1404

1667] East West Rail: (BLN 1402.1392) ①NR has provided a summary
(mid-Jun) of key dates for the Oxford to Milton Keynes service. Stations
should be complete by May 2023, the 2-car Class 196 DMUs are all due
to arrive by the end of Dec 2023 with the fixed infrastructure ready by
May 2024. Dynamic testing starts in May 2024 with the new service
introduced 15 Dec 2024. Two trains per hour are planned FSSuX 06.00
to 23.59, FSO 06.00 to 01.00 following day and SuO 07.00 to 23.00.

②(BLN 1389.3008) Layout and station details provided for Connection
Stage 1, Bicester to Bletchley (LEFT: Plan thanks to Martyn Brailsford).

●Claydon West Jn: A trailing crossover on the running lines for exit from
Claydon Reception Line, also from Claydon Loop to the Up Bletchley
(Bletchley towards Oxford) and for moves from Aylesbury (if that line is
rebuilt) to the Down Bletchley. The facing points from Up Bletchley to
the Aylesbury line will be east of that trailing crossover as a standard
layout (no diamond) for a junction between two double track lines.
●Claydon East Jn will have a trailing crossover.
●Winslow P1 is on the Up Bletchley and P2 is on the Down Bletchley;
both have space provided for future Bicester end platform extensions.
●The Down Newton Longville Loop is now only a future possibility and
there is no Up loop. [Maybe the way forward to progress schemes, add
in extra loops etc that can then be descoped to keep the DfT happy?]
●Bletchley West Jn has a trailing, then facing, crossover at the Bicester
end of the station (for turnbacks in either platform). P8 is on the Up
Bletchley and P7 the Down. Space limits Flyover Summit Jn to two
turnouts and a diamond with no crossover this end of the station.

1668] Colnbrook: A member passing on a Sunday bus running day
alighted briefly. The old station house still exists, is occupied and looks
great. The whole narrow road through Colnbrook, once part of the A4
(the Bath Road), was bypassed years ago but is very congested with
parked cars. 66793 was stabled, shut down, for most of the Sunday
(possibly all weekend) at the end of the running line.

1669] Cambridge: (BLN 1403.1536) It now appears that the Ely to
Norwich resignalling is only replacing that workstation and abolishing
the 2012 NX (entrance/exit) panel. The new Chippenham Jn layout
(BLN 1402.1391) permits significant speed increase from Newmarket
with the permissible speed crossing to the Down Main to Kennett
increased from 25mph to 50mph. West of the junction, to and from
Soham, the Up and Down Bury remain restricted to 40mph.
Train detection in the relocked areas will be by axle counters with
removal of legacy 'reed' type (rail) track circuits. [The 'reed' is as in the
sounding part of a wind instrument, although the reeds used with track
circuits are metallic. Each oscillates at a very specific tuned frequency;
the transmitting end reed and the receiving end reed are frequency
matched, imparting an electrical current of that frequency into the rail.
The receiver only responds to the frequency of current it is tuned for
(its resonant frequency), meaning that adjacent track circuits do not
interfere with each other, with need for insulated rail (block) joints.]

1670] Wrabness: Julia Prigg (age 84), station adopter and community
'legend', has been recognised for her years of dedication and service in
the Queen's 96th Birthday Honours list with the British Empire Medal.
It is for 'services to community rail' for her care of the station garden,

transforming it from a neglected village eyesore. Julia lives opposite the station becoming an adopter
as her house has only a small courtyard garden. Additional adopters are wanted for Wrabness station.
Your Regional Editor checked the map, noting that the station is close to the village. He spotted a
direct footpath to the Essex Way which parallels the River Stour that adjacent stations Mistley or
Harwich International do not have, and also an off road route to the Stour Estuary Nature Reserve.

1671] Anglia crossings: (BLNs 1368.88 & 1379.1724) After some five years (!), The Secretary of State
for Transport has finally granted NR the power to close or modify 37 crossings in the Anglia region
(below) to reduce risk and create a safer and more reliable railway. In 2017, NR submitted a Transport
and Works Act Order (TWAO) application to close or modify 57 crossings in Essex, Hertfordshire, the
unitary authorities of Thurrock & Southend-on-Sea, and the London Borough of Havering.

Butts Lane* and Woodhall Crescent*(Emerson Park - Upminster). No131 (Rainham - Purfleet).
Manor Farm (Upminster - Ockenden). Ferry, Brickyard Farm (Benfleet - Leigh-on-Sea).
Whipps Farmers (Upminster - West Horndon). Howells Farm (Stanford-le-Hope - Pitsea).
Barbara Close* (Hockley - Rochford). Noakes (Chelmsford - Hatfield Peverel).
Parsonage Lane/Margaretting* and Maldon Road (Ingatestone - Chelmsford).
Cranes No1 (White Notley - Cressing). Cranes No2* (Cressing - Braintree Freeport).
Snivellers, Hill House 1, Great Domsey and Long Green (Kelvedon - Marks Tey).
Church 2* (Marks Tey -Colchester). Great Bentley station. Lords No1 (Great Bentley - Weeley).
Bluehouse (Thorpe-le-Soken - Kirby Cross). Wheatsheaf (Mistley - Wrabness).
Abbotts (Colchester - Manningtree). Trinity Lane (Waltham Cross - Cheshunt).
Cadmore Lane* (Cheshunt -Broxbourne). Johnsons* (Bishops Stortford - Stansted Mountfitchet).
Old Lane*, Camps and Parndon Mill (Roydon - Harlow Town).
Tednambury and Gilston (Sawbridgeworth - Bishops Stortford).
Elsenham Emergency Hut (Elsenham). Windmills and Elephant (Newport - Audley End).
Ugley Lane and Henham (Elsenham - Newport, Essex).

For locations and details of specific crossings please see this excellent resource https://bit.ly/3I1EVjh
(close any adverts; entering a level crossing name in the search box may draw up a list to select from).

*Can be closed immediately after receiving the powers (some may have already closed) as a safe,
alternative route exists nearby. Information will be posted at these sites with details of diversionary
routes. If a suitable safe alternative does not currently exist, a new public route will be provided prior
to closure. NR will work with landowners and councils to agree designs for any new alternative route.

1404 SOUTH EAST - SOUTH (Julian James) [email protected]
1672] Thanet Parkway: (BLN 1400.1148) Construction of the new £35M station is nearly complete.
The cost includes line speed improvements to maintain journey times for trains calling and level
crossing work at Cliffsend (which will be converted from AHB to CCTV monitored full barrier), also
Dibleys, Ships Meadow, Grove Ferry and Sevenscore crossings. Station opening is expected at the
21 May 2023 timetable change, with one train per hour calling in each direction plus two additional
peak workings to and from Cannon Street and St Pancras International (three evening Down trains
from St Pancras). The separate line speed improvement project between Ashford International,
Canterbury West and Ramsgate is intended to reduce run times by 2½ minutes, such that calls at
Thanet Parkway lead to no loss. Reductions of 2 minutes on the Down line between Ashford and
Canterbury West and 1½ minutes on the Up between Canterbury West and Ashford have already
been achieved. Line speed on the line through the new station will be unaltered at 70mph.

1673] Ashford Chart Leacon: (BLN 1394.358) Provision of stabling for Southeastern has been paused
with the further delay in introduction of Thameslink services to Maidstone East. This is due to the
reduction in ridership and concerns over the possible effects on other services at junctions; however,
there are increased Southeastern workings from Maidstone East to Blackfriars in the latest timetable.

