1391

any HSTs have 'stopped here' in P12 at Euston? (John Gordon, 13 Dec 2021.)
through journey on a service train - if ever? (NEXT: Don Kennedy.)



3235] Over to you: Until 17.00 on 23 Dec a consultation is taking place on the proposed Dec 2022
timetable for Manchester and North West area, including Blackpool and Cumbria. It was drawn up by
the Manchester Recovery Task Force. https://bit.ly/3IKgLK3 has each line's proposed timetable in
detail and explains how to make your contributions. (Request for more PSULs will not be counted…)

3236] Sandhills: A virtual time lapse video shows how Everton's new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium is
to be built, not far from the station. The site's heritage assets, including cobbles, capstans, mooring
posts and dock railway track have all been removed, preserved and will eventually be reinstated.

1391 SOUTH EAST - NORTH & EAST ANGLIA (Julian James) [email protected]
3237] Werrington Jn: (BLN 1390.3123) On 22 Nov the ORR granted authorisation under Regulation
4(1)(a) of the Railways (Interoperability) Regulations 2011, as amended, for the placing in service of the
Werrington Grade Separation project. The three page letter mostly just defines the project limits!

On Wed 1 Dec the Up (southbound) line was shown as 'blocked' on Railcam and was not used again
until 14.00 on 7 Dec. It is not clear why but a tamper was at work one day and freight trains continued
to use the Down line. The first passenger train was on Sun 5 Dec. Due to a person hit by a train, the
13.30 King's Cross to Hull (Hull Trains 1H03) started from Peterborough P5 at 14.39½ (21 min late) and
ran via Werrington Diveunder in passenger service to the Spalding line - ECML trains were running via
the Joint Line that day. The Thur 9 Dec LNER special train (BLN 1390.3123) was an opening special; the
Society had a representative on board who described it as a 'jolly affair'. 800107, a 9-car Azuma, left
King's Cross P8 at 09.03 and Peterborough P5 at 10.05. The special turned back in Spalding P1.
On the return it went through the Diveunder and took the New England ladder to Peterborough P3.

Guests, including Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris (travelling by bus!) were treated to refreshments
and congratulatory train announcements from Ed Akers, NR project sponsor, David Haynes LNER MD
and Simon Smith, MD of Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, the main contractors. Mr Smith paid tribute to
his own staff, subcontractors and partners who had worked in the pandemic to complete the project.

3238] Soham: (BLN 1388.2874) ROP Mon 13 Dec 2021 after ORR confirmation that the new station
met the appropriate railway standards. On Sun 12 Dec the line was closed for engineering work, rail
replacement buses were not provided at Soham. It is on the site (7m 64ch) of the one CP 13 Sep 1965.

3239] Harwich Town branch: (BLN 1374.1020) In 2023 at Mistley NR plans to remove the incline line
and its facing crossover connection from the Down Harwich line (neither shown on TRACKmaps since
the Feb 1998 edition) together with the Up Refuge Siding and its connection which trails into the Up
Harwich. The trailing crossover at 60m 70ch and Down Loop (Siding on TRACKmaps) are not affected.

3240] Brandon: (BLN 1359.2457) DC Rail is moving limestone here from Tunstead for the current
winter sugar beet refining campaigns at Wissington and Bury St Edmunds sugar factories. Both were
once connected to the national network, of course. Hydrated lime (calcium hydroxide) 'sugar stone' is
used for pH correction and to capture and remove impurities from rendering sugar beet; 125kg is
needed for each tonne of white refined sugar (as for sugar cane). The trains carry over 1,800 tonnes of
stone and the 6,000 tonnes a week delivered replace over 200 lorry journeys. In previous years the
traffic went by rail to Eccles Road Freight Terminal or Norwich Riverside Freight Depot. Brandon
Down Sidings have also been receiving aggregates for the booming East Anglia construction market.

3241] Bishops Stortford: (BLN 1337.2458) The Down sidings are OOU from 11 Dec until 20 Jun 2022,
for storage of machines and materials for points and plain line renewal works in the station area.
TRACKmaps correctly shows only one non-electrified siding as the Down Yard with a headshunt.

3242] GWR branches: From Mon 3 Jan the Henley-on-Thames branch has nine extra round trips SSuX
(11 extra SO, eight SuO), restoring an all day broadly half-hourly service (until 19.00 SuO; 20.00 SO then
becomes hourly). The Windsor & Eton branch, which now mostly has two trains per hour with 20 and
40 min gaps, increases back to an all day 20-min frequency SSuX and until 21.00 SO/19.00 SuO (then
half hourly). Marlow is unchanged; a basic off-peak seven day hourly service with a half-hourly shuttle
to/from Bourne End in what used to be the commuter peaks, with connections to/from Maidenhead.

3243] Watford Junction: (BLN 1381.1949) From 29 Dec 2014 the St Albans branch junction was
remodelled and resignalled from ground frame (manually) operated to become a signalled passenger
move. (Compare TRACKmaps 4 p8B Aug 2013 with p2B Dec 2018.) A passenger train could then
terminate in Watford Junction P11 from the south or run through to St Albans Abbey, provided the
branch is not occupied by a train. After nearly seven years this is booked to happen in one direction in
the new timetable, a 21.10 SSuX Euston EMU through to Watford Junction P11 (21.29), then departing
21.31 for St Albans Abbey (21.47). The local press calls it 'The St Albans Flyer'. It is for stock rotation;
the previously used Class 319 EMUs are being replaced with Class 350s from the new timetable.

The balancing working is ECS - the 20.47 SSuX from St Albans Abbey terminates in Watford Junction
P11 at 21.03 then departs 21.09 ECS to Euston (21.31). The last passenger carrying train to do the
connection to P11 (with the previous layout) is thought to have been Spitfire Railtours' R 'n' B 3.14
(Routes & Branches) railtour late on the evening of Sat 22 Oct 2011 (after the branch service had
finished) from Waterloo, returning to Ealing Broadway. In the new timetable the branch is shown as
having trains all day Saturdays and Sundays. Mon-Fri it is mostly trains with an evening gap covered by
an 18.56 bus from Watford Junction and a second bus from St Albans Abbey at 19.17. The last
departures (22.21 from the Junction and 22.44 from the Abbey) are also buses rather than trains.

3244] Bedford - Bletchley: The number of booked round train trips on the line has increased from six
to nine in the new timetable but eight are still buses, ominously shown as running until 14 May 2022.
There are even two units running during the afternoons (and for longer on Saturdays). The buses tend
to be pairs - one all stations (85 min), the other 'semifast' (62 min) - trains take 41 min all stations.

1391 SOUTH EAST - SOUTH (Julian James) [email protected]
3245] Tilbury2, every little helps: (BLN 1386.2641) This new intermodal terminal has sprung into life.
On Mon 22 Nov a DRS route learning light engine ran from Dagenham Dock in the morning. At 17.34
that day a DRS worked Tesco intermodal train arrived (14.05 from Daventry); one has run nearly seven
days a week since (transferred from Tilbury, London Container Terminal). On Tue 30 Nov a DRS 'trial'
train ran to Coatbridge. It must have been successful as it has run most days since (even weekends).

