2251 Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 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. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium keefer Posted July 5, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 5, 2022 (edited) 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 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 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? 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold scottystitch Posted July 5, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 5, 2022 (edited) 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 2 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 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. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium keefer Posted July 5, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 5, 2022 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). 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithMacdonald Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 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 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
montyburns56 Posted July 5, 2022 Author Share Posted July 5, 2022 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 13 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steven B Posted July 6, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 6, 2022 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. 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
montyburns56 Posted July 6, 2022 Author Share Posted July 6, 2022 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! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
montyburns56 Posted July 6, 2022 Author Share Posted July 6, 2022 Walker Brothers of Wigan, Pagefield motor unit, Douglas Bank East sidings. Bickershaw Collieries, 1930s by Pitheadgear 10 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Ramblin Rich Posted July 6, 2022 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 6, 2022 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..?🤔 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 (edited) 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 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewartingram Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 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? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 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. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Steven B Posted July 7, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 7, 2022 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
montyburns56 Posted July 7, 2022 Author Share Posted July 7, 2022 Edinburgh Waverley by Brian Flannigan 14 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium keefer Posted July 7, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 7, 2022 Never realised the Prototype made it to Scotland. No date given but still Class 41, when did it become Class 252? 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hexagon789 Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 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) 8 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium keefer Posted July 7, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 7, 2022 Thanks for that. I knew it ran on the ECML but assumed it only went as far north as Newcastle. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium younGGuns7 Posted July 7, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 7, 2022 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 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hexagon789 Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 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. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hexagon789 Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 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(!). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearholmer Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 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. 5 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium younGGuns7 Posted July 7, 2022 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 7, 2022 (edited) 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 Words 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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