NEWSLETTER - ntsra.org.uk

NORTH TYNESIDE STEAM RAILWAY ASSOCIATION

NEWSLETTER

No. 82: Summer 2015. Registered Charity no. 508092

Boys and their Toys

On the early Bank Holiday Monday in May, a group of our younger mem-
bers set up a “Train experience” day, described on pages 7.

Here, Stephen Thornton (L) and Tom Naisbitt (R) are seen aboard our
Kitson loco A No. 5, at the Museum platform.

Photo: Joe Stuart.

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 1 SUMMER 2015

CONTENTS

Editorial Bob Stapley 3
Chairman’s Report Malcolm Dunlavey 4
News from the Engine Shed Tom Naisbitt 5-6
Boys and their Toys Joe Stuart 7
Boys and their Toys—photos 8-9, 20
Stephen Thornton, Joe
Fundraising Group Meeting Stuart 10-11
Rail experience in Japan Paul Lovejoy 12-13
Ian S. Carr Bob Stapley 14-18
Neil Sinclair

Newsletters online Keith McNally 18
Thomas the Tank Engine event Robin Gibson 19
Association badges Ian Taylor 19

NORTH TYNESIDE STEAM RAILWAY ASSOCIATION

Chairman: Malcolm Dunlavey

Secretary: Bob Stapley

Treasurer: Ian Taylor

Newsletter Editor: Bob Stapley

Other members: Mark Beresford, Michael Darling, Roly Kay, Paul
Lovejoy, Alan Thompson, Stephen Thornton

Correspondence address for the Association, newsletter and the Mu-
seum:
North Tyneside Steam Railway Association, The Stephenson Railway Mu-
seum, Middle Engine Lane, North Shields, NE29 8DX.

Tel: 0191 200 7146.

Association web address: www.ntsra.org.uk

Email address for articles: [email protected]

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 2 SUMMER 2015

Editorial, by Bob Stapley

Welcome to the latest issue of your newsletter.

Whilst the articles continue to show what has been happening at the
railway and the events in which we have been involved, one name is
missing from the list of contributors.

Unfortunately Ken Hedley has not been very well in recent weeks. Ken
has provided some fascinating articles, telling us of his experiences as
a railwayman in the Blyth area, and this is the first issue since no. 57
which does not contain one of his contributions.

Here is part of an email received from Ken:

Hello to all my friends. It has been quite some time since I wrote any-
thing due to a stroke I had in March resulting 12 weeks in Wansbeck
hospital which has no wifi, so sending messages was impossible.
I have made a good recovery from this illness, and apart from difficul-
ty with walking, I am OK.

Thank you all who wished me all the best for a swift recovery and re-
turn home, which unfortunately has not taken place yet so I have
moved for the time being into a nursing home in Blyth.

The Association wishes Ken well, and we look forward to hearing from
him in the not-too-distant future.

The Railway continues to add to the diversity of events, as shown in
the articles on Boys and their Toys, and the launch of a fund-raising
group. Loco A No.5 paid a visit to Tanfield Railway recently (to be re-
ported in the next edition), and we are looking forward very much to
the Days out with Thomas weekend at the end of August.

Finally my thanks go to some of the younger members of our Associa-
tion, who are making increasing contributions to this newsletter, with
articles and photos.

Enjoy your reading.

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 3 SUMMER 2015

Chairman’s Report

NTSRA Excursion 2015

As you will be aware the Association over the past years has run a trip
out to another railway to extend our knowledge and learn how other
enthusiasts operate their railway.

This year’s plans were to visit the Wensleydale Raiway in North York-
shire, however only a very few members responded and the trip was
cancelled.

I wonder if we have now come to a point when we should be putting
these plans on the “back burner” suspend the excursions for the time
being. I would welcome your thoughts on this.

Day Out With Thomas

After many years Thomas the Tank Engine is visiting Middle Engine Lane
once again. Thomas and the Fat Controller , sorry Sir Topham Hatt, will
of course be leading the proceedings. The event will take place over
the August bank holiday weekend.

It promises to be a very busy weekend with 4.396 bookings so far! We
need a full complement of crews as well to operate the railway and
seven trains per day are planned. There will also be a need for other
volunteers to be present during this operation—please see Robin Gib-
son’s article on page 19.

If you are available to volunteer please be sure to let Stephen Thornton
have your availability so that rosters can be finalised.