3246] Portsmouth & Southsea: [At the time of the accident the current Down Main, passing P3 at
Fratton was known as the Down Relief and the current Down & Up Fratton at P2 was the Down Main.]
The inquiry conducted by Lieutenant Colonel AG Townsend-Rose on behalf of the Railway Inspectorate
into a collision between two passenger trains that occurred 50 years ago at 13.15 on 15 Dec 1971 at
Portsmouth & Southsea High Level station concluded that it was caused by the driver of one of the
trains failing to observe successive colour light signals at caution and danger respectively.

In 1971 the signalling in the Portsmouth area comprised of a mixture of 3 and 4 aspect colour light
signals controlled from Portsmouth signal box; its panel being operated by two signalmen. Track
Circuit Block regulations were in force, with digital train descriptions sent from/to Cosham signal box.

The 11.02 Victoria to Portsmouth Harbour 4-car EMU, about two minutes late, was routed onto the
Down Relief, as a train from Waterloo to Portsmouth Low Level was occupying the Down Main while
calling at Fratton station (1¾ miles from Portsmouth). The Victoria train subsequently called at
Fratton, and then regained the Down Main line before coming to a stand at the 4/6 car stop board in
Portsmouth & Southsea High Level Down platform, after receiving a succession of green signals.

Following on the Down Main line, not calling at Fratton, was the 09.15 Cardiff to Portsmouth Harbour
passenger train a Class 35 'Hymek' diesel hydraulic loco with six Mk 1 coaches. The driver initially
claimed that 3-aspect signal No86 preceding automatic 3-aspect signal 'WA448' protecting Portsmouth
& Southsea station, 16yd before the platform end, was showing a green aspect, leading him to believe
the line was clear into the platform. He admitted failing to notice 'WA448' was at red, passing it at
about 15mph, thereby colliding with the Victoria train. Nine passengers received minor injuries, but
only one was detained in hospital overnight. Seven railway staff were also slightly injured, but of the
five taken to hospital none were detained. The rear bogie of the last unit of the Victoria train was
derailed and the Cardiff train loco separated from its coaches; one of its front buffers was torn off.

Despite the Cardiff train driver's protestations, exhaustive tests on the signalling proved that Signal
'86' was showing a yellow aspect. The letter 'M' in the route indicator mounted above Signal 86 may
have led the driver to assume the line was clear into the station, particularly as he had never stopped
at 'WA448' before. Instead of concentrating on the line ahead, the driver, as was his usual custom for
some reason, looked carefully at the signal box window as his train passed. The loss of his father five
days before the accident may have indirectly and subconsciously contributed to his lethargy. AWS
(Automatic Warning System) was not installed on the approaches to Portsmouth because the line
speeds were low, the traffic dense and the signalling closely spaced. The Inspector believed that, had
it been installed, AWS would have prevented the accident.

3247] Andover: (BLNs 1363.3026 - plans & 1385.2499) Stage 2 Up Yard works from 18 Dec include
renamings: The siding next to the Ludgershall branch becomes a run round loop (the Ludgershall
Loop Siding). The branch between each end of the new loop is renamed the Ludgershall Branch
Siding. The Ludgershall Branch now starts at the hand point at the Ludgershall end of the new run
round loop. Sidings at the London End of Andover Yard will be rationalised and relaid; there will be
two: Up Siding 1 (the former west end bay) and Up Siding 2. A new On Track Maintenance Siding
with a Road Rail Access Point will connect to Up Siding 2. Andover Ground Frame will be abolished
and No1 Points become hand points. The Permissible Speed throughout the sidings will be 15mph.

3248] Gatwick Airport: (BLN 1385.2497) A new crossover between Down Fast and the currently out of
use Reversible Loop line (P6) was to be installed for 13 Dec secured in the normal position until entry
into service on 25 Dec 2022. Until 3 Jan 2023 the Down Fast (P5) remains open to non-stopping
services only. P5 and 6, the Reversible Loop and P6 run-off remain out of operational use until then.

3249] Fareham - Gosport: Originally to be a light railway, the South East Hampshire Bus Rapid Transit
expressway [not a guided (or misguided) busway] opened 22 Apr 2012 on 3.5km of the once double
track formation. It still has recognisable railway overbridges. Fareham - Bedenham Royal Naval
Armaments Depot CA 6 Feb 1995; Bedenham - Gosport had CA 6 Jan 1969. On Sun 5 Dec 2021 a 1km
extension to the expressway on the trackbed opened at the Gosport end, lengthening it to 4.5km.

It parallels the A32, one of Hampshire's most congested roads. The extension is from Tichborne Way
and Hutfield Link to Rowner Road, Gosport (SU 0173 1997). Funding was by £6.93M from the DfT
National Productivity Investment Fund, £3.27M from Hampshire County Council and £1.4M from the
DfT Transforming Cities Fund. First Bus is investing £3.8M in a new bus fleet due in spring 2022.
Over 2M passenger journeys are made each year. Gosport station CP 8 Jun 1953; it is the largest UK
town without a passenger station but, of course, is only a short ferry ride from Portsmouth Harbour.

3250] Canterbury East: (BLN 1381.1958) A new footbridge with stairs has opened, clad in keeping with
the surrounding conservation area. The £4.8M project includes tactile paving and other improvements.
Trespass has been an issue due to the distance between the stairs and an access gate; a new gate has
been installed nearer the new structure for those not catching trains to cross the line more safely.

3251] Longcross: (BLN 1378.1584) A member was surprised that several people alighted from a Down
train at 10.05 on Tue 30 Nov. A male cyclist disappeared into the housing estate and several girls went
into 'Brushstrokes' make-up and hair academy, along with four on the next Up train - a leisurely start
to their training! He had never seen other than one or two people there before. Bucking the national
trend, 2020-21 passenger numbers were 21,356 - only 7% down on the 22,948 in 2019-20. No upgrade
work has yet started, and the Permit To Travel machine by the Down platform entrance still works.

3252] Dungeness: (BLN 1381.1951) The 12 Nov Evening Standard had a well illustrated article about a
converted railway carriage near the power stations. A London based owner fell for the location, buying
the property in 2006 from the granddaughter of an original owner, who had extended it with a kitchen,
bedroom and bathroom. Set on a concrete slab, it was structurally sound but 'a little bit ramshackle' in
2006. It has since been extended it by building a timber frame around it and a new roof. This created a
new kitchen with sliding glass doors leading on to the beach plus two rear double bedrooms and a
bathroom. The biggest challenge was renovating the carriage, restoring some of the original features.

3253] Havant - St Denys UXB: On the morning of 3 Dec an unexploded WWII bomb, found 20m from
the line at a construction site between Netley and Sholing, disrupted train services. Disposal experts
carried out a controlled explosion. There was a 100m Police cordon in place along with road closures.

1391 SOUTH WEST (Darren Garnon) [email protected]
3254] Yeovil: (BLN 1390.3141) Yeovil Pen Mill - Yeovil Jn ROP Thur 2 Dec after repairs to points at
Yeovil Pen Mill Jn (damaged on the early hours of Wed 24 Nov following which line TCP). Yeovil Pen
Mill Jn - Dorchester Jn ROP as planned Sat 4 Dec (after TCP from Thur 18 Nov - rather than Sat 20th -
for engineering works). Over four miles of track was relaid between Maiden Newton and Yetminster
plus nearly a mile north of there to Chetnole - some dated back 63 years! At Upwey station, Network
Rail's Railvac was used to clean the ballast and the track level was improved to maintain line speed.

