Lorraine Greyhound
Class 66 66623
66623 powers through the West Norfolk countryside between Watlington to Downham Market, with the delayed 6M88 1325 Middleton Towers to Crewe Basford Hall - 24/06/2023.
Freightliner have recently regained the contract to send sand trains to Ince & Elton, winning the contract back from DB Cargo. It's been running intermittently since the May timetable change on a Tuesday, Thursday or a Saturday & to date, 66623 has been the only locomotive to work a train into Middleton Towers.
This was only the second time it had run on a Saturday (the previous Saturday was the first time) & I had an enormous slice of good fortune with my first attempt at photographing it. Had the train run to time, it would have passed this spot in cloudy conditions. However, it was delayed & followed a passenger train down, instead of being in front of it. The passenger train passed me in dull conditions, but this train passed me with the sun just about fully out.
It was quite a day. I walked over to Denver in the morning to see 60055 on the 6M89 Middleton Towers to Ravenhead Sidings sand train, but had no luck with any sunshine there. I then walked all the way from Denver Sluice over to Stow Bridge for lunch with Lorraine (It was way too hot for Sky to venture out). Then I walked all the way out here (it's well over a mile from the nearest road to this remote spot), before a brisk walk in the heat all the way home to give Sky her dinner!
Class 66 66623
66623 powers through the West Norfolk countryside between Watlington to Downham Market, with the delayed 6M88 1325 Middleton Towers to Crewe Basford Hall - 24/06/2023.
Freightliner have recently regained the contract to send sand trains to Ince & Elton, winning the contract back from DB Cargo. It's been running intermittently since the May timetable change on a Tuesday, Thursday or a Saturday & to date, 66623 has been the only locomotive to work a train into Middleton Towers.
This was only the second time it had run on a Saturday (the previous Saturday was the first time) & I had an enormous slice of good fortune with my first attempt at photographing it. Had the train run to time, it would have passed this spot in cloudy conditions. However, it was delayed & followed a passenger train down, instead of being in front of it. The passenger train passed me in dull conditions, but this train passed me with the sun just about fully out.
It was quite a day. I walked over to Denver in the morning to see 60055 on the 6M89 Middleton Towers to Ravenhead Sidings sand train, but had no luck with any sunshine there. I then walked all the way from Denver Sluice over to Stow Bridge for lunch with Lorraine (It was way too hot for Sky to venture out). Then I walked all the way out here (it's well over a mile from the nearest road to this remote spot), before a brisk walk in the heat all the way home to give Sky her dinner!