Old-sparky

Again, that might be a railway company rule, rather than a BoT Requirement or recommendation. This business of unusual train make-up is, I think, worth looking out for, and is very relevant to the CA period and atmosphere. Its easy to get tricked into thinking that what became normal in later years was "how it was always done", in all sorts of areas, from track layout conventions upwards, and thereby create a 1905 railway backwater that is actually more like a 1950 railway frontwater.

Nearholmer here, suffering an identity crisis due to weird behaviour by the RMWeb identity database .... document ........ this has only happened before when I logged-in from overseas! Anyway .......... I checked the BoT "rules" (1885 as amended to 1902), and it is recommendation, not rule/requirement, that the guard's brake be placed "at or near" the tail of the train when continuous brakes are in use, so the railways did have a bit of scope. That particular version doesn't seem to legislate for mixed trains, in fact it seems to ban non-continuously-braked vehicles from trains carrying passengers altogether, although later ones did cover mixed trains in some detail (see Appendix III of the 1928 version http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/documents/MoT_Requirements1928.pdf ), so c1900 railways were probably making things up a bit, or the BoT had circulated a memorandum that is now hard to find permitting it under given circumstances). And no, I can't find the date of the photo. My gut feel is that it has been lifted from a book, so if anyone has books about GWR branch lines (i got shot of mine due to shelf overload), they might be able to tell us more.

Crikey! No neck wringing?

Nice photo within that link, showing 4w ohwe, together with typical 'tramway' style overhead. Probably c500V dc.

Both Walker-Fenn and Van Riemsdijk made commercial clockwork locos with effective governors, and both types are still popular and sought after. There is also a guy in the states, who has built 'modern clockwork', using a very powerful spring, which is rather like an old-fashioned roll-film canister in configuration. The big issue with clockwork is that it is a pretty poor way of storing energy in comparison with, say, batteries or capacitors; the 'energy density' is very low. That having been said, it would be rather fun to try a modern clockwork. It might be a bit less frustrating than the old, un-governed, ones, which really need the layout to be designed especially for them. Kevin (usually Nearholmer. Don't ask!)

It's very clearly filmed around a mine of some sort, and it's possible that the tunnel from which the tank emerges is a slope-shaft. The two little locos look like 4w ohwe, one having a pantograph, the other, I think, a trolley pole. Just the sort of thing to be used in and around a mine. If I was to make a stab, I'd go for an Austrian salt mine, but it's a wild stab, in the dark of a mine. Kevin

I don't know whether they can MU, but they won't need to on this service: it needs two in traffic, plus one in the wash. Currently there is usually a 153 and a 150 in traffic.

Revolution? Revulsion?

How very odd! I'd assumed that there was a big tank of diesel at Bletchley, and that basic exams and top-ups were done by a couple of guys popping down from 'wherever' in a van.

It has been announced that 3x 2 car 230s will take over from 150/153 on the Bedford to Bletchley (Marston Vale) line in December. I know we aren't supposed to ask questions on this sub-section, but does anyone know exactly when the change of stock is likely to take place, or when 230s might appear for route familiarisation by crews? Kevin PS: I did search for other threads that might cover this, but there don't seem to be any.

It's a brilliant idea, but please look at the 1930s colour images here before finally committing to a modern scene - they are sooo atmospheric. http://picssr.com/photos/swift-valley/interesting?nsid=36856551@N00

Stationmaster The mention of work study makes me remember something that made it hard for me to stifle laughter. if I read things rightly, I was probably about a decade behind you in working for BR, and when I joined, the purpose of "work study" had altered from its original, stern, intent. By the time I was attached to WS, public-sector pay restraint was in full force, and was causing an unholy combination of disruptive annoyance (petty strikes on petty pretexts), utter demotivation, and very skilled engineering staff leaving, to go to other employers. On the first day, the old-hand in charge gave me a really good intro to the topic, beginning: "It's important that you start with a clear understanding: we are no longer here to find ways of making things more efficient. Our job now is to find very carefully measured ways of paying people more money, for doing exactly the same work, while showing an improvement in productivity on paper." Thus was public-sector pay restraint circumvented! Kevin (usually Nearholmer, but somehow logged-in under a defunct alias)

Depending upon where you live, 'bricking up' may cause controversy from an appearance point of view. For mine, I left the garage door in place, with a false wall about 1200mm inside. This allows the door to open, and gives a storage area for things like stepladder, patio furniture in winter etc., and the door still matches my neighbour's. Access to the 'workshop' is through a new 'personnel' door that I had fitted at the back of the garage. The garage is single skin and piers, over a plank and beam floor, under a pitched tiled roof. I had the walls lined with 75mm kingspan, and then 9mm ply, which I chose because it is easier to fix things to than is plasterboard. I can't recall what the ceiling is off-hand, but it has thick "rock wool" above it. All work done by a reputable local "small builder", and as a non-habitable, easily reversible (take out the false wall) item, not of concern to either planning or BC. It is very cosy in winter, on the strength of one oil-filled heater set at 1kW, 10 degrees (well above the potential dew-point temperature), which barely ever 'kicks-in' except when I turn it up to 15 degrees when I'm playing trains on cold winter evenings. One thing to think seriously about is ventilation. Mine doesn't get warm, even in hot weather, it's a genuine man cave, but any enclosed space needs at least trickle ventilation, and it is worth thinking about "dead air" locations, like the back corners of cupboards, because even tiny amounts of moisture in the air can lead to mound growth in such places. Hope that helps.

Edwardian Very close. Built in 1883, but in France, although within easy striking distance of Italy. I have sneaking suspicion that the architect may have designed a couple of churches in London too. Kevin

Hmmm......... I hope nobody took the picture I posted earlier too seriously. It was taken a lot, lot further south than Streatham, and the liturgy, as well as the architecture, is pretty deep Roman. I do like that church in the above, though - it is a real history in stone. And, while Shakespeare is under discussion, did he have anything to say about gigantic signal failures? Just that me and mine are currently held prisoner by network rail, after a long day travelling! K