Jim’s “out and about with GBRf” thread

[big jim]

Just now, Craig1989 said:

When did hams hall become an aggregates terminal aswel as a container terminal?

 

cheers Craig 

about 6 weeks ago I think, as much of a surprise to me as it was to you, had a booked job out of there thinking it was a container train and when I arrived discovered it was a Stone train to Hindlow! 
 

I did know hams hall was getting a Stone terminal but I thought it was going on the spur to the old power station site which is still in situ 

[big jim]

Not many from today, running late into basford hall due to a train failing on the Sutton park line and having to wait for it to be rescued then following it and another train signal to signal to walsall

 

it was light when I got to basford hall

 

 

And into peak forest where 37716 was doing some shunting 

 

 

Back to crewe where one if our cement trains passed by

 

66792 again

 

And into walsall and away it went 

 

birch coppice to rugby and then the RHTT to kings Norton tomorrow 

[LocoMotive]

Excellent shots Jim; these are really first rate:

 

21 hours ago, big jim said:

Not many from today, running late into basford hall due to a train failing on the Sutton park line and having to wait for it to be rescued then following it and another train signal to signal to walsall

 

it was light when I got to basford hall

 

 

And into peak forest where 37716 was doing some shunting 

 

 

[big jim]

Some from yesterday, couple of jobs, first up was a birch coppice to rugby intermodal, got my wife to drop me off there with my bike on the roof before she headed off to a hotel so we can go the Christmas market in Birmingham today 

 

Running round in birch coppice

 

and onto the train

 

Kingsbury jn

 

and into rugby

 

where I had 4 hours to wait for my next train, as I had the bike and realised I’d forgotten my gloves and helmet I rode to the Aldi to buy a new set as I’d spotted them in the middle isle earlier in the week, after doing that I rode back to the station via the cycle path along the old great central railway

 

At one point you actually drive onto the old platform at Rugby station 

 

I then carried on to Nando’s for some dinner before heading back to the station via the cycle path that runs along the viaduct that carried the line to Leicester

 

as I crossed the viaduct I could hear a steam engine in the distance and sure enough one was chuffing away over the flyover at the north end of rugby station 

 

turns out it was a black 5 heading from chester to euston, I didn’t realise it was sat on the goods in rugby while I was waiting for my train or I’d have gone back over there to get a few piccies, only realised when I heard it set off from there through the station just before my train appeared 

 

my train

it was then a run back to kings norton with the RHTT 

 

 

off into Birmingham in a bit to the Christmas market and the like then back in this evening for a bescot to crewe job which I may well end up taking to hindlow, if I do I think I’ll ride from there to Matlock again but via the Monsal trail this time (weather dependent!) 

Edited November 21, 2021 by big jim

[big jim]

And some from last night, bescot to Hindlow 

 

bescot, 66747 this time 

 

I was only supposed to work it to crewe but as there was no relief I took it to Hindlow, I don’t sign the route it was booked over via guide bridge so I went crewe-Warrington-Newton le willows-eccles-manchester Piccadilly-stockport-hazel grove and chinley! 
 

had an hour in crewe so went the mess room 

 

all the way to Buxton 

 

Hindlow (this photo was taken in pretty much pitch darkness!) 

 

 

And run round ready to set back 

 

I was planning on riding to Matlock again but my relief came in earlier than expected and it was dark so I just rode into Buxton instead 

 

 

and caught the train to Middlewood

 

where I got on the Middlewood trail to Macclesfield, this is the old line to rose hill marple, never realised before but the current Middlewood station doesn’t have a vehicle road near it, you have to walk along the old trackbed to get to it! 

 

Higher Poynton station 

 

Bollington viaduct 

 

 

just after this I hit the pedal crank on a low down metal pole which stopped the bike working, I had to pedal the last 3 miles like a sucker into Macclesfield, checked the bike over and have discovered 3 screws missing on the ECU cover which is what Halfords had to replace a few weeks back, I managed to get the bike going again at Macclesfield but I’ve got to call in at Halfords on the way home to see if they can fit some replacements

 

in tonight on the 196s  

 

 

Edited November 22, 2021 by big jim

[big jim]

Just 3 from last night, 196 testing 

 

Tyseley 

 

Crewe

 

and back to Tyseley

 

day off today, a bit of layout time I recon 

[big jim]

Some from last night, got the train from crewe as 37175 and 37612 came in en route to manchester 

 

 

tyseley, 196110 again

 

Crewe

 

Malcolm train passing through crewe 

 

Stafford 

 

Trafford park to Southampton service passing through the station

 

[Barry O]

The 37s sound like a proper diesel..the 66s sound a bit... "wussie"..  

 

Baz

[5BarVT]

1 hour ago, Barry O said:

The 37s sound like a proper diesel..the 66s sound a bit... "wussie"..  

 

Baz

Mind you, the 37s were accelerating away whereas the 66 was coasting down to TV Junction.  They sound better under power, albeit still ‘different’.

Nice to see a glimpse of flashing for the turnout.

Paul.

[big jim]

Just a few from last night, final night of 196 testing this week 

 

I believe this wagon at Tyseley has the distinction of being the oldest wagon used on the network as it’s used ‘mainline’ to travel with rubbish between the carriage sidings and the factory side of Tyseley depot, hauled by the class 08 they have on site 

 

A shorter job last night, just crewe and back to complete the mileage required to be accepted 

 

 

back to 66s tonight 

[Departmental203]

Nice video of 37716 there, can't beat some good old "Tractor" thrash!

