The Railway Dog

Category: Cockapoo

  • Titfield @70

    Wednesday 1st March 2023 to Tuesday 7th March 2023

    “The Titfield Thunderbolt” film poster

    I love an Ealing Studios film, and this week, “The Titfield Thunderbolt” celebrated its 70th Anniversary having been released to the public for the first time on 5th March 1953 with a Gala Premiere at the Leicester Square Theatre in London as part of the British Film Academy’s award ceremony, before going on general release from the 6th. Filmed in 1952, the feature was mostly shot on the Camerton branch between Camerton and Limpley Stoke on the Cam Brook Valley near Bath which had closed to traffic in February of the previous year. Monckton Combe railway station stood in for Titfield while the village scenes were shot in Freshford. The Fish Bay platform at Bristol Temple Meads makes cameo appearances as Mallingford railway station. 

    Yoshi watches “The Titfield Thunderbolt”

    “The Titfield Thunderbolt” was inspired by the real life story behind the rescue of the Welsh narrow-gauge Talyllyn Railway in 1951. Directed by Ealing stalwart Charles Chrichton (1910-1999), starring Stanley Holloway (1890-1982) and with a screenplay by another Ealing old hand T.E.B. Clarke (1907-1989) the film opens with a view of Midford Viaduct on the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) as a train on the Camerton branch passes underneath. Midford is on our bucket list to explore one day, especially as there is a conveniently placed pub – the Hope & Anchor – located under the old S&D viaduct, the trackbed now forming a footpath and cycleway. The pub website notes: “The single line section between Midford & Bath required a special safety device known as “The Tablet”. A train about to enter this section had to pick up the tablet by means of a mechanical catcher. If the tablet was not there it meant another train was already on that stretch of track. Sometimes the act of giving up the tablet on the outward journey would result in the (accidental?) dropping of the tablet down the embankment into the garden of the inn. By some strange quirk of fate, this seemed to happen a lot more frequently during opening hours and climbing down to retrieve it was thirsty work!”

    “The Titfield Thunderbolt” (1953) Trailer

    Foreshadowing the Beeching report which would be released ten years later, “The Titfield Thunderbolt” tells the story of group of villagers determined to save their branch line after British Railways announces its closure. When a rival bus company, who have signed a deal with the nationalised railways to run a replacement service, sabotages the newly acquired train prior to an official inspection, the villagers resurrect the line’s first locomotive, ‘Thunderbolt’ which is being kept in the Mallingford Town Hall museum.

    The 60th Anniversary Blu-Ray release of “The Titfield Thunderbolt”

    The actual locomotive chosen to “play” the role of ‘Thunderbolt’ was Liverpool & Manchester Railway (LMR) 0-4-2 No. 57 ‘Lion’ built by Todd, Kitson & Laird of Leeds. The March 1953 edition of “The Railway Magazine” tells us the film studio borrowed the veteran loco from the Liverpool Engineering Society who, as well as allowing the application of a new nameplate, gave permission for her to be painted in a fictional bright green with red lining livery. ‘Lion’ had been in store at Crewe painted in her original  dark maroon colour and was transported to Westbury in Wiltshire for an overhaul and steaming test, which proved most satisfactory, her original steam pressure gauges checked against a modern counterpart with one being correct to within a pound. Shortly after production commenced it was discovered that ‘Lion’ consumed excessive amounts of fuel and water, it was thought because she was originally designed to burn coke rather than the coal being used. The locomotive was sent back to Westbury where a damper was fitted which enabled her to simmer all day awaiting periods of sun during which scenes would be filmed. The daily filming schedule was carefully arranged to reduce the requirement to turn the locomotive and rolling stock, but when this was needed the triangle junction at Bradford-on-Avon was utilised. Various items of rolling stock were employed, including an old Great Eastern coach, two brake vans (one containing a diesel generator for arc-lighting), a cattle truck and several flat wagons as well as two Great Western Railway (GWR) 1400 Class 0-4-2 tank engines No.’s 1401 and 1456. No. 1456 provided banking assistance to ‘Lion’ on the 1 in 100 gradients between Limpley stoke and Combe Hay when scenes were not being filmed.

    “The Railway Magazine” March 1953 edition included a feature on the filming of “The Titfield Thunderbolt” written by Baynham Honri (1903-1987)

    I remember seeing ‘Lion’ in 1980 when she took part at “The Great Railway Exposition” in Manchester in connection with “The Rocket 150” celebrations marking the 150thAnniversary of the Rainhill Trials in 1829 and the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway in September 1930. Unfortunately, along with other locomotives, she was on display in what I remember as being quite a gloomy shed area and my camera at the time would have been unlikely to have captured an image in the darkened conditions. Today you can see ‘Lion’ on static display at The Museum of Liverpool.

    Rapido Trains publicity image

    Rapido Trains are developing a special range of models celebrating the 70th Anniversary of “The Titfield Thunderbolt”. These are the only models licensed by StudioCanal the current rights owner of the film.

    Hornby Horbies Ltd had announced they too were going to release a ‘Thunderbolt’ model but have since withdrawn this from their schedule as licensing permission was not gained. They have however pushed ahead with their model pack of ‘Lion’.

    Hornby ‘Lion’ Train Pack
    Hornby ‘Lion’ model

    You would think that the combination of Ealing Studios and railways would result in “The Titfield Thunderbolt” being my favourite film, but that honour falls to another Ealing production; “The Ladykillers” (1955) which also happens to feature extensive railway scenes, this time around King’s Cross in London. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. “The Ladykillers” was remade in 2004 with Tom Hanks and the location swapped to Mississippi. I don’t know why anyone thought this was a good idea. 

    The two five car Class 701 units, No.’s 701509 and 701512, which I mentioned last time I had missed seeing in Dorset made a return visit on Thursday 2nd March 2023, and this time I was ready and waiting for them! Here’s some video as they arrive and depart Poole. 

    Five Car Class 701 test run – 02/03/2023
    South Western Railway (SWR) 5 -car Class 701 Electric Multiple Unit No. 701509 arrives at Poole on the return working to Eastleigh – 02/03/2023
    SWR 5 -car Class 701 Electric Multiple Unit No. 701512 departs Poole working 5Q51 1115 London Waterloo to Eastleigh as Desiro Class 444 No. 444028 arrives with 2W65 1205 London Waterloo to Poole – 02/03/2023

    The Snow & Ice Treatment Train made an appearance on the Bournemouth to Weymouth line on Monday 6th. Its earlier scheduled run on Friday 3rd March was cancelled, so it was good to see the train run. And in daylight too, which was a bonus! We were pleased to see that large logo British Rail retro liveried GBRF Class 66 No. 66789 ‘British rail 1948-1997’ was one of the pair of locomotives allocated to the service, the other being No. 66750 ‘Bristol Panel Signal Box’.

    GBRf Class 66 No.’s 66789 ‘British Rail 1948-1997’ and 66750 ‘Bristol Panel Signal Box’ top and tail 3Y88 1000 Totton Yard to Totton Yard across Holes Bay, Poole – 06/03/2023
    GBRf Class 66 No. 66750 ‘Bristol Panel Signal Box’ leading the return 3Y88 SITT with No. 66789 ‘British Rail 1948-1997’ bringing up the rear passes Class 444 No.444010 working 1W21 1035 London Waterloo to Weymouth service at Hamworthy – 06/03/2023
    3Y88 1000 Totton Yard to Totton Yard – 06/03/2023 (Dorchester video courtesy of GE Barrett)

    Taking Yoshi for a walk around Hamworthy Park recently, we passed under Lake Road bridge. It looks as if a vehicle wasn’t quite so lucky and deviated from the road and into the newly installed gate protecting the new access steps to the Hamworthy branch line above.  Coupled with the damage to the warning lights at Ashmore Avenue crossing, I’m beginning to think someone doesn’t like the idea of the freight line re-opening!

    Damaged Lake Road Access Point – 05/03/2023
    Debris at damaged Lake Road Access Point – 05/03/2023
    Access Point information for Lake Road – 05/03/2023
    Damaged Lake Road Access Point – 05/03/2023

    For The Record

    I forgot to mention that the South Western Main Line resumed a full timetable on 24th February 2023 following reinstatement works following the major landslip at Hook which occurred on 15th January 2023 and affected Weymouth to London Waterloo services. 

    Sad news that John Parry MBE, creator of the Parry People Mover ultra-light vehicles passed away on 17th February 2023 after a short illness. He was 85. The most successful UK application of his idea is the 0.8 mile Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge shuttle which operates every ten minutes between 0545 and 2354 Monday to Saturday with a more limited service on Sundays. These have been operated by pair of Class 139 Parry People Movers since their introduction to the branch, claimed to be the shortest in Europe, in 2009. The class 139’s are powered by Ford 86hp 2..3 litre LPG fuel engines and have flywheels to capture the energy generated which is then reused for acceleration and on-board systems. I mention it here as in 1996 an early version of a Parry People Mover was trialled on the much missed Weymouth Quay Branch in September 1996. You can watch a fascinating record of this on You Tube here.

    West Midlands Trains Parry People Mover No. 139001 at Stourbridge Junction. These units have been a great success since taking over operations on the short branch to Stourbridge Town in June 2009 – 04/08/2015
    West Midlands Trains No. 139001 departing Stourbridge Junction. The unit will descend the 1 in 67 incline along the 0.8 mile branch line to Stourbridge Town – 04/08/2015

    The RMT union has suspended industrial action, including strikes and an overtime ban, at Network Rail following the receipt of a new pay offer. Strikes remain on for now at 14 train operating companies – including South Western Railway (SWR) and Great Western Railway (GWR). More updates will be released over the coming days.

    Train ticket prices in England and Wales increased by an average of 5.9% on Sunday 5th March 2023 – the largest fare hike in a decade.

    South Western Railway (SWR) is set to trial the use of QR codes soon to allow mobile phone users to access features including “real-time journey information” as well as a suite of further modules relevant to their trip. A select number of train services, including London Waterloo to Weymouth services, will feature QR codes located in prominent areas of the train such as seat backs, tables, accessible areas and toilet facilities. The innovative technology developed by software experts Whoosh will also allow passengers to use features such as “Talk to Us” to communicate with SWR about any issues on their journey, including on board faults and the digital service will know where the communication is coming from and be able to automatically populate areas of the report.

    That’s it for this week. It’s been a quiet one for me on the full size railway scene, but I was busy at the weekend putting floor boards down in our loft space in preparation for a model railway layout. I’ll be honest, this project has taken me far longer to get to this stage than I would have liked and my accidental mis-step resulting in putting my size 10’s through the ceiling was a low point (but not as low as it could have been as the rest of me didn’t follow my feet!), but good progress has been made over the last few weeks and I’ll soon be looking at building the baseboards for the railway track when funds allow. Thank you, as always, for stopping by and your comments and corrections. This weeks blog was brought to you with The Who “Tommy Live at The Royal Albert Hall”, The National (their latest offering “New Order T-Shirt” is just my cup of tea, or even my caramel latte) and Depeche Mode (who should really come and play a concert at the Weymouth Pavilion instead of all the big international venues they like to frequent). See you next week, take care and may your dog go with you.

    Yoshi amongst the daffodils at Holes Bay – 06/03/2023

  • Best Way to West Bay

    Yoshi visits Bradpole to check out the crossing gate and track on the former Bridport Branch – 26/02/2023

    Wednesday 22nd February 2023 to Tuesday 28th February 2023

    We start off this week with another ‘no-show’ as the New Measurement Train running as 1Z22 0748 Derby RTC Serco to Bristol Kingsland Road Freightliner Heavy Haul scheduled to visit Weymouth via Yeovil Pen Mill on Wednesday 22nd February 2023 was truncated at Cheltenham Spa. The train would have seen Class 37 locomotives No.’s 37421 and 37610 in Dorset had it not been partially cancelled en-route at the request of the operator. It did make me wonder about the legal obligation, if any, of Network Rail to observe the findings by the Rail Accident Investigation Board (RAIB) and run these trains over the entire rail network. Maybe one day we’ll try and find out. Wednesday did, however, see two other special workings along the Bournemouth to Weymouth section as the Snow & Ice Treatment Train (SITT) and the third and final Freightliner engineers train of the week both ran as planned. The SITT made a return visit to Dorset running as far as Wareham on Monday 27th February.

    All three February 2023 Dorset Freightliner engineers trains for your delectation
    GBRf Class 66 No. 66789 ‘British Rail 1948-1997’ in retro large logo livery stands in Totton Yard. I think it rather suits! – 25/02/2023

    Keen to get a daylight image of British Rail large logo liveried Class 66 No. 66789 on the SITT as I incorrectly, as it turned out, assumed the loco would be swapped out for another member of the same class, Yoshi and I made the trip to Totton Yard to see the train before its return working to Eastleigh East Yard on Saturday morning.

