Colonnade News

No 160

June 2017

The East Southsea Railway

The East Southsea railway line from Fratton cost £55,000 and took nine months to build. It opened on 1^st July, 1885,Edwin Galt, a former mayor of Portsmouth and prime mover in the development, said the railway would 'be the making of Southsea' as he envisaged people flocking to the growing resort. Amazingly there were even ambitious plans to extend the line to Hayling Island and join up with the Hayling service by building a bridge  across Langstone Harbour, but the scheme came to nothing. Early trains were yellow with a black chimney, but had no carriage heating. Although the journey would take little more than five minutes, staff at Fratton hired out hot water bottles. By 1902 major changes had to be made or the railway could have gone bust. It was singled and rail cars, which were cheaper to run were introduced.

Two halts, Jessie Road and Albert Road, were introduced to attract people moving into new houses along the line. By 1912 there were three trains an hour but it wasn't enough.

The railway finally closed to the public on 6^th August , 1914. The last recorded use of the East Southsea line was when it was used as sidings for war traffic.

Tales from the Underground

What Do the Train Drivers Know?

'We are now travelling through The Angel Islington station, as you can see The Angel Islington station is closed so we will not be stopping. It would have been nice if they had actually told me, so I could tell you, but no, they don't think about things like that'

This train will NOT be stopping at Moorgate station. I repeat, this train will NOT stop at Moorgate'......., 'Ladies and gentlemen.....this train IS stopping at Moorgate, and of course, as usual, I am the last to know'

No Begging

'Please note that begging is not permitted in any part of London Underground.  However, to the gentleman busking away quite happily next to the escalators, please carry on and enjoy yourself.  The British Transport Police have been called and should be with you shortly...' 'Beggars are operating on this train, please do NOT encourage these professional beggars, if you have any spare change, please give it to a registered charity, failing that, give it to me!'

Tube Drivers add Spice to the Journey

Barking
'We are taking the scenic route to Barking on the District Line.  We will be stopping at all stations to Barking with the exception of Cannon Street.  This train does not stop there on Saturdays due to total lack of interest.'

Paddington Station

'This is Paddington Station. Please leave your valuables on the train and I will collect them at the end of my shift.'

Uxbridge
'Hello this is the captain of your Uxbridge train speaking, and we will be departing shortly.  Please note that we will be cruising at an altitude of approximately zero feet, and our scheduled arrival time in Uxbridge is 11:15pm. The temperature in Uxbridge is a cool 10 degrees Celsius, and Uxbridge is in the same time zone as Aldgate, so there's no need to adjust your watches.'

Drivers Out of Control? 

'To the gentleman wearing the pin-striped suit, who is trying to get in to the third carriage, what part of 'stand clear of the doors' don't you understand?'

'Covent Garden has been closed due to overcrowding. Please alight at Leicester Square and wander around aimlessly with your huge rucksacks until you get to your destination. They might install escalators one day!'

'Would the lady going down the escalator please lower her umbrella, it doesn't rain underground.'

'Please let the passengers off the train'.... 'Please let the passengers off the train first'....... 'PLEASE let the passengers off the train first'....... 'let the passengers off the train FIRST!'...... 'Go on then, stuff yourselves in like sardines, see if I care, I'm going home at the end of this trip at any rate.'

The Quay Street Railway Viaduct.

The Quay Street viaduct of 1848 is one of two viaducts in Fareham town centre both designed by Joseph Locke (1805-1860). Locke was a 19th century English civil engineer and a pioneer of railway development; during his career he worked with both George and Robert Stephenson on a several railway projects. The Quay Street viaduct and the one spanning the River Wallington were constructed for the London & South Western Railway as part of a connecting line built to link Fareham with the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway at Cosham. The line was opened on 1st September 1848. The Quay Street viaduct is a prominent and imposing landmark in the town; it is constructed of red brick and comprises of eleven segmental arches. There is a skewed road arch across Quay Street which has flanking brick pilasters. The building is listed Grade 11. Wear and tear has resulted in movement of the brickwork in a number of the arches that has recently required intervention and stitching of the cracks. Significant repairs were also made to the brickwork of both the piers and the underside of the arches where spalling of the bricks has occurred; this is partly due to inappropriate cement mortar having been used in the past for re-pointing. Carbon staining and water penetration through the structure has also over time resulted in a discolouration and a build-up of leachate and plant growth. The Council has worked with Network Rail and Corinthia, their conservation specialists, concerning the specification of appropriate repairs to the structure; which is still in everyday use after 160 years.

 A detailed assessment of its materials and condition was been undertaken which resulted in a schedule of work appropriate to its architectural and historic interest. The existing bricks have been matched for strength, colour and texture and a lime mortar specified for re-pointing works. As part of the repairs the Doff cleaning system was used; this uses high temperature steam to remove surface contaminants without causing damage to the historic brickwork. The repairs will help to preserve this key historic landmark in the town.

 

Portsmouth Gas Works Locomotive  ‘Hilsea’.

