ABOVE: 1855 Dumfries 25'' map with the 1849 station; the site of the present station is just off the top (to Glasgow), Carlisle is off bottom right. The top main road is now the A709 and the lower the A780. Nothing remains of the halt at Rigg (113m 13ch which OP 1 Jun 1901, CP 1 Nov 1942, with later use by unadvertised workers' trains). An interesting point is that the village of Eastriggs is in fact west of the village named Rigg! This is because 'rigg' comes from a Scottish medieval word for 'ridge' and Eastriggs is on the east side of a different ridge. The present Gretna Green (115m 12ch, OP 20 Sep 1993) station is a basic halt a short distance west of the original station, where the building on the Up side remains in use as a house. Less than a mile further on one enters a completely different world at Gretna Jn. 2561] Festive Engineering Work - a plum job: Track renewal and upgrading signalling at Greenhill Upper Jn results in the lines being closed from the evening of 24 Dec to the early hours of 2 Jan. Trains from Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh, Stirling and Alloa will divert via Stepps and Cumbernauld. Inverness and Aberdeen services normally to and from Glasgow will terminate and start at Stirling. Between 27 and 30 Dec (incl), there will be a half-hourly service between Queen Street and Stirling; alternate trains continue to Alloa. Those terminating at Stirling use bay P10. Inverness and Aberdeen trains reverse from the north in P9 for cross platform interchange, using the north connection from/to the Perth line. These arrangements also apply on 31 Dec but with fewer trains using P10. Other work includes track renewals at Craigentinny on 25 & 26 Dec and drainage work in Haymarket North Tunnel on 1 Jan, when no trains are running. Points are being replaced at Dundee Central Jn when there are no trains. Three bridges are to be demolished on the East Kilbride branch, for electrification. Thornton Road and Eaglesham Court bridges, between Hairmyres and Thorntonhall, will be demolished on 25 Dec and replaced in 2024. The disused Thornton Farm bridge will be demolished on 1 Jan. There will be no trains between Dumbarton Central, Helensburgh Central and Crianlarich on 2 Jan because of signalling work at Craigendoran. Edinburgh trains, half-hourly, reverse in Dumbarton Central P3.
2562] Glasgow Central: (BLN 1404.1718) Reconfiguration of the retail/catering units has started here. Burger King, Upper Crust and The Beer House, on the east side of the concourse, have all now closed. ….. 1438 WALES & THE MARCHES (Chris Parker) [email protected] 2563] Uskmouth Branch (Newport): (TRACKmaps 3 p20A 2023) The once regular substantial DBC steel traffic from Margam or Llanwern to Birdport Rail Terminal (on the branch at 2m 18ch) has not run since 23 May 2023. A Jan 2023 report in 'The 'Guardian' indicated further job cuts by Liberty Steel, who intended to change this site from manufacturing to a distribution facility (but clearly not by rail). On 16 Jan 2017 the final coal train from Avonmouth arrived at Uskmouth 'B' (Fifoots) Power Station (3m 07ch). Then, in a surprise development on Tue 5 Dec 2023, a FHH worked aggregate train, which had departed Machen Quarry at 17.12, arrived at 19.39. The unloaded wagons were reloaded at Machen next day and ran to Uskmouth again. The empty wagons left for East Usk Yard on Fri 8 Dec. Can any member confirm what is happening here, please? A Jun 2022 report indicated permission had been granted for the former power station's 230MW grid connection to be used for an industrial scale battery storage facility with a 460MW hour capacity (impressive!), so this may be 'connected'? 2564] South Wales Metro/Core Valley lines: (BLN 1437.2447) ❶On the Treherbert line, Ynyswen station is to remain closed until further notice after the present blockade, pending completion of P2 on the reinstated Up line and construction of footbridge access to the existing Down side P1. Another Quaker's Yard perhaps? It looks as if the Treherbert branch (TCP 29 Apr 2023) will ROP 12 Feb 2024. ❷Talking of Quaker's Yard, the station, also TCP since 28 Apr 2023 is due to ROP Mon 18 Dec 2023. ❸A member visited the Cardiff Bay branch on 20 Nov, its reopening day after the latest blockade. As usual, a single Class 153 unit was operating the 5tph shuttles from (appropriately) bay P1 at Queen Street. Just past the junctions, the (reinstated) second track on the Up side of the branch is now laid for some way but not connected. He noted the new platform in situ on the Down (towards Cardiff Bay) side for the new Butetown intermediate stop but didn't see much sign of any new works on the Up side. Again on the Down side, the further section of new track, laid ready to form a new platform at Cardiff Bay (deviating quite some way from the present line) was still not connected to it so there was still just the west platform face in use at the terminus. In summary, Butetown Down platform construction was the one obvious accomplishment of the 16-day blockade. ❹By 27 Nov the Coryton branch had received its first OHLE masts, positioned in the centre of the former Down line formation, so providing a major obstacle to future redoubling including at Rhiwbina where a passing loop was originally proposed. Until 14 Jun 1964, the branch was double track as far as 2m 37ch (12ch past Whitchurch) with a run round loop at Coryton, taken out of use the following day. ❺While awaiting the 17.01 Cardiff Queen Street to Waun-gron Park on Mon 4 Dec, another member heard the well-worn announcement that the 17.06 to Barry Island was cancelled because more trains than usual are under repair. Meanwhile his 17.01 was advertised as now due at 17.07. However, as every minute passed, the due time increased by a minute! Eventually the single Class 153 unit arrived at Queen Street at 17.16. There was no indication as to why it was late but Realtime Trains showed it was 17mins late leaving Coryton. It set off and called at Central with no adverse announcements. However, after leaving Central, came the announcement that it would be cancelled from Ninian Park. He wouldn't have caught it had he known, although there was a bonus for microgricers in using the facing crossover into Ninian Park P1! He hopes things will improve as more new trains are rolled out and, like many, is encouraged by the Class 231 FLIRTS on (for now) Rhymney to Penarth line. All 11 are in service and the ride, comfort, spaciousness, rapid acceleration and step free access are praised. Perhaps but for national politics more would have been ordered rather than the 'Welsh built' 197s? 2565] Cardiff Central: NR has launched a 'masterplan' process to regenerate over 10 acres of railway land in the vicinity, aiming to open up the site, improve connectivity and deliver homes within a new mixed use neighbourhood creating a new entrance gateway for the Welsh capital … while making the most of its riverside location. A local firm has been appointed to build a new 695-space car park on the adjacent Central Quay development, releasing existing surface parking as part of the 'masterplan' area.
