Ian Hargrave

OHLE installation ongoing today South of Tonypandy and partially up down to Llwynypia station. New overbridge up at Ystrad.New signalling appears in place.

Thanks for news of this. High Level Boy.

And that time of the year comes round once again…..Hallelujah ! We’re still here🙏. Best of all greetings to Robin for this the friendliest and most sociable of all threads where we discuss and argue ( ? ) whilst viewing ANTB and its GWR heaven.. May the Stars on all your trees this Christmas be illuminated by Toplights. Happy and peaceful Christmas to you all. Ian.

Of course

And that’s a common affliction with this model.

I should add ,via YouTube..which affords a spectacularly involving experience

If those of you who love music & the arts and have access to a smart tv would care to tune in to the Concert of celebration of the Nobel prizes recently awarded on iPlayer then you will be well rewarded

Looking now at Realtime Trains,the “new service “ appears to be running smoothly. But as expected now with separate 2 car and 3 car 170. God help those travelling through Birmingham over the festive season.

No,I think not.

One thing I spotted…probably now with a different focus….was the number of trains at Temple Meads sporting chocolate & cream,some 4 years on from the demise of the GWR. And that particular location has changed a lot..well it has for me.Oh for the bustling activity of Bath Road R.I.P. But what a treat for a winter’s afternoon.

And the above post…many thanks…gives the reasons why I won’t be using the Cardiff service this Christmas.

So what was the reason for the service reduction in the first place ? I know the units are intensely used and get a deal of hammer and really are urgently in need of attention as far as passenger accommodation is concerned.

An update on this. Current press release from XC announces more trains with fewer intermediate stops on their Birmingham-Derby-Nottingham service..i.e. twice hourly from tomorrow. Whereas this makes good copy with the public (which is what is intended) it is in fact reinstating the service that was withdrawn several months ago. One can only speculate as to why the half hourly service was reduced in the first place but for months the hourly Cardiff service via Birmingham has consisted of a 2 car+3 car 170 unit the internal condition of which leaves much to be desired.Compare it with neighbouring EMR 170 . Hopefully this move will not reduce the Cardiff service to 3 or 2 once again,especially at this time of the year. I am not holding my breath. Just grateful to have a 30 minute service reinstated. Cynical …..or what ?

And the film itself gets another showing this afternoon on BBC 2 at 2:45.

Thanks for the correction .I will therefore delete the post.

Meanwhile at the other ( extreme North ) end of the line its passage as viewed from the elevation of the seat of a slow moving coach transiting the A38 begins to assume a defining course.But Google maps assures me that it will be another 6 months ere I can access Lichfield at Streethay from the road coming south .This is causing much congestion and high blood pressure especially at this seasonal time of the year. Coming north,access is still at the moment clear.

EMR redundant 222 .Originally designated as “Meridian “ when first introduced ?

This service is in marked contrast to the EMR Crewe-Newark service currently operated by refurbished 2 car 170’s.Recently observed some smart onboard TM work .There of course there has to be onboard checking due to the frequent stops at unmanned stations such as Pear Tree& Tutbury &Hatton. Timings are tight .It is a designated XP service despite the frequent stopping. And rush hour from Stoke to Derby can also be crowded.

In the news currently here ( BBC News App Derby) is an article prompted bu EMR of the successful arrest & prosecution of a fare dodger who boasted about her successes on TikTok. The stations quoted were Derby,Burton and Tamworth which would suggest that she was a regular traveller on services between those points. This service is however operated entirely by XC,despite the fact that Derby and Burton are EMR run stations.Burton ticket office has restricted opening hours and no barrier. Tamworth is ,I believe,LNWR franchise and the upper level can be accessed by passengers changing from the Euston-Crewe service without barrier check. My personal experience of using this line over the last 18months is that I have never seen an on train ticket check on any XC service. Twice I have used a return service from Burton to Euston,pre booked online,tickets displayed on mobile,and on neither occasion did I have my ticket checked and that includes non operating barriers at Euston. Is it any wonder that fare dodging is so prevalent ? Good to publicise a successful prosecution & conviction but better still to put your own houses in order and on your own service rather than that of another TOC ?

No,. Usually the case for several years.But then their packaging changed. Now it seems they’ve gone retro.Witness the outer box which has reverted to the format / size used a few years ago..

And I just challenged both in attempting to shorten the coupling bar on 78022. Under the tender sits Satan’s screw next to Satan’s plug.This infuriatingly is not magnetically sensitive.Thus having decoupled the bar and tender and deciding that in the shorter bar position,it wouldn’t work for me,I attempted to replace the bar to the original position. Not for the fainthearted and myopic arthritic old men,such as I am. Without benefit of course of magnetic assistance. 30 minutes later,I eventually returned the model ….in one piece once more…..to assume new duties on the tabletop. This has IIRC been posted on this thread before but I’ll repeat it here. Do not expect ( I’m sure you don’t ) great haulage capacity. In prototypical life,this was very much a branch line ,go anywhere loco used to a couple or three coaches and light freight in some challenging rural areas.Hence mine is happy with a pair of Colletts and a Siphon G which is after a decent running in period. Think Stainmore Summit and the Cambrian lines in Mid & North Wales. A great little model.

For fans of slow speed control & shunting and the answer to dead frogs,this is the business. And this straight out of the box and not yet run in. I was impressed when I first saw EP’s over a year ago.I am not disappointed. Well,done,Hornby.

The only reasons perhaps not to are arthritic hands and failing eyesight ? I have both but it wouldn’t stop me trying.😒

Well,by coincidence, I’ve just performed the cliched “unboxing “ . Nothing fell off.Nothing is bent.The finish,lining and livery IMHO are prototypical .In fact,an accurate reminder of an encounter recently on the KWVR when the actual 78022 was riding shotgun to 60103 ( top & tail ). When first powering up on the track I had a momentary concern due to hesitancy and sluggish movement. Resolved when I discovered the foam packing cube between loco & tender. I thought Hornby no longer used those…wrong,in this case they still do. So,mea culpa and an admirable piece of kit. Stick the stack back.

By the summer of 1961 on The Northbound Devonian was an 82A ( new diesel depot ) Sulzer Type 4 from an allocation of D32 -D41 .Southbound Devonian was one from a Holbeck allocation ,returning north on the 7:25 pm Bristol-Newcastle mail. But dieselisation also saw the appearance of unusual steam working over those years,such as Scots,Rebuilt Patriots and B1’s. The d/h Jubilee you saw was probably a relief/extra.There was also the factor of poor reliability of the rush of new diesel deliveries. The winter of 62/63 ( and we are currently having our usual whinge about cold weather HAH ! ) saw the provision of a steam loco to provide steam heat coupled inside the Type 4 ( er,Class 45 to the uninitiated) on occasion. Barrow Road was easily observed from the bridge btw. Sorry,I’m off topic