Interesting and inspiring photos from Flickr....

[2251]

11 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

“The reason for the station's construction is a mystery.”

 

 

 

It is pure speculation on my part, but the "big house" (Dalnawillan Lodge) about four miles to the south might have been part of the logic.

[keefer]

Wiki article states:

"The reason for the station's construction is a mystery.[It opened April 1874] At the time of construction it was 8 miles (13 km) from the nearest settlement and 10 miles (16 km) from the nearest road.[5] The only source of traffic at the station, Lochdhu Lodge, approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the south, was not built until 1895 and the Altnabreac School was not built until 1930. However, it had a passing loop with a water tank so may have been established for purely operational reasons."

Odd that Dalnawillan isn't mentioned in the Wiki article, considering it was the seat of Sir Archibald Sinclair and later, his son Robin, Lord Thurso.

Haven't yet found a definitive date for its building but there is a Census entry for 1881, at least

https://holeousia.com/time-passes-listen/ruins/highlands/dalnawillan-lodge/ 

(Unfortuneately, articles not dated)

Edited July 5, 2022 by keefer

[KeithMacdonald]

3 hours ago, keefer said:

The reason for the station's construction is a mystery

 

We do love a good mystery story. And a new chapter is being written:
 

Quote

 

Highland Council approves plan to take 9000 tonnes of timber off Caithness roads and on to the rail network has been approved by Highland Council. It granted planning permission to Caledonia Forest Land Investment Ltd to construct a rail-side timber loading facility on land near Altnabreac station.

The report stated: "Specialist low ground pressure haulage vehicles will transfer the timber from the forest to the facility where it will be stacked adjacent to the rail line and uplifted using a dedicated loader on to specialist rail wagons.

"The loading of timber will take place while the train occupies the rail line and loading times will be timed to suit other rail services and determined by the specialist train provider. At this time, it is anticipated that up to three trains a week will operate within a 24 hour /7 day window."

 

 

https://www.johnogroat-journal.co.uk/news/highland-council-approves-plan-to-take-9000-tonnes-of-timber-261124/

 

We might wonder what "loading of timber will take place while the train occupies the rail line" means. Perhaps not a new siding, just the train stopped on the "main line" while being loaded?

[scottystitch]

6 minutes ago, KeithMacdonald said:

 

 

We might wonder what "loading of timber will take place while the train occupies the rail line" means. Perhaps not a new siding, just the train stopped on the "main line" while being loaded?

I think that is exactly what it means.

 

I take this: "If this demonstration proves successful it is proposed to extend the facility which will then be subject to a further planning application as appropriate." to mean that siding may be laid later, if justified.

 

Best

 

Scott.

Edited July 5, 2022 by scottystitch

[Nearholmer]

Loading timber on the main has been used before in the highlands, and I’ve seen a train being loaded with sugar beet on the main in France.

[keefer]

There was a site which was developed in Chris Green's ScotRail days c.1985? as a railhead for timber & timber products to the rest of the UK. That was more of a railway-led one I think as a siding was laid at the time.

(Can't recall exactly where it was, may have been on the Abdn-Inv line).

 

[KeithMacdonald]

All the talk of loading timber has just reminded me of the almost-but-not-quite-closed Teign Valley line still in place as far as Heathfield. That's used for the run-around, then go back to Teigngrace where the actual loading is done. Then back to Newton Abbot.

 

One being loaded.

 

 

Some more already loaded.

 

 

Then to Newton Abbot

 

 

[montyburns56]

Probably not that interesting or inspirational, but I only found out yesterday that Class 122 railcars actually ran in Manchester in the 1980s on the Stockport -Stalybridge services, so now I've got an excuse to buy a model of one!

 

Stalybridge 1986

 

 

Stockport 1984

 

 

Heaton Norris 1985

 

 

[Steven B]

You've got a choice of livery too:

Zippy on flickr. The caption reads: "Former Class 122 (W55019), by now DB975042 in the departmental series, seen at Manchester Victoria/Exchange in 1984 on a route learner."

 

And in 1989:

Bubble Car Route Learner At Man Vic (Michael McNicholas) by Neil Harvey 156, on Flickr

 

Steven B.

[montyburns56]

5 hours ago, Steven B said:

You've got a choice of livery too:

Zippy on flickr. The caption reads: "Former Class 122 (W55019), by now DB975042 in the departmental series, seen at Manchester Victoria/Exchange in 1984 on a route learner."

 

And in 1989:

Bubble Car Route Learner At Man Vic (Michael McNicholas) by Neil Harvey 156, on Flickr

 

Steven B.

 

Yeah, I did notice some pictures of the Route Leaner while searching Flickr, but I prefer the Blue/Grey version to be honest and luckily Dapol are releasing a Midland Region version in the next few months!

