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Number 1417 (Items 288 - 417 & MR 20 - MR 27) (E-BLN 110 PAGES) 4 Feb 2023 BRANCH LINE NEWS Distribuendi notitia, verbi disseminandi [ISSN 1354-0947] Published 24 times a year e Branch Line Society; founded 1955. branchline.uk https://www.facebook.com/BranchLineSociety/ Membership queries: Lisa Sheppard [email protected] 186 [email protected] Park Road South, Hull, HU4 7BU. 07873 354464 British Isles news from members; an International section is available. Opinions are not necessarily those available. of the Compilers or of the Society. ciety. Society. BLN 1418 is dated Sat 18 Feb; contributions by Wed 8 Feb please 288] Sales Officer: (BLN 1416.166) Graeme Jolley is dealing with sales until Darren Garnon takes over on 18 Feb [email protected] 3 Reader Drive, Marden, TONBRIDGE, TN12 9FD. Date Event and details…... Please book online BLN Lead Status Sat 11 Feb The Wolf Hall Thunderer main line railtour 1414 MG WAITING LIST Sun 12 Feb The Technical Cobra main line railtour BELOW MG OPEN Sat 18 Mar The Second Bite, Derby - Whitby main line tour 1414 MG OPEN Sun 19 Mar *NOW OPEN* Minor Railway visits in Derbyshire BELOW NL OPEN Mon 1 May Save the date, Bank Holiday mainline railtour TBA TBA Claimed 12-15 May *NEW* Save the dates for our railtour in Poland BELOW IS Claimed Sat 22 Jul Isle of Man: Manx Electric Railway Crossover Explorer TBA TBA Claimed Sun 27 Aug Scunthorpe Summer Track Steeler26 (09.30-18.30) TBA TBA Claimed Bookings: MG = Mark Gomm [email protected] 84 Mornington Rd, STOKE-ON-TRENT, ST1 6EL 07983 541887. 289] :Sun 12 Feb; The Technical Cobra:: Operated by RailAdventure with Mk 1 stock SRPS Diesel Group 37403 and unusual lines. Tail end assistance will be provided as needed from Derby to Gascoigne Wood by 50008, where it will be detached. With huge thanks to our friends at Loram, it has been agreed, subject to the usual operational caveats and availability, that BOTH Class 08s will power our train within the confines of the RTC. We are, as ever, extremely grateful for this fantastic support and the difference it will make to Martin House Hospice. The SRPS Buffet Car will serve a wide range of hot & cold drinks, snacks and light refreshments with hand pulled real ales and ciders available. There will be an early afternoon break at Pontefract Monkhill. All tour profits and raffle proceeds etc go to Martin House Children's Hospice charity. Non-members welcome, 1 st Class FULL; Standard Class £99; Under 18s £49.50 discount (must be adult accompanied). Please book on our website, ask a member to, or cheques payee 'Branch Line Society' with an SAE (two for acknowledgement/queries but email preferred) to Mark Gomm as above. Derby P3 (08.45 PU) - :Derby Railway Technical Centre, for haulage by 08871 + 08756: (rev) - Derby P7 - Broadholme DPL - Chesterfield P1 (PU 10.19) - Down Heeley Lp - Sheffield Up Station Sdg N o 1 - Brightside Reception N o 1 - Brightside Up & Dn Slow - Meadowhall (PU 11.07) - Kirkgate P3 - Crofton East Jn (rev) - Oakenshaw Up GL - :Wakefield, Cobra Siding:: (rev) - Calder Bridge Jn (rev) - Turners Lane Jn - :into Wakefield Europort (Line 4 requested): (rev) - Turners Lane Jn - Oakenshaw Jn - Pontefract Monkhill (break) - Castleford - Gascoigne Wood Dn Loop (rev) - South Milford - Leeds Through Road - Kirkstall Down Loop - Apperley Bridge (SD 17.15) - Skipton (SD 17.41) - Carlisle P3 (SD 19.26) - Beattock Summit DPL - Motherwell P2 (SD 21.23) - Falkirk Grahamston P1 (SD 21.54) 290] Our website is a hit! In 2022 alone over 7,247,000 pages were viewed on the Society's website. The quietest month was Sep (514,000 pages); the busiest Apr (761,802). Our Fixtures page is the most popular, then the haulage 'GEN'page, PSUL and the Station Lists. 370 new members joined online (one a day) and 1,573 renewed (some for more than one member e.g. Basic Category 'D' members). We had 4,116 online fixture bookings - many for multiple bookings. Jan 2023 exceeded 542,000 hits.

291] :Sun 19 Mar 10.00; Derbyshire Dales Delight:: Thanks to Neil Lewis, we have two narrow gauge railway fixtures in the delightful Derbyshire Dales to complement our Whitby tour, the previous day. At 10.00 there is an all available track tour of the recently opened 2ft gauge Ashover Light Railway at the Peak Rail Rowsley South complex, 3½ miles north of Matlock. This railway includes a 170yd public run, shed roads and sidings. We then travel up the hill for a 13.00 start to cover the extensive Steeple Grange Light Railway near Wirksworth, last visited by the Society on 25 Apr 2011. Several changes since include a significant extension to the public run. This attractive, friendly 18'' gauge railway has a 700yd yard main running line with a separate quarry branch, shed roads, loop and sidings - again, we aim to cover as much available track as possible (subject to the usual caveats) during our private visit. Members only; Adults £22 for both fixtures; U18 (all must be adult accompanied) £11. If full, please add you name to the waiting list to assess demand. Enquiries to Neil Lewis: [email protected] X.12] :Fri 12 - Mon 15 May 2023; BLS Poland #2 Tour - The Katowice & Krakow Wanderer:: Thanks to our Member Iain Scotchman, we are pleased to announce this four-day tour in Poland, operated for us, as was our very successful 2022 tour extensivelt reported in BLN, by Poznan-based railway tourist operator Turkol (Turystyka Kolejowa TurKol.pl). As in 2022, the tour will start and end in Wrocław, traversing some of the freight line connections we were unable to do last year before heading via Opole to the Katowice area where a comprehensive programme of freight lines and connections is planned. The tour will then be based in Katowice for three nights, traversing requested freight lines around Katowice on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. On Saturday freight lines around Krakow are also included. Monday afternoon, we return to Wrocław. The tour is planned around 12 hour days, 08.00 to 20:00, potentially with optional earlier finishes (but of course missing out some of the track!). Unfortunately, H&S has reached Poland, our request to traverse the various colliery branches in the greater Katowice area was refused by the coal company as they do not have the required passenger safety cases for their freight lines, pointing out that this would make it illegal for our tour to traverse them! PKP (Polskie Koleje Państwowe - Polish State Railways) has refused the short stub into Wrocław Swiebodzski, which was blocked out of use just prior to our tour last year, due to condition of track. The train, as last year, will comprise two preserved First Class compartment coaches (four to a compartment for comfort) with a bar/buffet car serving hot drinks, beer and light meals for lunch/ dinner (Polish menu!). Hotel accommodation is recommended in Wrocław for the nights before and after the tour and in Katowice for the three nights we are there. Both cities have many hotels, particularly near the stations - at this stage do not book anything on a non-cancellable basis! The tour is planned to be hauled by vintage electric loco EP05-23 for the first two days, switching to diesel haulage for the rest of the tour, worked by SM/SU42 loco(s). Should either EP05-23 not be available or if route changes are made to include non-electrified track on Days 1 & 2, the diesel will be used for the whole tour (there is no guarantee of different locos but we will try to make this happen!). Preliminary outline details of the route received from Turkol with provisional timings are below. Please note that these will likely be revised with more detail and hopefully some enhancements/additions. :Fri 12 May: (EP05): Wrocław Gł. 08.00, Pracze, p.Stadion, Brochów, Żórawina, Brochów, p.Stadion, Gądów, Żerniki, Wrocław Gł. 13.00, Opole Groszowice, Gliwice, Knurów, Ruda Kochłowice, Katowice Muchowiec, Sosnowiec Dańdówka, Sosnowiec Gł., Katowice 18.30, Chorzów Batory, Hajduki, Katowice Ligota, Katowice 20.00. :Sat 13 May: (EP05): Katowice 08.00, Łazy, Dąbrowa Górnicza Towarowa, Dąbrowa Górnicza Wschodnia, Dąbrowa Górnicza Ząbkowice 11.00, Jaworzno Szczakowa JSE, Trzebinia, Trzebinia Siersza, Trzebinia 13.30, Kraków Katowice, Kraków Nowa Huta, Kraków Płaszów 16.30, Kraków Olsza, Kraków Mydlniki, Kraków Przedmieście, Kraków Nowa Huta (ring), Sosnowiec Jęzor, Mysłowice Brzezinka, Katowice 20.00. :Sun 14 May: (SU/SM42): Katowice 08.00, Hajduki, Katowice Ligota, Kostuchna, Tychy, Bieruń St, Tychy, Ruda Kochłowice, Zabrze Północ, Tarnowskie Góry 11.30, Tworóg, Tarnowskie Góry, Piekary Śl. Szarlej, Tarnowskie Góry, Chorzów Stary, Mysłowice, Katowice 17.00, Ruda Chebzie, Zabrze Biskupice, Gliwice, Katowice 20.00. :Mon 15 May: (SU/SM42) Katowice 08.00, Kostuchna, Pszczyna, Chybie, Pawłowice Śl., Żory, Rybnik Towarowy, Rydułtowy, Kędzierzyn-Koźle, Nysa, Brzeg Wrocław Gł. 20.00.

