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2055] An Introduction to the Branch Line Society: [For new members and potential new members, if you would like to pass this on.] The Branch Line Society (BLS) is a friendly, expanding, UK-based organisation with almost 2,200 members across all ages, some overseas. Founded in 1955, we are mainly interested in railway infrastructure of all types and gauges. This involves studying railway history, present operations and future plans. Members have a wide range of overlapping interests but a common theme is wanting to explore, and travel over, as many different railways as possible - we are noted for reaching the parts that others cannot reach. The Society arranges a wide range of fixtures including full-scale main line railtours (with 'freight only' routes, even in Poland, Jordan and the Sahara Desert!), industrial, minor and heritage railway 'all line' tours, visits to signal boxes and non-public parts of the railway, also trackbed walks. Members receive 24 editions of Branch Line News each year, averaging 36 pages (printed, posted version) and/or a much larger e-version, with many images added; an International version is available. These unique publications include material not seen elsewhere. Over the last 11 years we have developed our charity work, for which the BLS is now well known. It raised almost £200,000 for railway-related charities in the latest financial year. We can provide advice and expertise on the route, train management, setting fares etc and have a team of 30 trained and certificated Stewards available to assist with running railtours. Our website takes card bookings and our Bookings Team deal with queries. We can administer seating plans, e-tickets, souvenir printed tickets etc. Railtour publicity can be arranged and buffet services, a real ale bar and charity raffles provided. We can design and arrange printing of souvenir booklets/historical route guides/itineraries with maps. Our website allows members to access over 1,530 back issues of Branch Line News, forming a railway encyclopaedia dating back to 1955. It hosts 'Passenger Train Services Over Unusual Lines' (PSUL), Jim Fergusson's worldwide historical 'Railway and Tramway Station Lists' and over 30,000 railway images dating back 70 years. Railway Rights of Way is available, a regularly revised list of publicly accessible trackbed walks over 100 yards long in the entire British Isles - even Lundy - (including much ancillary information). There is a frequently updated 'Diary' with railtours and heritage railway galas of interest. A website page is devoted to the latter with motive power updates. Members can also access, and search for, a range of railway infrastructure related documents, new track maps etc. All full members receive an annual printed, posted copy of the Minor Railways booklet by Peter Scott (our Minor Railways Editor). Now in its 35th year, it lists all standard gauge, narrow gauge and miniature Minor Railways and tramways in the British Isles. Our Sales Officer provides significant discounts to members on publications - particularly TRACKmaps, to which our members make major contributions. Our subscription rates are very good value and have been reduced or frozen for eight years, so why not give us a try? More details and to join at: branchline.uk [Originally written for the 26 Sep HST tours.] 2056] Only 93 days to Christmas: Those who take BLN should have received a leaflet about the 2023 Railway Children Christmas charity cards with BLN 1431. There is a wide selection of railway themed, good value, cards with some interesting new 'lines'. A PDF version is available with e-BLN 1432 and on our website. Incidentally, basic First Class stamps will cost £1.25 from 2 Oct, a 14% increase (15p), the second price increase this year. You might want to stock up before! Second Class stamps remain at 75p. Number 1432 (Items 2055 - 2184 & MR 178 - MR 185) (E-BLN 113 PAGES) 23 Sep 2023 BRANCH LINE NEWS Praeteritum, praesens et futurum ferriviaria [ISSN 1354-0947] Published 24 times a year by the Branch Line Society; founded 1955. branchline.uk https://www.facebook.com/BranchLineSociety/ Membership queries: Lisa Sheppard [email protected] 186 Anlaby [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 1433 is dated Sat 7 Oct; contributions by Wed 27 Sep please

ABOVE: Driffield signal box. (Barney Clark, 30 Oct 2020.) X.79] :Friday 13 October Hull Local Operations Manger's Area Signal Box Visits:: With thanks to our member, Barnaby Clark. A date unlucky for some, but not enthusiasts of railway signalling this year, as we are pleased to announce the next in our series of signal box visits, this time to the Hull LOM's area. This visit will cover six signal boxes: Hull Paragon, Hull River Bridge, Hessle Road, Beverley, Driffield and Seamer. As always these are all subject to on the day operational availability. Furthermore, depending on the timings on the day, it may also be possible to visit Gristhorpe Crossing Box, but please note that it will unfortunately not be possible to visit Bridlington signal box. Meet at Hull Paragon P2 at 10.00 to coincide with the Hull Trains arrival from London King's Cross. Please read: Sturdy footwear and HV orange upper body wear are required. You will be asked, when booking, to confirm that you have a HV, or if you need to borrow one. You will also be asked if you are planning to travel by car, or arrive by train. Note that due to technical limitations we are using the drop down boxes for 'joining at' and 'leaving at' on the booking page to capture the car and HV information. Members only, limited to 12 maximum, cost £69 per head for the Network Rail nominated charity. Volunteer/s to write a report for BLN would be welcome! The plan is to travel between boxes by road, utilising as few vehicles as practicable to assist with parking at the locations. This will be finalised on the day. Lifts will be arranged for those who need them and some may be asked to leave their cars for the day but will be returned to them. The visits end at Seamer, which has a station for onward travel. Please let Barnaby Clark know your travel intentions,:IF: they will require specific consideration. Please add your phone contact to the booking notes box if it is not already on the booking form. Fixture queries to the organiser (Barnaby Clark), by email please [email protected] Booking queries to our Bookings Officer, by email please [email protected]

Date Book online :NEW fixtures open when e-BLN is out: BLN Lead Status Tue 26 Sep Leeds - Swanage CrossCountry HST farewell 1429 MG FULL Tue 26 Sep The Bournemouth Belle from Swanage 1429 MG OPEN Fri 13 Oct *NEW* Hull area; six signal box visits ABOVE BC OPEN Fri 20 Oct *NEW* Guided historical railway tour in Liverpool BELOW MG OPEN Sun 29 Oct *NEW* The 5:08 Sunset, Merseyrail EMU railtour BELOW MG CHECK Sat 25 Nov *NEW* AGM Ribble Steam Railway 'all line' morning tour BELOW TBA Claimed Sat 25 Nov *NEW* 2023 Annual General Meeting 13.30 BELOW TW OPEN Sat 25 Nov *NEW* Evening AGM buffet & presentation 17.00-21.00 BELOW TBA Claimed Sun 26 Nov *NEW* AGM Blackpool Heritage rare tram & track tour BELOW TBA Claimed Sat 6 Jan 2024 Scunthorpe Cold Steeler 27 (09.30-16.30 with lunch) TBA TBA Claimed MG = Mark Gomm [email protected] 84 Mornington Rd, STOKE-ON-TRENT, ST1 6EL 07983 541887 2057] :Fri 20 Oct; Liverpool Historical Railway Tour: Now for something a bit different! This guided all day tour visits many locations on one day thanks to Merseyrail, NR, our member Adam Turner and others who made it possible. It starts approx 09.30 at Bank Hall station to see a Ruston 48DS 0-4-0 Diesel Shunter nearby, then to Moorfields foro see the remnants of Liverpool Exchange (CP 30 Apr 1977), then Lime Street for the train shed plus a unique roof light. Next, our tour goes up a gear with visits to usually off-limits areas: Subject to final agreement, track level at the former Liverpool Central (high level) station, CP 17 May 1972, it is now NR Liverpool Central Maintenance Delivery Unit; James Street closed P2 and, at Hamilton Square, both the subway to Shore Road and the station tower block. The tour ends at James Street, hopefully in time to see Liverpool & Manchester Railway loco 'Lion' and the Liverpool Overhead Railway Motorcoach No 3 at the Museum of Liverpool. Members only, max 17. Participants will need a Day Saver Ticket (from ticket offices/machines), photo ID, sturdy, closed footwear and weather appropriate clothing. The tour involves much walking and stairs. We are supporting Merseyrail raising money for the charities below. A volunteer to do a BLN report would be welcome! £33 (tour only) no reductions. Book on our website, any queries to the Bookings Officer. 2058] :Sun 29 Oct; The 5:08 Sunset:: Marking the impending withdrawal of Class 508 EMUs after over 44 years of service, this tour covers the entire Merseyrail third rail network. Highlights include the Stock Interchange Line, both EMU Depots and the usual selection of sidings and crossovers we are famous for! Read the specification carefully for the sections to delight the bidirectionalists; clue - not the Liverpool Loop! Comfort breaks will be provided. At Southport, there will be an extended break with complimentary refreshments, thanks to our friends at Merseyrail. Chester P7A (PU 08.50) - Hooton P1 (PU 09.16/rev) - Ellesmere Port (rev) - Hooton P2 - Rock Ferry 722 Sig (rev) - Rock Ferry P3 (rev) - Birkenhead Central (PU 10.14) - James Street P2 - Stock Interchange Line - Liverpool Central P2 (PU 10.30) - Reversing Siding (rev) - Liverpool Central P1 - Up Southport - Leeds St Jn - Dn Southport - Sandhills - Ormskirk P1 (rev) - Walton Jn (rev) - Fazakerley Jn (rev) - Kirkdale Depot - Sandhills P1 (rev) - Up Southport - Bootle Jn - Dn Southport - Hall Road Wallside Siding (rev) - Hall Road P2 (rev) - Southport P1 (SD 13.15/PU 14.00) - South Jn (rev) - Birkdale Sidings No 4 Road (rev) - Sandhills - Leeds St Jn - Dn Southport - Paradise Jn - Liverpool Central P1 - Hunts Cross P2 (rev) - Paradise Jn - Stock Interchange Line - Bidston (rev) - Bidston Stabling Sdg (rev) - West Kirby P2 (rev) - Birkenhead North P1 - Birkenhead 564 Sig (rev) - Birkenhead N P3 - New Brighton P2 (rev) - New Brighton 606 Sig (rev) - Sdg No 1 (rev) - Bidston East Jn - Birkenhead North Depot - Birkenhead N P1 - Lime Street (SD 18.22) - Birkenhead Central (SD 18.32) - Rock Ferry P2 - Hooton P3 (SD 18.47) - Chester P7A (SD 19.03) [21 reversals in all] All tour proceeds will go to four very deserving local charities: KIND - helping children and families across Liverpool and Merseyside cope with the effects of poverty and disadvantage. SWACA - supporting Sefton's women, young people and children. Paper Cup Project - a Liverpool charity which supports local rough sleepers and homeless people. Tam O'Shanter Cottage & Community Farm - aiming to provide an enjoyable and educational experience for kids and adults in Birkenhead.

Onboard, souvenirs will be on sale, including window decals and a charity raffle (please bring plenty of cash!) with some fantastic prizes! Subject to availability, traction will be 2 x Class 508s. Unfortunately, we can't fix the sunset, expected to be 16.48! Hooton station pay & display car park (£1 according to website) accommodates 437 vehicles. £50.80; U18 £5.08 (U18s must be accompanied by a responsible adult). No non-member surcharge. Please check our website for availability of places (may be full). 2059] :Annual General Meeting 2023:: Notice is hereby given that the Society will hold its 2023 Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday 25 November 2023, at Cotton Court Business Centre, Church Street, Preston, PR1 3BY. Start time will be 13.30 to facilitate on the day rail access where timetables allow, to finish by 17.00 at the latest. Cotton Court was built in 1851 and, despite its modern name, was actually an iron and wire mill. Members will note that the AGM date is a week later than that provisionally discussed at last year's AGM and subsequently, also provisionally, shown in BLN. Your Committee's strong preference is always to hold our AGM at a railway related site and, if possible, support a heritage railway or Museum. However, despite site visits, nothing suitable was located in the North West. Similarly, despite extensive enquiries, no other suitable venue near a principal main railway station (allowing access by rail to/from London on the day) with sufficient accommodation and facilities was available in the area on 18 Nov. The final factor is that the associated fixtures programme, which many members tell us is very important to them (especially if travelling a long distance), would have been very restricted on the 18 Nov weekend for various reasons. Cotton Court is around 15 minutes' walk from Preston station; a connecting heritage bus service from Preston station is being investigated. Hot drinks will be available during breaks in the meeting at about 14.30 and 16.00. Bookings from current members, free of charge, can now be made at our website branchline.uk under 'Fixtures' as an 'Expression of Interest'. Otherwise, please liaise with a member who can book online for you, or postal bookings can be made to our Bookings Officer, Mark Gomm, (as above) with your name, Membership Number, email address and, for a written acknowledgment (if required), an SAE please. Under 18s must be accompanied by a responsible adult; all bookings are subject to Society Terms and Conditions available on our website. The heated room can seat up to 100. Members who do not book can only be admitted if there is sufficient seating and will not be entitled to refreshments, please book as above by Mon 20 Nov. The closing date for receipt of AGM agenda items, including nominations for all the Officers listed in the Constitution, plus four Committee Members per Standing Orders and any motions for debate, each duly proposed and seconded, is Sun 29 Oct 2023. There is one vacancy for a general Committee Member, following John Williamson's decision to resign from the Committee. All other Officers and Committee Members have indicated their availability for re-election. (See Treasurer's Update below.) If you are interested in any of these rôles and require details on the nomination process, or for queries on the duties, please contact your General Secretary: [email protected] or post to 10 Sandringham Rd, Stoke Gifford, BS34 8NP (with an SAE). Officers' Reports are due to be circulated with BLN 1434 (Sat 21 Oct 2023), with the draft 2022-2023 Society Accounts, in advance of the AGM. Officers anticipate being present to answer questions during the relevant agenda items. A Final AGM Notice, with the detailed agenda, will be issued with BLN 1435 (Sat 4 Nov 2023), which will also set out proposed subscription rates for 2024-2025. Copies of the draft 2023 AGM minutes are targeted to be included with the Officers' Reports. A comprehensive tour of the Ribble Steam Railway at Preston is being arranged prior to the AGM (with connecting heritage bus). There will be an evening presentation and buffet on Sat 25 Nov (see below). On Sun 26 Nov a Blackpool Tram tour is planned, including track and trams not used on our recent tours. These will be advertised in BLN and on our website when the details are confirmed. 2060] :2023 AGM Presentation 17.00-21.00:: After our Sat 25 Nov AGM, your Treasurer Ian Mortimer will present a further selection of his personal colour images, covering a variety of UK main line and industrial locations from the 1970s right through to the 1990s, plus a quick tour of Europe for those interested in overseas railways. A hot and cold buffet will be provided at 17.00 before the presentation and hot drinks will be available during a break. Bookings will open in due course. We don't hold many

