43008 43007 Overton Road 1V50 050923 CGee 3H
It's hard to explain this hobby to normal people. If there is such a thing as normal people.
I got up at 6am this morning for the 40 minute drive to Overton Road, on the ECML, just north of Skelton, just north of York.
It's a fairly non-descript location, enhanced only by the fact you can park easily, stand on the bridge approach and get a decent shot below the overhead line wires. Probably the only reason this is 'a spot' is the 'Edinburgh 200 miles' sign that dates back to the LNER days in the 1930s. If it wasn't for that sign, it probably wouldn't be as popular. It's definitely not scenic.
Obviously (is it obvious?) I'd come for the last chance of seeing 43008 in Inter City livery and 43007 in blue/grey/yellow on 1V50 before they are taken out of service with the expectation that they will be out of service from today for a couple of weeks.
And if you analyse that, it's a bit odd, because when it was 43208 and 43207 I wouldn't have made that journey, when they were painted in XC livery. I do it I think for two reasons. It reminds me of the livery that trains were in during my younger days and (in my opinion) better times for the railway. And I do it because, if I don't, I know I will instantly regret it when I see other peoples' pics. Fear of missing out.
The passengers couldn't care less that 1V50 this morning had two differently coloured power cars. They are still the same type of train, doing the job they were designed for, what does colour matter? But to me it does. They might care when they are squeezed into a Voyager come October. I know I would.
And I let 185s, Azumas, 180s and Nova 1s pass without a flicker of interest from me. (I'm not sure I'll ever regret that).
And so it was no surprise to find another 10 people who'd set an early alarm for much the same reason, travelling from as far afield as Lancashire.
Sometimes it's comforting to know you're not alone and I often reflect that when an 'event' such as this is happening, all across the country, other like minded people set their alarms and then set off to converge on a popular spot.
I know that all the way from Edinburgh to Plymouth, the drivers of 1V50 today would have seen small gatherings in fields and on bridges to watch and record their train pass, where a few months ago they might have seen no-one.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky and even the threat of morning mist had lifted, so the normal things that annoy you in this hobby, like clouds, just weren't a problem.
But when you choose a four track section of railway for your picture, you're taking a gamble. And ordinarily if you were here for 43208 and 43207 in XC livery, you might not be too troubled to see 6H12 with 60096 running early on the Up Slow when 1V50 was on the Up Fast. 6H12 with a tug on might ordinarily be the more interesting target. But today, when the power cars are in a different livery, it really matters that you don't get bowled by a slow moving freight on the Up Slow.
And so while you're having a good catch up with the folk standing with you, you check the maps and you know that 6H12 will be held at Skelton Bridge Junction and that means it will be slowing down for the red at the protecting signal. So you count back signals from the junction and you can see that where you are means the driver of 6H12 will be observing a double yellow and so the brakes will be coming on. And you can also see that 1V50 is rapidly catching 6H12 up. At best, the freight will be doing a maximum speed of 60mph, the Inter City 125 will be doing what it says on the tin, twice as fast at 125mph. This is what the phrase "f*ck, f*ck, f*ckity f*ck" is for.
So you watch the trains step forward into each signal berth and you are hoping, really hoping, that the freight will clear in time. You sight the 60, going thankfully quite fast still. And you spot on the maps that there are now two signal sections between the trains.
It seems to take an age for the last wagon of 6H12 to clear the frame. You got your picture of 60096, obviously. And then you look to the distance to see 43008 bearing down. And there's nothing on the Down Fast and nothing on the Down Slow and so now all that remains is to breathe and press the shutter.
And all that fretting is something you would never have experienced 'back in the day', before technology brought transparency. You would have just pitched up and taken your chances on whatever turned up.
Sometimes I love this hobby. Sometimes I hate it. Today was one of the good days. And even on the bad days, I think its still better than golf. Or fishing.
43008 and 43007 pass Overton Road, Skelton, with 1V50, 06.06 Edinburgh to Plymouth.
