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EbbwJunction1

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Well, 404 Curve Drive, Monroe, LA 71203 is for sale, and the street is curved and is next to a railway line, but as to whether it's the right 404 Curve, I've no idea ..... !

Okay, let's say USA!
 

Mvann

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As cowley said earlier, the curve is where the number plate of loco no.404 had been left as a memorial from when the train derailed. Like 47 299, the loco was renumbered, but this was done after the loco had been repaired. Unlike 47 299, once renumbered, the loco had no more incidents, as far as I know.
 

t_star2001uk

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One locomotive that was renumbered was 404. It ran away on a downhill section between Thompson Junction and Dett (now Dete). It derailed and overturned on one of the many curves near Entuba siding, killing its experienced driver Danny Grace. The fireman, Dutch born Gerard Smout and the African coal trimmer were thrown clear of the engine and survived the crash. The locomotive was believed to be jinxed, and so after repair, was renumbered 424. One of its old number plates became a memorial at the derailment site.
 

Mvann

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Correct. The loco had been reported for doing strange things a few times before the derailment.
 
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krus_aragon

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Here's a quickie:

Railway historian D.S.M. Barrie described the odd phenomenon of seeing fully laden coal trains going in one direction, passing fully laden coal train going in the opposite direction! Where (roughly) did this happen, and why was coal being carried both ways?
 

BurtonM

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I imagine it could be Newcastle's weird loop/roundabout system. Something to do with coal being exported one way, and on the way to a power station (Drax?) in another?
 

krus_aragon

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Anywhere in the Rhondda. Coal could be exported from either Cardiff / Barry (eastbound) or Port Tablot / Swansea (westbound)

You have the right area: South Wales, specifically between Cardiff and Newport. But why bother carting coal past one port to a more distant port?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
I imagine it could be Newcastle's weird loop/roundabout system. Something to do with coal being exported one way, and on the way to a power station (Drax?) in another?

No strange track layout, this is a simple situation of loaded coal trains going in opposite directions. This was happening before merry-go-round trains and coal-fired power stations.
 

Cowley

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Would it be something like different types of coal being needed for different jobs, i.e. Some heading for London or the GWR, another type from a different colliery heading for export at the docks in the opposite direction? Maybe due to the prices the collieries had fixed separately?
 
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krus_aragon

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Would it be something like different types of coal being needed for different jobs, i.e. Welsh steam coal heading for the GWR, another type heading for export at the docks?

You're so very close to it, and I'm off to work now, that I'll give it to you.

Different areas of the South Wales coalfield give different types of coal. Monmouthshire's coal is quite bituminous, whereas Glamorgan's is a more dry, steam coal. (The latter would of course be in demand from the GWR at Bristol, etc.) The varieties would be 'blended' for export by tipping different types together at the docks. Hence you could see bituminous coal being carried westbound, and steam coal being carried eastbound, but to the layman it could look like the same coal was being carried back and forth along the railway!

Your floor.
 

Cowley

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Thanks Krus. :)

Couldn't really think of a decent question so this one will probably go quickly.
Where were the railway scenes in the film 'Children of men' filmed?

Maybe not that quickly then... It was a preserved railway in the southern half of the country
 
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Calthrop

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Thanks Krus. :)

Couldn't really think of a decent question so this one will probably go quickly.
Where were the railway scenes in the film 'Children of men' filmed?

Maybe not that quickly then... It was a preserved railway in the southern half of the country

I'm not into cinema, and have not even heard of the film 'Children of men'. Guessing totally blindly -- Mid-Hants Railway? If by chance right, open floor.
 

Cowley

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I'm not into cinema, and have not even heard of the film 'Children of men'. Guessing totally blindly -- Mid-Hants Railway? If by chance right, open floor.

That is in fact correct sir.
Actually a friend of mine was involved in the filming and he told me that the film company had planted weeds all around the station as they were setting it all up to make it look run down and decayed, but in the morning they came in to find some volunteers weeding it :)

Open floor it is then.
 

EbbwJunction1

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What event did the 1970 film "Railways for Ever" commemorate at the start and the end of the film?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
What event did the 1970 film "Railways for Ever" commemorate at the start and the end of the film?

Are there no guesses?

Okay, it was the last steam trains on British Rail - "The Fifteen Guinea Specials" on 11th August 1968. Although the film is about the future, there are scenes from the trips at the start and the end of the film, with John Betjeman providing a voice over.

Let's try another film related question:

What line is featured in the 1963 film "The Long Drag"?
 
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Cowley

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What event did the 1970 film "Railways for Ever" commemorate at the start and the end of the film?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---


Are there no guesses?

Okay, it was the last steam trains on British Rail - "The Fifteen Guinea Specials" on 11th August 1968. Although the film is about the future, there are scenes from the trips at the start and the end of the film, with John Betjeman providing a voice over.

Let's try another film related question:

What line is featured in the 1963 film "The Long Drag"?

I'm not going to go for the obvious QI klaxon...
Was it somewhere like the route through Stainmore?
 

Peter Mugridge

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In the era of the modernisation plan when a number of one-off prototype diesel locomotives took to the rails, which manufacturer completely ignored the appearance design brief when producing their example?
 

Cowley

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It probably was Clayton but I'll go EE with DP2? Just in case.
 

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