APOLLO

Then there's Aussie "Fly" shunting !!!

Wonder if these lads are still with us - brave or daft (or both) I don't know - but they certainly got the job done sharp.

Brit15

I agree with the point stated that some of these pipe dreams would be unweildly and difficult to build / operate single handedly, especialy my Chicago twin station idea - probably best to just do one - Dearborn for me. As we get on in years these big pipe dreams become simply just that !!

Whatever, it would be O gauge for me. 

Brit15

Chicago Dearborn (Santa Fe, Grand Trunk Western, Wabash, Erie and a couple of other railroads) station together with the adjacent La Salle St Station (New York Central & Rock Island). Early 1950's, lots of colourfull diesels, long distance named trains (ATSF Super Chief, NYC 20th Century Limited etc). All in O gauge in an aircraft hangar !!!!

Two views of Dearborn

Rock island local departing La Salle St

Brit15

Don’t suppose you know the number of whatever those buffers are off ?

 

:-)

Probably that Sulzer I had an eye on !!!!!

Brit15

The FORD is my motor
I shall not want, another. 
It maketh me to lie down in strange places.
It anointeth my head with oil.
It carries me beside the still waters. 
It empties my wallet continuously.
It leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yeah, though I drive through the valley of the shadow of death, (M62 Eastbound, Manchester to Leeds) I will fear no evil; for You are with me; Your piston rods and Your gear change staff, they worry me. 
You prepare a head gasket failure before me in the presence of my enemies.
Thy radiator boileth over. 
Surely rust and depreciation shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in this wreck of a FORD forever

Amen

Brit15

TAROM airline Romania

Try Another Route hOMe !!

Friend flying with them once did not want his meal, the 20 odd stone stewardess said "EAT IT - there's thousands of starving people down there" !!!!

Brit15

The last time I visited Rails was a few months before I retired, a cold January day. I had a job to plan in Glossop, so I thought I'll nip over the Pennines to Sheffield. I found the shop, (which was also excellent back then) and bought what I wanted. Around 4pm I was westbound on Woodhead and it started to snow - horizontally & heavilly straight at me !! I must admit to being a little scared - but I got over and was glad to be off the moors and onto the M67 Motorway at Mottram. Later that night the Woodhead road was closed due to snow.

Wild place is Woodhead even on the best of days. The name still gives me shivers - I wish the electrics still ran though !!

Brit15

How much is that Sulzer in the window?
The one with the wiggly wheel
How much is that Sulzer in the window?
I do hope that Sulzer's for sale

I must take a trip across to Sheffield
Not leaving my poor wallet at home
If I buy that Sulzer, I won't be lonesome
And the loco will have a good home

I read in the papers there are models
With headlights that shine in the dark
I really need a Sulzer to haul wagons
And runs without a flash or a spark

I don't want a Brush 4 or a Deltic
I don't want DCC that grunts
I don't want a rake of shiny Pullmans
I just want a Sulzer that shunts

How much is that Sulzer in the window?
The one with the wiggly wheel
How much is that Sulzer in the window?
I do hope that Sulzer's for sale (and that it's not a dog !!!!)

Brit15

It's quite clear to me.

The strategic aim is to standardise the infrastructures to drive down operating costs through supply based consolidation and leveraging group spend as well as exploiting best-in-class technologies and practices to provide robust, scaleable and agile services with excellent customer experience.

Marketing professional with experience of implementing integrated marketing communications to deliver a range of targeted campaigns. Brand development, delivery of direct marketing campaigns using online and offline channels, website content management, event management and developing relationships with external marketing and design agencies

Simple really. What bit of the above do you not understand ?

Brit15

Considering the virtually countless £Billions our governments (of both colours) fritter away every year on multifarious matters, the purchase and restoration of Flying Scotsman was worth every single penny.

Brit15

Yuppies in Lower Ince (Springs branch) ? - That's a new one - perhaps they can't afford London anymore !!!!

Camera is an inexpensive Fuji S9200. I don't take very many train pix these days - mainly due to the rampant vegetation around Wigan (and seemingly everywhere)

I'm not expecting much for £42million - a few electrified sidings and perhaps a maintenance shed - we will see.

I went to Liverpool on Monday to see the Terra Cotta Army in the Liverpool World Museum - there's only about half a dozen of them but the exhibit is very interesting. You need to pre-book to go. Lime Street station is still a bit of a mess, platforms still under construction - They have spent a bomb there with not a lot to show for it in my opinion - tracks altered at throat and a couple of other platforms lengthened etc. A million quid doesn't buy a lot railway wise these days.

Brit15

If that's right that is just another example if when you bring an unqualified outsider into the railway and they can't be bothered to learn our years old terminology but make up their own and expect railwaymen to learn their terminology.

As I have said many times on here its things like this which gives people like me no incentive to have any respect for those running the job these days!

In the Gas industry we used to say about such managers "They don't know the difference between gas and paraffin" !!!!!

Sad world today - run by accountants and creeps.

Brit15

Lots of trees & vegetation cleared at Springs Branch for the new £42million depot - BUT not enough !!

Photos taken today here

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/133568-wigan-springs-branch-re-born/page-2&do=findComment&comment=3159859

Brit15

Being a nice sunny day I had a run out to my old Springs Branch trainspotting haunts today.

Views from Taylors Lane bridge, just to the south of Springs Branch. A lot of tree / vegetation removal has recently been carried out, but not enough in some places !! Compare these with my (and others) photos from years ago. Lots of Springs Branch steam scenes on my Flikr site below.

