August 2015. No. 1,373. Vol 161. A journal of record since 1897

Headline News
Two major electrification schemes ‘paused’ - a special
analysis; Three die as migrants continue to disrupt Channel
Tunnel traffic; Class 373 Eurostar refurbished; SWT fails in
direct award bid; World heritage status for Forth Bridge;
Two more collieries close; UK has safest railway in Europe.

On the cover
MAIN IMAGE: Restored to
working order on the
Weardale Railway, Class 47
No. 47712 reprises the
popular ScotRail version
of the InterCity livery.
The loco made an
appearance at the DRS
open day on July 18.
PHILIP SUTTON

INSET 1: The first railtour
dates for A3 No. 60103
Flying Scotsman have been
announced. See page 70.
JAMES SHUTTLEWORTH

INSET 2: The surviving goods shed at Wadebridge.
A summary of Britain’s other survivors appears on page 29
and readers are invited to help fill in any gaps.
COLOUR-RAIL

Track Record The Railway Magazine’s monthly news digest

70 Steam & Heritage
Flying Scotsman poised for King’s Cross and Shap; Debut
for Ivatt 2MT at Havenstreet; Ashburton plans crushed.
80 Steam Portfolio
82 Traction & Stock
Class 144 ‘Evolution’ unveiled; DRS Kingmoor open day;
TfL EMU deal signed; New Eurostar e320 out on test.
85 Traction Update
Scrapped, sold, renumbered, repainted? Details here.
87 Traction Portfolio
88 Freight News
91 Network
Norton Bridge scheme seen from the air; Hotel plan for
Great Central station; Study to make track last longer.
94 Railtours
98 Classic Traction
Crowds flock to East Lancs gala; Unusual combinations
run at GCR(N) event; Diesel haulage for ‘quad-art’ set.
101 Narrow Gauge
Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland engines meet... at the
Talyllyn!; Welshpool welcomes Statfold’s ‘Mallet’.
104 Metro
106 World
Vietnam still using wartime GE locos; Darjeeling line reopens
after flood damage; South African locos homeless in NZ.
108 Operations
A round-up of news from the train and freight operating
companies.

Regulars

16 Multiple Aspects
16 Railways in Parliament
34 Readers’Platform
36 Subscription offer
60 Panorama
Our monthly gallery of the best railway images.

64 100 years ago
What The RM was reporting 20, 50 and 100 years ago.

115 Meetings
Details of railway society meetings near you.

117 Heritage Diary
Opening times of steam centres and heritage railways.

121 Reader Services
122 Prize Crossword
122 Where Is It?

 Features

18 50 years and still going strong
It is 50 years since the Class 86s were introduced.
Chris Milner looks at the life and times of these
venerable electric locomotives.

24 City of Truro: The final answer?
John Heaton blows the lid off one of railways
greatest ‘did it, didn’t’ it controversies - City of Truro
and its claimed world record speed of 102.3mph.

29 Goods sheds:
Tracking down the survivors
Historic England is attempting to locate and document
all surviving railway goods sheds. John Minnis explains.

38 ‘A’head of their time
In 1955, the Republic of Ireland ordered a fleet of
60 new diesel locomotives. To mark their 60th
anniversary, Gary Boyd-Hope tells the story of the
Metro-Vick ‘A’ class.

44 The Unseen Underground
The editor is given an exclusive tour underground at
Thoresby colliery – just before its closure – and finds
an extensive railway network unseen by the public.

53 Thompson’s Triumph – part 2
For Practice & Performance, Keith Farr concludes his
analysis of the versatile LNER B1 4-6-0s introduced
by Edward Thompson from 1942.

64 10 minutes, 10 questions
Under Steve Knight’s spotlight this month is
Will Dunnett, managing director of open access
operator First Hull Trains.

66 British veterans in steam
British-built locomotives featured strongly at
the recent centenary celebrations at Sweden’s
National Railway Museum. Colin Tyson visits
Gävle for The RM.