Steam World (January 2009-on)

First Floor, 2 King Street, Peterborough, PE1 1 LT

The Editors of this magazine, which does not set out to be profound, have been highly successful in capturing material both from professional locomotive engineers (who very sadly are a shrinking breed), from senior railway managers, and from people like Andrew Dow who enjoyed priviledged access to railways at an early age. The magazine neither provides volume numbers nor consecutive pagination. and this makes it slightly more difficult to cite, and this has inhibited progress in providing fuller coverage. This is a pity as some of its content is of lasting value, although that based on shed bashing is usually trivial and  will not be abstracted in depth. Amongst the greatest gems are the long series by R.H.N. Hardy which have extended from the Great Central to Great Eastern sections of the LNER and onto the Southern Region. Over the years Philip Atkins has also provided much food for thought. Thus the entries are highly selective.

Back issues: recent copies (that is last few months) are available from Tower Publishing Services Ltd., Tower House, Sovereign Park, Market Harborough, LE16 9EF. (Tel: 01858 438871). A limited number of earlier Issues are available from the Editorial address in Peterborough by calling 01733 555123 or by making requests in writing.

Issue 259 January 2009

Holley, Mel. Taking the air. 4-5.
Atmmosphere of steam trains in winter. Illus. H class 0-4-4T No. 31324 near Hoo Junction on 2 February 1961 (Colour: K.W. Wightman)

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
'This is a Western engine, where do I stick the disc mate...?
Class 3 2-6-2T No. 82042 working on Exmouth branch with disc sandwiched behind number plate as locomotive lacked Southern Region type lamp brackets (Colour Rail). Comment from Richard Strange in Issue 261 page 7.
92184 – the 90 mph '9F'!
5 inch gauge model: Ian Grinter col. illus.
Who is in charge here?
Brookham Crossing with both former LSWR and SECR signs: Roy Hobbs colour photograph taken in April 1971
More of your favourite railway paintings.
4P comound No. 41157 painted by M.J. Parnham and J17 on passenger train painted Peter Webster: submitted by Ken Wyatt
Steam age totem at Bristol
"In lovong memory of Gareth Darby a dedicated railwayman" at Temple Meads
No trains, but a lovely sight.
Hornsea station: colour illustration submitted by David Gowing.

Mitchell, Alan. An easy rider? 8-12.
Fireman at Canklow where passenger workings were rare: thus pleased to work a return excursion from Bournville to Rotherham with driver Walt Smith on class 5 No. 44858. No difficulty in maintaining steam, and blew off whilst passing through Birmingham New Street, and over-filled the boiler north of Derby which led to priming. Enjoyed running at speed.

Simister, Malcolm. Parkstone memories. 19-24
1 in 60 incline between Poole and Bournemouth. Memories extended back to before closure of Somerset & Dorset line.

Lamb, Ian. Freedom of Scotland. Part 1. 26-33
Started at Mallaig. On arrival at Fortwilliam took bus to Ballachulish where joined branch train for Oban, thence to Stirling and home to Edinburgh. On following day (a Sunday) travelled to Glasgow, thence to Balloch (still steam in 1960) and on Maid of the Loch on Loch Lomond cruise.

Morrison, Gavin. Great shot. 34-5.
9FNo. 92018 with short freight leaving Rowsley on 17 July 1963.

Batten. Reg. How golden were the '30s? 36-43.
Satrted taking railway photographs in 1930: enjoyed location north of Potters Bar. Illus.: C1 No. 4437 on down slow line north of Potters Bar in 1937; former Cambrian Railways 2-4-0T No. 1196 at Oswestry on VE Day 8 May 1945; cover of Railway Magazine No. 575 (May/June 1948) (A1/1 Great Northern); Cauliflower 0-6-0 on Oxford to Bletchley local passenger in July 1937;; 61XX on GWR suburban train near Iver; 14XX No. 4811 working miners' special auto train near Ruabon in 1943; E4 No. 2796 near Baylham Mill, Suffolk; N15X No. 2330 Cudworth at Nine Elms shed (became Photomatic postcard); Patriot No. 55544 on down express passing Bourne End; Grange on train of very mixed stock at Cefn Mawr, near Ruabon in 1943; former LYR 0-6-0 No. 12201 at Willesden shed  in late 1930s; A3 No. 48 Doncaster in black south of Potters Bar in late 1940s; No. 863 Lord Rodney on Hildenborough bank.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me.... 44-5
Illustration of early jet engines (gas turbines) in unsuccessful attempt to use tham for snow clearance.

Burles, Denis. Plant apprentice. 46-50.
Joined Doncaster Works initially as a messenger in June 1930. In this position he encountered Robert A. Thom, whom he could not understand due to his Scottish accent and F.H. Eggleshaw. He then became a trade apprentice, but was discharged at the end of it in 1937. He noted the lack of protective clothing, and the relatively dangerous working condtions, but appeared to enjoy his work. Illus.: beaver tail obervation car under construction for Coronation train, author alongside Mallard in 2003; wheel shop; forge in carriage works.

Minter, Brian. In search of King John. Part 2. 52-6.
Holidays spent at Teignmouth reached by train from Paddington. 6026 King John was eventually seen at South Ruislip and 4076 Cararthen Castle was seen at West Drayton. He managed to see all? the Kings and Castles.

Hobbs, Roy. Engines abroad. 58-61.
Colour photo-feature: Class 5 No. 45346 departing Betchworth with 16.04 Redhill to Reading on 23 September 1964 (had arrived on Newcastle to Newhaven car sleeper on 10 September, but failed and was sent to Redhill for repair); B12/3  No. 61572 arriving Towcester on Wandering 1500 railtour organized by MGNRS on 5 October 1963; unrebuilt West Country No. 34002 Salisbury entering Cornwall off Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash on Cornubian railtour on 3 May 1964; B1 No. 61313 at Redhill mpd awaiting spares in August 1964 (had arrived on an Edinburgh to Lewes pigeon special in July); J52/2 formerly No. 68846, but preserved as GNR No. 1247 passing Salfords with railtour from London Bridge to Sheffield Park on Bluebell Railway on 1 April 1962; 7900 St Peter's Hall hauling another failed Hall past Shawford Junction on 18 May 1963; unrebuilt West Country No. 34015 Exmouth assisting No. 9773 on Wallingford branch on LCGB Cross Countryman railtour on 12 December 1965.

Reviews. 64-5.
British railways in wartime. Kevin Robertson. OPC/Ian Allan
"some of the best images from the Getty Collection, many of which have never been see before"
Locomotives from the National Collecction. Peter Waller and Alan Butcher. Ian Allan.
A picture book which illustrates many, but not all the locomotives in the Collection, mainly by shots taken outside the NRM
Wheels to disaster! Peter Lewis and Alistair Nisbet. History Press.
Fatigue failure of wheels leading to railway acciodents from Shipton-on-Cherwell in 1874 to Eschede in Germany in 1998.
The Southern scene. Kevin Robertson. Ian Allan.
Getty Collection images of the Southern Railway.
A guide to digital railway photography. Kim Fullbrook. Ian Allan.
Well received
Castleman's corkscrew. Vol. 2. B.L. Jackson. Oakwood.
"It's a hefty, but enjoyable read, and priced very reasonably"
Mallard and the A4 class. David McIntosh. Ian Allan.
Critical of the picture editing. "...it's a pleasant book which gives a good overview of the class, but little more, and lacks some of the 'facts and figures'..."
Over the Alps on the Watercress Line. John Richardson. Oakwood
Autobiographical: post-preservation railway.

Issue 260: February 2009

Holley, Mel. Gaps in our knowledge. 4-5.
Relationship between inspectors and footplate crews. Illus. Q class 0-6-0 No. 30536 at Three Bridges on 16 March 1962 (colour: Geoff Rixon).

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
The Clean Air Act meant that smoke was banished – I don't hink so.
A4 No. 60015 Quicksilver at King's Cross in February 1963 with dark column of smoke (Geoff Rixon).
Shipston.s delightful 'shed for one'.
Roger Carpenter photograph of Shipston-on-Stour taken in 1949, but shed had clsed in 1916.
Northern Irish 3ft gauge survivor, near Belfast.
Moorfield station on Larne to Ballymena line – now a private residence: Val Moore colour photograph.
Can you solve the 45593 excursion puzzle?
See Great Shot: this Issue pp. 34-5.
Stolen pannier tank 'is found' – at Old Hill.
No. 6422 with auto trailer (Roger Shenton)

Chapman, Michael. Lament for a lunch box. 8-14.
Adventures in getting from Blackburn to the Oxenholme/Tebay area to photograph trains. Illus. (all colour): ex-works class 5 on Gaarston to Carlisle banana train in May 1963 in Lune Gorge; class 5 prepares to leave Tebay for Shap on freight in 1967; Ivatt type 4 No. 43009 descends Shap with engineers train in March 1963; Fairburn 2-6-4T banks soda ash train near Scout Green in 1965; ex-works 8F No. 48017 in Lune Gorge with northbound freight in May 1963; panorama of Tebay with freight hauled by class 5 heading towards Shap; class No. 45067 waiting for assistance at Oxenholme on evening freight in August 1964.

Platform. 16-17
A reversed headboard was a normal sight at York on summer saturdays. Peter Brumby.
See Issue 256 page 7 for illustration of A4 No. 60028 with reversed headboard: working was Saturday equivalent of non-stop The Elizabethan working
A reversed headboard was a normal sight at York on summer saturdays. Brian C. Bailey.
See Issue 256 page 7 for illustration of A4 No. 60028: reversed headboard indicated working was Saturday equivalent of the non-non-stop The Elizabethan working (09.45 ex-Edinburgh) and suggests approximaate date: letter from David Percival in Issue No. 262 narrows date to one of three in 1959 but is also critical of alleged potential confusion between The Elizabethan and Flying Scotsman sets: former retained ex-LNER pressure-ventlated stock and coaches with ladies' retiring rooms. Geoff Parrish also submitted photograph of  No. 61997 MacCailin Mor at Gorton on 17 November 1951suggests had worked through to Manchester following repair at Doncaster Works; other Doncaster repairs took the locomotive as far south as
Water troughs in other tunnels, as well as Diggle. Alan Mitchell.
See feature on troughs at Brock in Issue 258 page 19 et seq and response from Author in Issue 262 page 16. Argues that troughs at Luddenden were partly in tunnel

When in Stranraer. 18.
Stranraer Town with Class 5 No. 45162 with remains opf heavy snow on platforms. See also letter from Ian Stuart Walker in Issue 262 page 17..

Buckley, Tony. Holloway idyll. 20-5.
Holloway Bank: photographs (black & white) taken without a lineside permit: B1 No. 61394 on down Cambridge Buffet Express on 2 July 1958; V2 No. 60800 Green Arrow on down fish vans on 11 May 1959; A1 No. 60123 H.A. Ivatt on up Yorkshire Pullman on 30 August 1958 (see letter from David Percival in Issue 264 p. 15); B1 No. 61130 on up express from Cleethorpes on 9 July 1958; A4 No. 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley on down Flying Scotsman on 11 May 1959; A1 No. 60130 on up express from Leeds on 16 June 1959 (trolleybus on bridge above); V2 No. 60950 with up express from Hull on 16 June 1959..

Bakewell, P.E. Mayflower in bloom. 26-9.
B1 4-6-0 firing by LMR footplate crew based at Nottingham on return working to Nottingham from Lincoln. Several of the trips, sometimes with 61379 passed without incident, but one day an Eastern Region inspector joined th crew and interfered with the firing method and caused the locomotive to lose steam (the interference probably stemmed from ths loss of this working from Lincoln mpd). The action by the inspector draws a response from Len Muir, a former locomotive inspector at King's Cross: Issue 265 page 19..

Hornby, Frank. The last WR safari. 30-3.
South Wales in 1956: included Neath to Brecon on onwards over the seven mile bank as far as Maesycwmmer; Crumlin and Ebbw Vale.

Morrison, Gavin. Great shot. 34-5.
Jubilee No. 45093 Kholapur near Portsmouth on climb to Copy Pit on 3 December 1966.

Lamb, Ian. Freedom of Scotland. Part 2. 36-43.
Freedom of Scotland Ticket, Summer 1960: destinations included Helmsdale.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me.... 44-5
Out-of-gauge-load at Holgate Bridge, York: Dow notes the paucity of freight on the contemporary system.

Smith, Sydney John. The lighter side... 46-51.
Illustrated with pictures of LBSCR locomotives; the deceased author who sued to write under the name 'Shovel' describes locomotive preparation in the 1900s which encountered the tricks played on work mates which lasted until the end of steam. The events took place at New Cross Gate shed

Carling, Dennis. A case of excessive speed. 52-3
Peterborough station was approached at excessive speed during the 1948 interchange trials by Duchess No. 46336 City of Bradford, Speed was sufficiently high to damage the track, Also describes a runaway train which included the NER dynamometer car which was engineered by Smeddle Senior and was witnessed by Christopher Jarvis who had to attempt to brake the car.

Morrison, Gavin. 96 days... 58-63.
Colour photographs: Ivatt class 2 2-6-0 No. 46446 on train for Bala near Garneddwen Haalt on 19 December 1964; Fairburn 2-6-4T No. 42110 banking van train near Shap Wells on 28 November 1964; Royal Scot No. 46160 Queen Victoria's Riflemen at Carlisle Kingmoor on special on 28 November 1964; Hughes 2-6-0 No. 42715 with brake van at Torside level crossing on 23 October 1964; No. 35017 Belgian Marine on Bournemouth Belle at Bournemouth West on 15 September 1964; No. 6430 with two auto trailers passing Yeovil Junction on 17 September 1964; A1 No. 60157 Great Eastern at Holbeck mpd on 17 October 1964 and Fowler/Stanier 2-6-4T No. 42414 banking freight at Shap Wells on 29 September 1964;

Issue 261: March 2009

LMS 'Pacific' No. 46238 City of Carlisle hauls a Crewe-Carlisle parcels northwards out of Preston station on 27 May 1964. (Col. illus,: Bill Ashcroft). 3.

Holley, Mel. A tale of two stations: Comment. 4-5.
Kensington Olympia

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
Inspecting the work so far? – the day of saloons like this is long gone.
Frank Hornby colour illus. of former LSWR Directors' Saloon DS1 (BR red) being propelled by Standard 2-6-4T through Paddock Wood  on 3 June 1961 during Kent Coast Electrification. See letter from Mike Lamport in Issue No. 263 page 16 for explanation that the vehicle was being used for driver training in connection with the Kent Coast electrification. H class 0-4-4Ts were used initially, but later diesel electric locomotives (D5000, D5001 and D5014) were used. High speeds were attained..
Memories of Kentish steam at Dreamland, Margate, in 1966.
Peter Chatman Perutz colour slide of Dreamland Minature Railway (15 inch gauge) 4-4-2 Billy, Locomotive built by Alfred Barnes of Rhyl: locomotive extant but on static display in maroon livery.
Watch out for tbe drink – any other views of quay steam?
Colour-Rail view of Dover Marine in August 1959 with P class 0-6-0 and utility van on the edge with car carrier in background in a somwhat odd livery
Western engine had moved from Taunton to Exmouth.
See Issue 259 page 6: temporary transfer of Western Region locomotive to former Southern depot: hence lack of lamp brackets suitable for Souternroutes.

Chatman,  Peter. Southern wanderings. 8-13.
Southern Region iu 1950s and 1960s

Platform (letters). 15-16.

Ashcroft, Bill. Collision at Preston. 19-24.
16 January 1958: witnessed and photographed by Bill Ashcroft who worked in the County Council offices adjacent to the station.

Stead, Neville. Changing trains at Thornton. 26-9.
In the heart of the Fife coalfields, it had an MPD, yards and station.

Beko, Paul. 2½ hours at Ealing Broadway. 30-3.
1955

Fox, M.J. Great shot! 34-5.
Super-power for a featherweight load at Pinhoe, Devon, in 1963

May, Harvey. Quintessentially quaint [quad-arts, articulated suburban rolling stock]. 36-7.
Gresley's utilitarian 'quad-art' suburban coaches are recalled

Cooper, Peter. Between the Severn and Usk. 38-41.
August 1963: shed visits with permits to sheds at Gloucester, Newport (Ebbw Junction), Severn Tunnel Junction, Hereford and Worcester.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me.... 42-3
The new steam shed built by BR at Thornaby

Fleming, Derek. Newport Pill... and beyond. 44-50.
The workings of Pillgwenlly shed, which served Newport docks and the valley lines. An interesting article as it records how the GWR Enginemeen and Firemen's Mutual Aid Sickness and Superannuation Society was not extended to staff from the former Valley's companies who were restricted to working on their former lines. It is implied that there was suspicion between the two groups, and "mutual" crews working beyond Caerphilly had to be take care that their target board was carried in the correct position (i.e. in front of the chimney, and not on the buffer beam). Also covers the transfer of coal from wagons to ships by tipping or via hoists at the docks. Care had to be taken to protect the ship's holds. Notes how the hatch covers of the Irish Rose were blown off due to an explosion in the coal in the hold. See also photograph in Issue 265 page 7 of ADR Nos. 666 and 667.

A Gresley great!. 51.
What's behind the next picture in the Steam World 2009 calendar? V2 No. 60813 (with stovepipe chimney andx samll smoke deflectors) climbing to Tynehead with an up Waverley route freight in April 1965. (col. illus. T.B. Owen).

Perren, Brian. Anglia's 'Britannias' heydays. 52-5.
Intensive working by locomotives based at Norwich (which worked to London both via Ipswich and via Cambridge) and gave passengers a regular interval service. Col. illus. (K.J. Cook): No. 70006 Robert Burns south of Colchester with 13.45 Norwich to Liverpool Street on 5 September 1959 and No. 70001 Lord Hurcomb approaching Chelmsford with 12.45 from Norwich on 3 October 1959.

Chapman, Michael. Lament for a lunch box. Part 2. 56-61.
Colour illus. of trains climbing towards Shap: 9R No. 92076 on freight banked by 2-6-4T near Shap Fell in 1966;

Reviews. Mel Holley. 66
Just the ticket. BTF. Vol. 9. British Film Institute.
DVD: "Overall this is a nicely-packaged, varied, and reasonably priced set"
Harrow & Wealdstone: 50 years on. Peter Tatlow. Oakwood.
"sensitive, respectful and thoughtful record... Highly recommended"
The Eastern around London. Kevin McCormack.  Ian Allan.
picture-book: "better than average"

Issue 262: April 2009

A1 Pacific No. 60123 Silurian hauls a Carlisle to Edinburgh express northwards past Stobbs Camp on Waverley route in 1964. (Col. illus,: Richard Barbour). 3.

Holley, Mel. Marriages of convenience: Comment. 4-5.
Joint railways: Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway was most extensive in terms of route miles; the Cheshire Lines Committee was the busiest. Illus. B1 No. 61009 Hartebeeste at Lincoln with Cathedral above on the GN & GE Joint Line. Many other joint railways are mentioned: the nearest remaining are the Chiltern Railways and London Underground services north of Harrow on the Hill, Heathrow Express and Eurostar..

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
You can have any colour you like – as long as it's black!
Peter Skelton/Colour Rail photograph of No. 3717 City of Truro painted (one side only) in BR lined black livery in November 1984 at Bridgnorth, Severn Valley Railway.
Slip sliding awat at Wrexham..
John Dixon sent extract from May 1897 service time table of GWR slip working at Wrexham off up working from Birkenhead.
Memories of West Kirby station in 1948...

Boston's small roster office.

Cooper, Peter. Last days of the Peppercorn 'Pacifics'. 8-12.
Both the A2 and A1 classes are covered during the post-1964 period by which time steam working had virtualy ceased on the southern section of the ECML. Illus. (all colour): A2 No. 60532 Blue Peter on turntable at Carlisle Kingmoor on 8 October 1966 when working A2 Farewell Tour from/to Edinburgh (A.E.R. Cope); A2 No. 60530 Sayajirao approaching Stobs Camp near Hawick in May 1966 (Richard Barbour); A1 No. 60114 W.P. Allen at Beaconsfield with excursion from Mexborough on 12 June 1964 (C. Leigh-Jones); A1 No. 60130 Kestrel at Beeston Junction with Leeds to Doncaster stopping train in June 1963 (D.J. Mitchell)

Dawlish delight. 14-15.
What's behind the next picture in the Steam World 2009 calendar? P.W. Gray colour illus. of No. 5004 Llanstephan Castle leaving Dawlish in July 1957 and improbably virtually same view on 11 August 1984 of No. 6024 King Edward I with Torbay Express. Text includes tabulated data about No. 5004 and history of both the railway and the resort.

Platform. 16-17.
Slogging away on summer Saturdays at Awsworth Junction in 1957. S.C. Holmes.
Routing of King's Norton (Birmingham) to Skegness trains via Burton, Egginton Junction, Derby (GNR) and Colwick to avoid congestion in Nottingham. Notes hilly nature of route and apparently unsuitable motive power and asks which crews operated these services.
Luddenden was my inspiration. Ray Farrell.
See original feature by letter writer in Issue 258 page 19 et seq and response to it from Alan Mitchell in Issue 260 page 16: notes that Eric Oldham photograph of two Directors picking up water at Luddenden had whetted his appetite for taking photographs at water troughs.
Fatigue caused Syerston crash. A. Otter.

Why were Woolwich 2-6-0s 'odd'. C. Barclay.

Last words on reversed headboards. David Percival.
See photograph submitted by Geoff Parrish in Issue 256 page 7 and correespondence in Issue 260 from Brian C. Bailey: narrows date to  one of three in 1959; is also critical of alleged potential confusion between The Elizabethan and Flying Scotsman sets: former retained ex-LNER pressure-ventlated stock and coaches with ladies' retiring rooms
Stranraer Town pictures are very rare. Ian Stuart Walker. 17
See Issue 260 page 18: further notes on Stranraer Town station which observes that was originally a through station on the railway to Portpatrick which had closed to passenger traffic in 1950 and to all traffic in 1959
Nope, it's ex-WR 'Britannia' 70018

Johnston, Howard. The M&GN: how did it manage to survive for so long? 19-27.
Illus.: D16/3 No. 62617 at Cromer Beach with stopping train for West Runton, Sheringham... and Melton Constable on 29 April 1953: locomotive's front wheels are on track which is just about still there and still served by Bittern Line DMUs (Geoff Rixon);  B12/3 No. 61545 leaving Spalding with Leicester to Yarmouth train on 17 September 1956 (all remainder: T.G. Hepburn); Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0 No. 43060 at Little Bytham Junction with 09.02 Yarmouth Beach to Birmingham on 28 February 1959 (last day); M&GNR rebuilt Class A 4-4-0 No. 27 leaving Sutton Bridge with eastbound service c1925; 4F 0-6-0 No. 4418 crossing River Ouse from West Lynn with a Leicester to Yarmouth express in 1929; closure notice (Melton Constable to Norwich and assoirted replacement bus services; M&GNR Class C 4-4-0 No. 5 leaving Cross Keys swing bridge a\nd entering Sutton Bridge with westbound train c1933; M&GNR Class C 4-4-0 No.27 rebuillt with Belapaire boiler leaving Cross Keys Bridge at about same time as previous, but viewed from different angle; J6 No. 64331 at Twenty with freight on 28 February 1959. Neville Stead (see Issue 267 page 15) pointed out error on map which failed to indicate end-on-junction, but implied adjacent termini..

Harvey, Michael. 'Terriers' at Fratton. 28-30.
Black & white photographs taken by Driver Eric Grace of A1X 0-6-0Ts: No. 32662 under hoist; No. 32670 inside roundhouse in April 1963; view from cab as Terrier crossed Langstone Viaduct; Nos. 32661 and 32650 on shed; No. 32646 in unlined black livery.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me.... 32-3
Black & white "official" illustration of original Peppercorn  A1 No. 60114 in apple green, lettered "BRITISH RAILWAYS" and without a name; also comment on Tornado and its liveries.