2566] North & Mid Wales rail survey: https://bit.ly/47HCn5w is a report of surveys carried out on TfW services in Aug 2023 by the North & Mid Wales Association of Local Councils on the North Wales Coast,Chester to Shrewsbury and Cambrian lines, which reflect changed travel patterns. As elsewhere, there are fewer regular travellers but increased leisure use has largely offset this. The overarching concern is with overcrowding, which caused difficulties in carrying out the surveys and is expected to worsen because of the reduced seating capacity of Class 197 units as compared with Class 158s. The report makes certain assumptions which, to be fair, are inaccurate about planned reduced train formations or which TfW is already attempting to address. In particular, there has been a suggestion that at least some of the present Class 158s may be retained but this is hardly a long-term solution! 2567] Onllwyn branch: (BLN 1424.1300) NR has recently completed £700k of major repairs to a footbridge over the line at Blaendulais, better known as Seven Sisters (not listed in the NR database but north of that former station site at about 8m 60ch), enabling it to reopen after over three years during which pedestrians had to use a nearby road bridge. The wrought iron lattice span dating from 1863 was replaced by a Glass Reinforced Plastic replica made of recycled material, which should last 60 years. The stairs, supports and timber deck also needed replacing, repairing or strengthening. Tactile paving was even added to the staircase feet. It may have helped that the local councillor who helped campaign for this is also leader of Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. He said: The bridge is a symbol of our rich mining history here in Seven Sisters and this joint effort to preserve the past for the future has breathed new life into an essential piece of our heritage. However, the announcement did not mention what, if any, use is currently being made of the railway line beneath during the development of the Global Centre for Rail Excellence at Onllwyn. Engineering trains are known to have run at least as far as Neath & Brecon Jn on some recent dates including 7 & 8 Nov but any progress beyond there is unrecorded. As always, any information would be welcome, please! 2568] Cwmbargoed: (BLN 1437.2445) The BBC and other mainstream media reported that Ffos-y-fran opencast mine was indeed to close on 30 Nov but confirmation was still lacking a week later. Loaded trains continued to depart here for Margam on 30 Nov, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 (Sat), 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 Dec... It has been reported that when the trains stop, coal will come in by ship directly to the quayside here. 2569] Ebbw Vale branch: (BLN 1437.2446) Park Junction signal box officially closed on the evening of Wed 29 Nov. Its replacement, an addition to the existing Ebbw Junction workstation at Wales ROC (aka South Wales Control Centre), due to open at 04.00 on Sat 2 Dec, was commissioned next day. The line reopened on schedule on 4 Dec. However, the additional services to Newport are postponed from the 11 Dec timetable change until 'Jan 2024', attributed to a rolling stock shortage, as several units suffered wheel flats during the leaf fall season. [The restoration of hourly Chester to Frodsham to Liverpool Lime Street services is similarly delayed. Severe overcrowding has also occurred on some existing services particularly during morning peaks, for example Shrewsbury to Chester on Sat 25 Nov and Pontypridd to Cardiff Central on Mon 4 Dec.] The Crosskeys to Newport SSux shuttles have not run since Thu 9 Mar 2023 (BLN 1421.953). Replacement buses have not been provided (or during the blockades) although rail tickets have been valid on the local Stagecoach bus services instead. However, Park Jn - Gaer Jn has had a SuO passenger service with most (but not all) Cardiff to Ebbw Vale services reversing at Newport as booked, with no replacement buses during engineering closures. Thus, the first booked passenger services over Park Jn - Gaer Jn after the recent blockade were on Sun 10 Dec. On Fri 8 Dec the 17.37 Ebbw Vale to Cardiff diverted via Newport (reverse) but this was unadvertised. 2570] Shrewsbury - Ludlow: NR now intends to carry out a revised version of the speed differential changes (BLN 1410.2426), to be 'well embedded'before the Jun 2024 timetable change, when a further increase in use of the line by Class 67+Mk4 sets is planned. A further 50ch of the Down line southward to 18m 60ch (Wistanstow) is now included but 10m 38ch to 11m 02ch (Leebotwood-Church Stretton) is excluded. Differentials for freight all remain. Those between DMU and non-DMU passenger traffic will be abolished except on the Up line from 21m 00ch to 20m 38ch (Stokesay, between Onibury and Craven Arms), which also sees the only change in freight permitted speed on the line (65 to 75mph). The work, presumably only involving resigning, will be carried out without disruptive possessions.