indoor meetings, so your Committee hopes that as many members as possible will attend this fixture (into which Ian has put a considerable amount of preparation), the AGM and all the fixtures. There is no requirement to attend the AGM to participate in any of the fixtures although we encourage this. 2061] Treasurer's Update: Last year I signalled my intention to stand down at the 2023 AGM. My workload has increased significantly in the last few years, which is the main reason why I am reluctant to carry on. Unfortunately, no member has been prepared to take on this role, so I have decided to offer my services for one more year. I have, however, made it clear to the rest of the Committee, and am now doing so to the membership, that I have no intention of carrying on beyond the 2024 AGM, unless significant changes are made to my role. As a start to this, the Committee has agreed that we should look to outsource the compilation and submission of the Society's Corporation Tax return, as well as the production of the annual accounts and, at the time of writing, initial steps have been taken to do this. Also, our Membership Secretary, Lisa Sheppard, has kindly offered to take on some day-to-day tasks relating to our Worldpay account (card bookings). This is not intended to be a permanent solution but should hopefully free up more of my time to look at other ways of reducing the most time-consuming parts of my job. The current plan is to look at purchasing an accountancy software package which can deal with fixtures, the alternative being to employ a bookkeeper. The latter would prove much more expensive but, given the scale of the Society's activities these days, which in my view is equivalent to a medium sized business, I think that it is unreasonable for members to expect that all the work that this generates can carry on being done without any cost to the Society. Fortunately, our substantial reserves mean that, at least in the short term, the Society would be able to absorb any additional costs that result but in the longer term, depending upon what we decide, this could eventually impact on subscription rates. 2062] Personal statement from John Williamson: On 6 Sep, John Williamson advised the Chairman and Committee that "Having read yesterday's views and reflected on them overnight I regret to advise that I consider the proposal to re-date the AGM is morally reprehensible in its treatment of those of our members whose planning has been based on the regular publication of "Save the Date". I am not influenced by the counter-arguments and find that I am not prepared to defend a decision that does not defend their interests. I therefore resign from the BLS Committee with immediate effect." He had added that at the 2022 AGM in Bo'ness the 18 Nov date for the 2023 AGM and the Blackpool Balloon supporting fixture were floated to the assembled company (members and Committee) and were the subject of discussion. He recalls that there was no criticism (from members or Committee) that the supporting fixture was inadequate and one member suggested a potential venue for the meeting in Cleveleys - which, it appears, was not followed up. The assembled loyal members attending the 2022 AGM were therefore fed the 18 Nov date and were then content with it. and have been given no subsequent indication that they should save any other date. He considers that for Committee to now propose any other date is an act of disloyalty by the Committee to those members which he can neither support not defend and that his only honourable course of action was therefore to resign from the BLS Committee forthwith. 1432 BLN GENERAL (Paul Stewart) [email protected] 2063] Society Disabilities Officer: At their last meeting the Committee appointed William J Graveson as our new Disabilities Officer (previously known as the Equalities Officer), replacing the late Trevor Cockram. This is a Committee appointment but not actually a Committee position. William comments: I am pleased to accept the above appointment and trust that I might be of some assistance to members and others when considering their ability to participate in Society fixtures. It is appreciated that those members who have disabilities and travel regularly on Society fixtures have made appropriate arrangements. Therefore, the rôle is really directed at those who are unsure as to how they might be affected if they did wish to travel, including those who are not members of the Society but who might wish to join us on our tours. The rôle does include advising anyone who considers that they have been the recipient of discrimination from the Society in any way and on any grounds, other than those of a disciplinary nature. New email: [email protected]

2064] BLS Sales News; The Beaten Track Volume 3: 176 A4 pages, hardback, Published by Platform 5. Compiled by our member Andy Chard, 'The Beaten Track' illustrates the changing and somewhat tired face of the railway network in the 1970-1985 era. Various railway locations, loco types and longstanding practices were disappearing. Over 250 images, all in colour, have long, well researched captions. The reader is taken to a combination of well known and rarely photographed very obscure parts of the network. These include long gone lines to industrial sites, such as the numerous collieries, power stations and steelworks that relied on rail transport. A wide range of traction is depicted, with plenty of main line locomotive classes, their industrial counterparts and a variety of multiple unit types, highlighting how diverse the rolling stock of the 1970s and early 1980s actually was. All photos are in colour and the vast majority have never been published or shared online before. Again, the book has a selection of our Treasurer, Ian Mortimer's, superb and fascinating photos with outstanding images from new contributors who have come forward with previously unseen images after reading the previous two similar books in this series. These previous books were very popular with our members - those that have them will certainly want to acquire this one; those that don't have them should! Cover price, excluding P&P is £34.95; price to our members is only £26 including UK mainland P&P. It is expected to be available on 28 Sep, please email your Sales Officer, Darren Garnon at [email protected] for a card payment link, when stocks arrive, or cheque payee 'Branch Line Society' per back page. Last chance, our final four copies of Vol 2 are available at £26 if ordered for delivery with Vol 3 (RRP £34.95). 2065] ::STOP PRESS: TRACKmaps 3 Western & Wales: The new fully revised 7th Edition, compiled by the one and only Martyn Brailsford, is out on 2 Oct, cover price without P&P £16.95. It will be £12.50 including UK P&P to our members only, after 1 Nov. Pre-order now at [email protected] 2066] Ticket machine Advances not very far in advance: (BLN 1431.1952) Following the discovery of Advance tickets sold by Avanti machines just prior to departure at Euston, a member writes: I bought advance tickets from the Avanti machines at Manchester Piccadilly from Manchester to Stockport for imminent Northern departures. The following day I did the same at Stockport to Manchester. Another member writes: A few weeks ago I had a bed on the sleeper to Dumbarton Central. Looking for a cheap single back I found an Avanti advance at a convenient time, to Warrington BQ (233¼ miles), £12.65 with railcard. The train before from Glasgow was cancelled, so we made extra calls. We were a bit late at Warrington and Avanti contacted me within 24 hours with an automatic refund of £3.17, net cost £9.48! As for ticket machines, I did the UKRT 'Buxton Brush' railtour on Sat 8 July for the extended reversing sidings (buffer stops reached) at Buxton, and we had a break in the town after doing the track. I decided to try the new Northern ticket machine for a fare to Stockport, where I would be back within validity for my Prestatyn to Manchester ticket return leg. To my delight, the next train had an advance fare available from the machine for just £3.15 with Railcard, reaching Stockport with perfect timing for a TfW loco-hauled service to Crewe. After I had bought this, another member was showing a group of tour participants the wonders of the new Northern ticket machines, offering such delights as rangers/rovers for all parts of the network somewhat spoiled by being only for travel on the day of purchase (but they are working on this). 2067] Points & Slips: ●● BLN 14311983] Wilmslow platform canopies date from the 1909 station rebuilding for the Styal line opening, not the 1842 date when the Manchester to Crewe line opened. ●●2033] Regarding this Item about Milgnavie, the Blue Trains AM3 EMUs (OHLE, initially 62.5Kv AC) operating in the Glasgow area, were initially withdrawn on 18 Dec 1960 due to faults (not Nov)

2068] Keeping Track, passenger service suspensions (contributions welcomed by your BLN Editor) BLN Start (incl) Reopens Location (stations'exclusive'if bracketed) Bold = closed now - 17 Sep 23 23 Sep 23 (Bristol Temple Meads) - (Weston-super-Mare)/Uphill Jn 1432.2162 22 Sep 23 26 Sep 23 Dalmuir Park Jn - (Garscadden) track and pointwork renewals 1430.1883 7 Aug 23 30 Oct 23 Princes Risborough Jn - Aylesbury Jn culvert/HS2 underbridge 1430.1885 1 Dec 22 *4 Nov 23 (Bedford) P1A - (Bletchley) at 16.38 *new date (was 2 Oct) 1432.2141.1 29 Aug 23 unknown West Midland Metro; Wolverhampton St George's branch until Sat 16 Sep closure was from (The Royal) tram stop 1432.2177 2 Sep 23 3 Dec 23 Dovey Jn - Pwllheli for work on Barmouth Bridge 1421.947 29 Apr 23 Feb 24 Pontypridd N Jn - Treherbert plus other valley line closures ●●BLN 1431.1974] https://www.registerofclosedrailways.co.uk/ compiled by our member Martin Firth, may be of interest - but please note the disclaimers on the home page. Investigations have revealed that the 1918 RCH map extract in BLN 1431 with the Royston Jn - Thornhill Midland Jn line item came from this website. The original contributor thought that the map was out of copyright. BLN always tries to acknowledge images to their source; thanks to Martin for bringing this to our attention. 2069]Railway Memories (110) - In Control: Bob Watt (member 510 and a former BLN Scotland Editor) I used to tell folk that I'd been a Railwayman from the age of three (courtesy of my awareness from about that time of my Dad's involvement in the industry - the Motive Power Department - and my developing interest from then). I never fancied doing anything else thereafter, eventually joining the hallowed ranks of British Railways (OK, British Rail by then) Scottish Region on 4 Aug 1966. I worked in a variety of functions at various Glasgow locations during the first couple of years, collecting sundry interesting experiences and developing my knowledge. In the last of these posts, Relief Clerk Class 3 Glasgow Central station, I spent some months in the Staff Time Office. While there, one day I heard the Chief Clerk say that he was going to have to speak to 'Control', of which I knew nothing at this time beyond his mention as a spy character in John le Carré books. So, I investigated some basics about this mysterious outfit and, when a vacancy appeared for an Assistant Controller in the Glasgow Divisional Control (45 Hope Street, directly across from Central station), I applied for, and landed it, taking up my position in February 1969. Little was I to know that I would finish my railway career in the umpteenth manifestation of that august function 40 years later (by this time in Buchanan House, partly occupying the site of the former Buchanan Street station). Not that long into my Control spell, I was told Once a Controller, always a Controller and so it proved. In those far off days, even a humble Assistant Controller grade was granted a week 'on the line' to look at the Division, supplied with a Route Pass. The Divisional boundaries were Gretna Jn, Auchengray (79m 40ch on the Carstairs to Edinburgh line), Benhar Jn (also known as Ben Hur) on the Shotts line, Bo'ness Jn on the Edinburgh & Glasgow line and Dunblane. In 1981 we absorbed Edinburgh Division and, after suitable telecommunications were installed, Inverness in 1983. [Auchengray is still an interface between the West of Scotland and Edinburgh Signalling Centres as well as an Overhead Line Electrification (OHLE) Neutral Section.] In 1969 a notable opportunity arose to do the West Coast Main Line to Carlisle, complete with a front end view. This was due to a blockage of the Glasgow & South Western line and the subsequent diversion of 1M50, the 12.10 Glasgow Central to Carlisle, nonstop via Carstairs. It was formed of a Carlisle based twin first generation DMU so, with a friend and colleague appointed the week before, we sat in the front saloon and took in the view. An unexpected thrill came on passing though Carstairs station: Carstairs N o 3 (at the southern end of the platform) Up Home signal (all semaphores in those days) was replaced to danger in our faces; quite exciting! Was something about to cross in front of us‽ Fortunately not; it transpired that it was a 'stop and examine' sent for us for a 'door on the catch' - no central door locking in 1969 - nobody had fallen out, the door was secured and off we went again. If there was spare staff, someone could also have the chance of a line visit, with the opportunity to visit freight yards particularly helpful (!). The first place that I remember going was Ravenscraig N o 2 in depths of the giant Motherwell steelworks complex, which was the destination for iron ore trains from

