Davexoc

I have recently seen a couple of flashing yellows, once on the down main approaching Cheddington, presumably to indicate a move to the down slow at Ledburn Junction, and another on the down main at Stoke Hammond which was indicating a move to the down slow at Drayton Road Junction (saw the feathers lit as I drove over the bridge). Now I remember in the late 70s that there was a flashing yellow to indicate a diverging route at Aynho Junction that could be seen from Kings Sutton station, so they've been around a long time, but how common were flashing yellows in the 80s compared to nowadays? Dave Edited to correct terminology...

I was thinking along those lines too, that being ex LMS (LNWR) terittory and there being an upper quadrant signal behind the train. Thame would have been lower quadrant being ex GWR. A search for Islip produces one image that does seem to confirm that. Dave

Great picture though it is, but I don't think the last one is Thame. The position of the bridge in relation to the platforms is wrong, the platforms weren't wooden and it had a train shed. View in the same direction, but taken form under the Thame - Tetsworth road bridge in the late 70s having legged it down there from school before first classes..... Dave

Similarly, a 47/4 with the wrong tyre profile will hunt badly at higher speeds. After measuring the tyre wear several times and concluding it was within the acceptable limits, someone asked if we'd checked the profile. Sure enough, the tyres had been cut to the flatter freight profile for better traction, and at passenger speeds started hunting quite violently. So tyre wear and profile can be contributary factors. Also having been on the footplate of a 28xx, if you open the regulator up running tender first, the sideways movement of the loco is very noticable.... Dave

I know that place, just over 30 years later, but from the other side of the bridge in the same lane, GNER n/b DVT. Spent some time trying panning shots in very variable light conditions.... Dave

Not quite that simple. The SR third rail is 750v and so their stock was wired for that voltage, whereas ETH voltage elsewhere was 1000v. The sum of the coaches must be less than the supplying loco, so Mk1s being generally ETH 2 or 3 was not a problem. But when you move to a/c stock it doubles and buffet and sleepers are even higher. Mk1 buffets weren't any higher because they had gas cooking. Most of the later stock was wired for 600amps, and above ETH 66 the whole train would have to consist of 600amp wired stock (the lower rating was 400amp). I think the two highest rated coaches are the Royal Saloons, at ETH 9 and ETH 15. Dave

There are or were 4 generator vans, eventually numbered 6310-3. Most if not all survive and regularly crop up on charters these days. Liveries carried have been all over blue, blue/grey and mainline raspberry ripple before the current choc/cream, umber/cream and maroon depending on whether Riviera, VSOE or WCRC owned. Dave

Nickname for Brush type 4s, class 47s Dave

Plenty of space at No.2 end once the rheostatic braking gear was removed. That number of restricted use locos is quite high, but I remember taking three out in one night on light test runs OC - Slough, mostly low power issues. I guess if both OC and LA had a couple each awaiting an HQI loaded run, that is four straight away. Loaded runs requiring two crews didn't happen immediately. Restricted use though could be merely having had traction motor brushes replaced during an exam, and just bedding in. Dave

The other problem pre-refurbishment was the piston rings. IIRC to reduce smoke levels after idling the oil scraper rings were modified, this had the desired effect but then created a new one, siezed pistons. The engine damage ranged from fairly minor to a leg out of bed. Refitting the original rings almost cured that, but later when on the SR they insisted on no idling at Waterloo because of smoke, they then suffered flat batteries in the winter due to shunt releases etc. I remember looking for a low oil pressure shut down fault once where just turning the engine over revealed a loud knocking. Removal of the crankcase cover revealed piston skirt shrapnel. Looking up into the cylinder there was a gudgeon pin trying to hammer it's way out of the liner and the piston crown siezed at TDC. Later when repair work was started, it was found that the valves had been damaged which had shoved debris into the inlet manifolds and knackered most other cylinders too. As for electronics, they were pretty crude really. And the main generator, well we often saw a 'birds nest' in the bottom (when the mica and other bits and pieces end up at the bottom, usually after a flashover). Dave

