Spotting records online

[strang steel]

After a lot of soul searching about the time necessary to create this website, I have decided to take the plunge and see how it goes. My coding knowledge is zero, and so at present the site is just lists of locos at various locations taken from a spreadsheet. However, initial reactions have been positive because people seem to like seeing everything on a page at one time; which was not my original intention.

I forked out for a domain name, and here we are. The website is a work in (slow) progress, (and if anyone is interested) can be found at

https://spottinglogs.co.uk/spotting-rec ... s-70s-80s/

There are some ex-LNER shed visits, but the coverage includes much of Great Britain.

[strang steel]

I can't quite believe it is over 3 years since I started my trainspotting notes website. It has expanded quite a bit since inception (which was basically just a Covid lockdown project to keep me from going mad with boredom) because many folk have given permission to publish their 1980s notes.

However, my main reason for this update is that I have acquired notebooks for the years 1939-1942, and while much of the sightings are LMS (because the enthusiast lived in Manchester), there are some visits to Gorton.

I am not really familiar with LNER numbering during the early war years, and if anyone could point me in the direction of loco allocations for that period I would be very grateful.

The 1939 page is in its infancy at present, but I have added one Gorton shed and works record, which includes around 250 locomotive numbers. The best I can do so far, is copy the author and list each one as LNER.

This page can be found at www.spottinglogs.co.uk/1939-2/

[65447]

The period in question is before Thompson's renumbering scheme was put into effect, which means that the distribution of numbers was more random than rational.

Although some locomotives will have been scrapped in the interval, the quickest way would I think be to reference a copy of the renumbering list that has both old and new numbers - I cannot lay my hands on my copy at the moment but will keep searching the midden.

[Darryl Tooley]

There's a sequential list of LNER loco numbers, with the pre- and post-renumbering classes alongside, in Part 10A of the RCTS 'Locomotives of the LNER' series.

As some of you may know, I'm a Swedey man and heart, so I had a quick scroll through to see what numbers there were in the seven and eight thousands. I noted LNER No 8074 on a Grand National Special at Northenden on 24 March 1939. This would have been a very unusual duty for an F3, even if No 8074 was still in service at that time, which it wasn't.

D

[strang steel]

There's a sequential list of LNER loco numbers, with the pre- and post-renumbering classes alongside, in Part 10A of the RCTS 'Locomotives of the LNER' series.

As some of you may know, I'm a Swedey man and heart, so I had a quick scroll through to see what numbers there were in the seven and eight thousands. I noted LNER No 8074 on a Grand National Special at Northenden on 24 March 1939. This would have been a very unusual duty for an F3, even if No 8074 was still in service at that time, which it wasn't.

D

Thankyou for pointing out a likely error or typo. Sadly, I can only transcribe what is written in the notebooks. If they are incorrect, there is not much I can do given that the year in question was 83 years ago.

May I suggest that it might have been more prudent to leave a private comment for me via the website, rather than a pedantic public comment on here ?


Anyhow, I thought others might like to know that I have decided to add further image pages to the site. Initially, they are from the WCML; but I have just begun an ECML equivalent.

All of these updated photo pages can be accessed at http://www.spottinglogs.co.uk/portfolio

[strang steel]

There's a sequential list of LNER loco numbers, with the pre- and post-renumbering classes alongside, in Part 10A of the RCTS 'Locomotives of the LNER' series.

As some of you may know, I'm a Swedey man and heart, so I had a quick scroll through to see what numbers there were in the seven and eight thousands. I noted LNER No 8074 on a Grand National Special at Northenden on 24 March 1939. This would have been a very unusual duty for an F3, even if No 8074 was still in service at that time, which it wasn't.

D

This is a scan from the page in question.

I took that to be both 8074 and 4412 were LNER numbers, but 8074 could be LMS. This is the problem with almost every railway company having 4-figure numbers at the time.

[strang steel]

I have taken another plunge and created a ECML image page on my site. It is in its infancy at present, but starts at Kings Cross and will make its way northwards steadily when I have the time. Intermittent illness, and a list of chores to do, tends to slow me down.

Anyway, the ECML page can be found at http://www.spottinglogs.co.uk/ECML

[giner]

Good work, Strang Steel. Good looking pages and nice layout all round. Just to mention that in the 'snowy Stevenage' shot the Deltic is on the up fast. Also, what happened to the blurb on the lovely photo of Flying Scotsman on the up fast at Hitchin?

[Mickey]

Great stuff John but just a very minor observation with regards to the picture of the Brush type 2 sitting in the west side suburban platforms with a 2B65 headcode?. From my fading memory of the early/mid 1970s on the GN wasn't 2B65 usually given to a semi-fast service in either direction on the Kings Cross, Hitchin, Baldock & Royston trains and either a 1B66 & 2B66 in either direction on the Kings Cross semi-fast Cambridge trains?.

To be honest I wasn't sure if you was referring to the Brush type 2 headcode or the Cravens unit destination blind?.

