The police car would follow us, wherever possible, all day. Apparently, security is always tighter as the Algerian border is approached and at one point we could clearly see the mountains of Algeria in the distance. The two countries really don't get on at all. The scenery now became even more arid as the long ascent to the High Plateau started in earnest. This is over 1.000m above sea level and, in the winter months, snow sometimes falls. It is a bleak place, with little human habitation other than nomads whose tents were sometimes seen from the train. The 35 minute stop in the loop at Berguent Fouchal was for the drivers to have their lunch and afforded an opportunity to get everybody together for a seminar picture on a broad curve in a very bleak location with just a ruined building present. A laminated paper headboard was the best we could manage for the picture. It really did say 'BLS'! After departure our own lunch was served - to our seats - and very nice it was too, rated by some as one of their best meals they had in Morocco. Tea and soft drinks were always on sale in the generator van but water was free. After Berguent Fouchal the line is straight for a long way, paralleling the main road to the south and providing an opportunity to relax and watch the flat desert scenery go by before the most important photo-stop of the tour - Tendrara. This lonely station, many kilometres from the town it served, and the highest station in the ONCF network at 1,374 metres has ruined buildings and water tower making for a 'romantic ruin' which is very photogenic. It was also the place, in the James Bond movie Spectre, where Bond leaves the train and is picked up by a 4-wheel drive by the bad guys. We were met and welcomed by a group of flag waving children, who, when asked, sang to us (they turned out not to be the folk group we'd been expecting). A ruined building at the southern end of the station had some rather dangerous steps leading to the first floor - a wonderful location to photograph the train and station and soon everybody was up there. Again, there was an old water tower. We now entered the area where sand is often blown over the tracks in shallow cuttings, (Fairbourne Railway style - see BLN 1184 p177 of 11 May 2013) but an ONCF gang had been clearing the sand from known problem locations ahead of us and we had no problems for a while. The next major point of interest is where the track bed of the Trans-Sahara railway diverges to the left. WWII effectively ended the construction of this line, which was subsequently abandoned. Imagine if you could have boarded a train at Oujda for Timbuktu. It could have happened - the most difficult part of the line had been built. Thoughts of what might have been quickly ended as we stopped at a shallow cutting with windblown sand over the rails. The ONCF gang had not yet reached here, so our own gang of men, on the train for just this purpose, got to work. All the tour participants (except one) were delighted and alighted for photos. Another cutting, a little further on, also had sand but the ONCF gang arrived in their vehicle and quickly cleared it. To my relief we had no further sand issues and ahead the mountains behind Bouárfa were now visible and an arrival in daylight was looking promising. Indeed, we came to a halt at the old station (CP Oct 1995), 288km of freight line completed with the light just beginning to fail. The old station at Bouárfa is several kilometres from the town and the station building still looks to be in use. We were told that we were the first charter to use the line this year, so we may have been the first train of any sort in 2023. There was no sign of the vehicles to transport us to the restaurant, but that just meant more time for pictures, some people climbed the hillside for better shots. Meanwhile the locos shunted the passenger and sleeper coaches to the front of the train. Dusk was falling as we were conveyed by a mixture of taxis and minibuses to a restaurant on the northern edge of Bouárf, part of the administration complex for the first Bouárfa mines. We were welcomed at the restaurant by locals singing and dancing and they also performed again as we waited for the minibus/ cars to return us to the train. The railway carries on from Bouárfa station for several kilometres to the present mine but is not currently in use - as we could tell from the condition of the tracks when we passed over them. It was not surprising therefore that our request to travel to the mine in the B10 coach had been refused. Apparently the mine traffic is to be resumed, and the line 'reactivated'. The restaurant served us soup, then a traditional Moroccan dish called Mechoui, which is (very) slow cooked lamb with rice and vegetables. Edi claimed this was the peak of Moroccan cuisine. Certainly there was plenty of it, followed by a dessert (well deserved after all that desert) and fruit. We had arrived at Bouárfa at 18.28, almost two hours late, so the original departure time of 19.00 was never
