From the guard's van

Tuesday is my regular day at the National Railway Museum. This morning I caught the wrong bus. I usually catch the number 10 which takes me to the door of the museum. This morning the number 5 came first and, thinking that a bus at the stop is worth two round the corner, I got on it. It meant that to get to the museum I had to pass through the station. This is what was standing in platform 5.... Two class 800 units on a test run waiting for the road back to the factory at Newton Aycliffe, The units can operate from the overhead or as diesels. This test was a diesel test and the acceleration was impressive. When I arrived at NRM I discovered that the HST cab which has been on display for some time has been joined by a class 800 cab.  Please... no comments about the speed it was doing in order to come through the wall like that. 

Trans Pennine Express are working hard to change the livery on their class 185 DMUs. The first two have been around for a little while with nothing else happening to the fleet. Suddenly a slightly revised livery is appearing rapidly on their units. Here is 185128 is parked in Platform 2. Front end of unit 185106 heading north. East Midlands Trains operate into the station on Saturdays and the unit stays there most of the day. 

These shots were taken on the eastern approaches to Whiteball tunnel on the GW mainline. 

Class 333 EMU arriving at Leeds on an Aire Valley service. Class 333 at the west end of Leeds station. At least they have a bit of style built into them unlike...... ... class 321 EMU arrives from Doncaster into the west end of Leeds station.

"The Countess" is one of the two original Beyer Peacock 0-6-0Ts built in 1902 for the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway. She is seen here at Llanfair in the early 1990s. Standing on the engine road. There is now an engine shed on this site. "The Countess" stands at Llanfair with No 5 2-6-2T Orion in the background. Here she is seen from Llanfair signal box with No 12 "Joan". The box has been replaced since that time.  

Like buses, no narrow gauge items appear for ages and then two blogs turn up together. This time the gauge is 2'-6" and we are at the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway in mid Wales... I expect many of you know that. This first pictures are of the Belgian built 0-8-0T numbered 10 by the W&LLR and bearing the name ~ Sir Drefaldwyn. It was built in 1944 and supplied to the German Military Railways in March of that year. The original design was German and the drawings are by Berliner Maschinenbau A.G. and originate from their Kleinbahn Works in Berlin. Thes pictures were taken in the early/ mid 1990s. The loco has been out of action for some years now but is, at present, coming to the end of its rebuild in the works at Llanfair Caereinion.  For more details of this and the line in general see www.wllr.org.uk    T here have been many changes in the last 20+ years Here the loco is running round its train at Welshpool Raven Square station on a wet afterno...

I thought it was time the narrow gauge buffs out there had something to look at..... A wet day on the Talyllyn Railway. Tywyn Wharf station.