1373

BELOW & NEXT: 6¼ miles on, Takeley was the last station before Bishop's Sto

ortford - but there were two more Halts. (Julian James, 27 Mar 2017.)





BELOW: (Item 860) The site of the new Soham station betwe
looking towards Ely, on Wed 3 Mar 2021. (Iain Scotchman, a

een Bury St Edmunds and Ely where the double track singles,
and next three, during a permitted essential work journey.)

BELOW: Fordham station (CP 13 Sep 1965) on the double track was also served

d by the Cambridge to Mildenhall branch - looking east from the level crossing.

BELOW: Fordham station building needs some TLC; its two platforms were

once used by Cambridge - Mildenhall and Ely - Bury St Edmunds services.

BELOW: The station building may not be long for this world;

; does anyone fancy a renovation project? Ely is to the right.

857] Snettisham: The large station house, waiting room and ticket office of this station on the King's
Lynn to Hunstanton branch (CP 5 May 1969) is for sale; offers around £675k. It retains the character
and appearance of a station with a canopy, two full height platforms and garden between. It has five
bedrooms, two kitchens four bathrooms and a double garage. Two ground floor ensuite bedrooms and
a kitchen could form a 'granny flat' or holiday let. http://bit.ly/3lp0xuw has details and 20 photos.

858] Pulham Market: The imposing station building on the former Beccles to Tivetshall, Waveney
Valley line (CP 5 Jan 1953) is for sale; 4 beds, two showers and two reception rooms, guide price
£450k. It features a platform canopy, 32m of platform, a well pump, a full sized Home semaphore
signal, red telephone box, original Victorian fireplaces, railway light and more. There is a large 800ft2
workshop and an extensive parking area. (Details and of Snettisham are a download with e-BLN.)

859] East Suffolk Line: On Sun 7, Sat 20 & Sun 21 Mar trains from Lowestoft turned back in P1 at
Saxmundham using the bidirectionally signalled Up East Suffolk Line both ways from/to 100m 63ch
(Halesworth country end where the line singles). Buses ran between Saxmundham and Ipswich.

Amending TRACKmaps 2 p9A & BLN 1372.700, the Up East Suffolk is bidirectional only from 72m 14ch
(the facing crossover at the London end of Westerfield) to Westerfield Jn (72m 23ch), beyond it is
unidirectional (from Woodbridge). The Down East Suffolk line is actually unidirectional throughout to
Woodbridge station. The new bidirectional section from 1 Mar is only from Woodbridge P2 'north' to
79m 28ch where the track singles; the purpose is to now allow signalled passenger turnbacks from the
Lowestoft direction in either platform at Woodbridge. Amending TRACKmaps p8 (centre bottom), the
Up East Suffolk is bidirectional through Halesworth P1. On p9C the Up East Suffolk and Down East
Suffolk labels are the wrong way round but, to their right, 'DOWN' and 'UP' designations are correct.

The Sectional Appendix shows that the whole Up East Suffolk is bidirectional from 90m 74ch, the single
line at the London end of Saxmundham, through to 100m 63ch, the single line at the country end of
Halesworth. However the Down line is bidirectional from 90m 74ch to Saxmundham Jn (91m 40ch)
only where there is no associated crossover. This facility could be used for passenger turnbacks from
Ipswich in Saxmundham P2 or to recess a train on the Down line while the Up is in use bidirectionally.

Beccles station loop is bidirectional through Down P2, but only 'Up' through P1 as TRACKmaps shows.

860] Soham: (BLN 1360.2597) Ground levelling and track realignment, so the train/platform gap is to
standard, require 11 weekend and Bank Holiday days of Ely - Chippenham Jn line closures to 30 Aug.

861] Stanford-le-Hope: Demolition of the station building two years ago and failure to proceed with
reconstruction has goaded locals to place a poster on the hoardings blaming Thurrock Council for the
delay. The station does have a smart 'temporary' building ticket office that looks, well, … permanent.

862] It can now be told (30): In the 1980s our member was sent on a management development
course at Henley-on-Thames. Of course, he went by train, the front seat of the DMU in the days you
could look through the driver's cab. Somewhere near Shiplake, he noticed a mother with young boy
standing at a footpath crossing and assumed they were waiting for the train to pass. But, wrong, the
train stopped at the crossing, the driver opened the door and both mother and child climbed in! NOT
an official stop for the RCHS Chronology! The boy then climbed onto the driver's lap and started to
drive the train! Although the driver did keep his hands on the boy's but took back full control before
arriving at Henley! This appeared to be a regular occurrence, as none of the other passengers seemed
surprised or shocked. Maybe common practice on remote rural branch lines, but not expected on a
commuter line near London! ['It can now be told tales' can, of course, be anonymous or named - Ed.]

