Toton-Rail.co.uk : Railway Photography by Paul Robertson

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Miscellaneous - shots that don't fit elsewhere!

Steam

After photographing a 67 hauled Northern Belle special, I waited here hoping for a freight, which I wasn't lucky enough to get but this turned up, not exactly my cup of tea but it'd be rude not to press the shutter release. 60009 Union of South Africa, 47804 & a support coach pass Breadsall north of Derby on 24/08/07 as 5Z09 0805 York NRM-Crewe HC.

60532 Blue Peter races through Attenborough with a special from Grimsby, chartered by the Grimsby Evening Telegraph to celebrate their centenary.

60007 Sir Nigel Gresley hauls 1Z59 York-Birmingham charter up Trowell bank on 28/02/09. About 30 minutes later the skies cleared out to nice winter sun..

60163 Tornado drops down the grade at Waterside on the Paignton and Dartmouth railway whilst working a returning Torbay express from Kingswear to Bristol on 09/08/09.

4277 Hercules heads the last train from Dartmouth back to Paignton as it approaches Waterside on 11/08/09.

Seen at Waterside, 5239 Goliath climbs up grade towards Churston on the 1030 Paignton-Dartmouth on 13/08/09.

6233 Duchess of Sutherland powers passed Stapleford just North of Toton on 10/04/10 making its first run since being repainted into LMS black livery. The train was the 1Z41 0632 Leicester-Scarborough which the steam loco took over at Derby. 57601 is on the rear providing ETS.

Industrial

The pipe works at Stanton is up for closure with the work transferring overseas, this was meant to be in April but the plant appears to be still in use, albeit at reduced capacity. On 24/05/07 Sentinel shunter "Katie" is seen with a ladel en-route for loading in the main shed.

At Stanton pipe works on 24/05/07 Katie hauls a flat to the loading bay to collect a ladel whilst out of use Ken awaits the plant closure and probably the cutters torch.

On 24/05/07 Sentinel "Katie" is dwarfed by the size of the main works building as she propels a flat loaded with a ladel beneath the loading bunker.

During a brake van ride around the Scunthorpe steel works complex on 08/06/08, 51 waits to follow the tour with a train of flats, with another loco waiting behind.

No.78 brings up the rear of a top-an-tailed molten iron Torpedo train in Scunthorpe steel works, 08/06/08.

No.30 on hire from HNRC unloads coal from its MGR hoppers into the bottom discharge pits, the conveyor then takes it to this neat stockpile at Hope cement works, 04/09/08.

no.95 shunts a rake of slag hoppers in front of the "4 queens" blast furnaces at Corus Scunthorpe on 13/09/08, during a visit to the AFRPS depot. Note that a recent change in management at the Corus site has seen a ban on all photography at the site apart from at the AFRPS platform & depot.

One of the resident shunters in use at Bombardier's Derby Litchurch Lane works is the former 08682, numbered D3849 and named Lionheart. The loco is seen about to move some LUL stock near the main entrance to the works on 28/03/2011.

Arty / Creative

Perfect timing?? Not quite, two images of a few seconds apart have been combined, 82146 leads the EWS managers train passed Sutton Bonington running as 5Z05 1355 Toton-Kings Cross on 29/05/07, a few seconds later a Thomson branded jet crosses the MML on its final approach to East Midlands Airport, this is the lowest I have ever seen a plane come in whilst stood at this location.

On 02/07/07 D1842 is glimpsed through a doorway at the derelict copper works at Froghall, Staffordshire during an EMRPS photo charter on the Churnet valley railway.

On 02/07/07 D1842 is glimpsed through a window at the derelict copper works at Froghall, Staffordshire during an EMRPS photo charter on the Churnet valley railway.

A Midland Mainline HST passes over the River Erewash at speed at Attenborough nature reserve on 10/08/07.

Central Trains at Snails pace? I've been wanting to do some different stuff other than standard 3/4 views for a while, and I think this falls into the 'different' category! Possibly the best way to view a modern unit though?? A snail makes its way off a fence post at Attenborough whilst a Central 156 approaches in the background.

