hexagon789

They really are a 1970s nostalgia fest aren't they? And I mean that in a nice way. Is it just the atmosphere is more evocative? The station clutter more varied? The shadows and contrasts of a black & white photo? There's just something a modern photo doesn't quite compare with somehow.

I've seen a few shots of the prototype HST at Edinburgh Waverley, Keefer. If you hunt around on Flickr, you'll find at least half a dozen shots or so. There's this shot from railscot, dated 1973: https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/36/847/ Then from Flickr: (Alistair Ness, summer 1973) (47 701, c. 1973) (Ian Addison collection)

Fascinating selection, that trackwork in C14327 is something else!

Usually an BSO in later years, but a 100mph B4 bogied Mk1 BG was common enough. The booked formation in the 1977 timetable (last one before it became the Hull Executive sans Pullmans in 1978) was: BSO*, 4 TSO*, RMB, RU, PFK, PFP, PFK (*2D/F vehicles) The formation you have matches this except for the BSO, I imagine it's simply an accidental omission.

You did get 2D and 2F FOs downclassed to Seconds, but I don't believe the ER had any and certainly not in Deltic days. The LMR had several used in Liverpool sets in the mid-80s, mostly one per rake, but one set had 7 of them and was one of the sets involved in the Colwich collision IIRC. (Apologies for going off on a slight tangent.)

The most obvious visible difference is between the TSOs - 2D have the toilets same side 2E have them diagonally opposite

2Ds would be far more common on the ECML, and even after it received an allocation of 2Fs (which mainly went into prestige sets, such as the Flying Scotman) I doubt a fully 2F set would occur. Nevertheless, I understand the issues round RTR 2Ds, so at least 2Fs provide something Deltics could haul and heat.

Yes, all of them

To the best of my knowledge the distinction is this. 2D and 2E have one design of Motor Alternator sets 2Fs have an improved design, pretty much that as used on Mk3s. The 2D and 2E MA sets are very sensitive to voltage fluctuations and would trip if there was a significant "spike" or the voltage fell too low. The 2Fs didn't suffer these issues because the design was modified. For the 2Ds on the Eastern, the MA sets were specially modified to try and prevent the trip-outs and drivers were instructed to be more gentle with the power handle.

Excellent! Brilliant, I'd definitely be interested in one. No problem, I completed understand, I'm perfectly content with just knowing one on the 47/7s is coming along! Many thanks, 158722

Thanks for the update 158772, very much looking forward to this book. Not wishing to sound impertinent, but are there more to come in the series? What with the 26 book and all, I wondered if the SDEG team had any future plans, as it seems as though these two books are forming part of a larger series? (Apologies if this has been mentioned and I failed to notice.)

In fact the bridge was funded by 4 companies: The North British - 35% The Midland - 30% The North Eastern - 17.5% The Great Northern - 17.5% The joint ownership persisted in Big 4 days, the bridge being jointly owned by the LNER and LMS in a 70/30 split.

"Originally" meaning as-built in 1890 I suspect ;)

As has often been said: Good things come to those who wait(!) ;)

Thank you, I've dropped a line to the SDEG

Looks excellent, if I wish a copy do I simply email at the above address with an enquiry?

The modern system is UIC twin-pipe, this is fitted to all air-braked coaches Mk1 and later. It is backwards compatible in that you can operate it as single pipe if necessary or run twin-pipe vehicles with single pipe ones. Given that air and dual-braked diesel and electric locomotives have worked twin-pipe passenger and freight stock and single-pipe freight stock with distributors without issue I would imagine that steam locos with traditional Westinghouse equipment would be able to do so, except the train would have to be worked as single pipe and the brake control would be graduated in application only.

The plan is for discontinuous electrification, BEMUs and potentially Hydrogen trains or similar to remove all diesel trains in Scotland by 2035. The idea with discontinuous electrification is to string up wires either side of a feeder station allowing rapid charging of a BEMU as transitions the section, this permits a quicker transition to electric trains by reducing the amount of wiring to be done initially with the unwired sections then being filled in gradually afterwards to allow transition to an EMU service. The East Kilbride and Barrhead electrification is underway; contracts for electrification to Maryhill/Anniesland, the Borders Line, Fife, Kilmarnock and Perth were all contracted out during last year and planning permission for adjustments to structures, to permit erection of OLE, on the Perth-Dundee and Dundee-Aberdeen routes was granted last month. Things behind the scenes are, I think, more advanced than people may realise.

The issue is that 60s can't couple to Mk5s unless you meant it was parked adjacent to the sleeper stock but not physically coupled?

The 92s will have been waiting for the sleeper. I assume the "GBRf 60" you refer to is actually a 66? GBRf have a contract to provide 66s for the sleeper portions over unelectrified routes to Fort William, Inverness and Aberdeen as the converted 73s arent up to snuff. The 73s remain in the formation as the provide ETS which the 66s can't plus the necessary coupling adaptor as 66s can couple to Dellners. You are right on the ScotRail HSTs, they have proved very unreliable, though there are fewer out anyway due to the staffing issues and service reductions. There were due to be 15 diagrams from the timetable change (originally 18 up from 16 before May but later revised down). It was lucky to make 10-11 sets out at times. It isn't helped by the fact ScotRail's power cars are all GEC traction motored, which were always less reliable than the standard Brush motors. Plus FGW never fitted the new WSP system that GNER, Midland Midland and CrossCountry did - so power car tyre mileages are much worse, especially in the autumn/winter. Nevertheless, once the driver shortages hopefully settle out we should see all 25 sets available for service, so keeping 15 in daily traffic should be easier and hopefully an uplift will come in December.

Apologies! Wouldn't that be where the split is unequal? Ie you have one direction curving by a certain amount, the other by a different amount? As opposed to either equal amounts or one route being straight and the other curved.

Contraflexture means flexing or bending "contra" or against each other - ie bending in opposite directions.

Perhaps just as well, though hilariously even though this is Sunday the usual timetable was in operation because a reduced timetable couldn't be formulated in time! So ad hoc cancellations are in place for Sundays. In an ironic twist, my local line reduced to hourly on Weekdays, saw its usual half-hourly timetable today with only the cancellation of two late evening trains and everything else running as scheduled!

It's a pity you've arrived in the midst of many service cuts on the Scottish network, but at least the weather isn't half bad! ;)

Dependent very much on the route and service. Some were worked ECS to another station, some were attached to a stopping service in the other direction, some were worked by local train to a junction station for attachment. It really depended exactly on the individual slip service.