Cab ride: Nuneaton to Willesden via Rugby, Northampton and Watford.
They may well be 50+ years old and only a handful of them remain in service so when a pair of DCR Class 31s worked a ballast train from Derby to Willesden, it may well have been the freight working of the year – and the whole journey was recorded from the cab!
This is the second part of the journey, filmed on a fine day in September 2014 on board 31601+31452 from Nuneaton to Willesden. With 13 loaded ballast wagons in tow, the 31s have to work hard to keep to a tight schedule and they do so in fine style!
As seen on part one, the train had already run from Derby to Nuneaton and forward to Whitacre Junction where the locos had run-around, before heading back to Nuneaton. This second part shows the 94 miles from Nuneaton via the WCML and Northampton to Willesden. The sight and sound of two Class 31s on full power storming along a modern railway dominated by Pendolinos, Voyagers and modern EMUs is quite amazing!
Filmed with the full assistance of DCR, the entire journey from Nuneaton to Willesden is shown. A special ‘thrash cam’ in the back cab records the locomotives in full effect. Part narration, on-screen captions and maps.
Produced by - Train Crazy
Running time - 145 minutes
Format - 16:9 widescreen
DVD and Blu-Ray
Released - March 2015
