5th December 2021

Treesmill
Ron Kosys

It's a long way to go for tor 47444 seen at Treesmill with the 10.27 Penzance to Glasgow and Edinburgh on the11th February 1988

Many thanks Ron.
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Something different a casual look  around
Swindon Station
Ken Mumford

Ken wites :-  Something A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
[1] Would Brunel have allowed this to grow?
[2]  Growth again + a busy platform 3
[3]  A recorded announcement says [as you start to ascend or descend the stairs between the subway and platform 4] - "When on the stairs please hold the handrail.' This recorded message still carried on even though there was this notice!
[4]  Did Les Dawson's mother-in-law leave her hat behind?
[5] These purple flower boxes/beds are seen around the station and, having met the gardener, there could well be more.  he gets a small amount of money from Network Rail.
Sorry if you get these more than once.  my computer needs further attention.
Kind regards,
Ken

Picture 1 4th December 2021. Copyright Ken Mumford

Picture 2 4th December 2021. Copyright Ken Mumford

Picture 3 4th December 2021. Copyright Ken Mumford

Picture 4 4th December 2021. Copyright Ken Mumford. I guess that Ken is referring to the green and yellow bins on the left of this picture?

Picture 5 4th December 2021. Copyright Ken Mumford. Can't say that the purple goes well with a floral decoration.

Many thanks Ken for your casual collection. As you say - something different!

Swindon Repeater
Chris Osment 

I, KJ, stand corrected by my good friend and expert Chris Osment, Rail West who keeps an 'eagle eye' on the website.

An incorrect caption - please read the item below. Swindon station - the 3rd December 2021. Nicely picks out the green colourig of the distant signal at off while another green is reflected on an incoming service,

Sorry, but no...not a distant signal, but simply a banner repeater of the ‘three state’ type – see Item 7.55 here http://www.railsigns.uk/sect7page3/sect7page3.html
 Regards, Chris Osment 

The emergence of fibre-optic signal technology in the early 1980s offered the prospect of a replacement form of banner repeater with no moving parts, for better reliability. Two fibre-optic banner repeaters were provided on the Down Stour line between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton (London Midland Region) in April 1984 for evaluation purposes. The first of these was installed at Smethwick Rolfe Street, repeating signal number NS339. It presented drivers with a display similar to the traditional electro-mechanical form of banner repeater (see [7.40 & 7.41]), except that the black and white areas were transposed so that the 'banner' appeared as an area of white light against a dark background [7.51 & 7.52]. Soon after that, the banner repeater for signal number WN112 at Wolverhampton was replaced by a fibre-optic equivalent that reproduced the customary display of a dark banner against a light background [7.53 & 7.54], and this format was chosen for all subsequent installations of fibre-optic banner repeaters (as well as later LED variants). The banner repeater at Smethwick Rolfe Street with the inverted displays was replaced by the standard fibre-optic type in June 1987.

[7.51] Experimental Banner Repeater ('on').
Area: Smethwick Rolfe Street   Usage: Low   Status: Historical[7.52] Experimental Banner Repeater ('off').
Area: Smethwick Rolfe Street   Usage: Low   Status: Historical
[7.53] Banner Repeater ('on').
Area: All Areas   Usage: High   Status: Current[7.54] Banner Repeater ('off').
Area: All Areas   Usage: High   Status: Current

There is much more to viewed if you click on the link supplied by Chris, many thanks Chris.
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