Simon Bendall

FL 66s again, started last night with 66507 and 66519. No 20s of any flavour this year.

Yes, FOs were West Coast, BSOs were Cross Country.

Staying with 'other' fluids, earlier diesels had a urinal in the engine room or bonnet. Having worked on two preserved Class 50s, the surrounding floor and other metalwork was always quite corroded. Then there's the small matter if using it, you would have had your back to the generator assembly a few feet away, never a good idea on a 50!

All speculation, driver needs to get to Rhymney so easier/safer to take another loco rather than passenger service or taxi, 37175 maybe out of hours for exam, etc.

Quite possibly just due an exam, it had been there since 30th August.

Colas provide a 37 at Rhymney to act as a thunderbird for Class 769 testing, this was 37418 retrieving 37175, which has been there for several weeks.

Are all the HAAs having the same arrangement of door mechanism covers as the measured 350002? Its still got one of the original ones (on the central door) with rounded ends and two replacements of the later design with squared off ends. It would have had all rounded originally but the majority of the HAAs were built with all three squared off. Thought it worth a mention as this is what shows on the images at present so its a bit of a mongrel.

There's no loco hauled workings to Holyhead at present, Mk.3s have gone and training is far from complete on the replacement Mk.4s.

The last ones went around the end of 2016 as the JNAs arrived.

The FEAs have already started deploying, already located at Carlisle, Shrewsbury and Mossend with the Stowmarket sets due to leave York tomorrow. Typically start end of September/early October but depends on local conditions. Looks like there's going to be additional RHTTs operating in Scotland this year with DB power.

You're looking at the back of the train with 66004. At 0.56, there's two TEAs at the bottom of the screen, that was the front with 60062 removed.

New Avanti Pride livery on 390119 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYrlVoTyko0 Good luck chaps

Greenergy ceased its rail flow at the start of 2019, all the VTG-owned tanks went into store at Long Marston. The blue ones were leased by Puma Energy early this year, debranded and are now working out of Robeston.

All the green ones are still in store at Long Marston AFAIK so you won't.

Mike Having looked at this quite recently, for the blue period, a Salmon and Sturgeon mix is not uncommon based on pics and also found the odd Dolphin as well (with the ends cut down). Brake van both ends typically. Can't recall much in the way of other types but no reason a few Grampus or equivalent couldn't be included if its recovered track panels to collect miscellaneous bits.

With Andy's kind permission, notification of a new bookazine that has just been released, this being authored by me and published by Key. This is a 116-page mix of text and photographs looking back at loco-hauled passenger trains during the past 25 years of the privatisation era. This focuses on the hired-in traction and coaches rather than the TOCs' own stock, so features the likes of the Rhymney line, North Wales coast, First Great Western, East Anglia, Cumbrian coast, Fife Circle and everything in between. It also covers the hire of locos only to the likes of Virgin Cross Country, ScotRail/Caledonian Sleeper, Arriva Trains Wales, Wrexham/Chiltern and more. If you got the DRS 25 years one released back in February, it's in very much the same style. Can be ordered at https://shop.keypublishing.com/product/View/productCode/SPECHAULED/Loco-Hauled and should also be arriving in WH Smiths and independent newsagents from August 13. Some Tesco and Sainsburys should also have copies from this date. Some sample pages below.

Yes, delivered as IOA-F but soon recoded as IEA as caused confusion with the bigger boxes, 40 of them.

They're not Falcons but same concept, more akin to MLAs. They were delivered after the European interoperability rules took effect hence the telephone numbers

They finished start of 2019 if I recall correctly. Most of the blue tanks came out of store a few months ago and are now on the Puma flows out of Robeston. Think the green ones are still at Long Marston.

PFAs have been used as empty runners with KUAs on the Georgemas workings. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tug60044/29358534493

Fresh air express refers to any intermodal service running without or with very few containers.

Olive green was the final livery. I've got pics of at least two at Warrington in 1981 so they did leave the Eastern.

It's a Railhead Treatment Train path.

End of 2016 by the look of it.

Depends if you want it with pantograph or with the current contactless system, for example http://www.flickr.com/photos/darlo2009/8057738361 http://ww.flickr.com/photos/aderoberts/16471025629 http://www.flickr.com/photos/dave58282/27543427638