55013's Contemporary Trip Reports

[DarloRich]

And lo, it came to pass that the Great Central Railway provided the multitude of cranks with a diesel gala and the cranks were pleased.

45135 and I drove down to Quorn and Woodhouse where we had no sooner purchased our tickets than the shunter shuttle pulled in.
It would have been rude not to, so 08480 and 08694 in tandem took us to Loughborough.

It seems that many people on board, like us, had done 08480 on its last (I believe) passenger working – a Pathfinder tour in February 2000.
It was nice to reacquaint ourselves with the loco.
The same move also produced 56089, 58036, 60004, 73108 and 73129 – you don’t get tours like that anymore, sadly.

Seventeen years on it was back in the limelight but this time it had no less than three of its sisters for company.
Our first mainline loco action was provided by 37714, resplendent in its newly applied Railfreight Metals livery, which was taken to Rothley Brook.
31463 had been on the rear for that run and so was nicely position to haul us back to Loughborough.
It was now time to get our only winner of the day.
It was back to the shunter shuttle, which had 08907 and 08528 on the Southern end.
These were done for the duration of their run to Quorn, although there’s not really much choice as that’s the first stop out of Loughborough

Four gronks, in order 08907, 08528, 08694 and 08480:
08907_2017.03.18_05_Quorn_& 08528 & 08694 & 08480 by Phil Wood, on Flickr

We photographed the four shunters heading back from whence they came and then welcomed another loco that had been absent from the haulage book for some time, 33063, which had last been sampled at the NVR in 2007.

33063 arriving at Quorn:
33063_2017.03.18_2_Quorn by Phil Wood, on Flickr

We fancied a decent run on the Crompton so took it to Leicester North then all the way back to Loughborough.
Another member of the same class, former Weymouth stalwart 33116, was next but only as far as Quorn.
Another run on 37714 followed as we had one of our favourite machines on the agenda, 25035.

37714 pulling into Quorn from the South:
37714_2017.03.18_03_Quorn by Phil Wood, on Flickr

The rat, as enjoyable as ever, was done for the full fifteen mile round trip to Leicester and back.
We were now left with one loco from the line-up still to sample.
This was 20098 and was on the next Rothley Brook service.

We left Loughborough for the last time and enjoyed a bit of Whistling Wardrobe action through to the reversal point where 37714 took us back North, but only for the twenty chains or so to Rothley station itself.
We could have stayed on board this to Quorn but the Rothley Brook services get looped between Rothley and Quorn and have twenty minutes sat there during which time they get overtaken by the following service from Leicester.
We were now done for the day so it made sense to get the later train and reach the car ten minutes earlier.
This decision was made all the easier as it was 25035 that was doing the deed.

The 25 approaches in the gathering gloom:
25035_2017.03.18_9_Rothley by Phil Wood, on Flickr

The Rat provided us with a splendid end to the day, after which it was just a case of a nice easy drive back to Yorkshire.
As ever the GCR had given us a hugely enjoyable day out.
We’ll be back

Glad you enjoyed the Darlo built machinery

It was a really good gala and i stayed to the end having a turn on the beer train. That was nearly cancelled as the blue 33 burst but the rat rode to the rescue! That 37 looked superb even if it was lacking the Thornaby kingfisher. We may well have traveled on the same trains.

I have photos to upload to flickr but it will be some time as i am not in the house due to rebuilding works!

 

[DarloRich]

The Ambassadors is a great piece of art isn't it? It has to be seen 'in the flesh' to be fully appreciated.

Yeah, it's brilliant; nearly five hundred years old, as well.

For anybody that doesn't know what we're talking about, it's a painting that's loaded with symbolism, but is most famous for an anamorphic skull front and center - you can spend hours just looking at it from different angles.

Superb isnt it? The detail worked into the scene is miraculous. The national gallery has a wonderful collection.

 

[55013]

That 37 looked superb even if it was lacking the Thornaby kingfisher.

Give it time

Superb isnt it? The detail worked into the scene is miraculous. The national gallery has a wonderful collection.

It's stunning, and yes, there are some marvellous pieces of work at the National Gallery - I could happily go back tomorrow and view it all again.

Anyway, thanks for all the comments about my Sheffield trip, the Supertram network will, I'm sure, see me again before too long.

In other news, 150269 had the honour of conveying me from West Yorkshire's newest station this morning.
It worked the 08.08 service from Low Moor after I had walked down from home.
It might have been my first visit but it certainly won't be my last - being so close to home means that it'll be my station of choice for the morning commute.
For the record, 155343 took me back there after work.

