Mike 84C

Custom and practise at Banbury was the front lamp, which depended if the train to be worked was an up or down train, would be in the correct position and the lamp on the tender/bunker would be over the buffer on the firemans side on a Western engine but the drivers on a Midland/BR engine. This generally kept the fireman away from running lines when lamping up or tieing on to the train. An engine from the shed,engine first, to the Ironstone sidings went past Banbury South, Banbury North, Banbury Jct before reaching Ironstone sidings. Engines going south, an up movement, went off shed tender first across the up main past the South box and along the bidirectional loop/relief road to the North yd opposite the North box. Local Custom and practise! and there were some very pedantic signalmen in all those boxes! if you had a tail light out and Mr pedantic knew you were on overtime, then amazingly you were on shed quicker than a rat up a drainpipe. Hope this helps but maybe has just made the water murkier!

Brit 15 and guys like you, I very much admire your keenness to chase steam all over the country. I worked on the railway during those times and did non of those things! rarely carried a camera. Probably too busy trying to earn a living. But I do like your photos from 5/8/67 I'm glad you took them and thanks for posting.

Ovoids, what a subject! known by very politically incorrect names. I have one of each size preserved in plastic bags and they will probably outlast me! Awful things, came with lots of dust and made lots of clinker. When you relieved an other crew, look in the firebox, lots of pink flame and you knew that a rough trip was in the frame. Out with the long bar run it down the fire bars then try to hook the clinker to the side with the pricker. And curse the men who deemed Western engines didnt get rocking grates and most of the LM engines I had rough trips on. You may get that I was a fan of 9f's!

I believe the picture of Borwick Hall taken at Basingstoke is on an inter regional train to Bournmouth, Poole or Portsmouth from the North of England. As the smoke box hinges are white it was in its time at Oxford. And quite a good engine as I remember.

A cool dude with his tapered overalls, were we ever that young!

Regarding the GN Pacific, why not use a trapezoidal grate, the front fits between the frames and the rear widens out over the frames, used by the French. Plus the combustion chamber into the boiler barrel. Tubes over 14ft long are not regarded as efficient transferer's of heat. I'm not sure the GW 4-6-0 is a starter, too small a firebox and either very long con rods to drive the middle axle and a cranked first axle for clearance or long piston rods for sensible length con rods, or short rods to drive the first axle which would make that area of the loco very cramped for preparation and maintenance. Still looks good though! There is also a parallel with the Baltic Castle tank. The Hughes LMS Baltics also four cylinder, although I have little knowledge of them I would think they were to complex, to hungry, to heavy for the type of work tank engines are employed on. And why would the GW build a larger tank loco for passenger work than the brilliant do anything 61/41 2-6-2t?

Tony, It was good to talk with you at Ruskington on Sunday last, you told me things about the P2's that I did not know. In case the message has not got to you yet we raised £1600 for the Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance. So a big thank you to all who attended. Mick Whittle.

A little piece of 'yuman history from the diary of retired Bescot man (legend and all round top egg) Tony 'Lulu' Llewellyn, note D848 light engine from BS to Old Oak on the Friday... FB TONY Llewellyb LULU BS JAN 1969.jpg Phill, thanks for showing Tony "Lulu" Lewellyn's diary, a real blast from the past! I was at Bescot then, living in the hostel at Wolverhampton. I'm sure the T. Pogmore was Terry who also was in the hostel I'm sure he came from Bradford. J. "Gassy" Harris was ex Stourbridge I believe and Vic Lucas i think was ex Stafford RD;/Oxley. Why do these memories and names just flood back into the front of the brain? but what did I do last week!!

That looks soooo cool Noel. A really top job.

