NRS NL 57-1 Jan-Feb 2012

Volume 57 No. 1 Jan / Feb 2012

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news from railways in and around Norfolk

National Network

Here We Go Again !

The Eastern Daily Press & Norwich Evening News for 26th
January alleged that the single-track Trowse Swing Bridge
was a major impediment to the improvement of train
services. They believe that this is preventing the introduction
of a half-hourly service between Norwich & Cambridge i.e. 2
extra trains per hour. How long is the single track over the
swing bridge and either side ? There is bi-directional working
both sides of the bridge, so it doesn't say much for timetable
planning if these extra trains cannot be accommodated.
Then, of course, the bridge theoretically needs to swing. How
often does that happen now ?
The article was, inevitably, thin on the physical means by
which the additional river crossing would be achieved.

A couple of days previously, Ely North Junction had been
identified as the problem. Surely that was nearer the mark.

Snow Start for Abellio Greater Anglia

Dutch-based Abellio took over the region’s trains on 5th
February, operating under the ‘Greater Anglia’ banner. “Don’t
expect miracles” was the message in the run-up to the start
of their franchise. Just as well with the first significant snow
of winter arriving to greet the new operator and causing
disruption on the first two days of operation.

Greater Anglia has said that its initial task will be to ensure a A4 4492 ‘Dominion of New Zealand’ (actually 60019 ‘Bittern’)
seamless transition is made so that provision is in place for plus support coach arrives at Norwich on 14 December 2011
the London 2012 Olympics, before turning attentions to prior to working the following day’s York Yuletide Express >
improvements in customer service, station condition and David Pearce
operational performance.

IN THIS ISSUE

Track Report 1 Cambridge's new Island Platform - make sure you're
National Network 3 prepared !
Heritage, Narrow Gauge & Miniature 4
Away from the Tracks 4 I used the new island platform at Cambridge for the first time on
11 January 7th, when the 12:15 King's Cross to Cambridge ended its
Pick-up Goods journey at platform 7. The new platform won't be popular with users,
NRS News as there are no retail or catering facilities at all. The passage over the
tracks is floored in an attractive light-coloured marble: the guard on our
Features 12 train told me it's a death trap in wet weather!
Liverpool St Traffic Manager’s Office Part 2 13
Northern Ireland July 2011 Part 2 Cambridge's new island platform (nos. 7 & 8) had opened on Monday
12th December. It sees little booked use on Sundays and during the
Working Timetable 15 week booked northbound departures are limited to the 0655 SSuX to
Birmingham New St (platform 8). (Mike Handscomb)

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A busy scene at Norwich Thorpe Junction on 19 December 2011 as Tornado reverses First Experience of
its empty stock after arrival from Basingstoke with the Cathedrals Express. > David Greater Anglia
Pearce
Like others, I had difficulty in
accessing the Greater Anglia
website when Abellio took over
our trains on February 5th.

On a journey from Wymondham
to Cambridge today (6th), the first
weekday of the new regime, all
on-station an on-train
announcements referred to
'Greater Anglia', as did departure
screens, poster strap lines and
the conductor's identity lanyard.

All NXEA vinyls seem to have
been removed from rolling stock,
but I saw no evidence of any
replacements.

Newly-issued pocket timetables
are branded 'Greater Anglia' but
on the rural lines the eagle-eyed
may spot a reference to NXEA
which the proof-readers missed.

Mike Handscomb

Norfolk Railway Society Heritage, Narrow-gauge and Miniature
(Founded 1955)

President: Arnold Hoskins, Esq. J15 Centenary and B12 to Steam Again
Vice-President: Ken Mills, Esq.
LNER J15 65462 is 100 years old on 12 February 2012.
Committee and officers 2011-2012 Telephone Built at Stratford in 1912 as No. 564 it had been feared the
engine would not emerge from a major overhaul in time for
Chairman Peter Davies its centenary. It last performed on 1st October 2011 at the
North Norfolk Railway, completing four round-trips between
Vice Chairman Peter Adds Sheringham and Holt.

Secretary Ian Woodruff Behind the scenes responses from contractors approached
to tender for the overhaul left the M&GN Society concluding
Treasurer and the centenary target date for completion would not be
achieved. Given the NNR’s requirements for motive power
Website Editor Andrew Wright and a guarantee on the minimum number of steamings, the
Society decided to defer the main overhaul until after the
Fixtures Arranged by sub-committee expiry of her 10 year boiler ticket in July. Instead the J15
has been re-tubed, essential winter maintenance completed
Membership Sec. Mike Handscomb and re-painted ready for the start of the new season.

Newsletter Editor Edward Mann

Publicity Mike Fordham

Archivists Peter Allison &

Raymond Meek

Committee Member Graham Kenworthy

=============================================

Norfolk Railway Society Newsletter

Editor Edward Mann

Distribution Graham Smith On Thursday 8 March the J15 will appear alongside
B12 4-6-0 No. 61572 when the iconic inside cylinder B12 is
Please contact Graham if the next edition does not arrive by re-launched at a Members event the day before the start of
the end of the month of publication the NNR’s Spring Gala.

Opinions expressed in any article are the author's and should Built in 1928 by Beyer Peacock, No. 61572 became the sole
not be taken to represent those of the Society. surviving B12 in 1959. As well as regularly hauling the
Yarmouth to March parcels train, it also hauled an increasing
Next issue published mid-April 2012 number of rail tours. It was withdrawn from service in
Copy date: Thursday 5 April 2012 September 1961 and acquired by the M&GN Society in
1963. Its return to steam will be a welcomed after a long
major overhaul.

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East Grinstead is within sight just like a 19th-century railway-building scene: a vast and
deep cutting of earth, mud and waste. The cutting stretches
On our recent NRS visits to the Bluebell Railway we've been round a bend, so I couldn't see how close the track from East
unable to travel any further than the current northern termi- Grinstead has reached.
nus of Kingscote.
At the end of March the Bluebell Railway's exemption from
Landfill Tax will end and waste removal will become far more
expensive - prohibitive, even. The Imberhorne Cutting Site
was shut when I visited, but I understand that an assessment
is to be made shortly to determine whether further waste
needs to be removed before the critical date. Trains may be
running later this year between East Grinstead and Sheffield
Park – time for another NRS visit?

Your Editor, hastily donning his "Fixtures" hat,
would very much like to get to the extended Bluebell this
year.

The Bluebell has long wanted to extend north to East Grin- MLA bogie wagons at the northern end of the cutting in April
stead to reconnect with the national network. A first step – as 2011 >Robert Philpot
long ago as 1992 – was taking over from Network SouthEast
the impressive Imberhorne Viaduct, just south of East Grin-
stead. The viaduct has been thoroughly repaired and has
track over it once again.

But many landowners had to be persuaded to sell land back
to the railway, and it was only in 2003 that the Bluebell ob-
tained the final piece and began laying track. The main ob-
stacle has always been Imberhorne tip, where thousands of
tons of domestic waste were tipped into the railway cutting in
the late 1960s and early 1970s. After a trial by road, the
Bluebell decided to remove the waste by rail. This meant
building a line south from Network Rail at East Grinstead to
the tip face. GBRf 66s brought long trains of Metronet-brand-
ed MLA bogie wagons to the tip face, where a digger filled
the wagons with waste. The trains then left for a Shanks
landfill site in Bedfordshire.

