Beacon Blue on Biomass

60026 'Helvellyn' passing Winwick this afternoon at head of the 6E10 12:03 Liverpool Biomass Terminal to Drax AES service. The locomotive operated by GBRf is owned by Beacon Rail and it's livery is based on it's owners dark blue with both Beacon and GBRf logos. The locomotive had reentered traffic in late 2021 after being out of use for over a year, due to fire damage suffered whilst working on the same circuit in 2020.

GBRf Heritage Liveries visit the North West

GBRf are perhaps the most exciting operator on the network when it comes to providing variety amongst it's loco liveries. Recently we have seen Class 47's, 50's and 60's receive different variations of the famous Blue/Orange scheme. But it is perhaps the Class 66 fleet that is the most exciting. Below is a list of the current 'Specials' GBRf have to offer!

2 loco's I have been able to catch up with recently are 66779 and 66789.

BR Brunswick Green liveried 66779 'Evening Star' is nearing journeys end as it passes the Jaguar factory in Halewood, Merseyside. The loco was working the additional 6X43 0909 Dagenham Dock Recp Gbrf to Garston Car Terminal Gbrf Ford automotive service. This particular train has ran more frequent recently with Ford stockpiling due to uncertainty around Brexit. This image was recorded just after 16:00 on 21/05/2019. The loco later returned to Dagenham with the empties and is now back in the area at Tuebrook sidings, where we will wait to see if it drops on to the Biomass circuit.

The lovely BR Large Logo Blue 66879 'British Rail 1948-1997' powers through Acton Bridge with the 6V35 0944 Clitheroe Castle Cement Gb to Avonmouth Hanson Sdg Gbrf on 16/05/2019. The loco the former EWS 66250, painted by GBRf when purchased from DB Cargo. GBRf are to be congratulated on providing such a wonderful bit of variety amongst a class which are seen as many as the devil.

08 Update

DB Cargo Fleet for Sale

During September DB Cargo placed their entire remaining fleet of Class 08 and 09 shunter's up for sale. DB has had a fleet size of approximately 8 operational shunter's over the past 12 months with an additional 16 in storage across the country. What happens next remains to be seen, it is inconceivable to me that DB can get back without the use of dedicated shunt locos at strategically placed locations such as Hoo Junction, Eastleigh and Warrington Arpley. An experiment a couple of years ago saw the entire fleet stood down and replaced by Mainline locos only to be reversed a couple of weeks later. This was in part due to DB's efficiency standards, serviceable mainline locos do not sit in yards or depots for long as they are not generating revenue. This led to their being no locos to Marshall and prepare trains with, which in turn created delays.

It is a well known fact that the veteran BR design has been on the hit list for the German company for the past few years with a gradual run down of the fleet and the types duties. A serious lack of investment in the fleet over the past few years has inevitably left the fleet tired, stretched and in the case of some examples, due heavy work. This work has not been sanctioned in recent times, another case of railways being run by accountants who seemingly cannot justify the expense of what is seen as a non revenue earning asset. With decisions being made by people working on balance sheets rather than on the ground in the operation, it is no surprise that DB has lost major ground over the past few years, Indeed, in the past couple of days it has emerged that the once great German entity is planning to shed 900 jobs in the UK. The decline in Coal and Steel markets is one of the main reasons the company is giving for it being on its arse but the problem in my opinion runs much deeper. DB has been on a steady decline for a number of years due to seemingly being unable to adapt to change and be innovative. Unlike GBRf, DB haven't gone out of their way to highlight the benefits of using rail over road. Not only have they been unable to attract new customers to Rail, they've lost quite a bit of existing work too.

So what next for the shunting operations of what is technically still Britain largest rail freight operator? Whether they would be looking to hire in a number of shunter's remains to be seen. This way the ground staff (who are left) would be able to operate a familiar locomotive whilst the business would not have to worry about expensive repair or exam costs.
The operator introduced a couple of battery powered shunter's at Toton and Crewe last year however these would not be suitable for use in a busy yard. Indeed the Crewe example is dumped to one side with the staff preferring to use stored examples of Class 08's as the depot pilots.