going to happen. In the event we were driven back to the train, departing at 21.07, with DH367 now powering it assisted by DH411 up the bank out of Bouárfa. Most participants used the four berth couchette compartments but a surprising number of passengers opted for seats in the B10 coach where the lights were turned off, affording an opportunity to gaze at the Milky Way in the night sky, completely devoid of any light pollution. They also noticed that we stopped at one station until the police car showed up, then set off again. We were awoken shortly after 05.00 to tell us we had arrived back at Oujda and over the next hour set off in dribs and drabs to the Ibis hotel where breakfast had been arranged for all tour participants. There was plenty of time for those wishing to catch the 07.50 to Tanger Ville, though some people had hedged their bets in case of a late arrival and would travel on the 11.35. Some tour participants would go on to clear their Moroccan passenger track in the days that followed but for one tour organiser the 11.40 flight from Oujda to Paris Orly marked the end of his holiday and responsibilities. Despite the loss of Jerada, many passengers commented on how much they had enjoyed the tour, and travelling the railways of Morocco. [Thanks to our organiser Paul Griffin for all his time and efforts on this tour.] The tour brochure has maps, photos, line details and history, search 'Sahara' on our website archive. 2637] Liverpool Historical Railway Guided Tour; Fri 20 Oct 2023: By Nick Porter. On a stormy morning, just wet really as the worst of Storm Babet missed the area, 15 well wrapped up members gathered in the booking hall at Bank Hall for a 09.20 start. There is just one island platform here now but it used to be a busy station with a third track and platform on the Down side (to Southport), when there was much employment in the area. There once were sidings behind this platform and a line down to Nelson Dock (Liverpool & Manchester Railway Atlas page 116). Reporting to John Hampson, we were introduced to our member Adam Turner who was also our NR organiser and guide this day. It was to be a train and walking tour of railway historical and architectural interest in Liverpool and Birkenhead. Venturing out down Bankhall St, our first target was the little 4-wheel diesel shunter which sits at the junction with Derby Road. It's an ex-War Department machine of 1945 with no known link to the docks but has been here for many years. There is just different coloured paving for the 'track' so no gricing! As with all his Society fixtures, Adam had done his homework and showed us numerous historical photos and maps of Canada Dock Goods (CG 3 Sep 1982), due west of the present Kirkdale South Jn. From where we were stood, we could make out the layout of the once extensive dock rail network. Back at Bank Hall station, 507015 took us to Moorfields, an extensive station with a complex internal layout. We left via the Moorfields exit above street level. Built as part of the 1970s redevelopment, a city in the sky was proposed but, as with most of the optimistic 1970s plans, no progress was made (pie in the sky) and all that remains is this unusual entrance. Moorfields was constructed to replace the once mighty Lancashire & Yorkshire terminal station of Liverpool Exchange closed from 30 Apr 1977. It had 10 platforms in its heyday; as a local I can just about remember it before closure - very run down but still very atmospheric. Thankfully, the four story frontage was preserved and incorporated into an office building development for us to appreciate after just a short walk out from Moorfields. Quickly heading back to Moorfields, a soon to depart 508139 took us the one stop on the Wirral line to the recently designated Platform 'A' at Lime Street. Our next target was the now opulent Radisson Red Hotel at the station front. Opened as the North Western Hotel in 1871 by the London & North Western Railway and having had many uses, it once again is a hotel. Adam had arranged access for our group and we went to the third floor to admire the building and for an unusual view over Lime Street station. After a brief lunch stop on Lime Street concourse, it was back to Platform 'A', by lift this time, to be met again by 508139 and it took our group to Liverpool Central. Sally from Merseyrail met us and took us through the Merseyrail staff and admin block behind the station then onto the NR maintenance complex at the rear. After a safety briefing,andwith us all wearing high visibility jackets,Adam escorted us around the site on the footprint of the Cheshire Lines Committee's Liverpool Central high level station. It closed to passenger from 17 Apr 1972 with the end of the hourly Gateacre DMUs, its final service. 'High level' was never actually part of the station name. Of course, the Gateacre line reopened from Liverpool Central low level to Garston on 3 Jan 1978 then on to Hunts Cross from 20 Feb 1979.
