1396

Number 1396 (Items 550 - 700 & MR 37 - MR 46) (E-BLN 127 PAGES) 5 Mar 2022

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 1397 is dated Sat 19 Mar; all contributions by Wed 9 Mar please

Date Event and details…... Please book online BLN Lead Status

Sun 6 Mar Batteries Not Included - Merseyrail tour 1393 MG Waiting list
Sun 20 Mar TBA TBA Claimed
ciety. Society.

Industrial railway location with 'Molly' POSTPONED

Sun 27 Mar Apedale Valley Light Railway comprehensive railtours E-1393 MG Waiting list

Sun 27 Mar Amerton Railway (2ft gauge; 1,400yd) am & pm tours Website MG Waiting list

Sat 2 Apr *NEW* 10.30 a day on the Tanat Valley Light Railway BELOW MG OPEN

Sun 3 Apr Oswestry - Weston Wharf opening weekend trip/s 1395 MG OPEN

Sun 3 Apr *NEW* 14.30 Oswestry Model Engineering Society BELOW MG OPEN

Fri 8 Apr The Tweedmouth Tractors (route/times BLN 1395) BELOW MG OPEN

Sat 9 Apr The Merchant of Teesside (route/times BLN 1395) BELOW MG OPEN

Sun 10 Apr The Glengarnock Growler (route/times BLN 1395) BELOW NG OPEN

Fri 22 Apr The Honeybourne Hoover positioning move 1394 MG OPEN

Sat 23 Apr Eastleigh - Newhaven Marine - South Coast etc 1394 MG OPEN

21-26 May Northern Sweden railtour based on Nässjö TBA IS Claimed

Fri 3 Jun The Royal Charter Crewe - Windsor RBF charity tour 1395 MG OPEN

24-28 Jun Silesian Explorer railtour based on Wrocław TBA IS Claimed

Sun 26 Jun Adrian Shooter's Beeches Light Railway 1395 MB OPEN

Sat 16 Jul London - Edinburgh mainline steam (Tornado) TBA 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 TBA Claimed

9-12 Sep Niedersachsen Explorer - redated from 22-25 Apr 2022 1370 PG Claimed

Fri 11 Nov *NEW* Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway railtour TBA TBA Claimed

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

IS = Iain Scotchman; MB = Martyn Brailsford [email protected] MG = Mark Gomm (back page);

550] Fri 8-Sun 10 Apr; The Tyne Tees Tractors *UPDATE*:: (See BLN 1395.415) The York ROC staff
behind our charity tour are delighted by the engagement of the Hitachi team at Merchant Park and
NR locally to support this tour, helping to make it marketable and very interesting. We are delighted
to advise that not only have we been granted the chance for our train to enter the Merchant Park
facility but also to traverse the test track. It is highly likely that this will be the only passenger train
ever do this so, if you are keen to be on board for this, please book while seats remain available.

Individual days can now be booked but there is a big discount for booking all three and bookings are
also now open to non-members. Individual days: Standard Class £99; First £159; First Dining £199
(add £25 to guarantee a table for two seat); U18 (must be adult accompanied) £49.50 discount.

NEXT PAGE TOP: The Tanat Valley Light Ra
at the former temporary Nantmawr

BELOW: 1960 map 1" scale, the railway top right corner is the Cambrian Mai
right is to Welshpool and Aberystwyth etc. The station open to passenger (
heritage Cambrian Heritage Railways' south site. The standard gauge heritage
left was the lengthy original Tanat Valley Light Railway branch to Llangynog, la

ailway. Class 107 DMU Sc52005 + Sc52031
r station. (Peter Scott, 11 Sep 2016.)

in Line to Oswestry (via Weston Wharf) and Gobowen/Whitchurch. Bottom
(red spot) is Llynclys (CP 18 Jan 1965); south of that overbridge is (now) the
e Tanat Valley Light Railway extends between the two pink spots. Off bottom
ater part of the Cambrian Railways and then the Great Western Railway.

X.65] Sat 2 Apr; 10.30 a day on The Tanat Valley Light Railway:: With thanks to the organiser,
Graeme Jolley, a Society day out on this classical one mile long branch between Nantmawr and
Blodwell Jn. Although just west of Offa's Dyke, it is actually in Shropshire, less than 4½ miles by road
southwest of Oswestry where we have two events the following day. Gobowen is the nearest station
at 7.7 miles. It was the extremity of the Potteries Shrewsbury & North Wales Railway (which otherwise
only went to Shrewsbury!!), later part of the Cambrian Railways then the Great Western Railway.

Subject to extreme weather etc, our day includes: ●Hot drink and bacon roll on arrival, in the Railway's
Class 309 3-car 'Clacton Unit' EMU. ●Unlimited standard gauge line rides to the limit of operations in
'various modes of transport'! ●2ft gauge line rides with a possible extension open. ●Rides on the
monorail system including, as far as possible, unusual sidings etc. ●A possible further railway surprise
(but very dependent upon weather between now and the visit). ●The buffet car will be open all day.
●12 months' membership of the Tanat Valley Light Railway (required for insurance purposes).

Important notes: The Railway is unable to operate any public running until they obtain a Transport &
Works Act Order (a very lengthy and extremely expensive process). This is a rare chance to do this
significant original branch. The private visit is for our members only (the site will not be open to the
public). We will be forwarding names and address of participants to the Tanat Valley Light Railway for
membership purposes and booking on this tour will indicate participants' agreement to this condition.
If you were on our previous 1 Apr 2012 visit the narrow gauge line and monorail will be new (at least).

Start time 10.30, the all inclusive cost is £33 Adult (BLS members only); Under 18s £16.50 - must be
accompanied by an adult. There is plenty of free parking and disabled access at this lovely country
location. Details of how to get there will be sent out with the booking. See next item for how to book.

X.66] Sun 3 Apr; 14.30 Oswestry & North Shropshire Model Engineering Society:: With thanks to
Tim Wallis, private operation of this ¼ mile long 3½"/5" gauge railway https://oswestry-mes.co.uk/
has been arranged. It is in pleasant woodland at Oswestry Show Ground off the A483 (SY11 4AB),
with free parking. The visit provisionally starts at 14.30 following on from our almost full Cambrian
Heritage Railways trip at Oswestry nearby (BLN 1395.414). Members fare £4 (£2 Under 18s who
must be accompanied by a responsible adult) to include multiple runs over the complete
circuit. Advance bookings only - no pay on the day. Please book on our Website or ask someone to
do this for you, or by post to Mark Gomm, Bookings Officer, per back page with an email address or
SAE. Email Mark with any queries; SORRY BUT FIXTURES BOOKINGS CANNOT BE MADE BY EMAIL.



551] WELCOME! To all our new and rejoined members, Society
membership now stands at over 2,300 which is a new record.

552] Sales news: (BLN 1395.412 and 413) Pleasingly, numerous
orders have been received for the new TRACKmaps Scotland and
IOM Book 1 and the 2022 Platform 5 Combined Volume (LEFT).

Due to their sizes they cannot be sent together in our special
packaging that keeps books in good condition. They will be sent
separately and there may be a slight delay in dispatching all the
orders due to the volume received. Thank you for your patience.

552] PSUL: A reminder that this is available free to everyone on
our website along with past editions going back to its inception in
summer 1963. Thanks to Richard Maund, the current version is
updated regularly, sometimes twice a week, and you are advised
to check it (and also current timetables) before travelling.

553] Apologies: Various items have been held over from this BLN apologies if yours was one (or two).