NEXT: (Item 861) Abandon-le-Hope, Thurrock is (nearly) revolting…! FIRST PHOTO: A protest poster at
Stanford-le-Hope where the station building used to be on the building site fence (in SECOND PHOTO).
[No building work in 'sight' and hasn't been for ages.] THIRD PHOTO: The State of the Art portable
building made our photographer think: Is it better to have trains at a station without buildings ... or to
have a lovely retro style new station at which only buses stop - à la Kenilworth ‽ (Simon Mortimer.)











1373 SOUTH EAST - SOUTH (Julian James) [email protected]
863] Dorking/Crawley - Arundel: (BLN 1372.631) There will also be five weekends of closures in Jul,
Aug, Sep & Oct. Following the 14-22 Aug closure, there are weekend closures on 4-5 Sep & Sun 3 Oct.
The work was originally planned over several bank holidays and a long series of weekend closures over
two to three years. It has also been timed to avoid disrupting Brighton Pride at the start of Aug. Longer
distance coastal trains to Chichester, Littlehampton, Bognor Regis & Portsmouth run via Hove.
Crawley is open on weekdays during the nine day period but will be closed on all affected weekends.

864] Sevenoaks: (BLN 1372.706) The first railway was the branch from Swanley, promoted by the
Sevenoaks Railway. The terminus was some way from the centre of Sevenoaks, due to local landowner
opposition. The line OA 2 Jun 1862, worked by the London, Chatham & Dover Railway (LC&DR).

The junction station, 'Sevenoaks Junction', did not open until 1 Jul 1862, becoming Swanley Junction
on 1 Jan 1871. The branch was single track; doubled from 1 Aug 1863. The South Eastern Railway (SER)
opened its line to Sevenoaks on 2 Mar 1868 and then to 'Tunbridge' on 1 May 1868. (Tunbridge, an
ancient place, became Tonbridge to avoid confusion with the upstart Tunbridge Wells. Both spellings
were in use from about 1860; on 4 Mar 1893 the new version was formally adopted by the General
Post Office, after representations from the Local Board and Ratepayers' Associations). The Sevenoaks
Railway was extended to the SER station, known as Tubs Hill, passenger services began 1 Aug 1869.
That required westward relocation of its station, named Sevenoaks Bat & Ball after a nearby public
house. The site of the old terminal station then became the goods yard on the Down (east) side.

The Sevenoaks Railway, renamed the Sevenoaks, Maidstone & Tunbridge Railway, opened its line from
Otford to Maidstone (now East) on 1 Jun 1874. This was initially single track; the last section of double
track came into use on 3 Jul 1882. Trains ran from Swanley to Maidstone, with a connecting service
from Otford Junction to Sevenoaks. This was not the present Otford station, but an exchange platform
at the junction. There was no public access to the station, which could only be used to change trains.

The LC&DR took over the Sevenoaks, Maidstone & Tunbridge Railway on 1 Jul 1879 and soon built an
Otford south to east curve, for direct running between Sevenoaks and Maidstone. From 1 Nov 1880
all passenger trains to or from Maidstone ran via Sevenoaks Bat & Ball where they reversed. Otford
Junction exchange platform ceased to be used; the present Otford station opened 1 Aug 1882. The
north to east curve became sidings. Disagreement as to the charges levied by the SER for the LC&DR to
use Tubs Hill station resulted in there being no passenger trains between Bat & Ball and Tubs Hill from
1 Jul 1885. The two companies were jointly managed, but not merged, as the South Eastern &
Chatham Railway from 1 Jan 1899. Grand plans included a new railway from the SER main line near
Dunton Green to Otford, enabling trains to run between Maidstone and London via Orpington.

There was an immediate revision to services to Maidstone and Sevenoaks. From 1 Jan 1899 almost all
trains to Maidstone ran direct from Swanley, via Otford north to east curve, requiring resignalling.
Signal boxes controlling the triangle were Otford Junction 'A' (north), Otford Junction 'B' (east) and
Sevenoaks Junction (south). Confusingly, Sevenoaks Junction was previously named Otford Junction.

