The 'Grid' at Walsall

56303 heads for Park St tunnel at Walsall this afternoon in a rather cluttered photo. The many factories that once lined the railway on the right hand side have long since gone, as have another pair of tracks which used to run along the left side of the picture towards Ryecroft Jn.

End of the 'Coppice ?

Thanks to a tip-off from Josh I was able to get a snap of 37422 returning to Bescot just after midday with 4 empties from Birch Coppice. The train is seen here dropping down towards Rushall where there is currently a 20mph restriction.
According to rumours currently circulating the Birch Coppice trip finishes in a couple of weeks time, so get it while you can !

Three at 43

3 interesting moves seen yesterday morning at the 43 milepost in the Hardwick woods.
First up was "Tractor" 37410 ALUMINIUM 100 'giving it some' with the Birch Coppice trip from Bescot.
Secondly, Bardon's blue beast 66623 BILL BOLSOVER appeared on a train of return MGR empties.
The third train was a stock move from Oxley to Long Marston behind "Crompton" 33103 SWORDFISH, which was dragging Electric loco 86223 NORWICH UNION in faded Anglia colours, and a rake of 7 coaches for storage.

Your daily dosage

...of 37410's outing to Birch Coppice (almost a permanent fixture for the last two weeks !).
The outwards run was a light engine move seen at Wylde Green, the return trip comprised just 3 vans and is pictured at the Bescot foot crossing.

Hardwick horn

37410 passes the nearby Hardwick Arms pub on her way back light to Bescot at midday today, the driver sounding the horn for the crossing just further ahead.

Another Pannier Pic

Phill's excellent night shot of ex-GWR 0-6-0 PT engine 9466 at Walsall from Saturday 3rd November.

POW R 2 U

56301 and 37410 power-up across Sutton Park yesterday with their respective trains.

One Car

Single-car unit number 153371 seen leaving Pleck Jn with the Wolverhampton to Walsall shuttle service.

It's all around

37410 has been hanging around Bescot for most of this week, usually plodding along on the Birch Coppice trip with a very sedate driver at the controls unwilling to extend the beast, but on Thursday she was able to stretch her legs by taking a raft of ferrywagons to Long Marston with a different traincrew in charge. The second photo shows the loco working hard up the incline from Ryecroft with it's lengthy train to LM, the others show various Birch Coppice trip moves including Friday's light loco run.

Road To Nowhere

Here's another couple of abandoned wagons at Sutton Park. They were dumped in the former siding after developing a hot axle box. The siding has since been removed leaving the wagons on an isolated piece of track.

Photo by I Jennings

Out of the shadows (2)

The menacing form of 37410 bursts under Thornhill Rd bridge this morning, and is later seen approaching Water Orton with the return twin-sets from Birch Coppice.

Steam Tour

Get your camera's oiled in readiness for the next steam tour over the 'Park, which runs on Saturday 24/11/2007, and is 1Z36 Tyseley to Chester hauled by Vintage Trains (Tyseley) veteran loco 4965 Rood Ashton Hall.....

... and here's the beast seen in the mizzling rain near Walmley this morning, 24th Nov., running around 10 minutes late but on course to make up a lot of time at the rate she was going... !  The loco is framed by bridge no. 22 "The Big Span".

Sparkler

"Tug" loco 60065 adds a sparkle to today's dullness as she heads home to Tunstead with the cement empties from Walsall.
Shortly afterwards came a sudden downpour which for once missed me !
ps can someone out there in NetworkRailLand please get these trackside trees removed ?

Birch Coppice Trip

This ever-interesting trip was supposed to be worked by 37417 from Bescot this morning, but in the event 37410 appeared running around an hour late. Here it is passing through a gloomy Sutton Park with a long outwards train, then returning through Penns with a considerably shorter load.

6P21 Crewe - Mountsorrel

66586 rustles the leaves at Sutton Park this morning...

Wagon Wheels

Just approaching the Chester Road bridge are three wagons dumped at the side of the line after a collision between two ballast trains during an engineering possession a few years ago. They are usually hidden behind the trees but can be seen at this time of the year.

Photo taken by I Jennings

Dark Matter

GWR 0-6-0 PT No.9466 passes Aldridge last night on her return to Tyseley. Thanks to Josh for the video upload which my system won't allow...

