English Electric Battery Electric Locomotive for Ribble Power Station

Ribble Power Station near Preston began operating in 1924 and operated until 1976. It was a coal powered station and therefore needed a lot of coal bought in, which came in largely by boat. A railway line handled wagons of coal and spent ash, as is usual with coal powered stations using steam traction was considered dangerous due to sparks which could ignite the coal. Many stations used fireless steam locomotives but in the case of Ribble English Electric built this battery electric locomotive.

Information
Number built:	1
Built:	1924
Builder:	English Electric
Wheel arrangement:	4wBE

The locomotive [1]

[1] "Electricity supply developments in Preston", English Electric Journal (October 1925) p. 115

Class 165 Network Turbo

The Class 165 "Network Turbo" was built for British Rail in the early 1990s to replace first generation diesel multiple units on Thames Valley and Chiltern route suburban services [1]. Seventy six 2-car and 3-car sets were built and all but one, which was destroyed in the Ladbroke Grove rail disaster, remain in service today with Chiltern Railways and Great Western Railway.

GWR 165 106 arrives at Reading West

Information
Number built:	144 (76 2- and 3-car sets)
Built:	1990-92
Builder:	BREL York
Engine:	Perkins 2006-TWH diesel (one per car)
Power:	700 / 1, 050 hp (520 / 780 kW)
Formations:	165/0: Driving Motor Standard Lavatory (DMSL)+ Motor Standard (MS)+Driving Motor Standard (DMS) or DMSL+DMS 165/1: Driving Motor Composite Lavatory (DMCL)+MS+DMS or DMCL+DMS

The Class 165 are two sub-classes. the 165/0 was originally built for Chiltern services on Network South East and remains on the same routes including services from London Marylebone to Birmingham, to Aylesbury and to Stratford-upon-Avon. Trip-cock equipment has been fitted to Chiltern units as they travel on London Underground track between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Amersham.

The 165/1 was built for services out of London Paddington along the Great Western main line. They are still in service on Thames Valley services to destinations such as Oxford and Banbury. They have bogie modifications to allow for a higher top speed (90 mp/h as opposed to 75 mp/h on the 165/0).

GWR 116 at Basingstoke

Chiltern 165 035 at Little Kimble

GWR 165 018 at Reigate

GWR 165 117 and friend at Oxford

Chiltern 165 011 at Haddenham & Thame Parkway

[1] Colin J Marsden, DMU and EMU Recogition Guide (Ian Allan, 2013) p. 149

Stadler Variobahn (London Trams)

Six of these trams were ordered from Stadler to augment the existing fleet of Flexity Swift CR4000s on what was at the time called Croydon Tramlink (now called London Trams). These trams entered service in 2012. Four more trams were ordered in 2015 and the final two in 2016 [1]. The Variobahn trams are slightly longer than the CR4000s (with a slightly higher capacity) and have five sections instead of three.

2564 at Morden Road

Information
Number built:	12
Built:	2011-16
Builder:	Stadler
Motor:	8 Stadler traction motors
Power:	480 hp (360 kW)
Wheel arrangement:	Bo-2-Bo

Although the Variobahn trams can be seen through the London Tram network, the preference is to use them on the longer Line 2 route.

2562 departs Morden Road

2562 arrives at Mitcham

Both types of tram operated by London Trams meet at Morden Road

[1] Robert Prichard & Alan Yearsley, UK Metro & Light Rail Systems (Platform 5, 2019) p. 130

Class 43 (British Railways/Ruston Paxman 2,250hp Diesel-Electric) High Speed Train

The High Speed Train (HST), powered by a Class 43 powercar at either end of the train, is arguably the most successful diesel powered high speed train in the world. The HST bought 125mp/h speeds to British Rail Inter City expresses in the late 1970s, helping to revitalise long-distance rail travel when it was at a low ebb. Indeed, it is not an exaggeration to say the HST changed the face of rail travel in the UK once and for all and helped stem a seemingly unstoppable decline. The futuristic streamlined shape of the power cars (which can surely be considered a British design classic) quickly became the face of BR publicity [1]. The HST was an instant hit with the public with passenger numbers on the HST services rising by fifteen percent within the first two months of operation. The HST still holds the official speed record for a diesel hauled passenger train of 148 mp/h.

43 185 in Intercity livery (operated by GWR) at London Paddington

Information
Number built:	197
Built:	1976-82
Builder:	BREL Crewe Refurbished by Brush Traction (2006-9)
Engine:	(Original) Paxman Valenta 12RP200L diesel (Refurbished) Paxman 12VP185 or MTU 16V4000 R41R diesels
Power:	(Valenta) 2, 250 hp (1, 678 kW) (12VP185) 2, 100 hp (1, 565 kW) (MTU) 2, 250 hp (1, 676 kW)
Wheel arrangement:	Bo-Bo

The Intercity 125 High Speed Train was introduced in October 1976 [2] following trials earlier in the decade with the prototype HST Class 41/252. Originally, the HST was designated a diesel electric multiple unit with units allocated to Western Region numbered Class 253 and those on Eastern Region Class 254.

However, in the 1980s the power cars were allocated the TOPS number Class 43 (the original Class 43 was the "Warship" diesel-hydraulic locomotive), they are after all proper locomotives capable of independent operation (though this is fairly rare in practice), the Mark 3 coaches they haul/propel differ from loco-hauled Mark 3s with different electric systems and a lack of buffers and can only work properly with Class 43s. The Class 43 only has a driving cab at the streamlined end, the prototype Class 41 also had auxiliary cab controls for shunting at the other end but this was not continued with the production power cars.

Ironically, the HST only came about because of a lack of funds for electrification of more main line routes after the completion of the West Coast Main Line [3]. The HST was devised as a stop-gap... that has so far lasted over forty years! Although they have been slowly replaced from some of their original routes they have been cascaded onto other routes and should continue to serve well into the 2020s. In the mid to late 2000s the fleet was heavily refurbished with the original Paxman engines replaced mostly by MTU units [4] though some have also been fitted with Paxman VP185 diesels since the early 1990s. 

The Class 43 has also been exported to Australia where power cars heavily based on the Class 43s powered the XPT which is still in service [5]. In the late 1980s a small number of Class 43s were taken out of service, fitted with buffers, and formed driving van trailers for the new Class 91 which replaced the HST on the newly electrified East Coast Main Line. Once purpose built DVTs had been built the modified Class 43s were returned to service [6]. Withdrawn power cars have been exported to Mexico and Nigeria.

The Class 43 currently serves with ScotRail and has served with a number other companies in the privatised era including GWR and Cross Country. The ScotRail sets are shorter than older sets to enable improved acceleration. There are also a number of full-length HST sets in use for rail holidays and tours. Some cars are also in service with Network Rail in the New Measurement Train and other departmental uses.

Colas operated 43 272 hauls a test train through Chepstow

Cross Country 42 239 at Birmingham New Street

43 018 preserved in original BR livery at Crewe Heritage Centre

GWR 43 029 at Newport

The New Measurement Train at Sheffield

[1] Chris Heaps, BR Diary 1968-1977 (Ian Allan, 1988) p. 99
[2] Brian Haresnape, High Speed Trains (Ian Allan, 1983) p. 51
[3] Colin J. Marsden (ed.), "The Production HSTs", Modern Locomotives Illustrated No. 208 August-September 2014 (The HST Part 1: The BR Days) p. 28 
[4] Colin J. Marsden, Traction Recognition (Second Edition) (Ian Allan, 2009) p. 34
[5] Marsden, MLI 208 p. 71
[6] Marsden, Traction p. 36