Backtrack Volume 34 (2020)

Published by Pendragon, Easingwold, YO61 3YS

SR Merchant Navy Pacific No.35003 Royal Mail departs from Bournemouth Central with the Bournemouth Belle for Waterloo on 9August 1965. David Rodgers

January (Number 345)

Getting around London. Michael Blakemore. 3
Editorial about the aptly named Cross Rail (Crossrail)

Up and down Snowdon Mountain. David Idle. 4-5
Colour photo-feature based on photographs taken of Abt system railway with Swiss Locomotive Co. locomotives on 9/10 September 1971 in near perfect weather : No. 4 Snowdon on 11,30 from Llanberis to the Summit near Halfway staion; No. 6 Padarn shunting rolling stock at Llanberis; No. 3 Wydffa above Clogwyn with 14.05 from Llanberis; No. 4 Snowdon on works train descending from Summit Hotel crossing Upper Viaduact at Llanberis; No. 6 Padarn leaving Clogwyn with 13.25 from Llanberis approaching 1½ gradient

Andrew James. The G5 tanks: an appreciation of performance. 6-11
Perfornance in the Allen/Nock sense but limited to light loads on all-stations services. The sole exception is a downhill dash from Knaresborough to York with five coaches in 1938 (perhaps emulating the streamliners). Comparisons are made with a D49 class 4-4-0 on the climb from Horsforth towards Bramhope and with diesel railcars. Recorders included Semmens and cooment by Landau. Illustrations: No. 67343 at Sleights on Whitby to Malton local train in March 1954 (colour: J.M. Jarvis); No. 2085 outside Whitby locomotive shed on 1 June 1936 (T.E. Rounthwaite); No. 468 (in lined green livery) entering Croft Spa station with a Darlington to Richmond train on 17 July 1920 (W. Rogerson); No. 67253 at Pateley Bridge with train for Harrogate on 24 Match 1951 (Geoff Horsman); No. 67320 at Bishop Auckland on 09.22 from Durham with Driver Lee on footplate on 20 June 1957 (J.F. Mallon); No. 67253 at Ripley Junction with train for Pateley Bridge c1950 (J.W. Hague); No. 67253 arriving Dacre on Pateley Bridge branch (J.W. Hague); No. 67339 arrives at Monkseaton with 13.40 from Blyth on 9 June 1956 (T.J. Edgington) see letter from Gerald Knox — locomotive working in push & pull mode and had pushed train from Blyth; No. 67253 at Pateley Bridge on a wet day c1950 (J.W. Hague); No. 67266 at Durham station in June 1957 (colour)

A.J. Mullay. Leith — Britain's first diesel depot? 12-17.
Author wrote a briefer account of depot aspects of Leith Central in Volume 7. Purists will argue that it was not purpose-built, but was a conversion from an extravagant passenger terminal constructed during a period of ludicrous competition between the Caledonian, North British and other Scottish railways and the failure to note the emergence of the electric tramcar. The Caledonian had envisaged building a circular railway to serve Leith and return under Calton Hill and beneath Princes Street. This not meet with approval by the City Council, nor with the North British, but to appease Leith's councillors the North British promised to construct a terminal there. The NBR was slow to implement its promise and Leith Central did not open until 1 July 1903. The train shed was built by Sir William Arrol of Forth Bridge fame. Surprisingly the NBR Study Group has only published a short article on the venue. In the prelude to nationalisation the LNER had contemplated using diesel electric locomotives on the East Coast Main Line and using Leith Central as one of its depots for them. The Inter-City multiple units were built  at Swindon and were stabled and maintained at  Leith Central. Mullay considers that they were under-designed, but they did have buffets and some proper corridor coaches, but lacked real speed, air conditioning and a livery comparable with the Irish Enterprise units. Unfortunately, Mullay does not pursue the origin of the Inter-City name which later dominated British Rail as Intercity and was widely used around the world. Illustrations: Metro-Cammell DMU with whiskers inside depot c1959; oil storage tanks; Birmingham RCW diesel electric locomotive; female cleaners adorning Gloucester RC&W DMU; male cleaners with machine working on nether regions of Intere-City DMU; female and one male cleaners posed at Cragientinny; mess room for staff with cat at Leith Central; two footplate staff in Leith Central; preserved GNoS 4-4-0 No. 49 Gordon Highlander on Scottish Rambler railtour at Leith Central on 19 April 1965 (David Idle colour). See also letter from Joh Macnab on the convoluted Inter-City diesel multiple units annd their Ayrshire brethren 

Geoffrey Skelsey. Crossing London: the City Widened Lines and the Thameslink saga. Part One. 18-23
Begins with a quotation from Alan Jackson, "doyen of London railway historians" where he notes how he descended illicitly from Holborn Viaduct station down into the soot encrusted Snow Hill platforms. The Metropolitan Railway linked Bishop's Road (Paddington) with Farringdon Street from January 1863. It also linked with the Great Northern Railway at King's Cross and later with the Midland Railway. The London, Chatham & Dover Railway constructed a City line which crossed the Thames at Blackfriars and connected with the Metropolitan at Farringdon and with the Widened Lines from King's Cross to Farringdon and on to Ald ersgate Street (later Barbican) and Moorgate Street. These extra lines enabled through traffic from the Great Northern and Midland to cross London and each Moorgate without disrupting the main Metropolitan services. Illustrations: map of City Widened Lines with northern connections and link to Walworth Road to south as in 1914; Doré engraving of Ludgate Hill with dirty steam train on bridge obscuring St. Paul's Cathedral; Ray Street Gridiron' Aldersgate & Barbican station with Metropolitan Railway lozenge logo on centre platforms; Farringdon & High Holborn station street facade in late 1950s? (colour); Holborn Viaduct Hotel and station in SECR period; station platforms at same period as previous (John Alsop Collection); station platforms with office block behind in 1964; Aldersgate & Barbican station with flared-side London Transport train in red livery in April 1961 (colour); Moorgate station in 1959 with Class 3 2-6-2T No. 40024 and Metropolitan Line T Class stock in brown livery and ex-District Railway F Class (oval driver's windows) in red livery in 1959 (colour); Class 31 exiting Ray Street Dip and enetering Farringdon station with A class train behind in 1976 (colour); 1943 London Plan for underground (main line) dimension tobe system. See also letter from Andy Sharples who made a slightly more licit entry inot the underworld at Holborn Viaduct (KPJ also explored this area courtesy of the Rubber Growers' Association which had a cellar full of books and documents in that area in the 1960s. Part 2 see page 178. See letter from Michael J. Smith on page 318 (not even the great GBS can enter Lonndon Tansport territory without censure from MJS!)

Jeffrey Wells. Goole's railways: 1836-1910. 24-31.
Mike Fell's The illustrated history of the Port of Goole and its railways. (Irwell Press) is rightly called seminal. Goole and its port was essentially the product of the Aire & Calder Navigation and was involved in the exchange of cargo between river craft and ocean going vessels and was near to the former Yorkshire Coalfield and the textile and iron based industries which grew up on it. As usual with this author much is based upon newspaper reports (some from some weird sourcess), but a return is made to Fell at intervals to ensure veracity. The Leeds Intelligencer  reported on the sod cutting ceremony by Rober Pemberton Milnes of Fryston Hall. Illustrations: 0-4-0ST No. 51222 at Goole in March 1962 (colour); map; lattice girder over Dutch River; continuation of previous over Aire & Calder Canal; see letter from E. Scarlett on page 318. Q6 0-8-0 No. 2246 with long freight of mainly open wagons passing Goole station en route to Hull; Goole Bridge (swing bridge) at Skelton; L&YR steamship Rother with refrigeration used on Goole to Copenhagen service with No. 2 Compartment Boat hoist alongside (see latter from Mike Fell on page 189); 0-4-0ST No. 51241 crossing road holding up traffic; Goole station with DMU on 26 August 1956; SS Equity drawing alongside Tannett Walker hydraulic hoist; Goole station with shoppers awaiting train for Hull

