European Railroad Discussion > Frost & fog

Christmas Day in Southern Britain was unseasonably mild and dreary as a front moved through from west to east. Not much rain but what has followed has been colder and less windy, leading to some spectacular early morning frosts and, unfortunately, freezing fog. On Wednesday I spent the day in and around Ely in Cambridgeshire iabout 70 miles N-NE of London. It was a busy day with 12 intermodal trains, one train of oil tanks, one of silica sand and an engineering train seen between 09:50 and 15:15.

1: When I arrived in Ely you would think we were in for a sparkling day, this is a 365 class EMU arriving from King's Lynn. It forms the 09:25 to London King's Cross. It wasn't to last, within 30 minutes another fog bank had rolled in across the fens and visibility was down to 100 yards
2: From Ely I caught the Cross Country service from Stansted Airport to Birmingham (Ely 10:15) to March (arr.10:34). March is north west of Ely and if anything the fog was thicker. I think this was a positioning move from the intermodal terminal at Lawley Street (Birmingham) to Felixstowe as all the flats were empty. It's passing through March station
3: in the opposte direction the 10:00 Ipswich to Peterborough approaching March, as you can see all the surfaces were still covered in frost, it was a damp, clammy cold.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/30/16 00:46 by 86235.

---

---

---

4: in the previous photograph you can just make out the cab and lights of a class 66 sitting in the down reception sidings at March. this was the 6E84 carrying silica sand for glass making from Middleton Towers near King's Lynn to a glass works at Monk Bretton in South Yorkshire. It recesses at March for 45 minutes, setting off behind GBRf 66768 passing the imposing March East box
5: From March station I walked west to March West Junction, where the line from Network Rail's Whitemoor engineering base joins the mainline to Peterborough. There used to be a signal box here but no more, today the junction is controlled from March East. A few minutes behind the sand came the next intermodal, 66420 on the 4M88 Felixstowe to Crewe. The fog was getting thicker.
6: But I waited because I could hear, on the curve from Whitemoor another 66 idling, and as soon as the next intermodal (4M63 to Ditton) had passed the points changed and an incredibly filthy DRS 66 66431 appeared on the 6E30 engineering train to Doncaster. I presume it had been on RTT (Railhead Treatment Train) duties and had yet to be cleaned. Now it was time to head back to March station and a train back to Ely, just to warm up.

---

---

---

7: Back in Ely and at long last the fog did start to lift. In the space of 30 minutes I saw three westbound GBRf intermodal trains; from Felixstowe to, respectively, the terminals at Birch Coppice (West Midlands), Hams Hall (West Midlands) and Doncaster (South Yorkshire). All included new three platform 'eco-frets' in their consist. These new intermodal wagons help streamline intermodal trains by getting rid of the gaps which almost inevitably crop up when using the old 60' flats as the shipping world moves away from 1TEU boxes.
8: The only DBC train I saw all day, the 4L45 from Wakefield Europort to Felixstowe flying over the water meadows as the mist lifts
9: Finally, back at Ely station for the 15:25 back to King's Cross. A XC 170 bound to Stansted Airport has just pulled in. Is the passenger on platform 1 with coat and hat advertising Sandeman port I wonder.

All my pictures over Christmas are here https://nick86235.smugmug.com/Trains/2016/December-2016-the-onset-of/i-W7RLNs6

Happy New Year everyone.

---

---

---

Great series, Nick. Agree - we had some strange weather - it got to 15.5C on xmas day here in Yorkshire. That last photo is a stunner. Chris, UK.

Thanks Chris.

Superb weathering job in Picture #6

Ray

Ray_Murphy Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Superb weathering job in Picture #6

That's a good term for filthy :-)

The man on the platform at Ely is a double for the late Sir John Betjeman.
Happy New Year.
Keith G, London, UK
 

CIT1023 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The man on the platform at Ely is a double for the
> late Sir John Betjeman.
> Happy New Year.
> Keith G, London, UK

I hadn't thought of that but you're right. Thanks Keith

In Southern Finland we do not have even that much snow!

86235 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 7: Back in Ely and at long last the fog did start
> to lift. In the space of 30 minutes I saw three
> westbound GBRf intermodal trains; from Felixstowe
> to, respectively, the terminals at Birch Coppice
> (West Midlands), Hams Hall (West Midlands) and
> Doncaster (South Yorkshire). All included new
> three platform 'eco-frets' in their consist. These
> new intermodal wagons help streamline intermodal
> trains by getting rid of the gaps which almost
> inevitably crop up when using the old 60' flats as
> the shipping world moves away from 1TEU boxes.
> 8: The only DBC train I saw all day, the 4L45 from
> Wakefield Europort to Felixstowe flying over the
> water meadows as the mist lifts
> 9: Finally, back at Ely station for the 15:25 back
> to King's Cross. A XC 170 bound to Stansted
> Airport has just pulled in. Is the passenger on
> platform 1 with coat and hat advertising Sandeman
> port I wonder.
>
> All my pictures over Christmas are here
> https://nick86235.smugmug.com/Trains/2016/December
> -2016-the-onset-of/i-W7RLNs6
>
> Happy New Year everyone.
New 40 ft cars ....Amazing . Good thing from these is a higher payload which will help keep more boxes off the roads

TheInstigator Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> New 40 ft cars ....Amazing . Good thing from these
> is a higher payload which will help keep more
> boxes off the roads

Yes, that's right. All the Freight Operating Companies are investing in these eco-fret designs, some are two platfom, others three. 

looks to be a kaos agent