Mike Schmitt

Hilsea was built by Rustons in Lincoln in 1961 as works number 463153 and lot number 31 of class 88DS. A standard 20 ton loco fitted with a Ruston 4VPH engine started by compressed air supplied by a donkey engine. The loco never had a name whilst working at Hilsea and was known as No. 1139. The flow of naphtha which came from Fawley via the main line twice weekly in 500 ton loads in 20 tanker wagons was shunted in to the Hilsea siding and then shunted by 1139 for unloading and the production of methane - natural gas. In 1985 this all ceased as the production at Fawley ceased and then British Gas placed the loco on longterm loan to Quainton Road, where it still is. It was overhauled and repainted in British Gas blue and white livery. Finally it was donated to Quainton Road in December 1994 and named 'Hilsea'. It ran for several years before being withdrawn and shoved to the back of the shed. 

But today it is nearly ready to run again, but in its correct livery - red - as per Gas Board days. The donkey engine has been refurbished and runs well.

The Archive Page

Anns Hill Bridge

Muck to Brass

Esholt sewage works locomotive ‘Nellie’ giving railway enthusiasts a tour in 1970

The saying ‘Where’s there’s muck there’s brass’ was never more true in the case of the internal railway system that used to operate at Esholt sewage works. Re-processed human waste was used as fuel to power steam locomotives on the site. The grease residue from this re-processing was put to work as a lubricant for train axles and was taken up as the standard axle grease by railway companies all over the country before the nationalisation.

It was a green dream long before the ecology movement got going. The Esholt system was extensive, up to 22 miles of it was in use at one time. It closed in late 1977, after the management passed from Bradford Council to Yorkshire Water.

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One morning a young lad, Mark, and his friend literally followed their noses, following the ‘Esholt Pong’, as it was called, to a canal side factory building behind a meshed wire fence. They soon found themselves staring at a tiny, dirty brown saddletank locomotive, standing hissing quietly outside a part stone, part wood shed building.

The little engine was Nellie, a Hudswell Clarke 0-4-OST No 1435 built in 1922. Inside the shed was Nellie’s companion engine, Elizabeth, another Hudswell Clarke No 1888, built in 1958. Having been told to clear off in the past by testy railway shed foremen, Mark expected more of the same when a man with silvery hair and a flat cap, asked what they were up to.

When he heard, he sat them down with a mug of tea and told them the history of the Esholt railway.

In its heyday around 1921, the Esholt system could boast some 22 miles of standard gauge track, but by 1957 this had been reduced to just six-and-a-half miles, through the removal of passing loops and sidings no longer required, the lifting of temporary tracks and the closure of several ‘permanent’ ones. During the construction of Esholt Works, the locomotives served both as contractors engines, and as part of the treatment process. Once the works was complete, employment could only be provided for two locomotives, and from 1933 the system was worked by ‘Nellie’, and a four-coupled Peckett, ‘Ainsbury’. The status quo remained unchanged for 25 years until, in 1958, ‘Elizabeth’ arrived as a replacement for the Peckett, which was ultimately scrapped in 1962.

Esholt’s locomotives performed a variety of weekly tasks, but the most regular by far was the conveying of ‘cake’ from the press house (adjacent to the loco shed) to the drying ground at Longholme, on the western extremity of the site. “The ‘cake’, totally odourless and crumbly in texture, was left to dry in large piles set out parallel to each siding and then, some months later, was reloaded into the wagons by steam grab to travel back up to the works, where it was bagged and ultimately sold to distributors as organic matter!

As if that wasn’t resourceful enough, the grease extracted from the sewage was sold to the LMS  for use as a lubricant on wagon axle boxes. The use of high-quality tallow and palm oil had been banned during wartime, but following a successful experiment, it was decided at a meeting of railway company chemists at Euston in July 1940 that Bradford Corporation ‘recovered grease’ be adopted as the standard axle grease by all railway companies.

But Esholt’s piece de resistance and the reason for the total absence of coal anywhere on site, was the use of this same processed grease to fuel its locomotives. “Elizabeth” was the first of the two engines to be fitted with a special burner, and the arrangement proved so successful that “Nellie” was similarly converted in 1959, during a return visit to Hudswell Clarke’s factory for the fitting of a new copper firebox.” At one time, Esholt Sewage Works railway operated 13 standard gauge steam locomotives.

     The Imperial Trains of Czar Nicholas II.

The abdication of Nicholas II, one of the most momentous events in the history of Russia, took place in an unusual situation during the Emperor’s  journeys from the General Headquarters to Tsarskoe Selo. The carriages, where the abdication was signed, became the witnesses of the tragedy of Russia.

Below: Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and the Tsesarevich Alexis dining in the Empress' carriage.                                                                           

In 1929 the two carriages, used as a bedroom and dining-room, were transferred to the Peterhof Museum as having exclusive historical significance and being of interest because of their technical design.

After the crash of an Imperial train at Borki in 1888, Alexander III ordered two new trains, one for journeys abroad and one for travelling within Russia. Before their completion a temporary train was made up of repaired and newly equipped carriages. It was used by Alexander III and, after his death, by Empress Maria Feodorovna. The design of the train, its materials and facilities envisaged a special, heightened system of security. To ensure comfort, the newest technical achievements of advanced European countries were taken into account and used. The interiors were remarkable for their lavish décor. The walls and furnishings were upholstered in stamped leather and coloured silks; the floors were carpeted, the furniture was of red beech and satinwood and decorated with carving and elaborate inlays.

