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A rail fans from China
- Thread starter HXD1D
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RailUK Forums
ANDREW_D_WEBB
Member
Pretty much anywhere that has freight trains as they are the workhorse of the Rail freight industry. Where abouts in the UK are you visiting?
I heard a place called Lickey incline. Is there available?
Mcr Warrior
Veteran Member
- Joined
- 8 Jan 2009
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- 17,321
@HXD1D. Welcome to the forum. That's in the West Midlands area, near Birmingham, on a section of railway line heading from Gloucester located midway between Bromsgrove and Barnt Green stations. Steep 1 in 37 gradient! A quick look at the Realtimetrains website suggests a lot of freight trains are pathed to run through the area most days, but not so many actually seem to run. Anyone able to drill down into the various data sources to see what are the chances of spotting a Class 66 hauled train at this location?
ANDREW_D_WEBB
Member
Lickey Incline is the steepest mainline railway gradient in the UK, bit not necessarily the busiest for freight. Most freight runs Monday -Friday with significantly less on weekends. A search on Real Time Trains for Bromsgrove (the station at the bottom of the Lickey Incline shows several freight trains timetabled to run tomorrow, but this does not mean they will actually operate. There are other places around the country where you will see significantly more freight. Where in the UK are you based?
Farringdon says hello. But I suppose it depends how we are defining it.
Snow1964
Established Member
Going to China in about months time, it is organised group tour. It includes 2 train journeys Beijing to Xi'an and Xi'an to Chengdu on the high speed network.
The first one is described in our itinerary as about 5 hours, appears to be about 750 miles by train route. Looking forward to it.
I guess trains are fairly new, what facilities would they have on those routes. Is there anything I should expect that you can advise.
Bevan Price
Established Member
- Joined
- 22 Apr 2010
- Messages
- 8,353
There are no stations on the Lickey incline - the nearest stations are Bromsgrove or Barnt Green (a few miles from Birmingham).
Other stations where you might see Class 66s include Doncaster, Nuneaton, Stafford, Ipswich, Reading, and several stations in the London outer suburbs. As suggested above, visit the real time trains (RTT) website for a guide to freight (& passenger) services at stations of interest, and note that some freight services only operate occasionally - as required by freight customers.
For example, this is the RTT page for Stafford; change the date and station name as you need.
Remember, safety is important for railway operators, so stand well clear from platform edges, and avoid using a photo tripod on busy areas of station platforms. You will need a ticket (travel or platform) to enter many stations. Do not use camera flashguns/ lights at any station.
Other stations where you might see Class 66s include Doncaster, Nuneaton, Stafford, Ipswich, Reading, and several stations in the London outer suburbs. As suggested above, visit the real time trains (RTT) website for a guide to freight (& passenger) services at stations of interest, and note that some freight services only operate occasionally - as required by freight customers.
For example, this is the RTT page for Stafford; change the date and station name as you need.
Remember, safety is important for railway operators, so stand well clear from platform edges, and avoid using a photo tripod on busy areas of station platforms. You will need a ticket (travel or platform) to enter many stations. Do not use camera flashguns/ lights at any station.
Trainguy34
Established Member
Ashford International gets quite a few off the Channel Tunnel, aswell as the Eurostars on the bridge.