Colonnade News
No 163
March 2018
March 2018
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Ray Welch
One afternoon I was introduced to my driver and we crossed the to the
northbound platform at St. Albans. A train arrived and we got into the
guard’s compartment where the guard spent the trip doing his paperwork and
the driver and I watched the world go by. We passed Harpenden then
Chiltern Green Junction where the LMS main line passed over the LNER Luton to
Hitchin line. At last we came into Luton, Midland Road. The driver and I
got off and we walked to the yard. No. 7261, our engine for the afternoon,
stood before us, the driver greeted the crew and the other driver turned to me
and said ‘You’re Jimmy’s boy aren’t you?’ ‘Yes’ he replied ‘thought so.’ My
driver climbed onto the engine and said “Don’t worry lad
I’ll tell you what
to do.” One of the first things was how to hold a
shovel. He explained a good way to avoid bloodshed was to hold the shovel
with the hand inside the ‘T’ of the
handle. He showed me how to place the blade in the firebox door so that
the draft diverted the smoke and flame giving a good view of the fire bed,
essential for knowing where coal was needed. He kept an eye on the fire
saying, ’Put a bit more on the back’ or ‘on the right’ or ‘behind the
door’. I found out about a ‘bad fire’ and a ‘good fire’, also, that a
‘dull patch’ meant ash and no fire. “It needs a bit more water,” my driver said
tapping the sight glass. “See, now we’ve stopped, the level has steadied and
it’s at the bottom of the glass. I’ll show you how to do it.”. I
found that during shunting the level would fluctuate wildly. “Look under
the cab,” said the driver. I did. “See that pipe? Watch.” As I
watched a jet of water and then steam gushed out. The flow quickly died
and the sound changed to a slurping noise and he explained “You can’t put cold
water into a boiler, the temperature would drop so much that you wouldn’t get
any steam for ages, the water must be at the same temperature as that already
in there and goes in via an injector. Being left-handed, I had to learn to
live in a right-handed world. When the driver moved to the other side of
the cab I just changed hands and fired the other way around. Driving
positions varied, some locos were right-hand drive, 3Fs and Crabs, and some,
8F’s and Fowlers were left-handed.
On that first day, I found that there were two shunts in Luton. The
first was ‘The Luton shunt’ and dealt with the Vauxhall factory, which made
military vehicles, here both full and empty wagons were moved, the full wagons,
loaded by the factories, were replaced with empty ones, and wagons filled with
raw material were delivered in their place. The remaining empties were put
at the top of the yard for collection by the second shunt, ‘The Limbury Shunt’ which was normally worked by a 3F as smaller engines did
not have the range to complete the evening’s work. The shunt usually
started at six pm. This was ok in the summer months, being wartime, double
summer time was in force. The clocks went forward an hour in March and
again in April. The effect was that it was light until nearly midnight. To
get to the Limbury branch, the loco first had to go to Leagrave, the
points were closed behind it and would not be opened until the crew asked the
signal man to open them again. The line served the SKF bearing factory and
other small firms. This shunt went on until about 2am and the Luton shunt
finished at about 9 pm.
I learned that when I was made became permanent I would be issued with a
¼ lb.. of tea per month, why was unclear but it came in
very useful during the wartime shortages. Mid-afternoon my driver got down
from the engine, turned to me and said, “Let’s have a cup of tea.” I
followed him to a small brick hut inside which was a fire and five
seats. He picked up the kettle and placed it on the fire to boil.
Over the next 20 minutes other shunters joined them, they asked about me but
did not include him as I was the ‘new boy’. The shift would normally finish at
nine pm and sign off time was 10.10, 20 minutes were allowed to make the
journey back to St Albans and 45 minutes to put the engine away. Many
things went round inside my head as I cycled home that night, like how the hell
am I going to remember all this.
Now I regularly checked the daily roster and looked for my pay check
number, this was a brass disc with L.M.S. and a number on one
side. On pay day, employees would line up at the office window, the
clerk would ask their name and on production of their pay cheque, would pay
them. No envelopes, just the money. ‘No Pay Check no pay’. I
was paid £2/10- a week and my number was 101 which also denoted seniority; the
new recruits got the high numbers, when someone left everyone would move up to
the next number. I got several more shunting turns. One trip, I was
firing for George Tolly on a 3F on the Luton shunt. George was an amiable
man, 64 years old and happy with his life. When we got to the engine we
climbed onto the footplate and I was surprised when George picked up the
shovel and said, “Go on, you can have the shunt, I’ll fire.” I did not
need to be told twice! It was normal for drivers to let firemen ‘have
a go’, but against the rules. All went well for an hour. We picked up a long train of wagons, the
shunter said to me “Take it right back so the last wagon clears the points.”
“OK,” I said and opened the regulator. We set off at a sedate pace so I
opened the regulator a bit more and we gathered speed. Near the end
of the line I started to close the regulator, it closed most of the way but
would not close right down. I pulled but it would not budge. The end of
the line was rapidly approaching, I put the steam brakes on but it did little
to slow the engine. George, by this time was trying to help by hanging onto the
cab and shouting “Pull that lever back, pull that lever back.” I grasped the
reversing lever but with 180 lbs.sq.in. boiler pressure as soon as I pulled the
lever out, the pressure pushed it back in again resulting in the engine
hitting the buffers hard. The buffers were set into the embankment that
made up the footings of a road bridge making the engine stop dead, coal shot
from the bunker, the reversing lever shot out and hit me a hefty blow to the
side. Faces appeared over the parapet. I was standing knee deep in
coal. “Are you all right?” said George. “No,” I said, “I’ve hurt my
side.” George just gave me a ‘serves you right’ look and got off of the
engine and I started to shovel the coal back into the bunker.
I had almost finished when George re-appeared. “We’ve got 27 wagons,” he
said “and you’ve bent 26 of them.” At this point a rather irate shunter
appeared. “I told you to go back as far as you could, not go through the bloody
bridge.” Not a single wheel had left the rail, but the incident had to be
reported. George faced an inquiry at Derby and came away with a black mark
against him. I never got to fire for George again.