Looking at the historic photos Adam had found, we could see exactly how the high level six platform station used to be. Of particular interest, a unique view of the low level track was available from the southeastern corner which overlooks the reversing siding and the line from Hunts Cross. A Class 777 and an older EMU appeared while we watched. We then entered a little building which is known as the 'Wendy House' and passed down a flight of stairs which led to the Northern Line platforms. I'd often wondered what lay behind that gate at the Hunts Cross end of the low level platform. Now we know. Our tour then went to the next level … the deep level loop line platform where 507033 took us to James Street to be met by 'Mike',the Area Station Manager. Arriving on P3 we looked across to P2, the original Mersey Railway platform for Liverpool Central low level, although little used now. Members admired the Dream Passage artwork, then paid rather more attention to a NR Multipurpose Vehicle which obligingly arrived from the Wirral, then reversed to return. Mike then took us to P2, opening the gate so we could descend a flight of steps. Under supervision, our members were allowed to explore the atmospheric platform; it seemed odd to watch trains come and go from the opposite platform. We then went up the steep,seemingly never ending Water Street exit passage,which, due to increased office workers, is now open 07.00 until 19.00 Monday to Friday, rather than just peak hours as it was. [Very handy to transfer to/from the IOM Ferry etc.] It is best walked 'down' though! A lonely, isolated booking office is at the entrance (with no ticket gates!). This area of James Street station has recently been tastefully restored to a high standard; we were told that it has been used as a filming location. 507023 took us one stop to Hamilton Square, arriving in the platform opened 9 May 1977; part of the scheme to grade separate the New Brighton and West Kirby line beneath the Rock Ferry line. Mike explained the station is largely a mirror image of James Street. There is plenty of interest here. We left the station to admire the 120ft high station tower which, apart from drawing attention to the station, originally had tanks with 10,000 gallons of water to work three hydraulic lifts to the platforms 103ft below street level. Taking much care, our group went up in the world, first stopping off at the balcony over the ticket gate area to take a closer look at the top lit composite timber and iron queen post roof. We then ascended further up the tower block to the very atmospheric second floor. The rooms are now empty, perhaps going back to when, as with all stations, many more worked here. Grade II listed, it looked as no one had stepped in it for years! Due to the wooden stairs, that was the limit of ascent. After travelling up from platform level by lift, we took the little-used 162 stairs back down to the lower concourse. Mike then opened a door to Shore Road subway. I wasn't really aware of this and it was my highlight of the day. It was like the Water Street passage at James Street but seemed much longer and steeper. Closed to passengers many years ago when dock work reduced,it's only used for maintenance access and emergency escape now. Unlocking the doors, Mike led us out into daylight on Shore Road. We admired the Cheshire Lines Committee's 1889 Shore Road Goods building on its eponymous road, now offices, and the Mersey Railway Tunnel 1886 Shore Road Pumping Station still in use. The track of the Wirral Transport Museum & Heritage Tramway (currently closed) also passes here. Mike let us back into the subway and we made the easier journey down to platform level where 507023 again - no Class 777s for us today - took us back to the unidirectional loop line (the bane of our bidirectionalists' lives) James Street P1. Our tour ended by walking past Mann Island pumping station to the Museum of Liverpool. With free entry,there's much of transport interest with Liverpool&Manchester engine 'Lion' and, appropriately at a higher level, Liverpool Overhead Railway (CA 30 Dec 1956) Motorcoach N o 3. Despite the weather, it was a really interesting day that kept getting better still as the day went on. There is a wealth of detail about the area in Joe Brown's Liverpool & Manchester Railway Atlas. Thanks to the helpful and friendly people at Merseyrail, NR, Radisson Red and particularly our member Adam Turner for his enthusiasm and detail. He organised, planned, designed and researched the whole day. Participants put forward future requests for similar visits across the country which, hopefully, might be fulfilled. Hints were dropped during the day that there's plenty more to be found on Merseyrail alone. Pleasingly, the day raised a £500 donation from participants for Merseyrail's four charities of the year.
