The GREAT
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Words: Pip Dunn and Will Shiers / Images: Tom Cunningham, Pip Dunn, Kevin Swallow and Will Shiers
Much is being made of the need for road and rail to work together, but which would win a race from the Midlands to Scotland? CM managing editor Will Shiers jumped on the footplate of a Class 66-hauled freight train while Pip Dunn, editor of Railways Illustrated magazine, took a ride in a Mercedes-Benz Actros
As I arrive at Daventry, I’m gutted Sky Sports hasn’t turned-up to screen this competition... I mean, what could make better viewing than a 320-mile, truck-versus-train race?
The aim is to see what mode of transport comes out tops in a trip from the Midlands to Scotland: the steel wheel or the rubber tyre. Can a 40-tonne artic take on a train (restricted to 75mph) and win?
Of course, it’s not as simple as that. On our trip to Coatbridge, near Motherwell, the truck has to deal with the M6, with all its roadworks, congestion, inconsiderate drivers and, of course, stick to the drivers’ hours rules. The train, on the other hand, has to contend with Network Rail and, in this case, 14 different train operators. It also has to play second iddle to passenger trains, which always have right-of-way. It will be required to make pathing stops in loop lines (the rail equivalent of laybys) to allow Virgin’s 125mph tilting Pendolino trains to roar past. What it gains in a faster top speed can easily be lost in these waits.
Too close to call
Freight trains, unlike passenger trains, do not have strict timetables and journey times can vary from one day to the next. So, although the train is expected in Coatbridge at 21.02, it could easily arrive a couple of hours either side of this.
One thing that is certain, is that this is going to be a tight race. Very tight! In fact, it’s far too close to call.
It is, of course, worth remembering that before the race can begin, the containers must be delivered to Daventry International Railfreight Terminal (DIRFT) by road, on the back of 40ft skeletal trailers.
Then, using specialist cranes or grabs, they are loaded onto the low-liner rail wagons, which have a reduced height to enable them to carry the 9ft, 6in boxes on the UK rail network, which has a more restrictive loading gauge than mainland Europe.
On arrival at Coatbridge, the containers will be unloaded by an overhead gantry crane straight onto waiting trucks and taken to the end customer at the times they have requested, usually the following morning. Obviously, most customers don’t have their own rail sidings. This rail operation clearly can’t function without trucks.
Pip’s trip in the Actros
09.51: I’m at Long Buckby station with a few minutes to spare before Will Shiers is due to arrive.
09.56: Will rings. He’s missed his train at Northampton. He’ll have to get a cab. This doesn’t bode well! I drive to DIRFT without him.
10.15: YR09 CYL has already arrived; it’s a silvery-grey, top-of-the-range Mercedes-Benz Actros 1860 Megaspace 4x2 tractor, coupled to CM’s tri-axle curtainsider and running at 40 tonnes. I’m met by Mercedes test driver Simon Wood, my chauffeur for the day. Photographer Tom Cunningham is also here; he’s going to be following the truck. I’m introduced to Tom and Simon just as Shane Simpson and Ian Redmond from Direct Rail Services, our railfreight haulier for the day, arrive on the scene. 10.37: Warwick Asbury, from the Malcolm Group, who is in charge of the railhead, arrives. We explain to him about the race and ask to take some photos on-site. He’s happy to oblige. The train is the 1218 Daventry to Coatbridge, which for the beneit of operations staff runs under the code 4S44. It’s hauled by a General Motors Class 66, 3,300hp loco – numbered 66424. It dates from 2008 and is the tool of choice – for the moment – of most of the UK’s railfreight companies. It will haul 12 wagons, with 18 containers on board. Our truck is somewhat shorter! 10.45: Will limps out of the cab over to us. He is already complaining that the steel top-capped boots he’s bought (a require
ment to ride in the train) are giving him blisters. This is to be a recurring theme...
11.02: With everyone aware of the safety protocol, and donned in hi-vis vests, we take the Merc into the yard and park next to the train. With the truck’s headlights on, Tom struts his stuff with the lens. I’ve never seen so much photography kit for one man! Will and Simon look inside the 66 for the irst time and are taken aback by its basic nature. “Where’s the stereo?” asks Simon. “There isn’t one!” is the reply.
