The first outing of 2021 was a bit of a strange one. Contrary to standard practice, I ventured out to see the last of LNER's Class 91 locomotives - specifically 91130 'Lord Mayor of Newcastle', 91106 and 91119 'Bounds Green INTERCITY Depot 1977-2017', along with 1 Mk4 coach and Class 82 DVT 82205 with 'Flying Scotswoman' vinyls - make their way from Bounds Green TRSMD in North London to Neville Hill TRSMD in Leeds.
With the Class 91s having been around for longer than I can remember, I felt I had to capture the last 3 of the 31-strong class be sent away for storage after withdrawals began 18 months earlier; the Class 91 and Mk4 sets' diagrams dwindling with the introduction of LNER's new Hitachi Azumas. The Class 91s had been intended to be in passenger service until the end of February 2021, however, the 3rd national lockdown rendered them surplus to requirement, leading LNER to cut the diagrams 6 weeks early from 15th January, sending the remaining members of the class into warm storage.
LNER are to retain 10 of the Class 91s until 2023 with the potential for them carrying on into 2024. The class are due to have their bogies overhauled at Doncaster Works before they're to re-enter traffic in the Summer of 2021 once the overhauls on the bogies are completed and the engineering works at Kings Cross station are finished.
Onto the action now; the triple header is seen at Arlesey, along one of the racing stretches of the Southern half of the ECML. A Class 700 unit is seen leaving the station before the Electras come rolling along on the Down Fast line. 3 short and sharp blasts on 91130's 3 chime horn signal its imminent approach as she leads 91106 and 91119 North through the station at 78.4mph, a far cry from the 161.7mph record set by 91110 in September 1989.
Hopefully it won't be too long before the Class 91s are back thrashing their way up and down the ECML in revenue earning service Even though it isn't the usual steam/heritage traction featured on the channel, the 91s are a bit special to me, as they're the trains I grew up watching from a very young age.
Filmed on a Panansonic TZ70 and TZ30.
Enjoy.
Негізгі бет TRIPLE HEADING CLASS 91s WITH HORN! - The Last LNER Class 91s to go for Storage - 28/01/21
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