CWJ

Some of my skipographs for your enjoyment (or otherwise)... EFE Rail's weathering artist strikes again. Or, 67003 at Doncaster works on 23rd December 2009. 67008 prepares to depart from Manchester Piccadilly with an infrastructure monitoring train on 7th May 2014. At the rear of the previous photo's train was 67025, sporting a few bumper stickers it would seem. In December 2010 the Cardiff to Taunton stopper was being operated by top-and-tailed Class 67s. 67017 is seen passing Creech St Michael (taken on film and scanned from a print, sorry it's a bit grainy). 67018 'Keith Heller' hauls the Northern Belle set through York on 15th June 2010. Cheers, Will

D1733 (AKA 47853 I believe?) in the sidings at Derby station in 2004 or thereabouts, when Virgin XC repainted a number of their 47s in heritage liveries as a farewell gesture before being replaced by Voyagers. On 15th September 2006 47709 'Dionysos' interferes with my steam photography at the south end of Derby station. In summer 2004 Virgin West Coast were using Class 47s to haul their Mk3 sets between Crewe and Holyhead, presumably while the Class 57s were being equipped to haul the Pendolinos until the Voyagers were delivered. 47851 calls at Bangor on 24th August 2004. More recently, 47746's driver takes care to make full use of every inch of Platform 1 at Huddersfield as he calls with a charter on 7th May 2014. Cheers, Will

47832 and 47802 head south into York with what I believe was an empty stock movement on 23rd November 2009. 47802 at York again, this time working northbound with what I noted was a driver training run for Grand Central on 15th June 2006. In very different weather, the driver of 47712 'Pride of Cumbria' tries to warm her up on 2nd February 2009. Note the cab door droplights etched with the DRS logo - that would be a nice touch on a model. 47715 arrives at the National Railway Museum on 23rd May 2011 in a convoy of visiting locomotives. Snowplough-fitted 47760 is about to depart from York with a Northbound charter on 28th June 2012. Cheers, Will

A few of my photos (of varying quality!) from the last couple of decades: 47826 asserts its carbon footprint on the Cumbrian Coast line with a circular railtour from York on 15th October 2011. 47802 in early DRS livery at Haworth station on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway, 25th April 2004. The three locos were visiting the line to test new control electronics in the 20 and the 37. 47828 'Joe Strummer' and a sister loco in Cotswold Rail livery stabled at Doncaster on 23rd December 2009 while the works shunter makes itself useful by shuffling a Class 91 around. 2nd June 2011 and 47749 'Demelza' approaches York from the North. A few days earlier on 27th May 2011, the other end of the same loco can be seen at the other end of York station. The opposite side of 47826 from my first photo above carried an advertisement for the Scarborough Spa Express. 826 brings up the rear of a different railtour on 6th July 2009. Cheers, Will

Most of my railway photos were taken before it became fashionable to bring 56s out of retirement for main line work, but here are a few: 56097 arrives at Brush Traction, Loughborough, on 17th November 2004 after being privately purchased for restoration. Several years and a lot of elbow grease later, the same loco was looking superb on its first test run at the Great Central Railway (North), Ruddington on 20th September 2008. 56311 rumbles though York with a southbound scrap metal train on 18th May 2012. I had forgotten this livery ever existed, let alone that I'd photographed it. 56312 repeats the rumbling-through-York-with-scrap-train routine on 17th April 2012, but sporting promotional graphics for the forthcoming Railfest event at the National Railway Museum. Cheers, Will

92002 'H.G. Wells' at Crewe station on 12th November 2013. Two days later 90043 was to be found lurking in Crewe carriage shed. Cheers, Will

Old and new at York on 19th February 2020 as 91107 'Skyfall' departs towards London, unusually on Platform 5. Network Rail's overhead line icebreaker locos 86901 and 86902 stabled at York on 24th February 2009. Having said in my last post that Class 90s were rare at York (they are, honest!) here's 90024 with another northbound charter on 5th August 2011. To Crewe carriage sidings now and 90041 catches the low winter sun on 12th November 2013. Looking in the opposite direction from the previous photo, and taken the next day, 86604 pokes its nose out of the carriage shed. Cheers, Will

