Hi, Welcome to my blog. It will contain my latest sightings, links to my latest photos and info pages and any relevant news updates. It will be updated when possible.
Merseyrail day out 27.1.24
On 27th January, I decided to drive down to the Merseyrail area and it was quite an eventful trip!
I reached New Brighton around 12 o clock and the Wirral lines were all massively disrupted following the failure of a 777 on a Chester service on the Mersey loop. There was a 40 minute gap between trains on the New Brighton line so I headed to a spot that I'd seen in Martyn Hilbert's Merseyrail book just outside Wallasey Grove Road Station and got a couple of pics there of late running 507011 with 777016 practically right up its tail.
Time was getting on as I was well over an hour out there waiting for those shots and wanted to try a few other spots so had to miss out Birkenhead North and Bidston and head over the river to Leeds Street to catch some of units going up and down the incline to /from Moorfields as I've been wanting to do there for ages! Luckily 507001 was running 10 + late so I managed to get it there!
Then I drove up to Formby to photo there and caught 001 up to Southport. Got a few pics up there then got 014 down to Ainsdale and got some pics there, then 018 back to Formby. Got a couple of pics there including 001 in the dark as it returned back to Southport. I had been going to stop off at Headbolt lane for a couple of pics there but had run out of time and had to head home!
Units spotted:
New Brighton (stabled): 507028, 777034
New Brighton service: 507011, 777016
Southport - Hunts Cross service: 507014, 017, 033, 018, 023, 015, 007, 029, 030, 001
Stabled at Southport: 507021, 777027, 777004, 777036
Ormskirk: 777022
Headbolt Lane: 777140, 777148
 
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318259+320401 at Newton 26.1.24
Scotrail Saltire liveried 318259+320401 arrive into Newton with 2F37 14.17 Cumbernauld - Dalmuir service 26.1.24
86101 tnt 87002 at Hillington West 13.1.24
Locomotive Services Limited's Intercity liveried 86101 and 87002 top and tail a matching set of Mark 3s through Hillington West with 1Z31 13.35 Barassie Junction - Glasgow Central leg of 'The Ayr Extension' Railtour 13.1.24
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385006 at Wishaw 6.1.24
Scotrail's Class 385: 385006 is seen crossing Marshall Street Bridge on the approach to Wishaw station at sunset with 1C60 15.34 Glasgow Central - Edinburgh Waverley via Carstairs service 6.1.24
Last class 508 standing 4.1.24
On 3rd January Merseyrail's 508108 and 508114 were withdrawn from service. The withdrawal of this pair of class 508s left 508104 as the final class 508 remaining in service. Seen at Southport, 508104 came in working as 2S37 from Hunts Cross and departed as 2U44 to Hunts Cross. 104 was withdrawn a week later along with 507004. Both units were hauled from Birkenhead North to Crewe South Junction awaiting further movement to Newport for scrapping on 5th February.
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Bo'ness Diesel Gala 29.12.23
The Bo'ness Diesel Gala took place on 29th December, with Colas Class 70s 70807 and 70813 the visiting locos and home fleet locos 37403 and 27001 operating the services. 47643 was on display in the Bay Platform and 37025 was used as a shunter. Here are a few photos from the Gala.
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Glasgow Subway new Stadler trains 27.12.23
Glasgow Subway's new 3rd Generation Stadler Subway units 306 and 302 are seen at Cessnock, Ibrox, Govan, Partick and Kelvinhall on 27th December.
Both units were in service until around 12.40pm with 306 on the front diagram and 302 behind. Both work on consecutive diagrams on the Outer circle at the moment in case of failure that the other unit can rescue the failed one.
The procedure for returning to depot appears to be that the first unit terminates at Govan, then returns wrong line back to the ramps to Broomloan Depot, whilst the 2nd unit terminates at Ibrox and heads straight to the ramps back to depot.
First impressions are that they are so much quieter than the Metro Cammell / Barclay stock, have smoother, faster accelleration and that the interior seems much brighter and more spacious!
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Christmas Time at Edinburgh 21.12.23
I headed over to Edinburgh after work on 21st December to catch a couple of interesting workings at Edinburgh Waverley.
First up was British Railways Green liveried 40013 'Andania' which departed heading southbound with 1Z36 16.53 Edinburgh - Leicester return leg of the 'The Edinburgh Christmas Statesman Railtour'
Later on and West Coast Railways 47813 & 47848 top and tail a set of BR Blue / Grey Mark 2s as they prepare to depart with 1Z31 'Edinburgh Polar Express' working to Portobello Junction
Up on Princes Street the trams are seen passing the Big Wheel and the Star Flyer at the Christmas Village
Before heading home, I saw Scotrail Inter7city HST power car 43028 awaits its next duty at Edinburgh Waverley with the Big Wheel, Star Flyer and Scott Monument on Princes Street lit up in the background
321419 at Holytown 8.12.23
Varamis Rail's newest addition to it's fleet, 321419, which has been converted to carry parcels instead of passengers, passes through Holytown with 1Z07 Mossend - Birmingham International parcels working 8.12.23
Merseyrail trip and 507001 in BR Blue-grey 2.12.23
In late November 2023, Merseyrail unveiled 507001 in a modified version of the original BR Blue/Grey livery carried by the fleet when they first entered service in 1978. The livery has been modified with all Grey doors to meet PRM regulations. The livery is also to commemorate the future withdrawal of the fleet during mid 2024.
On to the trip and on hearing the news of 001's relivery, I decided to drive down to Liverpool to get some photos while the unit was still clean! On the day in question, 001 was in service on the West Kirby branch so it meant a drive through Liverpool and over to Birkenhead North for some photos! Heavy traffic in Liverpool meant that the journey took longer than expected and that I didn't reach Birkenhead North station till 1pm (about an hour later than expected).
Luckily I caught 507001 a few times passing through and 001 looked fantastic! As well as 001, there was also the opportunity to photograph some of the class 508s, which were facing imminent withdrawal at the time and indeed at the time of writing have all been withdrawn and scrapped with 508136, one of the units photographed on the day, being withdrawn just a few days later.
On 2nd December the units passing through Birkenhead North were:
- New Brighton line: 508131, 507030, 508120, 507004
- West Kirkby: 507018, 507001, 777018, 508104, 508136
Thanks to the failure of a class 777 operating on a Chester service on the Mersey Loop, there was chaos in Central Liverpool, with delays and early turn backs on some services to get back to time. Unfortunately I received a notification on my phone whilst in Birkenhead that there was an amber weather warning for snow in Cumbria declared so I took the decision to call it a day around 3.30 after final photo of 507001 and head back up the road alot earlier than planned. It was lucky I did as heavy snow around the M6 between Tebay and Shap almost led to me being stranded, lucky I had left when I did as 30 minutes later and I'd have never made it home to Lanarkshire! Luckily I did though!
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