1381

Number 1381 (Items 1878 - 2014 & MR 119 - 128) (E-BLN 125 PAGES) 24 Jul 2021

BRANCH LINE NEWS

Distribuendi notitia, verbi disseminandi
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]
member1s8h6ipA.snelacbreytaPrayr@k RborandcSholiunteh.,uHkull, HU4 7BU. 07873354464

British Isles news from members; an international section is available.
Opinions are not necessarilyathvaoislaebolef .the Compilers or the Society.

.. BLN 1382 is dated Sat 7 Aug; all contributions by Wed 28 Jul please.

1878] The Heritage Railway Estate: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/588581 is an online
fpoertmitieornratoilwPaarylisatmruecntut raebsowutitHhoiguhtwparyospecEirnetgcyol.anSnsoducilaetntaytd.iotnh,einwaapyptrhoepyriaarteeldyeusstirnogyienmg eprogteennctyiaplloywvaelrusa. ble

Most structures can be repaired for a fraction of the cost of infilling them. Please consider signing it
and passing it on to others. At 10,000 signatures the government will respond and at 100,000 the
matter is considered for a Parliamentary debate. However, if not many people sign it, Highways
England may see it as a green light to continue with their destructive undemocratic activities. (PAS.)

.Date Event and details….... Please book online BLN Lead Status
Sat 31 Jul The Thanet Thunderer Class 50s to Margate BELOW MG OPEN

Sun 8 Aug The Castleton and Woodside Light Railways 1367 MG Waiting list

13-17 Aug BLS Silesian Explorer (Poland) - to be redated 1369 IS POSTPONED
Sun 29 Aug 10.30-18.30 Scunthorpe Steel Works railtour No22 1380 MG Waiting list
Mon 30 Aug BELOW MG OPEN
*NEW* 10.00 Silverleaf Poplar Light Railway

24-27 Sep Save the date, 4-day track & traction tours 1380 TBA SEE BELOW

Sat 13 Nov *NEW* East Midlands project with 125 Group TBA TBA Claimed

20 & 21 Nov Provisional AGM weekend, location to be advised 1371 TBA Claimed

22-25 Apr 22 Niedersachsen Explorer - provisional new dates 1370 PG Claimed

May/Jun 22 North Sweden Railtour (BLNs 1337.2400 & 1369.152) 1369 TBA Claimed

MG = Mark Gomm (back page); IS = Iain Scotchman (back page); PG = Paul Griffin; TBA = To Be Advised.

1879] :Sat 31 Jul; The Thanet Thunderer:: Thanks to the compiler Greg Beecroft (also David Palmer,
Tim Wallis & Alan Welsh for proofreading) the tour route description and historical notes are available
as a download with this e-BLN. At the time of writing a few First Class & First Class Dining places
remained on our Class 50 hauled railtour from the East Midlands Parkway, Leicester, Kettering and
Bedford to the seaside for a break at Canterbury, Broadstairs or Margate. See website for full details.

1880] :Bank Hol Mon 30 Aug; Silverleaf Poplar Light Railway 10.00:: Old Leake, Lincolnshire, 8 miles
northeast of Boston. Huge thanks to Gary Lonsdale for the arrangements and our host Colin Copcutt, a
repeat comprehensive visit to this private 2ft gauge 300yd line (report BLN 1367.3721). 12 participants
only; drinks and cakes available, for which donations would be appreciated. Colin owns seven internal
combustion and battery locos, including a rare 1925 Muir Hill petrol loco. £11 adults, £5.50 U18 (must
be accompanied by an adult). Members only. Website booking is strongly advised for this fixture.

1881] :Fri 24 to Mon 27 Sep:: (E-BLN 1380.X.150) Hot on the tracks of the Summer Syphons, we are
working on a 4-day charter of similar format to various freight lines over the last weekend of Sep.
Lessons learned include breaks away from the train and slightly less in the itineraries - still with lots of
highlights! (23 Jul update: With apologies, we have just heard that the project may be postponed.)

1882] *NEW* from BLS Sales: Your Sales Officer normally has some window decals from each tour at
£1 each plus P&P, the money all goes to the Railway Children charity. P&P 1-5 decals total £3 (sent by
folded Large Letter) or unfolded as a small parcel in a tube £5. Currently available are:

The Ruby Vampire The Positioning Move
The Looe Brush Y Triongl Gogled Cymru
The Sussex Salopian The Malvern Mountaineer
The Cat and Dock The Haggis, Peaks and Tractors
The 565 Special - Take II The Coast and Peaks Rover

Other sales stock is as listed in BLN 1376.1200 (of 8 May 2021) plus Diesel & Electric Locomotive
Register (5th Edition, 2021) £20.50 and The Railways of Manchester £31 - both including UK P&P.

Please email orders/queries to Graeme Jolley, your Sales Officer, to receive an electronic invoice or by

post with a cheque (payee 'Branch Line Society' not 'BLS' please) - contact details per back page.

1883] Branch Line News International (BLNI): Due to the lack of international rail travel by members
at the moment, our BLNI Editor, Pete Skelton, is finding it increasingly difficult to source suitable
material. Please would everyone who is able to make a special effort and send him something in?

1884] Society fixtures archive: (BLN 1377.1344) From our BLS Publications Officer, Martyn Brailsford.
Many thanks to over 20 members who came forward with tour brochures, maps and timing sheets for
the online archive, sending me scans or handing/posting me the actual material (all now returned to
their owners). Of the 339 BLS British mainline fixtures, we currently have 75% of them covered, and
I've been promised material for another 60+ tours from our Treasurer which will take us to about 94%
coverage. Some overseas tours are also catered for. Most of the missing tours are now pre-1970:

15/09/1956 Welshpool & Llanfair Railway 22/04/1962 Scottish Rambler, Day 3

02/06/1957 The Yorkshireman 23/04/1962 Scottish Rambler, Day 4

02/06/1957 Fenlander 23/03/1963 Glasgow South Brakevan tour

12/04/1958 Kent and East Sussex Railway 20/04/1963 Fife Mineral Lines

15/11/1958 Lauder Light Railway 25/04/1964 Chesterton
07/02/1959 Portsmouth Area 26/03/1967 Scottish Rambler No6, Day 3

04/04/1959 Scott Country 19/11/1967 East Kent
17/10/1959 Forth & Clyde Junction Railway 08/06/1968 Clayliner No2

07/05/1960 Scottish Central 11/01/1986 Rowntrees*

12/03/1961 London Area (untitled) 04/12/1999 North & South Western Junction
20/04/1962 Scottish Rambler, Day 1 08/12/2001 Secondary Crewe

21/04/1962 Scottish Rambler, Day 2

*A short but sweet tour, was anything produced? Original tour, not the repeat. Can you help, please?

❶If you have any of the above brochures/maps and can scan them, or alternatively loan them, please
contact Martyn Brailsford at [email protected] or alternatively by paper post to the Editor
(per back page). That 1960's tour brochure in your attic may be the only one left in existence…

❷If you know that a map or brochure was not produced for a particular tour, then please let us know,
then we won't be searching for something that doesn't exist!

❸Our Treasurer can be rather busy, so can you help him by reducing the number of tour brochures
he has promised to scan? If you have any brochures from one of our 1974 - 1991 tours, a scanner and
would like to help, please get in touch and I can advise which need doing (or see the website list).

❹I have concentrated on the British Isles to date, but do you have any overseas tour brochures
(or any other fixture material)? We do have some late 1980s and early 1990s overseas tours covered.

There is a full fixtures listing on the website which lists all tours plus the material we have scanned and
what is to be scanned; go to branchline.uk and the 'Archive' section on the top banner (Category
'Fixture') and it should be the first item in the list. I do try and keep this list as up to date as possible.

1885] Reminder: All Society fixtures are non-smoking including train toilets and vestibules, anyone
smoking will be removed at the next station stop. This did indeed happen on a recent Society tour.

1886] Diary: Thanks to our member Lee Nash, the latest edition of his diary (21/07 updated 14 Jul) is
now available on our website. It includes latest information about all railtours, heritage railway galas
etc. Please refresh your screen (Ctrl + F5), then click on the Home Page banner, go across to 'More
options...' on the banner and go down to 'Latest diary' on the navigation bar. The diary will open in a
new window - click on the magnifying glass to zoom in. If you prefer to download a PDF version of the
diary, go to 'Archive' and category 'Diary'. Note only the latest Diary is retained on our website.

1381 BLN GENERAL (Paul Stewart) [email protected]
1887] Unreservedly Good News: From Mon 19 Jul compulsory reservations were no longer required to
travel on CrossCountry (although this had been quietly dropped recently and was never enforced) and
LNER services. Avanti West Coast is encouraging reservations but they are not compulsory. Grand
Central services still require a reservation and Hull Trains is still operating a 'counted place' system.

