Colonnade News

Gosport Railway Society 1977-2017

September 2017 No 161, to be completed shortly

Magazine Index

Article
Programme
Index
Forty Years of the Gosport Railway Society
Eight Ways in which Railway Travel has Changed
New Crossrail Depot Visit
Archive Page
Ashover Light Railway
15,000 Applicants
Holiday Idea
The Production Process
Scotsman’s 100mph Driver
John Huntley
Knowle Halt and Sir Herbert
Royal Train Saved
Felix the Station Cat
One Day on the Railway
Woking Homes
Road Railer

Rail Replacement Spotters

40 Years of the Gosport Railway Society

On the 19^th May the Gosport Railway Society celebrated 40 years since its formation. The celebration was held in the Methodist Church in Stoke Road and involved guests including Professor Ray Riley (Above) and a celebration cake.

The Chairman, Peter Keat, opened the meeting by relating to the members about the formation of the Society. In August 1976 Paul Smith with the assistance of the Curator of Gosport Museum, Cathy Callow, inserted an article in ‘The News’ asking if anyone would be interested in forming a society with the aim of recording the history of Gosport’s railways and to form a pressure group to try to save the historic Gosport station. They were amazed when the venue for the meeting, the Town's Council Chamber, was full of people. At that meeting, a group of volunteers came forward and between October and December meetings of the steering committee elected the first officers. Paul Smith became Chairman, Peter Keat Secretary and Bob Harrop Temporary Minutes Secretary. Unfortunately, before the first public meeting Paul Smith left the group and Peter Keat took over as Chairman.

It was agreed to hold a first Society meeting in January 1977, luckily the Revd John Capper offered the hall in the basement of Holy Trinity Vicarage at a peppercorn rent and here the Society stayed for 25 years until the Diocese sold the Vicarage. Previously the Borough Council had offered us a building on the station site but the demolition contract had been let and it was not financially viable to terminate it.

Above: Anniversary cake

On 21^stJanuary the first meeting attracted 110 people of which over a third became members. The first programme was a selection of British Transport Films presented by the British Transport travelling projection team and was well received.

The programme for the first few months of 1977 was settled :-

January British Transport Films.                                                        

February. Geoff Alcock on the History of Gosport station.                 

March was Dr. Edwin Course  the History of Gosport’s  Railway.  
          

April   Charles Lewis  talking about the Mid Hants Railway.                              

May the speaker was Dr Ray Riley

Alan Mellor was elected Vice President in the mid 1980’s and was a much-valued member of the committee. We were all shocked when Alan died very suddenly in early 1997. Alan was instrumental in arranging the three John Huntley ‘Bioscope Days’ evenings the Society presented in the Thorngate theatre and ballroom. All three evenings were sell outs and boosted the Societies finances for years to come.

In 2002 with the death of the Revd Capper and the sale of the Vicarage we were forced to move. Again, another cleric came to our rescue, the Revd, Chris Gardener offered the use of Stoke Road Methodist Church and this has been our home for the last 15 years.

2002 also saw the 25^th Anniversary and we held a celebratory meal and were very lucky to secure the actor Bill Pertwee as our guest speaker at a very favourable rate. Bill remained a good friend to the Society over the years, although he never visited us again he always telephoned the Chairman each quarter when he received his copy of our Society magazine the ‘Colonnade News’ as well as other calls to enquire as to the Society plus Christmas Cards.

One event that the Society is very proud of is that fact that two long standing members Alison and David married, our first and only totally Society wedding.

Over the years the Society arranged railway history walks within the London area with Dr Edwin Course and Mrs. Joy Lavine plus Portsmouth walks with Dr. Riley. Apart from the our normal monthly meeting we instigated, for six weeks in January and February, an informal Winter Series on Industrial Archaeology with Dr. Course and latterly ourselves. Over the years we have arranged various coach outings and visits. The Society has amassed a large Archive collection and now have the most extensive collection of pictures and plans of Gosport's Railways in the country. These archives are often use for talks and lectures in the area. We also are the custodians of two models of Gosport station.  Using the basis of the Archives, the Society has written and produced six booklets dealing with the history and the working of the Gosport line and the Society has become a regular contributor to the Gosport Heritage Days.

Socially over the years the Society has arranged 39 Christmas Meals and 37 Photo Competitions. It has held 480 monthly meetings and 48 Winter meetings, a total of 528 evenings of education, instruction and enjoyment. The Society magazine, Colonnade News, is published quarterly and has recently reached edition number 161. 

Going back to the original aims of the Society we have helped to save the station by giving expert advice to the developers of the restored station, fulfilling our original aim, that of to save the Station. 

Above: Anniversary Night.

Eight Ways Railway Travel changed Everything for Britain

The impact of rail technology on the 19th century was so extensive that the only proper comparison might be to that of the internet today. Like the web, railways forged previously unimagined connections and opened up new opportunities for commerce, while at the same time destroying long-established industries and the communities built around them.

  

Rethinking geography: The arrival of the railway meant it was suddenly possible not only to travel, but also to transport goods and information from one end of the country to the other in a matter of hours rather than days. Such a shift required rethinking the nation’s geography. As Thomas Carlyle wrote in 1850: “Railways are shifting all Towns of Britain into new places; no Town will stand where it did, and nobody can tell for a long while yet where it will stand… I perceive, railways have set all the Towns of Britain a-dancing”. Cities that had for countless centuries stood in proud independence found themselves in reach of each other, dragged into the same time zone, in line with the station clock.

 A second rail revolution: Since the dramatic cuts of the 1960s the railway network in Britain has remained largely the same size and shape. However, the building of Crossrail and other proposed developments such as HS2, HS3 and the Western Rail Access to Heathrow project may yet require adjustments to our own mental map. Slough is one example of a place that may be transformed by a new rail connection in ways unseen since the 19th century. Slough could become one of the best-connected places in Europe: 30 minutes from Bond Street by Crossrail with access to three motorways and only six minutes by rail from Heathrow.

Movement of peoples? For the many thousands who commute by train, it is easy to think that transporting people to their place of work has always been the raison d'être of the railways. The priorities of the merchants of Bristol – the initial funders of the Great Western Line – were somewhat different. Their primary motivation in investing was to connect their city to London, enabling them to move goods between the two ports faster than was possible by canal, thus regaining advantage over Liverpool in the transatlantic trade. 

