shredder1
Established Member
Cumbrian Tractor Chasing. Manchester to Carlisle Round Robin, Saturday 10th December 2016.
No quite as earlier a start as last weekend, I had a lie in and was not up until 04.00, I must be one of those insomniacs. I drove down to Crumpsall Metrolink station, too early for the first tram into Manchester, but I could park the car to assistant my return journey at the end of the day. From there I walked through to Cheetham Hill to take a bus into Manchester Victoria as I wanted to catch the 06.00 train to Wigan Wallgate, but the buses didn’t start until 06.00, so I finished up paying £4.00 on a taxi anyway, so it would have been cheaper just driving into Manchester and paying for car parking £3.00, great plan.
Arriving early at Manchester’s Victoria station gave me chance to take a few early morning photographs before my train, which left on time, walking across Wigan to the Northwestern station, I was soon on a TPX up to Lancaster, changing for the first Barrow in Furness train out and arriving at the latter with 5 minutes to spare before the first Tractor up the Cumbrian Coast was due to leave, the 2C41, 08.45 Barrow to Carlisle.
The light had broken by the time I had arrived at Barrow, although it was still poor light, I managed a few photographs before boarding my train. A few other Cranks were on the train also, my original intention being to run into Carlisle on this one, with a quick photo-stop at St Bees were the southbound 2C40 crosses, but by the time the train was passing Sellafield, I noticed no less than 6 DRS 37`s on the Flask workings, two inside the plant and 4 parked at the side of Sellafield station, so I alighted there to take a few photographs while the opportunity arose.
I next met the 2C40 going south so jumped this to the next station back down the line at Seascale, which gave me time to have breakfast in the town before boarding the next northbound service, which took me as far as Workington Main. It had been a few years since I was at Workington and it’s nice to see the station and buildings still intact, in fact it’s not really changed that much since the 1960`s when we would visit the loco sheds there, although that has long gone now, fortunately preserved and removed brick by brick for re-erection on the Great Central Railway at some point in the future. I must say it will be great to see Workington sheds back in business a lovely stone building, and quite sizable too, a 12 road shed building originally.
I had some time to kill at Workington so took a walk into the town, to see the former Workington Central line, the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway, that once passed through, what is now the town centre, so I wanted to photograph the last remaining memory of this in the way of a former railway bridge which has since been converted into a road bridge.
Returning to the railway station I photographed the 2C48 going south and later boarded the 2C45 which took me into Carlisle. My next move was a Virgin Pendolino south back to Lancaster which allowed me a 15 minute wait before catching up with 2C48 as it arrived into the station, and indeed my final Tractor for the day and not a bad result, photographing all 8 DRS 37`s on the Cumbrian Coast, 2 operating and 6 on Sellafield. Tickets, I`m free to Wigan on my GM pass, a return to Lancaster was £9.25 and a Cumbrian Round Robin as £19.65.
I next boarded a TPX as far as Preston and was pleasantly surprised to catch up with a rail tour which had been topped and tailed with a class 60 and 90018 Pride of Bellshill, although the class 60 had departed by the time I arrived, I did have the opportunity to phot the class 90 which had been left with the stock.
A direct service train took me back to Manchester Piccadilly, Metrolink to Crumpsall for the car and drive home saw me back in the homestead for 20.00, and another great day out, as usual many thanks for reading.
Operating Class 37`s, 37401 Mary Queen of Scots, 37402 Stephen Middlemarch 23.12.1954-8.6.2013. Sellafield station sidings, 30069, 37259, 37509, 37667, Sellafield Plant, 37607, 37612.
https://www.facebook.com/nick.melli...1073742594.100001125840218&type=3&pnref=story
No quite as earlier a start as last weekend, I had a lie in and was not up until 04.00, I must be one of those insomniacs. I drove down to Crumpsall Metrolink station, too early for the first tram into Manchester, but I could park the car to assistant my return journey at the end of the day. From there I walked through to Cheetham Hill to take a bus into Manchester Victoria as I wanted to catch the 06.00 train to Wigan Wallgate, but the buses didn’t start until 06.00, so I finished up paying £4.00 on a taxi anyway, so it would have been cheaper just driving into Manchester and paying for car parking £3.00, great plan.
Arriving early at Manchester’s Victoria station gave me chance to take a few early morning photographs before my train, which left on time, walking across Wigan to the Northwestern station, I was soon on a TPX up to Lancaster, changing for the first Barrow in Furness train out and arriving at the latter with 5 minutes to spare before the first Tractor up the Cumbrian Coast was due to leave, the 2C41, 08.45 Barrow to Carlisle.
The light had broken by the time I had arrived at Barrow, although it was still poor light, I managed a few photographs before boarding my train. A few other Cranks were on the train also, my original intention being to run into Carlisle on this one, with a quick photo-stop at St Bees were the southbound 2C40 crosses, but by the time the train was passing Sellafield, I noticed no less than 6 DRS 37`s on the Flask workings, two inside the plant and 4 parked at the side of Sellafield station, so I alighted there to take a few photographs while the opportunity arose.
I next met the 2C40 going south so jumped this to the next station back down the line at Seascale, which gave me time to have breakfast in the town before boarding the next northbound service, which took me as far as Workington Main. It had been a few years since I was at Workington and it’s nice to see the station and buildings still intact, in fact it’s not really changed that much since the 1960`s when we would visit the loco sheds there, although that has long gone now, fortunately preserved and removed brick by brick for re-erection on the Great Central Railway at some point in the future. I must say it will be great to see Workington sheds back in business a lovely stone building, and quite sizable too, a 12 road shed building originally.
I had some time to kill at Workington so took a walk into the town, to see the former Workington Central line, the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway, that once passed through, what is now the town centre, so I wanted to photograph the last remaining memory of this in the way of a former railway bridge which has since been converted into a road bridge.
Returning to the railway station I photographed the 2C48 going south and later boarded the 2C45 which took me into Carlisle. My next move was a Virgin Pendolino south back to Lancaster which allowed me a 15 minute wait before catching up with 2C48 as it arrived into the station, and indeed my final Tractor for the day and not a bad result, photographing all 8 DRS 37`s on the Cumbrian Coast, 2 operating and 6 on Sellafield. Tickets, I`m free to Wigan on my GM pass, a return to Lancaster was £9.25 and a Cumbrian Round Robin as £19.65.
I next boarded a TPX as far as Preston and was pleasantly surprised to catch up with a rail tour which had been topped and tailed with a class 60 and 90018 Pride of Bellshill, although the class 60 had departed by the time I arrived, I did have the opportunity to phot the class 90 which had been left with the stock.
A direct service train took me back to Manchester Piccadilly, Metrolink to Crumpsall for the car and drive home saw me back in the homestead for 20.00, and another great day out, as usual many thanks for reading.
Operating Class 37`s, 37401 Mary Queen of Scots, 37402 Stephen Middlemarch 23.12.1954-8.6.2013. Sellafield station sidings, 30069, 37259, 37509, 37667, Sellafield Plant, 37607, 37612.
https://www.facebook.com/nick.melli...1073742594.100001125840218&type=3&pnref=story
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