Southern holidays. David Rodgers. 32-5
Colour photo-feature: rebuilt West Country No. 34013 Okehampton on Eastleigh shed on 10 August 1965; Merchant Navy No, 35007 Aberdeen Commónwealth at Southampton Central with an up express on 8 August 1965; unrebuilt West Country No. 34019 Bideford on up fitted freight passing Winchester City on 12 August 1965; BR Class 4 4-6-0 No. 75035 on freight from Eastleigh to Southampton with Class 4 2-6-0 No. 76033 and Hampshire diesel electric multiple unit in background; rebuilt Battle of Britain class Pacific No. 34090 Sir Eustace Missenden, Southern Railway backs through Southampton Central having brought down a Union Castle Line special on 8 August 1965; unrebuilt West Country No. 34015 Exmouth moves out of east bay platform at Bournemouth  Central to take over an express for Waterloo on 8 August 1965; rebuilt West Country No. 34026 Yes Tor on turntable at Bournemouth shed on 9 August 1965 — reader Philip Shelton objects to caption's claim that Yes Tor is highest point on Dartmoor; rebuilt No. No. 34001 derailed and being hauled back onto track at Bournemouth  Central in June 1967; RMS Queen Mary steams down Southampton Water on 12 August 1965   

Peter Butler. The stations at Wellingborough.  36-9
First railway to arrive was the Peterborough branch of the London & Birmingham Railway, authorised in 1843 and opened throughout in June 1845 which began at Blisworth ran through Nortampton and Wellingborough to Peterborough where it made an end-on junction with the Eastern Counties Railway to provide a route for agricultural produce to London. Stations on the line were designed by J.W. Livock. At the prompting of a Bedfordshire landowner, William Whitbread, the Leicester & Hitchin Railway was authorised in 1853 and opened in 1857 and this enabled coal from the Midlands to reach London. John Ellis and John William Everard were also involved in the southward development of the Midland Railway. This line ran via Wellingborough and Bedford and gave Wellingborough a further outlet, but congestion on the Great Northern forced the Midland Railway to construct its own route into London from Bedford which opened in 1868. Wellingborough and the surrounding settlements of Rushden and Higham Ferrers were locations for boot and shoe manufacture. During the construction of the new railways iron ore was discovered in the area and furnaces were opened in Wellingborough using coal from the Midlands, Naturally, the East Coast formed an obvious place for the residents of Northampton and Wellingborough to go on holiday and eventually to retire, but the railway closers like Beeching failed to perceive that links with this area should be retained and although there are some  not too slow bus links these fail to connect with residual railway services. The main station at Wellingborough is located on a sharp bend which needs to be bypassed for fast services and modified for eleectric traction should it arrive before the Great Flood. Illustrations: Wellingborough Midland Road with down push & pull service leaving on 29 July 1961 powered by BR Class 2 2-6-2T No. 84006 (Ken Fairey); Wellingborough London Road on 30 April 1960 (R.M. Casserley); MR 1P 0-4-4T No. 1246 with Higham Ferrers branch train at Midland station on 3 July 1937 (H.C. Casserley); Beyer Garratt 2-6-6-2 No. 47969 on spur from Wellingborough London Road to Midland main line crossing River Nene on 26 June 1957 (Ken Fairey); Wellingborough Station signal box in July 1987; level crossing at London Road station in June 1967 (Ian Wright); air raid precautions signal box at Wellingborough Junction on 2 October 1983; entrance to Midland station on 3 February 1979; Class 45 No. 45 101 leaves Wellingborough with 16.35 from St. Pancras on 5 May 1986. Very informative letter from Robin Leleux on page 189 

Coal hauling. Keith Dungate. 40-2
Colour photo-feature: MGR hopper wagons (merry-go-round trains) from collieries or coal import terminals to electricity generating stations used to be a key feature: two Southern Region Class 73 electro-diesels Nos, 73119 and 118 Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway on third rail system at Barming with 13.25 Betteshanger to Hither Green on 4 June 1987; Class 58 No. 58 045 passing Banbury under lower quadrant GWR signals with 16.05 Didcot Power Station to Toton MGR empties on 14 September 1987; Class 33 Nos. 33 035 and 013 near Borough Green with 13.25 Betteshanger to Hither Green on 19 July 1988; English, Welsh & Scottish EWS Class 37 No. 37 716 (in rich  red livery) double-heading with another Type 37 leaving Tyne Yard for Healey Mills on 4 September 1998; EWS Class 66 No. 66 061 on 07.16 Chalmerston Colliery to Cottam Power Station at Forge Locks, Kirkstall alongside Leeds & Liverpool Canal on 10 September 1999; EWS Class 66 No. 66 045 on 07.25 MGR train from Hunterston coal import terminal to High Marnham Power Station approaching Kirkstall Loop on 9 September 1999; EWS Class 60 No. 60 053 passing through unloading house at Drax Power Station on 29 May 1997; Class 58 No. 58 026 passing through Crewe Station with empty MGR wagons passing Class 81 No. 81 011 in Corporate blue livery    

Shades of Old Euston. 43
Black & white photo-feature: aerial photograph without date but showing damage by bombing to some domestic buidings (early WW2?) caption suggests post-WW2; Euston departure Platforms Nos. 11 and 12 with trains loading in summer 1947 with mmany female passengers, three fully clothed nuns and some young children; publicity photograph from September 1949 showing gloomy entrance to Northern Line, poster advertising Sunday excursion trains and another for Swan Pens; Platform 14 with business passengers (maale and female) awaiting arrival of carriages in smoky, but sunny atmoshere (one smoking a pipe! standing facing mayoress of some northern borough); Eversholt Street showing roof over arrival side platforms; roof over arrival side platforms observed from above (building within station compllex) and cab road adjacent platforms 2 and 3 in 1947 

Paul Joyce. The LSWR Turnchapel branch 1897-1961. 46-52
Previously described in Backtrack in 2017, 31, 676. The branch opened on 1 July 1897 with passenger services running to Plymouth Friary station.  During WW2 Plymouth was very severely bombed: so severely that Winston Churchill contemplated imposing marshall law on the civilian population who were fleeing to the country. Plymouth's suffering has featured in other Backtrack articles: notably by Helm. Illustrations (all by H.C. Casserley unless noted otherwise) and most trains formed of Gate Stock with push & pull trailer: T1 0-4-4T No. 17 leaving Friary station with train for Tavistock on 11 July 1924; O2 class No. 177 in LSWR livery passing Friary shed with service for Turnchapel on 18 July 1924; O2 class No. 200 departs from Lucas Terrace Halt for Plymstock on 5 August 1928; map from Plymouth steam by Ian H. Lane; O2 No. 218 (in LSWR livery) crossing  swing bridge over entrance to Hooe Lake with 12.12 service from Friary (also shows Bayly's Wharf);; O2 No. 207 waiting for departure from Turnchapel; )2 No. 233 with stovepipe chimney on swing bridge; GWR 43XX No. 5321 on Friary shed turntable on 30 August 1945 (L. Crozier); O2 No. 218 propelling 11.24 from Friary over swing bridge; fire in oil storage tangs behind Turnchapel station on 28 November 1940; O2 No. 30182 (not visible) propelling Gate Stock into Plymstock on 2 May 1959 on RCTS railtour to celebrate Royal Albert Beridge centenary (R.M. Casserley); Cattewater Junction after closure of Cattewate branch; Oreston station..

