great central

Regarding cleanliness or otherwise of A4s, I remember seeing a freshly overhauled Union of South Africa at Derby following a test run years ago. 

The top of the boiler was heavily soot laden and being swept down by the support crew as it was a dry summer day.

I think it had done something like a Derby-Sheffield-Derby circuit so perhaps up to 100 miles?

Had it been a wet winters day I would have expected that the soot would have made rather more of a mess and wouldn't be able to be swept off.

Looks rather like our former club building which, prior to us obtaining it, served as an extra classroom on a school site the other side of Nottingham. 

Timber framed and clad, ours was originally from the Vic Hallam company at Langley Mill, built from standardised 6ft sections they could be erected almost any size required, ours was 60ft x 24ft.

Very heavy sections all dismantled and rebuilt by a much younger and willing membership without any mechanical help. 

There's several smaller versions, now becoming pretty decrepit, beside former Eastern region lines, which would have served as P Way cabins, notably on the Skegness line.

28 minutes ago, CameronL said:

Totally agree. I used to fly Easyjet from Liverpool to London on business a lot. It was much cheaper than getting the train. 

 

Liverpool Airport has this sign all over the place -

 

 

I'd feel more comfortable thinking that above us was the odd plane or two.

A couple of years ago it was wonderful to look up at a clear blue sky without loads of vapour trails.....

Next time you go into Aldi remember to pick up a Humpty Dumpty, cos you'll get Aldi Kings horses and Aldi Kings men as well 🤪

Passing over the river at Ely, there's a swan's nest on the bankside, looks like 4 cygnets with mum or dad standing guard😀

10 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

Is a non-reflective numberplate legal on a K-suffix, i.e 1971/2? I can't recall when they became mandatory. 

I think they were still legal then although rarely fitted to new cars, my 1968 Morris 1100 had reflectives

Doesn't seem to bother a fair number of not so old car owners either, often high performance,  I wonder if speed cameras can read black plates.

As for front numberplates stuffed inside the front windscreen......  Passed a driveway the other day, two high performance cars, both with front numberplate almost hidden by the wipers🤔

I know it will probably offend some people's sensitivities but I went to the racing at Yarmouth stadium earlier.  Going later it's usually possible to walk in and catch a few races. 

In among the bangers, mostly Astras, Focus and Fiestas nowadays, there was a single MG ZS and some sort of Alfa Romeo saloon. As I can't tell many cars apart nowadays,  mostly through lack of interest it must be said, I only realised by the  badge on the boot thinking originally it was a BMW of some kind. 

Absolutely no idea when I last saw one of these in the wild, even got the old style Krooklok (sp?) fitted between the steering wheel and clutch pedal.

North end of Great Yarmouth this morning. 

2 hours ago, LMS2968 said:

If it's where I think it is, it would be at the end of the shunting neck with a gap between the Slow and Fast lines. There was no clearance to the other sides of these as there was a vertical cutting there.

Yep that's it, I noticed it years ago when I first learnt the the route to Lime Street. 

I wondered if it was originally out in the open as some sections of the cutting have been roofed over using concrete beams, this being in one of those sections. 

When there was an extra service provided from Nottingham to St Pancras, for MML, by a hired class 47 and mk2 stock, (possibly Fragonset?) the first day's service had to be cancelled

The train came empty from Derby and loco ran round in Nottingham,  unfortunately somehow the buffers on the London end had been left in their retracted position, so on buffering up the front of the loco hit the corridor connection. 

The Great Yarmouth one has been replaced by a newer vehicle in a similar livery

The Great Yarmouth heritage livery one was in service until last year, travelled on it many times, pleased to see it's been preserved 

At every single location on today's selection the railway has been totally obliterated, the only and possibly tenuous thing is if Perry Road Bridge, ahead of the O4 hauled down goods has been underfilled and the deck is still in place. I don’t know the answer to that I'm afraid.

Cuttings filled back to original levels and embankments removed completely.

What a motley collection of wagons in the same train as well. 

20 minutes ago, TT-Pete said:

 Is it a bloke thing that whilst the wife is going bananas, printing "Have you seen this cat?" posters, wandering the streets banging a feeding dish with a spoon and acting totally unhinged 'cos Puss is half an hour past the curfew time that I'm like "Naah, she'll be back when she's hungry"? I sometimes am given a torch and get pushed out of the house late at night and told to go look for them because "I won't be able to sleep if they're not home"...

Oh yes,  totally au fait with all that.  Funnily enough my other half goes off to bed while I have sat up, sometimes all night,  waiting.

Had to come back from a weekend away at one point.  Cat missing overnight despite much searching, wife going loopy. 

Found her about half an hour after arriving home, shut in the boot of son's car in garage. Fold down rear seat had been put up again, she stretched and climbed out like nothing was amiss!

When the Eastern part of Central Trains became East Midlands Trains we inherited a pretty mixed bag of units even among the 158s

There were some ex CT ones as well as the, at the time,  still 3 car former trans pennine units. Also 4 x 2 car units from the Wessex area which did have the 400hp engines.

