The Flickr 4L11 Image Generatr

66788 `LOCOMOTION 15' passes Old Denaby in charge of 4L11 11:38 Masborough N & W - Felixstowe North. 29-04-2025.

And, after taking just under a minute clearing the station, there was a 20 minute wait for the next two trains, this time regular freight moves from the north, first up, at left, the now once again regular move, 4099 from the Leeds Freightliner Terminal with, today, class 66, 66420, Leeds F.L.T. to Southampton Marine Container Terminal and hauling yet another long and full container train all adding some colourful contrast to the old station, graffiti'd once again, station brickwork. I think those 4 metal posts and their small counterparts may well be the posts of the signal that used to stand at this end of the station where a line of 4 magnificent semaphores with bracket signals, used to stand, directing trains either along the main line left to Sheffield or a crossing move over to the 'Old Road' and this worked on both sets of lines; must have a look to see if this is correct... In the right shot 10mins later, another lunchtime regular, a long 'rails carrier' train, this one with Freightliner class 66, 66565 on the 6M73, Doncaster Up Decoy to Toton North Yard. An out-of-gauge train also runs with this type of consist but heads much further south to Eastleigh, near Southampton on the south coast, this is 6X01, which runs through here about an hour earlier, but on this day was cancelled. The metal posts mentioned above are also visible in this shot though the far left one is out-of-shot...

Just 3 minutes behind the liner train, once it had cleared the station site. the sky-blue 'Midland Pullman' set came slowly up from the signal heading to what was, by then. a yellow on the north end signal, S0425, which meant the train was set to pass straight through the old station site without stopping. It ran to time throughout the day, setting out in Paignton on the south-west coast in in Devon, very close to Torquay (of Basil & 'Fawlty Towers' fame) and on the line to Plymouth, Devon and Penzance in Cornwall. This is the L.S.L.'s, 'Locomotive Services Ltd' 'Midland Pullman' with class 43 H.S.T., 'High Speed Train', 43049, 'Neville Hill', leading a set of B.R. Mark III coaches. The coaches are now in 'Midland Pullman' blue-livery, and 43058, 'Loch Eil' is at the back on the long(ish) day's charter, 1Z32, the 'Yorkshire Coast Pullman' from Paignton to Scarborough. Matching sky-blue livery can also be seen on the old red-brick wall, a long-time relic of the past when to goods depot was just here, the blue-design/tag on the wall being c/o a graffiti artist and in this instance a sort of 'nod' of appreciation to the traction passing!

The leading class 43, 43049 has now tripped the AWS ramp at the north-end of the station and the single yellow, no double yellow aspect here, has now been set to red, as the train picks up speed and heads towards the main line at Masbrough North Junction, once the location of yet another signalbox over on the left side at the foot of the steep bank in the cutting.
Although the coach numbers were published on 'RailCam' I found a couple of errors in the numbers/order, this is what was photographed as it passed through with the published information in parentheses-
leading 43049('Neville Hill')
followed by-
41169 + 40801 + 41183 + 41162 + 41176 + 41182(not 40802) + 41149(not 41182) + 44078
and bringing up the rear, seen here at the south end of the station
43058('Loch Eil').
This is the L.S.L.s, 'Locomotive Services Ltd' day charter, 1Z32, 'Yorkshire Coast Pullman', from Paignton, Devon, departing at 06:05 to Scarborough, East Yorkshire, arriving at 13:47 almost eight hours. It then set off back at 16:30, having spent just 2h 40mins at the East coast resort, finally arriving back in Paignton, 16mins early at 00:05, very early Friday morning... quite a long jaunt for just 3 hours on the East Coast!

