1391

Number 1391 (Items 3179 - 3314 & MR 221 - 227) (E-BLN 146 PAGES) 18 Dec 2021

BRANCH LINE NEWS

Distribuendi notitia, verbi disseminandi [ISSN 1354-0947]

Published 24 times a year by the Branch Line Society; founded 1955.

branchline.uk https://www.facebook.com/BranchLineSociety/

Membership queries: Lisa Sheppard [email protected]
186 AnlabymPaermkbReorasdhiSpo.suetchr,eHtaurlyl,@HbUr4an7cBhUli.ne.0u7k873354464

British Isles news from members; an international section is available.

Opinions are not necessarilyathvaoislaebolef .the Compilers or the Society.

BLN 1392 is dated Sat 8 Jan; all contributions by Wed 29 Dec please

MIND THE GAP! There is a 3‐week gap until BLN 1392 (8 Jan 2022) with NO BLN on 1 JAN 2022.

Your BLN TEAM & COMMITTEE WIScHietyM. SEoMciBetEyR. S A MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY 2022.

.Date Event and details….... Please book online BLN Lead Status
Sat 8 Jan. Scunthorpe Steelworks No23 cold steel tracker 1385 MG waiting list
Sun 30 Jan 1389 MG waiting list
Sun 13 Feb Blackpool Balloon II track & traction tour 1389 MG
Sat 19 Mar Batteries not included, our final Merseyrail tour for now TBA TBA OPEN
Claimed
*NEW* Industrial railway location with 'Molly'

Sun 27 Mar Apedale Valley Light Railway comprehensive railtour TBA TBA Claimed

1-3 Apr Tanat Valley/Welshpool/Oswestry Area minor railways TBA TBA Claimed

Sat 23 Apr *NEW* Eastleigh - Newhaven Marine - South Coast etc TBA TBA Claimed
TBA Claimed
Fri 3 June *NEW* Crewe to Windsor & Eton Central (steam - Britannia) TBA TBA Claimed
TBA Claimed
22-24 Jul Save the date for IOM minor railways (Fri-Sun) 1389 TBA Claimed
Sun 28 Aug Scunthorpe Steelworks No24 Summer track steeler TBA

18-20 Nov Proposed AGM weekend (Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway) TBA

MG = Mark Gomm (per back page); TBA = To be advised;

3179] Fixtures: Society members have priority booking and often discounts - some fixtures with
limited numbers are members only. Advance details (including the table above) are given in good
faith but, of course, are subject to change due to circumstances beyond our control. Other plans:
8-10 Apr: North East track tour, loco hauled. 22-25 Apr: Niedersachsen Explorer (north of Germany).
23 Apr: South coast branches, loco hauled. 2 May: TPE Class 68 to Saltburn. 21-28 May: Northern
Sweden. 28 May: Cornish branches loco hauled. 3 Jun: Mainline steam to Windsor, Queen's Jubilee.
18-19 Jun: Portsmouth and IOW weekend. 24-28 Jun: Silesian Explorer (Poland). 18 Jul: London to
Edinburgh mainline steam. 6 Aug: East Anglia branches, loco hauled. 20-21 Aug: Island of Ireland,
including a mainline railtour. 2-4 Sep: Track tour to Felixstowe, loco hauled. 10-11 Sep: Scottish
branches, loco hauled. 9 Oct: T&W Metro railtour. 3, 10 & 17 Dec: ScotRail HST Santa Specials.

1391 BLN GENERAL (Paul Stewart) [email protected]
3180] Fares increase 2022: This was to have been announced at the end of Nov, but was postponed
due to the fallout from the descoped Integrated Rail Plan. Leaked papers show that the increase for
England and Wales was due to have been 3.8% from Mar 2022 (it is per Fri 17 Dec announcements) -
the largest for nine years. This is because it is linked to the Retail Prices Index in July; the cause of the
high level this year had nothing to do with rail travel costs, of course, (but the Nov figure was 6.0%).

3181] :BLS SALES NEWS: Platform 5, Combined Volume 2022: This is normally published each spring
with up to date information about rolling stock operated on NR. Your Sales Officer has been asked if
it is possible to stock it. To gauge sales, if you are interested in purchasing it, please email or write
(per back page). The cost is unknown but, as usual, will be very competitive and include UK P&P.

SUNDERLAND TRAMWAY SYSTEMS Seaburn

North of Grangetown (8) : Sunderland Corporation Tramways (SCT) Fulwell
South of Grangetown (9) : Sunderland District Electric Tramways (SDET)

KEY 1 Roker
SCT lines 2
Final closure 1 Oct 1954 Southwick
SDET lines
Final closure 15 Jul 1925 N Circle 6 Docks
1 Fulwell depots route 7

(bus and tram) Kayall 5 4
2 Football ground loop Road Closed
3 Wheatsheaf depot 6 Feb 1928
4 Fawcett Street
5 Chester Road Durham Road
6 Hylton Road
7 Hylton Road depot Thorney Villette
8 Grangetown (SCT) Close Road
9 Grangetown (SDET)
Not to scale Grangetown 8
9

Penshaw East Herrington Silksworth Tunstall
To Southwick
Shiney West Herrington CENTRAL Ryhope
Row Herrington Burn To Seaburn
SUNDERLAND via Fulwell via
SDET depot
(Philadelphia) Roker
Wheatsheaf

depot

Fencehouses Hylton Road River Wear
depot

Houghton-le-Spring Central Station Fawcett Street
Circle Vine Place To Docks

Derwent
Street
Durham Road

Hetton-le-Hole Villette
To Thorney Close Road

To Grangetown

CSD Easington Lane

PREVIOUS: Sunderland Corporation Tramways and Sunderland District Electric Tramways, most double
track except the Roker and Seaburn loop plus a few other short sections. (Thanks to Dave Cromarty.)

