Part 1 (January - March)

Happy New Year! With a dusting of snow covering the upper slopes of Whernside in the background, 66773 'Pride of GBRf' approaches Ribblehead station with 4N00 0934 Carlisle Yard - Clitheroe Castle Cement empties (05/01/2022)

The panoramic view from up on the bank just over half an hour later as EWS-liveried 66076 makes its way back south with the 6E97 1044 Newbiggin - Tees Dock (05/01/2022)

Northern's 158795 scurries away from its Ribblehead call with 2H89 1058 Carlisle - Leeds (05/01/2022)

Having run round in Blea Moor Up Goods Loop, 66766 lifts the loaded 6M37 1125 Arcow - Pendleton stone train away from Ribblehead at Lodge Hall. Salt Lake Cottages provide the backdrop (05/01/2022)

The rear end view of 158787 as it rejoins the double track section at Blea Moor after crossing Ribblehead Viaduct with Northern's 2H90 1318 Leeds - Carlisle (05/01/2022)

66108 is captured on the descent from Blea Moor Signal Box towards Ribblehead Viaduct with 6K05 1246 Carlisle Yard - Basford Hall engineering haulage service (05/01/2022)

Following shortly behind the late running 6K05 was Northern''s 158752, seen here at Blea Moor with 1E65 1340 Carlisle - Leeds (05/01/2022)

Colas Rail Freight's 70807 catches what was pretty much the last of the usable sunlight as it passes Blea Moor Signal Box at the head of the 6J37 1343 Carlisle Yard - Chirk (Kronospan) loaded timber (05/01/2022)

With the Leeds skyline illuminated by some dramatic Winter lighting, 66744 'Crossrail' approaches Pepper Road in Hunslet at the head of an additional 6D64 0830 Rylstone Tilcon - Scunthorpe Anchor limestone working (07/01/2022)

37716 ambles past Midland Road with an additional 3Z51 1109 Derby RTC - Carlisle test train. Ten minutes earlier the preceding Northern service had passed the same spot in some rather attractive lighting but I no doubt exhausted my good fortune for the next month or so with last week's haul (09/01/2022)

Having been signalled through Healey Mills Goods Loop, 60021 'Pen-y-ghent' crawls slowly through Horbury Bridge at the head of 6E09 0807 Liverpool Biomass Terminal - Drax Power Station (11/01/2022)

158859 slows for its Ribblehead call whilst working Northern's 2H89 1058 Carlisle - Leeds. The plume of smoke behind it is rising from the chimney of the Station Inn rather than the train itself (15/01/2022)

70807 basks in the afternoon sunshine at Blea Moor as it waits in the Up Goods Loop to be overtaken by the 1340 Carlisle - Leeds semi-fast Northern service. For once the break in the clouds was perfectly timed, although it had been a very nervous 20-minute stroll across from Ribblehead station as I could see that I was about to lose the short window of what really was some quite spectacular light (15/01/2022)

Predictably perhaps the sun was once again consumed by the clouds just a minute or so before the Northern unit cleared the signalling section to Horton. 70807 is pictured again shortly after departing the loop to continue on its journey to North Wales (15/01/2022)

66789 approaches Dockfield Junction at Shipley with 6D50 1025 'Tilcon' empties from Hull Dairycoates to Rylstone. Blue skies all morning over Leeds had prompted a spur of the moment lunchtime dash up the Aire Valley where I was somewhat surprised to find a bank of cloud! The potentially low angle of the sun had however been a cause for concern and to be honest I was a few weeks too early to be trying this shot - which has actually turned out better than it would have done if I'd not lost the light (17/01/2022)

70817 speeds through Horbury Bridge at the head of 6E32 1005 Preston Docks - Lindsey Oil Refinery with a lengthy rake of empty bitumen tanks in tow (19/01/2022)

Around an hour later, former Colas (but now GBRf) 60047 'Faithful' passes the same spot with 6E09 0841 Tuebrook - Drax loaded biomass (19/01/2022)

Following closely behind was Freightliner's 70010 with the 6M87 1258 Dewsbury - Earles Sidings Blue Circle Cement empties to complete a hugely rewarding hour or so in the cold (19/01/2022)

43055 and 43046 top-and-tail LSL's 'Midland Pullman' HST set across Waitby Common on 1Z34 0500 Eastleigh - Carlisle. A few minutes earlier the sun had briefly broken through the clouds here but it disappeared again just as quickly (22/01/2022)

70815 thunders through Kirkby Stephen with the slightly delayed 6J37 1246 Carlisle Yard - Chirk Kronospan. With the weather conditions clearly not going to improve there'd seemed little point in hanging around at the lineside somewhere to record this working as it was only a few minutes ahead of the earlier train back south at this point (22/01/2022)

Running as 6C01 1223 Doncaster Roberts Road - Carlisle Yard, 56078 passes through Stourton with two empty timber-carrying wagons in tow (23/01/2022)

60066 approaches Balm Road in Hunslet with the 6D79 0835 Lindsey Oil Refinery - Neville Hill loaded fuel tanks. On both occasions it's run this year now this working's dropped a '60' after sister loco 60019 was turned out a fortnight ago (26/01/2022)

66779 'Evening Star' passes Midland Road in the opposite direction the following afternoon with 6M38 1125 Arcow Quarry - Bredbury Tarmac. I wouldn't normally attempt a shot of this train here in the Winter months because the angles are completely wrong but with blue sky over Leeds and a balmy eleven degrees on the thermometer I was curious as to how the 'celebrity' loco would react to the low afternoon sun. I'm not hugely disappointed with the outcome to be honest (27/01/2022)

66785 passes beneath the western end of Bennerley Viaduct with an additional 4E61 1304 Ratcliffe Power Station - Doncaster Down Decoy (30/01/2022)