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Dig those tunes! Almost like a New Order b-side. Really really b-side. Anywho... Following my wildly successful post a few months ago (link below), here's another British video that spent months on my 'watch later' list. This is a 1989 British Railways Board production reviewing all sorts of signalling and related infrastructure. Although this video is 27 years after the other, there are a few views of older interlocking mechanisms, pulley systems, and mechanical signals. Prior to seeing that other video, it hadn't really occurred to me that 'interlocking' truly involves a complex array of slots and levers that physically bar certain switch and signal selections. I'm also impressed with the physical signalling, not only semaphores but various smaller units such as the one in the video thumbnail. I would think there must at least a little freezing weather that would interfere with these. Amongst the many interesting topics are the overview of token safeworking (both single and multiple--I had always wondered what happens if the token winds up at the wrong end of the section) starting around 27:30, and a crossing gate meant to be operated by the public at 49:00. I love the sign (49:45) for motorists who have just crossed: Have you lowered the barriers? I can just imagine this in practice in the current US. "No, I haven't, because driving like a #%*(^!- @#%$ is my style"

I had this in the 'watch later' list for quite a while, finally got to it this evening. Glad I did. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Transport_Films

Keighley and Worth Valley Spring steam Gala One of the U.K's premier preserved railway lines, the KVWR is one of the longest established tourist lines having been a pioneer of preservation since the band of enthusiasts determined to save it after closure by British rail in 1962. In 1968 it reopened for its full five mile length and has now grown to the point where it carries over 100,000 visitors a year. The line itself, part of the old Midland railway, leaves Keighley station where it is still connected to the national network and heads South West terminating at Oxenhope The line became famous when it was used for the classic film 'The Railway Children' with some of its locos painted in a fictional GNSR Livery The spring steam gala is a much anticipated event as it is one of the first big events held as the tourist lines start up again after the winter, However it does carry some risk as the weather in the valleys of West Yorkshire in March is not exactly renowned for being either good or predictable. I was on my way to exhibit one of my Z gauge layouts at the annual Keighley model railway exhibition and thought I'd call in on the Friday afternoon. The weather was appalling! Driving rain and howling winds made for difficult conditions to film in but did not put off the hundreds of visitors on the first day. LMS Jubillee 4-6-0 'Bahamas' with its distinctive double chimney looks splendid after its recent overhaul A shot of the yard at Haworth as the locos are prepped for running. From left to right are LMS Class 2 2-6-0T 46521, USATC S160 5820 'Big Jim', LMS Black 5 4-6-0 45212, LMS Jubille class 45596 'Bahamas'. LNWR 0-6-"T Coal tank 1054 with LMS Ivatt 2MT 2-6-2T 41241 behind, LMS 4F 0-6-0 43924, BR class 2 2-6-0 78022 also just back after an overhaul. The Coal tank dates from 1888 and was built at the LNWR Crewe works and the 2MT was turned out by the former NER Darlington works in 1954 The William Stanier designed Black 5 45212 runs light engine up the hill out of Keighley station. The weather was getting really ropy by this stage! more in a mo

Sadly the 28th of December saw the last scheduled working of a passenger train on the Cumbrian Coast line with Class 37 diesel haulage. The contract was due to expire late in January but the decision was taken before Christmas that the service would be discontinued before the New year. As you will know, if you have followed my other posts, DRS have been supplying Class 37/4s and Mark 2 coaches to support Northern rail for a couple of years to increase capacity on the line between Carlisle and Barrow in Furness. The results have been mixed as the locomotives, introduced in the early 60's have had reliability issues and the Northern Drivers, more used to driving two car DMUs, needed a lot more training than they were given. What was obvious was how much it grabbed the attention of railfans from far and wide. Some of the 37s have had serious money spent on them and have become celebrity engines So I set out to capture as much action as I could in the lat two weeks bearing in mind that the weather and light was appalling for much of the time. The first northbound train in the morning was impossible it being pitch black and the first southbound, passing at 08.30, was problematic. really the last one where there was decent light was the Northbound 2C59 just after 3 in the afternoon so opportunities were limited Three locos were the mainstay for the last few days 37 401 'Mary Queen of Scots' was doing O.K until a spectacular failure at Foxfield blocked the Up line for Five hours and meant a 'Thunderbird' loco being dispatched from Carlisle to rescue it! 37 425 which uniquely carries different nameplates either side 'Sir Robert MaCalpine' and 'Concrete Bob' behaved itself for the duration although it was getting filthy with the weather 401 was replaced with 37 424 'Avro Vulcan XH588' which confusingly has the number 558 in big numerals on the side. This was the million pound 'show pony' when it returned from major works overhaul including a full re-skin of the bodyshell The last one I got was yesterday's 2C59 Barrow to Carlisle with 424 on the point. The 'Cumbrian Coast Express' headboard had re-appeared and although loco hauled trains continued until later that evening that was pretty much it. There had been some railfans around who had got wind of the end and were riding and recording as many as they could. So 2019 is going to be a lot quieter on the Cumbrian Coast as DMUs replace the 37s. While local residents will not miss the throaty roar of the English Electric 12CSVT engines the railfans really will. And with the 37s displaced from Nuclear services by Class 68s and also the class 88 Hybrids it's going to be a lot less interesting for photography and video next year for me The video is here, the sound is so evocative! Cheers Kev

Pretty interesting stuff here. British Rail and post British Rail era instructional and safety videos. Check out this uploader's YT page for more videos.