 

[Keith Jarrett]

If nothing else, your excellent report has served to remind me that I need to go back up to Sheffield and attempt to get my last trams and shacks in. Pity that you got bowled by one of your requirements blowing up on you.

 

[55013]

I had thought that the first three months of the year had been busy but they were nothing compared to April!
I've not managed to get on the forum for several weeks, but I did manage a few train trips.
Although trains did feature this month my Railmiles shows that I only managed a little over half the mileage in April that I did in March and a good chunk of that was commuter mileage.

Nevertheless, there was a bit worth writing about, so here goes.
The month started with my Sheffield trip which I've already posted, so on to move two.

It's my wedding anniversary at the start of April (amazingly, it's also my wife's - what are the chances? ).
We usually go away for a week or two but this year the big event clashed with Easter so we decided to only make it a long weekend.

My wife in particular wanted to have a look round Windsor Castle, so that was the focal point of the trip.

Wakefield Westgate was where we picked up our first train of the break, driving there on Friday morning.
I was hoping to get a sub thousand mile 91 but sadly it was not to be as 91109, dud for the year, proved to be our traction South.

Obviously I was in charge of route planning and so the Queen's gaff was to be reached via a winning station and hopefully winning traction.
It was down to the Victoria Line for 11072 to Warren Street, thence the Northern Line in 52635 to Waterloo.

Once back on National Rail metals it was dud 458515 leading winner 458514 to Windsor & Eton Riverside

EMU 458515_2017.04.07_2_Windsor & Eton Riverside by Phil Wood, on Flickr

After spending a few hours mooching round the castle (The royal standard was flying, meaning auntie Liz was home but she remained required for sight ) we made our way to the other Windsor & Eton station, Central, for 165111 - dud like the station, to Slough and our hotel.

I need very few 165/6 units whereas my EMU requirement list is huge.
That's one reason why I planned on making Friday's journey in reverse on the Saturday.
166205 took us from Slough to Windsor and a walk through the town saw us back at Riverside and a pair of 455s.
5715 was on the front and 5852 the rear.

Departure time came and went.
The guard made an announcement to say that a set of doors on the front unit wouldn't close.
Eventually the driver and guard together managed to get it sorted, although the front coach was locked out of use.
It's a half hourly service and we left pretty much exactly half an hour late.
This meant we had our train load, plus everybody who had turned up for the next working, squeezed into seven coaches.
The cosiness factor was increased by the fact that Twickenham was playing host to a big rugby match.
Once the train reached the home of English rugby it emptied out considerably, which was nice.
In order to make up a bit of time it had been decided that the service would now run non-stop to Waterloo, giving me the unusual experience of running straight through the Windsor line platforms at Clapham Junction.

Once at Waterloo we had an enjoyable walk along the South Bank, passing the Houses of Parliament and crossing over the river at Lambeth Bridge in order to visit the Tate Britain.
I was particularly interested in their Turner collection but it has lots to offer, including a modern art section that has works of variable quality, in my opinion.

After experiencing a bit of culture it was back to Slough.
This time we walked to a required underground station, Pimlico and did 11032 to Victoria on the eponymous line.
21406 was next, to Paddington.

When we arrived at Padd I spotted heritage liveried HST W43002 and what's more it was sat in platform 1, so no need to negotiate barriers in order to get a few photos.
I know it's only a HST but the livery did give me a fuzzy nostalgic feeling

HST 43002_2017.04.08_4_Paddington by Phil Wood, on Flickr

I wasn't expecting anything new for the run to Slough so was pleased that requirement 165107 was doing the deed, partnered with 165117.

We had nothing much planned for the Sunday as we were heading home.
166209 and 165117 (again) took us from Slough to Paddington before we went for a walk to Hyde Park.

DMU 166209_2017.04.09_2_Paddington by Phil Wood, on Flickr

Strolling round The Serpentine in glorious weather was most enjoyable.
Also, the walk magically finished at a required underground station
This was Knightsbridge and set 174 was utilised to take us from there to Kings Cross.
The weekend finished with a slight disappointment as our loco home was another 91 already well passed the thousand mile mark, 91121, but any domestic trip that provides me with winners is a success in my view, so you'll get no complaints from me

I promise that my next move was an actual train based one and not something else with a few trains thrown in

 

[Cowley]

That was a great read.
I scored The Queen for sight in about 1985 in Exeter (never had her for haulage mind).
A chap I used to know was a policeman at Windsor Castle and was there when they had the fire, he had some interesting stories about working there and patrolling the grounds at night.
Anyway the station looks rather nice. I don't think I've ever been there actually.
We went to the Tate a couple years ago and I felt the same as you, some of it was amazing and some of it, well, wasn't.
43002 looks great now with it's dirty yellow cab roof.

