Alex / al66class59

Rail/siren/vehicle enthusiast from Herts. Making an 1980s N gauge model railway and restoring a bunch of sirens. Part time footy fan (COYG🔴⚪️). All views own.

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

So this happened today

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@DaveWeb93044940 @Champs707007 In case you hadn't heard, Sims sold their UK business, including the Newport and Beeston yards, to Unimetals at the start of October :)

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@JacksonMacmanus @postractionuk Part of shortening the nose height was to improve visibility for the driver - it's notoriously hard to see out of a regular 08 and this improves it quite significantly in that regard

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@PortlandTMD @Rail_Photter 20169. Came from Tebay, and before that the Wensleydale.

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@ChimeWhistle @Jacleby @TodaysRailways @DBCargoUK Believe they are classifying their 90-hauled 'modals as "FL Heavy Haul" (explaining the occasional 66/6 hauled liner). For some reason, that makes the electricity cheaper - fairly sure I read somewhere it was up to 20x cheaper than for "FL Intermodal"-classified trains...

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@IanHardie9018 @SteelCityDog_ The mk2s sent to run the Jacobite with are all WCR’s own, with some not having run for several years. The Riviera coaches at Carnforth are for contract painting and are not involved.

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@LudwigTails @TodaysRailways @DBCargoUK The bulk of DB’s 90s (if not all of them) have been offered for sale already in previous weeks - unsure if they’ve sold and who to if so, though

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

A very rare move for NRM diesels 40122 and 31018 - especially the latter - this morning, with the pair escorted to Shildon for display there…

WCR 37676 and 47746 provided the power, and LMS BTK 5987 was thrown in for good measure.

Seen at York - 27/2/24

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@wallygridboy @CluderayRob Did hear suggestions, if only suggestions, that it might survive. I don't see why it's been unloaded if it was a stopover en route to a scrapyard - could easily have been kept on trailers, or just gone straight there... Stoke is some diversion if it is bound for Newport!

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@DaveWeb93044940 @1z13studios @225groupuk The 508 is in the bottom left photo, at an angle. It is also the final remaining three-car 508, with ex-Merseyrail unit 104 now in Newport for disposal...

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@JacksonMacmanus @Tagishsimon @philatrail @railandroad CDL would provide a second lock that might hold the door shut if the first lock somehow failed, though. And prevent incidents like a WCR charter leaving York with a door open in Oct 2020 that the ORR cited in the court case.

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@JacksonMacmanus @DevonJ58 @philatrail WCR have money, but chose to spend it on other things. LMS 4-6-0s, for example. The ORR are not funding CDL, but CET tanks were subsidised.

Heritage lines are unlikely to have to fit CDL, as long as they’re sensible, because they are bound by different rules to mainline TOCs.

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@ArkroyalDavis @C56G2 Heard 081 is down to just two functional motors and is running quite poorly now.

That said, it had a reprieve this morning as collecting loco 57306 failed at Leicester, and the 56 remains at Old Dalby…

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@IanHardie9018 @WilsonBone You’ll find some gems in there no doubt! A way to preserve his memory going forwards 🙂

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@DavidMo02566887 @ardler67 @2112NickSmith @IanBeardsley90 @westcoastrail (That should be either/or - not neither/nor… thanks autocorrect 😅)

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@DavidMo02566887 @ardler67 @2112NickSmith @IanBeardsley90 @westcoastrail Judge in case stated there was no evidence WCR had neither “investigated” nor “learned lessons from” a train leaving York with a door open in October 2020 (as they claimed they had done).

I would guess this is the incident being referred to.

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@DavidMo02566887 @lovefromdaddy @2112NickSmith @IanBeardsley90 @westcoastrail But he has (supposedly) bought 45110 off the SVR in the meantime. Reported in “Heritage Railway” mag in September that it left Kidderminster for Carnforth in August.

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@2112NickSmith @IanBeardsley90 @westcoastrail As it stands, almost none of their stock is fitted. This one could get expensive, and fast…

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@ViewParkside @Clinnick1 @DBCargoUK They’re keeping the ones immediately needed - the Royal/Belmond/TfW ones - and selling mostly demics. Some of the locos on this tender (009/011/018/019/026 for example) haven’t run in several years.

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@EthanAfro @RexKram55112378 Once saw an extended version, “Preinst. aborted”, on a 185 at Barnetby - and I’m still not sure where Preinst. aborted is six years on!

[Alex / al66class59 @al66class59]

@IanHardie9018 Only defence for Kai was it wasn’t studs, but a curled trailing leg, that made contact. Pace of challenge was vastly excessive. Both he and Bruno lucky to stay on for the 90 imo - but only did as refs (pitch and VAR) didn’t have the bottle to dismiss them