Kings Coss Passenger Loco

[Mickey]

Deleted

[StevieG]

Thanks John,
Most interesting, and new info. to me. I defer to your more expert knowledge.
Thinking about it, with the loss of the old frame's mechanical locking, and I presume, electrical circuitry controls via contact bands driven by shafts off the levers, new relay interlocking would have been absolutely unavoidable: Quite a sizeable amount of work, even for 'only' a little under six years.

[Brush53Falcon]

Ay up!

DP2 used the same colours as class 47, post refurb, for the lower green band - the Deltics had a much, much paler band.

Be interesting to see if Heljan get that right....

They will, trust me!

[StevieG]

Andy W has asked me, on his behalf, to post this interesting Instamatic photo of his, of this less-familiar view north towards King's Cross 'Passenger Loco', from aboard, close to the front of, a train in the Down Moorgate line platform 16 (well, actually No.14 by this time).

At least five Class 31s can be seen in 'the Loco', along with a '47' just outside 'the Elephant House' shed. Although intact four-character headcode panels can be seen on the locos, they seem to be set to '0O00' suggesting the period between cessation of headcode displays and removal of the panels.
In the centre, the very long, red, instructions board, IIRC, applicable to locos exiting 'the Loco' may be noted. And close by, one of the several '8' 'cut-out'-type speed restriction signs, applying to movements leaving 'Platform' 17 and the Milk yard.

A train of BR loco-hauled 'block-ender' non-gangwayed compartment coaches can be seen in the background, apparently at King's Cross York Road platform on the Up Slow/Moorgate line.

In the middle distance, to the right of 'the Loco', the widely-cantilevered 'E'-Route line Down direction signal (KC220) can be seen showing green with an 'S' route indication to the Down Slow, probably for the train from which this shot was taken [sight of the close-by, twin-headed, platform 16 starting signal (KC221) is obscured by the train].

In the further background, the 'C'-Route line signal(red)'s route indicator is showing a 'back' indication '9' (warning any on-track staff of an arrival signalled into that platform).
This '9', and the face of 'the Loco's exit ground disc signal 231 (a little right of centre) having a red bar rather than yellow, indicates that this photo dates from sometime between the Sept. 1971 transfer of the 1932 SGE signalling's control from the prominent 'old' signal box at the north end of platforms 5 & 6 to the present power box building; and the "Clearing The Throat" complete remodelling of King's Cross's track layout and resignalling in Feb.- April '77.

[Mickey]

Deleted

[StevieG]

Good picture Stevie, the class 31 in the passenger loco looks like it's carrying the headcode of either 6T26 or 6T28 anyway if it is it's probably one of the G.N. Electrification locos which would date this picture as either being taken in the summer (judging by the weather) of 1974 or 1975?.

Thanks (on Andy W's behalf), Micky : ...... But ....

Oops!....

" .... Although intact four-character headcode panels can be seen on the locos, they seem to be set to '0O00' suggesting the period between cessation of individual headcode displays and removal of the panels. .... "
" .... This '9', and the face of 'the Loco's exit ground disc signal 231 (a little right of centre) having a red bar rather than yellow, indicates that this photo dates from sometime between the Sept. 1971 transfer of the 1932 signalling's control from the prominent 'old' signal box at the north end of platforms 5 & 6 to the present power box building; and the "Clearing The Throat" complete remodelling of King's Cross's track layout and resignalling in Feb.- April '77. "

....I overlooked the fact that Andy W, in his original e-mail to me, had already dated this photo as being from 1976.

[Mickey]

Deleted

[manna]

G'Day Gents

That's how I will always remember KX and the passenger loco, the rest 'never' happened.....Thank you Andy W.

Oh, and another point, the lamp on the platform, is 'still' in LNER green, 28 years after it nationalized, give's you an idea how long it was between paints !!

manna

[strang steel]

Andy W has asked me, on his behalf, to post this interesting Instamatic photo of his, of this less-familiar view north towards King's Cross 'Passenger Loco', from aboard, close to the front of, a train in the Down Moorgate line platform 16 (well, actually No.14 by this time).

IMG_0021.jpg

At least five Class 31s can be seen in 'the Loco', along with a '47' just outside 'the Elephant House' shed. Although intact four-character headcode panels can be seen on the locos, they seem to be set to '0O00' suggesting the period between cessation of headcode displays and removal of the panels.
In the centre, the very long, red, instructions board, IIRC, applicable to locos exiting 'the Loco' may be noted. And close by, one of the several '8' 'cut-out'-type speed restriction signs, applying to movements leaving 'Platform' 17 and the Milk yard.

A train of BR loco-hauled 'block-ender' non-gangwayed compartment coaches can be seen in the background, apparently at King's Cross York Road platform on the Up Slow/Moorgate line.

In the middle distance, to the right of 'the Loco', the widely-cantilevered 'E'-Route line Down direction signal (KC220) can be seen showing green with an 'S' route indication to the Down Slow, probably for the train from which this shot was taken [sight of the close-by, twin-headed, platform 16 starting signal (KC221) is obscured by the train].

In the further background, the 'C'-Route line signal(red)'s route indicator is showing a 'back' indication '9' (warning any on-track staff of an arrival signalled into that platform).
This '9', and the face of 'the Loco's exit ground disc signal 231 (a little right of centre) having a red bar rather than yellow, indicates that this photo dates from sometime between the Sept. 1971 transfer of the 1932 SGE signalling's control from the prominent 'old' signal box at the north end of platforms 5 & 6 to the present power box building; and the "Clearing The Throat" complete remodelling of King's Cross's track layout and resignalling in Feb.- April '77.

Thanks for sharing the photo, and for such a detailed explanation of what can be seen in it. It is great to have access to such excellent knowledge of the track and signalling layouts/procedures.

[sandwhich]

There is a DVD available called Kings Cross Suburban which was filmed around 1971 and in the the first part there is film of the pass loco with a couple of deltics amongst other engines in residence.

[strang steel]

I was reading a 1964 Railway Observer yesterday, and one report stated that an outer suburban working was wrongly routed into platform 15, but because the last two coaches were completely off the platform end (and no doubt fouling most of the access roads to that side of the station and yard), the station pilot had to be sent to uncouple them and propel them into another platform.

[Mickey]

Deleted

[Hatfield Shed]

Glad this thread has resurfaced as it alerted me to the instamatic 'snap' above. That's a lovely reminder of the steam age layout, I can replay in my head all the grunting and groaning noises of the stock being worked through those tight curves. Often wondered if it was these curves that saw Ivatt first try a 4-4-2T before moving on to 0-6-2T when replacement of the Stirling 0-4-4T tank locos became necessary. And just look how narrow the platform became at the Northern end. It was a different world when that was built.

[manna]

G'Day Gents

Just remember that there were the R1 0-8-2T's between the C12's and the N1's, what a sight that would have been, an R1 pounding up the curve and bursting out of Hotel curve tunnel into what was to become platform 16, in a cacophony of steam, smoke and noise, sheer bliss

manna

[strang steel]

I do know there is one photo with a split headcode class 40 there, because I remember being rather shocked at seeing such a Lancashire biased creature that far south.

Edited - couldn't wait for the 25th, so here is the link to a split headcode 40 photo. This is even more unusual as it seems to be about to help a 31 with a Cleethorpes train.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24041160@N02/5470826924/

Aha, at last found the other split headcode 40 photo -

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ron_h/4785 ... 116103155/

Now there is a third, so maybe they were not quite as rare as I thought?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tigertim19 ... 145451634/