1348

Number 1348 (Items 765 - 882 & MR 43 - MR 50) (BLN 82 PAGES) 21 Mar 2020

BRANCH LINE NEWS

A societas est iens ut loca

Published 24 times a year by the Branch Line Society; founded 1955.

branchline.uk https://m.facebook.com/BranchLineSociety/

Membership queries: Lisa Sheppard [email protected]
186 Anlaby Park Road South, Hull, HU4 7BU. 07873354464

British Isles news from members; an international section is available.
Opinions are not necessarily athvaoislaebolef .the Compilers or the Society.

BLN 1349 is dated Sat 4 Apr; all contributions by Wed 25 Mar please.
Until further notice e-BLN will be available on the Friday evening before the publication date
rather than the Thursday - paper BLN, which we intend to continue to produce, is not affected.
E-BLN in higher resolution (much bettecireptyi.cStuorceiest)y.via the 'Anyflip' version and can be downloaded.

765] COVID-19 Update 18 Mar: In light of the recent announcement from the UK Government, and as
a responsible Society, we have taken the decision to defer a number of our upcoming events. We place
the health and wellbeing of our members, volunteers, partners and suppliers first. We take the current
situation regarding the COVID-19 virus very seriously. The situation has recently become more serious
and widespread and is expected to significantly increase over coming weeks. Currently deferred:

21 Mar: Kernow Spring Funiculars. 19 Apr: The Hot Cross Crompton railtour.
22 Mar: North Cornwall Miniature Railway. 23 Apr: The Jurassic Crompton railtour.
2 Apr: North Staffordshire Signal Boxes. 26 Apr: Return of the Jurassic Crompton.
18 Apr: The BRCW Bunny railtour. May, Jun & Aug: Sweden, Kent & Norway.

All participants will receive an email confirming these changes and we aim to process a 100% refund

within the next 14 days. A decision regarding events due to operate after 26 April will be made in due

course in consultation with our partners as the situation develops. We will, of course, keep members

updated, and ensure that everyone's good health is at the heart of our decision making. We apologise

for the disappointment and inconvenience this will cause, and trust our members understand our

decision in these unusual circumstances. Please accept our wishes for your good health and that of all

those close to you. [Kev Adlam, Fixtures Secretary, Branch Line Society, 18 Mar.]

Date Event and details  = Please Book Online BLN Lead Status

Sat 18 Apr The BRCW Bunny, Track & Traction tour from Crewe 1346 POSTPONED

Sun 19 Apr The Hot Cross Crompton, Track & Traction tour 1346 POSTPONED

Thur 23 Apr The Jurassic Crompton, Track & Traction tour  1347 POSTPONED

Sat 25 Apr Kent & East Sussex Railway Track & Traction event 1345 MG OPEN

Sat 25 Apr East Kent Railway event & Knees Woodland Miniature 1346 MG OPEN

Sun 26 Apr The Return of the Jurassic Crompton, Track & Traction  1347 POSTPONED

30/4 - 3/5 Four day Irish long weekend with Sat mainline railtour 1347 KA NOTIFY

Mon 25 May The Jolly Vacman 50008 Bank Holiday tour to Skegness 1347 MG OPEN

21-31 May Sweden tour; POSTPONED provisionally end of May 2021 SEE BELOW Claimed

Wed 3 Jun 14.00 Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls Railway BELOW MG Claimed

3-5 June Tom's Comprehensive Kent Connector - notify interest 1341 POSTPONED
26-28 Jun Niedersachsen Explorer - single days available, BELOW BELOW MG OPEN

Sat 15 Aug Wotton Light Railway, Bucks, an extensive 15" gauge line TBA TBA Claimed

14-16 Aug Save the dates - proposed BLS railtour in southern Norway TBA POSTPONED

Sun 30 Aug Silver Leaf Poplar PRIVATE Railway, Boston (2ft gauge) TBA TBA Claimed

Mon 31 Aug Bank Holiday Scunthorpe summer steel spectacular (No21) TBA TBA Claimed

12-15 Nov Thur-Sun; PROVISIONAL DATES 65th Anniversary 2020 AGM TBA TBA Claimed

IS = Iain Scotchman; KA = Kev Adlam; MG = Mark Gomm; TG = Tom Gilby; TBA = To Be Advised.

766] :Don't be too isolated:: In view of uncertain times ahead with the Coronavirus Pandemic, it is
suggested that as many members as possible sign up to access our website. If you have never done
this go to branchline.uk and follow the simple instructions in the red box top right. Once logged in,
go along the top banner to 'BLN', where you can access paper BLN (if you prefer that or wish to
print your own) and e-BLN with its extra pictures, maps and more up to date information. Please
also sign up to our Mailchimp email system for updates on fixtures etc that are running. On our
website home page go along to 'More options', then down to 'My details' and click 'Preferences' at
the bottom to sign up. Please also check that the information on your 'My details' page is correct,
and notify Lisa Sheppard, Membership Secretary (as above) of changes you cannot update yourself.

767] :21-31 May 2020; North Sweden Railtour:: As the Government is now predicting the Coronavirus
pandemic to peak in the UK in the next few months, and with much uncertainty about overseas travel,
we have decided to postpone this tour until next year, with proposed dates at the end of May 2021.
With such a complex tour, postponing to later this year is not viable, due to the lead time required for
track permissions and loco hire. We hope to be able to confirm these dates later in the year.

768] :Three Bridges, Siemens Depot & Rail Operating Centre:: (BLN 1347.634) The visit is postponed.

769] :Wed 3 June 14.00; The Miniature St Trinian's Train Robbery:: The Frances Bardsley Academy for
Girls, Brentwood Road, Romford, RM1 2RR, ¾ mile walk from Romford station; thanks to our ever
resourceful member, Simon Mortimer. It is only the Society's second visit to a girls' school - the first
was Malvern St James School on 24 Nov 2012, of course. This is the only convenient date and time for
the school to visit their PRIVATE 5/7½" gauge 160yd line. A visit lasting about 1-1½ hours depending
on the weather, availability and public health situation with a battery electric Hymek loco. The school
motto is 'Gladly Lerne, Gladly Teche' and we don't need to tell our learned members that it is from the
quotation And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche from the Prologue of the Canterbury Tales.
Bookings are not yet open but advice will be given in future BLNs if we are able to open them.

X.48] :26-28 June; Niedersachsen Explorer *UPDATE*:: We are still currently working on the basis of
the original dates with a definitive decision by mid-May, but keeping the situation under continuous
review. Depending on developments with the Coronavirus restrictions, the tour may be deferred to
later in 2020, or even 2021. Participants are advised to aahve travel insurance and not to change or
make any further non-cancellable arrangements until the Society can clarify the situation.

1348 HEAD LINES (Paul Stewart) [email protected]
770] Sugar Loaf: (BLN 1345.358) ROP was delayed, no doubt for weather related reasons, until start of
service Fri 6 Mar 2020; (originally expected to ROP Sat 29 Feb) after TCP Sat 25 Jan for refurbishment.

771] Redhill South Jn - Edenbridge (excl) with Nutfield and Godstone stations: (BLN 1345.437) ROA
(signed back into use) at 17.06 Sun 15 Mar; after TCP/A at about 08.10 on Sun 22 Dec 2019 due to a
severe 30m long embankment slip west of Edenbridge where the line is carried high above the River
Eden. The railway, opened in 1836, is one of the oldest in the country and the embankment was built
of Weald Clay. A month's worth of rain in one week caused it to slide towards the river. A further
400m of embankment has been shored up to prevent future problems. 40,000 tonnes of spent ballast
and material in 40 trains were used to permanently reconstruct it. On 15 Sun Mar two separate ECS
route proving trains ran at 13.45 and 14.33 from Redhill to Tonbridge, returning at 14.25 and 15.11.

There were then two ECS moves from Tonbridge. Normal passenger service resumed Mon 16 Mar.
Although a Southern service, many trains are worked by Southeastern Tonbridge and Hastings crews.

772] Moorside station: (BLN 1347.635) ROP Mon 16 Mar after TCP Mon 17 Feb 2020 (fire damage).

773] Dumfries (excl) - New Cumnock (excl) with Sanquhar & Kirkconnel stations: (BLN 1347.636) ROP
Mon 16 Mar with a 20mph ESR on the Down line and 50mph on the Up. TCP Mon 17 Feb 2020 due to a
Down side embankment slip near Thornhill (normal Sun service ran on 23 Feb only during the closure).

774] The Royal Deeside Railway; Milton of Crathes: (MR p10) (62ch) TCP from 21 Mar 2020 (date of
announcement 14 Mar 2020) until further notice due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Regrettably,
undoubtedly, this is the first of many/all such Heritage/Minor Railway temporary closures.
X.49] Heritage Railways: Rail Advent http://bit.ly/2x1VbAt has a comprehensive regularly updated
list of closures, cancellations & disruptions. It is particularly dramatic at the present time.

775] Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway: (MR p7) (13m 75ch) TCP from 17 Mar 2020
(date of announcement) due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The first affected running day is Sat 21 Mar.

776] Severn Valley Railway, Bewdley - Bridgnorth: TCP from 21 Mar 2020 (Coronavirus outbreak).

777] West Somerset Railway: TCP from 21 Mar 2020 (Coronavirus).

778] Keeping Track, (extra to Head Lines) significant passenger service suspensions: *= new/altered

BLN Start (incl) Reopens Location (stations 'exclusive' if bracketed) bold = closed now

1347.642 26 Feb 20 23 Mar 20 *(Knottingley) - Potters Grange Jn [ from 19.00]
1347.639 29 Feb 20 28 Mar 20 *(Romsey) - Salisbury Tunnel Jn

1346.495 13 Feb 20 30 Mar 20 *(Lingfield) - East Grinstead [ from 08.20]

1343.46 14 Mar 20 30 Mar 20 (Castle Cary) Castle Cary Jn - (Taunton) Cogload Jn

1343.33 29 Dec 19 Unknown *Severn Valley Railway, Kidderminster Town - (Bewdley)

1345.356 1 Jan 20 Unknown *North Yorkshire Moors Railway; Pickering - Grosmont GF

1343.47 30 Mar 20 6 Apr 20 (Crediton) - Barnstaple

1343.30 10 Apr 20 20 Apr 20 *Guildford P3 to P8 - Woking Jn/Ash/Reigate/Haslemere

1346.494 9 Feb 20 Late Apr? *Llandudno Jn - Blaenau Ffestiniog (with Dolgarrog station)

1347.643 29 Feb 20 Unknown *Irish Rail; Limerick, Ennis Line Jn - Ennis

1348 BLN GENERAL (Paul Stewart) [email protected]

779] Assistance wanted: Some of our BLN volunteer Regional Editors have full time jobs as well, in
some cases vital jobs such as in the NHS. Planning for Coronavirus is the reason that there is no
South West section in this BLN (we intend to make up for this in future though). Depending on how
the situation pans out there may be times when help would be appreciated. If anyone wishes to
volunteer to assist, if needed, please email your Editor (access to emails is mandatory for this now).
This might also be a good opportunity for members to write up that very interesting item for BLN
that they have been meaning to for years and also submit 'First Railway Memories'. Thank you.

