What have you done today
- Thread starter Mad4slalom
- Start date
Roscobbc
Moderator
These big diesels take me back as a boy/young teenager when we lived a few gardens away from the main Liverpool Street/East Coast railway line at Romford.
In the 'early hours' when life was typically very quiet we'd hear the last of the steam goods trains...........then taken over by the big diesels........that wonderful deep, deep rumbling sound and whistle as the turbo would spool and load-up the generator - and the faint vibration through the property of of a diesel drawn express en-route to Ipswich or further-on.
In the 'early hours' when life was typically very quiet we'd hear the last of the steam goods trains...........then taken over by the big diesels........that wonderful deep, deep rumbling sound and whistle as the turbo would spool and load-up the generator - and the faint vibration through the property of of a diesel drawn express en-route to Ipswich or further-on.
Chuffer
CCCUK Member
You may well have had your slumber disturbed by D6700 which is the green loco with the 2D - 37 displayed on the head code panels in the photo taken from our cab window . It was the first of a class of 778 such locos first introduced in 1961 and was allocated to Stratford Depot in East London . It was used on the first diesel hauled express service from Liverpool Street via Ipswich to Norwich when brand new . It is now part of the National Collection of York Railway Museum . The most distinctive whistle of the turbo spooling up is on D8001 in one of the photos . They were only rated at 1,000 bhp and were the first large scale production diesels intoduced in 1957 as part of the British Railways `modernisation plan ` . They got nicknamed " Whistlers" due to the high pitched trill when revved up and and quite a few of the first production batch operated in the East London area .
Chuffer
CCCUK Member
A busy place Norwood Junction , a real cat`s cradle of lines going towards Bromley , Selhurst , West Croydon , South Croydon and the large marshalling yards at Norwood Yard . Once steam had been replaced by diesels you may well have seen some of our D6535`s sister locos passing by as several where specially modified with 8.5 inch narrower bodies to cope with the tight tunnel clearances on the Hastings line and were all allocated to Selhurst Depot . Small world innit ??
Chuffer
CCCUK Member
Sounds fantastic , those US diesels ( and the steam too ) are real monsters and makes ours look like mere toys . The freight trains with at least four locos on the front seem to go on for miles . One of my great memories was traveling on VIA Rail through the Canadian Rockies from Prince Rupert to Kamloops . I left my wife in the observation car vista dome and went down to the bar car for a drink and got talking to an American guy who was a total railway enthusiast about the routes he traveled in the US and Canada . The bar car stewardess joined in the conversation too and time and the beers just rolled by . When I said I drove steam locos in the UK they asked what I drove . Thinking that the only locomotive known all over the world was the Flying Scotsman that they would have heard of , I said I had been fortunate enough to drive it . OMG , that was it , I was treated like a celebrity !! The stewardess cried " Oh Gee " wait until I tell the ` engineer ` ( US for driver ) when we stop at the next station , he will be blown away " . When I finally returned to my wife she said " I`m surprised you didn`t end riding in the cab with him " . Now that would have been a real treat !
teamzr1
Supporting vendor
See these
www.britannica.com
Very old videos
historicsitesusa.com
www.american-rails.com
Railroad - Boston, Expansion, Industry | Britannica
Railroad - Boston, Expansion, Industry: Three Massachusetts railroads were chartered and under construction in 1830, at first showing a strong affinity for British practice. The Boston and Lowell, Boston and Providence, and Boston and Worcester railroads radiated from the metropolis to towns no...
Very old videos
History of Railroads in America - Historic Sites USA
Railroads were the backbone of the American transportation system for centuries. Although railroads still exist, they don't carry nearly as many passengers as cars and planes. Yet, they are still a vital part of America's infrastructure. The following is a history of trains and railroads in...
historicsitesusa.com
Railroad History (USA): Facts, Timeline, Definition
Interested in learning much more about out nation's rail history as well who invented the iron horse and when? Find it all here.
Chuffer
CCCUK Member
The first time I traveled on it as boy when on holiday with my parents , the loco derailed at the summit station . We were stuck up there for ages until another loco and carriage came up to rescue us !!! The diesel `s are nearly as much fun as they sound like a tractor . Original Snowdon Mountain Railway ( Should call it Railfordd Eryri now ) steam locos and still exist were built on Switzerland where they are well practiced in rack and pinion railways.Mount Snowdon in Wales has uses rack and pinion steam (and latterly diesel powered engines too) to climb the gradients up to near the top of the mountain......not the highest peak in Europe by a long way but has seen regular use since the late 1800's.
Chuffer
CCCUK Member
Interesting articles about the birth of railways in the US TeamZR1 , and of course you were miles ahead of the UK in adopting diesel traction on a large scale .See these
Railroad - Boston, Expansion, Industry | Britannica
Railroad - Boston, Expansion, Industry: Three Massachusetts railroads were chartered and under construction in 1830, at first showing a strong affinity for British practice. The Boston and Lowell, Boston and Providence, and Boston and Worcester railroads radiated from the metropolis to towns no...
Very old videos
History of Railroads in America - Historic Sites USA
Railroads were the backbone of the American transportation system for centuries. Although railroads still exist, they don't carry nearly as many passengers as cars and planes. Yet, they are still a vital part of America's infrastructure. The following is a history of trains and railroads in...
Railroad History (USA): Facts, Timeline, Definition
Interested in learning much more about out nation's rail history as well who invented the iron horse and when? Find it all here.
There are big celebrations planned in the UK this to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first locomotive hauled passenger carrying railway which was 27th September 1825 on the Stockton & Darlington Railway hauled by `Locomotion No. 1 . The Swansea & Mumbles Railway in South Wales was actually the worlds first passenger carrying railway but that was only horse drawn the same as the many industrial horse drawn tramways dotted about the country in the early days of the Industrial Revolution .
Most of the UK`s Heritage Railways are planning various celebrations and a huge national event is taking place over three days at Litchurch Lane in Derby which is the main works site of Alstom who build the very latest modern locos and rolling stock . Derby was once home to massive locomotive works , carriage works , wagon works and a huge locomotive depot during the steam era but now a mere shadow of its former glory .
2025 is big year for all railway buffs in the UK as it shares the 100th anniversary of the world famous ` `Flying Scotsman ` loco that toured the USA and Australia years ago . It`s currently touring the UK drawing huge crowds to see it or pay lots of money to travel behind it . Unfortunately our group has missed the party with our 100 year year old loco `Sir Lamiel` which we hoped to have in steam this year but circumstances beyond our control during overhaul decreed otherwise . We will celebrate the galant knight`s birthday in June though with a public display of the work to date and promoting our plan to have it running next year .