Plenty of activity at Bristol Temple Meads on January 17 as CrossCountry Voyager No. 220016 arrives with the 10.49 Paignton-Birmingham New Street working. On the right are Turbo units Nos. 166205 and 166203 as well as an SWR Class 159. 

JACK BOSKETT

RHTT

THE RHTT season along the southern section of the Midland Main Line continued into December with the locos used for the 3J92/23.19TotonTMD-West Hampstead North Junction and 3J93/12.01 return being 66116+66060 on December 1, 2, 6, 9, and 11. The season ended on December 12.

FOLLOWING flooding and a landslide in the Beattock area on December 18, theWCML was closed, with buses replacing services between Carlisle and Glasgow/Edinburgh.

ALTHOUGH Covid travel restrictions were in place, Avanti West Coast ran a few additional services on December 24. The 08.16 (actual dep 09.07) from Preston to Glasgow (1Z37) was worked by Class 390 No. 390156; the 08.30 Euston to Glasgow (1Z92) wasoperatedbyNo. 390115 and the 10.00 Glasgow to Euston (1Z53) was formed of Class 221 Nos. 221114 and 221143.

Further additions followed on December 29 with a 10.30 Euston to Glasgow (1Z93) worked by Class 390 No. 390114 and the 14.00 Glasgow to Euston (1Z84) with No. 390152.

NEWYear’s Day saw 200 yards of track replaced on theWCML in the Euxton Balshaw Lane area. Locomotives reported present, all Class 66, were Nos. 66545+66599+ 66536, that all went back to Crewe via Chorley following a run round at Preston, and Nos. 66590+66780+ 66742, that all went to Carlisle.

The following day Nos. 66742 and 66780 ran south from Carlisle toTuebrook Sidings in Liverpool.

ONTHE morning of December 28 OHLE damage occurred somewhere between Berwick and Morpeth.

Class 801 No. 801222 on an Edinburgh-London working (1E02) sat in the middle of Wooden Gate loop for over 75 minutes; southbound Class 43 Nos. 43301 and 43304 on Edinburgh-Plymouth (1V50) had to cross over at Little Mill and run wrong road and use platform 2at Alnmouth and was sitting alongside the Azuma for some time before running wrong road south and reached Morpeth 75 minutes late.

Reports suggest that No. 801208 working 1Y14/06.00 Berwick-upon-Tweed to King’s Cross ended up with the OHLE striking the windscreen, and the train was stuck nearWiddrington.

Reports indicate the situation was still ongoing at mid-day.

GREAT Western operates a few services that can be considered as parliamentary trains. One such service is the 2R23/16.03 from Filton Abbey Wood to Bath Spa, which rather than running into Bristol Temple Meads and reversing takes the down Bristol loop from Dr Day’s Junction to Feeder Bridge Junction.

A journey from Filton Abbey Wood to Bath Spa using train 2R23 was made on Wednesday, December 9 when the down Bristol loop was traversed in the last of the daylight. The train was formed of Class 166 No. 166214.

The lineside vegetation on the down Bristol loop scraped along the side of the train in the best railtour tradition.

A JOURNEY fromWestbury to Weymouth on Wednesday, December 9was made on the 07.08 from Worcester Shrub Hill to Weymouth. The train was formed of Class 158 No. 158749.

Returning from Weymouth a journey to Filton Abbey Wood was made on the 13.11 Weymouth to Gloucester.This train was formed of Class 166 No. 166204. Later that evening a journey from Bath Spa to Westbury was made on the 15.30 Cardiff Central to Portsmouth Harbour. The leading unit was No. 166221.

CLASS 57 Nos. 57603 Tintagel Castle and 57605 Totnes Castle were noted from a passing train at ReadingTrain Care Depot on Tuesday December 15 stabled on the stock of the Night Riviera. No. 57306 Her Majesty’s Railway Inspectorate 175 wasinthe sidings.

FURTHER moves of Class 360 units to EMR saw Nos.

360117+360118 being hauled from Clacton to Cricklewood by Class 37 No. 37510 on December 21. These were followed on January 4 by Nos. 360105+360108, and Nos.

360101+360102 on January 6.

OVER the Christmas period several EMUs were in Harwich Parkeston Quay yard and Harwich International station –the former housing ex-Northern Class 322 No. 322483 (the first time that this has been seen here) and Class 720/5 No. 720511 with probably 720536 attached while the station contained Stadler‘FLIRT’Class 745 No. 745006 and another ex-Northern Class 322 No. 322485.

DELIVERIES and movements of new Class 720 units reported included No. 720542 being topand-tailed by Class 47 Nos. 47727+47739 from Old Dalby to Crewe on December 4.

Three days later, on December 7 the same Class 47s moved No. 720551 from Derby to Wolverton. Two days later they took No. 720552 from Derby but only as far as Syston before they returned to Litchurch Lane.

A change of power on December 11 found Class 56 No. 56081 and Class 47 No. 47739 move No. 720558 from Derby to Crewe. The same pairing was in use again on December 14 to bring No. 720542 back from Crewe to Derby. On December 18 No. 720542 was on the move again from Derby to Bletchley top-and-tailed by Class 50 No. 50049 and Class 56 No. 56081.