6233 DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND at Birkett Common on 1Z45 CME Carlisle - Liverpool 21st August 2010

Cumbria


6233 DUCHESS OF SUTHERLAND at Birkett Common on 1Z…

21 Aug 2010 5 8 288
No.46233 'Duchess of Sutherland' is a London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Princess Coronation Class 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built in 1938 by Crewe Works for the London Midland and Scottish Railway. Built as a high speed express passenger locomotive, 46233 was built to haul fast express passenger services such as ‘The Royal Scot’ and ‘The Mid-Day Scot' between London Euston and Glasgow Central as well as other expresses to Liverpool. Withdrawn by British Railways in 1964, the locomotive was originally sold to Butlins holiday camp in Scotland. In 1996, the locomotive was acquired by The Princess Royal Class Locomotive Trust with the intention of restoration to mainline condition . In 2001, 46233 was restored to operating condition and since then has been a regular performer on the national network.

5043 EARL OF MOUNT EDGCUM at Ais Gill with 1Z75 C…

16 Oct 2010 3 4 248
The GWR 4073 Class 5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe is a steam locomotive of the GWR 'Castle' Class, built in March 1936. It was originally named Barbury Castle, and was renamed Earl of Mount Edgcumbe in September 1937. It had a double chimney and 4 row superheater fitted in October 1958. Its first shed allocation was Old Oak Common; from June 1952 to February 1956 it was based at Carmarthen, before returning again to Old Oak Common. Like all other steam locomotives based there, with the dieselisation of Cardiff Canton TMD it was transferred to Cardiff East Dock shed in September 1962, its last shed allocation. It was withdrawn in December 1963, and acquired by Woodham Brothers scrapyard in Barry, South Wales in June 1964. It was sold to the then Birmingham Railway Museum and left as the 43rd departure from Barry in September 1973. Many of its parts were removed for safekeeping and the locomotive was stored, initially as a spare boiler for 7029 "Clun Castle". In 1996 Birmingham Railway Museum trustees announced the project to restore Earl of Mount Edgcumbe to main line running condition. The proposal was to restore the locomotive to late 1950s condition, with newly constructed Hawksworth tender and BR double chimney. In 1998 The boiler was removed from the frames and prepared for inspection, with welding undertaken by Babock. In 1999 descaling commenced on the front end of the frames in preparation for repair. The axleboxes were removed and examined, and found to be in excellent condition, requiring only examination, repair and cleaning. In 2000 5043 was moved into Tyseley Locomotive Works. The engineering team scraped down the frames, which once clean showed them to be in good condition, and given a coat of anti-corrosive green paint. The bushes for the coupling rods were cast, machined and fitted. While checking the inside crossheads for repair and refitting, which were found to have been fitted at one time to sister GWR Castle 5080 "Defiant". The wheelsets were prepared for cleaning and refitting, and the bogie repaired and repainted, with fitting undertaken in 2003. TPWS equipment was acquired and fitted. In late 2007 the boiler was steamed up and approved, allowing 5043 to move under its own steam on 3 October 2008. The locomotive has since worked various special trains, working mainly to Stratford upon Avon and Didcot in the summer.

Freightliner class 90 No. 90049+90045 at Beck foot…

30 Aug 2014 2 186
The British Rail Class 90 electric locomotives were built by British Rail Engineering Limited at Crewe Works in 1987-1990, weighing 84.5 tonnes and with a top speed of 110 mph (180 km/h). They operate from 25 kV AC overhead lines and produce 5,000 bhp (3,700 kW). The class is employed on express passenger and heavy freight trains. Their main passenger roles are Abellio Greater Anglia services from London to Norwich. Freight operations are with DB Cargo UK and Freightliner on a mixture of roles mainly on the West Coast and the Great Eastern Main Lines.

DRS class 68 No. 68004 RAPID at Shap Village on 1Z…

18 Jul 2015 2 218
The Class 68 is a type of mainline mixed traffic diesel-electric locomotive manufactured by Vossloh for Direct Rail Services in the United Kingdom. The design is derived from the Vossloh Eurolight, and Vossloh's product name is UK Light. The second batch of Class 68s - also for Direct Rail Services - completed delivery in April 2016.