An infrequent shuttle between Otford and Sevenoaks Tubs Hill reinstated passenger trains between
the two Sevenoaks stations. There was a very limited business peak service between London and
Maidstone reversing at Sevenoaks Bat & Ball until 1912. Then, the only passenger use of Sevenoaks Jn
to Otford Jn 'B' curve was by special traffic. WWI labour shortages caused Otford to Sevenoaks local
services to be withdrawn from 1 Jan 1917 (a grim date for closures), releasing 11 men for other duties.

However, some unadvertised services ran that way, not calling at Bat & Ball. The local trains were not
reinstated until 1 Mar 1919. Soon after the grouping in 1923 the Southern Railway closed Otford south
to east curve as a through route, with Otford Jn 'B' (east end) removed. The tracks were retained as
sidings to store spare carriages until 4 Jul 1932. Sevenoaks Junction and Otford Junction 'B' boxes
closed, but a ground frame was provided at the site of the 'B' junction for Sevenoaks Brick Works
Siding south of the line.

[BLN 1373]
The brick works had an internal railway system, as well as the main line connection which was not
used after 1955. There was also a brick works on the west side of the line south of Otford Jn, but by
1907 the site was being used by Southwark Borough Council as a tip, with the refuse coming by train
(nothing is new!). Electric trains worked to Sevenoaks via both routes from 6 Jan 1935. In connection
with this, Up and Down loop platforms were provided at Tubs Hill.

In contrast with the previous infrequent service there were three trains an hour to London via Otford.
Sevenoaks Bat & Ball became Bat & Ball in 1950 when Tubs Hill was dropped from the name of the
SER station. Despite Sevenoaks being quite an important town, the SER considered that its usual style
timber buildings were adequate. They were replaced by the present ones in 1977. Bat & Ball station
was far more substantial than Tubs Hill. Although built by the Sevenoaks Railway, it is a typical LC&DR
design, with polychrome brickwork. It was renovated in 2018 as a community centre at the initiative of
Sevenoaks Town Council, with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund and the Railway Heritage Trust.

865] IOW: (By A Member.) I think the excursion was in the 1960s, just after I had left Leeds University
and the Beeching cuts were starting. I think we had steam traction throughout. Apart from a brake van
trip on the Wisbech & Upwell Railway, arranged by the University Rail Society, this was my first (and
last (!) except for some Merrymakers). It was advertised to Portsmouth via the Longmoor Military
Railway (LMR), as you do, enough to tempt anyone! Shortly before the day, the detour via the LMR
was cancelled - first calamity. I woke early to a dull, very misty Nov morning and travelled to Waterloo
to join the train. At least it was not cancelled, and we duly arrived in Portsmouth for the IOW ferry.
Our special was to cover the remaining IOW lines and we went to Ventnor and back with no problems,
except fog restricted visibility. Then, off to Cowes but at Newport the train was held.

Eventually, we found out that the line to Cowes was blocked and we could not proceed any further!
I cannot recall the problem. Second calamity! There was a large crowd on the platform waiting for the
scheduled train to Ryde which I assume was trapped the other side of the blockage. After a lengthy
delay, an announcement was made that the passengers were to board our train which would now go
back to Ryde! So, with a packed train, off we went. Our schedule included a 30 min stop at St Johns
Road for a depot visit. We assumed this would not happen, but it did! The general public had to wait
for us to return from our visit; I suspect that many just left and walked into Town instead of 'Ryde-ing'!

866] Channel Tunnel: 1,138,213 tonnes of conventional rail freight was moved through the tunnel in
2020. This was 18% less than the previous 12 months. 1,736 freight trains ran, down 19% on 2019.

867] High Brooms: This is another attractive station, with buildings that date from 1893 opening.
The main building, on the Up side, is single storey, red brick, with a high, tiled roof. A gable over the
main entrance has a prominent lunette window lighting the booking hall. There is a smaller red brick
building, including a waiting room, on Down P2. Here again, the original platform canopies survive.

868] There's many a slip 'twixt… Tunbridge Wells and Bo Peep Jn: (BLN 1371.484) Landslip correction
and prevention works are due to continue over Easter 2 to 5 Apr at Bearhurst between Stonegate and
Etchingham. Bus replacement is Tunbridge Wells to Battle (country end crossover in passenger use).

869] (Royal) Tunbridge Wells: (BLN 1372.705) The original 1846 station building, still in use, is on the
Up side and dates from the opening of the station on extension of the line from a temporary terminus
north of Wells Tunnel at Jackwood Springs. Grade II listed, it is a two floor building in Italianate style,
of red brick with stone dressings. There is a long canopy fronting the forecourt. The Down side
building, with a prominent clock tower, dates from 1911. More convenient for the town centre, it
became regarded as the main entrance, though the taxi rank and road access are on the Up side.
Of note the station appears to retain the original canopies on both platforms. [Official town name!]

