Photo Class 442 'Wessex' NSE 'Plastic Pig' EMU Train Basingstoke 1990s

 

Class 442 EMU Basingstoke             Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Photo of unidentified Class 442 'Wessex' 5-Car electric multiple unit, in Network SouthEast livery, about to pass Basingstoke signal box before entering the station with a scheduled service from London Waterloo on an overcast day in the early 1990s.

Nicknamed the 'Plastic Pigs' by rail enthusiasts, due to the amount of plastic used in the construction, the Class 442 EMU was introduced by NetworkSouthEast on the line between London Waterloo and Weymouth in 1988.

Twenty four five-car units were manufactured by British Rail Engineering at its Derby Litchurch Lane Works.

In 1988 the Class 442 had the honour of entering railway history books for holding the world speed record for a third-rail 'Contact Shoe' (DC) train when, on the 11^th April that year, it reached a speed of 108 mph (174 km/h). Impressive for a train that was designed with a maximum speed of 100 mph.

Operated by South West Trains after privatisation, the units were replaced with Desiro UK Class 444 and Class 450 EMUs in February 2007.

Following a period of storage, the 442s once again saw service, this time on the Gatwick Express services from London Victoria to Gatwick Airport and Brighton.

In 2016 the units were withdrawn from this route.

Class 442412 EMU on Gatwick Express Duties

                                                Photo: Peter (flickr)

 

Eventually the units were put into storage where they remain at present, although there has been talk that they may be used once again for mainline running. Time will tell on that one.

 

The eventual fate of the Class 442 EMU:

In January 2020, 'Global Railway Review' magazine reported that South Western Railway (SWR) had reintroduced four of its 10-car Class 442 trains, running on the London - Portsmouth and London - Poole routes.

However, in April 2021 'Modern Railways Magazine' reported that SWR's reintroduction plans for the Class 422 units had been abandoned.  The reason cited was "lack of demand".

An SWR Engineering spokesman stated that six of the 24 '442s' had already been sold, donated or scrapped by Angel Trains.  The spokesman went on to say that with no future prospective use for them, all remaining units will be sold for scrap.

442s Scrapped or Used For Spares:

No. 2401 stripped for spares at Eastleigh Works, for scrapping 7/2020.

No. 2405 coach number 62944, scrapped at Eastleigh 5/2020.

No. 2421 stripped for spares at Eastleigh Works, for scrapping 7/2020.

No. 2424 coach number 62960 scrapped at Eastleigh 5/2020.

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Photo Class 45118 'The Royal Artilleryman' British Rail Peak Diesel Loco 1990s

'Peak' Diesel Loco Ravaged Before Restoration

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Photographed in the early days of restoration and repair on the Northampton & Lamport Railway in the 1990s, 'Peak' UK diesel locomotive Class 45118 'The Royal Artilleryman' - original number D67 - was one of a fleet of 127 built at both BR Derby Works and Crewe Works between 1960 and 1962.

Used regularly on scheduled services between London St. Pancras and Manchester, the Midland Mainline was their main theatre of operations as was the case for their predecessor the Class 44.

The Class 45/1s were to be found across the British railway network following their gradual displacement with the introduction of the Class 43 Intercity 125 High Speed Trains.  

The writing was on the wall for the Sulzer 12LDA28-B power units as their withdrawal from main line service began in 1977, with the final locomotives being taken out of service in 1988.

UK diesel loco, Class 45118 'The Royal Artilleryman', built in May 1962 at Crewe Works (LNWR/LMS/British Railway) was originally purchased for restoration and preservation on the Northampton & Lamport Railway, Northamptonshire, following withdrawal from British Rail.

After an attack by cable thieves, which left the diesel locomotive inoperable and extremely expensive to repair, it was moved to Railway Vehicle Engineering Limited  (RVEL) - now Loram - at Derby in 2009 for repairs.

It moved from Derby after purchase by Locomotive Services Limited, (LSL), Crewe Diesel Depot.  In 2019, Class 45118 was on the move again, this time for repairs at Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Museum and Engine Shed near Chesterfield, Derbyshire.

Whether it will ever return to main line or preserved/heritage railway operations is at the present moment uncertain.

In total, 12 of the 'Peak' Class 45 diesel locomotives have survived.

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Photo Midland Mainline Trains Class 43082 125 HST Wellingborough 1990s

Midland Mainline Liveried Class 43082 Intercity 125, Wellingborough

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

This photo of UK Intercity 125 Class 43082 high speed train power car, in Midland Mainline livery, was taken as the train from London St. Pancras was standing in Wellingborough station before continuing on northwards.

