CREWE - CHESTER -- BANGOR - HOLYHEAD  MONTHLY REPORTS August 2006 - PAGE ONE

A brace of 57/3's reposing at Crewe waiting for work, this one is 57308 "TIN TIN". 1/8/2006

Behind is 57313 "Tracy Island". 1/8/2006

350106 entering alongside. 1/8/2006

92025 in the murky depths of platform 11, hopefully for passengers this scene will be replaced by a bright and airy environment within my lifetime! 1/8/2006

025 was given an amber and continued unimpeded with its load of empty container flats. The train moved on to the down fast so why was it diverted through the back of the station when the through lines were empty? Just curious. 1/8/2006

A trip out to Chester to see the "last" ATW loco haulage and the first sight was the "Coast Ghost" 175110 in its strange garb. I have to say that this livery does not look good when viewed close-up, it appears to be a sort of hurried undercoat. 1/8/2006

Two DRS class 20's thundered through on an east bound freight. 1/8/2006

They sounded great with 20309 leading 20308. 1/8/2006

57315 "The Mole" entered platform 4 with the final, scheduled, loco hauled, Holyhead-Manchester Piccadilly service. 1/8/2006

315 departed the scene without ceremony or crowds of witnesses. 1/8/2006

There didn't appear to be many enthusiasts on board either. 1/8/2006

The halcyon days on the coast are clearly gone forever and class 57's never had the appeal of their predecessors, especially the 37's. Obviously the 57/3's can still be seen hauling Pendolinos up and down but they won't be there forever and what becomes of the enthusiast then??? 1/8/2006

142056 waits to leave for Manchester under the heavy steel awning - surely an extravagance by today's standards. 1/8/2006

175001 arrived at the North end of platform 3 en route for Llandudno shortly to be joined by 157007 bound for Holyhead. 007 had been working the Crewe-Chester shuttle earlier in the day. the platforms at Chester appear to be used to full effect when required. 1/8/2006

Minutes later 57316 "FAB 1" entered the same platform from the opposite direction with Pendolino 390043 "Virgin Explorer" in tow and en route for London Euston. I haven't seen London trains use this platform before. 1/8/2006

They look out of place somehow. 1/8/2006

This is about as good as it gets now for regular loco haulage on passenger work. I haven't done the Crewe-Holyhead run by Pendolino yet but will be doing so in the near future. Twice I have tried and twice the train has been cancelled but, to be fair, those occasions were in the early days of Pendo running when there were constant niggles with the loco connections. 1/8/2006

Just as I was leaving Chester a 66 appeared so I took this shot through the filthy windows of the Dogbox, hence the yellowing. 1/8/2006

Back at Crewe and just in time to see Pendolino 043 continue its journey to London, this time under AC power. 1/8/2006

..........and finally, 90022 "Freightconnection" came off the IEMD and pause at the end of bay platform 9 before returning - presumable it was on a test run from the depot. 1/8/2006