Freight Driver's eye view: Warrington Arpley Sidings to Speke Sidings via Fiddlers Ferry & Ditton
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ม.ค. 2025
- Jump on board this Class 66 locomotive on a rainy April day, where we take a light locomotive (66019) from Arpley Sidings in Warrington to Speke Sidings near Liverpool, via the freight only Latchford Goods lines past the now closed Fiddlers Ferry Power Station. We then change ends in Ditton reception sidings before heading into Foundry Lane and attach to our train which will then work 6O16 from there to Dollands Moor via Speke sidings.
FIlmed on 12/04/2022 using a GoPro Hero 4 Silver.
Speed indications in the bottom right corner are the current line speed (speed limit). The current speed of the train is not shown on the screen due to limitations.
The current line name is shown in the bottom left corner and landmarks and junctions are shown above this.
I hope you enjoy this video!
Blast from the past retired 7 years ago from warrington DB schenker as a driver. Job not changed railway not changed weather not changed scenery has in many places.great to see the railway again.
Steve G! I remember you once coming into Carnforth Bottom End with a rake of Grampus and being very chipper at 5 am.
You or Pete Sheridan were the last Warrington men I saw before leaving DBS in 2011! I was leaning on the TOPS bench seeing where 6S73 was. You were always a great bloke, always welcoming. Good times
@@chewyfoks1840 l,d never swap those days fond memories of all our workmates one big family.
Why the speed restriction so low? One of most boring pieces of train film I have ever seen
@@memyself1566 a lot of it is down to finance. Maintenance pays a big part in the restrictions .they are not classed as main lines .the money is always used on main lines for the safety of passengers travelling by high speed trains.freight trains can be as heavy as 2,500 tonnes they cause a lot of damage to the infrastructure when travelling at speed .hope this helps .
@@stephengittoes7136
Many thanks - money talks, even on the railways.
Brilliant video, good to see all the shunting moves and love to hear all the interaction & banter with the shunters
Some proper British spring weather on this trip! Thanks for sharing, seeing the different maneuvering was really interesting.
Great video it does show the short sightedness of BR closing beyond Warrington a once busy through route to Manchester and Stockport all because they wouldn't repair a bridge which is still in place. What an asset this line would now be to get heavy freight directly around Manchester without using the long route via Hartford / Northwich etc and also avoid Manchester Victoria just the same. Quite ironic both routes join at Skelton junction.
My thanks go to the driver and all who made this vid. possible. Very much enjoyed.
Thanks Ben. Loved all the shunting and changing ends. My shunting days are long gone and I do not miss them. Travel safe my friend.
Thanks Ben, my neck of the woods this , really great to see it from the cab. So sad to see the state of Ditton Junction station where I spent so much time watching the blue electrics whizzing by
Not been over this part of the railway since 1985 when i was a Guard at Guide Bridge..I must say that the PW hasn't changed much but the number of houses and buildings at the side of the line is incredible. I retired as a driver at Man Picc at the end of 2010 but i never went over this route again. Excellent video really good quality....Keep up the good work thank you.
Loved seeing Garston Through / Speke East Jn from a driver's eye view. I'd die for your job!!
Absolutely fantastic video mate. Love watching cab rides. Thankyou for the content, take care and stay safe 🙏❤
That 66 sounds really smooth. Enjoyable video from a retired Track Engineer.
Thank you for all the work that you put into making and sharing this video. It was great.
Good to see another video from you, looking forward to the next one!
Thank you Ben nice to see something different, enjoyable to watch bring on the next one.
brilliant, thank you for posting
Thank you for this, rain and all.
Great to see another upload from you!
Very interesting video for me. I used to live opposite the yards at Speke Junction in the days of steam, then moved out to live near Fiddler's Ferry. Always wondered what it looked like from the rails. Thanks Ben.
Thanks for posting this one Ben. I think these are really useful - I’m in Australia building a model railway based on present day UK operation and even the inside of the maintenance shed helps in getting the scenario “right”. Good one mate👍🏻
Would love more ❤️ of freightliner my favourite locomotive by far
Wooo, so good to see another upload from you after a little while!
Loved this. More please.
Great video & interesting route- thanks!
Thanks for another fab video.