General Terminus Yard in Glasgow. This was where iron ore carriers docked on the south bank of the River Clyde, ¾ mile southwest of Central station as the crow flies. After the visit with a colleague who lived locally, I had the chance to ride back to Terminus in a discharged train formed of 2 x Class 20s and about 28 empty 45-ton iron ore hopper wagons. I rode in the rear brakevan (they generally had one each end) and the lateral movement was such that it was hard to believe that the van was riding on the same pair of rails as the hoppers ahead, particularly descending Bellshill bank to Uddingston Jn. In those days a fair proportion of Control Staff were former Goods Guards, who knew every nook and cranny of the railway; it's changed a lot nowadays! On the likes of Saturday backshifts, with everything 'under control', some of those 'old hands' would regale us with tales of their experiences, Many - but not all - coming under our general BLN heading of 'Now it can be told!' There was a driver (in steam days) who demolished the shed door at Yoker and explained to the Senior Controller how it was going to be dealt with without the requirement for any reports being submitted. Oh, aye - is that right then‽ No, it wasn't! There were plenty of opportunities for a laugh, some involving a bit of schadenfreude. It was a work hard and play hard environment and your correspondent recalls grief-stricken cries of As one door closes, another one slams in your face. I was the victim of an outstanding one in Summer 1974; yes, it was that memorable. While working as a General Purpose Relief Controller, I he had some spells on the North EMU desk (covering long term sickness and suchlike). It was largely a self-contained section: the Airdrie to Helensburgh/Balloch lines, branches, oh yes, and a slight matter of the West Highland and Mallaig Extension [well known for their EMU operation!] - more of which later - and good to look after. However, when things went badly wrong, you were in for a hard time. On the desk of the Deputy Chief Controller (DCC) - the shift gaffer - there was a direct phone line from Cathcart Electric Control Office (ECO), which rang every so often. This generally indicated that the overhead power had tripped somewhere. It was of merely limited interest to most of the staff but not so to those on the 'receiving' end. So, this particular day it rang not long before 17.00 - what could possibly be happening at the start of the evening peak? It turned out to be for me, on the North EMU Desk; the section I was looking after. The drill was that, if the overhead power tripped, the ECO was allowed to attempt a reset of up to three times; if unsuccessful, then the section remained dead. The section tripped was between Partick Hill and High Street, not looking good for the peak. This effectively meant that both directions were without service. If you allowed trains to continue over the live section, they would all finish at one end of the line and be unable to return. (An inexperienced Controller did that once, and Airdrie overfilled with trains.) One move enabled us to run from the western end of the line, round Hyndland curve (Hyndland West to North Jn) from Scotstounhill to Anniesland, where they could turnback and return. You tried to keep tabs on the sets for maintenance so they worked to Hyndland Depôt (as was then, opened in 1961 for EMUs; it closed down in 1987) at the end of the shift. Well, the next 5 or 6 hours just flew by! Next day, the same section tripped again; needlessly to say, when the ECO phone rang again, everyone looked at me; repeat experience! Next day, people were looking at me even before the phone was answered - by one of our Senior Operating Inspectors (no names. no pack drill) You're joking - not again! Well, it was a joke of course, at my expense. The colour just drained from your face, Bob! I mentioned the West Highland. Working was described as 'Control by exception'; in other words, we would only ever hear about it if our attention was required. In late Summer 1969 I answered the phone to a cheery voice from Fort William to be told that Banavie Swing Bridge had jammed against the canal and the boats are standing back to Loch Oich. The Caledonian Canal was busy with tourist traffic in the summer! Finally, a Control 'routine' on the Backshift, we only ever received advice about train running on the West Highland Line from the Signalman at Craigendoran Junction and when the Section Controller was advised that the last Oban to Glasgow Queen Street train was off the branch. The Controller would shout to the whole Office so that they knew this fact That's the Oban off the branch! It was a good way of reminding folk that the Night shift shouldn't be long coming in. To conclude, I remember one DCC, somewhat exasperated, announcing to the Office at large: This is what I want you to do: Do NOTHING, and IMPROVE the situation! Some days were like that, of course

2070] Tram traffic: Soon after the Leith extension opened, the Leader of Edinburgh City Council said that use of the City's trams had doubled. That followed a 40% increase in route mileage. Edinburgh Trams has announced that it carried 1.2M passengers in August alone, a record number. With the Leith extension open, the Edinburgh Festival under way and rugby internationals at Murrayfield and 31 days, that is hardly surprising but how does this level of use compare with other UK tram systems? http://tinyurl.com/3s3bu3t9 has English tram system use data (from the UK Government). The table shows the route mileage of each 'system' and the total number of passenger journeys during the financial years 2018-19 and 2022-23 in millions. The total passenger miles travelled on each would be interesting but is hard to establish. Zonal fares make it difficult to know how far each passenger travels, unless everyone is using tap in, tap out smart cards. Manchester Metrolink has the greatest number of passengers but it is a much bigger network than any of the others. In 2022-23 Manchester journeys are likely to have reduced more than just by Covid as MediaCityUK to Eccles was closed for five months; there was also a month's closure of the lines through Piccadilly Gardens. The West Midlands system was closed entirely from 20 Mar until 8 Jun 2022, due to technical problems with the trams. Then strikes, in autumn 2022, resulted in reduced services and deterred travellers. If the West Midlands passenger figure is increased pro-rata, to account for only 295 days operated in 2022-23, the figure for the entire year is 6.7M journeys. The column headed 'Drop' shows the percentage loss of traffic since the last year totally unaffected by Covid. The exceptional circumstances in the West Midlands in 2022-23 result in a particularly dramatic drop. If the pro-rata increase is again applied, the reduction is 19.3%. The stand out figure is Blackpool, which shows a much smaller reduction than other systems. This is probably because a large proportion of journeys are made by day trippers and holiday makers. Summer 2022 saw a post-pandemic increase in leisure travel, with many people holidaying in the UK rather than abroad. The final column shows the number of passenger journeys per route mile in 2022-23, in millions, which gives an indication of how intensively used each system is. It is evident that on this measure the London (Croydon) system is significantly busier than the others. Manchester Metrolink carries 72% more passengers but they are spread over a network that is almost four times as large as the London one. There is an interesting contrast between the Sheffield and Nottingham systems. The networks are about the same size but Nottingham carries almost twice as many passengers as Sheffield. Nottingham (with good value fares) has achieved an exceptional level of use by comparison with other systems outside London. The pro-rata adjustment to the West Midlands figures would give 0.48M journeys per route mile, so Sheffield is the worst performer if allowance is made for that. It will be interesting to see if the seven mile extension of the West Midlands system to Brierley Hill (and the imminent short extension to Wolverhampton station) attracts sufficient traffic to improve the journeys per mile figure, or whether the additional mileage will actually depress it. It will be some time before annual passenger data is available for a full year after the Leith extension opened. Monthly figures have not been issued by Edinburgh Trams other than for August, wholly exceptional because of the Festival and other events, as well as being the peak holiday period and having 31 days. Nor are monthly figures published for past years, to give an idea how many additional passengers travel in August. However, Edinburgh only needs to exceed 7.92M passenger journeys in a year to be busier per mile than Nottingham. That is a monthly average of 0.66M, which is little over half the August figure. It is also not much more than the 7.8M journeys on the original line in 2018. Therefore, it seems likely that Edinburgh is the most intensively used UK tram system outside London. However, none of the UK trams match Dublin Luas, which in 2022 carried 38.8M passengers over a network of 26 miles, a very impressive 1.49M journeys per route mile. [Thanks to Greg Beecroft.] System Route Miles Journeys (J) Drop - % J/Mile 18-19 22-23 22-23 Manchester 64 43.7 36.0 17.6 0.56 Croydon 17 28.7 20.9 27.1 1.23 Nottingham 20 18.8 14.4 23.4 0.72 Sheffield 21 11.9 8.4 29.4 0.40 W Midlands 14 8.3 5.4 34.9 0.39 Blackpool 11 5.2 4.9 5.7 0.44

1432 EAST MIDLANDS (Nick Garnham) [email protected] 2071] Northampton Gateway: (BLN 1430.1852) During the 2-10 Sep Northampton to Hanslope Jn line closure,the facing and trailing crossovers were installed and the Collingtree Road Jn (62m 49ch) points at the Northampton end. The points for Courteenhall Jn (61m 32ch) will in fact be installed later, a simpler task. A reliable source advises that NR is charging a mere £42,000,000 to connect the terminal up, which does include new signalling and OHLE connections. SEGRO will be paying for this, of course. 2072] Burton - Leicester: The Leader of North West Leicestershire Council has said that teams from the DfT and NR have visited Coalville to look at potential locations for a new station for the town. Although the sites in question have not been named, the authority has previously suggested a car park near the vacant Coalville Market Hall building (on the southwest side of High Street level crossing - the previous Coalville Town station, CP 7 Sep 1964, was on the northwest side). The other suggested site is on Wolsey Road near Mantle Lane Sidings, where there is surplus railway land but not so central. Following the visit, NR's favoured option is, initially at least, a branch passenger service from Burton to Coalville with intermediate stations at Ashby-de-la-Zouch (known as just 'Ashby' nowadays locally) and Castle Gresley (for Swadlincote and Woodville) - there used to be a Gresley station. The suggested site at Ashby is where the railway passes over the end on junction between Station Road and Tamworth Road. The intention would be to run through trains to Derby. This all makes sense as Derby is a more popular destination for the area than Burton. The population is also much greater over this section than on the longer rest of the line, with much new housing. It also has no traffic at present (see later). In contrast Bardon Hill to Knighton Jn (the former Knighton South Jn) carries considerable aggregate traffic; it would need substantial expenditure to accommodate passenger trains and reinstating a curve to run through trains to Leicester would be very costly. Trying to reopen the whole line in one go would be prohibitively expensive but, if the initial section is very successful, it could be extended NR say. The campaign to reopen the line has been active for many years and the idea is now being considered by the Government. Local campaigners believe that the line would provide a much needed economic boost to the run down area with poor public transport. Coalville was founded by mine owners William Stenson and George Stephenson. It has therefore been suggested that, rather than the line carrying the name of a fantasy novel 'Ivanhoe', it should recognise George and Robert Stephenson who built it. On 13 Sep a member noticed red possession 'STOP' boards on each track on the Leicester side of the level crossing at Coalville. Investigations revealed that the line is under a daily possession northwest to Birmingham Curve Jn from 08.10 to 15.10 SSuX for 'development works [what?] between 113m 43ch and 125m 23ch' and was reported as having no traffic. The last commercial train over this section was as long ago as Fri 14 Jan 2021 10.36 Tinsley Yard to Bardon Hill Quarry, GBRf worked empty wagons, which generally ran that way. The loaded aggregates train ran via Knighton Jn and continues to do so, as have the return empty wagons since 14 Jan 2021. Only 13 trains in total are recorded as using the line northwest of Coalville in the 20 months since, inspection and Engineers' trains plus light engines. 2073] Coalville line - Lounge disposed of: (BLN 1166.918) (TRACKmaps 4 p14A 2022) On the site of Lounge Disposal Point (opened in 1987 for opencast coal traffic which ceased in 1992*), large scale earthworks, completely altering the levels, are proceeding for the construction of the new 48-acre G-Park Ashby, a logistics park with up to 736,487ft2 of warehousing. This has resulted in the removal of all track on the branch up to just before the A511 Ashby Road. The rest of the former Bunker Line and run round loop northeast of the main road is intact currently. The branch off the single track section of the Burton to Leicester line at 116m 60ch (the former Lounge Jn), 3½ miles west of Coalville, was formally abandoned in 2019 and the connection removed in Jul 2021. For many years the former loading point was seen as having great potential as a rail served terminal of some type, being very well situated in relation to the A42/M42/M1 roads. The developer GLP (Global Logistic Properties) wax lyrically on their website about the 'green' credentials of the site, to be used by the food and petfood company Mars, which will be entirely road served despite being adjacent to a freight line. *It was later used for trains from Swains Park Opencast Disposal Point to run round until 6 Jul 2005 - the date of the final coal train to run on the Coalville line; its destination was Ratcliffe Power Station.

2074] Newark North Gate/Northgate: (BLN 1431.1958) More on 'that' station from a member who worked there. He reports that, traditionally, Northgate was spelt as one word; this was the case with the station name and the street name in the town (the station is actually situated on Appletongate). He understands that in the days of Newark Borough Council (pre-1972 Local Government Act), all street names in Newark which ended with 'gate', and there are many of them, were spelt as one word. However, after the 1972 Act and the creation of Newark & Sherwood District Council, it was decided to install new street name boards throughout the district in a standard format and these boards duly appeared with all the 'gate' suffixes as separate words, so Northgate became North Gate! Then came railway privatisation and the newly formed Railtrack (now Network Rail) decided to follow the district council practice of making 'North Gate' two words, even though all the station signs at that time had the one word 'Northgate' version. Our correspondent, and most of his colleagues at work were traditionalists and campaigned to keep their one word station name - Northgate - and, at the time, GNER, the then franchisee, agreed with them but Railtrack insisted on the two word version when any signage was replaced, hence the current confusion and mixture of names! To add to the confusion - there are two stations in Wakefield, Westgate and Kirkgate both of which are spelt as one word! There is also some confusion locally as to the correct name of the other station in Newark, apart from older people still calling it the Midland Station, many people call it Castlegate - presumably either an analogy with Northgate station or with the street name in town which is Castlegate. However, like Northgate station, which is not on Northgate, Castle station is not on Castlegate, it is on Muskham Rd! To add a little more history to this saga; both stations on opening were called simply 'Newark'. What is now Castle station OP 4 Aug 1846 by the Midland Railway on their Nottingham to Lincoln line, serving their own station in Lincoln, which became Lincoln St Marks from 25 Sep 1950 (and CP/A 12 May 1985). Northgate station was opened on 15 Jul 1852 by the Great Northern Railway at the time of the opening of the 'Towns Line' between Peterborough and Doncaster. At Grouping in 1923, the MR was absorbed by the London, Midland & Scottish Railway, the Midland station passed to the LMS, while the GNR was absorbed by the London & North Eastern Railway (Mk1 with ampersand!), so the GNR station passed to the LNER. Thus both stations remained in different ownership and, it would seem, neither company saw any necessity to add any suffix to the station names. One does wonder how much confusion this may have caused in the town but that has been lost in the mists of time. Of course, nationalisation in 1948 brought both stations into common ownership so it did make sense, from an operating point of view and to clear up any possible confusion in the community, to give the names a suffix. (BR added suffixes to stations all over the country in Sep 1950.) The 9 Sep 1963 to 4 Jun 1964 BR Eastern Region passenger timetable for shows 'Newark North Gate' in the index, tables and map. Another interesting point concerns the (in)famous flat crossing. As the Midland Railway was first on the scene, the signal box there (Newark Crossing), controlling movements of MR and GNR trains over it, was manned by MR signalmen. Part of the agreement allowing the GNR to build its tracks across those of the MR provided for MR to take precedence over the crossing and this continued into LMS and LNER days. So, it was possible for a crack express between London and Scotland to be stopped to allow an LMS local passenger, or even a freight train, to pass over the flat crossing first. It is said that the agreement has never been rescinded so, presumably, if the signallers in Doncaster PSB were so minded they could stop an ECML express to allow a local Nottingham to Lincoln service to pass first! And now for the pub quiz question concerning Newark Flat Crossing. Newark Crossing box worked to four other boxes, two on the ECML and two on the Lincoln to Nottingham line but it worked only to boxes with three different names. How was this possible? The answer is that both the GNR and MR had boxes called Newark North, and Newark Crossing worked to both of them. There once was a regular service between the two Newark stations, as some Nottingham to Lincoln (and vice versa) services reversed at Newark Crossing East Jn. This was a BR economy when they were looking to run fewer trains and added to overall journey times with the reversal at Newark North Gate too. With modern improved services, it is now possible on just one train a week in one direction. The 05.18 Lincoln to Nottingham arrives Newark North Gate 05.47, departs sharply at 05.50 and reaches

