Growlers at Goring and other Freight!

[leslie10646]

 

 

Since I broke my arm, my favourite place for watching trains has become Goring & Streatley - cheap-ish parking and lifts to get an old man from platform to platform!

A period of four hours today saw not one but three Class 37 movements. I missed filming the first - 37.601 hauling a Heathrow Express set away to go into store, but got a clip of her light engine returning -

Sorry it's a short snip - I'm trying to balance and shoot with a dodgy arm!

She was preceded by 37.812 in the more familiar BR Blue livery. Sadly neither making much engine noise as they zoomed along.

37.812 was heading to Reading Triangle sidings, I believe to pick up another stock move.

Eleven other 66-hauled freights and the usual Class 60-hauled oil train.

Who needs a train set?

[popeye]

Did you not video the freights? 

[leslie10646]

6 hours ago, popeye said:

Did you not video the freights? 

Yes, I did, although I messed up a couple of them being a bit ham-fisted at present.

I'll post a couple of the more colourful ones later.

My secretary/driver, who notes what I take was very taken by the Class 37s. I found "Cute Engine" written alongside the notes! With Accurascale doing them, it could turn out to be an expensive afternoon!

No charge for the advertising, Lads!

[K801]

Great videos, so the 37s are still a familiar sight?  Any other older diesel locos still in active duty like the 20s, 31s or 47s?

[leslie10646]

Hi MAK Diesel

I have it third hand that one of the 37s disgraced itself the other day on a stock move and was actually rescued by a Class 47. We don't see 20s or 31s in the bit of the railway I watch from time to time. The oldest diesels we see are Class 60s on the Theale oil trains, otherwise it's 66s and the occasional 70.

Ah, and the Class 50s very occasionally work stock moves.

On 7 August (see September Modern Railways) 50049 and 50007 hauled a 769 set to Reading from Burton on Trent.

We are getting these Tri-modes on the Gatwick services which I used to use regularly when I did a bit of work at Gatwick. Alas, with Covid, I think that's history for me.

I have posted the Hoovers in an earlier very windy video on 9 December 2019.

See -

https://irishrailwaymodeller.com/topic/8131-foreign-freight/?tab=comments#comment-126440

 

Edited September 9, 2020 by leslie10646

[Warbonnet]

8 hours ago, K801 said:

Great videos, so the 37s are still a familiar sight?  Any other older diesel locos still in active duty like the 20s, 31s or 47s?

Yes, 20s and 47s still working day to day, mainly on stock movements. The 37s also work on stock movements, test trains, engineering trains etc. There is still one class 31 mainline registered and working too! 

[connollystn]

Great locomotives - didn't a load of 37s end up in France working during the construction of one of the new high-speed train lines? That would have been an interesting sight. Wonder if they were re-liveried.

[leslie10646]

9 hours ago, connollystn said:

Great locomotives - didn't a load of 37s end up in France working during the construction of one of the new high-speed train lines? That would have been an interesting sight. Wonder if they were re-liveried.

Yeees, I think so .....

So I checked - see -

https://tomcurtisrailgallery.weebly.com/lost-in-france--forty-37s-in-2000.html

Also a load of 20s earlier on, working on Chunnel work. Also see Internet for pics.

I see there's a couple of stock moves tomorrow. I must try and get up early and see what appears!

[leslie10646]

 

Ever since the three 37 sightings at Goring, I've been asked (daily) when the next one will be by! They appear on stock movements, of course  with Rail Operations Group, Europhoenix etc. Invariably they are taking unwanted stock away (a lot of that in UK after a deluge of buying). They appear on Realtime Trains as paths for that day only and you don't always see what you expect. Recently, this turned up - giving a whole new meaning to Superpower - a 60 with ONE coach.

But yesterday, I spotted a move from Ilford EMU depot to "Newport Docks Simmsgroup". A bit more searching came up with the news that Simms are Scrap Merchants to the Gentry.

Other searches showed that a loco was leaving Leicester at about 5am, making its way to the West Coast main line, then via North London to Illford. There it picked up a four car Class 315 Electric set (superceded on the Great Eastern) and now rejected for further use. So, this sixty year old diesel loco was going to pull a forty year electric set off to meet it's Maker, so to speak!