Miles Macnair. From road unto rail exercises in technology transfer: the later transfers. Part two. 53-6.
Previous Part: Cites Fletcher. Considers Timothy Burstall's steam carriage of 1824 which incorporated a form of four-wheel drive, the genesis of a flash-type boiler and a flexible steam pipe. Burstall's locomotive Perserverance which was damaged being unloaded for the Rainhill Trials is next considered.. William Church took out several patents for road locomotives according to Macnair, attempted to operate a steam coach between Birmingham and Coventry and developed an 0-2-2 well tank with 11¼-inch cylinders and an unusual boiler. It was known as Victoria on the Grand Junction Railway where it was alleged to have achieved 60 mile/h and was then renamed Surprise to work on the Biirmingham & Gloucester Railway on the Lickey Incline as a banking engine. It exploded at Bromsgove, killing the enginemen who have a memorial in Bromsgrove churchyard. The locomotive was renamed Eclipse and worked as an 0-6-0T with a conventional boiler on the Swansea Vale Railway. William Henry James is considered as designer of road tugs or tractors with water tube boilers for which he obtaines patents. Macnair is the author of a key study of William Henry James and his father. Illustrations: Timothy Burstall's steam carriage of 1824 (diagram: Fletcher); Timothy Burstall's  locomotive Perserverance; Church's London  & Birminham Carriage Co. steam carriage (colour illustration from Popular Science Monthly, 1900 August); side view of previous (black & white engraving); Church's locomotive  Surprise in original condition (colour: Robin Barnes painting); tombstones for Thomas Scaife and Joseph Rutherford (photograph by D, Webb: caption notes erroneous depiction Norris style locomotives); William Henry James's steam carriage with water-tube boiler and four cylinders trialled in Epping Forest (engraving: Fletcher); William Henry James's steam tug with water-tube boiler and condenser (Mechanics Magazine); imagined scene at Rainhill Trials of James's steam tug adapted for railway traction (colour: Robin Barnes painting)

Signalling spotlight: signalling at Hammerton. Richard Foster (text) and Roger Backhouse (colour photographs). 57
Instruments at Hammerton station controlling level crossing and single line thence to Poppleton on York to Harrogate branch: levers in enclosed ground frame; block instrument controlling double line section to Cattal (BR standard plastic type) with Welwyn emergency release; Tyers key token instrument.

Alistair F. Nisbet. Tickets for bathers and curlers. 58-61
Sea bathing at Broughty Ferry was encouraged for early travellers from Dundee East station by the issue of early morning return tickets. Carnoustie was promoted as a bathing resort for Forfar with reduced rate season tickets provided by the Caledonian Railway. There is a shaggy dog story concerning Thomas Nelson, the publisher, being billed by the North British Railway for dog travel whilst he was away: the dog continued to take the bathers' train from Edinburgh down to Granton for his swim in the Forth. This was related in the children's column of the Cardiff Times in December 1887. The Great Western offered bathers tickets from Bridport to West Bsy during the sunner of 1885. Ireland had its fair share of sea bathers:: the Cork Constitutional advertised excursions to Youghal and The Freeman;s Journal noted a Sunday Bathers' train to Blackrock from Westland Row. Derry was served by the Londonderry & Lough Swilly with evening excursions to Buncrana and these even ran in the early part of WW2 (presumably before the chilling accounts of German planes flying over neutral Ireland to bomb Glasgow). Curling prior to indoor ice rinks was highly dependent upon intense cold and outdoor venues tended to be situated in frost hollows. Bonspiels had to be arranged at short notice. The Glasgow Herald of 11 January 1850 notified its readers that the Royal Caledonian Curling Club had organised two special trains to be run by the Glasgow & Ayr Railway to Lochwinnoch—a somewhat mucky stretch of water alongside the railway. Carsebeck between Stirling and Perth was chosen as a "permanent" venue which could be flooded and was near the Scottins Central Railway. Other venues included Lindores Loch and Aboyne. Illustrations: Granton station; Broughty Ferry station with Cakledonian train; cartoon of sexes rather too close whilst bathing; West Ferry station with C16 4-4-2T No. 67501 on train of former LMS stock (W.A.C. Smith); Carnoustie station in pregrouping period; Greenwich station frontage in SECR period; West Bay with GWR saddle tank on passenger train with no sign of a bather; lady curlers on a frozen pond (colour); Lochwinnoch station with GSWR 2-4-0? on a freight. See also letter from Andrew Kleissner.

Readers' Forum. 62

The railways of Rutland and Stamford . Stephen G. Abbott
Harringworth viaduct was built in red brick, but as this has weathered it has been replaced progressively by blue engineering brick, leading to the piebald appearance visible in the illustration on p684 of David Brandon's article (November). As well as the passenger services mentioned, the route over the viaduct sees use by heavy freight. Trains of steel for tube-making run from Margam in South Wales to Corby and several stone and cement trains per day are routed between Syston and Kettering via Manton. They thus avoid the busy three/two-track section of the Midland Main Line via Leicester and Market Harborough and the climbs to Kibworth and Desborough summits. Through its tunnels, heavy earthworks and viaducts the Manton-Kettering route is more easily graded.

Mugby Junction and Tutbury. Michael Pearson
It would have been fun to accompany Nicholas Daunt to Mugby Junction in the mid-fifties, especially his favoured perch alongside the girder bridge carrying the Great Central over the Premier Line. I share his sneaking preference for the A3s over the A4s, mostly I suspect, because of their evocative racehorse-inspired names. Apart from Carlisle, was there anywhere else, I wonder, where Stanier and Gresley Pacifies rubbed shoulders on a daily basis? Manchester London Road couldn't be relied upon because, as you point out in the photo-spread in the same issue, Longsight's turntable wasn't lengthy enough. Mr. Daunt implicitly attributes the Great Central's transfer from the Eastern Region to the London Midland to the line's subsequent decline. Which begs the question: did any Regional transfer ever benefit a route? Patently not the Southern's West Country lines once the Western Region had got its hands on them, nor indeed the Western's own Birkenhead main line when it became part of the London Midland.
Mike Fell's two-patter on Tutbury came close to home. On occasions in the mid-sixties I'd undertake a ten-mile return bicycle ride there as an alternative to my lineside vigils by the allotments opposite 17B. Alas too late to see the Uttoxeter milk trundle through — in the form of a solitary BG behind an Ll — but in time to witness Clayton Type 1s emerge in garish pink undercoat from their maker's Hatton workshops. I still can't smell coffee without shuddering at the thought of them. And one halcyon day, by written arrangement, my long lost friend Robert Lathbury and I enjoyed a footplate ride out from the mill on to the trestle bridge spanning the Dove aboard the very Peckett pictured on p616. Heady times.

Electrifying Merseyside. David Greening 
As one who grew up on Merseyside in the 1950s, he enjoyed Michael Baker's informative article. In case, however, any reader is researching the price of day return tickets form Liverpool to London in 1957, the caption to the lower photograph on p691 cannot be correct. The photograph shows Liverpool tram 958 on Lime Street whilst the caption reads that this was taken in 1957. Tram route 14, on which the tram is operating, however, was converted to motor buses in November 1955. The following bus in the background appears to be one of the Leyland Titan PD2/12 batches of buses (from the opening toplights in the upstairs front windows and the indicator layout) which were introduced from 1952, so a date between 1952 and 1955 seems likelier for this photograph.

Odd 'Princess' out. Allan C. Baker
The caption in the illustrations in the November issue makes the often repeated mistake of associating the casings above the footplate level and alongside the boiler as covering the actual turbines. In fact both turbines, forward and reverse, are located in the casings below the footplating. The housings above contain the steam control valves for their respective turbines and the reason for the longer one on the left- hand side is because it houses the control rods between the cab and the valves. The control rod for the right-hand, reverse turbine passes underneath the boiler at its mid-point and can be clearly seen in the two illustrations on p667, where it emerges on the right-hand side of the locomotive. During my apprenticeship in the Motive Power Department at Crewe, one of the fitters I worked with, Tiggy Brearton, was one of those trained to travel with the engine, as a fitter always did. While he was not a regular on this job, as Camden and Edge Hill men were, he was one of a few trained on the line-of-route the engine regularly worked, in case of any irregular working. However, he did on occasion have longer spells, covering for holidays and sickness. He main recollection of his travels was how much oil the forward turbine and drive mechanism consumed, a supply being kept on the engine and the level checked at the end of each run. Incidentally, I never heard any railwaymen refer to the engine as the Turbomotive', usually just as The Turbine'.

Metropolitan & Great Central line stopping trains. David Hibbert
Centre photograph on p671 shows a view of Wendover station looking towards Aylesbury. The red enamel sign only applies to the platform end 'Do not cross the track etc' but the station name signs are not enamel but paper posters. Great Missenden and Stoke Mandeville also had similar LT paper name signs.
The signal at the platform end is not a Great Central Railway pattern but an early Metropolitan Railway pattern. This is the starter for trains going on the branch towards RAF Halton Camp. This signal arm is preserved by myself. Details of this signal are described in the publication The Metropolitan Railway by C. Baker. It is described in this book on p63 - "The blade extended beyond the spectacles and, by partially balancing the signal, minimised the effect of snow building up on the arm and tending to lower it to the 'off' position." However, this extension is missing from the Wendover signal but the stumps of three screws that held the extension are still in situ.

