Rugd1022

At such close range, that pic reminds of the 5.5 inch gauge 15xx I saw at the Warley NEC show many years ago, it looks good enough to climb into the cab and bung some kindling into the firebox! Far too clean mind you, it needs weathering to within an inch of its life... 😉

Compounding nerdiness is a very real condition, I wonder if a suitable ointment is available to treat it...? 😁 In the early '80s my dad kept tropical fish, I was forever being sent to the local pet shop for bits and bobs until it all got too expensive and he took up another hobby instead!

Wherever possible yes it's 75mph - south of Rugby, taking the gradients into consideration it's possible in spurts on the slow lines depending on where the stoppers are at any given point, on the fasts you can do it for longer, until a Pendo starts tickling your tail lamp. Northampton is a bind though because all traffic has to negotiate the permanent 20 under the bridge at the south end of the station. North of Rugby you can get a shift on to Nuneaton but might be held at Brinklow to allow a flyer to get past you on the three track section from there, but once through Nuneaton you've only really got the permanent 60 slacks at Atherstone and Stafford to hold you back. When the new freight terminal at Northampton Gateway (near the M1) opens next year traffic patterns will probably change slightly. I was on a ballast job there recently and it's huge!

We still have a few infrastructure trains which are limited to 45mph or 50mph, but with good planning they usually managed to exit possessions in the early hours and get to places like Bescot and Crewe without delaying other traffic too much. The problem with most of our 60mph freights running on the slow lines though is trying to keep ahead of the stopper behind you without catching up with the one in front of you, it's quite a balancing act sometimes.

I used to own an Alfa Romeo that sounded like it ran on that from time to time 😁 I was on call earlier but as of 14.00 hrs am off duty, so Mrs.D1022 is about to serve afternoon G&Ts.

Imagine living their lives, taking in all of the huge changes they must have seen and experienced. Incredible really when you think about it. My maternal grandparents weren't born until 1917, but they both lived through and served in WWII as air raid wardens, my grandfather only being lucky enough to be born here in Blighty because his mother was 'enrolled in the pudding club' by her aristocratic employer over in Germany and was booted out on her ear to save any scandal brewing. With the help of her older sister she found her way to London where sure enough, some months later, out popped my grandfather with no father's name on his birth certificate. As things turned out it was the best move she made, because all of her Jewish relatives were later rounded up and packed off to various camps never to be seen again. In 1965 your's truly duly appeared, complete with an ever so slightly Jewish looking nasal appendage!

Adidas bag ahoy there!!

I've repeated the main thrust of your post on other forums several times Mike, but some people still won't have it, explaining the capacity issue ad nausium is just met with ''I don't like it'', ''it's a waste of money'', ''it's just a vanity project'', ''it'll destroy the environment'', often from the same people who can't grasp that the roads they drive on, the houses they live in and the places they work all needed to be built on open land at some point in time.

As I alluded to earlier they were generally good sloggers on certain jobs, and with 4A21 they would often be held on the up relief line alongside the works at Swindon to allow HSTs to pass and call at the station, before proceeding to Didcot, Reading and Old Oak. They Old Oak lot were definitely cleaner than Bath Road's, inside (mostly!) and out, but the chemicals in the wash plant at Kensal Rise didn't do their paint much good which is why the painters in the factory at Old Oak were kept busy. The last time I drove one was about years ago when I had to conduct a Serko driver on a short test train from New St to Didcot and back, it reminded me how nice they can be to drive. 31 260 looking nice and clean at Padd... 31 135 still looking spick and span at Bath Spa... 31 163 at Padd in August 1980... 31 124 on the up relief in the Goring gap... 31 230 and 31 209 on the blocks at Padd on 16th May 1981, photo by Chris Tolley... 31 403 has brought the sleeper stock for the down 'midnight' into Padd...

Slightly off topic, but no doubt due to their relatively construction, several Hawksworths lasted into 1966 / 67 in mainline service and three of them managed to gain blue and grey livery in '67 for attachment to the down Cornish Riviera express at Plymouth. During this period you could also still see Stanier, Gresley and Thompson stock in the south west on inter-regional services which must have been quite a visual feast.

Forgive the 'work in progress' nature of this one but this is as far as I ever got with the JLTRT 0 Gauge 50 kit I had several years ago, before selling it on. Lacking any real workbench space at the time, I concentrated on the cab interiors and decided to weather them in the state I remember them in working on them at Old Oak, despite most of it not being visible...

31 307 with some Siphon Gs in tow on the up through road at Reading on 13th July 1976...

The now long gone shunter's cabin at Rugby had the seat cushion from a 304 which was used to kip on, as soon as you sat on it a big cloud of dust would appear...!

Photographer unknown : newly arrived at Old Oak from Stratford, 5535 is on the 'ups and downs' Paddington Pilot job in May 1969...

Yes it's one of the ex-LMR six car sets, the 'Midland' part of the name was removed in late '66 / early '67 when the multiple working gear was fitted on the cab fronts.

Venerable old WR 'namer' D1662 'Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the process becoming 47 484 at Crewe Works in early 1974, it had arrived in December '73 and is yet to be fitted with its ETH jumpers... 40 037 alongside has just received its own Tops number, formerly D237.

There are four photos of this 10966 working in Kevin Robertson ans Mike Smiths revised 'Blue Pullman Story' published in 2020, it's quite a hefty tome and well worth a look. Also in the book are : - Two photos of a WR set at Shrewsbury and on under the wires near Crewe on a special working from South Wales (probably Swansea or Cardiff) to Aintree on 27th March 1965. - A photo of a WR set near Chelford, north of Crewe on a Walsall to Bury FA Cup match special on 28th January 1967. - A David Percival shot of an LMR set crossing Welwyn Viaduct in December 1965 an an ECML test run. - Three photos of an LMR set on the previously mentioned Leeds - Kings X trial run on Saturday 16th October 1965, one at Halifax, one at Knebworth and one at Kings X. It gives the consist as M60090, M60730, M60740, M60741, M60731 and M60091 running empty stock from Reddish to Leeds via Huddersfield, Mirfield, Low Moor and Laisterdyke : Leeds, depart platform 5 11.22, Doncaster 11.56 - 11.57, Kings X platform 7 arrival 14.08, depart platform 10 at Kings X 16.05, Doncaster 18.14.5 - 18.17.5, Leeds Central platform 5 arrival 18.54. A booklet with the timings was produced for the various worthies on board that day...

Sorry, I thought you were referring to Mike's Bletchley photo!

I couldn't lay my hands on any Pannier photos so here's one of an early low numbered Finsbury Par kallocated Brush Type 4 instead... 😉 A car park shenanigan with a difference - back in March I went to the big classic car restoration show at the NEC where the Sporting Bears charity were offering rides in various cars, as is my wont I chose the 1971 Lotus Europa and after a wizz bang exciting 20 minute ride we returned to the halls and drive under the car park barrier at full ghusto, and yes, I did automatically duck...!

The leading power car is an LMR one though.

Looks that way to me Russ but happy to be corrected.

Photographer unknown : Crewe Works in November 1974, 1957 is marked up to become 47 554, it was supposed to become 47 261 and later became 47 705...

D5574 at Coventry c.1961...

Wolverton Works, 17th May 1970...

Three from Leamington Spa, c/o Gordon Bartlett / John Cash / John Ford collection...