[BLN 1X.114] The completely replaced like for like metalwork on the section thatNote that the track has also been relaid and reballasted during the recent b
1438] t probably is correctly 'Barmouth Bridge' (once Barmouth Swing Bridge). lockade. A Down train is approaching Barmouth. (NR, Dec 2023 and next.)
BELOW: (Item 2572) Holyhead Breakwater Railway loco shed, the line to the b
reakwater (ahead left) is left of the car; the quarry is behind the photographer.
BELOW: The end of the breakwater, the large very broad gauge crane ran o
on rails at two levels; lower right is the far end of the standard gauge line.
BELOW: The people demonstrate the sheer size of Holyhead breakwate
er itself. (All three taken during a private trip, Ian Mortimer, Apr 1980.)
ABOVE: Holyhead Breakwater, Holyhead Mountain is to the right, the port and town are off left. This shows the high and low level crane rails clearly, the standard gauge line is far left BELOW: Breakwater Quarry with some rail remaining, the breakwater is behind the photographer. Clearly a popular destination for some members at the time! (Both Angus McDougall, 26 Oct 1979, also first photo, inset top left of loco 01002 inside the shed.) There are further photos of this railway on our website, put 'Holyhead' in the photo collection search facility and check all three pages.
2571] TfW concessionary travel: Available to holders of Welsh local authority Concessionary Travel Passes, the entitlements have been slightly revised recently. On the Cardiff & Valleys network (which includes Maesteg and Ebbw Vale but not Newport), the ⅓ discount now applies to journeys starting after 09.30 SSuX (all day SSuO) and is not additional to the railcard discount which it largely duplicates. Travel is free to holders on the Wrexham - Hawarden Bridge and Llandudno - Blaenau Ffestiniog lines all year. From Oct to Mar, it is also free travel on Machynlleth - Pwllheli and the Central Wales Line, with some restrictions on services used by schoolchildren in term time on the former and on the 'main line' sections at either end of the latter, as well as Bucknell - Craven Arms (in England, of course). A free ticket must be obtained from ticket offices before travel where available, otherwise from train conductors; hopefully all will ask to see the Travel Pass first! Full details at: https://bit.ly/46qsSGJ 2572] Holyhead Breakwater railway; Now it can be told: (BLN 1139.633) The 7,860ft (2.4km) long breakwater protecting Holyhead harbour was completed in the 1870s and a railway constructed from a quarry at the foot of Mynydd Twr (Holyhead Mountain) out along it for the tipping of stone as a sea defence - what we now know as 'rock armour'. The gauge was 7' 0'', just ¼'' narrower than Brunel's broad gauge. A branch to the harbour was added and a steam loco used. In 1913 the harbour branch was converted to a road and the 'main' line to standard gauge but no connection to the L&NWR/LMS North Wales Coast main line was ever provided. Originally owned by the Board of Trade, the line remained steam operated by a private contractor until 1967 when British Rail assumed control using a pair of Class 01 diesel shunters, supplemented by Wickham trolleys. The unique 7ft gauge steam loco had lingered in a derelict state until, most regrettably, it was scrapped in 1945. ABOVE: 1953 map; 'Breakwater Quarry' is bottom left; Holyhead Breakwater Railway loco shed is left of the end of the minor road, at Soldiers' Point, next to the running line but at a higher level. Rails still remain outside,set in concrete. By 1979, just a short section of the quarry line was a headshunt access. BLNs of the day record that, by 1979, the inland end of the line had been cut back from the quarry to a large stone building which appeared to be the breakwater maintenance base and also became the loco shed. Passing loops on the breakwater had been lifted by then and traction was latterly provided by the Wickhams; the Class 01s were rarely used after Jul 1979 and rail traffic ended 12 months later. Your BLN Editor managed a trip on the Wickhams early morning on Tue 27 Nov 1979 with another member. It was his second attempt - nothing was happening the first time on 6 Nov as the men were working on the main line instead, so he caught a bus from Holyhead to Amlwch and did the internal railway there and lengthy branch! The remaining breakwater line was due to close, hence the urgency.
