Jim’s “out and about with GBRf” thread

[big jim]

Went to Smallwood vintage rally today, glad I did for the £15 entry fee it was a really good day out, loads more than I thought would be there, not been to a vintage rally for a good 25 years easily, I’ve put lots of the pics up in various other threads (old cars, modern classics, agricultural machinery and military threads etc) but these are a few I can’t find threads for, plus some duplicates for completeness 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was fun, monster truck show 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 26 by big jim

[big jim]

Went to Apedale railway today, only 25 mins down the road but somewhere I’ve not been for a long time

nice little Argentinian O&K 

 

 

The driver let me ride on the tender seat

 

 

 

 

 

I also went down the drift mine which was very interesting, only £8 and the tour takes about an hour, obviously no pics as it’s a proper mine with real regulations regarding sparks and naked flames etc 

there is also a nice little museum that’s free to get into with lots of local history info and displays including some locos

 

 

 

Back to it tomorrow (unfortunately) then a trip up to Saltcoats at the end of the job for a couple of days away 

Edited May 27 by big jim

[45156]

23 hours ago, big jim said:

Back to it tomorrow (unfortunately) then a trip up to Saltcoats at the end of the job for a couple of days away 

Oh memories Jim.  My dad and I played in the band at Saltcoats Labour club back in the early 1970s - and I also worked as bar staff in the same venue for quite a few months - it meant that my dad could get well oiled while I drove - and as  pro musician he certainly knew how to drink.  Being well pre smoking ban, I used to come home with my cllothes reeking of smoke.

[jpendle]

On 29/04/2024 at 17:48, big jim said:

And onto the bridge to wait for the taxi who in all fairness was there in 10 minutes, very good considering the location!

Hi,

 

I've just started installing Dapol  N Gaige OHLE masts on my WCML layout.

 

These pics are just what I needed to get a good idea of the spacing between the opposite 'short' and 'long' arms.

 

I always make the mistake on my infrequent trips back to the UK of taking photo's of interesting things rather than the mundane stuff.

 

Regards,

 

John P

[big jim]

Class 69 test today, started in Bescot taking a 66 to longport for insurance in case of problems 

 

Turned back at kidsgrove 

 

Into longport 

 

56 and 69

 

Coupled up and ready to roll 

 

Into bescot 

 

ran the 69 to the front of the train, 196 on a training run on the goods at bescot 

 

69 on the front again 

 

while we were in Bescot I showed my trainee round but unfortunately I had a disagreement with a catch pit lid (artists impression)

after sorting out the various paperwork and calls to log the incident and check for injuries we headed back to longport 

 

new west mids trian passing us in bushbury loop

 

ran round in alsager 

 

back onto longport

 

I was supposed to work the 66 back to Stafford but another driver kindly took it for me so I could head off to Scotland until Thursday, got a lift to Warrington with my trainee and got the train to Glasgow 

 

68 passing through Warrington 

 

Glasgow 

 

 

 

 

and away to Stevenson 

 

 

Thats me until late Thursday night now

[Chris116]

Enjoy your holiday and turn the work phone off to stop the "can you just's". Thank you for all the information and entertainment you give your readers.

[gismorail]

On 26/05/2024 at 18:29, big jim said:

Went to Smallwood vintage rally today, glad I did for the £15 entry fee it was a really good day out, loads more than I thought would be there, not been to a vintage rally for a good 25 years easily, I’ve put lots of the pics up in various other threads (old cars, modern classics, agricultural machinery and military threads etc) but these are a few I can’t find threads for, plus some duplicates for completeness 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was fun, monster truck show 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Absolutely love that tractor pulling a great spectacle especially when one of those engines let’s go wow 🤩 

[big jim]

11 hours ago, gismorail said:

Absolutely love that tractor pulling a great spectacle especially when one of those engines let’s go wow 🤩 

 that’s what we’re all hoping for! 
 

some pics from Thursday, to be honest my heart isn’t in it this week, nice couple of nights away but really didn’t feel like coming back for the short job I had 