As of Monday 20/10/2016 the fleet looked like below;

Loco	Location	Status	Notes
08428	Warrington Arpley	Stood down - Brake issues	Since sanctioned. Now back in traffic
08632	Mossend	Stood down - Requires D Exam	Officially stored 19/10/2016
08703	Bescot	Available	Just received 'C Exam'
08742	Hinskey Sidings	Available
08757	Bescot	Available	Just received 'C Exam'
08888	Hoo Junction	Stood down - Requires B Exam	Since sanctioned. Now back in traffic
08904	Eastleigh	Available
09106	Knottingley	Available

EWS liveried 08904 is busy shunting engineering trains at Eastleigh Yard on Friday 14th October 2016.

Mainline workings by Shunters are increasingly rare these days but one such trip working that still enjoys the delights of a 'Gronk' is the 8K77 Knottingley/Drax/Milford Wagon moves. Former Warrington Resident 09106 is seen shunting a lone Hopper at Milford West Sidings.

RES liveried 08742 is seen here in Hinksey Yard, Oxfordshire on Thursday 13th October 2016. The loco has just returned from repairs at Didcot after suffering fire damage earlier in the year. It was widely expected that the loco would not be repaired however against all odds it was and also received a C exam at Didcot. After a few weeks bedding in on local shunt duties, the loco ran light the short distance from Didcot to Hinksey under the cover of Darkness in September. Hinksey is a busy base for engineering trains and the Gronk is kept occupied by numerous arrivals.

The last operational loco to carry EWS 'More Yellow' livery is 08888. Pictured here in Didcot yard on 29th November 2014 the loco is one of the hardest worked of all the DB fleet having served up and down the country in recent years. After a spell out of traffic whilst undergoing a D Exam at Bescot, the loco was returned to service in early 2016 and was sent to replace the ailing 08623 at Hoo Junction. The loco remains in use today, but was briefly stood down in October awaiting a B exam to be authorized.

08703 sits on Bescot shed in between duties in August 2016. It had recently arrived from Immingham for a C Exam but was pushed down the queue when 08752 arrived from Tyne Yd for the same treatment. The loco saw use as Bescot pilot seeing 08907 temporarily stood down again, but has now entered the shed for repairs  and is yet to emerge. Will it work for DB again?











In the addition to the above, the following locos are also seeing use despite being 'Stored'

Loco	Status	Notes
08405	Crewe EMD Pilot	Recently took over from 08495
08480	Toton Pilot	Pilot here for many years
08605	Wigan Springs Branch Pilot	Replaced long term resident (and now sold) 08877
08633	Stoke Marcroft Pilot	Everyday use, Replaced 08993 in 2015
08907	Bescot Pilot	Irregular use. Intermittent engine issues

Long term Bescot resident 08907 sits under the floodlights on a cold Octobers night. The Bescot pilot now mainly sees use on shed with mainline locos taking up shunting responsibilities over at the virtual quarry. 08907 was the first of the Class to receive the DB livery back in 2014.

Following a number of years storage at Toton in the compound, 08605 was the surprise replacement for the sold 08877 when it left Wigan in 2015. Once at Wigan, its faded EWS livery was quickly replaced with DB red/grey with 'Wigan 2' stencilled on the side (08877 was of course 'Wigan 1'). These days, Wigan is used as a wagon repair shop and a base for Network Rail MPV units. The loco is pictured sitting outside the shed in May 2016.

Another location which depends on the use of a dedicated pilot is the busy Axiom Rail wagon works in Stoke. 08633 arrived here in 2015 to replace 08993 which was sold further down the line. Originally the Gronk sat out of use with the staff preferring to use its 'Cut Down' sister, indeed the day 08993 left on a low loader, it was still performing pilot duties as the low loader was on site and set up waiting for it, whilst 08633 sat around.