The section from the loco shed headshunt to the quarry was already closed and lifted but photos show that it was still working in 1973. In 1979, our duo waited in a car by the shed and, after speaking with the Inspector in charge, they helped push the Wickham railcar and its trailer out and get it started (it wouldn't always start). They were lucky the sea was calm as, if it was rough, maintenance work on the breakwater would be suspended. Most of the British Rail men travelled out to the breakwater in road vehicles and there were also three road cranes, so the work was significant. The railcar had space for eight; apart from our two members there were five BR men and an empty seat. The ride out on the breakwater railway (via the headshunt at the quarry end) was in daylight and exhilarating. The rails, laid on longitudinal timbers, were very old and worn - one reason it was closing. Luckily the work was taking place near the end of line; our duo walked back and met a third member who had overslept in Holyhead! Fortunately for him, the railcar returned with just the driver and no trailer to pick up some rope and he was able to persuade the driver to take him to the headshunt and out on the breakwater. A recent Industrial Railway Society forum posting suggests there was still a 7ft gauge line at this time but this seems to refer to the track of the travelling crane. This also ran along most of the breakwater; the horizontal gauge may have been around 7ft but the vertical gauge was certainly much more as one rail was on the top of the breakwater outer section and the other was on the much lower inner part behind it! Your Regional Editor recalls seeing this in a derelict state when he walked the full length of the breakwater with his parents in 1968. From memory, the loops were still in situ then but all looked rather forlorn, not helped by the effects of corrosive sea spay. He picked up a rusty flake of rail as a souvenir but didn't keep it long. So, as they walked back along the road to the town the sight and sound of a Class 01 with flat wagon pottering along the breakwater was quite a welcome surprise!! By 2011, virtually all of the Holyhead Breakwater Railway line had been converted to a roadway. The maintenance/loco shed survived as a storage facility with some still embedded in the forecourt. Any information about this isolated railway and its harbour branch (confirming closure date) welcome. 2573] Caerphilly: The County Borough Council, along with TfW, is to submit a planning application to itself for complete demolition of the town's present rail and bus station to rebuild it in a modern style with huge glass windows and canopies. Public and stakeholder consultation is said to have generated 'overwhelming support' for the project; detailed designs should become available during 2024. 2574] New timetable: From 11 Dec, the SSuX 06.48 Cardiff Central to Holyhead was retimed to 07.17 and the 11.33 return to 12.33; a DMU is diagrammed. This restores the irregular mid-morning service pattern on the Shrewsbury to Chester line to hourly. It also reduces a 2 hour gap southbound in the early afternoon but still leaves intervals of 77, 37 and 81 min! This is a legacy of the situation which arose with the 16 Dec 2019 timetable change in circumstances which no longer apply. Additional loco powered services then operated at the expense of calls at some local stations. This contravened the Train Service Requirement and, in response to protests, an inadequate replacement bus service was provided for a time (BLNs 1342.4160 & 1346.615). A Sundays only 11.45 TfW Holyhead to Chester service was also introduced from Sun 10 Dec to fill a gap created by Avanti service changes. 2575] Caerleon: (BLN 1188.989) CP 30 Apr 1962, it is 10 years since the last mention of reopening of this station between Newport and Cwmbrân and also since the first mention of a South East Wales Metro in BLN, as part of the then SE Wales Transport Alliance's long term strategy (that body was dissolved in 2014). Several new or reopened stations were advocated; some still are, none has yet materialised and Caerleon is among those quietly forgotten. However, prompted by its omission from TfW's recent plans (BLN 1435.2512), a public meeting was held in the Town Hall on 25 Nov to gauge support for a campaign to revive it. Leaders of the successful campaign to include Magor & Undy, local politicians and civic leaders etc spoke. There was overwhelming endorsement across political divides. It seems there is no obvious alternative to the original and, as it has limited parking potential, a 'walkway' station similar to proposed for Magor & Undy and Cardiff East will need to be considered. 2576] Wrexham-Bidston:(BLN 1437.2439) With the 10 Dec timetable, all passenger services now stop at Hawarden Bridge on request. Before it was four to Bidston and five to Wrexham SSuX, the other way round SO, spread over morning and evening peaks; SuO all trains did, and still do, call on request.
Class 197s rather than 150s supplemented the Class 230 unit from 11 Dec. This is already known to be a less than ideal solution and whether it will continue seems uncertain. They keep time better on long distance services rather than short runs with frequent stops. An additional Class 230 will (hopefully!) replace one of the 197s in the longer term. 197050 was the first to be tried on the non-230 diagram on Thur 30 Nov. It lost time steadily and a Class 150 DMU replaced it the next day and thereafter. On Fri 8 Dec 150285 operated a 2-hourly service in isolation as no Class 230 was available following 'an overnight incident at the [Birkenhead North] depot'. Don't ask. 1438 MINOR RAILWAYS (Peter Scott) [email protected] MR232] Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway, Gloucestershire (MR p7): A member visited this railway on Saturday 28 October for the Autumn Showcase Mixed Traction Weekend. There was a free bus connection, using red heritage double decker MCZ 5995 (only 23 years old so not 'vintage') owned by Merchants, which made three trips morning to the railway from Cheltenham Racecourse (via the Evesham Road entrance) and four back in the afternoon. It was a sunny morning but clouded over later with a heavy shower at lunchtime and then rain from late afternoon. A day rover ticket was £30 - a wrist band and printed ticket, plus rail and bus timetables and an A5 booklet were all included. At Winchcombe, the carriage restoration shed was open, with 13326, 4772, 25488 (on loan from NYMR) and 1675 all under restoration inside and several others outside awaiting attention including 4806/67 and 24006. It appears that maroon is out of favour owing to it going dull quite quickly but a blue & grey set is being contemplated to better match the diesel fleet. At Broadway the footbridge is partly open - you can walk