1436

2523] Modern Railways; Modern Branch Line Society: There was a time when no one would have believed that we would ever be mentioned in 'Modern Railways'. However, it has happened in every issue since Mar 2015 when Martyn Brailsford took over Trackwatch. We hit the jackpot in Nov 2023 'Modern Railways' also making the Editorial, 'A Fond Farewell' about the 26 Sep CrossCountry HST farewell charity tour from Leeds to Swanage, Bournemouth, Swanage and back to Leeds. It says: 'Organising a trip such as this is a huge undertaking - something we can all attest to, having done two of these special trips. The Branch Line Society provided amazing support with ticket sales and logistics, using its valuable expertise from organising many such trips-huge thanks to Kev Adlam,Martha Haggas and the team'. Then, on p51, there is also a photo with 'Martha Haggas of The Branch Line Society'. Date Book online :NEW fixtures open when e-BLN is out: BLN Lead Status Fri 24 Nov Manchester Mayfield mid-morning station tour etc 1435 MG waiting list Sat 25 Nov AGM Ribble Steam Railway 'all line' railbus tour 1434 MG see website Sat 25 Nov 2023 Annual General Meeting 13.30 (closes 20 Nov. 1432 TW OPEN Sat 25 Nov AGM buffet & presentation 17.00-21.00 1434 MG see website Sun 26 Nov AGM Blackpool Heritage rare tram/track tour 1435 MG OPEN Fri 8 Dec *NEW* South Wales Valley Lines Tracker IV Below MG OPEN Fri 15 Dec *NEW* Guildford area conducted signal box visits Below MG OPEN Sat 6 Jan 2024 Scunthorpe Cold Steeler railtour 27 (09.30-16.30) 1433 MG waiting list Mon 27 May (Bank Holiday) industrial railway, ex-BR locos TBA TBA Claimed MG = Mark Gomm [email protected] 84 Mornington Rd, STOKE-ON-TRENT, ST1 6EL 07983 541887 2524] :Fri 8 Dec; Valley Lines Tracker IV:: A 'service train tracker' with TfW, designed by our very own David Clark. Guided and travelling with like-minded members on service trains, it includes the muchchanged branches to Aberdare, Merthyr and Coryton plus Barry Island & Penarth. 20 max (per TfW). An 'Explore Cardiff & Valleys' day rover (Adult £14; Railcard £9.20) is advised. Connects with 05.33 exHolyhead and 06.30 ex-Manchester both due to be loco-hauled. Cardiff Central 10.11; return 18.45 (planned). Please book on our website or notify our Bookings Officer in writing with an email address/ SAE. If you are later unable to go, please notify the Bookings Officer. Further details on our website. 2535] :Fri 15 Dec; Guildford Area Signal Boxes Visits:: Thanks to our member, Barney Clark, meet on Wokingham P1 09.30, to visit Wokingham box (due to close in Feb), Guildford Area Signalling Centre then Farncombe, Haslemere and Petersfield boxes. These three are at the end of their working lives. All visits are subject to availability on the day; see our website for details and to book. Members only, max 10; £60. The visits are in aid of the NR 'Routes Out of Homelessness' national charity campaign. 1436 BLN GENERAL (Paul Stewart) [email protected] Points & Slips: ●●BLN 1435 2518.9] Re: Pyewipe Road in Grimsby; a pyewipe is the northern lapwing in the British Isles for the (also known as the peewit, pewit, tewit, green plover or just lapwing bird). This does not explain Pye Corner on the Ebbw Vale branch; a pye in Britain refers, ornithologically, to a magpie. Number 1436 (Items 2523 - 2340 & MR 214 - MR 225) (E-BLN 120 PAGES) 18 Nov 2023 BRANCH LINE NEWS Praeteritum, praesens et futurum ferriviaria [ISSN 1354-0947] Published 24 times a year by the Branch Line Society; founded 1955. branchline.uk https://www.facebook.com/BranchLineSociety/ Membership queries: Lisa Sheppard [email protected] 186 Anlaby [email protected] Park Road South, Hull, HU4 7BU. 07873 354464 British Isles news from members; an International section is available. Opinions are not necessarily those of the Compilers or of the Society. ciety. Society. …BLN 1437 is dated Sat 2 Dec; contributions by Wed 22 Nov please

BELOW: (Item 2535) The Grade II Listed Petersfield signal box, which is inclu

ded in our Fri 15 Dec visits and is due to close. (Barney Clark, 12 Nov 2022.)

2526] Keeping Track, passenger service suspensions(contributions welcomed by your Editor) *=new BLN Start (incl) Reopens Location (stations'exclusive'if bracketed) Bold = closed now 1436.MR222 23 Oct 22 23 Oct 23 *East Hill Cliff Railway Hastings (MR p34) maintenance 1436.2601 31 Oct 23 6 Nov 23 *NIR (Portadown) - (Dundalk) flooding in four places - 31 Oct 23 6 Nov 23 *Liskeard P3- Coombe Jn Halt - Looe flooding 18.00 17.30 1436.2534 4 Nov 23 9 Nov 23 *Wigston North Jn(Leicester)-(Kettering)embankment failure 1435.2457 25 Oct 23 *4 Nov 23 *IOW, Ryde St Johns Road - Shanklin flood damage *20 Nov 23 *IOW, Ryde Pier Head - (St Johns Road) flood damage 1435.2456 11 Nov 23 18 Nov 23 Shalford Jn, (Guildford) - (Reigate) North Downs Line works - 14 Oct 23 unknown *Helsby Jn - (Ellesmere Port) :de facto DMUs last ran 13 Oct: - 13 Nov 23 20 Nov 23 *Acton Grange Jn/Halton Jn - Chester East Jn engineering 1436.2631 4 Nov 23 20 Nov 23 *Cardiff, Queen Street South Jn - Cardiff Bay metro work 1435.440 1 Dec 22 20Nov 23 *(Bedford) P1A-(Bletchley) limited SX service, was 11 Dec 1432.MR184 25 Aug 23 ??Nov 23 Cairngorm Mountain Railway for tensioning of scarf joints 1436.2632 2 Sep 23 *4 Nov 23 *Dovey Jn - Tywyn for repairs to Dovey Jn Viaduct *2 Dec 23 *(Tywyn) - Pwllheli Barmouth Bridge and other works 1433.2274 15 Nov 23 4 Dec 23 Ebbw Vale Town-Park Jn-Ebbw Jn/Gaer Jn; redoubling 1434.2345 25 Nov 23 11 Dec 23 Wilton Jn, (Salisbury) - Yeovil Jn relaying/embankment works 1434.2363 25 Sep 23 *13 Jan 23+ *(Prestwick Town) - (Girvan) and (Kilmarnock) - Barassie Jn 1421.947 29 Apr 23 Feb 24 Pontypridd N Jn - Treherbert plus other intermittent closures ǂ last ran ǂ 5 Nov 23 Mar 24 *GWSR, (Toddington) - Broadway Stanway Viaduct repairs 1436.2602 ǂ22 Oct 23 unknown *Downpatrick&Co Down Railway, Downpatrick - Inch Abbey ǂ29 Oct 23 *Downpatrick - Magnus Grave both due to flood damage 2527] Points & Slips: ●●BLN 722.34] The flood reported at Cilcewydd took place on Wed 8 Dec 1993 - (not 18th) - 'Liverpool Daily Post' (Welsh edition) of 10 Dec 1993. Part of the original item is amusing: ●●BLN 1434.2294] Thanks to our well known member, Stuart Hicks, for organising the 21 Sep Southern Electric Group visit to Wimbledon Signalling Centre and for kindly making it available to our members. ●●BLN 1435.2417] The Thames Haven to Kilnhurst Croda Hydrocarbon via Ripple Lane Yard traffic was bitumen, not 'tar'. Bitumen is derived from refining crude oil but tar usually came from converting coal into 'town gas'- a by-product of municipal gas works. Bitumen needed to be delivered 'warm,' hence the steam heating,as, if it cooled, it set solid in the tanks.Ta very much to our member who sent that in. (Our informant seems to recall pointing out the distinction between tar and bitumen in some other context in the past and has given your BLN Editor a final warning! A new Editor may be needed.) ●●E-BLN 1435.2419 p29] The Yarm station (CP 4 Jan 1960; CA 21 Sep 1964) in the caption is in fact the one in the village of Egglescliffe, County Durham. OP 19 Feb 1996, the present Yarm station is about 1⅓ miles south of that original station, towards Northallerton, about a mile out of the picture off to the right. Egglescliffe village itself is south of, and quite distinct from, Eaglescliffe village. ●●2450] In 1973 Lindsey Refinery, Immingham supplied petroleum products to Langley Terminal.

