Freightliner Update

86604 86639 4L60 19:46 Garston FLT - Crewe Basford Hall seen at Halebank on 02/06/2020.

The last few months have been the strangest time in many of our lives, with the world consumed in a pandemic. COVID-19, or Corona Virus as it is more commonly referred to, has affected all of our daily lives. The railways are no exception with passenger operators running with reduced timetables, some operators such as Grand Central by Arriva decided to suspend all services indefinitely. During the lock down, trains would continue to run to provide key workers an opportunity to be able to get to and from their places of work.

Whilst waiting at Halebank, the familiar roar of the GE PowerHaul P616 engine disturbed the peace as 70005 ran light from Garston FLT - Ditton FLT.  This was under headcode 0F45 and was to position the loco to work the 4K45 12:52 Ditton FLT - Crewe Basford Hall service. Seen here at Halebank, the loco is heading for a runaround at Garston Yard 21/03/2020.

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Rail freight has continued also and in many ways has kept the country going with vital flows of foodstuffs, drinks and biomass to name just a few. One area that is only now really starting to feel the impact of COVID-19 is the inter modal container market. Most of the things we buy and use every day are made in China. With this virus seemingly starting in Wuhan, the Chinese went in to an early lockdown and with it the halting of industry. Many many deep sea container ships leave Chinese ports every day, carrying goods all over the world. In the case of the UK, a journey from China may take 6-7 weeks, so the last ships (in theory) to leave prior to China's shut down have arrived. 

                                      

Operators such as DB Cargo UK, Freightliner and GBRf are all big players in the inter modal market with services running all over the UK. Freightliner is the largest in this market, being originally a business built around the transport of containers all over the country. They have diversified in to other areas now with their Heavy Haul side of the business shifting anything from aggregates to household waste. But the containers are still very much the beating heart of the business. Operations are centred on the ports at Felixstowe and Southampton and serve inland terminals such as Coatbridge (Glasgow), Ditton (Widnes), Garston (Liverpool), Lawley St (Birmingham), Leeds, Trafford Park (Manchester), Teesdock (Middlesborough) and Wentloog (Newport)  - this list is not exhaustive.

Also during the global pandemic, Abellio Greater Anglia, have replaced their loco hauled Intercity services between Liverpool St and Norwich with modern units by Bombardier and Stadler. This has seen the delayed transfer of 13 Class 90's (90003-90015) to Freightliner. With reduced traffic levels at the moment and less pressure on the fleet, these 13 as well as the entire Class 70 fleet (19 locos) and several 66's have been placed in to temporary store until traffic levels pick up again. The 90's will all receive modifications and a repaint in to G+W orange before they enter traffic with 90014 expected to be the first. 90014 received a heavy exam at Crewe TMD and was shipped over to Basford Hall VMF where work has continued. The other 12 currently sit in the depths of Basford Hall yard awaiting the call. 

86637 86632 4M45 Felixstowe North FLT - Garston FLT, Halebank 17/03/2020. 

A jammy patch of light this morning as 90048 and 90016 pass through Red Bank under a moody sky. The service in question was the 4S50 06:03 Crewe Basford Hall - Coatbridge FLT liner. 05/06/2020.

The other loco's in the Fleet, the ever present Class 86's, continue to play an important role with the company. The fleet are largely concentrated on workings south of Crewe working various services to an from Ipswich but do retain at least one booked turn on weekdays to/from Coatbridge.

The fleet has remained static for the last few years at 16 operational locomotives. Some have spent periods out of use such as 86627 and 86632 which had Transformer and Wheel set attention before returning to active use, but were never formally stored. Since the start of the Corona Virus pandemic several examples have been stored. First to go was 86610 which requires new wheels, thankfully the loco is being kept 'warm' at Crewe and hopefully should be returned to traffic in due course. 86614 was then the next to be stood down. That in the past week has been reinstated and is currently back in traffic. At the expense of this reinstatement was 86627 which has been stood down at Basford Hall. Time will tell whether this one comes back, with Freightliner describing rumours of the 86's demise as 'Fake news'. I believe a core fleet will be retained with a couple of locos probably becoming spares donors to keep them going.

This afternoon 86605 has been moved to store but this should be a temporary stint as the loco is receiving attention at Crewe.

