Jim’s “out and about with GBRf” thread

[big jim]

20 hours ago, Davexoc said:

 

Bristol to Doncaster, RTT info here....

 

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:K64287/2024-01-14/detailed

I can’t believe it took the cross city route through Sutton Coldfield from new st to Derby! 
 

(that’s the sort of route I’d ask for just for a bit of fun)

 

some from my little trip out, Leicester to Mountsorrel then barrow hill 

 

someone else nicked the 47 I was hoping to take!

 

69010 again 

 

Into Mountsorrel 

 

and onto the 6 wagons that are off to barrow hill for some work to be done 

 

Waiting the path 

on the arrival line at barrow hill

 

 

Backed the train into the yard and dropped off 4 wagons 

 

Before backing the remaining 2 wagons into the roundhouse, we actually set it back further than we needed to get some pics with the manager of the depot before pulling forward and detaching!

 

 

 

 

the baby deltic replica in the shed looks absolutely amazing, when I first heard about the plan to make one I thought ‘why?’ But seeing it in the flesh, WOW!! (No pics unfortunately, didn’t have time to get any)

back onto the branch to depart 

 

and into the loop to change ends to head toward barrow hill north jn before heading back to Leicester 

 

And that was about it for pics, intermodal tomorrow, Rugby to Hams hall and back to crewe 

Edited January 15 by big jim

[corneliuslundie]

They could have cleaned the loco for you when they stole the 47.

J

[Nova Scotian]

The creasing and rippling on the side of the 69 really is quite pronouned.

[big jim]

Nowt spectacular today, rugby to hams hall and back to crewe 

 

Fuelling in hams 

 

shunt loco, is this an 09?

 

Daylight 

 

out onto the reception line to run round 

 

and into crewe 

 

whilst walking to the loco in rugby I looked down and spotted a key in the ballast, took it to the loco and put a message and email out to all the drivers in the Midlands area to see if anyone had lost one, my next plan was to tweet all the freight companies to see if anyone would come forward and claim them, however when I got to hams I asked the shunter if they had a WhatsApp group to put a message out and he said ‘it’s probably such and such a shunter, he lost his’ so I sent him the below picture and within about 30 seconds I got a call, they were indeed his and he’d lost them 4 months ago while doing a run round! 

 

as you can imagine he was pretty happy, he’d had to taxi home the night he lost them and had been using a spare key since then, I suggested he invest in an Apple AirTag! 
 

MOD tomorrow but that’s already gone boobs up as my car hasn’t arrived so it’s a long taxi trip now 

[SR Chris]

"shunt loco, is this an 09?"

 

Yes, 09 004.

[big jim]

Only took one pic today, dark to start with then cold so stayed in the cab! 
 

nice to see a Military themed 66 on an MOD job, Royal Corp of Signals 

 

rugby-hams-crewe tomorrow 

[CovDriver]

My favourite 66 seen as its named after my old regiment. I was in this morning at 0351 working a rest day. 

Like you say it was too cold for taking pics. 

 

[big jim]

I did look out for you as I passed through cov! 

[CovDriver]

25 minutes ago, big jim said:

I did look out for you as I passed through cov! 

Was it you on 4M68 as the signaller wouldn't give me the road as it was running a little early...

 

[big jim]

18 hours ago, CovDriver said:

Was it you on 4M68 as the signaller wouldn't give me the road as it was running a little early...

 

no I was 4M77 yesterday

 

today should have been a rugby to hams and back to crewe job but when I got to rugby another driver rang me and said I’d be taking his train to duddeston to run round as there were OHLE issues on his booked route at stetchford and he didn’t sign duddeston, (he was booked rugby-coventry-stetchford-Aston-Sutton park-coleshill-Kingsbury-birch coppice) 

he would work my train to hams hall and get it stabled then jump back on his original job when I passed back through coleshill after the run round, I basically followed him rugby-Nuneaton-hams hall before heading to duddeston to run round and coming back through coleshill again!

 

Rugby 

 

Running round in saltley 

 

and off at coleshill

 

after a quick drive into Birmingham to collect something from picture pride cabinet markers I went back to hams to pick up my train to crewe 

 

Ran round in the yard today as there was another train on the reception line 

 

Into crewe

 

Class 90s 

 

tonight’s job is cancelled but I’ve got to go to small heath to do some shunting instead by the looks of it 

 

 

[big jim]

Only 3 from last night, ended up as a short bescot to Leamington spa job 

 

66s in Bescot 

 

my loco on the scrap train 

 

leamington spa

 

that was that, nice little 5 hour door to door job, don’t get many of those! 
 

Conducting job tonight on the hope valley 

[big jim]

Good night last night, had a can you just to work another train before my booked job which worked out nice 

 

someone needed conducting crewe to Stockport via northwich so I got him to take my hire car to Stockport and I too the train 

 

lots of interesting things in basford hall before I set off 

 

class 90s

 

My train 

 

which was parked alongside 66001

 

which in turn was next to 66957

 

3 different companies

 

nice line up (with my next train lurking behind!) 

 

Class 90 and the original ‘wrong shade’ class 66

 

So off I went to stockport 

 

from there I drove to peak forest for a break/snooze in the mess room until I drove over to chinley to meet my booked train, I had to work it to and onto the worksite at Hope as the driver didn’t sign beyond chinley jn 

 

Not a lot to see at chinley any more when you compare it to how it was in steam days!

