This section of my website is mostly used for recently taken digital images although occasional single location scans involving different classes of locomotives and trains may appear from time to time. I do not not subscribe to the magazine-led dogma that says that photographers must take pictures only in full sun with the light on the front of the locomotive and using only a standard lens (whatever that means bearing in the mind the differences between full-frame and crop-frame digital cameras). This approach was understandable for colour photography when using transparency film but a very decent image can be obtained with digital cameras in virtually all lighting conditions with careful exposure of the RAW image and correct use of whatever software package the photographer chooses. My approach is that is a train is unusual enough to warrant a trip out then it is worth a shot in any light. Admittedly, it is not always a quick and easy process to obtain a good and above all natural looking image, without bleached out shadows and overdone highlights, saturation and excessive sharpening, for the web in poor light as it is with a correctly exposed sunny shot but to me that is part of the enjoyment. I would rather have a record in dull light of something possibly unrepeatable than nothing at all. Each to his own but I do find sites full of nothing other than full sun on the front shots with the same lens persepctive less than riveting. After a perfiod of time pictures from this section are moved into the section appropriate to the classes covered.

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I do not supply images for publication in the railway press.

37240 at Stratford Parkway There was another run for 37240 on Sunday 28 April 2025 when it took the stock and 7029 Clun Castle from Tyseley Steam Depot to Derby for the Shakespeare Express to Stratford-upon-Avon. As well as the ECS move it worked from Hatton to Stratford following a reversal there to put 7029 on the right end for the lunchtime run to Birmingham Snow Hill before 37240 again led back to Stratford via Henley-in-Arden. Here is the first run passing Stratford Parkway station fortunately a few minutes before a Chiltern 168 came the other way on a service to Leamington Spa. This had been delayed because of a previous late-running West Midlands train to Birmingham. I used a wide-angle to ensure that the whole train was in view with some inevitable slight distortion on either side of the shot - I used the road bridge as my marker for correct verticals. Clun Castle was on the back of the formation with driver keeping an eye on things further down the line.
37403 at Hatton UK Railtours ran a full-day one way railtour on Saturday 26 April 2025 to get the stock in position for a tour of East Anglian freight lines the following day. The train, 1Z37, ran from Carnforth to Birmingham New Street behind 37403 from the where the ECS was taken to Kings Norton to attach 20205 + 20207 which as 1Z38 returned to New Street. From there, 37403 took the train forward to London via Hatton and Leamington Spa meeting a 15 minute delay near Grand Junction following the late cancellation of an AWS signal. With sun breaking through I initially went to the roadbridge at Hatton station to have a shot as 1Z38 slowed for a booked stop for staffing reasons. The sun went in so I moved to Dark Lane to take advantage of the sound effects for some video as 37403 accelerated away down Hatton Bank with 20205 + 20007 dead on the bnack of the stock. This wasn't 37403's first visit to the area; it operated the inpection saloon Caroline to Stratford-upon-Avon, seen here passing Wilmcote on 26 February 2020.
799201 at Long Marston The Hydroflex train converted from a class 319 unit made several runs from Long Marston to Honeybourne Sidings on Fridat 11 April 2025, or at least that was what the schedule said. On a sunny day with nothing much else around I thought that a few shots as it left the Porterbrook site and leaving Honeybourne Sidings would be worth ago so went to the roadbridge by Honeybourne station for the return of the first movement. The unit came into view and as expected stopped at the Staff Hut to replace the single line token before running into the sidings for reversal. Instead, the headlights turned minto tail-lights and it began to move back from whence it had come. A quick drive to the other end of the line found the gates into the site closed and nobody in sight and sure enough 799201 stopped with half of it under the roadbridge before reversing again. In retrosepct this all made sense and avoided quite a lot of faffing about both for the train crew and the signaller at Evesham would would have had to switch the points and signals all for a few extra yards of running. A small consolation for the lack of pictures was this shot of a muntjac buck which came from the line and walked up to the bridge before deciding to go back into the hedged area.
172215 at Bentley Heath After a disappointing morning around Long Marston things improved at lunchtime with a post on Headsup saying that orange liveried 70020 was working 4O99, the afternoon Leeds to Southampton Freightliner. Bentley Heath seemed the obvious place for a picture and not long after I arrived 177215 + 172342 came along working the 13.15 Worcester Foregate Street to Dorridge local service. The leading unit is losing some new(ish) paint from the cab roof and showing some of the green it carried when new. It is notable for being the first train to call at the new Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway station on 5 May 2013 when door and step clearance trials were carried out.
70020 at Bentley Heath A very welcome post on Headsup said that 70020 was currently working 4O99, the 10.54 Leeds to Southampton Freightliner. I had been waiting for it come along somewhere local as my only other shot of it was when double-heading with 70016 in November 2024. The best place without making too much effort was the footbridge at Bentley Heath and I left home as the train was approaching Washwood Heath. It ran pretty much on time and didn't take long to come along a minute or so after 173342 + 172215 had gone towards Birmingham from Dorridge. I also took some video as it worked the fully loaded train over the crossing.
37240 at Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway Vintage Trains' first Shakespeare Express of 2025 ran on Sunday 6 April with a couple of unusual aspects to it. First, it was due to start from Worcester Shrub Hill and second, the stock positioning move from Birmingham was hauled by 37240 with tickets being available for sale. To enable the steam locomotive to lead the northbound trips from Stratford-upon-Avon it ran via Hatton where 1T31 reversed with 37240 leading the 7 coaches and 7029 down to the terminus. This gave the chance for a rare picture of a class 37 on a passenger train on my local line and on a day with clear blue skies and the sun in the best possible place. I chose to go to the roadbridge by Parkway Station to give a recognisable backdrop and had to hope that a Chiltern class 168, due at about the same, wouldn't get in the way. The locomotive-hauled train was a bit early leaving Hatton but cleared my location with just under one minute to spare before the class 168 pulled in to the up platform. I hadn't seen 37240 since 26 March 2021 at Honeybourne when it took 2 Network Rail DVTs for storage into Long Marston.
66718 at Stratford-upon-Avon The annual visit to the Stratford-upon-Avon line of a weedkilling train took place during the early morning of 5 April 2025. I had assumed that as before top and tailed standard-liveried GBRf class 66s would be used but but I happened to notice that 66718 + 66747 were allocated for the trip from Kings Norton. Always one for a first at my local station I made the decision to head down for the second part of 3Q98's diagram after it had been to Leamington Spa even though the due time was around 4am. My wife said that she didn't mind me going out then so I went out only to find for the first time ever on my night-time trips that the platform lights had been turned off. The lights around the booking office on platform 1 were fortunately on so this is the only shot that was possible taken as 66718 stopped prior to reversal and return to Birmingham. The other locomotive, 66747, also in a special colour scheme, was in almost complete darkness and a frontal shot just wasn't possible so this was the only poor option available. The lights on the train itself are almost painfully bright and I could do nothing about the burnt-out highlights.
43465 + 43484 at Honeybourne There were some crew training runs between Kings Norton, Long Marston and Worcester using Rail Adventure Power Cars 43465 + 43484 on 3 April 2025. I don't always bother with light engine moves but back-to-back PCs look marginally more interesting and I wanted to check if the Long Marston branch at Honeybourne was free at shadows on a sunny morning. The train, 0T37, ran close to right time but seemed to have been given far too long, 18 minutes, to get from Evesham to Honeybourne North Junction so made sure to arrive in plenty of time. Some 18 minutes before the booked time the pair of power cars crossed over onto the branch from the up main line.
37800 at Defford One of the short-lived Orion parcels unit converted from a class 319, 319373, was taken from Crewe to Sims at Newport on 3 April 2025 prior to be scrapped. On a sunny aftrernoon I chose to go to Defford, near Pershore, where there is an identifiable background. I guess that 37800 was chosen especially for this job given that its colour scheme made a good with the unit. None of the class 319 conversions seem to be successful and I read that the other 3 units at Eastleigh earmarked for conversion into Orions have also been slated for scrapping.
47739 at Long Marston Two of the 5 car class 701 EMUs were due to be taken from Long Marston to Eastleigh on 1 April 2025 with 47739 having arrived at the storage site on the previous day. The departure time, always approximate here, was around 12.30 and when I arrived at just before midday all looked well with 47739 with its engine running coupled to the stock. The gate was opened but after 45 minutes various fitters were still getting in and out of the unit and locomotive and it didn't much thought to work out that there was a problem with either the couplings or the brakes. This has happened on more than one previous occasion with these moves but it was especially irritating on a day with perfect light just about guaranteed. I took a short piece of video as 5Q89 left but the strong wind means that it's best watched with the sound turned off.
Long Marston trackwork A huge amount of work is being carried out at Long Marston as Porterbrook prepare the site for its new role as an advanced testing facility. While waiting for 47739 I took a couple of shots showing some of the track relaying going on in the area near the roadbridge. I used a 300mm lens for this view, taken almost straight into the sun, of the work on part of the loop.
47739 at Long Marston Some 70 minutes after the booked time on 1 April 2025 and following the problem with the stock the sun's angle was less than optimal. It would have been spot at the correct time in the schedule.
47739 at Honeybourne I had hoped that the shot of 47739 with 5Q89 at Long Marston on 1 April 2025 would have been with the sun min the right place for a well-lit conventional shot but the late running meant that a run to Honeybourne was going to be on the cards. A 1969 Morris Minor isn't the ideal vehicle for a quick run around windy country lanes and as I parked by the Co-Op store I could hear the train rolling down the branch. There was just time to put a long lens on my camera as 5Q89 left the Staff Hut where the single line token is kept.
47739 at Honeybourne The run from the Staff Hut to the red signal protecting Honeybourne North Junction didn't take long but because of the unchecked lineside growth I had to change to a wide angle lens for even a head-on shot. The class 701s which seemed to have caused the late running are 701509 and 701512.
69014 at Hatton Another GBRf class 69 was released from Eastleigh on Thursday 20 March 2025 when it ran light engine to Longport. A special one-off livery supposedly based on the Hawker-Siddeley (owners of Brush) prototype locomotive "Kestrel" is now carried by 69014 which is seen here passing Hatton station in a big chunk of thick cloud after a long sunny period. It has also been suggested that the livery may actually be based on one used by EMD, the supplier of the engines in class 69s, in the USA. All may become clearer when the nameplate is formally revealed and an announcement made.
158765 at Claydon Tuesday 18 March 2025 was a completely cloudless day at least in Warwickshire and Worcestershire and Gloucestershire. The prospect of a maroon class 69 taking a pair of 5 Car class 701 units from Long Marston to Eastleigh was more than enough to tempt me out to Claydon for a shot or two and just after I arrived GWR 158765 arrived at Ashchurch station before heading south with 2T45, the 12.53 Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Temple Meads, running 12 minutes late. The colour scheme of the operating company looks close to black so dark is the shade of green.
69009 at Claydon I had planned on taking 2, if not 3, shots of the Long Marston to Eastleigh train, 5Q89, on Tuesday 18 March 2025. The working was due to leave Long Marston at 12.34 but when I dropped in there at 11.55 the gate was closed and there was no sign of life or a maroon class 69 locomotive. I went to Honeybourne where again nothing was in sight so thought 5Q89 may have left early so headed towards the Gloucester main line, stopping in a lay-by to make a few calls. No-one in the usual spots had seen anything so I stayed put until a message and then RTT showed it had passed Evesham and must have been between Long Marston and Honeybourne when I looked. Off then to Claydon in beautiful light until it appeared on the Railcam maps at Norton Junction some 7 minutes late. Eleven minutes later the bright double headlights appeared passing Ashchurch station before coming up the bank to Claydon bridge with the new houses and the tower of St Nicholas' church prominent in the background.
57313 at Honeybourne The Cheltenham Gold Cup on 14 March 2025 produced the usual train from London Paddington to Evesham. As last year the locomotives operating in top and tail mode were 57313 and 57601 both of which were looky quite scruffy considering the job for which they were rostered. I arrived at Honeybourne just as 1Z53 came into view in the misty background giving just enough time to take my camera out and set it for a shot.
57313 at Honeybourne Passengers on the Paddington to Evesham Gold Cup special on 14 March 2025 were taken from there to the racecourse by coach with the stock reversing at Evesham West Junction for the run to Honeybourne Sidings for servicing. Worcester Yard would have been a more obvious location but Health and Safety issues precluded this and Long Marston yard was not available so the sidings it had to be. The train, now running as 5Z53, was 10 minutes late leaving Evesham and with up and down GWR services nearby it was unclear if the ECS would be held for the up train to call at Evesham or be allowed to cause it to be delayed. The empty passenger stock didn't report after reversal but 57601 soon appeared joing the Long Marston branch along which it ran until the 57313 was clear of the points and branch signal.
57601 at Honeybourne I had a long lens in my bag on 14 March 2025 and thought it worthwhile to take a shot as 57313 led 5Z53 into Honeybourne Sidings albeit with the locomotive's heat haze making it look a bit fuzzy. This picture shows only too well the overgrown state of the lineside. It can't be long before some clearance will be necessary both because of sighting issues and stock brushing against the bushes.
37401 at Hatton North Locomotive Services Limited's class 37, 37401, is in yet another colour scheme, this time a Scot-Rail based livery. It worked an ECS train from Eastleigh to Crewe on Tuesday 11 March 2025 conveying a selection of LSL's stock including one from the Blue Pullman HST set. The sun was in and out during the morning and the best location in the area was likely to be Hatton North Junction where even if the sun were fully out a reasonable image would be possible. The train, 5Z47, followed a Chiltern class 168 unit but this cleared the sections from Warwick Parkway to Hatton to allow 37410 to have a good belt up the 1/110 average gradient from Warwick. My video can found here with the locomotive's sound increasing in volume as it approached. For the record, some of the previous colour schemes on 37401 were Royal Scotsman maroon in 2005, EWS red in 2005 and large logo blue in 2015.
66760 at Hatton This used to be the best area for two-way photographs in the Hatton area but since hundreds of trees have been planted along the lineside there is just a footbridge available for shots. I hadn't been here for quite a while but with a couple of decent southbound workings on the sunnt morning of 6 March 2025 decided to have a look. First along was the late-running 00.03 Southampton to Doncaster iPort, 4E34 with 66760 working hard with its fully loaded train. Not a great location at this time of day but there were no light police around...
A pair of class 168s at Hatton There is a good service for passengers between Birmingham and London with Chiltern, mostly using 2, 3 and 4 car class 168 units. This is the 10.11 from Moor Street to Marylebone, 1H32, at Budbrook Junction on 7 March 2025 with 168325 leading 168214.
70002 + 66588 at Hatton The southbound view from the footbridge at Budbrook Junction is still perfectly good in early March but once the foliage has appeared on the nearby trees the shadows will be too intrusive. I usually keep an eye on this train, 4O90, the 06.10 Leeds to Southampton, in case one of the repainted class 70s is on the front. No luck today on 6 March but clear skies and a double header with 70002 + 66588 was good enough for me. A 35mm lens was wide enough to show the pointwork of Budbrook Junction, the start of Hatton DGL, and keep the best part of the locomotives out of most shadows. I took a short piece of video but there wasn't really enough notice of its approach.
68013 at Hatton I may not have been able to hear the Leeds to Southampton Feightliner approaching me at Hatton on 6 March 2025 but 68013 was getting louder and louder as the 'liner went south. It was accelerating up Hatton Bank after the stop at Warwick Parkway and appeared just after the last container had disappeared. The locomotive is 68013 and the train 1R17, the 09.02 London Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street.
165010 at Hatton The service offered to those travelling between Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa is dreadful, a train every 2 hours which is summarily cancelled every time anything happens at Wembley Stadium needed extra drivers for the main line. This is 165010 forming the 10.29 from Stratford about to pass under the footbridge at Budbrook Junction on 6 March 2025.
43062 + 43013 at Hatton One of the brightest trains on the system is the Network Rail NMT. On 6 March 2025 43062 topped 43013 on a 1Z49 Derby RTC to Reading Triangle Sidings ready to work to South Devon the following day. I took this shot with an 85mm lens to bring out the woodland on Hatton Bank and to show that this shot won't be worth doing when the leaves have appeared.
68019 at Evesham Most weeks see schedules in the system for Longsight to Long Marston trains taking Mk5A stock for storage but in recent times these have rarely run. There was an exception on Wednesday 5 March 2025 when 68019 did work and with a sunny day looming it was worth going for a shot. I hadn't managed a picture of one of these in good light since January 2024 when the class 68 and stock were topped by 37884. Today's 5Q94 was hauled by debranded and very clean 68019 which was a bonus in the lovely light.