86608 86638 4L60 19:46 Garston FLT - Felixstowe North FLT at Hartford on 14/05/2020.

90043 90016 4S59 20:59 Crewe Basford Hall - Coatbridge FLT at Hartford 04/03/2020

90016 was in the news in late May, when it failed near Mossend whilst paired with 90047 on an evening departure from Coatbridge. The train was shunted back in to Mossend yard where the errant 90016, which reportedly had caught fire and was scorched, was removed before 90047 continued south solo. The reports of 90016's demise where premature and somewhat exaggerated as, after being transferred back to Crewe the next day, was back in service by the end of the week once again paired up with 90047 on Anglo-Scottish flows.

At the time of writing 90044, the only electric to carry the G+W Orange+Black scheme, is out of traffic pending the arrival of parts at Crewe.

90044 90046 4M11 Hartford 04/03/2020

90047 90045 4M11 18:03 Coatbridge FLT - Crewe Basford Hall, Acton Bridge 14/05/2020.

08530 Trafford Park FLT 18/01/2020.

66517 66522 4K83 12:13 Garston FLT - Crewe Basford Hall, Halebank 30/05/2020

Autumn of the Class 86

86608 86607 4M83 1033 Coatbridge F.L.T. to Crewe Bas Hall S.S.M taken at Red Bank, Newton-le-Willows 17/08/2019

Freightliner's Class 86 fleet have served the company well with well over 50 years service. With the introduction of large fleets of new trains within the UK over the past few years, the merry go round redeployment of replaced trains mean the 86's time appears to be running out.

From December, Abellio Greater Anglia will start the withdrawal of their Class 90 and Mark 3 coach fleet with the introduction of their new Stadler Class 745 FLIRT units on the Intercity route between Norwich and London Liverpool Street. The 15 Class 90's, who are currently owned by Porterbrook, already have new homes with 2 destined for Locomotive Services Ltd (LSL) at Crewe and the remaining 13 to Freightliner Intermodal. This should allow for the withdrawal of the 86's from FL use. The irony here being that once released from West Coast duties in the early 2000's, the 90's also replaced 86's on these Anglia duties.

Freightliner were up until earlier this year, last year considering an overhaul scheme for the 86's which would have seen a number be retained for a further 20 years service. It is believed that the company is now considering withdrawal instead. From November, Freightliner take over the Mendip Stone contract from DB and will inherit the Class 59/0's and 59/1's. The Class 66/6's which are currently focussed around the Tunstead traffic are believed to be headed to the Mendips with their duties being taken over from some reinstated Class 70 locomotives. Whether enough loco's will be in position to allow for a complete 86 withdrawal remains to be seen but here's hoping not.

86608 86637 4K64 11:46 Garston FLT - Crewe Basford Hall taken at Acton Bridge 22/06/2018.

It is believed that from around October the Anglo-Scottish intermodal trains, long in the hands of pairs of 86's, will be taken over by pairs of Class 90's. Freightliner currently have 11 90's on the books, 10 of which are serviceable but 3 remain on hire to GBRf for Caledonian Sleeper duties. This hire contract should have ended by now but due to delays to the new CAF MK5 stock remain in use. This should however be resolved in the coming weeks. A refresh and training programme has been underway with Mossend based drivers on the type and once the combination of trained staff and loco availability is where it should be, the 86's should give way on these north of Crewe workings.

86627 86609 4M42 2152 Felixstowe North FLT to Garston FLT service at Acton Bridge 27/06/2019.

Other than the Anglo-Scotland workings, Class 86's are currently the booked traction for the following workings:

4L41 0603 Crewe Basford Hall - Felixstowe FLT (as far as Ipswich)
4M42 2152 Felixstowe FLT - Garston FLT (from Ipswich)
0K64 1146 Garston FLT - Crewe Basford Hall (light engines)

4L91 0210 Trafford Park FLT - Felixstowe (as far as Ipswich)
4M87 1113 Felixstowe FLT - Trafford Park (from Ipswich)

 Get them while you 'Can'!!!