I was subdued when I sat down to dinner at home that evening. When
my father arrived home from work my mother placed his plate before him, he
raised a forkful of food stopped looked at me and said “I hear you’ve been fly
shunting.”
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Between Clanfield and Petersfield is Ditchham
School. The magnificent building overlooks the countryside from the southern
spur of Oakham Hill. The picture shows the house when it was in private
ownership. The lands are first mentioned in Domesday Book ending up in
1545 in the hands of the Cowper family. Richard Cowper left the estate in 1762
to his cousin John Cole who built a new house on top of the down, He called it
Ditcham Grove. Let to the Bonham Carters for ten years in the mid-19th-century
it was sold in 1868 to Charles Cammell who changed the name of the house
to Ditcham House pictured below
He sold it in 1885 to Laurence Trent Cave who built a new
house on the same site, which burnt down just after completion so was rebuilt
in 1888. The Caves also built
St. Lawrence’s Catholic Church in Petersfield. It has been suggested that either Sir
Reginald Blomfield or his uncle Sir Arthur Blomfield were the architects but
this is awaiting confirmation. After the Caves moved on in 1922 the estate went
to W R Rea until 1933, then briefly to Colonel E J L Pike and even more briefly
to Stanley Bond. The estate was sold again to the Douai Abbey Trust Company.
He sold it in 1885 to Laurence Trent Cave who built a new
house on the same site, which burnt down just after completion so was rebuilt
in 1888. The Caves also built
St. Lawrence’s Catholic Church in Petersfield. It has been suggested that either Sir
Reginald Blomfield or his uncle Sir Arthur Blomfield were the architects but
this is awaiting confirmation. After the Caves moved on in 1922 the estate went
to W R Rea until 1933, then briefly to Colonel E J L Pike and even more briefly
to Stanley Bond. The estate was sold again to the Douai Abbey Trust Company.
Above: The footbridge that is there today is a replacement of the original wooden one and is made of the traditional Southern Railway pre-stressed concrete from the Exmouth Junction concrete works. Is still in place and takes a bit of finding, but it is still in good condition and usable and being on a curve to the north and a section of straight track to the south it is an ideal spot for photographing the very rare steam specials that come along this section of track. So maybe I will see you there one day with your camera!!! Below: The original bridge.
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Projection or Projectile?
Official Story
of “Something That Rebounded”
From the Birmingham Gazette, January 28, 1922.
Yesterday afternoon, Friday 27th January 1922, the 4.35 train
from London to Birmingham and the express train from Glasgow to London were
involved in a strange accident, which occurred just outside Blisworth,
Northamptonshire. At present, it is impossible to say what actually happened.
The versions given by the railway officials and that by travellers on the train
to Birmingham differ, and neither version is put forward as definite. The
railway version is that something hit one train and rebounded
to the other and the impression among the travellers was that a
projection from the one train caught the other. At any rate, the railway officials' version
would appear to be the more likely, as both trains were similarly damaged.
Windows were broken and woodwork shattered, and many passengers were badly cut.
Among the passengers was a member of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra, Mr.
Desmond, a coloured man, whose throat was so badly cut that he died before
assistance could be rendered. Sir A. D. Steel-Maitland, MP for Erdington, was
also cut about the head and face, as were numerous others. From the other point
of view:- A railway accident involving the death of one passenger and injury to
a number of others occurred at six o'clock last night on the L &NW Railway
near Blisworth, Northamptonshire, when the 10 a.m. express train from Glasgow
to London was passing the 4.35 p.m. Euston to Wolverhampton.
It is stated officially that one train was hit by something that
rebounded back on to the other train but, in the absence of proof, it cannot be
stated at present exactly what the projectile was. The trains were not derailed
and there was no collision. Mr, Desmond, the dead man whose throat had beencut by flying fragments, is stated to be one of the members of the
Southern Syncopated Orchestra. The
orchestra which had established a very big local reputation, and was still
improving on that reputation until it became involved in a disaster in the Irish
Sea a few months ago, eight of their members lost their lives and all their
instruments were lost so the orchestra had to disband. All the injured were
attended by doctors and nurses. The more serious cases traveled to London by
train and were taken to hospital.
Both trains were able to proceed after the damaged
carriages had been removed. On inquiry just before midnight at University
College Hospital, London, it was learned that only three of the passengers were
then being detained, and their injuries were not dangerous.
Above: Blisworth station
The Runaway Train of Petworth
At the time,
the railway network was in its infancy and, in 1857, the London, Brighton and
South Coast Railway extended its line from Horsham to Petworth, opening for
passengers on 10th October, 1859. Petworth Station was then a terminus, as the
line had yet to be built to Midhurst. In its small engine shed there was one
locomotive, a Sharp Brothers single-wheeler No 79 built in 1847. Twelve days
after the opening in the early hours of the morning, the fireman as usual lit
the fire in the boiler of No 79 to get up steam ready for the day's work, while
steam was being raised, a cleaner set about his task. He needed the engine to
be moved so he could gain access to areas which had been out of
his reach, so he went in search of the fireman who was in the engine men's
lobby nearby.
On the cleaner's return to
the shed, he heard the exhaust of an engine so returned to the lobby to inform
the fireman his help was no longer needed as the arriving engine would help
move No 79. Imagine their bewilderment when they both returned to the shed to
find No 79 had vanished. They ran down the yard and glimpsed the sight of steam
in the distance. A mad dash then ensued which nearly succeeded in capturing the
runaway with the cleaner grasping hold of the buffer - but at the critical moment he
fell to the ground exhausted, while the older fireman was some distance behind.
Whether it was
due to the cleaner tampering with the controls or the regulator had been left
open, steam pressure building as the fire improved until the inevitable
happened, we shall never know. Nevertheless the engine moved through the points
and increased speed as it disappeared down the main line to Horsham without an
engine crew.