800034 at Wyre Piddle A Long Marston to Wimbledon Park Sidings stock movement took place on 4 March 2025 with a colourful locomotive doing the honours. Given just about guaranteed sunshine it would have been rude not to have gone out and I chose a location between Evesham and Pershore for my first shot where it was unlikely a crowd would be present. Even GWR IETs look reasonable in bright sunshine and here is 800034 working 1P28, the 11.57 Great Malvern to Paddington which on this occasion started from Worcester Foregate Street because of previous late running.
800027 at Wyre Piddle If the stock move from Long Marston on 4 March 2025 was running to time it would have had to have waited at Honeybourne for this GWR service, the 10.53 Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill to clear the line. For a change the passenger train was on time and is shown here passing Wyre Bridge in Wyre Piddle village giving some hope that 5Q91 would be too far away although these moves do not often report until passing Evesham.
69012 at Wyre Piddle I had watched two Great Western trains pass Wyre Piddle on 5 March 2025 and hoped that 69012 with 701002 was at Evesham ready for when 800027 cleared the single track to Norton Junction. Despite the locomotive having been about 45 minutes late arriving light engine at Long Marston earlier RTT soon showed that it was away from Evesham about on time. It didn't take long for it to appear in the distance and the well-turned out 69012 in a representation of the livery once carried by Falcon passed by in some bright sunshine. I took a short video clip on my phone and the locomotive's horn can be heard at the end as it approached one of several farm crossings on this section.
OTP at Defford I had just arrived at Defford on 4 March 2025 when the front light of this becamse visible in the distance as it left Eckington Loop. It wasn't booked to use the loop but runnng 10 minutes meant that it was put inside to allow a CrossCountry train to pass. It was running as 6U42, the 12.55 Gloucester Horton Road to Trent Sidings but I don't have any idea about what sort of OTP it is. There was no visible number and the faded lettering on the side looks something like "Multi-Purpose Shredder" but this seems unlikely to be the case. Whatever, OTP has an interest of itd own and I usually have a shot of one when possible.
165135 at Defford I don't see many Great Western trains and even class 165 units can look reasonable in good light early in the year before the sun is too high. This is 165135 working 2T46, the 13.52 Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Temple Meads as it approached the roadbridge at Defford, a few miles south of Norton and Abbotswood Junctions on 4 March 2025.
170102 at Defford CrossCountry class 170s don't look bad when clean and in good light so I took this image of 170102 at Defford on 4 March 2025 while it was working the 12.07 Nottingham to Cardiff Central service, 1V09. This location was the site of Defford station and now houses a compound used to store p-way supplies for when engineering work takes place in the area.
69012 at Defford This was the photograph that was my primary target on 4 March 2025 with GBRf's 69012 looking terrific in a colour scheme reminiscent of the livery carried by Falcon, the prototype diesel locomotive. The train is 5Q91 from Long Marston to Wimbledon Park Sidings taking 701002 out of storage and hopefully into service befoe too long. As is sometimes the case with these stock moves the run-round procedure at Worcester didn't go smoothly and my assumption is that there was an issue with brakes on the unit that led to the 45 minute delay in its departure. Fortunately it did run unlike on at least one previous occasion when it was cancelled until the following day.
20142 at Long Marston A rare charter train visited the Long Marston branch on Saturday 22 February 2025 after Network Rail refused to allow the tour to cover the line to Round Oak and offered this alternative. The train was UK Railtours' 1Z58 07:01 Paddington to Long Marston 'Shakespearean Sonnet' which was also to visit Stratford-upon-Avon, the Kineton MOD branch and the Chiltern Line. The weather was, naturally enough, dull, gloomy and misty in the extreme but it was worth recording an actual passenger train here rather than the usual and increasingly repetitive ECS moves. There should have 4 class 20s but 20118 wasn't ready in time and this allowed the noisiest approach to Long Marston I have ever heard as 20142 hauled the 9 coaches and the other class 20s, 20007 + 20225, away from the 5mph speed restriction in the background. The train's ultimate destination of Stratford is about 7 miles away and had the GWR line still been in place the journey would have taken about 10 minutes but as things stand it took 3 hours and 40 minutes to run via Worcester and Birmingham.
20142 at Long Marston Long Marston yard wasn't on the itinerary for 1Z58 on 22 February 2025 and it ran only to the Network Rail limit. This picture shows one of the oldest types of stock (20142 was built in 1966) and still going strong in front of a new class 701 EMU waiting to be accepted into traffic.
20225 + 20007 near Evesham There was more than enough time on 22 February 2025 to find somewhere for a shot on North Cotswold Line and I had 2 places in mind, one if the sun came out and the other if it stayed dull. The weather forecast was accurate and during the drive towards Evesham the clouds began to clear so I went to a bridge on the Offenham Road. I wanted to avoid the usual photographic locations and this spot, the site of Aldington station, offered the chance to see the attractive BR blue & grey stock as 1Z60, the Long Marston to Stratford-upon-Avon, passed the park homes in Sidings Lane.
20225 + 20007 near Bearley Junction After having returned home on 22 February 2025 I turned out again to take another shot of 1Z60, this time on the North Warwickshire Line. Class 20s have run along quite a few times in recent years, mostly substituting for steam locomotives on the Shakespeare Express and on one notable occasion on a private charter for invited guests with 20189 working solo with 7 coaches and 47773 dead in train. The Shakespearean Sonnet looked set for really good light at Edstone but as 20205 and 20007 became audible passing Wootton Wawen a damn great cloud blew across the sun and stayed there until the train had passed the four photographers. There was just room in this going-away shot to show all 3 locomotives as they approached Bearley Junction.
20142 at Stratford-upon-Avon Home for lunch after the disappointment at Edstone on 22 February 2025 but I felt almost obliged to walk down to Stratford station for a record shot of what was now 1Z62 in platform 1. The tour had originally been advertised as running with 14 coaches and 4 locomotives presumably to relect that each stanza of a sonnet has 14 lines. It struck me that this might have been too long a formation for Stratford station as even with 9 + 3 the rear locomotives were well beyond the roadbridge and almost over the locomotive release crossover. Here anyway is a heavily backlit view of 20142 preparing to leave at the head of 1Z62 to Kineton. The LT colour, nameplate, and Inter-City logo are better seen here.
20142 at Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway The departure time for 1Z62 from Stratford-upon-Avon to Kineton on 22 February 2025 was 15.55 and it was hard to think of anywhere between Stratford and Leamington Spa where a worthwhile shot was possible. My plan was therefore to go to the Parkway station and just take some video of what would undoubtably be a noisy affair as 20142 banked by 20007 + 20205 started to climb the 1/75 of Wilmcote Bank. After setting up my phone on a bendy mini-tripod wrapped around a station lamp I thought a still image was worth a go too. In the event this was all I managed through accidentally pressing the remote Bluetooth control and stopping my film just before the train appeared. And yes, it was very noisy.
37510 at Long Marston The third off-lease class 458 was taken for storage from Wimbledon Park Sidings to Long Marston on 18 February 2025. The barrier wagons ran to Wimbledon from Derby RTC during the previous morning topped and tailed with 37510 and 376901 which then worked 7Q99 on Tuesday with 458532The. It was a sunny morning which isn't an easy prospect for a picture at around 10.00 but a bit of late running helped with lifting most of the shadows as the train approached the roadbridge at its journey's end. There was still a lot of early mist around which was accentuated by the backlighting. The land just beyond the bridge has recently seen some work to stabilise the ground following a landslip last year.
37901 at Long Marston There were still a lot of shadows across the line between the roadbridge and gate at Long Marston on 18 February 2025 and I had to wait for a shot until 7Q99 tailed by 37901 was inside the site. The other class 458s can be seen in the sidings and today's delivery would have been propelled onto one of those following some messy shunting moves. The locomotives and barriers later took a class 769 to Crewe but I couldn't be bothered to turn out out short notice with no guarantees that the scheduled timings would stick.
47739 at Evesham There was yet another movement to Long Marston from Eastleigh involving a class SWR class 701 on Thursday 13 February 2025. These trains have been unreliable runners in recent weeks so it was far from certain whether or not this one would actually move from Hampshire. As I was yet to take a picture of GBRf 47739 I went to Evesham, the best local spot for a reasonably wide shot, despite the weather being cold and very dull. Running as 5Q75 it ran spot on time from Norton Junction passing here at 14.02. I took a video clip which was much shorter than I intended because I was checking the camera settings for the still shot and missed it rounding the curve in the distance. I much preferred a previous colour scheme on 47739 as seen as it approached Long Marston yard on 8 July 2013.
172004 and 002 at Stratford-upon-Avon I had just arrived at Stratford-upon-Avon station for the picture shown below when 172004 + 172002 left with 2K38, the 09.43 to Kidderminster. The shot of it standing in platform was so heavily shadowed as to make a picture not worth the effort so this was the best bet as it pulled away,
196011 at Stratford-upon-Avon Chiltern Railways has taken a lease on a number of class 196/0 units for, I believe, use on the East - West Rail route. Driver training commenced on Thursday 6 February 2024 and the first run was 5S96 from Tyseley to Tyseley via Stratford-upon-Avon with 196011 being the set in use. It's seen here arriving at platform 2 a couple of minutes early at 09.44. The shot I wanted from the footbridge wasn't available as a 6 car class 172 had just arrived from Kidderminster into platform 1. There aren't many options for pictures at Stratford at this time of day but I did take this one from the car park on my way home.
196012 at Long Marston Another class 196 DMU went from Tyseley to Long Marston for modifications on Tuesday 14 January 2025. I had still to take a shot of a set working solo on the branch so as it was cloudy but brightish when it left Norton Junction went to the roadbridge at Long Marston for a picture of 196012 arriving. As I drove through the village the cloud cleared leaving a low sun to shine almost straight along the line. Not ideal conditions but I'm usually up for a challenge so...
196012 at Long Marston Every cloud has a silver, or orange, lining and the shot of 196012 waiting for the points into the exchange sidings at Long Marston on 14 January 2025 was as well-lit as one could hope for at this time of the year. Plenty of stored stock is also in view including the reflection of a class 458 in the side of a Trans-Pennine coaching set. This was my second sight of 196012 as it came along the North Warwickshire Line on 22 September 2021 on a test run which I photographed at Stratford-on-Avon Parkway.
70008 at Hatton To mark the 60th anniversary of the company, Freightlinber has outshopped 70008 in a special version of the usual green colour scheme. When I saw that it was working 4O90, the morning Leeds to Southampton train, I thought a shot of it worthwhile in case something unfortunate happens to it before the chance for a sunny picture came along. There was still frost on the sleepers and a misty background made worse by a bonfire on a property just to the right of the line. I also took a video clip which can be found here. For a comparison with the original livery on 70008 here it is on 14 April 2012 leading 70009 on the 11.11 Lawley Street to Southampton, 4O02, on 14 April 2012.
150275 at Long Marston The first class 150 other than the test unit 950001, as far as I know, to run over the Long Marston branch is 150275 which ran from Neville Hill depot as 5Q94 on Monday 6 January 2025. The train was scheduled to arrive for corrosion repairs and a C6 Heavy Maintenance Exam at about 15.20 which on a sunny afternoon is a bit tricky from a photographic point of view with the sun being only just of frame to the right of the line. It's lucky that some hedge trimming has been done on the lineside so there weren't many intrusive shadows.
150275 at Long Marston The gates at Long Marston were already open on 6 January 2025 so as soon as the single line staff was handed over to be put into the ground frame to allow it into road no.2 150275 was able to move forward. The amount of rolling stock and at least 1 class 68 locomotive in store here doesn't reflect well on the current railway scene.
37901 at Honeybourne A TfW class 769 was scheduled to be taken from Long Marston to Crewe on Friday 3 January 2025 with 37884 providing the power for 769421. The departure time was 10.47 which on a cloudless morning gives very few photographic options either on the branch to Honeybourne or the North Cotswold Line, the only bits in which I am really interested. The one location I could think of was a foot crossing on the Pebworth road which although from ground level and without a decent going-away shot of the unit offered a largely shadow-free view. The train 5Q42, left Long Marston about 9 minutes early and was doing the 10mph required on this stretch because of the 3 crossings within a few hundred yards. The unit had to have a brake pipe from 37884 and here is a close-up of the arrangement.
800034 near Bretforton There were 3 trains on the Long Marston branch on Friday 3 January 2025, usually a recipe for Mr Cock-Up to pay a visit. The second movement was a London Midlands class 196 from Tyseley to Long Marston and I moved over to Clayfield Lane crossing for this one. It's hard to avoid taking shots of the routine traffic in good light and here is 800034 approaching the crossing with 1P26, the 10.59 Great Malvern to Paddington GWR service. There were still quite a few shadows closer to the camera but the sun was getting a bit higher in the sky ready for the next train.
196103 near Bretforton The London Midland class 196 DMUs are gradually going from Tyseley to Long Marston for modifications to the wiring in the heaters in the lavatories and new brackets on the bogies. Should these really be needed on brand new trains? The first few were wastefully and expensively taken in by topped-and-tailed locomotives at very low speed because through braking was not possible but sense later prevailed and more recent moves have been with the units going under their own power. Here is 196103 passing the former Crossing Keeper's cottage on Clayfield Lane at high speed as a common buzzard circled above the fields in the background.
47727 near Bretforton It was perhaps inevitable that one of the 3 trains either going to or from Long Marston on Friday 3 January 2025 wouldn't run on time. The third train, 5Q87 12:34 Long Marston to Reading West Junction (for later transit to Wimbledon), with 701013 being hauled by 47727 left Long Marston about 70 minutes late after some angst for the 3 of us waiting for it near Bretforton about whether it would actually move at all. Shadows were beginning to be a bit of an issue so it was a relief when a yellow end finally appeared in the distance shortly after crossing over from the Long Marston branch. I don't often use a long lens for railway photography but thought that the compressed perspective and out-of-focus foreground would work well, especially as the driver opened up as he approached.
37901 at Honeybourne The second class 458 EMU to go for storage at Long Marston, 458531, was moved from Wimbledon Park Sidings on Tuesday 10 December 2024. The routing of both was the same, via Moreton-in-Marsh, but unlike the first train the second ran in dreadul weather with drizzle and possibly the worst light in which I have ever tried to photograph at Honeybourne. Even with 5Q99 led by 37901 moving at crawling pace towards the station where a crew member was to be collected I had to use ISO 2000 to ensure a sharp image. It was good though that this locomotive was leading rather the grubby 37510 which was on the back of the formation.
37510 at Honeybourne After reversal at Honeybourne North Junction on 10 December 2024, 37510 (still with red tail lights illuminated) led 458531, barriers and 37901 along the Long Marston branch towards the hut in which the single line token is kept. I fixed my phone to the roadbridge with a bendy mini-tripod and shot this piece of video as 5Q99 passed by with some traffic noise from the road.
37901 at Honeybourne As 37901 was the more photogenic locomotive on 5Q99 from Wimbledon to Long Marston on 10 December 2024 I crossed the road for another shot as went away towards the Staff Hut. The vegetation is a bit less intrusive than earlier in the year but this is still as wide a clear image as can be achieved.
Solar Farm site at Long Marston It took longer than expected for 5Q99 to reach Long Marston from Honeybourne giving me time to take a few pictures of some changes around the site. The major change is the clearance and building up of a field in preparation for the installation of solar panels to help power the planned 25kv infrastructure for the testing of new trains by Porterbrook. This pair of vehicles was parked on the curve alongside on of several security points scattered around the place. Also partly visible was Centro-liveried 323221 which is one of 9 of the class stored here. These shots also gave the chance to try out a new VR lens I have just acquired...
37510 at Long Marston There has been some lineside clearance at Long Marston but some more to the left of the line would be welcome! Here is 37510 approaching the end of the branch from Honeybourne on 10 December 2024 with 458531 and 37901 after running from Wimbledon Park Sidings. Here is a closer view of the EMU along with Jon Norman, the senior member of Victa Rail at Long Marston. It was good to meet Jon when he came up to the road for a chat and I am grateful to him for the background information on what is happening here.
37901 at Long Marston I took another view of 37901, this time as it ran into Long Marston on 10 December 2024. The train ran into road 1 as there was some shunting to do before the locomotives and barriers could leave and run to Derby RTC.
