Lowestoft Air Show Specials 2012- What a line up!

37425 growls as it crosses Reedham Swing Bridge with the additional 

(and delayed) 17:45 Lowestoft -  Norwich on 23rd June 2012

There are some events in the railway calender each year that really should not be missed. As far as I am concerned one of these is the annual Lowestoft Airshow held over two days each summer. A brilliant day out come rain or shine and made all that much better by the fact that loco hauled passenger trains have become part of the staple entertainment.

Another photographer captures 37425 as it storms through 

Oulton Broad North heading back to Norwich. The locomotive 

had been released into traffic with DRS just days earlier.

 For many years Anglia railways provided class 47's to top and tail a train to between the airshow and Norwich. With the franchise passing to National Express and now Abellio the tradition has remained. 2012 saw a departure from the usual arrangements with the airshow being staged over a weekend for the first time in it's 16 year history. For the rail fan this meant even more extra loco hauled trains!

As if two class 37/4's and two class 47's on passenger trains 

were not enough, 37409 'Lord Hinton' was also to be found 

stabled at Norwich with saloon coach 'Caroline'. This coach 

started it's life as a 'Hastings' unit buffet and also spent time 

as the SR general managers saloon before being converted 

to it's current use.

 In addition to the usual class 47's a pair of 37/4's were also turned out, freshly overhauled by DRS. Two sets of Mk3's were worked too and from the seaside both sandwiched between a pair of locos. 

37419 prepares to work it's fist passenger train in over six 

years; the 16:15 Lowestoft Norwich on 23rd June 2012.

37419 is seen powering the 18:20 Lowestoft Norwich shortly 

after crossing the swing bridge at Reedham. (The bridge visible 

here was the vantage point for the shot of 37425 on the 

swing bridge)

As an added attraction there was also a steam trip in the area which included the use of a former GWR pannier tank along the branch to Cromer, Sherringham and over the North Norfolk Railway to Holt. 
My only regret is that with so much rail action I didn't actually get a chance to watch the airshow!

Pannier Tank 6944 departs from Hoveton & Wroxham

What a line up! Four locomotives all on passenger stock stand at Norwich!

Shanghai to London- Part 3

Wuxi to Beijing-

The journey to Beijing is from Wuxi East Station- which turns out to be very east (especially as we are running late!). A 30 minute taxi ride from the downtown area on one of China’s new 3 lane elevated roadways brings into view another large steel station structure. Today is a fairly clear day but even so the towers of central Wuxi are too far away to be seen.  The station here will be linked to the new Wuxi metro system- but that is still under construction, large ‘cut and cover’ pits littering the cities streets.

Wuxi East Station on the Shanghai -Beijing High Speed Line

At Wuxi East we area allowed onto the platform some10 minutes before the train arrives from Shanghai. While waiting a fast Shinkansen style ‘Bullet Train’ soars through the central track at a line speed of around 300kph. The sight is certainly impressive! Shortly afterwards another similar train arrives to form the G112 service to Beijing South.

Boarding the train here is very orderly. Passengers are already queing at markers on the platform which locate the door position of their coach. As the train doors open passengers board from one door, while departing passengers leave from the opposite end of the coach. This eliminates (at least in theory ) the usual jam of people in the coach aisle.

Two views inside the Japanese 'Shinkansen' train

On board the train is comfortabley apponinted with 3+2 airline style seating. This is all configured to face the direction  of travel but can also be reversed to create a bay of seating for groups- not that I had found any way to influence the seat reservations I had been given.

A glimpse of a freight train on a 'classic' line as we speed past

As sightseers our allocated seats were not ideally placed being with windows which really could line up better. The fact that many of the window blinds are down is a further hindrance. We find some seats more suitable for viewing the scenery but half an hour later we must give them up and move back to our own seats as more passengers arrive. Very few trains in China run with empty seats and this one is no exception, now being close to capacity. Fortunately there are always vestuibles we can stand in to take our photographs when the scenery gets good- and this does happen from time to time along the route. The vast swathes of China’s flat and fairly uninspiring farmland are punctuated, of course, by large construction sites where tower blocks are appearing seemingly in the middle of nowhere. As each City approaches a myriad of further high speed routes converge before entering the cavernous parkway style stations.

