February 2023

66710 'Phil Packer' approaches Gin Lane crossing at Sharlston with an additonal 6G83 0840 Ravensthorpe to Belmont Down Yard engineering haulage train. In the foreground is the former Wakefield-bound platform of the village station, which closed to passengers in 1958 (05/02/2023)

DB Cargo's 66150 rounds the curve towards Balm Road in Hunslet with the 6E97 1044 Newbiggin - Tees Dock gypsum empties (08/02/2023)

A minute later 802215 passes Midland Road from the opposite direction with 1P25 1154 Liverpool - Newcastle. Due to a week-long closure of the direct route between Leeds and Mirfield for upgrade works at Morley, the surviving TPE trains are diverting via Normanton and Healey Mills (08/02/2023)

185111 + 185128 accelerate away from Leeds with the diverted 1P72 1151 Saltburn - Manchester Victoria as 185148 + 185127 pass Balm Road from the opposite direction on 1P75 1246 Manchester Victoria - Saltburn (08/02/2023)

With the 'Royal Scotsman' not due to re-start for another couple of months, one of the train's two dedicated locos has to make do with more mundane duties: Belmond-liveried 66743 approaches Balm Road with an additional 6G92 1420 Whitehall Junction - Doncaster Up Decoy engineering train from the worksite at Morley (08/02/2023)

A definite rarity this week as only a handful of TPE's loco-hauled Mk5 sets haven managed to negotiate the diversionary route via Healey Mills: 68028 'Lord President' propels TP01 past Midland Road on 1U55 1254 Liverpool - Scarborough (08/02/2023)

Rounding off a pleasant hour and a half, 66703 'Doncaster PSB' approaches Balm Road from the Leeds direction with an additional 6Z38 1226 Rylstone - Bredbury loaded stone train, which was running in the path that normally originates at Arcow Quarry (08/02/2023)

Thursday Tanks: although an irregular performer since the disappearance of all bar one of the HSTs that used to populate the depot each night, the Neville Hill fuel train has until now at least kept to its Wednesday date. Seconds before a Nottingham-bound '195' darted into the frame from the left, 70813 trundles along the AD Line through Hunslet Yard with 6D79 0835 from Lindsey Oil Refinery (09/02/2023)

Colas Rail Freight's 56105 passes its ultimate destination on a VSTP 0Z56 1050 Nottingham Eastcroft to Leeds Balm Road light loco move (09/02/2023)

GBRf celebrity 66789 passes Midland Road with an additional 6G96 1054 Belmont Down Yard to Whitehall Junction. Sister 66775 is just visible on the rear of the train, which was conveying ballast to the worksite at Morley. In the foreground is Freightliner's 70016, which had arrived a couple of minutes earlier to shunt Hunslet Yard (09/02/2023)

Returning from the reversal at Engine Shed Junction in Holbeck to access the Freightliner site, 56105 nicely catches the Winter sunshine on the approach to Balm Road a couple of minutes later (09/02/2023)

Making a rare visit to West Yorkshire, DC Rail Freight's 56091 'Driver Wayne Gaskell' passes over the pointwork of the recently re-modelled Engine Shed Junction in Holbeck at the head of an additional 6X56 1123 Neville Hill to Doncaster RMT Rail Vac move (11/02/2023)

66103 races through Kirkstall with 6E97 1044 Newbiggin - Tees Dock gypsum empties (14/02/2023)

An hour later a work-stained 66746 crawls into Kirkstall Loop with the loaded 6D37 1220 Rylstone - Hunslet (14/02/2023)

47635 'Jimmiy Milne' awaits departure from North Weald with 2N00 1035 to Ongar during a half-term running day at the Epping Ongar Railway (17/02/2023)

47635 runs round at North Weald after arriving with 2N03 1245 from Ongar. Visible in the background is fellow EOR resident 37029 (17/02/2023)

'Jimmy Milne' almost catches some sunlight an hour and a half later as the immaculate large logo liveried machine passes under the footbridge at North Weald before working 2N06 1520 to Ongar (17/02/2023)

47813 awaits departure from the bowels of London Liverpool Street station with an additional 1Z60 0952 to Peterborough (18/02/2023)

47813 is pictured again on arrival at Peterborough with 1Z60. After it was spotted that both the ECML and WCML were blocked by engineering possessions this weekend, a pair of trains in each direction had been hastily chartered by Network Rail to assist with the flow of passengers between London and Scotland (18/02/2023)

Night falls over Peterborough later that afternoon as 47813 waits to shunt out to Eastfield with the empty stock off 1Z62 1522 from Liverpool Street via Cambridge (18/02/2023)

91130 calls at Peterborough with 1A41 1645 Leeds - St Neots, from where London-bound passengers were being transferred to Bedford by road to complete their journey to the Capital by Thameslink (23/02/2023)