Anyway, I expected it to be on the Relief Lines at Goring, so I went over to the Fast Line platforms to try and get a more side-on view of the cavalcade. However, it got checked in the Reading area and seemed destined to come through Goring either just before or just after a Freightliner, also heading West. So, I positioned myself and before I knew it, it was hurtling towards me ON THE FAST LINE! Sorry about the shake part way through (remember my injured arm ....).

  37.800, by the way. She later made her way back to Leicester via the Birmingham area.

 

[leslie10646]

(Had to break off to "have me tea" .....). Back to yesterday and the 37 which got away.

Two minutes later, the train of boxes swept by - at least that shows you why I was standing on the Fast Line platform ..... in hope.

Two minutes earlier and I would have freight on both lines!

Edited October 9, 2020 by leslie10646

[leslie10646]

This one is specially for a revered member - one of his former parishioners making a noise in the sky, allowed an interesting double take with the Wentloog - Felixstowe freightliner. The long tail was in the hope that the empty car racks to Halewood would appear round the corner. Needless to say, it came a minute later! I must find out how to join videos together!

Of course, we were really here to see a Class 37, which appeared ten minutes later with two EMU sets (Class 315s?) en route from Ilford to Newport to be recycled as components for model Class 37s? The toot wasn't for me, but my blonde assistant who was waving to the driver. Neither of us could see the engine number and afterwards, she crossly insisted that next time we film it from the relief line platforms!

 

Edited October 9, 2020 by leslie10646

[Galteemore]

Cheers Leslie! Blade slap and a 37 - what a treat ! 

[leslie10646]

Accurascale 37.425 in action!  Drawn by a curious move from Didcot refuelling siding  to Reading Traingle sidings (they are where the former DMU depot was), we rolled over to Goring on a grey morning. As demanded by my assistant, I went for the relief platforms and was caught out by the loco being on the fast line - another one that got away? Well, all but this ten second snatch of this DRS loco "Concrete Bob" which is still in Cross Country li

Lads, I hope yours will include an automatic sound effect so that the loco horn sounds when a Co.Down Lass waves to it!

That was followed on the slow line within a minute by a track machine moving from Plymouth - Norwich! Iffy video - I'll spare you that and two 66 hauled freights from Southampton, chasing each other's tail, each working hard with 30 plus boxes each - a busy 20 minutes!

Edited October 9, 2020 by leslie10646

[leslie10646]

For the Class 57 fans: 

In my first post on this thread, I suggested that the Heathrow Express sets were going into store, but it looks more likely that they get swapped out every so often, as I found the following movement. The Heathrow Class 387 in Wehrmacht Winter War camouflage - well it looks like that or Kreigsmarine dazzle paint - was being moved from Oxford to Reading Traincare depot and return, as you can see in the second video (both complete with IET leads-in. The loco is 57.310 on this occasion. 5 October 2020.

 

[leslie10646]

STEAM IN THE SUN today!

We are having a very wet and windy May here, but today, the sun came out and steam flew past on the FAST lines, to boot, at Goring.

35028 Clan Line aka Merchant 28, was out on the Belmonds (we've still got'em here) to Bristol, via the GWR Main line. Excuse Linda's enthusiasm, they didn't see steam engines of any description in the Irish village she was born in!

The loco even made Page 2 of the UK's Daily Telegraph today.

[GSR 800]

The Rebuilt Bulleid Pacifics have been growing on me as of late, good few videos of them starting trains at Waterloo, slipping fiercely of course!

Great to see Clan Line at speed.

[leslie10646]

2 hours ago, GSR 800 said:

The Rebuilt Bulleid Pacifics have been growing on me as of late, good few videos of them starting trains at Waterloo, slipping fiercely of course!

Great to see Clan Line at speed.

There is no doubt that they are handsome engines, as rebuilt. That said, the originals, as the Blessed Oliver first built them were quite brilliant locos, but at quite a cost in fuel and maintainence. The slipping reputation has a lot to do with the fact that several starts were on curves (Waterloo, Bournemouth (going East) and Salisbury (also East), that plus the pull-out regulator meant they needed skilled handling.