12.11: With the train loaded and ready to go, we move the Merc off the railhead to the adjacent parking bay. As soon as the train gets its signal, we’ll set off. Simon sorts out his tacho and starts thinking about how far we’ll get before we have to stop in four and a half hours. Gretna is his hope, but Carlisle might be more realistic.
12.18: Bang on time, the call comes through. The signal is green for the train.
12.19: The Merc leaves and we head for Junction 18 of the M1 to start our long journey north.
12.24: The sign for Junction 19 appears, and our brief trip on the M1 is over as we veer left for the M6. There are roadworks here and the average speed cameras mean Simon has to set the cruise control to 50mph. When the national speed limit sign appears, he taps the accelerator and we soon hit the dizzy heights of 56mph. “Normally I run at 52mph, as it saves fuel,” he says. “But today we’ll do 56mph. Every minute counts.” Simon is clearly taking this very seriously.
12.27: We get on to the M6 at the famous and annoying Catthorpe Interchange. It’s not so bad simply going from the M1 to the M6 here, but whoever designed the M6 to A14 junction needs a damn good talking to – that’s me being polite!
12.36: We cross the West Coast Main Line near Junction 2... just as the train passes beneath us! We are neck and neck, but he’s on a 75mph run now, all the way to Crewe; we are heading to the West Midlands! The train takes an early lead. I’ve got a copy of the train’s schedule, so I have a good idea where it should be at any time.
Will’s trip in the Class 66
12.10: I climb into the cab and am shocked to discover that someone’s stolen the steering wheel.
12.18: We’ve coupled up, completed our brake checks, and been given the green light to leave DIRFT and head out onto the West Coast Main Line.
12.20: We’re 400m down the track, but the rear 160m of the train are still in the sidings. Driver Richie Sanderson explains that there’s a 15mph limit until all 12 of our wagons are out.
12.30: We pass a 125mph speed limit sign, which means we can do our maximum 75mph, but a glance at the speedo reveals we are doing just 50mph.
12.33: 56mph. Acceleration is clearly not the Class 66’s strongest point, but then the 3,200hp engine is pulling 1,068 tonnes; that’s 3.3hp per tonne.
12.37: 66mph. I ask about the occasional audible alarm I can hear in the cab. Apparently it’s coming from the ‘dead man’s pedal’ . The driver has to briefly take his
foot off it every minute to prove he’s still alive.
12.41: We hit 75mph as we pass Nuneaton a whole four minutes early.
12.50: A quick blast of the horn as we pass some railworkers at 75mph. If these were roadworks on the M6, we’d be at a standstill.
12.55: “Around the next corner we will pass a house, and I can guarantee there’ll be a man sitting in bed watching TV,” says Richie.
12.56: We see the bloke in bed. Although DRS drivers operate all over the UK, this is Richie’s most frequent route, and he knows it like the back of his hand. Apparently, it takes weeks to learn a new route. I’m shocked that they even need to know the route, after all, with no steering wheel, it’s not like they can get lost. But apparently it’s vital just in case the signalman sends them in the wrong direction.
13.00: We’re overtaken by a Virgin Pendolino doing 125mph. There are four tracks here so overtaking isn’t a problem, but later on it will be. Here in the UK passenger trains are far more important than freight, and we are expecting several pathing stops – where the train is held in sidings for faster trains to pass.
13.11: A pigeon hits our cab, just below the windscreen. It makes a hell of a noise. That was definitely its last flight. Apparently this isn’t a rare occurrence. Kamikaze birds and rodents are common, and it’s not unheard of for death-wish deer to run across the railway. If a sheep wanders onto the track, it wants to hope that it is followed by five friends, as Network Rail only insists that trains stop if there are six or more sheep together. Some drivers have to deal with human suicides too, although fortunately this isn’t something any of these drivers have ever experienced. 13.12: We pass Stafford at 30mph, the perfect speed for the army of trainspotters lining the platform. They point their cameras at us, and are shocked to see me point mine at them.
13.25: Back to 65mph. The engine is running at 900rpm and we’re doing 1mpg.
13.35: We are 15 minutes ahead of schedule, but there’s a red light ahead. We grind to a halt at Basford Hall Junction. 12.51: The truck has a chance to claw back some of the deicit; we can take the toll road and avoid the notorious interchanges on the M6 proper – Spaghetti Junction and, worst of the lot, Junction 8 where the M5 joins from the South-West.
