Double Yellows

Here's another shot of 97302 + 97303 a little further down the line.

Yellow Return

Tuesday 15th February 2011 saw 97302 and 97303 pass Streetly Gate on 6Z97 12.05 Shrewsbury-Toton empty wagon return after they had spent the weekend on the Cambrian on test.

DRS Crewe on a Mission

Three great shots taken from East View Road, Wylde Green, recently.

47712 passes with a coach for Crewe on 3rd Feb 2011 (note new signal post).

37423 & 20308 with 6M56 nuclear flask, also for Crewe, on 1st November 2010.

What looks to be a stoneblower on the down, 12th November 2010.

Thanks Richard for these three photo's, I think you were the only one to bag the 47 !

Sutton Park DMU

Thanks to Phill for this self-explanatory cutting.

Wagons Off The Road !

In July 1988 a derailment occurred on the Sutton Park line leading to five HEA-type domestic coal wagons going down the embankment near the Chester Road between Streetly and Aldridge. The train involved was 6J43, a Saturday-only Washwood Heath to Gobowen service loaded with 7 coal hoppers, and thought to have been worked by loco 37218. Shortly after passing the Hardwick Wood foot crossing the track changed from jointed to long welded rail back then, and a strong lurching was felt at that point with the train brakes coming on. The loco and the first two HEA's remained on the rails but the next five trucks had gone down the embankment with coal spilling out everywhere. Fortunately no other trains were passing at the time, and the train stopped before the Chester Road bridge was reached.

Eventually the 5 condemned trucks were removed to the old station site at Aldridge, where they were cut up in situ within a couple of weeks.

Many thanks to Lee Sutton for supplying these great shots, and to Phill B. for additional information.

Wagons off the Road 2

These shots show the hoppers awaiting cutting. Three of the wagon numbers were 360232, 360926 and 361141.

Wagons off the Road 3

These views show the hoppers after cutting, which took place at the upside of the old Aldridge Station site.

Streetly Station 1953

Loco 42482 glides into the up platform of Streetly station on 6th June 1953, with a six coach set running from Walsall to Birmingham New Street.

By this time the signal box (behind the downside platform building) had gone, and the 'back' platform on the left had also long disappeared and turned into a shrubbery.

The station itself was wiped off the map just 12 years after this photograph was taken.

Copyright unknown.

Park Lane Junction

Although these views were only snapshots taken with a pocket camera they came out quite well, particularly the view of distant Park Lane Junction from Ashurst Road. The line is dead straight for about a mile from here and is on an embankment from roughly halfway down, taking the railway over four main bridges which are the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal (built 1789), Kingsbury Road dual carriageway, Forge Lane and Park Lane, where the line is singled and a signal box once stood. Other minor bridges in the distance take the single line over Minworth sewage treatment beds !

Two Greens in One

66522 working 4E72 coal empties from Rugeley P.S. across Sutton Park this afternoon (with slightly blurry front end, damn !).

Also enclosed is a snow scene from the same bridge showing 66597, again with an empty set from Rugeley, taken on 7th January, which was only just over a week ago.

Q Train

97304 John Tiley and 97302 are seen at Streetly Gate working 1Q09 Derby to Machynlleth on Monday 10th January 2011.

Double Royal

A great shot of Royal engines 47798 'Prince William' + 47799 'Prince Henry' working hard up the incline past Daw End with Royal Train ECS on 2nd July 2002.

With thanks to Lee Sutton for this historic photograph.

Triple-Header to Tyseley

Hasty shots depicting three WCRC Class 47s which ran light to Tyseley early Monday afternoon.

Train engine 47760 hauled 47851 and 47826, which is adorned with a 'Scarborough Spa Express' steam train advert.

Sutton Town Station

The former downside platform station buildings bask in bright winter sunshine on Saturday afternoon. They are now used as offices (photo's 3 and 4).

Over on the other side of the tracks the identical upside buildings are still intact, though now in a very dilapidated and overgrown condition (photo's 1 and 2).

Located at the end of where the downside platform stood is an old wrought iron gate and evidence of a Midland Railway diagonal-slatted fence.

The station here was apparently the first along the route to close, back in 1925, but oddly is the only location on the line where all station buildings still exist !

New post anyone ?

Six new signal posts awaiting installion across the Sutton Park line in connection with the West Midlands resignalling scheme, and some related equipment is also shown.

24040 at Aldridge

A slide scan of loco 24040 seen at the former station site of Aldridge during the latter half of the 1970s. The station buildings have been reduced to rubble and the platforms have all but been removed and cut back away from the running lines. New cable troughing has been laid on the upside.

In the background above the loco can be seen Station Road with the Pool Green area at left, and in the far distance Dumblederry Lane bridge.

Many thanks to Lee Sutton for this great shot.

Iced Up

Some views taken along Longwood Road, Aldridge during the big freeze, the afternoon of 7th December.

Napier Navigator

Another of Richard's excellent captures sees Porterbrook Deltic D9016 Gordon Highlander heading the 'Napier Navigator' charter excursion from Crewe to York on the 6th April 2002.

The view is that as seen from East View Road, near Wylde Green, before the pallisade fencing uglification.

Photo Copyright R Coghlan.

Back to the 70s!

It's been a while since I've noticed a 70 work the ballast from Stud Farm-Bescot, so it was nice to see 70006 rounding the curve at Ryecroft Jn with 6G16 on Wednesday 08th December. I'd have been even happier if it had run a tad late to enable the sun to get round more, but these things can't be helped!

Streetly Snowfall

Tuesday 30th November 2010 was a day of snowy conditions on the Park. 66577 is shown passing Streetly Gate in a heavy snow shower hauling what was assumed to be 4L68 12.15 Birch Coppice to Felixstowe freightliner.

The day also saw a strange move take place. The previous night's 6M00 11.33 Humber-Kingsbury tanks hauled by 60011, which was due to arrive at 17.15, didn't get to Kingsbury until midnight, long after the oil terminal closed. As soon as Kingsbury reopened it was allocated 6E68 back to Humber to clear the terminal for this mornings inbound tanks but then changed to 6Z68 Kingsbury-Bescot DS which duly ran. The loco then refuelled at Bescot before rejoining it’s train of tanks sat in the yard and then ran as 6Z68 13.35 Bescot-Humber complete with it's 31 tanks still unemptied and is again seen passing Streetly Gate.