Jim’s “out and about with GBRf” thread

[big jim]

2 minutes ago, Tony Teague said:

I think you'll find that the cause is gravity 😏

The cause is Greggs and Maccy D’s! 
 

here’s the link again as it’s a new page!

 

https://cyclethemonth.prostatecanceruk.org/fundraising/jims-got-fat-again-but-still-wants-to-raise-s

Edited June 19 by big jim

[Ian Smeeton]

I don't suppose you might be conducting the sleeper on Monday the 1st July?

 

As I am booked on it.

 

Regards

 

Ian

[big jim]

4 hours ago, Ian Smeeton said:

I don't suppose you might be conducting the sleeper on Monday the 1st July?

 

As I am booked on it.

 

Regards

 

Ian

i don’t know yet but if I am on it I’ll let you know!

 

only a couple from tonight, the return loaded scrap train, Leamington spa to Crewe, 66758 again 

 

Leamington 

 

and into basford hall

 

route refresh Burton nemesis rail later today 

Edited June 20 by big jim

[big jim]

No pics from inside the yard but todays trip out was a route refresh in burton in Trent for an ECS move I’ve got next week

 

next week seems to be Stoke diverts with stone trains and intermodals, will have to check the diagrams when they come out tomorrow

[big jim]

Nice little trafford park to Nuneaton tonight 

 

train to Manchester 

 

Piccadilly station 

 

 

 

Trafford park 

 

nuneaton

 

thats me until Monday night now, got a stone Train from Stockport to small heath but it’s via Piccadilly, chat moss, Warrington, crewe, Stoke and Stafford! 

Edited June 22 by big jim

[big jim]

A quick pic from the walk into Carlisle from the car park, the LSL midland Pullman having arrived in from Holyhead, apparently tangmere was there today too

[big jim]

Back to it last night , should have been a stockport to small heath job but not long after I woke up a message came through from a fellow driver asking if a run round could be done at Stockport to come in from the south and head back toward hazel grove (it can’t, you can change ends if you are light loco or run round a short train though) 

 

I asked why and he said he was being held at basford hall and had been asked if he could go via Warrington and Manchester to Stockport as there was a failed train at Plumley on the Cheshire lines which was preventing him travelling on his booked route and as he only signed to Stockport via Wilmslow he couldn’t do it but wondered about the run round 

 

I gave control a ring to enquire about the failed train and they knew nothing about it, they hadn’t been informed at all by network rail despite that when I looked on real time trains it had been sat there since 14:30 (5 hours previous!) it was a freightliner service that had hit an object and had damaged the under-frame so it wasn’t a 5 minute fix

 

EDIT: I think the other driver might have had a bit of a wait looking at how late the freightliner got away on RTT 

 

I suggested that (for a price) I could conduct the driver from basford hall to stockport and get off there to await my booked southbound train which was quickly agreed to so I shot off down to basford hall parked the mini up alongside the train got on board 

 

 

and off we went to stockport, at ordsall lane in Manchester we did an unusual move where we ran wrong direction on the down line right through to Piccadilly whilst a TPE service ran alongside us in the same direction, a rare old move indeed!

 

At Stockport I went to get off but it turned out the other driver, due to a paperwork issue, wasn’t sure if he signed Stockport to hazel grove so I ended up staying on the peak forest just in case, ringing peak forest box in advance to tell them not to let my southbound working depart from them until we’d arrived as the other driver would be expecting me to be getting on at Stockport (always got to think 3 steps ahead!!) 

 

so into peak forest, rubbish picture, greasy lens

off it went 

 

 

as it happened my train hadn’t arrived yet so I had about 20 mins to wait before it did and I set off to small heath

 

Running round in tyseley 

 

And a bit later, into small heath and split for unloading 

 

taxi to new st, grabbed a coffee from maccys and managed to get a shot of a tram passing by as the sun rose, quite like this pic

 

new st

 

you can’t really tell but this is the unique white livery voyager ‘101 squadron’

 

730

 

Old and new 

 

My train home, not sure if I’ve driven this one yet?

