Shadow woods

British-built type 5 "Tug" loco 60024 rolls down towards Aldridge through long shadows in the woods at Branton Hill, with the 6G78 evening freight from Burton to Bescot.

Route Refresher

Sporting a "DRS CREWE ON A MISSION" headboard, and having just come off the 'Park line, DRS light loco 37261 arrives at Kingsbury Jn last week. The loco later travelled down the Birch Coppice branch on a driver route refresher before returning to Crewe.

Two on the down

Well three actually as 4M55 was double-headed ! 66539+572 were heading the 4M55 liner from Southampton to Crewe across the Sutton Park line, and Grid "regular" was on the 4O90 liner from Doncaster to Grain (Kent), following 4M55 just 8 minutes later...

Motorway Madness

66089 enters Bescot Yard off the 'Park line with a full train of concrete sleepers.
Taken from under the motorway on the old Bescot Curve 29.03.07

Brand new loco's

A convoy of 5 new Freightliner loco's fresh off the boat at Newport, pictured passing Ryecroft Jn at sunset, en route to Crewe. The loco numbers are 66625 + 584 + 582 + 583 + 586.

Stock moves

It's unusual these days to find an empty coaching stock train travelling along the Sutton Park line on a Saturday, but yesterday there were two, both from Crewe to Doncaster and both sporting "Doncaster Rovers" footie headboards. EWS flagship silver machine 67029 is pictured on 5Z47 at Daw End, and royal loco 67005 on 5Z41 at Sutton Park, this second photo courtesy of Ron Kosys (copyrighted).

A few from Streetly Gate

Including a Network Rail Stoneblower machine, DRS loco 47501 returning to Crewe from Birch Coppice on a route refresher, and FLHH loco 66508 on a down train of stone.

Seeing double

Jarvis "Grid" loco 56303 passes the Streetly Woods foot crossing with the Doncaster - Grain liner, whilst about 6 minutes later sister loco 56302 passes the same site, light loco on the up bound for Doncaster ! The loco's would have passed somewhere in the Aldridge area.

60060

... rumbles up from Ryecroft Jn with a train of stone, and a day later the same loco is used to head an up train of long welded rail, seen here passing under the Daw End canal bridge in the mists.

Skip and Shed

67021 with the Birch Coppice - Bescot return trip passing Streetly Gate foot crossing.

66089 running light from Bescot passes the Streetly Wood foot crossing, probably en route Washwood Heath.

Cotswold Rail 47

No.47828 "Joe Strummer", running light through Aldridge in drizzly weather, bound for Oxley Carriage Shed...

Golden Brown

60041 with an eastbound train of empty ballast wagons, and a while later 60021 with the Walsall-bound cement train passing 67020 running light to Birch Coppice. Both pictured at Sutton Park...

Freightliner First

Freightliner's first GM loco 66501 "Japan 2001" pictured passing the 44 milepost near the Aldridge Quarry with 4M55 Southampton-Crewe.

Arch Art

Fragonset-Merlin black liveried "Brush" loco 47712 ARTEMIS runs light past Aldridge 03.07.06, possibly en route Derby...

Stock move

Having worked last weeks Tote-Sport organised Raceday specials From New St to Cheltenham, West Coast Railway loco's 57601+47826 in top-and-tail formation blast along the Sutton Park line with stock en route Tyseley-Carnforth. A swirling snowstorm had only just finished when the train passed...

Panther on the prowl

Departmental Tamper DR 73906 "Panther" runs through a sudden snowstorm at Streetly foot crossing.

Snow and Sun

The Sallow spring catkins are out but there's snow on the ground as 67020 powers past the Park Lime Pits on the Bescot-Birch Coppice working, 6G36.

5690 Leander at night

...waiting for the off at Walsall Station on a returning charter train for Tyseley.

Winding through Rushall

... on it's way back to Bescot is today's return Birch Coppice working with a substantial train of 15 wagons behind EWS loco 67020.

Up stone

EWS loco 66004 with an up train of stone/ballast passing bridge 41 at Sutton Park today.

Unusual DRS working

DRS loco 37087 worked a Doncaster - Bescot freight this afternoon, some sort of rail-unloader wagons I think. Here it is passing Aldridge with just enough daylight left.

Renegades off to Rutland !

Pictured from the train, DRS Type 1 loco's 20306 + 20309 + 20314 take the sharp right curve just after Ryecroft Jn and head out over the 'Park on Pathfinder's "Rutland Renegade" freight-lines tour of 26th August 2006.

Scattering the Pigeons

66084 rolls down the incline towards Sutton Park old station with a very light load of two wagons from Crewe, destined Croft. These days the freight wagons are likely to be of more interest than the motive power on the front, especially as in this case when one of the much-despised Canadian-built "GM-crop" class 66 "corrugated shed" loco's is at the head of the train, painted in the incredibly drab EWS maroon/yellow.

Blogger Slogger

66075 slogs up the incline from Sutton Park with a heavy coal train for Rugeley Power Station.

Going South

The "Grain Train" blasting across the 'Park with 56302 at the helm.

Bunnicula

These characters infest the Sutton Park NNR... pictured here on the railway embankment near Darnel Hurst.

Coal Empties

Freightliner HeavyHaul loco 66511 heads out across the straight 2 mile section of the 'Park with coal empties.

67014

Regular "Skip" loco 67014 on a short train (2 wagons!) of intermodal traffic for Bescot, at Sutton Park.

Contraptions across the 'Park

Showing, variously, two Tampers trundling through the woods, and a train of unusual concrete sleeper wagons with auto-unloaders behind loco 66223.

At Streetly Gate

loco 56303 powers up the incline across Sutton Park this afternoon with liner 4O90 for Grain terminal.

Duke of Gloucester 71000

By far the most impressive engine i ever saw on the Sutton Park line was the unique restored 3-cylinder 8P 4-6-2 71000 Duke of Gloucester heading the "Welsh Marches Express" from Bescot to Bristol on 28th May 2005. The loco came thundering up the bank from Ryecroft in charge of thirteen packed coaches at a rate that seemed dramatically in excess of the 45mph linespeed along here ! Once a rusting inhabitant of Barry scrapyard the loco has been transformed into an awesome monster ! Enclosed 3 shaky video edits...

National Grid

Jarvis "Grid" loco 56302 under the pylons at the quarry near Aldridge, June 2006.