The diesel era 1960s, 70s & 80s

[Mickey]

Deleted

[strang steel]

Did that 1969 date for the headcode changes have anything to do with the abolition of the NE region of BR and everything became the ER? I know that there were quite a few up services with 1Exx headcodes in the mid 1960s which I presume were from Yorkshire?

I know at one time there was a Pullman with a headcode of 1E67 which always intrigued me because there was a 7E67 (sometimes ran as 5E67) which was the 2311 Edge Hill to Whitemoor goods service.

[manna]

G'Day Gents

I'm lucky, I suppose, I have driven all, the Deltics at one time or another, but most would have been at KX passenger loco or Finsbury Park, the longest drive, Peterborough to Aresley, and a few trips out to Hornsey CS, and did on one occasion, secondman a Deltic back from Newcastle, I always dropped in for class 46 and 47's (which I preferred).

The 'D' headcode, if I remember correctly, was for trains terminating in the Doncaster district, including Hull.

manna

[Iron Duke]

Headcodes, never did understand them !!

However, here is a snippet from something I bought in 1965 in an attempt to figure then out.
Failed...........

ID

[StevieG]

" .... Obviously the loco has been released and is making it's way over to Passenger loco for re-fueling. "

Not so sure about that Micky.
None of the 'A' or 'B' Route signals in the background seem to be 'Off', and from where the loco is and the road that its far end bogie wheels look to be on through the points under that end, I'd say all the points lay aligned between 'B' Route and Platform 8 (nowadays 7 : There was a connection between 8 and 'C' Route, but that was 146/148 points which are under the side of the loco's nearer end, so that's not the answer).

So I think it's coming into No.8 platform, though where from and why, can't say - backing onto a train to work it away (even though the inward blinds still show 1A20; - no-one's changed them since it arrived with that train?) ?
Or possibly it had been released and was en route to Passr. Loco, but via platform 8 on the way for some reason?

If i recall correctly after the last couple of 'overnight Scotch expresses' (usually Deltic hauled) had passed through WGC around 06:30-07:00 in the weekday morning the first real up express of the day was 1A01 which passed through WGC around 09:30 then after that one had gone through there was a steady procession of up expresses throughout the rest of the morning and into the afternoon followed by 1A02,1A03,1A04,1A05,1A06,1A07 and so on, during the early part of the afternoon 1E01 made an appearance followed by several others like 1E05 & 1E07.

"Wot?! No 1A00?"
That was the first SX up long distance-er that I recall, though that was in around 1974/77 and later, but (I think) was before the modern day timetable which sees the first Up 'InterCity' set forming a Peterboro' starter for commuters (currently 0610 PBO - KGX 0700).

[Mickey]

Deleted

[Mickey]

Deleted

[strang steel]

I'm lucky, I suppose, I have driven all, the Deltics at one time or another...

Do you know manna there would be 'thousands of gricers' around the world that would pay a £1.000.quid for that experience!.

Me included, Micky.

[Mickey]

Deleted

[strang steel]

I know exactly what you mean about an addictive experience, Micky.

I have only driven one diesel, and that was BRC&W 26026. The experience was a great thrill, even though the loco was only in a siding of about 400 yards and all I did was go up and down the track there.

Racing along the main line at 90-100mph must be several levels of adrenaline above that.

[Mickey]

Deleted

[JeffB]

Hi Manna, I also drove all the Deltics in the early 60,s. On the Newcastle lodge jobs, York and Leeds returns, also had a go on the original Blue Deltic from the Cross to Peterborough. As well as DP2 on a working from York to the Cross. I much preferred the Deltics to the 46,s. I can allways remember coming down Stoke bank on the Queen of Scots Pullman, late leaving Leeds and let the Deltic really go. Did manage to reach 111 mph then Ithought we had better shut off. Laurie Goddard was my mate and we would swap sides half way through a run.

[Iron Duke]

Hello Micky,

Saw your post ref working on 31's.
Here's one of my pics from 1974 (loco unidentified).

ID

[StevieG]

Yes it's a good experience driving a railway loco John it's also a very addictive one cos as a secondman once your driver has let you have a drive your never content just sitting there again in the secondman's seat staring ahead out of the window cos you really want to be driving the loco again!!.

It's the same when your are just the booking boy in a s/box you always want to be working the lever frame and block bells.

