my consent, I could have challenged them but I though best keep my mouth shut, even more so seeing as York station was crawling with police and I don’t do being arrested when I’m having days out

Well I also managed to bid a fond farewell to one of the 3 last remaining Paxman 12RP200L “Valenta” powered InterCity 125 sets operated by Grand Central, a sad moment for me because all through my life that has what has been iconic to me with the InterCity 125, may I wish the 125 group every success in bringing this icon back to the rails one day

 

Happy journeys :)

A dawn of a new era for the East Coast Main Line

As reported in my post yesterday, the East Coast franchise is now back in state ownership, though this may be signs of a return of British Rail it then again may not.  The franchise was transferred at midnight from the previous operator, national express East Coast, to the government who operate the franchise as East Coast, a trading name for Directly Operated Railways Ltd. owned by the Department for Transport.  My last trip on the East Coast franchise was with national express East Coast a week ago, next time it will be with the “single line British Rail” as I have affectionately come to call East Coast, so I wonder if the service will be better or worse, well I’ll let you know how East Coast fair to their predecessors

 

Happy journeys on the new East Coast service (and any other train you happen to use)

The end has arrived for national express East Coast

Indeed it has, just before midnight tonight the government will be taking over operations due to national express not being able to afford to run the franchise.  As I said in an earlier post when this came to light I noticed that the franchise had been doomed for a number of years, firstly there was the demise of GNER a few years ago, now national express East Coast has failed, the government is not taking over for 18 months, this could also fail, though it could succeed and at the most even renationalise the railways, the rebirth of British Rail in a way, but for now it’s just one franchise, the East Coast Main Line is still maintained by Network Rail (who I now call Network Evil because of the maintenance work carried out between Huddersfield and Stalybridge in September) so it’s not fully a single-line British Rail but it’s as good as, maybe it’s time to renationalise the railways… but we’ll see what happens there

Well that’s it for now on the end of national express East Coast, but before you depart I found this link on BBC News to do with this whole thing: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8358100.stm

If I find out further information on this, I shall post with more

 

Happy Journeys on whatever runs the railways

British Rail class 158, I really forgot how comfortable it was

Since First TransPennine Express disposed of Class 158 when they replaced them all with the current Class 185 fleet I began to forget how comfy these trains actually are, as yesterday, owing to engineering works between Huddersfield and Stalybridge I had to get trains in and out of Manchester Victoria station rather than Manchester Piccadilly, as ALL TransPennine Express services to Manchester were being diverted there as I was headed to Manchester again (I spend a lot of time down there now, lol), now on the way there it was sort of business as usual with me getting a TransPennine Express train at York, the return leg however saw me on a different train, a class 158 operated by Northern, which was showing it’s age, namely the toilet door not working properly, the engines were quite loud in the seating area too despite it normally not being loud in there but this was due to the opening windows all being open, but the seats were a hell of a lot more comfier than the TransPennine 185s which makes me wonder “why did they get rid of such good trains and replace them with crap?” though I guess I’ll never know the answer to that

Well my next trip to Manchester will likely be into Piccadilly station so it’ll be business with TransPennine Express as usual

More soon

 

Happy Journeys :)

A sorry sight, but we’ll blame engine manufacturer MTU

Yesterday I was making a journey back from Manchester, and as luck had it a delayed Edinburgh service was due to leave SOONER than my initial connection at York, so I waited for that, expecting it to be a high speed service, but the sight that greeted me was just unreal, the train was an InterCity 125, nothing wrong with that you might think, but coupled to the front locomotive of this particular set was another locomotive, a class 67, it seemed the front 43 had more or less stopped working and only the brake and generator connections were of any good to the coaches, this kind of proved my point about the MTU engines all along, they are totally and utterly useless.  Now the Germans are known for some things but the MTU 16V4000 was a BIG mistake, there’s a whole stash of Paxman 12RP200L “Valenta” engines in the hands of the 125 Group, maybe it’s time to refit them back to the whole fleet (except those with the 12VP185 as no reports of them having to have another loco pull the locos fitted with these has come to light), why oh why this happened is beyond me, the Class 43 would NEVER have had to have another locomotive to pull it had the engines not been replaced, take Grand Central, they kept the 12RP200L “Valenta” engines and they’ve had better luck, only thing they did was rewire a batch of Mark 3A Coaches to make them HST compatible, guess people will never learn that if they leave something alone it will work fine and need less servicing in the long run… NEW engine… NEW problems… OLD engine… NO problems eventually

 

