The Pilotman

And finally for now, a month later on April 2nd and 33116 was yet again in use on the Westbury to Reading West Junction trip, this time seen approaching Hamstead Crossing just west of Newbury.

...but not as easy as 33116 which passed a little later with just a Shark plough van to return to Westbury from Reading West Junction.

The following day I was at Colthrop Crossing where 33110 and 33114 had an easy job with just 5 sealions on 6V96, the Tonbridge to Meldon Quarry ballast empties...

Some black and white 33s on the Berks and Hants... First up is 33116 coasting down towards Crofton on March 8th 1990 working 7Z33, the Westbury to Reading West Junction engineers trip.

An ETH Duff on a railtour in 1984? I bet that went down well... Reminds me of one of the rail tours I went on; RESL's The Cornishman in January 1985. We were supposed to get a class 40 from Leicester to Bristol but it had left wherever it was coming from late and so was sent to New Street to intercept us instead. A driver was summoned to take 47456 light engine from Saltley to Leicester to bring us to Birmingham but on discovering it was a railtour, he said, "I'm not taking that, I'll take those instead," pointing at 20006 and 20133. And so on a cold January night, a pair of 20s hauled us from Leicester to Birmingham where 40012 (with operative boiler) was waiting for us. Happy days!

If you ever give up driving, I reckon a career as a forensic pathologist beckons...

Thanks Jeremy. Do you have a source in mind for the etched ladders already?

Apologies for dragging this post back from the depths but I was wondering what you did with the PRA wagon in the end. Did you fit etched ladders, and, if so, where did you get them?

And finally, for now, 31414 at Didcot East Junction with the 1106 Birmingham New Street to Reading on November 16th 1989. This was a regular Class 31 job; the loco and stock went back as the 1334 to Manchester.

...a few minutes later an unidentified pair arrive with an Oxford to Paddington train.

Some main line Class 31 action. First up is 31434 arriving at Reading on August 11th 1987. I don't know what the train was but I seem to recall it was an additional. Any bashers jumping on at Reading for a bit of 31 haulage would have been disappointed because.....

Wow! Whoever would have thought that a couple of Deltics would ever have passed each other there...

Are you sure that second picture is Didcot? Looks more like Thatcham to me, and the train would be 6V96, the Tonbridge to Meldon Quarry ballast empties which ran via the Berks & Hants.

Nice one! You've even managed to capture a rare Air Europe Boeing 737 in the first shot.

Yes. It's on a par with Surströmming, the almost rotten herring that they eat in Sweden. Outside.

Sounds like all is well in the Home Counties this morning...

I couldn't resist relating this story about wrong routings because it does have a funny side. It was the 1400-2200 shift one day in the early 90s and the signalman working the Didcot position in Reading Panel (before it was farmed out to Swindon B IECC) wrongly routed three trains all at the same time. He managed to get the 1703 Paddington to Cheltenham and the following 1710 Paddington to Hereford mixed up so that the former was on the down relief platform with the road set round the corner towards Didcot North and Oxford while the latter came to a stand at Didcot East junction with greens down the main towards Swindon. Perhaps somewhat unsettled by this turn of events, he managed the hat-trick by routing an Oxford to Paddington fast that was booked to call at Didcot via the up avoiding line. Luckily all three drivers were on the ball and queried their respective incorrect routings. As the fellow signalmen (me included) chimed in with sarcastic shouts of, "Sorry, driver!" the Panel supervisor suggested he take a break and so he was relieved by the standby signalman. As he headed for the kitchen the supervisor added, "and you'd better write a report before you come back." Anyway, the funny bit about it was that the signalman involved was off his normal shift, covering the position for the regular man. The regular signalman had a trainee learning with him and although he wasn't working that day, the trainee was. However, when the off shift signalman arrived on duty he was not too impressed with having to look after a trainee and said that the trainee would have to learn another position that day. When the supervisor asked him why he didn't want a trainee with him, the off shift signalman replied, "Because if he f***s it up, it's my name on the train register." Words that haunted him for a long time afterwards....

I never managed to pull that one off, Mike (if you'll pardon the pun) but I know it did happen!

Oh, yes; very easy to do! The signal protecting the junction on the down southern (R326 as it was then) could be set to work automatically for down trains and, as the vast majority of trains ran straight into platforms 4A/B, that was how most signalmen left it. For the few down trains that were booked up the bank to the western lines, there was not that much time, once the train had been described from Wokingham box, to put R326 back to manual operation. I know I got caught out a couple of times, as I'm sure everyone that worked there did at least once. At that time, the signalman controlling the southern lines was also responsible for Reading station, Twyford West, Ruscombe and the Henley branch so it was VERY easy to overlook what was happening on the juice rails. Because of that high workload, a wrong route at Reading Spur Junction was perhaps not regarded as being as serious as elsewhere.With the coming of DOO and cab telephones, you often got a bit of assistance if you'd forgotten to put R326 to manual. A helpful driver on a train booked onto the western lines would usually give you a call if he had a green at DS66 (the "distant" for R326) because he would know that, as R326 was approach-controlled for the western route, a green at DS66 meant you'd forgotten! Luckily, on the occasions I slipped up, the driver stopped at the junction signal. One of my erstwhile colleagues was not so lucky with a diverted Brighton to Manchester loco-hauled train one day. The driver took the wrong route towards the bay platforms at the junction signal but having realised his mistake, stopped too far past the junction to prevent the following 8 car Waterloo-Reading electric from reaching the junction signal behind. That took a lot of sorting out...

I had a look at this video and it's difficult to tell exactly what was going on here and I worked in Reading Panel for ten years. I find it very hard to believe that a Southampton-bound Freightliner with a 4O** reporting number would be routed down the goods in error (unless it was a 4Z**, in which case the signalman would definitely have looked to see where it was going). Although the cameraman says it went off round the curve towards Basingstoke, it could also have gone down the Berks & Hants so it may have been bound for Cardiff and was diverted because of some problem on the Swindon line in which case it may have been put down the goods waiting for a pilot driver. As for wrong routings, I could tell you a few stories there...

Are you, by any chance, a history teacher?

Those were the days! Classes 31, 40, 46, 47 and 55 at the Cross. We will not see that again, sadly.

In the late 80s British Rail ran a number of "great days out" to various places from London using white-roofed Mark 1 stock with full meal services on board (went on a few myself). It also did some so-called "VIP Land Cruises" that lasted a few days, went much further afield and had Mark 3 sleepers for the overnight stays. I suspect the picture in post 403 is such a train.

This thread is a highlight of my day. Some lovely, interesting and atmospheric shots. Thanks!

Do I win a prize?