First class and ‘goods passengers’: In its early days, the Great Western Railway catered for an aristocratic and well-to-do clientele, even providing a special waiting room at Paddington for the royal family travelling to and from Windsor. It was less keen on transporting working-class travellers. These ‘goods passengers’ reduced to the status of things rather than people, were forced to ride in open freight cars pulled by much slower locomotives, leaving Paddington at 4.30am and Bristol at 10pm. On Christmas Eve 1841 a locomotive pulling two crowded wagons along with 17 heavily laden freight cars was derailed by a landslip at Sonning Cutting, near Reading. Thrown from their seats, 8 passengers died and a further 17 were seriously injured. Public outrage at this, and other similar incidents, led to the passing of a law in 1844 that required companies to provide at least one ‘workmens’ train’ of covered carriages per day at the rate of no more than a penny a mile.

Above: Workmen waiting at the Great Eastern's Liverpool Street Station, 25^th October 1884. Workmen pose by the 12.55pm train, waiting to take them to Enfield Town. 

Rebranding the nation: In the 19th and early 20th century’s the railways in Britain were run by competing private companies, although without the generous levels of state subsidy paid nowadays. In their efforts to attract passengers, companies developed a sophisticated public relations industry, advertising their routes through posters, brochures and books. Apart from Bristol, the GWR had no major cities west of London to draw on for clientele. They therefore targeted holidaymakers, designating themselves ‘The Holiday Line’ and rebranding areas of Britain. Cornwall became ‘The Cornish Riviera’; North Wales ‘The British Tyrol’; the Thames Valley and the Chalfont Country ‘Rural London’ that was described as “within easy reach of those who may need a brief period of rest or change, or be in quest of a permanent residence away from the din and smoke of London, but within a convenient distance of the scene of their labours”.

Train vision: Trains have changed the way we perceive the world. Napoleon crossed the Alps in May 1800 at much the same speed as Hannibal. But by 1840, rail passengers were moving at speeds of up to 60 miles an hour, experiencing for the first time the phenomenon of ‘optical flow’ – the blurring of objects close to the track, and the apparently slower movement of scenery further away. But not everyone welcomed this dramatic change. John Ruskin despised the flickering, jolting view from the train. He described the railway as “the loathsomest form of devilry”.

Railway as transport: Despite Ruskin’s prognosis, modern transport technologies had a profound influence on the art, film and literature of thehalf-century before and after his death in 1900. In Dickens’ Dombey and Son  the train is characterised as “a type of the triumphant monster, Death”, provided a foreshadow of his own train crash at Staplehurst. Monet’s Gare St-Lazare explores the atmospheric and lighting effects created by smoke and steam. Trains have also featured in the realm of popular culture, appearing in songs made famous by performers including Howlin’ Wolf (‘Smokestack Lightning’), Johnny Cash (‘Folsom Prison Blues’), James Brown (‘Night Train’), Kraftwerk (‘Trans-Europe Express’) and Elvis Presley (‘Mystery Train’), to name but a few.

The connected train: “A crowd flowed over London Bridge” wrote TS Eliot in The Waste Land.  By the time he wrote these words, it was already commonplace to portray commuters as care-worn drudges, yet there has always been a counter-narrative to complaints about the frustrations of the commuting lifestyle: trains were the first form of transport smooth enough to allow reading. Arnold Bennett encouraged travellers to use their time on

board for self-improvement through the study of philosophy, history and poetry. Today’s passengers are in a better position to do so, being able to work, listen to music, play games or watch movies as they travel. The carriages they occupy are nearer to being offices or mobile entertainment palaces than anything Victorian travellers would ever have recognised.

oOo

A Visit to new Cross Rail Depot

On a bright and sunny afternoon on Thursday 16^th February a group of a dozen Branch Line Society members gathered at the site of the new Crossrail depot at Old Oak Common West London for a tour of the depot which is part completed. Bombardier Transport UK awarded Taylor Woodrow the £142m contract to design and construct the nine-road Bombardier Transport UK awarded to Taylor Woodrow the £142m contract to design and construct the 9road depot for the Crossrail fleet at Old Oak Common. It will be able to accommodate 33 trains whilst routine maintenance is carried out with each train being 9 carriages in length. There is capacity to the west to be able in future to extend the shed to accommodate 10 carriage trains should the need arise.

The energy for use at the depot is generated and stored using a new hybrid renewables system including photovoltaic cells (solar panels) on the roof, solar heated water, and ground heat pumps which use the energy created by the foundations and the 15,000 cu m. mass of concrete which forms the depot foundation. There are therefore no overhead or suspended heaters whatsoever throughout the depot.

The train wash will have two roads and a capacity to service 12 trains an hour and 70% of the water used will be recycled. The offices, train simulator and control room are all sited on the 1^st floor above the maintenance part of the train shed. The control room has an excellent view to the east and over the approach roads to the shed and stabling sidings.

Bombardier’s contract with Transport for London (TfL) is to supply, deliver, and maintain the 65 new 200m long trains, providing 760 UK jobs and 60 apprenticeships. Once the project is complete there will be a further 80 jobs on the maintenance side. Bombardier is manufacturing and assembling all the trains at their Derby plant and the first is due to be delivered in May this year. The new fleet will be progressively delivered well in advance of services commencing through Crossrail’s central section in December 2017.These new class 345 Crossrail trains will be serviced and maintained at the depot and besides the train shed there are 32, 9 car long, stabling sidings outside with most of the overheads already in place. The tour took us into the train shed where the roads are all complete except for the rails and some infrastructure. Then on to the roof for a view over the new depot including the entrance at the east end and the stabling  sidings. To the south is the currently used Old Oak Common depot which may eventually become the HS2 depot and further to the south over the GW main line North Pole depot which is earmarked as the new depot for the Intercity Express Programme(IEP) trains, class 800 and 801, which in due time will run on the Great Western mainline. They are being built by Hitachi at their new facility at Newton Aycliffe in County Durham. The class 801 is the hybrid diesel and electric version and the class 800 is pure electric with supply from overhead for the GW mainline.