Thanks for a great video, for me I use to visit WBQ regurlarly when the MGR's ran with Class 60's and all the running round which kept a shunter very busy
Thanks for posting man. Kudos.
Thank you Great video and enjoyed.
Thanks for this, Ben. You've moved to driving proper trains then!! Looking forward to more interesting freight lines to come.
I love all these videos but Freight lines are my favourite, just something about them. I live in the North East and was born about fifty yards from a Mineral line that used to take Coal from Harton Colliery to the Staithes at Tyne Dock, where they loaded the Ships. We saw and listened to the Trains Day and night, it was part of my young life. Perhaps that is why I love these vids so much. Even in those days, 50's and 60's the Units were powered by overhead Electric Cables.
Have a look for the poem called Tyne Dock - brings it all back. 9fs setting off from Tyne Dock yard.
Thanks for filming view from locomotive, as i see here the cleanest workshop, i as train driver too soo proud of this job, same track same time and work with amazing place
Oh yes dear Ben... Have been waiting for some more of your top draw videos... Thank you my friend...
My pleasure!
@@beneliastrains Thank you Ben...
Excellent railway video
We always see some of these freight trains coming into and going from Dublin Port under Dublin Connolly via the Liffey Junction via the Phoenix Park Tunnel to/from Galway, Westport, Ballina, Cork, Tralee, Sligo and going past Inchicore and Dublin Hueston - we even saw one of these huge freight trains passing through Dublin Pearse one morning, coming from Rosslare and going to Dundalk
Looking forward to this Ben, grew up next to the old low level line in Lymm.
just subscribed to your channel and a very interesting and enjoyable journey. Keep them coming Ben
Brillaint video! Really enjoyed this!
I rreally enjoyed that
Love this! Thanks for sharing!
Superb video sir
Excellent video , very plain weather.
Thanks Ben, great video as always.
Fantastic.
Ben, I just stumbled upon this video but you’ve got yourself a new subscriber! Fantastic video bud
Superb interesting video, thanks!
Great stuff Ben. Another rare piece in the jigsaw.
Thanks Ben: it's all in a days work !
Very interesting!
Thanks Ben!
Many thanks for this one Ben, + the associated return run - brings back memories of working the loaded "tubs" from Carnforth in the '80's. Very much a regular source of overtime, there was a standing joke in the messroom at the time. What's the difference between Strangeways & Fiddlers Ferry? With Strangeways, at least you knew when you were going to get out, hahahaha...!!! Such a shame that what could be such a useful route for freight would now appear to be facing a somewhat uncertain future, unless the plans for HS2 come to fruition.
Best and most interesting track names I have seen. Usually it’ “down morbid” and “up inertia.” Network Rail needs a “Committe to Rename the Boring Track Sections to Catchy and Interesting one’s”!
Thank you, I love 'travelling' on the parts of the network that us lesser mortals don't usually get to see. I believe this line is going to be used as a spur connecting Liverpool to HS2 via Arpley/Bank Quay Low Level. Apparently, they're going to build a new line from Arpley to High Legh and not go via Latchford/Thellwall. The bridge over the ship canal (and at Cadishead too) is in serious disrepair. I've watch some URBEX vids and they're both falling apart.
Good to see you back in harness. Great video, shame about the weather.
Tell me about it, typical North West!
Looking forward to this
Great video Ben , happy easter
Enjoyed the vid, I was a nobber at Arpley then moved to Signalman at Crossfield, think the speed limit was higher in those days.
Nice tren
Manilyn
Any chance of a simple map of this manouevring for those of us unfamiliar with the route, please?
If you go to Google Maps, Arpley Sidings is the north/south aligned yard in South Warrington. In Satellite View, you can see the shed he passes through at the start. We go south from Arpley as far as the Mersey, reverse, come back north and swing east. We then reverse again, pass under Bank Quay and past the recently closed Unilever soap factory and head southwest, parallel to the St Helens Canal and the Mersey. Ditton Foundry is just west of the Silver Jubilee road bridge over the Mersey and the Ship Canal, and then we continue west past Halewood to Speke Sidings, which is one side of the triangle where the line turns northwest in to Liverpool.