●●2508] The new Sep 2023 TRACKmaps 7th Edition of Book 3 (Western & Wales) now includes the Launceston Steam Railway for the first time, as well as the Llanelli & Mynydd Mawr Railway. ●●2517] In Apr 2023 Barry Tourist Railway sold their 2-car Class 101 DMU to the Plym Valley Railway (not the Dean Forest). It was moved there soon after and is on their website: https://bit.ly/460LrkR ●●MR209] South Tyneside Railway should, of course, have been the South Tynedale Railway. 2528] Mike Carrier: Sadly, Mike Carrier, latterly a former 'old school' British Railways Assistant Area Manager at Carlisle, passed away on 2 Nov, at the age of 89. Always very affable and popular with railway staff, he was a great friend of our Society (and railway enthusiasts generally). He facilitated numerous brakevan trips for our members in the 1970s and 1980s on freight trains to interesting locations in his area. There were even special railtours with a Class 08 and brakevan (although you won't find them in our Forty Year Book!). Mike also put in a good word for us in surrounding areas of the North West enabling further brakevan trips based on Preston, Barrow and Workington. Mike also had contacts at Longtown Central Ammunition Depot,which led to our comprehensive tours of the internal railway there and later at Eastriggs Depot. Mike was a leading light in the preservation of Armathwaite signal box. His funeral is to be held at 11.40 on Fri 24 Nov at Carlisle Crematorium. 2529] A visit to Newcastle: (BLN 1435.2413) Tue 31 Oct was a fine day, so our Scotland Editor went on a trip to Newcastle to see what was going on at Plessey Viaduct. Unsurprisingly, trains were scheduled in 'flights' between Morpeth and Plessey, with several trains in one direction, followed by several in the opposite direction. He was on 1E14 11.51 Edinburgh to King's Cross (the 12.00 retimed), which was delayed by a few minutes at Morpeth, waiting for 1W11 10.00 King's Cross to Aberdeen, the last of three trains in the previous northbound flight, to clear the single line section. 1E14 was followed by 1V62 12.03 Edinburgh to Plymouth and 4E96 09.00 Mossend Euroterminal to Tees Dock DB Cargo intermodal service, waiting hopefully in the Up Chevington Loop. They were followed by 1E13 07.55 Inverness to King's Cross, running an hour late. (The previous day's King's Cross to Inverness train had arrived 110 min late, so it appears that crew rest hours requirements meant a 35 min late departure from Inverness for 1E13, the delay increasing with the single track sections, as it was out of path.) 1E15 09.52 Aberdeen to King's Cross should have been in this flight but was running late, so was held at Morpeth to allow 1S39 06.20 Plymouth to Edinburgh and 1S12 10.30 King's Cross to Edinburgh through first. However, 1E15 delayed 1S93 10.45 King's Cross to Edinburgh (Lumo) and that triggered further delays which continued into the evening. It must be a fine judgement as to how to prioritise trains with late running, given the scope for delays spreading widely across the network. [Other things being equal, Up trains were generally given priority over Down trains to minimise knock on delays.] It was interesting to note that 4E96, together with most other freight trains, ran via Cramlington. With only GBRf having regular workings between Morpeth North Jn and Bedlington, it is possible that few drivers from other freight companies sign the route. It is also of interest that no timings appear to be published for Plessey, although recognised as a location by Realtime Trains. That shows the location as Plessey Crossovers, as does the Sectional Appendix, but the lineside sign shows it as Plessey Junction. Just before Plessey Viaduct there was a large works compound on the Up side, in a field on the north bank of the River Blyth. The Up line was lifted over the viaduct but new sleepers were in position. Our Scotland Editor had thought of returning home via Carlisle but, realising that there was TPE rail replacement transport from Newcastle at 13.50 to Morpeth, Alnmouth and Berwick-upon-Tweed, decided to see more of rural Northumberland by travelling on that. The arrangements at Newcastle were not good. A sign outside the main station entrance directed passengers to turn left for coaches and that was it. There was nothing to indicate where the coaches picked up and no staff were present. Two large coaches appeared a few minutes before departure time but as there were only two passengers, including our reporter, a taxi would have sufficed and one of the coaches remained at Newcastle. Both were going all the way to Berwick-upon-Tweed and there was no custom at Morpeth or Alnmouth. This is hardly surprising as there were quicker options by rail. Our reporter was sightseeing and the other passenger seemed to have a ticket that was only valid on TPE services.

BELOW: Morpeth Up P1; the fine Grade II listed 1847 Newcastle & Berwick Railw

way station building was recently refurbished and the chimneys were reinstated.

BELOW: The exterior of Morpeth station is even better -no O

OHLE wires either… (All four Rodger Wilkinson, 29 Jun 2023.)

BELOW: Morpeth B&T station https://tinyurl.com/yr99j5dv (CP 14 May 188

80, services were diverted to the present station), it is now three dwellings.

BELOW: Also at Morpeth is the attractive substantial former N

North Eastern Railway goods shed which is in commercial use.

ABOVE: Through a train window, approaching Plessey Viaduct in the Up direction on the Down Main. BELOW: The new concrete parapet meets the surviving part of the old one. (Stuart Marshall, 1 Nov 2023.)

There were features of railway interest on the way. The coach left Newcastle on the A695 Scotswood Road, parallel with the route of the former Newcastle to Carlisle passenger line along the north bank of the Tyne to Blaydon. The disused skew railway bridge over the river at Scotswood was observed. Closed to passengers from 4 Oct 1982 (and all traffic this end), it looks rather unloved, is disused and covered in graffiti. It could make a good route across the Tyne for pedestrians and cyclists but, as there is a road bridge nearby, it is probably difficult to justify the cost. At Morpeth it was possible to view the splendid frontage to the station building and the former Blyth & Tyne station opposite. There was a fine view of Alnmouth Viaduct, north of the station, carrying the railway over the River Aln. The coach approached Berwick-upon-Tweed from the north, avoiding Tweedmouth and the town centre, with a panoramic view of the Royal Border Bridge from the A1 where it bypasses the town. Arrival was on time at 15.55. The advertised Edinburgh connection was a TPE Berwick-upon-Tweed starter at 16.12. However, the 12.00 King's Cross to Inverness turned up 23 min late, so he caught it. 2530] Railway Memories (114); IOM OURS Visit, 3-10 Jul 1964 (Part 4 - conclusion): (BLN 1435.2388) Our last day on the Island, Thur 9 Jul 1964, began with a trip up to Snaefell Summit and the weather was thankfully reasonably clear so that, at our destination, we could readily check the frequent claim that a varying number of kingdoms are visible from it. Less disputable was the number of Snaefell cars that we saw (Nos1, 3&6),half the total. From the summit,we made our way back down for the Laxey to Ramsey section of the MER and reached the steam station in good time to welcome the 15 passengers off the 12.00 from Douglas. We took our place on our last Manx train (until 2016, anyway), the 13.45 to Douglas, with N o 8, 'Fenella'. As before, the St John's stop was enlivened by the need to collect the two coach Peel portion, quicker than the previous day but still bringing us into Douglas 5 minutes late. We then made our way to the shed and works then, as now, a feature of the vast yard at Douglas and were greeted warmly by Donald Shaw, the line's Locomotive Superintendent, with the words: I've nothing to show you! This was not quite true, as we were delighted to see N o 15, 'Caledonia', (No 4 in the Manx Northern Railway's fleet list) but unfortunately not in steam that day and rarely at any time. Similar disappointment greeted us when we asked about other locos in the fleet, which some of us knew were in a nearby carriage shed. No, he said, we do not let anybody see the stored locomotives. So that was that. However, he did express his hope that Beeching would not wield his axe against the lines radiating from Whitby, to Scarborough, Malton via Pickering, and Middlesbrough via Grosmont with reversal at Battersby. (In the event, his hopes were partly fulfilled as the Middlesbrough line remains in total and the Malton line at least as far as Pickering.) His parting wish was that the Isle of Man Railway would still be running when next we visited and here again the story has been mixed, with a government review of the one line that has survived, to Port Erin, pending as I write in 2023. Two of our party then left us to catch the 16.00 ferry back to Liverpool, while the rest of us made our way by MER through to Ramsey Youth Hostel for that night. The next morning would see us at the far end of Queen's Pier, awaiting the 9.15 boat (Douglas depart 8.30, the fastest link between the two towns by public transport!) then northward around the Point of Ayre - the northernmost land of the IOM to Belfast. This was for a similarly detailed look at Ulster Transport Authority's remaining steam hauled services. Our boat, which arrived somewhat after 9.15, was, appropriately, named 'Tynwald'. Your BLN Editor fondly recalls his first visit to the IOM, a two week family holiday from Sat 11 Jul 1964, just two days after the OURS party had left. Until then, it had been Rhyl every year since 1959 as that was deemed suitable for young children (it was then) and also had through trains from Birmingham. He never asked his late parents why they suddenly decided on the IOM but is very glad that they did. He well remembers the steam hauled train to Crewe from New Street, the latter in a bad way after WWII, with rebuilding just starting. Even the Queen's Hotel was in situ; the rear view from the platforms was unattractive with numerous soil and water pipes on show, unlike the smart frontage on New Street itself. At Crewe there was a change to a train, probably from Euston, which arrived behind a large steam loco that came off for an electric one making a very distinctive odd noise. It didn't half shift to Liverpool; the large vertical rock cuttings before Lime Street certainly made a deep impression.

ABOVE: (Item 2530) Laxey, Snaefell Mountain Railway track, 9 Jul 1964. Cars 6, 1 & 3. (All Peter Walker.) BELOW: Laxey; the Lady Isabella water powered wheel from a Snaefell Mountain Railway car.

ABOVE: Snaefell Summit, view to the end of line; in time honoured fashion, some passengers seek shelter. BELOW: Manx Electric Railway Car 1 at Ramsey Plaza with trailer and van (the end of line is off left).

ABOVE: Ramsey, towards St John's, awaiting the 12.00 arrival from Douglas, end of line is off left. (The stock for the 16.50 train is in the siding.) BELOW: Douglas shed visit, Donald Shaw, OURS members and 'Caledonia'.

