TRACTION 2016 Part 1
FREIGHT
TRAFFIC & TRACTION:
37025 and 37254 return to the main line to work for Colas;
Tonbridge-based 20901 & 20905 on the East Coast main line hauling a
single gypsum wagon to Peterborough; Freightliner’s 47830 on a
Kilmarnock to Laira coaching stock move; Northern Belle 57312 hauling a
rail train to Toton; Chiltern Railways’ 68011 working a nuclear flask
train in Cumbria; 56087 & 56113 rescuing a failed 60087 on the Seaham
cement; DRS’s 66425 ventures to Laira with HST coaching stock; 50007
Hercules & 50050 Fearless taking Heavy Haul coal hoppers to Donnington
for storage; 90018 & 90036 hauling the Doncaster to Tyne Yard
infrastructure service; the return to the main line of 37800 for
Europhoenix; Heavy Haul Class 66s en route to Poland; new DRS Class 68s
leaving Workington docks; the final batch of new-build Class 66s for
GBRf being unloaded at Newport Docks...and the unveiling and naming of
66779 Evening Star at York.
PASSENGER
TRACTION, RAILTOURS & SPECIALS:
the extraordinary Caledonian sleeper drags diversions caused by the
closure of the West Coast main line north of Carlisle, including
re-routings via the ECML, the Durham coast, the GN&GE Joint Line and the
G&SW with Riviera Class 47 and GBRf Class 66 haulage; 86401 arriving at
King’s Cross with the overnight sleeper service from Inverness; 73968
hauling the diverted Fort William sleepers to Oban; 37259 working the
Cumbrian Coast passenger diagram; GWR’s 57605 off the beaten track at
Melton Mowbray en route to Derby for repairs; 55009 Alycidon travels
over the Borders Railway to Tweedbank; 87002 working a GBRf ‘foot-ex’ to
Liverpool; 50007 & 50050 powering a Derby to Swanage railtour; D1015
Western Champion’s non-stop run from Paddington to Plymouth...and 59202
hauling the VSOE.
THERE’S ALSO:
Network Rail’s newly-converted ‘Ultra 73s’; 56098 & 56301 hauling
refurbished GWR HST stock from Kilmarnock to Laira; 31233 on test train
duties; four Class 86s towed to Barrow Hill by 37608 before shipping to
Bulgaria; Vintage Trains’ 47773 with a Greater Anglia EMU in tow; 70003
hauling a brand new Gatwick Express unit from Derby to Bletchley; 73966
towing Scotrail EMU 320315 from Springburn Works to Shields Road; 56113
and 66848 on test train rescues; 68025 on inspection saloon duties with
Caroline; Network Rail’s 73951 & 73952 at the Severn Valley...and Class
40 D213 Andania blasting out of Swanage on its first passenger train in
32 years!