With no phones to give
advance warning of the approach of the runway, it came as a surprise to the
level crossing gate keepers of Hardham, Cray Lane and Billingshurst when they
heard No 79 go through without waiting for the gates to be opened. For nearly
17 miles the locomotive galloped away until, when finally approaching Horsham
at a reduced speed owing to a gradient, the runaway was halted by an engine
cleaner going on duty at Horsham. He had realised something was wrong, noticing
debris from three pairs
of level crossing gates
adorning the engine's front buffer, and was able to climb on to the footplate
and bring No 79 to a halt. He was deservedly rewarded by the London, Brighton
and South Coast Railway Company by a promotion with immediate effect to fireman
and being paid a gratuity of £3.
Archive Page at Fort Brockhurst
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The Little Known Story of Shakuntala Railway
Most Indians know of
only one Shakuntala, the one Kalidasa made famous in his Sanskrit play, they
have not heard of Shakuntala Railways. The only railway in India that is
still not owned by the India Government. The reason why it does not come
under the Indian Railways is still unclear, but when the entire railways were
nationalised in 1952, this line was strangely left alone.
At a time when Indian Railways is making plans to introduce high speed bullet trains in the country, Shakuntala Express, one of the last vestiges of the colonial era, continues to enthral railway lovers around the world. The train runs between Murtazapur and Yavatmal in Maharashtra a 190 km stretch at an average speed of 20 km per hour.
The Shakuntala Express. The Shakuntala Express, is a romantic name by all
accounts but actually it is the sole lifeline for the poor villagers. It was
during the era of private railway companies in 1910 when the Shakuntala
Railways were founded by a British firm called Killick-Nixon. This firm then
floated the Central Province Railway Company (CPRC), a joint venture with the colonial
British Government for laying tracks, to be used for transporting cotton from
Vidarbha, and finally on across the sea eventually to Manchester. This track had trains running on
it by 1916 and soon it was being used to carry passengers too.
The trains were run by Great Indian Peninsular
Railway (GIPR) which operated in Central India. This practice continued even
after the GIPR became a part of Indian Railways after
Independence. Shakuntala Railway is still owned by CPRC, presumably because the
government of the day simply forgot to nationalise it, and CRPC is still owned
by Killick-Nixon, a British firm. Even though Killick-Nixon has since moved
from British to Indian hands, it still leaves a privately run
train running on Indian tracks.
A ZD-steam engine, which was built in 1921 in
Manchester, pulled the train for more than 70 years after being put in service
in 1923. It was withdrawn on 15th April, 1994, and has been replaced by a
diesel that now pulls the carriages. Older passengers still recall how
during the steam engine days, the train used to stop virtually anywhere
where passengers hailed it.
Today, the track falls under the Bhusawal division
of the Central Railways (of the Indian Railways) but CRPC still owns the
Murtazapur – Yavatmal (113 km) and the Murtazapur – Achalpur (76 km) railway
tracks. Central Railway which runs the trains on the two sections is supposed
to pay royalty to its private partner and CPRC, which owns the lines and is
contracted to maintain them. This contract has been renewed six times
since Independence – every 10 years, railways have a chance to exercise the
option of taking over the line.
The trains running on these tracks are the only
ones in the country where the guards double up as ticket clerks, as there are
no railway staff at most of the stations on the two routes. Unlike most railway
lines in India that use broad gauge the Shakuntala Railways still uses narrow
gauge lines and makes just one return journey every day. At present, the train
takes around 20 hours to cover the 190km distance between Yavatmal and Achalpur
in Amravati district. According to the locals, while a bus from Murtazapur
to Yavatmal takes just a few hours, it costs six times the train fare. The
trains, therefore, have become a lifeline for local poor people.Meanwhile, back
in Yavatmal, a scene that is reminiscent of another era can still be seen. As
the Shakuntala Express prepares to leave the station, ‘made in Liverpool’ still
inscribed on it, a caravan of villagers board the train for Murtazapur. A
journey into a piece of history!
The Lymington Branch
The history of the 51/4 mile branch line from Brockenhurst on the LSWR Southampton/Bournemouth main line is
interesting in that originally the line ended at Lymington Town on the west bank of the river. It had been built by a
local company, called The Lymington
Railway. It had a working agreement
with the LSWR and opened on 12th
July 1858.
After
the line had been absorbed by the LSWR in 1879, the
new owner indicated that it wished to extend the line to end in a pier station on the east bank of the river. This was to
enable it to operate a ferry service to
Yarmouth.
At
this particular time, a railway was being planned
to link Yarmouth and nearby Freshwater with Newport in
the north of the Isle of Wight. This line
opened
fully in July1889. Meanwhile back on the
mainland, the new half a mile single
length of track running from Lymington
Town, across the river on a viaduct,
to the pier station was completed and opened to traffic on 1st May 1884 and incorporated a landing stage for the forthcoming
ferry.
Passenger
services were mainly push-pull style with ex-LSWR M7 and
O2 0-4-4Ts and short branch sets. Odd sorties by Q and 700 Class 0-6-Os with through stock from London were
also recorded. There was quite a frequent service of eleven
trains daily during the 1930s A
similar pattern of services existed during the
1950s. The original signal box was closed on 11th November 1956 and replaced with a modern
flat-roofed structure built nearer the level crossing, no doubt to aid the
opening and closing of the crossing gates. By this period,
M7s were still in use but not always in the push-pull
mode. There was also a small halt Wellworthy Halt just outside Lymington to
serve the Wellworthy engineering company.
The
M7s were withdrawn from working the branch in 1963 having operated the line since 1918 and Ivatt or
Standard 2-6-2Ts, and BR 2-6-4Ts, took over the
operation of the 14 services a day until 30th March 1967,
by which time the Lymington branch was the last steam-worked branch line in Britain.