[strang steel]

Good work, Strang Steel. Good looking pages and nice layout all round. Just to mention that in the 'snowy Stevenage' shot the Deltic is on the up fast. Also, what happened to the blurb on the lovely photo of Flying Scotsman on the up fast at Hitchin?

Thanks giner.

I am not sure about the blurb on the Hitchin photo, as the text appears ok on my editing page; but it might be something to do with the link to the colour-rail website that I added into the text?

I have amended the Stevenage comments to include the up fast. I am not familiar with some of the stations close to the capital, and so welcome the comments from those who know the areas well.

[strang steel]

Great stuff John but just a very minor observation with regards to the picture of the Brush type 2 sitting in the west side suburban platforms with a 2B65 headcode?. From my fading memory of the early/mid 1970s on the GN wasn't 2B65 usually given to a semi-fast service in either direction on the Kings Cross, Hitchin, Baldock & Royston trains and either a 1B66 & 2B66 in either direction on the Kings Cross semi-fast Cambridge trains?.

To be honest I wasn't sure if you was referring to the Brush type 2 headcode or the Cravens unit destination blind?.

Thanks Mickey. Yes I was referring to the Cravens which has a destination of Cambridge. I thought the Brush 2 headcode was for a semi-fast to Peterborough, but I wasn't sure and so tactfully left out any mention of it, as my working timetables are somewhere in the loft.

[Mickey]

Great stuff John but just a very minor observation with regards to the picture of the Brush type 2 sitting in the west side suburban platforms with a 2B65 headcode?. From my fading memory of the early/mid 1970s on the GN wasn't 2B65 usually given to a semi-fast service in either direction on the Kings Cross, Hitchin, Baldock & Royston trains and either a 1B66 & 2B66 in either direction on the Kings Cross semi-fast Cambridge trains?.

To be honest I wasn't sure if you was referring to the Brush type 2 headcode or the Cravens unit destination blind?.

Thanks Mickey. Yes I was referring to the Cravens which has a destination of Cambridge. I thought the Brush 2 headcode was for a semi-fast to Peterborough, but I wasn't sure and so tactfully left out any mention of it, as my working timetables are somewhere in the loft.

To be honest John I couldn't makeout what the destination blind on the Cravens unit read even using a 500% zoom in(?) although I believe it was bit of a rarity for a 'Cambridge train' or service as shown in the picture firstly I presume to be formed probably by a x4 car Cravens unit due to the shorter platform lengths on platforms no.14 & no.15 which I doubt would take a x6 car unit(?) and also I think x6 car Cravens were the normal Craven unit formations going beyond Hitchin and across the Cambridge branch to Cambridge it's self in either direction and secondly also a bit of a rarity for a Cambridge train or service to start from platform no.15 on the westside Suburban platforms during the late 1960s and early 1970s I would say but that's not to say that it would never happen I guess?. I think a lot of the Kings Cross-Cambridge services during that time would depart from the old platform no.11 (platform no.9 from mid-1972 onwards) on the westside suburban platform.

[strang steel]

I tend to cut the image sizes down, Mickey. This is why you can't read the destination blind.

This is the blown up destination from the full scan, and it looks like Cambridge to me, and I can't think of anywhere else it might be.

I don't know why the Cravens is in platform 15. I suppose there are always exceptions to the rules, unless the driver has yet to change the destination to somewhere closer?

[Mickey]

Yeah no problem John in fact I visited the internet cafe especially to delete my previous post just in case you thought I was making to much of it but obvously you've subsequently posted since my last post.

Yeah it does look rather like Cambridge to me as well John.

With regards to the old platform no.14 & no.15 around the back of the westside suburban platforms maybe a x6 car Cravens could have fitted in ok after thinking about it again although platforms no.14 & no.15 were shorter platforms in length compared to other platforms in the suburban station and by 1970 (and probably before 1970?) platforms no.14 & no.15 appeared to be the primary domain of WGC and Hertford North services along with platform no.13 & no.12 until mid-1972 when all the Kings Cross platforms were re-numbered platforms no.1 to no.14. Usually seen in platforms no.14 & no.15 were x2 car Craven units on the 'all stopper' services Kings Cross to WGC and Kings Cross to Hertford North and during the 'wee small hours' quite often either no.1 shunt a Brush type 2 (class 31) or no.2 shunt a 350hp (class 08) diesel shunter would sit in platform no.15 or in the 'Milk dock' waiting for the next job from the shunter.

[strang steel]

No problems Mickey. There is no reason to go to the trouble of deleting posts, because I find this detail stuff quite fascinating. I was surprised to be able to read the destination blind myself.

Actually, I was more fascinated by the blue/green combo of the Cravens, and it appears that the rear 2-car unit is the same blue/green combination.

Thanks very much for the detail on the platform services from the suburban part of the station. I just wish I had taken more time and photographed that area a lot more.