We hope to have this tour ready for booking in late February, with a detailed flyer and map, so please save these dates for what we hope will be another interesting and successful freight line tour! For those who have never been to Poland with its fascinating railway system, it is good value, English is widely spoken and there will be plenty of 'familiar faces' to assist. LEFT EP05-23 with Turkol 'Zima' tour; Katowice Ligota 14 Jan 2023 (Iain S.) 1417 BLN GENERAL (Paul Stewart) [email protected] 292] A 'coaled' spell? On Mon 23 Jan the remaining two coal fired units at West Burton 'A' power station and two at Drax were ordered to warm up as the cold weather, combined with lack of wind generated power, left the country facing a potential energy deficit. National Grid data suggested that power consumption would peak at almost 46.7GW at 17.00 up from the previous day's high of 43GW. In the event they were not required (or the next day), partly due to demand management measures. From 29 Sep, until the last arrival at 00.55 on 24 Dec 2022, Freightliner Heavy Haul ran 76 coal trains to West Burton 'A' from Immingham, over 100,000 tonnes of coal (the previous inward coal (GBRf) was 12 Aug 2021). Another eight were to run after Christmas but the first on 9 Jan only made it to Barnetby Down Reception Sidings because of a catastrophic failure of the internal signalling system at West Burton 'A' which could not be rectified easily; no trains have run since. Deliveries of coal from Immingham to Drax (GBRf) were to have ended with the 13.52 arrival on 23 Dec but there have been eight more since - likely to have been those diverted from West Burton. If the coal fired units are not required this winter, there will be considerable coal stockpiles in the spring. This raises the interesting question of what happens to any stocks that are left on 1 Oct 2024, when it is intended coal can no longer be used to generate electricity in the UK. Traffic is still fired up at Ratcliffe up to six coal trains run daily - even at weekends - (here 3x500MW units generate commercially, one is on standby). 293] Railway Memories (94) by Charles Allenby (Member 635): I commenced my eventual 42 years and 5 months (exactly) of a rather undistinguished railway career on Tue 1 Aug 1961, as a probationer clerk at the junction station of Gilling, where the 12 mile truncated line to Kirbymoorside (railway spelling, the village is actually Kirkbymoorside) branched off the 23½ mile Pilmoor to Malton line. Both were basically freight with, particularly in the case of the latter, a small number of passenger trains (eg Ampleforth College specials and Summer Saturday East Coast holiday trains avoiding York). Unfortunately, through circumstances beyond my control, I made an inauspicious beginning. Having cycled the five miles from my home at Helmsley, I arrived at Gilling Level Crossing to see the Station Master descending the steps of the 1906 ex-North Eastern Railway signal box with its reduced, since 1955, 28 lever frame (including 4 spare). I nervously asked him where I should put my cycle. His curt reply was: You can get back on it and clear off. He assumed I was a student from Ampleforth College some two miles away; one or two of whom occasionally frequented the station, despite a sparse train service. Once I had been able to convince him of my reason for turning up, he escorted me into the office with the words: If there is a document you don't understand let me know. Picking up the nearest folder I could find, I was quickly admonished with: Those are my coal books, don't touch those. It was quickly clear to me that the Station Master had other far more important things on his mind; for very good reason as it turned out. His area of responsibility stretched 13 miles from Ampleforth Level Crossing in the west, controlling home and distant signals in each direction worked by a female crossing keeper who was also responsible for maintaining the railway camping cottage in the summer months, located in part of the former Ampleforth station building (closed 5 Jun 1950), through to Broughton Level Crossing in the east with a Target Board worked by another female crossing keeper. He had fifteen staff under his supervision (one clerk plus a probationer (me!), four porter-signalmen…

ABOVE: (Item 293) Gilling station 4 Jun 2016 looking east towards Malton and Pickering. Member Charles Allenby started his long railway career here in 1961. (Angus McDougall.) LEFT: The diminutive Gilling Gate Box is at the National Railway Museum in York. (Angus McDougall, 4 Nov 2004.)

one leading porter, one district relief porter and seven female crossing keepers). It was at one of these level crossings, Fryton, midway in the Hovingham Spa to Slingsby 1 mile 1,399 yards Tyer's N o 6 Electric Token Block section that there had been a fatal accident to the off duty female crossing keeper the previous day (August Bank Holiday, Mon 31 Jul 1961). The circumstances were that the lady concerned had been absent from duty with a strained muscle but intended to visit her doctor on the 31st , when she anticipated that she would be able to resume work. Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication between Gilling Station Master and York District office, no relief turned up at Fryton that morning, unlike the previous ten days. Normally the first train on a Monday would have been the 8.40am Malton to Kirbymoorside 'pick-up' freight. However, on this occasion this was not the case,as it was 1Z16,the annual 7.58am Helmsley to Scarborough private excursion, reversing at Gilling and Malton, consisting of nine coaches hauled by V2 loco N o 60875 (the ECS from York Clifton via Pilmoor). It appears that when the line reopened at 7.45am, finding no relief had arrived, the lady, though not on duty, shut both gates, which swung away from the line, and operated the Target Board to show clear for rail. Shortly afterwards a local farmer opened the gates himself, indicating to the lady he had done so. It was conjecture as to what happened next but it appears the lady walked across the single line of rail intending to shut the far side gate but in doing so failed to notice the approach of 1Z16, with catastrophic results, of which no one was aware until the arrival of the 'pick-up' at the crossing. A Special Traffic Notice advising the running of 1Z16 was found in the relief crossing keeper's cabin; the resident crossing keeper was unaware of the train's existence. The Ministry of Transport Report into the accident, dated 20 Mar 1962, produced by Mr C H Hewison, while attributing it in the main to some momentary failure by (the crossing keeper) to be alert for a train...., he commented adversely on the Gilling Station Master's failure to have made absolutely sure a relief crossing keeper would be in attendance at the crossing on the 31st . These comments had a profoundly adverse effect on the Station Master. A very educated man, who studied both Greek and Hebrew, the accident and outcome upset him to the extent that he had to spend some time in hospital recovering from the shock. It is probably true to say he never fully recovered, which may have hastened his death from cancer in 1966, a year after his retirement. He was kind and supportive to me in the two plus years I spent at Gilling, for example giving me a bonus at Christmas for helping with his coal sales, and I remember him with gratitude and affection. 294] EGTROW: (BLN 1416.174) The Enthusiast's Guide to Travelling the Railways of the Rest Of the World (work in progress) is live. On The Home Page banner, go to'More options'; just under EGTRE. 295] Now is your chance: Previously there was no declared way to advise the compiler of errors in the online public timetable, which Fabrik compile for NR http://bit.ly/3DfTsXA (and up dates - unlike the NR website version). [email protected] is a direct email address to notify them of errors. 296] Train tracker: http://bit.ly/3WAZZCP is a remarkable App that uses Signalbox API, combining real-time transport information with sophisticated GPS and mapping technology to geolocate devices, matching them with trains on the rail network in Great Britain. For moving trains, the arrow indicates the direction of travel; if stationary, the arrow points north. Green: on time, orange: 1-10 min late, red: over 10 min late - click on the arrow to see the train schedule/calling points. It does other tricks too! 1417 EAST MIDLANDS (Nick Garnham) [email protected] 297] PSUL revived: For the first time since Sat 1 Jan 2022, on Sat 14 Jan 2023 passenger trains finally returned to the Gainsborough Central to Wrawby Jn line. The full service of three SO trains in each direction ran between Sheffield and Cleethorpes. However, just in case anyone falls in to a false sense of security, on Sat 21 Jan the 15.54 Sheffield to Cleethorpes and 19.17 return trains were cancelled. Were any members passengers on either of these days and can comment on passenger numbers? 298] Kettering and Corby: Gatelines have been installed, which EMR say, along with their SmartCard, will reduce queues and make travel quicker [gosh, even speeds up the trains, amazing]. A member at Corby on Thur 19 Jan reports that the ticket office was closed, although refreshments were available. He also reports that EMR staff were proactive and helpful, seeking contact with passengers.

BELOW: (Item 301) The 13.17 Nottingham to Leeds on the bidirectional Up Mans

sfield in the Down direction to pass that test train. (Tim Gilbert, Sat 14 Jan 2023.)

BELOW: The test train is reversing on the Down Mansfield at Lenton North J

n (a move signalled to passenger standards) and has an 'L' for Lenton Curve.

BELOW: (Item 303) Cleethorpes from the end of line, right is former P First left is former P5 (now P4) which we have railtoured and is being brought b

P6 (latterly the Down Fuel Road - is that the reason for all that sand?). back into passenger use. Off right is the North Sea. (Gary Crompton, Jan 2023.)

