Images of 2023 

This is my fifth annual look back at a year on our railway, as seen through the lens of my trusty Canon camera, and it has been a year characterised by loss of two 1970s icons in the form of Class 313 units from Coastway duties and HSTs making their final exit from CrossCountry (XC) services and being scaled back in their GWR operations.

Once again I have picked 23 images which represent the year 2023 and reflect our ever changing railway scene, be it these losses of historic rolling stock, the arrival of new trains, such as the Class 197 units in Wales, as well as places that will be losing their mechanical signalling over the coming year.

Beginning the year with a visit to Dawlish on 12 January, my aim was to capture GWR and XC HSTs as they passed one of the country’s most photogenic locations. It was a fine sunny day and my pick of that day’s shots is this view of XC 43301/357 passing the red sandstone cliffs with 1S51 from Newton Abbot to to Edinburgh Waverley. 

To mark their planned end of service in September, XC re-liveried a trio of its HST power cars in BR InterCity colours and my chance to see the first of them came on a visit to the family home near Cheltenham Spa, when I headed to Claydon Lane over-bridge, just south of Ashchurch, on 5 February to see 43184 (253051)/43303 approaching with 1V48 from Leeds to Bristol Temple Meads. 

Having read about its installation, I discovered a great new vantage point at Craven Arms during a visit to the remote Shropshire junction on 20 February when I stood on the lightweight and portable FLOW footbridge north of the station to capture shots of trains passing the station, and the rather hideous signal box. My pick from that day shows 67029 approaching with 1W93 from Cardiff Central to Holyhead. 

A St. David’s Day (1 March) visit to Hereford was a chance to see both heritage diesel and big steam action, when “Whistler” 40013 (D213) appeared at the head of special working 1Z45 from Holyhead and was replaced by steam loco 46100 Royal Scot for the journey on to Cardiff Central.

Photographing trains in the snow is a rare treat, but my luck was in on a visit to north-east Scotland on 8 March when I stayed at Insch and managed to persuade a local taxi driver to take me along icy roads to Kennethmont, a few miles away, where I was able to see a ScotRail Inter7City set formed by 43037/164 with 1H65 from Aberdeen to Inverness. 

Later in the month I paid the first of two visits to the South Coast (15 March) when my objective was to photograph the doomed Class 313 units passing the equally doomed semaphores at Bognor Regis and Littlehampton. In the view above 313204 departs Littlehampton with 2P30 to Bognor Regis while in the shot below 313210 departs platform three at Bognor Regis with 2P79 to Barnham.

My final farewell to the Class 313 units came with a visit to Barnham on 3 April, an interesting and busy junction, where during a couple of hours it was possible to see all the units working West Coastway services on that day. In the view below 313215 departs with 2S15 from Portsmouth & Southsea to Littlehampton. 

Having spent the month of May on a series of Inter-Rail trips across Continental Europe, my next UK adventure came with an overnight trip to Carmarthen and a chance on 10 June to photograph GWR Class 80x units in action on the Pembroke Dock branch, shortly after the reintroduction of seasonal Saturday-only direct services from London Paddington.

GWR IET 800023 passes Penally with 1E19 from Pembroke Dock to Swansea.

Later in the month I paid a return visit (20 June) to Arnside on the photogenic Furness Line where, apart from Thwaites beer, the attractions are semaphore signalling, a listed signal box and the chance to see trains as they cross the 50-arch Kent Viaduct, such as DRS 68033/034 top-and-tailing their train of two nuclear flasks (6C51) from Sellafield to Heysham Power Station. 

Only a few days later (24 June) I paid a return visit to the doomed semaphores at Par in Cornwall, where the Mazey Day celebrations in Penzance produced two special trains, both from the West Midlands. Passing two of the semaphore signals that are finally due to disappear at the end of February 2024 are 69005/6 with 1Z69 from Tame Bridge Parkway. 

Dramatic natural scenery makes for great photos, so on a 10 July I returned to Edale on the busy Hope Valley Line, where there are some fine vantage points from which to capture the station scene, signal box and semaphores. In this view 66722 passes the station and signal box with 4H73 from Washwood Heath to Tunstead Sidings. 

Since my February visit to this location, a further two XC HST power cars had been returned to heritage InterCity colours, so on 27 August I went back to Claydon Lane over-bridge, south of Ashchurch station, where I was able to capture retro-liveried 43008/007 with 1V48 from Leeds to Plymouth. 

Among the highlights of a visit to Shrewsbury on 31 August was loco action in the form of LNER “Streamliner” 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley at Sutton Bridge Junction, on a special from Working, and Colas Rail 37405 approaching the station with the RHTT wagons that would be working during the autumn circuit from Coleham Yard.

Continuing my quest to capture the final months of XC HST working, I had an enjoyable day out at various Somerset locations on 5 September, beginning at Taunton, where my pick from the shots I got there was this view (below) of 43321/378 heading south with 1V44 from Leeds to Plymouth.

Apart from disappearing HSTs and semaphores, I also have a fascination with obscure and unusual workings, so on 22 September I travelled to the charming Lincolnshire town of Brigg, by catching the now Monday-to-Friday only service from Sheffield and Retford (Low Level). The view below shows 150277 passing Brigg Signal box with the daily return from Cleethorpes (2H01).

What I thought would have been my final sighting of the celebrity XC HST power cars came with a delightful day on the Swanage Railway (26 September) when I joined many other enthusiasts in witnessing their final workings in passenger service, with a Leeds-Swanage special and a Swanage-Bournemouth midday trip. In the view below 43007/008 approach Corfe Castle with 1Z43 from Leeds.

This did not turn out to be my final sighting of the XC HST power cars however, as a visit to Melton Mowbray and its marvellous signal box on 16 October produced two special workings and a total of six ex-XC HST power cars heading for new lives. Here (below) 43184 (253051)/43304 head through the station with 0Q48 from Neville Hill to Great Yarmouth, prior to their export to Nigeria. 

The following month my focus was on two locations that are due to be losing their lower quadrant semaphore signals in the coming year. First up was a trip to Pembrey & Burry Port on a gloriously sunny day (7 November), where the new order in terms of rolling stock was very much in evidence, but there was no sign at all of any resignalling work.

TfW 197117 leaves Pembrey with 1B63 from Carmarthen to Cardiff Central.

It was a different story in Cornwall a couple of weeks later, where the semaphores at Lostwithiel, Par and Truro are all due to disappear in late February and a great deal of work was taking place. My pick from two days in the area (on 22 November) shows 43155/042 with 2C09 from Bristol Temple Meads to Penzance and the four semaphores west of Truro station. 

Rounding off the year with a night in Holyhead, my favourite shot of a day with the camera on Anglesey (5 December) was RHTT 3S71 (from Coleham Yard, Shrewsbury) passing the Ty Croes down distant signal TC1 in the hands of 56113/051, during the final week of this year’s railhead treatment workings.

To see more on any of the locations featured above, go to the chronological index on the right hand side of the www.railwayworld.net homepage and click on the relevant month. As this will be my final post of the year, I would like to wish all my friends and readers a very Happy Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year.