PinzaC55

47413 enters Lincoln St Marks station on Cleethorpes service 1D03 6.6.81. 47413 Lincoln St marks 1D03 6.6.81 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

Yeah it was tragic. About 2 years earlier in 1977 half a mile behind the 37 I saw them relaying the line with new CWR.

A 37 hauls a steel train from Consett steelworks past Pontop Pike transmitter in County Durham in 1979. The track has long since gone, 30 years ago now. Class 37 at Pontop Pike, Consett Branch par PinzaC55, on ipernity

I have now embarked on the construction of South Pelaw - Beamish. In the view below I have copied 1km square Google Maps views onto "Basemaps" which appear as solid flat squares in the simulator and can be height adjusted or rotated. The Terrain is in "Wire Frame" mode so that I can see the basemap just below the surface. This is looking towards Pelton with the line measured out , tracks laid and the road laid over the bridge site. Pelton Trainz 2012 15.4.12 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

Short sequence of film of Consett in 1908 and at Blackhill station (1914?) with a couple of shots of the derelict station. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai2lN6MU2As

Yeah , a Scottish Railrover was (I think) something like £11 for a week in 1981 or was that for 2 days? You could get an incredible amount of haulage, including of course Deltics to Aberdeen.

After photographing 37112 at Glasgow I bashed her to Helensburgh Upper 37112 (Oban Train) Helensburgh Upper 21.3.81 par PinzaC55, on ipernity then nipped down to Helensburgh Central to photograph an electric unit and back up to Upper for 37021 back to Glasgow. Quick run down the ramp! 37021 (Glasgow Train) Helensburgh Upper 21.3.81 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

I used to have this closure poster for Beamish station in my collection but sold it a couple of years ago. Beamish Station Closure poster par PinzaC55, on ipernity

Hi John, I have updated the points as you suggested but I don't know why JH showed them as 2 separate points on his diagram? It's more workable now with a smoother gradient. I'm in two minds as to whether to lay the colliery out as it's a lot of extra work! Steve O - when I click on the link it comes up "No Photo Available" - is that just my PC or has anybody seen them? Here's a couple more shots, first with a 9F then Q6 63387. trainz 2014-04-11 14-03-47-01 par PinzaC55, on ipernity trainz 2014-04-11 15-12-03-62 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

It's highly unlikely to be wrong but I will check it tomorrow. To get the dimensions for the site I blew the plan you sent me up by 150% then measured on Google Earth the distance from the road bridge to the west end footbridge and divided this by the distance in millimetres on the plan. The result was that each millimetre on the plan = 6.48 feet so I measured every set of points and multiplied by 6.48.To do Stella Gill bridge I put the tops of the girders level with the ground then dug down to the height suggested by your photo. The physics of the simulator are "real world" so a 37 has a bit of a struggle to haul a full train out of there!

Here are a few , though it is far from complete yet. In case you don't have it I have found the DVD "Steam World Archive Series Volume 14 - The North East" very valuable as it has about 15 - 20 minutes of footage mainly at South Pelaw. First a 37 leaves Stella Gill sidings. trainz 2014-04-10 17-43-52-26 par PinzaC55, on ipernity Second she heads across the junction on her way to Tyne Yard. trainz 2014-04-10 17-45-54-63 par PinzaC55, on ipernity Last, a pair of 24s head across the layout on their way to Consett with iron ore hoppers. trainz 2014-04-10 17-42-16-32 par PinzaC55, on ipernity I have had to make some compromises with the signalling but I will be tightening it up shortly. BTW regarding John Hinson's diagram, as good as it is he missed out the bracket signal next to the road bridge adjacent to number 76 points!

Many thanks! I have completed the junction and only need to put in point rods and suchlike plus connect South Pelaw colliery up. Maybe another days work.

Quick question for you John or anybody here: what was the gradient leaving South Pelaw towards Pelton?

A couple of shots of 37112 getting ready to work an Oban train at Glasgow Queen Street 21.3.81 showing off her steam heating to good effect! 37112 on Oban Train at Glasgow Queen Street (2) 21.3.81 par PinzaC55, on ipernity 37112 on Oban Train at Glasgow Queen Street 21.3.81 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

A pair of 37's bowl downhill at Blue Bell crossing near Backworth on their way to Newcastle via Percy Main. Sadly the line is long closed and there's nothing here but weeds 37s at Blue Bell Crossing Backworth 23.11.79 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

Hi John , regarding your question on your site about the mystery concrete post at Beamish (I think) this was what the LNER called a "Pitfall Post" and it was used to measure subsidence due to mining. There's a thread on it here http://www.lner.info/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=8276&hilit=+Pitfall You may also be interested to know that I have the Trainz 2012 Rail Simulator and it has South Pelaw junction on it in a very basic form seen here trainz 2014-04-03 12-26-53-79 par PinzaC55, on ipernity I spent a few minutes and stuck an NER signalbox and a coal mine roughly in position plus deleting some of the vegetation here trainz 2014-04-03 12-35-20-37 par PinzaC55, on ipernity This is the view from the road bridge looking east. trainz 2014-04-03 12-36-08-86 par PinzaC55, on ipernity I don't have a 25" OS plan of South Pelaw but if you have one and could scan it and email me it I might have a crack at building the place accurately. I know one other guy is already doing this but don't know how far he has got.

47051 hauls train 1P14 to Yarmouth, seen from the old footbridge at Sincil Bank in Lincoln. There are at least 9 coaches visible on this rake so she'd be working hard up the bank to Greetwell Junction. 47051 on 1P14 at Sincil Bank Lincoln 13.6.81 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

Thanks! Here is 47484 Isambard Kingdom Brunel at Sheffield on 23.5.81 Damn where have the years gone? 47484 Isambard Kingdom Brunel Sheffield 23.5.81 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

47327 works an MGR train to Drax power station past the remains of Carlton Towers station in 1980. 47327 at Carlton Towers 30.4.80 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

47487 calls at what is left of Stockton station in 1979. On todays McDonalds Railways of course they wouldn't stop there. 47487 Stockton 29.8.79 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

I seem to remember reading that the BR engineers didn't like the idea of the punishment that the six wheel bogies of a fleet of 89's would dish out to their track.

And 33010 works ECS through Clapham Junction on royal wedding day in 1981. 33010 Clapham Jct par PinzaC55, on ipernity

33042 stands at London Bridge after arrival from East Croydon. 33042 at London Bridge 1.5.81 par PinzaC55, on ipernity

I started in 83 too and I had one of those mini Hi-Vi's. The funny thing about it was that for some reason the buttons melted - they just got softer and softer till you could pull them apart like Uri Geller. I am sure that , like me, you could write a book about the things which happened on the railways then but never made the newspapers.

I used to work the test trains out of Ferme Park with this beast ( I was a Guard ) and the acceleration was scarey. When the driver opened her up you literally got forced back into the seat.