NTSRA NEWSLETTER Malcolm Dunlavey, Chairman NTSRA

4 SUMMER 2015

News from the Engine Shed, by Tom Naisbitt

Class 08 Diesel loco
Some cosmetic work has been carried out to 08915 by a member of the
carriage and wagon department Norman Swindle, on both ends of the
Diesel loco the air pipe valves have been sanded down and repainted
back to a high standard. Further cosmetic work is to be carried out on
the diesel in the near future.

It had been noticed several times lately that 08915 had been making
some rather disturbing noises from the engine, which was thought to
be an old exhaust manifold gasket. The black squad set to on the task
in hand and it was found to be a case of loose nuts and bolts on the ex-
haust manifold, which in turn was causing the exhaust manifold to blow
into the engine bay instead out the exhaust. All of the loose nuts and
bolts were flogged up a running exam was carried out and the loco is
once again running with no defects.

Class 03 Diesel loco
The 03 has had more problems with the valve again unfortunately she
was failed on the “driver for a fiver” event as a result of the problem.
The problem had been rectified by removing a plug that had been
screwed into a air relief port which was causing the problem at hand.

Since then there has been further operational difficulties regarding the
"dead man." Once the driver’s foot is removed from the pedal air is
blown down out of the system which in turn applies the brakes. It is,
however taking a considerable amount of time for the are to replenish
to release the brakes again, the 03 has been taken out of regular ser-
vice and out on standby until such a time the problem can be rectified.

Kitson loco A.No.5
I found a charming part of an old article from 1993 with a comment
from the late Jackie Brown which I thought should be included since he
was well associated with the loco.
One of the regular drivers has taken a "shine" to this loco and has
adopted it for his "pet". He has even been heard muttering the conse-
quences if he catches anybody misusing the "old girl" after all she is

(Continued on page 6)

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 5 SUMMER 2015

(Continued from page 5)

over a 100 years old ! To this I should like to add one of the newer driv-
er has taken a practical at shine to the loco too.

During the Easter weekend A.No.5 was failed after the first run partly
due to mechanical concerns and the RHS injector failed, prior to leav-
ing Percy main the injector would not stop running water for some rea-
son. The water was left running on the return journey until we re-
turned to Middle Engine Lane, on arriving at the platform it was discov-
ered that the injector cap at the back of the manifold had worked it-
self loose which was causing the problem of not being able to turn off
the injector fully. The decision was taken to fail the loco and take her
on the pit to try and sort out the problems, we were unable to shift the
end cab at the back of the manifold which appeared to be thread
bound at the time and the manifold was the turned off to stop the wa-
ter from being injected to the boiler.

Once the fireman had raked the fire out waiting to go back into the
shed the Old Lady must have thought she would teach us a lesson by
blowing off on the pit for half an hour with no fire in ! A witty remark
was made to the fireman I believe something along the lines of " it's a
****** not having enough steam you need it and too much when you
don't isn't it ? "

The black squad set to and took the manifold off and tightened up all
of the lose glands and end caps, and were refitted shorted after. The
Old Lady was steamed and no further problems were given by the man-
ifold, the suspect knocking from the motion is still to be investigated at
a later date.

Peckett Loco A.C.C No.5
Owing to a slight breakdown in communications it was discovered that
the A.C.C No.5's or "Eve" as one of the regular drivers seems to have af-
fectionately called the loco, the five year boiler exam is not until Au-
gust. The loco had new gaskets made for the manifold and they were
refitted within a week or so. The loco then had to be steam tested and
passed with few comments.

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 6 SUMMER 2015

Boys and their Toys

On May 4th, bank holiday Monday, diesel locos D2078, 08915 and the
Harton Electric E4 were out in the yard running shunting demonstra-
tions for our 'Train Power' event with A No.5 Kitson in steam on passen-
ger trains.

After the last train and all of the visitors had left, the volunteers stay-
ing for the evening lit a small brazier and had a BBQ whilst keeping A5
steaming. Afterwards, it was a case of, "what shall we do now?" So E4
and the Dogfish ran through the Platform a couple of times. Then A5
came on and ran top and tailed with E4 for a few run-pasts. After that,
A5 and E4 were pushed into the carriage siding as the coaches had
been pushed into the new road. Because Ashington No.5 was in E4's
spot in the museum, we needed to push it back into the workshop
without setting the fire alarms off (which turned on at 6pm) from die-
sel fumes. It was Michael Wortley's idea to use the coaches as a barrier.
So the Peckett was tied on to one end of the coaches and pushed into
the shed with the 03 staying safely away from the museum. It really
was like playing with a full size model railway.

