Simon Lee

Myself and Bigbee Line are the ones in question !!

A few from the good old days :- Shortly after the merger, a Hoverlloyd livery craft leaves Dover Two from the days of Hoverspeed Nick - you forgot to mention the smell of fuel / exhausts pervading the town of the wind was in the right direction

Regarding the Dover Hoverport, the original terminal was at the Eastern Docks, roughly where the current berth 4 is located. The Western docks Hoverport is, as you say, demolished, and the remains including the Pad, is to be buried under the new freight berths currently under construction. The cruise terminal is the old Western Docks station, which was served by ships and that other glorious fast craft the Jetfoil.

Having seen the video on Dover Marina Facebook page, the construction of the spray wall, has not really compromised the view that much. Certainly less than a rake of empty ferries waiting shipment used to do.

Compare and contrast.......

Looks like it does, that end of the yard still had the brick floor from when there was a loco shed there. Lost better underfoot surface than a mixture of ballast, shingle, and sea cabbage that was the rest of the yard.

A few from Doncaster early 1965 D9012 on a northbound service D9016 no explanation needed !! Unknown with a northbound non stop

55003 1705 Kings Cross - Hull 14th May 1979 (first day of the accelerated service) arriving Brough after arrival at Hull Paragon

55012 1405 Kings Cross - York New Barnet 2nd May 1981

Testing the spray wall

First test train booked later this week.........................................

Sunday ballast, Barnby Dun June 1973, apologies for the shake taken with a 126 instamatic from a moving train.

Ipswich crew change, August 1981

Hope that dam thing stays on back to Hull. Scarborough May 1975

Heard from an ex P&O / DFDS friend, that Disney demand that the Admiralty is closed from 12hrs before arrival, until their vessel is well clear of the port. The angling club is less than impressed especially on a weekend.

See a Disney vessel in port so the Admiralty Pier closed again I assume ?

Could be that Folkestone East is purely a convenient TOPS/TRUST reporting point. If the possession for the work is Dover Priory - Folkestone East, then the train would show to either, depending on the route to site. Possibly the previous workings to site have shown as terminating at Dover Priory. Sadly the multitude of TOPS stannox we used to have in the Dover WD complex are long gone. As have the sidings at the Warren and Shakespeare.

Local hoolies chucking rocks off the cliff onto the workers below http://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/major-weekend-of-progress-at-dover-sea-wall-marred-by-rock-throwing-youths

I cleaned all them windows a few times as a Junior Railman, with a few lung full's of DMU exhaust as an added benefit whilst doing so.

The Ladywell end looks nice now David, seems to have opened up a bit since I left, (unless its memory playing tricks) did you adjourn to the Falstaff or the Park Inn afterwards ?

Looking at todays photos an incident came to mind that occurred in the area roughly between the blue cranes. I was late turn AFA, got a call from Archcliffe signalman that a Dollands Moor - Mountsorrel Redlands SDT had stopped on the down main and there had been a juice tripping. Turned out that one of the 4 wheel wagons had derailed 1 wheel, one of those strange phenomenon's and weird to look at is one wheel off. Shut the main line from about 1700 until just before 2300 by the time we had got Chart Leacon BRUFF on site, set up, foreman says 15 mins we'll be done. Started lifting ready to traverse, then we noticed that the discharge belt was lifting about 10 wagons. After that IIRC brute force and ignorance was the order of the day !! Turned out one wagon hadn't fully discharged and a slight dip under one rail did the rest. Happy days

There used to be a siding along side the seawall virtually up to the tunnel mouth and one between this and the main line that ended about three quarters of the way up. The one nearest the beach was called "Seaside" and the other "Over the top". Both were handy when we had an excess of empty ferry vans for export (usually from Paddock Wood in the run up to Christmas) Could run a down PWT into the receptions, propel back up onto Seaside and leave them there, then when time came grab a boat load, 24 vans, pull round to Harbour tunnel, propel back into the old ferry, job done, kettle on !!

You must be fit as a butchers dog David, I walked up Military Hill a few times and up the path behind the Eastern to Langdon Cliffs way back in the 80's when I was quite fit and that made me wheeze a bit !!