Phil Bullock

Moved this from the Dapol 22 thread to avoid going OT there. Brian Kirby said: Posted Yesterday, 22:20 Well, you'll have to have a Department of Transport inquiry now Phil, although you could pretend it's only an empty stock working, with the guard sitting in the rear loco cab, but that's only o.k. after about 1968/69 i think? I could be wrong, but prior to that the loco was for footplatemen only and guards weren't allowed anywhere near, i believe there was a bit of a hoo-ha at the time about this? Another question: The Hymek was going to "Stratford", i initially took this as Stratford-Upon-Avon, but then realized it was travelling south, so is it actually going to Stratford, East London? As a kid, i remember seeing Hymeks on the Tottenham & Hampstead line (Gospel Oak to Barking) which were almost certainly running to and from Stratford (Temple Mills), so i probably saw your own train in a weird trans-dimensional way. BK Indeed - we are in the proverbial, one other brake vigilante had spotted the omission! Should be in the middle of the rake next to the Gresley Buffet. Was the St Phillips Marsh excursion rake - we were on it from Bristol to Brum behind D1013, then an 86 to Carnforth (a wooden bodied coach up the WCML behind a sparkie? Yup! Stock was 90mph plated I think and the Gresley rode more smoothly than the MK1s!). Then Hardwicke and 61306 plus 4472 to Ravenglass for a trip up the Ratty. What a cracking day out! 1013 was utilised in the layover to take an Adex from Brum to Weston Slushy Mud and back and was waiting for us on our return so was through Abbotswood 4 times that day. Who says intensive motive power utilisation is a modern thing? As to 6E15 - you are not the only one to suffer from the Stratford on Avon/East London conundrum - more of which in a mo. In the 68/69 wtt 6E15 was booked off Worcester at 21.10 and ran via Evesham and Oxford but by 70/71 the route was via Gloucester and Swindon - all part of the cunning plan to shift traffic off the Cotswold line prior to singling and closure at night I would guess. This made it the only train in the WTT for the Birmingham - Gloucester line going south with an E headcode - all other E bound trains were heading north via Brum! The Book of the Warships lists the turn as part of a cyclical diagram over 3 days for 3 Class 43 locos so they may have been more common place - not sure if the loco was changed at Acton as outside my sphere of ops but am pretty sure have also seen shots of 43s heading to the Stratford area. We'll model that when the Bacchy version appears and send it via Evesham when phase 2 of the layout gets done. So back to the Stratford confusion. In my early spotting days at Worcester before we understood how things worked we could sneak in to the shed office lobby and look at the roster board without too much risk of trouble. One day a working appeared - a train of rails from Stratford which we read as 8237. Cue much excitement - to be followed by much disappointment when 8Z37 came from Stratford on Avon behind a local Hymek. Oh well - in the parallel universe it means we can run a Class 15! A class 16 DID appear however - along with several class 17s - en route for scrap at Birds Long Marston Kind regards Phil

Pretend??? Nooooo!!! Thanks for interest Brian. Have moved response to my Abbotswood Junction layout thread to avoid going OTT here Kind regards Phil

Spot on Chaz! How can we model the real world if we don't appreciate it? Trout fishing takes me out in to some wonderful wild countryside, and some of that is reflected in Abbotswood. Cheers Phil

Yup that's a form 1 all round! No brake = no tail lamp either! 6320 off Gloucester heading for Bromsgrove to contribute to the late 60s re-engineering Phil

Thanks Chaz - only goes to show I should stick to railways! Phil

Worcester Cathedral Choir, Cheltenham Symphony Orchestra, The English Rock Ensemble and Rick Wakeman at Cheltenham Racecourse last night. Excerpts from JTTCOTE, 6WHE and TMALOKAATKOTRT Brilliant - but why such long album titles? Allegedly the last time some of these will be performed live with orchestra and choir. Phil