299] APT trials (guilty or not guilty?): By Afterbrunel. In the late 1970s plans and technical details were being made for the Advanced Passenger Train (APT). It was intended to run faster round curves than any conventional train because, like a motor-bike and modern Pendolinos, it could lean into curves and passengers wouldn't feel any discomfort from the curvature (at least that was the theory). Railway track can have cant (superelevation of the outer rail on curves, raised above the inner) but you can't cant more than about 6'' on standard gauge track. If the cant is exactly right for the speed of the train and the curvature, then passengers will feel fine. If the speed of the train is higher, and if you're lucky enough to have a table, your belongings on the table will tend to creep sideways 'up-hill' and you'll feel uncomfortable. The measure of that is called 'cant deficiency'. If the APT coach body leans into the curve, it applies a bit more cant to itself, so it can go faster than an ordinary train. In addition, passengers can tolerate a certain level of extra cant deficiency but there is a limit. What is that limit? Note that on a mixed traffic railway not all trains will be running at the maximum speed and a cant providing equilibrium for the fastest would be uncomfortable in other slower trains. In 1979 or 1980 some tests were carried out, to find out people's reactions to different levels of cant deficiency. A special short formation HST was run between Wigston (south of Leicester) and - I think - Wellingborough on the Midland main line, plenty of sharp curves. It ran at faster than normal speeds and we volunteers were given microswitches to press when we were uncomfortable. The tests were conducted by the Derby BR Research Department and many clerical and technical staff had been 'persuaded' to take part. It was a tough job but someone had to do it. We had three round trips. After the first round trip, we stopped northbound at Wigston North Jn - the signalling all mechanical semaphores then. A London bound express passenger train passed on the Up Main Line and we weaved through the trailing crossover behind it and stopped on the Up Main line at the starting signal. By the time we reached it the signal was already at clear - 'off'. Ten seconds later the distant signal below it came off too - the passenger train was running well and had already cleared the next section. However, the whole point was that we were going to run faster than the ordinary permitted speed, and we didn't want to catch up with the train; so we waited. After fifteen seconds the signalman opened the signal box window, the windows slid horizontally on squeaky rollers and I can still hear the sound now. There was an altercation between him and our Research Department train manager. The signalman didn't want us standing at his starting signal and we didn't want to catch up with the passenger train. It ended with the signalman shouting (local dialect here): I'm t' foo*in' signalman, and when I say you foo*in' go, you foo*in'go. … … … … … … … … … … … … We went. A YouTube explanation of the APT: https://bit.ly/3wHxRnn (click 'Browse'). Subtitled 'Queasy Rider', as one comment says: The APT was a fantastic piece of engineering. The motion sickness came from the tilting mechanism being too precisely tuned so passengers could see they were travelling around a bend but could not feel it. This was solved by detuning the tilt and reintroducing a small amount of lateral G force. Unfortunately, politics tried to force it into service prematurely and it showed. 300] Electrification: (BLN 1412.2587) This is going well. NR has installed half of the 1,280 mast piles from Kettering to Wigston (47 track miles); work is overnight with some Sun diversions via Corby. 301] Lenton Curve: A regular East Midlands NR Test Train, every four weeks, is SO 1Q68 Doncaster to Derby on a circuitous route to be expected of these trains. It is booked to reverse at Lenton North Jn, after traversing the single track bidirectional curve from Lenton South Jn, to test the line through Attenborough and Beeston both ways. The reversal usually has no impact on passenger trains; however on Sat 14 Jan late running of 1Q68 saw it at Lenton North Jn 35 min late. So as not to delay the 13.17 Nottingham to Leeds, that train was routed via the facing crossover at Lenton North Jn to the (here) bidirectional Up Mansfield line and the unusual Up to Down trailing crossover at Radford Jn. This is not the first time our member had seen this, but it is rare and unpredictable. Lenton Curve was in the news again on 24 Jan when, due to a signalling error, the 16.54 Nottingham to Matlock was misrouted at Mansfield Jn. The train took the route, stopped at Lenton North Jn, and reversed to take Lenton Curve to resume its correct route. When was the curve last used by a timetabled service train?

302] Scunthorpe: Significant investment in railway and steelworks infrastructure has been noted on our biannual railtours in recent years. British Steel has now applied to North Lincolnshire Council to build new facilities here for producing long life low maintenance rail to meet its contract with NR, recently extended to 2024. They will include two new 108m sidings in an 8.5m high storage facility for rails and a servicing facility for main line rail carrying trains. Electromagnets able to pick up four full length rails at once are included. However, there are renewed fears for the works due to dramatically rising costs and cheaper foreign imports. It was thought the possible closure of a blast furnace would make the site unviable, despite the UK's strategic need for home steel production. In late Jan there were hopes that the government would inject £300M to assist, conditional on new greener technology being adopted. This suggests a new electric arc furnace, although they normally recycle scrap and the resulting cast iron/secondary steel tends to be of poorer quality. The present four blast furnaces (the Four Queens: Anne, Bess, Victoria and Mary) - date from, or were rebuilt in, the 1950s. It has been indicated that a similar amount of money could be available to support the steelworks at Port Talbot. 303] Cleethorpes: This is the latest National station to have a Railcam© installed; see their website at https://railcam.uk/ - not the last resort then after all. Armchair enthusiasts can watch the TPE Class 68s now diagrammed to work trains formed of MkV rolling stock to Liverpool via the Hope Valley but which are frequently cancelled. The station is also having work carried out for P4 to be available again for passenger use. (It is actually former P5; old P4 is trackless.) Meanwhile, the old Down Fuel Road (once P6) - nearest the sea front - is to be upgraded to stable units. It only has a subsidiary signal; full reinstatement for passenger use would be too expensive. 304] Train Airline: https://bit.ly/3XJwiAY are interesting YouTube aerial videos of Derby, Crewe, Longport & Toton with lots of stored stock on view. 1417 GREATER LONDON (Geoff Brockett) [email protected] 305] TfL Finances: (BLN 1415.30) Fares increase by 5.9% on average from 5 Mar, in line with National Rail. Bus fares rise 10p - 6.1% - to £1.75 while a single peak Tube fare in Zone 1 (mainly used by visitors and tourists) increases by 30p - 12% - to £2.80. 60+ Oyster cards will continue as now but the ban on their use and Older Persons' Freedom Passes before 09.00 SSuX is permanent. The 'Evening Standard' reports that annual Travelcard use is down by 90%. Sales of monthly and weekly Travelcards are down 79% since 2014, when pay as you go ticketing was introduced with daily and weekly capping in 2015. Weekly, monthly and annual season ticket sales have fallen from a total of about 1.2M to 220,000 per four week period. The trend has continued due to the growth of working from home in the pandemic. Of note, no figures are given for one day tickets, probably the tickets of most interest to our members. The Mayor has asked TfL to continue to examine the feasibility of withdrawing from Travelcards but a TfL spokesman said that it would make little difference in practice to the capital's ticketing system, as the fares and capping level would still have to follow 'similar rules' to those on National Rail. 306] 160 Years of the Underground: (BLN 1416.182) Paddington to Farringdon Street OP 10 Jan 1863 but only for 600-700 invited guests who then enjoyed a banquet. Public running began Fri 11 Jan 1863, not 12th . TfL's official explanation of the 'Tube 160' roundel logo gives three reasons for the shadow: ֎To echo the interplay in stations of light and shadow due to the tunnels and architectural features so beloved by the founders. ֎To represent the duality of the Tube being below and above ground. ֎To add creative tension - adding a feeling of depth when used in a flat form. Now you know! 307] Levelling Up Fund: Two transport projects in London have been awarded Round 2 funding. On the Epsom Downs branch a reversing siding will be built at Belmont, enabling the service to be doubled to that station to 4tph (with long term plans for 6tph). Belmont will also have step free access and better signage, with new walking and cycling routes to the London Cancer hub. This is a 10 minute walk away and also has a bus link to the station for use by patients. The previous, much more expensive, bid to double the track from Ventnor Road Jn to Belmont (BLN 1381.1952) failed to secure funding. In addition, TfL will receive funding for step free access to Colindale and Leyton stations.

BELOW: (Item 306) Our member, renowned railway cartographer, Joe Brown Delivery & Change Manager and Chair of TfL LGBT+ staff network. These four staf

n (of London Railway Atlas fame) is far left at a secret location. He is Strategic ff members have a combined service of 160 years (Joe only 25), Doug far right 56!

BELOW: Also at the 10 Jan 2023 unveiling of the 'Tube 160' roundel, with its sh (56 years' service), Marcia Williams (43), The Mayor, Joe Brown (25), Joan Sau

hadow are (left to right) the Deputy Mayor for Transport Seb Dance, Doug Jeys under-Rees (36) and TfL Commissioner Andy Lord. (Press release/Joe Brown.)

[BLN BELOW: (BLN 1416.187) West Ealing, Wed 11 Jan 2023, the 11.21 to Abbey W the 11.17 WO Chiltern rail replacement bus (reflection seen in the monitor) i be a few red traffic lights etc). It had originally been due to start with the new

1417] Wood might be cancelled but you can feel the tension and anticipation rising as is about to make its maiden 'non-stop' trip to West Ruislip. (OK, there might w timetable in December. (Photos by our keen local member, Don Kennedy.)

RIGHT: The bus arrived at West Ruislip at 11.42 and the excitement is over for another week… The line to Marylebone is due to be closed one Sunday soon. As expected, Chiltern is turning back here from the north with passengers continuing their journeys on the Central Line.

LEFT: Outside West Ealing station there was little doubt about which bus to catch…

BELOW: (Item 312) The unusual cast iron (mostly) and wrought iron 'Warren T

russ' triangular bridge trusses at London Bridge. (Greg Beecroft, 11 Aug 2007.)

