Locos at Eastleigh, 28th January 2026

 

69006 Pathfinder Railtours was in the holding sidings at Eastleigh, following driver training tours in the West Country one two. 69016 performed similar duties this week, but returned to Eastleigh on 29th one two, and may be becoming confined to the yard. Nearly a third of Class 69 entered storage durng the week.

56051 Survival continues to be stored in the Colas sidings.

66316 arriving with 6O41, formed of a rake of auto-ballasters, originally planned for moving on the previous day, when the train was cancelled through flooding of the line.


On hire to Colas, 66544 arrived with 6O24 09:25 Hinksey - Eastleigh, then proceeded to the Colas sidings.

66206 passing through with 4O39 09:43 Cowley - Eastern Docks.

08511 shunting.

26th - 31st January 2026

 

69006 Pathfinder Railtours, Eastleigh, 28th January. After dark, it was moved to Doncaster within 6E15, and later to Roberts Road.


DRK 81613 a Kirow 1200UK crane, working for Volker Rail, Eastleigh, 28th January.

59005 KENNETH J PAINTER 6V62 13:21 Up Yard - Westbury Tarmac, at Romsey, 30th January.

81.70.5500.001-9 JNA, which arrived on 21st November. Eastleigh Works, 25th January.

Monday 26th January: 66501 failed on 4E91 between Micheldever and Worting with a traction motor fault, rescued by 66532, with 66501 into Basingstoke North Yard one two three - 66501 later recovered and moved in 4E91 02:00 Maritime - Leeds (for Midland Road) on 27th; 66100 (+ DR 73957) + 66128 6Q60 09:28 Swanage - West Ealing one two three four
Tuesday 27th January: 
Wednesday 28th January:
Thursday 29th January:
Friday 30th January: 67007 0Z25 1010 Wembley - Eastleigh, 67007 (+ 99534 / 245 IBIS + 99543 / 284 VERA) 5Z25 13:02 Eastleigh - Stewarts Lane
Saturday 31st January:

GBRf have stored 47727, 47739 (both at Leicester), 47749 is on maintenance at Leicester. Also 69003, 69007, 69011 (at Longport), 69012 and 69015 (shunt duties at Whitemoor) and 69016 may soon be becoming confined to Eastleigh Yard, to replace Class 08s, as Class 69 becomes dormant. 69014 was dragged to Eastleigh by 66304 in 6O01 from Doncaster on 30th.

The Freightliner split transaction with CMA-CGM was completed at 02:00 on 29th, creating new company Heavy Haul Rail Ltd. Away from the Mendips, the only regular Heavy Haul working in these parts is 'the Mountfield' recently worked by 66618, and this has been recorded on TOPS as at 'MBRKFLT' (Millbrook). But then, Heavy Haul 66413 turned up on intermodal 4O77 from Lawley Street on 30th.

Storm Chandra: On the morning of 27th, Salisbury - Southampton, Eastleigh - Fareham, and Brockenhurst - Bournemouth were closed because of flooding.

On Salisbury - Southampton, northbound intermodals 4V51 0256 Maritime - Wentloog and 4M95 03:21 Maritime - Trafford Park were the last trains on the Salisbury line. GWR operated a couple of shuttles Portsmouth - Romsey. A 5R54 from Salisbury was the first train to operate, about 16:00, but stopped several times en route, taking 3 hours for a run around the circle back to its origin. 2R70 was the first normal  service, departing at 18:56, but the pattern remained that of cancellations, with normal services resuming on 28th.

Flooding at Sway: Cross Country ECS started from Eastleigh but got no further than Brockenhurst and Totton Loops (one holding there as 5M38, then proceeded to Reading. SWR 1B14 05:00 Poole - Waterloo was held at New Milton - services resuming about 09:45, to terminate at Brockenhurst in favour of the following train to Waterloo.

Eastleigh - Fareham returned to use in the middle of the day.

Mendip Quarries lifespan: Torr Works (Merehead) may be 2040, and Whatley 2030. It could be a strategy to run the Class 59 for all of this period.

This equipment was noted at Romsey on 26th. The ZKL 3000 RC is a remotely controlled track circuit operating device.

Freightliner Intermodal, Eastleigh, 28th January 2026

The final day of Freightliner as an Intermodal and Heavy Haul operation, before sale of Intermodal to CMA-CGM was completed at 02:00 on 29th January. All of the trains are Class 66 powered by members of the DFIM (Freightliner Intermodal Class 66 Standard Fuel) and DFIN (Freightliner Intermodal Class 66 Short Fuel) pools, and, frankly, it's become rather boring without Class 70s in the mix. Even 'Pink ONE' 66587 will no longer be on Intermodal workings.

66597 Viridor 4O15 06:40 Lawley Street - Maritime.


66567 4O14 05:08 Garston - Maritime.


66525 4M61 12:56 Maritime - Trafford Park.