So at present there are two Bluebell Railways: the original
track running south of the blockage and the reinstated track,
over ½-mile long, running from East Grinstead to the north
of the tip. The Bluebell's station at East Grinstead was
opened last year – but it doesn't yet serve any others.

In early January we were visiting relatives near East Grin-
stead, and I persuaded everyone that a trip to an old munici-
pal tip would be an excellent way of starting 2012. With the
aid of a large-scale map we located Imberhorne Lane bridge.

Looking south from the bridge a railway line stretches away
towards Kingscote and appears pretty well ready for passen-
ger trains. But cross over the road and look northwards – it's

Fancy a short break on the Isle of Man ?

The Isle of Man 50 Group has its annual programme from Saturday 21st to Wednesday 25th July inclusive. Events begin with
a slide show on the long-closed Manx Northern and Peel Railways, followed by (but not necessarily in this order) a Preserved
Bus Day, a Manx National Heritage and Groudle Glen Railway Day, an Isle of Man Railway Day, "chasing" on the IMR, MER &
SMR trains & trams. and a Manx Electric Railway Day.

I can email a flier, or contact Malcolm Banyer at [email protected]. The Isle of Man Transport Society's own events
immediately follow - from Wednesday 25th July to Sunday 29th July - and those interested should keep an eye on their
website - www.iom50group.org.uk

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Away from the Tracks

Railwayana Report by Mike Handscomb

Interesting railwayana from our region continues to turn up at auctions. The Great Central Railwayana (GCR) auction at
Stoneleigh Park in October and the Sheffield Railwayana Auctions (SRA) sale two months later at Derby both contained some
notable pieces.

Signalling items maintained their popularity. A Tyers No 6 brass-faced single line tablet, Gunton – Newstead Lane sold for £400
(GCR), while a Roughton Road Junc – Overstrand, in slightly less appealing aluminium, made £300 (SRA). £320 was paid for a
metal-lettering-on-wood signalbox nameboard DEREHAM NORTH. After railway service the box itself was used as an office at
Mattishall before being sold and moved once again to Hindolveston five years ago. I'm sure the MNR would love to have it – and
the board – back!

Turning to locomotive items, someone forked out £1,500 (SRA) for an oval brass
worksplate which by rights should be in Norfolk. Engraved Hunslet Engine Coy Leeds №
316 1883, it was once carried by 1’ 11½” gauge 0-4-0ST Gwynedd, an ex-Penrhyn Slate
Quarry loco which has been at Bressingham since 1966. Maybe a Bressingham volunteer
dug deep into his/her pocket? £200 (GCR) was the price for an enamel KING'S
LYNN shedplate from LNER days, which would have been fixed inside the cab of a loco
shedded at 31C. Still on shedplates, an oval 32A (Norwich Thorpe), repainted on the front,
made £120 - how many of those have you seen, Messrs Mills, Fordham and Adderson?
The vendor claimed that this one was carried by J15 0-6-0 no. 65469, but there was no
visible evidence.

Railway posters, unlike 'lumps of metal', have attractions as home decor and are always
keenly contested. A LNER poster Norwich – It’s Quicker by Rail by Frank Mason, with a
striking and colourful illustration of Norwich Castle, made £190 (SRA) despite some
damage. A BR(E) Norfolk poster by Lance Cattermole, showing Lord Nelson in the midst of
battle and captioned Nelson - born Burnham Rectory 1758 (nearest station Wells-Next-
The-Sea) went for £390 (GCR). A clue to the poster's date comes from the station; before
summer 1952 Burnham Market would have been named instead of Wells.

Maybe original artwork is more to your taste? For £950 (SRA) you could have bought a
framed 1989 canvas by Malcolm Root showing a 1960s scene at Reedham Junction from
the footplate of a loco with B12 4-6-0 no. 61572 approaching with a train from Lowestoft.
Finally, a mere £50 secured M&GN cast iron oval bridgeplate no. 256 from the station
footbridge at Drayton.

Note: prices quoted were subject to a buyer's premium of 12% (SRA) or 10% (GCR)

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A miscellany of news and members’ contributions

Recently at the URC Hall at Porthmadog. This put him in a good position to record the
progress of the line and the train workings over it.
1st December 2011 – The Welsh Highland Railway (Paul
Hudson) We were treated to a brief history of the line in its early
years, up to closure before World War 2, followed by the
A near-record turnout assembled to hear an extremely well- machinations of rival groups to secure its reopening, with
prepared talk by Paul Hudson. Known to many members as that backed by the Festiniog Railway being the successful
a Plandampf regular and contributor to past talks on that one. Paul then took us southwards from Caernarfon,
subject, Paul is a long-standing member of the Welsh following the track of the standard gauge line to Afon Wen as
Highland Railway and has worked regularly on the working far as Dinas Junction, the original northern terminus. From
parties restoring the railway to its original southern terminus there onwards he was able to intersperse shots of the
abandoned trackbed, and of the actual restoration process,
with those of today’s fully operational railway. At the south
end he included pictures of the rival group’s operation on the

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trackbed of the old Croesor Tramway, finishing with scenes Edward Mann showed some vintage video of a couple of
of the awkward layout at Festiniog, to be the subject of future industrial railways serving the aluminium industry in the Fort
rebuilding. William and Kinlochleven areas. Rudimentary trestle bridges
passed for civil engineering, even though the Kinlochleven
The evening was well-researched and held the attention line was electrified @ 500V D.C. Then the film moved to the
throughout. Our thanks to Paul and also to the projection oil shale mines near Winchburgh, not far from Edinburgh.
crew, for whom this was an especially challenging evening, This 2'6" gauge 4 mile line was Scotland's first electric
with frequent changes from slides to digital and back. railway - it closed in 1961.
(Chris King)
Malcolm Cooper produced some impressive photos of the
The Members' Informal Evening on 15th December was Warley Model Railway Show of 2010, especially the
full of surprises, both at home and abroad, and proceedings Twittering & Oysterperch Railway, though strangely this
closed just before 10 p.m., more by accident than design ! amazing line was not there in 2011.

