Thank you for the brilliant comment Olaf, and really glad you enjoyed the video. Strange isn't it? I spent so many hours sitting at the end of Piccadilly's platform 5 watching an endless procession of AC electrics that, for me, that was the norm. A really big day out was a trip to the capitol, with visits to Waterloo and Paddington being the highlights. My first ride on a shiny new and seemingly so futuristic, HST was from Leeds to Doncaster, It was indeed, beyond exciting, even though we never got anywhere near the 125mph mark on such a short journey!

@@davidsnapebrcrosslane8782 Thank you for the fabulous comment David. Really glad you enjoyed the video and that we were able to bring back such great memories.

Thanks for the great info Ashley. I seem to remember seeing something about the pyramid race last time I was up there, but I had no idea what it was. Do people actually run up the mountain?

@@kartwheelkarl yes they start in Gordonvale run up the mountain then finish back in Gordonvale.

@@ashleyramage6958 Blimey! That sounds like hard work. Have you ever done it?

I couldn't agree more Chris. Thank you for the great comment and glad you're enjoying the collection.

素晴らしいコメントをありがとうございます。その小さな謎を解くお手伝いができて本当にうれしく思います。興味があります - ビデオの中にあなたが泊まった家が見えますか？

Sadly not CM. All Adelaide metro services are now in the hands of either 3000/3100 class diesel railcars or 4000 class EMUs. A few 2000/2100 class units have been preserved (at the Port Adelaide Railway Museum and Steam Ranger Heritage Line, but I believe there are problems with loading gauge (relating to overhead catenary wires and platform faces respectively) that limit their operation.

@@kartwheelkarlyes! i went there once thinking its a class 3000 but my dumb bum didnt read the class number

I'll be honest, I wasn't even sure the depot was still operational. I seem to remember reading about it having had the turntable upgraded a couple of years back so they could turn steam locos from railtours. Is that still the case?

@@kartwheelkarl yes, the turntable was in fact upgraded for railtours.

I couldn't agree more 055. To my mind, the Mk3 coaches were definitely the pinnacle of coach design in the UK. I really likes the Corail coaches in France as well though, especially the corridor/compartment variations. I really wish they'd made some MK3 coaches with compartments (other than the sleepers) - that would have made them even quieter and more appealing.

I totally agree KB. It was really frustrating to know that the ocean was so near but we couldn't see it. NSW trains use a shot of the XPT crossing a bridge over a creek with the beach in the background, and in their literature they say it's a great view from the train. In reality, it flashed past so quickly and unexpectedly that I was unable to capture it in the video!

Thank you for the info Ricky. You have a lot more knowledge of that subject than I do. I still have lots to learn about QR operations and stock.

Thank you for the really kind comment TCR. I grabbed this shot during a quick sneaky detour on my way to an important appointment, so I'm really pleased it worked out well. Was the Savannahlander returning from one of those short overnight trips to Almaden when you filmed it the week before? I've seen a few still shots of it either alongside or sharing the platform with the KSR trains, mostly taken by Will. It will be great to see your video of what is actually a rare occurrence.

@@kartwheelkarlNo problem! Yes, when I saw the train it was doing one of the limited Cairns - Almaden and return runs. Due to the KSR services it was held at Platform 2 for about 30 minutes after the first KSR service left. Then it departed and got to see it pass the 3:30pm KSR service which was awesome! I’m glad you are looking forward to the video on it, thanks! Should hopefully be out in the next few weeks after I upload some of the videos I got of Sydney and South-West QLD action. 😄

Thanks for the comment Trevor. I filmed this video about ten years ago so who knows what condition NR 65 is in these days.

Thank you for fabulous comment Teddy; I'm really glad you enjoyed the video. Enjoy your trip to Cairns, and please give my regards to Will and Joe, the drivers on the Savannahlander. I know they'll look after you and you'll have a fabulous time.

You make a very interesting and important point DRS. I can't honestly say I checked the platform to train height, but yes, anyone with mobility needs would be very restricted once aboard because there are stairs to both upper and lower seating levels. Having said that, there are several bays at the intermediate level in all carriages.