 

Class 43082  Intercity 125 passenger train, whose depot is Neville Hill T&RSMD (Leeds), was built Crewe Works in 1978.

On the 10/11/1997 the power car was named Derbyshire First,  then in 30/11/2004 it had the name removed until on the 13/9/2009 it was renamed The Voice of Street Children Worldwide.  In the 2019 Platform 5 Pocket Book it is recorded as bearing the name, Railway Children - Fighting for street children.

News Update:
Seeing East Midlands Trains colourful livery of red, white, orange and red flashing along the railway tracks, will soon become a thing of the past.

Abellio will take over the East Midlands Trains franchise on Saturday 18th August 2019. The Class 43 HST Intercity 125 and Class 222 diesel multiple unit will gradually be phased out by brand new Hitachi trains that will be a variant of the bullet-nosed Class 800 bio-mode DMU.

The new trains will have a lavender livery and be branded with 'EMR' on both sides.

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Photo Class 321403 Silverlink Trains EMU Wolverton 1990s

'Silverlink Trains' Class 321403 Electric Multiple Unit, Wolverton

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Photo of UK Silverlink Trains Class 321403 electric multiple unit (EMU), leaving Wolverton station, Buckinghamshire, heading for the next stop on the line - Northampton, in the 1990s.

The Silverlink Class 321 units passenger trains on the Northampton Line were later superseded the Class 350 emu's when London Midland Trains took over the franchise, and then again by West Midlands Trains.

Short video of a Silverlink Trains Class 321 EMU Entering Wolverton Station.

(Not Class 321403 in this post, but worth a look)

Wolverton railway station historical note:

It was at Wolverton railway station in Buckinghamshire, on the 9th September 1845, that bare-knuckle fighter, Bendigo, stepped from a carriage of a London & Birmingham Railway train surrounded by a horde of his supporters.

His destination was the nearby town of Newport Pagnell where it was arranged that he would take part in an illegal fight with Ben Court.

At the last possible moment, for various reasons, the venue was switched to the village of Lillington Lovell, 4 miles north of Buckingham.

The match went ahead with Bendigo being heralded the winner after 96 gruelling rounds.

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Photo Silverlink EMU Train Class 321422 Wolverton 1990s

'Silverlink Trains' Class 321422 Electric Multiple Unit, Wolverton

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Photo of UK 'Silverlink Trains' electric multiple unit, (EMU), Class 321 321422 entering Wolverton station in Buckinghamshire whilst operating a service from London Euston to Northampton.

Owned by National Express, 'Silverlink Trains' passenger trains operated passenger services on various lines between March 1997 and November 2007, taking over from the 'boxy-shaped' Network South East Class 317s.

The Class 321 electric multiple units consisted of 117 4-car units drawing from power from overhead lines.  The trains were built between 1988 and 1991 at British Rail Engineering Limited's York Works in three batches.

The Silverlink Class 321 units on the Northampton Line were superseded the Class 350 emu's when London Midland Trains took over the franchise, and then again by West Midlands Trains. 


Wolverton railway station historical note:
It was at Wolverton railway station in Buckinghamshire, on the 9th September 1845, that bare-knuckle fighter, Bendigo, stepped from a carriage of a London & Birmingham Railway train surrounded by a horde of his supporters.

His destination was the nearby town of Newport Pagnell where it was arranged that he would take part in an illegal fight with Ben Court.

At the last possible moment, for various reasons, the venue was switched to the village of Lillington Lovell, 4 miles north of Buckingham.


The match went ahead with Bendigo being heralded the winner after 96 gruelling rounds.

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Photo Class 47822 UK Diesel Loco Intercity Swallow Livery at Basingstoke 1990s

Class 47822 Intercity Liveried Diesel Locomotive, Basingstoke

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Photo of UK diesel locomotive Class 47822 in Intercity 'Swallow' livery  standing at platform 2 of Basingstoke station in the 1990s.

Class 47822 was built in May 1964 at Brush Traction, Loughborough.

The locomotive was renumbered to 57305 on the 19 December 2002. 

Throughout its life it has carried four names, Alan Tracey - Thunderbirds,  John Tracey - Thunderbirds, Pride of Shrewsbury and Northern Princess.

Class 57305 (47822) is still in mainline service, owned by Direct Rail Services (DRS), operating such services as the DRS Northern Belle.

