This ones for micky

[52D]

Hi guys Micky seems to like old railway films, this ones for him even though its American and its a lovely old wood burning 4-6-0. www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7eQPm5e-lE

[Mickey]

Thanks 52D but I prefer-

"A Brush type 2 hauling a rake of 'block enders' on the Down slow no.1 line just north of Finsbury Park either during the late 1950s or early 1960s. Also note the purpose built 'train spotters' concrete observation platform towards the top left of the picture I remember it quite well and is in fact still there to this day under a load of foliage "

http://www.bing.com/images/search?view= ... IP.sIe-iU2

Mickey

[harvester]

The type 2's doing well pulling all those coaches uphill Mickey !!!!!!!

[Mickey]

The type 2's doing well pulling all those coaches uphill Mickey !!!!!!!

Yeah to right harvester that's on a bit of a rising gradient through Finsbury Park to Harringay West station and with 5 'block enders' behind a Brush type 2 that was a piece of cake!.

Get the 'right away' from Finsbury Park station and trundle over the Strood Green road bridge and passed Finsbury Park 5 (box) then run down a short falling gradient to the Edgware line bridge & footbridge seen in the picture with the next stop being Harringay West station.

Harringay (passenger box) Down fast line distant signal is seen showing 'off' in the background.

Mickey

[manna]

G'day Gents

I like the Quad Arts in the background, over the brake pit.

manna

[Mickey]

I like the Quad Arts in the background, over the brake pit.

Replaced later usually by a couple of sets of 'block enders' being stabled on those two roads after Quads had disappeared by the mid-1960s.

A later addition to the scene not shown in the photograph was two (maybe three?) tall floodlight towers in Finsbury Park Up carriage sidings (GB sidings) from sometime during the late 1960s and through the 1970s.

Brush type 2 D5605 (I don't know what it's TOPS number was?) was a Finsbury Park loco because I use to see it all the time around the Kings Cross area and I also probably rode on the thing a few times when I was a secondman at 'the cross' circa 1974/75.

Mickey

[Andy W]

There were 4 medium height tower lights in those sidings - all a thin lattice type with a ladder, small circular top "cage", each with three individual stem fittings. They were demolished when the sidings were cleared. The small concrete column at the north end survived (disconnected) until the sale of the land to the Council and may still be there.

D5605 became 31404, a KX area engine from those days right up to 1981.

[Mickey]

There were 4 medium height tower lights in those sidings - all a thin lattice type with a ladder, small circular top "cage", each with three individual stem fittings. They were demolished when the sidings were cleared. The small concrete column at the north end survived (disconnected) until the sale of the land to the Council and may still be there.

It's interesting to know that this kind of information is still known by a few people some 40 years later Andy.

How many roads in total were in Finsbury Park Up sidings?. Usually by the mid/late 1960s & through most of the 1970s the sidings were usually full of sets of 'block ender' ECS of either the inner or outer suburban vehicle types either in maroon livery during the mid/late 1960s and more usually in blue livery during the early/mid 1970s usually along with the odd Cravens & Rolls Royce DMU set as well.

D5605 in the photograph is being driven from the no.2 end the locos 'Spanner boiler' air vents grills can be seen at the other end the no.1 end.

Just to the left of the locos steps the rectangle metal box is to hold the dry sand used for sanding the rail head for gaining more grip to the rail head when the loco was starting from a standing start on a damp or wet rail head.

"I always liked the old Brush type 2s and still do."