780] More Storms: Geoff Brockett has kindly supplied a 4 page (high definition) article from Nov 1958
'Trains Illustrated' titled 'The Storm of the Century hits the Southern.' It describes the severe flooding,
many landslides, fallen trees and consequences of the severe storms on the evening of Fri 5 Sep 1958.

781] :Charity Auction:: Our 13-15 Mar railtours raised at least £20,000 for Martin House Children's
Hospice, Wetherby; an incredible result. This includes a new BLS raffle record (over £1,700) on Sat 14
Mar. During the long weekend 21,000 tickets were sold, individually torn up and over 80 prizes
distributed. £900 was raised by the associated charity auctions. Bids are now invited, also in aid of the
Hospice, for the 'Power of Aire' full sized metal headboard carried on the main Saturday tour
(NEXT PAGE: At Doncaster Wood Yard). It has an orange background with a silver border and letters.
Please email [email protected] or text 07581178759 by midnight 10 Apr.



782] Track query: A member was on 3 May 1980 'Valley Basher' run by Hertfordshire Railtours to
Newport Docks and the 10-12 Oct 1980 F+W Rail Tours 'Grouser' to Grangemouth. In both cases he is
interested to know what they did at each location, please (Six Bells Junction does not specify).

783] LEFT: This unusual British Railways Western
Region sign was in an auction recently. A 'major'
suggestion is that it could be from Pontypridd
(Taff Vale Railway) - the present station - just in
front of the former goods lift at the platform level.
This lift was used for wheel chairs and prams too, so
anyone exiting would have seen it as they came out.

784] It's official - BLN is Dog's Dinner: With the high quality white envelopes used nowadays and our
very reliable printer/distributor, we very rarely have to replace a missing paper BLN. However, one
member recently emailed to ask for another copy because his daughter's dog got hold of the first one
and shredded it. Was he a 'Terrier' or a 'Prairie' (perhaps keen to read about the latest Rover tickets)‽

785] Bilingual station names for bidirectionalists? http://bit.ly/2QqIvtU is a full list on the excellent
Railway Codes & Other Data website. The answer to the quiz about English station/s, not TfW served,
with bilingual in BLN 1347.647, is Southall ( ਸਾਊਥਹਾਲ ) which has its name in Punjabi on the platform.
Other possible contenders
include Levenshulme (RIGHT)
with a British sign language
name and also one in Urdu.
Handforth & Irlam both have
Cantonese Chinese names. A few other examples (not including platform names) are on the website.

786] BLN Back Numbers: (BLN 1347.646) With further thanks to John Hampson 1995 is now available.

BELOW: Levenshulme has station signs in Irish Gaelic, Arabic, Urdu and British Sign Language and even
English reflecting the multi cultural make up of the area and the fact that the local primary school has
special accommodation for deaf children from across Manchester. (John Cameron, 21 Feb 2020.)

NB PLEASE SET YOUR DEVICE TO FULL SCREEN

BELOW: The grand finale of our recent pair of three-day charity railtou
Heysham Port on Sun 15 Mar 2020 in the weak evening sun before re

N VIEWING TO MAINTIAN THE PICTURE WIDTH

urs over successive weekends (6 tours in 9 days!!). Our 'Eric & Ernie' at
eturning to Morecambe and Carnforth. (Picture thanks to Kev Adlam.)

THIS PAGE: Meldon Quarry - two pictures taken during an internal trip. (Ian Mortimer, 14 Sep 1987.)
In those days trains still shunted onto the viaduct. In the lower picture the quarry is middle left.

787] Quarry Query: Does anyone know when Meldon stone traffic ended on the Okehampton branch,
or knows someone who might, please? http://bit.ly/3b8zhdJ implied quarry closure and mothballing
had taken place by 3 Aug 2011 - so freight must have ceased before then (probably well before then).

788] My First Railway Memories (25) Part 1: (BLN 1347.650) By Greg Beecroft (Member 686). I was
brought up in London and spent childhood holidays with grandparents on the south coast, so most of
the railways we travelled over are still open and busier than ever. I was also just too young to visit the
lines that fell victim to Doctor Beeching, other than those that remained open for freight and could
later be covered by railtours. However, two months before I was born, my parents went on holiday to
Cornwall, travelling by train from Ealing Broadway to Port Isaac Road. I really don't feel I can count
that as track done, much as I would like to, but I was on the train. [Your BLN Editor's parents had a
holiday in Bude 9 months before he was born so he was on the train in one direction, but in the dark.]

There is also a haulage issue, because my Mother said that for part of the journey the train was
worked by a strange black locomotive, not a steam engine, which was very noisy and smelled
unpleasant. It must have been one of the gas turbine locomotives, in passenger traffic at the time.

My earliest railway memories are of seeing trains passing Haven Green, Ealing. That was long before
the present car park was built and there was just a chain link fence at the top of the cutting. It was not
an ideal spot for watching trains. The expresses were seen only briefly, in a cloud of steam, between
Spring Bridge Road and The Broadway bridges. Down local trains starting from Ealing Broadway gave a
much more satisfying performance, as did the diminutive tank engine that fussed to and fro with the
'Greenford Flyer'. We sometimes made trips on the trains, particularly in the summer, to towns along
the Thames Valley. I have been by steam train to Windsor, Marlow and Henley. Unfortunately, but
understandably, my parents never thought to arrange a family outing to Uxbridge (Vine Street). Nor
did we go to Uxbridge by trolley bus, but I was taken for a short trip on one just before withdrawal.

Days out by bus were on the '65', which stopped at the end of our road. This would take us to Kew
Gardens, Richmond Park or, best of all, Chessington Zoo. I can recall seeing the half-mile 12" gauge zoo
miniature railway (open 1931-1985) but have no memory of riding on it, though I probably did.

Going into London we normally used the Central Line, because Father had a season ticket that way.
This was long before there were zonal fares and Travelcards. Season tickets were station to station.
The trains that I liked most were the ones we used least of all. The District Line had its own station at
Ealing Broadway, which made it special in my eyes. It was not until the Western Region station was
rebuilt in 1961 that there was a single booking office and common entrance. Many of the District
trains looked rather old-fashioned, with clerestory roofs, but they were quite imposing and impressed
me considerably. Internally, they seemed much more spacious and grand than the Western Region's
drab compartments. Then there was the excitement when the train started. I was entranced by the
moans, groans and percussion from the motors and other equipment. My long-standing interest in
electric trains, especially older ones, is almost certainly down to early experience of the District Line.

We also travelled by electric train when going to Angmering, to stay with grandparents in Rustington.
My parents would reserve seats in a compartment, all of which were in trailer coaches, so I had no
chance to check out the acoustics of Southern Electric traction. I can positively identify one of the 6PUL
units that we travelled in, because the Pullman Car (which we certainly did not patronise!) carried my
Mother's name. We would spend days on the beach at Littlehampton and each visit I could expect at
least one ride on the miniature railway, of which I have quite a clear memory. Even when not riding on
it, I liked to watch it going to and fro. The steam engine had the general appearance of a British
Railways express locomotive and was painted dark blue. Passengers sat in grey-painted open carriages.

We also visited my other grandparents at New Milton, in the New Forest. Grandpa provided the only
family link to the railway, but it was a tenuous one. He wrote The Adventures of Clara Chuff, broadcast
as part of Children's Hour on the BBC Home Service. Clara was a small steam engine, inspired by the
Adams B4 that Grandpa had often seen working on the quay at Poole. Sadly, Grandpa was badly
disabled by a stroke, the writing ceased and Clara never transferred to television. There were regular
repeats until the evening children's radio programme ceased in 1964. I still have the scripts.

My overwhelming impression of the journey to New Milton was that it took a very long time and I was
regularly asking "Are we almost there?" We usually caught the train at Surbiton station and I have no
recollection of us changing trains on the way - so we were unlikely to be on one of the expresses.
This raises an interesting question about passengers' luggage in advance. My parents normally sent a
trunk in advance and it seems that British Railways would collect from Ealing, even though our tickets
were from Surbiton. How far was BR prepared to go from the origin station to pick up luggage?

I have a couple of railway-related memories from a return trip we made with a hire car, to visit two
great aunts in Birmingham. We had to stop while Mother attended to the needs of my younger

siblings. While that was going on
Father and I looked down into a
railway cutting where there were
water troughs and he explained what
they were for. Unfortunately, no train
came while we were there; never mind
one that might have used the troughs.
I think this must have been at King's
Sutton. On the way back we sat for a
very long time at a level crossing while
a steam engine conducted leisurely
shunting at Aylesbury High Street, the
LNWR branch terminus of the seven
mile branch from Cheddington which
CP 2 Feb 1953; CA 2 Dec 1963). LEFT:
1961 map; the present station is lower
left; High Street is the 'white spot' (= station closed to passengers) with the level crossing nearby.

As the family grew, we moved to a larger house and garden in Harrow. Fortunately, we arrived before
the 'A' Stock, so I had a few rides on the Met Line antique electric trains. I was taken on a Saturday
afternoon trip to Chalfont & Latimer, for a last ride on a steam train just before electrification was
completed in 1961 from Rickmansworth to Amersham and Chesham, and new trains were introduced.

One picturesque characteristic of Harrow-on-the-Hill remained unchanged. London Transport's ticket
audit office was located there and received used tickets collected at all the other stations. The tickets
were conveyed to Harrow on passenger trains, bagged and in wicker baskets in the care of the guard.
Each basket was allocated to a group of stations and carried a metal plate saying which these were and
by what route it was to be conveyed to and from Harrow. I found these details fascinating, because
many of the routes were very indirect. This appears to have been so that baskets could be transferred
between trains without the need for them to be carried on stairs and escalators, if possible. Some
people must have had a hard job with the Northern Line baskets, because that line has no same-level
interchange with any subsurface route. If details have survived of how the baskets were allocated and
routed I should love to have them. I assume there must have been specified days when each station
was to send its basket, to avoid the Metropolitan guards and Harrow station staff being overwhelmed
by all of them arriving on the same day.

