Odd items alongside the WCML this week - does anyone know what/why

[woodenhead]

So I popped down to London this week and as it's spring for the first time in a long time I was doing this able to see out of the window.

 

Two things that intrigued me:

1. On the way down, somewhere south of Tamworth and north of Watford was a hut at the side of the railway next to the fast lines.  It was an old hut but it had a full pantograph attached to the roof.  I am guessing it was not be used haha but how did a full pantograph unit end up on top of a hut alongside the WCML.
2. On the way home after leaving Stoke in the CCE sidings there appeared to be a couple of old coaches, one possibly a Gresley in poor condition and what looked like the rusty remains of a large steam loco.  Where have these come from?

[montyburns56]

There's a thread about the pantograph here.....

 

https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/odd-wcml-p-way-hut.156421/

[Mol_PMB]

The yard just north of Stoke seems to have a changing variety of old and not-so-old rolling stock dumped there, and I think most of it is destined for scrapping or component recovery, but some may just be stored on behalf of its owners.

I suspect the steam loco is one of the broad gauge ones imported from Finland a couple of decades ago, but I'm not certain.

More modern stock present recently has included several crash-damaged DMU and EMU vehicles. There were also some old tube stock cars and a few industrial diesels. It seems to be a different selection every time.

[Simon Bendall]

The yard at Stoke is Cockshute Sidings, which is used by road haulier Reid Freight Services as an overflow for its main haulage yard. Some stock is stored there on behalf of its owners, others held for resale or component recovery, more still just passing through. The steam is Alco 70284 ex Ruddington.