Book reviews. 62

GWR goods cartage. Volume 2: Garages, liveries, cartage and containers Tony Atkins. Crecy Publishing, 2019, hardback, 208 pp. Reviewed by GAB. *****
This and its companion Volume 1 have been published posthumously, following Tony Atkins's death in September 2018. Together they provide an exhaustive study of the goods cartage department of the GWR from the early days of the company to 1947. Having covered the horse-drawn era and the vehicles of the mechanised era in Volume 1, Volume 2 completes this part of the story with chapters on the management and maintenance of the motor vehicles, their liveries and numbering, and a l6-page fleet list.
It then goes on to study what, for the reviewer, is the more interesting aspect of the department — its business history. Beginning with a chapter on Cartage Agents, outside firms that entered into an agreement with the GWR to provide a collection and delivery (C&D) service from a particular station. Some had been carriers before the arrival of the railway. Over the years the GWR slowly took them over, particularly in the twentieth century when the horse-drawn fleets were superseded by motor vehicles, but the last, Thomas Bantock & Co., survived until after nationalisation. This then leads into a chapter on the GWR's C&D concentration schemes — Country Lorry Services, Railhead Distribution, Special Contract Railhead Distribution and Zonal Collection and Delivery — all designed to provide door-to-door services to compete effectively with road hauliers.
The livestock business is covered in a chapter on Cattle Markets, Horse Fairs and Agricultural Shows, followed by one on Special Cartage Activities; the extent to which the GWR would go to provide a 'go anywhere' heavy-haulage service for exceptional loads, using special tractor and trailer equipment, is astonishing, including haulage beyond the road network across a l0ft deep bog and up a mountain side. Lift-vans and containers in great variety are dealt with comprehensively, before a final chapter on the Economics and Costs of Cartage, focusing mainly on the inter-war years. It includes much statistical data on the comparative costs of horse- drawn v. motor-driven cartage, GWR v. agents' cartage, and on the wage rates and earnings of each of the many grades of staff employed.
The text is throughout supported by a large selection of well-reproduced photographs and drawings. Also notable are the facsimile reproductions from the company's instruction books and other documents that show how the business was managed.
GWR devotees will recognise that these are the final volumes of a series of nine, which together provide a comprehensive history of goods transport on the GWR in all its complexity without parallel in the field of railway history. Tony Atkins worked on it for over 40 years, first as a joint author, but from the fourth volume the sole author, with the vision and devotion to see the series through to completion. He has left us with the nearest we are ever likely to see to a definitive account of goods transport on Britain's railways as a whole in the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries.

Ambergate to Buxton including Peak Rail. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith. Middleton Press, hardback, 96 pp. Reviewed by DWM **
As a dyed-in-the-wool Derbyshireman your reviewer approached this book with some relish — but oh, what a disappointment! The book, one of the Country Railway Routes series, conforms to the usual Middleton Press formula. There is a brief written introduction, both geographical and historical and including a gradient profile and a selection of historic timetables, followed by a pictorial journey along line with an impressive selection of large-scale maps to illustrate locations. As in previous comments on books of this series your reviewer was impressed with the use made of the large scale maps. On the other hand the photographs are a pretty work-a-day selection with many of the historical ones being old friends and the contemporary ones often seeming to be no more than a personal record of a day out in the area. An honourable exception is the picture of the Garratt trundling through Matlock en route for Rowsley in the summer of 1951. The captions are a mixed bunch, lack of detailed local information about the Matlock area might be excused but a '4F 4-4-0' ... ! And of the major railway installation on the route, the marshalling yard and motive power depot at Rowsley, there is but a very sparse coverage. The last few pages of the book form a serviceable summary of the local preserved railway, Peak Rail. The caption to picture 117 is a fascinating record as to how the operations at Matlock might have developed. Unless the Backtrack reader is intent on obtaining a complete set of the 'Ultimate Rail Encyclopedia' then this book cannot really be commended.

A winter's dale. George Watson. rear cpver
Class 5 No. 45346 leaves Skipton in snow on 2 February 1960 with Morecambe to Leeds train

LNER B1 4-6-0 No.61211 departs from Retford, taking the Lincoln line, in 1958. (Derek Penney)

February (Number 346)

George Stephenson's last home at risk Philip Riden
Guest Editorial on threat to Tapton House in Chesterfield, the home of George Stephenson and at ns worthy as a crooked spire for preservation as part of British heritage. Written by a lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Nottingham and major historian of County of Derbyshire. See also letter from Peter Steer who notes that John Smith Raworth was son of Epenetes Raworth who was housekeeper at Tapton House and had a son John Smith Raworth who was a distinguished electrical engineer who in turn had a son Alfred, Chief Electrical Engineer of the Southern Railway,

More mixed freight. David Idle. 68-9.
Colour photo-feature: 9F 2-10-0 No. 92039 on train of cement wagons near Stevenage with semaphore signals and telegraph poles on 8 May 1962 see letter from David Monk-Steel; O1 2-8-0 No. 63760 on coal train (in hopper wagons) at Deerness Valley Junction near Durham on 29 October 1962; Class 5 4-6-0 No. 45181 on up fitted freight passing under bridge on Furness & Midland Joint on approach to Carnforth on 30 July 1965 (train of banana vans see same letter from David Monk-Steel); Stanier Class 4 2-6-4T No. 42439 passing abandoned engine shed at Oxenholme with train of ballast wagoms on 30 July 1965; WD Austerity 2-8-0 No. 90721 working tender-first with westbound? mineral wagons at Wakefield Kirkgate on 1 November 1965; BRCW Type 3 No. D6528 in original livery passing Woking on down freight and Q1 0-6-0 on adjacent track with construction spoil on 28 December 1965.

Jeremy Clarke. In praise of the moguls. Part one. 70-3.
Brief menttion of the type's development in North America; the extraordinary claim that the Garstang & Knott End Railway impoorted one in "about 1870" see letter from Mike Davies; the first British manifestation in Massey Bromley's 527 class for the Great Eastern Railway which in turn reflected Bromley's visit to the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. The Midland, Great Northern and Great Central Railways bought Americal locomotives manufactured by Baldwin and Schenectady which received an equivocal response by British footplate crews and the railway press. The Midland & South West Junction acquired a Beyer Peacock locomotive which had been intended for South America and was so pleased with it that another was purchased. When the line was taken over by the Great Western this latter received a standard No, 9 Swindon boiler. It is not clear when it receievd the nickname Galloping Alice. See also letters from Mike Barnsley and Mike Davies on page 254, Some 2-6-0s were elongated 0-6-0s: the Caledonian and Glasgow & South Western had designs of this type and the GWR Aberdares were broadly similar (Irish designs are not mentioned). The Churchward 43XX was an almost modern design in having outside cylinders, taper boiler, Belpaire firebox and superheater, but inside valve gear. Collett distrusted pony trucks and sought to rebuild the type as 4-6-0s of the Grange and Manor classes: the earlier Churchward/Dean Aberdare class is omitted!. Gresley brought outside valve gear, but retained the cheaper round-top boiler and gradually enlarged boiler size and in the K3 type introduced his three-cylinder type with derived motion. These were very powerful, but very rough at high speed. Having drafted some of the smaller 2-6-0s to the West Highland line (and fittel shorter chimneys and boiler mountings and side-window cabs) and some of them names of lochs he eventually designed what was in effect a K3 chassis fitted with a K2 boiler producing a powerful  locomotive. Thomson rebuilt a solitary K3 class as a two-cylinder locomotive and one of the K4 in a similar way. Peppercorn used the latter as the basis for the standard K1 class which was almost a 2-6-0 variant of the B1 4-6-0 type. Illustrations: Midland Railway Schenectady 2-6-0 No. 2526 on passenger train at Cudworth; 43XX No. 7321 passing Patchway on an express in 1930s; CR 34 class 2-6-0 No. 37 in blue livery; GSWR 16 class as LMS No. 17822 near Floriston on a freight train; K2/2 Nos 61789 Loch Laidon and 61790 Loch Lomond on 13.05 Mallaig to Fort William train on 12 June 1951 (Eric Bruton); K3 No. 186 on cattle train at Grantham inJuly 1933; K4 No. 61995 Cameron of Locheil (in apple green) on 10.25 Fort William to Mallaig on 11 June 1951 (Eric Bruton);  K1 No. 62008 on up parcels train at York on 24 August 1963 (T.J. Edgington). Part 2 