From 3rd April 1967, the track layout was rationalised to a single running line. Hampshire
DEMUs briefly operated the services, before
electrification went live by 26th June that year. These trains comprised of 2-HAPs for the Brockenhurst to Lymington
Pier services and 4-VEP units operating through services
to and from Waterloo. The replacement
signal box closed in March 1968. In 1973 the
platform and track were shortened by about half, the old 1884 platform
was removed, and a new car ferry terminal and parking area
were placed on the old site, which opened in 1976. The line still has a
quaint rural, seaside feel to it even today
A Railwaymans’ War
The true story of railway life, by
Derek Welch
The railways, by and
large, ignored the war. They conformed to all the regulations the
blackout etc, but in most other respects the system carried on regardless.
The blackout restrictions they employed extended through station buildings,
loco sheds, and onto the engines themselves. The bright beam that lit up
the night whenever the fire door was opened was held in check by the addition
of two canvas curtains, one either side of the engine. On tank engines the
curtains were fixed to the cab door frames by attaching eyelets to specially
fitted hooks. On tender engines however, a canopy was also slung from the
cab roof to the tender. This arrangement may have thwarted the Luftwaffe,
but it usually made a tough life harder for the crew.
During the summer it
made the footplate stifling hot, thankfully, due to double summer time,
the hours of darkness were short. Not so in winter. Although the curtains kept
out some of the draughts, when running bunker first it was very unkind to brass
monkeys. To make matters worse, when the bunker’s coal level was low, the
cab filled with coal dust. This could be kept down a little by using the
slacking pipe, which delivered hot water and was used not only to damp down the
coal, but to clean the footplate ready for the next shift. Another, and
sometimes hazardous, use for this pipe was for the crew to wash their faces and
hands. St Albans has always had very hard water, to counteract the build-up
of lime scale, an employee was entrusted with the task of putting softening
salts into the water towers, if he was feeling particularly generous and threw
in a larger than normal portion, then the crews would go home with faces burned
bright red. This semi-caustic water did keep the wooden cab floors clean
however, although some were not worth the effort, with gaping holes in the
boarding through which the track could be seen.
Although the blackout
was a very successful method of keeping the exact location of the centres of
population were somewhat of a mystery, it had drawbacks. In today’s
light-polluted world it is difficult to imagine just how dark the night can
be. St Albans is 21 miles north of London; even so the raging fires that
accompanied air raids on the capital could be seen. On nights as dark as
these, the tops of the rails laid a trail that even the pilots could follow.
A railway engine
exhausts vast quantities of steam and smoke and standing trackside, it is not
instantly obvious just how large these appear from the air. In a totally
black landscape, the exhaust plume stands out like a brilliant, white arrow
that can be seen for a dozen miles or more. Indeed, more than one crew had
occasion to give thanks when the first indication they received that an
enemy was about was when a bomb exploded next to the train.
St Pancras was hit,
on one occasion, by a bomb that, although it never exploded, caused extensive
and inconvenient damage. The device dropped through the glassless roof,
through platforms three and four, through the underground railway and came to
rest in a lower tunnel that contained a subterranean river. For a long
time after these two platforms could only accommodate short trains.
Wooden barriers were erected to act as temporary buffers.
Some of Ray’s
earliest recollections of St Pancras concern platforms five and six. These
were devoted to the handling of goods and post. A service road went
between them and the coming and going of post office vans and railway freight
lorries had a hypnotic effect that suddenly makes onlookers realise that they
have been watching for half an hour. Ray was surprised to see a horse at
one end of the yard and found that the beast was used to turn a capstan that
moved, with the aid of a rope, the goods wagons. These were towed from the
parked position to the unloading position. It was about here that the
wagons loaded with beer disappeared, via a lift, down into the brewery stores
beneath the platforms.
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St Pancras was not the quietest place to work with the engines roaring and hissing, it was cacophonous. At times, the noise got on Ray’s nerves but it never seemed to bother the horse it just kept plodding round and round.
From the key role of company secretary
to the booking office clerk and the superintendent of the line, many different
characters worked on the Midland Railway.
One such man was John Moore, the
assistant secretary. It is reported that he was a taciturn sort of man but not
lacking in courage. One Saturday afternoon, for he was almost always at work,
when alone in the building, a tall, gentlemanly-looking man with a loaded
pistol in his hand entered the office. "'I've come to shoot you,'
he said. Mr Moore realised at once that he was in the presence of a madman. He
kept his wits about him and, with forced composure, said, 'Shoot me? What for?
What harm have I done you?'.
"'Never mind,' was the reply, 'you
have got to die'. 'That's not fair,' said Mr Moore. 'Even the wickedest man is
allowed to say his prayers before he dies. Now, suppose you let me have five
minutes to pray and then see what can be done'.
"Having agreed to Mr Moore's
request the secretary added, 'So, I will go into the next room and...'.
"'But you will come back again,'
said the man.
"'Certainly,' answered Mr Moore.
It was only a question of short hop into the outside office, the key turned in
the lock and Mr Moore was safe. It was afterwards found that the poor demented
fellow had escaped from an asylum in York.
Long Jack, otherwise known as John B.
Jackson, of Arboretum Terrace was another character. He was a favourite with
almost everyone. His horse-play and practical jokes were a by-word. To knock a
man off his greengrocer's cart and then to drive the vehicle to the station
entrance was one prank as was to take a barrel organ from the player and play
it on the platform was another.
The marvellous thing was that his
antics lasted for so many years. There is an old handbill which shows that Mr
Jackson was the promoter of a picnic on the ground of the Midland Cricket Club
on Saturday, 9th July 1859. The picnic included brass bands, dances,
donkey races, baby shows and other features which meant Long Jack was in his
element that day.
And finally, the tragic tale of
stationmaster George Henry Rickman, who lived in a whitewashed cottage
specially built for him on the line side near the London Road bridge. Mr
Rickman met with a fatal accident on 1st November, 1866, at the
Derby North Junction. The first trains of the day from the south ran towards
Ambergate by a curve at Chaddesden without touching Derby. Mr. Rickman had a
moment's forgetfulness and stood in the way of the train on the curve. His
death caused a great sensation and his funeral was most imposing.