37901 at Long Marston There are now 2 class 458s in Long Marston and because of their unique type of Dellner coupler the staff here are unable to move them with the on-site shunters. It was therefore necessary for the EMUs to be put together in road 3 of the exchange sidings where they will have to stay. Taken with a 300mm lens on 10 December 2024 this image shows 37510 slowly propelling 458531 towards 458534 with 37901 on road 1.
196006 + 196004 at Evesham Two more class 196 DMUs went from Tyseley to Long Marston for rectification or maintenance on Wednesday 20 November 2024. For the first time the units, 196006 + 196004, worked under their own power over the North Cotswold Line as 5Q94 rather than running as 7Q or 8Q as before and being expensively and inefficiently dragged by either ROG or GBRf locomotives. This clearly wasn't as attractive to photographers but I wanted a picture to record the first solo run over the line. It was desirable to have the image from a location that made it obvious that the train was on the North Cotswold Line and one of the few on a sunny day in the winter is this one as it approaches Evesham station. I checked out the station itself and the roadbridge at the other end but neither were much good. As is often the case the train left Tyseley LMD late but with two lengthy pauses scheduled and missed out, at Cofton Junction and Worcester Yard respectively, it was back on time by Norton Junction. My video film is here. I have a few pictures of 196006 when it on was test and crew training runs at Stratford-upon-Avon, most notably this one with 66587 in shot while on route learning runs for the short-lived locomotive-hauled RHTTs in 2021.
DR73947 at Hatton I was at Hatton on 15 November 2024 when Colas tamper DR73947 pulled up to the signal in the down main line platform while working 6J62, the Bicester to Bromsgrove Tamper Sidings. It was booked to stand there for 11 minutes and did exactly that before pulling away and heading towards Dorridge. I was surprised now noisy these units are when accelerating; more so than some modern locomotives.
68012 at Hatton One of the classes of locomotive that is possible to hear coming for a while is class 68. This is 68012 passing platform 2 Hatton on Friday 15 November 2024 as it worked the 09.02 from London Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street, 1R17, running 24 minutes late because of problems with the road crossing barriers at Bentley Heath, Dorridge which had failed and stuck in the open position.
168322 at Hatton The shuttles between Stratford-upon-Avon and Hatton have for many years been run at completely inadequate 2 hourly intervals giving travellers to the town very poor connections with main line services. On 15 November 2024 168322 was working the trains including this one, 2L32, the 10.29 from Stratford. There has been a lot of vegetation growth over the past 20 years...
70016 + 70020 at Hatton Freightliner has recently repainted 70020 into the new orange livery in common with some class 66s and 59s but with a broad yellow stripe at solebar level. I have been keeping an eye on its moves and on Friday 15 November 2024 saw that it was working 4O90 from Leeds to Southampton, albeit tucked in behind 70016. I went to Hatton and on looking at the Railcams maps saw that it was standing in Small Heath Up Loop. That's where it stayed for the thick end of an hour because the barriers at Bentley Heath crossing just to the north of Dorridge had failed in the open position after 2D31 had passed. All trains were heavily delayed but for a change this wasn't a bad thing because the clouds at Hatton were breaking up leaving a nicely clear sky as the train went by. My phone camera saw some use again and video I shot can be found here. This isn't the first mutliple working working of class 70 I have photographed here: on 5 May 2018 three 70s, 70015 + 70004 + 70003 were on this service although the headcode was then 4O29.
37800 at Evesham The second move of West Midlands class 323 EMUs to Long Marston took place on Wednesday 13 November 2024 when 37800 was used to transport 323216 + 323222 from Wolverton. I wasn't able to photograph the first train a couple of weeks ago but this time with a non-standard ROG class 37 in charge and some sun made the effort. Locations without too many shadows are few and far between at this time of year but the roadbridge by Evesham station wasn't as bad as some places. The view as 5Q94 passed through the station wasn't brilliant but the autumnal colours made a shot worthwhile. I also shot some video and was pleased when the locomotive was opened up a bit as the train went by the bridge.
57305 near Honeybourne Another class 196 DMU was taken for repair or maintenance from Tyseley to Long Marston on 11 November 2024. This is time it was 4-car 196105 moved by GBRf with 57305 and 57310 topping and tailing the unit rather than ROG's 37s as on a couple of previous occasions. I had hoped that the GBRf liveried 57310 would be leading but it was 57305 in plain blue that turned up on the front of 7Q57. This locomotive previously carried a smart brown and cream Pullman-style colour scheme as seen with some barrier coaches at Hatton in 2019. I shot some video as 7Q57 approached and passed the crossing keeper's house but was disappointed that the klaxons sounded continuously: they used to stop once the barriers had dropped for the benefit of the residents in the house.
57310 near Honeybourne Although I had hoped that 57310 would lead 7Q57 from Tyseley to Long Marston on 11 November 2024 there was a chance for a reasonable shot of as the train went away towards Honeybourne North Junction. This locomotive used to be operated by Virgin and carried an identical livery to that seen here on 57305 at Whitacre Junction and later in its career a yellow infrastructure department colour scheme as seen here with 6M40 in Hatton DGL on 3 April 2014.
37510 at Claydon Two class 325 EMUs, with one car removed from each, formerly used for moving post around the railway system were taken from Mossend Yard to Sims scrapyard at Newport on Thursday 7 November 2024. Unlike a similar previous move this one had ROG motive power in the form of 37510 and ran via Birmingham and Gloucester rather than along the less convenient (for me, at least) North and West route through Hereford. Although the weather was dark, drizzly and dank I thought that a trip to somewhere just south of Ashchurch would be worth a go just to get a shot in the bag. It was remarkable that everything worked out as planned including the overnight light engine transfer from Derby RTC , and close to right-time running from 5Q76. It was a bit early approaching Ashchurch and I wondered if the booked stop in the DGL there might be missed but luckily for my video footage it was held to allow a passenger service to pass. There is a bit of climb out the river valley and the stop at Ashchurch gave a better chance of some noise from the class 37.
67023 at Claydon While at Claydon near for Ashchurch for the scrap move of 2 class 325 units I kept an eye on the Railcams maps for the daily RHTT with 67023 topping the tanks and 67027. It's always good to get a shot of this but I prefer to wait until the locomotives have become nicely dirty from the work before going for it. They were certainly looking more than a bit grubby on 7 November 2024 as they moved 3S31 south towards Cheltenham. The noise from 67026 wasn't up to the level of 37510 a few minutes earlier, but but still worth taking some video footage as the train passed. These locomotives have proved remarkably reliable in 2024 compared with other years when older traction has had to substitute on occasions.
799201 at Long Marston An image from a couple of weeks ago which was still on my memory card. The Hydroflex unit, 799201, made another test run to Kidderminster and back on 23 October 2024 and I dropped onto the road bridge at the former on the way to a couple of farm shops in the area. There was a lot of shadow around and this picture was the best available as 5Q61 moved onto the branch to Honeybourne. Note the variety of stored stock in the sidings; just a small proportion of that stored all over the site.
37601 at Lower Moor Despite the dull and misty weather I went out for a shot or two of the Tyseley to Long Marston class 196 move with 37601 and 37510 topping and tailing 196114, largely because for a change it was running without translator wagons. My intention was to go to a bridge just to the west of Pershore station but long traffic queues thanks to never-ending roadworks meant that there wasn't time to get there so I turned off to Lower Moor leaving about 5 minutes to spare. The headcode was 8Q94, timed at 30 mph, so the train took quite a while to reach me from Norton Junction. There was never going to be a lot of noise from 37601 at such a low speed but I took a piece of video as it passed by. There was plenty of time to move to the other side of the bridge for another shot the train went away towards some impressive autumn colours which would look good on a sunny day.
5043 at Stratford-upon-Avon A private charter from Didcot to Stratford-upon-Avon ran on Monday 21 October 2024 with GWR Castle 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe providing the power for the 6 coach load plus 47773 which had taken the ECS and steam locomotive from Tyseley earlier in the day. It arrived right on time at 15.11 with the punters still finishing their lunch before being taken to a hotel in a chartered coach parked across the road. In earlier times before the end of steam and the closure of this line further south this picture would have been possible on countless occasions but obviously without all the modern bits and with quite a lot of "proper" infrastructure in view!
47773 at Stratford-upon-Avon After the headcode had been altered to 5Z43 on 21 October 2024 the ECS from the private charter brought to Stratford-upon-Avon 5054 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, the train waited for it's departure time with 47773 ready to lead back to Tyseley. In the meantime a local service with 172342 arrived in platform 2 to form the 15.43 to Kidderminster, 2D71. I took some video as 47773 pulled away but something odd was going on with my phone so the clip is a bit disjointed.
37407 at Moreton in Marsh A stock move from Kidderminster SVR to Eastleigh, 5Z69 operated by Rail Adventure, was scheduled for Thursday 17 October 2024 with a light engine operating from Leicester LIP. This surprisingly turned out to be 37407 and the stock, as witnessed on Railcams, turned out to be 4 former GWR Motorail vans converted for use as universal barriers. I chose to go to Moreton-in-Marsh because of the semaphore signals and hoped for an on-time departure from Worcester before the sun became too head-on. Following axle counter issues somewhere between Worcester and Evesham all train were heavily delayed and 5Z69 sat at the former to allow GWR services to pass. This gave time for a long walk around the nearby park and coffee at an excellent café before returning to the bridge when the sun had moved around nicely to the other side. The train eventually passed 126 minutes late but at least it ran on the booked route rather than being diverted to go via Gloucester and Kemble. Here is a closer view one of the barriers.
59003 at Leamington Spa I was fortunate to have been told at lunchtime on 15 October 2024 that Chiltern's 68013 had failed in "The Dip" just on the down side of Leamington Spa station while working 1H41, the 11.45 Birmingham Moor Street to London Marylebone. It was obviously necessary to clear the blocked up main line pretty smartish and 66606 was sent from Banbury off the Banbury to East Usk, 6B13. It arrived and went into the platform after crossing over to enable it to go onto the up main and reach 1H41. Two northbound freights passed in quick succession and this is the second, 6X50 from Westbury to Bescot, with 59003 on the front.
66606 at Leamington Spa This sort of fiddling about always take longer than one thinks and it was necessary on 15 October 2024 for 5H41 to allow 3 passenger trains to and from the Coventry line to get clear before 66606 was allowed to run into the platform line at Leamington Spa. I hoped that it would stop as expected because a a very long 6M48 was going to comnpletely block the view. Luckily, 5H41 stopped in the platform for several minutes to get the stranded passengers off and allow various checks to take place giving time for a few pictures to be taken. Just before it pulled away, 6M40 went north but driver of 66606 waited for it to pass before moving off. Thank you! I took some mobile phone footage for the record.
168003 at Leamington Spa The failure of 68013 caused many cancellations and delays but newly tarted-up 168003 was only 11 minutes late with 1H51, the 14.11 Birmingham Snow Hill to Marylebone when it left Leamington Spa on 15 October 2024. Here it is just before departure with the passengers from the delayed and cancelled 1H41 now on board.
Nuclear Flask at Hatton One of the very infrequent nuclear flask movements to Kineton MOD took place on Wednesday 9 October 2024 when 68025 took an MODA KUA along with with 2 Mk2e DRS escort coaches and 68024 from Crewe Coal Sidings to Kineton MOD. It was timed to pass Hatton at 07.47, about 25 minutes after sunrise, but on a dark, damp and drizzly morning this wasn't really relevant. It seemed very unlikely that 6G31 would deviate from its booked times, especially the booked stop in Dorridge UPL where 3 up passenger trains were due to pass, so there was the chance of a shot even though the exposure was 1/1000 sec at f2.5 using ISO 3200. It ran to time and this shot was timed at 07.48 meaning that the MOD staff at Kineton would not be hanging around waiting for it to enter the secure site. I took a video clip for the record and here is my picture of the previous run of a similar train on 20 January 2023 in marginally better light.
37510 at Evesham There was yet another transfer of new rolling stock to Long Marston on Friday 4 October when 37510 took 196101 from Tyseley LMD. Running as 7Q94 the train was due to pass Evesham at around 4.15pm and having taken what liked seemed an age after leaving Norton Junction passed the signalbox some 8 or 9 minutes late running at what looked to be well below the 45mph set out in the schedule. I have no idea why 196101 was going to Long Marston as it has been in service as seen here at Stoke Prior on 9 May 2024 working a Hereford to Birmingham New Street service.
20142 at Hatton Vintage Trains at Tyseley provided the motive power and stock for a private charter from London Paddington to Kemble on Saturday 5 October 2024. An ECS move was showing from Tyseley to Paddington due to pass Hatton at around 09.45 and given a decent morning I thought it worth a look. It turned out the previous evening that 20142 had run light engine from the SVR at Kidderminster to Tyseley and would most likely lead the train on the way south leaving 47773 to be train engine for the charter. This is exactly what happened and here is 5Z86 approaching Hatton station a few minutes early at 09.42. It was a shame that 20142 was a bit grubby on such a nice day but given the rarity of such move who cares. I took a a piece of video as well as the still image which has the usual barrage from our cameras! It was good to catch up with Kevin Payne before my wife and I went for a long walk along the adjacent canal towpath including a visit to the excellent Hatton Locks café. Thanks to Chris Morrison for confirming the stock formation as it passed Tyseley and to Derek Rilay for the initial gen.
166210 at Claydon A 1Z58 test train move from Derby RTC to Cardiff topped-and-tailed with 37425 and 37421 (newly repainted) was running on 17 September 2024. It was a perfectly lit afternoon with little chance of cloud so I went to Claydon arriving just in time to see 166210 leaving Ashchurch station as 2T46, the 13.52 Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Temple Meads. The test train reached Birmingham's Saltley area where 37421 had issues with the engine shutting down and caused the train to reverse and return to Derby.
66026 at Claydon Freight traffic on the Birmingham to Gloucester line is very sparse in 2024 and one of the few still likely to run is 6V92, the Corby to Margam empty steel carriers. On 17 September dayglo 66026 was allocated and is seen here climbing away from Ashchurch under a completely cloudless sky. I'm not a great fan of this colour scheme but anything with a locomotive on the front on this line is worth a shot.
800001 at Claydon There were several southbound passenger trains formed of classes 220, 221 and 170 passing Claydon on 17 September 2024 but this is the only shot of them to appear here. The train is 2T47, the 14.50 from Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol TM, formed of 800001. I have few shots of IETs on this line so given the quality of the light took this image.
66080 at Claydon The 12.39 Burton-on-Trent to Cardiff Tidal, 6V51, was shown as having been cancelled on 17 September 2024 but ran anyway. Despite it having been around for a long time I prefer this colour scheme on class 66 to the later and brighter livery. This is 66080 passing Claydon with the long train of steel vans, well known for the vandalism on it applied by persons of limited intelligence.
37510 at Moreton-in-Marsh Yet another class of EMU was taken to Long Marston on 13 September 2024 when Juniper unit 458354 went there from Wimbledon Park CSD sandwiched between 37510, four barriers and 37884. The best bit was that 5Q94 was routed along the North Cotswold Line from Oxford to Honeybourne; a rare piece of line for locomotive-hauled trains. I wanted a photograph on this section in a location with some identity despite the fact that it would be backlit at around 09.45 so went to Moreton-in-Marsh. A preceding Great Western down service was a few minutes late which gave the chance of being blocked by an up passenger train but this cleared with 5 minutes to go. Here is 37510 going well under clear signals just after most of the shadows had cleared the line.
37884 at Moreton-in-Marsh The better shot from the London Road bridge at Moreton-in-Marsh is arguably looking towards the station as the train goes away and on 13 September 2024 it was lucky that 5Q94 needed 4 barriers for brake force as the length of the train meant that I could cross the road to take this shot with 37884 on the back of the consist with 458354 more clearly visible.
168003 at Hatton Chiltern Railways' class 168, 168003 has reently received a deep clean and refresh at Crewe along with a new colour scheme. The unit's first run was a 5A68 from Crewe to Aylesbury on 9 September 2024 and I had a quick trip to Hatton for a picture of it. The new livery is not hugely different from the previous version but the red line has gone and there is a bit more blue. It was unfortunate that the sun came out just as 5A68 was due so I crossed the road for another shot as it went through the station. There had just been time before 168003 came along to set up for a piece of video just for the record.
