nt has been removed, Russell Terrace, Padiham is right. The person in the white the formation rises steeply to its original height for the bridge over Dryden St.
BELOW: Back on the trackbed (and here the double track formation is c
clear) Green Lane underbridge, Padiham, looking towards Rose Grove.
BELOW: Padiham Greenway, the west end of Padiham station site, (station bBridge towards Great Harwood. The Embankment has been partially remove
ehind photographer but nothing remains), looking west over the River Calder ed to provide access, down right to Park Rd and behind, right, to Station Rd.
BELOW: Towards Great Harwood, Park Rd underbridge then the River right leads into Memorial Park, left continuing along the railway. The
Calder underbridge (temporally closed), beyond there the route splits, e parapet wall right of the push chair appears to be partly deformed.
BELOW: East towards Padiham towards the River Calder Bridge. This track wasBritish Rail and the former CEGB considered it to belong to the other team (lo
left unintentionally as the respective contractors recovering it for the former ooks like the former power station junction headshunt alongside the BR line)
BELOW: The River Calder bridges (both temporally closed) the slightly deformed
d railway bridge is behind the green footbridge looking southwest, downstream.
BELOW: The A678 Blackburn Road bridge, looking towards Great H
Harwood, Padiham Greenway ends just beyond here at the A6968.
[BLN BELOW: Simonstone Lane, the former Simonstone station the dip in the road under the former railway overbridge
1437] was to the right; Martholme Greenway starts on the left in with steps up where the yellow and black chevrons are.
BELOW: Access (seen in the previous image) to Martholme G
reenway is only available by steps up from Simonstone Lane.
BELOW: Martholme Greenway where a demolished full width c
cattle creep has been replaced by a mini-bridge (lower centre).
BELOW: (BLN 1434.2319) Salford Central P1, the new mural with updated train
ns and a bit of a car crash in the middle section. (Tim Hall-Smith, 10 Nov 2023.)
2392] Blackpool Trams: (BLN 1434.2326) The Council has granted Planning Permission for Tramtown at Rigby Road Depot. The plans include replacement roofing, new doors and glazing to the front of the depot building; a mezzanine first floor and the relocation of workshop facilities on the site from the current buildings (due to be demolished as part of the overall depot redevelopment to allow for the storage of electric buses). An exhibition space and visitor centre will also be built in the depot building. The First Phase concentrates on the roof (about a third of the overall roof will be attended to initially) and installation of workshop equipment to allow the maintenance of the heritage tram fleet to continue in a more modern environment. £800k was secured to fund this phase earlier in the year. 2393] Crewe: A new mural has been unveiled at the station to celebrate the town's railway heritage. The bespoke 12m long artwork was inspired by the poem 'Tracks are in Our Veins' by local poet Gareth Williams. It marks 185 years since civil engineer Joseph Locke made Crewe a junction on the WCML; fortunately, the Prime Minister at the time, Lord John Russell, did not cancel the Manchester leg. 2394] Sports Section: It is not often that football makes the pages of BLN. On Tues 24 Oct Stockport County played at Crewe Alexandra and won 2-0. The convenience of a direct service resulted in about 400 football supporters on Crewe P6 waiting the 22.11 departure, fortunately a Pendolino. After a couple of chants in support of their team - and to a common tune heard on football terraces - the following boomed out: We're behind the yellow line! We're behind the yellow line! We're behind! We're behind! We're behind the yellow line! We're behind the yellow line! and was repeated a couple more times. They probably weren't behind the yellow line but no one was going to argue. It was a welcome change to the usual frenetic, embarrassing and passenger unfriendly bellowing normally heard from platform staff - with a few notable exceptions. Oh, and how our correspondent did laugh! 1437 SOUTH EAST - NORTH & EAST ANGLIA (Julian James) [email protected] 2395] Berney Arms: Reedham Jn to Oulton Broad North Jn was closed on Sat 18 and Sun 19 Nov. Trains from/to Norwich ran to Reedham (for connecting buses to and from Lowestoft), then diverted to Great Yarmouth. Unusually trains ran through our old favourite, Berney Arms, up to four times an hour. This significantly improved the Norwich to Great Yarmouth service and particularly Reedham to Great Yarmouth but Somerleyton and Haddiscoe had no service due to alleged 'inaccessible roads'. 2396] Colchester - Manningtree: (BLN 1435.2446) (TRACKmaps 2 p6A 2020) At 56m 00ch, the Up side of Ardleigh Crossovers was plain lined, with relaying of the line over 13-15 May 2023. Ardleigh Ground Switch Panel, which formerly controlled the crossovers, was signed out of use and most, if not all, of the associated equipment removed. The Down side had already been plain lined at an unknown date. 2397] Bletchley - Bedford: (BLN 1435.440.) Very limited LNwR train service resumed as (latterly) planned on 20 Nov. They are booked SSuX from Bletchley at 07.18, 08.00 (requiring two trains!), 15.45 & 17.45, returning from Bedford P1a at 08.08, 09.17, 16.14 & 18.47. All other services are still buses at generally hourly intervals; two leave each of Bletchley and Bedford at the same time, one 'fast' each way, omitting four stations (but are still much slower than the trains). At Bletchley, both P5 and P6 are used, as the first departure clashes with a Euston starter from P5. Both afternoon departures are from P6. The first clashes with what may be a Class 730 EMU trainer but went from P5 on 20 Nov. It isn't obvious why the second departure should use P6. [P5 is preferred due to better access and facilities.] 2398] Class 730 EMUs: 3-car Class 730/0 EMUs, ordered for West Midlands Trains,have been allocated to LNwR and introduced between Bletchley and Euston from 13 Nov. 730007 & 730010 were first to carry the public on the 06.04 to Euston, returning to Tring as the 07.24 from Euston. Initially Class 730s will run six services each weekday. This is temporary until the 5-car Class 730/2s are commissioned in 2024 as the DfT is keen to withdraw the five remaining 4-car Class 319s (said to accommodate fewer passengers than a 3-car Class 730/0). The next route where Class 730/0s will be deployed is on the Walsall to Wolverhampton service early next year, followed by the Birmingham Cross City Line. The Class 730 fleet will consist of 324 cars on 82 trains in a mixture of 3/6-car and 5/10-car formations. The introduction of the Class 730s onto the Cross City Line in 2024 allows the Class 323 trains currently in use to cascade to Northern. Along with the Class 196 DMUs, £690M is being invested in new trains and infrastructure by West Midlands Trains (parent company of LNwR and West Midlands Railway).
