Part 1 (January - April)

Happy New Year! It's been a while since I've gone for a 'Brush' on New Year's Day so this time round I decided to make the effort: 47205 is pictured on arrival back at Pitsford & Brampton with the 1200 'Mince Pie Special' at the Northampton & Lamport Railway (01/01/2016)

47205 is pictured again at Pitsford & Brampton an hour or so later after completing the 1300 round trip. Trains are at present unable to cross 'Bridge 13' at the northern end of the line, but the railway hopes to have completed repairs in time for the start of the 2016 operating season (01/01/2016)

My attempt to reach Bo'ness the following morning made me wish I'd instead headed for a weekend in East Anglia where 47367 and 47596 were in action. Running over two hours late, 67024 is pictured on arrival at Edinburgh with 1S05 0700 ex-Kings Cross - the first train of the day north of Morpeth due to overhead line damage at Pegswood. In tow is the errant 91102, which had failed a mile outside Waverley with a brake fault (02/01/2016)

Day 2 of the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway's WInter Diesel Gala began with 26038 'Tom Clift' at the head of the 0930 from Bo'ness to Manuel (03/01/2016)

47643 is pictured on arrival back at Bo'ness with the 1000 from Manuel. The loco was booked to work all the 'downhill' legs over the weekend on account of its ability to provide train heating, and was the reason I'd opted for a trip to Scotland ahead of Norfolk (03/01/2016)

47643 awaits departure from Birkhill with the 1206 to Bo'ness. 20020 is just visible at the rear of the train having worked the 1130 outward leg (03/01/2016)

Another view of 47643 at Birkhill with the 1206 to Bo'ness. This service had originally been scheduled to run through to Manuel but had been turned back short to mitigate the affects on the timetable of late running (03/01/2016)

In the last of the daylight, 47643 is pictured again on arrival back at Bo'ness with the 1506 from Manuel. Despite the tribulations of yesterday's journey north it turned out to be a top weekend and well worth the effort (03/01/2016)

Freightliner's 90045 is pictured on arrival at Edinburgh with the previous night's 1S26 2350 Euston - Glasgow. The temporary closure of the WCML at Lamington due to storm damage had seen the train diverted via the ECML, with 86401 handling the first leg as far as the reversal at Wembley. The real highlight however had been the use of 47848+47843 between Doncaster and Newcastle via Hartlepool due to planned weekend engineering work on the main line (09/01/2016)

47812+47847 await departure from Glasgow Central with 1M11 2340 to London Euston. Owing to the temporary closure of the WCML at Lamington the sleepers were being diverted via the G&SW route, requiring diesel haulage north of Carlisle (12/01/2016)

68014 catches the afternoon sunshine at Marylebone on a bitterly cold day before working Chiltern Railways' 1R33 1310 to Birmingham Moor Street (13/01/2016)

37422 is pictured on arrival at Great Yarmouth with 2P20 1236 from Norwich. I'd been blessed with bright sunshine all the way from London and the heavens had literally opened as I reached the seaside! My previous ride behind this particular locomotive had been back in September 1989 (15/01/2016)

Later that afternoon 37425 'Concrete Bob' waits to depart from Lowestoft with 2J83 1548 to Norwich. This had been my first visit to East Anglia since '37s' had taken over from '47s' on these duties last summer, but as the first turn I went for got replaced by a 'unit' it seems at first glance that they're as unpredictable as ever (15/01/2016)

Very much a 'record' shot but this is the scene at Edinburgh Waverley shortly before 6am where 47848 'TITAN STAR' + 47843 'VULCAN' have just arrived from Carlisle via the G&SW and Shotts with the previous night's 1S25 2116 Euston - Inverness. With the 'Highland' sleeper due to use the ECML from the following week until the WCML is fully reopened this may be the last time such a move is possible (16/01/2016)

47847+47812 are pictured at the head of 1M11 2340 to London Euston at the extreme end of Glasgow central's Platform 10. The previous night's train had eventually been hauled by 66736 after the failure of 47812's triple pump gear, but fortunately for me the engineering team had worked their magic during the day (21/01/2016)

