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SET UP JANUARY 2010. PLEASE SEND ANY PHOTOGRAPHS/INFORMATION ETC., TO DAVE, AT THE FOLLOWING NEW EMAIL ADDRESS platt.precology@gmail.com
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Saturday 31 July 2010

Another 'Duke' pic

For this last post in July (31st, 2010) I will again use three pics from three different contributors.

The first is another pic of class 8P 4-6-2, 71000 Duke of Gloucester. We have used several pics previously of 'The Duke' on the 'Cumbrian Coast Explorer' and all of them have been excellent. Well, this one is just as good and was taken by Ken Young as the 'Special' steamed out of Bank Quay on 3rd July 2010.

The second pic is from Jeff Nicholls. In his shot class 47, 47815 Great Western, in BR two-tone green livery, is shown in Arpley Yard collecting empty stock for Riviera Trains. The pic is dated 17th December 2009.
The final pic in this post is from Bob McClellan and features class 37, 37372, working wagons, off repair, on an Allerton - Arpley run. The pic was taken at Winwick on a very dull, grey day on 18th December 2003. The loco is in BR Mainline Blue livery with silver stripe and is now owned by 'The Baby Deltic Project'.


Friday 30 July 2010

Class 40 on a Railtour

Photographs from Ken Young, Alan Rigby and David Wood feature in todays post (30th July 2010) all taken at Winwick.

David's shot is an unusual but effective side-on, close up of Freightliner class 66, 66599 working empty coal hoppers, northbound. The pic is dated 22nd July 2010.

Ken's shot, from 2nd July 2010, is another unusual one, taken from behind. He has taken advantage of an empty wagon to get a clean shot of the locomotive. DRS class 66, 66422, is shown heading the afternoon intermodal, northbound.

The pic from Alan features a southbound Pathfinder Railtours' charter from 2nd June 2007. The class 40, 40145, owned by the Class 40 Preservation Society and based at the East Lancashire Railway, is working GWR chocolate & cream passenger stock on the 'Cambrian Coast Express'. The 'Special' ran Leeds - Aberystwyth - Leeds.

Wednesday 28 July 2010

Class 33

For this post (28th July 2010) I am adding three pics from three of our more regular contributors - John Smith, Bob McClellan and Jeff Nicholls.
John's pic is the most recent. He shot WCRC class 33, 33207, working an empty stock move Carnforth - Crewe, through Winwick on 23rd July 2010.
A class 86, 86228 Vulcan Heritage - in InterCity livery but without a logo - was photographed by Bob on 29th August 2002. The locomotive passed through Winwick, southbound, pushing a passenger express comprising Virgin coaches.

The third pic from Jeff features the 'Royal' class 67, 67005, Queen's Messenger, on coal hopper duty over the Mersey Bridge south of Bank Quay. The pic is dated 25th March 2010.

Monday 26 July 2010

Computer Art

And now for something a little different. Whether you appreciate them or not, computers are an indispensible part of the electronic age in which we live. Among many other advocates, artists have embraced them with great enthusiasm and computer generated art is extremely well practised nowadays. Here are two railway examples and the original photograph to compare them with, directly. I am using them in today's post (26th July 2010) to introduce something new to the blog but also to encourage other members of our railway community to do likewise. There will always be a place on the blog for something a little different. The two images are the simplest that can be generated on a computer. Any comments please use the comments box below or email me directly.

The first pic, top, is the original of double-heading Colas (ex Hanson Traction) class 56, 56312 Artemis, and EWS (DBS) class 66, 66148. The date, was 22nd May 2010, the location was Red Bank and the railtour was Pathfinder Railtours' 'Scenic Settler.'

The second image, above right, is a straight pen and ink type derivative and the third, right, is a coloured illustration.
Left click on the image to enlarge.

Saturday 24 July 2010

Three Different Classes

Three contributors today, 24th July 2010 - Alan Rigby, David Wood and Ken Saunders.
The first pic from Alan Rigby features a Mainline Freight 'aircraft blue' liveried class 60, 60044, at Bank Quay Station on 16th January 2008. The EWS vinyl branding hides the 'rolling wheels' logo of the Mainline company. Formed in 1994, Mainline Freight was taken over by Wisconsin Central in 1996, along with the Rail-Freight and Load-Haul companies. EWS was the name adopted for the amalgamation.
David Wood's pic is a recent one of the Freightliner/Shanks liveried class 66, 66522, on coal hopper duty through Winwick on 21st July 2010.