BELOW: (Item 2637) Bankhall Street at the junction with Derby Roadd; an eNEXT PAGE: Liverpool Exchange frontage, bottom right corner is Nick Porter (r
ex-War Department 4-wheel diesel shunter of 1945. (Tim Hall-Smith - THS.) eport author) with (left) our Website Office Phil Wieland. (John Hampson - JH.)
NEXT PAGE: The ex-L&NWR 'North Western' (now Raddison Red) Hotel; rece
eption seen from the first floor (JH). All photos were taken on 20 Oct 2023.
PREVIOUS: An unusual view of Lime Street station concourse from the hotel third floor (JH). BELOW: Ornate columns in this former L&NWR 'North Western' (now Raddison Red) Hotel (THS).
BELOW: Behind these doors at the Hunts Cross end of the present Liverpool Central (low level) are steps up to the site of the high level platforms which our group had just descended from (THS).
BELOW: Liverpool Central (high level) towards the former
r train shed, platforms and end line in far distance (THS).
BELOW: A Multipurpose Vehicle on rail head treatment duti
ies reverses in James Street P2 - photo taken from P3 (JH).
BELOW: James Street P3 taken from P2, a soon to be extinct EMU (but at le
east they work!) approaches from the direction of the Liverpool Loop (JH).
BELOW: The stairs to James Street P2 - that odd light colour is for real (THS and next).
PREVIOUS: No caption needed (THS). BELOW
W: Hamilton Square station entrance (JH).
BELOW: Birkenhead Square gateline and lifts from the tower first f
floor balcony. This would make a good caption competition (THS).
BELOW: Birkenhead Square, the station end entranc
ce from the concourse to Shore Road subway (THS).
BELOW: Those yellow doors are the Shore Road end of the same subwThat lengthy former Shore Road Goods building has 'GREAT NORTHERN, G
way; our member, Adam Turner, is in high vis in front of them (THS). GREAT CENTRAL & MIDLAND RAILWAY CHESHIRE LINES BUILDING' on it.
PREVIOUS PAGE: The Mersey Railway in 1904 with limited electrification but millions of passengers each year BELOW: James Street again, note that 1904 map (same one as previous image) above the clock (JH).
BELOW: Finally, looking upwards from the second floor of Birkenhead Square station tower, it is self evident why our group couldn't go any higher up (JH).
