rodent279

Must admit, I've always wondered why 30/31's, being type 2's, were not in the 20-29 range. Another slight anomaly is that 45's and 46's were deemed worthy of their own separate class range, when the difference between them is electrical equipment supplier, one being Brush (45's) the other being GEC (46's). (Edit-or is one of them Crompton Parkinson? Haven't got a P5 book handy). The same is true of HST power cars-there are varients with Brush traction motors & electrical equipment, and with GEC traction motors & electrical equipment. Why then were they not allocated separate classes? Class 42 could have been used for one & 43 for the other.

Tytherington doesn't see a lot of use these days either.

Don't HST's and Mk3 hauled stock have WSP fitted? Wheel slide protection, in which the brake is applied, removed and reapplied continuously, in order to stop the brakes locking. I seem to remember this was one of the problems with the HK brake on the APT- to apply brake force, you have to fill a drum with oil, and you can't fill and empty the HK brake drum quick enough. Perhaps Mr Tilt could enlighten us?

Following on from the recent discussion about why class 86/1's & 86/2's were not the other way round, this leads me to another question, piffling trivia if you will! There were some gaps in the TOPS numbering scheme. There was a full house between class's 20 & 29, then there was class 30, the original designation for the Brush/Mirrlees type 2, and 31, the EE re-engined class 30's. Class 33's I understand were originally going to be class 33 & 34, but this was changed to 33/0 & 33/1. Class 35 & 37 we all know about. Why was there no class 32 or class 36? Why were 33's not class 32's? 35's not 34's or 33's? 37's not 36's or 35's? Similarly, with type 5's, there was class 50, 52, 53 (Falcon), & 55-59. Why were 52's not class 51's, & 55's not class 54's? There was class 70 (the Southern electric trio), 71, 72 (original designation for class 73/0), 73, 74, then 76 & 77. I can understand the gap between 3rd rail DC class 74 & 1500v DC o/h class 76 & 77, so again pretty much a full house. With the AC electrics, there was again a full house between class 80-87. There were plans for a class 88 electric freight loco, which eventually seems to have become class 92, and they then went to class 89 for the solitary example of it's type, and class 90, which were originally going to be class 87/2. Piffling trivia it may be, but there must have been a reason for it. Surely it wasn't BR allowing for future builds by leaving a gap in the number ranges. DMU's, EMU's & coaching stock did not go on TOPS until the early 80's so it can't have been because of a clash with those number ranges. cheers N

Hughes is often overshadowed by GJC, but they were contemporaries, and I believe personal friends. Both were admirers of each other's work, in much the same way as WAS & HNG were a couple of decades later. With it's early experimentation with, and trhen adoption of, electrification, and a diesel-electric loco built on the chassis of a steam loco, if anything the L&Y was more "innovative" than the GW- depending on your definition of that word.

Absolute nonsense. Wires may be functional rather than aesthetic, but I'd rather be travelling on a swift silent electric than a slow dirty outmoded diesel. I don't see how you can say wires intrude on the countryside anymore than the railway itself does. If you can put them up through the fells, through the Arlberg & Gotthard valleys, in the Bernese Oberland, then a bit of west country dairy land is no big loss.

Maybe not depressing, but a shadow of its former self, is Wolverton. I used it every day in the mid 80's, to travel from Leighton Buzzard to Wolverton College. By that time, the LNWR wooden station building, built on a framework adjoining the Stratford Road bridge, was in its last days. In about 1989 it was demolished, and a new entrance & footbridge installed, fronting the car park on the up side. Many a cold evening I spent sheltering under the bridge, waiting for the train home after evening class!

I suppose the phrase Electric Unit or Diesel Unit would be more correct really. They are units, but not multiple units. I'd be interested to know if two class 91 + Mk4 & DVT rakes could couple and work in multiple. I would imagine it's technically possible, but not permissible in normal service. Platforms would be too short at most stations for a start.

Arguably they are not DMU's, because they do not run in multiple as units. Effectively, they are the same as two locos double heading, in multiple, except one is at either end of the train. Same applies to a class 91+Mk4/DVT rake. Because they do not run in multiple as units, they are not really EMU's, they are loco & coaches. Pendos/Voyagers/Adelantes/Eurostars/TGVs however, can and do run in multiple as units, so are true DMU's/EMU's.