308] Camden Highline: (BLN 1403.1492) Planning permission has been granted for the first section, between Camden Gardens and Royal College Street. The project is now looking for major donors to contribute to the £14M needed for the construction of this section. Two further sections are planned, from Royal College Steet to Camley Street and then finally on to York Way. 309] Harringay: (BLN 1413.2716) Down P2 was shut from 22 Jan due to footbridge structural defects. Passengers going north were directed to go via Finsbury Park to double back and via Hornsey,to arrive from the south. Late evening services on 24 Jan and early services on 25th were cancelled south of Alexandra Palace or Hornsey, with traction current off for repair work. P2 reopened 06.00 on 26 Jan. 310] Docklands Light Railway: The first of 54 new units being built by CAF in Spain has been delivered to Beckton Depot. Long term stopped Unit 88 has been converted to a dedicated shunting vehicle for unloading and movements around the depot (bad luck anyone if you 'do' DLR units and missed it). 311] Industrial Action: (BLN 1416.186) Bakerloo Line train operators belonging to ASLEF are to strike on 4 and 11 Feb over plans to withdraw detrainment staff, who check terminating trains are empty, at Queen's Park, Stonebridge Park and Harrow & Wealdstone. They will also refuse to take empty trains forward without checks. The 1972 Stock on the line has an improved design of inter-car barrier, which prevents overcarried passengers from leaving the train. LU considers that this makes it safe to rely on Public Address announcements when the train terminates, as has been happening for some months now at Waterloo on the Waterloo & City Line [any overcarried gricers?]. A previous attempt years ago to withdraw detrainment staff led to them being reinstated after train operators caused substantial disruption to the timetable by walking back down the train to ensure that it was empty before leaving. 312] London Bridge: Joiner St was originally a road but is now a pedestrian link between Tooley St and St Thomas Street, accessing the LU station and the long corridor leading to the NR station concourse. A blue plaque at the Tooley St end records the fact that the Grade II listed bridge trusses above are some of the earliest examples of the patented triangular 'Warren Truss'. They are largely of cast iron, which is what makes them unusual. The lower members are wrought iron, because cast iron is poor at resisting tension. The upper edge of a beam is in compression, but the lower edge is in tension. They carry the London Bridge to Charing Cross extension, OP 11 Jan 1864. Brick arches here are thought to be part of the original station entrance opened by the London & Greenwich Railway on 14 Dec 1836. 313] LU Sub Surface Lines Resignalling: (BLN 1416.191) On 14 Jan there was no service on the Sub Surface Lines until 10.00 except on the Metropolitan Line north of Wembley Park. From 10.00 the Met resumed south of Wembley Park and from 11.00 the Circle Line resumed, along with the District Line west of Whitechapel. The Hammersmith & City Line started at 13.30 but only as ECS Stepney Green to Barking while the new CBTC signalling was commissioned and tested. Similarly, the District Line ran west of Whitechapel from 14.00 but empty between Stepney Green and Becontree. ECS running continued on 15th but, with good progress made on test running, passengers were carried from 14.00. 314] Crossrail/Elizabeth line: (BLN 1413.2721) 'Not In Service Next stop Gas Factory Junction' has been noted on the external digital displays of some ECS workings - including even at Maidenhead and Reading! Auto Reverse functionality was to be introduced between Paddington and Westbourne Park sidings from 29 Jan. Trains operate automatically while the driver changes end. 315] South Western Railway Class 701s: NR is to install balises to enable Assisted Braking & Door Opening (ABDO) on these units, which should finally enter service in the next few months when crew training has taken place. When a driver accepts the ABDO initialisation on the approach to a station, instructions are transmitted to the train regarding the stopping point on the platform and the correct side for door opening. The system assists the driver in stopping in the correct place, after which the doors will open automatically. The first phase, to be installed between mid-Mar and mid-May, will be fitted at Putney, Barnes, Mortlake, North Sheen and Richmond. There are some outstanding queries over operation. It is possible that time lost using the braking system, which might still need driver intervention, rather than manual braking, could cancel out the time saved by immediate door opening. Stopping accuracy is +/- 1m, which is probably less accurate than that achieved manually! Eventually, the intention is for ABDO to be installed in 59 platforms at 19 stations to be served by Class 701s.

BELOW: (Item 320) Work on Northumberland Park station for Blyth & Tyne passenger reopening - bet the people living in those houses are pleased! At least the station will be very handy. (Phil Logie, 20 Jan 2023.)

X.13] BELOW: New track to do … the new turnback platform at Ashing closure in 1964 (except where they have recently hacked some out). The t

ton takes shape. The former station platforms are intact 58 years after tracks here are only used by biomass trains to Lynemouth Power Station.

BELOW: Looking towards Bedlington and Newcastle, as well as connecting the

e platform line there will be a new trailing crossover ahead done on departure.

BELOW: In the other direction, the remains of Ashington station looking tow The far track at least still has track with good old fashioned keys holdin

wards Lynemouth, a section that is not being reopened to passenger traffic. ng the rails in the chairs! (All three Rodger Wilkinson, Thur 2 Feb 2023.)

1417 NORTH EAST & YORKSHIRE (Geoff Blyth) [email protected] 316] Darlington: Demolition of the former Hogans pub (BLN 1412.2615), the building on the right in the second photo in BLN 1414.X.229, was to start on 30 Jan and last until 24 Mar. This seems a long time to demolish one pub! Your NE Editor presumes that this is to demolish the building opposite as well and clear the site for work to start on the new station entrance. Hogans was previously the Park Hotel, originally built as a Temperance Hotel - certainly not its genre in more recent years! 317] Haltwhistle: (TRACKmaps 2 p43C 2020) NR plans to abandon Melkridge Sidings (35m 12ch to 35m 62ch) between Bardon Mill and Haltwhistle. The Connection Agreement was terminated almost nine years ago and the points are clamped out of use. It was an opencast Disposal Point, with a rapid loading bunker fed by a conveyor from Plenmeller opencast site on the other (south) side of the river South Tyne. The site operated between 1991 and 1999, supplying 1.91M tons of coal. It closed when it was exhausted and further expansion was blocked by objections. In 2012 consideration was given to making it into a loop but the cost of acquiring the land from Harworth Group made that unviable. At a cost of £150k, four sets of points will be plain lined, those each end and the associated trailing crossover. Greengates User Worked Crossing (35m 35ch) crosses the loop and the main lines. 318] Redcar - another nice mess you've gotten me into: A train has been running from Redcar Bulk Terminal to Pinnox Branch Esso Sidings (south of Kidsgrove) with 18 large 'Land Recovery' boxes. It is contaminated soil (which Pinnox handles) from the demolition of Redcar Works. The first ran on 26&30 Jun 2022 then 10 Jan; eleven had run up to 24 Jan, some on Saturdays with more booked. 319] Britishvolt volt-face: (BLN 1412.2609) On 17 Jan it was announced that 'Britishvolt' had collapsed into administration; most of its 232 staff were immediately made redundant. The firm had planned to build a £3.8bn electric vehicle battery factory on the former Blyth Power Stations site. The UK only has one battery plant - Chinese owned (of course) and next to the Nissan factory in Sunderland but 35 plants are planned or under construction in the European Union. The UK will need several battery factories to support the future of UK car making as petrol and diesel engines are phased out over the next decade. If car manufacturing is to continue in this country, electric vehicle batteries will have to be made here. The batteries are very heavy, so there is a good opportunity for them to travel by rail. 320] Blyth & Tyne: A member revisited Northumberland Park (BLN 1414.2870) on 20 Jan and his thoughts about the houses above being treated to a rather close lineside view seem all too true! He asks: Perhaps someone has had enough, judging by the 'For Sale' sign? (Ideal for a keen enthusiast.) 321] T&W Metro: ❶LEFT: There have been issues over the last month, resulting in 'bumper' (our member's word!) crossover opportunities, which he thought of titling: A crossover a day keeps the doctor away - but, in reality, it would probably result in him visiting more often! ●Fri 23 Dec 14.00: A track circuit fault at St Peter's meant all services called at P1; those from Park Lane used the Sunderland North tunnel Down to Up facing crossover, then the trailing one north of St Peter's. This lasted until around 20.00 when water leaking onto the overhead line at Sunderland station after heavy rain led to suspension of all Metro services between Pelaw and Park Lane. ●Sat 24 Dec: Metros between Pelaw and South Hylton were suspended until around 10.50 due to flood damage. They resumed between Pelaw and Park Lane only, until about 14.30 due to the RMT national strike. Only P1 at Sunderland was in use, so Metro to the Airport used the facing crossover at Park Lane and Sunderland North Tunnel (Up to Down trailing). This continued until around 14.30 on Wed 28 Dec. ●Tue 27 Dec: From 09.00 there were no services between North Shields and Manors as a unit had damaged the overhead line. By 13.15 services were restored from Manors to Wallsend, with use of the facing crossover there on arrival from St James. Normal services resumed around 18.30. Crossover From To Benton 31 Dec 16.00 31 Dec 23.59 East Boldon 31 Dec 21.00 31 Dec 23.59 Monkseaton 30 Dec 23.15 31 Dec 16.00 Park Lane 17 Nov 31 Dec 21.00 09 Jan 05.40 13 Jan 10.45 Wallsend 27 Dec 13.15 27 Dec 18.30 08 Jan 06.30 08 Jan 20.00 Sunderland Down to Up 23 Dec 14.00 23 Dec 20.00 Sunderland Up to Down 24 Dec 10.50 24 Dec 14.30 26 Dec 08.00 28 Dec 14.30 05 Jan 08.00 08 Jan 23.59 St Peter's 23 Dec 14.00 23 Dec 20.00 2 Jan 05.30 2 Jan 23.59

