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Post by countryman on Jul 30, 2017 7:23:18 GMT
Mdbf?
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Post by countryman on Jul 28, 2017 14:05:56 GMT
Let's hope the new signalling on the Piccadily line is the same as SSR as two systems will be too expensive , let alone finding the space to fit the equipment . I would love to see it back on the Northern, its rightful home. Personally I have doubts about how viable it will be to fit Seltrac however. There are enough problems with getting it to work well on 95 and 96 stock, let alone something much older. The plus side is that it would be driven by drivers who are (one assumes) much better at PM driving than most regular train operators are, but the down side is that there's a very high probability of an EB occurring at some stage or another, which in turn means there's a very high probability of the train sustaining flatted wheels. PM, EB?
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Post by countryman on Jul 22, 2017 7:47:44 GMT
@class411- no, you don't tempt me into going out for a comparative smelling of paxolin and ozone - I'll stick with creosote fences (am on 5 fences a day). I adore that smell. The first day each year when you smell freshly cut grass and creosote was always, literally, a breath of spring. Interestingly, I was told it had been banned, and you certainly don't smell it as much these days, but on checking for this post I find that it is still available. Presumably it has been largely superseded by longer lasting preservatives. Creoste does appear to be banned, at least for 'amateur' use! www.hse.gov.uk/biocides/copr/creosote.htm
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Post by countryman on Jul 14, 2017 7:34:02 GMT
Since no one has mentioned it yet, I'd just like to point out that the announcements on the new Class 345 are voiced by Emma Hignett And in my opinion they are very poorly done. Very glitchy and jittery, and don't flow well at all If you want to hear 'poorly done, try Yellow Buses in Bournemouth. The lady has particular difficulty with two syllable words. She says 'Christ Church' instead of 'Christchurch' and 'Lans Down' instead of 'Lansdown' with emphasis on the second syllable instead of the first.
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Post by countryman on Jul 1, 2017 8:27:30 GMT
RIP 5112 one of my favourite units. It only remains in 4nm now 😢 My goodness, you'll need a microscope to see that run .
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Post by countryman on Jun 29, 2017 8:15:44 GMT
Interesting that the second one is a diesel train with a 400 ton trailing load. I would guess a 4TC set at ~140 tons.
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Post by countryman on Jun 19, 2017 15:52:50 GMT
OK. Different engine, different train, different station. But, apart from that... Not sure what this is about. No mention of the station in the original post, class 37 loco that I could see correctly identified, but I must admit I assumed that, as it was red, that it was EWS.
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Post by countryman on Jun 15, 2017 21:02:25 GMT
Went for a look today. Train was 37 518 in EWS red, Mark 2 brake, 3 Mark1 carriages and green class 33 at the other end. Couldn't get the number as only the class 37 and 3 coaches fit in the bay! The class 37 is not EWS it be longs to west coast railways and not red and the coaches are west coast the 33 is D6515 name LT JENNY LEWIS RN. all in maroon colour except the 33 and there is no bay platform at warham station. I didn't say it was in a bay at Wareham, it was in the short platform (maybe not technically a bay) at Swanage.
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Post by countryman on Jun 15, 2017 16:13:49 GMT
Swanage are using West Coast Mark I & II carriages for the Wareham service. As I understand it the 4TC was planned to be used but wasn't ready in time. I don't know if it'll be used once the work being carried out is completed. Went for a look today. Train was 37 518 in EWS red, Mark 2 brake, 3 Mark1 carriages and green class 33 at the other end. Couldn't get the number as only the class 37 and 3 coaches fit in the bay!
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Post by countryman on Jun 14, 2017 18:16:11 GMT
It's not true white you get from a LED they do have a blue tinge to them and it's very noticeable when they are in clusters Not necessarily. Most car Daylight Running Lights are LED and are pure white without a blue tinge.
