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


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2 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

In the North-East, they also had track-circuit detection problems; my recollection is that they fitted something called a Track Circuit Actuation Device. It was not just Pacers that had the problem, but the 150s and 156s. Neither is it uniquely British problem. SNCF are selling off a class of virtually brand new Diesel Railcar, as they have not been able to get 'Shuntage' to work on them.

Thanks. IIRC, the TCAs were introduced to assist with Railhead Contamination issues but they themselves proved a bit unreliable which led to the TC-AID device being developed to try and solve the issue, and as you say, this whole problem wasn't confined to one particular region or class of unit. I can imagine that the Pacers did perhaps exacerbate the problem with having fewer axles and therefore less wheel/rail interfaces to "drop" the track circuits.

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Hi, Dave. I like the Aviemore photo’s, from the 15th October, 1988, which are all full of interest and convey the atmosphere of the station perfectly. In the first one, with  47602, on a WBHS special train from Hexham to Aviemore, you can just about see the 47’s running number. It seemed so strange to have those numbers so small. I recall a friend suggesting that they were that small to try and deter trainspotters! But I think he was a bit wrong - the exact reason I’m, even now, still not sure of.

 

With warmest regards,

 

 Rob.

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58 minutes ago, Market65 said:

Hi, Dave. I like the Aviemore photo’s, from the 15th October, 1988, which are all full of interest and convey the atmosphere of the station perfectly. In the first one, with  47602, on a WBHS special train from Hexham to Aviemore, you can just about see the 47’s running number. It seemed so strange to have those numbers so small. I recall a friend suggesting that they were that small to try and deter trainspotters! But I think he was a bit wrong - the exact reason I’m, even now, still not sure of.

 

That was the rumour, but with a name like Glorious Devon that far north, what's a number.

Seems a strange choice of loco, Gateshead must have borrowed it for that trip rather than send it back south on a cross-country to it's home region.

Then again, back in the day, GD locos weren't the best kept.....

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3 hours ago, Davexoc said:

Then again, back in the day, GD locos weren't the best kept.....

 

I may have recounted this a long time ago, upthread, but I was a told a tale in the early 70s by the foreman at March depot. He had a filthy Gateshead English Electric Type 4 (class 40) on shed one day, in a real state. They put it through the washer several times, to spruce it up, before sending it on its way. A couple of days later, he received a phone call from his opposite number at Gateshead in which, amidst a tirade of abuse, the latter pointed out that they maintained their locomotives immaculately internally and that the important thing was that they worked, not what they looked like, and would he mind leaving their charges alone in future!

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Hi, Dave. I like the Cumbrian Coast line photo’s which capture the atmosphere of the line so perfectly. In C17950, at Aspatria, with class 153’s, 153359 and 153360, on a Carlisle to Barrow service, on the  25th August, 1992, surely running two in multiple made the conversions from class 155 to class 153 a bit redundant, since they are the equivalent of a class 155. It happens today, but back then it shouldn’t have. Or should it? 
 

With warmest regards,

 

 Rob.

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On 21/11/2019 at 20:06, iands said:

Thanks. IIRC, the TCAs were introduced to assist with Railhead Contamination issues but they themselves proved a bit unreliable which led to the TC-AID device being developed to try and solve the issue, and as you say, this whole problem wasn't confined to one particular region or class of unit. I can imagine that the Pacers did perhaps exacerbate the problem with having fewer axles and therefore less wheel/rail interfaces to "drop" the track circuits.

 

Actually, the worst unit for track circuits was the 158. With the BREL T4\P4 bogies, they rode so well that they built up a layer of contamination on the wheel rim, and not having tread brakes they didn't scrub it off. Before the TCA came along, there was a short time where the units were formed with a 158/156 Half's. This required a adaptor plate, as the intermediate gangways on 158s are wider than normal.

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18 minutes ago, Western Aviator said:

C15499: a great picture, Dave, but what a gloomy scene! And not helped by the presence of a Morris Ital. 

 

Nothing wrong the ital, all part of David's knack of capturing period cars.

Seem to remember there was a good chip shop over the railway in the village. 

When I was a secondman we had jobs here where we had to wait for wagons to be loaded .

Incidentally the company who's ramp it is was called Thompson's Mag Lime.

They bought some secondhand wagons from the channel tunnel construction lettered TML so they didn't need to reletter them!

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13 minutes ago, russ p said:

 

Nothing wrong the ital, all part of David's knack of capturing period cars.

Seem to remember there was a good chip shop over the railway in the village. 

When I was a secondman we had jobs here where we had to wait for wagons to be loaded .