As our grandparents got older, alternative holiday plans had to be made, and my parents settled on
Hunstanton, where they eventually bought a house. We now had a car and Norfolk was much easier to
reach from Harrow than the South Coast. When we first went there Hunstanton station was still
staffed and there were through carriages to and from Liverpool Street. These were usually hauled
between King's Lynn and Hunstanton by type 2 diesels (Class 31). Summer weekends saw excursion
trains arrive, mainly from the Midlands. Hunstanton was favoured by the residents of Leicester in
particular. I recall rakes of maroon carriages and green diesel locos basking in the sun by the seafront.

Although we travelled to Hunstanton by car, we did make use of the train for trips to King's Lynn.
From my memory of what the diesel units looked like, I think they were 'yellow diamond' Derby
lightweight units when we first used the line. An effort was made to reduce operating costs, including
de-staffing the station and greatly simplifying the track layout which previously had four platforms.

A considerable sum was spent on automating the level crossings, so that signal boxes could be closed,
and the branch effectively became a long single track siding from King's Lynn. A 2-car DMU shuttled to
and fro, and there were no more trains to London. Yet despite all that expense, the line was proposed
for closure only a few years later. I cannot help wondering if the cost of the level crossings had made
the line look like a big loss-maker. The fatal day came, 3 May 1969, and I persuaded Father that we
should travel on the last train. It was considerably longer than the usual and many turned out to see it.

My principal memories are of the man on the platform at Heacham who was repeatedly firing a
starting pistol into the air and a kerfuffle concerning tickets. Enthusiasts travelling in our carriage
noticed that the conductor had sold them tickets dated for the previous day [ahem...]. He assured
them that the tickets were still valid, but they all bought a second ticket with the correct date on it.
A ticket would have been a poor memento, for they were small scraps of paper printed in purple ink,
as on a bus. I have a much better souvenir of the railway at Hunstanton, which has now been hanging
on the wall at home far longer than it was attached to a lamppost on the platform! [To be continued...]

789] Frail Loops: (BLN 1345.454) Following the successful NIR trial at Londonderry of using the loop as
frequently as the main line to even out wear on the two tracks and points, a new Sectional Appendix
Instruction Reference KLA 0104 is being considered so that traffic is evenly spread between all
passenger-approved loops and running lines, including non-preferred platforms at termini. Where
access to the loop is via speed-restricted points, retimings are not generally required due to the
improved traction capabilities of modern rolling stock. If running late, services would be expected to
be routed via the faster side of the loop. It is likely that a wider scale trail will be undertaken from the
beginning of April this year, with a view to wider implementation 12 months later. There have been
incidents with GWR IETs where, in the middle of their journeys, train doors on one side have not been
able to be opened the first time the service calls at a platform that side (for example Taunton island on
Paignton - Paddington services). Alternating platforms to achieve equal door usage would identify
such issues earlier but needs a complex algorithm to manage this requirement and even out use of all
passenger routes. [Perhaps a BLS microgricing tour planner might have the qualities for such a role?]

790] On Railway Hotels, Part 9/10: (BLN 1347.651) By Rhys Ab Elis. Also in Ireland, the Midland Great
Western Railway too sought to exploit its touristic possibilities in the far west. One of the railways
funded by Baronial Guarantees was the 27 mile branch in Co Mayo, from Westport to Achill (railhead
for Achill Island), open from 1894 until 1937, through very remote country, round two sides of Clew
Bay. There were only two intermediate stations in this great emptiness, Newport and Mallaranny.
A large hotel was opened at the latter station in 1897 (or 1898, sources differ) and a small village has
gradually coalesced around it. Clew Bay is a beautiful place for holidays, but very weather dependent.

There is a strange story about the Achill branch. In 1894, an accident with a fishing boat in Clew Bay
resulted in several fatalities. The coffins containing the bodies were conveyed out of Achill on the first
train, the day the line opened. In the early 1930s, when closure of the line looked likely, a local seer
predicted that as the railway opened with death, it would also close with death. It was the local
custom for men to travel over to south west Scotland to work on the harvest, often sleeping in bothies
out in the fields. One bothy burnt down during the 1937 harvest, and the bodies arrived in coffins on
the last train into Achill, the day the line closed to goods traffic (passenger services ceased in 1934).

From my hotel room I had a distant view across Clew Bay to Louisburgh which today is the location of
an annual commemorative Famine Walk, recalling the time in the late 1840s, when many hundreds of
ragged, starving people walked from outlying hamlets to Louisburgh to petition the Board of Guardians
for famine relief. The Board of Guardians declined to see the petitioners, as they were having lunch.

[BLN 1348]
Many dozens died of starvation on the walk to, or from, Louisburgh and were buried by the roadside.
The hotel's own fortunes have been rather mixed. It was sold off by Ostlanna Iompair Éireann in 1977,
and closed from 1990 until 2003. The present owners have invested well and are making a success of
the reopening; it sits in its own 42 acre estate. Behind the hotel Mallaranny station survives almost
totally intact, with both platforms and all buildings extant except one. In recent years, the Irish
Government has converted all 27 miles of the Achill branch line trackbed into a foot and cycle path
called the Great Western Greenway. While there, I managed to walk the nine miles from Newport, Co
Mayo to Westport (on day two, once the biting, icy wind had abated!).

To conclude, a few more recent visits to English hotels discovered anew as to their railway heritage, or
reopened. A cold, snowy Feb 2010 saw a stay at the Palace Hotel in Buxton. It was partly owned by
the London & North Western Railway, who bought shares in the Buxton Palace Hotel Co, one of the
largest in Buxton. Sited just across a side road from the station, it fits in very well aesthetically with the
town's ambience. Even a large, grand hotel can be cosy when it's snowing outside.

Next day, a modest train journey to Morecambe, and a stay at the slightly misnamed Midland Hotel.
The present hotel is an icon of the Art Deco era, built adjacent to the original Midland Railway hotel by
the LMS. It opened 12 Jul 1933, the original 1848 hotel closing in March that year as it was suffering
from terminal roof problems and the ingress of seawater into the basement. The newer hotel, Grade II
listed, has much original artwork by the controversial artist Eric Gill. It was sold by British Transport
Hotels in 1952 and suffered from the steep decline in the fortunes of Morecambe as a seaside resort
from the 1970s until recently. In a state of disrepair it closed in 1998. Demolition had become a real
prospect but it was eventually saved and the new owners invested heavily in restoring its Art Deco
splendour. The Midland reopened on 1 Jun 2008, part of a wider concerted drive to rejuvenate and
restore Morecambe as a resort. Local politics may have had something to do with this. [The election of
13 Morecambe Bay Independents to Lancaster City Council in May 1992 - which absorbed Morecambe,
post-1974 - concentrated minds in Lancaster that an 80% decline in hotel and guesthouse bookings in
a decade, largely replaced by incoming 'DSS people' was not exactly what Morecambe's local economy
needed... With 22 seats, the party ran Lancaster Council from 1999-2003 and in 2005 successfully
campaigned for the creation of Morecambe Town Council.] It is definitely the best hotel in the place.

Photos exist of the new and old hotels side by side, but the 1848 building was soon demolished and its
site is now the LMS hotel's car park. Both buildings occupied sites on the seaward side of the
promenade, facing the Midland Railway 1908 station. That closed and is currently shops and the
tourist office. From Tue 8 Feb 1994 the railway station retreated a quarter of a mile inland, and is now
a miserable little affair with two rather short platforms and a modest, cubic, characterless ticket office.

Two months later in 2010, I stayed at what might be termed a 'new' ex-railway hotel. This is the Cedar
Court Grand Hotel at York. The building was completed in 1906 as the headquarters offices of the
North Eastern Railway (NER), and is on a scale commensurate with that status as HQ of Britain's fourth
largest pre-Grouping railway company. A listed structure facing the NER's cenotaph obelisk war
memorial, it is less than 5 mins walk from York station (and indeed, faces the original, pre-1877 station
inside the city walls). Thus, many NER features remain including a full colour representation of the
NER's armorial device from its year of founding, 1854. The hotel had only opened about 3 days before,
and I was told at the reception desk that I was their very first customer to book in over the counter
(as distinct from phone or Internet). Many NER features remain inside from the Edwardian era.

791] Points & Slips: ●●BLN 1346.489] Dean Lane Ground Switch Panel at Knowsley Freight Terminal
should be Dale Lane. ●●BLN 1347.636] Auchinleck station has not been renamed. ●●679] The recent
Single Line Working on the Up (outward) line of the Drax branch due to flood damage was associated
with a 5mph Emergency Speed Restriction which was subsequently eased to 20mph, then 25mph.

1348 EAST MIDLANDS (Graeme Jolley) [email protected]
792] Coalville line ❶: Due to an embankment slip on 26 Feb between Lounge Jn (116m 67ch) and
Moira (120m 67ch), the Down Goods line is blocked. Remedial works are expected to take a month.
The Up Goods is unaffected and remains available for traffic.

X.50] Coalville line ❷: Please look at, and sign, this petition https://bit.ly/2U66hNP which seeks
to have the Coalville line reopened to passengers and pass the petition on. One of the problems
with these petitions is that they can be counterproductive if they attract poor support, although this
one has exceeded 3,000 signatures in 7 days it will need many more to be effective.

793] British Steel: On 9 Mar the Chinese Jingye Group bought the company (except for its French plant
- under negotiation) off the Official Receiver and has said that £1.2bn will be invested over 10 years.
请增加铁路线 = more rail lines please! The deal includes Scunthorpe steelworks, mills in Skinningrove
and Teesside plus shares of Fnsteel BV in the Netherlands and TSP Engineering at Workington. In the
short term an electric arc furnace is to be developed on Teesside (presumably Lackenby) but this could
reduce slabs/blooms (rather than billets) trains from Scunthorpe. Replacement scrap might well be
more locally sourced and moved by road. An Electric Arc Furnace at Lackenby BOS plant could result in
reopening of the adjacent slab casters (depending on their condition) which are all in the right place.

A more efficient 250MW power station at Scunthorpe is planned, along with investment in the Rolling
Mills there. A new 'rebar' line manufacturing (concrete) reinforcing bar for the construction industry
and an enhanced rail mill are planned. The effect on rail traffic remains to be seen. 3,200 of the 3,600
jobs in the company have been saved and we hope that our regular Society railtours will be able to
continue at Scunthorpe so long as there is demand. The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial
Strategy has kept the company going since the High Court put it into administration on 22 May 2019.

