big jim

I’ve been on site all day, its a lot messier than it looks! Even the logistics of getting the containers off site has been a 6 hour job in itself yet alone the wagons, the whole line is under possession and we are working in a worksite so 5mph max shuttling containers to and from coleshill and into hams hall, unloading then back again for more, then we start on recovering the wagons which can only be moved at walking pace due to the springs falling out It’s certainly not a model railway ‘hand of god’ operation but it is very interesting to be involved

This post match interview is brilliant https://youtu.be/AbAvd_4g6fQ

Are the wagons not KFA? (Twin sets) with rigid bar couplings between them, perhaps the lead wagon coming off and twisting has pulled the trailing one over via the coupling bar?

47606 was one of the last 47s me and my dad needed back in the 80s, always eluded us, one day he was helping my grandad do some work in his house just off the high street in Prestatyn and as I was getting under his feet he sent me off to the station to do some train spotting, I would have been about 10 years old, I returned about 15 minutes after he sent me out all excited having got to the station just as 47606 pulled in on an intercity service, it took my dad another 2 years or so to finally see it himself! Still remember it clearly today, it was in the days when you could stand on the wooden bridge right above the exhaust and loco fans and get blown away when the train pulled out (and also probably get some sort of cancer from the exhaust fumes!)

https://flic.kr/p/29VdH9s

Oh dear! Looks like 6M50 coming the other way too I was supposed to have a road learning trip out of hams hall tomorrow, had to curtail it back to Toton instead as my loco is trapped in there

Road learning today into doncaster iport, a new service starts next week to Southampton but today was the official opening by princess Anne, I was booked to stay with the loco all day and return to Roberts road with it but we weren’t needed so left before royalty arrived which was a shame as I had all my nice new clean uniform on just in case! Had permission to take these pics inside the site and post them on line So back to the station and train home, didn’t bother with more pics other than a GBRf coal train headed north Supposedly driving a road learning loco tomorrow but that may be cancelled yet due to an issue at Whitacre jn

Can you put a price list up in this thread (and the other 507/508 thread maybe) for the new updated sides, still fancy doing a misery rail 508

Blue phaeton has gone, loaded onto the back of a truck and en route to Poland for breaking as we speak!

Complete with europhoenix 37901 in front

Came across a minor bump this morning, car turning right and the car behind had ran into it. Last year my wife had an accident where she was stationary at a narrow bridge where other cars have priority the other way and a car ran into the back of her as the woman was putting her make up on at the time! Went through the insurance and the other cars insurance admitted liability straight away, they repaired our car (12 year old 200k mile Nissan Murano) and wrote off the offending 6 month old fiat 500 Anyway back to this morning I noticed the offending car was also a fiat 500, I remarked to my wife “what is it with fiat 500s and rear ending people” she replied “wonder if it’s the same girl who ran into me” and low and behold yes it was the same person! I dread to think what her insurance are going to do this time!

supposed to learn/refresh hams hall but got asked to help out with a leicester to peak forest service 66788 leading ex EWS hopper wagons as i dont sign peak forest we had to swap over at edale northern unit stopping en route to manchester and that was that

thats why i think its not working, far too slow to drop compared to the V6! Saying that it was cruising at 70mph at 1100 rpm and in the 50 limit in the M6 was down to 800 rpm im hoping plugging into a diagnostic machine may flag the fault up, if its just the fuel sender than i can get one for about £30

This made me smile this morning, for a brief time I owned 2 VW Pheaton’s The blue one in the front is the V6 I’ve just sold (odd wheels as I hit a pot hole a few weeks back) The grey one at the back is my ‘new’ one, a V10 5L Diesel Swapped the wheels over (all matching now!) as the blue one has genuine VW alloys that look a lot better in my opinion Drive it back from Leicester yesterday and it ran like a dream, the only issue I can see is the fuel gauge may be faulty as it doesn’t seem to go below 2/3 full!

Just 2 from today, Landor st to doncaster down decoy with a tanker train Colas 37116 passing by heading to Tyseley And my train with 66760 leading

i wish! it actually should say doncaster

same loco again today, pretty much the same job but starting at the back of toton and running round in burton west yard thankfully it wasnt the loco on the left, 66709 as that would have meant id have to get the kernow model! burton, having run round and a pic i wont be able to recreate in a few weeks, the train is sat on the old St marys loop and the fresh ballast in front where i took the pic will be the new passenger lines when they are installed tank train tomorrow, landor st to birmingham

yeah, the 206 INSIDE the 66 exhaust!

Ref the exhaust comment by Yes tor these pics may be useful And regards the ‘hole’ it is indeed cavernous, even I could climb inside it!

Derby blockade this morning and first celeb loco 66721 “harry beck” Supposed to run round at burton west yard but it was occupied so I had to run to the curve round to Leicester, uncouple, light engine to drakelow and back onto the train via the station, luckily I sign as far as drakelow or we would have been knackered (used to use it to turn IM trains going into derby if they were facing the wrong way) And away to derby, sat in sunnyhill loop for 1 1/2 hours as they couldn’t accept me into the possession at the booked time Same again tomorrow but later in the day

I signed up to that TopCashback a few weeks back, soon mounts up, I’ve got over £100 in my account already and have saved in things like my car insurance and Home emergency cover while getting cash back

Best Car boot bargain I had was a Hornby TTS 97301 for £40, also cash converters in crewe a few years back had a ‘Hornby coach’ for £10 which was actually a DCC fitted Hornby class 153 in east mids trains livery When we first moved to crewe we had a drive round the local area and spotted somewhere called Dagfields craft centre, we had a look at the various ‘tat barns’ and when we went into the arcade shop area found trident trains which is now under the management for Richard and now my model shop of choice, (the shop is actually featured in the current Bachmann collectors mag)

Just a couple from today, silver bullets from crewe to carlisle via the s+c, got delayed for 80 mins at Wigan due to a signal failure but managed to get to carlisle 15 early in the end! Carlisle Driving down to hams hall tomorrow for a look at it, never been there before so need to see the shunts and method of work

Northern belle 57 has them

That strange looking injector sat on our mantelpiece for years while my dad restored Alice in the garage, I’ll ask him tomorrow what it came off originally