6201 PRINCESS ELIZABETH on 1Z42 Crewe to Carlisle…

Rydal Mount ,William Wordsworth`s House 20th July…

20 Jul 1992 1 1 241
Rydal Mount is a house in the small village of Rydal, near Ambleside in the English Lake District. It is best known as the home of the poet William Wordsworth from 1813 to his death in 1850. It is currently operated as a writer's home museum. Wordsworth was born in Cockermouth in Cumberland in 1770, and knew the Lake District well from his childhood. He moved away to study at the University of Cambridge in 1787, and then travelled in Britain and Europe for 12 years. He spent over 8 years at Dove Cottage in nearby Grasmere from 1799 to 1808, but was forced to move to accommodate his growing family and many visitors. After a period in Allan Bank in Grasmere, the Wordsworths moved to Rydal Mount in 1813. Both Grasmere and Windermere lakes can be seen from the hillside grounds of Rydal Mount. William designed the layout of the gardens at Rydal, and he often said that those grounds were his office as opposed to the spacious office/writing room in his house. On the high side of the grounds, tucked away from the main house, but overlooking both the grounds and the two nearby lakes, he built the "Writing Hut" where he spent most of his writing time. This hut consisted merely of a bench with a small roof, but it provided shelter from the frequent rains and escape from the house. He lived the rest of his life there until his death at the age of 80, and he frequently was visited by Samuel Taylor Coleridge who would walk down from his home in Keswick. The Wordsworths continued to rent this property for 46 years, following William's death in 1850 to the death of his wife, Mary, in 1859. Rydal Mount was acquired in 1969 by Mary Henderson (née Wordsworth), William's great great granddaughter. It remains in the ownership of the Wordsworth family, and has been opened to the public since 1970.

Pavey Ark with Jacks Rake running from bottom righ…

26 Jul 1990 1 1 294
Pavey Ark is a fell in the English county of Cumbria. It is one of the Langdale Pikes, lying to the north of Great Langdale, in the heart of the Lake District, immediately to the north-east of Harrison Stickle. From the shores of Stickle Tarn, Pavey Ark gives the impression of being a rocky ridge. In fact this is misleading, and the north-western side is simply an undulating area of moorland, rising towards Thunacar Knott. The summit plateau is characterised by tarns, rocky outcrops and bilberry terraces. Pavey Ark is the largest cliff in the Langdales, but faces east over Stickle Tarn and is less prominent from the floor of Great Langdale away to the south. The main face is a little over a quarter of a mile across and drops about 400 ft. To the south-west it merges into the crags of Harrison Stickle, while the northern end peters out into the valley of Bright Beck. Stickle Tarn is wholly within the territory of the Ark, a corrie tarn which has been dammed to create additional capacity. The stone-faced barrage is low enough not to spoil the character of the pool, and the water is used for public consumption in the hotels and homes below. The tarn has a depth of around 50 ft. The face is an outcrop of the formation named for the fell, the Pavey Ark Member. This consists of pebbly sandstone and breccia and is set within the Seathwaite Fell Formation of volcaniclastic sandstone with interbeds of tuff, lapilli-tuff, breccia and conglomerate. Pavey Ark is most often climbed from the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, located some 1 1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) to the south. The route follows Mill Gill up to Stickle Tarn, which can also be reached via a much less popular and more strenuous path following the Dungeon Ghyll ravines. From Stickle Tarn there is a choice of routes; one of the most popular is to follow a diagonal slit on Pavey Ark's craggy south-eastern face. This route is known as Jack's Rake, and requires scrambling. Alternative, easier, ascents are available on either side of the main crag. Jack's Rake is the most famous ascent of the Pavey Ark precipice. It is classified as a Grade 1 scramble, but it is within the capability of many walkers, though it does require a head for heights and is considerably harder in bad weather. The rake starts beneath the East Buttress at the precipice's eastern end, near a large cairn (with a tablet marked 'JWS 1900') immediately north of Stickle Tarn, and then climbs west across the face of the crag. The rake follows a natural groove in the precipice face and is clearly indicated by several Ash trees. Wainwright wrote that for fellwalkers Jack's Rake is "difficult and awkward", although there is "curiously little sense of exposure, for a comforting parapet of rock accompanies all the steeper parts of the ascent".The summit is a short walk from the top exit of the rake, which is also used as a descent route and by rockclimbers accessing the climbs on the cliff face. In separate incidents, two walkers fell to their deaths from Jack's Rake in June 2012. As with Lord's Rake on Scafell Crag, the word 'rake' refers to a path across major precipices, originally used by climbers for access to rock climbs, but which can also be used by walkers. Pavey Ark can also be ascended from Stickle Tarn via Easy Gully, North Rake or by the path to Harrison Stickle. Easy Gully is a steep walk on scree between the crags at the eastern end of the precipice, starting from the same place as Jack's Rake, and is blocked by large boulders near the top, where tough scrambling is required. North Rake (so named by Wainwright) starts from the path to High Raise at the very eastern end of the cliff and rises west over the top of the East Buttress. This is a much less exposed and strenuous walking route to the summit.

