The cements here!

A couple of shots of 60049 after arrival at Walsall Tasker Street/Midland Yard with 6M09 early this morning.

Colas at Ryecroft

Nick Broome managed to catch the Colas move approaching Ryecroft Jn last Thursday evening despite appalling light...

Colas Crossing

Colas Rail's loco 47739 "Robin of Templecombe" seen in the gathering gloom at Streetly Crossing this evening, with a stock move from Westbury to Crewe comprising four Arriva coaches. Also a view of  Fastline's "Grid" regular 56303 in practically the same spot earlier in the afternoon. 

Note the new crossing boards !

A Class 47 returns...

Passing Walsall Power Box this morning is 47848, looking superb in it's blue and yellow livery. The loco has been visiting the area this week on road learning runs.

A 60 makes a shunt.

Brush Class 60 60005 draws forward from Walsall Cement Terminal towards the Express Freight Terminal (Tasker Street) while shunting todays 6M82. This view through the foliage was seen from the Corporation St. overbridge. A Freightliner Heavy Haul service from Rugeley Power Station is passing on the up fast on route to Bescot up goods to run round.

Tasker Street sees no regular traffic now, (Apart from the moves from the cement). The last service being the Walsall to Aberdeen DHL run which finished a couple of years ago.

A Class 60 waves Walsall goodbye.....

Here we see this afternoon's Walsall-Tunstead service (6M82) heading out of Walsall Cement Terminal, in the more than capable hands of 60005. The locomotive's 3100 horsepower making light work of the load.

The Pinkness...

More views of pink 31601 with her yellow test coach train heading across the Sutton Park line on Tuesday. In both cases the loco was on the rear of the set.

Bescot-bound

60014 hurries past Walmley (east of Sutton Park) on Friday last with the heavily-loaded 6G21 Stud Farm to Bescot stone hoppers.

Stoneblower

Pandrol-Jackson Stoneblower DRSC203 powers over the Sutton Park line near Walmley last week. Not sure if this one is based at Walsall but it seems to be seen quite frequently. Stoneblowers fill small gaps in the ballast using gravel-sized stones, for instance where the rail bed dips, where normal larger ballast leaves empty "pockets".

More 1960s Aldridge

A great cutting sent to me by Mike H, from a 1960s Modern Railways magazine.

One surprise is that four tracks seem to pass under Dumblederry Lane bridge (with some mineral wagons shown on the fourth track, at right),  I have only ever known two here.

The steel firm moving the rolling mill equipment via the train, Richard Thomas and Baldwins, became part of British Steel Corporation (now Corus) in 1967. A Class 25 loco appears  to be at the head of the freight.

Still awaiting its first train........

... is this new bridge carrying the mothballed Walsall/Bescot to Stourbridge line over a new access road to an industrial site. The bridge is between Elwell's viaduct and Bescot Curve Junction, this view being taken from the site of the Drop Forgings.

There is no track on the bridge as yet, we may hope it will be laid in the future.

Perhaps if this route not been closed by BR in 1993 we would be seeing Class 66s trundling over this bridge hauling freight traffic and some Class 170 DMUs working Walsall to Stourbridge local services....

Autumn afternoons...

A road-railer busy collecting felled tree trunks in Sutton Park on Sunday.

The bridge is known by the old-worlde name of Tumbledown, and is bridge number 41.

A Propelling '31.

A colourful combination at Pleck Junction earlier today as 31601 Gauge O Guild shoves its DBSO and test coach towards Darlaston Junction and onward to Stafford, appropriately running as 5Z31. The train returned to the Walsall area later in the day, running on to the Up & Down Goods at Bescot prior to heading back to Derby via the Sutton Park Line.

D5233 at Aldridge

A superb official BR photograph showing Type 2 Bo-Bo loco number D5233 at Aldridge in the mid-1960s. The loco appears to be on the crossover near the goods yard and Walsall Wood branch line, the station buildings can also be seen in the background (right). I've an idea that 9T64 was the Washwood Heath - Bescot tripper, but does anyone know for certain ?