 

[noddy1878]

Sounded like an enjoyable trip and was a good read.

 

[FQ]

Sounds like a good trip! Score on getting one of your required 165s as well.

 

[AJM580]

Nice report and some good photos there.

Can report that HM is dud for sight as I saw her & the Duke when they opened the Forum at Norwich 2002. She's also dud for haulage as her namesake 91129 was had from Doncaster.

 

[Kite159]

Sounded like a good little trip

I'm surprised those 455s didn't run fast from Windsor towards Twickenham due to the following service being hot on its heels

 

[Techniquest]

A nice little trip that, nice to get some winners and route coverage in on an anniversary bash

 

[55013]

Thanks chaps.

My intention last week was to post all of my April moves in one day.
That didn’t happen!
Work and domestic activities mean that I’m still a bit behind.
I did a great move yesterday but the write-up for that will have to take its turn in the queue.
Here’s a small clue as to what that move was:

55009_2017.05.06_27_Kings Cross by Phil Wood, on Flickr



Before I get to that, I need to go back to April the 15th and a move that 45135 and I did.
It was a move of two halves – we spent the morning doing a preserved shunter and the afternoon on the mainline.
I’d never visited the Chasewater Railway before, 45135 had but required their resident 08.
The gronk was dud for me but I’m always happy to do a railway move and a visit to a new line brings with it some shack scoring opportunities.

08359 was the loco we went for and it can be found working most weekends, although they have an industrial shunter that can also feature, so if you fancy going for 08359 it’s a good idea to contact the railway first to see which of them is booked to be out.

It’s a nice little line that runs part of the way round an old reservoir that now forms part of a country park.
I roped in three new shacks, Brownhills West, Chasewater Heaths and Chasetown (Church Street), leaving me Norton Lakeside Halt to clear the line.
The shunter produced as scheduled and we both left happy.

08359_2017.04.15_8_Brownhills West by Phil Wood, on Flickr

The afternoon was spent doing a West Midlands Day Tripper.
We drove to a new station for me, Bloxwich North and took winning unit 170507 to New Street.

No visit to Birmingham is complete without a bit of 68 haulage, so that’s what we did next.
Both of us still require 68015; however we knew that was at Kingmoor, so no chance of a winner.
It was DRS blue 68008 that pushed us for the 22 and a bit miles to Leamington.

It was now a return to winning unit ways with Chiltern’s 165021 which we took all the way back to Moor Street.
172341 was next for the short leap to Snow Hill.
We planned on doing a tram to New Street and rope in some new track.
Some track was scored but not as much as we hoped.

Tram 27 was our traction as far as Bull Street where it terminated due to engineering work.
We had to walk the rest of the way.
No great hardship, it must be said.

Birmingham Tram 27_2017.04.15_Bull Street by Phil Wood, on Flickr


We were now setting off towards home and it was dud for the year 170501 that took us to Walsall.
A bit of doubling back then followed with winner 170509 doing the honours for the short trip to Bescot (I would have preferred them the other way round, just to get some decent mileage from 509).

DMU 170509_2017.04.15_3_Bescot by Phil Wood, on Flickr

A most enjoyable day came to an end with 170632 through to Bloxwich North.

 

[Techniquest]

You've reminded me that I need to do that line, and as the summer is almost here the line will be open when I'm free hopefully. Thanks for the reminder!

Looks like a good time was had, a nice bit of red penning and new coverage. Some nice photos there too!

 

[Cowley]

I've not been on the Chasewater Railway but it looks interesting. Isn't one end of it right up against the M6 toll motorway? I think some of the railway was built on a new alignment.
That photo of 55009 is awesome

 

[55013]

You've reminded me that I need to do that line, and as the summer is almost here the line will be open when I'm free hopefully. Thanks for the reminder!

Looks like a good time was had, a nice bit of red penning and new coverage. Some nice photos there too!

Thanks, it was a most enjoyable day out.

I've not been on the Chasewater Railway but it looks interesting. Isn't one end of it right up against the M6 toll motorway?