Great End from Styhead Tarn

01 May 2014 1 176
Styhead Tarn is a tarn in the English Lake District, near the top of the Sty Head pass, at the head of Borrowdale. It is on the route from Wasdale to Borrowdale, and is therefore a well visited point in the Lake District. It is also passed by walkers ascending Scafell Pike from Borrowdale via the Corridor Route. It is permissible to fish the tarn which contains wild brown trout. The Styhead Gill is the tarn′s outlet which flows into the River Derwent.

Fairfield from Heron Pike 23rd March 1991

Waterhead near Ambleside 23rd August 1993

Bow Fell & Esk Pike from The Crinckle Crags 21st J…

21 Jul 1992 176
Bowfell (named Bow Fell on Ordnance Survey maps) is a pyramid-shaped mountain lying at the heart of the English Lake District, in the Southern Fells area. It is the sixth-highest mountain in the lakes and one of the most popular of the Lake District fells. It is listed in Alfred Wainwright's 'best half dozen' Lake District fells.

Wastwater

11 Mar 2013 1 2 176
Wast Water or Wastwater (/ˈwɒst.wɔːtər/ WOST-waw-tər) is a lake located in Wasdale, a valley in the western part of the Lake District National Park, England. The lake is almost 3 miles (4.8 km) long and more than one-third mile (540 m) wide. It is the deepest lake in England at 258 feet (79 m), and is owned by the National Trust. It is one of the finest examples of a glacially 'over-deepened' valley. The surface of the lake is about 200 feet above sea level, while its bottom is over 50 feet below sea level. The head of the Wasdale Valley is surrounded by some of the highest mountains in England, including Scafell Pike, Great Gable and Lingmell. The steep slopes on the southeastern side of the lake, leading up to the summits of Whin Rigg and Illgill Head, are known as the "Wastwater Screes" or on some maps as "The Screes". These screes formed as a result of ice and weathering erosion on the rocks of the Borrowdale Volcanic Group, that form the fells to the east of the lake, towards Eskdale. They are approximately 2,000 feet, from top to base, the base being about 200 feet below the surface of the lake. A path runs the length of the lake, through the boulders and scree fall at the base of this craggy fell-side. On the northwestern side are the cliffs of Buckbarrow (a part of Seatallan) and the upturned-boat shape of Yewbarrow. Wast Water is the source of the River Irt which flows into the Irish Sea near Ravenglass.

