great central

Possibly the best place to put this, it seems the final part of the east side of the Woodhead main line will lose it's freight traffic from the end of this month, not counting the short distance at Penistone DB's contract for rail haulage to Stocksbridge hasn't been renewed and everything will apparently be going by road. The steelworks has been for sale for some time and not that many trains run I understand. Given the upheavals over the last 41 years since closure as a through route I suppose it's done well to hang on as long as it has. Coincidentally I believe one of the local road hauliers who moved a lot of steel products has also closed recently.

Even more so the Voyagers and Meridians, very similar trains but totally incompatible both physically and electrically I understand!

Might be worth asking this on the collectable/vintage section of the forum. Lots of knowledge there about older stuff https://www.rmweb.co.uk/forum/115-collectablevintage/

I remember reading many years ago about a loco called on to rescue a failed train and having to work tender first into a blizzard. Fortunately they didn't have too far to go but both driver and fireman looked like snowmen by the time they reached their destination. I can also relate to this having had a footplate experience day on the GC some years ago with the O4, it rained quite heavily while running tender first back to Loughborough, I was soaked!

A lot of the local colliery trips around Nottingham ran tender first in one direction as there were no turning facilities at the pits. Until the early 60s on the GN back line and, after the closure of Mapperley tunnel on the GC through Victoria, WD Austerities or various sub classes of 04, then when the Midland region took over Colwick, 8Fs and for a short time 9Fs.

If it's any help I have a couple of hoods with lamp holders attached, unfortunately no back plate and lenses broken out, recovered from undergrowth near Oughtibridge around 25 years ago. Always intended to mount them somewhere. I can dig them out of the garage to measure and photograph over the weekend.

Like this.

Pub near home but driving so no pictures. Yesterday F reg Mini Countryman outside, today a brown Austin Princess wedge!

Dirty maybe, but seem to be in good mechanical order with little evidence of steam leakage, down to, at times, heroic efforts on the part of the shed artisan grades in often squalid conditions that wouldn't be tolerated today in any shape or form. The peak and it's train is hardly pristine, more a general reflection of the railway at that time, closures, redundancy and an air of resignation that the railways were being deliberately run down by the politicians of the day.

Southern vans overload😵 Did the Southern actually use their own vans internally or simply pack them off to the far corners of the country?

Lowdham Station building is still very much as it was, the signal box has been preserved and moved into the station yard. Refurbished and fitted out it is open on occasions as a small museum

The trainline is often a rip off, the number of times I've told, especially, groups of passengers what they could have paid against what the trainline has charged them......

J226, including the ever present Southern van. J237, 18 wheel convoy coming the other way, pilot changeover move perhaps?

156404 at in the early morning sunshine at Thorpe Culvert while working the 05.48 Nottingham-Skegness this morning. Thorpe Culvert is a little used station near Wainfleet between Boston and Skegness And a little later at Skegness for the 08.18 to Nottingham. This one will be leaving for Northern soon I believe, being somewhat cleaner than the ones staying for a while longer.

I think this bit of video sums up the potential problems pretty well, and this particular dork is an enthusiast rather than a member of the 'general public', who we might have expected to be more aware of the risks!

Not sure if it belongs here or modern classics but saw a very nice looking N reg Rover 800 on the way home from work, long time no see one.

There's a part box of said confectionery in a cupboard at the club from last year's 'do' I had one last week, still perfectly edible and no after effects, so a use by date is probably superfluous as they're so full of sugar.

A good many ago I knew a manager of a smaller chain of tyre fitting companies who were taken over by Kwik Fit. It was around the time of the adverts with the dancing tyre fitters, like this Apparently, at the first managers meeting he attended after the takeover they were all expected to get up and do the dance! He put in his notice there and then.

Might be worth looking at this series of videos, giving some idea of the ongoing maintenance requirements, not a domestic garage job!

Look very much like the AEC Renowns bought by Nottingham City transport in 1965, seemed a bit odd going for a crew operated vehicle after several years of buying Fleetlines and Atlanteans which were readily adapted to one man operation.

See first post?

For what it's worth I found the mobile signal to vary dramatically depending on whereabouts I was in the hall. Going from nothing around the edges to a full 4G in the middle. Having arrived shortly after opening as a guest operator/gopher I tried to call from the foyer to have a badge brought out, nothing. Yet once inside I could get onto websites so the signal was pretty good.

A couple of weeks ago while on holiday in Norfolk my average for a 1.9 diesel got up to 57 mpg. Mostly steady running at around 60mph on single carriageway roads. My average on my daily trip to work, 10 miles or so with about 8 at 30mph is around 45mpg

Possibly stolen and trashed, they and Maestros were something of a favourite among the so called 'joyriders' back then. It must be admitted though, the rear arches did go very quickly, I think they came with a 6 year anticorrosion warranty but it relied on inspection every year to be valid. Trying desperately to recall the bumf that came with my dad's Montego.

At various points on my way home from work, possibly all heading to the classic car meet at Papplewick. Early Ford Consul Corsair, no year letter so pre 1964? Not many A registrations were used I don't think. A bit further on, a Wolseley or Riley 1.5, only seen in the mirror. Then a Triumph TR6 and finally a Mk2 Ford Escort being given it's head somewhat.