Gwiwer

Of those stations currently open on the national network: Scotscalder, Corrour, Rannoch, Dovey Junction, Berney Arms, Sugar Loaf and Teesside Airport (at least) have populations of zero. However none of these is a town or city as asked in the OP and they exist solely to serve specific needs such as hikers at Corrour, interchange at Dovey Junction and a pub and windmill at Berney Arms . Bridge of Orchy does not record a separate population figure for its modest hotel-based settlement but I believe it to be in the region of 10. Forsinard does not record separate population figures either but I believe the permanent population is in the region of 20. The honour for a town with more than one station goes without doubt to Tyndrum with it two stations serving a population of 167 (83.5 per station) Ryde is the smallest town with three open stations Acton is the town (albeit a suburb of London but still a clearly defined area with its own centre) with the greatest number of stations including the place name other than London itself. North, South, East, West, Central, Town and Main Line however only South, Central and Main Line are on the NR with the other four being on TfL routes.

True but not on the South Eastern Division. IIRC it came via Acton, Kew, Stewarts Lane low level lines and Tulse Hill.

I personally watched 2411 and 2417 come through the unlikely (for 5Wes units) location of Gospel oak yesterday. Ironically while I was waiting for a class 172 unit for Barking on the line which is about to be electrified at long last.

Morning all. A wild night last night. Gusty and occasionally storm-force winds interspersed with heavy showers rattled everything loose and kept our huge trees busy. New neighbours (upstairs) had friends around for dinner which got rather rowdy. We asked them to remember they are living in close proximity to other people. All went quiet after dinner but we were woken at 1.45am by an obviously drunk crowd of young people arriving back, clomping up the stairs, shouting, squealing, arguing and apparently throwing things around. This went on until 3am when neighbour (top floor) was heard to come down, bang on their door and remind them she was trying to get some sleep. Easier for her than for us as the two upper flats share a common stairwell inside a locked outer door. We would have had to ring the outer doorbell ...... Offenders haven't surfaced yet but they will receive a written note from us (currently on their doormat) asking that they come and apologise tonight for keeping us not only awake but quite disturbed at the level of noise and the language it included. If they don't take that seriously the next step is a letter to the managing agent who will readily remind them by way of a formal warning to abide by their tenancy conditions and be respectful and quiet neighbours. Early alarm (refer to paragraph above) wasn't appreciated after that but I was up-and-at-'em for the interview with Clapham Junction's duty station managers. I'll know in due course whether it went well but it seemed to go well enough. SWMBO was very disgruntled over loss of sleep and didn't set off in a good mood. Currently sunny with brisk and chilly wind. More of the falling-down stuff is forecast later. To all - have a good Wednesday / Humpday / Midweek. Delete any which do not apply. Best wishes

Nah. We used to say LH stood for Loud Horrible. And the shorter ones were Loud Horrible S**tboxes. Compared with a National they were a pain to drive and to board as a passenger. Compared with an RF they were lumpy, bumpy and uncomfortable. However compared with the SUS which they replaced on my "home" Penzance - Mousehole run they marginally easier to steer into that village.

Reading had a few 4-car 117 sets which inclued a 101 trailer. They were supposed to be kept to specific duties because the lower power:weight ratio affected timekeeping but they turned up pretty much anywhere. It is possible that one of these was included with two standard 3-car 117s in an excursion to maximise seating capacity.

Bill - thanks. 10 years earlier than OP asked for as you acknowledge and of course I agree. Had I replied to 1959 instead of 1969 my answer would have closely resembled yours.

Evening all. Busy one today. Taken to breakfast by SWMBO at a quite early hour. Headed into Kew Gardens with her in order to grab some early-light shots with no-one around. Public entry opens at 10am but for guests of the staff it's any time in daylight. Then home to prepare myself for the Grey Train Company Grilling in the morning. First hurdle cleared with ease; the second might not be so easy as I not only have to pass the on-job interview but my face would have to fit with the team into which I may be slotted. That's tomorrow. Here was today. Around, and above, Kew Gardens between 8 and 9am. And a view across the river to Syon House which stands facing the rising sun.

Correct. City of Oxford was the only NCB operator to never have a Leyland National. It's double-deck running mate the Bristol VRT also went to every NBC operator bar one - Midland Red in this case.

