Dunaskin Central Washer: Off to the tip... a spoil train leaving a snowy Dunaskin washery on the Waterside complex in December 1971 heading for Cutler Tip. The loaded wagons on the right in the Cutler Sidings are awaiting collection by BR see image [[3579]].

Cutler Sidings: Shunting empties, No 10 in the Cutler Sidings alongside a snow covered Dunaskin Washery, Waterside, in December 1971.

Cutler Sidings: A pair of type 2s with a coal train about to leave Waterside in December 1971 for Ayr Harbour.

Dunaskin Central Washer: An NCB pug shunting wagons in the snow alongside Dunaskin washer on the Waterside complex in December 1971.

Cutler Tip: View north across fields from a lay-by on the A713 Ayr road to the west of Dalmellington in the aftermath of a snowstorm in December 1971 showing an NCB pug at Cutler Tip with a trainload of waste from the washery.

Hoghton: 37140 and a rake of tank wagons climb eastwards on Hoghton bank on 1st December 1978. The tanks will probably be empties from Preston Dock or Burn Naze returning to Immingham. 37140 had a further twenty years main line service but was stored in June 1999 and cut up two years later at Springs Branch.

Hoghton: Lost Railfreight BR Type 2 25144 heads down Hoghton Bank, on a pick up goods with vans for the ROF complex at Euxton, on a frosty 1st December 1978. That huge complex produced munitions from the 1930s but was later wound down and closed around 2006. The site is now covered by housing, known as Buckshaw, which has its own railway station that opened in 2011. #COP26

Plates, signs, notices etc: Mileage plates. Top left Caledonian Ry 1-4 mile. Top right reconstruction of NBR 1-2 mile. Bottom right Caledonian Ry 3-4 mile.

Great Western Road Tunnel: RUSKIN PLACE metal plate with letters cast in, approx 1200 x 300 mm. Located approx 1/3rd way thro tunnel from Botanic Gdns Station to Kelvinbridge Station. Purpose to indicate location below street on surface. Similar sign 2/3rd way thro tunnel legend Hamilton Park Avenue. A very heavy sign.

Plates, signs, notices etc: Track feature ID Plate

Plates, signs, notices etc: LNER 4 Milepost.

Abercorn Junction: Track feature ID plates. A is from the Paisley and Renfrew line next to Paisley Sewage works.

Easington: Looking south to Easington signalbox on 1st December 1991. A coal train waits to leave the colliery sidings. The pit closed on 7 May 1993 since when all has been removed, even the allotments.

Easington Colliery: Looking towards Easington Colliery, from beneath the Durham Coast line, on 1st December 1991. A siding passed through the gate, underneath the main line and towards the shore where waste was tipped on the beach. The pit closed on 7 May 1993, the last in the Durham coalfield.

Nottingham Trent University [Tram]: Driver training tram at Nottingham Trent University in 2003. The system opened on the 9th of March 2004.

Eskbank and Dalkeith: Eskbank station looking south from the road bridge in December 2004.

Stallingborough: View south at Stallingborough from the level crossing in 2004. Since the photograph was taken the signal box (behind the camera) has closed and the gates have been removed. A new signal box, in traditional style, has been built by the station to the left. [Ref query 3986]

Scunthorpe Steel Works: Appleby Frodingham ('Scunthorpe') Works from the east with the Foreign Ore Junction to Foreign Ore Terminal line in the foreground.

Immingham Freight Terminal Siding: Carriages awaiting cutting up on the scrap line in Immingham with a large pile of previously cut up metal looming over them. Some of the Glasgow Blue Trains met their end here.

Appleby (Lincs): The other Appleby ... this view of Appleby (Lincs) signalbox looks to the steelworks in 2004. The former passenger station, of which the eastbound platform remains, was behind the camera and the goods station to the left of the signalbox. A short branch to an ironstone pit ran from here.

