Mike_Walker

As ever, Railtec is your friend.

Thanks Rob for another fantastic and inspiring show. Looking forward to next year! Mike

We all have every confidence in your skills as MC. See you there! Mike

And Tom is one of those experienced career railwaymen the industry cannot afford to lose.

Yes, the Chiltern line was the subject of Total Route Modernisation under the dying days of NSE and BR but like so much else it was done on the cheap and handed Chiltern a railway with modern trains and signalling systems but without the capacity to expand the service beyond the level BR finished with. As a a result, Chiltern had to spend a fortune (underwritten by its then major shareholder Laings) to pay first Railtrack then Network Rail to provide the enhanced capacity through three major upgrade programmes that were known a Project Evergreen I, II and II which between them delivered: Double track from Princes Risborough to Aynho Junction (singled by BR). Additional platforms at Marylebone and Princes Risborough. Multi-storey car parks for commuters at several stations. New additional depots at Wembley and Banbury to handle a fleet that almost doubled in size. A substantial upgrade to the signalling installed in BR's TRM to reduce headways and raise maximum speeds from a general 75mph to a norm of 100mph. And last, but by no means least, the opening of completely new services to Aylesbury Vale Parkway and from Bicester to Oxford. None of these would have occurred if BR had not been privatised and a similar programme would be unlikely to be repeated in future under the present renationalisation plans. Sadly, further plans were scuppered when Laing were the subject of a hostile takeover which led to Chiltern ultimately ending up in the ownership of DB through Arriva. The new owners are systematically asset stripping and siphoning off profits to prop up the losses made by DB in Germany. The result is Chiltern's service is going downhill as is customer satisfaction (once chart topping) and staff morale. Most managers and many experienced staff from the Shooter era have had enough and moved on. Adrian Shooter's autobiography and his book about Chiltern are well worth a read. Finally, to bust a myth about the huge profits being made by the TOC owners. They simply aren't. Since the pandemic and the cancelling of all the franchise agreements and their replacement by management contracts, the operators are paid directly by the government in the form of their costs plus margin which is a puny 2%. Which is why it's proving almost impossible to attract bidders when contracts come up for renewal. Would you want to run a business for such tiny return?

I think if you asked a broad cross section of the Great British Public if there should be a means of preventing them falling out of moving trains they'd almost universally reply "yes". At the end of the day that is what CDL does. A week or so ago I was chatting to a neighbour who knows very little about railways but had read reports in the national press that "all steam trains were to be banned" over this dispute. I explained to him the background to why CDL should be fitted and the role of both WCRC and the ORR in this and he fully accepted the argument and agreed that WCRC should follow the rules in place for a very good reason. As others have said, those that are making the most noise in support of WCRC are those who are not in possession of or understand the full facts.

"tvagot" is the Thames Valley & Great Western Omnibus Trust headed up by Colin Billington and based near Maidenhead. He has loads of connections in the south west and much of his collection is based down there. The group also organises the Kingsbridge running day in addition to that at Penzance. Clearly they do need to work on the publicity side of things.

Correct. Chris Green didn't want RR pilfering his trains so the 159s along with the 165 and 166 Turbos had two wires reversed in the coupler electrical connection meaning the units could couple with RR 15x units but not work in multiple. Post privatisation Chiltern have their 168s wired the same way and when the ex-TPE 170s became Chiltern 168/3s and the Chiltern 172s went to West Midlands a simple wiring mod was needed. Likewise, the SWR 158's have had the same mod.

WO4625 was a specially modified Leyland Bull TQ1 which was usually a goods vehicle chassis. The original body was by Dodson.

If it's the photo I'm thinking of at Burngullow by Peter Gray, then it's 365, GTA390, which was a 1942 Bristol L5G which was stretched to 30' in 1955 and fitted with a new ECW 39 seat body making it in effect a LL5G not a LWL which were 8' wide. I too would love to have one of those SUS kits - or two actually, one WN and one in Thames Valley livery for the two ex-WN (and three ex-Bristol) ones that worked over Marlow Bridge.

At Bourne End there used to be a sign at the end of both platforms that read 'COMMENCEMENT OF TOKEN SECTION' and every 'N' on both was reversed. I always regret not taking a picture. Back in 1974 when Alder Valley were expecting a trio of minibuses to work across Marlow Bridge, the prototype was displayed at the Commercial Motor Show with 'MORLOW' on the destination display. I pointed out the error and a quick scroll through the blind showed Morlow Bottom and Morlow Common as well. Luckily it was corrected before delivery and the other two were also correct.

Hi Nick, Not sure exactly when it was built but I think it was there in the 1980s. I'll ask around and see if I can get a more accurate date. Mike

They look pristine so perhaps new ones being delivered from the manufacturer?

I really like that shot of 165125 passing Little Marlow at what is officially Vineyard No.2 Crossing and almost in my back yard. I was at Swanage at the time where it was much less sunny! The road in the photo stitch is the former track bed to High Wycombe and is one of several such developments that have replaced the old route which makes reopening well nigh impossible. No issues with shadows at Marlow now. The row of overgrown and neglected conifers were felled last week much to the disgust of the local residents.

Another useful shop is closing down. Collectables R Us in High Wycombe citing the usual complaints of rising rent and service charges along with hassle from their landlord, reduced footfall and spend despite being in a prime location in the town's main shopping arcade, and a steady rise in shoplifting which the police seem completely unwilling to do anything about. They will continue on line and are actively looking for an alternative location within the town. Fingers crossed they are successful - for one thing, they always had the best stock of Humbrol both acrylics and enamels of anywhere I know.