nigb55009

Jump - Van Halen (RIP Eddie)

During the 1970s and 80s, WR class 47s worked trains to Ravenhead and Cowley Hill with oil for Pilkingtons glass works. The loco would then head to Springs Branch for fuel before returning the empties to South Wales .The trains were usually from Robeston. It was normal for the loco to be used on a fill in turn during the day. There was always a chance you`d get a WR named class 47 on these trains. One regular turn was the afternoon Bickershaw Colliery to Partington and return. The loco would be fuelled again before heading for home. Springs Branch crews worked these trains to and from Crewe Gresty Lane, as well as the Partington trip.

That would make your model even more prototypical. Is it possible to model a pool of water outside the toilet door, just o make it 100% authentic?

I used to drive 142s. Apparently, underneath all that fibreglass there is a very strong frame that gave serious crash protection. When the collision at Winsford happened, the body of 142008, IIRC, sheared off and moved forwards causing very little damage to the saloon. When 142059 ran away from Edge Hill down to Lime Street, due to a brake fault, the frame was bent but again minimal damage to the cab ends. Obviously as drivers we were quite relieved to hear this. Most 142s had bits of their cab fronts chipped away due hitting fallen branches, or having been hit by missiles thrown by lineside scumbags, but otherwise they were tough beasts. I once went to Shaw`s Crossing, near Burscough Bridge to retrieve a142 that had hit a Land Rover. The Land Rover definitely came off second best, it was upside down at the bottom of the embankment. Although the underside of the unit had been damaged, the cab front only lost a bit of the corner were it hit the Landy. The engine was knackered and there no brakes at that end. I had to go facing road back to Parbold to cross back to the up line and then to Wigan Wallgate, all at 5MPH. Still, it was nice afternoon, time to admire the scenery.

I forgot about Bowtells book. It`s a long time since I read it, must dig it out.

I remember wheeltappers at Carlisle, post electrification. That would be 1974ish, the first time we to Edinburgh. Electric loco to Carstairs where the train split. Rear portion diesel hauled to Edinburgh by 37149. It was only the second 37 I had seen, the first was D6830, which was the Hornby one, on a tank train heading south through Wigan about a year earlier.

I`ve walked the Keswick railway path many times, there are seven or eight bow-string girder bridges. The path is narrower across some of the bridges and you could see were the rails had been laid on longitudinal beams with a wooden walkway either side. I say could see, the path is being rebuilt after damage caused by Storm Dennis in 2015. I assume that H & E rules will mean the path will now be full width of the bridges. There must photos somewhere on the web of similar bridges. There are plenty of the Keswick bridges but none show clearly the position of the rails. Most were taken after conversion to a path.

George Bernard Shaw gave up writing, now works as a " man and van" in deepest Northumberland, (C18270). You learn something everyday. Great photos by the way, keep `em coming.

Mr Universe, Gillan.

That looks more like Longsight

No problem Davey. I did some research for a layout idea some years ago, nothing came of it, but the pic looked familiar. Though I must admit to not having seen that particular flood picture.

I managed to find other photos of Walsall, it seems it flooded quite regularly. Photos from 1969, like the " Gone fishin " picture and again in 1978. I also found some undated photos which appear to have been taken in pre-grouping days. What made me say Walsall in the first place was the overhead gantries on the right of the photo and the distance between the platforms, from the left to the island platform. There aren`t many places where the electrified lines only occupy part of station layout, the photo would seem to be from the late 60s.

That `s Walsall.

According to Realtime Trains, stone trains between Purfleet/Dagenham to and from Acton still use both routes via Stratford and the GOBLIN. Trains use both routes throughout the day and night.

The two class 37s at the start of the clip head through the junction towards Stratford. I would hazard a guess that the train is from Purfleet heading to Acton Yard. The route taken would be via Stratford, onto the NLL as far as Acton Wells Junction then Acton Yard.

The wagons are CBAs, there is a thread on here called Margam to Tunstead stone trains 1971-1972. The train in the photo was probably diverted as it normally ran via the Hope Valley line.

She didn`t scare the smaller birds away, I took this the next morning.

No they`re definitely not his feathers. He, if that`s what it is, came back a couple of days later. It had just killed a sparrow, it was still on the ground with the whole thing in it`s talons. He flew off before I could grab a photo.

SpotteSpotted this in our garden just over a week ago, sparrowhawk possibly.

As she is an Area Manager for a pub company, it is her duty to inform staff, during training, of their role and make sure that they to guidelines, such as COVID 19. Track and trace, social distancing and limiting the number of customers in each venue are equally important as the ability to serve at the bar during this pandemic. However, it is sometimes necessary to " tell " some people more forcefully because they don`t listen the first time or refuse to co-operate. When individuals can be fined for not adhering to the rules it`s sometimes for their own good. It is not her natural way of treating people, more that it needs to be done to keep herself, her staff and customers safe. Normally she`s very friendly and has excellent people skills. But making people listen sometimes goes with the job. I`m Karen isn`t the only person in that position, there many more, and not all called Karen.

I`m happily married to a Karen, she is very good at getting the best deals and customer service out of people. That, I believe is were the " Karen " term originated. She doesn`t need to " stamp her little feet " she`s just very persistent and refuses to back down when she knows, that as a customer she is in the right. The amount of money she has saved us over the last thirty years must be quite considerable now. Perhaps I should have kept count.

45521 is heading towards Weaver Junction.

The first photo looks to have been taken on the main line heading towards Weaver Junction and the WCML. The second is taken on the branch down to Frodsham Junction.

The more I looked at the wording on the trailer the more I thought it said Metropolitan-Vickers. I had a quick Google and I think the loco is an XA class built for the Western Australia Government Railway. The locos were built at Stockton-on-Tees. They were built in three batches between 1954 and 1963, which fits with date of the photo. The arrangement of the grilles etc match the various photos I found.

I`d say Dover, not sure whether it was still called Marine or name changed to Western Docks. The retaining wall looks to straight to be Folkestone Harbour.