The Dining Car on the Imperial Train

The train served as a model for the creation of a seven-car train for travels within Russia and intended for the heir apparent Nicholas Alexandrovich (the future Nicholas II). It was built between 1894-96 in the Workshops of the Nicholas Railway Line. Although the train was designed to accommodate the family of Emperor Nicholas II, already in 1896-97 it was supplemented with three more carriages from the Warsaw Railway Workshops. Subsequently the make-up of the train was repeatedly altered, old carriages were replaced and their interior décor underwent changes. In 1902, the train consisted of ten carriages: a sleeping-car, a saloon car, carriages intended for children, the grand dukes, and the Emperor’s retinue, as well as carriages for railway servicemen, a kitchen, servants,luggage and workshops. Later the eleventh carriage used as a church was added. 



The carriages were painted blue; the seams were decorated with gilding; all wooden parts were made of Indian teak. They had the chased ormolu coats-of-arms between the windows and the walls and furnishings were upholstered, mainly in English cretonne with plant ornaments; silk fabrics and leather were amply used. The panels, ceilings and furniture, made of polished oak, walnut, white and grey beech, maple and Karelian birch, were covered with linoleum and carpets. The carriages that were intended for the Imperial family were particularly comfortable. They were provided with everything necessary for a convenient life.     

  

Originally a bimetallic bath (copper outside and silver inside) was installed between the studies of the Emperor and the Empress. It was made in Paris and had several deflectors at the sides, to limit the splashing of water when the train moved. Later the train interiors were upholstered and provided with furniture in the Art Nouveau style produced by Robert Meltzer. The family of Nicholas II used this train to travel all over Russia to Moscow and to the Crimea. On replacing its bogies the train could be moved to narrower tracks. During the war a shorter version of the royal train was used. The aide-de-camp Colonel Mordvinov recalled: “The Imperial train was not large. In its centre was the Emperor’s carriage, with his bedroom compartment and study, and next to it was, on one side, our retinue carriage of eight compartments and on the other, a dining-car with a compartment for receptions. There was a kitchen with a buffet, a travelling military office; the last carriage was occupied by railway engineers and the head of the railway line where the train was to go.” The royal train was accompanied by another for the retinue, which followed it with an hour interval.

The sleeping-car incorporated the studies of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, dressing compartments with wash-basins, compartments of the lady-in-waiting and of the valet, and a wardrobe. The Empress’s compartment had a bed with carved decorations suspended on belts as a hammock. The compartment was separated from the study by a screen of blue silk with a flower pattern. All the draperies, the bedspread and the upholstery of armchairs and chairs were in blue silk with matching patterns; a carpet on the floor had a design of flowers and leaves against a birch green ground. The furniture was of Karelian birch and cedar. The richly carved desk was upholstered in gold-stamped leather; on the desk were a silver writing set of twelve articles, a lamp, a blotting-pad and a paper-case; numerous family photographs and icons adorned the walls. The carriage used for meals and receptions consisted of  two sections: the dining-compartment itself with a small buffet for snacks, where people gathered for meals and tea, and the compartment where headquarters assemblies and receptions were held. The décor of the dining compartment was in warm brown tints; its furniture was of polished oak, the chairs were lined in brown leather and fastened with copper nails, the tables and the mirror shelves were covered with brown cloth and the floor with a greyish-blue carpet; the satin curtains were of the same colour. The dining compartment was lit by two bronze chandeliers with ball-shaped shades of frosted glass and table lamps. The walls were decorated with a portrait of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and an enamelled  silver mounted icon.

The saloon had soft mahogany furniture in the Art Nouveau style. The walls, sofas, armchairs and chairs were lined in striped pistachio curtains; a plush carpet on the floor had a checked design. The saloon was lit by bronze wall sconces and table lamps with silk shades. The interior was embellished with porcelain and glass vases, a clock of black marble, an ash-tray of red stone and Dutch porcelain. A portable crystal ink-pot with a silver cover stood on one of the tables; a special table was intended for games: dominoes, chess etc.

Left is the Private study and sleeping car of Nicholas II it was provided with furniture made of Karelian birch and beech upholstered in brown leather. On the leather upholstered and gold-stamped table stood a bronze gilded writing set of twelve objects. Books, maps magazines and photographs were also kept there. It was illuminated by gilded bronze sconces; the floor was covered with a cherry-coloured plush carpet. It was in this carriage that on 2nd March, 1917 Nicholas II announced to the envoys of the State Duma, his decision to abdicate. At 11.15 the Tsar entered the carriage and said: ‘This is my abdication act, read it. . .’ Afterwards the carriages were given to the Peterhof museum, and were placed in the Alexandria Park not far from the roadway. The décor of the carriages had survived practically intact and when they became a museum some articles were even added.

Near the carriages a platform and two wooden structures were built in which an exhibition was mounted dedicated to the history of the train, the war of 1914-18 and the details of the abdication and fate of Emperor Nicholas II and his family. The carriages of the royal train were destroyed during the War of 1941-45, but some memorial objects kept in them have survived in the stocks of the Peterhof Museum Complex .

                  Between 1922 and 1927, when the construction of the                     works was in full swing, 11 were in use.

In June 1969, “Nellie” was retired from work and just over a year later, in September 1969, the loco was hoisted on to a low loader and driven by road to Embsay Railway Museum. Eventually, it was taken to Bradford’s Industrial Museum.

