Dave F's photos - ongoing - more added each day

[Market65]

Hi, Dave. I also love C3399. You can see a hint of purple in the cab windscreen. Very atmospheric.

 

With warmest regards,

 

Rob.

[DaveF]

C201 - just feel the atmosphere

 

Fantastic shots Dave

 

Phil

 

 

I still remember the day I took that photo.  It was very foggy and really cold, the fog lifted just enough to take photos, and the sun appeared at just the right moment before the fog closed in again.

 

It had been a very "interesting" drive to get there from near Nottingham along the A46 (Fosseway) too.

 

David

[mark54]

C2860 from the formation, was the 09:00 KX-Newcastle

C201 possibly 1A27 13:00 Newcastle-KX

C3399 from the formation either the 08:45 or 10:35 Aberdeen-KX

[35A]

I remember that class 47 in C2860, with the missing outer headcode blinds - unfortunately (and annoyingly) I can't remember exactly which one it was.

 

The Deltic in C3399 must be 55 013 "The Black Watch", I'd suggest. It's not 55 004 - the plates are too short - and I don't believe that it's 55 016 as the nameplate appears to contain a three word name, when magnified. It can't be "Royal Scots Grey", as the front footstep is wrong, so it must be no. 13.

[TEDDYBEAR D9521]

Having read your post Phil I shall now be scoffing a slice of humble pie, and having had another look at Dave's pics I've noticed something else - the 'D856' shot is actually one of the D800-D812 batch of 42s with a single vertical dividing bar in the bodyside grilles, and the 'D811' shot is one of the D813-D832 / D866-D870 batch of 42s with two vertical bars, we can rule out D870 of course as the one in the pic doesn't have the horn cowling on the can roof.

 

Hi Rugd and Phil

 

Yes after looking at it again I think Phil is right it's the angle of the photo that made me think it's a NBL one with marker lights as well.

 

I worked with a secondman once who was at Old Oak when NBL Warships were working out of Padd and he told me the Drivers use to tell the secondman to open all the windows before they left Padd, the Driver then on leaving Padd would open the power handle to fully open until they got to Ealing Broadway to clear the fumes and if they hadn't caught fire by then the engine should be alright. 

 

The Old Oak Drivers nicknamed them Iron Lungs.

 

Cheers GARETH

Edited May 3, 2016 by TEDDYBEAR D9521

[Rugd1022]

Don't suppose you can recall his name can you Gareth...? If you hadn't caught fire by Ealing Broadway you were still crossing your fingers well past Southall...! Driver Jack Bennett once told me while we shunting newspaper vans at Padd one night that he was cadging a lift on an NBL to Reading, all was fine when they left Old Oak but just as they coasted into platform 4 at Reading so he could jump off, the cab suddenly filled with smoke...

Edited May 3, 2016 by Rugd1022

[DaveF]

We'll start today with a few photos I took on the ECML at Damdykes, south of Cramlington this morning.

 

For once it was fine, sunny and almost warm.  Skylarks were singing, swallows were flying and trains were running.

 

 

BSC_0040 Damdykes Class 220 1V56 Glasgow to Plymouth

 

 

BSC_0043 Damdykes 82207 up Edinburgh to Kings X 1E09 3rd May 16

 

 

BSC_0051 Damdykes 142067 Morpeth to Metrocentre 2A07 3rd May 16

 

 

BSC_0052 Damdykes 91128 Kings X to Edinburgh 3rd May 2016

 

 

BSC_0054 Damdykes 66722 down l e  3rd May 16

 

 

BSC_0061 Damdykes 82208 1E10 Edinburgh to Kings X 3rd May 2016

 

 

BSC_0063 Damdykes 91102 City of York 1E10 Edinburgh to Kings X 3rd May 2016.

 

 

David

[TEDDYBEAR D9521]

Don't suppose you can recall his name can you Gareth...? If you hadn't caught fire by Ealing Broadway you were still crossing your fingers well past Southall...! Driver Jack Bennett once told me while we shunting newspaper vans at Padd one night that he was cadging a lift on an NBL to Reading, all was fine when they left Old Oak but just as they coasted into platform 4 at Reading so he could jump off, the cab suddenly filled with smoke...

 

Yes his name was Dai Ruduck he was at Old Oak between the steam and Diesel era then came back to South Wales, also my other 2 mates came across them at Severn Tunnel and told the same story one them use to say the reason why they gave them the D800 numbers was because they had 400 switches and 400 faults.

 

My Uncle also came across them when he was a Driver at Gloucester for a short while he's says that the exhaust manifolds use to split and cause a lot of the smoke problems.  

