More on the Midland Main Line at Wellingborough Railway Station. 1Q52 22:30 Derby R.T.C.(Network Rail) to St Pancras International, running 19 minutes early at 00:33.
The Flying Banana with both yellow HST power cars No. 43062 “John Armitt” leading and No. 43013 “Mark Carne OBE” on the rear.
The New Measurement Train (NMT), affectionately nicknamed the Flying Banana, is a specialised train which operates in the United Kingdom to assess the condition of track so that engineers can determine where to work. It is a specially converted InterCity 125, consisting of two Class 43 power cars and five or six Mark 3 carriages. It can check the condition of most main lines and some secondary routes operating on a four weekly cycle. This cycle replaced its original 13-week cycle after the introduction of the Plain Line Pattern Recognition (PLPR) Design Patrolling Program.
The NMT was formed in direct response to concern over gauge corner cracking following the October 2000 Hatfield rail crash.[3] In September 2002 work commenced on preparing ex Virgin CrossCountry Class 43 power cars 43013, 43014 and 43062 and two Mark 2 and three Mark 3 carriages from the Railway Technical Centre fleet.[4][5][6][7] Only two carriages carried testing equipment, the extra carriages being required for brake force purposes.
The NMT entered service on 9 May 2003. The two Mark 2s were replaced in 2004 with ex Virgin CrossCountry Mark 3s. In August 2005 a further Mark 3 joined the fleet fitted with a pantograph.
In 2004/05, power cars 43067, 43154 and 43196 were added while the core fleet was upgraded. All had been placed in store by February 2006.
In 2009/10, 43013, 43014 and 43062 had their Paxman Valenta engines replaced with MTU engines by Brush Traction. Ex London North Eastern Railway powercars 43290 and 43299 were hired in 2021 while the regular powercars were overhauled.
1 Comment
Nice.