86612 86638 4K83 12:13 Garston FLT - Crewe Basford Hall service taken at Acton Bridge 21/09/2019

86622 86638 4K64 11:46 Garston FLT - Crewe Basford Hall service taken at Halewood 05/05/2016

86628 86639 0K64 11:46 Garston FLT - Crewe Basford Hall light engine movement taken at Halebank 20/09/2019

Local scene Monday 23rd February

With the weather not forecast to be that great, I decided not to venture too far today. As it happens, the sun came out and despite the wind, it was actually a rather pleasant day. A quick check of the loco lists in the morning set the itinerary for the day.
First of all, the Monday morning 4F64 Crewe Basford Hall-Garston FLT service is generally used as a loco ferry to begin the weeks services. Shown down for this today were Class 86's 86612+86622 accompanied by 90042. They are pictured below amongst the shadows.

The pair of cans scheduled to later run light engine 0F72 to Ditton and then down to Ipswich on service 4L92. The locos normally stay on the service for the remainder of the week, however, typing this on Tuesday the locos are showing as being due back at Crewe from Garston (4K64) this afternoon with 66954 scheduled to work to Ditton (and Ipswich) later. I'm not entirely sure why this is, I can only assume an exam is due or there is a minor fault with one of the locos. Regardless the pair did indeed run light in glorious sunshine on Monday and I caught them on the approach to Ditton.

90042 formed the usual 90 return 4K64 to Basford Hall, and for this I scooted across to Runcorn station

Whilst on Runcorn station, Class 66 66623 arrived on the Folly Lane branch with the 6F33 Bredbury-Runcorn Folly Lane. The loco currently carries an interim livery, based on the blue of its former Bardon Aggregates scheme. With the Bardon contract now in the hands of GBRf, the loco has had all the branding removed and has had it replaced with the new Freightliner logo. Sadly the sun sits in the wrong position for trying to get a perfect photo of this train at the time of day it arrives.

After arrival the terminal, the loco is detached and runs round were it is hooked up to the waiting wagons to form the 6H36 13:30 Runcorn Folly Lane-Northenden return.

The loco stays on site for just over an hour, before departing and rejoining the WCML at Runcorn before veering off at Hartford jcn.

At Runcorn East station, the Arriva Trains Wales 09:50 Manchester Piccadilly-Holyhead 'Loco Hauled' service had a loco change. ATW liveried 67001 which must have needed surgically removing from the set was on a B exam at Crewe and was replaced with EWS liveried 67020. DVT 82308 was on the rear.

Back to Halebank and the Fiddlers Ferry-Liverpool Bulk Terminal coal empties was in the hands of DB Schenker's 'Super 60' 60044. A new loco to me, I was aware it was on the circuit but hadn't had an opportunity to get out and see it for myself. Until now...

Another loco that had been in the area over the last week was GBRf 66721. The loco carries a special livery commemorating the London Tube and was on the Liverpool-Ironbridge Biomass circuit along with 66708 and 66713. Today the loco was forming the 4F61 Ironbridge-Tuebrook Sidings empties. After weighing up where best to go for it, Acton Bridge, Earlestown, Warrington Bank Quay, Winwick Junction, I decided due to the time of day, position of the sun, and the disappearing light that Rainhill station would be best (and most convenient!).

Also noted on the day, was Northern Rail 319364 on test between Crewe and Liverpool South Parkway. The loco carries a sleek version of Northern Rail livery with 'Northern Electrics' branding. A lot of promotional material for 'Northern Electrics' has started to appear on board trains and stations however Northern have no idea at present when exactly the electrification works will be finished allowing the introduction of these units on services between Liverpool and Manchester.

The Liverpool Rail Scene - A year on

After having lost a little bit of interest in the rail scene, it was the arrival of 08924 at Garston terminal in February 2014 that changed that. The transfer of the car contract from DB Schenker to GBRf may have stopped daily DB Class 90's to Garston, but the sight of the humble Class 08 shunter making a comeback in South Liverpool more than made up for that. I grew up with the sound of Class 08 shunters everyday, living in front of Allerton depot. With the closure of the depot back in 2009, the sight and sound of these machines going about their business, which I had took for granted in later years, came to an abrupt end. The arrival of 08924, a former Allerton engine brought it all back, the thrash and the growl out of the 0-6-0.  But this was just the start, I didn't realise how interesting and varied the local freight scene had became. As well as GBRf operating the car traffic, they also have a biomass contract running several trains daily between Ironbridge Power Station and Liverpool Bulk Terminal. Later this year, they will also start running trains to Drax as well as introducing a fuelling point at the Bulk Terminal.
 DB still have a presence in the area, with the Fiddlers Ferry coal circuit as well as the thriving Halewood Jaguar traffic that runs to Southampton. DB currently provide traction for Network Rail test trains (as well as DRS). Freightliner have perhaps the largest influence in the area, with the Freightliner terminal at Garston generating plenty of intermodal traffic, and also the yard at Garston for which is used by their Heavy Haul division with the trains operating on the Ellesmere Port and Fiddlers Ferry circuit.  Ditton Yard just outside of Liverpool is busy with both DB Schenker an Freightliner.

