British stuff from the Catacombs

[jhb171achill]

Blue'n'grey era........

[Andy Cundick]

On 18/10/2022 at 11:09 PM, jhb171achill said:

Tonight's contribution:

Some of my handiwork on the front of the 4 CEP,they were refurbished at Swindon,and my bit was brake plumbing in the cabs,a bit of scratchbuilding on a large scale,Andy.

[Broithe]

25 minutes ago, Andy Cundick said:

Some of my handiwork on the front of the 4 CEP,they were refurbished at Swindon, and my bit was brake plumbing in the cabs, a bit of scratchbuilding on a large scale, Andy.

The models had to be bigger back then, the chips were the size of a mattress.

[Andy Cundick]

And they were 3 rail as well,Andy.

[jhb171achill]

 

Tonight's visit to Brexitstan.

Over a period of time I will post all of my father's British stuff here. There's quite a lot. Given the excellent responses to details of locations and the like above, I among others can benefit from this information being offered. I will post some also that I have posted in other places in the past, so that it is all together here. Senior's earliest visits over there were in the late 1930s / early 1940s, but I don't think he took any pictures there until into the 1940s. He recalled seeing an old coach somewhere in badly worn LNWR livery, on a teenaged holiday in - I think - North Wales. They used to get the mail boat from Dún Laoghaire to Holyhead and stay in North Wales. A visit there in 1969 or 70 for me was the first time I had been out of Ireland, and what I now believe were 101 class railcars were on many local trains, some in green, some blue & grey. Main line trains often had 47s, and possibly "Peaks"? About half of them green, the rest blue & yellow. Carriage stock was all Mk 1s as far as I recall - can't swaer to there being no Mk 2s, but I don't recall seeing any. About a quarter were still maroon. Goods trains were loose-coupled, like the picture above, but longer - and locos the same as, or similar to the above were to be seen on the lines from Pwhelli to Barmouth and on to Aberystwyth. Two-car railcars did most of the passenger trains on that line.

And of course, THIS was in corporate BR blue!

[Irishswissernie]

The freight train is at Barmouth and is mainly composed of gunpowder wagons + barrier vans probably working to Penrhynduedraeth for loading.

The narrow gauge is the Vale of Rheidol line at Aberystwyth.

[jhb171achill]

The VoR was a highlight of that particular trip for me. That was in 1975.

[jhb171achill]

One more for tonight......

[hexagon789]

On 20/10/2022 at 8:10 PM, jhb171achill said:

Blue'n'grey era........

The loco is a Class 31. A1A-A1Am Originally Mirlees engines of 1,200 or 1,365hp; these were unreliable so they were re-engined '65-'69 with English Electric of 1,470hp, essentially downrated versions of the engines installed in Class 37s. Top speed was 80 or 90mph depending on subclass. Nicknamed Toffee Apples or Goyles.

Very common in Anglia, Lincolnshire and out that way.

The DMUs are Class 108, same drivetrain as the 108s, but built by Derby rather than Met-Camm

The station is Skegness, the clock is the giveaway.

 

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

Tonight's visit to Brexitstan

Class 24. 1,160hp, 75mph - basically the British equivalent of a 181 Class!

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

A visit there in 1969 or 70 for me was the first time I had been out of Ireland, and what I now believe were 101 class railcars were on many local trains, some in green, some blue & grey.

Very likely, the 101s were pretty ubiquitous in many parts of the BR network. The last five units survived until 23rd December 2003 - about 47 years.

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

Main line trains often had 47s, and possibly "Peaks"? About half of them green, the rest blue & yellow

47s, given there were 512 built, were common everywhere, probably even more so than the 101s. A handful still run on the mainline, mostly on charters and railtours but some do stock transfer workings and similar.

'Peaks' actually refers to three classes 44, 45, 46 - the name is because the earliest batches of 44s were named after mountains, such as Scafell Peak etc.

There were only ten 44s, and while initially appearing on the West Coast, they were soon allocated to Toton and used mostly on freight as they were less powerful than the 45s and 46s at 2,300hp vs 2,500hp.

The 45s are synonymous with the Midland Main Line between London St Pancras and Leicester, Sheffield, Nottingham. In earlier years they also operated the through services to Glasgow via Leeds and the Settle-Carlisle, these ended in 1974. From the early 80s, they began appearing on Transpennine services between Liverpool and Newcastle.

The 46s were seen mostly on the North-East (Newcastle/Leeds/Sheffield) to South-West (Devon & Cornwall) Cross-Country services, and in earlier years some North-East to London services.

The main difference between 45s and 46s is the electrical equipment manufacturer.

