Recent content by John55

It is only a braking control system developed by Westinghouse and the other subsystem suppliers. As with most equipment for electric traction before WW2 it was of US origin.

The order in which BR built batches of rolling stock has no relevance to the choice of electric traction system. And just to muddy the waters the LMS & LNER were using EP brakes long before BR changed the braking system for new trains in the early 50's.

This building covers the station end of the conveyor belt which ran up to the main sorting office in Copperas Hill. General idea was to eliminate much of the PO van traffic from the station. The sorting office opened in 1977 so the conveyor will be contemporary. Since mail ceased to use...

I was merely putting the answer in context without going into chapter and verse. It is surprising to me that so little seems to be known of the great pioneering work of the NER in the field of railway electrification in this country. The voltage of the supply can be very misleading as the...

You need to brush up on your Railway History. The Southern (LSWR) system was significantly after the North Eastern Railway had their electrified railway up and running so the correct way to put it was the Southern system was similar to the NER system.

The Ladywell spur I know is used by 2 trains an hour in each direction most of the day. So hardly rare.

The word tube was first applied to the City & South London Railway well before the Central London Railway opened. There were all sorts of names for the C&SLR but the one which struck long term was the tube. Incidently the general adoption of Underground came about before the first world war...

Have you tried the manufacturers websites where there is usually quite a lot of info on the specifications of engines which are still in production? Harder of course for the older engines which are not manufactured anymore but a search of the internet often reveals preservationist sites with...

The developers of Cheshire Oaks and the Trafford Centre chose to locate their business next to the motorway networks. How is it a surprise there is little or no access by rail? If the developers wanted rail access they would have put their business elsewhere. Developments which are in...

Although not what the OP wanted to hear I don't think there is any doubt that the finest EMUs to run on "Southern Metals" were the almost luxurious former LNWR Oerlikon suburban EMUs which ran to Kew Bridge and Richmond between 1916 and the late 1950s/early 1960s. In comparison all Southern...

Do you mean the trains were cancelled or the information for passengers was incorrect? Your title suggests the former while the text suggests the later.

This is not surprising as the DfT was only monitoring train crowding in the LSE area at this time. I understand better information my be available now but all the stories about all the overcrowded trains being in the South East (in the general media based on DfT press releases) usually...

How long were the passengers trapped on the train stuck in the cutting between St Pancras and Kentish Town a couple of years ago? Remote location appears to be irrelevant as to how long passengers are trapped on board.

Yes, but don't forget the railway before 1956 was very different from now. The predominant traffic on main lines would not be passenger traffic. A line such as the WCML would have a vast number of goods trains of all descriptions from fast fitted freight on the fast lines to very slow loose...

Look in the January 2013 Modern Railways when all will no doubt be revealed, as it has for the last 10 years or so.