3182] Early Railway Memories (67) By Martin Connop Price, Part 2 (Member 815): (BLN 1390.3074)
Sunderland retained a busy standard gauge tramway system (12¼ route miles at its peak), longer than
any other town in the North East. If it had not been for WWII, a useful connection would probably
have been made with the 7½ mile South Shields system but those tramways were closed in 1946 and,
in 1951, they also finished in nearby Gateshead (12½ miles; also standard gauge).

Sunderland District Electric Tramways (another 14¼ route miles) once operated a separate, largely
rural, tram line on the south side of the town. The Newcastle upon Tyne Electricity Supply Company
built a power plant at Philadelphia for it behind the Lambton, Hetton & Joicey Collieries power
station. Its line ran south to Ryhope before turning inland towards Silksworth and Herrington with
two branches, but the service sadly expired in 1925. The larger system was controlled by Sunderland
Corporation Transport (SCT) and at one time had three routes to the north of the river
(Monkwearmouth) plus no less than six south of it (Bishopwearmouth). The connecting link was
across the handsome steel arched bridge to Fawcett Street, in the town centre.

Most of these street lines remained in use until 1950 but by the time I was able to take any interest in
trams there seemed to be two main routes, running from a return loop on the seafront at Seaburn.
This line came south through Roker running past the main depot at the Wheatsheaf
(Monkwearmouth) before crossing the River Wear. (Another line from Fulwell joined near the
Wheatsheaf.) The Circle route then continued through Fawcett Street, before heading west up the
Chester Road to Kayll Road, then returning back into town via Hylton Road. This route was bridged
twice by the Hetton colliery line, so offered passing glimpses of colliery traffic, perhaps including an
occasional 0-6-0 tender engine, or even a tank engine once used in South Wales.

The other main route followed the Durham Road southwest to Ettrick Grove. It was extended as late
as 1949 to serve a massive new housing development around Thorney Close, Grindon and Pennywell.
This new section was remarkable for having reserved track, which was far less disruptive to other road
users. I only travelled on this new section once but it certainly seemed smooth and prompt.

Sunderland had a remarkable array of tramcars, most (maybe all) with diamond-style pantographs,
some being built by or for SCT but many others bought in from other systems, including Accrington,
Mansfield, Ilford, Huddersfield, Manchester, Bury and South Shields. The largest was Nº100, an
ex-London Transport 'Feltham' tram, which was impressive but withdrawn about 1951. Its capacity
was 64 seated and 10 standees. The trams and track were well maintained and the trams were usually
painted cream and red, often with adverts for Binns, a local chain of department stores. When the
opportunity arose, these trams could be quite fast. Almost all the cars were double deck but the
accommodation varied in quality. Some had the old wooden slatted seats, with seat backs which could
be reversed at a terminus. Others were surprisingly well upholstered and three cars built in the 1930s
had glass panels along the sides of their roofs, not unlike the observation cars now on Canada's 'Rocky
Mountaineer'. Unfortunately the scenery on offer in Sunderland was rather less spectacular!

The tram conductors were equipped with a board - roughly A4 size - supporting numerous spring clips,
each one holding a batch of thin card tram tickets of assorted hues. Fares were quite cheap and on
payment the traveller was rewarded with the appropriate type of ticket, which was usually punched to
indicate use. The conductors were mostly friendly and outgoing characters; one or two thought that
singing was the right way to brighten up the day. Once, when I was about 8 or 9, I was on the exit
platform of a tram waiting to alight by Sunderland Royal Infirmary. Before the tram had actually
stopped moving, a thoughtless youth leapt aboard and rushed up the stairs to the top deck. In the
process he knocked me off the platform into the gutter. The ladies sitting downstairs were tut tutting
but mostly didn't move, whereas the conductor took the initiative and scooped me up - dishevelled
and slightly bruised. An anxious driver also appeared, so I thanked them but, not wanting any fuss, I
hurried on to school. The tram crew (I think) went up the stairs to deliver a ticking off to the offender.

Situated on the North Sea coast, Sunderland was (and is) exposed to some arctic winter winds and
frequent snow flurries. Snow was undoubtedly a problem for the trams and after a heavy fall the
drifting in Chester Rd and Kayll Road could be amazing - leaving some pavements exposed, but others
under several feet of the white stuff. Naturally SCT had maintenance men and teams of workmen with
shovels but, after a bad snowstorm, it could take many hours to get everything running normally.
In such conditions I was often taken to school by car, sometimes by a family friend who had a superb
pre-war saloon with a sepia tinted perpendicular windscreen. It was extremely comfortable but
emitted some disconcerting noises. On a really cold morning it was not unusual for the owner to start
it with a crank handle. Even so his son and I, although late, reached school like almost everyone else.

Prior to 1952 the General Manager of SCT had the memorable surname of 'Snowball'. He died, either
in office or soon after retirement, and my father conducted his funeral. He had been well liked and, on
the day, SCT services were interrupted to enable all members of staff to attend the church. As a result,
several trams were parked in Kayll Road and our road was cluttered with SCT motor buses. At the time
I didn't have a camera but the scene would have been well worth photographing.

Perhaps Mr Snowball's death hastened the demise of the trams. His successor was surely involved in
the decision to axe them and he stayed on to manage the buses for many more years. Once the
decision was announced, it was soon implemented. On 1 Oct 1954 there was a final procession of
trams from Sunderland Town Hall to Seaburn and the next day buses took over completely. As there
was little market for redundant tramcars, most were soon scrapped. I believe one was moved to
Tunstall Hills, near the Durham Rd, and was cremated at a public fireworks display. One or two others
were sold to private buyers before the track lifting began. The reserved track on the extension to
Thorney Close had only been used for five years - and soon it returned to grass! Tram No16 was moved
to a farm but was recovered many years later and restored at Beamish. Tram No100 also managed to
survive and has been restored at Crich to its original identity as LT No331. Although their survival is
welcome, the real shame is that neither of these vehicles represents the best that Sunderland had to
offer. The three cars with roof window panels were a pleasure to use and SCT also had several modern
cars (Nos48 to 55) with folding central doors, clean lines and a measure of streamlining. These were
the newest in the fleet and they really deserved a much longer career than they actually achieved.