794] Doncaster/Sheffield Airport: (BLN 1311.1791) On 27 Feb Sheffield City Regional Combined
Authority, Doncaster Council and the Peel Group (airport owner) submitted an outline business case to
the Government for a new 4½ mile railway line (map BELOW). The proposed GatewayEast Growth Hub
Rail scheme is for a high speed electrified rail connection to what is said to be the UK's fastest growing
airport. Plans show a grade separated connection from the London direction at Bawtry, south of
Doncaster. The new line heads east with freight sidings alongside (to the north of) the airport. It then
turns northeast through a passenger station by the airport terminal to a triangular junction with the
Lincoln - Doncaster line to the east of the site. The cost is put at £300M, would result in 10,000 jobs
within 5 years and 30,000 within 10 years; £22.58 is expected in economic return for each £1 invested.

795] Kettering - Sharnbrook Jn requadrupling: (BLN 1345.379) The new Up Slow was commissioned
on 2 Jan but it is still not in use despite expectations that this would be the case by the end of Feb.

796] East Midlands Gateway: (BLN 1344.224) Minister of State for Transport, Chris Heaton-Harris
officially opened the new strategic rail freight interchange on 28 Feb. The terminal at SEGRO (Slough
Estates Group) Logistics Park is operated by Maritime Transport Ltd; the company's fifth rail terminal.
With the lighter evenings there is now a chance to see a train on this new 2¼ mile branch (map e-BLN
1300.453) in daylight. Much of it is paralleled by new or upgraded public footpaths which were part of
the project, including one past the gate where trains enter the terminal. There are excellent views of
the railway for now, but perhaps not so when the many tiny trees in plastic tubes grow. The layout has
three tracks plus a short cripple siding outside the gates (TRACKmaps 4 p13C Dec 2018 shows the
proposal with five tracks). Trains to/ from the east (via Sheet Stores Jn) run round at Marks & Spencer
East Midlands Distribution Centre sidings, Castle Donington - traffic there at last! Maritime intermodal
rail traffic has now plummeted generally with factories in China closed due to Coronavirus.

797] Toton: On Sun 15 Mar the 06.27 Derby to Leicester service ran to Toton Centre to reverse on the
bidirectional section of the Down Toton Goods line and crossover to the Up High Level Goods Line. The
07.17 Nottingham to Leicester was similarly diverted, also using Attenborough Jn - Meadow Lane Jn.

BELOW: Proposed route of the Doncaster/Sheffield Airport railway line

e, the pink star is the freight terminal and the red the passenger station.

1348 GREATER LONDON (Geoff Brockett) [email protected]
798] Liverpool Street: (BLN 1343.75) Although NR has validated paths and platform occupation,
introduction of ROG's parcel service from London Gateway has been delayed. The two Class 769
bimode conversions are not now expected to be available until Sep and Oct. Three more units have
been ordered for Anglo-Scottish trains and one to the West Country. ('Rail')

799] Heathrow T5 Transit: (BLN 1347.662) The Heathrow Track Transit System (believed to be its
official name) is not quite as hard to grice as suggested. You do not have to be departing from T5C to
travel there, as your boarding pass is not checked on the train. Leaving Heathrow you can travel to
T5C, and then take one of the lifts (our reporter doesn't remember which, but only one of them goes
this way) down from the departures area into the little-known underground walkway to walk back. It's
a long walk, so only do this if you have lots of time to spare, but it's definitely possible. If you are lost
or otherwise do something wrong (eg staying on the Transit for too long), you can find yourself in the
arrivals area. If this happens, it is not the end of the world; you just need to go through security again
with your passport. This is another reason why you might want to have plenty of time to do the line!

The system has two tracks. Normally they run as two separate routes, with the vehicles shuttling up
and down. The Departures side (from an airline, not a railway, perspective!) in T5A is the centre island,
and the Arrivals side the two outer platforms. This is reversed at the satellite T5B and T5C. It allows
passengers making normal journeys to be in position for whichever train arrives first. When catching a
train from 5B departures to 5C (eg if you had chosen to use the much quieter BA Business Class lounge
in 5B when your flight leaves from 5C), you therefore have to guess correctly which side the first train
will be on! However, despite this being the normal means of operation, there is a scissors crossover
just outside each terminus. They are, to our reporter's knowledge, very rarely used in service - the only
time he believes they would be used is if one line is closed for engineering works at one station.

Usually when they close one line, the entire line is shut and everyone has to use the other one. If you
do want to know which flights depart from 5C, one guarantee is that Airbus A380 flights will do so,
since the only gates that can handle A380 aircraft are in 5C. This currently includes at least some BA
routes to Los Angeles. Most airline booking engines will show the aircraft type booked for the flight.
[Perhaps this interesting sounding system could be shown on futures TRACKmaps, please, Martyn?]

The automated people mover (APM) system opened in 2008, using 2x3car Innovia APM 200 vehicles
initially with two stops - the main T5A and T5B. In 2011 it was extended to a total of 0.42 mile to T5C.
There are normally now 8 vehicles in operation plus one spare and the system carries 13M passengers
per year (capacity 6,500 an hour). It is only available to those who have checked in through security.

800] Jubilee Line Microgricing: WTT 15 (BLN 1304.946, May 2018) http://bit.ly/2Y5VTVD will be
superseded by WTT 16 dated 23 Mar 2020. The main changes are much renumbering and removal of
North Greenwich peak turnbacks. At these times Train Operators step back four trains, instead of two,
at Stratford with 2 minute turnrounds scheduled. With thanks to Bill Lynch, this guide (on our website
Archive as LUL rare moves) indicates the whole service over every piece of track apparently available
to passengers which is not in routine use throughout each day, except that (in a policy change from
previous guides) it ignores gaps around start and close of service and during Night Tube hours.
Running numbers of trains otherwise difficult to identify on the day are shown in [square brackets].
 = Known recent use also to turn back in service during planned engineering.

Although a headnote is defined for trains to run via the Met Line 'to or from Baker Street (Met)', none
is booked to, and 'from' is impossible without reversing and the lines have different signalling systems!
.... Stratford Depot 'west' end X/Os (facing, No9 points), Canary Wharf (both), London Bridge,
Waterloo, Finchley Road, Neasden (trailing and facing), also connections with Bakerloo Line,
connection at Neasden to northbound Metropolitan Line and Charing Cross P4: no booked use.
.... Stratford Depot 'west' end (No6 points) trailing X/O, Charing Cross P3, Wembley Park connection
to southbound Metropolitan Line, and southernmost X/O at Stanmore (No33 points): All ECS only.

.... Neasden connections from southbound Metropolitan Line: staff and ECS only.
...Stratford: P13 departures: SSuX plenty until 07.21¾ and from 23.01; TWThFO 00.05; SO several to
01.14½, plenty 05.31½ -07.57, several from 23.01; SuO 00.08, plenty 07.14¼ -09.47¾, 20.01¾ -close.
P13 arrivals direct: MTWThO several until 07.15½ [317, 362, 324, 313, 364], several from 22.55 [367,
371, 327, 331, 305, 307, 334]; TWThFO 00.07 [353], 00.42½ [363]; FO several until 07.15½ [315, 354,
321, 313, 130], several from 22.55 [135, 357, 324, 141, 142, 143, 345]; SO five 00.16½ -01.04½ [130,
131, 354, 133, 135], 01.50¼ [142], 02.20¼ [145], 02.40¼ [131], 04.20¼ [143], several 06.10¼ -07.50¾
[317, 312, 334, 162, 164, 307, 344, 155, 332, 302], several 23.03 -23.57¾ [156, 157, 351, 303, 163,
165]; SuO four 00.10 -01.16½ [342, 344, 350, 351], every 40 min 02.00¼ -06.00¼ [163, 151, 155, 161,
165, 153, 157], plenty 07.20¼ -09.41¾ [355, 342, 344, 322, 310, 340, 327, 346, 357, 345, 355, 341],
many 19.55¾ -23.32 [316, 355, 353, 326, 327, 332, 321, 305, 306, 310, 340, 345, 347, 357, 353, 355,
317, 320, 321, 332, 303, 305, 307, 342].
Arrivals at (platform number as shown) via the facing crossover at Stratford Market Jn (No12 points
at depot 'east' end): TWThFO four 00.10 -00.30 [354 (14), 355 (15), 364 (13), 360 (13)], all 00.45¾
[364] -'M-Th' close; SO many 00.07 -01.10¾ [310 (13), 350 (15), 351 (14), 00.24 352 (15), 132 (15),
355 (14), 356 (14), 357 (15)], 02.00¼ [143] (14), 02.30¼ [130] (14), 02.50¼ [132] (14), 03.50¼ [140]
(13), 04.00¼ [306] (15), 04.30¼ [303] (15); SuO many 00.07¼ -01.22¾ [307 (14), 343 (15), 345 (13),
152 (15), 347 (13), 154 (15), 157 (14)], every 40 min 02.10¼ -06.10¼ [164, 152, 156, 162, 304, 344,
306] (all 14), 07.00¼ [303] (15), five from 23.40¼ [344 (13), 345 (14), 347 (13), 350 (14), 357 (15)]; MO
five 00.04½ -00.25 [351 (13), 352 (14), 354 (13), 355 (14), 356 (15)].
...North Greenwich: P2 east-to-west turnrounds: SSuX 3½+ tph 06.45¾ -07.33¼, 09.25¾ -11.38½,
14.46½ -16.43, 18.45¾ -20.08.
P2 westbound arrivals: ECS only. P2 eastbound departures: SSuX 05.29½; TWThFO 00.37¼.

801] East Croydon: A member was amused recently by an announcement at the station warning of
organised gangs selling tissues (the new Bitcoin perhaps)! Don't fall for their tissue of lies?

802] Bakerloo Line: (BLN 1342.3067) Working Timetable (WTT) No46 http://bit.ly/2Y5VTVD (dated
22 Mar 2020) was issued very quickly after No45, as turnround times were too short and late running
built up. The SSuX timetable addresses this; at Elephant & Castle Train Operators set back three trains
instead of two. However, Train Operators in the RMT staged two 24-hour strikes in protest. The only
microgricing impact is that the 00.35½ SuMX arrival at Queen's Park P2 is renumbered to [237].

803] Crossrail: (BLN 1345.390) On Sun 15 Mar (09.00 to 23.00), TfL Rail trains were suspended Ealing
Broadway - Paddington for the first test trains to run between the core tunnels and NR infrastructure.