2399] Beaulieu Park: (BLN 1436.2580 track plan) ①When seen on 15 Nov, the new trailing crossover at the London end had been installed and that at the country end was assembled for final positioning, both between the future Down Main and Beaulieu Park Station Loop. ②The permissible speed on the two outer main lines will be 100mph, and on the central loop, 50mph. Platform lengths are described as circa 250m. Track limits are given on the Up Main as 32m 1,642yd to 31m 1,400yd, though this is not necessarily the extent of work or any slew. Commissioning of the new tracks and alignment is programmed for May 2024. Brick House crossovers at 33m 24ch are to be recovered (BLN 1387.2752). 1437 SOUTH EAST - SOUTH (Julian James) [email protected] 2400] Guildford - pedestrians shall not pass: SWR has announced that from Mon 4 Dec pedestrians (as opposed to passengers with valid train tickets) will be banned from entering parts of the station. Pedestrian access to the station footbridge will be temporarily withdrawn due to abuse towards station staff and fare evasion. The trial runs until 1 Mar, before potentially becoming permanent. Those without a rail ticket will need to use the alternative route across Farnham Road bridge. Over some 25 days in Nov 2022, almost 2,000 'bridge passes' were used by fare evaders to access platforms, board trains and travel without a ticket. Pedestrians have been allowed to use the bridge as a walking route between Station Approach and Guildford Park Rd. Until recently, they were provided with a paper 'bridge pass' that allowed them to enter and exit the station via the footbridge. SWR and the British Transport Police (BTP) have recorded a number of incidents where fare evaders have, when challenged, gone on to be verbally and physically abusive towards station staff. Since the start of 2023, there have been 60 reports of antisocial behaviour, with at least 20 of them passed on to the BTP. 2401] Planned Closures: Buses are due to replace trains between Reading and Guildford Sat 10 until Fri 16 Feb; Southampton Central to Portsmouth Harbour Mon 12 until Fri 16 Feb and Portsmouth & Southsea to Portsmouth Harbour from Mon 26 Feb until Fri 1 Mar. Details are to be confirmed. 2402] Walking at Ryde: (BLN 1435.2457) The BBC incorrectly reported that the line between Ryde Pier Head and Ryde Esplanade had been closed since the storm of 2 Nov (can't get the staff). Our BLN 1435 'Keeping Track' report correctly states the date of service suspension as 25 Oct (storm damage), with trains last running on 24th . After repairs, normal train service resumed Mon 20 Nov. 1437 SOUTH WEST (Samuel Taunton) [email protected] 2403] Floods of rare moves: On Fri 10 Nov at 10.12 water from an outflow pipe at 104m 77ch caused the Badminton Lines to be blocked to all traffic. Two services were trapped on the Down Badminton and had to make a wrong direction move to cross to the Up Badminton at Hullavington. 1C06, the 08.28 Paddington to Weston-super-Mare was in the Chipping Sodbury area and 1B07 the 08.48 Paddington to Swansea was in the Badminton area. At 13.05 the Up Badminton was reopened and Down trains crossed to the Up Badminton at Hullavington (94m 40ch) then regained the Down Badminton at Westerleigh Jn. Seven services undertook the bi-directional move starting with 1B19 14.48 Paddington to Swansea and ending with 1B38 22.49 also from Paddington to Swansea. Also on Fri 10 Nov at 08.25, floodwater was reported to be affecting the lines at Dauntsey which eventually resulted in the Down Main being blocked to all traffic. Five services crossed from the Down Main to the Up Main at Wootton Bassett Jn and regained the Down Main at Thingley Jn. The first was 2M22, 08.45 Swindon to Westbury and the last was 1C10 10.28 Paddington to Bristol Temple Meads. 2404] Tytherington: (BLN 1434.2347) From Mon 30 Oct, DC Rail took over some traffic previously handled by DBC. As a result, the relevant services are no longer staged at Acton (you might realise why). Instead, DC Rail uses its sidings at Willesden 'F' or runs through to/from the Quainton Railhead (for HS2). There are normally three loaded departures a day SSuX, two Saturdays and none Sundays, typically weighing 2,400 tonnes (traffic on the branch is heavy in more than one sense of the word). Two are DC Rail services using Class 60s; currently a Class 56 is added in the London area for 'top & tailing' purposes at Quainton Railhead (DC Rail may amend this - watch developments!). The other is a GBRf service, 2 x Class 66 top & tail throughout. There can be a 4th train to Appleford, believed to be a DBC service now (likely to be Class 66), not easy to fit in with the now 10mph restriction on the branch.