Then we sat and waited for it to get dark. When it did, A5 pushed E4
into the run round loop. The tool van and its generator were pushed
with the 03 into the headshunt past the crossing. We used the flood
light from the tool van to add to the atmosphere. E4's headlamps were
turned on and A5 ran through the station a few times in the twilight.
Later on, as it got really dark, we ran A5 through the platform and then
E4 light engine with its headlamps piercing the dark. After E4 was put
away, A5's fire was thrown out in front of brazier to finish off the even-
ing.

It was a brilliant evening and all of the volunteers present will agree.
We are all happy to try and run more charters like it this year and pos-
sibly even for the public in the future.

A selection of photos of the four locos and other stock appears on the
following pages

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 7 Joe Stuart.

SUMMER 2015

Top: Diesels in
the Dark

Class 03 diesel
loco, with class
08 behind,

Photo: Stephen
Thornton

Left and below:
Harton electric
loco E4 with Kit-
son a No. 5
alongside.

Photos: Joe Stu-
art.

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 8 SUMMER 2015

Above L: the 03 diesel with the 08 behind. R: the E4 electric with its
battery wagon

Middle L: A No. 5 at the Museum platform. R: A No. 5 between the 2
diesel locos

Bottom L: A No. 5, the dogfish, battery wagon and E4. R: E4, battery
wagon and dogfish.

Photos: Joe Stuart

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 9 SUMMER 2015

Fundraising Group Meeting

At the committee meeting on the 7th July it was decided to set up a
dedicated fundraising group to raise funds on behalf of the NTRSA. Mi-
chael Darling and I are looking for three other people to join the fund-
raising group. We are also looking for other people who would be will-
ing to help out at fundraising events at the SRM and at offsite venues.

The NTSRA has been successful in raising funds towards the restoration
of Bagnall Steam Locomotive 401 by having donation buckets and sales
of donated railwayana also the successful grant application to the HLF
resulted in the All Our Stories display in the museum.

We are looking to build on this success and to explore fundraising for
various projects at the NTSR including repainting the locos into original
BR liveries, Middle Engine Lane station improvements including renewal
of the platform fencing with NER style fencing and level crossing gates
on the pedestrian crossing. Restoration of the Gresley Teak Pigeon Van.

Although these will not happen all at once it is good to have goals to
aim for.

Please come along to a meeting at the SRM on Tuesday 15th September
at 6pm. Light refreshments will be provided. We look forward to see-
ing you.
If you are unable to make the meeting but would like to be involved
please contact the NTRSA committee using the contact information
published in the newsletter.

Proposal for setting up of NTSRA fundraising group

Purpose of group – To formalise the fundraising activities cur-
rently taking place on behalf of the NTSRA and to put a structure in

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 10 (Continued on page 11)
SUMMER 2015

(Continued from page 10)

place which will enable fundraising to be carried out in the future.
To ensure a regular fundraising article is produced for the NTSRA
magazine.

Organisational Structure - To comprise of NTSRA committee mem-
bers, NTRSA members and others as the need arises in a similar
way to the operations group. To be able to meet to organise fund-
raising activities without having to wait to the full committee meet-
ing. NTRSA Chairman and committee to be kept informed of fund-
raising group activities and all monies to be accounted for by
NTSRA treasurer.

Aims & Objectives – To raise funds to support the North Tyneside
Steam Railway which can be placed into general funds or targeted
to specific projects. To explore a range of fundraising actives and
potential sources of revenue or grants.

Short Term Goals – To continue with sales of donated railway
items at the SRM and offsite venues such as model railway exhibi-
tions. To continue with the donations box in the SRM. Email appeal
letter to local history groups or groups with similar railway interests.

Longer Term Goals – To develop the online presence of the
NTSRA with online donations facility, to have online facility for sales
of donated railwayana. Have PayPal account so membership fees
can be paid online and to be able to accept donations. To have ded-
icated email for fundraising group. Social media used to promote
fundraising activities and appeals.

This document was produced to give a brief overview of the planned
group. When the group is formally set up a more detailed plan can
be produced with tasks allocated on the skills base of individuals. A
formal fundraising group mission statement will be produced.

