Memories

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Bryan
LNER A4 4-6-2 'Streak'
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Re: Memories

Post by Bryan »

At Hambleton on the ECML Diversion bit just south of the A63 bridge is a stretch of track that is often covered in blown soil / sand from the adjoining fields.
We tried putting a Ballast cleaner through there and ran out of spoil wagons to take all the silt from the tracks.
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Blink Bonny
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Re: Memories

Post by Blink Bonny »

Ay up!

I got some video footage from the Hambleton area and now I know why the trains are kicking up so much dust in it.

Thanks Bryan
If I ain't here, I'm in Bilston, scoffing decent chips at last!!!!
Bryan
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Re: Memories

Post by Bryan »

You also get the dust after a ballast tip.
Your film does it show fresh ballast on the ground at all?
I think our Ballast clean was about 2005 possibly on the Down.
Dave Cockle
NER J27 0-6-0
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Re: Memories

Post by Dave Cockle »

I was travelling on a two car Craven unit one summer's day approaching Shippea Hill on the Norwich - Ely line.

A dust storm blew up and the dry dark fenland soil was whipped up by wind and came in through the open train windows.
Passengers jumped up to close the windows and where the dust had landed on the floor and ledges you could write your name in the
dust it was that thick.
Mickey

Re: Memories

Post by Mickey »

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StevieG
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Re: Memories

Post by StevieG »

Micky wrote:Following on from Dave Cockle's post about riding on Craven units, one of the most memorable happenings on one of those trains was usually on very hot summer days when ALL the top windows were left slid open and ALL the door windows were also left down then to go into Gasworks tunnel on the down slow line (usually) following a Deltic that was standing on the down main no.2 line that was spewing out clouds of diesel fumes and all of a sudden the whole passenger compartment suddenly filling with dense diesel fumes and seeing the stark reaction of the passenger's jumping out of there seats and shutting all the windows quickly and holding there noses and breath as well was on reflection quite comical looking back on it to be honest!!. :lol:
Reminds me very much of a post of mine, some time ago :
StevieG wrote:A related enduring memory of mine from the early 1970s is, when travelling into the Cross on a summer's hot day en route to a late shift ; sitting in the front coach of a Cravens unit on a 'local', driver's blinds up, stopped on the Up Relief at Belle Isle (KC84 signal), umpteen windows open along the coach, 'waiting for the road' to go in and straight over to the suburban side.
As soon as the drone of an approaching Deltic was heard emanating from Gasworks with an express on Down Main 1, you instantly realised who the regular passengers were, as we all leapt to our feet, closing all the sliding ventilation and door drop-light windows we could get to as fast as possible, hoping to succeed before the 55 actually went by, and knowing what it would be like inside the tunnel when we moved off into the same bore a minute later.
So then, when double yellow came up, usually with a 'D' route indication, off we went - into total blackness, with the smell even then still invading the coach to some extent.
Only when we were about 30-50 yards from emerging at the station end did the blackness start changing to deep brown, then a sort of orange, then ochre perhaps, and then, still in the last few yards of the tunnel as we started turning right on No.154 points therein, sunlight started being quite quickly restored until within feet beyond exiting the tunnel mouth, all was brightly normal again (except perhaps the smell).

For me, unforgettable.
BZOH

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Mickey

Re: Memories

Post by Mickey »

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sandwhich
GER D14 4-4-0 'Claud Hamilton'
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Re: Memories

Post by sandwhich »

There is talk of making the whole route from Huntingdon to Peterborough to four tracks throughout, just a question of when. When the up slow south of Wood Walton to Huntingdon was lifted by BR they soon regreted it then along came Railtrack who seemed to have an aversion as regards allowing trains to run on their tracks. And now Network Rail are getting around to thinking about reinstatement. Must not rush things.
Mickey

Re: Memories

Post by Mickey »

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manna
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Re: Memories

Post by manna »

G'Day Gents

The old up and down slows between Huntingdon and Holme, were mostly used by goods trains in the 70's, a fair bit of the trackwork was bullhead track with concrete sleepers !

manna
EDGWARE GN, Steam in the Suburbs.
Mickey

Re: Memories

Post by Mickey »

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sandwhich
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Re: Memories

Post by sandwhich »

As regards the running lines from Huntingdon to Holme, digging into the deep recesses of my mind on a railway long ago, I seem to remember the Down Slow as far as Connington North was a goods line and then onwards to Holme a no block line although it was rarely used as such.
The up goods did indeed run as far as Huntingdon North where it joined the up main through the platform which is now the up slow line. Huntingdon was then a three track layout Down Slow/Down Fast/Up Fast.
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StevieG
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Re: Memories

