View allAll Photos Tagged Operational
An Apache AH-64 of the British Army in action in one of the UK`s Operational Training Areas,in this case Otterburn,Northumberland.The exercises give the crews and ground crew opportunities to operate in the wilds in a real enviroment while the aircrew get the chance to use their M230 Chain Gun which hangs below the nose.It can fire 300 rounds of its 1200 capacity in 1 minute before the barrel needs to cool down a bit.
West Midlands Police [OPS155] | Operational Firearms Unit | BMW X5 | BX64 MSV out in Birmingham, United Kingdom of Great Britain And Northern Ireland.
To see a playlist of videos featuring police vehicles from across the UK, such as Metropolitan, British Transport, West Midlands, City Of London, West Mercia & Warwickshire Police and more, responding, click here.
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Thankyou to all emergency services!!!
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Battlecruiser Operational!
My build of the Behemoth-class Battlecruiser Hyperion as seen in Starcraft II.
I don't really like the way the stand attaches to the bottom of the ship, but I can't seem to find a better way right now.
Comes in right at the maximum size of 16x16 studs for use in Mobile Frame Zero: Intercept Orbit.
National Stagecoach Express?
National Express has confirmed that it is considering making an offer to buy Stagecoach. If completed, the deal will deliver “significant operational efficiencies across the combined networks” and accelerate the expansion of National Express’s key growth sectors, including into the corporate, shuttle and private hire coach market, it says. Combination of the two groups would also position the resulting business well in an evolving bus industry landscape.
Under the terms of possible all-share combination, Stagecoach shareholders would receive 0.36 new National Express ordinary shares for each Stagecoach ordinary share. That would result in them owning approximately 25% of the combined group.
National Express has until 19 October to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for Stagecoach or to withdraw, although that deadline can be extended. Any deal would be subject to regulatory and merger control approval.
In a statement, National Express says that combining the two businesses would, among other things, accelerate the expansion of its National Express Transport Solutions (NETS) business, along with its accessible transport operation, “across Stagecoach’s UK footprint.” NETS was launched in July 2020 with a bullish message that it would “stand apart from the rest of the market.”
In addition to delivering growth potential via NETS and in the accessible sector, National Express says that the potential combination of the two businesses would enable its scheduled coach operation to improve efficiencies through use of Stagecoach’s depot network for operations and vehicle maintenance.
National Express believes that if the deal is completed, 25% of expected cost synergies would be achieved by the end of the first year, 85% by the end of the second year and the full pre-tax run rate of at least £35m by the end of the third year.
Those savings would be split approximately equally across network efficiencies and optimisation; shared operational best practice; and through additional savings such as rationalisation of shared costs and the non-depot footprint.
Should the deal be completed, it is envisaged that Ray O’Toole would become Chair of the combined group. Current Chair of National Express Sir John Armitt would step down. Jorge Cosmen would be Deputy Chair of the combined group while National Express’s present Chief Executive Ignacio Garat would hold the same position in the combined business, with Chris Davies as Chief Financial Officer.
The purchase would be something of a role reversal as back in 2008, Stagecoach had looked seriously at purchasing National Express as that company went through its own issues following it’s ill-advised venture in to running the East Coast main line rail service. NatEx massively overbid for it and had to hand it back, something Stagecoach actually did subsequently itself in later years when it too put in a bid which was also over-optimistic. However what Stagecoach was interested at the time of its approach to buy NatEx was NatEx’s bus businesses, particularly in the West Midlands.
That bid fell through and NatEx eventually steadied itself and rebuilt its business, although it had to hand back other rail businesses it owned as result of its East Coast escapades and as a punishment for them. It’s expanded into continental Europe and particularly in America where it the second largest private operator of Student, Transit and Paratransit operations in the USA. It also runs rail operations in Germany.
Stagecoach meanwhile has contracted. It’s sold off it’s US Coach USA and transit operations in 2018 and now its only presence is the Megabus brand, which operates in Canada and America. It no longer runs rail operations in the UK, having been barred due to concerns over tendering issues by the authorities. It’s now only a UK operator and so doesn’t have any real overseas operations.
However Stagecoach’s UK bus operations massively dwarf NatEx’s bus operations. Ironically, if the deal goes through it would take the new business back into Dundee through Stagecoach East Scotland, NatEx having sold off its former Xplore Dundee brand there to McGill’s. There’s no longer any bus operations north of the border run by NatEx although there are some coach services run by NatEx to the major cities in Scotland from destinations down south. Stagecoach is Scotland’s largest bus operator and indeed headquartered in Scotland. It’s operations in Scotland include 27221 (SK15HCC), run by Stagecoach Western Buses.
The only potential issues to the purchase are some overlap in the bus business in the Midlands and the coach operations. Stagecoach’s Megabus is NatEx’s own coach business’s major competition and the competition authorities may have something to say about all the coaches being in one company’s control. However with FLiXBUS entering the UK market, a case could be argued that this is a defensive move by both businesses and possibly an argument to allow the purchase. So we’ll see what happens. At the moment it’s just talks but interesting times ahead.
Operational Support (SKMF and SKIOS) operated from Yeovilton up to the withdrawal of all Sea Kings from RAF and RN service between 2017-18.