1396 BLN GENERAL (Paul Stewart) [email protected]
554] Early Railway Memories (74) John Rennilson - Part 2, (Member 466): (Part 1 BLN 1373.795) By
the early 1970s all passenger track in Great Britain had been covered so, in Apr 1972, I joined the
Society which offered up to date information on diversions and the chance to travel in small groups to
obscure places. I did manage a few tours including our annual August (English) Bank Holiday Scottish
tours, Sunday morning diversions and even the occasional Footex such as Ipswich to Wolverhampton
for a FA Cup tie via the Nuneaton avoiding line/flyover and Sutton Park. There was also King's Cross to
Boothferry Park, Hull [Sat 14 Jan 1978 - £5.50 return, arranged by our current Editor; the special also
did the rare Hull Paragon P13]. It was also worth asking a train crew for a ride; E3082 from Carstairs to
Lockerbie and return in Jun 1973 was a first for electric traction in Scotland, although not new track.

In Apr 1974 there was a tour to Meeth, Meldon Quarry and Heathfield before a job move to Suffolk
opened up the opportunity to travel on hitherto unknown East Anglian freight lines. I was due to be
met by my wife and daughter, age 11 months, at Carstairs station on the day of our house move from
Lanarkshire. Alas, the locomotive on the sleeper from Euston failed on the Clyde Viaduct approaching
Strawfrank Jn (now Carstairs South Jn). A sympathetic guard walked me the 32ch to Carstairs station.

Later during 1974, in small groups with brakevan permits obtained by a Society member, I went to
Lenwade, Sizewell and Fakenham plus Wisbech East, Griffin Wharf and Middleton Towers in 1975.
A discrete morning visit in 1979 gave a ride on the original Braintree station branch (CP 22 Feb 1869).

The Scottish Region in the 1970s was quite relaxed about issuing brakevan permits, particularly from
Motherwell and Thornton. I generally applied for permits either side of our annual Scottish tours.
The Sheepfold, Souterhouse, Kirkcaldy Harbour & Crombie branches were done in 1976 then Gunnie
and Markinch Haig Distillery in 1977. In 1978 it was Leith Walk East and Bilston Glen with Westfield,
Longannet and Frances Colliery in 1979 plus Methil West Docks in 1980 and Leith South in 1981.
Finally, in 1982, it was the Moffat Mills branch just east of Airdrie then used for grain traffic to
Inverhouse Distillery, Methil South of Scotland Electricity Board Power Station and Thornton Yard.

A Nov 1976 Saturday night diversion makes interesting reading today: King's Cross then Cambridge,
Peterborough, Doncaster, Hare Park Jn, Turners Lane Jn, Milford South Jn, Selby, the original East
Coast Main Line to York, Northallerton, Stockton, Norton South Jn and Ferryhill Jn to Newcastle. All is
still possible nowadays (except Selby to York) but would LNER or Caledonian Sleeper go to such effort?

In England, Maryport Docks (an opencast coal disposal point) and Beckermet (an iron ore mine branch
from Corkickle) were visited with permits in Jan 1977 as were Felixstowe Dock and Ipswich Cliff Quay.
A request to the Western Region for a cab ride was successful in the April from Bath Road MPD to
Stoke Gifford Yard with an ARC stone train via Oxford and Bletchley Flyover to Wolverton. The annual

miners' PSUL day excursion on Sun 31 Jul 1977 from Welbeck Colliery platform was well worth the £2
fare to Bridlington excursion platform [It was P8, John, - at least five Society members on the train!].

In October that year your BLN Editor and I managed some extracurricular activity from Measham
Colliery to Moira West Jn and Donisthorpe Colliery the day before the Wirral Railway Circle 'Spirit of
the Barley' 7-9 Oct tour from Crewe to Fraserburgh and Dufftown which used P9 & 10 at Aberdeen.
The following day we had several trips at the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (a railbus) and then the
Middleton Railway, Leeds with John & Jenny Williamson, who had also accompanied us on the tour.
The Middleton was 30p return then, riding in open wagons or the brakevan through the spoil heaps.

On 20 Dec 1983, before I moved from Suffolk to North Yorkshire, there was a trip to Southam Cement
Works - a long branch from Rugby with a reversal at Marton Jn, so inward coal trains had a brakevan
each end. To reach it was a major problem, as my train to Rugby only made it to Willesden Jn. Then we
were dragged to Acton Canal Wharf. With another reversal, we went to the Midland Main Line and
north via Wigston South Jn to Nuneaton for a train to Rugby. What a start but well worth the effort.

During my first month in Yorkshire there was an official brakevan trip from York Dringhouses Yard to
Foss Islands Yard. Subsequently, work gave me the opportunity to travel to Kellingley Colliery and
Drax, Eggborough and Ferrybridge power stations at the time when tours were not permitted to such
places. Drax was expanding to become the biggest coal fired power station in Europe and preparing
for commercial flue-gas desulphurisation. In 1986 and 1987 on the Tuesdays after Easter, I was invited
by the British Rail Eastern Region Coal Manager to join a small group of VIPs visiting local collieries
using the General Manager's converted DMU. All the collieries were new to me at the time and many
were subsequently covered by the Institution of Mining Engineers railtours, so expertly put together
by the late Chris Boyle. The same contact granted me footplate passes, with an accompanying
Footplate Inspector, from Scunthorpe to Immingham Dock including to Killingholme stop board, from
Tees Yard to British Steel Corporation Lackenby No3 Grid and ICI Wilton - also riding on their Class 07
loco. There was also Gobowen to Blodwell Jn which is the junction for the Nantmawr branch (now the
heritage Tanat Valley Railway) and from Springs Branch to Bickershaw Colliery and Fiddlers Ferry.

On 1 Sep 1995 I had the privilege of naming 59203 'Vale of Pickering' at Drax before it entered service
with National Power. The Company were kind enough to present me with the third nameplate. One of
the original name plates actually carried on the locomotive sold for £3,200 at auction in Nov 2021!

The last 25 years have seen me spend more time travelling behind steam, filling gaps in line coverage
as heritage lines extend and new track is opened by NR. Also I volunteer on the Wensleydale Railway.

555] Covid: Now that the infection is regarded as 'endemic', face coverings are no longer mandatory
on Transport for London services (along with other public transport in England and Northern Ireland).
This is expected to also be the case in Scotland from 21 Mar and in Wales from the end of Mar.

1396 EAST MIDLANDS (Graeme Jolley) [email protected]

556] Grimsby District Light Railway: (BLN 1386.2582) (TRACKmaps 2 p31C 2020) From 28 Feb Tioxide
UK Ground Frame and connections to the former Tioxide sidings (4m 06ch) were to be recovered.

557] Wellingborough: Trials are taking place or imminent of a retractable rigid catenary system at
Neilsons Sidings, north of the station on the Up side. It is just a few masts and not connected to the
adjacent electrified Midland Main Line but is visible from passing trains. It is a joint venture between
GBRF, Tarmac and the Swiss catenary manufacturer Furrer+Frey in Bern who provided the notorious
(not their fault) fixed catenary system in the Severn Tunnel - the least said about that the better.

558] Elmton & Creswell: (BLN 1391.3188) Closure and demolition of the signal box is expected in 2023.

559] The Eager Beavers, Fri 7 Jan 2022: By your General Secretary, Tim Wallis, aided and abetted by
your Fixtures Secretary, Kev Adlam. ''Would you like to do some lines for BLN?'' the Editor asked.
Who can refuse new track? So I accepted, only to discover I had agreed to report on a visit I was
already making. It was a Railway Children auction prize for two, to visit VolkerRail's Scunthorpe depot,
based in the former British Rail Frodingham Depot (TRACKmaps 2 p33A Sep 2020, but see below).

BELOW: (Item 559) 'Beaver' Switches & Crossings tamper at VolkerRail S

Scunthorpe depot. (Both Kev Adlam, 7 Jan 2022.) Now for the clever bit…





We agreed with VolkerRail to visit the site the day before the Society's 23rd Scunthorpe Steelworks
event. After the required negative Lateral Flow Tests the evening before, we met at the site gates that
morning, by which time the snow and ice had largely melted, offering a very suitably cool, but mostly
dry day for a mainly outdoors visit. Safety briefing over, and in the provided full one-piece orange
High-Vis (not the easiest gear to slip on with safety boots) we ventured outside, after a chance to look
inside the three road workshop. In particular, we noted the perfectly level 'calibrated' centre road to
ensure accuracy of their tampers. Outside, we were treated to a special demonstration of their
'Beaver' Switches & Crossings tamper, watching it being unloaded from the low loader used for
transport to/from work sites. Over Christmas and the New Year, the tamper had travelled some 2,200
road miles for just five miles of rail tamping, demonstrating how much in demand this piece of kit is.

