Contents February 2011. No. 1,318. Vol 157. A journal of record since 1897

Headline News

Britain’s railways ravaged by snow; Changes to HS2 route; M&S in switch to rail; Steam man dies on footplate; ‘King’ 6024 sold to pay legal fees; Virgin to bid for West Coast route; £8.5m needed to complete WHR/FR project; Dunrobin to be repatriated from Canada; £1bn railway shake-up planned.

On the cover

IMAGE: MAIN CrossCountry

220017 No. ‘Voyager’

Cross Clay passes

MAIN IMAGE: CrossCountry ‘Voyager’ No. 220017 passes Clay Cross Junction in snow and sun with a an Edinburgh to Plymouth service on December 3, 2010. MICK TINDALL

snow in Junction an a with sun and to Edinburgh on service Plymouth

2010. 3, December

INSET:

60007 No. A4 Gresley

Line Main Coast

INSET: A4 No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley on the East Coast Main Line near Balderton on December 11, 2010. ROBIN STEWART-SMITH

on Balderton

2010. 11, December

Track Record The Railway Magazine’s monthly news digest

54 Steam & Heritage Blue ‘King’ for Severn Valley and Great Central galas; Big loss reported by Great Central; ‘Patriot’ tender started. 65 Railtours Lincoln market specials cancelled; Pacifics repaired at Crewe; Rugby specials form Scottish circulars.

Clan Line is back - Railtours, p67

Gauge Narrow 77

for

Traction Classic 80

celebrations. 3 Type Crewe’s boiler New hills? Welsh of ‘King’ Mallett or Fairlie Garratt,

69 Network Retail balcony plan for Waterloo; SmartWater spray to deter cable thieves. 65 Traction & Stock First 11-car ‘Pendolino’ arrives; Gatwick Class 460s to bow out; Loco-hauled for Chiltern Railways. 77 Narrow Gauge Garratt, Fairlie or Mallett ‘King’ of Welsh hills? New boiler for Lyn ordered. 80 Classic Traction ‘Rat’ back at Cauldon; ‘Baby’ GM for Downpatrick; Crewe’s Type 3 celebrations. 85 World Chinese locos for New Zealand; Siemens locos for Italy. 87 Operations A round-up of news from the train and freight operating companies. 92 Stock Spot Repainted, scrapped, named or sold? Full details here.

Downpatrick; for GM ‘Baby’ Cauldon; at back ‘Rat’

World 85

Italy. for locos Siemens Zealand; New for locos Chinese

Operations 87

freight and train the from news of round-up A

companies. operating

Spot Stock 92

here. details Full sold? or named scrapped, Repainted,

Regulars

29 Subscriptions Offer Record numbers of readers are subscribing to The RM, so why not join them using our special offer. 30 Readers’ Platform A selection of topical letters from our postbag. 38 Reviews A selection of the latest books and DVDs reviewed. 44 Meetings Details of local railway society meetings. 47 Panorama Another selection of some of the best railway images in our monthly showcase. 93 Heritage Diary Some ideas on where to go for steam this winter. 94 100 Years Ago A look back to what Britain’s senior rail title was reporting 20, 50 and 100 years ago. 97 Reader Services 98 Prize Crossword

Chinese locos for New Zealand - World News, p85

The Welshpool & Llanfair’s 0-6-0T No. 823 The Countess runs through a Christmas card scene on its way back to Llanfair Caerinion with a ‘Santa’ special on December 19, 2010. MIKE SPENCER

The Railway Magazine is the UK’s top-selling rail title! Subscribe today and save money on every issue Call 01507 529 529 or see page 29 for our latest offers Features 12 Rail’s £8billion cheque

Chris Milner analyses the details of the planned £8billion investment in Britain’s rail network. 17 A Baby is Born

Andrew Rogers looks at the ambitious plans to create a Class 23 ‘Baby’ Deltic using a Class 37 bodyshell.

24 75 years of A4s

This year marks the 75th anniversary of Gresley’s A4s. Rex Carver summarises the history of these popular steam locomotives. 32 Grand Central in West Riding

In this month’s Practice & Performance, John Heaton rides Grand Central’s West Riding Class 180 service on the King’s Cross to Bradford route.

40 How the American Revolution started It’s hard to believe that the North Americanbuilt Class 59s have been at work in the UK for 25 years. Concentrating on the first-built Class 59/0s, Chris Milner looks at why they were procured and the big impact they have had on the British Railfreight scene.

BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE: Rail’s £8bn handout - p12

STEAM STALWARTS: 75 years of A4s - p24

STEALTH POWER: Class 180s in the spotlight - p32

February 2011 • The Railway Magazine • 5