Millerhill: Modifications underway at the privately owned former Millerhill station at the south end of the yard in December 2004. The Waverley Route continued straight ahead with the Glencorse branch turning off to the right at Millerhill Junction.

Ulceby Junction: Ulceby Junction looking south in 2004.

Cadder Yard: Looking east over Cadder Yard on 1 December 2006 as a Glasgow Queen Street - Dunblane service runs through.

Cadder Yard: View west over Cadder Yard on 1 December 2006.

Kinghorn Tunnel: View north towards Kinghorn tunnel with part of the trackbed of the short, steeply-graded, Pettycur Harbour branch visible on the right. Opened in 1849, the line was subsequently cut back to serve a bottle factory, located where the modern housing now stands. The branch closed completely in the 1960s and the old factory was eventually demolished in 1984.

Salwick: 158910 hurries through Salwick en route from Blackpool to York in December 2009. See image [[67717]] for a post electrification comparison. The bare trackbed to the right of the train carried the long lifted fast lines.

North Queensferry: East Coast branded 43306 leads the 0952 Aberdeen - London KX through North Queensferry on 1 December 2009.

Salwick: Northern Rail Adelante unit 180103 passes Salwick (No.2) signal box, immediately east of Salwick station, on a Blackpool North to Manchester Victoria service. Approaching from the east is 158752 running from York to Blackpool. Salwick is a 'fringe box' for Preston signalling centre and retains an emergency crossover and a disused siding alongside the Springfields nuclear fuel plant, part of which can be seen above the train.

Bristol Temple Meads: Preserved A4 Pacific no 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley photographed at Bristol Temple Meads at 1305 on 1 December with a special from London Victoria.

Kilmarnock: A 156 arrives at Kilmarnock on the 10.12 Glasgow Central - Carlisle service in falling snow on 1 December 2010 during what has been an extended period of bad weather causing disruption to road, rail and air services.

Kilmarnock: The bays at Kilmarnock on 1 December 2010, with 156.434 about to depart with the late running 11.00 service to Girvan alongside the 10.58 to Glasgow Central, which had been cancelled due to the lack of a driver.

Perth: The northern approach to Perth station, photographed from the Glasgow Road overbridge on 1 December 2010.

Whitemoss Level Crossing: A northbound DMU hurries through Whitemoss Level Crossing, north of Auchterarder, on 1 December scattering snow. On several occasions the klaxons sounded and the barriers came down but no train materialised.

Bristol Temple Meads: A4 Pacific no 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley arriving at Temple Meads on 1 December 2010 with The Cathedrals Express from London Victoria.

Glasgow Queen Street High Level: On the first day of Christmas at Glasgow Queen Street in 2010 there was a nice tree with lights and even real snow and ice to complete the seasonal atmosphere. On the second day of Christmas 2010, the tree was still there, but the trains were not, services having been suspended indefinitely to prevent ice damage.

Manchester Piccadilly: Icy connecting cables between carriages on TransPennine Express DMU 185127 stabled in platform 2 at Manchester Piccadilly during the early evening of 1 December 2010.

Blaenau Ffestiniog: Narrow gauge Fairlie locomotive Merddyn Emrys arrives in Blaenau Ffestiniog from Porthmadog, as seen from the front of an ATW Sprinter waiting to depart for Llandudno. I hadn't expected to see any steam trains but was assured by a local resident that one would appear shortly before the branch train left. However, it was connecting into private road coaches rather than the Conwy Valley service train.

North Llanrwst: Looking south from the platform at what is now known as North Llanrwst towards Betws-y-Coed and Blaenau Ffestiniog in December 2011. The New Llanrwst station is in the town centre of Llanrwst, just around the bend beyond the bridge. [With thanks to Kenneth Leiper and Andrew Wallace]

Blaenau Ffestiniog: The 'new' central station and interchange in Blaenau Ffestiniog celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2012. This view from the boarded crossing looks west and just beyond the far bridge the two railways diverge. The Ffestiniog narrow gauge trains swing left to head down to Porthmadog while the Conwy Valley line trains pass the old LNWR station (closed in 1982) and turn sharp right to go north past the slate tips and into the two mile long tunnel to Roman Bridge. 150277 waits to return to Llandudno.