It had visited three countries on this excursion - Perth, allowing a siding to be restored to use,
Cwmbach (a redoubling project) as well as Seaford, Finsbury Park and Manchester Metrolink.
This was not the ideal itinerary, the Finsbury Park work was short notice and hard to be arranged on
route to/from Seaford. This Beaver (built in 2004 by Plasser & Theurer in Austria) is much in demand,
as it can tamp over points, as well as plain line, and is sufficiently narrow (the legs referred to below
are fully retractable to achieve this narrowness) so that it can work on most Light Rail systems.

We were told it takes 15 minutes to unload/load it between lorry and rail - the demo achieved this.
Hobsons Heavy Haulage is the 'choice' of road hauliers and employ a trailer without rails so they can
also use it for non-rail business, with the Beaver's wheels positioned on removable rests. With the
lorry positioned above the road rail transfer point, the securing chains were removed, and the four
legs swung out on each corner, past the width of the trailer. Their feet descended mechanically to the
floor, and as they took the weight, the Beaver was lifted up off the trailer. After gaining sufficient
height clearance, the trailer moved forward, leaving the Beaver behind 'up in the air' on its legs -
looking a bit like the Martian tripods in HG Wells' War of The Worlds. Then it was carefully lowered
onto the track (with a bit of 'fine tuning' to ensure both bogies were properly in line with the rails).

With the tamper already fired up, it was then ready to roll, and we were invited into the front and rear
cabs, so that there were no more than two people in either. When tamping, the driver is in the rear
cab, facing forwards and is able to see the operation on multiple miniature TV screens. However, for
those used to travelling in locos, disconcertingly the driver otherwise faces a solid wall of complicated
looking gauges, switches and controls. There is a window by the driver's feet allowing sight of the
tamping irons below - drivers soon become used to this method of operation. There are also separate
controls to drive when not tamping, facing the large cab windows in the traditional fashion.

We were offered a short ride, and started off in tamping mode, slowly inching forward to demonstrate
how good the vision of the process was. Asking if there was any chance of running down to the gate
(back towards the NR connection), we were ready to roll again, but a small power problem halted us.
This offered us the opportunity to sample standard driving mode, where we headed towards the gate
and then back to the north gate where the Beaver had been unloaded. Leaving the driver to sort out
the tamping movement issue, we headed back inside the depot office (remembering to put our boot
covers on as it was a clean space) to be treated to lunch. VolkerRail had bought this in specially - with
enough rolls (they call them baps in these parts) for everyone on site, to their surprise, and with the
contents written on each paper bag. No one was brave enough to try the corned beef and tomato with
'MUSH' - the idea of mushy peas in a roll was unexpected even to the locals.

The time had come to view the Beaver being loaded back onto the low loader, a reverse of the earlier
process (the driver had solved the tamping movement issue before joining us for lunch). In 15 minutes
from starting, it was aboard, secured and the lorry ready to leave the site for its weekend assignment.

We finished the day with a walk around the site to view the north headshunt, once connected to the
North Lindsey Light railway towards Roxby but now full of On Track Plant that needed TLC. The track
layout had been amended since the last (Sep 2020) TRACKmaps and details were taken (see next
Eastern Book...). It now includes a 1:25 gradient test track trailing back from the headshunt approach.

We are indebted to VolkerRail and Hobson Heavy Haulage for staging the Beaver demonstration for
our benefit, which we both thoroughly enjoyed. PS: As no one dared try the corned beef 'MUSH', your
GS took one home for later, wondering if it was actually mushrooms or mushy peas. It turned out to
be very enjoyable - corned beef an inch thick with a coating of mustard, (perhaps 'MUST'?) and not
mushy peas or mushrooms. He still wonders what mushy peas in a bap would be like...

560] Brigg line: (BLN 1392.21). Northern Sheffield - Gainsborough Central services were again
suspended SX from Mon 14 Feb due to staff shortages. Two SO passenger services to Sheffield and
one return (the other is ECS) ran on 19 & 27 Feb. Local managers report that the other services, along
with the SO Sheffield - Brigg - Cleethorpes trains, could remain suspended until the May timetable
change. Gainsborough Central to Sheffield trains still depart from Up P2 with a mechanical disc signal;
authority is given from the signaller (probably the most exciting thing they do all day) each time.
Work is being planned to replace the disc with a short semaphore arm such as in use at Hexham.

561] EMR: On 25 Feb it was announced that Crewe - Derby Sunday services had been reinstated and a
full Inter City service would run following settlement of a 13 year old dispute with Senior Conductors.
[We will resist the temptation to ask if they were actually Junior Conductors when the dispute began.]

562] Matlock not to Nottingham: A local member attended a recent 'Save the Matlock - Nottingham
Rail Link' group meeting in Belper. It was chaired by John Porter, a local councillor and current Mayor
of Belper. EMR was unable to provide a representative 'because it was half term' but, despite it being
half term, about 80 people attended! Chair of Derbyshire County Council, Cllr Trevor Ainsworth, has
had several hours of discussion with EMR regarding the service and attended. It seems that the basic
problem is a lack of rolling stock; EMR should have received 40 Class 170 units from West Midlands
Railway but has only had 10 so far due to delays in delivering* new Class 196s to West Midlands
Railway. EMR was expecting to hand over the Nottingham to Liverpool service to another operator
(releasing some Class 158s) but this hasn't happened. EMR has also had to allocate two Class 156 units
to the Barton-on-Humber line since withdrawal of the Class 153s. [Only one train is needed for the
current service with no peak extras but still services are cancelled due to ''a fault on the train''.]

[*Not so, a good number were delivered some time ago and are 'stored' at Tyseley, Long Marston and
possibly still at Donnington - the real main problem is driver training, there hasn't been much - PAS!]

It's mostly commuters who are unhappy specifically with the Matlock - Nottingham timetable (issues
regarding poor connections with other services at Derby were not within the remit of this meeting).
They feel that a 35 minute (or more) wait is unacceptable. The general feeling in the room was that if
EMR is unable to reinstate a through service then providing better connections - say 10 minutes - at
Derby would suffice, so at least Cllr Ainsworth will have a constructive suggestion to put to EMR next
time he meets with them. Knowing the strictures of timetabling, our local member is not sure if this
would be possible - it's worth a try though! [On the Manchester/Sheffield to Bristol/Reading core,
CrossCountry's long term half-frequency rather than half-hourly means long waits for non-connections
at say New Street too, particularly where connecting services are also operating a reduced frequency.]

563] Daventry DIRFT-3: (BLN 12376.1218) 16 Feb press reports advised of the first 'recent' light engine
trial on this new extension. Does any member have any details/date of operation please? A Martyn
Brailsford scale plan of the new layout is on our website. On the Home page, go along the top banner
to 'More options…', down to 'Track Diagrams', then 'Midlands & North West…' and down to 'DIRFT III'.

1396 GREATER LONDON (Geoff Brockett) [email protected]
564] London Trams (Croydon): The service was suspended between Wandle Park and East Croydon
from 12 to 20 Feb inclusive to enable 100m of track to be replaced at Reeves Corner, along with road
resurfacing. Elmers End services were also suspended in the early mornings and in the evenings.

There has been an increasing number of incidents involving cars, with nine collisions and 59 near
misses since 2020. A tram was derailed after colliding with a car on Oaks Road level crossing on 30 Jan
and another tram was subsequently damaged in a collision at East Croydon. These incidents make it
difficult to maintain a full service, with 31 of the fleet of 34 trams needed in service.