The full list of locos offered for sale are as below;

Loco	Location
08405	Crewe EMD
08428	Warrington Arpley
08480	Toton
08495	Crewe EMD
08605	Wigan
08623	Bescot
08632	Mossend
08633	Stoke
08703	Bescot
08706	Crewe EMD
08735	Eastleigh
08742	Didcot
08752	Bescot
08757	Crewe EMD
08782	Doncaster
08784	Toton
08799	Westbury
08804	Crewe EMD
08879	Margam
08888	Hoo Junction
08904	Eastleigh
08907	Bescot
08922	Toton
09106	Knottingley

Hornby R3347 Class 92 92019 'Wagner' Review

My latest purchase for the ongoing project of building a 'OO Gauge' diesel/electric depot is a Class 92 from Hornby. One of two announced in December 2014, I was surprised to see them both hit the shelves so fast considering the delays that have plagued Hornby (and the other manufacturers) in recent times.

The two models are

• R3346 92009 ‘Marco Polo’ DB Schenker traffic red

• R3347 92019 'Wagner' EPS Grey with EWS 'Beasties' sticker

46 Class 92 locomotives were built between 1993-1996 primarily for use within the Channel Tunnel. They are quite simply the most powerful electric locomotive ever built for BR and were by far the most technologically advanced loco they had ever introduced. Being dual voltage, they are as at home on DC third rail as they are drawing power from AC overhead wires. The bodyshell is similar to the Class 60 diesel introduced by Brush a couple of years earlier, and in terms of internals, most of the electrics are duplicated. This was a key requirement for the Channel Tunnel to reduce the chance of failure. But while this class of loco ticks all the boxes in terms of performance and ability, its a class that has never ever been utilised anywhere near its true potential. The Channel tunnel has never come close to the kind of volume of traffic that was expected when the project was announced and traffic even declined in the early 2000's due to issues with asylum seekers in Calais. The ill fated 'Nightstar' project was another disaster and the proposed sleeper services between the UK and the continent predictably never materialised.  Currently the Class are operated by DB Schenker and GBRf Europorte.

The subject of my review is R3347, 92019 with the EWS branding. This loco is one of ten active Class 92's currently in use with Britains largest freight operator. It is also one of the Class that has received signalling equipment for use on High Speed 1 (HS1). With rumours that DB Schenker are to scale back on Class 92 operation within the UK, due to expensive running costs, this batch of locos could potentially be the last ones to survive. DB Schenker has exported examples to both Bulgaria and Romania, where they have been able to at last fulfil some of their potential. With the above in mind, more are expected to be sent abroad in due course with duties in the UK taken on by Class 66's and pairs of Class 90's.

Upon removing the loco from the box there are a couple of things that stand out, sadly these are mainly bad things. The roof colour is wrong, it is painted black but it should actually be blue as per the Eurostars. The Class 92's received the two tone EPS grey livery but instead of gaining the grey roofs as applied to the EPS 37's and 73's, the 92's received blue roofs from the start. The first recipient being 92001 in 1993. Granted these days the accumulation of dirt and grime gives the roof a black appearance however it is still incorrect. What makes this slightly frustrating for myself is that Hornby have produced Class 92's in the EPS two tone grey before (without EWS yellow sticker) and got the roof colour correct. It's another example of shoddy research from them, which may class as passable for something in their Railroad range of products, however the 92 isnt. It sits in the middle of that and the 'Super Detail' range. However, it does appear that somebody in Hornby was expecting the roof to be blue, as the blurb on the back of the box describes the model as having a blue roof. Ooops..

The Hornby model is the foreground next to the Lima version allowing a comparison of size of the running numbers and BR arrows on the two versions, plus the differences between the pantographs

Also the running numbers and BR arrows on the cab sides appear to be oversized. These are problems that I can resolve myself with a few hours work, but I'm not sure if people are forking out £80 for a loco that they should have to for such basic things. 

With my two main concerns out of the way, the loco is more or less as expected. Utilising the Hornby tooling of the 92 (Lima also did a version) the loco comes fitted with headlights but no tail lights The loco features the revised chassis introduced a couple of years ago with a 5 Pole Skew Wound motor and an 8 pin DCC socket. The loco has two plastic pantographs which are obviously non working. They don't look that great today but we have to remember when the tooling was introduced in the 90's it was superior to anything previously produced. 

A general view of the roof and pantograph detail

Moving on to the face and the look of the 92, its OK. I think generally it looks like a Class 92, a bit plasticy in areas but on the whole not bad. I've always thought that the Hornby 92 looked a bit 'chunky' and when I place it next to the Lima Class 92 I believe this does stand out. Whilst the chassis and internals are better on the Hornby model, the body of the Lima version is more convincing.

