[stannard]

Fewer Sunday night diversions of the northbound Highlands sleeper this Autumn following 'substantive completion' of the West Coast upgrade programme. The two diversions so far (on 25th October and last night) have both seen the Class 90 train locomotive and 16-coach formation dragged by a hired-in Virgin Class 57/3. Does the job adequately (high ETS rating and ability to haul the heavy train at close to the sleeper 'comfort' running speed of 80 mph), but visually not as impressive as the three EWS Class 67s used in recent years (a leading pair providing traction, with the inner loco also providing ETS to the front half of the train and another Class 67 on the back just supplying ETS to the rear half of the train).