Jim’s “out and about with GBRf” thread

[CovDriver]

And they've still got the tea stain from the window that's from all the years of mashing up by my father 😆

[Dunsignalling]

33 minutes ago, Trainshed Terry said:

I feel a argument starting

 

I disagree, Colchester PSB is better looking as it is made of brick.  Carlisle looks like a warehouse. 

 

Terry

At least the signallers at both locations can still look out of the windows and see trains, something that's becoming a thing of the past as signalling is increasingly carried out from R.O.Cs.

 

John

 

 

Edited September 12, 2022 by Dunsignalling

[big jim]

11 minutes ago, CovDriver said:

And they've still got the tea stain from the window that's from all the years of mashing up by my father 😆

i was going to point out the same thing too! 

[big jim]

Last nights pics 

 

landor st jn

 

 

My loco for the night 

 

Crewe basford hall

 

Manchester

 

 

nuneaton

 

rail miller again tonight 

[big jim]

Some from last night, rail miller with a loco swap 

 

bescot 

 

Loco one, Biffa

 

Into Stoke to change ends 

 

And loco 2, 66796 

 

Into stone to split off the locos 

 

And back into bescot 

 

 

Light engine tonight shotton to wrexham and Liverpool then I’ve been asked to do a hams hall to bescot afterwards 

[Phil Mc]

2 hours ago, big jim said:

 

bescot 

 

 

Definitely a ‘when the real thing looks like a model’ pic !

 

Nice use of static grass at the front, but the yard lamp has got wrong colour LED’s fitted, and that backscene lacks effort…..

 

Cheers,

Phil.

[St. Simon]

On 12/09/2022 at 18:58, Dunsignalling said:

At least the signallers at both locations can still look out of the windows and see trains, something that's becoming a thing of the past as signalling is increasingly carried out from R.O.Cs.

 

John

 

 

 
Why is that a problem?
 

With train detection and TCB, signallers shouldn’t need to look out of the window to operate trains safely.

 

Simon

[big jim]

Last night was a wrexham to Liverpool light loco, the Avanti train to wrexham was cancelled so I went to shotton and met my loco there 

 

changing ends in dee marsh 

 

Into Tuebrook

 

Parked up with a pair of 60s

 

 

then it was down to hams hall for a train back to bescot 

 

and into bescot 

 

as I’ve done that that morning my job today is cancelled as I can’t catch it time wise so I’ve got a day off, back in tomorrow with Mountsorrel and Preston amongst the places I’ll be going! 

 

[Dunsignalling]

8 hours ago, St. Simon said:

 
Why is that a problem?
 

With train detection and TCB, signallers shouldn’t need to look out of the window to operate trains safely.

 

Simon

In technical terms, none at all, but it introduces a physical separation and perhaps in time, a psychological one, between different parts of the railway and the people who work within them, that doesn't exist in an on-system PSB or an old-fashioned manual box. 

 

There's a potential danger of the job becoming too remote from the "sharp end" as we gradually develop generations of signallers who don't get to observe at first hand the realities of moving and stopping large heavy vehicles dependent on the metal-to-metal interaction of wheel on rail.  

 

Taking it to an extreme (but entirely logical) conclusion, the activities carried out in ROCs could even be offshored, but that would present even greater challenges to maintaining a properly interconnected workforce that can operate with real cohesion. 

 

There are also security considerations; the more physically remote the operating floor is from what it operates, the greater the vulnerability of the links between the two become to foes (of whatever kind) intent on disruption.

 

John

Edited September 15, 2022 by Dunsignalling

[5BarVT]

17 hours ago, St. Simon said:

 
Why is that a problem?
 

With train detection and TCB, signallers shouldn’t need to look out of the window to operate trains safely.

 

Simon

Ask that question again after Crewe SS North has been in Manchester ROC for a few months . . .

:-)

Paul.