    GBRf Class 66 No. 66789 ‘British Rail 1948-1997’ and 66730 ‘Whitemoor’ top and tail the Snow & Ice Treatment Train (SITT) in Totton Yard – 25/02/2023
    Video of the SITT working over the last week of February 2023 with GBRf Class 66 No. 66789 ‘British Rail 1948-1997’ and 66730 ‘Whitemoor’ at various locations

    We also stopped off in Southampton to peer over the road bridge crossing the railway which leads to the Southampton Maritime Container Terminal which is built on reclaimed land and was opened in 1968. Dealing solely in deep sea container traffic the adjacent Freightliner terminal for rail-borne traffic links directly to the South West Main Line (SWML) at Millbrook and Redbridge. Network Rail carried out upgrades, completed in early 2021, allowing trains up to 775 metres in length to gain access to Southampton MCT which is the major rail freight traffic centre in the region. Intermodal freight transport involves the transportation of cargo in a shipping container utilising multiple modes of transport such as rail, ship, truck and aircraft without any handling of the contents while changing modes. Direct intermodal services operate from Southampton MCT six days a week to UK destinations such as Leeds and Crewe.

    In this video: XC 220008 / 221140 1M38 0945 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly; GWR 166209 1F62 0923 Portsmouth Harbour to Romsey; FL 70004 4018 0424 Lawley Street FLT to Southampton MCT; SWR 444021/444017 1W08 0903 Weymouth to London Waterloo; SWR 444016/444031 1W59 0905 London Waterloo to Weymouth and Poole; SWR 158883 2S23 1007 Romsey to Romsey; FL 66568 4V34 1102 Southampton MCT to Portbury Automotive FHH; SWR 450002 2B36 1002 Bournemouth to Winchester; 444042/444019 1W54 0920 Weymouth and Poole to London Waterloo; SWR 444010/444020 1W61 1005 London Waterloo to Weymouth and Poole
    Freightliner Class 08 No. 08785 at Southampton MCT – 25/02/2023
    As South Western Railway service 1W17 0835 London Waterloo to Weymouth formed of Class 444 EMU No.’s 444026 and 444034 passes on the SWML, Class 66 No. 66536 receives attention at Southampton MCT – 25/02/2023
    Class 70 No. 70004 arrives at Southampton MCT working the 4018 0424 from Lawley Street Freightliner – 25/02/2023
    The SITT passes Southampton MCT at Redbridge working 3Y88 1032 Totton Yard to Eastleigh East Yard in the care of GBRf Class 66 locos No.’s 66730 ‘Whitemoor’ and 66789 ‘British Rail 1948-1997’ – 25/02/2023
    Class 70 No. 70004 having just detached from her train at its final destination; 4018 0424 Lawley Street to Southampton MCT – 25/02/2023

    Finally, we paid a visit to Eastleigh in the hope that former Colas Rail and newly outshopped in GBRf livery Class 67 No. 67027 would be in a position for a decent photograph as had been widely reported on social media the previous day. The Class 67 should have departed Eastleigh Arlington works bound for Rugby on the Friday, but brake issues meant it remained stuck in Hampshire. Although I was pleased with my iPhone shot of the Class 66 at Totton, my luck ran out when it came to Eastleigh and the Class 67 as the locomotive had been moved inside a shed for remedial modifications with only the front being visible from the road adjacent to the works. Yoshi and I did, however, get to a catch up with an old pal over coffee, so it turned out to be a very good day after all.

    Disappointingly newly liveried into GBRf colours, Class 67 No. 67027 hides in a shed at Eastleigh Arlington. No amount of coaxing would persuade her to reveal her new paint scheme – 25/02/2023
    Direct Rail Services Class 37 No. 37602 in the yard at Eastleigh Arlington works – 25/02/2023
    Colas Class 70 No. 70801 awaits her next duty at Eastleigh East Yard – 25/02/2023
    GBRf Class 66 No. 66790 at Eastleigh East Yard – 25/02/2023

    On Sunday, Yoshi, his mama and I made a return visit to the Station Kitchen at West Bay which we last wrote about in November 2022. This time we booked to eat in the old station building which is dog friendly (the carriages are not) and Yoshi joined us for our lunchtime visit. Again, the food was exceptional and our surroundings quirky and fun.

    The Station Kitchen at West Bay – 26/02/2023
    The Station Kitchen, West Bay Lentil, wild mushroom & honeyed carrot roast, farm vegetables, rosemary roasties with a balsamic onion jus. Scrummy! – 26/02/2023
    Yoshi offers to get the drinks in – The Station Kitchen, West Bay – 26/02/2023

    Prior to eating, we took the opportunity to walk the former railway track bed between West Bay and Bridport which is now a footpath and haven for nature. It was much tidier than on previous visits and Yoshi proved himself to be a good boy yet again when he roamed off lead. As the footpath approaches Bridport it rises to meet Burton Road. The original level of the railway crossed beneath the road here at Wanderwell Bridge. The top of the bridge, bore entrance and track bed can still be made out if you look closely. On its way towards Bridport East Street Station, the railway would have passed through Wanderwell and then east of the roundabout junction of Burton Road and West Bay Road.  Sea Road South, the A35 Bridport by-pass, now occupies the former track bed and there is no trace left of East Street station, the site now occupied by a garage. Sea Road North has replaced the track bed between East Street Station and Bridport station (also known as Bradpole Road Station).

    The start of the former West Bay to Bridport footpath looking north – 26/02/2023
    Along the route of the former extension from West Bay to Bridport – 26/02/2023

    The railway reached Bridport in 1857 being officially opened on 12th November, just over three years after a public meeting in Bridport Town Hall in October 1854 where it was decided a railway branch line to link the town to the main line at Maiden Newton would be built. The Bridport Railway Company was formed and the necessary Act of Parliament passed on 5th May 1855. The operating licence was awarded by the Bridport Railway Company to the Great Western Railway (GWR) who supplied the steam locomotives and rolling stock before taking over the railway completely. An extension to the line running from Bridport to Bridport Harbour was instigated in 1879 with passenger services commencing on 31st March 1884. In an attempt to attract holiday traffic, the GWR named their new station at the harbour; West Bay, popularising the name by which the area is now commonly known. Passenger services to West Bay ceased in 1930 but the line remained open for freight traffic until 3rd December 1962 when only minimal traffic ran including coal and shingle from the beach. The track on the Bridport to West Bay section, which had not long been relaid with concrete sleepers, was removed in March 1965 having been cut into short lengths and sold for scrap. 

    My well thumbed and well loved copy of “The Bridport Branch” by B L Jackson and M J Tattershall

    Our visit prompted me to dig out my copy of “The Bridport Branch” by B L Jackson and M J Tattershall. It was the first railway text book I acquired back in the 1970’s and I recall thinking it a very expensive tome at the time. Most likely my lovely mum financed the purchase and I was surprised to note the cover price was a princely £2.40. Published by the Oxford Publishing Co. (OPC), a leading publisher of railway books back then, the book was first issued in 1976, only a year after the closure of the branch it tells the history of. I would have missed travelling by train from Maiden Newton to Bridport by a couple of years, my interest in railways really taking hold in 1977.  The Bridport Branch had been listed for closure as part of the Beeching plan of March 1963.  We’ll take a closer look at “The Reshaping of British Railways”, to give the Beeching plan its proper title, next month following the 60thanniversary of its publication, but it is interesting to learn that a notice was posted on 1st September 1964 for the closure of all intermediate stations between Yeovil Pen Mill and Dorchester West, the latter due to be closed on 4th January 1965. However, at a public enquiry held in Yetminster it was argued that it was difficult to see how Maiden Newton could be closed on that date as the Bridport Branch would still be open and for which no notice of closure had yet been issued. The Minister of Transport’s solution was announced on 22nd April 1965; Maiden Newton and Dorchester West were to stay open along with Yetminster, Thornford Halt and Chetnole Halt while Evershot, Cattistock, Bradford Peverell and Grimstone & Frampton would close from 3rd October 1966.

    On our way home from West Bay, we stopped off in the village of Bradpole to seek out the crossing gates and short length of rail embedded in the road which is most likely the last original track remaining from the Bridport Branch. The current gates are not original and were replacements made by local carpenters John Gale and Bernie Joy as a memorial to the railway. An adjacent section of the track bed has been grassed over for local residents to enjoy as part of the Railway Gardens and allotments. In December 2022, concerned at the poor repair of the crossing gates, Bradpole Civil Parish Council appealed for help in finding someone with the expertise to renovate them. Following discussions with a local woodwork firm the Parish Council are seeking funds so that a full restoration project can take place later in 2023 which will see a new gate being constructed as it is felt the existing one is now beyond repair. 

    The crossing gates at Bradpole – 26/02/2023

    The Bridport Community Railway has an ambitious plan to restore the link between West Bay and the main line at Maiden Newton with a sustainable narrow gauge tramway and heritage steam operation alongside cycle and foot paths. In January 2021, one of the founding members of the group behind the project is quoted in the local Bridport News as saying; “Around 80 per cent of the feedback we have received has been generally positive. Ten percent are raving fans and ten per cent think we’re in cloud cuckoo land.”

    Another lost railway and victim of the Beeching cuts can be celebrated at The Wimborne Railway Society “Railex” Model Railway Exhibition when the award winning Bournemouth West model layout will be on display. Celebrating the days of steam and the much missed Somerset & Dorset line which ran from Bath to Bournemouth West, the site of which now lies underneath the Wessex Way road, the terminus can be seen in all its miniature glory at The Allendale Centre, Hanham Road, Wimborne on 15/16th April 2023.

    Bournemouth West in model from as seen in April 2022

    For The Record

    What is I believe to be the first visit to Dorset of five car Class 701 EMU’s occurred on Tuesday 28th February as No.’s 701509 and 701512 visited Poole working 5Q51 1306 Eastleigh to Eastleigh. Yoshi and I were enjoying our lunchtime walk and completely missed these. I had hoped they would make a return journey to Bournemouth later in the evening, but the associated working did not materialise.

    Yet to enter revenue earning service, five car Class 701 No. 701509 nears Eastleigh – 29/03/2022

    Engineering trains for the Network Rail work being carried out on the Yeovil Pen Mill to Dorchester West section of the Heart of Wessex Line have so far been headed up by a mixture of Freightliner and Colas Rail workings, involving Class 66 locomotives No.’s 66592/ 66537 / 66192 and Class 70 No. 70811.

    Royal Mail ‘Flying Scotsman’ Centenary Stamp Presentation Pack

    The Royal Mail have revealed images of a special stamp issue being released on 9th March 2023 to celebrate the centenary of ‘Flying Scotsman’.

    The colour version of the ‘Flying Scotsman’ £2 coin

    The Royal Mint have also announced the release of a special £2 coin featuring an original design by John Bergdahl and colour artwork by Ffion Gwillim. The coin is available in a range of editions all featuring the edge inscription “Live For The Journey”.

    From the May timetable change, the first weekday train to the Bristol area terminating at Filton Abbey Wood from Weymouth timed to depart at 0526 will no longer run and will in future start at Yeovil Pen Mill from where the train will depart at 0618.

    That brings us to the end of another week. Thanks for reading! Please keep your comments, corrections and observations coming – they are all appreciated…. even the ones suggesting I include photographs and video clips to make things more interesting. A nice idea, but I’ll carry on as I am for now….

    Yoshi almost takes flight at West Bay in front of the iconic East Cliff. There has been much discussion about this being the perfect image for an album cover of doggo songs by Yoshi; “Ears In The Wind” – 26/02/2023
    We’ll leave you with one more image of the SITT top and tailed by GBRf Class 66 locos No.’s 66730 ‘Whitemoor’ and 66789 ‘British Rail 1948-1997’ at Redbridge – 25/02/2023

  • Scotsman 100

    Gresley A3 Pacific No. 4472 ‘Flying Scotsman’ at Southampton Docks in an unauthentic condition in LNER Apple Green but with double chimney and smoke deflectors from BR days – 16/04/2000

    Wednesday February 15th to Tuesday February 21st 2023

    The week kicked off with the delivery of a little Yoshi from ArtemisFibreArt, which the boy himself was rather intrigued about. Thankfully he decided against tearing it apart as is his usual reaction to soft toys. He recognises a handsome boy when he sees one!

    Yoshi meets…. Little Yoshi
    Yoshi and the fabulous replica Little Yoshi from ArtemisFibreArt

    24th February 2023 marks 100 years since the third A1 Class 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive left Doncaster Works for the very first time and entered service with the London & North Eastern Railway. As if we haven’t written enough about this particular loco in previous blog entries, here’s another look at her history. Designed by Sir Nigel Gresley and originally numbered 1472 in a sequence originated by the Great Northern Railway who had placed the order for 51 Class A1’s prior to the “Big Four” Grouping of January 1923. A year later the LNER renumbered her No. 4472 and she gained the name ‘Flying Scotsman’ after the eponymous titled train in readiness for display at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley.

    In 1928, ‘Flying Scotsman’ ran a non-stop passenger service between London King’s Cross and Edinburgh, this was achieved by means of another Gresley innovation; a corridor tender allowing drivers and firemen to pass through to the locomotive footplate from the leading train carriage. Water for the engine was picked up en-route from troughs set between the rails.