1674] Ryde - Shanklin: (BLN 1402.1398) On 15 Jun a member at Ryde St John's Road saw 484002
working the 15.16 service to Shanklin. He arrived there about 14.00 and the unit was stabled in bay
P3. It left there just after 15.00 as empty coaching stock and returned to form the 15.16 from P2.
A guard on the train stated that they sometimes use P3 in passenger service with a unit swap

1675] Brading - Bembridge: (BLN 1402.1400) A member confirms from personal observation that the
whole Bembridge branch was not lifted until 1958 and the junction at St Helens was not severed.
He also remembers a siding not shown on the 25'' map with item 1400 (which has since been dated as
1896). It left the lines on South Quay and crossed the B3395 turning southeast for a short distance
towards, but not aligned with, the passenger line to Bembridge. This line was thought by another local
enthusiast to have been a late addition and indeed first appears on the 1939 revision of the 25'' map.
The Nov 1928 Southern Railway Magazine stated: 'The rebuilding of St Helens Quay is well under way'.

1676] Newport - Cowes: (BLN 1402.1400) The new concrete quay at Medina Wharf was not brought
into use until 1931 due to construction delays caused by subsidence, its first use being reported in the
IOW County Press on 4 Apr 1931. The previous original structure, a wood pier in the River Medina
parallel to the bank, was demolished in Feb 1932. Subsequently Medina Wharf handled all locomotive
and rolling stock transfers. There was no cranage, so transfers were made with the Southern Railway's
floating crane. The last such transfers were passenger luggage vans on 14 Oct 1950. After that, loco
boilers and wheelsets were shipped by British Road Services' barge to the non-rail connected Thetis
Wharf at Cowes, for onward conveyance by road. Again, our member observed this himself.

During the summer of 1966, Medina Wharf remained in occasional use for non-revenue earning traffic
as wagons and conductor rail for the impending Ryde to Shanklin electrification were transferred.
These items were shipped by barge from Redbridge and landed using a road vehicle mounted mobile
crane. The final working is understood to have been in Oct 1966. The very last working of all north of
Newport took place on 3 Jan 1967 when the now preserved locomotive No24 'Calbourne' propelled
No18 'Ningwood' to Cement Mills Siding, where it was cut up the following week.

1677] Reading - Basingstoke: (BLN 1393.217) The new Community Rail Partnership has produced an
attractive folded leaflet outlining places that can be visited in and around the stations along the route.
Available free from stations, two sections outline the history of the line. A map of the route and
immediate surroundings (and attractions) covers six sections and a further six describe the history of
the individual stations in more detail. The cover has a GWR green Turbo at Bramley with a route map.

1678] Reading Green Park: (BLN 1384.2353) In mid-Jun Reading Borough Council continued to report
opening 'during the summer of 2022', with work progressing well despite initial pandemic delays.

1679] Hassocks: A new subway has opened, replacing Woodside Crossing (800m north of Hassocks),
which closed in summer 2021, due to safety concerns with children playing 'chicken' and new housing
locally. Most of the work was done during the nine day Brighton Main Line closure in Feb 2022 when
22,000 tonnes of earth were removed from the railway embankment and pre-cast concrete sections
were slid into place to form the underpass. Then the embankment and its railway were reinstated.

1680] Halling: (BLN 1403.1543) The first commercial traffic (actually 20 empty wagons for loading,
mostly new 704524s) to this Cemex plant ran on Fri 17 Jun from Hoo Jn Up Yard at 10.59, arriving
Halling at 11.26. A member noted that the departure from Halling to Hoo Junction via 'the long way
round' was timed at 13.54 for a 16.35 arrival. Camera in hand he went to Wateringbury but it was a
no show! Interestingly, subsequently Realtime Trains showed that the light engine left on time and
reached Hoo Junction 14.20 (135 min early!). No intermediate times are shown suggesting a reversal,
presumably, at Maidstone West. Due to the strikes, the first outward loaded train (with these same
wagons) did not run until Wed 29 Jun, departing at 13.40 for Hoo Junction which was reached 16.30.

1681] Maidstone West: A member wonders if anyone can confirm, or otherwise, a possible distant
memory about the station. He seems to recall about forty or more years ago seeing a cast iron sign
affixed to the lower front platform wall, just above track level, about half way along P1 (for Strood).
If his memory is correct, it recorded the fact that the Down line there (from Paddock Wood) became
the Up line towards Strood. He recalls that mileages were shown for each route (that would be from
Charing Cross via Dartford Loop and Strood plus via Chelsfield and Paddock Wood). If so, it has been
missing for many years. Is he right? His photographs back to the early 1990s show no evidence of it.

The mileage and line direction change is on TRACKmaps 5 p5 (2019) at 42m 41ch from the Strood
direction and 44m 56ch from the Paddock Wood direction (5ch south of Maidstone West mid-point).

1404 SOUTH WEST Robert Green [email protected] 1 Paganel Way, Minehead TA24 5HA.

1682] An introduction to Robert Green, your new Regional Editor: I was born in Birmingham; the
year doesn't matter but suffice to say that I began my railway interest with the GWR and LM&SR in
the West Midlands. For 26 years, my bedroom overlooked Olton P1 (then the Up Main now P2) on
the GWR main line just outside the City boundary. I spotted until the demise of steam - my last GW
'Castle' was 5021 Whittington Castle (an edifice not far from where our Wales Regional Editor lives!).
Early gricing, inter alia, took me to Bromyard, Much Wenlock, Shipston-on-Stour, Upton-on-Severn,
the full Severn Valley and Wyre Forest lines, Banbury Merton Street and Redditch to Ashchurch.
Further afield I reached Cardigan, Neyland, Brixham, Hawkhurst, Hayling Island, Killin, the Midland
& South Western Junction Line and, joy of joys, the west end of the Liverpool Overhead Railway from
Pierhead. Sadly, for every choice route, there were five I didn't manage, then the bad Doctor came
along and chances slipped away! [BLN 1327.945 of 27 Apr 2019 has Robert's Early Railway Memories.]

My memory fails me in quite why I didn't join our Society when John Ling founded it in 1955 but
eventually I signed up as Member 715 on our 7 Jul 1973 South Wales Wanderer railtour somewhere
near Hirwaun Pond. Since then I have been a fairly regular railtourer until recent times when outings
have been restricted. Active within the Society, I organised the Photographic Competition in the 80s,
was a tour cartographer in the 80s & 90s, including the early overseas tours to Netherlands, compiler
of our 'Forty Years Book' (which gained acclaim as a useful reference coupled with notoriety for 'spot
the error') and arranged a few visits. I was Chairman for a spell in the early 90s and contribute to BLN.

My late wife Ann (also a member) and I moved to Minehead 26 years ago (so I do reside in the BLN
South West area). I was a Travelling Ticket Inspector on the West Somerset Railway for 10 years until
restricted movement forced retirement. I remain one of the few WSR volunteers to have arrived and
departed from Minehead on a proper GWR train (that's Brunswick Green engines and brown/cream
coaches!). My primary interest remains what might be termed historical geography of the railways of
Britain, less so in traction and loops and crossovers, although I respect those who strive for those
excitements. In thanking Darren Garnon and latterly the 'silent locum' for their years of service, I look
forward to continuing to serve the Society in this way and to receiving all your contributions.

1683] Weymouth Quay branch: (BLN BLN 1402.1405) As at 23 Jun, SIX sections of track remain. From
the mainline at Weymouth Jn the first 17ch to just before the first level crossing on Jubilee Close is a
non-electrified siding, with conventional track retained by NR for stabling. Amending TRACKmaps 5
p34D (2019), this crossing (named Melcombe Regis at 168m 52ch) has metal gates both sides and is
not an 'open' crossing. The rest of the branch now belongs to Weymouth Town Council. Conventional
track runs from this crossing, along the back of B&Q (incidentally partly on the site of Weymouth
Goods Shed) to a former crossing, which was 'open' (as in no gates) on King St. The conversion of this
section - previously heavily overgrown - to a cycle/foot path 'Rail Heritage Park' is nearly complete.
The track has been retained and the path is built up to the top of the railhead level with both rails
exposed and sleepers buried - it is only 100yd long. The branch then had grooved 'tramway' type rails.