It's very near the M6 toll, yes.
Being a tight Yorkshireman that's a road I've never driven on

That photo of 55009 is awesome

Cheers!
I took over forty photos of it yesterday - I needed to find something a bit different from the standard three quarter view because I had loads of them

Anyway, Mrs 13 has taken her mother out for lunch so I'm trying to catch up with both reading and posting.

So, on to the next April move.
This was a last minute trip as my wife had stuff to do.
The late notice meant that I couldn’t go far so I had a brilliant idea.
I would head to Sheffield and clear my trams.
I wanted to get two in the book, 104, which was my last one and 105 which I’d only had for about half a mile.
My plan was simple, drive to Meadowhall, tram to Cathedral and fester there for the inevitable arrival of my requirements.



After purchasing my Connect+ ticket it was onto 118 and the first part of my plan was accomplished.
It wasn’t a long fester at Cathedral before 105 appeared and I could get a half decent run on it.
This was taken to Nunnery Square as I didn’t want to be away from the centre of the city for too long and it meant I could have a gander at the depot.
The shed doors were closed but I made a note of trams 101 and 108 sat outside.

113 took me back to Cathedral and I took my place on a nearby bench.

An hour and a half later my spirits were flagging, actually they had completely flagged.
I had seen twenty-three of the twenty-five trams, including the ones at the depot and 104 (along with 103) was not amongst them.
Bah.

The only highlight was 399203 passing through on driver training.

EMU 399203_2017.04.29_3_Cathedral by Phil Wood, on Flickr

It was obvious that 104 wasn’t out and was almost certainly hiding behind the doors of the shed at Nunnery depot.
I gave it up as a bad job and set off to get some South Yorkshire shacks in.
Tram 125 got me away from Cathedral and was taken to the railway station.

The first mainline train of the day was formed of 158843 and 153324.
This was taken to Elsecar.
Next up was Chapeltown which was reached courtesy of 144006.

From now on it was 144s all the way.
I needed a couple of stations on the line between Barnsley and Huddersfield and it was my intention to get them done forthwith.
144017 took me to the first of those, Silkstone Common.

After a wait of forty minutes or so, its sister 144015 arrived to take me as far as Barnsley where I hoped to meet the next Huddersfield service.
The two trains are due into Barnsley at more or less the same time so I had a back-up plan.
This wasn’t needed as I made it in plenty of time to stroll over for 144002.
This unit wasn’t in a very good state as someone had vomited on the floor of the leading coach.
People were complaining but the guard told them he had nothing to clean it with and it was either put up with it or cancel the train.
People put up with it.
Luckily I only had to tolerate it for a few minutes as my target was Dodworth.

DMU 144002_2017.04.29_1_Dodworth by Phil Wood, on Flickr

Things went a bit pear shaped at this point.
The next Sheffield service arrived several minutes late.
I wasn’t worried as I only had one station left to get today and my plan saw me have a twenty minute wait there.
Once the train got to Barnsley the guards (for there were two on board) jumped off and we waited and waited.
After a while one got back on and made an announcement.
We had been delayed because a passenger had been taken ill and medical assistance had been sought.
This had now been dealt with and we should be on the move shortly.
My chances of making the train I planned on were now nil but a look at the timetable showed me that I shouldn’t have too long for the next if we went soon.

Eventually both guards were on board, the doors were closed and we were off.

The wait did have one bright side though.
When I had boarded at Dodworth I was pretty vexed that a young couple were indulging in one of the scourges of modern public transport.
They were playing music loudly out of a mobile phone.
No consideration for others, some people.
Anyway, when it was announced at Barnsley that there would be a delay the lad, with his phone, got off and lit a cigarette.
He was stood there smoking when the guard closed the doors, despite being stood within five feet of them.
He only moved when the guard closed his door and gave two on the buzzer.
He began banging on the door but the guard shouted “Too late, you saw me!” as the train began to move.
Talk about karma, not to forget schadenfreude
He won’t have been held up too long as our delay meant that the next service was right behind us, but I admit to enjoying the quiet for the short run to Wombwell.