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Post by countryman on Jun 14, 2017 13:03:39 GMT
I prefer 4TCs like this. Taken at Swanage earlier this week. (assuming the link works) linkEDIT. Sorry, can't get photo in. The link needs editing. Do you mean in BR Blue-Grey? Great livery that. Yes, I did mean blue and grey. I didn't move to the south until 1976, so I never saw all blue. The photo, if I cn edit it is one driving coach, fully painted but unlettered and un-numbered. The first train ran this week andI have copied this info from the Swanage Railway website. The first train ran with a Class 33 in green livery. Unfortunately none of the news coverage I have seen give any indication of the carriages used, apart from internal shots confirming Mark 1s. West Coast Railways (one of Britain’s foremost charter operators) is operating the service (as the operator) on behalf of Swanage Railway (as the promoter). Class 33 / 47 diesel locomotives are operating the service. Subject to confirmation by West Coast Railways. London Underground 4TC Unit/ Approx. 192 seats per journey.
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Post by countryman on Jun 14, 2017 12:54:04 GMT
I thought Embankment was the one atation that retained the original 'Mind the Gap' announcement in memory of the original voice actor.
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Post by countryman on Jun 14, 2017 8:38:43 GMT
A bit late here, but I suspect that LED lights aren't quite ready yet when it comes to reproducing Met line maroon or H&C pink with any fidelity, especially at the kinds of brightness required for exterior use. However, RGB primary red and magenta could work if LU were willing to compromise on their line branding a bit. And at least if my smartphone is any indication, LCDs still aren't ready for any application where they have to be seen in direct sunlight. I have seen multicoloured destination displays on buses somewhere on the continent, but at present I can't remember where. So the technology is available to do it in sunlight, but I don't know what the technology is!
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Post by countryman on Jun 10, 2017 18:54:39 GMT
I prefer 4TCs like this. Taken at Swanage earlier this week. (assuming the link works) linkEDIT. Sorry, can't get photo in.
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Post by countryman on Jun 5, 2017 10:11:08 GMT
snoggle - there is a precedent for the airport charging the punters to use "their" station as that is what was originally proposed for the Brussels airport link PPP, with barriers openable only after purchasing a specific token railside - imagine the fun with that... Fortunately, the next idea was for SNCB to collect a small addon supplement to the fares. [That nearly failed too when SNCB refused, at first, to collect the money, leaving the banks and the Ontario Teachers Pension Fund - the main PPP financiers - to have collect the money themselves which led to delightful visions of under-performing merchant bankers being given a peaked cap and going out to inspect tickets... Eventually, common sense prevailed there, too]. You are right, time is ticking, tho' I'm not sure who is the loser (apart from Joe Public) if the issue isn't sorted by next year. There is also the precedent of Sydney airport, where fares to the airport station include a premium. And at Madrid, where premium fare are charged to the terminal station T1, T2, T3 and the terminal station T4, but not to the Barajas between the two.
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Post by countryman on May 23, 2017 17:32:00 GMT
Well I have fond memories of HST's, 313's and the Flying Scotsman but never got to see an A4 (not Gresley because of the lack of valences). I just love those massive GCR loco's not too long before grouping, a bit like the NE ones but IMO more elegant. Sorry, not sure what you mean by 'not Gresley'. Many, and possibly all of the Gresley A4s were built with valences, but these were later removed, presumably to ease maintenance and servicing.
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Post by countryman on May 22, 2017 19:54:46 GMT
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Post by countryman on May 19, 2017 17:58:59 GMT
Looks like Warrior!
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Post by countryman on May 19, 2017 17:34:50 GMT
My last posting before I retired from the RAF after 39 years was to Northolt. There is a set of traffic lights on West End Road which, if I recall correctly, were activated by Air Traffic Control. Certainly an unusual occurrence although not unique (I think also at RAF Gibraltar). I also recall back in the 50s that the A30 was regularly closed at Blackbushe so that planes could be towed from one side of the airport to the other. Can you confirm that in the 60s a 707 landed there by mistake? I seem to recall they had to strip it out, chopped down some of the trees in West End Road,lined it up at the extreme end of the runway with just enough fuel to reach LHR. Can't remember if it was Pan Am or PIA Yes, it did happen. I'm not sure about the trees, but it was stripped out! Part of the problem was that there was a grey gasholder on the Northolt approach, and a similar one on the flightpath that they used to use towards Heathrow in wet and windy weather. I spent some time in Perivale Park watching planes fly in. The runway is no longer in use. They put lettering on the gasholders to indicate which approach the plane was on. I seem to remember seeing the Heathrow one fairly recently with lettering still in situ. See this www.geograph.org.uk/photo/173008
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Post by countryman on May 13, 2017 13:09:24 GMT
New points and crossing at Paddington and BTR North Sheds Queens Park BTR?
