DECEMBER KICK-OFF FOR CREWE’S NEW TOC
Royal Scot in line for first Locomotive services charters this Christmas.
Jeremy Hosking’s Locomotive Services (TOC) is expecting to kick off a “low key” first year with pre-Christmas trains between Crewe and Llandudno. It follows the granting of a Train Operating Licence from the Office of Rail and Road in August, to add to the Safety Certificate (ORR) and Access Agreement (Network Rail). LSL (TOC) joins West Coast Railways and DB Cargo as a main line steam Train Operating Company. “The three key documents/ approvals that you need to operate trains are there,” Locomotive Services (TOC) Director Mike Hart told Steam Railway. “They’re all signed up. We’re ready to go.” Trial runs are expected to take place this autumn, which are likely to start with driver route knowledge trips using Crewe’s two-tone green ‘47’ diesel No. D1994 (47501). Said Mr Hart: “We’re going to have a very low-key Year One - as a self-imposed restriction we’ll just do Holyhead, Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog; CreweShrewsbury-Cardiff; and the Shrewsbury-Chester line.” As for numbers of planned trains, Mr Hart said it would be “about a dozen in the first nine months.” Initial trips are expected to use ‘7P’ 4-6-0 No. 46100 Royal Scot, hauling a ‘blood and custard’ Mk 1/ Mk 2 rake. A ‘47’ will provide power to the Mk 2s. LSL’s Bob Allen said: “Royal Scot is the lead engine, but Braunton will arrive...as standby.” “The train next year will be a mixture of Mk 1s and Mk 2s. I think it’s reasonable to say that one of the conditions of operating Mk 2s is that they have to be centrally locked. So any Mk 1/Mk 2 train set will be marshalled so that the Mk 2s are together and the Mk 1s will be either on the front or the back - and they will be stewarded.” It is intended that sufficient numbers of each will, in future, be available to provide separate rakes. Mr Allen said he expected to have four steam locomotives available at some point during 2018, when Britannia returns to steam following bottom end work and when ‘Black Five’ No. 45231 is brought into use. The Stanier 4-6-0 will, however, initially remain vacuum-braked only, whereas LSL trains are intended to be airbraked; all the other operational engines are already fitted with both. “The use of those locomotives will be split between our own operation, which will come first, and the opportunity we’ve looked at to hire them out. But we - I - will
be very selective in what we do and I have been increasingly so over the last three or four years.” Explaining the reasoning behind the Crewe group’s move to establish its own operator, Mr Hart said: “We’ve just grown...to a stage where it’s become the obvious thing to do.” “We’re absolutely not competing in offering a TOC to do trains for other people. Ours will be our engines, and our carriages. So new toC, ‘new’ engine: ‘5mt’ no. 45231 is prepared for its first outings as part of the hosking empire in Crewe’s workshops on august 17. we’re therefore not looking to compete with DB Cargo, nor are we looking to compete with West Coast in that market.” Details of the proposed Crewe‑ Llandudno pre‑Christmas trains are still to be announced. See also Down Main, SR466.