Dave F's photos - ongoing - more added each day

[Market65]

Firstly, thank you, iands for your detailed reply, those manganese crossings certainly were complex and clearly intricate and the high cost is clearly, therefore, understandable in the circumstances.

So, Dave, I like the Carlisle photo’s and they are as full of interest as ever with plenty to enjoy seeing including the class 155 unit on test in C9203.

In C9416, with 87004, on a Euston to Glasgow service, on the 12th April, 1988, you can see how too clearly the paint has got worn on the cab front. I guess a over enthusiastic washing plant will be responsible for that. It’s certainly spoilt the livery which looked so good on the 87’s.

 

With warmest regards,

 

Rob.

[43110andyb]

2 hours ago, iands said:

Hi Rob,

From memory the relatively high cost was (I think) down to the crossings being manganese and having to be cast to certain requirements/specifications. For instance, in the "web" of the crossings, holes were required to be cast (about an 1", again from memory) to take a mild steel 'plug' that could be drilled for track circuit connections ("goal posts") and bond wires, as the manganese was too hard to drill on site with the normal drills provided. If any flaws were detected (ultrasonic?) with the crossing in the manufacturing process, it was immediately scrapped and returned to the furnace for recycling.

Later Marganese crossings had no fittings so we had to use a pin brazer gun with plug in 'bullets' to attach flexible copper braided bonds! An awful job as the braze often failed/burnt out or destroyed the end of the brazer gun.

 

[iands]

45 minutes ago, 43110andyb said:

Later Marganese crossings had no fittings so we had to use a pin brazer gun with plug in 'bullets' to attach flexible copper braided bonds! An awful job as the braze often failed/burnt out or destroyed the end of the brazer gun.

 

Hi Andy,

Thanks for the memory, I only got to use the pin brazer once and I thought "this is the future".  A huge step up from the hand-cranked drill (for normal rail), or even the later petrol driven 'double chuck' drill.

 

As for football, I feel the same way you do, except I'm a long-suffering York City supporter!

[DaveF]

 

 

Back to Southern Railway territory today, this time featuring Eastbourne in October 1981.

 

I think that as they are an isolated batch of photos Mum and Dad must have gone there for a day out on an excursion train - in those days there were quite often excursion trains to the south coast from Nottingham.

 

 

Eastbourne Oct 81 J7596

 

 

Eastbourne Class 421 7308 Eastbourne to Brighton Oct 81 J7597.jpg

 

 

Eastbourne Class 420 Oct 81 J7599.jpg

 

Eastbourne Class 414 6026 Eastbourne to Brighton Oct 81 J7600.jpg

 

 

Eastbourne Class 414 6052 Brighton to Hastings Oct 81 J7601.jpg

 

 

David

[eastwestdivide]

J7600 - has that got a single all-blue door, next to the toilet on the 2nd coach?

I've a photo of the opposite, a blue-grey door on an all-blue EMU:

 

Edited May 18, 2019 by eastwestdivide
link to gallery a bit messy

[Market65]

Hi, Dave. I like the Eastbourne photo’s which are all full of interest. In J7599, with a class 420 EMU, in October, 1981, you can also see the pink coloured paving stones. I believe that such treatment, along with pink roads, was reserved for holiday resorts. I certainly don’t recall seeing it elsewhere, but I’m happy to be proven wrong. South Marine Road in Bridlington still has a pink road surface and I rode along it on my bicycle only the other week.

 

With warmest regards,

 

Rob.

[Fat Controller]

17 minutes ago, Market65 said:

Hi, Dave. I like the Eastbourne photo’s which are all full of interest. In J7599, with a class 420 EMU, in October, 1981, you can also see the pink coloured paving stones. I believe that such treatment, along with pink roads, was reserved for holiday resorts. I certainly don’t recall seeing it elsewhere, but I’m happy to be proven wrong. South Marine Road in Bridlington still has a pink road surface and I rode along it on my bicycle only the other week.

 

With warmest regards,

 

Rob.

I'm sure that I've seen such 'pink' paving slabs away from the seaside; IIRC, the pink colouring is due to the presence of a mineral called pegmatite in the granite used as aggregate in the slabs. The pink colouring to some road surfaces may be due to the use of such material as a 'high-adhesion' surfacing approaching roundabouts, pedestrian crossings and the like; elsewhere, a material derived from Millstone Grit is used, which has a pale, sandy, colour.

[DaveF]

Once again the first batch are somewhat later than usual.

 

The photos are from the South Tynedale Railway, at Alston in Cumbria.  

 

As most of you know the line, which is 2' gauge, runs along part of the trackbed of the old North Eastern Railway branch from Haltwhistle to Alston.

 

 

Alston Hunslet No 8 The Peril 2nd April 88 C9362

 

 

Alston Henschel 6 Thomas Edmonndson    Alston to Gilderdale 2nd April 88 C9373.jpg

 

 

Alston Henschel 6 Thomas Edmonndson   Gilderdale to Alston 2nd April 88 C9376.jpg

 

 

Alston Simplex 2nd April 88 C9378

 

 

Harbut Lodge Henshel 6 Thomas Edmondson  Alston to Gilderdale 2nd April 88 C9381.jpg

 

 

Gilderdale Hunslet No 8 The Peril 2nd April 88 C9367.jpg

 

 

David

Edited May 19, 2019 by DaveF

[DaveF]

 

Some more photos now from the ECML in Northumberland in the 1980s.

