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| Reminiscences, split from Activities at a location 27/09/2015 at 17:59 #76307 | |
58050
2659 posts |
flabberdacks wrote: Quote: I assume that the box is planning their moves based on everything being ready for the next tabled departure without micromanagement of each individual activity, only requiring they be told as soon as possible if the next working won't be ready to meet timetable. The signaler in the box whether that was a PSB or a box like Liverpool Street which just controlled the station area would normally be advised by the traincrew(shed driver) of where the loco was required to go in respect of its next working according to:- a) the booked loco diagram working or b) if changed by the traction controller in the Regional Control Office responsible for the allocation of power. The signaler wouldn't even be told the loco number or type as he doesn't really need to know that except in exceptional circumstances whereby an electric loco was covering a working vice a diesel so the loco wouldn't be routed onto a non electrified line. Different regions worked in different ways. The LM had 'Traction Arrangers' based at certain locations such as Cricklewood & Saltley. For arguments sake take New Street, the overal allocation of power would be done by the West Midlands traction controller based at Crewe RCO & he in turn would allocate the locos on TOPS to work the next train in diagram. The traction arranger would print off a 'Power report' (TOPS procedure TV) which would list firstly all the locos oput of service at any TOPS location locos were stopped at, the next part of the Power report would be 'Locos on hand OK' which would list all available power in an area & each loco could have 2 4 character headcodes allocated to it. The next section of the Power report would be 'Trains booked to arrive with locos for detachment', this would list all locos heading towards New street whereby they would be changing from electric to diesel or visa versa & the last section of the Power report would list 'Locos allocated to arrive'. This would list all locos allocated to arrive at New street. The locos on TOPS are always listed in order so the lower number would be at the top of the list such as 20xxx & the highest number would be at the bottom of each part such as 90xxx. new Street station also had a working of engines documnet which gave details of movements between Saltley LIP - New Street - Saltley LIP. In the traction arrangers office at saltley there would an engine board where the lcoo numbers would be written in chalk to show the drivers where on the depot the locos were stabled. I suspect there was a similar sheet in one of the station supvrs offices at New Street showing where locos were stabled. Signalers aren't interested in knowing the actual loco number (in fact during my time of the footplate I can't ever recall having to give the loco number to the signalman & during my many years as a traction controller I can't recall ever having to give the loco number to any signalman either when I've contacted PSBs controlling the areas I dealt with. The signaler only needs to know where the loco is booked to go to. The driver would tell him his running number or TD & that was pretty much it. Don't forget all PSBs had a TOPS terminal so the staff working the box could interogate TOPS to find out what specfic loco was working what train using TOPS. Unless you worked on the traction control side of the railways you'll be very surprised at the way we kept a close eye on what was happening to our engines & when I say our it was really as bad as that. Locos allocated to your region were exactly that even if they were working on other parts of the network. Drivers may drive the locos & signalers may route trains, but the locos themselves belonged to the power controllers & no one else. I've heard quite a few bust ups in my time in regional controls whereby someone else has meddled with the allocation of power & I myself have had a number of arguments with other railway personnel when they'd interefered with my engines. Power controllers don't exist today or if they do its no where near the same as it used to be. Last edited: 29/09/2015 at 09:36 by AndyG Reason: title misspelt by me Log in to reply The following users said thank you: RainbowNines, flabberdacks, Steamer, meeko |
| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 27/09/2015 at 19:12 #76308 | |
RainbowNines
272 posts |
" said:I've heard quite a few bust ups in my time in regional controls whereby someone else has meddled with the allocation of power & I myself have had a number of arguments with other railway personnel when they'd interefered with my engines.Don't think I'd want to be the one that nicked one of Pascal's 58s! Log in to reply |
| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 27/09/2015 at 19:51 #76309 | |
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58050
2659 posts |
RainbowNines wrote: Quote: Don't think I'd want to be the one that nicked one of Pascal's 58s! A couple of stories here then:- I was working afternoons this particular week at Liverpool Street RCO when I got an irate power controller from Crewe wanting to know why there was a Cl.85 working 6M83 Ipswich - Ditton BOC empties back & where was the Cl.47 that should have been on it? I couldn't answer him as the loco had been allocated to work this train back by the morning shift & they'd gone home. After doing some detective work the loco concerned 47302 was sent LD from Ipswich to March TMD to cover a Saturday Only turn whereby a freight Tinsley Cl.47 was booked to run D from |March TMD to Norwich to work a Norwich - Birmingham New Street service back one way only. It transpired that the night shift power controllers who in there spare time were haulage bashers wanted to ride behind 47302 so they got agreement from the RfD Senior Power controller at York to send 47302 off diagram & replace it with a spare Cl.85 without telling anyone else. The Crewe controller after saying a few expletives told me he was sending the Cl.85 straight back. During 1998/99 the Cl.58 fleet was re-allocated to Eastleigh(one of the worst ideas they carried out). As a result we were instructed that once Toton TMD has sorted any of them out if they'd returned to Toton as they were the Cl.58 experts having had them since new we had to work them back south for forwarding to Eastleigh. My namesake was at Toton & decided to send it back to Worksop where it belonged working MGR trains, much to the annoyance of the night shift who were then trying to get 58050 back to Eastleigh. I managed to keep it working MGR trains at Worksop for about 4 - 5 days until it finally went south. I managed to allocate this engine on its klast ever working to Immingham via Lincoln on an MGR working. The Cl.58s had the best availability of all mainline classes of locos when the railways got privatised & maintained a 95%+ availability until they were re-allocated to Eastleigh & then they slowly fell apart. On another occasion I had a few choice words to say to one of RAIL magazines editors when I bumped into him at Paignton about a story they'd published in RAIL criticizing the loco controllers at Nottingham ROC following the non availability of a Cl.56 at Crewe for a railtour. As I was on duty that day I know exactly why the Cl.56 didn't appear & I stopped it from going, but that's a story for another day. Log in to reply The following users said thank you: Steamer, flabberdacks, meeko, belly buster |
| Activities at a location 27/09/2015 at 19:56 #76310 | |
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WinsfordSaltMine
124 posts |
I want to know the story now lol
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| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 27/09/2015 at 20:39 #76314 | |
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58050
2659 posts |
Between 1995-1997 allocation of power was concentrated at Nottingham ROC for EWS with the exception of Newport & Glasgow who controlled the locos in South wales & Scotland & Crewe RCO were responsible for the provision of power for Mail, Postal & Charter trains. therefore if a charter train was booked to have freight locos on it they would be transferred into the parcels pool & then be under the control of the power controller at Crewe who liased with us at Nottingham by phone & visa versa. There were 2 power desks at Nottingham, south desk & north desk. I was on the north desk which was responsible for the locos at Leicester, Toton, Worksop, Rotherham, Doncaster, immingham, Knottingley & Healey Mills. The south desk was responsible for Peterborough, Parkeston Quay, Stratford, Ripple Lane, Hither Green, Hoo Junction, Stewarts Lane,Three bridges, Acton, Swindon, Westbury, Didcot, Rugby & Bescot. There was another smaller office at Tees responsible for the locoss at Thornaby & Tyne yard. This particular Saturday I was on duty from 0700 - 1900 & I was on my own covering both desks as there was no man covering the south desk. The main priority for us on Saturdays was to make sure we had enough power at the various depots to cover all the weekend ballast/engineering trains. Also as some of you know most of the enthusiast charters run on Saturdays. Pathfinder were running one of there charter going here, there & everywhere with a multitude of locos. this particular charter was running around the north west from crewe to Liverpool & around the Merseyrail network. There was a pair of Cl.73 IIRC working some part of it. Anyway from Bescot to Crewe was booked Cl.56+Cl.58 in