You certainly got plenty of exercise changing ends! Back in my Freightliner days (1980 to 1999 though I was EW&S via RfD by the end) Speke Sidings was very much bow and arrow country. In the time it took to get the electric off and the shunter on to get into the FLT the locals could cut the side out of a container and remove the contents, washing machines from Italy seemed to be popular. These days in Cornwall I have very ittle contact with railways.
I think this is the first of your videos which has popped up, I'll have to investigate further.
None with electrics?
love to see Sam journey from Latchford sidings from the head shunt at top never seen in cad run round be grate
What's with the blur-out coming into Speke yard at the end? You still see everything that it might be hiding.
why the blackout in the middle of the screen at garston is that for security reasons fella?
Ah, the viaduct over the Mersey, on the CLC. In better weather you can sometimes find me standing there on the public walkway, watching the world go round. So if you see an old white-haired chap with a beard, give me a toot! :-) The site-builders keep blocking up the footpath with their rubbish, though, because it is down a slight cutting - therefore out of sight of the new road! I'm sure, historically, there used to be another bridge there, otherwise what was that huge buttress for? If there is one on the other side, it is hidden by the undergrowth. So far, I've not found a drawing or photograph of it. - - - I wasn't aware that passenger trains could use that line past Fiddler's, except the very occasional 'Branch Line' tours, that go everywhere. - - - - Nice Vid, Ben.
Fascinating to watch. At 56:50 the linespeed changes from 30 to 75. Shortly after the driver eases off the power before passing a green signal with the train slowing. He then takes power again and speeds up. What would be the reason for that?
I was carrying out a running brake test to make sure the brake performance was adequate
Towards the end of the video there was a weird blurry box, was that just me or was there something we were not meant to see...?
What does the A mean at the end of the TSR. I have never seen a Letter A below the T (termination of restriction)
I believe it means the driver can 'A'ccelerate as soon as the front of the train has passed the T board. Some permanent speed restrictions have recently been fitted with A boards too (such as at Bristol Temple Meads).
@@Phil_Marshall_ that's correct!
Very good. I lived in Warrington up to 2010 and was fascinated by the reversing moves at Walton Hall and Arpley. Tell me with the demise of the power station is there any freight traffic passing Fiddlers Ferry, or just light engine moves?
Be nice to know how many wagons, weight, cargo etc. Thankyou
You can count the wagons as he runs around them at the end of the video, but I agree that it would be interesting to add that information to the video.
Amazing video! Nice cabview! Good work, master! Thumbs Up & Subscribe🚂🚂😎👍
Greetings from Romania
Andrew
I knew if I watched this for long enough, I would see lunar lights!!!!! (@ 33:44>)
These videos could make me addicted to watching freight line videos. I used to watch mainly passenger line videos. These are great. Question - I noticed a number of lines still using semaphore signals. Why is that? It is really fascinating watching 21st century trains being controlled by 19th century technology. Keep up the good work.
Money. It costs money to replace them and all the (invisible) technology that is behind it.
Modernisation is usually driven by the need for increased line capacity, for instance updating signals so trains can run in closer succession to each other.
this line in perticular is because it sees one train per week if that, theres no need to modernise it yet. though hs3 will use this line for passengers
Why are parts of the video blurred?
Love train's
มารับชมด้วยนะคะ
I think that you went through Warrington Bank Q Low Level and it looks like a little bit of the platform remains but with the chemical works fence on it?
30:53 love how theres still passenger speed signs despite it not being used for passenger services for many years
Railtours and the like still come down there. That sign looks modern enough to have been installed after closure to passengers.
@@MKTTransportVideosit was installed within last 2 years if I recall correctly, I live nearby. It’ll be nice to see passenger services return in the coming years as part of hs3/npr
So I noticed that passage through Ditton Reception Siding No. 3 is done on a red signal with position lights, why is that? Is the only possible reason that the intermediate ground position signal was red at first, or are there other reasons for signalling it like this?
Would you please explain why there always seems to be a longish delay between the signal clearing and freight trains moving off? I have often seen this is other similar videos, Thank you.
