Last week was wet… Lots of rain in the London area throughout the week although not always heavy. With the last remnants of my recent virus clearing I decided to stay home for most of the week but on Friday I felt able to go and hang on a platform once more.
The choice of where to go was largely made for me. Oxford was closed all week as the bridge at the London end of the station was being replaced to improve road and pedestrian access and also to prepare for major changes to the station itself. As a result intermodal services that normally take that route from Southampton to the West Midlands were on divert via London. With the rain still falling I decided to head to West Ealing where the station has quite good protection from the elements on one platform at least!
It proved to be a good choice as the day would produce 4 Class 66 loco’s that I need. The first of these turned up in steady rain on one of the regular aggregates services…
…66061 with the 6A34 Acton to West Drayton – A short local trip. Passing the other way and crossing with 66061, was 66725 ‘Sunderland’ on the late running 6A66 Tytherington to Quainton Railhead aggregates…
…You can see the lights of 66061 reflecting in the yellow paint! The passenger with the brolly emphasises the wet conditions. It was so gloomy that at 10:00 I was having to use ISO6400 – A setting I would normally only invoke at night or in an artificial light situation!
The light improved slightly and the rain eased to a light drizzle by 10:22 when the first West Midlands bound intermodal came through behind 66139. It was followed promptly at 10:27 by 66316 on the 4M37 Southampton Western Docks to Hams Hall intermodal…
…This loco is the last of a batch of ex-European 66’s to enter service with GBRf and, due to pressure of work back in October last year, retains its Heavy Haul Power International grey livery for the time being. Last shot at West Ealing was 66522…
…working the 4O14 Garston to Southampton Maritime intermodal. This loco is one of my more common sightings having been logged 6 times in 3 years.
With the weather having improved I decided to take a short hop back to Ealing Broadway and continue my photography there. While there’s always the risk that your shot will be blocked by one of the very regular Elizabeth Line services, it still offers some variety of shot possibilities and with a short break in the freight traffic, it was a good time to move.
With the intermittent sound of aeroplanes grinding their way through the low clouds on climb out from Heathrow as a back drop it was fitting that the first freight through should be the 6V04 Grain Oil Terminal to Colnbrook tanks…
…66768 ‘Yvonne Bradley’ with a delivery of aviation fuel. A couple more Southampton-West midlands intermodals passed through before we were treated to a change of motive power in 60055 ‘Thomas Barnardo’…
…working the 6M37 Quainton Railhead to Wembley Receptions 1-7 aggregates empties.
Sometimes you get a passenger who goes out of their way to mess up your photo. A good photographer will always find a way around the issue. In this case a brisk few steps back along the platform. The guy couldn’t resist looking at the loco as it came through and thus became an asset rather than a nuisance 😅…
…66502 on the 4O15 Lawley Street to Southampton Maritime intermodal. The loco wears Andy’s Man Club vinyls advertising the men’s suicide prevention charity. You may notice that I caught the signal on the left mid-change from Red to Single Yellow. UK railway signals always have the Red Light positioned at the bottom of the stack – This is so that when there is a build-up of snow on the shades, the red cannot be obstructed and is thus always visible.
With the Sun trying to break through, last freight of the day was the 6V32 Tilbury Container Services to Trostre Works rolled steel train hauled by 66107…
…If you’re in the UK, the next tin you open was probably manufactured at Trostre! This was taken using the Fuji XF 50-140mm that I bought second-hand last year for night football photography. I had it in the bag and didn’t swap to my regular long lens as this one is fully weather resistant. By now the light had improved and I was using ISO1600. Stepping the lens down to f10 really shows how sharp this pro lens is in better light than it ever sees at football 😅 That was my day over – by the time I got back to Finchley the rain was falling again.
A quick follow-up to my comments above regards 66316 and its grey livery. Since Christmas GBRf have seen a downturn in the freight market and have decided to store a few of their Class 69’s and to offer some of their older loco’s for sale at auction. Among these is 59003…
…photographed passing through Oxford in 2024. This may prove fortuitous for Heavy Haul Rail because on January 14th 59104 – seen here at South Tottenham…
…last September – suffered a catastrophic engine failure, reputedly putting a piston through the crankcase. I have seen a photo of the locomotive with a huge bulging dent in the side of the bodyshell. So, 59003 being for sale could be a godsend! We shall see…
That’s all for now – Best wishes to all 😎👍
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