Post by StevieG »

Gents,
You are pretty much on the mark so far.
To form a more complete picture for the Hitchin-Peterborough section prior to the 1970s changes, there were four tracks throughout except for the following sections :
Through Arlesey station; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 Down, 1 Up
Through Sandy station; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -1 Down, 1 Up
Through Huntingdon (North) station (No.1 Box-No.2 Box); - 2 Down, 1 Up
*
Connington South Box - Holme; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -2 Down, 1 Up
Holme - Yaxley; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -1 Down, 1 Up

* - Until sometime in the early 1960s when it was extended to Hunt., the 2nd Up line from Connington South used to terminate at Leys 'turn-out' (a small signal box at one time, but location later controlled from another box [Stukeley?]), quite a distance north of Hunt.


As to whether the 2nd tracks of each direction were Slow or Goods lines, the October 1972 Sectional Appendix shows:
- ( Goods lines were worked by Permissive Block Regns. unless anotated otherwise; [A]=Absolute Block Regs. )

Cambridge Junction Box (Hitchin) - Arlesey (south end); - - Both lines, Goods
Arlesey (north end) - Sandy (south end); - - - - - - - - - - - - -Both lines, Slows
Sandy (north end) - Everton Box; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Down, Slow; Up, Goods
Everton Box - St. Neots; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Both lines, Slows @
St. Neots - Huntingdon (south end, No.1 Box) - - - - - - - - - - Both lines, Goods @ (both Up line sections [A] )
Through Huntingdon (No.1 Box - to No.2 Box) - - - - - - - - - - Down line, Slow
Huntingdon (north end, No.2 Box) - Connington South Box) - -Both lines, Goods
Connington South - Connington North Box; - - - - - - - - - - - - Down line, Goods
Connington North - Holme - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Down line, 'Goods' (worked by 'No Block' Regs.; signalled more like a through siding).
Yaxley Box - Fletton Junction; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Both lines, Goods (Down line, [A])
Fletton Junction - Crescent Jn. Box (Peterboro', south end); - - Both lines, Goods.

@ - I do wonder whether the 2nd Up line shown as changing from Goods to Slow status at St. Neots Box was an error of some sort in 'the Appendix', as to my knowlege, there was no running crossover from the Up Main to Up Slow there (since the North box was abolished in the '20/30s at least).

I seem to recall that, in the early '70s, before the resignalling, both 2nd lines from Cambridge Junction to Arlesey received minor alterations to their signalling and were then upgraded to Slow lines status.


However in the October 1960 Sectional Appendix (when Cadwell, Langford Bridge, Sandy North Jn., Paxton, Stukeley, and Wood Walton signal boxes were still in existence), the same part of the line looked like this:
- ( All Goods lines were worked by Permissive Block Regulations )

Cambridge Junction Box (Hitchin) - Cadwell Box; - - - - - - - - Down, Slow; Up, Goods
Cadwell Box - Arlesey (south end); - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Down Goods; Up, Slow
Arlesey (north end) - Biggleswade South Box; - - - - - - - - - - Both lines, Goods
Biggleswade South Box;- Sandy (south end); - - - - - - - - - - Down, Goods; Up Slow
Sandy (north end) - Everton Box; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Down, Slow; Up, Goods
Everton Box - St. Neots; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Both lines, Slows
St. Neots - Paxton Box; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Down, Goods; Up, Slow
Paxton Box - Huntingdon (south end, No.1 Box) - - - - - - - - - Both lines, Goods
Through Huntingdon (No.1 Box - to No.2 Box) - - - - - - - - - - Down line, Slow
Huntingdon (north end, No.2 Box) - Stukeley Box; - - - - - - - -Down line, Goods
Stukeley Box - Connington South Box; - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Both lines, Goods
Connington South - Connington North Box) - - - - - - - - - - - - Down line, Goods
Connington North - Holme - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Down line, 'Goods' (worked by 'No Block' Regs.; signalled more like a through siding).
Yaxley Box - Crescent Jn. Box (Peterboro', south end); - - - - -Both lines, Goods.
Last edited by StevieG on Tue Feb 26, 2013 11:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
BZOH

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Mickey

Re: Memories

Post by Mickey »

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sandwhich
GER D14 4-4-0 'Claud Hamilton'
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Re: Memories

Post by sandwhich »

Well done Stevie G. Thats put us all in our place as regards Huntingdon-Holme.
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