A complete surprise next whilst waiting for the 'Yorkshire Coast Pullman' to come into the area from the south, it not being far off at this stage. in fact it was being held at the signal, S0411, next along the line and right behind the container train. Now, the fairly frequent light engines movement from the Doncaster area was just around the corner at Aldwarke and, not expecting much, didn't really think about the shot as it started to approach. 'Gliding' along the old platform 4, goods line, a veritable armada of different liveried locos appeared in blue-red-blue-red-blue formation and consisting of 1 GBRf loco at the front followed by alternately red-blue-red-blue D.B. Shenker class 66 locos in convoy heading south. This is the regular lunchtime return of traction, 0F54, from Doncaster Belmont Down Yard and heading to Toton T.M.D. with, in order, GBRf class 60, 60056, 'Great Gable. then D.B.S. class 66s, 66114 66xxx(unknown), followed by 66134, & 66162, 'Maritime Intermodal Five', what a sight and the shot not composed in the best possible way, though the liner train had something to do with that! Standing at the Masbrough north end signal, S0425, waiting for the off, is GBRf class 66, 66712, now named 'Peterborough Power Signalbox' on the daily 4L11, Masbrough Newell & Wright Terminal to Felixstowe North(GBRf) with a very long and full set of containers.

Its been a year and time to revisit the still extant site of the old North Midland's site at Masbrough and, apart from the vegetation, not much has changed in the 10 months or so since my last visit, see-
www.flickr.com/photos/vinc2020/53839266885/
In addition there wasn't actually many folk here to see the 'Pullman', 2 photographers and an 'on-looker'.. bit odd but I guess this set is well documented these days, I have only captured shots one time before and, as it happens, it was here, see-
www.flickr.com/photos/vinc2020/51396241297/
from August, 2021. In under an hour here, there were 3 freight, 1 charter working and of course the plethora of passenger traction with the usual DMU and Cross-Country services. In this first picture, passing rapidly along the MIdland Main line heading south to Sheffield is a Cross Country train class 222, 'Voyager', 220007 on the 1V54, 20 station-stop, Edinburgh to Plymouth service. The Masbrough Station South Junction 'forest' where the large North Midland signalbox used to reside, it hardly seems credible that what once used to reside at this important junction, has been replaced, repeatedly over the years, by a persistent silver birch tree wood! Crawling slowly up from the Masbrough Container Terminal, heading for a station stop at the north end at Signal S0425, is GBRf class 66, 66712, now named 'Peterborough Power Signalbox' on the daily 4L11, Masbrough Newell & Wright Terminal to Felixstowe North(GBRf) with a very long and full set of containers. The GBRf loco looking, as is usual, in well turned out form... and the old Millmoor Football ground could be said to be in the same well-looked after state over to the left..

GBRf 66769 seen passing Lincoln Central working 4L11 11:38 Masborough N&W Gbrf to Felixstowe North Gbrf 27/01/2025

4L11 1138 Masborough N&W Gbrf to Felixstowe North Gbrf intermodal service is seen on the approach to Stowmarket at 1801.

Ian Sharman - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission.

66703 on the 4L11 Masborough-Felixstowe, Haxey, 7.3.25.

Another 'steam treat' passes through the area as its early Xmas time and on this day its another 'Christmas White Rose' i.e coming into Yorkshire's capital, York itself. On this occasion it turns out, once again, that its been (a) some time since I was last in this area, Thornhill, near Parkgate and north of Rotherham Masbrough Station, August, 2020 in fact, see-
stills Here-
www.flickr.com/photos/vinc2020/50224810576/
and a video, here-
www.flickr.com/photos/vinc2020/50224808986/
and a 'Then & Now' piece from June last year, here-
www.flickr.com/photos/vinc2020/52988672938/