Blaenau Ffestiniog: The 'Stop - Await instructions' sign implies that it is still possible for trains to continue beyond Blaenau Ffestiniog towards Maentwrog Road on the old Bala line but in fact the buffers are in place, but just out of sight, beyond the loop points. View from the footbridge, over a newly arrived service from Llandudno, with the narrow gauge tracks on the right.

North Llanrwst: There are only six trains a day on the Blaenau Ffestiniog branch in the 2011 timetable. One Sprinter suffices for services and this is the only surviving passing loop at what was the original Llanrwst station. It was renamed North Llanrwst when a new halt opened in the centre of the town in 1989. View north towards Llandudno Junction with the signal box visible at the far end of the loop.

Betws-y-Coed: A Blaenau Ffestiniog service calls at Betws-y-Coed, as seen through the window of the MkI coach that has served as a cafe at the railway museum for many years. See image [[30607]]. Note in the corner of this picture Toby the Tram Engine, who can be driven by young children on his own miniature line - and don't they love it!

Betws-y-Coed: There are three miniature lines at the excellent Conwy Valley Railway Museum and this is the longest with two out and back loops making a circuit that takes ten minutes to complete. The line is fully signalled for an intensive summer service but only one train was required on 1st December. Diesel locomotive Gwydir Castle is seen here just crossing the bridge over the water feature with the Blaenau Ffestiniog branch in the background.

Tal-y-Cafn: Tal-y-Cafn, on the Blaenau Ffestiniog branch, looking from the level crossing north towards Llandudno Junction. The station was formerly a passing loop and the redundant platform survives. A crossing keeper still opens the gates for the six trains a day in each direction.

Newcastle East Junction: The East Coast 13.30 Edinburgh - Kings Cross runs over the much simplified Newcastle East Junction on its way into Central Station. The old Coast/Wearside bay platforms are now part of the car park. See image [[1616]] for the same location 30 years earlier, prior to the changes to track and pointwork made possible by the reduction in conflicting movements.

Newcastle Central: On the left is the 1537hrs to Glasgow via Edinburgh and to its right a Pacer forms the 1524hrs to Carlisle from the new island platform. The Pacer on the far right is stabled between duties, but a crossover behind the unit means this platform is still available for through trains departing to the south and west.

Tynehead: Activity at Tynehead station on Sunday 1 December 2013 with a tipper truck heading south along the former rail link between the goods yard and the main line. The optical illusion still seems to work see image [[24391]].

Borthwick Bank Signal Box: Bring your own wellies! View north along the Waverley trackbed at Borthwick on 1 December 2013.

Fushiebridge [2nd]: The view north at Fushiebridge on a bright and sunny 1 December 2013. The former station footbridge has been removed see image [[42741]] and much stabilisation work carried out along the cutting sides. Running across the middle distance in the photograph are the houses of Powdermill Brae, Gorebridge.

Borthwick Bank Signal Box: Sunday morning on Borthwick Bank. View north towards Fushiebridge on 1 December 2013.

Fushiebridge [1st]: Progress at Fushiebridge on 1 December 2013. View south from the road bridge.

Borthwick Bank Signal Box: The view south at Borthwick Bank on Sunday 1 December 2013, with the Waverley formation curving to the right towards Tynehead. The amount of earth moving involved here can be ascertained from the size of the mound in the background being scaled by the tipper truck.

Nuneaton: Amazing what a lick of paint can do. The footbridge over the platforms at Nuneaton see image [[38355]] has recently been redecorated. The gent ascending seems to be distracted by the advertisement for new housing, which happens to feature an attractive young lady - no, perish the thought... [Ref query 631]

Newtongrange [1st]: The 0859 Tweedbank - Edinburgh runs north through the site of the original Newtongrange station (1908 - 1969) on 1 December 2016, shortly after leaving its 2015 successor.

Newtongrange: Early morning winter sunshine illuminates the houses of Jenks Loan in the foreground and the Pentland Hills in the background, as a southbound train on the Borders Railway pulls away from the platform at Newtongrange.

St Pancras: Old and new Eurostars meeting at St Pancras in December 2016. Although both of the old stock trains are in old livery, there was an old set in the new livery out of shot to the left.

Glasgow Queen Street High Level: The Christmas Tree on the concourse at Queen Street partly lit by a bright shaft of light from above.

Newtongrange: ScotRail 158714 about to leave Newtongrange on 1 December 2016 with the 0946 service to Tweedbank. View from the pathway linking the station car park with the National Mining Museum.

Newtongrange: Passengers boarding the 0931 ScotRail service to Edinburgh at Newtongrange on 1 December 2016. I can't help wondering what the sapling survival rate is in the area to the right between the railway fence and the houses of Jenks Loan.

St Pancras: The train shed at dusk, revisited see image [[41073]].

St Pancras: Detail view of the base of the Meeting Place sculpture see image [[48819]]. The train on the left appears to be a Eurostar, but the men on the right seem to be soldiers from WW2. Artistic licence, I guess.

Warriston Viaduct: Looking north across Warriston Viaduct along the route of the Edinburgh, Leith and Newhaven Railway where it crossed the Water of Leith. Up ahead is the site of Warriston Junction, at which point it was straight on for Granton, bear right for Bonnington and Leith North. Photograph taken in December 2016, nearly 170 years after the line opened to traffic.

Glasgow Queen Street High Level: View over the fence in December 2017 showing the work in progress on North Hanover Street, where it appears that there will be an entrance to the new staff buildings which are under construction.

Glasgow Queen Street High Level: The new staff buildings taking shape at the east side of Glasgow Queen Street in December 2017.

Glasgow Queen Street High Level: A recently arrived pair of 170 DMUs wait under the wires in Platforms 3 and 2 at Queen Street. In the background, the former Operations Dept is now neatly shrouded in white plastic as the demolition work on the old staff buildings at the west side of the station begins to get under way. Staff are now housed in the temporary buildings alongside Platform 7.

Glasgow Queen Street High Level: View through the fence at the work in progress on North Hanover Street in December 2017, where it appears that there will be an entrance to the new staff buildings which are under construction.

Bellgrove: An Airdrie to Balloch service calls at Bellgrove on 1 December 2018. With all the changes to North Clyde services over the decades this one has remained a constant.

St Enoch [Subway]: The ticket hall at St Enoch Subway, seen on 1 December 2018.

Drumchapel: A Dalmuir to Larkhall service pulls into Drumchapel on 1 December 2018. Rather as at Easterhouse, the reputation attached to the name is not really reflected in the station's surroundings, if you get my meaning. There is even a tennis club nearby.

Charing Cross [GC and DR]: It is difficult to photograph an eastbound train at Charing Cross as they all come to a halt at the platform end, furthest into the tunnel. So, just try and imagine one. I could have photographed the back of a train in the westbound platform, but I consider that cheating. Platform scene on 1 December 2018.

Dumbreck: A Class 314 comes to a halt at Dumbreck with a Glasgow train on 1 December 2018. This and a 4-car Class 380 were sharing the duties on the branch that day. Two sets are all that are required most of the time.

Dumbreck: A Paisley Canal service calls at Dumbreck on 1 December 2018. It's the only station on the branch with two platforms (making photography easier) though the old second platform at Corkerhill could surely be reinstated without too much work. This has probably been discounted as it wouldn't appreciably improve the frequency.

Singer: It's not fully light on the morning of 1 December 2018 as a Larkhall to Dalmuir service calls at Singer, while an opposite working retreats.

Interiors: Interior of a Glasgow subway train on 1 December 2018. This will soon be something to get nostalgic about, as new trains are on their way. They will be 4-car instead of 3, but will be the same length(!) Something tells me there will be non-stop digital announcements, rather then the snappy, 'Next stop Cowcaddens' spoken too close to the microphone.