[montyburns56]

Walker Brothers of Wigan, Pagefield motor unit, Douglas Bank East sidings. Bickershaw Collieries, 1930s by Pitheadgear

 

 

[Ramblin Rich]

6 minutes ago, montyburns56 said:

Walker Brothers of Wigan, Pagefield motor unit, Douglas Bank East sidings. Bickershaw Collieries, 1930s by Pitheadgear

 

 

Well that's really intriguing. I can see the similarity to the front unit of Walkers Irish railcars, but it's got road wheels between the rails at the front and what's  that bit over the rear wheels? And is that a full size Dinghams autocoupler..?🤔

[Nearholmer]

The thing over the rear wheel is a chain guard for the final drive chain. I reckon that on the original road version, the chain was in-board of the wheel, but they’ve had to “narrow gauge’ it to fit the wheels between the rails, so it has to go out-board, or that they’ve gone back to an earlier transmission design, because their standard back axle assembly with shaft drive and differentials was too wide.

 

 

Edited July 6, 2022 by Nearholmer

[stewartingram]

If the road wheels run inside the rails, how does it cope with - 1) chairs (maybe the wheels are not deep enough so they miss them?), or - 2) points and checkrails, as well as infilled (tram) track?

[Nearholmer]

Bumping over them, I should imagine.

 

Its not a design that “took off big time”, so perhaps we shouldn’t conclude that it was stunningly successful.

 

Where rubber-tyres shunting tractors have succeeded they seem to have been either agricultural tractor inspired, and used mainly on inset track, but with the advantage of big wheels for climbing over things when not, or have run on the rail-heads, using guide-rollers. Vast amounts of railway maintenance is now done using the latter sort of vehicle, of course.

[Steven B]

I'm not sure I'd trust it's brakes with a load that size - I might be mistaken but it looks like the driver didn't either; Are the wagon brakes "on"?

 

Steven B.

[montyburns56]

Edinburgh Waverley by Brian Flannigan

 

 

[keefer]

Never realised the Prototype made it to Scotland. No date given but still Class 41, when did it become Class 252?

[hexagon789]

9 minutes ago, keefer said:

Never realised the Prototype made it to Scotland. No date given but still Class 41, when did it become Class 252?

I've seen a few shots of the prototype HST at Edinburgh Waverley, Keefer. If you hunt around on Flickr, you'll find at least half a dozen shots or so.

 

There's this shot from railscot, dated 1973: https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/36/847/

 

Then from Flickr:

 

(Alistair Ness, summer 1973)

 

(47 701, c. 1973)

 

 

(Ian Addison collection)

[keefer]

Thanks for that.

I knew it ran on the ECML but assumed it only went as far north as Newcastle.

[younGGuns7]

5 minutes ago, hexagon789 said:

I've seen a few shots of the prototype HST at Edinburgh Waverley, Keefer. If you hunt around on Flickr, you'll find at least half a dozen shots or so.

 

There's this shot from railscot, dated 1973: https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/36/847/

 

Then from Flickr:

 

(Alistair Ness, summer 1973)

 

(47 701, c. 1973)

 

 

(Ian Addison collection)

One thing that struck me is that every car that I can recognise would have been build in UK ( pretty sure the new Counsel/Granada shape was but may be wrong on that one) pure nostalgia 

[hexagon789]

1 minute ago, younGGuns7 said:

One thing that struck me is that every car that I can recognise would have been build in UK ( pretty sure the new Counsel/Granada shape was but may be wrong on that one) pure nostalgia 

They really are a 1970s nostalgia fest aren't they? And I mean that in a nice way.

 

Is it just the atmosphere is more evocative? The station clutter more varied? The shadows and contrasts of a black & white photo?

 

There's just something a modern photo doesn't quite compare with somehow.

[hexagon789]

8 minutes ago, keefer said:

Thanks for that.

I knew it ran on the ECML but assumed it only went as far north as Newcastle.

I couldn't tell you exactly how many times it ventured over the border onto the Scottish part of the ECML, but I understand it did more than once.

 

Logical I suppose given the ECML was one of the routes getting the production HSTs. I presume this was known about in 1973, given the production sets were begun in 1975 and Modern Railways/Railway Magazine seemed to originally believe the ECML was getting HSTs as early as 1976(!).

[Nearholmer]

51 minutes ago, hexagon789 said:

Is it just the atmosphere is more evocative? The station clutter more varied? The shadows and contrasts of a black & white photo?

Sometimes these pictures make you realise that the 1970s were closer in spirit, as well as in time, to the 1950s than to the 2020s.

 

Luggage on very basic roof-racks, on top of cars that look tiny beside modern ones, lacking in most modern safety features, requiring oodles of frequent maintenance/tinkering. And that just cars.

 

The Railway was definitely more interesting, and very tatty, loads more leftover Victorian junk than now. People were different too, weren’t they? Less tall, less fat, more fags and booze, station staff decidedly grubby and tatty.

[younGGuns7]

5 minutes ago, Nearholmer said:

Sometimes these pictures make you realise that the 1970s were closer in spirit, as well as in time, to the 1950s than to the 2020s.

 

Luggage on very basic roof-racks, on top of cars that look tiny beside modern ones, lacking in most modern safety features, requiring oodles of frequent maintenance/tinkering. And that just cars.

 

The Railway was definitely more interesting, and very tatty, loads more leftover Victorian junk than now. People were different too, weren’t they? Less tall, less fat, more fags and booze, station staff decidedly grubby and tatty.

It made me think, the MK 1 Cortina would have been at least 7 years old at best however the HST albeit not the Prototype is still going strong in some form all these years afterwards, I bet the Cortina was scrapped years ago  

Edited July 7, 2022 by younGGuns7
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