Interesting and inspiring photos from Flickr....

[Flying Pig]

On 24/04/2024 at 20:48, Porcy Mane said:

50 D7557 breakdown train 27081968 by Nigel, on Flickr

 

That reminds me of the very early days of RMweb, when weathering Bachmann rats was a popular sport and a ?coolant overflow as seen here was de rigueur.  Will the new Bachmann models lead to a resurgence?

[robertcwp]

13 hours ago, Mol_PMB said:

The journey times on the Cambrian these days, and the very late arrival of the evening train, have sometimes made me wish for a sleeper train on the route. And here is one (Pic from the KDH archive on Flickr):

 

Note also the leading sleeper composite in blue/grey with upper-case lettering: a transitional livery style.  The photo was taken in 1967. 
 

The Maenofferen wharf still has slates stacked on it, and the standard-gauge sidings in Minffordd Yard look in good nick. 

Edit:

The leading sleeper car has been puzzling me, so I had a look at Parkin.

It's definitely a composite with a 240x number (possibly 2400 or 2409). But the composite diagram shows 5 first and 6 second class compartments, whereas the extent of the yellow stripe on this vehicle suggests 7 first and 4 second. Although partly hidden by the bushes, the nearer maroon sleeping car has a conventional-length yellow stripe.

The blue/grey vehicle is also on B4 (possibly B5 - it's hard to see as the railings get in the way) bogies, rather than the as-built Commonwealth. I know many were converted later though.

@robertcwp may have the answers?

 

Mol

 

The blue/grey one has B5 bogies (blue springs). It would have been built with BR heavy duty bogies and rebogied in the 1960s. Sleepers built from 1960 had Commonwealth bogies from new and generally retained them. The ones that had B5 bogies were mostly those built 1957-9 or thereabouts, before CW bogies became standard.

[Stuart A]

16 hours ago, woodenhead said:

Then

 

 

Fantastic. Feels like the loco is an imposter in a modern scene.  Clicking on it and the same user has so many more inspirational photos.  Another where modern wagon meets steam

 

 

81 Crossleys shipley 170683 by Nigel on Flickr

Edited May 2 by Stuart A

[Stuart A]

Now planning micro scrap yard layout in my head....

 

 

A LITTLE BIT OF VARIETY by Tom Derrington on Flickr

"A Met Camm class101 2-car unit heads past a waiting class 31 at Crossley's [Crossley Evans] scrap merchants at Shipley in the summer of 1982

To the right can be seen Barclay 0-4-0ST No.1823 of 1924 named Harry. It had been restored and found occasional use at the scrapyard before moving into more permanent preservation"

Edited May 2 by Stuart A

[woodenhead]

@Stuart A Astley Green Colliery closed in 1970 so it was quite late on and the more modern council housing stock well established.  Then there was a couple of decades of stagnation before Salford council began redeveloping the land occupied by the coal industry and has been busy building houses around Walkden, Boothstown and has now reached Astley after something like 40 years of constant development.

 

That makes me feel old, I still feel like it was yesterday that I was around that area with a past girlfriend and the development work was just beginning, certainly doesn't feel like 4 decades.  I nearly bought a new home on the land where Walkden NCB shed was located, was put off by the pit head air shaft nearby reminding me why lay beneath.

[woodenhead]

Evocative shot of Great Moor Street after closure to passengers but coal drops still in situ

 

I must say this station has set off an idea in my head, something for the future I think.

[montyburns56]

W41000 Derby 1978 by John Dedman

 

 

 

[Andy Kirkham]

 

 

Roger Joanes has recently posted more from his seemingly inexhaustible archive of superb captures. You get the impression that he must have spent all his money and free time travelling about by train.

 

How often did Southern locos reach Bodmin Road?

 

The EE Type 3 looks as if it might be nearly new. I think they only started appearing in Wales in 1963.

Edited May 3 by Andy Kirkham

[Porcy Mane]

I think we owe those that post theirs and others photos on Flickr a debt of gratitude.

 

Chequerbent derail 4 by Nigel, on Flickr

 

Chequerbent derail 1 by Nigel, on Flickr

Edited May 3 by Porcy Mane

[Ray M]

13 hours ago, montyburns56 said:

W41000 Derby 1978 by John Dedman

 

 

 

And looks like 56042 at the back.

[Morello Cherry]

Hope this works as the photo is from facebook. Not sure we can go any further.