The Roker Park loop was especially important on match days, trams would line up on or near the loop
to take spectators home after the final whistle. As many men then had to work until midday or 1pm
on a Saturday, quite a few might attend in their working clothes. The first match I went to was in 1954,
when Sunderland was at home to Tottenham Hotspur. A certain Alf Ramsey was playing for Spurs!
Little did we know! There was an immense bank at the Fulwell end of the ground, entirely occupied by
standing spectators. Whenever there was some dramatic goal mouth action, everyone craned to see,
causing a ripple across the entire bank, like ripe corn in a summer breeze. I was provided with a small
stool to stand on - but these days all this would give the 'elf and safety' people a nervous breakdown!

There were several collieries in or very close to Sunderland, the largest of which was Wearmouth.
It was the first coastal colliery to be sunk (between 1826/34), through magnesium limestone and had
extensive reserves under the North Sea. In the early 1980s, after significant investment, 2,400 men
produced 1,226,000 tonnes of coal per year from the fully mechanised 'Yard' and 'Maudlin' seams.
It was County Durham's last deep mine (642m) and the final shift was on 10 Dec 1993. A spur to the
colliery swung away from the main line north of the impressive Monkwearmouth station, by sidings
which were frequently occupied by parcels vans and often attended by a K1, J39 or V1 locomotive.
The mine site is now Sunderland FC's 'Stadium of Light' but 25 years ago quite a few folk thought local
history should be honoured by applying the name 'Wearmouth Stadium'. Given the character of the
town, it was slightly surprising that the more pretentious title was chosen. South of the River Wear,
Silksworth colliery (closed 6 Nov 1971) had a connection to the Hetton line but was also served by
British Rail, via a steeply graded branch from Ryhope. Unfortunately, this branch was out of sight of
our usual route home from school but it was quite easy to hear the sound of a train climbing up to
Silksworth, the noise being produced almost invariably by one of Sunderland's many J27s.

As a child I knew next to nothing about coal, apart from seeing it used daily in the fireplace. The local
bituminous variety was often bubbling with tar and emitting fumes, which sometimes turned into
small flickering flares. When out and about, my mother might sometimes point to colliery winding
gear in use but very likely she didn't know the difference between an upcast and a downcast shaft.

Even so, glimpses of Durham pit villages were enough to tell me that mining communities were places
apart, where life was different. Clearly the residents were not wealthy but they were proud and not to
be underestimated. The wives were great workers, always determined to give a good impression.
Each week the front step had to be scrubbed and the door wiped down. Washing was often done on
Mondays, allegedly because there was less dust in the air after the weekend. Passing through such
villages it was quite common to see elderly or off duty miners squatting outside their terraced homes,
alone or in twos or threes, relaxed, chatting, wheezing and yet often smoking. Years of working in
cramped headings must have given them the muscles to socialise easily in this way. The only time I've
seen anything like it was while travelling in rural China (we will leave our readers to work out why…).

The biggest event in the miners' year occurred one weekend in July, the Durham Miners Gala (locally
pronounced Gay-la), a National Union of Mineworkers convention and a celebration of the industry's
long, but often troubled, history. Durham, as a cathedral city, might seem an unlikely setting for such a
gathering but it had the great advantage of being a focal point for many local roads and railways. The
event was on such a scale that special trains ran to Durham from all over the county, including some
from stations already closed to regular passenger services - places like Lanchester, Ushaw Moor and
even (I think) Spennymoor. Some Miners Gala specials ran to Durham Elvet terminal station, which
closed to regular services 1 Jan 1931; its last Gala trains were on 18 Jul 1953. I never had the chance to
ride on any of these but I was told they were well used. One year (probably 1955), driving somewhere
too close to the centre of Durham, we were delayed by the crowds, including union officials proudly
carrying colourful local NUM Lodge banners. An extraordinary community spirit was obvious.

Any determined branch line enthusiast had other excellent options for travel in the mid-1950s.
The slow and scenic ex-North British branch from Hexham to Riccarton Junction remained open until
1956 but, while Frank the organist (BLN 1389.3074) may well have ridden over it, he did not suggest
such an outing for his son and me. Neither did we get an opportunity to travel on the occasional
ramblers' excursions from Newcastle running out to Rothbury, by way of Morpeth. The branches to
Scotsgap and Rothbury lasted into the sixties but by then our home was in Staffordshire and I could
not get away to join the final railtours. Shortly before we moved south though, Frank did propose a
trip down the coast line to Middlesbrough - on one of the new DMUs! Although the absence of a loco
was disappointing, the amazing cleanliness of the train and the all around visibility it offered provided
ample compensation. At Middlesbrough we were allowed onto the footplate of a 'B1' and, on our
return journey, we managed to get seats behind the DMU driver. The views available were fantastic.
Junctions came and went in quick succession, all with signal cabins of NER design and some with quite
elaborate signal gantries. At several locations there were clusters of simmering steam locos, some
shunting and some idling. Everywhere there seemed to be long strings of unfitted coal wagons.

'Namers' were not totally absent, as an 'A3' was seen, two named 'V2s' and three 'B1 Bongos' (among
others of those two classes). Sadly, this was the last outing with Frank and his son before we moved
house but I have always been grateful to Frank for giving me a great start in what proved to be a
lifelong interest. Curiously, as soon as we arrived in the Potteries, most local passenger services were
dieselised and there it became a point of interest to find any train services still worked by steam!