X.67] BELOW: (BLN 1395.425) West Burton 'A' Power Station generating - o
a double allowance of permitted running hours under EU rules. No genera
gas fired Combined Cycle Power Plant will continue (off picture left). Bac

or at least half of it was - on Thur 17 Feb at 16.40; with two chimneys it had
ation is expected after Mar, and formal closure is in Sep. West Burton 'B'
ckground right is the closed Cottam Power Station. (Martin Crompton.)

X.68] BELOW: Taking off from East London Airport showing the new Barkin

ng Riverside branch; the Thames is bottom left. (Keith Fender, 3 Mar 2022.)

565] Clapham Junction: A series of trains are running between Wimbledon Park depot and Long
Marston with SWR Class 455 and 456 units for store and Class 458s for reduction to four cars with
reconfiguration for longer distance trains. From the South Western Main Line to the West London
Line, these trains take the long ladder connection across the throat of Clapham Yard. Until now, this
route has only been used occasionally. Passenger trains can only do it if all movements in the yard are
confirmed as secured, with Wimbledon box requiring a release from the Clapham Yard shunt panel.

566] Bexleyheath: A member commends Southeastern for the upkeep of the waiting room on the Up
platform. It has a polished wood block floor with central table, an imitation log fire/fireplace, some
historical posters and pictures which remind him very much of the waiting room at Leamington Spa.

567] Coulsdon North Ground Frame: Insomniac microgricers may wish to note that on Sun 20 Mar the
03.28 Victoria to Three Bridges is booked to cross from the Up to Down Quarry Line here (14m 72ch).

568] Crossrail: (BLN 1395.433) ●Go back to 14 Feb 2022 of https://bit.ly/3JW9CX3 for details of the
first emergency evacuation exercise on Sun 13 Feb. ●The sidings west of Paddington are now named
Westbourne Park Turnback A-C, rather than Turnback A-C. ●A trial 24tph operation across eastern
and western boundaries of the core route is planned for 1 May. At the eastern end, the Electric Lines
will be under possession between Pudding Mill Lane and Ilford Depot London End Jn. Test trains will
reverse at Stratford and Ilford, with TfL Rail operating 4tph between Liverpool Street and Shenfield.

569] Greenford Branch: (BLN 1380.1793) GWR has signed an agreement with Vivarail to use battery
unit 230001 (demonstrated at COP26) on the branch. The train has a range of up to 62 miles on one
battery charge and can be recharged in 10 minutes with Fast Charge equipment which will be installed
at West Ealing. £2.15M of funding has come from the DfT's Rail Network Enhancement Pipeline.

570] Harringay: The booking office closed permanently as the building was declared unsafe earlier this
year. Since 2020 there has been an active plan to close it anyway, due to poor ticket office sales.

571] Seven Sisters: The pointwork at the south end of the station, used by the problematic 05.30 SO
Liverpool Street to Enfield Town PSUL service, is to be renewed on a slightly different alignment.
The remains of the OOU trailing crossover and ground frame north of the station will also be removed.

572] Southall: Ealing Council has approved plans to build four tower blocks in place of the railway
loading shed on the south side of the station. This is now a business centre but was originally used by
the Maybole Dairy Company to load products from the world's largest margarine factory. [Spread over
a large area?] It was also the first home of the ill-fated Great Western Railway Preservation Group.
The shed had been granted local listed status by the council, which doesn't provide protection against
redevelopment, or demolition but is recognition of the structure's local significance. ('Ealing Today')

573] TfL Finances: (BLN 1395.440) The funding agreement with the DfT had yet another short term
extension to 25 Feb. In line with the agreement, fares increased by 4.8% (= Jul RPI + 1%) on 1 Mar on
average, ironically a day that another RMT strike was planned. Travelcard, Tube, London Overground,
DLR, TfL Rail and National Rail fares rose by 3.8%. However, Tram and bus fares went up by RPI + 2.7%
= 6.5% to hit the overall RPI + 1 rate (as rail revenue is significantly higher than bus and trams revenue
and TfL has budgeted for fares to rise by RPI + 1). Tram and bus 'Hopper' fare (one hour's unlimited
travel - how far can you go?) increased by 10p to £1.65. The daily Bus and Tram cap rose 30p to £4.95,
the same price as three single journeys. Emirates Air Line pay as you go and cash fares took off by an
overall average of 9.2% to £5 or £6 each way; some say they were sky high already. River Bus fares
increased by the 4.8% average. A Zone 1-6 Annual Travelcard is now £2,812; Zone 1 or 1-2 is £1,536.

574] Timetables: (BLN 1395.444) From 21 Feb SWR reinstated its Dec 2021 timetables, apart from the
cancellation of four peak hour trains. Also from 21st, Southern resumed running two daily round trips
on the West London Line SSuX. An all day service runs at weekends, engineering work permitting.

575] Strawberry Hill Jn - Fulwell Jn: Over the last three months almost 98% of the booked services
have actually run on this PSUL (the original Shepperton route). They are currently SSuX 05.23, 07.30 &
08.00 Shepperton to Waterloo and 07.26 Twickenham and 17.43 & 18.12 Waterloo to Shepperton.

1396 NORTH EAST & YORKSHIRE (Geoff Blyth) [email protected]
576] Pontefract Baghill: The three SuX Northern Sheffield to York locals each way are shown as
replaced by buses until Sat 17 Jul as since 4 Jan 2022 (buses all stations Moorthorpe to York only, in
76 min - the train takes 51), no doubt making significant savings for the Treasury. A weekly named
train, SuO 19.00 Sheffield to York and 21.09 return, maintains knowledge. Up until Sun 27 Feb, it has
run 7 times and been cancelled 5 times. The name of the train is 'The Closure Proceedings Avoider'.
In the May to Dec 2021 timetable Northern mostly ran all six trains SuX and four SuO. Clitheroe to
Hellifield (two SuO trains each way one Blackpool North, one Preston) is hit and miss (mostly miss).

577] Freight Electrification: Following his Apr 2021 'Modern Railways' article (an e-BLN 1394 extra),
Julian Worth has said: The main developments since then stem from the Integrated Rail Plan for the
Midlands and North, published last autumn, which contained good and bad news. The good news is
that the Diggle route over the Pennines is to be electrified and gauge cleared to W12. Further good
news is that the Midland Main Line and Hope Valley are to be electrified and it's only a short distance
from Chinley to Peak Forest, to link the major quarries to create an electrified route to the South East.

The bad news is the cancellation of the eastern leg of HS2 and the consequent retention of Inter City
services on the ECML. There will thus be no daytime [ECML] paths for freight. This means that
[if freight is to be electrically hauled] the Joint Line via Lincoln will need to be wired and Northallerton
- Eaglescliffe - Ferryhill. It would clearly be sensible to wire Eaglescliffe to Redcar at the same time.

Your NE Editor comments: ֎This will also require significant work to deal with the lack of capacity at
Doncaster and conflicting moves there (also a problem at Shaftholme Jn). There isn't much point in
wiring Eaglescliffe to Ferryhill without quadrupling some of the ECML further north, carrying out the
'Leamside South' scheme (BLN 1371.526) or electrifying the Durham Coast line instead. There are
already few paths north of Ferryhill, which prevents any improvement to local services. It would
certainly be sensible to wire Eaglescliffe to Teesport. If wiring were to extend to Redcar, then it would
make sense to wire the whole of Darlington - Saltburn. ֎Electrifying and gauge clearing the Diggle
route to W12 will result in the same problem as for the ECML; no daytime freight paths through Leeds.
If freights are to be electrically hauled, Mirfield - Castleford - Church Fenton would need to be
electrified and possibly gauge cleared. [The government has made it clear that further electrification
beyond that in the Integrated Plan will depend on the actual cost/efficiency of forthcoming schemes.]

578] Sunderland: (BLN 1394.314) Demolition of the existing entrance was due to start on Mon 14 Feb.