So one year on from picking up the camera once more, I've been fortunate enough to capture some interesting movements. This post is just to highlight the variety on offer with the local scene, long may it continue!

Below are a selection of my favourite pictures.

Liverpool Lime Street

47790 is started up at Liverpool Lime Street after arriving on the rear of the Northern Belle from Edinburgh to Chester on Saturday 09/08/2014. 57307 'Lady Penelope' was at the other end of the train, marking the start of the changeover to Class 57's on the Belle. 47790 is now, 6 months on, still soldering on and is still putting in regular shifts on the Belle, despite now being classed as the 'Stand by' loco. Considered to be probably the most reliable 47 in the DRS fleet, the loco is currently in Norwich for the Anglia 'Short Set' workings.

Garston FLT

90049 arrives light engine on 0F64 from Crewe Basford Hall. The loco later formed the 4K64 service back to Crewe. Monday 29/12/2014

86612+90047 have just arrived at Garston Church Road with the 4F64 Crewe Basford Hall-Garston FLT on 24/11/2014.  The locos are seen running round the train to shunt it in to the Freightliner Terminal. 86612 would go on to work the lunchtime 4K64 Garston FLT-Crewe Basford Hall return (normally a 90 turn) and 90047 would run light to Ditton 0F72 to then work the 4L92 Ditton to Felixstowe (normally an 86 turn)

90048 drags 66418+70015 on the Saturdays only 4K64 09:12 Garston to Crewe Basford Hall. The 90 would then spend the weekend at Crewe with the 'Shed', but 70015 was dragged to Leeds Midland Road depot for maintenance shortly after arrival in Cheshire. The date was 27/10/2014.

Garston Car Terminal

08924+66760 sit in the sidings at Garston Car Terminal. Whilst the shunter is well over 50 years old, this particular 66 was just months old when pictured on 19/01/2015. The loco had just worked up from Dagenham with a train of Ford vehicles which is normally in the hands of a Class 92 electric, hence the need to have a diesel shunter on site.

A few weeks later, and after a brief return to Class 92 haulage, 66709 'Sorrento' is the weeks loco for the 6X41 00:32 Dagenham Dock to Garston Car Terminal. Currently carrying a special livery that celebrates the 10 year partnership between GBRf and Mediterranean Shipping company (MSC). 66709 is no stranger to special liveries as prior to its current application, it carried a variation of GBRf livery for 'Medite'. The loco will work back south with the empties on 6L48 15:49 to Dagenham Dock.

08924 is hard at work on Bank Holiday Monday 05/05/2014 bringing out the empty wagons after unloading and forming the train for the return to Dagenham to do it all over again the next day. This picture was taken from the road bridge on Speke Hall Avenue. The stretch between Liverpool South Parkway/Garston FLT and Halewood is particularly difficult for photography with the lineside being occupied by warehouses and factories and the next open station being Runcorn. As ever with this hobby, being imaginative you can find and create opportunities. Google Earth/Maps is actually a really useful tool here. Long live the Gronk!

Halewood/Halebank

On Friday 19th September 2014, 57009 powers through Halewood with an evening Northern Belle charter from Chester to Barrow via Liverpool LS (and return). 57302 'Chad Varah' was on the rear of the train. I've always had a soft spot for the 57/0's ever since they would scream through Allerton/Liverpool South Parkway stations with Freightliner workings from Seaforth....those were the days.