Castle 06.00. Four minutes is allowed for the Newark Crossing East Jn reversal, the 10 min journey time compares favourably with National Rail's suggested walking time of 28 mins - rather conservative. The single fare is £3.20 (railcard £2.10) for 1½ miles. Has any member just travelled between the two? Finally, regarding the River Devon, we are advised that it is pronounced 'Dee-von', not like the county. 2075] NET: (BLN 1430.1850) (TRACKmaps 4 p49B 2022) ●During the 18-31 Aug line closure between Wilkinson Street and Old Market Square, some 19 year old track and point work was relaid at The Forest. There was no depot access for trams on the isolated southern section, so some stabled on Nottingham station viaduct overnight. Only Alstom Citadis trams operated southwards during the works, with none of the earlier Bombardier Incentros seen in service to Toton Lane and Clifton South. ●NET staff who are members of GMB union have voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action in support of a claim for a pay rise. No dates for strike action have yet been announced but it is expected to take place during the period of the annual Goose Fair between 29 Sep and 8 Oct. 2076] Crowle: (TRACKmaps 2 p32B 2020) (13,796 passengers 2021-22) NR has risk assessed sighting distances at the station foot crossing, the only access to Down P2 (to Doncaster). As a result, they wish to make the present 20mph temporary speed restriction on the Down Scunthorpe permanent. The sighting distance is particularly compromised when an Up train is waiting in the station platform here. NR's preferred permanent solution, additional crossing equipment and gates interlocked with the signalling system, cannot be introduced until 2026. A footbridge cannot be considered because the station is between the Stainforth & Keadby Canal on the Down side and a culvert on the other. 2077] Derby, Litchurch Lane: The delays to HS2, in particular ordering trains, are threatening the future of the Alstom works here. The Government have been warned that the works will run out of work by the end of the year and 2,000 jobs are at risk there. 1,400 other UK supply chain companies employing 17,000 people will also be affected. In 2021 the works won Britain's first train export order in over 10 years, to supply the Cairo monorail system in Egypt. That contract comes to an end this year, as do their other British orders for South Western, Greater Anglia, West Midlands and c2c. It had been hoped that the £2bn HS2 train order, won in alliance with Hitachi in County Durham, would sustain the Derby plant for many years but the start of manufacturing has been pushed back from 2024 to 2026, resulting in fears the works will have to be mothballed. Alstom had hoped to win work to replace or re-engineer trains for CrossCountry and Chiltern Railways, also to assemble new trains for Southeastern, but tenders for those contracts have not been forthcoming. 1432 GREATER LONDON (Geoff Brockett) [email protected] 2078] Willesden Junction: Bakerloo line trains were unable to call at Up DC Electric P1 from start of traffic on Mon 21 Aug until 11.10 on 25th because of defective One Person Operation equipment, a problem that has happened before. The station is managed by London Overground (LO) who were unable to supply staff for assisted dispatch. LO trains were using bay P2 at the time because of engineering work but don't need One Person Operation equipment as they have onboard cameras. 2079] Bakerloo line: A new working timetable was introduced on 10 Sep. Peak services have been reduced between Elephant & Castle and Queen's Park, with two less trains in service. It frees up trains for conversion under the Rail Vehicles Accessibility project. With no immediate sign of replacement for the 1972 Stock (now the oldest passenger vehicles in regular service on the NR system, excluding the Jacobite), trains are being fitted with LED lighting, wheelchair bays and passenger information displays. Services are also reduced south of Queen's Park before 10.00 on Saturdays. The only microgricing impact of the new timetable is the renumbering of the close of service trains over the facing crossover into Queen's Park P2. Those trains now arrive SuMX 00.35 [212] and SuO 0032½ [206]. 2080] East Coast Digital Programme: (BLN 1413.2722) In early Sep, six trains operated successfully on the Northern City Line in 30min time periods using the ETCS signalling. This mirrors peak service levels. The ORR has authorised GTR to use ETCS signalling between Finsbury Park and Moorgate in passenger service. Driver training will start once NR has authorisation from the ORR to switch on the lineside equipment. Lineside signals will remain but will be removed once driver training has been completed.

2081] Elizabeth line: (BLN 1430.1855) Between 09.22 and 11.19 on 1 Sep, Up trains crossed to the Up Main at Stockley Bridge Jn or Airport Jn and back to the Up Relief at Southall East Jn, after calling at P2 at Hayes & Harlington and Southall. This was because of a points failure preventing the 04.36 aggregates train from Whatley Quarry (running two hours late) accessing the Tarmac terminal at Hayes & Harlington. Although there was some late running, there were no Elizabeth line cancellations, only possible because this was an ASLEF strike day, with GWR running a much reduced service. The Maidenhead & Marlow User Group is raising with TfL the lack of integrated signage at Paddington. Information on Westbound Elizabeth line departures would be helpful on the high level platforms and information on GWR trains for intermediate stations to Reading would be useful on the Elizabeth line entrance area/concourse. [At Paddington high level, your BLN Editor has been asked several times where this mysterious Elizabeth line is exactly by puzzled Normals, some with a poor grasp of English.] In the four weeks ended 19 Aug, the line achieved the unwelcome accolade of the highest cancellation level of any TOC at 9.1%. Unsurprisingly, reliability declined once it was connected to the national network, with the line experiencing similar problems to Thameslink, where disruption one end spreads to the other end. This period was particularly problematic. A major signalling failure in the Old Oak Common area in the early hours of 25 Jul lasted for two days and the service was affected by other GWML incidents. An unusual incident occurred on 16 Aug when a track machine shed its hydraulic fluid along about 2km of track in the Custom House area. The service was suspended between Abbey Wood and Whitechapel for much of the day while the machine was recovered and the track cleaned. 2082] Forest Hill: From 18 Sep the Fast to Slow crossover was moved approximately 34m southwards. 2083] Romford Rail Operating Centre: (BLN 1430.1845) A party of almost 40 members visited on Tue 5 Sep. On the first floor is the Anglia Integrated Control Centre. NR staff here deal with all incidents in the Anglia area and are responsible for track, signalling and OHLE (about 6,500 assets). Unlike other ROCs, no signalling is controlled from here, with the intention of retaining the existing control from Liverpool Street, Upminster, Cambridge and Colchester. However, the Liverpool Street interlocking is located here. Greater Anglia staff manage their operations from the same room. With all services now operated by new units, they can remotely monitor the on train systems, assisted by technical staff from Stadler and Alstom, the manufacturers. In a separate room on the same floor is the Electrical Control Centre for the entire Anglia area. A BTP team of eight officers plus special constables are also based in the building. They attend incidents as soon as requested by NR or arrange local attendance for remote incidents. They operate drones if necessary and have the services of a mental health nurse. On the second floor is the Elizabeth line Route Control Centre. Here Rail for London (infrastructure) staff sit in front of a large signalling diagram covering the TfL owned section (Abbey Wood/Pudding Mill Lane to Westbourne Park sidings). Train reporting number displays on the diagram also indicate if a train is moving or stationary and, if the latter, whether the doors are open and if there is a door defect. Just one signaller oversees the whole section when the service is running normally and the electrical supply is also controlled from here. In the same room Duty Controllers for MTR Elizabeth line (the TOC) oversee the services with Unit and Driver Controllers and an Information Controller to keep stations informed of developments. There is a member of staff from Alstom to assist with train faults. Thanks to our member Steve Chandler for organising this interesting visit and the very helpful staff and police officers for showing us round; our £400 donation went to Romford Food Bank. (Geoff Brockett) 2084] LU Platform Tickets: These were withdrawn from 2 Sep. Southwark is the only exception where special arrangements apply for passengers with paper National Rail tickets to access Waterloo East. 2085] Arnos Grove: The Piccadilly line service was suspended beyond here over the August Bank Holiday weekend for track renewal work at Oakwood. To accommodate a 15tph (trains per hour) service, all three platforms were in use for reversals. At least one member was able to make the rare arriving move into Westbound P4, normally only timetabled for one train a week. 1432 NORTH EAST & YORKSHIRE (Geoff Blyth) [email protected] County Durham, Northumberland, Teesside, Tyne & Wear and Yorkshire

X.80] BELOW: A King's Cross to Edinburgh Lumo train approaches Skelton Jn onits new overbridge will be about where the JCB is. The new York Relief/Ind

n the Down Fast from York station; work is starting on the new Spine Road (left); ependent third line will be right of the train. (Stuart Marshall, 3 Aug 2023.)

X.81] BELOW: Bedlington South box and level crossing, looking north; both trac

cks through Bedlington station (ahead) have been relaid. (All Rodger Wilkinson.)

BELOW: Looking south, the other end of that crossover is bottom right, the rela

aid Furnaceway Sidings are right (for Fort William alumina trains to run round).

X.82] BELOW: Looking north, the River Wansbeck Viaduct is visible ahead. 25'and the track was slewed to the right (as shown) to access then current viaduc

' maps show that the original wooden viaduct was left of the present viaduct ct, after which the original one was dismantled. Both tracks have been relaid.

X.83] BELOW: (TRACKmaps 2 p23C 2020) Marchey's House Jn looking south frand trailing crossover removed. It had been done by passengers on steam to

rom the level crossing. Again, tracks have been relaid with the ground frame ours reversing here, using the triangle to keep the steam loco on the front.

BELOW: Marchey's House Jn has been renewed like-for-like even thro

ough there is no booked traffic to Winning Jn (off left); looking south.

BELOW: Marchey's House signal box nameboard has seen b

better days; note the ornamental supports for the walkway

2086] T&W MetMo: For about a week, a 'cube' sign at Heworth had a traditional Metro 'M' logo changed to a silhouette motif of Sir Mo Farah's gold medal winning Mobot dance move, in which he arches his arms and points to the top of his head to make an 'M' shape. It marked the final competitive race of his career - on Sun 10 Sep in the Great North Run, which he has won six times; he came fourth this time. Sir Mo also recorded a series of announcements on the Metro public address system as part of the countdown to the Run. On 8 Sep, he put on his running shoes before he 'put his foot in it', imprinting his footprints in a special concrete cast in the floor of the concourse at South Shields. 2087] MetWoe: The Great North Run attracts 60,000 runners (the largest half-marathon in the world) as well as thousands of spectators. This was the first Run since the Metro Flow project, redoubling the two single line sections on the South Shields line. In the past Nexus ran eight services an hour to/from South Shields for the event. The normal service is four per hour to/from St James via Monument and Tynemouth. Two extra units/hour ran from Regent Centre and two from Monkseaton. However, a local member believes there weren't enough serviceable units to do that this year. At least 20 units are out of service or withdrawn and three are scrapped, giving a maximum of 67 available. On a normal Sunday 12 are required for St James to South Shields and 10 for the Airport to South Hylton service: a total of 44, leaving 23 spare. 56 units are required for a full weekday service, so in theory that would enable at least six extra services. This would allow an extra train to run from South Shields to Regent Centre every 15 mins, giving eight trains an hour again. The major limitation is that South Shields has only one platform, due to Treasury cutbacks to the Metro Flow project. It normally has a 4-min minimum turnaround, giving a 6-min interval service in a perfect world. Stabling units in South Shields learning centre has been suggested in the past. However, both roads are now occupied, so probably a maximum of only two could be stabled on the available track, which doesn't help much. In the event, Nexus announced there would be eight services an hour to South Shields once the race had started, and eight back after but with no indication of where they would start from or terminate. A local member thinks they probably ran to/from Regent Centre, as serving Monkseaton on alternate services would need two more to be in service. To improve crowd control, Haymarket was exit only 08.00-10 40; Jesmond and Manors closed from 10.40 until early afternoon; Chichester closed about 13.00 until early evening. Unfortunately, things did not go well in the afternoon - not a failed set but 'an act of God'. Sometime after 15.30 there was a torrential downpour, which caused flooding in Tyne Dock Tunnel (the water was 1ft above the rails) and on the surrounding roads. A flash flood swept into South Shields via the bus set-down area and flooded the concourse, forcing it to be evacuated and temporarily closed. It was a perfect storm! This prevented access to the Metro platform on the next level, so service was suspended for 1½ hours between Bede and South Shields while the Fire & Rescue Service pumped the water out - at the peak time for runners and spectators returning to Newcastle. Due to the closure, a huge queue built up for the Shields Ferry to North Shields, where passengers could take a Metro service back to Newcastle. South Shields Metro services restarted about 17.05, by which time there were also long queues at South Shields. The Shields Ferry continued running for another hour after its normal last crossing at 17.45 from South Shields. All Metro services were delayed by up to 50 min, reduced to around 20 min by 19.15. The queue cleared just before 20.00. 2088] York Rail Operating Centre (ROC): Until recently, the signallers and Shift Signalling Managers in the three 'Sub-ROCs' (Kings Cross, Sheffield and Leeds) were located on one floor of York ROC but all the staff in Control were on a different floor. From 18.30 on 28 Aug, some Control staff - the Incident Controller (East Coast Mainline South), Train Running Controller (South) and the Govia Thameslink Train Service Operations Manager - were moved to the same area as the signallers. It is thought this will give the Incident Controller a better understanding of any incidents. A new post of Network Delivery Manager has been created, which appears to be the same as the Senior Incident Controller (SIC). They are in overall charge of the East Coast Service Delivery Centre (new name for the King's Cross Sub-ROC!), a combined signalling and control operating function, which also started on 28 Aug. It now controls the ECML south of Stoke Jn as Peterborough PSB closed 25 Aug and also the Moorgate Line/Hertford Loop/Royston (Cambridge) branch. This area has no SIC.

