Railway Herald
Photographed in full dull but an interesting working. No. 66176 heads the rather hit and miss 4M06 06.15 Cottam - Blackwell. It is seen approaching Lenton South Junction, Nottingham at 09.18 on Tuesday 23rd August 2011. The train is taking coal empties from Cottam Power Station to a loading point just North of Alfreton at Blackwell on the Midland Main line. Blackwell itself is the name of an opencast site located pretty much where the former Westhouses shed once stood. In order to avoid the train running round en route it takes a very circuitous route. After departs from Cottam it heads west to Retford and Worksop then south through Mansfield and Shirebrook arriving at Pye Bridge Junction at 08.10. At this point the train facing south is just 3.5 miles from its destination but pointing in the wrong direction ! Consequently the working thus heads south to Trowell Junction, Toton then via Toton Junction and Attenborough Junction where it turns East heading through Beeston prior to turning left at Lenton South Junction to get it heading north. At Radford Junction No. 66176 will head west before arriving at Trowell Junction again where it finally starts heading north back to Pye Bridge Junction where after 35 miles and 90 minutes it's back but now facing North and just 5 minutes from its destination.
The train is the only booked freight working over the West to North side of the Lenton triangle and the Trowell Branch. Erratic in its running, booked to run daily it typically will run twice a week but can go absent for a number of weeks. Not one to rely on then ! I was thus pleasantly surprised to see it having only gone to this location looking for the Boston steel working.
John Illingworth