Flat rural China. If you look closely you can just make 

out the silhouettes of a large group of tall apartment

buildings in the background

One cannot help feeling that these stations are excessively large, some with almost 20 platforms! Like everything else in China it is a clear sign of the countries confidence in it’s future with infrastructure built with capacity for expansion in mind.

While it certainly does feel link a long journey the 5 hour trip has been pleasant, smooth and very fast. As the rural scene changes to become more and more urban it is clear that arrival in Beijing is imminent. The cities South Station is well connected and having said goodbye to China’s high speed rail system and passing several security checks (which the Chinese seem very keen on) it is just a short hop on the subway to reach the city centre.

Beijing South Railway Station

The end of a split-box era. Farewell 37087.

Back in January 2009, 37087 is entrusted to the 4M71 Tilbury- Daventry
train following the failure of the booked class 66.
The train is seen here at Woodgrange Park in East London.

The traffic DRS locos have become known for- on 20th July 2010
37087 is seen leading 37229 though Kensington Olympia with
6M95, the nuclear flask working Dungeness

My final encounter with 37087 was on 16th December 2011
when it hauled a stoneblower to Eastleigh. The short
train is seen here emerging from the line to Staines at
Byfleet & New Haw

Ever since the fist class 37 rolled off the production line over fifty years ago the sight of a class 37 with split-headcode boxes has become very familiar. I personally only got into the hobby during the later decade of these locos histories, but even so the 'split box' machines were certainly my favourites. EWS was still using it's last survivors untill the end of 2004 after which it really seemed the end was near for 37's supporting earlier style front ends. DRS however still had some locos on it's books which had avoided the companies modernisation scheme. 37029 lasted in traffic until late 2006 (and has since entered preservation), thus leaving just 37087 to represent the split-box machines on the mainline. Amazingly the locomotive has continued to do just that, being the sole surviving split box machine for 5 1/2 years. Like all things though, good things must come to an end. In June 2012 the locomotive was withdrawn to donate parts to class 37/4's which will now be revived. The curtain hence has fallen on the real, working, split headcode 37's- gone, but certainly not forgotten.

Diamond Jubilee

June 2nd-5th 2012 sees the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II who is still going strong after an incredible 60 years of service on the throne. To make the occasion events have been ongoing up and down the country, with the railways doing their bit to join in the event.
Several operators have made the effort to mark the event with locomotive namings and re-paintings which have included a class 43, 47, 67 and 90.

DB Schenkers 67026 has been repainted into a special livery bearing the Union Jack and re-named 'Diamond Jubilee' for the occasion.

 One of the largest scale events to take place over the weekend was the Jubilee Thames Pageant in which more than 1000 boats sailed on the Thames through central London to crowds of onlookers and, of course, to the Queen. Despite the overall nautical theme the railways played their part in this event too (not to mention transporting thousands of spectators) with LMS locomotive 6201 'Princess Elizabeth' positioned over the Thames to mark the beginning of the event.

2601 'Princess Elizabeth' sounds her whistle to start the Thames Jubilee Pageant. On the boat below the real Queen Elizabeth II can be seen along with the Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

Shanghai to London- Part 2

Shanghai to Wuxi-

A 'Shinkensen' style train races past on another high-speed line

Having battled through the ques to purchase tickets it was time to head to Shanghai Railway Station. This station, fairly close to the city centre deals with both classic services and high speed trains on the route to Nanjing (Other high speed services depart from the out of town Honquiaio Station). At the larger Chinese stations one is no allowed onto the platforms until shortly before the train leaves- so 10 minutes before our departure I file down the escalator to meet my first Chinese high speed train. This amusingly turned out to be a rather more familiar sight than what one might have expected- a version of Siemens ‘Velaro’ train- to all intents and purposes a new generation German ICE.

