Jim’s “out and about with GBRf” thread

[CovDriver]

Thinking about time on the railway it's 19yrs 2nd time around for me I was a storeman for Intercity westcoast at Preston and Carlisle and then New St in the mid 90's. And after a gap I held various roles such as dispatcher at New St then a guard at 2D Coventry and finally at the pointy end for the lat 8yrs also at 2D. 

Rugd 1022 as was at 2A did you know a Darrell Smith who was also at 2A he's now with us at Coventry part time and does also work part time for West Coast Railways. 

 

Cheers 

 

Colin 

[big jim]

Only one from last night coz there was nothing worth photographing!

 

66738 at landor st 

 

one more night of it then a nice little possession turn Saturday and 4 days off again, next week looks to be a weedsprayer on Thursday then a couple of days of hereford to dee marsh 

[Tankerman]

3 hours ago, big jim said:

Only one from last night coz there was nothing worth photographing!

 

66738 at landor st 

 

one more night of it then a nice little possession turn Saturday and 4 days off again, next week looks to be a weedsprayer on Thursday then a couple of days of hereford to dee marsh 

 

You seem to have forgotten the almost inevitable "can you just)😀

[Chris116]

I wonder if Jim does all the 'can you just jobs' just to keep us well supplied with photos?

[big jim]

1 hour ago, Tankerman said:

 

You seem to have forgotten the almost inevitable "can you just)😀

There is a carlisle job early hours of Monday morning that I might do, pays for the diesel up to the caravan! 

[45156]

11 hours ago, big jim said:

then a couple of days of hereford to dee marsh 

Don't forget to give us a toot just before you cross the A49 Jim

[big jim]

Last night of the trafford park, stuff worth photographing as well!

 

a lost looking 508 unit 

 

which was actually being run round by a class 37 en route to scrapping, interesting to see the gadget for raising the buckeye, the arm pulls out from the nose and there are push buttons on the buffer beam side to raise and lower a winch cable within the extended bit, that clips onto the lifting lug on the coupler and it’s lifted into position electrically, very swish! 

 

All coupled up, lots of spotters waiting for it to leave

 

the second driver has to shout a warning to a lad who put his foot up on the loco step for his mate to take a photo while they were dealing with the coupling procedure, not clever as the loco was keyed in with the driver in the seat at the time and it could have moved, to be honest a number of the spotters were acting like knobheads, like they’d had too much sugar and E numbers, I don’t often get uppity about spotters and am always up for a chat as many on here will know but a few of them just plain p’d me off acting childishly and swearing at the top of their voices as well as leaving cameras, phones and bags in the way of the walking route etc, had it been my train they were there for I’d have had a word or got platform staff or BTP over (there were some on the station), it might have been I was just in a grumpy mood! 
 

so away to Birmingham, the usual HST passing landor st 

 

HST 40 on the rear 

 

Running round in Manchester 

 

heading south had 3/4 hour in crewe 

 

annoyingly my relief was a last minute change who lives in Tamworth but he didn’t get my message asking if he wanted me to stop and pick him up there so I could get off early until he was already en route to nuneaton, then to add insult to injury I got stopped in Tamworth station for 20 mins, a further annoyance was my train home from nuneaton was cancelled too so I had to stay on to coventry to get home from there, it was only actually 10 mins difference in arrival time back in crewe so no biggie really but it would have been nice to have got off at tamworth! 

 

Short job tonight, coleshill to rugby then conducted to site south of Northampton but again a last minute change that I’m hoping will work in my favour, I was supposed to stay on as the other driver didn’t sign T3 possessions so I was working it onto site but the replacement driver does sign T3s so I’m hoping to get off at rugby as there’s no need for me to go south of there now 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by big jim

[BR traction instructor]

...you're making me pine for being back in the chair Jim! 😃👍

 

BeRTIe

[big jim]

1 minute ago, BR traction instructor said:

...you're making me pine for being back in the chair Jim! 😃👍

 

BeRTIe

just enjoy your armchair instead! 
 

 

[Rugd1022]

On 10/08/2023 at 17:35, CovDriver said:

Thinking about time on the railway it's 19yrs 2nd time around for me I was a storeman for Intercity westcoast at Preston and Carlisle and then New St in the mid 90's. And after a gap I held various roles such as dispatcher at New St then a guard at 2D Coventry and finally at the pointy end for the lat 8yrs also at 2D. 

Rugd 1022 as was at 2A did you know a Darrell Smith who was also at 2A he's now with us at Coventry part time and does also work part time for West Coast Railways. 

 

Cheers 

 

Colin 

 

 

Yes I know Darrell, we started together on the same day, on the YTS course at Rugby on Monday 6th September 1982!

[big jim]

Nice short job last night, worked out good as I did manage to get off at rugby, met it at bescot instead of coleshill in the end 

 

a few other locos in the yard

 

 

 

my train to rugby

 

into rugby and away 

 

thats me until Thursday now 

[45156]

-----Can you just.....

