On Thursday 13th December 60009 Union of South Africa was in charge of the RYTC's York Yuletide Express from Norwich. My plan was to take photographs of the train heading up the East Coast Main line nearing its destination of York but unfortunately Thursday morning dawned foggy.
This was the motorway camera not far from the ECML and as the fog was forecast to hang around all day there seemed little point in making a foggy journey along the motorway.
Here's a picture of 60009 Union of South Africa in Carlisle earlier in the autumn waiting to make the return trip with RYTC's The Hadrian.
We were out and about again on Saturday in Lincolnshire with the hope of managing to capture a couple of steam charter trains on the same day. Both trains were heading to Lincoln for the Christmas market or Lindum Fayre.
Although both trains were heading from the south they were making their way into Lincoln along two different stretches of track. The first special was headed by GWR 4-6-0 4965 Rood Ashton Hall which we hadn't any pictures of so we considered catching this train to be our main aim of the day.
4965 Rood Ashton Hall with The Lincoln Christmas Market at Swinderby Road crossing
The location for our photographs was chosen using street view on Google maps. As we arrived at the location there was already a group of enthusiasts waiting for the arrival of the charter train. This was an indication that the spot chosen wasn't too bad and that we hadn't missed the main event.
4965 Rood Ashton Hall at Swinderby Road crossing
4965 Rood Ashton Hall put on a good display as it headed for Lincoln with plenty of smoke left trailing behind the train.
As 4965 was on time this left us with around 40 minutes to find a location for photographing 60009 Union of South Africa also heading into Lincoln with the Lindum Fayre. Again with the help of Google maps we had a spot by a level crossing at Rowston as our chosen location. I didn't think the location was quite as good as our first spot but it would have to do.
60009 Union of South Africa with The Lindum Fayre at Rowston crossing
Union of South Africa seemed to be in cruise mode at this point with little smoke making for a rather disappointing picture.
It was freezing cold waiting at Colton Junction just outside York to see 60009 Union of South Africa in charge of the Railway Touring Company's Christmas White Rose on route from Cambridge to York.
In the bright sunshine both photography and videoing were pretty challenging. It was more or less aim and shoot and hope the locomotive was in the view finder. The timings for the journey had recently been updated with the route switched to the East Coast Main Line between Doncaster and York from the slower Doncaster - Church Fenton - York line. These timings made the biggest changes to the route further south with the train arriving in York around noon which had always been the intention.
In the end the results weren't too bad and we had our first pictures on 60009 Union of South Africa in serious action as it approached York. As you can see, from all the parked cars on the opposite side of the track, it proved to be a popular spot for railway enthusiasts to capture their shots of 60009 at speed.
The rather blustery wind from the north tended to blow the exhaust gases in the wrong direction which had a rather detrimental effect on the video soundtrack. It's the first time we visited this popular location for capturing steam charters on the East Coast Main Line.
After the failure of 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley last week it appears from various web sources that 60009 Union of South Africa will fill in on the tours previously booked for 60007 for the remainder of the year.
60009 Union of South Africa stands in Carlisle Station with The Hadrian 27 October 2012
That gives a few more opportunities to photograph 60009 over the next few weeks. Most of my shots are from our trip on the Hadrian a few weeks ago hauled by 60009 Union of South Africa. This is a chance to get some good action shots weather permitting.
I noticed that the Tynesider on Saturday 24 November was diesel hauled from Newcastle to York after 60007 suffered a failure on its positioning move from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Following on from that UKSteam info pages show that 6007 has been removed from the Christmas White Rose Special and the Lindum Fayre.
Does this mean we're not likely to see 60007 on the main line again this year. Anyone got any information?
After the weekend trip to film 46201 Princess Elizabeth thoughts are turning to our next possible filming opportunity. This one might be much nearer to home.
The Christmas White Rose from Cambridge to York and return on 01 December 2012 presents a chance to get some action footage of 60009 Union of South Africa. This locomotive hauled our charter train The Hadrian several weeks ago but obviously when you travel on the train action shots are not possible.
60007 Sir Nigel Gresley is due to haul the return journey and whilst I'd like to get some footage of this locomotive I'd like my first opportunity to be in daylight rather than darkness.
I've not done any filming over on the East Coast Main Line which will be a bit flat after the Settle to Carlisle line. I will need to plan careful where to go to take pictures.