 

went out to Irvine in the morning and caught the train back from there to Glasgow

 

 

Glasgow

 

 

caught the first Pendolino of the day off there following the derailment at Shap which was absolutely heaving, the queue for it was right out of the front of the station, got a seat though! 
 

stayed on that to Warrington as it was then express to london from there 

 

caught the next one in to Stafford 

 

Where it headed off to Birmingham 

 

and I caught a local to rugeley 

 

then went down the chase line to bescot 

 

where I eventually got to my train

 

 

off we went to bushbury loop where I changed ends and went round the curve to oxley and on to shrewsbury 

 

Changed ends there again and set off back to bescot via the chord again 

 

 

That was it for pics, got back and headed off home

 

 

 

 

[big jim]

Couple of days worth of photos 

 

Friday was a run around job doing lot little bits of jobs!

 

crewe to nuneaton first 

 

Nuneaton 

 

pass back to Stafford for a stone train

 

That I took to Altrincham 

 

taxi over to Trafford park for another intermodal south 

 

 

and home ready for Saturdays job, beforehand we went to a comic convention in Nantwich where I had a drawing done by Nigel Parkinson who is an artist for The Beano

 

And off to work where Jason from Friday the 13th was waiting for a train back to Stoke (understandable!) talk about stating in character as we saw him at the convention too!

 

323 unusually in platform 5 

 

Noticed the new signage for 805 is up, I believe they are due to start on Monday to Holyhead 

 

Noticed a charter was due in and sure enough earl of mount edgecombe came in from Liverpool to tyseley 

 

 

 

47 on the rear 

 

66 heading to Manchester 

 

 

and then my train came in, Liverpool to small heath 

 

Running round in Tyseley and the charter came past again heading back into tyseley 

 

 

Shunted across in front of me into ‘Warwick road’ 

 

 

onto my train 

 

into small heath and stabled up 

 

Easy week next week, bescot to clitheroe early Monday, 2 days of conducting the sleepers, off to see the pet shop boys in Nottingham on Thursday then a GBRf family day at Alton Towers on Saturday 

[5BarVT]

Brilliant cartoon, love it.

Paul.

[298]

We were on the tour (early birthday present for me), the family were getting bored so I gave up waiting for Kerosene Castle to pull the set onto the through sidings so walked back to get the car because it looked like we were about to loose the sun. I pulled into the station because I hadn't realised I'd missed the ECS but did see the 66. Your second man acknowledged me when I was on the bridge.

 

 

The Birmingham skyline has never looked so breathtaking....

 

Edited June 3 by 298

[big jim]

8 hours ago, 298 said:

I pulled into the station because I hadn't realised I'd missed the ECS but did see the 66.

i did spot you in the bridge taking the pic 

 

some from last night, got asked to come in early to move a rail delivery train from stechford to bescot, it had bought the wires down earlier in the day and had been stranded for a long time, they had to put down an emergency possession to enable them to put the wires back up and chip back the trees that I believe had been arcing out on the ohle!

 

Into bescot loop to change ends to get into the up yard 

 

 

engine off and back through the yard 

 

That was an impressive delay, possibly the latest train I’ve driven!

 

It was then over to my loco 

 

 

which I took to clitheroe

 

 

Up the branch where I coupled to another 66 that needed dragging back south 

 

Pass back from clitheroe 

 

to Bolton 

 

On the 331 to Piccadilly and a Pendolino to crewe where there was an 805 heading somewhere or other 

 

and a pair of them came in from Holyhead in service having started on the diagram yesterday 

 

pendolino 

 

conducting the sleeper train tonight via the midlands 

[298]

1 hour ago, big jim said:

I did spot you in the bridge taking the pic 

 

It was an about-turn after a day of counting people on stepladders from the Mersey Express. I was practising and perfected my royal wave, and even had a track worker at Small Heath bow in return... 

