bgman Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Or have a word with the Swindon Graffiti Possie ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Yes, we do have one or two, if you look hard enough... Nope can't seem to find one.....I'll keep looking ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 21, 2015 Oooooh! Sorry Captain knickers twisted ? Hahaha Thanks for that and I for one am most grateful for your efforts, pity it won't be GWR colours though eh! ( you could always swap some tins, no one would ever know!) Where has the dislike button gone when you need it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted May 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 21, 2015 They look like bottomless beer bottles to me Is that a type of mens short trousers, up in your neck of the woods? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Yes, we do have one or two, if you look hard enough... Still looking Mon Kapitain but still can't find one! "Oh I do like to be beside the seaside " Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Is that a type of mens short trousers, up in your neck of the woods?I think you've sussed him out Captain! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted May 21, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 21, 2015 Er, excuse me!! It is us in Network Rail who are doing the repainting, and it was a certain individual not unknown to you lot who went to some trouble to ensure that the correct shades were researched and chosen...!!! Ah, excellent - light & dark stone .... tehehe Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 22, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2015 A couple of shots for today. First one is at Bishops Tawton just South of Barnstaple in 1985. Next is a shot of Copplestone station as it was in 1985. I have a few taken at Coleford Junction but they are not very good unfortunately, so may move on to Crediton for the next photos!! 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Captain Kernow Posted May 22, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2015 The FGW Sunday services to Okehampton started last weekend and will continue through the Summer until early September. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 22, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2015 The FGW Sunday services to Okehampton started last weekend and will continue through the Summer until early September. Hope to travel on it in July for the first time in many years. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 An update on the Crediton proposals as of earlier today, temporary footbridge almost complete. First shot is looking towards Barnstaple And looking towards Exeter taken from the original footbridge. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Hope to travel on it in July for the first time in many years.Hope you enjoy travelling on the line, but, if you decide to break your journey I'd suggest bringing a strimmer ! The far rails are the ones to Oakey ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
royaloak Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 (edited) Another one who has used the café at Barnstaple on several occasions and can vouch for the quality of the food and drink provided. They are now open until 1715 as well which is useful when I am on the 1713 departure. I have also used the café at Crediton a few times but its a bit difficult as I am normally driving a train and we don't get long, I can state that the cakes are gorgeous and I do get a few funny looks when I get back in the train cab carrying a rather big slice of cake and a take away coffee on the odd occasion I get the chance! Edited May 24, 2015 by royaloak 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 25, 2015 Hope you enjoy travelling on the line, but, if you decide to break your journey I'd suggest bringing a strimmer ! The far rails are the ones to Oakey ! image.jpg Wow. That is overgrown!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Wow. That is overgrown!! Well Cornwall might have the Eden Project and the Lost Gardens of Penhalligan but we've got The Platform that Time Forgot ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BG John Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 If my planned little dabble in modelling a Colonel Stephens railway was going to be set in the 1920s or later, colour photos like that would be very useful!!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted May 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 25, 2015 'Modernised' as in removing the signalling, but the level crossing operation seems ramshackle - why not a treadle to operate the gates, in the down direction, instead of a pull cord which the driver has to stop alongside? The token exchange seems dated too - i understand the token machines have to be manually 're-balanced' as the tokens are eventually all removed from the 'down' machine and deposited in the 'up' side, I would think that a radio system would work better (although the mechanical tokens do have the advantage that the trains don't need additional equipment). There have been hints that improvements to this & other level crossings are under consideration to improve end-to-end timings - we'll have to wait and see. No matter what, I do think this line is a bit special hence my ongoing interest... The installation put in place was the most cost effective solution at the time. Nowadays was the box being abolished etc you would probably employ axle counters (which don't have electrical issues that gave rise to 16 separate track circuits being needed between Swindon & Kemble when that was singled) and get rid of the tokens. As for the level crossing operation by the traincrew when starting from the station and treadles in the other would probably the way it would be done today. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium phil-b259 Posted May 25, 2015 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 25, 2015 I notice there have been several comments regarding weed growth in this thread - what people should remember is that the old fashioned weedkillers that used to sit in the ground and prevent seeds from germinating ARE BANNED COMPLETELY! (The one BR used was a derivative of 'Agent Orange' - which has some pretty nasty effects on people let alone nature). Any weedkiller used these days has to be fully biodegradable and not be retained in the soil / pollute watercourses. Thus paradoxically you actually need the weeds to be growing before spraying weedkiller (which gets absorbed through the leaf structure) to kill them off. Also it goes without saying that if you spray in wet conditions then the effectiveness is much reduced as the rain washes the weedkiller off the plants before it has been absorbed by the foliage. So in an ideal world weedkiller would need to be applied fairly constantly throughout the growing season whenever it is a dry day to keep on top of things (remember it has zero effect on seeds that get blown into the track - they will still start growing even if the weedkiller train sprayed the line the day before). That is not however practical, so hence the tendency for large areas of vegetation to become established between weedkilling visits. