Monday 6th July 2020 seen another trip out, this time to the Leicestershire location of Cossington on the Midland Mainline, between Loughborough and Leicester, (or Leicester and Loughborough - depending on which way you look at it). Another spur of the moment trip too, as there was some info about that a couple of Class 37 workings were due through, plus several passenger services operated by the venerable High Speed Train (HST).
Usual routine, of getting in the car and heading towards Cossington, a leisurely drive through Hinckley to access the M69 at Junction 2, which only has an on/off slip road if you're either heading to Leicester or coming from Leicester although there are proposals to add on/off slips Southbound, this has became more apparent with the proposal to obliterate Burbage Common with a railfreight terminal - more on that in the future.
Back to the current situation, the drive to Cossington encompasses the M69, M1, A46, before going onto country lanes to access the location, despite the lifting of lockdown rules, it is still evident that the roads are still not as busy as pre-Covid levels, and the traffic was easy going.
Arriving at Cossington, my first shot was of the former LNER HST duo; 43257 and 43318 working 1D18 09:34 St. Pancras International - Nottingham. The HST being one of several sets displaced from the East Coast Mainline by the newer, and indeed sleeker Class 800 Azuma trains. The HST's are indeed on borrowed time on the Midland Mainline, as the new operator; East Midlands Railway are also replacing the HST's and Class 222 Meridian trains with a brand new Class 810, based on the Hitachi A-Train design. 33 new 5-car bi-mode have been quoted and will most likely run round in pairs forming 10 coach sets, with at a guess, a spare being used on standby, even I know 33 doesn't divide into 2 lol. My advice to enthusiasts is, get the HST's and Meridians while you can.
Another nice HST duo which made an appearance was former Grand Central duo; 43480 and 43484 working 1D21 10:05 St. Pancras International - Nottingham, this was caught later on in the day working 1C52 14:00 Sheffield - St. Pancras International, having worked an ECS manoeuvre from Nottingham to Sheffield.
What About Freight?.
The Midland Mainline isn't really that busy for freight services, it can, and indeed has, had it's moments over the years, but in recent times, the freight has dwindled. There use to be coal services from Daw Mill Colliery to Ratcliffe Power Station but this ceased back in 2013 due to a fire at the mine, as well as the ever increasing green agenda being pushed by the government, from a personal point of view, I really hope it doesn't come back and bite the UK up the derriere.
The main staple of freight on this section of the Midland Mainline tends to be services serving the nearby Mountsorrel granite quarry, with the occasional oil trains from Theale or Westerleigh to the Lindsey refineries, steel trains from Margam to Corby, or the somewhat more frequent cement trains from Dagenham or Theale to Hope cement works in Derbyshire. On this day however, I was blessed with 3 services; 2 services going to the aforementioned Mountsorrel Quarry, and a cement train heading to Hope from Theale.
And The Specials??.
"This town, is coming like a ghost town"
OK, not the band from Coventry, but the special moves that prompted me to head to Cossington in the first place.
First up, 37421 was going on a jolly to Crewe with inspection saloon Caroline (975025 for you number crunchers out there), taking a somewhat circuitous route via Leicester, Nuneaton, Stafford and Crewe, and returning the same way - well that was the plan anyway but it sort of went Pete Tong later in the day. I was a bit miffed that the 37 was propelling the saloon, in other words was pushing, but it's one of those things, but alas I though to myself that she would be leading on the way back which was one of the factors in making a day of it.
Less than half an hour later, the second special was due, 37099 and 37025, which looks the dogs wotsits in BR Blue Large Logo, complete with Inverness TMD nameplates, just unfortunate that she was tail gunning on the rear of the ensemble, still one can't complain, as after all, how often do you see a split-box Class 37 on the mainline, let alone 2?. Both of these venerable locomotives were working 1Q51 Derby RTC - Eastleigh, and with a combined age of 117 YEARS, both look in extremely fine fettle. 37025 was of course released to traffic in August 1961, whilst 37099 followed just over a year later in December 1962.
37421 herself being 45 years old, being released to traffic in February 1965 as D6967, later becoming 37267 and finally 37421.
Meridian Medley.
Whilst the bulk of sightings was indeed the Class 222 Meridian units, as mentioned previously, these are on borrowed time, and as such having a final fling with them doesn't seem a bad plan, especially as I think that they're quite photogenic trains, whether the same can be said for the Class 810's when they start in a couple of years remains to be seen, but from what I've seen, I think they will, especially in a nice bit of sun. Of note, it seems East Midlands Railway are still more or less running a full, pre-Covid lockdown service on their Intercity routes (half hourly to Nottingham and Sheffield mainly), although the regional services appear to be 2-hourly at best between Leicester and Nottingham (which stop at the local stations).
Caroline Stood Me Up!!.
As the afternoon drew on, I was also following the progress of 37421 and saloon Caroline on their jolly back from Crewe to Derby RTC, which was booked the same route as the outward run, but a number of delays, especially around Stafford, reasons unknown, had seen a quick change of plan, and the duo were diverted at Lichfield Trent Valley up to the little used high level line between Lichfield Trent Valley and Wichnor Junction on the main Birmingham - Derby line, thus missing out Nuneaton and Leicester, and of course the small, socially distanced gallery which had assembled at Cossington, including myself.
Cementing Friendship.
Since I came off social media - or should that be anti-social media??. I no longer see what other people in the hobby are doing or having a bit of banter or sharing photo's, but nevertheless, I met one at Cossington, who was also there for the 37, so it was nice to have a catch up and chat. The last train of the day, before calling it a day, was 66616 working 6M91 Theale - Earles Sidings (Hope) cement working.
The Sightings.
HST Formations.
1D18 09:34 St. Pancras International - Nottingham.
43257
44070, 42152, 42157, 42156, 42155, 40700, 41069, 41079
43318
1D21 10:05 St. Pancras International - Nottingham.
43480
42404, 42401, 42584, 41206, 40221, 41207
43484
1D23 10:34 St. Pancras International - Nottingham.
43058
41071, 41072, 40753, 42329, 42139, 42140, 42140, 44048
43045
1D28 11:34 St. Pancras International - Nottingham.
43073
44051, 42149, 42148, 42341, 42328, 40756, 41076, 41075
43059
Of course, some sets made a couple of appearances, but as it happens, of the 5 sets out, I managed to get 4.