East Midlands Railfreight - Class 60s, 66s, 70s + departmentals - Lincoln, Newark & Nottingham 2020s

My iPhone captures the modern railway - in late 2019, I finally succumbed to the SmartPhone revolution and purchased an older model iPhone 6S. Although I find the modern railway to be somewhat soulless, I have tried to capture some fleeting moments that will eventually become part of our railway history 😎

Here I have compiled just over 15mins worth of short videos that I made, mostly in 2020 around the time of Lockdown, with four more recently in 2023-24. As follows:

01: A bit of a breeze as 66789 GBRf Class 66 coasts through Lincoln Central on a light freight on 20 Mar 2020 - just three days before the first Covid Lockdown! A smart looking Azuma 800205 awaits departure in the background on the 13.23 LNER service back to London King's Cross. Note the old Great Northern Railway 'High Street' signal box, which is disused but protected from demolition as a listed building. Apologies for the 'buffeting' on the mic 😎

02: Taken on 21 Mar 2020, just before the Covid Lockdown - from the new vantage point of the 'state of the art' "Stegosaurus" students footbridge near Lincoln University, we see special liveried GBRf Class 66 66779 'Evening Star' accelerating through Lincoln Central after a signal stop on an eastbound light freight. Also in shot is the 19th century GNR East Holmes signal box which is closed now but preserved as a listed building. 66779 was the last of more than 500 of the class built over an 18-year period, and was named appropriately 'Evening Star'.

03: Standing right by the barriers at the Brayford Wharf crossing in Lincoln, we see 66735 GBRf Class 66 coasting through Lincoln Central on a lightly loaded container train on 15 Apr 2020 - not long after the first Lockdown started. Soo after the loco passes, the driver hits the brakes 😀

04 -05: On my 'one walk a day', on 16 Jul 2020 during the first Lockdown, I captured DB Schenker Class 60 60024 'Clitheroe Castle' - ticking over patiently at the signal stop just west of Lincoln Central - with a Kingsbury to Humber Oil Refinery empties train - sounding like a bucket of spanners 😀 A Class 66 passes westbound with a container train. These oil trains run regularly each day, to and from the east coast oil refinery, and were usually worked at the time by a DB Class 60, but have now been largely taken over by the ubiquitous Class 66 'Sheds' Behind the locomotive in this view is one of the University of Lincoln buildings.

06: On 10 Aug 2020, as I was passing the time watching the swans on Brayford Pool, the tranquil scene is rudely interrupted by 'Shed' 66505 roaring past on one of the many container trains that pass through Lincoln each day.

07: On 13 Aug 2020, an unidentified DB Schenker Class 60 gets going after a signal stop at Lincoln Central - with a Humber Oil Refinery to Kingsbury oil train.

08-10: Running nearly an hour late, 60092 waits patiently at the signal stop at Lincoln with the 10:35 Kingsbury to Humber Oil Refinery empties on 11 Nov 2020. After a westbound weedkiller train passes with top n' tail Class 66s, the oil train finally gets the road and departs.

11: On 30 Nov 2022, DB Schenker Class 60 60040 cruises past East Holmes signal box and through Brayford Wharf crossing with a Kingsbury to Humber Oil Refinery train of empties.

12: Whilst waiting for the last train back to Lincoln, on the night of On 12 Aug 2023, I captured one of the Colas Class 70s 70804 passing westbound through Newark Castle with a Humber Oil Refinery to Kingsbury oil train - once the preserve of the Class 60 'Tugs'.

13: On 11 Oct 2023, whilst waiting at the High Street crossing in Lincoln, I was surprised by a Volker Rail tamping machine which whizzed past heading east 😀

14-16: Whilst walking past the tracks near Lincoln University on 24 Jan 2024, I was surprised by an unusual combination of Colas Class 70 and Network Rail Volker track machine. 70817 was signal stopped on the very late-running 6E46 0419 Kingsbury Oil Sidings to Lindsey Oil Refinery tankers, which had been stuck at Lincoln from 08.25 to 11.15!!! The Volker Rail tamping machine was working 5Z52 0950 Barnetby to Lincoln Central. I just happened to be there when the oil train final got the green signal!

17: On a visit to Nottingham Midland on 11 Apr 2024, I was surprised by the Network Rail HST New Measurement Train, made up of a shortened ex-HST set (43062 +, 43013) which glided through P1. The so-called 'Flying banana' 😀

and that is where this medley of rail freight and departmentals comes to a close.

There will be more modern traction and aviation videos coming soon!