From the guard's van

A  busy train arrives from Scarborough. Something old, something new... a class 37 and a brand new class 88 electro diesel or a multi mode loco in today's speak.  Now that Grand Central have handed their HSTs back (they are being refurbished and then used by East Midlands Trains) all of their services are operated by these class 180 5 car dmus.  A Colas class 70 heads north through the station light engine. One has been on lease to Freightliner recently to assess their suitability for use on coal and biomass trains.

Another brief visit to the WCML to see a couple of class 92s on freight trains in Cumbria. 92 015 heads south through Carlisle station with a container train.  92 037 takes another container train north at Clifton, south of Penrith.

Despite there being a slow line which avoids the station some freights still come through the platforms. Freightliner are responsible for this loaded coal train. Empty waste containers head back to Wigan for loading. GBRF loco no. 66731 named interhubGB accelerates northbound through the station.