The first location of the day is Woolaston level crossing a few miles west of Lydney. In lovely, short lived morning sunshine 170518 approaches with 1M58 0845 Cardiff to Nottingham Central trains service.
Bubblecar 153361 forms 2L49 0858 Gloucester to Maesteg and passes in front of the former Woolaston station which is now a boarding kennels. The station closed on 1/12/1954.
Next at Woolaston is a three car Central Trains turbostar 170110 forming 1V08 0710 Nottingham to Cardiff.
150256 is an exScotRail unit but has been in South Wales for a few years now. Today, like yesterday, it is employed on Maesteg to Gloucester services and here it forms 2G54 0800 Maesteg to Gloucester train.
The sun had gone by the time the first of the day's freight action appeared. 66124 passes the site of Woolaston station, which closed on 1/12/1954, with 6V35 0050 Lackenby to Llanwern loaded steel slabs.
Within an hour of arriving in sunshine, the rain has arrived. 60004 passes by with the daily 6B13 0533 Robeston to Westerleigh loaded bogie tanks.
Sedbury is on the outskirts of Chepstow and 170112 passes heading for Wales and Cardiff with 1V10 0800 from Nottingham.
150267 passes over Wye Valley Junction at Chepstow and is for the line to Monmouth Troy which closed to passengers on 5/1/1959. The track runs only as far as Tidenham Quarry and beyond that freight was withdrawn in 1964. The unit is running as 2G56 0917 Maesteg to Gloucester. The gradient change is from 1 in 268 up to 1 in 186 down. The junction has since been taken out.
Whilst the main line is dropping the former branch to Monmouth Troy has been climbing from the junction and is at the top of the bank above 150267.
Seen from Chepstow's Beachley Lane is 170110 crossing out of Wales and into England on the inverted box girder bridge BR built in 1962 to replace Brunel's original 1852 tubular suspension bridge over the River Wye. The train is 1M62 1045 Cardiff to Nottingham.
170102 forms 1V14 0900 Nottingham to Cardiff which is not booked to stop at Chepstow.
66018 wheels through Chepstow station with a mixed rake of BYA and JSA covered steel wagons on 6V05 0939 Round Oak to Margam empty steel.
Chepstow's goods shed has found a new use as a builders merchants. 170112 is seen again this time heading back to Nottingham, 1145 off Cardiff 1M64.
Only the class 2 local services between Maesteg and Gloucester are booked to call at Chepstow. 150267 forms one such working 2L55 1158 from Gloucester.
66223 comes through Severn Tunnel Junction (STJ) station with an empty steel flat train. Possibly 6C02 1406 Bristol East Depot to Newport ADJ, if so it is running about 100 minutes early, if not then I've no idea!
Arriva liveried bubblecar 153310 slows for its STJ station stop with 2G60 1217 Maesteg to Gloucester class 2 local.
Central Trains white liveried 170397 speeds through Severn Tunnel Junction station without stopping on 1V23 1100 Nottingham to Cardiff. This unit and a couple of others were built by AD Tranz with no particular customer in mind, hence the plain colour. Central has been using this unit since it was built.
158855 promotes the Exmoor area and is utilised on 1F19 1330 Cardiff to Portsmouth Harbour, nowhere near Exmoor.
43142 leads 1B31 1215 Paddington to Cardiff First Great Western service. It would have come through the Severn Tunnel.
A patch of sunlight breaks just at the right time for 66174 and its rake of 33 empty HGA hoppers heading for Newport's East Usk Yard. It started at Hayes at 1029 and runs as 6C23 TThO.
Services previously operated by Alphaline and Wessex Trains have been taken over by First Group and fallen under their fGW umbrella. Three car sprinter 158967 is made up by adding a vehicle from another unit and it forms 1F16 1122 from Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff.
First Great Western HST service 1L65 1355 from Cardiff to Paddington is led by 43143. The train takes the Up Tunnel line and will pass through the station without stopping.
The single vehicle class 153 units were converted from some of the class 155 two car sets. 153361 powers up after its station stop with 2L59 1358 Gloucester to Maesteg.
A late running freight approaches with 66158 in charge of 6C83 TO 1220 Machen Quarry to Westbury. The train has 18 loaded Hanson liveried JHA bogie hoppers and is about 2 hours down.
66096 approaches passing 170638 on 1V26 1202 Nottingham to Cardiff.
This departmental train is running about 20 minutes early. 66096 fronts 6C41 1510 Newport ADJ to Westbury Yard.
