great central

Belle Vue on Monday I presume? Was considering going myself but starting work at about 04.45 then driving back from Manchester from 21.00 or so onwards didn't seem like a good idea. I went to Ipswich in June, first full Brisca meeting I've done in best part of 40 years, world final now has getting on for 90 cars booked I think, shame I'm working. Hope to make Kings Lynn on Saturday. For those interested in some of the not quite mainstream motor sports a new free channel has launched today, they had Brisca F1 on this afternoon apparently but I can't seem to get it. Info from Stoxnet.com. I think it needs a Freeview HD box? Hope it'll appear on Freesat at some stage, not there yet. https://www.freesports.tv/index.php

Can't say much about that apart from not necessarily, if my (one) experience of franchise change is anything to go by

We are given a set of standard scripts that we're supposed to use in PA announcements, of course the computer generated ones stick rigidly to them, some of us do vary them somewhat but I am aware of colleagues getting into bother for going too far off script. Edit: Then again, and please don't take this personally, I don't always have a lot of sympathy for anyone who inconveniences themselves because they are wearing headphones. We had a PHBT a while ago on a foot crossing, no idea the train was coming, headphones still blaring after the event apparently. Most drivers now give a long loud blast on both horns at that crossing to this day. Further edit: Personal belongings might also include things like rotting slimy banana skins, especially on early morning trains (just do those extra few steps and put them in the bin, grr) half drunk dustbins of coffee from their designer coffee shop and used nappies (GRR!) GC who's feeling rather good this lovely sunny morning:-). No smilies on my phone

All they'll do then is look at their phones and tell you their phone says,...... And totally ignore the yooman bein who does actually know what's going on and can keep up with the alterations

Had to smile at this, not what you expect to see at all. Nicely sign written as well, about the Earl of Pembroke

When I was a kid, we always used the GC, according to my dad the trains generally ran far more to time than the Midland route. Anyway the station was much further away, bus from home dropped us right outside Victoria.

Two similar incidents to these to recall. Working the last Liverpool-Nottingham some years ago, bowling merrily along between Warrington and Manchester there's a muffled bang followed by something rattling along the roof of the 158 then a full brake application. I head to the front of the train to see what's happened. Driver's side windscreen shattered and bulged in but fortunately stayed in place. We'd hit something hanging from a bridge. Train driven slowly forward to Glazebrook to cross over then back to Birchwood to detrain the passengers, unit then empty back to Lime Street to be rescued next day. That unit had a splashed line of black paint along the cant rail area until refurbished a couple of years later. Another Liverpool-Nottingham on a Sunday hit something near Langley Mill, an old dustbin full of bricks placed square in the 4ft. Then there was the mystery of showers of ballast being thrown up when we got over about 65mph, driver completely unaware and once he reduced speed again it stopped. We carried on, driver telling me to let him know if it started again. Sure did just as we entered Totley tunnel! Ballast flying everywhere, I'm concerned about it bouncing off the tunnel wall and perhaps breaking a window. Driver can't hear the cab to cab intercom so I make my way past quite a number of worried faces to advise him. We slow again and it stops, so decided to stop and examine once clear of the tunnel. Took a while to find the culprit, a flexible sand pipe had come adrift and was hanging down, at lower speeds just dragging along the ballast, but at higher speed flailing around throwing ballast up. Drove slower into Sheffield for a fitter to secure the pipe. According to a fitter friend that unit had quite a few knocks and dents on the underside, but fortunately the incident didn't cause a failure on the line

Going off topic a bit, but then again who would buy a grey Ford Mustang? Someone has obviously, saw it a few weeks ago, Red, Yellow, blue, white, even black but grey???? Edit to try to remove double quote

I'm pretty sure that the standard abbreviation for East Coast is still GR as in GneR

Last regular one in them there parts was around 58 years ago, borrowed one seen much more recently. But you do have the very close cousin of one there as well