Details must be checked.. 1436 CONNECTIONS (Paul Stewart) [email protected] :Please mention BLN . 2638] Three Books Reviewed: Andy Chard's three The Beaten Track books are a thoroughly enjoyable read. They are a splendid pictorial and descriptive collection about a railway many readers will have grown up with and fondly remember, that is now almost a different world. For me, and those of us who lived through the 1970-1985 period, they cause memories to keep flooding back. This is especially of the rolling stock, unfitted trains with brakevans, steam heating, industrial shunters, mixed traffic freight, semaphores, telegraph poles, the remaining totem signage, pit heads, industrial landscapes, 1970s cars and fashion. Born in 1967, I would have been between the ages of three and 18 during the time span they cover. For others who won't remember it, these books are a wonderful depiction of the British Rail blue era in locations often not represented in many (or even any) other publications. Each of the superb photos has a detailed description, which really adds a lot of dimension and context to the place; it almost takes you there. The books show everyday scenes in some of the lesser known parts of the network that were often in decline. They are a socioeconomic depiction of our railway at the time, when collieries, heavy industry, private sidings to factories, pickup freight movements and mail by train was the norm. The Beaten Track also shows grand and mighty stations such as Liverpool Exchange in a state of dilapidation before closure and, as the titles imply, far off locations such as Fraserburgh. Each is split into geographic regions, starting with Scotland, then every part of Britain. I enjoyed reading them cover-to-cover, using https://www.railmaponline.com/UKIEMap.php which helps to pinpoint the places. It is all too easy to forget that many sites have undergone two complete transformations since, from post-industrial landscapes through to regeneration. Finally, a word on the photographs; they are all professionally composed, metered, exposed, focused and clearly a lot of thought and work has gone into them. They are impressive considering that they were taken before the days of decent cameras on smart phones. Highly recommended. (Simon Wragg, Member 5536.) See BLN 1392.6 (Book 1); E-BLN 1408.X.171 & 1409.2214 (Book 2); and BLN 1432.2064 (Book 3). Our website has discounts for members including UK P&P; email your sales officer for queries/to order. 2639] Sat 16 Dec; The Festive Midland-Ian: Organised by our member Ian 'Selby' Loveday who has a reputation for meticulous planning and thorough track coverage; over 20 Goods Line Authorities are in place. It now includes Banbury Reservoir Sidings (Tarmac Aggregate Terminal), its first passenger train. Gloucester (06.30), Cheltenham, Worcester SH, Kidderminster DGL, Stourbridge Junction, Stourbridge DGL, Rowley Regis UGL, Snow Hill (08.35), Up & Down Small Health Goods, Caledonia Yard, Up & Down Small Heath Goods, Tyseley Up Through Siding, Dorridge UPL, Leamington Spa Up Churwell Valley, Fenny Compton UGL, Banbury DGL, Banbury Reservoir Sidings, Banbury (break), Fenny Compton DGL, Kineton Branch (NR limit), Leamington Down Cherwell Valley, Hatton DGL, Dorridge UDGL, Bordesley DGL, New Street ('non-stop'), Wolverhampton Logistics Centre, Dudley Port Up Goods, Bescot Stadium, Bushbury DGL, Stafford RMT, Oxley Chord, Wolverhampton, Bescot Stadium, Bescot DGL, Duddeston, New Street (18.55), Rowley Regis DGL, Stourbridge Jn, Worcester SH, Cheltenham, Gloucester (20.45). See https://bit.ly/49zHsOZ to book or 01453 834477/835414 SSuX 09.14-14.00 (Pathfinder Railtours). 2640] Please Help Save Rugeley Power Station Society of Model Engineers! (BLN 1435.2473) Formed in 1971, the Society http://www.rugeley-sme.org.uk/ has a 1,950ft elevated mixed gauge (3½/7/7¼'') circuit in a woodland setting. When the power station closed in 2016 they were evicted (we had a very good 'farewell' visit on 20 Jul 2016). They have been allowed access since 2021 and wish to retain their track and clubhouse facilities to be part of the new community with redevelopment of the site. https://tinyurl.com/mw7majmn is a petition in support of this, please consider signing/passing it on. CONTACT DETAILS: On website Contacts page and a BLN & Committee directory was provided with BLN 1415 ●Chairman: Graeme Jolley [email protected] Dolbryn, Penegoes, MACHYNLLETH, SY20 8NN. 07484 646542. ●Editor: Paul Stewart [email protected] 4 Clarence Close, MALVERN, WR14 3HX 01684 562862 07790 652351. ●Sales: Darren Garnon [email protected] 3 Reader Drive, Marden, Tonbridge, Kent, TN12 9FD. ●MAPS: By permission of National Library of Scotland http://maps.nls.uk/index.html ●Printed by Willow Printing & Design Ltd [email protected] 75/79 Back Cross Lane, NEWTON-LE-WILLOWS, WA12 9YE 01925 222449. ●Published by the Branch Line Society, 10 Sandringham Rd, STOKE GIFFORD, BS34 8NP.