gresley

Gilbert, All this talk of loco crews is OK, but, are they on strike ? I've spent quite a boring day sitting on the platform waiting for some traffic to pass through, but not a thing has appeared. This takes me back to 1955 and the rail strike. Stuart

Larry, don't know what your period is, but if it was prior to 1954, you could have Huddersfield Town over Woodhead to Guide Bridge, then returning via Stanedge to Eastern metals. That way it would pass Greenfield. gresley

Gilbert, To be quite honest, I don't think I paid much attention to the sky when I was spotting. Stuart

Gilbert, There's a simple answer to this. All you have to do is to visit Coachman in N Wales. They have fantastic skies up there, even when it's raining !!! I know 'cos I had an aunt who lived in Prestatyn. Stuart

Mallard, The mind boggles at the amount of research you have done in order to explain the difference in attitude. Those poor blokes at Heaton must have prayed that the prevailing winds stayed that way. I suppose that you can't really blame the Grantham boys for making the most of their chances when Top Shed sent them some nice shiny ones. We would probaly have done the same !!! Yes, those men in their white coats are coming along the corridor - WATCH OUT !!! gresley

Gilbert, Were those A3s really so dirty and woebegone in '58 ? Glad I saw them when they were much easier to identify !!!! Yes, I know that Gateshead was famous for dirty engines, but this !!!!!! Stuart

Gawd, but I needed that. Just about to show the first withdrawal signs. Thanks Gilbert. gresley

Gilbert, You MUST have a B 16/1 !!! RCTS Part 2B, Fig 161, (opposite page 132), shows "61410 passing Grantham on an up Class H goods, August 1958." Surely, if it has passed grantham, then it must at least arrive at Peterborough. One more to add to the list. I believe that at the time it was a York (50 A) loco. Stuart

Gilbert, Thanks. You've made my day with those "blue 'uns". gresley

May I propose a toast to Gilbert ? Thankyou for the wonderful nostalgic experience. You have brought pleasure to many people. Long may you (and we) enjoy the world you have created. Those of us old enough to have "been there, done it" can wallow in fond memories. Those not so old can maybe get a taste of what they have missed, and be spurred on to be sufficiently curious to want to know just what it was like in the "good old days". Keep the pics and comments coming. We're all awaiting the next episode. Cheers, Gilbert. gresley

Gilbert, Absolutely breathtaking. "Just like the real thing" takes on a completely new meaning !!! Stuart

Hi Dan, Must say, your OHLE is very, very good. In fact, it's the most realistic model form I have seen. I grew up on this route, from steam days through to the full electric services. Lost interest when things went Blue. My father was plant manager with Balfour Beattie who got the contract for the new tunnel. Was able to go in the pilot tunnel when being drilled, both at Woodhead and Dunford. Later was apprentice at Dukinfield. Metrovicks were installing electric equipment in the locos in the next bay to us and I spent my lunchtime breaks wandering around the workshop. Although my interest is really in steam, I have an EM 2 and will also obtain an EM 1, purely for nostalgic reasons. The "powers that be" made some awful decisions about the railways, and one of the most stupid ones was to close the Woodhead route, another one was to hand the tunnel over to the CEGB. gresley

Hello Gilbert, Those signals did NOT come OFF in time !!!! Must say that the Thompsons behind those 2 Mk 1s really make a difference. Somehow those Mk 1s don't fit the train. I know, it's my old fashioned nostalgic view of things, but they just don't seem right for me. gresley

Tom, yes, you are quite right. Those really were The Days. My memories of the ECML as well as WCML and the various routes between Lancashire and Yorkshire/Derbyshire are absolutely fantastic. 1947 - 1955 was my particular period. As a schoolboy, one did not always appreciate some of the things one saw at the time, but with hindsight, it was a period of very important happenings. I'm glad I was there to enjoy it. gresley

According to the book "Nameplates of the Big Four" by Frank Burridge, page137 shows a small black & white photo of this nameplate. The background colour to the name appears to be black, whilst the area below the name is a very light colour. Hope this is of help. gresley Hope this is of some help.

Gilbert, Short answer - NO !!!!!!! Stuart

Gilbert, According to my WTT, that J6 was on a parcels. gresley

Mike, Not sure about the signal, but can you please explain the "Q" at centre of buffer beam ? gresley

Those shots of the A3s are pure magic. Also the interior of the signal box. What's that I hear ? 4 bells ?? gresley

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the article (with photo and drawings) of the LNER Push-Pull sets used for the Manchester - Glossop - Hadfield and the Oldham - Ashton - Guide Bridge services which appeared in the Railway Modeller, Nov 1968, pages 338/339. As a boy I travelled on the Glossop service regularly on my way to and from Manchester London Road for spotting trips. The locos used were Push-Pull fitted Class C 13 4-4-2 tanks. These sets were only ousted when the first phase of the Woodhead electrification was introduced and the then new EMUs took over. gresley

Gilbert, 10 out of 10 for effort. 9.5 out of 10 for result. Stuart

Gilbert, Those pics of Victor Wild are wonderful. That's just how A3s should look. Stuart

How about the 3mm Society ? gresley

Ian, I have been trying to obtain information on this subject for ages. Apparently, there is no paperwork available to build on, and I expect that it was one of those items which "like Topsy, it just grew and grew " from the early beginnings. Obviuously at some point it must have been laid down in some form because the allocation of motive power to the various depots would have been based on the requirements of those depots to fullfill their respective duties. I did at one time write to Peter Townsend, asking about this subject, and his reply was to the effect that "nothing appears to have been saved", and that he personally had no official information other than that which he had included in the revised edition of his book "Top Shed". In the revised edition, there is a chapter devoted to the Diagramming of Locos to duties, purely as it affected the running of Top Shed, but nothing about the allocation which I think was done by the District Control who must also have decided on which depots were responsible for which workings, thereby allocating the necessary motive power. I hope that I am wrong, and that someone will pop up with some information on the subject. Stuart

60022, Where is the B 16, please ???? gresley