1888] Missing Milepost (MP): A northbound run over the Settle & Carlisle line on 2 Jul revealed that
MP 300, from St Pancras via Derby, Cudworth and Keighley, just north of Low House Crossing signal
box on the Up side, was missing in action. MP 299¾ and MR 300¼ were in situ. The only other MP 300s
in the British Isles are both in Cornwall - miles from Paddington via Box and Plymouth (Millbay). One is
at the west end of Truro Viaduct and the other on the Newquay branch near Quintrell Downs station.

1889] Points & Slips: ●●BLN 1365.3294] The Bristol low bridge double-decker bus with a sunken
gangway upstairs that Ian Mortimer travelled on from Bath to Bradford-on-Avon was probably on
Route 50 from Bath to Salisbury. In 1952 Bristol Tramway/Bath Services put some KSW Lowbridge
double-deckers on it. They had platform doors and saloon heaters for the open countryside sections.
One, OHY 938 Fleet Number L8089 ('L' for Lowbridge), is in immaculate condition in preservation.

●●BLN 1380.1781] Another NR station with platforms in different counties is Whitlocks End on the
North Warwick/shire (OK then, Shakespeare) line. Down P2, to Stratford-upon-Avon is in the West
Midlands (along with the actual village) but Up P1 to Birmingham is in Worcestershire. The boundary
runs between them. The next station south, Wythall, is an isolated station on the line in the recently
formed Worcestershire Community Rail Partnership but Whitlocks End is not. The line does not enter
Warwickshire these days until Earlswood station (actually a Transport for West Midlands station!).
The latest very large scale local 'Ward' plans show that both platforms at Brandon are now in Norfolk
in fact - the Suffolk county boundary actually now runs along the back of Up P2 (towards Ely).

●●1852] Porterbrook took over the former Quinton Rail Technology Centre site from Motorail UK at
Long Marston from Wed 23 Jun 2021. It is the UK's only privately owned, independent, rail testing site.

1890] Early Railway Memories (57); Bert Blissett: (Member 313) [Contributions from our higher
numbered members are also welcome.] Imagine the roofless roundhouse of Chesterfield Hasland
Motive Power Depot (originally Midland Railway, almost two miles south of the present Chesterfield
station on the Up side) in 1951. Outside, a five year old (me) was helped up into the cab of a grimy
LMS 2-6-6-2 'Garratt'. I was left with the impression that this huge beast was somehow unpopular with
the shed staff, but I was instantly hooked; both with railways in general, and steam locos in particular.

My parents (a Metropolitan police sergeant and a schoolteacher) originated from Chesterfield and
Sheffield respectively, with no direct railway connections. By then we lived in a scruffy flat above
Shepherdess Walk police station, in North London; 'nuclear family' holidays were rare, but each school
holiday I was taken (or, later, consigned) to stay with one or other set of grandparents, there to be
thoroughly spoilt. For me the journey itself, and the time spent in Sheffield or Chesterfield, were sheer
bliss. For some reason they always chose the Midland route from St Pancras, rather than the Great
Central (GC) from Marylebone which, in the 1950s, would have been just as good for Sheffield; so
much so, that years later I had to plan a specific journey on one of the four surviving daily trains from
Marylebone to Nottingham Victoria, and stupidly never got round to the GC section on to Staveley.

ABOVE: The intricate railway system at Trent (CP 1 Jan 1968). Derby to the left, Castle Donington (one
'n') bottom left, Leicester bottom centre, Nottingham top right & Chesterfield top centre. (1956 map.)

The trick, on the Midland main line, was to find a window seat (or failing that, stand in the corridor) on
the right hand side northbound, to spot the procession of freights on the Slow lines to Glendon (north
of Kettering), and later along the Erewash Valley. Over the years I experienced the various 'Midland'
permutations, normally hauled by a 'Jubilee': Via Leicester & Toton; once via Trent & Sawley Junction
(Long Eaton from 6 May 1968) to Derby. Most services stopping at Chesterfield used the 'Nottingham
Direct' line, on which longer trains had to draw forward for two stops at some of the stations, a
fascinating procedure for a youngster to witness. On the journey, coal trains to Wellingborough and
Cricklewood could be seen with Garratts (withdrawn between 1953 and 1958, but not before I'd seen
them all, supplanted by the vastly superior 9Fs) and also large numbers of 8Fs, 4Fs and a few WDs.
There was also the possibility of something visible on another line, perhaps a J39 outside Leicester
Belgrave Road, or an 'O4' crossing Bennerley Viaduct (Ilkeston) high above on the Great Northern.

Once at my grandparents', I could enjoy trainspotting from a very early age. It might seem remarkable
nowadays, but youngsters then enjoyed a degree of freedom that might now appear foolhardy; and in
urban areas, trainspotting was as common as kicking a ball around in the back streets. The Woodhead
line was visible across the Don Valley from the rear of my maternal grandparents' house in
Hillsborough, Sheffield. Even after completion of 1500V dc electrification to Rotherwood in Jan 1955,
there were a fair number of steam hauled workings west of Victoria station, visible from the kitchen
window as puffs of smoke. It was Victoria rather than Midland that attracted enthusiasts in those
days, partly because of the greater variety of traction and partly due to the steady stream of freight on
the Up and Down Goods there. Furthermore, the Woodhead route (by then with a fast hourly
Manchester service hauled by the long displaced Class 77 Co-Co electrics) was emphatically the more
important of the two lines westwards. The passenger service along the Hope Valley line then consisted
mainly of just five daily Sheffield to Chinley stopping trains, plus a few through workings beyond.

My paternal grandparents, plus an aunt and uncle, lived on Hasland Road, south of Chesterfield. My
grandpa, invalided from the National Coal Board, had some connection with the railway at the ex-MR
Hasland Depot (had he perhaps become a numbertaker at Avenue Sidings, just to the south? - wish I'd
thought to ask). It was he who used to take me across what were then fields to visit the loco depot,
where he was known to the staff. Hasland offered what appeared, to a small child, to be the whole

gamut of steam traction, from the 'Garratts' down to two
0-4-0 Kitson saddle tanks (No47003/4) for nearby collieries.
The Midland main line ran west of my grandparents' house,
generally audible but not visible, while to the east ran the
GC Chesterfield Loop (CP 4 Mar 1963) and, higher up, the
Lancashire, Derbyshire & East Coast (LD&EC) Chesterfield
Market Place to Lincoln line (CP 3 Dec 1951). LEFT: Hasland
Sidings with the ex-Midland Railway roundhouse in 1967.

(ABOVE RIGHT: 1952 map Market Place terminus (CP) is far left, Chesterfield Central upper left;
Chesterfield Midland is the 'principal' rectangular station). These three lines crossed each other on
different levels at Horns Bridge on the Midland. Here there was a footbridge known as the Forty Steps,
spanning the GC Chesterfield Loop opposite Hyde's Sidings, and from which trains on each line were
visible, hence a Mecca for local trainspotters. The normal welcome was 'Hast tha copped owt?' - not a
parlance familiar in North London. Although the state of Bolsover Tunnel had doomed the LD&EC as a
through route as early as 1951, Market Place still saw a few freight trains each weekday until final
closure on 4 Mar 1957. They ran via the Duckmanton curves connecting it to the GC main line near
Arkwright Town. The LD&EC viaduct at Horns Bridge was progressively demolished from 1960
onwards. For years it had sported the advertising slogan 'The Dukeries Route', possibly significant
when the line opened in 1897, but meaningless to later generations. At a lower level, the GC
Chesterfield Loop was obliterated in 1982-4, and much of its course is now the Inner Relief Road.
BELOW: Duckmanton curves in 1954. The GC runs top to bottom with the LD&EC left (to Chesterfield
Market Place) to right (to Lincoln via the unstable 1½ mile Bolsover Tunnel which became unsafe and
CA 1951.) After 1951 the curves also accessed Arkwright Colliery, the branch by 'Arkwright Town'.

Outings to other railway sites included Retford, Doncaster or Staveley by bus, Manchester, Derby or
Crewe by train. Highlights included Retford with its flat crossing (until 1965) and two loco depots, and
Staveley Works, where a fleet of ancient steam locos, BR and industrial, could be seen. I still have vivid
memories of a summer Saturday at Retford in 1959; a procession of Pacifics on the ECML interspersed
with many of Darnall's D11 'Directors' pressed into service on trains toward the Lincolnshire coast.

Back in London, in those days visits to main line stations to watch expresses arrive or depart were
considered as commonplace as visits to a museum [a suitable comparator then!]. My own favourite in
the late 1950s was the original King's Cross P10, where on one side there would generally be a Pacific
preparing for a long distance service, while on the other side, from time to time a steam train would
seemingly chug its way out of the bowels of the earth (in reality from the Hotel Curve off the Widened
Lines (Metropolitan Railway) into the old P16. According to the time of day, an 'N2' on a Moorgate to
Potters Bar suburban train or a 'J50' on a transfer freight from the Southern to Ferme Park).