The third section of retained track is a very short tramway section just past King St crossing outside
Charlotte Guest House in Commercial Street, now part of the parking area. The irony is that parked
cars encroaching on the line used to be a big problem in the days of the Channel Islands Boat trains.

The longest remaining tram section of 60yd is a shallow curve along the water's edge between Cosens
Quay Car Park and Weymouth Marina in block paving (report/picture BLN 1393.229 of 22 Jan 2022).

The final two surviving sections may not be permanent; firstly at the London end of Weymouth Quay
station's lengthy remaining platform (right side looking towards the buffer stops) with pointwork. This
is followed by a long middle section where the two plain tracks have been removed and the area
tarmacked. Tall temporary Heras-type fencing prevents further access but it was possible to see the
sixth section of retained track (also with pointwork) at the end of line. All the former Weymouth Quay
station buildings (latterly in a very dilapidated condition) have been demolished, leaving rubble on the
totally bare platform. This platform is intact (there used to be a second one on the left side) but its
future is unknown. The former cargo stage before the station that looks like a platform is also intact.

ABOVE: The Brixham branch on a 1960 map; Paignton is off upper left and Kingswear lower left.

1684] Brixham: Online News media 'Devon Live' reports plans are afoot to reopen part of the two mile
long Churston to Brixham branch ………………………… but as a walking trail, possibly in time for the 60th
anniversary of its closure (CA 13 May 1963). Displays of memorabilia artefacts and 'anything else
relating to the Brixham branch' are planned. It was originally laid to broad gauge. No comment is yet
reported from residents of the dwellings built over the trackbed between which the trail will weave.
[Cue the NIMBYs.] Brixham station was inconveniently situated high above the town and its facilities.

1685] Trains to Dartmouth: Well, through tickets anyway! The Dartmouth Steam Railway & River Boat
Company has teamed up with GWR to offer through tickets from NR stations to Dartmouth, changing
at Paignton, then at Kingswear for the ferry. They are only sold online or via GWR App but even then
the booking must be to Kingswear (for Dartmouth). It is possible that, dependent on time of travel
and origin, such tickets may offer a price reduction over separate fares to/from Paignton. At present
there doesn't appear to be a through 'Round Robin' ticket which includes the river trip to Totnes and
bus return to Paignton (or vice-versa for those bidirectionalists who prefer rear-facing seats!).

1686] Led to Goonbarrow Jn: On the Newquay branch from Tue 5 Jul some ground disc signals were
to be converted to LEDs: 'G8' in the Down Sidings (287m 42ch), 'G3' in the Carbis Siding (287m 47ch),
'G20' & 'G23' fitted to G24 signal on the Down Newquay (287m 39ch). This contrasts with the situation
in 2012 (BLN 1170.1160) when the loop was considered for removal with closure of the signal box.

1687] East Somerset Railway (ESR): (BLN 1403.1484) (TRACKmaps 3 p13A 2018) At Cranmore the
Anglo-American Asphalt Siding, where bitumen was delivered by rail until Sep 1985, was actually the
two existing sidings that branch off from the west side of the platform over the diamond crossover
and run northeast alongside the current station approach drive. Sun 23 Jun 1985 was the first date
that the ESR ran regular advertised public services to/from Cranmore station. The ESR Chairman has
kindly advised that ownership of the track through Cranmore station, the signal box and the sidings
didn't pass to ESR until 2007, when the final stage of the sale of the property was completed and the
NR boundary was moved east of the station to 5m 48ch (as now) - does anyone have the date, please?

1688] Swindon: The Grade II* listed GWR Mechanics' Institute in Emlyn Square was built by Brunel in
1846 and closed in 1986. It has lain derelict since then and is in a poor state with an estimated cost of
£30M to restore it for a suggested variety of uses including business, conference and community.
A 2,000 strong petition calls on Swindon BC to raise a compulsory purchase order on the owners who
have 'wilfully neglected' it. Overall it is part of the regeneration of Swindon's Railway Village.

1689] Where am I in the SW (1)? An occasional series - answer next BLN. OP 1857 on what used to be
termed a main line, I have two platforms and a listed building. For a while I was a junction with a line
to a port but once went further. In steam days I offered a gravity shunt run-round in a bay platform.

1690] Portishead (again!): (BLN 1400.1156) To reopen or not to reopen. With an element of sarcasm,
local MP Dr Liam Fox (North Somerset, Con) promoted debate to a near empty House of Commons on
14 Jun. Supported by MPs from adjacent constituencies, Bristol South (Lab) and Weston-super-Mare
(Con), he elicited this response from The Minister of State, Department of Transport (Wendy Morton)
who concluded some 24 minutes later: I appreciate what my right hon Friend is saying, but obviously
there is a process that I and the Department must go through... To conclude, the Government is
committed to improving rail in the wider Bristol area as part of the levelling up of the West of England.
I listened carefully to what my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset set out this evening,
and we will continue to support the West of England Combined Authority and North Somerset Council
to develop their business case for the reopening of the railway between Bristol [sic] and Portishead.
We fully acknowledge and appreciate the importance of this project to his constituency. It is thought
that the Guinness Book of Records is interested in the number of Business Cases for this project.
https://bit.ly/3ywCSRc is the full Hansard Report - don't book your first (First?) train tickets just yet!

1691] St Andrews Road: A member on a 29 Jun trip to Severn Beach noticed that on the fence by the
box there is a copy of an injunction prohibiting fuel protestors from entering the oil terminal. The
heading at least is large enough to be read from passing trains! Presumably they think environmental
protestors are likely to arrive by rail. Can anyone say what may happen to those who ignore it?

1692] Trains to for Glastonbury: The normally annual Castle Cary Railfest returned after a two-year
Covid break bringing Glastonbury Festivalgoers to its nearest station on Wed 22 Jun. Nine extras
included a 07.15 and 12.15 from Paddington calling only at Reading to pick up. Realtime Trains (RTT)
reported the latter as a 19-car jumbo! [The 07.15 was a 9-car IET as far as Reading where passengers
transferred to a 2x5 car for some reason, with an hour's delay; on the second trip RTT conflated these
two trains into one!] Once back a second time the set retired to North Pole Depot for a good clean
(and deodorisation of the strong smell of cannabis!). On Mon 27 Jun 66 trains called at Castle Cary,
21 were extra to the normal timetable; all extras were IETs and most started there, six ran to Bristol
TM and the rest to Paddington. GWR prioritised services to/from Castle Cary on the three strike days
that week. Some Paddington trains ran (not stopping) via Didcot, Melksham & (calling) Westbury.

1693] Paddington - Bristol: A member suggests that a GWR application https://bit.ly/3y9kX1u to the
ORR for Amendment to its contract confirms abandonment of the planned Paddington - Parkway -
Bristol TM service and the plan for Paddington to Oxford services to call at Didcot instead of Slough.
The latter relates mainly to Elizabeth Line service pathing between Paddington and Reading. Originally
with GWR electrification four trains an hour were planned between Bristol TM and Paddington!

1404 WEST MIDLANDS (Brian Schindler) [email protected]
1694] Birmingham New Street: Resignalling is complete (but not fully commissioned) after 15 months
with over 230 miles of cabling laid to connect 64 new LED signals. Ten equipment buildings have been
built and 60 axle counters installed. Longer platforms now have three sections rather than two. As an
interim measure, it is controlled from the Grade II listed Birmingham New Street Power Signal Box on
Brunel Street opened in 1966. The work has involved rotating platform closures since Apr 2021 helped
by the ongoing reduced Covid timetable, although quite a few trains are longer than they used to be,
which has been a challenge. There will be fun over Christmas when control is transferred to the West
Midlands Signalling centre at Saltley with full commissioning and closure of New Street Power Box.
Let's hope that the new signalling will make it easier to do the three Through Sidings here on tours.