512 Class 47s were built, of which 30 have passed into preservation and can be found (at time of blog-page publication) at the following locations, though this may be subject to change for various reasons.

D1524  47004 - Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway.

D1693  47105 - Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.

D1705  47117 'Sparrowhawk' - Great Central Railway.

D1842  47192 - Crewe Heritage Centre.

D1855  47205/47395 - Northampton & Lamport Railway.

D1994  47292 - Great Central Railway Nottingham.

D1787  47306 'The Sapper' - Bodmin & Wenford Railway.

D1886  47367 - Mid Norfolk Railway.

D1895  47376 'Freightliner 1995' - Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.

D1500  47401 'North Eastern' - Midland Railway Butterley.

D1501  47402 - East Lancashire Railway.

D1516  47417 - Midland Railway Butterley.

D1566  47449 - Llangollen Railway.

D1662  47484 'Isambard Kingdom Brunel' - (Private Location).

D1107  47524 - Dean Forest Railway.

D1778  47183/47579/47793 'James Nightall G.C. - Mid Hants Railway.

D1762  47167/47580/47732 'County of Essex - Carnforth.

D1933  47233/47596 'Aldeburgh Festival' - Mid Norfolk Railway.

D1606  47029/47635 'Jimmy Milne' - Epping Ongar Railway.

D1970  47269/47643 - Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway.

D1948  47505/47712 'Lady Diana Spencer' - Crewe Heritage Centre.

D1619  47038/47564/47761 - Midland Railway Butterley.

D1643  47765/47059/47631 - East Lancashire Railway.

D1946  47503/47771 - Eastleigh Works.

D1755  47541/47773 - (Location Not Known).

D1909  47232/47785/47820 - Wensleydale Railway.

D1656  47072/47609/47834/47798 'Prince William' - York Railway Museum.

D1654  47070/47620/47799/47835 'Prince Henry' - Eden Valley Railway.

D1966  47266/47629/47828 - Carnforth.

D1661  47077/47613/47840 'North Star' - West Somerset Railway.

More Class 47 and 57 images on 'Along These Tracks'.

Class 47100 'Merlin'

Class 57316 'Fab 1'

Class 57305 'John Tracy'

Class 57308 'Tin Tin'

Class 47701

Class 47790 'Galway Princess'

Class 57307 'Lady Penelope'

Basingstoke railway station historical note:
In the mid-1800s, a special train was permanently kept in a state of readiness by the London & South Western Railway for the sole use of the Duke of Wellington - hero of the Battle of Waterloo - at Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK, should he require it.


 The 'Iron Duke' was not a fan of the 'new fangled railways' and it is not known if he ever used his train.

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Photo Class 47701 Network South East UK Diesel Loco Basingstoke 1990s

  Class 47701 Diesel Locomotive, Basingstoke

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

 

In Network South East livery, UK Class 47701 'Old Oak Common Traction & Rolling Stock Depot', (formerly named 'Saint Andrew' then, in May 1997 renamed 'Waverley'), stands at platform 2 Basingstoke station with a rake of Network South East coaches before heading to Salisbury.

 

Class 47701 was built in February 1966 at Brush Traction in Loughborough.

The UK diesel locomotive was withdrawn from British Rail service in 1997.  It was then purchased by Tracy Lear and hired to Fragonset who sub-contracted it out to anyone who wanted it.

47701 is now based at Meldon Quarry on the Dartmoor Railway.


Basingstoke railway station historical note:
In the mid-1800s, a special train was permanently kept in a state of readiness by the London & South Western Railway for the sole use of the Duke of Wellington - hero of the Battle of Waterloo - at Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK, should he require it.
Wellington was not a fan of the 'new-fangled railways' and it is not known if he ever used his train.

More Class 47 and 57 images on 'Along These Tracks'.

Class 47100 'Merlin'

Class 57316 'Fab 1'

Class 57305 'John Tracy'

Class 57308 'Tin Tin'

Class 47822

Class 47790 'Galway Princess'

Class 57307 'Lady Penelope'

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Photo Class 31108 'Eastenders' UK Diesel Loco Northampton 1990s

British Rail Class 31108 Diesel Locomotive, Northampton Sidings

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

UK British Rail diesel loco Class 31108 in BR Railfreight livery is seen stabled overnight on the weed-strewn sidings adjacent to Northampton station in the late 1980s early 1990s.

31108, original number D5526, was built by Brush Traction, Loughborough, on the 16/04/ 59.

Between 23/05/09 and 25/05/09 Class 31108 locomotive made a guest appearance at the 'Eastleigh 100' Works Open Weekend.

