Saturday 27th March 2010 ~ A Burning Question

The B7s are being pressed hard lately, here is 37156 heading back home on L12, the out and back turn today. this then goes empty to Yarmouth for X1 use on Sunday.

.....and here's another, 37158 with small fleet number heading for Peterborough on K16 at lunchtime meaning it too will end up at Lowestoft this evening.

Cheryl sent me a text this morning to say that when she arrived at work at 09.00 the former Belfast Linen premises on Nene Quay here in Wisbech were well alight. This didn't come as a big surprise, as yesterday (Friday) fire appliances had been called there at 11.30 and remained for about an hour, delaying X1s as a consequence. The fire today was a major one and apparently the culmination of a trio which had seen the fire brigade alerted three times this week. Someone was very determined and for a moment I thought it might be a fiendish plot by my boss Martin to stop me viewing X1s from my window (only joking chap). Anyway, this fire was of sufficient magnitude to render the buildings affected unstable and - yes you've guessed it - they've closed the road again while Humphrey & Sons try and make the area safe once more.

37562 was due a service today and duly did K5 after this had been completed. Its regular turn, K17, was bestowed with the luxury of Paragon 20500 today. Meanwhile 20501 was viewed in London on an unspecified working - yes really ! For 'Beast' lovers, K14 was the turn to view and as a result it will end up at its home depot tonight.

37565 began the day on K1 and 37574 on K15, but this all went pear shaped somewhere along the line and tonight 37565 was on K15 and no sign of 37574. It is not known what worked the second part of K1.

Once again four out of the five B7 Geminis were on the X1 today. exception was 37160 on King's Lynn local work.

Look closely and you will see an X1 Gemini in unchartered territory, this one looks to have come into Wisbech from Peterborough and then been diverted via the Old Market to get to Wisbech bus station. It would have been quite entertaining to see it negotiate the very sharp left turn from its normal route onto Wisbech town bridge. Cheryl took this picture as fire crews were damping down.