We made our planned trip to Cumbria to enjoy the scenery and if we were lucky gets some pictures of "Lizzy" hauling the Cumbrian Mountaineer up to Shap summit on the West Coast Mainline and Ais Gill on the Settle to Carlisle railway. I certainly need to do some more planning to find some good locations for the climb up to Shap summit. We somehow got lost and didn't have enough time to find a decent location, the nearest bridge had to do.
Our next plan was to travel over to capture Princess Elizabeth on her return journey along the Settle to Carlisle railway. With plenty of time to spare we made time for some lunch before taking a few photographs at some of the more northerly stations on the S&C from Armathwaite down to Kirby Stephen.
We had a good location to capture The Cumbrian Mountaineer on its return leg between Langwathby and Culgaith.
Finally with the light fading we returned to Kirby Stephen reckoning on this being around the final location for getting daylight pictures on the return journey.
Princess Elizabeth was in full cry as she headed through Kirby Stephen on the climb up to Ais Gill. Even here my video was spoilt by a helicopter hovering overhead spoiling the sound effects of a steam locomotive working hard.
LMS Princess Class 4-6-2 no 46201 Princess Elizabeth is on the move on Friday from Tyseley to Carnforth. She's due to haul The Cumrian Mountaineer on Saturday from Carnforth to Carlisle. Looking at the steam tours for the remainder of the year this is probably the last steam hauled charter of the year over Shap and the Settle to Carlisle.
Provisional timings for Friday's move to Carnforth can be found here.
LMS 8P class 4-6-2 Princess Elizabeth [6201] is scheduled to haul Vintage Trains "Cumbrian Mountaineer" on the 17 November 2012. As the locomotives is due a major overall and its boiler certificate expires in December 2012 then this may be 6201's last main line run for a while. The timings for the journey from Carnforth to Carlisle over Shap and return via the Settle to Carlisle are here. Perhaps it's a chance to get some pictures.
Featured first at Levisham Station are Black 5 45428 Eric Treacy and 9F 92214 Cock O' The North.
45428 Eric Treacy arriving at Levisham
9F 92214 Cock O' The North at Levisham
Then moving to Goathland Station to capture Ex Southern Region Class S15 Maunsell 4-6-0 and Black 5 45428 Eric Treacy on a return run from Pickering.
Ex Southern Region Class S15 Maunsell 4-6-0 at Goathland Station
0-6-2 N2 1744 and 0-6-2 N7 69621 were captured heading to Goathland and 9F 92214 Cock O' The North on a return journey to Pickering from the road leading over Mill Moor.
0-6-2 N2 1744 and 0-6-2 N7 69621
9F 92214 Cock O' The North
It was then back to Goathland to watch Class 4MT 4-6-0 75069 The Green Knight on a Pickering bound train and 9F 92214 Cock O' The North heading to Grosmont.
Class 4MT 4-6-0 75069 The Green Knight at Goathland
Finally back to Mill Moor in time for 9F 92214 Cock O' The North and Ex Southern Region Class S15 Maunsell 4-6-0 both making return journeys.
You may be interested in viewing one of our webpages http://ossettweather.com/artwork/trains.html where some photos taken during this visit have been uploaded for using as greetings cards or wall art designs
We planned a trip on The Railway Touring Companies “The Hadrian” for Saturday 27 October 2012.
The route starts at Skipton and is diesel hauled through to York picking up passengers at Shipley and, our starting point, Leeds. The West Coast Railways diesel 57 601 was in charge from Skipton and sneaked into Leeds early whilst we were trying to keep warm in the freezing cold temperature.
D57601 on a wet morning in York
There was time at York to watch the change from diesel to steam power as 60009 Union of South Africa was coupled up at the head of the train to take over charge of the train on its round trip back to York. As you’ll see hundreds of enthusiasts wanted the perfect picture of 60009 at York and this turned out to be the case all along the route and at each stop the locomotive made.
60009 Union of South Africa takes charge for the rest of the day
The next stage of the journey was down the East Coast Main line to Durham where I did manage some pictures of the cathedral as we sped through the station. After Durham our locomotive took on water at Low Fell Royal Mail Terminal before heading West along the banks of the Tyne towards its destination - Carlisle - passing through Hexham and Haltwhistle on the way.
There were more photo opportunities at Carlisle but I think most people were surprised as 60009 reversed out of the station. I don’t know if the weddings pictures were by chance or organised as a special occasion. All the best to the couple in any case.
