January
 
57303 "ALAN TRACY" heads south with past Birkett Common with the 1M87 Glasgow to London Euston diverted service. 28/04/2007 [Fujichrome Velvia 100F]

Feburary
 
37219 at Dixon Cutting, GWSR, on an EMRPS photographic charter. 08/05/2007 [Fujichrome Velvia 100F]

March
 
66205 heads north past Selside Far Moor with a diverted 6S55 Burngullow to Irvine china clay tanks. 05/05/2007 [Fujichrome Velvia 100F]

April
 
60045 "The Permanent Way Institution" heads south through Waitby with the 6E13 Newbiggin to Milford empty containerised gypsum. 28/04/2007 [Fujichrome Provia 400F]

May
 
27001 heads south passed Green End, NYMR, during the spring diesel gala. 14/5/2005 [Fujichrome Provia 100F]

June
 
37116 "Sister Dora" heads past Wainhill crossing on the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway autumn diesel gala. 11/10/2008 [Fujichrome Velvia 100]

July
 
D5054 heads north through Haworth with a service from Keighley during a gala weekend. 18/6/2005 [Fujichrome Provia 400F]

August
 
37419 heads north over Bargoed Viaduct with the 16:47 Cardiff Central to Ryhmney service. 3/9/2005 [Fujichrome Provia 400F]

September
 
60042 "The Hundred of Hoo" heads north past Kibworth Harcourt with the 6E38 Colnbrook to Lindsey empty bogie tanks. 27/9/2008 [Fujichrome Provia 100F]

October
 
D1023 "Western Fusilier" at Crewe Works open day. 9/9/2005 [Fujichrome Velvia 100F]

November
 
60029 "Clitheroe Castle" heads north through Soulbury with the 6H50 Willesden to Tunstead cement empties. 25/11/2008 [Fujichrome Provia 400X]

December
 
D306 "Atlantic Conveyor" at Wansford on an EMRPS night shoot. 26/2/2006 [Fujichrome 64T]

Two types of units that ply their trade between Watford Junction and Euston on the DC Lines. On the left is class 313, number 123 at the head of 2 sister units, whereas on the right is class 508, number 302, both in the former Silverlink livery. Although these units share a common heritage, the 508 where built with 3rd rail equipment, and started their life in Merseyside. Whereas, the class 313 are dual voltage units, having both 750VDC 3rd rail and 25kV overhead collection. The date was 18th November and we were taking a trip down to Watford Finescale Extravaganza. [Ilford Delta 100]

One of our favourite spots on the Great Eastern is the hill Brantham. This is a good morning location, with the more famous Five Arch Bridge behind the photographer, for an evening shot. Sporting the now old livery is class 90, number 009, whereas the coaches are in the new NXEC livery. [Ilford Delta 100]

On a miserable day in February saw us at the foot of Saunderton bank to capture both the Dagenham to Calvert Binliner and the WSMR services. To be honest if the sun had been out we would have been shooting straight into it, so a bit of rain was a blessing; here the fast high grain film only enhances the atmosphere. Here is class 66, number 550 heading north with the Binliner. Also visible on the road where numerous Mini's on some sort of rally — some were obviously lost as they passed us as several times! [Ilford Delta 3200 pulled +1]

Here we see EWS Management Train livered class 67, number 029 "Royal Diamond" heading towards London Marylebone with the 11:02 Wrexham & Shropshire service just to the south of Princess Risborough station. At the time the trains are top and tailed with class 67's as the required Driving Van Trailers (DVT) weren't available. Each of the trains is made up of just 3 Cargo-D Mark 3s — which typically include a first/buffet and 2 standard opens. Again the weather was awful! [Ilford Delta 3200 pulled +1]

"Heading Home" A commuter heads for a Trans Pennine Express service, formed of an unrecorded class 185 diesel multiple unit, after a days' work and shopping in Manchester. To the left is an Arriva Cross Country Voyager class 221, number 135, formally named "Donald Campbell" waits to form a southbound service, either to Reading or Bournemouth. It's quite common to see Trans Pennine units sharing platforms with other stock, as they usually have a short turn around at Piccadilly, as they don't terminate there. [Ilford Delta 3200 pulled +1]

Freightliner Heavy Haul's class 66, number 603 heads into the sunset with a loaded coal train at North Stafford Junction. The lines to the right head off towards Stoke-on-Trent, where as the lines to the left head towards Nuneaton and then onto the West Midlands. Two dog walkers head off home, towards Willington, along the footpath to the right of the picture. [Ilford Delta 3200 pulled +1]