[big jim]

13 hours ago, Dunsignalling said:

There's a potential danger of the job becoming too remote from the "sharp end" as we gradually develop generations of signallers who don't get to observe at first hand the realities of moving and stopping large heavy vehicles dependent on the metal-to-metal interaction of wheel on rail.  

 

 

4 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

Ask that question again after Crewe SS North has been in Manchester ROC for a few months . . .

:-)

Paul.

 

prime example is an ‘operational incident’ i had the other week during degraded working, a simple red light from an adjacent box could have prevented it from happening, not saying the signaller in the ROC couldn’t have prevented it either but the delay in communication was the difference between preventing damage and actually causing it! 

 

 

[BR traction instructor]

Serious SKA tonight at Solway Jim. Pork pie SKA are providing some great vibes…

 

 

BeRTIe

[big jim]

Yeah my wife’s up there this weekend, I was hoping to get up too but unfortunately I’ve got a stupid 6 hour job job Sunday night, typically my job tonight ends with a mossend bound train that I get off at Preston on otherwise I’d have stayed on to Carlisle and come over 

 

Gethin enjoys the scooter weekend and Loves dancing to the northern soul they play there, you’ll probably spot him shaking his tail feather at some point over the weekend 

 

 

 

 

[big jim]

Last nights job(s), first bit was pass the Leicester which just happens to be LSL’s relief service to london as far as nuneaton 

 

DVT leading 

 

and into Nuneaton, 90002 on the rear 

 

 

 

Over to Mountsorrel to take a light loco to bescot, the other driver backing the train away before we got on it as seen from the loading gantry 

 

Into bescot 

 

couple of shunters 

 

I do like this one!

 

Then it was back over to toton, Royal 67 stabled up

 

and my train, an Iport to mossend Stobart service 

 

Which I took to Preston 

 

 

Always nice to have a big station to yourself!

 

 

 

 

[big jim]

Went to a comedy show in Stourbridge earlier, went to wolves and rode the last 13 mile from there but came back on the train 

 

towncar from Stourbridge town 

 

to Stourbridge jn, one of the comedians immortalised it in song at the show with an improvised song called ‘tiny f***ing train’ 

 

At Stafford we passed one of the relief trains being run by WCR so I hung about in crewe for it to pull in, in the meantime one of my former collegues who was on the same driving course as me came in with a 175 from Holyhead

 

and in came 86259

 

Complete with smashed centre windscreen 

 

 

And off home to bed, annoyingly it looks like tomorrows job may be cancelled so I could have gone the caravan this weekend!

[adb968008]

Ooch, it happened somewhere between Euston and Rugby..

 

 

 

 

though it did need a red bulb replacing..

 

 

 

We’ve been running around this all day.

 

https://www.rmweb.co.uk/profile/20773-adb968008/?status=81878&type=status

 

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2023 by adb968008

[big jim]

Last nights toton to Doncaster job was cancelled so I thought I’d have a nice easy night at home but I got a call asking if I fancied a nice little wrexham to crewe job bringing a trian off a possession at midnight and into crewe for 0200, which being as I was technically on duty I agreed to do

 

before I left the house I called the signaller at wrexham to find out where the train was, turned out it was still at dee marsh and running ‘a bit late’, got some other numbers and it transpired the possession was over running and the ballast hadn’t been dropped yet, I then spoke to the driver who was under the impression I was relieving him at midnight in deeside, to further complicate things it turned out the train was actually a freightliner service  

 

jumped in the taxi to shotwick and relieved the other driver just after midnight where I had a ride in this rare bit of traction from the worksite entrance to the train (about 3/4 mile away) 

 

Passed a colas tamper who was waiting for us to drop the ballast before it could start work!