Looking further ahead, more construction is planned to build a new station provisionally named New Queens Park to serve the proposed HS2 line.      

Right: Site of the new wheel drop.

The current ‘old’ Old Common Depot will be demolished and rebuilt to serve the HS2 line from London Euston to Birmingham and this new station will provide a major transport interchange with a number of other main line and commuter rail services, including Crossrail and the Great Western Main line. The planned HS2 line would be in a tunnel at the Old Oak Common site, with the Great Western Main Line and Crossrail tracks on the surface. Looking further into the future the planners have in mind to build residential tower blocks and offices over most if not the whole of the site, which in turn may well lead to some very prestigious developments and Old Oak Common could well become a very sought after location. The visit enabled the group to gain a greater insight into the vastness of the whole project of Crossrail let alone the future developments that are planned for the site and I think Brunel would be very proud of what is being achieved at present let alone what is planned, especially as site was in steam days a very important GWR depot.

Mike Schmidt

Our Archive Page.

Some recently discovered photographs

Stokes Bay Pier in the 1970s 

Along the Stokes Bay Line

 Gosport Station 1968

 Jackie Spencers Bridge

Looking towards Fort Brockhurst Station 

                         The Ashover Light Railway

In November 1918, General G. M. Jackson of the Clay Cross Company made an application to the Ministry of Transport for the construction of a standard gauge railway from the small hamlet of Stretton, just south of Clay Cross, to a junction with Hollow Lane in the village of Ashover in Derbyshire. The proposed railway had been engineered by the light railway champion, Col. H. F. Stephens, with the main purpose of the route being to open up some fluorspar (a mineral used industry) workings at Milltown, which was en route to Ashover. The Light Railway Order was granted in February the following year. By 1921, the Clay Cross Company had again applied for a Light Railway Order, this time for an extension from Stretton directly into the Clay Cross Works. At this time, a decision was made to convert both railways to 2ft gauge, as this would mean lighter earth works and lower costs. The Order was passed a year later on condition that the railway provided a passenger service. This was agreed and construction of the Ashover Light Railway began.

Almost all of the equipment provided for the building and running of the railway was acquired second-hand from the War Stores Disposals Board. Four American-built Baldwin 4-6-0 tank locomotives arrived and were named PEGGY, HUMMY, JOAN, and GUY; the names of General Jackson’s children. Shortly afterwards, a fifth similar locomotive was purchased and was given the name BRIDGET. 



 BRIDGET, built by Baldwin in the USA in 1917.

 PEGGY, built 1917, scrapped in 1951.

As the construction of the line progressed, it was realised that a passenger station at Hollow Lane would be a little tight for space, and therefore in May 1924, another Light Railway Order was applied for. This was for yet another extension, this time going from Hollow Lane to Ashover Butts where there was more room to build a station. The Order went through in August of that year.

At the other end of the line, the main Derby to Chesterfield road had to be crossed. The proposed route started in the Clay Cross Works, swung northwards out of the town, then curved westwards through 180 degrees to avoid going through Clay Cross town centre. The problem was the Chesterfield Road, and crossing it required a steel girder bridge spanning 45 feet. The height had to be 16 feet above road level, which required a half-mile long approach embankment to be built. The bridge and embankment were the only major pieces of engineering on the route between Clay Cross and Ashover. Shortly after the opening the Pirelli Tyre Company at Burton-upon-Trent paid to have a large advertisement painted on the bridge. This lasted until closure and the bridge became known as ˜The Pirelli Bridge”. Several stations were provided along the line, with the main terminus and headquarters being Clay Cross & Egstow within the Clay Cross Works. Four further stations Chesterfield Road, Holmgate, Springfield and Clay Lane were erected within the town boundaries of Clay Cross, with the next station being at Stretton. At this point the line was continuing southwards, but soon swung westwards to follow the course of the River Amber as far as Ashover. Stations along this section were Hurst Lane, Woolley, Dalebank, Milltown, Fallgate, Salter Lane (for Ashover), and Ashover Butts. The station buildings were made of wood and constructed to a basic shelter pattern. Only Clay Cross & Egstow and Ashover Butts had anything more substantial.

Four passenger carriages were provided in time for the official opening which took place on 6^th April 1925. Over 100 guests were invited to share in the celebrations and enjoy a ride over the new line. Two special trains ran covered with flags and bunting; the first left Clay cross at 10.30am and was driven en-route by the special guests who had helped make the railway possible.   

BRIDGET at Hurst Lane water tower.

At Ashover Butts, the village brass band greeted both trains, following which the invited guests transferred to the Ashover School where the celebrations continued. Public running began the following day and the railway enjoyed a long spell of success. All trains during that summer of 1925 were heavily loaded as people explored the countryside.  



The Railway used Bell Punch type tickets that were more common on street tramways than railways. At holiday times such as Easter and Whitsun, the Clay Cross Company laid on special outings for its employees. These involved a trip to Ashover where the day was spent picnicking on the banks of the River Amber. The popularity of the line encouraged General Jackson to provide more facilities at Ashover Butts, resulting in the construction of the ˜Where the Rainbow Ends” cafe. Holidays remained busy and extra carriages had to be found to cope with demand.

However, the railway was built primarily as a freight carrier, with most of this traffic coming from the Clay Cross Company’s own quarries at Ashover, Fallgate and Milltown. The extracted minerals were then used in the Clay Cross Works, or sold around the country. Coal for the surrounding villages was carried on the railway in the early days, but this reduced as the roads improved. In fact, the railway’s success led to cheaper and quicker competition from road transport. By 1928, passenger figures had greatly reduced and by 1930 only three trains ran per day, each of these being made up of a single carriage. By the end of 1936, the total income from passenger trains was a mere £139, and passenger trains on the Ashover Light Railway were withdrawn. Goods traffic continued, although on a much reduced scale. On 9^th September, 1946, General Jackson died aged 77. His son, Humphrey (Hummy), took control of the Clay Cross Company, but could not reverse the declining fortunes of the railway. The following year, Harold Skinner, who was a long standing driver on the railway, resigned, leaving only Charlie Maycock as sole employee of the Ashover Light Railway. By the end of 1947 the railway had made a loss of £2,000 and the Clay Cross Company made it known that they intended to close the line. Even so, they still purchased a small diesel locomotive to replace the worn out steam engines. This was not enough to save the line as the track was now in an appalling state and in reality; the Ashover Light Railway was completely worn out.

