Back before wires. 6 years ago on an afternoon in Slough.

66607 is seen working the 6V94 Earles - Theale loaded cement taken from Farnham Road, Slough. The wires of the GWML electrification have made this view completely impossible today.

The continued travel restrictions during lockdown in the UK have left me, like many of us, turning to our collections of past photographs when we would really like to be out taking new ones. 

One thing this does reinforce is how many of the once mundane scenes which we enjoyed have now been confined to history. 

Back in 2015 when these photos were taken I was well aware that these scenes would soon be gone for good. The location was Slough on the Great Western Mainline- by this stage one of the last locations on the London end of the GWR that had not been electrified. 

Looking the other way from Farnham Road as 59203, recently re-painted into DB Schenker Red hauls one of the many Mendip stone trains that are the staple of this route towards London. Aside from the wires which have rendered this shot impossible, the bridge which the train has just passed under has also been re-built, and the locomotive as well as the Aggregate Industries contract has passed to Freightliner.

Almost exactly 6 years ago, 5th March 2015, on a sunny afternoon these trains were fairly ordinary and the locations probably were as well- many much finer views had already been lost to wires on the Western in recent months and years. I strongly suspected that the reason for my visit was to try (and fail, again) to photograph the thrice weekly Colas steel working with class 56's - certainly looking back I am glad that I didn't pack up and go home having missed the star working. These photographs provide a good record of the end of the time before wires and before Hitachi IET's on the route. A time many of us wish we could go back to and photograph some more. It is now more than 5 years since I have attempted to re-visit any of the locations now blighted with overhead lines on the Great Western.

Taken from Wexham Road, overlooking the AkzoNobel plant, 59102 'Village of Chantry' heads back to the Mendips with empty stone box wagons.

Southern Snow

70006 leads a very lightly loaded Freighliner south at Worting Junction. Weekend engineering works which should have seen the train diverted via Andover had been cancelled due to the cold weather. 02/02/2019.

Repatriated from Germany by GBRf, 59003 crosses Battledown
Flyover heading from Eastleigh to Westbury. 02/02/2019

Conditions of snow and sunshine are rare in the UK, but these are the conditions that much of the country woke to on 2nd February 2019. Heavy snow had fallen across much of the UK over the previous 24 hours- including a blanket over much of the south of England. Many locations saw up to 5cm of snow settle but in some spots local accumulations were much larger. One area which saw more than its fair share of snowfall was Basingstoke which saw around 30cm of snow falling the previous day. This caused local transport chaos with roads blocked and cars abandoned- main routes including the M3 motorway became virtually impassable.

The railway was not unaffected either with a number of snow-laden trees falling onto the line between Basingstoke and Eastleigh rendering the route blocked. Over the weekend the route was scheduled to be blocked for engineering work, however the low temperatures resulted in the work being postponed. Freight services due to divert via Andover were able to continue running down the mainline however the planned diverted passenger services could not be altered back at such short notice.
Conditions were a photographers paradise and I was certainly not alone trekking out into the freezing conditions. Thanks also to those who got together to get our cars out of the car park at Worting Junciton!

159007 in the first variation of South Western Railway livery passes under Battledown Flyover with a West of England service. 02/02/2019

A 9 car class 159 formation wears a variety of liveries typifying the transition
from South West Trains to South Western Railway as it crosses Worting
Junction with an Exeter bound service. 02/02/2019

After a successful few hours at Worting there was one more target for the camera- A4 Pacific 60009 Union of South Africa working the Bellmond Surrey Hills Pullman. Unfortunately the snow diminished as I drove towards Guildford and by the time I reached Gomshall bank there were only remnants of the previous snow- however as the train appeared, a little late, the sky cleared to perfect sunshine for what may be the last appearance of 60009 on the Pullmans before it is retired as a static exhibit later in 2019. A cracking day of photography all in all and definitely a good day not to have been in the office!

60009 'Union of South Africa' makes a fine sight as it hammers up Gomshall bank with the VSOE Surrey Hills Luncheon. The Gresley Pacific was standing in for the usual traction, Merchant Navy 35028 which was on winter maintenance. 02/02/2019

The Snow March

1st March 2018 dawned bright and with a dusting of snow in South West London. 450124 leads a morning commuter service in to Surbiton.

As March arrived in the UK and the days started to draw out, most would be forgiven for not expecting snow. However March 2018 has been unseasonably cold with two blasts of arctic weather sweeping the country bringing widespread snow (and all the travel chaos that goes with it!). In the south of the country the first bout of snow arrived overnight providing a coating by the morning of Thursday 1st March. The white stuff continued to fall across the weekend but brought with it poor light and only slight accumulations in the London area. Other areas saw much deeper snow fall with further issues caused by drifting due to the dry nature of the snow coupled with strong winds. Across many parts of the country lines were closed due to being blocked with snow and Network Rail dispatched many of their snowplows to clear routes.

A 10 car formation from Guildford to Waterloo is led into Surbiton by 5713. 01/03/18

Wearing the new South Western Railway colours 158887 calls at Basingstoke with a heavily snow encrusted service to London. 01/03/2018

444006 kicks up the powdery snow as heads towards London at speed following the second wave of snow to hit the south of the UK. Sunday 18th March 2018.

444030 makes an impresive sight kicking up snow as it heads through Potbridge (near Hook). The M3 crosses the SWML on the lower of the two bridges. The roads did not escape the travel disruption with many in this area being quite treacherous. 18/03/2018.

Despite the cold snap weekend engineering still had to take place. 66847 had been involved in a possession in the Portsmouth area and now heads through Potbridge back to Eastleigh 

450112 brightens up the bleak landscape with a Basingstoke - Waterloo service seen at Potbridge on Sunday 18th March.

Temperatures had returned to more normal levels by the second week of March however forecasts of further snow began to surface. The weather forecasters once again got it right with another dose of snow covering much of the country on Saturday 17th March. The snow continued across the weekend with accumulations of several centimeters widely across the south east by the end of Sunday. This was to be the last of the snowfall with skys clearing the following week and the snow then rapidly melting as just a few days after it fell temperatures made it to double figures. While always a challenging time for the transport industry snow is a rare commodity in the UK and certainly provided some photographic interest!

Following snow over the weekend the sun put in an appearance on Monday 19th March. As can be seen the snow has already started to melt around the stabling point at Eastleigh where 66061 shunts past some if it's competitors stabled locos.

66519 accelerates away from a crew change at Eastleigh. 19/03/2018.

Photographed from the nearby public road 57003 can be seen collecting snow within Eastleigh Works. 19/03/2018

377158 emerges from Southampton Tunnel with a Southern service. 19/03/2018

158957 passes St Denys bound for Southampton while working a Portsmouth - Cardiff service. 19/03/2018

Another view from St Denys with 66092 heading north east with a container train from the ports. 19/03/2018