ETL 86701 'Orion' on the blocks at Manchester Piccadilly on 16th February 2011. Class 90s are rare at York, but here we see Scotrail-liveried 90019 calling with a charter on 24th June 2009. 90043 stabled in Platform 1 at York, 8th October 2009. 90029 on another Northbound charter leaves York on 20th July 2010. More regular traction in the form of 91131 propelling a Kings Cross train into the station on 29th November 2010. Cheers, Will

A few of my photos which I hope are of interest to AC loco enthusiasts out there, starting with some Class 91s: 91127 'Edinburgh Castle' stands in Platform 5 at Leeds with a train for Kings Cross on 16th February 2006. It's possible to see the exact top and bottom limits of the carriage washer by the dirt on the roof and underframe! 91114 in the sidings at Doncaster on 4th January 2009, wearing the rather drab National Express East Coast livery. An unidentified Class 91 propels an Up train away from Colton Junction on 11th February 2009. Back at Doncaster, 91125 was stabled in the south-facing bay platform on 27th March 2010. Also at Colton Junction, 91113 brings up the rear of a southbound train on 28th June 2009. Finally, bang up to date, 91109 shows off LNER's interpretation of Intercity livery at Leeds on 24th November 2022. Cheers, Will

A few more... 60091 bears an ugly scar where the nameplate was removed. A rare visitor to the sidings at York station on 2nd February 2009. On 28th November 2011, 60015 'Bow Fell' was looking tired at Toton depot. 60031 catches the sun at Ashchurch on 10th February 2009. Cheers, Will

A few of my photos, more for any historical interest than the photography! Starting with a bunch of oil tanker trains around York... 22nd June 2010 and 60011 in the remains of Mainline blue livery accelerates away from York with a southbound oil train. Unusually it has been routed through the station rather than the avoiding lines in the foreground. 60019 passes the 'Edinburgh 200 Miles' signs at Overton, a few miles North of York, on 6th July 2009. 60040 bears down on Copmanthorpe foot crossing, South of York, on 18th August 2009. Back at Overton on 29th September 2011 the Up Slow line reverberates under 60065. I know, I know, I should have released the shutted about a second earlier! Nevertheless, here's Tata Steel-liveried 60099 at Shipton, North of York, with another southbound oil train. Cheers, Will

314207 looking classy in Strathclyde crimson and cream at Glasgow Central on 25th October 2011. London Midland 350252 in an unexpected place: the little-used Platform 3 at Penrith where it has probably been looped to allow a Down Pendolino to pass. This unit was on loan to First TransPennine Express for driver training while TPE's own fleet of Class 350/4s was being delivered. View from the back cab of 350252 (where I had permission to be, somewhere between Preston and Glasgow on 20th August 2013. This is what TPE was waiting for - 350405 being commissioned at the Wildenrath test facility in Germany on 17th December 2013. To the right is a Munich metro unit and behind is a European version of the Desiro for Belgium. I couldn't possibly comment on the destination screen. Nothing to do with me... 350409 was the first EMU to wear FTPE livery, a different version from the Class 185 to suit the different window layout. Ardwick depot, Manchester, 25th March 2014. And a few days later on 6th April, 409 was out on a commissioning/training run at Preston with a classmate still in '50 shades of grey' base coat. Cheers, Will

