The Christmas Cracker Poole - Blackpool North 29th November 2008
Welcome to the gallery recording the first ever railtour I have participated in. I know I lead a sheltered life.... Yeah right. This page will not be completed in one go due to the fact there is a video or two that needs to be edited and uploaded to You Tube as well as more photos have been promised.
PLEASE NOTE ALL PHOTOS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE COPYRIGHT AND MAY NOT BE USED ON OTHER WEBSITES VIA ANY MEANS AVAILABLE
First up on the Friday afternoon before the railtour date 37248 & 37676 were despatched from Carnforth to Poole for stabling with the stock to run the tour to Blackpool on the Saturday. This ran as the 5Z47 Carnforth - Poole ecs. Here a few minutes before the arrival I had to set the camera up so I took a few test shots in Colour and Black & White. Here we see an empty station and in the background to the right are the stars Venus (top) and Jupiter (bottom) in the night sky. This was a ten second exposure using my 18-55 mm lens.
Not how I wanted the shot to turn out. I unfortunately hit the shutter remote a tad early and took a ten second exposure of a moving and still train. Oh well some you win and some you loose.
Not how I wanted this shot to turn out either. When the ecs got here the light was red and the reception indicators were not lit so after it stopped and the driver got out I thought I would have enough time for another try. Obviously it was not going to be my night. The video came out ok though...apparently!!
The two class 37's run into platform two stopping briefly and then onto the carriage sidings for stabling until Saturday Morning
We now move to around 05:35 on Saturday morning. With fog in the air and lots of it 37248 will lead 37676 out of the station with the northbound leg of the tour. Thanks to Roger Smith for providing the picture.
37676 Loch Rannoch & 37248 Loch Arkaig wait at the head of the 1Z48 05:45 Poole - Blackpool North Christmas Cracker railtour by Spitfire Tours.
37676 & 37248 nose to nose
The lesser spotted Hentis with a stationary flail onboard "Coach C". I had to hold that pose for 8 seconds. Due to the cold weather I failed and thats why its kinda blurry.
Mid morning and we are 5 minutes down on the outskirts of Crewe. Whilst waiting for an available slot we are stopped outside the sheds at Crewe (not sure which ones). This shot of 50031 Hood was taken through the little vent above the window where my seat on the coach was. The rest of the photos at Crewe were taken from looking outside the window in the vestibule door.Of note 50031 was the first ever class 50 loco that I saw at Poole. It was on a circular railtour from Weymouth in the mid 80's.
A mix of old and new traction at Crewe. The were two brand new Class 350/2 Desiros, 2 86's a few 47's the Cargo D BR Blue Grey set (well one of them) a few 08's as well. Oh and plenty of Fog!!
Still in the same place as the above photo but looking in the opposite direction we see 86424,47843,66596. 66502 was also behind the Virgin Mk2 air-con coach.
In the murk at the rear of the stabling point was an unidentified EWS liveried class 47. Any ID would be appreciated.
Bit of a hurried shot out of the window ventilater is 86101 Sir William A Stanier FRS. This was at the head of the Cargo D BR Blue/ Grey MkIII set.
Taken out of the vestibule window we are at a stand at Ordsall Lane Junction on the outskirts of Manchester With 37248 & 676 at a stand waiting for the green light.
Having arrived at Blackpool North some 5 minutes early I gathered my gear and managed to get a few shots of the loco's at the blocks.
37676 Loch Rannoch and the Scottie Dog motif ( which I have one at home).
The Cab side of 37248 Loch Arkaig.
My first suspicions of something not being quite right were confirmed here where the Railtour crowd and waiting people were only allowed to take photos of the opposite side of the train from this little area.
Thought I would get a shot of the headboard :).
The crowd had eased a bit when I took this photo. But it pissed me off somewhat as we were not allowed to go past the barriers. Northen Rail Staff did not want us running amok round their station. They didnt even want us to get photos of the other units on the other platforms as they said the platforms were icy... yeah right it was cold the platforms all had grit on them and from what I could see they were not ICY. Also the platform that our train had come in on had no sign of being treated and no signs of ice on it either. It was Northern Rails way of saying we don't want you here.
Head on view of 37248 with the headboard.
Some local units of which I could photograph. Here Trans Pennine Desiro 185138.
150148 on one of the so called ICY platforms.
A Souvenir Booklet that was provided as well as a pen oooooooooooooOOOOOOOO I hear!! Inside the booklet was a timing sheet,and a few articles about Spitfire Tours, the usual safety garb and details about the Growler Group and the Class 37 Group.
My ticket. Coach C Seat 11 Facing... Although it wasn't next to the window I made sure I got the window seat!! (tee heh)
Finally the Timing Sheet. Most of the times were added as we passed Stations or Jcn's. The times you see were correct with the the clocks on the stations or where no clock was available my mobile phone which was correct with the station clocks if you get my drift!!
For a full version of the sheet please click
A video of the tour at Blackpool and running into Brockenhurst, Bournemouth & Poole, and then onto the carriage sidings for stabling until early Monday morning due to an engineering blockade on the line near Brockenhurst.
Overall I really enjoyed my day and my first ever railtour. The onboard West Coast Railway / Spitfire Tours staff were fantastic and did a brilliant job throughout the day. I would like to say a really BIG THANK YOU to all of them who took part. A really BIG UP YOURS goes to the Northern Rail staff of Blackpool North who really made us feel very unwelcome. Hopefully this wont be the last tour I go on. As stated earlier I do have video footage and more photos to go up in the near future.
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