Night Photo Class 67013 Chiltern Railways Alstom GM Diesel Loco Banbury 2014

Class 67013 Diesel Locomotive, Banbury Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen

Chiltern Railways Class 67 013 locomotive, one of a class of 30 produced, is seen here at Banbury station on the evening of the 13th January 2014, hauling a rake of silver liveried Mark 3 coaching stock.  

Class 67013 was built in March 2000 and is allocated to CE - Crewe International Electric T&RSMD.
Between July 2008 and December 2013 the locomotive carried the name 'Dyfrbont Ponycysylite' .

An example of an hourly-run service operated by Chiltern Railways between Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street station.

Built between 1999 and 2000 the Class 67 locomotives operating these Chiltern Railways services would eventually be replaced by Class 68 locos built between 2012 and 2016.

Class 68013 Locomotive           Photo: Train of the Week blog

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Photo BR Class 08466 and Class 37's Bescot Station England 1989

Class 08466 and Class 37 Locos, Bescot Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen

Back to the 20th century and a cold day at Bescot yard on the 17th March 1989.  In those days I was using a Russian-made Zenith EM 35mm film camera to capture a British Rail Class 08 shunter and two Class 37 locos.  A far cry from the versatility of today's digital cameras.  But, great fun nonetheless.

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In the foreground is Railfreight Class 08466, built in October 1958, is seen pottering about Bescot sidings.  

Behind 08466, in the middle, is Class 37271 with Class 37890 in the distance.

Diesel shunter Class 08 08466 was withdrawn on the 30th September 2010 and subsequently scrapped at CF Booth, Rotherham.


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Night Photo Class 390128 'City of Preston' Virgin Trains Pendolino EMU Rugby 2016

Class 390128 'City of Preston' Pendolino EMU, Rugby Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen

Virgin Trains Pendolino Class 390 128 'City of Preston' EMU, built by Alstom, stands in Rugby station on the evening of the 25th August 2016; the same rainy night that I had photographed locomotives EWS Class 66013 and Freightliner Class 66502.  Class 390128 unit coach numbers are as follows: 69128  69428  69528  69628  65328  68928  68828  69728  69828  69928  69228.

And got fairly wet in the process!

Once again, dashing between sudden downpours, I managed to scamper with camera and tripod from one platform to another in order to get this shot.  Thinking all the time...I'm going to trip over, I'm going to trip over!

How hectic it all seems at the time when one is trying to set up a tripod and adjust the camera to the correct settings for a night photo, while all the time being aware that the time for the train to depart and the camera to record the scene is quickly running out.

But, all said and done, I believe that is was worth it in the end!

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Looking at the amount of artificial light in the photo above, it started me thinking.

When one considers how brightly lit railway stations are nowadays, it is difficult to imagine how stark the comparison would be with the standard of lighting back in the days of the Victorian railways, and how hazardous it must have been travelling at night back then.

During the Victorian era, station name-boards, although larger than they are today, were difficult to see at the best of times.  Especially from a moving train at night, maybe in fog, or worst of all - both.  

The style that the Victorians favoured was dark lettering on a lighter background - not the ideal choice for sign which would instantly catch the eye.  And at night the sign would be illuminated by the feeble glow from a gas lamp.

The unfortunate result of this combination led to a large number of instances whereupon rail passengers alighted from a railway carriage only to find that they had done so at the wrong station.  

However, far more serious were the occasions which led to a number of serious injuries and fatalities resulting from an unsuspecting passenger stepping from a railway carriage, only to find that there was nothing beneath their feet fresh air; the train having merely stopped temporarily at a signal.

Without doubt today's railways have a lot to answer for, one way and another, but it has to be said that at least we are safer and more fortunate than many of our Victorian predecessors were.

Just a passing thought.


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