 

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

Carriage stock was all Mk 1s as far as I recall - can't swaer to there being no Mk 2s, but I don't recall seeing any

The first Mk2s appeared in 1964, but until air-braked ones appeared from 1967, they were mostly used in the best trains but mixed indiscriminately with Mk1s.

The air-braked variants were made into dedicated sets, where only the catering and full brake guard's vans were Mk1s (suitably converted to air-braking).

On secondary lines (not mainlines but proper cross-country or rural lines), Mk1s were the norm until the early/mid-80s.

 

1 hour ago, jhb171achill said:

And of course, THIS was in corporate BR blue!

The Vale of Rheidol was the long-running joke, that BR didn't finish with steam in 1968!

A tourist line though, not a normal line run as a fully integrated part of British Rail. The GWR had operated it before them, and the Cambrian before them.

It was split from BR and privatised in 1989.

10 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

One more for tonight......

Princes Street Gardens, just west of Edinburgh Waverley, looking east towards Waverley.

The loco is a Class 27, synonymous with Scottish railways in the 1960s and 1970s, there will be another 27 on the back.

This is one of the Edinburgh-Glasgow High-Speed shuttles, which ran the fast services from 1972-79.

Two 27s, one each end of six Mk2Z coaches which were refitted with air disc brakes, worked push-pull.

Top speed was 90mph and they operated a half-hourly service taking 43-45 mins for the 47.25 miles with one or two stops.

They replaced sets of six-car DMUs built in 1956, which had a top speed of only 70mph.

The accelerated service was introduced as a direct result of road competition, the M8 motorway had not long opened between the Edinburgh and Glasgow and coach operators had obtained a 70mph licence to run an express coach service.

The 27s in turn were exhausted by the intensive high-speed running, reliability nose-dived and the schedules were eased by 2 mins in 1977 and a further 2 in 1978.

They were replaced in 1979-80 by sets of push-pull modified Class 47s, coded 47/7 running sets of five Mk3 coaches with a converted Mk2F brakes as driving trailers.

Edited October 21, 2022 by hexagon789

[jhb171achill]

17 minutes ago, hexagon789 said:

The loco is a Class 31. A1A-A1Am Originally Mirlees engines of 1,200 or 1,365hp; these were unreliable so they were re-engined '65-'69 with English Electric of 1,470hp, essentially downrated versions of the engines installed in Class 37s. Top speed was 80 or 90mph depending on subclass. Nicknamed Toffee Apples or Goyles.

Very common in Anglia, Lincolnshire and out that way.

The DMUs are Class 108, same drivetrain as the 108s, but built by Derby rather than Met-Camm

The station is Skegness, the clock is the giveaway.

 

Class 24. 1,160hp, 75mph - basically the British equivalent of a 181 Class!

Very likely, the 101s were pretty ubiquitous in many parts of the BR network. The last five units survived until 23rd December 2003 - about 47 years.

47s, given there were 512 built, were common everywhere, probably even more so than the 101s. A handful still run on the mainline, mostly on charters and railtours but some do stock transfer workings and similar.

'Peaks' actually refers to three classes 44, 45, 46 - the name is because the earliest batches of 44s were named after mountains, such as Scafell Peak etc.

There were only ten 44s, and while initially appearing on the West Coast, they were soon allocated to Toton and used mostly on freight as they were less powerful than the 45s and 46s at 2,300hp vs 2,500hp.

The 45s are synonymous with the Midland Main Line between London St Pancras and Leicester, Sheffield, Nottingham. In earlier years they also operated the through services to Glasgow via Leeds and the Settle-Carlisle, these ended in 1974. From the early 80s, they began appearing on Transpennine services between Liverpool and Newcastle.

The 46s were seen mostly on the North-East (Newcastle/Leeds/Sheffield) to South-West (Devon & Cornwall) Cross-Country services, and in earlier years some North-East to London services.

The main difference between 45s and 46s is the electrical equipment manufacturer.

 

The first Mk2s appeared in 1964, but until air-braked ones appeared from 1967, they were mostly used in the best trains but mixed indiscriminately with Mk1s.

The air-braked variants were made into dedicated sets, where only the catering and full brake guard's vans were Mk1s (suitably converted to air-braking).

On secondary lines (not mainlines but proper cross-country or rural lines), Mk1s were the norm until the early/mid-80s.

 

The Vale of Rheidol was the long-running joke, that BR didn't finish with steam in 1968!

A tourist line though, not a normal line run as a fully integrated part of British Rail. The GWR had operated it before them, and the Cambrian before them.

It was split from BR and privatised in 1989.

Princes Street Gardens, just west of Edinburgh Waverley, looking east towards Waverley.

The loco is a Class 27, synonymous with Scottish railways in the 1960s and 1970s, there will be another 27 on the back.

This is one of the Edinburgh-Glasgow High-Speed shuttles, which ran the fast services from 1972-79.

