Recent content by haloatco

We keep them under blankets in order to protect the paintwork on locos. The firelighter has to dig the old fire out and empty the ashpan in the morning, which can be a particularly dusty and dirty job. The drivers spend a long time keeping the locos clean, and so the blankets help protect that.

Hi Chris, It is my understanding that No.6 Samson is next in line for the overhaul process. No.9 is progressing really well and will be a welcome return to the fleet.

There are always going to be a few people who have their own rule book about things, some of it being down to incorrect training, some down to ignorance, and some even down to beligerence. I work in a secure area and you occasionally encounter security staff with weird foibles... I always react...

Despite being a Northerner by birth (and in my soul), I suspect a lot of the way enthusiasts are viewed in the north stems from not only the more relaxed approach to things, but the lack of the ever present security threat that is needlessly fuelled in the south. A lot of this is reflected in...

Hi Folks, Having just returned from a spotting/photography trip around the north, I felt it was important to share some positive things about the railways and the experiences we had.... Firstly, Virgin Trains from Euston to Lancaster.... fantastic First Class breakfast and a speedy and...

Tourist History by Two Door Cinema Club... Lovely indie album with a summer feel to it

A great post LouJ. Having experienced the Swiss rail network a few years ago I completely agree with you on how innovative their approach is. Sadly, this country is all about business and profit nowadays and not really about service and until that ethos changes (and laws on how CEO's are to...

To make it easier for which people to use? The sign on the barrier indicates pushchairs, wheelchairs and luggage. Are they not the target market for the barriers then? Why not make all of them wide barriers and then this resolves the issue? My point about this is not a demand for exclusive...

I've sat and followed this thread for a while and as a father of a two year old I've been stirred enough to add my thoughts on this subject and hopefully add some perspective on this discussion. Firstly, the trains are run for everybody's benefit... Irrespective of the time of day. I try to...

I have a feeling that everybody is into Eastleigh overload!! :)

Definitely looks like a sensor clean required there... I'm guessing that has been taken at around f8. :) I had the same problem with my sensor at the event as well. Gave it a clean before I went in anticipation of the good weather and didn't notice (even with the sensor scope) that I'd...

Lovely shots Kestrel... Were you following me around?? :) It's always refreshing to see the more interesting and arty shots :)

Hi Folks, I am guessing you have seen most of this stuff anyway, but thought I would add my gallery from the Monday of the Eastleigh 100 event :) As always, thoughts, comments, etc are much appreciated :) They photos can be found at...

Fantastic shot as always :)

Hi Folks, It's been a while since I last posted an update to my fotopic site which is partially due to having too much work to do and also due to me moving a lot of stuff over to Flickr (everything will be going on Flickr eventually). So, for your delectation I have uploaded some galleries of...