I must admit to a very personal interest in this one - 97mph at Winchfield in 1967. The smaller West Countries were fleet of foot also and quite remarkable hill-climbers - when you've done 75mph up 1 in 250 with eleven coaches,  you know that they were Premiership material.

Wonderful t see her out again.

[Galteemore]

Great stuff Leslie. As you know, Winchfield was my local station from 2009-15, and it’s still a race track today albeit for electric mice. What it would have been to see those rebuilt Bulleids at speed there. If the GWR launched the golden age of British steam performance in the 20s with the exploits of the Castles, it was surely the Southern which finished it in the 60s. Weren’t they still turning out 100mph runs until 67? 

Edited May 19, 2021 by Galteemore

[Georgeconna]

Great to see here out and about. I'll never get used to the OHLE especially with a SR loco underneath it.

 

[leslie10646]

5 hours ago, Georgeconna said:

Great to see here out and about. I'll never get used to the OHLE especially with a SR loco underneath it.

 

Yes, the OHLE makes "photography" tricky, hence all these videos at stations. Just lovely to hear the Bulleid "chatter" as she went by. When Jarvis rebuilt them, the one thing I think he didn't touch was the brilliant Bulleid boiler - a pal of mine maintained that any fool could make a Bulleid steam!

Now, how much would it cost to regauge one? Noel, Rob and Ken would make one of these fly!

[GSR 800]

32 minutes ago, leslie10646 said:

Yes, the OHLE makes "photography" tricky, hence all these videos at stations. Just lovely to hear the Bulleid "chatter" as she went by. When Jarvis rebuilt them, the one thing I think he didn't touch was the brilliant Bulleid boiler - a pal of mine maintained that any fool could make a Bulleid steam!

Now, how much would it cost to regauge one? Noel, Rob and Ken would make one of these fly!

Well Bulleid was over here...Light Pacifics instead of Turf Burners?

[Georgeconna]

Ken is not a fan of Mr Bullied Engines If I recall from a chat some time back!

Not to say he would not drive it!

 

[leslie10646]

Jubilee under the Juice Wires?

Vile evening in the Reading area - I had a long wait, including a torrential rainstorm, at THEALE for the ex LMS Jubilee Class 4-6-0 Bahamas running 50 minutes late (and in the DARK) tonight. This was the return leg of the semi-regular West Somerset Steam Express. Not great, but maybe worth twenty seconds of your time?  Leslie              PS heading from Taunton to Paddington

[Liam_Murph]

Making time to watch a Jubilee storm through is always worthwhile!

[leslie10646]

4 August 2021: Another Day, Another New Loco …..

 

(Or How I travelled behind a new Hungarian loco, built in USA –  in Oxfordshire!

The GW Society imported 6046, ex-USATC 2-8-0 for their Summer Gala on 31 July/1 August. The dates didn’t suit me, so I was delighted when the Society tipped off its members that they would be running her again today. So I took the opportunity to travel behind my 52nd Hungarian steam loco!

Built in Philadelphia in 1945 by Baldwin, after service in France in WW2, 4046 was one of 500-odd ex-USATC locos purchased by the Hungarian State Railways (MAV). She became Hungarian (MAV) 411.144.  I did see the class at work in Hungary on my visits in 1973 and 1975, but I certainly didn’t have a run with one – any I saw were shunting in goods yards!  I must look out a photo, as I certainly photographed one in Kecskemet in 1973.

As 411.144, she became a member of the Hungarian National Collection, but was mistakenly marked for scrap! It was then privately purchased and after a change of owner, was restored to working order on the Churnet Valley Railway. It has run on the NYMR, WSR and Nene Valley, where it suffered a damaged cylinder block, which has been replaced.

Without a detailed check, I cannot be precise as to the changes made by her new owners, but the original loco would not have had that “BR Standard” look about her! A handsome machine.

 

Appropriately hauling two 1940s GWR bogie coaches (7371 a brake composite - we sat in the luxurious First Class compartment and 536 a corridor third) she toddled up and down the GWR demo line: very slow reversing to Oxford Road in 3'25, 10mph max; 2'48 back to Eynsham, 15 max; second run yielded 3'18 to Oxford Road, max SIX mph and then 2'45 back 11max.