68027 leading 4 other class members through Honeybourne The second batch of 5 redundant class 68s formerly operated by Trans-Pennine went for storage at Long Marston on Friday 6 September 2024. The first 5 had gone in the previous day but I wasn't able to go for it and anyway, the weather was very dull and a train of plain blue locomotives needs some sun to make the image worth the effort. After a couple of cancellations and one reinstatement 0Z90 formed of 68027, 68020, 68022, 68031 and 68026 left Crewe 22 minutes late and gradually became later througout the journey. The sun came out in Stratford-upon-Avon about 45 minutes before the cavalcade was due at Evesham but having taken a lot of shots there recently I went instead to Honeybourne guessing that the view from the roadbridge would just about be shadow-free. It was and within about 2 minutes of my arrival 0Z90 joined the Long Marston branch some 62 minutes late, the leading locomotive making a stark contrast to how it looked in August 2024. I took a second shot mostly to show the dreadful state of the undergrowth near the branch. The whole railway appears to be going mad if judged only by the amount of perfectly decent and even brand new stock festering in open storage at Long Marston and other sites around the country.
1Q48 at Stratford Parkway Another new colour scheme for the Stratford-upon-Avon line when 43277 in Colas orange led 1Q48, the test train from Derby RTC, into the terminus. I have taken too many shots of this train at the town station so went to the Parkway, where the LED lighting is nice and bright, for a change. It was running early and I just had time to walk to the end of the platform before I heard it coming down Wilmcote Bank. The speed at which it was going was much higher than I had anticipated and although I had set my camera's settings at home by guesswork (ISO 6400, 1/500 @ f2) there was no time for a test shot and bearing that in mind was pleased with the rendition of the sky nearly one hour after sunset. There also was no chance to set up my phone for a video clip but as I didn't take a still shot of the return from Stratford was able to capture this short piece instead.
66511 at Evesham The usual diagram for the test train shown above, 1Q48, is for it to run from Derby RTC during the following morning and go via the North Cotswold Line to Oxford and then to Bristol. On 4 September 2024 the light in Stratford-upon-Avon was reasonably good and knowing that the Colas 43277 would be leading 1Q22 I went to a bridge just south of Evesham for a hopefully sunny picture. Wrong again. The cloud built up in the 10 minutes I waited and there was only the faintest shadow when 43277 appeared under the Evesham bypass roadbridge. The cutting sides have seen a huge amount of vegetation growth this year and as I'm not a great fan of "green tunnels" this shot will be off my list until such time as some clearance has taken place.
66511 at Evesham Two trains of interest ran south through Evesham on Wednesday 4 September 2024, the second being a 5Q76 from Kidderminster SVR to Long Marston with 43465, 43484, 43467 and 43423 topping 2 barrier coaches going to collect a class 777 unit for delivery to Warrington. There wasn't long to wait after the test train shown above and after a quick diversion to a nearby fruit farm there was just time to reach Briar Close for a shot. The more photogenic powers cars were on the back of the formation and although they would lead the return from Long Marston I already had a a decent enough image of a previous similar working so didn't bother with another.
66511 at Evesham A class 4 train from Crewe Basford Hall to Long Marston came into the schedules for Thursday 29 August 2024. It was obviously a Freightliner job and turned out to be 66511 with 7 branded coal hoppers. This was a very welcome change from endless coaching stock movements but where to take a shot around 15.00 on a sunny day left few options other than around Evesham where the line drops down to the south-west. I chose the footbridge at Evesham station where the sun dipped a few minutes before 4Z66 appeared. On 8 March 2012 the same locomotive with a full set of hoppers working 11.15 Rugeley Power Station to Stoke Gifford through Defford.
68029 at Evesham Another Trans-Pennine coaching set was due to be taken from Longsight to Long Marston on 27 August 2024. Unusually, it wasn't cancelled and the unbranded set left Manchester a few minutes late with 68029, also without the attractive TP colour scheme. The sun was out at home and the sky in the Evesham direction looked to be clearing so I made a late decision to drive over and arrived about 2 minutes before 5Q94 appeared and, and as it turned out, probably about 30 minutes before the sun came out.
50007 + 50049 at Hatton After 5 years or so carrying the standard colours of GBRf as seen here at Hatton albeit with 50007 masquerading at 50014, 50007 and 50049 have been repainted at Eastleigh into large logo blue livery. Their first run after the work was an 0Z50 to Kidderminster SVR on 9 August 2024 and with a good chance of some sun I thought a shot while clean would be worth a go. I wanted some height to show the locomotive roofs before exhaust smoke had done its worst so decided on a going-away shot at Hatton station roadbridge. The slightly late running Southampton to East Midlands Gateway intermodal, 4M54, was in front of 0Z50 which caused the 50s to be checked and so passed Hatton with some decent sound effects from 50007 for my video footage.
37608 at Lower Moor Two class 730 DMUs were taken from Willesden to Long Marston on 5 August 2024 with 37608 providing the power. The light was very poor and it was running late so I didn't go out but it was sunny at home when the delayed return with 2 other units was probably due to leave so had a drive to Lower Moor (with long delays due to roadworks on the road from Evesham...) arriving with what I guessed would be a wait of about 20 minutes. I had left my phone in my other car so with no-one else there I had no idea if 5Q72 was running or when it might appear. A headlight appeared in the distance and with there being no chance of anything else being on the line it had to 37608 with 730205 + 730220 (I think). The sun had long since gone and there was a bit too much green around in the flat light so not a good choice of location...
37116 at Wilmcote The mostly regular test train from Derby RTC and back via Stratford-upon-Avon ran on the evening of 7 August 2024. In place of the now-usual HST power cars were 37116 and 37607 and as I hadn't seen an HNR class 37 before thought that a trip out would be worthwhile. As 1Q48 was due a few minutes before sunset I knew that there would be enough light for a still shot as it ran south through Wilmcote. As usual it was running behind a local passenger train, 2S09, but there was sufficient headway in the long section for the locomotives to be making some decent sound effects as they accelerated away from a stand near Bearley Junction. I don't always take a shot of the trailing locomotive but did fire one off on this occasion. Instead of a still image on the return a short while later I used my phone for some video as 37607 led the return. It was good to catch up with my old friend Chris Morrison at Wilmcote and let's hope it's not so long before the next meet-up!
37607 at Stratford-upon-Avon The test train 1Q48 makes two visits to Stratford-upon-Avon and as 37607 would be on the back as it arrived there on 6 August 2024 and therefore ready to lead the train out. I went out again about 45 minutes later only to find that it ran into into platform 2 rather than 1 as booked. I didn't bother with a shot of 37116 leading but went over to platform 1 for the image I wanted, The driver didn't taken long to change ends and switch on the white lights and with a green signal left the station about 20 minutes early. From a video point of view the change of platform was good as it allowed a rapid getaway without the need to cross over the speed-restricted switches to the up main line.
37901 at Long Marston There was a third consecutive day of class 37 action when on 7 August 2024 37901 was sent with 2 barriers from Derby RTC to Long Marston ostensibly to extract the four Mk 3 coaches that have been festering there for a while and take them to Castle Donnington. The original schedule was cancelled and a more convenient one a couple of hours later put in place. The locomotive has recently been repainted into Trainload Metals livery and looking very smart is seen here approaching the end of the branch from Honeybourne. The gate was closed, there were no ground crew in sight and the 4 coaches hadn't been moved from their usual place in the yard so one could only wonder if anything was going to happen. Aftder some phone calls a buggy eventually arrived and the gates were opened to allow 5Z94 into the site.
37901 at Long Marston Once the short train with 37901 was in Long Marston yard the locomotive was detached, ran along road no.1 and then back to the points by the gate before being coupled once again to the barriers leaving the 4 coaches visible 4 roads across where they were.
37901 at Long Marston After a very expensive rail-polishing exercise 37901 is seen here leaving Long Marston on 7 August 2024 with exactly the same load with which it had arrived a short while before. I was happy enough: at least it wasn't just a light engine and it saved a drive around the Worcestershire roads currently plagued with hoardes of roadworks.
45118 at Stoke Works The long-awaited and welcome return of a class 45 to the main line took place on Saturday 27 July 2024 when LSL's newly restored 45118 worked a Bristol Temple Meads to York railtour. The forecast around Bromsgrove was for intermittent sunny spells although I would probably have turned out in whatever the weather was as I used to photograph quite a few class 45s on this line. In the event the sun wasn't quite fully out but it could have been worse. The original plan was for 45118 to run solo but a quickly remedied fault on the ECS run on the previous day saw some insurance in the form of 47810 ticking over on the back of the mixed set of stock. This wasn't needed on the climb of the Lickey Incline from a standing start. There is some video footage here and a picture of the last time I saw a Peak on a main line train back in 2007 when 45112 took KAA wagons into Long Marston.
799201 at Lower Moor The prototype hydrogen-powered unit 799201, formerly a class 119, has seen quite a bit of testing recently. On Thursday 25 July 2024 it made a single return run from Long Marston to Barnt Green and I arrived at Lower Moor in time for this shot of running a 5Q88 and about 10 early. It appears to have been reliable in recent times but ROG sent 37884 to Worcester Shrub Hill to act as a standby thunderbird just in case. I didn't bother with a video clip as there was nothing but a bit of rail noise as it went by.
69010 at Lower Moor A class 701 EMU was due to be taken out of storage at Long Marston to Eastleigh on Tuesday 25 July 2024. It appeared that some problems were encountered when coupling 69010 to the unit and the train was eventually cancelled: this was apparent when the gates from the yard were closed. Schedules appeared on 24 July with a light engine going to Long Marston from Eastleigh and the train itself in the same path as before. On the day the light engine was cancelled but 5Q86 to Eastleigh appeared to be running presumably after a fitter had attended and sorted things out. It wasn't really a surprise when the arrival time came and went but an hour later it did report on passing Evesham. This is the view at Lower Moor with 69010 and 701030 (I think) at speed on the single track to Norton Junction. There is a short piece of video here.
802105 near Chipping Campden A Sunday run of D1015 Western Champion was enough for me to go to a bridge between Chipping Campden and Moreton-in-Marsh a few yards after the summit of Campden (Mickleton) Bank. The tour was running late and first to come on the up line was 802105 with 1P63, the 14.28 Hereford to London Paddington. I hadn't been here for ages and I didn't know if a shot was still on. Luckily, it was just about OK even though a lot of trees and bushes have grown up since 1994.
D1015 near Chipping Campden D1015 Western Champion was used on a dining train from Birmingham International to Swindon via the North Cotswold Line on Sunday 21 July 2024. The weather started off dull and I had planned to go somewhere near Evesham but the sky cleared so I went to a bridge near Chipping Campden where the sun would be in the right place. The train, 1Z52, started late because of problems with platform occupation at Gloucester delaying the ECS with 57306 + 57308. By missing out a long photo-stop at Worcester Shrub Hill 1Z52 was only about 14 minutes late passing Evesham and soon became audible climbing the 1/100 of Campden Bank. This is a surprisingly busy road with visitors to and from Chipping Campden and was certainly a lot busier than it was on a previous visit. and the grass verge on the bridge is very narrow and sloping so not a great place to spend much time. I was lucky that no traffic came along when I took this video clip which shows that 57306 wasn't helping at all. This wasn't D1015's first run over the line: here it is at Honeybourne on 17 August 2002.
RA PCs at Evesham Two of Rail Adventure power cars, 43468 + 43480. travelled from Kings Norton to Alton to take part in a gala at the preserved line there. Running as 0Q43 the pair were due to pass Evesham at 10.04 but it was fortunate for me that they were running 3 minutes late, because I arrived at the nearest parking place at 10.05 after getting stuck at several sets of temporary traffic lights. This wasn't my first choice of location especially when the sun came out just as the power cars appeared under the roadbridge in the background.
37418 at Evesham Loram, often associated with OTP such as rail grinders have recently taken over the operation of the inspection saloon Caroline and have repainted 37418 into a startling colour scheme of red and white not dissimilar to that of a junk food outlet. The chance for my first view of it since losing its more conventional livery arrived on Wednesday 3 July 2024 when it worked a 2Z01 from Worcester Shrub Hill and return via a bit of a convoluted route via rversals at Bristol and Westbury which fortunately left it leading for the run along the North Cotswold Line. The weather was poor with dark skies and drizzly rain so I thought that a picture with some solid background might be appropriate so went to Evesham station. I took some video in the hope of some noise but was disappointed especially since I spent quite some time fiddling around trying to get a steady platform for my 'phone. It sounded almost as if 37418 had been fitted with battery packs rather than the usual 12 cylinder diesel engine.
66084 at Long Marston Since Porterbrook took over the Long Marston site most of the rail traffic has been various sorts of modern units being taken there for storage. On 24 June 2024 a potentially more interesting train was planned to leave there in the shape of a 6Z24 to Arpley Sidings at Warrington. This was preceded by an 0Z24 which turned out to be 66084 which was waiting for permission to enter the yard when I arrived. My hope was that some of the aggregate hoppers visible in the sidings would be the load but as they hadn't been shifted to the exchange sidings it ws clear that wasn't to be. The actual load was a single cement tanker that had already had a trip around the loop hauled by one of the resident shunters, 01543.
66084 at Long Marston The single wagon was soon attached to 66084 at Long Marston on 24 June 2024 and 6Z24 left the yard about 35 minutes early in a tiny bit of brightness. It didn't get far and had to wait for its booked path at Honeybourne before going on to Warrington Arpley via Worcester and Birmingham.
37601 + 93001 at Long Marston Following Rail Live 2024 the few exhibits that had travelled to Long Marston left on Friday 21 June 2024. The only one I wanted to photograph was 93001 being taken back to Worksop by 37601 which had arrived earlier from Derby RTC. I couldn't be bothered to travel far given the number of roadworks in several parts of Worcestershire so went first to Long Marston arriving about 2 minutes before 0Q26 moved away at 14.13 some 20 minutes early.
37601 + 93001 at Honeybourne By the time I had driven from Long Marston to Honeybourne, parked in the only space left in the station car park and walked to the roadbridge on 21 June 2024 37601 + 93001 were already at the Staff Hut where the single line token is kept. My longest lens coupled with a bit of post-processing cropping produced this image with the crew having a few minutes in the sun before moving to the signal protecting Honeybourne North Junction.
37601 + 93001 at Honeybourne The Honeybourne end of the Long Marston branch is horribly overgrown with the only reasonable shot being head-on with a wide-angle lens; not ideal but there you go. The sun just cleared a small patch of cloud in time and allowed a nice bright image as 0Q26 approached the roadbridge on 21 June 2024. I took a separate picture of 93001 on the basis that there won't be another chance in the foreseeable future and another as 0Q26 slowed for the signal.
37608 + 93001 at Long Marston Rail Operation Group's brand new tri-mode 93001 was taken from Worksop Down Yard to Long Marston on 17 June 2024 ready for it to be displayed at the annual Rail Live event. The move was interesting not only because the class 93 was a new locomotive for the North Cotswold Line and the Long Marston branch but also because a locomotive almost exactly 63 years old was used to transport it. I wanted a shot of the green pair at Long Marston itself which made the arrival photograph on a sunny day a bit challenging given the sun's angle. I wasn't too bothered about this having taken a decent shot of a couple of days earlier which took away any pressure. Once again the green background does its best to hide 0Q67 arriving close to right time.
93001 + 37608 at Long Marston This was the view of 93001 with 37608 I had in mind on 17 June 2024 and it was good that the sun stayed out for it despite there being a lot of cloud blowing around. I tried to shoot a short piece of video as 37608 took 93001 into the yard but the bright sun was shining on my 'phone screen which made the touch controls awkward to see. For some reason several class 701 EMUs have been moved from the sidings near the road to others nearer the event site with some old stone hoppers having been shifted across.
IETs at Evesham The Vale of Evesham in known for its green landscape and on Saturday 15 JUne 2024 a pair of GWR IETs added to the effect in Evesham station. The set on the left entering the platforms is 800013 working 1P23, the 11.55 Great Malvern to London Paddington which lost 10 minutes between Newland East and Henwick meaning that 802103 on the 10.53 London Paddington to Great Malvern, 1W21, had to wait for the single track from Norton Junction to be clear before it was released.