The third pic from Ken
Saunders is another from his 1980's photo album. A class 56, 56073 is shown hauling HAA coal hoppers off Winwick Junction. The pic is dated 5th August 1985.

Thursday 22 July 2010

One Steam and Three Diesels

Today's post (22nd July 2010) once again features the black Duchess on the 'Royal Scot' railtour from 22nd May 2010. And don't forget, the iconic Stanier 'Pacific' takes in the Liverpool - Wigan line this Saturday with the 'Cumbrian Mountain Express' railtour (see UK steam info at the right hand side of the blog for times).

The picture of 6233, Duchess of Sutherland, is from Ken Young - it was taken at Red Bank. For more of this railtour just type 'Royal Scot' into the search bar at the top of the blog.

The class 59 pic was taken at Winwick, on 2nd March 2010, by John Smith. DBS liveried 59206, John F. Yeoman Rail Pioneer, was working coal hoppers on a Liverpool Docks - Fiddlers Ferry run.

The pic of double-heading class 37s is from Bob McClennan and is dated 7th June 2004. The DRS locos, 37259 and 37611 are working a Grangemouth - Daventry intermodal train.

Tuesday 20 July 2010

Advenza No More

Todays post (20th July 2010) comprises four pics, each from a different contributor - two class 57s, a class 37 and Duke of Gloucester.
The first is from John Smith. Advenza Freight Ltd may have disappeared but John's shot of light engine, class 57, 57006, reminds us of that deep blue livery adopted by the company. The pic, taken at Winwick, is dated 15th February 2008.

The second pic of a class 57 is from Jeff Nicholls. He shot Virgin liveried 57309, Brains, on a 'Pendolino drag' northbound, through Winwick, on 20th August 2005.

Bob McClellan's pic of DRS class 37, 37611, working loaded acid tanks to Sandbach, was taken at Winwick on 7th November 2003.

The final picture for today is from Ken Young. We've had some good shots of 'The Duke' lately and Ken's is another. He shot a close up of Standard class 8P, 'Pacific' 71000, Duke of Gloucester, head on, as it approached Bank Quay (with support coach) on July 2nd 2010. Does anyone know the origin of the badge mounted on the buffer beam? If so, please use the comments box at the base of the post or email me at the address at the top of the blog.

Sunday 18 July 2010

A Sleeper from Aberdeen

For today's post (18th July 2010) I am using images from three contributors, Ken Young, Colin Platt and Alan Rigby.

Ken's shot from 10th July 2010 features the Scotland (Aberdeen ?) - Euston sleeper train which he took at 06.47hrs at Bank Quay. How keen is that? Unusually, a EWS (DBS) class 90, 90026, was at the head.

Colin's shot of double-heading WCRC locomotives was taken at Winwick on 19th March 2010 - class 37, 37706 and class 47, 47760 head north.
Alan's shot is an unusual one. Network Rail class 950, 950001, track inspection DMU, was pictured passing through Winwick on the southbound slow line, on 2nd May 2007. One car is a passenger vehicle and the other, an instrumentation and generator coach.

Thursday 15 July 2010

100 POSTS


Today we celebrate a milestone in our short blog history - our 100th post. To have reached the century in such a short time is due solely to the enthusiasm and continued support of all our contributors; thank you and well done to everyone involved. The blog is a credit to all of you and, from comments I have heard and read, notwithstanding the 6200+ hits received, I know that it is well respected.
My request for a new contributor to our landmark post has not been successful, unfortunately. So, I will use the pics from six of our regulars but limit the text to just a few words because of the sheer size of the post. These six pics bring the total used on the blog to 253.
The first pic is from Andy Appleton and shows WCRC class 33, 33207 working empty stock through Winwick on 3rd September 2007. 
The second pic is John Smith's, taken on 8th May 2010. Stanier 'Pacific' class 7P, 6233 Duchess of Sutherland, in black livery, is seen heading 'The Citadel Express' at Red Bank.

The third pic, taken on 24th June 2010, is from Jeff Nicholls and features the new Peppercorn 'Pacific', class 'A1' 60163 Tornado, working 'The Border Raider' railtour.

Alan Rigby has supplied the pic (4) of EWS class 60, 60002 High Peak, heading cargo vans up the slow line through Winwick, on 12th December 2007.


