eastwestdivide

Surprised that service wasn't electric by then?

Not necessarily a boat train - 74 was the headcode for the hourly Dover M/WD via Canterbury and Chatham, combining at Faversham with a Ramsgate portion. MLVs did turn up on a few of those workings.

Gannin alang the Scotswood Road To see the Blaydon Races ?

... and join the ranks of 'enthusiast drivers' ? As on yesterday's railtour up the Deepcar branch (former Woodhead route), where the train paused in Sheffield Victoria, two orange people got out of the cab, snapped a couple of pics, jumped back on board and away:

Nice of them to provide a 31 in a nearly-matching livery in the second to last pic!

It's a down train on the up line because they often ran terminating services into Gravesend's down platform, and left the up platform for through trains in either direction. Ahead of the train, there are points to switch it back to the down line.

I've never seen a better visual definition of the word "glee" than when turning the Goole bridge!

Must be reasonably easy to see the lie of the points ahead though, at least in daylight? Night could be a different matter.

Yep, and the second digit was the end points, evens and odds Charing Cross and Cannon St respectively: -0 and -1 CX/CSt and Dartford, -2 and -3 CX/CSt and Gillingham...Ramsgate, -4 and -5 CX/CSt and either Gravesend or Maidstone W. The 4- and 5- were via Sidcup not Lewisham and Sidcup via Lewisham respectively See also the reference at https://sremg.org.uk/headcodes/eheadcodes/eheadcodes03.html

Steam-hauled double decker coaches! Who’d have thought it?

I've just posted three photos of 50s at Leicester in response to a question over on another thread:

Following up on the 50 working for parcels at Leicester, here are three more pics from 1983ish. As it was evening and poor light, the quality wasn't perfect, but not too bad for the conditions. 50022 at the head of the parcels train pointing south, very late evening (I think after we'd got back from a long trip somewhere): 50012 coming round the goods lines from the Birmingham direction and reversing by Leicester North signalbox to access the depot (maybe after 7pm?): And the same loco stabled on the depot with the Peterborough-Leic-Derby(?) TPO in the background. That would have been 8-9pm from memory:

Comparison shot from July 2022, with L-R container flats coming out of Tinsley yard, single line to Woodburn Junction, tram lines towards Sheffield. You can still just about see the pipe bridge over the canal on the far left:

Found one of my photos surviving on a previous thread, Class 50 Photos (scroll down a bit) https://www.rmweb.co.uk/topic/84437-class-50-photos/page/15/ where I said ”For a while (1983), there was a working for a 50 to come light engine from Saltley to Leicester in the evening, and take a parcels back in the Birmingham direction:”

I have photos! I thought it worked in light engine from the Birmingham direction, stabled on the depot and then worked some parcels or mail out very late (possibly back towards B’ham). Can’t check right now, but there might be an old thread mentioning this working.

PDF timetables available from here: http://kursbuch.bahn.de/hafas/kbview.exe you search (e.g. for a place) and it lists the route timetables available seems to cover only regional and S-Bahn routes, not IC/ICE, which probably suits your €49 ticket anyway. But the regional route timetables do include IC/ICE services. Slightly confusing

Nice to see a 71 on the move - I was just too late to the spotting party for those, seeing about half the class stored in various locations around Kent. Minor correction in C3720/1 Stone Crossing Halt. The same view today would have the Dartford bridge in the background in one direction and far fewer cement works chimneys in the other (or possibly none at all - I think they've all been demolished) . Plus, it's no longer a halt. Still loads of pylons though!

One of Northern's 3-car 150s, 150004, a common sight on Sheffield-Huddersfield services since the December 2022 timetable change, here at Denby Dale. They also turn up a fair bit on the Sheffield-Moorthorpe-Leeds stoppers. The impressive Denby Dale viaduct is just beyond the far end of the platform, Northern have six 3-cars, of which -001 and -002 were built as 3-car, while -003 to -006 each have one car from a split-up 150/2 (with gangways each end of the coach) inserted into the middle of a 2-car 150/1 (which don't have gangways at the driving ends). You can see the roof of the centre car is either painted or weathered (or both) differently. Former goods shed on the left by the look of it.

The wagon behind the loco is one of the 7 Sheerness Steel bogie flats (PR3001-3007) converted to box scrap wagons. Not long converted either, judging by the state of the paintwork!

Only time I ever properly used Folkestone Harbour was coming back from France about 1990-odd, and that was just the harbour, not the rail side, as we had to get across to Central for a domestic train to elsewhere in Kent rather than the boat train to London. The sickness only happened later due to dodgy sausage and chips on the boat (I fancied something less French after a couple of weeks there!). We'd gone out via the hover from Dover, on which my partner felt queasy, but I was fine. Oh, and also visited briefly on a railtour in 1984, "Southern Mariner" 33+TC all the way round the coast from Portsmouth-Dover-Ramsgate-N Kent. (see https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/80s/840519de.htm)

It’s been on that channel the last few Sunday mornings. Still enjoyable

Just discovered Switzerland is Life, a youtube channel with plenty of transport, most vids 10-20 mins long. https://www.youtube.com/@SwitzerlandisLife/videos Some interesting train formations on the Arosa line in this one for example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6_YVVQzUJc Don't waste too much time!

Times are showing on realtimetrains for Wareham already, with operator code SP. Here's a sample day, 22 April 2023: https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-nr:WRM/2023-04-22/0600-2000?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=SP Also, the regular Swanage/Norden trains are in RTT too (here the same day at Swanage): https://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/search/detailed/gb-pt:SGE/2023-04-22/0600-2000?stp=WVS&show=all&order=wtt&toc=SP

Photos from yesterday: Station area track ripped up, archaeology notice The website link in the archaeology photo leads to 'page not found', but google has it cached at https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:osNIleLm3pUJ:https://www.elsecar-heritage.com/forging-ahead&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk quoted here: Loco Elizabeth by level crossing with brake van behind derelict wagon chassis Detail of wagon plate LNER standard 12 tons 1927 Darlington 95091 GW brake van 68499 next to loco

Dropped in at Elsecar today (12 March ‘23). Track mostly lifted in the station area, with notices explaining it’s for archaeological explorations. This newspaper article: https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/heritage-and-retro/heritage/elsecar-heritage-railway-track-to-be-lifted-at-scheduled-monument-site-in-yorkshire-but-sustainable-future-likely-for-attraction-3957274 explains that the station is now a scheduled ancient monument, hence the investigations. Also hints at future plans for the site. The only rail vehicles visible today were the Sentinel loco ‘Elizabeth’, a GW brake van and a wrecked wagon chassis. Photos later with a bit of luck.