804] Crossrail 2: (BLN 1322.272) The government should commit to Crossrail 2 and agree a funding
package at the 2020 Spending Review, with London meeting at least half of the cost, according to the
National Infrastructure Commission's annual review. The commission, which advises government on
infrastructure policy, notes that despite the need for increased rail capacity in London, continued
delays mean that Crossrail 2 is now unlikely to open until the late 2030s at the earliest. This misses all
the commission's previously recommended deadlines. According to the report, the case for Crossrail 2
remains strong, but urgent progress is needed even to meet a late 2030s deadline. It says delays and
cost overruns from Crossrail and other major projects need to be learned from, but are not arguments
against building Crossrail 2. The DfT has advised TfL that the Crossrail 2 strategic outline business case
is robust and no further work is required. The Chancellor made no mention of it in his 11 Mar Budget.

805] Hither Green: A covered-over Permanent Speed Restriction sign on the Up Fast with an arrow
above it seems to suggest that the current 25mph Up Fast to Up Slow crossover at the country end of
the station is to be replaced with a new Down Fast to Up Slow one further south. This will hopefully
form part of a higher speed ladder with less restrictive approach control. The existing crossover was
moved on a like-for-like basis as part of the 12-car Networker project that was paused on 31 Mar 1993,
despite the then South Eastern Division of British Rail asking for a higher speed ladder.

806] Hounslow West: TfL and A2Dominion are planning a development of 400 homes, along with retail
space, also a new public square and gardens next to the station. The Grade II listed ticket hall will be
retained, but there will be a new concourse, with provision for lifts to be installed in the future.

807] South Kenton: At 13.39 on 7 Mar, about 1km of Down Fast OHLE was brought down by the 13.30
Euston to Glasgow Central. All six lines (including the DC Lines) were closed from 00.50 to 10.00 on
8 Mar for inspection and again from 21.00 on 8th to 06.00 on 9th to replace the damaged wiring.
Lesser damage was found for seven to eight miles, although this may have included the Up Fast. The
Down Fast remained closed, but the Up Fast was reopened. A possession was taken of the DC and Fast
Lines over the same period the following night to complete the work. Unfortunately, further damage
to the nearby neutral section was discovered causing the possession to overrun. The Up Fast reopened
about 08.30 and the DC Lines about 09.45. The Down Fast later reopened to diesel trains and a few
Pendolinos coasted through with their pantographs lowered. Another overnight possession of the Fast
and DC Lines finally allowed normal working to resume in the small hours of 11 Mar. Watford North Jn
(17m 74ch) crossovers have now gone (BLN 1333.1939) so, in such circumstances, all trains have to use
the Slow Lines for 20 miles between Willesden North Jn (5m 58ch) and Bourne End Jn (25m 40ch).

1348 NORTH EAST & YORKSHIRE (Geoff Blyth) [email protected]
808] Trans Pennine Upgrade: (BLN 1335.2169) The first public consultation on the Huddersfield -
Westtown upgrade showed 85% support from respondents. Following the feedback, NR is carrying out
the second stage of public consultation on the revised plans at local venues from 16 Mar until 10 Apr.

809] Budget tram stop: Funding was announced in the budget for the new Park & Ride Tram Train
route stop between Meadowhall South/Tinsley and Rotherham Central at Magna (great!).

810] Knottingley: (TRACKmaps 2 p40A Oct 2016) The once very busy (heavy coal traffic in particular)
DB Cargo Depot has closed along with all the facilities and wagon works; the last day was Sat 14 Mar.
The final train at the depot was our 'Power of Aire' railtour that day which ran from the end of line at
Ferrybridge Wagon Works (which is thriving) arriving via Knottingley Depot Departure Line, what else
would you expect (?), behind Knottingley P1, as far as three DB Cargo Class 66 locos (66017, 66164 &
66174), which were unfortunately in the way. This was dealt with by attaching them to the front of our
railtour; they hauled it through the maintenance shop building so the tour could continue to join the
Up & Down Knottingley Goods (the bidirectional third side of the triangle here) to Knottingley East Jn
and on to Drax Power Station.

PREVIOUS PAGE: Aldwarke 11" Mill Sidings looking north from the exchange sidings connection;
see item 812 below. (© Andrew K Overton, 11 Apr 1991.)

811] Tyneside: ❶Gateshead: The points at St James' Bridge Jn (100m 23ch), once the access to
Tyneside Central Freight Depot, have been plain lined over a period of time. ❷Pelaw Jn: The points
in the Down line (98m 16ch) which accessed the Up Leamside line have been plain lined recently.

812] Aldwarke Jn: (TRACKmaps 2 p32A Oct 2016) NR wishes to abandon 4253A/B points, leading to
the inlet line siding for the Aldwarke 11" Mill, on the west (Down) side of the main line here. The track
beyond the NR boundary has been removed and the remaining NR track sees very little use. A member
who worked at Aldwarke Junction Signal Box in 1990-92 remembers that the line was quite busy, with
two trip workings a day from Tinsley Yard. They sometimes served the 'New Site' on the other (Up)
side of the main line first (linked by rail internally to the 11" Mill via a bridge over the main line) and
then the 11" Mill afterwards, or vice versa. Until the 1992 resignalling, it was permitted to propel out
the 11" Mill inlet line on to the Down Main and then depart northwards. Rail traffic can still work via
the internal bridge to the New Site, so present traffic levels do not need two mainline connections.

813] HS2: Separate legislation for each branch of the network has raised the possibility of HS2 reaching
Manchester before Leeds. The Prime Minister has recommitted to the HS2 Y-shaped network, Phase
2b of which has new routes to Manchester via Manchester Airport and to Leeds via the East Midlands
and the Sheffield area. As part of this announcement, the Government committed to delivering an
integrated rail plan for the North, which would consider the most efficient way to sequence rail
investment, including HS2 Phase 2b and Northern Powerhouse Rail.

On 21 Feb the DfT published the 'Terms of reference for an integrated rail plan for the North and
Midlands' a package of schemes now referred to as High Speed North. The Government will proceed
with the legislation to allow for the development of the western leg (development of the eastern route
continues) provided it does not prejudge any recommendations or decisions that will be taken in this
plan. Phase 2b can be legislated for in two or more hybrid bills, possibly concurrently.

Previously the two branches were treated as one project. Dividing the scheme into different legislative
parcels could speed up delivery of some elements but may lead to uncertainty about the timescale for
the full network. The development of an integrated rail plan is an Oakervee review recommendation,
which also stated: Preparation of materials for the Phase 2b bill as currently designed should be paused
and await the outcome of this study. Given experience on Phase 1, having smaller bills/phases may be
better to allow easier scrutiny of proposals in Parliament and faster construction. The current plans for
Northern Powerhouse Rail services make use of up to 110km of the proposed HS2 Phase 2b tracks. The
Government says the integrated rail plan for High Speed North will be published by the end of 2020.

814] Ferryhill: (BLN 1330.1430) A member observed on 8 and 22 Feb that the normally rusty line to
Thrislington Quarry was shiny. Open Rail (which goes back over 12 months) reveals recent outwards
GBRf operated aggregates traffic again, staged at Doncaster Down Decoy (unless that is just a decoy).

815] Hartlepool: (BLN 1346.542) The claim elsewhere that the second platform may be reopened to
'increase capacity to more than one train per hour' is wrong. The main capacity limitation is between
Sunderland and Pelaw (as previously explained in BLN). The ¾ mile single line working through
Hartlepool is not a great operational problem as unfortunately freight traffic is very thin these days.

816] Darlington: (TRACKmaps 2 p44B Oct 2016) NR wants to make the Up Hopetown Siding into a
private siding. Currently disconnected from the Bishop Auckland branch, it is on the Down side
(formerly trailing in) at the former Hopetown Jn (0m 74ch). This is at the Bishop Auckland end of the
bidirectional Goods Loop at Darlington North Road station. The NR land would transfer to Darlington
Borough Council (DBC) control by a sale or lease. The purpose is to facilitate the establishment by a
partnership of Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA), DBC and the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust
(A1SLT), of a visitor attraction and engineering facility as a centrepiece of the Stockton & Darlington

Railway (S&DR) bicentenary celebrations in 2025. This is the project announced by the A1SLT in 2017
to move from its existing base at the former S&DR carriage works on Hopetown Lane to the Whessoe
Road engine shed (see BLN 1292.2225 with map). The present A1SLT base is the truncated remains of
the former Darlington Depots branch, OG 28 Sept 1825 with the S&DR main line. Your NE Editor has
seen no evidence of its being visited by a railtour (it was about ¼ mile long), so it may possibly be the
oldest surviving line in the world never covered by a passenger train. Any other candidates?

The site will be separated from the Bishop Auckland line by a fence and connected by a northwest
extension of the Up Hopetown Siding. Access will be controlled by existing signals 'T845' and 'T846'.
No interlocking changes are proposed and the fence line will be maintained by gates across the line.
Whessoe Rd shed, near the former Hopetown Jn, will be returned to railway use. A new building will
be built further southeast, alongside North Road Goods Loop, on available land and there is space for a
future turntable. The project will have to allow continuing road access to the NR depot near the site.

Unusually, the Network Change includes a section on operating procedures. A Responsible Officer (RO)
will always be on duty when a movement is to be made to or from the site. The procedures are what
one might expect. However, the requirements for a train arriving from the ECML are of some interest.
The signaller will contact the RO when the train passes Northallerton and confirm that the gates are
open, the route is set inside the facility and the train is accepted. The train will be signalled normally,
including clearing the subsidiary signal for 'T846', allowing the train to enter the facility. If the RO is
unable to accept the train the signaller has the choice of regulating it into Darlington Down Loop,
Darlington Station Loop or North Road Goods Loop (according to which those on the train need??).

817] Boulby: Redcar & Cleveland Council has commissioned a feasibility study into a passenger service
from Saltburn West Jn to Boulby, at present used by up to six trains a day carrying Polyhalite to Tees
Dock and rock salt to Middlesbrough Old Town. The results are due in May. A councillor and transport
officers recently 'rode the Boulby train' to see the route for themselves. The report is unclear on
whether they actually rode on the loco or if there was a passenger special. The proposals include halts
at Saltburn West (close to Saltburn Learning Campus), Skelton, Brotton, Loftus, Carlin How and
Easington (the branch is 12m 6ch!). They suggest the service could form part of Redcar & Cleveland
Council's joint bid with Middlesbrough Council for Roseberry Parkway station (BLN 1336.2307).