DMU 144017_2017.04.29_4_Wombwell by Phil Wood, on Flickr

I got off and strolled over, with a few minutes before my hoped for service.
My aim was to go back to Barnsley and then get something to Meadowhall and be home in time for tea.
You don’t always get what you aim for.
The PIS showed that my train was delayed and a realisation hit me.
It was the same unit I’d just got off.
It hadn’t even reached Sheffield yet, let alone set off back.
It’s a long way from one platform to the other at Wombwell and I didn’t get back across before the following service, presumably with the aforementioned miscreant on board, arrived and departed.
Wombwell is not the most scenic of places.
The only interesting thing that happened during my fester was that I observed a young lad shouting “bus w*nkers” at passing vehicles of that type, all whilst making the associated hand gestures.
Bless.
I knew that 144017, which was now on its way, would miss the unit I hoped to make at Barnsley but at least there was another twenty minutes later.
I looked on RTT.
Oh, no.
That was cancelled!
I had no real choice but to catch the next service direct to Meadowhall so I stood and watched as the late running 144 came and went.
Eventually I managed to escape from Wombwell aboard 144002.
At least the vomit had been cleaned away!
In summary an often frustrating day that still gave me six news shacks and a tram that had bugged me because of its sub mile status.
Could have been better but could also have been a lot worse.

 

[55013]

Now to bring things up to date.
In case you haven’t guessed, yesterday was a day I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.
It was Pathfinder’s “The Hull & Leeds Executive”.
I’m not much of a railtour goer these days.
Long days with little or no chance to get off the train and stretch my legs hold little attraction.
This one couldn’t be missed however.
It ticked all the boxes - excellent traction, the chance of some high speed running, a decent break and a local pick-up point.
Add in a couple of mates to help the day go with a swing and it was pretty near perfect.

I picked 45135 up at 06.30 and we headed off to Wakefield Westgate.
The main attraction of the tour was on the rear for the first leg.
Power being supplied initially by 68022, sadly dud but that was incidental.
Today wasn’t about 68s.
Our mate joined us at Leeds and the 68 did its job perfectly well in taking us to Hull.

A break of 40 minutes at the 2017 Capital of Culture enabled me to walk round and get a shot of the star of the show:
55009_2017.05.06_04_Hull by Phil Wood, on Flickr


55009 is my second favourite Deltic (I’ll leave you to guess what my top one is).
It was the first one I ever saw and I clearly remember standing on platform 1 at Doncaster, feeling the ground shake beneath my feet as number 9 waited time next to me.
That’s when I fell in love.

Now it was time to renew the acquaintance (this was the first time I'd had it since 2013).
At 09.42 the drone kicked in and we began to move.
We were heading for Kings Cross but unfortunately not on the ECML thoughout.
Deltics are fast but not as fast as most things that run up and down on that line these days.
This meant that we had to take a longer route.
After leaving Doncaster we veered off to the left and took the avoiding line via Lincoln.

On the way South we enjoyed a leg stretch during a quarter of an hour pathing stop at Spalding:
55009_2017.05.06_11_Spalding by Phil Wood, on Flickr

Once back on the East coast she had the chance to show what she was capable of and an announcement was made proudly informing us that we had hit 101 MPH, not bad for a loco that’s 55 (appropriately) years old.

Arrival into Kings Cross was 9 minutes early.

A Deltic at home:
55009_2017.05.06_12_Kings Cross by Phil Wood, on Flickr

After grabbing numerous photos we had a few hours to kill so it was off to our watering hole of choice, the Metropolitan on Baker Street.
21087 was stood in for the one and a half mile run on the underground.
Three large mixed grills were consumed (that’s one each, not all by me!) and a few pints enjoyed (soft drinks only for me) before we made our way back to the Cross on 21531.

68022 brought the ECS in barely a minute before we were due off so there was a mad scramble to board and departure was six minutes late.

As with the inward working we had to divert off the mainline to allow faster, but much less soulful, traction to go unhindered.
This time it was the Hertford loop that was graced with our presence.
Once back on the mainline it was that all the way to Doncaster.
Some more spirited running was enjoyed with three figures again being reached.
Sadly our run was interrupted by a pathing stop at Stoke Junction to allow a Skipton bound service to access the two track section before us.

A similar event occurred after Doncaster when we had to spend a few minutes sat in Hemsworth loop in order for 91128 to get through to Leeds without any hold-ups.
We had arrived there a minute early but once we got going again the high speeds were done for the day.
It was a two minute late arrival into Westgate for some reason.
My car was parked at Wakefield but we weren’t going to miss out on Deltic mileage so we remained on board to Leeds.
68022 was now going to work back to the point of origin, Willington.
It would be going back through Westgate and up until the timings had been released it had been booked to stop there.
That would have been a nice way to finish but sadly there was no longer another Wakefield stop included.

We had no option other than to grab yet more photos of the beast that is Deltic 9 before catching 158849 to Wakefield.
What a come down.

Thanks for a great day:
55009_2017.05.06_35_Leeds by Phil Wood, on Flickr

An absolutely fantastic day ended with me dropping 45135 off at his house before getting home tired but very, very satisfied.

