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Greater Anglia Class 720s are becoming more noticeable on the Great Eastern Main Line. Here No. 720515 is seen departing from Stratford with the 11.10 Southend Victoria to London Liverpool Street on April 6. ALISDAIR ANDERSON
Two unidentified TransPennine Class 185s cross New Mills Viaduct on March 31 with the 14.18 Manchester Piccadilly-Cleethorpes train. TOM MCATEE
CLASS 91 No. 91132 was taken by road from Doncaster to Sims Metals, Beeston, on March 18, the first of the class to be scrapped. By April 4 very little remained of the locomotive.
OBSERVED working between Chandler’s Ford and Eastleigh on Sunday, April 4 at 17.10 was Class 166 No. 166220, along with an unidentified unit on a Cardiff-Portsmouth train that was routed from Romsey via Eastleigh and Hedge End, as opposed to the normal route through Southampton Central. Our correspondent speculated this was due to engineering work around Southampton as buses were replacing services from Romsey to Southampton.
A SERIES of moves on April 13 found Class 66 No. 66748 move power cars Nos. 43086+43196 from Nemesis Rail, Burton to Long Marston. The Class 66 then took Nos. 43056+43087+43193+43197 from Long Marston to Laira.
Returning to Long Marston, the following day the Class 66 moved Nos. 43196+42094+43086+4307 8+42095+43069, also from Long Marston to Laira.
FOLLOWING the completion of the two-week resignalling programme by Network Rail into Clacton station on March 14, by the morning of March 16 all Class 321s on the recommissioned line to Dovercourt had dispersed, with some of the units making their way back to Clacton EMUD.The weekly scrap run of Class 321s to Sims (Newport) continued but with Clacton now resuming as the source of departure.
A visit to the line at Dovercourt on Saturday, March 20 revealed more Class 321s in this holding area and none in their usual weekend haunt of Harwich Parkeston Quay yard, where sightings revealed a Class 720/5 No. 720558, Class 745/0
No. 745006 and Class 322 No. 322483. There was also a siding with 317723 heading a line of unidentified Class 317s. Over the weekend of March 20/21, eight Class 321s were noted parked on the recommission second line to Dovercourt, with No. 321355 heading Nos. 321354, 321365, 321444, 321359, 321408, 321439 and 321362.
On March 22 at approximately 14.45, Nos. 321355 and 321354 pulled off the line heading through Harwich International station and by early morning the next day, all the units on the line had been relocated. Three days later, on March 24, the eight Class 321 units had reoccupied their position on the recommissioned line to Dovercourt in exactly the same positional order.
On April 6 after removal of a siding full of NR track re-laying equipment in Harwich Parkeston Quay yard, it was possible to identify another two Class 317s in potential‘warm storage’here – namely Nos. 317714 and 317344.
Class 720/5 No. 720558 was still present and appears to be used for ongoing driver familiarisation of that class in situ. Class 321/3 No. 321360 also headed a siding of Class 321s additional to that on the recommissioned line to Dovercourt. Class 321/3
Renatus-upgrade units were operating the branch service to Manningtree that same day in the hands of No. 321301, while Nos. 321320 and 321311 were present at Platform 3 for the later evening service to London Liverpool Street.
DELIVERIES of Class 720 units found No. 720561 top-andtailed by Class 56 No. 56081 and Class 47 No. 47739 from Derby to Wembley on March 18. The same locos moved No. 720563 from Derby to Wembley on March 25. This was followed by No. 720504 being moved to Worksop by Class 47 No. 47727 and Class 56 No. 56081 on April 7.
DISPOSAL of the Class 321 units is taking place on a regular basis. Nos. 321349+321366 were hauled from Clacton to Sims Metals Newport by Class 57 No. 57312 on March 19. These were followed on March 26 when the Class 57 took Nos. 321364+321425 to Newport. The next reported move followed on April 9, when Class 37 No. 37884 took Nos. 321346+321353 from Clacton to Newport.
Class 57 No. 57312 was back in action on April 13 to convey Nos. 321422+321352 to South Wales. A change of disposal location followed on April 16, when Class 37 No. 37884 took Nos. 321354+321360 to C F Booth, Rotherham.
CLASS 317 units are also leaving for scrap, with Nos. 317659+317671 being taken from Ely to Raxstar at Eastleigh Works by Class 37884 on March 25. These were followed by Nos. 317505+317670 being moved to South Wales by Class 66 No. 66711 on April 7. A further move to Newport on April 12 involved No. 66713 taking Nos. 317667+317665, followed two days later when No. 57305 moved Nos. 317658+317650 to Newport. The next day, April 15, Class 37 No. 37884 hauled Nos. 317651+317654 from Ely to Raxstar, Eastleigh Works.
CLASS 720 No. 720549 was reported on a Cambridge-King’s Lynn-Liverpool Street service on March 30.
ONE of the redundant HST sets stored at Dundee, Nos.
East Midlands Railway Class 170 No. 170418 passes Willington, Derbyshire, with the 15.42 Derby-Crewe on April 19. Once all EMR’s ‘170s’have been transferred from other operators, it will be the largest operator of the class. MICK TINDALL