After Esholt railway closed in 1977, “Elizabeth” remained in a shed apparently forgotten for seven years. In 1984, it was dismantled and transported to the Armley Mills Industrial Museum, Leeds. The Esholt loco shed was taken down and re-erected at the museum. In the years since the railway was closed, Esholt has become more widely known through the television series Emmerdale. You could say there’s been a natural progression at Esholt from fertiliser to axle grease to soap.

Britain's most and least used railway stations revealed, with one getting just 12 passengers a year

The Office of Rail and Road has revealed the most and least used railway stations in the country. A East Cambridgeshire rail station has been named the least used in the country for the second year in a row, with just 12 people using it throughout the whole of last year. Figures show that a dozen passengers boarded or exited a train at Shippea Hill station throughout 2015/16 - one a month. This was the smallest number of passengers for any station in the country last year with the number of people arriving at or departing from the station decreasing compared with 2014/15, down from 22. Eight stations across the country saw fewer than 100 people board or disembark from a train throughout the 12 months spanning April 2015 to March 2016. The station with the second fewest passengers, behind Shippea Hill, was Reddish South station in Greater Manchester where just 38 people arrived or departed last year. In third place was Pilning station in South Gloucestershire which saw 46 passengers in 2015/16, down from 68 throughout 2014/15.

Out of all 2,557 stations in Britain, the average station saw slightly more than 233,000 people leaving or entering in 2015/16. This is less than the average of 238,000 in 2014/15, although this reduction is likely to be down to a change in methodology for the London stations.

The busiest stations in the country

While some stations saw a startling lack of activity last year, others saw an incredibly large number of people come through their doors. Unsurprisingly London stations were the busiest in the country with Waterloo being the busiest nationwide. As many as 99.1 million people exited or entered Waterloo station last year, although this was a slight reduction on the 99.2 million who did so in 2014/15. It means that 189 people enter or exit Waterloo station every minute, or 3.1 every second. It takes Waterloo station just four seconds to surpass the number of passengers Shippea Hill station got in the whole of last year.

The methodology in how these estimates were calculated for London stations has changed since last year's figures to include more detailed Oyster card metrics. Based on the 2015/16 methodology a further five million people used Waterloo last year. In addition to this figure a further six million people used Waterloo station as an interchange, the third largest number of interchanges for any station behind Clapham Junction which had 30.5 million.

After Waterloo, London Victoria had the next largest number of people entering or leaving the station on 81.1 million while London Liverpool Street station was third on 66.6 million.

Outside London Birmingham New Street was the busiest station in the country with 39 million exits and entries followed by Glasgow central on 30 million. In total 2.9 billion people exited or entered a station in Britain last year, up from 2.8 billion in 2014

Death of 'Sunny South Sam'

A Hayling Island railway Guard Mr. Samuel Walder, a native of Horsham, put aside his flags and whistle for the very last time as a guard employed by the Southern Railway Company and retired after 46 years' service. So the newspaper report read in 1934.

Sam Walder joined the railway service as a porter at Horsham in 1888, but afterwards he was transferred to Havant and rostered as a guard onto the Hayling Island line a position that he held for nearly forty years. He is known to many thousands of travelling holiday-makers as "Sunny South Sam," for his strong facial resemblance to the subject of the well-known Southern Railway publicity poster, in fact there is quite a strong belief that he may well have inspired the artist William Ramsden Brealey.

Sam was one of the first guards to operate on the "Fares, please" principal collecting fares after the passengers had boarded the trains. Throughout his long career he never had a serious accident, but he saw many changes in the attitude to passenger-conveying.

On his retirement, he took many sincere wishes for happiness with him and was presented with an easy chair by his colleagues and the travelling public. He was a member of an old Horsham family of railway pioneer workers and passed away, aged 81, in Havant in the early 1950s and was buried in the local cemetery.

In all he served 50 years in the service of the Southern Area being re-called from retirement when the war broke out and carried on his duties throughout the blitz.  His three brothers, like himself followed in their father's footsteps in entering the railway service and they can claim an aggregate of over 200 years "on the line."

The Rector of Havant took his funeral where there was a large gathering of railwaymen which took place in St. Faith's Church in Havant.

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Train crash kills eleven cows, leaves fifteen of the herd missing and  causes Arsenal fans to miss the game.

This bizarre occurrence happened in the early part of  October when 11  cows were killed and 15 others went missing after a train ploughed into a herd on the line near Peterborough.

The southbound Great Northern service crashed into the herd at about 11am, blocking lines between Peterborough and Huntingdon for many hours, it even delayed a train full of Arsenal fans on the 9.38am service from Kings Cross en route to watch their side's match against Burnley. As the train returned to Kings Cross one football fan said it had caused him to miss his first game in 15 years.

Furious passengers took in vain to social media to complain. One tweeted: "What animal is on the line that you can't shoo off?" Great Northern replied simply: "Cows." Another Twitter user graphically said that she saw "train pieces and cow pieces flying past the window".

A Great Northern spokesperson said: "I can confirm that a train struck some cows that had wandered onto the line between Huntington and Peterborough and sadly eleven were confirmed dead. There was some damage to the train but the driver and passengers were all fine.

The train in question had to be evacuated and then moved away to be repaired. Train services were subject to disruption on all routes until 1400.”

