Yearly Archives: 2003

Saturday 13th December 2003

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Welcome back for another update, todays update is slightly out of region today. I took a trip on Pathfinders Xmas Spinner ‘The Moonraker’ from Gloucester – Salisbury.

The weather was pretty miserbale all day but it did stop raining at Salisbury so I managed a few photos. First up we have 37051/717 running light engine into the station after dropping the coaching stock in the sidings. The driver certainly seems to be enjoying himself!

As the 37s were preparing to depart for Eastleigh 66504 arrived from Southampton to take the train on the next leg to Oxford Up and Down passenger loop. It ran up to the siding and was attached to the front of the stock. After a short time it reversered the train back into the station were we see it here. Another excellent Pathfinder tour and this one ran with pretty much no problems at all which was nice.

Tuesday 2nd December 2003

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Well compared to yesterday today was like a summers day, it was hazy out but it might be my best chance of photting 66717 on the Avon bins. I decided on Hinksey and got there early as I seem to have trouble catching it. A local turned up while I was there and said new 66568 had gone North on a freightliner at 11.00 so I had missed that by a few minutes. I waited and waited and then at 12.30 the familiar blinding headlight appeared around the corner, pretty much bang on time! If you look at the larger photo you will see we have a friendly driver onboard today!

Well that will do for starters, lets see what I can conjure up later in the week. When I was editing the file I was looking at the loco and noticed a black blob on the front. I quickly zoomed in to get a better look. It was a shed code plaque. It reads 1A, shed codes were a bit before my time but at a guess I would say Willesden? Until the next time…..

Friday 28th November 2003

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The updates are getting a bit sparse now, and with reformatting my PC again it takes time to get all the software reinstalled. Earlier in the week I had seen a message stating that on hire from GBRF 66717 was working the Avon binliner. It was sunny so I thought I would give it a go. I headed out to Kennington for it. As you may recall I have had difficulties in seeing this working in recent weeks and today was no exception. It managed to avoid me again for whatever reason, this is starting to get annoying now! While I was waiting the Flying Banana rocketed South on its regular scouring of the Network.

What I had forgotten about until I heard the familiar rumble was that 37042 was working 6Z60 Bescot – Reading West Yard. Not a particularly exciting consist, just one track machine but its all I managed to photograph. I’m on holiday next week but the forecast isn’t too good so whether I get out or not we will see.