Our 'Velaro' train leaves Wuxi to reach Nanjing

The scale of China’s high speed network is nothing short of breathtaking. As the train accelerates to over 300kph we pass an impressive array of diverging lines including a large high speed flying junction. Almost the entire route is elevated on top of concrete piers, which results in an excellent view from the windows. Arrival into Wuxi station continues to show the scale of the construction as a huge steel and glass trainshed spans the platforms. Like the whole line this new station opened around 2 years ago. Next door is the ‘old’ new station- built for the classic service some 10 years earlier. 

Shanghai to London- Part 1

Shanghai Local Transport-

The 'Transrapid' at Longyang Road, shanghai

Inside the Maglev train cruising at at 430kph

Arrival in Shanghai was by air from London Heathrow- an overnight flight with China Eastern Airlines (who seem to be the cheapest direct operator on this route by far). No sooner had I arrived at Pudong International Airport and it was time to experience the fastest land vehicle of the trip- infact, the fastest land vehicle available to the public anywhere in the world- the Shanghai Maglev. The system which opened in 2004 transports passengers from Shanghai Pudong airport at speeds of up to 431kph (268mph) towards the centre of Shanghai. I say 'towards' the centre as the 7-8 minute journey actually deposits passengers at Longyang Road metro station- it is a further 20 minutes into the city by conventional subway train! Never the less, the ride is impressive- the point where trains cross half way into the journey being particularly exhilarating.  

A train on an elevated section of the circular Line 4

A train pulls into Lianhua Road on Line 1. Is it just me or
is that  livery strangely familiar to anyone who has ever
caught a German train??

Shanghai is host to a modern and efficient metro system, and also one of the newest in the world. Launched in 2005 and expanded ever since the Shanghai Metro currently consists of 11 lines which cover most of the city areas and include a circular line which connects to many of the point to point routes. Tickets are very cheap by western standards, a typical journey costing just 2yuan (around 20pence). Single ride tickets are issued on plastic chipped cards which are retained by the turnstiles upon completion of each journey to be re-used from ticket machines. A 'transit card' (similar to the London's 'Oyster' scheme) is also available.

'Calbourne' visits the Mid-Hants

I have always had a connection with the Isle of Wight- relatives living in Ryde have provided me a reason to visit each summer virtually every year of my life. It is therefore no surprise that over that time I have developed a fondness for the Islands railways- both the eclectic '38 stock which runs on the electrified service, and for the Isle of Wight Steam Railway. 

The IoWS (which is one of my favourites) has a beautiful collection of vintage locomotives and just as importantly, beautiful coaches to go with them. My favourites of course are the 'real' Island locomotives, of which only three remain: Terriers W8 'Freshwater', W11 'Newport' and the sole surviving O2 W24 'Calbourne'. When I discovered that the O2, which has only recently returned to traffic was due to visit my local railway- the Mid-Hants, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to catch up with this unique locomotive. As an added bonus the sun decided to come out to play- something of a rarity recently!

Because the O2 is air braked only it's time at the Mid-Hants was spent working with the lines thumper unit, 205025 (a fine piece of kit in itself). The train worked extra shuttles between Alresford and Ropley which were slotted between the normal full line services provided by 850 'Lord Nelson' and Black 5 '45379'.

850 'Lord Nelson' on it's final approach to Alresford

W24 'Calbourne' heads towards Ropley from Alresford

'Calbourne' heads back to Alresford with the 'Thumper' unit

Black 5 45379 heads past fields of Rapeseed while working between Medstead & Four Marks and Ropley

'Lord Nelson' is seen running tender first towards Ropley

The O2 awaits departure from Ropley with the final service of the day to Alresford. This would also be the locomotives final passenger trip while at the Mid Hants.

'Calbourne' is touring several railways on the mainland during Spring 2012 before returning to the Isle of Wight for the summer season.

It's all been a bit quiet of late...

It has all been a bit quiet of late on this blog... and here is why. I've been a little busy over the last month. Not work, or family or frankly anything boring like that. In fact I have been travelling half way across the planet a journey of more than 6,000 miles from Shanghai to London by train. 