ABOVE: The End of the Pier Show; the far end of Ramsey Pier Tramway (Angus McDougall, 28 Aug 1978.) BELOW: MV Tynwald (bound for Belfast) arrives at Ramsay pier from Douglas on 10 Jul 1964. Three OURS members then took it to Belfast for the Irish leg of their tour.

Arriving at Douglas Sea Terminal, it was directly on to the adjacent Horse Tram (with luggage for two weeks, as many others had too) performing a useful transport function to the guest house. In 1964 there were far more of these and hotels than now in Douglas and it was peak school holiday season. The horse trams ran all day until late at night and were very frequent; if you just missed one or it went by completely full, you could see the next one coming. Douglas promenade road traffic seemed much busier than now and didn't usually stop for those joining/alighting the trams in the middle of the road. The steam train trip to Peel to see the castle etc was memorable, small non-corridor wooden coaches painted all white inside (except the floor) and hard wooden seats - zero upholstery. The windows were high so that a nine year old had to stand to see anything. The long train was packed, so they may have been running everything that could run. There were trips to Castletown, Port Erin and Port St Mary (a long walk from the station - the GWR would have called it Port St Mary Road). Recently your Editor discovered that he must have done at least one of the, now removed, southern platforms at Douglas, as the 1964 layout didn't allow direct running between the two remaining ones and the Port Erin line. His Father liked trains but wasn't really an enthusiast (he was a GWR fan and didn't regard New Street as a 'proper' railway, so there were childhood trips to the palatial splendid old Birmingham Snow Hill to see large the pristine steam engines). When asked by his son if they could go to Ramsey by steam, he said that it was a long way round and the Electric Railway was more direct. However, it was pointed out that the journey time was similar to the MER (1¼ hours) so he agreed to do it - not bad for a 9 year old! What your Editor hadn't appreciated, until the 1964 OURS visit report, was just how infrequent the steam train services were between Douglas, Peel and Ramsey, even in the peak summer season. The family also had 3 in 7 day MER Rover Tickets, white Edmondson cards which were dated and had the seven days of the week round the edge plus an eighth space for the one permitted trip up Snaefell. The day was clipped when the first trip was made that day. Fortunately,it was a very memorable lovely sunny day going up Snaefell. Other trips were to walk some of the various scenic glens from the MER alongside sparkling streams down to the sea - Groudle, Dhoon, Garwick and Ballaglass Glens were done, all recommended. The only problem was that they were privately owned and you had to pay at a turnstile to get in (a few pennies in old money) which didn't go down well as his Father was a bank manager! Ramsey Pier seemed incredibly long (it was, at 2,241ft) and the tramway was very slow! 2531] A Very Moo-ving Experience: Until the 1962 Transport Act the railways were 'common carriers', obliged to carry almost anything customers wished to consign. Worse still, they had to publish their rates (so road transport companies could undercut them). Once, complete farms were conveyed by special train. Animals, machinery and stores would be moved, along with the farmer's family and any staff who were going with them. https://tinyurl.com/2pa49bwu (17 Min) is a 1952 British Transport Film of such a move from Stokesley Yorkshire to Hartfield, Sussex. The farm move over the greatest distance was probably that from Skelmorlie Mains Farm, Skelmorlie, Ayrshire to Hendra Farm, St Kew, Cornwall in 1958. That involved a rail journey of 580 miles, working through four British Railways' (BR) regions (Scottish, London Midland, Western and Southern), from Wemyss Bay to Wadebridge. The special train, which was vacuum braked throughout, comprised three flat wagons with containers for furniture and household goods, seven wagons for farm equipment and implements (weighing ten tons), one van containing the farmer's motor car and the hen coop (with hens - a whole new meaning to the term 'moving house'), eight cattle wagons for 76 cows with seven calves and a brake passenger carriage for the farmer, his family and the farm dogs and cats. Two three-day old calves travelled in the brakevan. This would have been a major job for the Wemyss Bay stationmaster and the local goods agent, who would have been responsible for assessing how many wagons of which types were needed and for planning the loading. The train was loaded over several days, with the animals being boarded on the morning of departure. That was done in the passenger station, not the goods yard, which was quite small and accessed via a headshunt onto the pier and a fairly steep ramp up to the main line. The train departed on Thursday 30 Oct 1958, the outline schedule was: Wemyss Bay dep 14.15; Carlisle arr 18.08 dep 18.17; Crewe arr 22.36, dep 22.50; Shrewsbury arr 23.40, dep 23.50; Exeter Riverside arr 06.35 (Friday), dep 08.00; Wadebridge arr 11.35.

The stops were probably for crew and loco changes but the animals were tended at Crewe and Exeter. The small station at St Kew Highway couldn't have accommodated such a long train, so it ran to Wadebridge. There was an extra passenger on arrival, because a calf was born at Exeter, we can 're-veal'. The charge for the train was £1,000, worth almost £20,000 today. BR significantly cut back the conveyance of cattle in 1962, thereafter only carrying regular flows. The last traffic was Irish cattle from Holyhead, which ceased in 1975. [With thanks to Friends of Wemyss Bay Station.] 1436 EAST MIDLANDS (Nick Garnham) [email protected] 2532] A 30% net discount: Concessionary passes issued by Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council allow free travel (from 09.30 until 23.00 during the week and anytime at weekends) on Nottingham Express Transit (NET) trams. While concessionary passes from other areas do not qualify users for free tram travel, they can buy a £3.50 day rover ticket. This is a 30% discount on the normal, already excellent value, £5 day ticket. The £3.50 ticket is only available as a paper ticket from ticket vending machines (which take cash or cards) provided at every stop. The concessionary pass must also be shown at ticket checks. Note that NET Park & Ride parking is free with a tram ticket, cheaper than paying for city centre car parking. The NET website does not specify 'English' passes only, suggesting other UK passes, at least, are accepted for the discount (but it's unclear if IOM or Jersey etc are included; any ideas, please?). Park & Ride stops (with capacity) are: Hucknall (439), Moor Bridge (119), Phoenix Park (657), Wilkinson Street (600), Clifton South (1,000) and Toton Lane (1,400). A Nottingham or Beeston PlusBus is £5.70 Adult; £3.75 Railcard and £2.85 Child and includes all of NET except beyond Moor Bridge tram stop, which is just Butlers Hill stop and Hucknall terminus. 2533] A free pass for students is not just academic! It was noticeable on a recent weekday that many students use the trams in Nottingham. Local student accommodation often includes a 'free' unlimited Academic Year season ticket in the rental; £300 in 2023-24 or £250 with the NetGo app = 75p per day. 2534] That Sinking Feeling: In the early morning of Mon 23 Oct a train driver reported a 'rough ride' passing Braybrooke on the Midland Main Line Down Main, approaching Market Harborough about a mile to the south. The slipping embankment here was already under close observation with a 50mph ESR (Emergency Speed Restriction) in place and rectification works planned over Christmas but recent heavy rain had accelerated the deterioration. A 20mph ESR was imposed from 81m 48ch to 81m 54ch. At 19.00 Thur 2 Nov, the Down Main was shut and an emergency timetable was introduced on Fri 3rd . Two trains per hour (tph) ran on the Up Main and two Down trains ran via Corby, reversing from/to the north at Leicester. Freight services were also diverted, most notably, the 11.22 St Pancras Church Yard to Ketton discharged cement tanks via Corby, reversing at Leicester. Fortunately, Wigston North Jn to Kettering was under possession over the weekend for electrification works, so this was extended into the following week until Wed 8 Nov (inclusive) with all passenger trains diverted. Most freight used the bidirectional Up Main between Market Harborough Jn and Kettering (for nine miles or so). As usual with diversions via Corby, 'Midland Connect' EMUs turned back in Wellingborough P3 half hourly (instead of at Corby) which, in the Down direction, involves use of the 20mph crossovers at Sharnbrook Jn from the Down Fast to the Up & Down Slow and the Wymington Deviation. London to Sheffield services had to be reduced from 2tph each way to one, due to the significantly increased journey time via Corby and with reversal at Leicester. Nottingham retained an hourly London service. All these called at Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough to provide 2tph to/from London and connect with the EMUs. In these circumstances, EMR does not have enough trains or staff to run 2tph to Sheffield and there were sporadic cancellations as it was. Although capacity has been increased on the Corby line with resignalling and the redoubling of Manton Jn along with Corby to Kettering, there are capacity problems through the single Corby platform, between Manton Jn and Syston Jn and with the Leicester reversals. Most reversals, in both directions, occurred in Leicester P3, with the other platforms occupied. With four trains per hour doing this it was one train out, next one in. Some 'Normals' took a bit of convincing that a train going north from P3 really was going to St Pancras! Market Harborough was served by replacement buses, although a DMU shuttle had been considered. Normal service resumed from Thur 9 Nov after embankment stabilisation, mainly with soil nailing.

