Peterborough Six-day timetable Autumn 1977 - uploaded

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Peterborough Six-day timetable Autumn 1977 - uploaded 28/02/2018 at 11:59 #106239
58050
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When I was Senior Traction Controller at Liverpool Street Regional Control Office one of the TCSs at Ipswich told me a story about sometime back in the early 1980s there was alot of snow covering the Suffolk/Norflok areas & as a result most of the roads weren't passable for road vehicles. As he was still a driver, but covered the TCSs job as a deputy, he was allowed to take a Cl.47 from Ipswich & stabled it overnight at a siding at his local station & return it back to the depot at Ipswich the following day, obviously wth permission from Control. Can't see that sort of thing happening today. But things like that did actually happen during the days of BR.
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Peterborough Six-day timetable Autumn 1977 - uploaded 28/02/2018 at 12:42 #106241
clive
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RainbowNines in post 106235 said:
clive in post 106231 said:

I'm sure I've read a story of a porter-signalman on a single line section being busy doing the paperwork when a loco with a couple of wagons in tow turned up to collect a package.
In a similar vein (maybe the same story?), I’m sure Jack Warland’s excellent Light Relief recalls an occasion when a box of eggs (or similar) had been left on a train and rather than put it on the next train back the loco rocked up light with the eggs on the footplate, much to Warland’s surprise!
I suspect that's the story I was misremembering. About time I read that book again.

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Peterborough Six-day timetable Autumn 1977 - uploaded 28/02/2018 at 13:44 #106243
kbarber
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postal in post 106227 said:
kbarber in post 106225 said:
If you really want some 'without timetable' nightmares, imagine a light engine ringing out of the holding sidings at a terminus (a small powerbox) and running throughout to destination, a distance of over 5 miles controlled by no less than 6 boxes working (mainly) Absolute Block without anyone, anywhere apart from the staff in the boxes and the persons in charge at each end knowing it's running at all, and with nothing to ensure it goes to the right place except the special 'routing' bell code used to signal it from box to box. Before, after, or simultaneously a loco from the depot does the same move in the opposite direction in exactly the same way. (St Pancras - Cricklewood, mid - late 1970s.) Be lovely if SimSig could find a way to do that sort of thing...
Going off at a bit of a tangent, I read a memoir a few years ago (think it was called Small Coal and Smoke Rings by a former fireman at Barry in South Wales) with a twist to that sort of tale. The author recounts one escapade when he was a passed fireman. He and a mate wanted to get into Cardiff to go to a dance so sneaked into the depot at Barry, found a loco in steam on the disposal road, went to the outlet, rang the box to say "light engine for Canton" and went off to the dance. When they got to Canton, they banked the fire up, put the loco into a quiet corner of the yard then in due course went home using the same personal transport. Presumably they hadn't been lucky enough to fall in with congenial company at the dance . . . .
Staying with the tangent, there was an incident during an ASLE&F strike sometime back in the early '70s. At Hitchin, there was an NUR driver, one of the well-known fire breathers of the GN Main Line, who wasn't striking and a class 31 needed at Finsbury Park. Always ready to help out, he agreed to take the loco south.

Held by signals for a moment in the up platform, he was approached by a disconsolate commuter who asked him if he knew when there would be an actual train. With no prospect of any, he asked the commuter where he was going and when he said London, offered him a lift - with the proviso he'd get no closer to the Cross than Finsbury Park. Commuter couldn't believe his luck and hopped aboard. And off they went. And made a ratehr deliberate progress to Finsbury Park (much more deliberate than that driver would usually make). And when they arrived at Finsbury Park, he was unlucky that there was a traction inspector on the platform... who observed no less than 31 people emerge from the two cabs of that cl31.

Apparently the Area Manager had considerable difficulty keeping a straight face at the Form 1 hearing.

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Peterborough Six-day timetable Autumn 1977 - uploaded 28/02/2018 at 23:08 #106253
RainbowNines
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clive in post 106241 said:
RainbowNines in post 106235 said:
clive in post 106231 said:

I'm sure I've read a story of a porter-signalman on a single line section being busy doing the paperwork when a loco with a couple of wagons in tow turned up to collect a package.
In a similar vein (maybe the same story?), I’m sure Jack Warland’s excellent Light Relief recalls an occasion when a box of eggs (or similar) had been left on a train and rather than put it on the next train back the loco rocked up light with the eggs on the footplate, much to Warland’s surprise!
I suspect that's the story I was misremembering. About time I read that book again.
Not quite eggs! I’ve re read the specific passage - he was at Hole, which sounded like a very quiet place on a single line as you said. It was a box of day old live chicks from the local hatchery, which seemed to give the Railway a lot of business. They had been missed during a loading process at Halwill (all these stations are obviously gone now)

He’d arranged for them to come down on the last one of the day but the driver, without permission (both tablets were firmly in their machines!), took it upon himself to - er - expedite their delivery! (in the ensuing phone call, the Halwill signalman hadn’t even realised the loco had gone!!!)

As ever when the book comes up, I highly recommend all to try and acquire a copy. A delightful read.

Last edited: 28/02/2018 at 23:10 by RainbowNines
Reason: None given

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Peterborough Six-day timetable Autumn 1977 - uploaded 02/03/2018 at 08:11 #106301
Airvan00
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I think all these stories from the legendary past have proved my point. All the stories happened in real life.
Sit in front of your screen and start a new simulation, select your favourite , select “ None” for timetable.
Wait 3, 6, or 24 hours. Nothing of note happens.
It is the timetables that make sim sig what it is.
The simulation and timetables are symbiotic.

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