It has been quite a journey and I must thank my friend Simon for the opportunity to undertake the trip, and even more for putting up with me and waiting while I try to capture every locomotive in sight on my camera!

I hope to post the story of the trip over the next... little while... but to start off with, and as promised in my previous post I present one of my most pleasing captures of the trip- Mongolian Railways 2M62MM-009 hauling a heavy freight north through Ulaanbaatar.

Enjoy!

M62- A Soviet Monster

I am slowly developing my own thoughts on what my 'favourite' non-British locomotives would be. Certainly there are many worthy contenders throughout the world and while I am not sure that they would win an outright 'favourite locomotive in the world' category, the M62 would certainly top a 'Soviet' group.

Built between 1965 and 1980 the M62 is most definitely a monstrous class with a massive 7164 (according to Wikipedia) single sections produced to be formed into more than FIVE THOUSAND locomotives! To put that into context the most locomotives of any single class to ever operate in Britain were the class 47's at a meagre 512 pieces!

The locomotives have been common throughout former Soviet states from Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Belarus, Poland and of course Hungary (from where the designation M62 originates) to name just a few. Some M62 locomotives have even found their way to Cuba!

In Poland the class (known as ST44) have been in decline for many years now due to their huge fuel consumption and excessive track wear. Despite this many private operators continue to use the reliable locos, and even within PKP cargo rebuilt locomotives of this type are seeing something of a renaissance.

One of the highlights of my recent trip is photographed above- Privately owned Pol Meidz Trans loco M62-1199 heading a heavy ballast train through Poznan Staroleca on 2nd March 2012. This was the second PMT loco we had seen within the hour, the first being M62-3101. While 3101 gave the air of having been re-engined, M62-1199 with it's characteristic sound and exhaust was most definitely the real deal!

All being well I hope to be able to post some further M62's over the coming months...

Picture of the week- 19th March 2012

An interesting overview of the urban landscape of Newport (Gwent). While the ideal location for the photograph would have been the car park visible to the right this was sadly not accessible. Instead I found a perch high up with the pigeons in another city car park with a view looking east. While the River Gwent is obscured by trees the rolling landscape of rooftops still creates an interesting backdrop.

The train headed by 66127 is, I believe, a service from Exeter Riverside to Bescot conveying China Clay- it is about to head left onto the marches line towards Hereford, though quite how it would come to be travelling east through South Wales I am not entirely sure!

The photograph was taken on 17th March 2012.

Good things come in pairs

On February 19th 2012 GBRf liveried 73206 and 204 heading a train from the Thameslink worksite at Cricklewood. 73141 and 73213 are on the rear.

The humble class 73's have now been serving the railway for 50 years since the first JA arrived on southern metals in 1962. Despite having reached their half century mark many of the locos are still hard at work hauling trains just as they were designed to do. Since 2005 when 4 locomotives were overhauled by GB Railfreight the class have become common on weekend engineering trains across the former Southern region. As well as their core work on the SR the class have also found uses slightly further afield- often due to their narrow body design which permits the class to travel on lines barred to larger locomotives. It is for this reason that in early 2012 class 73's have found extensive use on engineering jobs in the Thameslink tunnels- where loading restrictions only permit class 31, 33 and 73 hauled trains.

On March 10th 2012 GBRf 's 73208 (in BR blue) and 73212 (in ex-first group colours) lead a loaded train from Cricklewood back towards the Thameslink tunnels through West Hampstead Thameslink .

Over 5 weeks GBRf has provided up to four pairs of locos for the trains which enter the tunnel from the northern end with wagons being marshalled at Cricklewood. The large requirement for locomotives has seen many of the more interesting 'ED's hired in to supplement GBRf's own fleet on these trains.

March 10th saw both ex-SWT 73109 and 73136 hired to supplement the GBRf fleet. The locos are seen stabled at Kentish Town.

73201 and 73107 were two further hired in locos working on 10th March 2012. The pair of ED's from RT rail are seen leading a spoil train out of the worksite between Kentish town and West Hampstead Thameslink.