In 1955 my parents moved out of the scruffy police flat to a new house in Purley, the nearest station
being Riddlesdown on the Oxted line, still steam worked for a few more years. I was hugely lucky in
gaining entry to a local grammar school, which boasted a semi-formal Railway Club. There I soon learnt
that the inevitable decline of steam traction coincided with a distinct threat to branch lines, giving us
two objectives. Thus in 1960/61 we managed to visit the Westerham and Hawkhurst branches, then
the Grain and Allhallows branches, with the odd shed visit thrown in. This soon led to more ambitious
journeys: Swindon Town to Andover Junction, then Uxbridge Vine Street and Fairford in 1961/62, but
still with the dual objective of shed bashing as well as gricing. This dilemma reached its peak in 1964.

After carefully planning a day travelling Paddington - Stroud - Chalford autotrain - Gloucester - Hereford
- Worcester, we had to choose between a return trip to Bromyard (which we knew was due to close,
and did on 5 Sep 1964) or visiting the shed and works, before the last train back to Paddington.
Most opted for the shed, so we never did get to Bromyard. However, as others have commented, it's
the ones you miss needlessly that rankle. In my own case, Three Bridges to East Grinstead, which had
an excellent service right up to closure on 2 Jan 1967, and which I had ample opportunity to grice!

Meanwhile, after a summer holiday of constant rain in Oban in 1956 (travelling via Callander both
ways), my mother decided that she and I would benefit from a visit to Brittany the following summer,
maybe in the belief that this would be educational. She duly booked what must have been one of the
earliest 'package tours', flying in a Vickers Viking of British Eagle from Heathrow to Dinard. Hence my
first experience of Continental rail travel was one of the three daily autorails from Dinan back to
Dinard (thanks Mum!). This service ceased as early as 1972; the line saw a summer weekend through
portion to/from Paris for a few more years, until 1986, but was lifted soon afterwards. After careful
study of a map beforehand, I had concluded that Dinan, as an important railway junction, would offer
lots of rail activity; discovering just how devoid of trains rural France is, would prove a salutary lesson.

The same school, to its huge credit, organised exchange visits with two lycées (state funded secondary
schools) in Paris, in which I participated for five years. As luck would have it, my 'partner' and I got on
famously, and his father, by sheer coincidence, happened to be an SNCF maintenance foreman.
The family were a bit puzzled by my enthusiasm for trains (an almost non-existent interest in France),
but were kind enough to tolerate it. Hence I was able to visit the Paris termini, particularly Nord,
where mainline steam survived until 1961, and where I saw what was surely the most beautiful
locomotive ever built in Europe, 232U1, (232 in continental form denoting a 4-6-4 'Mountain'
locomotive.) gliding in on an express from Lille or Aulnoye (she is now preserved at Mulhouse).

The actual journey of us school kids from London to Paris each Easter involved the Newhaven boat
train from Victoria, generally hauled by one of the three Bulleid electric locos, then on the French side,
a 231D or 231G from Dieppe Maritime through the streets, Weymouth Quay-style, beforequery
corner the direct line via Serqueux to Paris St-Lazare, most of which was closed semi-legally in 1988.
By 1963 'A' levels were looming, and I was aiming to concentrate on Modern Languages. Thanks to my
Paris family, I had few worries with French, but Spanish was more challenging.

My mother believed that a fortnight 'en famille' near Barcelona that summer would be beneficial for
me, and I amplified this by proposing to travel there 'the pretty way' by visiting as much of Spain as I
could during the preceding fortnight. To my surprise and theirs, and with some trepidation (I was 17)
my parents agreed; perhaps the 'educational' label had some effect.

So I alighted the overnight train from Paris at Irún in Aug 1963 and bought a Third 3rd Class kilometric
ticket (3,000km for 939 Pesetas; worth £5.76 then = £123 now) and a timetable, then planned my
onward journey. This ended up as Irún - Alsasua - Pamplona (overnight) - Alsasua - Burgos (overnight)
- Valladolid - Salamanca (overnight) - Ávila - Villalba - Segovia (overnight) - Madrid (overnight) -
Toledo - Algodor - overnight train to Almorchón - Córdoba (overnight) - Sevilla (overnight) - Bobadilla
- Málaga (overnight) - Bobadilla - Granada (overnight) - Almendricos - Murcia (overnight) - Alicante -
Valencia (overnight) - Barcelona. In gricing terms, the most significant bits were Almorchón - Córdoba,
with only two trains/day, it CP 1974, and (Granada - ) Guadix - Almendricos, which CA at end of 1984.

Back in 1963 the 'Classic' line from Zamora to Orense had only been completed five years earlier, the
Directo Burgos line was still five years from completion, while the Luarca - Vegadeo section of the
metre gauge line across northern Spain would not open until 1972. Third Class, which was only phased
out by RENFE (Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles) over the years 1964-68, proved a blessing
in disguise. Faster trains (usually diesel units) didn't include Third Class, but off the electrified network,
those I could use were almost all steam hauled in 1963, by an amazing variety of locos. Most of the
carriages I encountered were wooden bodied with wooden seats and open veranda ends. Most of all,
there was a routine and etiquette quite unlike anything I had encountered before or since.

At originating stations, family groups would camp out on the platform for hours before their train's
departure, presumably to secure seats together. Food and drink would be offered around the
compartment, to be accepted gratefully or declined politely. On one train, I learnt to drink wine from a
'bota' bag offered to me (you shouldn't let it touch your lips). At each station stop, many passengers
would alight to stretch their legs, smoke a cigarette, fill water bottles, or buy a snack. When the train
was ready to leave, the stationmaster would ring a large bell mounted on the station building, the loco
would start to move, and we would each scramble aboard. Most passengers would bring with them a
huge variety of belongings. On my overnight journey from Algodor to Córdoba, I was woken from my
slumber around Belmez when a cockerel trussed up in a bag on the luggage rack above my head
started to crow. (Why would anybody take a cockerel with him on a train?) [An alarm 'cock' perhaps‽]

Timekeeping overall wasn't too bad, at least by the standards of Spain in the 1960s. The two worst
offenders were the evening all stations Medina del Campo to Salamanca, which had to follow the very
late running Iberia Express, and my Sevilla to Malaga train. On the latter we came to a stand in a
tunnel somewhere beyond Bobadilla. After several minutes somebody peered out, to discover that
the train had become divided, leaving our rear portion in the tunnel. After what seemed an age, the
loco and first part reappeared, reversing very gingerly onto our portion, and the crew naturally took
some time reconnecting couplings and brake pipes, so I didn't see much of Malaga that evening!

A highlight for me was when the Alicante - Valencia train approached La Encina, where it was due to
reverse. What should be waiting to back onto our train but a magnificent double-Pacific Garratt.
(Six of these superb locos were built for the Central of Aragon in 1931, but they spent their last years,
until the end of the 1960s, hauling heavy expresses between Valencia and La Encina/Tarragona.) The
same loco (462F0404) was rostered to haul my train toward Barcelona the next day. By Tarragona, I
had covered almost 400km at relatively high speeds, in a 13-coach train, behind this beautiful
machine. For me, the wheel had turned full circle, from the grimy Garratt at Hasland 12 years earlier
to this experience. And I managed to get an acceptable grade in Spanish A-level as well…

1891] Query Corner: While returning on the train from Manchester to Sheffield, a member's wife
commented that in the late 1950s/early 1960s her dad used to make occasional train journeys from
Kirkby-in-Ashfield to Buxton. Any ideas about the route that would have been taken then, please?

X.151] BELOW: A coal train from Immingham at Sturton-le-Steeple station s

site (the station house still stands) just west of West Burton Power Station.

BELOW: It was the 11.40 ex-Immingham Humber International Terminal; at the west end of West
Burton 'A' Power Station, well hidden by trees - the first coal train here for a long while. It went the
scenic route (Scunthorpe, Kirk Sandall, Maltby & Worksop). (All Martin Crompton, Mon 19 Jul 2021.)



1381 EAST MIDLANDS (Graeme Jolley) [email protected]

1892] Southwell Races: ABOVE: A member recently came across this from the 23 Mar to 3 Apr 1959
weekly notice. The two Sat 28 Mar 1959 passenger specials were for Southwell Races - the racecourse
isn't at Southwell but at Rolleston Junction station. Rolleston Junction - Southwell CP 15 Jun 1959
(regular services) but Rolleston Junction station was not renamed Rolleston until 7 May 1973. It had
5,408 passengers in 2019-20. The racecourse can be seen behind its Down P2 from passing trains.

