European Railroad Discussion > A foreigner visits Newport, South Wales

Newport is another gated railway station so once I arrived from Swansea I did not leave as long as I had daylight. I was at the station from just past 4 PM until 6:45 PM.

1. The first train that I photographed at the Newport station was this two-unit Cross Country 170-class DMU. I like this brighter scheme and this is the only Cross Country equipment that I saw in this scheme.

2. Cross Country has one of the most extensive route maps in all of the UK spanning from Penzance in the extreme southwest of England, Cardiff in Wales, all the way up to Aberdeen, Scotland, and a lot of places in between.

3. I set up on the south side of the station to capture westbound trains. Here is a Great Western Railway three-unit 166-class DMU set.

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4. A standard Transport for Wales three-unit 197-class DMU set.

5. Most westbound freights used one of the two tracks not adjacent to a platform. And, no, I did not accidentally end up in Germany again. It would be nice if there were a Welsh-liveried freight operator (I guess DB took over what was EWS - England, Wales, and Scotland, that bore a Wisconsin Central-based scheme). Someone will need to tell me what this unit train is or was hauling.

6. But not all freights as this unit tank car train shows. Still looking a bit like Germany.

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7. As member '86235' once remarked, you need to have a high tolerance for DB 66-class diesels if you are going to railfan/trainspot in south Wales. At least they tend to be clean.

8. And here is another Cross Country DMU set in the paint scheme that I am used to seeing. A bit more subdued.

9. Slightly out of order is this grab shot of a leased from DB Cargo 67-class diesel in one of many variations of paint schemes on these units, silver with large, black "DB" logo on the side. It is operating in push mode on a Transport for Wales train.

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I then shifted across the tracks and became enamored of this shot to the east with the catenary support structures providing the framing. Sadly, there were no more freights.

10. Transport for Wales 197-class DMUs.

11. Great Western Railway 800-class BMU in electric mode.

12. And a Cross Country 170-class two-unit DMU.

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And now with a little more zoom on the telephoto.

13. Transport for Wales 197-class DMUs.

14. Great Western Railway 158-class DMUs.

15. It is hard for me to read the number but this might actually be an 802-class Great Western Railway BMU. I got tired of the GWR 800- and 802-class BMUs pretty quickly as there were so many of them.

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NMlurker Wrote:
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> Someone will need to tell me what this unit train is or was
> hauling.

6V50 empty VGA vans from Burton upon Trent to Cardiff Tidal. Carries steel from Celsa, runs once or twice a week.

Is the use of DB power on passenger trains routine?

march_hare Wrote:
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> Is the use of DB power on passenger trains
> routine?

Oh yes, a fleet of 12 710 powered class 67s operate Transport for Wales passenger trains.

NMlurker Wrote:
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> 9. Slightly out of order is this grab shot of a
> leased from DB Cargo 67-class diesel in one of
> many variations of paint schemes on these units,
> silver with large, black "DB" logo on the side.

Named Royal Diamond and used in Royal Train service. No. 67026 Diamond Jubilee is also in silver livery.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/25 15:53 by railsmith.

march_hare Wrote:
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> Is the use of DB power on passenger trains
> routine?

Capable of 125 mph operation. Initially intended for use on mail trains operating at express passenger train speeds.

railsmith Wrote:
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> Named Royal Diamond and used in Royal Train
> service. No. 67026 Diamond Jubilee is also in
> silver livery.

Not exactly, 67029 is used by Transport for Wales on Manchester to Cardiff services. The 67s allocated to TfW have been modified to work with the Mk4 carriage sets. It was painted in this livery to haul the EWS business train, which in the event didn't last very long. The two Royal Train 67s (67005 & 006) are in the same claret livery as the cars.

These are the 67s modified for service with TfW's Mk4s. The two rescue locomotives are just bog standard 67s but are based at Crewe and Cardiff Canton if one of the Mk4 sets & 67 needs recovery.

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86235 Wrote:
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> railsmith Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > Named Royal Diamond and used in Royal Train
> > service. No. 67026 Diamond Jubilee is also in
> > silver livery.
>
> Not exactly, 67029 is used by Transport for Wales
> on Manchester to Cardiff services. The 67s
> allocated to TfW have been modified to work with
> the Mk4 carriage sets. It was painted in this
> livery to haul the EWS business train, which in
> the event didn't last very long. The two Royal
> Train 67s (67005 & 006) are in the same claret
> livery as the cars.

Yes, 67005/006 were the mainstay, but 67029 did have a Royal Train role while with EWS. The following is courtesy of AI.

"Special Duties: While primarily a freight class, 67029 has historically been used for specialized tasks, including hauling the DB Management Train, executive charters, and occasionally acting as a standby locomotive for the Royal Train."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/26/25 16:12 by railsmith.