66513 4O90 04:03 Doncaster Europort - Maritime.

66592 Johnson Stevens Agencies 4E65 13:13 Maritime - Doncaster Europort, ruuning through on the up fast line.

Aggregates Workings at Eastleigh, 28th January 2026

The final day of Freightliner Heavy Haul, the company separating into Heavy Haul Rail Ltd at 02:00 on Thursday 29th January.

 

59205 leading 6O68 09:11 Westbury Tarmac - Crawley through Eastleigh.

The last wagon was JNA 81.70.5932.580-0.

59004 PAUL A HAMMOND approaches with 6V62 13:21 Up Yard - Westbury Tarmac.


59004 has now been in the UK for 40 years.

All of the wagons were Marcroft JNAs, trailed by NACO 3919.

Eastleigh Works, 28th January 2026

 

57302 outside of the works, now on Class 57 bogies. When seen in October, it was on Class 47 accommodation bogies.


59003 YEOMAN HIGHLANDER, in stored status, is confirmed located in the Works, and was receiving some kind of attention.

08567 John Arlington Stephens 20th May 1925 - 19th July 1984.

08454.

2991 (07007) Bruce.

802114 has received its repaint, but was awaiting numbers.

Eastleigh, 26th January 2026

Images from the camera of Roger Homan.

66554 (DFIM pool) 4O15 06:40 Lawley Street - Maritime.


66100 + new Plasser & Theurer Unimat 08-4x4/4S Tamper DR 73957 + 66128 working 6Q60 09:28 Swanage - West Ealing.


Showing Trans-Pennine destination 'Liverpool Lime Street' 68029 with set CH07 on late running 5Q69 10:15 Eastleigh - Banbury.


DBSO 12807 of set CH07.

66316 + 66544 arrived with 6O41.


A closer view of 66316.

An interesting 6O41, Romsey, 26th January 2026

 

66316 (a cop for me) + 66544 (hired to Colas) 6O41 10:14 Westbury Down T.C. - Eastleigh East Yard.


66316 was formerly 29003 (EMD 20008254-13 delivered in 2002), now owned by AKIEM and brought to the UK in December 2024, as the last of this group.


66316 entered traffic for GBRf about 6th September 2025.

The wagon consist started with a group of FEA-W wagons starting with 81.70.4524.222-6.

These were followed by 10 RHTT module carrier wagons, 8 of type FRA-B, which had been moved 6Z47 09:01 Swindon Transfer - Westbury Down on 23rd. The first was 613108, formerly 613032 until a conversiion at Eastleigh Arlington in 2020.

613108 (613032) coming off Eastleigh Works on 25th September 2020.

FRA 613112 (formerly 613027) on the rear of the train, similarly converted in 2021.

Wagon consist
7045242226  FEA
7045241657  FEA
7045240626  FEA
7045240162  FEA
7045240543  FEA
7045242267  FEA
7045242457  FEA
7045242507  FEA
613108  FRA
613106  FRA
613104  FRA
613107  FRA
613102  FRA
613103  FRA
642025  FEA
642046  FEA
613109  FRA
613112  FRA

Caledonian Sleeper Class 73 movements, December 2025 - January 2026

 

On 24th December, 66301 Drax Power Station 50 + 73968 passes Aberdour as  0Z17 09:47 Aberdeen Clayhills Car.M.D - Craigentinny T.&R.S.M.D.

73968.


The same working one week later, 31st December, and the same combination, seen passing Dalgety Bay.

73968.

Returning north for duty, 73970 WS Sellar + 66759 Chippy 0Z25 11:40 Craigentinny T.&R.S.M.D to Inverness, running through Inverkeithing, 2nd January.





Similarly, 73968 + 66301  0Z26 15:19 Craigentinny T.&R.S.M.D - Aberdeen Clayhills Car.M.D, at Aberdour on the same day.

19th - 24th January 2026

66068 PRIDE IN MOTION with a late running 4M96 06:14 Maritime - Birch Coppice, at Southampton, 22nd January.

The name plates and paint scheme were unveiled in August 2025.

Monday 19th January: 800310 5X80 13:15 Reading - Eastleigh
Tuesday 20th January:
Wednesday 21st January:
Thursday 22nd January: 37254 3Q36 23:52 Westbury - Southampton - Bristol (earlier one two)
Friday 23rd January:
Saturday 24th January:

59104 has been stored after its incident last week, and 59002 is being prepared for a return to service.

25 DBC Class 66s are being sold by DBC to Grup Feroviar Roman (GFR) of Romania, for delivery 2026 - 2028. 66014 is first, and also identified are 66006/009/024/027/040/047/069/075/076/080/085-087/089/095, 66110/111/115/197 (20 locomotives). The remaining 5 may be 66018/037, 66138/145/160. [UPDATE 29Jan: All now in a WGER pool)