Bob McClellan's special shot (5) of the yellow, Euroscout GB driver training unit 977968, was taken at Winwick on 17th October 2003. This is an ex class 121 bubble car no.55029.
The final pic (6) is from David Wood and shows EWS (DBS) class 92, 92031 The Institute of Logistics and Transport, working the northbound china clay 'silver bullets' on 14th July 2010.

Wednesday 14 July 2010

Another Four from Four


Post number 99 on July 14th 2010 comprises 4 pics from 4 different photographers.

The first, from Jeff Nicholls, shows a EWS (DBS) class 08, 08653, shunting HAA coal wagons over the Mersey bridge just south of Bank Quay. The pic is dated 10th March 2010. What makes this an exceptional shot is Jeff's use of the vertical format.


On our blog we are used to seeing pics of class 325 emus transporting mail or occasionally being dragged by class 87s, for example. However, this second shot from Bob McClellan features a EWS class 67, 67007, heading old-style mail vans through Winwick on 1st September 2003.
Alan Rigby has forwarded the third pic in this post, that of an unbranded class 350 'Desiro' emu, 350 120, heading north through Winwick, on 28th April 2006. Thirty, class 350/1 units were built by Siemens in 2004-2005 for use by Central Trains and Silverlink for a short time. The 4-car units remained unbranded in blue and grey livery until they were taken over by London Midland. Thirty-seven class 350/2 units were built for London Midland operation in 2008-2009. By mid 2009, 67 class 350 units, were in London Midland service. Alan says that when the 350/1 units first appeared Central Trains ran a single, evening service from Birmingham to Preston which returned as empty stock.

The final shot is the first (I think) of a 'Super Voyager' class 221, 221xxx. It was taken by Colin Platt. The 5-car demu was photographed speeding round the curve off Winwick Junction, working south. The class was built by Bombardier and entered service in 2001-2003. They differ from class 220 'Voyagers' as they can tilt 6 degrees when taking bends/curves at speed (Colin's shot shows this tilt). Operating on the Virgin WCML, 221101-118 are 5 car units whilst 221142-144 are 4 car units. Often units are double or even treble-headed through Winwick.

Monday 12 July 2010

Post No. 98

We are heading quickly towards the 100 post landmark and this one (12th July 2010) is post number 98. When we reach post 100, in about 4 days, I would like to use pics from at least one new contributor. If you are a photographer covering the Winwick area as seen on our blog and have not contributed anything to date, please send in pics for inclusion in our 100th post.


Three enthusiasts are represented in this post with a single picture from each. The first pic is from regular contributor John Smith and features FirstGreatWestern class 57, 57602 Restormel Castle, on passage north to Glasgow for a re-paint into FGW blue on 28th March 2008. The class 57 locos were, basically, re-engineered class 47s; Brush Traction of Loughborough used class 47 body shells and added a more powerful engine and alternator etc., to improve performance.The fleet of 4, FGW class 57/6 production locos came into service in 2004 in the livery seen in John's shot; they were all named after castles in south-west England. However, in 2008, they were re-liveried in FGW blue.


The second pic is from regular, Bob McClellan. Class 60, 60070 John Loudon McAdam (a Scottish engineer) is pictured storming through Winwick, southbound, with a Liverpool Bulk Terminal - Fiddlers Ferry Power Station working on 17th July 2003.






The third pic is from another regular, Alan Rigby. Class 92, 92011 Handel, is pictured heading empty flat wagons on the slow, northbound line through Winwick, on 16th July 2008. The rosebay willowherb plants in the foreground add to the pictorial composition.

Friday 9 July 2010

'Dutch' livery

This post (9th July 2010) comprises two pics from regular contributor, Bob McClellan, and two from first time contributor, Colin Platt.


The first pic from Bob shows class 56, 56049 in 'Dutch' livery working empty flats, northbound, through Winwick. The working is Arpley - Allerton and the pic was taken on 18th March 2003. The 'Dutch' livery was so named because of its similarity to that of Nederlandse Spoorwegen, the main passenger railway company in Holland. The livery was used on BR locomotives assigned to departmental (engineering) duties after 1987. This locomotive, 56049, is now on contract hire (Fertis grey livery) in France, from DBS.


Bob's second pic is of class 60, 60081 Isambard Kingdom Brunel working empty coal hoppers from Fiddlers Ferry Power Station to Liverpool Bulk Terminal. This pic is dated 29th August 2003 and was taken at Winwick. The 'tug' is currently stored, serviceable, at Toton.