●Fri 30 Dec: At about 23.15 an attempted signal cable theft at Benton resulted in service suspension between South Gosforth and Monkseaton (facing crossover at the latter in passenger use on arrival). ●Sat 31 Dec: A points failure at South Gosforth added to the issues from the previous day. No services ran between South Gosforth and Monkseaton until around 16.00, when they were extended to Four Lane Ends using the facing crossover before the latter to terminate from the east. Beyond to South Gosforth remained closed until the end of service. No replacement buses were available but tickets were accepted on certain local bus services. However, these ceased running (as timetabled) around 18.30, with passengers having to make their own arrangements after. To add to the issues, at about 21.00 there was an OHLE issue in the Sunderland area with no service between East Boldon and Park Lane. The silver lining was passenger departures from East Boldon P1 over the trailing crossover there. ●Sunderland flooding, Mon 2 Jan until Mon 9 Jan, resulted in a flood of crossovers (BLN 1416.198). ●Sun 8 Jan until around 20.00: No services between Monkseaton and Wallsend - signalling cable problem (below), with use of the facing crossover before Wallsend for units arriving from St James. ❷Monkseaton to Wallsend was without service three times in a week due to cable theft. The first on Thur 5 Jan when 40m of cable was stolen between North Shields and Meadow Well. Next day 50m was taken between Percy Main and Meadow Well and on 8 Jan there was a theft in the North Shields area. Emergency repairs closed the line for six hours on 5 Jan, four on 6 Jan and about ten on 8 Jan. A £1,000 reward has been offered for information relating to the thefts. The thieves may have burns and possibly life-changing injuries as Metro staff found damaged tools, with signs of sparks and burns. ❸The old Gosforth Depot closed on Fri 20 Jan, with Stadler transferring to the adjacent new depot. The London & North Eastern Railway opened it in 1923, replacing Walkergate electric car sheds which had been seriously damaged by a fire, destroying 34 cars and damaging many more. In Jan 1963 the last electric train ran south of the River Tyne to South Shields and north of the river on 14 Jun 1967. Gosforth Depot was converted for Metro use in 1980. https://bit.ly/3WyRLLy has information and four videos. The new depot will be used to maintain the current Metro fleet and the new units as they arrive. The first, due on 27 Jan (BLN 1415.56.3), was reported on 23 Jan as arriving 'in a few weeks'. Track, OHLE and signals at the eastern end of the depot are being replaced during two line closures. On 21-22 Jan there were no services between South Gosforth and Four Lane Ends/Airport. At South Gosforth, services from the south turned back in P2, using the trailing crossover to Stoneyhurst Road Siding on departure. On 11-12 Feb there are no services Haymarket - Four Lanes End, with the facing crossover before the latter in use for turnbacks in P2. Haymarket turnbacks from South Shields and South Hylton are in P2 with the 'monumental' trailing crossover at Prudhoe Street in passenger use. ❹(BLN 1414.56.2) The bypass over the new facing, then trailing, crossovers east of Jarrow stop only occurs when a loaded oil train is standing at the stop board on the way into the terminal. Realtime Trains etc shows when it will pass Pelaw Jn; catch the next eastbound Metro service behind it. The 22.55 SSuX Colas Lindsey Oil Refinery to Jarrow Prax, if running, is normally booked past Pelaw Jn at 06.04 but there can be retiming variations and, like most freight, it can be early or late of course. A member from North Shields managed the weave on his third attempt. On Mon 23 Jan, the oil train ran but he couldn't organise any transport. On Wed, he had transport arranged but late on Tues night the oil train was on Realtime Trains as 'cancelled', so he cancelled his transport - the oil train did run! On Fri 27th our man was at Jarrow stop at 06.00. Around 06.13 the oil train appeared and stopped at the Hebburn end of the platform, presumably while the driver contacted Metro control for permission to proceed. A few minutes later it moved off past Signal 807 at the end of Jarrow platform which was displaying a red aspect. He caught the 06.25 Metro towards South Shields and Signal 807 was on red when the Metro arrived but shortly afterwards changed to green with a '2' in the theatre indicator (so the 'vertical line' for straight on -photo e-bln - 1415.56 is actually a '1'). When the Metro passed the oil train, its rear was next to the trailing crossover from the terminal to the Out Shields line (towards Pelaw). Passing in the opposite direction at 06.41, the oil train had cleared the points with the rear of it on the bridge over the A19. Oils well that ends well and remember there is no weave when it leaves.

ABOVE: (Item 321.4) That signal on the South Shields end of Jarrow platform. LEFT: The indication for straight on. RIGHT: …and for thosr oil train bypass crossovers. (Oil trains have a red aspect and verbal authority.) (Phil Logie.) BELOW: A stretched T&W unit? A new unit at the Rigi Bahn rack railway (see e-BLN 1414 photo caption).

BELOW: (Item 321.5) Whitley Bay where they have 'taking steps' to repair the stairs - 'just in case'. (A recent photo by Phil Logie who wishes to be clear that he had nothing to do with the caption.)

❺The original Whitley Bay metro stop footbridge is closed until early March for essential maintenance. There is a more modern footbridge with ramps at the Monkseaton end of the platforms. ❻Metro fares rise by 'up to' 13.9% on 1 Apr but Pop Card pay as you go fares are frozen for the second year running. Up until 31 Mar a £2 single fare anywhere, or all day £4, applies (but with Pop Cards only). ❼Musically inclined members over 16 can apply to Nexus to be an authorised busker at designated busking spots on Nexus! See: https://bit.ly/3XWvk3U ❽RIGHT: Velim test track, east of Prague, Czech Republic on OpenRailwayMap where T&W Metro new Unit 555002 is to be tested. Note the village inside the large loop. Onllwyn in South Wales is also due to have a test track. [There is no truth in the rumour that this part of BLN is to be renamed T&W Metro et al - Ed.] 322] Sunderland: ①St Peter's metro stop has been a contingency termination point for Grand Central (GCR) for many years, used when their last service is so late that Sunderland is closed (as the staff have gone home). No method of working exists for passenger service departures from St Peter's so GCR had to (re)start services at Hartlepool. However, Northern has called at St Peter's intermittently since the opening of the Metro to Sunderland, mainly for football traffic. This is often not advertised in advance but issued as on the day Special Stop Orders. ②(BLNs 1377.1393) Scrap traffic from TW Ward on the Hendon Branch (to South Dock) ran precisely 70 times in 2022. It runs as 6V33 16.41 (or thereabouts) Sunderland Ward Bros to Cardiff Tidal Sidings and returns as 6E55 at 23.33 (or thereabouts). The train carries scrap metal for melting in the electric arc furnace at Cardiff Celsa Steel UK plant. The TW Ward scrapyard is on the site of the former Brian Mills mail order depot, which provided large amounts of parcels traffic to BR from the mid 1960s to the mid 1980s. 323] Rotherham Aldwarke Works: (BLN 1416.192) Liberty Steel has faced cashflow problems since the collapse of its main financier, Greensill Capital, in 2021. Production at its Aldwarke works is to be scaled back due to high energy costs and foreign imports, which Liberty said had made its operations 'unviable". Up to 185 jobs here are threatened under plans to cut production of primary steel, use imported metals instead and increase production of high value alloys. The company claims it is committed to plans to turn Aldwarke into a 'low carbon' factory producing 2M tonnes of 'green steel' (not literally! It means electric arc furnaces) a year. Plants in West Bromwich, Newport and Tredegar will be 'made idle' as part of a restructuring of its business but Liberty said it would restart production 'when the market and operating conditions allow'. Stocksbridge is not mentioned in the report but there has still been no rail traffic there, or at Aldwarke, since Fri 11 Nov 2022, so it doesn't look good. 324] Holbeck: (BLN 1416.199) A contract has been awarded for the GRIP4/5 design package for the Depot Expansion Project. It will be significantly enlarged to handle the temporary influx of trains during the Neville Hill Depot closure and remodelling (BLN 1406.1888). The enhancements include 12 fuelling points, two extra fuelling roads (so three in total, two for 6-cars), 12 Controlled Emission Toilet points, a new carriage wash, shed extensions, depot protection systems and a heavy cleaning road.

BELOW: (Item 325) The Grade II* listed coal drops at Shildon, looking away from Locomotion Museum towards the end of line. This section of the passenger run is currently out of use for work to the coal drops.

BELOW: 08911 on a demonstration train ride near the current end of the lin

ne at Locomotion; Shildon NR signal box is left. (All Phil Logie, 21 Dec 2022.)