RNAS Yeovilton - EGDY - Pyle Lane
West Mercia & Warwickshire Police | Force Operational Tasking | Kawasaki ZG 1400 CDF | VX64 LCL at a traffic stop in Worcester, UK
To see a playlist of videos featuring police vehicles from across the UK, such as Metropolitan, British Transport, City Of London, West Midlands, West Mercia & Warwickshire Police, responding, click here.
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Thankyou to all emergency services!!!
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A rear shot of Two MOD Police Operational Support Unit VW Crafters, seen making up the rear of a Trident Nuclear Convoy which was passing through Northumberland the other day.
EU07LKD Roof Code: MD/122
EU08EVW Roof Code: MD/656
©Cobalt271 - No unauthorised use.
For us Operational members of staff, we had our meal relief in the time the train was in Barking Sidings, but as you can see, very little eating of packed lunches was done!
It was a chance for staff to say their own goodbyes. Paul Bloomfield (Operating Official), pictured, with his own commemorative headboard to celebrate his service to London Underground from 1989 to the present day, covering various roles that included driving the C Stock on the Hammersmith & City line as a driver some many moons ago...! Paul has been partly responsible for the rolling out of the S Stock as an Upgrades Operations Manager (Rolling Stock), not to mention a driving force behind the recent C Stock rail tours.
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All Rights Reserved, as stated. Re-posts are with expressed permission only. You may not use this image, edit it or alter it in any way (and as a result, claim the image or the derivative as your own). And it's not for Tumblr / weheartit.com either.
Meteosat-10 was declared fully operational at 09:45 UTC on 21 January. This image is the first captured once the satellite was declared operational, as day breaks over the Northern Hemisphere. Meteosat-10 SEVIRI - 21/01/13 09:45 UTC
Copyright: 2013 EUMETSAT
British Transport Police
Branch: Operational Support Unit / Dog Section / Project Servator
Roof Codes: C830 / A557 / C891
Roles: Protected Carrier / Dog Unit / Personnel Carrier
Make: Vauxhall Movano / VW Caddy / Vauxhall Vivaro
Stations: Liverpool / Manchester
Orange Belt Museum Railroad 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotive 203 is now operational and has backed up to train with the GE 65 ton locomotive coupled at the other end of the train while it's stopped at the station in San Antonio, Florida, 10-9-1976, Fred Clark, Jr. On the other side of the steam locomotive is the GE 50 ton side rod diesel locomotive along with what appears to be a Fairmont Speeder. When this railroad was in operation a good number of visitors and passengers came out to see and ride the trains. Notice the order-board long blade semaphore signal at the station. You can see the engineer in the cab of the steam locomotive"
This photo is from the Fred Clark Jr. photo collection, courtesy of Mark Zelinski. Any credit for this photo must be provided to the original photographer Fred Clark, Jr.
Copyright Disclaimer under Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for the purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Warwickshire & West Mercia Police | Force Operational Tasking | Kawasaki ZG 1400 CDF | VX64 LCK at Throckmorton Airshow 2015, Pershore, UK
To see a playlist of videos featuring police vehicles from across the UK, such as Metropolitan, British Transport, West Midlands, West Mercia & Warwickshire Police, responding, click here.
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Thankyou to all emergency services!!!
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London Fire Brigade [OSU6] | Operational Support Unit | Mercedes-Benz Atego | AE07 HXP out in London, UK
To see a collection of videos featuring fire appliances from across the UK, such as London Fire Brigade, West Midlands Fire Service and Hereford & Worcester Fire & Rescue Service, responding, click here. __________________________________________________
Thankyou to all emergency services!!!
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© CobraEmergencyPhotos
West Mercia And Warwickshire Police | Force Operational Tasking | Volvo V70 & BMW 330d | VU60 BSZ & BX62 FGP on standby for parade duty at Copenhagen St Worcester Fire Station's last operational day.
There was a convoy of all the fire appliances, including a spare, escorted by police on blue lights through the city from the old site to the new site, to see the video click here.
To see a playlist of videos featuring police vehicles from across the UK, such as Metropolitan, British Transport, West Midlands, West Mercia & Warwickshire Police, responding, click here.
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Thankyou to all emergency services!!!
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Royal Air Force No. 233 Operational Conversion Unit's Hawker Siddeley Harrier T.4 XW927/Y seen on the flight-line at a murky 1982 RNAS Yeovilton 'Air Day'
It does beg the question what the actual 'cost' was of retiring the Harrier fleet early?
With the loss of that skill-set that has had to be mostly re-learned for the F-35 fraternity and the fact that for the last few years that whole exercise has been entrenched in the US prior to their eventual delivery here sometime soon - let's face it, the price the UK Government sold the whole Harrier fleet for probably doesn't even cover the 'Mess' tab :0
Scanned Kodak 35mm Transparency
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 541 rocket carrying the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T), arrives at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Feb. 28, 2022. GOES-T will lift off atop the Atlas V from SLC-41 on March 1, 2022, at 4:38 p.m. GOES-T is the third satellite in the GOES-R series that will continue to help meteorologists observe and predict local weather events that affect public safety. GOES-T will be renamed GOES-18 once it reaches geostationary orbit. GOES-18 will go into operational service as GOES West to provide critical data for the U.S. West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, and the Pacific Ocean. The launch is managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, America’s multi-user spaceport. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
This photograph dates from April 2013. I just discovered a few days ago that the Irish Naval Service vessel LE Emer, which stood down in September 2013 after 35 years, was sold to a new owner. The vessel was sold at auction in Cork for €320,000 to London based Nigerian businessman Cyprian Imobhio.