2089] Blackburn Meadow Sewage Works: This was situated next to the present Meadowhall Shopping Centre and will be familiar (not least the smell) to many members who passed by on the Midland Railway (MR) Rotherham to Sheffield route. What is not apparent today is the once extensive standard gauge internal railway, which was also linked to the national network at Tinsley West Jn. The sewage works was opened in 1886 to treat the waste of the growing city of Sheffield and from the outset was linked to the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR, later the Great Central) for the import of lime. The internal railway system grew in size over subsequent years to facilitate the movement of sludge around the site. In 1909 the site expanded to the east of the River Don, to occupy a land locked loop of the river, with the railway also extended via a bridge over the river to serve the new facilities. Between 1921 and 1934 a further bridge was constructed over the eastern leg of the river loop to take the railway to a further site towards Ickles and an additional rail link to the national network here. Eventually the sewage works became the second largest in Britain. As well as internal movements, the wagons used in the works also took to the national network to take sludge to a tipping site near Kilnhurst between the MS&LR and the MR, reached by a connection at Thrybergh Jn on the Rotherham to Mexborough line of the MS&LR. In 1948, as the Kilnhurst site was full, a new tip opened near Thrybergh, reached via a ground frame operated connection at Don Bridge East Jn, on the Thrybergh Jn to Braithwell Jn line - latterly known as the Silverwood (Colliery) Branch. Trains of 32-34 wagons ran twice a day to this site Tuesdays to Saturdays but sludge tipping ended in 1969 when a sludge incinerator was commissioned at the sewage works. The internal railway still continued operating and, indeed, was modernised during 1956-1969. The original wooden bodied wagons were replaced by steel tipplers from both Robert Hudson Ltd (Leeds) and Charles Roberts & Co Ltd (Wakefield). Diesel locos were also ordered from Ruston & Hornsby. Further modernisation took place in the 1980s but in 1989 it was announced that, with the closure of the Sludge Presshouse and incineration plant, rail operations at the site would cease. A member spent a few pungent (!) hours here on 17 Apr 1989 recording the layout and operations as a result. [Definitely beyond the call of duty.] By then the railway over the River Don bridge had been lifted as the filter beds to the east had been abandoned with the modernisation works. Two locos were observed on site: one of the Rustons and a later loco from Thomas Hill Ltd of Rotherham. [Thanks to member Andy Overton and for the plan, kindly redrawn by Dave Cromarty.] We had three visits to this unusual standard gauge railway, riding on the loco not in the open tippler wagons (fortunately!). The first was on 18 Dec 1982 and the last on 17 Nov 1989, just before closure. In total, 32 members were accommodated although these visits did kick up a bit of a stink when participants arrived home afterwards. 2090] Paperwork: ❶NR has raised a draft Network Change to move a fence 2ft(!) to enable 3-car TPE Class 185s DMUs to call at Normanton. The usable section of P1 will be extended by 0.6m and P2 by 1.1m, to each obtain a length of 81.5m. In the 1970s, the island platform at this once important junction station was still very long and the 2-car DMUs looked very lost. Back then, Fred (or whoever) would no doubt have simply moved the fence on the orders of the stationmaster. Such is progress… ❷A member advises that external consultants have produced a 10-page GRIP Stage 4 Compatibility Assessment for White Rose (BLN 1431.1979). It concludes that the proposed station infrastructure can be demonstrated to be compatible with existing rolling stock operating on the route and that no limitations or restrictions are required for rolling stock currently cleared to operate over the route. As it is a brand new station, one would have thought that these factors were included in the design so that, provided it was built exactly as designed (which will need to be checked), it would comply?

BELOW: (Item 2089) Blackburn Meadow Sewage Works, incinerator (top), loco shed then weighbridge (bottom).

ABOVE: One loco is poking out of the shed (left); the other is inside in the gloom; note the industrial landscape on the horizon. BELOW: Standard gauge wagons outside the Sludge House. The iconic twin cooling towers of Blackburn Meadows Power Station are behind then the M1/A631 twin level viaduct.

[BLN 1432] ABOVE: The sludge House. (All photos - unless specified - 17 Apr 1989, ©Andy Overton.) BELOW: Sludge wagon (they were this shade of red). The hyperboloid cooling towers of Blackburn Meadows Power Station (1921-1980 RIP) are far left in distance; they were not demolished until Aug 2008.

ABOVE: From the footplate during our first railtour; the pointsman looks bemused. Heading along the left most line in the first picture (first photo, with a car attempting to grice it). (Rest Angus McDougall, 18 Aug 1982.) BELOW: Another view of the Sludge House with the filter beds right.

BELOW: This was typical of Society industrial railway tours at this time; so

ome of our members enjoy the sunshine, fresh (???) air and fresh track...

2091] Hull Paragon and Brough: (BLN 1430.1870) The migrant trains only ran until 1914 (they carried mainly Germans!), so surely cannot have been the only passengers using P1. A member thinks it was used by works trains to Brough for aerospace industry employees, often worked by an Ivatt Mogul in steam days. He thinks the main use of P1 otherwise was as a vantage point for railway photographers! LEFT: In Summer 1963, many trains served Brough, including a few starting or terminating there. Your NE Editor also found unadvertised weekday services in his Working Timetable. The times in bold are a passenger train, otherwise ECS. One FO train was identified as a DMU, so the others were presumably loco hauled (so steam). The Staddlethorpe (renamed Gilberdyke from 7 Jan 1974) FO departure in service was possibly an error; an unadvertised train once a week from a not very large village would be unlikely to attract much custom! Presumably it ran there ECS to reverse as there was no capacity at Brough. It is interesting that two trains ran at the end of the working day (MX) but only one in the morning. Perhaps workers travelled on ordinary trains as well? It is also interesting that FO (a half day at the factory) two works trains departed for Hull two minutes apart; one was nonstop and the other called intermediately. An advertised train to Hull also departed at 17.15 - precisely the same time as a works train departed FX. In case you were wondering how this was done, Brough had four platforms in 1963 and there were four tracks then for 13¾ miles from Staddlethorpe right through to Hessle Jn. One wonders why special unadvertised trains were needed, as Brough is a public station. Were the trains free and required a works pass for use? Only one working was a DMU. Presumably steam working in this area was nearing the end but there were not yet enough DMUs to cover all services. 2092] Croda Hydrocarbons Branch, Kilnhurst: (BLN 1432.1975) Following this item, a member asks if anyone knows where the tar traffic originated, please? The author, Andy Overton, thinks that it was from several sources. Certainly, some came originally from the Manvers Complex. That arriving by rail to the (high level) unloading siding alongside the ex-Midland Railway main lines came from Ripple Lane Yard. It would be interesting to know its origin, the refineries on the Thames Estuary? It definitely didn't come from the Humber refineries. It would be interesting to know more about all the inward traffic and where it originated, as well as outward traffic at Kilnhurst Croda. Andy (who was local at the time) is pretty sure that the inward traffic was from coke manufacture, so could have come from a variety of coking plants when the coal and steel industries were in full swing. Maybe they diversified later into by-products from oil refining, hence the discharge siding and traffic from Ripple Lane? It would be good to get more information on this from our knowledgeable membership. Over to you. Andy's 13 Apr 1990 photo in e-BLN 1431 shows a sleeper across the actual branch down to the works beyond the stabled crippled TEA wagon on the start of that line. It was fixed over the rails around the time they did all the trackwork at the lower workslevel, then decided not to run anything down there. 2093] Huddersfield - Castleford: BLN 1424.1239 referred to the now long suspended 'service' being transferred from Northern to TPE. Currently three bus journeys are provided each way, in the morning, late afternoon and early evening. Each pair required two buses and they all call at Deighton, Mirfield, Wakefield Kirkgate and Normanton. Northern was instructed to withdraw them in the Dec 2023 amendment to their track access agreement, for TPE to run a (temporary) Huddersfield - York service. The consensus was that this was for diversions during the TPRU, even though that was not stated. They are now in the system, running SuX from 11 Dec nonstop between Wakefield Kirkgate and York; is this an illegal withdrawal of stopping services? Manchester Piccadilly to York trains are SSuX at 06.58, 08.59, 14.58, 17.00 and 06.58, 08.58, 14.58, 16.58 return. The SO trains have similar timings. Some trains are booked only until 10 Feb, others until 19 Apr and some until 31 May. Presumably there may be some retiming from those dates but they are not yet accessible in Realtime Trains. There is also a 05.30 Wakefield Kirkgate to Manchester Piccadilly (21.58 in the opposite direction). Summer 1963 SSuX FO (DMU) FO FSSuX TWThO Hull 07.05 14.15 14.20 16.10 18.05 Brough 07.23 14.40 16.26 18.23 Staddlethorpe – 14.40/14.56 – – – Brough 07.40 15.07/15.15 15.13 17.15 19.20 Hull 07.58 15.36 15.29 17.33 19.38

2094] TPE: As reported in BLN 1431.1971, use of Class 68 locos and MkVa coaches ends from 10 Dec, following a review after TPE became an Operator of Last Resort. They have been using 14 locos, leased from DRS. They entered service on the Liverpool to Scarborough route in Aug 2019, but this was hampered by technical issues and slow progress with driver training. There were further issues with the noise made by the locomotives at the new maintenance facility at Scarborough. They were used for a brief period on the Liverpool to Cleethorpes route but this was abandoned in Jul 2023. The fleet never achieved planned usage and the review concluded that it was essential to simplify operation. It is not known if there will be any future use of the Class 68s or coaches that will now be released. There will be more intensive use of the Class 802 bimodes and all 51 Class 185 DMUs (originally 15 of were to be released but all are now remaining with TPE). A focus on crew training and a change to simplify crew diagrams mean there will be a temporary reduction in services from Dec. Some of the present diagrams are extremely complex, which can give rise to problems. For instance, drivers and conductors may have different diagrams, and longer journeys may require four or more crew changes. This may have been cheaper in cost terms but it has resulted in something of a 'house of cards' situation; one member of staff being unavailable might result in an entire journey being cancelled, with other crew members sitting spare. Diagrams will now be optimised; crews will sign for shorter routes but more of them and on fewer traction types; drivers and conductors will be kept together wherever possible. They will also be trained on the many diversionary routes that will be needed during the Transpennine Route Upgrade (TPRU) programme. TPE will seek permission from Rail North and the DfT to operate the following temporary service (just one train/hour on each route) from 10 Dec: Liverpool - Newcastle; Manchester Airport - Saltburn via the Ordsall Chord; Manchester Piccadilly - Hull and York - Scarborough. The Manchester Piccadilly - Huddersfield stopping service will continue but local stations between Huddersfield and Leeds will probably be covered by the Manchester - Hull trains, adding to the overall journey time. 2095] Northumberland Line: (BLN 1431.1969) The only regular traffic now is alumina to Fort William. The train arrives empty, alternate days (SuX), in the evening and returns loaded next morning. There has been no traffic to Lynemouth PS since 27 May 2023. Judging by the state of the track, there has been no traffic for some time to/from Battleship Wharf - the last opencast coal left for Tees New Yard on Tue 9 Mar 2021 and only one train has run since, our 3 Jun 2023 'Tabbs on the Tyne' railtour. 2096] Wakefield: ①(BLN 1429.1743) The track removed from Lime Pit Lane (confirmed as being in mid-Jul) was not from the Lake Lock Rail Road, which did not cross Lime Pit Lane, but was part of the 'Nagger Line'. This was another narrow gauge mineral line, properly named the Navigation Line. It ran from Lofthouse and Outwood Collieries to the Aire & Calder Navigation, terminating at the western end of Stanley Ferry Aqueduct. It was built in the 1840s by the canal company and was in use up to the mid-1920s. It crossed Lime Pit Lane about one chain (22 yards) north of the junction of Lime Pit Lane with Beech Avenue and much of it can be walked today. Stanley Ferry Aqueduct, completed in 1839 and now Grade I listed, carried the Navigation over the River Calder. It is one of the earliest through arch bridges (where the base of the arch is below the deck but the top rises above it) in the world and is considered to be the longest span aqueduct ever built in cast iron. The Lake Lock terminus was on the River Calder, not the Aire & Calder Navigation, which didn't open until 1840 and was on the other side of the river. The line was later extended to Bottomboat. It ran parallel to, and about 50 to 100m south of, the current Canal Lane, Mount Road and Lake Lock Lane, crossing the main A642 at almost the site of the later level crossing at the Methley Joint Railway's Stanley Station (BLN 1374.998). Some of the Lake Lock route was later taken over by the Joint line. The two lines are near the bottom right hand corner of https://maps.nls.uk/view/102345004 an 1854 map. The Lake Lock Rail Road runs east to west and the Navigation Line runs northwest to southeast. ②BLN 1423.1119 mentioned that, in conjunction with the purchase of the former access to Westgate station, the City Council hopes that a hotel would be built there. Developers will be invited to submit bids later this year to build a new 120-bed hotel. Cabinet members considered the plan on 12 Sep.

