Hello and Welcome to the blog of my Zenfolio site.
Ideally I would like this to be the first port of call for visitors to this site as all updates and relevant links will be posted here, so therefore it will be easier to see my most recent pictures whether it be rail, road or miscellaneous photographs. Of course there is also the search facility on the site too in case you want to look for a specific loco number, vehicle registration plate or a keyword.
There will always be something happening on here, whether it's recent pics being uploaded or older negatives and slides being scanned on (more applicable to the railway side of things).
[LOG] Atherstone Sightings - 14/05/18.
Sightings from Atherstone, in Warwickshire during a nice sunny day, the main objective was to get 37601 dragging Crossrail 345034 from Crewe LNWR - Old Oak Common, also to get a few of Virgin Trains Pendolino units.
- 12:23 90043 + 90041 4M27 Coatbridge - Daventry.
- 12:35 170272 5K70 Norwich Crown Point - Crewe C.S.
- 12:41 90049 + 90045 4S44 Daventry - Coatbridge.
- 13:33 37601 + 345034 5Q73 Crewe LNWR - Old Oak Common.
- 13:43 66416 4M81 Felixstowe - Crewe Basford Hall.
- 14:37 66553 4L90 Crewe Basford Hall - Felixstowe.
- 14:45 70015 4M63 Felixstowe - Ditton.
- 15:37 66119 6V11 Dowlow - Wembley Yard.
- 15:48 66027 4L56 Trafford Park - London Gateway.
- 15:58 66561 4M58 Southampton - Crewe Basford Hall.
- 16:01 90040 + 90018 4M25 Mossend - Daventry.
- 16:30 170271 5L70 Crewe C.S. - Norwich Crown Point.
- 16:43 66706 4L18 Trafford Park - Felixstowe.
- 16:46 70014 4M61 Southampton - Trafford Park.
- 16:50 66548 4M88 Felixstowe - Trafford Park.
UNITS.
221101, 221102, 221105, 221106, 221107, 221114, 221142.
350101, 350238, 350368, 350372.
390002, 390005, 390009, 390010, 390020, 390040, 390042, 390044, 390047, 390104, 390107, 390114, 390115, 390117, 390118, 390119, 390122, 390127, 390131, 390132, 390134, 390152, 390153, 390156.
[LOG] Sightings and Observations from D.I.R.F.T. - 19/04/18.
A session at an overbridge adjacent to the Daventry International Railfreight Terminal, or Barby Nortoft as it's also called, during a very pleasant and warm day.
- 12:15 90045 + 90042 4S44 Daventry - Coatbridge.
- 12:41 90016 + 90049 4M27 Coatbridge - Daventry.
- 12:47 66552 4M94 Felixstowe - Lawley Street.
- 13:46 66957 4L46 Lawley Street - London Gateway.
- 14:12 90028 + 90037 4M25 Mossend - Daventry.
- 14:27 66508 4M63 Felixstowe - Ditton.
- 14:29 67005 + 67002 1Z55 London Euston - Burnley Manchester Road.
- 15:24 66517 4M58 Southampton - Garston.
- 15:29 66727 4M23 Felixstowe - Hams Hall.
- 15:43 66567 4L90 Crewe Basford Hall - Felixstowe.
- 15:59 70008 4M88 Felixstowe - Trafford Park.
- 16:19 66093 6B30 Mountsorrel - Northampton.
- 16:45 66085 4L56 Trafford Park - London Gateway.
- 16:59 70011 4M87 Felixstowe - Trafford Park.
- 17:05 66558 4L92 Ditton - Felixstowe.
UNITS:
350102, 350110, 350111, 350112, 350115, 350116, 350119, 350120, 350125, 350127, 350129, 350231, 350241, 350257, 350264, 350371, 350374, 350377.
390006.
I had come out hoping to see 350373, the sole London North Western Railway liveried Class 350, alas it didn't appear, still there's always another day right ;)
Cheers
James.
[LOG] Nuneaton Sightings. 16-04-18.
First session in quite a while seen a few hours at Nuneaton, which despite being a Monday (it's generally quiet) it turned out to be a good day to "Cop" things for the year.
- 13:27 70010 4M81 Felixstowe - Crewe Basford Hall
- 13:30 66598 4L46 Lawley Street - London Gateway.
- 13:37 90028 + 90037 4M25 Mossend - Daventry.
- 13:39 66723 6M26 Eastleigh - Mountsorrel.
- 13:44 66564 4M94 Felixstowe - Lawley Street.
- 13:57 66093 6G33 Mountsorrel - Small Heath.
- 14:16 70806 + 70811 6M50 Westbury - Bescot.
- 14:39 90041 4L90 Trafford Park - Felixstowe.
- 14:41 66557 4M63 Felixstowe - Ditton.
- 15:06 66707 4L22 Hams Hall - Felixstowe.
- 15:10 66764 6M20 Coton Hill - Wellingborough.
- 15:28 37800 0H70 Leicester L.I.P - Wolverton Centre Sidings.