My understanding is that the ship is now in the hands of the Nigerian Navy as the NNS Prosperity.
LÉ Emer was built in Ireland to the basic design of the Naval Service’s first purpose built Offshore Patrol Vessel, the LÉ Deirdre but was modified to improve stability and speed. Her original BOFORS 40mm L60 gun was recently upgraded to a BOFORS 40mm L70 thus improving the range and accuracy of her main armament.
Operationally, LÉ Emer chalked up a notable first when she undertook the first ever deployment of an Irish naval ship to resupply Irish troops serving with the United Nations troops in Lebanon in 1979. This was the first of many such deployments and the Naval Service now frequently supports Irish troops abroad.
A notable operation in her history was her part in the apprehension of the Marita Anne in 1984, which stopped after warning shots were fired by Emer and which was found to be carrying a significant quantity of arms and ammunition.
LÉ Emer is associated with Cork University Hospital and conducts fund raising efforts on its behalf around the coast. Although all the ships’ homeport is Haulbowline Island in Cork Harbour, LÉ Emer has a particularly close relationship with the city of Cork itself.
Emer from Celtic Mythology
Emer was the principal wife of Cúchulainn and the daughter of a chieftain from Rush, County Dublin, hence the Harp of Leinster. The fire relates to her description as burning with the seven virtues of womanhood, with seven flames rising from the fire. This particular symbolism is not clear, as Emer is not mentioned much in ancient literature. She appears as a major character in 'Bricriú Feat' and in one of 'Réamscéala' to the 'Táin Bó Cuailnge', which dealt with meeting and marriage to Cuchulainn.
Where she is mentioned, Emer is depicted as a proud, dominant, hot tempered, violent and sexually demanding female aristocrat who tolerates no rivals. War hero that Cuchulainn was, he always treated her with considerable respect and indeed circumspection.
Lancashire Constabulary
Tactical Operations
Operational Support Unit
Roof Code: OSU 1
Role: Protected Carrier
Make: Mercedes Sprinter
Station: Preston
Technicians move NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T) inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Jan. 28, 2022. The spacecraft is being prepared for encapsulation inside its protective payload fairings. GOES-T is scheduled to launch on March 1, 2022, atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. GOES-T is the third satellite in the GOES-R series that will continue to help meteorologists observe and predict local weather events that affect public safety. The launch is being managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, America’s multi-user spaceport. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NOAA’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-T (GOES-T) is secured on a work stand inside the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida, on Jan. 28, 2022, as it is being prepared for encapsulation. GOES-T is scheduled to launch on March 1, 2022, atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. GOES-T is the third satellite in the GOES-R series that will continue to help meteorologists observe and predict local weather events that affect public safety. The launch is being managed by NASA’s Launch Services Program based at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, America’s multi-user spaceport. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The former depot at Muller Road is used for all manner of vehicle storage by First. However, one of its former inhabitants when it was operational was Leyland Olympian 34564 (BOC 9564) A964THW.
I can only assume that it has been hidden somewhere else (LH depot?) and is a preservation project or something. Certainly very dusty
Non-operational calciner at the Port of Long Beach. This industrial facility was used for producing coke for steelmaking and was originally built in 1982 by Martin-Marietta on land leased from the Port of Long Beach. Tesoro assumed operation in 2013 and shut it down in 2020. Per the agreement with the Port, the plant and all associated infrastructure must be removed upon termination of the lease, so the calciner will be demolished some time later this year. Long Beach CA USA, 15 February 2025.
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Samsung NX30 APS-C format digital camera (ISO 6400)
Vivitar 28mm F2.5 manual focus lens on Nikon F to NX mount.
Image processing using Paint Shop Pro 2022
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Warwickshire And West Mercia Police | Force Operational Tasking | Kawasaki ZG 1400 CDF | VX64 LCL at a traffic stop in Worcester, UK
Thanks to the great officers of Force Ops Tasking!
To see a playlist of videos featuring police vehicles from across the UK, such as Metropolitan, British Transport, City Of London, West Midlands, West Mercia & Warwickshire Police, responding, click here.
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Thankyou to all emergency services!!!
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VMX-1 F-35B from the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma in the Sidewinder Low Level - Sequoia National Forest, CA.
Seven F-35Bs are on board the USS America beginning Oct. 28 until mid-November. Two of the jets are scheduled to begin the third shipboard phase of developmental test (DT-III) and five are scheduled to conduct operational testing. Learn more: lmt.co/2fuWK0N
The World's Largest Flying Boat Ever Flown Operationally!
at EAA Airventure or as we call it "Oshkosh"
Hawaii Mars
Red Tail - bottom drop system
Canadian Registration C-FLYL
S/N 76823
During the fire season, the aircraft are kept in a state of readiness to meet the existing fire hazard conditions. They can be in the air in ten minutes and, based on historical data, each can make a drop every fifteen minutes. Working in tandem, this equates to 7,200 US gallons (27,276 litres) every seven minutes and each drop can cover an area of up to 4 acres (1.6 hectares). It has often been said that the Mars, with a 60,000 pound (27,216 kilogram) payload of foam, is like ""a huge wet blanket". The highly experienced Mars pilots, working closely with the Incident Commander, deliver the water or foam right where it is needed.