Further investment would have been impractical and the railway began the process of closure. The last train ran on 23^rd October, 1950 when the Clay Cross Company’s estate agent was conveyed in a wagon to survey the railway’s land which could be sold. The scrap dealers, Marple & Gillott, moved in that same day and commenced the lifting of the track. In September 1951 the Pirelli Bridge over Chesterfield Road was removed, marking the final stage in the dismantling of the railway. However, a short section of railway was retained at Fallgate as fluorspar was still being excavated there. This continued until early 1969 when the wagons and track work were scrapped in favour of road transport. This was the final nail in the coffin of the Ashover Light Railway. After the closure of the railway the stations were demolished or burnt.

                                                  oOo

                       1500 Applications

 Last October more than 15,000 people applied for just 78 train driver jobs – because the salary is an incredible £57,000 which is the wage to drive Virgin Trains’ new state-of-the art Azuma trains on the London to Scotland route in 2018. 

This was the response to the biggest recruitment drive on the east coast route since the 1980s and works out at nearly 200 applicants for each of the 78 positions. Industry sources say they can expect to earn around £57,000 once qualified. Drivers of normal trains get paid less – but because these are faster and more sophisticated the pay is higher.

Firstly the new drivers will undertake a training course lasting a year where the pay is likely to be lower. This will include lessons in the classroom as well as on the job training. The Azuma trains – built by Hitachi in the UK – will be the most advanced in the country travelling at speeds of up to 125mph. The 65 trains have more seats than current ones and will increase capacity at peak times by more than a quarter. A Virgin Trains spokesman said: “We have received a huge amount of interest in this fantastic opportunity at Virgin Trains on its east coast route and The Talent team are working hard to process and update all of the applications we received.

The closing date for applications was 14^th October last year and as with anyone applying to drive a train, applicants needed to be over 21 and live or be willing to move close one of five depots in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, Doncaster and London.

It is not the first time a train driver recruitment effort has triggered a huge response. In 2015, more than 23,000 people applied for 100 driver jobs paying up to £43,000 with ScotRail.

               A Holiday Idea

How would you like to enjoy your breakfast and watch trains go by just a few feet away from the window?

You can, at the beautifully restored station at Kirkby Stephen on the Settle & Carlisle line. Built in1875, the station was brought back to its former glory in 2005 by the S&C Railway Trust. 

Booking Office Cottage and Platform Cottage are both within the station building itself. They offer excellent accommodation for those with an interest in the railway and the beauty of the Upper Eden area. Both Cottages boast great views. On the platform side you can watch steam-hauled excursion trains or diesel-hauled 2,000-tonne coal trains blastinguphill to Ais Gill summit, or look the other way to see glorious views of the fells. The spectacular valley of Mallerstang and Wild Boar Fell are right on the doorstep, the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks are in easy reach as is Hadrian’s Wall to the north. It’s the perfect base for walking the fells, cycling, or general exploring - as well as travelling on the spectacular Settle & Carlisle line.  

For details contact:- The Settle - Carlisle Railway Trust.

Because this is a working station on a busy mainline railway the cottages are not suitable for children under the age of 7. But as it is the only working station on the line, visitors can arrive by train!                 

                 The Production Process 

It is assumed that James Watt pioneered the use of drawn-to-scale engineering plans for the manufacture and installation of industrial products from the 1770s. In partnership with Matthew Boulton at Soho House in Birmingham, Watt was the man who made practical the use of stationary steam engines to power industry. James Watt employed a draughtsman to make drawings for each steam engine; these were to show to the prospective purchaser as an aid to production and installation at the site, and as a record for his business. He used colour to denote the different moving parts of the mechanism. The drawings usually showed the machine in situ and were developed from the architectural drawing style popular at the time. The use of the architectural style made them decorative as well as functional, and already a style was being developed that went beyond a simple explanation of the 3D object.

During the early years of railway production (from 1800 to the 1820s), drawings were quite crude and were used purely as an aid to the engineer.

 

Below: Crewe Drawing Office 

In charge. The skills required for producing the parts of early locomotives were adapted from those of the rural blacksmith; full-size paper patterns were cut out and used as ‘models’ for the real parts (this method had been used in the naval dockyards for many years).

As production of the proven technologies increased it became necessary for the engineer to delegate the management of producing the drawings to junior staff. Changes in the methods of engineering production necessitated the provision of measurements on the drawing (hence drawing to scale) and notes about construction, as the engineer was no longer just making a reminder to himself. Drawing production became much more specialised and a division of labour in which different draughtsmen worked on specific segments replaced work by generic draughtsmen. The result was a tendency for the drawings to show ever-greater detail.

Railway scale models were also made to show the finished product; usually these were made by apprentice engineers to prove their skills.

Shipbuilders used models and perspective paintings not only to show how the product would look, but also to test out new ideas, a use the railway engineers did not really exploit.

Within 60 years of James Watt employing his first draughtsmen, the railways in Britain were employing large numbers of specialists in their drawing offices.

At a time when most work on the shop floor was dangerous, this job proved very attractive to working-class men. Some aspects, particularly the copying of drawings, were also regarded as suitable for women so in an age where white-collar industrial opportunities were rare this was a popular career for both sexes.

     Scotsmans 100 Mph Driver

William (Bill) Sparshatt was Flying Scotsman’s most famous driver. He began his career as a locomotive cleaner in 1890 and by 1931 he was a ‘top link’ driver at the Kings Cross shed. As a driver he had established a reputation for speed and excellent time keeping.

This reputation brought him to the attention of Nigel Gresley and the London & North Eastern Railway publicity departments. Between 1931 and 1936, he became the public face of the LNER, posing on Flying Scotsman with several celebrities (in 1932 he was waved off from Kings Cross by holder of the land speed record holder, Sir Malcolm Campbell).

On 30th November 1934 he was assisting Sir Nigel Gresley and the LNER in running speed tests between Leeds and Kings Cross. During this test Flying Scotsman was officially recorded as reaching the magic speed of 100mph – the first time this speed has been officially reached in the United Kingdom. These speed exploits were more than just mere publicity stunts – they were experiments in operating high-speed train services.