3255] Haytor Granite Tramway: This was built to convey granite from Haytor Down, Dartmoor, to the
Stover Canal and was visited by a coach trip on 4 Mar 1961 advertised in Jan 1961 BLN. The 4ft gauge
track (plus or minus three inches - really!) was formed of granite sections, shaped to guide the wheels
of horse drawn wagons. Built by George Templer, it opened 16 Sep 1820. The granite was in demand
for the developing cities of England to construct public buildings and bridges. The tramway is believed
to have been built to transport Haytor granite for London Bridge. Operation ceased about 1858, as the
high costs of extraction and transshipment made the granite uneconomical to work, due to the
availability of cheaper Cornish granite. Starting at Haytor Quarry (SX 755 773) and Holwell Quarries
(SX 755 777) the tramway ran to Ventiford Bridge, Teigngrace (SX 848 748 or thereabouts), where the
granite was transshipped to barges, each carrying 25 tons, on the Stover Canal to sail to Newton
Abbot and Teignmouth. The Stover Canal was originally built in the 1790s for Bovey Tracey 'ball' or
'pipe' clay, lignite (brown coal) and iron ore, all found in the Teign Valley. Disused, the canal runs
alongside (and is visible from) part of the now also disused Heathfield branch from Newton Abbot.

Trains consisted of up to 12 flat-topped wagons with road-cart style unflanged wheels of 2ft diameter.
The wagons were 13ft long with a 10ft wheelbase, and had removable horse shafts to ease conversion
to and from horse power. Trains were gravity operated downhill, and horse drawn uphill when empty.
The horses appear to have been taken downhill on foot, not by train. Braking was effected by 12ft
poles applied to the wheels, when carrying heavy blocks on a line dropping 1,300ft in seven miles
(an average 1:28½ gradient). The only loaded trains that were horse drawn were those leaving Holwell
Quarry on a short initial upgrade to the start of the main line.

3256] Return to Okehampton: (BLN 1390.3147) On Sat 4 Nov 1972 your then teenage Editor visited
Exeter for the first time. This was taking advantage of a British Rail special 'Saturday Saver' Day Return
fare from Birmingham New Street of £1.50 - the normal Cheap Day Return was about £4 then. (In the
1970s it was possible to have Cheap Day Returns to many distant destinations.) The Saturday Saver
offer was during the quieter winter months, travelling out on a specific early train, returning anytime
the same day. The destinations were different each Saturday and only light hand luggage was allowed.

Arriving at Exeter St Davids for the first time he looked at the station posters, with all the departures
chronologically shown to confirm the trains back and noticed that a few had been crossed out in black.
It was possible to see that they were to Okehampton - sadly the service had been withdrawn five
months earlier. He went to Exmouth instead (31p, worth £4.30p now; off-peak day return now £5.30),
a bit further than you can go now along the branch and when the station had four platforms (but just
a single track into one). Exmouth Jn to Topsham was double track still in 1972 with one train an hour.

Fast forward 49 years, and on Mon 6 Dec 2021 there was palpable excitement on Exeter St Davids P3
as a good crowd waited for the 10.37 to Okehampton, a 2-car DMU 150265 from Exeter Central.
One result of the new service is that Newton St Cyres has a 30% rise in trains that will potentially stop
(from 10 daily SSuX to 13). Not many do stop; 366 passengers were documented for 2020-21 at the
request stop, compared with 2,684 the year before. The guard was keen to see if anyone wanted to
alight (they didn't) revealing that it is pronounced 'Newton St Sires'. On Saturdays and Sundays 15
services are now available for the one journey per day on average (strangely 10 are in the evening SO).

Crediton (reached four minutes early) is served by all the Okehampton trains and more passengers
joined. The driver then acquired the single like token from the signaller and the train took the
renamed 'Up & Down Dartmoor Single'. For now, it is still jointed track and 40mph restricted to the
former Network Rail boundary where we took off like a rocket. After several railtours and summer
Sunday trips over the years at 40mph or less all the way, it was strange to be bombing along at 75mph
on perfectly smooth continuously welded rail, canted and heavily ballasted. Although, as reported in
BLN 1390, there are numerous mature trees along this section, most had lost all their leaves so the
views were clear in the bright sunshine. The notorious 'green tunnel' on the branch is a legacy of it
being a freight line after 1972 passenger closure and from 4 Sep 2008 in private ownership, with 26½
miles of boundary trees now to deal with. Okehampton was reached 4 min early; taking out the 4 min
waiting time at Crediton, it had actually taken just 33 minutes for nearly 25 miles from Exeter. Express
buses (to Bude) do it in an hour but most take 1hr 20min; AA Route Planner shows 35 min by car.

Approaching Okehampton, significant housing development was evident on the outskirts. A good
number joined the connecting Tavistock bus which now runs seven days a week, one Sunday trip to/
from Gunnislake. Bus fares are lower for those with a train ticket. Okehampton station is very smart
and the reopening day buntings and banners remained. There is one ticket machine, a public address
system, help point, information screens, CCTV and WiFi. GWR is working with the local community to
add new facilities next year including a café, Dartmoor National Park visitor centre, shop and toilets.

The car park has been extended and resurfaced - plenty of vehicles were parked (£2 all day Pay and
Display). As the e-BLN 1390 pictures showed, track remains at P2 in fact but it cannot be used due to
not meeting modern clearances with the P3 track. An even larger crowd boarded the 11.25 return on
which there were few empty seats. The conductor was very impressed with an Okehampton to Great
Malvern ticket and said that nearly all passengers were buying tickets online or from the machine.
On 6 Dec one group was making their third journey to Exeter since the 20 Nov reopening! The mood
(including GWR staff) was positive and happy; people were really delighted to have trains again.

Crediton was reached two minutes early, some alighted but no one joined. When the Okehampton
service increases to hourly in 2022, Crediton will have two trains an hour to/from Exeter (there is some
housing development near this peripherally sited station). Arrival at St Davids was into London end
bay P2 - doesn't this train go to Central? - sorry, no, but it will after 12 Dec. Your Editor was reminded
of a previous departure from that platform in 1974 on a Sunday brakevan trip to Hemyock and back.
Meanwhile the DMU set off back to Okehampton again at 12.34 with about 15 passengers on board.

3257] Cattewater: (BLN 1398.3026) The underbridge to be removed is over the A374 (not A3074) at
the start of the line to improve road clearance. Now 15' 9", an adjacent footbridge is the same height.

3258] Gloucester Yard Jn: (BLN 1387.2773.2) The item stated 'Up passenger services (to Birmingham)
that don't call at Gloucester are using the bidirectional Down Charfield and Down Avoiding Line
between Tuffley Jn and Gloucester Barnwood Jn'. A member attempted to cover this move on SIX
occasions and in each case crossed from the Down Avoiding to Up Avoiding at Gloucester Yard Jn
(93m 00ch). They were: Mon 11 Oct 14.27 Plymouth to Leeds, Tues 19 Oct 07.25 & 12.27 Plymouth to
Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley and Wed 3 Nov; the 10.33, 12.33 & 15.35 from Bristol TM to
Glasgow Central, ditto and Edinburgh Waverley respectively. On the latter date only one service did
the move described in the BLN and our member watched it from his late running train waiting for it to
clear Gloucester Barnwood Jn. [Such determination, and bad luck, deserves a Golden Gricer Award.]