First to show was Mike Fordham who brought a friend's DVD It was now the turn of those with slides, and Ken Mills
shot in Paraguay earlier in the year. The country's showed slides of his July 2011 visit to Northern Ireland
infrastructure is, sadly, Third World, with such oddities as a interspersed with those he took back in 1963. One of the
bridge without a road. Railway footage showed some rusting most impressive locos was the Great Southern & Western
boilers, and some impressive Yorkshire Engine Co. exports B1(a) 4.6.0 now preserved at Cultra - one of a class of three
of the early 1950s, but nothing working. Indeed, it wasn't which worked the Dublin - Cork services - which Ken also
clear if there was still a rail service at all ! saw on his earlier visit, and which are very similar to "Royal
Scots". Seen at Cultra this time was what was effectively a
Arthur Barrett showed part of an A-Z of Steam DVD, which 5'3" gauge L.M.S. 2P 4.4.0 ! He saw some early Irish
apparently ends with Zimbabwe. It opened with A for A3, and Republic diesels at the RPSI at Whitehead, one of the well-
"Flying Scotsman" was prominent on a non-stop run from known "Jeep" 2.6.4Ts, and no. 171 - the Irish equivalent of
King's Cross to Edinburgh in 1968, and on its U.S.A. visit in the J15 !
1969. B was a strange selection with ex-LSWR B4 0.4.0T
"Normandy" on the Swanage branch, followed by "Black 5s" Peter Adds rounded off proceedings with slides from his 25
in the late 1970s. C was the ex-SECR "C" class 0.6.0 filmed years commuting from Hitchin to King's Cross. We saw the
in black & white on a "last day" somewhere on the Southern layout at Sandy, where the old Cambridge - Bletchley line
Region. An undertaker was prominent, a not unusual crossed over, the last Deltic-hauled "Tees-Tyne Pullman"
character at "last days" in the 1960s. and the line-up of staff, Moorgate services, York Road, and
then up to the Settle & Carlisle where the BR Publicity Dept
Warren Wordsworth reminded us of Society and other local had a HST to play with for a day !
activites earlier in the year, with the "failed" 8F 48305 on the
G.C.R. , 6023 on the Mid-Norfolk Railway and the usual Thanks to Andy Wright for operating the digital projector and
mixed bag on the North Norfolk Railway - 45305, the ex-L.T. to Ian Woodruff for keeping the slide projector moving.
Pannier tank, J15 65462, "Flying Pig" 43106 and 92203
"Black Prince". Those present will recall that, at our break, tradition was
followed and the needs of the inner man were satisfied by
Technical problems prevented Robert Scarfe from showing mince pies etc provided by Graham & Joy Kenworthy in
his film of Thetford signalbox next, so Mike Handscomb read return for a donation to the Norwich Night Shelter, otherwise
an extract from Nicholas Whittaker's "Platform Souls". He St Martin's Housing Trust. Though the division of labour
was a train-spotter of the 60s variety and preferred old remains unclear, Graham & Joy would like to thank everyone
railway films to slide shows. However, he recalled a visit to for contributing a record sum - "comfortably into 3 figures" -
Barry scrapyard - the "Elephants' Graveyard" - before which was much appreciated.
anything had been removed, and their unfortunate
companion who had his Parka (remember them ?) tied to the The Chairman's address on 5th January fell to Peter Davies,
strings of a luggage rack (remember those ?) just before and the presentation was entitled "Lawrence, Arabia and
arrival at Cardiff and the ensuing chaos ! all that Hedjaz". It was necessary to have an understanding
of the region's history and politics, though Peter lightened the
John Hutchinson produced an Alpine Railways DVD showing evening with some clips from the classic 1960s film -
the "Crocodile" electrics before moving to some impressive "Lawrence of Arabia".
snow clearance work over the Bernina Pass by the last
steam snow-blower retained by Rhaetian Railways (it was The Ottoman Empire was in terminal decline in the late 19th
used twice in 2009). This route is the highest adhesion century, and the countries we now know as Greece and
railway in the Alps at 7% or 1 in 14 ! Romania (for example) had broken away following the
Russo-Ottoman Crimean War, leaving them with what we
During the break Robert Scarfe had managed to fix the now know as Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia & Syria.
problem and we were treated to an excellent session inside When Abdulhamid II became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire
Thetford signalbox filmed last November. Thetford will soon in 1876 he took up the pan-Islamic banner to get the support
lose its rare co-acting signals at the end of the Up platform of his Muslim majority subjects (nothing new there - Ed.). His
and the signalman clearly explained offer and acceptance standing in the Islamic world was based on his position as
procedures to/from Brandon and Harling Road. As darkness Cailiph, and the holy city of Mecca was under Ottoman
fell a Sandite train, top'n'tailed by Class 37s, made a control. Muslims are required to make a pilgrimage to Mecca
welcome change from the units. The signalman's helpful at least once in their lives, but the overland route from
commentary gave no hint of his impending redeployment or Damascus to Mecca could take over 40 days and the
redundancy. pilgrims suffered seriously from attacks by Bedouins,
disease, extreme heat and the lack of clean drinking water !
5 A railway would be a great asset !

_________PICK-UP GOODS in charge of the project. Although the project was due to be
completed in 1968 the growth in air travel and considerable
German influence was at work behind the scenes, but raising improvements to the road network meant that the railway's
the money to build the line was entirely down to worldwide reconstruction was uneconomic and it was soon suspended.
Muslims albeit with a significant pledge from the Sultan etc. An occasional enthusiasts' steam service runs twice-weekly
A German engineer - H A Meissner - was brought in to between Amman (Jordan) & Damascus.
oversee the line's construction, which actually began on 1st
May 1901. Military conscripts undertook the unskilled work, Medina Station Saudi Arabia
but foreign workers were employed on such as bridge,
station and tunnel building. The line was, perhaps
surprisingly, subject to winter flash-flooding.

HSP 2.8.2 no. 71 (1956) in the desert south of Damascus Although this has really been a historical account, Peter's
presentation was lavishly illustrated with photographs of
strange locomotives, rolling stock, civil engineering features
and long-forgotten wrecked engines etc, all of which made
for a thoroughly different and enjoyable evening. (EM)

It was pleasing to learn that very little of the Muslim money Brazil was the next country to be visited as Ken Mills
for the line's construction was "diverted" to third parties, and continued his South American journey on 19th January. It is
we saw how building styles changed from north to south. a vast country, the fifth largest in the world, both by size and
Rails were supplied by by a number of European & American population, which is close on 200 million.
manufacturers. Steel and wooden sleepers were used,
depending on location. However, the line was built to the odd He began with a visit to the steam-worked Tubarao coal
gauge of 1.05M. Unusually, the line opened free from debt mining complex which is, unusually, isolated from the rest of
and the demands of shareholders. A branch line was built the rail network. It was metre gauge, and we saw several
from Dera'a (now in Syria) to Haifa (now on the Israeli coast) non-compound Mallets, including a 2.6.6.2. Trains were fully
to assist the importation of raw materials etc. The train from fitted, and weighed around 1400 tons. The loco fleet was
Damascus to Medina ran 3 times a week, journeys usually around 27/28, and a Manning Wardle 0.4.0ST was on
took between 3 & 4 days. display. A very impressive 2.10.4 "Texan" was also seen.
When Ken visited, flooding had destroyed part of the 70 mile
line and coal was brought to the trains by conveyor. Although
mainly U.S. locos were used, there had been a lot of
withdrawals in the 1970s, and some locos from Argentina
were brought in to replace them.

Hartman 2.8.2 crossing Yarmuk River Bridge no. 12 on After returning to Rio de Janeiro it was time to vist the Rio
the Haifa - Dera'a branch of the Hedjaz Railway. Tramway (Santa Teresa Tram), which runs over 2 routes -
from the central area to Dos Imilios, and from the central
Political changes were afoot, and the line was never built area to Paulo Mattos. Overhead trolley type collection was in
beyond Medina, to which point completion had taken place use but, most amazing of all, were slides of trams crossing
on 1st September 1908. The line never recovered from the the 148' high Carioca aqueduct. The aqueduct dates from
combination of Lawrence's guerrilla attacks in 1917/18 the 1750s, and is just wide enough to take the single track
(despite the Turks being adept at repairing damage), the tramway.
emergence of a French-controlled Syria & Transjordan, the
British in Palestine and the separate Saudi Arabian state. Apart from its famous beaches (which were strangely absent
from Ken's presentation !), Rio is well-known for its huge
Plans to revive the railway after WW2 were agreed by Syria, (130' high) statue of Christ, perhaps the country's best-
Jordan & Saudi Arabia, and a British consortium was placed known image, and which is illuminated at night. This is
located on the top of Mount Corcovado but post-dates the
6 railway (originally steam, but now electric) and lies in a
stunning setting. An hourly service runs, though some trains
require a minimum of 10 passengers.