Each Mars carries 600 US gallons (2,270 litres) of foam concentrate - enough for 21 drops of a 0.4% solution which is the standard used although it may be decided to use more or less foam as dictated by the Incident Commander. The Mars are also equipped to deliver Thermo-Gel which when mixed with water forms a light gel by encapsulating the water droplets. This product provides a more even coating of the fuels as well as lasting longer on the ground.
Flying Tankers completed test and evaluation of Class A foam in 1986 and began using it with the Mars as a matter of routine in 1987. It has been estimated that the foam capability of the aircraft increases the efficiency of the Mars by at least 30%. The ability of the machines to drop massive amounts of foam lends itself particularly well to the suppression of urban/rural interface fires and the Mars have excelled in this regard.
The Mars carries a crew of four; Captain, First Officer and two Flight Engineers, all of whom work together as a team to get the job done - efficiently and safely. Since the loss of the prototype waterbomber in 1961, the Mars operation has been accident-free for both those flying the machines and those working on the ground. The strict flight procedures the crews adhere to ensure every effort is made to continue this enviable record. The Mars are maintained to the highest standards and undergo intensive repair and overhaul each year. It should suffice to say that the people who maintain them also fly in them - added incentive to do their work well!
The most frequently asked question regarding the Mars is "How do they pick up their water?". This part of the flying operation is, perhaps, the most demanding in terms of teamwork among the crew. The Captain executes a normal landing, keeps the the aircraft "on the step" and allows the speed to decrease to 70 knots. He then passes engine power to the Flight Engineer and selects the scoops to the "down" position. The ram pressure for injecting the water into the tanks is such that the aircraft is taking on water at a rate in excess of a ton per second. To account for this added weight, the Flight Engineer must advance the throttles to maintain a skimming speed of 60-70 knots to ensure the aircraft remains on the step. Pickup time is, on average, 25 seconds. When the tanks are full, the Captain will have the scoops raised, call for takeoff power from the Flight Engineer and carry out a normal loaded takeoff. Once airborne, the foam concentrate is injected into the water load (normally, 30 US gallons of concentrate into the 7,200 US gallon water load) where it is dispersed and remains inert until the load is dropped. Once dropped, the tumbling action causes expansion which converts the water load into a foam load. This process is repeated for each drop. In other words, this vital team work is carried out, on average, every 15 minutes per aircraft. For a Gel drop , the concentrate is injected during the scooping process to allow even mixing.
↓使用した撮影機材↓
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・CANON EOS 5D Mark2
・CANON EF85mm F1.8 USM
・KING Fotopro C-4i(チタン)
・CANON スピードライト430EXⅡ
・ETSMI ストロボディフューザー G-4
・CANON スピードライトトランスミッターST-E2
・Creative Light アンブレラ シュートスルー65cm
・TAKE TKミニライティングホルダー2
・白＆銀レフ板 90cm
・Digital Photo Professional ver.3.11.26.0
・Lightloom 4
・PhotoShop CS4 Extended
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The Route Nav (L/H), Tac Nav (Cenrtre) and AEO (R/H) crew positions on Hawker Siddeley Nimrod MR2 XV232 at Coventry Airport.
The Hawker Siddeley Nimrod was a maritime patrol aircraft developed and operated by the United Kingdom. It was an extensive modification of the de Havilland Comet, the world's first operational jet airliner. It was originally designed by de Havilland's successor firm, Hawker Siddeley; further development and maintenance work was undertaken by Hawker Siddeley's own successor companies, British Aerospace and BAE Systems, respectively.
Designed in response to a requirement issued by the Royal Air Force (RAF) to replace its fleet of ageing Avro Shackletons, the Nimrod MR1/MR2s were primarily fixed-wing aerial platforms for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations; secondary roles included maritime surveillance and anti-surface warfare. It served from the early 1970s until March 2010.
The use of air-to-air refuelling allowed extremely long reconnaissance missions to be mounted, one example being a 19-hour 15-minute patrol conducted on 15 May 1982, which passed within 60 miles (97 km) of the Argentine coast to confirm that Argentine surface vessels were not at sea. Another long-range flight was carried out by this particular aircraft, XV232, on the night of 20/21 May, covered a total of 8,453 miles (13,609 km), the longest distance flight carried out during the Falklands War. In all, Nimrods flew 111 missions from Ascension in support of British operations during the Falklands War.
Baconion Theater, Operational, Command, Ship or BOTOCS. The BOTOCS, created in 2774 to fill a command gap in the Baconian military structure. Three Ships were originally commissioned, The HORMEL (Black Label), The SWIFT (Red Label), and The MORRELL (Gold Label). These vessels are essentially a giant administrative office buildings, handling payroll, coordinating military, humanitarian aid, communications, media, and diplomacy. it offers a direct link in command from the Baconian home world and the current target of Baconian aggression. The ship is only brought in to a combat theater after space supremacy has been insured The BOTOCS is my third attempt at making a SHIP, my first actual success. 137 studs of fatty, smokey, breakfast meat. If you are a regular viewer of my photo stream you may have seen the "bacon" in the background of pictures from TwinLUG meetings for about a year. The first attempt at this was really weak for the length and suffered from severe drooping. Tom Anderson suggested that I rebuild it with long Technic beams running down the sides for additional support. At this point we were remodeling our kitchen and it was getting on towards summer so the great bacon just sat on a pile of totes until January of 2012 when I commenced to rebuilding. During this process I also learned that big things are terrible difficult to photograph. The "fella's" at the LUG have been asking me if there will be a giant egg to go with it....maybe.
