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By Anthony Sayer SIX British Class 86s which were delivered to the Black Sea port of Varna, Bulgaria, on May 4 have been renumbered in the Bulgarian 85xxx range. Nos. 86213/231/701/702 were moved to Ruse, with 86234/235 transferred to Sofia for repair work to be carried out. Ultimately, all six locomotives congregated at the Express…

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ALSTOM’S new technology centre for train modernisation in Widnes was opened on June 29 by Lord Prior of Brampton, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Alstom claims it is the largest rolling stock modernisation centre in the UK, with more than 13,000 sq m of space. Its…

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ALSTOM and Eurostar have been working together to support the donation of two Eurostar power cars to the National College for High Speed Rail. Eurostar had previously decided to retire some of these vehicles, and two power cars – Nos. 3101/3102 – are to be fully refurbished by Alstom and will be placed on display…

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CASCADING Class 166 DMUs to the Severn Beach branch from July 3 has allowed passengers to enjoy luxuries such as free wi-fi, air conditioning and at-seat plugs. The delivery of Class 387 EMUs for Thames Valley services has allowed GWR to move some ‘Turbo’ units west in the first step to modernise commuter train services…

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PRODUCTION of ScotRail Class 385 EMUs is well underway at Hitachi’s Newton Aycliffe plant. The three- and four-car sets are being manufactured in the North East by local staff using many locally sourced components, with the painted bodyshells being imported. Hitachi has confirmed that assembly of the sets is now in full flow. Testing of…

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THE manufacture of the first of the new Class 331 EMU sets for Northern is underway at the CAF (Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles) at Zaragoza, Spain. Northern’s order is for 31 three- and 12 four-car units – part of the ‘Civity’ family – which will be phased into service from December 2018 over the…

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TWO recent GB Railfreight locomotive namings have further cemented the close ties between the operator and the UK armed forces. GBRf and the Royal Corps of Signals named No. 66756 Royal Corps of Signals at a ceremony on June 24 to mark Armed Forces Day celebrations in Swanage. The locomotive was named by John Smith, GBRf…

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DB CARGO’S five-year contract to move Cornish china clay for Imerys expires in December and is currently under review. DBC hauls bulk china clay from various locations to Par Docks and Carne Point, near Fowey, for export by sea. According to Imerys, negotiations with DB Cargo are still at an early stage, but the china…

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FUEL oil traffic returned to the West Highland Line (WHL) on July 2, but only on a trial basis. However, the train brought a Class 56 to Fort William for the first time in the type’s 40-year career. Colas Railfreight provided traction for the trial run, which took No. 56302 PECO The Railway Modeller 70 Years…

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GENERAL Motors Class 071 No. 073 has been repainted into the original Irish Rail orange & black livery with white lining to mark the 30th anniversary of the rail operator’s formation on February 2, 1987. Back in February, as Irish Rail celebrated the anniversary, staff members Ken Fox, Noel Enright and Neil Dinnen suggested to chief…

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