Continuing on a colourful theme, next stop was the VFCO
Sao Joao del Rei, an amazingly decorative railway,some 250
miles inland, this time on the 2'6" gauge. Perhaps the most
notable of the embellished locos was a Baldwin 4.4.0 of
1912.

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The EFCJ (Campos Do Jordao) in the Sao Paulo area is an Archivist Raymond Meek produced an excellent display
electrified, metre gauge line that climbs from (bottom left), themed on the 3 Norwich stations - Thorpe,
Pindamohangara to what is known as "the Brazilian Victoria & City. David Rowlands asked to be described as an
Switzerland". The line is 29 miles long, and services run at aviation artist, though his display of paintings & prints
40 minute intervals. A variety of overhead-collection cars are covered various transport subjects. Our visit to the Tata
in use, some British dating back to the line's opening. Steelworks at Scunthorpe last year was recalled in a suitable
Contrastingly,Sao Paulo itself suffers greatly from weekday painting. Not content with one artist, Brian Lewis of
smog (it is clear at weekends) and a metro railway has Sheringham doubled the number.
recently been constructed. The Norfolk O Gauge Mardlers had a demonstration stand of
O Gauge locomotives - including a Gresley P2 - mainly kit
Next visit was to a cement company's line at Cajamar, north built locos from brass and nickel silver, with matching rolling
west of Sao Paulo. Once again, U.S. makers were on show, stock. The Norwich Model Railway Club (Cyril Davies) had
with products from Alco, Baldwin & Porter, notably a strange an N gauge layout with much to admire in a small space,
2.4.0 + small 4 wheeled tender. As with other Brazilian including models of 160 people. "Nibley Knoll" (below)
"sheds" there were no sides, just a roof. (Graham & Caroline Watling) was the name of an 009

Finally, leaving the best till last, was the Santos a Jundiai narrow gauge railway incorporating kit-built and ready-to-run
cable railway or inclined planes. Ken visited in the 1980s locos and coaches, with excellent landscaping and water
shortly before the final steam-worked section was features.
electrified.and diverted over a slightly different route. The "Rosebud City Union Station" (below) was the first part of a
railway needed to climb a steep escarpment to reach Sao
Paulo from the coastal city of Santos. The song tells us
"They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil", and coffee
exports were the line's major traffic. But it was hard work to
gain the necessary height, and the 5'3" gauge line had 5
inclined sections at 1 in 12½ (8%) each well over a mile long.
We saw curious steam loco-brakes which gripped the cable,
products of Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn & Kerr Stewart,
and some economical 3-line trackwork with catch points. The
cable system, necessarily, had some wonderful Victorian -
era winding gear. Efficient overhead - electric trains have
now taken over on what Ken (a front passenger on one of
the loco-brakes) regards as the most interesting railway in
the world !

Many thanks to Ken for unearthing more "hidden gems" and
to Graham Kenworthy, the projectionist. (EM)

NRS Annual Show

This was held on Saturday 28th January, and seemed to be
enjoyed by young and old, and by members and non-
members. Alan Thurling acted as roving reporter, for which
I'm very grateful. The EDP/EEN kindly sent a
photographer/reporter, and local members will have read
about the Show a few days later. Our Shows began life as
Open Days (with members' work predominant) back in 1997,
and the indefatigable Mike Fordham has organised the lot !
This report is, however, confined mainly to the visiting
displays etc.

22' American N gauge layout based on a Montana location.
Brian Willcocks is hoping to run large trains (up to 14
coaches) through an urban landscape. Andrew Ingram (well-
known to Society members) had an excellent presentation of
steam-era photographs taken in the Peterborough area. The
Broadland Model Railway Club (Geoff Dimmer & Alan Ball)
had a dual gauge display - a quarry in 009 narrow gauge and
an 00 gauge main line.

The Great Yarmouth Model Boat Club was represented by
founder-member Alan Jones. The have resurrected the old
Yarmouth Model Boat Club and had a fine model of a New
York Harbour steam tug which used to be used to shuttle
barges loaded with railroad cars. Graham Smith's LGB layout
represented North German Islands narrow-gauge. Two of
these islands still have railway systems, and buy in
locos/stock from almost anywhere, thus simplifying the
modeller's task. The Friends of Norwich City Station

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_________PICK-UP GOODS Middleton Press recruit another Member!

(FONCS) (Jon Batley) are carrying out a sort of modern Congratulations to our own David Pearce who is the
archaeological dig to expose as much as possible of what's latest recruit to the Middleton Press ranks and, surprise,
left of City station. They hope to incorporate a grassed surprise, his book (below) is about the Great Central,
memorial area with an M & G N bench and information more particularly the Rugby to Loughborough section. He
boards. has some copies for sale at the discounted price of £15
instead of the recommended retail price of £16.95. Please
Ronald Frith and Roger Upson-Smith had a Meccano contact David if this part of the route interests you.
display, with several models (some working) from kits
ranging from the 1920s to the present - this was very
popular. Brian Baker from the 7¼" Gauge Society brought
along 3 goods vehicles in this impressive scale. Ian Wells
flew the flag for Wroxham's Barton House Railway - it has
two ride-on railways of 3½" & 7¼" gauge and an interesting
museum. From over the border James Hewett, from the
Southwold Railway Trust, publicised its plans for Wenhaston,
where they hope to construct a 3' gauge line on ½ mile of
track, and if planning permission is granted the site will
include a workshop, cafe, lakes and a wild flower meadow.

The George Williamson Memorial Layout (courtesy of David
Hall, Diss Model Railway Society) was a restored N gauge
layout with a Peak District BR (LMR) flavour. Peter Willis, a
member of the Hornby Railway Collectors Association, had
"Binns Road" - an 00 gauge layout (below) of Hornby LNER,
LMS & BR locos and rolling stock.

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Robert Scarfe showed a selection of films (many his own) We received an email from Mike Handscomb:
during the afternoon, and the advantages of Blu-Ray & HD I spotted this in a copy of Rail News for February
were there for all to see. Jane Goodyear, John Hanchet and 1967. Presumably Cromer UDC later reconsidered
Andy Wright had excellent photographic displays. their 'housing scheme'.

Thanks to all other NRS members who displayed models,
publicity material and so on - sadly, space simply does not
permit of an exhaustive listing.

And that's almost it. Thanks to Ann, Bernice, Christine,
Janet, Jenni, Joy, Marie, Maureen, Rose & Sue for keeping
the large crowd fed and watered throughout.

And finally - our raffle raised funds to aid the painting of
"Wissington" (HC 1700 of 1938). Chris King won 1st prize (a
framed print of an aerial view of "The Sheringham Crossing"
taken by Mike Page). Thanks to all who bought tickets. Ian
Lake, Wissington Project Co-ordinator, has replied: "Once
again, many thanks to you and the NRS for supporting the
Wissington project. As we close in on the end of the
restoration, the funds will prove very useful - every penny is
appreciated. Please convey our thanks to all of the NRS.
You will be pleased to know that we are getting very close to
test steaming the boiler in the frames".

(Photography on pages 7 & 8 Andrew Wright)

8

_________PICK-UP GOODS

The Cambridgeshire Guided Busway Opens At Last

Gerald Siviour

After numerous delays the much vaunted guided busway, using to some extent the course of the former GER loop line from
Cambridge to St Ives, opened early in August 2011. The line lost its passenger service from 5th October 1970, and by the 1980s
was open only for freight, mainly sand and gravel from the pits in the vicinity of St Ives. When this traffic ended the line faded
away into disuse with weeds and saplings growing along the rusted tracks, but proposals in the 1990s greatly to expand the

population of the lowland area between Cambridge and St
Ives created the demand for greatly improved public
transport between them to provide an alternative to the
overcrowded A 14.