The driver of the train which knocked
him down was a Nottingham man named William Elliott – a most unfortunate man
who was concerned with a greater number of fatal accidents than any other
driver before or since but strangely none of them were through any fault of
his.
The Heroes of Britain's Railways in the Great War
The Heroes of Britain's Railways in the Great War
Allegedly the service was organised at
the request of His Majesty, King George V, who was certainly there on the day.
The order of service (which is still on sale at the Imperial War Museum) stated
that 186,475 railwaymen of Great Britain and Ireland joined HM’s Forces, and
that, of those, 18,957 were killed in action or died of their wounds. It is
pretty certain that the eventual death toll of railway staff rose to over
20,000, as more men succumbed to their wounds. Certainly the number of railwaymen
who fell is comparable to the present number of employees in the whole of
Network Rail.
Victoria Cross.
Out of this massive number of
railwaymen who served, seven stand out. Each was awarded the Victoria Cross for
their individual acts of bravery and valour. Three of the seven worked for the
London & North Western Railway (LNWR), and the other four worked for,
respectively, the Midland, the Great Central, and the Great Eastern Railways
and the Glasgow, Barrhead & Kilmarnock Joint Railway(GB&K). Three of
the seven lost their lives in the action that won them their VCs, whilst the
other four returned to civilian life (in three cases returning to railway
employment). The different railways honoured their VC winners in differing
ways. The LNWR named crack express locomotives after their VC winners (but did
not move the nameplates to a later loco in the case of the employee who did not
return to the railway). The Great Central and the GB&K commemorated
their VC winners with memorials on their home stations, although that at
Nitshill it had to be removed due to vandalism and now stands in Dingwall, the
HQ of the recipient’s regiment hundreds of miles from Nitshill. There did not
appear to be any local memorial to the Great Eastern or Midland Railways VC winners
– indeed in the latter case finding any railway records of them is difficult.
Fallen Railwaymen.
In the run up to the centenary of the Great War it
became obvious to the Railway Heritage Trust that the railway war memorials
were not fully recorded. So they set out to ensure that every one was noted on
the Imperial War Museum’s archive of memorials, and that, in every case where
the memorial remained in railway ownership, the company which owned the
memorial and the company which was responsible for its maintenance, were
identified. In doing this it was discovered that several memorials had gone
missing down the years but they were able to recover one and to make replicas for
others, which were then placed on local stations. In carrying out this exercise,
the Trust became aware of the seven VC winners, and realised that only one had
a memorial honouring him on his home station. The ‘Fallen Railwaymen’ group was
the first to point this out. Barry Kitchener, was station manager at Euston and
realised that there was no record of Jock Christie VC at that station, where he
had worked. Jock won his VC for an action in Palestine in December 1917. A
plaque to honour him was designed and Jock’s son and unveiled it on the station
concourse. Jock was a railwayman who did not return to railway service and the
loco that had borne his name had been scrapped in the 1930s. Having done the plaque for Jock the Trust decided
that it should honour the other six VC winners. Research on Charles Robertson,
who fought in both the Boer War and the Great War revealed that he won the VC
for a valiant defence of his position on the Menin Road in the retreat of March
1918 . He then served in
the Home Guard in the Second World War. He had joined up from Blackwall GER
station. Although he lived into the 1950s and married, he had no descendants.
Blackwall GER station is long closed, and the nearest station to its site is
East India on the Docklands Light Railway, so, with help from TfL and with the
support of the GER Society, a plaque to him was unveiled there. It is clear
from the records that Charles was adamant about not having a military presence
at his funeral, so there was a totally civilian ceremony for him.
The third plaque was erected was at
Nitshill Station, in southwest Glasgow, in honour of Sgt John Meikle. John had
joined up in 1915, at the age of 16, almost certainly lying about his age. He
had not quite reached the age of 20 when he lost his life assaulting enemy
trenches in the battle of the Scarpe in July 1918, for which he was awarded the
VC posthumously. His colleagues erected a memorial stone to him at Nitshill,
but later vandalism meant that it had to be removed as stated earlier; a plaque
was designed on a new stone. John left no descendants, but his nephews John and
Alan attended the unveiling of the new plaque in October 2016.
Jacob Rivers is the unknown man of the railway VC
winners .
Although the War Department
records show him as a ballast labourer for the Midland Railway, he is not
recorded on the Midland’s war memorial, nor on its Roll of Honour, and, indeed,
there is no mention of him in the staff records. He served in the Boer War and
was then in the Reserve until 1911, after that his family records show him with
the MR from June 1911 to August 1914. His military service was not long and he
lost his life at the battle of Neuve Chappelle in March 1915, single-handedly
driving back an enemy flanking party by throwing bombs amidst them, not once
but twice. On the second time he fell and his body was lost. It is hoped to
erect a plaque to him on Derby station.
The final hero is Wilf Wood, who was a
shed cleaner at Stockport when he joined up in early 1916. Wilf served all the
rest of the war and in October 1918, a fortnight before the Armistice, he was
involved in an advance near Casa Vana, Italy, which was held up by hostile
fire. Wilf advanced alone and used his Lewis gun to take out a machine-gun
nest, leading to 140 enemy soldiers surrendering. As the advance continued, a
second machine-gun nest held up progress and Wilf again advanced, firing his
Lewis gun from the hip, taking out this second nest, and thus causing a further
160 troops to surrender. It is intended to honour Wilf with a plaque on
Stockport Station. The JD Wetherspoon pub in Hazel Grove is named after him.
Railways on the screen "Ealing Style" Part One
Railways on the screen "Ealing Style" Part One
By James Churcher.
The excellent John Huntley story
featured in a recent "Colonnade News" brought to mind one of
his publications entitled "Railways on the Screen". The book
details a range of film titles in which railways are featured and also gives
details of the various locations at which filming took place. This article
features mostly my own research, together with odd references to John's book
and "Forever Ealing" by George Perry.
