38. A busy strike day-if there can be such a thing!-02.06.23

THE ARCHIVE FILES > Archive-2023 > 38. A busy strike day-if there can be such a thing!-02.06.23

With yet another strike day badly affecting services for passengers, freight appeared to be running as normal. I identified a number of additional interesting workings so took my customary daily walk to coincide with these.
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Images 1-7 of 7 displayed.

70007, 09.36 Crewe Basford Hall-Southampton MCT (4O49, 69L), Victoria bridge Avoiding the sun by a few hundred metres, 70007 leads the diverted 09.36 Crewe Basford Hall to Southampton Freightliner service past Victoria bridge just south of Roade. By the end of the month, the number of these noisy and brash Class 70s passing on this route will drop significantly as they revert to their normal route via Banbury, Oxford and Didcot with the re-opening of the Nuneham bridge. Keywords: 70007 09.36 Crewe Basford Hall-Southampton MCT 4O49 Victoria bridge Freightliner
66515, 09.52 Lawley Street-Felixstowe North (4L99, 12L) & 390141, VT 11.28 London Euston-Manchester Piccadilly (1H76, 2L), Victoria bridge With one of the Avanti West Coast services that was actually able to run on this strike-riven day heading north 66515 passes southwards leading the 4L99 09.52 Lawley Street to Felixstowe Freightliner. The Pndolino was working the 11.28 Euston to Manchester service worked by 390141. Notice that the sun has come out from behind the clouds for this photograph unlike the last one in this sequence! Keywords: 66515 09.52 Lawley Street-Felixstowe North 4L99 390141, VT 11.28 London Euston-Manchester Piccadilly 1H76 Victoria bridge Freightliner AWC Avanti Pendolino
312312, 321307 & 321311, 10.00 Clacton CSD-Walton Old Junction Sidings (5Q35, 61E), Victoria bridge After coming out of use with Greater Anglia the Class 321s (Dusty Bins to you and I!) are looking for further use or will face the prospect of scrapping. I am not too sure why 321312, 321307 and 321311 were heading to Warrington as the 5Q35 10.00 ex Clacton but I suspect not for scrap as it is unlikely that they would have run under their own power if that was the case. Due to it being a strike day the units were able to use the fast line here at Victoria bridge thus avoiding Northampton. Keywords: 312312 321307 321311 10.00 Clacton CSD-Walton Old Junction Sidings 5Q35 Victoria bridge Dusty Bin
66427, 04.00 Tilbury Docks-DIRFT (4M77), Victoria bridge Running extremely late the 4M77 northbound Tesco Express passes Victori bridge just south of Roade. The 04.00 Tilbury to Daventry (DIRFT) service normally passes this spot around dawn meaning it is not a service that I have many photographs of. DRS' 66427 is leading the train that is seen in tricky lighting that necessitated a considerable amount of work in Photoshop. Keywords: 66427 04.00 Tilbury Docks-DIRFT 4M77 Victoria bridge DRS Direct Rail Services Tesco Express
66080, 05.06 Southampton Western Docks-Masborough 4E94 Victoria bridge Former EWS liveried (but DB branded) 66s are getting noticeably fewer now, and so they should sixteen years after the fright operator ceased to be! 66080 leads the diverted 4E94 05.06 Southampton to Masborough intermodal working. Once the Nuneham bridge is reopened in the coming few weeks, interesting workings such as this will revert to their regular route via Oxford taking them away from the busy WCML. Keywords: 6608005.06 Southampton Western Docks-Masborough 4E94 Victoria Bridge EWS DB Freightliner
69001, 09.39 Tonbridge West Yard-Bescot Engineers (0Z78, RT), Victoria bridge Complete with its speed whiskers as per the first generation DMUs from the 1960s 6900 'Mayflower' passes Victoria bridge between Roade and Ashton. The former 56031 entered service in 2021 but its path to operation has not been particularly smooth with various operational and technical issues cropping up that have needed rectification. On this sunny day and as it was a light engine I opted for this 'going away' vie of the locomotive running as the 0Z78 09.39 Tonbridge Yard to Bescot to make best use of the lighting. I really ould like to take some images of these re-purposed locomotives actually working a train and earning their keep but this is not particularly common, in our area on the WCML at least! Keywords: 69001 09.39 Tonbridge West Yard-Bescot Engineers 0Z78 Victoria bridge GBRF Mayflower
66424, 10.02 Tilbury-DIRFT (4M07, 32E), Victoria bridge 66424 'Driver Paul Scrivens 1969-2021' leads the daily 4M07 10.02 Tilbury to Daventry (DIRFT) Tesco Express service. On this sunny spring day, the train was noticeably shorter and lightly loaded than it normally is. Time to head for home after spending an hour or so at Vctoria bridge just south of Roade on this one of many railway strike days that have blighted 2023. I had seen various freight and other operations in my time here outnumbering passenger services. Keywords: 66424 10.02 Tilbury-DIRFT 4M07 Victoria bridge DRS Direct Rail Services Tesco Express 'Driver Paul Scrivens 1969-2021'

Images 1-7 of 7 displayed.