Histon 2003 – though closed for nearly 30 years the railway and Redevelopment of the disused railway as a Light Rapid
station remain intact if overgrown. Posters around the station Transit System, like the highly successful ones already in
exhorted ‘Say no to the misguided busway’ > Gerald Siviour operation in Manchester and Croydon, was obviously a
possibility but the members of Cambridgeshire C.C.
favoured a guided busway, where conventional buses are
guided along a concrete trough. They were convinced that
this was a cheaper option than the revival in any form of the
railway, although the opposite proved to be the case and it
took two years longer to complete than anticipated.
Nevertheless Cambs C.C. is obviously very pleased with
itself for its timetable booklet states "The busway is an
exciting and revolutionary transport concept that gives you
a reliable, fast and frequent way of travelling between
Huntingdon, St Ives and Cambridge. Buses run every 10
minutes Mondays to Saturdays. It's thanks to
Cambridgeshire County Council that this progressive
transport link has come about, so using the bus is now an
even smarter and speedier choice." How smug can you
get ?

The situation now is that 3 routes use the busway for part
of their journey.

Route A: Trumpington, Cambridge railway station &
St Ives;

Route B: Central Cambridge, St Ives & Huntingdon;

Route C: Cambridge, St Ives & Somersham.

The first two are provided by Stagecoach and the last by
Go Whippet. Of the two provided by Stagecoach, Route A
uses mainly single-deckers and Route B double-deckers.

To sample the busway I recently took a return trip on

Route A between Cambridge station and St Ives Parkway.

Over most of the busway section between the Science

Park and St Ives Parkway, buses run at 10 minute

intervals during the daytime, half the service being

provided by Route B double-deckers and some by Go

Whippet. In the evenings and on Sundays services drop to Histon - Concrete has taken over. In 2011 buses on routes B and
half hourly or less.
C pass along the guided busway and the old railway station is now

My impression was that riding along the busway was derelict. > Gerald Siviour

much smoother than expected in view of the bad publicity

before it opened. The only noticeable roughness was a slight jolt as the vehicle joined the concrete busway from a conventional

road. The bus travelled at up to 50 m.p.h. along its reserved track, the section of approximately 10 miles from St Ives Parkway to

the outskirts of Cambridge taking 20 minutes with a further 22 minutes on congested roads across the centre of Cambridge to

reach the railway station. Thus the total journey time is now 42 minutes compared with 28 minutes in the days of the train service

- such is progress !

The buses were reasonably full but not overcrowded and one wonders how well these will vehicles, with a capacity of less than
100, will cope if the planned population increase in the area comes about. Perhaps Cambs C.C. may then reflect that a Light Rail
System, with trams having a capacity of over 200, may have been a better alternative after all.

Editor's Note: Old timetables show the Cambridge - St Ives distance as 14¾ miles.

9

_________PICK-UP GOODS

The Buckinghamshire Railway Centre Quainton Road

Mike Fordham reports on his visit.

With his daughter living in Buckingham for the past 10 years Mike has been able to visit Quainton Road many times and seen it
grow. Sometimes there were no engines in steam and at most only two.

But when he visited on Sunday 16th October - a bright and
sunny day - all had changed for the Enthusiasts' Day as six
engines were working.

The Centre is on both sides of the singled former Great Central
main line which just sees freight to the Calvert waste plant.
Quainton Road station is an attractively restored country station
that was once the junction for the Brill Tramway (one of the
engines is in the museum). The Centre is also the home of the
former LNWR Oxford (Rewley Road) station of 1851 which was
moved brick-by-brick. This now makes a light and airy visitor
centre / terminal station complete with train headed by GWR
Castle 5080 Defiant.

On the car park side the first thing one sees is a very large

Glasgow-built 3'6" gauge South African Railways 25NC 4.8.4

along with a Sentinel / Scammell 3-car steam railcar unit from

Sentinel Shunter no 40 built 1926 for the GWR Malmesbury the Egyptian Railways. The shed and workshops can be visited

branch sold in 1934 for industrial use. Now no 6515 where restoration of 6989 Wightwick Hall is making progress.

Isebrook. > Mike Fordham

The tracks are crossed by two footbridges, one of which has lifts,

and these lead to a former warehouse which is now the main

museum and houses a large collection of engines, vintage coaching stock and wagons etc. Outside is a second loco servicing

area.

The two ½ mile demonstration lines and sidings running
alongside the main line were used to the full with the six engines
working passenger and freight trains changing format all the time
for the benefit of the photographers.

Engines in use were:

Hudswell Clarke 0.4.0ST 1742 Millom of 1946
Peckett 0.4.0ST 2087 & 2105 of 1948
WR 0.6.0PT 9466 of 1952 (back from its holiday on the NNR)
Beattie LSWR 2.4.0WT 30585 of 1874
Sentinel shunter 6515 Isebrook of 1926

Added to this The Vale of Aylesbury Model Engineering Society Beattie L&SWR 2.4.0 well tank 30585 built 1874.
miniature railway was running. > Mike Fordham

Mike concludes that at last the railway has got its act together
but do pick a steam event if you plan to pay a visit.

The light shines on the righteous and the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the South India Railway. His
Worsdell family (Richard Joby) son Anthony became an R.A.F. radio engineer based on the
island of Vis in the Adriatic where the partisans organised a
Manchester London Road (now Piccadilly) was the first partisan navy to harass the Nazi occupiers. His brother Guy
station to be lit by electricity (electric arc not bulbs). It was was a noted portrait artist and abstractionist whose portrait of
installed by the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway W. Heath Robinson can be seen in the National Portrait
(later Great Central) whose Chairman prevented the L&NWR Gallery in London.
from sharing the light by erecting shades to keep the
L&NWR in gloom !

The extended family of T W Worsdell was based at FOR SALE: Mint copies of British Railways Illustrated
Gateshead on the south bank of the Tyne where the North Volumes 6 - 20 inclusive £10 per volume. If interested,
Eastern Railway had its workshops. The Quaker family had please contact Malcolm Banyer on 01692 - 650056 or
worked with the Stephensons and designed the tender for [email protected]
"Rocket", and later the pick-up apparatus for the T.P.O. All Editor's note: This magazine is highly recommended and
the boys were apprenticed at Gateshead, the eldest - Cedric Vol. 20 goes up to 2011.
- was a wartime adviser to Winston Churchill, and later his
political agent in his Epping constituency. John became

10

_________NRS NEWS

Annual General Meeting The late John Clarke (see NRS/NL 56/6 p.11)

This will be held on Thursday 19th April. You should have Joy Clarke and family would like to thank the members of
collected or received an Agenda, Accounts and Minutes of the Norfolk Railway Society, The Norfolk Transport Group
last year's AGM. Please bring these along if you're planning and The Great Eastern Railway Society for the kind
to attend. donations they made in memory of John. We appreciate
their generosity and their kind support during his illness.
Membership Matters
NRS Seeks New Treasurer
We're pleased to welcome another new member -
At the AGM in April I will be standing down as NRS
Bill Bower, Sheringham, Norfolk. Treasurer after three years.

