The last day of Class 87 operations under the Virgin Trains banner as 87010 "Driver Tommy Farr" enters Crewe's platform 1 en route for Manchester having left London Euston as the 09.38.

Running dead behind the lead locomotive was 87002 "The AC Locomotive Group" in its purple Porterhouse livery.

On the rear end was DVT 82101 "101 Squadron" looking very smart with its white roof end and gold buffers.

On the way to Manchester Piccadilly and it's heads up with the cameras.

There were plenty of photographers en route and this station was no exception.

Approaching Piccadilly and passing the remains of Mayfield station where, in the 1960's I used to wait on a Saturday evening for the local train from Crewe which invariably was headed by an ex-works locomotive on test. On many occasions it was a Stanier pacific and, if luck would hold, it would be sent into (then) London Road where you could smell the hot paint! Sadly I couldn't afford a camera in those days.

Arrival at Piccadilly where the crowd was waiting.

Both locomotives were immaculately turned out, 002 have only recently been named.

Shall we see the like in Piccadilly again?

The driver took a bow - note the LED lighting.

The driver continued with his pose as Pendolino 390033 "City of Glasgow" crept into the background. This unit had passed through Crewe en route for Manchester while I was waiting for the 09.38 to appear but was subsequently sidelined along the route to give the 87's priority. Pete Waterman was on the Pendolino and I saw him walking along the platform where he was grabbed and asked to pose with 87010.

A view of 010 from the other side - the driver is still there!

Back to the head of the platform to watch the train depart for Longsight and then Oxley. In the days of steam, a station pilot would have attached to the rear of the train and dragged the lot, including the locomotive, off to the sheds for servicing. Today the DVT was in charge.

A colourful scene.

Stood on the platform end I was amazed at the flow of traffic into and out of Piccadilly. Pendolinos. Voyagers and a wide selection of units were the order of the day.

Outside for some air while waiting for the return service to Crewe and how the face of Manchester is changing. The "wavy" building on the station approach is still present.

A look over the side to see much construction work in hand. Note the Metro unit climbing away from Piccadilly.

Impressive.

The train back to Crewe turned out to be - 390033 "City of Glasgow"! This was my first trip on a Pendolino and I have to say I was quite impressed albeit a short run. However, the toilets DO smell.

Arrival at Crewe and a fascinating day out tinged with sadness. Progress I suppose.

Listing

June Pages

Top