talisman56

SWMBO and myself made use of our Senior Railcards again today, a trip from Yatton to Reading. After the 166 from Yatton to Bristol Temple Meads, boarded the 09:30 to Paddington that was way down platform 12. We got into the coach labelled 'B' on the outside display panels of 802007 to find our reserved seats denoted by paper tickets rather than the illuminated traffic lights and displays, and our 'Face direction of travel' seats were in fact, not. As we pulled out of TM, I noticed that our coach was now 'H' on the internal display above the end door, and of all the reserved seats, about 75% were unoccupied. A quick scan of the nearby ones revealed they were booked from TM, so where were all these people who had reserved those seats? Diesel power stayed on until the stop at Swindon, whereupon peace reigned as the coat-hangers were raised and the infernal combustion engines switched off. They rumbled back into life about 6 miles before Didcot Parkway, presumably to negotiate a well-known bridge, and stayed on until the stop at Didcot. Approaching Reading, peered out the left side of the train to see what was about at Reading Traincare &c, noticed quite a few 387s berthed after their rush-hour duties, and they all had their pans up - is this normal practice? On the way back, waited at the point on Reading platform 9 where one would reasonably expect coach B to stop and when the 15:58 arrived it was at the other end of the train - so instead of being in 802020 we had to walk down almost the whole length of the train to 800017. Again our 'facing' seats weren't and to add insult to injury, we were turfed out of our reserved seats to get into 802020 in order to be on the platform at Yatton, rather than being off the up end under the road bridge. Needless to say, with evening rush in full swing, by the time we boarded again, the train was full and standing. Missive to GWR sent, will be interesting to see what they say...

Sorry, Mick, I don't know. Since it's not visible from platform level, it wouldn't seem to be intended to mean anything to passengers. Seeing as every coach has it, and they're all in the same direction - 'This is the front' ?

It'll never work in N Gauge...

SWMBO and I made use of our newly-purchased Senior Rail Cards and did a day trip out from Yatton to Swansea. Outbound on a 166 to Newport and a 2-car 170 from Newport to Swansea. Had a good squint at the overhead between the Stoke Gifford complex and the Severn Tunnel, which seemed to be all present and correct, but when we emerged into the light on the Welsh side, lots of masts and portals, some fitted with the catenary fittings but swung out the way, but apparently no wires whatsoever. Back from Swansea to Bristol Parkway on my first experince of a 2x 5-car 802 rake, from my previous trips on 800s the 802s seem to be less frantic and quieter on diesel. At Bristol Parkway changed to a 165 for the trip back to Yatton. There was a 2x 5-car 800 rake which came in down from London direction 'on the juice' and changed to diesel, the ex-Swansea 802s departed up on diesel.

Most of them did, some had their MBSO ends painted black and a couple were repainted yellow again. 3304 was overhauled as a unit very early in its life as a CAP (December 1983), and it looks from the 1985 pictures that the only painting done at that overhaul was to paint the Grey panel on the all-blue unit.

Yes German cars have indicators - they're just so difficult to find that the owners have given up looking for them...

3304 was one of the five hybrid livery CAPs, with one of the consituent units being in Blue/Grey and the other still in all-Blue at the time of formation. 3304 achieved consistent livery when it was overhauled at the end of 1983.

Y'alright Rob? You appear to have been cut off mid stream...

...and a certain little one didn't?

(continuing from the above post) J6907 is a 4VEP and 2x 4CEP (in new money thats a 423 and 2x 411)...

If my dash didn't illuminate when I switched on I wouldn't be able so see a d*mn thing. Renault Scenic with a LCD display... [it once didn't come on, but that is a whole 'nother story...] ...and yes, the headlamp replacement thingy is a b@llsache or expensive labour exercise...

Down to the detail like the wonky track circuit indicator and the footbridge which still has the steam exhaust deflectors fitted...

While not a northern hemisphere climate change denier, I do find it difficult to believe that we (the human race) can do anything to mitigate our contribution to it without large countries like the USA, Russia and China doing something to reduce their emissions. Without that, anything smaller countries do will be a spit in the ocean...

An had service lives comparable to some BR Standard locos...

What a horrible livery...

A lot of preserved lines use artistic licence, particularly with respect to BR(S) Green liveried Mark 1s, where a lot of common-or-garden ones have carriage roundels applied where they shouldn't be...

When in Crimson/Cream, the suffix only came along later in that livery era, once Mk1s were introduced in sufficient numbers to increase the likelihood of duplication. So either is acceptable.

Darn -- I thought it said 'Brighton' (a more likely location for a 'Pillbox') and was going to comment on it being a long way from home...

Sign of the times. You have to be lying down to read it...

+9... Happy New Year everyone.

They do things differently in the States, it seems. Over here the S&T (or equivalent) wouldn't have been let loose in that situation without a full line block...

The LBSC Baltic tanks were easier on the eye - and were quite practical, too...

These two Pullmans were originally SECR Parlour First 99 "Padua" (1920) and Kitchen First 102 "Rosalind" (1921); there were two other coaches on the same site, SECR Pullman Parlour First 43 "Sapphire" (1910) and BR Mk1 TSO 4328. The three Pullmans were moved in March 2017, initially to Barrow Hill where they received (unspecified) restoration work before being moved to Folkestone. They weren't there long, as in June 2017 they were moved to the KESR where they are now sheeted in the open, presumably awaiting attention. 4328 was scrapped on site in Sunderland.

Last lot, a couple of infrastructure pictures and Thornton Yard, Vancouver. Approaching Cisco Crossing. The CP bridge. Our train on the CN bridge. CN EMD SD60 5473 CN EMD SD60 5460 with some battle-scars. CSX-liveried GE C40-8W GECX7329. BNSF GE ES44C4 7922, with a couple of CN yard slugs in the left background (#248 + another).

At least I got the GP38 bit right...