The stricken sleeper is rescued from Highbridge Loop! 57301 triple header with failed 57605 + 57604!
On Tuesday, 57604 āPendennis Castleā had failed on the early morning sleeper service, and 57605 āTotnes Castleā was tasked with rescuing the set and taking the ECS consist double headed back to Reading, a simple enough task, but apparently not. All was going to plan, I hadn't gone out for it as it was on time and scheduled to quickly pass through the region, but reports soon began to circulate that the 5Z50 had drifted into Highbridge loop, with 57605 suffering a complete loss of power, as the rescue engine had itself suffered a failure. And so the entire consist was left in Highbridge Loop overnight on Tuesday.
A new 57 path was added into the system late on Tuesday evening ready for an early start on Wednesday morning, as a light 0Z50 would make its way down from Reading to meet the ill fated pair at Highbridge, and take the consist either back to Reading or down to Devon. Sure enough 57301 arrived early this morning, and after a slight delay, the entire ECS ensemble shamefully eased out of Highbridge Loop picking up a new 5Z50 path out of Highbridge heading for Laira, via a turning movement at St Philipās Marsh.
Not a great look for Great Western, despite their effort refurbishing the 57 fleet it leaves us wondering whether they might reevaluate their choice of traction on the sleepers, given their track record for poor reliability issues...
I hope you enjoy this video and thank you for watching! Now, unless there is something ridiculously rare in the skies or on the rails over the next 4 days, this will likely be the final video before Christmas so a HUGE thank you to everyone for their support this year, it has great to meet so many new faces in the hobby, and enjoy whats been a bumper year particularly embracing the #Railway200 activities throughout the country, so I wish all viewers and subscribes a very Merry Christmas!
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#Tripleheader #Class57 #GWRSleeper #Locohauled #Diesel #locomotive #GWR #Sleeper #locomotives #rare #NetworkRail #Highbridge #shortestday #Triple #Bridgwater #BritishRailways #Somerset #Railways #Trains #raremove #May #2026
A rail incident involving multiple locomotives occurred when 57604 'Pendennis Castle' failed on a sleeper service, prompting 57605 'Totnes Castle' to assist in rescuing the set. However, both engines subsequently experienced issues, leaving the entire consist stranded in Highbridge Loop overnight. Additional locomotives, including 57301 and others, were involved in the operation. The event took place on a route that includes locations such as Reading, Totnes, and Bridgwater, with headcodes 5Z50 and 0Z50 associated with the service.
Fishplate has identified 7 locomotives in this video. Weāve also matched 2 headcodes and 5 operators . Create a free account to see where they appear, unlock timestamps and locations, and view the full breakdown.
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- 6 May 2026 11:14
- 9 May 2026 11:15
- 6 May 2026
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