TheSignalEngineer

Back in my school days we were on Army Cadets camp on an island in the Menai Straits. In those days the only place open on Sunday evening was the milk bar. When we went in the local youths started talking in Welsh. One of our number, despite talking like a native Brummie actually hailed from the area and spent most holidays there at his Aunt's house. The locals started discussing where and when they would give us a good hiding so he went over and told them in Welsh that as the away team choice of time and armaments was up to us.

The join is certainly less prominent than in the earlier pictures. To my eyes at layout viewing distance it is hardly visible, and after a little bit of toning down I doubt if it will be seen.

Nice place for a lunch stop on today's bike ride round Hebden Bridge area

Strange place, Hebden Bridge.

Not sure of the actual types on my phone but a good mixture here at Handsworth and Smethwick in 1964 http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrhs1983.htm

The elevation data from the electronic 1:25000 OS maps also varies a bit from Google Earth. The height at the bottom end of the cottage garden looks like 799ft on the OS map. I would say that the yard around the cottage varies in the region of 805ft to 810ft but the ground around the line seems even higher, around 830ft, which is about 10ft above what I get working from Google Earth. One thing to remember is that the slope of the hillside from the railway track to Daleside Road by what is shown as "Brick House" on old maps is about 1 in 4. The track from the Depot Cottage to the yard goes up at least 1 in 10 if not steeper.

I'm planning a North Cornwall layout and noted that these were used at Padstow just post-WW2. I was wondering if they worked there close to their eventual final days. If not, as my line is beyond the 'Withered Arm' one may have to get missing presumed scrapped there.

How "Stacker Steadman" got his name at Washwood Heath No.4 http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/66035-class-08-shunter-prototype-photos/page-3&do=findComment&comment=916877

For those who know the story of "Stacker" Steadman, on the day that the coal stage was blown up on of the other drivers came out soon after it hit the ground and chalked "Stacker Strikes Again" along it

See post #161 above re the use of GWR railcars in South Wales in the post-war years. As far as the Bulleid is concerned, around the time of the picture there was a Bournemouth - Swansea SO which was formed of SR and WR stock. It returned the following Saturday on a Llanelli - Bournemouth train, so some SR stock would be lurking around the Swansea area for the intervening week.

There is a picture just a bit up the thread of an 83 being towed through Dunford on its way to Doncaster. Possibly a similar move?

Steam shunting went quite early in the West Midlands. I think most of them had gone on LMS lines by 1960/61. The area was also converted to DMU on the basic services by the same time. Footplate staff were hard to come by because of the wages that could be got in the motor industry.

http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/lms/lnwrbns_br1843.htm

I remember a session in there after working at Kingsbury in 1967. We went to a friend's house then on to the Dog. I caught a train into Birmingham and woke up at Saltley on the way back out.

60114 W P Allen travelled to Worcester on a railtour and became a failure. it returned north on a Birminham - Newcastle relief.

The relaying was part of the junction to Park Lane. In 1966 the West End had changed very little since Midland days except for the building of the ARP-type box and signal renewals. The Goods Yard lines were still in situ IIRC, but not in regular use. There was still regular traffic in the marshalling yard at that time, we would hardly have thought that within three years it would all be gone.

AKA "Under the Wood". Spent a bit of time there on a relaying job in 1966 then again around Saltley Stage 1 commissioning.

I needed some Hornby parts (not MN) so I bought a scrapper where I could see what I needed was OK. Stripped it and sold all the good bits for a profit so I got my bits for the labour of breaking it down.

A case of different requirements as to the sighting required. The signal in the Down direction had a running move up to it from the Branch, and later from the Down Loop, so more sighting was required. The signal to the Up main and Up Branch could only be approached by a shunt move, there was no running move from the Main line to the Branch in the Up direction, so it was effectively a turn-back signal.

This picture from the disused Stations website shows the position of the signal. http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/b/brent/index2.shtml Whilst it would have been possible to put it on the platform, looking at the buildings and footbridge it would have been difficult to see when appoarching.

Saw the last three minutes when I tuned in to watch the programme about the Battle of Jutland. Glad I decided to spend the previous hour doing some modelling.

Reminds me of an old friend who worked on engine performance for Austin/BL/Rover through several of their incarnations, then moved to an up-market sports car firm. The Constabulary were a bit non-plussed when they tracked him at 112mph on the M45 near Kilsby in his Metro. He was disappointed to get caught as he said it would do 130mph flat out.

Shiny red wagons, saw a rake parked in Briggs Sidings last week.

A friend of mine at that time worked in the London office of a multinational company founded in Birmingham, which was his main home. On the days when he travelled from home he had a car pick him up at 0615, breakfast on the 0645 from New St arriving Euston approx 0825 then Tube arriving at the office before 0900. Being a poor railwayman I had to do with a bus from home, a cup of coffee and walk to Camden.