2097] Sunderland: BLN 1426.1465 said that the south concourse should open in Sep but a local member reports that the hoardings surrounding the site originally said it would be Aug. The latest is that the work on the southern entrance is now due to be completed by the end of this year. 2098] Tyne Dock: The Port of Tyne has signed a new four year deal to continue importing about 1M tonnes of biomass pellets for rail transport to Drax Power Station. The contract also includes a £1.5M upgrade to site facilities and rail infrastructure to aid a more efficient distribution operation. 2099] Diverting via Durham: (BLN 1430.1863) Regarding the 'diversion' of ECML services via Durham, a knowledgeable member is sure that National Rail Enquiries (NRE) is now outsourced. Control would send details of the disruption to NRE, whose systems probably use predetermined lists for disruptions, for a consistent message, eg Disruption At: <Select>; Due to: <Select>; Trains diverted via: <Select>.... What probably happened was that Control said that trains were diverted via the Durham Coast. An NRE employee would have looked in their system, which of course would have no station named 'Durham Coast', and naturally assumed that Durham would suffice! This is the sort of thing that happens when the staff have no knowledge of the railway in the area. It might have been better if Control had said 'via an alternative route'. Our member remarks that passenger information during disruption has challenged many minds - including his own (!) - and, by the look of it, continues to do so. 2100] ECML: NR has started work on a £33M project to reinforce over 1km of the embankment at Browney Curve, south of Durham and northwest of Croxdale Viaduct. It is an active landslip that is being monitored to detect any ground movement. Reinforced concrete piles will provide a permanent [‽] solution. The embankment will be widened, the drainage improved and trees planted to reduce the impact of heavy rainfall. The project is expected to be completed in autumn 2024. 2101] Haxby: (BLN 1391.3216) The site for the new station on Towthorpe Rd was agreed by the then Liberal Democrat led York City Council. In the run up to the local elections this year, Labour said they would delay the project 'to find a more logical site'. Labour won the election but has now decided to continue with the previous plan as delaying it would have put Government funding at risk. So, all that has changed since Dec 2021 (yes!) is that the cost has soared from £15-16M to £23M! The York City Council contribution is £4.55M and it is understood that any further increases are the responsibility of the DfT, which no doubt means they will find ways of delaying it indefinitely. 1432 NORTH WEST (John Cameron) [email protected] 2102] Clifton: (140 passengers in 2021-22) Two new passenger waiting shelters are to be installed. This is perhaps appropriate, as the one train call in each direction SuX implies a great deal of waiting. It is possible to commute to Manchester but the Bolton platform shelter will see little, if any, use and the average of one passenger every 2-3 days will not require large shelters anyway. 2103] Merseyrail: A member witnessed the effect on the railway of a downpour of almost biblical proportions that hit Liverpool and the Wirral late on Sat 26 Aug. This sadly led to the deaths of two pensioners whose car was submerged in deep floodwater in a steep dip in Queens Drive in Mossley Hill, where the road dives under the WCML, about a quarter of a mile north of the eponymous station. Trains through Hooton were cancelled all day Sun 27 Aug and for much of the following day due to flooding. This did not surprise our member who experienced the deluge in the Wirral at around 22.30 on the Saturday. He sat in his car outside his house for almost half an hour, not daring to make the dash from car to home! Indeed, he was surprised that Merseyrail, who are unaffected by strikes, were able to run any late Sat night trains at all. On Sun and Mon there was a Liverpool to Rock Ferry shuttle with buses to Chester. It is believed that Ellesmere Port line passengers changed to a second bus at Hooton. Trains at Rock Ferry alternated between the little used bay P3 and the usual Liverpool bound through P2 to turnback; arrivals used the facing crossover at Rock Ferry North Jn in passenger service. The first train to Chester on Mon 28th left Rock Ferry at 12.28 and the first to Ellesmere Port left at 18.05. When our member reached Little Sutton at 20.02, the platform indicators were still showing: Service suspended due to flooding, bus replacement in operation a couple of hours after trains had resumed. Passengers could have missed their trains waiting outside the station for a non-existent bus!

2104] Irk Valley Junction: August marked the 70th anniversary of one of Manchester's worst disasters. A Bury to Manchester Victoria EMU crashed into a steam hauled Manchester Victoria to Bacup train at Irk Valley Jn (now the junction between the Bury and Rochdale Metrolink lines) on a viaduct over the River Irk, just over a mile from Victoria station, on the morning of 15 Aug 1953. The steam engine overturned and the unit smashed through the parapet wall, the front carriage plunging 40ft onto the river bank, and the rest of the carriages falling 70ft into the river itself. 10 people died, including the driver of the EMU, who was due to retire the following year after nearly 50 years on the railway. Of the 106 passengers on the two trains, 58 were injured, 22 seriously. Nearby railway workers rescued over 30 people from the river before fire crews and ambulances arrived. Seats taken from the wreckage were used as improvised stretchers. In his address to the jury, the coroner said the accident would not have happened if there had been no breach of the regulations by three signalmen on duty at the time. Of the three signalmen, he said: There can be no excuse for their conduct. Nor could Hardman [the EMU driver] be excused for the speed at which he was driving under the circumstances. He had ignored the distant signal at caution and missed the home signal which would normally clear by the time he reached it. The signalling staff were found not to have checked that the electric train had stopped before letting the steam train proceed. Despite the absolute block system being in place, it was not being operated according to regulations. However, a verdict of accidental death was recorded. 2105] A Tale of Two Cities Sankeys: (BLN 1431.1991) The Grade I listed 'Nine Arches' that is now being restored is the original 150yd Liverpool & Manchester Railway Sankey Viaduct (14m 07ch - 14m 16ch), west of Earlestown which is electrified. Not far from Sankey station, the unlisted Sankey Viaduct on the Cheshire Lines Committee in west Warrington, is known as the 'Seven Arches'. Both have (or had) a Sankey Jn just to the east. They are four miles apart as the crow flies but pages apart on TRACKmaps and are indexed separately. Each passes over the Sankey Valley and Brook, hence the common name. Restoration of the world's oldest railway viaduct, designed by George Stephenson and built between 1828 and 1830 over the 175yd Sankey Valley gap is costing £25M. A team of 25 is expected to take four months. Freestanding scaffolding is being used so as not to damage the structure which was Grade I listed in 1966 and will be 200 years old in 2030. It has nine semi-circular arches each spanning 15m on eight piers up to 21m tall. There are five trains an hour (if not cancelled!). Work includes: ●Removing vegetation. ●Repointing mortar with specialist heritage mixes to match existing materials. ●Extensive brickwork repairs. ●Painting historic metalwork in heritage colours. ●Securing cracks with strengthening anchors. ●Cleaning graffiti from the stonework. ●Fitting three pairs of pattress plates (a load-spreading plate, often circular or decorative, fitted at ends of tie-bars to restrain spandrels). 2106] No Hope: There was a recent 'drop in' event at Hope Cement Works. The quarrying consents expire in 2042; no application is being made to extend operations and limestone will not be brought in from elsewhere to continue cement making. Plans are being made to decommission the cement works and for the reuse of the site following closure. It will be cleared by 2047 and be the end of the 1m 52ch Earles Branch and the extensive internal railway (TRACKmaps 4 p44 C&D 2022) at the works. The site generates large amounts of freight traffic at present. Of course, it may be that by 2042 cement will be obsolete! Meanwhile, planning permission has been granted for a rail reception facility for slate waste/shale from Llandudno Junction. This will be commissioned in 2025. The Welsh slate/shale will replace locally extracted shale, which now comes from below the water table, so is excessively wet. 2107] Metrolink: Sat 26 Aug was thought to have seen a record number of trams (26) running on the Airport Line since it opened on 3 Nov 2014. Various events taking place in the city, such as a concert at Wythenshawe Park and strike action affected rail services. Metrolink ran an enhanced service with double trams every 15 mins between Victoria and the Airport - the usual route - nine diagrams. From the middle of the day extra single trams ran between Deansgate-Castlefield and the Airport, the eight services an hour on this section requiring a total of 26 trams. To allow this, trams from The Trafford Centre turned back at Cornbrook instead of Deansgate-Castlefield. Can anyone confirm if the second Metrolink Airport platform was used please? Double trams are unusual here and would go further.

2108] Ellesmere Port - Helsby: As well as being spartan, this rail service is also extremely unreliable. Just two trains a day are now scheduled to use the line SuX, leaving Helsby at 06.00 (05.10 from Lime Street), with a 13 hour gap until the second service at 18.50. They return from Ellesmere Port at 06.33 and 19.06 (the latter to Lime Street). Thus, it joins Knottingley to Goole as a line that can only be done in daylight at certain times of the year. There are no timetables on display at Ellesmere Port station and no electronic 'next departure' indicator on the Helsby bound platform. As documented, Stanlow & Thornton station (44 passengers recorded in 2021-22 and none the year before) was 'temporarily' closed during 3 Feb 2022 due to the footbridge becoming unsafe and there is little prospect of it reopening. The remaining open intermediate station, Ince & Elton (202 passengers in 2021-22), is now ranked as the worst in the country for cancellations and punctuality. It was 2,616th out of 2,616 in the 12 weeks up to 8 th Sep on the 'In Time Trains' website. Well over two thirds of all trains were cancelled during that period. Northern blame high train crew absence rates at Allerton (Liverpool) depot, where the DMUs operating the Ellesmere Port service are based and more popular routes are prioritised. A reader believes that the situation would only improve if Merseyrail took over the passenger service with battery fitted Class 777 EMUs to extend the Ellesmere Port services to Helsby or beyond. The battery range is 34 miles but would Merseyrail (which is profitable) want it? 2109] Birkenhead: NR and local organisation Big Heritage provided six free of charge guided tours of Shore Road Pumping Station on Sat 9 & Sun 10 Sept for Wirral's Heritage Open Days festival and the national Heritage Open Days weekend. It was the first time in 15 years that the public has been able to visit the 1880s built pumping station, which keeps the Mersey Railway Tunnel from flooding. Originally two steam powered beam engine pumps were used and one of these 19th Century pumps, nicknamed 'The Grasshopper', remains in the building but out of use. More modern pumps operate today. Th building is in a beautiful Italianate style in brick and slate and was Grade II listed in 1992. Around then the site opened as a council-run museum which closed in 2008 due to lack of funding and hasn't been accessible to the public again until now. Due to the level of interest in these latest tours, NR is working with Big Heritage for further tour dates later in the year (reports and images please, if anyone manages to book a place). National Heritage Open Day weekend is great for seeing places not normally open and visits are free but hundreds of interesting visits clash with each other and fill up very quickly. 2110] Upholland Tunnel: (TRACKmaps 4 P40a 2022) West Lancashire Borough Council has recently received applications for listed building consent to repair and maintain the Grade II listed east and west portals of Upholland Tunnel, between Orrell and Upholland on the Wigan to Headbolt Lane line. 2111] It's not Ladies' Day at Hindley: (BLN 1428.1620) Completion of the new Ladies Lane road bridge with clearance for electrification, already delayed from 14 Jul until 1 Sep, has been further delayed. It is another casualty of the bankruptcy of the former contractors, Buckingham Group. Our keen BLN readers will recall that this bankruptcy has also affected finishing work on Headbolt Lane station in Kirkby. NR has already appointed new contractors, J Murphy and Sons, to complete the bridge work. 2112] Cottam Parkway: (BLN 1413.2755) Planning permission has been granted for this new station near Preston on the line to Kirkham & Wesham. The £24M station will have two 8-car platforms, along with passenger shelters, a footbridge, lifts and a 248-space car park, although it is now unclear whether it will have a ticket office. It is hoped the station will open before 2030 but the process for compulsory purchase orders - should they be needed - could be lengthy and delay construction, a Lancashire County Council meeting has heard. The plans for Cottam Parkway date back a decade but could only go ahead after Lancashire was awarded £22.3M from the government's Transforming Cities Fund in 2019. £2.1M is also being contributed by the Preston, South Ribble & Lancashire City Deal. 2113] Hazel Grove: The 17.00 SSuX Manchester Piccadilly to Hazel Grove service is booked to terminate in Hazel Grove P2, after crossing in service from the Up Hope Valley to the Down Hope Valley via the facing crossovers at Hazel Grove West Jn. The train is then ECS to Stockport where it forms the 17.54 Stockport to Chester via Altrincham. A search of RTT over the first two weeks in Sep showed that it terminated eight out of 10 times in P2 and in P1 on the other two occasions.