Two 27s, one each end of six Mk2Z coaches which were refitted with air disc brakes, worked push-pull.

Top speed was 90mph and they operated a half-hourly service taking 43-45 mins for the 47.25 miles with one or two stops.

They replaced sets of six-car DMUs built in 1956, which had a top speed of only 70mph.

The accelerated service was introduced as a direct result of road competition, the M8 motorway had not long opened between the Edinburgh and Glasgow and coach operators had obtained a 70mph licence to run an express coach service.

The 27s in turn were exhausted by the intensive high-speed running, reliability nose-dived and the schedules were eased by 2 mins in 1977 and a further 2 in 1978.

They were replaced in 1979-80 by sets of push-pull modified Class 47s, coded 47/7 running sets of five Mk3 coaches with a converted Mk2F brakes as driving trailers.

SUPERB info, Hexagon; this is exactly why I'm posting this stuff here!

[Old Blarney]

26 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

One more for tonight......

Edinburgh. Travelling through Princes Street Gardens. The direction of travel is from Waverly Station to Haymarket Station. East to West. The far end of this train is exiting the tunnel under The Mound. It has a steep incline, is heating during inclement weather to prevent it from icing during cold spells. It is one of two thoroughfares connecting the New Town to The Old Town.  

 

Edited October 21, 2022 by Old Blarney

[hexagon789]

12 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

SUPERB info, Hexagon; this is exactly why I'm posting this stuff here!

You're very welcome. What I lack in historical knowledge of Irish railways, I hope I make up for in more modern age GB railways!

(I think my modern era Irish railway knowledge isn't bad though! )

[Broithe]

33 minutes ago, hexagon789 said:

The station is Skegness, the clock is the giveaway.

I think the station might be Cleethorpes.

[Galteemore]

Cleethorpes it is https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleethorpes_Railway_Station.jpg

[Moxy]

On 19/10/2022 at 11:01 PM, jhb171achill said:

I have to say I like this one....

Cheshire Lines Committee* goods warehouse, Warrington Central

Here is an earlier picture, before it lost the wooden goods hoists off the front:

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6497795

It still survives, but it's posh flats nowadays.

*The Cheshire Lines Committee was a joint line, owned by Great Central, Great Northern & Midland Railways. It remained nominally independent at the 1923 grouping, but it was run by the LNER & LMS from that date.

 

[Broithe]

3 hours ago, Galteemore said:

Cleethorpes it is https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cleethorpes_Railway_Station.jpg

After a while, all these exotic beach holiday destinations just blur into one...

The clock in Skeg is a good way from the station, and offline from it, too.

[jhb171achill]

Good afternoon, all!

A busy centre, this.......  I suppose someone will say that there's a shopping mall and a cycleway here now!

 

4 hours ago, Moxy said:

Cheshire Lines Committee* goods warehouse, Warrington Central

Here is an earlier picture, before it lost the wooden goods hoists off the front:

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/6497795

It still survives, but it's posh flats nowadays.

*The Cheshire Lines Committee was a joint line, owned by Great Central, Great Northern & Midland Railways. It remained nominally independent at the 1923 grouping, but it was run by the LNER & LMS from that date.

 

Does it still have the CLC and other railway companies' initials / names on it?

[hexagon789]

1 hour ago, Broithe said:

After a while, all these exotic beach holiday destinations just blur into one...

The clock in Skeg is a good way from the station, and offline from it, too.

Apologies, I thought the clock was at the station at Skegness.

And in my defence I've never seen Cleethorpes! 

13 hours ago, Broithe said:

I think the station might be Cleethorpes.

Yes, my error there 

[Broithe]

32 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

Does it still have the CLC and other railway companies' initials / names on it?

https://www.google.com/maps/@53.3931958,-2.5900232,3a,75y,223.02h,98.56t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1si5JEKs-aYDyCg_nR0QSMVQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[jhb171achill]

Here's today's contribution:

I think I posted the top two somewhere before, but for completeness, they are included here too.

[jhb171achill]

Is that an old Gresley coach away over to the left? If so, it's well away from home.....

And, indeed, what's the vehicle beyond it?

Steam, of course, must appear...........

[Moxy]

12 hours ago, jhb171achill said:

Is that an old Gresley coach away over to the left? If so, it's well away from home.....

And, indeed, what's the vehicle beyond it?

 

That's Kyle of Lochalsh.  It could be a Gresley coach, likely to be in Departmental use, it looks like it is painted in olive green.  No idea what the coach beyond is.

[Irishswissernie]

On 24/10/2022 at 4:54 PM, jhb171achill said:

Here's today's contribution:

 

2.74 MB · 0 downloads

I think I posted the top two somewhere before, but for completeness, they are included here too.

