@locospottingnw
Class 66s are starting to get boring now, aren't they? Trainspotting across the northwest and beyond. Military historian by education. On-board host, views and comments my own. Also includes heritage buses! Ace and trans, but not much good at either. 🏳️⚧
That's alright! The foreign-built locomotives are all owned by British operators - the ones in this photograph are owned by DB Cargo UK, which although a subsidiary of DB in Germany, is still a British company headquartered in Doncaster.
I wouldn't think so, unfortunately, not in the short-term. There isn't a huge market for new locomotives in this country, and all of the current factories are configured for building multiple units. Maybe more into the distant future, but I would think it'll take incentives of some description.
Sadly, the last British-built mainline locomotives were the Class 60s in the early-90s - since then, it's all been American or mainland European, unfortunately. Almost all multiple units are still built in Britain, though, and we're leading the edge in shunting locomotives thanks to Clayton!
67007 stands at Manchester Piccadilly with the British Pullman.
67006 tails the British Pullman out of Manchester.
You'd think I'd be sick of these things, wouldn't you? 67007 leads 67006 'Royal Sovereign' out of Manchester Piccadilly with the British Pullman ahead of a fast run to Euston.
158717 and 158740 draw into Ladybank from the Perth line. This short section of line is bi-directional; traffic southbound from Perth runs into the northbound platform and then, under the clearance of a ground signal, crosses to the correct side just south of the station.
A pair of Class 385s cross in a torrential downpour in Haymarket throat as a Class 170 and 158 pairing depart. No fewer than three HSTs are visible on the depot on the background.
802202, my ride south for the evening, rubs shoulders with 43015 at Waverley.
Volvo B8L tri-axles SB19GMX and SB19GMV wait for time at Waverley with the Airlink shuttle. The lined blue livery I find suits their lines quite well.
Some of the other bits and bobs sighted across southeastern Scotland yesterday! I don't make a habit of photographing modern buses, but there's just something about tri-axles that get me a little bit more excited...
43037 stands at Edinburgh Waverley with set HA05 and 43136 on the rear. This was a rather unusual but welcome allocation on 1L83, the 1235 all stations to Perth, which is booked as a multiple unit - I can only assume it was deputising for a failed train, or otherwise needed repositioning.
43137 accelerates through Ladybank with set HA08 and 43176 just visible on the rear with 1B80, the 1207 Aberdeen to Edinburgh.
43132 leads 43015 into Leuchars with set HA11 on 1B82, the 1311 Aberdeen to Edinburgh. It's seen here banking into the station in reasonably bright sunshine, which gave way to a downpour somewhere around Inverkeithing.
43149 powers into Haymarket with set HA24 on 1A87 to Aberdeen during a seasonably Scottish downpour. On the rear is 43003 which, since the withdrawal and preservation of 43002 a few years back, has been the oldest operational power car.
Quick day trip to Edinburgh yesterday for some Class 43 action! Four cops and a few miles added with a round trip to Leuchars, quite successful for a day trip on the cheap! (1/2)
144009, still carrying fictional Great Midlands Trains livery after an appearance in a television series, stands in Platform 1 at Bury, with Jinty 7138 preparing the 'Red Rose' dining service in the background.
Class 504 65451 (carrying GMPTE orange and brown) and 77172 (carrying original BR green) stand outside the carriage shed at Baron Street. Stored for a long time under tarpaulin in the sidings nearby, it seems restoration might finally be advancing on this unique survivor.
Three of the biggest operators in Manchester line up to leave Bury Interchange. Volvo/MCV BU75WLC leads the way, representing the gutted fleet of the once-gigantic First Group, followed by SN69ZGC of Stagecoach, and SN12AOS of Go North West bringing up the rear.
The Museum of Transport was also holding an event yesterday, and their Trident T612MNF heads along Rochdale Road after a pickup at Shudehill.
