66781 Ratcliffe Power Station
Shipley Gate, 28 June 2024
Today saw the final delivery of coal to the UK’s last coal-fired power station.
GB Railfreight’s 66781 (the former 66016) was in charge of train 6M61, the 08.25 from Doncaster Down Decoy Yard to Ratcliffe Power Station in Nottinghamshire, its new Ratcliffe Power Station nameplates already uncovered ahead of a low-key naming ceremony at the power station which is due to close in September.
69006
Beeston, 7 March 2024
Spotted my first Class 69 yesterday whilst waiting for a train at Beeston, Nottinghamshire…
69006 Pathfinder Railtours Peter Watts 50 years service 1973-2023 (the former 56128) passed through the station with train 6X49, the 06.13 departmental (IFA points & crossing carriers) from Toton North Yard to Beeston Sidings.
Class 25/3 D7659 (25309)
Rowsley South, Peak Rail, 7 April 2023
D7659 was the final Class 25 locomotive built by Beyer, Peacock & Co Ltd (in 1966) and had a fairly uneventful pre-preservation career.
Renumbered 25309 under British Rail’s TOPS system in April 1974 and again (to 25909) in December 1985, withdrawal beckoned in September 1986. After asbestos removal the locomotive left Vic Berry’s scrapyard in Leicester on 2 June 1988 for display at Coalville Open Day on 4 June before moving into preservation at the East Lancashire Railway (ELR).
Now owned by pop impresario Pete Waterman, D7659 is based at Peak Rail in Derbyshire and today hauled three return trips between Rowsley South and Matlock, the above pic is of the 13.00 departure from Rowsley South.
D6700 (37119, 35350)
Loughborough Central (GCR), 21 August 2022
Having arrived with train 2B25, the 14.45 departure from Leicester North
I spent an enjoyable hour at Loughborough Central station on the Great Central Railway yesterday, mainly because I wanted to photograph the first built Class 37 (or English Electric type 3) diesel locomotive, D6700, which is currently on loan from the National Railway Museum in York.
Built by the English Electric Co Ltd at Vulcan Foundry, D6700 entered service in December 1960 and was first allocated to Stratford Depot (30A) in East London.
Renumbering under the TOPS scheme (to 37119) followed in February 1974 and again (to 37350) in March 1988 (when it was fitted with regeared cast frame type CP7 bogies).
Repainted back into green livery in August 1988 ‘D6700’ became something of a celebrity and appeared at many open days before acquiring the name NRM NATIONAL RAILWAY MUSEUM in November 1998.
Withdrawal followed in December 1999 and D6700 was claimed for preservation by the NRM.
43184
Derby, 6 August 2022
Last month CrossCountry unveiled one of its High Speed Train power cars in the livery it first carried in the 1980s… 43184 was built in 1981 at Crewe Works and renumbered 43384 when rebuilt with an MTU engine in 2008.
CrossCountry have reinstated not only the original TOPS number but also the the set number ‘253051’ across the power car’s nose.
I had a tip that 43184 was leading train 1E67, the 16.27 service from Plymouth to Leeds so I popped down to Derby hoping to grab a pic in the failing light… and I’m glad I did.
For the record 43303 (the former 43103) was on the rear of the train.
57314 Conwy Castle
Belper, 24 June 2022
Spotted last night, West Coast Railway Company’s 57314 Conwy Castle approaching Belper with train 1Z64, the 16.47 return leg of the ‘Scarborough at Leisure’ railtour from Coventry.
Classmate 57313 Scarborough Castle was on the rear of the 11 coach rake.
… on the New Malden Junction-Shepperton line in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in London.
Class 455/8 5856 (plus Class 455/7 5710)
2O37, 14.03 South Western Railway (SWR) service from London Waterloo to London Waterloo
458512 (plus 458513)
2K37, 14.27 SWR from London Waterloo to London Waterloo
707030 (plus 707023)
2H44, 14.41 SWR from Shepperton to London Waterloo
Class 455/8 5857 (plus Class 455/7 5720)
2O39, 14.33 SWR from London Waterloo to London Waterloo
I was pleasantly surprised by the (albeit small) variety of EMU classes passing through the station… but even more surprised to find this relic of the Southern Railway!
‘Notice Is Hereby Given’
66717 Good Old Boy
Erewash Valley Line, 5 January 2022
Spotted today, a very grubby 66717 Good Old Boy approaching the site of Shipley Gate station on the Erewash Valley Line with train 6X01, the 10.18 loaded rails from Scunthorpe Trent Terminal Complex to Eastleigh East Yard.
66715 VALOUR – IN MEMORY OF ALL RAILWAY EMPLOYEES WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY
Alrewas, 22 November 2021
Spotted yesterday, GB Railfreight’s 66715 VALOUR – IN MEMORY OF ALL RAILWAY EMPLOYEES WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THEIR COUNTRY approaching Alrewas level crossing with train 4F62, the 12.58 intermodal service from East Midlands Gateway to Seaforth Container Terminal.
The locomotive’s name is rather appropriate as the National Memorial Arboretum is only a few hundred yards east of where I was standing…
170404 & 170395
Tweedbank, 25 October 2021
Spotted yesterday at Tweedbank Station on the Borders Railway in Scotland, a pair of ScotRail class 170 ‘Turbostar’ diesel multiple units.
170404 was originally built for ScotRail services whereas 170395 (which had arrived with train 2T78, the 11.25 (SSuX) service from Edinburgh) was built for Hull Trains, entering service in March 2004, only to be replaced in May 2005 by class 222 ‘Pioneer’ diesel-electric multiple units (themselves now in service with East Midlands Railway).
There can’t be many three-car DMUs currently in service in the UK that have worked into two capital cities but 170395 is one of them, working into London King’s Cross with Hull Trains and Edinburgh with ScotRail.
Railway Miscellany 