SAGAMI BAY (March 17, 2021) Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Hilary Huff, from Traverse City, Michigan, launches an MH-60S Seahwak helicopter from the "Golden Falcons" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 12 on the flight deck of U.S. 7th Fleet flagship USS Blue Ridge (LCC 19). Blue Ridge is the oldest operational ship in the Navy and, as 7th Fleet command ship, actively works to foster relationships with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific Region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Matt Hall)
Kirkby South Junction Signal Box was the first operational box I visited. To recognise that I've made a special feature of it within my album.
I first visited this box on 3 July 1965. It was the only box I went in that day, see my "boxes visited" log
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51602593738/in/album-...
Generally, I added the dates to my diagrams some time after I drew them. Normally the date was correct for the diagram as shown. However, in Kirkby South Junction's case, the diagram is not the one which I saw when I first visited on 3 July 1965. Annesley North Jn's Up distant was still below the starting signal 20 and Kirkby South's Down distant (no. 7) was below Annesley North's starting signal.
It would be just over 2 months before I started venturing to other boxes.
Some history:
In 1892, as part of its plan to drive southwards, the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&L) extended its line from Staveley to Annesley. Passing through Kirkby-in-Ashfield it cut through the Robin Hood Hills via Annesley Tunnel before joining the Great Northern Railway (GNR) Leen Valley line over which it had running powers to gain access to Nottingham. We know, though, that London (and beyond) was where the company (later 1897 formed Great Central Railway, GCR) had their sights.
Back at Kirkby, the GNR was keen to gain access to the coalfields and they promoted the Leen Valley Extension line from Kirkby to Langwith Junction. In 1895 work commenced on the route which started at Kirkby South. However the magnesiam limestone rock proved difficult to penetrate and so a Kirkby North to East Kirkby curve was built (opened 1896) which gave the GNR & MS&L access to the coal at Summit Colliery. The South to East curve was finally built and Kirkby South Junction box opened on Friday 1st April 1898. The GNR notice can be seen here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51941611359/in/datepo...
The North to East curve was taken out of use in 1905. The embankment of that formation is still visible today. I have produced a photomontage of that here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51959792448/in/album-...
On 4 September 1916 the Mansfield Railway from Kirkby South Junction to Clipstone Junction was opened and the box then controlled the lines I became familiar with during my spotting days at Lindley's Lane bridge.
A 1946 track diagram sketch is here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940254753/in/album-...
In early 1960 Kirkby-in-Ashfield Central box closed and the next box on the Mansfield Line was Sutton-in-Ashfield Central.
I learnt quite a lot about signalling from my visits to the box, including the lack of creature comforts! There was no electric power for lights, kettles or heating. The kettle was boiled on the coal stove and a Tilly lamp provided the light.
I witnessed the application of Regulation 11 (Engine running round its train). For a while there used to be an Up train which arrived on the GN line from the Summit Colliery direction. It was always hauled by a BR Standard 9F 2-10-0. It had a brake van at each end and would stop to detach the engine which then went through Annesley Tunnel. At Annesley North Junction the engine would cross over to the Down and return before collecting its train via crossover no. 11 at Kirkby South. The additional bell codes in the Regulations were 2-1-3 (Engine arrived) and 3-2-3 (Train drawn back clear of section). I remember the whole process being quite a collection of bell codes and I'm a bit annoyed at myself for not writing the sequence down. For instance, I can't recall if the train fitted within the Up blades of the crossover and the section signal no. 20 so I'm not sure how it was offered to Annesley North. After running round the 9F would head off on the main line towards Kirkby Bentinck.
Another memory I have is being told that the box was going to open one Sunday during the day for a special train coming along the Up Mansfield line. Now that had to be unusual! I wondered what sort of train it would be and, I must admit, I was rather disappointed when it turned out to be a rake of 16T mineral wagons hauled by 2 Brush Type 2s (later Class 31s). It was interesting, though, because the block section that Sunday was from Kirkby South to Nottingham Victoria South! It seemed an eternity before Vic South gave us 'Train out of Section'.
I remember the Signalman telling me one day that, during his night shift, he saw the electric indicator for the Up Mansfield Line Distant (no. 26) suddenly go to 'wrong'. That was suspicious and the police were informed via Control. Sure enough a few weeks later a piece in the local newspaper reported that a man had been charged with stealing signalling cables.
There were catch points on the Down near the tunnel mouth, 340 yds from the Home signals on a rising 1 in 132 gradient. During all my spotting days on Lindley's Lane bridge I didn't see any mishaps involving those catch points. It was only when I started visiting Kirkby South box I realised that some loose coupled trains might come to grief if they were held at the Home signals 8/5/2. I asked the question and it turned out there used to be a special 'Is Line Clear' code to identify trains which, because of their length, could potentially be derailed by the catch points if held at the Home signals. These trains wouldn't be accepted unless the road could be set and the relevant Home signal cleared. In practice, though, I believe that dispatch from Annesley Yard for trains needing to cross the Up Main would be regulated according to what was due on the Up. In fact, in my spotting days I rarely, if ever, saw trains held at the Down Home signals. (There were occasions when some trains emerged from Annesley tunnel and started whistling their "road codes" as the wrong road was signalled). I should, at this point, say that when I started visiting the box Annesley Yard had just closed and the box was obviously a shadow of its former self. I have been told the box was so busy during the war years that a booking lad worked there alongside the Signalman. I can't confirm that, though.