I totally agree Colleen. Despite its many critics, I think the XPT is still a very comfortable train. And, based on the units that have replaced the HSTs in the UK, I worry that the replacements for the XPTs may not be nearly as enjoyable to travel on.

What a great job JPW. Thank you for the great comment and hope the video brought back happy memories.

Yes.they did thanks.

I’m sorry David but I don’t know where Alan filmed these shots from or whether he knew any of the drivers. I’m intrigued by your question though. Were you yourself, or someone you know, working on the railway around that area at that time?

@@kartwheelkarl Two people who I knew through friends, both now deceased. Jack Garlic a driver and Mr Williams a signaller both at Guide Bridge, also Arnie Furness ( Deadmans Handle) , a guard, later driver - Guide Bridge and Newton Heath.

Absolutely EL. It’s unbelievable isn’t it to think how we just took such things for granted, not fully appreciating how mush we’d miss them in the future? Thank you for the fabulous comment and really pleased that you enjoyed the video.

Could well be James, I have heard there are quite a few station closures for CRR at the moment. But I don’t live in Brissie I’m afraid, so I can’t say for certain.

@@kartwheelkarl I live in brissie and as of April 2024, yeerongpilly is closed for cross river rail

Thank you for another great comment Ashley. During the 80s, I had a friend called Adrian; seem to remember him living in Torquay. I was so jealous of him because he had ridden behind all of the class 50s and could readily access places such as this; places that seemed distant and exotic to a young lad from Manchester. The funny thing was, he would come to visit us because he envied what we had around the north west, things we took for granted. Looking back now, none of us should have taken what we had for granted should we? Happy days eh? Thank you for sharing your memories and really glad Alan and I could help you relive them.

Thank you for your fabulous comments Ashley, and I’m really glad you’re enjoying the collection. Given that you are a local to the area, I am most certainly not going to dispute your observation about 50007. Many of the comments I made about Alan’s videos were based on research using books and google; sadly, in many cases, I had not personally visited the location in which Alan was filming. This was one of those cases. Whilst I have ridden from Plymouth to Penzance a couple of times, unfortunately I’d never had the opportunity to get off the train at each station. And now I live on the other side of the world! I have to admit that there are most likely errors in my comments, so I’m only too happy when people find them an point them out. In fact, it makes it even more fun because people are building on my little bit of detective work and sharing their own knowledge. Thank you again.

Thanks for your great comment Nicola, and I’m really pleased you enjoyed the video. It is a lovely journey and I can’t recommend it enough. You certainly don’t get the same view from a plane!

Thank you for the great, if tragic, background info TTN. I wasn't able to do another XPT journey until five years later, in April 2023. Our leading power car on that occasion was a very shiny 2019.

Thanks for the kind comment Les. Really glad you enjoyed the video.

Thank you for your extremely kind comment David. I’m really glad you enjoyed the video. I was encouraged to produce a narrated version of this video - have you watched it? Personally, I prefer the original, without me chattering on over the top! What do you think? I have also produced a narrated version of the Euston episode. A huge amount of work goes into researching and producing the narrated versions, and I have to decide whether it’s worth producing more. I was thinking of perhaps doing some focuses on specific classes of loco, where a collate a selection of Alan’s shots of for instance class 50s or peaks.

@kartwheelkarl I haven't seen the narrated version yet, I will look for it, unless you have a link straight there? I think both ideas are excellent and I would watch for certain.

@@davidwolstenholme6413 If you search for “The Alan Harrison Collection NARRATED” you’ll find both videos David.

That is fabulous DJI - Not that you have a stinking cold but that Alan's video cheered you up!! Thank you for the fabulous comment, and hope the other 50 videos in the collection can help you ride out the illness. Take care.

Thank you for your fabulous and very kind comments Teddy. I'm really glad you enjoyed the video. The 'new' train does seem very high tech and a little bit like Disneyland, with its hydraulic door and Indiana Jones soundtrack (I had to mask that with royalty free music in the video!) It's all a far cry from the original vehicle 'Jesse' seen alongside the upper station at the start of the video. I do like how Scenic World have preserved some of their old vehicles as static exhibits though. There's even one of the original cable cars in a park outside of the complex.