    1st November 1934 No. 4472 became the first steam locomotive to be officially recorded at travelling at 100 miles per hour as she passed between Little Bytham and Essendale on the East Coast Main Line.

    In 1946 the LNER introduced an extensive renumbering scheme with the aim of placing all locomotives of the same type in a numerical sequence. ‘Flying Scotsman’ was renumbered twice this year, firstly in January as No. 502 by Gresley’s successor Edward Thompson and then No. 103 in May. After the Nationalisation of the railways in 1948 60000 was added to LNER engine numbers and consequently No. 103 became No. 60103.

    January 1947 ‘Flying Scotsman’ was converted from a Class A1 locomotive to an A3 under a programme initiated by Gresley in 1928 which added a larger boiler with a higher boiler pressure. A double Kylchap chimney was added in 1959 to improve performance with German style smoke deflectors being added in 1961 as the exhaust from the new chimney blocked the drivers view.

    Things looked bleak in October 1962 when it was announced ‘Flying Scotsman’ would be withdrawn from service in January 1963 and sent for scrap. Holder of the steam speed record Gresley A4 4-6-2 Pacific No. 60022 ‘Mallard’ was to be saved for the nation and it was deemed that only one locomotive of any given wheel arrangement per designer could be preserved.

    After a failed public appeal to “Save Our Scotsman” by raising the £3000 scrap value, businessman Alan Peglar, fresh from selling his Northern Rubber business and with money to burn stepped in and purchased No. 60103 from British Railways in 1963. As part of the deal, Peglar negotiated an agreement for ‘Flying Scotsman’ to run on the main line until 1966 with options to 1971. The locomotive was overhauled at Doncaster emerging in LNER Apple Green and carrying the number 4472 once again. In 1969, the locomotive was heading for USA and Canada on a tour where she travelled 15,400 miles to promote British exports where, after initial success, UK Board of Trade backing was withdrawn and by 1970 money was running out. As a result, in 1972 Peglar was declared bankrupt and ‘Flying Scotsman’ was put into storage in the US Army Sharpe Depot to keep her safe from creditors.

    No. 4472 ‘Flying Scotsman’ working the “Cumbrian Mountain Express” over the Settle & Carlisle stops at Garsdale for water – 22/07/1981

    Enter Sir William McAlpine, who stepped in and bought the locomotive, shipping her home in 1973. Following restoration at Derby, ‘Flying Scotsman’ embarked on a career running on the UK main line and heritage railways. In October 1988 she made a trip to Australia where over the next year she travelled more than 28,000 miles and set the record for the longest non-stop run by a steam locomotive totalling 422 miles having journeyed between Parkes and Broken Hill in New South Wales. On her return to the UK, ‘Flying Scotsman’ would eventually come under new ownership, that of a new consortium “Flying Scotsman Railways” which included Sir William McAlpine and record producer and railway enthusiast Pete Waterman. In 1993, she was outshopped in BR Brunswick Green, complete with double chimney and smoke deflectors representing how she looked at the end of her working life on BR.

    Following restoration to final BR condition, No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ headed for the Paignton & Dartmouth Railway where her visit lasted from 25th July to 11th September 1993
    No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ visited Llangollen in 1995

    April 1995, while working an empty coaching stock movement on the Llangollen Railway, ‘Flying Scotsman’ derailed and suffered a crack between her boiler and cab. She was deemed to be a complete failure and was taken to Southall to face an uncertain future. Experiencing financial difficulties, the consortium sold ‘Flying Scotsman’ to biotech entrepreneur Dr Tony Marchington in 1996 for £1.5m in a deal which included a set of coaches. Over the next three years Dr Marchington spent a further £1m restoring the locomotive which he returned to the main line in 1999. Following a failed attempt to create a “Flying Scotsman Village” in Edinburgh and the collapse of his company Oxford Molecular, Dr Marchington was bankrupted in September 2003. ‘Flying Scotsman’ was put up for sale in 2004 and there was a real fear that the locomotive would be sold abroad. However, to the relief of many, a huge public appeal was launched by the National Railway Museum (NRM) and on 5th April 2004 it was announced that the NRM had been successful with their sealed £2.2m auction bid, which had been boosted by a £1.8m grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund. ‘Flying Scotsman’, a locomotive which perhaps more than any other represents the people’s engine had finally been saved for the nation. Unfortunately No. 60103 required a great deal of work to return her to steam with an estimated 12 month £750,000 restoration commencing in 2005. In reality, it would take 10 years and £4.2m before a warming fire could be lit in the overhauled firebox of ‘Flying Scotsman’. On her first public runs in January 2016 following restoration, she was seen in a wartime black livery on the East Lancashire Railway.

    Still in wartime black livery with No. 60103 on the smokebox and No’s 103 and 502 on opposite cab sides, her first mainline outing following overhaul was on 6th February 2016 at the head of “The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express” from Carnforth to Carlisle. Myself and @da_buckley967 decided to drive from Dorset to Cumbria to see the spectacle of ‘Flying Scotsman’ climbing Shap on the West Coast Main Line.

    “The Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express” – 06/02/2016
    Showing just how popular No. 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ has become is evident in this scene as she passes through Romsey with “The Cathedrals Express” rail tour on 21st May 2016
    Steam Dreams ‘Flying Scotsman’ London to Winchester and Afternoon Tour from Southampton – 06/06/2021

    Ahead of her centenary year celebrations, ‘Flying Scotsman’ underwent another overhaul at Riley & Son in Bury, the first event following this being her attendance at London King’s Cross to help celebrate the railway station’s 170th anniversary and launch her own event programme before she arrived in Dorset for a stint on the Swanage Railway.

    For more ‘Flying Scotsman’ goodness, you might like to check out these “Railway Dog” blog entries from 2022 which feature more images and video:

    Flying Scotsman
    Flying Scotsman… Again
    More Flying Scotsman

    From 27th February to 3rd March 2023 no weekday trains will run between Yeovil Pen Mill and Dorchester West to allow Network Rail to lay new track and carry out other maintenance, including station improvements at Maiden Newton. The closure extends to include the Yeovil to Castle Cary section on 6th and 7th March affecting Great Western Railway (GWR) and South Western Railway (SWR) services.

    In no way connected to the forthcoming closure “up the West”, Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st February 2023 saw Freightliner Engineering Trains head to Dorchester South. A further train was scheduled to depart Eastleigh East Yard for Upwey on Wednesday 22/02/2023.

    Dorset Freightliner Engineering Trains w/c 20/02/2023

    In another of our occasional visits to cafes which happen to be situated in former railway stations, on Wednesday 15th February, we popped over the county border to Hampshire in order to visit The Old Station Tea Rooms at Homsley.

    The Old Station Tea Rooms at Homsley – 15/02/2023

    Opened in 1874 as Christchurch Road railway station by the Southampton & Dorchester Railway it was, at the time, the closest station to Bournemouth and Christchurch, becoming Holmsley station in 1894. Prince Edward, the eldest son of Queen Victoria was a regular user of the station with his mistress Lillie Langtry as it was here where they would embark on their way to their private residence in Bournemouth. Holmsley was also the inspitration for Browndean station in Robert Louis Stephenson’s novel “The Wrong Box”.

    Porters Lunch Box
    Station Managers Rarebit

    Holmsley station was closed on May 4th 1964 as a result of the Beeching Report. Today the main station building lives on, repurposed as a tea room with several items of railway memorabilia and photographs on display. Dogs are welcome at outside tables, of which there are many, and the food is delicious. Walks along the Castleman Railway utilising the old rail road to Ringwood, Wimborne and Poole can be enjoyed nearby.

    An example of the railway themed memorabilia which can seen at The Old Station Tea Rooms, Homsley
    Review the fleet at Weymouth!

    That brings us to the end of another entry. Thanks for visiting and we hope to see you again another time. Your comments, corrections and observations are very much appreciated. Recommendations for cafes situated in former railway stations are welcome! This weeks blog was mostly written with the aid of tea, Galaxy Milk Chocolate Digestive biscuits to the accompaniment of Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side Of The Moon” – which, amazingly, is 50 years old next Wednesday (1st March 2023). Time, eh?

    Yoshi has spotted a squirrel, or a possibly Class 444 Electric Multiple Unit. They both deserve being barked at….

  • Shillingstone

    Shillingstone Railway Station built in the Dorset Central Railway style of red brick with cream decorative brickwork around windows and doors and featuring a Welsh slate roof – 11/02/2023

    Wednesday February 8th to Tuesday February 14th 2023

    South Western Railway Class 444 Electric Multiple Unit No. 444023 departs Weymouth – 07/01/2021

    On Friday, it was announced that South Western Railway had received a two-year extension on its existing contract from the Department of Transport. Scottish parent company FirstGroup PLC said their national rail contract would now run until May 2025. With no sense of irony Chief Executive Officer Graham Sutherland said, “We welcome the contract extension for South Western Railway, which enables us to build on the achievements of the first two years of the contract and continue improving the customer offering.” FTSE 250-listed FirstGroup operates another three rail franchises in the UK: Avanti West Coast, Great Western Railway (GWR), and TransPennine Express (TPE), plus an open access passenger service, Hull Trains. It also has a bus division, which operates around a fifth of local bus services in the UK. 

    In other SWR related news, it is hoped that Network Rail will complete work on the landslip at Hook to allow the full restoration of normal timetabled train services from 24th February 2023.

    Yoshi takes a look at the short section of track representing the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway which is displayed in Railway Gardens, Sturminster Newton – 11/02/2023

    Saturday 11th February 2023, Yoshi, his mama and I headed to North Dorset to walk a section of the former Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway (S&DJR) trackbed which is now part of the North Dorset Trailway. We decided to walk four miles from Sturminster Newton to beyond Shillingstone and back, so that we could visit the North Dorset Railway and enjoy a refreshing cup of tea and a slice of cake before retracing our footsteps back to our starting point. However, we wish we had asked our North Dorset Correspondent where we could have found a cup of tea on our arrival back in Sturminster!

    Yoshi amongst the snowdrops along the North Dorset Trailway – 11/02/2023
    Abandoned railway furniture on the North Dorset Trailway – 11/02/2023
    Lamb House Bridge, Shillingstone – 11/02/2023

    On arrival at Shillingstone we were able to watch some shunting manoeuvres which were taking place around the station site. The station which opened on the 31st August 1863 and is the last remaining building of the Dorset Central Railway which later formed part of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway running from Bournemouth West to Bath Green Park until falling victim to the Beeching cuts in March 1966.

    There are several posters from the age of steam as well as a museum packed with railway artefacts on view at Shillingstone railway station – 11/02/2023

    During World War I Shillingstone saw additional trains in the form of troop and supply workings. One such instance, in February 1915, saw the Naval Battalion based at Blandford Camp march en masse to Shillingstone to board a train bound for Avonmouth and ultimately to take part in the Gallipoli Campaign. Included in their number was the war poet Lt. Rupert Brooke who died of septicaemia en route off Skyros, Greece.

    A few years after the station at Shillingstone closed to rail traffic, the Dorset County Council purchased the trackbed for a proposed road which would by-pass the village. This plan never came to fruition and the council eventually decided to dispose of the station site. Following protracted negotiations, the North Dorset Railway Trust signed a lease in 2005.

    I loved this imaginary painting of what might have been and the S&DJR survived the Beeching cuts which hangs in the station tea rooms (Steve Hiscocks, 2012)

    The North Dorset Railway Trust aim to relay track in the direction of Sturminster Newton over Lamb House Bridge. Maybe one day we may even see a Class 9F or similar working part of the route once again.

    Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0 Diesel Loco Works No. D1186 ‘Ashdown’ passes Shillingstone signal box – 11/02/2023

    ‘Ashdown’ was built by Hudswell Clarke, Leeds in 1959 for use on the Manchester Ship Canal Railway (MSCR), numbered D1 and based at Partington coal basin she was the first of a small fleet of diesel locomotives working on the MSCR. She has had an illustrious career being sold on to Hunslet Engine Co. of Leeds, who leased the locomotive to the National Coal Board (NCB) Crompton colliery in Lancashire, before returning to Hunslets as their works shunter. In 1986 she was subject to a re-build before moving to the NCB Gwent Coal Distribution centre in Newport, South Wales. She was renumbered No. 8526 and named ‘Pride of Gwent’ lasting up to 1991 when she entered preservation firstly at the Butetown Historic Railway Society in Cardiff until 1997 before moving to the Vale of Glamorgan Railway. In 2008, she was purchased by the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway. In July 2013, she was exchanged for a diesel locomotive located at Peak Rail in Derbyshire and reunited with the ‘Ashdown’ name. The North Dorset Railway purchased ‘Ashdown’ in 2020. She is of a unique design and therefore the only locomotive of this type preserved.

    Ruston & Hornsby Diesel Shunter No. RH305302 (DS1169) ‘Little Eva’, Shillingstone – 11/02/2023

    No. RH305302 (DS1169) ‘Little Eva’ was built by Ruston & Hornsby, at their Boultham Works, Lincoln in 1951, for the Ransome and Marles Bearing Co of Newark, where she was used to move steel casings around the factory site. She retired from service in 1978 and donated to the Market Overton Industrial Railway Trust before moving to the Statfold Barn Railway in Tamworth.  She was purchased in 2015 and moved to Shillingstone and underwent full restoration.

