1.
British Rail Class 86
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The British Rail Class 86 was the standard electric locomotive built during the 1960s. One hundred of these locomotives were built from 1965 to 1966 by either English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows, or British Rail at their Doncaster works. The class was built to haul trains on the newly electrified West Coast Main Line, from London Euston, to Birmingham, Crewe, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool and later Preston. They helped to replace steam locomotives, which were withdrawn by BR in 1968. Under the earlier BR classification system, the type was given the designation AL6, in 1968, this was changed to Class 86, when BR introduced the TOPS classification system. The AL6 featured design elements pioneered on the classes, such as the general construction of the bodies and bogies. However some design features were unique, such as front ends. Another difference was the lack of a second pantograph, the cooling fans on the AL6 were also specially designed to produce less noise than the earlier locos. The Class was officially introduced into service in August 1965, the entire fleet was delivered into service within 24 months of that date. In the early years the locomotives became notorious for track damage, being fitted with traction motors. This additional unsprung mass was causing damage at high speeds, in 1969 number E3173, was fitted experimentally with the large helical flexicoil springs which can be seen on present day versions, giving it the nickname Zebedee. Trials carried out under the direction of the British Rail Research Division proved successful, within a short time a further batch was modified to the new specification, 86040-86048 were renumbered 86253-86261. These locomotives are capable of 110 mph running, throughout the 1970s, the class saw use on both express passenger and freight services. In 1974, demand for electric locomotives grew due to the extension of electrification north from Preston to Carlisle, from 1978 onwards, BR started to name some of their Class 86 fleet, many of them after cities or counties along the lines that they worked. In the early 1980s, electrification from London Liverpool Street to Cambridge, in addition, many of the freightliner trains to Felixstowe were also hauled as far as Ipswich by Class 86 locomotives working in multiple. By the end of the 1980s, the need for a standard fleet saw all remaining Class 86/0 and Class 86/3 locomotives fitted with improved suspension and these locomotives were now inter-operable with Class 86/2, and thus gave greater operational flexibility. A later development saw Class 86/2 and 86/4 locomotives fitted with TDM to enable them to operate passenger trains. The 86/4s were already fitted with an older multiple-working system and this was phased out after TDM was fitted across the fleet
2.
British Railways Mark 2
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The Mark 2 family of railway carriages were British Rails second design of carriages. They were built by British Rail workshops between 1964 and 1975, other changes of design, such as the window units, were for the same reason, which had become a serious problem in Mark 1 vehicle maintenance costs. Revised painting methods were part of this, which coincided with the change of livery from maroon to the blue. The Mark 2 coach was one of the mainstays of the InterCity network, since their withdrawal from most main line duties, Mark 2 coaches have played an increasing role on private rail tours, charter trains, and on heritage railways. Since 1996, over 140 Mark 2 carriages have been exported to New Zealand, the prototype Mark 2, FK13252, was built in 1963, now preserved by the National Railway Museum and located at the Mid-Norfolk Railway. The final Mark 2 carriage was departmental 999550, in 1977, as of 20 July 2009 it is still in service with Network Rail as a Track Recording Coach. The later versions look similar to the later Mark 3 design. The Mark 3 is longer, has a large skirting between the bogies to conceal the ancillary equipment, and has a roof as opposed to the smooth roof of the Mark 2. Mark 2 carriages were used on the Manchester Pullman service from 1966 until withdrawal in 1985 and these luxuriously-appointed first class carriages had several unusual features, such as inward opening doors and some interior walnut panelling. The livery was grey with blue window surrounds, a reversal of the standard British Rail blue. A Liverpool Pullman service was operated, using the same type of carriages. As of August 2016, Mark 2 coaches are still in use on services on the UK rail network. Abellio Greater Anglia operate Direct Rail Services Mark 2s on Wherry Lines services from Norwich to Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft top, abellio ScotRail operate two sets of six Riviera Trains Mark 2s hauled by a Class 68 on peak hour services on the Fife Circle Line. Caledonian Sleeper use Mark 2 coaches as seated and lounge cars on its sleeper trains, Network Rail operate Mark 2s as brake force carriages on its test trains. Northern operate Direct Rail Services Mark 2s on Cumbrian Coast Line services from Preston to Carlisle with a Class 37, Riviera Trains and West Coast Railway Company both operate Mark 2s on charters, many of the formers are still painted in Anglia Railways and Virgin Trains liveries. Unlike the Mark 1, few multiple unit classes were based on the Mark 2 bodyshell, most were electric multiple units with British Railways, and which operated under AC using overhead wires. The first of these were Class AM10 in 1966 operating commuter services from London Euston, the introduction of TOPS saw these units reclassified Class 310. Northern Ireland Railways used the Mark 2 bodyshell as the basis for the 80 Class DEMU, thirteen 5 car electric multiple units were built in 1976 for Taiwan, the Taiwan Railway EMU100 series
3.