9.09 onwards All sounds on here are Howes - except the sparrows! Phil

Afraid that's the real world though A few years ago there was a rare wader strutting its stuff in front of all the twitchers at an East Midlands reservoir - a red legged phalarope at Swithland I think - when there was a large swirl and no more phalarope. Esox Lucius thinks he is king of the water am afraid. Phil

Dippers a-plenty on the Welsh border streams too Proper little characters but fiery tempers - in a territorial aerial dispute one is likely to overfly the rival and force it to fly directly in to the water - only to re-emerge a few moments later Phil

Fished the Usk at Chainbridge between Abergavenny and Usk last week. Mayfly hatch and spinner fall the like of which I have not seen since the 70s. However Martins and other insectivores conspicuous by their absence - but when dusk fell the bat population was stupendous, Daubetons and Pipistrelles conspicuous but must have been others too. Phil

Excellent - thanks for the gen Down about 2pn Sunday Phil

Hi folks what are timings on Sunday for L&B show please> Cheers Phil

Jimbos been at it again! Heres D1046 as she might have been in the summer of 1970. She's been up to New Street on 1M22 Plymouth - Manchester, now ready to work home with 1V87 Edinburgh - Paignton. Drivers card holders added detail, headcodes from Precision Labels behind home made glazing, OHLE flashes changed and data panels added Phil

Thanks Brian There are two other shots of D6331 in GSYP at Gloucester in Bradford Barton tomes recorded as 1969 and clearly in traffic in both. Theres also an undated holy grail picture in Modeller's Guide to Modern BR Motive Power of her at Worcester in GFYE again in traffic - and I saw her working through Abbotswood on 20th June 1970 on a south bound engineers working - D845, D1002 and D7025/46 also recorded that day amongst the sulzer hordes. Rather blows the stored record out of the water! AFAIK D6320 D6331 were the 85B local trip locos around this time Kind regards Phil

Hi Brian Yep got that one - great shot! Was just after D6331 was transferred down west - think they must have finished with them at Bristol and therefore Gloucester in April 71. Allegedly D6331 caught fire whilst making the move west and I think was then dumped at Exeter for a while. Is there a picture of her actually working in the west in GFYE? Kind regards Phil

Nice bit of photshopping for the heat haze - and excellent puddles! http://www.flickr.com/photos/22240112@N02/8705211663/in/pool-2220838@N22 Phil

Hi Brian D6331 was one of the 2 GFYE - think it spent spent more time allocated to 82A Bristol in that livery, usually working in the Gloucester area but also came up to Worcester occasionally and only ended up in Devon for the last few months of its career in that livery. Mr TV will know the exact dates am sure. Post 1285 above has our homage to her at a geographically correct location Kind regards Phil

Nope - he has that noisy hoover!!! Phil

Forgot about the cuckoos! Also in evidence at Syfydrin - calls ringing around the hills, SWMBO was well impressed. Phil

Its a nice day for a bit more gardening..... The big disadvantage with modelling a prototype is that there are always those who know it well - and we have been pilloried by the Worcestershire mafia for not having the right oak trees in the right place. So here's the first new one - badgers oak, replaced the one behind the signal box so is at the front of the layout. Photo not on layout but just needs badgers and nesting crows adding If the weather stays decent the layout will be up in the garden tomorrow Phil

Over at Aberystwyth last week Red kites conspicuous as usual - wheatears conspicuous too (in a rather different way) up in the hills above Penrhyncoch around Llyn Syfydrin. Rather more active than the trout due to cold weather Phil

Cracking job Adrian! Isnt it always the way though - the camera homes in on the one thing you wish it hadnt???? Phil

A possibility has emerged - watch out for further updates Phil

Got it! Many thanks Justin

Jon A fascinating library of detailed phots on the subject many thanks for sharing That looks like a single crank taking the motion of the brake shaft to either end of the chassis via a single shaft - but is still unclear to me how that translates in to the push/pull action required on each axle's brake shoes? Kind regards Phil