Recent content by Flipper

The chap referred to. Photograph taken by a fellow linesider . . .

Oh, it was a lot, lot more, than one person. Those of us who routinely work on the track have been attempting to advise and caution permit holders for ten years or more, and have increasingly been met with indifference, mockery and occasionally outright hostility. Traincrew admonishing permit...

Trap points Andrew, not catch points. There is a big difference. If you're going to try to make a point* then you could at least get the basics right. *Ha, point, do you see what I did there ?

With the MPD unable / unwilling to relocate they will ultimately have to accept some significant curtailment of their freedom of movement to and from the shed - once the tracks are in then the end of uncontrolled movement of vehicles and plant across an open passenger line is inevitable. Expect...

If they seek to be compensated for the length of time which the crossing has been closed, then I suspect that they would have a better case against Lewes District Council, who, let it not be forgotten, obtained an injunction against Network Rail which prevented them doing any work whatsoever on...

Quorn. Woken on two occasions whilst bedded down in the mess coach by a train passing on the adjacent up main. Both times around 0230, and although extremely unlikely to be "legit" I did check with ops the following day who confirmed no traffic past 2230 ! Swithland. Continual (over three...

Rothley is widely supposed to have two sorts of hauntings. The first is primarily in the deep cutting immediately north of the station, and is related to a 6th Century Anglo Saxon cemetery that was disturbed when the line was built. It is recorded that the Navvies simply dug the interred bones...

It does not have wicket gates. P.S. I hadn't considered the possibility that Rooky & co. may not realise that the booms are equipped with skirts, but it might explain a lot.

You would think so, but these gates are seemingly enchanted, being possessed of the strength to repel a charging lorry, or to turn aside a runaway train. They might also emit calming pheromones that soothe all mammals.

The campaigners would have you believe that everyone in the town is either massively incautious ("people might wander off the crossing, over the trespass-guards, and along the track"), criminally negligent ("vehicle drivers will be encouraged to charge the crossing if the gates are replaced") or...

It seems fairly characteristic of the campaigners that they have very little knowledge or understanding of the subject (which is, to be fair to them, a pretty specialist one), but have accreted themselves around a half dozen or so misunderstood/downright-wrong "facts" which they hold sacred, and...

To be fair, in 1895 much of the site of Marylebone station didn’t look massively dissimilar to Birstall today. This alternative proposal keeps the operational station of the GCR at the heart of the new museum, not shunted off to the East. Visitors to the museum will be able to stand on one...

The worrying thing is the statement at that link that the GCR has received it's "first verandah coach [...]" Are there more on the way ?! <Shudder> Also, I note that the background image on that page is relevant to this discussion. Cynically, it seems that every time there is a publicity...

Apropos of the Cromwell “Pullman” rake, there is no altruism at work, this is a business arrangement. Cromwell Tools did indeed pay for the restoration, but only in as much as they loaned the railway the money to carry out the work. It must be paid back at, IIRC, £2k per month. £190k remains...

Wow, I bet that Jamie is really grateful :-) Look, I know it's not a contest, and that preserved lines are always genuinely grateful for passengers time and money, but maybe you ought to ask Jamie what he did at the same gala. It might help explain why he feels so passionately about the...