Shed outlet / headshunt looking north. This was once the 4 track main line to Tyldesley & Manchester

Views from Taylors Lane bridge looking north.

The old Brewery Sidings have been cleared and old tracks removed. this is just to the north of the shed and was the start of the New Springs branch to Ince, Kirkless & New Springs. View from the road bridge. I presume the new sidings / depot will be located here - has anyone seen the plans ?

The wall (as we called it) - another of my favourite spots. Not anymore though - those dammed trees !!

A  few trains whizzed past, Pendolinos, Voyagers, 319's All the same to me these  days.

I'll visit again in a few months to see what's going on & post some more pix.

Brit15

Well folks it could have been much worse - a CLOSING DOWN CLEARANCE sale !!

A colliery Peckett and a Railroad 0-4-2 for me - 2 locos I rather like. I missed out on the earlier Peckets and ain't paying daft prices on Ebay.

Well done & thanks Hornby.

Brit15

Somebody (Trump !!!!) aught to tell the currently erupting volcano in Hawaii to "decarbonise" and stop spewing CO2 etc etc into the atmosphere !! (also stop livestock around the world farting and belching !!). Mother nature has a lot to say in this.

Personally I'm getting a little tired of this demonisation of carbon and fossil fuels, banning of diesel etc. Not to say the billions (trillions ?) of tons of CO2 etc emitted since the beginning of the industrial revolution is not having an effect - it is - but we can't reverse it, and with population still expanding rapidly there's next to nothing we can do about that either. Everybody now demands the "western" lifestyle.

I'm not a climate change / global warming denier (though I question it) - just that we are now past the tipping point. We need better answers to our forthcoming problems, from political, engineering and scientific sources than hyperloops, banning diesel etc.

I have a sneaky feeling the problem simply now is far too big to handle on a worldwide basis - we are just playing with it at the edges, certainly here in the UK (small emitter). Will the main emitters USA, China India etc fully decarbonise (by 2040 etc). NO.

Brit15

Nice photos of the Branch Bob. That 323 says special on the front destination board. 

I don't know either whats happening on the A573, interesting though. I'll take a look next week.

Brit15

What happens when the driver swerves to avoid an Elk ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose_test

Brit15

Just another couple of points

Hyperloop promises far higher speeds than can be achievable with conventional high speed rail and should be energy efficient. I see it as a very real threat to air on some routes and a viable alternative to high speed rail. I think the technical challenges are manageable.

I will not argue with the above. It's just a suspended / ground level / underground large diameter steel pipe. I've planned & supervised the laying of miles of the stuff (gas pipes). The hyperloop vacuum bit is easy also (approx 14PSI in old units) - some gas mains run at several hundred PSI. The propulsion / suspension system, linear motors / magnetic levitation etc was invented donkey's years ago - so I'm sure it will work.

My doubts are about its acceptance / affordability / location of boarding points of this form of travel by the general public, cost (astronomical for what it is), etc. I also question again why do we (in the UK) need to travel so fast ? 250 mph rail will be acceptable to most for future high speed rail, city to city (probably not stopping at Wigan !!).

If, as jib states, the thing is built and threatens air & fast rail, (which I very much doubt) these industries will take a gigantic hit, especially on future investment etc.

I repeat it is a vanity project for the elite, by the elite.

Brit15

Currently our roads are full of pot holes with no money to fix them, our railways are creaking at the seams (especially in the SE), we have no money now to electrify key routes, and the ones we are doing are not being done very well (GW main line etc). HS2 has cost  an arm and a leg and not a yard has been built yet (but we DO need that, and the northern bits also). Our new trains seem to be an expensive joke (reading the 800 thread). I could go on -------

650mph in a tube ? Who will travel on this - the rich & famous - NOT you and me that's for sure. Cost per ticket ?

York to London in 30 mins - WHY ? - with our communication technology evolving there is less need for business travel and folks sure won't commute via the hyperloop tube.

Our current UK inter-city network (in my eyes) is excellent. Wigan (my home town) has a hourly service to London, fastest train in just over 2 hours. Most Glasgow - London trains call at Preston, Wigan & Warrington. Will this hyperloop thing stop, drop off & pick up passengers at such towns en route ?

It's a mega vanity project in my eyes, certainly not a leap in technology, (think Brunel's atmospheric railway !!) and for the average guy, you, me and the poor commuter a thorough waste of time effort and money.

Back to the drawing board Elon - invent an automatic pot hole filling machine !!!!!

Brit15

Found this on the web, may be of use. Side on view of the M&GN bridge.

https://transportsofdelight.smugmug.com/RAILWAYS/MIDLAND-GREAT-NORTHERN-JOINT-RAILWAY/MGNJR-MISCELLANY/i-DPnPg3v

Brit15

The Indians are planning one from Delhi to Calcutta.

Brit15

That sounds an interesting combination,

Dyson and Branson, the mind boggles at

what they might come up with together.

James sucks at one end,, Richard blows at the other - result pod moves !!!!!!!

Brit15

 

 

 I am sick to the back teeth of business rates being used as a stick to beat local authorities with.

Let's try potholes then !!!!

brir15

The Santa Fe railroad "Warbonnet" red & silver paint scheme is a hard one to beat. 

It also looks good on modern locomotives. A truly "classic" paint scheme.

Brit15