Haweswater Head 10th September 1996

10 Sep 1996 2 2 181
Haweswater is a reservoir in the English Lake District, built in the valley of Mardale in the county of Cumbria. The controversial construction of the Haweswater dam started in 1929, after Parliament passed an Act giving the Manchester Corporation permission to build the reservoir to supply water for Manchester. At the time, there was public outcry about the decision, as the valley of Mardale was populated by the farming villages of Measand and Mardale Green and the construction of the reservoir would mean that these villages would be flooded and lost and the population would have to be moved. In addition, the valley was considered one of the most picturesque in Westmorland and many people thought it should be left alone. Haweswater is a reservoir in the English Lake District, built in the valley of Mardale in the county of Cumbria. The controversial construction of the Haweswater dam started in 1929, after Parliament passed an Act giving the Manchester Corporation permission to build the reservoir to supply water for Manchester. At the time, there was public outcry about the decision, as the valley of Mardale was populated by the farming villages of Measand and Mardale Green and the construction of the reservoir would mean that these villages would be flooded and lost and the population would have to be moved. In addition, the valley was considered one of the most picturesque in Westmorland and many people thought it should be left alone. Originally, Haweswater was a natural lake about four kilometres long, almost divided in two by a tongue of land at Measand; the two reaches of the lake were known as High Water and Low Water. The building of the dam raised the water level by 29 metres (95 feet) and created a reservoir six kilometres (four miles) long and around 600 metres (almost half a mile) wide. The dam wall measures 470 metres long and 27.5 metres high; at the time of construction it was considered to be cutting-edge technology as it was the first hollow buttress dam in the world, being constructed using 44 separate buttressed units joined by flexible joints. There is a parapet, 1.4 metres (56 inches) wide, running the length of the dam and from this, tunnelled supplies can be seen entering the reservoir from the adjoining valleys of Heltondale and Swindale. When the reservoir is full, it holds 84 billion litres (18.6 billion gallons) of water. The reservoir is now owned by United Utilities plc and plays a vital role in supplying about 25% of the North West's water supply. Before the valley was flooded in 1935, all the farms and dwellings of the villages of Mardale Green and Measand were demolished, as well as the centuries-old Dun Bull Inn at Mardale Green. The village church was dismantled and the stone used in constructing the dam; all the bodies in the churchyard were exhumed and re-buried at Shap. Today, when the water in the reservoir is low, the remains of the submerged village of Mardale Green can still be seen as stone walls and the village bridge become visible as the water level drops. Manchester Corporation built a new road along the eastern side of the lake to replace the flooded highway lower in the valley, and the Haweswater Hotel was constructed midway down the length of the reservoir as a replacement for the Dun Bull. The road continues to the western end of Haweswater, where a small car park has been built; this is a popular starting point for walkers who want to climb the surrounding fells of Harter Fell, Branstree and High Street. A map of Haweswater Reservoir from 1948 Lake District writer and fell walker Alfred Wainwright had this to say on the construction of the Haweswater dam in his A Pictorial Guide to the Lakeland Fells: "If we can accept as absolutely necessary the conversion of Haweswater [to a reservoir], then it must be conceded that Manchester have done the job as unobtrusively as possible. Mardale is still a noble valley. But man works with such clumsy hands! Gone for ever are the quiet wooded bays and shingly shores that nature had fashioned so sweetly in the Haweswater of old; how aggressively ugly is the tidemark of the new Haweswater!"

