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, 8/2/15

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 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.

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

20142 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 windows to enjoy 20205 & 20048, 8/2/15

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.

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…

HST Power Cars - A selection of liveries

It's funny how a person's opinion of something can change over the years… As an avid trainspotter in my teens whenever a High Speed Train (HST) turned up on a passenger train (instead of the much preferred 'Peak' or class 47) I'd be very disappointed and mutter under my breath 'tram!'

Fast forward 30-odd years though and things have changed… HSTs now make a very pleasant change from the passenger train norm of DMUs and EMUs and I go out of my way to photograph them and where possible travel on them too.

A brief trip to London recently gave me the opportunity to do both…

43049 Neville Hill stands at London St Pancras International, 7/1/15

I travelled down to London on the 08.32 East Midlands Trains (EMT) service from Nottingham, a train originating at Leeds that is 'booked' for an HST, in this case class 43 power cars 43049 Neville Hill (named after the Leeds depot where EMT's HSTs are serviced) and 43061 were in charge.

Having arrived at St Pancras International I crossed Pancras Road to pay a visit to King's Cross, a station I hadn't visited since 1988.

43302 stands at London King's Cross, 7/1/15

43302 (the former 43102) and 43310 (the former 43110) were waiting to depart with the 12.03 East Coast service to Leeds and I grabbed a quick photo of 43302 before going for a spot of lunch.

Fortified, I returned to the platforms to find 43465 (the former 43065) and 43423 (the former 43123) standing at platform 8 with the 12.53 Grand Central service to Sunderland. 43423 carries the name 'VALENTA' 1972-2010 which refers to the Paxman Valenta engines that were originally fitted to the HST power cars (since replaced by MTU 16V400 or Paxman VP185 engines, 43123 being one of the final two power cars to be refurbished in 2010).

43465 stands at London King's Cross, 7/1/15

So, no 'Peaks' at St Pancras, no 'Deltics' at King's Cross… but for the moment we've still got the venerable HSTs… I can live with that.

Industrial Action - 'Steamer' = Heritage?

Back in September I passed through Stratford (regional) station in East London and was surprised to find a steam loco 'plinthed' between the railway and bus stations…

'ROBERT' (works no.2068 of 1933) is a product of the Avonside Engine Co Ltd in Bristol and I found myself wondering why it was on display here.

I'm still not sure…

'ROBERT' (originally named Lamport No.3) spent all its working life at the Staveley Coal and Iron Ltd's Lamport Calcine Sidings in Northamptonshire before moving into preservation at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre in 1970.

After passing through a number of heritage railways it ended up on display at the Windsor Terrace entrance to Beckton Gasworks in East London.

Apart from a temporary move to the East Anglian Railway Museum while work was carried out in the area in preparation for the 2012 Olympics 'ROBERT' has been on display outside Stratford station since 2000.

In fact, apart from now being painted a colour known as Colchester Crimson, a shade used by the Great Eastern Railway (whose main workshops were located at Stratford) I can't find any link between the loco and the area where it is displayed… Did somebody indeed think that a random 'Steamer' would add a bit of heritage to the area?

Signalbox Safari - Lincoln

A pre-Christmas trip to Lincoln by train gave me the opportunity to snap a couple more signalboxes for my collection.

High Street signalbox, Lincoln, 22/12/14

High Street box is a brick-built Great Northern Railway type 1 structure dating from 1874 that stands by the level crossing at the west end of Lincoln Central station. Disused since Network Rail's resignalling of the area in 2007-2008 the box is now a listed building.

East Holmes signalbox, Lincoln, 22/12/14

East Holmes box stands a few hundred yards to the west of the station and is another GNR type 1 structure, this time of wooden construction dating from 1873, again it is disused and now a listed building.

Being pushed for time I didn't get to do much more exploring and so completely missed the remains of St Marks station that are now incorporated into the shopping centre a little further down High Street… A return trip is on the cards however…

Season's Greetings!

Just a quick post today to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I seem to be a bit lacking in the 'Christmas blog post photo' department so here's another shot from the Great Central Railway winter steam gala in January 2013, this time of Great Western Railway 2884 class 2-8-0 no.3803 (visiting from the South Devon Railway) running around its train at Leicester North in the snow…

GWR 2884 class 2-8-0 at Leicester North station, 25/1/13

A reminder…

As the shortest day approaches I like to remind myself of longer days and better weather.

This is another shot from the North Norfolk Railway and shows recent arrival at the NNR, London & North Eastern Railway class B1 4-6-0 61306 MAYFLOWER approaching Dead Man's bridge with the 12.00 departure from Sheringham on 12 September.

An absolutely gorgeous day with a calm sea that was hopefully causing no problems for the Sheringham Coastwatch coastal surveillance station that is just visible on the clifftop above the rear of the fourth carriage.

MAYFLOWER had changed hands in August 2014, being bought by Berkshire enthusiast David Buck from the Boden family who'd owned it since 1967. Built after nationalisation in 1948 by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow, 61306 carries the name originally bestowed on classmate 61379.