A busy moment at Ribblehead on November 4 as Northern DMUs Nos. 158875+158902 call with the 2H90/13.18 Leeds to Appleby (curtailed there due to the derailment at Carlisle on October 19), while to the right No. 60026 Helvellyn stands in the Virtual Quarry while its rake of JNA wagons is loaded for the 6E45/18.23 departure to Leeds Hunslet.
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RHTT
A visit to Marylebone station on Sunday, October 2, found the Rail Head Treatment Train (RHTT) to Aylesbury standing on the Wall siding, top-and-tailed by Class 66 Nos. 66522 and 66507.
The RHTT season started on the Midland Main Line on October 3 when DB Class 66 Nos. 66100 Armistice 100 + 66084 worked the 3J98/09.34 Leicester-West Hampstead Thameslink and 3J01/13.48 West Hampstead Thameslink-Toton TMD. The rest of this diagram includes visits to Kentish Town, Bardon Hill and Nuneaton. The diagram has run Monday to Saturday since then, with Nos. 66100 + 66084 the regular locos.
In the South Western Railway area, the RHTTs are again being worked by Multi Purpose Vehicles (MPVs). On Thursday, October 6, 3S88, the Effingham Junction CHS to Effingham Junction Carriage Holding Sidings circuit, was seen between Barnes and Putney formed of Nos. DR98913 and DR98963. A further diagram was seen again on Tuesday, October 11, this time passing platform 3 at Clapham Junction, with Nos. DR98972 and DR98922, working via Wimbledon, Chessington South, Shepperton, Kingston, Twickenham, Weybridge, Staines, Windsor & Eton Riverside, Clapham Junction and Feltham.
Observed at Dawlish Tuesday-Friday, October 11-14 were Class 66 Nos. 66129+66069 on a regular basis.
At Newark Castle on October 26, the RHTT train, top-and-tailed by Class 66 Nos. 66154 and 66186, passed by heading east.
The RHTT operation out of the Stowmarket base for the GEML, continues daily with Class 57s as well as Class 66/0 and 66/4s being involved. On October 27, while at Harwich International, Nos. 66426 and 66126 were noted on the morning’s first branch working as 3S60 Stowmarket to Stowmarket down into platform 3 where the driver swapped ends to take the train back out down to Manningtree and on to Shenfield and the Southend branch before returning to Colchester to take in Clacton-on-Sea and then back to its Stowmarket base. On October 31 while at Manningtree, Nos. 66424 Driver Paul Scrivens 1969-2021 and 66428 Carlisle Eden Mind swept off the Harwich branch and onto the Up Main at 10.15 hardly recognisable except for the cleaner number area.
Class 66 No. 66849 Wylam Dilly was observed on October 26, top-and-tailing the 3S14/11.16 Grimsby Town to York Thrall RHTT past the closed Healey Mills Yard with 66848 at the rear. The same pairing was observed on November 1, top-and-tailing the 3S14/11.25 Woodburn Junction to York Thrall RHTT past Tinsley South Junction on the former GCR line from Sheffield Victoria to Rotherham.
Class 66 Nos. 66031+66091 were observed dumped in the engineers’ sidings at Carstairs on November 5, having arrived two days earlier. Both are reported to have developed very serious wheel flats, having been used in recent weeks on the RHTTs based at Inverness.
The Network Rail GPVs have been visiting Littlehampton as of late, mainly Nos. DR98916+ DR98966 – but Nos. DR98908+ DR98958, DR98917+DR98967 and DR98918+DR98968 also have been noted at the terminus.
Class 390 No. 390045 ran ECS from Preston (5T53/10.11) to Carnforth and back (5M53) on Tuesday, October 18. Upon returning to Preston No. 390045 formed 9M53 bound for London Euston (dep 13.17). This service (9M53) is normally scheduled to start at Edinburgh Waverley but on this day started from Preston.
Class 390 No. 390135 ran ECS on Wednesday, October 19 from Polmadie, Glasgow (5Z14/08.03) to London Euston.
On Monday, October 24 the 9S54 from London Euston to Edinburgh worked by Class 390 No. 390126 departed from Euston just two minutes late at 08.45. However, the service was 146 minutes late on arrival in Preston where it was terminated. Later No. 390126 left Preston at 14.25 forming the 1S58 bound for Glasgow Central which had earlier been cancelled between Euston and Preston.
At Dawlish on Saturday, October 8, a strike day, all was quiet with the exception of a road-railer with crane jib and trailers fore and aft which ran south at 16.50, returning at 19.00; a track machine heading south on the wrong line at 19.00; and a gang of track workers with a trolley south at 20.20, all thought to be heading to the work site near Teignmouth.
When it was reported, back in August 2020, that GWR had taken delivery of the first of 19 Class 769 Flex multiple units, the fleet’s entry into service between Reading and Gatwick Airport was expected by early 2021. It is now late 2022 and there are no updated reports as to when the Class 769 will work its first passenger service for GWR. On Wednesday, October 12, No. 769943 was seen pausing by platform 15 at Reading station, whilst running as test train 5Q10 from Reading Traincare Depot to Reading Traincare Depot, via Gatwick Airport.
On October 7, the usually very busy Friday 14.00 Liverpool Street-Norwich was formed of a short Class 755 three and four car combination instead of the booked 12-car Class 745 unit.
Unusually for a strike day, on Saturday, October 8, three Class 755 Nos. 755403+755416+ 755422 were stabled in the station platforms at Lowestoft rather than at Crown Point. There were two drivertraining/route learning trips from Colchester to Harwich International as 5Q56/11.30 on October 18/19, with the return route, destination Witham, as 5Q53/12.06. It was noted at Wrabness (on the Harwich branch line) on the first of those dates using Stadler Class 755/4 No. 755421.
A visit to Ipswich by a correspondent on October 18, noted the absence of any Class 321 Renatus-upgraded units on the London Liverpool Street to Ipswich hourly stopping service diagrams, with Class 720s fulfilling the role with Nos. 720108, 720553, 720547, 720550, 720529 and 720556 in a three-hour corridor. No. 720550 had suffered graffiti damage overnight wherever it had been stabled as the message scrawled over it related to the protesters who had scaled the Dartford QE2 bridge the previous day.