870] Southbourne: This station with 216,000 passengers in 2019-20 has seen extensive patching of the
precast (ex-Exmouth Junction Works) concrete components in a £383k project with tactile strip installed.

LEFT: (Item 870) Work at Southbourne (NR).

871] Dartford: The underbridge at the London end
of Down P3 and P4 is to be replaced in a crane lift
over Easter, Fri 2 to Mon 5 Apr. The bridge over the
A2026 Hythe Road carries only three plain tracks,
but junction work between the running lines is
immediately adjacent at the London end. At the
station end the convergence of the Up Platform
Loop with the Up Main is adjacent to the bridge.
Also over Easter, track is to be relaid between Hither
Green and Petts Wood and on the Catford Loop.

872] Bexhill West: (BLN 1344.214) A railway hotel 'discovery', still in existence, is at Sidley. Alan A
Jackson contributed a history of the Bexhill West branch to Railways South East published in 1994. He
wrote: Sidley, the only intermediate station, served the old village of Sidley Green, to the west of the
line … An hotel was built opposite by the railway company. Immediately opposite where Sidley station
used to be is a building with a plaque on the wall, at second floor level, 'Pelham Hotel 1900', which
seems exactly the right date given that the contract to build the railway was let in 1897 and it opened
in 1902. The building is now a coffee shop and community centre run by a charity.

The branch was promoted and owned by the Crowhurst, Sidley & Bexhill Railway (CS&BR), which did
not merge with the SER until 1907. The Chairman of the Company was Earl de la Warr, who was
responsible for developing Bexhill as a 'select' resort. Is it possible that the SER had no record of
owning the hotel because the CS&BR had already disposed of it by 1907? Did Earl de la Warr arrange
for its transfer to some other company in which he had an interest prior to the SER taking over?

https://bit.ly/3rUi1Sc has a good view of the hotel and the street level station buildings on opposite
sides of the road. The Pelham Hotel was originally 8,000ft2 over three floors and a basement. It was a
good family pub for many decades before becoming a notorious pub, then closing in 2009. The Pelham
charity has owned the building since Jan 2012 and has been redeeming it ever since! It is a local Sidley
Christian charity aiming at aims to benefit the community in practical ways as Community Hub and
Coffee Lounge with charitable activities, projects and effective partnership working.

873] Hampshire: http://bit.ly/3bT0rs1 is a fascinating illustrated review of 25 closed stations, with:
Bishop's Waltham, Bordon, Breamore, *Browndown Halt, Durley Halt, Elmore Halt, Fort Brockhurst,
Fort Gomer Halt, Hardley Halt [they didn't stop for long there], Holmsley & Oakhanger Halt. *In the
British Isles, almost 25% of station names begin with 'B' or 'C. Your Regional Editor cannot explain this.

874] GTR Class 365 EMUs: When additional peak services are reintroduced, Class 387/2s from Gatwick
Express (remains withdrawn) will be used on Great Northern services. Govia Thameslink Railway is to
withdraw its 21 Class 365 EMUs, used on those services out of King's Cross, in May. Long term the
Class 387s may return to Gatwick Express. 19 of the 40 Class 365s are in store, displaced by Class 700s
on Thameslink duties; ScotRail used ten to cover for Class 385 EMUs during their windscreen issues.

1373 SOUTH WEST (Darren Garnon) [email protected]
875] Lost at Lostwithiel: From 29 Mar NR is to remove the Cattle Pen Roads (Up side trailing into the
Up Main at 277m 24ch), Nestlé Sidings and associated hand points (43 'A' and 'B' points). It is reported
that both good loops east of Lostwithiel station are to be upgraded to passenger standards.

876] Lostwithiel lost: In Nov 2023 NR is to close Lostwithiel, Par and Truro mechanical boxes; control
transfers to Exeter PSB. Liskeard, Roskear Jn, St Erth and Penzance boxes are unaffected for now.
Lostwithiel (dating from 1923 & 1991) and Truro (1971) lever frames are both life expired and spares
are now a major problem. Tavistock Jn to Totnes (currently on Plymouth panel) is being resignalled
and put onto a workstation at Plymouth PSB in 2024 with extra signals to break up some long sections.

ABOVE: (Item 877) A service train call at Sampford Courtenay in double track days -
Apr 1971; regular timetabled services were withdrawn from 5 Jun 1972. (Ian Mortimer.)