Happy journeys on trains that actually DO work properly

British Rail Class 220 and 221, Voyager and Super Voyager

I’m currently on the way to the North West of England, I travelled the first part of my journey on a train which is a member of the Voyager family, albeit standing in the vestibule of the carriage

These trains use an engine I am now all too familiar with under each carriage, the Cummins QSK19, the very same engines used in the Class 185 Pennine/Desiro trains used by First TransPennine Express, on which I am on now coincidentally

The Voyagers have not been without criticism, they use regenerative brakes which have a resistor bank on the centre of the roof of each carriage, though on one or two occasions fires have been started here as temperatures reach 500 degrees or so, also these resistors disliked storm conditions on the Dawlish sea wall in the south west, the trains had to have a software modification to overcome this

As with all multiple unit trains they aren’t as good as the stock (HST type Mark 3 coaches and Class 43 (HST) locomotives) they replaced, but they still make the times, theoretically most modern stock can exceed 125MPH but due to Network Rail restrictions they cannot do so and are limited to a max of 125MPH running

All Class 220s are pooled to CrossCountry, and half 221s are also pooled to CrossCountry with the remainder of the 221s remaining at Virgin Trains. Even though the engines are identical to class 185 they are not as loud inside as the 185, something Bombardier thought of where Siemens screwed up on, lol

Now while I’m on here, I’ll just briefly go back to the class 185, I noticed the forward facing end of this particular set had the “Golden Spanner best modern DMU award”, the 185 is nothing more than a pile of uncomfortable junk, the hard seats are a sign of it’s German birth, but we’re British, not German, bring back the 158 Super Sprinter anyday :)

 

Happy journeys :)

Could this be the end for national express East Coast?

I managed to find a news report by the BBC that East Coast franchise holder national express East Coast is in financial difficulties, they also say it will become state-owned, kind of like a single-line British Rail in some respects, lol

This news article from the BBC details the situation in full, including how much in losses that national express East Coast have incurred, but it’s sad to see that the East coast franchise is doomed once again, first it was GNER, now national express, will the government be next? lol

well, happy journeys on whatever operates the railways

Tornado meets Top Gear – post airing

Now earlier this month, I reported on discovering that 60163 (98863) Tornado had been recorded by the BBC as part of an epic race from Top Gear, with Jeremy Clarkson on board the train, being raced by James May in a Jaguar XK120 and Richard Hammond on a motorcycle… now I expected Jeremy to have been in the coaches but he was on the footplate shovelling coal, which I found utterly hilarious, he even commented on wheelspin produced by Tornado, and tried to fry some bacon in the fire which was just sucked in, and then an egg which didn’t taste particularly pleasant according to him, now I had high hopes and expectations that the train would win this……… but here’s how it turned out……

1. Car
2. Train
3. Motorcycle

Yup… Tornado, the only Peppercorn A1 remaining, was beaten by a car driven by James “Captain Slow” May

Ah well, it’s still a great locomotive :)

The British Rail sandwich, catering icon or catering disaster…

Now, I happened to be trawling the British Rail related articles on Wikipedia and I came across this article on the British Rail Sandwich, which was never eaten by me despite train travel during my childhood between Darlington and Berwick-upon-Tweed, now according to the Wikipedia article it’s pretty much made fun of…

Now, the ridicule stems from British comedy and comparing of the sandwiches to other ready-to-serve meals primarily on transport, now as we all know most of the food served on British Rail were absolutely sub-standard, the sandwiches were often located on counters under glass covers and therefore the corners curled up.

Now, a few years ago, the NRM in York discovered the guide to how to make the sandwiches, the recipe in other words, they displayed this in 2001 at the museum, this document even went as far as to specify they use 1/12 of a punnet of cress in egg and cress sandwiches, how specific does one need to get? lol

Next time you eat a sandwich on a train, think of the catering icon that was the British Rail sandwich

 

Happy journeys :)

Edinburgh Waverley, the maze of a railway station

This is my latest gripe about Britain’s railways, today I went to Edinburgh, I was SUPPOSED to meet a group of people at a bar in Waverley station but I could NOT find it, then on my way back my return train, where I am now was SUPPOSED to part from platform 11, but platform 11 was poorly signed and located on the other side of the  station I entered at, where I didn’t see it at first, but I found it.