[russ p]

A late friend of mine who worked for BR and heavily involved with D821 told me how the engines and transmissions were actually interchangeable between the types but was never done. Apparently on V200s this was commonplace and they had a third type of engine a Mercedes.

Would have been interesting to see how a loco with a MAN and a Maybach and voith at one end a mekhydro at the other

[DaveF]

Some photos taken between Darlington and Durham for today's second batch.  They take us from 1976 to the early days of privatisation.

 

Edited to post the right photos in the right order.

 

 

Aycliffe Class 101 down 5th Aug 76 2946

 

 

AycliffeClass 47 up ex pass 5th Aug 76 C2951

 

 

Sunderland Bridge Class 142 Saltburn to Newcastle 30th May 95_C20210

 

 

Sunderland Bridge GNER Class 91 down XP 3rd May 97_C21834

 

 

Sunderland Bridge 56010 up coal 18th Oct 97_C23140

 

 

 

David

Edited May 3, 2016 by DaveF

[deltic17]

David,

i think you'll find that the "Peak" on the down Pullman is a Cl.46 rather than a 45 - though, of course in 1963, we didn't use those classifications.

The Peak in J029 is definitely a class 45 (& not a 46 as suggested here) as there is no extra lower grille in the middle of the bodyside as on a 46.

[deltic17]

Mainly the ECML today.

 

Cotham Class 37 D6830 from Newark towards Bottesford Sepy 68 J1428.jpg

Cotham Class 37 D6830 from Newark towards Bottesford  probably Hull to Colwick Sept 68 J1428

This is the line from Newark to Bottesford West Junction.

 

 

Corby Glen Class 47 up ex pass June 74 C1624.jpg

Corby Glen Class 47 up ex pass probably 17.38 Hull to Kings X June 74 C1624

 

 

Corby Glen Class 47 1771 down ex pass Sept 70 J2351.jpg

Corby Glen Class 47 1771 10.10 Kings X to Edinburgh down ex pass Sept 70 J2351

The pale band is a reflection inside the camera - it only happened now and then, eventually Dad sold it and bought a new one.

 

 

Corby Glen Class 55 down Oct 70 J2424.jpg

Corby Glen Class 55 down Oct 70 J2424

Edit - The way the trees have been cut out and stuck on the backscene doesn't look very realistic.  It's actually caused by not taking enough care with the original scan which was from a slide not in very good condition.

 

 

Donnington Road Class 37 Newcastle to Norwich Feb 71 J2515.jpg

Donnington Road Class 37 Newcastle to Norwich Feb 71 J2515  Donnington Road is on the GN and GE Joint between Sleaford and Spalding.

 

 

David

J2515 is a class 40 & not a class 37

[JeffP]

BSC_0040, Glasgow to Plymouth.

 

Must be one of the longest journeys in the UK now...and FOUR coaches.

 

Disgusting.

[jonny777]

I had thought 8M74 was a loaded oil train, rather than a coal train, hence my search for an alternative, but I've since hooked out a 1969 WTT for Hull and I can see it loaded in the mineral sidings there.

 

Why Notts coal wasn't good enough for Colwick im not sure, though the second set of wagons appear to be carrying something else.

 

Yes, it is intriguing me still because the service 7*M74 was SO and was suspended in the summer until 7th September. It also should be at that point just before midday if running to time and although the image is not the sharpest, the sun appears to be too far around to the left as we look at it for the time of day.

 

It seems to be a company block train (coy) to Colwick Estates and is booked for 2 minutes at Colwick E Junc to pick up a pilot, so is not actually bound for the main yards.

 

Because of the class 8 headcode I wonder if it has stopped en-route on this particular day to pick up additional wagons? It might just be the first working after the summer break and is therefore carrying a few loads for the various industries there which have been ordered for the autumn season. There were quite a few industries at Colwick, as well as the oil companies, but I am getting into the realm of guesswork. 

[Phil Bullock]

A late friend of mine who worked for BR and heavily involved with D821 told me how the engines and transmissions were actually interchangeable between the types but was never done. Apparently on V200s this was commonplace and they had a third type of engine a Mercedes.

Would have been interesting to see how a loco with a MAN and a Maybach and voith at one end a mekhydro at the other

 

And DB ditched the MANs pretty rapildy as basket cases IIRC! Interchangeability on BR was never implemented as I understand it because things werent quite common throughout - although by D832 on the swindon built 42s the engine frame could take an MAN - now theres a thought....

 

Re the catching fires .... On one occasion D843 didnt like the flat out treatment and failed at Southall on a Worcester train , only to be replaced by a Brush Type 47 - which also failed at Oxford. What was the only spare Oxford had to take the train on to Worcester? D6336! How did I miss that?

