56301 is seen here at Tupton taken 5 minutes before the one above a mile up the line from Clay Cross using a 300mm telephoto. The 'Grid' appearing on the slow line came as a surprise, having lined up a shot on the main, however the 8 or 9 minutes the 56 stood at the signal allowed for the second shot of the train above.
56301 passes Slitting Mill Farm near Renishaw on 4th April 2006 with the 6Z56 Doncaster - Derby test run. This was 56301's first outing on the mainline carrying a train since overhaul at Brush for Fastline.
56091 stabled at Didcot for a number of weeks during April 2005and is pictured here on 3rd. The loco wasn't in the most photable location in the yard, Didcot power station provides the backdrop. 56091 was dispatched to France some months later for use with Fertis.
56301 passes through Clay Cross with the 4Z56 Marshgate - Derby on 5th April 2006. The 'Grid' had been pegged at Tapton to allow the Network Rail NMT to pass. The photo below shows 301 at the signal a mile or so north of Clay Cross. Once the NMT had passed the 56 followed at slow speed having just joined the mainline to Derby. The next train that followed was top 'n' tailed Class 31's allowing for three full sun shots of three different types of relatively rare classic traction within the space of fifteen minutes. The 31 shot can be found here and the NMT shot here.
56303 heads 4O90 Birch Coppice - Grain through Tame Bridge Parkway on 18 July. The service was running a little later than usual and the sun was coming round and off the nose pretty quick by the time 4O90 came into sight at 15:30. The grid had coasted into shot as it was approaching an adverse signal which cleared to green as it entered the station, the driver opened her up and with a full load in tow 303 screamed past… the first time I’d heard some proper 'grid' thrash in around a decade.