Treacy. Eric. Great shot! 34-5.
A1 No. 60158 Aberdonian passing Holloway with northbound express with A4 No. 60031 Golden Plover leaving Top Shed to work The Elizabethan in 1958.

Skinner, John. Steam around Dartford. 36-41.
Started at Dartford West Secondary School with David Leggett in 1947.

Maidment, David. What we were allowed to do in 1950. 42-7.
Travel up from East Molesey to Waterloo and then use Underground to explore the London terminii. Part 2 in Issue 263 page 46 et seq.

Hornby, Frank. West side story. 48-51.
Cumbria in 1956.

Pearse, John. Paint it black! 53-8.
Application of lined black livery by Swindon following Nationalisation. Illus. (all colour): 15XX No. 1503 at Old Oak Common in March 1957 (K. Cooper); Saint class No. 2934 Butleigh Court ex-works at Swindon in June 1950 (T.B. Owen); No. 1008 County of Cardigan ex-works at Swindon in August 1952 (T.B. Owen); No. 1505 at Southall shed in July 1961 (HMRS)

Chapman, Michael. Lament for a lunch box. Part 3. 60-3.
Colour illus. of trains climbing towards Shap:

Reviews. Mel Holley. 66
Lost railways of Birmingham & the West Midlands. Terry Moors. Countryside Books.
"well-researched book", but photographic reproduction somewhat flat. Includes some lines which are still open.
The Leader project: fiasco or triumph. Kevin Robertson. OPC.
soft cover version
British railway signalling development in colour. Robert Hendry. Ian Allan.
"the development aspect of signalling is described in a rather disjointed way"
Steam trains galore. Vol. 2, Sutton Park. DVD
Mainly recently shot material: e.g. Tornado

Issue 263: May 2009

Holley, Mel. Who writes the history? 4-5.
Accuracy in accounts of railway history: cites www.scienceandsociety.co.uk. Mel cites this as a source of error; KPJ could only find a certain lack of depth and difficulties in precision. He did, however, find his favourite Jubilee Seahorse: a Treacy shot of it entering Standedge Tunnel; and a fair trawl of A4s. A search for turntables also produced fire engine ladders and gramophones. Illus: Standard Class 5 No. 75053 at Annesley shed on 20 September 1963 (Geoff Rixon colour).

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
Yellow locomotive and maroon carriages – a perfect combination for a railtour?
Derek Cross colour transparency of Branch Line Society tour hauled by ex-HR 4-6-0 No. 103 on 17 October 1965.

Alcock, William. Fast and strong; [a retrospective of the Bulleid Pacifics]. 8-12.
From September 1945 Author was based at the Royal Naval Engineering College in Plymouth and found that in the 1940s journeys to and from London were faster on the Southern than on the Great Western route.

Platform. 15
I also queried J.F. Harrison's 'A1' figures says Top Shed's Peter Townsend. Peter Townsend.

The Flying Flea. Mike Lamport. 16.
See Issue 261 page 6 and picture repeated herein: explanation the inspection vehicle DS1was being used for driver training in connection with the Kent Coast electrification. H class 0-4-4Ts were used initially as motive power, but later diesel electric locomotives (D5000, D5001 and D5014) were used. High speeds were attained..
Double-chimney 'Castles' were not rebuilds of 'duds'. David Maidment.

Exhaust versus live steam injectors. Roy Jackson.

Sir Nigel Gresley was awarded an articulation patent. Andrew Dow.

More details on Kensington Olympia. Chris Horne. 17

Heating feedwater was worthwhile. Peter Davis.

Walker, Colin (phot). The Colin Walker years. 29-
B1 No. 61271 on a Leicester Belgrave Road to Skegness excursion near Thurnby on 16 June 1957; A3 No. 60102 Sir Frederick Banbury departing Leicester Central with 11.19 for Marylebone in 1956; Large Director D11/1 No. 62663 Prince Albert departing Chesterfield Central for Sheffield on stopping train; V2 No. 60929 departing Carlisle for Newcastle with either a boat train from Stranraer or a Butlin's train from Heads of Ayr; B1 No. 61409 leaving Knighton Tunnel with 10.10 Leicester Midland to Birmingham in 1957; V2 No. 60871 at Grantham with an up express; A3 No. 60103 Flying Scotsman with Tyne Commission Quay to King's Cross express at Grantham; K2 No. 61749 on a Leicester Belgrave Road to Mablethorpe express approaching Thurnby Tunnel.

Greygoose, Frank (phot.). When BR sailed the seas. 24-5.
SS Avalon dressed overall on 25 July 1963 at Parkeston Quay (presumably when entering service (naming ceremonies are usually performed on launching); and on 16 April 1965 when repainted in BR corporate livery; and train deck of MV Cambridge Ferry in December 1963.

Wilkinson, J.E. (phot.). West Coast power. 26-7
Rebuilt Scot No. 46141 The North Staffordshire Regiment and Jubilee No. 45635 haul 16.15 Manchester to Glasgow past Shap Wells on 27 April 1957; Patriot No. 45504 Royal Signals leaves Lancsater with a reliedf express from Glasgow to Crewe; and No. 46234 Duchess of Abercorn approaching Scout Green with 10.00 Euston to Glasgow on 1 August 1959.

Essery, Bob. LMS Garratts. 28-39.
Introduced to reduce or eliminate double-heading of coal trains between Toton and London on the poorly constructed Midland main line which lacked adequate bridges. In part based on official LMS records which recorded the decisions to evaluate three Beyer-Garratts purchased from Beter Peacock, and then to place an order for a further thirty using funds liberated by the Government's decision to remit Passenger Duty. The development of the revolving bunker and other coal pushers is noted. Design limitations (the axleboxes) and modifications are listed. Firing techniques are considered. Annual mileage statistics are quoted for 1950, not only for the Garratts, but also for the 8F 2-8-0, Austerity 2-8-0, LMS Standard 7F 0-8-0, G2A 0-8-0, and 4F 0-6-0. Also includes the LNER U1 2-8-8-2 and its unhappy visits to the Lickey. Illus.: No. 4999 in near original condition with vacuum brake pipes; No. 4994 with original bunker probably on Midland in Hertforshire; No. 7994 between Harpenden and Sandridge on 29  June 1946 (E.D. Bruton); No. 47993 in Church Fenton station (Kenneth Field); No. 47982 passing Chesterfield on 5 June 1957 (T.G. Hepburn: Great Shot pp. 34-5); No. 4975 at Elstree in 1931; No. 4999 near Mill Hill (G.H. Marillier); revolving bunker on No. 4973, and No. 69999 at Bromsgrove in 1949. See also Issue 265 for photograph of No. 69999 being cut up. Large correspondence in Issue No. 266 on pp. 14-15: from Alan Mitchell, Ian Stuart Walker (who debunks much of Essery's gloss), John Tyler, Michael Green and R.J.O. Smith who state precise locations in Hertfordshire for Nos. 4994/7994.

Payne, Cyril (phot). King's Cross in the '30s. 40-5.
K.W. Depledge (born 1937), nephew of photographer, submitted the photographs (which include a portrait of his uncle taken in 1934 at Bromley): A4 No. 2509 Silver Link departing with Silver Jubilee probably in 1935; Gresley A1 No. 2546 Donovan climbing Holloway Bank; A4 No. 4493 Woodcock (in greeen livery) in 1937; V2 No. 4794 with horesbox as leading vehicle on northbound express; A4 No. 4467 Wild Swan arriving on express (taken from Platform 1) in 1938;  A4 No. 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley at head of down Silver Jubilee; Ford Model Y registration CHK 33 in Sandringham Estate in 1935. Uncle Cyril served in the RAF as a Photographic Officer and was reported missing on a Mission which took off from RAF Chivenor on 7 September 1943.

Maidment, David. What we were allowed to do in 1950. Part 2: My first camera.  46-50.
Part 1 in Issue 262 page 42: cemera acquired in 1951 (a Kodak folding one with fixed 1/25 second shutter speed) and some of his snapshots taken with it are included. Also mentions some shots which were taken but are not reproduced, and some trips to locations other than London termini, notably Chelmsford and Bournemouth. Illus.: N7/3 No. 69603 with two quintripulet articulated sets approaching Hackney Downs in 1958; B12/3 No. 61549 on turntable at Liverpool Street in summer 1952 (won boarding school photographic competition); No. 6008 King Jasmes II (blue) at Paddington on 3 April 1951: B1 No. 61378 and Britannia No. 70002 Geoffrey Chaucer in Liverpool Street in January 1959; rebuilt Scots Nos. 46120 Royal Iniskilling Fusilier and 46162 Queen's Westminster Rifleman on The Welshman and its relief on 28 July  1951 and No. 34110 66 Squadron at  Bournemouth with the Author on his birthday 17 May 1951.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me: the rhythm of the rails. 52-3.
Diddley-dum and all the other rhythms produced by the rails and other trackwork prior to continuous welded rails. The sound was most frenetic on 30 foot lengths, although 60ft lengths had been laid by the LNER since the late 1920s, and was experimenting with longer lengths of 90ft and 120ft. Reginald Gardiner captured these sounds most memorably in his 78 rpm Trains record using the phrase huddley-dah. Illus. B17 No. 2834 Hinchingbrooke passing re-sleepering operation c1935.

Loader, John. Welsh steam safari. 54-8.
Other than sections between Gobowen and Oswestry, and Aberystwyth and Carmarthen (both are surely challenges to Welsh virility to reopen) most of the "safari" could still be accomplished in a vast assortment of predominantly diesel-engined units. Journey from Aberystwth to Carmarthen behind Dukedog No. 9009, otherwise traction on trains was predictable. Illus. (colour) very attractive, but not by safari team:No. 7800 Torquay Manor climbs Borth bank with slow passenger for Aberystwyth in September 1962 (J. Dewing); 5101 Class No. 4115 on Hereford shed on 24 June 1962 (Geoff Rixon); No. 4569 enters Tenby with two coach train for Whitland in August 1962 (Malcolm Thompson).

Perfection personified. 60-1.
What's behind the next picture in the Steam World 2009 calendar? K.L. Cook colour transparency of No. 34092 City of Wells on Golden Arrow on 14 June 1958 at Petts Wood (map helps) where junctions were being realigned for Kent Coast electrification, subsequently modified yet again for Eurostar. The unrebuilt West Country is still extant.

Reviews. Mel Holley. 65-6.
Two centuries of railway signalling. Geoffrey Kitchenside and Alan Williams. OPC.
Warmly received: note this is a new edition of book first published in 1998.
Rex Conway's Midland steam journey, Vol. 1. History Press.
"around 300 mono photographs of average quality"
CharlesTyson Yerkes – the traction king of London. Tim Sherwood. History Press.
"... colourful and controversial man, both in business and private life." Had a major influence upon transport in London and book is "A fascinating read"
Western Region signalling in colour. Kevin Robertson. Ian Allan
Colour picture book
The North & West Route, Vol. 2, Shrewsbury to Hereford. John Hodge. Wild Swan
"comprehensive"; extended captions, but no gradient profiles.
Railway ancestors. David T. Hawkins. History Press.
Archival sources of material relating to railway employees.
North Rail's heritage revealed. Paul Salveson. Little Northern Books
Booklet celebrating social history of railways originally produced for Northern Rail employees
The Ulverstone and Lancaster Railway: the challenge of Morecambe Bay. Leslie R. Gilpin. Cumbrian Railways Association.
Recommended.
The Corringham Light Railway: a new history. Peter Kay. Author.
"detailed text, plenty of pictures"
Branches and byways: Kent. John Scott-Morgan. Ian Allan.
pictorial history

Issue 264: June 2009

Holley, Mel. Never beaten: Comment 4-5.
Mainly concerning the Stanier Class 5 4-6-0s which were the ultimate survivors of steam traction. Illus: Caprotti Class 5 No. 44748 at Euston on 18 August 1962 (Geoff Rixon colour).

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
What, why and when? — what's the story behind this unusual train?
Photograph submitted by J.M. Ledbetter showing unusual train photographed at Cross Flats between Keighley and Bingley in 1949: seven coaches (mainly late Stanier, but leading vehicle looks like either a test vehicle or a tea car) and double headed by two class 5 4-6-0s, both polished, both lined and second lettered BRITISH RAILWAYS on tender. Leading one No. 45211 had painted buffers and coupling and reporting number 300. Letters from Robin Lush and from Paul R. Denton (Issue 267 page 16) identify correct location (near Halifax) and nature of train: Royal visit by Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip to Halifax on 26 July 1949 Paragraph re driver of train..
Royal Albert Bridge makes 150.
Denis Lewis colour photograph of Welcome to Cornwall/Kerenow a'gas dynnergh notice at Saltash station.
A different viewpoint. 7
John Southall colour photograph of Royal Duchy railtour near Teignmouth: viewed from Jason's Garden high above the coastal stretch,
The late, lamented M&GN remembered this summer.
Ben Colson of Norfolk Green shows Optare Solo bus in M&GNR golden ochre livery at King's Lynn. Bus even features the coat of arms (must be first time such a device has appeared on a bus for many years). And of course the buses (there are two of them can be seen in many parts of North Norfolk including in Sheringham, West Runton and Cromer: it must have been magnificent on locomotives.

Chatman, Peter. A Welsh excursion. 8-12.
Home Counties Railway Club, November 1958.

Platform. 15-16.
Troughs opening and closing dates established. Roger Newman.
Following from article on Brock troughs (Issue 258 page 19): Hest Bank opened in 1876; Moore served from 1877 to 1967 and Brock from 1898/9 to 1966. In Scotland the troughs at Floriston and Pettinain were opened by the LMS in 1927/8, not by the Caledonian Railway.
Official dates often don't reflect what actually happened. R.N. Ptitchard.
See "box" on page 25 of Issue 254: disputes data therein concerning storage of No. 70013. Also claims that nameplate removal was asset stripping. Also notes storage of No. 70000 Britannia at Stratford.
Pictures fill gaps and raise questions. David Percival.
See Issue 260 pp. 20 et seq: writer spent 30 August 1958 observing traffic at Knebworth, but missed up Yorkshire Pullman on which No. 60123 H.A. Ivatt appeared, but did not power return down working which was hauled by a V2. Also comments on light coloured roof of B1 No. 61130 and suggests that No. 61934 was on 09.10 working.
Was 'Z' intended for preservation? Bob Shepperson. 16.
No. 30952 spent most of 1963 in storage at Fratton (2 illus.)
Bulleid sleeve valve details wanted. Brian Davis.
Information sought.

Maidment, David. Living on the Southern. Part one: 1949 and 1962. 18-25.
Locomotive performace recorded en route to college between Woking and Waterloo.

Bowers, John. From 'spotter to railwayman. 26-33.

Great shot: class 5 No. 45023 with train of mineral empties passing Ravelston on 17 May 1955. David Anderson. 34-5.

Rixon, Geoff. South Devon delights. 36-41.
Black & white photographs:

Holmes, David. The ones that got away. 42-7.
Missed photographic opportunities.

Haymes, Arthur. The 'Duchess': a requiem. 48-50.
See also letter from Bob Clarke (Issued 267 page 15)

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me... 52-3.
An explanation of hammer blow. including the deliberations of the Bridge Stress Committee. Illus. loading tests on the King Edward VII Bridge, Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1906.

Fleming, D.J. West end story. 54-8
Bristol St Philip's Marsh MPD.

A true master. 60-1
9F No. 92076 between Plumpton and Penrith onm evening soothbound freight on 3 July 1965 (Roy Hobbs).

Reviews. Mel Holley. 65-6.
The Titfield Thunderbolt: now and then. Oliver Fosker. Up Main (Woodbridge)
Then (colour stills from film) and now book
Locomotives of the GSR. Jeremy Clements and Michael McMahon. Colourpoint.
"This is a long overdue and detailed study of the Great Southern Railways of Ireland... thoroughly researched...will become the definitive history" [and will eventually lead to a vastly enhanced steamindex page, once KPJ can lay his hands upon it]
Rex Conways' Midland steam journey, Vol. 3. History Press.
"brief captions"
D.J. Norton's pictorial survey of railways in the West Midlands. Part Three. R.J. Essery. Wild Swan.
"pictures of good quality reproduced to a high standard... lengthy captions"
Atlantic: the well-beloved engine. R.A.S. Hennessey. History Press.
"excellent, well balanced and detailed introduction to the subject"
The Royal Train: the inside story. Brian Hoey. Haynes.
"nicely written, beautifully presented"
Railways restored 2009. Alan Butcher. Ian Allan.
"most comprehensive guide of its type"
The Vidzeme Railway. Toms Altbergs and Anris Biedrins. Industrial Heritage Trust of Latvia.
"pictures are of good quality"

Issue 265: July 2009

Q7 No. 63460 at Darlington in September 1963. front cover.
See also letter from Neville Stead in Issue 267 page 16.

Holley, Mel. Exciting places: Comment 4-5.
Written around plans for improvements at Paddington station which do not destroy Victorian masterpiece. Looks back to disasters constructed at Birmingham New Street and London Euston. Illus: 46239 City of Chester at Euston on 16.45 to Liverpool in 1963. (Geoff Rixon colour).

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
Farewell to Hitchin area relief signalman, Mick Harmer.
Mick Harmer died in April 2009. David Percival photograph taken in Langley Junction signalbox on 20 April 1968 at 21.30; also photograph used in heading to this regular feature taken at Stevenage South [KPJ warning: this signalbox was to the north of the present Stevenage station] in 1967
The unkindest cut for 69999. Roger Sheraton.
Photograph of front unit of U1 Beyer Garratt being cut up at Doncaster Works taken on 11 March 1956: see feature by Bob Essery in Issue 263 page 28.Site visit to Wingfiled from Peter Owen Johns.
Painting (reproduced in colour) commissioned by Geoff Bartlett of Class 5 No. 44944 on semi-fitted freight.
Two ROD 0-6-0Ts on display at 'Pill' engine shed. Jack Hodgkinson.
Former ADR Nos. 666 and 667 photographed on 16 September 1951. See feature on Pill mpd in Issue 261 page 44

Phillips, Ken. Three 'Castles', two 'Kings'. 8-12.
Locomotive performance: logs made on 14 March 1957 of No. 4092 Dunraven Castle and No. 6007 King William II between Birmingham Snow Hill and Leamington Spa; No. 5047 Earl of Dartmouth in reverse direction; No. 7004 Eastnor Castle between Oxford and Paddington, and No. 6007 King William II between. Leamington Spa and Banbury. Also logs made on Bristolian on 5 August 1954: No. 6000 King George V from Paddington to Bristol via Bath and return with same locomotive via Chipping Sodbury. (impossible to believe in comparison with what Last Group fails to achieve with more modern traction). See also letter from Robin Mills in Issue 272..

Platform. 19-
Life as a locomotive inspector on the Eastern Region. Len Muir.
Refers back to Issue 260 page 26 where Eastern Region locomotive inspector interfered with the activity of the fireman. Writer only worked with modern traction, but did observe former steam footplate crew's attitudes: the former "unassailable self-esteem" of the driver was lost with the change of traction. The writer observed the need for tact and guile to advise drivers (which was seemingly lacking at Lincoln) .
When a junction is not a junction at all... Reg Bond.
See Issue 257 page 3: caption to Ron Herbert photograph refers to Hest Bank South Junction which was a Railway Clearing House designation: the "Hest Bank South Junction" was plain Hest Bank and "Hest Bank North Junction" was Morecambe South Junction.
Crank setting connections. Kevin Jones.
See Issue 254 page 20 letter by Paul Blurton who asked if there was a link between the North Staffordshire Railway four-cylinder shunting locomotive and its 135° crank setting and the similar crank setting on the Lord Nelson class. Holcroft's Locomotive Adventure page 119 provides the link via a paper which Holcroft had read before the Institution of Locomotive Engineers in 1920 where he had pointed out the advantages of this crank setting. Hookham had attended the meeting and contributed to the discussion. Hence the connection.
Inspection saloon use continues. Graham Hardinge. 16.
Colou photograph of former Hastings DEMU vehicle 975025 Caroline propelled by DRS 37423 at Ipswich on 19 February 2009.
Naming policy needs understanding. Andrew Dow.

Wake, Verdun. Coal and ore to Consett. 19-25.
Mainly black & white photographs plus a brief text on how Consett used to have a steelworks at 800 feet above sea level and required iron ore to be conveyed up from Tyne Dock 22.5 miles away. Illus.: WD 2-8-0 No. 90434 on train of Shell oil tank wagons banked in rear by O6? 2-8-0 between Pelton and Beamish in mid-1960s; J27 0-6-0 No. 65835 on short coal train at Beamish in August 1966; 9F No. 92065 passing site of Pelton station with 800 ton train of iron ore in summer of 1966; 9F No. 92063 on final steam iron ore working named The Tyne Docker at Consett on 19 November 1966; 9F No. 92062 at South Pelaw with iron ore empties in mid-1960s; J27 0-6-0 No. 65835 on short coal train between Annfield Plain and Leadgate in August 1966; K1 No. 62060 on short coal train at South Pelaw in summer of 1966; WD 2-8-0 No. 90417 passsing remains of Beamish station with coal train, and O1 still fitted with Westinghouse pumps No. 63712 on coal traiin passing Leamside signal box in 1961. See list of corrections by Neville Stead in Issue 267 page 15..

Waite, Jim. A golden weekend. 26-9.
Travel from Nottingham to Middlesbrough to attend a wedding on 29 June 1957. Outward on 21.45 from Nottingham Victoria to Grantham; thence overnight train to Darlington, hauled by V2 No. 60863 to York, thence by A3 No. 60038 Firdaussi. After visiting Darlington shed travelled behind A8 No. 69689 to Middlesbrough where shed at Newport visited. Return behind A8 No. 69884 to Darlington; behind A4 No. 60001 Sir Ronald Matthews to York; D1 No. 62666 Zeebrugge to Sheffield and behind two B1s (Nos. 61137 and 61334) to Nottingham.

Webb, Terry. 6234 – a 'Duchess' of distinction. 30-7.
Duchess of Abercorn: distinguished by its high level of performance on a test run on Sunday 26 February 1939 from Crewe to Glasgow and back hauling twenty coaches weighing 600 tons, and by the application of an experimental slate blue/grey livery in 1946 (reproduced as a computer graphic on page 3). There are also two (black & white) photographs of the locomotive in this experimental livery  one taken inside Willesden roundhouse on 23 March 1946 by H.C. Casserley, and another by F.A. Wycherley at Crewe North on 23 June 1946. Table lists when double chimneys fitted.

Leigh, Chris. A Glimse of the 'Grove'.  38-44.
On 14/15 June 1963 the Royal Train was used by The Queen to attend the twenty-first birthday celebration for Prince William of Gloucester at Barnwell Manor. The train departed Euston at 18.40 and travelled via Northampton arriving Barnwell at 21.17. The Royal party left the train at 22.00 and returned in the wee small hours. The train departed for Windsor at 05.24. There were many other movements involved: a B1 from New England mpd, Peterborough was required to provide heating; a water tank wagon was needed to replenish supplies, ice had to be delivered by road to provide air-conditioning. This led to an extra feature on the movement of the Barnwell station buildings to the Nene Valley Railway plus several letters. Ray Townsin noted several errors in dates quoted in the article and the difficulty encountered in moving the station building rhough Oundle. John Webster observes that the Grove notice should not have survived. B. Castle notes how the Royal Train was brought to a stand at the correct location, and R. Bamber notes how the water troughs (at Brock) were kept topped up..

Vent, Anthony. Tales from the pit: memoirs of an Ashford fitter, Norman Turner. 46-9.
Joined Ashford Works as an apprentice in 1921.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me... 50-1.
Eric Gill, his Gill Sans typeface, and its adoption by the LNER via Cecil Dandridge, the company's advertising manager. The typeface was noted for its clarity, a characteristic absent from the con artists who now operate "train companies". Illus. of Monkseaton station entrance bathed in modernity.

WR perfection. 52-3.
Calender Story No. 6: Castle class No. 5084 Reading Abbey on down Merchant Venturer passing Corsham. Train in chocolate and cream livery. Shining locomotive with double chimney.