At the time of these excursions Rolleston Jn - Southwell was still open to passengers (for nearly three
more months), but Mansfield - Southwell had CP in 1929! Southwell lost its railway in the mid 1960s.

1893] Coalville line: (TRACKmaps 4 p14C 2018) (BLN 1381.1788) The removal of Hicks Lodge (a former
Open Cast Disposal Point) private siding connection and its ground frame was from 16.00 Fri 9 Jul.

1894] Spondon: (BLN 1379.1670) In the 19 Jun EMR timetable cull, Matlock services were cut back
from Nottingham to Derby - this left Spondon with SSuX four trains towards Derby and six towards
Nottingham; SO the figures are six and nine respectively - there is no Sunday service anyway.

A significant amount of new housing has been built near Spondon station recently, so from 16 May the
SSuX service was enhanced from 14 calls a day to 44. This was part of running an extra 1tph between
Derby and Nottingham. EMR has now arranged a rail replacement bus shuttle between Derby and
Spondon (only) SSuX. It is shown on National Rail and an easement is that travel between Spondon
and Nottingham (etc) is allowed via the bus to/from Derby and train (non-stop through Spondon, of
course!) at the normal fare. The 16 May EMR timetable seems to have been, in good faith, over
ambitious, exacerbated by a DMU shortage (more Class 170s are expected from the West Midlands,
but that requires their new Class 196s to start in passenger service) and Covid related problems.
There are reports that the 'temporary' cuts - creating some nasty gaps - will last until December.

1895] Electrification: Known as the MMLe3 Programme, NR is seeking firms to electrify '155km of
track' from Market Harborough to Nottingham and also to Sheffield via Derby. There are about 113
structures and works include route clearance and power supply. Tenders are due out in Sep 2022.
NR will canvass ideas on the most efficient delivery method to avoid cost overruns, your big chance…

1381 GREATER LONDON (Geoff Brockett) [email protected]
1896] Liverpool Street: Improvements at the station over the last year include: ●Fast, free, NR WiFi.
●New sustainably sourced seats with charging points, almost doubling seating capacity. ●New easy to
use cycle racks, increasing capacity by 25%. ●Completely refurbished toilets with 'cutting edge interior
design,' new touchless flushes, taps, soap dispensers and hand dryers. ●New entrance mats. ●Giant
interactive passenger information screens. ●New Greater Anglia staffed customer information point.

1897] Finsbury Park: Access for All work starts on 31 Jul to install lifts to serve P3/4 and 7/8, giving
step free access to the entire station. Other work will include updated signage, laying tactile paving on
platforms, improving floor surfacing, upgrading platform lighting and installing additional CCTV
cameras. The gate lines on the platforms will be moved to the station entrance in Station Place.

1898] Chessington South: (BLN 1380.1790 photo) (TRACKmaps 5 p25 2019) By 6 Jul all track past the
country end trailing crossover had been lifted to build the new rail served Express Concrete plant.

1899] Bank: (BLN 1337.2424) The Northern line between Moorgate and Kennington is to close for
17 weeks from 15 Jan to mid-May 2022 for the new Southbound line at Bank to be connected to the
existing tunnels. The track in the existing southbound Northern Line platform will be concreted over
and the platform area converted to a concourse for the Northbound platform. (So anyone who needs
the existing lines…) During the closure, extra Charing Cross branch trains will run and a new bus route
will run between Oval and the City. Final completion of the station upgrade is scheduled for late 2022.

1900] Crossrail: (BLN 1380.1791) ● Liverpool Street station (Crossrasil!) was transferred to TfL on 5 Jul.
The western end of the station will be accessed from Moorgate, where a new entrance has opened on
Moorfields. The original ticket hall here closed in 2011 when Crossrail work started. The new entrance
gives step free access to the Sub-Surface Lines platforms via lifts, with step-free access to the Northern
Line available when the Crossrail core opens. ●Test running between Westbourne Park Sidings/
Paddington and Abbey Wood resumed on 11 Jul with 8tph. From 12th, the schedule increased to
12tph, although RTT suggests this wasn't actually achieved until late afternoon on 13th.

Passenger opening phasing, after the first stage between Abbey Wood and Paddington Low Level, has
been revised. In the next stage this service connects to existing services to Reading and Heathrow,
with Shenfield services diverted to run to Paddington Low Level at the same time. This will be broadly
based on existing service patterns over the NR sections without a full level of service through the core.
In the final stage Shenfield services run beyond Paddington with the full service level operating.

1901] Woodgrange Park Jn: Due to a pointwork problem at Barking on Sat 22 May, the 06.25 & 06.40
Gospel Oak to Barking crossed from the Down to the Up T&H here to turnback in Woodgrange Park P1.

1902] East Acton: The Eastbound platform will be closed for reconstruction from 2 Aug until late Dec.

1903] Flash Flooding: Very heavy rain fell in West London on the afternoon of Mon 12 Jul, with Kew
recording almost a month's worth of rain in about two hours. NR lines affected by flooding included
the Midland Main Line at Belsize tunnels, Bollo Lane and Gunnersbury on the line from South Acton,
Kensal Rise to Brondesbury Park on the North London Line, Richmond on the Windsor Lines and the
West London Line between Imperial Wharf and West Brompton. The worst problems were on the
WCML. The Slow Lines at Queen's Park were blocked at 17.22, followed by the Fast Lines at 17.57.

The floodwater subsequently receded, but the line could not be reopened because of a substation fire
at Camden Jn at 20.05. Damage was also caused to third rail equipment and OHLE and it was not until
01.20 that one line (Line 'A') was available into Euston. Main line services resumed on 13th, but London
Overground services remained suspended between Euston and Kilburn High Road due to flooding in
the DC Lines tunnel and didn't reopen until 16th. To complete repairs to electrical equipment, all lines
at Euston were closed between 23.00 on 14th and 06.00 on 15th. LU lines were also affected, with the
District Line flooded in various locations and flooding at Royal Oak lasting until the next morning.

1904] London Underground (non-lightning) strikes: The RMT has called 24-hour strikes of train
operators starting at noon on 3, 5, 24, 26 Aug. The dispute is over LUL's proposals to abolish the
separate link of Night Tube Train Operators and incorporate their duties into the main rosters. Many of
the Night Tube operators have already transferred to daytime operation and there is no date for when
it will resume. ASLEF is not involved in the dispute, so some trains are likely to run during the strikes.

1905] Northern Line Extension: (BLN 1379.1675) Trial running started at weekends from 3 Jul. 4tph
from Edgware, which normally reverse via the Kennington Loop, are extended to Battersea Power
Station. The first test train on 3 Jul left Kennington at 08.02. When the extension opens in the autumn
(suggested as possibly 12 Sep), there will be 6tph in the peaks and 5tph at other times, frequencies
doubling in mid-2022. During the test period, Train Operators will undertake route familiarisation;
systems, lifts, escalators and ticket machines will be tested. Trial emergency evacuations will also take
place. Later in the summer, about 100 staff members will be trained to operate the two new stations.

1906] Kidbrooke: (Lewisham - Falcolnwood - Barnehurst line; 1.558M passengers 2019-20) A new
station building has opened, funded by Berkeley Homes, for their Kidbrooke Village development.

1907] Secrets of the London Underground: This six part TV series runs from 19 Jul until 23 Aug at
20.00 on Yesterday Channel, with back episodes on UKTV Play and the Yesterday Channel website.
Presented by Siddy Holloway from LT Museum and Tim Dunn, they visited various disused parts of the
network. In the first one, they explored the Holborn - Aldwych branch (CP 3 Oct 1994) and the Tube's
only spiral escalator at Holloway Road. [Freeview: Channel (Ch) 26. Sky UK: Ch 155; Ch 255 (+1 hour).
Sky Ireland: Ch 161; Ch 261 (+1 hour) and Virgin Media: Ch 129; Ch 200 (+1 hour) Freesat: Ch 159.]

1908] West Drayton: On 7 Jul Heathrow TfL services were suspended between about 16.15 and 21.45
due to a signal fault. They ran to West Drayton, reversing in P5, thought to be its first passenger use.

1909] HS2: (BLN 1380.1795) From 19 Jul to 31 Aug, Line 'X'’ is OOU between Euston station and Park
Street Tunnels for HS2 work.

1381 NORTH EAST & YORKSHIRE (Geoff Blyth) [email protected]
1910] Thorpe Park: This is the third new station that West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) is
progressing with Elland (BLN 1379.1687) and White Rose (item 1914). Leeds Bradford Airport Parkway
(BLN 1370.362) will be progressed separately. Thorpe Park will be on the direct Leeds to York line
about 2km east of Cross Gates, near the East Leeds Orbital Road (BLN 1371.532). With £13.9M from
WYCA, there will be £3.8M from Leeds Public Transport Investment Programme and £10.1M from
West Yorkshire plus Transport Fund. A £7M bid has been made to the DfT New Stations Fund 3. After
approvals from the investment committee, the scheme is moving to the final stage, a full business case
with finalised costs, including a full funding strategy. Work is expected to start in late autumn 2022.

