Irishswissernie

I shall be talking to Dave this morning so , if everything is going to plan, this is my last day in the Drivers seat and I can get back to the day job. 3 from Hitchin and a final Lancaster view to keep you going. Ernie

Thanks, the residual paint on the nameboard looked like a 1, I shall amend it. Ernie

A trip down to Cornwall this afternoon during the transition from steam to diesel. Three views of St Erth Ernie

Three more from the camera of the late John Strange this morning The box was apparently Number 3 Box, I was misled by the residual paint on the nameboard. Ernie

This afternoons offerings: A pair of 50's on an up express just south of Lancaster BRCW Type 3 D6564 at Orpington D77 on a train of 16T minerals Bromley South Here in the Centre of Britain the sun continues to beat down, however the Monsoon is only weeks away; traditionally from 3pm second last friday in July to 9am first monday in September! Ernie

Some more Widnes aerial views this morning. First one shows more industry and a small loco shed which looks disused. This may have been an original shed for the St Helens railway later part of the LNWR. There was a much larger shed near the LNWR station. EDIT Railway Clearing House Map shows these lines round the shed as Private LInes and mentions Landowners Line and Hutchinson's line. Best place to find info would be Industrial railways /locos Cheshire (Industrial Railway Socy) probably but I don't possess it. Second shows the LNWR goods yard etc. Third is the LNWR station which was built on a raised deviation line to the north of the original and avoided the flat crossing with the St Helens Railway and the maze of lines into the various factories etc. THe MR/GC loop line is above the LNWR station. We can also assume part of the exact date, it was almost certainly a Monday and back in ca1928 coloured bed linen wasn't popular! More from ground level this afternoon Ernie

2 very reluctant dogs walked (its 80 degrees F but feels like C here); C can mean Centigrade but that's not my interpretation today. 3 views at Grove Road on the ECML and the last one described by the photographer as near Loughborough on the Midland but that signal box is facing lines on the right. Possibly the goods lines or maybe nearer Trent. He was travelling south on an LCGB special from Edinburgh to St Pancras. Ernie

Thanks for the 'likes' and comments. I am working on todays Flickr uploads and wondered what was going on here! Hexham station coal yard. After coal deliveries by rail ceased this 21t hopper was left in the yard. Underneath the hopper a brick wall + assorted sheeting has been built to guide coal into the weighing machine. I wondered how they re-filled the wagon but the second image taken after the wagon had been re-claimed by BR shows the probable answer. A forklift + trailer was now in use with a rebuilt contraption over the track. All this was swept away and the site is now a car park but I think one of the coal merchants huts is now at Beamish. More proper train views this afternoon Ernie

A few more aerial views this morning taken of Widnes ca 1928. These are extracts from large glass negatives. First one shows the area around the ex LNWR station Second The GCR/MR station looks somewhat out of it in comparison having been opened later when there was little space left in the town. 3 and 4 show some of the factories. ERnie

Good Afternoon campers! First of all Dave is back home and sounds in good spirits! He hopes if everything goes to plan to start posting again next monday once he can concentrate on what he is uploading etc. Monochrome today. First a Class 40 at Godley Junction followed by a rather poor negative of the 'Night Ferry' at Petts Wood and finally 44840 leaving Upperby sidings at Carlisle with an up goods. Ernie

This mornings selection is just one view but with a couple of enlargments; OLDHAM LEES station back in 1929. There are two enlargments one showing the shed packed with locos. The turntable appears to have been taken out and the track lead taken up. Sorry I don't know any of the loco numbers! The second shows the Goods shed and part of the yard. Open wagons outnumber anything else by at least 50 to 1, modellers note! It was 1929, depression years and a number could be laid up. Probably more this afternoon. If everything is going to plan Dave should be out of hospital today. Ernie

A couple this afternoon from the North West:

