TheSignalEngineer

Don't know about North Cornwall but there's a picture of one at Barnstaple Junction at the bottom of this page http://www.semgonline.com/steam/700class_01.html

Nice looking signal, Jason. Close-up photos can be particularly unforgiving. I like the anti-SPAD device, aka water tower, on the platform blocking the view of the wrong arm.

I don't know about the Western, but there were certainly a few local creations around the LM. Some museum character was frothing about a bit of ironwork on a signal on my Grandad's patch when New Street PSB was about to take over, saying he'd not seen another like it. Grandad told him he wasn't likely to as in it's previous life it was holding up the cistern in the toilet.

The bus is showing Stalybridge via Openshaw, which would have been from Manchester along the Ashton Old Road.

The identifiable vehicles in the robbery shots have London, Middlesex and Suffolk registrations.

They were the LCC standard flats during the inter-war years.

The type of houses looked familiar, my daughter lived about 3/4 mile away over near Hattons old shop when she was a student in the 1990s.

Yard Lamps and masts and notices match up. The brick building shown is to the right of the later clips from the film. The similar building to the left of the clips may have still existed in the undergrowth along Picton Road recently. There's one in a similar place if you backdate Google Earth a couple of updates.

There were several black Humbers based at Rail House, Birmingham, for use of the Divisonal Manager and various Divisional Engineers. Some had chauffeurs complete with full uniform depending on the rank of who they were allocated to. We were occasionally allowed to borrow them at weekends if we were on awkward shifts in remote places. During Saltley Commissioning in 1969 I nicked one to get some staff out to a fault, promising to get the occupants back on the Test Train. Meanwhile a second fault stopped the train, leaving the CS&TE and DS&TE to hitch a lift back from Water Orton in a yellow van.

The shed in that picture is the same style as Curzon St PCD which opened Christmas 1966

Looks like somewhere that parcels vans were dealt with. By the time the film was made the wires only extended as far south as the Trent Valley area so not London. Mayfield was used for parcels in Manchester but it isn't there. Edge Hill may be a possibility as the chimney posts look like some where my daughter lived in Wavertree. The top of the structure behind the 50' BG is probably a good clue. Anyone got the number of the Gronk?

Doubt if the last shot in the OP is Sighthill as it looks to be wired for serving by loco hauled electrics.

Only spotted it by the number B8700xx series.

Clues so far The Indian Spledour did the Calcutta - Liverpool run. One van has a poster with fares from Manchester Exchange on it. A lot of the road vehicles are LMR allocated. By the roof and side cladding and clock positions it is in at least 3 different sheds. Besides the Fruit-Mex there's a BR Meat Van in general use as well.

Signal ladders were steep, especially on some of the tall ones. Steve's formula of 1 in 12 is about right for most posts.

Didn't the fastest rate of closures take place when the Wilson Government was in power?

Looking at the photo and maps of the time I suspect it was possibly two signals that look as if thy are together. I think you are correct on the double disc. The key date to a lot of the layout at Maghull could be 1909, as I think that was when a new 28-lever L&Y frame was put in the box.

Agreed that this was done at times but I can't recall any frames with centre position levers were used in that area. A more likely solution to shortage of levers would be to use detection selectors on the double discs so they could be worked by one lever, the arm clearing being determined by the lie of the points. I think the real answer lies in what was actually at Maghull. The old OS maps are not really conclusive as the best scale on the web (as far as I can see) is 1:2500. Some of these don't show the "Bay" directly connected to the main line, but as part of the sidings. Later ones show it connected directly to the main.

I'm not saying that railways shouldn't bother to increase line speeds. There have been instances where I have worked on jobs where the timetable was not significantly improved but the train punctuality went up by several percent, thus improving the passenger perception of the service. When planning schemes we were given a figure that the accountants thought could be gained through the Booking Office window per minute of saving. This taken with savings on renewal budgets, possibly less sets or crews required because it fitted rostering better, helped to evaluate the net cost of the scheme.

Absolute treasures here. Even more so as my chosen period is not like 'Third week in July 19xx' but things happening the period of steam running with pilot scheme diesels pre-yellow panel. The examples of variation in wagon condition alongside generally clean coaches, weed strewn platforms and urban grot are just what i need.

Line speed improvements are more for publicity than train running. When London-Manchester was electrified it was originally designed for 90mph. Someone thought they should have 100mph as that's what the Deltics were going to do on East Coast. Fortunately the tolerances in signal sighting were sufficient to allow 100mph where the track would stand it but without major realignments to get rid of speed restrictions the gain was only about 4 minutes from Euston to Manchester. More recently when cuts were being made to the WCRM budget 140mph running was an early casualty due to Railtrack having promised Virgin a signalling system that hadn't been made, let alone proved in service and it costing £(several)billions to do. The net time losses being quoted for the lower speeds were 4 minutes to Birmingham, 7 minutes to Manchester and 11 minutes to Glasgow.

Facing point locks would only be required at the end of crossovers where a loaded passenger train goes through. Generally the FPL would be on a lever of its own, not double ended. The crossover being in the platform makes things very restrictive from the signalling and operating point of view, leading to an over complicated controls to actually do anything. It would be avoided like the plague unless there was no other way round it. IIRC at Maghull the platforms stopped short of the crossover, but I'm thinking 45 years ago when I was last there. The signal reading out of the siding at the top would be a ground disc.

As Keith said above where are the platfroms? Passenger moves through crossovers usually have main signals provided. The ground frame would be best electrically released, although could be rod released at that distance. Yellow arm disc to be controlled from box. Why are discs 1 & 2 provided? No need if points on ground frame. Nothing required where you have SL shown. What passenger moves are made facing direction through points? Home signal at R/H side bottom line must be at clearance from the box. Don't understand the 2-doll bracket by the middle crossover. Where is the signal controlling the exit from the siding by the 2-doll bracket? Eric

It's Bingley according to another shot in the stream. That warehouse is still there I think, but the line is electrified and the Airevalley Road runs along the right side of the picture.

Tyseley 1958 http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrt2417.htm http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/gwr/gwrt2415.htm