 

[Techniquest]

Sadly not the best day in South Yorkshire for you, but at least some good came out of it

The Deltic tour sounds like an excellent time, that's for sure. Some beautiful shots there too

 

[AnthonyRail]

Now to bring things up to date.
In case you haven’t guessed, yesterday was a day I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.
It was Pathfinder’s “The Hull & Leeds Executive”.
I’m not much of a railtour goer these days.
Long days with little or no chance to get off the train and stretch my legs hold little attraction.
This one couldn’t be missed however.
It ticked all the boxes - excellent traction, the chance of some high speed running, a decent break and a local pick-up point.
Add in a couple of mates to help the day go with a swing and it was pretty near perfect.

I picked 45135 up at 06.30 and we headed off to Wakefield Westgate.
The main attraction of the tour was on the rear for the first leg.
Power being supplied initially by 68022, sadly dud but that was incidental.
Today wasn’t about 68s.
Our mate joined us at Leeds and the 68 did its job perfectly well in taking us to Hull.

A break of 40 minutes at the 2017 Capital of Culture enabled me to walk round and get a shot of the star of the show:
55009_2017.05.06_04_Hull by Phil Wood, on Flickr


55009 is my second favourite Deltic (I’ll leave you to guess what my top one is).
It was the first one I ever saw and I clearly remember standing on platform 1 at Doncaster, feeling the ground shake beneath my feet as number 9 waited time next to me.
That’s when I fell in love.

Now it was time to renew the acquaintance (this was the first time I'd had it since 2013).
At 09.42 the drone kicked in and we began to move.
We were heading for Kings Cross but unfortunately not on the ECML thoughout.
Deltics are fast but not as fast as most things that run up and down on that line these days.
This meant that we had to take a longer route.
After leaving Doncaster we veered off to the left and took the avoiding line via Lincoln.

On the way South we enjoyed a leg stretch during a quarter of an hour pathing stop at Spalding:
55009_2017.05.06_11_Spalding by Phil Wood, on Flickr

Once back on the East coast she had the chance to show what she was capable of and an announcement was made proudly informing us that we had hit 101 MPH, not bad for a loco that’s 55 (appropriately) years old.

Arrival into Kings Cross was 9 minutes early.

A Deltic at home:
55009_2017.05.06_12_Kings Cross by Phil Wood, on Flickr

After grabbing numerous photos we had a few hours to kill so it was off to our watering hole of choice, the Metropolitan on Baker Street.
21087 was stood in for the one and a half mile run on the underground.
Three large mixed grills were consumed (that’s one each, not all by me!) and a few pints enjoyed (soft drinks only for me) before we made our way back to the Cross on 21531.

68022 brought the ECS in barely a minute before we were due off so there was a mad scramble to board and departure was six minutes late.

As with the inward working we had to divert off the mainline to allow faster, but much less soulful, traction to go unhindered.
This time it was the Hertford loop that was graced with our presence.
Once back on the mainline it was that all the way to Doncaster.
Some more spirited running was enjoyed with three figures again being reached.
Sadly our run was interrupted by a pathing stop at Stoke Junction to allow a Skipton bound service to access the two track section before us.

A similar event occurred after Doncaster when we had to spend a few minutes sat in Hemsworth loop in order for 91128 to get through to Leeds without any hold-ups.
We had arrived there a minute early but once we got going again the high speeds were done for the day.
It was a two minute late arrival into Westgate for some reason.
My car was parked at Wakefield but we weren’t going to miss out on Deltic mileage so we remained on board to Leeds.
68022 was now going to work back to the point of origin, Willington.
It would be going back through Westgate and up until the timings had been released it had been booked to stop there.
That would have been a nice way to finish but sadly there was no longer another Wakefield stop included.

We had no option other than to grab yet more photos of the beast that is Deltic 9 before catching 158849 to Wakefield.
What a come down.

Thanks for a great day:
55009_2017.05.06_35_Leeds by Phil Wood, on Flickr

An absolutely fantastic day ended with me dropping 45135 off at his house before getting home tired but very, very satisfied.

first and last photos are stunning, I need to see a deltic before my life expires

 

[noddy1878]

Sounded like some good running there! 101mph! Nice! As always good photos too!

 

[Kite159]

Sounded like a good tour, not the best of days in Sheffield with delays & cancellations.

 

[FQ]

Sounds like a good few trips, particularly the last one. 22.75 miles Moor Street to Leam .

