Wrexham & Shropshire debut


67012 leads the 11:10 Wrexham to London Marylebone service at Tame Bridge Parkway on the first day of the new Wrexham & Shropshire rail service. The 10:17 London Marylebone to Wrexham train should have been in the station at the same time but was shown as 67 (!) minutes late, no doubt due to the late finishing engineering works near Oxford. 67014 was on the rear of the train and is shown below. Photo credit - Andrew Haill

 

Eastleigh lunchtime

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The Network Rail Plasser & Theurer ‘Eurail Scout’  999700 approaches Eastleigh with the 1Q98 Thursday only 12:09 Totton-Waterloo test train.

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66575 winds the 4O54 06:13 Leeds to Southampton Maritime Freightliner service through Eastleigh Station.

‘Western Champion’ to Holyhead

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A moody into the light shot of D1015 ‘Western Champion’ passing Marston Green with the 06:00 1Z15 Ealing Broadway to Holyhead Pathfinder Tours ‘The Irish Mail’. Photo credit - Andrew Haill.

‘Pride of Carlisle’ on Stobart Pullman

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DRS Brush Type 4 47712 ‘Pride of Carlisle’ (the ex 47505, D1948, Artemis, Dick Whittington, Lady Diana Spencer and also Sir Jimmy Saville and Prince Charles Edward although the latter 2 names were never carried) passes Streetly with the 1Z44 09:50 ‘A Chocolate Paradise on St Valentines Day’ Finsbury Park to Bournville. 47802 ‘Pride of Cumbria’ (ex D1950, 47259, 47552) was on the rear of the Stobart Rail Tours train. Photo credit - Andrew Haill

Steel empties under the Semaphores

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66196 is seen at Norton Junction with the 6V05 09:39 Round Oak to Margam empty steel train. Photo credit - Andrew Haill

Wessex Electric finale with South West Trains, one year ago today….

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3rd February 2007 and the final class 442 ‘Wessex Electrics’ runs took place with South West Trains. Here we see unit No. 2405 passing Lymington Junction near Brockenhurst with the 1B34 10:01 Poole to Waterloo service.

‘Repaint’ for ‘Royal Scotsman’

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With news that the ‘patchwork quilt’ that was 37401 has been made to look even worse with possibly the worst ever ‘repaint’ into EWS maroon with yellow stripe and small stencilled cab side numbers but without logos and the yellow ends untouched, we show a couple of views of ‘401. Above the rather shabby former ‘Royal Scotsman’ approaching Shawford with the 6O26 Hinksey to Eastleigh Yard on 27th July 2006 and below at Didcot (with Mainline blue 37/0 37248 ‘Midland Railway Centre’) in happier times with full regalia and snowploughs on 13th April 2002.

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AL7 in RfD grey.

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87101 ‘Stephenson’ in Railfreight Distribution livery races past Heath and Reach with a southbound calcium carbonate slurry working, sadly this unique loco was scrapped at Barrow Hill in 2002.

Brains in 1991

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47806 in Inter City Swallow livery stands at Bristol Temple Meads with a Breakdown Train on 29th June 1991. This loco has been converted to 57309 ‘Brains’ and is part of the ATTB pool with Virgin Trains

A 60 from the archives.

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60067 ‘James Clerk Maxwell’ in Trainload Coal livery is seen at Didcot Power Station on a Merry Go Round coal service, circa 1990.