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John McLeod VII Send message Joined: 15 Jul 99 Posts: 24806 Credit: 790,712 RAC: 0 |
I had a muse today *wears bemused expression* about maps and trains. Well you do from time to time don't you, you know how it is. Anyhow it sorta goes like this. Sigh. That is not what you are supposed do with a beer. BOINC WIKI |
John McLeod VII Send message Joined: 15 Jul 99 Posts: 24806 Credit: 790,712 RAC: 0 |
Sigh. That is not what you are supposed do with a beer. I would use a pack of frozen veggies for the first bit and then put them back in the refrigerator. If it is really that mind boggling of a problem, you might want to have 2 or 3 of the aforementioned beers... BOINC WIKI |
Bernie Vine Send message Joined: 26 May 99 Posts: 9954 Credit: 103,452,613 RAC: 328 |
Recently in another thread there was mention of the "leaf cleaning trains" that run around this time of year. Today I was walking in my local park, which is right next to the main London-Brighton line when I heard the distinctive sound of the steam cleaning train. Unfortunately I was not in a very good spot but managed to get these couple of shots. 73207 on the front, painted in the old British Rail "Large Blue Logo" And 73136 bringing up the rear, imaginatively painted in the operators colours!! I have been trying to get some pictures of the Class 73 as they are unique. Whilst looking like a fairly standard late 60's diesel freight loco, these are unique as they can also operate off the 650V third rail, the earlier 74 class was similar but all have been scrapped, whereas there are still 39 of the 73 class still in existence. At one time they use to operate the Gatwick express with a Class 498 on the other end. Pity these two were both so dirty |
David S Send message Joined: 4 Oct 99 Posts: 18352 Credit: 27,761,924 RAC: 12 |
74 class is earlier than 73 class? David Sitting on my butt while others boldly go, Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri. |
Bernie Vine Send message Joined: 26 May 99 Posts: 9954 Credit: 103,452,613 RAC: 328 |
74 class is earlier than 73 class? Well they were actually rebuilt 71 class so they were "originally" built before the 73's as 71's then 10 were converted to 74's with limited sucess. So were all scrapped while the more reliable 73's continue in operation today. That's the short story, the longer on is here. Class 74 |
James Sotherden Send message Joined: 16 May 99 Posts: 10436 Credit: 110,373,059 RAC: 54 |
Bernie, I have never heard of a steam cleaning train. Is it used to clean ballast and or the tracks? Nice looking loco by the way. And has anyone heard any news about the rebuilding of Bigboy? [/quote] Old James |
Bernie Vine Send message Joined: 26 May 99 Posts: 9954 Credit: 103,452,613 RAC: 328 |
Bernie, I have never heard of a steam cleaning train. Is it used to clean ballast and or the tracks? Nice looking loco by the way. Here in the UK we have a problem with "leaves on the track" causing wheel slip across the network, and here in the south where it is predominately third rail, loss of electrical contact. Back in the day of steam the cuttings and track side were kept clear of vegetation to lower the risk of sparks from the steam locos causing a fire. After the end of steam the vegetation was mostly left and so the current problem got worse. The cleaning trains run in the autumn and because they require locos often the older working heritage locos are used, as seen here. Of course Network Rail now have started to keep embankments and cutting clear however not all the trees are on railway property and so the cleaning trains are needed. As to the Bigboy, I read the restoration is expected to take three to five years so I suppose it is a bit early yet. |
David S Send message Joined: 4 Oct 99 Posts: 18352 Credit: 27,761,924 RAC: 12 |
This sounds interesting... David Sitting on my butt while others boldly go, Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri. |
janneseti Send message Joined: 14 Oct 09 Posts: 14106 Credit: 655,366 RAC: 0 |
Speaking about steam. S/S Blidösund Built 1910 and still cruising. S/S Blidösund is one of the few steamers in Sweden and the only one in the Stockholm archipelago, where the boiler is still fired with coal, and that goes into commercial operation. The machine is a 413 hp compound machine. At cruising speed (about 10 knots) the ship needs 250 kg of coal per hour. The noise level from the engine and vibrations is almost nonexistent. Even the ship's electric generator is steam driven. |
Bernie Vine Send message Joined: 26 May 99 Posts: 9954 Credit: 103,452,613 RAC: 328 |
The monthly steam luncheon train came through again today, this time I went to East Croydon station to take a few pics (well a video actually) As usual hauled by 35028 Merchant Navy Class Clan Line What was a surprise was what was bringing up the rear, normally Clan Line runs with no backup, this time however. Class 67 015 was there. Don't see many of the 67's down south as they are mostly use on passenger services up north, a few freight services and of course the royal train, 67005 Queen's Messenger and 67006 Royal Sovereign. Plus only 30 were made, as opposed to over 400 of the 66's So it was unusual to see one at East Croydon. |
David S Send message Joined: 4 Oct 99 Posts: 18352 Credit: 27,761,924 RAC: 12 |
What was a surprise was what was bringing up the rear, normally Clan Line runs with no backup, this time however. Does it provide hotel power to the train? David Sitting on my butt while others boldly go, Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri. |
Bernie Vine Send message Joined: 26 May 99 Posts: 9954 Credit: 103,452,613 RAC: 328 |
