South Western Railway's 455865 is seen on the rear of an unidentified 455 as it departs Clapham Junction depot with an unidentified ECS working 12.7.23

455865 at Clapham JunctionSouth Western Railway's 455865 is seen on the rear of an unidentified 455 as it departs Clapham Junction depot with an unidentified ECS working 12.7.23

Wearing an eyecatching overall wrap for Pride, a very colourful 378205 awaits departure from Clapham Junction with 2L21 10.23 service to Stratford 12.7.23

378205 at Clapham JunctionWearing an eyecatching overall wrap for Pride, a very colourful 378205 awaits departure from Clapham Junction with 2L21 10.23 service to Stratford 12.7.23

A selection of stored Class 313s awaiting scrapping at Eastleigh Arlington 313203, 204, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 212, 213, 215, 216, 217, 219 &220 on 11.7.23

313213 at EastleighHeading a line of stored class 313s awaiting scrapping at Eastleigh, 313213 is seen at Eastleigh Arlington 11.7.23	313209 & 3132xx at EastleighSouthern Coastway liveried 313209 and 3132xx (possibly 207 or 204, the number has been flame cut off it) are seen at Eastleigh works awaiting their fate 11.7.23
313217 & 313219 at Eastleigh313217 & 313219 head 2 lines of stored class 313s awaiting scrapping at Eastleigh depot 11.7.23	313213, 313217 & 313219 at Eastleigh313213, 313217 & 313219 lead rows of class 313s awaiting scrapping at Eastleigh 11.7.23

142003 at EastleighGreater Manchester PTE orange liveried 142003 is seen outside Eastleigh Arlington works 11.7.23 Greater Manchester PTE orange liveried 142003 is seen outside Eastleigh Arlington works 11.7.23

The end of the line for the Southern Class 313 fleet as 313211+313205, the final pair of class 313s to transfer from Hove to Eastleigh Works as 5Z03 for scrapping are seen arriving into Eastleigh for the final time. 11.7.23

313211+313205 at EastleighThe end of the line for the Southern Class 313 fleet as 313211+313205, arrive at Eastleigh on the final scrap move from Hove to Eastleigh Works as 5Z03 while a flight comes in to land at Southampton Airport in the background. 11.7.23	313211+313205 at EastleighThe end of the line for the Southern Class 313 fleet as 313211+313205, the final pair of class 313s to transfer from Hove to Eastleigh Works as 5Z03 for scrapping are seen arriving into Eastleigh for the final time. 11.7.23
313211+313205 at EastleighThe end of the line for the Southern Class 313 fleet as 313211+313205, the final pair of class 313s to transfer from Hove to Eastleigh Works as 5Z03 for scrapping are seen arriving into Eastleigh for the final time. 11.7.23	313205+313211 at EastleighThe end of the line for the Southern Class 313 fleet as 313205+313211, the final pair of class 313s to transfer from Hove to Eastleigh Works as 5Z03 for scrapping are seen waiting to depart Eastleigh for the final time. 11.7.23

On 4th July after getting a very reasonable last minute deal on thetrainline from Motherwell - Whatstandwell return, I visited Crich Tramway Village!

Whatstandwell on the Nottingham - Matlock line is the station for Crich. It is 1 mile away from Crich, however it is a 30 minute walk up a very steep hill! I'd advise getting a taxi, however it is a 15 minute walk down hill on the return journey!

On arrival at Crich, I bought my ticket, which was £22 and gives you entry for a year.   After leaving the ticket office, the path brings you out at the Bowes Lyon Bridge, where there is also a tram stop.  

I decided to visit the museum building, which is close to the bridge and the Town End.   There are many of the non running fleet in the museum ranging from horse trams to steam tram through to trams built or liveried in each of the decades up to the 1960s.   A wander round and looking at the differing details of each of the different types of tram from the streamlined Balloon 712 and PCC tram, the reversed staircases of Lecister 76, to Blackpool's Conduit 4.

Directly opposite the Museum, is the depot fan complete with traverser.    The sheds are open to allow you to wander up and down and have a look at each tram in the depot with the opportunity for some shots of the various trams at the front of the depot and if you're lucky, some of them may be out on the depot fan.  

Next I visited the workshop viewing area, where the fantastic LCC1 'Bluebird' and Leeds 399 were under maintenance.

After this I spent the rest of the day riding up and down the line on board the 3 service trams out on the day: Glasgow 22, Sheffield 74 & London United Electric Tramways 159 or taking photos from different locations.

I had an absolutely fantastic day at Crich and would highly recommend a visit!

143623 at RedmireRegional Railways liveried 143623 is seen stabled outside Redmire Station on the Wensleydale Railway 5.7.23 The Wensleydale Railway is based in North Yorkshire with its main station and depot located in Leeming Bar near Northallerton and handily located for the A1(M) motorway and not far from the A66 at Scotch Corner.   Currently as I write this, they are running a service from Leeming Bar to Leyburn on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with a shuttle service also running to Scruton from Leeming Bar on selected days.   With the English school holidays being on throughout August, a service will also be running on Tuesdays.   For more details on times and services visit their Website: https://wensleydale-railway.co.uk/running-days-2023/

The Wensleydale Railway's line runs to Redmire at the west end and to Northallerton West at the east end of the line, however the line is only operational between Scruton and Leyburn for passenger services at the moment.

