TheSignalEngineer

In the mid 1960s we had an S&T office on platform 1 at New Street which on old plans was shown as the Footwarmer store.

Going back to the multiple moved logged by RTT, I think that it could be down to the reporting points in TRUST and other systems. When it comes to old signalling like the area at the junction that would be station limits it's not possible to get them everywhere and they have to be related to a timing point in the timetable. Doing a double shunt at the Junction could trick the computer into thinking that a set has gone back to the platform although it has only gone part way during during reversing the order.

One of those visible here?

The WTT for the area only shows the move out from the station to the junction, but in the Excel version available on the internet the way the times have been input for all trains in and out of Fort William brings up an error as both entries for Fort William Junction show the same time. Realtime Trains used to go into a glitch in such situations. We used to have one on the Dinting Triangle when some trains that went Broadbottom -Dinting - Hadfield - Glossop - Dinting - Broadbottom or vice versa were shown as one path from Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Piccadilly.

I think someone got their fingers in the wrong places doing some keyboard work. There's also an instance earlier in the day of 477+493 departing Fort William for Mallaig whilst 477 was shown at Corrour on a Mallaig - Glasgow working at the same time. As there don't seem to be any conflicting moves at the station I did wonder if it was running a taxi service to the staff car park.

I would have thought that there was a bigger risk of injury from stumbling on the uneven stony surface. Perhaps it should be concreted over or removed completely.

Send 'er over. I'll teach her how to fire up the forge and make a set of shoes for 'oss. She'll need plenty when there aren't any motor cars left. Perhaps the East Lancs should get the Horse Tram out of Castlecroft Museum to work the Ramsbottom Shuttle. Doesn't need CDL, it hasn't got a door. No good for the West Highland though. I don't think NR do path timing for a large horse at 4mph. That would take about 10 hours to Mallaig not including a lunch stop at Glenfinnan.

I remember in discussions about a bypass scheme in the north where the standing joke was that when modelling the area introducing an incident on the existing road layout would have a ripple effect round the world as a large proportion of the aircrew based at Manchester used it to get to work. Any Road Up, time for a break. This thread has done more laps than the Super D currently sitting on my roundy, it's making my head go dizzy.

We had a long discussion about this something like 56 pages ago. I think there is a train graph posted about page 9 if you want to come up with a reasoned explanation of how the line works. The reason why the first Jacobite doesn't use the available path an hour or so earlier is because the first Down arrival at Fort William is the Highland Sleeper which is booked in at 1000 hence the 1015 Down Jacobite. If the train departed at 0930 it would have to wait at Glenfinnan for an Up train to pass, strangely enough the train which crosses that Up train in the summer timetable is the 1015 Down Jacobite. The latest a steam train could depart Fort William is 0900. It would then pass the 1010 from Mallaig at Arisaig. Here's my doodle of a line occupation chart based on last summer's WTT for the Mallaig line. Don't forget that many of the trains involved cross at other stations to the south and are also portions of Oban services to Crianlarich. The coloured blocks represent the period when a token is in use. Blue are Scotrail, Red are Jacobite. The yellow ones are the STP paths used by LS on 9th April. One clashes with the second Down Jacobite path (orange part) so is not normally available. For an example of other complications the 1815 train from Mallaig arriving Fort William at 1937 connects with the Up Sleeper departing at 1950. As the Sleeper is parked up at the station from 1800 the second Up Jacobite path arriving at 1908 has to get off to depot before the 1815 from Mallaig can pass Fort William Junction.

The present agreement is for trains of 6 or 7 coaches at line speed which is Max 45mph. As I said earlier 25 mph isn't an option without rewriting the whole timetable for the west of Scotland north of the Clyde. Taken to the ultimate extreme that could have a knock on effect on the morning peak at Euston.

Ryanair?

Walsall DCE used a 2P 4-4-0. I think the usual ones were 40692 then 40696. You needed a go anywhere loco for a saloon but with a good turn of speed getting to site and between stops. You would get put into all kinds of unkempt sidings during stops so big locos weren't much use. In the 1980s we liked to get a Class 25 for our tours.

Early in the thread someone mentioned Spring Road in Birmingham. This picture of the Up platform building shows when it was approaching its worst. (Picture from https://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/springroad.htm) I started commuting from there two years later when the original building had been rep[laced by an Abacus shelter. The gas lights had gone but I remember that before the new electric lighting was commissioned the platforms were lit by temporary electric lighting which consisted of bulbs hanging from a festoon cable supported on wooden posts planted in cable drums full of ballast.

Not a clever game to try. The Track Access Agreement is with Network Rail as 'Owner of the Network' Who has to agree to Network Rail making the agreement? Well the document is about 100 pages long but you don't need to get deep into it to find out who pulls Network Rail's strings. Words copied directly from page three of the current Jacobite agreement between NR and WCRC:- "Background: (A) Network Rail is the owner of the Network; and (B) Network Rail has been directed by ORR to grant to the Train Operator permission to use certain track comprised in the Network on the terms and conditions of this contract."

Flew home from Faro after a New Year holiday. Security took me about 30 seconds to get through. They either have amazing scanners or don't give a toss.