multiple to work this charter forward from crewe. I'd allocated 56130 during the Wednesday prior to the Saturday to work the empty fuel tanks from Warrington Arpley to Bescot where the Cl.56 would come off & a Cl.37/5 would work the train back to immingham. I told the South man at the time to advise the Bescot TCS that 56130 would be on hand to work the charter on Saturday. On the day concerned 56060 had been sent from Rotherham to Bescot with a view of that loco working the charter by the night shift, however the loco only had 9hours off an 'A' exam & at this time Bescot TMD closed at midday until Sunday night therefore this loco wouldn't be able to cover any weekend work & the weekend ballast programmer in the West Midlands was massive. I told the Bescot TCS that 56060 was NOT working the charter & I told him in no un-certtain that I wanted that engine on the depot for an 'A' exam. 2 other Cl.56s on the holding sdgs at Bescot failed to start & they had to be dragged up the depot for repairs/maintenance so the Cl.58 went on its own. I'd had a couple of conversations with the Crewe controller & we both agreed that the Cl.58 would work the train on its own as the charter was waiting at Crewe station for a forward engine. To cut a long story short in the next edition of RAIL magazine to get published Pip Dunn wrote a scathing article about the loco controllers at nottingham control. Fortunately for me he ended up riding on Worksop Depots Charity Train committee's charter to Paignton with two Cl.58s & I collard him at Paignton & told him next time he was going to write an article on the loco controllers at Nottingham to get his facts right. Needless to say we(as in loco controllers) got our own back on the charter train operators after that. That was a very busy day I still remember that I sent a driver to didcot after 1800 that Saturday evening to fetch another 5 locos for Bescot to still cover ballast trains that didn't have locos allocated to them. 56060 got its 'A' exam & worked a ballast train from Bescot whereas if it had worked the charter it would have stood there until Sunday night/Monday morning before being ready for traffic. All in a days work.
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| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 27/09/2015 at 20:55 #76315 | |
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WinsfordSaltMine
124 posts |
Nice Story
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| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 28/09/2015 at 08:29 #76316 | |
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kbarber
1742 posts |
The lads on the ground made their contribution to things as well, at times. I heard a good one from Ripple Lane when the 56s were new. There was a freight worked in from the Western somewhere, loco booked to stay at RL all day and crew home Pass(enger). The Western depot received an allocation of 56s and started using them on this train. Which was a confounded nuisance at RL, because no-one there knew them. So wherever the Western men dropped it, there it stayed. Or if it was too badly in the way they had to find a spare engine and fire it up to shunt this blessed thing. They asked the Western men to bring something else. They asked the Western depot to send something else. They took to shunting it into the farthest, darkest, muddiest corner of the yard ('sorry mate, it was getting in our way where you left it' <snigger>). There were conversations with Stratford depot; no-one there knew 56s to be able to do anything with it. Nothing worked; the 56 kept coming over. Nemesis finally arrived in the shape of a dodgy, dirty 47 working in to Stratford. Stratford fitters knew where the crew was from and they knew what they had to do; the 47 was stopped. And there wasn't a spare engine anywhere at Stratford (I don't quite know how they managed that bit...) Until someone (already knowing the answer) asked if they signed 56s. Cue quick phone call and: 'Well there's one over at Ripple Lane you can have'... Needless to say, the 47 wasn't too hard to 'repair'. And Stratford, kind hearted souls that they were, even arranged to work it over to Ripple Lane in time for the Western men to pick up. You may imagine the response when the Western men arrived and couldn't find their lovely new, clean 56 only to be told their engine was the filthy, rough old 47 stood outside the TCS Office. It was many years before Ripple Lane saw another 56. Log in to reply The following users said thank you: Temple Meads, Steamer, flabberdacks, JamesN, RainbowNines, meeko |
| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 28/09/2015 at 09:25 #76317 | |
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RainbowNines
272 posts |
Smashing! "Sorry chap, this huge loco depot has none for you..."
