chrisf

The only contact particulars I have are those quoted in Vol 3 of his dmu book, being his postal address: 63 Carol Avenue Bromsgrove Worcs B61 8RW Chris

Good morning one and all I got soaked yesterday afternoon. When I entered the multiplex at around 2.30 the weather was fine and bright. When the film ended at 5.15 the rain was coming down in stair rods. After waiting 10 minutes under the canopy I decided to make a break for it. The walk between home and cinema is one of about 15 minutes and there is precious little shelter. Of course I had no umbrella. If I had brought it the probability is that I would have left it in the cinema. 12 hours later my jacket is still wet. On the plus side the film was good. Mark Kermode is reviewing it on TV as I type. He is unimpressed and has a point, for David Beckham, who has a small part in it, is no actor. Today I am looking forward to my sirloin steak and the trimmings. Later on I may be tempted by ITV's showing of "The man with the golden gun" and may even get some m*d*ll*ng done. I am enthused by a new project and really ought to do something with it before the feeling vanishes. The weather man is threatening a glorious day so I ought to spend some of it in the jungle. Andyram, do please forgive me if this is a silly question but have you tried levelling with the head? He may just be so obtuse that he does not realise how his actions are affecting his victims. You know better than I do if it is worth the bother. Warm thoughts to all in distress Chris

Good morning one and all Once again the road surface outside the house is a bit more than damp and I deduce that the strawberries have been irrigated naturally without my needing to intervene. I ought to inspect them soon, though, as the prospect of them becoming engulfed by nettles, dock leaves and dandelions is ever present. Other jobs pending include tackling the tottering pile of ironing and preparing a batch of chicken in proprietary sauce that was on special offer. Tomorrow a lump of sirloin steak awaits my pleasure. I sense that the local supermarkets are getting competitive. This may have something to do with the opening of a new Lidl next to Morrisons and the resultant traffic may fubar* bus route 2 which also serves the park and ride. In the past couple of days I have had a brochure for Lidl, a mailshot from Morrisons, coupons from Sainsburys and an uncommonly generous helping of clubcard vouchers from Tesco. My loyalty is not totally unshakeable. Sainsburys are offering 6p off a litre of petrol which is not the cheapest in town provided I double my spending on food. Tesco have shaken my loyalty lately by having the temerity to move the mushrooms to where the meal deals were and putting the carrots in their place. Their petrol is not the cheapest in town either. That honour currently belongs to Morrisons but is probably beatable in Stevenage where I go twice a month. Decisions, decisions. My bath awaits. Warm thoughts to all in distress. Chris Edit: * = fouled up beyond all redemption

They were clearly better maintained than the Class 127s which stabled at Bedford, which were kept running for fear of not being able to get them started up again. Chris

In the carriage working programme for London in summer 1961 they were known as 'single power units' and if they were really good they worked with a 'drive end trailer'. The Paddington station working book used the term 'single power car'. This conforms with Chrisf's first law of government, which states that things are not the same if they do not have to be. Chris

At least some of the London area's 122s went to the West Country, as can be seen by the photo of one at Brixham. That particular car appears not to have a destination blind but, oddly, I have never seen a photograph of one displaying 'Brixham'. Maybe closure proposals were more advanced than was realised at the time? Chris

Looking again at the Paddington photograph, it is clear that the chocolate and cream slip is attached to a Thompson coach. What is not clear is the direction in which the picture is looking. Is it towards the country end or the concourse? If the former, the Thompson coach is part of the main train and not part of the slip portion as I have suggested at #2. If it was taken on the last day, the inscription "August 1960" on the back is not right. As for the Railway Roundabout footage, do we know that it was actually taken on the last day? I ask this because some RR features were necessarily shot on different days - the piece on the Bristolian comes to mind, featuring several different locos. As for the Colour-Rail slide, which of us has not found howlers in the catalogue? Ron White did a tremendous job in identifying subjects and locations despite less than perfect records left by the photographers but even he did not always get it right and made good use of talks at railway societies to garner corrective information. Who would be an historian ... Chris

Good morning one and all Yesterday was a nice jolly day out at Barrow Hill beer festival, with luxury transport [OK, an HST] in both directions. Half a dozen halves, an oatcake with bacon, some chicken curry and a pancake - what's not to like? Just do not tell Sister Diabetes. After today's fodder run I need to write a report of Wednesday's Area Group meeting, two lots of ironing and a safari to the garden if the rain holds off for long enough. The new film of King Arthur with Charlie Hunnam in the title role is at the multiplex and I need to check the times of the 2D screenings. I need to stop now as it is all coming out in Crabtree. Can't be the beer, surely? Warm thoughts to all in distress Chris

I remember their cousins, the 122s, working between Ealing Broadway and Greenford when new in 1958. I also recall a 121 coming into Paddington soon after the Greenford service had been extended beyond Ealing. The way it rocked and rolled over the pointwork may have made those on board, if there were any, fear that the car would overturn. Oh, and the droplights rattled. Boy did they rattle. Chris

What I posted at #2 above came from the Railway Observer for October 1960. The photo in #1 showing the three coach slip portion at Paddington may well support it. Chris

Let us not forget Drayton Green, Castle Bar Park and South Greenford. All were halts in my young days. Apologies for not being able to illustrate them. Chris

