Photo EWS Class 66086 UK Diesel Loco and Coal Hopper Train 2004

Class 66086 EWS Diesel Locomotive Didcot Parkway

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

EWS Freight, Class 66086 diesel loco hauling a long rake of 102 tonne coal hopper wagons, photographed about to enter Didcot station on a bright summer's day in 2004.

UK Diesel locomotive Class 66086 was built in April 1999 by General Motors Electro-Motive Division (EMD)

The three remaining Didcot Power Station cooling towers, seen top right of photo, were demolished in August 2019.

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

Class 66005 at Wellingborough

Class 66013 & 66502 at Rugby (Scroll down for '502' image)

Class 66044 at Northampton

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 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

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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'.

 

**************************************

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 EWS Class 66145 UK Diesel Loco Passing Banbury 2012

Class 66145 EWS Diesel Locomotive, Banbury Station

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

UK diesel locomotive, EWS Freight liveried Class 66145, photographed passing slowly through Banbury rail station, Oxfordshire, England, in a late August afternoon of 2012, heading north hauling a train of Ford Transit vans.

Class 66145 arrived new in the UK at Newport docks aboard the MV Gajah Borneo on the 18th August 1999.

 

Along with its normal railway network duties, this EWS liveried loco has featured in two railtours:  'The Valley Voyager' on the 16th March 2002 where it 'top-and-tailed' with 37038 & 37197 hauling a 13-coach train from Cwmgwrach to Neath & Brecon Junction, and from Onllwyn to Burrows Sidings.

 

On the 26th April 2003, Class 66145 provided power for 'The North Eastern Express' railtour hauling a 13-coach train from Hooton to Newcastle and back. 

 

The locomotive is currently operated by DB Cargo UK.

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

Class 66005 at Wellingborough

Class 66013 & 66502 at Rugby (Scroll down blog page 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 66187 at Wellingborough

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

 

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Photo Class 45118 'The Royal Artilleryman' British Rail Peak Diesel Loco 1990s

'Peak' Diesel Loco Ravaged Before Restoration

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Photographed in the early days of restoration and repair on the Northampton & Lamport Railway in the 1990s, 'Peak' UK diesel locomotive Class 45118 'The Royal Artilleryman' - original number D67 - was one of a fleet of 127 built at both BR Derby Works and Crewe Works between 1960 and 1962.

Used regularly on scheduled services between London St. Pancras and Manchester, the Midland Mainline was their main theatre of operations as was the case for their predecessor the Class 44.

The Class 45/1s were to be found across the British railway network following their gradual displacement with the introduction of the Class 43 Intercity 125 High Speed Trains.  

The writing was on the wall for the Sulzer 12LDA28-B power units as their withdrawal from main line service began in 1977, with the final locomotives being taken out of service in 1988.

UK diesel loco, Class 45118 'The Royal Artilleryman', built in May 1962 at Crewe Works (LNWR/LMS/British Railway) was originally purchased for restoration and preservation on the Northampton & Lamport Railway, Northamptonshire, following withdrawal from British Rail.

After an attack by cable thieves, which left the diesel locomotive inoperable and extremely expensive to repair, it was moved to Railway Vehicle Engineering Limited  (RVEL) - now Loram - at Derby in 2009 for repairs.

It moved from Derby after purchase by Locomotive Services Limited, (LSL), Crewe Diesel Depot.  In 2019, Class 45118 was on the move again, this time for repairs at Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Museum and Engine Shed near Chesterfield, Derbyshire.

Whether it will ever return to main line or preserved/heritage railway operations is at the present moment uncertain.

In total, 12 of the 'Peak' Class 45 diesel locomotives have survived.

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Photo Class 350105 London Midlands Desiro EMU Train Enters Wolverton Station 2013

Class 350105 London Midland Trains EMU Heading For London

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

UK passenger train Class 350105 electric multiple unit (DMU), in London Midland Trains livery, photographed entering Wolverton station, Buckinghamshire, with a regular commuter service to London Euston.

London Midland Trains would, on the 10th December 2017, be taken over by West Midlands Trains whose franchise will run until March 2026.


Wolverton railway station historical note:
It was at Wolverton railway station in Buckinghamshire, on the 9th September 1845, that bare-knuckle fighter, Bendigo, stepped from a carriage of a London & Birmingham Railway train surrounded by a horde of his supporters.

His destination was the nearby town of Newport Pagnell where it was arranged that he would take part in an illegal fight with Ben Caunt.

At the last possible moment, for various reasons, the venue was switched to the village of Lillington Lovell, 4 miles north of Buckingham.


The match went ahead with Bendigo being heralded the winner after 96 gruelling rounds.

 

 

 

Two Class 350 EMUs Pass at Bletchley Station

 

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Photo Freightliner UK Diesel Loco Class 66536 Leaving Banbury Station 2012

Class 66536 Freightliner Diesel Loco Powers Out of Banbury

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

As the summer sun begins to set, Class 66536 Freightliner UK diesel locomotive is photographed passing through Banbury rail station in August 2012, heading in the direction of Didcot, Oxfordshire, England.

Cab-Side Number
  Photo: Charles Moorhen

Photo: Charles Moorhen

 

 

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

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 66187 at Wellingborough

Class 66206 at Northampton

Class 66414 at Northampton

Class 66509 at Wellingborough

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

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Photo Chiltern Railways Class 168003 Clubman DMU Train Banbury 2012

Class 168003 Diesel Multiple Unit, Banbury Station

Photo:  Charles Moorhen

Chiltern Railways Trains diesel multiple unit, UK passenger train Class 168003, photographed as it waits to depart Banbury rail station in 2012.

Clubman UK diesel multiple units, such as Class 168003, were constructed between 1998 and 2004, with the earliest examples entering service on the 20th May 1998.

In all, 19 trainsets were built with 2/3/4 cars per set.  With a top speed of 100 mph (160 km/h), 4-car unit Class 168003 offers 272 seats with air-conditioning throughout.

The 168 Clubman Class of dmu can be found operating on the Chiltern Main Line, London to Aylesbury Line, London Marylebone - Oxford, Princes Risborough - Aylesbury Line.


Network South East, then operated by British Rail, originally planned the Class 168 for their expansion of services on the Chiltern Main Line to Birmingham Snow Hill or New Street stations. In the event, privatisation put and end to the Network SouthEast.  

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