There was one quirky experience which manifested itself at random times. Sometimes you could lift the omnibus phone and hear a BBC radio broadcast. (The omnibus circuit was the "open" one to which all the boxes on particular sections had immediate access).
I found this entertaining but I later learnt that the phenomenon sometimes caused quite a conflict between Signalmen and their Inspectors. At that time the rules were quite strict on not allowing radios etc in boxes. I've been told of occasions when an Inspector rang a particular box and was convinced that the Signalman was listening to a radio in his box!! I believe some heated exchanges ensued.
I mentioned this recently to Peter Churchman and he then remembered that he had been told about this by a former Telegraph lineman he worked with. Apparently it was due to the diode effect, caused by the formation of rust between the iron ties that held the copper line wires around the insulator pots.
On the subject of the omnibus phone circuits these were similar to the party lines which were not well liked on the public telephone system - any Signalman could simply lift the handset, cover the mouthpiece with his hand and then just listen to whatever gossip etc was going on. Each box had a specific ring code e.g. 3 long 2 short so as soon as someone rang a code everyone knew that a call was about to take place. So, if you were a bit bored it would be tempting to just listen into the call in case you heard anything interesting or scandalous!
You wouldn't, though, really want to sit there listening if nothing was going on.
So, there was a way of speaking to your mate at an adjacent box without attracting the attention of all the Signalmen. You would check that no one was speaking on the omnibus phone circuit then, in GC boxes, you would send, without Call Attention, the bell code 1 pause 2 to the box you wished to speak to. Now, some boxes had specific block phones which were private between two signal boxes. If you had one of those then obviously that would be the phone circuit you'd use. But if that wasn't available you could use the omnibus and have a reasonable chance of not being overheard. The bell code used between MR boxes was 1 pause 1.
On Saturday 13 August 1966 the RCTS operated its 'Great Central Rail Tour' see Six Bells Junction www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/60s/660813gc.html
I was at Kirkby South that day and photograped the train taking the Mansfield Line see here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940256308/in/album-... I believe that was the last train to travel the full length of the Mansfield Railway.
I then visited Annesley North box www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51609305431/in/album-...
Later that day I went, with my brother and our friend Stuart, to Nottingham Victoria to see the returning RCTS special. My photos are here:
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940495464/in/album-...
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940495089/in/album-...
So to the first weekend in September 1966. The last through trains on the ex GCR actually passed Kirkby South on the Down in the early hours of Sunday 4 September 1966. They were 1M10, the 22:45 Marylebone to Manchester and 1N34, the 22:25 Swindon to York.
The Working Timetable page for 1966 which shows 1M10 & 1N34 is here on Mister C's flickr site www.flickr.com/photos/mrc31176/51067288557/in/album-72157...
The official closure date was Monday 5 September 1966, the first day when no through trains operated.
However it was on Saturday 3rd September 1966 that most focus was given, especially because that was the day the last semi-fasts between Nottingham Victoria & London Marylebone ran.
I was at Kirkby South that day and I saw the two Wakefield (56A) allocated B1s pass as light engines heading for Nottingham Victoria www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940174941/in/album-...
They returned, storming past with the LCGB 'The Great Central Rail Tour' which I photographed, seen here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940255233/in/album-...
A few seconds later Joe Street took his photo of the special thundering along towards Kirkby Bentinck www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940790975/in/album-...
The Six Bells Junction page is here www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/60s/660903lc.html
I then left but, at about 12:30, the last Newcastle-Poole train (1042) with D1572 in charge passed by. A photo of 1O42 passing Kirkby South box with a Brush type 4 in charge can be seen here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940792210/in/album-...
I went to Nottingham Victoria to see the LCGB special depart behind 35030 'Elder Dempster Lines', my photo is here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940254668/in/album-...
Also on 5 September 1966 the Mansfield line closed to traffic between Kirkby South Jn and Sutton Central. However the lines were commandeered to be used for wagon storage so there were trains on and off and the line remained connected at Kirkby South Jn.
Apparently in Branch Line News someone went to investigate this in early 1967 because they couldn't understand what was happening and they confirmed 2 lines full of standing wagons south of Sutton Central. Owen Llewellyn can recall the wagons standing under Sutton Middle Lane bridge and through the platforms at Kirkby Central.
With the GC line closures and a significant downfall in traffic the block switch was reconfigured in favour of the GN line, working between Annesley (GN) Jn and Summit Box.
Owen has found a scribbled note: "11 September 1966 - 7 distant fixed - problem maintaining wire through tunnel" - to be honest I'd expect they considered it pointless maintaining it as being working because from 5 September 1966, when GC route closed Bulwell North Jn to Annesley North Jn and also beyond New Hucknall Sidings to Duckmanton North Jn there were very few trains actually going that way and none of any importance to travel at speed though Kirkby South Jn.
A Track Diagram dated 1 September 1966 is here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940174531/in/album-...
On 2 October 1967 the Mansfield line closed completely Mansfield Colliery Sidings to Kirkby South Jn (wagons removed).
I last saw the box operational during Easter 1968. Tom Dabell was the Signalman and there are 2 photos of him here:
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940791235/in/album-...
