A summer fouray to the West Country

When the weather plays ball there can be few places better to be than some of the idylic parts of the UK. With the forecast looking good and a few days off work last summer, things were aligning for a quick trip to the West Country.

I had a few aims, for which I would need to drive, both to access locations and also to ensure I had the equipment I would need. 

The main objectives of the trip were to access some of the locations around Dawlish that are not so easily accessible by public transport; such as the bridge at Powederham, and also achieve some shots that required a pole, drone, steps or even wellies- I'm pleased to report that I did ultimately use all of these!

On into Cornwall this time of year is perfect to capture the GWR Night Riviera Sleeper, a notoriously difficult train to photograph since so much of its route is only covered in darkness. There were some more shots of short 'Castle' HST sets that I wanted to try as well as the big prize of catching a china clay train at the famous location of Golant on the Fowey Branch.

If I achieved all of that I would be more than happy!

The first surprise of the trip came along almost as soon as I had finished the drive from south-west London. Having pulled open train times maps up on my phone I was surprised to see some odd digits- sure enough this did turn out to be one of those hard to come by freight trains in this area. While I'm sure I could have positioned myself better had I known, I was none the less pleased to see 66139 rounding the corner with 6V99 from Exeter Riverside to St Blazey. 14/06/2022. 

43154 powers 2C77 west from Dawlish, taken by pole at Horse Cove between Dawlish and Teignmouth. This was another shot I was very keen to achieve while I had the kit with me as since the erection of a paliside fence some years ago the shot is no longer possible without some sort of height enhancement. 14/06/2022.

150247 crosses the Royal Albert Bridge over the Tamar as it heads into Cornwall. This was the final shot of the trip taken on a brief stop off at Saltash since the light was still so good before embarking on the long driver home. 15/06/2022.

Cockwood Harbour on the Exe estuary is another classic spot in this area, though the view from above by drone opens up a new perspective as 43378 heads west with 1V44 the 06:11 Leeds - Plymouth. 14/06/2022.

66165 crosses the causeway in the village of Golant working 6G05 the 20:15 empty china clay train from Fowey Docks to Goonbarrow. The train was fortunately running significantly early allowing the shot to be captured in good light. Our earlier attempt to photograph the inbound working had been caught by a spurious cloud, however waiting several more hours for the tide to come in also made a huge difference to the picture. 15/06/2022

The light doesn't last long on the front of eastbound services at Dawlish, and a shot here in this direction had long been on my list. Happily 43042 + 43009 were able to oblige. 14/06/2022.

43122 leads a class 255 'Castle' HST across the causeway at Cockwood Harbour. These trainsets are now scheduled to be withdrawn by December 2023. 14/06/2022.

43009 and 43042 are captured working an early morning service from Cornwall into Devon seen on the approach to St Germans. 15/06/2022.

A 'nearly' shot at Liskeard with 150261 on the Looe branch while a class 802 IET passes above on Liskeard Viaduct. The two photographs which have been combined to create this image were taken less than a minute apart- it nearly happened! 15/06/2022.

A 'Castle' HST powered by 43154 and 43170 is captured crossing Largin viaduct near Liskeard. I knew a shot here was possible but it took some fighing through vegetation to find a reasonably clear vantage point from which to see the trains. 15/06/2022.

A class 802 is captured near Restormel between Bodmin and Lostwithiel with a Penzance bound service. 15/06/2022.

43040 leads a 'Castle' HST up though Powderham along the Exe estuary as it approaches its next call at Exeter St Davids. 43088 is on the rear. 14/06/2022.

57605 is pictured at the head of 1C50 the 23:45 London Paddington - Penzance 'Night Riviera'. It is only possible to photograph this overnight sleeper train in high summer and we were certainly pleased that the weather played ball when it passed our location at Trerulefoot in full sun just after 06:00. After a late arrival at our hotel in Liskeard the previous night we had not had a lot of sleep, but getting the shot we were really after had made it worthwhile! 15/06/2022.

The last of the Midland HST's

43272 is dwarfed by Ratcliffe Power Station as it departs from East Midlands Parkway working 1D48 the 15:34 St Pancras - Nottingham on 11th May 2021 - the final week of the Midland HST's.

The first half of 2021 saw a bittersweet ending to the 39 years of service accrued by the 'InterCity 125' High Speed Trains on the Midland Mainline. It was an end quite different to that afforded to most other popular trainsets- Covid-19 had made sure of that. 

