(and Mickleover)
W
elcome 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!
April 2012
7X09 1142 Old Dalby - Amersham is running on Monday 30th & Wednesday 3nd whilst
7X23 0933 Derby Litchurch Lane - Old Dalby is down for Friday 4th. After
Friday's move, the 20s should work 6H21 1700 Old Dalby - Derby Litchurch Lane
with the barrier wagons so that they can receive attention at Etches Park over
the weekend.
Network Rail's UTU1 test train will be also visiting the line for three days
this week, it has been out of service for several years but is coming to the
test track for calibration following a major refurbishment. It is booked to
arrive in the 3Z10 path on Tuesday 1st at 1030, then spend the remainder of the
day performing calibration runs before returning to Asfordby for stabling
overnight. On Wednesday morning it will leave Asfordby depot (between 0800 and
1000) for another full day of calibration, before returning again in the evening
for stabling. On Thursday it will do the same again, before returning to Derby
RTC in the 3Z11 path at 1730.
There was a 6Z10 0831 Derby RTC - Old Dalby and 6Z11 1642 return on Tuesday 24th which was an MPV vehicle DR98008 returning to the test track for further calibration.
Due to unavailable 67s, 3Z10 was worked by 37605 & 37610 (top and tail) on Thursday 19th and Friday 20th with vehicles 977868 , 6264 (generator), 999508 (TIC) and 977983 (TRC).
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35610 heads the track recording car past
Grimston on 20th April 2012 Neil Booton |
31285 with UTU2 worked 3Z10 / 3Z11 on Monday 16th, and was on time arriving at Old Dalby. It left the test track approximately half an hour early. The class 20's worked 6M20 Derby Litchurch Lane - Old Dalby also on Monday 16th, then 7X09 to Amersham with S-Stock sets 21097 & 21098.
7X09 ran again on Wednesday 18th whilst the next delivery to Old Dalby is (rather unusually) happening on Saturday 21st, departing Derby Litchurch Lane at 0933 and arriving on to the test track around 1430, running as 7X23. The Amersham deliveries are planned to run on Monday (23rd) and Wednesday (25th) again next week as well.
The Track Inspection Coach & Track Recording Car are still planned to visit on Thursday/Friday (19th /20th), arriving using the 3Z10 0830 Derby RTC - Old Dalby (arr. 1028) path and then leaving again on Friday as 3Z11 1728 Old Dalby - Derby RTC. It is booked for top and tail class 67s, one of which might be royal liveried 67005, making it the first royal 67 to visit the line.
Bad news! The anticipated railtour on 31st May has been cancelled! Shame!
Seems that it is just too complicated to top'n'tail a train over 13 odd miles of single track railway these days.
3Z10 was cancelled on 26th March. It is next down to run on Monday 16th April with UTU2, with the Track Inspection Coach & Track Recording Train both booked to arrive on Thursday 19th April to undertake two days of calibration, returning to Derby on the Friday evening.
The track machine that has been present at Widmerpool for several months has finally left the test track, running as 6X68 to Hither Green on Friday 30th March.
20227, 20142, 20901 & 20905 have remained on the S-Stock movements with no reported problems. HNRC are said to be prepping another four 20's for use with GBRf which will be used to convey the redundant A-Stock from Neasden to Rotherham for scrapping. These could be 20096, 20107, 20132 & 20189 but this is subject to change. It is currently anticipated that the A-Stock movements will begin in May.
(Thanks to Ben Wheeler for the above information)
According to sources, there will now be six S-Stock deliveries to Neasden (from Old Dalby) every month until June 2012, alternating between one and two trains per week. This means there will be regular Derby to Old Dalby trips too
Rumour has it that a Class 180 may visit the track soon, but this has not yet been confirmed. Watch this space
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
During its history the line between Melton and Nottingham has seen many changes. Below is a selection of pages which describe the test track today and in its distant and recent past, including numerous photographs of the different eras with comments where appropriate. I have also included a few related topics, which I think may be of interest too.
Click on the buttons to view the pages. All photos are the author's unless otherwise credited (where known). Apologies for any omissions.