and, (b) its also some years since photographing the loco on the charter today, 'Earl of Mount Edgcumbe', on 10th December 2016, for the same Yule charter run to York, crossing Ickles Viaduct further south along the line and 2 years before that, 13th December 2014, for the 'White Rose' Charter once more, here at Thornhill, amazing... Wasn't quite sure what the site here would now look like however as a 5 year gap since last doing any shots here, meant it could have turned into another dump... though not quite that, it was still challenging to get the shots as N.R. have put mesh fencing up everywhere but have left the 'old portals' in the original bridge mesh.. with 6 of us there, almost all the small 'portals' were being used..
I had watched the coaching stock depart Tyseley at 08:19 on RailCam and on the short 'hop' from there to Birmingham New St. it paused twice, at Grand Jn; and Proof House Jn, for around 10 mins each and so ended up at platform 11 at New Street, about 29 minutes late at 09:12. I had though after this that there may well have been a problem with 'Castle' 5043, and it would result in the steam being taken off.. very disappointing if so. ANyhow, this delay resulted in a late departure of the 'White Rose' of 25mins and it ran with this just about all the way north, picking up a few mins in Derby and thence a 'sprightly' performance on north to this area. Views on RailCam, from the Derby, Wingfield and Chesterfield cameras showed the loco steaming well with plenty of the white stuff in the cold damp air, with some steam escaping from the right side, looking towards the loco, valve chest, also seen in these shots here.
These four shots show the excellent performance provided by 5043, after a brief pause at Masbrough it is seen 'doing very well' on the slightly up-grade towards Parkgate ... This is 'Vintage Trains' with 'Castle' class 4-6-0, 5043, ex-98743, the 'Earl of Mount Edgcumbe' on the 1Z15, Birmingham New Street to York, 'Christmas White Rose' charter. It all started out that morning with the 3Z15, E.C.S. move from the Tyseley Steam Trust to Birmingham New Street, platform 11, with two-tone green class 47, 47773 at the back. There were 10 coaches, and these have now been entered into the 'additional info' on the RailCam 'Livetrain' list-
W96100, W5177, W5212, W5198, W9101, 99971 'Eagle' Pullman, 99361 Pullman2, 99349 Pullman3, W3110, W35470
The charter was running only a few minutes down here and ran almost to time arriving in York just 4mins late at 12:46 .. The return service 1Z17, left York just 4 hours later at 16:41 and arrived back at Birmingham New Street, 11mins late at 20:41...

After the 'White Rose' charter headed off north to Yorks, there were other workings in the area and 2 of them, which turned up pretty soon after the 'Earl' had departed are shown here..
In a composite at top left, a set of 3, class 66, D.B.C. locos are seen heading south in sunny conditions on the 0Z54, Doncaster Belmont Down Yard to Toton T.M.D., on what one assumes is 'return to base' working. The locos in the ensemble are 66011, 66128 & 66135.
At upper right, the trio of 3 class 66s are heading towards Masbrough's S0424 signal with the divergence 'feather' lit at the top, for the move left, onto the 'Old Road' south to the Chesterfield area and beyond. Walking back along the old two-line track-bed at left, 3 N.R. personnel on 'surveying' duties, one of them told me.. The formation here was once a 5-track assembly with up and down fast line and up and down goods lines, with along a goods line running from Holmes West Sidings, along the back of the station next to platform 1 and then up to here, for slow moves out of the sidings an on north to this area..
At lower left and now in the right timing sequence, compared to the upper left shot, another of the local services now passing through here, at about the same time as this, another container train gets away north from Tinsley through Aldwarke Junction behind the camera, so its a moderately busy area at this time of day. This one however has come out of the local Newell & Write container terminal on the land once occupied by the Masbrough Sorting Sidings, a shot distance away. This is G.B.R.f. 66787, 'Three Bridges A.S.C.', on the 4L11, Masbrough Newell & Wright Felixstowe working, and on time, as they usually are.. The naming of 66787 took place on 30the June, last year, see-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ5g1EJoX8Q
A.S.C. being an 'Area Signalling Centre'.
In the lower right shot, the 'Eagles are Landing' or just coming to have a look at what all the fuss was about, think they are actually gulls scurrying about looking for another refuse dump to poke their nosey beaks into ... still, a colourful interesting shot with the background businesses now having changed yet again from what they were 8 and 10 years ago...

