Current and Proposed New-Builds

Not true. I will! They have been around the railways my entire life.

Right now I am missing the sound of the electric class 465s as I moved to north London where there are none. You can't replicate that sound as the traction motors start up at a station.

Frankly, everyone who is an enthusiast of railways will eventually miss something they once considered ubiquitous or mundane. It's human nature to be nostalgic for times past.

 

I miss the slam-door diesel commuter stock, with bouncy seats and droplight windows between each pair of seats that existed on the Birmingham-Kidderminster run for my first two years at secondary school from 1992. But then I also (incredibly) miss the 1990s Centro liveried 150s that replaced them too.

 

I miss the 3rd rail class 504s on the Manchester to Bury line.

 

OT in a steam thread, but taking the Class 66. It is the loco that saved rail freight in Britain, which makes it worthy of some sort of memorial.
It's greatest sin in many eyes is that it replaced the BR-era locos (or the vast majority). It also led to the decimation of depots, as they didn't need attention at such frequent intervals. Not rose-tinted specs exactly, but not everyone liked the change. When I was at Woking in the middle 90's we seemed to forever making sure that 37xxx was on an Eastleigh service, as it was due an exam. We only had a handful in the pool, but their exam intervals were pitifully short.
Pat

 

I imagine one of these could be quite useful on some heritage lines.
LNWR DX Goods class - Wikipedia

Presumably simple and well sorted.

 

I won’t miss the things, but that doesn’t mean at least one isn’t worthy of preservation. Just as even their most vehement detractors wouldn’t deny that the Mk1 has a place in railway history.


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Genuinely struggling to see what you get from a 66 that a 59 doesn’t give you, with the additional caché of an early example of a privately owned engine on the modern railway, but each to their own I guess…

Simon

 

Different types, and different roles. But with so many built, the 66s have a major role in railway history.


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I do use the Hoo Junction Whitemoor as a bit of a marker for time on a Tuesday, when I hear it go past between 1430-50 means it’s time for a sandwich in between my duties at work, the return working is usually at chucking out time so I’d certainly say 66’s do have their uses.
I’m not sure John Smith had them in mind as a way of me telling the time but…

 

480 built for the UK over a decade, have now been in service for over two decades. They average over 95% availability in a year or 180 days between failures. T1.6 million miles between general overhauls the aim, most exceed this number.

Seems like they've definitely earned their place in history!

 

Off piste from the thread but an interesting discussion - here's my take on the changes we witness as rail enthusiasts :

I recall the early days where I had no time for multiple units of any flavour - then when the early generation slam-door stock disappeared I wish I had taken more notice and certainly more photographs. History repeated however and I bemoaned the second generation bus-like stock that I similarly dismissed, even sneered at. Now I'm wishing I had captured more history-in-the-making at the time.....

I recall HSTs being introduced in the mid 70s and I seriously thought it was the death of railway enthusiasm as I knew it. You guessed, I ignored them for many years but ended up trying to capture what I could before they went the same way as their predecessors more recently.

At the weekend, I found myself at Liverpool Street and was pleased to witness young lads celebrating but some sadness the end of the Class 321 units on the GA lines. These lads weren't even born when they were introduced in 1988 - a time where I was busy mourning the loss of slam-doors and AM10s on the Midland - but they were joyously bemoaning the awful new Class 720s. History repeating yet I have definitely changed my mind with age.

Whenever our enthusiasm starts, we likely all wish we could have started earlier for the things we missed. When a generation of locomotives or units go to the breakers, that time is gone and memories or photographs are all we have. I have learnt that I should capture images of things I may consider mundane and this is more prevalent in modern times since change is more rapid, most especially with liveries! (add that photography is so much cheaper too!)

On the subject of the class 66, let's not kill them off yet since I'm sure they've got many more years service to either enthuse or bore us as the case may be. I'd lastly add that we shouldn't try to compare a diesel hydraulic from the late 50's to a modern computerised heavy freight diesel. They are both of their time and technology has massively improved reliability - just as a modern car can't be compared with that nice Morris or Austin that many needed to oil & grease to keep on the road for a few years before the rust set in!

 

Having lived most of my life in third rail territory, some parts of which have been dominated by multiple units since Southern Railway days (i.e., well before I was born), I have always enjoyed the spectacle of loco-hauled trains due to their rarity value. To me, nothing beats steam, but in my trainspotting days as a teenager, it was always good when the procession of multiple units was interrupted by a loco-hauled train, be it passenger or freight. (I particularly enjoyed those few SR locations like Salisbury, where until 1988 loco-hauled trains were in the majority.) I still feel the same. Nowadays, of course, the only loco-hauled passenger trains to run on the former Southern Region are charters and freight workings round here are pretty well the exclusive preserve of 66s except for the Autumn RHTT workings which sometimes feature 73s. I for one therefore appreciate 66s and would probably miss them when they are withdrawn, but I don't see that happening for a good few years yet.

 

The Doncaster P2 group had a stand at the Sandtoft Gathering yesterday as well......

 

Didn’t even know they were still going.

 

Their income for the last 2 years has been less than 5k a year, so if we say that 5 million pounds is needed to complete the locomotive, then it should be ready in 1000 years as long as nothing goes up in price during that time period.

 

Where did that (rather large) graphic come from?

 

That post deserves a "like" (for giving us the news) but one can hardly like the news itself. Irrespective of the inherent merits or otherwise of the project, there's a vicious circle: little income, therefore little progress, therefore little reason for potential donors to have any confidence in the project, therefore little income. What of those who have contributed recently? That could be one or two donating a thousand or so each or hundreds donating fivers. Do they expect to see a result in their lifetimes?

 

Think the Clan Project have done remarkably well/ had some good fortune to climb out of a similar situation into a more virtuous circle - Spend more/Show more / Get more...

 

I must confess that I would like to see an A4 front on a P2 so perhaps the Doncaster group could join forces with the A1 group and build an additional, alternative front end to go on the PoW?

 

And what about the valve gear?