90046 passes through Halewood working the 4K64 11:50 Garston FLT-Crewe Basford Hall liner on 09/09/2014.This service runs Monday-Friday at this time and slightly earlier on a Saturday, and is booked for Class 90 haulage. In reality, any class of locomotive in the Freightliner Intermodal fleet can turn up on the job. 90046 along with 90047 are probably my most photographed Class 90's (if not locomotives)

Ditton Reception Sidings

90049 powers out of Ditton Reception Sidings with the 14:03 Ditton O'Connor-Felixstowe North FLT. Normally in the hands of a pair of Class 86 locomotives, this diagram has seen 90's being used more regularly as of late. I had been waiting sometime to get a Powerhaul liveried Class 90 at Ditton for sometime!

66192 drags 92016 in to Ditton Reception sidings from the Foundry Lane Complex. The 92 had brought service 6M14 north from Dollands Moor earlier that morning carrying coiled aluminium. The service originates from Germany and makes its way across DB's European network to the Channel Tunnel, Dollands Moor and then on to Cheshire. It is believed the aluminium is then forwarded by road to Carlisle. The return working to Germany (6O16 to Dollands Moor) is also loaded. With the small complex at Foundry Lane not being electrified, the use of a class 66 is needed to shunt the train in and out of the yard. The 66 runs light from Warrington Arpley to the headshunt at Ditton where it stables until the 92 arrives. The 92 runs right up to the 66 and the whole train is coupled up and pushed back in to the terminal. This is the reason why the pantograph is down in this picture. A minute or two later and the Pan is up, locos uncoupled and the 92 is ready to run light to Crewe EMD. The 66 either returns light to Arpley, or can run light to Halewood Jaguar to take over from one of the locos on that circuit that may require an exam/maintenance. As of late, this traffic has been in the hands of Class 66's to/from Dollands Moor. This is believed to be down to DB Schenker looking to send more Class 92's overseas due to the expensive operating costs of the Class 92's. They are rumoured to be getting replaced with Class 90's (in pairs in some cases). I live in hope that a 90 (or even a pair) turn up on this working in the near future.

66504 at Ditton Reception sidings after shunting the 4L92 service out of Ditton FLT. I wrote about this service in more detail on this blog a couple of weeks back here

Warrington Arpley 

In a scene that would more likely be several years ago, two shunters in Warrington Yard at the same time. 09106 on the left sits between duties whilst 08623 is at the tail end of its C Exam. A few days later and 09106 was sent up to Knottingley and 08623 became yard pilot at Arpley. Again, a few weeks back I spoke about these shunters on this blog here

60024 is shunted into the servicing shed at Arpley by 09106. Although a rather large oil stain is visible on the side of the loco, it must not have been too serious as it was back in traffic on the Fiddlers Ferry circuit just the next day.

08623 sits in the yard at Arpley after taking over pilot duties from 09106 after its departure to Knottingley that morning.

Winwick Jcn

90034 powers south with the 4M25 Mossend-Daventry intermodal. Despite the rather uninspiring livery and branding, this service is DB Schenker operated and is normally a Class 92 turn. The 90 was thrown on at the last minute after the booked 92 couldn't be woken up that morning. It returned north later on with a lighter loaded northbound working. The date was 16/01/2015.

Recently reinstated 90035 slows as it nears journeys end (Warrington Royal Mail Terminal). This was an extra service that ran during the month of December with the extra mail generated during Christmas season. The result was quite pleasing personally despite the dull conditions of 22/12/2014!

90043+90045 roar through Winwick with the 4M01 Coatbridge FLT-Crewe Basford Hall on Saturday 20/09/2014. Again the light wasn't ideal but the sight of a pair of Freightliner 90's on the front a train makes an impressive sight no matter the conditions.

Now my pictures aren't the best in the world, and aren't necessarily for the purist. Photography is new to me and I'm learning everyday. I take these photos for the enjoyment of the hobby first and foremost and to be honest I'm thrilled with some of my more recent work.

To keep up to date with my adventures, please visit my flickr page and follow me, I will always follow back.

Other good reference sites for the hobby in the area are 8A Rail and wwwagons (for daily loco lists as well as lots of information posted daily).
Realtime trains is an essential tool now and can provide live information on freight and passenger services.

As ever, thanks for reading!