Maidment, David. Living on the Southern. Part two. The last years of SR steam. 54-61.
Logs include some very high speeds  attained by drivers as they completed their service with steam: the two most notable were both between Southampton and Waterloo and involved rebuilt light Pacific No. 34004 which attained 95 mile/h at Fleet; and rebuilt Merchant Navy wich reached 97 mile/h at Fleet in 1967.

Reviews. 66.
The British Transport Films collection. British Film Institute.
18 DVDs.
The Hythe Pier Railway. Peter A. Harding. Author.
2 foot gauge tramway using battery electric power
South West steam. Roger Siviter. Great Bear.
Thunder in the mountains. W.R. Mitchell. Great Northern Books.
People involved in constructing the Settle & Carlisle line.

Issue 266 August 2009

Holley, Mel. The language of railways: Comment. 4-5.
Fortunately, "train station" is on Mel's chopping list, and he asks why not "plane station". Notes North American variants including some delightful ones, notably "highball" Criticises NRM staff for their ignorance where the term "electric locomotive" is misapplied to an EMU..

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
It was 50 years ago, this month, that the 'Andy Capp' special ran!
Peter Fitton who lives in Lytham St Annes photograph (sadly not in colour) of 4P compound No. 41011 painted in yellow with red cab and splashers and headboard advertising that vulgar newspaper Daily Mirror which has organized an excursion from Manchester Victoria to Blackpool Central on 3 August 1959. photographed at Bradkirk.
Names from the past at Taunton.
Peter Roulson recently photographed (in colour) the Roll of Honour of GWR who lost their lives during WW1 and the old water tower with the long forgotten legend "BRITISH RAILWAYS TAUNTON FREIGHT CONCENTRATION DEPOT. See alos Issue 268 page 6 and Issue 271 page 6..
Preserving the working past, with a sense of history. 7.
David Gowing colour photograph of Bridlington Signalbox as prerved by Network Rail.
Correct shedcode was fitted, eventually.
Roger Shenton black & white photograph of D11/1 No. 62661 Prince Albert dumped at Stavely MPD on 4 October 1959 still with nameplate and builder's plate still in situ.

Hook, Ken. Memories of a telegraph lad. 8-13.
Joined British Railways at Peterborough in 1948, but started at the signalling school at Hatfield. Amongst his adventures were the derailment of a down newspaper train near Crescent signal box, a footplate trip on 60022 Mallard light engine from Grantham to Peterborough and a trin making too fast approach to Peterborough. Also memories of signal box at Essendine.. Illus.: Colour photograph of 60063 Isinglass approaching Peterborough from the north with one headlamp missing (see letter in Issue 274 page 18 from M.A. Grummitt); Ne/2 No. 69266 at Essendine with a short freight; A3 No. 60065 Knight of Thistle enters Peascliffe Tunnel on northbound express on 18 May 1959.

Platform. 14-16.
Readers recall the LMS and LNER Beyer Garratt articulated locomotives in action: see Issue 263 page 28 et seq.
Alan Mitchell.
Fireman at Canklow mpd between 1954 and 1958 where Garratts were used to haul iron ore (iron stone) trains from there to York from Masborough Sorting Sidings. He enjoyed firing these locomotives as they steamed very freely and were not heavy on coal and rode beautifully, and usually enjoyed clear runs between Wath Road Junction and Church Fenton. He noted that the exhaust beats tended to synchronise following slipping (KPJ somewhere there is a vast correspondence on this subject). Noted the drop fire grates similar to Gresley Pacifics. Filling the rotary bunkers was rather difficult as the fireman had to stand on a narrow walkway to unlock the doors. One Garratt came onto Canklow with the bunker stuck upside down, but hammering restored its movement. There was an efficient water gauge to measure water level in the two tanks, but the transfer rate between tanks was slow. At Doncaster he was told that on the Worsborough incline the guard of the brake van was told to leave his doors open as the power transmitted from the 2-8-8-2 bent the frame of the van and disabled the doors.
Stephen Potter.
The unpopularity of the Worsborough banker stemmed from its great length (it was difficult to buffer up to the rear of the train), conditions in the single bore tunnels due to smoke, and this led to sabotage of the boiler tubes.
Ian Stuart Walker.
Intrigued by link made in recent editorial 'Who writes the History?' between so-called urban myths and the article by Bob Essery about the LMS Garratts, but was left wondering which urban myth about those locomotives had been debunked. The weight of published evidence from authentic and reliable sources, both primary and secondary, is sufficient to confirm that they were poor examples of their type and not obvious subjects for revisionist analysis. It is difficult to contest the verdict that, as 'Midlandised' engines with undersized axle boxes and short-lap valve gear, quite inadequate for big new mineral engines, they were technically unimpressive and operationally disappointing. Bob Essery makes the comment that in the decision to use the much criticised Class 4 (and Class 7F 2-8-0) axle boxes was 'understandable' and 'made sense' in terms of standardisation of components, but really this could only be true if the parts adopted as standard were deemed worthy of replication as the result of proven efficiency. The fact that the bearings of the LMS Garratts brought them into shops for repairs far too quickly and frequently seems incontrovertible.
What appears even more perplexing about the whole technical design story of these 'undershod specimens' is that the LMS already had in service Hughes-designed mixed traffic 2-6-0s and the new 'Royal Scots' 4-6-0s both with generous bearing sizes and longlap valve gear. Quite how or why Derby influence was allowed to emasculate Beyer, Peacock's suggestion for a more adequate and suitable 2-6-2+2-6-2 design remains open to question, especially as the LMS management continued to consider from time to time the extended use of Garratts for express passenger use! Despite the fact that the class as built were inherently unsuited to fast running precisely because of their poor valve events and undersized bearings, one of the later members was fitted temporarily with vacuum brakes and used on trial runs with passenger stock. All this bears sad testimony to the unsettled state of early LMS locomotive affairs, where there was an undeniable strong management bias especially on the operating side, against large engines with heavy loads. Well might Bob Essery assert that the CME was not all-powerful at this time. James Anderson, the Motive Power Superintendent, backed by his boss J.H. Follows, the Chief General Superintendent, usually got his way over Henry Fowler, the CME, when disagreements occurred over the perpetuation (or not) of the small-engine policy of the former Midland Railway. The Garratts were the victims of this policy, and not only turned out to be poorer machines than they might have been, but also seemed to have spoiled the prospects for what might have been achieved with the Garratt concept within the British railway loading gauge. Or could this be just another urban myth?
John Tyler
Photograph top of p. 30, is Napsbury (see also other letters below). The lower picture was taken near the brick footbridge (still in use) which leads from Sandridgebury to Cheapside Farm. The front of the train has just passed MP22 and the rear of the train is probably still passing over Sandridgebury Lane.
Michael Green
See below
R.J.G. Smith,
Location of upper photograph (p30) is just north of Napsbury station, approximately 1.5 miles south of St. Albans station. The tall signals on the extreme right edge of the picture used to control Park Street Branch Junction, which provided a crossover between fast and slow lines.
Footplate privileges on 'L1' No. 67799 on a night-time run. Bruce Laws
Between Grantham and Netherton en route from Ipswich to Gedling. His uncle, Les Beet, a Colwick driver took the boy onto the footplate. His uncle also owned a copy of A.M. Bell's Locomotives (KPJ: this is a useful indication of who acquired copies of this two volume work).
Did you see Clan Stewart on the ECML? John Scott.
Saw No. 72009 pass Sandy en route to Great Eastern for six-month trial.
'Dorset Belle' tour of 1966 recalled. John Skinner. 16.

Correction. Editor
Reversal
Can anyone answer these questions? Chris Forrest.

Maidment, David. Season ticket. 19-25.
Living in Woking, studying at University College London, and commuting enabled the author not only to travel to study, but also to travel to record a wide variety of motive power from the H15 class to the unrebuilt Merchant Navy class. Two typical weeks, one in January 1958 and another in spring 1959, give some indication of the variety, consistency, and frequent achievement of high speeds on the Southern Region at that time.

Hawkes, John. On duty with my eyes open. 26-9.
Lad porter at Leamington Spa General during 1957. Transfer traffic with the former LMS station at Milverton Road required relatively complex movements.. Traffic included Fletton Bricks from Peterborough and paeenger excursions between Oxford and the North West. See also letter (Issue 270 page 16) from David Maidment on Castle class at Leamington Spa..

Dow, Andrew. Fastline Files. 30-3.
Replacement of bridge over road at Darlington station in 1932.

Great shot! George Heiron. 34-5.
Panorama of Stoke Gifford yards with Britannia-hauled down South Wales express.

Beko, Paul. In passing... 36-9.
Black & white photo-feature: all pictues taken on 13 March 1957: No. 6937 Conyngham Hall on 12.35 Paddington to Oxford; No. 4967 Shirenewton Hall on up Oxford to Paddington semi-fast; No. 6160 in Sonning cutting with a stopping train; No. 5019 Treago Castle on 13.15 Paddington to Bristol express; No. 4086 Builth Castle on down Royal Duchy in Sonning cutting.:

Mitchell, Alan. The dreaded blow up. 40-3.
Canklow fireman had misfortune to try to raise steam on a 4F with a non-combustible mixture of Portland cement and low grade coal briquettes.

Batten, Reg. The (Number) One that started it all. 44-5.
Preserved Stirling 4-2-2 during its return to service in 1938.

Forrest, Chris. Catching the bug at Wigan. 47-51.
Memories of lineside observations back to the time when main line LNWR and LYR express locomotives were still in service, and the Duchess Pacifics were still streamlined.

Moore, Geoffrey. Matchless steam from the matchstick man. 54-5.
L.S. Lowry paintings and drawings analysed. Includes a sketch made of Stockport Viaduct and a level crossing scene which might have been based on one of the brewery lines in Burton on Trent, but the locomotive appears to be a Hornby O guage 0-4-0T. See also pictures taken by Malcolm Bailey of Stockport more recently in Issue 269 page 7..

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me... 56-7.
Rental of parental (George Dow) home from LNER. This was a maisonette formed from a substantial dwelling which had been built for the Great Central Railway in Belsize Road on the approach to Marylebone station. His father, George Dow, did a lot of his writing, notably of British steam horses and the first volume of his seminal Great Central in this house which also housed an extensive model railway, his collection of raiilway coats of arms, and the venue for committee meetings of the Historical Model Railway Society. See also letter from Andrew Coalwood in Issue 269 page 16..

Johnson, Howard. 100 years of thundering Thundersley. 58-60.
The Centenary of the LTSR was celebrated in 1956 by the restoration of 4-4-2T No. 80 Thundersley to its original livery and its exhibition at Southend Central station in March 1956. The locomotive had been exhibited at the Franco-British Exhibition at White City in 1909, where it won a Gold Medal, and carried the name Southend-on-Sea. The locomotive is currently preserved at Bressingham, but has not been favoured with a day trip to Sheringham. Illus.: at Southend Central on return RCTS to Fenchurch Street on 11 March 1956; F. Moore painting of Thundersley as decorated for the Coronation of King George V in 1911. See also cover showing Thundersley at Stratford on 11 March 1956 (Roy E. Vincent). See also leters in Issue 270 from Michael Rutherford; .J.L. Champion, David Butcher and Pat Webb.

Reviews. Mel Holley.
The Burry Port & Gwendreath Valley and its antecedent canals. Oakwood.
"excellent book"
Memories of steam. Tom Quinn. David & Charles.
"A true 'nostalgia wallow'".
A history of British Railway's North Eastern Region. John Teasdale. NERA.
"detailed, carefully researched and very informative"
What's in a name? Part 1. LNER. David H. Baldwin. Trafford Publishing.
Very difficult to assess, but sounds as if limited as it excludes LNER locomotives which failed (if that is the correct term) to become part of British Railways' stock.
Railway walks: Wales. Jeff Vinter. History Press.
Appears to be out-of-date

Issue 267 September 2009

Holley, Mel. The best laid plans: Comment. 4-5.
A "dig" at management accountants, especially Richard Bowker, who had no experience of running a customer-oriented company before taking on the once excellent East Coast Mainline franchise. Following some old jokes about accountants examines the highly successful Robinson 8K 2-8-0 design which was adopted by the Ministry of Munitions during WW1 and provided the LNER in its O4 class a robust and chaep form of motive power, the life of which was extended by reboilering and was used as the basis for a further low cost 2-8-0, namely the Thompson O1 2-8-0 which place the standard 100A boiler with new B1-type cylinders and Walschaerts valve gear. Illus.:O4/1 No. 63572 and 9F 2-10-0 on Doncaster shed in August 1959.

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
Super-power for a last 'local' hurrah.
Photograph of A1 No. 60139 Sea Eagle at Yaxley & Farcet on 14.45 Hitchin to Peterborough stpping service. Text notes the withdrawal of local services from the ECML and the call for a new station to the south of Peterborogh to serve the Hampton development.
What happened to this disabled 'B1' 4-6-0 at Thornton Field Sidings.
Photograph by Tony Cornell of No. 61194 c1965 minus a connecting rod. Richard Strange noted that locomotive used as stationary boiler at Stratford Carriage Sidings.
I liked it so much I bought it. Chris Leigh.
Colour photographs of interior of former Barnwell station, including remains of LNWR poster.
Ron White, the legendary 'Mr Colour-Rail' retires.
Paul Chancellor taking over business.
Railway art at Shildon by the Guild of Railway Artists.
NRM exhibition: closes 4 October; opens 29 August.

Maidment, David. Season ticket. Part 2. Paddington to Reading, 1959. 8-13.

Platform. 15-16
Bulleid's 'Leader' class sleeve valves explained. Fred Rich.
Photograph of sleeve valves from No. 36002 during the course of it being broken up. W.H. (Joe) Hutchinson, Deputy Chief Draughtsman at Brighton Works had prepared Drawing W8851 of the Bulleid sleeve valves.
Points and crossings.
See Issue 265 page 24 Neville Stead pointed out errors on map: Relly Mill Junction, not as stated, Tanfield and Sunniside should be marked as collieries, not stations, and intersection at Annfield Plain was a crossing not as implied by map. Also error on map connected with M&GNR (Issue 262 page 19) which gave impression of adjacent terminie rather tahn end-on junction at Little Bytham.
Last rites of the 'Duchess' – can you fill in the gaps? Bob Clarke.
See Issue 264 page 48: writer saw No. 46244 King George VI near Perth on 12 September 1964 on 13.26 ex-Carlisle.
'Fives' were on Royal special. Robin Lush. 16.
See Issue 264 page 6: location was Dryclough Junction, near Halifax. Paragraph re driver of train: Issue 271 page 7..
'Fives' were on Royal special. Paul R. Denton.
See Issue 264 page 6: location was Spring Hall, Halifax, with a Royal special conveying Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip to Halifax on 26 July 1949. Paragraph re driver of train: Issue 271 page 7...
Q7 specially revived. Neville Stead.
See front cover of Issue 265: No. 63460 had been withdrawn with rest of class, but was retained and returned to traffic to work the North East Rail Tour on 28 September from Bishop Auckland over the Waerdale branch.

Fitton, Peter. Have camera will travel. 19-23.
H class No. 31269 and E4 class No. 32480 at Brighton on 7 September 1959; MR 2F 0-6-0 No. 58120 at Plumpton Junction on 1 September 1959; B17/6 No. 61608 Gunton at King's Cross on 4 September 1959; 57XX No. 9642 at Southall on 8 September 1959;

Webb, Terry. My Tamworth years. Part 1. 24-9.
Travel from Birmigham to engine spot from a field adjacent to the WCML. See also letter from Mal Parr concerning early arrival of up Caledonian in Issue 271 page 15.

Stead, Neville. Holloway revisited. 30-2.
J52/2 No. 68846 hauls freight over viaduct over East Coast main line at Harringay on 5 October 1957; J50/2 No. 68920 and N2/2 No. 69543 wait outside Gasworks Tunnels in 1957; N2/4 No. 69582 climbing Holloway Bank with 09.30 to Herford on 9 May 1954; N7/4 hauling empty stock at Hornseyon 24 June 1957; J50/4 No. 68987 descending Holloway Bank with empty stock on 11 May 1954.

Great shot! George Heiron. 34-5.
No. 6814 Enborne Grange (with GWR insignia still on tender) heading north into Bristol Temple Meads passing another Grange heading west

Rich, Fred. Demob leave: 1955: leaves from a locomotive diary. Part 1. 36-43.
Footplate experience on Billinton E4 0-6-2T No. 32468 on 19.34 Brighton to Tunbridge Wells West. Demob from the RAF took place at East Rudham in Norfolk on the M&GNJR reached via Peterborough and South Lynn. Illus.: No. 31666, Kirtley 0-4-4T 'Bobtail' returned to traffic during summer of 1955; Fred Diplock and Dennis Ward on footplate at Tunbridge Wells West; E4 No. 32468 on Brighton shed; Tunbridge Wells West shed with H class.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me... 44-5
Photographs of interior of Queen Street York vehicle maintance depot and of overturned mechanical horse and trailer outside Bradford Exchange station. Former includes Civil Engineer's Land Rover TVY 990, Scammel mechanical horse NVY 336 and two vans including Bedford UDN 54.

Percival, David. Great Eastern holiday snapshots. 46-51.
Includes observations made at Oulton Broad South in August 1959 when the mainline to Yarmouth South Town was still open. Illus. (black & white): J15 No. 65460 with Lowestoft portion of 15.38 ex-Liverpool Street aty Beccles; K3 No. 61949 running tender first with Lowestoft portion off Yarmouth express; B12/3 No. 61572 under coaling tower at Norwich shed on 7 September 1961, L1 No. 67738 at Beccles on 25 January 1958, B17 No. 61612 Houghton Hall leaving Lowestoft with an up parcels train on 24 August 1959; Sentinel Y3 No. 41 crossing main road in Lowestoft on 24 August. See also letter from Peter Hoye in Issue 274 page 17...

Duchess delight (The Calender Story Number 7). 54-5.
No. 46243 City of Lancaster (red) near Euston in July 1962 (Geoff Rixon).

Mitchell, Alan. Living the dream. 57-60.
Fireman moved from Canklow, a former LMS mpd near Sheffield, to Doncaster Carr mpd. Notes that a special shovel was issued to fire No. 60700 (the W1) due to the distance between the tender and the fire hole. The Mutual Improvement Class arranged a visit to the SNFC and this included a footplate ride on a French Pacific from Amiens to Calais. Illus. (colour) all at Doncaster shed: B16/3 No. 61444 in October 1961; B1 No. 61270 and V2 No. 60876 on 9 June 1963; W1 No. 60700 in 1958, and No. 60113 Great Northern in 1962..

Reviews. 65-6
Footplate & signals. L.F.E. Coombs. Silver Link.
Author was in ergonomics department of British Railways and involved in the design of the controls in the cab for the HST. Considers the interface between the layout of the cab and its controls with the signalling system. "Recommended".
Sixties spotting days: 1968 the last year of steam. Kevin Derrick. Strathwood.
Scottish railways: two decades of transition. Donald Peddie. Strathwood.
Photographs taken by compiler's father Ian Peddie.
From Dean to Churchward. Vol. 1. Glyn Williams. Edward Talbot.
Photographer Robert Brookman.
Looking back at Riddles & Ivatt locomotive. Kevin Derrick. Strathwood.
More than 160 colour photographs.
The changing railway scene: Southern Region. Kevin Robertson, Ian Allan.
"pleasant book"
Peter's railway and the moonlight express. Christopher Vine. Author.
"Recommended" (KPJ must try it on Kyle)

Issue No. 268 (October 2009)

MPDs: the railway's beating heart: comment. Mel Holley. 4-5.
Westbury shed in 1957. (Colour Rail)

Call attention. Mel Holley. 6-7.
The 'Stur' – on a shortlist for Britain's best kept station?
Sturminstrer Newton with No. 80041 entering with a Bath to Bournemouth train on 22 July 1965. Great floral display. Colour picture taken by Phil Bosworth and submitted by Peter Hack.
Adding insult to injury.
Colour pictures of public house (inn) signs taken by Norman Hill. Both pubs in North Road, Darlington: blue King (called "Castle" in text) on Caledonian sign and blue double chimney A4 at the Railway Tavern.
It's not what it seems at Taunton.
See Issue No. 266: "water tower" is pumping station on Bridgwater & Taunton Canal and may form part of Firepool development (computer graphics). See also Issue 271 page 6 for views of remains of locomotive depot
What was Uncle Stan's deed. Can anyone help?
Letter to H.S. (Stan) Edwards, a Gorton engine driver signed by members of the Trustees (W.P. Maclure, S. Murgatroyd and Rupert Mole??) of the Sir Edward Watkin Special Award Fund written on 17 April 1945. Believe granted in respect of oprevention of buffer stop collision at Manchester London Road.

Alcock, William. The unremarkables. 8-12.
Assessment of the performance of all types of A2 mainly via direct observations and via those of Peter Coster From Cock o' the North to Saint Johnstoun in Essays in steam by J,F, Clay (1970). Alcock's one really excellent run was made behind Peppercorn A2 No. 60539 Bronzino on 28 July 1950 on the down Aberdonian with a gross load of about 660 tons. The train was hindered by a V2-hyauled relief until it was overtaken aqt Peterborough and then climbed to Stoke Summit in fine style reaching 60 mile/h at Essendine with a minimum of 52 mile/h at Stoke Summit and 69 mile/h at Great Ponton, reaching Grantham 2.5 minutes early. He also cites a run on the up Aberdonian loaded to 575 tons when the 40.6 miles from Aberdeen to Montrose were run in 42 minutes with a top speed of 100 mile/h on the Esk viaduct. This was behind No. 60532 Blue Peter in about 1950. The Thompson Pacifics alo achieved high speeds but mainly with lightweight trains. Illus.: No. 60531 Bahram at Aberdeen Ferryhill in 1960; No. 60502 Earl Marischal at York on 17 March 1967, A1 No. 60149 Amadis running into Peterborough from the north; No. 60512 Steady Aim on express at Markham.

Platform. 14-16.
Shedding light on the British Locomotive Shed Directory. Roy Jenson.
Two very similar directories were "authored" and published by A.L.F. Fuller and R.S. Grimsley. Originally the two had intended to collaborate. 2000 unused copies were still in stock in the 1980s, forty years after publication in 1947. Cites Philip Stuart in Link (the journal of the Engine Shed Society).
Shedding light on the British Locomotive Shed Directory. Steve Nelson.
Claims he obtained a bargain from Robert Humm! Cost a mere £14.
Shedding light on the British Locomotive Shed Directory. Leonard Rogers.
Notes that the Grimsley version is still on sale from Booklaw Publications of Nottingham
Does anyone recall the details of a derailment at Doncaster in 1954? Stan Hall.
When a slow moving train was derailed at electrically-operated facing points. This followed a similar incident at Thirsk on 20 anuary 1954.
Fact versus fiction in steam railway research. David Percival. 15
Notes errors in photographer's notes and by compilers in the captioning of published photographic albums
Grinning driver on 'SMT'. Alan Mitchell.
Geoff Bartlett Canklow driver
Heavy freight. Bill Payter.
See article on Garratts: failed to mention S&DJR 7F 2-8-0s.
What was the locomotive? David Thomas.
7P 4-6-0 used on special to Wigan on21 May 1959 for opening of Heinz factory.
Chasing 'the namers' on the 'London circuit'. David Butcher.
King's Cross>Euston>Paddington>Waterloo
ECML co-oincidences come together. Norman Hill.

Webb, Terry. My Tamworth years. Part 2. 19-23.

Maidment, David. Season ticket. Part 3. Paddington to Reading, 1960. 24-9.

Crook, Stephen. Around Cambridge. 30-6.
Black & white photo-feature: B17 No. 61666 Nottingham Forest near Pampisford with train from Colchester in 1959; B17 No. 61657 Doncaster Rovers passing Coldham's Lane Junction with train for March in May 1960; E4 No. 62789 with passing under Hills Road bridge with 11.37 Cambridge to Haverhill in March 1957; J15 No. 65445 and B12/3 No. 61549 on Codham's curve with 14.00 Cambridge to Ipswich in February 1957; B17 No. 61657 Doncaster Rovers leaving Histon on 07.28 ex-Birmingham; D16/3 No. 62534 approaching Cambridge with two-coach stopping train from King's Lynn in April 1958; A3 No. 60061 Pretty Polly passing Trumpington on diverted express on May Sunday in 1960.

