Photo Class 66515 UK Freightliner Loco Through Banbury Station 2014

 

Freightliner Class 66515 Loco Banbury        Photo: Charles Moorhen

Photo of Freightliner Class 66515 diesel loco at Banbury station, hauling a train of empty flatbed wagons, A Chiltern Railways Class 172 DMU can be seen to the left of the picture.

This image was actually taken from a video that I took at the time. An experiment that worked reasonably well.

 

In Freightliner livery since new, Class 66515 arrived in the UK at Newport docks on the 15th August 2000 on board the ship, MV Stellaprima.

 

On the 5th December 2015, the loco provided the power for the reverse part of the 'York & Durham Noel Explorer' Pathfinder Tour, hauling an 11-coach train from Newcastle to Taunton.

The above photo took a lot of fiddling about with my basic photo editing software, but in the end I thought that the process was worth the effort.  

Admittedly, not the best image of a Freightliner loco in the world, but I like the sense of motion.

I am not a great believer in too much 'tampering' with an image; usually merely correcting only Brightness and Contrast.  But with this image I was tempted to see what I could do with it.

Following the relative success of this, I decided to try it out on a couple of other video images that I thought may make worthwhile static images.  The results were not as good as I had hoped.

However, when I've more time I might have another crack at it. Fingers crossed. 

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

Class 66005 at Wellingborough

Class 66013 & 66502 at Rugby (Scroll down for '502' 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 66206 at Northampton

Class 66414 at Northampton

Class 66509 at Wellingborough

Class 66536 at Banbury

Class 66551 at Rugby

Class 66717 at Wellingborough

Class 66729 at Wellingborough 

Class 66765 at Wellingborough

Four Unidentified Class 66s Didcot.

Four Unidentified GBRF Class 66s Wellingborough

Night Photo Railway Track Machines 73919 and DR73925 Tampers Ely 2014

Railway Track Machines at Ely Station

Early evening photo of Colas Rail UK railway Tamper Track machine 73919 and Plasser & Theurer Track machine, DR73925 'Europa' on a siding at Ely railway station, Cambridgeshire, on the 22nd of June 2014.

Track Machine 73919 on YouTube:

Colourful rail machine at Ely.

Colas Rail Track Machine 73919          Photo: Charles Moorhen

Track Machine DR73925 'Europa'           Photo: Charles Moorhen
 

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Photo Class 455735 South West Trains Inner Suburban EMU 2014

Class 455735 Electric Multiple Unit, Woking Station

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Photo of Class 455735 electric multiple unit, resplendent in the eye-catching blue, red and orange South West Trains livery, waits at Woking station in Surrey, England, in June 2014, whilst en route for London Waterloo station.

 

The British Rail Class 455/7 EMU, which draws its electrical power from a 'third rail' through a 'contact shoe' which sits on the lowest point between the bogie wheels, operates on the southern region and are all allocated to Wimbledon train depot.

The Class 455 electric multiple unit UK passenger train, built in the early 1980s, first saw service on British Rail on the 28th March 1983.  

Restricted to a maximum speed of 75 mph, these units do not offer first-class seating or toilets as they were designed specifically for inner suburban services.  They use the same body shell as the Class 317, Class 318 and the Class 150 diesel multiple unit.

Class 455 EMU Trains on YouTube:

South West Trains 455866 & 455718 leaving Woking.

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Photo Class 390154 Virgin Trains Pendolino Through Lichfield Station 2014

Virgin Pendolino Tilts At Lichfield

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Virgin Trains Class 390154 EMU Pendolino tilting train which will, a few days after this photo was taken, carry the name, 'Matthew Flinders', is seen flashing at speed through Lichfield Trent Valley station on the 7th July 2014.

 

Pendolino Class 390154 electric multiple unit UK passenger train was named 'Matthew Flinders' at a ceremony on the 18th July 2014 at London's Euston station.  The Duke of Cambridge performed the naming.

Please note: Second Virgin Penolino photo at bottom of page

 

Mystery of the Missing Body

There is an interesting mystery surrounding Captain Matthew Flinders.  Even more so due to the fact that it has a UK railway connection.

Matthew Flinders was born on the 16th March 1774 in Donington, Lincolnshire, England, the son of a surgeon, and became a navigator and map maker, circumnavigating Australia in 1795.  He said his love of the sea came from reading the novel, Robinson Crusoe.