Allan Trotter. The Postal: ssorting the mail on a summer evening at Carstairs..74-6
A few observations on the Mark 1 (Mk1) Royal Mail vans and their gangways which unlike their predecesors were central and Pullman-type, but some early Mk1 vehicles had offset gangways to connect with earlier vehicles, such as the LMS vehicles. There were brake stowage or tender vans, stowage or tender vans and sorting vans. The last had racks for sorting mail; some had posting boxes and a few had apparatus for pickiing up and dropping off mail at traductors. This operation ceased in 1971. The evening described and photographed was in June 1977. The security at Carstairs was not conspicuous (false drops UGH). Illustrations: Up West Coast Postal hauled by Class 86 passing under Crosshill Street, Motherwell on 17 May 1977; Class 26 No.26 029 on Aberdeen portion at Carstairstrack layout at Carstairs in 1977 (diagram); M80329 sorting vehicle with post box and signs of former mail exchange equipment; interior of M80582 preserved sorting van on the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway; M80456 brake stowage van and Class 81 No. 81 012 ready to depart for London.

Jeffrey Wells. Railways and the turf — the formative years. 77-81
Traffic generated by horse racing: railways greatly assisted with te movement of horses from their stables to racecourses. Attendance at race meetings was encouraged by the provision of special trains in some cases to special stations. Vamplew's The turf: a social and economic history of horse racing is cited together with another contibution by Vamplew and Tolson which is presumably a periodical article in an issue dated November 1998. Both the Liverpool & Manchester and Bolton & Leigh Railways ran special trains to a race meeting at Newton in June 1831 (reported in the Liverpool Mercury)

Saddle tanks on the Great Western Railway. 82-3.
Black & white photo-feature: No. 2194 Kidwelly (Avonside 1903 0-6-0ST acquired from Burry Port & Gwendraeth Valley Railway and fitted with a bell for working on Weymouth Quay at Taunton prior to withdrawal); No. 96 (Sharp Stewart 1856 0-4-0ST for Birkenhead Railway, reboilered at Wolverhampton in 1888); No. 1337 Hook Norton (Manning Wardle 0-6-0ST acquitred from liquidators of the Hook Norton Ironstone Partnership in 1804; 0-6-0ST No. 1385 John Owen with outside cylinders and valve gear and as rebuilt by GWR in 1894 (originally acquired from the Whitland & Cardigan Railway in 1886: Owen was the quarry owner at Glogue; locomotive built by Fox, Walker & Co. in 1872: sold in 1912 and worked at Cornsey Quarry & Brickworks in Co. Durham until 1052); 1661 class outside-frame 0-6-0ST No. 1670; 0-4-0ST No. 45 built at Wolverhampton Works in 1880, photographed  on 20 April 1937 probably inside Croes Newydd shed.

L.A. Summers. The splendour that was the single-wheeler. Part one. 84-90
A justifiable eulogy for a remarkable locomotive type: somewhere in KPJ's muddle there is a blue ticket that proves that he travelled from Glasgow Central to Muirkirk via Lanark on an excursion hauled by No. 123 — illustrated herein by a coloured photograph — the amazing fact is that iit could manage the climb to Craigenhill (haunt of Duchesses, Type 50 diesel electric locomotives, Inter-City 125s electrics. Pendolinos and those bat out of hell Cross Country mutiple units). Except in very early days singles were designed for speed. They were exceptionally beautiful, especially the 4-2-2 type. Summers obviously favours the Great Western type: KPJ greatly admiired the brief blue manifestion of the Kings! If Part 2 and subsequent parts? follow the standard achieved in Part 1 is indicative that this is major study of a significant stage in express locomotve development. Illustrations: broad gauge 4-2-2 (rebuilt from Bristol & Exeter Railway 4-2-4T No. 2002 (colour: from painting by Pat Reed); 4-2-2 No. 3070 Earl of Warwick on down fast formed of clerestory roofed carriages c1907; Achilles class 4-2-2 No.3047 Lorna Doone (colour: from painting in GWT Collection by the artist Philip D. Hawkins FGRA.); No. 3056 Wilkinson at Widney Manor c1914; Caledonian Railway 4-2-2 No. 123 as built; hand-tinted photograph of No. 123 in blue livery: Nock Scottish  railways states from a Dufaycolor photograph by Kenneth H. Leach); No. 123 as LMS No. 14010 at Pertth with Dundee train (H.C. Casserley); Stirling 4-2-2 No. 1007 (hand-tinted colour postcard); Stirling 4-2-2 No. 34 with Ivatt domed boiler at York; No. 1 inside old Railway Museum at York; Great Northern Railway Ireland No. 88 Victoria (inside cylinder 4-2-2) further informatiion; Johnson Midland Railway 4-2-2 No. 116 (hand-tinted coloured photograph); No. 644 (built as N0. 97) at Derby on 27 December 1921 (H.C. Casserley). Part 2

J. Crosse, 1966 — reflections on a spotter's travels. 91-5
KPJ like Larkin on sex considers that the end of steam came at the wrong time for him: he was too busy with learning about life's real problems (like parenthood) to have been able to participate in the Great Wake for steam. Thus Crosse's reflections are rather a blight on this oasis of thoughts on greater things like singles or the overwhelming need to burn less carbon: would that the beautiful Sadler articulated units had battery packs rather than diesel engines. Crosse lived in Bristol in 1966 where steam activity had been mandated tto end on 1 January and he mispent the year on trains and in coaches seeking it out in odd places in the United Kingdom. He used Rover t ickets and borrowed his father's car to extend his observations which included such rara avis as Q6 0-8-0s at Normanton. He even noted the other forms of traction such as the diesel hydraulics (soon to join the steam dinsaurs) evident in resorts like Westbury. Brush type 4s are always associated with hair or teeth and lack of oomph: these were noted almost everywhere. Illustrations: inside Bath Green Park shed on  6 March 1966 with assorted condemned (colour! Trevor Owen); rebuilt West Country No. 34001 being serviced at Banbury on 28 July 1966 before returning south with train from York; Ivatt 2-6-2T No. 41249 on closure day for Somerset & Dorset line RCTS special at Templecombe ( 6 March 1966); rebuilt West Country No. 34017 Ilfracombe at Brighton with 09.17 for Southammpton and...; Fairburn 2-6-4Ts Nos. 42052 and 42093 inside Manningham shed on 17 July 1966; NBR J37 No.64547 at Dundee on 1 April 1966;  Britannia No. 70004 at Westbury on 14 August 1966; Class 5 No. 45247 at Chester General coupled to failed DMU on 20 August 1966; Britannia No. 70027 in Calder Valley in April 1966 (colour: M. Chapman)

B1s — the LNER's Class 5 4-6-0s. Derek Penney. 96-9
Colour photo-feature: No. 61074 fresh from Works at Grantham motive power depot; No. 61262 leaving Tay Bridge with coal empties from Dundee in August 1966; No. 61118 approaching Perth from the south with a freight train in 1965; No. 61190 leaves Retford with a stopping train for Grimsby c1958; No. 61203 leaving March for Ely on an express leaving a large carbon footprint in January 1959; No. 61033 Dibateg crossing viaduct (with slogan FIGHT TORY RENT INCREASES ACT NOW daubed on it) on excursion between Wadsley Bridge and Sheffield in 1958; No. 61258 with self-weighing tender in sidings at Sheffield Victoria; No. 61251 Oliver Bury (see removal of "Sir" courtesy Sir Editor) with two-coach express (diesel railcar replacement?) alongside diesel railcar at Grantham c1962; No. 61221 SirAlexander Erskine-Hill on freight heading south from Perth in 1965.