above the two tracks but not descend onto the new west platform yet. A Routemaster bus was parked outside (RML 2478). At Toddington there was a plethora of stalls selling second hand books and magazines. The diesel shed was open with 20228 and two Class 37s (D6948 and 37215), with GWR 2-8-0 3850 and Peckett 1976 'Joan' next door. It was noticeable how many volunteers were being used to staff the level crossings at stations and three first aiders were based at Winchcombe. Tickets (wristbands anyway) were checked at platform entrances and on trains which is good and catering staff were out in force on platforms and in the griddle cars. A good day out. MR233] Elsecar Heritage Railway, South Yorkshire: This standard gauge railway of almost one mile closed after last public running on 1 March 2020. It was located at Elsecar Heritage Centre (owned by Barnsley Council) and ran along the trackbed of the former Elsecar Colliery branch (CG 5 Aug 1981). An extension was laid on it to Cortonwood but never opened to the public. It was recently announced that the railway could reopen as part of a £25M plan to transform the Heritage Centre, also with a new rail college and an outdoor events centre. Barnsley Council said the reopened line would offer rides on a reconstructed steam train from 1849, powered by sustainable fuels. The line and other infrastructure would be used by the college, which aims to train 400 people a year in track engineering. According to a background document, the scheme could create 40 new jobs and support another 200 roles. Barnsley Council has been working on the initiative with Historic England, as the site is designated a scheduled ancient monument. Council leader Sir Stephen Houghton said some money had already been secured from the Cultural Development Fund to start work on the site. He added the rest of the redevelopment would not happen straight away and we need to secure funding and it will take time to deliver but this vision is the starting point for something very special for Elsecar.Other facilities planned for the site include an outdoor performance area, public spaces, a restaurant and a cycle hire centre. MR234] South Devon Railway, Devon (MR p6): The South Devon Railway Ltd (the operating company of the South Devon Railway) launched a £3M share issue on 1 December to raise capital to continue improving the railway along with the ongoing preservation and restoration of its locomotives, rolling stock and infrastructure. Several major projects have been identified which the share issue would help fund. These include a new building for coach repairs, construction of Phase 2 of the maintenance and running shed, new visitor facilities at Buckfastleigh, station improvements, locomotive restoration, reducing the railway's environmental impact, and an upgraded museum at Buckfastleigh. Benefits of purchasing shares include two return tickets each year, regular newsletters, discounts in South Devon Railway Gifts & Models, an exclusive members' train and reception. See: https://bit.ly/3GtoNqK
BELOW: (Item MR235) Caledonian Railway; Class 26/0 D5314 at Brechin with
the 10.50 ex-Bridge of Dun. (Peter Scott, 19 Aug 2012, from the end of line.)
BELOW: (Item MR236) Great Central Railway; North Eastern Railway Railcar 31
170 at Quorn with the 13.15 from Loughborough. (Peter Scott, 18 Sep 2023.)
BELOW: 17F power! 48305 + 92214 arrive at Quorn with th
he 13.55 from Loughborough. (Peter Scott, 18 Sep 2023.)
BELOW: (Item MR237) Brecon Mountain Railway; N o 2 has arrived a
at Torpantau with the 10.30 from Pant. (Peter Scott, 20 Apr 2014.)
BELOW: (MR238) Weardale Railway, Eastgate extension the B6278 crossing (13
3m 70ch), towards Stanhope, there is track, honestly. (Bill Wilson, 10 Aug 2023.)
BELOW: The same location looking west towards Eastgate (!) the building lef
ft was originally a crossing keeper's house. The last train ran on 27 Jul 1992.
(MR234) a related mini-Christmas Quiz - what is unique about Buckfastleigh? Answer in BLN 1439. MR235] Caledonian Railway, Angus (MR p10): Storm Babet from 18-21 October 2023 caused serious flooding to the railway. Brechin was badly affected but the station escaped major damage as it sits higher than the worst hit parts of the town. However, the other end of the line at Bridge of Dun was completely under water - the River South Esk runs directly past the station. The damage was fairly significant and required a fair number of repairs and inspections to rolling stock. However, the fully booked 'Polar Express' was able to run, as planned, from Sat 3 Dec and an extra round trip was added The railway lost about £40,000 worth of timber which is now in the North Sea somewhere. Chairman Jon Gill said: You don't pile up railway sleepers expecting them to be picked up like matchsticks. MR236] Great Central Railway, Leicestershire (MR p7): The railway held its usual 'Last Hurrah' end of season gala over the weekend of 18 & 19 November. The timetable for the Saturday had plenty of unusual workings but less so on the Sunday. Saturday also saw trains running over the Mountsorrel branch but only as far as Nunckley Hill. A visit was made on the Saturday, a rather dismal damp day weather wise. An adult day rover was £29, with a 'Priv' rover £20, for which a pale yellow Edmondson card ticket was issued. Parking and site entrance at Quorn (and possibly elsewhere) was £5, which was fully redeemable when a travel ticket was purchased. Quorn station was already busy when our reporter arrived at around 10.15. In operation were: GWR 4-6-0 6990 'Witherslack Hall', LMSR 2-8-0 48305, BR 4-6-0 73156, BR 2-10-0 92214, BR 2-6-0 78019, BR Class 37 D6700, DMU M79900 'Iris' and NER Autocar 3170. The latter ran the trips over the Mountsorrel branch as well as to Loughborough and Leicester. When observed a couple of times at Quorn, it was grossly overcrowded! D6700 ran with brake tender B964122, a replica. All the locos took turns at passenger trains between Loughborough and Leicester (two trains each of five BR MK1 coaches) and a local (one train of two BR outer suburban coaches, plus a GUV). Also running was a goods van train and a train of tank wagons. An inspection saloon also made an appearance. The timetable was ambitious and even by 11.00 trains were running about 15-20 minutes late - seemingly due to congestion at Loughborough. Some goods trains either ran out of path or were curtailed. There was even an ad hoc doubled headed passenger train in the early afternoon: 48305 & 92214 - 17F on 5 coaches! As usual, a gala on this railway is outstanding - the late running didn't detract from the enjoyment - if anything it added to the surprise factor with standing back and seeing what came next. With double track, a continuous flow of trains and lovely atmospheric stations; if this could be experienced with hardly any passengers, it would