From the guard's van

     East Coast HST sets out non stop for Kings Cross. Loco 91114 has two pantographs as seen above. This was an experiment in "belt and braces" thinking. I have never seen the second pantograph in use.  An up express enters York station from the north past the Scarborough bridge worksite.

LNWR 0-8-0 approaches Bescot from the North with a mixed freight. Walsall gasworks can be seen on the skyline. Class 5 approaches the station from the South, probably bound for the shed. So far there is little evidence of the extensive modernization of the marshalling yard. Two LNWR 0-8-0s behind the station.

Back to a time when locomotives were to be seen waiting at stations for their next duty... and even then the ubiquitous HST reigned supreme on the London (Paddington) services from the West country. Seem to remember seeing somewhere that the Post Office bridge over the North end of the station (seen here) is about to be removed. The class 33s were originally built by Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon Company for use on the Southern Region, but by this time they could be seen on the south coast to Cardiff trains via Bristol. This example was waiting around the station for the next service.

A couple of class 20s take a train of MGR wagons onto the Walsall branch for delivery to the power station. A down coal train headed by a class 58. On the right is the branch to Walsall via Rugeley town and the power station. This loco is now on the books of DB Schenker and is stored near Rouen in France. It is unlikely to return to this country, however they said that about 59003 which went to Germany and has just been returned to the UK for further use. Class 86 on an up express. Class 87 takes a down express through the platform road... the down fast. Class 87 on another down express.

One sunny day in 1988 I found time to go to Colwich to photograph the WCML before the days of Pendolinos or six foot high fences... and it probably never crossed the driver's mind that I might jump in front of his train. This is 87 026 in Inter-City livery. 20 010 in Railfreight grey livery heads a MGR train. Class 101 on a local train. 87 028 in ex works Inter City livery. 85 037 leads a postal train.

A loaded stone train approaches Peak Forest from Tunstead Quarry. A class 47 stands in the sidings with a short freight. The train passes Peak Forest South signal box with a train of mid 1930s ICI hoppers bound for the ICI works at Northwich in Cheshire. Class 37 at the stabling point. The PEAKSTONE shunter preparing a train in the quarry.

A visit to Peak Forest on the old Midland main line to Manchester in 1988. This is a general view of Peak Quarry with a class 37 about to drag a train out of the sidings. The train locos would back onto the other end of the train to take it out to the North. The train heads out of the quarry into the headshunt. The loaded train goes further out of the quarry while the two class 37s, the train engines, wait to cross over to pick the train up. Oops....! The train engines wait for the train to clear the crossover before they back down onto it.