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| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 28/09/2015 at 10:57 #76319 | |
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58050
2659 posts |
I can think of one story whereby the signalers involved were advised of the actual loco number & that was back in 1998. I was working a 'rest day' on the North West & Scotland power desk in the CSDC at Doncaster back in the days of EWS. Now all MGR trains from Gladstone Dock to Fiddlers Ferry were diagrammed to be worked by Cl.60 as they were hauling up to 45 loaded MGR wagons(heavy train). Now on this particular day we were short of a Cl.60 due to a failure & the maintenance controllers who sat opposite said they weren't in a position to get this relevant Cl.60 fixed in time to work the empties from Walton Old Jn to Gladstone Dock for loading & then forward to Fiddlers Ferry Power Station. Bear in mind Cl.66s hadn't been running for long. I had a discussion with the chap responsible for the North West ESI coal traffic(ESI = Energy Supply Industry) the name given to MGR traffic & after also chatting to the maintenance controllers about whether a single Cl.66 could haul 45 loaded MGR wagons up the steep gradient from gladstone Dock as the trains were booked to run round in Tuebrook Sdg. we came to the decision to run this particular train with a Cl.66 plus 40 MGR wagons as there were no loadings for these trains to be worked by Cl.66s at this time due to them being new & so to aviod a cancellation or leaving 5 wagons behind was better than not running the train, the train departed with a Cl.66+40 empty MGR wagons to Gladstone Dock for loading. Now in the meantime word began to spread across the North West region that a Cl.66 had gone to Gladstone Dock to work a loaded train back to Fiiddlers Ferry with 40 loaded wagons. So much interest was generated about this that the Area manger for EWS North West freight & some of his team went to Tuebrook Sdgs to see if this loco was capable of getting this train to Tuebrook & over come the steep gradient from Gladstone Dock. Network rail or Railtrack as it was then notified all the signal boxes along the line of route & also some Network Rail managers also went to see for themselves whther this train was going to slip to a stand at Strand Road & require assistance or was going to do it. You can imagine what it was like when the train left Gladstone Dock loaded en route to Fiddlers Ferry via Tuebrook. I along with almost everyone else was watching the train on TRUST as it progressed its way. Fortunately foe me the loco managed it no problem as it would have been my neck on the line had it slipped to a stand. For that moment on Cl.66s were given a loading of 40 loaded MGR wagons from gladstone Dock to Fiddlers Ferry & was then always used as a second best if they were short of Cl.60s a Warrington for these trains. At the end of the day if you don't try something you never know if its going to work or not. It was like being at a bingo event 'eyes down for a full house' as everyone in the North West was watching this train, from me on the power desk to Network Rail management as well as EWS management & all the signalers along the line of route that train was booked to run. But don't ask me the actual loco number as I can't remember. But that was certainly one to remmember.
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| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 28/09/2015 at 11:45 #76321 | |
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AndyG
1842 posts |
Maybe Keith and Pascal could co-author a book of their tales and stories, I reckon it would sell well.
