TheSignalEngineer

The AL1 was originally tooled by Dublo around the time of their demise. Production continued under the new owners. Triang were working on an AL2 at the time but it was scrapped in favour of modifying the Dublo AL1 The Triang 37 model wasn't introduced until two years after Dublo ceased production. Dublo also produced an EMU in 1962. I still have a Gaiety Pannier body on an R1 chassis converted to 3-rail. 60 years old? and still runs.

It says on the BBC report 'average journey times' so they probably included the Sleeper and some circuitous journeys that include going via York and Manchester.

When we moved to the Peak District we we lucky enough to get our hands on a traditional 'Ten Pole' allotment. For those not familiar with proper country measurements that's an area based on the length of the rod or pole used by an ox plough driver to reach the front of the hauling team which needs to be about 5.5 yards long. An area one pole square is 30.25 square yards so a Ten Pole plot is 302.5 square yards or approximately 253 square metres. We could produce about 75% of the vegetables needed for the two of us and there was a bit of swapping of surplus between the plot holders. After a house move we had to give up that plot so I created a mini plot of about 50 square metres in the garden. I also planted the sunny borders with fruit including three dwarf apple trees which cost me a few pounds each at the time and produce about 25% of our annual use. The fruit includes blackcurrants, gooseberries, strawberries and rhubarb, all of which came free by propagation of shoots and roots from other gardeners, and the wooden fence behind the fruit bushes is used for training blackberry brambles grown from a self setter collected from a hedgerow. We never buy any of these fruits, surplus being frozen for use throughout the year or made into jam. Following a successful campaign for the council to provide adequate allotments in the town our association now manages over 100 plots on their behalf. We have a small plot about 120 square metres which along with the garden is plenty for us to manage now.

Tomatoes are very dependant in variety for taste. Some of the high yeild varieties that are easy to grow are just water bags with pips. Some types are good for eating and others for cooking. Amongst other types I grow San Marzano plum tomatoes which are very fleshy with a low water content that are good for making pasta sauce. Again, some runner beans are very stringy especially if left too long on the plant. There are stringless varieties but dwarf French beans like Safari or Purple Teepee are stringless and grow as small bush plants.

Working from the normal trains that schedule just looks like the normal one with all pathing and engineering allowances stripped out along with station dwell, acceleration and deceleration allowances. They would add up to about 50 minutes on some services.

There is a story around on the web about small prairie 4555 when it was at Tyseley following purchase for preservation. I saw it several times working freight and parcels through Snow Hill in GWR livery in 1964. Apparently one day in August 1964 the diesel on the down Pines failed and was replaced by Modified Hall 6991. The crew requested assistance from Leamington and 4555 was sitting there after working a local freight. It was reported to have assisted 6991 up Hatton Bank and through to Birmingham.

Most would have remained as original until demolition, although IIRC Watery Lane did get at least one wooden replacement window. Fitting larger windows wasn't an option as the concrete surround was part of the structure. Alteration was difficult to say the least. (T-shirt obtained in 1966 along with cut, bruised and blistered hands). They were built to withstand all but a direct hit from an HE bomb, even a train didn't knock this one over, just badly damaged it. http://www.willenhallhistory.co.uk/society/portobellocrash.htm I believe that there is still one standing in the trees at the side of the A46 near Bidford on Avon as no-one has decided it is in their way despite the line having closed over 50 years ago.

Progress looking good from the picture Jim. 6 The e-bike is certainly a technique that takes a bit of learning. I have found it best not to use the Turbo mode except for the steeper or longer hills. I use Eco most of the time and try to balance the gears and power for rhe best performance. As I use the e-bike for some long rides battery management is something I have learned to do. Last year I took an e-MTB for a test run round Dalby Forest. When I got back to the shop the lad in there was surprised at what I had covered and still had about half of the battery left. He said that some customers would run the battery flat without doing as much.

When we were out in the sun on a family cycling trip last week the man who lives in the old Chathill station house told us the previous week had been mostly sea fog that far in land.

