TheSignalEngineer

39 minutes ago, franciswilliamwebb said:

 

Yes it's here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/GsxNSBrySTqLD4yM6

There's been an awful lot of digging, levelling and new building around there in recent years.

 

That's the area I was thinking it was. There are about 25 disused shafts there up to at least 250 years old. They definitely predated the railway. The big hole in the ground to the north of the line was the clay pit for the brick and tile works next to the LNWR Coalport Branch. Looking at old pictures on Google Earth there was a lot of work done next to the railway about 10-15 years ago. This, looking North, shows the old clay its alongside the railway c2012.

Looking South I don't like the look of that black stuff in the embankment. Looks too much like the stuff under the Mam Tor Road.

1 minute ago, phil-b259 said:

Throughout the 80s, 90s and 2000s the powers that be sat back and did nothing to expand the system and eek out every ounce of 'overcapacity' that the Victorians built into their systems, preferring to sweat the assets and syphon off money for dividends or simply not spend as much as was needed to keep up with population growth while at the same time ignoring the early warning signs scientists were highlighting about man made climate change.

Not only with the drainage system. When we used to do the school run to pick up grandchildren we had a game amongst the families to guess where the next water leak would be. Every couple of weeks the water would start coming up through the road so it duly got reported to United Utilities. A few days later the temporary light would go up and chaos would endue for about a week. We would give our predictions of where and when water would next appear through the road surface after the supply was turned back on. Rather than renew the main, their long term solution is to reduce the pressure by 25% so that the water takes longer to reach the surface.

Cadent are even worse. It took them Nine Years   to find a leak by Marple Station. Actually it turned out more serious as just about every joint for about 400 metres was not gas tight. After they had tried to fix them on numerous occasions they found that some sections of pipe were life expired and about 200 metres has recently been replaced. What started as an emergency job to fix a leak ended up taking 64 days with a complete road closure. 

Looking at the pictures of the Wellington - Oakengates slip there's about four times as much ballast below sleeper level as when I used to work along there in the 1970s. That would be about 3 - 4 tonnes more stone per metre of railway, plus the extra weight of concrete sleepers and heavier rail.

On 09/03/2024 at 15:28, Winnie said:

There is a slip at Oakengates which occured yesterday on the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury line .

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/shrewsbury/2024/03/09/train-line-could-face-disruption-for-the-rest-of-the-month-after-landslip/

I'm not sure of the exact location but it looks like around Hadley. That area is riddled with old mineshafts and there were opencasts and clay pits everywhere. 

Not 1980s but this link should get you to the London Road Stage 2 resignalling in 1960 

https://www.s-r-s.org.uk/pullfree.asp?FilePath=ArchiveSignals\Downloads\brmr&FileName=1960-400g.pdf

On 26/02/2024 at 23:35, TheSignalEngineer said:

My TMC pack 2 arrived today but I am a bit mystified by the brake pipes provided on this set. It is BR 1950s livery without yellow spot but it has hanging brake pipes as in the time of the yellow spot modifications. Is this an error with these vans ...........................

@Islesy

Despite two attempts on here I haven't had any respomse about this. 

The Accurascale 1950-61 sets have upright vacuum pipes as I would expect but the TMC 2 set has hanging ones. 

Despite two weeks of trying I haven't yet found a picture of hanging vacuum pipes except on Yellow Spot vans. 

Do you have any evidence of them being fitted with hanging pipes before the days of the Yellow Spot upgrades.

Thanks.

Eric

56 minutes ago, Flying Pig said:

 

Although those are of the suspended type and shouldn't Period 1 stock have the scissors type?  And aren't the moulded gangways on the original Mainline bodies the fixed part of a scissors gangway?

Correct.  The use of suspended gangways on the LMS started with the Stanier era. They had been used on the GWR from c1925.

I'm not sure what bit the Mainline ones actually represent. They look a bit like  something from old Triang stable.

The Replica and Bachmann ones came with the same type as the Airfix/Mainline Period 3 coaches. Mine still have the original ones as I can't tell the difference in the middle of the train. I'm  just doing some more P1/P2 stock which is having scissors type and I may modify those on the brake coaches when those are finished, as there are only the Leeds Forge BTO, a Period 1 BCK and two BTKs. One of them is showing some signs of degrading. Besides the Comet scissors ones Ratio did a plastic version with end boards which is now done by Peco as Parkside PA111.

On 26/02/2024 at 23:35, TheSignalEngineer said:

My TMC pack 2 arrived today but I am a bit mystified by the brake pipes provided on this set. It is BR 1950s livery without yellow spot but it has hanging brake pipes as in the time of the yellow spot modifications. Is this an error with these vans as it detracts somewhat because the brake pipes are very prominent on the non yellow spot ones I have found in photos so far.

Both of the 1950s sets on the Accurascale site have upright pipes.

@Accurascale Fran I'm still looking for a picture of 1950s livery vans (no yellow spot) with hanging vacuum pipes rather than upright ones. Has your team got one?

I used Comet parts on my conversions.

This is an Airfix 57' underframe as a base during building the version used on the D1746  BTO by Leeds Forge.

The Leeds Forge underframe had no visible trussing underneath, so the first job was to cut off all detail except for the centre part of the truss which supports the battery boxes. A triangular fillet was added to each end of the support frame at the solebar. These coaches had a box on each side so the regulator was cut off and a spare box from a scrap coach added. Bufers, V-hangers, brake cylinders and dynamo came from Comet.

I think these brush up quite well as layout coaches with a few mods.The Replica and Bachmann versions had the benefit of separately fitted roof vents and gangway connections athough the latter tend to go brittle or out of shape with age, 

They are good donors for cut'n'shut or Comet sides. I built a Brake Composite and all third from them.