The Scafells from Three Tarns

Colas Rail 66850 at Greengate on 6J37 Carlisle Yar…

92039 on 6S94 Dollands Moor to Irvine China Clay T…

22 May 2013 374
The British Rail Class 92 is a dual-voltage electric locomotive which can run on 25 kV AC from overhead wires or 750 V DC from a third rail. It was designed specifically to operate services through the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France. Eurotunnel indicates the Class 92 locomotive as the reference for other locomotives which railway undertakings might want to get certified for usage in the Channel tunnel. Locomotives of this type are operated by GB Railfreight/Europorte 2 and DB Cargo UK. In France, a number were also owned and operated by SNCF; these were classified as CC 92000 on French railways. The class 92 was intended as a mixed traffic locomotive for hauling both international freight trains and the ill-fated and never introduced Nightstar passenger sleeper trains though the Channel Tunnel. Since introduction the fleet was exclusively allocated to freight, however, in March 2015 six locomotives owned by GB Railfreight have begun passenger operations hauling the Caledonian Sleeper on behalf of Serco between London and Scotland, marking the very first use of the class in commercial passenger service. The fleet of 46 locomotives was built by a consortium of Brush Traction and ABB Traction. Parts construction was sub-contracted, with final construction and commissioning being undertaken at Brush's erecting shops at Loughborough between 1993 and 1996 (First unit was produced from 1992, and was finished in April 1993). The bodyshells, shared with the Class 60 diesel locomotives but with a modified front end, were fabricated by Procor (UK) of Horbury and delivered pre-painted in the then-standard triple grey livery. Propulsion is provided by two ABB traction converters using GTO devices, with control via an ABB MICAS-S2. Maximum power is 5 MW (6,700 hp) on 25 kV or 4 MW (5,400 hp) on 750 V; with a tractive effort of 360 kN (81,000 lbf). The locomotive is fitted with both rheostatic and regenerative braking, in addition to standard westinghouse air brake equipment. An electrical train bus is fitted to enable two locomotives to work in multiple formation, either double-heading or push-pull train with a Driving Van Trailer or DBSO. To reduce the possibility of locomotive failure in the Channel Tunnel, most of the electrical systems are duplicated. Prior to introduction to service, two locomotives (92001 and 92002) were extensively tested at the Czech Railway's test track at Velim near Kolín. One locomotive was temporarily moved from here to Vienna Arsenal for climatic testing. The majority of the class are named after European composers and writers. Post-privatisation the ownership was split between EWS, European Passenger Services (Eurostar (UK) and SNCF. During 2000 Eurostar (UK) offered their seven members of the class (92020 / 021 / 032 / 040 / 044-046) for sale being surplus to requirements with the non-commencement of sleeper services through the Channel Tunnel. However no buyer could be found so they were decommissioned and stored at Crewe International electric depot. Five of these locomotives have now been purchased by Eurotunnel to be used by their Europorte 2 rail freight undertaking for short haul rail traffic in France. In July 2011 Europorte 2/Eurotunnel purchased the five remaining locomotives that had belonged to SNCF, bringing Eurotunnel's total up to sixteen Class 92s. In 2009 a project was undertaken with the aim of allowing the class to be modified for operations on High Speed 1: i.e. with TVM signalling. The project received funding from the European Commission and it was anticipated services will begin in early 2010. On 25 March 2011 for the first time a modified class 92 locomotive travelled from Dollands Moor to Singlewell using the TVM430 signalling system. A loaded container train ran for the first time on 27 May 2011, and further trials with loaded wagons are planned until the end of June 2011. In July 2011 a trial run of wagons carrying curtain walled swap bodies built to a larger European loading gauge was run from Dollands Moor, Folkestone to east London. From 11 November 2011 a weekly service using European sized swap bodies has run between Barking, London and Poland using High Speed 1. The class is also notable in that the last train ever to travel under British Rail, the 2315 service from Dollands Moor to Wembley on 21 November 1997, was hauled by 92003 Beethoven. In April 2015, GB Railfreight commenced a contract to haul the Caledonian Sleeper. Class 92s haul it from London Euston to Edinburgh Waverley/Glasgow Central. On 31 March 2015, the first Serco Caledonian Sleeper hauled by 92018 left London Euston for Scotland. All units were originally painted in a simplified version of Subsector railfreight livery of two-tone grey livery, but with a dark blue roof the same shade as used on Eurostar trains. To reflect their Channel Tunnel role, all were fitted with three 'O' shaped tunnel logos, each smaller than the next. Names were mainly blue stickers, but a limited number of locomotives gained cast nameplates. Only 92031 did not receive a name during construction, however it did gain one under EWS ownership. The locomotives were fitted with Crewe Electric depot plaques to reflect their maintenance facility, and to reflect ownership, the nine SNCF owned machines had SNCF branding, six Eurostar owned locos had EPS (European Passengers Services) branding, with the rest having standard cast BR arrows under the drivers window reflecting British Rail ownership. A number of Railfreight Distribution locomotives had "Railfreight Distribution" written along the locomotive side panels with a small RfD logo included. Following the privatisation of British Rail and the EWS purchase of Railfreight Distribution, the intention was to paint the RfD Class 92's into the EWS' gold and dark red colours. In the end, only two locomotives received EWS livery (92001 and 92031). Locomotive no. 92001 had an additional three flags (English, Welsh and Scottish.) below the EWS logo on the cabsides, the only one so treated. The rest of the locomotives had a large EWS Logo applied halfway along the side. Six Class 92s allocated to Eurostar retained their two-tone grey livery although there had been a plan to repaint these locomotives into Nightstar two-tone green livery. The combination of rail privatisation, technical problems, and the growth of point to point low cost airlines undermined the Nightstar venture, and the project was abandoned before a single revenue-earning service had even begun. The locomotives remained in two-tone grey until they were purchased by Europorte 2 in the 2000s. Europorte applied the designation "Europorte 2" inside a large Eurotunnel-style circle. Following the takeover of EWS by DB Schenker, most of the fleet of Class 92s will likely move to DB Schenker Red liveries, matching that on previously repainted Class 66s. 92009 was the first locomotive to be outshopped in the new DB Schenker Red livery. The name "Elgar" had been removed; and the locomotive was subsequently renamed "Marco Polo" later during August 2011. The new livery has been completed on five locomotives (92009, 92015, 92016, 92031 and 92042). In 2009, locomotive 92017 (formerly Shakespeare) was painted into Stobart Rail's blue and white livery and named Bart the Engine. On 10 March 2011, locomotive 92032 appeared in the new Europorte GB Railfreight livery. In May 2014, Serco won the franchise to operate Caledonian Sleeper services for fifteen years from 2015, with GBRf to provide traction as part of its franchise bid. In February 2015, 92033 was first to be released from Brush Traction after component refresh and subsequent repaint into a "Midnight Teal" livery. 92010, 92014, 92018, 92023 and 92038 have also gained the "Midnight Teal" livery, bringing the total number of locomotives now in "Midnight Teal" to six.

Freighliner class 66 No.66520 on 4Z28 Fiddlers Fer…


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