The final couple of years history of the Midland Mainline HST's had been far from straightforward. The end of the East Midlands Trains franchise run by Stagecoach in summer 2019 had seen the HST's re-branding to that of the new incumbent, East Midlands Railway, an Abellio company. Further rapid changes however were on the horizon. EMR had pledged to remove its existing HST's from traffic by the end of 2019 as part of the governments directive to fulfill the Disabilities Discrimination Act. The East Midlands sets were the least modified of all HST vehicles then running. The Mk3's still had toilets which flushed to the track, no public address system and the power cars relied on the older VP185 power pack. 

EMR branded ex-EMT VP185 powered 43076 passes East Hyde (near Luton) on 21st March 2020, my last day out photting before the first national lockdown, working 1B49 12:50 Nottingham - St Pancras.

Shortly after de-branding from their modified East Midlands Trains livery, ex-Grand Central 43423 passes Attenborough nature reserve on 13th September 2019 with an ECS movement. The final Angel Trains buffer fitted power cars were withdrawn in December 2020.

There was however a slight problem- while the current HST's had to go, there was simply nothing to replace them immediately. The solution- the non-compliant HST vehicles would be replaced in the short term with 'less non-compliant' HST sets cascaded from the East Coast Main Line where they had recently finished with LNER. This stop gap plan would provide a better service for customers until the HST's could be replaced completely at the end of 2020. By this time electrification of the Midland Mainline to Corby would have gone live and released further compliant DMU's, and all of the class 180 'Adelantes' cascaded from Hull Trains would also be in service on the route. 

43295 at the helm of one of the shortened 'red' sets speeds through Syston with 1B23 on 12th May 2021.

Of course, as with all best made plans, things did not quite go to plan. The ex-LNER sets needed a much higher level of work to be re-instated onto the Midland than was predicted, both in terms of the power cars and the Mk3 stock, much of which was found to be in poor condition. The 2019 deadline to remove the old stock passed and while some of the refurbished ex-LNER MTU powered class 43's started to replace the VP185 power cars progress with the Mk3 coaches was even slower. 

Now in its final week as an HST, 1B63 is lead across the River Soar by 43251 on 11.05.21. The train is just a few minutes into it's journey from Nottingham and after entering Red Hill tunnel will emerge into East Midlands Parkway.

A regular Summer Saturday turn over recent years has been the 'Jolly Fisherman' trains to Skegness. 43076 stands at its destination having arrived as 1S01 the 07:53 from Derby on 1st August 2020. By the end of the summer season red ex-LNER power cars had taken over from the VP185's. 

Then Covid-19 came along, slowing progress with just about everything, not least the Corby electrification and the introduction of the troublesome Adelantes to the Midland. It took until December 2020 for the last VP185 power cars to finally be withdrawn, and even then most of the HST's still running on the Midland were formed of the 'new' red power cars sandwiching the original Mk3 stock. This situation was to end with the December 2020 timetable, which due to the next traunch of the UK lockdown saw a reduction in capacity across the network, reducing the requirement for the HST's and effectively curtailing the stock re-habilitation program at just a couple of sets. The great re-introduction of the full red HST's never did quite happen, with just enough stock and a few more power cars ultimately being available to provide just two weekday diagrams (now reduced to 6 coaches) into 2021 both based off Leeds Neville Hill. 

43320 leads 1C15 at Cossington early on a cold and crisp 12th April 2021. Full red 43238 was on the rear, regrettably for the photographers the set had been turned having run via Barrow Hill due to a signal failure earlier in the journey.

The weekday diagrams provided just enough work to keep the HST's entertained:

Set 1:
1C15 05:19 Leeds - St Pancras
5C15 09:10 St Pancras - Cricklewood

5D48 15:02 Cricklewood - St Pancras

1D48 15:34 St Pancras - Nottingham

1B69 17:45 Nottingham - St Pancras

1F70 20:01 St Pancras - Leeds

Set 2: 

1B23 06:34 Leeds - St Pancras (via Nottingham)

5M17 10:20 St Pancras - St Pancras (Route learner Wednesdays excepted via Leicester and Melton Mowbray)

1D43 14:35 St Pancras - Nottingham

1B63 16:45 Nottingham - St Pancras

1D66 19:04 St Pancras - Leeds

Weekend work varied due to engineering work but would typically see both sets complete one return trip from Leeds to London St Pancras.

The route of 5M17 via Oakham and Melton Mowbray was usually only used by HST's on diversions. on 23rd April 2021 43309 and 43372 are captured crossing Harringworth Viaduct on the route learner.