2535] Backwards and Forwards on the Midland Main Line: (Previous item) On Mon 8 Nov a member travelled on the 09.21 St Pancras to Nottingham, a 7-car Meridian. Approaching Leicester via Corby from the north, a lengthy train of discharged aggregate hoppers passed in the opposite direction. It was the 09.09 Radlett to Mountsorrel Sidings running 18 min early after doing the Up Main in the Down direction from Kettering North Jn to Market Harborough Jn. He thought nothing of it. 10 min was allowed for the Leicester reversal and this was achieved. Our member was then surprised to have a prolonged stop at a red signal on the Down Fast just before Sileby Jn. The conductor announced that she had some 'bad news' - fortunately it was only a points failure, which was later discovered to be failure of detection on the points into Mountsorrel Sidings. His train went forward and then reversed at Sileby Jn over the crossovers back into Sileby P2 which caused concern amongst some on board. …and why is that man walking up and down the train (referring to the driver changing ends twice)? Of note, the access points to the Up & Down Ruddington Line were clipped at Loughborough South Jn and, coming off that line, the trap point was clipped to trap. There was more delay at Loughborough, as P3 on the Up & Down Slow only takes five coaches, and at East Midlands Parkway, where P3 only accommodates four. It was a surprise but interesting to take the 15mph crossovers back to the Down Fast at Ratcliffe Jn rather than the 25mph ones at Trent South Jn, a little further on. London to Nottingham had taken almost three hours with three reversals, compared with the normal 1¾ hours but arrival was only 19 mins late. A crowd was waiting on P7 to immediately board for London and, impressively, an on time departure was achieved at 12.24, just six minutes after the train had arrived. 2536] British Steel Scunthorpe: As most members will have heard, on 6 Nov the company announced its intention to close the four blast furnaces, targeted for the end of 2025, putting up to 2,000 jobs at risk. Known as 'The Four Queens of Ironmaking' (Queen Mary and Bess date from 1939, with Queen Anne and Victoria added in 1954), in practice only one (Queen Anne) has been operating of late. Coke, iron ore, sinter (made by burning a mix of iron ore powder, fluxes and recycled substances from the steel plant) and limestone are fed, or charged, into the top of the furnaces. A hot air blast of about 1,000°C is injected at the bottom of the furnace via nozzles called tuyeres. As the coke burns, temperatures of over 2,000°C are reached and this heat creates molten iron. It collects at the bottom of the furnace and the limestone combines with impurities to form slag. Slag is less dense than molten metal, so floats on top of the metal and is removed, then used in cement and road building industries. Molten metal is 'tapped' from the bottom of the furnace into torpedoes, each one able to carry 300 tonnes of liquid iron and moved by rail to the Basic Oxygen Steel (BOS) Plant to make steel. This plant was cutting edge technology when opened on 31 May 1973 but will also close under the plans. Unfortunately, the blast furnaces are losing about £1M a day, exacerbated by the Carbon Tax, Inflation and the high cost of energy in particular. There is also a requirement (in the UK) to make steel in a more Carbon neutral way than at present. The plan is to replace the blast furnaces with two new electric arc furnaces that essentially melt scrap metal, one at Scunthorpe and one at Teesside, at a cost of £1.25bn (£300M of which is from the Government). Construction could start mid-2024 for opening in late 2025. The original plan was for one, much larger, electric arc furnace at Scunthorpe alone but this would have required a new National Grid connection, which could not be provided until 2034. Along with the already announced closure of Tata's blast furnaces at Port Talbot (another 3,000 lost jobs), this would be the end of virgin steel production in the UK. The government does not see this as a strategic issue, as the new electric arc furnaces will cover 'most' of the UK's needs and more scrap is generated in the UK than steel is produced at present. Scrap metal is currently exported from docks at Newport, Immingham and Liverpool in particular, amongst other places. However, international relations with some countries that produce virgin steel, such as China, Russia and India are not good. It is known that France already has regrets over the closure of all its conventional steel works. The effect on rail traffic is serious; likely the end of Immingham Bulk Terminal, owned by British Steel (TRACKmaps 2 p31B 2020), and the 1m 16ch Santon Foreign Ore Branch (TRACKmaps 2 p33A 2020) at Scunthorpe. The three rakes of iron ore wagons are the final rotary tipplers in use on our network and are nearing the ends of their lives - 122 round trips were made in the month to 11 Nov, four a day.

Although imported coal traffic (again from Immingham Bulk Terminal) is much reduced since the closure of Scunthorpe Coke Ovens in June this year, some is still required for the Blast Furnaces and 15 trains a month have been running. It seems likely that the imported coke from China will now continue to be moved by road from Immingham. There are also one or two lengthy trains of steel blooms most days to Lackenby - even Sundays - with a new Teesside furnace, these would be lost too. It will be a major blow to DBC who handle all this traffic. Lime comes from nearby Barnetby Lime Works by road. However,there may well be additional inward scrap,although this is a commodity where rail traffic has generally declined in recent years. There is currently outward traffic to inter alia Goole Docks, Dalzell Plate Works (between Motherwell and Shieldmuir) but only intermittently now, Skinningrove (which can now go a couple of weeks without a train at times) plus finished rail for NR, a major customer. Clearly, major changes can be expected to the internal railway. At the time of writing, our Sat 6 Jan steelworks railtour (see BLN 1433.2188 or our website) is full, but it is worth going on the waiting list. Details of steelmaking etc at Scunthorpe are available at https://bit.ly/479GebR or book an Appleby Frodingham Railway railtour with a commentary on the processes involved: https://www.afrps.co.uk/ 2537] Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT) 3: (BLN 1428.1658) On Tue 7 Nov two seasoned members made their way to the public bridleway (Shenley Drive) over the M1, which also now crosses DIRFT 3 terminal throat (TRACKmaps 4 p4C 2022). DBC 66053 was just departing hauling 1S05 15.34 to Shieldmuir Royal Mail Terminal - two Class 325 EMUs - over the non-electrified branch. Once again, direct observation from members has answered one of life's great mysteries. It was not previously clear as to whether the DIRFT internal shunters are used for these moves to and from the mainline reception sidings. A member who commutes past the terminal now realises why he had not seen this - he is at work! In the previous month, there had been 20 round trips between Shieldmuir and the new DIRFT 3 parcels hub; no other Royal Mail destinations are currently served. The bridge is an excellent viewpoint and even includes a viewing platform. The roads in DIRFT are private but a handy bus stop adjacent to the bridleway has the Stagecoach N o 96 bus every 30 minutes from Rugby. 2538] NET Cator Lane: (BLN 1435.2405) The work here from 28 Oct until 3 Nov included new trackside drainage following previous flood damage. A member confirms that trams from Hucknall did indeed turnback at the University of Nottingham stop by running ECS to use University Boulevard crossover. 2539] BOO! On Mon 6 Nov a senior member, who is obviously not scared easily, thought he'd spotted an error on one of the two double-sided tram stop signs at Wilford Village as it read 'Wolford Village' both sides. It transpired that NET had 'renamed' 30 tram stops with 'scary' names for the Halloween season, which ended that day. Nottingham High School became 'Nottingham High Ghoul' and Old Market Square was 'Old Market Scare', NG2 became 'NG Boo' and Hyson Green Market was 'Hyson Scream Market'. The signs were in authentic NET style and followed a similar exercise in 2022 on a smaller scale. NET held a prize competition; travellers were invited to take a selfie with the scary signs. It is not recorded whether our member took a selfie, or if he, or the sign, was the scarier. 1436 GREATER LONDON (Geoff Brockett) [email protected] 2540] Liverpool Street: (BLN 1427.1567) https://bit.ly/49nBIYN has the planning application details. Comments can be submitted until 3 Dec. There will be a non-ticketed public meeting at Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4QH at 18.30 on 21 Nov addressed by Griff Rhys Jones, President of the Liverpool Street Station Campaign (LISSCA). First come, first served (200 seats). 2541] London Bridge: (BLN 1435.2402) This is the location of this anonymous item in the last BLN! 2542] Surbiton: NR and SWR, in conjunction with other groups, have installed ten mosaics on the footbridge inspired by the works of poet and artist William Blake. The Blake Mosaics are part of a set of 70 created by Southbank Mosaics to commemorate Blake's time in Lambeth between 1790 and 1800, originally installed in the underground tunnels, streets, and walkways of Lambeth around Waterloo station. The ten have been carefully restored and were unveiled on 6 Oct as part of Surbiton Art Trail. 2543] Platform Tickets: (BLN 1432.2084) As well as at LU stations, these were also withdrawn at stations managed by London Overground and the Elizabeth line from 2 Sep. ('Underground News')

BELOW: (item 2537) (TRACKmaps 4 p4C 2022).The DIRFT 3 Royal Mail Parcels Hub is the covered siding, off left there are no takers for the new intermodal terminal ahead yet. (Tom Gilby, 7 Nov 2023.)

