big jim

My lads Saab has a ‘night panel’ which dims the whole instrument cluster apart form the speedo needle and dial as a nod to the fighter jets (below is a 95) I got him this key for his 9-3 tag too….

805 testing again last night, oxley to Carlisle and back to Carnforth oxley crewe All white on the night A very wet oxenholme ready for the run to Carlisle and into Carlisle ready to head south, unfortunately followed a stone blower all the way so had to hold back at 60mph 90% of the trip! tonight might not run as the required testing might have been completed today, here’s hoping!

The viaduct now got a national trust urban garden, keep meaning to visit but never have the time https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cheshire-greater-manchester/castlefield-viaduct

Emergency possession last night, rail drop near Madeley on the WCML The inbound loco was delayed getting there so we had to shunt it onto the train and get it brake tested etc Changing ends after running through the yard and onto the train the green 47 again! we had 15 rails to drop but as the train had been loaded incorrectly we had to start with the rails destined for the bottom end of the drop then set back, that set back was 1.5 miles at 3mph, the draw forward at 5mph was bad enough! anyway we got the drop done and away pretty much on time, into bescot via Wolverhampton and Perry Barr to keep the train facing the correct way and away to my hotel bescot down goods loop 805 tonight and tomorrow (so far)

was it a general release? EDIT: I see it was and long sold out everywhere!

Couple of charity shop buys today, something a bit different for the thread!

Couldn’t resist the guy fawkes one so preordered from rails the gun powder van behind it in the pic is that going to be available too, can only see the special commission open wagon on the wagon works website

Running around all over the shop last night started at landor st with an empty stone train to Stockport due to the landslide at new mills and various other planned line closures it had to go via Warrington and chat moss landor st waiting outside castlefield for an intermodal to pass from trafford park Into Stockport, running 30 late We then jumped into our hire car and headed back to crewe to pick up the car train to nuneaton crewe Into Nuneaton change of job tonight, rail drop at Madeley then another ‘can you just’ tomorrow on the 805 again

301 was a non standard loco within the fleet as it had hitachi ERTMS equipment fitted so it’s no surprise it’s going for scrap, it’s the only one of the 4 I never got to work down the Cambrian due to the different equipment not being compatible/reliable, I think it was actually banned from going down there in the end had it a few other places though llandudno Sheffield and derby

interesting, I take the COTY didn’t have the aero as standard then? for the sake of £70 I’ll most likely fit one for noise reduction etc (assuming the exhaust I’m hoping to get off yourself is short enough to fit one between the down pipe and middle pipe)

Fairly sure it’s an import as they never sold the FTO in the UK until quite late on, would it still apply? EDIT: looking at this, yes it does need a cat, thankfully not too expensive (£70) but another thing to add to the list!

Possession last night at Acton grange, the work was done where we got there, had to do one propelling move though to clear some track circuits 66707 up front we then headed off back to crewe via Manchester but had to wait over 2 hours in longsight goods loop for another possession further down the line to be lifted into basford hall class 47 on the walk back to the car mixed bag tonight, landor st to stockport via Warrington and chat moss then crewe to nuneaton with the mossend car train

the guy who painted that, and most if not all of thornabys weird and wonderful paint schemes works for LSL now, top guy!

Ah, I didn’t realise they had updated the tooling slightly

Is this just a re-run of the 2007 release? https://hattons.co.uk/64216/bachmann_branchline_39_000u_br_mk1_bsk_brake_corridor_coach_99953_in_national_railway_museum_york_maroon_liv/stockdetail I remember at the time the discussion around at the fact the coach cost an extortionate £25! I’ve got one from the original release, they do seem to still make good money on eBay too, not any more I suspect!

So they were genuine DVTs no engine running, all electrics supplied from the 86 and gubbins in the guards compartment? I find it fascinating that the testing was carried out on service trains with passengers on board! loving the scotrail intercity 47 lurking on the palace gates pic!

I thought that drilling machine was a semaphore shunt signal at first glance on my iPhone screen also there’s certainly no GBRf pride in the state of that loco, I noticed the decals were peeling the other week and it’s absolutely filthy!

the 6 bells web site says they only went to carnforth where there was a shed visit As I read you post I was thinking about the route with my ‘modern railway map’ head on and visualised them coming in to Skipton from the west and reversing having come along the little north western, of course back then the direct line from Accrington was still open and I realise having seen the route on 6 bells it came in that way, amazing too that the 2 tours ran within 30 mins of each other the 2nd one being added due to popularity, doubly amazing they mustered up so many different run of the mill locos too in the dieing months of steam I’ve only ever been to Skipton once by train, luckily in the cab of the NMT where I took over driving from hellifield to traverse the S+C, it’s great to see just how much railway there was there back in the steam days compared to the basic track layout that exists now

no issues with the 805, last minute emergency engineering was put in place which prevented the run

I for one am someone who can’t tell the difference between blue Peter and tornado, they look the same to me at a glance! The mk3s are SVR stock, normally parked outside the carriage sheds in Kidderminster when I’ve passed by

Seems like ages since I’ve been in work, the 805 jobs were cancelled all week so I’ve been spare but got asked to work last night conducting a stone blower for Harsco from walsall to soho Jn and back soho jn at the end of the job, 2 machines on site tamping side by side, waiting for the 2nd machine to couple up to head back to the depot soho depot possesison tomorrow in Warrington then a few days of Stoke diverts and an 805 to Carlisle at the end of the week

don’t know, I picked it up from the road side from the lad who’d bought it off a work colleague

the FTO has come up good bodywork wise with a good wash and a T-Cut part way through you can see where I’d only done part of the roof the wing but not the bonnet and the rear quarter but not the tailgate now that’s the good bit, prepare to wince at the state of the underside thanks to lack of underseal, paint and being stood for 12 years! rear chassis rails, at least there’s something actually there! Rear Suspension and chassis rails Floorpan, still fairly intact but very little paint left! Inner skin behind the rear bumper as you can see a major job, got the mot guy coming over to have a look at it at some point and give an idea of what exactly needs doing welding wise EDIT: I’ve shared the pics with a friend who’s normally quick to spot things I’d not as well as posting them on another forum and the consensus is that it’s not as bad as it looks, once the welding is done (assuming there is no other major issues) give it a good clean and lanoguard it and it might be alright

Finally got it home, it’s going to need some serious welding, I’ve managed to put my finger though the outer floor pan skin around the front jack points but the chassis rails are in better condition at that end than I’d hoped (but still not good) under the arches seem ok, not able to poke anything through them toward the engine bay the exhaust issue is twofold, one is it’s missing a piece of the centre pipe (I wondered if someone has cut the cat out but I’m not sure it has one?) Secondly the flexi pipe has long corroded away but that’s part of the down pipe from the V6 manifold, thankfully not massively expensive but something that needs doing before we can really fire it up properly as it’s so noisy! I think the first major plan of action is to get the welding work assessed and priced up, the first minor job is to get it off the road and onto the drive then give it a good wash and t-cut

meanwhile I rinse out another jam jar 2 miles down the road to save the planet!