Steaming beyond Sutton - Additional Tour Images

Thanks to Paul for this view of 9466 speeding past Bilbrook Station, and to Ian for the superb views of Ironbridge Power Station from the train.

Steaming into Sutton (1) - Daybreak at St Andrews

With yesterday's much-anticipated Pannier Tank mainline tour in mind I finished my night turn at work and made my way over to St Andrews Jn to see the first leg of this Tyseley Steam Trust-organised charter.
The Tour was worked throughout by restored GWR 0-6-0 PT number 9466.
The first leg of the tour ran from Tyseley to Birch Coppice (more unusual route haulage for the line-bashers). In retrospect I should have gone further north to Saltley or Water Orton for a shot as the engine would have been working hard, here the train merely coasted down to Landor St Jn despite some enthusiastic flailing from the end window of the first coach....
Then it was off home for a couple of hours and some breakfast, leaving the train to it's machinations down on the Birch Coppice branch line.

Steaming into Sutton (2) - Waiting at Walmley

After some coffee and cereal nourishment, I zipped over to Walmley (near the start/end of the Sutton Park line) for the second leg of the tour which ran between Birch Coppice and Ironbridge (!).
As I waited on the footbridge a chap walking his dog asked if anything special was due, I told him to expect a Pannier Tank out working on the main line and due through in 10 minutes or so - he hurried off to a nearby field to get a good view, hope he made it !
After a photostop further back at Coleshill the train appeared in the distance crossing from the single line at Park Lane Jn onto the double track, bang on time at 1127, and now running bunker-first.
No.9466 was then working hard as she made her way along the mile or so of straight track towards me, passing the old goods yards at Penns, where a housing estate is now screened by huge conifers (at right in the photo's).

Then it was a sprint to the car and a 2 mile drive down to the old Sutton Town station site where the loco was to be watered...

Steaming into Sutton (3) - East View Extra

As I drove along the East View Road heading towards Sutton Town old station my tired mind was wondering why all of these old chaps with their camera's were still lining the fence alongside the railway... after all the steamer should have passed here minutes ago... then the penny dropped - the train must have been held up or stopped at signals further back at Wylde Green for some reason, so I turned the car at the end of the road and headed back. Just in time as well as the steamer appeared in the near-distance !
Abandoning the car at the roadside I jumped out and held the camera above the tall steel fence, shooting blindly at the approaching train. As luck would have it I got a couple of good results, but now it was time to follow the train into Sutton Town !

Steaming into Sutton (4) - Town Watering Hole

Sutton Town station was opened in 1879 and closed in 1924. The old station site is on the boundary of Sutton Coldfield town centre, about half a mile east of the old Sutton Park station.
The station buildings still exist and are used as offices, but the railway is now fenced off from them. So it was a surprise to find that the tour loco was to be watered here. The train came to a halt, still on the down main line with freightliners and coal trains whizzing by on the up line, orange-jacketed men appeared from all sides, a stepladder was thrown over the fence and a water pipe connected up to a fire hydrant on the other side of Midland Drive !
All great stuff and well done to the Steam Trust and Network Rail for this unusual photo oppurtunity (which was however hampered by a thick hedgerow...).
I took a few pics but couldn't hang around to see the actual filling up of the tank, as I had to get to Streetly asap for the beast shots !

Steaming into Sutton (5) - Steam at Streetly

Driving through Sutton Coldfield I ran into heavy road traffic, the shoppers were out with a vengeance now, every traffic light seemed intent on making me stop, and the world's slowest drivers appeared in front of me on otherwise clear sections, determined to do no more than 15 mph.
After what seemed like hours I made it through and was just passing over the railway bridge at Streetly and about to turn left when Josh called to inform me that the mini-beast was already through Sutton Park old station !
I was lucky to find the last clear space at the car park pull-in and sprang out to run down to the foot crossing.
There were already about 12 photters gathered there (hello Mike) and I took a place on the upside.
Some of the chaps were standing on the up line rails which wasn't a good thing to do as freights could still come bombing through at linespeed....
The powerful little Pannier approached and let off a screaming whistle (no time to do a video) and in a few seconds it was all over.
All in all a great morning...

Steaming into Sutton (6) - Odds and Ends

Sixties at Aldridge

Seen passing through on Wednesday are 60051 destined to Corby and 60073 heading to Wolverhampton. Both Class 60s were working steel coil trains diverted from Margam to the steel terminal at Wolves.