Yet Another Cycling Forum
Random Musings => Gallery => OT Gallery => Topic started by: Martin on 11 September, 2010, 02:30:09 pm
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After staring out of the bedroom window at an abandoned viaduct for the last 12 years (it had been disused since 1958) they finally opened it back up last week; OK it only goes 1/2 a mile for the moment but it's nice to see this wonderful structure back in use. It very nearly wasn't so, they had planned to dynamite it back in the 60s but those houses had just been built and it was too costly to take it down by hand so they left it.
(http://www.fotothing.com/photos/c6b/c6b4852274fd3890e432fed2c906def6.jpg)
(http://www.fotothing.com/photos/236/236d30a307e970efd5de4f472a9bdb4c_de2.jpg)
the view from the train (nice old fashioned preserved one you can lean out of the window on. strange; I hated these trains until they scrapped them 5 years ago; now paint one original BR blue put a matching diesel at the front and it's suddenly retro cool)
(http://www.fotothing.com/photos/ba5/ba5c59adaaf2a019bc93acd725b75a1a.jpg)
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Whose responsibility is the structure? There seems to be a fair amount of spalling on those bricks, and a lot of replacement work has been carried out.
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Whose responsibility is the structure? There seems to be a fair amount of spalling on those bricks, and a lot of replacement work has been carried out.
it was owned by the BRB, but they donated it to the Bluebell Railway in the late 80s (smart move; it had been on a care and maintenance order until then). The first thing they did when they took it over was remove the barbed wire fences at each end so they could get to their bit of trackbed; the local oiks then walked onto it and dislodged half those coping brikcs and lobbed them into the valley below; they had to be retrieved and replaced at great expense. It's now got big spiky fences all around.
I was talking about the spalling last week, apparently it was supposed to have long pipes to take the drainage (it's hollow; I've been inside it) away from the arches but they just let it drip down the sides instead, which is a big problem in winter when it freezes and gets in the brickwork. All the bricks were made in bespoke local brickworks of which few survive; I've never seen another viaduct quite this colour which is what also makes it so special.
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There is a nice one like that near here that crosses the river Derwent near Stamford Bridge. They haven't reopened it for trains but have now made it a cycle path.
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Although they have put really stupid cycle-unfriendly gates at both ends of it.
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And the Balloon Tree at one end to relive you of all your cash.
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Can't believe it's actually happened :)
(http://www.fotothing.com/photos/b81/b81d54c5921f6e45edc97e92924a0d97.jpg?ts=1364070249)
(http://www.fotothing.com/photos/6bb/6bbffea97246d71f2c86336544ba5d11.jpg)
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Fantastic! I've been following the work on Facebook, it's been so thrilling! What a wonderful result! :D
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What could possibly go wrong?
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2902/33801323801_0566c6eb84_z.jpg" width="640" height="428" alt="DSC_1991)
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/4/3816/33890031576_0d4f81847c_z.jpg" width="640" height="428" alt="DSC_1997)
I used to see these (all 50 of them, in fact) hurtling through Thatcham or Basingstoke in the 1980s. There are 18 preserved, incredibly - a lot of other people liked them.
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They were built up here at Newton-le-Willows. Appropriately (for this place), we've got Valiant on the East Lancashire Railway. They were built in the late 60s and it amazes me to think that they are 50 years old. They were built a lot closer in time to the building of Flying Scotsman (recently overhauled in Bury) than to the present day. Lovely pictures.
Peter
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They wouldn't let me use more than notch 3 (of 7) but you can feel it's got some welly...2750 bhp.
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Envious! How did you come to be driving? Severn Valley is a bit north of you?
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Went up for the weekend. The Fifty Fund were charging £25 a go. They were somewhat oversubscribed!
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What a wheeze! Hardly think that'd cover the insurance - do they know about you......?!
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And a Class 50 does 1mpg at cruise, worse when knocking around at 10mph...
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Some snaps of Union Pacific's Centennial and Big Boy locomotives on display in Kenefick Park, Omaha NE:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4416/36967883425_8bce46ab78_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/YjJ4Nr)
P9010214 (https://flic.kr/p/YjJ4Nr) by Mr Larrington (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/), on Flickr
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4371/36158942863_e228830c50_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X6f2Xn)
P9010215 (https://flic.kr/p/X6f2Xn) by Mr Larrington (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/), on Flickr
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4349/36571150330_992db8bb9a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/XHEGSE)
P9010216 (https://flic.kr/p/XHEGSE) by Mr Larrington (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/), on Flickr
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4332/36132554394_74413f0e06_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X3UMzL)
P9010217 (https://flic.kr/p/X3UMzL) by Mr Larrington (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/), on Flickr
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4369/36796688282_b89640212b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Y4ADs3)
P9010218 (https://flic.kr/p/Y4ADs3) by Mr Larrington (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_larrington/), on Flickr
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saw those in Cheyenne in August although the yellow one was on the main line pulling the entire GDP of South Korea in containers;
an attempt to run a public service down in Swanage (now finished until next spring)
(http://www.fotothing.com/photos/f26/f265ba2d760ec6a09d7a2b39506f2ac8.jpg?ts=1508344036)
what they'd really like to run on the main line if it weren't for TPTB and if they hadn't borked it in the sidings so they had to use diseisels for quite some time
(http://www.fotothing.com/photos/e89/e89eaa8c3904775f109d57729755b6e8.jpg?ts=1508342828)
Observed at Clapham J a few weeks ago, a snip at £495 a trip (including lunch)
(http://www.fotothing.com/photos/f0e/f0e9daf1539a4cd9d55c559195ca3512.jpg?ts=1508344066)
(http://www.fotothing.com/photos/0bb/0bb7735c47266f96135b6da0271da91b.jpg?ts=1508342901)
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(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1843/44763645821_3ba36e55ef_b.jpg)
On the M4 yesterday - just leaving at Newport East junction...
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(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1843/44763645821_3ba36e55ef_b.jpg)
On the M4 yesterday - just leaving at Newport East junction...
D821 Greyhound I think; they were based on Cherman diesel hydraulics for the Western Region (who always had to be different) I think it caused their demise being non standard compared to the usual diesel electrics