Rich, Fred. Demob leave: 1955: leaves from a locomotive diary. Part 2. 38-43.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me... 44-5
Photograph of NER clerestory coach in use as mess vehicle.

Jackson, Bob. The pioneer line. 46-51.
Lancaster Morecambe Heysham line electrified on single-phase 6,600V AC in 1908 can claim to be first main line electrification in Britain. Part 2 see Issue 269 page 42..

Hadwin, Alex. What no black smoke? 54-5.
B1 No. 61157 on Liverpool/Manchester to Harwich boat train was failing to produce steam, but the risk was taken to traverse Woodhead Tunnel 3 (not 4.5) miles long.

Glasspool, D.J.R. The bridge. 56-7.
During WW2 author was a Sapper signalman on the Elham Valley line at Lickpot Bridge. This part of Kent was a restricted area, but like many of the troops stationed in the area Sapper Glasspool arranged to meet his wife at Chartham station rather than at Canterbury where Military Police were stationed to inhibit such visits. Nevertheless on one occasion they were apprehended in Bishopsbourne, but got off with a caution.

Evans, Patrick. To Bristol and Swindon... 58-61.
Travel was cheapened by the use of early morning returns which required dashes to booking offices at intermediate stations.

Reviews. 65-6. 
The railways of Blackpool and the Fylde. Vols. 1 and 2. Barry McLoughlin. Silver Link
Updated versions of books originally published in 1996. Includes the tramway system and the railways at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, including a monorail system.
The power of the Kings. Laurence Waters. OPC.
First to cover the 60XX King class.
West from Paddington. Stuart Cole. Etica.
Traveller's companion for routes to Bristol, Penzance and Carmarthen. Written with the co-operation of First Great Western by a Professor of Transport with specially taken colour photographs to show what may be viewed from the carriage window,
Steam engines explained. Stan Yorke. Countryside.
"For its price, it's a good book".
Southern steam days remembered. Kevin Derrick. Strathwood.
All colour album in landscape format
Branch lines around Hertford and Hatfield. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith. Middleton.
This very interesting review implies a Broxbourne to St Albans route which never existed, but is probably correct in implying "an excellent addition to the publisher's series". In fact the line from Broxbourne to Hertford only had a slender link to the branch from Hatfield to Hertford..
Steam power. Brian Solomon. MBI
Steam around Stafford. Mike Hitches. History Press.

Number 269 (November (2009)

On shed...: comment. Mel Holley. 4-5
A1 No. 60152 Holyrood, B1 No. 61019 Gnu and 60146 Peregrine inside York roundhouse (Colour-raii.com)

Call attention. Mel Holley. 6-7
LT&S tank engine Thundersley - before she became a celebrity.
Nigel Mundy photograph of 4-4-2T No. 41966 in lined BR black livery at Toton shed on 15 October 1955.
Boy Scouts on tour - a century of history.
113th Glasgow (Burnide) Scout Group celebrate its Centenary in 2009. Photograph of kilted troop decorating Caledonian Railway 0-4-4T at Rutherglen station in early 1920s.
L.S. Lowry's scene, as it is today.
Malcolm Bailey pictures of Stockport: see article about Lowry painting in Issue 266 page 54.
The station now arriving...
Photograph of Barnwell station's waiting room passing through Oundle in April 1977. See also this Issue letter from Ray Townsin..

Haymes, Arthur. Memories of Darlington. 8-12.
Author was born in 1947 in Burnley and spent his holidays with aunts in Darlington where he discovered the delights of motive power on the ECML and managed to photograph some of it in colour. The illustratiuons; A3 No. 60112 St Simon at Darlington station on 10.00 York to Edinburgh on 1 August 1964; A3 No. 60045 Lemberg on standby duty in September 1964; V2 No. 60806 passing power station with 10.00 York to Edinburgh on 31 July 1964; J94 No. 60043 ambles through station with freight.

Platform. 14-
Lowering 'Battle of Britain' squadron shields to make room for arrows. Roy Saberton.
Exposing the myths aboput No. 46234 Duchess of Abercorn. Ian Townend.
National Railwaay Museum drawing
Questions raised about Royal Train visit. John Webster.
See Issue 265 page 38: Notes that Grove (Royal Train working) notices were required to be returned by Station Master and that the survival of notice reproduced was a lapse at the time.
Questions raised about Royal Train visit. B. Castle.
See Issue 265 page 38: how the Royal Train was stopped in the correct position.
Questions raised about Royal Train visit. Ray Townsin.
See Issue 265 page 38: Notes that the original article contained an error: the Northampton to Peterborough line opened on 2 June 1845, not 1844, and the Great Eastern Railway provided another route to London prior to the opening of the GNR. Also nots the difficulty that the builder. John Cracknell, had in moving station building through Oundle (see also page 7)
Questions raised about Royal Train visit. R. Bamber.
See Issue 265 page 38: Notes the precautions taken to ensure that water troughs were completely full before the passage of a Royal Train: writer worked as a fitter at Brock troughs (see Issue 258 page 19) and would be required to be in attendance during the middle of the night.
KALE codes PERMO. B. Castle.
'Train' misuse - possibly Australian? Mick Horton.
'Train' misuse - possibly Australian? Norman Hill.
Points and crossings...
Census reveals railway house history. Andrew Coalwood.
Previous occupants of house rented by George Dow from LNER (see Issue 266 page 56). This notes that previous tenants had not been railwaymen: see Census information 1901 and 1911. See also letter in Issue 271 page 15 by Chris Hicks.
Did Lowry use a model for reference? Michael Marston.
Inspectors on the footplate. Edwin Padfield.

Toy, John. More than paperwork...19-23.
Calculation of weekly wages and salaries from time tickets for footplate staff at Bescot mpd during the 1950s/60s. Also typing vat Aston and at Saltley See also letter from Michael Page in Issue 271 page 14..

Maidment, David. Season ticket. Part 4. 24-7.
Management trainee on Western Region. This enabled him to sample steam locomotive performance over short distances, such as Reading to Slough or to Oxford during late 1961/early 1962.

Hyde, John. Incident at Nuneaton. 28-9.
No. 46256 Sir William A. Stanier, FRS failed due to problems with coal pusher on 5 March 1964 and had to be assisted by E3029 electric locomotive.

Fleming, Derek 'Jim'. A cleaner's lot. 30-
St Philip's Marsh.

Rich, Fred. Demob leave: 1955: leaves from a locomotive diary. Part 3. 36-41.
Includes a brief account of a long trip (using "foreign" free-pass) from London via the East Coast route to Edinburgh thence overnight on the Highland line to Inverness and return via same route on the Heart of Midlothian (from Edinburgh). Observations on firing Bulleid light Pacifics with hard coal and their running on overnight freight from Brighton to Norwood yard and return on the 03.23 newspaper train from London Bridge to Brighton. Noted that Ajax steam operated firedoors not used in powered mode. Also observations on Billinton D3 0-4-4Ts with their roomy cabs (No. 2390 illustrated at Tunbridge Wells West on 12 Jun 1948 and cab when on scrap road in November 1955).

Jackson, Bob. The pioneer line. Part 2. 42-7.
Began in Part 1 in Issue 268 page 46: this part describes the low cost convertion of the existing catenary to act as a test site for high frequency 50-cycle high voltage ac electrification using former LNWR electric stock surplus since the beginning of WW2 and formerly used on Willesden to Earls Court services. These were fitted with bus type seating. Day-to-day operation of the line was in the hands of Ernie Whitehouse, a local man. A new station was opened at Scale Hall, but in spite of healthy local traffic the line was closed in 1966.

Eaton, Geoff. On a time past. 48-51.
Born in the 1940s at an inauspicious location for perceiving steam trains: Eltham on the Southern electric, but he used to hear freight in the night climbing towards Falconwood. Journeys from Eltham Park to Charing Cross introduced him to the joys of Platform 6 where a steam locomotive was usually at the buffer stops, and most ticket collectors would tolerate his closer inspection of one of the Bulleid light Pacifics. In 1954 he travelled to Southall and was directed to a footbridge over the main line to watch trains and was initiated into the art of engine spotting by a friendly passing boy. Later he became a commuter between Eltham Park and Lewisham becoming a pupil at Colfe's Grammar School. In consequence he became a fully fledged locospotter.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me... 54-5.
Route diagrams as drawn by George Dow for LNER suburban services (and as illustrated for services from King's Cross (and Broad Street and Moorgate)) as displayed in the restored articulated set operating on the North Norfolk Railway.

Bangor Britannia: (The Calender Story Number 8). 59.
C. Banks colour photograph of No. 70045 which lacked a name when photographed, but later became Lord Rowallan. On a down stopping train formed of carmine and cream LMS corridor stock.

Vincent, Roy. (phot.). Green is the colour! 60-1.
Wonderful colour photographs taken by Roy Vincent of trains still in LNER livery with apple green locomotives and varnished teak rolling stock on approach to Liverpool Street station: B17/6 No. 61665 Leicester City (still in apple green) passing B1 No. 61058 in LNER lined black (i.e. red lining) and tender letterd BRITISH RAILWAYS (in LNER Gill-sans) probably in September 1948; L1 No. 67713 in apple green in June 1948; B2 No. 1671 Royal Sovereign at Bishopsgate in August 1947 with teak Gresley coach with blinds down to keep out summer sun

Reviews. 65.
Hobo bound. Hobo Bill and Kristin. Ivy Creek Recordings. Music CD.
Railroading and hobo songs.
Devon railways.
Somerset railways. Ted Gosling and Mike Clement. History Press.
Photographic albums with a strong bias towards Southern Railway/Region.

Number 270 (December 2009)

One of 20 Southern Region BR Standard Class 5 4-6-0s named in 1959 (taking their names, although not actual 'plates, from 'King Arthurs' then being withdrawn), No. 73119 Elaine lays a perfect exhaust trail as she dashes through Esher on the down main line with a Basingstoke train in March 1962. Geoff Rixon. 3.
Colour photograph.

Heroes: past and present: comment. Mel Holley. 4-5.
Colour photograph by Geoff Rixon of rebuilt Royal Scot No. 46117 Welsh Guardsman at Corkerhill MPD in September 1962 comments on names and naming of Royal Scot class with, and often without ceremony. See also Royal Scot names  See also letter from John Cadmore in 276 page 17 on War Memorial locomotive on Severn Valley Railway and Welch spellings..

Call Attention. Mel Holley. 6-7.
Scrapped vintage coaches in their last months of railway service. Frank Hornby.
See Issue 266 page 58: for restored LTSR coaches in their briefly restored condition with photograph of it stored at Stratford shed on 26 January 1957: former Wisbech & Upwell Tramway, Kelvedon & Tollesbury Light Railway four wheel tramcar alsop photographed at same time. Both subsequently scrapped.
Proud of its roots. Denis Lewis. 7.
Old Oak Common decal fixed to HST power carr No. 43081.
Signs of the times: observe and obey! Denis Lewis. 7
EWS health & safety notice at Westbury depot. ©EWS
The first traispotters? Howard Green.

Lewis, David Henry. From Tondu to Marlow. 8-12.
Due to a shortage of firemen in the London division a seventeen year old cleaner from Tondu found himself firing suburban trains at Slough MPD in 1956. These duties included working overnight at Marlow to prepare the 14XX for duty on the Marlow Donkey (auto train). This involved cleaning out the grate and ashpan, relighting the fire, pumping up water from the well using steam from the locomotive, and loading coal (ovoids) onto the coaling stage and filling up the bunker on the locomotive. Some locomotive movements were required and these extended to reconnecting to the auto trailer.

Platform. 15-16.
Tilbury tanks 'off route' and the LTSR coach's fate. Michael Rutherford.
See Issue No. 266 page 58:
Tilbury tanks 'off route' and the LTSR coach's fate. J.L. Champion.
See Issue No. 266 page 58:
Tilbury tanks 'off route' and the LTSR coach's fate. David Butcher.
See Issue No. 266 page 58:
Tilbury tanks 'off route' and the LTSR coach's fate. Pat Webb.
See Issue No. 266 page 58:
Sea and rail terms. D. Pratt.

Points and crossings.

'Castles' at Leamington Spa. David Maidment. 16
See Issue No. 266 page 26:

Fielder, John. Plymouth in the peak. 19-23.
Recalling the busy summer of 1959, when traffic was at its peak.

Tester, Adrian and Hunt, David. Setting the record straight. 24-8.
A reassessment of the LMS Beyer Garratts which debunks many of the previous obervations made about them and the "involvement" of J.E. Anderson, George Hughes, and the Civil Engineers Ernest Trench and Alexander Newlands and J.H. Follows as well as the LMS Board and its major Committees. Tester and Hunt reject other commentators observations that a 2-6-2+2-6-T might have been more effective; the effective nature of Midland Railway axlebox bearings (including the involvement of lubrication expert R.M. Deeley), and the cost effective nature of short-lap valves for slow moving freight trains (limited by the crude nature of British coal transportation in wagons without brakes, bearings, bogies on a road with inadequate bridges and refuge sidings).

Summerfield, G. From the booking office... 30-3.
Railway career which began at Kenton in 1944 as a Junior Booking Clerk, and reached Finmere as Station Master in 1952.

Great shot! R.C. Riley. 34-5.
Black & white centre spread of down Golden Arrow passing Battersea Power Station behind No. 35015 Rotterdam Lloyd on 21 March 1959.

Maidment, David. Season ticket. Part 5. 36-41.
David Maidment was transferred to South Wales for more training. Next part in Issue 271 page 36..

Johnston, Howard. Deeley: why did he walk away from the Midland?  42-5.
The Midland Railway's young Locomotive Superintendent's resignation: his relationship with Cecil Paget and his locomotive designs. See letter from Richard Billinge in Issue No. 276 concerning caption on page 44 relating to No. 1000. See also letter from Pater Davis in Issue 275 page 19 and  letter from Phil Atkins in Issue 277 page 15

Rich, Fred.  Demob leave: 1955. 46-50.
Footplate adventures on the Southern Region. Concludes Issue 271 page 48.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me. 56-7.
Darlington Works

A rare bird. Geoff Rixon. 60.
Rare sight of an LNER Pacific No. 60022 Mallard at London Waterloo on 23 February 1963 at head of West Countryman railtour organized by LCGB..

Reviews. (all Mel Holley unless indiacted otherwise). 64-6.
Horton's guide to Britain's railways in feature films. Glyn Horton. Silver Link Publishing,
Updated second edition. Introduction explains the history of railways in British film, before the listings start. In an A-Z format they include the year, company, current availability, director and stars' names, plus a brief synopsis of the plot and railway content, including the reallocations used. Includes two useful appendices which list feature films shot on preserved railways and London termini used in films in which Paddington has 44 appearances and Waterloo 39. "it's a very handy book".
Bolton Trinity Street to Liverpool Exchange. Jim Markland. Foxline Publications.
"Geographical journey along the line, with a selection of good-quality pictures – nicely reproduced too – plus many line drawings showing the track layouts at stations..and key junctions... reproduced to a good size, and extended captions... that not only accurate, but also benefit from the extra knowledge imparted by people who know their subject. It's an excellent book..."
The Wisbech & Upwell Tramway. Peter Paye. Oakwood Press.
"the definitive history of an extraordinary railway. The text is very comprehensive, but the book still manages to use more than 200 illustrations - including plans of the unusual locomotives and passenger rolling stock - plus track plans, timetables and building plans." Recommended.
Marylebone steam in the 1980s. J&K Video, DVD. (AMcF)
Preserved steam locomotives operating between Marylebone through the Chilterns to Stratford-upon-Avon. "The quality is good with the narration, giving information on the location, date and the locomotive which for me was not intrusive"
My Ancestor Was a Railway Worker. Frank Hardy. Society of Genealogists Enterprises.
Author worked on the railways as a civil engineer and has been involved with the Society of Genealogists: aimed at people researching family histories. Warns of pitfalls in keyword searching: e.g. Manchester & Milford Railway and the ambiguities of the occupation 'fireman'
Steam in England. Rodney Lissenden. Ian Allan Publishing.
Showcasing the work of RC. Riley, one of the country's best steam photographers: album based on colour pictures taken between 1950 and 1968.
Just like the real thing. Pete Waterman. Ian Allan Publishing.
Relates how Pete Waterman and a team of dedicated modellers have built one of the most impressive model layouts in the country. Using many large format pictures, it described all aspects of building a 7mm model of Leamington Spa's stations (the GWR's General and the adjacent LMS Avenue) and its surroundings. The photography is to a very high standard, and is assisted by a lively text, which avoids getting bogged down in detaiL
The Ross, Monmouth and Pontypool Road Line. Stanley Jenkins. Oakwood
Revised and enlarged.
The Blakesley Hall Miniature Railway and the Bartholomew Family. Bob Tebb. Silver Link Publishing,
Pioneer 15 inch gauge miniature railway constructed to serve an estate in Northamptonshire which made use of Cagney products from the USA as well as some German equipment.
Railway Walks: LMS, GWR & SR, LNER. Jeff Vinter. History Press.
Author is a consultant to the BBC TV 'Railway Walks' series, and this has provided an excuse to republish this series of three books, which first appeared in 1990. They are all are new editions and have been updated.
Worcestershire Railways. Mike Hitches. History Press.
Based on  a collection of vintage photographs, many of which appeared to be commercial postcards from the Edwardian era, plus some from sources such as Lens of Sutton. The final chapter includes contemporary views from the preserved Severn Valley Railway. Lacks a map.
Lost railways of Gloucestershire. Stan Yorke. Countryside Books.

Issue No. 271 (January 2010)

Memories are made of this: comment. Mel Holley. 4-5.
Trent Valley Memories painting by John Austin showing red Duchess No. 46240 City of Coventry on The Royal Scot at Tamwaort in snow.

Call Attention. Mel Holley. 6-7.
'Namers' return to the WR,
First Great Western restore names The Capitals United to 05.55 Swansea to Paddington and 16.45 return; The Red Dargon to the 07.30 Carmarthen to Paddington and 17.45 return, and The Merchant Venturer to the 07.30 Paddington to Bristol and Penzance and 16.00 Bristol to Paddington. Photograph of Castle class No. 5080 Defiant at head of down Capitals United Express passing Ealing Broadway on 2 September 1958.
What's left at Taunton?
Four colour illustrations taken by Russell Elliott in December 2007 of remains of 83B, Taunton motive power depot: see also Issue 268 page 6 and Issue 266 page 6.
Father was Royal Train driver. 7
See Issues No. 264 page 6 (for original photograph) and letters from Robin Lush and Paul Denton in No. 267: Frank Rowbottom wrote from Tasmania to state that his father George Rowbottom was the Royal Train driver and enclosed a contemporary press cutting noting that Driver Rowbottom lived in Dunbottle Lane, Mirfield.
Art for all?
Peter Hack colour photographs of remains of Marishes Road station near Pickering where former timber buildings had been decorated with an image of an A4 on Scarborough Flyer.
An appropriate sign.
Denis Lewis colour photograph of inn sign at the Caradon Inn in Cornwall with accurate painting of Liskeard & Looe Railway 0-6-0ST Caradon.

Crisp, John. Climbing the ladder. 8-13.
Author joined the staff at Watford Junction engine shed (motive power depot) on 7 August 1962 under the eye of Mr Spencer, the Shed Master. Fred Quick was in charge of the stores where note was taken of the difference betwen the paraffin use for headlamps, and the special oil issued for water gauge illumination which had a higher flash point: if paraffin was loaded into the gauge lamp it would ignite and blacken the gauge glass. Colour illus.: Patriot No. 45513 at Preston in July 1961; No. 46207 Princess Arthur of Connaught on up Ulster Express passing Watford Junction on 7 May 1960, and 2P 4-4-0 No. 40657 on shed at Watford Junction  (T.J. Edgington 1962): caption notes that was "Engineer Watford", but...?

Platform. 14-16.
Jogging and train spotting at Bescott. Michael Page.
See article in Issue 269 page 19.
Train runs EARLY and makes news. Mal Parr. 15
See feature in Issue 267 page 24: on 5 September 1957 the up Caledonian arrived at Euston 37 minutes early: the writer who was doing his National Service in northern Germany kept the item which appeared in The Daily Express including photograph of No. 46244 King George VI.
Non-railway staff in railway properties. Chris Hicks.
See letter by Andrew Coalwood in Issue 269 page 16, and article by Andrew Dow in Issue 266 page 56 concerning his parents' home rented from the LNER. Chris Hicks father was a porter and lived with his sister at 24 King Henrys Road, London NW3 in a flat owned by the LMS, but many of the tenants were non-railwaymen. Later he lived in a flat at 72 Drummond St: many of the other tenants in the 1901 census were non-railwaymen.
'Unremarkables' were remarkable. Dave Somers. 16.
Do you remember the 'Mars' specials. Michael Matwiejczyk.
The confectionary company organized special trains from Slough for the children of employees to attend entertainments in London and provided sweets for the travellers.

Dow, Andrew. LNER: on the narrow gauge. Part 1. 19-25.
The NER used to, like many other railways, use ash for ballast, but switched to slag and stone at the end of WW1. This part considers the narrow gauge lines associated with limestone quarrying at Hulands Quarry near Barnard Castle where the output was about 40,000 tons per annum. Temporary 2ft gauge track was used and the tipping wagons were hauled to the crusher by a petrol locomotive (not listed in the RCTS Locomotives of the LNER Part 10A, although presumably in the relevant section of an Industrial Railway Society publication. Illustrations of mechanical shovel, the quarry face, crosher and of J25 No. 3139 on a train of ballast wagons with timber frames

Irving, Paul. 'Duchesses' on the Caley road. 26-33.
Records of locomotive performance on the Duchess-hauled eight-coach sets used on the Caledonian, Mid-day Scot and other Anglo-Scottish services during the period 1958-1960 as timed between Glasgow and Carlisle. See also Call Attention in No. 278 page 7 for Roger Shenton transparency of inaugural down Caledonian..

Great shot! John Hunt. 34-5.
8F climbing through Portsmouth between Todmorden and Copy Pit with coal train on 24 February 1968.

Maidment, David. Season ticket. Part 6. 36-40.
Previous part (Issue 270 page 36) Records of locomotive performance mainly on the North and West route between Cardiff and Shrewsbury behind Hall and Castle locomotives in 1962/3.

Batten, Reg. A ride to remember. 42-3. illus.
D2 4-4-0 No. 3049 photographed near Potters Bar in the summer of 1936. On the following day Batten travelled on the same train, fast from Potters Bar to Finsbury Park, then King'sn Cross reached in 19.5 minutes inclusive of the stop. It was a very fast run.

Esau, David. Winter steam. 44-7.
New Year's Day 1962 amidst the snow in the Chilterns: King class at High Wycombe station with express for Birmingham Snow Hill; 64XX No. 6403 with single auto coach (push & pull) at Saunderton; No. 6009 King Charles II near Saunderton with 13-coach Birmingham express; Fairburn 2-6-4T No. 42231 with single coach on up line south of Saunderton; King passes High Wycombe station with up express with milk tanks at front; NNo. 6020 King Henry IV works through Saunderton with an up express.

Rich, Fred.  Demob leave: 1955. Part 5. 48-50.
Previous part in Issue 270 page 46. Day spent on standard 2-6-4T No. 80016 which steamed well on briquettes and had no difficulty in powering a three coach birdcage set on a Tunbridge Wells-Lewes-Victoria-Tunbridge Wells working.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me. 54-5.
Illustration of two polished B1 locomotives Nos. 61304 and 61034 leaving ICI Bilingham with a train of tank wagons containing iso-octanol for the King George V Dock in London to be loaded onto the Afric in 1961. Photograph was probably taken by Sidney Jesper as part of the public relations and publicity effort of the North Eastern Region. All pre-MacGregorization.

