Rivercider

175 miles from London (or Derby)? cheers

There were markings on the wall at the back of the Avon Waste terminal at Bath Westmorland showing wagon lengths of the container flats to help indicate to the traincrew the how far to reverse into the terminal, cheers

It is certainly a well mixed up rake though I dont think many look like the ARC hoppers I remember from the Mendip and Tytherington flows, as I dont remember them having tall 'slab' sides. cheers

You could add the Flickr photo to the group 'Banger blue 31101-327' and add a comment requesting loco identification. I was amazed when I posted a couple of photos with incomplete or incorrect details of photos from the early 1980s, within a week I had a confirmation of the loco in one photo, and details of the train it worked that day, cheers

No, sorry. There were two lists of tags. Main Trunk Tags which can often be worked out as the first two numbers equated to the first two numbers of the location code, (and I can remember or guess many of them) and local tags, which started with a number 9. The Trunk Tags applied nationally so that any area that had a main yard with direct services to another main yard could have traffic tagged and routed via that yard. So any yard across the country with a service to Bescot would have traffic routed via Bescot (65700) and would be tagged 650 for vacuum services, but air braked trafic would be tagged 652 in the Speedliink era. Local tags starting with a number 9 were applied once traffic had arrived at the main yard near the destination and instructed the yard shunters which local trip the wagons went on, these are not possible to work out unless you have the list, which was different for each TRA, and I suspect shunters often recognised the five number destination code anyway. cheers

Yes quite likely, but the panel would have held the train in the West Loop (adjacent to the works) until it was confirmed the relief traincrew were ready and waiting. so the call at the platform only needed to be brief, and it would not be kept standing in the way of a passenger service cheers

Good shout, other photos on Flickr of 31163 taken around that time show it with cleanish yellow ends but some fading of the blue bodysides. The WTT for May 1980 to May 1981 shows a possible train, if it was still running a month later. 3A40 14.55 Empty NPCCS Cardiff Canton to Old Oak Common due Swindon 16C31 - 16C*45 with a heavy timing load of D525 and the bag in the cab doorway suggests a crew change is taking place, cheers

From the list of likely WR candidates I think we can also rule out a couple 31210 (it was filthy for most of 1981, before and after that date) 31258 (which was also filthy and was carrying ploughs four days earlier), and 31259 (which had an off centre electrification flash at that time) cheers

It is all coming along nicely, by the way what biscuits did you have at coffee time this morning? cheers

I did notice work going on when I passed by some time ago on one of my rare visits that way, but not being local I did not realise the significance cheers

Very nice, it reminds me a little of Penzance in the 1970s cheers

Not Blue/Grey or class 101 but here is an example from 1978 https://www.flickr.com/photos/picture_gallery/9005188889/in/photolist-eHKWVp-gkv4ji-dF7zeS-9wAmWK-gQrjHt-aY7i7i-9wAnap-aY7iit-8L8k8H-aUHyQc-aY7ioi-8L6qBS-8LjzSz-8L4rpi-ubvRpj-oiBkgp-9EPSX9-9ENyCy-a4zBs3-9Jm92m-9Jm9cC-9Jm8Em-a4zHwh-9JHv2u-fGF8t3-a4tnnt-tTRQt5-sfN7gg-sV2eW7-p4VNf9-oMt6t5-82VZJy-b9DTbT-p4GziH-b9DUnB-jztruW-p4GtCK-9JiqZc-wUjLF7-e7LLEk-bQByMa-wHmwKu-aawqFq-vYe9FC-oMtk8E-aLN7wv-ffffZZ-oMtjQf-p2VVAY-bLb5HM cheers

And possibly get lost? cheers

As Simon has explained the tag is a shunting instrution for the next move for the wagon. In the days of the vacuum braked network wagons might pass through several yards on their journey the tag told the shunter which yard it would go to next. The first two numbers equated to the first two numbers of the TOPS location code with the main yard in the area taking the third number 0. Thus a wagon routed next via Westbury Yard (82100) would be tagged 820 . If there was more than one yard in the area a letter would be used for the other yard (830 = Exeter Riverside, 83T = Taunton). When the Speedlink Network was introduced a new code was needed, the third number for air brake was generally 2 (so 820 would be Westbury vacuum braked, 822 would be Westbury Speedlink) As 40044 has already pointed out locations receiving block trains would have their own code, often the third letter would match the location name, hence Tytherington Quarry (81101) would be tagged 81T. I can not remember the Westbury codes though, but there would definitely be codes allocated to Merehead, Whatley, and probably Frome, Cranmore and Westbury Cement. A block train to a location that did not have its own code would have a third character Y manually added, so a ballast train for say Castle Cary (82301) would be tagged 82Y. Once a wagon had reached the local main yard the wagon would now gain a local three character code starting with a 9 eg 94K but in my experience the shunters would know that for example 82116 was Warminster MOD. cheers