A short, interesting video article about platforms below the platforms in Glasgow Central Station, apparently victims of Dr. Beeching's cuts. http://www.bbc.com/news/video_and_audio/headlines/39008682

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35725299

Just watched the short vid with this BBC article, 60009 and 60163 look absolutely outstanding. For the opening of the new Borders Railway, 60009 will haul the royal train. I'm not sure if 60163 will be in the formation as shown in this video. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-34191233 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Class_A4_4488_Union_of_South_Africa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNER_Peppercorn_Class_A1_60163_Tornado

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33425743

Interesting factoid from a Nikkei Business online article. It's estimated for the period 2014~2019, Hitachi Rail will hold top market share in the new railway carriage market in the UK. For this period Hitachi currently has 1273 carriages in the order books, while Siemens has 1140, and Bombardier 943. The article, an interview with CEO Alistair Dormer, continues with discussion of corporate philosphy etc. http://business.nikkeibp.co.jp/atcl/report/15/070200015/070600002/?P=1

Exciting times for U.K railfans as the Cumbrian Coast Rail line in North West England has the re-introduction of Locomotive hauled scheduled passenger trains after decades of being a DMU only line. to support the current franchise operator on the line 'Northern Rail' the freight operator 'Direct Rail Services' are supplying class 37s, Mk II coaches and train crews to provide more comfort and greater capacity on some of the busier trains. DRS had already started to support Scotrail by providing some of the new class 68s Bo-Bos and coaches to run the Fife circle around Edinburgh. The Cumbrian Coast line skirts the Irish Sea between the two historic rail towns of Carnforth and Carlisle and takes in spectacular scenery en route. One of the Class 37/4s is seen here at Green Road with the fells around Conston providing a backdrop. This location is on the westside of the Duddon estuary and on a quiet day you can hear the trains heading up and around the head of the bay for twenty or thirty minutes. Now the Class 37s allocated for the service are 37/4s equipped with ETS (Electric Train Supply) and were originally built between 1960 and 1966 by English Electric with 12CVST engines pumping out a modest 1750 HP, The 37/4s had the main generator replaced with an alternator. 37 423 'Spirit of the Lakes' is a typical finished in the latest DRS livery and here is seen on the rear of one of the early passenger trains at Askam in Furness station Now those of you who know British railways will immediately spot that the train seems to be on the wrong line, Not so, the train is running 'Top and tailed' with a Class 37 at either end and 37 423 is at the rear. The loco hauling the train is 37 609 a freight only loco at the leading end The trains are running in this formation until the DBSO coaches (Coaches with driving cabs) are ready for deployment when the trains will run in classic push-pull fashion. Running like this the rear 37 only provides the ETS supply in this direction but does everything on the retun leg with the 37/6 DIT (dead in train) 37 423 is seen again heading east on the steep bank from Dalton in Furness to Lindal in Furness which has always been a test of any loco. This is one of the test trains run before the service started properly to train the drivers and traincrew, mark out the platforms with the stopping points etc. You will notice the real mish-mash of coach colour schemes. Acquiring a large amount of loco hauled coaches in the U.K these days is really difficult and they come from various sources hence the mix of DRS, Virgin and Riviera liveries. Eventually they will all be finished in DRS blue/green and modernised internally. In the next instalment I'll show some of the other motive power used on the trains and link in the videos of the trains in action cheers Kev

An old (11 years ago) but very interesting article about the failure to raise speeds on the WCML, and how moving blocks on mainlines were still the stuff of fairytales then. Perhaps some relevance to recent news about HS2 being threatened with cancellation. pt.1 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/apr/01/transport.politics pt.2 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/apr/01/transport.politics1

Interesting article on the feasibility of renationalizing Britain's railways. Apparently, this sort of happened with National Express, which collapsed, as the article says, in 2009. Services were then run by Directly Operated Railways, which was state-owned. This reverted to private ownership again last November. Just wondering what our British forum members and other informed parties think :). http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31621300

Yikes, here are a few YouTube-worthy clips. If you let each one play to the end, it automatically goes on to another. The one with the red automobile cutting in front of the one-car DMU, and the one with the cyclist at Waterbeach, are a bit shocking. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-31100457

Interesting article, photos of various emotions: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-29816152

Interesting BBC article, "Labour should reform the railways, prospective MPs say" http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27273672 (cool yard, someone should model it. Anyone know where this is?) I don't know much about it, but it's always surprised me that various operational aspects are in different hands, such as track and signaling versus rolling stock. Who does that actual scheduling? I think Yoshiyuki Kasai (current chairman of JR Central, and involved in the planning of privatization of JNR during its last days) wrote in his book that they discussed dividing different functions amongst various organizations, but decided against it.