Spotted today - Metropolitan Railway No.1

I popped down to the Midland Railway-Butterley this afternoon to photograph visiting Metropolitan Railway class E 0-4-4T No.1, currently on hire from the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre.

Metropolitan Railway E class 0-4-4T No.1 arrives at Hammersmith with the 13.10 departure from Swanwick Junction, 8/5/16

The sole survivor of a class of seven, No.1, built in 1898, was the last locomotive built at the Metropolitan Railway's Neasden Works and was constructed as a replacement for accident-damaged class 'A' 4-4-0T No.1.

Metropolitan Railway E class 0-4-4T No.1 runs round its train at Hammersmith station at the Midland Railway-Butterley, 8/5/16

Metropolitan Railway E class 0-4-4T No.1 stands at Hammersmith station with the 13.26 departure to Butterley, 8/5/16

According to the BRC's virtual stock book the Metropolitan Railway board wouldn't fund a replacement for the original No.1 only a repair but the Met's Operating Department somehow wangled an addition to the small batch of E class locomotives being built at Neasden at the time. The rest of the class carried the numbers 77-82 and presumably No.1 was numbered as such to help with the 'repair' subterfuge…

The wrong sort of voltage…

March 18th 2016 saw Virgin Trains East Coast unveil the first of their new Class 800 bi-mode IEP (Intercity Express Programme) units at London King's Cross Station. In the main the Class 800s will be powered by 25kV overhead electrification but they are also fitted with seven 940hp diesel engines to enable them to operate on non-electrified routes and to provide so called 'last mile' and 'get you home' power.

Whilst in France recently I photographed a couple of SNCF Class B 81500 AGC (Autorail à Grande Capacité) at Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire in Burgundy, like the Class 800s these units are bi-mode, each set being fitted with two 887hp diesel engines in addition to overhead current collection equipment. One of the units was in use on local services to Nevers and as it departed I noticed that it was obviously running on diesel power even though the line is electrified…

SNCF Class B 81500 AGC unit departs Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire with a service for Nevers, 23/3/16

The train was indeed running on diesel power, its ability to pick up power from the overhead electrification rendered useless because the line here is electrified at 25kV AC and the Class B 81500 is designed to pick up power from 1500V DC systems as used elsewhere in France…

I did think that the anti-railway elements of the British press would have a field day using 'The wrong sort of voltage' in a headline!