1695] Monumental resignalling: Always difficult to do on tours; with New Street resignalling, this 'Up
Through Siding' is to be upgraded to a passenger running line and renamed 'Up & Down Monument
Lane Loop'. It is out of use from Christmas 2022 until Mar 2023 for recovery of the catch/trap points.
The junctions will be Monument Lane South Jn (0m 65ch) and Monument Lane North Jn (1m 26ch).

1696] HS2: Planning permission has been granted by Birmingham City Council for Curzon No3 and
Lawley Middleway Viaducts on a section of four connected viaducts betwixt Duddeston Jn and Curzon
Street Station. The others are (unsurprisingly) Curzon Street 1 & 2 viaducts. No3 is 60m wide and
crosses the Digbeth canal requiring gaps to maintain the light beneath and Lawley Middleway Viaduct
(300m long x 65m wide) widens from a single span to four individual spans at the Curzon Street end.

1697] Camp Hill: Following a public vote, the new stations at Moseley and Hazelwell will be called
Moseley Village and Pineapple Road (the Man from Del Monte must have said 'yes'). 5,944 responses
were received for Moseley; 55% for Moseley Village and 45% for Moseley. Stirchley (Hazelwell) had
5,855 votes: 48% for Pineapple Road, 30% Stirchley and 22% Hazelwell. Pineapple Road supporters
thought it was memorable and better explained where the station is located. (Your Regional and BLN
Editors were both born in Birmingham in 1955 and neither has heard of Pineapple Road before!).

1698] Caledonia Yard: (BLN 1393.240) (TRACKmaps 4 p19B 2018) At the two aggregate terminals
Siding 3 was recovered from 25 Jun and Sidings 1 & 2 brought back into use; all three had been OOU.

1699] Hams Hall: From 3 Jul this Associated British Ports (ABP) intermodal terminal is now managed
by (DBC) Maritime Transport, a major customer. Originally known as 'Hams Hall Channel Tunnel Freight
Terminal', it opened 25 years ago in Jul 1997. ABP took over operations in 2002. The rail terminal is
next to Coleshill Parkway, south of Hams Hall Business Park on the site of the City Corporation's three
former power stations (once Europe's largest generation site) chosen for its excellent rail connections.

1700] Honeybourne - Stratford RIP: On 17 Jun, unsurprisingly, the government announced that the
business case for passenger reopening did not demonstrate sufficient potential economic benefits to
justify taking this project forward ... there was no indication of the potential market for these services.

1701] Shrewsbury: (TRACKmaps 3 p31A 2018 & 4 P27A 2018) At Abbey Foregate Light Maintenance
Depot, the three remaining OOU former Goods Roads between Shropshire Carriage Sidings and the
Carriage Wash Road had all been lifted by 3 Jul. The latter two remain operational. Does anyone know
if the access point from the Main Siding has been plain lined, or if the sidings might be relaid?

… 1404 IRELAND (Martin Baumann) [email protected]
1702] Waterford - Rosslare: (BLN 1401.1293) On 23 Thur Jun 2022 Irish Rail's Multi Purpose Vehicle
(their one and only) ran from Waterford just to Barrow Bridge and back weedspraying. It covered only
just over 1½ miles of the 31 mile closed section but was the first rail movement since 17 Aug 2021.

1703] Londonderry Err: On Sun 3 Jul all trains used P1 rather than the normal P2 booked for Sundays.

1404 ISLE OF MAN (Graeme Jolley) [email protected]
1704] Horse Trams: (BLN 1403.1569) On 29 Jun, the IOM Department of Infrastructure indicated that
good progress had been made recently with the track and the intention was still to run services from
the end of Jul (Transport Festival). Castle Mona Avenue (Broadway) track and points have now been
commissioned and inspected successfully. Interestingly a white points hand lever now sticks up out of
the promenade! The full length of installed tramway has been checked for alignment and tested. Work
is still needed before passenger services start, including improved signage and commissioning of road
traffic controls. Rail preparation and grinding work also requires specialist equipment. Training the
horses (said to be in excellent form) and staff (form not recorded!) started on Mon 4 Jul. All these
preparations are planned to be made before the end of Jul, a tight time scale which depends on
suitable weather, the performance of the horse team and the availability of plant and different staff.
Update: A protective barrier is being built round the points lever so it would appear to be permanent.

1705] Mountain Railway: Due to high winds, services were cancelled on 26 Jun and suspended during 28th.

1706] Ian Longworth: The well known longstanding Director of Transport Services (including buses),
whom we met during our 2013 IOM visits, retired in June having reached 'the traditional retirement
age'. Originally appointed in Apr 2009 he went part time in Jan 2019 for 12 months, then returned to
full time. Under his tenure, bus passengers have now increased back to pre-Covid levels and railway
passenger numbers have also grown. Much work gone on to catch up with the maintenance backlog.
Separately, in a recent mini cabinet reshuffle, a new Minister for Infrastructure (which includes
railways) has been appointed. It is hoped that he is supportive of the railways on the island.

1707] Fynoderee Line' : The MER is now marketed as the gateway to Ramsey Fynoderee

Distillery. A travel, drinks and food package is only £39 https://bit.ly/3P2EQhO or 01624 662525.

1404 SCOTLAND (Greg Beecroft) [email protected]
1708] Forth Bridge: The North Queensferry approach spans have been repainted. The specification is
the same as that used for the main bridge, using glass flake epoxy paint with a life span of 30 years.

BELOW: (Item 1704) The new Horse Tram points lever where the double trac

ck singles (your ever helpful Chairman, John Williamson, is included for scale).

BELOW: Looking towards Derby Castle, it certainly looks like a functioning se

set of points now - the lever is upper left. (Both Jenny Williamson, 4 Jul 2022.)

BELOW: We were beginning to wonder if we would ever see this again
'Torrin' on an ECS Horse Tramway training run at Derby Castle - he

n (no, not your Chairman outside a pub - the Terminus Tavern, left) but…
e was soon back in the groove. (Jenny Williamson Wed, 6 Jul 2022.)

1709] Inverness: At the recent AGM of the Friends of the Far North Line it was reported that NR is to
install a new passing loop at Delmore, west of Clachnaharry (as in swing bridge), to improve service
reliability. West of Clachnaharry to Clunes used to be a 6-mile section of double track, the only double
track north of Inverness. It was singled from Mon 2 May 1966 with closure of the boxes at Bunchrew
and Clunes. The new loop will break up a now 13-mile single track from Inverness to Muir of Ord.

The meeting also heard confirmation that a connection is being provided for a siding at the West
Fraser (previously Norbord) chipboard plant at Dalcross. However, there are currently no wagons
available for the traffic, so it is uncertain when/if the siding might be completed and brought into use.

1710] Carstairs: A correspondent has travelled through the area on several occasions recently and
noted that new OHLE portals north of the station are numerous and extend well outside the existing
track layout. This clearly indicates planned expansion of the layout. Also north of the station, OHLE
wiring has been installed between the Up Main and Down Main where a crossover has yet to be
installed. The South Curve (Carstairs South Jn - Carstairs East Jn) has also had repositioned OHLE
cantilevers and our correspondent believes the Down South Curve has been realigned.

BLN 1360.2629 (5 Sep 2020) explained that major track renewal and remodelling are planned in stages
for completion by the end of Jun 2023. It will allow splitting and joining of trains with less disruption to
through traffic. The track layout will be completely remodelled from 72m 67ch at Carstairs South Jn
(incl) to 74m 62ch on the West Coast Main Line (WCML). Carstairs East Jn will be renewed. The Up
and Down WCML will be realigned away from the station platforms. [Platform numbers are correct in
TRACKMaps 1 p10C 2021 (7th Edition) but wrong in the 6th (2017)] The existing Up Through Siding
connecting the Up Main at Carstairs station to the curve between the station and East Jn will become
a station bypass passenger chord. A new 775m long Down Passenger Loop will be north of the existing
Down loop. A connection will be provided from the loop to a 'cripple' siding accessible by road. A new
signalled, bidirectional route will be provided from Lanark Jn to this siding via the Down WCML.

