Mainline Freight was created in 1994, along with Transrail and Loadhaul, when British Rail’s Trainload Freight operations were split – with Mainline centring around South East England, East Anglia and the East Midlands. Several locomotives were soon decorated in Mainline’s ‘Aircraft Blue’ livery including Class 37/0 No. 37055. In association with EMAP/Bauer Media magazine ‘RAIL’, No. 37055 received the name ‘Rail Celebrity’ during a naming ceremony at Toton in 1995.
Mainline, Transrail and Loadhaul were later subject to a takeover bid by a US led consortium and, together with Rail Express Systems, were formed into a new company – English, Welsh & Scottish (EWS). Despite now being a EWS loco, No. 37055 remained in Mainline blue livery into the 2000s, appearing on a variety of workings including London Underground train deliveries and railtours alongside its usual freight turns.
The idea of Digitrains was conceived over the dinner table and grew very slowly as doubts calmed missionary zeal. We finally took the plunge in January 2005 and are fortunate to be dealers for some of the best and most user friendly DCC equipment available.