- 15:41 66107 6V11 Dowlow - Theale.
- 15:42 66503 4M58 Southampton - Garston.
- 15:49 66085 4L56 Trafford Park - London Gateway.
- 15:49 66727 4M23 Felixstowe - Hams Hall.
- 16:02 66529 4L57 Birch Coppice - Felixstowe.
- 16:12 70020 4M61 Southampton - Trafford Park.
- 16:26 66722 4M29 Felixstowe - Birch Coppice.
- 16:35 66525 4O17 Lawley Street - Southampton.
- 16:41 70008 4M88 Felixstowe - Ditton.
- 16:42 66512 4L92 Ditton - Felixstowe.
- 16:44 66777 6M40 Westbury - Stud Farm.
- 16:46 66703 4L18 Trafford Park - Felixstowe.
- 16:56 66548 0M05 Crewe Basford Hall - Willesden Euro Terminal.
- 17:10 86622 + 86605 4M87 Felixstowe - Trafford Park.
- 17:28 66773 0M68 Peterborough - Bescot.
- 17:40 66762 4Z44 Longtown MOD - Wembley Yard.
- 18:23 70011 4O29 Trafford Park - Southampton.
- 18:24 66956 4M67 Southampton - Hams Hall.
- 18:40 345032 5Z01 Crewe Carriage Sidings - Rugby.
- 18:52 66763 + 66735 6L48 Garston - Dagenham.
- 19:07 90049 + 90016 4S45 Daventry - Coatbridge.
- 19:15 66957 4M56 London Gateway - Garston.
- 19:17 345032 5Z02 Rugby - Crewe Carriage Sidings.
UNITS
153371.
170101, 170102, 170103, 170107, 170111, 170113, 170116, 170519, 170523, 170639.
221101, 221107, 221108, 221110, 221112, 221117, 221118.
350105, 350106, 350111, 350116, 350118, 350121, 350123, 350126, 350370, 350371, 350374, 350377.
390001, 390002, 390005, 390006, 390040, 390045, 390046, 390049, 390104, 390114, 390115, 390119, 390121, 390123, 390124, 390125, 390126, 390129, 390130, 390131, 390132, 390134, 390136, 390137, 390154, 390155, 390157.
Overall, it was a pleasant day, and nice to see my first ever Class 345 EMU, which will eventually be used on The Elizabeth Line on the London CrossRail network.
Cheers
James
An 8F at the Great Central Railway.
Monday 12th February seen a TIMELINE EVENTS photo charter take place at the Great Central Railway in Leicestershire, commencing at Loughborough Central. The loco for the day was BR Class 8F, 48624 in BR Black livery. As it was to a freight themed photo charter, GCR regulations state that no passengers are to be carried on goods trains so therefore photographers made their way to locations by road, which was easy enough.
Our first port of call was Swithland Sidings, with it's semaphore signals, passing loops and of course the junction for the small branch to Mountsorrel Quarry, it's a steam railway photographers dream recreating the halycon days of steam train travel, which of course is the main aim of Timeline Events - to recreate bygone ages whether it's railways, air, water, road or even period dressed cameo scenes. The first set of shots seen the 8F paired up with a mixed freight rake, which was parked up in one of the sidings, and seen perform quite a few run pasts, starting off at the North end where the Mountsorrel Quarry branches off and the various semaphore signals, before gradually working our way down to the Southern part of the loops.
Afterwards, the mixed freight rake was put away and the windcutter mineral wagons were brought out, of course the fast, windcutter freight services were the main stay of the Great Central Railway when it was part of the UK rail network, and provided the bread and butter of the GCR's London Extension right up until 1965 when freight services were diverted to other routes, and the rundown continued until closure in 1966 as a through route. The 8F certainly looked the part as she strutted her stuff and indeed, photographs do exist of 8F's working the windcutter services between Annesley, Nottinghamshire and Woodford Halse in Northamptonshire, although 9F's were the main loco's.
After we had our fill of Swithland Sidings, we moved a bit further up the line to another location known as Rabbit Bridge, which is just the other side of Swithland Reservoir from Swithland Sidings. Rabbit Bridge has seen a fair bit of pruning of the undergrowth of late to make the location more appealing for photographers on charters as well as lineside pass holders. Again, the 8F was faultless and it would be very easy to imagine you were back in the late 50's/early 60's and seeing an 8F on a Woodford-bound freight service.
Our next location was Kinchley Lane, probably one of the most popular spots on the Great Central Railway for photographers, and offers fantastic views of Southbound services. The 8F was once again put through her paces for a series of run pasts for photographers and the videographers (I was doing both so it was nice to get a bit of variety). Just before 2pm, bearing in mind we'd been photographing since 8am, it was decided that the loco would return to Swithland Sidings to put the windcutter rake away, return to Loughborough to get watered and for the crew to have a break, before returning to Quorn to collect the next, and final rake; the recently repainted van train. Estimating it would take an hour to an hour and a half, we set off for some lunch, coming back into Quorn, we decided to go to the Butler Henderson Cafe at Quorn & Woodhouse Station to get fed and watered, looking at the menu, the All Day Breakfast really stood out and I thought "Ooo, that'll do me nicely...".