37608 at Evesham My main reason for being at Evesham on Saturday 15 June 2024 was to take a photograph of 37608 in its new green livery working 5Q94, the 07.23 Oxley Sidings to Long Marston taking Class 730 EMUs 730213 and 730226 for storage. The train should have passed here at 10.15 and given the weather at the time I wasn't going to bother but following a fester in the siding at Kings Norton OTP because of a brake problem between the locomotive and the units, it was 184 minutes late. This gave a chance for the conditions to improve and once 5Q94 had reached Stoke Works Junction I went to Evesham in the hope that they would be at Worcester early enough to pick up some time. It was unfortunate although not surprising that a GWR service 1P23 from Great Malvern was late enough to scupper the chances of that. This wasn't an entirely bad thing as clear patches of sky were developing and as 37608 appeared in the distance the sun came out. It was a bit windy but I took some video as 5Q94 passed the signalbox. I wish the driver had opened up about 5 seconds earlier...
66741 at Hatton During a walk along the towpath of the Grand Union canal just south of Hatton on 11 June 2024 I heard through the trees and bushes a class 66 ticking over. In the only relatively clear spot I saw 66741 standing at the signal at the exit of the Down Goods Loop with 4M16, the 00.10 Southampton to Ditton intermodal. This is a 'phone shot as there was no intention of taking any pictures today but this one seemed worthwhile. On 1 July 1985 I took this photograph of 50020 working the evening Paddington to Wolverhampton train from the same spot using a Praktica LTL3 camera with Ektachrome 100 asa slide film.
1Q48 at Stratford-upon-Avon The monthly(ish) test train from Derby RTC to Derby RTC via Stratford-upon-Avon generally arrives at the terminus around 20.45 and is photographable in daylight in June and July. The evening of 11 June 2024 was fairly bright so I wandered down to the station for a shot, hopefully of ex-Cross Country power car leading into platform 1 with some sunshine on it. I was peeved when the passenger train, 2S09, was routed into platform 1 instead of P2 as booked which allowed 1Q48 to run a few minutes early into P2. This stuffed my chance of a decent shot but at least the sun faded as it entered the station which made it a bit easier to approximate the exposure.
1Q48 at Stratford-upon-Avon Power car 43251 was on the other end of 1Q48 at Stratford-upon-Avon on 11 June 2024 and stood for long enough after the driver had changed ends and switched on the headlights for a few images as it stood in the sunshine alongside 168324 on the next Chiltern departure. I wish those who install platform lights would make sure that the lampposts are vertical despite a sloping platform: I have taken the correct vertical from the flats in the background although judging by their build quality this faith may be mis-placed. This isn't 43251's first visit to Stratford; here it is arriving with the same working on 2 November 2021. There was time to take a short video clip as 1Q48 left the station.
33012 at Hatton Green liveried 33012 has been moving around the country in the company of 50008 and the red 4TC coaching set over the past couple of weeks. On Monday 10 June 2024 it was due to return to Eastleigh from Tyseley Steam Trust, without the class 50, and was due to pass Hatton at 12.38 after a run-round at Duddeston Junction. The train, 5O33, ran early and was up on its timings by around 30 minutes as it joined the GWR line at Bordesley Junction. Against all the odds as it approached Hatton North Junction the sun somehow managed to find a clear patch of sky which held on as 33012 came around the curve slowing for a signal check caused by a preceding Chiltern train due to stop at Warwick Parkway. With a couple of minutes to go I decided to take a short piece of video which can be found here on my YouTube channel. The barrage of camera shutters from the 4 of us there is a bit irritating but I can't complain as mine is amongst them! Here is a picture of the 4TC stock standing at the signal at the end of Hatton's up platform.
66744 with 69010 at Hatton Newly converted and painted 69010 was taken from Eastleigh to Doncaster on Monday 10 June 2024 and was timed to pass Hatton not long after 33012 with a 4TC set had gone south. The ECS ran early and the GBRf duo of 66744 + 69010 was running behind 70002 working 4M55, the Southampton to Lawley Street Freightliner. For the second time today the sun cooperated as 0Z74 approached the station and moved away northwards towards Birmingham.
37407 at Evesham Two Transport for Wales class 197s were taken from Donnington Sidings near Wellington in Shropshire to Long Marston on Wednesday 5 June 2024. Yes, more new stock going for storage in Warwickshire to make room at other sites. The locomotives, 37407 and 37218, newly acquired by ROG, took a couple of barriers from Derby to Donnington where the train including 197027 + 197029 was made up ready for a 13.33 departure. Running under the headcode 5Q94 the train ran close to time as far as Worcester where a delay unsurprisingly caused by a late-running GWR service made it some 25 minutes late at Evesham. The better-looking of the locomotives was leading and I didn't bother with a going away shot of the fairly scruffy plain blue 37218. As class 197 was new to the North Cotswold Line I took this view of them. Thanks to Rob Pritchard for information on the reason for the units movement.
69008 at Long Marston Monday 3 June 2024 saw another class 701 EMU sent from Eastleigh for storage at Long Marston. This time it was 701058 which was taken in by 69008 and for a change 5Q88 ran on time rather than about 2 hours late as has been the case with a couple of recent runs. More time was gained after the train reached Worcester through the cancellation of a Great Malvern to London Paddington service, 1P22, and some late running by a down train. This gave me no time to get to any spot other than the roadbridge at Long Marston itself and I arrived with a few minutes to wait before the train appeared in the distance.
69008 at Long Marston The gate at Long Marston was already open as 69008 with 701058 paused under the roadbridge on 3 June 2024. As soon as the token was put into the ground frame the train entered through road no2 alongside many other similar sets. The trackbed of the GWR line from Cheltenham to Stratford-upon-Avon, Birmingham Snow Hill and Wolverhampon Low Level was was cleared in April 2021 but with the exception of a small area at the far end it has been reclaimed by wildflowers, predominantly ox-eye daisies. At the other side of the site at Long Marston I noticed some TfW class 769s parked up although when they turned up is unknown to me but I assume that they arrived by road.
37884 at Honeybourne Another 5 car class 730 EMU went to Long Marston on Saturday 25 May 2024. This time it came from Derby Litchchurch Lane although still running as 5Q94 and with 37884 collecting its final loyalty card stamp for a free flat white. My wife and I had been for a late breakfast at a café a few miles away and left it a bit late but luckily the train was equally behind time so there was time to walk from the station car park at Honeybourne to the roadbridge for this image of an increasingly overgrown part of the Long Marston branch.
37884 at Honeybourne Here is the obligatory picture of a train receding from the camera at Honeybourne as it heads towards the single line staff hut and Long Marston. This time it's 37884 with LNWR 730207 running as 5Q94 from Derby Litchurch Lane virtually brushing the bushes which will soon make a shot here next to impossible.
37884 at Honeybourne There were unusually two trains showing for Long Marston on Saturday 25 May 2024. In addition to 5Q94 as shown above there was a 5Q74 DMU going to Reading Traincare Depot. I had no idea what this would be so was interested to find out. After what seemed like ages (mostly for Mrs T sitting in the car!) but was actually about 45 minutes an unwelcome yellow nose appeared in the distance which was of course 37884 returning as 0M57 to Derby. This just about confirmed to me that 5Q74 was cancelled which was confirmed later when the systems were updated.
37884 at Long Marston Yet another class of brand-new rolling stock is ending up in Long Marston. This time it is LNWR class 730 EMUs, the first of which ran on Friday 24 March 2024 and arrived with ROG 37884 topping up its Long Marston loyalty card once again. The weather was dull but a first is a first and all that so I made the journey across to take a few shots, the first being this as 5Q94 from Oxley CS approached the site. It was running 64 minutes late after being diverted from the Stour Valley from Wolverhampton to go via Pleck Junction and Sutton Park reportedly due to a cable theft somewhere between Birmingham and Wolverhampton.
37884 at Long Marston As soon as the single line token was in the ground frame and the road set at Long Marston on 24 May 2024 37884 took 730224 to join the host of other stored and redundant stock in the yard. The shunter was ready to move it to wherever in one of the yards is to be stored until it is ready to be used.
37884 at Long Marston I took this picture on 24 May 2024 to show some of the huge number of stored new and currently unwanted trains in the yard at Long Marston. Apart from 730224 there are stacks of class 701 EMUs along with some TPEx sets. I think that the four coaches in the fourth siding are the remaining CrossCounty Mk3s but I can't identify the 3 car EMU parked few yards in front of them. It appears that this siding may be slightly raised above the level of the others which may explain why the coaches appear taller than those surrounding them.
802020 near Pershore A lot of green in this shot of 802020 as it slows for the stop at Pershore station with 1W21, the 10.53 from London Paddington to Worcester Shrub Hill. In common with many GWR stations Pershore town itself is quite a distance from the town centre, probably about a brisk 20 minute walk. Although this spot looks fairly rural it is right on the edge of one of the expanding industrial estates of Pershore.
68030 near Pershore Another set of TPE stock was due to be taken from Longsight Depot to Long Marston for storage on Monday 20 May 2024. It initially appeared to be cancelled but eventually left 33 minutes late and gradually picked up time throughout its journey. Despite a sunny forecast the morning was dull and cloudy but when it began to brighten I headed over towards Pershore and was lucky that the sun found a big clear patch of sky just after RTT showed that 68030 in a plain blue colour scheme with TPE set 10 passed Norton Junction about 1 minute early. This location will soon disappear as unchecked lineside vegetation takes over to join many other spots as little more than a green corridor.
37218 + 37407 at Defford Rail Operations Group has hired two class 37s, 37218 and 37407, and after running light engine to Landore earlier in the week returned to Derby RTC on Friday 17 May 2024 towing 3 barrier wagons and 37800. I read somewhere that 37800 had some wheelflats which may have been why 5M58 was planned to run at 45mph. The train left Landore 65 minutes late but picked up about half of that when I photographed approaching the roadbridge at Defford. The shot would have been quite tricky here had the sun been out but I wanted a location that clearly showed the whole train including the dead 37800 on the back.
43423 + 43467 south of Evesham Two of the class 777 units currently stored at Long Marston were due to be removed and taken to Kirkdale CS on 15 May 2024. As usual the power was provided by Rail Adventure and most interesting to me was the use of former EMR power cars 43423 + 43467 in a scruffy rubbed-down state prior to being put into the RA house colours. These two PCs were on the back of 5Z76 with 2 barrier wagons and other PCs on the front. The best two-way location I could think of was from the Offenham Road just south of Evesham but there were temporary traffic lights all around the bridge and as the train approached I realised that it would not possible to cross the road thanks to a queue of traffic being released at the wrong time. I opted for the better view and was fortunate that some cloud cleared a few seconds before the back of the short formation passed me.
43423 + 43467 saouth of Evesham There was another train to Long Marston on 15 May 2024 in the form of another class 68 with a redundant TP coaching set but this was stuck in Worcester Yard waiting for the class 777 move to shunt around in Long Marston yard. Two trains scheduled close together there rarely actually happen as planned and as it seemed likely that 5Q77 with the two 777 units ( 777045 + 777043) would use an earlier path which was really for a TP set leaving the site for Longsight I went out again and headed for Lower Moor in the hope that the sun would co-operate. As luck would have it a clear patch of sky came along with a few moments to spare. I imagine that Rail Adventure would prefer this image of power cars 43468 + 43480 to better represent their image taken as the sun began to fade a bit.
196101 at Stoke Pound Thursday 9 May 2024 was clear and sunny and with the prospect of a shot of a class 769 unit being traken from Long Marston to Doncaster I went to Stoke Prior for a picture or two. The first train to come along was a slightly late-running 1M59, the 09.39 Hereford to Birmingham New Street. Most of these units were initially tested on the North Warwickshire Line although this one, 196101, I first saw in the rain at Droitwich on 23 July 2020 while still having yellow boards on the corridor connection.
37884 at Stoke Pound Judging by its frequent appearances at the site 37884 must have a Long Marston loyalty card. On 9 May 2024 it ran light from Taunton (!) to Warwickshire in order to collect 769935 and take it to Doncaster for reasons unknown to me. I went to Stoke Prior because there is never any guarantee that a train from Long Marston will leave at anything near right time and if early the exit shot from the yard is shadowed and if late it means hanging around for too long with no action. I left home only when I saw that it had moved leaving plenty of time for the 25 minute trip from home. The preceding train from Hereford and Worcester was a few minutes late but it wasn't long before 5Q23 appeared in the background as it left Stoke Works Junction. The unit was quite clean after having been stored at Long Marston since 14 June 2023 at the worst possible time of day for a photograph, and may have been spruced up for the journey to Yorkshire.
69011 at Evesham Yet another brand new class 701 EMU was taken for storage from Eastleigh to Long Marston on 8 May 2024. I think this was the third attempt to run this particular 5Q90 and even then it ran about an hour late all the way to Worcester TC. Making a change from the previous trains using class 47 power was the use of clean and shiny 69011 which although not the first to visit the Warwickshire site was more than enough to tempt me out. The sun came out as I drove towards Evesham making me change my original destination and head to Evesham station where I fancied a still shot and a short piece of 'phone video from the footbridge rather the usual roadbridge overlooking the signalbox. I don't recall or really care how many class 701s are stored at Long Marston but there are loads of them all over the site some of which can be seen in the background of this shot of 15043 moving a fuel tank around the loop a couple of weeks ago. The Western locomotive D1015 was also running through Evesham around 60 minutes later but I wasn't bothered about a light engine picture so went home. It's a pity that it wasn't taking one or two other locomotives from Kidderminster SVR to the Swanage Diesel Gala to make a shot worthwhile.
66698 at Stratford-upon-Avon The second GBRf operated ballast over the North Warwickshire Line worked overnight on 9 & 10 April 2024. This time the train, 6G61, ran from Bescot to the possession which commenced at Tyseley. The part in which I was interested was in the morning when it was scheduled to leave Bearley Junction at 05.40, run to Stratford-upon-Avon for reversal and head back to Bescot via Henley-in-Arden. It ran close to right time because of two ECS trains to Stratford in the area so I didn't need to leave home until it was past Wilmcote on the down run. I wanted a shot at Henley-in-Arden and 6G61 was timed to be there at just about sunrise. Despite this I had to use ISO 4000 because it seemed likely that the train wouldn't be hanging around and this was the case with a filthy 66748, 5 autoballasters and a much cleaner 66798 on the back. AS this was the first time I seen GBRf locomotives north of Bearley Junction I took this piece of video. Henley station has recently been beautifully refurbished with a micro-brewery, community room and bar being part of it.
66698 at Stratford-upon-Avon There was some engineering work on the North Warwickshire over the night of 3 & 4 April 2024 involving a topped and tailed 6G61 ballast train from Bescot with 66798 + 66777 providing the power. As usual it ran to Stratford-upon-Avon for a reversal and as this was just the second visit of GBRf locomotives to the terminus I decided to have a quick trip to the station. The weather was foul with a strong wind and heavy rain that shows up only too well in this image of 66798 arriving in platform 1.
66777 at Stratford-upon-Avon It took a few minutes on 3 April 2024 for the driver of 6G61 to change ends during which time the rain became heavier and it was a struggle to keep water off my lens while taking a few shots with varying exposures. As 6G61 left the station I took a short hand-held video sequence with 66777 leading the autoballasters and 66798 trailing. It was just 12 months since the first time that GBRf locomotives came to Stratford when when 66766 + 66717 appeared on a test run with new weedkiller stock.
66547 at Evesham There was significant enginnering work on the North Cotswold Line between Evesham and Charlbury commencing the weekend of 23 March 2024. Two trains were scheduled to run during the late morning of Sunday 24th with the first being a 6Y45 from Westbury Yard to the start of possession at Evesham station. It ran late for the entire journey but eventually passed Evesham signalbox in a good patch of sunshine after a cloudy few minutes. The same locomotive worked a train from Long Marston on 19 July 2011 at which time the main line through Honeybourne was having double track reinstated. The working was also notable in that it was the first to run south along the NCL to Oxford after the resurgence in traffic to Long Marston, this image being taken at at Thistley Hill , just south of Honeybourne. On 24 March 2024 I didn't wait for 70814 to appear on the second train because I had no idea how long it might be and it looked as if heavy cloud was approaching. In the event it was only about 30 minutes later but I was at home by then.
Rail Adventure Power Cars at Hatton To mark the 125th anniversary of Marylebone station a recreation of The Master Cutler ran from Sheffield to the former Great Central Railway's terminus. Rail Adventure and the 125 Group worked together with power cars 43268 + 43280 powering the former MML coaches. Running as 1Z43 the train was running about 15 minutes late by Hatton which made it perilously close to clashing with a Chiltern Trains unit running on the down line. This was just approaching Hatton station as the back of 1Z43 went out of sight. There is often a lot of noise from the nearby M40 motorway and it wasn't possible to hear the HST coming but I did take a short video clip for the record.
