Spotting 2025 – Week 19

When I go out for a day’s spotting I often don’t know what’s actually running. There is a working timetable in which all the trains appear. In the case of passenger services, these will normally run unless something goes wrong such as a signal or points failure. Freight trains, on the other hand often run as required. The train operator can cancel a service on the system if it’s not required but quite often they don’t so the only way to know if a train is actually running is to check on Realtime Trains to see if it has been recorded passing any of the points along its route.

On Wednesday I chose to take a trip down to Hackney Wick with the intention of photographing one of the Bow Depot freights. There is a morning delivery of Plasmor mouldings and there is also an aggregates train that leaves Bow at around 10:25. I routed down from New Southgate to Highbury & Islington passing Hornsey Depot where I saw 379023 which has now re-entered service on the Great Northern routes. I also noted 3 Class 66’s – 66753 on a spoil train heading to a landfill in Cambridgeshire while 66719 and 66738 were loitering on Ferme Park sidings.

I got to Hackney Wick from Highbury & Islington in good time but it became apparent that the Plasmor wasn’t running in either of its possible slots. I had to wait for the clock to tick around to 10:30 to see if the aggregates train would run as it wasn’t cancelled. In the meantime I amused myself listening to birdsong at one end of the platform and watching the building site workers at the other. Here’s a mix of concrete being delivered…

10:30 came and there was no sign that the aggregates train was on the move so I decided to continue east and do some spotting at Stratford while having brunch.

On a good day Stratford is bristling with freight trains that have to be squeezed in between a very intensive Greater Anglia passenger service. Sometimes things go wrong and major disruption ensues. That wasn’t the case on Wednesday – everything was running smoothly. But looking at Realtime Trains while eating my baguette, I could see that quite a few of the intermodal services were cancelled or looking like they weren’t running. In fact there seemed to be only 2 that would be passing through in the near future. I stayed to photo these. Here’s 90007 leading 90042 across the points that bring services off the North London line and onto the Anglian mainline…

…They’re working a Garston to Felixstowe North intermodal. I also photo’d a couple of the Greater Anglia units like 720130…

…Running empty from Orient Way Carriage Sidings to Cheshunt.

With so little freight running I decided to cut my losses and head across the river to Lewisham – Easily done from Stratford using the Docklands Light Railway and changing at Canary Wharf…

…On my way I was intrigued to see 66794 sitting on Bow Depot with a train of aggregates hoppers???

Lewisham is on the freight routes to and from the aggregates companies based on the Thames estuary so there is once more a lot of ‘planned’ freight traffic – On Wednesday it proved to be quite active. 66172 kicked off the lunchtime entertainment on an Angerstein Wharf to Woking aggregates…

…This was followed by an engineers train – DR98218 returning to its home at Clapham Junction from Hither Green…

…Big smile and thumbs up from the driver of that one 🤣

66097 was photographed heading to Hoo Junction Yard with empties from Crawley…

…its passing requiring 465162 to be held before continuing on its Cannon Street to Dartford journey. Also held on the climb up from St Johns station, 375604…

…On a New Cross to Tonbridge run – I believe this is a driver training run.

Southeastern’s class 376’s were ordered for inner suburban use and, unlike their 375 sisters, have opening windows and no air-conditioning. They also don’t have toilets! Until recently they have been getting shabbier by the day – almost as if the company recognised them as a mistake and was preparing to get rid of them. But now they’ve started getting a refresh. Here’s one of the first to be treated, 376018…

…The blue looks rather good on them. Unfortunately they still won’t have aircon or toilets though 🙄

Much more popular with passengers, having aircon, are the 707’s that transferred across from South Western over the last couple of years. Here’s 707006 leading 707002 down the bank from the flyover…

…on a Charing Cross to Dartford service. Southeastern have decided that, unlike the 376’s, these units will be getting toilets as an upgrade starting this year.

66516 continued the freight theme, drifting through platform 1 with a Mountfield Sidings to Southampton Western Docks service…

…Presumably to collect imported Gypsum for the manufacture of Plasterboard. Finally, at 13:53, running 1hr30mins late, 66794…

…on that Bow Depot to Grain aggregates empties that I had intended to photo at Hackney Wick. I have no idea why the train was so late leaving Bow but its passing through Lewisham effectively brought my day full circle and it was time to head home! Total logged = 148 of which I needed 3. I picked up 4 new for haulage.

Saturday was my other day out this week and I went with a very specific purpose – to photograph 70000 ‘Britannia’ as it worked a Horsham to Chester special. Britannia was taking on the train at Acton Lane sidings, so I chose to catch it as it passed through Harrow & Wealdstone.

Whenever there is a special running there will likely be a gathering of enthusiasts, more so on a Saturday and quite a number turned up at Harrow. Most gravitated to the northern end of the platforms where they would invariably have other enthusiasts in their shots. I chose to pick a spot near the centre of the station. The lighting would be a bit more awkward with strong shadows but I felt the added interest surrounding the train was worth the risk.

Here she comes…

…That puff of white steam coming from the whistle. Here she is passing through the station…

…Having a 85-320mm equivalent zoom comes in handy 🤣

Just a couple of minutes later, I had walked back up the platform in time to get a shot of 66550 passing through on a Garston to Felixstowe North intermodal…

…complete with quite a few enthusiasts that were only there for the steamer 😅 There’s not a lot of room up that end which is another reason I chose to stay in the middle 😉 One last shot from Saturday in this already long post. 68011 runs south on its tod…

…This loco was on its way back to Wembley Depot from where it works the Chiltern London-Birmingham services. The class goes to Crewe for major overhauls. 68008 and ‘014 were sitting in Wembley Yard waiting to head north when I passed on my way back to Euston.

That concludes this week’s report. It looks like Britannia will be out and about again next Wednesday so I’ll probably try to catch her for another photo then 😅 See you next week! 😎👍