Jonny's "where are these?" photo album

[Rivercider]

Right at the back of the current box was this photo.

 

No railway tracks or locos I know, but it is so quaint and early 60s that I thought RMweb-ers would like it.

 

Does anyone recognise the station?

I think that may be Bletchley.

(The Bristol LS NBD 900 was new to United Counties and based at Northampton in 1956, and withdrawn from Northampton in 1974,)

 

cheers 

[Peter Kazmierczak]

It sure is Bletchley.

[jonny777]

Thanks everyone.

 

This photo shows Bletchley station frontage with a bit more of a wide panorama.

 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Bletchley_railway_station_1833441_f81b42a2.jpg

[5BarVT]

A classic North Staffs station by the look of it but at the moment I can't place the spot.

You weren't alone in thinking North Staffs, even if we were both wrong!

[Rivercider]

You weren't alone in thinking North Staffs, even if we were both wrong!

I got lucky twice in guessing Bletchley.

 

Firstly after googling the bus registration I found the details about the LS, (I did not know where United Counties operated so the allocation details were helpful).

After my first guess of Northampton was wrong I had a try at the nearest large town I could think of!

 

cheers

[TheSignalEngineer]

After I posted North Staffs I did wonder late last night if it could be LNW. 

I think the style possibly came more from an architect, as there is a picture of at least one old building in Leek in the same style and nowhere near the railway.

[Joseph_Pestell]

I think that the building in the first, narrower, view is a later addition to the original Bletchley station. It is very much in the same style as buildings on the Trent Valley.

 

Even in the narrower view one can see the Bletchley flyover in the background.

[TheSignalEngineer]

I think that the building in the first, narrower, view is a later addition to the original Bletchley station. It is very much in the same style as buildings on the Trent Valley.

 

Even in the narrower view one can see the Bletchley flyover in the background.

Between the buses on the first shot you can see the end of Bletchley PSB and the front edge of the Operating Room roof.

[brushman47544]

I find a large logo Railfreight grey Tinsley 47 with NSE stock on a Waterloo-Exeter service to be interesting in itself.

There was a period at the end of loco haulage on the Mule when Railfreight 47s were common due to non-availability of 47/7s and the standard 47/4s did not have sufficient fuel capacity to complete a whole day's diagram, so extra locos were needed. Normally sourced from Eastleigh IIRC, basically any available 47 was used. There may even have been an agreement with RfD over the use of its locos.

Edited October 23, 2016 by brushman47544

[jonny777]

Does anyone recognise this junction?

 

It seems to be a popular haunt for K3s.

 

 

[DaveF]

Does anyone recognise this junction?

 

It seems to be a popular haunt for K3s.

 

 

IMG_0916.jpg

 

 

It looks like Marks Tey on the Great Eastern.

 

The view is looking in the up direction, the line curving off to the right is the line to Sudbury and beyond.

[jonny777]

Thanks David.

 

Much appreciated.

[EddieB]

It looks like Marks Tey on the Great Eastern.

 

The view is looking in the up direction, the line curving off to the right is the line to Sudbury and beyond.

Changed a bit from the late 'fifties when the photo appears to date from - a view from a similar perspective (road overbridge at East end of the station) in May this year.

 

[keefer]

good view of a wide-to-gauge trap point

[AberdeenBill]

good view of a wide-to-gauge trap point

 

Indeed.   Is there any particular reason why it is installed here, rather than a 'to the right' trap?    The rails in the siding seem quite shiny, does anybody know what it is used for?    Does the point on the down main (behind the '15' sign) have white-painted rails or is it some type of alloy??

 

Thanks,

Bill

[Fat Controller]

Indeed.   Is there any particular reason why it is installed here, rather than a 'to the right' trap?    The rails in the siding seem quite shiny, does anybody know what it is used for?    Does the point on the down main (behind the '15' sign) have white-painted rails or is it some type of alloy??

 

Thanks,

Bill

Quail suggests that the siding is for engineer's use, presumably for stabling tampers and similar. I can imagine that it's used to exchange the unit for the branch, and possibly also to stable the unit when the branch service isn't running.

Those are white painted rails.

[EddieB]

 

good view of a wide-to-gauge trap point

 

Thank you.  Here;s a better view of the signage and circuitry protecting the approach to the trap point.  

Nowadays the siding continues only a short way after passing under the bridge.  Historically it used to provide access to a 45' turntable (some Stour Valley trains terminated at Marks Tey rather than Colchester)..