The Moffat Branch

The Moffat Railway, built and opened in 1883 by the company of that name, had its a branch line from Beattock station, at the foot of the famous incline, on the Caledonian Railway's (CR) main line from Carlisle to Glasgow, It was one of the shortest in the country, if not the shortest, running for just over one mile, with a journey time of under ten minutes!                                         

There were, therefore, no intermediate stations or halts. It was taken over by the Caledonian Railway in 1889. Soon after its opening, the railway took advantage of the increasing passenger traffic generated by the large Moffat Hydropathic Hotel which had opened in 1878 the Dumfriesshire (later Dumfries & Galloway) village having become well known for its spa. The station, which was conveniently close to the town centre, unlike many in the country, had a simple layout of a single platform and loop, allowing locomotives to run round their carriages, and sidings ran to a goods shed and the usual coal yard. The spa town visitors had at first a service of 12 to 15 three-coach trains per day.

However, around 1926 this service was replaced by the locally nicknamed 'Moffat Bus' or 'Puffer' steam railcar that worked the line until circa 1948. Later, mixed trains ran headed by the popular Class 439 ex-CR 0-4-4 tanks, based at Beattock depot where they were also used for banking main line trains up the notorious Beattock bank. Several engines of the class had been fitted with much stronger front buffer beams for this task.

       Reducing Suicides on the Railways

The Samaritans’ partnership with Network Rail, British Transport Police and the wider rail industry to reduce suicides on the railways was recognised last year with a national award for Best Use of Technology.

The award for Best Use of Technology was for the Suicide Prevention and Support on the Railway Learning Tool. These are videos that railway workers can download or watch online, produced by Quadrant Events. They include prevention tools and techniques, and dealing with trauma. The videos feature real railway workers who have made interventions, and aims to empower others to feel confident enough to help.

Using online and E Resources is an important part of Samaritans’ strategy going forward with the rail industry programme. Having material online and easily accessible is crucial to delivering further training and allowing staff from Network Rail, the British Transport Police and the train operating companies to develop suicide prevention skills.

Ruth Sutherland, The Samaritans CEO said: “We are delighted with this award – Samaritans and the rail industry have been working hard to roll out the learning tool, which has been developed to raise awareness of suicide prevention and support available to staff on the railways. It has now been seen by 8,000 railway workers. It is a unique partnership, and takes a proactive approach in order to equip people with the skills to reach out to those who are vulnerable, working closely with Network Rail, the British Transport Police and the Train Operating Companies.”

Network Rail suicide prevention programme manager said: “Any death on the railway is a tragedy but the impact is felt not only by those who knew the person but by the train driver and station staff and those who are involved in the aftermath. We want to do everything we can to stop this from happening, and if it does, to help our people deal with it.  

The online learning tool has been developed to supplement the extremely successful training courses that Samaritans deliver for railway staff. It has helped us to reach out to thousands more of our people and provide them with guidance, reassurance and skills to understand a difficult and sensitive situation, and make a positive difference. I’m pleased everyone involved with this project has been recognised with this award, but the real prize is the potential lives it will save.” 

A British Transport Police, spokesman said: “This award at such a high profile awards ceremony really celebrates the innovative approach to protecting the public and supporting the industry – while promoting understanding of the high-risk environment our staff and officers work in”.

Action by staff from Network Rail, the train operating companies, British Transport Police and the wider railway industry has potentially saved more than 1,000 lives in the last three years. It has now evolved into a cross-industry programme.

=Railways and the Amish Community Strasburg, Pennsylvania

Strasburg is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and is a haven of peace and tranquility,  although less than an  hour by car away from the eight lane dual carriageway  which forms the highway Interstate 95 running from the  Canadian border, all the way down the east coast to Miami in Florida!

The Pennsylvania Railroad was set up in 1846 and linked the east coast with the steel town of Pittsburgh far in the west. The railroad museum was set up on agricultural land in Strasburg in 1975 with the aim of preserving as much as possible of the local railway history. It is owned and operated by a State Commission and supported by private funding and public donations. The collection has over 100 locomotives and carriages, half are housed in an indoor exhibition hall of 100,000 sq ft. However, the vast majority are no longer operable.

Above: Number 1223 is a 4-4-0 and the only surviving example of the D16sb class. It was built in 1905 for the Pennsylvania Railroad for passenger service by the company’s own Works which at one time employed 16,500 people. In later life, it pulled excursion trains from 1965 until 1989, when it was retired needing firebox repairs.  No 7002, a 1902 E7s 4-4-2, allegedly set a   speed record of 127 mph in 1905. When in 1939 the loco was required to be displayed at the New York World's Fair, it was found to have been scrapped so 8063 was rebuilt, to look like the scrapped record breaker.

Above: "John Bull" is a replica of an 1831 English loco, built in 1940 by the Altoona workshop.

Below: Built in 1939 by the Heisler locomotive Works this 0-8-0 loco named "D" has no boiler or firebox! It was bought by Pennsylvania Power and Light Company for hauling coal trucks at their power generating plant. After this  95 tonne  locomotive proved too heavy for the rails its original owner, the Hammermill Paper Co. converted it into a fireless

locomotive. It could carry enough steam in the  front flask for several hours .As steam was a by-product of the generating plant, the loco could easily be refuelled with steam when required, so the concept made economic sense at the time This unit, displayed in 1940's style livery, was retired from service in 1969. 

