Nile_Griffith Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 How Ironic. Found myself at Moor Street today providing some very modest AV services for Chiltern Railways at their luncheon for the opening of the "Mainline" London Marleybone to Brum Moor Street. Mr scooter got up and said a few words and a certain Mr Portillo got up and said a few more. have to say that me and my colleagues where discussing the fares which when put against Virgin where very encouraging. Sorry to say kids but Uncle Nile was unable to bag any Chiltern freebies for his RMWeb friends.......... Well with twelve and a half thousand of you there would be a few disappointments. Do hope that the route becomes a success, it's certainly very much needed. Oh and Yes...... Loved the vid. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted September 5, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 5, 2011 Sorry to say kids but Uncle Nile was unable to bag any Chiltern freebies for his RMWeb friends.......... i didn't even get a butty!! must admit it was a cracking run this morning, i gave the set a damn good looking over before i left the sidings this morning, even though it had been prepped i made sure it had enough water, oil etc myself, im not afraid to get in the engine room to have a look, i really wanted this morning to go perfectly! the worst thing about today was i left my iPhone at home so i had no camera to record the day, gutted!, i never kept times but i'll see what i can remember.... we left moor st at 06:55.30 secs on the nail arrived at solihull on time at 07:03 but we time during station duties so we left 1 min down at 07:05 flat out to warwick parkway, reaching 100mph just past dorridge, arriving in warwick parkway on time, must admit i was worried i was going to come round the curve and see an empty platform but was pleasantly surprised to see the platform heaving, i was well pleased to hit the platform ramp at exactly 07:14.00, couldn't get it closer if i tried! unfortunatly we lost 3 mins at warwick due to passenger numbers (which is good) so it was flat out towards leamington, hitting the 40mph aproaching the station on the nail and gliding through the centre road past an 8 car 168 in the platform, opened it up and onto banbury at 90mph (75 near fenny compton), through banbury at 75mph, horns a blaring to warn the platform full of passengers i wasn't going to be stopping, opened it up to 90 and on towards aynho jn, over aynho and into notch 8 for the climb up the bank towards the 100mph, then once on the 100 mph it was triple figures all the way to princes risborough... Princes risborough was reached 61mins after leaving Moor st! near risborough i powered down to drift towards the 90mph and ultimatly 85 through the new centre road, passing a 165 in the platform, all the esr's had been lifted so again it was line speed through the centre, hit the 85 on the nail again with no braking then powered up through the station, tooting at the assembled photters!, upto 90mph for the climb up saunderton bank then 100 just past saunderton tunnel, got to about 95 through saunderton and powered down to let the train do the pushing down towards west wycombe, got to 100 very easily on the down hill bit, dabbed the brake for the 85 round the curve at west wycombe, again hit on the nail, lost a bit too much on the curve though, slowing to about 81mph, powered up for the 90 but thats acedemic really as i then needed to slow for the 60 through high wycombe, there was however a 50 TSR so i dabbed the brake a bit more for that as i rounded the curve through wycombe i spotted a yellow at the ned of the platform which had changed to green by the time i reached the magnet, the next signal was yellow but agin it changed as i approached, the next one was i was not so fortunate at, i coasted past it at yellow at about 50 mph so unfortunatly i had to brake for the red the other side of whitehouse tunnel, sure enough it was red so i came to a stop and quickly grabbed my orange vest to jump down and speak to the signaller, however after about 30 seconds it pulled off to a yellow so off i went, powered up in about notch 4 towards beconsfield where i could see the next signal was now a yellow too so i opened it up to notch 6 to give the train infront time to go, sure enough it pulled off to a green so i opened it up to notch 8, passing through beconsfield at about 60mph, seer green was passed under greens at about 90mph, gerrards cross was passed at 100mph exactly, i knew the train in front was booked into west ruislip so i just let it coast flat out at 100mph through denham, after denham i could see the signals about 2 miles in the distance protecting west ruislip were showing double yellow which told me the unit was now inside and it was just a case of waiting to see them go green....... and sure enough they did, powered up the bank through uxbridge and passed the unit (a 172) in west ruislip at 100mph, south ruislip was also taken at line speed of 100mph, it was surprisingly smooth to be honest and i then kept the train at 100mph all the way through northolt through to wembley were i dropped to 85 and then 70 across neasden, from here the train is booked to follow a unit into marylebone, thankfully he was going linespeed so once i hit the 50mph at willesden green i managed to keep it there right until st johns wood tunnel (the last one before marylebone) where i got a sngle yellow, i creeped round the corner towards the red in the tunnel to see it green which gave me a run into the station, platform 6, the other set was in platform 5 with the press and mr shooter in attendance as well as mr portillo amongst others... arrival was without any great ceremony, a few official photographers, tv crews etc, plenty of pasengers came to say thanks and how much they enjoyed the run and it was very enjoyable, in all a great morning and nice to be a little bit of railway history, shame i didn't break the 90 min barrier, still ive got thursday and friday to try and crack that one! the thing about todays run from a personal point of view was this mornign was the first time i've driven the line since the remodelling,resignaling and speed enhancements were completed, talk about being thrown in at the deep end! the trip back brings you back to earth a bit though, a 165 from london to stratford upon avon stopping all over the place Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nile_Griffith Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Hi Big Jim Sorry to hear they didn't have the Bubbly waiting for you on your return to Marleybone. Was interesting to read of your description of the drive up to Brum and back. Was wondering if perhaps you where the driver who bought the dignitaries up for their lunch, arriving about 11:30. For those interested. Chiltern railways had on display a very shiny 67 and what to my untrained eye looked like a modified Mk3 RMB which was sporting the new layout for their Business zone coaching stock. If memory serves these carriages will be on the fast train down to London in the mornings and the fast train back up to Brum on the evening. but don't hold me to that. When running mic's through any kind of P.A. (even a weeny one as used today) I'm usually listening to tone rather than content. Have attached a couple of pics for those who enjoy such stuff. 