LarryG's general album

A good friend who owns a Lagonda V12 reported to me recently that he is having to strip down and reassemble the engine which had been worked on by a professional engine rebuilder. The number of bolts, studs, nuts and washers that had been replaced incorrectly was simply amazing. There is a simple rule when tasking a mechanism apart. I am sure it doesn’t need explaining here! The Patriot team now recognise the saying, if you want a job well done do it yourself!

There are some real professionals out there though as I'm sure you'll agree, Paul. My Jag XK is looked after by an engineer (coincidentally named Paul) who specialises in Jags and old Rovers. I've seen an E Type V12 engine in pieces on his bench, but as you intimate each nut, bolt and spring is in its proper place. His boss races his Mark 1 E type (although I'm not sure he's done that in the last couple of pre-Covid years) and takes it all over the world on touring holidays. He's only 84 and still plays hockey.

The down side is, of course, you have to pay the going rate. Unless you are very fortunate you'll pay the cut price rate and get a cut price job, although I'll bet your friend paid through the nose for his Lagonda.......

I'll only work with recommendations, and that goes for building work too. We have a builder booked to do some work on our house but we'll have to wait until early next year before he can get to it. (Our "traditional" builder has sadly retired). He was highly recommended and commended himself immediately when he told me that he'd be using lime mortar for some brick replacement and repointing. But he himself lives in a 500 year old house - ours is only a bit over 200 years.

Proper tradesmen are out there. You just have to find them and be prepared to pay the price.

Brian

Back to the North Wales line I have traveled it 3 times over the years.
The first was 1957 when, with a friend we were doing a North Wales cycle & youth hostel tour. We had gone from Kidderminster via Welshpool, Barmouth, Harlech, over the toll bridge then Beddgelet and the Llamberis pass. On the pass my friend had an accident so it was the train home. Bus to Caernarfon (goods only to Llamberis), change at Bangor, change at Chester and change at Shrewsbury for SVR to home. Not the quickest but the cheapest and that took all our money.
The second was an day excursion in 1982 or 3 from Kidderminster to Llandudno Town. Went via the Soho loop and Bescot then Crewe & Chester.
The 3rd in 1992 when on holiday in Bleanau Ffestiniog when we went down the branch to Llandudno Junction then to Holyhead, back to Chester, and return to Bleanau on a North Wales rail pass.
Mention was made about school caps. Looking at the badges and colours with us on the bike I think that was most likely 1950.
Happy days?
Regards
Allen Morgan

Cookes Explosives Factory at Penrhyndraeth provided a sizable amount of traffic over the Cambrian line until the service was transferred to the Conwy Valley line via Maentwrog Road. Class 47 No. 47193 was being loaded on the morning of 16th June 1987. This traffic came to an abrupt halt after a fire at the factory...


The fire was bad news for Railfreight but good news for Provincial, who were able to build a wooden platform over the siding for their 1989 Sunday summer passenger service. This was the initial press run on 17th July 1989. Crosville took participants on to Trawsfynydd Power Station. A regular service commenced on 23rd July...


Maentwrog Road station was separated from the goods yard by a road bridge. Standing in the privately owned station is Class 153 No. 153355 after working the 2Z02 Special 07.58 Shrewsbury to Trawsfynydd (via wrexham and Bidston for timetabling and clearance tests for Mk.III stock. What a thoroughly wet day it was too....

On a bitterly cold 5th november 1993 just before dusk, 31270 rolls downgrade near Maentwrog road with te first Flask train from Trawsfynydd following two years of inactivity in which it was decided to de-commission the plant....


31306 was propelling LMS Design 50ft District engineers Inspection Saloon No. DM45029 near Trawsfynydd on 8th May 1991. Under existing H&S legislation, these saloons can no longer be propelled....


The first loco-hauled passenger train to Trawsfynydd for 34 years is seen arriving at its goal on 27th august 1994. Pathfinder Tours 'Trawsfynydd Trekker I' was top & tailed by 31190 and 31327 becasue the Class 20's that were scheduled to work the train arrived at Llandudno Junction too late...

LarryG said:

31306 was propelling LMS Design 50ft District engineers Inspection Saloon No. DM45029 near Trawsfynydd on 8th May 1991. Under existing H&S legislation, these saloons can no longer be propelled....

Click to expand...

Why not?

Brian

It was the caption on the back of my photo. Forgotten where I got it.

LarryG said:

It was the caption on the back of my photo. Forgotten where I got it.

Click to expand...

Hi Larry,

any idea as to when the caption might have been written as I am sure that I have seen numerous photos of Inspection Saloons being propelled way after 1991, especially 'Caroline'.

regards

Mike

Ressaldar said:

Hi Larry,

any idea as to when the caption might have been written as I am sure that I have seen numerous photos of Inspection Saloons being propelled way after 1991, especially 'Caroline'.

regards

Mike

Click to expand...

Likewise - I’ve seen ‘Caroline’ occasionally over the years, notably being propelled through Clapham Junction.

