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2012 Diamond Jubilee year - from 70013... to 70013!

WHEN the Queen acceded to the throne in February 1952, ‘Britannia’ class Pacific No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell was only seven months old. The monumental changes that have taken place on Britain’s railways in the intervening 60 years are mind-boggling... yet by a curious conincidence, one aspect has come full circle. For as we enter the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year, a new No. 70013 has just appeared on the scene – Freightliner’s GE-built ‘Powerhaul’ No. 70013. This loco is as yet un-named, but how apt it would be to give it the name of the sadly-missed Gresley A3 Pacific No. 60046 Diamond Jubilee (see top of page).

Oddly enough, one of the first events in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year has been the re-naming of the only other surviving ‘Brit’, No. 70000 Britannia. The naming was carried out by HRH Prince Charles at Wakefield Kirkgate station on January 24, after Britannia had hauled the Royal Train from Preston, via Copy Pit, during which time the Prince travelled part of the way in the cab.
    
The Prince is no stranger to naming ceremonies, having named A1 No. 60163 Tornado at York on February 19, 2009, and he has made a number of official visits to the Welsh Highland Railway.

The event marked the first appearance of Britannia since its repaint back to BR green from black. The choice of Wakefield Kirkgate was somewhat unexpected, given that it’s one of the most run-down stations on the network, but intriguingly – just a week before the event – Network Rail announced a £1.5million package of measures to upgrade the station and regenerate the area.

Work will begin in February and be complete by May (see Headline News).

‘Jubilee’ titled train

TORBAY Express Limited has announced ‘The Diamond Jubilee Express’, which is to run to Windsor this year. The service is to run twice, starting at Poole and calling at Bournemouth, Brockenhurst and Southampton.