Now, who the hell designed the layout of that station as it currently is? Probably some dipstick at British Rail did it all them years ago, so I’ll blame them

Now, just off the subject of that station, I’m passing roughly close to the site of the now abandoned Penmanshiel Tunnel, but that’s something for another day

 

Happy Journeys :)

Tornado meets Top Gear – Pre-airing

Now, I just heard that the BBC have recorded 60163 Tornado hauling a private train from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh Waverley, with Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear on board, this is supposedly part of an epic race where the other two presenters use road-based vehicles, James may in a vintage Jaguar XK120, Richard Hammond on a vintage motorcycle, I expect this to be aired in the next series of Top Gear coming up later this month, now as a fan of Tornado part of me wants that to win but also as a fan of cars part of me wants James’ Jaguar to win, and because I think he’s cool, part of me wants Richard to win on the motorcycle, although the road vehicles can only use A-roads and not the motorway network

Let’s see what the result is, heh

I’ll update this one when that show of Top Gear gets aired

Tornado – A closer look :)

Yes, after my previous post I was pondering on what I should do next, I’d seen Tornado, albeit from a distance, and had my cuppa, and decided first to see if I could get a bus somewhere but decided against it and returned to the station and headed to NRM when I spot the entrances to the far platforms closed off by security… this intrigued me. then I saw the carriages of the Royal train and realised what had returned to York… Tornado

So, I rushed down to the opposite platform armed with camera and even donated £1 to the A1 locomotive trust

So I managed to get a couple of pictured of Tornado, of which I enclose :)

This first one is showing the full length of Tornado plus the carriage behind it, on the humour side there is a law in the UK saying it is against the law to smoke in enclosed public places, look what Tornado is doing, lol (Thanks to an unnamed national express East Coast staff member for that bit of humour)

Tornado and half of it’s tender, the blue nameplate is visible at the front

Tornado’s tender, with “British Railways” on the side, also shown is Tornado’s painted number “60163”

A close up of the side of the cab, displaying Tornado’s number, and it’s Axle Load class of RA 9, “RA 9” means the locomotive cannot be used on routes for anything less than that, as it is too heavy

One of Tornado’s name plates

The classic and the modern, Tornado and an electric powered British Rail Class 91 in service with national express East Coast

Though thinking about it, Tornado is actually the newer locomotive as it was built AFTER the entire fleet of class 91s, however Tornado’s original design, as it’s a Peppercorn A1 locomotive, dates back to the late 1940s, albeit it has had some modifications in design to accommodate modern railways

I did take a few more pictures but sadly they had a fair amount of people in them and that kind of ruined them, it was a busy place today

More soon

Happy Journeys :)

Royal naming of Tornado

Here I am at York railway station, having not long ago just caught the back end of the official naming of Tornado, the newest steam locomotive, with the carriages of the Royal train behind it, of which are modified Mark 3s from the original HST as well as some Mark 2s AND the usual locomotive that pulls the train at the rear, presumeably to provide power to the coaches

I was unlucky to NOT see His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, however I was lucky to get a glimpse of Tornado, and my what a spectacular engine it is, you have to actually see it with your own eyes to truly understand what a fantastic engine it is and what a fantastic job has been done to construct it

Well with the train now gone the station is returning to normal… ish and trains have been continuing to come through anyway

I’ll post again soon

Happy Journeys :)

Tornado, the newest steam engine

Now, I couldn’t go without mentioning Tornado, the newest Peppercorn A1 steam locomotive to be built, a 30-40 minute drive between my home and the locomotive works in Darlington where the locomotive was built, and since that time, it’s been well talked about

It has been up and down the East Coast main line more times than I can count, it’s been at NRM in York, it’s been to King's Cross in London, and it’s had the honour of pulling the Royal Train

Now, as a fan of trains, I would like to see this locomotive at some stage but every time I find out about it being somewhere I tend to be the last to know or something silly, so, next time it’s at York or Darlington I shall be there, IF I know in good time, lol

I now leave you with some small facts about Tornado

1) The number 60163 appears on Tornado, however, it’s number for use on the main line is 98863, this is because a) all steam engines are British Rail class 98, b) all locos and multiple units require a TOPS number to run on the mainline, and c) the third 8 applies to power classification (8P) and the 63 is from the painted number noted above

2) it is the ONLY A1 locomotive left, all other A1s were scrapped long before Tornado’s construction

3) The name was chosen in honour of the RAF Tornado fighter pilots from the Gulf War

4) It wears the LNER Apple Green livery, although it says “British Railways” on the side of the tender

5) Some small changes were made to the original design to meet with current operational and safety requirements for the modern railways, for example height differences for OLE safety, fitting of AWS and TPWS, and several other modifications for modern manufacturing methods