18th - 23rd January 2021

Monday 18th January: 57305 + 37601 (T+T) 5O86 09:44 Wolverton - Bournemouth one two three, 37601 + 442416 + 57305 5Q70 1935 Bournemouth - Wolverton one two three; 67023 + 67027 1Q51 11:15 Derby - Eastleigh - Weymouth - Eastleigh one; 37612 3Zxx 20:48 Derby - Eastleigh
Tuesday 19th January: 67023 + 67027 1Q52 10:37 Eastleigh - Portsmouth Harbour - Littlehampton - Portsmouth Harbour - Totton Yard - Havant - Guildford - Havant - Fareham - Eastleigh - Woking - Lymington Pier -Eastleigh one two three; 37612 3Q01 22:05 Eastleigh - London area - Basingstoke - Reading - Basingstoke - Woking - Eastleigh
Wednesday 20th January: 67023 + 67027 1Q53 11:48 Eastleigh - Up Yard - Wimbledon - Up Yard one two three, 1Q53 18:04 Up Yard - Wimbledon - Totton - Romsey - Eastleigh;  57312 + 319373 (?) 5Q86 14:38 Birch Coppice - Eastleigh, 57312 0xxx 21:54 Eastleigh - Wembley
Thursday 21st January: 67023 + 67027 1Q54 12:46 Eastleigh - Tonbridge one two three; 37884 + 317514 + 317653 5Q86 15:03 Ilford - Eastleigh (Class 317 emus for scrap) one, 37884 0H23 21:54 Eastleigh - Wembley one; 37612 3Q04 21:19 Eastleigh - Totton - Reading Triangle
Friday 22nd January: 37612 3Q40 23:53 Reading Triangle - Eastleigh
Saturday 23rd January: 

Eastleigh Works: 21Dec - 23Dec - 31Dec (142003 into paintshop) - 07Jan

Eurostar warns of 'risk to survival' without government help
France says Eurostar will get French and UK aid to ensure its future - but DfT have not confirmed

Dunbar, 20th June 1979

Following the Penmanshiel Tunnel collapse of 17th March 1979, service to Dunbar was provided by a loco-hauled shuttle service from Edinburgh. I rode this on Wednesday 20th June 1979, where I had completed a first year exam about a week previously, and would be just about to start a summer job. I was hoping for a Deltic, but had to be satisfied with 27204.

27204 runs around at Dunbar. The ECML was on the two lines at left. The layout at Dunbar has recently been improved to re-introduce a second platform.

27204 was built as D5403 and entered traffic on 17th July 1962 from 14A Cricklewood East. After service mainly on the LMR, it moved to Scotland in March 1969, at Eastfield, moving on to Haymarket in 1970, when it was assigned to push-pull from 1971, numbered 27122 in early 1973, then 27204 in April 1975 when ETH fitted via a Deutz diesel generator. The ETH was disabled in March 1980, soon after it returned to Eastfield in January that year, and the locomotive was again renumbered to 27058 in March 1986. Withdrawn in May 1986, after less than 24 years of service, stored at Grangemouth, and cut up at Vic Berry, Leicester in August 1987.

47517 was the next to arrive and perform the run-round. On the left are PCV Cemflo wagons, built 1963-65, which would appear to be operating outward from the Oxwellmains cement facility, then part of APCM with the 'Blue Circle' brand. Some modelling notes.

47517 was completed as D1975 at BR Crewe, entering traffic on 20th November 1965. Allocated new to 64B Haymarket where it still was at the time of the picture, apart from two months in 1967 spent working from Polmadie. Renumbered 47517 in April 1974. Again renumbered to 47758 in March 1994. Stored in October 2003, and cut-up at Booth's Rotherham in April 2008.

Another view of 27204, noting the venting arrangements for the Deutz generator. My notes show that Traction Motor No. 1 was isolated, so the locomotive would not be ready for any push-pull activity.

Looking at my notes from the day, I saw a lot of what was typical around Edinburgh. Plenty of 40s, 25s, 27s but a typical lack of 37s, which had yet to conquer, apart from some working from Motherwell. There was one unexpected interloper, a Class 45, cannot be sure how that arrived, but it must have been via Carlisle one way or another. The majority of the locomotives were gone within a decade.

11th -16th January 2021

Monday 11th January: 37610 0F03 17:10 Guildford - Weymouth - Eastleigh - Romsey - Eastleigh
Tuesday 12th January: 37610 0F04 09:08 Eastleigh - Woking one two three
Wednesday 13th January: 66704 + 701018 + 66724 6X24 07:35 Derby - Eastleigh one two three four
Thursday 14th January: 60055 0Z60 09:29 Willesden - Southampton UGL, 0Z61 12:35 Southampton UGL - Willesden; 67023 + 67027 1X23 15:13 Salisbury - Southampton UGL - Salisbury (earlier)
Friday 15th January: 37884 0O86 13:59 Ilford - Eastleigh one
Saturday 16th January: 37884 + 319373 5Q56 10:34 Eastleigh - Castle Donington one two three four five six

Rail Operations Group: acquired by STAR Capital. On STAR Capital.

Rail Operations Group: orders thirty Class 93 from Stadler

DRS Class 37 forward plan

DB Cargo has sidings / land for lease at Micheldever

Criticism rains down on DB Schenker, but loss of EU-UK services may spread

Crocodile Hunting, France, July 1996

I took a car through the Channel Tunnel and spent just under a week in France, via Douai, Metz and Nancy, including the railway museum at Mulhouse. However there was a main focus upon the early 25kV 50Hz electric locomotives, which were going through mass withdrawal.

BB 12000: BB 12106 in freight service at Douai, with the Arbel Fauvet wagon works in the background. New to traffic on 19th May 1958, withdrawn from Lens on 1st November 1997.

