Alan Jeffery

This went by close to my house yesterday. I saw a few guys hanging around the railway bridge and figured they were waiting for something interesting!
It's being pushed along by a streamliner.
Where I took the pictures is a slight uphill and it's really working pulling up there. The noise was amazing, and it was blowing soot all over the place, we were covered in it! There's no denying these are fabulous machines. The railway line was built roughly the same time as my house (1860) and it's incredible to think people living there all that time ago were hearing and seeing exactly the same thing.
Would I give up my current life to go and drive one of those? -- sigh--

birchy2010

iTrader: (12)

Isn't Nunney Castle pulling the a4 streamline?

The A4 is the proper train spotters train, for a guess I think it would be Sir Nigel Gresley. As i think that has a boiler ticket currently.

Don't suppose you got the number or name of it did you?

birchy2010

iTrader: (12)

Or maybe union of south africa?

GlesgaKiss

Fantastic! I'm not a trainspotter either, but steam trains are always good to see.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Aye, a GWR Castle apparently hauling an LNER A4, (although the photo shows the A4 in steam), probably Sir Nigel Gresley, although when I last saw that it hadn't the valances covering the driving wheels.

Chip

Real engineering, brilliant

birchy2010

iTrader: (12)

quick check and the only 2 approved for main line steam is Sir Nigel Gresley and Bittern (which iirc is still in green) but is currently badged as Dominion of New Zealand 4492 although wh oknows how it is.

If anyone couldnt tell i love steam. so much more alive than todays diesel trains.

Alan Jeffery

I'll confess I hardly even noticed it! It was a rush of sound, pistons pounding away, stuff flying everywhere, you could literally feel the blast as it passed being only about ten feet from where we were stood.
Excuse dewy eyed old man syndrome here, but back in the fifties I used to spend all my time as a pre teenager hanging around the local railway station (Plymouth). Illegally of course.
There was a huge depot there, with a turntable, and I recall the last of the steam trains, being used for frieght. They were enormous, care worn and rusty, dripping oil and water all over the place, being spun around before chuntering off, pumping out steam everywhere.
In their time these must have been the Space Shuttle of their day, driven by Gods.

DCI Gene Hunt

There's one that chugs past Hunt Hall during the summer months towing a few carriages full of excited old people...... not unlike this

MattW

This (http://www.swindon-cricklade-railway.org/) runs past my house. In fact I can hear them tooting now. You can learn how to drive them too, and then volunteer as a driver.

http://www.swindon-cricklade-railway...riving.php#top

The Zohan

+1

I took Jenny and the kids on our first steam train whilst on holiday down near Christchurch and it was a great experience!

http://www.swanagerailway.co.uk/

Had a Hornby set with the Flying Scotsman and a tank engine all mounted to a huge board (in the garage) and used to make the buildings from German/Swiss cardboard preformed packs, scratch built thee hills, fields, etc. Happy days!

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

That must have been Plymouth Laira.........never got there, but it was a Mecca for spotters.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Hasn't Bittern been done up in SILVER-GREY, with valances, to commemorate the "Silver Jubilee" trains of yesteryear?

Apparently "Bittern" is now known in railfan circles as "Twice Shy", since it was once "Bittern".........

The Zohan

Isn't that the 9.30 running from Leicester to Bradford?

AWG

iTrader: (6)

Not a traain spotter myself but can fully appreciate the beauty of engineering. Top pics mate nice one

Chip

EddScott

I don't train spot as such but I quite like trains. I'm more a modern era fan so don't really have good knowledge of steam locos.

I've got a 3m X 5m layout in my loft. It's not particularly prototypical but it allows me to run up to 10 trains over 4 lines with a big freight yard and TMD (unfinished)

http://www.modelrailforum.com/forums...log&blogid=77&

I took a break from it for about a year but am back on track and re-wiring the layout for computer operation.

Jimbob

iTrader: (13)

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Have to say that they have so much more theatre than a dieseasal loco...

The Scarborough Spa runs past chez D.C. during the summer months, and the sound is fantastic, although "the land-lady's" dog isn't a fan.

dunx

The Zohan

Been there, well worth a look and read

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Aye, every time I look at EddScott's blog, i'm minded to shelve my "O" gauge stuff and run something similar around my loft.

Edd: what do you think to the new "N" gauge stuff? Imagine how much you could get into that space? And a full sized rerpresentation of a station and an mpd..........

And what do you do with your stuff in summer? My loft was unbearable on warm days. I now have two velux windows, opening both reduces the temperature to reasonable within about ten minutes.

EddScott

A chap who lives near by has ditched his OO for O so I wouldn't be too quick to get rid. He's a master of RR&Co Traincontroller so hopefully I can call on his expertise when I get stuck (not if!)

Personally OO is ok for me. I often wonder to ditch the lot and start again with HO US outline because I do love US stock.

I've tried N but it's just too small. However the modern N gauge stock is impressive. Only thing I would say about building a layout - start small first. The cost, the time, the sheer effort to build a big layout is one reason why I've dragged my heels on this since September 2009! Right now it's cost me the price of a good late classic STI Impreza. Finished it will probably be close to a hawk STI.

I haven't got velux and although I would like at least one, the loft isn't converted properly so would look odd come sale time and theres also I think an issue with the roof itself not being strong enough or the rafters being too close together or some other issue thats prevented it from happening.

I stop with the trains about April/May when it starts to warm up and switch to RC cars. Too hot for the loft but nice to be outside with the cars. I can't devote enough spare time to race these days but I like to collect and rebuild old RC cars.

I was going to give up with the loft because no matter what I did the insulation dust kept getting on my chest - I've removed all the nasty stuff and replaced with non-itch insulation but it didn't seem to make a difference. However, now it seems OK and I can go up there in a T shirt and not feel raw and itchy after. Its quite dry up there though so thinking of getting a humidifier. Might even resurect the Velux idea.

Hoping to have all the control equipment and software to run the layout from the PC in the next couple of months - expensive stuff!. Starting with just a couple of points and a few lines to start then transfer to the main layout. If I can have them running by Christmas I'll be happy (and quite surprised too!!)

With a bit of luck I'll restart the blog entries over the winter and adding videos of the PC control as I go along. Theres lots of info out there but not really much of an idiots guide.

If I can make it work then any idiot can

davyboy

Some of you might like the Severn valley railway.

I quite like some of the narrow gauge stuff in Wales.

DYK

CrisPDuk

The A4 is definitely the Loco formerly known as Bittern, if you look on the 4th picture the second, water-only, tender they built for her is clearly visible.

Plus I also checked on the Rail Preservation website, and 5029 & 4492 are rostered for this weekends Mayflower

IIRC Sir Nigel Gresley is currently in BR Blue

EddScott

Apparently the new Bond film has got into trouble with the Indian government for showing a train like the above with loads of people hanging on.

Although its common they've decided it might not be too safe and want to stop the practice.

DCI Gene Hunt

Could be worse.............






Tickets!!......

bigsinky

you do like your model stuff. not only a Warhammer 40K fan but into railways as well. the wife must really love you

Jamz3k

This is right beside my home, infact you can even see my home in this pic.


Its great at the weekend hearing them fire up the steam trains!

CrisPDuk

I've seen them in India trying that on the lines with overhead catenary too