877] Okehampton: ❶ The whole line to Meldon Quarry (199m 39ch) has been OOU since Sat 21 Mar
2020 with a sleeper across at 183m 79ch (the former NR/Dartmoor Railway boundary), although track
recording and engineering trains have been running under special arrangements. This now applies
until 23.59 on Tue 30 Mar 2021. From this time, the single line will be reinstated. The Crediton -
temporary stop block (183m 79ch) temporary train staff will be relabelled Crediton - Okehampton and
the previously withdrawn Okehampton - Meldon train staff will be returned to Crediton signal box.

❷ (BLN 1372.715) https://dartmoorline.com/ is an excellent and informative new official website
about the line. Passenger reopening is 'by the end of 2021'; SuO seasonal trains will not run due to the
track relaying. Intermediate stations such as Courtenay are not included in the current scheme but
Okehampton Parkway is shown as 'proposed'. Initially there will be eight trains each way (2-hourly)
seven days a week all calling at Crediton; on weekdays four are through to Exeter Central - where
most locals would want to go. From Dec the other four (which will turnback in Exeter St Davids bay P2,
journey time about 40 mins) will be extended to Central. Upgrade works continue throughout
2021 with the intention to improve services to hourly in summer 2022. Over the coming months NR
will lay 11 miles of new track, replace 24,500 sleepers and install over 34,000 tonnes of ballast
(of which 900 tonnes has already been delivered). Okehampton station will have a card only ticket
machine, help point, CCTV, public address system, Wi-Fi and a resurfaced, lit, pay & display car park.

878] Bristol West Yard (South Liberty Siding): (BLN 1344.286) (TRACKmaps 3 p6B Jun 2018) At this
former Bristol West Freightliner Terminal (Parson Street) commercial intermodal traffic finished at
the end of Jul 2019. On Wed 17 Mar FHH-worked empty wagons arrived at 07.20 from Stoke Gifford,
taking 1,600 tonnes of aggregate to Banbury Reservoir Terminal for HS2. Another train ran on 19 Mar.

879] Wellington: Railfuture, along with local Councils and the MP, is strongly supporting plans to
reopen the station as part of the Devon and Somerset Metro. With a population of 14,500, it is the
largest settlement on the Paddington - Penzance main line without a station and, with Cullompton,
was awarded £50k from 'Restoring Your Railways Round 1' to develop a strategic business case.

880] Taunton: The new multi-storey car park next to the southern (Down side) entrance to the station
could release the existing car park site on which to build a bus station and transport interchange hub.

881] Tytherington: (BLN 1367.224) The branch's revival continues, driven by HS2. On 7 Feb there was a
rare Sunday train to Calvert and two of incoming wagons; on Fri 19 Feb three loaded trains went out.

882] Dawlish: (BLN 1372.712) Although more successful than King Canute was, the new sea wall is still
prone to the forces of nature. On 11 Feb IET 802009 working 07.25 Exeter St Davids to Plymouth
failed while running 'wrong line' on the sea wall when struck by a wave [was it as-salt-ed?] in strong
winds at high tide. IET 802005 suffered the same fate later that afternoon on the 16.04 Paddington to
Penzance, stopped near Dawlish. On 12 Feb the mainline closed between 06.30 and 10.00 with waves
landing on the track, breaching the new sea defences but with no structural damage. The line was
closed again on 13 Feb with bidirectional working on the Up line in the morning for high tide at 07.45.
On 14 Feb the line fully reopened at 10.30, following an inspection. It seems that as Climate Change
accelerates, things can only get worse… Come back Okehampton - Bere Alston (or HSTs) all is forgiven!

883] Cricklade: Part of the Midland & South Western Junction Railway trackbed between Cricklade
and South Cerney may be converted to a cyclepath following a grant to Cotswold Water Park Trust.

884] Paignton: Following track renewals, NR is to increase the permitted speed on the Down Torbay
line from 45mph to 60mph between 214m 60ch and 216m 17ch; this would match the Up line there.

885] Par: Reportedly, P2 will be upgraded to allow turnback operations (either direction) as required.

886] Newquay: (BLN 1364.3221) NR intends to create a new dynamic loop at Tregoss Moor, between
Tregoss Moor Crossing (292m 32ch) and the site of St Dennis Jn (294 m 21ch), about 10 miles east of
Newquay. It is for the enhanced Cornwall 'Metro' with through Newquay - Falmouth trains (part of a
scheme by Falmouth & Penryn Colleges to open a new campus and educational facilities at Newquay).
An earlier proposal for a loop at St Columb Road was rejected as it would have required a second
platform. A second short platform will be reinstated at Newquay which should be able to hold a 5-car
IET at maximum, left of the current platform on arrival. Goonbarrow Junction Box (proposed for
closure with abolition of the loop a few years ago) will control the new arrangements on the branch.