One of the most famous film producers "Ealing
Studios" used railways in quite a number of their productions. The
head of production from 1938 till 1958 was Michael Balcon who favoured railways
as a mode of transport and frequently incorporated them as part of the feature
or in certain cases the main theme. Balcon's predecessor Basil Dean also
oversaw the release of features in which railways were
prominent such as "Honeymoon Adventure" (1931) and "The Silent Passenger" (1935).
Locations used varied over the years with all four companies S.R,
G.W.R, L.M.S, and L.N.E.R. featured at some time or other. In order to keep
control of budgets locations were selected carefully, with the London area
being much used, although 'on location' work in other parts of the country was
not uncommon. Many films involved glimpses of railways and train formations and
are fully listed in a further article.
"Return to Yesterday"
(1940) Clive Brook stars as
an actor returning from Hollywood who travels incognito to join a seaside
repertory company (Teignmouth) for a quieter life. Railway scenes start with
views in and around Paddington, with arrivals and departures featuring Large Prairie
tanks and Kings. Ealing Broadway is featured with Castles and Kings on express duties. At one
point the lead character alights from a rear coach of Collett designed stock,
filmed between Dawlish Warren and Dawlish
near to Langston Rock. Starring Clive Brook, Anna Lee, Frank Pettingall
and Dame May Whittey.
"The Loves of Joanna Godden"
(1947) An Edwardian style drama, Googie Withers inherits a
sheep farm on the Romney Marshes. Her methods of running the farm are not in keeping
with the local, traditional ways. Eventually she falls in love with Arthur
Alce, a neighbouring farmer (John McCallum) and they embark on running the
farm together. Excellent scenes of an
A1X Stroudley Terrier and S.E.C.R stock on the line from Appledore to
Dungeness, in and around Lydd. Starring Googie Withers, John McCallum, Jean
Kent, and Derek Bond.
"It Always rains on Sunday"
(1947) Googie Withers stars
as a post war Housewife in East London, who shelters ex-lover now escaped
convict Tommy Swann, (John McCallum). A complex and varied story line features
the lives of the inhabitants of Bethnall Green on a Sunday. Earlier scenes were
taken in Camden and featured the North London line, with an L.N.W.R super D,
Stirling class J55, and Fowler 4F as well as Oerlekon D.C. electric stock.
Following a police chase in the latter stages, during which a level crossing
scene shows a Stanier Mogul on a mixed freight, Temple Mill's yard is featured
prominently at night, with the characters dodging both the marshalling of
wagons and fly shunting performed by Holden J69's and a Gresley J38.
Starring Googie Withers, John McCallum, Jack Warner, and Edward Chapman.
"Train Of Events" (1949) Four separate storylines, glimpsing the lives of four sets of characters
in the days leading up to a tragic train crash which involves them all. Jack
Warner as Jim Hardcastle is a driver in line for promotion and based at a
London Depot. (1A Willesden). Ex German POW Richard White ( Laurence Payne),
still haunted by the second world war and living in a variety of seedy bedsits
with his girlfriend Ella (Joan Dowling), decide on a new life in Canada.
Conductor Raymond Hillary, (John
Clements), having had a string of liaisons with various female musicians
finally has to decide between concert pianist Irina,(Irina Baranova) and his
wife,(Valerie Hobson). Actor Philip, (Peter Finch), strangles his estranged
wife (Mary Morris) and hides her body in a stage basket. Behind the opening
titles are a variety of scenes on the west coast main line and at Camden motive
power depot. An L.N.W.R Cauliflower 0-6-0, Stanier black fives, Jubilee's,
Duchess Pacifics, Royal scots and Patriots are also seen. During the opening
scenes there are views of Willesden shed yard and inside the round house where
Black fives (one with wartime numbering on its smokebox door) and a Fowler
compound. Later in the film Jim Hardcastle with his fireman, (Leslie Phillips),
are seen on a Jinty 0-6-0 shunting, (filmed in Willesden yard at night ). After
some departure scenes at Euston, also featuring a Jinty acting as shunt release
loco, Wolverton works complex is used for the crash. Here we see the breakdown
crane hauled by an L.N.W.R Webb 0-6-0 special tank. Starring Jack Warner,
Laurence Payne, Peter Finch, John Clements, Gladys Henson, Valerie Hobson,
Susan Shaw, and Patric Doonan.
"The Titfield Thunderbolt"
(1953) Residents of a village faced with the loss of
its local branch line, decide to "Run it themselves" lead by the
squire (John Gregson), the local vicar (George Relph) and financed by wealthy
local character Mr Valentine (Stanley Holloway). However the local bus company
wants a monopoly and attempts to sabotage their efforts before a Ministry of
Transport inspection. Filmed predominantly on the G.W.R branch from Camerton to
Limpley Stoke in North East Somerset,
the opening scene shows Midford viaduct carrying an unrebuilt Bullied light
pacific on the Somerset and Dorset Joint railway passing over the branch and
heading in the direction of Wellow. Prior to sabotage the main star of the film is a Collett 14xx 0-4-2 tank,
after which its role is taken by Ex Liverpool and Manchester railway 0-4-2
"Lion". There is a scene at Bathampton junction, showing Lion being
passed by a Churchward 43xx 2-6-0 hauling a rake of mainly Hawkesworth designed
coaching stock heading in the direction of Bath Spa. Bristol Temple Meads
station is featured earlier in the film and in the closing sequences with Bath
Road Motive Power Depot in the background and Kings, Castles, Halls or Granges
and Counties on shed, plus a King and a Star in the adjacent platforms. During
the film a 14xx 0-4-2 tank is stolen from the turntable at the rear of Bath
Road shed from the point at which it bursts through an advertising hoarding the
scenes are fabricated using a studio built model which travels through the main
street of Woodstock in Oxfordshire. Starring George Relph, John Gregson,
Stanley Holloway, Hugh Griffiths, Naunton Wayne, and Sid James.
"The Ladykillers" (1955) Professor Marcus, (Alec Guinness) assembles a
selection of petty criminals to rob a security van in the area of Kings Cross.
