John Heaton
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Practice & Performance: Working at Wortley – 1952
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Wortley Junction, west of Leeds, was a busy part of the network and had a complex layout. In an unorthodox Practice & Performance, John Heaton FCILT recalls how the ’box was operated, as well as timings of workings on that route. DUSK used to fall early on February afternoons in the northern industrial cities of…
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Practice & Performance: ScotRail progress
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Scotland’s railways are undergoing a transformation. John Heaton FCILT assesses the performance of ScotRail’s new traction.
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Practice & Performance: Diversionary Tactics
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The recent closure of Whiteball Tunnel for three weeks has given John Heaton FCILT an opportunity to compare performances of HSTs and IETs over less familiar routes from Exeter. THE former London & South Western Route to the west came into its own again for three weeks in February/March 2019. What do you do on…
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Is it a bus? Is it a train? It’s a supertram!
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John Heaton FCILT takes a look at Britain’s first tram-train operation in Sheffield.
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No. 10000 and the ‘Royal Wessex’
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The recent photos in The RM of No. 10000 working the ‘Royal Wessex’ (and the Up express at Bournemouth Central) reminded me of the problems associated with the running of this train when it was introduced in 1951. The Up and Down ‘Wessex’ was covered by two separate Bournemouth diagrams; originally light Pacifics were rostered. …
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LOCAL LOCO TRIALS: 1931 style
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In this month’s Practice & Performance, John Heaton FCILT recalls loco trials undertaken by the LMS to assess locomotive coal consumption in a bid to discover whether trains of lower overall weight could cut costs on lesser used lines. Any casual lineside observers on September 9, 1931 at Chellaston (some four miles from Derby on…
