Operations Track Record
December 17. This is usually a FL Class 70 working.
The 4M58 Southampton Maritime Container Terminal to Garston Freightliner Terminal was seen passing platform
15 at Reading station behind Class 66 No. 66559 on Tuesday, December 21.
On December 22 two container trains were seen in quick succession passing West Ealing station. First was the 4L36, from Wentloog to Felixstowe North Freightliner Terminal hauled by Class 66
No. 66526. This was followed by the 4M58 Southampton Maritime Container Terminal to Garston Freightliner Terminal headed by Class 66 No. 66544. On the same day three Heavy Haul trains were seen passing West Ealing station.
Class 59 No. 59206, in orange livery, was at the head of jumbo train 7A09 from Merehead Quarry to Acton Terminal Complex. Then came Class 66 No. 66603 on the cement tanker train from Theale Lafarge to Hope (Earles Sidings). Finally, there was
No. 66606 on a train from West Drayton Frays Sidings to Acton Terminal Complex.
At Chitts Hill Level Crossing, Colchester, on the afternoon of November 25, Class 68 No. 68017 Hornet passed heading towards its DRS Stowmarket base after it had been on a route-learning trip from Norwich to Tilbury International Freight Terminal earlier in the day.
Class 88 No. 88002 Prometheus pulled five Umbrian brown low-sided mineral wagons from Carlisle to Crewe on December 6.
DRS Class 88 No. 88002 Prometheus and Class 68
No. 68016 pulled a train of rail and sleeper track sections plus a few short wheel-based NR mineral wagons from Carlisle (dep 12.36) to Crewe on December 10.
Class 68 Nos. 68005+68008 pulled four unloaded low-sided trucks on December 11 from Sellafield (dep 08.24) to Crewe.
On Saturday, December 11, Class 88 No. 88006 Juno hauled an additional Tilbury (dep 08.48) to Coatbridge train made up of empty flats but for four containers on the rear, being seen passing through Lancaster at 14.36. Later that afternoon and working south to Tilbury (dep Coatbridge 12.19) was
No. 88003 Genesis with a train of just nine containers. A week later, on December 18, Class 88 No. 88002 Prometheus pulled a further additional Tilbury (dep 06.43) to Coatbridge train of mainly empty flats but for six containers. On the following day the same locomotive pulled a returning train from Coatbridge (dep 12.53) to Tilbury this time made up of just 11 containers.
A rake of six flasks were topand-tailed by Class 57
No. 57002 and Class 66
No. 66108 from Crewe Gresty Bridge to Doncaster Roberts Road on December 20, for tyre turning.
A trio of DRS locomotives,
Class 68 No. 68034, Class 37
No. 37422 and Class 88
No. 88004 Pandora ran as a light engine convoy on January 3 from Crewe (dep 11.53) to Carlisle. On the following day No. 68034 ran light to Crewe (dep Carlisle 09.05) and later returned, light engine, north to Carlisle from Crewe (dep 12.45).
Class 66 No. 66789 British
Rail 1948-1997 arrived at the Harwich Refinery for the North Walsham empty tank run on November 24, and returned loaded the following day. The following week, No. 66786 turned up on Monday, November 29, and duly took the empty set on 6P41 to North Walsham, but for whatever reason the loaded tanks only returned on Thursday, December 2, in the hands of classmate No. 66770.
On December 22, No. 66772 Maria arrived at the Harwich Refinery to take some condensate tanks for servicing at Peterborough under 4E66, returning the same day to then take 6P40 at 03.34 on the next day to North Walsham and, unusually maybe, leaving them there over the Christmas break.
It was not until December 31 that classmate No. 66744 Crossrail arrived from nearby Felixstowe run via Ipswich to North Walsham to bring the loaded tanks back to Harwich. Come January 3 and it was
No. 66772 Maria which left Peterborough MPD late that night to arrive at Harwich and leave again with 6P40 in the early hours of January 4, but this time returned from North Walsham with loaded tanks the same day, retiring to Ipswich Reception Sidings overnight before repeating the same trip, this time at 10.54 on January 5
and returning on January 6. Intermodal stopovers over the holiday period amounted to Nos. 66723 Chinook and 66727 Maritime One on December 29 and the sole presence of
No. 66736 Wolverhampton Wanderers over the New Year.
Noted on the 09.53 Hunslet Tilcon-Neville Hill-Scunthorpe Tilcon working through Woodlesford on December 1, was Class 66 No. 66712.
GBRf Class 60 No. 60026 ran light from Tuebrook, Liverpool (dep.08.38) to Tebay on December 8. This locomotive then ran back to Grayrigg to rescue a marooned train from the passing loop. Later,
No. 60026 pulled the defective No. 60087 plus a train of loaded mineral wagons through Lancaster at 12.20 heading southwards back to Tuebrook.
Class 66 No. 66729 Derby County worked light engine as train 0Y48 from Eastleigh East Yard to Hoo Junction Up Yard on Friday, December 10. It was seen pausing at a red signal by platform 3 at Clapham Junction station while London Overground Class 378
No. 378218 arrived on the 10.21 from Stratford to Clapham Junction.
A 5Q89 from Slade Green Traction & Rolling Stock Maintenance Depot to Doncaster Works Wagon Shops was seen passing Willesden Junction on Saturday, December 18. The train was headed by Class 66 No. 66733 and consisted of Southeastern Networker No 465925, with barrier vehicles Nos. 64664 and 64707.