A few other bits and pieces spotted during the day. I'm particularly happy with the Class 504, of which I've not yet managed a decent photograph. (2/2)
LMS 11456, new to the Lancashire & Yorkshire in 1881 as a tender locomotive but converted to a tank engine in 1896, accelerates out of Castlecroft tunnel with the late-running 1210 to Rawtenstall, passing as it does BR Class 01 diesel shunter 11506, standing by on shunting duties.
D2062, the railway's resident Class 03, tails a set of three resplendent blue and grey Mk1s, with power being provided by Hudswell Clarke c/n D1076 'Arundel Castle', an 0-6-0DE built in 1958, and D9531 'Ernest', a Swindon Class 14 0-6-0DM. In the background stands 13594 (08479), in original BR black livery.
The two guests, Borrows c/n 48 'The King' of 1906 and Kerr, Stuart c/n 3063 'Willy' of 1918, take on coal at the entrance to Buckley Wells depot.
A busy scene at Bury South Junction. In the foreground, 'The King' and 'Willy' shunt up to a red signal. On the left, 08479 and 09024 stand outside the station, while in the background trains occupy all three platforms of Bury Bolton Street.
Always a fun day at the East Lancs, this time for their small engines gala! Two guest well tanks joined the home fleet for a fun selection of outings, including by some of the rarest locomotives in preservation! (1/2)
LRV992, Viscount fleet number 2 'Rita J. Hopkinson', draws up to the stand in Halifax, passing as it does Quantock-liveried Volvo B10M P2OTL. This vehicle is privately preserved by an individual with a connection to Viscount; to this day, their flagship service bus - a 2009 VDL/Pulsar - carries the cherished registration P1OTL.
One of the BusDay coordinators chats to the driver of LRV992 as, in the background, stands Yorkshire Buses Scania N94 YB03BUS. New to First as SN05HWK, this bus lasted well into 2023 in First "Barbie" livery as one of the last buses in the country to carry this livery in service. Transferred to Yorkshire Buses in mid-2023, repainted and re-registered, it was nevertheless withdrawn by the end of the year and its fate beyond that is unknown - has it been scrapped?
Today, 20 February, has been the final day of Pickering-based operator Viscount. Sadly, I never saw their buses in service, but I did manage a tour on their gorgeous ex-Portsmouth PD2 a few years ago. What will become of their eclectic fleet remains to be seen.
DVT 82301 draws out of the beautiful Great Western station at Leamington Spa with a train for London, power on the rear being provided by 68013 'Peter Wreford-Bush'. On the right is, literally, a sign of things to come.
68029, formerly named 'Courageous', powers out of Leamington Spa, pushing set CH13 towards London. The rich blue "Explorer" livery is already growing on me, but I'm not quite a fan yet.
68010 'Oxford Flyer' stands on the blocks at Moor Street. Below the platform on the left are the remnants of Moor Street's unique traverser, a nifty solution which once allowed locomotives to run around without needing a pilot or the excess space that a loop requires.
With the Birmingham skyline tall and proud behind, 82309 stands under just a hint of golden late-afternoon sun peeking through the scattered cloud as it prepares to reverse and head back to the capital.
I'm hoping a trip last week won't be my last ever time on Chiltern's venerable Mk3 sets, since there are still a couple more I'd like decent photos of, but it certainly helped to take a bit of a chunk out of them! Here are a few of the delights, as well as some modern imposter.
DB/TfW 67017 propels Mk4 set HD05 the last few feet towards the blocks at Piccadilly with 1W13 from Caerdydd.
Former Greater Anglia express locomotives 90009 and 90011 draw into Piccadilly with 4M42 from London. Sadly from this angle, platform 14 does not provide the best angle, but I'm still reasonably happy with the results.
Former DB 90018 'The Greatest Gathering' leads 90043 into Piccadilly with 4L67 to Felixstowe.
TfW celebrity unit 197119 'Mistar Urdd' departs for Cyffordd Llandudno as EMR 170422 arrives from Liverpool.