Thanks, I am confident that it should only be a short stay and Dave will be back at the helm ASAP once recovered. Luckily the weather is not conducive to modelling ; the loft being untenable. there's nowt on TV; Mrs "Ernie" is at work and the dogs are to overheated to do anything but sleep. That only leaves the internet which is just as well because over on Flickr I have just obtained agreement to upload images from another ARPT Archive and there are still several thousand images to re-input. My plan is only to upload images on here which are not now or will not be uploaded to Ernie's Railway Archive on Flickr. Ernie

The selection today. The 60056 slide said ore 'mts' but I think they are more likely to be loaded. Unusual angle for the Leicester GC view; possibly the photographer used the platform in lieu of a tripod for the long exposure time! Ernie

Dave and I go back a long way, getting on for 40 years (Aargh!). We converse at least once a week these days although I now live in Haltwhistle (Centre of Britain|) whilst he still resides on the North East coast. All being well he should be back home in a couple of days but there will then be a period whilst he mends and it will be a few days, possibly weeks before he can pick up the reins again. I said I could spare a bit of time to put some of my ERnie's archive images on here from time to time to keep the thread going and stop those of us who only have a passing interest in football, tennis and Royal Ascot (quite a few- my daily flickr hits have quadrupled in the past week from 10,000) from going banana's. First image is Dave in action back in 1990, behind him was a freightliner wih 2 x37 coming out of Wilton on Teeside . You can't get this shot now as Teesport have since erected an entrance 'Gate' on the road. Ernie

Whilst ferreting through the JM Boyes scans I came across this one of a Clayton on the Dunbar-Uddingston working. Whilst most of the wagons are Presflo's the first wagon behind the Brake Van is a Cemflo. https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/27878946077/in/dateposted/ Ernie

Thanks and I would like to pass the appreciation firstly to the great foresight of photographers who took the original photos/slides and also my gratitude to The Armstrong Railway Photographic Trust and others for their consent to me being able to display their images alongside my humble efforts. Ernie

I forgot about that one! ECML Vale of York moved up the uploading pipeline so how about a bit of underframe"detail" but I can't guarantee the detail is still in the right place! https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/40855431670/in/dateposted/ Or here's a rake of 5 behind an 08 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/41946565604/in/dateposted/ Ernie

Says in the extended caption to the photo that motive power was changed at Clifton which is the yard just north of York at the junction of the avoiding lines and the Harrogate Branch. Here are a few images off my Flickr site of the wagons/trains: https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/41933206254/in/dateposted/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/41751359675/in/photostream/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/40843302610/in/photostream/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/40442076720/in/album-72157696306312174/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/27725013667/in/album-72157667720173777/ Ernie

The Seaton service starts from Kingmoor , runs via the Newcastle & Carlisle and Durham coast lines and then returns direct to Sellafield rather than Kingmoor. The only part under the wires (ignoring the Tyne & Wear Metro) is a couple of miles from Kingmoor to Carlisle on a round trip of over 200 miles. Here are the pair on the 17 April service. They may have been used earlier in the month, I didn't realise they were 88's until I played back my video! https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/41520321931/in/album-72157662765686907/ Ernie

88008 + 010 have worked the Sellafield -Seaton (Hartlepool) flasks for at least the last 3 tuesdays. https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/26952476787/in/dateposted/ https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/39858151050/in/album-72157686355046864/ Ernie

Aberfeldy had a small but well heeled clientele who justified a through train to Perth in the morning (running as late as 1961 and probably later) No doubt they purchased their papers at the station before travelling in to work. There was at least one through coach back in the afternoon/evening. This rather poor slide shows this TC being added to the branch coach by a Class 26 https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswissernie/40873354285/in/dateposted/ Ernie

I think this loco is actually D5121 and have amended the caption. John Boyes photographed this train earlier in the day near Boat of Garten Ernie

I picked this unidentified rather poor negative recently; I think it may be either the north end of Riccarton looking west, or probably Falahill sidings looking east. Tender still lettered LNER but BR number 64608 on loco shedded at St Margarets in 1947 and for a fair while after. Can anyone confirm the location? Ernie

Here is an enlarged extract from the original scan. I seem to remember when I was a kid that the United Automobile Services buses were painted in this livery but memory (especially these days!) isn't so reliable. Ernie Ernie