Debussy Deliverance (1)
With the plan to use sister loco 033 to cover the Caledonian Sleeper Carstairs portion for a couple of nights not going as well as hoped, GB Railfreight's Class 92, 92043 "50 Years Service - Andy Withers" was returned to the fray 24 hours ahead of schedule, thanks to some hard work and imaginative planning.
Originally 92043 was due to be released from Crewe ETD following repairs the following day (Friday), but with 033 having failed at Carstairs prior to working 1B26 on the Thursday morning, the GBRf and DB Cargo top Class 92 techs completed 043's repairs in double-quick time, and she was released a day early to wait in Crewe station, ready to resume action later that night.
To get 92043 north to Scotland, it was added to the front of 92014 and the Down Lowlander (1S26) at Crewe, with 92014 having worked the train from Euston via the Trent Valley - rather than the booked route via the West Midlands - to provide enough time for the impromptu loco shuffle.
92043 then led 1S26 to Carstairs, where it ran round to work the Edinburgh portion (1B26) forward, leaving 92014 to complete the job on 1S26 into Glasgow. The passengers of both portions were delivered to their destinations on time, so a job well done.
Debussy Deliverance (1)
With the plan to use sister loco 033 to cover the Caledonian Sleeper Carstairs portion for a couple of nights not going as well as hoped, GB Railfreight's Class 92, 92043 "50 Years Service - Andy Withers" was returned to the fray 24 hours ahead of schedule, thanks to some hard work and imaginative planning.
Originally 92043 was due to be released from Crewe ETD following repairs the following day (Friday), but with 033 having failed at Carstairs prior to working 1B26 on the Thursday morning, the GBRf and DB Cargo top Class 92 techs completed 043's repairs in double-quick time, and she was released a day early to wait in Crewe station, ready to resume action later that night.
To get 92043 north to Scotland, it was added to the front of 92014 and the Down Lowlander (1S26) at Crewe, with 92014 having worked the train from Euston via the Trent Valley - rather than the booked route via the West Midlands - to provide enough time for the impromptu loco shuffle.
92043 then led 1S26 to Carstairs, where it ran round to work the Edinburgh portion (1B26) forward, leaving 92014 to complete the job on 1S26 into Glasgow. The passengers of both portions were delivered to their destinations on time, so a job well done.