Mike_Walker

Some of mine from yesterday. 1Z29 at Nuneham Crossing north of Culham. Thanks to a 20mph TRS on Nuneham Viaduct they opened up as they passed. Pity about the dank, grey skies. Waiting to leave the yard at Didcot to collect the return train. 1Z43 approaching Culham on the return trip. They cut off before passing us for the viaduct TRS.

GBRf have recently acquired the two 67s previously operated by Colas. It has been said they will be used on the sleeper with a 73/9 providing hotel power for the trin.

Well if you don't know...

Don't forget the stamps! There's even a "celebratory" poem by the Poet Laureate.

Heads up for anyone going: It's due to arrive at Didcot from Birmingham at 10:10 and leave at 15:01. Therefore given the need to turn and service the locos before departure I would expect the 4 Castle line-up to be in the morning after arrival and finish possibly around lunch time. Full times for the specials can be found at https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U66121/2023-03-04/detailed and https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/service/gb-nr:U66124/2023-03-04/detailed As an update I understand that all online advance tickets have been sold and there will only around 150 tickets available on the day on a "first come, first served" basis. The gates open at 09:30.

Wait long enough and it'll come out to play.

How much... ?! 😛

That's good. He must have paid the bill! 😚

Thanks Johann, it's been a great journey with much interest and brought back many happy memories. I shall have to find time to create a similar thread of my own wanderings between 1976 and 2005.

If anyone visiting for the event is hoping to see Swindon Panel in operation, sadly it won't as we were unable to get any volunteers for the date.

But sadly, I understand he's retired from giving his excellent talks to enthusiast groups.

How sad to see how the Napa Valley has declined. I visited it twice in the nineties when the FPA4 were very much the only show in town hauling superbly restored ex-DRGW nee-NP coaches (the old Ski Train) all immaculate inside and out. We took an SPV tour party on it too and the service was superb. I seem to recall there were local objections to the ALCo "pollution" and as a result they tried running them on vegetable oil or something without much success.

As I've said before, I can't speak for the Hornby prog but I do know that when the Paddington 24/7 programmes were being made GWR had the opportunity to see them before transmission and demand changes not just to the VO script but on more than one occasion footage was canned and replaced. This was because the camera had captured something sensitive which the company thought might be misunderstood by the general viewer. I would expect the same applies to H:AMW.

Having known his a good friend since he was about 12, I'm well aware of Mark's career progression and the fact remains that he put a lot of effort (and still does) into promoting parts of his "empires" that he feels might otherwise be neglected and that includes encouraging user groups to the full. Somehow, I can't imagine this debacle having been allowed to continue if he were in charge. He's the "manager's manager". As Chris Green once said: "There's probably not a TOC MD that hasn't got him on speed dial and regularly seeks his advice".

In those days Silverlink had the advantage of having Mark Hopwood as their MD. He a) knows how to run a railway and b) keen to involve user groups. Marston Vale was one part of his patch he took a particular interest in. Sadly the current management aren't so proactive. Richard Crane is still active in the user group but says it's an uphill battle to make a difference.

Whatever the reason it has proved to be an expensive mistake as almost everything is non-standard and parts need to be custom made.