325] Shildon: The passenger demonstration line at 'Locomotion' is truncated at present, with services operating only as far as the level crossing giving access to the station. This is due to work By English Heritage on upgrading the original Grade II* Listed Coal Drops. Beyond here is a fenced compound where several waggons are stored. The demonstration train rides run from the platform to this point, back to just before the platform, back to the current end of line and then back to the platform. These ran every 20 minutes on 21 Dec, with former Carlisle shunter 08911 providing the traction. 326] The World's First Locomotive Works: Robert Stephenson & Co was founded by the 'father of railways' George Stephenson, his son Robert and two local industrialists on 23 Jun 1823. Robert became managing partner of the works (in South Street, Newcastle) at the tender (ho ho) age of 19. They built the best and most famous early steam locos, including 'Locomotion N o 1' and 'Rocket', going on to supply locos across the world. BLN 1393.195 gives a short history, mainly about their Darlington works; the 1832 date there (should be 1823) was a typo! The Robert Stephenson Trust is celebrating the bicentenary with an exhibition in The Map Room at The Common Room, Neville Hall, Newcastle; https://www.facebook.com/groups/248105144749/?mibextid=6NoCDW it includes a lecture series. 327] Northern: The MD is concerned about passengers losing trust in the railways, even though the train operator is seeing a faster recovery than in many other parts of the country. This is especially important in the north as the government subsidy is significant. The post-pandemic return to rail has been good for Northern; overall passenger numbers are about 90% of pre-Covid-19 levels. However, commuting is at only about 60% but leisure travel (yielding much lower revenue) is around 120%. Northern is a 'feeder Train Operating Company' for drivers and has always been so. (A knowledgeable member suggests this is not so much that other TOCs pay more but that driving a long distance train is more interesting than working the same route 'all stops' several times in a shift). They were the first to restart training after Covid and have caught up with the backlog. It is thought that, for the first time in a decade, all the rostering was agreed with the unions before the new timetable began. Apparently about 83% of the train fleet will need to be replaced by 2040 due to DfT decarbonisation targets, ERTMS and the 1980s vintage 15x fleet becoming life expired. No breakdown of this figure was provided but an informed member has come up with the following: Northern now leases 305 DMUs and 59 EMUs. All the DMUs will be life expired (Class 15x), unsuitable for ERTMS fitment or diesel only (Classes 170&195). The 2040 target for rail decarbonisation is to have no pure diesel trains in service. Our member is not sure this is actually a problem - it is certainly a significant cost, although the 15x fleets have had much of the necessary ERTMS work done. The only way he can reconcile the numbers is if only Class 331 and 333 EMUs remain in service. This means Class 323 EMUs (due to be withdrawn) and the unreliable 769s, will be considered life expired by 2040, even though the latter are bimodes. Despite DfT demands to rein in costs, decisions on fleet renewal cannot be put off for too long. Indeed a 'Director of New Trains' has just been appointed and a market engagement exercise is underway to understand what suppliers can offer, so presumably something is intended. It is rumoured that more Class 195 DMUs will replace 158s on remaining services in the Transpennine Upgrade area (Leeds - Wigan, Huddersfield - Bradford and Huddersfield - Castleford), partly to simplify ERTMS introduction. 1417 NORTH WEST (John Cameron) [email protected] 328] Merseyrail caught on the hop? Agreement has finally been reached with ASLEF on drivers' terms and conditions for the new Class 777 EMUs. It was accepted by the union on 17 Jan, after a ballot of members, and the unit entered service on Mon 23 Jan on the 10.50 Liverpool Central to Kirkby with 777049 - rather to the surprise of passengers at the stations. Once all Kirkby line trains are Class 777 operated, they will be rolled out (or even driven under power) on the Ormskirk line. Replacing all the Class 507 and 508 EMUs is expected to take up to 15 months. 18 sets are currently in England; the rest are in mainland Europe waiting for some of the old trains to be withdrawn to make space for them. Drivers (via ASLEF) have refused to access the new units via the cab side doors from ground, which has led to installation of 15 'hop ups', where needed, at stabling sidings. These are essentially sets of steps up to a platform aligned beside the door of the unit, for drivers to board and alight. They are due to be installed at: Southport sidings (11), West Kirby sidings (2) and New Brighton sidings (2) by 23 Mar.

329] See scaley snakes? NR has installed various signs warning passengers of venomous adders at Seascale station. It is advised that the taking (onto the train - even if they are trying to get to Adderley Park?), injuring, killing or disturbing of the adders is prohibited, as they are a protected species. 330] Visiting the nether regions: Braystones and Nethertown are request stops on a remote section of the Cumbrian Coast line north of Sellafield. Only five trains in each direction call per day, on request - but significantly more than at their nadir! Due to the very low platforms that were built on this line, the guard only releases one door at each, which is aligned to a 'Harrington Hump' for easier boarding. Luckily for those who are trying to visit every station in Britain (such as your NW Regional Editor but keep this to yourself), National Trails has created the England Coast Path, a very pleasant 2½ mile walk linking the stations. This path is also useful for Flimby to Maryport among others - John writes from personal experience. Braystones station building is a private dwelling but only the two platforms (one disused) remain at Nethertown, which has a very rudimentary bus type shelter for passengers on P1. There is no ticket machine and certainly no ticket office but a large sign warns potential passengers that they face a fine of at least £100 if they board the train without purchasing a ticket! [Hopefully the internet signal is good then!] Both stations are adorned with planters of colourful artificial wooden flowers made by the Skills 4 You group of station adopters, based in Cleator Moor (once with East and West stations, both closed to regular public advertised timetabled services 13 Apr 1931!). The group has also made a wooden train which sits beside the Braystones platform. That station recorded 354 passengers in 2020-21 but 1,476 in 2021-22; Nethertown was similar with 254 and 1,412 respectively. 331] Stockport: At the birthplace of P0, it is back in regular use, SSuX, since 11 Dec timetable change. Out of regular use since the Pandemic, P0 is mainly used by Northern to Buxton and EMR to Sheffield. 332] Oxenholme: On Mon 14 Nov 2022 a 'pop up' post office reopened here after a two year gap. Local Postmaster, Phil Ballantyne, provides a counter service 11.00-13.00 MO and 12.30- 14.30 ThO at the station. It is believed to be the first of its kind on the West Coast Main Line and one of only a few Post Offices operating at a railway station in the UK (answers on a postcard). The Lakes Line Rail Users Group reports Northern has reinstated the 20.18 SuX Oxenholme to Windermere. It connects with services in both directions, including the 17.30 from Euston. The 20.42 return train also connects with WCML services both ways. However, for some reason the 14.29 Manchester Airport to Windermere service dwells at Oxenholme for 25 min. Avanti has introduced an earlier Oxenholme to Glasgow service at 07.14 and reinstated the 07.43 to Crewe and Birmingham. However, there is now a 7-hour gap (10.42 to 17.47) between direct Birmingham trains and 3-hour gaps in services from London. 333] Totley Tunnel East Signal Box: From 23 Jan the trailing crossover (154m 58ch), Down Siding, its shunt signal and its connection to the Down Manchester line - all previously OOU - were recovered. 334] Preston: (BLNs 1381.1938 & 1332.1763 with map) The Old Tram Bridge (it is too, 200 years) is to be replaced using funding from the Government's Levelling Up Fund. A replacement bridge, estimated to cost around £6m in 2021, will enable restoration of a pedestrian connection (Wot, no tramway?) between Avenham Park and Penwortham over the River Ribble. The bridge was closed in Feb 2019 when an inspection found that it was at risk of sudden collapse - although four years later it hasn't yet. 335] Leyland: (BLN 1416.213) It is the Fox Group that has brought the Leyland B Leyland sidings into use for aggregates. Originally installed in 1953 in connection with the manufacture of Centurion Tanks at the outbreak of the Korean War, they were managed by the Ministry of Supply until 1956. Then Leyland Motors took them over, the forerunner of British Leyland, who used them until 1986. GBRf has operated aggregate trains from Yorkshire (Rylstone) as anticipated - on 18 & 19 Jan. Further FHH trains from Tunstead ran on 19&24 Jan. Regarding the BLN 1416 report, a member kindly points out that 'Holland' comprises North Holland and South Holland, both part of the Netherlands, along with the other provinces such as North Brabant, where DAF is actually based. DAF is not based in Holland! 336] Golborne: Greater Manchester Combined Authority has approved £340k funding to establish the outline Business Case for a new station and generate proposals to fund it. This is additional to £700k already committed. The original Golborne (South) on the West Coast Main Line here CP 6 Feb 1961.