1432 SOUTH EAST - NORTH & EAST ANGLIA (Julian James) [email protected] 2114] Peterborough: Opened 3 Dec 1972, Peterborough Power Signal Box closed over the late summer holiday weekend, with no trains on Sun 27 Aug. Control by the north and south panels and the level crossing desk was transferred to York Rail Operating Centre from 08.00 Mon 28 Aug. There are three new workstations: Huntingdon, Peterborough and a level crossing workstation, at the 'East Coast Service Delivery Centre' in York ROC. ERTMS is due to be commissioned in the area during 2025. old name Huntingdon Workstation new name old name Peterborough Workstation new name Down Siding N o 2 Sandy Down Siding N o 2 N o 1 Shunt Spur Spittal N o 1 Shunt Spur Down Siding N o 3 Sandy Down Siding N o 3 N o 2 Shunt Spur Spittal N o 2 Shunt Spur Up Siding Sandy Up Siding South Down Arrival Eastfield South Down Arrival Up Sidings St Neots Up Sidings South Up Departure Eastfield South Up Departure Down Sidings St Neots Down Sidings Shunt Line Eastfield Shunt Line Up Bay Platform 1 Huntingdon Up Bay Platform 1 North Down Departure Eastfield North Down Departure Down Sidings North Huntingdon Down Sidings North Up Arrival Eastfield North Up Arrival Up Sidings Connington Sidings Arrival/Departure Line 1 Eastfield Arrival/ Departure Line 1 old name Peterborough Workstation new name Up Sidings Tallington Sidings Two Way Goods Line Peterborough Two Way Goods Arrival/Departure Line 2 Eastfield Arrival/ Shunt Spur Peterborough Shunt Spur Departure Line 2 2115] Welwyn - Hitchin: NR plans to resignal the Welwyn to Hitchin area, also known as Operational Migration Overlay (OMO), as part of the East Coast Digital Programme. The current 1970s signalling is nearing the end of its life. About two thirds of the signalling on the southern section of the East Coast Main Line (ECML) is life expired and needs replacing during CP6 and CP7 (2019-2029), with further signalling renewals along the ECML to Edinburgh over several control periods up to CP9 (2034-2039). Welwyn Garden City and Langley Jn GEC Geographical Interlockings are life expired and the existing Solid State Interlockings (SSIs) at Hitchin North and Hitchin South need replacing with ETCS compatible Computer Based Interlockings (CBIs) at York Rail Operating Centre (ROC). As much equipment as possible will be retained trackside - officially known as 'Resignalling lite' [oh dear, lite in proper English - per Cambridge Dictionary - is an adjective meaning 'not serious'!]. From just north of Hatfield station to just south of Biggleswade station needs resignalling for ETCS overlay, which facilitates progressive introduction of ETCS. Minor works are required also on the Hertford Loop and Shepreth Branch. The current signalling is controlled from York ROC on Langley and Hitchin Workstations and this will remain after OMO commissioning. The project replaces existing DC track circuits with Frauscher axle counters. Other existing lineside equipment, including signals and their structures, points, Automatic Warning System (AWS) and the Train Protection and Warning System (TPWS) will be retained and be unchanged, where practicable. The project will relock and renew trackside equipment. Three new Westlock interlockings will be provided, controlled by the existing Langley and Hitchin WestCAD control system workstations at York ROC which were installed with the King's Cross Recontrol Project. Commissioning of Welwyn to Hitchin ETCS signalling overlay, also known as APIS (No! It's actually Authority to Place Into Service), is expected to take place in Q2 to Q3 2025 following system proving. 2116] Anglia crossings: (BLN 1422.1013 & 1014) Further Overlay Miniature Stop Lights (OMSL) are to be installed during 2024 to 2026 under a fifth Network Change for the OMSL project. Locations are: Wivenhoe Park (Hythe - Wivenhoe) 55m 34ch* Stiffs (Diss - Norwich) 97m 20ch* High Elm (Alresford - Great Bentley) 58m 32ch Hallowing (Diss - Norwich) 102m 02ch* Stacpool (Ipswich - Needham Market) 75m 70ch* Padget (Wivenhoe - Alresford) 56m 27ch Block Farm (Soham - Chippenham Jn) 5m 58ch* Falstaff (Manningtree - Ipswich) 63m 43ch* Thornfield Wood (Chappel & WC - Bures) 50m 56ch* Drove Road (Thetford - Harling Rd) 99m 51ch Golden Square (Chappel & WC - Bures) 51m 27ch* Leonards (Soham-Chippenham Jn) 7m 17ch* Bears Grove (Salhouse - Hoveton & Wroxham) 7m 6ch * Not shown in Sectional Appendix

BELOW: (Item 2116) An out-of-area OMSL (the lights are not so miniature). Brailsford Road Crossing; naturally, it appears on TRACKmaps (Book 4 p14B 2022 at 100m 36ch on the Coalville Line). (Tom Gilby, 15 Sep 2023.)

2117] Manningtree: All day Sun 24 Sep, at Manningtree North Jn, Up trains are booked to use the facing crossover, then the Down Main through P3 and the London end trailing crossover. This route is not shown as bidirectional on the Sectional Appendix. Harwich branch services are bus replaced. 2118] Ipswich, Griffin Wharf: (TRACKmaps 2 p6A 2020) Rail traffic of sea-dredged aggregate traffic has been variable in recent years, in 2022 there were only seven departures, all to Neasden Engineer's Sidings, compared with around 35 in 2021 and 2020, mostly to Neasden. This last ran on 13 Feb 2023. However, a new flow of sand, reported to be from a local pit, via Griffin Wharf to Langley (15m 75ch) on the Great Western Main Line began on 26 Jun from Acton Yard, returning from Langley the same day. It ran again on 3 and 10 Jul with nothing since, so possibly just a trial or one off consignment. 2119] Stowmarket: (TRACKmaps 2 p6B 2020) In connection with their renewal, the facing points from the Up Main to Stowmarket Down P2 were secured from 4 Sep and returned to operation on 11 Sep. 2120] Tring North Jn: (TRACKmaps 4 p3A 2022) The crossover from the bidirectional Up & Down Relief (not on the Great Western but serving P4) at Tring country end has finally been recommissioned after being out of use since Mar 2008! It permits trains arriving on the Up Slow to turnback in P4 from the country end. Maybe some engineering work is in prospect on the London side of the station? 2121] Princes Risborough Jn - Aylesbury Jn: (BLN1430.1883) Revised dates for the line closure for the culvert rebuilding and new HS2 underbridge are from 19 Aug to 4 Oct (was 7 Aug to 30 Oct). 2122] Oxford: (BLN 1431.1993) Due to reopen 15 Aug, on 15 Sep Cemetery Footbridge south of the station remained closed and severed. In the Down Main a new facing turnout for the new Down Loop P5 has been installed south of it and a large concrete base cast to protect the footbridge supports. 2123] Watford Junction: (BLN 1426.1485) On 5 Sep the branch EMU was failed on arrival at Watford Junction at 12.25, with service suspended 'until 15.30'. Our member's hunch paid off and the 15.18 Euston to St Albans Abbey ran, taking up the branch services with the 15.39 from Watford Junction. 2124] Bicester Village: London Road Level Crossing (19m 31ch) at the Bletchley end of the station has a poster from a local pressure group with no obvious declared name. It claims East West Rail said in June that there would no longer be a new vehicle bridge or underpass (presumably to cut costs) but a pedestrian underpass is now planned. The poster requests a petition be signed to ensure that there is an accessible underpass instead of an inaccessible bridge. This is presumably since an accessible bridge would be difficult to provide in the tight space and arguably an unnecessary spend since there is a nearby accessible footbridge nearer Bletchley as well as accessible crossing via the level crossing. 2125] The Luton DART scores high: (BLN 1426.1491) By the end of 21 Aug, the new system had carried 1M passengers, 147 days after opening - almost 6,803 a day on average, The 'one millionth' passenger was awarded free travel on DART for a year. Hopefully they were not just visiting from Australia. 1432 SOUTH EAST - SOUTH (Julian James) [email protected] 2126] Feltham resignalling: (BLN 1430.1494) As part of the Feltham and Wokingham Resignalling Project, on Saturday 2 Sep signalling control moved to Basingstoke Rail Operating Centre, Staines Workstation 2. Between Whitton Jn to Staines Jn, the Up and Down Main lines became the Up and Down Twickenham lines. The Up Goods Siding at Staines is now the Up Staines Goods Loop, all other line names remain unchanged. Axle counter train detection has been provided between Chiswick and Whitton Jn/Hounslow Jn, Whitton to Egham and from Staines Jn and Windsor & Eton Riverside. 2127] Fawley: (BLN 1422.1032) Transport for the South East (TfSE), a partnership of local authorities and enterprise bodies is proposing passenger services on the Fawley branch within the next seven years. The report also proposes that, within the same timescale, the capacity of the A326 Marchwood bypass should be expanded, alongside an extension to the operating hours and frequency of the Lymington to Yarmouth Isle of Wight ferry. Medium term, TfSE suggests a new Southampton to Fawley Waterside ferry service by the 2030s. TfSE would also like to remove Totton level crossing by delivering a road underpass or a flyover by the 2030s, alleviating a congestion pinch point.

2128] Thanet Parkway: (BLN 1430.1895) Your Regional Editor visited on Wed 6 Sep. The platform back walls certainly present a foreboding appearance when viewed along the length of the platforms and could have been relieved by glass panels. There may be pressure to do this later or add some features breaking up the long view. Platform width and clearance requirements will make this difficult below head height. However, the overall impression was not as claustrophobic as appears in some photos where zoom overrides the human eye. Additional signage is needed to show more clearly the way out to arriving passengers. For passengers departing there are no platform zone markers. People can wait in the wrong positions. The car park was a quarter full mid-morning, about 75 vehicles (capacity 293). Most interesting is the use of a brick underbridge beyond the Ramsgate end of the platforms for pedestrian movement between platforms. It is an attractive high arch original structure with elegant curved wing walls that has been thoroughly cleaned up and treated with graffiti repellent. It seems odd that, after spending over £44M to build the station, only one train in three actually calls there. Of the three trains per hour passing, only the HS1 St Pancras to Margate via Canterbury West and return calls; the coast line trains via Deal (also mostly Javelins) and the stopping Ramsgate to Charing Cross pass through. Those in the areas served by Sandwich to Martin Mill and Minster to Wye not already attracted to travel by train are unlikely to leave their cars at Thanet Parkway to do so. Rail Minister Huw Merriman formally opened the station on Fri 8 Sep alongside a number of invited guests and senior representatives from NR, Southeastern, Kent County Council, Thanet District Council and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership. The minister unveiled a commemorative plaque to officially mark the opening. Guests also took a short trip to Margate on 'Trainbow', the first Class 395 Javelin fleet to have a major interior refresh, as part of a £27M programme. Southeastern's Managing Director, said: Passenger numbers have been building since the station opened at the end of July and we are expecting our 10,000th customer* any day now. I'm confident that this modern, fully accessible station will be a long term asset for the local community. It is served by Britain's fastest domestic train offering the sustainable option to park and ride on our all electric railway. We'll have staff at the station everyday between 8am and 4pm and crew on board every service, to assist customers. [When even an MD fails to use the 24-hour clock, how can we hope for greater railway standardisation?] *An average of 238 a day but early days. Is parking charged for yet and does anyone know how much? 2129] Guildford - Horsham - Shoreham-by-Sea: The chief executive of The English Regional Transport Association, Richard Pill, has proposed a working group to collate local knowledge and statistics to strengthen the group's bid to reopen these lines for regular passenger and freight use. He is convinced that there is an overwhelming need, case and demand for the missing rail links. In a letter to members of the association, he urges them to encourage more local people 'with a wealth of local knowledge' to join the association and become involved. Last year, campaigners thought they had lost their battle to reopen Guildford to Horsham when Waverley Borough Council granted planning permission for the Wey and Arun Canal Trust - established to reinstate London's 'Lost Route to the Sea' - to build a new link near Guildford which would include part of the old formation. However, it has been announced that there will be a 'rerun' of the planning application, with another opportunity to call for support for the rail option. See https://ertarail.co.uk/ for details and to join. 2130] Selsey Tram Way: The Aug bulletin of The Selsey Tram Way reported a planned walk to The Anchor Inn, Sidlesham, passing the sites of eight of the eleven stations and halts along the route of the Selsey Tramway. Selsey Tramway (one word) was the train, Tram Way (two words) refers to the heritage trail that has been created. Tram rather than railway, so that it did not have to comply with railway legislation - photos show some trains ran. It is not possible to follow the exact trackbed. At Chalder station in July, ten volunteers cleared undergrowth from the platform, laying weed control matting to slow the growth of bramble etc. In late August they met representatives from Trackwork, a company providing railway infrastructure, to discuss possibly reinstating track alongside the platform. In Spring 2024 the group wish to undertake a more permanent restoration of the platform. The group has had two estimates to restore the waiting room; all this is subject to planning permission.

