Orton Skip

67026 with the return Birch Coppice to Bescot trip at Water Orton today.

Baling time

"Grid" loco 56303 power's past the hayfields at Branton Hill with today's Birch Coppice to Grain liner.

Diverted evening liner

Due to re-signalling in the Coventry area, yesterday's 4S59 Southampton to Glasgow freightliner was diverted via the Sutton Park line. Here's 57006 rounding the downhill curve from Aldridge with it's fully-loaded train, and doing a fair bit more than the 45mph line speed I can tell you, boy was she shiftin' !

Flask at Walmley

Dwarfed by conifers growing at the site of the former Penns Goods Yard, the nuclear flask heads home for Crewe this afternoon behind diminutive DRS loco's 20314+20313.

67013

...runs past Sutton Park old station today, returning to Bescot light diesel from Birch Coppice (the outwards loaded service ran over an hour and a half late).

Return cement empties

Passing Sutton Park old station today behind loco 60038 running slightly late and "not hanging about".

Steaming Through...

Another shot of Kinlet Hall and Rood Ashton Hall from last Saturday, ruuning tender-first to Bescot. Note the two different types of tender in use.

20308 + 20305 with the Berkeley-Crewe return flask at Ryecroft on Tuesday.

Simply Red

EWS 'sheds' were also busy on the park today. 66173 worked an engineering train to Bescot (and later returned light engine) and 66158 headed in the other direction towards Water Orton.

Green Day

A couple of Freightliner Heavy Haul 'Freds' were out working through the park today. 66610 and 66616 are hard at work on coal duties at Streetly Gate.

A Shot In The Park

Running over two hours early, 20308 + 20305 head back to Crewe on 6M56.

No.2 In The Woods

Fastline Freight's 56302 on todays 4O90 from Birch Coppice at Streetly Gate.

Hall In A Days Work

Couple of shots of 4936 Kinlet Hall and 4965 Rood Ashton Hall working 5Z90 10:30 Tyseley Steam Trust to Bescot. The Halls then worked the second leg of Steam Dreams 'The Cathedrals Express' from Bescot to Chester and back. Here they are passing Streetly Gate running early.

Photo's by I Jennings

Driver training

Freightliner's 47811 was supposed to run over the 'Park line today on a route learning trip, in the event it only completed part of it's schedule, running from Bescot to Rugeley Power Station and back, and then returning home to Crewe. Here it is passing Leamore this morning (between Bloxwich and Ryecroft) on the Cannock line. Coincidentally, sister loco 47810 was passing Saltley at the same time !

Rumblings at Streetly...

60096 returning the cement empties to Tunstead this afternoon.

56303 At Streetly Gate : The Movie!

Here's the video clip of 56303 powering its way through Streetly Gate on 4O90.

Right Said Fred's

Two more shot's from Streetly Gate as Freightliner's 66951 and 66525 make their way through the Park.

Broadside

56303 dashes past with the afternoon liner to Grain today, at Wylde Green.

Streetly Shed

66214 approaching Streetly Gate foot crossing.

Park Grid

Fastline Grid 56303 powering through Streetly Gate with today's 4O90.

"A" bomb in Albert Street

As the nine-to-five'rs prepare to leave the shops and offices of Walsall this evening, the nuclear flask sits at signal WL68 near Albert St bridge. After talking to Walsall Powerbox on the signal post telephone, the driver prepares to take the fast line through Park St tunnel and Walsall station. Beastly DRS  loco's 20311+20315 are returning the single flask to Crewe from Berkeley power station (Glos.).

Just for a change...

I thought i'd put these images on the blog, showing what was apparently an Hercules C130, seen flying over the 'Park line at Rushall in March this year. Planespotter !

Steaming up to Ryecroft

Liner 4G64 from Foundry Lane to Washwood Heath heads up the incline past Mill Lane bridge just an hour ago, behind loco 66044. With the possible exception of a returning empty coal train from Rugeley, this is likely to be the last freight move of the day across the 'Park line...

Horn Free

Last year FM Rail ran a couple of coal train trials between Daw Mill and Rugeley. Unfortunately they were unsuccesful but it did produce one of the workings of the year. On the 25th July 31190 + 31601 + 31454 triple headed 6G20 Daw Mill to Rugeley. Here they are making a right racket as they pass Streetly Gate running around three hours late.

The unexpected

... can still happen on today's railway system, as shown here when 47245 almost caught me out on a rake of stock (3 coaches) on Wednesday afternoon. I later found out that it was a WCRC move from Carnforth to Tyseley...

Looking East

Here's a close-up of 4O90 hauled by Fastline Freight's 56303 thundering past East View Rd at Wylde Green
 on Wednesday afternoon.

Nuclear flask

DRS Type 1 loco's 20310 "Gresty Bridge" + 20303 pass Saltley and head for the Sutton Park line on Tuesday, with the return Berkeley Power Station to Crewe flask service.

The Queen's Messenger

Royal locomotive 67005 "Queen's Messenger" was used to take a light load of Volkswagen parts from Bescot to Birch Coppice yesterday, and is also pictured returning through Sutton Park a while later with a slightly longer train of empties. A nicely turned out engine...

Swordfish

33103 "Swordfish" approaches Aldridge with an empty stock train from Oxley, i've no idea of the destination however...

Type 1 travellers

20315+20311 enjoy a day out in the woods. The loco's were returning to Crewe from Bristol on a driver training run.

Top Tug

The unique loco 60500 "Rail Magazine" (formerly 60016) emerges from the shadows at Hardwick Woods with a 6V92 Wolverhampton Steel Terminal to Margam Yard service.

Double Tug

60038 + 60041 coast through Aldridge with the Toton-Bescot evening engineers service on Friday. British Beasts.

The best view of a "Shed"

... the going-away shot.... Freightliner's 66552 takes it's cargo of two trucks under the canal bridge at Daw End, en route from Croft Quarry to Crewe Basford Hall (6z17).

Feeding time

A Hedge Brown butterfly sips nectar from a Ragwort plant and waits for 56303 to pass, at the Park Lime Pits nature reserve....

Victa Power

Here's 47832 returning from Bescot with 4Z47 comprising one low flat for Chaddesden, captured near the 43 milepost at Hardwick Woods. An odd, one-off working which I was lucky to see.

At peace

A peaceful summer view of the Streetly Gate foot crossing. Looks can be deceptive however, especially when a 1000-tonne coal train thunders past !