2544] Brent Cross West:(BLN 1428.1579) This new station, 5m 75ch from St Pancras International between Cricklewood and Hendon, is now expected to open with the Sun 10 Dec timetable. Calls are then shown in Realtime Trains etc and tickets can be purchased online.Only P1&2 (Up Slow and Down Slow) are booked to be used but all Thameslink services (typically six an hour each way) call. 2545] Chingford: On Sun 19 Nov from 11.00-16.00, Chingford Historical Society, based in Chingford Station Community Hub, is celebrating the 150th anniversary of opening of the branch to the present Chingford station. https://bit.ly/467EcY8 has details. The branch was opened to all traffic to its original terminus off Kings Road (A110), now on the Down side at a lower level, on 17 Nov 1873 and was extended nearly half a mile northeast to the current station from 2 Sep 1878. All goods facilities were at the original site until CG 4 Oct 1965. The houses there are more modern than those opposite. 2546] DLR: (BLN 1434.2298) Only a limited service ran between Woolwich Arsenal and Poplar (also between Beckton and Canning Town) on 7&8 Nov, due to strike action over pay by RMT members. 2547] St Pancras International: New, clearer departure screens have been installed opposite the domestic ticket offices. The four parts of the station are colour coded. According to HS1 Ltd, which manages the station,the design was decided on after in depth research. 2548] South Ealing: (BLN 1435.2400) When the Westbound platforms reopen (expected on 11 Dec), the Eastbound platforms are then due to close from 13 Dec to 22 Jan, to repair the staircase that side. 2549] Surrey Canal: (BLN 1391.3203) Planning permission for this new station between Surrey Quays and Queens Road Peckham was granted at the end of 2021. TfL is now seeking funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities and the DfT for the project. The funding will go towards the formal planning application process, detailed design work and construction. Design work for the station is complete and TfL is also seeking funding from a range of other sources, including developers. Currently no bus routes pass the station but a bus interchange is proposed next to the line. The new station would provide alternative access for fans attending Millwall FC football ground. 2550] St Pancras Churchyard Sidings: (TRACKmaps 4 p8A 2022) The headshunt at the north end of the Discharge Siding was taken OOU from 21 Oct. Access to the Down Fast is still available there. 2551] Voltaire Road Jn: (TRACKmaps 5 p21 2019) The whole junction will be replaced in possessions on 16-17 Dec, 23 Dec-1 Jan, 6-7 Jan and 13-14 Jan. Southeastern Victoria services will be diverted to Blackfriars, Cannon Street or Charing Cross. London Overground services will be replaced by buses between New Cross Gate and Clapham Junction. The junction footprint will increase, with the biggest change to the London end of the crossover from the Chatham Reversible to Up Chatham Main (32m or 1½ch to the west). Permitted speed over two crossovers will be increased from 35mph to 45mph, to match the rest and line speed. The switch diamond will be replaced by a fixed one. During the closures, further work will also be done on Victoria Area Resignalling Phase 5, due to be commissioned here over Christmas 2024; drainage repairs, track maintenance and inspections will also be carried out. 1436 NORTH EAST & YORKSHIRE (Geoff Blyth) [email protected] 2552] Plessey Viaduct: BLN 1435.2413 reported the position as at 30 Oct, that SIMBIDS was expected to continue until the end of service on Fri 10 Nov. Late on 3 Nov a member whose company supplies replacement coaches to NR was informed that ...the Plessey Bridge track reopens over the weekend ready for use on Monday morning [6 Nov]. The Up line reopened at 05.36 on Sat 4 Nov with a 50mph Emergency Speed Restriction (ESR) on the Up line between 12m 25ch and 12m 15ch. At the same time, the 50mph ESR on the Down line was lifted. Further work was planned over the weekend to raise the ESR to 80mph on the Sunday night and normal service did resume on Monday 6 Nov. 2553] Rotherham Aldwarke Works and Stocksbridge: (BLN 1423.1121) It is now a year since the last freight working on the Stocksbridge branch; 0J57 light engine 17.46 Masborough Freight Depot to Stocksbridge and 6J58 20.33 Stocksbridge to Aldwarke UES on 11 Nov 2022. The only trains since were UK Railtours 'The Last Chance?' tour on 8 Apr 2023 and 'Caroline' (inspection saloon) with a BLS member on board on 3 May (BLN 1425.1349) and 30 Jun 2023: 20.41 Doncaster Carriage Holding Sidings to Derby Railway Technical Centre Serco, at Stocksbridge next day from 00.46/01.09.

BELOW: (Item 2554) Hetton Colliery Railway on 1958 one-inch maps with co

onsiderable overlap; the marked locations are named in our article map later.

2554] The Hetton Railway; Part 1: (LEFT: Thanks to Dave Cromarty for the map of the railway.) This BLN is dated one day before the 201st anniversary of the opening of this historically important but little known railway. Your North East Editor admits to having been blissfully unaware of the bicentenary last year! The coal seams in the western half of Co Durham were close to the surface so easy to work. On 19 Dec 1820 the Hetton Coal Company started to sink the first colliery to excavate through the thick limestone stratum which covered most of East Durham. The main coal seam was reached on 3 Sep 1822. Its success in finding coal opened up the whole eastern coalfield and challenged the cartel of aristocratic coal owners such as the Lambtons, Vane-Tempests and the Earls of Durham. A railway was needed to carry the coal to the River Wear for shipment to London, its main market. The Hetton Co did not wish to use the existing staiths upstream on the Wear to load the coal. The river here was shallow, so shallow draft keel boats would have to take the coal to Sunderland down the river to be offloaded and then reloaded into seagoing colliers. The company was determined to ship the coal directly into the colliers at Sunderland, eight miles away. Their attempt to link the colliery to the Newbottle Waggonway [NE spelling] was rebuffed, therefore they had to construct their own railway. They had already engaged the services of George Stephenson, then working at Killingworth, in 1819. His employer, Lord Ravensworth, allowed him to design the new line while still employed at Killingworth. However, in Apr 1821 he was appointed engineer of the Stockton & Darlington Railway, so he was succeeded by his younger brother Robert - not to be confused with his son Robert, engineer of the London & Birmingham. The outcome was the first railway in the world designed from the start to use steam locos. OG 18 Nov 1822, steam power was used for both locos and winding engines and gravity in the form of inclined planes; self-acting inclines where the descending loaded wagons haul up the ascending empty wagons. From Hetton Colliery (also known as Hetton Lyons Colliery), about two miles south of Houghton-le-Spring, there was a gentle ascent for about 1½ miles to the bottom of Copt Hill; this section was loco worked. The full wagons were then coupled into sets of eight for the steep climb to the top of the hill. There were three single track inclines up to Warden Law. The first, up to Byer (or Copt Hill) Engine, was 832yd long with a 1:16 gradient. which had a level crossing on the upper section. The second incline was 775yd long, with a relatively gentle gradient of 1:91 up to Flat Engine; the wagons were hauled in sets of ten on this section.

The third incline was 775yd long with a gradient of 1:20 up to Warden Law Engine, 600ft above sea level. Warden Law, at 646 ft is the highest point in East Durham. The route then descended by four self-acting inclines, numbered 1 to 4 (1,302yd at 1:30, 1,224yd at 1:28½, 716 yd at 1:40 and 902yd at 1:36) to North Moor. The next 2½ miles were fairly easily graded, hence worked by locos as far as the fifth (or Staith) inclined plane, 325yd long at 1:14. Hetton Staiths had two loading points, 75ft above the river at low tide. The wagons had end doors; coal was tipped down a chute into the ship below. The colliery's success prompted the opening of more in the area. Sinking of Elemore Colliery (pronounced Eller-more), south of Hetton, began in Mar 1825. The line serving it (a self-acting incline) OG in Feb 1827. Sinking of Eppleton Colliery, north of Hetton, began in May 1825 but problems were encountered with water; the colliery did not open until 8 Jun 1833. It was served by a short branch (a self-acting incline) eastwards from Hetton Downs, north of Hetton. As early as summer 1823, problems were apparent. Because of the sharp curves between the bottom of Incline N o 4 and the top of the Staith Incline and the relatively steep gradient (1:115) up to Incline N o 4, the locos could barely handle trains of 16 empty wagons. Following the increase in traffic caused by the opening of Elemore Colliery, loco haulage was abandoned on this section in May 1827. It was then divided in two: the 2,550yd north of Incline N o 4 was worked by that engine and the almost level 1,850yd from just south of the Sunderland to Durham road (now the A690) was worked by the new Winter's Lane Engine and the Staith Engine together, each hauling in the relevant direction. [The material for this item came originally from a paper entitled 'The Hetton Railway', itself based on earlier works 'The Hetton Dream' by JR Sanderson and 'The Forgotten Railway' by JT Kavanagh. However, much more was taken from the chapter on the Hetton Railway in the excellent 'The Private Railways of County Durham' by Colin E Mountford, published by the Industrial Railway Society. This book was taken as the authoritative source when information differed. To be continued…] 2555] White Rose: (BLN 1432.2090.2) Two new link bridges have been installed from the station buildings to platform level. The 84 tonne, 40m long east link bridge had to be built in two halves and welded together onsite. The 46 tonne, west link bridge is 20m long. A 1,200 tonne crane was built on site. (BLN 1431.1979 & 1976 image). 25 lorry loads of components had to be transported to site and it then took a week to assemble the crane. The platform canopy sections were installed earlier this year. 2556] Low Ellers Curve Jn - Kirk Sandall Jn: (BLN 1435.2411) It has been established that the signalling was disconnected and the line taken out of use until further notice, in two stages. ①From 01.49 on 12 Sep 2023, Low Ellers Curve Jn (exclusive) to signal D671, which was south of the former Markham Colliery Sidings, once protecting the connection to the sidings in the Down direction. So, our 'Humber Super Snipe' railtour on 26 Aug was lucky to do it! ②From 22.49 on 16 Sep 2023, the two signals at Markham Colliery Sidings (D671 & D676) and all the track circuits on the single line between D676 (the signal protecting Markham in the Up direction) and Low Ellers Curve Jn (excl) were taken out of use. So, in theory the signalling between Kirk Sandall Jn and the site of Markham Colliery Sidings is still in use! However, nothing can be signalled as the signals at Markham are out of use, effectively closing the whole line. Even if a train were to run, there would be nowhere for it to go as the entire line is plain single track. So, the effective date of the line being put out of normal use is 12 Sep 2023. 2557] Durham Coast: (BLN 1420.721) The long awaited Middlesbrough to Newcastle semi-fast trains have now appeared in Realtime Trains for the Dec timetable. They were originally planned to be in the May 2023 timetable. There are six trains a day each way SuX, calling at only Thornaby and Sunderland. Their timings vary but they will take about 74-77 min for 47¼ miles (just over 38mph - very 'semi'!), as opposed to about 78-83 min for current trains, so minimal improvement. It is an inferior replacement for the direct 'Northern Connect' fast service via Durham, originally in the NR plans. The rights to run this service were removed under the NR 38th Supplemental Agreement with Northern Trains Ltd. Northbound trains have an unadvertised stop at Hartlepool. Southbound, they cannot call because the footbridge is incomplete (BLN 1435.2416), so they have a 3½ min pathing time allowance. Presumably Northern feel that, quite reasonably, they cannot call in one direction only but want the schedules to allow for the future call. The stops will no doubt be added when the footbridge opens in the spring.