Above: Driver Sparshatt and Fireman Webster before the run.

The results led directly to new trains such as The Silver Jubilee, which ran from London to Newcastle in four hours, and locomotives like the A4 class Mallard that became the world speed record holder for speed traction. When asked about the run Bill said “If we had hit anything today, we’ll have hit it hard”

Below: The arrival of ‘Flying Scotsman’ at King’s Cross Station following its record breaking run, it  shows the Driver, William ‘Bill’ Sparshatt shaking hands with Nigel Gresley) as the fireman, R Webster looks at the cameraman. 

                       John Huntley 

If it were not for the three John Huntley evenings the Society arranged in the late 1980s we would not be in such a good financial position as we are today. For the first presentation, we filled the Thorngate Theatre to capacity (and more) and this we followed by completely filling the Thorngate Ballroom twice, on each occasion we prided ourselves on dressing the stage in the style of his ‘Bioscope Days’ television programme.

John Huntley could not have been more helpful and it is thanks to the profits from these three evenings that gave us a healthy bank balance that is still the basis of the Society today. Most people have heard of John Huntley, but what do we know about him.

He was born in Kew in 1921 and left school in 1937 and began his first job as a junior clerk in an insurance company. He remained there until 1939 when he was given a job as a teaboy at Denham studios under Alexander Korda. He had always enjoyed films, often going to the cinema two or three times a week but with the outbreak of war the larger part of Denham closed down and his contract ended after only 18 months and it almost seemed that his opportunity to work in the industry had disappeared. In 1940, he joined the RAF as a wireless operator / mechanic for the RAF Army Co-operative Command. In 1943, he joined Bomber Command as a wireless air gunner and then in 1944 he moved on to Coastal Command. Here he found the chance to further his interest in movies as he started to work as a lecturer and camp projectionist showing educational films. He also put on entertainment programmes, and travelled around showing these at different camp cinemas.

He began to write for the RAF journals and included occasional film reviews. He also started to write for various periodicals, including Sight and Sound and the Penguin Film Reviews. In 1944 he began work with the American Film Music Bulletin as their British correspondent, and continued writing for them until 1950. It was also during these years that he began writing his first book, British Film Music, which was later published in 1947. Following the end of the war, he was offered a position with the J. Arthur Rank Organisation at Denham and Pinewood Studios where he worked as a music and sound technician with the conductor Muir Mathieson. He worked on many famous movies such as Hamlet, A Matter of Life and Death, David Lean's Oliver Twist, and The Red Shoes. With access to the other departments John's interest in film developed and he wrote his second book  British Technicolor Films in 1949. With the collapse of the Rank organisation in 1950, the music department was disbanded, and the employees went their separate ways.

In 1951, he worked as part of the technical team - Telekinema - who organised the film contribution for the Festival of Britain. Telekinema became the original National Film Theatre and he worked as a Programme Director for two years. Here one notable project was the revival of Buster Keaton's career in Britain. A contact from Cinematheque Francaise saw Buster Keaton performing in a Paris circus and having found copies of The Navigator  and The General in the French archives, he was brought over with his movies, and re-introduced to the British public. John's association with the British Film Institute came in 1952 and during a 23 year career he worked in many positions, beginning as Programming Officer. He continued to present large-scale film shows and festivals at venues such as The Royal Festival Hall and The Barbican, on topics ranging from transport to ballet. From 1966 he was involved in opening regional film theatres, and when he left in 1974, John was the Head of the Regional Unit of the BFI, and thirty-five theatres had been opened throughout the country. During this time, he continued contributing to various publications and wrote a further three books and he became very involved with broadcasting,  producing and presenting many television programmes including Clapperboard, Bygones and Bioscope Days and Attic Archives. He also began a long association with radio, speaking as an expert on various aspects of film and conducting interviews.

When he left the BFI in 1974, he worked as a theatrical agent but also continued to present film shows around the country and to add to his collection of movies, primarily on the subject of transport encompassing all topics and periods. In 1985, he and his daughter Amanda decided to set up Huntley Film Archives.

John died in August of 2003, aged 82 and was working up to the last.

Brian Baxter of the Guardian wrote: It would be apt, yet somehow inadequate, to describe John Huntley, who has died of cancer aged 82, as a writer and film historian, since he was above all a film enthusiast and an educationalist in the broadest sense. He regarded cinema as a source of delight and information, never concerning himself with what he perceived as pretension. It was his enthusiasm and energetic desire for mass communication which made him a stimulating talker, a rather carefree administrator and a cornucopia of information. His work was his passion and his film archive a testament to a lifelong devotion to film as art and history. He is sorely missed. 

            Sir Herbert and Knowle Halt

This was a single platform, 100 feet in length sited between Wickham and Fareham Stations and opened on 1^st May 1907. Passengers travelling to and from the Halt were always accommodated, as far as possible, in the rear portion of the trains so as to avoid the necessity of the trains pulling up a second time. No Staff were provided except when otherwise arranged, the guards of trains stopping here had to note the number of passengers joining the trains and see that their fares were collected at the end of their journey. The guards were responsible for the collection of tickets from passengers alighting here. These then were delivered to Wickham or Fareham for dispatch to the Audit Office. The halt was closed to passengers on 12th August 1963, but a Transport Users' Consultative Committee forced reopening the next day. Passenger traffic was finally withdrawn on 6th April 1964. The asylum's siding for coal and stores closed on 30th April 1962. A story is told regarding Sir Herbert Walker, the SR's general manager. In the 1920s the tale states that 'We approached Fareham and just as our train came to a halt I espied another M7 O-4-4T heading a two-coach salmon and umber outfit standing in the bay. The guard was fingering his green flag ready to wave it just as we drew to a halt. But he did not! A stentorian roar from the footbridge came like a thunderclap to Guard Grant, "George Grant, hold that train!"'.

A huge square-shouldered man in a tweed overcoat, with pince-nez gold spectacles, came down and hurtled over the timber crossing from the island to the bay platform with the alacrity of a young athlete, rather than a staid man in his forties.