I can only help one person a day. Today's not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look too good either. Log in to reply The following user said thank you: sunocske |
| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 29/09/2015 at 09:20 #76341 | |
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kbarber
1742 posts |
Copied from 'November Meet(s) in Australia'... please comment here rather than there. Reminiscences of Kensington Olympia in the Motorail days, as seen from South Main Signalbox or the Motorail Supervisor's standpoint. First up in the morning, a class 25 arrives from Willesden to be station pilot. North Main probably stashes it in the north east bays - it needs to be out of the way, as there's a steady stream of freights and light engines on their way to & from the Willesden and Acton yards; long sections and slow clearing of trains (particularly at Old Oak Common, where freights have to cross the Main lines on the level) often lead to a good queue of these building up in the down direction. This will be going on in the background throughout the Motorail shenanigins. Then comes the up Stirling. 8 coaches (mainly sleepers) and 12 dual-braked carflats hauled by a pair of class 25s arrive in the (fully reversible) down platform (technically designated down & up platform). (On the West London Line the up direction is towards the Southern Region, so this means arriving on the right hand platform as seen from the train, sensible enough as it's the one nearest the main station building.) Station pilot on the rear, carflats hooked off and drawn back at North Main, then shunted into the Motorail bays (north west corner of the station), involving a shunt over North Main 35 points. (Horrible things they were. A crossover about 300yd from the box with a facing point lock on both ends. And both locks needed to be got in before you pulled off over them, or you could find yourself able to shunt in but not out again (or v.v.). And they were hard. One of the heaviest levers I've ever tried to pull. It wasn't unknown for the supervisor to nip up and give the bobby a hand. And it was still hit or miss whether you could get the FPLs in.) 10 flats would be dropped into No. 1 bay and the other 2 into No. 2. While this is going on, the train engines are hooked off and run to the north end; the carriages usually extend beyond the mid-platform crossover so it's not possible to put the engines on there, they have to wait until the shunt has finished. There were special 'shunting' bell signals between North Main and South Main boxes, so the signalmen were kept pretty busy on the block. Stock gets off to Willesden tout de suite. And a good thing too, because the first 'Kenny Belle' run is by now in section from Chelsea (luckily there's an outer home on the down, so it's OK to accept as soon as the train engines are clear of the inner). (The 'Kensington Belle' was the last vestige of the pre-war passenger services on the West London. I have an idea it was mainly to serve the civil servants who worked in the local Inland Revenue office. It usually consisted of anything Clapham happened to have spare; usually a class 33 but occasionally a 73, most often a couple of miscellaneous coaches but on rare occasions we got a 4TC, which meant we didn't need to run round.) Kenny Belle arrives in the platform just cleared; loco hooks off then runs round using the mid-platform crossover (the old Regulation 31 - Shunting into Forward Section - and if it's a busy day it might have to be a permissive acceptance into the bargain... the colloquial name for Kensington in those days was 'Stop'em Junction'). Kenny Belle ecs is gotten rid of as quickly as possible because... The up Inverness Motorail is now on the horizon. Same formation as the Stirling, except the carflats are vacuum braked. The same performance is gone through as for the Stirling, with the flats split between 3 and 4 bays. Again its all done just in time, because the Kenny Belle is once again on the block from Chelsea. There's not a lot of time to relax though. By the time the tea's brewed the pair of 25s are back, this time with a set of air-braked day coaches. They're run round in station then shunted on to the pair of flats off the Stirling, which by now are busy being loaded with cars for Perth. Finally, South Main gets his breakfast. Which is more than can be said for North Main. Come departure time for the Perth, he pulls off for the coaches and pair of flats, which draw forward then set back on to the other 10 flats (with passengers already on board the coaches). (Question: was this the only train in the country that legitimately departed before a brake test had been carried out?) Check that all's coupled up properly, brake test, then right away. Followed a little later by the station pilot. By now the 'morning peak' of freights is over. The signalmen return to their newspapers (or in certain cases to catching up on their sleep), the shunters return to their card school and anyone happening on the place could be forgiven for thinking it must be closed. It's no wonder it finished; however much loved it was, that service was a financial nonsense (especially as it needed an engine change barely 3 miles from Kensington and provision of those 2 class 25s - one wasn't strong enough to lift the train up the gradient past North Pole). But it was certainly fun while it lasted. Log in to reply The following users said thank you: 58050, RainbowNines, Steamer |
| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 29/09/2015 at 10:42 #76344 | |
Soton_Speed
285 posts 
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" said:Reminiscences of Kensington Olympia in the Motorail days, as seen from South Main Signalbox or the Motorail Supervisor's standpoint.I've always wondered, did the Passengers load/unload their own cars or did they hand over the keys? Having used the motorail for a Scottish holiday in 1990's I can remember waiting in the Cafe at Inverness for the station staff to unload the cars. In Zone 6, no one can hear you scream... Log in to reply |
| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 29/09/2015 at 16:12 #76352 | |
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RainbowNines
272 posts |
Amazingly detailed and amusing as per usual! " said: The 'Kensington Belle' was the last vestige of the pre-war passenger services on the West London. I have an idea it was mainly to serve the civil servants who worked in the local Inland Revenue office.Wikipedia (taken with its usual pinch of salt!) suggests they were workers for the National Savings Bank. Last edited: 29/09/2015 at 16:17 by RainbowNines Log in to reply The following user said thank you: kbarber |
| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 29/09/2015 at 21:27 #76365 | |
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kbarber
1742 posts |
" said:" said:Reminiscences of Kensington Olympia in the Motorail days, as seen from South Main Signalbox or the Motorail Supervisor's standpoint.I've always wondered, did the Passengers load/unload their own cars or did they hand over the keys? In my day they drove on & off the flats themselves. Handling staff dealt with scotches (and with straps & windscreen pads for the Perth, which was booked at 90mph). I have an idea there was a period when Cartics were used rather than Carflats and that the handling staff drove cars on and off in those days, but that's based on a poster that was still around (and was pretty ancient then). Of course handling staff would load/unload if a passenger felt nervous about driving along the deck of a train. Log in to reply |
| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 29/09/2015 at 21:28 #76366 | |
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kbarber
1742 posts |
" said:Amazingly detailed and amusing as per usual! Almost certainly right... must admit I took no steps to check that particular fact. Log in to reply |
| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 29/09/2015 at 22:10 #76367 | |
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Muzer
718 posts |
Stupid question, but never having really seen one AFAIR, how do motorail carriages actually work? I assume there's some mechanism by which you can drive along the whole train?
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| Reminiscences, split from Activities at a location 29/09/2015 at 22:52 #76371 | |
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RainbowNines
272 posts |
Too young to remember Motorail, but if it's anything like the Eurotunnel then yes, the carriages can be driven through. Eurotunnel trains have loading and unloading cars which are open sided so you can drive onto the train then along the carriages. I don't know if Motorail had the same - having been to Kenny O to explore what's left of the Motorail area I Imagine not. Keith will soon put me right though I'm sure! EDIT: It seems I've fabricated this in my head, if a cursory glance at the web is anything to go by. Would be grateful if someone could confirm if I'm losing the plot...! Last edited: 29/09/2015 at 22:58 by RainbowNines Log in to reply |
| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 29/09/2015 at 22:55 #76372 | |
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AndyG
1842 posts |
Does this Wikipedia page help? Looks like flaps that drop down to bridge gaps to load/unload in photo. I can only help one person a day. Today's not your day. Tomorrow doesn't look too good either. Log in to reply |
| Remenicences, split from Activities at a location 30/09/2015 at 08:18 #76376 | |
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kbarber
1742 posts |
Carflats were old carriage underframes with a rather crude wooden deck attached. Consequently they had buckeye couplings and could be run as passenger stock. There was a low handrail along the sides (about 200mm above the deck if I recall, certainly not much above 300mm) and at the ends a solid flap, as Andy says, of about the same height, equipped with stops that rested on the buffer casings when the flaps were dropped. When dropped, the flaps were near-enough butted up that cars could be driven right along them. There were no special unloading vehicles. The buffer stops were efectively a red band on the end wall of the bay and a ramp was formed behind them that came to the same level as the carflat decks, so cars were driven straight on and off the length of the train. I believe there was a (relatively) lightweight ramp that could be pushed into place for loading the upper deck of the cartics, but by 1981 (the year I was the summer supervisor) there was no sign of it. Log in to reply |