The face of the Hornby model.

Hornby Model (Left)next to Lima version (right)

In conclusion then its a welcome release, with an interesting livery that the class has carried for some years now. Whilst I have highlighted some slight issues with the model, notably the roof colour and running number size, most people could probably live with these. For me personally as an electric modeller, I have to try and remain realistic. It is highly unlikely that we will see a retooled super detailed Class 92 released, certainly not anytime soon. It isn't bad straight out of the box, but also could be perfect for a modelling project. Indeed when time permits it will be on my work bench for some improvements. Feeling generous, I'd give the model a 7 out of 10 rating. This isn't an £80 loco, it'd be better priced in the £60 range. 

Local scene Monday 23rd February

With the weather not forecast to be that great, I decided not to venture too far today. As it happens, the sun came out and despite the wind, it was actually a rather pleasant day. A quick check of the loco lists in the morning set the itinerary for the day.
First of all, the Monday morning 4F64 Crewe Basford Hall-Garston FLT service is generally used as a loco ferry to begin the weeks services. Shown down for this today were Class 86's 86612+86622 accompanied by 90042. They are pictured below amongst the shadows.

The pair of cans scheduled to later run light engine 0F72 to Ditton and then down to Ipswich on service 4L92. The locos normally stay on the service for the remainder of the week, however, typing this on Tuesday the locos are showing as being due back at Crewe from Garston (4K64) this afternoon with 66954 scheduled to work to Ditton (and Ipswich) later. I'm not entirely sure why this is, I can only assume an exam is due or there is a minor fault with one of the locos. Regardless the pair did indeed run light in glorious sunshine on Monday and I caught them on the approach to Ditton.

90042 formed the usual 90 return 4K64 to Basford Hall, and for this I scooted across to Runcorn station

Whilst on Runcorn station, Class 66 66623 arrived on the Folly Lane branch with the 6F33 Bredbury-Runcorn Folly Lane. The loco currently carries an interim livery, based on the blue of its former Bardon Aggregates scheme. With the Bardon contract now in the hands of GBRf, the loco has had all the branding removed and has had it replaced with the new Freightliner logo. Sadly the sun sits in the wrong position for trying to get a perfect photo of this train at the time of day it arrives.

After arrival the terminal, the loco is detached and runs round were it is hooked up to the waiting wagons to form the 6H36 13:30 Runcorn Folly Lane-Northenden return.

The loco stays on site for just over an hour, before departing and rejoining the WCML at Runcorn before veering off at Hartford jcn.

At Runcorn East station, the Arriva Trains Wales 09:50 Manchester Piccadilly-Holyhead 'Loco Hauled' service had a loco change. ATW liveried 67001 which must have needed surgically removing from the set was on a B exam at Crewe and was replaced with EWS liveried 67020. DVT 82308 was on the rear.

Back to Halebank and the Fiddlers Ferry-Liverpool Bulk Terminal coal empties was in the hands of DB Schenker's 'Super 60' 60044. A new loco to me, I was aware it was on the circuit but hadn't had an opportunity to get out and see it for myself. Until now...

Another loco that had been in the area over the last week was GBRf 66721. The loco carries a special livery commemorating the London Tube and was on the Liverpool-Ironbridge Biomass circuit along with 66708 and 66713. Today the loco was forming the 4F61 Ironbridge-Tuebrook Sidings empties. After weighing up where best to go for it, Acton Bridge, Earlestown, Warrington Bank Quay, Winwick Junction, I decided due to the time of day, position of the sun, and the disappearing light that Rainhill station would be best (and most convenient!).

Also noted on the day, was Northern Rail 319364 on test between Crewe and Liverpool South Parkway. The loco carries a sleek version of Northern Rail livery with 'Northern Electrics' branding. A lot of promotional material for 'Northern Electrics' has started to appear on board trains and stations however Northern have no idea at present when exactly the electrification works will be finished allowing the introduction of these units on services between Liverpool and Manchester.