The complete train of hired in locomotives- 73201 'Broadlands', 73107 'Redhill 1844-1994', 73136 'Perseverance' and 73109 'Battle of Britain 50th anniversary' trundle towards Cricklewood station.

Poznan Diesels- How long can they survive?

Not so long ago Poland was awash with diesel hauled passenger trains travelling to all manor of small destinations, on single track routes, where a diesel locomotive would haul anything upwards of a single coach.

Sadly those days are gone- the break up of some of Poland's railways together with line closures and an influx of new DMU's have resulted in scores of former passenger locos being laid up. There is still however a small amount of diesel haulage still available for the enthusiast in some parts of the country.

In Poznan there is now only one daily diagram (Mon-Fri) that brings diesel haulage to the city- a 5:53 Leszno-Poznan Gl and 15:34 return. The train is booked for an SU45, though in reality it could also produce an SP32 or SP42.

On Fridays and Sundays there is also an evening return trip from Poznan Gl to Gorzow departing Poznan at 16:27 and returning from Gorzow at 19:36. Again this turn is booked for an SU45 but other classes of loco can turn up as above.

Of course it is also worth mentioning the two steam trips each day from Woltszyn to Poznan and return- which can produce diesel locos in the event of the steam locomotive being unavailable.

Pictured above is Przewozy Regionalne SU45 079 awaiting the afternoon departure from Poznan to Leszno. The train is formed of a set of 4 articulated double deck vehicles- now quite a rarity. Running under the wires for the duration of it's trip the future for workings such as this must be fairly bleak.

Pictured below is SP32 202 ready to work the Friday Gorzow trip. Both photographs were taken on 2nd March 2012. Two days earlier a third loco hauled turn to Krzyz had reverted to EMU operation.

A long way from home...

At first glance there is little unusual about this photograph- it is simply one of the 250 built EWS class 66's- an almost ubiquitous sight on the UK rail network.

Look harder and you may notice a few oddities.

First of all- this is not the UK rail network! 66153, now under the umbrella of DB Schenker is one of the locomotives which has been exported to Poland.

The give aways are the low level platforms- unheard of in the UK but common through much of Europe. The wagons in the picture are also not of UK origin.

The locomotive itself appears largely unaltered (it certainly looks more 'British' than the French 'Euro Cargo Rail' locomotives), the only alterations are to the lighting clusters and the application of a UIC loco data panel.

The location is Wegliniec in south western Poland from where the locomotives is about to depart light engine. Unlike the French exports the polish 'sheds' are unlikely to return to the UK.

Picture(s) of the week- 24th February

This week there are two photographs, and they are both recent UK based!

Last Sunday (19th February) saw a couple of notable workings on the WCML within a 30 minute window. Coupled with fine weather I was pleased to have ventured out on a Sunday for the first time in... some while!

The first of the trains was a bit of a surprise- recently re-liveried 66434 was unusually working a daylight 'Tesco Express' as seen from the footbridge at South Kenton on the WCML.

The second train a short while later was the days main entertainment- DRS 37601 is seen heading north along the WCML with a test train stock move from Hither Green to Derby. The train had spent the previous week surveying areas of the Southern Region. 37059 is on the rear.

Picture of the week- 18th February

Back in 2007 Deutsche Bahn diesel 232-909-2 is seen passing through Rotterdam Centraal with an international freight working; undoubtedly bound for the deep sea ports of Rotterdam Harbour. On the closer platform an NS 'Koploper' intercity EMU can be seen. The 232 class locomotives, commonly known as 'Ludmilla's' were built for East German Railways (Deutsche Reichsbahn) in the 1970's to a Soviet design. With the reunification of Germany following the fall of the Berlin Wall the new 'Deutsche Bahn' took control of the locomotives and their sphere of operation increased dramatically with the locomotives being employed on heavy freight trains across Germany and beyond.

Today the class are still in operation in many parts of Germany, all be it in greatly reduced numbers. How long they will remain in service remains to be seen, but hopefully these huge loco's will remain with us for a few years yet.