Recent content by The Chimaera

It will interesting monitoring the performance of the 800’s under the new MU profile. I expect the times to vary quite a lot initially depending on the mindset of the driver. Even when driving within the ‘Professional Driving Policy’ driving styles vary a surprising amount. Some drivers focus on...

The drivers themselves will work out what new braking points to use and everyone will probably do it slightly differently. I wouldn’t expect much time saving at least initially until people can get in to a new routine. Even then some of the shorter raises in linespeed might not be really worth...

The dry weather was exactly the reason, there’s lots of dead and dried out vegetation on the linesides. It doesn’t take long to dry out after rain and burns very easily as proved at Ribblehead earlier in the week. Network rail are rightly very nervous about it and won’t let steam run at all...

Pendo’s can’t and never have run in multiple. Instructions forbid coupling of electrical boxes. They can couple mechanically Pendo to Pendo for rescue purposes but to do so the list of other stuff to be done was pages long and never put into practice except for testing as far as I remember. The...

I wonder how a thread about a landslip has descend into another union bashing exercise? Playing to people’s prejudices perhaps? As I said yesterday there is nothing stopping ad hoc double tripping during disruption to services in the T&C’s, at least that was my interpretation of the agreement...

This applies to booked work only, doing so at times of disruption is not barred at all. I believe single line working has now been brought in.

Instructor Drivers to command a (slightly) higher salary so the bean counters would first have to get their heads around that. Being an Instructor isn’t an easy job and not everyone is cut out for it. Even amongst those that are a significant number wouldn’t entertain the idea because of the...

These photos were from early October near Acton West Jn, the structures you can make out appear to be all new and the black plastic on the ballast is hiding new concrete foundations.

I believe so, the Cumbrian coast line was blocked by flooding near Ulverston so it wasn’t possible to get back to Barrow.

It was held at Marsden because of a broken rail near Stalybridge.

That crossover was only installed in the last couple of years with the rebuilding of Watford North Jn.

Would it be wrong of me to point out that if the damn lineside trees were cut down there wouldn’t be much of a problem in the first place?

This one

It’s worrying that the engine was being moved without anyone being able or bothering to look where it was going. Any number of people could have been on the track in front of it. The most basic of safety measures were being ignored.

As I commented earlier, classes I have had dealings with 31/4, 37/4, 47/4, 57/3, 86, 87, 90 all could happily provide ETS with no key in the desk. They were designed that way so they could heat stock in sidings without traincrew being present. Just the watchful eye of maintenance or ground...