 

Quail suggests that the siding is for engineer's use, presumably for stabling tampers and similar. I can imagine that it's used to exchange the unit for the branch, and possibly also to stable the unit when the branch service isn't running.

Those are white painted rails.

 

I think you're right and it would be interesting to know whether it has been used for that purpose during the recent weekend engineering possessions.

 

Slightly further along, there is a set of sidings on the Down side of the main line, shown in the WTT as "Marks Tey Tarmac".  Various trains of construction materials work to and from those sidings periodically.  Here's a couple of pictures of an Acton - Marks Tey working passing through Stratford in July this year.  The train is top and tailed by class 66s, presumably becuase there are no run-round facilities at the destination.

 

 

[Fat Controller]

The Tarmac flow is the sand traffic that used to go to a terminal at the former Mile End coal depot.

[EddieB]

Returning to the original photo at Marks Tey, I'm intrigued by the composition of the train coming of the branch line.  While it was quite common for Stour Valley passenger service trains to include non-passenger vehicles (including such exotics as a Siphon G), the whole train appears to be made up of a motley collection of parcels vehicles of various shapes and sizes.  It's a little tricky to identify them from the scan - but to my untutored eye the leading three vehicles look to be of LNER, SR and LMS provenance respectively - is more detail available in the print?

 

To complete the puzzle, the loco appears to have a single headlamp over the centre of the bufferbeam - which I thought referred to a "Class G" train, i.e. light engine plus up to a couple of brake vans..  

 

(I hope that the OP doesn't mind a little discussion!)

[LNERGE]

Wasn't there a restriction on MK1's at Sudbury? Odd ball stuff had to be retained for this route i think.

[The Stationmaster]

Returning to the original photo at Marks Tey, I'm intrigued by the composition of the train coming of the branch line.  While it was quite common for Stour Valley passenger service trains to include non-passenger vehicles (including such exotics as a Siphon G), the whole train appears to be made up of a motley collection of parcels vehicles of various shapes and sizes.  It's a little tricky to identify them from the scan - but to my untutored eye the leading three vehicles look to be of LNER, SR and LMS provenance respectively - is more detail available in the print?

 

To complete the puzzle, the loco appears to have a single headlamp over the centre of the bufferbeam - which I thought referred to a "Class G" train, i.e. light engine plus up to a couple of brake vans..  

 

(I hope that the OP doesn't mind a little discussion!)

 

It looks  like it's carrying Class C lamps but the one above the buffer is not at all easy to make out.

 

And of course it might not be a branch train at all but one which has been shunted off the mainline for some reasons such as time to handle traffic or for regulating purposes - all the photo shows is that it is standing in clear on the branch platform.

[31A]

Returning to the original photo at Marks Tey, I'm intrigued by the composition of the train coming of the branch line.  While it was quite common for Stour Valley passenger service trains to include non-passenger vehicles (including such exotics as a Siphon G), the whole train appears to be made up of a motley collection of parcels vehicles of various shapes and sizes.  It's a little tricky to identify them from the scan - but to my untutored eye the leading three vehicles look to be of LNER, SR and LMS provenance respectively - is more detail available in the print?

 

To complete the puzzle, the loco appears to have a single headlamp over the centre of the bufferbeam - which I thought referred to a "Class G" train, i.e. light engine plus up to a couple of brake vans..  

 

(I hope that the OP doesn't mind a little discussion!)

 

 

Wasn't there a restriction on MK1's at Sudbury? Odd ball stuff had to be retained for this route i think.

 

 

Not sure about Mk1s (quite possibly they were barred), but pretty sure K3s weren't allowed on the Cambridge-Marks Tey line.  As Stationmaster has said, I thought it looked like a main line parcels train which had been set back into the branch platform either just to clear the main line or in order not to obstruct it whilst parcels traffic was dealt with.

[russ p]

Not sure about mk1s at Sudbury,ive seen pictures of holiday trains to Clacton via this route and the had them in the formation

[jonny777]

Can anyone recognise this location?

 

Given the locos, my guesses would be Woodford or Annesley - but it could well be elsewhere.

 

 

[TheSignalEngineer]

Can anyone recognise this location?

 

Given the locos, my guesses would be Woodford or Annesley - but it could well be elsewhere.

 

 

9F 04 on shed.jpg

Don't think it is either, I would go for Langwith Junction.