The G5s were 4-6-0 locomotives built in the mid 1920s and were designed for the commuter lines, and they became regular workers on suburban railroads until the mid 1950s  No. 5741 was selected in 1979  for preservation and display upon its retirement. In a post war effort to replace worn-out steam traction two EP20

class passenger diesels were ordered and built in 1945 by General Motors . No. 5901 and her  sister 5900 have the distinction of being the first pair delivered. In the late 19th century, logging companies had to solve the problem of moving logs from the forest to the mill as cheaply as possible. Ephram Shay, a timberman, designed his own locomotive, which he hoped would cope with the steep inclines and sharp turns found in forestry areas. In 1880, he took the design, which featured an off-centre boiler powering a set of vertical pistons which in turn operated a geared drive shaft to turn the wheels to Lima Locomotive Works.  The design grew and evolved from 1906, and in 1946, over 2,700 examples of this effective design were produced.

This enormous 4-8-2, No. 6755 of the M1b class, was another type of loco produced by the Altoona Works about 1930. It was used for freight though occasionally used on passenger trains. In 1953 it was rebuilt in the Altoona Works and continued in freight service then withdrawn in 1957. Now this locomotive stands  outside neglected.

Built in 1918 by Heisler for the Chicago Mill & Lumber Co, No 4 is a geared locomotive. Despite its small  size, just 50 tons  it was the first locomotive purchased in 1966  for display at the museum.

A 1939 replica of the John Stevens Steam Wagon of 1825. Stevens built the original and ran it on a small circle of track in New Jersey. He commissioned the

first railroad in Pennsylvania in 1823, though it was never constructed!

Built by Juniata in 1916, 1670 ( is a B6sb class 0-6-0 locomotive.  It toiled in freight yards until 15^th October, 1957, one of the last steam engines to be retired.

The other unusual residents within this locality are the Amish people. Those who adhere to the "old Amish order" do not allow electricity in their homes and do not drive cars and they discourage too close a contact with the modern world. Their transportation is by means of horse-drawn carriages and carts giving them no interest whatsoever in the interesting and unusual exhibits on display in their own home town.

Fascinating Photos of the Early Railway Robbers

Getting your bag nicked on the 8.33 to Waterloo isn't just a 21st Century phenomenon -- as long as there's been railways, there've been people waiting in the wings to take care of that unattended piece of luggage for you. British Transport Police last September released the mugshots below of railway criminals from the 1890s some of the earliest railway thieves, giving a new insight into what the criminals of the time looked like.

The crimes range from the opportunistic tea-and-whiskey thieves to organised parcel-thief gangs. Mind you, there is also a somewhat  different conviction of  a Royal Artillery officer who was arrested in 1920 for indecent exposure, and one unfortunate got locked up for three months for the serious crime of 'loitering'. 

The British Transport Police have released dozens of mugshots of early 20th Century transport criminals, including a sorry array of opportunist thieves, disgraced military perverts and crooked railway staff. Taken between the late Victorian period and 1920, the images are a snapshot of the hugely varied criminal classes that operated on Britain’s rapidly expanding railway network. John Moir, the lowly one-eyed goods checker fined for stealing tea (left), to career criminal Robert Lewis who was jailed with hard labour for the theft of parcels (centre) to the Royal Artillery officer arrested in 1920 for indecent exposure. These mugshots reveal the railways to be a place where all manner of crime flourished. The later certainly seems to have been the case with North British Railway employee Thomas Drummond, who was photographed wearing his elegant uniform before being jailed for 20 days over the theft of 12 bottles of whisky.

Other thieves include Mitchell Steadman-Turner, who was sentenced to six months after stealing a Japanese basket from Waverley Station in Edinburgh in 1920 and the smartly dressed, fashionably bearded James Whilton – alias Charles Wharton – who stole a bag from London’s Paddington Station in 1887. Servicemen, it appears, were not immune to the temptations of vice on railways either, with two of the photographs showing men in military uniform. Private Gordon Marr of the 16th Battalion Canadian Scottish Regiment was sentenced to 10 days in prison for theft of a box of fish in 1918, while disgraced RAF Lieutenant Jack Graham-Parker was convicted of indecent exposure at a railway station over a three-day spell in March 1920. Women are also seen among the photographs, with Cumbria’s notorious travelling railway thief Margaret Leck seen wearing an extravagantly collared coat in a police photograph taken on Christmas Eve 1904. She had been arrested over the theft of a trunk in Edinburgh.

Although the typical punishment for those arrested appears to have been a small fine or few days in prison, it seems some judges considered seemingly minor transport crimes to be far more serious than charges of organised theft. Poor old Edward Meitchie, for example, was sentenced to a full three months with hard labour in prison for the relatively minor offence of loitering at Derby Station in 1922.

Railway Carriage Holiday Park sells for over £261,000 at auction

 Last November a former holiday park, which for many years, featured eight chalets in converted rail carriages was sold at public auction for £261,000 a much higher price than expected. The Brunel Camping Carriages site in Dawlish Warren,

Devon, exceeded the guide price of £125,000 - £175,000. The auction was held in St Mellion, Cornwall. The site and the carriages closed at the end of the 2015 summer after over fifty years.  Each of the eight-person chalet carriage includes a kitchen, living area, a bedroom and bathroom.

Train in The Garage?