Good morning one and all Area Group last night was hit by low numbers but even with only five round the table it was worthwhile with a wide ranging discussion. This morning I found out what happened to member number six. His train was becalmed out in the sticks by a track circuit failure or something equally immobilising. The vagaries of the M1 combined with all-day rain accounted for a couple more bods. Today I visit Barrow Hill beer festival. Hertfordshire Rail Tours are running an HST into the site, which is a far better use of an HST than have it sitting at Cricklewood between the peaks. Overnight I have been told off on Facebook for getting the name of ExpoEM Spring wrong. It is a fair rebuke but it comes from a Society whose webshite is not up to the job of advertising the activities of its area groups. Never mind, it has a Twitter feed now so it must be OK. Well done Rick for discovering the remains of Acton Main Line. It used to be the scene of most of my early spotting and had a barn of a building on the bridge carrying Horn Lane over the railway. I lived in Horn Lane, apparently named thus because antlers were discovered when the tram tracks were laid circa 1901. The 666 trolleybus and later the 266 Routemaster took me to school in Hammersmith. Golly, all this nostalgia will have me crying into my beer. Fingers crossed for Andyram and warm thoughts to all in distress Chris

You're quite right. Tell you what: Is that better? Chris

A few more. The first is from a photo charter at Carlton Colville in 2012: ... and one at Amberley. Oh bother, it is horizontal and the 2010 bus rally at North Weald Chris

There are several operators of photo charters. As you mention Didcot, try TimeLine Events [timelineevents.org] who run night shoots there from time to time. I understand that their two events in November are already full. Chris

Good morning one and all. Rising was a bit anti-gravity this morning but I got there in the end. AndyID's comment about the polling station struck a chord. On the one and only occasion that I performed the job of poll clerk I was sent to the remote outpost of Cockayne Hatley on the Beds/Cambs border. We had the radio on, perhaps not entirely in conformity with the rules. At 8 am the report of queues forming outside polling stations was greeted with hollow laughter as we had yet to see our first voter. A I recall there were 57 on the electoral roll. They did not all vote. Many happy returns to Rick and thank you for remembering the 607 trolleybus. I lived in Acton until the age of 14, by which time as he says the trolleys had been swept away by the all conquering Routemaster. At the junction of High Street and Market Place was a complex piece of overhead where the 660 and 666 bound for Craven Park and beyond crossed the bows of eastbound trolleys and a pull-and-hold turnout operated by the conductor enabled short-turning trolleys to turn left. It was a bit prone to dewirements and on one occasion the trolley poles of an eastbound bus sprung up, hit the span wires and dewired a right turning 666. You might think that the incident was caused by mischievous schoolboys. I could not possibly comment. Tonight we have the Area Group meeting in Bedford. A few of the regulars will not be there but I hope that this will be balanced by some who are loath to trek southwards to the regular meeting place. I must stop worrying about it but time will tell whether I have good cause to do so. Something on Facebook made me chuckle. Those who are good at anagrams have been out in force. Apparently if you rearrange 'Theresa May' you get 'hate my arse'. This is worthy of one Stanley Accrington who took 'Isambard Kingdom Brunel' and got 'man making rubber dildos'. Warm thoughts to all in distress. Chris

I do hope the organisers of the Barry event have learned from the last time I was there. They arranged the line-up of buses so that all the backs were in full sun. This was not popular with photographers - well, not this one. Chris

I could not swear as to the date when the 2-digit panels were plated over but all the 122s were built with them. I wonder if Andy is thinking of the first batch of 116s, which had four marker lights instead of 2-digit panels? Chris

I have looked out a few more of my modest efforts. The first is from the last time I went to the North Weald rally, in June 2013: Even longer ago was my last visit to the Sandtoft Gathering. This from July 2009: And this: Finally for now, we find this in Minehead in September 2007: Chris

I'll say this for that bubble - the destination blinds are comprehensive! Chris

I rather think that the doors in the partitions were there from new. The summer 1959 Ian Allan abc of BR diesels gives the seating capacity as 65, which equates to 10 seats per seating bay plus the 5 behind the driver. Without the doors in the partitions it would have been 68. Chris

Good morning one and all Yesterday: Laundry, emergency fodder run, unpacked shopping from ExpoEM, cogitated projects, must have forgotten something. Today: Scheduled fodder run, bit of e-paperwork, threat of m*d*ll*ng. That'll be the day. Now: turn off Crabtree filter and correct typos before hitting Post. Warm thoughts to all in distress and fingers crossed for Andyram. Chris

Here are a couple I took somewhere in Oxfordshire on a photo charter in June 2008. Chris

Not so. To judge by the standard Central Line tube stock, not replaced before 1960, and the pre-1956 crest on the Castle's tender, the photo dates from the late 1950s. As I tried to explain in #26 above, barrage balloons were still flown over Wormwood Scrubs in the 1950s. Now I don't want to be a killjoy but at the very least the photographer deserves credit for taking the picture. Chris

They certainly are! Thank you for posting them. I think that those taken at Bicester North were not on the last day but some time previously, perhaps in August 1960. The last run was on 9th September 1960. The last slip coach was W7374W and on that fateful occasion two ordinary coaches were attached to it - ex-LNER corridor second E1390E and BR Mk 1 corridor composite W15121. These are clearly visible in the Paddington shot. As the photos of Ted Dean at Bicester show, the slip portion came to rest on the down centre road at Bicester North. Waiting for it at the down platform would be the 4.34 pm Paddington - Banbury, normally comprising a Castle and six coaches. The Castle would be uncoupled, draw forward and set back to be coupled to the slip. It would then draw forward and set back on to its train. Chris