truly be a time warp back to the GCR of old! A great day out, fully recommended and very good value. MR237] Brecon Mountain Railway (BMR), Merthyr Tydfil (MR p30) (BLN 1291.MR204): On 26 October it was announced that the Vale of Rheidol Railway (VoR) is to acquire the BMR. The latter is a much newer railway, built by Tony Hills and his business partner Peter Rampton as a 1' 11¾'' narrow gauge railway using 4½ miles of the former Brecon & Merthyr Railway trackbed. The line climbs through the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park with picturesque views of Taf Fechan (Pontsticill) reservoir. The locomotives and rolling stock give a flavour of American narrow gauge railways. The BMR and VoR have a history of collaboration, with BMR successfully acquiring the VoR in 1988 when it was put up for sale by British Rail. Both lines operated under unified management until 1996, when a decision was made to establish them as distinct entities, with Mr Hills overseeing the BMR and Mr Rampton taking charge of the VoR. In the years since, both railways have invested significantly in enhancing their offerings, with BMR extending services to Torpantau and the VoR developing new workshops, restoring stations and launching new visitor facilities. Regrettably, Tony Hills passed away in 2015 and Peter Rampton in 2019. The VoR state that the new merger would bring a range of benefits to both railways and their visitors: Securing the legacy of both Peter Rampton and Tony Hills. Investment in enhanced visitor experiences at both railways. Economical synergies: The merger will allow for shared resources, increased operational efficiency, and cost savings.Job opportunities: With operations expanding, there will be new job openings and career prospects. The two railways will continue to operate as separate entities, each with its unique charm and character. The VoR is expected to take over BMR operations in spring 2024.
MR238] Weardale Railway, County Durham (MR p9) (BLN 1433.MR188): A member's visit on Thursday 10 August was much more positive regarding train loadings on this railway. The Class 142 (078) was in use all days, even on the short services, as there were too many passengers for the single car Class 122 on most days. The 10.15 to Bishop Auckland was comfortably filled, with 20 or so making their way into town on arrival and 40 or so awaiting the departure. The return, which waited for the Northern connection, was close to full with some standing to keep families together. The adjacent Morrisons supermarket, on the site of the old Bishop Auckland station, has a toilet - the NR station does not have one! There is also a plaque with photo showing the old station, pointing out the remaining buildings. Back at Stanhope our reporter also walked along the river to see more of the Eastgate line, the track is there but becoming buried by road debris at the level crossing and growing vegetation in places. A weed killing run would be advisable to help keep it down and look more 'railway like'. 1438 FIXTURE REPORTS (Paul Stewart) [email protected] 2577] Ribble Nibble; 25 Nov 2023 (or Vorsprung Durch Technik den Verkehr in Preston zu stoppen*): By Simon Mortimer. Your correspondent, after an uneventful two hours on the M6, trundled into the car park of the Ribble Steam Railway, just behind an antique Ribble double decker bus transporting the bulk of the 51 participations from Preston station (fleet N o 1775, reg RCK 920, it was a Leyland PD3/5 with Metro-Cammell body, built 1962). It was 08.00 on a bright crisp morning with the sun well up already but with the temperature taking its time to rise much above zero centigrade. We joined a queue for the first nibble, the complimentary bacon rolls, with unlimited hot drinks of choice, including a range of coffees and hot chocolate. While progressing quite slowly, this gave ample opportunity to chat and catch up with the like-minded souls around each of us, the bacon rolls finally consumed and coffee swilled, while the last few still queued, we began to filter out to find today's mighty traction. [*Leading the way to stop traffic in Preston through technology - but don't mention Preston Trams!] Our unit, the 150hp, 1958 built Waggon & Maschinenbauǂ (Donauworth, West Germany) Ferkeltaxe (English: Piglet Taxi!), E79960, was one of five railbuses built as demonstrators for British Railways but they arrived too late to save any of the lines they served on and had all left national railway service by the mid-1960s. Of the five different types bought by BR, this was the only one to have conventional buffers. Remarkably out of the five, four entered preservation; this particular example is on loan from the North Norfolk Railway. E79960 was tucked away out of sight exiting the station building, ticking over in the bay platform at the west end of the main platform and already adorned with a mini-BLS headboard. On entering through the single central sliding door (which closed like Arkwright's till, see: https://bit.ly/3t3xVzy ) the seats were filled and the windows steaming up, so standing in the central baggage area seemed expedient. ǂThey built multi-barrel smoke grenade launchers in the war! (TRACKmaps 4 p30C 2022) After declaring the party on board [although, in fact, one had loitered too long in the Museum, so missed the start] our enterprise set off on time out of the bay to the points just before the main platform line trails in. After a pause for what would prove to be a regular scotching and clipping exercise requiring some energy, we proceeded forward on the second road from the right of the Running Shed and right into the Workshop, stopping just a wagon short of the buffers. Our railbus, perfect for this sort of thing, then recoiled to the points offering access to the middle left road and the left road which we visited in turn up to the shed doors … right up (Scunthorpe style) … soliciting a small cheer each time! The tour then set off on a much longer run all the way to the gates before the grandly named Preston City Council Loco Shed, beyond which presumably only the employees of Preston City Council can venture. How many local authorities have their own loco shed Answers please with 'workings' to your BLN Editor. [The first answers are in: The Bristol Harbour Railway (MR p6) and Queens Park Miniature Railway at Chesterfield (MR P14) at least…] Having reached this apogee, we returned to the main platform of Preston Riverside to pick up the chap we managed to leave behind [Colin won't ever do that again!], before reversing for the run round road. Having cleared the points there, our railbus set back onto the stock in the headshunt beyond, before drawing forward onto some large VTG Bitumen Tanks in the third road from the platform where we made the traditionally close approach to similarly traditional approval.