43008 43007 Overton Road 1V50 050923 CGee 3H
It's hard to explain this hobby to normal people. If there is such a thing as normal people.
I got up at 6am this morning for the 40 minute drive to Overton Road, on the ECML, just north of Skelton, just north of York.
It's a fairly non-descript location, enhanced only by the fact you can park easily, stand on the bridge approach and get a decent shot below the overhead line wires. Probably the only reason this is 'a spot' is the 'Edinburgh 200 miles' sign that dates back to the LNER days in the 1930s. If it wasn't for that sign, it probably wouldn't be as popular. It's definitely not scenic.
Obviously (is it obvious?) I'd come for the last chance of seeing 43008 in Inter City livery and 43007 in blue/grey/yellow on 1V50 before they are taken out of service with the expectation that they will be out of service from today for a couple of weeks.
And if you analyse that, it's a bit odd, because when it was 43208 and 43207 I wouldn't have made that journey, when they were painted in XC livery. I do it I think for two reasons. It reminds me of the livery that trains were in during my younger days and (in my opinion) better times for the railway. And I do it because, if I don't, I know I will instantly regret it when I see other peoples' pics. Fear of missing out.
The passengers couldn't care less that 1V50 this morning had two differently coloured power cars. They are still the same type of train, doing the job they were designed for, what does colour matter? But to me it does. They might care when they are squeezed into a Voyager come October. I know I would.
And I let 185s, Azumas, 180s and Nova 1s pass without a flicker of interest from me. (I'm not sure I'll ever regret that).
And so it was no surprise to find another 10 people who'd set an early alarm for much the same reason, travelling from as far afield as Lancashire.
Sometimes it's comforting to know you're not alone and I often reflect that when an 'event' such as this is happening, all across the country, other like minded people set their alarms and then set off to converge on a popular spot.
I know that all the way from Edinburgh to Plymouth, the drivers of 1V50 today would have seen small gatherings in fields and on bridges to watch and record their train pass, where a few months ago they might have seen no-one.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky and even the threat of morning mist had lifted, so the normal things that annoy you in this hobby, like clouds, just weren't a problem.
But when you choose a four track section of railway for your picture, you're taking a gamble. And ordinarily if you were here for 43208 and 43207 in XC livery, you might not be too troubled to see 6H12 with 60096 running early on the Up Slow when 1V50 was on the Up Fast. 6H12 with a tug on might ordinarily be the more interesting target. But today, when the power cars are in a different livery, it really matters that you don't get bowled by a slow moving freight on the Up Slow.
And so while you're having a good catch up with the folk standing with you, you check the maps and you know that 6H12 will be held at Skelton Bridge Junction and that means it will be slowing down for the red at the protecting signal. So you count back signals from the junction and you can see that where you are means the driver of 6H12 will be observing a double yellow and so the brakes will be coming on. And you can also see that 1V50 is rapidly catching 6H12 up. At best, the freight will be doing a maximum speed of 60mph, the Inter City 125 will be doing what it says on the tin, twice as fast at 125mph. This is what the phrase "f*ck, f*ck, f*ckity f*ck" is for.
So you watch the trains step forward into each signal berth and you are hoping, really hoping, that the freight will clear in time. You sight the 60, going thankfully quite fast still. And you spot on the maps that there are now two signal sections between the trains.
It seems to take an age for the last wagon of 6H12 to clear the frame. You got your picture of 60096, obviously. And then you look to the distance to see 43008 bearing down. And there's nothing on the Down Fast and nothing on the Down Slow and so now all that remains is to breathe and press the shutter.
And all that fretting is something you would never have experienced 'back in the day', before technology brought transparency. You would have just pitched up and taken your chances on whatever turned up.
Sometimes I love this hobby. Sometimes I hate it. Today was one of the good days. And even on the bad days, I think its still better than golf. Or fishing.
43008 and 43007 pass Overton Road, Skelton, with 1V50, 06.06 Edinburgh to Plymouth.