PREVIOUS PAGE: Boulby, our 22 Mar 1986 'Don & Tees' railtour (it was not organised by Don Kennedy
for a tease) http://bit.ly/33xMWrS with the then traditional end of line walkabout. (Ian Mortimer)

ABOVE: (TRACKmaps 3 p48A Oct 2016) Boulby, Cleveland Potash (as was), a 11 Feb 1989 Society tour
(10 participants) at the headshunt, 38m 50ch from Darlington. The branch is left. (Ian Mortimer.)

It's a lovely idea but the chances of the scheme ever seeing the light of day are miniscule. ICL UK,
which owns Boulby mine, has apparently been 'accommodating', and is prepared to change some train
times provided there are paths for six return journeys a day. A council spokesman said that there was a
lot of work to do, including talks with NR on loops to allow freight and passenger services to run
alongside each other. There are two block sections: Saltburn West Jn to Crag Hall signal box (7 miles)
and Crag Hall to Boulby (5 miles). From Saltburn West Jn it is double track for a mile. This might all
seem enough for freight and passenger trains but the line speed is 30 mph, slower in places. Freight
takes slightly longer than the local bus, which has sharp bends and difficult hills to contend with.

818] Queensbury Tunnel electrification? (BLN 1343.86) On a 3 Mar visit to Bradford, the Transport
Secretary said he had taken a personal interest in the tunnel and rejected the official advice to fill it in.
He instead told DfT officials to find a way to bring it back into use. He wished to work with local leaders
and the Combined Authority to come up with a better solution, saying: That's an asset but at the
moment it's unclear what a tunnel from here to Halifax would do and what would run through it and is
that bicycles or a light train or a tram. The Queensbury Tunnel Society said they were very interested
in what Mr Shapps said about possible future uses of the tunnel, such as a light rail scheme or tram.
They have explored the idea of an electric buggy in Queensbury to boost tourism in the area...

We have heard a whisper of the idea and find it interesting. The use of the tunnel by cycling and
walking doesn't exclude the idea of an electric buggy. The idea of a light railway or tram is something
we have already heard whispers of; it's not an altogether impossible notion, but it puts the tunnel
restoration on an altogether different footing. The tunnel emerges at both ends onto private land and,

while both landowners are fully supportive of accommodating a greenway, some form of rail/tram
route calls for serious consideration on their part. Furthermore, the topography would make a rail track
pretty challenging. A rail track would also mean maintaining the full width of the tunnel and therefore
the cost of restoration and the added infrastructure of the extended route would be a great deal more
expensive than a greenway dedicated to cycling and walking. We imagine that a fixed track scheme
would take several years to achieve, whereas a greenway could be achieved within a couple of years.

The 1m 741yd Queensbury Tunnel is on the former Great Northern Railway (GNR) line between
Bradford and Halifax, south west of the former Queensbury station. Until Ponsbourne Tunnel at
Hertford opened in 1910 it was the longest tunnel on the GNR. Queensbury was a triangular junction
of lines from Bradford, Halifax and Keighley and was one of the few stations in the country to have
platforms on all three sides of the triangle. (Other examples are Shipley - but only in recent years after
platforms were provided on the north curve plus, formerly, Ambergate, Bishop Auckland and Forres).
The lines opened in stages, resulting in a rather complex history. All three lines CP 23 May 1955 and
the Halifax line through Queensbury Tunnel (including the curves from both Queensbury East and
West Jns) to Holmfield Jn CA 28 May 1956. The Bradford - Keighley line section through Queensbury,
from Horton Park (Great Horton Coal Depot) to Thornton, CA 28 Jun 1965.

819] Wansbeck Valley Line: (BLN 1346.536) A member commented on the apparently very long hours
the porter-signalmen worked when the military specials ran. He didn't think that the duty turn of
roughly 22 hours was unusual in 1965; it would have been authorised and classed as 'out of course
working' covered on a 'sleeping turn' as the arrivals and departures were not timetabled. You could be
on duty but having an official kip waiting for something to happen or, if you lived locally, pop home to
ring in every now and again to find out the location of the trains. Your NE Editor hadn't heard of a
'sleeping turn' before. The times of the military specials would have been in the Weekly Special Traffic
Notice, enabling signal box rostering arrangements to be made. As it was, on 16 May 1965 the failure
on the branch of the last Woodburn bound train of three meant the final return empty stock arrived
back at Morpeth some 3¾ hours late. When Scotsgap closed with Morpeth, it was only one and a half
hours before the porter-signalman there had to be back on duty at his normal time at 07.30!

Had the specials been on time Scotsgap would have closed at, say, 02.00 and signed on again at 07.30
not claimed as working straight through, but that's conjecture. As the location was so remote, there
was little prospecting of finding someone to cover the 07.30 Scotsgap shift on the Monday morning.

A member who retired recently remarks: During my time as a signalman we were limited to 12 hours
and it was against the rules to work any longer. Many years ago it was permitted to only have 8 hours
rest between consecutive shifts. Do any members have experience in past years of signalmen having to
work very long shifts unexpectedly and how this was managed?

1348 NORTH WEST (John Cameron) [email protected]

820] Manchester Mayfield: (BLN 1342.4170) Manchester City Council (MCC) has approved plans for
the development of this terminal station (CP 29 Aug 1960) site. Designed by architectural practice
Studio Egret West they cover over 26 acres and include a 6.5 acre Mayfield Park, the first new park in
the City in over 100 years. Other developments include a multistorey car park, 1,500 homes, 155,000
m2 of offices, and a 350 bedroom hotel, as well as retail and leisure facilities. The £1.4bn project will be
overseen by the Mayfield Partnership, a public-private partnership comprising MCC, Transport for
Greater Manchester, Developer LCR (London & Continental Railways) and regeneration specialist U+I.

Mayfield Park, the offices and car park will be alongside the former station on Fairfield Street. The
station remains are being retained and redeveloped as part of the wider regeneration. The depot has
already been transformed into a new live music venue, Depot Mayfield. Work is expected to start on
the park and buildings later this year. This may be the end of the Mayfield tours at least in their
current format; the website has more http://bit.ly/2rHQLN2 (if not cancelled due to Coronavirus).

[BLN 1348]
821] Liverpool: The Liverpool Echo reports that two city centre locations for a potential high speed rail
station and five options for the line to it are under consideration by a station commission set up last
year by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. The Authority's interim director for integrated
transport said that it would likely be years before the final route/s and station location/s are decided.
However, an Integrated Rail Plan is being developed with some of the 'high level' detail of the plans.
822] Budget station (1): (BLN 1320.73) Cottam Parkway, not in Notts but on the Preston - Blackpool
line, received £25M from the Transforming Cities Fund in the Budget; much development is proposed.

ABOVE: Plan by Martyn Brailsford of the line as built (with fewer crossovers than the original plans
showed and the turnback centre line at Imperial War Museum is a through line). A new version of our
whole Manchester Metrolink track plan is an e-BLN download (the 2016 website version is as planned).
823] Trafford Park: Metrolink has announced that the Trafford Park line is due to open to passengers
on Sun 22 Mar,(but may not) after the successful completion of the project and handover of the new
line to the operator, KeolisAmey Metrolink. Metrolink is already the UK's largest tram network, with a
96km network and 93 stops. The new line will adds a further 5.5km of track and six stops:
Wharfside - next to Manchester Ship Canal and close to Manchester United Football Club.
Imperial War Museum - adjacent to the museum.
Village - on Village Way, near Village Circle and Third Avenue cafés and shops.
Parkway - at the Parkway Circle roundabout.
Barton Dock Road - (originally to be named 'EventCity') adjacent to Barton Square and 'EventCity'.
intu Trafford Centre - at intu Trafford Centre outside Selfridges on Barton Dock Road.

824] Manchester Piccadilly: NR now manages the P13 & P14 island independently from the rest of the
station to improve peak time performance and enhance passenger experience. Up to 40,000 people
use the two through platforms each day, the same as the total for the seven platforms at Nottingham.
There is a dedicated team of 12 new customer relations staff and four supervisors to keep passengers
moving safely and provide travel advice. There will also be: ◊New Customer Information Screens in the
airport style satellite lounge and station staff information screens on the platforms. ◊New charging
points, extra seating, free water points and free toilet facilities in the departure lounge. ◊More safe
waiting space along the platforms behind the red line. ◊Platform windbreaks to protect passengers
from bad weather. (These have already been installed as reported in BLN 1344.257.)
825] Bimodes flex their muscles: Class 769 Bimode Flex units (converted Class 319 EMUs) for Northern
have been spotted on driver training runs between Wigan Springs Branch and Southport.

NEXT PAGE: Look no wires! 769442 (& 769450 on the rear) at Southport P6 on 27 Feb 2020.
This was on 3Z51, the 09.51 Southport to Southport via Wigan Wallgate (reverse) which
was terminated at Wallgate, but ran again later - following picture. (Tim Hall-Smith.)
See Tim and Liz's pictures at www.theghoststationhunters.smugmug.com





BELOW: 769450 leading with 769442 on the rear at Parbold on 3Z53

3, 14.06 Springs Branch to Southport. (Tim Hall-Smith, 27 Feb 2020.)

826] Dutton: On Sun 1 Mar an embankment slip occurred on the West Coast Main Line just north of
Dutton (River Weaver) Viaduct, between Weaver Jn and Acton Bridge. This was associated with Storm
Jorge, the third such storm in as many weeks, with the ground saturated. The Met Office has since
confirmed that Feb was the wettest on record. The Up line was closed all next day for emergency
repairs. Some Up Avanti Anglo-Scottish trains (mainly those via Birmingham) ran on the Down line
with Single Line Working between the emergency crossovers at Weaver Jn (174m 65ch - facing) and
Hartford Jn (10m 65ch - trailing). A few keen members were quick off the mark and did them.

Most Avanti services via the Trent Valley, and all London North Western Services, terminated at
Crewe, for Down trains, and Preston, for Up trains, with replacement buses running between the two.
The WCML was then closed completely from 19.30 on Mon 2 Mar until 07.30 on 3rd for extensive
repairs to the embankment. The damaged embankment was strengthened with 380 tonnes of rock
during the closure. On Tue 3 Mar the Up line reopened, initially with a 20mph restriction. Around 100
tonnes of reinforcement stone was added over the next two nights, during overnight closures.

827] Euxton Jn: (BLN 1345.417) The junction is due to be relaid over the Easter weekend between
Fri 10 and Mon 13 Apr with the West Coast Main Line closed (and other locations) over that period.

