Night Photo Class 700130 12-car Desiro City Thameslink Trains EMU Bedford 2018

Class 700103 'Desiro City' EMU, Bedford Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen 

Siemens-built Govia Thameslink Desiro City Class 700 700103 electric multiple unit, introduced onto the railway network between 2016 and 2018. 

In this night photo Class 700103 Thameslink EMU unit stands at Bedford station prior to departing with a 12-car 22:40 scheduled service to Three Bridges, Crawley, West Sussex, on the 19th April 2018.

The unit coach numbers are as follows: 401103  402103  403103  404103  405103 406103  407103  408103  409103  410103  411103  412103.

The completion of the 115th and final Class 700 EMU for Govia Thameslink Trains has (at time of publication) recently been announced by Siemens.

Over the past five years a total of 1,140 coaches, made up of 60 8-car and 55 12-car commuter train units have been manufactured.

The final unit produced, completing a total of 115, was Class 700060.


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Night Photo Class 153334 Single-Car Supersprinter DMU Train Bletchley 2018

Class 153334 'Supersprinter' DMU at Bletchley Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen

Trainspotting West Midlands Trains Super Sprinter Leyland Bus DMU Class 153 334, built between 1987 and 1988 and allocated to TY - Tysley Birmingham TMD, standing at  platform 6 Bletchley station ready to operate the 21:01 service to Bedford on the evening of the 18th April 2018.

Compare the newer Supersprinter above with the photo below of British Rail Bubble Car DMU 55011, bearing a small Network Southeast decal, operating the same service in the late 1980's.  

Note the weeds growing on platforms 5 and 6.  A common sight during the days of the run-down and neglect of British Rail by government.

British Rail Bubble Car DMU 55011 Leaving Bletchley For Bedford in the late 1980's

 

Photo: Charles Moorhen

 

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Photo Class 323241 London Midland Trains 3-Car EMU Train Barnt Green 2016

Class 323241 London Midlands Trains EMU

Photo: Charles Moorhen

Trainspotting British Rail Class 323241, allocated to SO - Soho TMD (Birmingham), in London Midland Trains livery, now West Midlands Trains, seen at platform 3 Barnt Green station, Worcestershire, on the 18th August 2016  operating a suburban commuter train service.

The Class 323 EMU trains were built by Hunslet Transportation Projects between 1992 and 1995  to operate on inner-suburban commuter lines in and around Birmingham and Manchester.

The unit coach numbers for Class 323241 are as follows: 64041  72341  65041.

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Freightliner Diesel Locomotive Class 66509 Wellingborough 2015 Photos

Class 66509 Freightliner Diesel Loco, Approaches Wellingborough Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen

General Motors EMD Class 66509 diesel loco in Freightliner livery, as it approaches Wellingborough station from Kettering heading towards Bedford, after passing under Mill Road bridge on the 28th July 2015

Class 66509 was built in June 2000 and allocated to Leeds Midland Road TMD.

Close-Up of Freightliner diesel locomotive Class 66509
Photo: Charles Moorhen  

Class 66509 Approaching Wellingborough Station 
 Photo: Charles Moorhen   

More Class 66 Locomotive Images on 'Along These Tracks'.

Class 66005 at Wellingborough

Class 66013 & 66502 at Rugby (Scroll down for '66502' image)

Class 66044 at Northampton

Class 66086 at Didcot

Class 66086 and 66237 at Didcot

Class 66117 at Northampton

Class 66130 at Banbury

Class 66145 at Banbury

Class 66187 at Wellingborough

Class 66206 at Northampton

Class 66414 at Northampton

Class 66536 at Banbury

Class 66551 at Rugby

Class 66717 at Wellingborough

Class 66729 at Wellingborough 

Class 66765 at Wellingborough

Four Unidentified Class 66s at Didcot.

Four Unidentified GBRF Class 66s at Wellingborough

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Night Photo Chiltern Railways Class 172103 and Class 172101 DMU Train Banbury 2018

Class 172103 and 172101 DMU, Banbury

 

Photo: Charles Moorhen 

Chiltern Railways Turbostar DMU 2-car units, Class 172/1 172103 and Class 172/1 172101, allocated to AL - Aylesbury TMD, standing coupled together at platform 3 Banbury station forming the 22:55 commuter service to Reading via Oxford on the evening of the 13th April 2018.

                       

Class 172/1 172101 at Banbury Station April 2018     
Photo: Charles Moorhen

The unit coach numbers for Class 172103 are as follows: 59113  59213.
The unit coach numbers for Class 172101 are as follows: 59111  59211.

Both trains were built between 2009 and 2010.

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DB Cargo Class 66130 Diesel Loco Waits For Green Light Banbury 2018

Class 66130 DB Cargo Diesel Loco, Banbury Train Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen 

 

DB Cargo diesel locomotive Class 66/0 66130, built in July 1999 and allocated to Toton TMD (Notts), waits at a red light, while heading towards Oxford at around 22:40 hrs., for a number of timetabled Chiltern Railways DMU's to clear the line at Banbury station on 13th April 2018.