Ballater ex Great North of Scotland Railway and the terminus for Balmoral. The line actually went further towards Balmoral and was intended originally to extend past Balmoral to Braemar but the line was only completed for a mile or so past Ballater before the project was abandoned. Rumour at the time was that Queen Victoria didn't want a railway that close to the Estate.

[jhb171achill]

Scenic, or wha'!

Mixed maroon and blue/grey Mk 1s.

Scotland?

 

 

And a "Woolwich" by another name, and narrower gauge.......

[Mayner]

On 25/10/2022 at 4:54 AM, jhb171achill said:

Here's today's contribution:

2.74 MB · 0 downloads

I think I posted the top two somewhere before, but for completeness, they are included here too.

There is an interesting parallel between the Scottish Region and the GSR in the 30 & 40s both used battery electric railcars. The 43 mile Aberdeen-Ballater line was worked by a Battery Multiple Unit (BMU) from the late 1950s until closure in 1966, the BMU was acquired by the RTC in Derby following closure and survives on the Royal Deeside Railway who re-opened a section of the Ballater Branch. The economics of both the Drumm Train and DMU appears to have been based on the availability of cheap hydro electricity, the BMU appears to have been a joint venture between the Scottish Region and the North east Scotland Hydro Electric Board. Interestingly the battery and diesel multiple running costs on the Aberdeen-Ballater line were similar and batteries used on the Drumm Trains and BMU appear to have had a similar life span (and the batteries on my garden railway locos nearly 60 years later!) 

The train in the photo appears to be a conventional DMU the BMU was based on a Lightweight Derby Unit with large panoramic cab windows.

https://railscot.co.uk/articles/Aberdeen_to_Ballater_by_BMU:_Notes_on_the_Battery_Railcar_Experiment/

Perhaps 'Senior" visited the Ballater line to check out the battery electric railcar and charging equipment.

[jhb171achill]

1 hour ago, Mayner said:

 

https://railscot.co.uk/articles/Aberdeen_to_Ballater_by_BMU:_Notes_on_the_Battery_Railcar_Experiment/

Perhaps 'Senior" visited the Ballater line to check out the battery electric railcar and charging equipment.

Wow! Wasn’t aware of that.

I’ve no idea what he was doing in Ballater - he kept no notes whatsoever, and said little if anything at all about such jaunts! Pity…..

[jhb171achill]

This is an interesting one - a bit over-exposed but I think it makes a nice shot. Where? When?

[Mayner]

35 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

This is an interesting one - a bit over-exposed but I think it makes a nice shot. Where? When?

One of my favourite spots West end of Lincoln station, early 1970s.  

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-lincoln-city-lincolnshire-england-high-street-level-crossing-and-train-43710963.html?imageid=5A922C76-18F0-4BB3-9E2A-86F8FCE0F3AE&p=639791&pn=1&searchId=a1771b59e91c7c95d700fa08184e0b84&searchtype=0

Edited October 29, 2022 by Mayner

[Broithe]

1 hour ago, Mayner said:

One of my favourite spots West end of Lincoln station, early 1970s.  

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-lincoln-city-lincolnshire-england-high-street-level-crossing-and-train-43710963.html?imageid=5A922C76-18F0-4BB3-9E2A-86F8FCE0F3AE&p=639791&pn=1&searchId=a1771b59e91c7c95d700fa08184e0b84&searchtype=0

I 'lived' in Lincoln in the early 1970s - I'm still slightly traumatised by the intense dullness of that period of my life.

[jhb171achill]

I've posted this before but including here now for completeness. Any idea why there's that kink in the track in the distance?

Edited October 30, 2022 by jhb171achill

[jhb171achill]

One for luck, seeing it's Raheny weekend, and I got more cattle trucks yesterday..............

This is a railcar rather than a cattle truck; though those who commuted in them regularly might take a slightly different view..........

[Broithe]

11 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

I've posted this before but including here now for completeness. Any idea why there's that kink in the track in the distance?

Traffic calming?

[Galteemore]

Looks like the Bridport branch- probably just prior to closure. 

[Mayner]

26 minutes ago, jhb171achill said:

I've posted this before but including here now for completeness. Any idea why there's that kink in the track in the distance?

The 'kink' is possibly as a result of the lifting of a crossing loop or singling of a section of double track. Its possible the train is arriving at Bridport the terminus of the 9¼ mile branch from Maiden Newton after the branch was reduced to a 'basic railway" in 1968 with the run-round loop and goods yard removed at the terminus.

There was a similar abrupt "kink' in the main line at the Dublin end of Enfield where the running road was slewed from the Down to the Up side of the formation after the MGWR main line was singled during the 1920s

[jhb171achill]

Today's 1st November offering:

And another few, for good luck:

Closer: