Platinum Jubilee biomass 20221229--010

66734 Platinum Jubilee passes Ryhope Grange Jn. (between Sunderland and Seaham), working 6H70 12.19 Tyne Coal Terminal - Drax Power Station loaded biomass.

I woke this morning to a cloudless sky, various weather forecasts having suggested it would be cloudy all day. I checked RTT to see what was running, and 66734 was shown as having worked 6N45 empties from Drax to Tyne Dock; when this runs, it often means 6H70 runs and usually (but not always) with the same loco. 6H70 had been "called" at 07.21, so looked like it would run but, as usual, did not have a loco shown until it had actually set off.

The weather app showed some cloud around, but kept changing from thick cloud to clear skies for 1pm immediately south of Sunderland - and with more chance of cloud to the south. In hindsight, I should have just gone out on the assumption the train would run and the clouds would clear, but having been ill for a couple of days (after spending Monday at the Tanfield Railway) I didn't want to be out of the house for too long. So I waited for 6H70 to appear on signalling maps before setting off, which didn't leave me enough time to walk to either of the two coastal spots south of Seaham (and, anyway, the weather app suggested there was more chance of cloud there).

I first checked the shot from Villette Road bridge, which I'd done at this time of day eleven months previously (this picture), but, as I'd suspected, the shadows were too long and the tracks weren't completely clear. I thought about doing a pole shot from beside the line as it ran past the village of Ryhope (just south of the bridge at Ryhope Grange Jn.), but it was a little bit windy and parking isn't easy (and, technically, the road has a no pedestrians restriction). But when I drove past here I was surprised that this view was free of shadows.

The sun is still a little more frontal than I would have liked, but with the loco livery being so light it doesn't show very much. When I got into position, the sun was behind a cloud and the train had already passed Sunderland station - but it goes very slowly as it accelerates from the hefty speed restriction over the River Wear Viaduct (aka the Wearmouth Bridge), and the sun came out, went back in and came out again (nearly fully) before it actually arrived! Looking at the sky, I think by the time the train had passed Seaham the clouds would have cleared completely, so I'd have probably been alright if I'd gone further south.

This is only the second time I've seen this loco, until the acquisition of 66301-5 from DRS a few months ago, GBRf's newest addition to its 66 fleet. (My first photo of it was a light engine working (0L37) at March in August 2022, but the front wasn't as well lit as I would have liked.) It is the second GBRf loco numbered 66734, the original being written off in a derailment following a landslide on the West Highland Line in June 2012, and gained this special livery in late May 2022 to mark the Platinum Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, prior to entering service in the UK.

This loco was built in 2001 for use in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, being owned by Porterbrook Leasing from new as its PB04. It worked initially (from May 2002) for HGK as its DE63, gaining the EVN 92 80 1266 063-7 D-HGK in 2007. Porterbrook's European interests were sold off in 2004, becoming CBRail and later Ascendos Rail Leasing, and that company (and PB04 / DE63) was acquired by Beacon Rail Leasing in 2016. HGK became RheinCargo in 2012 and the loco's VKM was changed to D-RHC. From 2015 PB04 was hired to several different operators, sometimes only for a matter of months; it came to the UK in 2021 for conversion to British standards for use with GBRf.

This second 66734 is actually older than the first, which was built as 66402 for lease by Porterbrook to DRS in 2003. In 2011, 66402 was leased to GBRf, which renumbered it 66734 (GBRf renumbered all its acquired 66s in the 667xx series; having reached 66799 and reused 66734, after taking over ex-Fastline 66301-5 from DRS, it also started to use the 663xx series - the future 66306 is already in the country).

It is fitting that a shot of 66734 was the last photo I took during 2022, the Queen's Platinum Jubilee year.

Visit Brian Carter's Non-Transport Pics to see my photos of landscapes, buildings, bridges, sunsets, rainbows and more.

Taken on: December 29, 2022

Tags:

66734

Platinum Jubilee

EMD

General Motors

GBRf

GB Railfreight

DE63

PB04

Beacon

biomass

Durham Coast

Ryhope Grange

Sunderland « less

Groups appears in: • North Eastern Railways • UK Railway Landscapes more » • Durham Coast Railway • Railfreight in the UK • UK Train - Best Shots • GBrailfreight (GBRF) • Top Quality Railway Shots. UK ONLY. • Railways of the North East • UK Retro liveried or celebrity locos/units on the Mainline. (No • Freight Trains in the North East « less

Camera: RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD. PENTAX K-3 II, f/8.0, 1/800 sec, 50mm (=75mm), ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	RICOH IMAGING COMPANY, LTD. PENTAX K-3 II
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/800)
Focal Length:	50mm (35mm equivalent: 75mm)
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Shutter speed priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Contrast:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384
Show full info

Stats: 2,517 views / 8 comments