DRS railhead treatment train at Norwich

This Direct Rail Services (DRS) class 20313 is on a railhead treatment train with DRS class 20315 at the other end of the train. The train is at Norwich station next to were the display was. I am not sure if they were part of the display or just between duites, with its blue railhead treatment wagons that were in between the two locos.

These trains are used to combat the dreaded "Leaves on the line" which each autumn can cause wheel slip and longer braking distances, with even more wheel flats. All this is not helped by the ways trees, have been left to grow along side the railway lines, even on main lines. No trees no leaves!

A mixture of Sandite and aluminium is with some sort of adhesive, splayed with water from the tanks on these train at high pressure, onto the rails from water canon set at rail level on the wagons.

The British Rail class 20 were built by English Electic between 1957 and 1968. The order was for only 20 locomotives for a start, but ended up with 228 locomotives. They have only the one cab at one end. They were in BR days more than often or not, run in pairs, with a cab at each end. On this rail treatment train the cabs are at the outer ends of the train. The class 20s were a freight locomotive, but saw some use in the summer on trains to the sea side like from Nottingham to Skegness.

Direct Rail Services or DRS is a UK freight operating company which was in 1995 was created by British Nuclear Fuels Limited with 5 class 20s. As it got more locomotives and work, it ownership was then transferred to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in April 2005.

These two DRS class 20s are of class 20/3 which are two of about 14 which were rebuilt in 1995 to 1998 as well as a full strip down they have a new type multiple working fitted to them.

This Multiple-purpose Vehicle or MPV, is a purpose-built vehicle of the diesel multiple unit type. 25 of which were ordered by Rail Track from Windhoff in Germany. They run in pairs one of which one is powered with twin 265 kilowatt Railpac diesel engines and the other unit runs as a slave unit like a DMU. Both units have a flat platform that 10-foot and 20-foot modules that can be changed for each job a bit like Thunderbirds. This MPV has the railhead cleaning tanks and the spray gear. How often these units have the modules changed I do not know.

The first national Community Rail Festival was backed by ACoRP, ONE and Norfolk County Council, RailFest 2005 ran from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th September in 2005, in and around Norwich station and along the two Community Rail lines.

The organisers put on a display of modern traction hoping to spell out the social and environmental benefits that railways can bring to the UK as a whole.

Norfolk was chosen because of its two community rail partnerships, The Bittern Line that runs between Norwich and Sheringham had in the eight years up to 2005, a 192 percent growth in its passenger journeys. The Wherry Lines that run between Norwich and Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft had also improved.

Just some of the things going on when I went to Norwich station on the Saturday, were Morris dancing, stalls giving out leaflets and lots of other events held in and around the station and along the two Community Rail lines .

Page updated 14/10/2019

This website is Ukrailways1970tilltoday.me.uk it is on railways but it is not just on trains but all things railways, with photos, which I have taken from the 1970s till now. I take photos of all things railways, steam diesel and electric trains, signal boxes, wagons any thing that is on the National Rail network, which was BR when I started taking photos