With the acquisition of half of Freightliner by CMA CGM, I've decided to increase my efforts to photograph Class 90s, expecting a few changes in livery to follow. Here are some of the loco-hauled moves around Piccadilly this morning, plus a nice artsy shot of some DMUs.
There are some wonderful ones around there for sure!
I don't think so, I think they're the original EE engines.
A lovely little treat at Newport earlier with 20205 leading a couple of barriers and 20007 back to Kings Norton on 6M39, having delivered some tram thing to Pengam, as 150256 glides out on the stopper to Ebbw Vale.
DRS 66422 awaits the road to Crewe via Settle as 390108 'Charles Rennie Mackintosh' makes final preparations to depart for Glasgow. Just hiding in on the left are Avanti Everos 805001 and 805007 which, running as 5Z89 vice my planned train 1Z89, would shortly come a cropper right outside Carlisle and block the lines towards Newcastle and Settle (and therefore Preston and London) for the best part of an hour.
A few pleasant surprises! Northern 156480 prepares for departure towards Whitehaven on the right with Varamis 321428 and 321429 standing up against the famous wall on the left. In the background is Avanti 805009 which had worked my 1Z88 up from Preston; rather than bringing 1Z89 back, however, it was attached to 805013 to strengthen 1Z91 - which nevertheless ended up over an hour late.
Journey's Holidays Irizar i6s JS69LEE on planned rail replacement at Oxenholme. This coach had originally been a Transpennine service calling at Penrith en-route, but with the number of displaced passengers in the wake of Avanti cancelled 1Z89, it was decided to run it fast to Oxenholme instead. The coach has only been re-registered in the past few days - it was previously YT72GRF, a 2022 demonstrator new to Irizar themselves.
Oxenholme, all change! With Northern's 195125 preparing to depart for Windermere on the right, 397004 rarely showing reds on the north end while stopped at Oxenholme Lake District platform 2, having just terminated with an arrival from Manchester. The train reversed here and returned to Manchester as 1M88 with myself happily on board - Transpennine Express saves the day!
You can always count on Avanti to mess things up! A lovely trip up the Settle & Carlisle on an 805 quickly turned when the return run was cancelled. Luckily, Transpennine Express allowed us to take their coach to Oxenholme and catch a train home from there, thoroughly saving the day!
A lineup of West Riding Leyland National II XUA73X, Morecambe AEC Regent III MTE635, and Troopers Lodge Leyland Olympian B251NVN - all three buses gleaming in the winter sun - at the Dewsbury running day.
A week or so into November, a much-needed and wonderful weekend away was spent with my best friend down in Surrey. I was able to drag her around several museums in her local area and will be forever grateful for her distracting (and obliging) me. I was trying to decide which photo would best summarise this weekend, and settled on only one - the gorgeous broadside of a Jag, this one XX734 which was painstakingly restored from a complete wreck over a period of around five years by the volunteers at Boscombe Down.
Showcasing three generations of bus across the northwest of England, Blackpool Atlantean A362HHG, Widnes Corporation Titan 562RTF, and Halton Transport Dart DF02EKC pose along with a gorgeous Vauxhall Cavalier Mk2 convertible.
T612MNF, the first Trident built for Stagecoach outside of London, departs Shudehill Interchange with a shuttle to the Museum of Transport, Greater Manchester.
...even the smallest day trips out can help. Buses and aircraft too, these last few months have been kept together come hell or high water by little jollies to and fro. May 2025 remain forever in the history books - here's to 2026! (12/12)
The first Sprinter, 150001, trundles out of Dewsbury with a stopper for Leeds in early-November. Don't let the clear blue skies and green trees fool you - the cold was very much starting to grip by this point.