Once more his instinct for the detail paid off. With his furled umbrella like a foil at the ready, he came up to the startled guard. "Your name is George Grant? Mine is Herbert Ashcombe Walker (right). You were about to start this train before the passengers from the 5.50 p.m. from Southampton could join, although this is the last train up the Meon Valley today!"

By this time the hapless stationmaster came running up to see what had caused the disturbance. Before he could collect his thoughts, Walker was speaking again, "Your name is Mr Peter Cooper; does this heinous thing happen every evening? If it does, let me assure you it will not again without your coming to Waterloo." A faint cheer arose from passengers within earshot. By then Walker had boarded the train and from a first-class compartment was asking Cooper if he could telephone Alton. "Yes, sir." "Then tell Mr. Smith that this train connects with the 8.20p.m. to Surbiton and Waterloo and if it does not do so then HE can come to Waterloo and see me in the morning!"'

Full Circle:Now we read the following proposals are being put together for the first new railway station in Hampshire for 25 years. Plans have been put forward by Network Rail to undertake a study to open a new railway station near the proposed new Garden Town development of Welborne just north of Fareham. The new station would be expected to serve a population base of over 20,000 people and forecasted to cost several millions of pounds.

The proposed plans will see a new two-platform station on the Fareham-Eastleigh line somewhere near to the former Knowle Halt site. This will be an improvement on the original as it only every had one platform.

                 The Royal Train Saved

The Queen is understood to have made it known that the train is her preferred mode of transport, and that she believes it to be a cost-effective and convenient way for the royal family to travel. Tests were then carried out on the carriages, which revealed the train’s demise had been greatly exaggerated. Instead of being ready for the scrapyard, Palace sources said the Royal Train was found to be in far better condition than previously thought. The source added there was now “no end in sight” to its use. There were doubts over the train’s future when Sir Alan Reid, the Keeper of the Privy Purse, told a committee of MPs four years ago that the current rolling stock, mostly dating from the 1970s, had only five to ten years of service life left. After that, he said, the prospect of replacing it would be a “major decision”, adding: “The figures are quite staggering.”

But with memories still fresh of the fate of the Royal Yacht Britannia - which was retired in 1997- further tests were carried out on the train’s rolling stock. As a result it was discovered that its life could be extended by many years and that with further efficiency savings the train’s running costs could be reduced.

A Palace source said: “Sir Alan Reid reported to Parliament a few years ago that the train may have to be decommissioned shortly. But since then tests have revealed it has more life in it than previously thought. “There’s no end in sight to its use and no fixed, agreed horizon in terms of when it will become inoperable or be decommissioned. For the Queen and members of the Royal Family it is a sensible and cost effective way of travelling, enabling them to stay the night close to the location of an engagement the following day – but without causing the disruption or security costs that a hotel in a city centre would entail."

Commentators believe it will have been made clear to Government ministers that the Royal family did not want to see the train go the same way as the Royal Yacht. Although the future of the train seems to have been guaranteed there are doubts over its future home. When not in service the train’s nine British Rail Mark 3 carriages, couchette and dining car - with their Royal Claret livery and dedicated series numbers beginning 2900 - are currently stored and kept in good order at an ancient Victorian railway depot in Buckinghamshire. However, there are now plans for an extensive redevelopment of the 37 acre Wolverton Works site, north of Milton Keynes, into shops, apartments and retail facilities, raising questions over where the train will be kept in future. It is understood the Palace is insisting the train must continue to be kept at a safe and secure site from where it will continue to have quick and easy access to the national rail network when required to transport members of the Royal Family direct to city centre destinations. 

The Royal Train at Wolverton 

Discussions are currently underway between Buckingham Palace, Network Rail - who have official responsibility for the train - and St Modwen, the developers behind the ambitious redevelopment plans. There is speculation that if a continued home for the train cannot be provided at Wolverton it will be moved to the Derby railway coach and carriage works, currently run by the engineering firm Bombardier.The Royal Train cost £800,000 in running and maintenance last year, down from £900,000 the previous year. 

              Felix the Station Cat.

Among a list of famous cats, we must add Felix, the Huddersfield station cat. This ‘senior pest controller’ has become a global sensation; fans from as far away as China have visited the station in a bid to take a selfie with the black-and-white moggy, and she now has some 100,000 Facebook followers. She takes over the station and has been seen asleep on the photocopier tray but the station staff do not bother her they know that she’ll come out when she’s good and ready. In her six years of employment, Felix has risen to become not only the most popular staff member on the TransPennine Express team, but arguably the town’s most famous draw.

Her success is so vast that she has now been given a book deal. She has around 10 people in her support team, who have recently been fielding interview requests from the likes of the BBC and Japanese television networks. 

It all began in 2011, when TPE finally gave in to a three-year campaign by Huddersfield staff to add a feline friend to the team. They reasoned that history was on their side: numerous station cats existed all over the country and a few smaller stops still have pets, in fact Paddington even has a pigeon-clearing hawk named Pluto.  Felix arrived as an eight-week-old, black-and-white ball of fluff and instantly, her presence brought smiles to the faces of commuters and cheer to staff; beyond that, she has provided comfort to runaway children found hiding at the station, and helped an autistic boy to come out of his shell, but it was when the Facebook page was started in the summer of 2015 that things changed and the station staff had no idea who was behind it. At the time, ‘Felix the Huddersfield Station Cat’, featured photographs and updates written in the first person, gathering a few hundred likes but no discernible ghost-writer. Eventually a commuter, Mark Allan, unmasked himself and was happy to let the TPE team help run the group.

When a new station team leader arrived she followed him around a lot especially if he was on his own and the staff have always thought of her as a colleague, more than a pet. Then came the uniform…”

To mark years of stellar service, TPE promoted her to ‘senior pest controller’ in February 2016, a post which came with a new, high-visibility uniform and badge. The story went viral around the world. In a few days, Felix’s page added tens of thousands of new fans, requiring a full team of support staff. There is now a book about her and it tells the story of her career so far. Proceeds go to Prostate Cancer UK. Back at Huddersfield station, Felix has finally woken up. As she pads on to the platform for photographs, passengers pause to gasp. She wears her fame and responsibility posing uniform-free. She knows what they want and after 10 minutes, Felix disappears to hide under a bike rack. Felix the Railway Cat by Kate Moore is published by Michael Joseph (£12.99).

