8th November 2003

Pathfinder Tours
The Roxby Renegade

Route:
1Z27 : Bristol Temple Meads to Roxby Gullet
1Z28 : Roxby Gullet to Bristol Temple Meads

Notes :
(1) 60022 on rear.
(2) 37893 + 37890 on rear.

A pause at Gainsborough (photo : David Russell)

Sources : various including Pathfinder Tours, Ian Evans & Alan Sheppard

Tour Review
(by Melvyn Teale)

The main purposes to book on this tour was to cover the Immingham loop and Roxby branch (both required) with a chance to see one or more of the 6 grids I require, 4 of which are stored at Immingham.

The original tour brochure advertised Tamworth as a pick up point. Great as this is just up the road from where I stay! However, Pathfinder later mailed me to say that the Tamworth stop had been declined due to the time it would take the heavy train to stop and start again potentially delaying Central and Virgin plastic. Why Burton's nevertheless ok as a collection point I don't know, maybe they didn't want the train to stop twice on that section? However, I decided to stick with it and duly turned up at Tamworth to buy a day return to Burton on a grey and cold Saturday morning.

A Central unit saw me at Burton in good time to stock up on supplies at the newsagents. Only a minute or so late growlers 893 and 890 headed the train into the station. (I understand 893 had headed a Pathfinder Tour recently).

The tour wasn't full by any means but presumably enough had booked to make it worthwhile. At Stenson Jct we veered right towards Trent Jct on one of the more boring of freight lines in the UK. At Trent Jct. we turned sharp left and headed up the "middle" line to Toton where we paused for a few moments while most of the train scrambled to the left to get as many numbers as possible on the shed. Certainly a few forlorn 58s a 47 & a 56 were seen dumped on the scrapline south of the depot. A few sheds were noted on the depot proper as we accelerated away.

At Pye Bridge Jct we turned left to cover a more interesting freight line to Mansfield. Pinxton was the next place of note with its traditional Midland Box controlling the level crossing and numerous semaphores. A short colliery freight line branches off left here (and was covered by a Pathfinder tour with a pair of 33s back in 1999) which is now out of use. After Kirkby Lane end Jct. we were back on passenger metals . At Worksop we turned right and past through Retford Low Level some 13 minutes early!  Then over Gainsborough Trent Jct and into Central station for an hours break. What can you say about Gainsborough? Well, it's a pleasant enough market town, but I'm unsure as to why we had an hours break there. The last time I was at this very station was in 1984 when I was doing my final year project at college. As I recall I arrived at Central and went back to Loughborough from Lea Road where I had to wait ages & ages for a train! Has Central changed since '84? In a word no. However its nice to see plenty of semaphore signals about. What can you do in an hour in Gainsborough? Well, its chip shop or pub. I chose the latter.

On the dot at 12.52 we left to trundle up the single line to Wrawby Jct, through the semaphore forests of Barnetby, past Grimsby Marsh West Jct to take the Immingham loop which we were to transverse anti-clockwise rather than clockwise as previously advertised. Interesting branch, but what a stagger! We past the 3 recently arrived redundant class 86s in a holding siding on the left, and then the highlight, Immingham depot on the right. Binos at the ready to note what we could as the depot was packed with locos. Frustratingly, not many numbers could be seen in the depot itself due to the positioning of the engines, however there was a long line of rusting grids parked at the end of the shed. Disappointingly, only 1 of my 4 was seen (128- see Gary's personal pages) don't know where the other 3 were, would be nice if Immingham held an open day!

Anyway, due to the protracted stagger we arrived at Ulceby 15 minutes down, and sped off back to Wrawby Jct, taking the Scunthorpe line for the Roxby Gullet branch. At Scunthorpe we were routed into the goods loop while 60 022 was added to the back of the train. We then crossed the main taking the Roxby branch at (another!) Trent Jct. By this time we were 30 minutes down and it was starting to get dark so there wasn't much to see, however more red track is now in the book! A return to Scunthorpe to drop off the 60 and we were away towards Doncaster now only 15 minutes late given the recovery time allowed.  A nice touch was covering the Doncaster avoiding line to the Mexborough line over the bridge north of the station (thought I needed it but didn't!) and then the back route from Mexborough through Rotherham Central down towards Tinsley. A right turn then took us onto the Worksop line at Woodburn, then a sharp left down to Sheffield Midland where a few baled off unofficially. A straightforward run down the main line found me back at Burton 12 minutes early!

Verdict- A good straightforward trip covering all advertised routes with minimal delays.  Would have preferred grids to tractors though!

Melvyn Teale

Timings (Booked & Actual)
(booked courtesy of Pathfinder Tours, actual from various including Alan Sheppard)

Timings continue in first table.

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