59003 'Yeoman Highlander' thunders out of Crewe with the Britannic Explorer Mk3 set. It's good to see this interesting locomotive with a long and varied history back working again, especially so far from her usual homeport in Westbury. It was pure chance that I saw this move - a friend spotting south of Birmingham that day gave me just enough of a heads-up for me to dash out from my flat in time for the train to Crewe.
158784 stands at Wigan North Western with 158854 having worked in from Manchester Victoria. Ordinarily, the train to St. Helens on a Sunday is an arduous endeavour with over an hour in Wigan; on this particular Sunday, however, a two-hourly runs-as-required path was deployed by Northern, filling in some of the gaps in the timetable and allowing for a much easier journey. The return, unfortunately, did not go as well, with no trains for around three hours after successive cancellations... thankfully, an Arriva service bus came to the rescue!
D1015 'Western Champion' fills Manchester Victoria with a thick blue haze as it arrives with the Pathfinder Farewell from Salisbury, 20 December 2025. Fittingly, the identity on the other side of the locomotive had been swapped to D1001 'Western Pathfinder'.
Oops, unfortunately I died. Not to worry! A brief bout of sickness behind me, let's get 2025 in review wrapped up. Just the one twin post for November and December as the cold and rain set in once again. The world goes on. It doesn't matter how bad you're feeling... (11/12)
The East Lancs is probably the best place to find one. I'm not sure how often the SVR run theirs, but Onslaught seems to be one of the ELR's top performers, it's usually out for most of their galas and special events - there's a loco roster and calendar on the ELRDG's website, www.elrdiesel.info.
The only planned excursion of October was to the Severn Valley Railway diesel gala on the Thursday, celebrating 65 years of the Class 37. I'm glad that I went on the Thursday - not only did I unexpectedly run into a friend that day, I imagine that going on any of the other three days would have had an inescapable gloom cast over the event.
71000 'Duke of Gloucester' waits in the wings to take over from 90026 on its inaugural passenger run after heavy overhaul. A couple of days earlier I had chanced upon the 'Duke' not once but twice while in meetings in Shrewsbury, which lead to me taking the determined effort to see one of my favourite locomotives.
How atmospheric. Carnforth is always an odd one, an unholy mix between enduring hope and the grim inevitability of fate. 47355 in Fragonset colours, 57005 in Advenza blue, 47768 in lime undercoat, 47787 in West Coast maroon, and 08418 in EWS maroon and gold are joined by the cut-up shell of 37712 as they stand silent in line beneath the shadow of the crumbling relics of Carnforth's great concrete coaling tower and ash disposal plants as a thin grey mist shrouds Warton Crag beyond. In all probability, none of these locomotives will ever run again; it's possible they may never again turn a wheel, and yet they will be scrapped to keep their sisters running. Even in their death, there is a vague, forlorn hope for the future. Almost poetic when you think about it.
Recently returned to the mainline, 34028 'Eddystone' stands in Chester Middle Yard alongside 47812 waiting to take the charter south. This photograph almost went disastrously wrong for me; 'Eddystone' took the avoiding line rather than the booked centre roads, meaning I got no shot except from a distant trailing one as she headed off towards Warrington; imagine my delight, therefore, when just a few minutes later she unexpectedly set back into the Middle Yard, apparently to take on water. She finally departed for Carnforth, under the cover of darkness, some seventy-five minutes late.
🎶 This place reeks of death, there's a chill in the air... October. There will be no miscellany post for this month; most of my planned excursions ended up cancelled, and those that went ahead were spur-of-the-moment. Nevertheless, I'm happy with what I got - given the circumstances. (10/12)
English Electric Lightning XM192 on display at Thorpe Camp visitor park, Tattershall. Note the jagged cut along the base of the vertical stabiliser where the aircraft was roughly dismantled for transport when she was first preserved.
Lincoln is one of the last places where Dennis Darts can be found on regular stage-carriage services; here is W111BCT 'Phoenix', formerly WA54JWD with Plymouth Citybus.
