Another Bubble Car

I took a trip to Carnforth last week, for a number of reasons. Firstly, I got a Day Rover ticket through my weekly newspaper and it cost me £12.50 rather than the usual £21.10. Secondly I wanted to revisit The Snug micro pub, which I enjoyed on my trip a few months ago (note the sliding hoist running just below ceiling level which is used to load full barrels into the chiller cabinet).

Other reasons include dining in the Refreshment Room as featured in the film "Brief Encounter" (based on the play "Still Life" by Noel Coward) and having another look at the visitor's centre. All in all, a grand day out, as a certain Wensleydale cheese munching aficionado often says.
The picture at the top shows a Class 153 Bubble Car in Leeds station, which was coupled to a two car Class 158 train set to make a three carriage consist. There are 70 Class 153's which started out life as 35 two car sets. A firm in Scotland split them up and added cabs to the inner ends. They are much smaller than the original cabs and the exterior lights are mounted half way between the bottom of the window and the buffer beam, unlike the other end where they are just above the buffers. Northern Rail own 18 of them ( the largest single holding) but they are still rare to see around here.
And finally a picture of the famous station clock which you will be familiar with if you have seen the afore mentioned film.

I own a train!

I haven't done a post for a long time but I want to share this exciting news with you. I now own a train! Well, part of one anyway. I have a share in a BR Class 121 "bubble car".
Wensleydale railway wanted to purchase this from Chiltern Railways but needed the help of supporters like me to raise the cash. I probably own one buffer, or a driver's seat, but it's really exciting to be involved in this project.
It has a number of modern conversions, such as central locking and CCTV, and will be a great asset to the Railway.

Grand Day Off

Since I had a whole Friday off work recently I decided to do the Stockport to Stalybridge train run again. I did it in 2000 when I had an afternoon to kill in Manchester but until I moved to Yorkshire it has not been a viable day trip. In fact until recently it wasn't even possible from York because the train left Stockport too early to get there in time.
When I say "the train" I mean the one and only train, operated by Northern Rail, that runs between these two stations every week. That's the whole novelty of the trip. Only one train in one direction each week. The reason is that it is cheaper to do this than go through all the expense of decommissioning the redundant parts of the line. There are a few examples around the country and they are referred to as Parliamentary or Ghost trains.

 

The train currently leaves Stockport at 10.13 and the first stop is Reddish South at 10.20

 

We stopped at Denton next but unfortunately my carriage window ended up opposite the last lamppost on the platform and it's sign had fallen off. We departed before I could get down the train and take a picture of another sign. Both these stations get little maintenance due to their infrequent use.

Guide Bridge is actually on a busy piece of track but most trains pass through without stopping

 

 

My journey's end in Stalybridge and a chance to take a picture of the train. A Class 142 built by BREL in Derby between 1985 and 1987. Based on the Leyland National bus but with 3+2 bench seating across the carriage.

The final thing I did was visit the Stalybridge Buffet Bar which is on one of the other platforms. It is like a cross between "Brief Encounter" and "The Rovers Return". Altogether a most enjoyable day and I am sure Martyne will be glad I have got it out of my system at last. She's been looking rather threatening the last few times I've mentioned the trip!

 

 

 

Wunderkind

I have recently come across a very amazing boy. His name is Stanley Herbert Vickers. Despite being only 3 years old, he has not only mastered the English language but Windows 7 as well! If you want to read his philosophical musings click on the "So Stan Says" link in my Favoured Blogs list.

Welcome to the Blogosphere young man.

Train Driver Extraordinaire

Now that I live in a county that boasts a number of Heritage Railways, I decided to treat myself to a Driver Experience Day. The top picture shows me in the driving seat of a DMU (Diesel Multiple Unit) on the Wensleydale Railway recently. The train (pictured in the middle) was the same as the ones I used to take to school in the early Sixties (Class 101 should you be interested), so it was a great thrill. Unfortunately I released the pressure on the "Dead Man's Handle" and the train brought itself to a halt. This explains the look of consternation on my face.

My left hand was on the throttle/accelerator, and my right hand is on the brake. The gear lever is just to the left of my right hand. The controls are similar to a car but they are all hand operated and feel very different to what I am used to. In the bottom picture I'm doing the maximum permitted speed of 25 mph, and am loving it.

My sincere thanks to Kev who was also on the course, and took all the above pictures. We shot pictures of each others efforts and then swapped by email later. The wonders of technology!

