{"id":111880,"date":"2024-08-21T18:26:17","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T08:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=55482"},"modified":"2024-08-21T18:26:17","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T08:26:17","slug":"drax-model-power-station-going-for-gold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=111880","title":{"rendered":"Drax, model power station, going for gold"},"content":{"rendered":"

A golden train for a golden anniversary. Drax power station complex in Yorkshire, England, is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. Once powered by black gold – the former coal-fired power station is now given over to green biomass, and it is expected to be in service for decades to come. that means plenty more work for British rail freight operators, who have been celebrating in suitable style.<\/strong>
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One of those operators, GB Railfreight, has decked out a commemorative locomotive and some of the specialist rolling stock. the train is easy to spot. It\u2019s gold. For those seeking to celebrate on a smaller scale, the bespoke railway modelling firm, Revolution Trains, has been commissioned to provide 144:1 scale (British N gauge) models of the unique biomass wagons, and a class 66 locomotive, all in the eye-catching gold livery.<\/p>\n

Key role in the country\u2019s energy security<\/h2>\n

Celebrations at the weekend just passed had representatives from several organisations on site to take part in commemorative events.\u201cDrax Power Station has kept Britain\u2019s lights on for 50 years,\u201d said Bruce Heppenstall, the Plant Director at Drax Power Station. As well as playing a key role in the country\u2019s energy security, we employ around 1,000 people directly at Drax Power Station and through maintenance, logistics and other activities hundreds of contractor colleagues can also be on site during any one week.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Image: \u00a9 Revolution Trains modelling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bruce Heppenstall was eager to point out that the power plant relies significantly on a constant supply of biomass wood pellets, a fuel source which has replaced the coal for the massive furnaces that generate electricity for around four million homes. \u201cWe are one of the largest users of rail freight in the UK,\u201d he said. \u201cOur biomass wagons take pellets from the Ports of Tyne, Liverpool, Hull and Immingham. This element of our supply chain also supports 2,500 jobs across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local charities among beneficiaries<\/h2>\n

Just like the precision models from Revolution Trains<\/a>, the full-scale wagons for the constant merry-go-round of trains are custom built by British engineers. Britain\u2019s only remaining independent manufacturer, WH Davis in Shirebrook, Derbyshire (part of Buckland Rail) recently provided a new rake for expanded operations<\/a>. Les Bryant, their technical director, was among the invited guests and took part in one of those special events. \u201cI was lucky enough to be invited on to the BLS special [Branch Line Society train] to celebrate Drax Powers 50th Anniversary. It was an excellent trip. The specials are run in conjunction with the Martin House [Children\u2019s Hospice] Charity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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GBRf\u2019s John Smith, Drax colleagues Anita Curtis, Claire Malton and Bruce Heppenstall, Drax plant director, and the named Class 66 locomotive. Image: \u00a9 Revolution Trains modelling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

GB Railfreight weighed in with their unique souvenir. \u201cTo celebrate Drax\u2019s 50th anniversary, we gave them the perfect gift to mark the occasion, a gold locomotive,\u201d said a statement from the carrier. \u201cIn recognition of our long-term relationship with Drax and their key role in energy supply in the UK, 66 301 was named \u2018Drax Power Station 50\u2019 to mark the occasion as part of the festivities. Congratulations to everyone involved including the Branch Line Society in their continued fundraising for Martin House Children’s Hospice<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

Just for once, the GB Railfreight managing director was pictured with representatives from the celebrations. References mentioning in the same breath the gold locomotive and John Smith\u2019s hair conditioner were, we understand, met with immediate dismissal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A golden train for a golden anniversary. Drax power station complex in Yorkshire, England, is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. Once powered by black gold \u2013\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":55486,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12765,12766,6836,2931,11110,12767,78,47,12768,85],"tags":[12634],"class_list":["post-111880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-branch-line","category-bruce-heppenstall","category-drax","category-gb-railfreight","category-john-smith","category-martin-house-chilrens-hospice","category-rail-freight","category-rail-news","category-revolution-trains","category-uk","tag-railfreight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=111880"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112762,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111880\/revisions\/112762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55486"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=111880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=111880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=111880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}