The first pic from Colin is of BR 'Standard' class 7, 'Pacific' 70013, Oliver Cromwell, heading the 'Cumbrian Mountain Express' railtour on 19th March 2010, even though the headboard reads 'The Roaring Monster'. This 'Special' has been the subject of previous posts on 25th March and 28th March. The pic was taken at Winwick.



Colin's second pic, taken on the same day, 19th March 2010, is of EWS (DBS) class 59, 59201 Vale of York, heading empty coal hoppers, northbound through Winwick. This locomotive is running in reverse as a commemorative bell is placed on the front end, above the windows (see the 8th April post for a close up and explanation). Colin is the 22nd, and latest contributor to our blog.

Wednesday 7 July 2010

A Quadruple-header

The three pics in today's post (7th July 2010) are from our three main contributors to date - Alan Rigby, John Smith and Jeff Nicholls.

John Smith's pic is of the spent nuclear flask working, Sellafield - Crewe, headed by four locomotives, 'glinting' in the low sunshine. They are 66411 Eddie the Engine, 66414 James the Engine, 37682 and 37601. The pic is dated 22nd June 2010 and was taken at Winwick.
Alan Rigby's shot was also taken at Winwick but much earlier - 12th May 2006. In November 2004 FirstGBRf acquired two class 87 locomotives (ex Virgin Trains) for use as standby locomotives to rescue failed Royal Mail class 325 emus run by FirstGBRf. Two more were brought in later but only two were retained. No 87022 Cock O' The North was one of them. In Alan's pic the loco is doing exactly as described. She was withdrawn at the end of 2007 and eventually sold to Bulgarian Railways as 87022-0 (see the post for 26th May for details of the Bulgarian class 87s).
Jeff Nicholl's pic is another of 'Standard' class 8 'Pacific' 71000, Duke of Gloucester, but differs from the others recently used on the blog in that it shows the locomotive in close up. The railtour was 'The Dalesman' and it ran on 3rd September 2005. Jeff photographed the train at Bank Quay Station.

Monday 5 July 2010

Class 56 in 1985

In the 31st May post I included four pics from the photo album of Ken Saunders, all taken in 1985/86 on film and copied digitally for the blog. In today's post (5th July 2010) we look at another pic from Ken's album along with two, more modern pics, from Alan Rigby and Andy Appleton.

The first shot is of class 56, 56058, heading empty HAA coal hoppers through Earlestown Station. This pic, from Ken Saunders, is dated 10th July 1985. According to the Inter City Railway Society's 2010 Pocket Book, the loco is currently on contract hire in France from D. B. Schenker.
The second pic is from Alan Rigby and features class 86, 86101 Sir William A. Stanier FRS heading Inter City passenger stock, northbound, through Winwick on 2nd May 2007. The locomotive is currently owned by the AC Locomotive Group and continues to be mainline active.
Double-heading class 37s are the subject of Andy Appleton's pic of 19th September 2006. DRS locomotives 37087 and 37510 are pictured travelling north, light engine, at Winwick. These locomotives are part of the DRS fleet working spent nuclear fuel flasks from Sellafield.

Saturday 3 July 2010

The Cumbrian Coast Express

Once again our photographers have been out in force today to record a steam railtour. 'The Cumbrian Coast Express' ran Crewe - Carlisle on the WCML but returned to Crewe via the S&C.
This post (3rd July 2010) comprises three pics from different photographers. Each pic was taken early this morning, at different locations along the local Warrington - Winwick - Red Bank northbound route.

The train was hauled by Riddles 'Pacific' class 8, 71000 Duke of Gloucester and the first pic is from Geoff Monks taken by Dallam sidings. Geoff's pic involves some digital manipulation which he has fully described in his legend. I am happy to accept such digital enhancements as long as a full description is supplied and no deceipt is involved. Corrections and/or improvements are acceptable. I know some enthusiasts won't be happy with any picture manipulation but, lets be honest, the latter is almost as old as photography itself. Comments please below.

The second pic is from Jeff Nicholls and this was taken at Winwick. The only negative aspect of this railtour was the multi-liveried passenger rake behind the locomotive.
John Smith took the final pic in this post as the charter was rounding the bend up to Red Bank. The rosebay willowherb in the adjacent field certainly adds that extra pictorial element to John's picture.