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3 hours ago, soony said:

Just quietly perusing this thread and it jogged my memory. There was a radio program favourite of mine - a science fiction program , once a week, on what was the equivalent of radio 4 today, with a sound effects bonanza from the BBC radiophonic workshops. I have never been able to remember the name of the prog, but always thought it was " A for Andromeda", but it doesnt fit todays Google searches, anyone else remember that prog in about 1957-1962, when I was using a crystal set-

you havent lived till you have tried wiring the bedsprings to a few electronioc components.!

 

Book at Bedtime --- Ahhhhhh

Quatermass?

35 minutes ago, sir douglas said:

came across this by chance the other day

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-35014755/what-happens-when-a-cargo-ship-meets-a-railway-bridge

Which reminds me of a Youtube I first saw about 15 years ago, of a ship striking a lifting bridge on the Welland Canal on the St. Lawrence Seaway (?) Either the ship had a mechanical problem, or the bridge keeper was asleep. At any rate, when the ship hit the bridge, it was only partially raised, and the upper part of the accommodation was torn off.

4 hours ago, rockershovel said:

 

No, I mean that it was actual debate. Compare the sort of thing produced by people like Michael Foot, who was a respected journalist and published author, and a man of demonstrable personal courage. Don’t forget that terms like “fascist” were literal descriptions at the time, when Foot accused the proprietors of certain newspapers of favouring the Nazis in the 1930s he was speaking literally, and such accusations could not be made lightly. 

 

Harold Wilson, let’s remember, was an Oxford Don in his own right; a respected academic. Enoch Powell had been a professor of Ancient Greek and the youngest Brigadier in the British Army. Anthony Wedgwood Benn was an incisive analyst who had served as a pilot officer in WW2. 

 

You might not have approved or agreed, but they made their points clearly and rigorously .  

Would it also be fair to say of those with political power between about 1950 and 1976 more or less agreed on the direction of travel of UK ltd, with differences being quite small. There WERE those, in all parties, who disagreed with the post-war settlement, but until the mid-1970s, their views didn't have much traction.

Slightly out of period, the first meeting of the shadow cabinet after Mrs. Thatcher became Leader of the Opposition was quite legendary.

Some stunning photos, Trev. I'm very glad that you didn't hang up your camera after steam finished. Also, I hadn't realised that semaphores had hung on that long on the ECML.

20 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Much of the S&C is like that.

At Ribblehead you have a virtual quarry with two sidings

Northbound, trains to there have to back in.

Southbound, trains from there have to pull forward across the viaduct into the loop, loco runs round and then the train heads south.

Modern image, Midland Station Building, viaduct (single track), run round loop. Class 156 DMUs, Steam specials.

Plenty of operating potential.

With a tunnel at one end for a scenic break, and track curved almost throughout

3 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

Payne's Poppets were also a popular item at cinemas, when you only went to see the film and not spend money on vastly overpriced popcorn, soft drinks and mix-n-match sweets. 

 

And when did you last go to a cinema with an INTERMISSION, with salesgirls walking up and down the aisles offering tubs of icecream and foil topped cups of orange drink from a tray to fortify you through the second half?

 

I can't remember the film now, but the cinema in Hexham had an intermission, and that was less than a decade ago...

 

 

Can't remember much going to the cinema to see the film in those days; mind you, I normally sat towards the back!

3 hours ago, montyburns56 said:

 

 

What. The. Dickens. Is. That?

1 hour ago, rockershovel said:

 

One material difference over time, is that a significant proportion of those trapped in the “zero hours” labour pool (and it IS a trap, with no training provided and no real chance of advancement) don’t WANT to do more than they have to, often the 16 hours a week which forms the threshold at which their benefits start to erode, or they need to do a short period in work to maintain their benefit claimant status. I met a number of these at Royal Mail, last Christmas. 

 

 

I know about that. What I was on about was those who could put lots of alcohol away, and still be functionl enough to hold down an employment position. I saw these both at sea ( the old man who stayed in his cabin drinking, after giving "full away", and you didn't see him again until you arrived at the next port, was legendary) and on shore.

If we all worked the sort of hours people worked at the turn of the 19th century, unemployment would be permanently above 3 or 4 million, IMHO. You have to work 21 hours a week minimum wage before you (and your employer) start having to pay N.I. contributions. So having people working less than that is financially advantageous to employers as well. What it does for future pension entitlement, I don't know.

On 17/04/2020 at 18:26, pH said:

I'm sorry - I can't agree with the assessment of Hunter as a great player. I'm sorry he has died - a death is always a sad event. But there is a difference between a 'hard' player and a 'dirty' player. Hunter was flat-out dirty. Certainly not unique at that time, but one of the worst. Sorry again, but I felt I had to post this.

Harsh! He wouldn't have got where he got if he was just a dirty player.

21 hours ago, caradoc said:

How does such a person ever hope to get, or hold down, a job ?

 

I would imagine in the same way that someone who "Likes a drink or two" does, I would think!

There was an article in one of the magazines some time ago about the B & T with particular reference to Bedlington (Backtrack, IIRC). It said that trains travelling in one direction had to run past the station and reverse in, which sounds very odd. was this so?

6 hours ago, DaveF said:

 

Along the East Coast Main Line in Northumberland today, mainly in fine sunny weather.

 

The photos are arranged heading north.

 

Brotherwick is really just a farm by the railway south of Buston Barns and inland from Warkworth for those of you unfortunate enough not to know Northumberland well.

