JANUARY TO JUNE.
The 42nd instalment in the TRACTION series is proof that the motive power scene is even more unpredictable than ever, throwing up previously unimaginable workings - such as Class 73s to Oban on a sleeper train! Once again, restrictions on exhaust emissions for new locomotives has seen a number of older locomotives return to the main line. It all adds up to an extraordinary six months and the highlights include...

FREIGHT TRAFFIC & TRACTION: 37025 and 37254 return to the main line to work for Colas; Tonbridge-based 20901 & 20905 on the East Coast main line hauling a single gypsum wagon to  Peterborough; Freightliner’s 47830 on a Kilmarnock to Laira coaching stock move; Northern Belle 57312 hauling a rail train to Toton; Chiltern Railways’ 68011 working a nuclear flask train in Cumbria; 56087 & 56113 rescuing a failed 60087 on the Seaham cement; DRS’s 66425 ventures to Laira with HST coaching stock; 50007 Hercules & 50050 Fearless taking Heavy Haul coal hoppers to Donnington for storage; 90018 & 90036 hauling the Doncaster to Tyne Yard infrastructure service;  the return to the main line of 37800 for Europhoenix; Heavy Haul Class 66s en route to Poland; new DRS Class 68s leaving Workington docks; the final batch of new-build Class 66s for GBRf being unloaded at Newport Docks...and the unveiling and naming of 66779 Evening Star at York. 

PASSENGER TRACTION, RAILTOURS & SPECIALS: the extraordinary Caledonian sleeper drags diversions caused by the closure of the West Coast main line north of Carlisle, including re-routings via the ECML, the Durham coast, the GN&GE Joint Line and the G&SW with Riviera Class 47 and GBRf Class 66 haulage; 86401 arriving at King’s Cross with the overnight sleeper service from Inverness; 73968 hauling the diverted Fort William sleepers to Oban; 37259 working the Cumbrian Coast passenger diagram; GWR’s 57605 off the beaten track at Melton Mowbray en route to Derby for repairs; 55009 Alycidon travels over the Borders Railway to Tweedbank; 87002 working a GBRf ‘foot-ex’ to Liverpool; 50007 & 50050 powering a Derby to Swanage railtour; D1015 Western Champion’s non-stop run from Paddington to Plymouth...and 59202 hauling the VSOE.

THERE’S ALSO: Network Rail’s newly-converted ‘Ultra 73s’; 56098 & 56301 hauling refurbished GWR HST stock from Kilmarnock to Laira; 31233 on test train duties; four Class 86s towed to Barrow Hill by 37608 before shipping to Bulgaria; Vintage Trains’ 47773 with a Greater Anglia EMU in tow; 70003 hauling a brand new Gatwick Express unit from Derby to Bletchley; 73966 towing Scotrail EMU 320315 from Springburn Works to Shields Road; 56113 and 66848 on test train rescues; 68025 on inspection saloon duties with Caroline; Network Rail’s 73951 & 73952 at the Severn Valley...and Class 40 D213 Andania blasting out of Swanage on its first passenger train in 32 years!

Narration: David Maxey

Produced by - Locomaster Profiles
Running time - 100 Minutes
Format - DVD only
Released - August 2016