I can certainly say I also know what you mean Micky, as regards the world of signalling operation anyway.

That frame layout at Goods & Mineral Junction for example - in the case of most of the functions, not much of it was grouped logically in the lever frame, and/nor was much of it where amongst all the 100 levers you might expect its particular levers to be. You had to learn it more by the numbers than anywhere else that I knew. It really was satisfying to learn your way round that place and finally get it all into the brain!
[ Try this : Set a train back straight along the Down Goods from inside Copenhagen Tunnel, past the box, and into the 'North Yard' ; piece of cake! (??) : 92, 83, 82, 83 back, 79, 59, 91, 75, and 20 (the 'king' ground disc, from where you could get to anywhere in the whole goods yard) , THEN press the plunger for the 'OK to set-back' bell in the tunnel - fixed on the block shelf, roughly above lever 65 ! ]

Even King's Cross's 232 levers were, like most boxes, laid-out far more logically.


And it wasn't just in the levers, bells, and level crossing wheels department where interest, enthusiasm and delight in being able to work 'above your station', could be immensely satisfying:

Picture this : -
1974 ;
On the 'maroon' railway [BR(M) Region : Apologies to ECML proponents] ;
Not long into an SX weekday late-turn shift in Euston Power Signal Box ;
All five posts covered, except that I, as duty Train Recorder, soon to move on to a new job under promotion (and known to have not made a mess of being previously allowed an occasional 'dabble' on the panel for short spells during relatively quieter periods), had a very competent newcomer on the verge of 'passing out' for the job, doing the work with virtually no help needed ;
The 'station man' signalman (covering the Euston end of the 'stand-up operation' all-in-one style 'NX' control panel, which worked the whole station and sidings/carriage sheds area) is a very likeable, senior Reliefman who had just 'doubled-back' off night shift (once an LNER man who had worked around Wood Green in the 1940s, ending up on the LM via the ownership changes of the ex-GC route);
I am doing little more than making the tea at intervals for everyone.

By about 14:40, the reliefman says 'I've had enough of this ; Me just doubled-back, while you sit at the back, thumb-twiddling : Get yourself round here' (to the panel). I was so reluctant it probably took as long as 5 seconds to get there .

In those fully electrified ('The Electric Scots are here') times, when the only common railway meaning of push-pull working (more usually 'pull n' push'?) was how some steam branch lines used to be worked with the loco hauling in one direction and propelling on the way back, Euston's suburban trains were all EMUs (even the Birmingham via Northamptons), but the Inter-Citys all needed an outward loco put on the front, shunted from a previous working or ex sidings, and the inward locos, once their trains had left, needed shunting out and back, to work another train or put into sidings : Not too dissimilar to King's Cross (and others), but without the need to worry about re-fuelling between long hauls.
So the new 1960s layout had been made very flexible in terms of alternative routes between the main lines and many platforms, permitting a lot of parallel routes and running movements/loco shunts, but it needed the signalman to be thinking about three moves ahead to mentally plan, to make the best of it and minimise avoidable minor delays.

Anyway, thinking 'my man' meant to keep me occupied to his advantage for just for an hour or so, while still going solo under his watchful eye, things were starting to get a little busier by 16:00, so I hinted at him needing to take over. 'You're alright' was the answer.
Wanting to check whether one light loco was actually about to move, I went to the corner window to look across the outer platform ends. Seeing what I needed I also remember thinking 'Crumbs! I'm controlling that lot - better get back to the panel, quick!'

Around 16:30, with things busier still, and with the "Area Controller" (box supervisor) looking on, apparently unperturbed, I nevertheless repeated the hint : 'No you're doing okay.' [Thinks: 'Blimey! he's a bit mad'!]

A rather tired but somewhat confidence-boosted train recorder was invited to sit back down at around 20:30, ... with very tired feet, and only two sets of 100 lines to write out : -
- "Just because the 17:49 semi-fast (AC) to Watford 'rings out' (train ready to start indicated) before the 17:47 Tring in the next platform, doesn't mean you give it the road first: Too hasty that time." ;
- and -
- "The 18:05 Blackpool is booked away 'underneath' via the Down Departure, not straight across to the Down Fast; but you were lucky this time."

One of the most memorable (for good reasons) working days of my career.

In contrast, I've never ever had the opportunity to move a train fall into my lap at all (apart from 'O' Gauge or smaller of course).

[Mickey]

Deleted