As the title of the thread suggests really. I'm based down south so never see rail freight that's hauled by anything other than a 59, 66, or 70, if I wanted to go further afield to see some electric rail freight, how far would I have to go?
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Where to see electric rail freight haulage?
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RailUK Forums
https://freightmaster.net/ might be helpful
London, trains between West Coast main line and Tilbury/Ipswich spring to mind, although many are diesel hauled. I last saw a pair of 86s going through Wilmslow early hours from Trafford Park but that will have been something like 2014!
London, trains between West Coast main line and Tilbury/Ipswich spring to mind, although many are diesel hauled. I last saw a pair of 86s going through Wilmslow early hours from Trafford Park but that will have been something like 2014!
There are only a limited number of FL services operated by pairs of 90s these days, but you'll see them in London on the NLL. For a 88, one of the Daventry services is your best bet. Rugby is a decent spot for both, which shouldn't be too far.
birchesgreen
Established Member
Stafford would be a good place to see electric freight. Cross Country services from the south west stop at Stafford so that would be the way to go from Bath i guess.
ac6000cw
Established Member
...or maybe Nuneaton (which has the bonus of other freight on the Birmingham - Leicester line which crosses the WCML there)?
Ah forgot to update, I moved recently and am now near Oxford, so Rugby's pretty easy to get to. I did visit a couple weeks ago and didn't see much, will have to give it another try!
Ah, that's a bit easier then, but the suggestions of Nuneaton and Stafford are also good ones.
The WCML south is a very busy passenger railway with not a huge amount of room left for daytime freights, so most activity is in the evening and overnight. However, it's reasonably steady during the day outside of the morning and afternoon passenger peaks.
Using one of the live train sites (everyone seems to use real time trains, but I much prefer live rail record because of the readability on a phone) will help you time your visits best, but remember not every timetabled freight will run every day.
And just to throw in a curve ball, you don't necessarily have to be under wires to see electric locos on freights! OK, so an 88 is a bi-mode, and it's got the full grunt of a 68 behind to shove it along, but this was snapped at Tamworth HL while I was waiting for my XC service to Edinburgh on Friday!
zwk500
Veteran Member
I expect the vast majority of what electric haulage there is will be on the WCML as that's where the majority of electrified terminals are.
Some electric freight will run from Ipswich via London but those paths will have originated from Felixstowe so involves a loco change.
I don't think the GWML has any electrified terminals, a lot of ECML freight uses the route via Lincoln to avoid getting run down between Grantham and Retford so needs diesel, and much of the freight from East Anglia uses the route via March.
The only other likely electric flow would be anything from the Channel Tunnel which would be 92-hauled. Either via HS1 itself or from Dollands Moor via the West London Line (but a lot of those flows are 66-hauled anyway).
@Freightmaster might be able to link to a more detailed thread.
Some electric freight will run from Ipswich via London but those paths will have originated from Felixstowe so involves a loco change.
I don't think the GWML has any electrified terminals, a lot of ECML freight uses the route via Lincoln to avoid getting run down between Grantham and Retford so needs diesel, and much of the freight from East Anglia uses the route via March.
The only other likely electric flow would be anything from the Channel Tunnel which would be 92-hauled. Either via HS1 itself or from Dollands Moor via the West London Line (but a lot of those flows are 66-hauled anyway).
@Freightmaster might be able to link to a more detailed thread.
For example, 4L42 Trafford Park to London Gateway yesterday (https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:H05654/2026-04-23/detailed) was 2x90 + 66, I saw it three times, once when it went through the platform at Wilmslow where I was waiting for the following train, once when we passed it after Sandbach and once when it went under the bridge I was walking over at Crewe.
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Bevan Price
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And remember that there is less freight at weekends than on Monday to Friday when visiting any of the suggested locations.
Sun Chariot
Established Member
Seeing your opening post, about the diet of 59 / 66 / 70, was sobering; it made me think back to the rich variety of freight and Civil Engineer traffic I used to see at Oxford 1991-1993.
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