 

Although I'm scracthing my head at why it's being used at Peak Forest again when it wasn't deemed satisfactory when it did the same job three years ago, read that the loco was put under strain

 

At least it's something special, albeit it's about 300 miles away from me!

 

Jules

[big jim]

Some from last night and this morning 

 

first up, bescot to rugby

 

rugby

 

taxi back to bescot to work another to rugby but the driver of the other train realised we would be following each other from walsall so we did a swap there and he went to rugby and I went to hams hall

bescot 

 

Walsall

 

My other train arriving for the swap

 

 

Hams hall

 

And then another one from hams hall to bescot 

 

 

And into bescot 

 

Running round in the snow

 

 

And homeward bound, again in the snow in Wolverhampton 

 

back tonight for the RHTT from rugby to kings norton 

 

[Andy7]

Absolutely cracking night shots Jim. That phone is doing a sterling job. Thanks for keeping us updated with the current scene.

[big jim]

The hardest thing with the new phone is keeping the lens free from grease or smudges, you can see in the first picture below how it effects the lights 

 

anyway some from this evening, RHTT rugby to Kings Norton, running mega early due to the passenger service being all over the place thanks to the storm last night

 

rugby 

 

Pretty much non stop to kings norton arriving in 2 hours early!

 

 

 

one stupid little light engine move tomorrow toton to bescot, hardly seems with coming in for! 

[CovDriver]

Seems like your having a better time than me on Friday morning I was supposed to be prepping units at Birmingham International until I discovered dragging brakes on the rear vehicle and had to wait for fitters to isolate all the brakes on tha vehicle. Ended up waiting 5 hours for a path to Northampton King's Heath Depot.

Then yesterday morning I hit a tree at Adderley Park at 80mph that was an interesting few minutes. 

 

Cheers 

Colin

[ianwales]

35 minutes ago, CovDriver said:

 

Then yesterday morning I hit a tree at Adderley Park at 80mph that was an interesting few minutes. 

 

Cheers 

Colin

 

Ouch. you Okay? We had a fair few trees down in S wales, but, we had a blanket 40mph speed restriction so didn't get any major incidents.

Edited November 28, 2021 by ianwales

[wombatofludham]

15 hours ago, big jim said:

 

Walsall

 

 

 

Interesting to see that you are in the platform road.  I know they removed the stop blocks at the other end a while ago but despite that the passenger service still treats the line as a dead end.  Does much traffic get routed through the platform or was this a rare movement?

Never quite understood why the passenger service isn't concentrated on the island platform now both are through routes again, given the to Rugeley platform is inaccessible from the main station except by a tortuous walk out of the station before re-entering via the old parcels building.  Would make operation of the station much simpler.

[big jim]

Yeah go through that quite a bit late at night, normally in the day there is a terminating unit in the platform so you cross at pleck

 

i remember not long after starting with colas I was working my first train through walsall having not done it for a while (a good 3 years!)  since the old fastline coal trains from ironbridge, I’d ‘refreshed’ the route and put it back on my card but not realised they had removed the blocks and it was now a through road. I came round from bescot on greens and into the station only to suddenly have that sinking feeling that I was heading up the dead end road into the (now non existent) buffer stops! 
 

I threw the brake in but then thought, hang in I’m running on greens so I can’t be heading to the blocks, I then crept into the platform before realising I could get all the way through! 

[wombatofludham]

So what was the squeakiest, the brakes or your bum?

 

[balders]

14 hours ago, big jim said:

The hardest thing with the new phone is keeping the lens free from grease or smudges, you can see in the first picture below how it effects the lights 

 

anyway some from this evening, RHTT rugby to Kings Norton, running mega early due to the passenger service being all over the place thanks to the storm last night

 

rugby 

 

Pretty much non stop to kings norton arriving in 2 hours early!

 

 

 

one stupid little light engine move tomorrow toton to bescot, hardly seems with coming in for! 

Saw this particular train from the Aston - Stechford line as we travelled towards Cov, passing beneath us towards Saltley. That would have made an interesting photo.......DB 90 on the blue/grey MK2's above!

 

Regards

 

Guy

[big jim]

Yeah I did spot the charter going over the top of me at washwood Heath! 

[big jim]

8 hours ago, wombatofludham said:

So what was the squeakiest, the brakes or your bum?

 

little from column A, little from column B 

[big jim]

Been a quiet week so far, Sunday was cancelled, Monday’s Hindlow cancelled due to the snow and a change of job as a driver tested positive for COVID so is off for 10 days so I ended up with the trafford park job last night instead of a small Heath 

 

got it again tonight and tomorrow too

 

landor st

 

class 70 shunting in basford hall

 

styal

 

Trafford park running round 

 

And being loaded 

[big jim]

Trafford park job again 

 

landor st, ECS voyager heading to central rivers 

 

Basford hall

 

Trafford park, running round 

 

Unloading 

 

 

Crewe in a light flurry of snow 

 

Nuneaton 

 

same again tonight 

[GWRPhil]

28 minutes ago, big jim said:

Unloading 

Really like this shot. For me brilliantly atmospheric and a great angle.