828] St Helens: The St Helens Star reports on plans for a new Carr Mill station after St Helens Council
cabinet approved proposals to earmark over £500K of matched funding towards a proposed road
junction improvement scheme. Earlier this year, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority agreed to
submit an Expression of Interest to the DfT in response to its £150M highways pinch point fund to
reduce congestion on local roads. Of six shortlisted schemes submitted across the city region, St
Helens Council's application for the A580/A571 Carr Mill Rd ranked first for improved safety measures
around the junction to support proposed regeneration of the area, including residential development,
and a railway station outlined in the Combined Authority 'Long Term Rail Strategy' and the Metro
Mayor Steve Rotheram's Merseyrail for All plan. [Could be a while before it reaches Great Malvern.]

BELOW: Hope Street Aggregates Terminal from a passing train. (John Cameron, Sat 7 Mar 2020.)

829] Salford: (TRACKmaps 4 p43N Dec 2018) Construction firm Cemex UK owns the Hope Street rail
served aggregates terminal. Improvements have been made to the facility over the last year which has
improved its efficiency. This year there are plans to relay the track. Cemex has also improved the rail
infrastructure at its Dove Holes quarry site which it recently took over from NR and installed two new
loading facilities there - appropriately built of concrete. Nationally, using GBRf, Cemex UK transports
2.6Mtonnes of aggregate by rail per year (= about 100,000 road trucks). GBRf has named 66780 loco
'Cemex Express', which is in Cemex livery and Hornby has produced a model of it.

1348 SOUTH EAST - NORTH & EAST ANGLIA (Julian James) [email protected]

830] Budget station (2): (BLN 1343.118) Funding for Cambridge South was announced in the budget.

831] Berney Arms: (BLN 1347.645) Although the line was closed since 20 Oct 2018, other than the two
Tue 18 Feb 2020 test trains, there is no evidence from Realtime Trains etc that any route refreshing
specials or other trains ran before the full normal timetable resumed from Mon 24 Feb. Not all services
are booked to stop at Berney Arms (on request) and one is nonstop Brundall to Great Yarmouth.

Following reopening of Berney Arms station a member trekked across the marches to this unusual
request stop on an unusual date, Sat 29 Feb. It was an interesting walk from Great Yarmouth past the
remains of the former carriage siding with evidence of redundant equipment from the recent
resignalling (much is now up for sale). The station is very remote, a six miles walk, the nearest house is
half a mile away across a half flooded field. The selection of railway signage is interesting from very
faded BR double arrow signs to brand new signs. The passenger information notice has unusual
comments like: 'step-free' access, but note that it is a remote station only accessible by boat or by
walking some distance (quite a few steps then). There is no car park, regular bus service, vehicular
access or taxi service at the station. However, there is a phone numbers to ring for one; it could be an
interesting conversation with no vehicular access! Even more bizarre is the new sign requesting
passengers to use the subway or footbridge to access the other platforms, as none could be found!

832] King's Lynn: (BLN 1347.711) By 7 Mar OHLE masts for the new EMU stabling siding had been
installed, but no equipment. A surfaced walking route from the station with low level lighting posts has
been provided between the passenger line and the line to King's Lynn Yard (BLN 1325.713). Of interest
to members, the new siding runs alongside the Middleton Towers single track on its southeast course
rather than alongside the Ely passenger line which curves away south. Unlike TRACKmaps 2 p12B
(Oct 2016) - which, of course, is only diagrammatic and not to scale - the two routes are initially
alongside each other. Old 25" maps show that there used to be multiple tracks on both lines and also
sidings here including where the new line is laid. Platform extensions at Littleport (Down P2 only) and
Waterbeach are well advanced with structure but not surfacing or furniture in place. At Downham
Market the short siding behind Down P2 has OHLE, as shown in TRACKmaps, though why is not clear!

833] Wisbech: (BLN1319.2762) In a report to Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority
Transport Committee, ROP from March (the town not the month!) with two trains per hour has been
priced at £200.4M (2019 prices). This includes 20% optimism bias but not land acquisition. Consultants
are now working on GRIP 3B, expected to lead to a full business case that should be published in June.

Current plans are for a station south of the Purina (Cat and Dog food) site near Wisbech centre,
putting the station close to the River Nene (about TF 456 094). Wisbech East station (CP 9 Sep 1968)
was at TF 463 089 on a different alignment eastward. So there is 500m to 600m of previous goods
alignment to be put to future passenger use! The 7 mile single track branch would have a passing loop
at Coldham (TF 433 028) and use the restored March P3 (BLN 1340.2827). The service would be two
trains per hour on the branch with one extended to Cambridge subject to path availability (Ely North
Jn is the bottleneck). March P3 exists, trackless, but March Whitemoor Jn to March East Jn curve runs
into Up P2. Restored track in P3 would need a connection (to/from Cambridge) east of the station.
March East Jn is now west of the station, but controlled from March East Jn box east of the station.

BELOW: Not a 'Guess the Location'; looking northeast towards Great Yarmo
station between 1 Apr and 18 Oct 2018 before it TCP. (There were 966

outh. 442 passengers were recorded in 2018-19 who must all have used the
in the previous 12 months.) A passenger waits in the First Class lounge.

BELOW: All our members should visit Berney Arms request station - it is su
dead straight. This shows the step free (and only) access. (A series of p

urreal. The view southwest from the platform towards Reedham, the line is
pictures by Noel Feather on Sat 29 Feb 2020, shortly after reopening.)

BELOW: The only station access is along this grassy track through the

e gate. This picture would make a good (and very hard) jigsaw puzzle.

BELOW: Bimode 755420 arrives with the 15.19 to Norwich (electrifica

ation might be a little while yet). Only the first set of doors is opened.

ABOVE: What subway, footbridge or other platforms?

834] Norwich Victoria Sidings: (BLN 1345.429) Norwich Victoria sidings opened on 3 Mar and are used
to stable up to four Class 745 units, the 12-car EMU Flirts for Liverpool Street to Norwich services.
There is also a new shunter's cabin, plus a compound with welfare facilities and a site security office.
835] Stevenage: (BLN 1347.708) When seen passing on 7 Mar the new P5 track was fully ballasted.
The new platform front wall was complete but the infill and platform furniture had yet to be provided.

836] Whitlingham Jn - Lowestoft/Great Yarmouth: (BLN 1345.425) Observations confirm that
Reedham and Somerleyton swing bridges are still controlled from the former signal boxes. The new
Great Yarmouth signalling includes stabling sidings on the Down side of the line approaching the
station but none is useable due to minor obstacles and vegetation growth of varying size and extent.

837] Brandon: (BLN 1336.2325) The search for a buyer of the lease on Brandon station building has
been taken up by SAVE Britain's Heritage. Marcus Binney, executive president of SAVE Britain's
Heritage said in a press release of 6 Mar: We appeal to Greater Anglia to grant a reprieve to allow a
concerted rescue effort which will give the station a long-term use. Completed in 1845, its charm
comes in its domestic scale - like a row of cottages including a station master's house. However, the
historic station building is now set to be demolished under permitted development rights by rail
operator Greater Anglia, who have a 99-year lease on the station from owner NR and wish to extend
the station car park. Railway stations were the subject of SAVE's first exhibition (1976) at the Royal
Institute of British Architects. Brandon station featured in a 1968 episode of Dad's Army. The station
offices closed in the 1980s and up until Sep 2004 were leased to a building company. They are now
empty and boarded up. When a local enthusiast requested spot listing in 2006, it was asserted that the
interior was absolutely complete, but Historic England was unable to gain access to confirm this.

ABOVE: Ipswich, bay P1 is left showing the extent of the OHLE. (John Brandon, 4 Jun 2019.)

838] Ipswich: (BLN 1347.703) A local member confirms from sporadic observations that north to south
turnbacks these days are normally in P4a; a few years ago it was usually in less conflicting P3, when the
within-station crossover was normally taken. Disruption can cause P3 and P4 to swap roles for hours at
a time, presumably until a chance occurs to break the pattern and revert! Felixstowe trains mostly
arrive/depart in P1 - where the OHLE ends before the canopy (three coach lengths are not electrified).
The branch trains were always bottom of the pile for rolling stock and this continues with the bimodes.
He has yet to detect any pattern in the train routeing arriving from Norwich between East Suffolk Jn
and P2, or in the allocation to P1 and P4c of trains to/from Lowestoft, Peterborough and Cambridge.

On 5 Mat the 15.17 Ipswich to Lowestoft was standing with the pantograph raised (!) in bay P1
outside the canopy before where the wires end; it was pouring with rain. Weirdly, 5Q76 the 14.49
Colchester UPL to Stowmarket DGL was shown on RTT as having passed through Ipswich P1, even
though it's a bay and was occupied by the aforementioned trains at the time. Train 5Q76 vanished
after East Suffolk Jn. First Norfolk & Suffolk operates a 20-minute frequency (daytime SuX) between
Ipswich Bus Station and Felixstowe with a journey time of around 46 mins (trains take about 25 mins).

839] Braintree: Essex County Council is considering support for the reopening the Braintree to
Dunmow line with extension to Stansted Airport. The Witham & Braintree Rail Users Association
carried out a feasibility study in 2009 suggesting a station at Dunmow. Current motivation appears to
be the government sponsored reverse Beeching fund! The track bed passes some 2km south of the
airport terminal and major new construction would be needed to reach it, including crossing the dual
carriageway A120. Elsewhere the formation is all there as the Fitch Way except for 1.5km at Great
Dunmow, now the B1256. A 2km diversion south of the town but north of the A120 would be
required. The A120 dual carriageway would need bridges in three places. A local member cycles the
route at least once a year. Braintree station has one of the remaining examples of the Great Eastern
Railway large 1865 station buildings (as at Ongar) little butchered but with many superficial
alterations. Others exist on the route but that at Dunmow does not. Access to Bishops Stortford is
blocked by the M25 and other developments. (Essex County Standard/Daily Gazette)

840] Reading: The 30 years old toilets on the concourse are going to be refreshed and improved
(somehow) and, to enable, this will be closed for a few weeks - 8 Mar to 4 May. The rather newer
toilets on P8 and P9 are also closed because the pipe work has deteriorated quickly and needs
replacement already. There are others; those on P7 at the west end were open when visited recently.

841] East - West Rail: (BLN 1346.561) This item asked if Phase 2 (EW2) was fully funded. The answer is
yes! - it is fully funded through the Transport & Works Act Order; Documents NR-05 and NR-06 of the
application specified funding of £1,084.7M. The application has been granted, the funding with it.

