Charity charter celebrates Drax’s 50th anniversary

A series of charter trains ran over two days on August 17/18, raising more than £30,000 for charity as part of a special event to commemorate 50 years of Drax Power Station. There were also two locomotive namings in conjunction with an open day at the site.

Between them, the trains - operated by GB Railfreight and promoted by the Branch Line Society - used 17 locomotives from GBRf, DB Cargo, Freightliner, and Locomotive Services Limited.

The ‘Cooling Tower Choppers’ set off from Derby on the Saturday morning behind GBRf’s 69011.

At Leicester, LSL’s 20118 Saltburn-by-the-Sea and 20132 were attached to the other end and ran to Peterborough, where the train reversed again and the ‘69’ headed via the Great Northern/Great Eastern Joint Line to Boultham Junction in Lincoln, where the ‘20s’ then continued to Doncaster Bridge Junction.

The ‘69’ then led into Belmont Yard, where four DB Cargo Class 66s (66006/083/102/162) were added for the shortest of short runs - about a quarter of a mile to please the haulage fraternity on board.

The ‘20s’ then led to Monk Bretton railhead, where access into the site was possible. The ‘69’ returned to train to Sudforth Lane, where the ‘20s’ were detached to allow them to run to Drax for display at the event and to take part in a photo event that evening. The train then reversed and DBC’s 66050/073/190 worked the train into York.

On the Sunday 66050 was named Yorkshire Rose at York station prior to it working (along with 66073/190) the first of three trips around Drax Power station loop and back to Wakefield.

The second train was then worked by 69011 to Sudforth Lane, where 66724 Drax Power Station and recently registered ex-European 66312 took over, with 66301 added to work on the loop in Drax. 66301+ 69011 then worked to Hensall where 66301 was named Drax Power Station 50.

From there, 66312/724 worked to Wakefield, where Freightliner provided 66605, 70008, 66610 and 66550 to work back to Drax for the third of three different loops around the power station. 69011 then took the train back to York with 20118/132 on the rear.

The final charter was on the Sunday evening from York to Derby. The ‘Merry-go-Round’ was worked by 20118/132 to Maltby Colliery, where 69011 drew the train back the half mile or so back onto the South Yorkshire Joint Line to allow the ‘20s’ to continue south via Shirebrook, Newstead and Beeston.

This left York over an hour late and lost further time, not arriving at Derby until 0158, some two hours behind schedule.

On display at the Drax event were 20118/132, 37901 Mirrlees Pioneer, 56098, 59202 Pride of Ferrybridge, 60076 Cross Fell, 66004, 66301, and 70004 The Coal Industry Society.

The charters raised over £30,000 for Martin House, a charity that provides hospice care for children and young people with life-limiting illnesses across West, North and East Yorkshire.

Mark Gibbens, Head of Logistics at Drax, said: “We are proud to partner with all of the main freight operators and the Branch Line Society for this historic event, to mark the Golden Anniversary of Drax Power Station.

“The weekend’s tours raised much needed funds for Martin House Children’s Hospice, a charity that is close to our hearts at Drax. Every year Martin House cares for more than 440 children and their families, as well as around 150 bereaved families. Events such as this allow them to continue their vital work in local communities.”

This article was originally published in issue 1017 of RAIL. For a full version of this article with more images, and many more like it, Subscribe today and never miss an issue of RAIL. With a Print + Digital subscription, you’ll get each issue delivered to your door for FREE (UK only). Plus, enjoy an exclusive monthly e-newsletter from the Editor, rewards, discounts and prizes, AND full access to the latest and previous issues via the app.