big jim

When taxi drivers ask what the hardest part of the job is I say “balancing the train in the rails” some get it, others don’t!

According to BTP on Twitter they are investigating the matter also the girl who’s car is in the initial post has deleted her Twitter and Instagram accounts today My tweet of the day about it goes to this one....

this has proper blown up on Twitter with someone posting links to his Instagram page showing a good 1/2 dozen other sports cars posed in the same position on the same crossing, so not a one off occurrence it would seem Funny if the next train round the corner was this....

no it’s a small local charity called willows way my wife gets so annoyed when pick up cats from people who turn on the waterworks and say “it’s breaking my heart.....” then they never so much as ask for an update on their progress or indeed hear anything from them again

Another lockdown kitten at the rescue, got during lockdown, owner bored and locked him out of the house hoping someone else would take him in and look after him which didn’t happen, someone did take him in though and contacted the rescue got to be neutered then he will be ready to find his forever home

The last couple of days of the 196 course was cancelled so today I got asked last minute to do a derby to bescot light engine, it should have been going to longport hauling new import 66797 but there was an issue so it didn’t happen Derby

I haven’t ordered these as I did a Bachmann conversion a good 10 years ago that I’m more than happy with but I think once I see them in the flesh I may well partake having seen Andy’s pics and the reviews in Hornby mag and rail express, might go for the harry needle livery though despite me having driven them at DRS me arriving into Chester pulling the unique blue flask wagon

2nd seat in the mini now, looking good in my opinion

not a supermarket but ikea use doncaster iport, GBRf operated, i think they go to teeside somewhere tesco also have a DRS worked service from iport, not sure where to off hand though

i can think of one bridge near me which i fully expected to be on that list but no, its the first bridge out of nantwich on the whitchurch road A525 which is fully in situ with traffic lights on it, surely a candidate for demolishion and a new level road Dropped pin Near 1 Baddington Ln, Nantwich https://goo.gl/maps/hXTRPLgMmXF6e3oT8 its over the old market drayton to nantwich line which shut in 1967 and the track was lifted in 1970 so its stood there for 50 odd years unused, the road is now quite a busy route from the M6 for lorries heading to new big warehouses in whitchurch and ironically tankers going to muller dairy in market drayton (which used to be one of the main local produce carried by the railway on that line

They are also testing them on the WCML, the path runs around the same time as the daytime 196 test train so it’s possible to see them both in the space of 10 mins around crewe

is that the Renault sport Clio 192? I always fancied a clio Williams back in the 90s

It happens quite a lot, freightliner for example did/do the TPE mk5 and nova acceptance, training etc, I actually had an interview to be an instructor on it the day before my GBRf interview and got the job but as history shows I obviously went for the GB job covdriver, after so long driving locos with loads of room in the cabs it’s certainly strange getting back in a gangwayed unit, yes not much visibility compared to a loco and less than say a 158, an ingenious set up with the gangway door and centre partition though, I really can’t see how they will get ERTMS in them if that ever happens, every inch of space is used in the cab Things I did like were the DSD pedal plate/footrest can move up and down height wise and the seat in very adjustable, if you can’t find a comfortable position then there is a problem! bits I don’t like, very awkward handrails and steps to get into the cab and no hold over button on the brake! We get into the real nitty gritty tomorrow, moving it round the yard, trying various driving modes and then faults and failures, we had a couple today even without moving but they are easy enough to find and rectify as it’s all displayed on the driver interface screen, those who had already learned them said the computer is the hardest thing to get your head around but I found it quite enjoyable, I think it helps being tech savvy (ish) and it’s helpful knowing class 70s as they are computer lead certainly helped, despite being a different beast completely the basics of how to scroll through the computer and fault find are there, similarly signing 168/170 previously gave me a good grounding to the outside of the unit and what to look for isolating cock wise, there are things I’ve got to get out of my head regards 2nd and 3rd gen units such as what will put a hazard light on as the 196 only has 3 incidences as opposed to 5 traditionally (and one of those is a new one!) Looking forward to the rest of the week

It’s for fault free mileage accumulation on the units, they have to achieve a certain number of miles of fault free working before being accepted so we are driving them between Tyseley and crewe every night (2 trips new at to crewe) so they can be handed over from the manufacturer to the TOC

So this is what I’ve been doing today, class 196 traction course, certainly a ‘different’ unit to learn, all computer based inside, very much like a 170 unit outside though couple of days static training then handling turns later in the week to crewe and maybe Stratford upon Avon

There is one of Buckley too which is superb

Some from last night, possession at bilbrook, had to run round in Wellington again and that was that, something different Monday to Friday next week, got a course to do, hopefully be able to report back as the week goes on

yes that’s the one, is that not the same bit of track we’re talking about?

Good god, this is something else!!

I thought that was my old mini when I saw the thumbnail! got the first seat in the car today, bit of a shock jumping in the first time after having nice padded standard seats in there!

A bit easier job for me today, just a grille swap from red to black, got to black out the red behind the lower grille as it looks a bit odd if the weather is with me I’ve got some new seats to go in tomorrow

That’s was originally on Twitter, @johnlawton10 a train driver from Yorkshire I made the comment on there that the last bit of film reminded me I needed to buy a new pencil sharpener!

wow this is weird, i only discovered about the wartime history of this line yesterday myself despite driving trains past it for the last 15 years and knowing of the line to ashby from chellaston jn, the junction signal from the 1969 resignalling of the area is still sat defunct in the trees at chellaston jn! interesting to note from looking on line that the loco shed at shardlow quarry is still (just about) standing in the trees and there are concrete bufferstop blocks in a field nearby too

they are rare as rocking horse doings, i managed to pick one up for £75 about 18 months ago and it went for over £200 on ebay less than a week later, not seen many come up since then, maybe a couple, thats it good luck though, hope you can find one!

Some from today, had us out as far as burton this time so a couple of different shots of things passing by