1348 SOUTH EAST - SOUTH (Julian James) [email protected]
842] Not new at Newhaven: The disused Harbour signal box has gone with Town to follow 27/28 Mar.

843] Maidstone East: There are political ructions in mid-Kent over the continuing lack of Thameslink
trains which currently only run between Cambridge and King's Cross. As previously reported, there has
been a suggestion that, during the King's Cross remodelling, they will run to and from Bellingham.
No one at Govia Thameslink Railway is coming clean over whether the Maidstone trains will ever run.

844] Eridge - Tunbridge Wells: On the 29 Feb/1 Mar weekend this was on the National Rail website:

Spa Valley Railway ticket acceptance: ...in addition, for customers at Eridge we have a unique
opportunity for something different. A community partner of Southern Railway, the Spa Valley
Railway, is also offering our ticket holders from the Uckfield line, to and from London, the opportunity
of travelling on the Spa Valley Railway between Eridge and Tunbridge Wells West station at no extra
cost, to supplement the direct replacement bus service [Ashurst - Oxted] operated by Southern.

The Spa Valley Railway is separate from the Uckfield line, but runs from Eridge station, so provides a
unique, if much less direct option to travel to/from Tunbridge Wells for onwards travel to/from
London. Please be aware that Tunbridge Wells West is a separate station from Tunbridge Wells station
and this opportunity is indirect and will involve a walk between the two stations of around 15 minutes.
The Spa Valley trains will not connect with the Southern two-hourly service; therefore Spa Valley is
likely to be an option only for people travelling to and from Eridge and London. Customers with set
travel plans should use our direct replacement bus services. This is an independent offer by the Spa
Valley Railway and is entirely separate from Southern services

Uckfield had a shuttle every two hours to Ashurst (for rail replacement buses) using one DMU. The
emergency weekend closure was for preventative work on a recent bank slip before it closed the line.

845] Guildford: (BLN 1343.30) The major Easter closure (10-19 Apr inclusive), and the associated
weekend closures are only for renewal of junction work at the north end of the station. The toes of 13
sets of points will be repositioned by distances up to 9m but the layout will remain the same except for
removal of the non-electrified Up Siding shown on Aug 2019 TRACKmaps and a disused tamper siding
reached from it by reversal near the buffer stops. This is not shown on TRACKmaps. A mile of track and
conductor rail will be replaced and 41 track circuits 'upgraded'. From Tue 14 Apr P1 becomes available
for London services via Clandon only. Other trains turn back at Haslemere, Ash, Reigate and Woking.

846] Reigate: (BLN 1347.719): When P3 is commissioned, GTR proposes to divert the Peterborough to
Horsham service to Reigate. The Horsham stopping service would revert back to Victoria.

847] Guildford - Wokingham: Extensions to both platforms at Sandhurst were to be commissioned
from the start of service on 23 Feb. P1, Up Blackwater, towards Guildford, and P2, Down Blackwater,
towards Reading, have both been extended at the Guildford end. The new platform lengths are 84m.

848] Alton: The old out of use timber footbridge spanning P1 and P2 was removed from 9 Mar.

849] Totton - Fawley: (BLN 1338.2590) Hythe & Dibden Parish Council has voted to support reopening
of the branch to relieve the busy A326. In Jan the Council heard a presentation from Nick Farthing,
chairman of the Three Rivers Community Rail Partnership, a not-for-profit group aiming to promote
and improve local bus and train services. At the Feb meeting members were told the project could cost

around £20M-£30M [that's a bargain] with a trial service within 18 months to two years and the line
completely open in three to five years. The original Marchwood station building could be reopened
but a new station would have to be built in Hythe as the original is now a heritage centre. Further
along the line would be another new station, Hythe & Fawley Parkway, with a Park & Ride facility.

Inevitably one resident was critical of the idea, telling the meeting: The plan is undeveloped, uncritical
and silent on issues that affect the area, such as the buses and ferry. It won't make the slightest bit of
difference to the A326 traffic - the number of people who will migrate from cars will be minimal. It will
cause massive issues on the local roads, for people sat waiting at the train gates. If this goes ahead the
gates will close every 15 minutes. Marchwood Parish Council also recently agreed to support in
principle the restoration of the passenger railway. But the Parish's New Forest district councillor,
Sue Bennison, spoke out against the idea. She said: Initially I was in favour of the railway returning, but
then I received a number of emails from residents with concerns. It soon became clear to me that the
impact would not be just to those closest to the railway, but to Marchwood as a whole.

She voiced concerns about residents living close to the closed lines who would suffer noise as well as
traffic gridlock when the trains were passing through, due to the village having three level crossings.
But Hythe & Dibden chair Cllr Malcolm Wade gave his support to the project and said: We cannot go
on as we are now. There will be more cars, more carbon emissions. Hampshire County Council don't
have the money to fix the roads. We need to look at doing something different - we can't just carry on.

1348 WEST MIDLANDS (Brian Schindler) [email protected]

850] BELOW: An Aug 1962 sign, obviously no problem with girls "Engine Spotting" at New Street then.

851] Lawley Street: (BLN 1346.583) The recently
shortened two sidings nearest to the Birmingham
to Water Orton line are a permanent fixture as a
fuel point has recently been installed there.

852] Wolverhampton: (BLN 1333.1956) On 3 Mar
the new station building was lit up, including the
departure screens but the (presumed) booking
office appeared to be a bare shell and the
external ground works were incomplete.

Over Easter (Sat 11 to Mon 13 Apr inclusive) the
station is shut for trackwork. There is also
reballasting between Wolverhampton and
Coseley. All three days, Realtime Trains shows
West Midlands local trains from Birmingham
turning back in Tipton P2 returning in service over
the trailing crossover at the Birmingham end of
the station. Since resignalling this is a fully
signalled passenger move. Turnbacks at Tipton P2
are also shown on Suns 3 & 24 May. Buses are
provided Tipton to Stafford and Telford Central
and at times Chester to Birmingham
International (!) for TfW. WMR run a local
Shrewsbury - Bilbrook service (ECS shunt via
Oxley Down Goods Loop). There are no ECS
moves to/from Oxley shown. CrossCountry and
Avanti West Coast are diverted via Bescot,
Portobello Jn and Bushbury Jn. [Liverpool South
Parkway - Weaver Jn/Frodsham are also shut.]





PREVIOUS PAGE: A Long Marston to Sims Metals (scrapyard) Newport working on Tue 17 Mar 2020.
A sad one way trip for the HST micro-buffet coaches. It is between Worcester Shrub Hill (to run
round) and Norton Jn; Worcester cathedral is in the background. (David Gommersall.)

853] Washwood Heath: (BLN 1346.586) The severing of Washwood Heath Up Yard sidings appears to
be to install a bottom discharge facility as there is a buried corrugated roof alongside it. This would be
partly for the proposed use of the yard as a 'virtual quarry' facility for HS2 construction. The west end
Arrival/Departure lines on the NR side of the gates are still in situ. Line 1 splits beyond the gate into
two sidings as above, while Line 2 continues beyond the gate a few yards with all track lifted beyond.

854] Walsall - Wolverhampton: Planning applications for the two intermediate stations at Darlaston
and Willenhall have been submitted to Walsall Council which is a member of the consortium seeking
to reopen the line. West Midlands Railway now plans to serve then with an hourly Crewe via Stoke to
Birmingham service rather than a Shrewsbury service plus a Walsall - Wolverhampton hourly service.

1348 IRELAND (Martin Baumann) [email protected]
855] RPSI: (BLN 1346.589 & 622) Due to Coronavirus the Midlander (Dublin - Maynooth, two trips with
'85') was postponed as is the 4 Apr tour and 7-12 May events. Whitehead Museum is now shut.

856] Londonderry: (BLN 1347.740) All trains have been using just P2 again at times due to pile driving.

857] NIR Microgricing: The 17.35 SSuX from Larne Harbour is booked to use Magheramorne Loop and
later run wrong line from Lagan Jn to arrive Belfast Lanyon Place/Central P3 18.35. This avoids
conflicting with the 18.35 to Bangor which departs from P1 and uses Titanic Quarter facing crossover.

X.51] Mossley West: A rarely photographed station with 4003 on the 09.38 Londonderry to Belfast
GVS heading away in the distance (BELOW). (All pictures Martin Baumann, Fri 6 Mar 2020.)



ABOVE: Mossley West (and previous page) with above, 3004 on the 11.10 GVS to Londonderry
BELOW: Also on 6 Mar 2020 a 'quick' photo of Portrush station, the smart new interior.

1348 ISLE OF MAN (Graeme Jolley) [email protected]
858] Steam Railway: The season began on 6 Mar with only two working steam locos, No8 and (on an
extended boiler ticket) No15, highlighting the need for a backup diesel. No13 is expected back in traffic
soon but it indicates the difficulties the steam railway has in maintaining the service without the diesel
'Cabbage' (No21) which is still out of traffic (BLN 1345.461). Meanwhile at lunchtime on Tue 10 Mar
No16 'Mannin' was moved from Port Erin to Port St Mary goods shed for some work to be carried out.

ABOVE: 'Mannin' approaching Port St Mary from Port Erin on Tue 10 Mar, the points are set for the
Goods Shed Road (done by our Sep 2013 railtour), then it is shunted into the shed. (Steve Chapple.)

859] Social Isolation: In case 17 Mar was going to be the last day of freedom for two local Members
for a while, they decided to ride on the MER from Douglas to Laxey and back doing Ballameanagh
trailing crossover just north of Baldrine. While the seaside track is being replaced on either side of
Halfway Crossing (that is 3m 46ch, halfway between Douglas and Laxey), there is single line working
on the landward side track between Ballameanagh and Groudle. In Car 22 on the 10.10 from Douglas
our duo were the only passengers and shared with two others on the 10.55 return from Laxey.

X.52] Liverpool!! (BLN 1347.741 repeated) A new IOM Steam Packet terminal is under construction at
Princes Dock for the IOM ferry. Meanwhile it is operating from a temporary shed near the Liver
Building about 500yd south. Princes Dock (1821) was the first large purpose built Mersey dock and was
soon connected to Waterloo Dock to the north (1834) by a tidal basin. Tidal basins dry out at low tide,
so in 1868 it was rebuilt as a half tide dock by GF Lyster. As the name suggests, the gates in a half tide
dock are opened when the tide is about half way up, letting ships in. Most of the remaining historical
items in the vicinity including lock gates, capstans etc will disappear under the new terminal. The
scheme involves filling in a few areas of water and turning the rest into a car park and the terminal
building. AFTER MER PHOTOS: From the public planning documents present aerial photo and plans.