2558] Northumberland Line: (BLN 1435.2415) The resignalling plans have reportedly changed again! In the previous Alstom scheme, the line was to be controlled by Bedlington South box (BLN 1434.2300). In the current Siemens scheme, control will be from Tyneside ROC (as first intended!) with Bedlington South apparently remaining as just a gate box. Resignalling is behind schedule and will not now be implemented until Easter 2024. For five weeks, three biomass trains per day to and from Lynemouth Power Station will run via Morpeth, reversing at Bedlington South. (BLN 1425.1437.4 explains all the issues that this raises.) Between Marcheys House Jn and Ashington, North Seaton gate box (1m 76ch) needs to be demolished early to accommodate the obstacle detection equipment and commission it. The two curves round to Winning Jn will be converted to Track Circuit Block detection. The tracks on Sleekburn Viaduct (south of Bedlington over the River Blyth) and North Seaton Viaduct (over the River Wansbeck between Marchey's House Jn and Ashington) have been relaid, using steel sleepers rather than concrete ones to limit the weight. The former station platform at Bedlington was demolished on Sat 14 & Sun 15 Oct. Construction of the new road overbridge at Newsham has been much delayed, although the abutments are taking shape. A newer road scheme for a dual carriageway from the coast to the A19 is to have a new separate bridge alongside it! The footbridge for Newsham station was installed over the weekend of 28-29 Oct. Northumberland Park station construction has been delayed by mining subsidence, which is quite common in the area; it will open after passenger services resume. All turnouts on the line will allow trains (including freight) to diverge at 50mph! Palmersville Dairy Footpath Crossing, 0m 34ch from Benton (North) Jn on the double track loop (TRACKmaps 2 p49 2020) is being replaced by an underpass, due to open in Feb. The crossing is high risk due to the large number of users (105 cyclists/pedestrians daily), misuse/user error and sun glare. After decommissioning, Bedlington North box will be retained for now, as it has been requested for community use. However, there are access issues to overcome as the walking route to it crosses the running line. Although it has had no booked traffic since Lynemouth Aluminium Smelter closed on 29 Mar 2012, the curve from Winning Jn to Marchey's House Jn will remain. The Network Change process is too awkward to remove it! The recently removed ground frame and emergency trailing crossover from Marchey's House Jn is to be donated to the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust at Darlington. On Wed 11 Oct, 'Flying Scotsman' travelled from Edinburgh to York after a tour of Scotland. It was to use the East Coast Main Line but because of the Single Line Working at Plessey Viaduct and a technical issue with the 'Flying Scotsman', it was diverted via Bedlington, Newsham and Northumberland Park. On Tue 31 Oct, 3Z03 13.21 Newcastle to Morpeth (14.13) ran via Bedlington; its 14.14 return ran very late, shown as an 'ordinary passenger service'and 'DMU with First and Standard Class'; they were 'Very Short Term Planned'. The two train service codes were different but they indicated 'Northern Ancillary Movements'. It was a Northern operated train showing visiting guests from the Local Authorities, DfT and NR the work that is going on as part of the 'Restoring Your Railway' project. Then, from 7-9 Nov, Northern ran a 10.00 ECS DMU from Heaton Depot to Morpeth,then back to Benton Jn (11.58½/12.02 reverse) to return to Morpeth. The final departure from Morpeth back to Heaton Depot was booked for 12.45. All ran via the Blyth & Tyne and were all 'Short Term Planned' route learning specials. 2559] Billingham: (BLN 1429.1734.2) The lifts are now in service at long last, the last regularly served* station in the North East with no access for passengers with reduced mobility. The Tees Valley Mayor featured prominently in the obligatory photo-op. Perhaps he fixed the squabble about the electricity meter himself! [*The local 'ghost stations' of Teesside Airport - spelt correctly on National Rail website - and British Steel Redcar are not officially closed but, like IBM, merely without service. The station accessibility details for Teesside Airport say: This station has a degree of step-free access to the platform, which may be in both directions or in one direction only - please check details. For British Steel Redcar: This station does not have step-free access to any platform. There is also a prominent note All services ceased calling at this station after Saturday 14 December 2019. There is now no public access to or from this station at all as the British Steel site is now closed and the area sealed. That for Teesside Airport says Tees-side Airport (note the different spelling!) station is closed until further notice due to urgent repairs to the railway. That is platforms and footbridge, of course.]

2560] Huddersfield - Ravensthorpe: (BLN 1433.2202.1 & e-BLN annotated image) A member visited the area on 25 Oct. Considerable work was underway in the new 'Baker Viaduct' area, with trees and vegetation cleared and large machinery levelling the ground. On his previous 4 Sep visit, it was all open ground. Signs said that, from 18 Sep 2023, both the Spen Valley Greenway (ex-Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Spen Valley line) and the Calder Valley Greenway (alongside the River Calder) would be closed until June 2027! However, the fencing closing off the Spen Valley Greenway was open and well used by walkers, cyclists and joggers. He wonders if there may have been complaints, so it is open when safe. Trees and vegetation between the Spen Valley Greenway and the Calder & Hebble Navigation (where the Baker Viaduct will pass overhead) have been cleared, affording a view that wasn't there before. The south embankment of the Calder & Hebble Navigation is being dug into by heavy machinery; this will be the location of support piers for the viaduct. There was considerable activity (vegetation and ground clearance) on the hillside to the south of the railway at Ravensthorpe (at and beyond the location of the new station forecourt), to enable the removal and relocation of electricity pylons. (BLN 1433.2202) At Heaton Lodge Jn the buildings south side of the line in the way of the new Fast Lines have gone. The old wrought iron bridge deck of Ridings underbridge (between Deighton and Hillhouse), that once carried the Slow lines over the footpath/greenway has been removed too. At Huddersfield Hillhouse, the two new green bridge spans (BLN 1431.1979) were still there but unexpectedly have been completely sheeted over. This was a surprise, as they were fully painted and looked complete as if they were 'ready to go'. The future route of the rail connection from the south end into the compound was levelled off and marked out but no ballast had been laid. No work had yet taken place to install points in the Down Huddersfield line to form the connection into the compound. 2561] Darlington: (TRACKmaps 2 20B 2020; 43m 68ch to 44m 23ch) The Up Goods Loop is out of use from 08.00 Sun 5 Nov until 10.30 Sun 17 Dec for realignment and enabling works in conjunction with Darlington station capacity improvement project. There is no access to the Up Sidings during this time. 2562] Hope Valley: BLN 1434.2328 reported that NR is unable to accommodate a third fast train each hour between Sheffield and Manchester due to capacity constraints elsewhere. A big problem is the two tracks from Dore Station Jn to Sheffield along Heeley Bank. Junction remodelling and re-doubling at Dore & Totley station will not resolve this issue. Trains to Sheffield from the south now crawl signal to signal much of the time, with no priority given to trains on the Midland Main Line, on time or not. Trains are taken in their booked order, so those from Derby arriving at Dore on time often arrive late at Sheffield. Now that most CrossCountry services run via Leeds, passengers for Doncaster and the Hull or Grimsby lines must change at Sheffield and often miss their connection, with the next train an hour later. It can take almost two hours to travel from Chesterfield to Doncaster, only about 31 miles. It is often quicker to stay on a CrossCountry service to Wakefield Westgate for an LNER train to Doncaster. However, this is not a permitted route. There seems to be no understanding, even among regional politicians, that the issue exists. The Sheffield City Region focus is on buses and trams in Sheffield. Your NE Editor remembers this line as quadruple track; the Heeley Diveunder took Down trains on the Midland Main Line under the Manchester lines and into the low numbered platforms at Sheffield. It allowed trains from the south to terminate in the middle platforms without conflicting with through traffic. [In 2020 BLNs 1358.2284, 1359.2435, 1360.2571 and 1361.2706 described the de-quadrupling with a detailed 1963 track plan of Sheffield (Midland as then) station.] 2563] Leeds - Harrogate - York: A local councillor has outlined a 'vision' for a station at Bilton, betwixt Harrogate and Starbeck. Naturally he claims huge environmental benefits! It would be somewhere near the 'iron bridge' that links Claro and Bilton, almost exactly the site of the former Dragon Jn**. The Leeds Northern line to Northallerton and Stockton once made a triangular junction here. Dragon Jn was at the western apex, Bilton Jn the northern and Starbeck North the eastern. Bilton was a New Stations Fund proposal but ruled out due to 'substantial abstraction' of patronage from Harrogate and Starbeck (both only about a mile away), which would presumably not have been compensated by sufficient new patronage. (**This splendid name originates from a former inn nearby. Are there any more junctions named after mythical creatures? Bo Peep Jn was named after a nearby 'pub'.)