The diesel loco was withdrawn from British Rail mainline service on the 27/09/91 and is now preserved at the A1A Group, Butterley, near Ripley, Derbyshire.

Class 31108 was featured in an episode of 'Eastenders' (BBC1 tv) when 'Janine's' car is stuck on a level crossing...(Link).  

Filming took place at Wansford on the Nene Valley heritage Railway. 

Class 31 Diesel Locomotive Historical Note:

Whilst hauling a train in which Queen Elizabeth II was travelling on 4th January 1961, D5667 (31240), broke down south of Cambridge.  

 

Two onboard Brush fitters, on hand to deal with any mechanical problems that may occur, were unable to fix the problem and a steam loco had to be sent for in order to rescue the stricken diesel adding over an hour to the completed journey.

 

 

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Photo Intercity 125 Class 43057 HST Train in Swallow Livery Wellingborough 1990s

Class 43057 Intercity 125, Wellingborough Station

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Approaching Wellingborough railway station, UK Intercity 125 High Speed Train Class 43057 in 'Swallow' livery, as it heads for its destination of London St. Pancras.

In 1988 Class 43057 this train was carrying the name, 'Bounds Green'.  

Please note the oil-stained wooden crossing sleepers and lack of end-of-platform safety barriers in this pre-privatisation photo.  

Crossing sleepers such as these were once commonplace across the British Railway network, enabling station staff to move items by hand trolley from one platform to another.  

Although intended for railway station staff only, it was not unusual for passengers to use these crossings rather than walk up the steps of the station footbridge.

The two 'lollipop' lights only a few metres from the front of Class 43057 Intercity 125 carries a sign which reads, 'Caution  Cross Only When Light Showing'.

News Update:

Seeing East Midlands Trains colourful livery of red, white, orange and red flashing along the railway tracks, will soon become a thing of the past.

Abellio will take over the East Midlands Trains franchise on Saturday 18th August 2019. The Class 43 HST Intercity 125 and Class 222 diesel multiple unit will gradually be phased out by brand new Hitachi trains that will be a variant of the bullet-nosed Class 800 bio-mode DMU.

The new trains will have a lavender livery and be branded with 'EMR' on both sides.

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Photo Smoky Class 43098 Brel/Paxman Intercity 125 Basingstoke 1990s

Class 43098 HST Smoking Out of Basingstoke Station 

Photo: Charles Moorhen

Trainspotting Class 43098 Intercity 125, built in August 1978 and allocated to Landore T&RSMD (Swansea), in 'Swallow' livery introduced in 1987, leaving Basingstoke station in the 1990's in a cloud of diesel exhaust smoke, heading for Reading.

Brel/Paxman 43098 Intercity 125 has carried two names.  From 1985 to 1987 it was Tyne & Wear Metropolitan County, and from 1998 to 2004 it was Railway Children. 

An old slam-door diesel multiple unit, in Network Southeast livery, can be seen in the background standing in the station's bay platform before heading towards Reading.


Basingstoke railway station historical note:
In the mid-1800s, a special train was permanently kept in a state of readiness by the London & South Western Railway for the sole use of the Duke of Wellington - hero of the Battle of Waterloo - at Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK, should he require it.


Wellington was not a fan of the 'new fangled railways' and it is not known if he ever used his train.

   

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BR Loco Class 86221 Named 'BBC Look East' Northampton 1990s

Class 86221 'BBC Look East' Diesel Electric Loco

Photo: Charles Moorhen 

Named After a BBC TV News Programme

Seen here on a sunny day at Northampton train station in the 1980's/90's, photographed on 35mm film, Class 86/2 86221 was one of 100 of a locomotive class that were built at two locations - Doncaster Works and the English Electric Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows.

Primarily, the Class 86 locomotives were built to replace steam on the then newly-electrified West Coast Main Line from London Euston, to Birmingham, Crewe, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool and later on to Preston and Glasgow.

In the early 1980's the locomotives were employed on passenger trains from and to, London Liverpool Street to Cambridge, Harwich, Ipswich and Norwich.

At times during its lifetime, Class 86/2 86221 carried two names.  From 1979-87 it was named Vesta, after the Roman goddess of hearth and home.  From 1987-2003 it carried the name, Look East, after the BBC regional news programme which began broadcasting in October 1959 and continues to this day.

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

After a lifetime of both passenger and freight work in a wide variety of liveries, 86221 was scrapped in 2003.

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