However, Flinders' career as a Royal Navy officer was short.  He died at the age of 40, on the 19th July 1814 from kidney disease at his London home, 14 London Street - later renamed Maple Street - now the site of the BT Tower.

It is at this point that the mystery begins.

Matthew Flinders was buried in St. James's Church burial ground, opened in 1788 in Piccadilly, London.  When Flinders' sister-in-law, Isabella Tyler, went to visit his grave a mere 28 years after his death, the location of his burial plot was already lost.  Nothing remained to suggest that he had ever been laid to rest there.

In 1878 the cemetery became St. James's Gardens when built over to allow for the expansion of Euston Station.    

Rumours abounded as to what had happened to the burials disturbed during the Euston expansion.  What happened to the coffin and body of Captain Matthew Flinders?  Some people believed that he was in fact lying beneath platform 4.  Others say it could well have been platform 12, while others 'knew for a fact' that it was platform 15.

Now fast-forward 205 years to January 2019, and the excavation site for the proposed HS2 line to be built between London and Birmingham.  

Archaeologists respectfully unearthing graves from the lost site of St. James's cemetery, of which there are estimated to be around 40,000, they came across a grave with a coffin nameplate laying on the skeleton.  
Other nameplates had also been uncovered in the area, but they were made of tin and totally rusted and illegible.  This particular nameplate however had been made from lead and still in excellent condition.

The name on the coffin nameplate was none other than the explorer, cartographer and navigator - Captain Matthew Flinders.  

The life of Captain Matthew Flinders was highlighted recently on the BBC TV programme, 'Britain's Biggest Dig'.

 

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On the same day that I photographed Class 390154 Pendolino EMU flashing through Lichfield, I managed to capture this shot of Class 390010 just as I was about to leave for home.

                                              

Class 390010 Virgin Pendolino at Lichfield      Photo: Charles Moorhen

 

 

 

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Photo Class 166216 Network Express Turbo DMU Train Banbury 2014

Class 166216 First Great Western DMU, Banbury Train Station

Photo: Charles Moorhen

3-car Network Express Turbo DMU Class 166216 UK dmu commuter train, in First Great Western livery, photographed from the rear while paused at Banbury station before heading south in 2014.

The class of 166 Turbo Express diesel multiple units (DMU) were built between 1992 and 1993 by ABB Yorks works.

The 3-car units, a fleet of 21, (fleet numbers are 166201 - 166221) were designed as a faster variant of the Class 165 Turbo and both classes were originally known as Networker Turbos, but today are generally referred to as Thames Turbos.

The Class 166 diesel multiple units are operated by the Great Western Railway and the lines they serve are; Severn Beach Line, Golden Valley Line, Heart of Wessex Line, and the Wessex Main Line. 



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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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Photos Classes 67006 'Royal Sovereign' and 67026 'Diamond Jubilee' Locos 2014

Two 'Royals' Stop at Northampton Station

 

Royal Train Loco Class 67006

 Photo: Charles Moorhen

Class 67026 'Diamond Jubilee' Locomotive    

Photo: Charles Moorhen

During the reconstruction of Northampton's railway station in 2014, I decided to take a trip there in June to see how things were progressing and if there would be any traffic coming through that would be worth photographing.  

As it turned out it was well worth the time and energy consumed that afternoon.

In addition to the usual Class 350 EMU's, a number of Class 66's and Freightliner Class 70017, I was lucky to photograph a couple of Class 67 diesel locomotives; Royal Train locomotive Class 67 67006 'Royal Sovereign', and, Class 67 67026 'Diamond Jubilee', coupled together and running light.

Class 67006 was built in February 2006 and allocated to Toton TMD (Notts.).
Class 67026 was built in March 2012 and allocated to Crewe International Electric T&RSMD.

Class 67006 is just one of a long line of locomotive providing the motive power for the Royal Train.  The first official Royal Train locomotive was broad gauge engine 2-2-2 Phlegethon of the Firefly class, driven by Daniel Gooch and assisted by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, where it hauled the train containing Queen Victoria from Slough to Paddington on the 13th June 1842.