3259] Engineering closures: Truro (excl) - Penzance TCP Mon 13 to Thur 16 Dec (the quietest days of
the week now) for relaying on the main line. The St Ives branch closed Tuesday to Thursday; resulting
in the 06.50 Penzance to St Ives and 22.48 return passenger trains actually running on Mon 13 Dec.
Bristol Parkway has no passenger trains Sat 25 until Fri 31 Dec (incl). CrossCountry run via Newport;
there are buses Bristol Parkway to Gloucester, Patchway and Bristol TM. GWR is running Gloucester -
Great Malvern trains, Swansea to Paddington divert via Chippenham. Portsmouth & Southsea (excl)
- Portsmouth Harbour TCP Sat 15 to Sun 23 Jan. Par (excl) - Newquay TCP Fri 21 until Thur 27 Jan.

X.255] BELOW: Since Mon 13 Dec a SWR Class 159 is diagrammed to go on Ex

xeter TMD from 11.43 until 14.25 SSuX - previously they were very rare here.

BELOW: (and the previous picture) were taken on the se

econd day of operation - Tue 14 Dec 2021. (Mark Fishlock.)

X.256] BELOW: West Midlands Metro services resumed on the morning of W
repair of cracked underframes. A ten minute frequency runs between Bull S
Parkway on its first day of service. The Metro website says that eight of the n
the first time that day, it has softer seats than the older trams but the conduct

Wed 15 Dec after been withdrawn for 32 days (from Sat 13 Nov) for urgent
Street and Wolverhampton St George's. Here Tram 38 leaves Wednesbury
new trams are available. Our member travelled on Tram 39, also in service for
tor wondered how long they will last! (Peter Humphries, 15 Dec 2021.)

3260] Bristol Parkway: The Christmas work is initially relaying 1km of track on Filton East Curve, which
requires up to 80 staff working round the clock, six rail mounted diggers, over 1,400 new sleepers and
almost 2,200 tonnes of ballast. Then two sets of points will be replaced east of the station beneath
Stoke Gifford bypass. Track maintenance also takes place on some lines between Filton Abbey Wood
and Lawrence Hill. At Stonehouse the new Stroudwater Canal bridge (BLN 1390.3150) will be installed
during the line closure. At Bristol TM tactile platform paving will also be installed on some platforms.

1391 WEST MIDLANDS (Brian Schindler) [email protected]
3261] Passenger figures: In 2020-21 New Street was the seventh busiest station nationally and once
again the busiest outside London. 7,350,942 passengers were recorded for 2020-21, a drop of 84.2%
on the 46,510,526 in 2019-20 with 1,024,050 interchanges. The rest of the West Midlands top five
were: Coventry (1,746,708), Moor Street (1,555,688), Wolverhampton (994,634), Snow Hill (842,300)
and University (731,196). Bottom in the West Midlands was our old favourite Polesworth with
22 entries/exits recorded, down 77% on the 96 in 2019/20. Unsurprisingly, there are no Season Ticket
holders. One Northampton to Crewe train calls SuX at 06.51 SSuX; 07.21 SO. Bordesley recorded 120
passengers (compared with 24,180 in 2019-20); 22 of the 120 are attributed to Season Tickets - well it
does mainly serve the nearby Birmingham City St Andrews football ground! Bearley was next lowest
with barely 300 passengers and no Seasons then nearby Claverdon (828), 78% down on 2019-20 - the
national average drop - followed by Danzey with 866 (7,998 in 2019-20). We end this with Wood End;
2,316 passengers - 1,154 attributed to Seasons - (82% down on the 12,962 total in 2019-20).

3262] Tipton: On 2 Dec, due to a problem here, the National Rail website advised that LNER services
were being diverted between Birmingham and Wolverhampton! We think they meant LNwR (close).

3263] Dudley Very Light Rail (VLR) Innovation Centre: (BLN 1386.2666) The 2km Test Track itself was
officially completed and opened in May 2021 but has not been used much. The actual Centre, due to
be finished in 2022, includes a triple height engineering hall with a substantial overhead rail mounted
crane, research laboratories, conference, seminar rooms and offices for 45 people. There will be public
areas, including exhibition spaces and an auditorium. In Sep the 'Motive Zero' company started using
the facilities to convert a Class 37 and a Class 08 loco to hybrids. Eventually the VLR vehicles being
developed, including for the Coventry project, will be tested on the site. (British Trams Online.)

3264] HS2 is boring: On 2 Dec Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) 'Dorothy' (named after Dorothy Hodgkin,
the first British woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1964) started work on the one mile, twin
bore tunnel under Long Itchington Wood, (but it will be quite a few years before you can scratch it).
The wood is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, ancient woodland. The first bore is expected to take
about five months to complete and the TBM will then be dismantled by 170 engineers and returned to
the North Portal to bore the second tunnel with completion planned for 2023. It will be the first one to
be completed on HS2 which will have 64 miles of tunnel between London and Birmingham. The TBM
is one of 10 being used on the project and weighs 2,000 tonnes, it is 125m long and will remove about
250,000m2 of material, which will be used for the embankments and landscaping along the line.

3265] Wildlife section: (BLN 1374.1026) Protected Great Crested Newts (remember it is the newt that
is 'great' not the crest which is an anticlimax) have been rescued from trackside drains at Droitwich.
NR staff found 11 Common Toads and two Great Crested Newts. Before work in drains can take place,
the staff have strict rules to follow to ensure wildlife is not disturbed. When the amphibians were
found, they (NR that is) stopped work and a NR ecologist attended. 20 drainage pits were checked for
signs of life before work could continue. The question is, were they resettled to Newt-on-le-Willows?

3266] Willenhall: (BLN 1372.732) Work has finally started on the new station, with rubble clearance.
An hourly Walsall - Wolverhampton direct service will enable either destination to be reached in eight
minutes; an hourly Crewe to Birmingham service will also call (New Street will be 25 minutes away).

… 1391 IRELAND (Martin Baumann) [email protected]
3267] Call on the carpet? Has a carpet featured in BLN before? Arriving at P1 & 2 at Belfast Lanyon
Place there is still a carpet with the words: 'Enterprise Welcome to Belfast Central Station'.

3268] Dungannon: An initial report on the possibility of reopening (repurposing) a railway tunnel
linked to the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) and Northland Estate came before members of Mid
Ulster Council's development Committee during the second week in Nov. The first Dungannon station
on the line from Portadown opened 5 Apr 1858, then was relocated 2 Sep 1861 for the extension to
Omagh. The whole line closed from 15 Feb 1965. There is a disused railway tunnel from Milltown to
land adjacent to what is now the Gortmerron link road. The report notes the tunnel is closed at both
ends but is said to be intact. It is hoped a feasibility study will advise Council on the options to make
use of the tunnel and create the business case for a subterranean access project which, the report
claims, has the potential to be: A significant active travel asset for Dungannon town and railway
enthusiasts nationwide. The £20k for the study will come from Council's capital programme 2020-24.