 

One of my locos, 66528 

 

got on board at 00:30, the possession was due to be lifted at 04:30, anyway I began dropping ballast at 04:35, 4 runs back and forth and done, wagons secured, paperwork complete and away to wrexham where I had to wait for a couple of passenger trains, 66537 on the other end of my train

 

changed ends again and back through Chester to crewe where I got off and headed home after arriving back some 6 hours late! As I type this at 09:30 the line is still closed with all passenger trains cancelled! 

 

 

Colas 56

 

One for @newbryford graffiti collection 

 

back in tomorrow night Leamington spa to Carlisle 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2022 by big jim

[big jim]

Long(ish) job tonight, covered 2 turns, Leamington spa to Carlisle

 

got the train to Leamington and waited for mine to arrive from kineton 

 

class 70 passing through, shortly afterwards another went south then a colas one went north right behind this one 

 

chiltern 165s

 

my train, just 3 VGA wagons 

 

Stopped at nuneaton to head out into the fast as the sows were shut due to ohle damage 

 

I had a good run right through to Alsager where I was put in the loop as, in the words of rhe signaller ‘we don’t run anything early in crewe’, sat there for 45 minutes, departure time came and went so I rang him only to discover there was a points failure stopping me getting out of the loop, s+t finally turned up and changed a fuse and I ended up leaving there almost an hour late! 
 

Once I was on my way I didn’t see a red signal all the way from Alsager to Carlisle!
 

not a fantastic pic as there is no decent lighting on that side of the loco but 229 miles after leaving Leamington I arrived Into kingmoor a mere 2 minutes late!

 

The other side is much better for pics

 

off to the caravan for the day for a sleep then the same loco southbound later tonight back to crewe 

 

 

 

Edited September 21, 2022 by big jim

[Gareth 73]

4 hours ago, big jim said:

 

I had a good run right through to Alsager where I was put in the loop as, in the words of rhe signaller ‘we don’t run anything early in crewe’, sat there for 45 minutes, departure time came and went so I rang him only to discover there was a points failure stopping me getting out of the loop, s+t finally turned up and changed a fuse and I ended up leaving there almost an hour late! 
 

 

 

 

 

Tried this business of holding trains to time once, more bloody stressful than pulling off and keep them moving regardless 🙃 

Edited September 21, 2022 by Gareth 73

[big jim]

16 hours ago, Gareth 73 said:

Tried this business of holding trains to time once, more bloody stressful than pulling off and keep them moving regardless 🙃 

exactly what happened tonight, got to crewe 90 mins early! 
 

luckily I was going into basford hall so didn’t have to deal with crewe box 

 

carlisle kingmoor 

 

same loco south but a few extra wagons tonight 

 

And into basford hall 

 

Colas 56 in the yard 

 

that’s me until Friday night when I’ve got a toton to carlisle job, unfortunately got to come home at the end of it rather than staying up there, I’ve planned to go the Stafford show anyway so not a hardship 

[corneliuslundie]

Yes, definitely Stafford on Saturday. The annual club outing.

I am curious though about the comment about Crewe niot letting freights run ahead of schedule. Are they following the official line or is that a local "rule"?

Jonathan

[big jim]

Depends which signaller is on normally, some just want you gone, others won’t have you away, officially your supposed to wait for time as any delays caused to other trains by you running early would go down to the signaller 

[TheSignalEngineer]

On 21/09/2022 at 03:58, big jim said:

had a good run right through to Alsager where I was put in the loop as, in the words of rhe signaller ‘we don’t run anything early in crewe’, sat there for 45 minutes,

In my younger days on the railway we used to call the northern approach to Crewe " Stop'em'all Junction"

[nigb55009]

We used to call Manchester Piccadilly " Snooker Junction ". You needed a red before you get a colour.

[jamie92208]

3 hours ago, TheSignalEngineer said:

In my younger days on the railway we used to call the northern approach to Crewe " Stop'em'all Junction"

That was also the name for the west endvpanel st the old Leeds PSB, there was a notice with stopem all junction on the small panel at Hunslet by the old wagon works after Wakefield Road closed.

 

Jamie