 

And in rolled the train 

 

Which I took to Hope, waiting at the worksite boards, the sun had just started to rise 

 

into hope station where, now in the worksite the driver who got off at chinley got back on and took it off me

 

 

of course as he’d bought my hire car over I managed to head straight home, lovely sunrise at the top of the pass between Castleton and Buxton 

 

that’s me until Tuesday now 

[big jim]

Back to it last night, first up a ‘can you just’ conducting the sleeper train via the West Midlands 

 

got on at rugby 

 

and off at crewe 

 

Where 37884 was running round some Mersey rail units en route for scrap 

 

 

pass back to rugby on the first pendo of the day 

 

 

My train rolled in 

 

And off at bescot 

 

crewe to landor st scrap job tomorrow 

[corneliuslundie]

Did the sleeper get to its destinations? I thought Scotrand's railways closed down.

Jonathan

[CovDriver]

I was held up outside Northampton this morning waiting for 66701 on the ballast to come through via platform 1 and onto the up/down slow. 

 

 

[big jim]

20 minutes ago, corneliuslundie said:

Did the sleeper get to its destinations? I thought Scotrand's railways closed down.

Jonathan

It got to Glasgow 

https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:C20722/2024-01-22/detailed#allox_id=0

 

4 minutes ago, CovDriver said:

 

I was held up outside Northampton this morning waiting for 66701 on the ballast to come through via platform 1 and onto the up/down slow. 

 

 

there seemed to be a lot of freight heading through Northampton this morning around the same time, my train pulled into rugby at 07:05 which was the same time as the LM was due to depart hence the people on the platform, I didn’t hang about with it though

 

the DB train of autoballasters that went though before mine was the remnants of the one that came off at mitre bridge, only noticed because as it passed I spotted the rear wagon had a buckeye rather than buffers and drawbar, it was 11 wagons apparently, 4 left begind, Bescot yard were trying to figure out how to shunt it around when I got there! 

[rogerzilla]

We're going on the sleeper to Fort William at the start of November.  Hoping for a 73/9 on the last leg; GBRf often put a shed on if a 73 isn't available, and it won't be in midnight teal either!

[big jim]

3 hours ago, rogerzilla said:

We're going on the sleeper to Fort William at the start of November.  Hoping for a 73/9 on the last leg; GBRf often put a shed on if a 73 isn't available, and it won't be in midnight teal either!

the 73 has to be on the train to provide the ETH so you’ll defiantly get one on there, I think the fort William service is normally a 66/73 combo 

[rogerzilla]

5 hours ago, big jim said:

the 73 has to be on the train to provide the ETH so you’ll defiantly get one on there, I think the fort William service is normally a 66/73 combo 

What's the 66 for?  To avoid a runaround at Fort William?  I know they use a 66 or similar to bring the outbound train into Euston.

[newbryford]

1 hour ago, rogerzilla said:

What's the 66 for?  To avoid a runaround at Fort William?  I know they use a 66 or similar to bring the outbound train into Euston.

 

The 66 is there for traction as a single 73/9 isn't up to the task of traction and heat. As Jim says, the 73/9 is to provide an electric train supply.

 

Similarly, it will have been a 92 on the Euston leg.

66s cannot provide electric train supply.

[rogerzilla]

1 hour ago, newbryford said:

 

The 66 is there for traction as a single 73/9 isn't up to the task of traction and heat. As Jim says, the 73/9 is to provide an electric train supply.

 

Similarly, it will have been a 92 on the Euston leg.

66s cannot provide electric train supply.

Yes, the 16 coach leg is pulled by a 92 but I think they use a 66 to bring it into the platform.  I suppose there isn't a dedicated station pilot these days, with most trains being double-ended.

[big jim]

3 minutes ago, rogerzilla said:

Yes, the 16 coach leg is pulled by a 92 but I think they use a 66 to bring it into the platform.  I suppose there isn't a dedicated station pilot these days, with most trains being double-ended.

@Erixtar1992 is your man for that info, he does the sleeper shunts 

[newbryford]

14 minutes ago, rogerzilla said:

Yes, the 16 coach leg is pulled by a 92 but I think they use a 66 to bring it into the platform.  I suppose there isn't a dedicated station pilot these days, with most trains being double-ended.

 

They currently use a 92 at Glasgow to take the ECS from Polmadie to Central - with a dead 92 on the rear - that becomes the train loco to Euston.

As Jim says, Erixtar will hopefully confirm the Euston operation.

[Ian Hargrave]

9 hours ago, big jim said:

the 73 has to be on the train to provide the ETH so you’ll defiantly get one on there, I think the fort William service is normally a 66/73 combo 

And has been so for a number of years….well at least it certainly was in the summer of 2021 which is when I saw it parked up outside Fort William station. Worth a look at RealTime Trains which gives you both train&traction information .

[adb968008]

Ive not seen a 66 at Euston on the sleepers before, its always been a 92…

 

The mode ive observed is

 

1. the Highlander sleeper arrives ecs with a 92 either end.

2. it detached the one at the blocks and heads north.

3. Meanwhile the Lowlander ecs arrives and uncouples its loco.

4. The ecs loco off the highlander then runs out and couples to the front of the lowlander.

5. lowlander heads north.

6. LE back to Wembley.

 

The morning, is the above but in reverse order.

 

Ive not seen any variation of this with 3 class 92’s used, since the mk3’s were stood down, except for ecml diverts, when both trains were top and tailed, to/from wembley, and uses 4 class 92’s, or if one of them wasnt running at all.

 

if a 66 is being used, I’d be pretty keen to photograph it, do any have compatible couplings ?
 

Up in scotland the 66 has always been lead loco, with the 73 inside (unless it was 2x 73’s) , though I understand 37403 is on standby, but requires a 73 also for the coupling translator.

 

Edited January 24 by adb968008