Transform your ride-on lawnmower into a Last summer I took on responsibility for the NRS website as
London Bus in just 4 years ! well as teaming up with Edward Mann to provide technical
assistance producing the newsletter. This was to help fill the
Former member Derek Jakeway was featured on page 3 of significant gap following Mike Handscomb’s decision to take
the Norwich Evening News for Friday 3rd February having a well earned break from duties as Editor and Webmaster.
done exactly that ! The bus seats 4 children + driver but is
not licensed for the road. Its body is made mainly from wood If you are interested in taking on the role of Treasurer please
and it has working headlamps and interior lights ! It follows contact me for more information.
his conversion of a Mini into a LT bus !
Andrew Wright

Letter to the Editor

One of our Hon. Members, David Ward, has followed up on a couple of items in the last Newsletter (NRS/NL 56/6). He writes:

"May I compliment you on the content and quality of the most recent NRS Newsletter.

I was interested in Rod Lock's feature article on SPADs. I attended the Joint Inquiry into the SPAD he mentions at Swainsthorpe.
At the time I was Supernumerary Assistant to George Goodings, the Divisional Manager, and it was considered it would further
my experience if I attended as an observer as it would soon be my lot to take inquiries of this type.

There were two categories of SPADs. The first was recorded as "misjudgement" where a driver had misjudged the braking
distance and had overshot the signal by a short distance. The second was recorded as "total disregard" where a driver had
completely failed to obey the signal and went well into the forward section without stopping, or even as far as the next stop signal.
This was of course the most serious category and from what I can remember the Swainsthorpe SPAD was in this category. I
believe the train was the 0830 Liverpool St to Norwich worked by a Britannia with a Stratford driver. The driver claimed the signal
was "off" but all the other evidence was that it was at danger and the driver was held responsible.

I cannot remember now the complement of the Board of Inquiry but Geoffrey Ford, Divisional Motive Power Superintendent,
Norwich was on the Panel. At the end of the Inquiry he gave me a useful tip based on his long experience. He said that "if you
think the witness is not telling the truth then a good test is to look and see if he is shuffling his feet. If he is, the chances are that
he is not telling the truth". Geoffrey was one of nature's gentlemen and this, coupled with his vast experience, meant that tips of
this kind were given in good faith to young managers and were worth taking account of.

Rod Lock is quite correct when he says in those days SPADs could be covered up if everyone agreed. One night I was riding on
the footplate of a Britannia working the 2330 Liverpool St to Peterborough/Norwich mail train with a Stratford driver. It was a dirty
night with dense fog and the driver overran a colour light stop signal at Ingatestone. The overrun was by about the engine and
three carriages. He quickly walked back to the signal telephone, ascertained the line was clear for the train to proceed, agreed
with the signalman that the overrun would not be recorded and when he got back on the footplate confirmed with me that I would
not report it. Least said, soonest mended.

I was surprised at the request from Robert Gwynne of the NRM for records of Bill Harvey's preservation work on Green Arrow and
Thundersley. When Bill died I arranged for the NRM to visit his house and take away any records/documents they might be
interested in. However, when they made the visit they were interested in very little and much to my subsequent concern his
meticulous notebooks which were a mine of information were sold in an auction at Aylsham. So far as Erica Arneil is concerned I
believe her records have gone to the Gresley Society in view of the NRM's earlier disinterest in Bill Harvey's records.

With kind regards

David"

11

_________FEATURES

Liverpool Street Traffic Manager's Office 1960 - 1965 - Part 2
or

"Did you want to see me, Mr Martin" ?

Rod Lock

One incident was considered sufficiently serious such that the joint inquiry was chaired by the District Operating Superintendent
and the District Civil Engineer. There was an overnight possession of the Southend branch between Shenfield and Billericay
involving Single Line Working over the Up line. The Billericay Stationmaster was in charge. The driver of the first train in the Down
direction noticed - luckily it was a bright, moonlight night - that the first set of catch points he came to were still in the open
position - unclamped !

Turning to level crossings, several of them had no signal Hackney Downs Signal Box in 1988 > Peter Adds
protection and were, therefore, required to maintain the gates
closed to road traffic. This was covered by the well-known
Rule 99 of the 1950 BR Rule Book, which read as follows:
"Unless special authority be given to the contrary, the gates at
level crossings must be kept closed across the roadway,
except when required to be opened to allow the line to be
crossed". This Rule applied to level crossings which were not
protected by distant signals and the instructions had to state
when a crossing-keeper could not open the the gates for the
passage of road traffic. On single lines, they were usually
advised of the passage of trains by a bell which repeated the
bell signals sent by the signalmen on either side. On double
lines, sometimes block indicators were provided which
showed the state of the lines. Sometimes, crossing-keepers
had to rely on good visibilty of approaching trains plus a
telephone connection to the nearest signalbox if they were in
doubt. This was the situation at Hargham No. 1 L.C. between
Eccles Road and Attleborough on Friday 18th September
1959. A motorist was killed when his car was struck by the
0830 Whitemoor to Norwich freight. A Relief Crossing-Keeper
misjudged the approach of the freight train, and the protection
arrangements concerned the Coroner so much that the District
Operating Superintendent was questioned for over 2½ hours.

Returning to Liverpool St, one area about which complaints were received from motorists about delays at level crossings was the
Lea Valley line where well-used East to West roads crossed the railway. The first manned level crossing, Northumberland Park
station, was only 9¼ miles out of Liverpool St whereas on the Colchester main line Ingatestone was the first at 23¾ miles. The
level crossing on the Lea Valley most complained about was Ponders End station. On receiving a written complaint I replied
pointing out that unfortunately peak road and rail movements coincided. There was an intensive passenger service along the Lea
Valley - between 1700 and 1800 there were 10 down services plus 4 up services. Signalboxes were closely spaced, averaging
one mile apart, and to ensure that signals were cleared for approaching trains, in addition to the normal bell signals, signalmen
had to send an additional bell signal - "Train Approaching 1-2-1". This signal was sent forward as soon as the "Is Line Clear ?"
signal was received from the box in rear. Complainants were offered a visit to Ponders End signalbox during the evening rush
hour, and a number accepted the invitation. They were accompanied by the Ponders End Stationmaster, Mr Wiles, who
answered questions, thus avoiding distracting the signalman. Some who witnessed the rush hour wrote back saying they now
better appreciated the reasons for delays to road traffic. This level crossing was eventually bridged but generally closing a public
level crossing was a long process. During my time in the job the Elsenham Stationmaster suggested that the little-used Fullers
End level crossing should be closed. It appeared this would cause little inconvenience to road users but there was a small one-
man fencing business who lived in a bungalow near the crossing and his protestations resulted in the crossing not being closed
until around ten years later.

There were little-used manned crossings on either side of Bishop's Stortford station so the Traffic Manager, Harold Few, decided
to close them to road traffic, posting notices at both crossings. This incurred the wrath of the Line Traffic Manager's Head of
Signalling, who brought the full force of the law down on the Traffic Manager. Both crossings remained open to road traffic for
many years although both are now closed, available only to pedestrians. Following Acts of Parliament in the 1950s the British
Transport Commission was released from the statutory requirements to provide gates at level crossings and attendants, thus
allowing the automation of level crossings. Today, within the Greater Anglia franchise there are now only eight in-section manned
level crossings - four in Norfolk, one in Essex, and three in the Greater London area. The latter includes one on the Lea Valley
line - previously littered with such installations - at Trinity Lane, Waltham Cross. This total should be reduced to seven in 2012,
with the automation of Poplar Farm, Attleborough, as part of the Norwich to Ely Modular Signalling scheme.