    Yoshi strikes a pose alongside Class 62 Yankee 0-6-0 Tank Locomotive No. 30076, Shillingstone – 11/02/2023

    The Class 62 “Yankee Tank” steam locomotives were built from the US Army Transportation Corps template of S100 Shunters of World War II designed in 1941 by Colonel Howard G Hill. The class was extremely successful, proving powerful, economical to operate and relatively easy to maintain. More than 400 of these locomotives were deployed across Europe after the war, with over 100 ending up in Yugoslavia earning the designation Class 62. A further 90 of the class were built in Yugoslavia by Djuro Djakovic of Slavonski Brod between 1952 and 1961. Four original US built locomotives are preserved in the UK, one at the Bluebell Railway, two at the Kent & Sussex Railway and one at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway.

    Here in the UK, 14 (plus one for spare parts) of the S100 Class were purchased by the Southern Railway (SR) from the United States Army Transportation Corps in 1946, mainly for shunting in Southampton Docks, between the end of World War II and the end of steam in the 1968. Other examples saw use as industrial locomotives with Austin Motors/BMC at Longbridge, the NCB and on the Longmoor Military Railway.

    There are two examples of these locomotives currently at Shillingstone. Firstly No. 30075, built in 1960 and acquired from Store Steel in Slovenia in 1990 after clocking up only 25,000 miles in service. She was transported to the Swanage Railway, where she was completely overhauled and returned to steam in late 1992. The locomotive suffered a major steam pipe failure in 1998 and was withdrawn from traffic. No. 30075 was then dismantled and moved to the East Somerset Railway in July 2002 and was returned to traffic in July 2004. August 2009 saw her being relocated to the Mid-Hants Railway and later visited the Bodmin & Wenford Railway, the Bristol Docks Railway, Yeovil Junction Steam Centre, the Churnet Valley Railway and the Dartmoor Railway. Following withdrawal due to leaks in the inner firebox, No. 30075 was eventually moved to Shillingstone for repairs in January 2016 where she is undergoing full restoration to operational service. On our visit, No. 30075 was under cover from the elements away from public view.

    The second “Yankee” No. 30076 was built in 1954 with factory No. 62-521. She was purchased by the P62 Group in 2006 from Mittal Steel Zenica in Bosnia & Herzegovina and arrived at Shillingstone in 2016 after spending many years in store at Allelys Heavy Haulage in Studley near Birmingham. She will be a spares donor for her sister locomotive and as such will be on static display.

    Yoshi enjoyed spending time on a sniffari during our walk along the former S&DJR track bed – 11/02/2023

    Over the weekend of 11th / 12th February 2023, the Swanage Railway held a special “Behind the Scenes” event with the aim of encouraging more volunteers to help out maintain and run the railway. Passengers were able to enjoy beautiful Purbeck countryside views not often enjoyed from a train thanks to a special heritage diesel train service employing the Class 117 DMU on the occasionally used four-mile line between Norden and the River Frome, within sight of Wareham. At Swanage railway station, SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ was available for footplate visits and Class 08 diesel shunter No. 08436 ‘Beighton’ was the focus of a “driver for a fiver” experience while SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ ran passenger trains between Swanage and Norden.

    Class 08 No. 08436 waits patiently in the bay platform at Swanage – 12/02/2023
    Side detail of Class 08 No. 08436 – 12/02/2023

    I was joined by my brother and @da_buckley967 at Swanage railway station at 0930 on the Sunday morning as we had managed to book the first three available slots of this sell out escapade. Once the doors to the booking hall were unlocked, we made ourselves known and signed our lives away on a safety declaration. We then learned that the driver who was conducting the driver experience was marooned in Eastleigh because of transportation issues and an emergency relief driver had been called in to take their place, necessitating a thirty minute delay. This gave us the opportunity to grab a cuppa and take a look at ‘Eddystone’ parked up in the station and to watch ‘Manston’ depart with the first steam hauled train of the day while I constantly complained about not having any gloves with me because I was finding it cold. Diddums. At 1020 we were ushered over to No. 08436 and I was first to be allowed to climb onboard and take the controls.

    It really was a fun and interesting ten minutes being supervised at the number 2 driver position. I think was a bit harsh on the brake, and I’m amazed at the poor visibility looking out of the windows down the nose of the Class 08 and drivers, past, present and future have my full admiration! Grateful thanks to The Swanage Railway for including the chance for a taste of driving the loco as one of the ‘open weekend’ attractions – you can share our experience in the video below:

    Driver for a Fiver! – 12/02/2023
    Swanage Railway’s Class 117 DMU at Creech Bottom with a River Frome to Norden service – 12/02/2023
    Swanage Railway’s Class 117 DMU on the Norden to the River Frome section, February 2023
    SR West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34028 ‘Eddystone’ on display in Swanage enabling visitors the opportunity to view the locomotive’s footplate – 12/02/2023

    Monday evening saw a Class 37 top and tailed test train actually find its way to Dorset in 2023 with 1Q51 1115 Derby RTC to Eastleigh East Yard via Weymouth. I decided to see Colas liveried Class 37 No. 37254 ‘Cardiff Canton’ and on hire No. 37610 pass through Poole on the outward run and couldn’t resist a second shot at Hamworthy as they returned on the final leg to Eastleigh East Yard. It was a foggy evening and the sound of the two English Electric built veterans could be heard from several miles away – pure bliss!

    Colas Class 37 No. 37254 ‘Cardiff Canton’ passing through Poole (video screen grab) – 13/02/2023
    Harry Needle Railroad Company owned Class 37 No. 37610 on hire to Colas Rail accelerates through Hamworthy (video screen grab) – 13/02/2023
    1Q51 1115 Derby RTC to Eastleigh East Yard – 11/02/2023

    Thank you, dear reader, for visiting and your comments and corrections which are very much appreciated! We’ll be back next week for a delve into our archives for video of ‘Flying Scotsman’ as we celebrate 100 years of the world’s most famous steam locomotive.

    Sturminster Newton – the start and end point of our walk this week – 11/02/2023

    The Night Journey 

    Rupert Brooke (1887-1915)

    Hands and lit faces eddy to a line;
        The dazed last minutes click; the clamour dies.
    Beyond the great-swung are o’ the roof, divine,
        Night, smoky-scarv’d, with thousand coloured eyes

    Glares the imperious mystery of the way.
        Thirsty for dark, you feel the long-limbed train
    Throb, stretch, thrill motion, slide, pull out and sway,
        Strain for the far, pause, draw to strength again. . . . 

    As a man, caught by some great hour, will rise,
        Slow-limbed, to meet the light or find his love;
    And, breathing long, with staring sightless eyes,
        Hands out, head back, agape and silent, move

    Sure as a flood, smooth as a vast wind blowing;
        And, gathering power and purpose as he goes,
    Unstumbling, unreluctant, strong, unknowing,
        Borne by a will not his, that lifts, that grows,

    Sweep out to darkness, triumphing in his goal,
        Out of the fire, out of the little room. . . .
    —There is an end appointed. O my soul!
        Crimson and green and signals burn; the gloom

    Is hung with steam’s far-blowing livid streamers.
        Lost into God, as lights in light, we fly,
    Grown one with will, end-drunken huddled dreamers.
        The white lights roar. The sounds of the world die.

    And lips and laughter are forgotten things.
        Speed sharpens; grows. Into the night, and on,
    The strength and splendor of our purpose swings.
        The lamps fade; and the stars. We are alone. 

  • Cirencester Adventure

    A view of Grosvenor Road Carriage Sidings and the approach lines to London Victoria as seen from Lift 109 aloft Battersea Power Station – 04/02/2023

    Wednesday February 1st to Tuesday February 7th 2023

    A very quiet period on our patch these last seven days with no test trains or unusual visitors to report or complain about not reaching Weymouth. I would have at least expected a run of the Snow & Ice Treatment Train to Dorchester with the frosts we have been experiencing. Maybe next week we’ll have something to update you on, dear reader!

    However, the Swanage Railway was able to provide some local interest when, on Friday, test runs using the restored mainline certified Class 117 Diesel Multiple Unit ran between Norden and the River Frome, within sight of Wareham, which does not normally see regular use. Hopefully the long planned rail service between Wareham and Swanage using the Class 117 will finally launch later this year. 

    Class 117 Diesel Multiple Unit consisting of power cars No.’s 51346, 51388, and trailer car 59486 working 1R91 River Frome to Corfe Castle approaching Furzebrook – 03/02/2023

    On Saturday while Yoshi was being well looked after, I joined Yoshi’s mama and @da_buckley967 on a train to London Waterloo. Through services have been partially restored following the recent landslip at Hook and our train which originated from Weymouth arrived at its destination only a couple of minutes late.

    South Western Railway trains at London Waterloo on Saturday morning – 04/02/2023

    The purpose of our trip to London was for an expedition to Battersea Power Station to sample the delights of Lift 109 which ascends 109 metres to the top of the north-west chimney providing 360 degree views across London.

    The Lift 109 experience starts in the Power Station’s Art Deco Turbine Hall A where, a collection of original information and media displays outline the history of the building while a lighting installation whirls and glows above as visitors interact with a giant multiplayer touchscreen to collectively ‘generate energy’ – 04/02/2023
    Looking up inside the chimney from Lift 109 – 04/02/2023
    Looking down upon Battersea Power Station from Lift 109 after it emerges from the chimney stack – 04/02/2023
    A view looking east along the River Thames – 04/02/2023

    One of the main attractions for me, with the purpose of this blog in mind, was the opportunity to look down over Grosvenor Bridge which carries eight railway tracks for the use of trains coming from, or approaching London Victoria.

    Grosvenor Bridge as viewed from Lift 109 – 04/02/2023

    The bridge, engineered by Sir John Fowler (1817-1898) was originally constructed between 1859 and 1860. Fowler was also engineer for the world’s first underground railway, London’s Metropolitan Railway which celebrated its 160th anniversary last month (and was discussed here: Birthday Week – The Railway Dog) as well as chief engineer on the Forth Bridge, which as everyone knows, is the best railway bridge in the world. Returning our attention to Grosvenor Bridge, or Victoria Railway Bridge as it was once known, as originally built it carried two tracks and was the first railway bridge across the Thames in London. Between 1865 and 1866 the bridge was widened to allow an additional four tracks by Sir Charles Fox working for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway and the London, Chatham and Dover Railway. This was still not enough for the LB&SCR which added another track in 1907 again increasing the width of the bridge. The Southern Region of British Rail carried out extensive work between 1963 and 1967 when they renewed the structure to a design by Freeman Fox & Partners leaving only the core of the original bridge piers in place, which were enlarged by concrete, reducing the span to 164 feet, but the arches and deck were entirely replaced. Each of the four river spans now comprises ten steel box-section arches. Supported between each pair of arches is a steel trough span, carrying ballast and track. The bridge could accommodate ten tracks, although currently carries nine. The land spans were replaced by welded steel girders. The design of the bridge allowed its reconstruction to be advanced progressively, resulting to minimal disruption to railway services.

    Southern Railway services on the approaches to London Victoria – 04/02/2023

    Lift 109 provides stunning views across London, and is well recommended should you have the opportunity to visit. I would have liked a little longer time to observe, take photographs across the City and to soak the vistas in. We conducted a debrief afterwards in Control Room B which is

    Control panels form a backdrop to the Control Room B bar – 04/02/2023
    Battersea Power Station’s Control Room B where you can buy the smallest bottle of Diet Coke for the princely sum of £4.50 – 04/02/2023

    After a trip along the Thames to Greenwich by Uber Boat from Thames Clippers we returned to Battersea to view the third light festival to be held at the Power Station which runs from January 19th to March 5th 2023.

    ‘Jupiter Clipper’ an Uber Boat from Thames Clippers approaches Battersea Power Station pier – 04/02/2023
    The view of Battersea Power Station from the pier – 04/02/2023

    There are 8 pieces of illuminated artwork curated in partnership with Light Art Collection on display. Three of my favourites were the following:

    “End Over End”, The Light Festival Battersea Power Station – 04/02/2023
    “Badstop, The Light Festival Battersea Power Station – 04/02/2023
    “Moonburn”, The Light Festival Battersea Power Station – 04/02/2023

    You can read about our previous visit to Battersea Power Station here

    On Sunday, Yoshi re-joined his mum and I as we headed off to meet up with lovely friends in Cirencester, Capital of the Cotswolds, and as we discovered, a beautiful market town.  