Up to 10tph each way use this congested route, with stopping, express and freight trains to/from a
wide range of locations. The remit requires 2tph to call: Northern's Hull to Halifax and Leeds to York
stopping services. The additional calls can be achieved only by replacing the call at Micklefield by the
Leeds to York service and at East Garforth by the Halifax to Hull service. Micklefield and East Garforth
would both therefore reduce to a broadly hourly service, but with additional calls in peak hours.

The Hull to Halifax service is on a minimum headway departing Micklefield westbound, following the
TPE Newcastle to Manchester Airport and arrives at Leeds on a minimum headway ahead of the TPE
Edinburgh to Liverpool. Eastbound it departs Leeds on headway behind TPE's Liverpool to Edinburgh
and leaving Micklefield is five minutes ahead of the following CrossCountry to Glasgow. However, it is
followed on headway from Gilberdyke into Hull by the Doncaster to Hull stopping service. The Halifax
service is on minimum turnaround in Hull (16 mins) before returning, so it cannot run later to Hull.

Thorpe Park is the only one of three new stations for which some re-quadrupling of 3½ miles from
Marsh Lane Jn to Cross Gates (BLN 1371.532) would have been theoretically possible. However, there
is no mention of this and it would of course have been very expensive.

1911] Sheffield, Tinsley Freight Terminal: (BLN 1375.1132) The first train into this new DBC terminal
ran on 5 May, with containers from Felixstowe. It was hauled by GBRf 66747 'Made in Sheffield' in
Newell & Wright livery, the terminal operators. Subsequently, up to three trains a day have run from
Felixstowe - two by GBRf under a contract from Maersk and one by Freightliner. The loading pad, with
two container reach stackers, is only half the length of a train but there are plans to extend it. Wood
Lane, which crosses the yard on a high bridge, forms the boundary between Sheffield and Rotherham.

The terminal is on the southeast (Rotherham) side but the access road runs beneath the bridge into
Sheffield. A new loading pad, purpose unknown, is under construction on the Sheffield side, parallel to
the sloping line connecting the container loading pad to Sheffield International Rail Freight Terminal
(SIRFT) and the Sorting Sidings. Finished in 2008, on land once occupied by about 40 sidings of Tinsley
Yard, SIRFT has two large rail-connected warehouses. Like Castle Donington M&S and Swindon South
Marston Honda it appears that SIRFT has never received a train, but its loading pad and loop lines are
used by trains to access the Aggregate Industries stone terminal at the far northwest end of the yard.

1912] Sunderland: The city council is expected to approve a £26M station regeneration. £16M will
come from the Transforming Cities Fund and the rest from the Council, Nexus and NR. The present
southern entrance from Athenaeum St will be demolished and replaced by a 'glass wraparound design'
overlooking Market Square. The northern entrance will be 'reimagined' [whatever next‽] and become
the City's main arrival point. There will be a new ticket office, reception area plus office space for rail
staff on a new mezzanine. From the images, it appears that the street level station facilities built in the
1960s will be replaced, but not the non-rail properties over the station north of the 1960's entrance.

Work on the southern entrance is expected to start next month and take place overnight as needed, to
reduce passenger disruption. It is due for completion by the end of 2022, opening early the following
year. The full plans include major works to increase capacity, by creating a four track, four platform
station, separating Metro services from National Rail. The whole scheme is expected to take six years.

Sunderland station OP 4 Aug 1879 with Ryhope Grange Jn - Monkwearmouth and was in a cutting
bounded by retaining walls. It had two island platforms (Up and Down), covered by an arched roof,
which was badly damaged by bombing in 1943. This was replaced by umbrella type roofing in 1953.
The branch to [South] Hylton (- Penshaw - Durham) CP 4 May 1964 and the direct South Shields
service was withdrawn from 14 Jun 1965. Almost the entire station site was decked over in a
redevelopment scheme completed in Nov 1965. The north entrance from High St West was closed to
the public. (The area where DMUs stopped was left open until further development work in the late
1980s.) Passenger trains were concentrated on the eastern (former Up) island, with the western island
used for parcels traffic. This gradually declined and in the early 1980s the then P4 (the westernmost
platform, which had become a bay accessible only from sidings at the south end) was lifted. After the
daily parcels train ceased running in the mid-1980s, the track at the former P3 was lifted.

In preparation for the start of T&W Metro services on 31 Mar 2002, the eastern island was widened
and the Down line moved on to the formation of the former P3. A new, but basic, north entrance was
also created through the former British Rail parcels offices between Station St and Dundas St. After
falling into disuse in the mid-1980s, the western island was built over to provide basement storage
space for a retail outlet located on the southwest corner of the site. This has since moved out so there
should now be no need for the structures on the western island. However, there are thought to be
concrete columns at the north end, which might make it difficult to reinstate through track. It would
make sense operationally for the Metro to use the western island. This would require the eastern
island to be reduced to its original width for the Down line to be moved back to its former position to
make room for the reinstated P3. Making P3 a south facing bay would require the least work; enabling
terminating Grand Central trains to stand clear of the main running lines. However, this would not
provide the capacity required, especially if a Metro service of 6tph is reinstated once the new units
come into service and it will no longer be necessary to keep two clear signal sections behind them.
Thus ex-P4 needs to be reinstated as a through platform. If there are concrete columns in the way,
perhaps the northern end of the island could be removed and the Down line through P4 slewed east?

1913] Stocksbridge: BLN 1379.1692 mentioned potential reopening from Stocksbridge to Penistone.
A local member advises that sadly the A616 Stocksbridge Bypass crosses its trackbed on a low
embankment north of the former Deepcar station site. North of that bypass it becomes the Upper Don
Trail on the trackbed to Penistone (NCN6) joining the former Woodhead line almost to Dunford Bridge
(10½ miles in total) and Woodhead Tunnels, part of the Transpennine Trail. At their western portals
the Transpennine Trail continues as Longdendale Trail on the trackbed to Hadfield for another 7 miles.

1914] White Rose: (BLN 1380.1802) To expedite progress Leeds City Council will provide a £4.5M loan
to the White Rose Office Park developers, who will also develop the new station. Construction could
start in the late autumn (rather than this summer as once thought) and be complete by late 2022.
It is forecast to cost around £22M (a reversion to the 2020 figure from the £24.2M). £5M is expected
from Leeds City Council 'Connecting Leeds' grant scheme; £5M from the DfT New Stations Fund, £12M
from its Transforming Cities Fund, and 'up to £4.5M' from the developers (that adds up to £26.5M!).





PREVIOUS: (Item 1911) From Wood Lane (Tinsley) looking southeast. A GB
the former East Departure/Arrival Lines. The loading pad will eventually b

BELOW: The front half of the train is being unloaded; it will then draw forwa
the three lines is the East Arrival Line. Nearest the camera is the line to Sh

BRf train from Felixstowe with 66782 is being unloaded on the trackbed of
be extended to the full length train length. (All Phil Lockwood, 9 Jul 2021.)

ard to unload the rear half (here on the East Departure Line). The middle of
heffield International Rail freight Terminal (SIRFT) and the Sorting Sidings.

BELOW: Looking northwest from Wood Lane, a new loading pad is under co
on the East Departure Line, far right. The East Arrival Line looks OOU. The la
right. Behind the pylon on the left is the Outokumpu (Tinsley Park Steelwork

onstruction adjacent to the line to SIRFT and the Sorting Sidings. The train is
arge white building in the background is SIRFT, with the Sorting Sidings to its
ks), accessed from the far end of the sorting sidings by a double reversal.

X.152] All Our Yesterdays (1) - Jul 1953: (With thanks to Ian Hughes)

RIGHT & BELOW:
(Item 1912)
Projections of

Sunderland station
exterior and interior
after 'regeneration'

(Sunderland City
Council.)

BELOW: (Item 1915) An NER 'Q6' 0-8-0 & a WD Austerity 2-8-0 south of Dragon Jn, Harrogate with a
Haverton Hill to Heysham train of empty ammonia tanks in 1955. The line was not quadruple track;

the two tracks nearer the camera only led to Harrogate Corporation Depot. (Geoff Horsman.)

BELOW: (Also item 1915) A Class B16 with the Haverton Hill to Hey
Ripon to Harrogate line) circa 1952. The lack of barrier wagons

ysham tanker train south of Monkton Moor (on the Northallerton/
was permissible because the tankers were empty. (JW Hague.)

BELOW: Class B16 No61462 approaches Monkton Moor with the He

eysham to Haverton Hill loaded tanker train circa 1952. (JW Hague.)

