Eric's Random Railway Photo Thread

[TheSignalEngineer]

Back in scanning mode today, I found my record of our Coast to Coast walk in 1986. 

On 23 August 1986, a very damp morning, we set off early on the last leg to the east coast. I cooked breakfast in the waiting shelter on Grosmont station's BR platform.

When we were packing up, 143023 came in on a Whitby to Darlington train.

 

 

Walking round the corner faux Class 11 number 12139 was doing a shunt over the level crossing.

 

 

This was not an original BR loco, they finished with 12138 after which the Class 08 was being built. It was one of three built in 1948 for ICI Wilton to the English Electric/LMS design.

 

The following day we walked part of the disused railway line that has since become the Cinder Track.

[TheSignalEngineer]

On 09/12/2023 at 22:17, TheSignalEngineer said:

Walking round the corner faux Class 11 number 12139 was doing a shunt over the level crossing.

Checking out numbers I found that 12139 was carried by a Class 11 loco in early BR days, only not this class.

It was the LMS number of an L&YR Class 11 0-6-0 built at Horwich in 1891, renumbered 52139 in October 1948.

Edited December 13, 2023 by TheSignalEngineer

[TheSignalEngineer]

Stepping back 7 years to June 1979, we went on one of the old package tours arranged for railway staff, I think this was by Eros.

We travelled from Birmingham to Spain by train and ferry for the cost of the Port Tax tickets. We were at a place called Malgrat de Mar, about 40 miles north east of Barcelona. It was relatively underdeveloped at the time, next to the hotel there was a tomato field with an irrigation pump operated by a donkey pulling a long pole round in circles. These were the normal modes of transport for the locals.

 

The hotel was almost on the beach and we had to cross the railway line to get there. 

 

 

From about 100 yards past the hotel the road became a dirt track. Checking on Google Earth that tree is still there.

[TheSignalEngineer]

6th October 1979 saw 7808 and 5900 work two specials between Didcot and Birmingham. They came off the Down 'Capital Venturer' GWS train at Dorridge and went LE to Tyseley to turn and water. 

They then went to Saltley to take over the Up 'Devonian Venturer', a 6000 Locomotive Association Railtours special from Taunton to 
Newport and Shrewsbury as far back as Didcot.

This was the Up train approaching Rookwood Road bridge between Tyseley and Acock's Green. The locos started a large bank fire near to the signal. No mobile phones back then so I asked one of the local youths who had been watching the train to run down the road to the local fire station which was only a couple of huindred yards away. A Class 47 running light was following so the second man got down to call Saltley to block the line until the fire was under control.

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by TheSignalEngineer

[TheSignalEngineer]

Sorting through some more recent files, in August 2022 we had a demonstration that Network Rail don't understand how to keep overhead wires in the correct state in our variable climate. We had a hot spell for a few days, not that unusual for the time of year, hot enough to make the wires sag almost onto the trains. In hot part of the day we had no trains and in cooler hours we had a diesel substitute service in place of 323s.

 

Here 150108 leads a train from Glossop via Hadfield to Piccadilly past Dinting Signal Box.

 

Edited December 29, 2023 by TheSignalEngineer