BELOW: (Item 2560) Thornhill LNW Jn from Ravensthorpe station footbridge. Tto move the smaller ones. Works associated with Ravensthorpe station reloca

The extensive works on the hillside, left, are for removal of the large pylons and ation are out of sight (lower down) behind the trees/bushes. (All 25 Oct 2023.)

BELOW: From the Spen Valley Greenway (the former L&YR Spen VallViaduct will pass overhead here (SE 2334 2037). (Compare with thedivides into three spans - to see how much vegetation has been

ey line); an eastbound TPE Class 185 crosses to the right. The Baker e third annotated photo in e-BLN 1433 - where the Baker Viaduct cleared here). (Photos and annotations all by Stuart Marshall.)

BELOW: A TPE Class 802 (going towards Huddersfield) approaches Heaton Lo

dge Jn on 28 Aug 2023. This location (SE 1868 2036), is no longer accessible.

BELOW: From the footbridge over the Down Slow, on 28 Aug 2023 looking eThe present L&Y lines (marked) are hidden; the realigned footpath and new un

east towards Mirfield, a TPE Class 802 climbs up to Heaton Lodge East Jn. nderpass are in red. Again, this location (SE 1870 2046) is no longer accessible.

BELOW: From the same location looking south on 21 Sep 2023. That buildi

ing ahead has now been demolished to make way for the new Fast Lines.

2564] North Blyth: (BLN 1418.499.4) Australian firm Recharge Industries, which bought the electric vehicle battery company Britishvolt after it went into administration earlier this year, has been negotiating with the administrators to secure use of the site at Cambois. A deal is said to be 'close' but there are reports of an outstanding payment and staff not being paid since Jul. Recharge plans to make batteries for military, heavy commercial and stationary storage purposes but not for mass market cars for now. Apparently, Northumberland County Council has doubts about Recharge's ability to deliver the plant and has the option to repurchase the site in Dec if substantial progress has not been made developing it. So, there will clearly be no trainloads of vehicle batteries coming out and it is touch and go if the aggregate trains from Shap (BLN 1410.2360) for construction of the factory will ever resume. 2565] T&W Metro: Storm Babet caused a considerable number of issues on 20 & 21 Oct, too many to list in detail. However, there were no less than eight crossover opportunities in passenger service over the two days: North Shields arriving from St James. Kingston Park departing to South Hylton. One of the Jarrow crossovers for units terminating at Bede. East Boldon and St Peters towards Airport. Shiremoor from St James. Monkseaton from St James. ●Benton from South Shields. 2566] T&W Sand Traffic: (BLN 1433.2211.3) Testing the new T&W Metro units is continuing and now concentrating on crush load testing. Containers holding 39 tonnes of sand were loaded into carriages to simulate maximum customer loading. The unit performed exactly as expected when braking and on curves during a series of overnight test runs. Additionally, mathematical calculations using industry approved formulae, based on weight per m 2 , are an essential component of the testing process. It is hoped the first passenger demonstration run will take place before the end of 2023. 2567] Hartlepool Docks: (BLN 1434.2307) FHH route learning light engines from Tees Dock ran on 2 & 4 Oct only, then stopped. They then ran 6, 7 & 8 Nov and were booked 14th & 16th. Perhaps the HS2 precast tunnel segment trains will start running soon (as only a segment of HS2 is now being built). 2568] Sunderland: (BLN 1435.2425) ❶Port staff retraining to handle the double length 'Jumbo' trains has been suspended temporarily, as Storm Babet dislodged a dock gate and all staff are now occupied restoring it. ❷Celsa Steel UK replaced Ward Brothers as the scrap merchant operating on the Hendon branch last year. Scrap trains still runs to Cardiff Tidal Traffic Centre for the Celsa Works. The latterday 'Ward Bros', once with an annual turnover of £32M, finally went into administration on 7 Sep 2023. Founded in 1976, their name will be familiar to many from various rail-served scrap locations. Celsa has now cut outthe middle man at Sunderland; hopefully they were not cut up about it. 1436 NORTH WEST (John Cameron) [email protected] 2569] Blooming Marvellous; Saint/St/St. Anne's/Annes (on-Sea/on-the-Sea): A member who was resident here for 25 years has been in contact. BLN 1435.2437 refers to St Annes-on-Sea (per Northern press release). However, Realtime Trains uses St Annes-on-the-Sea; TRACKmaps 4 and the Sectional Appendix have St. Annes-on-the-Sea (with a full stop). The definitive test, according to the Railway & Canal Historical Society, is the timetable banks of the public timetable which has St. Annes-on-the-Sea. The station code is SAS covering all these. Ordnance Survey label the township as either/both St Annes and/or St Anne's, with the Sea nowhere to be seen (often quite an accurate depiction!). However, they do call the station itself St Anne's-on-the-Sea. Our correspondent's postal address was 'St Annes, Lytham St Annes' - again no sea - indicating the local parish being within the wider township of Lytham St Annes. Adding yet more variation, the OS uses Lytham St Anne's on the same map as St Annes. Quick's Chronology of Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain has: ST ANNES-ON-THE-SEA first in Bradshaw Dec 1873; still open. The London & North Western Railway had St Annes at first, then St Annes-on-Sea 1900-04. The London Midland & Scottish Railway 1930 timetable and Bradshaw had just St Annes until 1955 then St Annes-on-the-Sea. The (Official) 'Hand-Book of Stations' (sic) 1874 and its Appendix in 1875 had St Annes but from 1877 it had become St Annes-on-the-Sea. Someone needs to tell Northern's Press Office. This seems a good place to mention that Walton-on-the-Naze was without its 'the' from 1923-24 until it was restored in the 20 May 1970 timetable. Nearby Frinton-on-Sea had a different problem, having never had a 'the', although the -on-sea was added in the opening year as an afterthought. British Rail decided to remove it from 20 Feb 1969 but it was restored on 20 May 2007.

Your South East Regional Editor has no such problems over his nearest station of Durrington-on-Sea (OP 4 Jul 1937 by the Southern Railway) as there is no such place as Durrington-on-Sea (definitely!). 2570] Hope Valley Line: The upgrade will raise the permissible speed between Edgeley Junction N o 1 and Cowburn Tunnel in both directions from 22 Jan. To deliver this, the signalling will be changed to '4-aspect colour light signalling', with signals repositioned and an extra signal section provided in each direction between Edgeley Junction N o 1 and Hazel Grove station. Between New Mills Jn and Cowburn Tunnel, the Sprinter differential speed will be replaced with a Multiple Unit differential speed. 2571] Whitehaven: Irregular block working by a signalman was the cause of an accident 50 years ago at about 08.22 on 27 Nov 1973 just north of Whitehaven, when a freight train, starting to move after being held at a signal, was run into at the rear by a 2-car DMU train that had mistakenly been allowed into the block section by the signalman at Parton station. This was the conclusion reached by Major CF Rose, on behalf of the Railway Inspectorate, in his report of 30 Dec 1974 following an official inquiry. Fortunately, there were no fatalities and none of the 14 passengers was hurt, only shaken. The driver of the DMU and the guard of the freight were slightly injured but not seriously. The double track sections from, south to north, signal boxes at Bransty (Whitehaven), to Parton station (1m 538yd) then Moss Bay Ironworks (Workington) (3m 1,493yd) were worked by Absolute Block Regulations, with semaphore upper quadrants. However, north of Parton box and within its area of control, there was a fully track circuited 968yd single line, past the unstable Parton Sea Brows cliffs. On the morning in question the Parton signalman, a railwayman since 1968, in which year he also qualified to work the box, was involved in a number of train movements in a short space of time. In the following sequence, he accepted from the Moss Bay signalman and then quickly received 'Train Entering Section', for the Up 9T91 07.09 Workington to Corkickle freight, running 40 mins late, which comprised of 38 mixed vehicles, including the brakevan, loose coupled throughout. It was hauled by Class 25 diesel locomotive N o 7546. He at once received 'Line Clear' from Bransty for it and cleared his Up line signals. A few minutes later he was offered, and accepted, two light engines coupled together from Bransty on the Down. One minute later 9T91 passed his box and he sent 'Train Entering Section' and 'Train out of Section', the block indicators moving to 'Train on Line' and 'Line Blocked' (Normal), from Bransty and to Moss Bay respectively. Very soon afterwards he was offered, and accepted, from Moss Bay Up passenger train 2P59, the 07.00 Carlisle to Whitehaven 2-car DMU. Almost immediately, he received 'Train Entering Section' from Bransty for the light engines and, having it accepted by Moss Bay, he cleared his Down line signals and shortly afterwards they proceeded on to the single line at Parton Sea Brows. Although he replaced the Down Starting signal lever back to normal in the frame, the 'repeater' showed 'wrong'. This had already occurred before that morning, which he had reported to the local S&T but so far to no avail. So, the signalman was left with no option but, as before, to go himself as quickly as possible to the signal some 360yds away to rattle the balance weights thus enabling the signal arm to drop fully to the 'Danger' position. If he had not, 2P59 would have been held at his Up Outer Home signal, as he wouldn't have been able to set the points for the single line because of electric locking. Conscious of not delaying 2P59, he ran back to the box, arriving rather breathless, and reversed the points for the single line, then cleared the Up Outer Home signal. Meanwhile, 9T91 had been held at Bransty Up Main Outer Home signal, awaiting completion of a parcels train shunt at Whitehaven station. Thus, the Up line block indicator remained at 'Train on Line'. The Parton signalman then accepted the parcels train from Bransty and turned the Down line block indicator to 'Line Clear'. Next, the Parton signalman cleared his Up Inner Home signal, which enabled 2P59 to run to Parton station where it was due to call and, crucially, he also cleared his Up Starting signal, which he was able to do as there was no 'Line Clear' release facility on the Up line to Bransty, in contrast to the Down line to Moss Bay. It was only when 2P59 left Parton station and the signalman gave the 'Train Entering Section' bell signal to Bransty did he notice, to his horror, that the Up line instrument was already showing 'Train on Line' for the not yet out of section 9T91 freight. He reversed his Up Starting signal but it was too late; instead of sending the bell signal 4-5-5 train or vehicles running away in the right direction to Bransty, he phoned the signalman there to tell him.

