NEW MOVES AND CHANGES
■ With 20228 now at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway, Steve Madge has decided to put his Class 73/1, 73129, up for sale. Although now wearing the original electric blue, 73129 was one of the few to carry full Network South East livery, of blue with white, red and grey stripes. After withdrawal it was purchased from Booth at Rotherham and taken to MoD Ashchurch for mechanical work before moving to the GWR where it has remained ever since. It is also notable as being the first loco to cross Stanway Viaduct on the Broadway extension since British Rail lifted the track in 1976.
■ Following an extensive bogie overhaul, 37215 was back in action at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway on April 25, with the first of the railway’s post-lockdown diesel services. 37215 last ran in 2018.
■ After extensive testing, 37227 made a welcome return to traffic at the Chinnor & Princess Risborough Railway in April, with a mileage running day booked for May 8. In the end the 37 gained extra running days over the May Bank Holiday weekend due to the unavailability of the booked steam loco.
■ On hire, 37688 was out and about on April 28 running light engine to Eastleigh to collect two repainted Mk 2 coaches. On May 10 it was on a rescue mission of sorts as it took five ex-HST Mk 3 coaches from Crewe to Laira as part of the effort to keep services running following the discovery of cracks in the Hitachi 800 series bi-mode units. This had resulted in the majority of the Great Western Railway fleet being taken out of service.
■ Class 40 D213 was back out on the main line following its extensive engine repairs, with test runs from Crewe to Bristol and back at the end of August accompanied by 37667. These trains ran via the Marches, with a reversal on the outward at Newport to enable the 40 to lead on the return.
■ Ahead of its return to traffic at the North Norfolk Railway’s mixed traffic event on July 24/25, Class 31 D5631 has been running test and engineering trains. Currently in green undercoat, the 31 is due to go back into the workshops for a repaint before the event.
■ 31452 has moved from the Dartmoor Railway to a new home at Great Yarmouth in the care of Eastern Railway Services, providing an electric train supply to the coaches currently being worked on there.
■ Although no trains ran in 2020, the Bo’ness & Kinneil Railway is very optimistic of running trains in 2021 and crew refresher trains have been running using 37067.
■ AAhead of the Severn Valley Railway’s May 14-16 Spring Diesel Bash, special guest 47773 was on site at the Kidderminster Diesel Depot for a refreshing of its twogreen livery. It was being rolled out in its fresh paint job at the start of May.