Rogers, James. Starstruck at Starbeck. Part 1. 58-60.
Between 1947 and 1955 many of the D49 class were shedded at Starbeck shed to operate local services to York and Leeds. These included the two-cylinder No. 62768 The Morpeth allocated to Driver George Harris. The Morpeth was damaged beyond repair in an accident in October 1952.

Reviews. Mel Holley. 64-6.
Poster to Poster - Vol. 1 Scotland. Richard Furness. JDF & Associates,
In an arrangement with the National Railway Museum, which allowed access to its archives, and using images from specialist poster auctioneer Onslows, this book aims to be the first in a seven-volume series of books to be published over the next three years, with more than 260 posters per volume. Each volume has a regional focus and the locations are based on the older British county names rather than the modern administrative areas The books showcase the posters as if readers are taking railway journeys. Not only are the posters to be covered in more depth than before, but also the history, geography and commercial aspects of each place visited allows the book to be an educational travelogue, as well as a poster guide. The central core of each book is the posters, carriage prints and original paintings. Unpublished materials and posters are used where possible. Also at the rear of each book is a large poster database, which aims to develop into a definitive listing of all the posters produced by the British railway companies. The first book is highly promising. Printed to a very high standard on good heavy paper, it's a hefty tome and is, as promised, a departure from previous poster books. Scotland is divided into eight areas, which have a chapter each. At the beginning of each chapter an attractive hand-drawn map indicates the locations depicted in posters. Scotland is a good place to start. It has a rich history, wonderful geography and unique culture. More than 330 Scottish posters, many previously unpublished in books, are included, and a comprehensive text not only gives details about the poster, but also the region or service to which it refers, with an emphasis on the history behind the poster. The text is detailed, very readable and enjoyable. Indeed you can journey around Scotland without leaving your seat, through the medium of the posters and text. The book aims at a wide audience – so it's not a pure railway book – although there is much railway content in the text, but it is more of a moving travelogue. As a package it offers poster essays, artist thumbnails, historical and tourism facts all rolled into one. It also lists more than 550 posters from Scotland, arranged by 1950s counties, together with database notes for research. It's a lovely book, that is also an important and fascinating reference work. Recommended.
London Underground Facts. Stephen Halliday. David and Charles
Answers such questions as abandoned stations, longest escalator, etc.
Rail Around Birmingham, the Black Country and South Staffordshire. Andrew Doherty. Silver Link
Possibly the first railway book to be translated from a web publishing into print form.
Peter's Railway and the forgotten engine. Chris Vine. Author.
Third in this growing series of excellent books, aimed at 6-12 year olds.
Lost Railways of South Wales. Mike Hall. Countryside Books.
Well received: reviewer notes good index and extensive bibliography.
A Pictorial Guide to Alpine Railways . Mervyn Jones. Oakwood Press.
142 railways are covered in detail, of which 20 are in France, 29 in Italy, six in Slovenia, one in Croatia, 24 in Austria, 19 in Germany and 33 in Switzerland. The text is extensive, and photographs are inspiring although there is a lack of maps.
Sir William McAlpine. John Chacksfield. Oakwood Press.
Sub-titled 'A tale of locomotives, carriages and conservation', the author, a noted railway biographer, has deliberately excluded 'Sir Bill's business interests and other non-railway activities. While he is probably best known for the rescue of Flying Scotsman from the USA, and then running it on the main line for 23 years, there are many other projects in which he has had a supporting hand. The book also covers his Fawley Hill Railway and museum, the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch 'episode', in which he created a situation where the railway could be put on a firm financial footing, and much on carriages. However, the book reveals that probably his greatest achievement has been his influence and lobbying which countered the bureaucracy and opposition to main line steam.
Last Days of Steam on the LMS and BR. Roderick Fowkes. Halsgrove.
Autobiographical account of railway work, mainly during the days of steam.
London Underground rolling stock in colour. John Glover. Ian Allan.
Colour album with only a limited amount of material from before the last two decades.
Locomotive compendium Ireland. Colin Boocock. Ian Allan .
Very useful guide to Irish railways (north and south) and covers all the railway companies that have operated since 1949, including narrow gauge operations, but excluding the industrial peat railways. Each class of locomotive occupies a page with one or more pictures, a panel giving principal dimensions and a potted history. The locomotives are grouped by railway and, despite Ireland turning to diesels relatively swiftly, steam occupies just a little over half the book. It's an excellent volume for anyone wanting an overview, bringing all motive power together in one book.
Shadows in the steam. David Brandon and Alan Brooke. History Press.
Subtitled, 'The haunted railways of Britain', this book might at first glance appear to be little more than supernatural speculation. But it is a rational and fascinating account, compiled from hundreds of first-hand experiences. Whether or not you believe in ghosts or the supernatural, as a recent TV programme on London Underground showed, there have been unexplained events, witnessed by sober, intelligent people, who hold positions of responsibility. This gives weight to the basis of many stories. Others were often 'created' as myths to trap the unwary or wind-up unsuspecting work colleagues. While it is not mentioned, the so-called strategic steam reserve, is one such myth. The book is well written, and there is plenty to read. Accidents seem to form the origin of many of the reported sightings, and the background and nature of these events is explained. Readers are left to make their own minds up. Well worth a read.
Suffolk Steam Railways. David Kindred. Old Pond Publishing.
Using a collection of photographs acquired by the author, plus pictures from other collections, including the local newspaper, this pictorial book covers much ground. The period ranges from the 1870s to 1960s, although most pictures are in the BR steam era. The use of newspaper pictures injects the human, and other elements, such as horse shunting. The captions are accurate, but brief. The reproduction is adequate, from what appear to be some indifferent originals in some cases, but one or two pictures have been used to a size that does them no favours., while the design does little help. Nonetheless, it's an interesting book.
Barmouth to Pwllheli. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith. Middleton Press.
Middleton's usual style, with photographs spanning the last 100 years (around half in the diesel era), plus maps, plans, timetables, notices and a gradient profile. It is right up to date, with the new Porthmadog flat crossing, and other developments on the line.

No. 272 (February 2010)

Time and timeliness: comment. Mel Holley. 4-5.
Introduction of railway time

Call Attention. Mel Holley. 6-7.
Stamford Bridge Station – still proud and standing after restoration!
Four colour photographs submitted by David Gowing of station on former York to Beverley line including viaduct across River Derwent.
Favourite art recalls farewell on fitted freight.
Brian Baines painting of fitted freight near Kilby Bridge owned Mick Hayes.
Shedcodes on the road.
LMS 19B and J88 GWR.
In the demob footsteps.
Mike Esau photograph of R class 0-4-4T No. 31666 at Tunbridge Wells West on 18 August 1955.

Widdowson, Keith. The Brit awards. 8-14.
Locospotting Britannia class during their rundown demise.

Platform. 18
Timekeeping was generally good at Oxford, as I remember it in the 1950s. Robin Mills.
See Issue 265 page 8: considered that timekeeping on the Western Region was not bad, but then notes the very lax times of most Oxford to London (and return) trains: many "expresses" were allowed 90 to 95 minutes.
61613 – an awful engine transformed! David Butcher.

Rogers, James. Starstruck at Starbeck. Part 2. 26-31.
Pacifics seen on trains diverted via Starbeck and Ripon when the East Coast Main Line was closed due to track maintenance or by an accident.

Crisp, John. Climbing the ladder. Part 2. 32-3.
At Watford Junction MPD as a cleaner. The trouble caused by the receipt of a forged £5 note in his wages tin when it was used for paying his gas bill; the lack of regular northbound trains to Apsley and Hemel Hempstead, and the system used to differentiate times prior to adoption of twenty-four hour clock: Illustration of train about to depart from Platform 15 at Euston at 11.40 with through coach stated to be for Southport (station master in top hat and tails).

Great shot. 34-5.
Camden MPD in 1939 with Jubilee No. 5559 British Columbia, No. 6100 Royal Scot, No. 6224 Princess Alexandra, No. 6230 Duchess of Buccleuch and another streamlined Coronation class (highly posed shot of cleaning in progress).

Esau, David. Brrr.... 36-9.
U class 2-6-0 No. 31796 with short passenger train passing Albury between Chilworth and Gomshall with train for Redhill in snow of January 1963; M7 0-4-4T No. 30053 at Rowfant with push & pull for Three Bridges; Ivatt 2-6-2T No. 41217 departs Warrington Bank Quay with train for Manchester Oxford Road; 9F 2-10-0 passing Norton, Cheshire, with train for Chester, and No. 45140 at Betham in winter 1958.

Maidment, David. Season ticket. Part 7. 40-5.
Previous part (Issue 271 page 36) Cumulative records of locomotive performance mainly on the Western and Southern Regions. Includes notes on highest speeds experienced, including in excess of 100 mile/h with Castle class and in excess of 90 mile/h by a wide variety of locomotives including rebuilt Bulleid and Gresley Pacifics, and in excess of 80 mile/h by lesser breeds notably Hall, Schools, King Arthur and both types of Class 5 4-6-0. Also observations on some dreadful locomotive performance on LMR, especially with Jubilee and Royal Scot classes which reflected minimal maintence: one star run from Euston to Crewe didn't exceed 40 mile/h. Locomotive failures were very common on steam specials..

Dow, Andrew. LNER: on the narrow gauge. Part 2. 46-50.
System for handling basic slag at Lackenby near Middlesbrough with crusher to convert it into ballast.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me.`54-5.
Interior of Walker Gate Carriage & Wagon Works, Newcastle, with North Eastern Railway electric multiple unit lifted off its bogies by Craven Bros. overhead crane and electric locomotive No. 2.. Notes on NER suburban electrification, the Newport to Shildon freight system, and plans for East Coast Main Line.

Scotland... Gavin Morrison (phot.). 56-62.
Z4 No. 68191 out of use at Kittybrewster shed on 11 May 1959; J37 Nos. 64592 and 64636 near Glenfinnan on Jacobite railtour on 1 June 1963; Fairburn 2-6-4T No. 42145 leaving Carstairs for Lanark on 12 August 1960; D34 No. 62467 Glenfinnan on Thornton shed on 10 August 1960; B1 No. 61396 wih Standard Class 5 wait at Arrochar & Tarbert on 10.15 to Mallaig on 13 August 1960; CR 0-4-4T No. 55218 at Ballinluig with branch tyrain from Aberfeldy; two Class 5 4-6-0s Nos. 44973 and 44956 pass former Coronation observation car at rear of 10.15 Queen Street to Mallaig on 13 August 1960 at Arrochar & Tarbert; very black 5 at head of eight coaches having been pushed up Beattock Bank by banker on 4 June 1960; No. 1649 at Perth shed on 11 May 1963 and A4 No. 60010 Dominion of Canada at St. Rollox on 31 March 1964.; 

Reviews. Mel Holley. 65-6.
The District Controller's View No. 12
British Railway Centres No.3. Xpress Publishing.
Railway Centres No.3 is very specific looking at Bath Green Park in summer 1957, with the section from Mangotsfield to Templecombe included. The District Controllers' View No. 12 covers the Midland & Great Northern Joint.
Lost Railways of Warwickshire. Geoffrey Kingscott.
Lost Railways of Oxfordshire. Terry Moors, both Countryside Books.
The 'Lost Railways' series by this publisher now runs to a 34 books including these additions, which follow the established style and template: an overview of the county's railways is followed by chapters looking at each of the 'lost lines' — in Oxfordshire this is eleven (including ironstone lines and Wantage tramway), and nine in Warwickshire (including Stratford-Moreton wagonway). Both have a county map showing the railways in question, and more detailed maps at the beginning of every chapter, which is largely an historical summary of the construction, operation and fate of the line. Black and white photographs support the text, mainly from the 1930s-1960s, and a few modem scenes of 'remains'. They are of variable quality, while their reproduction (not helped by the use of matt paper) is not always up to modem standards.
Cornwall railway stations. Mike Oakley. Dovecote Press
Book details every station, open or closed, and with the use of 200 black & white photographs (mostly from steam days) supports a comprehensive text. This not only gives opening and closing dates, but a history (which varies in length according to the station's size/importance) a description of the station, and its current circumstances. Very helpfully, there is a map at the front (which the publishers have intelligently arranged so that no detail is lost in the binding) while a lengthy 'further reading' list completes the book. A very helpful volume, which has been compiled with plenty of fieldwork.
Neath Enginemen. Bryan King. Oakwood.
Stories collected from the close-knit community of West Glamorgan railwaymen working from two Neath engine sheds - Court Sart and N&B plus some from Swansea and Margam. Some memories relate to the GWR, but most are from the BR steam era, when motive power included 42XX 2-8-0Ts and small tank engines. There is not only plenty to read, but also a good selection of pictures, an overview of railways in the area, details of allocations, duties, diagrams, timetables, maps and plans.
Branch Lines around Oswestry. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith. Middleton Press.
Lines to Gobowen, Tanat Valley, Llanfyllin and Welshpool: book is up to Middleton's usual standard, with plenty of maps and plans, supported by mono photographs, which with only the odd exception, were taken in the steam era.
Great Western Way. John Lewis. HMRS.
A compendium of almost everything about the GWR. Without doubt, it's the standard reference work on the way the Great Western and its constituent companies created their impression on the travel market through their house livery style. Out of 426 pages 132 pages are devoted to pre-1922 absorbed companies. There are 12 colour and 567 monochrome photographs and many drawings plus 37 colour swatches and a colour chart.
Southern Rails on the Isle of Wight. Ian Drummond. Holne Publishing
Highly commended.
Discovering Britain's Lost Railways. Paul Atterbury. AA Publishing.
Explores ten closed lines: Penrith-Cockermouth, routes from Barnstaple, Somerset & Dorset, Isle of Wight, around the Potteries, M&GN, LSWR's 'Withered Arm', Ruabon-Barmouth and Blaenau-Bala, Whitby-Scarborough/Saltburn and Dumfries-Stranrear. It's part travelogue, part 'walking old railways' and part nostalgia.
Last Call for the Dining Car. Michael Kerr. Aurum Press.
Don't be mislead by the title, this book is nothing to do with dining trains (although catering does get a mention), but everything to do with rail travel in the UK and across the globe. The Telegraph's Deputy Travel Editor, has trawled through back copies and collected what he considers the very best of its writings about railway journeys. The anthology contains 107 articles from 70 contributors, and covers such great journeys as non-stop from London to Vladivostok, across the Canadian Rockies and to Alice Springs, Australia, plus local writings in the UK and Europe from writers covering a broad spectrum from Boris Johnson to Michael Palin. The book doesn't encumber itself with illustrations, instead providing solely the words, and nothing else.

No. 273 (March 2010)

An unwelcome neighbour: comment. Mel Holley. 4-5.
Noise from railways especially in the days of night trains, freight trains, marshalling yards and engine sheds.

Call Attention. Mel Holley. 6-7.
A Doncaster railway museum that is well worth a visit.
Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery: four colour pictures submitted by Ken Woods show original art work of Cuneo's Giants refreshed, the nameplate for Doncaster Rovers, Kingfisher, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and Great Northern (A1/1) as well as Board Romm table.
Roads add a lot to railway photographs.
9F 2-10-0 reaches summit of climb to Anfield Plain en rout to Connsett with 600 tons of iron ore from Tyne Dock in May 1962 alongside road (Tony Butcher photograph)
Shedcode 'owner' comes clean.
Brian Amos of Derby owns car registration plates LMS 18A: his father worked at Toton marshalling yard.
Another working clerestory coach - at Didcot.
^{Dean bogie third}

Chapman, Michael.The great Cherry Tree stampede. 8-
Not of passengers but of bulls from local abbatoir. Chapman became expert in recognising sound of locomotives. Also prevented passenger from alighting on wrong side of train in path of train on the line.

Wright, William. Always on a Sunday...  16-17.
Colour photographs of Annesley MPD: general view with 9F, 8F and Class 5 on 28 March 1963 and Class 5 No. 44862 on same day and WD 2-8-0 No. 90136.

Platform. 19
Gresley was an electrification supporter – but he knew that it was too costly. Andrew Dow.
Notes that Gresley designed locomotIves for Manchester, Sheffield Wath electrification. Gresley condidered diesel traction to be too expensive. Also notes on preservation of Midland Railway steam railmotor No. 2234.
The anonymous prototype 2-8-0. John D. Greaves.
No. 63572
The anonymous prototype 2-8-0. Dave Strickland.
No. 63572: the LNER 1946 renumbering scheme should have alloted the pioneer Robinson 2-8-0 No. 3500, but the influx of stanier O6 2-8-0s interfered with this and locomotives were not numbered systematically.
1940s were busy time on ECML. Paul White.

Maidment, David. 'Ah!' moments. 22-7.
Exciting events in the otherwise mundane life of the railway enthusiast: most of this writers seemed to involve Castles, notably No. 4087 Cardigan Castle first seen on 6 February 1944.

Rogers, James. Starstruck at Starbeck. Part 3. 28-33.
Spotting at Doncaster, Selby, Leeds and York.

Orriss, Ian. In search of steam. 36-9.
In Kent in May 1962: Ashford Works and Tunbridge Wells West

This is Liverpool Street. 40-5,
Black & white photo-feature: buffer stops on 22 November 1956 with B1 and EMU for Guidea Park; B17/4 No. 61653 Huddersfield Town (with K3 chimney) and K2 No. 61721 at country end on 11 May 1951; station pilots Nos. 69614 (N7/4) and 68619 (J69/1) on 31 May 1958 (Colin Walker); Christmas parcels stacked on platform on 19 December 1959.

Crisp, John. Climbing the ladder. 46-51.
Acetylene lamps and the regulations for the storage of calcium carbide, braking using the steam brake (different systems in use on LMS and LNER), cylinder drain cocks: see also letter from Fred Rich concerning locomotive No. No. 42096

It was fifty years ago. 54-7.
Colour photo-feature to mark 18 March 1960 when last steam locomotive to be built for British Railways was completed, namelly 9F No. 92220 Evening Star (shown at its naming ceremony at Swindon); Also 72008 Clan MacLeod at Carlisle Kingmoor in September 1962 (Geoff Rixon); ex-Works Crewe on 3 April 1966 70038 without nameplates; Class 4 4-6-0 No. 75009 in unlined black and Class 5 No. 44659 also in plain black; Standard Class 2 No. 84025 at Shoreham on 10 September 1961; Class 3 2-6-0 No. 77014 at Hamworthy Goods on enthusiast special on 15 October 1966; Class $ 2-6-4T No. 80150 departing Tonbridge for Brighton in August 1956 (K.W. Wightman); Class 5 No. 73029 at Worting Junction on 12 June 1964 (Bryan Hicks).

Cooper, Peter R. The fabulous 4700s. 60-2,
Introduced in May 1919 and fitted with a No. 1 boiler, it was fitted with a larger No. 7 boiler in 1921 and was followed by eight further locomotives in 1922/3. These had external steampipes. Larger 4000 gallon tenders were fitted between 1929 and 1933. No. 4700 participated in the Stockton & Darlington Railway Centenary celebration in 1925. They were subject to a 60 mile/h speed limit. Only one spare boiler was available, but between 1955 and 1957 ten new boilers were constructed.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me. 58-9.
Colour illustration of preserved Gresley N2 class tank engine

Reviews. Mel Holley. 66.
An Illustrated History of the Travelling Post Office. Peter Johnson. Ian Allan.
Mail was first sorted on a moving train in a converted horsebox on the Grand Junction Railway, between Liverpool and Manchester, in January 1838 at the suggestion of Frederick Karstadt, a Post Office surveyor. Karstadt's son was one of two mail clerks who did the sorting. In 1845 the service was extended via Derby to Newcastle upon Tyne by the Midland Railway and soon after reached Scotland. A close relationship between the railways and the carrying of mail was soon established, and the service soon became known as TPO (Travelling Post Office). The connection was immortalised in the poem Night Mail by W. H. Auden and the British Transport Films' production of the same name. TPOs were equipped with letter boxes so that mail could be posted while the train stood at the station and the post marks from TPOs are highly valued by collectors. British TPOs were operated most recently by Rail Express Systems, and their successor EWS. On 9 January 2004, however, this long history came to an end when Royal Mail decided to suspend transporting and sorting mail by rail. The author is a noted authority on TPOs and mail by rail, and he has gone back to original sources to research this carefully-produced history of the TPO in Britain. Nicely illustrated, and with a lively, informative and extensive text, it concentrates largely on the steam era.
The Main Lines of East Anglia. John Brodribb. Ian Allan.
Changing railway network in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, as well as north Essex, and parts of Hertfordshire: this book takes a complete historical overview. While it is not intended to be a definitive work, there is an extensive text, and plenty of illustrations. The emphasis tends to be on the BR era, with a leaning towards steam, while the pictures are roughly half steam, half modern traction. An excellent overview of the lines which traversed East Anglia, bringing together useful technical information sprinkled with personal anecdotes and stories of those who worked on the line, to bring the story to life.
Railways of Britain: London North of  the Thames. Colin McCarthy and David McCarthy. Ian Allan.
Fourth volume in series based on original cartography from Colonel Cobb's famous two-volume atlas examines the complex railway history of London north of the Thames. With new maps combining the current road network to show the inter-relationship of road and rail, as well as a detailed history of the area with notable landmarks highlighted, this book is certain to be of interest to locals and those visiting London. The book includes a full gazetteer and a wide selection of photographs both past and present, making this a very good atlas to the railway network of north London.
Samuel Morton Peto: A Victorian Entrepreneur. Adrian Vaughan. Ian Allan.
Samuel Morton Peto was one of the giants of Victorian Britain who left behind an impressive legacy, evidence of which can still be seen today. Born in 1809, he was an inspired entrepreneur who was, perhaps more than any other individual, responsible for establishing Britain's path to industrial capitalism. Amongst his many famous projects were the Lyceum theatre, Hungerford Market, and Nelson's Column in London, along with several sections of the Great Western Railway, Curzon Street station in Binningham, and the London, Chatham & Dover Railway. He was also involved in the creation of the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, railways in Algeria and the Crimean peninsula during the war, and he financed the Great Exhibition of 1851, backing Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace. In 1857, he was made a baronet of Somerleyton Hall in the County of Suffolk for his services, but ultimately financial crisis caught up with him and he and his family were ruined. He was declared bankrupt in 1868 and exiled himself to Budapest, before returning to England and dying in obscurity in 1889. This biography is the fruit of many years of research by Adrian Vaughan, and includes the extensive study of the Peto family archives and rare letters. It is an excellent work chronicling the life of an amazing talent.
Corris and Vale of Rheidol. Vic Mitchell. Middleton Press.
Similar to Far Tottering & Oyster Creech in same series.

No. 274 (April 2010)

Ivatt Class 4 No. 43045 at Langholm (colour). 3
Misspelled with terminal "e" in caption: see Issue 276 page 17

The single revolution: comment. Mel Holley. 4-5.
The late single wheelers exemplified by Caledonian Railway No. 123 (here illustraterd by Gavin Morrison on turntable at Oban on 12 May 1962). Text refers to Dean No. 3065 Duke of Connaught run from Bristol to Paddington on up Ocean Mail on 9 May 1904.

Call Attention. Mel Holley. 6-7.
'Britannia' 4-6-2s at the double are very rare indeed - especially on coal!
Nos. 70023 Venus and 70020 Mercury with dynamometer car. See also Editorial correction: SW 276 page 17 and letters from Robin Cullup noting that location was Finedon Road; Ted Johnson; Rod Fowkes and Rober curd in SW 277 on pp. 16 and 17.
A pleasant spot in Yorkshire.
Colour photograph taken by Philip Pickles of grounded coach body near Pickering
The final years of BR passenger steam epitomised.
Mike Mitchell photograph of 73096 hauling a return football excursion from Leeds to Manchester past Farnley Junction on 8 April 1967.
Moorfields station, but from a different angle.
Two colour photographs of paintings of Ballymena & Larne narrow gauge line

Alcock, Williams. Steam's rearguard action – the 'Britannias'. 8-14.
Very poor run behind 70018 Flying Dutchman from Paddington to Plymouth when 14 min. lost. Good run from Paddington to Cardiff behind No. 70028 Royal Star with heavy load and early arrival. Includes a footplate trip on No. 70012 John of Gaunt from Liverpool Street to Norwich and back (behind No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell) on The Broadsman in the unbelievable time of two hours (and with a dining car and toilets which worked). See also Editorial correction: SW 276 page 17 on page 14 water consumption was quoted in miles per gallon rather than gallons per mile!.