Now there’s an interesting question. I’m sure someone must have painted a model to find out! I just hope no one tries it with a preserved example!! Mind you, despite all of the protests when the CFPS repainted 40145 in large logo, I actually thought it looked really good. Now, how’s about a deltic in Inter City livery?

I reckon there are quite a few locomotives that could have received large logo livery and look good. Class 71? Did the 86/87 ever have large logo.?@@kartwheelkarl

I agree about the 71, especially considering how good large logo looked on the class 73. To the best of my knowledge, no class 86 or 87 ever carried large logo blue and yellow in real life. Lima produced a fictitious version of 87022 in large logo (I have one and it actually looks good!) and, during 1984, 87006 carried an experimental version of large logo in dark grey. 86235 Novelty perhaps got closest to large logo - it had wrap round yellow ends but not the actual large logo! @@user-cb9im9uv6e

Here's a thought - what would the class 52 westerns have looked like on large logo?

I could count the wagons as they go past Trevor, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you the weight of the train without researching the capacity of each wagon. I do know that the 2800s made a lot of noise as they powered away from the angle and through the station. Sadly though, these working stopped just a few weeks after I filmed this video, and the QNI refinery has been mothballed ever since. There has been talk of it possibly reopening, but it’s unlikely they’ll ever reinstate the Greenvale line and I’m not sure how much demand there would be for its services from overseas.

It is very, very sad that the BHR closed user-t. I was very fortunate to not only ride on it a few times, but to have also had several footplate rides. Have you seen my other videos on the railway? It was a wonderful little railway, and a fabulous addition to the list of attractions in Port Douglas. Sadly, it was (allegedly) yet another victim of Covid! And I’m not sure whether you could say that the locos have been preserved. They are on display, in the elements, at Marina station, and I doubt they’ll ever steam again. They are just static reminders of a far happier time. I’m both deeply upset and somewhat angry that such a fabulous railway should be allowed to close. This railway was a living, historic link to the pre-tourism days, when Port Douglas was an export port for sugar from the Mossman refinery. Heck, this railway even featured in a Kylie Minogue video! But now it is no more. I don’t have all the facts, and I’d be more than happy to listen to someone who does, but from what I can tell, closing it was a purely commercial decision taken by the private owner. I can’t understand how a new owner, preservation group, or even the local council, could not have got involved in order to save it.

@@kartwheelkarl Yeah I totally agree. I would do anything to raise money to get it running again. And it had only been just a few years since Nelson the Mulgrave Rambler joined the railway. And yes, I have seen your videos as well. They're really good. At least the sight is still there but no the smell or the sound.

Thanks for the lovely comments Stuart, and I'm really glad you enjoyed the video. I've been wanting to do this with some of Alan's collection for a while, but up until now, I haven't had the skills or the courage! The research took ages, but it was great fun. I still can't get used to hearing my own voice on the videos though!!

I think you may be spot on there FWB. It certainly has the feel of a Sunday with the juice off doesn't it. I spent many a such Sundays happily bashing diesels between Stockport and Piccadilly during the eighties. You never knew what would turn up, as illustrated by the NSE duff in this video. Thank you for the great comment.

No Connor, it’s somewhere around Gloucester if my memory serves me right.

Thanks for the great comment Darren, and really glad the video brought back great memories for you. I haven't been to that area for over 15 years now but, from what I've seen online and in videos, the area has changed a lot. If you haven't seen it already, you might enjoy a video I made a couple of years ago using footage supplied by a very good friend of mine. Here's the link: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWKlZWqZjt-kaLc

Thank you for your fabulous comment Thomas. I have to admit that I am extremely envious of the experiences you had as an Eastfield driver. Not only to have worked the intensive Glasgow/Edinburghs during the lass 27 era, but also to have been a driver on the WH line. Probably my favourite picture I ever took was of a 37 on oil tanks just after dawn, photographed by a sleepy me through the vestibule window of a Mk3 sleeper. As a driver, it must have been wonderful to have seen that line in every season and to have thrashed class 37s through that incredible landscape.