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Post by countryman on May 10, 2017 14:05:10 GMT
Tubelines had them designed and installed P-CRID's are not on SSL or BCV apart from where areas are shared track with JNP Sorry, I can figure CRID apart from the P, and SSL, but not BCV or JNP! Are these common acronyms?
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Post by countryman on May 6, 2017 12:35:08 GMT
Why is London so bad at this? Some cities have virtually regular heritage events! I went to New York last year, and I have recently been going down Memory Lane by watching some Youtube videos. What has amazed me is the number of different types of heritage units that appear in various locations and run railtours. These all seem to be owned by New York Transit. I just wonder why they can afford to maintain so much stock in operational condition, and London has hardly any!
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Post by countryman on May 6, 2017 7:56:37 GMT
As a matter of interest, of trains leaving Central London westbound during the middle of the day, how many per hour run to Rayner's Lane per hour, how many via Terminal 4, and how many direct to Terminals 1-3?
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Post by countryman on May 5, 2017 12:21:00 GMT
I assume that you are suggesting that all trains would go Terminal 4, Terminal 5, then Terminal 1-3 (or whatever the original central area is called now). As far as I know, a large proportion of train passengers, whether air travellers or staff, will be travelling to Terminals 1-3, a further large proportion to Terminal 5, and a smaller proption to terminal 4. It will also mean all passengers for Terminals 1-3 having to wait whilst the train reverses at Terminal 5. The way it is arranged at present, all travellers can get a fairly direct service to their terminal without a layover.
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Post by countryman on May 4, 2017 15:11:54 GMT
Am I right to assume, then, that you had to step up from the train to get onto the platform, like the Central line in certain places? it was a considerable drop into the train, although this is the District Line platform, the ELL ones were similar: © reserved by bowroadukIf you are referring to the picture, I'm pretty sure that the train is in the ELL platform, with the District going over the bridge above.
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Post by countryman on Apr 23, 2017 16:58:08 GMT
Sorry to go a bit off topic. In the Austrian Tyrol, there is a tourist attraction which is an upside-down house. Not only is it upside-down, but it is also at an angle. When I came out of that I felt really peculiar, and that feeling, including slight nausea, lasted a couple of hours.
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Post by countryman on Apr 21, 2017 13:39:18 GMT
And the Kiburn crash is actually the Central Line crash at Leyton. But it show A stock, so cannot be Leyton. Although the picture on the clip appears to be 59/62 stock, so may be a 'stock' (please excuse the unavoidable pun) picture.
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Post by countryman on Apr 18, 2017 9:36:49 GMT
Interesting that one is called 'Kendal Green Crash' rather than Kensal Green, and also appears to show D stock! There is a Kendal Green station, but it's in Massachusetts and isn't a terminus. The crash seen in the video above happened at Richmond in west London. I've been to Massachusetts three times, and strangely, just over 2 years ago we stayed in 'Historic Concord', which is the next stop along the line. So I have actually travelled through Kendal Green on the MTBA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.)
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Post by countryman on Apr 17, 2017 14:02:47 GMT
Interesting that one is called 'Kendal Green Crash' rather than Kensal Green, and also appears to show D stock!
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Post by countryman on Apr 13, 2017 15:02:49 GMT
333O Mk1 72TS was also fitted with disc brakes,they were a pig to change the pads and everyone hated them.The conventional brake blocks are dead easy to change. The current problem with discs on cars is that the discs themselves wear at approximately the same rate as the friction material. I would imagine that it would cost a fortune to change the discs and pads on a train!
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