The loco had an interesting history, it was built at Derby Works in 1963, allocated to Birmingham Division in 1966, renumbered to 25083 in 1974, withdrawn in 1984 and then stored at Crewe for fifteen years until being bought for preservation in Scotland as late as 1999.

Photo copyright British Railways.

Mike H sent this interesting information regarding Saltley Trip 64 as it was in the Sept 1964 - Sept 1965 BR WTT (working timetable) -

No.64 2E Class ?

0T64 DLY Saltley MPD-Washwood Hth US LE
9T64 0810 DLY Washwood Hth US-Aldridge Jn 0900
0T64 1030 DLY Aldridge Jn-Water Orton 1050 LE
9T64 1115 DLY Water Orton-Penns 1131
9T64 1205 DLY Penns-Sutton Park 1217
9T64 1253 DLY Sutton Park-Aldridge Jn 1310
9T64 1330 DLY Aldridge Jn-Walsall Wood 1350
9T64 1410 DLY Walsall Wood-Aldridge Jn 1420
9T64 1440 DLY Aldridge Jn-BICC Siding 1445
9T64 1515 DLY BICC Siding-Brixancole Sdg 1520
9T64 1535 DLY Brixancole Sdg-Aldridge Jn 1540
9T64 1625 DLY Aldridge Jn-Washwood Hth DS 1713
0T64 DLY Washwood Hth DS-Saltley MPD LE

Would imagine it was booked either a Saltley Cl.2mt or a Cl.5 by this time, probably a 4F before 1964?

Along The Line

66189 + 66016 head across Sutton Park with 6D44, 60014 Alexander Fleming works 6G21 and 66709 Joseph Arnold Davies is rare traction for 4O90 on Friday 10th October.

Tug of War

Another couple of shots of 60040 The Territorial Army Centenary from Friday 10th October when it worked 6M82 Walsall to Peak Forest. The 60 is seen getting ready for departure in Walsall Cement Sidings before making its way back across the Sutton Park line at Streetly Gate.

Three Park favourites...

6D44 Bescot - Toton with 66189+66016.

4O90 Birch Coppice-Grain hauled by "Medite" loco 66709 for only the second time.

6M82 Walsall-Peak Forest behind 60040 once again.

All seen in glorious sunshine today - at one point the temperature touched 20c, not bad for October !

Medite !

One for all you livery fans out there, as Fastline's 4O90 is today worked through by GBRF's 66709 "Joseph Arnold Davies" in her black MEDITE livery.

The liner has been worked by a number of unusual loco's in the past four weeks, including "ghost" 56311, DRS 66420, new Fastline loco 66303 and now 66709, as well as the more usual 56302 & 303....

Training run

A Fastline route learner heads out across the Park shortly after midday today, returning from Ironbridge. Oh damn, its 66303 again...

Ben More Assynt

60099 "Ben More Assynt" passing through on Monday with the 6M82  Walsall - Tunstead cement empties, and a short while later a Class 66 heads for Bescot with 6G21 from Stud Farm.

60099 is yet another Class 60 that I haven't seen for ages, probably two years or more, the name refers to a Scottish mountain....

More liveries on show !

Continuing today's Sutton Park "diesel gala" theme, the final loco's for the day were Mainline blue-liveried 60044 on the returning Ironbridge - Lindsey tanks, and 37401 returning light to Bescot after working this mornings trip to Long Marston (which I missed seeing but heard going through Aldridge around 1100 !).

Looking east again

Early afternoon today saw Fastline's 66303 on 4O90 and Colas Rail's 47727 "Rebecca" with empty stock from Kineton to Oxley, both passing Wylde Green.

DRS convoys

Seen heading across Sutton Park today were two sets of four loco's running from Crewe to Stowmarket, in order to work the seasons RHTT trains (water jetters).

The first batch comprises 57009+010+008+011.

Then, two views of the second move consisting of 57012+004+007+37087.

Both trains passed within an hour of each other and provided a splash of blue in the dappled sunlight.

The bridge shown is number 42 "Bracebridge Wood Arch".