We would be pleased to receive more contributions to this series from members to keep it going.

3183] Points & Slips: ●●BLN 1390.3075] The 5"/7¼" gauge railway on the 26 Nov cover of Private Eye
in BLN 1390 is Broomy Hill Railway, Hereford Society of Model Engineers (MR p18) at Herefordshire
Waterworks Museum, Hereford, visited by the Society on 16 Jun 2002 & 17 Aug 2013. The train is
emerging from the tunnel/shed by the club house. ●●3091] Although SuX in the past, the Waterloo &
City Line is presently SSuX. ●●3133] All three e-BLN pictures were the east side of Huntingdon station.

BELOW: (Item 3188) Elmton & Creswell Junction Signal Box (from the station

n) is doing a good impression of being closed. (Nick Garnham, 29 Jul 2019.)

3184] :BLN Christmas Quiz 2021:: Answers next year…
①-According to Network Rail, what is Britain's shortest passenger branch line?
②-Which year was the British Rail double arrow logo introduced?
③-What colour/s have replaced the original red and blue in the Great British Railways version?
④-Name all the national passenger stations with 'Junction' as part of their official name.
⑤-Which of these are no longer actually railway junctions?
⑥-What is the name of the 'cheeky' station between Lancaster and Heysham?
⑦-Name the only national rail station in Scotland not served by ScotRail trains.
⑧-Name two other stations in Scotland that will be in the same situation.
⑨-Name the six narrow gauge railways that became part of the 'Big Four' companies in or after 1923.
⑩-Which of them became part of British Railways on 1 Jan 1948?
⑪-Which languages appear on nameboards and signs at Wallsend stop on the Tyne & Wear Metro?
⑫-What is the nickname of the rock fall warning system in the Pass of Brander on the Oban line?
⑬-In a manual signal box which levers are coloured blue?
⑭-No railway was ever built to this UK port, despite the best efforts of local promoters; its nearest
……rail structure is a prototype London Underground tunnel section. Which port/underground line?
⑮-Which town has two railway stations, on different lines, both named after former industrial
…….concerns? There was a third station on another line, but it has closed. Clue: Did Carol live here?

3185] DBC: A member reports that possible Christmas industrial action may affect engineering works.

1391 EAST MIDLANDS (Graeme Jolley) [email protected]
3186] Nottingham Express Transit (1): (BLN 1390.3077) GMB Union members rejected the 11% pay
rise over three years 'overwhelmingly'. So far one day of strike action has taken place on Sat 6 Nov.

(2): Due to a collapsed sewer on Sun 28 Nov, trams from Hucknall turned back at Meadows Way West
(ECS shunt via NG2 crossover). Services from Toton Lane turned back at Cator Lane; trailing crossover
in passenger use on departure. The driver told our member that he had worked on NET for 10 years
and until 30 mins before had never used that crossover (he should have come on one of our tours!).

3187] Hanslope Jn - Weedon - Hillmorton Jn: This section of the West Coast Main Line is TCA Tue 4 Jan
until Wed 12 Jan 2022 inclusive for flood prevention works to improve 4km of trackside drainage.
All services run via Northampton adding about 25 min. Most LNwR Trent Valley services (normally via
Weedon) run between Crewe and Rugby only (turning back in P4 with some use of P2 on Sun 9 Jan).

3188] Creswell: NR wishes to close and decommission Elmton & Creswell Junction Signal Box, set
back from the Down side of the Robin Hood Line (to Worksop) at 149m 37ch. It has been switched out
since Sep 2013 and is now boarded up, only opened for maintenance or engineering work. With the
collapse of coal traffic, there is one passenger train an hour each way apart from occasional stock
movements to or from storage at Worksop. The signal box area is quite small with about eight residual
working signals - but includes some rare working distant semaphores. It once controlled points for
trains to Creswell Colliery, the junction for the Clown(e) branch to Staveley and a Ground Frame.

The box (an LMS Type 11c) dates from 1946 and has an LMS pattern 48-lever frame manufactured in
1938. However, it was not used until fitted to the box in 1946. As usual, the number of working levers
has declined over the years. Nearby Creswell Colliery (latterly just a merry-go-round coal loading
bunker alongside the Up line) closed at the end of Sep 1991. The junction for the steeply graded single
track line to Oxcroft Jn via Clown(e) went out of regular use from 2 Mar 1991 and was plain lined by
Sep 2003. (BLN 1297.134 of 20 Jan 2018 has details of that line with three pictures of the box in 2009).
The associated trailing crossover at Elmton & Creswell was removed from 17 Dec 2018.

1391 GREATER LONDON (Geoff Brockett) [email protected]
3189] Aldwych: The 1972 Mk1 Tube Stock unit kept here for filming was removed on 24 Nov. It was
taken to Acton LT Museum site for removal of spares, then will be disposed of. ('District Dave' forum.)

3190] Angerstein Wharf: A WO DBC flow of sea-dredged sand to Hayes & Harlington started on 24 Nov.

X.253] BELOW: The 06.44 Cambridge to York steam excursion Passing Park Drain on the Joint Line.
(Miss Donna Dickinson, taken from an adjacent former railway cottage, Thur 16 Dec 2021.)

3191] Station usage 2020-21: Passenger usage patterns were very different to the previous financial
year, which was only affected by the pandemic at the end. After 16 years in the national top spot of
entries and exits, Waterloo fell to fifth and Stratford moved up from eighth to first. Development
continues in the former Olympic Park and the adjoining Westfield shopping centre also attracts
substantial passenger numbers. There is also much interchange with the Central & Jubilee Lines and
DLR. King's Cross, Paddington and St Pancras International were replaced in the Top 10 by Barking,
East Croydon and Clapham Junction. Reflecting the importance of the capital in the national network,
nine of the national Top 10 and 38 of the top 50 stations were in Greater London. The top three
stations for interchanges in Greater London were Clapham Junction, London Bridge and Stratford.