13.16: We pay the £10.60 toll. The debate rages as to whether this is good value or not, and Simon says that at this time of day, he’d usually opt for the older route, but if we can save 20 minutes that will help us.
13.20: We rejoin the old M6. We are 61 minutes in and Simon looks at his trip computer. We’ve done 54.3 miles already. Good going. But instantly there is more trafic – the toll road had been virtually empty...
13.29: We pass Junction 13 for the A449
and cross the Wolverhampton-Stafford railway as a train heads south, but it’s not 4S44; that’s gone via a quicker route and bypassed Birmingham.
13.38: Simon opens the chilled cabinet in the Merc and pulls out M&S’s inest lapjacks, some apples and orange juice, and cranks up Radio 2. I think, having looked inside the 66, he’s enjoying the ‘creature comforts’ of the Actros just that little bit more.
13.49: Having been gloating that he was 13 minutes early, Will’s train is held outside Crewe for its booked slot to change drivers...
14.19: Two hours in, and we are achieving 8.3mpg and have completed 110 miles at an average of 53.5mph. 14.25: We cross the Manchester Ship canal.
We’ve enjoyed not being slowed down by any trafic and, if we can clear Manchester, Simon is hopeful for Gretna. 15.09: At Brock, halfway between Junctions 32 and 33, we run parallel with the railway for a few miles. If the train is three or four minutes early, we might well see it, so I’m glued to the mirror to see if it comes into view, but no joy.
15.24: We pass Junction 34, north of Lancaster.
15.32: Having cleared the North-West with no problems, and let trafic ilter off to the M58 and M55, we continue to make good progress as we pass Burton in Kendal services.
“Freight is at the bottom of the list,” says Richie as two Virgin trains pass us.
13.56: Finally, we get a green signal.
14.00: A quick crew stop at Crewe to pick up the Crewe crew! We say goodbye to Richie and regional operations manager Shane Simpson.
14.02: Off again, this time with Mark Duddy (on the footplate) and Shawn Highton.
14.17: We pass a field with two trainspotters, one of whom has climbed a ladder for a better view. “I’ve had my picture taken thousands of times,” says Shawn. “I must be on more bedroom walls than Jordan.” 14:25: Two minutes ahead of schedule, we pass under a bridge with a group of kids on it. I ask Mark whether he ever gets nervous passing under bridges with children on. “Yes”, he says, “especially if they are waving with their left hands because you never know what they could be about to throw with their right hands.” Although these DRS drivers haven’t had any nasty incidents, some train drivers have had to contend with bricks, shopping trolleys and scaffolding poles being flung from bridges. It’s not unheard of for a breeze block to be hanging from a bridge at windscreen height! 14.30: There’s a great view of the Manchester Ship Canal. 14.37: I see a burned-out Bedford TK in a field.
14.47: Wigan North Western station, and there’s a bloke running along the platform with a furry mic, recording the noise of the engine. The words ‘sad’ and ‘git’ spring to mind. 14.55: We are slowed on the outskirts of Preston, which costs us five minutes.
15.19: Dead level with the M6, and doing 65mph, but no sign of the Merc.
15.31: Lancaster station, two minutes late.
16.03: There’s a red signal ahead, which means we’ve got a pathing stop. We pull into the sidings in the middle of nowhere and wait for two Virgin trains to pass. This is the first ‘comfort break’ of the day.
16.15: I ask Shawn whether children still put coins on the track, like they did in my day. “No,” he says, “these days they tend to put concrete railway sleepers on the track!” He says it’s mainly urban conurbations where obstacles are placed on the line, and fortunately it has never happened to him. Some drivers with other companies have had to contend with prams, burning cars and even people walking at 2mph ahead of the train.
16.31: We’re off again and it’s the start of the climb up Shap. 16.40: We still haven’t exceeded 20mph.
16.41: We pass Tebay services on the M6. I could do with a cup of coffee and a burger, but there’s no such luxuries for train drivers.
16.57: Penrith, five minutes early.
17.15: At Carlisle Mark is replaced by driver John Morshead. 17.25: The trainspotters are out in force at Gretna. Shawn tells me about a driver he knows who once asked for a trainspotter’s phone number, telling him he spots spotters! 15.48: Oxenholme, and we’re a few minutes ahead of the train. It’s due to be held at Tebay from 16.12-16.34, so we could open up a commanding lead. However, we still have our break to contend with...
