| Restarting from Rugby Midland, the erstwhile London & Birmingham railway takes a left turn at Trent Valley Jn, immediatley encountering a neutral section. A slight downgrade takes the line past Church Lawford and over a lovely viaduct which precedes the former station at Brandon & Wolston, where the railway bisects the two villages. From here the line rises gently to the city of Coventry, whose motor industry will shortly be a shadow of its former self with the impending closure by Peugeot of the Ryton assembly plant where your author works - though not for much longer!
Leaving Coventry, puntuality and pathing of local EMUs permitting, the way is open for the keen driver to sprint to Birmingham International, 10.7 miles distant. Climbing steadily at Stephenson's ruling 1 in 330 gradient the line curves gently south-west past the park, whose trees cause considerable difficulties come Autumn. I can recall a few occasions when it took 7 or 8 minutes to pass Canley, a mere mile and a half from Coventry, with massive wheelspin and sparks flying from the wheels amid the smell of hot steel! Usually, however, any AC machine would be at full taps - even into weak field - passing Canley. Charging onward past Tile Hill, the ton would be achieved by Beechwood Tunnel, whose clearance always appeared tight in the extreme! Berkswell is preceded by a neutral section, whereafter the line descends steadily at 1 in 330 along a lovely embankment to pass Hampton in Arden. The windbags would be braking here; the fast men, however, would hold off for a further mile until the M42 overbridge, conditions permitting, and would charge into International at 40-50 mph with the rheostatic brake screaming, to stop perfectly before the signal. Departure from International would typically be full-blooded, taps being applied as fast as the loco's motors would accept them without overloading, as the line passes the airport before the station at Marston Green. By this time the notch meter would read 100% as the loco raced towards Lea Hall, which would be passed at a ton with a good driver. Leaving power on might see Stechford passed at 106-107 with Mk3s in tow, though not strictly legal of course on this 100mph line! Few drivers would reapply power after the Stechford neutral, coasting towards Adderly Park before applying the brakes for Proof House Junction. The remodelling of this area, long overdue, eased the passage into New St, whose south tunnel is preceded by a sudden drop at 1 in 50 through the walled cutting. Entry into the station itself was - and always will be - agonisingly slow as the crossovers are all limited to 10mph, after which the train disappears into the depressing darkness of what is, for this author at least, the most horrible station in the country. The northern departure from New St takes the train immediately into a tunnel, climbing at 1 in 77 to Monument Lane (once passed at a staggering 69mph with a charging 87010 on the front...!). 75mph running, at most, is the rule for the Stour Valley line as it twists and turns, rising and falling sharply over numerous undulations through a landscape which is by no means beautiful, though not lacking in character, at times running cheek by jowl with the canal which servies as a reminder of times gone by. Sandwell & Dudley is the only station served by Inter City services, the remining local stations being the preserve of local units, of which the new Class 350 'Desiro' are easily the best, though the Class 323s come a close second, if lacking in seating comfort. Arrival at Wolverhampton is achieved by passing a now-disused foundry, and tight 15mph curves take the line into the station. |
At the very end of its career, 304033 unexpectedly runs into Tile Hill, where I was taking advantage of the evening sun. I had a quick spin to Coventry and back, the very last time I travelled on a Class 304. Alas none now survive. |
A dire shortage of rolling stock at Longsight - on a Sunday! - led to a very rare working in late summer 1998; a pair of Class 309 "Clacton" EMUs were turned out to work the 11:30 Manchester-Euston. The pair are seen here passing Canley in torrential rain, with Dave bravely attempting to bellow! |
37517 passes Berkswell on a weedkilling train, in 1998. Shutter speed too slow to capture it, sadly, but she still makes a fine sight. |
WCML Cross Country services once used electric traction under the 296 miles of OLE between Birmingham and Glasgow, but all that has changed in the name of "progress". In much better days, 85005 and 85010 stand under the box awaiting their northbound workings. |
The sun sets, literally and metaphorically, on two West Coast veterans. 85106 (ex 85021) and 85037 catch the last of the day's warmth at Wolverhampton in the summer of 1989. Roar no more..... |
6G05, the afternoon Wembley-Bescot (sometimes starting at Northampton) freight was a regular "roarer" turn as the class entered their final days. Here, an 85/1 approaches Marston Green with the train. |
86101 Sir William A Stanier FRS runs into Coventry in 1992 at the head of a BFO set without a DVT, Euston-bound. |
86102 Robert A Riddles stands at Birmingham International with a summer evening service to Wolverhampton. Never did the AC electics look better than in this livery. |
Much-missed: 86103 André Chapelon pauses at Wolverhampton with a northbound working. |
86103 André Chapelon races across Blythe Viaduct, dragging appararently failed 86102 Robert A Riddles. Two out of three !! |
Stratford Works were rightly famous for their high standards of overhaul, as 86204 City of Carlisle shows, departing New St. for the Black Country in August 1990. As E3173 ("Zebedee") this machine was the test bed for Flexicoil suspension, and attained 129mph during trials, equipped with a fibreglass nose cone. |
A fairly early casualty in the ranks of Class 86s was 86219 Phoenix. Here she stands, absolutely immaculate after overhaul in June 1989, at Wolverhampton after arriving with a service from Euston. |
86224 Caledonian, spotless from overhaul at Glasgow Works in 1992, stables in New St waiting to work 1S76 north. |
Pride of the West Coast......! Following some attention with wire wool during a layover in Euston one evening many years ago, 86224's name fairly sparkles. Anyone found practising such suspicious behaviour at a railway station in the capital these days would no doubt be arrested within minutes lest they be planting a bomb somewhere. |
Ill-fated 86239 L S Lowry stands at Birmingham International with 1G35, 16:10 Euston - Birmingham. For a time in the early 1990s this was booked for a res 86, as a fill-in turn before overnight parcles duties. |
The end of another AL6 - 86239 L S Lowry lies wrecked after colliding with a derailed soutbound freight at Rickerscote. Minutes behind, 87007 was stopped in time on 1N17.... |
86241 Glenfiddich runs round 1G35 at New St and drops onto the front of 1A59, 18:15 Euston, in 1992 when this was a regular res 86 diagram. |
Looking splendid in Inter City colours, 86225 Hardwicke is seen departing Coventry with a Euston-bound service, around April 1989. |
86401 stands at Wolverhampton in 1992 while on a northbound working. The loco sports the later version of res livery, which suited them well. Always a strong performer, 86401 now survives with the AC Group, and was recently returned to its unique NSE livery, complete with Northampton Town nameplates. |
86411 Airey Neave runs into Coventry with a Euston-Birmingham diagram in April 1989 |
Immaculate ex works 86412 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson stands at Birmingham International, catching the last of the summer sunset, around 1989. |
86424 stands at New St on what would be its last working out of Euston, 1G37 to Wolverhampton, in 2003. |
86428 Aldaniti stands at Birmingham International with 1S54 - I think ! - having earlier arrived from Liverpool, in 1992. |
86428 Aldaniti catches the late evening sunset while stabled in the centre roads at New St, in 1990. It will be noticed that the 2nd man's windscreen wiper is of non-standard design. |