One of the celebrities of the new Midland fleet, 43238 passes New Mill End (south of Luton) working 1C15 the 05:19 Leeds - St Pancras on 30th March 2021. The locomotive wore the striking livery variation of plain red in its latter LNER days after being de-branded of a special livery promoting the National Railway Museum and became particularly popular with enthusiasts in this guise, lasting until just a few weeks before end of MML HST operation. 

While on the face of it there were very few HST worked trains left, and enthusiasts longed for the very recent days of hourly services all day, there was still scope to have a good day out chasing the sets- particularly with the addition of the 5M17 route learner. This was one of the few benefits Covid had brought- rather than a whole group of drivers occasionally cramming into the cab of a Meridian to cover the route between Kettering and Leicester via Oakham and Melton Mowbray now each driver required their own private cab space. The solution was to run the route learner almost daily and with HST stock which, due to its non-compliance, was kept away from passenger service wherever it could be.

A shot I had been longing to try (for I can get almost as enthused by power stations as I can by trains!), 43274 in its unique East Midlands Railway purple livery leads 1B69 at Ratcliffe-upon-Soar. The background is dominated by Ratcliffe Power Station, itself also soon to be made redundant with electricity generation from coal to cease here no later than 2025. Taken with the use of a pole on 23rd April 2021.

Semaphores and crossing boxes are not common on the Midland Mainline these days, however 43309 and 43272 encounter just such infrastructure at Ashwell on the returning 5M17 route learner via Melton Mowbray and Oakham on 23rd April 2021.

With the UK locked down for so long over the winter, as restrictions began to ease the Midland HST's became the obvious target for the cameras, attracting a great number of photographers for 'just another HST'. East Midlands Railway added their own catalyst to the cameras - world record holding power car 43302 was re-painted into Intercity Swallow colours by the team at Neville Hill, re-united with its old identity; 43102, and named 'The Journey Shrinker' to commemorate its record breaking run of 148.5 mph achieved on 1st November 1987. The record for diesel traction still stands to this day.

43102 'The Journey Shrinker' resplendent in Intercity Swallow livery is at the helm of 1B23 as it passes Great Bowden on the 30th March 2021.

43102 later the same day on the rear of 1D66 19:04 St Pancras - Leeds in fading light at Radwell (north of Bedford).

Not content with the fame of 43102, EMR outshopped one last surprise from Neville Hill. With just weeks of HST operation remaining 43274 was turned out in the new purple livery of East Midland Railway, providing one final subject for the cameras. 

Saturday turn, 1C61 the 14:31 Leeds - St Pancras with 43274 at the helm crossing the Great Ouse at Radwell (north of Bedford) four days after its unveiling in the Purple EMR livery. Taken with the use of a pole on 18th April 2021.

Another early start on 23rd April 2021 to catch 43274 heading south with 1C15 near Braybrook (Market Harborough). Taken with a pole and a helping of luck that the camera fired at the right moment!

The protracted Midland Mainline HST farewell must have been one of the most photographed railway events yet. The combination of the special liveries, some surprisingly good spring weather in the UK, classic trains and a nation finally being able to stretch its wings after lockdown (not to mention the excellent 'UK HST Enthusiasts Group' Facebook page with it's invaluable information) provided the perfect conditions for photographers up and down the country to get in their cars and head for the Midland. Throughout the spring I enjoyed a number of days out both alone and with friends racing against the clock (and traffic at times) to record the last of the classic HST's on the route. 

A previous car chase sees 43089 at Barrow-on-Soar 13th September 2019 shortly after removal of its EMT branding following the change in franchise. 43089 is now in the custody of the '125 group' for preservation together with 43044, 43048 and 43159.

The first of the afternoon trains,1D43 the 14:34 from St Pancras to Nottingham is led by 43272 at Kilby Bridge to the south of Leicester on 23rd April 2021. This pairing of power cars with 43309 on the rear was to be the second set working alongside 43102/43274 on the final day a few weeks later.

The end ultimately had to come and with Covid restrictions still not entirely lifted the final day on 15th May 2021 arrived without much fanfare. The final trains were limited to the first 200 ticket holders due to social distancing requirements and at 20:02 43102 'The Journey Shrinker' led 1F70 from St Pancras to Leeds for the final time, complete with a headboard marking 'The Last HST from London'. Upon arrival at Leeds to a crowd of enthusiasts the final slam-doors were closed and the HST departed for Neville Hill ending another chapter in railway history. 

Refurbished, PRM compliant HST's (complete with automatic doors) remain operational with Cross Country and in short formations with GWR and Scotrail. The latter of these are likely to remain in traffic until around 2030.