Yet another treat this last week, last Monday it was the Colas RHTT which had had a class 66 removed for wheel turning in Crewe and a class 56, 'Grid', 56105, substituted for the SOuth Yorkshire RHTT and that's been running all week, see-
www.flickr.com/photos/vinc2020/54137081208/
Today on an 'STP', 'Short Term Path' working, 5Z06, went in very early and was 'activated' at 06:49, all good news as this usually means the service will run, and it did. The '5' in the 5Z06 headcode is reserved for coaching stock moves and in this instance, that usually means a loco, or two, with some form of test coach set, in this case it was the single green liveried inspection coach, 'Caroline, 975025. It has been a good long while since I was last in this area and, as it turned out, it was the passage of a steam charter, the 'Hope Valley Centenarian' on the 3rd of November, 2019, just over 5 years ago, with a double headed 'Black 5' pair, 44871 & 45409, see the two videos here-
www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/49018891738/
and departing-
www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/49018888723/
and with a few still shots, shown here-
www.flickr.com/photos/daohaiku/49019612642/
Not to much has changed in this area other than the completion of a large housing development, right next to the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation, to the south-east over beyond the station. All the derelict land which was once used by the traditional, and very dirty industries in this area, has now been used up by housing.. there is now continuous habitation all along the S&SYN, all the way south to Kilnhurst...
Running around 10 minutes early after leaving York, the set rapidly came south and at one point, on the way over here, leaving it a bit late to set off, it looked like I may well just miss this working passing through Swinton Station. It lost 9 minutes of the headway and ended up being signal-checked just north of Moorthorpe Junction, awaiting passage of a slightly late Cross Country set from Edinburgh, the 1V54 with 220007 220024 heading for Plymouth; so a little time in hand to enjoy some passenger traction passing through the station on this warmish mid-day..
At left, coming along south from Moorthorpe, three minutes later, 'Loram Track & Maintenance Services' are operating their class 37, 37418, ex-D6971, 'An Comunn Gaidhealach', pushing the inspection saloon, 975025, 'Caroline' south to Derby R.T.C. on the 5Z06 working. There doesn't look to be many 'inspectors' aboard and in fact whilst watching the loco be 'readied' in the sidings at York Station, I didn't see anyone get aboard other than the 2 driving crewe. Both the coach and loco look very good in the low, bright, and troublesome, sunlight...
At right, now running on time, the set was due to pause for about 8 minutes at the station, but, it didn't, robbing me of a quick foray onto the platform to get a better shot of the 37, so this view had to do. There were just 3-4 folk about showing any interest and in this instance, the awful blue footbridge helped to block some of the stark over-head sunlight, making this shot redeemable in Lightroom. There's a double-yellow on S0464, which looks like its going to be slowed up a bit by the Cross Country Voyager, ahead in the next section, so the 8 minutes it picked up again buy not stopping in the station was lost further south. It arrived at Derby R.T.C. a few minutes late at 13:08..

After the Inspection Coach, 'Caroline', had been pushed on south by 'Loram Track & Maintenance Services' class lass 37, 37418, the timetable showed there was now 3 other trains of interest about to pass north and south through the station. As it was a Friday lunchtime and a day in the working week, then the liner trains to and from the south pass along the MIdland line here either coming from, or going too, the two terminals ion the Rotherham area; the Masbrough Newell & Wright Depot and/or their Depot in Tinsley Yard which also accommodates similar moves by Freightliner. In the this mosaic of 4 pictures we have at-
Upper left. Freightliner 66528, 'Madge Elliot MBE', on the 4L85, Tinsley Intermodal Term to Felixstowe North F.L.T move
Upper right. Freightliner 66528 crossing over the up main line to head north through Mexborough and Doncaster, then on south to Felixstowe.
Also in this picture, one of the 7 passenger moves, this one a Northern class 150, 150210, on the 2R25, Adwick to Sheffield service,
ready to pull into platform 3 at the station.
Lower left. Five minutes later and over on platform 1, another liner working from the south, this time GBRf with 66740, 'Sarah' on the mid-day 4L11, Masbrough Newell & Wright Depot also south to Felixstowe, but now the North(GBRf) terminal. Both this and the containers hauled by Freightliner, were long trains, getting on for around 40 I would estimate, I didn't count them this time though...
Lower right. A very close view of the containers rattling along and passed the north-bound signal, S0461, the 'S' now superfluous as all these signal are controlled from the York, 'Railway Operating Centre' just next to the station, the lit divergence 'feather' atop the signal had also changed aspect by this time. The turn-out speed across the junction onto the north-bound line through Mexborough, is 30m.p.h. for freight and 40m.p.h for passenger stock.