2405] Salisbury - Axminster: (BLN 1434.2345) The 6-10 Nov Yeovil Junction to Axminster closure saw work at four sites including stabilisation of the cutting at Crewkerne tunnel (132m 39ch - 132m 48ch), where there was a landslip in Oct 2021. New drainage and specialist 6m long soil nails were installed just outside the tunnel entrance. Protective paint was applied to the bridge over the River Kwai Axe at Weycroft (143m 19ch), near Axminster. In addition, barriers were replaced at Axe (141m 57ch) and Broom (141m 14ch) level crossings. Wet beds (enuresis?) at Crewkerne crossing were also dealt with. The second phase of the £0.5M project, from Sat 25 Nov until Sun 10 Dec (incl), is between Salisbury and Yeovil Junction. About 457m of track at Gillingham P1 (105m 23ch) will be relaid and earthworks stabilised by Gillingham (Buckhorn Weston) Tunnel (107m 44ch - 107m78ch). Between Sherborne and Tisbury, 1,280m of track will be replaced; in addition, vegetation will be cleared between Tisbury and Gillingham. Maintenance is also planned at Wyley and Castleton Farm (117m 31ch) level crossings. 2406] Looking Ahead: Planned line closures for engineering: Cornwall Tue 27 Feb until Sun 10 Mar for remodelling/resignalling. Exeter St Davids - Newton Abbot - Plymouth Sat 16 to Wed 27 Mar. Yeovil Pen Mill - Dorchester Jn Sat 16 until Sun 31 Mar. All dates inclusive; details to be confirmed and liable to change. We aim to include them in 'Keeping Track' (item 2347) a month or so before. 2407] Okehampton: A community celebration with a special cake provided, took place on 20 Nov for the second anniversary of the Dartmoor Line reopening. Over 550,000 passenger journeys have been made, far exceeding expectations. Initially 2-hourly, from 15 May 2022 the service became hourly, seven days a week. In Oct 2022 the Okehampton to Tavistock rail-link bus was joined by direct buses linking Bude (1 hour 8 min), Holsworthy (46 min) and Launceston to Okehampton station (replacing through buses to/from Exeter). Buses to/from Bude and Holsworthy come up on the National Rail Journey Planner - which can be selected as origins or destinations although fares are not shown. Okehampton was recently awarded 'Small Station of the Year 2023' at the National Rail Awards and is shortlisted in the National Railway Heritage Awards. The line and reopening project have won several awards displayed in a cabinet at the station. The West Devon transport hub (Okehampton Parkway to you) is a new station on the east side of the town. Over the summer and autumn, Devon County Council commissioned WSP to carry out environmental, ecological and topographical surveys. These will influence the station design and environmental mitigation. Protected species include bats, dormice (known to be in the area), badgers, great crested newts, grass snakes and slow worms. These surveys can only be carried out at certain times of the year. NR is leading the design and has carried out a Minimal Viable Product workshop to ensure that the scope of the design includes the minimum requirements to meet the objectives of the project (and we thought minimum referred to the budget). NR has also been in extensive discussions with the designer/contractor to develop the scope of the design work and to try to halve the time and slash the cost of delivery. The team has been reviewing documents, survey information and negotiating on price with the contractor to identify efficiencies which could be achieved by combining Engineering Stage 3 (single option design), Stage 4 (approval in principle) and Stage 5 (construction-ready). Don't blink or you might miss it. 2408] Bath: GWR plans to operate 145 trains on market Saturdays, the busiest days, as choristers entertain the crowd with carols. They say that a train serves the station every 7 minutes on 25 Nov, 2&9 Dec (although industrial action may mean that this does not happen). In addition to the normal service, an extra 21 trains are due to call, nearly 8,000 extra seats. The station is likely to be very busy. 1437 WEST MIDLANDS (Brian Schindler) [email protected] 2409] Salford Priors: E-BLN 1436.X.106 had a last minute item about a local planning application to demolish the very attractive original station building. On the north side of Station Road, it was opened on 17 Sep 1886 by the Evesham & Redditch Railway, which became part of the Midland Railway. The last passenger train ran on 30 Sep 1962 then Alcester to Evesham closed abruptly 'temporarily' from 1 Oct 1962 due to track condition but never reopened. Replacement buses ran until 17 Sep 1963. Our local member is grateful to all who objected to the proposed demolition; the outcome is awaited. 2410] Worcester Shrub Hill: An engineering closure is expected from Mon 22 until Fri 26 Apr 2024.
2411] Stoke-on-Trent: On Sat 11 Nov a local member was very surprised to find that the hourly local Stoke to Manchester Piccadilly Northern service was mostly operated by double length 6-car Class 331 EMUs. He has never seen double units on this service before, which applies every Sat until Sat 16 Dec. They normally turnback in P3, the north end Stoke Down bay, but it is only 88m long, which is fine for the usual 3-car EMUs. However,the 6-car sets have to shunt ECS from P1 to P2 between their generally booked XX.38 arrival and XX.55 departure each hour. This is facilitated by the bidirectional signalling on the Up Main south of Stoke station. The reason for the longer trains is the very popular Manchester Christmas Markets (from Fri 10 Nov until Thur 21 Dec with 225 stalls and 9 million visitors expected). Despite having over 400 seats, on the first Saturday our member found the 10.31 to Manchester full and standing at Bramhall. A factor might be cancellation of one Avanti service per hour on Saturdays over the same period; it is the one that leaves Stoke just before the Northern train does. However, it is also the one (of the two Avanti services each hour) that does not stop at Macclesfield. Fortunately, CrossCountry has restored its pre-Pandemic two trains per hour service, which calls at both stations. 