66799 at Hatton One of the "as required" stone trains from Hindlow Quarry to Banbury Reservoir Sidings ran on Friday 15 March 2024 and this, 6G34, was running in front of the HST special to London Marylebone. The freight was looped at Dorridge to let the special make up a few minutes and it was nearly late enough to pass Hatton in sun, but it would have been a lot better about 30 seconds later. Here is a video of 66799 with its loaded boxes approaching Hatton roadbridge.
802106 near Evesham Friday 15 March 2024 was Gold Cup day at the Cheltenham Festival of horse racing and while there are nowhere near the number of special trains that there were some years ago, there were a couple which were photographable around Evesham. The first was a 5Z14 Cheltenham to Reading ECS which ran via and reversed at Worcester Shrub. The 9 car unit was 802106, looking no different to any of the service trains on the line, which I photographed just south of Evesham station.
57313 near Evesham The sole locomotive-hauled train of the whole of the Cheltenham Festival was a 1Z24 from London Paddington to Evesham. The punters were taken by coach from there to Toddington on the preserved GWR line and presumably had a steam-hauled run to Cheltenham Racecourse station. The locomotives on the main line special were 57313 leading at this point with 57601 on the back to help with the speedy reversal of the ECS at Evesham West Junction. The train was some 15 minutes late because of a late-running GWR train clogging up the single track from Wolvercote Junction. I was relying on there being no sun for this shot from the north side of the footbridge and despite the cloudy sky in the background it was a close-run thing with the cloud only cooperating with about 30 seconds to spare.
57601 near Evesham Long Marston was the original destination for the empty stock from the Gold Cup special to Evesham, 5Z25, but this was changed to Honeybourne Sidings where the coaches were to be cleaned and serviced. I imagine that the reason for this is the sheer amount of unserviceable brand-new stock stored there with the through lines being required for internal shunting movements. I walked the short distance to the next bridge south for my shot of the ECS, now running over 30 minutes late, and again wanted the sun to be in, although a decent shot from the south side of the bridge is possible in sunshine.
Rail Adventure Power Cars and 20007 at Honeybourne Three more class 777 tri-mode units were moved for storage from Walton Old Junction at Warrington to Long Marston on Thursday 16 February 2024. I was unable to get out for this but there was an arguably more interesting train the following day when 43468 + 43480 took the barrier/brake force wagons from the Warwickshire site to Wembley along with green liveried 20007 which had been there as a standby in case the GWR battery unit 230001 had any issues on its test runs. The lighting at Honeybourne at around 09.30 on a sunny morning is a bit challenging and it was a few moments before I noticed 20007 behind 43468 + 43480 along with the wagons so I put on my longest lens and took a few bracketed exposure shots as 6Z79 came to a stop at the hut in which the branch token is kept. A GWR man was already there to take the token back to Long Marston ready to release 230001 from the exchange sidings for its run later in the morning.
Rail Adventure Power Cars and 20007 at Honeybourne It's not every day you can get to see a triple-header with 2 HST power cars and a class 20 but on 16 February 2024 that's exactly what what was on the front of 6Z79 from Long Marston to Wembley. The power cars were taking a load of barrier/brake force wagons away after delivering 3 class 777 units for storage. The severe backlighting and unchecked undergrowth didn't help matters but there was no way that I was going to ignore such an unusual working. As soon as the bushes and shrubs come into leaf within a few weeks this shot will disappear unless Network Rail decide to do some clearance work but the chances of that happening are around zero. Or less.
Rail Adventure Power Cars and 20007 at Honeybourne There was an up GWR service to London Paddington due within a minute or so at Honeybourne on 16 February 2024 as 6Z79 with 43468 + 43480 + 20007 stopped at the signal protecting Honeybourne North Junction so it wouldn't be held for long; in fact, just until the IET was in the platform. It was fortunate the first two wagons were flats which a half-decent view of green 20007 making for a sight that I can't imagine has happened before. The class 20, which came from the SVR at Kidderminster as a standby in case GWR 230001 had any problems on its test runs, was detached from the consist there causing around one hour delay to the run forward to Wembley via Birmingham and Nuneaton.
Battery 230001 at Honeybourne What was probably GWR battery powered 230001's final run in the Midlands took place on Friday 16 February 2024 when it ran as 5Q23 from Long Marston to Reading Traincare Depot. Several GWR men were waiting at Honeybourne to board the train and they told me that tests over previous days had been succesful with the range achieved being gradually increased from 40 to 86 miles, more than enough for the 70 mile run to Reading. The train managed to catch a spell of sunshine as it drew to a halt on the branch with just enough of a gap in the shadows for a reasonable picture. The "Viva Venturer" nameplate has been retained to mark the unit's origin within the former Vivarail business.
Battery 230001 at Honeybourne As soon as the preceding IET to London Paddington had arrived at Moreton-in-Marsh on 16 February 2024, 230001 was released from the Long Marston branch and allowed to run forward to Honeybourne North Junction to join the up main line. It was due in platform 2 to pick a GWR contingent in addition to those already on board, including historian and TV presenter Tim Dunn, for the rest of the journey. This is my final shot which I took slightly early to show the GWR-style seat on the platform. It is pleasing that no problems were met on the journey and Reading Depot was reached 3 minutes early and it was later reported that just 45% of the batteries' capacity was used during the journey.
GWR 802005 at Moreton-in-Marsh The GWR's 230001 was once again out on test on 24 February 2024 with runs from Long Marston to Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh. I went to the latter because of the lower-quadrant semaphores which are the only ones of the type under which any of these tests have run. The battery unit was working as 5Q11 and left Evesham 6 minutes early which meant that a clash with a down IET spoiling the photograph was possible. Fortunately the 09.52 Paddington to Hereford, 1W01, was on time as it arrived and left promptly leaving the view northwards clear.
GWR 203001 at Moreton-in-Marsh The down line starter signal was still lowered on 14 February 2024 as 230001, the 10.25 Long Marston to Moreton-in-Marsh, 5Q11, arrived almost silently in the station. The northbound IET that had just left was barely out of sight around the corner as the battery-powered unit came under the Fosseway roadbridge. Appropriately enough, the GWR style and colour totem sign on the side of the building to the right of the train is advertising the Fosseway Business Park.
GWR 203001 at Moreton-in-Marsh This is the view from the station footbridge, also a public footpath to the town from a nearby park and housing estate, looking south as 230001 stopped by the GWR signalbox waiting for the road to run forward and cross over to the down line. The signal on the right is a relatively recent addition used for any down trains terminating here before returning to London Paddington.
GWR 203001 at Moreton-in-Marsh The GWR battery unit 230001, now under the headcode 5Q12, standing at Moreton-in-Marsh of 14 February 2024 had to wait until the preceding service train had reached Evesham before it was allowed to leave. I waited at the end of the platform to take this not very good quality video clip on my 'phone as it pulled away.
GWR 203001 at Moreton-in-Marsh I walked from Moreton-in-Marsh station to the nearby roadbridge in the hope that 230001 would run as scheduled and make another trip up to Moreton. It did not report after leaving Honeybourne North Junction so I was pleased when it appeared and came to a stop at the starting signal just before 800022 arrived giving the chance for a shot of the strange bedfellows side-by-side.
GWR 203001 at Moreton-in-Marsh It didn't take long for the signal to give the road for 5Q13 to pull forward over the points at Moreton-in-Marsh on 14 February 2024 prior to reversing into platform 1. The weather had deteriorated and some misty drizzle was falling as 230001 moved quietly forward.
GWR 203001 at Moreton-in-Marsh At the risk of overdoing things I took a final shot of 230001 moving across the switches as 5Q14 prior to entering platform 1 at Moreton-in-Marsh on 14 February 2024.The drizzle was quite steady by this time but predictably enough stopped as made the 5 minute walk to my car and gave to bright sunshine during the drive home. These tests are in preparation for further trials between West Ealing, where a fast charger has been installed, and Greenford with a view to entering public service. Mileages in excess of 70 have been achieved with spare battery capacity left and the unit should run to Reading mover the next few days.
GWR 230001 at Long Marston There were some more test runs from Long Marston planned for GWR's battery unit 230001 on Friday 9 February 2024. The weather was dire with dreadful light and heavy rain but I fancied a few shots at Evesham station which retains some original GWR character if the modern platform lights can be ignored. I had been told that 5Q11 should run but you can never be 100% sure although when 2 GWR personnel with company rucsacs arrived on platform 1 it seemed very likely that it wasn't a wasted journey for me. It came to stop some 12 minutes early and stood for long enough to take a picture of one of the battery sets situated under each of the driving vehicles. The unit was first rolled with purely battery power for a visit (by road) as a demonstration train to Scotland in October 2021 as shown here passing Evesham signalbox on the 13th of that month.
GWR 230001 at Long Marston A reversal at Evesham involves a run to Evesham West Junction which marks the end of the double-track section. This takes several minutes and gives plenty of time to walk off the station and onto the roadbridge at the southern end of the platforms. The rain was still falling on 9 February 2024 at 230001 still running as 5Q11 from Long Marston to Moreton-in-Marsh ran past the wildlife friendly garden on the right that is maintained by local volunteers. All of the former Vivarail class 230s have been tested along this route and here is TFW 230006 in much better weather on 21 May 2020. The first main line outing for 230001 was on the night of 28 November 2016 when running under diesel power it made the journey as 5Z26 to Leamington Spa from Tyseley and return.
GWR 230001 at Long Marston Something appeared on RTT a few days ago showing an 0Z20 operated by Rail Adventure from Kidderminster SVR to Long Marston on Monday 5 February 2024 with a unit from there going on a couple of trips between Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh. I had no idea what might be involved so went to have a look only to find that the road from the village to the roadbridge was closed. It was possible to drive to within 50 yards of the bridge where a team of civil engineers were working to establish why part of the road was in danger of collapsing down the embankment into the rail site. They were quite happy to let me stand amongst them on the bridge and within a few minutes I was surprised to see 230001 in full GWR livery come around from the shed area. This shot was my first sight of 5Q11 and here is a picture of the middle coach with some detail of the power source.
GWR 230001 at Long Marston It took a few minutes on 5 February 2024 for 230001 to move around from the previous picture and reverse into the exchange siding ready to move out onto the branch to Honeybourne. A stack of other stock was visible including classes 701 and 777 together with some of the TPE Mk5 coaches and DVTs that have recently arrived from Longsight. The crew member was unclipping the points before they were shifted to allow egress from the site once the gates had been opened.
GWR 230001 at Long Marston A bit of weak sun managed to appear as 230001 left Long Marston on 5 February 2024 with 5Q11 to Evesham and Moreton-in-Marsh. It was then time to leave as the civil engineers were preparing to drill a 12 metre hole in the roadside and said that it would soon become very noisy and probably a bit messy, so off to Honeybourne for me.
GWR 230001 at Honeybourne There were very few cars in Honeybourne station car park on 5 February 2024 because of a rail strike so I was able to park right by the entrance to platforms which was handy as 230001 was just running down from the staff hut after dropping off the branch token. With no other traffic on the line 5Q11 was able to leave without delay and was therefore running about 25 minutes early at this point.
GWR 230001 at Honeybourne The best bet on 4 February 2024 for a shot 230001 returning from Evesham to Honeybourne and on to Moreton-in-Marsh was from the footbridge at Honeybourne as there is no doubt about its location. The reversal at Evesham and run back here didn't take long and here is the battery unit passing through at quite a decent speed.
GWR 230001 at Honeybourne GWR's dark green livery looks almost black in poor light as it does here as 230001 returned from Moreton-in-Marsh on 5 February 2024. A bit of lining out in gold would give it a lift but I don't suppose anything will change at this stage.
GWR 230001 at Honeybourne After yet another reversal on 5 February 2024, this time at Honeybourne North Junction, 230001 rejoined the Long Marston branch and sat for a short while before the points were shifted and the shunnt signal lit to show that it was routed into Honeybourne Sidings. I had to leave at this point but saw afterwards from RTT that the second planned run to Moreton-in-Marsh didn't take place with the unit returning to Long Marston.
37409 at Leamington Spa An ECS operated by LSL Rail from Crewe to Southall ran on Sunday 4 February 2024. The consist of 5Z82 was interesting in that it was 37409 in a completely non-authentic but attractive ScotRail livery, green class 20s 20096 + 20107 coupled cab-to-cab and 3 coaches. There appeared to a chance of sun and the only place close to home for me with a decent shot in those circumstances was Leamington Spa station. I parked a 6 or 7 minute walk away and on checking RTT saw that the train was already only about 3 minutes away having picked up a lot of time on the run from Nuneaton. I had missed 37409 on its run in the new colours thanks to heavy traffic and thought the same would happen this time. Fortunately a CrossCountry Voyager, just visible here, was up 5Z82's tail so I arrived with time for a few shots. Only one other photographer and his young son were waiting and I took this as the Voyager pulled out with the lad trying without luck to get the driver to give a blast or two on the horn for his video.
37409 at Leamington Spa The Voyager in the previous picture soon cleared the section out of Leamington Spa on 4 February 2024 allowing 37409 to move away. Having taken plenty of stills I took a short video clip as it pulled away. The request for horn blowing was successful this time!
68027 with TPE stock at Evesham Another train of TPE stock for storage at Long Marston ran from Longsight on Thursday 1 February 2024. This time the locomotive was 68027 and with some decent light looking probable it was a worth a drive to Evesham, one of relatively few locations at this time of the eyear with a largely shadow free shot. I looked at both the station footbridge and roadbridge at the south end of the station but there still were intrusive shadows from various bits of infrastructure so went to Briar Close. Quite a few other photographers also turned up and it was unfortunate that the sun passed behind cloud a few minutes before the train, running as 5Q94, was due.
A Hereford to Paddington train at Blackminster This should have been a picture, albeit taken about one hour earlier, of Rail Adventure's 4 HST power cars topping and tailing 2 class 777 units going to Long Marston for reasons unknown to me. Something went wrong as is usually the case when more than one train is scheduled to go to the Warwickshire site on the same day but 6Z45 festered in Worcester Yard, eventually leaving about 120 late by which time I was at home. The GWR units looked faintly ridiculous with the nose cone open and it must make quite a difference to the drag coefficient at more than a moderate speed.
Rail Adventure Power Cars and 777029 between Evesham and Honeybourne More apparently less than top quality new stock went to Long Marston on Tuesday in the form of Stadler battery unit 777029 from Walton Old Hall Jn. at Warrington. The unit was moved by Rail Adventure using their HST Power Cars in top and tail mode with universal barrier wagons. I chose to photograph it from a boarded foot crossing complete with gates and stairs between Bretforton and Blackminster on the North Cotswold Line. It seemed likely that the train would leave Norton Junction early because a GWR service from London Paddington, 1W02, was running late giving 6Q45 time to get along the single track from Norton to Evesham. The barriers protecting the road crossing were lowered about 22 minutes early and 43465 + 43484 led the ensemble with 43468 + 43480 bringing up the rear. The through air pipe allowing the unit's brakes to be isolated can just be made out between it and the first barrier wagon. There was time to turn around and take this shot of 777029 as it went away to Honeybourne North Junction.
Rail Adventure Power Cars and 777029 at Long Marston Long Marston can be on my home from the Blackminster direction so I dropped in on 20 January 2024 and arrived just as 6Q45 was entering the site. The Rail Adventure Power Cars that had led the train from Warrington were detached and moved into Road No. 2 alongside the other pair. The light had completely collapsed by this time but the sun suddenly found a tiny gap in the clouds and it was almost as if a spotlight had been shone on part of the scene including the many brand-new but still unserviceable class 701 EMUs. The glaring sun really increased the contrast between the sunlit area and the dark sky and I didn't do anything to enhance the sky or background during post-processing of the RAW image. This wasn't Rail Adventure's first visit to Long Marston as 43468 + 43465 + barrier wagon arrived in the evening of 20 June 2022 for display at that year's Rail Live event.
Rail Adventure Power Cars and 777029 at Long Marston The light soon returned to its former dull state as 43468 + 43480 and a barrier coach pulled out of the exchange sidings at Long Marston on 30 January 2024 leaving 777029 in road No.1 of the exchange sidings. I left after this image was taken but these power cars and barrier would have reversed onto their twins in the other road ready to leave for Warrington the following day.
