It is a bitterly cold January afternoon and the light is doing its best at staying away. 170401 puts the site of Forteviot station behind it with 1A69 1442 Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen, Perth being the next stop.
The light was so poor I had the ISO on the camera set at its highest, 1600, to try and get some form of shutter speed for this working. 66709 hauls ten Carless PCA tanks loaded with mud oil, a lubricant used for drilling bit heads in the oil industry.
The working is 6S60 2250 SuO Harwich to Aberdeen and this working has 66709 in charge. The loco wears the livery of the Medite Shipping Company, a customer of GBRf. 23/1/2006
Perth station and the guard on 170396 looks out as the set runs into bay platform 5 with a terminating service from Edinburgh, 1L37 0940 off.
The daily empty parcels vans from Aberdeen to Mossend runs through the curved platform 1 at Perth behind 67011. The working is 5D03 0907 from Aberdeen to Mossend yard. The loaded train runs from Walsall to Law Junction where vans are left and the train is split with portions to Aberdeen and Inverness.
After a dwell time of some ten or so minutes, 170396 heads back to Edinburgh with 1B30 1108 off. The train will bear left at Hilton Junction and take the Newburgh branch.
170417 slips away from Perth off the Dundee road with 1T14 0908 Dyce to Glasgow Queen Street. The starting point at Dyce serves Aberdeen Airport and today this train is running about 5 minutes down.
A wide angle view of Perth station with former Hull Trains 170393 running into platform 7 with 1H09 1010 Glasgow Queen Street to Inverness.
A sunny period at Perth as 170404 departs from under the train shed with a mid morning Inverness departure to Glasgow Queen Street, 1T16 0924 off.
In the southern station throat 170433 comes off the down main onto the down Dundee road via the up main.
The set comes to a stand in platform 2, the service is 1A59 1042 Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen.
EWS type 5 66091 approaches Perth from the south running light as 0A30 Mossend to Aberdeen. With no traffic to take to Aberdeen there is obviously something up there to bring back.
Another passenger working comes off the Dundee road with 170419 working 1T18 1042 Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street.
The daily DRS hauled intermodal crosses the tracks off the down main onto the Dundee road with 4A11 1038 Grangemouth to Aberdeen. 26/1/2006
I took a few hours of TOIL from work and headed to a new location for me, Bardrill between Blackford and Gleneagles. Seen from the viewpoint of the road overbridge, 170413 comes round the curve with 1A67 1342 Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen.
The view in the opposite direction is good too and to confirm that is 170418 lit by the afternoon sun rostered to 1T22 1242 Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street.
A loco hauled non passenger working has 67008 toying with four empty parcels vans on 4D05 1138 Inverness to Mossend.
More loco hauled action and this time it is the luxury land cruise Royal Scotsman that is recorded. West Coast Railways 47853 forms the motive power for 1H89 1336 Edinburgh to Boat pf Garten leg of this particular tour.
In the left distance are the green sheds of the Highland Spring bottled water plant whose products leave by road ( but in 2020/21 that is changing as a railhead is being built at the cite). 170411 leans into the curve employed on 1A69 1442 Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen.
170434 passes signal B25 and is Blackford's up distant signal. The remains of the fogman's hut for when this was a semaphore signal is a quaint survivor. The train is 1T26 1342 off Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street.
I knew this was running and was the main reason for asking for time off work and spending a delightful afternoon in the sun. GBRf 66714 wheels 14 loaded PCA tanks conveying mud oil to Aberdeen, 6S60 2250 from Harwich.
This train is routed via Stirling and Perth when loaded as the tanks are too heavy for the Tay Bridge, but when empty they can cross it so the return empties are routed via Fife.
Moving now from Bardrill to Blackford and 170402 approaches the long closed station with a down working, 1A73 1542 Glasgow Queen Street to Aberdeen. The semaphore is B23, the up starter signal.
The set has the road to Auchterarder passing the down advanced starter B11. The road is the A9 Blackford bypass.
170412 is caught nicely below Blackford's up home and yard signal gantry located opposite the former Caledonian Railway signalbox.
The driver of 170412 gives me a wave (thanks) as the set passes the signals working 1T32 1442 Aberdeen to Glasgow Queen Street. The main signal is B24 whilst the smaller shunting arm giving access to the up sidings is B20.
Another move and a favourite location at Eater Balgour between Dunning and Forteviot. 170434 runs for Perth and onto Aberdeen with 1A77 1642 from Glasgow Queen Street.