887] St Austell: (BLN 1372.718) The Up (Motorail) Siding was removed on 12/13 Mar. The final train
was thought to be the BLS/L&CI GW Tracker III railtour on 10 May 2014, driven by a Society member.

888] Truro: Reportedly the east end trailing crossover is to be moved further east and changed to facing so
that Down services can run through Up P3. It will reduce delays on the branch from late mainline services.

1373 WEST MIDLANDS (Brian Schindler) [email protected]
889] Camp Hill: The future for the new stations at Moseley, King's Heath and Stirchley may be less
rosy than hoped. Initially trains will run to New Street, but due to capacity problems that is likely to be
restricted in frequency (half-hourly is mentioned). Longer term the aim is to build a new connection at
Bordesley to join the line into Moor Street with additional bay platforms there. This would permit a
frequent service, essential for a successful operation in an area well supplied with frequent bus
services (which can be stuck in jams). However, property developers plan to build housing on land at
Bordesley over which the new link would pass. Birmingham City Council refused planning permission
for the development as it would jeopardise construction of the planned line, but the developers
appealed to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government. Incredibly, he has
now overturned the Council's refusal so the development of 480 houses and a hotel will go ahead.

X.64] HS2: https://bit.ly/3vXGGb3 is a detailed 32 min fly through video from Birmingham to London.

890] Great Malvern: The original British Railways Western Region P1 clock had been stuck at 2.12pm
for three years due to Health & Safety stalemate. (We won't wind you up about H&S.) However, it has
now undergone an £8,000 renovation, funded by NR and the Railway Heritage Trust, including a new
electric mechanism. There is no external difference except that it shows the right time! (A TikTok video
might be a good way of publicising this?) This is the first stage of renovating the Grade II listed station
which includes new lighting. Lady Foley's Tearoom on P1 is now open for takeaways - please support.

ABOVE: (Item 890) The now working clock on Great Malvern Up P1 looking towards Hereford.

NEXT: Great Malvern, a very early 'plate'; the Hills are in the background, Hereford is to the left and
Worcester right, the canopy over P1 is flat and fully glazed so must have been altered (see the 2021
pictures). The area in view is mostly built up now but the original dwellings shown largely survive.









PREVIOUS: (Item 891) A member snapped this traffic jam on his way to Coventry War Memorial Park,
for a local walk in Feb. He wishes to be clear that he doesn't linger beside the road for passing buses! It
is in fact a local rail service, the rubber tyred version of the Leamington Spa - Coventry - Nuneaton
line! The keen eyed will see this is from Catteralls Coaches of Southam who run a very modern fleet of
comfortable air conditioned vehicles of which this is not an example; it is a Volvo B9TL (two axle
version offered post 2006) assembled in Boras Sweden. The key differentiation from its predecessor,
the Volvo Super Olympian, being its 9.3L Renault engine developing 340hp allowing it to stand
regularly in queues of traffic (as here), at traffic lights and other traffic intersections throughout its
journey attracting on this occasion precisely zero passengers! (Simon Mortimer.)
891] Kenilworth: (BLN 1371.585) Reopening the station 'is inordinately high on the agenda' according
to a West Midlands Railway spokesperson. [Our pedantic precise members will know they should have
said 'reinstating the train service' which last ran on Sun 17 Jan.] The spokesperson also reported that
the company is running behind on training schedules for 100 drivers. Kenilworth was described as the
only closed station in West Midland Railway's 116-station network. Have they disowned Bermuda
Park, Bedworth and Coventry Arena, on the same route, also without a train service since 17 Jan?
Discussing under which conditions the station would 'reopen', three factors needed to be considered:
●Train crew availability. ●Confidence in provision of a good service. ●A clear strategy to increase
passenger demand. Buses are advertised until 2 Apr but that could change for 'better or worse'.

ABOVE: (Item 890) The recently renovated Great Malvern clock again, but in the other direction
looking towards Worcester. Lady Foley's Tea Room (for light snacks, drinks and exceedingly good
homemade cakes) is on the left - please support! (Both clock pictures Adrian Putley, Sat 13 Mar 2021.)