Enhanced Permissible Speed on the Down WCML will be extended north. Improved turnout speeds
will allow junction signalling to be less restrictive than now, flashing double yellows aspects will be
provided if possible. OHLE headspans will be replaced with portal structures to improve resilience and
aid construction. The WCML Neutral Section will move from 73m 06ch, south of Carstairs South Jn, so
the Up or Down Main WCML can be isolated while keeping the Midcalder Lines (South Curve) running.

When Carstairs remodelling was first floated years ago, reopening of the 'proper' Carstairs Avoiding
Line was considered from Float Jn on the WCML to Lampits Jn on the Edinburgh line. Opened in 1848,
it was apparently never used by ordinary passenger traffic but the Royal train did it on 17 Sep 1860
(then it was promptly closed from the following day!), so it is likely that all our members would need
it. An 1860 OS 25" map shows the line as 'disused'; all on embankment (much is still visible from
trains), it was built for double track width but only a single track was laid on the inside of the curve.

1711] Blackford: (BLN 1400.1193) The large gantry crane for loading and unloading containers at the
Highland Spring terminal has now been delivered to site.

1712] Strike non-service: The only signalling centres in Scotland to be staffed on strike days 21, 23 &
25 Jun, were Edinburgh and West of Scotland. Passenger trains ran only between 07.30 and 18.30.
ScotRail services to operate were from Glasgow Central (High Level) half hourly to Larkhall and to
Lanark (better than the normal hourly service!) and hourly to Edinburgh via Shotts. From Edinburgh
there was a half hourly to Glasgow Queen Street via Falkirk High and to Bathgate. Avanti ran a limited
service between Glasgow Central and Euston. TPE managed two round trips between Edinburgh and
Newcastle on 21 & 23 Jun, but nothing from Glasgow with no TPE service in Scotland on 25 Jun. LNER
and Lumo provided a reasonably full service but not north of Edinburgh. CrossCountry ran a limited
service between Edinburgh and Birmingham via Leeds. There were no trains between Edinburgh and
Berwick-upon-Tweed from 13.33 on 23 Jun until 10.58 next day, as a result of a large lorry crashing
onto the line near Wallyford. Caledonian Sleeper services were cancelled all week. There were some
intermodal freight services via Carlisle to Grangemouth, Coatbridge Freightliner Terminal & Mossend
but very few freight trains via Berwick-upon-Tweed. The Fort William alumina could not run as Yoker
and Banavie signalling centres were closed. A Warrington to Shieldmuir mail train ran on strike days.

1713] Emergency timetable: (BLN 1402.1436) The additional late evening trains that ran on Friday and
Saturday were extended to run Monday to Saturday from 13 Jun. Routes concerned are Glasgow to
Ayr, Gourock, East Kilbride, Neilston and Stirling; Edinburgh to Glasgow Queen Street, North
Berwick, Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline and Stirling; plus Aberdeen to Inverurie.

1714] Borders Railway: It is intended to electrify the full length of this line but will be discontinuous at
first for battery-electric multiple units. This allows quicker replacement of diesel trains. The tracks to
be electrified at first are little more than a mile from Newcraighall to south of Shawfair station and
over six miles from the south portal of Bowshank Tunnel to Tweedbank. It is hoped that work will be
complete by Dec 2024, depending how soon Tweedbank feeder station can be brought into use.

1715] Peterhead and Fraserburgh: Scottish Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth has said that reopening
the railways to Peterhead and Fraserburgh would be a 'great idea'. She was visiting Dyce to meet local
politicians and representatives of Campaign for North East Rail (CNER), who support reopening. Maud
to Peterhead CP 3 May 1965; CG 7 Sep 1970. Dyce to Fraserburgh CP 4 Oct 1965; CG 6 Oct 1979.

Peterhead is the largest town in Aberdeenshire, with a population of about 19,000, and also the
largest in Scotland to be completely isolated from the railway. (Leith, Newton Mearns, Renfrew and
Kirkintilloch are larger, but all have a passenger station within 2 miles - Edinburgh, Patterton, Yoker
and Lenzie respectively). Fraserburgh has a population of about 12,500 and the reopened lines would
also serve Ellon, population about 10,000. Demand for travel is demonstrated by buses between
Peterhead and Aberdeen every half hour for most of the day. There are at least two buses hourly
from Fraserburgh. As a Fife Member of the Scottish Parliament, Ms Gilruth campaigned for the railway
to be reopened to Levenmouth and she encouraged the Aberdeenshire campaigners to study how the
case was made there. She added: I think we should be looking at lots of different railways and how we
can reopen them. The question for government of course, is how do you fund that? Nestrans, the
regional transport partnership for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, concluded that Peterhead and
Fraserburgh rail links are economically unjustifiable, but that was based on 2016 and 2017 studies.

CNER has done further work leading it to believe the decision should be reversed. The use of battery
or hydrogen powered trains, instead of diesel, and the success of Borders Railway are among the
factors that improve the case for reopening. CNER proposes that the line from Dyce to Fraserburgh is
reopened but not the branch from Maud to Peterhead. It is 31 miles by road from Aberdeen to
Peterhead but it was 44 miles by rail via Maud. The longer distance makes the train uncompetitive.

Instead, it is recommended that the line from Ellon to Boddam is reopened and extended the short
distance to Peterhead. The Boddam branch CP 31 Oct 1932; RTC 7 Sep 1945 (officially CA 1 Jan 1949),
so there are places where the formation is obstructed and much is lost. Significant realignments are
proposed and the former prison railway trackbed (BLN 1327.1079) might be used to reach Peterhead.

In contrast, the trackbeds via Maud are virtually intact and used as paths; realignments at Newmachar
and Pitmedden are proposed. There is the option of this new line Peterhead line continuing as an
entirely new one to Fraserburgh. The station at Fraserburgh would be south of the site of the original
one, where the railway has been built on. Hourly services to Fraserburgh and to Peterhead are
envisaged, giving a half-hourly service between Aberdeen and Ellon. Line capacity through the single
track section north of Aberdeen station is an issue but following reinstatement of the second track
between Berryden Jn and Dyce, it is considered that an additional two trains each way hourly can be
accommodated. The previous studies burdened the reopening scheme with the entire cost of doubling
the line. A detailed report by CNER, which also covers reopening the Deeside line from Aberdeen to
Banchory, is an extra e-BLN 1304 item; https://bit.ly/3uoA5qH (click 'BROWSE YOUTUBE') is a video.

1716] Lockerbie: 1S96 16.18 Willesden Princess Royal Distributions Centre to Shieldmuir mail train
failed between Ecclefechan and Lockerbie at about 01.30 on Sat 18 Jun. It was 3½ hours late, due to a
lineside fire with signalling and OHLE problems near Leighton Buzzard. Single line working was put
into operation over the Up Main Line from Kirtlebridge to Lockerbie, so following trains could pass the
failure. The only passenger train to benefit was 1S25, the 21.15 Euston to Fort William and Inverness.
The 23.50 Euston to Edinburgh and Glasgow Central was held at Carlisle and then Kirtlebridge, until
the failed train could be assisted into Lockerbie Down Passenger Loop at about 08.00.

BELOW/NEXT: (Item 1719) PS Waverley at Arrochar Ardnagal Pier with the

e former Admiralty Railway narrow gauge tracks. (Greg Beecroft 16 Jun 2022.)





X.147] BELOW: (BLN 1402.1432) The new Reston station looking towards Newcastle. (Kev Adlam, 6 Jul 2022.)

1717]: That sinking feeling becomes a boring story: (BLN 1403.1571) Kilmarnock - Barassie has been
TCA since 13.00 Sat 4 Jun. Dealing with the sinkhole near Mile Post 3 at Gatehead is taking much
longer than expected and the line is not now expected to reopen until Mon 18 Jul. There are, of
course, no platforms on this line at Barassie (or at Kilmarnock). A series of bore holes are now being
drilled to check for voids affecting the railway due to previous mining activity. Interestingly Kilmarnock
to Ayr takes 22 min by train or 55 min on a rail replacement bus; a single is only £4.30 (Railcard £2.80).
Passengers can travel via Glasgow for £9.80 (Railcard £6.45) but that takes between 2 and 2½ hours!