It was only a day trip, may have been an Oxfordshire and possibly Buckinghamshire schools run charter. The year was when Jouef released their OO Mk3 coaches. Dave

I remember a school French trip in the late 70s that took a 47 from somewhere north of Princes Risborough (where I got on) to Folkestone for direct transfer onto the Boulogne ferry. I have vague recollections of running via Neasden, to gain the NLL down to Kenny O and then Clapham Junction. Could well have been a WR 47 and where would it have stabled while we were in France? Dave

Could be time to start mining again. It appears that Biomass isn't carbon neutral and could be worse for the planet than burning coal! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-39053678 So they've figured that just converting trees into electricity isn't good, solar doesn't work well in the winter murk, and today even with all the wind from Doris, they can't effectively use the turbines because its too strong. Oh well, better not upset the Russians or we won't get any gas and that will leave us with a bit of nuclear and a splash of hydro. Dave

Whittlesea brings an end to the photos that I have of the area, these taken in October 1986. The remaining images are more south Midlands based, signal boxes and early-ish preservation shots. Dave

It could just be the trailing axles on the first two wagons with hot boxes, white-ish smoke being more likely to be oil than brakes. Could they be cripples on the way to a wagon works? Dave

Stamford in April 1987. I was lead to believe Stamford was the posh part of Lincolnshire, but the state of the signal box says otherwise. Now of course it is all part of the station car park. Dave

A few more from Deeping St James, but why was the box called St James Deeping? Harsco rail grinder I believe. Off to MKMRS annual exhibiton tomorrow, grandson in tow.... Dave

A few from Deeping St James. Doesn't look anything like this now. Dave

These two have been labelled as West River GB Ely, which I know nothing of. A quick search today brings up Ely West River footpath level crossing on Holt Fen. I don't know if that is the same location, but these are from 22nd April 1987. The box does seem to have been manned, there's an almost empty jar of Nescafe on the table, probably the only thing in the photo that remains unchanged..... Dave

I don't have anything from Spalding, but there are a few from Deeping St James, Ely, Whittlesea and Stamford if they are of interest? Apart from that my own photos span from around Sleaford up to Barnetby, but much later being from the noughties when I lived in Ruskington. Last few from March in February 1987. Dave

Well there are no more pics of the trackbed/infrastructure along the line, just a few taken around March at that time. 08s presumably withdrawn, one with half its rods, another with none. 37144 right of shot, rest unknown. 37252 on Polybulks. Dave

If all the fares between Dawlish and Teignmouth had to be fully reimbursed for 24 hours while the line was closed or severly delayed, what would that amount to? Now what would it cost to have a strategic reserve ready for use at short notice? Doesn't reimbursing all those inconvenienced passengers, and paying the staff to work for no income, because now the trains are in the wrong locations and the staff are having to be taxi'd or put up in hotels etc. far outweigh the cost of the insurance of those reserves? I'm not a great fan of the compensation culture of today, but if several hundred people have paid to get from A to B, then just because the weather might be bad, not providing that service or a contingency service is just not on. In my current job, if I didn't keep strategic spares to cover certain failures, then my customers would go elsewhere. Those spares might not be needed very often, and accountants don't like spares, but if that one spare isn't available for several days they can't live with the downtime either. A case of lesser evils....... Dave

Reverse back up the line a bit, having skipped from French Drove to Friday Bridge, we have Murrow. Looking on Google, Murrow now has two signal boxes, the one pictured as a private residence, and another which seems to be part of a large reclamation yard complete with a restored splitting signal left from the old M&GN line. Dave

That goods shed does appear to be wrongly recorded as French Drove, when in fact it is still extant on Rings End Nature Reserve, at Friday Bridge or Twenty Feet River. So these two accompany it, Friday Bridge, extinct in that form, and the signal which appears on Google Streetview in a somewhat rustier condition. Dave

The change to the rules on compensation for delays and cancellation are supposed to address this, whereby the current TOC stance is to delay or cancel because compensation is not automatically paid out. When they have to pay all the compensation they are supposed to, it will become cheaper to have spare staff and equipment to deal with the problems. Dave