caradoc

There's a photo in Looking Back at Class 26 and 27 Locomotives (Kevin Derrick, Strathwood 2013) of 27001 at Queen St in August 74 with TOPS number, tablet catcher recess, and in green livery too !

Any update on this being available in the shops please ?

Agree, but I don't believe we can afford to wait until September, or later, to restore as much normalcy as will be possible after a pandemic - Not to mention that many people would simply not accept restrictions continuing for that long anyway.

I made my first journeys on Class 755 over the last few days and found them to be excellent trains. The lack of underfloor noise and vibration as per a conventional DMU, and the excellent level boarding provided by the low floor and extending steps, were particularly noticeable. Linking the Norwich/Cambridge and Cambridge/Stansted Airport service into one through route is also a great idea, and of course the units can run on electric power between Ely and Stansted Airport.

Thankfully we do have some London-avoiding lines left, as well as those mentioned the North London line (which, amazingly now, was actually proposed for closure in the 70s), and Oxford/Cambridge is, slowly, being re-instated. Although I would argue that the DN&S function has always been supplied much more effectively by the Oxford/Reading/Basingstoke route, which is one reason the DN&S closed.

It does seem from the link provided by ikcdab that the existing LC had become too unreliable to remain in use (which does beg the question how that was allowed to occur).

I would add one word to that sentence; 'Extend the June deadline till everyone vulnerable in the UK is vaccinated'. Because there will always be some who can't or won't be vaccinated, and if we lose another summer I fear there will not be much left to fully open up in September, or any other later time.

I had a pair of baseball boots in the early 70s, and of all the shoes I have ever worn ,before or since, they are my favourite !

A while ago I saw an interesting move at Oxford; A 5-car 800 from the Worcester line arrived in Platform 3 but stopped way back at the north end of the platform. Shortly after another 800 arrived from the south into Platform 3, the two coupled and departed with a minimum of fuss. The folk on the platform where an Up train would normally stop did not seem concerned that the first set was nowhere near them so presumably this is a regular move.

I find this sensitivity, if not anger. from Hornby towards retailers 'competing' with their products very strange; Given the range Hornby produce is another model of a small southern tank loco really a major threat to their business ? (to be fair, the same could be said regarding Bachmann and Class 66 models.....). And do Hornby realise that retailers selling their products, in whatever Tier, are highly likely to stock items from other manufacturers directly competing with Hornby, eg Class 08, Mark 1 coaches, Standard Class 4 4-6-0 ? Not to mention track, buildings, scenic materials, etc. At least I now know not to bother visiting John Lewis in Edinburgh and to just continue down the hill to Harburn Hobbies (I wonder which Tier they are in.....)

Which looks like a slope-sided version; Maybe a BSCO wagon ?

Bear in mind I have been retired for almost 5 years (!), but IIRC publicising 'a fatality at x' fell out of favour because it encouraged lookie-loos to go to the location mentioned, as well perhaps worrying some in the area. So it was replaced by 'Emergency services dealing with an incident', but it was then recognised that this was vague and did not always convey the seriousness of the incident. So this was replaced in turn by 'a person struck by a train between x and y', the two locations quoted being sufficiently far apart that the exact location was not divulged. (It is noticeable however from the disruption updates on National Rail Enquiries that some TOCs still use the 'Emergency services etc' message).

My responsibility for allocating and managing Corkerhill's Class 156 sets ended in 1994, when upon privatisation I ended up in Railtrack Control instead of my choice of Scotrail (but things worked out OK in the end !). We made no differentiation between the orange and the other sets, except of course for West Highland diagrams. IIRC the RETB-fitted sets did change over the years, so it is not impossible, although unlikely, that any of the 501-514 batch could have been so treated. Very occasionally a non-RETB set did, by accident, end up on the WHL, as the rear set of a 4-car and only discovered when a split or change of ends was required; Less likely to happen of course with an orange set. Nowadays they are all the same colour......

XC services do call at Worcestershire Parkway Ian, but it is normally the Nottingham/Cardiff (Class 170) trains rather than the longer distance Voyagers; Which I do personally find strange as well !

IIRC for a while the Railway Pension Fund (not sure whether just NR or everyone) had a scheme whereby, up to a limit, an employee's Additional Voluntary Contributions were matched by the employer; Effectively money for nothing ! This scheme, plus the fact that pension contributions are tax-free, were major factors allowing me to retire at 57.

Great photos of a place I have always meant to visit but never have (yet), thanks again David. However; I can't help thinking that as that Locomotion No 1 is a replica, it should really be Locomotion No 2 !

When (if) we have a heatwave NR will need to keep a careful eye on those lengths of rail stored in the four foot before they expand and cause TC failures (bitter experience speaking here). Thanks for all the great photos BTW.

Events involving the recently retired RMT General Secretary would indicate that Trade Unions are not always perfect employers. And while it would be interesting to see, for example, Manuel Cortes of my former Union, the TSSA, having to take responsibility for managing the railway rather than simply criticising those who do, I don't see it happening, for the very reason that having to run (and be blamed for) something yourself is very different from simply moaning about it.

I agree that GW electrification must be completed, if not extended (although would that not be just as London-centric as HS2 ?), and Northern Powerhouse Rail must move forward. However as detailed elsewhere in RMWeb, small steps are being taken eg Manchester/Stalybridge and Leeds/York electrification. And as per RAIL magazine 929 there are plans for major changes in the Huddersfield/Dewsbury area, with additional track and platforms. So things are happening elsewhere !

Or alternatively buy something else, from another manufacturer, from the first retailer, saving time and effort chasing up who knows how many shops.

DMU cars in the 50xxx and 56xxx series were renumbered for the introduction of POIS, to avoid confusion with locos with the same numbers. By that time sadly there was no need to renumber the 55xxx DMU cars...

The first 6 1/2 years of my railway career was as a booking office clerk. There was not a day passed without someone complaining about the fares, saying 'How much ?' (in an outraged tone of voice), 'Has it gone up ?', or 'It wasn't that much last time'. This was between 1978 and 1984, so I am afraid anyone believing that fares will magically come down under Government ownership is in for a shock. This article, with the headline 'I pay more than £9000 a year for my season ticket', appears in the Business section of the BBC News website today: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57186489 The gentleman concerned is also quoted as saying that his season (Peterborough/London) is still cheaper than buying a ticket each day, at a cost of..... £120 ! I thought, that is expensive so checked on line, and found, even travelling in the peaks both ways, Standard Class return fares of between £67 and £51; First Class however is between £115 and £71. Note; The article does not reveal whether his season or daily ticket are First Class, or that cheaper fares are in fact available. I would complain to the BBC but on past experience that is a pointless exercise.

Two points to make; As an ex-employee, and still regular rail traveller throughout the UK, I do not recognise in any shape or form your opinion of our railways. And as to investment.... Crossrail ? HS2 ?

I'm not so sure they will be in a strong position; If not leased by/given to/seized by the Government there's not much else their rolling stock can do !

BR did of course resort to hiring, rather than buying, stock way back in 1967 ! (The Class 50s) Although as 96701 says most of the Welsh infrastructure (and of course all of Scotland's) is still the responsibility of Network Rail, and neither the Welsh nor Scottish Governments controls the long distance cross-Border* or freight operators. * Caledonian Sleepers excepted