Yoshi visits Tonbridge and barks at all the GBRf Class 69 locomotives introduced to traffic so far – 12/11/2022
On Saturday, Yoshi’s mum was off to London for the weekend to meet up with a friend who had travelled down on the Caledonian sleeper – of which, I was extremely jealous! Travelling on a sleeper train has long been an item on my bucket list. As there are no sleeper services from sleepy Dorset to the big smoke, and as Yoshi’s mum isn’t keen on rail replacement bus services, I volunteered to drive up and drop her off in Greenwich. With this offer accepted, my mind began to formulate a number of plans of things Yoshi and I could do on our way back.
My initial thought was to drive home via Brighton and try and catch Class 313 No. 313201 in its heritage British Rail livery before this particular Class of electric multiple units is withdrawn from service, but planned engineering works meaning no trains running in the area put paid to that idea.
Next up, I thought I could spend the afternoon somewhere on the East Coast Main Line as I was certain London North Eastern Railway (LNER) would roster “celebrity” Class 91 No. 91111 ‘For The Fallen’ in Remembrance Day livery created to mark the contribution of, and the lives lost by regiments along the East Coast route during the First World War. First unveiled in 2014, the special livery depicts soldiers, artefacts, poppies and tributes in honour of those who lost their lives in service to their country. The locomotive had been running turns between London Kings Cross and the North all week, and I was confident it would run over the Remembrance weekend. But on checking the allocations via Real Time Trains on Saturday morning, it was clear that No. 91111 was being rested. It obviously returned to duty the following day.
One locomotive named in commemoration of Remembrance I have managed to capture is DB Class 66 No. 66100 ‘Armistice 100 1918 – 2018’ which I saw at Didcot on 2nd June 2022. In the images below, the loco has one of its wheel sets placed in a wheel skate and had been marooned at Didcot since the middle of May 2022, eventually leaving on the back of an Allelys low loader for repairs at Toton weeks later.
DB Class 66 No. 66100 ‘Armistice 100 1918 – 2018’ at Didcot – 02/06/2022Nameplate detail of DB Class 66 No. 66100 ‘Armistice 100 1918 – 2018’ at Didcot – 02/06/2022DB Class 66 No. 66100 ‘Armistice 100 1918 – 2018’ at Didcot. The wheel skate can be seen clearly – 02/06/2022
Returning to last Saturday and plan number three which involved heading towards Tonbridge to see SR Unrebuilt West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34067 ‘Tangmere’ in action heading up Bellmond British Pullman’s “Golden Arrow 50th Anniversary” rail tour running from London Victoria to Canterbury and return, commemorating the final run of this iconic named train which occurred on 30th September 1972. ‘Tangmere’ was deputising for SR Rebuilt Merchant Navy 4-6-2 No. 35028 ‘Clan Line’ but, unbeknownst to me (because I had failed to check) the positioning run which would have taken ‘Tangmere’ south from Carnforth to Southall was cancelled on Friday 11th November 2022 which resulted in the steam traction being substituted by top and tailed Class 67 locomotives.
This is ‘Tangmere’ when she made it south a few years ago:
SR Unrebuilt West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34067 ‘Tangmere’ rests in the EMU compound at Weymouth having worked Railway Touring Company organised “The Royal Wessex”. It was reported that the locomotive hit the buffer stops at Weymouth station – 05/09/2015SR Unrebuilt West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34067 ‘Tangmere’ puts on quite a display as she nears Dorchester South with “The Dorset Coast Express” – 09/09/2015SR Unrebuilt West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34067 ‘Tangmere’ climbs Bincombe Bank with the return “Weymouth Seaside Express” – 31/07/2011The wonderful exterior of Greenwich railway station on 12/11/2022 where we deposited Yoshi’s mum. The station was opened in 1840, and the original building still stands, making it one of the oldest surviving station structures in the world. The line that serves Greenwich, the London and Greenwich Railway as it was known when it was built in 1836, was the first steam railway in London and the first to be built specifically for passengers. It began at Tooley Street (now London Bridge) and ran via Deptford to Greenwich on a viaduct of 878 brick arches. It was the first elevated railway in the world. DB Class 67 No. 67007 in Platinum Jubilee livery passing Pluckley hauling Belmond British Pullman’s “Golden Arrow 50th Anniversary” rail tour. The Class 67’s were deputising for SR Unrebuilt West Country Class 4-6-2 No. 34067 ‘Tangmere’ which would have been the first time a Bullied ‘Spam Cam’ had hauled a Pullman train since August 2007 – 12/11/2022DB Class 67 No. 67021 in Belmond Pullman livery at the rear of the “Golden Arrow 50th Anniversary” rail tour. Named in 1929, the “Golden Arrow” was the Southern Railway’s premier connection with Paris, the equivalent train on the French side was “La Flèche d’Or”. The “Golden Arrow” was mainly routed via Dover for the Channel Crossing, although for a number of years the return leg started at Folkestone Harbour – 12/11/2022GBRf Class 69 No. 69004 in traditional RHTT livery passes Tonbridge with No. 69005 ‘Eastleigh’ at the rear working 3W74 0605 Tonbridge West Yard GBRf to Tonbridge West Yard GBRf – 12/11/2022GBRf Class 69 No. 69005 ‘Eastleigh’ at the rear of 3W74 0605 Tonbridge West Yard GBRf to Tonbridge West Yard GBRf. As was pointed out to me by our North Dorset correspondent, there are no tail lights in evidence – 12/11/2022GBRf Class 69 No.’s 69003 ‘The Railway Observer’ / 69002 ‘Bob Tiller CM&REE’ and Class 73 No. 73119 ‘Borough of Eastleigh’ at Tonbridge West Yard – 12/11/2022GBRf Class 69 No. 69003 ‘The Railway Observer’ Tonbridge West Yard – 12/11/2022GBRf Class 69 No. 69001 ‘Mayflower’ with 69006 at the rear at Tonbridge West Yard – 12/11/2022GBRf Class 73 No. 73119 ‘Borough of Eastleigh’ at Tonbridge West Yard – 12/11/2022GBRf Class 73 No. 73964 ‘Jeanette’ rests having worked 1Q85 2356 Tonbridge West Yard to Tonbridge West Yard earlier in the day. Classmate 73962 was on the other end of the test train – 12/11/2022
Our video from 12th November 2022, bark along!