    St John Baptist towers over Cirencester and is one of the largest parish churches in England. During the 1880’s George Gilbert Scott lead a restoration team seeking to strengthen the building. Scott was the architect responsible for the Midland Grand Hotel at St Pancras Railway Station in London and grandfather of Sir Giles Gilbert Scott known for being the architect responsible for the exterior of Battersea Power Station as well as the iconic K2 and K6 red telephone boxes – 05/02/2023
    Yoshi with “Pink Lady Dancing with Big Brown Dog” (Bronze 2020) on loan from the artist, Sophie Ryder, who is also a passionate dog breeder. Ryder has devoted herself throughout her career to the representation of part-human, part-animal beings as allegories of human characteristics, emotions and desires. One such hybrid is “Lady Hare”, a figure with a woman’s body and a hare’s head which Ryder developed at an early date into a central motif within her work. The hare can be found throughout art history as a symbol of fertility and lust, of resurrection, power and wisdom. Sophie Ryder inscribes these meanings into her female figures, which she frequently portrays in company with the mythical Minotaur as a male vehicle of expression, or with dogs as man’s trusty companion (Yeah, I pinched that bit from elsewhere) – 05/02/2023

    On our walk around Cirencester, punctuated by stops for cups of tea and the smallest halloumi filled brioche roll in the known universe (always upgrade to sourdough bread if you have the option), we happened upon the remnants of the 1841 Brunel designed Town Railway Station, one of three stations which used to grace the town (the others being Cirencester Watermoor and Chesterton Lane Halt). Cirencester lost its passenger rail service in 1964 with goods traffic surviving for another year. The town was connected to the mainline by means of a five mile, single track branch line from Kemble. In contrast to Grosvenor Bridge in central London, the Cirencester branch crossed the River Thames near its source and formed the highest rail crossing point on the river. 

    The 1841 Brunel Cirencester Town Railway Station buildings survived the closure of the branch line which terminated in the Cotswold Market Town – 05/02/2023

    The old station building now finds itself located in the middle of a car park, with a Waitrose supermarket occupying the site of the former goods yard. The building is currently owned by Cotswold District Council with its future under review, options being considered include its conversion into a cultural centre or being put up for sale. 

    Now within Old Station Car Park, the remains of Cirencester Town railway station – 05/02/2023

    The Cirencester Community Railway project has ambitions to restore the rail link to Kemble, although building work post closure, such as the ring road dating from the 1970’s, means that some of the former track bed has since been built upon and any new line will have to follow a different route on the final run into Cirencester. The project was accepted into the Department for Transport’s “Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund” in December 2020 and was offered £50,000 to develop a business case for the proposed Very light Railway Scheme utilising a single self-powered electric carriage with a battery powered propulsion system.

    The rather wonderful frontage of Kemble Railway Station – 05/02/2023

    On our way home we stopped all too briefly at Grade II listed Kemble railway station which was opened by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in 1882 and is situated on the railway line between Swindon and Gloucester. The truncated branch line to Cirencester can still be seen as a short length of track ending in a buffer stop alongside a curved platform which also survives as part of the Kemble station complex.

    The buffer stop which marks the end of the line for the former Cirencester branch. Now used for the occasional stabling of track machines, will the line to Cirencester return in the future? – 05/02/2023
    The truncated remains of the Cirencester branch is to the right of the picture with the main running lines to the left – 05/02/2023

    There was also another line which branched off at Kemble which in this case served Tetbury between 1889 and 1964. Despite being the test beds for a new railbus service employing four wheeled vehicles built by AC Cars Ltd, the branch lines to Cirencester and Tetbury were the first casualties of the Beeching closures in the Wessex region. The railbuses later transferred to Yeovil to work between Yeovil Junction, Yeovil Town and Yeovil Pen Mill, and Bodmin before they were withdrawn from service in 1968. Successive closures of branch lines during the 1960’s and 1970’s were often marked by protests and Cirencester was no exception when a lady who had hosted a drinks party on one of the last railbus services attempted to set fire to an effigy of the Transport Minister, Ernest Marples, replete with a 3-foot axe. She was restrained by police in front of a 200 strong crowd of locals. 

    A view from the platforms at Kemble looking North – 05/02/2023

    Kemble railway station is virtually complete as built and is in a good state of preservation. The toilets, we discovered, are currently out of use. Original track at Kemble and the branches would have been of Brunel’s broad gauge with this being changed to standard gauge in 1892. The stone station buildings are built in a Tudor style featuring arched doorways. A covered footbridge links the up and down platforms and a rectangular cast iron water tank, itself Grade II listed, stands on the down platform complete with pumping machinery below. Today, all services are operated by Great Western Railway with typically one train in either direction each hour linking London and Cheltenham using Class 800 bi-mode IET’s, and Class 158 and Class 166 DMU’s.

    GWR Class 158 DMU No. 158745 passes the water tank on departure from Kemble working 2G09 1530 Swindon to Cheltenham Spa – 05/02/2023

    As luck would have it, our route home to Dorset also conveniently passed through Westbury, so with fading light, but an impressive sunset, I spent twenty minutes or so busying myself by increasing my daily step count wandering up and down the station platforms taking in the locomotive shaped delights on offer. Our North Dorset Correspondent later informed me that I had missed a Colas Class 56 which had worked into Westbury that afternoon, but I’m not one to bear a grudge.

    DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66075 stands adjacent to Westbury railway station – 05/02/2023
    Freightliner Duo: Class 66 No. 66618 ‘Railways Illustrated Annual Photographic Awards Alan Barnes’ and Class 59 No. 59002 ‘Alan J day’ sporting Aggregates Industries livery at Westbury – 05/02/2023
    Class 59 No. 59002 ‘Alan J day’ in Aggregates Industries livery at Westbury – 05/02/2023
    DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66172 ‘Paul Melleney’ prepares to leave Westbury working 6W05 1721 Westbury Down T.C. to Barry – 05/02/2023

    Also this past week, we took a quick look at the demolition work being carried out at Dorchester South where the canopy and postal office is being removed. It was dark at the time of our visit, but it was clear that much progress had been made (contrast and compare with the images posted last week )

    Work to remove the postal office and canopy at Dorchester South – 03/02/2023
    Freightliner Class 66 No. 66503 ‘The Railway Magazine’ stands adjacent the parcels office during engineering work being carried out at Dorchester South – 12/12/2020
    Nameplate detail of Class 66 No. 66503 ‘The Railway Magazine’ – 12/12/2020
    Engineering work relaying track at Dorchester South provides a view of the canopy being removed in 2023 – 24/10/2020

    That brings us to the end of another weeks blog entry. Thank you so much, as always for your comments and corrections. We hope you’ll join us again next time!

  • Pokesdown

    Yoshi vista Pokesdown railway station – 28/01/2023

    Wednesday January 25th to Tuesday January 31st 2023

    Dorset railway station Pokesdown (or to quote current station signage; “Pokesdown for Boscombe”) has been in the news recently and on Wednesday January 11th 2023 was subject to an Adjournment debate at the House of Commons as Tobias Ellwood,  Conservative MP for Bournemouth East, raised the question of when customer lifts would be installed at the location. Describing the station as “pretty grim” Mr. Ellwood, who has been campaigning for improvements to the station since 2016, pressed Minister of State, Department of Transport, Huw Merriman for an update on promised improvements. At the weekend, Yoshi and I decided to go along and take a look at the station ourselves. 

    The ground level exterior entrance to Pokesdown railway station – 28/01/2023

    Pokesdown railway station serves the Pokesdown, Boscombe and Southbourne areas of Bournemouth and is on the South West Main Line, situated 106 miles 24 chains (171.1 km)  from London Waterloo (Railways in the UK historically are measured in miles and chains, there being 80 chains to one mile). The station is served by South Western Railway (SWR), who operate semi-fast services from London Waterloo to Weymouth and stopping services from London to Poole. The station was originally opened on 1st July 1886 by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) at an estimated cost of £2,000. It was originally named Boscombe, but was changed to Pokesdown (Boscombe) on 1st October 1891 as it is situated noticeably closer to Pokesdown than Boscombe. On 1st May 1897, when (the now closed) Boscombe station was opened, the station was renamed to just Pokesdown. In 1930, the station was again renamed, becoming Pokesdown for Eastern Bournemouth, but was once more changed to Pokesdown following the formation of British Railways in 1948. At one time there were two centre roads allowing non-stopping services to pass through the station without being encumbered by stopping trains at the platforms. These up and down fast lines were removed in the 1970’s.

    The booking hall at Pokesdown – 28/01/2023

    The station entrance at Pokesdown is at ground level with the platforms 20 meters below, access can only be currently gained by two 42-step flights of stairs, one to catch trains in the Weymouth direction and the other for stations to London.  The goods lifts at Pokesdown are 90 years old and have not functioned for over 35 years. In 2021, the BBC reported that at least two passengers had suffered broken bones after falling on the steep steps. One, Jacky Dempsey, broke both arms.  There is no alternative access for passengers with restricted mobility and wheelchair users are advised to use the main Bournemouth station instead. 

    The up platform steps – 28/01/2023
    The bridge across the platforms – 28/01/2023

    Installation of lifts for passenger use was an obligation in SWR’s 2017 franchise agreement and although the franchise has since been replaced by a new National Rail Contract in the wake of the pandemic, SWR has reconfirmed its £1.6m contribution, subject to third-party funding to meet any shortfall.  In January 2022, Bournemouth Christchurch Poole Council (BCP) pledged £2.6m from its Future Fund, with Network Rail (NR) providing the balance of the overall project cost of £5.7m which in addition to new lifts include refurbishment works on the bridge across the railway line to connect both lifts and other much needed modernisation of the Station facilities. The steelwork on the bridge is of around the same age as the redundant goods lifts and requires assessment prior to the construction of new lifts.

    The main road in the area is the A35 which crosses the main line east of Pokesdown station on this bridge. As originally built there was a single island platform – this was removed and two platform faces created allowing space for four running lines through the station. SWR Class 444 EMU No. 444036 leading No. 444017 with the 1W61 0950 London Waterloo to Weymouth and Poole stopping service approaches. One of the goods lift shafts can be seen behind the station bridge – 28/01/2023

    SWR and NR are hoping to be in a position to put the job out to tender later this year which will give all parties a final construction cost for the lift project. In the meantime work to upgrade the platform canopies is expected to be completed by mid-2023. Local Premiership football club, AFC Bournemouth, whose ground is only a stone’s throw from the station, has offered to help to give the station some local personality by donating large football montages to brighten the platform spaces. Other opinions on this addition may vary! I would much prefer the mural by Krishna Malla, aka Tech Moon a Bournemouth based artist specialising in photorealism, which currently adorns the down platform walls remain in situ. The mural, entitled “Hope”, was created at the request of Network Rail and SWR in 2020 to create a positive image and help uplift an area which has been beset with hard times over the past few years for depressing circumstances surrounding mental health. Doves were chosen as the subject matter because “The dove represents peace of the deepest kind”.

    “Hope” dove detail by Krishna Malla, aka Tech Moon – 28/01/2023
    “Hope” plaque – 28/01/2023
    Hands detail from “Hope” by Krishna Malla, aka Tech Moon – 28/01/2023
    The final section of the “Hope” is designed to move from the view on the train. The shadows offer a metaphor that every shadow has a light on the other side – 28/01/2023

    Regular stopping services are operated using SWR Class 444 or Class 450 electric multiple units with a weekday and Saturday service of two trains an hour. Sunday’s see one stopping train an hour.  CrossCountry Voyagers are regular visitors as they pass non-stop through the station. 

    Class 450 No. 450066 working 2B21 1056 Southampton Central to Bournemouth stops at Pokesdown – 28/01/2023
    Class 444 No. 444017 at the rear of the 1W61 0950 London Waterloo to Weymouth and Poole stopping service – 28/01/2023
    Looking west towards Bournemouth from the footbridge, XC Voyager Class 221 No. 221127 passes Pokesdown on 1M46 1145 Bournemouth to Manchester Piccadilly. The space once occupied by two through tracks can clearly be identified – 28/01/2023

    So, is the station “pretty grim”, as opined by Tobias Ellwood? I liked the mural, but I think I’d describe Pokesdown station as unloved and in urgent need of TLC. We look forward to making a return visit to Pokesdown in the future to see the results of the £5.7m upgrades.

    Dorchester South is also seeing some ‘Railway Improvement Work’ as Network Rail undertake the demolition of the station canopy and removal of the former postal office at the end of platform 1. The major part of the work is planned to take place over the weekend of 4th / 5th February 2023 with follow up work expected to be completed by Friday 10th February 2023. 