The Selsey Tramway Project (2022) aims to enhance the heritage of the train which ran between Chichester and Selsey from 1897 until 1935. This project is led by Dr Bill Martin and a team of volunteers with a passion for local history. It keeps the story of the tramway alive for both the local community and visitors to the area with the creation of new signage, walking guides, information boards and artefact restoration. See https://www.mwhg.org.uk/tramway for details/to help. 1432 SOUTH WEST :NEW EDITOR Samuel Taunton, PLEASE USE:: [email protected] Any post to 3 Llandudno Villas, Lypiatt St, Cheltenham, GL50 2TZ. 01242 224 553 078155 65667 2131] An introduction to your new Regional Editor, Samuel Taunton: Coming from The Forest of Dean, I have always had a great interest in railways, especially finding the routes of dismantled tramways and industrial railways. Some of my earliest memories are from cycling round the routes of the old Severn & Wye Railway mineral loop before it was converted into the Family Bike Trail it is today. My parents are keen members of the local history society and my granddad was known to drag them round searching for tunnels and sidings such as near the Trafalgar Colliery in the early 1970s. I didn't appear on the scene until 1986, so missed all the professional railways in The Forest of Dean. The Dean Forest Railway and Kent & East Sussex Railway were both frequently visited in my formative years. When I went to secondary school, I was lucky to have a railway society which went on several trips round the country every year, with a summer weekend in the West Highlands. We stayed in the SYHA in Crianlarich and caught the sleeper with a Class 37/4 to Fort William for the Jacobite steam service to Mallaig. Perhaps my favourite visit was when a select group of four boys went with a teacher to go round first Manchester Piccadilly signal box and then Stockport N o 2 box. I lived in Edinburgh for a few years and took one of the Pathfinder Class 37 round trip tours to Carstairs and Glasgow. Moving back closer to my parents, I returned to Gloucestershire to live in Cheltenham in 2011. Since then, I've participated in several tours around the Severnside area, to Machen, Berkeley, Westerleigh, Portbury and Avonmouth, among others. Hopefully I can join a tour soon to Tytherington (see item 2134)! Possibly my favourite tours have been the (resurrected) Blue Boys Merry Mixers to Blackpool and Lincoln. I volunteer on the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway in customer facing roles, one of the few places I've been keen to get right to the end of the line… One Cheltenham Festival at the Race Course station, I was helping on catering and went to the end carriage for the shunt procedure to make sure I reached the mouth of Hunting Butts Tunnel, about 500m beyond the normal passenger limit. Some members of our Society will, of course, have travelled over the entire route of the Honeybourne line from Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham Lansdown Jn but others, like me, were born after its demise as a through route in 1976. I also volunteered with Sustrans when they were clearing the Wye Valley trackbed for a bike route through Tidenham Tunnel to Tintern and I've enjoyed exploring Haie Hill Tunnel near Newnham. Other interests include choral singing, musical theatre (especially Gilbert and Sullivan), geology and orienteering. Combining this with railways, I am a bit of a cartophile; if that is the correct term! I was given a book about mapping British Railways and read in there about the Railway Clearing House/ Airey maps. Ever since I have been trying to collect as many as possible! One favourite of mine is a Gloucestershire & Oxfordshire district map published by the RCH in 1921, which I had framed. The sad thing about so many maps is that they are folded away out of sight, so I try to display as many as possible in my home. Thanks to my predecessor Robert Green for his excellent work over his period as South West Editor. I have enjoyed his Where was I? puzzles and look forward to further future conundrums. Thank you to readers for your submissions and I look forward to further updates. 2132] Plymouth: Overlooking the station, one of the City's most iconic ex-railway buildings, InterCity House, has been transformed by the University of Plymouth into InterCity Place, a state of the art space for training and developing healthcare staff, opening on 23 Sep. The 11-storey building, one of the tallest in Plymouth, was opened by Dr Beeching in 1962. Whoever invited Dr Beeching to open the railway office block soon regretted it. The good doctor wished to know why the railway needed to employ so many people in Plymouth and what did they all do? Demolition was planned in 2017 but it has undergone a £33Mupgrade instead.It is the first major part of the Brunel Plaza development.

2133] Henbury: It's been almost 69 years since the station closed from 23 Nov 1964. Then, the city of Bristol was still emerging from the post-war years and the now sprawling north western suburb was in its infancy. With roads like the A4018 now frequently clogged up with traffic and a Clean Air Zone in full operation, the growing population of the area strongly welcomed (according to the local paper!) NR's recent planning permission application. Friends of Bristol Suburban Railways have been campaigning for this for decades and a local councillor has been on the case for only 17 years. The new station, near the original, is proposed for land on the Brentry side of the A4018 accessed via Passage Road with a car park for just over 30 spaces. As well as Henbury, it will serve Brentry and the new Cribbs Patchway development being built on farmland behind where the proposed station will be. Trains to Bristol Temple Meads will also serve the reinstated stations at North Filton and Ashley Down. 2134] HS2 news in Gloucestershire: Thornbury was the terminus of a 7½ mile branch from Yate on the Bristol to Gloucester line. Later its stations were demolished except for Yate, the junction, which was closed from 4 Jan 1965 along with all the other remaining stations on the Bristol to Gloucester line. Yate reopened on more or less the same site from 15 May 1989. The Thornbury branch closed after the last train left Tytherington Quarry on 2 Nov 1967 and the track was all lifted - the section past Tytherington to Thornbury had only been used for trains to run round after the 20 Jun 1966 closure of the latter to goods traffic. In a remarkable development at the time, British Rail relaid the branch to Tytherington Quarry which was commissioned on 3 Jul 1972, although it was taken out of use from 15 Sep 2013 until 28 Nov 2018 due to cessation of quarry work. This time the track was retained. The line has gone for long periods with little or no traffic but due to HS2 and the building boom it is now busier than ever. Tytherington quarry, owned by Hanson Aggregates, now produces 1.8M tonnes of limestone per year. This has resulted in extension of the headshunt which will be needed by anyone who didn't make it to Thornbury! Very heavy, double length trains have been running and taken their toll on the track, leading to an emergency 5mph restriction (previously 20mph) on the whole branch. Due to this and the time taken to load, only around 50 trains ran in Aug (many double length though). NR is now repairing the track during a 16-day closure from 14.39 Sat 9 until 20.00 Sun 24 Sep when no aggregate trains run. Work includes restoring ballast, replacing about 1,000 sleepers and maintenance of the four level crossings. Complaints have come from residents about the noise made by the train brakes as the heavy loaded trains keep to 5mph on the 1:61 falling gradient down to Yate. This will be alleviated by the works and closure due to track condition prevented; a tour might even be able to run! 2135] Parkandillack: (TRACKmaps 3 p10B&C 2018) This is another freight terminus that may see traffic again in the near future. The junction for this branch is at Burngullow, exactly 2 miles west of St Austell on the main line to Penzance. In the past it was part of a more meandering freight route from St Austell to Newquay which joined the current Newquay branch at the former St Dennis Jn. The last 1¼ miles of this branch has reportedly been little used past Treviscoe (china clay traffic) in recent years. However, there is a new development connected with the burgeoning battery industry and the lithium required. Lithium is reportedly too light to require rail transport but much of the associated equipment for the extraction process will apparently be brought in by rail due to the poor roads in the area. 2136] Modern GWR advertising: On 6 Sep GWR promoted travel during the 'Indian Summer' (in Indian Queens perhaps?) of early Sep. They advertised that the summer timetable ended on Mon 11 Sep. However, a member pointed out that this was perhaps a little irresponsible in the extreme heat and the Newquay line was actually replaced by buses on the Sunday. The adverts did mention that due to resignalling work in Cornwall, buses would be running between Plymouth and Penzance, although the Liskeard to Looe and St Erth to St Ives branches were still running their enhanced summer timetable. 1432 WEST MIDLANDS (Brian Schindler) [email protected] 2137] Coventry Very Light Rail (VLR): On Fri 8 Sep the first test run of a Coventry VLR vehicle took place at the National Very Light Rail Innovation Centre, which is on the site of Dudley Freightliner Terminal, previously the site of Dudley station. The standard gauge vehicle ran on the test track (TRACKmaps 4 p21A 2022) - it's a good job it was a 'light' vehicle as this includes Dudley Tunnel.

2138] Stourbridge Town: Some people deride the Parry People Movers but half a million passengers ride them each year. Introduced in 2009, to reduce operating costs, the seven millionth passenger was recently recorded on the 62ch branch, now with canted continuously welded rail and banked ballast shoulders (perhaps for 125mph running). The line speed is 20mph (10 mph in each station and on the curve out of Stourbridge Junction) and punctuality is very high. Trains are double staffed, the two take it in turns to drive and check tickets etc. The success is down to the regular 10-minute frequency, 6tph. 2139] Walsall to Lichfield line: Another almost three mile section of the former double track South Staffordshire line, closed completely from Walsall, Ryecroft Jn to Brownhills from 19 Mar 1984, is proposed for development as a shared Greenway. This is from Station Road in Pelsall to Newtown (the A5 road) in Brownhills, as a shared use greenway. Most of the whole route between Ryecroft Jn and the A5 at Brownhills is already walkable but poor drainage and rubbish can cause difficulties. 2140] West Midlands 30-year Rail Strategy: Included in the recent update is that the West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) would like to reinstate passenger services between Lichfield and Burton via a new station at Alrewas (for the National Memorial Arboretum) - wouldn't we all‽ Longer term plans envisage reinstatement of the partially dismantled line between Walsall and Lichfield, as well as new links through central Birmingham. WMRE said that they strongly support a rolling programme of electrification across the entire region and are working closely with NR on their prioritisation process for electrification in the West Midlands. The WMRE priorities are the vast majority of diesel lines but also the non-wired Kings Norton to Barnt Green Fast Lines (cut out of the Bromsgrove electrification). 2141] West Midlands Metro ❶: (BLN 1431.2020) (TRACKmaps 4 p21A 2022) The 32ch extension to Wolverhampton Station (official name) finally opened for public services on Sun 17 Sep 2023 but we can only do 90.6% of it. The first arrival was the 07.41 tram from Wednesbury Parkway P3, with about 12 passengers (at least two were members) with officials who had done the track from the depot - no fares were charged. A lone piper passenger joined at Pipers Row for the station. It then formed the first departure from Wolverhampton Station at 08.01. The junction with the existing tramway is 141m 53ch (amended from TRACKmaps) from Paddington via Didcot and Leamington! The extension starts with a sharp right hand curve, is initially double track and electrified. After only 7ch comes Pipers Row stop (141m 60ch) for the bus station on the right, which couldn't be any closer. This tram stop has staggered outside platforms (first P2 on the left for the station, then P1 on the right, presently for trams towards Birmingham). The OHLE ends at the far end of the bus station and a ninety degree curve to the right takes the line into Railway Drive and over the Ring Road. It then sweeps past the station entrance curving right, singling for the platform on the left about 40yd past it (142m 02ch). There is a 3ch headshunt ending at 142m 05ch. The £50M extension was £32M over budget; perhaps the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry, now concluded (!!), could investigate next? ❷Initially all trams run between Edgbaston Village and Wolverhampton Station; the St George's line (which is given an apostrophe, unlike Pipers Row) remains closed, as it had been through to The Royal since Tue 29 Aug for driver familiarisation on the station extension. A new tram signal (white lights indicator) has now been installed at the junction between the two branches at Bilston Street points to enable reversing; with enough room between the points and the ring road island to hold a tram for reversal. When commissioned (soon), it will allow each tram to serve both termini by reversing there - a bit like how trains to Wick serve Thurso by reversing at Georgemas Junction. The method of working will be interesting, from the layout there will need to be some 'wrong line running'. The current long term plan is to operate from St George's to Dudley and Wolverhampton Station to Edgbaston Village. ❸From 10-16 Sep trams from Wolverhampton direction turned back at Library instead of Edgbaston Village due work in Broad St. Library scissors crossover was in use preventing trams from being cut off. ❹A Martin Lewis type tip. A reminder that ANY West Midlands area PlusBus is valid on the entire WM Metro (incredibly, even if to Coventry or Walsall for example) with no time restrictions, Additionally, Railcard discounts apply to PlusBus tickets so, for many, it is the cheapest way of doing the line. ❺All rails for the Dudley extension have arrived from Scunthorpe; it is expected to open in late 2024.

X.84] QUERY CORNER; ABOVE: http://petertandy.co.uk/ is the website of our member Peter Tandy, a renowned railway photographer. Peter is compiling a section about the InterCity 125s and is trying to identify this First Great Western HST that visited Stratford-upon-Avon on Sat 10 Oct 1998. The Power Cars were 43130 (still in INTERCITY Swallow livery) and 43017. This photo was in dreadful light at 16.45 after the engines had been started, so it must have left after the next local had come and gone. One of the coaches was still INTERCITY and the rear Power Car was in the old FGW colours. Does anyone know what the working was, please? There is nothing on Six Bells Junction. (Peter Tandy.) BELOW: MER 130, passing Laxey Car Shed heading to Douglas - see item 2153. (Cade Williamson.)

LEFT: Edgbaston Village, West Midland Metro; looks like someone was determined to do more track than anyone else, or did they think that the extension was this end rather than at Wolverhampton? It also confirms that they do use the left hand line (right is the preferred one on arrival), (Tom Gilby, Sun 17 Sep 2023.) RIGHT: At Wednesbury Parkway on Sun 17 Sep 2023, awaiting the first tram at 07.41 from loop P3 to Wolverhampton Station. The passenger information display looks promising… (Tom Gilby.) NEXT PAGE: Pipers Row, next to the bus station, a tram from the station to Edgbaston Village on Day 1. There is OHLE here. (John Cameron)