Railgrinder coasts through

6U02 was a Railgrinder (numbered DR79272 and DR79262) which was seen at Streetly on Saturday afternoon, running from Eastleigh (Southampton) to Crewe.

A pity that the 50-tonne machine wasn't actually grinding rails, as that would have made a more interesting sight !

Berkeley flask

DRS Class 37s 37688 + 37087 drop down from Aldridge to Ryecroft Jcn earlier this afternoon, with a single nuclear waste flask running from Berkeley Power Station (Glos.) to Crewe, the first time the service has run this year.

A 20 mph "slack" was imposed on the opposite (up) line approaching Aldridge this morning, presumably due to the poor condition of the track. The normal line speed on the Sutton Park line is currently 45 mph, though I have timed a few trains at speeds approaching 60 mph in certain sections !

GBRf 66726

Un-named GBRf loco number 66726 is seen snaking past Water Orton station on Wednesday 22nd April 2009 with a train of empty coal hoppers for Daw Mill.

My Sweet Lord

'K1' 62005 Lord Of The Isles is caught at Streetly Gate while working 5Z62 10:00 Tyseley to Carnforth. Photo taken by I Jennings.

Twin 37s on the flask

37087 leads 37688 through Aldridge on 22nd April with the Bridgwater - Crewe flask.

37670 lives on...

Great to see recently reinstated 37670 working 6G45 Toton - Bescot last night.

Sunset Superpower

Three Freightliner Class 66s take a stoneblower for Crewe (6Z87) past low evening sun at Aldridge on 10th April 2009.

Cadbury's World

Jubilee loco 45601 "British Guiana" is seen passing Aldridge Junction signalbox on 21st August 1962 with a down excursion from the Cadbury chocolate factory at Bournville, Birmingham, returning to Shaw, Oldham, complete with Cadbury headboard.

The large building on the extreme left is the rear part of the Avion cinema, now a bingo house.

A Cadbury's special charter last ran this way in February 2008 with 2 x Class 47 loco's...

Happy Easter !

Photo copyright PP Newell.

6781 passes Walsall

Class 37 number 6781 was seen at Walsall on a rainy day in 1971 with 8M65 freight. Dave Hayes advises that this train was a Tyne - Brierley Hill steel service, which was also booked to call at Wednesbury.

The loco was renumbered to 37081 in 1974, then to 37797 in 1986. 37797 was stored in 2003, being cut up at Booths Rotherham by February 2006.

Photo by PP Newell.

Thunder over Bloxwich

A rare event occurred on the 14th January 1972 when D1011 Western Thunderer appeared on a special freight and took it's train into Bloxwich Spelter, almost certainly the one and only time a diesel hydraulic had worked into the spelter sidings.

The loco was later seen by a colleague running light through Walsall on her way back to the W.R., the driver was evidently in a hurry and left the station in a great cloud of exhaust smoke...

No photo's were obtained of the Bloxwich trip but i've enclosed a photo of D1011 taken two years later on the Western Region. The loco ran with a narrow dent along the bodyside for a number of years, it can be seen below the nameplate here.

Tangmere trundles by

34067 Tangmere is seen gliding past in the fading light yesterday evening, with some ecs running from Carnforth to Southall.

Snapshot

A feature that will be published from time to time showing the "scene" as it was in former years... These notes and observations are taken from the Railway Observer dated December 1972, and include sightings of Claytons, Baby Deltic, Falcon and some refugees from Idi Amin's regime amongst others !