Leg 5, Crewe-Stoke-on-Trent (15mi)

THE ARCHIVE FILES > Archive-2022 > 20. East Midlands Day Ranger-23.03.22 > Leg 5, Crewe-Stoke-on-Trent (15mi)

 

After enjoying an hour or so at Crewe with it's usual intense railway activity we retraced our steps a little as far as Stoke-on-Trent courtesy of London NorthWestern. Whilst the motive power has changed at Crewe it remains, in my mind at least, the only place that evokes the same railway atmosphere and the same kind of fuzzy head that I remember from my youth if you know what I mean!

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Images 1-8 of 8 displayed.

319375, NT 14.17 Crewe-Liverpool Lime Street (2F21, RT), Crewe station Despite being working on the Northern network for a number of years now I still struggle to get my head around seeing a Class 319 away from the Thameslink area that I was so used to ignoring them on for so many years in my local area! Looking very smart standing in the early springtime sunshine 319375 waits at Crewe's platform one to work the 2F21 14.17 service to Liverpool Lime Street via Manchester Airport and Piccadilly.
175106, AW 13.31 Manchester Piccadilly-Carmarthen (1V44, 3L), Crewe station I can't help but feel that the Class 170s would never have won anything in the design awards when judging them on the front end design but they have proved to be reliable and dependable workhorses. Their time is limited now with new units undergoing testing that will see Transport for Wales transforming their long-distance services such as this one, the 13.31 Manchester to Carmarthen train. With three TfW Rail staff chatting by the front of the train at Crewe 175106 pauses just thirty miles into its long (over two hundred miles in fact) journey to southwest Wales. Keywords: 175106 13.31 Manchester Piccadilly-Carmarthen 1V44 Crewe station Transport for Wales TfW Transport for Wales Rail
3. 56090, 13.33 Crewe Basford Hall-Longport Colas (6K39, 14E), Crewe station Andy and I decided to sit in the sun at Crewe station and enjoy a coffee and watch the trains go by! When doing this by the south-facing bay platforms (two and three) we became aware of the throb of a diesel at idle somewhere on the other side of the station. So we rescued our cappuccinos and went for a walk to find this delightful view on the far western side of the station! Colas operated and veteran 56090 basks in the sunshine at the head of the 13.33 Crewe Basford Hall to Longport infrastructure working that was certainly attracting the attention of other enthusiasts on the platform as well as us! Keywords: 56090, 13.33 Crewe Basford Hall-Longport Colas 6K39 Crewe station Colas Rail Freight
56090, 13.33 Crewe Basford Hall-Longport Colas (6K39, 14E) & 196002, 13.34 Birmingham New Street-Crewe (5Q83, 4E), Crewe station Old meets new at Crewe station. Having just celebrated its forty-first birthday two weeks previously veteran 56090 faces a brand new train arriving at one of the south-facing bay platforms. Whilst the Grid is in service and about to leave with the 6K39 13.33 Basford Hall to Longport infrastructure train made up of a set of loaded MCA bogie open wagons 196002 was arriving with a test train running as 5Q83, the 13.34 Birmingham New Street to Crewe. These smart looking Spanish constructed (by CAF) Class 196s will soon be in operation on the West Midlands Trains network as a replacement for their ageing Class 170 units. Keywords: 56090 13.33 Crewe Basford Hall-Longport Colas 6K39 196002 13.34 Birmingham New Street-Crewe 5Q83 Crewe station Colas Rail Freight West Midlands Trains
Plaque, Crewe station I have never noticed this red plaque on Crewe station's platform twelve so I am not at all sure if it has recently been unveiled? It commemorates the bravery shown by the driver and second man of the 1M44 that was stopped and robbed by a ruthless gang of thugs in the summer of 1963 at Bridego bridge just north of Cheddington. Both men received dreadful injuries with Jack Mills later dying from these after never being able to work again. For this reason, I fail to understand how in popular culture the thieves have become some sort of heroes who beat the establishment and how I also resent the whole event being referred to as the 'great' train robbery, great it certainly was not. Keywords: Plaque Crewe station
323236, NT 14.48 Crewe-Manchester Piccadilly (2H49, 1E), Crewe station In an all too common (even today) pattern when the Class 323s entered service in the early 1990s they were beset with issues with it taking some years before their problems were overcome with them now being extremely reliable. They have recently undergone a complete overhaul to make them disability compliant and have a few years ahead of them yet. 323236 waits to leave Crewe station with the 2H49 14.48 service to Manchester Piccadilly. Keywords: 323236 14.48 Crewe-Manchester Piccadilly 2H49 Crewe station Northern
350129, LN 15.01 Crewe-Birmingham New Street (2G64, 3L), Crewe station The next leg of our journey involved Andy and I travelling from Crewe to Stoke, this time courtesy of London Northwestern. with just a few minutes to go before departure 350129 will work the 15.01 to Birmingham via Stoke and Stafford but it still has no driver! Keywords: 350129 15.01 Crewe-Birmingham New Street 2G64 Crewe station London North Western Desiro
08649, stabled, Electro-Motive, Longport What links 08649 and our new car? Read on........! 08649 dates from March 1959 being based at various depots including Bristol's Bath Road where I saw it many times as a young spotter in the 1970s. It then became one of Wolverton Works' resident shunters involved in the tripping of the Royal Train amongst other things and being named 'Bradwell'. After being sidelined due to crankshaft failure it was removed to a facility at nearby Silverstone where it was completely stripped; a process that took some considerable effort by all accounts. It was then rebuilt with a new six-point eight-litre John Deere diesel engine and a large battery pack from a Tesla matched to a couple of electric motors derived from the same. In this form, the shunter became a testbed for subsequent hybrid conversions with others now in operation at various locations around the country. The locomotive is seen as we pass its present operational base at Electro-Motive's Longport depot which also contains a number of poor-looking Class 56s and 47s one of which can be seen in the background. Keywords: 08649 Electro-Motive Longport

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