BELOW: Class J39 loco No64710 near Wormald Green (between Harrogate

and Ripon/Northallerton) with the ammonia train circa 1951. (JW Hague.)

1915] ICI Heysham: (BLN 1371.608) As with Dowlais near Merthyr Tydfil, Heysham was chosen for a
second 'shadow factory', additional to Billingham, to manufacture ammonia; production began in
1941. The world's first pressurised steam naphtha reforming process (designed at Billingham) started
commercial operation here in 1962. The Heysham to Billingham train ran via Skipton and the Leeds
Northern line (Ripon). Between Heysham and Skipton the train ran via the Torrisholme Jn No1 -
Torrisholme Jn No2 curve (avoiding Morecambe) and the direct line between Lancaster Green Ayre
and Wennington. Torrisholme Curve was a PSUL entry, carrying trains between Leeds and Heysham at
a somewhat unsocial hour in each direction, as it connected with the overnight boat to and from
Belfast, until withdrawn from 3 Jan 1966. After the 5 Jun 1967 Wennington line closure, the ammonia
train ran via Carnforth. From Skipton to Billingham, it ran via Embsay, Ilkley and Otley, joining the
Leeds - Harrogate - Northallerton line at Arthington North Jn, not far north of Bramhope Tunnel.

It then went via Ripon and Boroughbridge Road to Yarm, Eaglescliffe and the connection to ICI East
Grid at Belasis Lane Signal Box. (Plan BLN 1368.66). Arthington North Jn - West Jn curve was also a
PSUL entry, with a summer dated SO service between West Hartlepool (as it was until 26 Apr 1967
when the prefix was dropped) and Blackpool Central, which last ran on 17 Aug 1963. The curve
CA 5 Jul 1965. This probably marked the end of regular freight traffic on the Cordio Jn - Boroughbridge
Road connection, as it is thought that the Heysham train was the last through freight on the Leeds
Northern line south of Northallerton. The train was then routed from Skipton via Leeds Whitehall Jn -
Engine Shed Jn curve, on to Castleford and York. It is said that ammonia was later transported by sea
but it is not known when rail haulage ceased. Ammonia production at Heysham ceased in 1977.

1916] Retrospective NIMBYs at Scarborough: (BLN 1296.69) People living near the TPE depot have
complained strongly about the noise from the Class 68s at night. Apparently the locos start up about
23.00, rev their engines until about midnight and then restart at 04.30. TPE investigations initially
identified issues with them being left on 'fast idle' and was taking steps to make sure they were left on
'slow idle'. However, it is understood that the loco automatically 'fast idles' when coach batteries need
charging or train heating switches on. Soundproofing installed during construction was apparently 50%
greater than required, but it is clearly inadequate and TPE was looking to make improvements.

TPE discussed possible mechanical solutions with Stadler but these were apparently either not possible
or did not help much. The TPE Fleet Director said they would: Change… to a different setup so that we
don't have to go on the depot for fuel and for toilet services, we can do that in Manchester and: When
the train arrives at Scarborough station, they will simply be shut down and then they'll be started up
the next morning before they go as normal, they won't go down to the depot. So it appears that TPE
has in effect abandoned their £7M depot, opened 2019. Possible short term measures included using
Class 185s on late night and early morning Scarborough trains, reallocating the Nova 3 sets to the
Manchester to Redcar route (and potentially to Saltburn). Overnight noise would not be an issue on
the Redcar route as there is no Teesside TPE Depot; instead trains run ECS from/to York TPE depot.

1917] Hendon branch: (BLN 1380.1804) A third steel coil traffic ran on 12 Jul. This may well become a
regular (roughly monthly) flow with no end in sight to the current national shortage of HGV drivers.

1918] Hull: On 27 Jun a member attended a performance by Hull Urban Opera group, in the former
ticket office area of Paragon station. Is this the first mention of opera in BLN? [No, it has appeared 139
times in BLN!] He says it was a reasonable performance, but the acoustics could have been better, and
he had a chance to look around. The area has been used as a community help point, a bike storage and
rental unit and then for TPE to store surplus office equipment. In recent years, the wall of windows on
the side facing the passenger entry has been used to mount displays; at present it is showing WWI
images from Remembrance Sunday 2020. Our member considers the area should be reopened to
allow a better flow of pedestrian traffic in and out - especially in the pandemic. At least the woodwork
had been dusted, the brass 'WH Smith' polished, the floor cleaned and tiles wiped. The area seemed in
exceptional condition, given that little work has been done on it since the pandemic started. The only
visible damage was a crack running through one of the North Eastern Railway monograms on the floor.

1919] Church Fenton - Wetherby: BLN 1355.1838 mentioned the Tadcaster Grammar School train
(BLN 1352.1423 map). Clearing out some darker recesses at home, your NE Editor unearthed a York
District Working Timetable for summer 1950, which made most interesting reading. Then, what later
became 'the residual morning train' (the only one doing Tadcaster to Church Fenton), left Leeds City at
07.20, arrived Tadcaster at 08.14 and continued to Selby. The unadvertised school train home ('Runs
during Tadcaster Grammar School term') was rather more complex. It used the stock of the Thorp Arch
Royal Ordnance Factory workmen's (unadvertised) train, which ran thus (translated to 24 hour clock):

●SSuX: Normanton 07.00 (passenger) Castleford - Church Fenton - Thorp Arch East 07.43 - Walton†
……… 07.46/ 07.47 (ECS) - Thorp Arch Exchange Sidings 07.55/10.10 (light engine) - Selby Shed 10.48.
●During school term: Selby Shed 14.25 (light engine) - Thorp Arch Exchange Sidings 15.10/15.30 (ECS)
……….- Tadcaster 15.40/15.55 - Bardsey* 16.19/16.30 (ECS) - Thorp Arch Exchange Sidings 16.45.
●During school holidays: Selby 15.50 (light engine) - Thorp Arch Exchange Sidings 16.28.
●SSuX: Thorp Arch Exchange Sdgs 17.37 (ECS) - Walton† 17.40/17.46 (passenger) - 'Through Line'
……….between the Exchange Sidings and the Carriage Sidings (run round and reverse in six minutes!)
……….17.54/ 18.00 - Thorp Arch East Box 18.02 - Church Fenton - Castleford - Normanton 18.50.

†Thorp Arch Circular Railway e-BLN 1253.557 (19 Mar 2016) has a detailed track plan; BLN 1255.834
(12 Apr 2016) has signalling diagrams. Note that the single outer perimeter track was only signalled for
clockwise running. *This was the second station south of Wetherby on the line to Cross Gates/Leeds.

The Thorp Arch Circular Railway wasn't a strict circle but did encircle the Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF)
perimeter - by doing the passenger portions of the morning and afternoon diagrams, workers would
do the complete circuit (as did at least one railtour). BLNs 1255.761-3 & 1256.940 have more.

BR could run the short distance local afternoon school train as stock was available nearby and it only
required the loco to leave Selby 85 mins earlier. However, the additional ECS and running round for a
revenue earning journey lasting only 24 min would probably not have been acceptable in later years.

1920] Northallerton - Eaglescliffe: (BLN 1378.1538) Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) has
approved a £11.7M contribution to 'enhance connectivity to Teesport'. This part funds loading gauge
enhancement on the line and improvements to the A66 road; no breakdown between the two projects
has been given. The rail project sees 'two tunnels and two bridges improved', at an estimated cost of
£17.6M. The tunnels will be the 75yd Yarm Tunnel and Longlands Loop under the ECML north of
Northallerton station. TVCA considers there is a strong economic case, with the scheme providing high
value for money with the transfer of freight from road to rail. NR has confirmed that it is feasible to
start work in 2021/22 and indeed it is apparently in their plans for Jan 2022. At present intermodal
trains generally run via Darlington, reversing in the remodelled and extended Up Sidings (see before/
after plan BLN 1361.2699), covered to the end of line on our recent Mon 5 Jul 'Zuzzy Syphons' tour.

1921] New Freight Flow? From the (Durham) Coastliners Rail User Group, 5 Jul: In passing, I see that a
freight service is to leave Hartlepool Dock Area at 14.14 this afternoon, for Falkirk. Is this a one off, or
a new regular service covering the Norton East/Norton West chord, and promising to link Hartlepool
station with Durham station in 45 minutes? (Scope for campaigning for a passenger carriage to be
attached?) They obviously hadn't heard about this trial run for a flow of freshly minted BLS gricers.

1922] ECML SIMBIDS: On Fri 4 Jun the 07.30 King's Cross to Edinburgh hit a stray part of the OHLE and
stopped near Little Mill. The Up Main was fit for traffic so the 08.00, 11.00 & 13.00 King's Cross to
Edinburgh, 10.00 to Aberdeen & 07.19 Manchester Victoria to Edinburgh did the Up Main in the Down
direction from Wooden Gate facing crossover (33m 65ch) to Little Mill trailing crossover (39m 30ch).

