Recent content by matchmaker

1787916530 Mk 1s with dual braking and dual heating were common. Mk2s were I understand difficult to dual brake.

There was a fatality at Larbert earlier in the day. Caused a lot of disruption as all trains between Stirling and Larbert were cancelled.

As per the thread title. I, a born and bred Glaswegian never called it anything other than the Subway, even when the trains were orange. However does anyone call it the Clockwork Orange nowadays?

I seem to remember that around that time there was a promotional £5 Glasgow - London return ticket.

Yes, as soon as you reached the regional boundary (Marshall Meadows on the ECML and 7 miles 78 chains on the WCML) the speed limit immediately changed by 15mph!

Image from the Glasgow Herald at the time. Location is the Clyde just upriver from Central Station. Google "Electric locomotive on Clyde". Moderator note - image shows a large model of a Class 87 floating on the Clyde

"Isolated Distants" were regarded by the LMS S&T Engineer, A F Bound, as an important marker and he introduced the practice of painting the (tubular) post in alternate 2 foot wide black and white bands. This applied to both semaphore and colour light signals.

Distance isn't everything. On an official visit to Dalmuir Park signal box during the summer of 1976 the switched diamonds, which were literally outside the box, started to jam because of the heat. It took the combined efforts of the signalman, the District Inspector, me, copious buckets of...

There used to be a Glasgow destination "Normal School". It was a teacher training centre. As previously mentioned, Shetland has two stops called "Tw@tt Road End".

Saw a Hillman Husky this afternoon - the Imp derived van. I think it was an F registration so an early one.

Looking at my local crossing (Cornton 1) it shows Edinburgh to Dunblane trains passing through Causewayhead Junction. Which isn't on that line...(it's on the Alloa line)

Meantime, on the Caledonian Sleeper thread... "Dalwhinnie Signaller reports, mains power failure affecting signalling at Dalwhinnie area of control. Unable to run to or from Blair Atholl and Kingussie." Highland Main Line closed due to power failure at isolated traditional box!

It's a public Facebook group called "BR: The last living employees of British Rail and British Railways" so should be viewable if you are on FB.

Beattock, 18th May 1969. Driver killed and 22 passengers and staff injured. From The Railways Archive. www.railwaysarchive.co.uk Beattock collision

Green painted lever, I believe. Going back many years, Dalry in Ayrshire had a platform bell.