Busiest Stations in Greater London 2020-21: Quietest Stations in Greater London:
(1): Stratford 14.0M (1): Sudbury & Harrow Road 6,000
(2): Victoria 13.8M (2): Drayton Green 7,000
(3): London Bridge 13.8M (3): South Greenford 9,000
(4): Waterloo 12.2M (4): Sudbury Hill Harrow 15,000
(5): Liverpool Street 11.2M (5): Castle Bar Park 27,000
(6): Highbury & Islington 8.7M (6): Morden South 32,000
(7): Clapham Junction 8.4M (7): Birkbeck 35,000
(8): Barking 6.8M (8): Reedham 36,000
(9): East Croydon 6.7M (9): Woodmansterne 38,000
(10): Euston 6.6M (10): Sundridge Park 38,000

3192] Chessington South: (BLN 1381.1898) On Fri 10 Dec DC Rail ran a trial train, 60028 hauled six
wagons from Willesden 'F' Sidings with limestone from Stancombe Quarry (Flax Bourton) loaded at
Bristol South Liberty Siding. It reached Chessington South 10.07, leaving 19.07 after unloading. The
last freight (worked by Didcot men) at the former coal depot south of the station, was Tue 8 Nov 1988;
loco 37376 collected 5 empty HEA wagons. A detailed view of the new layout: https://bit.ly/3DG4G4P

A local member taking photographs from public locations was invited into the new Express Concrete
Ltd terminal here (a significant investment). There are no more trains booked yet but a standard train
would be 18 wagons with potential for two a day! They will split into two nine wagon rakes to unload
the spent ballast. The unloading digger will normally move along the pad next to the train but on
Fri 10 Dec the very new concrete had not cured sufficiently. For the trial run a protective pile of earth/
stone was placed on the concrete for it to stand on and the train was moved to empty each wagon.

Beyond Chessington South the trailing crossover is retailed for freight trains to run round and the
third rail now ends immediately beyond it (the Sectional Appendix shows that it is only live to the
country end of the platform). Looking towards the end of line there are two trailing connections on
the Down (left hand) side. The first is from the unloading pad - which is on level track so its buffer stop
(Chessington) end is significantly higher up than the running line. A second unloading siding was
considered but not progressed. The second trailing connection, also left, is a short cripple siding.

Between these two connections the pair of lines from Chessington South now combine to complete
the run-round loop. Its long headshunt (to take at least 18 wagons and a loco) continues on the Up
side of the double track formation; the Down side trackbed is surfaced for train staff to walk on.
The line ends at 14m 32ch (TQ 1772 6251), buffer stops before Chalky Lane (the rail bridge over it has
gone), 36ch south of the passenger terminus platform midpoint. Old OS maps have track continuing
for 34ch further, which was originally to be a double track electrified passenger line to Leatherhead.

3193] Greenford: (BLN 1390.3086) From 3 Jan, a 2tph all day service is restored SuX. Of interest to
microgricers, the last train of the day from Greenford is to Paddington, covering the single track main
line connection off the branch. Also the 11.17 WO West Ealing to West Ruislip P4 weekly Chiltern
unidirectional PSUL runs over the Up Main and Up West Ruislip Loop in the Down direction from
Ruislip Gardens Jn (where it does the facing crossover in the rarer direction). Greenford (LUL) Bay Jn -
Greenford West Jn - Northolt Jn ROP Wed 15 Dec 2021 after TCP from 23 Mar 2020 (Covid timetable).

TOP OF THIS PAGE: 1960 one-inch
Seventh Series map, Chessington
North station is top centre with
Chessington South below. It is not
certain that track was actually in
situ that far as is shown ever or
particularly in 1960. Does anyone
know for sure please? It now ends
before the very minor (white)
road underbridge which has gone.

ABOVE (CENTRE): The new 2021
layout (plan thanks to Martyn
Brailsford.)

LEFT: 1:10,560 scale (6" to a mile)
1961 map in coal depot days - the
minor road, Chalky Lane is marked
bottom centre. The line now ends
just before its overbridge which
has been removed years ago.

(Item X.257 on the last page of
this e-BLN has a couple of tour

photos here from 1987.)

BELOW: The Fri 10 Dec 2021 Willesden 'F' Sidings freight to Che

essington South passes Clapham Junction P17. (Geoff Noakes.)

BELOW: The train leaving Motspur Park station with its island p

platform, heading for the Chessington branch. (Geoff Noakes.)

BELOW: View southwest of the revived freight terminal line fro

om Chessington South platform. (Geoff Noakes, 10 Dec 2021.)

BELOW: The first freight train for 33 years is on time at 13.07 on Fri 10 D
It is understood that the left hand Up platform has never been used by pa

Dec at the rather run down Chessington South, looking towards London.
assenger trains but has previously stabled ECS. (Iain Scotchman and next.)

BELOW: Heading south to the terminal, the unloading siding is on the left at a higher level.

THIS PAGE: 37376 on the previous freight train here (to remove five empty HEA coal hopper wagons) runs
round on Tue 8 Nov 1988. Note the third rail extended further along the Down line then. (Geoff Noakes.)



PREVIOUS PAGE & ABOVE: The final departure from the coal depot. (All Geoff Noakes, 8 Nov 1988.)
BELOW: A passenger train on 8 Nov 1988 - the destination blind shows Hampton Court!

BELOW: Back to 10 Dec 2021; the train is in the level unloading siding, on the

e former coal depot site, this line is at a higher level this end. (Geoff Noakes.)

BELOW: Unloading the train at Chessington South Cemex terminal - the p

passenger station is off to the right. (Iain Scotchman). NEXT: Geoff Noakes.