Posing as musicians they plan the robbery at the professor’s lodgings where the
landlady (Katie Johnson), is at first unaware of their motives. During the
course of the night after the robbery, one by one the thieves fall out, each
having a train to catch! The opening scene comprises an aerial view of the
professor's lodgings, behind which is seen a Thompson B1 near to the entry
lines to Kings Cross Motive Power Depot. The next railway scenes are views from
the top of Copenhagen tunnel, looking down to its signal box and onwards
towards Belle Isle. Many scenes in the film were taken from this general
location in which are featured Stirling J 55's, Gresley N2's, A3's, A4's,
Peppercorn A1's and A2's and a Thompson B17. Freight traffic on the nearby
North London Line is also seen. At Kings Cross station itself, a rake of
coaching stock is being drawn into the platform by a Gresley V1 or V3. In the
latter stages freight workings to and from Kings Cross goods yard are seen
hauled by Gresley V2's, whilst express and suburban workings pass in the
background. Starring Katie Johnson, Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom,
Peter Sellers and Danny Green.
Part Two will include a full list of Ealing Films that
feature railway scenes.
Thrifty Football Fan
One football fan seeking
the cheapest train fare to watch an FA cup tie ended up buying 56 separate tickets for the journey - and
still ended up missing the game. Jonny Heywood's trip with his girlfriend from Newcastle to watch his team take
on Oxford United away in the FA Cup
took him to seven stations and saved
him £30 after he used a split ticket website to get the cheapest fare. But despite all his effort his team lost 3-0 and he spent the entire match in an accident
and emergency unit with his girlfriend after
she fell over and injured her face
on the way into the game. The
trip took four hours and nine minutes and
they stayed on the same train. Mr Heywood said: "I couldn't
believe it at first, but in the end
it was actually worth it. "There were 56 tickets, so 28 each for of us and we split them into four
envelopes so it was manageable. The only hassle was our reservation changed
every couple of stops so we sat in two unreserved seats for the whole journey. "Sadly the journey was a waste of time because
my girlfriend ended up slipping over as she
entered the ground, burst her lip open, passed out and we sat in hospital for four hours."
After he shared a picture of his tickets on line, his story prompted others to tell of their own tales,
including one football fan who posted a
picture of a pile of tickets for a
trip to see Southampton, which he said
saved him £30. Travel from
one end of the country to the other
can set rail passengers back hundreds of pounds. An open return from
Wick to Penzance that week is priced at
£467.40 on Trainline. From Shanklin to Buxton is said to be the UK's most expensive journey. An anytime
return leaving next week costs £501.40. The TrainSplit website claims to save users money by helping travellers buy a series of cheaper tickets for a route. Giving the example of an
off-peak fare between Birmingham and Leeds, the
site says it can save passengers more than £20.
A spokesman for Raileasy, which operates the site, said: "Travellers using Trainsplit are paying on average 28% less
for their tickets than they would if they had bought them on Trainline. In May, the Rail Delivery Group piloted
a new pricing system on trains between London and Sheffield to remove
unnecessarily large fares and offer
customers the cheapest option. It
says the new system will make it easier
to get the right ticket at the best price,
either online or at stations.
Woking Railway
Orphanage
(The Southern Railway
Servants' Orphanage)
I expect that most of us can remember spotting the Southern Railwaymen’s Orphanage on the east side of the tracks on the approach to
Woking station, some of
us even went on railtours that were organised to raise money for the home. Here
is a very brief potted history.
At the
initiative of Canon Allen Edwards and supported by the workers of
the London and South Western Railway, the Company opened The London and
South Western Railway Servants Orphanage in Clapham for the children of
railway workers. This building could accommodate 150 children whose fathers had
died during their work on the railways. In 1907 the trustees
and governors acquired an extensive new site beside the railway line near
Woking station. Here a large new orphanage, accommodating 200 children, was
opened in 1909, having cost £ 24,000. According to various sources mothers
could visit their children in the orphanage but only once a month and
"typically, the children remained at the orphanage until the age of 14 or
latterly 16.
Over the years the needs have changed and the
remit extended and by the 1960s the site became known as the Southern
Railwaymen's Home for Children and Old People. In 1982 it
became Woking Grange whose purpose was to serve the Southern Region and British
Rail. It is now part of Woking Homes which caters
solely for retired railway and transport personnel and their spouses.
A Selection of Station Stories
A Selection of Station 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 and
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 the longest at any railway station.
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.
The Great Bear
The
Great Bear,
number 111 was the first 4-6-2 (Pacific)
locomotive used on a railway in Great Britain and the only one of that
type ever built by the GWR. There are differing views as to why Churchward
should have built a pacific locomotive in 1908 when current and future
locomotive practice for the railway was centred on the 4-6-0 wheel
arrangement. One suggestion is that The Great Bear was built
in 1908 to satisfy directors demands for the largest locomotive in Britain, and
much was made of the locomotive by the GWR's publicity department.
However, O.S. Nock was adamant that the design "was entirely
due to Churchward and not to outside influences that pressed the project upon
him". Nock regarded the locomotive as "primarily an exercise in
boiler design" with Churchward looking forward to a time when his Star Class locomotives
could no longer cope with increasing loads. The front-end layout was the same
as that for the Star Class except that Churchward fitted 15 in
(380 mm) diameter cylinders, the maximum possible without fouling the rear
bogie wheels. However,
the design of the boiler was entirely new, and with a barrel of 23 ft.
(7.010 m) which was exceptionally long both by contemporary
and later standards. The main reason why Churchward adopted the 4-6-2 wheel
arrangement was to enable him to fit a wide firebox over the trailing wheels. With a
firebox surface of 182 sq. ft. (16.9 m2) this was a
17.5% increase in size compared with the Star Class. It was also built
with a Swindon No. 1 superheater.