67015 "David J Lloyd Chilterns "Business Zone" passenger Mk3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted September 5, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 5, 2011 No i took the first express south that got into london just before the train with mr shooter and mr portillo on left so i got to speak to adrian briefly, the northbound driver was a marylebone man (im at moor st) i was responsible for the 165 that dropped on top of the 67 in 3 later in the afternoon The business zone coaches are in all the "silver trains" throughout the day, all trains have free wifi throughout too, its very good too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nile_Griffith Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Hello Big Jim. Yes Mr Shooter did draw the audiences attention to a young lady who I think is your Engineering Director and asked her to confirm that the WIFI works throughout the train and along the route. The interior of the Business carriage does look very smart it has to be said. Wish I'd blagged a couple of free returns of Mr Shooter while I was mic'ing him up. Just in case anyone is looking for some photo material for reference on the buffer beam detail on the above 67. I've attached a close up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsforever Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Glad it all went well Jim what a difference to the 1960,s thank goodness they did not close this line ,just think if the GC had stayed open past Aylesbury we would have had this type of service through here ,maybe.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dampflok Posted September 9, 2011 Share Posted September 9, 2011 As I live in Haddenham on the Chiltern line, I have been following developments with the new Mainline services and was one of those photters at Princes Risborough mentioned by Big Jim as he went through on Monday 5th September with the first working of 1F91 in the new timetable. Photo of the train: Image is "clickable" to take you to my site where you can find more photos of these services if they are of interest. It's certainly all a great change from when I first started living in Haddenham in 1983 when all we had was a single line with occasional old DMUs and no station... Cheers, Geoff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted September 9, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 9, 2011 cracking shot as usual geoff, had it again on thursday another forum member has it today too!! just sat in marylebone ready to head back north with the loco hauled Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted September 11, 2011 Share Posted September 11, 2011 quality thread. Quality video. i'll be working round this route for the next few weeks, i hope to get some good pictures in my few minutes of free time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted September 14, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 14, 2011 got the northbound afternoon express tomorrow, first stop warwick parkway then onto kidderminster with it, first time ive taken a loco hauled service train beyond moor st, it comes back empty from kiddy the last loco i took along there was 66620 on a flask train (with a 37 and 20 dit!!) here are a couple of pics from the last couple of days, taken on my iphone and messed with using photoshop express so apologies for the quality 67012 on the fuel pit at tyseley, left the train in moor st to speed things along 67014 in stourbridge jn this evening Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted September 16, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 16, 2011 here we have the southbound run, filmed over a couple of days, 2 versions this time, the 2nd one slowed down.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
big T Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Cracking videos jim what a great idea. I think the music worked perfectly with the images! It was interesting to see how many liners you passed en route! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted September 21, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 21, 2011 still not managed to do it in under 90 mins southbound, worst has been 14 late and best has been 4 late (not including the first day run) northbound i managed moor st in 94 mins one evening last week, and right time into kidderminster. i will do it one day!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Depot Posted September 22, 2011 Share Posted September 22, 2011 92 mins minutes Moor Street-Marylebone, what was the booked time Jim? Interesting in if you can do it quicker but is the Platform at marylebone avilable? Seems a pity to have a good run then sit outside awaiting a berth! cheers Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted September 22, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 22, 2011 92 mins minutes Moor Street-Marylebone, what was the booked time Jim? Interesting in ifyou can do it quicker but is the Platform at marylebone avilable? Seems a pity to have a good run then sit outside awaiting a berth! cheers Keith its booked at 90 mins dead but the last 3 miles from neasden is what kills it, i can be right time across the jn but lose it following a unit between there and st johns wood tunnel, i normally get greens from there into the platform but the damage is done!! got it tomorrow morning so will have to see what happens!