Getting up to a good average speed there Jim. It would suggest that you are getting up past the speed where the motor cuts out. I find that riding round a town I average about 15mph which is nearly as fast as I get in the car most of the time. When I first gave my ebike a test run I passed a particularly distinctive car (boy racer material) in a traffic queue. After passing through about 5 sets of lights and a couple of places where right turners can cause a jam he finally caught up with me on a clear stretch three miles later.

I haven't managed Rothbury yet but it's on the list to do. Our son lived in Newcastle for a while so we had been up there at that time and did the coast as far as Boulmer. Previously we had done the Pennine Way and cycled around Hexham and the Wall area, plus trips on ECML including one behind a Deltic. This time we cycled the coast around Bamburgh, Seahouses, Beadnell, Craster, Boulmer and Alnmouth and inland to Alnwick. Bamburgh Castle was closed last week for filming so we couldn't go inside. On the way home we broke the journey for a visit to Locomotion which had been put off from last year. We hope to be back in Northumberland next year as there are several excursions on the must visit list from what we have previously seen and didn't get time to include.

Good evening all. Been missing for a while due to our traditional early summer holiday with the family. The trials and tribulations of rural internet connections has left me with about 30 pages of catch up to do. In recent years we have usually gone to Mallorca but due to the restrictions daughter arranged something different. She booked a cottage in the northeast to visit a few places like Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands. When we arrived youngest grandson met us with the news that the East Coast Main Line was visible across the fields from the main bedroom. He was sitting on the window sill with Realtime Trains on the ipad giving us a running commentary on what trains were approaching. By the end of the holiday although SiL has never shown interest in trains other than a means of getting to an evening out in Manchester we had him out at 8am waiting to photograph the Blyth to Fort William Alcan and Oxwellmains Cement trains as well as Azumas, Voyagers and HSTs. Just got to get him hooked on m*****ing now. Two days of extensive catch up on the G word have been done plus bikes cleaned up and gear stowed so I'm a bit tired now. However, there's a few days of catch up to do on the allotment tomorrow before a bit of cricket watching tomorrow evening. Was that to do with the need for safety glass if the windows have been replaced? If done after the present regs came into force IIRC the requirement is that any pane lower than 80 cm from the finished floor level and certain areas up to 150 cm above floor at doors should have safety glass.

AnsaldoBreda is now Hitachi Rail Italy, and they built the Class 802 units.

I was working on the immunisation of the heavy rail signalling against the electrical interference from the original trams. During our monitoring of test running it appeared that several had different electrical signatures when running over the same section of line. From conversations with the Metro people it appeared that every Ansaldo Breda T-69 tram was put together slightly differently depending who on the production line worked on it. Most were not watertight, rain getting into the electrics on some of them in the early days

Well done with the weight loss. Keep riding and you should make your target. Just keep it up afterwards so you maintain the new you. On days when the weather is OK I use my ebike in preference to the car if I have to go to my daughter's place on grandad duty. The shorter two routes are 7.6 and 7.9 miles with about 750 ft of climbing. I can do it in 34 minutes each way, the car usually taking 22-25 minutes. On summer evenings it's nice to come back the scenic route for the sunset views. That route is about 9.5 miles and climbs total about 1200 ft. An ebike is great if you need a bit of assistance and I often use mine on routes I can't do on an ordinary bike. We have a couple of road routes we do in the Peak District which do over 4000ft of climbing across about 40 miles. I can still do distances but couldn't manage that much stiff climbing these days on a conventional bike but it's a pleasant jaunt on the ebike. When you feel adventurous and have a day to spare you may like to try this one. I do it on a conventional hardtail MTB with gravel tyres but my wife has done it on a gravel bike. https://visitseftonandwestlancs.co.uk/cycling/cycling-routes/the-sefton-circular.aspx. It's about 24 miles mostly flat so quite easy, although in a couple of places you have to push across the wind-blown sand at Crosby although there is a road you can use.

British Trams Online website reported a quote from the Managing Director of Midland Metro Ltd, Steve McAleavy that appeared in the Wolverhampton Express and Star. This is part of the comment:- "..... We have a fleet of CAF Urbos 3 trams and the manufacturer of those trams in a maintenance inspection identified some cracks in the underframe structure at either end of the tram. CAF were unable to assure us that the cracks did not represent a safety issue if we continued to operate. Our first priority is to ensure the safety of our customers and our colleagues and therefore the right thing to do was to remove the trams from service whilst inspections are carried out. The inspections have already commenced and will continue throughout the weekend and will be completed by Monday. Once the inspections have been completed we will be able to make a decision about when we can resume service. ....."