Platform. 17.
'J50' class at Goodmayes. Peter Hoye.
See Issue 267 page 46  where David Percival expressed surprise at the J50 class shunters in East Anglia: writer notes that the class was used in main marshalling yards throughout Graet Eastern section at Goodmayes, Norwich and Cambridge
Trick crosssword clue in Steam World No. 270..? Ken Woods
No. 60057 Ormonde was named after the winner of the 2000 Guineas, Derby and St. Leger in 1886, not after a person (although the horse may have taken the name of a Duke). The only A1/A3 Pacifics not to have been named after racehorses were No. 4470 Great Northern, 60054 Prince of Wales, 60056 Centenary, 60080 Dick Turpin, 60102 Sir Frederick Banbury and No. 60103 Flying Scotsman. Illus.: Gresley Class A3 Pacific No. 60057 Ormonde on Cockburnspath bank with up extra in June 1959.(caption omitted see SW 276 page 17):.
Queen's Edinburgh – was a plate fitted? Dudley Cockroft.
No. 5155 Queen's Edinburgh
The number's the same, but little else... S. Rogers

Portillo and Bradshaw's Handbook. Vic Bradshaw-Mitchell. 18
Great British Railway Journeys on BBC2: confusion between Bradshaw's Guide and Bradshaw's Hand Book. The latter was clutched by Portillo on his exploration of railways seemingly in an endless number of Pacers
Lamps are not right on 'A3' 60063. M.A. Grummitt.
See Issue 266 page 8: missing headlamp was probably still on tender: presumably enginemen had failed to ensure that lamp was in place at Grantham.
Bulleid's 'inside-out' valve gear. D. Page.
Was not unique as similar arrangement adopted on Robinson B3 and B7 four-cylinder 4-6-0s.

Leigh, Chris. Ding, ding, and away... 20-3.
Accident at Staines Central on 9 August 1957 when an EMU set off incorrectly against a red signal and collided with 700 class 0-6-0 No. 30688. The motorman failed to check the signal on being given the green flag who also failed to check the signal as did the platform staff.

Burnin' Bulleids. 24-5.
Two photographs of wrong sort of firemen attending alight light Pacific No. 34057 Biggin Hill on 22 May 1961 at Hamble. Text with aid of diagram shows chain linked valve gear and oil bath which was source of fuel for fire. See also Frank Hornby photograph in 279 page 7..

Soden, J. Train timing. 26-9.
How drivers managed to assess speed and time without the aid of watches and speedometers. Illus. No. 6222 Queen Mary on Coronation Scot: see letter in SW 281 page 36 from Jules Hathaway which identifies location as Salterwath just to south of Shap Wells..

Beko, Paul. This is Paddington... 30-3.
Black & white photo-feature: Star No. 4056 Princess Margaret backing out on 25 October 1955; No. 4062 Malmesbury Abbey backing out on 13 October 1954; No. 6152 arriving with local from Slough on 10 March 1955, and three further arrivals No. 4073 Caerphilly Castle on 08.30 from Bristol on 25 October 1955; No. 7014 Caerhays Castle on 09.00 from Bristol via Badminton on same day, and No. 6001 King George I on express from Wolverhampton 28 October 1955.

Great shot. (David Anderson). 34-5.
Superb centre spread black & white photograph of No. 6009 King Charles II at Didcot ex-Works on return running-in rurn to Swindon on 13 May 1961.

Rogers, James. Starstruck at Starbeck. Part 4. 34-41.
In 1962 author became a cleaner at York mpd and observed the sad decline of steam in North East England.

Maidment, David. 'Ah!' moments. 42-3.
H2 Marsh Atlantic No. 2422 North Foreland and B1 4-4-0 No. 1445 pass Thornton Heath on Victoria to Newhaven boat train on Sunday 16 August 1936 (O.J. Morris). The "Ah moment" was H2 32422 North Foreland still in malachite green hauling the 18.10 through Clapham Junction (Kevin's "Ah moment" more or less coincides only its was viewing 32425 Trevose Head also in malachite green hauling LMS liveried stock on the approach to Clapham Junction as our train (a Brighton to Victoria overhauled it). Other "Ah moments" were David's first sight of a Schools and the first of a Britannia: Kevin probably went to Liverpool Street to see one, but the Schools were an everyday sight at Charing Cross in their glorious malachite: the real Ah moment was the first light Pacific viewed from the school playground in the sidings at Blackheath. Perhaps the Editor should start a series.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me. 44-5.
Oxmardyke level crossing on 26 April 1956. See letters in Issue 276 page 16 from Eric Bawden who queries date, Mick Nicholson (its gate mechanism and subsequent changes: mechanical lifting barriers in 1961 and removal of surplus track) and Philip Minton Smith: original gate mechanism and present state. Letter from Philip Wiltshire (SW 277 page 16) which shows gates in mid position and reveals more of mechanism.

Crisp, John. Climbing the ladder. Part 4. 46-50.
Engine cleaners were sometimes used as labourers and this was quite popular as they were paid a higher rate. Normally this involved heavy dirty work shifting coal or ashes, but one specific job was shifting boxes of old papers at The Grove. The very cold winter of 1962/63 involved moving coal to the braziers or frost-devils at water columns at Watford Junction station and this required rhe use of the hydraulic lifts which had little safety protection. Another task was keeping points free from ice with a steam lance fitted to locomotives. Another incident during this winter was a locomotive failure due to a frozen injector.

Chatman, Peter. On a Southall evening... 52-5.
Colour photographs taken on RCTS visit to Southall Depot on rhe evening of 12 May 1965: Nos. 6998, 3818, 6163, 3608, 7029 and 45042

Bullock, Ray. Pigs can fly: revisted. 58-61.
Worked as an engine cleaner at South Lynn shed from December 1948. The K2 class (Ragtimers) were unpopular with the footplate crews as they had primitive cabs. In comparison the Ivatt 2-6-0s were popular with their comfortable cabs, self-cleaning smokeboxes and rocker grates, but the tender doors were not long enough and coal spilled out of the tender onto the cab floor and the tenders had to be modified by a steel plate to keep the coal in place. The noise from the fire tools rattling in the tunnel on the tender was also unpleasant. The author remembers charging snow drifts in February 1957 between Massingham and East Rudham. Illus. (all colour): No. 43108 and B1 No. 61406 at Boston, No. 43088 with hollow for Whitaker table exchange apparatus on tender at Crewe South on 23 July 1967; No. 43143 ex-works at Stratford with tablet catcher on tender on 2 May 1959, and No. 43055 with tablet catcher on tender shunting at Horncastle on 18 September 1962.

Reviews. 65-6.
The Hughes and Stanier 2-6-0s John Young and David Tyreman. RCTS.
Notes some failings in reproduction: see also letter
The Kent & East Sussex Railway. Brian Hart. Wild Swan.
.Recommended
Steam around Eastleigh. Kevin Robertson. History Press.

LMS lineside: Part 2.  V.R. Anderson and H.N. Twells. Wild Swan.
Minutae beloved of the serious railway modeller, but garnered from extinct prototype: photographs and official drawings.
GWR goods services. Part 2B. Tony Atkins. Wild Swan
Goods depots at Bristol, Birmingham and Cardiff.
Brunel in South Wales. Vol. 3. Stephen K. Jones. History Press.
Maritime activity
Carmarthen to Fishguard. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith. Middleton.

Running out of steam. David Mather. Silver Link
Photo-diary during 1966-8
LMS Journal No. 28. Wild Swan.
Edited and designed with care.

May 2010 No. 275

Britannia No. 70002 Geoffrey Chaucer a March mpd on 28 July 1963. Geoff Rixon. 3
In poor external condition.

Newton's principles: comment. Mel Holley. 4-5.
Colour illus.: Mottram Yard with O4/7 No. 63588 passing with load of hopper wagons in 1963. Comment on gravity yard inaugurated in 1935 with electrically powered points. Briefly menions Whitemoor marshalling yard with its Fröhlich retarders which opened in 1929. Mottram lasted almost to the closure of the electrified Woodhead route.

Call attention. Mel Holley. 5-6.
Brilliant Brits,: and more. Mike Foster. 6
Black & white illus. of BR class 5 4-6-0 at Eastleigh mpd in 1955 with Silver Cities Bristol 170 air-ferry (aircraft) above (writer used air-ferry to fly to Cherbourg), No. 70009 Alfred the Great on Bournemouth Belle at Sothampton Central, No. 70004 William Shakespeare at the Festival of Briain in 1951, No. 70016 Ariel and 70020 Mercury coupled together at Plymouth.
Signs of the times.
Colin Rush of March submitted colour photographs of signs relaing to engine sheds: walking route for staff in vicinity oif Whitemoor yard at March, and STOP sign at Toton shed.
I am resrtoring clerestory coaches: please help!
Stephen Middleton of Stately Trains is restoring North Eastern Railway petrol electric autocar (2 illus.: one in current state, colour, and one original),
Watford's peculiar lifts on film.
Still from British Transport Films Cyclists Special shows lift in use on 8 May 1955 when special excursion with cycle vans ran from Willesden and Watford to Rugby

Crisp, John. Climbing the ladder. Part 5. 8-14.
Effects of Beeching cuts in Watford area: loss of Sunday service on St Albans branch and closure of Belmont (Stanmore) branch which was unpopular with footplate crews because of its shortness. The Croxley Green branch closure was still in the future as are plans to link Metropolitan line to Watford into it. The passenger service on the Rickmansworth branch had ceased in 1952, but freight continued. One unpleasant task for the cleaners was hosing down the locomotive off the Rickmansworth freight which had run into a hurd of cattle See also letter from Fred Rich in SW 278 page 19.

Platform. 17-18.
Memories of main line steam in Kent in the 1960s. Chris Weavers.
See Issue 263: writer lived in Deal in 1960
Memories of main line steam in Kent in the 1960s. Paul Ostle.
Merchant Navy class at Deal
Lorry is a Trader. P. Chatman.
See 273: Ford Thames Trader.
Britannias: in a terrible state. C. Richell,
Involved with preservation of No. 70000 Briannia in a terrible state at Redhill shed. Does anybody if worked between Norwich and Lowestoft.
Why the green cylinder cover on 'Clan' 4-6-2 No. 72009 Clan Stewart. David Dippie.
See front cover Issue 273 at Carlisle Kingmoor
No 'Ah' moment – but an 'Eeek' instant. Barrie Pawson.
Under A4 No. 60028 Walter K. Whigham at York shed when apprentice fitter on 2 August 1955,
Deeley: why did he walk away. Peter Davis.
See Issue 270 page 42: Granet, a non-railwayman, forced economies: Deeley was not permitted to fit superheaters on a new batch of compounds.

Streamlined 'Schools'. 20-3.
No. 935 Sevenoaks was fitted with a temporary streamlined casing made from plywood and renumbered 999. Trial running was limited to Eastleigh Works and one short run on main line. Cites D.L. Bradley's Locomotives of the Southern Railway and correspondence in Rly Mag., 1965 (March) which claims idea for permanent casing was vetoed by Chief Engineer. Three illus. plus one of No. 918 in original condition.

Mitchell, Alan. Dad was a driver. 24-5.
When about 13 or 14 Author's father who was a young driver took his son with him on the footplate on Sunday excursions from Rotherham to Blackpool. His father had transferred to Canklow from Sowerby Bridge enabled him to act as a conductor driver on excursions on over the Central Division. Describes a Hughes 2-6-0 hauled excusrion through from Mansfield to Blackpool and back. Illus. Driver Mitchell in cab of A2/3 No. 60524 Herringbone at York n 1955; Hughes Crab 2-6-0 No. 42774? at Roterham Masborough on excursion for Blackpool, Class 5 No. 45154 Lanarkshire Yeomanry at Blackpool North.

Hull, Jim. Jim Hull's notebooks. 26-7.

Cooper, Peter. Cut off in their prime. 28-33.
Very short, uneconomic lives of some of the last steam locomotives built under British Railways, notably most of the standard classes, all of the pannier tanks ordered by the Great Western prior to Nationalization (classes 15XX, 16XX, 54XX, 57XX, 74XX and 84XX), many of the Southern Region rebuilt Pacifics, and the LNER ordered J72 and K1 classes. See also Phil Atkins' letter in Issue 279 page 33..

Great shot. [A3 No. 60054 Prince of Wales departing King's Cross in March 1961]. George Heiron. 34-5.
On The Norseman for Newcastle Tyne Commission Quay. Quad-art in background.

Maidment, David. 'Ah!' moments. 36-9.
No. 4056 Princess Margaret

Murray, James. Watching and learning. 40-1.
Bellahouston signal box on the Canal Line was visited by James and Robert, when they were wee boys, and made welcome by the signalman. Notes incident in which fireman was killed when streamlined Pacific for working a Services overnight special had fouled a bridge and dislodged coal when working into Glasgow light engine over Canal Line

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me. 42-3.
Wickham trolley used for permanent way work in Standedge Tunnels: illustration shows motorized trolley at Marsden with powerful lights.

Marsh, John and Bobrowski, Eddie. Night and day. 44-51.
In quest of steam traction in 1967. Illus.: No. 45593 Kolhapur on Garsdale troughs whilst working 09.20 St Pancras to Glasgow on 19 August; 70051 on Dillicar troughs whilst working 14.00 Glasgow to Liverpool on same day; B1 No. 61306 at St. Dunstan's signal box on 1 in 500 exit from Bradford Exchange with 08.20 to Skegness.

Graham, Malcolm. What might have been [A4 numbers and names]. 53-7.
No. 60001 Silver Link rather than series beginning with name of Chairman of LNER.

Grayer, Jeffery. Lights – camera – action, location Baynards... 58-62.
A popular location for filming on the Horsham to Guildford branch: Black Sheep of Whitehall starred Will Hay and a young John Mills; They were Sisters, The Railway Children (BBC Televison – two series in 1950 and 1957; Room at the Top; Die, Monster Die, Rotten to the Core; The Horsemasters and The Grass is Greener. No stills are included but col. illus. ;

Reviews. Mel Holley. 66
Past and present No. 61: Birmingham.  Geoff Dowling and John Whitehouse. Past and Present.
Glasgow Central – Central to Glasgow. Dugald Cameron. Strathwood
Recommended. Copiously illustrated
Looking back at Stanier locomotives. Kevin Derrick. Strathwood
All colour album
Swansea to Carmarthen. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith, Middleton
Rex Conway's Eastern steam Journey, Vol. 1. History Press.
Black & white album

Issue 276 (June 2010)

No. 46103 Royal Scots Fusilier at Leeds City on 16 May 1960. Gavin Morrison. front cover

No. 60098 Spion Cop at Carlisle Canal MPD in September 1962. Geoff Rixon (colour image). 3

Off the beaten track. Mel Holley. 4-5.
No. 3442 The Great Marquess departs Worcest Shrub Hill on 19 September 1965 (Roy Hobbs:colour photograph). Comments on cross country routes)

Call attention. Mel Holley. 6-7.
Finally Gresley's LNER Beyer Garratt, pictured working at Dewsnap.
Oil fired No. 69999 on trial trip to Crowden on 12 April 1954.
William Stroudley's 'Terrier' was once pub sign at Hayling.
Peter Roulston pictures (colour) of inn signs on Hayling Island at Hayling Billy and West Town
Uppingham recalled.
John Young photograph of Ivatt 2-6-2T No. 41320 of push & pull about to leave for Seaton Junction on 9 June 1959.
Two Stanier 'Jubilees': perfectly synchronised.
See Steam World No. 273 page 10:
What we found in the zoo at Lima, in Peru.
Bill Williamson colour photograph of Beyer Peacock 0-4-0T built in 1908 for the Peruvian Corporation, Central Railway of Peru.

Lucas, Mike. The station that never was. 8-12.
Templecombe, Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway: plans to create through platforms to save reversal into/out of station,

Platform. 15-18.
'Britannia' 4-6-2s in North Norfolk. Bob Stonehouse.
Picture of No. 70013 Oliver Cromwell crossing the level crossing at Sheringham on 11 March 2010 (accompanied by Richard Dixon colour image of that event). Queries earlier manifestations of Britannia class in North Norfolk. Class was based at Yarmouth South Town and both main lines to Norwich from Liverpool Street were noted for their electrifying speeds (cf Notional Express) .
For No. 1000 read No. 2631. Richard Billinge.
See Issue No. 270 (caption on page 44). The preserved compound No. 1000 was not No. 1000 illustrated on page 44. It was originally No. 2631 and did not become No. 1000 until 1907 after image of No. 1000 was taken: in 1907 it became No. 1005. The original compounds were numbered 2631-35 and became 1000-4 in 1907 when the Deeley locomotives became 1005-34. The Johnson locomotives were built with bogie tenders, but when water troughs were introduced these were rebuilt with six wheels.
British Railways van provides dating evidence. Eric Bawden. 16.
See Issue 274 page 44: queries date as Bedford CA van visible in picture not produced  until 1958: thus later than date cited in caption.
British Railways van provides dating evidence. Mick Nicholson.
See Issue 274 page 44 who gives history of Oxmardyke signal box, its gate mechanism and subsequent changes: mechanical lifting barriers in 1961 and removal of surplus track.
British Railways van provides dating evidence. Philip Minton Smith.
See Issue 274 page 44 original gate mechanism and present state of signal box.
'8F' No. 48773 is a true war memorial engine. John Cadmore. 17.
In 'Conunent' (SW270) war memorial engines are discussed but there is another one that deserves mention. This is the Severn Valley Railway-based (SVR) Stanier '8F' No. 48773. Although seemingly just one of a class of 849, this engine has a unique history.
At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, only 126 '8Fs' were in service, but the class was chosen for overseas service by the War Department as its standard locomotive. On the assumption that this war would be similar to the First Worid War, and that large numbers of engines would be needed in France, 240 were ordered in 1gecember 1939 from the North British and Beyer Peacock locomotive companies. However the fall of France put a stop to that strategy, and the engine was loaned to the LMS, numbered 8233, and started work at Toton in December 1940.
With the invasion of Russia by Germany in 1941, Britain aided Russia with the supply of munitions through Persia. No. 8233 was one of a number of 'SFs' recalled by the WD, and went by sea to the Middle East in October 1941. Re-numbered WD No. 41.109, it worked in the deserts of Persia until 1945. It was during this time that a probably unique event occurred.
It was the practice at the time (and still was when I was doing National Service in Malaya in the late '50s) to have a pilot truck attached to the front of the engine to detonate any bombs that had been laid. On August 9 1942 the 'SF' was working an engineers train when the pilot truck hit a camel thus becoming derailed, and also derailing the '8F'.
In 1945 the engine was loaned to the Egyptian State Railway, and was renumbered 70307. It worked until 1948 when major firebox repairs became necessary, and it did not run again in Egypt.
In 1952 the engine was repatriated to the UK, and the following year was overhauled at Derby, and again renumbered as WD No. 500. It was sent to the Longmoor Military Railway, where it would have rubbed shoulders.with another SVR engine WD 2-10-0 Gordon.
Being surplus to requirements at Longmoor, it was sold to BR. In the Middle East it had been converted to oil burning, so it went to Eastleigh where it was converted back to coal burning. It was then that it became No. 48773, and was allocated to Glasgow Polmadie (66A). It was withdrawn in 1962, but then re-instated, until it was withdrawn again on June 20 1963, and sent to Horwich Works for scrapping.
Fortunately, it was realised that the engine had been overhauled only the year previously. Commonsense prevailed, and it was taken off the scrap list and allocated to Carlisle Kingmoor (l2A), and worked until the end of steam in August 1968, by which time it was at Rose Grove (10F). It was saved by the Stanier 8F Preservation Society as being the best of the remaining '8Fs'. It went to the SVR in 1969, and has since sometime run as No. 8233.
In September 1986, in a ceremony at Highley on the SVR, it was dedicated by the Bishop of Hereford as a war memorial to the military railwaymen who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Second World War.
Severn Valley Locomotives by Tom Ferris, details the working lives of all the SVR's engines and contains a photograph of the derailed '8F' after its 'dispute' with a camel.
Now a question. In the same article the editor discusses 'Royal Scot' No. 46117 Welsh Guardsman, but No 46118 was named Royal Welch Fusilier, and No 46139 The Welch Regiment. Why the different spelling?
Why use American formats. Thomas Black,
Comments on Steam World 'house style', which is nicely consistent throughout and avoids much of the 'railwayeese' (akin to policeman's English) that some other publications use. However, puzzled why Editor uses North American format for dates e.g. April 17 1965, rather than the English way (and that used by Steam Railway and KPJ Steamindex) of 17 April 1965? Further. shortened dates in tables use 17/4/60, rather than 4/17/60, which is inconsistent. I realise that in this global world we have to live with terms such as '9/11', but as SW is so good at everything else, why this blip?
The reason seems to be that 'it always has been like this', but your point is very valid (and also will save us time when editing articles into our 'house style'). In general, our house style reflects that of the era we cover, hence our use of the 12-hour clock and imperial measurements. Ed.
Points and Crossings. 17
See SW274, p17: The picture caption was omitted. It is: Gresley Class A3 'Pacific' No. 60057 Ormonde storms Cockburnspath bank with an up extra in June 1959.. SW274, p3. The picture's location is spelt Langholm, not Langholme. . SW274, p6. The trains were all Toton-Brent, never Trent-Brent.. SW274 page 8 see p14. The author meant to write 30 gallons per mile of water consumption.

Maidment, David. 'Ah!' moments. 28-33.
School regulations at Charterhouse forbade the pupils to cross railwaylines to inhibit access to the fleshpots of Guildford, but the author could wander to Wanborough on an ancient Raleigh bicycle to see the even older D class 4-4-0s on the Reading to Redhill services (on which Private Jones might have been travelling).

Great shot! [V2 No. 60975]. Geoff Silcock.
Passing Wood Green on down parcels in 1962.

Lewis, Denis. Heading south from Woodside. 36-9.
Table of ex-GWR locomotives used on Birkenhead to Margate/Dover and Bournemouth through trains in first half of 1956. Illus. (only one of which matches text) namely No. 5036 Lyonshall Castle leaving Chester General with through train (looks like Southern Eastern Section stock) in 1956 (Kenneth Field)

Mitchell, Alan. Vimto, horsehair and 'Jubilees'. 40-3.
Father, who was an engine driver and an ex-Central Division man, came from West Yorkshire. Family journeys were made by train (of course) from Rotherham Masborough to Hebden Bridge or Halifax via either Leeds (where a change of stations was required) but with probablity of seeing an A4 or blue A1 or via Normanton. Father drank sarsapirrila and journeys to station at Rotherham end were made by trolleybus. Illus. A3 No. 60086 Gainsborough at Leeds City on down North Briton on 25 March 1961 (Gavin Morrison).

Crisp, John. Climbing the ladder. Part 6. 44-51.
Painting and decorating the offices at Watford Junction MPD

Skinner, John. Struggle over Aisgill. 52-4.
Journey began on Desford to Blackpool train hauled by 4F which traversed Swadlincote loop (see letter from P.J. Baseley in SW 281 p. 36): Jubilee No. 45671 Prince Rupert struggled with the eleven coach up Thames Clyde Express in August 1961.