Amaze and Surprise Your Friends and Neighbours

A German firm called "Style Your Garage", creates posters for garage doors that make it look as if it's actually showing the interior of your garage, and what's in it - a locomotive!

If you wish to have fun with you neighbours the prices are reasonable and they range from £199 to £399 for the double-door. All of their picture choices are guaranteed to make any  passer-by and your neighbours take a second look. The posters are in colour and are made for the up-and-over garage doors and they can be fixed with Velcro and can be adapted to fit sectional garage doors.

Taken Short on the Footplate

Getting caught short on the footplate is no picnic! There were no toilets on the engine nor was there provision to get through to the carriage toilets – so evidently the common practice to relieve oneself was over the side of the engine while it was passing through a tunnel. On this particular day, a driver we shall call Bill, had left it a bit late and he was still in action as the train emerged from the tunnel, resulting in him spraying a gang of platers who were working on the line and were happily standing back to allow the engine to pass safely. Can you imagine this scene from the platers’ point of view?

There they were standing back and waving pleasantly to an engine exiting the mouth of the tunnel and then the amazement of coming to terms with the sight of this bloke standing on the footplate and spraying all over them as the loco flew by. Bill had the ability to tell a tale and make it live. He described how he had been a fireman on a train bringing a line of empty goods wagons over the Pennines from Lancashire into Yorkshire. It transpired that the driver, who Bill described as a little gnome like creature who smoked a clay pipe, had been a bit lazy and he had not bothered to couple up the brakes on the wagons as he believed, wrongly as it seems, that the brake on the engine would be enough to hold a train which was only empty wagons. Bill said we came flying down the Yorkshire side of the Pennines and seemed to be gathering speed rather than slowing down. We would meet the main line at the bottom and if a red light was showing we would have to stop to allow the express to pass. Bill said, “I said to the driver, don’t you think you should put the brakes on Burt?’”and when I turned around he was wedged in the corner bracing his foot against the brake pushing for all his might, his clay pipe dangling out of his mouth. ‘What do you think I’m doing I’ve had the brake on for five minutes and we’re not slowing down’. We shot out onto the main line at the bottom like a cork out of a bottle and thank God there was nothing coming.

Another of his engine tales concerned a tunnel again – on this occasion Bill was the fireman and he became concerned that the train was travelling very fast considering it had to stop at a station which came immediately after the tunnel, ‘Don’t you think we are going a bit fast for such and such a station?’ Bill had said to the driver. ‘Bloody Hell!’ had replied the driver,

‘I’d forgotten we were stopping there today!’ With that he had banged on the anchors so hard that the wheels locked and the train slid out of the tunnel and passed the platform with sparks flying from the wheels. An old lady happened to be waiting for the train and unabashed the driver lifted his hat to her and said, ‘I’ll be with you in a minute madam’, as the train slid past. In fact, they had to get permission from the stationmaster to change the signals and allow the train to reverse back to the platform. But yet again it’s the concept from the lady’s point of view that is so funny – the idea of a train sliding out of a tunnel, wheels locked and sparks flying and the sight of the engine driver tipping his hat as it slid past.

Barons Court Underground Station

The station buildings are listed under the Planning Regulations for their special architectural or historic interest.

Reasons for Designation:-

1. As an ornate and well preserved Edwardian London Underground station, retaining original and early features such as tiled signage, lighting, entrance canopy and shop fronts with art nouveau glazing.

 2. Interior: the ticket hall is notable for its distinctive green tiling and  pedimented ticket windows, original examples of which are now rare.

3. The Platforms are notable for the benches and poster boards with 1920s enamelled signage. 

The station was built in 1904 and opened in 1905 to serve the Metropolitan District Railway (MDR). It was built on existing track   laid out in 1874 when the line was extended from Earl's Court to Hammersmith. At that time the area was still agricultural land, but by end of the century it has been developed with housing. The name Baron’s Court may have been devised by Sir William Palliser, who owned and developed the land in this area. In 1901 the near-bankrupt 

MDR was acquired by the American entrepreneur, Charles Tyson Yerkes, becoming a subsidiary of Yerkes’s Underground Electric Railways Co of London Ltd (UERL). Under the UERL the planned programme of electrification of the District Line was implemented. Barons Court Station also served the Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway, which was also part of the UERL and opened in 1906 and was soon known as the Piccadilly Line. In 1931 the stairways and platform canopies were rebuilt, and the platforms extended.

The exterior of the building is in an Edwardian Baroque style. The front (east) elevation is of five bays, plus a lower end bay to the north which had a second entrance, now closed. Bays 1, 2 and 4 are shops with elliptical keyed arches; bays 3 and 5, contain the entrance and exit and the lower north bay has semi-circular arches and timber panelled doors. Above the entrance the frieze has tiled lettering: ‘DISTRICT RAILWAY’; above is a fascia with lettering ‘BARONS COURT STATION’, surmounted by a broken     pediment. The entrance has an iron canopy with a cartouche which was restored in the 1990s. The south-east corner has a DR monogram and a bronze information panel and lamp.

The 3-bay south elevation has two elliptical arches above which the frieze has lettering ‘DISTRICT RY’. The shop fronts here are largely intact and have central recessed lobbies and transom lights with art-nouveau stained glass. Above the exits on the south east corner, are original glass lanterns on iron brackets.   