Another into the sun shot, this time at Glendon Lodge on the Midland Mainline during a Sunday possession. The locomotive is EWS's class 66, number 196 at the head of some spoil wagons. There were several engineers trains in the area, each performing a task, cleaning old ballast, dropping sand, dropping ballast, and then the rails. Heavily backlit again — sorry! [Ilford Delta 3200 pulled +1]

With the last rays of summer light just catching the top of the cab, Freightliners class 66, number 617 brings a diverted Cricklewood binliner south along the Calvert — Bicester North line. Although there was a day time binliner along this line, the Avon binliner, these trains were diverted due to a new Tesco's car park collapsing over the line at High Wycombe shutting this line for several months. This shot, taken from a public foot crossing near Charndon in August 2005, was the last week of operation along this line for the binliners, as the line around High Wycombe was reopened the following week.

Our first trip up to the Settle and Carlisle for the west coast diversions was during the April and May of 2005. As it was our first time, we relied on a few favourite locations: Arten Gill, Garsdale, Lunds Viaduct and here Ais Gill Viaduct. Here we see class 57, number 309 "Brains" dragging 390 047 now named "Heaven's Angels" south with the 15:17 Carlisle to London Euston passing over Ais Gill viaduct in lovely light, which we'd had most of the day.

It's not just Pendolino drags over the Settle & Carlisle that gets diverted, there is also the odd bit of north-south freight does as well. Fast forward a year from the previous photograph and we see EWS's class 66, number 205, heading north through Selside with the "Silver Bullets", Burngullow to Irvine china clay tanks. This was the longest block freight on British metals, but has now ceased, as the china clay is now sourced from abroad via the Channel Tunnel.

Slightly more local to us are the Nuneaton diversions when the West Coast Mainline through Coventry is shut and the Pendolino services are diverted through Nuneaton, and then dragged along the Water Orton line. In years past a number of "kick outs" where used to drag the electric trains between Birmingham and Nuneaton, but now it's only class 57's with Pendolinos, or if one is really lucky, loco hauled stock. Here is a powerful telephoto shot of class 57, number 302 "Virgil Tracy" dragging a Pendolino past the colliery at Daw Mill on its way to Nuneaton during 2006.

This is an example from the previous year's Nuneaton drags — a shot that's only possible during the height of summer, where the evening light is far enough round to capture this shot. This was taken from one of the many footpaths that cross the line near Shustoke Reservoirs and is of class 57, number 316 "FAB 1", dragging Pendolino 390, number 033 "City of Glasgow" with a Wolverhampton bound service.

A common diversion route on the Midland Mainline just north of Kettering is the line out to Corby, over the famous Harringworth Viaduct, via Melton Mowbray and back onto the Midland near Leicester. One of the nicest spot is a footpath near Glendon Lodge just as the line diverts were we see a London bound HST, leading power car 43061 with power car 43048 bring up the rear. This was the last week of diversions during the second weekend of February this year. During the couple of hours of warm daylight, only 2 HSTs where photographed, with Merdians making up the rest of the trains.

We started off our day with a quick trip up the M1 and M6 to Lea Marston. We've tried this location once before but that time the cloud rolled up and we had to head off north. This time we were in luck as the cloud stayed away whilst we where there. The first train of interest was this loaded coal train, bound for Rugeley Power Station, headed by Freightliners class 66, number 582.

Not often we include pictures of multiple units on this site, but here is a shot of a class 170, turbo, number 102 in near perfect lighting conditions heading north towards Nottingham passed Lea Marston. Arriva Cross Country is slowly rolling out their new purple livery to both their Turbo and Voyager units, but at the time of writing only two Turbos have been out shopped. The rest are running around in the various liveries Arriva inherited them in.

We'd seen post made earlier in the day that Fastline's class 56 had been travelling north with empty freightliner flats quite locally to us, and that they were heading towards Trafford Park in Manchester. So it came as quite a surprise to hear the distinctive thudding of a grid in the not too far distance; a quick dive across the road, and not much time to adjust for the shot produced this shot of 303 heading towards Doncaster (we think!)

We decided to make a move to Elford as we knew there were two interesting northbound workings that wouldn't make good shots at Lea Marston once the sun got around. These workings where an Advenza Freight move with a newly acquired class 57, and the newly painted class 60 on the tanks. The first southbound freight whilst at Elford loops was this Freightliner load coal hoppers, presumably to Rugeley in the capable hands of class 66, number 506 "Crewe Regeneration".