Paul Lovejoy

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 11 SUMMER 2015

Rail experience in Japan

A recent holiday in Japan brought about two railway experiences.
The first was a trip on the Bullet Train from the Mount Fuji area to Hi-
roshima, a distance of about 900 km in 3 hours 45 minutes, then from
Kyoto to Tokyo (about 460 km, just over 2 hours). Pictured above is the
train approaching Kyoto station.
Whilst in Kyoto a visit was made to the Umekoji Steam Locomotive Mu-
seum in Kyoto. Pictured below is the roundhouse, with a turntable ser-
vicing 20 bays.

(Continued on page 13)

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 12 SUMMER 2015

NTSRA NEWSLETTER (Continued from page 12)

Above: Loco C62 2, built
1948, awaiting departure
along the 1 km stretch of
track at the Umekoji mu-
seum. Note the fair-
ground-like appearance
of the roofs on the
coaches.

Left: A loco built in Pitts-
burg, USA, in1880, which
operated in Japan, and
its tender showing some
rather ornate Japanese
writing.

Bob Stapley

13 SUMMER 2015

Ian S. Carr

Ian S. Carr was born 16 October 1937, only child of Thomas and Ruth
Carr of 6 Mount Road West (later 126 Mount Road), Sunderland, where
Ian lived for the rest of his life apart from his time as a student in Lon-
don.

When the house was damaged by a bomb which destroyed nearby hous-
es in Colchester Terrace and Cleveland Road, Ian was taken first to his
aunt’s house In Newlands Avenue and later evacuated to another aunt’s
home in Cockermouth.

Education
Barnes Junior, then Argyle House Schools
1949-1956 Bede Grammar School
1956- 1959 London School of Economics
1959-1960 College of St Mark and St John, Chelsea

Teaching Career
1960 – 1969 Taught Geography at Wallsend Grammar School
1969-1988 Taught Geography and later also became Head of the Ca-
reers Department at Willington High School, Wallsend.

Died 24 February 2015 14 (Continued on page 15)
SUMMER 2015
NTSRA NEWSLETTER

(Continued from page 14)

Interest in Railways
Ian’s earliest railway memory is seeing a green and cream LNER steam
railcar entering Sunderland station when in the team room of Binns
(bombed 1941). He said that his serious interest in railways about 1950
when he was also building up a Hornby Dublo model railway layout.

His diaries show that he was recording his observations from 1951. His
father who was a keen golfer appears to have been trying to steer Ian
towards golf without any success.

Railway Photography
By 1954 Ian was not only taking railway photograph but he was also de-
veloping and printing his own photos. All Ian’s printing was done in the
kitchen of his home after dark. He was meticulous in this and would
discard prints which he felt were not up to his high standards.

Until the early 2000s Ian worked almost exclusively in black and white
photography, although he did take some colour slides (e.g. about 100
during 1967-1970). From the early 2000s until ill health ended his pho-
tography about 2007 he took colour slides and finally colour prints.

The introduction to his exhibition at Monkwearmouth Station Museum
in 1974 read:

“To Ian Carr railway photography has proved an interesting challenge in
all sorts of conditions and has provided a useful record of the demise of
the steam age and the advent of newer forms of traction. The latter is
of less intrinsic interest, so it frequently desirable to show it in a picto-
rial setting, paying considerable attention to surroundings.

In Ian Carr’s views a good photograph is a reminder of a particular mo-
ment and should record the scene truthfully. He lays particular empha-
sis on the subject and background being sharp and on print quality as
opposed to the ‘modern approach’ where these are often subordinated
to obtaining atmosphere.”

Ian never owned a car. Although he benefitted from lifts from friends

(Continued on page 16)

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 15 SUMMER 2015

(Continued from page 15)

he would think nothing of walking eight miles to obtain a particular
shot.

All Ian’s negatives and colour slides and prints and their copyright have
been given to the Armstrong Railway Photographic Trust who have
looked after his collection for several years.

Publications and Articles
Books:
Railways of South Shields (with Neil T. Sinclair) 1990
Railscenes Around Sunderland 1999

Articles:
These included:
Farewell to the Hetton Colliery Railway World December 1959
Durham Miners’ Gala Traffic Railway World April 1964
Sunday Diversions in Northumberland and Durham Trains Annual 1965
Closure of the Lambton Staiths SLS Journal February 1967
End of the Tyneside Electrics Railway World August 1967
Fated Sunday Football Specials Motive Power Monthly February 1990

Articles about Ian’s Railway Photography:
Take Four: Ian S. Carr Railway World September 1995
A Sunderland Selection Railway Bylines September 1999
Lineside Camerman: Ian S. Carr Steam Days November 1999
Tribute to North East Lensman Ian S Carr Heritage Railway 2015

Reproduction of Photos
His first published photo was in Trains Illustrated in 1955 and his pho-
tos have been published in hundreds of magazines and also newspa-
pers. In the Stockton and Darlington 150 Year in 1975 he had over 100
photos published.