 

Phil

[The Stationmaster]

And DB ditched the MANs pretty rapildy as basket cases IIRC! Interchangeability on BR was never implemented as I understand it because things werent quite common throughout - although by D832 on the swindon built 42s the engine frame could take an MAN - now theres a thought....

 

Re the catching fires .... On one occasion D843 didnt like the flat out treatment and failed at Southall on a Worcester train , only to be replaced by a Brush Type 47 - which also failed at Oxford. What was the only spare Oxford had to take the train on to Worcester? D6336! How did I miss that?

 

Phil

 

The MANs were reputedly terrible engines - apart from the manifold problems already mentioned they had a reputation for throwing oil all over the place which meant the engine rooms tended to be avoided as much as humanly possible

[russ p]

Cheers,Did DB scrap the MAN loco's or just the power units?

[Mallard60022]

BSC_0040, Glasgow to Plymouth.Must be one of the longest journeys in the UK now...and FOUR coaches.

 

Disgusting.

The Glasgow section of the Glasgow Plymouth train used to be two coaches to Crewe and then attached to at least ten onwards. I've got details of that somewhere for the 1957 Summer TT workings in Cornwall.  In those days it went WCML and Brum of course. So, four coaches is hopeless as it runs ECML and when I see this at Donny it is always stuffed and then loads more join it at Sheffield! Must be a nightmare train.

Phil

[Market65]

Hi, Dave. I like the photos taken today at Damdykes. It is a relatively clean railway these days, with no oil being thrown around as in the MAN engined Warships!

And the photo's of the ECML between Darlington and Durham are great ones. It was such a shame that the class 142's were put on such long journeys as the one in C20210 going from Saltburn to Newcastle. It is a great photo' though.

 

With warmest regards,

 

Rob.

[The Stationmaster]

BSC_0040, Glasgow to Plymouth.

 

Must be one of the longest journeys in the UK now...and FOUR coaches.

 

Disgusting.

 

The difference now of course is that there are 4 through trains from Glasgow to Plymouth SX and another 4 with only one change enroute, and one is - I think - still covered by an HST diagram.

 

However the Cross Country (as it now is) dmu fleet was built down to a price (set by Virgin) and in any case to ensure maximum diagramming flexibility cannot exceed 5 cars in a set due to short a platform at Reading (although I doubt that really makes much difference as the 4 car sets have never been strengthened up to 5 anyway).

 

And don't forget the ECML - Birmingham section is also served by an hourly Newcastle - Reading service for much of the day (which basically only had one train a day back in the steam age - in the shape of the York - Bournemouth).

 

No denying that the central part of the Cross-country routes are heavily used but in terms of total daily capacity they are, I think, way ahead of what was offered even in the 1970s 

[Phil Bullock]

Cheers,Did DB scrap the MAN loco's or just the power units?

Engines replaced Russ

 

Another fault in addition to those mentioned by Stationmaster is that any fuel leaking from injectors used to collect in the vee of the engine block - to be ignited by sparks from the split exhaust manifolds....

 

But they were good enough to be put back in to service after spending significant time in storage .... most likely their quirks were better understood as time went on

 

Phil

[The Stationmaster]

Engines replaced Russ

 

Another fault in addition to those mentioned by Stationmaster is that any fuel leaking from injectors used to collect in the vee of the engine block - to be ignited by sparks from the split exhaust manifolds....

 

But they were good enough to be put back in to service after spending significant time in storage .... most likely their quirks were better understood as time went on

 

Phil

 

What I've always wondered about the MAN engines was just how much truth there was in the oft-retold story that they were actually a copy of a design used in U-Boats

[Phil Bullock]

What I've always wondered about the MAN engines was just how much truth there was in the oft-retold story that they were actually a copy of a design used in U-Boats

Looks like the uboat engines I can find were MAN straight 6s Mike - but components such as pistons, conrods etc could well be common I guess

 

Phil

[JeffP]

I regularly traveled Sheffield-Birmingham in the early 70's. There were plenty of trains, going to Cardiff, Swansea, Bristol, Plymouth, even Penzance, most were class 45 and ten, strengthened to 13, 14 or even 15 in the summer months.

 

Everyone got a seat.

 

I'm afraid I can't agree that things are even as good, now, let alone better. My last two journeys to Brum have been standing all the way there and all the way back. Disgusting. I'm limited tyo normal hours trains if I want a connection from Sheffield or Donny.

 

And tbh, it doesn't matter how many trains you put on. If they aren't at the time people want/need to travel, what use are they?

[DaveF]

J2515 is a class 40 & not a class 37

 

 

Thanks,

 

I did know that but for some reason typed Class 37 when I did the caption - and I never remember to check what I have typed against what is in the photo.

 

David