Recent content by merry

Oh yes, definitely is. On busy days, such as galas, you will note many trains terminate and reverse at Rothley. This is to avoid the Leicester section bottleneck, and in the process adds operational interest. The Leicester section takes ~10 mins each way plus turnround of anything from 2 to 15...

So I am guessing that the reason services are running ECS SHF-DON is that those drivers sign the route (obviously) but the conductors/guards do not. What a shame...

Down traffic apears to be on the move again (looking at RTT & Traksy)

Down traffic apears to be on the move again (looking at RTT & Traksy)

Unfortunately not...the new residents are mostly unappreciative of the railway at the bottom of the garden. I understand many buyers were told it doesn't have many trains...if only the developers had mentioned diesel galas :-) Loughborough also has new housing all round the station on former...

Just FYI, for anyone else looking to visit GCR over the summer, the typical pattern is: - Mon / Tue: closed (for testing hire, TOC training, or engineering). - Wed & Thu: public running day - Fri: Drive-a-train experiences - no public service. - Sat & Sun: public running - Some Thursdays &...

You could indeed ring up. I am pretty sure there is published data further in advance, but it might take more finding! From what i can see, the current plan suggests no service 15-16 July, a light 2 train service 17 July, and similar with added Mountsorrel branch running planned for Thu 18...

Nope. All real. 373s were used on regular ECML services for some years (after mk4 losses at Hatfield and Potters Bar). Selective door opening was among the required features, as they were too long for most platforms ( and only fitted a few at KGX, 0 1 and 8 iirc) A very nice ride too.

Ths week I received an announcement that HOPS (Heritage Operations Processing System, hops.org.uk) has added a register of stolen items for the Heritage sector. Hopefully this will aid collectors, and auctioneeers etc., to identify stolen items more easily. Let's hope that it helps a few more...

On that criteria, some of the larger miniature railways probably win hands down. On both intensity and frequency. Different if we only count former public transport & museum railways.

Indeed. The upcoming GCR Diesel Gala has average 3 departures per hour from Loughborough, from 0830 and 1.5 tph in the evening until 2200ish. 5 or 6 trains operating, at least 7 locos. Should be fun if you love diesel traction (and maybe in general). Even today the service averaged 1 train per...

In practice the GCR Leicester section is the limiting factor and effectively enforces 2tph max on full line services. It is just about possible to have 10 min headways on the rest of the line, and at galas this is sometimes used, certainly 3 to 4 tph is achieved at some times of day Loughborough...

And it is worth remembering that in any shunt move, especially one unsignalled, it is the driver's responsibility to observe the actual lie of the points and only proceed if satisfied they are correct. The signaller is responsible for suitably protecting the move (including use of reminder...

Of course, said snow was indeed very unusual - it stuck to everything, including the national grid wires which fell across the MML at Loughborough. That closed the line and cut off the town's electricity and gas for about 3 days. Strange, but actually very hard to cope with. Also, on the same...

I may have been on a sleeper with the most (temporarily) alighting at Carlisle in August 1990. At least 120 people. There is a story behind this: a smouldering fire on one of the seating coaches (safely extinguished) meant all seated passengers had to alight at Carlisle. As seating was full to...