North and South. Gavin Morrison. 58-61.
Colour photo-feature: 9F (former Crosti-type) No. 92022 passing Gledholt Junction with oil tank wagons 0n 8 July 1967; USA dock tanks Nos. 30064 and 30073 (both in Southern green livery) on Solent Rail Tour at Fawley on 20 March 1966 (refinery under construction); Stanier Class 5 2-6-0 No. 42956 at Bradley Junction on eastbound freight on 26 May 1960; rebuilt West Country No. 34045 Ottery St. Mary at Wareham station on 27 October 1962; S15 4-6-0 departing Southampton Central on 11 September 1964; Lord Nelson class 4-6-0 No. 30864 Sir Martin Frobisher at Eastleigh shed on 15 August 1961; Terrier 0-6-0T No. 32640 at Hayling North on 4 August 1962.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me... 62-3.
Female carriage cleaners washing GNR clerestory six-wheel bogie corridor coach probably during WW1 at Doncaster (illus.). Text notes LNER installation of carriage washing plants during 1930s: Board had authorised expenditure on 9 plants in 1930. Christopher Garnett of GNER modified plants to supply hot water and hot air during cold weather.

Reviews (Mel Holley)
Scottish byways. Part Two. Cine Rail. DVD or VHS
Much of the original cinephotography was by W.V.J. Anderson in the early 1960s.
Marsden Rail 32: King's Cross to York. Cine Rail. DVD or VHS
Camerawork is very good
The GWR story. Rosa Matheson. History Press
Postcard sized pocket book
Severn Valley Railway recollections. John Stretton. Silver Link.
colour guidebook
Branch lines east of Norwich. Richard Adderson and Graham Kenworthy. Middleton Press
Berney Arms and east thereof

Issue 277 (July 2010)

Class 5 No. 44944 (newly ex-Works) shunts at Chester on 19 October 1963. Bryan Hicks (phot). 3

The toughest climb: comment. Mel Holley.4-5.
No. 4928 Gatacre Hall and No. 5034 Corfe Castle pass Dainton Summit with 11.05 Paddington to Plymouth on 29 June 1957 (colour photograph: R.C. Riley). Comments on the origin of the absurdly graded and sharply curved main line lay in Brunel's flirtation with atmospheric traction which failed due to the difficulty of sealing the valve. The 1 in 38 gradient faced on leving Newton Abbot was especially severe.

Call attention. Mel Holley. 6-7.
Raven North Eastern electric locomotive design at Goodmayes.
1500v DC locomotive designed for the Newport to Shildon electric freight service received British Raiklways No. 26510, but was later renumbered in the Departmental series as No. 100. After a long period in storage (from 1935 until after the Shenfield electrification) it was used as a depot shunter at Ilford. Christopher Horne photograph shows it at Goodmayes on 31 March 1962.
Hunslet 'Austerities' did main line work too.
Arthur Haymes colour photograph of J94 No. 68047 on short coal train (steel hopper wagons) near Darlington mpd on 31 July 1964.
The origin of the booking office – did you know?
Originally names of travellers were entered into a book, following coaching practice: tickets (and the name ticket office) only came later.
What's going on here near the famous Crumlin viaduct?
Photograph of Nos. 4175 and alleged "4636" (clearly a 56XX) hauling a train of corridor stock at Cwm Glyn on the Vale of Neath line. Paul Chancellor of Colour- Rail wishes to know further details
Late running Steam World.
Issue 276 delayed due to financial failure of MMC Ltd, the magazine distribution company.

Hall, John. The SR's identity crisis. 8-12.
Comment on locomotive numbering in general, and the problems it posed for engine spotters. Renumbering caused identity problems especially where an attempt was made at total reordering as in the Thompson renumbering scheme adopted on the LNER from 1946. Prior to this replacement numbers had been used and great care had to be taken to avoid duplicates. The Great Western Railway used a batch system and was moderately orderly. The Southern Railway had made little attempt at imposing order until Bulleid became CME. He opted for a novel system based on wheel arrangement followed by simple numerical sequences, The wheel arrangement was based on: leading wheel arrangement, followed by trailing arrangement, and driving wheel arrangement. Thus a 4-6-2 became a "4-2-6", but in Bulleid's modification it became a 21C. If his proposed 4-4-4T had progressed it would have been a "22B". The system was still dependent upon batches: thus 21C1 started the Merchant Navy class and 21C101 began the West Country class. The other Bulleid classes were the Q1 type C1 et seq and the Leader class which would have been CC1 et seq. British Railways limited its activities to adding 30000 to each of the existing classes and renumbering the Pacifics in two series beginning 34XXX and 35XXX and the Leaders in a series based on 36XXX. The Q1 0-6-0s became 33XXX. This anticipated the "wasteful" British Railways system (70XXX Britannia and 72XXX Clan classes. A few duplicate classes inherited at the Grouping with zero prefixes had to be totally renumbered. BEWARE the tables are counter factual,

Platform [letters]. 15
Richard Deeley – why did he walk away from his job? Phil Atkins.
See Issue 270 page 42: suggests that Deeley retired on his own volition (see Midland Record), but that five other locomotive chiefs were forced to resign in this period: Marsh, Wainwright, Stephen Holden, F.G. Smith and W.F. Pettigrew. Phil could have added XXX of the Cambrian [KPJ] and the perilous tenure of Reid on the NBR [KPJ].
All the detail I talked about in picture at Watford. John Crisp.
See Climbing the ladder and picture in May Issue (re-reproduced)
Locomotive 'thief' was an apprentice. Dave Allen.
See Issue No 275: a disgrundled apprentice took Peak class diesel D165 from Derby MPD without permission and derailed it at Chaddesden Sidings: this was during a 24 hour NUR strike on 3 October 1962. The culprit was Bernard Davies who was fined £100 and dismissed.
Mystery location of the two 'Britannias' is Finedon Road. Robin Cullup. 16.
See Issue 274 page 6: Nos. 70023 Venus and 70020 Mercury with dynamometer car
Mystery location of the two 'Britannias' is Finedon Road. Ted Johnson.
See Issue 274 page 6: interesting anecdote involving these Britannia-hauled coal trains (run on Sundays) when the coupling between the two locomotives broke and the rear portion nearly failed to stop through lack of brake power and just missed hitting the pilot engine. Locomotives involved were Nos. 70016 Ariel and 70017 Arrow..
Mystery location of the two 'Britannias' is Finedon Road. Rod Fowkes.
See Issue 274 page 6: date suggested 20 January 1952: locomotives borrowed from Old Oak Common. Other locomotives used on tests included Royal Scots Nos. 46117 Welsh Guardsman and 46154 The Hussar, Class 5 4-6-0s Nos. 44667 and 45342, Standard Class 5s Nos. 73000 and 73001; 73030 and 73031 and Westinghouse-brake fitted Britannias Nos. 70043 and 70044 and L1 2-6-4T Nos. 67729 and 67737.
Mystery location of the two 'Britannias' is Finedon Road. Robert Curd.
See Issue 274 page 6: largely as previous letter, but more emphasis on braking systems compared.
Gates neither open nor closed. Philip Wiltshire.
See April Issue (274) page 44 Oxmardyke level crossing another view with gates partially open
I soon slept through the noise. Peter Clark. 17

Crisp, John. Climbing the ladder. Part 7. 19-24.
Firing locomotives on wiring trains for WCML electrification: including filling Baby Burco in mess van: see also letter & photos sent in by Mike Stollery in (280) page 52.

Maidment, David. 'Ah!' moments. 26-9.
Och he's on'tae Scottish memories of Queen of Scots hauled from Queen Street to Waverley by A4 No. 60004 William Whitelaw in 1957, the stored Directors at Longniddry; trips behind Pickersgill 4-4-0s, Glens and Directors in 1958, the vast numbers of 2Ps in former Sou'West territory.

Lewis, Denis. From passed cleaner to fireman. 30-3
Early firing experiences at Chester MPD shunting at Saltney, and on a County class 4-6-0 acting as pilot up Gresford Bank, and somewhat easier firing a 28XX to Birkenhead.  

Great shot! A.R. Butcher (phot.). 34-5
U class No. 31634 passing Raynes Park with "train for west" on 2 October 1957 [KPJ; could it have been through train for Lymington? Confirmed David Maidment letter Issue 279 page. 32].

Not commonplace at Waterloo. Robin Russell (phot.). 36-9.
Black & white photo-feature: Britannia class No. 70009 Alfred the Great departing with Bournemouth Belle in 1951 (2 photographs); preserved A4 No. 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley on 4 June 1967 departs for Weymouth with enthusiast special;

Soden, James. No romance. 40-5.
Joined the LNER as a cleaner in 1947, eventually became, fireman, driver, steam and diesel instructor and traction inspector. Critical of WD Austerity 2-8-0 for the diabolical riding of the engine and tender which led to the cab being covered with fuel especially if it was ovoids. The sight feed lubricator was difficult to prepare as the water had to be emptied onto the cab floor making it wet and greasy. But the locomotives steamed well and were strong. The former LNWR G2 or Super D were difficult to fire as the tender handbrake and water scoop operating wheels got in the way and were liable to damage the fireman's knucles. The injectors had no overflow pipes so it was difficult to know if they were working. The brakes were difficult to operate and the regulator was placed high in the cab making life difficult for short drivers. Claimed could either have water or steam in boiler but not both. At Leicester the men called the B1 class the Springbok class, but the Great Eastern men called them Bongos. Both the 10XX and 11XX series were free-steaming, but became rough riding. They were fitted with drop grates which saved some effort in disposal, but the 12XX series were fitted with rocker grates and hopper ashpans. They were also fitted with self-cleaning smokeboxes, but this had an adverse effect on steaming. The 12XX series had electric lighting, but this was removed when the generators failed. The LMS class 5 locomotives were judged to steam well and ride well. Some of the Class 5 had fireboxes with two rows of firebars much longer than the rest: these were heavy and difficult to manipulate. The clack box was mounted on top of the boiler and this rendered it inaccessible and it was impossible to reset the valve on the road: where the clack valves were mounted on the boiler faceplate it was possible to release them with a hammer blow. The bogie axleboxes differed greatly: for the B1 inspection and topping up were easy, but on the class 5 inspection required a dip stick and a very small oil can. The Jubilee class was condemned for the difficult task of oiling the inside motion, and was contrasted with ease of oiling the Gresley A3 class with derived motion on which "oiling up was a doddle comapared with the 'Jubilees'". Both classes had capsules which released an odour when the centre big end overheated: this released lavender on the A3 class and garlic on the Jubilees. Both stuck to the clothing and caused problems if travelling home by bus. The Pacifics were easy to fire and fire cleaning was assisted by a trapdoor in the grate.  The J11 class Pom-Poms were strong free steaming, but once on a return working from Skegness hauled by a K2 a J11 came on at Bottesford to assist the train to climb towards Leicester, but it was in such poor condition that the K2 had to push it to Stathern Junction where it came off and the K2 was able to proceed, Both the O4 and O1 classes were appreciated for steaming well and the O1 class was capable of fast running. See also letter (SW 280 p. 51) from Owen Edgington who shared views on Super D, notes that many former footplate staff still meet up and he began as cleaner to driver but ended career on Borad of private company.

Clarke, Jeremy. Stroudley's locomotives. Part 1. Early days. 46-51.
States that when works manager of the Edinburgh & Glasgow Railway at Cowlairs he "rarely saw eye to eye with his superior, S.W. Johnson... perhaps because both men were artists by temperament?" Notes the strong bond with Dugald Drummond and shared dislike of Johnson. Stroudley's period at Lochgorm Works on the Highland Railway sewed the seed for the Terrier class (No. 57 Lochgorm illustrated) and the famous engine green (ochre) was developed there.

Bamber, Roger. Treasure trove! 54-5.
Doncaster Grammar School Railway Society which became Hall Cross Comprehensive in 1986. First curator was Tony Peart who died in 2006. Trust formed. Present curator Peter Sarfieson. Colour illustration showing nameplates (Seagull and Windward Islands were both seen frequently by KPJ), works plates. and vast number of lamps, signals etc. See also letter from John Windle in SW 280 p. 51..

Hicks, Bryan. North and West. 56-61.
Colour photo-feature:No. 7029 Clun Castle climbing Gresford Bank on 5 March 1967; Class 5 No. 44680 climbing Gresford Bank on same day on SLS Special, and 9F No. 92234 at Chester on same day and involved in same operation. No. 92026 (former Crosti-boiler 9F) on up freight near Coton Hill, Shrewsbury on 4 March 1967; Jubilee No. 45699 Galatea in Shrewsbury station on 19 October 1963; 9F No. 92203 on special at Chester; No. 47673 at Chester on 22 September 1966. 

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me... 62-3.
Somersault signals were a feature on the Great Northern designed to be dail safe in snow following the Abbots Ripton accident. Somersaults also encountered in Australia through actions of McKenzie & Holland. See also letter from Tony Howker in SW 279 page 32 which gives more information about McKenzie & Holland manufacturing ability in Australia. .

Reviews. Mel Holley. 66
An illustrated history of the Snowdon Mountain Railway. Peter Johnson. Ian Allan. 128pp.
Includes a comprehensive text.

Issue No. 278 (August 2010)

Holley, Mel. On the turn: Comment 4-5.
J38 No. 65917 on turntable at Polmont MPD in September 1963: Geoff Rixon colour photograph. Comment on turntable design: GWR had Swindon product, other railways used Cowans, Sheldon or Ransomes & Rapier producs

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
Cars, and steam to the rescue of a failed diesel.
Photograph of K1 No. 62004 hauling a Peak class Type 4 No. D51 and its train at Birkby, north of Northallerton on 4 August 1964. Also submitted by Chris Nettleton car registration plate: V2 HNG.
A shed for one, that still survives.
Malmesbury shed still extant on 2 September 2007 (submitted Michael Cort)
The 'Caledonian' and speedy runs in the Trent Valley.
Inaugural down working hauled by spotless No. 46242 City of Glasgow passing Lichfield Trent Valley on 17 June 1957: submitted Roger Shenton: see also No. 271 page 26.
Good signs - and bad, at the inn...

Whitaker, Peter. 'Britannia' nameplate patterns. 8-12.
Letter from Andrew Dow (SW (280) p. 50) lists names that patterns might have been used for.

Clarke, Jeremy. Stroudley's locomotives. Part 2 – The Terriers. 14-17.
Introduced in 1872: very small and very efficient 0-6-0T of which a remarkably large number remain extant. The original nickname was Rooters reflecting their original work through the Thames Tunnel into Liverpool Street.

Platform. 19-20
Two sister Fairbairn tank engines: two very different lives. Fred Rich.
Refers to John Crisp's Climbing the ladder with reference to No. 42096 (SW 273 p. 46) and No. 42097 (SW 275). Both locomotives had been built at Brighton Works when Fred Rich was serving his apprenticeship. At Tunbridge Wells the twelve top link drivers had their own regular locomotives on a double manning basis. They were known as P4s. No. 42097 was worked on this basis, but No. 42096 was a common-user engine. One of the top link team, Driver Vic Prior used to provide brick dust to keep the surfaces bright. Eventually the Fairburn's were replaced with the BR Standard 2-6-4Ts and for a time No. 80013 was maintained in the same state, but Ivor Marshall ended double-manning.
Why green and not black for the 'Britannias' and 'Clans'? Trevor Tuckley.
NRM let me down. Paul Miller. 20.
I was involved with the 'Mars Specials' trains in 1962 and 1964. Anthony Weedon.

Hicks, Bryan. North and West. 22-7.

Russell, Robin. 'Castle' and 'County' classes. 28-33.
Black & white photo-feature; No. 5054 Earl of Ducie in Old Oak Common shed on 24 June 1956; No. 7034 Ince Castle near Plymuth on parcels train in summer 1958; No. 1013 County of Dorset on up express on sea wall at Dawlish on 14 June 1958; No. 1004 County of Somerset heading south from Gloucester with empty milk tanks, parcel vans and containers in spring 1958;

Great shot! [Patriot No. 45517 between Crawford and Elvanfoot hauling Glasgow Central to Blackpool]. 34-5.
David Anderson photograph taken in August 1957.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me. [WW2 air raid on Sunderland station on 15 August 1940]. 36-9.
Major day-time bombing raid on Sunderland station, including several pictures of the damage. See also letter from Peter Willey on the effect of the destruction on a family holiday at St. John's Chapel when they had to begin the railway journey from Millfield station

Maidment, David. 'Ah!' moments. 48-
High speeds attained behind Princess Royal class which were noted for their smooth riding and sometimes poor steaming. Very fast run on 15.48 Crewe to Glasgow which only ran on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdday and consisted of 46235 City of Birmingham with six LMS coaches whih left Crewe 35 minutes late and the crew set out to recapture most of this lateness by extremely fast running (94 mile/h at Southwaite) as they wished to return to Crewe on train scheduled to leave as they arrived. Also fast run over Ais Gill behind 72005 Clan Macgregor which replaced failed Jubilee at Carlisle on relief to Thames Clyde Express

Soden, James. No romance. Part 2. 54-5.
Memories of 2P 4-4-0 acting as pilot to rebuilt Scot on Leicester to St Pancras express when driver of train engine took curves at excessive speed and return journey assisting a Jubilee class. 2P was very run down and rolled violently. Illus.: 2P No. 40700 at Derby Works open day on 25 August 1962 with boys on footplate (locomotive without tender) (colour photo: Geoff Rixon).

Grayer, Jeffrey. Some corner of a foreign field. 56-61.
Locomotives scrapped by Cohen's at Kettering. Mainly LMS, but also some Southern, Great Western and LNER types. Tabulated.

Rixon, Geoff. Heavy freight. 62-3.
Colour photo-feature: Q7 No. 63466 at Tyne Dock MPD in September 1962; Q7 No. 63473 at Percy Main in 1962; O4/1 No. 63587 at Boston MPD

Reviews. Mel Holley. 66.
Directory of British tramways. Vol. 3. Keith Turner. History Press.
Poster to poster. Vol. 3. Richard Furness. JDF & Associates
North East England and Yorkshire. "Highly recommended". Includes biographies of artists
Steam journey. Roger Siviter. Great Bear Publishing.

Rail atlas. S.K. Baker. Ian Allan.
12th edition.

Issue No. 279 (September 2010)

Holley, Mel. Good foundations: Comment 4-5.
On permanent way.

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
A Hunslet 'J94' 0-6-0ST on an unfitted passenger train?
Actually shunting empty stock at Newport, Middlesbrough on 28 August 1954 (submitted Neville Stead): current Issue of Backtrack page 553 et seq has feature on Ashington Tanky whereon NCB staff were conveyed on rolling stock without continuous brakes by a variety of tank engines.
Win Royal Mail's new stamp pack.
Stamps based on six photographs.
Famous steam locomotive 'fakes' connected.

Here's a real rarity... at Harrow on the Hill.
Christopher Horne colour photograph taken in 1963 of B1 No. 61269 double heading with Britannia No. 70015 Apollo on Nottingham to Marylebone empty newspaper vans.
Another fire victim.
Frank Hornby photograph of fire-damaged No. 34096 Trevone at Eastleigh on 22 March 1952: see also 274 page 24.

Grayer, Jeffery. O2 to be in Vectis, now that autumn's there. 8-12.
Ride from Ryde St. John's Road to Shanklin for Shank's pony to Ventnor. Isle of Wight during the final gasp of steam

Soden, James. No romance. 14-15.
Comment on the British Railways Standard classes: Class 5 liked, Britannia class viewed with suspicion, 9F huge haulage capacity and speed potential, but Franco-Crosti version made working conditions filthy from the exhaust. The locomotives with mechanical stokers worked well provided coaled with small coal otherwise fireman had to spend trip breaking coal. Notes journey with Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0 whereon ran out of coal as approaching St. Pancras. Next part Issue 280 page 30..

Dow, Andrew. Keeping track in days of steam. Part 1. 16-25.
Stunning LNWR poster of 1915 emphasing "the best permanent way in the world" shows four track main line with telegraph poles on either side and typical tall signals. The various components of earlier types of permanent way: timber sleepers, treatment of them with creosote, life extension when iron replaced by steel. Difficulties of manually handling long rail lengths. Cast chairs for bullhead rail invented by Charles May of Ramsomes. Fishplates. Great Western adopted slightly different methods. Ballast including unsuitable ash and beach shingle. Track geometry especially transition curves and superelevation.. Coronation Scot carriages fitted with cylindrical, rather than coned wheels in an attempt to inhibit hunting. Illustrations include original installation of third rail, conductor on Tyneside electrification. Part 2 Issue 280 page 16

Crisp, John. Climbing the ladder. Part 9. 26-31.
Type 1 diesel electric D8002 on coal trains run to St. Albans gas works at night. On one of these trips the wheels picked up on the return journey to bWatford Junction and the train skidded into the rear of an electric locomotive in spite of Driver Ernie Coles attempting to control the situation by breleasing and reapplying the air break and the author applying the wagon brakes, having jumped off the locomotive. One trip was the night goods which involved the bpurchase of excellent fish & chips at Harlesden. When Watford Junction shed was demolished he had the melancholy task of consigning an old ledger book which had recorded staff absences with their causes to a bonfire. This had contained copperplate writing and would have been of considerable historical interest. He worked von the Souther Region for a time and did not like it, then as a secondman on the Cambridge Link at King's Cross with Driver Tex Edwards. He then returned to Watford Junction as a driver working DC EMUs, DMUs on the St Albans branch and eventually AC EMUs. Following a fatal accident he changed occupation.

Platform. 32
McKenzie and Holland down under. Tony Howker.
See Andrew Dow (277 page 62 not as quoted in text): equipment was manufactured in Australia, not in England. Firm constructed factories in Spotswood, Melbourne in 1884 and Brisbane in 1888. Writer worked at Chippenham until moving to Spotswood in 1987, returning as Managing Director of the Westinghouse Signalling Company until 1992. Cites O.S. Nock's A hundred years of speed and safety.. Hobnob Press.
Farewell to railwayman John Bowers. Jim Perkins.
See June Issue. John Bowers died on 24 June, aged 73. Letter writer and John Bowers were born in the same village. See also James Soden on Super D 0-8-0s in Issue 277. Known by footplate crews as Knuckle Crackers. They were difficult to service,
'Great shot' train identified. David Maidment.
See No. 277 page 34/5: No. 31634, U class, was working Lymington Boat Train.
Points and crossings. Colour-Rail.
See No. 277: No. 48206 was at Northampton on 30 July 1963.
Cut off in their prime. Phil Atkins. 33.
See Issue 275 page 28. the 94XX were ordered in December 1947 (KPJ presumably to ensure that friends of Board members in the locomotive building industry did not suffer as a result of nationalization — that is they were the duck houses of the day). The 16XX were not ordered until 1953 at about the same time as the Western Region requested further 38XX. The BR Modernisation Programme was "hastily cobbled together" in January 1955 and anticipated a much longer life for steam. Phil mentions that replacement boilers were still being built for classes on bwhich withdrawal had started.
Templecombe station: a puzzle. Keith Faulkner.
Wonders why a low level station was not constructed on the Somerset & Dorset line.

Great shot [two Kings double-head down Cornish Riviera]. Tony Butcher. 34-5.
Centre-spread: No. 6025 King Henry III and No. 6003 King George IV on Rattery Bank passing Tigley signal box on 7 September 1957: see also letter from C. Horne in Issue 283 page 46 noting that was probably last of a regular summer working..

Clarke, Jeremy. Stroudley's locomotives. Part 3 – the 'D' class. 36-9.
One of Stroudley's standard classes, later known as the D1 class: an 0-4-2T intended for suburban services and secondary rural lines. Illus. D1 class No. 2605 on motor train (push & pull train) at Ford on Littlehampton service in November 1933 (O.J. Morris); No. 255 Willingdon on Brighton shed in 1890s..

Leyland, Steve. 73156: this is your life. Part 1. 40-5.
Part 2 in Issue No. 280 page 8.: Neasden based on down Master Cutler on Ruislip water troughs in May 1957 (illus.); Millhouses; Grimesthorpe; Neasden again; Leicester GC; Woodford Halse; Cricklewood.