337] Fringe news (and not from Edinburgh either): (BLN 1416.208) Dave Leeming has kindly advised that it is not possible to state a precise location of the 'Fringe' between Glazebrook East Junction (GE) and Manchester Rail Operating Centre Oxford Road Workstation (MC) control because there is no one specific point. However, it is NOT at 29m 07ch on either the Up or the Down line. [To explain, that Up line mileage (and 27m 61ch Down line) is from the 28 Dec 2016 signalling re-control plan from when the ROC took over and agrees with the latest TRACKmaps 4 p43D Oct 2022 edition - BLN Editor.] The Sectional Appendix (SA) often does not specify a precise location of a 'fringe', as is the case here. The current SA indicates that MC begins and GE ends BETWEEN Flixton and Urmston stations. As it travels between the relevant signals, a train will be on both displays. The Up Signal at Flixton is plated 'MC' so the control (if there is any of the Automatic Signal involved) will be at MC and not GE. A train will actually first appear on the MC display 200 yards in advance (before) that Up signal at Flixton. (The Train Reporting Number will appear at MC when Glazebrook puts it into the Train Describer or automatically.) A similar situation applies on the Down CLC line where the 'fringe' is between the Urmston and Flixton signals and not at the actual signal at Flixton. A Down train will appear on the Glazebrook diagram as it passes 200 yd beyond the signal in advance of Urmston station and it will go off the MC display 200 yd beyond the signal at the end of the platform at Flixton. 200 yd is the overlap of signals in a colour light area. This overlap is very often included as a single track circuit with the section especially on a line like the CLC via Warrington. For instance, all four of the Down and Up signals at Flixton and Urmston do not change to red until the end of the overlap is reached. Personal observation! [Thanks for the interesting explanation, Dave; your BLN Editor thought that the NR re-signalling notice mileage might be the 'nominal' fringe or mid-point of the overlap.] 338] Cadishead: (BLN 1416.208) The Manchester Ship Canal (MSC) owned the track of the British Tar Products (BTP) petroleum products branch from Glazebrook East Jn. It was passed to them from the Cheshire Lines Committee when building the canal resulted in construction of the new parallel high Glazebrook East Jn - Skelton Jn level line in 1893 for it to gain adequate clearance over the canal. Traffic on the branch was worked by MSC locos until 6 Jul 1981; from 9 Jul 1981 British Rail worked the branch but never owned it. From 1 Apr 1983 BR assumed maintenance responsibility for the MSC track here. BTP had ceased dealing with bitumen and were then petroleum product tank storage operators. Glazebrook East Jn to Partington Jn was taken out of use from 3 Aug 1982 (but the 'official date' was 4 Sep 1983, not 1982.) The last train ran on 29 Jul 1982 and track was lifted by May 1987. 339] Warrington BQ: (BLN 1415.62) A member with inside information has answered the question of why the 10.40 Glasgow to Euston could not reverse in P1. It is because there is insufficient room for a Pendolino. The maximum train length it can take is a five car Voyager. If a Pendolino turns back from P1, it has to draw south inside the signal at the north end of P1. The driver then has to change ends. 340] Sandbach: The SuX 17:06 Manchester Piccadilly to Crewe is booked to recess in P3 from 17.50 to 18.01. Its passengers can, in comfort, observe the 17.25 Manchester to Reading CrossCountry train and 17.30 Manchester to Cardiff TfW service whizz through P1. Through passengers do Sandbach North Jn facing crossover and the two crossovers from P3 to the Up Wilmslow at Sandbach South Jn. 341] Stalybridge rehash: Major remodelling in 2012 made the Guide Bridge/Manchester Piccadilly route the principal one (50mph each way) with a 25mph route towards, and 35mph from, Victoria. However, with timetable changes - partly designed to reduce conflicts at Piccadilly station throat - more expresses now use the Victoria route. NR is to completely re-remodel the 11 year old approach to Stalybridge station, including over 2km of new track and 23 new signals. Thirteen crossovers will be 'upgraded' and OHLE installed over the next four months. This will make the Victoria line the principal route (let's hope the timetables don't change again!). However, to save money, the scheme is much watered down and line speeds won't greatly improve compared with what they could. Sat 11 Mar until Wed 5 Apr (incl) some services between Manchester and Leeds will be diverted via the Calder Valley. Saltburn to Manchester trains (when not cancelled throughout) will turn back at Victoria, leaving only a handful of Scarborough to Manchester trains using the Ordsall Chord each day. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyone needing the present layout had better make tracks to Stalybridge.

X.14] BELOW: (BLN 1416.224) Cambridge, looking north, the new yellow platfo installed. (Rob Fairhead, 1 Dec 2022.) https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/84/18

orm edge barrier, the far end is just before the train; in fact it took a while to be 82/ has the finished article (with caption puns) looking south on 13 Jan 2023.

1417 SOUTH EAST - NORTH & EAST ANGLIA (Julian James) [email protected] PLEASE USE GENERIC EMAIL ADDRESS (ABOVE) DUE TO FORTHCOMING HOLIDAYS 342] Peterborough (1): The Jan/Feb edition of a local magazine, 'rhythm and booze' (sic!), reports that the Peterborough Great Northern (ex-railway) Hotel has cut its ties with the Best Western brand, having massively reduced staff numbers. Shortly afterwards, the hotel was closed to the general public and re-designated as a hostel for asylum seekers, much to the disappointment of local MP, Paul Bristow, who has supported legal action against the owners of this historic landmark. The Great Northern Hotel, designed by architect Henry Goddard, opened on 1 Apr 1852 at a cost of £2,500. 343] Peterborough (2): (BLNs 1360.2594/1367.3664) (TRACKmaps 2 p16A 2020) NR has been looking for a new user for the ten non-electrified Westwood Sidings between the Up Slow and South Down Arrival north of Peterborough station, in length totalling 2,500m to 2,600m of stabling. Disused for many years, in 2016 the sidings - surrounded by railways - were cleared of dense buddleia etc, fettled and expensive looking smart security fencing was erected around them. This was for secure storage of up to 90 vehicles but none appeared. By 25 Jan 2023 some old EWS type coal wagons were stabled. 344] Norwich - Liverpool: The through service continues until at least Dec 2023. (Rail User Express). 345] Now it Can be Told (70); The Not-So-Great Train Robbery: Phil Mason, a member who has retired after 21 years as a signalman (so they can't fire him!) has submitted two tales of occasions when he disobeyed (actually ignored) the Rule Book. He hopes that readers will agree that they were good, commonsense reasons that truly can only now be told for the first time. Here is the first… I was on duty at Shippea Hill signal box one evening in early May 2001 when I received a phone call from Control telling me that, due to a derailment at Chelmsford, 1M64 (the Norwich to Willesden Princess Royal Distribution Centre mail train) would be diverted via Cambridge and thus would be coming my way. I always needed to know about extra or unusual train movements because, as fringe box to Cambridge Power Signal Box and the start of track circuit block working, one of my functions was to load the headcodes of all Up line trains into the train describer system. My 'next door neighbour'that night in Lakenheath signal box, let's call him Jonathan, was new, his first week on the job. Thus I did not yet know that Jonathan would turn out to be something of a cowboy, in both senses of the word. Not only would he prove to be somewhat lackadaisical in the performance of his duties (though by no means the worst signalman I ever encountered) but he was a big fan of all things American, such as Country & Western music and Line Dancing, and had the irritating habit of answering the phone with 'howdy' instead of 'hello'. Colleagues told me he even sometimes turned up for work in a cowboy hat! I never met him face-to-face, it being one of the quirks of the job that you might spend years talking to colleagues in other boxes but never meet unless you were coincidently rostered on the same date to attend one of the mandatory, quarterly safety briefings, now known as an ODD (Operational Development Day - the Railway loves its acronyms!). Eventually Jonathan offered me 1M64 with four dings on the still original stand alone ex-Great Eastern Railway bell at Shippea Hill (wonder who had that when the box closed on 19 Aug 2012?). I accepted and flicked the three position block switch to 'line clear'. Three minutes later train entering section - two bells - and the procedure that was by now second nature began: Block instrument changed to 'train on line', count 60 seconds and descend the stairs to close the manual gates. First shove the bolts with specially shaped heads into the matching holes on the posts and twist, which released the two gate keys. Insert these keys into the keyholes on the brown painted gate-lock box Lever N o 1 and twist which unlocked the lever to be replaced from 'reversed' to 'normal', pull off the Up home and distant and then wait. Once the train had passed, activating then clearing the track circuits, I could reverse these actions and open the gates. And so I waited... and waited … and waited … and … Trains between Lakenheath and Shippea normally took four minutes. Due to the unstable fenland ground there was (and still is) a permanent 45mph speed restriction for all loco hauled trains, so allow an extra minute or two, but 10 minutes had now elapsed with no sign of 1M64 so I was starting to worry. Had the loco failed or was there a more sinister explanation? This was long before the introduction of GSM-R radio so I could not contact the driver.

Now, there is a rule in the Rule Book which I presume (just a wild guess here you understand!) was inserted after a certain notorious event at Linslade in 1963. I can no longer remember the wording then (it was altered in recent years) but it was something like: in the event of a mail train making an unexplained stop or being delayed an unusually long time in section, the signaller must summon the Police immediately. So my duty was clear! But should I do it? Should I really, ACTUALLY do it? I weighed up the probabilities. The road from Ely to Shippea Hill and especially the continuation to Lakenheath is neither direct or fast; it would take at least 20 minutes for the Police to arrive if they could be bothered to turn out (by no means a given) and where would I direct them to go to? I had no idea where the train was or how to access it. The five miles between Shippea and Lakenheath is very remote and inaccessible with only one (very minor) road access which passes through a farmyard to Chivers Automatic Half Barrier crossing, named after their former factory which once had a 1¼ mile long siding connection from Shippea (bet no one was jammy enough to grice that!). I knew 1M64 had not reached Chivers because the barriers had not activated and, besides I would have been able to see the headlights. Beyond that are four user worked farmer's crossings, very remote and difficult even to spot when passing by train presumably accessed only by dirt tracks, which I had no idea how to reach. ABOVE: 6'' map, 1930; Lakenheath and Norwich off top right, Shippea Hill and Ely are off middle left. The Chivers Factory which actually dried Chicory (for Camp Coffee) and herbs is shown with its branch. Its separate track ran along the south side of the main line (as shown) west to the extensive sidings at Shippea Hill - hence the 1¼ miles. An extensive separate horse drawn tramway (on old 25'' maps) once ran SW from the station carrying fruit and veg from the 1,570 acre Shippea Hill estate for transport to Covent Garden etc. The Chivers Factory closed in the early 1980s and is now used for carrot washing. What was the likelihood that the humble Norwich mail might be carrying a couple of million quid? How would a criminal mastermind gather his henchmen and their equipment, at very short notice, and drive to inaccessible (see above) Lakenheath Fen and ambush a train there? Not least how would the crooks even know that the train was diverted at the last minute? Obviously, the whole idea was so ludicrously implausible that I decided to disobey the Rule Book, not send Plod on a fool's errand but to just await further developments. Eventually the phone call came. Jonathan had prematurely replaced his Up intermediate block home (IBH) signal in front of 1M64. Several of the nine Ely to Norwich boxes had intermediate block sections on an absolute block line (Shippea had one on the Down line), a two aspect colour light stop signal with its own distant signal, both worked off the same lever from the box in the rear in the direction of travel. These were added to increase line capacity, particularly useful on summer Saturdays for the long procession of holiday extra trains from the industrial cities of the North and Midlands to Yarmouth back in the glory days of the 1960s and '70s, when most British families still

