A dispute about Sunday working saw Arriva drivers enjoying a day off, which was bad news for frustrated passengers but provided some unexpected loco haulage as Arriva hired two rakes from Riviera Trains.
37 197 had brought the stock down from Carnforth the previous
day and 47 847 ran down in the evening to form a top and tail set. The first
train of the emergency timetable was the 10:43 Bangor to Crewe. We arrived
a couple of minutes too late so missed a shot of the 37 taking the empty stock
into Belmont tunnel.
That English Electric power wasn't needed for long, 37 197 is now at the rear.
We headed off to photograph it along the coast. The weather was now perfect, but no train. We found out it had been delayed three quarters of an hour awaiting a guard, then was cancelled because of a fault with the central door locking. We gave up and went home - if we'd stated where we were, we could have photographed the set returning empty. Such is life.
We returned in the evening, and after an hour on the chilly platform the delayed
services from east and west met at Bangor. Virgin liveried 47 843 leaves as
47 815, repainted in original two-tone green pulls into platform 2. Photographers
grab shots of the other train.
47 816 is on the rear