On Sunday 13th November, I visited The Tank Museum at Bovington, near Wool. Unfortunately the museum is not dog friendly, so Yoshi sat this one out. As would be expected, the museum follows the development of the tank from World War One to the modern day and has numerous examples on display. There are a few railway references in the museum:
A display showing how railway’s moved troops about the country for embarkation to Europe – The Tank Museum 13/11/2022Checking supplies arriving by train and the injured awaiting repatriation at a railway station diorama – The Tank Museum 13/11/2022Unlike modern armoured vehicles, the first tanks did not have turrets to carry the main gun. Their weapons were instead mounted in special side units known as “sponsons.” An example of a sponson from a Mark II tank is shown on the trolley in the above image. Specially designed trolleys were used in 1916 to move the sponsons around when taken off the tank. This was necessary because tanks would otherwise not be able to travel by rail. The sponsons jutted out and made the tank too wide to fit through tunnels – they may have also knocked down signal posts or injured passengers on platforms. The solution was to unbolt them which took the crew about fifteen minutes and then load them onto the trolleys to be carried separately. With the appearance of the new Mark IV tank in 1917, the trolley became redundant. Its sponsons were smaller and could slide into the hull to allow the whole tank to travel by rail – The Tank Museum 13/11/2022A Mark IV Tank(Male), built in 1917 by William Foster & Co Ltd as part of a batch of 101 tanks numbered from 2300 to 2400. This is one of seven survivors from the 1,220 Mark IV tanks built and is preserved in operational condition, although it is not run to avoid damage from wear and tear – The Tank Museum 13/11/2022A branch line from Wool to Bovington was built . This image courtesy of The Tank Museum shows Mark IV tanks with sponsons pushed inside to meet railway gauge limitations are being shunted towards Bovington. The branch cost an estimated £2,776 which was met by the War department. At just over 2 miles in length, the single track branch line was constructed by the Royal Engineers assisted by German prisoners of war between October 1918 and August 1919Remains of the Bovington Branch railway in 2022; an embankment near Woolbridge – 13/11/2022We’ve looked at the railway element of The Tank Museum, and now a dog feature: Rifleman Khan was a German Shepherd who won the Dickin medal during the Second World War. He was awarded the medal for saving the life of his handler, Lance Corporal Jimmy Muldoon. Khan was volunteered for Army service by the Railton family and given the number 147. After training as a mine detection dog, he was assigned to Jimmy Muldoon, 6th Battalion, The Cameronians. Khan spent the rest of the war in Europe with Jimmy Muldoon. Due to the bond they had developed, Jimmy appealed to the Railton family to keep him. They initially refused, but after a parade organised by ‘The Star’ newspaper in 1947, the family saw them together and allowed Khan to stay with Jimmy, saying, “He is yours, take him home with you!” Jess Lucas, a sculpture student at Arts University Bournemouth, produced the model of Rifleman Khan seen in the image above for her final year project.There are all sorts of tanks on display at the Tank Museum. Sometimes mutated alien creatures encased in tank like bonded polycarbide armour visit for team build events such as this group in 2015 posing for photographs with their creator Davros – 25/07/2015
In other news, at some “point” during the past week, the Hamworthy Branch has been reconnected to the main line. Hurrah! The track work crossing Lake Road bridge is scheduled to receive attention w/c 21/11/2022
SWR Class 444 No.444038 having departed Hamworthy with 1W64 1420 Weymouth to London Waterloo passes the newly restored point work leading to the Hamworthy Branch – 16/11/2022Closer view of the new point work – 16/11/2022The ‘stop’ sign is still in situ on the Hamworthy Branch – 16/11/2022Maybe a sight we’ll see again? DB Class 60 No. 60054 heads off the Hamworthy Branch – 17/02/2017
If you’ve made it this far dear reader, you have our thanks and gratitude. We really appreciate your comments, observations and corrections. We’ve almost managed a whole year of posts at therailwaydog.co.uk, join us next week for the blogs’ first birthday, There will be cake. Possibly. This week’s post was created to the sounds of Dizzy, John Rutter and Odanata (thanks Milly & Saffy!).
Leave a Reply