Barnhill: A Dumbarton Central to Cumbernauld service comes to a halt at Barnhill on 1 December 2018. Barnhill station is about as basic as it gets with a sideless 'shelter' on the Glasgow-bound platform and none at all on the Springburn side

Springburn: Going my way? Scenes like this at Springburn will soon be a thing of the past when the timetable changes on 9 December 2018. Until then North Clyde trains to and from Cumbernauld reverse here and proceed on their way, parting at Sighthill East Junction. They are timetabled to do so a few minutes apart and here is a Dumbarton Central service on the left and a Cumbernauld one. From 9 December Queen Street High Level will handle trains to Cumbernauld (and beyond) direct using these through lines, and North Clyde trains will revert to terminating in the bays here, as they previously did for over 50 years.

Barnhill: There cannot be many stations in the UK with a platform indicator for the next station at the end of the platform, but Springburn is rather close. Platform 2 is one of the through lines where this Cumbernauld service will change ends. This practice, only a few years old, will come to an end with the new timetable on 9 December 2018. The through lines will become busier with Cumbernauld trains going direct and North Clyde services will revert to terminating at Springburn. This indicator at Barnhill will show '3' most of the time.

Govan [Subway]: The surface building at Govan Subway station, with offices above, seen on a December dawn. The original 1979 period piece has had a thorough makeover.

Clydebank: A study of the station building at Clydebank, one of the many standard structures put up on electrified lines in the Glasgow area in the 1970s leaving few original buildings. In the background is the Clydebank Co-op's main store, one of conspicuously few pre-war buildings in the centre of a burgh devastated by enemy bombing in 1941.

Glasgow Central: TPE 397007 awaits departure from Glasgow Central with the 11.14 to Manchester Airport on 1st December 2019. This was the first 397 to work out of Glasgow, as the previous days 09.07 working was cancelled. I travelled on the train to Carlisle and the ambience was great with seats nicely lined up with windows, much better than on a Pendolino. Unfortunately the seats are a little hard and those on the unrefurbished Class 158 that I continued my journey on were much comfier.

Cameron Bridge: Looking from the A915 towards Levenmouth, along the cleared track, on 1st December 2020. The buffer stop is the extremity of Cameron Bridge yard, formerly on the double track to Leven. This site is likely to become the location of a new Cameron Bridge station with a car park off to the left in this view.

Finchley Road and Frognal: 378218, heading away from the camera as it departs from Finchley Road & Frognal station with a London Overground service from Stratford to Clapham Junction, on 1st December 2020.

Crouch Hill: 710269, with a London Overground GOBLIN service from Gospel Oak to Barking, calling at Crouch Hill station on 1st December 2020. Despite trains on this route on this day (the last of the second full national lockdown) being lightly-loaded, they were still running at regular 15 minute intervals.

East Fife Central Junction: Looking south along the trackbed of the East Fife Central Railway on 1st December 2020, at the point where it passed under the A915 to the east of Windygates. The creation of a new siding to Diageo on this route has been mooted at times and the road tanker on the bridge is coming from that plant.

Crouch Hill: An almost deserted Crouch Hill station, apart from a friend of mine, also called David, inside the bus stop style waiting shelter, on the GOBLIN section of the London Overground looking towards Gospel Oak, on 1st December 2020, the last full day of the second national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Balshaw Lane Junction: 57303 heads a Kilmarnock to Ilford stock move with a pair of Class 317 EMUs at Balshaw Lane Jct on 1 December 2020.

Upper Holloway: A sign of the times on this sticker inside 710261, calling at its penultimate stop at Upper Holloway, with a London Overground GOBLIN service to Gospel Oak on 1st December 2020.