Carlisle Station
We returned to Carlisle Station in time to see 57 601 and 60009 carrying out a few operational manoeuvres to get “The Hadrian” into position alongside the correct platform for its passengers to embark. After leaving Carlisle we headed back up the Settle and Carlisle Line stopping in the dusk at Appleby Station to take on water before the long climb to Ais Gill.
Appelby water stop
As we left the train at Leeds there still seemed to be plenty of enthusiasts taking a chance to grab a few night time shots of 60009 as the locomotive left Leeds for York at around 21:45.
Leeds City Station
The tour had run to time all day until a late running local service at Hellifield, the location of our final water stop of the day, resulted in an extra 10 minute wait before we headed for Skipton, Shipley and Leeds.
Our video of the journey is below:
You may be interested in viewing one of our webpages http://ossettweather.com/artwork/trains.html where some photos taken during this visit have been uploaded for using as greetings cards or wall art designs
A visit to the Wensleydale Railway with the intention of filming the visit of 61994 The Great Marquess with the West Coast Railway Company charter train to the heritage line.
69023 Joem arrives at Bedale
We start at Bedale and capture the 12:00 service arriving and departing Bedale for Redmire hauled by 69023 Joem. We moved further up the line to Leyburn where 69023 was arriving with the same service.
69023 Joem arrives at Leyburn
The aim was to film The Great Marquess at Redmire in the afternoon. After an excellent lunch at the Bolton Arms in Redmire we moved on to Redmire Station. There were a few enthusiasts waiting for the arrival. The rumour was that the diesel hauling the train to Redmire had failed at Northallerton but the charter was still expected to make it to Redmire.
Redmire Station
After an hour waiting we decided to head back towards Bedale to see if we could spot the charter anywhere along the route. We didn't and the train wasn't at Bedale.
As a last resort we moved to Leeming Bar the first station on the line. The rumour here was that the diesel had failed in the morning but had been restarted and brought the charter train onto The Wenslydale Railway only to fail again at Constable Burton part way along the line. It was planned for the Great Marquess to bring the train out, stopping at Leeming Bar to take on water.
61994 The Great Marquess at Leeming Bar
We hung around until she made it back along the line and finally left Leeming Bar heading for the East Coast main line.
The video of our day out on the Wensleydale Railway is below:
You may be interested in viewing one of our webpages http://ossettweather.com/artwork/trains.html where some photos taken during this visit have been uploaded for using as greetings cards or wall art designs
The day started bright, sunny and cold as we first stopped at Moorgates on Goathland Moor to watch Ex Southern Region Class S15 Maunsell heading for Goathland before 4-6-0 Black 5 45428 Eric Treacy is captured with The Moors Explorer heading for Pickering.
Class S15 Maunsell
4-6-0 Black 5 45428 Eric Treacy
We then moved on to Grosmont to watch the arrivals and departures taking place in the early afternoon. Ex Southern Region Class S15 Maunsell was the first to depart this time heading towards Goathland and Pickering.
Grosmont Station
Next to leave was Class 4MT 4-6-0 75029 The Green Knight with The Yorkshire Coast Express for Pickering. By now the weather had turned, the sun had disappeared replaced by drizzle.
Class 4MT 4-6-0 The Green Knight
We walked along to the engine sheds where 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley was more than likely being readied for its main line duties in a few days time.
60007 Sir Nigel Gresley
We then ventured back to watch Black 5 45428 Eric Treacy departing once again heading for Goathland. By the time 45428 departed it was raining heavily so apologies for the extra shaky video as I attempted to give my camera some protection from the rain.
Black 5 45428 Eric Treacy
With the rain coming down we decided to head for home.
There's also a video of all these trains which can be found here.
You may be interested in viewing one of our webpages http://ossettweather.com/artwork/trains.html where some photos taken during this visit have been uploaded for using as greetings cards or wall art designs
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
The Scarborough Spa Express
Woodlesford Station - Thursday 02 August 2012
It was a pleasant enough evening so I took a trip down to the station at Woodlesford to see what was pulling the Scarborough Spa Express. From the information available on web sites it was due to be LMS Class 5MT 4-6-0 No 45407. On arriving at the station I soon discovered that this loco had failed yesterday and was diesel hauled. So what to expect today?
I'd arrived at the station in good time and tested out my camera position on a few other passing trains. Firstly on this through train.
There were a couple of stopping services running between Leeds and Sheffield.