A first for many years was a run behind Class 60 No.
60087 on December 20, from Liverpool Tuebrook to Penmaenmawr where the train was loaded before continuing to Crewe Basford Hall.
An MoD train reported on December 20 involved Class 66 No. 66792 running from Marchwood to Ashchurch and through to Kineton. The following day the service continued from Kineton to MoD Donnington. A further move reported was on January 4 with Class 66 No. 66701 working from Kineton to Longtown.
On New Year’s Eve, December 31, Class 66 No. 66791 was noted, from a passing train, at Clapham Junction on an engineers’ train.
A rake of 11 new cement wagons was moved from Dollands Moor to Wembley on December 28 by Class 66
No. 66784.
Following testing on the Severn Valley Railway, the new Bayer weedkiller train was moved from the railway to Bescot by the appropriatelynamed Class 66 No. 66763 Severn Valley Railway on December 29. With the line over Ais Gill being closed due to storm damage, the Carlisle to Chirk loaded log train ran on the WCML over Shap on December 1 pulled by Colas Rail Class 70 No. 70810. A few days later, on December 6, this log train again travelled over this section of the WCML being pulled by No. 70814, before taking up its usual path southwards from Preston to Chirk. The engineering works were observed from a passing train approaching Clapham Junction on Saturday and Sunday December 4 and 5. Three Colas Class 70s were noted on the Saturday: No. 70807 with an unidentified crane and No. 70816 was noted on a short engineers’ train. A little later No. No. 70813 was noted passing through Clapham Junction in the direction of Wandsworth Town on a short engineers’ train. On the Sunday, Nos. 70807 and 70816 were noted again. Colas Rail’s Dynamic Tamper No. DR73909 Saturn ran from Edge Hill, Liverpool, (dep 07.56) to Penrith on December 17. Plasser & Theurer Tamper No. DR73910 Jupiter ran light from Preston (dep 09.40) to Carnforth via Morecambe and back on January 4. Colas Rail Class 70 No. 70813 ran light on January 4 from Doncaster to Carlisle seen passing through Lancaster at 11.45. On January 6, and on the following day, Colas Rail Class 56 No. 56094 pulled 13 VTG blue mineral wagons from Carlisle (dep 12.34/13.20) to Pinnox Sidings,(Stoke-onTrent). Class 70 No. 70802 worked the Grangemouth-Sinfin oil train on January 9.
Class 57 Nos. 57601+57313 were noted top-and-tailing on the 03.40 Northern Belle ECS running mid-morning from Carnforth to Derby through Woodlesford on December 1, in preparation for weekend specials.
WCR Class 37 No. 37676 Loch Rannoch ran light on December 18 from Hellifield (dep 10.20) to Preston, seen passing through Lancaster at 12.18.
West Coast Railways Class 47s Nos. 47802+47804 doubleheaded an ECS rake of maroon coaches from Southall (dep10.30) to Carnforth on January 6.
The long disused yard at Chessington South has been brought back into use as an aggregate’s terminal. The first train to the new terminal ran on Friday, December 10, running as 6Z35 from Willesden DC
Rail Sidings to Chessington South, the working was seen passing Wandsworth Common behind blue liveried Class 60
No. 60028.
Sims Metals, Newport
This yard continues to take a steady flow of condemned stock for processing. Deliveries reported include Class 365 No. 365508 on December 16 hauled by Class 37 No. 37884 from Doncaster Belmont. A move on January 4 had Class 57 No. 57312 haul Class 315 Nos. 315844+315854 from Ilford. An unusual arrival on January 5 by road was that of DVT
No. 82149 and Pendolino vehicle No. 69633 from the Fire Service College, Moreton-inMarsh, followed the next day by No. 69733. The next day Class 57 No. 57312 conveyed Class 365 Nos. 365514+365534 from Doncaster.
Attracting much attention was the arrival at the yard on January 10 of Class 43 Nos. 43053+43070+43079 brought south from store at Long Marston by Class 37 No. 37611. The following day Class 57
No. 57312 moved Class 365
Nos. 365518+365539 from Doncaster. Two days later on January 13. No. 365502 arrived from Doncaster behind Class 37 No. 37800.
Derby RTC & Network Rail
Colas Rail’s Class 43 Nos. 43257+ 43299 ran on December 6 from Slateford (dep 07.58) to Crewe top-and-tailing the yellow liveried Network Rail measurement train.
In perhaps the first visit of a member of its class to North Lincolnshire, yellow Network Rail Class 73 73951 Malcolm Brinded journeyed from Doncaster West Yard to Barnetby on January 4, on a route-learning diagram.
Having arrived in Stafford from Tyne Yard, Newcastle, via Carlisle, on January 4, Network Rail’s Tamper No. DR 73116 ran on the following day, from Stafford to Carnforth and back.
Our thanks
THE Railway Magazine’s thanks for information go to: Paul Atkinson, Gene Collins, Mike Cooper, Stirling Daubney, Andrew Garland, Paul Hamilton, Barry Knock, Sean Morris, Paul Moxon, Richard Moxon, Mark Reynolds, Terry Smart, Ian Walton, Craig Wellum & Chris West.