323232 (a difficult unit number to say out loud!) basks in the dappled sunlight of Manchester Piccadilly on 11th May 2009. Meanwhile at Birmingham New Street, 323205 pulls in with a cross-city service on 12th March 2008. If you're familiar with these units you'll be imagining the amusing wee-wee-wee noise from the traction convertors. 333013 calls at Keighley on 26th July 2008 with a Skipton to Bradford Forster Square working, while a brave bunch of souls on Platform 2 have just boarded a pair of Pacers for the long stretch of jointed track between Settle Junction and Lancaster on their Leeds to Morecambe service. As someone who grew up in the Aire Valley it is difficult to explain just what a difference electrification made to this line and the surrounding area, especially when the new EMUs were introduced. Having declared myself a Northerner, you will appreciate I found it a novelty to stumble upon dual-voltage 377208 at Milton Keynes, having arrived from somewhere south of the Thames. Back in the North, or the South depending on your perspective, 380113 stands at Glasgow Central. FirstGroup logos were still on the doors when this was taken back on 25th October 2011. Cheers, Will

323237 pulls into Manchester Piccadilly on a chilly 5th January 2009. The same unit just before arrival. It was still sporting First North Western 'Barbie' livery but with Northern logos. 320316 pauses at York on 28th February 2012 on its return to Scotland from some kind of overhaul attention, possibly at Doncaster. ...and off she goes towards the North. Note that one of the tail lights is out. Prototype for everything! Cheers, Will

321410 in de-branded Silverlink livery at Doncaster on 23rd December 2009. I'm not sure what it was doing here... perhaps standing in while the Leeds-based 321s were being overhauled? 321302 sports National Express / Greater Anglia colours in the yard at Doncaster on 15th April 2009. Another rare visitor to the North - 465906 visits Wabtec for attention on 28th February 2010. And here's a close-up of the barrier wagon. Not far away in Leeds, two very different EMUs share platforms 1 and 2. 333013 and Eurostar set 3311 on the right with a GNER 'White Rose' service some time in 2004 or 2005. Cheers, Will

A few of my amateur photos - hopefully of interest to someone out there! Is this overhead enough? The place to stay in Glasgow is the Leonardo Hotel (formerly Jurys Inn) near Central station. From my hotel room, a Class 390 approaches the station over the River Clyde on 3rd September 2015. And a TPE Class 350/4 departs for Manchester Airport the same day. At the other end of the country, Ashford depot shows off a line-up of then-fairly-new Class 395s on 10th December 2008. The cab of 395003 on the same day. On 1st May 2009 321902 pulls into the bay platforms at Doncaster with a stopping service from Leeds. I never really liked this livery, which was a composite of West Yorkshire Metro red and Northern blue. Cheers, Will

My last few: 37516 was spotted at Euston on 25th August 2011. No idea what she was doing there! On 15th June last year 37425 was presumably involved in driver training or route learning when it called at Huddersfield's platform 5. ...and from the other side. 37408 'Loch Rannoch' brings up the rear of Arriva Trains Northern's popular loco-hauled service from Carlisle to Leeds, seen at Keighley on 18th September 2004. Cheers, Will

D6700 is shunted into the NRM's yard at York along with visiting Class 47s and a Deltic on 3rd May 2011. 37025 Inverness TMD on display at the National Railway Museum on 16th October 2010. 37611 brings a train of PFA wagons around the York avoiding lines on 5th July 2012. For some reason 37606 was tagged onto the back of the above working. In the earlier DRS livery, 37510 is stabled at Doncaster on 9th February 2006. Cheers, Will

37706 stands at York with charter stock on 5th May 2011. At the other end of the train was 37676, seen as the train was pulling in. A poor photo, but 97301 would have been a rare sight in the North-East as it brings an infrastructure monitoring train into York on 1st February 2011. The following winter two icons of British transport can be seen side-by-side at York. 37682 and a Landrover presumably belonging to the driver or fitter are captured on 30th November 2010. 37069 appears freshly repainted as it waits in the sidings at York on 19th September 2008. The same location looks different on 24th November 2022 following the construction of York ROC (left), but surprise surprise - there's stil a 37 sitting there! 37516 with a couple of extra embellishments on the cab side. Cheers, Will