BELOW: Looking towards Chessington South. All pictures in the term

minal taken with permission and under supervision. (Geoff Noakes.)

BELOW: Chessington South passenger station is the ot

ther side of the overbridge lower left. (Geoff Noakes.)

BELOW: (Item 3193) West Ealing, Wed 15 Dec 2021, the Chiltern ECS approa

aches from the Greenford branch for the first WO 11.17 to West Ruislip P4.

[BLN 1
BELOW: This was the first Chiltern passenger train from West Ealing bay P5

1391]
5 since Fri 20 Mar 2020 and there were four passengers! (All Don Kennedy.)

BELOW: Note the passenger information screen bottom right and t

the former dock for railborne inward milk traffic right of the DMU.

BELOW: At West Ruislip Up P4, unusually, the train reverses here and

d is then ECS at 11.52 back to Marylebone (from where it originated).

BELOW: (Item 3196.1) York Road on the Northern Line, with the characterist

tic Leslie Green blood red tiles, it CP 19 Sep 1932. (Stuart Hicks, 1 Dec 2021.)

3194] Northern Line: (BLN 1389.2978) Bank is not the first station on the line with a resited platform.
The City & South London Railway built some of its stations with narrow island platforms. These still
exist at Clapham North and Clapham Common - problematic when events take place on the Common.
Euston was one such station and reconstruction was needed for the Victoria Line. The Northbound
Line was diverted through a new 2,500ft tunnel, OP Jun 1967, the new platform OP 15 Oct 1967, and
the previous Northbound Line was infilled to widen the Southbound platform for Victoria line use.
The Victoria Line was threaded between the Northern Line tunnels to provide level interchange.
Part of the Northbound Line, no longer needed for passenger services, was kept to form the Euston
Loop. It can be used as a long crossover and connects with the King's Cross Loop, which links to the
Piccadilly Line. If this sounds complicated, here is a Martyn Brailsford plan that explains it all well…

At Stockwell, no Northern Line alterations were needed, as the Victoria Line tunnels were bored
outside the existing platforms. Angel was another station with a narrow island platform, still only
accessed by lifts. The layout became increasingly inadequate as a result of new office developments in
the mid-1980s and a complete rebuild commenced in 1989. The lifts were replaced by escalators
leading from a new booking hall and a new Northbound tunnel was constructed. Trains were diverted
via this tunnel from 9 Aug 1992, with the new platform and ticket hall opening the following day.
The Southbound platform was closed for reconstruction, reopening on 12 or 19 Oct (sources vary).
London Bridge was already inadequate for the traffic and the Jubilee Line Extension provided a chance
to rebuild the station. The station and the Southbound Line were closed between Kennington and
Moorgate on 1 Jul 1996, reopening 21 Oct 1996 with a new platform further west. This allowed a
circulating area to be built between the two Northern Line platforms and a link to the Jubilee Line.
3195] You may still see a Ford Puma at Oxford Circus: (BLN 1379.1680) Westminster Council has
abandoned its pedestrianisation plans because of funding concerns and local opposition. ('Buses'.)
3196] Hidden London: (BLN 1386.2891) ❶A member joined the virtual tour of York Road on 29 Nov.
The station was OP 15 Dec 1906 by the Great Northern Piccadilly & Brompton Railway, with the rest of
that stretch of what is now the Piccadilly Line. The usual practice was a surface building at the side of
the road with lifts to a lower landing and stairs to reach the platforms as the tracks were normally
directly under roadways. Unusually, at York Road the lifts took passengers to the platforms as the
tracks were under a goods yard, not the road. Other stations with lifts to platforms were Caledonian
Road (almost identical), Earl's Court, which is similar but which also had the first escalators on the line,
and King's Cross (lifts were beyond one end of the platforms). The surface buildings are to the usual
Leslie Green design. Provision was made for four lifts in two shafts, although it is unclear if lifts 3 & 4
were ever installed. If they were, they were moved fairly quickly, as they had certainly gone by 1927.

The station was one of those closed by the General Strike from 4 May 1926 and, as passenger volumes
had been lower than anticipated, it remained closed (along with Brompton Road) for several months,
until public pressure forced a reopening on 4 Oct 1926. However, from 19 Sep 1932 York Road closed
permanently. The station is only half a mile north of King's Cross and in an area without much housing.
Those who lived nearby probably worked locally and had little need (or finance) to use the line.

The surface buildings are extant by what is now York Way and used for ventilation. They are behind a
high security fence now, still surrounded by light industry. The exterior of the main building has, from
left to right: 'YORK ROAD STATION' on the front 'ENTRANCE' (angled corner) then, on the side, the
name repeated, then 'EXIT'. The station plan shown had another exit on the north wing from lifts 3 &
4. As these may not have been installed or used much, the second exit may well not have been
opened. Indeed, the front exit was closed after a few years, with passengers exiting via the entrance.

Several early pictures showed that there was no booking office, passengers had to buy tickets from
the lift attendant [your Editor remembers this at Aldwych station in 1965] or machines. Pictures were
shown of the lovely gentlemen's toilet, with red and orange wall tiles and the Oates & Green of Halifax
urinals. They showed what looked like a fireplace in the corridor leading to the second exit, which was
believed to have become staff accommodation. Some green tiles with pomegranates were visible and
are still intact, as at Holloway Road and Edgware Road Bakerloo Line - the two alternative designs.

The two lift shafts had an 89' 6" drop, each with two lozenge shaped lifts. Adjacent is a 154-step metal
modern spiral staircase, with a ventilation shaft down the centre; the original anticlockwise stairs and
their tiling have gone. One reason for never being able to take physical tours into this station is that
the staircase is wet and in the film there was certainly water ingress, although the videos were taken
on a day when it was raining hard. More water was visible on the floor at the bottom of the shaft.