1718] Glasgow Central: Listed building consent has been granted for alterations. The Avanti First Class
Lounge is to move to Caledonian Chambers, on the east side of the station fronting Union St. The new
lounge includes the space now occupied by Burger King. This is much closer to P1 & P2, used by Avanti,
than the current lounge which is near Gordon St. BT Police accommodation spread across the station
is to be consolidated in Caledonian Chambers. The current First Class Lounge and the BT Police office
near P10 & P11 will become retail units. Various other units fronting the concourse will be refurbished,
including Boots and M&S in the building that once housed the famous departure boards.

1719] Arrochar Admiralty Railway: The Admiralty established a torpedo testing range at Arrochar in
Apr 1912. Loch Long was a suitable location for testing torpedoes produced at the Admiralty factory in
Greenock. The shore establishment and pier were on the west side of the loch, opposite the village on
the eastern bank. The range closed on 19 Dec 1986 and the site is now derelict and overgrown.
However, the pier survives and is still useable. PS 'Waverley' made a special call on 16 Jun 2022, on a
cruise marking the 75th anniversary of her entry into service with the London & North Eastern Railway.

Visitors found remains of an extensive narrow gauge railway system, including a double track line
along the pier. The best available history of the range is on the Arrochar, Tarbet and Ardlui Heritage
website https://tinyurl.com/3p3buv8d and was written by the last Commanding Officer when the range
closed. This makes no reference to the railway but a photograph suggests that torpedoes were moved
by hand on rail-mounted racks. Does anyone have further information?

1404 WALES & THE MARCHES & WALES (Chris Parker) [email protected]
1720] Church Stretton: (BLN 1396.688) Somewhat surprisingly, the 20mph restriction on both lines for
40yds at 13m 65ch resulting from relatively minor flood damage in Feb was still in force on 11 Jun.

1721] Level crossings: NR plans to instal VaMoS (or Vamos) Overlay Miniature Stop Light signals
https://bit.ly/3OFOKpk similar to those already introduced on the East Suffolk Line (BLN 1368.87), at
those minor user worked 'passive' crossings on Wales & Borders routes deemed to be of highest risk
but unsuitable for closure. VaMoS consists of red and green lights and an audible warning that sounds
as a train approaches. The system provides extra protection to users and reduces waiting times at the
crossings, particularly in long signal sections; it also reduces the requirement to phone the signaller.

The system is very low maintenance with remote fault detection and minimal running costs for low
use open pedestrian and vehicular crossings. The lights are controlled by track based wheel detection
sensors, before and after the crossing, that are independent of the signalling. The crossing becomes
'active' rather than 'passive' and local train detection means less delay for vehicles and pedestrians.

The crossings involved, not all on TRACKmaps, are: ●North Wales Coast: Glan y Mor Elias (232m 45ch).
●Shrewsbury - Hereford: Micklewood 2 (7m 67ch); New House Farm (8m 45ch); Saltmoor (29m 62ch)
& Stokeswood (21m 11ch). ●Central Wales Line: Ty Ddu, Dolau (26m 04ch); Glanrhyd Isaf, Llangadog
(21m 61ch) ●Severn Tunnel Jn - Chepstow: Mathern 21 (144m 68ch) ●Ebbw Vale branch: Kings Head
(6m 45ch). Installation and commissioning at £250,000 each is scheduled for the current financial year.

Further crossings will be identified for 2023-24 installation. Meanwhile, subject to an archaeological
investigation (as the location is near a Roman road), Shropshire Council has approved plans to replace
the footpath crossing just north of Craven Arms (see BLN 1403.1579) with a new design of footbridge.
This is despite objections from the local parish and town Councils that it will be a conspicuous feature
in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The planning officer did not consider that there is
any other location that is more suited to the provision of the footbridge or that the amenity of the area
would be injured due to its design or external appearance.

1722] Why Chester station has a big gap in its roof: On Mon 8 May 1972 a freight train guard failed to
connect the vacuum pipe between the loco of his train, via a piped brakevan, to the fitted head of five
loaded tank wagons conveying petroleum products. Then, jointly with the driver, he omitted to carry
out a simple vacuum brake test. Major P M Olver of the Railway Inspectorate identified these as the
causes of a collision between their freight train and a 2-car empty DMU, and resulting fire, 50 years
ago at 20.51 that day in Chester General bay P11. [Now bay P5 - when was the station renumbered?]

The start of the drama was at Ellesmere Port with the departure, at 19.35, of freight train 8D66 for
Mold Junction. Class 24 diesel loco 5028 hauled 38 mixed vehicles with a brakevan each end. This was
because it was routed via Helsby where the direction of travel reversed. Although designated Class 8,
it ran as a Class 9 unfitted to Helsby, the normal way of working freight trains on this route. It was
then planned to run as Class 8 with a fitted head for the rest of the journey because of the gradients.

At Helsby the loco ran round, and the guard recoupled it to its train, but, in his evidence to the Inquiry,
he couldn't recall whether or not he had coupled the vacuum pipes between the loco and brakevan.
It was subsequently established that he had failed to do so. This meant the fitted head (five loaded
petroleum wagons) was inoperative with basically only the loco brake able to hold the train. His error
was compounded by the joint failure of himself and the driver to carry out a brake test which would
have revealed his omission and prevented the subsequent accident. Inexplicably also the driver was
fully aware that he did not have a fitted head on departing Helsby, yet it didn't appear to trouble him.

The journey from Helsby was uneventful until the train was brought to a stand on the rising gradient
at Mickle Trafford Up home signal to enable the guard to confirm to the signalman that the tail and
side lights on the rear brakevan were working. Soon after departure the train began to descend the
1:100 falling gradient towards Chester No1 signal box where the double line from Warrington, which
8D66 was on, joined the double line from Crewe. The driver, on seeing the Chester No1 Up outer
home signal at danger, began to try and apply the brake without success, and realising his train was
out of control, sounded a series of short blasts on the locomotive's horn as a warning.

Meanwhile, the Chester No1 signalman, having received the Train Entering Section bell signal from
Mickle Trafford for 8D66, offered it on to the Chester No2 signalman who accepted it. Almost
immediately he heard the warning horn and sent the 'Train Running Away' bell signal to Chester No2.
The points in the Up Warrington line normally lay for trains to proceed into Chester bay P11 (now P5)
and Chester No1 signalman was powerless to do anything but watch 8D66 run past several semaphore
signals at danger and his box at an estimated speed of 20mph, then went on to collide with an empty
DMU. Utter chaos ensued, which was summed up in the Report, as follows (adapted for BLN):

The 2-car DMU was forced over the stop block onto the platform; its leading coach demolished a wall
of the station buffet and the rear coach disintegrated as the freight train loco rode over it. The body of
the freight train's leading brakevan was also completely wrecked, while the tank wagon behind it,
loaded with kerosene, came to rest on its side on P10. The following two tanks, loaded with petrol and
gas oil respectively, also derailed, the leading end of the petrol wagon being forced up on top of the
remains of the brakevan so that the axis of the tank was about 30 degrees to the horizontal. Fire broke
out under the loco almost immediately after the collision and spread rapidly. The two leading derailed
tank wagons were enveloped in fire which also spread to an empty 2-car DMU in P12 and to three
coaches of the 19.15 Bangor to Crewe DMU standing in P10 (now 4a) waiting to depart at 20.58.
The station roof above P11 & P12 (5 & 6), with the building on P10 & 13 (4a & 7a), were also damaged.

