"Well I Never Knew That"...

[table38]

I think the bit between Tonbridge and Redhill is pretty damn straight too.

I guess they are old Roman railways

 

[chuffchuff]

The straightest bit of track in the country is between Tonbridge and Ashford (apart from a slight kink at Staplehurst)

And the one before Tonbridge

 

[Yew]

Still it's always fun to trot it out now and again and see who believes it

Thats why I put it so ambiguously. Personally I think they might have kept a strategic steam reserve for 5-10 years Just incase there where big problems with any of the Desiel units.


I suppose they might have kept 5-10 units to train the millitiary engineers in case they ended up in india or somwhere they used a lot of steam traction.

Anyway, we all know the Strategic steam reserve has got a new name. "Heritage Railways"


Lets not get too distracted though

 

[trainophile]

There are only four stations in Herefordshire (I think).

Hereford, Leominster, Ledbury and ???

(I live in Hereford so will feel very foolish when this is answered!)

 

[cyclebytrain]

The tube might not be reliable but you risk going under a bus or taxi going down the small pavement along Euston Road during rush hour. I'll even take the sweaty Northern Line over that any day

But unless you're journey involves a Eurostar* Euston road is not the right way to walk between the two!

*Or you're on a bike and it's icy and you don't have you're ice tyres on (as I discovered to my (rather painful) cost -they don't grit the part of the back route where you have to make a right turn...)

 

[Lad Brookes]

Hereford, Leominster, Ledbury and ???

(I live in Hereford so will feel very foolish when this is answered!)

Colwall?

 

[Yew]

There is a seperate SSR thread if people want to talk about it, go there not here

 

[trainophile]

Colwall?

Aha, that would be correct, having googled to see if it's in Herefordshire or Worcestershire. Thanks .

 

[craigwilson]

Southeastern is the only TOC to serve two non-mainland islands (Thanet and Sheppey).

Sheppey, yes. Thanet hasn't really been an island for a good 400 years!

 

[Hydro]

Thanet hasn't really been an island for a good 400 years!

Unfortunately.

 

[TomJ93]

My maths teacher travels on the 21:10 Virgin Trains service to Euston, just had to hide from him due to owing homework

 

[The Barlow Boy]

All fifty class fifties could never work in traffic at the same time because there were only forty nine engines made. The fiftieth (actually the first) was the one that was scrapped along with it's DP2 test bed.

Acton, as well as having all four compass points has more stations - seven - than any other location.

 

[martinsh]

Galgate, near Lancaster is one of the few places in the country and world where all 4 modes of transport meet at one point: road, air, rail and sea.

What on earth do you mean by this ? Galgate isn't on the sea for a start.

 

[12CSVT]

Southeastern is the only TOC to serve two non-mainland islands (Thanet and Sheppey).

Arriva Trains Wales serve Anglesey (Llanfair P G to Valley) and Holy Island (Holyhead). Not sure that Barry Island is really an island.

All fifty class fifties could never work in traffic at the same time because there were only forty nine engines made. The fiftieth (actually the first) was the one that was scrapped along with it's DP2 test bed.

Had DP2 not been written off in that accident, there would have only been 48 engines to go round. The reason for this is that two power units siezed during construction.

 

[LE Greys]

GWR 2902 Lady of the Lake carried a lucky horseshoe for her entire service life. It was tossed onto the footplate by an enthusiast on her first appearance at Paddington. When Churchward found out, he ordered a special mount to be cast for it, on which it remained until the engine was scrapped. It's subsequent fate is unknown, but I imagine it on the mantelpiece of some old GWR hand.

 

[Eng274]

The Borders region of Scotland is the only county in the UK (mainland) to have no stations whatsover..at the moment.

If you record a 334's traction motors when accelerating, play it backwards at 1/3 speed, it says "kill turbostars...die diesel" over and over...

 

[deltic1989]

If you record a 334's traction motors when accelerating, play it backwards at 1/3 speed, it says "kill turbostars...die diesel" over and over...

really? (I have that yanking feeling on my chain here )

 

[The_Rail_WAy]

What on earth do you mean by this ? Galgate isn't on the sea for a start.

Sorry I should have said road, air, rail and waterway.

Road: A6 and M6 motorway
Rail: West Coast Mainline
Waterway: Lancaster Canal
Air: International flightpaths for Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow plus Lancaster airfield.

Hope this makes sense Martin.

 

[table38]

The post about the class 50 engines reminded me that due to a fault at the CEGB Power Station at West Thurrock in 1976, 47155 was used as a temporary stationary generator

 

[CNX]

Haslemere has the highest amount of first class season tickets holders for any station in the UK. Sadly I am not one of them

But Sir Humphrey Appleby was, or at least he was in the Yes Minister/Yes Prime Minister series.

Here's another. Prior to the Beeching report, BR had 9000 coaches that were only normally used for seasonal summer services. Assuming each was 64 feet long, if marshalled together they would have stretched for 109 miles.

 

[Track Basher]

Arriva Trains Wales serve Anglesey (Llanfair P G to Valley) and Holy Island (Holyhead). Not sure that Barry Island is really an island.



Had DP2 not been written off in that accident, there would have only been 48 engines to go round. The reason for this is that two power units siezed during construction.

Barry Island is linked by a causeway to Barry, so I suspect it could still be an Island. Holy Island is also linked to Anglesea by a causway.

 

[Wyvern]

The first use of steel rails was at Derby station in 1857 introduced by Robert Forester Mushet

 

[krus_aragon]

The first use of water troughs for express trains was at Mochdre, for the Irish Mail. Not only are the troughs gone, but Mochdre & Pabo station is too.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

In 1839 when land was being bought for Manchester Victoria station, a workhouse and a burial ground were included on one of the plots of land, bounded by the River Irk and Walkers Croft.

Just think, a workhouse and Class 142 Pacers...doesn't this image really go well together!

 

[lm321412]

Pacers are Buses.


"Well, I never knew that!"

 

[Sun Chariot]

The very last rail service over the entire Waverley route - the 1M82 21:56 Edinburgh-St. Pancras sleeper, on the night of 5th-6th Jan 1969 - was held up for 2 hours because, in protest, Newcastleton's local residents and vicar swung the level crossing gates across the track and padlocked them closed...

 

[trainfanatic]

The post about the class 50 engines reminded me that due to a fault at the CEGB Power Station at West Thurrock in 1976, 47155 was used as a temporary stationary generator

I remember that!! I was visiting the station at the time and saw it outside (I think) Unit 1 building.

It was supplying excitation current for Unit 1 generator IIRC

 

[Eng274]

In 1839 when land was being bought for Manchester Victoria station, a workhouse and a burial ground were included on one of the plots of land, bounded by the River Irk and Walkers Croft.

Just think, a workhouse and Class 142 Pacers...doesn't this image really go well together!

St Cuthberts's Church (to the west of Princes Street in Edinburgh) has a 1300 year old graveyard which was partially built over and currently lies under what is now Lothian Road, in 1900. In 1841 graves were dug up and 'moved' (i.e. destroyed - well the headstones were at least!) to make way for the tunnel between Haymarket and Waverley.

Food for thought the next time you're travelling that way

 

[MCR247]

If you record a 334's traction motors when accelerating, play it backwards at 1/3 speed, it says "kill turbostars...die diesel" over and over...

Proof? :P

 

[Wyvern]

Didnt some graves fall through into a tunnel somewhere as they were digging it?

(PS: I'm sure it was the London and Birmingham)

At any rate, when they were digging the foundations for the piers of Hand Dale viaduct on the line between Buxton and Ashbourne, they discovered the remains of a lead mine in which the miners had perished.