579] Blyth & Tyne: (BLN 1394.328) A Tyne Yard driver confirms that Battleship Wharf, North Blyth, is
the most likely place to unload aggregate trains from Shap but it is thought that none has run so far.

When Tyne Yard had a Class 67 'Thunderbird', a circular run around the Blyth & Tyne was booked on
the early turn for route knowledge retention in case of emergency diversions between Newcastle and
Morpeth. When coal trains from Battleship Wharf ceased (last train Tue 9 Mar 2021 to clear the
stockpile), Tyne Yard drivers ceased doing the circuit and the Class 67 was withdrawn. Newcastle LNER
drivers have now lost their route knowledge due to the lack of opportunities to review the road.

580] Gateshead Metro Centre: (BLN 1395.460). A member (then a teenager, as the majority of our
members have been) was at the station opening. He confirms the use of 34092 'City of Wells' and he
remembers that 'Flying Scotsman' had failed. On 14 Jun 1987, observing the construction work from
the lineside, he was invited up by the workmen to take better pictures. That wouldn't happen now!

581] Middlesbrough: (BLN 1395.450.2) The Class 25 in the e-BLN photo was on a westbound freight,
not eastbound, on No1 Up Goods line. The new P3 Loop (plan BLN 1395) will occupy its alignment.
The platform in the foreground of the photo is the former P3, a short east end Down bay taken out of
use for passenger use on 9 Nov 1969, when Middlesbrough East box closed. P3 remained in use for
parcels traffic, access being controlled by a ground frame released by Guisborough Junction box.

The new P3 itself will cover the formation of both the former P3 line and the run-round loop on its
north side. The remodelling may, very unusually, have been enhanced because it is being funded
largely by the Tees Valley Combined Authority rather than the Department Forgetting Trains…!

BELOW: (Item 578) A computer projection of Sunderland station's

s new southern entrance, hopefully it will be built perpendicularly.

[BLN 1396]

LEFT: Sunderland station, the existing entrance
which is soon to be demolished.
(Beau Emmerson)

BELOW: (Item 582) Sheffield Victoria, the
12.40 Manchester London Road (now Piccadilly)

to Leicester Central on 17 Jun 1957.

Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No45219 has taken over
from an electric locomotive. On the middle

line is Class J39 0-6-0 No64753.

Photo by Ben Brooksbank, CC BY-SA 2.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11732360

ABOVE: (BLN 1395.460 & Item 580) 'City of Wells' 34092, deputising for 'Flying Scotsman', calls at
Gateshead Metro Centre (three words) as it was then; an 'official opening' ceremony Sat 1 Aug 1987.
Public services began on Mon 3 Aug 1987 - the station is now Metrocentre. (Both Andrew Dutton.)

BELOW: Girders being installed at the new station (between trains, obviously) while traffic continued
to run on the Newcastle to Carlisle line - including a failed DMU being hauled by 47194, but this was
14 Jun 1987 and British Rail who actually believed that it was there to run trains and not buses.

BELOW: (Item 582) Sheffield Victoria Sep 1969, three months before closu
London St Pancras on to Manchester from 'Peak' D92. Ironically Midland Ma
being converted into a cutting north of Chesterfield. The Class 47 in the distan

(loose grip 99 - Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://comm

ure; EM1 E26055 'Prometheus' is in the centre road to take this train from
ain Line trains were being diverted via Woodhead due to Broomhouse Tunnel
nce will take the next southbound arrival from Manchester on to St Pancras.

mons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1343968 )

582] Sheffield Victoria Part 1: Wed 5 Jan marked an anniversary that few will remember, 52 years
since the closure from 5 Jan 1970 of the first main line station at Sheffield linking it directly to London.

The city's very first station, Wicker (OP 31 Oct 1838 by the Sheffield & Rotherham Railway), was at the
end of a 5¼ mile short line from Rotherham Westgate - both termini. George Stephenson had chosen
the more easily graded route bypassing Sheffield to the east ('The Old Road') for the North Midland
Railway from Derby to Leeds, and industrialists in Sheffield wanted their city to be linked to it.

The Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne & Manchester Railway (SA&MR) opened its line from Dunford
Bridge to Sheffield Bridgehouses without formalities on 14 Jul 1845. On completion of the (first)
Woodhead Tunnel, the line opened throughout between Manchester and Sheffield on 23 Dec 1845.

A connection to Wicker station OG 1 Jan 1847 but was only used to exchange a small amount of goods
traffic; it CA Jul 1948. The SA&MR merged with two other railway companies to form the Manchester,
Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) on 27 Jul 1846. The line east of Bridgehouses (to Beighton Jn
on the Midland Railway) opened on 12 Feb 1849 but Victoria station was still under construction then.
The line passes over the 660yd long 41-arch Grade II* listed 'Wicker Arches' viaduct (the main arch has
30ft headroom and a 72ft span). The overall design was in the hands of the Sheffield-born engineer
John Fowler, who later gained fame as one of the principal engineers of the Forth Bridge.

Sheffield Victoria OP 15 Sep 1851, a through station with two 300m island platforms. A prominent
architectural critic of the day castigated the station as providing a 'singularly unpromising' approach to
the city, penned in as it was by steelworks, marshalling yards, a cattle market and the then filthy River
Don. The Victoria Hotel opened next door in 1862 and became the 'Royal Victoria' after a visit by the
Prince and Princess of Wales to Sheffield in 1875.

MS&LR trains ran to King's Cross via Retford, in conjunction with the Great Northern Railway (GNR),
their ally. However, the Midland Railway provided tough competition when they opened the direct
line between Tapton Jn and Grimesthorpe Jn, including the new Sheffield Pond Street (later Midland)
station, on 2 Feb 1870. Not only was their station closer to the city centre but they also had a more
direct route to London. The MS&LR subsequently expanded southwards into the Nottinghamshire
coalfield. A line from Beighton Jn opened in stages to Annesley (the last section OG 24 Oct 1892 and
OP 2 Jan 1893), where it joined the GNR. This gave access to Colwick Yards for freight traffic and
Nottingham London Road for passenger traffic. However, this was not enough to satisfy the highly
ambitious chairman Sir Edward Watkin who, having failed to persuade other companies to build a new
joint line to London, decided the company should build its own main line. Suffice to say that, having
renamed the MS&LR as the Great Central Railway (GCR) on 1 Aug 1897, the splendid, but economically
disastrous, line from Annesley North Jn to Quainton Road Jn OG 26 Jul 1898 and OP 15 Mar 1899.
The trains ran over Metropolitan Railway tracks between Quainton Road Jn and Canfield Place Jn, just
north of Marylebone. The MS&LR (nicknamed the 'Money Sunk & Lost') was never a very profitable
company. Following its renaming, the GCR was known as the 'Gone Completely'! (To be continued.)

583] Filey Holiday Camp branch: The platforms at this former station (official CP 26 Nov 1977; last
train 17 Sep 1977) are being demolished. The site will revert to agricultural use to produce compost
from local farmyard manure. At least this is better for the environment than covering it with another
housing estate. There is a full history and layout plan for the station in BLN 1367.3637 of 19 Dec 2020.

584] T&W Metro: This featured in Michael Portillo's latest TV series, 'Great Coastal Railway Journeys'
(available on BBC iPlayer and worth seeing). An episode filmed in Aug 2021 was broadcast on 7 Feb.
He visited Tynemouth stop, describing the Victorian architecture as 'breathtaking' and commenting it
…has one of the finest glass roofs in Britain and recently it has been superbly restored and it is a gem.
A trip from South Shields to Newcastle Central and on the Shields Ferry appeared later in the series.

585] Shildon: (BLN 1394.316) https://www.locomotion.org.uk/about-us/our-future-vision-2025 has
plans for the new £5.9M building. Locomotion's new building draws on the aesthetic of an engine shed,
linking it back to Shildon's history as the world's first railway town. Simple in design… says the blurb.
Some reactions have been rather less complimentary, comparing it to a row of lock-up garages!