Unfortunately the cloud cover built up, in typical manner, with several hours of unbroken sun but no southbound freight. This claimed the shot of the Advenza Freight working due to the horrific contrasts, and as the photographers gathered it was touch and go whether the sun would appear again for the Westerleigh empty tanks. With minutes to spare there was a break in the clouds, and the class 60 rounded the curve under the bridge at Portway (just in the distance), and all was well. This class 60, number 074 newly named "Teenage Spirit", as been repainted into the Teenage Cancer Trust's light blue to highlight the problems of teenage cancer, and more interestingly has been applied with DB Schenker stickers; the end of EWS?

Another class 60, this time 048 "Eastern" on a rather shorter tanker train with the Didcot — Lindsley working, which usually isn't booked to run on Tuesdays. This made a rather nice photograph; as the sun had got sufficiently round to catch the nose of the locomotive, and the short train just fitted in between the bushes.

At this time of year the shadows at the loop become too long at around four o'clock, so we made a quick move up to the bridge, to catch one of the last DRS operated Network Rail monitoring trains - only for a precessions of northbound freights to pass us without an opportunity for a shot. By the time this working appeared around the curve the sunlight was quite weak so it was with some relief that the train was running quite slowly. This train, hauled by DRS's class 37, with number 218 at the head, and 609 on the rear was running from Derby to Barton Hill. The SERCO trains will soon be hauled by Network Rail owned class 31's and 37's with ex-Anglian DBSO's on the rear.

The first couple of shots are of ETH fitted class 37's in Glasgow Queen Street. The first is of class 37, number 412 "Loch Lomond" running light engine off the blocks, This locomotive carried this name between 1987 and 1989, so that's some help dating the photograph. This locomotive started off as D6601, renumbered to 37301 in 1974, and then onto 37412 in 1985. She is currently in store at Margam depot.

Framed by the exit of Queen Street station, and raced to the blocks by a cyclist is class 37, number 418 "An Comunn Gaidhealach" bringing in a service from the north. Note the highland stag on the cab sides on the yellow of the large logo livery that was prevalent at that time. An Comunn Gaidhealach is a voluntary membership organisation, founded in Oban in 1891 as a vehicle for the preservation and development of the Gaelic language. 37418 is currently stored at Toton.

We now move onto the junction at Carstairs, where at the time the line to Edinburgh was without wires, requiring trains that split with portions to Glasgow and Edinburgh to gain diesel power for the latter portion, usually a class 47. Here we see, from the road bridge over the station, class 37, number 051 heading south with a departmental service. Do note the headlight as fixed before sealed beam highlight type became common, and the leaping salmon sticker as applied by Glasgow Shields TMD. This symbol became synonymous with the class 81 electrics during their final years. 37051 is currently awaiting cutting at Sims Metal, in Beeston.

From a similar position to the previous shot is this view of two red-strip railfreight livered class 37's. The distant class 37 is number 373, with the latter numerals being larger than normal, but we're afraid we don't know the number of the 37 in the foreground. This locomotive sports the Eastfield terrier sticker as applied by that depot. We have several other photographs of 37373 that day around Carstairs so she looks as if she was kept busy! She started off life as D6860, then renumbered to 37160 and finally to 37373 when she was geared with CP7 bogies in May of 1988.

Finally we move onto an official depot visit around Motherwell Depot, when such organised visits where allow, and such visits we worth it! Here we see a pair of class 37's with a class 47 in the background. The first class 37 is number 140, but we're afraid we can't work out the numbers of the class 37 or class 47. Both of the class 37's must have spent some time around London's Straford's depot as the both sport the "Cockney Sparrow" depot motif. Class 37140 started off as D6840 and spent a fair time on the move, before submitting to the cutters torch in 2001.

Our last image is that of class 37, number 062 standing outside the main building at Motherwell depot. This locomotive seems to have had its centre doors sealed, perhaps to prevent drafts in the cab or through accident damage, and one of marker lights replaced again perhaps through accident damage. This locomotive also ports a white cantrail band which is usual. Behind the locomotive is a rake of departmental stock for re-railing trains — this stock seems ever present in this siding judging by the photographs of other photographers in the area.

16/06/09 A new freight flow is about to start on the southern end of the WCML, from Dollands Moor, well actually from France, to Hams Hall in the West Midlands. These are crew training at the moment, and the first run was captured in less than ideal conditions from Soulbury road bridge. Cola's Rail class 56, number 312 heads up the 4Z91 working.