Eric Stuart. Freight on the Underground. 100-5.
Author actually worked for London Transport. The largest freight activity was on the former Metropolitan Raillway and over the Widened Lines and East London Railway.There was also freight on the former LNER lines which formed the surface extensions of the Northern and Central Lines: this sometimes requires special timetabling to enable it to mesh into the normal regular interval pattern. Freight wagons  needed to be double coupled and there was a need for catch points on steep gradients. Steam locomotives needed condensing apparatus and trip cocks were required for all motive power. Headcodes to indicate routes were  also required. Illustrations: Electric locomotive No. 7 Edmund Burke with Chiltern Court freight for Chiltern Court, Baker Street; Western Region meat train hauled by 57XX (97XX series) at Farringdon near fial desistination at Smithfield depot; K class 2-6-4T No. 113 at Verney Junction on a freight train in 1930s; 633 class 0-6-0T Np. 643 with condensing apparatus at Old Oak Common in early 1930s; BTH Type 1 Bo-Bo on northbound freight at East Finchley in early 1960s (Ben Brooksbank); former Metropolitan District Railway 0-6-0T No. L30 at Kensington Olympia in 1959; N2 No. 69498 (69848 on incorrect caption) shunting at Finchley Central in mid-1950s; LMS Jinty 0-6-0T shunting coal wagons at High Street Kensington (this was covered in Backtrack, 2016, 30, 70); mural at Wapping station showing freight entering Thames Tunnel and  F stock emerging. See letter from Gervase Holdaway and response from Author concerning coal to Hammersmith & City Line via spur at Latimer Road. See also letters from Roger A. Smith and Nick Stanbury on page 365.

David Mosley. Irish diisesel traction. 106-8
Colour photo-feature with introductory notes an extended captions: Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Co. A1A+A1A diesel electric No. B112 with Sulzer 960hp engine; Meetro-Vick-Crossley A class 1200 hp Co-Co diesel electric No. A38 in lime green livery on an Irish Railway Record Society at an unrecorded locatiom Michael Davies states Dromin Junction on the main line of the GNR(I) on page 254; C class with 550 hp engine No. C215 at Mallow; power car AEC Park Royal No. 612 with two trailer cars and orange & blacl livery power car at other end entering Amiens Street, Dublin; power car AEC Park Royal No. 600 with another power car hauling two vans into Macmine Junction forming a train from Dublin to Wexford and Rosslare; AEC railbus at Inchicore in June 1961 (presumably had Howden Meredith wheels)

Phil Mathison. Sunk without trace: the railway and deep water Humber terminal that never was. 109-11
In the 1900s there was great distrust between the North Eastern Railway and the city of Hull in spite of the Hull & Barnsley Railway providing competition. In 1904 the North Eastern Railway proposed the Sunk Island Railway which would have statrted at a junction on the Withernsea branch and would have terminated on a pier nearly a mile out into the Humber. Ultimately the North Eastern abandoned the Sunk Island scheme in favour of the Riverside Quay opened in 1907 within the Albert Dock and sited within the City. Illustrations: Ordnance Survey map used by NER to show pier; Hawkins Point; NER map showing proposed branch; Ottringham Baulk crossing on A1033.

Roger Griffiths and John Hooper. Scarborough engine shed and its locomotives. Part One. 112-19
George Hudson's York & North Midland Railway opened from York to Scarborough on 7 July 1845; a year later a line from Bridlington joined this line at Seamer Junction, A two- road engine shed and six staff cottages served the lines and is illustrated as later converted into a goods shed which was abolished in 1906 to make space for the Londesborough Road excursion station. Two further routes reached Scarborogh: the Forge Valley line which linked Pickering to Seamer Junction opened in 1882 and the Scarborough and Whitby Railway opened in 1885.
Scarborough grew in popularity as a resort, assisted by rail traffic. The original engine shed had closed in 1882 and been replaced to the south by a brick-built, rectangular turntable shed (roundhouse), which had an access track from either end and eleven internal stabling roads off a 44ft 8in turntable made by Ianson, Son & Co. of Darlington. One of the stabling roads was spanned by a wooden, hand-operated shear legs. There was also an elevated coaling platform, and 38,000-gallon water tank. Cites Ken Hoole's North Eastern locomotive sheds for costs. The depot was sited alongside the Seamer Road and lack of  space led to an asymmetric design and soon became too small. In 1890 an eight-road, dead-end straight shed was opened on a site south of the semi-roundhouse and was erected on ground that had to be built up to provide a level area. It was constructed in brick. A 50ft turntable was installed in the yard just south of the roundhouse, opposite the coaling platform; but in 1924 was replaced by an outrigger type of 60ft diameter which was in turn replaced about 1953. See also letter from John Gibson on relevant National Archives records,
Illustrations: Ordnance Survey map of 1852 showing original engine shed; photograph of original serving as goods shed; LNER plan of 1932 showing engine sheds and loco. yard; exterior of main shed in 1900s with W class 0-6-0 No. 1805 and class O 0-4-4T No. 540 aand unidentified passenger tender engines behind; W class 4-6-2T No. 693 with brakes on bogie (thus post-1917) outside main depot (H. Gordon Tidey); A8 class locomotives Nos. 69867, 69877 and 69885 stored in old roundhouse in June 1959; J94 No. 68061 in storage in September 1961 (N.W. Skinner); in storage two A8 class (No. 69885) and two D20 (one of two with rebuilt tenders) in storage in winter 1952 (K.H. Cockerill); A8 No. 69886 on coal train; A2 No. 60516 Hycilla, No. 60522 Straight Deal (without nameplate) and 60515 Sun Stream in storage in straight road shed in early 1960s (N.W. Skinner); WD 2-8-0 No. 90030 heading freight for tunnel to Gallows Close goods station; Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0 No. 43124 emerging from tunnel from Gallows Close goods station (both Ron Hodge); D49 No. 62739 The Badsworth on empty stock in 1950s (Ron Hodge); Hughes 2-6-0 No. 62763 arrives with excursion from LMR (Ron Hodge). Part 2

Tony Robinson. Forgotten branches of North East Wales. Part three — The Holywell branch. 120-4
Crockford's Tramway was a narrow gauge tramway using horse drawn tubs which ran from a wharf at Greenfield up to Parry's Mine (letter from Author states mention of 'Parys Mine' in text (p. l20) should describe the site as an offshoot of the Parys copper mine in Anglesey where the ore was processed into wire and nails for shipbuilding in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In other words there wasn't actually a mine on that site. In 1891 the LNWR purchased the track bed and considered installing an electric tramway, but on 1 July 1912 Sir Gilbert Claughton reopened the branch: the LNWR having obtained legislation and relaid the line. Special arrangements had to be made due to the sttep 1 in 27 gradient, but there was no form of signalling on the branch. At the terminus there was a lift to raise and lower parcels: this was powered by vacuum off the locomotive. Illustrations: 0-6-2T No. 2518? on opening day with two coach train and crowd on zig zag path at Holywell Town; Holywell Juncttion with locomotive No. 2518 and same train as previous; Milnes-Daimler LNWR bus on Holywell to Station service in 1905; map; St. Winefride's Halt c1920; Ivatt 2-6-2T No. 41276 with auto (push & pull) coach at Holywell Town c1953 (N.R. Knight); 2-6-2T No. 41270 with brake van in goods yard at Holywell in 1951 (H.B. Priestley) see letter from Larry Davies: locomotive No. 41240; No. 41276 with push & pull coach at Holywell Junctionc1953; site of Holywell Town station in 2019.

Readers' Forum. 125

The Midland Compounds. Jim Dorward
Re excellent photograph of Perth station in December issue:.it is mainly of Platforms 8 and 9 at the north end of the station and not Platforms 5 and 6 at the south end as implied by the caption. Therefore the train at Platform 8, headed by engine No.40921, is heading north. If the year is 1954, it is probably the 05.50 to Struan. The train on the right, at Platform 7, is probably the 05.15am sleeper to Inverness. It is from Euston and probably running late. The restaurant car for the service is in the process of being attached to the rear of the train for early breakfasts while passengers enjoy the Highland Line scenery. Also, the train at the far end of Platform 5, which is a southbound platform, is not a Dundee train. The time of year is probably arount 21 June.