 

And back into crewe 

 

possession tonight, Hinksey to banbury then a ballast drop on the chilterns toward Bicester

Edited June 25 by big jim

[45156]

You do get the jobs Jim, you really do, but hey ho, it's all down to your brilliant route and traction knowledge - not to say your willingness to do a good job, and not just the bare minimum.  If all drivers were like you, there would be a lot less problems on the modern railway.

[Ian Hargrave]

The shot of the tram is a prize winner. Would win many a competition. Superb !

[CovDriver]

We must have just passed each other on the station as I had just brought in an empty stock from International into platform 4 as I also had one of those phone calls "Could I work a rest day" something to do with a certain sporting event in Germany.

[big jim]

Ballast drop last night between aynho jn and ardley

 

hinksey 

 

 

 

changing ends in banbury

 

 

 

and job done at ardley old station site 

 

tonight’s job is cancelled so I’ve got to book in and leave my phone on but I’ve got a feeling I’ll get a can you just to go to Mountsorrel looking at the vacancy list! 

[big jim]

Well I didn’t end up in Mountsorrel as I though I would but did have a couple of other jobs to cover 

 

first up, over to Manchester by train, Manchester pendolinos passing north of crewe station 

 

197 to Manchester 

 

Pride Pendolino in Piccadilly 

 

 

Over to trafford park for an intermodal to Nuneaton 

 

went round the houses again, Manchester, Stockport, Macclesfield, Stoke, Stafford (where I got wrong routed so had to stop to get sent the right way!) bushbury, Walsall, Sutton park and Nuneaton

 

wad a few hours to wait before working the car train north which was diverted due to a last minute possession and the driver didn’t sign the diversion route so I had it go via coleshill and Sutton park etc back to Stafford where it rejoined its original path 

 

into basford hall

 

tonight is an ECS move stockport to Burton on Trent via uttoxeter and then the light locos back to Doncaster 

 

 

[big jim]

Something a bit different yesterday, ECS Manchester Piccadilly to button then locos to Doncaster 

 

Started off in crewe with the 3 peaks by rail challenge was kicking off with a trip to Bangor to climb snowdon, there doesn’t seem to be as much publicity surrounding it this year

 

47593 leading, it sounded a bit rough to my ear!

 

57011 on the rear, I think this livery really suits it 

 

Over to Piccadilly

 

 

i went to the platform end to grab some shots of things coming and going 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then the charter appeared 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From there I headed off to burton on Trent to drop the stock off at nemesis rail, went via Stockport, Stoke and uttoxeter, changing ends at Derby 

 

 

no pics at burton as it was dark but it then had a slow trundle at points over to Doncaster via derby, chesterfield and barrow hill where I left the locos at decoy 

 

 

66309 freshly named 

 

And that was that, a drive home and a couple of days off, back on Sunday with a possession train, northwich to bescot then an 807 oxley to Carlisle on Monday, hams hall Tuesday, East Midlands gateway Wednesday and Carlisle to oxley on Thursday

 

[big jim]

A little bit of RDW today, bescot to toton tripper, worked it to my advantage as I went to a comedy show in Stourbridge last night so got a hotel in merry hill to save me driving all the way home and back again last night/this morning 

 

Bescot

 

It was light loco over to toton

 

Where i coupled up to a DB 66 and crane

 

while I was doing that a colas test train went past with HST powercars and mentor 

 

 

Then a steel train came past and was backed into the yard 

 

Not content with 2 locos I thought I’d add another 

 

Not interesting enough, let’s add another one! 

 

I don’t do this very often, coupled together with the tight lock coupler, only really used them on the ratcliffe trains that used ex EWS locos 

 

And away to bescot, 4 locos on top of 85 ton of crane (of course only the front one was running!)

