56051 sweeps around the curves on the approach to Hamstead station with 6M47 Aldwarke - Wolverhampton. This shot was
taken at 12:07 on Tuesday 17th February 1998. Twenty years later there's virtually no freight traffic on this stretch
of line, daytime usually seeing only a couple of Wolverhampton steel trains. By contrast this day in 1998
saw the following while I was there: 60038 on 6M80 Margam - Wolverhampton at 11:45; 56051 on 6M47 at 12:07; 56071 on
6E31 Wolverhampton - Lackenby at 13:24; 90140+90133 on 6G42 Wembley - Bescot at 13:48; and finally 47535 on 6G75
Brierley Hill -Bescot at 14:03. Five freights in a little over two hours, of which all bar 6M80 were regular daily
runners. By 2018 this is nearly as many trains as you'd see during the whole daytime at Bescot on many weekdays.
