High wire act

Probably not a good idea to walk along the uneven bridge parapet wall with a 50-foot drop to the rails below...

Coppice Lane

Driving past the Coppice Lane bridge (bridge no.5) today, I noticed that the ground over the old trackbed on the disused Aldridge - Walsall Wood branch had been prepared for the construction of a building of some type. The trackbed on the north side of the bridge has already been obliterated by the Utopia Quarry landfill. Very soon all trace will have gone !

At night

...railway photography can be a little tricky.

DRS Class 57s return

The leaf-fall season over, 4 DRS Class 57s return from East Anglia to Crewe.

Photographed at Streetly by the Flying Ferret.

The Chester Yuletide Express

Black 5 No. 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier blasts through Streetly Gate while working The Railway Touring Company's 'The Chester Yuletide Express' on Saturday 13th December.

Photo's by I Jennings

More rainy photo's of today's LMS Black 5 engine number 45407, this time seen at Aldridge.

Even more Black 5 shots, as seen in Hardwick Woods and at Ryecroft Jcn (Nick Broome).

Aldridge Black Five.

Number 45407 stands at Aldridge today while working its charter to Chester. Unusually the loco was booked to take on water here from a nearby fire hydrant. After replenishing the tank the loco steamed off towards Walsall, making a fine sight and sound on a wet afternoon.

Paraphenalia

In this gloomy shot of todays receding cement train caterpillar you can just about make out all four bridges across the straight section through Sutton Park, a 30mph speed restriction board and a T (termination) board on the up, and two green aspects (the far one only just visible). On the right is the back of SY274 repeater signal and the whistle board for the down line.

Oh, and two heads on the nearest bridge...

Bits and pieces

Some leftovers from the last month or so, taken between Rushall and Water Orton.

Lightly steaming

EX-GWR steam loco 5029 Nunney Castle had operating problems during a previous weeks railtour and was left at Shrewsbury.

Class 47s 47580 "County of Essex" and 47773 were sent to Shrewsbury to drag the lightly steaming engine back to Tyseley.

Here the convoy passes Sutton Park running a few minutes early, on Thursday 4th December 2008.

Three Bridges

66181 heads past Sutton Park old station and away from the camera on Thursday afternoon with 6D44 to Toton.

The bridges are Mayers Bridge (B36), Anchorage Road (B34) and High Street (B33).

Purple Haze

A lucky catch on Thursday afternoon as purple-liveried "Artemis" loco 56312 passes by Sutton Park old station with a colourful train comprising an orange and yellow Colas crane and wagons. The train was apparently running from Westerleigh (Bristol) to Bescot.

DRS move

Here's DRS loco 66433 passing through Sutton Park on Thursday afternoon (4th December) with a train of Fastline and GBRf empty coal hoppers from Ironbridge. Must be a new working this one.

Also to be seen earlier in the day was 66181 at the head of 6D44 Bescot - Toton engineers train, passing nearby Blackroot Pool (a severe case of the "stripes" on this shot !).

More cement

60091 waits for the cement tanks to be emptied at Walsall on Friday. Planned photographs of the train from further down the line had to be abandoned due to an outbreak of cold heavy rain, leaving me in "drowned" rat" status !

Also a dark shot from Hardwick Woods showing 60056 with the 6G21 Stud Farm - Bescot stone trucks, just prior to the downpour.