Who doesn't love a Mechanical Horse? The Scammell Scarab followed on from the original 1930s-era Mechanical Horse, but kept the adorable moniker. They're one thing that's sure to cheer me up any day of the week!
M133FGD is a fairly rare "short" Volvo B10M-48 with Van Hool Alizée T8 bodywork; it's seen here in the colours of Orion Travel of Longsight, although it now serves as a workman's bothy here in Bury.
If trains were sparse, buses and aircraft were even fewer and further between. Nevertheless, a few examples found my camera, scattered across the country. (9b/12)
Gleaming as ever in BR blue and a credit to the Bury Diesel Group, D832 'Onslaught', one of Swindon's Class 42 "Warships", departs Bury for Heywood with a beautifully-uniform set of blue and grey Mk1s.
National Coal Board saddle tanks 11 (ex-GWR 813) and 49 stand side-by-side at Kidderminster. 11 is fresh from overhaul and celebrating her 125th birthday this year; I believe this was her first public appearance in NCB colours rather than the traditional Great Western livery. Hopefully the next livery will be as-built Port Talbot black!
On her last gala before overhaul, Merchant Navy-class 35006 'Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company' - the longest name fitted to a British steam locomotive - rolls into Kidderminster with a train from Bridgnorth.
On her last day in service before the expiry of her boiler ticket, Black Five 45212 rounds the curve out of Bury Bolton Street with a set of maroon Mk1s. Note the 'Farewell' chalk and crying face daubed on the smokebox door - a nod to 48305, famously pictured at Barry Scrapyard with 'Please Don't Let Me Die' painted on.
By September, the number of events available was definitely beginning to wind down. The East Lancs and the Severn Valley had a couple of good events on to sate the railway enthusiast, but by the end of the month, the temperatures were definitely beginning to drop. (9a/12)
That's very true, as long as you've got a seat. My longest would have to be five hours from Manchester to Swansea... even with the additional comfort of a Mk4 set it was a long, long journey.
That sounds like quite a journey... ten hours on a Voyager isn't something I'd wish on anybody, even though I don't mind Voyagers as a general idea...
Absolutely gorgeous place. My first time visiting, I spent an hour wandering around to the Abbey, too... the whole place was absolutely gorgeous.
SOE913H, a 1969 Daimler Fleetline, leads a lineup of buses at the pickup point for the Greatest Gathering. After a long and hard day, I nevertheless spent a good length of enjoyable time spotting the various buses on the shuttles at the end of the day. Among the preserved vehicles were a few PSVAR examples; at the rear of the column is one of Harpur's ALX400s.
GK04NZU is a 2004 VDL with East Lancs Myllennium bodywork; it was seen here parked on Store Street, Manchester, while on standby for rail replacement duties.
GSO90V is here representing the fabulous Hooton Park event, purely because it's rare to see a Scottish vehicle so far south and, to be honest, I like the yellow!
Two ages of preserved bus; Optare Solo YJ07EJD and Leyland Panther FKF933G trade passengers during the Fishwick/Ribble Joint Running Day. Both buses were showing a variant of 'Rail Replacement' on the destination blinds, much to the mirth of the Panther's driver.
A good few buses were spotted throughout August, too - there were a few good bus rallies to attend, the Greatest Gathering had some splendid feeders on, and rail replacements sometimes bring up something splendid too. (8b/12)
The back end of the diesel section at the Greatest Gathering with a 56, a Warship, and three Peaks all lined up and various spectators milling around.
Our saviour! With Stockport station closed for three weeks and the Styal line doing a lot of heavy lifting, Network Rail decided that an extra Thunderbird was required. 37901 'Mirlees Pioneer' thus spent much of the summer on standby at Piccadilly and set forth at least once to rescue a failed train near Buxton.
37501 'Teesside Steelmaster' dragging a Northern unit through Crewe, returning from the Greatest Gathering to Allerton.
