European Railroad Discussion > On the Gwent Levels

The four track railway between Newport and Cardiff in South Wales crosses the Gwent Levels, bounded by the Bristol Channel and Rivers Usk and Rhymney. It's a flat plain criss crossed by dykes (called reens) which have been draining the land since Roman times. I was out on my bike yesterday stopping at a place called Coedkernew / Coedcernyw for about 40 minutes whilst I had a breather. These were some of the trains I saw.

1: A pair of Great Western 5 car 800/0 IETs on the 10:48 Paddington to Swansea. These bi-modes (modern term for electro diesel) will switch to diesel at Cardiff for the remainder of the journey to Swansea as the erstwhile Great Western Electrification Project (GWEP) was cut back west of Cardiff. Hitachi didn't do a bad job interpreting the requirements of the civil servants but as a result the 800s and 802s have a number of deficiencies, some of which will probably never be satisfactorily resolved.
2: Another Great Western train, one of the hourly Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff cross country services, this is a pair of class 158 DMUs.
3: One of Transport for Wales new class 231 Stadler Flirts which are being used on mileage accumulation runs with Stadler and TfW staff on board. They seem to be working very well. These diesel electric units will be introduced later this year on local services between Cardiff and Ebbw Vale and Maesteg and Cheltenham Spa.

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4: Almost inevitably a DBC 66 on a train of steel coil, this is 66021 on 6M41 one of a number of daily trains between the steelworks of South Wales and the steel distribution facility at Round Oak in the English Midlands, near Birmingham.
5: Another staple of South Wales are the oil trains from the terminal at Robeston in West Wales to a number of storage depots in England. 60039 Dowlow on the 6B41 empties from Westerleigh, near Bristol heading back to Robeston.
6: I can't believe Great Western's mini HST sets will be around for very much longer. The aftermath of the Carmont derailment in Scotland in 2019 does criticise some aspects of the Mk 3 carriages, which were designed almost 50 years ago, before the current crash standards were enacted. They must also be quite expensive to operate, with two power cars, each equipped with a 2250 h.p. MTU diesel, which replaced the original Paxman engines in 2007. But I really like 'em.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/25/22 02:23 by 86235.

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Nice sequence, sir! I too have always liked the HSTs, nice-looking, good-riding trains. Thanks for sharing!

An excellent series.  The two freight trains are my favorites.
Definitely like the Class 66 unit; it looks rugged and robust.
Thanks for another superb photo posting.
ALLEN