37409 heads an inspection saloon working through Platform 1 at Sheffield on 16th June 2010... ...the second loco being 37423 'Spirit of the Lakes'. 14th January 2007 saw 37087 stabled at York. That combination of squarish buffers and split headcode boxes must be quite rare. In the same place on 7th July 2009 is 37229 'Jonty Jarvis', with 37423 making another appearance in the background. 37602 and 608 make a rare appearance on a scrap metal working on the York avoiding lines, 25th June 2011. This would have sounded good. Cheers, Will

A few of my 37 photos which I hope are of interest to someone out there... 37608 hastily snapped from a passing railtour at Sellafield on 15th October 2011. Note the multiple working jumper connected to a Class 20 on the right. 37248 approaches the Worth Valley platforms at Keighley with a shuttle from Skipton as part of the KWVR's 40th Anniversary celebrations on 29th June 2008. The KWVR is no stranger to DRS 37s which have frequently starred in Diesel Galas, but on this occasion 37069 is on a test run along with 20311 and 47802. The Worth Valley's steep gradients were being used to test new electronic Wheel Slide Protection on the 37 and the 20. 25th April 2004. 37214 arrives at Oakworth while visiting the KWVR on 29th August 2005. On 8th June 2009 37218 and 37607 are stabled in the yard at Doncaster with a very short infrastructure monitoring train. Late night at Sheffield, where refurbishment of the station canopy was underway when a filthy 37516 was photographed on 29th November 2004. Shame I didn't get a photo in daylight, as the faded Loadhaul livery would have made a challenging weathering project! Cheers, Will

Just one more: D4157 (I don't know the TOPS number, sorry!) at GBRf's Doncaster Roberts Road depot on 10th April 2017. Cheers, Will

A few of my amateur photos from more recent years, hopefully of interest to Gronkthusiasts... 08417 shunts the yard behind the RTC at Derby, 21st March 2009. A less attractive setting for 08669 as it trundles around Wabtec's yard at Doncaster on 23rd December 2009. 08631 waits for its next job outside Locomotive Services Limited's carriage shed at Crewe on 18th April 2018. I'm fairly sure this is taken in the yard adjacent to Doncaster Carr Loco shed, but I also visited Whitemoor Yard around that time, so it could also be there. 08885 seems to have been equipped for main line operation at some point as she sports a high-intensity headlight and modern marker lights. 19th March 2009. A trio of gronkage at Toton shed on 28th November 2011, consisting of (L-R) 08605, 08784 and 08994 whose coupling rods had been removed. Taken some time in 2004 when it was still fashionable to use a primitive digital camera rather than a decent film one, 08908 shunts Neville Hill depot, Leeds. With further apologies for the poor resolution, another 2004 shot shows 08525 being removed from Neville Hill depot by the only practicable means. The short-lived Maintrain livery represents National Express' train maintenance company serving Midland Mainline and Central Trains fleets. Cheers, Will

A few more: A Rail Head Treatment Train pauses at Leeds for the road towards York on 11th October 2006. Judging by the cleanliness of 20304's paintwork the leaf-fall season had not yet started in earnest! 20901 brings the RHTT over Scarborough Bridge, York, on 3rd October 2011... ...and 20905 brings up the rear. And finally, 20302 makes a scheduled stop at Meadowhall on a damp 7th November 2015 during an overnight circuit from York, taking in Huddersfield, Barnsley and Sheffield. Note the multiple working jumper connected to the rear loco via the wagons. Cheers, Will

A few of my amateur photos which I hope are of interest to someone out there! Hastily snapped from a passing railtour on 15th October 2011, 20303 has 37608 for company at Sellafield. A couple of shots of 20311 in Haworth yard in April 2004. The 37 and 20 were having their new electronic Wheel Slide Protection system tested on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway's steep gradient by Brush Traction. Here's the other one. Apologies for the low resolution, I only had a very basic digital camera at the time. KWVR resident 20031 pauses at Oakworth in perfect summer weather. 16th July 2006. The same loco approaches Oakworth from the North a few years later on 5th August 2012 with a Pullman dining train. The gradient is about 1-in-60 here, and you can almost hear the sound effects! Cheers, Will