The end - 1F70 the 20:02 St Pancras - Leeds has arrived at its destination on the 15th May 2021, becoming the last HST from London and the final regular passenger service (excluding the Night Riviera Sleeper) to use slam door stock in the UK.

Corby HST Diverts 5th July 2020

VP-185 powered Midland HST set 43048 and 43049 head north with 1D21 10:00 St Pancras - Nottingham. The picturesque town of Harringworth is in the foreground.

From ground level the Harringworth viaduct is no less impressive. Ex LNER
power cars 43309 and 43317 work 1F44 14:55 St Pancras - Leeds.

The route from Corby to Manton junction is usually regarded as a quiet backwater of the railways. A lone passenger service operated by East Midlands Railway covers the route on weekdays together with a handful of freight trains each day. Indeed until 2009 when the station at Corby was re-opened by East Midlands Trains Corby itself saw no passenger traffic, winning it the accolade of being the largest town in Britain without an active rail station. Such is the success of the new station at Corby that the line from the south is now being electrified in preparation for a half-hourly interval service- however the line north will continue to be bereft of passenger services. 

43058 and 43045 are seen from the northern side of the viaduct as they work 1C61 17:14 Leeds - St Pancras.

As well as its use for freight the line also serves as an important diversionary route for the Midland Mainline when it is closed between Kettering and Leicester with trains taking the diversionary route via Corby, Oakham and Melton Mowbray. Due to planned engineering works this was the case on 5th July 2020 for my visit- the usual handful of freight trains giving way to several express passenger workings each hour in the hands of East Midland Railway's class 222 meridians and HST's. 

 North of Harringworth lies the much smaller Seaton viaduct
which is crossed here by ex LNER 43318 & 43257 with
East Midlands Mk3's working 1C43 10:53 Leeds - St Pancras.

The most impressive structure on the line is undoubtedly the 82 arch, grade II listed Harringworth Viaduct which spans the Welland valley straddling the boundary of Northamptonshire and Rutland as it does. The viaduct was designed by WH Barlow and is thought to contain more than 30 million bricks, the first of which was laid in March 1876 with construction of the full 1,171 meters being completed in July two years later. Dominating the landscape for miles around it is the viaduct which is the greatest draw to the photographer on this route and indeed draws enthusiasts from miles around when steam excursions are routed over it. 

43309 + 43317 chase the sun as they exit Seaton tunnel and begin to cross the viaduct while working 1B41 09:43 Leeds - St Pancras.

Another Midland HST set, 43073 & 43059 head north over the viaduct with 1F39 13:50 St Pancras - Sheffield.

Photographers look on as 43257 & 43318 work
1D46 15:03 St Pancras - Sheffield.

My visit was not aimed at a steam special but the more run of the mill Intercity 125 HST. These trains have been operating on the Midland Mainline since 1983 and have been diverted over the Harringworth Viaduct numerous times during their careers- however change is in the air with replacement trains being ordered for the fleet. PRM (Passengers of Reduced Mobility) legislation however has dictated that the native fleet of HST's including the last VP185 engined power cars are to be removed from traffic as soon as possible, replaced temporarily by 'more compliant' sets cascaded from LNER. The transition should have been complete at the beginning of 2020 but had been delayed granting the attractive Stagecoach (ex East Midland Trains) sets a stay of execution. Would this be the last opportunity to see them in full squadron service over the viaduct?

A second view of ex-LNER power cars 43257 & 43318 working 1D46 15:03 St Pancras - Sheffield, the spire of the Church of St John the Baptist in Harringworth visable above the train.

My final photo of the day, 222013 viewed beyond the country lanes while working 1F49 15:55 St Pancras - Sheffield.

All change at St Pancras. The Midland Mainline terminal in 2004.

In the original Midland Mainline livery 43043 and 170106 line up at St Pancras on 8th April 2004. On the left an ex-Virgin Cross Country 'Project Rio' HST can be seen. 

Just a few months ago nobody could have imagined that the UK and much of the world would be gripped by an international pandemic which would bring dramatic changes to life as we know it. The simple activity of travelling and photographing trains would diminish to virtually zero. However railway interest has certainly not died - many many enthusiasts have turned their attention to their archives and the internet has been awash with historical photos of things we never got the chance to publish at the time, or simply didn't seem that interesting back when these forgotten scenes were common place. My archive dates back to mid-2003 and the early years mostly consist of blurred, poorly composed and poor quality photographs taken on an early digital camera. Fortunately among the dissapointing pictures there are those few that by good fortune have actually turned out alright, especially with a quick once-over from Photoshop!