1923] Sheffield Supertram: BLN 1365.3322.2 (21 Nov 2020) reported that the Council planned to
replace the tramway east of Sheffield station by a new road, with the tram running along Pond St, on
the west side. These plans have now been abandoned. The Council says they were drafted as concepts
and never viewed as concrete (LOL). They do not feel it meets local needs, offers value for money or
would meet our environmental ambitions. This is probably code for sorry, we don't have the money.

BELOW: (Item 1924) 5N93 arrives (!) on No1 Down Departures Line at Tyne Y

Yard on Fri 9 Jul 2021 at 17.23 looking north. The ECML is background right.

BELOW: Tyne Yard, later on 5Z80 on No1 Shed Road (TRACK
Sidings where it will reverse to access one of the Down

Kmaps 2 p21B 2020) at 18.01 ready to run to the Exchange
n Departures Roads. (Both Jonathon Kirby, 9 Jul 2021.)

1924] Tyne Yard: (BLN 1380.1809) (TRACKmaps 1 p21B 2020) In connection with the servicing of
Grand Central (GCR) DMUs at Tyne Yard during the Heaton South Jn blockade, 180114 ran via the
Yard on Fri 9 Jul when working 5N93, the 16.43 Sunderland to Heaton Depot. It spent an hour there
checking positioning on the fuelling apron and other tasks, before heading for Heaton as 5Z80. GCR
filmed a DVD of the route there and back to support the route briefing pack for their train crews.

1925] North Blyth: (BLN 1374.991) Construction of the huge new factory on the site of the former
Blyth Power Stations, to manufacture electric vehicle batteries, will require delivery of aggregates
later this year. This will come from Shap Quarry - three trains a week for six weeks. It is not known at
present exactly where the material will be unloaded. There should be plenty of time to unload the
train on the running line as the only other traffic on the branch now is the Fort William alumina train,
which departs at 06.25, with the next set of empties not arriving until 20.43 the following day.

1381 NORTH WEST (John Cameron) [email protected]
1926] Bassenthwaite Lake: (BLN 1343.108) At the beginning of Aug a café is due to open at this once
derelict and overgrown former station between Keswick and Cockermouth. It CP 18 Apr 1966.

1927] Cumbrian Coast: All services were cancelled on Sat 3 Jul due to many Barrow-in-Furness and
Workington based staff testing positive for Covid and/or being told to self isolate. On Wed 14 Jul at
02.18 the Up Main and Middle Roads 1 & 2 (both disconnected anyway!) were closed at Workington
due to an unsafe chimney stack on the main station building. Immediate demolition was required and
also, after inspection, one of the other two chimney stacks had to be demolished too. No passenger
trains ran through Workington on 14th (some freight and ECS did) but normal service resumed on 15th.

1928] I was a signalman - Part 2: By Dave Leeming. As related in the first episode (BLN 1377.1407),
I got the job of Class 1 Rest Day Relief Signalman at Altrincham after all of three months service. It was
quite rare in 1974 to become a Class 1 that quickly and almost 'straight off the street' too! My district
would now include Knutsford East, Mobberley, Hale and Partington Junction as well as the previously
described Sinderland (or Cinderland as named on the outside of the signal box) Crossing.

I spent a couple of weeks learning the job. I then had to 'pass out' with the Chief Block Inspector who
waved me through because he had seen me only a couple of months before and remembered me.
Harry Backshall, who we met in Part One of this saga, met me at Partington Junction and passed me
out in the four extra boxes I was to work. It was a very pleasant day out for both of us. Altrincham Area
became assimilated into the Manchester South Division later in 1974 and I think Harry was on the
point of retiring anyway, so I may well have been his last 'Pass Out'.

Partington Junction was about halfway between Skelton Junction and Glazebrook East Junction. Once
upon a time there had been boxes at West Timperley and Carrington Sidings on the Skelton side and
Partington Station and Cadishead Station on the Glazebrook side. The land hereabouts is very flat and
it is a part of the Mersey Plain. The line was on a shallow falling gradient from the Skelton direction,
but it then climbed from the box to the Manchester Ship Canal viaduct to then descend through
Cadishead. This section was the 1894 Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC)/Manchester Ship Canal (MSC)
Deviation line and the gradient was 1:135 on both sides of the Canal. The line speed was 60mph.

The box was a CLC hip roof all timber affair, but the base had, at some point, been encased with
Accrington brick with the wooden top 'as was'. Inside was a CLC Standard Lever Frame with 24 levers.
There were but four 'spare' levers - painted white, as usual. Trains were worked on Standard BR Plastic
Block Instruments. The Main Lines were Track Circuited all the way from Glazebrook to the Up Starter
and from 200 yards before the Down Home from Skelton. None of the sidings was 'Tracked'. There was
an illuminated diagram. Very 'modern'. At that time the box staff was two Lady Signalmen and a man.
It slightly worried me that the box was very lonely and well away from anything, but the ladies didn't
seem to be at all fazed by this. One of the Ladies had previously worked at Carrington Sidings and the
other at Partington Station. The box was open continuously from 06.00 Monday until 14.00 Saturday.

There was a Rest Day on the early turn only. It was 'cosy', homely and warm and with no draughts!

The track layout was fairly complex. There was the almost out of use Partington Gasworks Sidings† on
the Down side and the very much in use branch to Partington Exchange Sidings on the Up with regular
merry-go-round (MGR) coal traffic from Yorkshire to Carrington Power Station via the Woodhead
route. The Power Station's own locos worked the MGR wagons forwards from the Exchange Sidings
and back there for return to Yorkshire. There was also periodic traffic to Shell Chemicals carrying highly
volatile chemicals from the Stanlow Refinery at Ellesmere Port. This rail traffic was later replaced with
a pipeline. There were day shift shunters who occupied a hut near the bottom of the box steps.
Some traffic went on towards Glazebrook on the 'new' line over the MSC Viaduct. Petrol trains for
Lancashire Tar Distillers Ltd in Cadishead and Soda Ash trains from Northwich (Wallerscote) to the
Partington (MSC) Basin Cadishead side plus the already mentioned Target 75 Warrington Arpley to
Warrington Central and back trip (the long way round - see BLN 1377) until it was discontinued.
BELOW: 1964 map, Partington Jn bottom right (to Skelton Jn); the 1⅔ mile Carrington branch runs to
the power station, top right - Shell Chemicals was off it. The Gas Works were by the 'n' in 'Partington'.

Once upon a time, the 'old' line towards Glazebrook had been in use for traffic to the Partington Basin
(Partington side), and there had been an extensive yard on the canal bank and an engine shed. Until
the 1960s it housed MSC Diesel Shunters of the 'D1' type and these included Departmental 'E1' which
is now preserved at the East Lancashire Railway. However, by 1974, all of this had been swept away.
There is a story that when the Partington side closed, the displaced locomotives were worked under
their own power from Partington Jn, over the MSC Viaduct and into Cadishead Sidings. I have no proof
of this; perhaps a Member might have more reliable information? At least 'E1' went to Mode Wheel,
because I saw it there. It eventually found its way to Bury Buckley Wells where it still resides.
The Skelton Jn to Partington Jn double line section was signalled by conventional Absolute Block.
The Glazebrook section was interesting. The single line utilised the old Up Line, accessed by a 15mph
facing crossover just ahead of the connection to the Gas Works but before the connection to the
Exchange Sidings. A quarter mile remnant of the old Down Line was retained to allow for normal
Regulation 4 acceptance of trains on the Down Main. Between this line and the Single Line was a
trailing Crossover road which had been partly dismantled. The lever for this Crossover road was still
painted black, of course because it was still regarded as 'in use', even though the crossover was not.
The single line towards Glazebrook was signalled by 'Absolute Block with Direction Levers'. A train was
'offered' in the normal way on a conventional two direction block instrument and a 'line clear' was
obtained. The box at the end to which the train was going then reversed the 'Acceptance' Lever and

this allowed the sending signalman to clear the Section Signal on to the Single line. Partington Junction
Acceptance Lever was Number 17, a shortened lever. It acted as a 'slot' for Glazebrook Section Signal
so it was painted red. There was no Single Line Token and, in practice, it worked the same way as
'Tokenless Block'. The Driver's authority to proceed was the Signal Indication.

On the Up Line there was a Colour Light Distant, a Semaphore Outer Home, an Inner Home and a
Section signal. On the Down there was a Distant and a Home, both two-aspect colour lights. The Down
Home Signal had a 'cats-eyes' Subsidiary Signal under the main aspect for access to the various sidings.
There were Line Clear releases in both directions which meant a white band on the relevant levers.