                             Railway Life

The true story of railway life, and what it was really like to be a small part of a big system.

St Pancras seemed to the traveller to be the epitome of

London. A large building, its edges broken into a maze of small rooms, some for obvious uses, but most were dark and secret and all were huddled around the vast central area.  Any traveller that entered this station experienced a feeling of awe, almost reverence.  The platforms were impossibly large, covered, against all odds, with a glass roof: a roof held up by an intricate web of iron girders. The crowds that were moving around the locomotives barely noticed them, such was their familiarity. Walking with this tide was a young fireman called Ray Welch; two young girls walked before him  their conversation revealed that they were friends. They had spent the evening at a show in the ‘West End’.  It was their Christmas treat to themselves. They had booked the seats weeks before and could only get them for this night – a cold, frosty, blindingly moonlit night in mid-December. The year was 1950, five years after the war. The girls had spent the war years working into the night making uniforms for servicemen in the factory near Guildford Road, Luton. 

The time by the clock on the wall over the main entrance was 10:40 pm.  The train, the last, would crawl, via all stations, to Luton, arriving at a quarter past midnight. They walked to the platform and showed their tickets. “Please, is this the Luton train?” asked the shorter girl. “Yes love,” replied the ticket collector with a slight smile. “Thank you,” said the other girl, curtly. Ray nodded to the man and followed the two through the gate. The girls walked along the platform looking for an empty compartment, at last they found one, entered and pulled down the blinds on the platform side, hoping to keep out anyone else. Ray continued to the front of the train.  “Damned cold tonight,” said Jim, his driver for this trip. “Yes,” replied Ray, climbing aboard, “I’ll be glad to get to a warm bed.” Just as the minute hand of the station clock moved to 10:45, the guard blew his whistle and gave a quick wave to Jim with his green lamp.  Jim checked the signal and opened the regulator.  The Stanier 4P moved slowly forward. The train accelerated into the night.  One by one the stations passed. Kentish Town, Cricklewood, Mill Hill then onto Elstree, with the film studio standing by the bridge.  On to St Albans, the small city where Ray lived and had grown up. To his right were the loco’ sheds, to his left the main entrance. Jim opened the regulator and they were on their way once more. Harpenden came and went right on time but as they came to the signal box at Harpenden Junction, they were stopped. “Strange,” muttered Jim, more to himself than to Ray. “I think there’s somebody coming,” announced Ray, “but with all this mist, it’s hard to tell.” “It’s the signalman,” said Jim finally.  “I wonder what he wants.” “Perhaps he’s run out of sugar,” said Ray, whose opinion of signalmen had gone down since one had made him stand in the rain for half an hour some time before. “Evening,” the man said curtly.  “A driver on an ‘up’ reported seeing a body on the line.  Probably kids messing about with the sleepers again.  You’re to do a search anyway.”  Without waiting, he turned on his heel and returned the way he had come. “Charmed, I’m sure,” said Ray turning to Jim.  Jim said nothing. He just opened the regulator and set the train in motion.  After a few minutes, he closed it again, applied the brake and brought the train to a halt at the outer home signal.  Ray looked at him.

“What’s up?” he said. “Nothing,” said Jim.  “I’m not going any further.  This signal’s on danger and if he wanted me to pass, then he should have said so.”  They sat there. And sat there. Ray looked at his pocket watch.  It was nearly midnight.  They had been there for almost five minutes already.  He went to his bag and took out the torch.  “I’ll go and have a look then, shall I?” asked Ray heavily. Jim just smiled and put his tea can to warm.   Ray climbed down from the engine. The intense cold away from the boiler shocked him a little. He pulled his coat on and buttoned it to the neck. Out here in the country the frost was so much heavier, a real hoar frost: the Bushes had sprouted thousands of white needles. Ray walked towards Luton, the beam of his torch shining before him. 

The mist was rising from the fields, and the thin overall coat offered Ray very little protection.  The mist ebbed and flowed like a phantom ocean and the night took on a quality that affected the mind in a way that only children admit to. Above all this was an almost total silence. Ray turned and looked back and suddenly realised how far he had come. The Stanier was so far away that he could only see the headlamp and hear a slight hiss of steam.  He turned again and continued his search.  

Suddenly, it seemed as though everything happened at once. The torch beam fell between the tracks, straight into the glassy-eyed stare of a human head. The head was laying over to one side with a strange, calm expression on the face. Ray swung the beam to the left. Outside the line of track, dressed in a brown leather coat and brown shoes, laying stomach down, was the body. He turned and ran and to this day, Ray maintains that he ran the four minute mile in just over three. When he got back to the engine, Ray told Jim what he had found. “Oh, you’d better go and tell the signalman then,” Jim said, and went back to his tea. By now the train had been standing for over 20 minutes and as Ray walked its length, passengers were looking, and leaning out of the windows. “What’s up then,” sneered one middle aged man, “a pin on the line?”. “No,” said Ray heavily, “a body.” “Oh,” was all he said and slid the window up rather rapidly. Another man, overhearing this, opened his door and jumped down just in front of Ray. “I’ve time for a wee,” and with a he disappeared behind a hedge. Ray got to the guard and repeated the tale so far.

“OK, then, see you when you get back,” he said and Ray continued on his way to the signal box. The situation was beginning to get on his nerves. Events were starting to take on a tone of unreality.  At last, he arrived at the Harpenden Junction signal box. “Well,” asked the signalman, “found anything?”  At least he’s not drinking tea, Ray found himself thinking. “Yes, a body.  About a mile, just before the curve.” “I’ll tell the police then.  Have you searched him?” he asked in a remarkably innocent tone. “Why?” enquired Ray, equally innocently. “For his money,” he said in a tone that insinuated ‘half each’. “If you don’t have it, the police probably will.” “Not bloody likely,” gasped Ray. “Please yourself.  Anyway, you can go and tell your driver to pass the danger signal.” Ray began the long trudge back to the engine. “No,” said Jim flatly. “I’m not driving over him.  We’re reversing to the junction, then we’ll switch to the down goods.”  This is what they did, but with having to clamp all the points, as per regulations and go all the way to Luton with the signals at ‘caution’, they arrived over an hour late. As they passed the spot where the body lay, Ray pointed it out. “Oh dear,” was all Jim would say.  Ray let his gaze linger on the grisly sight as it fell behind them. He suddenly noticed that every window in the train had sprouted heads.  Lots and lots of heads.  

