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The human side of the railway...


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Interesting goings on at Newton Abbot, Feb 2012. the travel journalist Simon Calder was also there waiting for the up sleepers and was rather intrigued to see the 'High Speed Train with no carriages' coupling up to the failed 2+8 set.

Adjusting prototypical AJs?

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My younger brother Steve noting the number of a class 116 DMS at Bedford Midland Road circa 1969-70. At the time 116s were used on the Moorgate services and ran as 4 car units with 3 power cars. I can never find a decent picture of the formation was it a DMBS/TC/DMS/DMBS ?

 

Steve later went on to use his spoting skills for buses. He has the only family who fight to have the back seat of the car. The person sat next to him in the front has the note book and there is trouble if they write any bus number down incorrectly.

Edited by Clive Mortimore
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Dave 'Spotter' Smith of Bedford FLHH Depot inspects a potential purchase at Old Oak on 7/11/06 before it all went to the scrapper.... in the event he came away with just a pair of cab doors!

 

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One of Rugby's finest, John Grucott poses for posterity in the old down side cattle sidings at Rugby in 1982, he now works in the Colas / DED Depot...

 

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Nice one Jim!

 

Some more preservation era stuff...

 

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And the 'Bardon Hill Mob On Tour' at the GCR... l-to-r : Dave Partner (Lead Shunter and ex- Croft Sidings Signalman), Andy Hall (Signalman), Mick Jones (ex- Shunter and now a Driver at Lawley Street), Mick 'Beef' Hall (ex- Drakelow Power Station Shunter, now a Signalman)...

 

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Thanks Pete - let's hope it continues to thrive.... there must be loads of people out there who've got stuff like this gathering dust in their archives - whatever you've got folks, do please keep posting photos, it's all of interest to someone!

 

;O)

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Loads of good stuff in here,

 

Third one down in 460, reminds me of an Ian Krause shot from way back at the end of steam, he classed it as one of his best ever shots,

 

Apart from the angle almost a match if i find a link Ill post it for a comparison.

 

Simon

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Nidge,

This thread really brasses me off.

 

Brilliant photos of the railway/staff and enthusiasts etc. As Trisonic says a great thread.

 

So why does it brass me off ?

 

In all the years I worked on BR/ews, I very rarely took any photos much to my regret. I have none at all of myself while on the footplate. Although I do have a picture of 3 of us on the back seat of a Hull corporation bus.

 

A lot of the drivers would extract the urine if they caught you taking photos.

 

The irony though, was they would bemoan steamers all day long but whenever there was a steam special stood on platform 6 in Sheffield they would all exit the cabin in a flash to watch the train depart.

 

Pete

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Can't agree more with the last post. Never took any photos when I was a secondman in the late 80's, never thought BR would end so didn't give a 2nd thought to taking any. Excellent thread, keep it going.

Same as that. If anything working on the railway of which i started in 87 only made the situation worse with not taking photo's, It was all so regular, mundane and just a job back then it never seemed like it mattered to take photo's! It was only when it all started to dissapear into oblivion in the late 90's that I suddenly realised how short sighted i was!

As Cher once said, 'If I could turn back time'.

Strangely, I just cant find the enthusiasm today to phot voyagers and 153's.

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Oh how I agree with all the recent posts! Perhaps, if the digital camera had happened earlier, if we were not tied to an Instamatic cartridge that cost a whole week's pocket money, I would have photographs of Harry at North Camp Signal box in the late 50s, and the station staff who would let me wander with a burlap sack of wooden wedges and a wheel tappers hammer around the sidings, a pot of creosote and a long handled brush for the woodwork in front of the signal box and the sleeper-edged flower borders where the cattle sidings had been.

 

My bicycle was chained to the square section drain-pipe by the entrance/exit ['cause those soldiers will pinch anything......] with a big S.R. padlock and a foot of shiny 1/2" chain, the round ended common key that opened the padlock on the carriage loading bay AND the station coal store. The brass label was stamped '3'. I'd pay £10 to hold it in my hands again...........

 

If the current generation of Railway Softies doesn't record and detail  everything they can for their respective off-spring, then shame on them!

 

[P.S. I'd love a picture of one of those 'label machines' with the huge handle, with which you could make an aluminium lable for your [Parent's] luggage. No reason, other than I loved them!]

 

Nostalgic Chubber

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If the current generation of Railway Softies doesn't record and detail  everything they can for their respective off-spring, then shame on them!

We ought to have an annual RMweb day where everyone went to their nearest line or station and took a handful of snaps and uploaded them somewhere for posterity. It would be mundane now but in 50 years modellers and enthusiasts would thank us for the foresight...

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Can't agree more with the last post. Never took any photos when I was a secondman in the late 80's, never thought BR would end so didn't give a 2nd thought to taking any. Excellent thread, keep it going.

 

 

 

And as a young spotter in the 70's, I didn't take enough photos either

Also, I didn't take enough photos of 37's on coal trains in South Wales etc etc.....

 

You are not the only one not to have taken enough photos,

but you at least have the memories of being there :)

 

Cheers

Edited by marc smith
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