Photos from BR Works Open Days gone by.

Hi Blackwatch, I must be on one of your pictures, I used to wear a green Parka coat with a hood with a red lining and a fur trim! Don't tell the fashion police!


LVMan I've started a new thread to explain our numbering system, hope to see you there!

John
 
This is something that I believe was a regular sight at Derby, but you will be hard pushed to see these days, a class 25/0 double heading with a class 45.

Derby006.jpg
 
johnchisem said:
May be this is true or may be it's an urban myth! However I promised Steve that I would tell him the story I heard in a pub once when out with the lads after a main line jolly, so here it is.

Apparently when the Funny Farm (Derby Research Centre) was developing the HST and APT prototypes there arose the question of what would happen if a large bird was hit by the trains at high speed. A junior boffin was dispatched to the supermarket to buy some chickens. These were then propelled at great velocity into various examples of windscreen glass.

It so happened that the outcome of the trials was a windscreen that withstood the impact safely, and this was used on the actual cab.

Now the good bit:D . We were told that a certain other country (about 3000 miles west of Derby) decided to test some of their loco windscreens. Every one failed miserably. After much scratching of heads and chewing of pencils somebody suggested thawing out the chickens before carrying out the experiment!:confused:

John
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Almost True, it was Rolls Royce who sold the idea to a US car company.
 
Not quite a shot in the Works.....

...... more like the End of the Line!

A dismantled hopper wagon at Barry Scrapyard.If you look carefully at the next wagon you can see that it has been cut into sections, and is presumably being held together by rust!

wagonrv7.jpg


John

bad photography - getting your shadow in!
 
johnchisem said:
Swindon Works quite a long time ago when they were cutting up Westerns to make them into razor blades.

swindonworkszh2.jpg


John
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So sad ..... I spent a year in Cardiff (1964) and loved the design of the Westerns. Also their interesting "hydraulic oil thrashing around" sound when working!

:(
Colin
 
Heres a poor shot of sole surviving Metrovick Co-Bo D5705 at Crewe Open Day in 2005.It was unanimously voted "star of the show" by the railway press! Will we ever have a thrash behind this beast?:p
coboandcrewe023df6.jpg
 
Yes I think you will be able to have a thrash behind D5705, it seems to have found somebody who loves it! IIRC it has even acquired some engine parts from Australia and Ireland to help in it's re-build. I do have the feeling that it will not quite be a main-line loco though!

John
 
Incidentally, I have a set of plans of the above loco...I'm hoping, within the next week or so, to make a start on a model. No ETA, as that shape is deceptively complex. Fingers crossed I can do her justice.

Tom
 
WOW blackfour! I know theres a model available on MSTS but a Trainz model would be a case of "My Lordz!".I have the 1979 book "BR Main Line Diesel Album" and it has excellent detail shots of D5700 with the original wraparound windows and there was also an authoritative article in Railway Magazine, which I have saved.A Co-Bo for trainz? :mop: :mop: :mop:
 
Here is a web site about the restoration of the sole remaining Co-Bo! http://www.d5705.org.uk/preservation/preservation.html

And I've just found a couple of shots taken at Knottingley depot, the first before an open day when the shed roads contained the usual spoons (class 47s or duffs). In the foreground you can see some of the exhibits waiting to be shunted into position. IIRC 40106 was one of the last ever original green locos, so much so that when it was time to be painted blue a fresh coat of green was applied.

knottingley0050uw4.jpg


And here is the some of the open day set up. Health and safety experts look away as kids are climbing onto locos without safety gear and adult supervision. Mind you nobody was killed or hurt, but back then we knew how to look after ourselves! We just went home mucky! and happy.:D

knottingley0051vh7.jpg


John
 
Fab photos John, I remember Knottingley from a few years back, very few English Electrics at all, there were more Class 56's on show that day than you could shake a stick at....:hehe:

Cheerz. ex.
 
yep we lived on 47s until the Knottingley Pie-warmers arrived (56s) , most of the locos were swapped one Saturday afternoon, tripled-headed 47s one way, triple headed 56s the other! If you are interested enough to excuse very poor photos of this and other local items I will see what I can dig out.

The English Electric locos were only on shed for the open day. I helped out (despite still being at school-try that nowadays with H&S) and to say thank you the Area Manager gave me a couple of tickets. I used these to make the first of my many visits to Barry Scrapyard. He was also kind enough to arrange my mate and I a private visit to Bristol Bath Road, Philips Marsh AND Cardiff Canton sheds!

John
 
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