Counties with the most tunnels

[Richard_A]

1 hour ago, John-Miles said:

Fox House near Hathersage. Do keep up.

Apologies my good man. 

Edited August 19, 2020 by rka

[cb900f]

18 hours ago, John-Miles said:

 

 

Edited August 20, 2020 by cb900f
not relevant to topic

[russ p]

6 minutes ago, cb900f said:

We must have come out the same mould as I was at Chesterfield Grammar too and also hated my time there. Crap school with crap teachers. My wife often asks what did I learn at school to which I always reply "nothing"

 

Pete

 

You must have learned something Pete as you did in my opinion train me well as a driver

[cb900f]

not relevant to topic

Edited August 20, 2020 by cb900f

[russ p]

1 minute ago, cb900f said:

You Creep.

 

Well when you have a trainee who is interested in the job it always makes the instructor's job easier.

 

Pete

 

Haha

 

Very true about interested trainees but you had a knack of putting stuff over and making it easy to understand 

I still remember even been knackered first thing in the morning after messing around with rally cars until the small hours you teaching us about the braking systems with hollow stem valves and diaphragms etc .

Put me in good stead for when I started working on preserved diesels 

[RJS1977]

My parents often used to ask me what I'd learnt at school that day, to which my answer was usually "nothing much", which was quite disconcerting for them as it was a private school so they were paying for it.

 

In actual fact of course, I was learning a lot (except in Geography where we seemed to do the same things every year from 2nd year Juniors to A Level!) - it just wasn't very easy to get excited about algebra, trigonometry, French and German verbs, etc.....

[cb900f]

not relevant to topic

Edited August 20, 2020 by cb900f

[russ p]

9 minutes ago, cb900f said:

No I truly learn't nothing.

 

If anyone ever dropped an Atom bomb I have always wanted them to drop it straight down the swimming pool chimney of my school . I loathed and detested that school.

 

Why did I have to listen to drivel about the Irish potato blight, American war of Independence and the French revolution, when we could had William the Conqueror , Richard 3rd ,Henry 8th , Elizabeth 1st ?

 

Pete

 

I think map reading was one of the few things that was useful i learned at school.  Most of the maps were outdated so was good looking at old railways and where tunnels used to be!

BR should have had secondary schools and taught rules and traction to 14 year old!

[cb900f]

15 hours ago, russ p said:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2020 by cb900f
not relevant to topic

[russ p]

34 minutes ago, cb900f said:

But when you look back Russ did it honestly help you to become a good driver ?

I did dispute with fellow colleagues that when applying the auto brake whether you were thinking "this stem is going up until the diaphragm equalises and the same is happening in the relay valves" or were you more concerned that the bogie brakes were applying and the train was slowing down. I always went for the latter.  As the saying goes it's nice to know but is it a need to know ?

 

I failed a Donny lad on 47s because he couldn't tell me the auto air brake system. He was a good lad and passed the 2nd time. Some time later I spoke to him and apologised for my actions. To his credit he never held it against me.

 

After that episode I never asked a trainee on exam to go through the auto brake system, again.

 

Pete

 

Learning that stuff Pete certainly makes it easier with failures

I still like to know more than is required today,  I failed with a 68 last week and rang the fitters as per instructions but rather than have them talk me through lots of procedures they just asked some basic questions as I'd done a lot of fault finding and we quickly came to the conclusion it was f####d and cleared the line and saved an even bigger delay charge 

I remember my first failure it was near Tollerton and the AVR fried itself on a job form tinsley I got on the signal Post telephone and said I'm a complete failure the signalman said hey don't take it so hard at least you have a job!

[pH]

1 hour ago, cb900f said:

No I truly learn't nothing.

.. 

Why did I have to listen to drivel about ... the French revolution, when we could had William the Conqueror ...

But he was French, wasn’t he?

[cb900f]

12 hours ago, russ p said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2020 by cb900f
not relevant to topic

[russ p]

8 hours ago, cb900f said:

I just knew someone would respond to that. 

But it would have been his actions in England that would have been interesting. to quote " He become one of the most influential kings in British history".

 

Pete

 

I have no problems with faults and failures and that is one area I used to concentrate on, plus pressures and temps . Asking a driver where the baffle plates are situated in the water system or how does the by pass valve work in the lub oil system or the helix in a fuel injector ? Definitely not. I'm still at a loss as to how the governor works. My philosophy was do the amps increase when I open the power handle, No well I had better go to the back cab and check ? You tell me ?

 

Pete

 

That there is no key in on a 31 or 47 , regulating air escapes

I still remember how the helix works

Maybe I could bore you to death sometime about how the governor works!

[Oldddudders]

1 hour ago, russ p said:

Maybe I could bore you to death sometime about how the governor works!

Many of us have found ourselves with a boring governor.

[Edwin_m]

This thread deserves some sort of award for greatest drift in the least time.  

[Wickham Green too]

2 minutes ago, Edwin_m said:

This thread deserves some sort of award for greatest drift in the least time.  

There WAS a - brief - mention of tunnels seven or eight posts ago !

[Nearholmer]

Disappeared down a rabbit-hole, maybe?

[cb900f]

Apologies to all for going off topic.

[Compound2632]

1 hour ago, Edwin_m said:

This thread deserves some sort of award for greatest drift in the least time.  

 

Well, many tunnels were built on the drift mine principle - only the longer ones were built out from intermediate shafts. In the spirit of @Edwin_m's comment, what was the longest tunnel built without digging a shaft, i.e. just dug from either end?

[Oldddudders]

1 hour ago, Nearholmer said:

Disappeared down a rabbit-hole, maybe?

Were you thinking of Hoppity Tunnel on the Tattenham Corner branch? 37 yards, I think I read. 

[eastglosmog]

1 hour ago, Compound2632 said:

 

Well, many tunnels were built on the drift mine principle - only the longer ones were built out from intermediate shafts. In the spirit of @Edwin_m's comment, what was the longest tunnel built without digging a shaft, i.e. just dug from either end?

I don't know, but the 538 yard long Whitwell tunnel on the Midland's Mansfield - Worksop line was built without any intermediate shafts.  That is longer than normal for a tunnel that does not have much cover.

[iands]

The Railway Codes web site (http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/tunnels/tunnels0.shtm) seems to have a very comprehensive list of all UK railway tunnels.

[russ p]

4 hours ago, eastglosmog said:

I don't know, but the 538 yard long Whitwell tunnel on the Midland's Mansfield - Worksop line was built without any intermediate shafts.  That is longer than normal for a tunnel that does not have much cover.

 

There always seems to be talk of opening this tunnel out.

There was mention of drift mine type construction.  Port mulgrave on a little known 3' gauge line from the port to an ironstone mine near the current Boulby potash mine started out as a drift in mine before becoming a lined railway tunnel 

Access to the eastern end of this tunnel is possible but not advised as it suffers from dangerously bad air.

I've seen pictures on the Internet of an underground junction with a branch from the lower harbour but this was done with breathing apparatus 

[The Johnster]

9 hours ago, Oldddudders said:

Were you thinking of Hoppity Tunnel on the Tattenham Corner branch? 37 yards, I think I read. 

This is on the same region as Bo-Peep Jc, isn't it.  We have a very grim council estate at Briton Ferry called Fairyland, officially, honest, backs on to the track between Briton Ferry Jc and Dynefor Bridge.  Bird in Hand Jc (named after a local pub) on the Sirhowy Valley line always struck me as a bit twee as well.  

[Compound2632]

Lover's Walk, Brighton, strikes me as being for doomed lovers only - in the manner of Delius' Walk to the Paradise Garden.