586] Rotherham: Very heavy rain with Storm Franklin led to the River Don breaching its banks and
severe flooding. Trains (and tram trains) were suspended from 00.05 Sun 20 until Wed 23 Feb 11.15
through Rotherham Central, which took on the appearance of a canal. Sheffield to Doncaster services
were cancelled or (when possible) diverted via Masborough. This last happened on 7-8 Nov 2019.

587] Situation vacant: Noted on Fishbook (or something like that). Northern Rail is looking for
temporary Sail Replacement Coordinators for shifts at Rotherham Central. Duties include plain sailing
vessels through the station and organising passengers so that they don't barge their way onto the
boats. The name 'Rod' or 'Gill' and ability to swim would be an advantage, as you may need to moor
the vessel. The quay - sorry key - to this job is passenger safety and includes testing the emergency
scuba gear. Goggles will be provided and a free help yourself fish supper. We are trawling the net
angling for suitable recruits on a large scale - if you are interested in this swell job, please cast us a line.

588] Liberty Steel: On 8 Feb Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs issued a winding up petition against
Speciality Steel UK, a division of Liberty Steel. It has works at Stocksbridge (the 9 mile long branch
west from Woodburn Jn) as well as Aldwarke and Thrybergh, north of Rotherham. Between them
they employ about 2,000 people. It is not yet clear which works will be affected, but it will affect rail
traffic. There is internal traffic at Aldwarke and Stocksbridge, also between Aldwarke and Thrybergh.
Blooms/ingots are moved by rail from Aldwarke to Stocksbridge but the train has only run on 5 & 6 Jan
plus 11 Feb so far this year, with no other trains recorded on the branch. It is not known if there is still
semi-finished product movement from Aldwarke and Stocksbridge or scrap metal into Aldwarke.

The hearing is not expected to take place until late March. The 'Financial Times' reported that three
other Liberty subsidiaries also had petitions raised against them: ●Liberty Pipes (Hartlepool), with coil
plate from Margam and pipes to locations as required by rail. ●Liberty Performance Steels (West
Bromwich), which may be partly served by road from Wolverhampton Steel Terminal; does anybody
know? ●Liberty Merchant Bar (Scunthorpe) feedstock from British Steel there via the internal railway.

A member with experience in the steel industry thinks there might be a de facto nationalisation of the
plants, with HMRC taking them in lieu of money owed. The outlook is not good, especially with very
high UK energy prices; unlike many EU countries, the UK gives no financial help to energy intensive
industries. However, some of these plants are the only ones in the country making certain products,
which raises the question of whether a country the size of the UK can afford not to have a functional
steel industry. Considerably smaller European countries have domestic steel industries, for instance
Finland, Belgium and Slovakia. Should we really be dependent on China for much of our steel?

589] Northallerton - Eaglescliffe: (BLNs 1395.453) It has been reported that the line is expected to be
blocked from 30 Apr for two weeks. This could well be for gauge clearance and work on Yarm Viaduct.

590] Supertram: Some ticket prices increase (by below CPI) from 1 Mar, the first increase since Jan
2020. Costs are rising and passenger numbers are still well below pre-Covid levels. Online tickets are
discounted; 28 Day and Xtra online ticket prices are unchanged. A reminder that :ALL: English National
Concessionary Passes are valid on Supertram/tram train SSuX 09.30-23.00, all day weekends and Bank
Holidays. South Yorkshire PlusBus is also valid all day including, less obviously, Doncaster and Barnsley.

591] Score 21? Storm Franklin led to severe flooding on the River Aire. In the afternoon of Sun 20 Feb,
a 70 tonne pontoon carrying a digger (ironically working on flood defences!) broke free. The digger fell
into the river https://bit.ly/3Irm14E and the pontoon set off downstream. As a precaution, trains
were stopped on the Shipley Main lines at Kirkstall Forge. The pontoon damaged a road bridge and
Kirkstall Viaduct on the Harrogate line before heading for Leeds, where the river runs under the
middle of the station. Movements were stopped at Leeds West Jn and Kirkstall Viaduct. Two hours
later the pontoon was located, wedged at the 'Dark Arches' under the station. These were undamaged
and the line reopened. An hour later, Kirkstall Viaduct was inspected by an engineer and reopened.

592] Ms Joan Croft: has reported that her Up Branch catch points were removed on 21 Feb. Members
will no doubt be pleased to know that they are now recovered and also to wish her well. However, on
28 Feb her Down Branch points were also removed, but a prompt recovery was also expected.





PREVIOUS: (Item 593) Leeds east bay P7, the railings have been moved to
and the P7 signal has been resited. The white concrete 'bobbles' at th

BELOW: The current Leeds P9 (this side) and P11 (the other side) with the ra

o the end of the platform to extend it (but not on the adjacent P8, right)
he for end of the platform edge are known as 'witches hats' (item 650).

ailings set back from the platform end. (Both Stuart Marshall, 15 Feb 2022.)

593] Leeds: (BLN 1395.457) A member has identified the changes made to the Down side east end bay
P7. There is no actual extension as such but the barriers/railings at the end have been moved right to
the east end of the platform. Previously they were short of it, like those on P9 & 11. Over Christmas
the platform signal was moved further east, enabling the platform track circuit to be lengthened.

594] York: (BLN 1391.3218) The first stage of improvement work on the station frontage was due to
start in Queen Street on 14 Feb. Further works opposite the station are due to start at the end of Feb.

595] Hemsworth: On Sun 13 Feb the 13.27 Exeter to Leeds HST used the Down Doncaster Passing
Loop, as booked (18.27½ to 18.34½) for the 16.22 King's Cross to Leeds to overtake. This was despite
the 16.22 from King's Cross not running (Covid cut)! Use of the loop depends on the punctuality and
timing of the two trains. It was booked again on Sun 27 Feb but didn't happen as the HST was late!

1396 NORTH WEST (John Cameron) [email protected]

596] Stanlow & Thornton: (BLN 1395.473) NR's 'official' closure date is 12 Feb 2022. However, as our
readers will know, it closed at 19.00 on Thur 3 Feb. Replacement buses are not in the pipeline.

597] Transpennine Upgrade: A mile of track is to be relaid near Ashton-under-Lyne with resignalling
and OHLE supports erected over the next few months with endless weekend line closures. Granville St
and Southampton St overbridges will be raised. Resignalling, with the closure of Baguley Fold Junction
signal box (BLN 1395.466 & 467), is to be commissioned from 04.00 Mon 6 Jun. Track upgrades
between Manchester Victoria and Ashton-Under-Lyne will allow line speeds to be increased.

Baguley Fold Jn: The trailing crossover (BF3A - BF3B) will be taken OOU a few weeks before 6 Jun and
a new trailing crossover (MN6763A - MN6763B) will be installed 55m nearer to Ashton-Under-Lyne.
This will allow a line speed increase to give a consistent 75mph speed in each direction.

Baguley Fold Jn will be resignalled, abolishing Baguley Fold signal box, with transfer of control to
Manchester ROC, Manchester North Workstation. All signalling and immunisation works will be
completed ready for electrification to Stalybridge in late 2023 (hopefully not late).

Clayton Bridge MCB-CCTV will be upgraded to Manually Controlled Barriers with Obstacle Detectors.

Some signals between Manchester Victoria and Miles Platting will be replaced with LEDs; MN709BR
will be moved and upgraded to a 3-state banner. Signals between Miles Platting and Ashton Moss
North Jn will be replaced with 4-aspect LEDs. MN810 and MN813 will have 3-state banner signals
(already introduced ready for the line speed increase). Ground signals at Baguley Fold Junction will be
renewed in new positions due to the trailing crossover moving 55m towards Ashton Moss North Jn.