 

Needless to say, that when I watched go by while we picniced, the new driver made a lot more noise and seemed to be going faster! I must seek her out on a proper preserved branch! I should add that MAV was not noted for steam speeds of more than 30mph or so!

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by leslie10646

[leslie10646]

The 800s, are sometimes equated to a Royal Scot -

Well, if it is true, this is what one looks like at speed, the diesel is there for the airconditioning in the Mark 2ds.

Great Scot at Goring? .......

[murphaph]

What a tremendous sight.

[Liam_Murph]

Seeing big ten wheelers and pacifics trundling along a preserved branchline really does not do justice to them like a proper run at speed out on the network

[Noel]

9 hours ago, leslie10646 said:

 

The 800s, are sometimes equated to a Royal Scot -

Well, if it is true, this is what one looks like at speed, the diesel is there for the airconditioning in the Mark 2ds.

Great Scot at Goring? .......

Is the diesel not also safety requirement on BR mainlines on preservation specials in case the kettle breaks down?

[leslie10646]

Hi Noel

Three steam tours this summer, no diesel on the back, lots of 75mph running.

It depends on the Promoting Company to some extent - Steam Dreams have a diesel on the back 90% of the time - usually to do with the route and the need to go off in the other direction (eg out of Weymouth where there's nowhere to turn). Fire risk is the other bugbear for we 100% steam men - some operating companies put a diesel on the train to reduce the possibility of sparks causing damage to vegetation - yet most locos have effective spark arrestors.

Have a look on YouTube to see Leander roaring up the South Devon banks without aid.

[jhb171achill]

I went on a Railway Touring Company supposedly all-steam trip to Myanmar a few years ago. Over a week, due to the state of the track the train never topped 25mph, and was often slower for hours on end; and it was pushed by a diesel the entire time, only in very light steam with 50lbs on the clock.

An absolutely catastrophic waste of time and money - the loco used wasn't even in proper working order. It was like as if they took it out of a scrap line and lit a few old newspapers in the chimney to make smoke, and pushed it along.

The schedule was nonsensically over-ambitious too - one evening we arrived at our destination at 11:30 pm, to a cold dinner of bananas and some sort of sludge - Myanmar food is by a long way the worst in Asia - despite being promised we'd be there by 6pm..... we had not eaten since 11 that morning..... often we abandoned it at some point and got a bus onwards.

Myself and others complained bitterly; never, ever again.

A diesel pushing a supposed steam train is just a cop-out. I'd rather trundle at 15mph along a branch line with two bogies behind a steam engine that was actually working, than travel in any train anywhere with a steam loco up front and a diesel pushing!

[airfixfan]

On 24/7/2021 at 11:56 PM, leslie10646 said:

Jubilee under the Juice Wires?

Vile evening in the Reading area - I had a long wait, including a torrential rainstorm, at THEALE for the ex LMS Jubilee Class 4-6-0 Bahamas running 50 minutes late (and in the DARK) tonight. This was the return leg of the semi-regular West Somerset Steam Express. Not great, but maybe worth twenty seconds of your time?  Leslie              PS heading from Taunton to Paddington

Was in that train and we were  delayed after Taunton when Network Rail.put a heavy stone train out ahead of us the whole way to New fury.

[leslie10646]

Hi JB

Commiserations on the Burma experience - not surprised on any front - I've never been keen on narrow gauge, so I wouldn't expect much. I think that running tours in distant lands must be a nightmare for the tour operator.

You should have come on one of my trips into China with the Hong Kong Railway Society (1997 and 1998). The second was to a ng line carrying coal. I'll look for a photie and post it! (So long ago you printed the things! The only digital thing I had was my stopwatch!

At least your off-spring can give you accommodation near the second best narrow gauge railway in the World! The Ffestiniog takes some beating, but the Rhaetian Railway pips it for the top place!

Jim, sorry that your experience was spoilt by NRs attempts at running the tracks over here! At least you should have enjoyed some serious noise from the Jubilee?

[Georgeconna]

Fair play for waiting about for an LMS yoke tp appear. Never liked the Scots TBH.

[Irishswissernie]

We have as far as I can remember only one steam special through Haltwhistle this year!

Guess what, apparently a problem with the AWS equipment. 47237 towing 60103 24 July.