This is so deja vue, I was the fireman on the last up TRPS special with Clun Castle from Salop to Banbury. That was the one that ran about two hours late ex Salop and as it was about 2 am ? arr; Snow Hill we didn't get any photographs, were any of you guys amongst the throng of spectators on the platform? Pat Whitehouse rode with us from Salop with Tommy Morgan as footplate inspector, Dick Powell was the driver. I do remember I was kept pretty busy! with hard coal it was like giving strawberries to a donkey! and Dick had a reputation for getting a move on! Mick

For PMP's interest I have a newly completed photographic plank which is dcc wired , a layout in the garage untouched for two years, it did operate well on dcc until I had to cut two feet off the end to fit new garage doors! And involved with our local club building an end to end layout. But have been building stock and locos, that's what I enjoy most. Mick

I do like your 9F and 72 t. I also have a model of 7218 bought because I fired that loco several times from the ironstone sidings at Banbury and without doubt it was a pig to get to steam! The worst of the three at 84C by a mile. The 9F always had a tendancy for the regulator to stick open, even if you just cracked it the loco would shoot off with great gusto! I am surprised there were no side swipes on MPD;s You never moved a 9f without warming the steambrake up first. And if the boiler was full very gingerly. But they were my favourite freight loco, fast comfortable, good injectors, keep the back corners very full even with slack coal, rock the grate now and then and they would steam for Britain! The memories of that life; I wish it had never finished but would I want too be doing it at 71? hmmm

I used to be a very interested modeller of American railways and if I browse my old Model Railroader mags of 10/15 yrs ago I believe the same trend happened. Very scenic layouts with highly detailed ready to run stock and lots of weathering. There are differences but the trend is there. And of course there are a minority of modellers who will happily cut a Bachmann loco up and add parts to make something a bit different.

I did get to Shipley this Sunday and had a very pleasant day. Leicester South Goods is one of those layouts that I can watch and time just drifts away! 9793 has summed up my thoughts about your weathering. I was brought up with Western engines, always the best! but I do like the lines of a B16. But why were they called " blood spitters"? Or so I read somewhere.

I think the 2900 was the best looking of all the GW 4-6-0 classes. I do hope Lady of Legend is a real flyer, some of the drivers I fired to who were in their 60's in the 60's , reckoned they were the fastest things on rails! So I live in hope. Mick

I liked the Type 2 1250 Sulzer, pardon the" pun but they would pull like a train" but rather lively when going fast. Drink your tea quick and hold the tea can!. We had lots at Bescot in the 70's.

I made a sixwheeler by splicing two Hornby Thomas the Tank engine four wheelers and used the Palethorpes van as an under frame. I did slice the frame and bodies up to get the length I wanted. Wish I could find a picture to illustrate what I mean.

Very nice, your Dad would be proud.

Tony, Re; Cameras, The London Camera Exchange, 6 Silver st; Lincoln. Its just by the Stonebow opp; House of Fraser and has staff with expertise who appear to know their cameras etc; Might be worth a visit. Mick

Never been to Holland , best send some of those stalwarts of the EVA who think letting parts of North Lincs and Norfolk be reclaimed by the sea is a good idea.

I used to work for a major poultry firm before I retired, which very rapidly put in wood pellet boilers to heat the broiler houses in winter so I expect that grants were handed out by DEFRA, only a supposition.But I did surprise that only token photovoltaic cells were put up and at ground level. All that roof space with a steel frame over it and covered in cells, maybe making more money growing electricity than growing chicken! Just a thought! And we pay farmers to take land out of food production to grow electricity on solar farms, where does that make sense? 'cos I have never seen the factory that produces more land!

Thats a pretty complex Jct area. I suppose that only the main lines were on track circuits and the rest was permissive block? That being so I can see the need for EDB's to protect the junct's. But does dummy 57 take you across the bridge and then across into the H&B yd. Be a nightmare in fog on a loco not to much rushing about! Mick

Hi Kirley, did your man work his magic and were my thoughts of any use?

Mark; I also did the Google search but didn't pick up on the Wheal Louise bit! but did find the magazien sale sie which I went through and found zilch Redruth and Chacewater! I shall keep my fingers crossed your stash of stuff is still with you, funny how the marrige, children and divorce thins out ones hobby stuff. I am still replacing things I had in a previous life but chose well the second time . Regards Mick

I footplated several GG1's back in 1976 from South Amboy into Penn Station N.Y. and return with my pen friends father. He was an engineer (driver) on what was then Penn Central out of Bay head on the N.J. coast. Also rode a couple of E9 units did that run a few times. And yes the GG1 is an amazing machine but the roar from an EMD 2 stroke driven flat out on commuter trains that was amazing. Did the E's have 2 power units?. I cannot remember.