From the guard's van

Right up to date now. One train and one locomotive on test in York station this morning.  The locomotive is one of the class 68s painted and ready for First Trans Pennine Trains new push pull sets. Two have been used recently on route learning along the Scarborough branch. The train is a 9 coach bi-mode AZUMA set in LNER livery. It was running on diesel power.

An up train at Darlington South Junction.  An up train leaving the Darlington station stop. A down train enters platform 4.  Darlington South Junction.  An up train leaving platform 1. One of the batch modified to be used as a DVT when push pull tests were first carried out on the ECML. Until recently these power cars have been used by Grand Central but are now operated by East Midlands Trains from Neville Hill, Leeds.  ...and finally (for the moment) an up train enters platform 5 at York station. 

Aware that the HST fleet will soon be reduced or sent away to Scotland... assuming that the Azumas do eventually work properly... I thought that another small tribute would be appropriate. This time a reminder that they have worked for Virgin Trains on the ECML before the recent fiasco... as Virgin Cross Country Trains back in the early years of the century. Here an up train draws into Durham station. Then a couple of shots of a down train in the platform... also in Durham.  And an up train - again at Durham. 

These are more pictures from my archive. Back in 2002 we took the ferry from Harwich to Rotterdam and back. These were taken at the Hook of Holland station as we prepared to get the ferry home. Until 1 April 2017, this station was a railway station (as shown) served by Nederlandse Spoorwegen . It is currently closed for reconstruction to metro operations until February 2019. This train is leaving the station and heading for Rotterdam.  The station looking inland towards the city of Rotterdam.