Swinton Interchange, passenger & freight workings, in order of passage, during the 30 minute visit!. One freight listed here, with a short rake of new rail panels and not shown here, passed south just after the 1st liner train, this was Freightliner 66565 on the regular lunchtime working, 6M73, Doncaster Up Decoy to Toton North Yard...

1P. NT. Scarborough 1J44 Sheffield 170454
2P. TP. Liverpool Lime Street 1B72 Cleethorpes 185131 185144
3P. NT. Sheffield 2R24 Adwick 150270
4P. NT. Leeds 2N10 Sheffield 158787
5P. NT. Sheffield 2N13 Leeds 1139 150001
6P. XC. Edinburgh 1V54 Plymouth 220007 220024
7F. LOR. 'Loram Rail' 'Network Rail' York Parcels Sidings 5Z06 Derby R.T.C.(Network Rail)
37418, ex-D6971, 'An Comunn Gaidhealach' 975025 'Caroline'
8F FL. Tinsley Intermodal Term 4L85 Felixstowe North F.L.T. 66528 'Madge Elliot MBE'
9P. NT. Adwick 2R25 Sheffield 150210
10F. FL. Doncaster Up Decoy 6M73 Toton North Yard 66565
11F. GB. Masborough N&W(Gbrf) 4L11 Felixstowe North(Gbrf) 66740 'Sarah'

66769 on the 4L11 Masborough-Felixstowe, Lincoln, 11.10.24.

Network Rail staff acknowledge the presence of 66760 as it passes through Mexborough working the 4L11 Masbrough - Felixstowe.

25 7 24

4L11 1138 Masborough N&W Gbrf to Felixstowe North Gbrf intermodal service is seen on route towards Trimley seen at 1857.

Ian Sharman - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission.

4L11 1138 Masborough N&W Gbrf to Felixstowe North Gbrf intermodal service is seen approaching the North terminal taken from a public footpath at 1911.

Ian Sharman - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission.

The new liveried Lesia working 4L11 1138 Masborough N&W Gbrf to Felixstowe North Gbrf intermodal service is seen approaching Claydon on the GEML at 1812.

Ian Sharman - All rights reserved. Please do not use my images without my explicit permission.