Mercifully, there no fatalities and just five people were injured; four were discharged after treatment
at the local hospital. A Post Office staff member trapped amongst the wreckage was freed by firemen
and detained in hospital. The driver of 8D66, and a second driver travelling in the cab of 5028 with
him, jumped to safety on to the adjoining P11 before the collision. A Station Supervisor was entering
Chester No1 box as the freight was passing. Aware of the collision, he ran to Chester No2 box and
arranged between the signalman and the driver of a loco standing adjacent to the box for the latter to
couple on to the rear of the freight train and haul it out of the bay, after the Supervisor had uncoupled
the train between the 3rd and 4th wagons. His prompt action was commended by Major Olver.

Loco 5028 and the 2-car DMU involved in the collision were write offs; two other DMU cars were
gutted by fire. The brakevan was completely demolished and the first tank wagon, though not pierced
or ruptured (which fortunately also applied to the other four loaded tank wagons) was also a write off.

Rerailing, clearance of debris, and repairs to the damaged signalling equipment and permanent way
were completed just 27 hours and 10 mins after the collision, with normal working resuming at
Chester from 00.01 on the 10 May, most commendable! Finally, Major Olver's Report, which was not
published until the 30 Jul 1974, went into much detail about the loaded tank wagons the freight train
conveyed. He stressed the importance of the need to implement an improved method of identifying
the contents of tank wagons so that the fire service could quickly identify them. Considerable praise
was given to the fire services for the efficient manner the fire was fought by the City of Chester,
Cheshire County and Flintshire County Fire Services. The badly damaged roof was demolished and due
to the cost has never been replaced. https://bit.ly/3R0K2UY has shocking photos and more details.

1723] Caerwent: (BLN 1392.147) The active travel charity Sustrans, with Monmouthshire County
Council, has now produced a design and access statement for the shared use path connecting Caldicot
and Portskewett, incorporating much of this branch. The map https://bit.ly/3QpwhyM with it shows
that the trackbed would be used as far as the MoD boundary a short distance north of that infamous
A48 underbridge on the branch - that is the point reached by numerous railtours!

1724] Shrewsbury Mail: (BLN 1402.1445) Our original correspondent confirms that the exploit did
happen just as he described. He remains uncertain of the date but has unearthed the 1983-84
timetable in which the train from York is shown to arrive Shrewsbury 03.03, with a departure to
Aberystwyth at 04.10 which fits the story (the next departure was not till 10.55 although there was a
09.15 SX and 10.00 SO to Barmouth with dated portions to Pwllheli!) Another member Ross Spicer
(3907) recalls that on his 12th birthday (May 1982) his family moved into a house that his parents had
been renovating for the previous eight months. It was situated about five miles from Shrewsbury, just
past the village of Hanwood, and while lying in bed he could see across two fields to what we now
regard as part of the Cambrian line but was historically the Shrewsbury & Welshpool Railway (GWR &
L&NWR joint). When they moved in, the renovations were not finished and they had no electricity or
water (never mind things like curtains) so he used to lie in bed, awake. At roughly 21.30 he used to see
a Class 25 with a single mail van go past towards Shrewsbury. This was the Aberystwyth to York that
previously carried passengers and a few more vans but was then mail only between Aberystwyth and
Shrewsbury. It left Shrewsbury 22.50 for York (possibly a candidate for the passenger train with the
most loco changes per mile, because it had changes at Crewe, Stockport and Leeds as a minimum).

In the morning, he would see the first Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth (from memory 06.53 or 07.13;
certainly 07.38 from 17 May 1982) 2-car DMU go past with a single mail van on the back. He never saw
the light engine Class 25 go past, as it must have done to collect the evening mail van. [Unless it
double-headed with the train engine of the freight on days when that still ran at that time. Why was
the mail van not a DMU 'tail load' both ways? - Regional Ed. Possibly the 1:52 to 71 gradients? - Ed.]

Anyway, it was seeing the summer Saturday trains that prompted his interest in 'bashing', because
after a couple of 90p child day returns from Shrewsbury to Welshpool with pairs of Class 25s, he was
hooked on small engines - hence a serious ongoing interest in Class 31s and 33s on the mainline. He
ran A1A Charters throughout its history and has tales to tell! Like many members he admits that he
only joined our Society to access some of the charter trains. That said, I have actually found the BLNs
to be a really interesting read - who'd have thought it!! Praise indeed…

1725] Cardiff - Llantrisant: (BLNs 1332.1855 & 1357.2227) A new report released on 10 Jun, 'The Case
for a Cardiff - Llantrisant Metro', sets out two options: ❶A relatively 'quick win' increase in services to
Radyr (via Ninian Park and the City Line) and Pontyclun with a new Parkway station near M4 Jn 34 at
Miskin which it claims could be achieved by 2026. ❷A longer term £500M project utilising much of
the former 'Llantrisant No1' branch trackbed from the City Line at Waterhall Jn (2m 70ch, 10ch north
of Fairwater) via Creigiau, which has been largely protected from development. Remodelled track and
signalling at Cardiff West would be a £20-30M 'stepping stone' to this, needed for a higher frequency
tram-train service. Westminster funding would be sought for the full scheme to go ahead - good luck!

1726] RMT strikes: Because of NR staff involvement, on the strike days of 21 and 23 Jun TfW ran no
trains except reduced Radyr to Treherbert/Aberdare/Merthyr services, with buses between Radyr
and Cardiff Central, seemingly an opportunistic extension of the scheduled evening closures. On the
third strike day, Sat 25 Jun, there was also no rail service Abercynon to Merthyr Tydfil, again due to
already planned South Wales Metro engineering work so buses ran. Throughout, nothing else ran in
Wales except hourly GWR Cardiff Central services to/from Paddington (via Badminton as usual) and
also via Westbury (reversing at Bristol Parkway and Temple Meads), only 07.00-18.30. The first Down
trains started at Reading (Bristol Parkway SO) 07.30 and Temple Meads 07.20 (07.25 SO; ECS all three
days) while the last Up terminated 18.23 at Reading (18.30 Parkway SO) and 18.14 Temple Meads
respectively. The main knock-on effects on the intermediate days (Wed 22 & Fri 24 Jun) were no
services before 07.00, no Avanti service in North Wales before a 09.50 Crewe to Holyhead (Wed) and
08.55 Holyhead to Crewe (Fri) and, bottom of the pecking order, no Newport to Crosskeys shuttles.
TfW and Avanti otherwise operated normally east of Shrewsbury but WMR did not operate west of
Wolverhampton, so intermediate stations except Wellington and Telford Central were not served.
[West Midlands ran few services over the five days; your Editor's MP has taken it up with their MD.]

1727] Taffs Well*: (BLN 1383.2241) The road closure referred to originally only applied to vehicles but
from 20 Jun was extended to all users following upgrades to an alternative route for pedestrians and
cyclists. Expected reopening has now slipped to summer 2023. [*Very pleased to hear it…]

1728] Gaer Jn - Park Jn - Machen Quarry: (BLN 1394.298) Our 'on the spot' member reports that, for
the first time in several years, two trains recently served the quarry on the same day. This highlighted
the potential bottleneck of the Gaer Loop single line. As one Train Working applies from Park Jn on the
Machen branch and the Newport - Crosskeys shuttle needs 2 paths an hour over the loop, the second
train would have needed to recess at East Usk if the first had been delayed on the branch. In fact all
went well (the train for Appleford was due to clear Gaer Jn at 14.34, 2hr 20min before empties from
West Drayton were due). However, the loop's limited capacity could be more significant when the full
Ebbw Vale passenger service begins, particularly as there is the possibility of stone trains running from
another quarry near Cwm, north of Llanhilleth. (Come back double track, all is forgiven!)

1729] Llandeilo Jn: (TRACKmaps 3 p24A 2018) The Down Reception and Goods Loop have been OOU
since 9 Jun until further notice with their entry and exit points clipped, scotched and padlocked in the
normal position. Signal routes to them from signal PT280 on the Down Main and PT380 on the Down
District are route barred. This is to facilitate erection of additional support for the deteriorating signal
gantry on which PT282 (Down Main) and PT482 (DGL) are sited. [PT = Port Talbot Power Box.]