Bittern Line
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The Bittern Line is a railway line from Norwich to Cromer then Sheringham in Norfolk, England. It is one of the most scenic in the East of England traversing the Norfolk Broads on its route to the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on the North Norfolk Coast. The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 7 and it is named after the bittern, a rare bird found in the reedy wetlands of Norfolk. The line was opened between Norwich and North Walsham in 1874 by the East Norfolk Railway, and reached Cromer by 1877, the rest of the line, between Cromer and Sheringham, was opened in 1887 using a section of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway line. The Bittern Line Partnership was set up by Norfolk County Council in 1997, in November 2006 track renewal work began with whole lengths of the old track being lifted and new rails and sleepers being installed, along with new level crossing points. The work will improve the comfort and safety and reduce noise levels for those living near to the track. The work was carried out by Balfour Beatty on behalf of Network Rail, the line was designated a community rail line by the Department for Transport on 28 September 2007. The towns and villages served by the route are listed below, Norwich Salhouse Hoveton and WroxhamConnection with the narrow-gauge Bure Valley heritage railway. Worstead North Walsham Gunton Roughton Road Cromer West Runton for Beeston Regis Sheringham also for Beeston Regis Passenger services are operated by Abellio Greater Anglia, the line is also used by freight services which are operated by GB Railfreight, part of Groupe Eurotunnel S. A. The line also sees freight services taking gas condensate from a terminal at North Walsham to Harwich, a service was in place that sent spent ballast to North Walsham for onwards sale and disposal. This service has now ceased as the contract with Frimstone for spent TfL ballast has finished. The line is double track from Norwich to Hoveton and Wroxham where the line single track, with a passing loop at North Walsham. The line is not electrified, has a gauge of W8 between Norwich and Roughton Road and W6 from Roughton Road to Sheringham, and a line speed of between 40-75 mph. The line was resignalled in 2000, leading to the closure of a number of signal boxes with control moving to a panel in the Trowse Swing Bridge control room. This saw the end of one of the few remaining sections of single main line controlled by tokens. It is arguable that this is not an improvement since there have been a number of serious failures causing full or partial suspension of service during electrical storms. This is due to the system using high frequency pulses in the rail as opposed to track circuits to operate level crossings. The resignalling meant that Cromer signal box, the last surviving M&GN example, was decommissioned, the line uses Class 153, Class 156 and Class 170 diesel multiple units
4.
East Suffolk line
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The East Suffolk line is an un-electrified secondary railway line running between Ipswich and Lowestoft in Suffolk, England. The traffic along the route consists of services operated by Abellio Greater Anglia. It and the Wherry Lines are the easternmost railway lines in Great Britain, the original section of the line opened between Halesworth and Haddiscoe in 1854 with the rest of the current route opening on 1 June 1859. In 1847 the Ipswich & Bury Railway secured the rights to build the line from Ipswich to Woodbridge with the passing of the Ipswich & Bury Railway Act, the works were delayed for financial reasons and the Ipswich & Bury Railway was absorbed by the Eastern Union Railway in 1847. The moves may have been encouraged by the fact the people of Woodbridge issued a Manifesto of discontent which included the claim the town was losing money because it had no railway, however it was not until 1856 that work on the link between Ipswich and Woodbridge started. The Halesworth, Beccles & Haddiscoe Railway was incorporated in 1851, the East Suffolk Railway, which had been incorporated on 3 July 1854, took over the powers of the Halesworth, Beccles & Haddiscoe Railway and the route opened on the 4 December 1854. It was originally built as a line and continued north to Haddiscoe to a junction on what is now part of the Wherry Lines. This line was closed from 17 May 1858 to 1 June 1859 to enable doubling, in the early 1850s the EUR was struggling financially and on 1 January 1854 had been leased by the Eastern Counties Railway - a move later ratified by a parliamentary act of 7 August 1854. The third part of the East Suffolk line was the Lowestoft - Beccles section, the Lowestoft and Beccles Railway was formed on 26 October 1855. The original terminus of the line was going to be near to St John’s church in South Lowestoft, the East Suffolk Act of 28 June 1858 gave the company permission to build a viaduct over Lake Lothing subject to various Admiralty conditions. This meant that the railway would have access to the existing Lowestoft Central station, the following month a parliamentary act received royal assent on 23 July 1858 and the LBR and East Suffolk Railway merged. The Beccles–Lowestoft branch line was opened as a single line branch on 1 June 1859. The following branch lines opened on this date, Framlingham branch. From opening the line was operated by the Eastern Counties Railway although the East Suffolk Railway continued to exist until 1862, the branch to Lowestoft south side opened later in 1859. The final section of the Waveney Valley line opened linking Bungay to Beccles on 2 March 1863, on 26 September 1865 a light engine returning from Great Yarmouth to Ipswich derailed between Darsham and Halesworth killing the driver and fireman. The Felixstowe branch line opened on 1 May 1877 with a junction at Westerfield Junction, on 24 December 1891 an accident occurred at Barnby Box with three killed and four injuries. In 1896 the Lowestoft branch track was extended from Lowestoft Line Junction directly into Beccles leading to the closure of the signal box. The Lowestoft–Beccles section was doubled in 1899 and a track laid between Beccles station and the divergence of the Lowestoft route
5.