    With the Brewery Square development rising up above it the Dorchester South postal office and canopy awaits demolition – 28/01/2023
    Another view of the postal office / canopy at Dorchester South SWR Class 444 No. 444016 waits in the down platform working 1W21 1020 London Waterloo to Weymouth – 28/01/2023
    SWR Class 444 No. 444016 departs with the 1W21 1020 London Waterloo to Weymouth – 28/01/2023
    The dilapidated condition of the Dorchester South parcels office / canopy can clearly be seen in this view – 28/01/2023
    Time travelling back to the 1980’s, the parcels ramp at Dorchester South was a favourite spot for rail enthusiasts and train spotters on a summer Saturday afternoon.
    Class 31 No.’s 31152 and 31154 make a rare visit to Dorchester South. The original station building still stands in the right of the image although the addition of an up platform meant trains no longer had to reverse into the original platform – October 1983
    Class 33 No. 33106 working a “Channel Islands Boat Train” through Dorchester South. On arrival at Weymouth, the train famously traversed the streets before arriving at the Quay station. The Dorchester South parcels area and canopy is seen on the left – 28/08/1982
    London Midland Scottish Stanier Class 5MT 4-6-0 No. 44932, the sole survivor of this type of locomotive constructed in 1945 at Horwich Works, brings Railway Touring Company “The Dorset Coast Express” 1Z96 0845 London Victoria to Weymouth railtour past the parcels office and station canopy into Dorchester South – 01/09/2010
    Direct Rail Services (DRS) Class 66 No. 66415 arrives at Dorchester South with a train of empty wagons destined for Wool sidings where they would be loaded with sand. The locomotive would run around the train at Dorchester before returning to Wool for reversal into the sidings situated on the Up side of the station – 10/04/2012
    Our final modern day glimpse of the parcels office and station canopy as SWR Class 444 No. 4440135 awaits departure from Dorchester South working 1W20 1303 Weymouth to London Waterloo – 28/01/2023

    Our regular reader may remember a couple of weeks ago when one of the monthly test trains scheduled to visit Weymouth via Bournemouth and Poole did not materialise because of the landslip at Hook. A cause of much disappointment as the train was being hauled by Class 37 locomotives instead of the usual Class 73 electro-diesels. We had a sense of déjà vu this week when a Class 37 hauled test train to Weymouth via Yeovil also terminated early without visiting the Dorset seaside as 1Z22 0752 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingsland Road with No.’s 37610 and 37612 went off route at Wootton Bassett Junction and instead of heading south carried on a westerly trajectory and arrived at its final destination 481 minutes early because of lack of train crew to take over for the afternoon / evening shift.

    Thursday 26th January saw SWR Class 458 EMU No. 458503 working 5B39 1001 Wimbledon Park Depot Sidings to Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D. To my knowledge, I have not previously seen a Class 458 in Dorset, so armed with a long lens for the camera, Yoshi and I stopped off at Bournemouth Traincare depot on our way to Pokesdown and from the safety of the car park took the following photos. 

    SWR Class 458 No. 458503 at Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D. – 28/01/2023
    Class 701 No. 701043 at Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D. – 28/01/2023
    A line up of SWR EMU’s at Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D. including No.’s 444005, 701041, 701042 and 444003 – 28/01/2023

    Two other Class 458’s could be seen stabled on the depot amidst the Class 444’s, Class 701’s and Class 455 EMU’s. 

    SWR Class 458 No.’s 458530 and 458519 stand adjacent the train wash with an unidentified Class 455 behind, Bournemouth T&R.S.M.D. – 28/01/2023

    Our final port of call on Saturday was a brief visit to the Swanage Railway and Corfe Castle station. As track work has been ongoing at Swanage this week, resident Class 33 diesel locomotives No. D6515 ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ and No. 33111 have taken it in turns to be stabled adjacent to the signal box in Corfe. On our visit it was the turn of BR Blue liveried No. 33111 which made an interesting composition with a brake van and carriage.

    Class 33 No. 33111 rests at Corfe Castle railway station – 28/01/2023

    From The Archive

    The only 8mm video footage I recorded at Pokesdown station is of SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35028 ‘Clan Line’ working the return LSW Railtours “The Strong Counrtyman” on 11th June 1995. My intention was to clip this shot and include it with this weeks blog section on Pokesdown. However, I enjoyed the complete 38 minute sequence and I thought you might be interested in seeing the whole thing as well. Starting at Eastleigh with views which could not be replicated today because of new building developments (Lidl, I’m looking at you) and including Class 47’s, a Class 58, a Class 07, Class 442 Wessex Electrics and Slam Door EMU’s the video also includes shots of ‘Clan Line’ at Bournemouth Traincare Depot before they erected an annoyingly huge fence. The appearance of No. 35028 at the Bournemouth depot was the first visit of a ‘Merchant Navy’ Pacific locomotive to the approaches of the former Bournemouth West station, on which the depot now resides, in almost 30 years. Has there been one since I wonder?

    Video of SR Merchant Navy Class 4-6-2 No. 35028 ‘Clan Line’ working LSW Railtours “The Strong Countryman’ – 11/06/1995

    This was LSW Railtours, run by Paul Blowfield formerly of the British Rail Special Trains Unit, first ever steam hauled tour. Looking back at the pages of the August 1995 edition of “The Railway Magazine” we discovered most of the seats on the tour had been sold in advance, with well over 300 passengers travelling on the train. It appeared to be a difficult time for rail tour operators with a whole page in the magazine devoted to readers letters discussing the topic dramatically entitled “Main Line Steam In Crisis”. From the small section of letters included from amongst the many apparently received on the subject by the editor it is apparent that tour organisers were generally failing to market and promote trains aggressively to a wide audience. In addition, poor time-keeping and the lack of photo opportunities for these onboard coupled with the uncertainty as to if the tour would run or not did little for the future confidence of main line steam. Mr Blowfield admitted that it was difficult to promote trains in a climate when more and more tour operators were competing for the same market, often with several trains running on the same date.

    Many thanks for your corrections, comments, contributions and observations – they are all most welcome. This weeks blog was brought to you courtesy of caramel latte and Twirl bars.

    If you, or someone you know, have been affected by mental health here are a few links below that may help. Two specific to Dorset and an NHS index of further support: 

    http://www.dorsetmentalhealthforum.org.uk

    Home

    https://www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services/

  • Birthday Week

    For fans of photographs of trains taken through a shrubbery, here is Southampton Maritime Freightliner depot with pink liveried Class 66 No. 66587 ‘As One, We Can’ – 15/01/2023

    Wednesday January 11th to Tuesday January 17th 2023

    There has been a huge impact on rail services to and from London, Bournemouth and Weymouth as over the weekend, heavy rain washed away a clay embankment northeast of the Hampshire railway station of Hook situated between Basingstoke and London Waterloo. Passengers were advised against all but essential travel over the coming days on services which would usually pass through the area on the South West Main Line. The great majority of trains will not be able to run and repairs may take weeks before services are restored. As a result no trains will be stopping at Hook, Winchfield or Fleet.

    The landslip at Hook from the air – screen grab from BBC South Today – 16/01/2023

    Network Rail will need to build an access road to enable heavy machinery designed for piling to be brought in and repairs carried out around the clock. The embankment, originally built 190 years ago, is made of a mixture of London Clay and other local soils. Although there have been landslips at this location previously, they are becoming an increasing problem across the network because of drier summers and wetter winters with more intense rainfall which is a particular issue for clay embankments.

    Network Rail image of the Hook landslip – 16/01/2023

    The slip, which left one track hanging in mid-air, happened when the soil gave way along a 44-metre section of 10m high embankment, sliding out from underneath the tracks meaning only two tracks of the four-track railway are passable by trains. Both of the intact tracks are designed to be used by London bound trains only. This was the worst of 13 different flooding related incidents during the recent rainfall, which also included major flooding at Sway increasing the disruption on the already revised timetable between London Waterloo and Weymouth. South Western Railway (SWR) will run a service from Weymouth which will terminate at Basingstoke and a very limited shuttle will operate between Basingstoke and Woking, from where services continue thereafter.

    South Western Railway (SWR) service announcement published on 17/01/2023

    Wednesday 11th January, before the latest period of rain, Swanage based Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ hauled Network South East liveried Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ from the Purbeck Heritage Line to Eastleigh Arlington working as 0Z50 0942 Swanage to Eastleigh Arlington (ZG). After dropping off the Class 50, the Crompton headed back to Swanage light engine the afternoon of the same day.

    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ hauling Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ working 0Z50 0942 Swanage to Eastleigh Arlington (ZG) through Hamworthy – 11/01/2023
    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ travels solo as 0Z33 1430 Eastleigh Arlington to Swanage – 11/01/2023
    Video of Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ hauling Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ on a day out from Swanage – 11/01/2023

    On Sunday, Yoshi stayed with his mum while I headed towards Eastleigh to visit an old friend and a chance to put the world to rights. I obviously took the opportunity to get some railway time in on my way and my journey took me via Totton Yard, Freightliner Southampton MCT – which was quite full of locomotives with examples of Class 66’s, Class 70’s, Class 47 No. 47830 – and of course Eastleigh itself!

    A view of MPV’s and SITT sitting on Totton Yard – 15/01/2023
    Southampton Maritime Container Terminal depot with, amongst others, Class 47 No. 47830 ‘Beeching’s Legacy’ and Class 66 No. 66587 ‘As One, We Can’ hiding behind a container train – 15/01/2023
    Nameplate detail of Class 66 No. 66587 ‘As One, We Can’ – 15/01/2023
    With impeccable timing, late running Freightliner Class 66 No. 66592 ‘Johnson Stevens Agency’ works 6Y85 1000 Andover to Eastleigh East Yard past Redbridge, Southampton – 15/01/2023
    Class 50 No. 50021 ‘Rodney’ (also known as Dave) on Eastleigh Works. Hopefully this locomotive and sister No. 50026 will head to Swanage for the 2023 Diesel Gala in May – 15/01/2023
    A view across Eastleigh East Yard – 15/01/2023
    Colas Class 66 No. 66849 ‘Wylam Dilly’ at Eastleigh East Yard – 15/01/2023
    Unbranded GBRf Class 66 No. 66303 at Eastleigh East Yard – 15/01/2023
    Network Rail Video Inspection Unit VIU-3 Class 153 No. 153385 at Eastleigh – 15/01/2023
    DB Class 66 No. 66142 ‘Maritime Intermodal Three’, Colas Class 66 No. 66847 ‘Terry Baker’, Class 153 No. 153385 at Eastleigh – 15/01/2023
    Maritime Blue liveried DB Cargo Class 66 No. 66142 ‘Maritime Intermodal Three’ at Eastleigh – 15/01/2023

    Monday 16th January was panning out to feature a busy evening with the Snow & Ice Treatment Train (SITT) based at Totton Yard and the regular 1Q51 test train visiting the Bournemouth to Weymouth line. Much anticipation here when Colas English Electric Class 37’s No.’s 37116 and 37610 were allocated to the test train, normally in the hands of a pair of top and tailed Class 73 electro diesel locomotives, at Derby. However it soon became clear that the landslip at Hook meant the train would be forced off-route at Virginia Water, eventually terminating at Reading Triangle Sidings, instead of running to Weymouth via the South West Main Line and back to Eastleigh East Yard from where the consist normally operates over the rest of the week before returning to Derby. The train eventually continued to Eastleigh the following day, but at the time of writing, has not covered the section of line from Totton to Weymouth.

    Early Monday evening, the SITT was showing as cancelled on RealTimeTrains(RTT), although upon checking the following morning it was clear that the service did in fact run, at least as far as Dorchester South.

    GBRf Class 66 No.’s 66722 ‘Sir Edward Watkin’ and 66745 worked as far as Dorchester South on Monday 16th January. The pair are seen here at rest in Totton Yard – 15/01/2023

    From The Archive

    January 2023 marks the 160th Anniversary of the launch of the World’s first underground railway; The Metropolitan Line, in 1863. Ten years ago on 13th January 2013, scenes not witnessed on the central London sub-surface sections of underground since July 1954 marked the start of LU150, a year long celebration, as an 1898 built steam locomotive puffed in and out of the tunnels, surprising unsuspecting passengers and delighting railway enthusiasts. I was one of those who enjoyed the spectacle as the short video below shows:

    Video of Anniversary shuttles with 0-4-4-Steam Locomotive Met No 1 and Metropolitan Electric loco No.12 ‘Sarah Siddons’ with brake of vintage coaches

    The following is adapted from The London Transport Museum’s ‘History of the Tube’;

    Back in 1863 the underground railway was intended to reduce street congestion, which by the 1850’s had reached a crisis point. Upon opening, The Metropolitan Railway was an immediate success, although its construction had taken almost two years and caused huge disruption as the sub-surface lines were built by digging a long trench, laying track and covering it over again (known as the cut and cover technique) leaving a tunnel system which were at first operated by steam trains. The 5.6km line connected the mainline stations at Paddington, Euston and King’s Cross to Farringdon, at the edge of the City. Success meant that extensions to both ends of the line soon followed.

    In 1868, The Met was joined by an associated railway company; the Metropolitan District Railway with the intention that the two would cooperate to form an ‘Inner Circle’, linking all London’s mainline termini. However, disagreements over money led to a falling out and both companies instead chose to prioritise their individual extensions. The Circle was only completed after government intervention in 1884.

    Despite their differences, the Met cooperated with the District Railway in plans for electrification in 1900. However, their ideas were rejected when a powerful American businessman, Charles Tyson Yerkes, took over the District and a group of struggling Tube schemes in 1901. Under Yerkes, the Circle and District were electrified along American lines by 1905, powered by a new generating station at Chelsea. The Met built its own power station at Neasden using the same system but electrified more slowly. 

    In 1908, the separate companies started to work together to promote the system as a coherent network under the UndergrounD brand. Gradually most of the companies merged and the network expanded, as the population of London soared. The resultant station architecture of the 1930’s is highly regarded. 

