Steve's Recent Activity
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Steve liked LMS2968's post in the thread GWR four-cylinder arrangement?.
Sorry, but wrong way around. The Compound regulator was an ingenious bit of kit and allowed the unskilled driver to drive them effectively. At small openings live steam was fed to the two low pressure cylinders to allow starting, at the same time...
Jun 24, 2026 at 8:57 AM -
Steve replied to the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
Along with one other person, I looked after footplate rostering for 10 years and it was an interesting challenge. the NYMR uses HOPS for footplate rostering and it is a good tool for doing this. Footplate crews are categorised on a hierarchy...
Jun 23, 2026 at 6:24 PM -
Steve replied to the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
Three steam out today (23rd) with 2253, 44806 and 92134 doing the honours. 37264 & 37688 also out and about. At least, that's the plan!
Jun 23, 2026 at 10:13 AM -
Steve replied to the thread Bahamas.
The vacuum brake is about as fail safe as a brake can be unlike an air brake as the triple valve or distributor can fail to operate. It relies on the fact that there are multiple distributors on a train and multiple failure is highly unlikely....
Jun 22, 2026 at 9:56 PM -
Steve liked LMS2968's post in the thread Bahamas.
The two systems work on very different principles and the mass of air to be moved in a vacuum system is much greater than in an air system, so it requires more time to, for instance, fill and drain a cylinder. Look tat the thickness of an air...
Jun 22, 2026 at 9:40 PM -
Steve liked acorb's post in the thread Bahamas.
You either run it a block behind or put it on the back, still need to staff and fuel it. This is no different for the last 20 years though, which is when EWS withdrew their last dual braked locos. Both West Coast and VT risk assess trips and act...
Jun 22, 2026 at 9:40 PM -
Steve liked LMS2968's post in the thread Bahamas.
The different air / vacuum (air pressure in reverse) are compensated by the use of bigger cylinders for a vacuum system so equalising the brake effort. A vacuum brake can be just as effective as an air system although slower acting, hence the...
Jun 22, 2026 at 9:39 PM -
Steve replied to the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
I believe that there was a problem with the 9F. Out tomorrow?
Jun 22, 2026 at 9:34 PM -
Steve attached a file to the thread Bluebell Railway General Discussion.
A word of advice; if you are going to Fawley Hill, (or anywhere else where they have open wagons behind the steam loco working hard) don't wear anything that you wouldn't want to throw away afterwards. Fawley Hill is a great day out, by the way.:)
Jun 22, 2026 at 9:16 PM
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Steve liked 5944's post in the thread Bluebell Railway General Discussion.
How many bookings and how many open wagons do you have? ;) [IMG] https://www.rdmrc.org.uk/doku.php?id=tripsandoutings:fawleyhill
Jun 22, 2026 at 9:10 PM -
Steve liked gwilialan's post in the thread West Somerset Railway General Discussion.
You must be referring to the cyclists who now insist on riding at least two abreast on a narrow main carriageway when there is an adjacent dedicated cycle path made especially for them and has mandatory pedestrian and cyclist signs posted every...
Jun 22, 2026 at 3:20 PM -
Steve liked Jamessquared's post in the thread Bluebell Railway General Discussion.
I was on Camelot today, and it was fairly hot, though not unbearable - though next week will be worse. An interesting point about open-cabbed locos, particularly 65, but I suspect the same applies to 2999 (I haven't been on it). When it is very...
Jun 21, 2026 at 11:46 PM