I'm sure there are supposed to be eight '68s' on hire to Chiltern, but this one has appeared on the same diagram for my second consecutive visit: 68014 waits to depart from Marylebone with 1R33 1310 to Birmingham Moor Street (22/01/2016)

The sun finally broke through somewhere around Banbury, and a particularly grim January day had became quite pleasant by 3pm. 68014 is pictured again at Birmingham Moor Street on the rear of 1H62 1555 to London Marylebone (22/01/2016)

I've done seven 'overnights' in just over two weeks, but this is what it's all about: 47812+47847 are pictured on arrival at Glasgow Central after working the previous night's 1S26 2350 ex-London Euston forward from Carlisle via Dumfries and Kilmarnock (23/01/2016)

I took the scenic route home, which involved a trip around the Cumbrian Coast with 37423 on 2C48 1156 Carlisle-Lancaster. The loco is pictured at its destination before working 2C31 1731 back to Barrow (23/01/2016)

47843+47812 take a rest at Glasgow Central after working the previous night's 1S26 2350 ex-London Euston forward from Carlisle via Kilmarnock due to the ongoing closure of the main line at Lamington. 'VULCAN' had been sent north three days earlier after the failure of '847 on Monday (29/01/2016)

It's a little on the grainy side but not bad for a hand-held night shot with a phone! 68005 'Defiant' is pictured on arrival at Edinburgh Waverley with 2K14 1815 from Glenrothes (29/01/2016)

87002 'Royal Sovereign' makes an unusual sight in the loco sidings at London Kings Cross whilst waiting to work 5M16 0952 ECS move to Wembley. The 'Highland' (Inverness/Aberdeen/Fort William) Caledonian Sleeper trains are currently running via the ECML and using the LNE terminus instead of Euston to cut down journey times whilst the WCML is closed at Lamington (30/01/2016)

The last time I arrived in Kings Cross on a 'sleeper' service was in May 1988 on the last night such trains ran regularly on the ECML. Freighliner's 90043 is pictured on the blocks after arriving with the previous night's 1M16 2044 from Inverness, which in addition to a weather-related detour via Aberdeen had included a planned diversion via the GN/GE 'joint line' through Lincoln and Spalding utilising 47815+47848 from Doncaster to Peterborough (30/01/2016)

68009 'Titan' stands one of the bay platforms at Birmingham Moor Street after arriving with Chiltern Railways' 1R25 1110 from London Marylebne (30/01/2016)

With the diversion of the 'Highland' Sleepers into Kings Cross well into its third week, 86401 'Mons Meg' is pictured on the blocks in Platform 1 after arriving with the empty stock for 1S25 2120 to Inverness. Given the lack of both daylight and room in my overnight bag I'd opted not to carry my camera around on these moves, and for a hand-held shot with a phone once again this hasn't turned out badly at all (04/02/2016)

Unsurprisingly my own journey north was via the WCML, and with the added bonus of a berth in the front coach. 47812+47847 are pictured on arrival at Glasgow Central the following morning after working the diverted 1S26 2350 ex-London Euston forward from Carlisle via Dunfries and Kilmarnock (05/02/2016)

68012 heads 1R25 1110 to Birmingham Snow Hill at London Marylebone. A couple of hours earlier I'd arrived in Kings Cross behind 90047 on 1M16, which had again been diesel-hauled between Doncaster RMT and Peterborough via Lincoln and Spalding by 47848+47815 (06/02/2016)

47192 is pictured beneath a rainbow at Stanhope after arriving on the rear of 1S02 1105 from Primrose Hill Crossing during the Weardale Railway's 'Class 47 Weekend' (07/02/2016)

I couldn't resist the opportune lighting conditions, so here's another view of 47192, which I'd last travelled behind during its spell at the Churnet Valley Railway back in 2007 (07/02/2016)

47712 shows off its stunning and much-missed 'Scotrail' livery at Stanhope after arriving with 1S02. Both '47s' had been used to work the 'Polar Express' charters on the line before Christmas, and the Weardale Railway had kindly laid on a dedicated running weekend for the enthusiast fraternity (07/02/2016)