1287

Please mention the BLS when booking or enquiring….1287 CONNECTIONS (Paul Stewart)....All details must be checked.
1804] EMT £5 Off: Everyone who enters this free competition https://goo.gl/ED7YpW (by midnight of
27 Aug) to win a Eurostar rail trip and three night break in Paris will be emailed a code that gives £5 off
one East Midlands Trains online ticket/s (£20 minimum) purchase on or before 10 Sep.

1805] Garw Valley Railway, Mon 28 Aug, 10.00-15.30: (BLN 1273.209) Old Station Yard, Pontycymer,
CF32 8AZ (SS 9037 9126) Miniature railway rides 'weather permitting'. See progress on the standard
gauge project, locos and stock (no rides), speak to volunteers and learn about local coal mining history.

1806] Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway, Cynheidre Heritage Project, Sun 3 Sep 11.00-16.00: The
first public open day at the site of the former Cynheidre Colliery, north of Llanelli, off the B4309,
SA15 5YG (SN 493 073). A charity supported by Carmarthenshire County Council, Heritage Lottery
Fund, Llanelli Rural Council and The Coal Fields Regeneration trust. Entry: £2 donation (min) Adult,
Under 16s free. standard gauge train rides, exhibits, heritage displays, refreshments. Free parking.

1807] Heritage Open Days 2017, 7-10 Sep: There are many events (some fill quickly) throughout the
country, mostly at the weekend, some are of railway interest. See https://goo.gl/cyqnwb to search by
event or post code (area maps available). As examples, the Grade II listed restored Haltwhistle signal
box and booking hall are open. It's just a shame that these excellent events all clash with each other!

1808] Lea Bailey (Gold Mine) Light Railway, 16 & 17 Sep: HR9 5TR, (SO 6445 1957), hidden in the
lovely Forest of Dean. An open weekend celebrating the railway's 5th anniversary. Perrygrove Railway
diesel gala weekend; Hopewell Colliery Museum and Working Coal mine (with underground tours)
and Clearwell Caves will be open. Previous recent Lea Bailey open days have included 'Driver for a
Fiver' with membership (see BLN 1267.X163) - the only way to traverse the interesting track there.

1809] Vale of Rheidol Railway, 16 & 17 Sep: 08.00 ex-Aberystwyth travel the full length of the line in
Permaquip personnel carrier 'Thunderbird 4' (No 68804), giving a very different perspective. Max 7 per
trip, £40 each includes a workshop visit. Select the date: https://goo.gl/NQW7zh and 8am departure.

1810] The Fovant Military Railway: The latest new Peter Harding A5 booklet in his extensive rural
branch line & light railways series; again he has managed to squeeze a quart into a pint pot. An
obscure 2½ mile standard gauge line running south from Dinton station (between Salisbury and
Tisbury) to Fovant camp on the A30 where there was a level crossing. 24 gloss pages, card covers,
27 photos, map and track plans. A remarkable amount of information about a line that only existed
from 1915-1924, provided a public passenger service and did not appear on OS maps. £4 (£4.50 incl
P&P) cheques: 'Peter Harding' to 'Mossgiel', Bagshot Road, Knapshill, Woking, Surrey. GU 21 2SG.

ABOVE: Two lucky winners of a BLS railtour charity auction at St Pancras International. (Martin Ward)

1811] The 125 Group: (Following our two recent HST railtours…) Inter-City 125 was undoubtedly BR's
greatest success story. The prototype HST was delivered in 1972 with the first of the production fleet
on the Western Region in 1976 was followed by the East Coast Mainline, Cross Country and Midland
Mainline. Although originally intended to be a 'temporary' solution until the Advanced Passenger Train
was developed, with 125mph running and its striking nosecone designed by Sir Kenneth Grange, HSTs
transformed UK long distance rail travel and caught the public's imagination. After re-engineering and
replacement of the original Paxman Valenta engines with VP185s and German manufactured MTUs,
today 125s still form the backbone of many Inter-City routes; however HST withdrawals will start soon.

The 125 Group, a registered charity, was formed in 1994 with the aim of sharing news and information
on the fleet. The objective is to preserve a production HST powered by the original Valenta engine.
They have already acquired a large number of major components and developed a good relationship
with the railway industry, grown to over 500 members and recently became a registered charity with
Sir Kenneth Grange as Honorary President. 41001 Preservation: The 125 Group took the last surviving
prototype power car on long term loan from the National Railway Museum in 2012 and under the
'Project Miller' banner (in honour of the BR Chief Engineer behind the original HST) and has restored it
from a static exhibit to full working order for use on Heritage Railways, with original screaming Paxman
Valenta engine. Thanks to benefactors, volunteers and the kind help of the railway industry, 41001 is
now a regular performer on passenger trains at its home base Great Central Railway Nottingham.

The 125 Group has also purchased three Mk3 coaches and repainted them in matching livery,
recreating the look of the Prototype HST. Join the 125 Group to help and receive a quarterly magazine
filled with informed news on the mainline fleet and behind the scenes details on preservation
progress. Support is needed to secure a Production HST in the near future, please sign up to the
Group's regular donations on-line Direct Debit scheme (with free membership) www.125group.org.uk
or: Membership Secretary, 54 The Bridleway, Forest Town, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG19 0QJ.

1812] Britain's Growing Railway: As is often said, Britain has Europe's fastest growing railway.
Railfuture's new A to Z book edited by Ray King has details of the 400 stations and 600 miles of
routes opened/reopened to passengers since 1960; particularly over the last seven years. The 2017
edition; 192 pages 210mm x 148mm, £9.95 (includes UK P&P) https://goo.gl/KU5vuf click top right.