BELOW: Members may not agree with the sentiments displayed but our heritaour Committee to the AGM venue and others then on a bus tour of Preston; 45
age bus did turn heads. (Mark Fishlock.) Mark returned on the 12.00 bus taking 5 minutes to reach the station, most of that stuck in traffic on Preston Ringway!
BELOW: Boarding the railbus at Preston Riverside, our tour started from the
e rare bay platform which is normally occupied by wagons. (Mark Fishlock.)
I hope you have all have read your BLN lately and don't confuse bitumen with tar (or asphalt). Bitumen is a distilled product of crude oil, or possibly what is left when everything else has been fractionated. Bitumen in one form or another has been utilised as a building material since truly ancient times, even Herodotus himself (484-425 BC) Greek historian, Geographer, construction materials enthusiast and all round very hard worker, noted its employment in the foundations of ancient Babylon. Having briefly reflected on this deep history, or possibly not, we then returned to the trailing point and again reversed - that's reversal number 12 already - and traversed the run round loop before reversing again and reaching the other end of the three VTG wagons. Essentially, we re-reversed and set off on the epic trip to the stub of the Total Bitumen unloading siding which, being the size of a Werther's Original, we managed to fit into before reaching the gate (firmly secured), where we could see some wagons being discharged. There are typically 10 Colas worked block trains a month via Copy Pit; since 11 Apr 2023 they have originated from Haverton Hill, Billingham, before that from Lindsey Refinery, Immingham. The Preston facility processes and distributes different grades of bitumen, the wagons are shunted by the Ribble Steam Railway (but not by steam!), an important source of income for them. From here we made for the Ribble Rail & Furness Railway Trust Shed where, passing a track machine now in preservation after a life on the DC Merseyrail network, we entered the centre road and drew up to Class 14 D9539. It was built in 1965 at Swindon and spent most of its working life at Corby Ironstone Quarries (so did some interesting track which was regularly realigned as the quarry faces progressed). We again re-reversed, then drew up left just inside the shed to kiss, 'Progress' … (more cheering), a Sentinel built in 1968 for Preston Dock (singular). We then returned to the junction and back into the main platform, for a coffee and a PNB for whoever required either, or both, in whichever order was needed most. The somewhat taciturn stationmaster or platform attendant, as we drew up, was promised by our guard without opening the door that we would be back … promise! This was to reach the west end of the platform to ensure overlap for the first timers and the crew decided to call it a day there, so the platform official just watched us walk back with a slightly bemused look. It was good to have the railway to ourselves. Participants went to grab a coffee from what turned out to be a very sophisticated coffee machine in the buffet; it even did a Macchiato which we tried mainly because we weren't sure what it was. I have subsequently learnt that it's an Espresso covered with milk foam and, of course, is in no way is to be confused with a Latte which has an intermediate steamed milk layer… but you knew that! Mr Over-all Orange, Kev Adlam, found the machine resisting his requests, slowing down the queue, until asked to step aside by the catering staff. His reflective HV was confusing the machine's sensor when facing it directly into thinking no-one was there, so ignoring the request! During our sojourn at Preston Riverside station, the Railbus Buzzer Code notice was perused, some were pretty standard like '2' for go and '1' for Stop. Others, such as '3-2-1' Testing Doors (should that be 'Lift off'?) and '4' for 'Slow down when propelling' seemed quite niche…let alone '9' which is 'Driver to Stop at first suitable point to obtain Police Assistance' - shouldn't that be '9-9-9'? Back on board clutching our foamy coffees or whatever, we set off on the longest run of the day, making progress over 1⅔ miles to the junction between the Ribble Steam Railway passenger spur and the line up towards Preston. The latter has a notorious 1:19 gradient and a sharp curve; fortunately, the outwards tanks are discharged. The guard said that they would set the points for the spur, he had never been the other way, so of course in typical BLS fashion the ground staff set us left for Preston! Interestingly this involves crossing the busy Strand Road Level Crossing. If we went beyond the gate on the other side where Network Rail has a Multiple Aspect Signal glowing red and set off the track circuit, there might be some consternation in Preston Power Box! Ironically, a problem with four wheel railbuses was that they didn't always register on track circuits.Never mind, after activating the crossing protection and gratifyingly watching the four lanes traffic grind to a halt we tottered over the crossing and up to the gate. The driver then changed ends and we looked out at the motorists looking up at us clearly delighted to witness this rare event. The driver in position, sirens and lights still going we began to totter back giving the friendly locals a wave and some even waved back, we had made their day!
