Interesting and inspiring photos from Flickr....

[Nick Holliday]

2 hours ago, GMKAT7 said:

Hello Mol,

 

An interesting range of open wagons in the left hand background.

 

BR standard 16T minerals, both rivetted and welded types and grey painted 7 plank opens. 

Plus a 7 plank open with coke rails.

Edit: Both the coke wagon and another 7 plank open appear to be unpainted timber but with darker (painted?) ironwork. Unless the ironwork is just rusty?

 

Also interesting is the unloading of the wagons directly into coal sacks, none of the cliched 'coal bins' to be seen.

 

Cheers, Nigel.

Wallington had a vast range of coal bins, all of them beyond the furthest siding. Part of them can be seen in the left corner.

[montyburns56]

Did anyone else go to the Great Railway Exposition at Liverpool Road station in 1980? I've still got the souvenir brochure that my dad bought during our visit.

 

 

Pictures by Martyn Hilbert & Eric Harrison

Edited December 20, 2023 by montyburns56
added picture

[Mol_PMB]

'Coal: The Rocket Fuel'. Love it.

No trains run there now, in fact very little seems to work at MOSI these days.

I'm sure the catering is better though 😢

 

[Nearholmer]

Son and I went there for a brief look at Rocket when she was there a few years back, on a somewhat meandering route to watch Man City play. We both concluded that the museum looked worth a proper return visit, and on the basis of the people we got chatting to in a chip shop, at a tram stop etc, he decided that Manchester is a good place. So, positive all round from the perspective of southerners!

[rodent279]

2 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Son and I went there for a brief look at Rocket when she was there a few years back, on a somewhat meandering route to watch Man City play. We both concluded that the museum looked worth a proper return visit, and on the basis of the people we got chatting to in a chip shop, at a tram stop etc, he decided that Manchester is a good place. So, positive all round from the perspective of southerners!

Nearly 20 years since I last went there, it certainly was a very good use of time.

[Mol_PMB]

Bending the rules again, sorry. Not Flickr but how about this:

An ancient GWR pannier tank (former 657) in industrial use, hauling a BR coke hopper in factory-fresh grey livery (rather than the usual overall rust):

https://bristolharbourrailway.co.uk/industrial-railways-of-bristol/imperial-smelting-co/#jp-carousel-3252

Imperial Smelting Corporation, Avonmouth, thanks to the Bristol Harbour Railway.

[MattR]

Quote

A super livery on a coal wagon:

http://gmlives.org.uk/imu/request.php?request=Multimedia&method=fetch&key=89928&filter=height:bf:758;width:bf:1536;kind:ne:thumbnail

 

Airfix made a model of this wagon!

 

https://www.hattons.co.uk/1549542/airfix_gmr_great_model_railways_54391_po19_7_plank_open_wagon_stalybridge_corporation_gas_no_15_in_brown_pre_owned_missi/stockdetail

[montyburns56]

Hanley 1975 by David Blower

 

From the caption " The Potteries Loop was a 7 mile 25 chains alternative route between Etruria Junction and Kidsgrove Liverpool Road on the North Staffordshire Railway's main line to Macclesfield"

 

 

 

[Darius43]

I lived in nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme from 1967 to 1978 and was brought on occasional bus trips to Hanley for shopping with my Mum and Grandma. Sitting on the top deck you could see the remains of the loop line as the bus passed over the bridges.

 

I also vaguely remember steam locos working the Pool Dam branch in Newcastle although I must have been 4 or 5 at the time.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[woodenhead]

Had to find an old map to properly trace the route, it was quite a winding railway and there were so many mineral lines connected to it as well.  Excellent image find to draw our attention to the route - safe to say, it's a route that is not on any reopening plans I don't think.

[Talltim]

Thats station with 'on the corner of a small layout' curves. I like it

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=15.7&lat=53.02588&lon=-2.18315&layers=6&right=ESRIWorld

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potteries_Loop_Line

Edited December 21, 2023 by Talltim

[Mol_PMB]

A Mk1 coach, a Freightliner(ish)* container flat, and a rake of 16t minerals, all in the same train:

from Ernie on Flickr. 
 

*Is this actually a former Speedfreight container in blue stripe livery?

Mol

[Fat Controller]

1 hour ago, Mol_PMB said:

A Mk1 coach, a Freightliner(ish)* container flat, and a rake of 16t minerals, all in the same train:

from Ernie on Flickr. 
 

*Is this actually a former Speedfreight container in blue stripe livery?

Mol

Looking at the length of the box, I'd say you're correct.

[montyburns56]

8 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Had to find an old map to properly trace the route, it was quite a winding railway and there were so many mineral lines connected to it as well.  Excellent image find to draw our attention to the route - safe to say, it's a route that is not on any reopening plans I don't think.

 

I don't think that it would be much use as a heavy rail route these days, but I reckon that the southern section from Tunstall to Etruria could be turned into a pretty useful tram route.

[DavidLong]

https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/new-map-reveals-stoke-trents-7693627

 

David

[montyburns56]

Manchester Central 1960s by MMU Visual Resources

 

 

Sadly this shot from 1975 is how I remember the station....

 

 

[97406]

17 minutes ago, montyburns56 said:

Manchester Central 1960s by MMU Visual Resources

 

 

Sadly this shot from 1975 is how I remember the station....

 

 

 

Great shots! I remember it without trains and before it became GMex. The blue DMUs make it seem quite ‘modern’!

[97406]

Longsight.

 

[97406]

Longsight Part 2. 2 units which would be great in RTR form, to current standards especially.

 

[Mol_PMB]

1 hour ago, montyburns56 said:

Manchester Central 1960s by MMU Visual Resources

 

 

I've always found it rather interesting that in the early days of blue, BR couldn't decide how much yellow to use on the DMUs. Some just had a small yellow panel, some a full yellow end, and others the yellow wrapped round onto the cab door. Together with variations on the roof dome colour (some were white, even in blue livery) there was a lot of variety. This super shot shows the 'more yellow' option. If I'd been born 50 years earlier my commute from Urmston would no doubt have been on one of these units!

Edited December 22, 2023 by Mol_PMB

[55020]

The extended yellow was very rare.  There was a standard:  Full yellow ends and no wrap around.  99+% were compliant!

 

[Mol_PMB]

and yet, there were a fair few examples on different classes:

 

 

At the other extreme, no yellow panel at all (would it have been on the corridor connection cover?)

 

[Mol_PMB]

The pics in my previous post were from a very quick search on Flickr. I've also had a look through the book 'First Generation DMUs in Colour' (Stuart Mackay) which includes photos of classes 104, 108, and 113 with wrap-round yellow ends.

There are also plenty of photos of DMUs with small yellow panels on blue, sometimes but not always with white roofs. These were probably more common than the wrap-around yellow end.

The variant I've only found in one photo (in the same book) is a class 105 in blue with half yellow ends (i.e. the whole bottom half of the end is yellow).

Mol

[65179]

13 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

and yet, there were a fair few examples on different classes:

 

 

At the other extreme, no yellow panel at all (would it have been on the corridor connection cover?)

 

 

Looks like it:

(Robertcwp of this parish Flickr image)

 

Simon

[hmrspaul]

On 21/12/2023 at 11:04, Mol_PMB said:

A Mk1 coach, a Freightliner(ish)* container flat, and a rake of 16t minerals, all in the same train:

from Ernie on Flickr. 
 

*Is this actually a former Speedfreight container in blue stripe livery?

Mol

CA 27ft container https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/speedfreight/e68e4cf20  https://PaulBartlett.zenfolio.com/speedfreight/e67e0ad67

 

Paul