Shame about the poor day at Sheffield and the surrounding area, but at least you only have one tram to aim for now.

Finally, vote deltic 9, which is one hellfire beast. It's certainly my favourite of the class, and I'm still trying to find more youtube footage of it.

 

[37038]

Hellfire beast?

I have serious deltic interest but 9 isn't very loud at all... Same with KOYLI

It's not on the mainline now but 55019 has and continues to be the loudest by far

 

[Cowley]

Just how good does it look with blue and grey aircons behind it? Awesome (or in Cockney rhyming fifty speak - 50002 ).

 

[55013]

Thanks lads.
As for "Hellfire Beast", as far as I'm concerned there were 23 Deltics that I would confer that honour on

Anyway, on with my May moves.

Less than two weeks on from the Deltic tour and I was once more on the bash.
Once again I was accompanied by 45135 and we decided to go for the Friday of the gala as we figured it would be marginally less wedged than the Saturday.
I drove and an uneventful journey saw us reach Kidderminster in plenty of time for a bit of breakfast before our first move of the day.

This was a gala overflowing with attractions but sadly there was no way we could get everything so we had to prioritise.
There were three red pen engines out, these were obviously top of the list.
In addition there was some Deltic and Peak action that couldn’t be ignored.
One thing we were sure of, we didn’t want a day of Bewdley leaps.

As well as our main targets there was a loco in action that I, for one, love and never miss the opportunity to get it on the rare occasions when it strays from its home railway.
That loco is the sole surviving class 17, D8568, and our plan was to start the day with this monster and meet our first winner coming back.
The Clayton had been on the Bewdley shuttle, so that was obviously where we bailed.

Beeeeeeeeeeast:
17 D8568_2017.05.19_7_Bewdley by Phil Wood, on Flickr

The first red pen action of the day was brought about by D9551, a loco that both of us required for sight, never mind haulage.
It was back to Kidderminster on this.

A colourful class 14:
14 D9551_2017.05.19_2_Kidderminster by Phil Wood, on Flickr

Now it was time for a full line run.
I love class 50s, they are my second favourite class and the day would not have been complete without a bit of Hoover action.
It just so happened that this particular working fell onto one of our targets for the day, which was nice.
50007 took us throughout to Bridgnorth.
This was the first time I’d seen it since it reverted to BR blue and mighty fine it looks too.

See:
50007_2017.05.19_3_Kidderminster by Phil Wood, on Flickr

Once at Bridgnorth it was over to the other platform and another fine looking machine, 55022.
I’m sure it comes as a surprise to no one when I say it’s currently running as long-lost classmate 55018 “Ballymoss”.
The full line wasn’t on the agenda this time as we had to bail at Bewdley for our second winner of the day.
Still, it was a most enjoyable run

What can I say about 88003?
It may look like a 68 but the similarity ends there.
There’ll be no complaints from the noise abatement society about 88s, that’s for sure.
This was just a move to get it in the book.
As with D9551 earlier, this was also, unsurprisingly, a score for sight for both of us.

We were intending to get it again later, on its return from Bridgnorth so only took it as far as Arley for a bit of the aforementioned Peak action.
45041 was the chariot in question and a very enjoyable run was partaken of through to Kidderminster.

Now it was time for our third and final winner – well after a visit to the chippy across the road, as is obligatory for us on SVR moves.

In case you were wondering, 60100 was dud for both of us, making the planning much easier.

66771 was on a Bewdley shuttle so that’s where we went.
Our plan now was to get the loco behind it, 31271, and do this to Arley, in order to meet the 88 coming back.
As ever, the Goyle was most entertaining.

After a short wait at Arley, 88003 came round the corner looking remarkably like an Intercity liveried 50.
For reasons unknown to us the 88 had remained on the Bridgnorth end and 50031 was doing the work.
We were glad we had got the new engine earlier and weren’t exactly distraught at getting some bonus 50 mileage.

At least it being on the back meant the chance to get some photos at Kidderminster:
88003_2017.05.19_08_Kidderminster_& 47192 by Phil Wood, on Flickr

That was us done for the day.
It was a shame to have missed some of the other attractions, especially D1062, but that's the way it goes sometimes.

 

[Techniquest]

I agree the Clayton is a beast, and that's just from being hearing it on idle. I can only imagine the racket it makes when hauling a train!

88003 is my biggest disappointment of 2017. That includes flagging a London bash AND a railtour in favour of a norm mate's birthday night out...