Since that time many locomotives have provided the pulling power for the Royal Train, with a few examples listed here:
6233 Duchess of Sutherland  - LMS Princes Coronation Class 4-6-2.
6024 King Edward I  - GWR 'King' Class 4-6-0.
60163 Tornado - Peppercorn Class A1 4-6-2.
60028 Walter K. Whigham - Gresley A4 Pacific 4-6-2.
30938 St. Olave's - Maunsell 4-4-0.
70000 Britannia - BR Standard Class Britannia Pacific 7MT 4-6-2.

Running the Royal Train does not come cheap.  
In the year ending the 31st March 2012, the total cost of operaing the train, for a mere 13 trips covering a total distance of 912 miles, was a staggering £900,000; equating to £69,230 per trip!  

By Appointment Plaque on Class 67006 'Royal Sovereign

Photo: Charles Moorhen

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Photo Class 450108 Desiro South West Trains EMU Brookwood Station 2014

Class 450108 EMU Brookwood, Surrey

Desiro Class 450108 EMU
Photo: Charles Moorhen

South West Trains Class 450 450108 third-rail electric multiple unit, is seen at Brookwood station operating a stopping service to London Waterloo on the afternoon of Sunday the 29th June 2014.

Class 450108 commuter train was built between 2002 and 2006 and allocated to Northam (Southampton) EMUN.

Class 450108 unit coach numbers are as follows: 63708  66858  66808  63758.

Although it was a Sunday I saw a fair amount of Class 450 and Class 444 EMU activity on the line - but no freight.  

It was my first trip to Brookwood station, although I passed through it many times as a boy in the 1950's behind a variety of Southern Region steam locomotives on my way to Basingstoke for my school holidays.  

Apart from the absence of smoke-stained Southern Railway green paint, not to mention equally smoke-stained railway staff, it seemed as though it had hardly changed a bit.

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Brookwood station features elsewhere on this blog under the title, Brookwood Cemetery Station and the London Necropolis Funeral Railway.  

The blog post makes for interesting reading if you are partial to a bit of unique railway history.

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Photo Class 222015 DMU East Midland Trains Wellingborough 2014

Class 222015 DMU In Black & White

Photo: Charles Moorhen

In the summer of 2014 I visited Wellingborough railway station on the Midland Mainline to photograph the Grade II listed former Midland Railway goods shed situated at the 'London' end of platform one; something I had been meaning to do for a number of years.

 

Although the weather was slightly overcast I did manage to record enough images of the old building to make the trip worthwhile. (The results can be seen in a 'Along These Tracks' blog post by clicking here).

In addition to photographing this surprisingly well-preserved example of railway architecture, I also fired off a few frames of DMU's, locomotives and Intercity 125 Class 43's that came and went throughout my time at the station.

Noting that the available light was deteriorating as the day wore on, I reluctantly made the decision to pack up and go home.

However, as quickly as I had made that decision...I reversed it.

I was at the furthest point I could be at the southern end of platform one when the sound of a diesel engine attracted my attention. The noise came from an approaching East Midlands Trains Class 222 DMU.

It was obvious from its speed that it was a stopping service, but, even so, the distance between train and station was shortening rapidly.

Would it be worthwhile going for the shot I thought as I instinctively grabbed the camera from its bag? Class 222015 - one of a fleet of 27 trains sets - was by now making an impressive attempt at completely filling the frame by this time.

Acutely aware that the dmu was bearing down on me, I hastily checked the exposure, framed the shot, hit the shutter button – all in one panicky movement - and prayed as I was aware a second later of the air turbulence as 222015 swept by me.

Had I been too late? Would this shot become yet another victim of my camera delete button?

Fortunately, this time, there was no need for the dreaded delete button. As I examined the picture on the rear screen I saw that I had captured the only decent image of a train that day!

 

 

Class 222015 DMU was built between 2003 and 2005 and allocated to Derby Etches Park.

Class 222015 DMU unit coach numbers are as follows: 60255  60925  60635  60535  60175.

News Update:

Seeing East Midlands Trains colourful livery of red, white, orange and red flashing along the railway tracks, will soon become a thing of the past.

Abellio will take over the East Midlands Trains franchise on Saturday 18th August 2019. The Class 43 HST Intercity 125 and Class 222 diesel multiple unit will gradually be phased out by brand new Hitachi trains that will be a variant of the bullet-nosed Class 800 bio-mode DMU.

The new trains will have a lavender livery and be branded with 'EMR' on both sides.

Other Class 222 DMU blog posts:

East Midlands Trains Class 222 002 Train at Wellingborough Station

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