892] Stourbridge: (BLN 1372.629) NR engineers relaid the branch from just after the first underbridge
at Stourbridge Junction to partway along Town platform (43½ ch of new track) in seven days between
Sat 6 and Fri 12 Mar. The branch reopened with some temporary rail joint clamps for later welding.
Gone is most of the jointed track with its notorious joint 'dips' very noticeable in the Class 139 People
Movers. It looks as if it has been ballasted to 125mph standard (20mph is the line speed, less in parts)!

Very impressively, the project took eight weeks from planning to completion; normally this would take
18 months. During the work rail chairs were found (in use still) dating back to 1905. The ultra-rare
connection to the branch became positively polished during the work with the unusual appearance of
ballast wagons etc on the line. There was a time when this connection to Stourbridge Junction P1 was
easy to do (with its other connection at the south end) when it was a through passenger loop platform.
https://bit.ly/3cqTq2a is a video of the branch after relaying but before welding was complete.

893] Dudley: (BLN 1372.730) LEFT: A
Martyn Brailsford plan, on a 6" scale
OS map. The Very Light Rail National
Innovation Centre, naturally a lighter
colour in paper BLN, (track plan
shown - see also e-BLN 1372) is on
the site of Dudley passenger station.
The test track on the former Walsall
(off top right) to Stourbridge Jn (off
map bottom left) trackbed through
Dudley Tunnel. This test track is as
long as it can be where the Metro
Brierley Hill extension leaves the
trackbed to run through Dudley
(stops shown).

Off the top of the map is the Dudley
to Wolverhampton Low Level line
through Priestfield. The first station
southwest of Dudley was at Blowers
Green, not at Blowers Green Road
(amending caption in e-BLN 1372) at
Cinder Bank but the next overbridge,
(New Road), northeast nearer to
Dudley before the junction for the
Old Hill line (known as the Bumble
Hole, a water filled clay pit). Blowers
Green street level station building by
the road bridge is still intact and in
good condition (but boarded up) 56
years after closure.

At the top of the map (dashed) is the
Dudley Zoo Miniature Railway, with
a complex history (see BLN 1354
MR89, of 13 Jun 2020). Finally closed
in 1992, it was 318yd long in the
iteration on the map but once
extended to a mile with a station
each end and full signalling.

ABOVE: (Item 983) the site of Blowers Green station with the former ticket office left, taken from New
Road bridge. Right is the Very Light Rail Test Track and the southwest (Stourbridge) end of Dudley
Tunnel, note the gates across which might stop a midget or a small child getting in. (Alistair Grieve.)

894] West Midlands Metro: Rebuilding of Wolverhampton station is complete structurally. Work on
its new Metro branch was able to resume on 15 Mar; more rail needs to be laid but it is hoped to open
the line passengers later this year.

Since the mid-Feb JAB* codes have appeared at various stops and on Tram 35 which is the UK's first 5G
connected tram, part of a regional transport 5G trial. Trams collect valuable information, including
CCTV footage, vehicle performance and maintenance data which is downloaded manually outside of
operating hours. 5G allows high definition CCTV footage to be securely and remotely transferred to the
Regional Traffic Control Centre live. Travel updates and streamed entertainment are possible. Realtime
passenger numbers will help to establish capacity, minimise crowding at stops and on the trams.

[*Just Another Barcode, a colour bar code, allows more data than the usual black and white version.]

895] Berkswell: On 12 Mar a member noted from a train that the trackbed of the Kenilworth line had
been cleared of vegetation for a considerable distance; the overbridge at Waste Lane, nearly a mile
from the former junction, is now visible, as is cleared trackbed beyond it. The line from here to
Kenilworth Jn CA Fri 17 Jan 1969 after track was damaged by the final train the day before; an Up
Refuge Siding (parallel to, but not on, the trackbed) remained until at least 2008.

896] Walsall: Electrification went live on 15 Aug 1966. A member was surprised that the Mar 1967
Working Timetable shows summer Saturday electric hauled services to Eastbourne and Holyhead,
returning from Eastbourne and Llandudno, as well as several parcels trains. He was aware of electric
locos taking over freights in the station but he had never heard of passenger trains before - on return
at least they would have been restricted to load seven. Or were they in fact diesel hauled?

1373 ISLE OF MAN (Graeme Jolley) [email protected]

897] Snaefell Mountain Railway: On Jenny Williamson's e-BLN 1372.X52 photo of our excellent Oct
2013 'all track' tour in Bungalow Siding Car No3 looked very smart. However, a member was reminded
that it was the one which ran away from the summit on 30 Mar 2016, derailed and sadly disintegrated.

