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!

January 2012

6M21/7X09 ran on Wednesday 25th  with 20227/142 & 20901/905 but this is expected to be the last time (for now) that the HNRC/Privately owned class 20s will see use on these moves.  

20301, 302, 304 & 305 ran light engine from Crewe to Derby Litchurch Lane on Wednesday evening, probably so that they are in place for 7X23 to Old Dalby on Friday. 

UTU4 confirmed to be visiting on 3Z10/11 on Monday 6th February.

6M21 Peterborough to Old Dalby and 7X09 Old Dalby to Amersham ran on Monday 23rd , with the barrier wagons booked to come back North to Peterborough on Tuesday night.

The running of 6M21 and 7X09 on Monday meant a very busy day for the test track indeed, what with UTU2 also visiting as 3Z10/11 with class 31 traction,  0830 Derby-Old Dalby / 3Z11 1730 return path.

On Wednesday 25th 6M21 and 7X09 ra again, then the barrier wagons go back to Derby on Thursday night, followed by 7X23 Derby to Old Dalby and 6E21 barriers back to Peterborough on Friday 27th.

20s worked 7X23 Derby to Old Dalby on Friday 20th, with another SSL unit for testing, after the cancellation of 7X09 on Wednesday. They were then booked to work 6E21 to Peterborough with the barrier wagons.

The DRS 20/3s appear to be returning to the fore on Wednesday evening, running as 0E71 Crewe to Derby Litchurch Lane. There is a possibility that these will swap with the HNRC/Privately owned class 20s at Derby on Thursday, but that isn't confirmed yet.
The class 150 TRU is due some time in February for Track Geometry calibration work before or after the fitment of new equipment.

Rumour has it that a Class 180 may visit the track soon, but this has not yet been confirmed. Watch this space

7X09 to Amersham scheduled for 18th January was cancelled due to problems with shortage of match wagons. The class 20s have taken the barrier wagons to Derby, and are expected to work 7X23 to Old Dalby on 20th January as they were seen marshalling the train on the evening of 19th. The Amersham move 7X09 will now run on Monday 23rd and return for Thursday 26th. No running of 7X23 is planned next week as this might be pushing things a bit too far.

The class 20s worked 7X23 Derby to Old Dalby on Tuesday 17th and BW was there to record the event

Class 20's are working a 6M11 West Ruislip to Derby Litchurch Lane on Monday 16th afternoon (via the MML), so it looks as though they will work 7X23 0933 Derby to Old Dalby on Tuesday 17th, then 6E21 1700 Old Dalby to Peterborough. On Wednesday 18th they will work 6M21 Peterborough to Old Dalby (arriving at 1015) followed by 7X09 to Amersham.

Worth noting that 6E20 West Ruislip to Peterborough didn't run having now been replaced with the forthcoming 6M11 on Monday.

66718 and 66731 (top and tail) worked 7X23 Derby to Old Dalby on Monday and Tuesday 9th & 10th January, before returning the barrier wagons to Peterborough.

20227, 20142, 20901, 20905 worked 6M21 Peterborough to Old Dalby and then 7X09 Old Dalby to Amersham on 11th as expected. They will next work 6E20 West Ruislip to Peterborough on Friday night, for the next cycle of workings next week. There are rumours that these 20s will be in place for a fortnight, whilst the DRS 20/3s are having GSMR work done at Carlisle Kingmoor. There is also a rumour of two Amersham delivery runs taking place next week, watch this space. I think Neil got some pictures of 7X09, which he may have already sent you. I didn't manage to photograph any of the moves this week unfortunately, I had intended to go out for the 20s today but couldn't due to work commitments.

3Z10 1256 Derby RTC to Old Dalby also ran on Monday but with a less exciting form of traction, it was Network Rail MPV DR98008. This completed a series of calibration runs during the day on Tuesday, before working back to Derby as 3Z11.

Finally, the UK Railtours charter to the line on May 31st has been confirmed, it runs from London Euston and includes a pick up at Kettering for those wanting to join the train just for the Melton line and test track section. The trip on the test track will include Asfordby Sidings and the Asfordby North Chord plus all the way to Edwalton

Link: http://www.ukrailtours.com/tourshow.asp?tourtype=excursion_trains&tourfile=120531_THE_MIDLAND_MEDLEY.txt

Pictures from Neil Booton

7X23 Derby to Old Dalby is expected to run both Monday and Tuesday (9th and 10th) with two new S-Stock units for delivery. It seems the deliveries to TFL of the stock will now be resuming, as they want a large fleet in traffic in time for the June Olympics. 7X23 should be Metronet liveried 66718 and GBRf liveried 66731 (top and tail).

Then we also have 7X09 with the HNRC class 20s on Wednesday 11th. Their use might now only be a one-off, as the other 20s are supposedly having GSMR equipment fitted at Carlisle Kingmoor, but are expected to return to traffic in due course. However, if GBRf are impressed enough with the HNRC 20s, then who knows what they will decide to do in the long term.

Back to more mundane stuff and 3Z10 ran on 5th December with 31602 and UTU4. Next scheduled run is
Monday 23rd January.

(Thanks to Ben Wheeler for all 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 new -ish 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