I doubt legislation is involved, more likely the regs on the railway which have moved the goalposts, probably these: Mark 1 rolling stock | Office of Rail and Road

Adam

Hi Adam,

this shot of Caroline was taken on taken 10.15.2020

Inspection Saloon 975025 - Holytown

regards

Mike

Ressaldar said:

Hi Adam,

this shot of Caroline was taken on taken 10.15.2020

Inspection Saloon 975025 - Holytown

regards

Mike

Click to expand...

Good to see. I guess the substantial rebuild Caroline had a few years ago addressed the crash protection issues. Thinking about it, I've seen the thing at Tonbridge more recently.

Adam

I suspect 'Caroline' differs in that there was an increased measure of control built into this saloon following extensive rebuilding whereas in LMS saloons, one could only destroy the vacuum or air in the braking system.

This pretty well rounds off the Llandudno Junction to Trawsfynydd gallery. The picture below was shot from the remains of Llan Festiniog station platform with a train being propelled to the nuclear power plant...



A GWR Brake Composite used on the Bala - Festiniog Branch was to Dia. E157. Adrian Rowland (Northstar Design) designed the CADs and it is a joint production. There is no time to build one for the new layout yet, but I will eventually...

Electric traction is not high on my list of railway interests, but I did photograph a few trains in my time. I just found the caption for this. 81012 approaching Stockport iwth the 14.22 Manchester Piccadilly-Cardiff on 9th September 1981. It received a medium term reprieve in 1986 becasue of a shortage of electric power, but was restricted to 80mph...



Class 86 No.86001 passing Holmes Chapel with a Manchester-bound parcels train on 15th August 1979. Two LMS design 50' parcels vans leading. I had visited Lawrence Scale Models in Congleton that day...

I think that is a class 81

Richard

85001 speeding through holmes Chapel with a short parcels train bound for Crewe on 15th August 1978. It burst into flames near South Kenton while working the 16.15 Euston-Manchester on 13th October 1985 and was withdrawn. Built at Doncaster as E3056 in 1961....

25036 keeps one of the DC electrics company, both waiting to go 'on shed' at Guide Bridge in 1977. I was on this station with my father around 1946 and saw a 'Sir Sam Fay' 4-6-0 running light. It was the first loco body I ever built in the then new Plastikard back in the early 1960's (on a Triang B12 chassis) ...



Godley Junction, a location that always fascinated me in steam days ~ until 1954 when it went DC! Still, I returned there in 1977 for nostalgia really. The sun was setting as 76037 & 76038 rolled through with an eastbound fitted freight on 3rd August 1977...


My father was born in Broadbottom, so I just had to look in on the village. A Glossop-Manchester Piccadilly Class 506 EMU crosses the lofty Broadbottom viaduct on a gloomy 2nd October 1981...


One of a series of photos taken on the last day of the Woodhead line to Sheffield...

I was visiting one of my cousins in Glossop because she was about to move to live in Oxford, and snapped this eastbound freight passing Dinting Station during a downpour at 12.33hrs on 29th August 1980. The DC electric locos were 76011 and 76029...



On 10th March 1981, I had been to see my old pal Norman Wisenden at his well-known model shop in Greenfield and had driven to Dinting railway station to eat some sandwiches. This was the scene as I entered the station and apparently I was only the second photographer on the scene. While I was securing as many photos as possible, I chatted with some BR men who had arrived to take down the overhead wiring before the steam breakdown crane arrived. "There's more further up the tracks" they told me...


....And this was the scene further up the tracks! I had to hold the camera at arms length above me head to take this photos; you can do this with a waist-level viewfinder. 76028 and 76029 stand amid the debris in pouring rain on 10th March 1981...

Lone 76040 seemingly making light work of hauling its Sheffield-bound train up to Woodhead Tunnel on 3rd July 1981....



76022 with a steam-era totem on Corporate Blue livery is in harness with 76023 at Crowden with a Westbound coal train on 3rd July 1981.


I always looked for shots for the Phoenix Railway Photographic Portfolio. 76012 & 76007 head a train of empties past Lodge Farm west of Crowden on 3rd July 1981, two weeks before the line closed...


76010 and 76012 roll through Dinting Station on 2nd July 1981. The Down platform was never repaired after the 10th March derailment....

One of the old LNER design Units (Class 506) prepares to leave Dinting Stations sharply curved platform serving the Hayfield Branch during a heavy rainstorm on 29th August 1980. The even sharper inner track had been lifted some years before...


When the Manchester-Glossop-Hadfield line was converted from 1,500 volts DC overhead to 25kv AC, it received former Glasgow area 3-car Class 303 Units. 303036 departs the then new station at Godley on 15th October 1986. Whereas te earlier DC Units were mounted on something akin to a Thompson Fox 8' bogie, these Units carried on the LNER tradition with their Gresley bogies...


I was born here at Newton, near Hyde, so I just had to visit Newton station on the final day of the Woodhead line, Friday 17th July 1981. 76022 jogs through on its final journey back to Guide Bridge stabling point where it will be switched off for the last time. This loco carried a steam-era logo instead of the double arrow. And the rain continued to pour down....


Before leaving electrified lines, Class 40 no. 40128 corsses Stockport viaduct with a southbound freight on 9th October 1981...