15.55: We pass Tebay, so are in front, and the train could slip further behind us. The weather is nice. We are running parallel with the railway, but there’s no sign of 4S44.
15.57: Tom radios to tell us that the train was two minutes early at Oxenholme. Those two minutes might count for a lot because being early could mean it can cut-out the all-important pathing stop and steal a march on us. Simon starts working out if we will make Gretna or not. One minute he’s conident; the next, he’s not.
16.15: We decide to press on and pass Southwaite services south of Carlisle. Simon reckons we’ll make Gretna just within our time.
16.35: We pass Todhills services, which was where Simon was actually thinking of stopping, but we’ve already agreed to meet Tom in Gretna.
16.38: We pass the border sign. We are in Scotland. 16.48: We pull into Gretna Services with a minute to spare on the tacho! It’s glorious sunshine to boot. Simon grabs a sandwich, I have a toilet break, and Tom arrives. He’s not happy at all; he’s got scant reward for his efforts because the truck is “going too fast”... he’s rueing the fact that, for once, he can’t ask the truck to slow down, stop, or take 12 circuits of a roundabout to get the perfect shot. Simon is taking no prisoners... he’s on a mission.
17.34: Break over, we pull out of Gretna
services and rejoin the M74.
17.48: A text tells us the train is at Lockerbie; it’s taken a decent lead while we were having our break. However, it is approaching
make-or-break time. It has a pathing stop of 29 minutes at Beattock, followed by a standing-start climb of 1-in-75 (extremely steep for a train!) for 10 miles up to Beattock summit. This should take it 23 minutes, and then it is booked to be held for another nine minutes.
18.19: As we approach Crawford, we catch a glimpse of the train for the irst time since
Rugby. It hasn’t needed its irst pathing stop and has had a run up the hill, and not needed its second stop. It’s 70 minutes early now – it’s in front of us and pulling away. It’s doing 75mph and has got up a good head of steam. Simon is not impressed.
18.26: The train snakes away in the distance and slips out of sight. It has taken an impressive lead. It has one pathing stop left, but it might not need it. All we can do is our best.
18.40: Tom misses another picture.
18.52: We’re told the train is at Carstairs and has been held, but for how long is anyone’s guess...
18.59: At last we leave the motorway, at the M74 Junction 5. We hit the last of the late rush hour trafic, with a few car drivers cutting us up. When will they learn? A 40-tonne lorry will beat a car in a ight any time...
19.01: Getting away, we head up the A725. This last four miles could be a nightmare; we could lose it if the train is on the move again. We have to contend with roundabouts and illegally parked cars. The road is not ideal for an artic.
19.11: We pull into Freightliner’s Coatbridge terminal. But are we the irst? 17.40: The scenery is stunning as we go deeper into Scotland.
17.45: 75mph. We have just avoided two pathing stops and are making great time.
17.47: I talk to John about the 10-year-old Class 66’s basic interior. ‘Creature comforts’ are few and far between. Drivers aren’t allowed a radio, there’s no air-conditioning and the heater is close to useless. When it rains, the spot-welding at the front of the cab lets in water. The windscreen wiper controls are a huge stretch for the driver, and there isn’t an intermittent option. It feels like a 1950s lorry. I never thought I’d say this, but truck drivers don’t realise how lucky they are.
18.03: We are climbing again, heading to the Beattock Summit. Our speed drops to 25mph.
18.13: We are almost at the summit and the track runs parallel with the M6. I scan the motorway in the hope of seeing the truck. I think we are just ahead now. 18.17: Downhill and the speed quickly climbs to 75mph. 18.22: After a series of green lights we are an hour
ahead of our schedule, and about 15 minutes in front of the truck.
18.25: It all hinges on Carstairs. If we pass through here
without a pathing stop, victory will be ours.
18.35: It’s a red light, they’re pulling us in.
18.40: The signalman says it’s just a quick stop, so maybe
we haven’t lost yet.
18.54: On the move again.
19.10: Holytown Junction, and I can’t believe how much
rubbish is sitting by the track, particularly under bridges. I spot two old bikes and a pram.
19.18: We are stuck behind a local commuter
train, and hit a sequence of red lights.
19.27: As we get close to the freight terminal,
there’s a spotter talking into a dictaphone: he’s recording the numbers of each wagon.
19.29: We’ve arrived... but so has the Mercedes!
● CM thanks Direct Rail Services, Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner for their co-operation in this feature.