Photo Class 222 Midland Mainline Meridian DEMU Train Wellingborough

Midland Mainline Liveried Class 222 Diesel Multiple Unit, Wellingborough

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Unidentified Class 222 UK passenger train diesel multiple unit train in striking blue and white Midland Mainline livery stands in Wellingborough station in the early 2000s.

This train livery was superseded by the colourful East Midlands Trains livery when the company took over the franchise.

With the capability of a top speed of 125 mph, and the ability of travelling 1,350 miles (2,170 km) between each refuelling, the Class 222 diesel multiple unit has been in mainline service since 2004.

Built for Midland Mainline and Hull Trains, and at time of writing operated by East Midlands Railway by Bombardier Transportation in Bruges, Belgium, a total of 27 sets were manufactured.

Although the Class 222s are fitted with the same Dellner couplers as those on the Class 220 Voyager DMU and Class 221 SuperVoyager DMU, they cannot work together in one train as the electrical connections are not compatible with the 220s and the 221s.

Due to their superior acceleration, the Class 222 DMUs replaced all of the Class 170 DMUs and a number of Class 43 Intercity 125 HST on the Midland Mainline.

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Night Photo Empty Didcot Parkway UK Train Station 2004

 Empty Didcot Parkway UK Train Station

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

A rare sight indeed.  An early evening black and white photo of a totally deserted Didcot Parkway UK railway Station.

Didcot Parkway station was originally opened simply as Didcot by the Great Western Railway in 1844.

The station is served by both local services operated from Reading to Didcot and Oxford, and by mainline services from London Paddington to the south-west of England and Wales.

The Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway (DN&S) once linked Didcot with Newbury, carrying services to Southampton via Newbury, Highclere, Winchester and Eastleigh.

The DN&S was closed to passengers on the 10th September 1962, and to freight workings in 1967.

At the eastern end of Platform 1, there is a raised section of the east car park which used to be the bay platform for the DN&S.

Update:

Since writing this page, the car park has been excavated by archaeologists revealing the footings of numerous buildings.

In 1985 a new main station building was opened on the 29th July by David Mitchell MP, and the name of the station was changed from simply Didcot to Didcot Parkway.

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Photo Class 205028 BR DEMU Train Eastleigh Train Station 1989

British Rail Class 205028 Diesel Multiple Unit, Eastleigh

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Photo of DEMU Class 205028 3-car unit UK passenger train, looking in a sad state of affairs due to the rundown of British Rail prior to privatisation, standing alongside a near-deserted platform at Eastleigh station, Hampshire.

205028 escaped the death sentence of the scrapyard and is now, unrestored, at the heritage Dartmoor Railway, Devon.

The diesel shunter in the background. to the right of the picture, is 09025 carrying the unofficial name 'Victory'.  

The class 09 loco  diesel shunter was built at Horwich Works by LYR/LMS/British Railways in 4/1/62.  

After years of service, 09025 was finally withdrawn on the 31/8/2005 and is now preserved on the East Kent Railway.

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Photo Class 45133 British Rail Peak Diesel Loco Whitemoor Depot 1989

BR 'Peak' Class 45133 Diesel Locomotive at Whitemoor Yard, March

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

'Peak' UK diesel locomotive Class 45133, in BR Blue livery, is seen in a sorry, dilapidated state, waiting on sidings at Whitemoor Yard, near March station in Cambridgeshire; a prime candidate for the scrapyard?

 

Thankfully, the cutter's torch was destined not to touch this impressively strong diesel locomotive.

D40 (45133) was used to test the abilities of this class of 127 diesel locomotives by hauling 16 coaches up the notorious Lickey Incline, between Barnt Green and Bromsgrove station in Worcestershire, on the 20th September 1961...it was successful!

Sulzer Type 4 Class 45133, which held the original number D40 after production, was built at the BR Derby Works in July 1961 and went on to give 26 years of service across various regions with BR.

In October 1990 the locomotive was sold into preservation with the Class 45/1 Preservation Society and is based at the Midland Railway, Butterley.

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Photo Class 43033 Intercity 125 HST First Great Western Train Didcot 2004

 Class 43033 Intercity 125 Train, Didcot Parkway

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

An early evening image of UK Class 43033 Intercity 125 High Speed Train waiting at Didcot station, Oxfordshire, whilst operating an express service from the South West of England to London.

In 2004, Class 43033 carried the name, 'Driver Brian Cooper  15 June 1947 - 5 October 1999', one of the drivers who died in the Ladbroke Grove rail crash on the 5th October 1999.

Although it cannot be seen in this black and white photo, Class 43033 Intercity 125, is in First Great Western blue livery.

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Photo Alstom Coradia 1000 Class 180113 First Group DMU Train Didcot 2004

Class 180113 Coradia 1000 Diesel Multiple Unit, Didcot Parkway Station

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Diesel multiple unit Alstom Coradia 1000 Class 180113 dmu UK passenger train in colourful First Group Trains livery is photographed as it pulls into Didcot station on a sunny summer day in 2004.

In all fourteen Class 180 Coradia 4-car dmu units were produced by the multinational Frence company, Alstom, at the former Metro-Cammell works at Washwood Heath, Birmingham, between 2000 and 2001.

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Photo Virgin Trains Class 57308 Tin Tin Thunderbirds UK Diesel Loco 2012

Class 57308 'Thunderbird' Diesel Locomotive 'Tin Tin', Rugby

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Thunderbirds Are Go!  Well, ok, not exactly in this example.  

UK Virgins Trains Class 57308 'Thunderbirds Tin Tin' diesel locomotive is seen here stabled in a bay platform at Rugby station on the 2nd. September 2012.

 Photo: Charles Moorhen

 

 

Before conversion to a Class 57 from a Class 47, the locomotive was numbered 47846.
In January 2014, the nameplates Tin Tin and Parker fetched over £4,000 at a charity auction for The Alzheimer's Society.

The Class 57 locomotives were derived from the Class 47s with certain modifications added between 1998 and 2004, such as a reconditioned EMD engine and the same model of traction alternator as the Class 56.

In all their were 16 'Thunderbird' names given to 'Virgin' Class 57s.  They are as follows:

• 57301 Scott Tracy
• 57302 Virgil Tracy
• 57303 Alan Tracy
• 57304 Gordon Tracy
• 57305 John Tracy
• 57306 Jeff Tracy
• 57307 Lady Penelope 
• 57308 Tin Tin
• 57309 Brains
• 57310 Kyrano
• 57311 Parker
• 57312 The Hood
• 57313 Tracy Island
• 57314 Firefly
• 57315 The Mole
• 57316 FAB 

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 47822

Class 47701

Class 47790 'Galway Princess'

Class 57307 'Lady Penelope'

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