1730] Porthmadog: The Station Inn in the standard gauge station building is for sale for £395,000 or
£30,000 per annum leasehold as a going concern. It has been owned and run by the Havelock family
since its purchase from British Rail and conversion in the 1970s but the present licensee now wishes to
retire. https://bit.ly/3y4rgDr has details (registration required, the narrow minded need not apply).

1731] Cardiff Bay: Following refurbishment of the station building for non-railway uses in 2019
(BLN 1331.1672), Amey (on behalf of TfW Infrastructure) has submitted plans to the City Council to
upgrade the operational railway infrastructure in connection with the introduction of tram trains.

The branch from Queen Street South Jn would be redoubled and the existing platform replaced by a
new island serving both tracks - greater capacity to cater for users of a new 15,000 arena proposed as
part of an 'Atlantic Wharf Master Plan' (AWMP). An oval shaped staff accommodation building, in TfW
colours with 50 two shades of grey and red trim around the window and eaves, would be provided on
the main platform, along with two shelters for passengers, as well as a new square at the main
entrance. A new Butetown station (previously known as Loudoun Square BLN 1306.1238) would be
constructed a mere 350m north with 125m platforms, ticket machines and a waiting shelter on each,
as well as a passenger lift from Bute Street. New pedestrian routes would also be created and an
existing underpass retained. The AWMP is to contain separate proposals for the extension of the line
to what is now described as: a transport hub that would provide a main terminus and interchange on
Pierhead Street for new tram train services and bus services to Cardiff Bay; presumably what is/was
otherwise known as The Flourish? After all, it's always good to finish with a flourish.

1732] Mostyn: (BLN 1387.2801) The main building of this station, CP 14 Feb 1966, has been in private
occupation since. A local member visited on 19 Jun 2022 and found that it has retained its magnificent
Italianate frontage but the 'dog teeth' awnings are decaying.

1733] Shrewsbury, Sutton Bridge Jn: (BLN 1402.1449) A member recently retired from Marches line
driving (in view of the unfortunate events of 22 May*, it perhaps needs stressing that this was trains,
not mini diggers!). He advises that for quite some time this signal box once again normally switches
out overnight, from around 23.00 till 05.30. Members who visited on 1 Mar 2019 were advised that it
was at that time open continuously (BLN 1326.923) but he can only assume that there was overnight
engineering work or other special activity on the Cambrian Line around that time to cause this.
As Dorrington box also closes each evening, he was quite often held at signal MB5 at Marsh Brook
when heading back to Shrewsbury in the late evening, waiting for the train in front to clear Severn
Bridge Jn. The suggestion of rarely used special long section block instruments in those two boxes
sounds interesting but the truth is more prosaic. Once the intermediate boxes have switched out the
normal block instruments are used but just apply to the longer section. (*Reportedly the fire damaged
DMUs (BLN 1403.1579) were removed by road from Craven Arms to Doncaster Works on 30 Jun.)

1404 MINOR RAILWAYS (Peter Scott) [email protected]
MR124] Mid Norfolk Railway (MNR), Norfolk (MR p8): On Wednesday 4 May 2022 regular timetabled
passenger trains commenced running north of Dereham to Hoe Level Crossing - during the Green
Timetable (see BLN 1403.1594). The first passenger train to run to Hoe Level Crossing on 18 May 2013
was a HST from London St Pancras (UK Railtours). Occasional public running (during special events)
began on 19 May 2018. The line south of Thuxton, to Wymondham, is currently closed for engineering
work. The railway's website has an explanation of this work. Over the winter months a programme of
sleeper replacement took place, which has already seen a large number of sleepers replaced between
Dereham and Yaxham. At the same time, some issues were identified with the temporary platform
structure at Wymondham Abbey, which needed attention. With this continuing platform structure
work and the need to replace further sleepers between Thuxton and Hardingham stations, the
Trustees took the decision to keep the Thuxton to Wymondham section of the MNR under Engineers'
possession allowing almost uninterrupted access.

MR125] Yorkshire Wolds Railway, East Riding of Yorkshire (MR p9): 'Brian', who communicates with
sign language due to deafness, visited the railway on 15 May and wanted to do a driver experience.
So the railway's Business Development director Katy put her signing skills to good use and Brian was
able to complete the experience with confidence. He was very pleased with his certificate! Any deaf
people who wish to visit the railway and would like to drive the locomotive, should get in touch with
Katy and she will arrange to be there on the day to help: [email protected]

MR126] Buzzard Railway, Bedfordshire (MR p12) (Item 1735 & BLN 1396.MR41): To sample the
deviation for the new Eastern Link Road (opened 13 March 2022) and the extension to Munday's Hill
(opened 30 April 2022), a visit was made to this 2ft gauge railway on Friday 3 June (Jubilee Bank
Holiday). A ticket, senior adult £9.50, had been pre-booked on the 14.30 departure from Page's Park -
possibly a wise move as the train appeared to be full before departure. Trains run from Page's Park
Platform 1 direct to Munday's Hill, via the non-platform line at Stonehenge. They use the bidirectional
Main Line of the double track between Stonehenge (Coulthard Junction) and Munday's Hill - nearer
the road (right hand line facing the end of line). The other track is the bidirectional Relief Line.

After running round, the train returns to Stonehenge, for a break, before going to Page's Park. Trains
were operated by 0-6-0WT 'Pedemoura' (OK10808/1924) with four coaches. The 5/7¼" gauge short
(very!) Stonehenge miniature is not currently in use, but was intact and complete, although a report
from a few weeks previously stated it was partly lifted. [The Miniature Railway was noted intact but
OOU during our Society 25 Jun 2022 visit. It was indicated that the operator had passed on and his
daughter has rather less interest in its continued operation.] The landscape around the new deviation
has completely changed with the building of new roads and the start of large scale house building.
According to the volunteer who was guiding the Page's Park shed tour, the new Eastern Link Road
'tunnel' cannot be regarded as such - due to strict tunnel regulations - so it is classified as a bridge!

BELOW: (Item 1732) Mostyn station building from the road. (Kevin Driscoll, 1

19 Jun 2022.) NEXT: It was rather smarter on 29 Mar 2008 (Angus McDougall).





BELOW: (Item MR126) Leighton Buzzard Railway; 'Pedemoura' runs-roun

nd at Page's Park, after arriving from Stonehenge. (Peter Scott, 3 Jun 2022.)

BELOW: (Item MR135) Strawberry Line Miniature Railway; bat
NEXT: 'Emma' an attractive Burton & Ashby Light Railways

ttery electric No7 passes a plastic horse. (Peter Scott, 2 Jun 2022.)
s' tram stabled outside the station (Peter Scott, 2 Jun 2022.)





X.148] BELOW: On the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWS

SR) the bubble car renovation is almost complete. (John Cameron, 3 Jul 2022.)

X.149] BELOW: The isolated line on the site of Gotherington Goods Yard (GWSR
X.150] NEXT TWO: The new 3½/5'' Wensum Valley Railway at County School sta

R); poor Geoff Plumb has been left on the platform! (Rob Davidson, 3 Jul 2022.)
ation (top right in first) runs SuO 11.00-16.00 until 28 Aug. (Mid Norfolk Railway.)









X.151] BELOW: 50042 at Bodmin General, on the first train of the day, 10.30

0 to Bodmin Parkway. (With permission and under supervision of B&WR staff.)

BELOW: Bodmin & Wenford Railway (B&WR), running round at Bodmin Park

kway - the only trains here on Sat 25 Jun with the rail strike. (All Mark Fishlock.)

BELOW: Bodmin Parkway, the main line looking towards Penzance, perha

aps a weed killing train is due? Upper centre is the connection to the B&WR.

BELOW: Heading for Boscarne Junction, potential recruits to the Branch Lin