Life at Partington Junction was pretty quiet and peaceful; not a lot happened. Even the block bells
were quiet and one had to be reasonably awake or you wouldn't hear them! They were not loud like
normal bells which could be heard a hundred yards away! It might have had something to do with the
sensitive hearing of the ladies... Usually there was around a dozen trains per day - more during the
morning, less in the afternoon and only one or two on the night shift.

I had one incident which was a bit scary. It was quite early in the morning and beginning to get light.
A Petrol train was coming Down on 'greens'. It was becoming obvious that the Driver had forgotten
about the 15mph speed limit on the facing crossover and I could see that he was likely to come
straight through the box. I was getting ready to 'bail out'! But he must have spotted the 15 cut out sign
because the brakes went on hard. I guess he was doing about 40 when he hit the crossover. The Class
37 lurched over but it stayed on! The train ground to a halt. No bumps, bangs or crashes. Heads came
out on both sides of the cab. Everything was still on the rails so he crept away. Phew! Crisis over!!!

After I had moved away to 'better' things, the Single Line on to Glazebrook was taken out of use and
later lifted. The main traffic then was the MGR trains to Carrington Power Station and a new traffic -
Baglan Bay to Partington - which carried more volatile chemicals emphatically forbidden from being
moved by road! The box itself was reduced to a single shift, Monday to Friday. The ladies had moved
on by then. After my last shift on Fri 21 Nov 1975 I was destined to not work the box again.

Then, in 1984, somebody set the place on fire! It must have been a pretty spectacular blaze because
when I went to have a look afterwards, most of the wood had gone. The incongruous looking lever
frame sat on top of the brickwork. Unfortunately, I failed to take a camera, so have no images.

The Section from Skelton was then singled and worked 'One Engine In Steam' with a Staff kept at
Skelton Junction. More about this in a later episode. The former CEGB coal fired Carrington Power
Station closed in 1991 but rail traffic ended well before*, and the only traffic then was the Baglan Bay.

That was the first of 'my' signal boxes to close. Many more were to follow... (Thanks to Dave Leeming.)

Addenda (PAS): † https://bit.ly/3wzMFBK shows 25175 leaving Partington North West Gas Board
Sidings light engine on 2 Oct 1985, after bringing in some tanks, by then an extremely rare working.

*Does anyone know when the coal traffic to Carrington ended, please? BLN reports suggest that this
could have been as long ago as 1981 - although traffic was 'expected' in 1983, there is no report it ran.

On Sat 20 Mar 1982 the Society had an internal tour at Carrington (had there been coal that winter?)
Both engines went up to Partington Jn outlet signal, pushing it a bit they were not supposed to go past
the Exchange Sidings points! A participant legitimately had the key to let those interested into the box
and invited the CEGB man in charge to run out on to the main line and back, but he would not - just in
case. The box was unmanned at the time of the tour and it was known that there would be no trains.

The final trains between Partington Jn and Glazebrook East Jn ran on Thur 29 Jul 1982, a ballast
working from Warrington Arpley to Warrington Central via Skelton Jn (reverse) and the return light
engine back again. The line was then taken OOU out of use from 3 Aug 1982 ('official date' 4 Sep 1982
with rails removed from both lines at Glazebrook East Jn). This was because the high level bridge over
the MSC required expensive repairs; the track on the line was lifted by May 1987.

Towards the end Partington Junction staffing, was reduced to Monday to Friday morning shifts
presumably for remaining coal trains and the regular Baglan Bay workings which required the box to
be open. It was never 'open as required' on these days although may have been opened occasionally
at other times. A regular Signalman was still in residence up to the 1984 fire which destroyed the box.

The last tour over the two mile Skelton Jn - Partington Jn branch was our 29 Feb 1992 'Liverpool &
Manchester' - the track was so bad that it was 5mph restricted. In Oct 1994 'Railway Magazine' our
member Iain Scotchman reported that the Baglan Bay trains had ceased 4 Oct 1993 (a later BLN
suggests this was the last date it ran). It is understood that a Class 142 Pacer later used the line on a
Fire Brigade training exercise. A T3 continuous possession for 'track maintenance' was in place from
1 Mar 2003 (if not earlier) with the Sectional Appendix showing the branch as OOU in an amendment
dated 20 Sep 2008 catching up with the situation on the ground. Much of the track was subsequently
'lifted' (in two senses of the word) by scrap metal thieves. (PAS)

1929] Lift off on at Old Roan: (BLN 1380.1832) The two lifts have reopened after temporary repairs.
The long term repair to the damaged doors involves replacing specialist equipment which is on order.

1930] Cheadle Jn - Northenden Jn: On 21 May 1971 at about 21.12, a Seymour Junction to Northwich
freight train, hauled by diesel loco D313 (later 40113), consisting of 27 mineral wagons of pulverised
coal and a brakevan, travelling at around 35mph on the Down Main, was partially derailed on this
former Cheshire Lines Committee 2m 11ch double line section. The driver, having felt a sudden surge
just after passing Cheadle station, applied the brake. On coming to a stand, he established that the
front 15 wagons were still attached to the locomotive; the remaining 12 had become derailed, but not
the brakevan. The guard used a lineside telephone to inform the Cheadle Junction signalman what had
happened. An off duty junior railman employed at Manchester Piccadilly station had witnessed the
derailment from a nearby overbridge and sensed that the guard was in a state of shock. He walked
with him back to the signal box; the young man was later commended for his prompt action.

Unfortunately it was too late for the driver, who sustained shock, to protect the Up Main before the
arrival of the 15.00 from Fiddlers Ferry Power Station to Wath Yard, almost five hours behind
schedule, hauled by Class 47 diesel loco D1843 (later 47193), with thirty empty merry-go-round
wagons. This train, running at an estimated speed of nearly 30mph, had no chance of avoiding a
collision with the derailed wagons, with unfortunate consequences for its crew. The driver received
cuts, bruises and suffered severe shock, the secondman was bruised and in shock, whilst the guard
sustained injuries which proved fatal, not surprising as the cab of D1843 was stove in, with him
trapped in the wreckage. Eight of its wagons, and four more of the Northwich train, were derailed.
The guard was very unlucky to be in the front cab. He had, in accordance with the rules, been in the
rear cab, but had just come through, when the accident happened, to inform the driver that he would
be prepared to work the train through to Godley Junction if no relief was forthcoming.

Permanent way damage was extensive. About 320yds of the Down Main was virtually destroyed, and
230yds badly damaged; 100yds of the Up Main was damaged. The line no longer carried any regular
passenger service but was maintained to passenger standards, with a maximum line speed of 60mph.

HMRI's investigation was conducted by Mr CH Hewison. A recent survey of the Down Main showed
that although there were irregularities in the track between Cheadle Jn and the former Cheadle
station, they were not considered severe enough to warrant urgent attention being given to them;
other sites needed greater attention first according to the local Assistant Permanent Way Engineer.

Despite a considerable amount of time and effort to try and establish the cause, including that by the
British Rail's Research Department at Derby, it was not possible to come to a definite conclusion as to
why the Northwich train had derailed. This was accepted by the Inspector, who did not consider any
individuals were to blame. He regarded it as another instance of the typical 'short wheel base'
derailments that had been occurring in recent years, a subject of intensive study and corrective
measures continuing to be put in place by the British Railways Board. (With thanks to Charles Allenby.)

ABOVE: (Item 1928) A young Dave Leeming hard at work at Partington Junction Box in the 1970s.

BELOW: Looking towards Glazebrook, the first set of points is for the Gas Works, off left.
The 15mph facing crossover is the second set of points before the box and Partington Jn itself.

ABOVE: Looking towards Skelton Jn, the Carrington Power Station branch trails in left. The out of use
(a blade is missing) trailing crossover is in the foreground with the 15mph facing crossover beyond.

BELOW: From the Down line, looking towards Skelton Jn at night with Up Inner Home Signal No22.

ABOVE: The view from roughly the same position as the previous photo on 27 Jun 2019!!

BELOW: Now back to 29 Feb 1992; our 'Liverpool & Manchester' railtour is in the distance approaching
from Skelton Jn at 5mph (due to the poor state of the track). By then the two mile branch was singled.

ABOVE: In the other direction towards Glazebrook Jn (track lifted) the 'Top & tailed' tour is on the
branch at the site of Partington Jn heading for the exchange sidings. This was the final tour here.

BELOW: The tour in the exchange sidings. (All photos for this item are by Dave Leeming.)

NEXT: Partington Gas Works internal railway looking west to the in situ buffer stops. (27 Jun 2019.)









PREVIOUS: Carrington Power Station; our Sun 20 Jan 1981 tour arranged by
impossible to do the far right line! BELOW: The other working loco with th

y your present Editor for a Society Committee meeting. Unfortunately, it was
he rotary tipplers right. (Photos Nigel Eacock, some through cab windows.)

BELOW: A 'spare' loco at Carrington in 1980, left out in the