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940492494/in/album-...
Tom's Train Register entries had a distinctive style and I show a couple of extracts via the links below:
1) www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51939184957/in/album-...
This 1959 extract shows, on the Up, the 3 fish trains from Hull & Grimsby which passed via the Mansfield Line.
2) Three pages, starting here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940173171/in/album-... show, for the weekend 8/9 August 1964, the number of Class 1 trains (4 bells) which passed. 1964 was the last year that Summer Saturday cross country trains operated.
Also, at Easter 1968, I took a photo looking towards Kirkby South which shows the height gained by the Mansfield Railway from it's parting with the GC main line, here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51960302655/in/album-...
On 3 May 1968 the GC Line to Kirkby Bentinck was closed. Probably, though, by this time Kirkby South Junction box was mostly switched out.
On 27 May 1968 Kirkby South Junction box closed with line.
Today, the Robin Hood Line from Nottingham to Worksop uses the area en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood_Line
I have produced two photomontages to show how the area around Lindley's Lane bridge has changed, seen here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51955454737/in/album-...
and
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51958820924/in/album-...
If you travel through Kirkby-in-Ashfield on the Robin Hood Line today you can, with a bit of imagination, visualise where the signal box once stood!
My external photos of the box are here
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940176226/in/album-...
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940791470/in/album-...
My photos taken inside the box are here
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51940256458/in/album-...
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51939187737/in/album-...
My transcribed copy of the box Special Instructions is here
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51941260666/in/album-...
A gradient chart titled "Duckmanton South Junc to Hucknall" is here www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/52142273702/in/album-...
The Sectional Appendix pages are here
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51607126645/in/album-...
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51954405043/in/photos...
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51606248506/in/album-...
www.flickr.com/photos/192151030@N08/51954411813/in/datepo...
The quite accurate location of the box was 450034 (Easting) 355253 (Northing), seen here on the NLS maps maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16&lat=53....
A more detailed 25 inch to the mile map is here maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=16&lat=53....
An Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise 2016 participant negotiates an obstacle March 22, 2016, at Fort Bliss, Texas. This exercise provides training across the spectrum of OCS readiness, from requirements and development of warfighter staff integration and synchronization through contract execution supporting the joint force commander. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Jonathan Snyder)
Design and construction
She was built in the Netherlands as a gaff rigged motor schooner collier in 1919 and named Logger.
[edit]Operational history
She was bought by the Spencer's Gulf Transport Company Limited in 1922. In 1923, she sailed to South Australia where she was renamed as the Falie and participated in the extensive ketch trade to isolated towns along the coast of South Australia. Later she was converted from her original configuration to a ketch.
During World War II, the Royal Australian Navy requisitioned the Falie, renaming her as HMAS Falie. Initially she was used as an inspection vessel. On the night of 31 May, she was acting as a watchdog outside Sydney Harbour, when she struck a Japanese midget submarine trying to infiltrate the harbour. The Falie was converted in 1943 to a stores vessel, and was deployed to Papua New Guinea, where she saw action landing troops in enemy territory by night.[1]
In 1946, she was paid off and returned to her owners. For the next 15 years, she carried explosives around the Australian coast. In 1968, she returned to South Australian waters where she continued to operate as a trading vessel until she retired in 1982, the last ketch to operate commercially in South Australian waters, and the last sail powered trading vessel in Australian waters.[1]
Operating as an overnight charter vessel between 1986 and 2005, Falie supported fishing and diving tours around the South Australian coastline. Between 1990 and 2005, Falie was the primary vessel used for Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions. Here she featured in many international nature documentaries, filming and photographing great white sharks off South Australia's coast, and entertaining tourists from Australia and around the world on shark cage diving adventures.
[edit]Preservation
The Falie was then purchased by the Government of South Australia for preservation as a community and educational resource. The ship was restored for the state's sesquicentenary celebrations in 1986, with re-masting, new sails, and the fitting of accommodation and a galley. With this arrangement, she could carry up to 70 passengers on day trips, or 20 passengers plus nine crew overnight.[1][2]
In 2005, a survey revealed that her hull plates had corroded to the point where she was unseaworthy. She was not returned to seaworthiness as no sponsor could be found to cover the cost of repairs, estimated to be more than a million dollars.[1][3]
In 2007, it was proposed to move the Falie to the wharf at American River, Kangaroo Island as an interpretive maritime museum, but by 2009, this had not been acted on.[4] It was suggested that the South Australian government was looking to divest itself of the Falie, and that the estimated cost of repairs to the hull was in excess of $3 million.[5] Failie is currently owned by the SA Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (formerly DTEI).[1]
Operational Contract Support Joint Exercise 2016 participants built teamwork and tested their mettle on the endurance and leadership reaction courses March, 24, 2016, at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Still operational at the time, 40122 stands in the sun at an open day at Canton on 6th July 1985 as part of the GWR150 celebrations.
I fund my Flickr membership, scanner and software myself. So, if you like my pictures please consider buying me a coffee! www.buymeacoffee.com/seanl
© Sean Lancastle, all rights reserved. Please do not share or post elsewhere without permission.