Suburban trains - almost invariably EPB units in 4, 6, 8 or 10 car formations Medway towns - Hap and EPB units on trains terminating (mostly at Gillingham) with those to the coast mostly Cep but some Hap. There were EPB workings through to Ramsgate at peak times and Haps coupled to Ceps too. Sheerness branch was always a single Hap except the through London trains which were up to four units. Main lines through Tonbridge - Cep and Bep units on most trains with EPB workings out to Sevenoaks and occasionally Tonbridge. Hap units on he Medway Valley line from Paddock Wood to Strood. 6L DEMU units on London - Hastings trains with a 6B added on most. Specified trips for the shorter 6S units as they had fewer seats. Tonbridge - Redhill - Reading mostly 3R "Tadpole" units but some rostered class 33 + 3 mk1 coaches. Tonbridge - Tun. Wells - Eridge always 3D units though 3H units were permitted and sometimes appeared west of Tun. Wells West. 2H units on Ashford - Hastings and the Lydd branch with 3H and 3D not unknown Boat trains by 1969 usually 12Cep+MLV as the TLVs had gone by 1968. Golden Arrow and Night Ferry hauled by class 71 locos Inter-regional holiday trains to Margate and Ramsgate could produce classes 24, 25 or 47. Freight - plenty of it and worked by classes 33 and 71 though with frequent visits from many other types Parcels and newspaper trains - again often worked by a 33 though sometimes an MLV or 71 Shunting by class 09 with some 08, 10 and 12 though class 12 (D152xx) may have been extinct by 1969. Plenty of variety

Correct. Sister to LS30 seen in post 445 and discussed in post 447 above http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/122692-for-those-interested-in-old-buses-and-coaches/?p=2842184 http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/122692-for-those-interested-in-old-buses-and-coaches/?p=2842212

Eating cake?

Not virtually. Every day. Not SWR's fault but it is the measure of a TOC to show their response to such problems. SWR's response has been patchy, staff have at times been conspicuous by their absence when needed the most and it is in the normal order of things for late changes to be made to platforming, stopping patterns and even whether a train will actually run. In that respect they have been no better than many other TOCs. We might have hoped that they anticipated knock-on dramas after such a huge blockade and were prepared but it seems not.

Class 141 was, literally, a railbus.

Saw the same here. Buses do not normally serve Strawberry Hill as the road is considered too small and the many large trees present a hazard. When we have rail replacement buses they normally stop a few minutes walk away at St. Mary's University which is on the 33 bus route. Yesterday the depot had given their drivers route maps clearly marked up for coming through the village. I encountered a red double-decker trying to make a three-point turn (without a banksman ) into a lay-by in order to follow the marked route. Later in the day they had clearly been told they must not attempt the turn and were to stop 100 yards short of the station instead at a point where they could turn in a road junction. And there was still no banksman. They also had problems in Teddington where Station Road was blocked by roadworks meaning the set-down point was around 600 yards from the station. Some passengers were inconvenienced by the walk and train connections were missed. Those with roller blinds showed "Rail Replacement Service" as always but one with an electronic screen was showing "South Western Trains"

Morning all. It might be a "sunny Surrey" but it's been persisterating down much of the night over the Hill and continues to be grey, damp and very cool. For the first time this Autumn the heating is on in the morning though it's been used for a couple of hours most recent evenings. A good social chat arose with the neighbours last night while we cooked our respective feasts. With both back doors open and they (downstairs) also catering for they (upstairs) there was much offering of food and drink between the flats. I like it when folk can live that way - close but not in each other's pockets and with friendly respect for each other. Peperwork was completed at 00.02 following yesterday's committee meeting which means I have no voluntary millstone around my neck awaiting attention. I always set myself a deadline of producing the required minutes the same day a meeting took place while things are fresh in mind and so as to not wonder what on Earth my notes meant weeks later! Further down the trolleybus route I rode them in Portsmouth on at least the Eastney circulars. We lived briefly in Fareham and sometimes took the Gosport Ferry to Portsmouth then the trolleybus towards Southsea beach. It didn't actually go to South Parade so there was always a walk but it was the best we could do. I don't recall seeing London 660 / 666 (two closely related routes as still are their replacements the 260 / 266) but would have seen some riding the 607 up to Shepherd's Bush and back. I also saw them in Maidstone and rode one very briefly for the sake of it a couple of stops through the town centre but did better in Bournemouth where I spent as much time as I could out of a family holiday swooshing up and down Richmond Hill and other delights on their unique twin-entrance twin-staircase trolleybuses in a cheerful yellow livery. And I have seen but not ridden on the South Yorkshire Denis Dominator one which was aimed at proving the technology was still fit for task in the next generation but failed to prove where the money was coming from to install the wiring and pay off the NIMBY squads. All of which reminds me - Fareham / Gosport Ferry was in Provincial territory. A small and very eclectic make-do-and-mend outfit which lasted over 100 years because of the original Gosport Railway Act of Parliament. They formed a barrier between Southdown to the east and Hants & Dorset to the west though were never permitted into Fareham Bus Station as were both the larger outfits. You never quite knew what might turn up but a Guy Arabs already pensioned off by nearby Southampton City and rebodied locally by Reading's with stylish full-front body and repowered with a Deutz air-cooled engine was nothing unusual. They also had a former mobile shop converted to single deck bus and used off-season on the rather quiet Stokes Bay run. Ale delivery due. Sharp's Doom Bar this time. Not much else to report and it's not even coffee o'clock yet. Wonder if the cat needs some patting. Best wishes to all. Welcome to another working week for many.

Blood & Custard suggests the 73s were only good for 1600 horses.