The driver of 9T91, after standing at Bransty Up Outer Home for about 8 mins, sent his secondman forward to the signal box but the signal then cleared and he began to move slowly forward picking up his secondman. He then saw the Bransty signalman waving his arms so he brought his train to a stand. It was only then he learned his train had been run into at the back. The driver of 2P59, having had a brief stop at Parton station and noticing the Up Starting signal was in the 'Off' position, started his train, taking it round the curves towards Bransty at the permitted 30mph speed, when he suddenly became aware of a train ahead, which seemed to be stationary. He made a full brake application, went back into the passenger compartment and the collision took place at about 25mph almost at once. Damage to the leading vehicle of the DMU, which was partly derailed, was severe; the driving compartment was completely destroyed; the rear vehicle less so. The two rearmost vehicles of the freight train were only slightly damaged. Only the Up line was blocked and single line working was instituted over the Down line at 09.25, with full reopening of the Up line at 14.30. While Major Rose had no doubt that the Parton signalman was solely to blame for the accident, he had some sympathy for him. He had been particularly busy that morning with the sheer number of train movements in quick succession, not helped by twice having to go to the Down Starting signal to rectify the fault with it. On his return to the box, in his hurry to avoid delaying the passenger train, he had quickly glanced at the wrong block instrument and had seen 'Line Clear', when he was in fact looking at the Down indicator for the parcels train which he had accepted from Bransty. He was also not helped by the recent transposition of the Up and Down Lines in the area in Jun 1973 related to the introduction of the new Carlisle Power Box. Finally, and worst of all, there was no line clear release facility on the Up line which meant the Parton signalman could clear his Up Starting signal at any time! Major Rose requested a survey be made to establish the number of signal boxes on British Railways in which some, but not all, of starting signals in a particular signal box on passenger lines were 'Line Clear' or Token released, also the number of boxes in which none of the passenger line starting signals were so equipped. As at Mar 1974, there were 165 in the former category and 222 in the latter category. Parton box (1m 33ch) closed on 29 May 2010 and was demolished on 4 Sep 2010, its area of control transferring to Bransty signal box (0m 22ch), ex-London North Western mileages from Whitehaven. 2572] December Timetable: Manchester - Buxton: Off-peak most trains will be 2-car instead of 4. Manchester Airport - Blackpool North: On quieter services, some trains will be 4-car instead of 6. Liverpool - Newton-le-Willows - Manchester Airport: Some trains will run as 4-car instead of 3, where demand is higher. Liverpool - Wigan North Western: Some trains will be 3-car instead of 4. 2573] Beeston & Tarporley: The station reopening group has announced that it has received notice from the DfT that reinstatement of the station has been 'officially approved'. Presumably this means it has to wade through the GRIP stages treacle. The next step is to develop a delivery plan based on the proposals in the outline business case, which will include the detailed design and financing package. Beeston Castle & Tarporley station was OP 16 Nov 1840 by the London & North Western Railway and CP 18 Apr 1966. It was initially called 'Beeston', with 'Castle' added in 1868 and '& Tarporley' in 1873. It has never been 'Beeston & Tarporley'. The remains of the old platforms are present at 168m 46ch, (see TRACKmaps 4 p28A 2022); there is a signal box of the same name with semaphores and a trailing crossover. It has the advantage of being almost exactly half way between Crewe and Chester (over 21 miles with no station) and TfW hourly services pass in both directions which could provide a service. 2574] Merseyrail: On Tue 10 Oct at about 17.40, a member on a train to Liverpool at Green Lane noticed the platform passenger information screen showed its destination not as the usual Liverpool Central but as Ellesmere Port, in the opposite direction, The Class 777 continued from Green Lane towards Liverpool but was terminated at Birkenhead Central P1 due to a broken down train at Lime Street low level (platform 'A'). After about 15 mins, the Class 777 did indeed depart southbound from P1 for Ellesmere Port using the trailing crossover just south of the station in passenger service. The next train from Birkenhead Central P1, a Class 507/508 did continue towards Liverpool but turned back in James Street P2, the emergency 'heritage style' platform used at times of service disruption.

2575] Accrington: Approval in principle has been granted for a £5M project to improve accessibility by constructing a new footbridge,with lifts,replacing a 600m walking route via local roads. Funding is from the East Lancashire Levelling Up project. Work is due to start this month for completion in May 2026. Artificial Intelligence is to be used to interpret customer announcements into British Sign Language! 2576] Fiddlers Ferry Power Station: Demolition by controlled explosion of the eight cooling towers, (visible from as far away as the Peak District) will take place between 08.00 and 12.00 on Sun 3 Dec. It is unusual for an event like this to be announced so far ahead. PP O'Connor, the contractor who will carry out the demolition, known as a 'blow down' [no big bad wolves will be harmed], say it will only take a few seconds but the dust could last for anything from 10 to 15 minutes. The site is earmarked for housing and industrial use. The power station closed on 31 Mar 2020 after nearly 50 years. 1436 SOUTH EAST - NORTH & EAST ANGLIA (Julian James) [email protected] 2577] Tim Cooper: (Member 684 from York) Your South East Editor was saddened to see, in the 2023 Officer's report for the AGM, Tim Cooper's name listed amongst those who have passed away. Tim wrote frequent items for the South East, mainly about developments on the Isle of Wight, a locality clearly well known to him. He retained contacts there who provided him with information on the railways past and present. These he typed and posted, the final one in Feb, the envelopes were distinctive as postage was made up of a selection of colourful low value stamps. He also regularly participated in our railtours - his last one was 'The Second Bite' to Whitby on 18 Mar 2023. 2578] Stonea - wrong type of strikes: Between March and Manea, the 'most bashed bridge', at least in Cambridgeshire, continues to attract a bad press. NR has responded to local MP Steve Barclay over enquiries made, explaining their careful consideration with Cambridgeshire County Council of options to make the underbridge safer for motorists,with consideration of permanent closure even. Cross road beams have been installed to prevent bridge strikes closing the railway and signage upgraded in recent works involving road closure (the bridge was struck within a day of reopening). The Sixteen Foot Road here is restricted to 50mph, a restriction that many ignore. Headroom is 6' 6'' (perhaps some motorists think that its 16ft?) and it is just an alternative diveunder for when the crossing is shut to road traffic. 2579] Quainton Road: (BLN 1419.610) The three arch brick Station Rd overbridge at the country end of the station has had a weight limit imposed, because of its condition, and is unable to take heavy site traffic planned as part of HS2 works due to commence in Jan 2024. The road and bridge will be used by HS2 as a major haul road to form a diversionary route whilst HS2 reconstruct bridges further north. The rails currently end immediately south of this road bridge. National Highways NR has a 'Quainton Overline Bridge Infill Project' and, to facilitate this, is undertaking negotiations with Buckinghamshire Railway Centre who have in turn have requested temporary use of a section of currently disused operational railway line next to the centre to 'enable them to move locomotives over to the station'. Your Regional Editor notes that there are ways in which the load carrying capacity of the bridge can be increased which are truly temporary and in no way similar to bridge infills carried out elsewhere. HS2 representatives have confirmed that the freight movements in their nearby aggregate yard to the south are not impacted. The temporary change will remove the requirement for NR to inspect and maintain the area during the period of temporary transfer. The period of operation of this transfer is expected to be from 3 Dec to expiry on 3 Dec 2025, with earlier termination possible with six months' notice. An area of land including the former running line from just south east of the overbridge, past Quainton Road station, extending the length of the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre's site, is involved. This will allow BRC to recover revenue from events held at the centre which has been lost as a result of delivering this project. NR state that 'in due course' there will be permanent reconstruction of the bridge as part of the wider industry plan which incorporates HS2 and includes the reinstatement of the line between Quainton Road and Claydon Jn, although the requirement on HS2 relates to new rail access to the waste transfer station east of the line, replacing that at Calvert on the west side further out from Aylesbury. This is part of a separate project with an anticipated Network Change in 2024. However, it remains to be seen if the DfT will agree to reinstatement of the whole line to Claydon Jn.

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