 

Once again they are in order from north to south.

 

 

Lucker Class 254 HST up Aug 82 C5807

 

 

Alnmouth Class 101 51214 and 51217 Newcastle to Alnmouth 30th Oct 87 C9249.jpg

 

 

Buston Barns 37178 Alcan Fort William to North Blyth alumina empties 22nd Dec 87 C9303.jpg

 

 

Longhirst 47599 special Lancaster to Berwick 7th May 88 C9449.jpg

 

 

Morpeth Class 47 47156 down parcels diverted via Blyth and Tyne 25th June 84 C6574.jpg  The train is just about to rejoin the ECML at Morpeth North Junction.

 

David

[Market65]

Hi, Dave. I like the South Tynedale Railway photo’s which shown what a varied selection of engines they had at the time of the photo’s. Just a shame the standard gauge line could not have been preserved in full after closure in 1976.

 The ECML photo’s in Northumberland are so nostalgic! The first one, of a HST, at Lucker, on an up service, in August, 1982, is nearly historical in view of the last GWR HST’s running out of Paddington yesterday, and the LNER’s HST’s due to be withdrawn very soon.

The last photo’, at Morpeth, with class 47, 47156, on a down parcels service, which had been diverted via the Blyth and Tyne, on the 25th June, 1984, is just so atmospheric with the low angle of the sun.

 

With warmest regards,

 

Rob. 

 

[DaveF]

 

 

Heading north from near Peterborough, mainly on the ECML again today.  The first photo is on the Midland line north of Peterborough.

 

 

Lolham Road Crossing Class 120 Cambridge to Birmingham July 72 J2969.jpg

 

 

 Maxey Road Crossing Helpston Class 55 9006 down Feb 72 J2818.jpg

 

 

 Maxey Road Crossing Helpston Class 47 1105 down Feb 72 J2819.jpg

 

 

Marston north of Grantham Class 55 up Tees Tyne Pullman Oct 75 C2487.jpg

 

 

 Muskham 55007 Hull to Kings X July 80 J7003.jpg

 

 

David

 

[Joseph_Pestell]

7 minutes ago, DaveF said:

 

 

Heading north from near Peterborough, mainly on the ECML again today.  The first photo is on the Midland line north of Peterborough.

 

 

Lolham Road Crossing Class 120 Cambridge to Birmingham July 72 J2969.jpg

 

 

 Maxey Road Crossing Helpston Class 55 9006 down Feb 72 J2818.jpg

 

 

 Maxey Road Crossing Helpston Class 47 1105 down Feb 72 J2819.jpg

 

 

Marston north of Grantham Class 55 up Tees Tyne Pullman Oct 75 C2487.jpg

 

 

 Muskham 55007 Hull to Kings X July 80 J7003.jpg

 

 

David

 

 

I had not realised that 120s had operated there. With such a wide range of lines operated over the years, very surprising that we have not had an rtr model.

[The Johnster]

120s frequently appear on wishlist polls.  My view is that they are the biggest open goal in the business; a good period and geographical spread and including the very popular WR 'green diesel/steam' changeover period.  Maybe Bachmann, using their new 117 underpinnings...

[eastwestdivide]

47 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

I had not realised that 120s had operated there.

Apparently they worked Cambridge-Birmingham and Norwich-Birmingham until the 31s + Mk1s took over (late 70s?). Even after then, the Derby-based Class 120s could turn up on Leicester-Peterboro locals stopping at Melton Mowbray etc, although when I was spotting at Leicester, early 80s, those locals were more usually Norwich Cravens (Class 105) units.

[31A]

37 minutes ago, eastwestdivide said:

Apparently they worked Cambridge-Birmingham and Norwich-Birmingham until the 31s + Mk1s took over (late 70s?). Even after then, the Derby-based Class 120s could turn up on Leicester-Peterboro locals stopping at Melton Mowbray etc, although when I was spotting at Leicester, early 80s, those locals were more usually Norwich Cravens (Class 105) units.

 

Indeed they did; I spotted lots in Cambridge in the early '70s.  At one time, one had a regular 'fill in' turn from Cambridge to Bishop's Stortford in the afternoons, which I often saw after school when it returned.

[melmerby]

1 hour ago, eastwestdivide said:

Apparently they worked Cambridge-Birmingham and Norwich-Birmingham until the 31s + Mk1s took over (late 70s?). Even after then, the Derby-based Class 120s could turn up on Leicester-Peterboro locals stopping at Melton Mowbray etc, although when I was spotting at Leicester, early 80s, those locals were more usually Norwich Cravens (Class 105) units.

And the current Birmingham - East Anglia trains are often an overcrowded 2 car 170! so much for progress

[Market65]

Hi, Dave. I like the photo’s from near to Peterborough. They are full of interest and I too love the first one of the class 120. How I too would love to see a model of one but doubt there will be one for quite some time sad to say.