| Reminiscences, split from Activities at a location 30/09/2015 at 19:17 #76387 | |
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Forest Pines
525 posts |
One of my earliest memories is of catching the Motorail from York to Newton Abbot - specifically, the memory is of driving into the terminal, off Leeman Rd (where the NRM entrance, the car park and the IECC are now, basically) and seeing trains and sidings as far as my eyes could see. It was summer 1980, and I was about 2 1/2. I'll have to ask my dad some time if he remembers what the loading and unloading arrangements were like on that route. Log in to reply |
| Reminiscences, split from Activities at a location 30/09/2015 at 19:41 #76388 | |
jc92
3685 posts |
" said:One of my earliest memories is of catching the Motorail from York to Newton Abbot - specifically, the memory is of driving into the terminal, off Leeman Rd (where the NRM entrance, the car park and the IECC are now, basically) and seeing trains and sidings as far as my eyes could see. It was summer 1980, and I was about 2 1/2.The motorail dock is/was next to/ part of platform 1 where the car rental dealership currently is "We don't stop camborne wednesdays" Log in to reply |
| Reminiscences, split from Activities at a location 30/09/2015 at 19:42 #76389 | |
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320322
86 posts |
I still remember clearly the joys of Motorail with Intercity West Coast services at Glasgow Central. I recall both loading and unloading. When a train arrived in Glasgow Central (using platform 11 at the time as it was handy for the former carriage way prior to the station remodelling circa 2010) the GUV Motorail vans were usually tacked onto the rear of the train. Usually northbound trains were Loco - 8 Mk3 - DVT - Motorail Vans. A class 87 (or whatever was available at Polmadie at the time) was coupled to some vehicle that had side loading facilities. It usually was propelled in to the station , coupled to the vans then drew back towards the end of the platform and then unloading commenced. Once the train was unloaded , the vans and the load/unload vehicle plus loco then shunted off into platform 11A. The train (Loco , Coaches & DVT) then went off to Polmadie for servicing. The return! The loco and loading vehicle plus vans were loaded up in Platform 11A and once that was completed , the loco would shunt out Platform 11A and into Platform 11 , obviously stopping before the buffers! Then the loco and loading vehicle would shunt back into Platform 11A or even stabled in the sidings at Salkeld St Parcels depot (within the shadows of the former signalbox) Then the Loco , Coaches & DVT would arrive back into the station and then couple to the motorail vans then once loaded with custom , it would depart for the south. Formations were - Northbound: Class 87 or 90 , 8 Mk3 Day Coaches (5 Standard , Buffet , 2 First) , DVT then approximately 3 Vans. Southbound - As above but Motorail Vans attached to the rear with the loco sandwiched between the coaches and the vans. From memory the vans were former GUV vans with modifications to allow end loading. As for the loading/unloading vehicle , I've no idea what it was but it was handy owing to lack of loading ramps at Glasgow Central. Hope that's interesting enough Ps , meant to say , it was interesting seeing last minute passengers trying to board the Motorail Vans as the train departed! Happened a few times Last edited: 30/09/2015 at 19:44 by 320322 Reason: Forgot extra info Log in to reply The following user said thank you: meeko |
| Reminiscences, split from Activities at a location 01/10/2015 at 07:56 #76394 | |
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kbarber
1742 posts |
" said:I still remember clearly the joys of Motorail with Intercity West Coast services at Glasgow Central. I recall both loading and unloading.Ah yes, the 'tail traffic'. I never had anything to do with that and it was always a much smaller operation than the summer services - I would imagine the nightly capacity was about 6 or 8 cars. But it started earlier and lasted longer, simply because it was a relatively small 'piggy back' on another service (a bit like the parcels were, for the most part). And as 320322 says, the vehicles were modified GUVs not flats, with whatever loading arrangements were appropriate for the terminal (I have an idea Kings X and Euston end-loaded with a suitable ramp in parcels docks, with Euston needing that road isolated!) Log in to reply |
| Reminiscences, split from Activities at a location 01/10/2015 at 08:36 #76395 | |
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jc92
3685 posts |
https://www.flickr.com/photos/96782261@N05/15005572070 One of those? "We don't stop camborne wednesdays" Log in to reply |
| Reminiscences, split from Activities at a location 01/10/2015 at 15:21 #76405 | |
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320322
86 posts |
That's the fellow right there! Yeah , can't remember what it was called exactly but it had a flap that created a solid(ish) surface to load and unload the cars
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