One of the minor infrastructure schemes of the time was the provision of gas heaters at key junctions; therefore not a universal
application. At the top of of the priority list was Manningtree North Junction, which was considered to be the bleakest spot on the
Liverpool St district.

I received a copy of the Control log for the previous day, which included details of delays caused by signal and points failures. I
contacted the District Signal & Telegraph Engineer about the most serious or repetitive delays, seeking explanations. At one

12

_________FEATURES

stage, the number of requests was such that I was asked to raise the level of delays for which
explanations should be sought. A new installation which initially caused significant delays was the "Westronic" points which
controlled the junction of the Lea Valley and Chingford lines, previously operated by Clapton Junction signalbox. Control was
transferred to the new Hackney Downs signalbox via a cable link, the first of its kind. Eventually the teething troubles were
overcome and the equipment was very reliable.

Poplar Farm Level Crossing - see previous page > Peter Adds Of course, such an experienced character
as Charles Martin, a native of Ely, the Chief
District Signalling Inspector and previously
a Senior Relief Station Master, could recall
a plethora of amusing incidents. One was at
Forest Gate, I think, when, after collecting
the point lever from the signalbox to hand-
operate a point motor because of a failure,
on placing the lever in the machine a torrent
of oil emerged, drenching him. Some joker
had overfilled the machine to embarrass the
next user of the point lever ! Another tale
was when he was relieving at Southend
Victoria. The driver of the pick-up freight, on
being routed into the goods yard, failed to
control his train satisfactorily, resulting in a
buffer stop being demolished, the loco and
some of the following wagons being
derailed and his fireman ending up in
hospital. Charlie was in his office, telling
those who needed to be informed, when the
driver concerned put his head round the
door and, in the understatement of the year,
enquired: "Did you want to see me, Mr
Martin ?"
(To be concluded…)

Northern Ireland - July 2011 - (Part 2)

Ken Mills

Saturday 23rd July - Morning

Destination: Ulster Folk & Transport Museum, Cultra - £4 return. 8 miles each way.

Take a Bangor local train from Great Victoria St station and alight at Cultra. This is a frequent 20/30 minute interval service.
Follow the path from the footbridge to the Museum , about 5 minutes' walk. Entrance fee £4 if you want the railway section only.
Entrance is high above the exhibits, and a gently sloping corridor leads down to the floor level turntable around which many of the
larger locomotives are arranged. It is also pleasing to know that the Museum is connected by rail to the Bangor 5'3" gauge line
running close by. Here are the steam locomotives at the Museum in the order in which I saw them:

1. No. 20 - 0.4.0T - Built by Spence 1905. This was one of the narrow gauge engines which ran around the Guinness Brewery
in Dublin. Probably 2' gauge.

2. No. 30 - 4.4.2T - Built by Beyer Peacock 4231/1901 5'3" gauge. Worked on the line which passes the Museum, the
erstwhile Belfast & County Down Railway (BCDR)

3. No. 2 - 0.4.0T - Built by Peckett 1097/1906 3' gauge. Worked at British Aluminium, Larne Harbour. Sister loco to "Tyrone"
seen in the workshops at the Giant's Causeway Railway (NRS/NL 56/6 page 14).

4. No. 74 - 4.4.0 - Built by North British Loco Co. 23096/1924 5'3" gauge ex-LMS (NCC). Named "Dunluce Castle". Posed in
red livery on the turntable. Closely resembles an LMS class 2P 4.4.0.

5. No. 2 - 0.4.0 - Built Kitson 1883 3' gauge tram loco. Coke-burner. Worked on the Portstewart to Dromore tramway for the
former Belfast & Northern Counties Railway (later LMS - NCC) and connected with the Coleraine to Portrush branch.

6. No. 11 - 0.4.0 - Built Atlas Works 114/1923. Phoenix Sentinel type. Rebuilt Dundalk Works 1932. Worked on the Clogher
Valley Railway 3' gauge.

7. No. 2 - 4.4.0T - Built Robert Stephenson 2613/1887. Worked on the Cavan, Leitrim & Roscommon 3' gauge light railway.

13

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8. No 2 - 2.6.4T - Built Nasmyth Wilson 956/1912. Named "Blanche". Worked on the County Donegal Railway 3' gauge. A
sister loco to the two engines at the Foyle Valley Museum in Londonderry, also to a loco seen in the repair sheds at Whitehead
during our visit on Sunday 24th July.

9. No. 93 - 2.4.2T - Built Dundalk Works 16/1895 5'3" gauge. Formerly class JT of the Great Northern Railway of Ireland.

10. No. 1 - 0.6.0ST - Built Robert Stephenson 2738/1891 5'3" gauge. Worked in Londonderry for the Londonderry Port &
Harbour Commissioners. This engine worked over the Craigavon Bridge and connected the various railway termini in the city
(see our visit on Thursday 21st July).

11. No. 800 - 4.6.0 - Built at the Great Southern & Western Railway Inchicore Workshops, Dublin, in 1939. 5'3" gauge.
Classified B1(a) and equipped with 3 cylinders, the three engines of this class were the largest in Ireland. The nameplate was in
Gaelic, but would read "Maeve" in English. I think I read somewhere that the trio were built to work a specific train - the "Cork
Mail" perhaps ?

Cork was around 140 miles from Dublin
and strong engines would have been
necessary for this run on a regular basis.
This mileage compares with only 112
miles for the other "main line" journey in
Ireland - from Belfast to Dublin. Both lines
are double-track throughout.

Unfortunately, we were unable to spend
too long at the railway museum, due to our
afternoon trip to Downpatrick, so we had
to return to Belfast and catch the next bus
south. I would have liked to check out the
rail connection between the museum and
the Bangor line. Something for next time ?

Saturday 23rd July - Afternoon

Destination: Downpatrick & County Down
Railway - £8 by bus. 25 miles each way.

Buses leave for Downpatrick every hour,
taking an hour for the journey. The Europa
bus terminal is part of the train/bus
interchange at Great Victoria St. Upon arrival in Downpatrick you will see the railway station about 100 yards away across the
tarmac. It is the only broad gauge working steam railway in all Ireland. We were fortunate that there were two senior members of
the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) present on our visit, and along with them we were able to look in at the small
two-road loco depot here, also inspect the carriage works. We learned from these two RPSI members that the workshops at
Whitehead, which we hoping to visit the following day, would be closed to the public. Panic ! But, very kindly, they rang the works
to inform them that two English railfans would be along, and to make them welcome and giving us a contact name when we
arrive. Phew ! Our all-day tickets allowed us a couple of return trips to Inch Abbey, affording us the privilege of the depot visits in
the meantime. There were three steam locos on the line as follows:

1. No. 3 - 0.4.0T - Built by Orenstein & Koppel 12662/1935. Worked at Mallow Sugar Beet factory, Cork. Working loco today.

2. 0.6.0ST - Built by Avonside 2021/1928. Alternative working engine.

3. No. 90 - 0.6.0T - Built Inchicore Works, Dublin 1875 as an 0.6.4T to work the power unit of a steam railcar on the
Castleisland branch. By 1905 it had been converted to the current wheel arrangement and used for shunting by the GSWR. Until
recently, plinthed on Mallow station Co. Cork.

The track layout at Downpatrick is rather unusual, as can be seen from the accompanying map.

