Home»All Photographs»Mainline Railtours»Spirit of the Lakes»2023_09_30

On Saturday 30th September 2023 I had to be up early for my annual Flu-jab but should have had ample time to photograph “The Lune Rivers Trust” excursion a couple of times between Stafford and Stratford-upon-Avon and the ECS move between Stratford and Dorridge. Great plan, or so I thought! Seeing it was 35 minutes late leaving Crewe I became complacent and discovering it was 12 minutes early at Washwood Heath I had to abandon my first shot and headed straight to Wooton Wawen in what should have been ample time. But no! I waited in vain unable to access ‘realtimetrains’ on my silly phone and only much later did I realise that it was 39 minutes early running down the North-Warwickshire line. I hoped I might see the ECS at either Claverdon or Shrewley both, in both locations, it had passed about half an hour early. All I could salvage from my day out was a few record shots as the locomotive was serviced at the Bentley Heath end of the Dorridge down loop. I had to be home in time to attend a family event near Chesterfield so it was impossible for me to photograph the return leg to Carnforth; which didn’t run silly early until after Crewe.