    The Met had been exploiting the land along its lines since the 1880’s but entered a new phase when their first housing estate was built at Pinner in 1900. The name ‘Metro-land’ was coined in 1915 to publicise the area, and in 1919 a subsidiary company was set up to concentrate on housing. Throughout the 1920’s and 1930’s, thousands of homes were built. Gradually Metro-land was electrified, with services to Harrow in 1908 and Rickmansworth in 1924. A new electric line from Wembley Park to Stanmore opened in 1932, but further north steam locomotives continued as before.

    While the rest of London’s underground railways all succumbed to the domination of the railway group Yerkes founded, the Metropolitan alone remained independent. The Metropolitan Railway had regarded themselves not as a commuter railway, but as an ambitious player in the mainline railway world, extending out from Baker Street in the 1870s and 1880s into open country. By 1899, at the height of their powers, they had reached Verney Junction and Brill in Buckinghamshire, more than 80km from Baker Street.

    The Met was forced to give up their independence when all of London’s public transport – buses, trams and trolleybuses, as well as the Underground railways – came under the centralised control of London Transport (LT) in 1933 and decisions about services could be fully coordinated for the first time. The Met’s mainline ambitions were over, with LT closing the rural Brill branch in 1935 and the withdrawal of services north of Aylesbury a year later. The Stanmore branch transferred to the Bakerloo in 1939. 

    A massive plan; The New Works Programme, designed to upgrade and expand services was prepared in 1935, but the work was interrupted by the Second World War. Some of these were revived in the difficult post-war economic climate, but others were not.  

    Modernisation in the early 1960s saw extensive track and signal work and new A stock trains. These worked the line until replacement with S stock trains between 2010 and 2012 under the new Transport for London (TfL) organisation. This was part of wider modernisation project across all the Underground’s sub-surface lines, replacing infrastructure and signalling and introducing automatic operation. 

    A new Tube line had been suggested in 1943, but delays meant that the new Victoria line did not serve its first passengers until 1968. The Tube reached Heathrow Airport in 1977. Another new line, the Jubilee, was added in 1979. It terminated in central London and was later extended eastwards in 1999.

    Today, The Metropolitan Railway lives on as the Metropolitan Line, it has 67km of track and 34 stations, running from Amersham and Chesham in the north-west to Aldgate in east London, as well as a branch to Uxbridge.

    Yoshi

    Despite his urge to drink water from the upstairs toilet, Yoshi celebrated his 4th birthday on Thursday 12th January. He enjoyed a special doggo cupcake and played with a toy wine bottle for all of ten minutes before tearing it to shreds in an attempt to extract the squeaker.

    Yoshi celebrates his birthday with cake!

    On that happy note, it brings us towards the end of another blog. Many thanks for visiting, reading, your comments and corrections. For anyone wondering about my car, which broke down last week, things don’t look too good for it. In fact the garage I took it to for repair declined to undertake any further work other than an initial inspection, charging me for the privilege of confirming what the AA had previously already told me. I may get a second opinion, or just cut my losses. I can’t say it’s not been a fun car to drive, but all good things……

    Post Script

    Seeing Network Rail Class 153 No. 153385 at Eastleigh on Sunday prompted me to have a brief look at this class of diesel multiple unit (DMU).

    In the mid 1980’s, looking to replace older DMU’s, British Rail ordered 35 two-coach Class 155 units from Leyland Bus at Workington. In 1990 the decision was made to split each of the 35 Class 155’s into single car vehicles for use on rural railway lines, the work being carried out by Hunslet-Barclay at their plant in Kilmarnock during 1991/92. A new drivers cab was retrofitted into the spaces previously used for luggage racks at the inside end (B-end) of each carriage where they had been coupled together in the Class 155 formation. The new cab is noticeably smaller than the original A-end one, as the position of the exterior doors were not amended during conversion.

    Locally, GWR/Wessex Trains utilised Class 153’s on services between Bristol Temple Meads and Weymouth having inherited 13 units from Wales & West.

    Transport for Wales currently run a fleet of 26 Class 153’s having modified them to comply with Reduced Mobility Technical Specification Interoperability (PRM-TSI) legislation which came into effect on January 1st 2020. Scotrail have five units which have been modified to provide racks for luggage and bicycles for use on the West Highland Line services between Glasgow and Oban, running them in conjunction with existing Class 156 DMU’s.

    In May 2021, Network rail (NR) acquired three Class 153’s to convert into Video Inspection Units (VIU) for infrastructure monitoring services and have been fitted with cameras, recording devices and a generator placed in the saloon to provide power to the tech. One of these is the aforementioned No. 153385:

    Still in passenger revenue earning service, East Midlands Railway (EMR) Class 153 No. 153385 is seen at Barnetby working a service to Grimsby Town – 15/04/2014
    Now belonging to Network Rail; Class 153 No. 153385, also known as VIU-3, retains its East Midlands Railway (EMR) livery but with black Network Rail branding and is seen stabled in the Locomotive Holding sidings at Eastleigh – 17/02/2022

  • Winter Warmer

    Thursday 4th January to Tuesday 10th January 2023

    Southern Railway Battle Of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ arrives at Corfe castle in the rain working 2N03 1115 Norden to Swanage – 07/01/2023

    With no trains running in Dorset until Sunday 8th January, it was down to the Swanage Railway to provide railway based entertainment, which they did admirably with their Winter Warm Up event over the weekend of 7th / 8th January 2023. The timetable involved four locomotives running passenger services between Swanage and Norden as well as each loco taking turns on a demonstration freight train which, to be honest, was the main attraction for me. The outlook for the weather forecast was poor, so it was decided Yoshi would remain home with his mama and join me later in the day.

    We started off by seeing Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ passing SR Battle of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ at Harmans Cross with the first workings of the day.

    Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ in Network South East livery departs Harmans Cross working 2N01 1030 Norden to Swanage – 07/01/2023

    The rain held off until we arrived at Corfe Castle. Waiting for the late running first freight of the weekend in the charge of SR U Class No. 31806 the heavens opened. It was at this point where I think my Canon DSLR camera must have suffered from water ingress. I should have switched the camera off and removed the battery and lens, but I foolishly carried on using it throughout the day until the point it gave up the ghost and would not switch on at all.

    Southern Railway U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 working the first demonstration freight 6N04 1102 Herston Halt to Norden on the Saturday Winter Warm Up event – 07/01/2023
    Here I am getting soaked watching SR Battle Of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ departing Corfe Castle working 2N03 1115 Norden to Swanage – 07/01/2023 (Photograph courtesy of @da_buckley967)
    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ approaches Harmans Cross with the 2N12 1245 Swanage to Norden service – 07/01/2023
    SR Battle Of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 stands at Harmans Cross carrying a “Locomotive Club of Great Britain” (LCGB) headboard 2N09 1245 Norden to Swanage – 07/01/2023
    Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ takes a turn on the freight working 6N11 1302 Norden to Swanage seen here passing Harmans Cross – 07/01/2023
    U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 nears Harmans Cross 2N14 1330 Swanage to Norden – 07/01/2023
    The final image taken with my Canon D1200 DSLR camera before it shut down for the last time; Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ prepares to depart Swanage with the 6N22 1527 Swanage to Norden demonstration freight running as part of the Winter Warm Up – 07/01/2023
    Video from Saturday 7th January 2023 Swanage Winter Warm Up

    In 2016 the Winter Warm Up was on 27th December and I recall a frosty start to the day, as can be seen in the set of photographs below:

    U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 approaches a frosty Harmans Cross with an early morning service from Swanage – 27/12/2016
    U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 arrives at Harmans Cross in cloud of steam with the first steam hauled service of the day from Swanage – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ departing Harmans Cross – 27/12/2016
    A Diesel Multiple Unit set catches the sun at Harmans Cross sidings – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ nears journeys end at Norden – 27/12/2016
    London & South Western Railway (LSWR) 0-4-4T M7 Class No. 30053 being serviced at Swanage shed. No. 30053 is owned by the Drummond Locomotives Limited, and has been running regularly on the Swanage Railway since 1992. No. 30053’s boiler certificate expired in early 2017 but an extension to the certificate was obtained as the boiler had been re-tubed in 2011. The locomotive was in service until the end of October 2017 when the boiler certificate finally ran out.
    In December 2017 the boiler was lifted off the frames to enable the overhaul of the locomotive to start. The boiler was returned to the frames in September 2022 and it is planned that the locomotive will be back in service during 2023. She’s a particular favourite of mine and I look forward to seeing her running again – 27/12/2016
    London & South Western Railway (LSWR) 0-4-4T M7 Class No. 30053 taking shape once again at Swanage Railway’s Herston Works – 01/11/2022
    Three Class 33’s at Swanage, from left to right, No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’, No. 33111 and behind SR Battle Of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’, No. 33201 – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No. 33111 heads out of Swanage with a train destined for Norden – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ passes the observation area opposite Swanage depot while taking a turn on the freight wagons – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No. 33111 recreating a bygone era with a loose coupled freight – 27/12/2016
    U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 approaching Corfe Castle – 27/12/2016
    With Corfe Castle in the background, another image of Class 33 No. 33111 working the demonstration freight train – 27/12/2016
    U Class 2-6-0 No. 31806 takes her turn on the Winter Warm Up freight consist – 27/12/2016
    London & South Western Railway (LSWR) 0-4-4T M7 Class No. 30053 nears Corfe Castle working a demonstration freight – 27/12/2016

    London & South Western Railway (LSWR) 0-4-4T M7 Class No. 30053 stands at Harmans Cross while working a demonstration freight – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No. 33111 double heads with sister locomotive No. D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ on the final working to Swanage on 27/12/2016
    The front end differences can be clearly seen in this image of Class 33 No.’s 33111 and D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ – 27/12/2016
    Class 33 No.’s 33111 and D6515 (33012) ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ are observed by the train crew of a Swanage bound train on their departure to Norden – 27/12/2016

    Tuesday 10th January 2023 and I decided an outing to Eastleigh was in order to test out a replacement camera body and hopefully put it through its paces. It was set to be a busy day in the Hampshire railway town with Class 33 No. D6515 ‘Lt Jenny Lewis RN’ scheduled to haul Class 50 No. 50026 ‘Indomitable’ from Swanage to Eastleigh Arlington Works where the Hoover is to undergo a period of winter maintenance, Freightliner Class 47 No. 47830 ‘Beeching’s Legacy’ passing on a trip to Banbury and the release of the latest Class 69 conversion from the Works and its onward journey to Tonbridge. However it transpired that the Class 50 move from Swanage was revised to run the next day, Wednesday 11th January (photos next week my lucky reader!), the Class 47 was replaced by FL Class 66 No. 66596. The Class 69, however was in a reasonably good position for a photograph on the Works following a special naming ceremony earlier in the day.

    GBRf Class 69 No. 69007 ‘Richard Trevithick’ at Eastleigh Works. The locomotive was converted from Class 56 No. 56037 which also carried the same name. Earlier in the day at a private ceremony for the benefit of ex Cardiff Canton employees the loco carried her former number and a double BR arrow emblem underneath the nameplate on one side. Before being released into traffic the 69007 number and GB Railfreight decals were affixed – 10/01/2023

    The Class 69 was scheduled to depart the Works at 1424, but by 1515 she still had to make her way out onto the mainline. At this point, conscious that Yoshi needed a bit of a comfort break, I decided not to wait any longer and instead decided to work our way towards home, stopping briefly to drop off a packet for a couple of Yoshi’s feline friends who are in the area.

    Package duly delivered we drove back through Eastleigh to see No. 69007 had moved up to Works gates and set to head into Eastleigh railway station to reverse before carrying onto Tonbridge. I made my own reversal and headed back into the station where I was just in time to get a photograph of the locomotive standing at platform 3 and video of her departure.

    GBRf Class 69 No. 69007 ‘Richard Trevithick’ reverses at Eastleigh railway station working the delayed 0Z07 1424 Eastleigh Works GBRf to Tonbridge West Yard GBRf – 10/01/2023
    Nameplate detail of Class 69 No. 69007, Eastleigh – 10/01/2023
    Class 56 No. 56037 and an unidentified member of the class working the heavy Port Talbot to LLanwern iron ore train through Cardiff Central. Class 56’s were employed in pairs on this working having replaced the perhaps even more impressive triple headed Class 37’s! At this point in time No. 56037 was yet to be named – 25/05/1981
    Now named ‘Richard Trevithick’, Class 56 No. 56037 is on display at Old Oak Common Open Day – 20/09/1981
    Nameplate detail of Class 56 No. 56037, Old Oak Common – 20/09/1981

    On our way home from Eastleigh as we neared Junction 1 of the M27 my car suddenly lost power and we cautiously limped off the motorway to the relative safety of The White Hart pub at Cadnam where we awaited assistance from the AA and our eventual recovery home. The car is booked in with the garage for Friday. If things happen in three’s, I am nervously awaiting incident number three!!