898] 2021 Season: Unfortunately the IOM is experiencing a significant Covid outbreak. On 9 Mar a
written House of Keys answer revealed that no operating dates have been agreed for this year yet.
Indications are that 30 Sep is the earliest date for leisure travel to/from the IOM, writing off tourism
for 2021. Groudle Glen Railway has confirmed that, as in 2020, it will not be running over Easter.

899] 1988 Season: http://bbc.in/392u3Bp 'The Train Now Departing' (on 'catch up', iPlayer etc) is a
delightful half hour 1988 BBC programme about the IOM including the early days of the current
Groudle Glen Railway. 'Vintage' footage includes St John's with the Ramsey and Peel trains racing
each other. They left Douglas as a double headed combined train, split at St John's, leaving separately
running on parallel single lines. Peel station also features as does a train on a Ramsey line viaduct.

900] Horse Tramway: (BLN 1371.597) The Department for Infrastructure has kicked the can down the
road again. Financial resolution to complete the Promenade works is now scheduled for the 16 Nov
Tynwald, after the 23 Sep Manx General Election. An area has already been prepared for the Sea
Terminal end of the tramway (photo e-BLN) where it previously terminated. However, even if funding
is agreed to extend the present two thirds that has now been relaid, there is then a proposal for the
terminus to be cut short, to about in a line between the end of Victoria St and the Snack Shack Café.

. 1373 IRELAND (Martin Baumann) [email protected]
901] NIR: Examination of Journey Planners suggests a Saturday service runs SuX from Mon 22 Mar.
There has been no public announcement and no notice issued. Non-essential travel is still illegal
(until possibly 12 Apr). Certainly Londonderry does not need the hourly service (was 2-hourly before).

902] Irish Rail: A revised timetable began on 21 Mar (Level 5 Covid Restrictions); a list of cancellations
is on the website - there are still no trains on the Nenagh or Waterford to Limerick Junction lines.

903] SLW: On Sat 20 Mar there was single line working on the Up line from Thurles (Cork end trailing
crossover) to Limerick Junction (where Dublin - Cork trains called at P1) Cork end trailing crossover.

904] Graffiti: A €150,000 'rolling graffiti removal contract' is out for tender so that trains won't have to
be taken out of service to be cleaned - this previously resulted in the cancellation of some peak trains.
€50,000 worth of graffiti damage has previously been done to Longford and Edgeworthstown stations.

905] Suir Bridge Jn (Waterford) - Ballinacourty: The e-BLN 1221 Ireland line closure supplement (on
our website Archive under 'Nostalgia' dated 22.11.2014) shows - under note N28 - 'Two passenger
specials 28 Jul 1982'. In fact, as recorded in 'IRRS Journal' for Oct 1982, the two specials (an excursion
for the workforce and an IRRS railtour) ran on Sat 24 Jul 1982. It was the last inward freight train that
ran Wed 28 Jul 1982, with official closure from that date; empty wagons were cleared Fri 30 Jul 1982.
Occasional weed spray trains continued; the final rail movement was on 9 May 1990 with 'EM50'.

There are photos of the final railtour at Ballinacourty later on.

NEXT PHOTO: (Item 900) This was the original intended site for the southern (Sea Terminal) end of the
Horse Tramway, but it may stop short or not even go much beyond where it has been relaid to now.

One proposal is for the track to end approximately in a line between the end of Victoria Street
(left of the photo by the clock) and the Snack Shack Café (the low building on the right).

(Jenny Williamson, 1 Mar 2021 - before the recent IOM Lockdown began.)





X.65] Our IOM visits 13-17 Sep 2013 (2): (E-BLN 1372.X.52) BELOW: The

IOM Steam Railway tour in Santon Ballast Siding. (All Jenny Williamson.)

BELOW: Port Erin Birkenhead Siding looking to the end of line, with the foo

ot crossing through the middle of the station. (Bay platform off photo right.)

BELOW: Port Erin, Birkenhead Siding, from the other (south) side of the
NEXT TWO PHOTOS: Inside Port Erin Carriage Shed on the other (north) s

e train, looking towards the end of line! So why is it 'Birkenhead' Siding?
side of the station, the clearer left hand road was also covered to the end.









BELOW: Our railtour inside Port Erin loco shed with a nice posterior view of

f Kev Adlam's head. The doors ahead lead to the adjoining railway museum.

BELOW: In case you wondered what was inside Castletown Goods Shed…

The track goes right through - and so did our tour (thanks John & Jenny!).

BELOW: Our evening dining special at the top of the Snaefell Mountain