After some time elapsed, it was noticed that the 8F had returned from Loughborough, and after passing through Quorn & Woodhouse, had set back to collect the van train from one of the sidings. Our organiser, Neil, was made aware and such we all finished off our food and drink before heading back to Kinchley Lane for the next set of run pasts with the van train. In the meantime, the train crew waited patiently for us to get into position at Kinchley Lane, before being given the go ahead that we were in position, before performing the first run past with the vans, and a lovely looking ensemble it was too, the vans are a real credit to the volunteers who have given up their spare time to repaint them, I understand that a few more are to be done over time as well to make a longer train. Sadly, as time was getting on, and with the still relatively short days at this time of year, we didn't have time to visit any more locations and before long time was called just after 5pm.
Still, it was a fantastic day of photography, and mostly in the glorious Winter sunshine too. As ever, grateful thanks to Neil Cave of Timeline Events and of course the staff at the Great Central Railway who gave up their free time to allow this charter to take place.
Cheers,
James
Lunch with a view. 31/01/18.
Wednesday, myself and my "better half" opted for a lunch out somewhere, well it's been a fair weeks since we were last out together, and as the kids were at school we thought that we might as well treat ourselves right??.
Having thought of a few options, we eventually settled on The Wentworth Arms in Elmesthorpe, a small village not too far from Hinckley and, of course, more or less next to the railway line that runs between Nuneaton and Leicester, a coincidence on my part???. Well yes maybe ;). Arriving just after 12:30pm, we located a nice little booth next to the front window of the restaurant which overlooks the main Station Road between the A47 Clickers Way and the next village of Stoney Stanton, as well as a small field, you can also get good views of the railway line too, fancy that lol. Station Road, is so called as there was once a station in Elmesthorpe until 1969, when it was closed and subsequently demolished, however the old goods shed still stands and is now in use as a private business, although sometimes proposals to reopen Elmesthorpe do reappear from time to time.
Having a guess that we'd be there for the best part of an hour or so, I had a little gander at Real Time Trains website and seen that there was a few movements booked through during the course of our stay, and so in between eating I would have a look out to see what was coming.
The Start of it.
Normally, as a rule, I refrain from having a starter course, but as I was not working today, I decided to push the boat out and indulge in a starter, better the devil you know, I went for the starter I usually have which was the Crispy Chicken Strips, lovely pieces of chicken in a Louisiana-style coating accompanied by a garnished salad and BBQ dip, needless to say they weren't on my plate for very long :P.
The Main Subject.
After having the starter, and allowing sufficient time to go down, I was presented with my main course, again, in my opinion, was a tasty dish and was the Gammon & Eggs, consisting of quite a thick piece of gammon steak, it was accompanied by thick cut gourmet chips, garden peas as well as 2 fried eggs, ideal if you want to dip your chips in the yolk, because lets face it, we've all dipped chips in an egg yolk at some point or other, you can though have either 2 pineapple rings instead or 1 egg and 1 pineapple ring, it's entirely your choice.
The Inbetweeners.
Whilst it's easy to go on about how good the food was, and believe me, it's very good, it's very easy to overlook another main interest of mine - The Trains!!!. During the hour or so I was there, I seen 3 freight services with loco's from GBRf, Freightliner and finally DB Cargo making appearances:
- 12:43 66740 Sarah 6G16 Stud Farm - Bescot.
- 13:23 70005 4M81 Felixstowe - Crewe Basford Hall.
- 13:46 66183 6B30 Mountsorrel - Northampton Castle Yard.
There was of course the usual diet of CrossCountry Class 170 Turbostars plying their trade between Birmingham, Leicester and East Anglia, but due to operational requirements, 6V92 Corby - Margam steel empties were cancelled, and 6M26 Eastleigh - Mountsorrel empty ballast was running a bit late, and we had to leave before it arrived.
Photting with Style!.
Apart from a very decent place to grab a bite to eat, whether you want a light snack, a big juicy steak or even just a coffee and cake, on the opposite side of the field is a stile which is also a public footpath across the railway line PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS ISN'T A GREEN LIGHT TO TRESPASS ON THE RAILWAY!!. The stile is set a fair bit back from the line and gives quite a bit of height over the overgrowth to view, and indeed photograph passing trains, although the only flip side really is the fact it isn't a particularly busy line, although from time to time, especially at certain weekends you do get diverted container freight services from East Anglia to the Midlands/North-West as well as the odd sand train that originates at Middleton Towers, near Kings Lynn, and if you're really lucky, the occasional discharged oil tank train from Bedworth going back to Immingham's Puma Energy site - usually consisted of a rake of rent-a-wrecks.
Further information about The Wentworth Arms can be found HERE.
Cheers
James