TheSignalEngineer

As the main line is single and given the time in which it is set these will have a bearing on the method of working, signal box, ground frames etc which are required. This will also determine the signals required. It may be that you don't need any at all depending on what happens at each end of your sketch. It looks as if trains can only run through on the main line. It doesn't look as if it is set up for trains to pass. Do you want to be able to put a goods train inside whilst another train goes through?

Not on that train but I went that way on a diverted Glasgow - Bristol Sleeper. It was diesel hauled from Preston via Bolton, Manchester Victoria and Stockport. Given a clear road through Victoria for an absolutely magnificent thrash up to Phillips Park at about 4am on a Sunday morning with 16 Mk1s including 7 sleepers.

I have used their coach lining transfers to good effect. Nice thin line, not obtrusive.

Cole Hall Lane runs from Shard End along the eastern side of Glebe Farm to Audley Road/ Kitts Green Road near Lea Hall.

The river Cole also claimed a few victims. There were few bridges and right through its length there were many fords, one being Cole Hall Lane. We were one of the first families on the Shard End estate in 1951. A Bailey Bridge had been put up to improve access across the river during the winter. I remember my mother taking me down there to have a look at it and we found a loaded London Brick lorry lying on the water.

On my layout when a young parent with not much spare cash my diesels and tank engines had different numbers on each side. As the layout was operated from the middle it didn't matter. I even sold some at a profit.

I was checking out some trains from Birmingham to London the other day. A Pendo is generally 5 - 6 minutes faster than the original electric service from 1967 when it was timed to be capable of doing with a Class 81/85 and 12 vac braked Mk1s. The WMT service via Northampton is about the same timings as when it was a 310 unit, which were limited to 75mph due to problems if they were coupled to a 304.

I remember there being one loco hauled Manchester - Birmingham which continued to Derby.

Can't remember which thread but there's a picture of mine showing this somewhere on the site.

For Brighton to Manchester/Glasgow see http://www.1s76.com

I photographed a 33 at New St on a Brighton - Manchester and another at Tyseley on Portsmouth - Leeds in the 1980s.

Haulage of non-HST XC trains by 47s and 86/2s was still the norm until Voyagers came in. In the 1980s it wasn't unusual to get a 33 on Brighton or Portsmouth services.

Personally I think it would be marginally easier to return 89001 to revenue service with a TOC than for East Midlands to start a Manchester - London via Bakewell service using the Fell.

I can't find it at the moment but I turned up a picture I think it may have been Flickr which had a galvanised dustbin just where that circular mark is on the platform.

It is platform 4/5. Platforms 2/3 were much longer. there wasn't another platform only two tracks away at the top of the ramp.. The locations on platforms 4/5 were in the platform ramp and they went down hill as in the picture. Platform 6/7 was only slightly shorter and only two tracks between 4/5 and 6/7 at the ramp end. Edit Ian, look at the 4th picture in your post http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/140103-london-euston-1982-1983-in-em/#entry3390321 It is from Platform 3 looking at 4/5 , 6/7..... Eric

I would agree Euston. No location cases on the platforms at New Street New Street also had carriage watering facilities, between platforms 4/5 and 6/7 for the long distance trains between the south/south west and Scotland.

When I was on my last few years at work I used to get about a dozen different cars on short hires during a year plus a few on holidays to my son's place. Most of the hire companies were using bottom of range Far East models which were basically rubbish. Personally the best cars I had were a VW for reliability and an original Picasso for accessibility but as that got older it became unreliable. Worst things I had were a 1980s Orion and a 1990s Peugeot, although my son has just scrapped one of those after over 200k. My present car is an Octavia Estate which has been running for over 6 years with no problems. Best car I go in at the moment is my daughter's Passat. She previously had an Octavia Scout. Basic but strong, an old oak tree fell on it one day and they all got out without a scratch.

I just remember 17 working through Snow Hill when based at Leaminghton c1958. Later the Birmingham area had 3x Class 128 for parcels working. My impression was that they shuttled the traffic to local stations which were manned up to take parcels and smalls via the booking office. They kept such traffic off the local passenger services which was important for timekeeping in heavily trafficed areas. This is an extract showing the workings for Car No.34 in the mid 1950s. As one of the later cars this could take tail traffic which 17 could not.

Tyseley had two of the early Park Royal bodied cars, 2 and 4 for the Cardiff service from new. 3 was at Canton. The new service was so popular that it had to be replaced by loco hauled trains. After that I think the railcars only went to Tyseley to die, setting the trend for later DMU transfers to the depot when WMPTE got everyone's rubbish and turned it into sets for the Cross City and other routes.

I don't know about the various livery dates but snapshot allocations of 8-17 were this as far as i can work out.

Voltage applied to Block and Bell circuits in the real world are highly dependent on the length of the circuit and the weight of copper wire used. As Railwest says 12v is far too much for indicators, the Spagnoletti type used are designed to work on about 3 cells although those used for signals did come with different coil resistances for different circumstances. For block bells I have seen instances on long sections with poor line wires using 12 or more cells to get a reliable ring. On short sections with 200lb copper open wire and earth return they would work quite happily on 9 cells or less.

That's the bit to the other side of Richmond Street to the OP pictures.

Seems to be working here. They have also been active on Facebook in the last couple of days.

My wife had a job which took her all round the world, travelling to Australia and New Zealand by both eastern and western routes, Europe, Africa, North America, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. She seemed to have gained more knowledge of the world's airports than most of the countries she worked in. As for Christmas it'd back-to-front for us this year with daughter visiting her in-laws today and we are having our Christmas Day tomorrow, so we took our bikes off for a ride round Dambusters country instead of doing Christmas dinner. We now have some eejit up the road letting off industrial scale fireworks in his back garden.

When my Grandson was about three he couldn't find one of his Thomas or Chuggington diecast engines. I asked him where he last saw it. "In this hand" he replied.