Derby RVEL 13/08/07, 56057/301.

Thou shalt not enter. 31105 is spied through the crack in the workshop doors at RVEL on 19/08/07, and Yes, the loco is meant to be out of focus... 31105 is currently undergoing overhaul at RVEL to prolong it's useable life for Network Rail test trains.

At 0550 on 1st May 2007, Catching the first rays of the early morning sun that had just cleared the horizon, a Midland Mainline Meridian unit passes Wilmorton on departure from Derby running as 5B06 0539 Etches Park-Nottingham, disturbing two crows from their overnight roost.

47804 and floral accompaniment, Trent loop 09/09/07. The train was stabled there overnight after late running on Saturday evening saw it unable to return to Derby due to engineering work at Spondon, the late running was partly caused by the failure of 47804 with low coolant.

Whilst on the way home from a night shift on 02/10/07 I noticed these strange looking clouds over Attenborough and with the light still being low I headed to Barton Lane crossing with the idea of a slow shutter shot to show a blurred train against the interesting sky... Shutter speed was 1/125th @ F8 on 200ASA

47854 is seen on the rear of a Leicester-Llandrindod charter at Kegworth on 21/04/07, although the original shot I took was a silhouette, there were unsightly power cables in the sky area so the image has been combined with a sunrise scene photographed on 30/10/07.

66051 approaches Sawley viaduct on 02/11/07 with 6D76 0658 Toton-Bardon Hill,I was being harassed by a herd of cows here, with them stood right in front of me sniffing at my camera bag!.

66115 approaches Lock Lane crossing at Sawley on 02/11/07 with an EWS coal working,for the 3rd morning in a row there was a great sunrise, but this was the only day I got out of work in time to record a train against the light, but the Crimson and orange tinges to the clouds had almost gone when the train arrived.

Network Rail's Structure Gauging Train (SGT) uses this optical car to project high intensity light onto lineside structures to measure the distance between the car and the structure, this data is then compared to the data from previous trips the train has made along that line and any changes are investigated as for example a sudden change of gauge inside a tunnel could be a serious problem. Here the vehicle stands beneath the calibration frame prior to departing from Derby RTC.

I've had the idea for this shot for months, maybe years but never got round to trying it out, until last week. This is approx 70 x 30 second exposures combined in a freeware program called 'startrails.exe'- the shot is genuine, the signal wasn't added afterwards. I'm disapointed with the blockiness of the sky, but you can't have everything..

Another attempt at a star trails shot, at a location with a little less light pollution than my first attempt. Note the dotted plane trail.

An East Midlands Trains 222 Meridian unit heads into the sunset at Attenborough with a Nottingham-St Pancras working on 12/02/08.

170107 glints and reflects the setting sun as it passes Attenborough on 27/01/08 with a Nottingham-Cardiff Arriva Cross Country service.

33053 stands near Sutton Cross on the Nene Valley Railway during a photo charter on 23/02/08.

A shot showing the buffer beam of 33053 & a danish passenger coach at speed at the NVR on 23/02/08, when I say 'at speed' I actually mean about 15MPH...

60013 approaches Lock Lane crossing at Sawley with 6E46 0437 Kingsbury-Lindsey empty tanks on 19/04/08. The shot was taken as a silhouette but the sky has been enhanced to look better than it was.

A weed grows from the ballast in a siding, in photoshop a new duplicate layer was created and the colour was removed from that layer, then carefully using the eraser tool the layer was removed from the leaf allowing the colour from the original layer to show through.

60062 approaches Ashwell signalbox with 6M96 Margam-Corby coils on 20/08/08 (photo taken whilst on official visit).

A colleague from my office 'poses' as the signalman on 20/08/08 as a class 66 passes Ashwell with 6M87 Ely-Peak Forest stone empties (photo taken whilst on official visit).

170523 arrives into the down platform with a stansted-New St train after passing the Airfix model prototype, Oakham signalbox on 20/08/08. (photo taken whilst on official visit).