3269] Timetable: The new Northern Ireland Railway timetable from Sun 12 Dec has minor changes,
only the more significant are given. SSuX ●06.00 Portadown to Newry runs 5 min later throughout.
●06.30 Dundalk to Dublin departs 06.35, otherwise unchanged. ●06.40 Portadown to Bangor runs to
Carrickfergus (07.54). ●New: 07.30 Belfast Lanyon Place/Central to Bangor (08.01). ●07.34 Belfast
Lanyon Place/Central to Carrickfergus is withdrawn. ●All Portrush XX.03 departures (7 days a week)
run a minute earlier throughout. Dublin services have some intermediate adjustments both ways.

3270] NIR Microgricing Guide: (PDF of 21.12.2019; on our website Archive put 'Ireland' in the top right
Search box.) Although virtually the 8 Dec 2019 timetable, there are changes: Delete 07.34 Belfast
Lanyon Place/Central to Carrickfergus, withdrawn. SSuX 07.11, 07.31 & 07.51 Bangor to Lisburn now
P2 at GVS not P1. New Entry: 06.35 SSuX Newry to Bangor via south crossover and P1 at Portadown.
Londonderry P2: SuX 20.10 GVS to Londonderry, SO 06.42 & SSuX 07.38 Londonderry to GVS plus all
Sunday trains. BLN 1379.1745 about platform use at Belfast Lanyon Place/Central applies still except
for withdrawal of 07.34 SSuX to Carrickfergus; the 07.30 to Bangor is from P3 in the Down direction.

3271] Restoring your railway? A member asked for a summary of reopening potential in Northern
Ireland. Our Londonderry based Regional Editor is of the opinion that no closed routes will reopen
except possibly Lisburn to Antrim which still exists as a railway. There are certainly pressure groups
such as the Portadown Armagh Railway Society or the Londonderry based 'Into the West' (neither has
a website but can be found on Facebook) but, in reality, Northern Ireland is a car society and people
only use buses and trains if they have to. Reopening to Omagh or Armagh is highly unlikely as you
would either need to demolish a large part of Portadown constructed since the 15 Feb 1965 closure or
build a completely new alignment. Translink built a big station car park (opened 27 Aug 2018) on what
was left of the alignment at Portadown Jn. The Omagh bypass and other roads have been built on the
trackbed between Portadown and Omagh (also onwards to Strabane and Londonderry Foyle Road).

There are repeated statements from politicians calling for this or that line to reopen. They never use
public transport (a retired inspector at one of the larger NIR stations saw one politician in five years).
What Northern Ireland needs is a coordinated public transport system which it definitely does not
have. Official Translink policy is that they have no connecting services and even the link bus that is
supposed to meet every train at Londonderry often leaves empty at 30 minutes past the hour when a
delayed train is imminent. (On 3 Dec 2021 the 18.10 ex-GVS arrived 20.35 - the bus had left.) Existing
rail timetables, especially the Londonderry line, only work if everything is on time; management needs
to show more flexibility in changing crossing points when there is late running. A frequent example is
to spend 20+ minutes at Ballymoney on an ex-Belfast as the Up train is late when the cross could be
done at Coleraine with much less loss of time (yes, the Portrush unit would then have to shunt).

3272] Seasonal services: Extra late night DART and Commuter services (to Maynooth, Dundalk and
Kildare) run from Fri 3 Dec on the three weekends before Christmas and after Dublin's New Year's Eve
events. The former are timed to be aligned with the midnight closure of bars, restaurants and other
hospitality sector venues, under current Covid measures. After the New Year's Eve concerts, trains run
until: 01.20 Pearse all stations to Maynooth; 01.30 Pearse to Howth; 01.30 Connolly to Greystones;
01.40 Pearse to Tara Street, Connolly and all stations Howth Junction to Dundalk; 01.50 Pearse all
stations via Drumcondra to Kildare. Commuter tickets and Leap Cards are valid on them all.

3273] Nenagh: (BLN 1388.2916) (Limerick) Killonan Jn - Nenagh - Ballybrophy P3 ROP Mon 6 Dec, as
booked, after TCP 1 Nov. In two major phases 7½ miles of track has been relaid in 2021, continuously
welded rail on concrete sleepers. The northern section had ancient jointed track on timber sleepers so
was 40mph restricted. Journey time improvements are planned in early 2022 with the next timetable.

3274] Railfreight Strategy 2040: This recently published 28-page PDF is available as a download with
e-BLN 1391. 40 years ago Irish Rail carried about 4M tonnes of freight a year; it is now down to about
0.9M tonnes. This is attributed to the growth of the EU-funded motorway network. €500M of rail
investment is envisaged with 25 strategic initiatives as part of the European Green Deal aiming to
increase Irish rail freight by 500%. The Foynes branch would be reopened (we have heard this quite a
bit recently) and Tactical Freight Depots developed at Cork, Galway & Sligo. Also at Cork, Marino Port
would be reconnected to the network. Facilities at Waterford Belview terminal would be enhanced.

Strategic Freight Terminals are envisaged at Limerick Junction and Dublin (Dublin Eastern Gateway
west of the city (!) - also to be an aggregates and materials terminal). Dublin Port would be developed
to integrate it with rail freight (the opposite of what happened recently). Rail connections are planned
to 'large scale industrial premises'. A study will identify the need for, and develop, extra passing loops.

As a specific example the Dublin - Tipperary - Cork axis currently accounts for 428,000 articulated HGV
movements per year, increasing to 658,000 by 2040 (a growth of 2.24% per annum). This represents
the strongest potential for the provision of new rail freight services nationally. It remains to be seen, in
future years, if librarians will file this report under Fiction or Non-fiction.

3275] DART+ South West: (BLNs 1360.2626 & 1382.2115) https://bit.ly/3ED1DvK This second round
consultation is open until Fri 17 Dec. The preferred option includes: Four tracking from Heuston to
Park West & Cherry Orchard station, extending quadrupling of the route in 2009. Electrification and
resignalling from Hazelhatch & Celbridge to Heuston and to Glasnevin Jn, via the Phoenix Park Tunnel
Branch Line (sic), where it will link with the proposed DART+ West to Maynooth. Improvements and
reconstructions of bridges to facilitate movement of electrified train services. Remove constraints
along the Phoenix Park Tunnel Branch Line (sic). A new Heuston West Station. The Preferred Option
will be compatible with future stations at Kylemore and Cabra but does not include their construction.

3276] DART+: On 7 Dec the DART+ Programme Preliminary Business Case was approved by the Irish
Government. It will double the capacity of the Greater Dublin Area network, and treble electrification
on the network. This enables Irish Rail to apply for a Railway Order for DART+ West in the New Year.
A new depot is planned west of Maynooth near Kilcock but that station itself will not be electrified.

3277] South Wexford line: The last rail movement, a Rosslare Strand to Waterford inspection car, was
17 Aug 2021 (BLN 1383.2227). The line was omitted from an inspection to Waterford (12 Oct) and
Rosslare (14 Oct) - the same happened with inspections of those lines during the first week in Dec.