 

 

 

[The Stationmaster]

On 15/04/2024 at 20:01, Rich_F said:

 

This image was taken on Agfa CT18 film on 1 April 1975 and shows a single-unit railcar (Class 121, I believe) awaiting a morning departure back to the mainline, stopping at delightfully named stations such as Toller.

No tail lamp so I wonder if it was coming or going?    However somethings on the branch were, how shall I put it, supposedly rather out of the eye of authority as far as the traincrew were concerned.  But at that time either my Area Manager or I (Asst AM Operating & Traincrew) tended to visit the branch once every couple of weeks or so and i visited Bridport station about once a month on average and never saw a missing tail lamp - although the traincrew no doubt knew I was about.

 

By then a mere shadow of its former self alas but we normally visited West N Bay as well as the boss was partial to mackerel so a small shopping trip was in. order and oddly the boots of two of our Area allocated Ford Escorts had a slightly fishy aroma to them.  all part of a vanished railway but I put the wreath on the final Maiden Newton to Bridport train and rode the branch ona Wickham trollt ey, with trailer, the week after closure with the Area Civil Engineer stripping anything of value out of all the station buildings - not that there was much left; real shirtsleeves weather that day and a Wickham was a great way to enjoy it.

[montyburns56]

This might inspire a little vignette for your layout....

 

Lincoln 1967 by Paul Anderson

 

 

[David J Hayes]

On 06/09/2022 at 19:56, Davey said:

 I'm not 100% certain, but I'm fairly sure your correct. Just north of Tipton Owen Street station there was a triangular junction off the Stour Valley line on the 'Up' (to Birmingham) line. The wagon repair works were located within the triangle. The third leg off the triangle was a loop down to Wednesbury (ex. LNWR) which connected the the ex. LNWR line from Dudley via Great Bridge to Wednesbury.

 

Davey

 

If I may, the South Staff's Wagon Company  (SSWC) works was not actually located within the triangle of lines, which formed the junction where the Princes End line from Wednesbury joined that of the Stour Valley main line (the Princes End line closed as a through route in April 1981 and was the subject of a two-part article of mine in TRACTION 213 & 214). The spur from the Stour Valley serving the SSWC works was located on the Wolverhampton side of what was once Bloomfield Junction and close to where a bridge once spanned the "Stour" carrying the former Oxford Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway line (the wagon works was originally connected to the OWWR alignment).

 

I believe the SSWC works closed in the mid-1980s. Much of its workload appears to have been associated with various tanker wagons used for chemicals, LPG and oil. For several years, wagons requiring attention at the SSWC site were stored at Wolverhampton's Wednesfield Road Goods from where they were tripped to the works on an "as and when required" basis. Wagons that had received attention were tripped to Bescot, this tripping turn being one of the very few trains still booked to use the aforementioned Princes End line during its final months of use before closure in April 1981. Following the Princes End line's closure, the trip from the SSWC to Bescot was amended to travel via Galton Junction and the Soho Road loop line. 

 

Cheers.

 

Dave (David J. Hayes).

[Andy Kirkham]

Rush hour at Mallaig

 

[montyburns56]

Inspiration for a micro layout?

 

Stewarts Lane 1993 by Adrian Nicholls

 

 

[D7063]

'The Sprinkler' - love it 😆!

[Mol_PMB]

1 hour ago, D7063 said:

'The Sprinkler' - love it 😆!

That's the sort of thing that could turn up unexpectedly on @Darius43 's inspiring MTK build thread. 

[nightstar.train]

4 hours ago, D7063 said:

'The Sprinkler' - love it 😆!

It was a converted unit with large roller doors used to move de-icer and carriage cleaning fluid around the south between depots. Hence the name. Interestingly though it wasn’t a native southern unit. It was made of two ex DMBS vehicles from Tyneside EPB units. They had a larger luggage compartment than the southern EPBs. 
 

https://www.departmentals.com/photo/977559-3

[woodenhead]

Not many places where you'd find a 50 and a Deltic in normal service side by side - York was one of them.

 

Newly refurbished but still in Blue 50019 awaiting a return to the Western Region.

 

[woodenhead]

A double Deltic, there are some that might exclaim Hellfire here.

 

[woodenhead]

A rail tour entering the Fallowfield loop at Trafford Park - not seen many if any images from that angle.

 

and looking the other way

 

 

Edited May 9 by woodenhead

[woodenhead]

Not inspiring but evocative

 

[woodenhead]

Lonely guards standing and waiting

 

[woodenhead]

Imagine this as you whizz past on a Super Sprinter or rumble by in a 150 to Sheffield