Operations
RHTT
THE Rail Head Treatment season will begin shortly, and wagons are being moved from York in readiness. Class 57 No. 57002 moved a rake to Kingmoor on August 28, while No. 57007 took another rake to Stowmarket on the same day. These were followed on August 31, when Class 56 No. 56078 took a further rake to Shrewsbury. On September 3, Class 66 Nos. 66708 and 66775 were noted passing Kensington Olympia top-and-tailing a formation working from Tonbridge Yard to Bishop Stortford.
THERE were reports of damage on September 6 to the overhead line equipment on the Down line causing delays to Virgin Trains between Lanark Junction and Carluke. The 1S82/16.30 Euston-Glasgow and 9S85/15.43 Euston-Glasgow were both 30 minutes late at Law Junction. LNERs 1S23/15.30 King’s Cross-Glasgow was 36 minutes late passing Law Junction and ScotRail’s 2B81/20.23 Lanark-Glasgow was 45 minutes late at Law Junction. The 2B83/20.51 Lanark-Glasgow was cancelled and the 2B85/21.23 Lanark-Glasgow was 20 minutes late passing Law Junction.
THE LNER King’s Cross-Aberdeen service on August 16, formed with power cars Nos. 43313 and 43319, due to depart Edinburgh Waverley at 14.28, arrived nine minutes late. By the time the train departed Haymarket, this had increased to 16 minutes. Cause of the lateness was given as “congestion south of York”.
CLASS 90 No. 90039 was noted on the rear of the 10.15 Leeds-King’s Cross on August 20.
LNER appear slow to rebrand its locomotives. On Thursday, August 23, Class 91 No. 91122 was seen at Leeds at the rear of the 16.45 from Leeds to London King’s Cross, still with Virgin branding. However, the following day, No. 91108 at York on the 14.30 from London King’s Cross to Newcastle, was lettered LNER. NEW IET No. 800109 ran south from North Pole to Eastleigh on September 4, where it will receive post factory quality snagging and livery application prior to entering service.
OBSERVATIONS of Cardiff to Portsmouth Harbour trains on August 15 found many were in the hands of Class 150s with no First Class and severe overcrowding. The following day the 09.32 Salisbury-Portsmouth Harbour had the‘luxury’of two Class 150 units. Unfortunately, much of the rear unit was uninhabitable because of rainwater pouring in through the roof and swamping the floor.
CLASS 165 No. 165125 was noted in Richfield Avenue Reading at 09.00 on August 16 on the back of two low loaders heading away from Reading Depot to Wolverton.
TWO new Class 802 units – Nos. 802004+802011 – passed Bradford Junction at 10.00 on Wednesday, August 29, while being delivered from Stoke Gifford to Plymouth Laira.
THE 08.04 Cardiff-Paddington was held at Newport for 53 minutes on August 19 because of overrunning work in
