keefer

Presumably some sort of Meat van?😄

Spot the new purchase, couldn't resist running it straight out of the box😊 That is just a stunning picture - and black & white even though it's in colour! 🤔☺️

It did though but the result seemed to be (with diesel-electric particularly) if they were geared for shunting then they were too low-geared for trip work - or if geared for trips, they were too high-geared for shunting.

A famous example of 'main-line' workers' trains would be to the Singer works, to the west of Glasgow. At its peak it had 6 platforms serving trains mainly from Glasgow and points eastward like Bridgeton. https://www.railscot.co.uk/locations/S/Singer_Workers_Platforms/ There still is a Singer station but this is on the NB/BR line which bypassed the work site - however it's still a station named after a company, as opposed to a location. Was/is also used to define which route the North Clyde services took - they were either 'via Yoker' or 'via Singer'. Another example was trains for Rosyth Dockyard. They would enter Inverkeithing on the Up line and take the South junction onto the Dockyard branch. I don't know if there were trains from the Lothians via the Forth Bridge as these would need to reverse, unless the workmens' services were from Inverkeithing only and required changing trains.

Nothing wrong with it, just bustin' for a pee after a non-stop from Aberdeen🙂

This was originally one of the prototype cl.150 units, 150002 - http://www.traintesting.com/Class150.htm This unit had engine/gearbox problems, while 150001 was more successful and became the basis of the production Sprinters. 150002 became 154002 and was used to test other transmission and air-conditioning systems: http://www.traintesting.com/Class154.htm

Hither Green 11/03/78 (c) Bernard Mills/TheRailwayCentre.com https://www.railway-centre.com/february-2012.html Hither Green 1970 (c) Roger Goodrum/kentrail.org.uk https://www.kentrail.org.uk/hither_green_depot_2.html

As with a lot of decisions post-war and in the '50s in particular, there is a lot of 'why didn't they....?'. In most cases the simple answer is, there was no real alternative. Britain was skint, so often just had to make do with what was domestically available i.e. continuing with coal/steam, the new 'Standard' coaching stock being solid (if basic) design & construction, stalled electrification projects, shambolic approach to main-line diesel technology. I think there was also more resistance to importing technology from abroad, either due to where that came from, how it would be paid for or plain old 'everything should be British'.

I've never heard of that but do remember reading somewhere that the cl.56 were stopped at 135 due to the impending cl.58. The Wikipedia article on cl.58 mentions that, due to the Miners' Strike, there was thought of cancelling part of the order: "Although originally allocated to coal traffic, their arrival coincided with the miners' strike; it has been alleged that British Rail had only tolerated the construction of so many units because the components for their manufacture were already on order." (reference given as: BR in the Eighties, Thomas & Whitehouse, pub. David & Charles 1990)

Is that the alumina hoppers? ISTR one of the last regular unfitted flows on BR - the other was a coal run in South Wales?

I wouldn't worry Dave, I'm sure you have better things to occupy your time. If ever any photos need re-posting in future, I'm sure no-one will mind commenting again (gives us all something to do!) 🙂

@russ p According to Wikipedia, there were nine 308/2 built with MLV (Units 313-321). Four units 313-316 were converted to MBSO in 1971 (earlier than I thought), due to reduced requirement for luggage space. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_308#Description

I think this will be a cl.308/2 as the second vehicle is an MBSO converted from one of the famous MLV luggage vans. Recognisable by the non-standard window layout which includes full-size windows.

Standard pre-EPB jumper layout (l-r control, lighting & power jumpers). Air brake & main reservoir pipes on the bufferbeam but with added hi-level duplicate pipes under the driver's window. (These are fed from the bufferbeam cocks using the pipework visible)

Harrogate J276/278 both driving cars are cl.108. The first is one of the later batch with headcode box, the second is the more usual type with destination blind/2-character headcode. Petts Wood C5022 is a cl.411 (4CEP). Love the late-era green pics, so much character.

Former Parlour Second (PSP), reclassed to FO. From Mk1 Pullman page at Kier Hardie's emgauge70s website: E347E Converted to ordinary FO at York September 1971. E348E Noted as ordinary FO 26/09/71. E349E Noted as ordinary FO in 26/09/70. E350E Noted on the rear of the 10.05 Bradford to Paignton train on 29/04/69 and the ‘Devonian’ at Newton Abbott the next day. Converted to ordinary FO at York September 1971. E351E Noted in grey / blue reversed livery in the Yorkshire Pullman 13/12/69, and still being used in the Yorkshire Pullman in early October 1970. E352E Noted in rev' grey/blue livery in the Yorkshire Pullman 1970. Noted running as ordinary FO March 1971. E353E Released from York works April 1970 as ordinary FO in the corporate blue grey livery.

Just noticed the marine-style rotary windscreen 'wiper'

Probably body corrosion (or lack of)

Notice the tablet-catcher recess has come in handy for keeping the extra pipework in gauge! Presumably into a control unit for the system under test/development (mentioned in the Flickr comments). Pipework seems to be connected to the air-brake pipe on the bufferbeam, the system maybe a new form of AWS.

Couple of Siphon G behind the loco, did these have specific workings or were they just used as general vans?

The Sleeper must have been empty as any injuries are noted, even if fairly minor. The damage sustained would certainly have caused serious injuries, if not fatalities.

https://www.departmentals.com/departmental/975538 Can't get at mine just now but the Longworth Mk1 & 2 book should give a withdrawal date.

Was just going to say that ! Got fed up building the wall so just plonked a printed backscene in line with it😊

@DOCJACOB @Trestrol It'll be an RU. I don't think the Gresley bogies had a higher max. speed than BR2 (90mph I think) but they did give a better ride for longer. The BR bogies were perfectly good ex-works but once in traffic, the ride would get progressively worse as bearing surfaces/knife-edges wore down in service. The ECML RB (and eventually RBR) would either have Commonwealth or B4/B5 bogies

I hadn't really paid attention to the fact that it's a WCML train, never mind the fact it's The Royal Scot! That made me think of alternatives and I was mistaken. It's not an RB but an RB(K) - similar to an RB but converted from the dia.17 RF coaches that the LMR insisted on having. I was remembering the RB were numbered in the 16xx/17xx range however the RB(K) were also in this range. While typing this, found my copy of Parkin - M1643 was a dia.28 RB(K). The dia.28 conversions from RF started in 1970 and 1643 had been done by the date of the pic. The main visual difference from an RB (which you can't see here) is there are 4 full-size saloon windows and end vestibule doors, the RF was unique in this respect. RB/ RU had blank 'emergency' saloon doors and unevenly spaced/sized windows. The corridor side 'kitchen' windows were slightly different from RB - RB(K) shown in this pic: https://ukrailwaypics.smugmug.com/Coaches/Mk1-Coaching-Stock/Mk1-RF-Restaurant-First/i-d7RPSNX/A (note the two 3' windows between the two kitchen doors). So we were both incorrect but got there in the end!🙂