took their annual holidays at a seaside resort. Many of them still travelled there by train and we still had industrial cities! How many of us spotted, photographed and rode on those trains with their rare, often freight, locos and PSUL routings such as Ely West Loop and Wensum Curve avoiding Norwich Anyway, Jonathan was now begging me to give another 'line clear', so he could pull the signal again. You can't just flick the switch over to 'line clear' as the needle quite rightly obstinately stays on 'train on line' specifically to prevent giving a second 'false' line clear with a train still in section, with all its potential to cause a rear end collision. There are legitimate occasions you might need to do this such as a train shunting into an intermediate siding or an S&T technician carrying out an electrical test. (Allowing a train into section to assist a failed train is NOT allowed - the protecting signal must be passed at danger.) However, usually the reason is a signalman screwing up pulling a section or IBH signal. So I had to wind out the 40 turns on the block release handle. Colloquially known as the 'Welwyn instrument', they were introduced following the crash at Welwyn on 15 Jun 1935 caused by a signalman accepting a second train. Then 1M64 could finally proceed on its way, unrobbed. As for Jonathan, he was one of those people who never learn from their mistakes and putting back the IBH in front of a train became something of a party piece. He did it to me maybe another four or five times and colleagues who worked a shift with him told me he did it to them too and also did it with the down IBH towards Brandon. Eventually he decided to move to Ireland for family reasons and applied for a signalling job with CIE who had the good sense to turn him down. I dread to think what havoc he might have wreaked on a single line railway. I would love to know how many (if any) signalmen have ever actually implemented the mail train rule. And the funny/spooky thing about this incident … … it was just a few days after Ronnie Biggs returned to England from his long exile in Brazil! 346] Sizewell 'C': (BLN 1408.2041) Wed 22 & Thur 23 Mar have been set for a two day judicial review hearing of campaigners' legal challenges when the High Court will hear arguments against the project. 347] Hitchin: (BLN 1405.1808) All track in Hitchin Down Yard has been lifted; the site is being prepared for a distribution depot of unknown purpose. The former GNR goods warehouse is still in use for NR purposes and the ex-Midland Railway weighbridge building is intact (the latter is on the NR Register of Historic Buildings). Both of these are within a local conservation area. The former diesel depot (34D) has been demolished, probably before it fell down of its own accord, but fuel tanks remain on site. 348] Manningtree: Greater Anglia has a new online tour of the station http://bit.ly/3pCSpdY to help with journey planning, give passengers a clearer picture of the station before they travel and reduce anxiety about how to navigate from the car park to platform. Detailed 360o images have been used to map the station. Aerial images and an interactive map show the location of customer facilities in relation to each other. The tour offers autopilot or manual choices for navigating the station, an interactive map to see the whole station with links to specific areas. A spoken scene guide with closed captions plays on the Home Page at the station entrance with an accessibility widget* (a World first, apparently) that enables the user to change to high contrast, large font size or audio transcribe. British Sign Language videos will be added. Tours are now available for 14 of Greater Anglia's busiest stations: Bishop's Stortford, Broxbourne, Cambridge, Chelmsford, Colchester, Ely, Harlow Town, Ingatestone, Ipswich, Manningtree, Norwich, Shenfield, Southend Victoria & Stansted Airport (spot the one that is missing). [*Your BLN Ed still thinks of a widget as a something in a Guinness can that makes it frothy.] 349] Middleton Towers: Members of the Middleton Towers Restoration Group have begun talks with NR over the future of the station (CP 9 Sep 1968 with withdrawal of King's Lynn to Dereham services). The platform and passenger shelter still stand beyond wooden level crossing gates, where the track crosses Station Road between Leziate and Middleton. The group, set up on social media two years ago, now has 600 members. The aim is to convert the waiting room and ticket office into a public tea room and a museum of the 26½ mile Lynn & Dereham Railway. The brick built ticket office and platform shelters are in dire need of repair. The work is expected to cost over £50,000 but the group will not know until after a survey. The NR property team have been in touch with the restoration group. station opened as 'Middleton' on 29 Oct 1846; on 1 Nov 1924 it was suffixed (although it is in Norfolk) 'Towers'. Middleton Towers is a private country house, 660yd to the south, with a Grade I Listed hall.

BOTH: (Item 349) Middleton Towers station on 27 Oct 1976, eight years after passenger closure. Looking towards Swaffham and Dereham, well, the end of line, note the sidings (pre-hopper loading days). BELOW: 31219 on a loaded sand train for King's Lynn 3½ miles west. (Both Greg Beecroft, 27 Oct 1976.)

350] Felsted: Much of the land used by the Bishop's Stortford to Braintree railway (opened 1869; CP 1952; CG in stages between 1966 and 1972) was bought by Essex County Council (ECC) in the 1970s and 1980s as a possible route for a new A120 road. ECC has since managed the trackbed as a railway path. When the new road route was confirmed in 1990/91, the land was not required for the A120, so ECC decided to turn the path into a 15 mile linear country park. Three park rangers were appointed and the route partly resurfaced. The Flitch Way Country Park was officially opened in 1994. It extends from just east of the M11 (TL 5192 2126 - trackbed available slightly further west) which is in walking distance from Bishop's Stortford station to (TL 6231 2160), the western edge of Great Dunmow. There is a 220yd trackbed walk section on that town's eastern edge (TL 6370 2109 to TL 6380 2091) then, from nearby (TL 6446 2079) past Felsted, through to Braintree station with a suitable underpass and bridge to cross the new A120 in two places. The route, part of National Cycle Network Route 16, provides a safe traffic free environment for walkers and cyclists (and, in some sections, horseriders). Horace Hicks, a former railwayman at Dunmow, Felsted and Braintree, lived in Felsted station house from the late 1940s until his death in 2012. When he retired in 1991, he stayed on in his home as tenant of ECC. Throughout Horace's tenure, the station retained original GER and LNER paintwork and fittings inside. After Horace died, the council put the station on the market. In Jan 2013, it was listed for sale by auction at £100k ( https://bit.ly/3JeYhUE with photos and site plan) but failed to sell and later sold for £135k in Jul 2013. In 2014-15, the purchaser gutted the building, added a second storey in a sympathetic style over the old booking hall, and renovated the interior to a high 'minimalist' standard. In 2016 it was listed for sale at £700k ( https://bit.ly/40fGeEf - photo 11 is particularly of interest) and in 2017 at offers over £750k ( https://bit.ly/3XOhLnk ) but did not sell, so was left empty. Sadly, by Jul 2020, vandalism had reduced the newly renovated station to an abandoned shell in a jungle of a garden, despite all the money spent on it. Entrance gates and fences had been removed and some windows smashed; most of the new interior fittings had been torn out. The Zoopla photos of the restored building in 2016 and 2017 contrast vividly with the sorry condition the building found itself in only three years later. In Oct 2022 Uttlesford District Council granted planning permission to demolish the former Felsted station and erect eight houses on the site. The building was still standing in Jan 2023, by then with all its windows and doors smashed, surrounded by a sea of fly-tipping. 351] Norwich: (BLN 1406.1929) NR plans to remove N o 7 Siding in Thorpe Yard adjacent the station to permit the full length of N o 6 Siding to be reinstated for stabling. N o 7 Siding is stated to be no longer required. On TRACKmaps 2 p7A 2020 N o 6 Siding is shown as OOU past the points to the buffer stops. 352] Ipswich - Lowestoft: On 6 Dec 2022, East Suffolk Travel Association launched 'East Suffolk Line - A Railway For All Purposes', an 18 page discussion paper marking the 10th anniversary of Beccles loop and an hourly Ipswich to Lowestoft service. It shows how the modern Stadler trains should be able to complete this 48 mile journey in 75 min compared with the current timing of just under 90 min. It also examines the challenge of freight and the differing needs of Felixstowe, Sizewell and Lowestoft. The document is an e-BLN 'extra', will be on ESTA's website and is available in print from its Chairman. 1417 SOUTH EAST - SOUTH (Julian James) [email protected] PLEASE USE GENERIC EMAIL ADDRESS (ABOVE) DUE TO FORTHCOMING HOLIDAYS [Thanks to our local Hook member, John Cowburn, for all his time and effort on the first report.] 353] Hook, line & sinker; Winchfield - Hook: (BLN 1416.229) The four-track South Western Main Line takes an almost due east west course where it runs through North East Hampshire from Farnborough Main to Basingstoke. The tracks are paired directionally, in sequence from north to south: ●Up Slow (US) 90mph max ●Up Fast (UF) 100mph ●Down Fast (DF) 100mph ●Down Slow (DS) 90mph The section of line was originally built as a two track railway on the alignment of the current northerly Up lines. It opened in stages, Farnborough to Winchfield OP 1838 and Winchfield to Basingstoke OP in 1839. Stations were provided at Farnborough, Winchfield and Basingstoke from the beginning; that at Hook followed in 1883. In 1904 this section of line was quadrupled with two further tracks, which nowadays form the Down lines, added to the south of the existing pair. This required new Down