The Midland Compounds. Nick Daunt 
Re Williams statement that the pioneer locomotive, No. 1000, was stored at Derby from 1951 for "almost two years". Presumably, it was then that the engine was moved to Crewe as writer saw it in the paintshop, still in 8R lined black livery and bearing the number 41000, on 13 April 1956, when visiting the Works on an lan Allan Locospotters' excursion and was surprised to see it since it did not feature in the table of preserved locomotives in his ABC ('Historic Locomotives Preserved in Store') KPJ: it is not clear where this table was published. This included such celebrities as Cornwall and Hardwicke, but not No. 1000, possibly as the decision to preserve it had not yet been taken. In his Winter 1958/59 ABC it is noted as being at Crewe, but it must have moved back to Derby soon after that, since it was there that the restoration work took place.
On the subject of liveries, in the October 1959 edition of Train Illustrated there is a photo-feature entitled 'Sacrilege and Sanctification', which has two pictures, one of No.1000 looking resplendent in its restored Midland livery and the other of No.41101 at Newton Heath shed, painted bright yellow, with red splashers and cab side-sheets, and with 'Daily Mirror Andy Capp Blackpool Special' painted in large letters on its tender. Apparently, the special ran from Manchester to Blackpool on the August Bank Holiday Monday. The caption also notes that No.41101 borrowed the chime whistle from a 'Clan' 4-6-2 which was awaiting works! There are some Colour-Rail images of this outlandish apparition. See Steam World
Weiter saw and photographed No.1000 at Birmingham New Street on what was possibly its first outing in preservation, a run to York on 30 August 1959. I saw it again at the same location about a month later, an occasion which came very close to disaster. Just as the locomotive was about to set out from New Street's Platform 7 on the Midland side of the station, the safety valves lifted and a great jet of steam shot skywards. As it did so, it dislodged some of the glass in the very rickety overall roof which, unlike that on the LNWR side, had not been demolished after the Second World War. Large shards of thick glass, together with the accumulated soot and pigeon droppings of more than a century, came showering down on to the assembled group of admirers (including me), at the platform end. Miraculously, no-one was hurt although No.1000 sustained some dents to her lovely paintwork.

The Iron Horse. John C. Hughes
It is unfortunate that he only spotted the name of the illustrator of this book a week before the December Backtrack appeared. It appears on two (at least) of the drawings: 'Caught in the Act' and' Looking Out Ahead'. In both case it is near the bottom — Whymper—many readers will connect this name to Edward Whymper, the celebrated mountaineer who led the first successful attempt on the Matterhorn in 1865. It turns out that the climber's day job was the production of book illustrations, evidently including those for The Iron Horse.

The Iron Horse. Linda Death
In case anyone wants to read the original text of Ballantyne's The Iron Horse it's another one that is available free on Project Gutenberg at http://www. gutenberg.org/ebooks/21740

Marylebone collisions. Chris Mills 
The unrecorded location of No.6091 heading west with its lightweight train of one tank and a full brake is to be found about 200 yards west of Northwick Park & Kenton station. The end of the platform ramp can just be seen behind the train, on the very edge of the photograph. The signal controls the up Metropolitan fast line and the houses in the background are Nos.28/30 and 32/34 Northwick Avenuue.

Marylebone collisions. Doug Landau
The incident at Marylebone in 1913 prompted the author to comment on the carry-on attitude of the times. It reminded me of an incident from my schooldays nearly 40 years later in either 1951 or '52 at Rickmansworth on the Metropolitan-Great Central joint section. I was returning from a fishing trip, sitting comfortably with my back to the engine in the second coach, when I was thrown forward off my seat accompanied my a loud bang. The Met-Vic electric had coupled-up for the engine change a little too briskly. The leading coach, a wooden Meropolitan brake, was probably a write-off, about 6ft from the front the coach body woodwork had cracked vertically and across the roof, some letter racks had become detached and were strewn about the luggage compartment floor. There were no injuries. The damaged coach was soon removed and parked in the bay, the remaining stock deemed fit for travel, the Met-Vic coupled-up more gently and we were under way, elapsed time about half an hour. These days might such an incident have been deemed a crime scene, shutting the network down for a few hours?
The Met-Vic locos always looked very business like; the carry-on spirit was evidently still alive and well in the 1950s. Before signing off, does anyone have details of the fatal accident involving driver Simpson of Neasden shed c1946-47. He lived close by in Wembley and his son Michael was a school friend. Response from Den Sullivan on p, 189

The Southern in Devon through the 1970s . Roger Merry-Price
Re John Jarvis article in the November issue states that "BR(S) had not made any significant closures in Devon before publication of the Beeching Report" and then goes on to say that the Turnchapel line and Plymouth Friary station were two exceptions. I would disagree as these were not closures by the Southern Region but those of the Western.
In 1950 all the Southern lines west of Cowley Bridge Junction were transferred to the WR for administrative and commercial purposes. Operating and motive power arrangements, however, stayed with the SR. As a result a number of former Southern Railway buildings started to receive WR brown/cream painting schemes and WR signage. Such a building was the signal box at Crediton illustrated in Jarvis's article. The locomotive sheds, however, still being within the Southern Operating Area (as it was known), retained their 72' series shed numbers.
In 1958 all the former SR lines were transferred back to the Southern Region with the exception of those in the Plymouth area where the WR took over complete control including operating arrangements. As a result Plymouth Friary shed was transferred from the WR to the SR.
I am not suggesting that the SR was not consulted about the Turnchapel line closures (passenger in 1951, freight in 1961) or Plymouth Friary station (closed to passengers in 1958) but the Western Region made the actual decisions. Error in letter as published: see correction on page 318.

The Taft Vale Railway in the news. John Bushby 
Further to the article on the Taff Vale Railway (TVR) in theOctober 2019 issue, the fallout from the Taff Vale case of 1900 came, indirectly, to affect the Barry Railway some years later when Henry Frederick Golding (always referred to as H. F. Golding) was appointed Locomotive Superintendent in 1905. Golding, a now virtually forgotten figure, had begun his railway career on the London & South Western Railway as a pupil of William Adams. In 189, he joined the TVR as a draughtsman where his career prospered. Contemporary evidence at the time of the Taff Vale dispute indicates that he was very much on the side of the management and opposed to the strikers. In 1904 Golding was appointed TVR Assistant Locomotive Superintendent based at Penarth Dock. However, next year he took up the vacant post of Locomotive Superintendent on the Barry Railway.
Golding's management style on the Barry seems to have been notably strict even by standards of the age and he clearly had little or no time for trades unions. His time in post was marked by a series of disputes after his appointment in July 1905. These began with a list of grievances presented by footplatemen as early as November 1905. In 190 a Board of Trade investigation into the state of the Barry Railway locomotive stock was launched as a result of complaints voiced, in particular by those employed in the Locomotive Department. Whilst there are often two sides to an argument, and not all of the 1907 allegations were proven, Golding seems to have had an abrasive manner, although he was always described as being polite, and he certainly believed in hierarchy and discipline in the work place. It is significant that the men always stressed that they had no dispute with the company, they saw their issues as being with H. F. Golding. Inevitably, strike action resulted in 1908. It is also significant that both the strikers and the press, perhaps inevitably, made comparisons with the Taff Vale case. It is possible that Golding's uncompromising views on trades unions were hardened during that dispute although evidently, like many railway senior officers, he seems to have been opposed to trades unions having a role per se. The Barry's General Manager Edward Lake, for example at the time of these events, seems to have had a similar attitude.
Golding resigned suddenly in November 1909 for reasons that remain unclear. Invariably, when a senior Barry officer resigned or retired, a function was organised by his colleagues and duly reported in the local press. To date, no report of a farewell function for H. F. Golding has been found. His appointment was a rare misjudgement by the Barry's board which was generally well served by its senior officers. Nor, following Golding's resignation, had the Barry Railway seen the last of him. In 1910 he caused some disruption at a shareholders' half-yearly meeting when he protested that maintenance was being sacrificed for profit. Given that the company's shareholders' meetings were usually quite polite and non-controversial, this was a notable event. In contrast, his successor John Auld seems to have been a genial and approachable figure. Interestingly, none of the above events will be found in the official history of the Barry Railway published in 1923 to mark its effective absorption, officially amalgamation, into the Great Western Railway. A single sentence therein notes the dates of Golding's appointment and resignation and nothing else.