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted September 23, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 23, 2011 dammit 92 mins again!! the problem is the unit i follow into marylebone, tried things a bit differently today, on tuesday i held back from top speed to see what happened beyond risborough and sure enough i made it to wembley before catching the 2nd unit, today however i went full chat and caught the first unit at beconsfield again before it got out of my way at west ruislip, i was 2 mins late passing south ruislip but sure enough i caught the other unit at sudbury so even late i get caught behind it, on time and i have to crawl for longer!! the only way i can see of avoiding catching up with it would be a tweak of the timetable, currently the 1st unit (172) goes into west ruislip for me to pass, and i normally follow the 2nd one from around sudbury, my thought, bearing in mind im someone who doesn't know how paths are planned but see things from the ground, not some computer model etc is to adjust the times of the preceding units a little bit so that the 1st unit i catch up with uses the new bi-directional platform arrangement at gerrards cross, departing from the down side AFTER i have passed through at 100mph with the express, that would free up the platform/loop at west ruislip for the 2nd unit i catch up with to use instead of me following it into london. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted September 23, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted September 23, 2011 dammit 92 mins again!! the problem is the unit i follow into marylebone, tried things a bit differently today, on tuesday i held back from top speed to see what happened beyond risborough and sure enough i made it to wembley before catching the 2nd unit, today however i went full chat and caught the first unit at beconsfield again before it got out of my way at west ruislip, i was 2 mins late passing south ruislip but sure enough i caught the other unit at sudbury so even late i get caught behind it, on time and i have to crawl for longer!! the only way i can see of avoiding catching up with it would be a tweak of the timetable, currently the 1st unit (172) goes into west ruislip for me to pass, and i normally follow the 2nd one from around sudbury, my thought, bearing in mind im someone who doesn't know how paths are planned but see things from the ground, not some computer model etc is to adjust the times of the preceding units a little bit so that the 1st unit i catch up with uses the new bi-directional platform arrangement at gerrards cross, departing from the down side AFTER i have passed through at 100mph with the express, that would free up the platform/loop at west ruislip for the 2nd unit i catch up with to use instead of me following it into london. Which might knacker the turn-round times on the units or bust a Driver's diagram and so on........ The interesting thing would be to know what times are in the WTT as clearly something is not right if you are regularly up behind it at Sudbury, or thereabouts, and both of you are in your correct paths. If he's still there pop in and see Tony who is (or rather was back in my day) the train planner for your TOC, he's a good bloke and the sort who would be happy to explain what can or can't be done. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ess1uk Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 saw the train yesterday at Banbury and Leamington with red DB Keith Heller on but never had my camera to hand any of the 3 times it passed got to go to Marylebone next week so maybe i'll catch it there with camera? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rs4 Posted September 23, 2011 Share Posted September 23, 2011 Interestingly I saw 67018 Keith tonight at Marylebone - rake of blue / grey AND an ex Virgin mk3 / blue & White DVT Saw two full silver chiltern sets ( I was on one) and a grey 67 at their depot (forgive me I've stopped noting numbers). A few technical problems on the 1555 ex Moor ST today when the brakes wouldn't come off.(I think)... 20 min delay. Ran non stop after Banbury but we got caught on the run into London waiting in St Johns Tunnel for a good while. Recommended though - sitting in the coach directly behind the 67 makes the journey interesting ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted September 24, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 24, 2011 Interestingly I saw 67018 Keith tonight at Marylebone - rake of blue / grey AND an ex Virgin mk3 / blue & White DVT Recommended though - sitting in the coach directly behind the 67 makes the journey interesting ! they must have done a loco swap after i took it onto wembley yesterday morning as i had 018 on the 06:55 and the mixed rake had a silver 67 on it what makes me chuckle is the coach directly behind the loco is the quiet coach, purely coincidental i got is video yesterday morning...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Chris116 Posted September 24, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted September 24, 2011 Well the coach is "quiet"er than the loco! Is that one of the new 172s going across the front into the through platform? Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted September 24, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 24, 2011 yes it is a 172 passing by... by complete contrast this morning i worked a 168 into london (just on a short break before heading back to stratford) and it did it in the booked 102 mins and that was stopping at solihull, warwick parkway, leamington spa, banbury, bicester north and haddenham, amazing what no commuter trains in the way can achieve! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted September 26, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted September 26, 2011 apparently one of the northbound trains has done it in 87 mins so it is possible!! couple of pics from this evening, had to take a set to tyseley for fuel, very quiet for units as it was during the evening peak so got a few good clear shots of it on the pit which is rare.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rs4 Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Here's one for you Jim...... Blue & white DVT in model form. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold big jim Posted October 3, 2011 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted October 3, 2011 Very nice, i got a dvt to do a respray on myself but ended up selling it untouched as i've lost my modelling mojo!! Still got a 172 and 168 to finish too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.