I know it sounds crazy to the lay person that no trains can be provided until possibly the autumn but there are several issues here that need to be considered. First: The line is plagued by short platforms at stations which can only accept a train of approximately 40m length. This is aggravated by the presence of level crossings in close proximity to the platform ends (in some cases between the staggered up and down platforms) and the position of signals at the departure end of the platform. It is not considered acceptable to have the rear of the train blocking a crossing - assuming it has selective door operation (SDO) - and equally it is no longer acceptable for the front of the train to stop beyond the signal. The driver must be able to see it at all times to avoid what is known as a SASPAD; Starting Against Signal Passed At Danger. Second: Lengthening the platforms would be time consuming and expensive. Modern standards require a much higher degree of design and approval before any work can be carried out and, in addition, a large amount of signalling alterations would need to be carried out involving a lot more than what might just seem a simple move of a signal and a few bits of cable. Again the work has to be designed, approved by a Signal Sighting Committee and then signed off. Third: Because of the 40m limit the only practical stock that can be used is the Class 150 but neither London Northwestern Railway or its sister company West Midlands Railway now have any of these in their fleets. The only available units look likely to be 150/2s coming from Transport for Wales but they are unable to release these (and some to GWR) until more of their new Class 197s and the Flirt Class 231s are in service. The former are now coming on stream on a daily basis but the latter have yet to although it is thought to be only a matter of a few weeks before they do but it will probably be the summer before TfW are prepared to release the units. There will then be a period whilst the Bletchley-based drivers, conductors and maintenance staff are trained on the units. Their previous competency on they type, which in any case was on 150/1s which are not the same, having expired 6 months after they departed last time. Even with such a small team, this training takes time and that supposes the current industrial action is resolved by then; ASLEF refused to allow GWR drivers to train on the 769s whilst the strikes were ongoing. Some have suggested 153s or 156s but the simple fact, ignoring the fact that they are too long, is that the operational fleets of these types are fully employed and cannot be spared. Yes, there are examples of both types in long term storage but they would need heavy overhauls just to make them fit for service. The interiors of some long-term stored stock have been described as resembling mushroom farms! On top of this, many of the stored units have not received the PRM modifications. So, even if the length issue wasn't a problem, deploying these would take longer to achieve and you'd still need the same training programme. I can imagine how totally frustrating the situation must be for the Marston Vale users but perhaps it would be more appropriate to point one's anger in the direction of the DafT who enforced the 230s on the line rather than the TOC and who must therefore bear responsibility. Long term, if East West Rail extends to Bedford and beyond then there will be consolidation of stations which will get proper length platforms and the crossings will be replaced by bridges or closed if this is not possible. LATE NEWS: I'm now seeing an unconfirmed report that three 150/1s might be coming on hire from Northern in April or May but if so there will still be the issue of retraining to consider which could take two to three months.

So can I. Oh, hang on, they're outside in my garden!

This will not affect London Underground except possibly the outer reaches of the Bakerloo and District to Richmond where they use NR tracks - depends on whether or not the signallers are out. Same applies to London Overground and the Elizabeth Line.

Actually the Cotswold Line gets quite a bit of variety with various things going to and from Long Marston and at Moreton-in-Marsh you still have real signals.

I thought it interesting to hear that Airfix make a range of kits to cater for all levels of skill and depths of pockets. Commendable but why can't a similar philosophy extend to model railways? I also note the T word wasn't uttered once!

That destination display of "200 Eastbound" is of as much use to out-of-towners as the old Eastern Counties destination of "Service" or Reading Corporation's habit of showing pub names only as destinations (no route numbers) back in the day...

Here are some nostalgic views of the old station whilst still in use as such. F40PH 392, arriving at Martinez CA on #704 'San Joaquin' on 26 April 1991. Reliving the glory days 4449 passing the depot at Martinez CA on 25 July 1992. SP SD45 7498 leads F40PHs 349 and 304 departing Martinez CA with #6 'California Zephyr' on 26 April 1991. The new station is in approximately this position. The nearest line is the connection used by the 'San Joaquin' trains. Back in the 1990s there were also Amtrak Thruway buses to points up the northern coast such as this Neoplan which had arrived from Willits on 26 April 1991. Whilst on 1 July 1999 this example was waiting to go up to Arcata. I'm not sure if these still run.

Turn up a travel tickets are always available and always will be. Journey/train specific tickets are advanced purchase tickets available at a reduced cost and are a way by which the operators seek to sell otherwise unused capacity much in the same way that airlines do. They are confined to long-distance services and not on the busiest/most popular trains, you won't find such tickets available for local or commuter services.

Technically, the old Marlow station wasn't demolished to make way for an industrial estate, that came later. Initially the site was cleared to permit expansion of the adjacent sawmill which had opened in 1947. This replaced a mill in east London and was served by block timber trains which ran to Marlow from Bow via High Wycombe hauled usually by Stratford Class 31s (or 30's as I was once told by someone who worked them - they still had Mirrlees engines then) although on at least one occasion a pair of Class 15s were apparently deployed. The operation didn't last more than a couple of years before the sawmill closed and the site was redeveloped as an industrial estate. The last run appears to have been in late 1969 or early 1970. Interestingly, the first WTT issued after closure of the Bourne End-High Wycombe section in May 1970 included a revised path for the timber trains running via Maidenhead with a reversal at Bourne End. That is the reason why, initially, the station level crossing at Bourne End was retained and a stop block installed just short of the Cores End LC. Incidentally, none of us in the area have ever come across a photograph of these timber trains on the branch so if anyone reading this can oblige we'd be eternally grateful!