Operations
RHTT
THE RHTT season along the southern section of the Midland Main Line continued into December with the locos used for the 3J92/23.19 Toton TMD-West Hampstead North Junction and 3J93/12.01 return being 66116+66060 on December 1, 2, 6, 9, and 11. The season ended on December 12.
FOLLOWING flooding and a landslide in the Beattock area on December 18, the WCML was closed, with buses replacing services between Carlisle and Glasgow/Edinburgh.
ALTHOUGH Covid travel restrictions were in place, Avanti West Coast ran a few additional services on December 24. The 08.16 (actual dep 09.07) from Preston to Glasgow (1Z37) was worked by Class 390 No. 390156; the 08.30 Euston to Glasgow (1Z92) was operated by No. 390115 and the 10.00 Glasgow to Euston (1Z53) was formed of Class 221 Nos. 221114 and 221143.
Further additions followed on December 29 with a 10.30 Euston to Glasgow (1Z93) worked by Class 390 No. 390114 and the 14.00 Glasgow to Euston (1Z84) with No. 390152.
NEW Year’s Day saw 200 yards of track replaced on the WCML in the Euxton Balshaw Lane area. Locomotives reported present, all Class 66, were Nos. 66545+66599+ 66536, that all went back to Crewe via Chorley following a run round at Preston, and Nos. 66590+66780+ 66742, that all went to Carlisle.
The following day Nos. 66742 and 66780 ran south from Carlisle to Tuebrook Sidings in Liverpool.
ON THE morning of December 28 OHLE damage occurred somewhere between Berwick and Morpeth.
Class 801 No. 801222 on an Edinburgh-London working (1E02) sat in the middle of Wooden Gate loop for over 75 minutes; southbound Class 43 Nos. 43301 and 43304 on Edinburgh-Plymouth (1V50) had to cross over at Little Mill and run wrong road and use platform 2 at Alnmouth and was sitting alongside the Azuma for some time before running wrong road south and reached Morpeth 75 minutes late.
Reports suggest that No. 801208 working 1Y14/06.00 Berwick-upon-Tweed to King’s Cross ended up with the OHLE striking the windscreen, and the train was stuck near Widdrington.
Reports indicate the situation was still ongoing at mid-day.
GREAT Western operates a few services that can be considered as parliamentary trains. One such service is the 2R23/16.03 from Filton Abbey Wood to Bath Spa, which rather than running into Bristol Temple Meads and reversing takes the down Bristol loop from Dr Day’s Junction to Feeder Bridge Junction.
A journey from Filton Abbey Wood to Bath Spa using train 2R23 was made on Wednesday, December 9 when the down Bristol loop was traversed in the last of the daylight. The train was formed of Class 166 No. 166214.
The lineside vegetation on the down Bristol loop scraped along the side of the train in the best railtour tradition.
A JOURNEY from Westbury to Weymouth on Wednesday, December 9 was made on the 07.08 from Worcester Shrub Hill to Weymouth. The train was formed