LH Group, Barton-under-Needwood

LH Group services in Barton-under-Needwood has for the past few years been one of the major shunter overhaul/repair centres. Now a part of the Wabtec Rail group, the company has customers such as Freightliner, GBRF and more recently East Midlands Trains, sending Class 08/09 shunters for attention. The company also receives a lot of the industrial classes of shunting locomotives so are kept busy!

I had several reasons for wanting to visit the site in Derbyshire. Besides the fact that I am a Gronk fan, it was the arrival of EMT 08690 at the end of January that made a visit a priority! Normally based at Leeds Neville Hill, its not exactly one of the easiest shunters to spot. Coupled to the fact that it carries a variation of Stagecoach EMT Livery, a livery that sits well on the 08 I might add, I knew I had to take this chance, this chance was Monday 2nd February 2015.

Also as mentioned above, this is the base were Freightliner's 0-6-0 fleet are maintained. Freightliner's fleet has struggled over the past few years, with availability on the floor in more recent times. Locations such as Felixstowe, Southampton Maritime and Trafford Park still have dedicated pilots, whilst locations such as Coatbridge FLT in Glasgow and Garston FLT have lost theirs. With Trafford Park being the only location named there that is 'local' to myself, it is quite rare for me to see a 'Green Team' 08 these days.

Listed as being on site that day from the FL fleet were 08530, 08575 and 08891. 08530 arrived here in January for a D exam, and unfortunately was tucked up inside the shed (doors closed) so was not viewable. 08575 arrived in 2014 and has joined long stored 08891 in the compound. 575 was involved in a shunting accident at Southampton a few years back, which also involved a Class 66 and 08077. The 08's were pushed through the buffer stops and 08077 never worked again. 08575 did see some use as the pilot but has been laid up for sometime now. 08077 was the spares donor at LH group after the accident and was scrapped on site last year. 08575 appears to have taken its place, although appears largely intact 6 months on. The same can not be said however for 08891, which has been robbed of parts and makes a sad sight. This loco is another reason for my visit, having a bit of a personal connection with it. For many years, it was based at Garston FLT in faded BR blue. Maintenance was done locally at Allerton TMD so I'm more than familiar with it. It was removed from Garston circa 2004 (replaced by 08624 for the record) for some major attention. Following a full overhaul and repaint in to Freightliner Green/Yellow it appeared to have a bright future ahead of it taking up residence at Southampton. Sadly, it was never the same and suffered reliability issues over the next couple of years. Eventually it was laid up at Maritime and transferred over to Barton in May 2008 for repairs to it's cylinder heads and gaskets amongst other things. Sadly the repairs have never happened and the loco is now one of the spares donors on site, it's future looking somewhat bleak.

Also onsite was GBRf's 08934 which had arrived for repairs from Cardiff Tidal in Summer 2014. The Cardiff job is a rather punishing one for the shunters and shifted cranks are a regular occurrence. Owned outright by GBRf, it carries what is a variation of BR green. At the time of my visit, the shunter was outside the shed having the finishing touches done to it. It was moved on to Whitemoor Yard, March just 3 days later, in turn releasing former Allerton Gronk 08925 to take on the Cardiff job.

Hunslet Engine Company had 08913 on site undergoing a major overhaul. The loco is in bits, with the empty frame sat in the yard whilst the interior components are no doubt being overhauled. The radiator nose end is sat on the floor next to the loco making an interesting sight. This loco carries Malcolm Rail livery, which consists of a yellow roof and a yellow/blue/green body. Despite being rather unusual, a far cry from the standard BR Blue painted enmass from the 70's, the livery actually looks quite good! The loco had arrived from Daventry after being replaced by DRS Class 37 'Super Shunters'.

Also from Hunslet is 08393 still carrying EWS livery. The loco was bought from the EMR Kingsbury scrapyard, initially for spares but was found to be in very good condition so is here for repairs. Not much appears to have happened so far and presumably with the works current workload, its fairly low down on the list of priorities.

All in all, a very productive visit.

Loco's on site that day included,

08393 - Hunslet - EWS livery 
08530 - Freightliner (inside shed)
08575 - Freightliner 
08596 - Wabtec black 
08690 - East Midland Trains 
08891 - Freightliner 08913 - Hunslet - Malcolm livery
08934 - GBRf - BR Green