The Pilotman

See post #6 on page 1 of this thread.

Deltics at Swayfield; a guaranteed crowd-pleaser!

Nice shots yesterday and today. I assume the orange 20ft container in C1663 is full of stuff that didn't really fit in anywhere else.

I live in Germany but work in the UK (I travel to London between once and four times a month). If anyone wants to buy something from an eBay seller who won't post to the UK, I would be quite happy to receive the goods at my home address and post them on to the UK. Or, if the item is small enough, I would take them to the UK and post it from there. All at cost price, of course! PM me if you think I can help.

I agree. That's what people in my line of work call "Simpsons clouds".

Re. J2118. Spring must have been late in 1970; the trees are still bare and the scene has a wintry look to it. Great picture, though.

It would have been far too easy anyway; not too many options with a nameplate that size...

The Fawley to Longport LPG trains were still running at least as late as 1993. At that time, the loaded northbound working was 6M23 and it's empty southbound return was 6O32. In later years, the consist also included bitumen-filled TTAs for Castle Bromwich.

Looks like there is a trailing connection (to a siding or yard?) if you look beyond the one man and his dog. Does that help pin it down to Islip? I only know the place from when it was a single line but given the curvature and the shadows, I think it very unlikely that it's an Oxford-bound train.

It's a good job we know the identity of the Deltic in C5013 as there aren't many clues from the nameplate.

Perhaps it was too warm in the cab.

Yes, you're quite right Mike. The houses in the background are definitely in Cleeve. It was taken, as I'm sure you know, from the bridge that leads down to what was, in my day, Ye Olde Leatherne Bottel (sic) pub. Caption duly changed.

Back to the last century for a little batch of photos of Class 37s at work in the Thames Valley. 37215 and celebrity green 37350 pass Cleeve between Goring and Cholsey on empty TEAs from Colnbrook to Waterston. March 13th 1989 Almost a year later 37239 runs into Didcot Yard with a short rake of HEAs. March 7th 1990 On the same day 37280 and 37078 hammer through Didcot on the down main line with empty tanks from Colnbrook to Waterston. March 7th 1990 Two days later, 37709 passes Taplow on the Micheldever to Ripple Lane empty TEAs. 9th March 1990 The following day the Colnbrook to Waterston empties approaches Twyford behind 37248 and 37220. 10th March 1990

I bet there aren't that many people who could claim such a thing....

Many thanks for posting that Gary. 1983 was about the time I started going out and about on the trains from Reading so our paths may have crossed somewhere. Agincourt was one of my favourite 50s too (something to do with the slightly exotic name, perhaps). I really wish I had a picture of her at Reading but, alas, I don't. But here is my only other reasonable shot of her, taken at Bristol at around the same time. I post it as a tribute to your friend from all those years ago.

One of the certainties in life is that if you see a post from DaveF with the names Swayfield or Pilmoor in the description, you know there are some cracking shots coming up.

Railfreight grey 47297 has just arrived at Exeter St. Davids with the 1310 from Waterloo on 28th July 1987.

31421 has an easy job hauling a single PBA china clay wagon along the sea wall at Dawlish on a rather dull 28th July 1987. I presume this was a trip working on its way to Heathfield.

That's good to hear Robert. Eagerly awaiting the NSE rake and a few Royal Mail BGs to land on the doormat. Odd that the BSK did not arrive with this batch but there you go.

September 7th 1988 and 50033 Glorious is about to set off from the exhaust-filled air of Paddington on the 0842 Network Express to Newbury. I liked the way the sun shone through the loco exhaust and the shadow it created and I well remember getting the camera out to photograph the train just as the driver started to wash the windscreens. For some reason I thought I'd wait for him to finish the job before taking the photo so that he wasn't "in the way". It was only after he finished that I realised how much more interesting the shot would have been with him in it. As he walked back with the bucket and brush the sun highlighted his jacket and so I took the shot. I think it's quite evocative of the time and place but I really wish I'd taken one of him actually cleaning the windows. There's not much to go on but maybe our resident former Old Oak driver might know who he is.

On a trip to Oxford to try out my new Praktica camera (bought from Argos) in the early 80s, I was very surprised to see a pair of 20s (20013 & 20080) heading north on a train of empty cartics. They appeared whilst I was photographing 50013 on a Paddington train on the up platform so I hurried over to the down platform and got a couple of shots during the brief stop they made on the down through road. Although they weren't unknown at Oxford (they sometimes turned up on the morning Speedlink from Bescot), they were very unusual just up the road in my home town of Reading.

So here's another view of 13 on the same train at Oxford but taken from the bottom of the platform ramp. I thought large logo livery particularly suited the 50s and was the best they ever wore except, perhaps, for the black roof and red buffer beam that some of them got later on.

A dog's eye view of 50013 Agincourt as she waits for the RA at Oxford with one of the hourly Paddington expresses, booked to stop only at Reading. No date sadly but it must have been around 1984ish. Just after taking this photo I was very surprised to see a pair of 20s approaching from the south on empty cartics. I legged it across to the down platform (in those days I could do such things without risking a heart attack) and managed to get a shot as they stopped for a couple of minutes at the north end of the down through road. I'll post said picture in the Class 20 thread when I've tidied it up a bit.

Oops, my apologies! You are quite right; I have posted that picture before (albeit in a different thread). He was well known in the class 37 bashing fraternity and he would often carry a trumpet with him whilst out and about and blast out a fanfare from the droplight window.

And a colour one: 56057 passing Crofton on 18/6/88 with a train of empties which was made up of Bardon and Clyde Cement bogie hoppers.