It seems that not only the 'big railway' has rolling stock problems. Reports coming through from the West Midlands Metro today state “We are sorry that there will be no Metro services from 11 June until further notice. We have been informed by the vehicle manufacturer that they have identified a fault which is affecting some of our trams. As a precautionary measure, we have taken the decision to remove all 21 trams from service until all trams have been inspected. We are working alongside the manufacturer, CAF, to restore services as quickly as possible.”

Tyseley is still used by a lot of XC stock, especially overnight. Longsight has a steady flow of West Coast, Cross Country, Northern and Trans Pennine stock. Not sure what gets fuelled or inspected there.

Actually 250W, but the motor cuts out at 15.5mph if it's road legal. I ride both an electric road hybrid and and eMTB. The latter has a sophisicated computer system and it tells me that even at my age I can put out over 200 watts on short bursts. My average speed on the road is about 12mph. If you ride with the motor flat out you will soon run out of battery. I find that I keep it on eco setting for most of the time just to give me a bit of help in keeping up momentum on lesser climbs and only use full power for the steepest hills. That way I can do a road ride of 40 miles with over 4000ft of climbs over the Snake Pass then back home via Hope, Edale, Mam Nick, Chinley and Hayfield.

Yes, I was impressed by the pace. I've been riding e-bikes, both commuters and MTB for a couple of years and my speeds on a normal run usually average about 12mph. I've no idea on my heart rate though.

An interesting thread Jim. Very impressed with you initial weight loss and now you've started just keep at it. You will reach a plateau eventually and the thing is not to let up at the point when you feel comfortable with you weight but to keep doing enough to maintain it. I'm pretty light, actually slightly slimmer than I was at 21. My BMI now is 23. I've always had to watch my weight as I find used to find it quite easy to balloon up as a youngster. That wasn't helped when I moved into the drawing office, typical railway lunches for those days and lodging with a lady who used to write recipes for the Jimmy Young Cookbook. She was on her fourth husband at the time, we did speculate if the other three had succumbed to the size of her meals. I was never a runner, usually in the last three in the school cross country runs but have good stamina. I have been hill walking and cycling for 60 years and these have kept me fit. Lockdown saw my out at one or the other every day and I think I have actually improved my performance compared with the previous couple of years. As we've got older we dropped the backpacking and cycle touring but took up off road cycling. I would recommend getting on a few of the old railway trails like Hadfield to Woodhead, Marple to Macclesfield, the High Peak and Tissington trails or various sections of the Cheshire Lines which can all be done on a bike like yours. Yesterday we did a 26 mile loop taking in the Monsal Trail from Millers Dale to Bakewell and the High Peak Trail from Friden to Hindlow. There are also some very good stretches of canal towpath suitable for riding.

My two grandsons do quite a few Junior Parkruns (the 2k version for kids), and usually manage to finish quite well up in their local event. They've both occasionally run in the 5k as well with their Dad. One week the eldest ran in alongside the late great Ron Hill, former European and Commonwealth gold medalist for the marathon, mind you there was an age difference of about 70 years.

I don't think they were gutless, just 0-60 in 10 minutes unless light engine or going downhill. Oh, and in later years very good at vibro-massage on the backside. I did over 40 miles at up to 60mph checking signal sighting and AWS, etc using 'Sister Dora' from the Bescot Engineers Pool in 1993. Could hardly stand when got out onto the platform at Rugby. Had to sit on a bench for a few minutes to recover before I could walk back to the Power Box to sign the job in.

That was why the WR always tried to put a 52 on the Stoke Clayliner. Bescot would always send it back with the empties.

I haven't seen any evidence of them on services through Snow Hill. My recollection of these was that the summer trains were mainly Maunsells and some long Bulleids until the Kent Cost electrification when the Mk1s appeared on some services. A lot of the Bournemouths went via New Street and the S&D and were largely LMS and LNER stock, although I have seen an instance of Bullieds at Bromsgrove, just need to find it again but I think they were long ones.