Welcome to my web site describing the history of the Old Dalby railway test track situated in the UK.

In the late 1960's BR Research Division acquired two stretches of redundant lines near their HQ in Derby and these were subsequently converted into test tracks and used for numerous tests and trials which could not be conducted on the main lines.

The high speed line was situated on the Nottingham/Leicester border and was known as 'Old Dalby' after the name of the village next to the site of the control centre. The line was 13¾ miles (21 km) long and ran between Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire and Edwalton on the southern outskirts of Nottingham and originally formed part of the Midland Railway's route from Nottingham to Kettering.

The low speed line ran from Derby's former Great Northern station in Friargate to the junction with the line from Derby to Crewe at Egginton. The line was later truncated to run between Mickleover and Egginton but was closed in the 1990's when a new road was built over the formation and this coincided with the desire to reduce the Research Division's costs prior to privatisation. The site incorporates pages related to the Mickleover test track which I hope will be of interest.

After rationalisation of the Research Division in the late 1980's the Old Dalby line was taken over by the DM&EE and finally by Railtest but remained leased from the BR Property Board. In 1997 Serco Railtest came into being following purchase of part of the former DM&EE by Serco PLC.  The assets from the purchase included not only the operational responsibility for the Old Dalby test track but also the vehicle testing and infrastructure monitoring functions as well.

The Old Dalby test track is today owned by BRB (Residuary) Ltd. being part of the Department for Transport which, following privatisation of the railways around 1994, took over the remaining functions of the British Railways Board including the former BR Property Board.

20th October 2010

BRB (Residuary) Ltd is amongst the quangos that the present Government is set to abolish. How this will affect ownership of the test track is unclear. Look here for the end of British Rail

In late 2000, after a few years with minimal use by DM&EE & later Serco, the lease was re-negotiated and was transferred to Alstom Transport Limited who upgraded and electrified the line during 2001, specifically to test and commission the Virgin Pendolino trains. Although the line was formerly known as the Old Dalby Test Track, Alstom renamed it the Alstom Midlands Test Centre (AMTC), and under their ownership the HQ was moved from the original Old Dalby site to Asfordby, occupying various buildings at the former mine complex. 

However after completion of the Pendolino testing at the end of 2005, and the demise of Alstom as a train builder in the UK, the line remained little used for a couple of years and looked as if it might be closed altogether, but in early 2007 it was announced that Metronet had taken control of the line for its own future testing requirements with London Underground trains and Serco Assurance would operate it on their behalf. Balfour Beatty Rail Projects were invited to undertake a dilapidation survey and submitted proposals for over £3 million of work needed to bring the site up to the required standard.

The use of the line by conventional test trains, on what remains the only proper test track in the UK (despite NR's feeble effort at High Marnham), was a distinct possibility, although it was a long time coming it finally happened in March 2010 with the arrival of Bombardier's London Overground 2-car class 172/0 DMU but it has been a bit thin on the ground since then.

The use of the line by the SSL trains is a long term prospect expected to last into 2015.

2012 News - not necessarily the latest!

December 2012

20th

Colin Aldworth has released the updated copy (2012) of his excellent study of the line which is available in paperback from Melton Books, Melton Mowbray and in Kindle format from Amazon (which look particularly good on an iPad). Although Melton Books immediately sold out it does now have stock.

10th

It transpires that 66062 & 66072 are in fact ex-French 'Euro Cargo Rail' variants of the normal EWS class 66. Therefore, they have the black & yellow 'wasp stripes' at the bottom of each cab front, along with alternative branding/logos. This is the first time one of these 66's has visited the test track.

The Structure Gauging Train visited the test track on Mon/Tues (17th  and 18th ) for calibration, with class 31 traction (normally 31233 or 31285 and DBSO 9708), timings included here. Info and timings courtesy Ben Wheeler

The latest delivery 7X23 09.33 ex-Litchurch Lane to Old Dalby was on Friday 14th with 20901, 20905, (GBRf) and 20311 and 314 (Harry Needle) which had been at Litchurch Lane all week.

(Thanks to Ben Wheeler for the above information)

Locomaster Profiles are releasing a cab ride DVD next year which was filmed from 20301 on 8X09 from Asfordby a few weeks ago. The footage starts at the depot and features an extensive part of the train's route, all the way to Banbury.

There are two videos on YouTube by 'Daveszed' featuring recent cab rides up and down the test track - here and here

A bank slip had occurred in early 2008 between Old Dalby and Upper Broughton (visible from the lane to Old Dalby) and this was repaired by Balfours and the line readied for its new role.

I intend to continue to expand the site and add new or different pictures as they become available. If you have any questions about either of the test tracks, past or present, or can offer any anecdotes or material which would enhance the site, please feel free to e-mail me - see Feedback page for details