Sunday 8 February 2015

Return to Butterley… Chop! Chop!

After the grumbling about the Midland Railway-Butterley in my last post you might be surprised to know that I was back there today buying a ticket!

The reason for my return visit was the news that not one but two Class 20s would be running today, one of them for the first time in preservation.

20205 (the former D8305) not only had never run in preservation but is believed to have not worked a train at all since 1989! (apart from a test train yesterday that is).

20205 & 20189 arrive at Swanwick Junction, 8/2/1520205 & 20189 arrive at Swanwick Junction, 8/2/15

Also running were Balfour Beatty liveried 20189 (the former D8189) and MR-B resident 20048 (the former D8048), topping and tailing a packed rake of six BR Mk.1 coaches with 20205 swapping ends throughout the day.

The published timetable (on the PLEG website) was thrown into disarray quite early on by unscheduled stops at Butterley (to cope with the volume of passengers I suspect) and 20048 running out of fuel part way through the day didn't help either!

20205 drags 20048 off to be fuelled, 8/2/1520205 drags 20048 off to be fuelled at Swanwick Junction, 8/2/15

On display at Swanwick Junction were fellow class members 20142 (the former D8142) and 20057 (the former D8057), looking a lot less tatty than it did when it arrived at the MR-B a year ago.

Class 20 D8057 (20057) stands at Swanwick Junction, 8/2/15D8057 (20057) at Swanwick Junction, 8/2/15

20142 stands at Swanwick Junction, 8/2/1520142 at Swanwick Junction, 8/2/15

The mild weather made up for the lack of train heating and brought out the lineside photographers in force! (Including my Dad, read his blog post here).

I understand that 20205 is to join the ranks of its classmates (known as 'Choppers' by enthusiasts) in action on the national network (including 20189 and 20142) where they are put to a variety of uses day in and day out…

Heads out of the windows to enjoy 20205 & 20048, 8/2/15Heads out of windows to enjoy 20205 & 20048, 8/2/15

Monday 2 February 2015

Just a thought…

I've got a couple of photographic projects on the go this year one of which is a Photo-A-Day and as a result I'm always looking for something different to photograph…

Yesterday saw me paying a brief visit to my local heritage railway, the Midland Railway-Butterley who were advertising 'Winter Warmer Trains' on their website.

141113 stands at Butterley station, 1/2/15

Railbus 141113 trundled in from Swanwick Junction at 12.30 and stopped to allow a few passengers on board before setting off with the 12.40 departure, I took a couple of photos and headed for home… noticing that the cost for a rover ticket for today was a whopping £11.50!

I say 'whopping' because 141113 was the only train in service and belongs to a group of trains known as 'Nodding Donkeys' which are universally disliked by both enthusiasts and the poor souls who have to suffer them day in, day out on the national network!

The nearby Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, operating a fleet of heritage DMUs, charge £10.00 for a rover ticket while Peak Rail only charge £8 to travel behind a steam loco, so yes, I thought £11.50 was a bit pricey!

Should you fancy a ride on a 'Nodding Donkey' then you could do much worse than travel from Sheffield to Chinley through the beautiful Hope Valley, with an off-peak day return setting you back £10.80.

Just a thought…