In Training

I can't believe two years have gone by since my last post. There is far too much to relate in one go, but I'll give you the main points.

After our mother died in late 2007 I had a long think about my position. Although I had a good job in an accountancy firm in Edinburgh there was little else to keep me there. After a long hard think I decided to relocate to Yorkshire, like Martyne. I have visited her and Hester a few times in the last couple of years. She lives in a little village, which is not really for me, but the county is lovely and there are plenty of towns and cities, which are more to my taste. Consequently I got a job with a firm in York, and am now living in rented accommodation there. Strangely ironical since I have rented out my flat in Edinburgh in order to pay my rent in York! But that is the state of the housing market at the moment. One day, when things have improved, I will probably sell up and buy a property down here.

The big plus point, apart from being closer to my sister, is that I can now visit the National Rail Museum any time I want. The above picture is of Mallard (or 4468 to her friends), taken during one of my now frequent visits.

I have tried to encourage Martyne to return to her writing, now that she has had time to settle in Yorkshire, and I am confident I can get her back to composing her Blog. Time will tell!

Top News

It's been such a long time since I put pen to paper, so to speak. I have lots of news to tell you. Little sister Martyne and her "companion" Hester are moving to Yorkshire soon. In a way I will miss them although they have spent as much time in the West Midlands as they have in Edinburgh in the last year. I might actually see more of them because I intend to visit them frequently and nip into the National Rail Museum in York in the passing.

On a recent stopover in York they visited a restaurant called Il Treno (that's Italian for "The Train"). I am still waiting for Martyne to send me the pictures, but from her description they dined in a converted old compartment train carriage. This and others were joined to a building which served as an entrance and bar.

My great idea is to build a house along similar lines. I want to build a central lobby with a glass roof and then attach four carriages in a cross formation! I'd love to get some early DMU's, like the ones I travelled to school in, but I guess they are probably all scrapped or preserved now. Modern ones would probably have to do.

I have been sketching plans and hope to build a model eventually. Will keep you all informed.

She's Back

As an aside I want to comment on the picture I had in the last post. I know it was some time ago now, but the family crisis I talk about below meant my energies have been directed elsewhere recently. I have now watched a Harry Potter film and am sure that the house I posted is not the genuine article. In the film there were steps up to the front door, which the one in my picture clearly does not have.
The important news though is that little sister Martyne is out hospital.
I have been very worried. I even went down to the West Midlands to visit her last week. She was going to have her operation the next day and was clearly anxious. Despite this, she put on a brave face. I am very proud of her.
I am sure she will tell you all about her experiences when she is feeling a bit stronger.
Finally I would like to say a big public thank you to Hester. I have always admired her and am so glad she has stood by Martyne in her time of trouble. She's been a brick.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Little sister Martyne seems to have become something of a traveller lately, despite her current lack of mobility. Hester drove her up to Edinburgh last week, so that she could catch up with her paperwork. I was lucky enough to see the pair of them before they returned down south.

I finally seem to be able to attach pictures and Martyne sent me the one below after she returned to Hester's.

This building is situated near Lanark in the Scottish borders and the girls passed it on their way back down south. Those of you familiar with the Harry Potter novels will recognise the name written on the wall. Hester's brother says this is the actual location used in the films but I am not sure. I have got hold of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" so I will let you know once I have watched it again.

I believe Martyne is planning to publish pictures involving another famous series of novels but I am sworn to secrecy. She may be a bit incapacitated but she can probably still muster a nasty slap if provoked. I value my safety too much so you will just have to watch and wait.

More Grief

Further technical problems. Still unable to upload any pictures so I am afraid you will have to wait a bit longer for more train names and pillar boxes. With Martyne still out of action I am low on source material anyway. I had trouble logging on today and kept getting sent to an e-mail programme. Isn't technology wonderful; when it works!

Martyne is still staying with Hester but the pair of them hope to head north later in the week. She (Martyne) is still having mobility problems, but is able to walk short distances with the aid of sticks. Hopefully with the aid of a wheeled trolley she will be able to cope on her own when Hester goes home again next week. It looks like it is going to be a good few weeks before she can propel herself unaided.

I am a bit concerned about her taking up Newcastle Brown. I voiced this during our last telephone conversation. She has assured me she will only be drinking in moderation from now and will not be touching spirits for a long time to come.

I think she has finally learned her lesson and I am looking forward to her coming home soon.

