Eggesford box

A contrast in engine and stock at Banbury yesterday, one following the other The 31 was on ECS and heading into the loop

In connection with the accident at Slatt lc in Co Antrim. I do not know the situation in Ireland but AOCLs in Britain have been retrospectively fitted with a red flashing light for train drivers displayed until the crossing is safe for the train to proceed over the crossing when it is replaced by a white flashing light

Glad it worked out ok. I did think of running you straight to Aynho to avoid any possible conflict with any Chiltern services but since the liner which was running a bit late was not far behind you I decided not to chance it. I know that two aspect signalling south of Aynho is a pain. Also now that BS104 is so far out from the loop at Aynho anything following invariably gets a distant check at BS104R as the preceeding train crawls into the loop, although not such a problem with a light engine.

And wasn't it nice of me to put you in the loop at Banbury!

In the late 70s I was sent down there to learn passenger shunting and there seemed to be a fair bit of swopping locos on trains for them to go for fuel with the replacement loco taking the train to Torbay and then working the return leg as far as I can remember. As others have said even at that time there seemed to be far more activity than nowadays. Great time for me riding around on the pilot pushing and pulling rakes of coaches in and out of Hackney. Even though there was only a small amount of passenger shunting in my job I can assure one of the previous posters I was small and thin in those days!

No, not me. Was out there the Saturday night of the bank slip at Harbury but there where no train movements. It is manned on three turns though with a vacancy there and the Banbury relief signalmen tied up covering vacancies at Banbury most of the time the two residents have been working almost continuous 12 hour turns for a while though the box is normally closed over part of the weekend. Hardly say it is busy there but it is surprising how many phone calls and miscellaneous faffing around there is out there. Out at Claydon tomorrow for a gentle perambulation down to Bicester as pilotman on the Bicester MOD trip. Next week I believe they are going to make an announcement about the future of the camp at Bicester.

Having seen some photos at Banbury when I picked up the van to drive to Claydon of the slip at Harbury I think Monday is more than a tad optomistic for reopening. Mind you, I am not qualified to say and they will no doubt be all over it in the daylight tomorrow to see the full extent of the problem.

Looks like it is going to be closed until Monday at the least

Variety is the spice of life! Quite pleased in a way as I should be 1400/2200 today and would have ended up as the RIO (rail incident officer) out at Harbury but am 2230/0930 out at Claydon for a possession tonight instead. Have not seen any updates as to the situation yet.

Or maybe not, apparently the bank has slipped in Harbury cutting again and the line is closed whilst those in the know are making their evaluations

Re post 578, I think the weight limit by Royal Mail is 2kg, otherwise it has to go by Parcelforce (or another courier)

Came down from bed after nights to find the wife watching 'The case of Charles Piece' (1949 B&W) on 'Films 4 men'. The title character escapes from the police on a train of what looked like LNER (or constituent) stock hauled by an 0-6-0. Not sure but one of the coaches at least may have had a clerestory roof. Film was based on the true case of a victorian burglar and murderer.

I have no idea, perhaps they should have one of those window stickers with a breakfast bowl pictogram with a red line through it! I can remember being on a bus in Malaysia which along with the normal pictograms of banned items (dogs etc) also had one for no Durian fruit

A guard on a Chiltern service this morning was asked by a businessman if he could request the woman sat across from him to eat her muesli less noisily!

The flip side to that. I remember when I first went to Abergavenny box and made the linesman and his mate a cup of tea and the surprised look on their faces. Where I had come from in Devon the S&T where a great set of blokes, nothing was to much trouble and the maintenance was first class (and needless to say in a reorganisation the linesman was pushed out of the job he loved and was good at). They always took their break in the signal box. The pair in south Wales where nowhere near as well thought of and maintenance seemed to be minimal. The Ivorine on the inner home was worn through to the black where the signalmen used to put their foot on it to pull the up home and you never used No.13 clamp lock crossover unless you had no choice as it would fail as often as it would work. I was less inclined to make them a cuppa the better I knew them!