This image, and the one below, was one of the hardest that I have ever tried to capture.  The available light was minimal to say the least.  To the naked eye it seemed as though it was not much better than candlelight.  I'd left my tripod in the car and knew that if I went back to collect it, Class 66130 would be gone by the time I returned to the platform.

With no other options left open to me I decided to try for a hand-held shot.  At the far end of the platform there was nothing to support the camera on, so it was a matter of hold and pray.

I set my Nikon D3200 to 6400 ISO, a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second and an f-stop of 5.6.  Not an ideal combination, but better than nothing...if it worked.

I manually focussed, as naturally the auto focus would not operate in this amount of light, tucked my elbows into my sides, held my breath and pressed the shutter button.  

Looking at the screen after taking the photo I wondered if, with a bit of editing, I might, with a lot of luck, be able to produce some sort of passable image.

As it turned out things were not too bad in the end.  

After an hour of messing about with the editing, (not my favourite pastime) I ended up with a picture that, apart from the amount of film grain and noise, I was reasonably happy to have - given the circumstances.

Next time I'll try to remember to take my tripod with me!

DB Cargo Class 66130 at Banbury 2018   Photo: Charles Moorhen

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Classes 172212 2-Car and 172331 3-Car London Midland Trains DMUs Leamington Spa 2016

Class 172212 and 172331 DMUs, Leamington Spa Train Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen 

On a bright, sunny August day in 2016, 3-car diesel multiple unit Class 172/3 172331 allocated to TY - Tysley TMD (Birmingham) sits in bay platform 1 at Leamington Spa station alongside 2-car DMU Class 172/2 172212 allocated to TY - Tysley TMD (Birmingham), both in the green, white and black London Midland Trains livery

Class 172331 unit coach numbers are as follows: 50331  56331  79331.
Class 172212 unit coach numbers are as follows: 50212  79211.


Built by Bombardier at their Derby Litchurch Lane Works, the Class 172 Turbostar diesel multiple units were introduced into service from July 2010.

39 Class 172 commuter trainsets were produced in a combination of both 2-car and 3-car sets, and are operated by London Overground, Chiltern Railways and West Midlands Trains (formerly London Midland Trains).

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BR Loco Class 86221 Named 'BBC Look East' Northampton 1990s

Class 86221 'BBC Look East' Diesel Electric Loco

Photo: Charles Moorhen 

Named After a BBC TV News Programme

Seen here on a sunny day at Northampton train station in the 1980's/90's, photographed on 35mm film, Class 86/2 86221 was one of 100 of a locomotive class that were built at two locations - Doncaster Works and the English Electric Vulcan Foundry at Newton-le-Willows.

Primarily, the Class 86 locomotives were built to replace steam on the then newly-electrified West Coast Main Line from London Euston, to Birmingham, Crewe, Manchester Piccadilly, Liverpool and later on to Preston and Glasgow.

In the early 1980's the locomotives were employed on passenger trains from and to, London Liverpool Street to Cambridge, Harwich, Ipswich and Norwich.

At times during its lifetime, Class 86/2 86221 carried two names.  From 1979-87 it was named Vesta, after the Roman goddess of hearth and home.  From 1987-2003 it carried the name, Look East, after the BBC regional news programme which began broadcasting in October 1959 and continues to this day.

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

After a lifetime of both passenger and freight work in a wide variety of liveries, 86221 was scrapped in 2003.

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Class 60016 Brush Mirrlees 'Rail Magazine' EWS Diesel Loco Didcot 2004

Class 60016 EWS Diesel Loco on Didcot Sidings

Photo: Charles Moorhen   

On my first ever spotting trip to Didcot railway station, Oxfordshire, on the 6th October 2004, I was lucky enough to photograph a good number of locomotives such as Class 66s, Class 67's, a Class 37, a couple of Class 57's, as well as Class 43s and a number of Chiltern Railways DMUs.  

Unfortunately, for some reason or other, the majority of the images taken at the time were lost. Though a few did survive.  

Amongst the survivors were Class 66086 and Class 66237; plus the image above of EWS Class 60016 diesel locomotive.  

It wasn't until a little later that I discovered I had actually photographed the scruffy-looking 60016 with its 'Rail Magazine' nameplate (previously the loco had carried the name 'Langdale Pikes') which it would carry for only one more month before being renamed 'Pathfinder Tours 30 Years of Railtouring 1973-2003'.

Class 60016 was built on 9/2/93 at Brush Traction, Loughborough.

Photo: Charles Moorhen

 

UPDATE at time of writing: 
Following the 500th issue of 'Rail' magazine, Class 60016 was renumbered 60500 and stands on a 'scrap' line at Toton Maintenance Depot/Toton Sidings.

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