2412] Midlands Rail Hub (MRH): Details https://tinyurl.com/5d5hx87t (7 pages) were considered at the West Midlands Combined Authority Board 17 Nov meeting. The document is titled 'Update on HS2 Announcements and Network North Funding' (well, the Midlands is north of Watford) and postdates the cancellation of the northern section of HS2. It includes reinstating Birmingham Snow Hill loop P4; Moor Street bay P5 - the original P3 when it was just a terminal station (but there is no longer any mention of new bay P6). However, Moor Street Platforms 'A' and 'B' have popped up on the east side of the station with no details but there is associated widening of Bordesley Viaduct. Bordesley East and West Chord are both now included, despite previous doubts about one or both. A new bay is planned at Kings Norton for Camp Hill services, with upgrades to Barnt Green and at Stoke Works Jn. Along with partial redoubling of Ledbury to Shelwick Jn this is part of a plan for a second Birmingham to Worcester or Hereford service each hour. [It would be really good to have one per hour that is reliable, this is certainly not the case at the moment!] However, this increased frequency depends on the desperately needed resignalling and remodelling of the Worcester area. A turnback facility is also planned at Malvern Wells. Additional services are intended to Bristol, Cardiff and Leicester. Remodelling is planned at Water Orton, along with improved signalling on the Nuneaton to Wigston line and freight loops between Nuneaton and Leicester. The report is 'approved' by the DfT. Further work is now needed on the Birmingham to Derby and Leicester lines following the curtailment of HS2. 2413] West Midlands Metro: Opening of the full Birmingham Eastside extension is delayed, as works around the Curzon Street HS2 station cannot even start until that project hands it over to the Midland Metro Alliance in 2026. It has now been decided to run to a temporary terminus to allow services to begin earlier, described as 2025-26! This temporary terminus will be outside the Clayton Hotel with infrastructure including additional pointwork to allow trams to arrive and depart. It will provide good interchange with Moor Street station and serve Birmingham City University and Millennium Point. Further along the line, progress on this extension continues in Digbeth with second stage concrete poured on some of the newly laid rail from Mill Lane to Rea St also from the switch and crossing to Rea Bridge. Preparation has also taken place outside the Coach Station for the base (first concrete pour). 2414] Too many degrees at University: Brand new West Midland Class 196 DMUs are at last running between Hereford and Birmingham New Street and very smart they look too. All services are due to be Class 196s from the Dec timetable change. They come in two and four car sets but, despite being ordered especially for the line, Up 4-car units 'cannot' call at University station (a major destination). Passengers are advised to change at Bromsgrove to an EMU (going via New Street would be quicker). The 4-car units are able to call at University southbound and 2x2-car sets still call both ways. Puzzled? The problem is that P1 (to Birmingham) has the wrong type of curve - it is concave and has too many degrees of curvature. The 4-car Class 196s only have door controls each end of the train but not in the middle, so the conductor cannot see all the doors from either end. It is self-dispatch. Wonderful! 6-car Cross City EMUs and CrossCountry DMUs can stop as the conductor can hide in work from the middle cabs. P2 southbound is not a problem as the curvature is convex, of course. A bit of a curved ball here.
X.111] BELOW: 47749 on 06.32 from Eastleigh Trsmd leaves Worcester ShrubThe Metal Box factory (with a private siding) used to be on the right, there wer
b Hill with stock for storage at Long Marston. (Stephen Atkinson, 28 Nov 2023.) re once sidings on the left and the colour light signal used to be a semaphore.
BELOW: (Item 2417) Semaphores at the country end of Worcester Shrub Hill, left is the curve to Foregate Street and Hereford, right is to Droitwich, Bromsgrove and Kidderminster. RIGHT: Close up of the 'cash till' route indicator (showing Hereford). (Both Don Kennedy, 11 Nov 2023.)
2415] Brownhills: (TRACKmaps 4 p25A 2022) Three sets of points and associated track components have been recovered from the old Charringtons Oil Depot at Anglesea Sidings (now Quatro Plant Group's Lichfield Depot) on the former Lichfield to Walsall line. The Severn Valley Railway permanent way team and volunteers undertook the week-long operation during mid-Oct. The pointwork was donated by NR following the recent volunteer partnership between NR and the SVR (BLN 1435.2468). One set will be used in the Bridgnorth yard project to connect Roads 1 and 2 behind P2 platform. These points were last used in 2001. The other two points are planned to be used as replacements for existing infrastructure. The removal work was assisted by Quatro Plant, which has a lease on the former oil terminal yard and loaned a road-rail vehicle, essential to the success of the work. 2416] A Monumental occasion: On Wed 20 Sep 12.52 Edinburgh Waverley to Euston was routed via the Up & Down Monument Lane Loop to allow 15.24 Manchester Piccadilly to Bournemouth to pass. 2417] Worcester Shrub Hill: Down P2 semaphore starter signal (SH77) still has a mechanical route indicator, known locally as the 'cash register'. It is blank when the signal is 'ON' (stop). When it is 'OFF', the route description comes up HFORD or BHAM, depending on the route set, to Foregate Street or Droitwich Spa respectively. The black metal letters are cut outs, fixed to a solid wire mesh in a frame that all moves up (displayed) or down (hidden) against a white background that is rear illuminated in darkness. Our member asks if many other similar route indicators survive on the main line network? 1437 IRELAND (Martin Baumann) [email protected] 2418] Belfast Grand Central: (BLN 1436.2600 with three dramatic images in e-BLN) Line closures have been announced in connection with construction of the new 8-platform station, now expected to open in Sep 2024. Belfast Great Victoria Street (GVS) station finally closes from Saturday 11 May 2024. 27 Dec - 1 Jan: (6 days) Great Victoria Street (excl)/City Jn - Central Jn - Portadown (excl). This (and later closures) are also for Lisburn remodelling and the platform extensions at Derriaghy and Adelade. 29 Mar - 7 Apr: (10 days over Easter) Lisburn - GVS (both exclusive) with buses replacing the local services. Dublin'Enterprise'services turn back at Portadown, with buses to/from Belfast Lanyon Place. 11 May - 5 Jul: (Phase I Blockade; 8 weeks) Great Victoria Street station closes; Portadown services run via Central Jn to City Jn, bypassing GVS through to Bangor. Londonderry and Larne services turn back at Lanyon Place. 'Rail will then be promoted as a solution to Belfast road congestion'. Then… 6 Jul - 12 Aug: (Phase II Blockade; 5 weeks) Lisburn - Lanyon Place closed (both exclusive); buses in place of local services. Dublin services turn back at Portadown with buses to/from Lanyon Place. This is to complete the new connections to/from the new station;Translink aims to open it in Sep 2024. 