By now there was quite a crowd awaiting the arrival of the Scarborough Spa Express which arrived on time as it pulled into the station. The replacement loco was 46115 Scots Guardsman which is making a habit of pulling this express train.
Just a short stop to drop off some passengers and it departed on its final leg of the journey to York.
I had time to capture a couple of stills whilst the passengers alighted. Despite its hectic schedule Scots Guardsman is looking really smart in its British Railways livery.
You may be interested in viewing one of our webpages http://ossettweather.com/artwork/trains.html where some photos taken during this visit have been uploaded for using as greetings cards or wall art designs
I’ve been a bit busy gardening and doing a few other jobs but on a trip up to Cumbria I did manage some pictures of the Fellsman on 8th August 2012.
It was hauled by 61994 LNE K4 class 2-6-0 The Great Marquess and is videoed speeding through The Eden Valley in Cumbria between Langwathby and Culgaith on the famous Settle to Carlisle line.
There’s a couple of diesels heading in the same direction before the main event of the day.
You may be interested in viewing one of our webpages http://ossettweather.com/artwork/trains.html where some photos taken during this visit have been uploaded for using as greetings cards or wall art designs
Monday, 30 July 2012
The Scarborough Flyer
A Trip on the Scarborough - Friday 27 July 2012
On Friday we had a trip by train to the coast at Scarborough. We caught the train in Wakefield mid morning for the journey to the east coast. Our trip was on a special charter train and was hauled to Scarborough and back by “The Duchess of Sutherland” a restored steam locomotive.
Our train arrives in Wakefield
The station platforms were crowded with a mix of passengers catching the train for a day trip to Scarborough or York and hoards of photographers trying to find the best vantage point from which to capture photographs.
You may be interested in viewing one of our webpages http://ossettweather.com/artwork/trains.html where some photos taken during this visit have been uploaded for using as greetings cards or wall art designs
Saturday, 21 July 2012
The Scarborough Flyer
Wakefield Kirkgate - Friday 20 July 2012
It was a dull miserable evening in fading light as 46233 Duchess of Sutherland hauled The Scarborough Flyer back into Wakefield Westgate around 15 minutes late.
There was quite a crowd on the platform as Duchess of Sutherland came to a stop to drop off passengers who had travelled to Scarborough and back for the day. Probably not one of the best days for a visit. We’re hoping the weather will be better next week when we have a the same trip planned.
The first video shows 46233 arriving in the gloom of a dull Friday night in Wakefield.
After a short stop and a quick whistle 46233 hauled the Scarborough Flyer away from Wakefield and headed across the Pennines via Brighouse, Hebden Bridge, Rochdale, Stockport, and Wilmslow before arriving in Crewe its final destination at 22:43.
You may be interested in viewing one of our webpages http://ossettweather.com/artwork/trains.html where some photos taken during this visit have been uploaded for using as greetings cards or wall art designs
Friday, 20 July 2012
The Yorkshire Coast Express
Sherburn Station - Saturday 14th July 2012
This week "LMS 7P class 4-6-0 Scots Guardsman" has spent a week in Yorkshire. On Saturday 14th July it hauled The Yorkshire Coast Express from Milford Loop south of York through to Scarborough with a return journey back to York. The train had been diesel hauled from Llandudno to Milford Loop.
This is Scots Guardsman heading through Sherburn Station just after leaving Milford Loop some 15 minutes early. The video below shows just how hard 46115 was working to gather speed with The Yorkshire Coast Express as it headed towards York.
I had intended to catch 46115 reversing down to Milford Loop from the National Railway Museum at York but it did this part of the journey earlier than anticipated.
The Scarborough Spa Express
Wakefield Westgate - Tuesday 17th July
Scots Guardsman's next job in Yorkshire was hauling The Scarborough Spa Express on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday making the round trip from York to Scarborough via Normanton, Wakefield, Woodlesford and Castleford.
First video is Scots Guardsman queueing for an evening arrival back at Wakefield Westgate station amongst the commuter and East Coast Main line trains on Tuesday.
Woodlesford Station - Thursday 19th July
The Scarborough Spa Express was running a little early on Thursday morning and I had just enough time to capture it coming to a standstill on Platform 2. I should have considered arriving a few minutes earlier but I didn't think it would be early as it was still picking up passengers at this point.
The final video is arriving at Woodlesford Station on Thursday evening on the last run of the week for The Scarborough Spa Express.