3278] Situations Vacant: Transdev Dublin Light Rail Ltd, who operate Dublin Luas, has been recruiting
drivers to start in early January. They are also looking to create a panel for future vacancies. You have
to be a dedicated individual, passionate about keeping Dublin moving and providing quality public
transport. The role is based on an average 39 hour working week. Rostered shifts start 04.00 with the
last shift finishing at 02.00 over seven days across Red Cow, Sandyford and Broombridge Depots.
Salary is from €32,909 (approx £28,000) to €49,972 (£42,400) plus an annual bonus of 6.5%, group
pension, rare track, Life Assurance and a Disability Scheme. Email CV to: [email protected]

3279] Great Victoria Street: There are no passenger services after traffic on 24 Dec until 4 Jan 2022;
the Larne and Antrim to Belfast lines will also be closed. Initially Translink had said that buses would
only run between White Abbey and Belfast. A shuttle bus runs between Great Victoria Street and
Lanyon Place/Central; buses also run between the latter and Larne plus, departing 20 min earlier than
the trains, Antrim. Normal train services run Antrim - Londonderry; Bangor services are modified.

1391 ISLE OF MAN (Graeme Jolley) [email protected]
3280] Steam Railway: (E-BLN 1390.X.251 photos) The new boiler built at the Severn Valley Railway was
fitted to Loco No12 'Hutchinson' in late Sep. Further work is still required to make it operational again.

3281] Electric Railway: The new sign on the cliffs above Derby Castle Depot is due to be lit up at night
(as before). On 7 Dec Storm Barra brought down quite a few trees. As our members passed by Groudle
stop the following day, a road gang was disentangling a large branch from the OHLE. There were many
small branches on the tracks down King Edward Road too. North of Eskadale relaying of the seaside
track has restarted at Pole 158; by 10 Dec it had reached Pole 160 with track lifted beyond to Pole 162.
There is SLW, about two poles away from the start and finish of the working area (on the road!).

1391 SCOTLAND (Mike McCabe) [email protected]
3282] FREE TRAVEL - 1: Edinburgh Trams is again operating free all night trams every 20 minutes from
midnight 31 Dec, after the City Centre Hogmanay celebrations until 1 Jan 05.00, between West End
(no 'Princes Street' suffix on the website now) and Edinburgh Airport. Due to the celebrations, no
trams run between York Place and West End (trailing crossover in passenger use on departure west)
from 17.00 Thur 30 Dec. Overnight parking is allowed at Ingliston Park & Ride stop (it isn't normally).
The free service began in 2017 and carried 5,000 passengers when it last ran on 31 Dec/1 Jan 2019.

3283] FREE TRAVEL - 2: Don't get excited! The Scottish Government is introducing free bus travel for
under 22 year olds. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) asked for this to be extended to the
Glasgow Subway, used by many students between the University and City Centre. If they all switch to
buses, there will be significant revenue loss. Edinburgh Trams is similarly affected, as well as rail
services in Scotland. The existing scheme applies to those aged 16-18, over 60 and some other groups.
Local councils are billed for about two thirds of the cost of the fare by the bus operators. The councils
are funded for this by Transport Scotland. Operators are not reimbursed full fare on the assumption
that free travel results in more journeys being made. Hence SPT needing Transport Scotland to agree
to fund the cost of Subway fares for the young, but they were told that there are no plans to do so.

The scheme results in some 'gaming' of the system by bus operators. It is assumed that all passengers
who pay a fare will have a zone ticket or season ticket, as these are better value than ordinary singles.
The concession scheme is based on the ordinary single fare, so operators make these high. First Group
has a fares system with very long stages, so if you buy a ticket for a trip from Glasgow City Centre to
the West End, the ticket is valid to Clydebank and priced accordingly. There is a good-value day ticket
for bus travel on Arran, but Stagecoach is reimbursed for concession trips on the basis of single fares.

COP26 delegates were given a special Travel Card, relatively easy to deal with as all travel was free.

If travel was free for the groups on Scotrail, Glasgow Subway and Edinburgh Trams, allocating income
between all the operators would be difficult - especially where there is a daily, weekly or monthly cap.

3284] Edinburgh Waverley: NR's free unlimited WiFi has percolated through to the station; it allows
video calls and streaming. Multiple devices can be connected without having to create an account.
A new route is being created to connect the station east concourse (P2-5) to the ticket hall (walking!).

3285] Parcels cast in a starring role: Rail Operations Group's parcels and light loads division, Orion
High Speed Logistics, is restoring parcels traffic to the railway. SuX a 05.34 from Shieldmuir Royal Mail
Terminal, Wishaw, to Willesden Princess Royal Distribution Centre (14.53 return) started Tue 23 Nov.
The operator is expected to be the first of a constellation of entrants to the sector. The Class 319
EMUs will be loco hauled, for 'operational reasons' (the 'astronomical' cost of electricity perhaps‽‽).
A legacy of the publicly owned British Rail, the familiar Red Star parcels operation, was swallowed up
by a private sector enterprise and moved to road transport. Hunting for business, Orion carries Royal
Mail traffic to supplement their trains in the busy pre-Christmas period. [We'll 'belt' up now.]

3286] SLC Operations: SLC (Sable Leigh Consultancy) was granted a Passenger Train Operator Licence
in Oct. It was able to run a demonstration Vivarail unit at the 31 Oct to 12 Nov COP26 United Nations
Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. Based at Kings Norton, SLC Operations was formed in early
2020 by Managing Director Cath Bellamy, Adrian Shooter (Chairman) and Ian Walters (all ex-Chiltern
Railways senior managers). It aims to be a market leader in railway operational support, including
driver and guard hire, driver and guard instructor hire, new rolling stock introduction/acceptance,
fault-free and mileage accumulation, rail vehicle collection and delivery and train service planning.

3287] Lanark - a prickly problem: Continuing this BLN's wildlife theme, small holes have been cut at
regular intervals along the bottom of the boundary fence to allow hedgehogs (and possibly haggises?)
to move around the station grounds freely. A concerned local resident contacted NR when hedgehogs
were becoming trapped. A team, including a NR ecologist, visited the site to better understand the
situation and devise ways to stop the animals from becoming trapped, creating a 'hedgehog highway'.

3288] Argyle v Argyll: You read it first in BLN! The railway is the Argyle Line, as in Argyle Street, with
an 'e' on the end not an 'l'. This comes down to how the Gaelic Earra Ghàidheal (can be translated as
'the Highlanders') is rendered in English. 'Argyll' is the spelling used these days for the geographic
area, including by Argyll & Bute Council. However, a CalMac ferry (built 2007) on the Wemyss Bay to
Rothesay service is named 'Argyle', spelt the same as a paddle steamer which once operated on the
route. 'Argyle' is the historic Anglicised spelling, superseded by 'Argyll' for most purposes.

3289] Argyle Line: Major improvements to the track (the concrete slab track was laid for 5 Nov 1979
reopening), tunnels and overhead line equipment will take place from 13 Mar until 8 May 2022.
The whole line (Rutherglen Central Jn to Finnieston West Jn and East Jn) closes. Many services which
normally run via Glasgow Central Low Level will be diverted to Glasgow Queen Street Low Level or
Glasgow Central High Level. Revised services run on all routes during the closure, and journey times
may be extended. https://bit.ly/3DHP29i is a ScotRail dedicated webpage with a passenger survey.