1813] Bluebell Railway Deltic Only Gala, 6-8 Oct: https://goo.gl/FyXbKf For the Deltic Preservation
Society's 40th anniversary; up to four working Deltics. Three train sets with intensive service. Brakevan
rides over the full length of the line on the first train from Sheffield Park each day £15 extra (includes a
bacon butty); to book 01825 720800. Brakevan rides at Horsted Keynes each day (presumably the
line towards Haywards Heath as usual). 12 coach train on 17.30 Up train. Saturday: driver for a fiver.
Various rovers https://goo.gl/6CBPQh from £25 adult one day, £40 two days or £50 three days.

1814] Par - Fowey, Sun 8 Oct, 12.00-17.00: Near Par station. A series of trips through the 1,173yd
Pinnock Tunnel - the longest in Cornwall, the private Imerys China Clay Haul Road on the trackbed of
the former Cornwall Mineral Railway from St Blazey to Fowey. The tunnel was blasted through granite
working from both ends and from five shafts using dynamite charges set by Cornish miners, with very
little machinery. The spoil was removed by travelling navvies, mainly from Ireland, with wheelbarrows.
CG 1 Jul 1968; the trackbed was converted to a road used by china clay lorries to Fowey Docks.

The trips, each for 19, will be in the 'Fowey Town
Train', a Land Rover pulling a covered carriage with
open sides. £5 adult £2.50 child return, pay on the day
taking about 45 mins, with a commentary. The four
previous annual trips (generally in April) were very
popular; booking is essential. Watch for this event in
2018 etc. Email [email protected] or
01726 812815. Please arrive 15 minutes before your
allocated time as unclaimed spaces will be allocated.
(Thanks to our member Maurice Dart.) ABOVE: OS
1961 7th Series one-inch map, Fowey station is bottom
right and Par is top left. LEFT: The Pinnock Tunnel as a
road on our trip of 25 Sep 1988. (Angus McDougall)

1815] Walk the Bluebell Railway, Sat 18 Nov: (BLN 1286.1611) A non-running day. The annual 'Track
Trek' aims to raise £15k to buy one replacement 60ft track panel for the track renewals programme.
Safely briefings 08.00-09.00 at East Grinstead, walk 11 miles to Sheffield Park including the 731yd
tunnel; see track renewals in progress south of Horsted Keynes. Free parking and bus from Sheffield
Park to East Grinstead before, or by Southern trains to East Grinstead, do the walk then free bus back
from Sheffield Park. 300 participated last year. Minimum sponsorship £25 per head/£40 family, can be
Gift Aided. Details https://goo.gl/L7Q2v9 forms etc. Email [email protected] with
name, address, phone number, email, number taking part and if the bus is required before or after.

X.126] 1950s/60s Railway Videos: https://goo.gl/fzCR2W An amazing collection of videos, taken
from colour cine film, of railways in the late 1950s and early 1960s have appeared on You Tube in
recent months. Filmed by Alan Snowdon they include lines still open today, but very much changed,
and many that have closed. They were taken when travelling on trains and line side. In some cases
cab rides and visits to signal boxes were possible. Films typically last about quarter of an hour and
include: Templecombe - Bath, Ryde - Cowes, Ventnor - Ryde, Havant - Hayling Island, Gravesend -
Allhallows-on-Sea and Grain, Dunton Green - Westerham, Paddock Wood - Hawkhurst, Tonbridge
- Polegate via Eridge, Victoria - Tunbridge Wells West, North Woolwich - Palace Gates, Chappel &
Wakes Colne - Haverhill, Bartlow - Audley End, Hitchin - Bedford, Sheffield Victoria - Manchester
Piccadilly via Woodhead, Skipton - Carlisle, Darlington - Penrith via Stainmore, Darlington -
Middleton-in-Teesdale, Seaham Harbour, Haltwhistle - Alston and Glasgow - Craigendoran!

Fixtures Secretary: Kev Adlam, 53 Kemble Close, Wistaston, CREWE CW2 6XN. [email protected] Twitter: @BLSGeneralSec
Bookings Officer: Jill Everitt, 4 Barnside Way, Moulton, NORTHWICH, CW9 8PT. [email protected]
E-BLN problems: [email protected] MAPS: By permission of the National Library of Scotland http://maps.nls.uk/index.html
General Secretary: Tim Wallis, 10 Sandringham Road, STOKE GIFFORD, BS34 8NP. [email protected]
Editor/Head Lines: Paul Stewart, 4 Clarence Close, MALVERN, WR14 3HX [email protected] 01684562862 07790652351.
Branch Line Email Service: Nick Garnham, [email protected] Subscribe: [email protected]
Published by the Branch Line Society, 10 Sandringham Road, Stoke Gifford, BS34 8NP. ISSN 1354-0947

X.127] Stockport Tiviot Dale: (ABOVE) Looking east, a coal train for Fiddlers Ferry power station that
would have come from a Yorkshire mine via Wath and the Woodhead route. They ran hourly then!
This route, under Stockport viaduct, is now part of the M60 motorway. (Ian Mortimer May 1975)

1816] The RailStaff Awards 2017 (The 'Heart of Gold' award for charity): It is a real pleasure to
report that our Fixtures Secretary, Kev Adlam, has been nominated for this prestigious national
award for his untiring and selfless charity work. You Editor is sure that Kev would actually see it as
recognition of what our Society as a whole has achieved in recent years. https://goo.gl/UnDH94
has more information, nominations close on 5 Sep; a public vote reduces the field for the judges.
Every vote for Kev is a vote for everything we have achieved together and raises the BLS profile.