With
the introduction of GWR Power Classifications in
1920 the power classification was "Special" (denoted by a black cross
on the red route availability disc) although the tractive effort of
27,800 lbf. (124,000 N) fell within the range for "D". In
service the performance of The Great Bear proved to be
disappointing and not a significant improvement on existing classes. "The
excessive tube and barrel length of 23 feet made for bulk rather than
efficiency". Also the axle boxes of the trailing wheels tended to
become overheated due to their proximity to the firebox. Churchward attempted
to improve the performance by adding a Swindon No. 3 Superheater in 1913 and
top-feed apparatus.
However,
the excellent performance of the Star Class and advent of the First World War brought
a stop to further experimentation without significant improvement. In addition
to the disappointing performance, it had a highly restrictive route
availability. The 20 tons (20.320938176 t) axle load restricted it to
the Paddington to Bristol main line, (it was
once recorded to have travelled as far west as Newton Abbot). The GWR route availability colour
code for The Great Bear was Red.
Although
not a technical success the Great Bear was considered the company's flagship
from its introduction until Churchward's retirement in 1922. With the
introduction of 4073 Caerphilly Castle in 1923
with a higher tractive effort, the locomotive ceased to have
any publicity value and became an embarrassment.
It
was due for heavy repairs in January 1924 and so was withdrawn from service by
Churchward's successor Charles Collett. It
had then completed a mileage of 527,272. Its regular engine driver was Thomas
Blackall, who was originally from AstonTirrold.
Rebuilding began with the front portion of the original frames and the number
plates were used again but probably little else". No.111 emerged as a
4-6-0 in the Castle Class, and given the name Viscount Churchill . Thereafter the GWR did
not use the Pacific wheel arrangement. No. 111 was withdrawn in July 1953 and
scrapped later that year.
According
to Cecil J. Allen, "The Great Bear was one of the very few
locomotive types that Swindon has produced, and in particular among the
Churchward designs, to which the word 'failure' could be
applied." Authorities differ as to Churchward's attitude to his
locomotive. According to Le Fleming, "his dislike of 'The Bear' was well
known", but Nock said that he had "a deep affection for the
engine", although he came to regard it as "a white elephant"
rather than a "Great Bear". He was very disappointed to hear
of The Great Bear's destruction, and upon hearing of Nigel Gresley's
proposed plans to construct a pacific for use on the Great Northern Railway, is said to have replied:
"What did that young man want to build one of those for? We could have easily
sold him ours!"
|
Last December I attended a funeral in Holborn so I took the chance to
travel to Waterloo and then the Waterloo and City line to Bank and then onto
the Central Line to Chancery Lane. The trip went well as did the funeral. I
looked at my watch and decided to miss the Funeral Tea, reverse my underground
journey and catch the 16.00 to Portsmouth. The underground was packed and I had
to let the first train go as there was no room aboard. I managed to arrive at
Waterloo with five minutes to spare, dashed down the platform and boarded the
train as it was getting dark but without my anticipated mug of black coffee.
Settling in my seat I noticed my fellow passengers, took out my book and
started to read, as looking out train windows in the dark is very unrewarding!
All went well until the train, which was getting rather full, arrived at Woking
where we were held for about five minutes. We soon moved but only a short
distance when we had another five-minute wait, and then onto Haslemere. After
standing here for a while the guard announced that there was a problem ahead
and that we would be delayed for fifteen minutes or so. This was followed by
another announcement stating that there had been an incident at Liphook and
that the Police and Ambulance service were in attendance, so the train would be
delayed by at least an hour. This sent a section of the passengers into a panic
and they rushed off the train, bombarded the platform staff with questions and
then left the station looking for taxis. Meantime I had struck up a
conversation with a lady of my own age, Val and a young mother, Charlene, all
of us on our
way home. We decided to sit tight and await developments. These soon
followed when the announcement that we all dreaded was made “this train has
been cancelled and there will be no further trains to Portsmouth until further
notice”. We were now asked to leave the train and wait on the platform for the
Replacement Bus Service. However, we were informed as the line was blocked the
four buses would call at Guildford first and would call at Haslemere if there
was any room left on the bus.
After a discussion with my new-found friends I pointed out that if we
could get to Woking we could get to Portsmouth via Basingstoke. The railway
authorities must have had the same idea because very soon it was announced that
as the up line was also blocked they would be running a train down from Woking
to pick us up and take us the way I had described. Great relief all round.
Unfortunately, Haslemere has the basic of facilities and even though we
were all parched the one coffee kiosk which was situated on platform two, where
the relief train was supposed to be arriving, was closing and he said that he
could not serve us. The relief duly arrived and we were told for the plan to
travel via Basingstoke but not to board the train yet. Within a few minutes
this train left in the direction of Woking completely empty. By this time the
two ladies and I had become firm friends and resolved to stay together,
especially when we discovered that we were all travelling to Portsmouth
Harbour. We made our way back to platform one and this is when we discovered
that we all came from Gosport.
Standing by the train, our original train, on platform one an
announcement came over the system saying that the problem had been solved and
we could a reboard the train. I said to the ladies “ they have kept us hanging
about for almost an hour and a half, I think we deserve to travel back First
Class”, which we did.
Whilst travelling across on the Gosport Ferry Charlene said she had her
car in the car park and how were we getting home, both Val and I said by bus.
It was then that Charlene kindly offered to take us to our own respective
houses and we started to swap addresses and to our utter amazement we
discovered that we all lived within a quarter of a mile of each other and had
never met. It was a fraught journey but made very tolerable by the good company
we had, and the strange thing is that I have never seen either of those two
ladies again!
The Good News and the Bad News
The Good News: It was a normal
day in 2016 in Sharon Springs in Kansas when a Union Pacific train crew boarded
a loaded coal train for the long run to Salina.
The Bad news: Just a few miles
into the trip a wheel bearing became overheated and melted, letting a metal
support drop and grind on the rail, allowing white hot molten metal droppings
to drip down onto the rail.
The Good news: An alert crew
member saw smoke halfway along the train and immediately stopped the train in
compliance with the Company Rules and the Dispatcher then would not let them
move as rules are rules.
The Bad news: The train stopped
with the hot box over a wooden bridge with creosote ties and trusses. The
photographs speak for themselves…
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