The Flickr Cappaghcontractors Image Generatr

First time out on it’s own yesterday saw 56301, newly acquired by Cappagh / DCR from the Class 56 Group, delivering sand from East Anglia to Ravenhead Glassworks in St Helens, Lancashire. The return of the empty JNA hoppers was 6D85 1752 Ravenhead Sdgs to Chaddesden Sdgs, where they are kept when not in use. The Grid was caught passing southbound though Hartford on the West Coast Main Line in the evening of Tuesday 1st April 2025.

DCR’s 60046 ‘William Wilberforce’ took over 6Z89 1556 Chaddesden Sdgs to Ravenhead Sdgs after 56301 & 56103 had bought 6M89 from Middleton Towers to Chaddesden, with 103 apparently having failed en route, 60046 being bought down from Leeds to take over. Credit to DCR – with the STP move of 60046 being timely, so that 6Z9 (this usually runs as 6M89 from Middleton Towers) left only 5 minutes late as was bang on time as I caught it passing through Warrington Bank Quay on Saturday 22nd March 2025 .

Shame it was not the Grids though!

DCR’s 60055 ‘Thomas Barnardo’ is closing in to its destination as it works north to Winwick Junction on the West Coast Main Line with 6M89 1355 Chaddesden Sdgs to Ravenhead Sdgs, 16 JNA box wagons of sand for glass making, leaving the normal haze of dust in it’s wake on Saturday 5th October 2024.

Being empty means the haze that accompanies the loading Ravenhead Glass sand working is missing. Monday 25th September 2023 saw DCR’s 60046 ‘Wiliam Wilberforce’ taking the 18 empty JNA wagons back to Derby as 6D85 1300 Ravenhead Sdgs to Chaddesden Sdgs

Third time lucky! After managing to get the settings on my camera wrong on my previous two attempts to shoot DCR’s 60028, finally I checked them all over and clicked away, then breathed a sigh of relief as I scrolled through them on my camera. 60028 now seems set on working 6M89 0901 Middleton Towers to Ravenhead Sdgs on an on-going basis. Saturday 26th February saw no rain around and thus the return of the sand storm that so often accompanies this working, pictured just to the south of Acton Bridge station in Cheshire.

Ever had one of those locos where you just can’t get the shot? Well 60028 seems to be that one for me. A couple of weeks ago I caught it at Hartford on 6M89 but I had knocked the camera into AV mode rather than TV, so it came out all motion blurred. Saturday 19th February saw attempt number two, before which I checked the mode, IOS at shutter were all set as I wanted. Totally forgot I had turned off Autofocus the other night when practising some night shots. Hopefully, I can get this on third time lucky.

A slightly blurry 60028 passes Chorlton just south of Basford Hall with 6M89 0901 Middleton Towers to Ravenhead Sdgs. The rain that earlier in the day seemed to have lessened the sandstorm that is usually produced by this working.

The dangers of not checking camera setting properly! Somehow I had set my Canon into Aperture Priority Mode, rather than Shutter Priority mode; the weather / low light combination meant a shutter speed of 1/25 second, far too slow for a moving object such as DCR’s only Cappagh Blue livered Tug 60028 passing Hartford on the West Coast Main Line with 6M89 0901 Middleton Towers to Ravenhead Sdgs. I’m just half thankful that the camera managed to get one cleanish shot from about 8! Saturday 5th February 2022.

TimboM at least I just about got useable shot from the trip over!

With the sun already casting long shadows across the countryside, 60040 ‘The Territorial Army Centenary’ hurries past Plumley station on the Mid-Cheshire line with 6F05 1621 Tunstead Sdgs to Lostock Works loaded limestone hoopers for Tata Chemicals on Saturday 18th September 2021.

I have seen DB’s 60074 ‘Luke’ a few times since its repaint and naming, but not when running the Tunstead - Lostock works limestone run down the Mid-Cheshire line, so with the sky clear and the sun beating down , it was time to head to Plumley on Saturday 12th June 2021 and catch 6F05 1621 Tunstead Sdgs to Lostock Works as it coasted down the slope into the station and on to Northwich.

60074 ‘Luke’ and 66143 doing a pretty pathetic job of trying to hide behind the bushes in the Holding Sidings at Peak Forest on Monday 24th May 2021. Two loaded sets of MWA wagons are ready for dispatch in the background.

A quiet scene at Peak Forest fuelling point and Holding Sidings. 66111 is parked by the fuel line (having arrived earlier from Ripple Lane, Barking) with 66017 trapped in the end of the shunt. In the holding sidings are, left to right, 66135, 66143 and 60074 ‘Luke’. 60074 was just about to be warmed up for its trip to Tunstead to collect the Brunner Mond loaded hoppers of 6F05; Monday 24th May 2021.

The early evening of Wednesday 12th May 2021. Not really the loco’s you expect to see up at Peak Forest! DB’s 60074 ‘Luke’ in Puma Energy Grey trudges along the Down Goods on its way to Buxton Reversing Sidings with the 6M66 1710 Toton Centre to Dowlow Briggs Sdgs partially loaded aggregates, passing GBRf’s silent 66746, sitting at the head of a rake of HYA stone hoppers. DRS’s 66423 it powered up and chirping away to itself, although not actually attached to the Scotsman loco. In the distance 66427 is easing a rake of MMA box wagons back through the auto-loader.

There is a ‘rota’ of certain Tugs that cycle through Peak Forest on a regular basis, but 60046 William Wilberforce’ is not one of them. The DCR locomotive had arrived here running as 0Z60 from Chaddeston, then after a three hour stop over (!), it set at about 25 mins early as 0Z61 1445 Peak Forest Cemex Sdgs to Chaddesden Sdgs route learner on Sunday 9th May 2021.

That is a heck of a route learning experience, about as much time driving as sitting around.