To Victoria the Up Direction Line speed increases from 70 to 75mph at 2m 53ch (Up Ashton) until
1m 45ch and 30/55mph round Miles Platting Curve (now 30/30mph) to 0m 35ch (Up Rochdale Slow).

From Victoria on the Down Rochdale Slow 0m 21ch to 1m 45ch on the Down Ashton increases to
50/55mph then 75mph to 2m 47ch - the higher line speed restriction applies to most passenger trains.

Train Detection will be by axle counters. New signals will be LED (VMS) type. Down Direction signals
will have odd numbers and Up Direction even. Signal Prefixes MN Manchester ROC Manchester North
Workstation Miles Platting Westlock Interlocking Ashton Moss Interlocking AS Ashburys Interlocking
Manchester East Signalling Control Centre.

Flashing Aspect Sequence: Ashton Moss North Jn Signal MN4315 (on the Down Ashton) will be able
to display a double flashing yellow for trains routed at Ashton Moss North Jn to the Up Crowthorne
Line. The next signal MN4317 will be able to display a single flashing yellow aspect for such trains.

598] Living on The Edge: On Down P1 at Alderley Edge, new murals to mark the 180th anniversary of
the line include a First Class carriage from the 1840s. In the main station building alcoves, four images
show the view from 'The Edge'. The dramatic sandstone ridge, one of Cheshire's best-loved landmarks,
with impressive views over the Cheshire Plain towards Manchester and to the hills of Cheshire's Peak
District. The Artist, Eamonn Murphy, has over 70 artworks https://bit.ly/3sr1tni at many stations in the
area including Rose Hill, Disley, between Crewe to Manchester and in southeast Manchester.

599] Chew Moor: (BLN 1394.345) A member who digested this item well, advises: Chew Moor station
is shown on the 6" OS (1845-6 survey) but is neither among stations listed in various press references
(eg Bolton Chronicle 18 Nov 1848) about the line's opening on 20 Nov 1848 nor is it in timetables
given in the 'Liverpool Mail' (from 9 Dec 1848 until the last they published 11 Aug 1849), so Butt's OP
1848 date must be disregarded. No press reference to the station opening or closing has been traced.

600] Wigan - Southport: NR is to renew Pool Hey (32m 44ch) and Wyke Cop (32m 20ch) crossings.
They have Automatic Half Barriers but will be replaced with MCB-OD, Manually Controlled Barriers
with Obstacle Detection. (Note: BLN 1394.335 & X.35 and all current TRACKmaps except Book 1 -
Scotland & IOM - have 'Obstruction' Detection, but NR refers to 'Obstacle' detection as does Book 1.)

Two new signal sections controlled by Burscough Bridge Junction box Individual Function Switch panel
will protect the crossings in each direction. Chapel Lane Level Crossing (24m 06ch) is also life expired
and will be changed from Manually Controlled Gates (normally closed to road traffic) with pedestrian
Wicket Gates, operated from the adjacent Chapel Lane Gate Box by a Crossing Keeper, to Manually
Controlled Barriers with Obstacle Detection, controlled from Parbold box. This box, dating from 1877,
had most of its upper half mostly rebuilt in 1983 after it collapsed when the old frame was removed;
there were further repairs in 2008 with refurbishment. It has a 20 lever British Rail London Midland
Region Standard mechanical frame dating from 1983 and a Manually Controlled Barrier level crossing.

Location cabinets and signals will be replaced, the latter with LEDs. The interlocking will be retained
and mechanical locking altered. Stopping/non-stopping strike in points will be identified for the
crossing and Computer Based Interlocking will control the MCB-OD crosssing. The signaller's Blockshelf
equipment will be 'life extended' (can they do that for people too?) incorporating the new controls
and indications. There will be a new train speed profile with telephone concentrator amendments.

601] Blackpool Trams: Shelters have been installed at Blackpool North stop. It is surrounded by a
building site (a new hotel and restaurant, you can't have too many of these in Blackpool), so reportedly
can't open until they are complete. The initial plan for a 'temporary' terminus has been abandoned.

602] Metrolink: ❶(BLN 1395.549) During the 19-27 Feb half term Eccles line closure to replace some
22 year old rail, trams on The Trafford Centre line were very busy but still single. Ashton trams ran to
Bury instead of Eccles. There has been a problem with the single track points before MediaCityUK
which had to be hand operated by the driver, increasing the use of the right hand platform on arrival.
To avoid congestion with the frequent services and the single line, a 'tidal' system has operated. Trams
to Eccles mostly run via MediaCityUK in the morning with those from Eccles serving it in the evening
peak; in the other direction they used the avoiding curve. Was this sorted out during the closure?

❷Metrolink has confirmed that all the pointwork at Deansgate-Castlefield stop and the third loop
platform were taken OOU on 18 Feb 2021 following the tram derailment there (BLN 1393.206.2). Final
relaying and restoration is now expected over the weekend of 4-5 Jun.

603] HS2: (BLN 1395.470) The new HS2 Phase 2b Bill environmental statement reads: For the
completion of the Metrolink box structure, western entrance and Ashton Line connection in Phase 4,
trams from the west will use this temporary track and turn back at Piccadilly for a period of two years,
until the new Piccadilly Metrolink stop becomes fully functional. The section of line from Piccadilly to
Ashton-under-Lyne will be supported by replacement buses. Once operational, the Metrolink line
between Piccadilly and New Islington will be opened and the temporary turnback and track will be
decommissioned. This will allow for completion of the station concourse and fit out works. A HS2
spokesperson said: We are committed to minimising disruption for Metrolink passengers and continue
to work closely with Transport for Greater Manchester to plan for HS2's programme of construction
works. Construction works will be phased to limit disruption, with single line operation and/or
replacement bus services put in place to ensure that passengers retain access to Metrolink routes.

Proposals for the Crewe to Manchester extension of the HS2 network include new Metrolink stops at
the new Manchester Piccadilly and Airport HS2 stations. Public consultation on the proposals is open
until 31 Mar. The Bill is still working its way through Parliament, meaning plans are not yet finalised.

604] Kirkby: (BLN 1373.843) The investigation into the 13 Mar 2021 crash found that the Merseyrail
train, an arrival from Liverpool Central, was travelling at 40mph as it reached the platform in the dark;
the restriction is 15mph. The driver was distracted by sending a WhatsApp message from his phone
less than 30 seconds before the crash. He applied the emergency brake but too late to prevent a
collision. He was dismissed by Merseyrail in Sep 2021 and, on 8 Feb at Liverpool Magistrates Court,
was found guilty of endangering passenger safety. He is due to be sentenced later. Luckily, the twelve
passengers and the guard only had minor injuries, but the crash caused £400,000 worth of damage.

605] Just the ticket: Merseyrail has a new online ticket calculator to work out the cheapest ticket for a
journey, including single, return, Day Saver and Railpass options. See: https://bit.ly/3plFP1T

606] Mid Cheshire Line: The Rail Users Association is pressing Northern to reinstate a system that
flags up when passenger numbers are expected to be high, such as Chester race days, concerts at
Delamere etc. After Chester Races in Aug, a 2-car DMU ran and was grossly overcrowded. We know an
organisation that used to be pretty good at matching train capacity to demand ………………… British Rail.

607] Crewe: From Sun 27 Feb a new sign 'Electric Trains No Access to Coal Sidings & South Yard' was
provided next to ground position light signal NH43 on the Up Independent line (Down direction).
This is connected with recovery of redundant track and OHLE equipment from former No9 Coal Siding.

608] Blackburn - Clitheroe: Support The Oldham Rochdale Manchester Lines reports that the line
speed for passenger trains is currently 45mph but for freight it is 60mph. For passenger services to run
at 60mph, a more frequent inspection regime is needed but Northern won't meet the extra cost.

