Dawlish Trains www.dawlishtrains.com
December 2020
DB Class 66 No. 66150, now powered by 100% renewable Hydro-treated Vegetable Oil (HVO), a synthetically made fuel produced by the hydro-treatment process from vegetable oils or animal fats, which significantly reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, is now in service. It made its first run on Wednesday 16 December 2020 between Scunthorpe and Eastleigh with a rail delivery train, over this past weekend it operated to Westbury and during the evening of 20 December 2020 operated the rail delivery train to St Erth. It returned on the rear of train 6W98 on 21 December 2020, the 06.36 St Erth to Westbury, seen here soon after emerging from Kennaway Tunnel, Dawlish.
67027 /NMT/ 67023 down Dawlish, 1Q18 06.11 Reading Triangle - Paignton via Penzance and Dawlish Warren (Dw-Paign leg). 18 December 2020.
67023 /NMT/ 67027 emerge from Kennaway Tunnel, 1Q18 06.11 Reading Triangle - Paignton via Penzance and Dawlish Warren (Pz-DW leg). 18 December 2020,
143618 + 150216 emerge from Kennaway Tunnel, 2F18, 12.20 Paignton to Exeter SD. 18 December 2020 (reinstated to cover shortage).
Three DRS Class 66s and flask support coaches worked west to Devonport Royal Dockyard on 14 December 2020, returned with a fully loaded flask train during the early evening of 15 December 2020. The train running as 6X86, the 18.35 Devonport Royal Dockyard to Sellafield was formed from the front, locos 66422, 66432, escort coach 9428, Flasks 95771 and 95770, escort coach 9419 and loco 66421. The train is seen passing Teignmouth at speed. It wa only able to be recorded thanks to 12800ISO, a good standard lens and taken in raw.
Above and Below: The new order of the day on the Devon Branch lines, Class 166 three-car sets. After the last Class 143s were taken out of traffic on 12 December, the following day the first Class 166 arrived and operated Exeter to Exmouth and Paignton services. On 14 December 2020, First Great Western blue-liveried set No. 166211 heads along the Dawlish sea wall towards Kennaway Tunnel with train 2T14, the 10.23 Exmouth to Paignton. In the background, major progress can be seen with the steel piles being installed from the platform Wavewalker1.
The question was, what do you with what is basically a light loco move on the sea wall. Answer - frame it with Wavewalker 1 and show just how much work has been done. On 14 December 2020, a DRS flask escort train operated as 5Z74, 05.05 Crewe to Devonport Dockyard, formed from the front 66432, 66422, coaches 9428 and 9419 and class 66 No. 66421 on the rear.
166211 up Kennaway Tunnel, 2F14, 13.54 Paignton to Exmouth, 13 December 2020.
Above and Below - 166211 down Dawlish, 2T15, 11.47 Exmouth to Paignton (FIRST) booked 'Turbo' working on Paignton line. 12 December 2020.
143621 + 150266 up Cockwood Harbour, 2F22 14.20 Paignton - Exmouth, 12 December 2020, final day of GW Class 143 operation.
143603 + 150246 up Dawlish, 2F12, 09.22 Paignton to Exmouth 12 December 2020. (final day of 143 operation).
Off engineering work in Cornwall, Class 66s Nos. 66002 and 66001 top and tail wngineers train 6W01, the 11.13 Truro to Westbury towards Dawlish station on 9 December 2020.
A true credit to the DB Class 66 fleet, No. 66143 heads four clay wagons through Dawlish on 9 December 2020 in full RHTT filth. The train is 6Z53, the 10.35 Par Harbour to Exeter Riverside.
A Sunday morning roam provided a couple of nice low-light winter illustrations. 66014 rounds the curve from Dawlish Warren at Langstone Rock on 6 December 2020 with engineering train 6W22, the 09.25 Westbury to Long Rock.