What was a surprise was what was bringing up the rear, normally Clan Line runs with no backup, this time however. Well that did occur to me, however I must have seen 35028 eight or nine times in the last 12 months and it never had a diesel on the end before. In fact I believe there is a power car in the consist, either the 2nd car or the last in the video. http://youtu.be/dWASfJnVb00 Perhaps that wasn't working. The guy on the platform (another spotter) was also surprised as he hadn't seen that before. |
David S Send message Joined: 4 Oct 99 Posts: 18352 Credit: 27,761,924 RAC: 12 |
What was a surprise was what was bringing up the rear, normally Clan Line runs with no backup, this time however. It doesn't sound like either of those cars is making noise, but it does sound like the diesel is running at faster than idle. David Sitting on my butt while others boldly go, Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri. |
John McLeod VII Send message Joined: 15 Jul 99 Posts: 24806 Credit: 790,712 RAC: 0 |
What was a surprise was what was bringing up the rear, normally Clan Line runs with no backup, this time however. I was rather hoping it was something I had seen once. The steam engine towing the diesel off to the shop (the rail line in question had 2 locomotives...) BOINC WIKI |
Richard Haselgrove Send message Joined: 4 Jul 99 Posts: 14653 Credit: 200,643,578 RAC: 874 |
The Southern ran three Pullman trains with the suffix Belle. The others were the Brighton Belle (originally the Southern Belle) and the Devon Belle. British Railways introduced the Thanet Belle (later renamed the Kentish Belle) in 1948. Part of the problem is that the UK rail network was never designed for long-distance interconnecting services: most routes start and stop in London. A couple of weeks ago in this thread, you and Bernie were commenting on "The Battersea Railway Bridge - properly called the Cremorne Bridge" - an obscure, largely freight route through west London. I've crossed that bridge on a couple of memorable occasions. The first was on one of those sleeper/motorail trains you mention, from Stirling (central Scotland) to Newhaven (ferry port on England's south coast, with sailings to Dieppe in France). The second trip was from Doncaster (Yorkshire) to Waterloo station in south London, again to make a connection to France via the original Channel Tunnel/Eurostar terminal. Both routes involved absurd contortions to navigate London. It gets a bit parochial here (apologies to readers who don't know the geography of London), but... The first train was, at one point, heading westwards away from Paddington on the Great Western line towards Bristol. Then it looped northwards to Greenford, before heading back towards Paddington on the Birmingham line - all to reach Kensington Olympia and that single available bridge. The second train turned westwards at Finsbury Park for the North London line, and then reversed in Willesden goods sidings. It was so surreal that the buffet staff gave us a running commentary on where we were and where we were going (also partly because there were so few passengers on a very slow service that there wasn't any buffet work for them to do) - at one point, approaching Battersea Bridge, we could see the gym where Princess Diana worked out on the left. Or so they solemnly told us. That link from "the rest of the UK" to continental Europe only lasted a couple of years, probably because of the cost and complexity of navigating such a difficult route (the Eurostar link train actually stopped at Finsbury Park to pick up an extra driver with local knowledge, or 'pilot' as it would be in shipping terms). Wasn't there at some point talk of building a London orbital route - but it ended up being the M25 instead? |
John McCallum Send message Joined: 5 Dec 04 Posts: 877 Credit: 599,458 RAC: 8 |
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/10/network_rail_new_measurement_train_ride/ A fairly long read four pages on the high speed network rail measuring train also a video hope you train buffs like this. Old enough to know better(but)still young enough not to care |
James Sotherden Send message Joined: 16 May 99 Posts: 10436 Credit: 110,373,059 RAC: 54 |
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/11/10/network_rail_new_measurement_train_ride/ A fairly long read four pages on the high speed network rail measuring train also a video hope you train buffs like this. Nice article and video. I wonder if the US has anthing thing like that? [/quote] Old James |
Bernie Vine Send message Joined: 26 May 99 Posts: 9954 Credit: 103,452,613 RAC: 328 |
Yes that is a very rare train to see over here!! Just about saw it once when travelling from London to Carlisle by train. The article also mentions There are other track inspection trains but they are not high speed sets. These other measurement trains run at a more sedate pace – typically 30mph – and do jobs which cannot be done at high speed, such as measuring the voltage on overhead lines and using ground penetrating ultrasound, which inspects the condition below the line. Here is one I saw last year on the line near me, just two of those very distinctive yellow Network Rail coaches pulled by a couple of the old 37's |
rob smith Send message Joined: 7 Mar 03 Posts: 22222 Credit: 416,307,556 RAC: 380 |
The "flying banana" is a shy beast, it spends most of its days hiding in sidings to venture out after dark.... Bob Smith Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society) Somewhere in the (un)known Universe? |
David S Send message Joined: 4 Oct 99 Posts: 18352 Credit: 27,761,924 RAC: 12 |
I see Freightliner is for sale. David Sitting on my butt while others boldly go, Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri. |
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