It's an intriguing thought. Come on, someone must have tried it!

Best units ever built, and that is the best livery for them! They were also the first stock built from new with disc brakes.

Can't have been more than a year old, but looking beautifully scruffy, 56038 stands outside Cardiff Canton TMD, in August 1980. Taken with permission, on a guided tour of the depot. https://flic.kr/p/ogFjaS

I'm curious to know how km posts are laid out on LGV lines, particularly the PSE line. Are they in whole km, 1/4, 1/2 & 3/4km, or 0.1 km intervals? I ask because I've dug up some timings from 1984, of a TGV on the PSE, heading towards Paris, from km 123 to km 100, and from km 47 to 34. Some of the times are a litlle astray, leading to speeds wavering between 257km/h & 276km/h, consistently, across whole km's. Now this could be due to timing inaccuracies on my part, or maybe I was mistaking a whole km for an xx.9 or xx.1km? cheers N

Slightly OT (well I started it, so I guess it's my party! :-)), but if you go to the rather excellent National Libraries of Scotland, and bring up either SW England, OS 1:500, Towns, 1880's or SW England, OS 25 Inch, 1873-1888, they show mileposts, with the mileage, and where they are referenced from. Here's a link to a section of the SW England, OS 1:500, Towns, 1880's maps, just east of Bristol TM. What's more interesting is that in this particular series of maps, the actual broad gauge & standard gauge rails are shown. http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=20&lat=51.4518&lon=-2.5736&layers=117746211&b=1

I like it, and I don't think it's too far OT. I'm into the esoteric, niche "pifflling trivia". I like transition diesel liveries, even though I'm not old enough to remember pre-TOPS diesels. Speculating about maroon Hymeks is perfectly fine. How about an HST with power cars in BR Green, stock in carmine & cream?

D7017 confirmed visiting from the WSR.

A better view of Digby-Wyatt's trainshed is possible after the removal of the Royal Mail footbridge. Stolen from the window of a departing HST. https://flic.kr/p/X8DP8c https://flic.kr/p/W4Lv6m

Judging from the state of some mileposts on the GWML, NR clearly do not require them to be "cleaned and painted at intervals of not more than 3 years"!

Shame the guy who did the original LPG conversion isn't around anymore, we could ask the expert. Perhaps he could give the Gov't some advice...... https://goo.gl/images/KyWfc3 Oops, sorry, silly me, I forgot-we don't need experts anymore....

Either Venlo or Monchengladbach must have dual voltage capable OHL, as I remember going to Koln from Hook of Holland. We changed engines at one of the aforementioned stations, and our Dutch loco (unfortunately not an EM2 ) unhooked and disappeared, to be replaced by a DB 15kV electric.

Not in the least bit confusing at all........

You can, but storing the fuel takes up more space. I looked into LPG for my Morris Minor some years ago (laugh if you want, phillistines, it's been done), but dropped the idea when I realised I'd lose most of my boot space in exchange for an LPG tank big enough to give me a similar range as petrol.

I suppose that would have meant extending the DC to Moorgate, but that would not have been rocket surely?

Which makes one wonder why Farringdon was chosen as the AC-DC changover point? Why not somewhere like Kentish Town? Or even KX-T station? How on earth (pun not intended, but rather good actually!) did they earth the systems in continetal border railway stations, such as Venlo, Monchengladbach etc, where 2, sometimes 3 different systems would meet? Can't think where it is, but I'm sure there is one spot where 1.5kV dc, 3kV dc & 15kV AC meet. The 15kV systems of Switzerland & Austria meet the 3kV DC systems of Italy at a few points, so too do the 15kV AC systems of Germany & 3kV DC systems of Poland. They obviously have ways of making it work.

I went on an IET/IRSE Railway Electrification Systems course a few years back. There was a lengthy discussion about earthing, and an example was given of a problem with, I think, a gas main in the Manchester area, which corroded to the point of leaking gas, due to some earthing issue on the Manchester - Bury line. I think it took about 20yrs to manifest itself, so these issues are not always apparent or easily spotted.