[big jim]

A few from last night, a simple little conducting job from Stafford to rugby, got on at crewe 

 

Trafford park to Southampton intermodal 

 

Sleeper train for me 

 

and into rugby 

 

same again tonight 

[big jim]

Same job last night, different loco this time though 

 

 

into rugby

 

freightliner running into platform 1, I’m pretty sure it was a service from Northampton to rugby with spoil (looked like muddy clay) that was heading toward the old Leamington branch for offloading to fill the massive hole by the cement works, wondered if @Rugd1022 was driving 

 

730 units 

 

redundant buffer stops in the old south end bay, there are 2 roads here now, the platform starts further south and the stabling road with the 730 units on it 

 

that’s me until next week now, might get some tram pics in Nottingham tomorrow though  

 

 

 

 

Edited June 5 by big jim

[adb968008]

Have the 805’s started in passenger service ?

 

Voyagers havent got long left then ?

[big jim]

19 minutes ago, adb968008 said:

Have the 805’s started in passenger service ?

 

Voyagers havent got long left then ?

yes the voyagers started on Sunday from Holyhead, seem to have been quite well recieved by the travelling public too

 

as an aside I was going to stay on the sleeper this morning to london Euston then pass back to crewe as I was in no rush to get home then I remembered I was parked in a. Car park that started charging at 08:00 so I needed to be back before then, glad I didn’t stay on as there appears to have been an ‘incident’, unfortunately it looks like a fatality, blocking all lines into and out of Euston and as I type this at 08:50 the sleeper hasn’t yet reached london running about 2 hours late from Watford Jn 

[Rugd1022]

Wasn't me on the Willesden - New Bilton Quarry job Jim but it was a Rugby man - I'm on it tonight though, book on 21.10, pass down to London to bring 6R95 back up to Rugby in the morning 😉

 

 

[big jim]

A trip into Nottingham on the tram to see the pet shop boys last night, caught it from Clifton again

 

this time I caught it into the city centre rather than the stop nearer the arena as I’d gone in early to get some dinner before the show, I’ve never actually been into the city before and it was really nice, lots of food places, the shops were mostly closed as it was gone 6 so I think I might have a trip back there at some point during the day 

 

 

 

the remains of the old GC station 

 

As for the concert, absolutely amazing and I’m going to bore you with the pics! 
 

the view behind, 10000 people  

and the view in front, 20 people! 

 

first up was Dave Pierce with his dance anthems which is definitely my thing, played some cracking tunes 

 

As for Pet Shop Boys, amazing, never seen them before so glad I got myself a good seat, if I say so myself I got some great pictures, they put on a brillaint show, classics and a couple of new tunes, a great light show and set too

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the arty shots 

 

 

 

 

as Neil him self put it ‘after 40 years, we’re still the pet shop boys’

 

Alton towers tomorrow courtesy of GBRf 

 

[Tony Teague]

Some stunning images Jim!

[corneliuslundie]

So they are no longer teenagers!

J

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

The Pet Shop Pensioners

[big jim]

6 hours ago, corneliuslundie said:

 

So they are no longer teenagers!

 

 

None of us are, we try to act like youngsters but our knees, backs and eyes tend to remind us we’re not as youthful anymore 

 

6 hours ago, Dr Gerbil-Fritters said:

The Pet Shop Pensioners

Neil tennant is 69 years old!!

 

 

Edited June 7 by big jim

[big jim]

Couple of interesting jobs next week, only in for 2 days 

 

Sunday is peak forest to bescot with the rail milling machine transit move 

 

Monday is a bit different, Doncaster to oxley with an 805 but I’m going via the ECML to Peterborough then back across to Leicester via melton Mowbray which I’ve got a route conductor for then it’s Leicester to Stafford and back to oxley!

 

Then that’s me done for the week unless I do a couple of rest days 

[5BarVT]

9 hours ago, big jim said:

Monday is a bit different,

Starting from Hitachi.  A new one, or an early one returned for fitting out and/or livery vinyls.

Paul.