Many years ago now when I first joined the then Bulwell MRS we built a layout based on Bulwell Common on the GC including a curved representation of Bulwell viaduct around one end with the burrowing junction to Bestwood along the front. This meant that the main line had to rise as the branch fell away to allow the two to cross over under the viaduct. At one show during silly hour on Sunday afternoon a competition arose between us and another, flat, layout to see who could run the longest train. People were moving between the two layouts, in separate rooms, watching the competition and telling us how many wagons the other layout was running. We maxed out at 80 for my single Wrenn 8F, a mixture of Wrenn wagons towards the front of the train with lighter, then new, Mainline wagons making up the second half of the train. It took quite some driving skill as while the loco was climbing on one side of the layout wagons were running downhill on the other side and vice versa. Adding a second 8F allowed us to get to 100 just before the wagons stringlined across the curves which were, I think, in places less than 3ft radius. Years later something similar was done on our Carstairs layout with a twin motored 90 (I think) which got to over 30 coaches if I recall correctly, that is a looped figure 8 layout with a long fairly steep climb off scene with a near on 2ft radius S bend at the top

Crikey some of those make Fiskerton to Rolleston look like a marathon

I seem to recall reading somewhere about different ways of quoting availability figures. I may be wrong on this so apologies to anyone first if I am but BR quoted availability figures across an entire fleet whether the loco was on an exam or stood down for other reasons. The EWS way was to take anything on exams or otherwise stood down and place it into 'store' therefore only quoting a figure for locos actually ready for traffic

Skegness line has roughly one train in each direction each hour through the day, summer Saturdays also see an additional HST. I believe there are actually two running this year but as I don't sign them, I'm not certain. I know there have been differing options almost until the first one ran. The curve is approached along a very long straight section almost all the way from Boston which was, of course, originally the route from Grimsby to Peterborough, now totally obliterated beyond the curve.

Thirty or so 'proper' Minis arrayed on Yarmouth seafront earlier, only one imposter, courtesy of Colchester Mini club according to the rally style plates they were displaying. The club banner being propped up under the wheel of a Focus ST?? Perhaps they thought a mini would get blown over? Sorry about the people in the shots but they just stood there for ages

Did a double take when I came up behind this on my way home a couple of days ago. Picture taken whilst at a stand in case you're wondering

There's one of the current fleet painted in a similar livery, search for Great Yarmouth heritage bus should find a picture

In addition to Syston North and Firsby which have already been mentioned, Trent East to Trent North near Long Eaton is pretty tight and heavily used by both passenger and freight including Lindsay oil tankers. 10mph leading into an adverse camber junction

I doubt the MML would want to give up a path to STP, more likely Thameslink would operate the Corby services as an extension of their Bedford route and leave MML with another path to the East Midlands

Any bl**dy where but outside where I'm sitting now!! Whole flippin building is vibrating!

That assumes that Liverpool-Norwich doesn't get split up

A friend of mine works/worked in the Highways department of a local authority. He and his engineer colleagues are being transferred to other departments, meaning the local authority won't have a single highways engineer in their highways department which designs and maintains the road system. This means they can maintain the roads at lower cost, cos they won't be properly specified and will simply follow the instructions of the politicians in the local authority, non of whom, naturally, are highways engineers. You couldn't make it up

I'll hazard a guess at Grantham, as it was allocated there accoarding to rail uk. I seem to remember seeing it quite frequently on visits in the early 60s

So long as they keep paying you does it really matter? I know it doesn't to me

Going back to my days as a telephone engineer the number 0 actually means 10. Following the same logic on Tops that would mean E3200 actually being 86101 with straight numerical re-numbering as the 100th loco in the class as you would have to start at 86001 correctly from E3101. I'm sure I've read something in the past that TOPs followed similar principles, that being the reason that some preTops 00 numbered locos took either the last number in class or filled a gap think D9000 to 55022