68021 at Evesham It seems that most TPE locomotive-hauled coaching sets are being taken from Longsight to Long Marston for storage. On Monday 29 January 2024 68021 took more stock to the site and I thought that a picture as it passed through Evesham station would make a decent shot showing it in a location obviously away from its usual haunt. After a bit of an off-route diversion just after leaving Longsight 5Q97 ran close to time and passed Evesham a few minutes early in increasingly gloomy light. There was a set booked to leave Long Marston going TO Longsight but this was unsurprisingly cancelled with 68021 returning northwards as a light engine.
68026 near Evesham Another set of Trans-Pennine Express stock was taken from Longsight to Long Marston on Thursday 25 January 2024. Unlike an attempt to shift a set the previous week when the locomotive failed at Stockport resulting in the train being dragged to Crewe by a class 57 where it was cancelled, 5Q94 ran close to time throughout and passed Evesham in some quite odd lighting conditions just 2 minutes late. This picture was taken from a footbridge south of there as 5Q94 with 68026 climbed through the cutting towards Honeybourne. I took a short video clip on my 'phone but the wind had picked up a bit and the noise from it became a bit intrusive.
37219 at Stratford-upon-Avon Following a weather alert on the evening of 21 January 2024 which mentioned that many trains were cancelled because of strong winds associated with storm Isha I had a quick look at the RTT page for Stratford-upon-Avon to see if there were any cancellations. There weren't but I did see that a 3Q14 was on its way from Derby RTC, a train that usually arrives here between midnight and 2am, but this time scheduled to reach the terminus at 21.50. This was a bit more reasonable so despite my wife saying that I must be off my head (so?!) went down to the station. A friend up the line had confirmed that 37219 was on the back of the Structure Gauging Train which is ideal for static shots before it reverses on the station.. The weather was absolutely foul with strong winds and driving rain; the basic bus shelter on platform 2 being almost useless to keep anything dry. As soon as the driver had reached the locomotive cab and switched on the lights I grabbed a few shots before moving along the platform to take this one in a better spot of light from one of the platform lamps as 3Q14 moved off.
68021 at Long Marston A third set of TPE stock, TP12, was moved from Longsight to Long Marston on Thurday 11 January 2024. This time it worked with a class 68 loocmotive, 68021, as was used when the stock was in normal service. It may be heretical but I was pleased to see an "unadulterated" set on this occasion rather than one being dragged by an ROG class 37; not that I was remotely unhappy to have taken this shot a couple of days earlier. I was mostly interested in getting a shot or two at Long Marston itself and it was fortunate that 5Q94 ran a bit late from Worcester as 2 sets of roadworks necessitated quite lengthy diversions around separate bits of Warwickshire. There was no chance of any sun, a good job here at around 12.45, when 68021 with the short train appeared in the distance and crawled along the last few hundred yards of the branch from Honeybourne.
68021 at Long Marston It took quite a while on 11 January 2024 for the token to be installed in the groundframe and getting the points switched to allow 68021 with 5Q94 to run onto road 2 of the exchange sidings. The light was getting worse but it was worth getting a shot of the stylish DVT as the train moved away from the roadbridge.
68021 at Long Marston There was time to switch to a long lens at Long Marston on 11 January 2024 before 5Q94 led by 68021 moved at less than walking pace into the exchange sidings. This image shows the large number of SWT class 701s currently stored here along with a few other bits and pieces of stock including another TPE set and class 68. Rather than being dumped here as was the case with the other 2 sets brought here 68021 later left light engine and was taken to Crewe, possibly for another similar trip next week. A concrete pad has been constructed in the distance on part of the trackbed once the main GWR line to Stratford-upon-Avon and appears to have some railway-related stuff, looking like wheelsets, stored there.
37884 + 68024 at Evesham Trans Pennine Express locomotive-hauled stock withdrawn from service is gradually being moved from Longsight to Long Marston. Unusually, a locomotive is included in the train consist and when the second set was moved on a sunny 9 January 2024 it ran in a very convenient lunchtime path rather than in the dark as happened with the first, so was one of those "must have" images. As 5Q94 was reported to be double-headed with 37884 + 68024 (dit) I wanted a recognisable location with a bit of height to better show the unusual formation. After checking out a couple of locations that proved to be too shadowed I settled on the bridge just before the station at Evesham despite having been there only the previous week for another move to Long Marston. An arguably more interesting working involving a class 68 visit to Long Marston took place on 3 August 2020 when 68026 took a rake of box wagons to Stowmarket for noise level tests.
47749 at Evesham The flow of SWT class 701 EMUs into Long Marston continued into 2024 with 2 more sets, 701524 + 701518, having left Eastleigh on 4 January. Something was found to be wrong with the paperwork meaning that 47749 with 5Q86 festered in Eckington Loop for a couple of hours before being allowed to continue to Worcester TC while things were resolved. It seemed likely that the final leg of the journey would take place on Friday 5 January and sure enough a schedule appeared early in the morning which was replaced with a later path showing 5Q86 to pass Evesham at 11.19. The weather wasn't too bad so I went to Briar Close between the signalbox and station for my first shot of the year. The train ran to time and 47749 soon appeared in the distance with a bit of brightness breaking through the clouds.
67021 at Wilmcote It's been a while since I saw the VSOE or Belmond British Pullman as it is now known anywhere near Stratford-upon-Avon so was keen for a shot or two when it was scheduled to visit on Saturday 28 October 2023. The trip came from London Victoria with Pullman liveried 67021 being the motive power and without another locomotive tailing the coaches to avoid run-rounds. Wilmcote was my chosen location and with sun looking likely thought that the footbridge would make an attractive backdrop. Two other photographers were already in place right at the end of the platform but with a shadow from the station buildings being cast in exactly the wrong place it was necessary for me use an 85mm lens to put the locomotive in a clear patch of track. There must have been some problems for down trains at Fenny Compton as all trains were delayed by at least 20 minutes with 1Z26 being delayed another 5 minutes at Hatton West Junction while a preceding Chiltern Railways Train service cleared the single line to Bearley Junction. The sun nearly held on for this shot but it would have been better 30 seconds earlier. I prefer my shot from May 1987!
67021 at Henley in Arden An unusual feature of the VSOE's visit to Stratford-upon-Avon on 28 October 2023 was that the stock went to Tyseley LMD for servicing and was routed in both directions along the North Warwickshire Line via Henley in Arden. There have been a few class 67s over the line, mostly in the hands of Colas Rail's 67023 + 67027 on test trains but any diesel locomotive is rare enough to make a trip worth the effort. I left Wilmcote and drove to Henley where the cloud all too necessary here for a lunchtime shot was building up nicely when I saw from the Railcams map that the ECS had turned right at Bearley Junction and gone to Tyseley via Hatton and Dorridge. This meant another trip out later in the day for 5Z82. It was dark and beginning to rain when 67021 went through the station at full line speed and I had had to use ISO 2500 to get a decent shutter speed and aperture. The return to London Victoria was also coming this way but it was getting duller and wetter so I went home. The local adopters of the station under the Shakespeare Line Rail Users Group (SLRUG) have made a great of tidying up and refurbishing the platforms and infrastructure including the running-in boards. The station building itself is currently undergoing extensive restoration work and will soon provide facilities for both passengers and residents of the town.
37254 at Stratford-upon-Avon The usual test train from Derby RTC and back via Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa, 1Q48, ran on Tuesday 3 October 2023. I haven't bothered with it for a while as I've been waiting for either 37607 or 43277 to be allocated but with a warm and dry evening had a trip to the GWR station. the train ran early because the WMR service usually running in front of it was cancelled and I arrived with about one minute to spare but knew the exposure settings from previous outings so had set up my camera at home. With 37254 leading and 37175 out of sight on the back, 1Q48 slowed to stop in platform 1. I don't know what the green thing looking like a plasma ball is but assume it's something to do with the lights both under the coach and those on the coach roof for the OHL inspection cameras.
37175 at Stratford-upon-Avon As mentioned above 1Q48 from Derby RTC on 3 October 2023 ran early and as soon as it was in the platform at Stratford-upon-Avon the departure signal was changed to green and within a couple of minutes the driver was in the cab of 37175 ready for the return to RTC. The turnaround was so rapid that I didn't have time to set up my 'phone for some video which was a shame as the exit from the station was quite spirited.
The final public run of an HST at Hatton The final public run of a CrossCountry HST took place on 26 September 2023 with a 1Z43 charter from Leeds to the preserved line at station at Swanage. I have taken very few shots of the last few weeks of the trains' services but felt almost obliged to have a shot of this working. It was clearly not going to be a sunny morning and I drove through torrential rain on the trip from Stratford-upon-Avon but this had eased quite a lot as I walked onto the roadbridge. The HST set was led by power car 43008 repainted into Intercity swallow livery which on a such a dark morning was probably a good thing. Some late running was the order of the day and 1Z43 was 7 minutes late as it crawled towards Hatton station with a Chiltern local from Stratford-upon-Avon to Leamington Spa having been given the road first. There were a couple of cars on the road so I didn't cross for a picture of 43007 on the back of the set. These sets used to work on this with diverted trains as seen in this shot from 1994 with a Bournemouth-bound service perfectly aligned with a class 166 leaving the branch. In 2006 and 2007 Virgin Trains hired a Midland Mainline set as seen here at Hatton station for a 1V36 service to Reading to cater for extra passengers going to the Festival there.
66623 at Hatton There were a few freights through Hatton on the afternoon of 19 September 2023 including a rare appearance from the Theale to Earles Sidings empty cement tanks, 6M91. This was in the Down Goods Loop at Hatton when I arrived and on checking the Railcams map watched as the exit signal was changed to green. This allowed a couple of minutes to walk to the footbridge to take this shot of 66623 in its latest colour scheme. The locomotive is no stranger to different liveries; in July 2012 it was put into a blue scheme marking Freighliner's association with the Bardon Group. It's a pity that no-one could be bothered to paint the roof...
66727 at Hatton Another non-standard livery locomotive was on the next northbound freight through Hatton on 19 September 2023 in he form of GBRf's 66727. The train was 4H33, the 14.45 Banbury Reservoir Sidings to Hindlow empty stone boxes, the stone stockpiled at Banbury being used to build the immensely important and cost-effective Acton to Birmingham HS2. A rapid switch to the other side of the footbridge was needed as the sun popped out as the train rounded the curve in the background.
66790 + 69010 at Hatton I didn't bother with the third train heading north at Hatton on 29 September 2023 as the light died on a grubby 66/7 on a virtually empty 4M59 intermodal. A southbound infrastructure train was next in the form of 6O01 from Scunthorpe to Eastleigh with 66790 leading 69010 in green undercoat on the way for its final colour scheme to be applied. On this occasion the train was a decent length unlike the previous time I saw it with a class 69 in tow. Network Rail has done a sterling job in keeping the vegetation under control here, I'm used to intrusive bushes and trees on the side of lines but see undergrowth in between the running lines less often. On 27 December 2001 it was still possible to see the Grand Union canal.
56096 at Ashchurch The chance came along for a sunny shot of the Chirk Kronospan to Baglan Bay empty log carriers on Wednesday 13 September 2023. This time it was running as a VAR with its usual 6V54 headcode again with 56096 in charge. The train ran a bit late around Birmingham but fortunately picked up enough time to avoid any chance of being put into Ashchurch DGL which would have mightily cheesed-off the 7 or 8 photographers on the footbridge at Northway, just north of Ashchurch station. The locomotive had just been opened up after a 30mph TSR for freights over the road crossing in the background.
165132 at Ashchurch After 56096 with 6V54 had passed Ashchurch on 13 September 2023 I decided to hang on for the Round Oak to Margam empty steel train. Running in front of the freight and also from the Worcester line was 165132 with 2T42, the 09.52 Worcester Foregate Street to Bristol Temple Meads, slowing to pick up 3 or 4 passengers at Ashchurch for Tewkesbury station.
66197 at Ashchurch Some cloud had begun to build up by the time 6V05 from Round Oak to Margam had appeared on the maps as it waited for the road at Norton Junction. An especially annoying shadow was crawling south along the line as 66197 came into the section and if there had not been a 30mph TSR for freights it would have been well clear. At least it was the right way round...
56096 at Defford An unusual working for the Birmingham to Gloucester line appeared in the timetable over the weekend on 10 September 2023 in the form of 56095 on the Chirk Kronospan to Baglan Bay empty log carriers being diverted from its usual route making a drive to Defford for a shot even on a very dull morning worthwhile. The train, 6Z54, ran close to time as far as Stoke Works Junction where a track machine waiting to leave the single line from Droitwich caused a Birmingham to Hereford service and the following CrossCountry train a few minutes delay. This was mostly made up on the run down to Defford where a tiny touch of brightness appeared just as 6Z54 with the dirty 56096 came under the roadbridge in the background. The locomotive wasn't much cleaner than when I photographed it at Evesham in the early morning of 24 November 2022 while working the daily RHTT.
66061 at Defford As 56096 with empty log carriers was heading past Norton Junction near Worcester on 11 September 2023 66061 was waiting for the road for 6V05, the 09.15 Round Oak to Margam (only to Llanwern on this occasion). The empty steel train was only a couple of sections behind 6Z54 and came down from Abbotswood behind what looked like a newly repainted 66061. I'm not a great fan of the day-glo colour scheme but it does have its uses on a really dull day as this image shows. The currently in-vogue stock, a CrossCountry HST, was also running south on 1V50 from Edinburgh but with no prospect of any sun and a hour or so to wait I headed for home.
196005 at Stoke Prior Another trip to Stoke Prior for me on the morning of 9 September 2023 to take a sunny shot of 43047 and 43046 taking the Midland Pullman from Paignton to Fort William on the first day of a three day trip. Just after I had parked, the 08.50 Birmingham New Street to Hereford appeared which I shot as it went away to wards Stoke Works Junction wih 196005 trailing 196007.
170114 at Stoke Prior I rarely see class 170 units so tend to take a shot or two when I happen to be somewhere on one of their routes if the light is favourable. This example is 170114 working the 07.45 Cardiff Central to Nottingham train formed of 170114 at Stoke Prior and about pass Bromsgrove before climbing the 1/37 of the Lickey Incline.
196011 at Stoke Prior About 30 minutes after taking the picture of 196005 shown above another pair of 2 car class 196 units, 196011 + 196006 came off the single line from Droitwich with 1M58, the 08.40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street West Midlands Trains service. This was a good choice of location on an increasingly hot morning as the roadside trees gave some very welcome shade both to the photographers, not that there were many of us there, and their cars. Thanks to Steve Widdowson for the id of the units I missed noting.
196011 at Stoke Prior The Midland Pullman owned and operated by LSL is always worth a photograph on a sunny morning. I knew that the closest location to home and with favourable light would be Stoke Prior to the south of Bromsgrove. This run was a 15 hour marathon from Paignton to Fort William a journey which despite the beatiful accomodation and food is something, as one who dislikes rail travel, I would never countenace undertaking. The train, 1Z43, was running on time and came into view just as a class 170 on its way to Cardiff came south under the roadbridge. This potential blocking scenario was a possibility but with things running well to time was not a problem.
37116 + 37610 at Evesham The regular 1Z22 from Derby to Bristol ran on Wednesday 6 September 2023 with 37116 topping 4 coaches and 37610. It had been to Stratford-upon-Avon during the previous evening but having taken pictures of the same locomotives there on other occasions I didn't bother. After a misty start Wednesday cleared to bright sunshine so I went to Evesham station for a shot from the footbridge. The train ran a couple of minutes early and a bit disappointingly coasted through the station with the engines being opened up only when out of sight. This didn't help the video clip I took on my 'phone as the train passed. I can't say that I'm a fan of the utilitarian galvanised platform light standards and other stuff; even the bland GWR green would be an improvement.
196008_012 at Stoke Prior With the prospect of a sunny day on 5 September 2023 and some decent trains on the Birmingham to Gloucester line I took a trip to Stoke Prior to the south of Bromsgrove. First to come south and before the shadows had cleared was 1V24,the 09.50 Brimingham New Street to Hereford with 2 car class 196s 196008 + 196012 and for which the shot needed a long lens to clear the worst of the shadows. Despite having photographed many of these trains on test and training runs including this one of 196012 at Stratford-on-Avon Parkway these was the first I had seen on a revenue earning service. The view towards Stoke Works Junction is much clearer with regular clearance of lineside growth being carried out.