88001 'Revolution' leads 68003 'Astute' into Crewe with 6K41 from Valley. This was my first time seeing a flask out and about - much obliged to a colleague on a train off Holyhead for giving me the heads-up that it was preparing to leave Valley.
August! August was the month where 2025... started to fall apart, if I'm being perfectly honest, but still. Started strong with the Greatest Gathering, then a few spots across the north of England. (8a/12)
You're welcome, I'm just glad somebody reads them!
The 'Bristol Queen' ashore at Weston-super-Mare. Once the pride of the Bristol Channel ferries, she was brought onto land around ten years ago for a restoration which is showing few signs of progressing.
RNLB 'The Robert', a 1960-built Watson 47'-class lifeboat; converted to self-righting specifications in the late-1970s, at the time of her withdrawal in 1992 she was the last Watson-class boat in commission - the first of which had entered service in 1888, a dynasty of over a century saving lives at sea.
The 1924 steamer PS 'Kingswear Castle' proceeding down the Dart, as viewed from a departing steam train. With the scrapping of the wrecked 'Compton Castle' earlier this year, 'Kingswear Castle' is now the last of her class, and the last operational coal-fired paddle steamer in British waters.
British aircraft carrier HMS 'Queen Elizabeth' manoeuvring at slow speed south of Plymouth Sound. The carrier had a few days previously sailed from Portsmouth after several months of repairs; she has now put into Rosyth for drydocking.
Time for another set of wildcards, this time ships of the south-west! There were a number of preserved lifeboats that I found across Devon, but none compared to the excitement of coming around the corner onto the Hoe in Plymouth to find myself staring at a carrier... (7c/12)
A Massey-bodied Guy Arab leads a Northern Counties GM-type Leyland Fleetline at the Chester charity bus running day in mid-July.
Another one of the last Tridents in the Stagecoach fleet, WA05MGZ carries the original Stagecoach "Stripes" livery. Although this particular bus would have carried "Beachball" from new, others of this type were delivered in these colours.
Rail-River Link Y808TGH 'Charles Benjamin Collett, OBE' stands forlornly outside the depot in Churston, with sisters Y816TGH and Y827TGH visible beyond.
KEL110 is one of a large batch of full-cab Leyland Titans bought by Bournemouth Corporation, of which three survive in preservation. This particular example operates as a restaurant in Plymouth known as The Clippy from which I purchased a rather pricey but exceedingly high-quality burger, much-recommended as a treat. I believe this bus has now been resited to somewhere with more foot traffic.
Plenty of buses to be seen across Devonshire too! The first picture is from a balmy day in Chester, but other than that, a selection of buses chanced upon across the Riviera. (7b/12)
A pleasant surprise! While disembarking at Worle to visit the Helicopter Museum, I found a group of spotters at the end of the platform. Always a sign to check Realtime, I found an empty stock move from the West Somerset... camera on, stuck around to find 66003 piloting the Scotsman back from her summer jolly.
GWR 7827 'Lydham Manor' barks up the bank out of Kingswear, as viewed from the steamship 'Kingswear Castle'. Note the carriage third in formation which is a Class 117 trailer; the P&DSR is famous for using former DMU carriages as hauled stock.
Ashe's last HST? 43098 'Walton Castle' draws into Newton Abbot with 43198 'Driver Brian Cooper / Driver Stan Martin' on the rear. I had not expected to see a Castle set on this duty, which only happened due to the IET taking me to Totnes being delayed.
GWR Prairie 5526 draws out of the idyllic little station at Buckfastleigh. Note the locomotive sheds on the right and the autocoach directly behind the locomotive. Originally the line continued into the distance towards Ashburton, which for a long time modellers have considered the pinnacle of the quintessential Great Western branch line terminus.
July 2025 included my summer holiday; three gorgeous nights on the English Riviera in the height of summer. There were far too many photo opportunities throughout the week, so here are a few that I feel really encapsulated the week. (7a/12)