    My car being checked over by the AA. Unfortunately, it was not a problem that could be fixed at the roadside and we required a lorry to take us home – 10/01/2023
    Yoshi enjoys the delights of The White Hart, Cadnam as we await the arrival of the tow truck – 10/01/2023
    Video of Class 69 No. 69007’s first outing at Eastleigh – 10/01/2023

    Meanwhile, on the Hamworthy Branch, which has yet to see a train run along its length following the recent upgrade work, more remedial effort will be required following the damage to fencing and road crossing lights, as seen in the images below:

    An update to the long running South Western Railway (SWR) Class 701 Electric Multiple Units (EMU) saga has been reported with SWR formally accepting 24 finished units and repeating their commitment to introduce the fleet into service “as early in 2023 as possible”. A concurrent statement from the Department for Transport indicated that work to finalise a service-standard software package for the trains was still underway and that driver training had not yet commenced.

    A number of SWR Class 701 units standing in Eastleigh depot – 10/01/2023
    Class 701 No.’s 701031 and 701025 stabled in Eastleigh Works – 10/01/2023

    Thank you for joining us again this time. All being well, we’ll be back next week as long as I can avoid breaking anything else! This weeks blog was brought to you accompanied by the sounds of Stephen Sanchez, Ludovico Einaudi and Everything But The Girl.

    Endpiece:

    SR Battle Of Britain Class 4-6-2 No. 34070 ‘Manston’ at rest on Swanage shed following the first day of the Swanage Railway Winter Warm Up – 07/01/2023

  • New Year 2023

    Thursday 22nd December to Tuesday 3rd January 2023

    Empty trains parked up on Christmas Day at Weymouth railway station – 25/12/2022

    The UK rail network wound down for the Christmas break early on 24th December in 2022 because of industrial action. Several South Western Railway (SWR) Class 444 Electric Multiple Units and a Great Western Railway (GWR) Class 165 diesel multiple unit spent Christmas parked up at Weymouth railway station awaiting the restart on the 27th December 2022.

    SWR Class 444 EMU No. 444038 in Weymouth – 25/12/2022

    Following the Christmas close down of the railways, the first train to run on the Bournemouth to Weymouth route was the seasonal Snow & Ice Treatment Train (SITT) which set off from Eastleigh mid-morning to ensure rails were free of ice before passenger services started after mid-day.

    GBRf Class 66 locomotives No.’s 66753 ‘EMD Roberts Road’ and 66745 top and tail 3Y88 1000 Eastleigh East Yard to Totton Yard SITT through Hamworthy on the outward run to Weymouth – 27/12/2022
    GBRf Class 66 locomotives No.’s 66745 and 66753 ‘EMD Roberts Road’ top and tail 3Y88 1000 Eastleigh East Yard to Totton Yard SITT across the Holes Bay causeway on the return run from Weymouth. No. 66722 replaced No. 66753 two days later, although this combination has yet to venture West to Bournemouth or Weymouth as SITT runs have been working East from Totton Yard – 27/12/2022
    GBRf Class 66 locomotives No.’s 66753 ‘EMD Roberts Road’ and 66745 top and tail 3Y88 1000 Eastleigh East Yard to Totton Yard SITT – 27/12/2022. Additional video courtesy of @dabuckley967

    1st January 2023 marks 100 years since the formation of the ‘Big Four’, the term coined by “The Railway Magazine” for the grouping of 120 individual railway companies into just four: Great Western Railway (GWR), Southern Railway (SR), London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) and London and North Eastern Railway (LNER). The grouping was outlined in the 1921 Railways Act which strived to stem losses and regulate what were seen as inefficient, diverse and, in some cases, overlapping operations which had been struggling following the Great War. The act eliminated competition, as each group now had a regional monopoly. It also established standard fares and charges for particular services. 75 years ago on 1st January 1948, as a result of the Transport Act of 1947, the Big Four companies were nationalised to form British Railways.

    LSWR T9 Class No. 30120, seen here with SR U Class No. 31806, is a surviving locomotive from the pre-Big Four grouping period having been built in 1899 and has been stored at Swanage following the expiry of her boiler certificate in August 2020 – 12/02/2022

    New Years Day 2023 saw Yoshi’s Mum and I heading to London to take in the conveniently extended “Beatrix Potter: Drawn to Nature” exhibition at the V&A and Matthew Bourne’s “Sleeping Beauty” at Sadler’s Wells. We had intended to take the train, but South Western Railways timetabling around the RMT industrial action meant we would not be able to get everything done and home on the day with our last train leaving London Waterloo at 1830. So instead, we took to the roads and parked up at Kew Gardens and travelled into Town using the London Underground District Line from there.

    I like Kew, it has a lovely village feel and Kew Gardens railway station is a fine Grade II listed example of mid-Victorian architecture and one of the last remaining 19th Century stations on the North London Line having been opened in 1869 by the London & South Western Railway (L&SWR) who were, prior to the formation of ‘The Big Four’, custodians of the Bournemouth to Dorchester line. Current services calling at Kew Gardens are operated by London Underground (LU) and National Rail London Overground utilising LU S7 stock and British Rail Class 378’s respectively. The Class 378 EMU’s replaced the Class 313’s operated by Silverlink and were introduced in 2008. Kew Gardens is also the only station on the London Underground network I know of which has a pub attached to it. The pub once had a door which gave access to platform one, but this is no longer in use. The pub is currently called ‘The Tap on the Line’ but was formerly known as ‘The Railway’.

    The footbridge over the tracks at the southern end of the station buildings is Grade II listed in its own right and is a rare surviving example of a reinforced concrete structure built by French engineer Francois Hennebique (1842-1921). The bridge, restored in 2004, has high sides which protected users from the smoke emitted from steam locomotives passing below when originally installed.

    Kew Gardens railway station exterior on the “Up” side – 01/01/2023
    Kew Gardens railway station – 30/07/2016
    Kew Gardens railway station, platform side – 01/01/2023
    Class 378 Capitalstar Electric Multiple Unit No. 378208 operated by London Overground arrives at Kew Gardens with 2N05 1010 Richmond NII to Stratford while London Underground S7 Stock Fleet No.21403 with driving coach No. 21404 at the rear of 2O51 Upminster LT to Upminster LT via Richmond awaits departure – 01/01/2023
    London Underground S7 Stock Fleet No. 21377 with driving coach No. 21378 leading arrives at Kew Gardens working 2O16 Upminster LT to Upminster LT via Richmond. The footbridge can be seen in the background – 01/01/2023

    I very much enjoyed the V&A’s exhibition celebrating the life and work of Beatrix Potter. One railway themed item was this illustrated letter Beatrix sent to Marjorie Moore, the daughter of her last governess, detailing an eventful train journey when a farmer’s collie exited the carriage by jumping through a window:

    Letter from Beatrix Potter to Marjorie Moore written on 23rd August 1898
    Beatrix had many animals during her lifetime. Kep, who is shown here was immortalised as Jemima Puddle-Duck’s hero when he rescued her from a ‘sandy whiskered gentleman’

    Following our visit to the V&A (and a fabulous lunch – mustn’t forget the lunch!) we headed off to Islington via Old St. Pancras Churchyard so we could see ‘The Hardy Tree’ which had recently succumbed to a fungal infection and had fallen. During the 1860’s the Midland Railway line was being built over part of the original St. Pancras Churchyard. Arthur Blomfield, a Covent Garden based architect, was commissioned by the Bishop of London to supervise the proper exhumation of human remains and the dismantling of tombs. He passed this unenviable task onto his protégé Thomas Hardy in 1865. Hardy (1840-1928) is best known as a Dorset author and poet with his novels set in rural ‘Wessex’, however before turning to writing full time he studied architecture in London from 1862-67.

    Hardy would have spent many hours in Old St. Pancras Churchyard during the construction of the railway, overseeing the careful removal of bodies and tombs from the land on which the tracks were being laid. Legend has it that Hardy stacked displaced headstones in a circle around an ash tree with the stones becoming embedded in the tree over time.

    A few years before Hardy’s involvement, Charles Dickens (1812-1870) makes reference to Old St. Pancras Churchyard in “A Tale of Two Cities” (1859), as the churchyard in which Roger Cly was buried and where Jerry Cruncher was known to ‘fish’ – a 19th Century term for tomb robbery and body snatching!

    The sad sight of the fallen Hardy Tree, St. Pancras Old Churchyard – 01/01/2023

    Thanks for reading and Happy New Year! This blog entry was brought to you by Halls Soothers. Until next time, we’ll leave you with this; Thomas Hardy, inspired by a visit to Upwey, wrote a poem “At the Railway Station, Upway”, about waiting for a train at a country station: 

    “There is not much that I can do,
    For I’ve no money that’s quite my own!”
    Spoke up the pitying child –
    A little boy with a violin
    At the station before the train came in, –
    “But I can play my fiddle to you,
    And a nice one ’tis, and good in tone!”

    The man in the handcuffs smiled;
    The constable looked, and he smiled, too,
    As the fiddle began to twang;
    And the man in the handcuffs suddenly sang
    Uproariously:
    “This life so free
    Is the thing for me!”
    And the constable smiled, and said no word,
    As if unconscious of what he heard;
    And so they went on till the train came in –
    The convict, and boy with the violin.

    Colas Rail Class 37 No. 37099 working a test train through Upwey – 27/04/2017

  • Seaton

    Wednesday 14th December to Wednesday 21st December 2022

    Seaton Tramway’s Polar Express – 15/12/2022

    This week Yoshi’s mum and I took a trip on the Seaton Tramway’s Polar Express. We enjoyed hot chocolate and cookies and received the first gift of Christmas from the big man himself. Unfortunately, doggos were not allowed on the festive trams, but Yoshi had fun at his cousins’ for a few hours, as did we in the company of the conductor, chefs and elves on our journey to the North Pole.

    In 2018 a new £3m station building was opened suitable for operation all-year round, and which acts as a venue for a range of tramway and community based events including The Polar Express – 15/12/2022

    Established in 1970, the Seaton Tramway is a 2ft 9in narrow gauge electric tramway located in Devon and runs for approximately 3 miles along the Axe Estuary and the River Coly between Seaton on the coast and Colyton and operates over part of the trackbed of the former Seaton branch line railway which closed in March 1966. The tramway was established by Claude Lane, founder of Modern Electric Tramways Ltd, which had previously operated in Eastbourne between 1954 and 1969. 

    Fourteen trams, all based on classic British designs and varying in size from half-scale to two thirds-scale, run on the tramway, which sees over 100,000 visitors per year. Most of the trams were built from scratch by Claude Lane or his successor Allan Gardner, however three were rebuilt from full-size tramcars which originally ran in London, Bournemouth and Exeter.

    TRAM 19 – 1906 – EX-EXETER TRAMWAY CAR
    Built in 1906. An Exeter Corporation Tramways 3ft 6in gauge open topper, 1906 – 1931. Rebuilt at Seaton, 1994-1998. The only Exeter tram in preservation. Enclosed tram for wet weather – 15/12/2022
    Tram 19 at Colyton – 15/12/2022
    TRAM 15 – 1988
    Built in 1988 at Seaton. Previously Car 17 and based on the Manx Electric Railway “toast-rack” cars. Rebuilt at Seaton in 2016 and transformed into an all-weather, enclosed single-deck tramcar – 15/12/2022
    TRAM 14 – 1904 – EX-METROPOLITAN TRAMWAY CAR
    Built in 1904, the oldest tram in the fleet. A metropolitan Tramways “type A” originally numbered car 94 (Standard Gauge), rebuilt at Eastbourne and Seaton between 1962 and 1984. Enclosed tram for wet weather – 15/12/2022
    TRAM 16 –1921 – EX-BOURNEMOUTH TRAMWAY CAR
    Formerly Bournemouth car No. 106, built as a 3ft 6in gauge open-top double-decker in 1921 and withdrawn on the closure of the Bournemouth system in 1936. The body was subsequently discovered in use on a Dorset farm, acquired by the Bournemouth Transport Preservation Group and then donated to Seaton Tramway in 1974 where the body was narrowed, and then rebuilt in its current form. Launched in to service in 1992 – 15/12/2022

    Video of the Seaton Tramway from 1996:

    The recent cold spell saw the Snow & Ice Treatment Train make its second run this winter along the Bournemouth to Weymouth line with a daylight outing on 15th December.

    GBRf Class 66 no.’s 66753 ‘EMD Roberts Road’ and 66745 top and tailing 3Y88 0908 Totton Yard to Totton Yard via Weymouth though Hamworthy – 15/12/2022
    3Y88 0908 Totton Yard to Totton Yard via Weymouth – additional video by kind permission of @dabuckley967 – 15/12/2022

    For The Record

    The final two scheduled test trains of 2022 failed to materialise with Monday evenings 1Q51 1115 Derby RTC to Eastleigh East Yard being cancelled at source due to ‘a problem with the train’ and Wednesday 21st December’s visit of the New Measurement Train operated by Colas Class 43 HST power car No.’s 43272 and 43257 via the West running as 1Q18 0754 Derby RTC to Bristol Kingsland Road was turned around at Yeovil Pen Mill because of late running.

    That brings us to the end of another blog entry, and indeed, our final Railway Dog of 2022. All things being equal, we’ll be back in January 2023 – thank you for reading and all your comments, corrections and contributions over the last 12 months. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!