1396 SOUTH EAST - NORTH & EAST ANGLIA (Julian James) [email protected]
609] Harwich branch: (E-BLN 1395.X.50 & 51 photos) Ten 4-car Class 379 EMUs in 'warm store' make
an impressive sight on the electrified section of the Through Siding east of Harwich International - the
line that would have accessed the aborted Greater Anglia wheel lathe. The passenger service operates
on the parallel bidirectional Harwich Single from Harwich International P2. The four x 4-car Class 317
EMUs previously stored on the Through Siding were moved to Parkeston Yard on 8 Feb.

610] Mistley: Just east of the station the trailing pointwork for the Up Refuge Sidings is partly plain
lined, as is the facing pointwork (not on TRACKmaps 2020) on the Down side, once for the Mistley
Incline down to the Quay. In both cases the frogs have gone (except in the drais). Until 1898 the Up
Siding was the junction for the original Mistley Quay line descending alongside the branch eastwards
then turning 180o under the line to head west (large scale map e-BLN 1395). In 1900 this semicircular
line was replaced by the more direct incline route descending east on the Down side with a reversal on
the headshunt (part of the original line at the low level) to reach the Quay. The demise of rail traffic is
a Mistley mystery but it was deleted from TOPS (Total Operations Processing System) on 13 Apr 1991.

611] Little Kimble: (BLN 1394.349) The aggregate trains for HS2, nominally to Little Kimble, are 3,400
tonnes (gross loaded) 'jumbo' trains, hence the use of two locomotives.

612] Banbury: A few passenger trains normally turnback from the south in P1, the Down Banbury
Loop, and some start or end in service there with ECS from or to the depot. However only one is
normally booked to run through P1 in service, the SSuX 16.21 Marylebone to Moor Street which
stands in P1 for 20 minutes (17.42 to 18.02) to be overtaken by CrossCountry's 15.45 Bournemouth to
Manchester that uses P2 (17.56-17.57) the Down Cherwell Valley. There is one additional weekly
passenger departure north the originating SO 06.00 Banbury P1 to Moor Street (ECS from depot).

On Fri 18 Feb storm 'Eunice' lifted part of the roof off Chiltern's Banbury Depot damaging a signal at
the south end of P2. From then, if possible, all Down passenger trains ran via P1 as using P2 required
them to be talked past the signal. This ended on 23 Feb. P1 is actually a bidirectional platform (as they
all are now at Banbury), normally used in the Down direction - TRACKmaps 3 p14B (2018) suggests
that it's only an Up platform but TRACKmaps 4 p17C (also 2018) is correct. Meanwhile the 16.21 from
Marylebone temporarily used P4, doing the facing crossover at Banbury Depot Jn and the trailing at
Banbury North Jn. Some Down freight ran through Up P3 and there was increased use of the short P4.

613] Woking: (BLN 1395.507) The temporary slewing for relaying of the Barnstaple line near Yeoford
described reminds a member that on Sat 12 Mar 1966 he had a similar experience. Returning from
Waterloo on the 17.30 with loco 34104 'Bere Alston', the train left Woking on the Down Fast as usual.
However, just before the underbridge immediately past the P'Way Yard, it crossed to the Up Fast. He
noticed that the Down Fast had been slued over to join the Up Fast which was disconnected there
towards Waterloo. This was because the underbridge was being replaced. Our member assumes that
the Down Fast must have been rejoined at Brookwood as 34104 had quickly accelerated to 70mph+ by
Pirbright Jn for a fast run to Basingstoke and Eastleigh. His morning journey to Waterloo was via
Guildford (and the IOW, as you do, after a final trip - also by steam - from Shanklin to Ventnor which
CP Mon 18 Apr 1966). He does not know what Up trains did at Woking or if a pilotman was involved.

614] High Wycombe: (BLN 1389.3007) Restoration of the 1854 Brunel railway shed continues apace
and externally appears nearly complete, with modern sympathetic extensions. The ground and first
floor car park levels appeared full on Wed 9 Feb, with a few cars on the second but none on the top.

615] North of Aylesbury: (BLN 1386.2643) From Sat 12 Feb Claydon L&NE Jn Signal Box (at 43m 05ch,
actually just north of Waddesdon now) was 'closed until further notice' by NR. This ties in with the
report that the track has been lifted north of Quainton Road and also with an amended version of
what appeared on this topic in Dec. Then NR advised that the box remained open to provide access to
Quainton Road (probably for HS2 traffic rather than the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre!). It seems
that Claydon L&NE Jn box is no longer required to reach Quainton Road.

March 'Today's Railways UK' has: There will be provision for the classic line to be reinstated alongside
HS2 as far as a realigned curve north of Calvert to East West Rail, should the currently shelved proposal
for direct services between Aylesbury and Milton Keynes be approved. Presumably it will be reinstated
from the Quainton Road to the new Calvert Waste terminal on the east (Up) side, nearer to Aylesbury
as was promised in the proposal to lift the previous line, and the freight paths remain in the timetable.

If north of Calvert and/or Quainton Road is not to be reinstated when the adjacent HS2 construction
is complete, then a Network Change to close it could be needed or repeated extensions of its period of
OOU status. BLN 1386.2643 dealt with the possession (north of 43m 05ch) and expected lifting (north
of 44m 26ch, not north of 43m 05ch). However, the Weekly Operating Notice entries show the closure
as north of 44m 45ch, in the end. Mileage increases from Aylesbury (38m 13ch from Baker Street
Metropolitan) to 44m 48ch with a change of mileage to 161m 50ch at the former Quainton Road Jn,
then decreases (to Manchester London Road - now Piccadilly - via the former Great Central main line).

616] Cheddington: (BLN 1394.351) Up Slow P4 (closed Fri 21 Jan) is expected to reopen Sat 26 Mar.

617] Horspath: (BLN 1386.2644) On the former Princes Risborough to Oxford line, residents are up in
arms after steel fencing was erected around the bridge over Cuddesdon Road in Horspath, blocking a
wildlife corridor and forcing deer onto a busy road. The structure was occupied by members of the
community in Feb 2021 after contractors, appointed by National Highways, arrived unexpectedly and
started to remove its parapets ahead of an expected full demolition. Villagers were angry about a lack
of consultation over the future of the valued heritage asset which acts as a traffic calming measure
and is used by animals to reach a nearby nature reserve. The bridge has since been the focus of a
repair scheme; however, as part of the works, the local Parish Council asked National Highways to
fence off a substantial area around the structure, and beneath another bridge nearby, following a
handful of reports about drug taking. The company offered to grant a licence so members of the
community could legitimately access and use the structure, an approach that often deters antisocial
behaviour, but then agreed to install the fencing. Locals have since reported deer running into the
road below the bridge and panicking when they cannot find a way back onto the old railway which
they use as a migration, dispersal and foraging route. Several collisions have narrowly been averted.

618] Ely: (BLN 1387.2757) A Greater Anglia 17 Feb event allowed the public to find out about planned
station refurbishment due to start this spring, including a new ticket office, booking hall, ticket gates
and waiting room with workstations and charge points. A temporary ticket office will be provided.

X.69] BELOW: Pathfinder's 19 Feb 2022 Link N' Chord railtour approach

hing Peterborough from Leicester in driving heavy rain. (Nick Garnham.)

BELOW: After leaving Peterborough for Lincoln it became the first tour to do

o the Werrington Diveunder. (Nick Garnham - well beyond the call of duty.)

X.70] BELOW: After Lincoln and reversing at Newark North Gate the to

our approaches Retford (ECML) on OHLE power. (All Martin Crompton.)

BELOW: After switching to diesel power the tour took the sharp curve to cr
To the right is the line east towards Gainsborough and Brigg/Lincoln w

ross above, then descend to, the Sheffield line (behind the photographer).
which is also just seen beneath the underbridge in the previous picture.

BELOW & NEXT: The tour (bottom left) approaches Thrumpton West (p

previously Whisker Hill) Down Jn - the Up Junction is ahead to the right.





X.71] East of Eden Bicester Village: Progress on east West Rail (which many

now stop at Bedford) on 18 Jan 2022 in the sun and frost. (All Stuart Hicks.)