 

[Cowley]

I really enjoyed the Clayton when it was there last time but I didn't do it this year, it does sound nice though and a bit different too.
I was on 31271 on the Friday too, we got off at Hampton Loade after an almighty hail and thunder storm.
We went up to Ironbridge on the Sunday which I did partly due to reading one of your reports and I must say it was lovely. Great photos from the gala, the one of the 47 and 88 is a interesting contrast.

 

[55013]

Thanks lads.
I've heard that the 88 was only managing 200hp, which might explain its lack-lustre performance.
Cowley - glad you enjoyed Ironbridge, it's certainly a lovely part of the world.
As for the photo of the 88 and the 47, I hung around for ages to get it as the 47 was powering away at this point - just a shame it wasn't clagging

Anyway, time for a new report.

45135 and I had an enjoyable day out on the trains yesterday and here’s the gist of it.

It was the ELR’s small engines gala and had some mighty little locos in action.

We began by driving to Heywood and picking up class 14 D9537.
14s featured heavily today, which was a good thing as we both like them a lot.

D9537 was utilised to take us throughout to Rawtenstall and then back as far as something that I haven’t achieved since 2003 – a new station at the Lancs.
Burrs Country Park just had to be roped in and 45135 kindly indulged me
We could have stayed aboard D9537 to Bury but why miss the chance of a shack scratch, especially as the timetable had already gone out of the window and, although they are usually very good, it’s not unknown for them to let a departure leave before people have had a chance to get off the incoming service when things go mammaries up.
I must say that, to the best of my knowledge, that didn’t happen at all yesterday.
It was more 14 action on the agenda next, this time a pair.

I had scored D9551 for both sight and haulage at the SVR gala just a fortnight ago, now it was time to sample it again, in tandem with Lancs resident D9531.

My first photo at Burrs:
14 D9531_2017.06.03_1_Burrs Country Park_& D9551 by Phil Wood, on Flickr

We took these as far as Ramsbottom, for the day’s only winner was now in our sights.
As with D9551 a few weeks before, D2298 was a requirement for sight as well as haulage (although there’s little chance of something being had for haulage but required for sight!).
The 04 was duly captured on the non-stop shuttle to Bury.

A winner from last year’s small engines event was next, once again on a shuttle.
This was 09024, now repainted from Mainline blue and carrying departmental grey.
Obviously, a re-paint was needed but I do admit to missing the old livery a bit.
It was back to Teddy-Bear haulage next as we picked up the pair from earlier, now with D9551 leading, on their way back.

The front loco came off at Bury but we stayed on board for a bit of solo D9531 thrash to Heywood and back.

There were two diesels out that we hadn’t yet sampled – there were three steam locos in action but our moves had been planned around avoiding these
First up was 03062, which was, naturally, on the shunter shuttles.
It was paired up with newly dud 04 D2298.

04 D2298_2017.06.03_4_Bury by Phil Wood, on Flickr

We returned from Ramsbottom on the last of the required-for-the-day diesels, 08164, which was also in a pair – with 09024.
Although dud, it turns out that I haven’t actually had 08164 since 2001, so that was a nice return to the haulage book.
The day was now coming to a close.
All that remained was for us to get back to Heywood and the car.
This was achieved on another pair of class 14s, D9537 and D9551

Here they are waiting to take over from....
14 D9537_2017.06.03_2_Bury_& D9551 by Phil Wood, on Flickr

....this - D9531 arrives at Bury in typical British Summertime weather:
14 D9531_2017.06.03_2_Bury by Phil Wood, on Flickr

That's another excellent event at the ELR chalked up

 

[Techniquest]

Ooh I am jealous, I love the 14s and really want some more of it. Foolishly I didn't look at PLEG the other day otherwise I'd have probably headed up for this event. The 08, 09, 03, 04 and I think one of the 14s are required here. That shack score you had certainly is a requirement here too.

You've got me wanting to go back to the ELR, it's been a few years now. Quite, I need to look at when it was and which 14 I had back then, so I can add it to my NREA.

 

[55013]

D9531 has been at the Lancs for many years (since the 1980s), so my guess would be that one.
D9537 is a comparatively recent arrival (landing there in 2013).
Prior to the 14s@50 event in 2014, D9531 was the only one I'd had there so I don't think they ever had any others work.

 

[Cowley]

That looked good. I like the two class 14s in the old experimental Western liveries. I've always thought 14s look nice in a slightly German way but some people say they're ugly.
Hopefully going up to the East Lancs for the DMU gala later in the year. Not had a visit yet so looking forward to it.