LMS Period 1 Brake Composite build.

This model was a straight overlay of Comet M4S etched sides on a Replica 57’ Period 1 CK with roof vents repositioned to suit the seating bays and toilets.

We used 999503 to do the HMRI inspection of the Jewellery Line in 1995. That was in RR livery at the time. I used to have a photo of it on here but it disappeared in the great server meltdown. 

On 29/02/2024 at 00:21, leavesontheline said:

 

Everyone too busy with their heads down looking at their phones to notice the archway above them!

Or the original North Staffs Railway manhole covers on that platform.

Wouldn't be easy to move the trolley if the automatic brake is still connected. You would have to carry it to get the front that close to the wall.

1 hour ago, mac1960 said:

I remember seeing a 141R near Perpignan in around 1967. We were heading from Spain to the airport to catch a Channel Airways Viscount to Southend. I am pretty sure an Oil fired one. Incidentally the inbound flight made 5 approaches before landing on a clear night. Fire engines were out and about . First passenger threw up on the tarmac after disembarking! 

We went out from Folkestone on a flat calm morning. This beast was shunting when we disembarked.

Who left that car there? by Charles Eric Steele, on Flickr. When we got back to the harbour in the afternoon a train to Paris hauled by 231E27 was waiting to leave. 

Mid channel it was thick fog, then approaching Folkestone we hit a south westerly gale and it took us 40 minutes to get alongside the quay. I was one of the few who didn't throw up

7 hours ago, Mallard60022 said:

I've never met them at a Show so have no idea how they would respond

Not spoken to them about this issue as I only have them on a couple of things in place of screw on types. 

I have had two chats with them about things like vehicle spacings and some of their other products and they didn't bite me or anyone else who approached them, so worth mentioning it.

On 25/02/2024 at 22:11, Bucoops said:

Some of the resins available are extremely flexible and very hard to break - such as that used by Mousa - sounds like they could benefit from a material change?

I've had some 3D printed kits from other sources that have been so brittle that they were difficult to drill cleanly for fitting details. It seems many users are still on the learning curve as to the best material for different applications.

Meanwhile in the yard, 6364 waits to depart with the Crewe Bananas.

The train so far consists of an ABS kit undergoing restoration and a Ratio kit BR 1/242 backdated to steam heat awaiting transfers.

Three of the new Accurascale vans.

Oxford LNER van, Bachmann insulated van, yes, they did appear occasionally in banana trains.

Ratio 1/242 built as it comes in the box and a 1/246 built with a Dublo body and Red Panda underframe.

In the to do box are a couple of Ratio vans, one to be updated to 1/243 with different strapping and one to be backdated to a late LMS version.

On 23/02/2024 at 20:53, Matt said:

What they need to do is convert some of those empty HOF stores into model shops- Jenners in Edinburgh would be a good start. I’m sure it would work……

 

There’s a reason I don’t work in retail….

Rackhams on Birmingham used to have model railways in the toy department on the third floor. That counter closed long before Ashley got involved.

5 hours ago, Phil Bullock said:

Wonder if you have steam heat pipes Eric? 

Hi Phil,

The vacuum and steam heat pipes come in a separate bag along with dummy screw couplings. This set has hanging vacuum pipes which I didn't think came in until the yellow spot rebuild.

Happy to be corrected if anyone has a photo of a SR van with hanging vacuum pipes and no yellow spot c1957.

My TMC pack 2 arrived today but I am a bit mystified by the brake pipes provided on this set. It is BR 1950s livery without yellow spot but it has hanging brake pipes as in the time of the yellow spot modifications. Is this an error with these vans as it detracts somewhat because the brake pipes are very prominent on the non yellow spot ones I have found in photos so far.

Both of the 1950s sets on the Accurascale site have upright pipes.

On 24/02/2024 at 10:02, KeithHC said:

Any inside gen are any other 69s to get Western style liveries……

69011 looks like it's in Swindon primer. Perhaps IKB 47 livery?

On 23/02/2024 at 15:47, Cwmtwrch said:

If there was only one, then it may be out of shot nearer the road.

I would expect a single camping coach to be close to the stop block which would be around the left hand edge of the photo, so behind the buildings. The loading gauge is near to the traps at the siding exit.

1 hour ago, Wickham Green too said:

A 'Monocabine', monsieur ...... like zis : - 

... or like zat, peut etre ?                            ( Thionville, 22/9/90 )

Not those but I did see them on a later trip. It was around Thionville when we were on a cycle trip in 1991, en route from Luxembourg to Verdun at the time.

The one going into Austerlitz in 1979 was a Paris - Orleans Railway 2D2-5500 class, actually twin cab with nose ends built in the 1930s, They were built by CEM, a Brown Boveri subsidiary. The last one was withdrawn not long after our trip and one is now preserved in a museum.

3 minutes ago, XChris said:

Even Barbra the cleaner knows one!

Have they told Mrs Doyle?

55 minutes ago, reddragon said:

And nobody said there wasn't!

Today's is the announcement about the announcement to alert Mr Potato Head to get in touch with his contacts to see if he can get a scoop.

14 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Unfortunately I missed SNCF steam by a whisker,

I managed to catch a couple on a day trip over when we were staying in Folkestone in 1964. Next time there was 1979 right down from Calais to Spain. All electric and diesel then. Highlight was being on a holiday relief train from Cebere to Paris. Started diesel but changed (at Narbonne?) to an electric. in the early morning through Paris suburbs it looked a bit strange  Unfortunately being with a tour party we couldn't hang around for pictures as the courier was taking us to his reguar cafe for breakfast but as we got to the end of the platform we were greeted by the sight of a gereatric looking centre cab electric loco rthat had brought us in.