Briery Siding Halt: Briery Siding Halt was constructed for the use of staff at the nearby Bobbin Mill on the eastern outskirts of Keswick, which is now a holiday park. The platform survived long after the line closure (See image [[38890]] from 2012). More recently the trackbed cycle path has been linked through to Threlkeld and surfaced, which has created a very useful facility. Less happily the work has obliterated the old Briery Siding platform (A sort of Highways England mentality?). View towards Threlkeld in December 2021 from the bridge seen in Ken Strachan's earlier photograph.

Keswick: After the Keswick line closed in 1972 some small sections were used as cycle trails and footpaths but the small tunnel between Keswick and Briery was sealed up [[39079]]. More recently, various sections between Keswick and Threlkeld have been linked to create a single surfaced route and the old tunnel was excavated to allow easy cycling and walking where the trail passes under the A66. This is the west portal on 1st December 2021.

Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal: As an update to my earlier photograph of this Daventry bridge (see image [[76553]]), I notice it is now possible to drive an excavator across it; which implies some useful progress on the solum. The embankment to the left of this view has been completed to join with the existing trackbed.

Keswick: The frontage of the old station at Keswick at dusk on 1st December 2021. The connecting corridor to the adjacent hotel [[11717]] for railway passengers is the white painted structure and the main station building is now part of the hotel.

Bassenthwaite Lake: The forecourt of the Orient Express cafe at Bassenthwaite Lake station. Station House on the left has been lived in since the line closure in 1966 but until around 2018 the station building on the right just comprised some crumbling walls with no roof and so it has needed a full restoration. The westbound platform has also been reinstated. Just off picture to the right is an LMR Maroon 'BASSENTHWAITE LAKE STATION' entrance sign, another nice touch. Such is the popularity of this new venue that the road outside was full of patrons' cars, even on a mid-week December day.

Barmouth Viaduct: Barmouth - The restoration of Barmouth viaduct will take longer than expected. Detail view of damaged wood.

Bassenthwaite Lake: Although the station house at Bassenthwaite Lake survived the 1966 closure the station itself fell into dereliction. Very recently the site has been transformed into the Orient Express cafe and special events venue using the rebuilt station, the westbound platform and this star attraction. Full credit to the owners for rapidly steering this project to a very successful conclusion in difficult times.

Embleton: Station House at Embleton, between Bassenthwaite Lake and Cockermouth, has long outlived the little single platform station which closed in 1958, eight years before the line from Keswick. There was no passing loop here but there was a staffed level crossing and tokens were exchanged for the single line sections on either side of Embleton. The A66 trunk road now uses much of the trackbed between Keswick and Cockermouth and the station itself disappeared completely under the new road.

Bassenthwaite Lake: This representation of a French 4-8-2 (241) locomotive, and three dining coaches, were specially constructed for Kenneth Branagh's film of 'Murder on the Orient Express'. After shooting ended they were disposed of and now sit in the reconstructed Bassenthwaite Lake station as the popular Orient Express cafe and special events venue. This view towards Keswick in December 2021. The life, death and rebirth of Bassenthwaite Lake is fully covered on the Disused Stations website.

Embleton: In addition to the old station house at Embleton, further down the route towards Bassenthwaite and Keswick this old crossing keeper's cottage also survives. The trackbed here, as on much of the line west of Braithwaite, has disappeared under the A66 road.

Bassenthwaite Lake: First appearances can be deceptive with the Orient Express train at Bassenthwaite Lake station. Although in the film the driving wheels and valve gear move realistically with steam effects the 'locomotive' is actually carried on these tiny wheels. Also, the carriages were constructed wider than standard European stock so that they could accommodate the film crews, which also makes for spacious dining areas now. This venue has quickly become very popular and advance booking is recommended at any time of year.

Braithwaite: Braithwaite station, a single platform with no passing loop, closed with the line to Cockermouth in 1966 and is seen here in residential use fifty five years later. The Disused Stations website has some excellent information and pictures about this station, including its appearance in a Hitchcock film masquerading as Coniston when the famous director made his traditional cameo appearance on this very platform.