Incidentally the company who's ramp it is was called Thompson's Mag Lime.

They bought some secondhand wagons from the channel tunnel construction lettered TML so they didn't need to reletter them!

'Billy' Thompson's farm was at the rear of our house, when we lived at Clara Vale.

 They had 5 or 6 side-tipping wagons (one visible on left of photo) which worked to Montrose. I hadn't heard about the TML wagons, but it wouldn't surprise me.

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On 21/11/2019 at 17:03, iands said:

It begs the question Mike, was there anything significantly different with  the WR track circuits (and/or jointed track) to what was being used elsewhere on other regions? 

I'm not entirely sure Ian.  I don't think that on 'modern' WR track circuits (if the non-electronic type) there were many in the single rail category which I suppose theoretically would be more prone to wrong side failure.  I think it was probably far more down to the WR senior operators' ideas of what was or wasn't acceptable with any incidence of wrong side track circuit failure involving passenger trains (i.e. one is more than enough to get us worried, more than one and it's getting dangerous).  Added to that there was a wider dissatisfaction with the trains due to perceived poor riding etc so I think, at heart, the Region wanted rid of them PDQ.  I got the impression - right or wrong - that the wrong side failures were seen as the last straw.

 

But even by that date you would find senior operating people on BR who refused to remain in particular posts because of their individual concerns over certain aspects of safety while others were quite prepared to take that job and the responsibilities which went with it.  I know of one senior manager who asked to be taken out of a job because of concerns over alcohol consumption among a particular grade of staff and he was not dumped on the sidelines or in a back cupboard at the BRB but was given a job of equal status on another Region.  So it is understandable, and not unusual, that senior operators might not be prepared to accept certain levels of perceived risk.

On 21/11/2019 at 17:24, The Johnster said:

And they seem to have worked fine elsewhere on the WR, being a staple of the South Wales Valley Lines for many years and the SWML between Cardiff and Newport.

But they didn't go to South Wales until after they had been fitted with TCAs. (Track Circuit Activators).  the 'Skippers' were the first ones the Western received and were long gone from the Region before any others arrived.

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3 hours ago, Western Aviator said:

C15499: a great picture, Dave, but what a gloomy scene! And not helped by the presence of a Morris Ital. 

 

At least its not Beige!

 

I like the trail left by the open hopper door, stopping off at two more locations, with another pile further out in the yard by the look of it....

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Hi, Dave. I like the Ffestiniog Railway photo’s which are full of interest, and capture the Welsh scenery the line went through so perfectly. I’ve always liked the way that the Railway used bullhead rail to what appears to be mainline standards too. In C259, at Porthmadog, with Fairlie, Earl of Merioneth, on the  22nd August, 1970, you have a great composition of the train in a typical Welsh setting. 
 

The ECML photo’s north of Darlington, bring back many happy memories and in C19130, at Hett Mill, with a class 43 on a down service, on the 16th October, 1993, you have a great photo’ of a scene which will soon be history as the Azuma’s take over more and more services.

 

With warmest regards,

 

 Rob.

 

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This talk of Pacers and track circuits reminds me that even in the 90s, the problem still persisted.mthere was even special operating instructions that the first train of the day to traverse a line had to be watched by the signaller on the mimic diagram to make sure it didn't disappear, and the Brigg line, which only has three return trains a week in a Saturday, a loco had to travel the line before the passenger trains to remove the railhead contamination , as the line was shut the other six days of the week. I think the latter has gone now, as the line is open 7 days a week for diverted freights since control has passed the the York roc.

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Hi, Dave. I like the Bottesford photo’s which are all full of interest. The first one, of a class 114 DMU, on a  Grantham to Nottingham train, in  July, 1981, is a fine portrait photo’ of the unit. Then in J8092, with cranes laying track in November, 1983, you can see, worryingly, how close the cranes jib appears to be to a telegraph wire crossing the tracks. Hopefully it did not cut the wire but kept clear of it.

 

With warmest regards,

 

 Rob.

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On 24/11/2019 at 16:10, russ p said:

 

Nothing wrong the ital, all part of David's knack of capturing period cars.

Seem to remember there was a good chip shop over the railway in the village. 

When I was a secondman we had jobs here where we had to wait for wagons to be loaded .

Incidentally the company who's ramp it is was called Thompson's Mag Lime.

They bought some secondhand wagons from the channel tunnel construction lettered TML so they didn't need to reletter them!

Yes the Chippy is about 100yds up the bank on the right in Ferryhill station. I was posted with the S&T linemen for Ferryhill when that photo was taken and our mess room was just out of sight next to the signal box.

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