manna wrote: ↑Sat Jul 29, 2017 8:38 pm
I think one of the reasons that ECML express's left KX in very close timings was to leave as much time as possible for the Goods trains to clear the two track sections of mainline before the next flight of express's.
Today with a lot less Freight traffic it is possible to stagger the express's to a more time interval, but that dose,n't help the odd freight train.
With loose couple trains, you really felt that push in the back as you started to brake, if you could keep it under control, (I.E. brake early rather than late) there wasn't to much of a problem.
I remember old Harry Fitzgerald a signalman at Welwyn Garden City box and a LNER man from the 1930s saying to me one day regarding freight trains "Always give them a main line run boy cos they're always get outta the way of an express!". I believe that was the usual practice with GNR/LNER signalmen regarding running freight trains going back to GNR days to-run them fast or main line!!.
manna wrote: ↑Sat Jul 29, 2017 8:38 pm
With loose couple trains, you really felt that push in the back as you started to brake, if you could keep it under control, (I.E. brake early rather than late) there wasn't to much of a problem.
"In the days before the abolition of loose couple goods trains and the advent of the GSM-R phone..."
manna with loose coupled or partially fitted goods trains do you remember when you was working one over 45 years ago and you had to occasionally look back down along the train to make sure that the guards brake van was still following the rear of the train plus also the guard wasn't trying to attract the loco crews attention up front if there was a problem with the train by maybe waving a rolled up newspaper and also during the hours of darkness he hadn't reversed the white side lights to red side lights showing forward!.
Yes I do remember looking back along the train, (usually, the Wheat train) but a Driver said to me one night, you'll know when your train splits, as you'll suddenly go faster, and at 30 mph up to Potters Bar, I'm sure we would.
manna wrote: ↑Tue Aug 01, 2017 11:33 pm
Yes I do remember looking back along the train, (usually, the Wheat train) but a Driver said to me one night, you'll know when your train splits, as you'll suddenly go faster, and at 30 mph up to Potters Bar, I'm sure we would.
From memory 'the wheat' use to run as either 7B07 or 8B07 departing Temple Mills around 4:30-4:45am (Mon-Fri) and then travelling across the North London line to Canonbury Junction then 'around the corner' to Finsbury Park and then along the Down slow line to Welwyn Garden City.
Around 1974 I use to like 9B69 the Kings Cross Goods yard to Temple Mills working that was always allocated to a Brush type 2 (class 31) loco on the diagram. This train would depart 'the goods yard' around 9:30am Mon-Fri with a fairly long train of a mixture of box vans, mineral wagons & bogie-bolster flat wagons with a brake van at either end of the train and travel via the Down goods line from Goods And Mineral Junction as far as Finsbury Park 2 (box) where the loco would run/round the train (a brake van at either end) and then depart Finsbury Park 2 and travel via Canonbury Junction and across the North London line to Temple Mills yards. The return journey arrived back in 'the goods yard' around 12:30-1:00pm.
9B69 from memory would travel at between 30-35mph maximum speed along certain parts of the route especially across the North London line section in particular from Canonbury Junction and through Western & Eastern Junction's at Dalston and on through Hackney Central station towards Homerton until reaching Victoria Park box at the eastern outskirts of Stratford near the current Hackney Wick station where the trains speed would have been brought down to 10-15mph approaching Lea Junction at Stratford but the first part of the journey between Kings Cross goods yard to Finsbury Park 2 (box) and then from Finsbury Park 2 towards Canonbury tunnel was taken at around 20-25mph I would guess?.
The 'wheat' train may have been booked on the slow line, but nearly always ran 'main line'
Your mention of 9B69, reminded me of the time we came off the road at Finsbury Pk No 2, whilst running round. It was always a bit of a slow train, but you did manage to see Temple Mills in Daylight.
manna wrote: ↑Thu Aug 03, 2017 9:07 am
The 'wheat' train may have been booked on the slow line, but nearly always ran 'main line'
By the time it arrived at Welwyn Garden City it always came from Hatfield along the Down slow line so maybe it was either 'turned in' off the Down fast line at Hatfield or at Potters Bar then.
manna wrote: Your mention of 9B69, reminded me of the time we came off the road at Finsbury Pk No 2, whilst running round. It was always a bit of a slow train, but you did manage to see Temple Mills in Daylight.
Yeah I remember you posting that before a long time ago and I can just imagine yourself with your driver and the guard standing looking at the derailment!. lol ha ha ha...
The half hour on the Beeb yesterday evening describing the testing for Tornado to be approved for a 90mph line speed on Network Rail was better than average I felt. The operators talking about the job, much better than some journo's opinion. (Just kill the overdubbed music while running so we can hear the loco working.) And what a surprise, the Pepp A1 design can still do the job Doncaster designed it for: provided the fireman can move coal to grate at a sufficient rate to meet the inevitable power demand. (If there's to be a long term future for steam on the network, mechanical firing is going to have to be implemented at some point.)