3290] Covid: On 8 Nov £2.2M (total) of emergency funding, to cover until Mar 2022, was agreed for
Edinburgh Trams and Glasgow Subway. They have now received £36M since the pandemic began.

3291] Longannet: (E-BLN 1388.X.237) Six Bells Junction is incorrect about https://bit.ly/3nTFuSE our
Sat 28 Aug 1976 'Forth Fife Railtour'. At Longannet Power Station it did not run via the West Arrival
Loop to the East Departure (this may have been originally advertised), but stayed on the main line
(as the e-BLN 1388 photos show). This is why there was time for a photo stop/visit to Longannet signal
box. No railtour was allowed to go round the power station, but some members did the line, with the
triangular junctions each end, on coal train cab rides. When merry-go-round trains first began running
to Longannet in the early 1970s there is a story that they had to have brakevans for the guard to ride in
as initially drivers refused to allow them to ride in the rear loco cab. Is there any truth in this report?

On Thur 9 Dec First Minister Nicola Sturgeon did her famous Fred Dibnah impersonation and blew up
the 600ft tall power station chimney (she must have powerful lungs). Well, no, she pressed a button to
ignite 700kg of explosive. https://bbc.in/3lXBW1G is a video. It was Scotland's tallest structure.

3292] Hunterston: (BLN 1384.2391.2) The 'B' Power Station No3 reactor was shut down for the final
time at midday on Fri 26 Nov. On 7 Jan 2022 No4 reactor is to close. It is expected to take about three
years to defuel the two reactors, with rail traffic to Sellafield. Then it will probably be the end of rail
traffic on the Hunterston branch. Hunterston 'A', with Magnox reactors (No1 & No2), generated from
1964 to 1990. Hunterston 'B', with advanced gas-cooled reactors, started generating on 6 Feb 1976.

3293] Lynebeg: Despite Storm Arwen, over Sat 27 to Mon 29 Nov (incl), NR successfully demolished
and replaced the A9 bridge over the railway here, just south of Moy Loop between Inverness and
Carrbridge on the Highland Mainline. In continuous 78 hour working from Friday night until Tuesday
morning, the 1884 Victorian masonry structure was demolished and replaced with a 660 tonne twin
track (passive provision as the present line is single track) wider concrete box for the £115M dualling
of the A9 between Tomatin and Moy. A Self-Propelled Modular Transporter system carried the new
structure from the site compound, where it was constructed over a 10-week period, before moving it
several hundred metres along the B1954 and sliding it to its final position. Two 750-tonne cranes then
lifted seven concrete wingwalls, also constructed on site, into position. The line reopened Tue 30 Nov.
Replacement buses ran between Perth and Inverness but other works were carried out too.

3284] Cadder HST Depot: (BLN 1390.3162) To allow a faster entrance there are fixed red signals for
entry under control of Cowlairs Workstation signaller with position light signals controlled by the Yard
Coordinator. New 'Train Ready to Start' buttons are on the East and West Departure lines and two
signals have been converted from position light to main aspects for faster exit via the 'arrivals line'.

3295] Ravenstruther: (BLN 1388.2934) (Pronounced 'Renstrie') ROG Fri 3 Dec 2021; 6K30 left 09.50
with 56113 for Carlisle New Yard, the first stone train for Cloburn Quarry who have bought the site.
The empty wagons had arrived the previous day. The last coal is believed to have left on 19 Apr 2013.

3296] Forth Viaduct (not bridge): NR is carrying out £2.7M of work on the 'Forth Viaduct' at Stirling
between 10 Jan and 22 Sep. It includes repair and repainting, installation of weep holes (Lovers Walk
passes beneath) and (to quote): install a permanent GRP walkway on the bridge at the Forth Viaduct,
Stirling - oh dear. (GRP = Glass Reinforced Plastic, before you ask). NR also refer to 'it' in the singular,
but north of the station there are actually two quite separate parallel Forth Viaducts, one for the Perth
line and the other the Alloa line. It will be interesting to see where the scaffolding goes up exactly!

….. 1391 WALES & THE MARCHES (Chris Parker) [email protected]
3297] Chester: Due to structural issues, Crewe end bay P1 is out of use until further notice. The last
recorded passenger use found online (!) was Wed 24 Nov by the 15.24 from Crewe and 15.54 return.

3298] New service, cheaper fares! (BLN 1386.2687) (Newport) Gaer Jn - Park Jn ROP Sun 12 Dec 2021
with the new timetable, an hourly SSuX Newport - Crosskeys (one word) service until 21.20. SuO there
are five from Cardiff Central to Ebbw Vale Town, reversing at Newport, and six doing the opposite, at
irregular intervals despite the 'two hourly' claim on TfW's website. There are also two directly to/from
Cardiff. Previously Newport passengers had to go via Cardiff to Ebbw Vale and pay £12.80 (Anytime
Day Return before Railcards; no Off-Peak fares) for the privilege, now the fare has been reduced to
£7.70, the same as that from Cardiff to Ebbw Vale. This applies for other stations on the branch.
With SSuX services from Newport running to Crosskeys (until more of the branch is redoubled north),
there is a 13 min wait there for an Ebbw Vale train but from Ebbw Vale to Newport the wait is 50 min.
Now the really interesting bit: Newport to Ebbw Vale £7.70 tickets are also valid for travel via Cardiff!

3299] New Timetable: Dovey Jn - Pwllheli is due to ROP 29 Dec (but see item 3306). There is an extra
06.45 SuX Barmouth to Machynlleth. Wrexham - Bidston trains all serve Wrexham Central again
(except the first one, SuO first two, and last one which run from/to Wrexham General as normal).
The TWThO 12.34 Wrexham General to Bidston 13.35 ex-Bidston temporary rail replacement buses
(for crew training on the Class 230s) are now trains again. The bus took two hours (train 55 minutes).

The SuX 22.56 Wrexham Central to Bidston and 22.57 return resume. On the Central Wales line, SSuX
07.48 Shrewsbury to Llanelli and 11.48 return run to/from Swansea again and 09.13 SO Carmarthen
to Shrewsbury now starts from Swansea at 09.12 instead. Interestingly the first northbound and last
southbound trains of the day SuX respectively continue to start/finish at Carmarthen. There is an extra
18.02 SO/18.05 SSuX Carmarthen to Fishguard Harbour and 19.00 SO/19.05 SSuX return, plus 21.00 SO
/21.10 SSuX Carmarthen to Pembroke Dock and 22.18 SO/22.27 SSuX back. Extra calls at Pontypool &
New Inn restore pre-Covid services. Rail replacement buses continue Radyr - Merthyr/Aberdare/
Treherbert (Sun-Thur) from about 19.30 for work on the South Wales Metro. There are later evening
trains Cardiff Central to SSuX Maesteg and also Gloucester, two to Ebbw Vale Town plus an extra
05.37 SSuX Cheltenham Spa to Cardiff Central. As some late notice changes are included, timetable
booklets were not immediately available from 12 Dec in either hard copy or downloadable PDF form.