Shortly after the franchise started the centre cars were removed from the TPE sets and transferred to Northern leaving a uniform two car fleet, in at least 3 different paint schemes until they were all refurbished. 

https://www.railadvent.co.uk/2022/05/south-devon-railway-issues-statement-after-incident-involving-two-steam-locomotives.html

As an aside, I worked 158810 on a Derby Sheffield Norwich Nottingham circuit yesterday. After I left it at Nottingham it went on to Liverpool.

1 hour ago, RedgateModels said:

 

You should try Cadwell on a motorbike 😎

Watched stock cars at Cadwell a few times in the 1970s, the dash down the hill was incredible to watch given the aim is to remove the opposition using the bumper!

5 hours ago, PhilJ W said:

Isetta Zip 1953.

Ok, where's the forward facing navigation camera so you can see where you're going?

That is the back isn't it? I can see where Gerry Anderson got the idea for the SPV.

C19321, interesting. Again from memory these would have been RR Central allocated units, if I can remember I have a spotters book from about then in the garage to confirm. 

No mention of a charter using 156s on 6 bells Junction that day, I wonder where it originated, the units being around 7 years old by then.

J13378, I'm not sure that would be 156409, looking at it on my phone I think it's 156469.

Although I'm no expert I believe that the first 20 or so 156s were allocated to Regional Railways central area at Norwich Crown Point at that time. 

The next 20 or so, I don't know exact numbers, went to RR North West and the following batches to RR North East, so would fit with 156469.

On privatisation 409 became a Central Trains unit until transferred to the Anglia area. It now runs as 156909 currently with EMR, I think as things keep changing with various cascades (sort of) underway. 

1 hour ago, Chris Turnbull said:

Here's Part Two of my East Anglian adventure on 26th April.

 

I left Part One at Lowestoft where I had photographed  755413 just after arrival. 

 

 

In the short time it took me to walk the length of the train to the exit 755327 arrived from Norwich.  This was to form the next train to Ipswich and 413 the next train the Norwich.  However, I like to have a bit of variety on my travels and not stick slavishly to the trains.  At one time I could have caught a train to Great Yarmouth but no longer.  A walk through the town to the bus station and I was on the bus to Great Yarmouth.  The Coast Clipper runs every half hour and trundles through various villages on the way.  It is not fast but I wasn't in a rush and it gives me a chance to enjoy the countryside.  And anyway, it didn't cost me anything with my bus pass.  

 

 

On arrival at Matket Gates bus station in Great Yarmouth I made my way to the railway station (or train station as people seem to say these days) and this is what greeted me.  To think that I called Peterborough utilitarian!  It had been quite a walk - there is no such thing as integrated public transport in this part of East Anglia - and I was looking forward to a cup of coffee.  A cup of coffee?  No chance!  So back to the town centre. 

 

 

Leaving the station I came across a handy map that showed a walking route over this bridge to the town centre so I gave it a try.

 

 

 

It looks like a railway bridge and so it turned out to be.  On the far side of the bridge was this track embedded in the road.  I have checked an old map and the far span (this track) was a goods line to Vauxhall Fish Quay, the centre span was a tramway and nearest the camera was a walkway.  I won't bore you with how hard it was to find a cafe, let's just say that Great Yarmouth is not the most vibrant, up-market resort on the East Coast especially out of season.

 

 

Thankfully 755335 turned up on time and at 14.17 I was on my way to Norwich.

 

 

Our arrival in Norwich was on time and here is 755335 in Platform 5 with East Midlands 158864 peeking out behind.

 

 

Platforms 1 (right) and 2 (left) held the usual Liverpool Street trains.  745001 was in Platform 1 with the 15.00 and 009 was in Platform 2 with the 15.30.

 

 

I wanted the 15.27 to Ely which was formed by 755424.  The information board fooled me at first as I was looking for a Cambridge train. having forgotten that they now run through to Stansted Airport.

 

 

The change of trains at Ely was rather tight, just four minutes, but I need not have worried.  My train pulled in dead on time at 16.27 in Platform 1 and a swift walk through the underpass brought me on to Platform 2 just as 755327 arrived with the Ipswich train.

 

 

A few minutes later and I was back in Soham.  Not a bad day's entertainment for £16.50 plus a cup of coffee.  That Pimms went down well when I got home!

 

Chris Turnbull 

Coffee in Yarmouth near the station?

The other side of the station is a big Asda store, recently built McDonald's in the car park, about 2 minutes walk from the station front. I know McDonald's Coffee isn't everyone's taste but saves a longer walk especially when I'd just missed the previous train by less than two minutes.

Several options around market gates as well, including Costa (lot), Gregg's and independents on the market itself. Depending on time of day a walk along Regent Road to the seafront can provide several reasonably priced eateries including a seven days a week, all year burger joint where an acceptable burger or hot dog can be had for the princely sum of one English pound, to borrow a phrase from the Who's Magic Bus.

2 hours ago, JeffP said:

To go back to your 1951 black and white photos, I believe the A1 being piloted is in fact the solitary A1/1 60113 Great Northern.

The deflector shape and the nameplate with crest are clues.

 

Also, the A4 is, I think, 60019 Bittern.

Definitely Great Northern, the position of the cylinders gives it away

2 hours ago, Down_Under said:

Need to fit a crossover in but run out space, well there is always interlaced point work to help you out 
 

 

Liverpool Docks 

Struggling to see how that works at all, unless the camera is causing it to look completely wrong