BB 12024 was new on 28th January 1957, withdrawn from Lens 11th December 1998.

BB 12087 was new on 13th December 1957, and was withdrawn on 3rd December 1992 from Mohon, after which it was placed on display at Nouvion sur Meuse, where it still is located.

CC 14100: CC 14161, new on 5th November 1955, withdrawn from Thionville, 2nd April 1993. Placed on display outside E Leclerc, at Conflans-en-Jarnisy, from March 1994, and still present.

CC 14000: CC 14018 completed 7th February 1959, and withdrawn 31st December 1981 from Mohon, to preservation at Mulhouse. This variant had three phase motors, now a common technology, but then not particularly reliable.

Withdrawn CC 14154 leads two other members of the class at Thionville, which was their home depot. New on 26th June 1955 and withdrawn on 13th February 1995.

CC 14131 in freight traffic at Thionville. New on 25th November 1955, withdrawn 3rd February 1997.

Also at Thionville, this is CC 14129, with a container train. New on 1st November 1955, withdrawn 3rd February 1997.

BB 12035 heading north from Woippy through Hagondange. New on 31st July 1957, withdrawn from LeLens 13th December 1999, which was the last month of operation for the class.

BB 12073, also heading north through Hagondange. New on 3rd August 1957, withdrawn from Lens on 1st November 1997.

BB 12000 list at Trains du Sud-Ouest

CC 14000 list
CC 14100 list 

4th - 9th January 2021

 
Sadly back to a long lockdown, and back to local single daily exercise restriction. This was the first return stone empties from Up Yard in 2021, seen passing Crampmoor on 6th January.

66619 Derek W. Johnson MBE leading 7V62 13:21 Up Yard - Whatley.

Once again, the KEA of interest was VTG 3178. The TML (Trans Manche Link) logo can still be seen towards the right, from the days 33 years ago when it was a PXA wagon, like these examples.

The final wagon was JNA 81.70.5500.840-0 leased from Touax, and delivered in 2020.

Another day, another empty stone train. 66601 The Hope Valley passes Crampmoor with 7V16 11:55 Fareham - Whatley, 8th January.

Monday 4th January: 33012 0Z33 11:13 Swanage - Eastleigh Works (believed to be for bodywork repairs and repaint) one two three four

Tuesday 5th January: 60029 6X61 10:11 Willesden - Eastleigh one two three four five six seven, 6Z10 14:35 Eastleigh - Maritime one, 0Z10 15:34 Maritime - Willesden

Wednesday 6th January: 

Thursday 7th January: 66755 + 701016 + 66752 6X24 07:35 Derby - Eastleigh one two three four; 37175 3Q36 23:40 Westbury - Redbridge - Southampton - Redbridge - Salisbury - Bristol - Westbury (earlier in the day)

Friday 8th January:

Saturday 9th January:

59003 has been sent to Kent one two three four five, apparently to cover for a 73 which requires tyre turning.

59104 returned from Leeds to the Mendips on 4th January.

66783 'Biffa' The Flying Dustman continues to work on the Eastleigh - Westbury circuit one two three

70004 in the latest Freightliner Class 70 to be returned from storage, but it does not yet seem to have ventured out of Midland Road, Leeds.

Passenger service cuts coming: BBC - Guardian - Transport Network. For some comparison, this is for Boston area in Massachusetts in December.

Millbrook and a Crompton, 4th January 2021

 Images and update from Roger Homan and Ian Knight.

"Looks like Network Rail were busy at Millbrook over the Christmas period, having totally removed the concrete footbridge. The digger was loading rubble etc onto lorries dockside."

For comparison with the picture from 22nd December, the concrete bridge is now gone. Image by Roger Homan.

33012 passing Redbridge with 0Z33 11:13 Swanage - Eastleigh Works. Image by Ian Knight.

A couple of minutes later, 33012 passes Millbrook. Image by Roger Homan.

Taken from the remaining steel footbridge at Millbrook, 70005 passes with 4M61 13:00 Maritime - Trafford Park. 70005 had worked south  from Leeds with 4O31 on 30th, and this was its first move in the New Year. Image by Roger Homan.

Manchester - Glossop - Hadfield emus, Dinting, 10th September 1980

The Manchester - Sheffield - Wath electrification was started as an LNER project, on the former Great Central Railway lines across the Pennines. The Manchester - Penistone section was fully energised on 14th June 1954. My visit was made just in time to see four Class 76 locomotives around Guide Bridge, but sadly no photographs of these.

For Manchester - Glossop - Hadfield services, all to the west of the Pennines, a class of eight emus were ordered by the LNER in 1938, similar to those designed for the Great Eastern Shenfield section, which also ran at 1500V dc when electrified. However the motors in the Manchester - Glossop - Hadfield order were from GEC and lower rated. The actual construction was in 1950, as a follow-on to the Shenfield stock, after storage they entered traffic in June 1954. 

Birmingham Railway & Carriage Works Co. built the driving trailers, and Metropolitan-Cammell built the driving motor cars, and intermediate trailers. An interior view.

The coaches were numbered in the Great Central series, and originally had ExxxxxE numbers, later changed to MxxxxxM in 1958 when the line was moved to LMR management.

In TOPS these were Class 506.

The last workings for the class were on 7th December 1984. One cab survives, M59404M at the Cab Yard in South Wales.

DTTO M59608M has arrived at Dinting. Withdrawn in July 1984 and disposed off at Vic Berry, Leicester by April 1985.

DMBTO M59404M is seen setting off from Dinting. After withdrawal in December 1984, this unit was kept in preservation for a while, but it is only this cab which remains.