Get Well Soon

Martyne and I might have our differences, and I have been upset at some of the tricks she and Hester have played on me, but I am deeply concerned about her recent fall. She is a silly old sausage at times, even though she is younger than me.

She likes to push herself to the limit, but it means if she oversteps the mark she ends up in trouble. I am glad the lovely Hester is nursing her and has imposed a sherry ban. It could be Martyne's redemption. I spoke to little sister on the phone earlier and it seem she can now get about a bit with a couple of walking sticks. I hope she will be fit enough to do the journey home to Edinburgh soon.

I had expected to include some pictures with this post but my computer is playing up again and won't let me attach any. I still have some pillar boxes and train names to share with you. Lets hope I can get the problem fixed soon.

Dynamic or What?

Taking a slightly different tack today. I notice that Martyne has been a bit sluggish with her posts recently. No doubt she has been paying more attention to the lovely Hester than she has to her blog. Whatever the reason, I am going to scoop her.


About ten days ago Martyne and Hester visited the Royal Scottish Museum. It is the largest one in Edinburgh and would take you days to see all the exhibits. They spent an afternoon there and only saw a small fraction of them.

My main interest in their visit was the trains. When I was a small boy father used to take me to the "Hall of Power". There were lots of locomotives in glass cases and when you pressed a button they were set in motion. I still love that today. Haven't been to the museum for a long time but the girl's (I use the word loosely) visit has prompted me to consider going there sometime soon.

The above beauty poses a couple of questions (thanks for the pictures sis). She must weigh 50 tons or more. How did they move her a floor above ground level in the middle of a building, and how did she get through the doors in the first place?

Back to my usual fare. This box is Victorian, and as you can see, it has the crenalated top which is common to a few monarchs.

Martyne has emptied this one before and it can be full of postcards in the summer because there is a large hotel nearby.

Because Martyne has to spend a couple of hours at Wolverhampton station on Monday morning waiting for a train she has bought cheap tickets for, she can take lots of pictures of train names for me. She protests, but I think she is secretly happy to have something to do to while away the time.

Marco Polo is a new train to her, but Willem Barents is almost a nemesis. She has tried to take pictures twice but the camera has been mucking her about.

Outside the Box

Martyne sent me some exciting new pictures late yesterday so I am up early, for a Sunday, to knock together this post. Two interesting things about the above box. Firstly you can see from the initials at the top that it is Victorian, and secondly there is a set of keys hanging in the lock. Martyne was just about to open it when she took this "before" picture. You can probably tell what is coming next.

How often do you get to see inside a pillar box (or a wall box to be strictly accurate)? Unfortunately the lack of light means that you can't actually see anything. Perhaps this might have been a good time to use the flash!

This last picture is very exciting. If you look at the top of this one it says E R. Clearly there were no boxes around at the time of Elizabeth I (1533 to 1603). A closer inspection revealed that there are the letters VII inbetween the E and R. My very first Edwardian box! You may have to blow up the picture, if you can, to see them clearly.

I may well take up little sister's idea about a series on squint buildings but I still have a few boxes I want to share with you as well.

Finally Got It

It has taken Hester a few attempts to send me this one for some reason. Glad it has worked. Obviously yet another explorer. An Italian who worked for the English, rather than the Spanish, like Columbus. I love history, it is such fun.

Bonanza

The title does not refer to the popular American TV western series which ran from 1959 to 1973, but the fact that Martyne and Hester have come up with a lot of interesting stuff thanks to their meeting this weekend. Sadly I am not currently in possession of any new "pics", as I believe the young persons call them, but I hope to procure some soon. Also sadly, one name has slipped through my sister's fingers.
As Martyne mentioned in "Fond Farewell" she is now travelling back home on a Monday morning when she goes down south to visit Hester. I think she also said that economically it is better for her to wait a couple of hours at the station because the later train is much cheaper.
Whilst she was sipping a mocha in the tearoom "Willem Barents", him of Barents Sea fame, pulled into the station. She was so engrossed in her chocalate and coffee based beverage that he was pulling out again before she noticed, heading South, so she didn't manage to take a picture.
Half an hour later when she went to board her train to the North she discovered it was the same one! Even more sadly, when she got off it, her camera played up and the train was gone before she could take a picture.
I have another "double take" on another train but I will save it until I have a "pic" from Hester.
I have got pictures of the Voyager and Super Voyager trains, Class 220 and 221 respectively, but have none of the Class 390 Pendolinos whose naming seem to have no obvious logic at all.
To round off, most people are familliar with the name of the man pictured. He did many firsts, but the one that impresses me the most is that he is the first person to cross all the world's meridians. Not in the same voyage, but he is still truly a great explorer.