Hornby, Frank. 'Moguls' – maids of all work. 47-51.
Slightly disappointing survey: no photograph of Gresley's major contribution in the huge shape of the K3. The NCC W class is mentioned in the text, but not illustrated except as a postage stanp on page 6 in its derivative as a 2-6-4T. The type originated in North America, and the Massey Bromley design for the Great Eastern entered traffic in 1978/9. Direct purchase of American products were made by the Great Central, Great Northern and Midland Railways.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me... 54-5.
Motor car registration WOE 548 being loaded into a van type car carrier of the type used on East Coast car sleeper services with anxious lady looking on.

Around the Region. 56-60.
Colour photo-feature: No. 7013 Bristol Castle heading up Cathedrals Express past White Waltham on 4 June 1962 (p. 56: see letter from David Maidment in Issue 283 p. 46: change of identity with No. 4082 Windsor Castle); No. 5002 Ludlow Castle (with Hawksworth tender) hauling down express formed of carmine and cream painted stock near Corsham in 1958 (P.M. Alexander); No. 1445 with single auto coach (compartment type) at Marlow on Marlow Donkey in April 1962 (M. Smith); No. 7032 Denbigh Castle with up local (running in turn?) near Corsham; 2251 0-6-0 No. 2248 at Pencader with Aberystwyth to Carmarthen train on 9 September 1961; 2-8-0T No. 5206 ex-works at Swindon in August 1962 (C.R. Gordon Stuart); No. 4075 Cardiff Castle arriving Churston with 15.15 ex-Exeter in April 1960 (Peter Gray).

Reviews. 65-6.
The Chiltern Railways story. Hugh Jones. History Press.
Mainly the story of Adrian Shooter's restoration of Marylebone and the train services from it the paradigm of what a privatized railway should be.
David Weston's railway heritage. Halsgrove.
An address book, so would never be in Ottley, with pictures by David Weston, both oils and watercolours.
Bentley Colliery. Gordon Gough and John Teasdale. J.G. Teasdale Publishing.
The colliery and its underground railways.
Steam: the mystic harmony. W. Elgar Dickinson. Silverlink.
"a very pleasant book"
Locomotive compendium: Southern, Colin Boocock. Ian Allan.

Issue No. 280 (October 2010)

Flexibility was the goal. Mel. Holley. 4-5
M7 No. 30048 on push & pull working at Colyton on Seaton branch on 14 July 1960 (R.C. Riley) [comment on push & pull or motor train working and steam railmotors (railcars).

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
Pub signs again.
Sign at The Locoomotive, Wick, Littlehampton; based on painting by Philip D. Hawkins of Castle No. 5078 Beaufort on The Bristolean at Bristol Temple Meads.
Engines abroad revisited.
Colour photograph of West Country 34015 Exmouuth at Cholsey & Moulsford having retieved railtour off Wallingford branch on 12 December 1965 (Roy Hobbs)
The last Stroudley 'Gladstone' 0-4-2 withdrawn in 1933.
No. B172 at Eastbourne shed on 1 Ocvtober 1931. (Neville Stead collection).
Esoteric steam locomotives in BR's fleet.
J70 tram locomotive No. 68216 and F6 2-4-2T No. 67230 on Ipswich shed on 30 May 1953 (Frank Hornby).
And now... a tiled 'pub' sign.
Railway Hotel Wareham based on Southern Railway 4-6-0 No. E453 (submitted Paul Ridgwell)

Leyland, Steve. 73156: this is your life. Part 2. 8-14.
Part 1 in Issue No. 279 page 40: Leamington Spa; Tyseley; Bolton; and into preservation.

Dow, Andrew. Keeping track in days of steam. Part 2. 16-23.
Part 1 see Issue 279 page 16. Stanhope Forbes poster "The Permanent Way" for LMS showing relaying activity on LNWR main line. During 1920s economies were sought in number of permanent way staff and maintenance costs. At same time improved quality was sought through Hallade recorder introduced to Britain through Charles Brown, Chief Engineer of the GNR in 1922. Use led to realignment of curves at Hornsey and at Hatfield. Introduction of heavier rails and longer rails. The LNER acquirede a Morris Tracklayer (see 2007 March/April)

Russell, Robin. A taste of the Cheddar Valley. 24-9.
Strictly the Cheddar Valley Railway terminated at Wells with its continuation being the East Somerset Railway to Witham. Illus.: No. 4595 at Axbridge with fireman Harry Viles in cab; clerestory camping coach at Winscombe; Ivatt 2-6-2T No. 41202 leaving Yatton for Bristol; 14XX with auto-train for Clevedon in bay platform at Yatton; 4124 near Shute Shelve on 17 August 1963; No. 4539 at Shepton Mallet High Street.

Soden, James. No romance. Part 4. 30-3.
Previous part 279 page 14. Removal of safety items, like lamps, from locomotives. Disparity beween steam and diesel traction: replsaacement of 9F 2-10-0 by a Sulzer Type 2 led to fatal accident as diesel faied to hold its train on Kibworth bank. Difference in speed of 2 mile/h could be critical with Type 4 diesel with unfitted iron ore trains. Coalville men had to contend with colliery subsidence and unsuitable coal. Noted how quiet Swindon locomotives were. The J39 class had very different controls from 4F and this could create problems. J15 was extrremely difficult to fire for the novice. Primitive coaling with tubs at Leicester Belgrave Road. Different terminology on Eastern and London Midland Regions. On LMR station pilots were known as "jockos" not "Jintys", but see letter in Issue 283 from G. Parking on page 46) Lack of sanders on Brush Type 4. Suffered from very cold cabs. Draughts.

Great shot! [Q 0-6-0 No. 30534 and BR Class 4 2-6-4T No. 88015 arrive at Eridge]. D. Ovenden. 34-5.
with two coaches on 13.50 Tunbridge Wells to Eastbourne on 18 September 1961.

Clarke, Jeremy. Stroudley's locootives. Part 4: The singles. 36-41.
No. 334 Petworth at East Croydon c1890; No. 151 Grosvenor c1876; No. 326 at Portsmouth Harbour in 1904; No. 327 Imberhorne; No. 329 Stephenson decorated for hauling a Station Masters and Inspectors excursion

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me... 42-3.
Picture of Pullman Golden Arrow leaving Dover Marine behind rebuilt West Country No. 34100 Appledore:  Young Andrew travelled on train in mid-1950s "Dad knew Mr Harding, the General Manager of the Pullman Car Company, and we met him on the train. A compartment had been reserved for us, and we travelled in this in great comfort. Imagine that: sitting in an armchair on a train". KPJ must complete his memoirs (he returned on Yorkshire Pullman to Wakefield after getting new job at Malaysian Rubber in March 1965: train was probably Deltic hauled).

Mitchell, Alan. Rough trips. 44-8.
B1 No. 61107 on newspaper train for Cleethorpes taken over at Doncaster: very difficult to raise steam due to corrosion of smokebox; also extremely rare shortage of steam on climb to Stoke Summit from Peterborough on V2 with fitted freight.

Platform. 50-2.
No puzzle on unused 'Britannia' names. Andrew Dow.
See Steam Wld (278) page 8: names considered by the London Midland Region for Nos 70045-70049 included constituent companies of the LMS, famous Britons from history, chief mechanical engineers, Irish connections (proposed to Dow by H.C. Casserley), Dukes, live famous Britons, and famous historical horses. The CMEs were: Samuel W. Johnson, John Ramsbottom, Sir John Aspinall, George Hughes and Sir Henry Fowler. "F.W. Webb" listed by Peteer Whitaker was not listed.
More details about Sunderland raid of August 15 1940. Peter Willey.
See That Reminds me in SW 278 page 36 destruction of Sunderland station led to a family holiday at St. John's Chapel beginning the journey from Millfield station. Writer notes that his great grandfather, George Osborne (1858-1927) was Locomotive Shed Superintendent at Sunderland until retirement on 30 November 1923. They had lived in a townhouse at 2 Burdon Road in Sunderland..
On the 'treasure trove' trail at Doncaster with Tony Peart. John Windle.
See Issue No. 277 page 54 more information about Tony Peart when English teacher at Chesterfield Grammar School.
No romance - but stoical pride and laughter. Owen Edgington.
See Steam Wld No. 277 page 40: shared views on Super D type, notes that many former footplate staff still meet up and he began as cleaner to driver but ended career on Borad of private company.
Climbing the ladder... Mike Stollery. 52
See Steam Wld No. 277 page 19: photographs of wiring trains taken from bottom of garden in King's Langley in 1962-3,:

Lewis, Denis. On the early turn. 54-5.
Fireman on BR Class 3 2-6-2T No. 82036 based at Chester on passenger trains to and from Birkenhead Woodside.in March 1960. Type much prefered to Stanier Class 3 2-6-2T. Notes on method of firing and boiler filling to avid blowing off at end of runs.

Herbert, Ron. Taking the Packet. 58-60.
Packet as in Isle of Man Steam Packet Co. reached via Heysham or Fleetwood and sailings to Douglas. Journey on Manx Electric Railway to Ramsey and return by Isle of Man Railway which was in a poor state: surprise was expressed at use of free tickets (writer's father was a British Railways employee). Illus. (colour): No. 10 G.H. Wood  at Port Erin on 20 April 1957 with ancient lorry alongside (Colour-Rail), and Nos. 10 G.H. Wood and 12 Hutchinson in Douglas terminus; No. 1 Sutherland both on 7 August 1963 (Ron Herbert)

Rixon, Geoff. Sixties Southern. 64-5.
Colour photo-feature: Merchant Navy No. 35014 Nederland Line approaching Esher with four coach train for Basingstoke in February 1967; H16 4-6-2T No. 30518 near Weybridge with coal for Durnsford Road Power Station in June 1962; H class 0-4-4T at Grange Road with 13.17 push & pull for East Grinstead on 16 March 1963.

Reviews. 66-7.
Bangor to Portmadoc
Branch lines of Midhurst
Oswestry to Whitchurch
Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith. Middleton
The Midhurst title began the venture in self-publishing following rejection by many publishers as being "too parochial"
Life along the line. Paul Atterbury. David & Charles
Part of the nostalgia industry
Odd corners of the Southern. Alan Postlethwaite. History Press
Photographs taken between 1958 and 1967
Locomotive headboards: the complete story. Dave Peel. History Press
Softback edition
The Bordon Light Railway. Peter A. Harding. Author
"thoroughly enjoyable read" and well illustrated.
An illustrated history of the Atlantic Coast Express. John Scott-Morgan. Ian Allan.
Pictorial journey on the ACE.
abc british Railways locomotives combined volume 1952. Ian Allan.

Issue No. 281 (November 2010)

No. 60114 W.P. Allen on New England MPD in early 1960s. Geoff Rixon. front cover

M7 No. 30036 in Plymouth Friary shed on 15 April 1956. Roy Vincent. 3.

What's in a name? Comment. Mel. Holley. 4-5
Class 2 2-6-2T No. 41307 at Sidmouth Junction on 22 September 1959 (K.L. Cook). Originally Feniton, became Seaton Junction when branch opened to Sidmouth. Closed on 6 March 1967 and reopened as Feniton on 5 May 1971.

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
Singing like a bird... No. 3454 Skylark at Reading in 1930.
A.W. Croughton black & white photograph
Somersault signals are alive and well... half a world away in Australia.
Colour pictures taken by Robert Parker from the cab showing some of the many somersault signals seen on a journey from Melbourne Southern Cross to Seymour.
Furness Railway locomotive shop to be razed.
Martin Moser colour photograph
'County' nameplates are odd for good reason.
County of Glamorgan nameplates for County class locomotive being recreated at Didcot Railway Centre. Gary Davies commented that difference was due to the left-hand plate being fixed directly to the splasher whereas the right-hand plate required a sub-plate to accommodate the reversing rod.
Suspended sign, but what's its origin?
9F 92220 Evening Star depicted on former inn sign (Shepherd Neame brewers) displayed in the Mariners Arms in Great Yarmouth: landlord had bought it at an auction in Acle: submitted Peter Lonsdale. See No. 284 page 6: Robert Sayewell states for inn sign at the Railway Hotel in Faversham, now replaced by portrait of MN No. 35027 Port Line..

Crawley, John. Pile-up at Sandy. 8-14.
Colour photographs taken on 18 Decemeber 1964 when Brush diesel electric No. D1521 ended up overturning in the sand drag at Sandy when the driver probably fell asleep. The locomotive was hauling a Leeds to London freight and many of the wagons were destroyed. The photographs show the steam cranes from Peterborough, King's Ceoss and Cambridge clearing the lines. See also letter from Dave Fletcher in SW 283 concerning land-based wreckers salvaging.

Maidment, David. 'Ah!' moments. 16-17.
An earlier attempt to travel behind a 47XX had been thwarted, but he ventually travelled behind No. 4708 between Swindon and Paddington which attained 75 mile/h by Didcot and 80 mile/h at Ruscombe Sidings after the Reading restart (the limit for this class was 60 mile/h). On 15 May 1962 he travelled behind No. 7030 Cranbrook Castle on a high speed run with the whitewash car when 105 mile/h was reached at Blackthorn on the descent from Ardley and 103 mile/h was attained at Denham. On the following day he was on the footplate of the same locomotive when it attained 90 mile/h at Maidenhead but the driver questioned the safety as the locomotive rolled at high speeds. Colour illus.: No. 7030 Cranbrook Castle leaving Swindon on a test run in October 1959 (P.J. Hughes); No. 4707 ex-Swindon Works in lined green in April 1962 (J.L. Champion).

Clarke, Jeremy. Stroudley's locomotives. Part 5: 0-6-0 tanks. 19-23.
E class: No. 97 Hornfleur entered traffic in November 1874. The class had 4ft 6in coupled wheels. The final batch incorporatd Robert Billinton features: notably the smokebox, chimney and position of the dome. No. 96 was named Salzberg eather than Salzburg. No. 92 was sold to Hartley Main Collieries in 1936. Illus. R1 class No. 2122 with Drummond chimney and Bulleid livery; E1 class No. 32113 with Drummond chimney at Eastleigh ex-Works on 5 September 1953 (D.L. Bradley); E1/R 0-6-2T No. 32124 assisting N class No. 31845 on climb from Exeter St David's to Central on 9 August 1953 (R.O. Tuck); No. B689 (in Marsh rebuild of 1911 condition, subsequently rebuilt again in 1930 not shown: in 1911 condition had larher, higher piched boiler, Marsh cab, tanks and bunker) (O.J. Morris c1925); E class No. 99 Bordeaux in olive green livery; No. W4 Wroxall at Newport (IoW) shed in October 1933 (O.J. Morris); E Class Special No. 157 Barcelona built for working Cuckoo line between Polegate and Eridge with larger (18¼ x 26in.) cylinders, boiler, tanks and bunker (O.J. Morris); LBSCR No. 162 at New Cross c1923 (O.J. Morris); Cannock & Rugeley Collieries No. 9 Cannock Wood at Rawnesley on 26 August 1943 (J.M. Jarvis) this locomotive is preserved as B110 on the East Somerset Railway.; No. B159 (still lettered L B & S C R) waiting painting at Brighton in 1926

Slater, Lee. Memories of Reading. 26-9.
Unofficial footplate journeys with Driver Bill Bennett on Coley branch (article in Gt Western Rly J., 2010, 10, 84). Observed the locomotive exchanges in 1948 and stood in cab of failed A4 No. 60022 Mallard in Reading shed.

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me... 30-1.
The role of gardens and flowers. Transport of flowers especially on the GWR and Southern Railway. Vases in restaurant cars and in railway hotels. The LNER had a nursery adjacent to Poppleton station with a narrow gauge railway which grew flowers and vegetables. This was eventually owned by Jarvis who sold it in 2005. Flowers featured in some heraldic devices.

Magner, Chris. Birkenhead limelight. 32-3.
Volunteer cleaners efforts to prepsare Stanier 2-6-4T No. 42613 to haul 15.25 from Birkenhead to Chester where it would be seen alongside No. 7029 Clun Castle on a LCGB railtour on 26 February 1967.

Great shot!. Stanier 2-6-4T No. 42613 pilots Standard Class 5 on northbound express in Lune Gorge c1955. (W.J. Verden Anderson). 34-5.

Platform. 36-7.
Exciting times on the Swannington loop with a Midland '4F' pilot. P.J. Baseley.
See Sw 276 page 52: excursions on Swadlincote loop were normally piloted by a 4F with a class 5 as the train engine; in July 1961 Patriot No. 45509 The Derbyshire Yeomanry oiloted by 4F was photographed with a box camera (reproduced), and a better photograph shoes Class 5 No. 45202 with 4F No. 44414.
'Mystery' location found, and it's hardly changed. Jules Hathaway.
See SW 274 page 26: No. 6222 Queen Mary on Coronation Scot: identifies location as Salterwath just to south of Shap Wells and confirms with more recent photograph.

Dow, Andrew. Keeping track in days of steam. Part 3. 38-44.
Application of welding to increase rail lengths, supported rail joints (George Ellson of Southern Railway invented one of last), cast points and crossings and switch (moveable) crossings which eliminated wear caused by gaps. Improved ballast. Flat bottom rail. See also letter from Tony Cornell (from Sheringham) in SW 283 page 46 on floating wing rail experiment..

Mitchell, Alan. Early days as a passed cleaner. 46-51.
Joined Canklow Motive Power Depot as a cleaner: notes on firing course conducted by Inspector Summers? in Sheffield, mutual improvement classes, messroom (canteen), shedmaster, stores, sandhouse, heavy weight of buckets of sand, early mismanagement of fire (over-filling firebox), and driver's appreciation of locomotive producing steam efficiently as evident on a Beyer Garratt

Hicks, Bryan. City to city. 54-7.
Colour photo-feature: Gloucester used to enjoy a direct link to Hereford, but only some of the photographs illustrate this "inter-city service": 43XX No. 6394 waits departure for Gloucester at Hereford on 13 September 1963; 51XX No. 4157 bringing stock into platform at Gloucester Central for Hereford train on 24 October 1964 (Anscochrome transparency); No. 7920 Coney Hall on freight (same day and film as previous); 43XX No. 7320 covered in lime on train for Hereford at Gloucester (same day as previous); 2251 0-6-0 No. 2286 at Gloucester Central with Hereford train on 13 September 1963 and 51XX No. 4107 departing Hereford for Gloucester on 24 October 1964.

Vincent, Roy. LSWR delights. 60-2.
Colour photo-feature: T9 No. 30289 at Brockenhurst in July 1957; 0415 Adams radial tank (4-4-2T) No. 30582 with copper cap on chimney at Exmuth Junction MPD on 15 July 1960; No. 30584 outside Axminster station in July 1959; No. 30583 in bay platform at Axminster; and view from footplate from 30583. All survivors (for a very long time) extant at the end of their service on the Lyme Regis branch captured in this feature.

Reviews. Mel Holley. 66-7.
An illustrated history of the Woodhead route. Alan Whitehouse. OPC
Includes interviews with some of those involved in line's operation and eventual closure including one with Frank Paterson, Genersl Manager of the Eastern Region.
Frank Hornby's railway diary 1952-9. Silver Link
22 trips across Britain.
Caley 828. Jim MacIntosh. Caledonian Railway Association.
Preserved McIntosh Class 812 0-6-0: initially housed in Glasgow Transport Museum and then on Strathspey Railway.
The South Staffordshire Railway. Bob Yate. Oakwood.
Exceptional value for money
The Black Country and South and East Staffordshire. John Whitehouse and Geoff Dowling. Silver Link.
Branch lines around Witham and Maldon. Vic Mitchell. Middleton Press
Shrewsbury to Chester. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith. Middleton Press

          Issue No. 282 (December 2010)

Make do and mend: Comment. Mel Holley. 4-5.
Illustration of Watford Junction shed: Hugh Ballantyne colour photograph of 29 March 1965 shows how it had grown and was then being adapted for diesel traction.

Holley, Mel. Call attention. 6-7.
All hail the Sun King - another masterpiece from Phil Hawkins GRA
No. 6019 King Henry V (or whatsoever King class one wishes) on Goring troughs heading into sun rise c1959: an "atmospheric view".
Bus comapany doffs its cap to the GWR.
Thamesdown Transport of Swindon has named its Optare sensible modern buses after King and Star class locomotives: the less said about Holt's megalomaniac bus operator the better.
Pigeons! a special traffic to be handled with care. 7
Richard Strange photograph of pigeons being released at Mangotsfield
The missing IoM steam locomotives.
See Ron Herbert (SW 280): No. 2 Derby was scrapped in 1951; No. 4 Loch has been restored and was working in 2010; No. 9 Douglas is in store in Douglas and No. 3 Pender has been sectioned and is on display in the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry (both sides shown)

Lewis, Barry. Tales from the footplate. 8-12.
Southern Region fireman: memories of hop pickers specials worked by C class 0-6-0s which started from South London in the very early morning and headed beyond Paddock Wood. Also memories of working on the pilot 4-4-0, usually an L1 provided to assist the heavy Night Ferry formed of Wagon Lits sleeping cars which worked though to Paris via the train ferry. King Arthur and Schools class compared and suggests that Schools class were considered for LMR, but action was precluded by difficulty of attaching tenders with water pick-up gear. Oil firing, briquettes or ovoids as fuel and use of leather gloves.

'Bongo' parade. 14-15
Colour photo-feature of B1 class. No. 61362 at Peterborough East with former LMS stock (J.P. Mullett); Nos. 61108 and 61354 with long train of mainly Gresley corridor stock with headboards in "Edinburgh area" with colour light signals in June 1962 (Geoff Rixon); No. 61068 with Gresley non-vestibuled stock at Selby.

Pearse, John. Setting the Standard. 16-24.
Mark 1 passenger rolling stock; mainly but not exclusively corridor and vestibuled as there were also two types of suburban stock.

Hull, Jim. Jim Hull's notebooks. 28-33.
Stewart's Lane mpd in August 1953.

Great shot! [70014 Iron Duke with Golden Arrow insignia]. R.C. Riley. 34-5.
Stewarts Lane 20 October 1957

Dow, Andrew. Keeping track in days of steam. Part 4. 36-41.
Part 3 SW 281 page 38. Part 5 see SW 283 page16. Concrete sleepers and flat-bottom rail. Baseplates and fastening devices including Pandrol clips.

Whitaker, Peter. A series of errors... 42-7.
Hawes Junction accident on 24 December 1910. Signalman Sutton's error led to collision between an express and two light exngines (the crews of which had failed to comply with Rule 55). Twelve died in the accident which was accompanied by fire caused by gas lighting, which the Midland Railway employed, and the timber construction of the rolling stock. Major Pringle conducted the  Illus. include memorial at St. Margaret's Church in Hawes.

Herbert, Ron. Fly, birds, fly! 48-51.
Pigeon traffic. See also Issue 283 page 6

Around the [Western] Region. 54-5.
Colour photo-feature. No. 7826 Longworth Manor on Carmarthen shed in March 1962 (P.M. Alexander); BR class 4 4-6-0 No. 75005 at Old Oak Common in November 1962 (A.C. Sterndale); 0-6-2T no. 5658 runs light through Hatton station (J.H. Moss)

Dow, Andrew. That reminds me... 58-9.
Clocks and the no-longer self-sufficient railway

Reviews.  65.
Return from Dunkirk. Peter Tatlow. Oakwood.
Excellent value for money: definitive work on Operation Dynamo
The Great Western Railway in the First World War. Sandra Gittins. History Press
Well received
Peter's railway to the rescue. Christopher Vine. Author
Another excellent story book: sadly grandson Kyle has moved from Norfolk to the south of Suffolk.
The glorious years. Haynes.
Worldwide steam railways. Keith Strickland. History Press.
Industrial locomotives & installations. No. 1. North East England. Neville Stead. Booklaw.
Black & white album with a trend towards the unusual, including former main line railway locomotives.
Southern rails on the Isle of Wight. Vol. 2. Ian Drummond. Holne Publishing.
Highly recommended: includes 142 colour and 150 b&w photographs and covers Ventnor and Bembridge lines.
Steam on the Western: the final decades. Michael H.C. Baker. Ian Allan.
Severe criticism of reproduction standards: lack of sharpness, muddiness, banding and excessive contrast.
Last years of the Waverley route. David Cross. Ian Allan.
280 mainly unpublished photographs including 42 colour.