3300] Marches line brittlish rail: (BLN 1390.3167) During Mon 29 Nov a further broken rail occurred
on the Up line between Leominster and Ludlow, well outside the recent relaying area. After the
passage of the already delayed 07.02 Milford Haven to Manchester Piccadilly (11.46 past Woofferton
and terminated at Wilmslow), the line was blocked until an ECS working to Shrewsbury left Hereford
at 16.59. Due to stock and/or crews being out of position, the next passenger Up service was the 17.16
Cardiff Central to Holyhead. A 175/0 + 175/1 5-car DMU formation replaced the rostered Class 67 and
Mk 4s then terminated at Shrewsbury. Some Down services were also cancelled for the same reasons
although that line remained open. No single line working was implemented and replacement buses
ran Hereford to Shrewsbury; Craven Arms and Church Stretton still 'enjoyed' Central Wales services!

3301] Aberdare: (BLN 1357.2227) A buffer stop has been installed just past the platform (22m 37ch)
to prevent any straying on to the mothballed line to Tower Colliery; the end of line is at 27m 15ch.

BELOW: (Item 3298) The 10.19 Newport to Ebbw Vale Town, the first passen
Gaer Jn towards Park Jn. The South Wales Main line is in the foreground (Car

nger train on the route in the new timetable (a 3-car DMU), climbs away from
rdiff, where the train originated, is to the left). (Lisa Eyles, Sun 12 Dec 2021.)

3302] It Can Now be Told (54): By Maurice Dart (1430). On Sun 28 Aug 1960, at the age of 28, I visited
Caerphilly Tar Works; a long walk from the station [taken care-philly?], then caught a train to Rhymney.
The reason was to catch the 12 noon excursion to Barry which ran via Aber Jn, Penrhos Jn, Walnut
Tree Viaduct, Tynycaeau Jn and Wenvoe to emerge at Cadoxton, with plenty of 'non-passenger' lines.

Visiting the loco shed a fireman was preparing '5622' to work the train and we chatted. He asked me if
I fancied a drink (on a Sunday in Wales!) - remember, it was 61 years ago. I said 'Yes' so he said: Wait
until I have finished preparing the loco and we'll go for a drink. [Had Maurice said 'No', it would have
been an indication to call an ambulance.] The fireman appeared, we walked along the track and went
up a path through the trees. He said: This goes to the Railway Club where my aunt is the Steward and
she will let us in. We each had about three pints - he had beer and I cider - we also played several
games of 'Shove Halfpenny'. Then we heard a loco whistling and he said: Look at the time, the driver
has put the loco on the train ready to go. We hurried back to Rhymney station and he grabbed my two
cases from the Booking Office (I had been away for two weeks). He said that I could travel on the loco,
but, as I wished to take photos on the trip, he locked me in an empty compartment which was ideal.

On arrival at Barry, I frantically waved to be let out to catch a Cardiff General (as then) train, to connect
with a return excursion home to Plymouth, so all ended well. Wenvoe station CP 10 Sep 1962 and on
30 Mar 1963 traffic ceased abruptly on most of the ex-Barry Railway Tonteg Jn - Tynycaeau North -
Drope Jn - Cadoxton South line when Tynycaeau (North) signal box was damaged by fire that day.
It has been said that the box might not have burnt down had it been more accessible and had the fire
brigade known where it was - decades before Satnavs and Tynycaeau not exactly a household name!

3303] Class 231: (BLNs 1356.2096 & 1386.2685) The first two real Swiss-built Stadler 4-car diesel/
battery units (of 11) have arrived at Cardiff Canton depot, to begin testing on their designated routes
which are Cardiff to Ebbw Vale, Maesteg and Cheltenham plus presumably Newport to Crosskeys.

3304] Tree-mendous*: Recent storms Arwen and Barra caused widespread disruption to Wales and
Borders services; as usual fallen trees and branches were a major factor. NR states that since Sep 2020
trains in their region (excludes TfW Core Valley Lines) hit trees and branches 35 times - 112 incidents
reported. Since Jun 2020 NR has been addressing this by carrying out its biggest ever tree survey to
identify and safely remove as many hazardous trees alongside the railway, as safely as possible.

The fungal disease 'ash dieback' is the main concern; the tops of infected trees are removed but trunks

are left to become homes for lichens and roosting bats. Healthy trees are retained and, given the leaf

fall problem, it is interesting that NR's environmental and ecology teams will look at the suitability of

replanting schemes on the affected land to establish native species with 'high habitat value' and aim

to match the number of trees removed. [*Blame NR for that one, not your Editorial team!]

3305] Bangor: On Mon 29 Nov a transverse crack was found in the crossing nose on the Up Main at
the west end of the station. Therefore from 21.30 on 3 Dec NR removed it and plain-lined 21 Points
(239m 01ch) to Up P1, putting the Up Main centre line through the station OOU. Replacement is not
expected for a number of weeks; provisional ROP is 21.30 Fri 4 Feb 2022. As a result Avanti's SSuX
17.49 Crewe to Bangor (arr 19.18) and 20.20 return, turns back at Llandudno Junction instead.
The ECS normally shunts to Bangor Up Main until the TfW 19.22 Holyhead to Shrewsbury train clears
the Up platform. Reportedly, running ECS to reverse over Gaerwen crossover or alternative shunts at
Bangor, including use of the sidings or Down Main, were all considered but found to be unworkable.

3306] Barmouth Bridge/Viaduct: (BLN 1387.2798) As if Storm Arwen over 27-28 Nov was not enough
to end the project's early running, engineers identified extra timbers needing urgent replacement -
far worse than we feared, they say. Coast Line ROP is not now expected until 29 Dec, despite round
the clock working over Christmas and, of course, subject to the weather and no further issues arising.

3307] Cardiff Bay: (BLN 1387.2803) An onsite inspection revealed that the problem underbridge is
Adam St (0m 70ch from Cardiff Bay; 8ch south of Sandon St). On 29 Nov a TfW driver told a member
that NR does not expect to start replacing the deck until Apr 2022. Two of the Orange Army were
inspecting it as your Regional Ed passed at 12.30 on 9 Dec. The 'temporary' timetable continues.

NEXT: (item 3308) Taffs Well, TfW new stock mock ups: ❶BELOW: Class 197, Secondman's position.
❷NEXT: Class 197 Driver's position. ❸Class 197 Interior. ❹Exterior. ❺Class 398 Tram Train exterior.
❻Interior. ❼Driver's position. ❽LAST: The FLIRT interior (Class 321 or 756). (Chris Parker, 9 Dec 2021.)

































PREVIOUS, BELOW & NEXT: (Item MR221) Bristol Ha

arbour Railway on Thur 28 Oct 2021. (Dan Hitchins.)





BELOW: (Item MR223) Bridge View Light Railway; battery electric st

team outline loco on the new extension. (Peter Scott, 28 Nov 2021.)

BELOW: (Item MR224) Tanfield Railway; Marley Hill signal box roof and chim
line with a service train. The line from Terrace Jn trails in right, out of sight b
Engine Shed is left of the crane jib behind the trees. The route our member to
of the picture is standing. NEXT: The signal box and headshunt flat crossing (lif

mney are bottom with a steam engine (bottom left) passing it on the running
behind the trees to Marley Hill platform which is seen behind the signal. The
ook is the rightmost line then the track on which the Steam Loco in the middle
fted in 2012) looking towards Terrace Jn and Sunnyside. (All Dave Leeming.)





BELOW: Steam loco 'Progress' in the shed wh