2419] Lisburn: (BLN 1432.2114) The half mile of lifted track on the Antrim branch has been reinstated. Some of it still requires ballast and tamping before it can be used. The temporary buffers on P3 south end remain in place but it looks like Translink will meet its target of completing the work in Jan 2024. Lisburn - Antrim should have ECS workings during some of the engineering closures above. 2420] Downpatrick & County Down Railway: (MR p10) (BLN 1436.2602.2) All Christmas operating dates have now been cancelled due to the catastrophic effects of the severe flooding on 31 Oct 2023. 2421] Woodbrook: (BLN 1361.2761) On site work on this new station started in Nov, provisionally at 10m 64ch - mileage from the former Dublin Harcourt Street terminus. This is ¼ mile south of the former Shanganagh Jn (10m 42ch - for the Harcourt Street line). The original Woodbrook station was at 11m 08ch (shown on Quail 6 p15B 2004) but is now in the middle of a golf course with poor access. There will be two 174m long platforms; a potential opening date has not yet been announced. 2422] Strikes: No buses or trains will have run in Northern Ireland (except a few Bus Éireann services to Letterkenny via Omagh and Sligo to Londonderry) on Fri 1 Dec if a planned strike went ahead. 1437 ISLE OF MAN (Graeme Easton) [email protected] 2423] Heritage Railways Review: (BLN 1436.2606) The SYSTRA report has still not been published. The Infrastructure Minister, Tim Crookall, has said that there's nothing explosive in the report and the IOM Transport senior staff seem quite upbeat but clearly something is preventing publication. A Freedom
of Information (FOI) request unearthed an email from 19 Oct between someone at the Department of Infrastructure and SYSTRA. This seems to be very positive about the Horse Trams but casts questions over the Manx Electric Railway between Laxey and Ramsey, with possibilities of closure or singling. The email points out that singling brings extra costs if loops are put in and, if they are not, an inability to cope with peak demand due to the limited capacity of operating just one tram and trailer on the line. An extra stationmaster would have to be employed to supervise staff and ticket working at what is described as 'a large salary cost' with an increased risk to safety of single line working. In addition, abandoning the route completely would not remove the statutory obligation to maintain fences and drainage, with the associated cost. Interestingly, two days after the FoI request became public, the email was removed from the website. However, your Regional Editor had already downloaded a copy. Regarding possible re-extending the Horse Tramway to the Sea Terminal, with the exception of the Pandemic and during the promenade works, the number of cruise ships including it in their itinerary has increased year on year. In 2018 it was 25 ships with 9,871 passengers, rising in 2023 to 52 ships and 26,636 passengers. 59 ships (31,082 passengers) are booked in 2024. The tramway would be more attractive if it ran to the Sea Terminal than the present short bus journey to/from it. Secondly there is anecdotal evidence that not serving Loch Promenade hotels loses a significant number of passengers. 2424] Passenger numbers: In what might be a slight embarrassment to those wanting to reduce the railways, 2023 has seen bumper passenger numbers. The Manx Electric Railway was up 20% on last year at 158,000, while the steam railway carried 128,000. The horse trams saw 45,000 passengers with only half a line. Overall, numbers were 12% up on 2022 and up on 2019, the last pre-Pandemic season. 2425] Douglas station: (BLN 1436.2608) The reason for steam locos N os4 & 13 staying in Port Erin over winter is that the yard outside Douglas running shed and workshops is being completely relaid. This also takes Road 2 platform out of use (left hand on arrival) but rarer Road 3 is still available for festive dining and Polar Express trains. The contractors lost no time in starting to lift the old track, including breaking up a fair amount of concrete and, within a week of the end of the season, the track had all gone. Let us hope they are as efficient in doing the relay! [Maybe they would like a follow-on job re-extending the Horse Tramway to the Sea Terminal; they could probably do it all over one night.] It had been intended that No 11 would move to a temporary lean-to shed on the siding behind the carriage shed. However, for an unknown reason it wasn't and so is now marooned in the workshops. Note for our next tour: this road behind the carriage shed* has long been overgrown and unusable but might now be available! [*Incorrectly 'Peel Siding' on TRACKmaps 1 p26B 2021, that is the other side.] 2426] 59 years ago (Railway Memories 116): (BLN 1436.2530) Our former Chairman, Robert Green, read the articles about the Oxford University Railway Society visit to IOM in 1964 and your BLN Editor's observations with interest. He too went to the IOM in 1964 in mid-Aug, so just three to four weeks after the visits mentioned. As an aside, he was with his girlfriend, Ann, later to become his wife and a Society member (but managed a few railway trips as you do!). They included Douglas to Peel, Ramsey and Port Erin by steam, MER Derby Castle to Ramsey and the Snaefell line. [Rather more than a few!] Our Editor's Father would have been pleased as their journey was via the ex-Great Western Railway line from Birmingham Snow Hill to Birkenhead Woodside, then it was the ferry across the Mersey to Liverpool Pierhead and an Isle Of Man Steam Packet boat to Douglas. They stayed in Peel. Robert has submitted four excellent, 'appeeling' colour photos from the trip (see e-BLN) in particular a fine one of the County Donegal railcars at St John's station on a Peel to Douglas service in mid-Aug 1964. 1437 SCOTLAND (Greg Beecroft) [email protected] 2427] East Linton: The new two platform station at 23m 10ch between Drem and Dunbar is to OP Wed 13 Dec 2023. Trains calling will be ScotRail services to and from Dunbar SuX and TPE between Edinburgh and Berwick-upon-Tweed or Newcastle daily, with a through train daily SuX to Liverpool Lime Street. The first train is the 10.33 to Dunbar and 11.08 to Edinburgh (its return working) but this is only on the opening day. Thereafter trains start some five hours earlier! There are nine trains to Edinburgh with broadly two hour gaps (11 SO & 4 SuO) with 12 from Edinburgh (12 SO & 5 SuO).