@@kartwheelkarl long ine of railway men my grandfather was a mainline steam driver out of dawshom sheds and my uncle mainline driver steam and diesel out of dawshom and eastfield and my older brother mainline driver with DRS he actually drove the same class 37s that I drove as DRS bought some of the old 37sand class 20s from eastfield when it closed they refurbed them my brother loved the 37s aswell as myself

Those reversing trains, were basically powered by gravity, the driver merely needing to keep the speed down. The trains were stopped in the platforms by the trip shunter in the rear brake van. The driver also observed a series of white lights placed strategically en route, rear facing. If these lights extinguished,the driver would stop immediately.I was a driver at Euston in those days and performed these duties regularly.

@@ukmoshinist4595 Thank you so much for clearing that up UKM; it’s fabulous to have such a detailed answer from someone who’s actually done the reversing. I supposed that someone at the rear of the train was effectively controlling the manoeuvre, and I was wondering whether there were any flags or even walkie-talkies involved, although I was confused that none of the drivers were hanging out of the cab looking back along the train for hand signals. I had no idea at all about the white lights along the platform and the driver stopping asap if they went off. Who was in control of those?

I believe with the previous Euston most carriage moves into the station were made entirely by gravity, ie without a locomotive at all? Would be interested to know how the braking arrangements were made.

No flags or walk-in talkies, the white reversing signals were not in the platforms, but strategically placed alongside the track, all the way from Camden yard to the area just outside the platforms. The driver would be facing north, and the lights/signals would be in his field of vision through the windscreen. No need to open any windows and look back. As the movement progressed, one by one sight of the signals would be lost, but replaced by the next one. From memory, I think the were about 6 in all. Incidentally, I don’t ever remember the signals extinguishing, requiring me to stop the train. It was, however, quite common for trains to be required to stop at the south end, of the four steeply graded backing out roads, adjacent to the downside shed. If the trip shutter at the rear misjudged this, trap points would derail the train to protect Easton station. I remember this happening fairly frequently. (Though not to me!🙂)@@kartwheelkarl

@@ukmoshinist4595 Fabulous background information UKM. Thank you so much for sharing it. I’m guessing that the white light reversing signals have now been totally decommissioned, given that pendolinos can be driven from both ends? Or have they been retained, just in case?

Thank you for your kind words SK. I’m really glad you enjoyed the video, but I’m so sorry to hear that your visits ended in 1987 following such a terrible event.

I couldn't agree more SC. When the HSTs first arrived, we all disliked them because they replaced our beloved Deltics and Class 50s. But now, we look back with such fondness on that Valenta scream! Thank you for your great comment and really glad the video brought back such great memories.

Thank you so much for pointing that out Thunderer, and well done for picking up on it. Can’t believe I made that mistake! Very embarrassing!! Rookie error eh? I’ve now edited the video with a subtitle correction.

Really glad you enjoyed the video though, and thank you again for your great comments.

@@kartwheelkarl No problem I was like nope DBSO I was always corrected when I asked what they were going to do with them post SC, they ended up on Anglian of course.

@@Thunderer0872 I'm really pleased people are actually listening to what I say Thunderer 😀 I'll be honest, this is the first video I've ever made with a full commentary. I was so nervous about it that I checked every part over and over again. So imagine how much I kicked myself when I read your message and realised what a basic mistake I'd made and not picked up on. I'm really pleased that you did though and that I was able to add a subtitle to correct my mistake. Even adding the subtitle was something I'd not done before - this video has really upped my skill set!!

On the subject of the DBSO - I was delighted to read about one of them being preserved, repainted into Scotrail and out working with 47712. Shame it's not quite in original condition having lost its gangway connecting door during its time with Anglia and having had the lights altered during it's time with Network Rail, but that's a very minor thing. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would ever see a preserved 47/7 and a full Mk 3 + Mk2 DBSO set operating on the mainline. Wonderful! Only wish I could see and ride it in person! @@Thunderer0872