Interesting tour around the back of the Washing powder factory. Surprising the number of old signalboxes that remain around there. A 5 mph speed restriction doesn't suggest great confidence in the state of the track 🤔
The speed restriction is actually not for the track at all, it's for the sighting time at the crossing - it was deemed to be inadequate at 20mph
Whats with the blur square the las 20 minutes
How much Slutchers Lane has changed in the 18 months since this was filmed…
Those sidings on the far left that appear around 1.09.00 - are they disused and do they still count as Speke Sidings? Most of the 1961/62 OHLE survives as erected in this area it seems, with only minor thinning of the 'wirescape' over the years.
No railway on the left there anymore - the gantries remain but the rails are gone unfortunately.
@@beneliastrains Yes, I thought as much - you can see cabins, vehicles etc on that side - but to be fair quite a lot of the freight network is electrified in this immediate area. Which is good I suppose !
Hi there, can you please tell me what ‘A’ means under the termination (T) board?
Certainly! It means you can begin to speed up from the board rather than waiting for the rear of the train to clear the board. It means 'Accelerate'
@@beneliastrains well I never! Never seen that before. 5mph TSR for vegetation?
Why is the temperature so high here?
Ben..when you change ends? Our you running around your wagons or. Is there a second locomotive at the back ? Thank you
It's just one locomotive. The only run around was at Speke Sidings - the rest were just light locomotive moves.
didnt know there was a Diamond in Arpley yard
5 miles per hour, that is the lowest speed restriction I've ever seen in this kind of videos. The signaler seems to apologize for it, or thanking the driver for obeying. 🙂
So it's only road knowledge that prepares you to look out for the second semaphore signal at 26:00 being possibly ''at danger' when the one before said 'proceed'? Or is there an indication that tells the driver the distant signal covers two successive stop signals?
What's with all the blurs towards the end of the video.
Just out of curiosity, what’s the reason for routing via Speke instead of just departing south from Ditton?
The furthest the train can go from Ditton without doing a run round is Liverpool Lime Street station, which isn't at all useful, so it has to run round at speke
@@beneliastrains is it not possible to run round at Ditton? Apologies, don’t know the area at all, so curious :-)
@@danners4302 This train is too long to run around at Ditton!
@@beneliastrains that would explain it! Thanks for the info :D
I'm late to this video, but I have a question.
At around 7:00 the train is waiting at a set of points to nowhere.
It just strikes me as really weird for there to be a set of points that would do nothing but derail a train, and have them in use, unless derailment of a train that doesn't stop is the purpose?
They're trap points. They are designed exactly as you suggest - to derail the train and prevent a collision if the train proceeds past the ground signal without authority
@@beneliastrains That's really interesting, thanks for the explanation :)
Thanks Ben is that your days work or do you have other trips to do ? Thanks Ben😁
Is this you going to collect a load?
Just a day in the life of a motorman, or what is the name of an engineer? Very calming. He must have lots of coffee.
In the UK, the person who drives a train is just the driver.
Do you prefer freight to passenger work?
Massively!
@@beneliastrains interesting, it’s a move I’ve thought about myself. Would make a great video!
Genuine question Ben, how many bird strikes on average a year do you get? also from 1hr 12 you appear to have some kind of square water mark blurring out the middle of the screen for the rest of the video
Haha I did actually spend a while recording my animal strikes but got bored of it. It's not that common with freight locos because they're so noisy. I've probably only hit one or two birds since October when I started. On passenger trains is was more like two a week.
Hi Ben
Great to see you back again, How far do you take the loaded train south ? and how do you get back to Warrington when you finish your shift ?
Keep up the great work 😁 Many Thanks
I get off at Speke and catch a train home from Liverpool South Parkway. A Bescot driver takes the train south later on in the day.
@@beneliastrains Thanks Ben is that your days work or do you have other trips to do ? Thanks Ben😁
It was raining through most of the video. This is obviously England. 😄
I'm assuming that the "blur" was to hide people who didn't want to be seen in the video.
Hi Ben just 1 question was u the actual driver for this video if it was great to see the route some freight trains take it's a big thumbs up from me
Hey yes it was me. Cheers.
How many end changes was that..bout 6 at least....also is there internal access to each end of the loco so you dont go out side to change ends. good stuff though....Aussie here 👍🙂
the yard use to be very busy ...
Ben was this a day trip then
Day trip - with intermodals? :-)