big jim

the BIS IS just a little in cab toggle switch on the colas locos!

a more substantial load tonight..... also as requested this is the drivers desk which puts me in mind of this....... just having a break away from the engine again before we head back to hinksey (where it will also pick up 70804)

Got 70805 on 6M50/6V46 today

i've just found myself picking up issue 2 from our local co-op, even though i dont know what im planning on doing with the models at all! strangly though they also had issue 15 of the hachette your model railway partwork on the shelf too!!

yes, nothing major though, just a little teething trouble

one from yesterday, 59202 in the consist of 6V46 from bescot, just before we dropped the class 70 onto the front of it

some from last night

the black round the window makes it look like a racoon!

nah, have a go at tonights consist 70804 59202 2 x jna 3 x oca 1 x oba 1 x oaa 2 x moa

The return working should be more interesting, ive got 59202 dit as well as a decent length train!

i think they should name the first one "marmite" you either love it or hate it, personally i like it however its too clean at the moment! once it gets a bit of muck on it it will look better, honest

hinksey last night more colas 70 pics here.... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/70783-jims-down-by-the-tracks-with-colas-thread/?p=1369332

couple of days of pics this time sunday i did a possession train, turned out it was cancelled and needed moving off site, unfortunatly no-one told me so i turned up at the booked time of 21:00 not realising the train had been wanted to be moved since about 15:00 66012 leading anyway got on it and fired up the lead loco (66012) in readyness to head off site, wrong road through the possession and upto langley green to exit and cross over, just about to leave and i noticed the train had 1700 tons on which is too heavy for old hill bank (1300 ton limit) so, long story short i had to leave the possession towards stourbridge jn instead driving from the rear loco (66544), i then uncoupled it, ran down to kidderminster, changed ands and ran back to stourbridge, put the loco on the front, multied them up and headed back into the possession to tackle old hill with 7000 horsepower waiting to leave stourbridge jn with both locos powering rowley regis, waiting to get permission to enter the worksite and begin the climb of old hill bank the pair of them tackled the bank with ease from the standing start, over the top at about 30 mph, carried on towards bescot via soho and perry bar, dumped the train and headed back to lye to get my van before going to a hotel in nuneaton in readyness to start work there the next day got to the station nice and early and had a bit of time photographing a few bits and bobs before my train rolled in, 6M50 to bescot, 70804 with 1800 tons, as i've mentioned before i was only conducting, not driving and off we went about 30 early, had us in at whitacre jn where a few things passed by and into bescot, waiting to enter the yard the wait was for this to finish its run round, the same 66 that passed us at whitacre jn! into the yard and over to the up side to collect the outward traffic couple of old 08s onto the train then it started to get dark schenker schunter loco portrait and away we went about 25 early to hinksey where i got this shot in all a good, if somewhat long day, well couple of days! back on the 70 today on the same job

rcar6015: i certainly hope im not the most photographed driver being as i wasn't driving! yorkie: no restrictions for being new swt442: yes 804 is on it again today (class 70 booked all week) first impressions........what a beast, like nothing ive been on before, so quiet in the cab and a surprisingly good ride pics will follow in the morning when i fire up the computer

yes, 70804 will be on this service, in fact were all ready to roll from bescot!! were just away from the loco having a break in the cabin before we head back as far as hinksey, its hardly the most taxing of loads for it, only 500 tons, the load into bescot was 1800 tons and i must admit i am very impressed by the performance and ride of the 70 so far (im not driving, only conducting) EDIT: accidentally deleted the post when i meant to edit it!

well that was an interesting nights work..... pics will follow at some point this week but it started with a top and tail engineers train, (ews 66, 30 wagons and freightliner 66), then an unscheduled trip to kidderminster with one of the locos, and it ended up with them double headed in multi pulling 1700 tons up old hill bank! 7000+ horsepower certainly made light work of it! didn't even make it home, ended up in a hotel closer to todays job due to the hours involved

interesting read roy, ok, you say his driving wasn't dangerous, he's not senile etc but why was he allowed to sit next to his barrister and why are we paying his costs? strikes me as he(or his legal team) knew how to play the system by getting it in to the crown court knowing he wouldn't (or couldn't) get the sentence that he should have had coming to him had it gone to magistates and it would be thrown out the whole thing bloody well stinks to high heaven!! you say that the RHDR should fit low level lights at the crossings, heres an idea get the ever upstanding Mr Alston, being a lifelong supporter to dip into his obviously very deep pockets and shell out for a few to be fitted, probably cheaper than the cost of a lawyer for his next court apperance!!

I dont think there is much difference between 801 and the rest, apart from the yellow ends being different Those who have driven the new 70s (and used to work the old ones for freightliner) sat that they are different to the original batch (which would maybe explain why they were delayed coming off the docks by a paperwork issue) I'm on one tomorrow and ca'nt wait!!

like king kong lashed down in its cage!! typically i've got booked jobs for the next 2 weeks (inc class 70 training) so i won't be getting that one from the docks either!!

the box rang me to say he would run me through rather than stopping in humberstone rd for the remaining 30 mins of what would normally be a 3 hour stopover, i just asked if i had time to stop for a few mins in the platform, had there been stuff around and i couldn't stop i'd have just kept going sometimes a box may pull off for you to keep going and you can call them to request the booked stop if you want it, similarly in leicester i normally call them when i get in humberstone rd to ask them to keep me to time as my relief does not get to toton til 05:30 and if i get there early i either have to sit round outside the yard or run the loco round, neither of which i want to do at the end of a 12 hour shift!

Just one picture from last night, due to a loco failure my train had a hired in freightliner loco on the front of a dead in train 66848 I got to didcot in my van for 20:15 and my train finally rolled in at 02:15 some 4 hours late! Due to the timings on it i managed to pick up 50 mins at banbury, an hour at bordesley and over 2 hours at leicester so i actually left there 20 mins early!! The only stop i had en-route was in the platform at leicester purely to stop and use the loo as it was getting a bit touch and go (or touch 'n' cloth) which is where i got the picture Got into toton and took the freightliner loco off and run it round leaving the colas 66 on the rear where t will stay until the train arrives into redcar later this afternoon!! Juat got back and off to sleep now before a week of working on class 70s

a few more pics from last night, basically had a go at improving on the leicester pics by experimenting with various settings first up, waiting to leave didcot and into leicester, still 15 second exposures but i took a light reading from the blackness of the foreground this time and then focussed on the cab light, tonight there was a bit of cloud cover too which looked quite good by the time i got the 2nd pic the cloud started to move in quickly giving me this dramatic effect........ one the other way and a loco study and then to sleep for a few hours!!

not got a clue i was 150 miles away at the time!!

without wanting to turn this thread into another "hachette mk1" what shop has what thread, but wh smith in didcot has a stack of them in the window when i walked by last night, a good 5 boxes worth

ah, pink hue, one of our more camp drivers!