Back in Luton they found, to their surprise, that the story of the night’s events had got there ahead of them. The dead man, apparently, had been depressed about his failing business.  His wife had reported him missing at 6:00 pm that same evening. The two girls complained most bitterly to the station staff as they left the booking hall.  They were not alone.  Many passengers felt the need to point out the shortcomings of the service. The passengers that had looked out of the window, however, left quickly, with their heads down. 

For Ray it was just the end of another day ‘on the railway’. 

           Escaped Prisoner of War at Castleton 1945

Nazi Storm Trooper in escape bid. Foiled by Castleton Woman Porter, so read the Rochdale Observer 10th February 1945. It went on to say: Mainly as a result of the alertness of Miss Mary Emery, a porter at Castleton railway station, an 18year old Nazi storm trooper, Erich  Breuss, was recaptured at Castleton on  Wednesday morning, the  day following his escape from a prisoner-of-war camp in the North-West. About 6.50 that Wednesday morning Miss Emery went to open the waiting room at the station and there she saw a man asleep on a seat. Her suspicions were aroused by the drenched clothing the man was wearing, and his manner. So, she went to the office and put a telephone call through to the Rochdale Borough Police station; the message she sent was to the effect that it was believed that the man on the seat was an escaped prisoner of war. Whilst the message was being put through the man left the station.

Following the warning telephone message, the patrol car was sent to the Castleton area. Inspector James and P. C. Whittaker were in the car and as they approached Gypsy Lane in Sudden, they saw the man walking in the direction of Rochdale. When the officers questioned, him they found he could speak a little English but did not understand when they asked for his name. He was wearing blue overalls over his POW uniform. He surrendered without any resistance and was conveyed to the Central Police Office and later was handed over to the camp authorities.

The Officers who interviewed him said that he was a young man of magnificent physique and did not display any trace of arrogance.  He told the officers that he was a member of a working party at a North-Western POW camp and they were moving paillasses to a compound. When the work was over he hid under a pile of about 50 paillasses and waited for an opportunity to make his escape. Later in the evening he scrambled under a barbed wire fence and made his way to the Castleton area and to get there he swam across the Rochdale Canal.  He took shelter in the waiting room at Castleton station until he was discovered. When questioned he said that he joined the German army when he was sixteen and a half years of age.

A Selection of Station Stories

These come from a collection of railway based stories.

Scarborough

I used to come to Scarborough as a child, just for the day at Easter. It was always Easter that we went, when you’d got your new clothes, your new sandals and your new dress. You got on at York, and everybody got on the Scarborough specials. Then, around 5 or 6 o’clock, everybody was going back. There was a long seat at the station and everybody would crowd onto that seat to wait for the train. It was packed on the train, everybody wanted to look out of the window and you got soot in your eyes from the smoke.

A few people shared their memories of waiting on the platform seat at Scarborough, which is said to be the longest at any railway station. 

Another read: We frequently caught the train from Camborne to Hayle and walked a good mile and a half to the ‘three miles of golden sand’, which we would share with a few other intrepid families. The trains we caught in each direction for this very short journey of about 15 minutes were mostly long distance trains. I am afraid some of the travellers who joined the train later in its journey must have found considerable quantities of sand and occasional shells dropped from plastic buckets on the floor of their compartments! 

Above: Scarborough station 1958.

In this story, the son of a railwayman recollects a trip to the East Coast. Engine men tended to be members of St Clements working men’s club. Each year the club organised a children’s trip to Scarborough, always by train. I distinctly remember one year when the club treasurer, himself a driver organised the kids to queue up alongside the cab of the Class B16 on Scarborough station while he distributed the 2/- piece spending money to each of us from the footplate.

As well as travelling on holiday by train, some folks stayed in station buildings or railway carriages:-“When I was 11 we had a holiday at Akeld Station, Northumberland, it had been turned into a holiday cottage. One goods train a day passed through and the Station Master was very friendly and allowed us to operate the signals. I can still remember the thrill”.

One of the loveliest story is a memory of Ravenscar in 1964: - We stayed in a railway carriage at the end of the platform. We went on the train every day to Scarborough, Whitby, or Bridlington. The children thought it was wonderful. The downside was that the same week we were there the papers had the news that Dr Beeching was putting an end to this beautiful line that ran all the way down the East Coast but we all have wonderful memories of a lovely holiday.

Young boy almost falls onto exposed train wheels after toilet                                               floor panel is removed.

A young boy almost fell through a hole in the floor of a moving tourist train because a panel had been removed. The near-miss happened on 22nd June, when the child went to use the toilet and opened the door to find the floor missing and the carriage wheels exposed. His mother managed to grab him and narrowly prevent him slipping onto the undercarriage and tracks. The boy suffered minor bruising and both he and his mother were treated for shock after the incident on the South Devon Railway. 

The incident was reported to the Rail Accident Investigation Branch, which is now looking into the matter. Its initial report said that workers had removed the flooring in the toilet as they repaired the braking system on the former British Rail carriage. Staff had put a notice on the compartment door in the fourth carriage and attempted to secure it to prevent it being opened. But the boy and his mother managed to open the door and found the floor missing and the carriage wheels exposed below. At the time, the train was travelling between Totnes Riverside and Buckfastleigh at around 20mph.

The mother reported the incident to the train guard and the toilet door was secured. The incident was reported to the RAIB three days later.

The carriage, an ex-British Railways Mark 1 Open Second, had been put back into service after repairs to its braking system, which had required the dismantling of the lavatory floor.

The RAIB said their investigation will examine: the events leading up to the incident, including the repairs to the carriage and the actions taken to return it to service the adequacy and suitability of the measures to secure the door the railway's safety management system, including the arrangements for managing the competence and fitness of the staff of the carriage and wagon department, and the systems in place for assuring the safety of rolling stock in service.

The South Devon Railway is the longest established steam railway in the South West.    

Hampshire Rose Railtour Gosport 1969