Red and blue Kyushu Railway Co. KiHa 200 units.
INTRODUCED IN 1991, the Kyushu Railway Company KiHa 200 series (キハ200系) diesel multiple units are in use all over the island working services off the main electrified network. Working a Sasebo line service, ‘Seaside Liner’ branded two-car unit No. 200-1015 & 200-15 accelerates out of Nagasaki station on May 8th, 2001. These also come in single-car versions. They also come in a rather fetching red livery.
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Ex-Anglia Railways Class 86/2s in action.
IT’S SIX MINUTES to eight on the morning of April 25th, 2004, and ‘One’ Railways’ Class 86/2 No. 86230 is slowing for the station stop at Ipswich, Suffolk, with the 07.00 Norwich-London Liverpool Street. The National Express-owned ‘One’ operation had taken over from GB’s Anglia Railways operation less than a month before and the locomotive and train still wear their attractive turquoise and white paint scheme. This ac electric was completed as E3168 by English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows, in April 1965.
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A close look at a couple of HST power cars.
WHEN FIRST TOOK over the Great Western franchise, there were groans when the Bus turned transport conglomerate introduced its ‘Barbie’ paint scheme on its train fleet. Now I can’t decide if having a livery trumps having none at all, as is the case on today’s plain blue dip HST power car fleet. This is No. 43029 at Reading General on March 7th, 2002. Interestingly, you can just make out that this locomotive has gained a cooler group from the last-built batch of 40-odd power cars.
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Freightliner intermodal power, Type 4 style.
FREIGHTLINER CLASS 47/3 No. 47309 European Rail Operator of the Year crests the top of Castle Hill on the approach to Westerfield, on the East Suffolk Line, with the 4B62 08.06 Ipwich Yard to Felixstowe South FLT service on August 26th, 2004. The sanding gear on the Class 47, one of just five so fitted, allows the locomotive to cope (just!) with the steep grades on the short route to the busy container terminals.
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A pair of ‘yard goats’
LAZINESS, ARTISTIC STATEMENT, or just plain run out of numerals, whatever, SW9 RLCX 1258 has just about the most half-arsed livery application that I have ever seen. The offending owner is Relco Locomotives, Inc., and this ‘gem’ was recorded at the massive ADM plant in Clinton, Iowa, on April 30th, 2002. The yellow switcher was built in 1951 for the Chesapeake & Ohio.
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