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted May 25, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 25, 2015 The presence of weeds doesn't have much to do with the use or otherwise of weedkiller but far more to do with the removal of local PW gangs and manual attendance to ballast and cess etc as well as keeping embankments clear of excessive growth. Back in the days before BR's contractors adopted an Agent Orange based weedkiller the weedkilling trains were never seen on many parts of the network or only visited once a year yet weeds from the cess inwards were more or less unknown in areas where there were regular local gangs. The presence of today's appalling lineside jungles and verdant four foots is far more a consequence of reduced maintenance budgets than it is due to the banning of certain weedkillers. Modern killers would undoubtedly be just as effective if applied regularly and frequently if my garden is any guide - but of course that too would cost money and regrettably the presence of lineside cabling put a stop to bank burning as a means of control long before the nimbys and tree huggers were around. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianusa Posted May 25, 2015 Share Posted May 25, 2015 Times change with the years. In the 'old days' as Mike mentions, there were PW gangs each responsible for certain patch, regularly employed in track work but now due to many reasons, mostly money and PC, rail property is left to deteriorate and shows a lack of pride in the company involved. But that is how a lot of society thinks these days! Brian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold roundhouse Posted May 26, 2015 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 26, 2015 A few phtotos taken at Crediton in 1985 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted May 26, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 26, 2015 Re: weed growth - it *might* be lessened when trains no longer discharge toilet contents onto the tracks (except the trains for the line will still have old fashioned toilet systems - unless there's some plan to retrofit....) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted May 27, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 27, 2015 I posted these links in the "Two coach passenger train" thread - worth repeating her I think Barnstaple line 1989 - 2 coach DMU replacement with class 50: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tarkaman/5452132890/in/album-72157626070317318/ 1990 - 2 BSK brakes plus class 50: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rail_archive/5477234418/ class 47 1990 https://www.flickr.com/photos/34906043@N07/7113698675/in/photostream/ class 37 with failed DMU 1991 https://www.flickr.com/photos/rail_archive/5477234494/ or a 31 - earlier, possibly early 1980s https://www.flickr.com/photos/tarkaman/5452132890/in/album-72157626070317318/ Kevin (rivercider) also posted the class 47 picture - great minds etc...! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted May 27, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 27, 2015 (edited) From my "Tawford Cross" layout planning thread - useful books & websites: Useful books: Past & Present "Tarka Line & Dartmoor railway" companion with 2 other Past & Present ("Devon" and "North & West Devon"), Mac Hawkins book "LSWR lines in the West Country Then & Now" and the Irwell press "North Devon Line". Lot of inspiration in them, plus the various websites I've indicated before but probably worth re-listing here for the recordhttp://freepages.nostalgia.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cyberheritage/http://www.cyber-heritage.co.uk/north_devon_line_okehampton_web_optimised/index.htmlhttp://northdevondiesels.webs.com/http://www.reallygoodtrains.co.uk/reallybarnstaple.html Edited May 27, 2015 by Ramblin Rich Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted May 27, 2015 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 27, 2015 (edited) These are images I took of Lapford in October 2012 as part of the planning for "Tawford Cross". A bright autumn day, low sunshine made photography difficult, but still worth posting I think? The classic "over the bridge parapet" view: Looking the opposite way (towards Exeter): Bridge close up - the left hand arch was an abbatoir at one time (!) and there are still big hooks embedded in the arch to hang things from (!!) Station building from embankment opposite - the vegetation here made this view difficult: Looking down the tracks from footpath crossing - note jointed track & not that straight in telephoto! (the track through here has been replaced since this visit...) Opposite direction - I think this bridge was originally something to do with drainage as there were settling tanks to the north (right) of the line on earlier maps: The only train I saw during my visit - non-stop, there were only 4 stoppers each way daily: A hasty going away shot at maximum telephoto - the "Limit of Lapford token" sign is (I believe) something to do with a short section token used by trains accessing the sidings - which no longer exist, so the token is probably redundant! Walking up the road to the village of Lapford, you cross the bridge seen in the 2nd picture & get a view back to the main skew bridge. The different brickwork in the parapet is where the steps down to the demolished down line platform used to be: View the other way - note bullhead track! (since replaced) Finally, just off the bridge is this rather nice mill which will be a good basis for the view block on my layout plan - again, vegetation made pictures difficult (the white building is marked as the Post office on old maps): Interestingly, I looked on Google streetview & this mill is a more visible (winter picture, less leaves!), but the main interest for me is that the loop track is still in place on their images. I think the loop got removed around 2009/10 It also shows the rail-over-river bridge which I forgot to photograph myself... Edited May 27, 2015 by Ramblin Rich 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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