Another video showed the Southbound platform. The tiles are in situ along the side of the platform
and over the top of the tracks, but the platform itself has been removed, partly to allow trains to pass
at line speed. Passing into one of the cross passages, a G Woolliscroft maker's mark was shown on one
of the tiles. Another cross passage was shown, with dark yellow paint in the upper half above the tiles.

The Northbound platform is similar, but there is a brick building on the platform with an electrical
control panel. The walls are generally painted white to obscure the location. Most of the platform has
also been removed, but part remains by the former wooden signal box; it had a Westinghouse 'B'
frame, but is now empty. This was retained until 25 Apr 1964 to control the trailing crossover at the
northern end of the platforms. Latterly, It must have been a lonely place to work. The Northbound
platform was used for engineering storage and may also have had WWII usage. The video returned to
the bottom of the lifts. The shaft for lifts 3 & 4 is not used, but that for 1 & 2 still has its original Otis
gates at the bottom. It now has metal steps for access up inside, the top is capped but duct extractor
fans there remain an important part of Piccadilly Line ventilation. A Q&A session concluded the tour.

❷The virtual tour of Euston opened with a general introduction to the railways in the area, including
Euston Square and the main line station. 1907 saw the first deep level tubes, with both the City &
South London (C&SL) and the Charing Cross, Euston & Hampstead (CXE&H) deep level tube lines
arriving at different ends of the station in May and Jun 1907 respectively. Although operated by
different companies, they recognised that there would be passengers wanting to interchange and built
an interchange passage, with a rebooking office. The C&SL building in what was then Seymour Street
(now Eversholt St) closed in 1914, was demolished in 1934 and LMS railway offices were built there.

A film was shown of the steps to the platforms and the ventilation shaft above them. The video then
continued on the southbound C&SL platform, along the platform and into the former northbound
running tunnel, remaining after the 1967 Victoria Line changes (Item 3194) and now used for storage.
Seemingly, it is not possible to access these on a physical tour because there is only one entrance.

Back at the surface, the tour moved to the Leslie Green CXE&H station in Melton Street, also closed as
a passenger entrance in 1914. The video continued through the left hand door, once a shop, and into
the office upstairs. Then into the centre door, as live tours did several years ago, which lead to another

ventilation shaft. The images continued down the stairs, past a large fan, noting the blue and white
colour scheme on the tiles descending the former anticlockwise spiral staircase. Another shaft, once
with lifts, is used as a cable run. The surface buildings are expected to be demolished soon for HS2.

A video then showed the connecting tunnels from the CXE&H platforms east to the subterranean
elements of the 1914 station. These closed from 29 Apr 1964 as part of the Victoria Line preparatory
works and still have original 1964 posters. The new ticket office opened 8 Mar 1965 and the remaining
passageways along with the lifts were last used on Fri 13 Oct 1967. The only remaining below ground
interchange ticket office is visible here. The video then showed the underground entrance from what
are now P8-11 in the centre of the main line station, although access then was down a much narrower
flight of stairs. Below was a ticket window and passages to the lifts, past a huge 'TO THE LIFTS' sign.

The station had circular lift shafts and a modern set of stairs was shown on one side of a shaft, which
once had three lifts. Many of the tiles appear beautifully preserved, but cables have been attached to
them. The final video showed the LMS wartime control room, at lower lift shaft level. It was partly
removed and replaced by a lengthy Victoria Line ventilation tunnel. Again there was a Q&A session.

3197] Southern/Thameslink/Great Northern: (BLN 1384.2289) Some SSuX services are reduced from
13 until 24 Dec: ●Clapham Junction - Milton Keynes Central: Reduced to just round trip in each peak.
●London Bridge - Beckenham Junction via Crystal Palace: Hourly peak trains only. ●Tattenham Corner
reduced to a Purley shuttle 1tph; 2tph at busy times. ●The fast Caterham to London Bridge trains that
these trains attached to/detached from are withdrawn. ●St Albans - Sutton Loop cut to 1tph each way.

Service enhancements will be phased in between 12 Dec and 4 Jan: ●Gatwick Express reinstated, 2tph
SuX non-stop Victoria - Gatwick Airport continuing to Brighton. This replaces the current Southern
service, East Croydon and Haywards Heath have fewer calls. (SuO Victoria - Gatwick Airport only.)

●Extra peak services for Epsom, Sutton plus Victoria to London Bridge via Crystal Palace (from two
each way to 10 SSuX). ●London Bridge - Beckenham Junction via Crystal Palace return to 2tph all day
SSuX. ●Uckfield is largely back to hourly all day (was 2-hourly off-peak). ●Littlehampton - Bedford
morning peak, returning in the evening peak, reinstated. ●Orpington - Luton via Catford 2tph peak
service reinstated. ●Additiona; GN inner suburban and Peterborough - King's Cross 'peak' services.
●King's Cross - Cambridge stopping services between the peaks restored to 2tph beyond Royston.

3198] Crossrail: (BLN 1390.3094) Traction current supply from Bow Jn to Shenfield, including Ilford
Depot and the Upminster branch, will be upgraded from Mar to support the full Crossrail timetable.

3199] More Xmas Engineering: (BLN 1390.3092) From 27 Dec to 3 Jan (8 days) there are no services at
Fenchurch Street. Work includes bridge strengthening near Fenchurch Street and Shadwell. On 29-31
Dec trains run to/from Liverpool Street and on the other days will terminate at Barking.

3200] HS2: (BLN 1390.3095) Construction work on the station box at Old Oak Common started in Oct.

3201] East Acton: (BLN 1381.1902) Reconstruction of the eastbound platform (TCP 2 Aug 2021) is
proceeding very slowly and its closure has now been extended from 'late Dec' until 'mid-May 2022'.