There’s some good Deltic photo’s too, especially the last one at Muskham, with 55007, on a Hull to King’s Cross express in July, 1980. It makes a splendid sight powering along the line.

 

With warmest regards,

 

Rob.

 

[eastwestdivide]

1 hour ago, melmerby said:

And the current Birmingham - East Anglia trains are often an overcrowded 2 car 170! so much for progress

Other side of the coin - Birmingham-East Anglia XC services are now hourly, as are the Norwich-Peterborough-Nottingham etc East Midlands services. Whereas the 31-hauled trains (4/5/6 coaches?) were nowhere near an hourly frequency, so I strongly suspect the number of seats per hour between Peterborough and Ely (for example) is greater now than then.

But those comparisons always fall down as the level of demand has changed so much in the intervening years.

Anyway, back to the nostalgia photos!

 

[35A]

8 hours ago, eastwestdivide said:

Apparently they worked Cambridge-Birmingham and Norwich-Birmingham until the 31s + Mk1s took over (late 70s?). Even after then, the Derby-based Class 120s could turn up on Leicester-Peterboro locals stopping at Melton Mowbray etc, although when I was spotting at Leicester, early 80s, those locals were more usually Norwich Cravens (Class 105) units.

 

That is correct, as others have confirmed. Derby Etches Park had a large fleet of 3-car Swindon Works Class 120s which were used on Birmingham - Norwich/Cambridge services (often, until the early 70s, with a CCT or GUV in tow), Nottingham - Lincoln services and Derby - Crewe services. Etches Park also had a small batch of Birmingham RC&W Co. Class 104 triples, which often (and randomly) appeared in place of the 120s. Not infrequently, Tyseley would have to provide a unit for an East Anglia bound service, which would generally be one of their three-car Metropolitan-Cammell Class 101s. On rare occasions (and normally on services that ran no further east than Peterborough) a three-car suburban Derby Works Class 116 would be used.

 

Until circa 1972 there was a service from Leicester to Peterborough at around 17:20, formed of a pair of class 25s and Mark I stock. At Peterborough one class 25 would be removed and would head up the 20:02 TPO service to Crewe, whilst the other would return to Leicester, in service, with the stock, at around 20:20. For the last couple of years of its existence this was reduced to a single 25 throughout, with the Crewe TPO being worked by a Class 31 that had arrived at the head of one of the teatime King's Cross - Peterborough suburban services.

 

Edited May 20, 2019 by 35A

[DaveF]

 

Another set of everyday trains at Radcliffe on Trent and Rectory Junction for this afternoon.

 

 

Radcliffe on Trent  2 Class 20s down freight May 80 J6948.jpg

 

 

Radcliffe on Trent Class 114 Nottingham to Skegness Jan 78 J5912.jpg

 

 

Radcliffe on Trent Class 114 Boston to Nottingham working wrong line March 80 J6817.jpg

 

 

Radcliffe on Trent Class 25 down parcels April 80 J6824.jpg

 

 

Rectory Junction 47380 oil April 80 J6832.jpg

 

 

David

[Fat Controller]

Those concrete objects appear behind the 2x Class 20s again; I wonder if they're signalling trunking, rather than sleepers, as that amount of sleepers would weigh a bit more than those wagons could carry?

[Market65]

Hi, Dave. I like the Radcliffe on Trent and Rectory Junction photo’s which are all full of interest, including a further look at the Big Ben lettering in the snow on the platform at Radcliffe on Trent in J5912. 

In the first photo’, J6948, with two unidentifiable class 20’s, on a down freight train, in May, 1980, there’s little blue paint to be seen on the two loco’s apart from around the cab door on the first one.

 

With warmest regards,

 

Rob.

[dvdlcs]

J6948 - other than the signage and the BFYE livery on the locos, and possibly the locos themselves, that picture could be timeless.

 

Shows in some respects how little, comparatively speaking, the railway changed over a long period of time.

[DaveF]

 

Some everyday Class 108s working on the Cumbrian Coast line plus one of a signal for this afternoon.

 

Note the window bars on the doors

 

They are in order from south to north.

 

 

Kents Bank Class 108 Lancaster to Carlisle 8th Aug 87 C8851.jpg

 

 

Roose Class 108 Barrow to Lancaster Aug 87 C8739.jpg

 

 

Skelly Crag level crossing near Foxfield 6th Aug 87 C8750.jpg

 

 

Millom Class 108 Lancaster to Carlisle 6th Aug 87 C8754.jpg

 

 

Seascale Class 108 up 7th Aug 87 C8794

 

David

[Market65]

Hi, Dave. I like the Cumbrian Coast line photo’s which are full of interest. Those class 108’s were associated with the line for many years, and before them the original Derby lightweight units. The photo’s show, clearly, how they were the staple diet of the passenger services for such a long time, performing without heroics or elitism. The final photo’, at Seascale, on the 7th August, 1987, shows a very shabby cab roof, and also where, again, the lower cab front had been repainted after multiple hits from the air pipe constantly breaking loose from it’s dummy socket.

 

With warmest regards,

 

Rob.