Off the Rails - Train Stuff

[Filtertron]

I have been reading this thread with interest. Good stuff!
I was about13 years old, 60 years ago, and an avid train spotter living in Ashington Northumberland. I have never forgotten the sound of a Deltic approaching at speed on its way South. It was 'Lancon Paddy' . Tremendous machines. Like many youngsters I spent many hours at Newcastle station trying to tick of all the locos in my Ian Allen train spotters book. My one regret I never got to see A4 pacific 'Silver Fox'

I've only ever seen a Deltic go on video. Would have been terrific to see one at speed on a passenger train. Was "Silver Fox" your favorite loco, or the final one you needed to cross off in your book?

[Filtertron]

I have an old OO gauge tri-ang loco like that, the light even works on it !! It’s the closest I have actually got to the real thing unfortunately

Ah yes. The Transcontinental, which is based upon our B class. I'm currently looking for a green one with the pantographs on the roof for a mate's 50th next year. He models Triang, and wants to setup a layout in his attic. The green Transcontinental B's are a bit hard to come by, unfortunately. They also command fairly good prices, which is an absolute mongrel with the current exchange rate.

[Richie]

Ah the one I have is blue and yellow.

[Ernie Lazenby]

I have been reading this thread with interest. Good stuff!
I was about13 years old, 60 years ago, and an avid train spotter living in Ashington Northumberland. I have never forgotten the sound of a Deltic approaching at speed on its way South. It was 'Lancon Paddy' . Tremendous machines. Like many youngsters I spent many hours at Newcastle station trying to tick of all the locos in my Ian Allen train spotters book. My one regret I never got to see A4 pacific 'Silver Fox'

I've only ever seen a Deltic go on video. Would have been terrific to see one at speed on a passenger train. Was "Silver Fox" your favorite loco, or the final one you needed to cross off in your book?

I saw every other A4 pacific that was around at that time but Silver Fox never turned up for me. Around 1963/64 we had moved to Upperby in Carlisle where there was a big loco shed, one of three in Carlisle; Kingmoor, Canal and Upperby all within easy reach of where we lived. KIngmoor was where many locos were lined up to be scraped thanks to Doctor Beeching. It was a train spotters heaven, managed to tick off loads of locos and while trying to evade the shed workmen even managed to get into the cab of many. One of great joys was seeing Jubillee class Bahamas with its double chimney fully steamed up, the only one of the class to be so fitted. (A now fully restored loco). Happy days sadly never to be repeated.

[Filtertron]

Ah the one I have is blue and yellow.

They're actually quite common...Unless they have pantographs for electrical pickup on the roof. They're even rarer than the green ones. Regardless, they're a pretty cool bit of kit. I've even thought about buying one just to have it sitting on my display shelf.

[Filtertron]

I have been reading this thread with interest. Good stuff!
I was about13 years old, 60 years ago, and an avid train spotter living in Ashington Northumberland. I have never forgotten the sound of a Deltic approaching at speed on its way South. It was 'Lancon Paddy' . Tremendous machines. Like many youngsters I spent many hours at Newcastle station trying to tick of all the locos in my Ian Allen train spotters book. My one regret I never got to see A4 pacific 'Silver Fox'

I've only ever seen a Deltic go on video. Would have been terrific to see one at speed on a passenger train. Was "Silver Fox" your favorite loco, or the final one you needed to cross off in your book?

I saw every other A4 pacific that was around at that time but Silver Fox never turned up for me. Around 1963/64 we had moved to Upperby in Carlisle where there was a big loco shed, one of three in Carlisle; Kingmoor, Canal and Upperby all within easy reach of where we lived. KIngmoor was where many locos were lined up to be scraped thanks to Doctor Beeching. It was a train spotters heaven, managed to tick off loads of locos and while trying to evade the shed workmen even managed to get into the cab of many. One of great joys was seeing Jubillee class Bahamas with its double chimney fully steamed up, the only one of the class to be so fitted. (A now fully restored loco). Happy days sadly never to be repeated.

It's a shame you never got to cross that one off. Did you ever see the 4-6-4 former "Hush Hush" locomotive? It was pretty much rebuilt as an A4 styled loco. I think it got cut-up in late 1959. I was always fascinated with that particular locomotive, as it shares the same wheel arrangement as our R class.

I quite like the Jubilees. I don't know if I'm a fan of "Bahamas" in the BR cowpat green. I quite liked it in LMS red, even though it was never painted in that livery with the Kylchap exhaust system on it. The BR green just seems a little too generic to me. I quite like the early passenger blue livery with the cycling lion though. A4 "Sir Nigel Gresley" wears this livery, and it looks very smart in it.

Here's a shot of an R class, so you know what I'm referring to. Seventy of these were built by North British between 1951 and 1952. Only ten percent of the seventy have survived into preservation. One, R711, was heavily modified in the late 1990's to haul regular passenger trains between Melbourne and Warrnambool, a distance of 165 miles. Modifications included conversion to oil firing; a power reverser; a Lempor front end, and a diesel control unit. The loco had to be capable of keeping to the normal timetabled speed of 70MPH. A rapid watering system was installed at Colac (the halfway point), so water could be taken in under five minutes. The tender filling hole had a pneumatic lid fitted, so nobody had to climb up onto the back of the tender to lift the lid, and swing the water column across. The water column itself was an overhead system, and is still there to this day. The company who did all of this, West Coast Railway, was dissolved in 2004. R711 was placed in the care of Steamrail Victoria, who have reversed many of the modifications that WCR installed, due to their need for constant maintenance. Steamrail have retained the oil firing, and also the diesel controller. This is R761, which is probably the most original of the operational R's. It is also cared for by Steamrail Victoria.

[Filtertron]

A few from recent times which may (or may not) be of some interest...

GM22+G513+602+C509 passing through Tatyoon with 6KN2 grain. The train number means 6 = Friday, K = Western Victoria, in this case Murtoa, N = Newcastle (NSW - sorry Bill) 2 = second train to depart that location for the day. This is a relief feed train for drought stricken NSW. In the distance you will see a haze, which is actually smoke from the recent bushfires. 17/1/20.


I may have mentioned I was going after this one a few weeks back, or at least I did to Bill. Another 'Antiques Roadshow' with GM27+602+GM22+RL305 on the front of 5KN2, passing through Stawell. Stawell used to have a huge yard, complete with engine roundhouse. Sadly, only the station building and the old goods shed remain. 30/1/20.


Crossing trains at Gheringhap Loop. The streak is an interstate superfreighter from Perth to Melbourne. The stationary loco is on the front of another two locomotives with an empty wheat train for Dimboola. 30/1/20.


G514+4904+SSR102 with 1SK1 (S = Sydney) cross the Murray River at Albury-Wodonga. The Murray is the state border between NSW and Victoria.


Finally, BRM001+4701+4701+RL301+RL306 in the siding at Gheringhap off of 1KS1, getting a drinky-poos from an obliging fuel truck. 16/2/20.



Enjoy.

[Richie]

Nice shots, really cool loco’s too

[Filtertron]

Thanks Richie, glad you liked 'em.

[Ernie Lazenby]

Splendid and very interesting photographs. I never saw Hush Hush and rather surprisingly until you mentioned it I had not heard of it. We learn something every day.
My wifes grandfather was an engine driver whose claim to fame was he once drive the royal train in the early 1900's with old Queen Mary and George 5th on board. We have a photo of the Royal train.
One of the engines he was associated with is 'Copper nob' now housed in York railway museum. My grandson Luke who is now 16 had his photograph taken in the cab holding the steam control valve that his great great grandfather once had hold off in the late 1800's. Luke was quite moved by the experience.