rodent279

All gone in almost the same shot, a year later in July 2018.

Just so I am clear about what is being discussed, are these the St Andrews Crosses, pictured to the left of the Voyager in this photo?

Thanks. IIRC that was the social club & bar. I remember a chat with the former chairman, just before he left to take up a position running C&W's operation in HK. Do you know if the whole complex is going, or just that bit? Any idea what's going to replace it?

Agree, it seems over-zealous. Photographing and filming trains may not be essential, but if it's done as part of a person's once a day exercise, and is done by that person on their own, taking strict social distancing precautions should other persons approach, then I can't see the harm. Is it really any different to stopping to take in the view, watch wildlife, watch the stars etc? I guess they want to be seen not to be condoning it, or encouraging such activities.

I think bi-directional running is much more common on the European mainland, especially in Germany, and also used more on a daily basis. Over here, it seems to be used during engineering works only, except in approaches to large stations such as New St, London Bridge etc.

Maybe beer or something stronger, after today. Daren't though, in the current situation.

Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. Some people don't like German, French etc engines, because to British eyes, they look unnecessary cluttered and fussy. I like them just as much as the sterile, cleaned up lines of 8F's, BR Standards etc. I've always thought 87's never quite looked right without their original MU jumpers, even though the TDM jumpers presented a much cleaner front end. It's all subjective really.

I meant Denbigh! I need tea....

It was, first or 2nd weekend in Dec '84 was changeover I believe. I think the contact wire was retained, but the insulators were changed to the 25kV type over a few months previously.

Denbugh Hall North if you really want to be pedantic!

True, though Hadfield went 25kV later in 1984, so it's possible they used whatever was the nearest 25kV OHL maintenance train-presumably Longsight?

I was on that tour too, my one and only time over the flyover, and my one & only time into old Bedford St Johns. To this day, that is the only time I've been loco hauled into Marylebone, and I still haven't been loco hauled out! Up until 2002 it was one of the 2 times I'd been loco hauled out of St Pan, the other being later the same year on RESL's Grampian Highlander, which started with a pair of rats St P-Derby, where 46026 took over for it's last ever run to Newcastle. Someone, who shall remain nameless, shouted out "wagon!" as it backed on at Derby!

I reckon it's the Reddish or Penistone OHL Maintenance Train. Can @hmrspaul confirm?

Nail has been firmly smote on the head. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/129250-woodhead-electrification-inspection-train/ I think Pandora may have solved it!

Plausible. 3 yrs after Woodhead shut, I'd imagine the knitting was removed pretty hastily after closure, so that's entirely possible.

Spot on. Here's a screenshot from the NLS maps website using the OS 1:10,560 1949-1969 series of maps. I'd place the photo taken from just above where the s in Works is, just east of Newbold Rd. The footbridge in the distance is marked Path, and FB, and goes from Wood St over the railway and through the GEC works.

I'm assuming it's an OHL maintenance train, because of the roofs that look like they've been flattened, and maybe have lights in them. I guess it could be a tunnel inspection/maintenance train?

Can anyone identify this short rake of what I assume is an overhead line maintenance train, seen here stabled just north of Rugby, on the Down side, in April 1984? It was there some months, and IIRC disappeared sometime during summer that year. Looks like they are on Gresley bogies, and possibly are conversions from some sort of suburban stock.

Well, those empty wagons aren't going to move themselves! Hadn't realised 31's came on the scene that early, I thought it was 84-85. Certainly by 1986 25's were in the minority.

And another from around the same time, April 1984. 25213 & 25269 snooze whilst awaiting their next turn.

These two could equally well go in the class 25 thread, but I thought I'd post them here, as the location is relevant. These are about the only useable photos I have of Bletchley flyover being used. They show a class 25, possibly 262, on vans. The date is early April 1984, around 6pm, as I had almost certainly jumped off a Euston-Northampton "cobbler" and was waiting for an EMU back to Leighton Buzzard. The new order is starting to appear in the shape of the 31 stabled, loathed by us local enthusiasts at first. Don't know about what train crew felt about them, I believe 31's rode better, but couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding.

Now to some this will be a fugly, to me is a beaut. Italian Crosti boiler 2-8-0, operational. On the bucket list for a railtour one day.

If I'm not mistaken, that has two Crosti feedwater preheaters, one either side of the boiler.

Think you'd probably get away with blood & custards, just. choc & cream, and green, probably, there's always rule 1. I would like to run an AC electric in BR blue, with a rake of b&g mk1's with a b&g Gresley/Thompson buffet in. I know they reached Man Picc in the 70's while in b&g, so not impossible.

I think Evening Star top and tailed all the shuttles, with 5051 on the London end, unless someone knows otherwise? First steam out of Paddington since 1977 wasn't it?