I was told about that happened in the 1960's when all the steam trains were being withdranwn. Apparently all the locomotives would be drawn up in a line to be towed away for scrapping and the train spotters were out taking numbers as they left ..... meanwhile at the other end of the line, other spotters were also taking numbers, but when numbers were compared somtime later there were large batches missing.
It later transpired that the regular drivers who took these trains would find their shift was cancelled but the trains still went but nobody knows who took them ...the theory was that they'd been taken for storage in case of a nuclear war when diesel and electric trains would be useless.
The funny part was, in the 80's where we were working, some blokes were about to start demolishing a water tower by the side of a rail track on private land, that was till two blokes turned up and informed the demolition lads that they couldn't be touched even though they were no longer in use. hmmmmm WAS IT TRUE AFTER ALL...?

Hartlepool's very own area 51

Mock ye not.....

Good yarn snowy.

The theory used to be (probably still holds good) that a nuclear blast would fook any digital electronics including presumably modern train control systems etc and maybe thats why steam and their mechanics were considered to be retained. Still wouldn't fancy driving a steam train with no signals though!

I have a BR rail manual on transport of dangerous goods,the instructions for handling of nuclear goods were to draw,using chalk a circle 6 ft radius round the cylinder and thats it really.dont step inside the circle is the suggestion. funny thing is the instruction is still current.

A marra who's a physicist spoke to me about this - a nuclear device can emit some sort of electronic pulse that fries a circuit board. He described it as the perfect non-lethal (in the initial event at any rate) weapon if you explode the bomb at a high altitude the pulse will still fry the circuitry! We'd be fucked given our reliance upon micro chips!

Electro Magnetic Pulse is one of the theories for a nuclear war, but in the event of a fuel shortage for some other reason, war or otherwise, we did and still do have massive reserves of coal, but even wood would do the job of powering them.

Yep, EMP is a verified phenomenon. Go and look at Wikipedia for Starfish Prime - it was a high-altitude Nuclear Test back in the early 60s, and knocked out a number of electronic systems in Hawaii.

I also recall being told that one of the Soviet Fighter/Bombers was done entirely using valve electronics - and that at first it was thought it was because they didn't have transistors etc before they realised this meant it could drop a nuke and still have a chance at escaping - fancier electronics would just have been fried by the pulse.....

Does this mean that somewhere there is a generation of people who have been secretly trained to be firemen and drivers on steam trains? Will you receive a visit from MI6 if you start asking too many questions on the North Yorks Moors Railway?

I'd forgotten about that way back when I was a wide eyed 17 year old, all recruits (as they do today) were lectured in Nuclear biological and chemical warfare. Then we were gassed with CS just so the instructor could have a bit of a laugh.

On the nuclear bit it was: detonation, blast, back blast, fall out. EMP was part of the initial blast if I recall and you had to expect nothing electronic to work. Needless to say it was advisable to keep your head down.

At least my guitar amp will still work then!

Mr Snowy will no longer be posting on this board as he has had a visit from some men who have taken him away for a 'chat''
love ...Mrs Snowy.

our boss was stitched up at work by my shift mate a while back. He left a phone number for him to ring, saying a Mr Train had rang and wants the boss to return his call ASAP. The bloke on the other end of the phone had told him someone might be taking the p!$$. It was the North Yorks Moors Steam Railway number!!

He seen the funny side, when everyone who knew about it gave him "Whoo Whoo"! sound when he came out the office.

Mine as well, although the VCS3 synth will be fried - it can't make stranger noises then it does now

Vox AC30 or a Marshall??

'Bloody hell Vim, it's a Marshall...........!!'