What's that doing on the 700??? There was a union instruction to its members at one stage, brought about after certain depot staff assigned "unsuitable" vehicles to the Brighton - Portsmouth limited-stop 700. Introduced with Atlanteans those gave way to Bristol VRTs. Loadings usually required double-deck operation at least for some part of each journey. If an Atlantean was unavailable or broke down anything on hand was sent out. More than one Queen Mary PD3 has covered a 700 working (on one occasion running Worthing - Portsmouth - Worthing on time) and at least one ex-Brighton Hove & District FLF was pressed into use. The instruction stated that if the Atlantean was not available for any reason the only other vehicle members were to take out for a 700 was a Bristol VR. Of necessity a very few Leyland Nationals did get used and there were at times odd workings on the 700 linked to other duties which were National-worked. Coincidentally National 31 is parading on the very route the 700 replaced - the well-known Brighton to Southsea 31.

As the 4Rep traction motors were required for the then-new class 442 5Wes units there was a shortage of Reps during the conversion phase. Some temporary formations were used (some extremely temporary lasting only a few days and many lasting only weeks or months) which included the replacement of a 4Rep motor coach with a class 73. This had a detrimental effect on the power: weight ratio and such workings were restricted, on paper at least, to 8-car formations on the fast services. The semi-fast trains had some very tight point-to-point timings which required full power whereas once the fast was under way it could usually cope with fewer horses and keep something like scheduled time. The train shown in the image displays headcode 91 which is a fast. The TC unit is numbered 8102 which makes it one of the six class 438/1 units nominally classified 4TCT (Trailer Control Trolley), with modifications for accommodating a refreshment trolley in lieu of a Rep catering coach. As formations changed very frequently, almost daily, one must be careful jumping to conclusions but it may be that the TFK is missing pending full conversion and is not yet included, or has been removed already for scrapping. I believe 8102 also saw service as a 4TCB with a Rep buffet car in place of the TFK so perhaps this is in service between one formation and the other.

Correct. The tradition of placing a destination slipboard on the carriage side was continued onto the Bournemouth line stock. These had Waterloo on one side and those on the Rep units had Bournemouth on the other while those on the TC units as far as I remember showed Weymouth. However given that normally only one 4TC continued to Weymouth while the other remained coupled to the Rep at Bournemouth there may well have been two versions of which one showed Bournemouth / Weymouth and the other Waterloo with something else or possibly a blank. Either way a nice little detail for the modeller to add to the blue units. They didn't survive too long into b/g days. On the subject of tables in the 4TC DTSO coaches my attention has been drawn to original drawings which showed the units were not fitted with full sized tables as converted / built. They did however regularly run with some of the clip-in ones fitted and not (as in the Rep) for service of meals but for the general convenience of passengers. Multiple sources have stated to me they remember 4TC units with full-sized tables present which accords with my memory of them. In terms of the models I will happily accept them "as is" being a compromise and possibly the result of scanning a unit more recently fitted throughout with tables.

Quite a few actually. Brighton Buses had all but the very last which then passed to Brighton Hove & District when the council company threw in the towel. Was there not effectively a 2B model with tge front bulge but no pod?

Good morning from Upon the Hill where Sunday is currently living up to its name. Birds are twittering in the trees. SWMBO is still asleep. Nothing else is stirring making for a lovely quiet start to the day. There are no trains running either due to the Orange People doing something on the line at Richmond. I know full well they are running from Fulwell so I shall stride out in that direction later bound for a meeting in Southwark. Wishing you all a good day whether it be church, alcohack or other duty of choice.

As I use(d) the account almost exclusively for third-party hosting that isn't an option in my case. But thanks.

Some sort of good news even though the mini-HST fleet is delayed. Why does that not surprise me? But how is the VegEx stock to reliably manage more than one trip in a week? It does the Saturday job nicely because it can be unhooked from the sleepers after arrival, quickly cleaned and the loco put on the other end (or changed over) and off you go. There's no up Beds on a Saturday night so the evening return to Penzance is not a problem and there's 24 hours to service the stock before it's needed again. On any other day the stock isn't in Penzance until 09.00 (Mondays) and / or is needed again at 20.00 having been fully serviced and cleaned, possibly with a vehicle swap for maintenance. There are no spares so no margin for error. If it is to run on other days it would have to be MX or later in the morning and return much earlier in the afternoon. Possibly just a Plymouth turn then.

No power steering? Yes, I learned that way. On Southdown Queen Mary PD3s. You pushed them round every corner and you often had to push the wheel back afterwards. Hard work. Added to which the gearbox wasn't as user-friendly as it might have been. I have driven Mk1 and Mk2 VRTs and know them to be a little heavy also. One forgets just how much effort is taken out of steering by power assistance until it isn't there. A very modest Mercedes 811D, hardly a heavyweight among buses, shed its power steering drive belt on me one day whilst outbound on one of the twisting Cornish routes from Penzance. 90 minutes later I had got it home, having completed the route, but with a surprising amount of sweat having been lost as the thing would not corner at all until both hands were applied to the same side of the wheel with all of my 14 stone weight behind them.