Felixstowe branch line
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The Felixstowe branch line is a railway branch line in Suffolk, England, that connects the Great Eastern Main Line to Felixstowe and its port. The line is 12 miles 11 chains in length from Westerfield to Felixstowe, the stations and all passenger services are currently operated by Greater Anglia. The passenger services originate at Ipswich but the branch itself starts one station further down-line at Westerfield, the line also carries freight trains operated by DB Schenker, Freightliner and GB Railfreight, to the port of Felixstowe. The line was opened by the Felixstowe Railway & Pier Company in 1877, although the first station in Felixstowe was not in the town, the railway was sold to the Great Eastern Railway in 1887. A station near Felixstowe town centre was opened in 1898 and this has been the station in the town since 1967. Freight traffic has increased significantly since that time, leading to the opening of a route to the port in 1987. As of December 2016 passenger service frequency on the line is one train per hour in each direction between Ipswich and Felixstowe. The timetabled journey time from one terminus to the other is 26 minutes, the route is described from Westerfield to Felixstowe. Features on the up side will be on the right when facing towards Felixstowe, the Felixstowe branch is an unelectrified, single track secondary line with a maximum line speed of 75 mph, although lower limits apply at some places. It has a W10 loading gauge but W9 rolling stock is excluded, Westerfield railway station is 3.51 miles from Ipswich where the passenger trains to Felixstowe start their journey, although the milepost reads 72¼ as the line is measured from London. It has two platforms, both of which are accessed from the road passes over the level crossing at the west end of the station. Both up and down Felixstowe trains today share the up platform with East Suffolk Line trains towards Ipswich, Felixstowe trains curve to the right at Westerfield Junction as they leave the station to join the Felixstowe branch line. The line climbs for a distance at 1 in 85 and swings towards the south. At milepost 73 the line starts to drop down towards the three-arch Spring Road Viaduct, the train now enters a section of double track through Derby Road station where trains can pass. The line now leaves Ipswich for the last time, just beyond milepost 78 the train passes the site of Orwell station which was closed in 1959. As the train slows for the approach to Trimley a line branches off on the up side then runs parallel over the level crossing and this is the Port of Felixstowes line to their North Freightliner Terminal which was opened in 1987. Passenger trains in both directions now use the former down platform, the derelict station building is on this, but the Trimley Station Community Trust want to see it repaired and used as a community facility. Less than one mile further on another line diverges on the up side and this is the original route of 1877 which also carries freight trains to the port
6.
GB Railways
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GB Railways was the parent company of a number of train operating companies, running the Anglia Railways franchise from January 1997 and launching Hull Trains and GB Railfreight. GB Railways was also involved in the management of the Estonian rail company Edelaraudtee and had an investment in Great Southern Rail in Australia, the company was acquired by FirstGroup in August 2003. GB Railways was formed in October 1996 by entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds initially to bid for franchises in the United Kingdom during the privatisation of British Rail. After being awarded the Anglia franchise in 1996, GB Railways was listed on the Alternative Investment Market in January 1997, in 1998 GB Railways, as part of the Inter Capital Express consortium, was shortlisted for a high-speed rail service from Sydney to Canberra. In September 2000 GB Railways, as part of the Western Freight consortium with AMEC Engineering, in October 1999 the company announced the sale of its 19. 7% share in Great Southern Rail to Serco. In September 2000 GB Railways launched Hull Trains, an open access InterCity rail operator running trains between Hull and London Kings Cross, GB Railways owned 20% of the shares, with the majority owners being Edelaraudtee chairman Henn Ruubel and lawyer Marcel Vichmannile. In 2002 GB Railways investment in the company was only £70,000 – it provided management to the company on a fee basis, GB Railways launched freight train operating company GB Railfreight in March 2001. In 2001 the company was rumoured to be in talks with potential suitors. The offer was rejected without discussion and the companies ceased the acquisition attempt, none of the bids were successful. Hull Trains continued as a subsidiary of FirstGroup, being rebranded First Hull Trains in 2008, FirstGroup sold GB Railfreight to Eurotunnel in June 2010
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