In Focus: 4L92 Ditton to Felixstowe

Fastly approaching their 50th birthday, Class 86 locomotives can still be found racing up and down the West Coast mainline. These electrics were introduced by British Rail in the 1960's following the various trials of Class 81-85 and become the standard electric locomotive. Reliable and versatile, they have adapted to every task put to them over the years. Today though, Freightliner Intermodal are the only operator of the Class on front line duties (in the UK at least). Several pairs of the locomotives are concentrated on the Coatbridge FLT in Glasgow to Crewe Basford Hall container services. There is though, one Northbound and one Southound service daily that operates on the GEML. Service 4M42 is the 22:08 Felixstowe North FLT to Garston FLT, South Liverpool. The other service, 4L92 is the 14:03 Ditton O'Connor/Stobart FLT to Felixstowe North FLT. The electrics only operate
to/from Ipswich where they are changed to/from diesel locomotives. The latter service will be the focus of a case study here, highlighting the different operational stages to get this train going.

As mentioned above, this is booked for Class 86 haulage. As of late, single Class 90's have been appearing on the service more frequently, as well as the occasional Class 66 or 70. I'm unsure exactly as to why there was a change from 86's for a short period, I assume it was down to poor availability of the Class for a period. Indeed this week, Freightliner are suffering poor availability of their Class 90 fleet. The fleet is 10 strong, and indeed as I type this, 50% of the fleet are out of service for exams/repairs.

My day starts at Garston FLT early on the morning of Monday 05/01/2015, waiting for the 4F64 service from Crewe Basford Hall. On a Monday, this service normally has a convoy of locomotives to get the weeks services started. It's a good way of getting locomotives shifted from A to B without using too many paths. Indeed this morning, the train is led by 90016, with 86632 and 86613 tucked inside as well as the train of containers. Garston has not had a dedicated Class 08/09 shunter for a number of years now, so the Class 90 is detached from the 86's and runs round the train, to shunt it in from the back. Before the 90 shunts, the 86's are detached, powered up and run in to the holding siding next to the FLT where they will remain for the morning. Stage 1 complete, getting the locomotives to Garston. On a Tuesday to Friday though, the locomotives arrive at Garston on the 4M42 return service from Felixstowe (from Ipswich) rather than arriving in convoy from Crewe. Barring failures or the need for exams, the same pair of locos normally stay on the service for the week.

Now, service 4L92 is a service that runs from Ditton, so this requires the locos to make the short trip from Garston FLT to Ditton Reception sidings. For this, the locos run light under headcode 0F72 leaving at around 13:14. With the trip only being around 7 miles, it is timetabled to take just 14 minutes.

Ditton FLT is not electrified, so the Electrics only run as far as Ditton Reception sidings. Similar to Garston, Ditton uses mainline diesels to do the shunting in the terminal and this is done by whatever Class 66 or 70 locomotive is on hand. With the 86's sitting in the sidings, the train is brought out today by 66504. One of only two UK Class 66's currently in Freightliner 'Powerhaul' livery, 66504 was the first recipient of the scheme. Originally released with an all silver buffer beam, the loco didn't look quite right.  66416 was painted in to the scheme in 2014 and had its buffer beam painted all black which sat better on the loco. 66504 was subsequently modified to this style when its next exam fell. I've been waiting to get 66504 in its modified scheme for some time, I had seen it on 2 previous occasions with its silver buffer beam.

To my delight, yesterday morning 504 was on the 4M45 Ipswich Yard to Ditton FLT arriving at around 12:00. The loco comes off the mainline at Ditton East Junction in to the Reception sidings and continues to the headshunt allowing the whole length of the train to fit in to the sidings. Then, the loco reverses back shunting its train in to the terminal. This was good news as well because it meant the likelihood was that this loco was then going to be the loco that brought 4L92 out. Sure enough, 66504 did perform the honours. I positioned myself at the headshunt, on some wasteland adjacent to it. Here the fence sits quite close to the line and despite having some overgrown weeds, can provide you with good picture opportunities up close to the locos. When the Shed arrived at the headshunt, the shunter uncouples it from the train and the driver swaps cabs. This is obviously because when the train leaves behind the 86's, the 'Super Shunter' then runs back in to the terminal. Later on, it will either run light to Crewe (if due maintenance) or form a south bound service, normally to Felixstowe.

As for the 90, 90016 returned to Crewe on the 4K64 service at midday, a solid 90 turn (when availability allows anyway)