BELOW: (Item 2445) The back siding, hidden behind Douglas Carriage Shed, is on
nly accessible by a double shunt via the headshunt. (Graeme Easton, 3 Sep 2021.)
BELOW: On the same day 'Ailsa' is pulling the dining set int(The headshunt is off round to the left in the distance.) That
o the carriage shed so that the toilet can be pumped out! t back siding goes off far left behind the carriage shed wall.
ABOVE: (Item 2426) The ex-County Donegal railcars are well-filled at St John's. (All Robert Green, Aug 1964.) BELOW: N o 12 'Hutchinson' at Port Erin, it is hard to believe that this was taken over 59 years ago.
ABOVE: N o 12 'Hutchinson' is shunting at Port Erin; note the 'parcels' traffic left. BELOW: Snaefell Mountain railway Cars 4 & 5 at Laxey terminus.
2428] The Mystery Man of Gartcosh; Now it Can be Told: By Martin Connop Price. By 1975 I had managed to travel almost all of the passenger rail routes in Scotland and also several freight routes. One of the more difficult lines was on the east side of Glasgow, where the southern side of a wide triangle of former Caledonian railway tracks was relatively little used. The line was just 1¼ miles long and ran from Gartsherrie South Jn, north of Coatbridge Central, to Gartcosh Jn, on the passenger line from Glasgow (Queen Street) to Cumbernauld. In the 1970s, the main traffic over this short section was steel, either from Ravenscraig Steelworks, near Mossend Yard, or from Dalzell, near Motherwell. ABOVE: Gartcosh Strip Mill at Gartcosh Jn; Springburn and Glasgow are off top left, Cumbernauld top right with Gartsherrie South Jn, Mossend and Ravenscraig off bottom right. The exchange sidings were accessed by a headshunt north of the original passenger station (upper left). Gartcosh passenger station closed in 1962 but a British Steel rolling strip mill and stockyard were still operating. To travel over this line, I needed a brakevan permit; to this end a carefully composed letter was dispatched to British Rail Scottish Region headquarters. This was successful and the all important brakevan permit was issued (together with several others for lines around Glasgow and Edinburgh). In late Aug 1975, I travelled to Scotland for a few days to make use of these permits. By the afternoon on 27 Aug, I had done all except the short journey from Mossend to Gartcosh. Having been in and out of Mossend three or four times in 24 hours, I was becoming known to some of the railway staff around the yard and at nearby Motherwell. I went to Motherwell Depot and was directed to a Class 25 loco for the trip to Gartcosh, via Ravenscraig Steelworks. The loco ran light engine to Mossend and then reversed through acres of sidings at Ravenscraig, dropping back into the prepared train waiting in the steelworks. At this stage no one appeared to make any distinction between a brakevan permit and a footplate pass [this was quite usual in Scotland at the time - Ed], so I remained in the cab of 25111. Just as we were due to depart, we learned that a freight train ahead of us had developed a problem. This was a bonus in that I was allowed to explore nearby tracks on foot for maybe half an hour. In due course the offending train was taken back to Mossend, clearing our route to Coatbridge and Gartcosh. At last, we were given the road and very soon we were running through Coatbridge Central, then turning west at Gartsherrie South Jn. Arriving at Gartcosh, in some of Scotland's least distinguished scenery, we crossed from the former Caledonian Glasgow to Stirling main line and entered the sidings. The mission was accomplished but another delay ensued. By now I was becoming concerned as I had to be in Edinburgh at a particular time that evening. I started to consider possible ways of achieving this and discussed my options with the men on 25111. If I returned to the somewhat isolated Mossend with them, I would be some distance from a passenger station. Although Gartcosh station was closed, would there be any way of getting through to Cumbernauld station which had an hourly DMU shuttle service, then to Springburn only with a change to an EMU for Glasgow? There were no services from Cumbernauld to Falkirk then. One of the men consulted the Working Timetable and noticed that, in about 20 mins, a freight train was due to pass Gartcosh bound for Stirling. Why not alight at Gartcosh Junction box and ask the signalman to check the Stirling train, then hitch a lift to Cumbernauld?