While the lockdown continues I intend to showcase a few more of my older archive photos (many of which haven't seen the light of day since the bad old days of Fotopic) either in articles here or on my flickr account.

Looking back towards the famou clock 170106 sits under the impressive
WH Barlow trainshed. Rays of light are picked out by the smoke from the
Midland Mainline HST on the right. 08.04.2004.

We shall start this jounrey with a trip back to 2004 and the old Barlow Shed at St Pancras in it's last weeks of use by Midland Mainline.

The station was built by the Midland Railway with the trainshed designed by WH Barlow and opened in 1868 but had been underutilised since the 1960's when the majority of long distance services had transfered to nearby Euston. Further traffic was lost with the opening of the Snow Hill tunnels and completion of the Thameslink route which diverted most services away from the terminal. By 2004 St Pancras was a survivor, having survived serveral attempts to close it completely and demolish the station and its grand attached hotel, which became grade 1 listed in 1967.

The train conductor waits the 'Right Away' in a typical Midland Mainline
scene in the last days of St Pancras. 08.04.2004.

By privatisation the station was used by Midland Mainline for services to Leicester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds initially in the hands of HST's but also seeing class 170 turbostars which were ordered by Midland Mainline for stopping services. Despite its gradeur the station felt dirty and unloved. But all this was about to change. The British government had decided that St Pancras would form the London terminal of the high-speed rail link to Europe and after completion of the high-speed line Eurostar trains would divert from their original terminus at Waterloo and run from St Pancras to Paris and Brusselles. 

By 2004 many of Midland Mainline's HST's has been repainted into the new livery as showcased by 43180. The original livery was is represented by 43043 in the foreground. 08.04.2004.

47355 'Avocet' waits to take the farewell tour back north. Behind the train
the construction work on the new station is in evidence. In a matter of days
Midland Mainline trains would move to this new part of the station. Today
these new platofrms are used by South Eastern High Speed while Eurostars
to the continent occupy site of the excursion train. 08.04.2004

To make St Pancras a station fit for international travel; and to accommodate the 300+ meter Eurostar trains London and Continental Railways were to spend around £800 million totally re-building and extending the station. To complete the work the existing Midland Mainline services would need to be moved out and construction began on an interim station for domestic services to the north-east of the Barlow trainshed. This would eventually become the platforms for the new domestic 'South Eastern High Speed' services with Midland services moving once again to the west of the final station. Only international trains would run under the old roof in the completed station. On April 12th 2004 Midland services were diverted and re-construction work could being on the trainshed and the former Midland Railway Hotel which was also to be refurbished and re-opened.

Re-creating a common BR scene 45112 'The Royal Army Ordinance Corps'
has reached its destination and is the final 'Peak' to sit on the blocks of
St Pancras. 08.04.2004.

I made two visits to St Pancras in early 2004 to capture the original station in its final days. Filled with the coulours of Midland Mainline and smokey Valenta powered HST's the unloved and dingy station was full of atmosphere. At the time additional 'Project Rio' trains were running connecting London with Manchester due to the ongoing upgrade work on the West Coast Mainline- this meant additional HST's which has been transfered from Virgin Cross Country and wore a mix of liveries. 

As a final tribute to the station a farewell railtour was run bringing 'Peak' 45112, then operated by Fragonset Railways to the station on xx April. The class 45 had been synonomous with the route in BR days and was a fitting tribute to fine station which would not see domestic trains under its roof again. After arriving with the 'Peak' class 47355 worked the train out of the London terminal.

Another view of 45112 on the blocks at St Pancras. 08.04.2004

Class 373 power car 3221 stands within the bright and airy refurbished station
on 23rd August 2011.

In November 2007 the work to re-build St Pancras station was complete and Eurostar services could commence. The station was transformed and presented a fitting welcome to international travellers. The sleek Eurostar trains now occupied the electrified platforms under Barlows roof with the Midland services transfered to their final position to the north west of the station. As part of the project a new concourse had been created beneath the platforms in the area of the former 'undercroft' which was opened up to contain shops as well as check in, border controls and the secure passenger lounge for international travellers. The old dingy station full of diesel fumes from just a few years earlier would now only live on in memorys and in photographs.

The original (left) and revised (right) versions of Midland Mainline's livery are shown off on HST's at St Pancras. The difference in lighting and ambience are clear when compared with the picture below after rebuilding. 17.02.2004.

Class 373 Eurostar trainsets occupy their place under the WH Barlow trainshed. The orignial clock is obscured by the Olympic Rings which were positioned in advance of the 2012 Olympic Games in London. 23.08.11