The North & West line might be considered. Not the density of the SWML but plenty of ex LMS engines, bankers and a wide variety of traffic.

NB, Holmsley and Whitley boxes are type 1 in addition to Romsey, I think Holmsley was a platform mounted box. Sidmouth Junction was a subject of a card kit (Prototype Models?) which included printed (on clear material) windows.

Hi, I posted a load of photos (exterior and interior) and a front elevation drawing of Crediton signal box (LSWR type 1) in the earler part of Treggymans Creedyford thread in the layout section. As far as I am aware the windows are the original though the box has replacement windows in recent years if you look at later photos and wonder why the windows are different. Also, the further west boxes of this type had a slightly different treatment at the corner posts with a very narrow section of shiplap boarding at each end at window level and only very narrow apparent corner posts whilst boxes of this type in, say Hampshire, had more conventional corner posts. Whether the corner posts on the westcountry boxes had a recessed section that the shiplap boarding fitted into I do not know. Have a look at Verwood or Downton compared to Portsmouth Arms or Crediton as examples of what I mean. Some of the more easterly ones also had ventilators on the roofs which did not appear on the west country examples. Course, if you went really way back, the shiplap boarding was a later addition in many if not all the type 1 boxes with the bracing exposed making a more interesting looking if decidedly more draughty workplace.

But in best fashion they sold the land off and had to buy it back again! I believe they are also going to move the fittings further out at both ends so they are on straight track. Maybe they are going to buy off the shelf items from Peco! Latest date that I have seen for the closure of the Banbury boxes is May 2016. Thanks for attaching the plan Long Rail. I must admit I had only bothered reading the write up in the local rag. I did wonder when they stated the number of car parking spaces since talk was of the Network Rail depot being moved down there but that answers that question with only the Chilterns part of the scheme being included in the application. Apart from creating more public car parking spaces the parking at the depot is somewhat chaotic though not helped by buying big new vans which no one can drive and are just left to clog up the yard.

That will be the one

This may be of some interest Planning application 02.pdf

Another tip is to place a cloth or piece of tights like material over the end of the nozzle to stop anything you did not want to vacuum disapearing up the nozzle although it means you will have to keep stopping as the debris builds up and turn the cleaner off with the nozzle over an old newspaper or suchlike.

There was a wartime built box at Bicester at the MOD connections from what I can recall from the OPC book on the line though sadly I lent the book to someone a long time ago and it never came back. It may well have been Bicester No.2 given the LMS way of naming boxes. I believe Bicester Perimeter road crossing is going to be replaced by a road bridge. What the situation is going to be at London road crossing I do not know given it is a built up area without much room to build approaches for a bridge. Having been sworn at the other day by a somewhat deranged female cyclist when the barriers at London road where playing up I do not think you have to wait for 'East-West' to start up to encounter angry motorists! I

Well do not forget the go faster stripes on the side of the Astra where the missus swung her car around as she reversed off our drive when she was to close to my car. Bit of an unlucky car. A woman pulled out of the front of the station a couple of years ago just when I was driving into work and drove straight into the side of it. Been plauged by ambulance chasers ever since trying to get me to put in a claim for personal injuries. Pointed out that I would be lying and fraudulent if I did to be told that the women had claimed straight away. This despite her first comment being that she never felt any impact! Honesty never pays! Could explain why I am driving an elderly Astra and she drives a Porsche Cayanne! The pallisade fencing was put round the dock some years back after someone wandered onto the dock and collapsed near the edge. Not his day as he had come to make an appearence in court (I know not what for) and after contacting the court to explain his non appearence we found that it had been postponed. He was confused, only partly conscious and must have felt a bit like Gulliver, being aware that he was lying down yet someone was speaking to him at ear height until I told him I was standing on the track just in case he started to roll off the edge of the dock. Do not forget to put up a post near the end with a sign saying that those two spaces are reserved for the signalmen.

Just a bit of info if anyone is intending to take any photos of the trip to Bicester MOD/COD via Aylesbury and Claydon LNE Jc, it is not running this month. I think it is because they are behind with the work, not being able to work at night around Bicester and suchlike.