For a career railwayman in 1975, presumably this was a reasonable suggestion. For an enthusiast visiting from England this was a radical idea, especially as my official authority to travel by brakevan did not extend beyond Gartcosh. However, if the connection could be made, I would still achieve my objective. In addition, it was starting to rain and I did not relish the prospect of a soaking at Mossend. Further discussion ensued and the driver offered to help by telling the Gartcosh Junction signalman that I needed to go to Cumbernauld. A few minutes later the train had clearance to leave the strip mill sidings and we eased our way over the former main line and drew to a halt outside Gartcosh Junction box. As the driver explained the situation to the signalman, I thanked the men on the locomotive and dropped down by the side of the track, clutching my black holdall. The train moved off and I went up the steps into the box. The signalman seemed slightly surprised by my English accent but I was wearing a tie and a dark blazer, so perhaps might have been mistaken for a junior manager, or a trainee seconded from London. Whatever the picture I presented, he could not have been more obliging. I was directed to stand below the box on the appropriate side to wait for the Stirling train to arrive. Within 10 minutes, 27015 appeared from the Glasgow direction and I managed to resist a powerful urge to thumb a lift like a hitchhiker. The diesel slowed to a halt anyway and the cab door was opened by the secondman. The signalman shouted across: You've got a passenger for Cumbernauld! I Climbed up and promptly realised that I was 'riding' my luck. There were three men in the cab - the driver, the secondman and an older man who was sitting in the secondman's seat, making notes. Initially the older man was too preoccupied to look up and, although my appearance had clearly stirred the interest of the other two, they seemed reluctant to open up a conversation. It is about 5½ miles from Gartcosh to Cumbernauld and we must have travelled at least half of the distance before the older man spoke: Don't get many passengers at Gartcosh these days, he said. I've been on a Ravenscraig to Gartcosh train, I replied, taking a look at the steel terminal. Now I need to join a passenger service at Cumbernauld. He digested this information slowly as Cumbernauld station came into view. Do you do a lot of this sort of thing? asked the obviously puzzled driver. As I was considering my answer [perhaps it should have been: Not as much as I would like to…?], the older man, who was clearly senior and acting in some supervisory capacity, chipped in with his own, more direct question: Are you on the railway? Fortunately, 27015 was now drawing to a halt in the station also, fortunately, this potentially awkward question was capable of two quite different (honest) interpretations. In the circumstances, the most literal seemed the most appropriate reply: Of course, I said, Many thanks for the lift. I promptly descended to the platform clutching my holdall and speedily headed for the station footbridge. I was delighted to hear a roar from the Class 27 Sulzer engine as it moved off in the direction of Stirling conveying three perplexed railwaymen. Ever since, I have wished that I could have heard the ensuing conversation in the cab of 27015. Comparisons with Superman are hardly fitting but maybe the questions were similar: Who was that? Where did he come from? What was he doing? Perhaps it is as well that they never knew! Postscript: In 1975, a quarter of the Ravenscraig Steelworks output went to Gartcosh Cold Rolled Steel (Strip) Mill by rail but the mill closed on 31 Mar 1986 with the loss of 700 jobs. Ravenscraig itself ceased production on 24 Jun 1992. Passengers were regularly (rather than irregularly!) conveyed from Gartcosh again from 9 May 2005 when Princess Margaret opened a new station 2ch nearer Glasgow than the previous one on the Glasgow to Cumbernauld route, now electrified, with services to Falkirk. Ironically, nine months after Martin had gone to all this trouble, from 3 May 1976 Gartsherrie South Jn to Gartcosh Jn had passenger services, the Euston to Fort William sleeper trains (see PSUL details)! 2429] Edinburgh Trams: (TRACKmaps 1 p25A 2021) From the start of service on Fri 24 Nov, trams turned back at Ocean Terminal, with the trailing crossover in passenger use on departure. The line to Newhaven closed for repairs to the OHLE of unknown duration (check website for latest information). 2430] Boxing Day Trains: In addition to the customary services in the Strathclyde area, ScotRail will unusually, run Boxing Day trains from Edinburgh to Dunblane, Bathgate (and Helensburgh), Perth via Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes via Dunfermline. There will also be trains from Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh and to Alloa, running non-stop between Queen Street and Falkirk Grahamston via Stepps.
(Item 2429) Edinburgh Trams have been using the trailing crossover at Ocean BELOW: By Greg Beecroft; member Chris Totty is bottom right on his way back
Terminal to turn back with line beyond to Newhaven closed for OHLE repairs. from our Preston AGM to Jersey. NEXT: By Chris Totty! Both Sun 27 Nov 2023.
BELOW: (Item 2431) Ardrossan Town station 18 Nov 1977, during its closed pshows Ardrossan Winton Pier 10 years after it had been renamed Ardrossanthe level crossing upgraded from Automatic Open Crossing Locally Monitored
period, with a DMU from Ardrossan Harbour passing. The destination blind n Harbour. Ardrossan Town station building has since been demolished and d to Automatic Full Barrier Crossing with Obstacle Detection. Greg Beecroft.
2431] Ardrossan: The triangle of lines west of South Beach Station OP in May 1878, branching at Holm Jn and going via Castlehill Jn to Ardrossan Town and Parkhouse Jn to West Kilbride. North of West Kilbride, the line was extended to Fairlie High on 1 June 1880, with the branch to Fairlie Pier on 1 July 1882 and finally Largs on 1 Jun 1885. The main Largs service for many years (certainly 1887 to 1938 as confirmed by the various David & Charles or Middleton Press reprinted Bradshaw Timetables), actually went via and reversed at Ardrossan Town, using the Castlehill Jn to Parkhouse Jn curve. ABOVE: 1954 map; Kilwinning/Glasgow are off bottom right, Fairlie/Largs are off the top. South Beach station is labelled; the further left 'Sta' is Ardrossan Town. Ardrossan Harbour is short of the former Winton Pier station, just past Eglinton Dock. The final passenger train at Montgomerie Pier ran on 25 Sep 1967. Parkhouse Jn is the top of the triangle with Castle Hill Jn lower left and Holm Jn right. This seems to have been more as a way of serving both Ardrossan Town and Largs by the same trains, rather than there being many local journeys only between Ardrossan and Largs. Boat trains from Glasgow to Fairlie Pier and a few peak hour services to Largs used what is now the present direct route between Holm Jn and Parkhouse Jn, then the 'rare' side of the triangle. Rough weather sometimes stopped boats docking at Ardrossan Winton Pier (as Ardrossan Harbour was named until 6 Mar 1967), while Fairlie Pier remained usable. If the ferry was diverted to Fairlie, a special passenger train might be arranged from Winton Pier to Fairlie Pier. See The Marchioness of Graham: A Purser's Log, Richard M Orr, Grimsay Press, 2010 for an example of this on 24 Aug 1957. By 1967, most trains to Largs ran direct. There were just three up trains and two down trains via Ardrossan Town SSuX and none SuO. There were a few more SO, especially during the summer. Ardrossan Town station and the curve from Castlehill Jn to Parkhouse Jn CP 1 Jan 1968 leaving Ardrossan served only and not conveniently at South Beach and by boat trains. Castlehill Jn to Parkhouse Jn CA 30 Sep 1969. Ardrossan Town ROP 19 Jan 1987, with an hourly service from Glasgow. Only trains connecting with boats continued to Ardrossan Harbour at first but most have run through since 17 May 2009. 2432] Ayr Station Hotel: (BLN 1436.2617) From Sat 4 Nov, the service between Girvan and Stranraer was reduced to just the 07.04 from Stranraer and 18.04 from Girvan plus rail replacement buses. The trains operated for the last time on 14 Nov and all services are now provided by road. (Previously there had also been a 12.03 from Girvan and 13.05 return.) One unit had failed and the other was due, on a mileage basis, for maintenance. It is hoped to introduce trains between Kilmarnock and Ayr, possibly from 4 Dec. A single Class 156 would use the north end of Down through P4 at Ayr.