170113 at Stoke Prior Just a few minutes after the class 196s had gone south on 5 September 2023 CrossCountry 170201 ran north the the 08.45 Cardiff to Nottingham, 1M01. The colour scheme of these trains seems to suit them well being distinctive but not garish unlike many others around at the moment.
799201 at Stoke Prior The Porterbrook sponsored Hydroflex unit 799201 was taken out for a long main line run on Monday 5 September 2023 with a trip from Long Marston to Kings Norton OTP Depot and then to Gloucester before returning home. Working as 5Q90 this is the hydrogen cell powered unit just after joining the main line at Stoke Works Junction and then facing the 1/37 climb to the summit of the Lickey Incline at Blackwell.
43008_007 at Stoke Prior With the approaching withdrawal of the CrossCountry HST sets the company reliveried a couple of their power cars into older-style colours. This has caused a lot of interest amongst photographers but I am not especially keen on the sight of mismatched liveries on what was intended to be a co-ordinated appearance, hence my not having dashed about taking lots of pictures in recent days. As it happened 43008 + 43007 were rostered to work 1V50, the 06.06 Edinburgh to Plymouth on 5 September 2023 and so a shot presented itself as it ran slowly around the curve at Stoke Prior on the approach to a red signal at Stoke Works Junction. As it was going so slowly there was plenty of time to cross the road for a picture of 43007 in a copy of the original blue and yellow colour scheme. I don't know why 1V50 was delayed but a mapping app showed delays to northbound trains too.
196002 + 196001 at Stoke Prior This is my second shot of class 196 on a service train with 196002 + 196001 working the 10.40 Hereford to Birmingham New Street, 1M61 on 5 September 2023 and approaching the roadbridge at Stoke Prior 8 minutes late at 11.47. It can't be said that these are the best looking units on the network but I do like the colour scheme especially when compared the duller livery carried by class 172.
799201 at Stoke Prior This is the photograph that was my main reason for going to Stoke Prior on 5 September 2023 taken as 799201 now running at 5Q91 approached the approach controlled signal protecting Stoke Works Junction. For some reason the train sat at the signal for at least 20 minutes by which time I had gone home but not before taking the very unusual movement shown below. The Hydroflex made it to Gloucester albeit after the late running but it was failed and was rescued and returned to Long Marston bu 37884 which ROG had thoughtfully sent to Worcester Shrub as insurance. I had planned to go out again in the afternoon but have a lot of shots of 37884 dragging units around Worcestershire so stayed at home under the shade of a tree in our back garden!
220015 at Stoke Prior I was just packing up at Stoke Prior on 5 September 2023 when another photographer who was looking at his mappping apps said that something unusual was about to happen. A CrossCountry Voyager was entering Stoke Works loop so that it could pass 799201 standing at the signal on the main line. The shot of a train in the loop isn't great thanks to the lineside undergrowth but something as unusual as this just had to be photographed. The train was the 10.03 Manchester Piccadilly to Bristol Temple Meads operated with 220015.
66791 at Ashchurch It's been a while since anything ran along the branch from Ashchurch Exchange Sidings to the MOD depot. Tthe last train was on 22 Dec 2021 with 66792 taking in a long set of containers. This train altogether eluded me and I'm grateful to Paul Stewart on the BLS for updating me. My long wait ended on Saturday 12 August 2023 when 66791 ran as 4Z36 from Kineton MOD taking a long set of empty container flats in to be loaded. The train ran via Didcot, Swindon and Gloucester rather than the more obvious route through the West Midlands and encountered a delay south of Gloucester when a trespass incident caused all lines to be closed for around 30 minutes. Here is 4Z36 passing Ashchurch station just after the sun went behind some rapidly thickening cloud.
66791 at Ashchurch There are two ungated public footpath crossings on the sharply curved Ashchurch branch and because the train must be propelled to the depot it is necessary for a man (or 2 on this occasion) to walk in front of it to ensure the safety of any pedestrians. The branch had recently had some vegetation cut back and this was the clue that it would be worth keeping an eye on things in case something was scheduled.
66791 at Ashchurch It took quite a while for 66791 to propel 4Z36 from the sidings at Ashchurch along the branch to the MOD depot on 12 August 2023. The light had become a lot worse during this time and it was really dull when the locomotive was in the right spot for a photograph. I should have quite liked a picture from the station footbridge as seen in this one of 60079 in November 2007 but as expected the undergrowth has increased to the point where there is no clue at all as to the location. The vegetation growth in the view from roadbridge hasn't been quite so rampant as this picture of 66161 with a failed 60085 from June 2008 shows, along with the full story of the events of the morning. The loaded train was Ashchurch was to run on the following afternoon but a lunchtime commitment prevented me from a having a pop at that.
170108 at Lea Marston Following a couple of days when the weather forecasts changed almost hourly Wednesday 9 August 2023 finally looked to be clear and sunny for several hours in the morning. A run of The Statesman train from Reading to Scarborough cried out to be photographed and about the nearest location I think of when the sun would be right was Lea Marston, just north of Water Orton. I don't see many class 170 units and even fewer in the sun so took this shot of 170108 working 1M00, the 07.45 Gloucester to Derby service which passed the roadbridge excatly on time.
43271 + 43251 at Lea Marston The monthly North Cotswold Test train, 1Z22, was due at Lea Marston just after 09.00 on 9 August 2023 but quite often runs about 60 minute late so that a prolonged fester in Stoke Works Loop is cut out. On this occasion the Railcams maps showed it to close to right time when I arrived at Lea Marston and the colourful ensemble with 43271 leading 43251 made a decent contrast to the largely green background. It hardly seems credible that I haven't been here since 2014 for at one time my visits were quite regular given the number and variety of freight movements that used to run on the line. Since that visit someone had placed a signal just in front of the roadbridge which means that a slightly longer lens is needed for a clear shot looking north.
47593 + 47712 at Lea Marston The main reason for being at Lea Marston on 9 August 2023 was to take an image of 1Z60, the 06.30 Reading to Scarborough, with 47593 + 47712 hauling The Statesman. I couldn't think of many places better than this for the shot and was really surprised to be alone on the bridge. It was in 2014 when last I came here for this photograph of 50007 on an unusual job and there were certainly a lot more folk around for that! The pairing of 47593 + 47712 on a sunny morning was the attraction and with clear blue skies there was no need to be gazing around for odd bits of cloud lurking. I took a slightly dodgy video clip on my 'phone just for the record.
153376 at Hatton Another day and another colourful DMU at Hatton. This time it was 153376 in Network Rail blue working a 2Z19 12.35 from Derby RTC to Reading West from where it went, oddly on a different schedule, to Barnham. Not having a picture of the unit in the blue colour scheme I went to the roadbridge at Hatton for a shot and arrived as 2Z19 was passing Dorridge. The sun was in and out but just arrived in time for a well-lit picture showing off the livery to good advantage.
142003 at Hatton On Tuesday 18 July 2023 there was what for me at least was the first class 142 Pacer to travel over the GWR Leamington Spa to Birmingham line. Locomotive Services Limited's 142003, with Sellafield on the destination blind, worked under its own power from Eastleigh to Crewe in the newly acquired Greater Manchester PTE colour scheme, not something to be missed for anyone with a interest beyond elderly locomotives. In fact, there were a surprising number of folk at Hatton, the ideal place being a thoroughly recognisable location for such a rare move, to see 5Z42 pass even though the weather was very dull with some drizzle falling. There had been a few false stories, presumably from armchair experts, flying around that Pacers were not allowed over the electrified lines between Eastleigh and Basingstoke nor through parts of the West Midlands but there were plenty of photographers up and down the line to disprove these theories. I have very few pictures of class 142 and the only shots I have been able to find both were taken at Manchester, one of them being just the cab of 142001 on Victoria station and the other 142047 passing through the remains of the Exchange station.
66129 at Hatton There are two freights up Hatton Bank within a few minutes of each other on weekday lunchtimes. The first is 4M19, the 09.47 Southampton to Birch Coppice, which on 5 July 2023 was hauled by by 66129 which is seen here on the down main line towards the summit of the 1/75 of Hatton Bank. It was a heavy train, fully loaded except for a couple of flats at the back and the gradient had slowed the train to about 20mph with the class 66 making about as much noise as they can - not a lot...
70809 at Hatton Running a few minutes behind 4M71 on 5 July 2023 was the daily Westbury to Bescot departmental train on this occasion using the headcode 6X50 instead of the usual 6M50. The consist was 5 autoballasters and a railvac, the latter of which required the "X" designation. The train is routed along Hatton Down Goods Loop and it is handy to have a cloudy day as bright sun would make life a bit dificult for the photographer. Less handy was a CrossCountry Voyager heading down Hatton Bank at about the same but it was travelling probably 3 or 4 times faster than 70809 in the speed-restricted loop and cleared in plenty of time.
70809 at Hatton The railvac was on the back of 6X50 with 70809 as it climbed Hatton Bank in the goods loop. The pictures in both directions from this roadbridge are becoming more and overgrown and are really scenes resembling little more than green tunnel but this is the only location giving the view of a train in the loop from a publicly available spot.
66419 at Hatton There were two choices of trains to photograph on Monday 27 June 2023. The first was 56051 after it left Long Marston with the short set of ballast cleaners taken there by 56058 on 13 June or 66419 with an STP run of 4E18, recoded as 6X18, from Fairwater Yard to Doncaster. The latter was taking a number of vehicles from the Track Replacement Train, an impressive set of kit, so there was no difficulty in choosing to go to Hatton. It stuck to its timings north of Didcot and crawled around the curve towards Hatton station even though the signal at the end of the platform was green. I took this shot mostly to see if there was any potential for a similar shot much later in the day over the summer.
66419 at Hatton The very slow approach of 6X18 to Hatton station on 26 June 2023 continued until it reached the footbridge when the driver opened up 66419 and it began to accelerate towards Hatton North Junction. As the load rather than the locomotive was the main point of interest I took this shot of some of the wagons followed by another towards the back of the consist.
799201 at Long Marston Rail shuttles operated by ROG between Honeybourne and Long Marston were run for Rail Live 2023. Following on from last week's runs on the branch using 769935 I was expecting that to be in use so was surprised when the unit turned out to be the Porterbrook Hydroflex Mk2 799201 coverted from 319382. Here is the first passenger-carrying working on 21 June 2023, 2Z20, approaching Long Marston on the final stretch of the branch from Honeybourne. I took this telephoto shot mostly because the sun was in and out of heavy cloud and the track nearer to the roadbridge was in shadow.
799201 at Long Marston It's not very often that I use multiple shots of the same train but the sun cleared the clouds very nicely as 799201 came closer to the roadbridge at Long Marston on 21 June 2023 with 2Z20 from Honeybourne. The longest day of the year is a good choice for Rail Live 2023 as this time is just about the only chance to take a fully conventionally lit image here.
NR helicopter at Long Marston All the time that I was at Long Marston on 21 June 2023 two helicopters were circling and intermittently hovering in the area. Judging by the livery and underslung cameras I took them to be police aircraft but on checking the full-size RAW image saw that they were Network Rail owned and were taking publicity film and photographs. I'm glad they have the resources to spend the very large sums on this judging on the dreadful state of parts of the network and hope that film of the awful traffic congestion was also taken. On my way home the road through Long Marston was at a standstill to the outskirts of Welford-on-Avon, some 3 miles. I hate to think what the Chipping Campden road was like...
799201 at Honeybourne After leaving Long Marston on 21 June 2023 I went to Honeybourne to see if a shot of 799201 using the temporary platform was possible. It wasn't long before the hydrogen-powered unit arrived in some, um, challenging light onditions. I took a shot for the record and hoped that the back of the train would become the front as it picked up passengers from up and down GWR trains. It didn't because the power equipment was in that coach and this shot in the platform is all that was available with most of the unit being under the roadbridge.
50007 near Evesham One of just two stock movements to Long Marston for the 2023 Rail Live took place on Monday 19 June when 50007 took Transport for Wales 756003 from Cardiff Canton for it to go on display at the event. I had intended to photograph 5Z50 twice, once before it reached Worcester Traffic Centre, and then again afterwards but I spent nearly 30 minutes watching an otter on my local canal and so left things a bit late for the first picture. It was easy enough to reach my location between Evesham and Honeybourne with time to spare and the train stuck to the booked schedule and passed this foot crossing just about on time.
50007 near Evesham When I first heard about this stock move the notion of a class 756 was new to me and having seen this one shan't be rushing to Wales for any images when (or if judging by many recent introductions!) they're in service. These new Stadler units are Tri-mode multiple units with diesel, electric, and battery capabilities and are therefore said to be more environmentally sound than their predecessors. The yellow signal in the distance shows that 5Z50 will be checked before Honeybourne North Junction and switched onto the Long Marston branch.
172004 at Bentley Heath A short visit to Bentley Heath on Thursday 15 June 2023 for a colourful 6O01 from Scunthorpe to Eastleigh. Before the freight there were a couple of diesel units including a pair of 172/0s led by 172004 working 2V76, the 15.03 Dorridge to Worcester Foregate Street just after leaving the station. It's not the most scenic shot but at this time of day the sun is directly side on to trains so the illumination is good enough for most people.
66743 + 69007 at Bentley Heath The main reason for my trip to Bentley Heath on 15 June 2023 was for a shot of 66743 + 69007 at the head of an unfortunately very short 6O01, the 1018 Scunthorpe to Eastleigh infrastructure train. I had planned for a picture using a medium telephoto lens to compress the perspective a bit but the first bit of shadow for days managed to cast a shadow in just the wrong place. This forced a rapid lens change which was possibly only because 6O01 was crawling towards an adverse signal prior to being turned into the goods loop for an extended layover of some 45 minutes. In retrospect the 35mm wide angle view worked out quite well contrary to what I initially thought. It seems likely that 69007 was having a tow to Eastleigh in order to be used on the weedkilling train based there and to avoid an expensive light engine move.
66743 + 69007 at Bentley Heath It's not often that a going-away shot takes my fancy but this one of 66734 leading 69007 and a single wagon towards Dorridge Up Loop on 15 June 2023 seemed well worth a frame. Whatever one might think of the class 56 converions programme it's undeniable that GBRf likes to cater for the enthusiast with its choice of liveries for the class 69s with 69007 in the shade of BR used when the original locomotive, 56037, was built.
1Q18 at Honeybourne Following several nights of engineering work in the Stratford-upon-Avon area the usual monthly test train was disrupted. The late evening 1Q48 ran on Tuesday 13 June 2023 with 37612 + 37254 but I couldn't where to go on a sunny evening so didn't go. On the folloiwng day a 1Q18 (rather than the usual 1Z22) ran from Derby RTC to Brisol and Weymouth and on a another sunny day I went to Honeybourne the test train with 37254 leading went through the station. It ws running a few minutes late and it was fortunate that a down GWR was also a but late which otherwise might have been a problem.
769935 at Long Marston While at Honeybourne for a test train on 14 June 2023 work was progressing to build a temporary platform to cater for shuttles to and from Long Marston when Rail Live 2023 is open. At the same time a GWR class 769, 769935, was being tested on the branch and as my way home from Honeybourne can be via Long Marston I stopped off to find the unit just beyond the roadbridge. The light was as bad as could be but I took the record shot shown here. Rail Operations Group was operating 769935 and in case of a failure had sent 37884 to act as a standby and had parked it along the 15 or 16 class 701s sent here to be stored.
56078 at Long Marston A rare early(ish) morning train to Long Marston ran on Tuesday 13 June 2023 when 56078 took 6C41 05.54 from Bescot to the Porterbrook site. It consisted of 2 large empty ballast hoppers with associated plant which I assume will be on display at Rail Live on 21 and 22 June 2023. The train ran early for part of its journey but was put back on time after a fester in Cofton Loop. The locomotive was due to leave Long Marston later in the day and is probably considered too ancient to be on display at a modern railway event!
40145 at Clayon, Gloucestershire To mark 50 years of Pathfinders (formerly F & W) Railtours a specially anniversary train was run from Burton on Trent to Weymouth. Somethin a bit special was clearly required to haul it and LSL's 40145 was the chosen locomotive. I chose to go to Claydon in Gloucestershire with the idea that there probably wouldn't be many other photographers there and sure enough there was just the one. The train, 1Z40, with 47815 on the back to help shunt at Weymouth and probably give a shove up Sapperton Bank, ran on time and passed at a very good rate of knots making a fair old noise. I took a short video clip which suffers a bit from wind noise not to mention my camera in rapid-fire mode...