What do you look at when out & about on the railway?

[Fay Singpoint]

Buddleia....       

[Budgie]

These days I look out at Bermondsey for how the rebuilding is getting on. It takes my mind off the reason why I am travelling.

[Zomboid]

I doubt too many tears will be shed when the last 175 is withdrawn, but I doubt it was ever any different. Some types of train capture the imagination, some don't, even going back to the steam era.

[Reorte]

My question is- do railways still hold the same interest for people? I can imagine that the Deltic 'farewell' scenes will be repeated to a certain degree when Intercity's finest are withdrawn (which the bearded one will see to shortly no doubt). But when the very last pendolino/ Sprinter/ Adelante finishes its farewell tour, will anyone notice? I know that has been asked of every major change since probably horses were replaced by kettles.

Perhaps the answer to that depends upon how they were viewed when new, as well as during their life. The Deltics and HSTs might not've been liked by enthusiasts at the time but captured the public imagination. I don't think that anything since has in quite the same way (the Pendolinos are probably the closest). I'm sure we'll have Sprinters on preserved lines for a long time to come though (obviously electric stock will never be as visible in preservation aside from a few main line cleared examples).

[The Stationmaster]

After travelling on voyagers and pendolinos, with their incessant announcements, loud alarms and toilets that smell like an open cess pit, all I really want to look at is either the station I am getting off at or a self help psychology book such as "101 ways to avoid you wanting to kill yourself when traveling with virgin."

 

There is another book entitled "20,001 reasons why you would rather kill yourself than travel with virgin."

 

 

 

My question is- do railways still hold the same interest for people? I can imagine that the Deltic 'farewell' scenes will be repeated to a certain degree when Intercity's finest are withdrawn (which the bearded one will see to shortly no doubt). But when the very last pendolino/ Sprinter/ Adelante finishes its farewell tour, will anyone notice? I know that has been asked of every major change since probably horses were replaced by kettles.

 

 

EDITED to remove potentially inflammatory comments about what happened to W&S rail- one of the last few operators with whom it was a pleasure to travel with and you felt like being on a proper railway, and cannot be rivalled by the operator that pushed them out took over.

It all depends what you're looking at.  I find it as interesting today to look at new signals going in as it was in the 1960s and to work out what the designer is at or what the operating specification is, and just the same with track layouts of course.  Equally other changes tell stories - alright some are negative but at present after decades of rationalisation and cutting back there are signs all over teh place of capacity being restored (after a fashion) or created and it is, to me at any rate, an interesting and positive process to watch.

 

Equally there are things going on which, on the face of it, are not well managed and they too provide a bit of mental diversion and - of course - the 'we wouldn't have done it like that' opportunities which come with more mature years.

 

Traction changes are, as far as I'm concerned, simply a part of a passing scene with occasional highlights of interest when something 'new' or different or representing a step change happens to appear.  Lots of modern trains seem, maybe inevitably?, to have been built down to a price and have things which irk me as a passenger and the ever increasing (and regrettably largely ignorant) interference of DafT in train procurement does little to encourage either interest or journey satisfaction but at least those nitwits haven't got at the fabric of the railway.

 

As far as franchise holders are concerned they come & go - some are handed a ;poisoned chalice, some see style as triumphing over substance, some face a challenge, some possible have an easy ride - so their achievement in various spheres vary wildly, er just like some parts of BR did although probably more noticeably.  Our view of them are inevitably going to be subjective in at least some respects depending on what we want or expect on a particular type of journey and what they do or don't deliver against that expectation.

 

Incidentally I liked Deltics (from outside the fence) loved HSTs from inside the fence because both were positive step changes upwards.  I'm not over-impressed  by Voyagers which in my view in many respects were a step backwards although they delivered great operational advantages and i have managed to tolerate a trip from Durham to Reading in one.  I don't go much on Pendolinos - a cramped interior with poor views out of the window from many seats (and that's the 1st Class!)  and I have grave reservations about the IEP trains but will wait & see what they can do.

[dvdlcs]

Hello.

 

Growing up in the UK reading the likes of Modern Railways and Rail Enthusiast magazines, my main interest was in freight and often turned to Roger Butchers pages on wagons, departmentals, and internal users first.

 

Where I am now is predominantly freight, so I concentrate on the wagons as plenty of other people seem to concentrate on the locomotives. I'll photograph the loco as well, but if the same examples turn up week after week I'm not too bothered - gives me a better chance of securing a decent picture of it! :-) I've started building an archive on Flickr having been inspired by the likes of Paul Bartlett and Gareth Beyer, although I have some way to go in terms of overall quality of images.

 

Main downside with modern wagons is the lack of variety within the class - whereas in the days of yore different batches would be built in different locations over a period of time, sometimes years, now it tends to be a single batch from a single production line done from CAD/CAM and identical aside from the number on the side. Was it the HTO/HTV hoppers that depending on where they were built could be riveted, welded, or bolted together? Wouldn't happen now.

 

I'll photograph some of the infrastructure too, either if it is new or conversely if it is 'old' i.e. not from the current operator.

 

With the volume of containerisation, in recent years I've developed a (strange) fascination for the shipping container(!), perhaps again influenced by the likes of The Humble Box and PrefixList.com.

 

I'm not sure about the situation in the UK these days, but where I am (Australia), it is perhaps similar to North America in that as well as the deep sea containers, there are also domestic containers which tend to be larger (up to 53' x 10'6" in size) as well as a bunch of companies and liveries that are perhaps only seen in this part of the world.

 

With the many logos and liveries on containers, perhaps they are the contemporary equivalent of the pre-WWII private owner coal wagons in terms of colour and variety.

 

 

So, that is what I look for when I have a camera: freight wagons, container types and liveries that seem new and different to me, and any 'old' signs and signals that may cross my path.

[Rivercider]

When waiting at a station I do look out for bits of old surviving infrastructure, and watch staff at work whether they be platform staff

traincrew or pway staff, and a passing freight train will always get my attention.

When travelling on a train I still look out for the remains of long abandoned stations, junctions yards and depots. 

But more often I find myself looking outside the railway fence, are there many more deer these days or am I just paying more attention?

 

cheers

[t8hants]

I  don't want to notice it, but my eye seems to be drawn to the incredible variety of rubbish thrown over the railway fence - don't recall seeing a modern image layout that has successfully  modeled 1000's of plastic shopping bags along its PW.

Also I reflect on the undisclosed millions of pounds of civil engineering that was so easily thrown away, along with the out of date steam engines, even if the tracks were lifted the routes should have been protected.

[96701]

Last time I was riding the rails in a professional capacity, I was looking for and recording the position of Whistle Boards.

[APOLLO]

Last time I was riding the rails in a professional capacity, I was looking for and recording the position of Whistle Boards.

There is still a "SW" board alongside my house at the old Whitley foot crossing on the northbound (down) line. The crossing was replaced by a footbridge around 2001, but the board is still there and some (but not all) trains sound the horn.

 

Living virtually lineside (<100m) I have learned to tell the various train types by their sounds - no need to look out of the window !! Pendolinos screech, most diesel hauled freights are quieter, but there are two daily very noisy freights. The first is southbound at around 5pm, the log train to Chirk, very long and always braking hard and makes quite a din - unlike other freights. The second is usually around 10pm, northbound electrically hauled freightliner, always flying up the bank at a fair lick, always heavily loaded as occasionally the window / front door vibrates slightly - no other train does this !!.

 

Anyway, we all seem to agree rampant vegetation and litter is a problem that needs sorting.

 

The railways around Wigan / NW are getting more interesting with electrification. I'll be glad to see the back of EVERY DMU.

 

Brit15