         

The ticket hall walls are clad in green tiles with a frieze of darker green tiles with sunburst motifs. On the North wall is a pair of original tiled pedimented ticket office windows (those on the opposite wall were removed in the 1930s). Original floor tiles in brown and cream survive on the landing. The platform stairs are enclosed in glazed timber with a corrugated-iron roof cladding. The platform canopies were rebuilt in 1931 and are notable principally for the series of original back-to-back wooden benches.

Railway Towns

Once the railways had been built, they needed locomotives and rolling stock, and the workers to operate them. By 1900 over 620,000 people – nearly 5% of the population – worked for the railways. But railways also controlled workers and their families with an almost military discipline.

Working for the railways created a new sense of identity, through loyalty to a particular company, to a place, or to fellow workers. Railway companies had strong regional identities and workers often developed close ties to their employers, viewing themselves as ‘Great Western’ or ‘North Eastern’ men. Also to begin with they were nearly always men at least until the First World War, Britain’s railway workers were almost exclusively male.

Below: Wheel shop Crewe Works 1913

Towns such as Swindon or Crewe became so dependent on the railways that they became known as ‘railway towns’. In some of the larger cities entire areas evolved to serve the railways, with ancillary workshops springing up to provide the parts for major manufacturers in places like Hunslet in Leeds, Gorton in Manchester or St Rollox in Glasgow.

Companies in the railway towns exercised a strong, paternalistic influence, providing their staff with housing, education and many other amenities. But on the other hand they also controlled workers and their families with an almost military discipline. At Crewe in 1877, for instance, the London & North Western Railway even ordered its workers to vote for company officials who were standing in the local elections.

Although railway work created a sense of pride and identity, there was undoubtedly hardship too.  Railway companies sometimes operated with a ruthlessness that cost the lives of thousands of workers, who were being killed at the rate of nearly 500 a year in the 1880s and 1890s. Very soon the railway workers formed associations and unions to improve their lot or to press for radical social change. Yet company loyalty and the division of labour hindered class solidarity. Each of the railway trades generated its shared identities, traditions and cultures, which meant that a signalman sometimes felt he had as little in common with a fireman as with an agricultural labourer.

The effects of this are still being felt today, in the complex and often bewildering industrial relations of Britain’s railways. Guards, station staff and drivers still negotiate separately with employers, and ‘demarcation’ disputes that have their origins in the nineteenth century cause strikes that frustrate many of the twenty-first century passengers. While ‘railway towns’ provided work and a sense of community, over-reliance on one industry left their citizens in vulnerable positions. When British Railways closed some of its works in the 1980s and 1990s local economies were consequently devastated, and many of the loyal railway families, who had supported the Company for generations, felt betrayed.

Shildon, for instance, (Above: Shildon Railway Institute), had a tradition of railway building dating right back to the 1820s. When its wagon works was shut down in 1984 over 2,600 jobs were lost, and the town has still yet to recover fully from this devastating blow. Railway identity, therefore, can mean many things. It encompasses company loyalty, class solidarity, a sense of place and pride in the job. As railways experience an unprecedented revival, the identities they create are as important now as they were when the first commercial railways began to operate nearly two hundred years ago.

Isle of Wight Survivors

Romsey Signal Box Visit

A small but dedicated group of members paid a visit to Romsey signal box on Sunday afternoon 7^th May. Having met at Fareham station we travelled by GWR DMU direct to Romsey and then made the short journey on foot to the box. Romsey signal box represents a very early LSWR box located on the Eastleigh to Salisbury line where it is joined by the branch from Southampton. The box was opened in 1871 with a Stevens and Sons frame with 18 levers and was enlarged to 25 levers in early Southern Railway days and this necessitated the extension of the box. Then in 1928 an additional lever was added.

The box has been fully resorted to full working order as it was when it closed in 1982. It was then lifted from its lineside site to the current position by the embankment and in to the grounds of the now former Romsey Infants School.

Lever no. 7 is brown and white striped and is a ‘direction lever’ which is electrically interlocked with the Eastleigh box to control movements over a single line because this section has no token system. The block system at the far end of the shelf is for the Southampton branch working to the Redbridge box. Another instrument works towards Kimbridge and Salisbury. Every lever, bell and direction indicator and train in section indicator are all in working order and well maintained.

                                                                                                

The volunteer signalman took us through a typical signalling sequence for a fast passenger train passing from Salisbury to Southampton with a mixed goods from Eastleigh through to the west. Each bell code was acknowledged in sequence between Kimbridge box to the east and Dundridge to the west, and the train in section indicators correctly noted before signals were set and points set to allow the safe passage of both trains through Romsey. Members were invited to get involved and press the bell and work the levers.  Just as it had been done for over 110 years before the closure and the move to regional signalling centres.

Elsewhere on site is a miniature lever frame with full size instruments based on the signal box at Cowley Bridge, just outside Exeter.  Other exhibits included a small ground frame connected to two signals with point work from Gosport and a museum of local historic railway items. An example of the famous ‘Strong Country’ brewery sign has been preserved on site as these were a familiar sight in Hampshire promoting the once famous brewery in Romsey Town.

The Friends of Romsey Signal Box have done an excellent job since 1987 of restoring the box to its former working glory and a very pleasant afternoon was spent on the site. An added bonus was that the author of his latest book Eastleigh to Romsey and Salisbury, Nigel Bray, was there to promote his book and sign copies for interested parties.