BELOW: Luckily there isn't a code for 'Buzz Off' but there really ought to be one for 'Cup of Tea Required Urgently by Driver ' - Simon Mortimer.
[BLN 1BELOW: The railbus, under tangential illumination from very bright winter
1438] r sunshine, awaits departure at Preston Riverside Bay (Simon Mortimer).
PREVIOUS: British Rail Class 03 0-6-0 D.2148 inside the Museum. BELOW: JohnNEXT: W Bagnall 0-6-0ST N o 2680/1942 'Courageous' at Preston Riversid
Fowler 0-4-0DM N o 4200003 (?) at the side of the Running Shed & Workshop. de on the first Santa Special train of Sat 2 Dec. (All three Paul Clifford.)
[BLN 1BELOW: View forward at the doors, left centre road Running Shed &Far right at the front, in pole gricing position of course, the HonOn his right, also 'getting ahead' is the crown (medical term for top or ver
1438] & Workshop, with the driver preparing to change ends (yet again!) . (BLS) Member for 'ull (Alan Sheppard) did crack a smile later! rtex of the skull) of our General Secretary, Tim Wallis. (Simon Mortimer.)
BELOW: Strand Road Level Crossing looking towards Preston Riverside
e. It wasn't really that dark in the railbus, of course. (Simon Mortimer.)
Fortunately, the barriers did rise - they don't always. In a previous incarnation as a freight only branch a man with red flags stopped the traffic - no barriers. As the traffic arteries of Preston began to clear, this time, we did the passenger headshunt here to the end of line foliage and buffers stops. Our railtour then returned to Odeon (exchange) Sidings where, after more point clipping, we ran along the left hand road (looking west) to the points to return along the centre road. However, that meant we had failed to achieve overlap with the main line, the tension in the air was palpable! Our leader pointed out this technical deficiency … What, that little bit? ... Yes. However, the token was in the Ground Frame at the other end, so we duly returned there, released the token and returned to set back a small way to the Centre Road and cover the dreaded omission! Success and mass exhalation… Our senior groundsman then set off back to the Riversway Control Centre to stop a bit more road traffic while his helper finally unclipped everything and awaited events. Once over Preston Dock Swing Bridge, shared with a road (Navigation Way) we arrived back around 11.30, after 26 reversals, about four miles (what makes you think that Jim Sellens wasn't there) and a gratifyingly thorough set of traversals. Our members were then given impromptu tour of the sheds before the patiently waiting Ribble bus took the party back into town and our AGM after the optional packed lunch ordered earlier. The Ribble Steam Railway is to be commended for a very warm welcome and especially the driver and point clippers! As always, our members behaved impeccably and no one needed a clip behind the ears. Even those who had been on our previous visits here gained some significant new track. Pleasingly, with lunches etc, the Society contributed over £2,000 to help support this superb heritage railway. There isn't a special prize if you spot the names of all three Preston Dock Sentinel diesels in this report. 2578] 'Abandon Ship!' (formerly 'Hello, Sailor!') - Sun 26 Nov 2023: By James Rodley (Member 2355). There's a famous seaside place called Blackpool, That's noted for fresh air and fun… …wrote the (Scots!) poet Marriott Edgar in around 1930. I suspect that neither he, nor the fictional Ramsbottom family immortalised in 'Albert and the Lion' would care for some aspects of 21st century Blackpool, a large town struggling with dereliction, poverty and the economic fallout from two generations of changed holiday patterns in the UK - most of today's visitors will come only for the day and in their cars. However, Blackpool remains a fascinating place to visit, not least out of season when the crowds on the promenade are manageable and, of course, for the now 148-year old tramway. That system's upgrade a decade ago into a modern urban light rail system ensures it remains a major asset to local people; thankfully the 'Heritage' operations remain popular and well curated. An unusual chance for me to enjoy a Sunday (when I normally work) BLS outing - part of our 2023 AGM weekend - was too good a chance to miss, with the prospect of a depot visit and many 'rare' manœuvres. A glance at the title of this report suggests, correctly, that not all went according to plan. The original tour name was presumably based on us using the curious single deck Tram 736, mocked up as Royal Navy frigate 'HMS Blackpool' - originally built in the mid 1960s and rebuilt about 20 years ago. If you have never seen it, find a picture online (and in e-BLN) as it really does look gloriously odd and certainly turns heads. Indeed, said frigate/warship arrived at a chilly but dry North Pier just before 10am and, with just under 50 members squeezed on board, duly set off north towards Bispham. After precisely 8 minutes, a loud bang and flash accompanied by smoke, (with the knowledge that it wasn't November 5 th!) was the precursor to a major change of plan. Our driver announced that the 'main roof fuse had blown'. Fortunately, thanks to his skill and knowledge we managed to gravitate to Bispham for a replacement tram (or possibly an engineer to fix 736, by now parked on the normal northbound running line of the three track section). This meant that 'Normals' (plus Kev Adlam) were able to do the very rare centre road on service trams to pass our stricken vessel. An hour passed, with many taking advantage of the small coffee bar (the proprietor was delighted with the extra business) in the building grandly labelled 'Bispham Station'. Others of us enjoyed the fresh air but increasingly perhaps feeling not so much the fun as the cold breeze. Thankfully, no one got wet with this order to 'abandon ship!' - the day's promised rain not in fact arriving until well after the tour was over.