Part 2 (May-August)

47790 leads 1Z85 1645 Chester-Carnforth 'Northern Belle' charter past the Middlewood Basin in central Manchester. Although it doesn't look it on this occasion, the city skyline provides a particularly impressive backdrop at this location, and I'm determined to have another crack at this shot should should future opportunities be blessed with better weather conditions (01/06/2012)

Having reversed at Manchester Victoria, 47832 'Solway Princess' negotiates Windsor Bridge South Junction from the Salford direction on its way to Barrow with 1Z85 (01/06/2012)

47802 is pictured on arrival at Glasgow Central with 5Z79 0443 empty stock from Crewe Holding Sidings for a Cruise Saver Travel charter to Southampton. The leading vehicle is the baggage car, which by now had been loaded with the luggage of more than two hundred cruise passengers (02/06/2012)

Having been back in traffic for less than a month following its acquisition from Riviera Trains, DRS' 47805 waits to depart from Glasgow Central with 1Z79 1040 'Cruise Saver Travel' charter to Southampton Central. Due to engineering work at a number of different locations along the WCML over the Bank Holiday weekend, today's train was unusually routed via the S&C and Darwen (02/06/2012)

47802+47805 take a breather at Newcastle with 1Z45 0737 Euston-Inverness charter. The pair worked the 'Rockness Express' throughout, taking several hundred revellers to a three-day music festival at Loch Ness (07/06/2012)

47804 and 47826 shunt the empty stock out of the sidings at Holyhead for Compass Tours' 1Z51 0605 charter to Weymouth (08/06/2012)

47826 prepares to shunt the empty stock off 1Z51 into Jersey Sidings after the train had arrived at Weymouth (08/06/2012)

47804 had worked the outward leg of the charter from Holyhead, and is pictured here on the rear of the ecs as the train departs from Weymouth for the sidings (08/06/2012)

Sporting it's recently-applied 'Jubilee' livery, 47580 passes Burton Salmon with the return 1Z63 1735 Newcastle-Norwich NENTA charter. Despite standing next to the 0605 Leeds-Kings Cross as I wearily made my way home from Holyhead, I'd decided that this was one train too many to include in the weekend's itinerary, but I hadn't bargained for 'Essex' working the train in both directions after the failure of 47851. Oops (09/06/2012)

Just two days after I'd had a pair of '47s' in multiple from Inverness to Euston, I found myself heading for Penzance! 47804 waits to depart from the Cornish terminus with the return 1Z59 1540 'Compass Tours' charter to Liverpool after '854 had handled the outward leg (13/06/2012)

A change of pace was required after the events of the previous ten days, so instead of chasing' 245 or '270 on trains where I probably wouldn't be welcome I opted for a relaxing day out at the East Lancashire Railway instead. 47402 pauses at Ramsbottom with the 0930 Bury-Rawtenstall (16/06/2012)

On an unusually cold day for June (the Guard had to decline requests for the heating to be switched on as it was a steam heat-only rake of coaches!) 47402 calls at Bury Bolton Street with the 1105 Rawtenstall-Heywood (16/06/2012)

47805's paintwork sparkles in the morning sunshine as 1Z80 1030 Southampton Eastern Docks-Glasgow Central 'Cruise Saver' charter is made ready for departure (17/06/2012)

Making a rare appearance on front-line duties, 47270 'Swift' waits to depart from Stratford-upon-Avon with the return 1Z36 1613 'North East Railtours' charter to Berwick-upon-Tweed (23/06/2012)

Swap the maroon coaches for a rake of blue-and-grey ones and this could be a scene from the early 1980s as the former Haymarket machine waits to restart 1Z36 from Darlington. Priceless... (23/06/2012)

47804 is pictured during a short break (whilst the train reversed) at Llandudno Junction with Compass Tours' 1Z55 0612 Skipton-Blaenau Ffestiniog charter (30/06/2012)

In keeping with the age-old tradition of 'no-heat' locomotives working passenger trains on a 'Summer Saturday', 47270 'Swift' waits to 1Z55 forward from Llandudno Junction along the Conwy Valley line (30/06/2012)

47804 has been out of traffic for the last couple of weeks to undergo some bodywork attention and a repaint. Here's a closer look at the loco's fresh coat of West Coast's maroon house colours (30/06/2012)

No, I didn't 'flag' 47270 along the branch! 'Swift' is pictured here shunting the stock across into the loop at Blaenau Ffestiniog station after arriving from Llandudno Junction with 1Z55 (30/06/2012)

The train's arrival into Blaenau was greeted with a downpour, and 47804's new paintwork almost sparkles in the rain as '270 eases the stock into the loop to allow the following service train from Llandudno to enter the section at North Llanrwst (30/06/2012)

Having completed the shunt, 47270 is pictured again at the eastern end of the station loop (30/06/2012)

In the hour or so after the previous picture of 47804 was taken, Blaenau Ffestiniog was intermittently bathed in very short spells of sunshine. In one such interval, the loco is pictured in the station loop with the stock for the return 1Z56 1610 to Skipton (30/06/2012)

47580 speeds through Stourton shortly before 7am with 5Z44 0600 Holgate Sidings-Carnforth, conveying the empty stock off Saltburn Railtours' weekend charter to Portsmouth, which had recessed overnight in York (03/07/2012)

Every cloud has a silver lining, or so the saying goes... I was a little disappointed when I'd discovered that I wouldn't be having my first run out behind 47798 for more than two years at the forthcoming East Lancs Diesel Gala. However, it transpired that the reason for it's non-appearance was so it could receive a little 'TLC' with West Coast, which included a run out on a 'Compass' charter to Ely. 'Prince William' is pictured on arrival at Blackpool North with after working forward from Preston with 5Z60 0400 ecs from Carnforth (04/07/2012)