This is the end of operational track on UP's Escalon Industrial Lead. Rails south from here into Modesto are out of service and what once was rail link between Turlock and Stockton is now a series of industrial leads off of UP's mainline rail system in the northern San Joaquin Valley. It's disheartening to witness the end of an era, but its also important to recognize that much of this former Tidewater Southern track has been rendered obsolete by urbanization and that key industries that fed the railroad are no longer operating because of the changes in land use from agriculture to housing. Sometime after this photograph was taken the rails and ties south of here were salvaged. A tail track, ending at the red flag, was left in place for switching the southern-most industry in Escalon. Christmas is fast approaching as indicated by the illuminated decorations along the strip of planted redwoods paralleling the tracks.
California Science Center
Space Shuttle Endeavour (Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-105) is a retired orbiter from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the fifth and final operational shuttle built. It embarked on its first mission, STS-49, in May 1992 and its 25th and final mission, STS-134, in May 2011. STS-134 was expected to be the final mission of the Space Shuttle program, but with the authorization of STS-135, Atlantis became the last shuttle to fly.
The United States Congress approved the construction of Endeavour in 1987 to replace Challenger, which was lost in 1986.
Structural spares built during the construction of Discovery and Atlantis were used in its assembly. NASA chose, on cost grounds, to build Endeavour from spares rather than refitting Enterprise or accepting a Rockwell International proposal to build two shuttles for the price of one.
The orbiter is named after the British HMS Endeavour, the ship which took Captain James Cook on his first voyage of discovery (1768–1771). This is why the name is spelled in the British English manner, rather than the American English ("Endeavor"). This has caused confusion, including when NASA itself misspelled a sign on the launch pad in 2007. The Space Shuttle carried a piece of the original wood from Cook’s ship inside the cockpit. The name also honored Endeavour, the Command Module of Apollo 15, which was also named after Cook's ship.
Endeavour was named through a national competition involving students in elementary and secondary schools. Entries included an essay about the name, the story behind it and why it was appropriate for a NASA shuttle, and the project that supported the name. Endeavour was the most popular entry, accounting for almost one-third of the state-level winners. The national winners were Senatobia Middle School in Senatobia, Mississippi, in the elementary division and Tallulah Falls School in Tallulah Falls, Georgia, in the upper school division. They were honored at several ceremonies in Washington, D.C., including a White House ceremony where then-President George H. W. Bush presented awards to each school.
Endeavour was delivered by Rockwell International Space Transportation Systems Division in May 1991 and first launched a year later, in May 1992, on STS-49. Rockwell International claimed that it had made no profit on Space Shuttle Endeavour, despite construction costing US$2.2 billion.
After more than twenty organizations submitted proposals to NASA for the display of an orbiter, NASA announced that Endeavour would go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
After low level flyovers above NASA and civic landmarks across the country and in California, it was delivered to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on September 21, 2012. The orbiter was slowly and carefully transported through the streets of Los Angeles and Inglewood three weeks later, from October 11–14 along La Tijera, Manchester, Crenshaw, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevards to its final destination at the California Science Center in Exposition Park.
The exhibit was opened to the public on October 30, 2012 at the temporary Samuel Oschin Space Shuttle Endeavour Display Pavilion of the museum. A new addition to the Science Center, called the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, is under construction as Endeavour's permanent home. Planned for a 2017 opening, Endeavour will be mounted vertically with an external tank and a pair of solid rocket boosters in the shuttle stack configuration. One payload door will be open to reveal a demonstration payload inside.
(Wikipedia)
Das Space Shuttle Endeavour (englisch für Bemühen, Anstrengung) wurde am 25. April 1991 als Ersatz für die Raumfähre Challenger fertiggestellt und hatte seinen Jungfernflug am 7. Mai 1992. Seine interne Bezeichnung lautet OV-105. Der letzte Start fand am 16. Mai 2011 um 14:56 Uhr MESZ statt; die letzte Landung am 1. Juni 2011 um 8:35 Uhr MESZ in Florida.
Der Name für die Raumfähre wurde durch einen Schülerwettbewerb gefunden, an dem insgesamt 71.652 Schüler teilnahmen. Im Mai 1989 verkündete US-Präsident George H. W. Bush den Namen Endeavour nach dem gleichnamigen ersten Schiff von James Cook (daher auch die britische Schreibweise anstelle der im amerikanischen Englisch richtigen Schreibweise Endeavor).
Die Endeavour wurde von Rockwell International gebaut und kostete insgesamt 2,2 Milliarden US-Dollar. Sie absolvierte 25 erfolgreiche Flüge.
Zuletzt wurde das Shuttle zwischen Dezember 2003 und Oktober 2005 grundüberholt (Orbiter Major Modification Period) und erhielt dabei wichtige technische und sicherheitsrelevante Verbesserungen. Neben dem sogenannten Gläsernen Cockpit, einer mit mehreren frei belegbaren Monitoren ausgerüsteten Instrumententafel, erhielt die Endeavour dabei ein verbessertes Navigationssystem zur Positionsbestimmung und die aus den Empfehlungen des „Columbia Accident Investigation Boards“ resultierende Robotarm-Verlängerung Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS).
Nach ihrer letzten Mission im Mai/Juni 2011 wurde die Raumfähre mit Ende des amerikanischen Shuttle-Programms als Museumsstück dem California Science Center in Los Angeles zugewiesen, und ist dort seit Oktober 2012 ausgestellt.
Wichtige Missionen:
Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission 1, STS-61 (Dezember 1993) – Korrektur der fehlerhaften Optik
Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, STS-99 (Februar 2000)
(Wikipedia)