Whilst waiting for the sun to appear on an EMRPS photo charter at Hope cement works on 04/09/08, the eye turned to trying to catch something unusual.. This was a drip from a canopy falling onto a rain soaked flat wagon.

An Oleo buffer on a withdrawn PCA tank flakes and rots in the confines of Hope Cement works, 04/09/08.

Two cyclists wait for the passage of a Cross Country 170 at Barton Lane AHB crossing on 21/11/08. Shot taken at 1/40th at F14, then processed by converting to B&W then popping the colour by using the history brush in Photoshop.

37884 arrives in Chaddesden sidings with the 6T18 0835 trip working ex Toton, a JCB is already at work emptying a previous days wagons of spent ballast.

Nottingham Express transit tram no.205 streaks away from Nottingham station on the last service of the evening for Phoenix Park.

A 222 unit is seen waiting to leave Derby Etches Park on the morning of 26/05/2008 with the most spectactular sunrise breaking that I've ever managed to point my camera at.

A wonderful sunrise over Attenborough dawns on 19/11/09 as the barriers drop for a Nottingham-Birmingham service.

The sun sets on a late Autumn afternoon over the Semaphore signals and box at Skegness station, 28/11/96.

158767 passes Hatfield & Stainforth on 17/11/96 with a Manchester Airport-Cleethorpes train, as the sun sets and reflects off the train, rails and infrastructure.

Having just alighted from 390014 at Manchester Piccadilly and noting the sun was pretty much in line with the tracks I wondered if there was a glint shot of the Pendolino, as I was eyeing up the options this passenger walked passed on the way to the front coach, perfect timing !

Trains & People

A passenger stops to read the inscription below this statue at St Pancras as a Eurostar departs for Paris. 21/07/08

Passengers purchase tickets and check the departure screen prior to board the 1753 to Waterloo formed of unit 450548 from Windsor and Eaton Riverside, 21/07/08.

Traincrew chat with groundstaff at Hope cement works whilst waiting to draw forward with the next MGR wagon of coal to unload, 04/09/08.

At the La Farge Hope cement works on 04/09/08, the daily business continues whilst a photographic charter takes place, here the groundstaff manually open the MGR doors to empty the coal into the pit below. Once all the doors are open, he will take the air line seen behind him and assist the coal to fall through the grills into the pit.

A driver joins his 165 unit at Paddington ready to work out to Newbury on 22/07/08.

Passengers wait on the platform at Windsor and Eaton Central on 21/07/08 as their 165 turbo arrives on the shuttle from Slough.

Passengers arrive for their trains whilst others enjoy a coffee at the stall in the booking hall at Nottingham on 21/07/08, when I worked here the site of the coffee stall was taken up by the large WH SMith stall, which was subsequently moved into a new shop made within the old parcels loading archway.

The GBRF train preparer checks the train for any defects after completing a brake test prior to 4E55 2150 Kirby Thore-Doncaster setting off over the Settle-Carlisle line on 03/07/09.

Trams

Whilst changing trains at Sheffield, a quick look at the tram stop saw no.106 arriving on a service that appears to be heading for 'Halfway' according to the digital display on the front.

BR Publicity photos

I am indebted to former station manager at Nottingham Dave Thornley for allowing me to copy and publish the following photos. Dave rescued these from an abandoned BR admin building on Carrington Street, Nottingham prior to its demolition to make way for the law courts that now occupy the site.

Train enquiry office, Victoria Street Derby. Note the poster high on the back wall advertising Glen Ogle on the Callander & Oban route.

HM Queen Elizabeth II boarding the Royal train at Spondon.

These notices show alterations to trains owing to the electrification of the WCML, the station is unknown but thought to may be Rugby. Note the DMU model in the glass case behind.

An internal view of an early Power signal box, Wilmslow.

Br Nottingham area staff posing in front of an officers special

This is believed to be outside London St Pancras station.

A signal gantry being erected during the Derby PSB multiple aspect scheme in the late 60s/early 70s