Spitfire's Recent Activity
-
Spitfire liked Jamessquared's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
If you think of a whole-railway cost and imagine running, say, a six coach train with either a steam loco or diesel hauling it, almost all the costs are identical. P/way, C&W, signalling, the basic business costs - everything is the same. Only...
Aug 2, 2026 at 8:28 PM -
Spitfire liked Jamessquared's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
Didn't use to be a problem is the key. Lots of things have changed in the last 20+ years. Worse roads, more deer, brighter headlights, wider cars while roads have stayed the same width; (whisper it quietly) probably a less strict attitude to...
Aug 2, 2026 at 8:26 PM -
Spitfire liked Jamessquared's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
I’m not surprised that they have reduced the number of evening diners. That has also been our experience - we still run some, but not as many. I get the “dress up to go to dinner” thing. But the NYMR is quite remote, so to do that, you either...
Aug 2, 2026 at 5:34 PM -
Spitfire liked Sulzerman's post in the thread North Yorkshire Moors Railway General Discussion.
I think when they book they hope for steam. They also want Whitby. They're putting up with diesel for the sake of the journey.
Aug 2, 2026 at 5:33 PM -
Spitfire liked RichardSalmon's post in the thread Bluebell Railway General Discussion.
When 950 came to the Bluebell it was purely for storage, as part of the deal that brought in the owner's O1 loco. It was already in a terrible state by then, with the steel underframe and bogies corroded to paper thickness in places. However...
Aug 1, 2026 at 8:25 AM -
Spitfire liked Mark Thompson's post in the thread Rother Valley Railway.
A few of my own, taken about half an hour ago. Poor light, but enough to see the status quo: [ATTACH] [ATTACH]
Aug 1, 2026 at 8:23 AM
-
Spitfire liked Devonbelle's post in the thread Fire Risk.
In my 40 years as a railwayman I've never seen the line side vegetation so bad, and now so tinder dry too. I get it that Network Rail under the cosh on costs so veg management has suffered; but sparks from trains aren't limited to steam...
Jul 30, 2026 at 8:29 PM -
Spitfire replied to the thread North Norfolk Railway General Discussion.
Green Signals podcast have released a special focusing on the NNR - a good look that gets under the skin of the railway today. Worth 26 minutes of anyone's time video here - https://youtu.be/mm0n6ZhdzHo
Jul 29, 2026 at 7:31 AM -
Spitfire liked Jamessquared's post in the thread Fire Risk.
Ships have funnels, locomotives have chimneys! I don't think there is a magic bullet. Minimising risk will come from a combination of control measures, including - but not limited to: Spark arrestors in smokeboxes Proper maintenance of ashpans...
Jul 27, 2026