 

All these locations are within a fairly short drive from home - I hope that one day it will be possible to revisit them (and my reason for not having been taking photos for some time has nothing to do with Covid19).

 

 

Brotherwick Class 90 up 16th Jan 93 C18256.jpg

 

 

Buston Barns 37051 down freight Oct 87 J9323.jpg

 

 

Buston Barns 43069 Aberdeen to Kings X Oct 88 J9682.jpg

 

 

Alnmouth 43122 down 22nd Aug 89 C13722.jpg

 

 

Alnmouth Class 254 Edinburgh to Kings X Sept 88 J9681.jpg

 

 

David

Some absolutely superb photos in this group, particularly the first, third and last. Did you manage to rescue your car?

5 hours ago, JeffP said:

I must apologise to you too. My computer alerted me to a reply to this topic, so I clicked on it and it took me to the post by Fat Controller, who i duly thanked for his input. I therefore missed yours entirely and have just noticed it and thanked you as well.

Absolutely no apology necessary! I dived in as well, without noting the time of your answer.

I take it, in the first one, the tanker was laid up?

8 hours ago, Fat Controller said:

As far as I understand it, it's one of those ponds that are built alongside motorways to contain run-off from the road, allowing for a controlled discharge into a waterway.

Invisible ink again! There is one on the River Mersey near Northenden. You can see the penstocks from the M60 going towards Stockport, just on the approach to Junction 3

On 20/03/2020 at 12:28, runs as required said:

talking of that L&Y top right hand corner of Lancashire [Nelson]: Rose Grove always sounded so sweet smelling - as optimistic sounding a place name as Greenland (supposedly named by Viking explorers after an earlier bunch had got a rollicking back home in Danemark for naming Iceland - the island not the shop)

There is a part of the town where I live called Flowery Field. Doubtless it was once, but hasn't been since probably the middle of the 19th Century.

10 minutes ago, JeffP said:

It's really interesting, but what is a balancing pond?

For evening out flows in watercourses? Basically flood alleviation by diverting excess water into a pond, and releasing it when the flow lessens.

3 hours ago, TomScrut said:

 

All of them? What's to happen in-between York and London then? I'd expect there will still be 125mph ones that stop Doncaster Peterborough Stevenage.

 

What will happen to all the Azumas if everything is running on HS2? 

Trains from York and Northwards, and from Leeds at present using the ECML, not normally stopping at, say, Donny or Peterboro, or places like that, would use HS2 phase 2b and run to Euston. These would probably give a faster time than at present. There will then be extra paths on the ECML to run more stopping and semi-fast trains, which of course can run at 125 between stops. The actual service pattern (for a line unlikely to be in use before 2045) has probably not even entered the detail planning stage yet. How old will the Azumas be in 2045?

1 hour ago, TomScrut said:

 

I had heard at least that it will be significantly more expensive, but whether that's just the press's opinion I don't know.

 

Not sure what you mean by "taking the ordinary trains"?

By ordinary trains, I mean the sort of express trains which run, for instance, between, e.g. Edinburgh and London; or Glasgow,Manchester, Liverpool and so on, will be transferred to HS2 for the relevant part of their journey; why would ticket prices be increased, except as part of demand management, as mentioned above.

On 12/04/2020 at 10:17, TomScrut said:

 

Whether HS2 is particularly helpful to York and above I don't know. The fact it's going round the houses to hit as many areas of population as possible (I know this is the justification for the project) I didn't think there was much of a time saving vs Azuma times once their timetable comes into play? But no doubt will be a lot dearer to travel on?

 

One thing I have thought (and I know it's OT really) is that if they built an airport in the middle of nowhere on HS2 between London and Birmingham it would probably be cheaper than extending Heathrow and be similar timings but from two cities instead of one.

Why? HS2 will be taking the ordinary trains which at the moment run on the legacy network.

13 hours ago, montyburns56 said:

Coal trains to Fiddlers Ferry, that's something else that doesn't exist anymore. I do wonder how that line is going to justify its existence when FF finally shuts down.

We're going to find out; FF finished generating a couple of weeks ago.

6 hours ago, peanuts said:

yes please 

 

Bit old for you!

15 hours ago, F-UnitMad said:

Well I realise it's very different, for lots of reasons, but I would still think it's a good idea to keep looking where the train's going; there was an account in Rail or Traction many years back of a driver who saw someone on a bridge waving something red at him. Train was a 47 on Containers. He assumed it was a makeshift warning, & went to emergency on the brakes; as he rounded the bend saw a herd of stray cows on the line. IIRC he came to a halt before hitting any, & was thankful he'd reacted to the pedestrian warning him. 

Maybe in most instances especially at high speed there won't be a lot he can do, but it still stands to reason that he should look where the train is going.

Jenny Agutter?

I'm sure I can remember at least one at Cheadle Hulme in the summer of 2007, so installed as part of the WCML upgrade.

2 hours ago, billbedford said:

 

But all western government have printing money for the last 12 years or so. OK they've called it Quantitative Easing, but it's the same thing. Despite what those with debts had hoped it has had no effect whatsoever on inflation. 

Except on the stock market. A large part of the previous £445 billion QE ended up in the hands of financial institutions.

2 hours ago, billbedford said:

 

As for inflation in Germany, that was the Wiemar government's policy to screw the French and not have to pay the reparations from WW1. 

Yep!