I think the example given by Simon of the marshalling for the Dover to Warrington services possibly illustrates the point made by Martyn. Normally you might expect all traffic for the North West at Dover to receive a '352' tag and go to Warrington for them to sort out. In this instance maybe the train arrives at Warrington at a busy time, or the Liverpool traffic needs to make a quick connection (Fords at Halewood?) so the onus is changed to the forwarding yard at Dover to marshall two separate portions, tag 363 for Liverpool traffic,and tag 352 for Warrington traffic. cheers

Back in my Bristol TOPS days in the 1980s Avon Street bridge, and Whitby Road bridge at East Depot, were two that regularly got 'bashed'. Avon Street use to get hit by the skip lorries, there were ( and presumably still are) some deep scars in the brick work under the arch, cheers

I think that there are many reasons why driving standards are dropping, or perceived as dropping. Roads are increasingly busy, and many people are driving to a deadline so are impatient. Many people seem to want to park as close to their destination as possible regardless as to whether it causes an obstruction. I think that the mix of road users is also changing, some of which will have different priorities. There are now more than a million registered drivers over 80 years of age. There are more drivers for whom English is not their first language, who may not have learned to drive here. There are more left hand drive vehicles in use. There are more cycling commuters, and more recreational/racing cyclists (not quited the same thing in my view). Over recent years there are more longer/larger lorries, or lorries with trailers, and bendy buses on the road. And in my experience it is always the other guys fault! cheers

Is this the later shed, as seen with steam in 1962? https://www.flickr.com/photos/gricerman/16028098841/in/photolist-r7EMZH-uBM7Ed-skB35q-pomWQD-sqeDYj-wFa3Jz-pQnFXm-vhdmxj-pztmYC-tDYWVH-qqmcnK-pr3YEP-qhRgQN-ptLmAi-qk4WZj-qnKeC9-q6oHXP-qnKeE3-qk4X1b-oXpB2S-peCAak-oXpfTK-9MUSfP-9MUSra-x9FETc-qFmKXE-r1MqC3 cheers

A observation about mobile phone/texting not hands free. On my way home from work I call in to my mums first floor flat where we sit in the lounge with a good view of the main road outside, while having a cup of tea I notice the passing traffic and the likelyhood of who is phoning hands free. Out of every 10 instances I would say there are 2 - male lorry drivers 3 - male white van/delivery drivers 1 - male car driver and perhaps surprisingly 4 - female, mostly young, drivers cheers

Is this what you remember? I suspect it was not a loco shed but an on-track machine maintenance shed similar to the one at Westbury (known locally as the 'Elephant House') there appears to be a tamper in the shed., and to the left the silo for Aberthaw Cement. https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimthejoker/5727717043/in/photolist-rWknKE-qbrJKB-wjJQD2-7rbKSJ-nLm1jm-r1koHT-dki5cw-ocobAm-de9hcn-amSfjA-ahsL62-eGruPY-eGnQvE-9J93J8-9yoYad-aBijfn-fSSKS2-fAKvJ8-rskN6K-amDPUU-pkXUTX-ahsLop-imjnbk-amDP9E-9z8kM9-ddi9nj-ddi9po-ddMzZx-eEE6bL-qWkvAD-aBLcfg-6HLkpV-mmTpE8-6Jx97h-fVQjw-9ynNUU-peLnoZ-dSKP2g-9RkBkK-nQ3oy9 edit - There is a similar shed at Exeter St Davids dating frm this time cheers

The Exmouth Junction trip usually had a good selection of rolling stock, any type of freight vehicle that worked into Devon and Cornwall could turn up on it, the first photo shows that really well. It would make an interesting subject for a model. It also occasionally conveyed coaching stock to or from repair, and sometimes a siphon G loaded with stores. Here is a poorly exposed view of 08479 at Exeter Central waiting to drop down the bank on the way back to Riverside on 24th July 1980 cheers

Yes, the 47 looks to me like it is grinning cheers

Six Bells Junction records the 31 on that leg as 31259 https://www.flickr.com/photos/76769005@N00/15020998445/in/photolist-oTmxvP cheers

Here is a photo of another pair of mixed traction in Devon, I have already posted this on another thread some time ago 47026 and 46052 arrive at Exeter St Davids with 1E30 08.15 Plymouth - Leeds 4/3/81. My notes on the day say that both locos were under power, and recent conversations with old friends who were also enthusiasts have indicated that 1E30 was often used for running in turns for locos off repair at Laira so that would make sense, cheers

Interesting, I have never photographed a 40 west of Bristol, and in my time on BR from 1977 I only remember them west of Bristol on a very few occasions when they got to British Cellophane at Bridgwater, with the caustic soda tanks that sometimes came from Runcorn instead of Baglan Bay. cheers