[Rugd1022]

You do get about a bit don't you Jim!

 

I've got a 'round the houses job' later tonight, pass to Crewe, work 6Z39 to Bedford via Stafford, Bushbury, Darlaston, Walsall, Sutton Park, Water Orton, Nuneaton, Leicester, Syston, Oakham, Corby and Kettering, later in the week it's Banbury, Small Heath and Luton Crescent Road... it's all go 😉

 

 

[big jim]

2 hours ago, Rugd1022 said:

You do get about a bit don't you Jim!

 

I've got a 'round the houses job' later tonight, pass to Crewe, work 6Z39 to Bedford via Stafford, Bushbury, Darlaston, Walsall, Sutton Park, Water Orton, Nuneaton, Leicester, Syston, Oakham, Corby and Kettering, later in the week it's Banbury, Small Heath and Luton Crescent Road... it's all go 😉

 

 

that’s a long way round, sometimes it feels soul destroying when you get send via the west mids from Stafford! 
 

3 hours ago, 45156 said:

-----Can you just.....

 

as soon as I got to the caravan I got an email ‘could I do a Gloucester to bescot via Worcester and Kidderminster’ this afternoon, I don’t sign Gloucester but could have done it from abbotswood jn, given the weather here today in silloth I’d have been better off staying home and doing that as it’s been miserable! 

[big jim]

Had to get out of the caravan today as we were getting cabin fever with the constant rain, ended up at Threlkeld in the rain instead!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gilbert]

Looks excellent....

[big jim]

Back to it last night, light loco landor st to toton, restricted to 45mph as it had wheel flats, not that it mattered as I followed a heavy steel train from just outside nuneaton to syston so couldn’t get any speed up had I been able to!

 

66792 

 

and into Toton. 

 

Next job is hereford to dee marsh or Friday morning, 2 days of that so staying in hereford on Friday, should be able to get a trip to the model shop in too 

[45156]

Right time back into Hereford - gives you some time in the emporium in Commercial Road

Edited August 18, 2023 by 45156

[big jim]

25 minutes ago, 45156 said:

Right time back into Hereford - gives you some time in the emporium in Commercial Road

way ahead of you!

[45156]

5 minutes ago, big jim said:

way ahead of you!

That was quick - enjoy the rest of your day,  Mind you it's not far to walk

Edited August 18, 2023 by 45156

[big jim]

And the pics from today

 

66797 up front 

 

Into Dee marsh and backed in, a long train today, 25 wagons but mostly BRA type so a good 50ft longer than usual as I found out in the headshunt when I had to drive through the bushes at the top end to clear the points behind it!

 

Picked up the fresh traffic to head south, while I was doing that the internal shunter came along with another rake of wagons, first time I’ve managed to photograph it

 

It’s called ‘Gavlar’

 

Shorter train back, just 12 wagons so flew along!

 

Passenger train passing by

 

And into hereford 

 

Same tomorrow then a varied week, possession Sunday, scrap train Monday, road learning loco Tuesday, class 69 test/moves on Friday then the toton tripper on Saturday 

 

And as for what I bought……

Edited August 18, 2023 by big jim

[adb968008]

37 minutes ago, big jim said:

 

 

And as for what I bought……

Would look great in GbRF livery

Edited August 18, 2023 by adb968008

[jamie92208]

3 hours ago, big jim said:

And the pics from today

 

66797 up front 

 

Into Dee marsh and backed in, a long train today, 25 wagons but mostly BRA type so a good 50ft longer than usual as I found out in the headshunt when I had to drive through the bushes at the top end to clear the points behind it!

 

Picked up the fresh traffic to head south, while I was doing that the internal shunter came along with another rake of wagons, first time I’ve managed to photograph it

 

It’s called ‘Gavlar’

 

Shorter train back, just 12 wagons so flew along!

 

Passenger train passing by

 

And into hereford 

 

Same tomorrow then a varied week, possession Sunday, scrap train Monday, road learning loco Tuesday, class 69 test/moves on Friday then the toton tripper on Saturday 

 

And as for what I bought……

Lovely loco, I was fortunate to see it once as we were driving up the A1. I think it was the Tuxford branch with Kestrel on the way the Power station.

The model looks great. 

 

Jamie

 

[WessexEclectic]

16 hours ago, big jim said:

Shorter train back, just 12 wagons so flew along!

Are the wagons loaded both ways? Can't recall what the specific steel traffic is.

[5BarVT]

14 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

Lovely loco, I was fortunate to see it once as we were driving up the A1. I think it was the Tuxford branch with Kestrel on the way the Power station.

The model looks great. 

 

Jamie

 

I was fortunate to see it a few times at Newcastle Central when it ran some East Coast workings.  Obviously I had to have one too.  No chance of justification, it will just creep out ‘unnoticed’ from time to time!

Paul.