Another Post (Box)

This is a pretty familiar style of pillar box. Like a lot of others it is difficult to date. I am sure it is either George V, Edward VIII (unlikely) or George VI. The GPO of the time were a bit remiss at dating their boxes. I still have at least one Victorian one to share with you. There are some more modern ones I want to show but that can wait until a later date. I believe Hester is responsible for this image but I am going to take more of my own now that I have a camera. I am sure Martyne will also be taking more of her own stuff now that she has one as well. I hope I will get more informed comment and less girly talk than I did on my last post.

Boxing Clever

I have been out and about with my new camera. I am happy to say I now have more pictures for my "Pillar Boxes I Have Known" feature.

This one is technically not a pillar box (PB) but a wall box (WB). Hester, however, took this one when she and Martyne were visiting "The Steading" public house for lunch this afternoon. I trust they drank sensibly. Martyne is a bit too fond of her sherry for her own good so I am sure the driving would be done by Hester.

The first box I posted was Victorian and I have been looking around for an Edwardian one. I thought It would be nice to do them in chronological order. But I have yet to find one despite the fact he (Edward VII) was on the throne for nine years between 1901 and 1910.

You can see the featured box says "GR". I am sure this refers to George V who ruled from 1910 to 1936. Then there was Edward VIII for a short time, and all the scandal that went with it. I doubt the "GPO" as I am sure it was called then, had time to erect boxes.

Of course there is still George VI and our own dear queen to go but Royal Mail and their predecessors are a bit remiss at times when it comes to putting monarchs initials on their boxes.

Sorry about the changes in typeface, or fonts as I am told they are called these days. The computer seems to have a mind of it's own today.

Train of Thought

Hester has come up trumps again. What a scalp she has got this time. An Italian who sailed for Spain. He was looking for a route to Asia and stumbled across the Americas. And the rest is history, as they say. It is a subject of conjecture who got there first but he generally gets the press. Dead Mariners is definitely a series. I still can't see where "Penny the Pendolino" fits in though.

Martyne is talking about getting a digital camera as well. If she is going to spend a couple of hours at Wolverhampton station on Monday mornings I am sure she can photo a few trains for me.

I am still working on my "Pillar Boxes I Have Known" feature but trains seem to have been at the forefront recently.

Thought Train

Good old (I hope she doesn't think I am refering to her age) Hester has come up with the goods again. On her visit to my sister at the weekend she took this picture.

Yet another deceased mariner. It has to be part of a series. Like William Baffin, a part of the world is named after him. I am sure this is a part of the theme of names.

Hester teased me by text on her way home yesterday about the name of the train she was on. I have to say I got her clues very quickly and named the person involved. When she sends me the picture I will share it with you.

I am glad Martyne has found Hester, and I am very happy for them. Sometimes, I just wish I could find such a spiffing woman as Hester for myself.

Even More Trains

The more alert amongst you will have noticed that I made a spelling mistake in my last post. Most embarrassing. The forename of the Swiss scientist should have read Auguste and not "August " as I said. I apologise. I am a stickler for accuracy and I have let myself down.

On the plus side I got the photo on the right from Hester earlier today. It is the name of the train she boarded yesterday to return home from her visit to Martyne. I was a bit miffed with the girls for winding me up last week but they are both really good eggs, if truth be told.

Sir Martin Frobisher was a 16th century sailor who visited Canada three times. There seems to be an explorer and Canada theme going on with these names, but it is a bit tenuous. Thanks Hester, I always love to hear from you, especially if you are sending me exciting photos.

The other train name I have got from the pair of them is "Penny the Pendolino". This doesn't fit any pattern I have noticed. Pendolino comes from the Italian for pendulum. It refers to the fact that these trains tilt when they go round high speed corners. Much in the same way that motorcyclists do. The history is quite interesting. Although the company that builds them is now a division of the French company Alstom, it originally belonged to Fiat. So you could say that Fiat have built "Planes, Trains and Automobiles". I love the film of the same name. The girls might question my sense of humour but I find John Candy (sadly no longer with us) and Steve Martin very funny.