(Item 2433) Five photos of Grangemouth BP internal railway during our 6 Nov 1980 visit. (All Greg Beecroft.) D9524 is an ex-BR Class 14 (OOU in 1980) bought by BP, now at Peak Rail, it was at Darley Dale on 16 Apr 2023.
Around this time (1980) our Society had a distinct 'flair' for industrial railway visits like this.
BELOW: 21 Apr 1965, the rarely photographed Grangemouth passenger terminal station, with its single platform and overall roof, is on the right with a railbus service then. Looking away from the end of line, taken from the A904 overbridge. The other tracks are to the docks/oil refinery etc. (Angus McDougall.)
2433] Grangemouth: Petroineos has announced that oil refining is to end at Grangemouth, probably by 2025. The site will be repurposed as a distribution centre for imported oil products, so current rail traffic may not be affected significantly. Aviation fuel is dispatched to Prestwick and other oil products to Dalston (Cumbria). Over the last 40 years rail traffic to Bishopbriggs, Connel Ferry, Fort William, Hawkhead, Jarrow, Lairg, Leith South, Leuchars, Links Wood (Wormit), Maxwelltown, Oban, Riccarton, Sinfin, Wishaw and most Scottish Region motive power depots has ceased. There used to be chemical traffic from Grangemouth as well but that appears to have ended when the Speedlink network closed. The appropriately named Chemical Line Jn (2m 57ch), on the Forth Port Authority section of the branch, is disconnected. The refinery and chemical works had an extensive internal railway system, now much reduced. During the marathon of fixtures (4-10 Nov 1980) for our 25th Anniversary AGM in Glasgow, four groups of refined members enjoyed cab rides over the then busy BP internal railway. 2434] East Kilbride: (BLN 1432.2159) NR has awarded contracts worth £61.5M to Story Contracting, AmcoGiffen, SPL Powerlines, Siemens, Rail Systems Alliance Scotland and WSP for work to electrify the branch. An associated project to replace P1 (towards Glasgow) at Giffnock starts on 2 Dec and runs until Apr 2024. Unusually, but commendably for these days, the platform is to be rebuilt in sections, so that trains can still call but it will will be limited to two carriage lengths from 26 Jan until 23 Feb. 2435] Glasgow Roundabout: A one day rover valid at over 110 stations in the Glasgow area and the subway, after 09.00 all day weekends and local Bank Holidays. Adult £7.40; Child £3.70 no disciounts. 2436] Balnaguard: Although washouts on Scotland's Railway have become unfortunately frequent with Climate Change, they are not without precedent. On 20 Nov 1959 a train was derailed when part of the formation of the Aberfeldy branch was washed away near Balnaguard Halt. The crew and the single passenger on the train had a remarkable escape. For most of the way from Aberfeldy to the junction with the Highland Main Line at Ballinluig,the branch ran along the south bank of the River Tay near the foot of a hill slope. A drainage ditch ran parallel with the railway, further up the hill side, on the approach to Balnaguard Halt, before discharging into a culvert below the line. There was a storm during the night of 19-20 Nov 1959, when a quarter of the month's normal rainfall fell in four hours. A large volume of water flooded down the hill side, carrying material that blocked a ditch. That caused the ditch to overflow, which washed away the railway formation over a distance of about 25ft, leaving the track hanging in the air. The railway telephone line between Ballinluig and Aberfeldy was unaffected, so there was no indication that anything was wrong. The first train of the day, the 6.41 am from Aberfeldy, was formed of a 0-4-4 tank engine, working bunker first, and two carriages. It was still dark and the driver had no chance of stopping the train before it came to the void beneath the tracks. Incredibly, the train made it across the gap, though the engine became derailed and ended up on its side. That caused the leading carriage to derail and separate from its bogies, but it remained upright. The second carriage also became derailed and remained upright but with its trailing end over the void. The passage of the train had widened the gap to about 45ft. Fortunately, the train crew and the one passenger suffered only minor injuries. The line was repaired and reopened on 30 Nov. The incident was investigated by Colonel JRH Robertson who found that the railway and drains had been properly inspected and maintained. He concluded that the train crew were properly alert and could not have prevented the accident or lessened the damage. No one was in any way to blame for the derailment. At a time when branch line closures were starting to gather pace, it is of note that the line was repaired. It was listed for closure in the 1963 Beeching report and CG 25 Jan 1964; CP 3 May 1965. 2437] Altnabreac: (BLN 1436.2612) A local resident has spoken to the media about the problems that prevent trains calling here.He said that the residents of the station house have obstructed railway staff and contractors, while declaiming Biblical texts. NR and BT, who have been similarly inconvenienced, both obtained interim edicts (Scottish injunctions) to prevent the residents from interfering with their workers but to no effect. ScotRail is unable to access the station for maintenance, to clear snow and grit the platform, hence trains not stopping. By the time BLN is out, a meeting of police, railway and Council officials will have taken place, in an effort to resolve the problem. The house was sold by BR in 1969 but it is only since the present occupants moved in two years ago that difficulties have arisen.