Historic signs - The Ghost of Clarity Past

A reader writes to say...

Dear Fact Compiler

As a devoted reader of your... (Get on with it! Ed).

Perhaps Eye should have an 'Historic Signs' section to compliment Pointless signs.

Obviously the pictures must originate from the railway of today, but the 'useful' information they contain must spring from our past.

Perhaps I could start with this York offering.

And here the useful, but dated, information.

Eye is won over. Make it so!

UPDATE: This from an Eye reader in Upside Down Land...

Not only dated but wrong!

Surely the LNER became part of British Railways in 1948 and only much later part of British Rail. 

Nice sign though and amazing that passengers couldn’t work out that it was dated info without a helpful sign. 

A reader writes...

This from another satisfied Eye reader...

Having seen the weather forecast for the coming week it would appear your ‘Pointless Signs – Banbury’ post of 30 March now looks a little silly.

Get a grip man!

Pans People: 'Eye beguiled Hairy Cornflake!'

Yet more plaudits for Eye from satisfied readers!

Legendary dance group and fly wheel fans, Pans People Movers, have suggested Eye played a role in their removal from Top of the Pops!

According to page 3 of Parry News...

Within the rail industry have been a series of incidents of noncooperation making it difficult to carry out operations or bring in revenue for work performed.

As if orchestrating this, a rail "blog‟, also operated anonymously, has been maintaining a consistent negative commentary ridiculing the PPM concept and its products. (May God help Us if Eye is the railway's controlling mind! Ed)

Meanwhile, in happier news, page 7 of Stop and Go Nowhere (the Pans People Fanzine) says...

Despite having worthy intentions and some notable attainments, the Parry Group has been the target of the wrath of several assorted organisations and individuals.

These range from the "Fact Controller‟ on the Railway Eye blog, then whoever it is that drops rocks off railway bridges and Her Majesty‟s Revenue & Customs, a most formidable adversary

Still, enough of this bitterness from the snapped elastic band fraternity.

Let us remember Pans People in happier times...



The Fact Compiler bets Scruffy can still shake a leg or three!

Letters to the Editor...

This from Disgusted of Welwyn Garden City...

Sir

What's all this tosh about the East Coast Main Line having capacity problems when 15 minutes at my local station this morning produced only two FCC EMUs bimbling along.

I had promised my toddler grand daughter IC125s racing by at line speed, MTUs snarling and IC225s at the ton?

I blame Elaine Holt for (cont' p94)...

Readers letters - First for Football

Dear Fact Compiler

I may be the youngest reader of Railway Eye!

This is Harry Cartwright (aged 13) of Wolverhampton and I have started a Facebook campaign to get the next member of the "Football Class" of First GBRf Class 66s named "Wolverhampton Wanderers".

I would be very grateful if you would encourage all readers of Railway Eye who have a Facebook account to join my group and encourage footy fan Director John Smith of First GBRf to name his next "Football Class" loco "Wolverhampton Wanderers".

I would like to get 100 members of my group by the final whistle after the Blackburn game tomorrow (Sat 24-Apr-10 16:50).

Thanks for your help.

Cheers Harry

Go on then - link here.

A reader writes....

From a Mr Reginald Slicker...

Dear Sir,

I am sure I speak for the majority of rail enthusiasts when I say that I am disgusted by Railway Eye's relentlessly negative attitude to the InterCity Express Programme.

This train has been specified by some of the most experienced railway brains in our Rolls Royce civil service, some of whom I have had the pleasure to meet at Railway Study Association and other presentations, and it ill behoves you to make ill informed criticisms of what I am sure will be an excellent product.

We have all seen the technical superiority of Japanese cars built in Britain and I am sure that the Super Express Train will achieve the same levels of engineering excellence as motor vehicles produced by Toyota and Honda.

Yours etc

R. Slicker

A reader writes...

With a bowler tip to UK.Railways...

You could make a full time job out of correcting the wilful and/or ignorant distortions on that blog. It's worse than the Daily Express, or the worst excesses of the DfT's press release department. I can't believe intelligent people read it.

Eye welcomes another satisfied customer.

UPDATE: This from a gentleman in Tunbridge Wells...

Sir,

The question is not whether intelligent people read Railway Eye but whether intelligent people write it.

I remain, sir, Disgusted

Readers Letters - From a Mr Geo Hudson

Sir

I note with interest that the country of Finland has recently created one
single institution with responsibility for road, rail and water transport.

Were such a strange beast to be embodied in Her Majesty's domains it would no doubt have some mundane title such as "British Transport Commission".

I beg leave to observe that leaving the provision and organisation of the railway system to private enterprise has proved to be a resounding success in our country and we have no need of such foreign practices !

Yours profitably

Geo.Hudson (retired)

Readers letters

Dear Fact Compiler,

I have been a very good driver, having not gone on strike for the last twenty minutes and not looked at any filthy publications in the rest room - this includes Penthouse, Playboy, The Daily Mail, RAIL Magazine and the company newsletter...

For Christmas I would like lots of electrified bits of railway; 3rd rail would be favourite but 25kV knitting will do - and I would like lots of these to play with. They seem to be comfortable, fast and exude purposeful modernity. They are also not built by Alstom (the last toys I had from Alstom arrived with bits missing and still don't work properly) and will look sexy for the papers.

I know it's only July, but I've heard that the government might be spending a few pennies on the National Trainset and since there isn't much money about I want to get my requests in early.

Yours in a well-behaved manner,
Driver Potter

Readers letters

Hello 'fact' compiler,

You will probably find this totally humourless and stick it on your blog so you can take the piss out of it, but here goes anyway.

It's about your response to my email of a week ago concerning the car on the line on the ECML, I know it's a bit late but I've only just seen it.

First, where did I sign myself "concerned" NR employee?

I realise it was meant as a joke and was responding in similar vein, hence the reference to the hard hat which certainly wasn't meant seriously.

Secondly, I was also making a reasonable (I thought) point about not doing potentially dangerous things.

When you work in a signalbox and have safety drummed into you every day, yet have to watch others doing daft things, you become a bit sensitive on the subject.

Anyway sorry to be po faced but if you are going to put people up for ridicule you might take the trouble to actually read what they write.

I will still say keep up the good work though.

Ivan (unconcerned NR employee).