Ian’s photos have also appeared over 310 books, mainly on railways of
the North East or on specific types of motive power, but also in several
books covering the history of the Sunderland area. The Railways of
Sunderland relied heavily on his photos and the books of Ken Hoole fre-
quently had photos by Ian.

(Continued on page 17)

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 16 SUMMER 2015

(Continued from page 16)

Exhibitions
Ian’s work was included in various railway photographic exhibitions
ranging from Glasgow to Leicester as well as three one man shows at
Monkwearmouth Station Museum:
1974 Wearside Railway Photographs
1980 Tyne and Wear Rail Scene
1995 The Trained Eye
A further exhibition is planned for December 2015

Other Railway Interests
Ian had a long-standing interest in preservation and was an early mem-
ber of the North York Moors Railway Historical Trust and the North East-
ern Locomotive Preservation Trust. He was also one of the original
members of the Lambton No. 29 Locomotive Syndicate which saved the
0-6-2T. He was the founder secretary of the Monkwearmouth Station
Museum Association (later the North Tyneside Steam Railway Associa-
tion).

He was also interested in the construction of a new G5 0-4-4T (a class
whose final years he recorded) and some of his railwayana has been
sold to help the building of the engine.

Ian was also an early supporter of the Weardale Railways and the Wear-
dale Railway Trust noted that he donated a lot of photographs to their
archives without seeking any recompense. He also similarly helped oth-
er railway preservation groups. After his death many individuals also
noted how helpful he had been to them.

He also was a collector of railwayana Including tickets and nameplates.
Two of his nameplates have been given to public collections – Sunder-
land to Sunderland Museums and Lord Farringdon to the Museum of
Scottish Railways.

A further interest was record motive power performance and his rec-
ords are being given to the Railway Performance Society.

Neil Sinclair, May 2015.

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 17 SUMMER 2015

Ian S. Carr at Monkwearmouth, 1999.
On page 14: at Willington Viaduct, 1974.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Newsletters online

Association member Keith McNally reports that he has completed the
scanning of issues 19 to 37 of our magazine in the days when we were
known as Monkwearmouth Station Museum Association together with is-
sues 9 to 30 of the magazine under our current title. This means the on
-line collection is complete and can be viewed by anyone via
www.ntsra.org.uk/magazine.html

The Monkwearmouth ones in particular make fascinating reading [Ed.]

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 18 SUMMER 2015

Thomas the Tank Engine

Plans have been announced for a Thomas the Tank Engine event, to
take place on the August Bank Holiday weekend, from Friday 28 to
Monday 31 August. This will undoubtedly be one of the greatest events
staged at our railway in recent years. Looking back through past edi-
tions of this newsletter, we last had a Thomas event in 1994, so the
children who enjoyed the 1994 event may well bring along their own

children this year.

This promises to be a really exciting weekend, and no doubt we can
look forward to some exciting stories and photographs in the next edi-

tion of your newsletter.

We need as many volunteers as possible to assist in this event to make
it as good as possible for the public. Offers of assistance should be
sent, as soon as possible, to myself and I can then see which need to
go for roster purposes and I can then see where else assistance may be
required. Volunteers concerned will need to be aware of changes to
the normal routine, not least in the running of seven trains each day. In
this connection a committee meeting has been arranged for Tuesday
25th August at 1700, in the cafeteria, and all operating personnel are
invited to attend.

Robin Gibson, Railway Manager

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

NTSRA Enamel Badges

This year we have been fortunate in attracting several new members of
our Association, and this has increased demand for our enamel Associa-

tion badges.

A new supply of badges is now in stock, and any member wishing to
purchase one can do so by contacting me at the Museum address.

Ian Taylor, Treasurer

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 19 SUMMER 2015

One more photo from the Train experience day, by Joe Stuart. Peckett
loco ACC No. 5 heads the coaching stock with Kitson loco a No. 5 just
visible in the background.

The distortion of the image of the coaches is caused by the hot air ris-
ing from the fire, which was much-needed to keep the lads warm on
this early May evening.

NTSRA NEWSLETTER 20 SUMMER 2015