* Masbrough
Seen passing south through the station on the Midland Main Line to Sheffield, at upper left, the one working I had noticed before arriving, it was shown to be having 2 locos on the move which, I had assumed, would be on the front, but no, it was 'top-and-tailed'. At the front GBRf 66740, 'Sarah' and with 66751, 'Inspiration Delivered - Hitachi Rail Europe' at the back on the 4M03, Doncaster Down Decoy to Peak Forest Cemex(GBRf) working with a rake of 19 Touax HYA Bogie Cement hoppers. The light engine which was waiting at signal S0425, still stands waiting, on its way north to Doncaster on the 0E69, Loughborough Brush to Doncaster Down Decoy working with class 57, 57305, ex-47822, and it is now waiting for clearance north due to an approaching Freightliner...
At upper right, now looking south-west towards Sheffield, the rear of the Cement train, with GBRf 66751, 'Inspiration Delivered - Hitachi Rail Europe', comes into view at the back of a rake of 19 Touax HYA Bogie Cement hoppers. The leading loco 66740, 'Sarah' has disappeared around the corner towards Holmes Junction. The 'Red Bull' public house, once 'The Tivoli Inn', is still extant, and looking the same as it ever has, since closure almost 10 years ago now, in 2015.
At lower left and right, with GBRf 57305 still standing at the north bound signal, the now once more, daily liner service from Leeds passes it by on the south-bound freight line along platform 4. GBRf 57305 will return through here in around 2 hours, hauling two bright green Barrier Translator Coaches, 975978 & 97574-
'Perpetiel', see-
www.departmentals.com/photo/975978name
and 'Paschar'-
www.departmentals.com/photo/975974name
Today, there's a Freightliner class 70 hauling the line train, also quite common now, on the 4O95, Leeds F.L.T. to the Southampton Marine Container Terminal, arriving just 9 mins later tonight at 21:00.
As the GBRf working, 0E69, with 57305 had been running around 40 mins early on departure from Loughborough, it had to wait time here for its allotted path and ended up leaving around 10mins after the Freightliner had passed south and no less than 8 scheduled passenger services passed through on the mainline to and from Sheffield, by then, 57305 was running just 10mins early...

* Masbrough
Had thought that after seeing what was to be seen at Tinsley, that would be that, but no, turned out that there were no less than 6 moves of interest at Masbrough Station, between around 13:00 and 15:30, though the next to last, 5M69 and the last, 5Z45, I didn't hang about for. These were respectively, the return from Doncaster of 57305, to be seen here, with 2 Barrier Translation Coaches, 975978 & 97574
'Perpetiel', see-
www.departmentals.com/photo/975978name
and 'Paschar'-
www.departmentals.com/photo/975974name
Following that just a few minutes later!, the blue Pulman HST set with 43049 and 43055, so bit of a catch there if prepared to hang around over 2 hours!
Here, in the upper left picture, a quite late running container trainer from the Newell & Wright Container depot at the old Masbrough Freight Depot; this facility was mentioned earlier in the pictures taken at Tinsley, regarding the HGV traffic outside the depot on Sheffield Road. In the is set, there are more than 20 container slowly heading for the north-end signal, S0425, at the old Masbrough Station. I guess it being 62 minutes late, has resulted in it missing its 'slot' through the lunchtime traffic at the station and on north, the passenger services being rather frequent from mid-day; it picked up some time and arrived in Felixstowe only 29mins late. This is the regular container service from N&W running usually just before mid-day, the 4L11 working with class 66, 66762 providing the power and passing the old 'BloodAxe' graffiti on the concrete wall, once the side of the the Masbrough Goods shed; the ex-Millmoor Football ground appears to persist!
At upper right, the signal still at red and will persist for some time as main-line services come and go and only just got away before the next light engine working arrived on the scene. The station walls have been repeatedly graffiti'd all the way along to this end and then painted over by Network Rail.. The driver had just got back in the cab from a trip over to the signal-post phone, though I missed this happening, there is a shot of him getting in the cab and shortly after, the train pulled away.
At lower left, just a few minutes behind the departing container train, a light engine which had been waiting at the signal around the corner, on its way north to Doncaster on the 0E69, Loughborough Brush to Doncaster Down Decoy working with class 57, 57305, ex-47822, being the motive power. This is the loco mentioned above which will return back through here in around 2 hours, hauling two bright green Barrier Translator Coaches, as detailed above.
At lower right, 57305 has come to a halt at S0425, and passing by, the one working I had noticed as it was shown to be having 2 locos on the move which, I had assumed, would be on the front, but no, it was 'top-and-tailed'. Leading the way through the station on the main line to Sheffield along the platform 2 line is GBRf class 66, 66740, 'Sarah' and with 66751, 'Inspiration Delivered - Hitachi Rail Europe' at the back on the 4M03, Doncaster Down Decoy to Peak Forest Cemex(GBRf) working with a rake of 19 Touax HYA Bogie Cement hoppers.