I visited on 5th July, and on this day debranded Northern liveried Pacer 142060 was operating the service.   Before boarding I had a look round the station and some of the collection of rolling stock, which includes vehicle 51353 from set 117301, which has been converted to a community hub, former Tyne and Wear Metro shunter TW4, BR Dutch liveried 37250, class 14 D9523 and Class 121 Bubble Car 121032.

To see more of the collection of Pacers and assorted 1st Generation DMUs, you need to catch the train!   I caught the 11.30 service formed of 142060 and on leaving Leeming Bar, saw 142087, 142090 & 142018 as well as some of the 1st Gen DMUs and EWS liveried 44785.   It was a nice run taking 42 minutes to Leyburn and passing 144020, 142028 & 142035 stored in a passing loop further up the line.  At Leyburn, there is cafe facilities and a gift shop and with 25 minutes before the return journey, there is enough time to visit both.   The return journey departed Leyburn around 12.30 and was soon back at Leeming Bar.  

Once back, one of the volunteers let me have a look at LEV1, the railbus that became one of the pacer prototypes, which was located in their shed.   He mentioned that Regional Railways liveried 143623 was up at Redmire, where filming was taking place for the new series of Vera, so I decided to drive up there and get some photos of the unit, which is looking superb!

I then drove back to Leeming Bar for some more photos, stopping off enroute at Leyburn for some photos of 142060, then headed back home.   I would recommend Wensleydale Railway for a visit, the staff and volunteers are all friendly and welcoming and the ticket prices are good value for money.  

WL4 at Leeming BarEx Tyne and Wear Metro Shunter WL4 is seen stabled at Leeming Bar on the Wensleydale Railway 5.7.23	117301 at Leeming BarVehicle 51353 from 117301 seen at Leeming Bar in its current role as the LBRA Community Hub 5.7.23
37250 at Leeming BarBR Dutch liveried 37250 is seen stabled at Leeming Bar 5.7.23	142060 at Leeming BarDebranded Northern liveried 142060 is seen arriving at Leeming Bar with the 10.30 service from Leyburn 5.7.23
LEV1 at Leeming BarThe prototype for the Pacer family of trains, LEV1, is seen in the shed at Leeming Bar 5.7.23	142060 &37250 at Leeming BarSide by Side, 142060 is seen at Leeming Bar having just arrived with the 14.30 train from Leyburn as 37250 is seen stabled in the siding next to the station 5.7.23

Having opened on 7th June, the extension of the Edinburgh Tramway appears to have been very popular both with passengers and enthusiasts.

Stretching 3 miles from York Place to Newhaven, there are 8 stops enroute.   At York Place, the former single track and terminus platform has been removed and a new stop has been built at Picardy place complete with 2 platforms, in the middle of a large traffic island at the top of Leith Walk and opposite the Omni Centre.

The line continues down Leith Walk on a central reservation with island platform stops at McDonald Road (Opposite Harburn Hobbies) and Balfour Street (with a crossover installed).   There is a double platformed stop at Foot of the Walk, which owing to the narrow nature of the street, takes up the full width of the street with the platforms doubling as the pavement.  

From here the tramway moves onto Constitution Street, towards Leith Town Hall and the Burns Statue at The Shore Tram Stop.  The Shore is located at the junction of Bernard Street with the tramway sharing the roadway with general road traffic for the full length of Constitution Street.    The tramway continues on towards Ocean Way, continuing to share with road traffic on sections of it before taking a 90 degree turn onto Ocean Drive and into the island platform of Port of Leith tram stop.  

Departing Port of Leith, the line continues along Leith Harbour sharing the roadway with general traffic and passing the Fingal floating 5 star hotel and restaurant and the Victoria Swing Bridge, before taking a 90 degree turn outside the Ocean Terminal Shopping Centre onto a central reservation for the remainder of the journey.   Ocen Terminal tram stop features an island tram stop with crossover outside  and it is opposite the Shopping Centre.   It is possible visit the Royal Yacht Britannia or to catch the tour buses or normal service buses back up to the city centre at Ocean Terminal.    From here the line takes a 90 degrees turn to the right onto Melrose Drive passing many harbourside warehouses and businesses as well as a flour mill.   The line then reaches a scissors crossover which allows the trams to switch to a free platform at Newhaven.  The line curves here into the 2 outer platforms of Newhaven.  Beyond the platform, there is enough room for 2 trams to stable until needed.

Photo Locations

There are many nice locations for photographs of the tramway particularly on Ocean Way (between The Shore and Port of Leith)  and Ocean Drive (between Port of Leith and Ocean Terminal), here are a few of the best spots for photos:

'The Shore' tram stop at Bernard Street with the Burns Statue to the left and the domed building behind.	Ocean Way near to Port of Leith looking towards The Shore tram stop in the distance.
258 at Ocean WayOn only the 3rd day of daytime testing of the Edinburgh Tramway extension from York Place - Newhaven, CAF Urbos3 no 258 is seen heading along Ocean Way towards the Port of Leith stop 21.4.23
90 degree curve from Ocean Way to Ocean Drive. Port of Leith tram stop is to the left out of shot.	Port of Leith tram stop looking eastwards
Ocean Drive with RFA Fort Victoria in the Docks in the rear of the image	Ocean Drive
Ocean Terminal	Leaving Ocean Terminal and heading onto Melrose Drive
Leaving Ocean Terminal and heading onto Melrose Drive	Passing Ocean Terminal Car Park
Melrose Drive with Ocean Terminal in the background	Melrose Drive with the Flour Mill in the background
Melrose Drive approaching Newhaven	The terminus at Newhaven