3202] Queens Road Peckham: The station now has gated entrances on both sides of the viaduct, with
the ticket office at ground level on the west side. One of the adjacent arches has a coffee shop now.

3203] East London Line: With your Editor's apologies, the second part of BLN 1390.3085 was after
3096. It should have read: TfL has applied for permission to amend previous plans for a station called
Surrey Canal betwixt Surrey Quays and Queens Road Peckham. When the line was extended through
here in 2012, piled retaining walls for a ticket hall on Surrey Canal Road and structures to support
4-car platforms were built. However, at the time funding was not available to build a complete station.

A development for 3,500 homes in the area can only be built if the station is constructed. The main
entrance on Surrey Canal Road will be linked to the platforms by stairs and lifts, with a second set of
stairs from the south ends of the platforms. These will now need to be 5-car length and clamped to
the sides of the viaduct, with canopies for about a quarter of their length. £10M funding will come
from the government's Housing Infrastructure Fund and the station could open in early 2025.

3204] TfL Finances: (BLN 1390.3088) LU station posts are to be cut. 250 vacancies will not be filled;
250-350 staff will not be replaced when they retire/resign. Inevitably, the RMT is to hold a strike ballot.

1391 NORTH EAST & YORKSHIRE (Geoff Blyth) [email protected]

::>>>> WANTED! More news and items from West Yorkshire, PLEASE! <<<<::

3205] Integrated Rail Plan (IRP); Part 1 - Transpennine Upgrade: (BLN 1390.3075, 3079, 3108 & 3109)
The government has cancelled the Northern Powerhouse Rail Manchester to Leeds via Bradford line
but little detail is given about its replacement and how the intended 33 min journey time would be
achieved. There are various improvements but also issues which would need to be addressed:

Manchester - Leeds: As well as electrifying through to York (but only by 2030-32), a new high speed
line (not in the HS2 league, more likely 125mph) is envisaged between Warrington, Manchester and
Marsden to two miles east of (beyond) Standedge Tunnels, bypassing the 45mph restriction at the
east end of the tunnels. It is impossible to upgrade the current line between Stalybridge and Diggle as
there is no room. The LNWR 'quadrupled' this section by building another line, the Micklehurst Loop,
(double track) on the other side of the valley. However, this route is now 'lost' (BLN 1336.2316 & 2317).

East of Marsden, after the line was reduced to double track, British Rail Eastern Region used the four
track formation to ease some of the curves and raise the line limit to 75/85 mph. The hourly local
service creates a large gap in the timetable as there is no effective means of overtaking a local train in
the 18 miles between Stalybridge and Huddersfield. (Diggle has a short Down Loop and Marsden an
Up one). The new line will reduce the double track bottleneck west of Huddersfield to about 5 miles.
Hopefully this would permit a half-hourly local service as well as more expresses and freight traffic.

The Huddersfield to Westtown (Dewsbury) section, planned to be fully quadrupled and upgraded to
100/110 mph, has been covered extensively (BLN 1349.936). The roughly 8¾ mile section from
Westtown to Copley Hill (Leeds) is probably the most difficult as there is no way of overtaking a local
train. There are plans (BLN 1376.1254) for line speed improvements, resignalling and electrification
(Transpennine Upgrade Project W4) and for easing the curvature to increase the line speed at Morley
from the present 45/55 mph (Project W5). The IRP mentions significantly longer sections of three and
four-tracking. This is where it would make the most difference but would require land acquisition and
is constrained by the new White Rose station (BLN 1380.1802), designed only for double track.

3206] Bridlington: (BLN 1389.2986) The cost of renumbering P4, 5 & 6 as P1, 2 & 3 is 'prohibitive'.

3207] Lumo: (BLN 1389.2989) A member sampled the 14.36 King's Cross to Newcastle on 25 Nov,
experiencing the difficulties of regulating trains on a heavily trafficked mainly double track line.
Two days earlier, he had found on his Up journey that, rather than taking his booked seat in a packed
Coach C, over half of Coach E (at the north end) was unreserved. Most unreserved seats faced south,
so were back to travel, going north. The 'EasyJet-style' service means there is not much luggage space,
and some with reserved seats had stowed their suitcases on the unreserved space.

Unfortunately a signal fault at Knebworth caused significant problems. The severely delayed 13.30
LNER Azuma to Edinburgh departed 14.34, the 14.30 at 14.39 and the 14.36 Lumo at 14.47. The Lumo
overtook the 14.30 at Peterborough and the 13.30 at Doncaster. It took the booked PSUL route via
York Yard South, much to our member's relief as he needed the track, then the Down Slow through
Skelton Jn and Skelton Bridge Jn with the single track bridge over the River Ouse (once quite difficult
to do). Approaching Tollerton, it was overtaken by the 13.30, which it had overtaken at Doncaster!

The Lumo crossed to the Down Fast at Tollerton but was behind the 13.30, with its Northallerton call.
At Darlington it followed the Azuma through P4. This is common as overtaking via the Down Main
crosses the Up station line twice. Although only 3 min behind the 13.30 at Tursdale Jn, our member's
train was held on the Down Fast at Durham while the Azuma called. The Azuma was just leaving P2 at
Newcastle, as the Lumo arrived at P3, where our member alighted. Both called at Morpeth but the
Lumo was again held while the Azuma called at Alnmouth. All three were then non-stop to Waverley,
the 13.30 arrived 75 min late, the Lumo 17 late, 3 min behind, and the 14.30 following 62 late.

BELOW: (Item 3209) The Richmond branch 1959, then a 'principal' station with

double track, the ECML is top right, Darlington off the top, Northallerton right.

BELOW: By this 1966 edition Richmond terminus (top left) was just an 'ordinar
Note its new bridge over the then A1 Catterick Bridge bypass. Only