 

I really hope this livery gets released by EFE 

 

Possession tomorow, knutsford to bescot then into lodge in Wolverhampton ready for an 807 move on Monday 

[big jim]

Possession train today, started in knutsford station 

 

then moved along to plumley signal box, the exit boards were a bit further along but had i sat there I would have fouled a public footpath so I had to keep it clear 

 

went for a Quick Look in the box while there, passed the box hundreds of times but never been in there!

 

it used to control a lot more than it does now, hence the white levers, there was a crossover nearer to northwich that went toward the old Octel sidings which in turn had a ground frame released from the box (brown/blue lever)

 

This fascinated me, the old adage ‘if it ain’t broke don’t try and fix it’, a CRT screen and built in keyboard train describer on the Greenbank Box side of the panel, that side is TCB whereas the other side is Mobberley box which is absolute block, that uses normal block instruments 

 

And yes I was allowed to be sat just past the signal (within the possesion) 

 

And it was away to bescot 

 

 

 

the shunter told me there were a couple of locos coming in for fuel so I hung about, walked back to put my bags in the cabin, you may remember I posted some pics of the Shunter’s garden they are cultivating, it stated to bloom now and looking very nice 

 

 

I walked back and waited for the locos to arrive and sure enough 50007/50049 appeared along the goods 

 

 

into the yard 

 

 

@Accurascale Fran just saying….

 

I went down to Tame Bridge to see them head through on their way back to Kidderminster, they are heading off to Eastleigh tomorrow to be repainted into large loco livery 

 

 

 

nice little job tomorrow, Oxley to Carlisle with 807002 

 

Edited yesterday at 18:27 by big jim

[corneliuslundie]

I was distracted watching the video by the four people on the platform who took absolutely no notice of the passing locos.

Interesting that the starter stayed green. Is it in fact a manual signal?

Jonathan

[treggyman]

Hi

The two 50's went past where I live in Cornwall on their way to & return from Penzance on their Railtour......

 

Lovely to hear them go by & they looked very smart.

 

In a way I shall be sorry that they are being repainted as although in my opinion Large Logo suits the '50's I think the GBRF livery suits them even better.....

 

Thanks Jim for your informative & interesting thread that I really look forward to reading & viewing every day......

 

Cheers Bill 

[5BarVT]

2 hours ago, corneliuslundie said:

I was distracted watching the video by the four people on the platform who took absolutely no notice of the passing locos.

Interesting that the starter stayed green. Is it in fact a manual signal?

Jonathan

I think it is all in the timing of the video and the signal will have replaced to red just after the clip finished.

Definitely not a ‘manual’ signal in the sense of staying off until the signaller replaces it.

Paul.

[SM42]

5 hours ago, corneliuslundie said:

I was distracted watching the video by the four people on the platform who took absolutely no notice of the passing locos.

Interesting that the starter stayed green. Is it in fact a manual signal?

Jonathan

 

 

The signal is plated as an automatic.

 

 

It has simple overlap track circuiting. 

 

The track circuit approaching the signal extends past it (200yds most likely)   so it will not return  to danger until the locos hit the next track circuit along. 

 

However the signal next in rear will be at danger. 

 

A more complex installation has a track circuit just ahead of the signal and the signal will return to danger almost immediately 

 

The Cross City North has a similar arrangement to that seen here. 

 

It can look a bit odd  if your train fails and the signal just behind it is still green.

 

Andy

Edited 19 hours ago by SM42

[5BarVT]

8 hours ago, SM42 said:

The signal is plated as an automatic.

Couldn’t remember (and not in a position to check for a few days) if Walsall resignalling still had Auto plates or if we had gone to all plated as non passable by that stage.

Paul.

[big jim]

Oxley to Carlisle with an 807 heading to Darlington 

 

changing ends in wolves 

 

 

Stopped in Stafford 

 

And preston

 

Into carlisle

 

And off it went 

 

Scotrail 156

 

Failed TPE unit, wipers were broken 

 

Pendolino home 

 

east mids gateway tomorrow