[Editor's Note: Downpatrick is approx in the middle of the former line from Belfast to Newcastle.]

[To be concluded. Part 3 will cover Ken's visit to the RPSI at Whitehead, and the Northern Ireland system extant in 1963/64
compared with 2011.]

14

_________FEATURES

Editor's Quiz (NRS NL 56/6 page 16):

Not an overwhelming response, so please don't expect another one. The answers were:

Q1 . What do Edge Hill, Needham Market & Thirsk stations have in common, service-wise ?
A. They are all situated on electrified routes, but only diesel services stop there.

Q2. Disregarding "Great Northern", how many A3s were not named after famous racehorses ?
A. Something of a minefield - it needs to be remembered that the A3s (in some cases) began life as Gresley A1s and were later
rebuilt, whilst others were always A3s. Without dispute are 60056 (2555) Centenary, named to mark the centenary of the
Stockton & Darlington Railway, 60080 (2579) Dick Turpin, 60102 (1471) Sir Frederick Banbury & 60103 (4472) Flying Scotsman.
2563 was originally named William Whitelaw (later becoming 60064 Tagalie when William went on to an A4). The loco was still an
A1 when the renaming took place - indeed it was not rebuilt to A3 until late 1942 - so I don't think it counts. On the other hand, A1
2553 was originally named Manna, but was renamed Prince of Wales as early as December 1926. It was not rebuilt to A3 (BR
60054) until 1943 so I think that's a legitimate addition to the number.

Q3. I think we all know where Watton is. In railway terms what did it have in common with Brecon ?
A. There used to be a Watton station in Brecon !

Q4. How many ex-LMS locos from LMR depots were cut up at Archie King's ? Was it (a) None; (b) 16 or (c) 26 ?
A. Despite well over 100 locos being cut up at King's, none came from ex-LMR depots. The only ex-LMS locos cut up at King's
were last allocated to the ER & SR. I have never understood this, and I wonder if some kind of cartel operated !

Q5. What was the bizarre fate of "King Arthur" 30740 "Merlin" ?
A. It was meant to be sabotaged at Longmoor for the benefit of the TV cameras. Although (presumably) TV was satisfied the
"King Arthur" was made of sterner stuff and escaped relatively lightly, only for Eastleigh to administer the coup de grace.

The winter sales clearly did not interest Mike Handscomb in the slightest, and he submitted the only 100% solution.

_________WORKING TIMETABLE
a selective look ahead at local railway events

NORFOLK RAILWAY SOCIETY, GER Society (Norwich Branch) and Norfolk Transport Group meetings take place (unless
otherwise stated) at: United Reformed Church Hall, Ipswich Road, Norwich, NR4 6QR

Events are listed in good faith, but visitors should check with the organisation concerned before travelling.

FEBRUARY MID NORFOLK RAILWAY
18th & 19th Annual Mixed Traffic Event - Trains running from 09.40 until 18.40.
23rd Thu 19.30
25th Sat 10.00 GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY SOCIETY - Norwich Branch
30 Years In The Planning; 8 Years In The Building - Chris Mitchell
MARCH
1st Thu 19.30 MID-NORFOLK RAILWAY AND THE FLYING PIGS
8th Thu 19.30 Dereham 2012 Model Railway Exhibition
9th - 11th Neatherd High School, Norwich Road, Dereham, NR20 3AX
15th Thu 19.30
22nd Thu 19.30 NORFOLK RAILWAY SOCIETY
Felixstowe - 125 Years a Working Port - Brian Hall and Ian Heeley

NORFOLK TRANSPORT GROUP
Aspects of E A Trams Past and Present - David Mackley

NORTH NORFOLK RAILWAY - Spring Steam Gala
For Details: Tel. 01263 820800 or www.nnrailway.co.uk

NORFOLK RAILWAY SOCIETY
Mid-Norfolk Railway Developments - John Hull, Vice Chairman, Mid Norfolk Railway

GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY SOCIETY - Norwich Branch
More Highland Railways Past and Present - John Hutchinson

15

_________WORKING TIMETABLE

29th Thu 19.30 NORFOLK TRANSPORT GROUP
30th- 1st Apr Life Behind the Curtain, Tanks a Lot - Howard Stephens

APRIL MID NORFOLK RAILWAY - The Spring Diesel Gala.
5th Thu 19.30 Featuring a Class 55 Deltic, other visiting locomotives, and with the MNR’s extensive home fleet in support
6th Details: www.mnr.org.uk/events/gala/
6th & 7th
8th - 9th NORFOLK RAILWAY SOCIETY
9th Mon "U.S.A. Today" - John Day
12th Thu 19.30
14th Sat 10-4 WELLS AND WALSINGHAM LIGHT RAILWAY
14th Sat Daily service from today until 31st October

15th Sun EAST ANGLIAN TRANSPORT MUSEUM - Newcastle Trolleybus Days
19th Thu 19.30 1pm - 5pm Friday & 1pm - 9pm Saturday. See http://www.eatm.org.uk/eatm_006.htm
21st Sat
26th Thu 19.30 MID SUFFOLK LIGHT RAILWAY - Easter with Children in Mind
MAY Details: Tel. 01449 766899 or http://www.mslr.org.uk/whatson.html
3rd Thu 19.30
5th Sat BARTON HOUSE RAILWAY - Wroxham
Easter Monday Running 2.30 - 5.30
5th to 7th
(Sat-Mon) NORFOLK TRANSPORT GROUP
17th Thu 19.30 Lorries, Trucks and Logistics - Richard Hunt
19th - 20th
20th Sun NORWICH MODEL RAILWAY CLUB - Model Railway Exhibition
Hellesdon High School, Middletons Lane, Norwich NR6 5SB Info: www.norhams.org.uk

NENTA Traintours: Irwell Valley Explorer.
Excursion from Norwich, Diss and Ipswich etc. via Hope Valley to Manchester & Rawtenstall (ELR)
Details: Nenta Traintours - tel: 01692 406152 or www.nentatraintours.co.uk

BARTON HOUSE RAILWAY - Wroxham
Running Day 2.30 - 5.30

NORFOLK RAILWAY SOCIETY
Annual General Meeting

NENTA Traintours: Olympic Village, 02 Arena & Docklands Light Railway
Train from Norwich & then coach tour. Adult fare from £110. Details as 14th April above

GREAT EASTERN RAILWAY SOCIETY - Norwich Branch
32A Now and Then - Peter Gifford

NORFOLK RAILWAY SOCIETY
To be announced

NENTA Traintours - North Wales Extravaganza.
Excursion from Norwich, Diss, Ipswich etc to Chester / Llandudno / Bangor / Holyhead. Adult fare from
£60.75. Details: tel: 01692 - 406152 or www.nentatraintours.co.uk

MID NORFOLK RAILWAY - the Stratford Depot Weekend.
A reunion of former Stratford depot workers supported by visiting Stratford Celebrity locomotives
and the MNR’s former Stratford based 31s, 37s and 47s.

NORFOLK RAILWAY SOCIETY
A Double Header: Peter Davies & Andrew Wright

MID NORFOLK RAILWAY - Southern Gala Weekend.
Our class 50 ‘Ramillies’ will be in traffic along with the 73 and 3-CIG as well as perhaps a special visitor.

BARTON HOUSE RAILWAY - Wroxham
Running Day 2.30 - 5.30

Printed by Express Impressions. Tel. 01603 301127
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