Double-heading  Bruce Coleman
As a subscriber from day 1 I do not recall an article specifically about double heading and I wonder whether one of your knowledgeable contributors would like to tackle this subject. How did the two locomotivess communicate with each other, was there a rule as to which was the train engine, how did they know whether they were 'pulling their weight' etc. Was it carried out anywhere else in steam days, other than in the UK?

Bob Farmer's Index
for Volume 33 is available from him at Bob.Rosemary.Farmer&gmail.com

Book reviews. 126

The North Berwick and Gullane branch lines.  Andrew M. Hajducki. Oakwood Press, soft back. 240pp. Reviewed by NM (=Sandy Mullay) *****
In 1935 a man was seen sitting alone at Drem railway station with an ornamental claret jug on his lap. Any golf enthusiast would know the significance of this trophy, awarded to the winner of the British Open. The traveller was Alf Perry, waiting for one of the London expresses which still stopped at this wayside station some twenty miles from Edinburgh. Drem was — and still is — the junction for the branch from the ECML to North Berwick, but Perry had just made sporting history at Muirfield, located at Gullane a few miles to the west. This anecdote came to mind when reading this new edition of a book recording the history of both the Gullane and North Berwick branch lines, although there is good reason for it not being included in this new Oakwood production, which comprises a second edition of Andrew Hajducki's excellent history of the two lines. Perry probably took a taxi to Drem since Gullane station had closed three years earlier and its junction, Longniddry, was not a recognised stop for long-distance services.
The author Andrew Hajducki produced his first edition of this book in 1992 in a hardback encompassing 192 pages. This new edition has 240 pages, with a colour cover and plates, and has been transformed from a hardback to a chunky paperback. It includes most of the first edition's monochrome photographs, the scale drawings of buildings, copies of relevant timetables and OS maps, and many new pictures bringing the story up to date. Though the Gullane branch may be consigned to history, the North Berwick line is thankfully still with us and electrified into the bargain.
It was intended at one time to build a loop off the ECML from Longniddry through Gullane, to North Berwick and then back to the main line at Drem, but this never materialised. Curiously, although both resorts were rail served, a connecting line was never completed between them, and that was despite local communities requesting such completion as late as 1915. It had to be pointed out to them that there was a war on at the time. SMT bus services were soon established in the area, making further rail development unlikely. Unfortunately, the author repeats the usual myth that the LMSR and LNER bought a '50% shareholding' in the bus company, something not bourne out by an examination of the archives of a bungled transaction. (See this reviewer's London's Scottish Railways, Tempus, 2005, pp 61- 64).
But even during the dismal 1960s, North Berwick survived the latest pogrom against nearly all of Scotland's remaining branch railways, and Mr. Hajducki's first edition covered this well. Having a vigorous and intelligent local community prepared to fight for their railway saw success which was denied to Gullane in the 1930s but also to St. Andrews, Scotland's and indeed the world's leading golfing resort, the latter particularly badly served by its local council where transport matters were concerned in 1968.
While we should of course be grateful for the North Berwick branch's survival, its present state is a sad comedown from when this reviewer first saw it in 1958. A compact two-platformed terminus, with a John Menzies bookstall at the buffer stops, it was distinguished by an impressive array of hanging baskets, in addition to the flower beds which were a seemingly essential part of a well-kept railway station [KPJ a party from North Berwick should be sent to West Runton where volunteers maintain a prize winning garden within walking distance of the Links Hotel]. At least, North Berwick still has a railway terminus (almost uniquely on the east coast of Scotland) and its history could hardly be better chronicled than in this authoritative work by Mr. Hajducki. Backed by the publishing expertise of Richard Stenlake, we have been given an excellent addition to Scottish railway literature.

The Southwold Railway 1879-1929: the tale of a Suffolk byway. David Lee, Alan Taylor and Rob Shorland-Ball. Pen & Sword Books. 248pp. Reviewed by Geoffrey Skelsey. ****
It is odd that, after waiting 90 years for a comprehensive history of the three-foot- gauge Southwold Railway in Suffolk, two arrive almost together. Inevitably this well-presented new title invites comparison with Peter Paye's history, reviewed in these pages recently (BT, April 2019, p253). There is naturally some overlap, for instance in the route descriptions, rolling stock details and the line's troubled history, but the newer title usefully complements the earlier one and the treatment is different. It relies substantially on the research and discoveries over many years of David Lee and Alan Taylor, which Rob Shorland-Ball has ably woven together into a fluent and engaging story.
The authors were able to do what many of us wish we had done, which was to locate in time people who knew the railway in operation and who worked on it. Notably B. E. Girling, the last Southwold station master, was the source of valuable particulars of daily operations on the line, including welcome details of train formations and locomotive working. Working timetables are illustrated and discussed, and there is a full account of the archaic signalling arrangements. Over 200 illustrations include a number which have not been published before and other original documents and diagrams have been unearthed to support the story. The unsuccessful Southwold Harbour branch, built as late as 1914 as a light railway (which the 'main line' wasn't), is described in full, including its improbable use in repatriating Dutch nationals in the Great War, prior to their embarking on steamers moored offshore. A poignant chapter describes the sad decline of the railway in the face of bus competition and the strangely lethargic response of the directors, who arguably threw in the towel too soon: the suggestion is that the summary closure, with barely any notice to traders, was an (unsuccessful) effort to bounce the local authorities into offering support. The protracted delay of over ten years in realising the company's assets, leaving the entire line and its equipment in limbo, is fully illustrated. Even then the company itself survived in a shadowy state and it is interesting to read full details of successive attempts to revive the line, beginning in 1930, with examples of original records.
As we have come to expect from this publisher, the book is (with one exception) a delight to read, beautifully laid out, and with first rate reproduction of photographs in generous sizes. The only reservation lies in the standard of some of the maps which deserved better treatment. The book ends on an encouraging note with an account of further efforts in more recent years to reopen the line (much of its trackbed survives intact), or at least to recreate a working replica.
Your reviewer bought both these titles and has no regrets: together they are a worthy commemoration of a unique and characterful line.

Operating the Caledonian Railway, Volume 1. Jim Summers, Lightmoor Press & the Caledonian Railway Association, 2019, 168pp, Reviewed by PT (Peter Tatlow?) *****
The history, construction, description of the lines, locomotives carriages and wagons, even signalling in some cases have been more than adequately written about for most railways; but how was all this put to use by running the traffic over the system and hopefully earning a dividend to recompense those who had invested their money in the first place? The means by which the railway actually operated is a topic long overdue for more thorough consideration and who better to undertake the task than Jirn Summers, a retired professional railwayman of 50 years standing?
The organisation of the Caledonian company, the working life and conditions of work for various grades of railwaymen are looked into, along with the running of marshalling yards, shunting of passenger trains and assisting or banking trains. Consideration is then given to the arrangements for handling additional trains and excursion traffic out-with the printed timetable. The pages are all copiously illustrated with photographs and extracts from relevant documents, together with some line diagrams, and the book is provided with appendices, bibliography and index.
Just because he has written about the Caledonian Railway's methods does not mean that this should not be of interest to a wider audience. There was a lot of common ground with other companies and the author is not past drawing attention to some differences over the years and by other Scottish and foreign companies.
This book is thoroughly recommended and I look forward to Volume 2, which promises to cover: train and resource planning, brakes, line capacity, control and plant, goods and passenger traffic working, electrification; performance, infrastructure, safety, accidents and recovery, impact of war, weather, crime, dealing with neighbours.

Shedding light on Standedge. Gavin Morrison. rear cover
Trans-Pennine Class 124 diesel multiple unit approaching Standedge Tunnel at Diggle which had been rationalized (canal in background, then closed to navigation has reopened: one may question Britain's transport priorities: canals for a handful of rich leisure seekers or trains for the masses?)

London Midland & Scottish Railway 5MT 2-6-0 No.42939 and its crew take a break at Rugby on 9th August 1961. (A.F. Hudson

March (Number 347)

Four wheels on my wagon. Michael Blakemore. 131
The Pacer four-wheeled multiple units. Michael Portillo was viewed in several and they all lived north of the Red Wall and were never seen even in East Anglia let alone south of the Thames except in the Far West. See repost from John Macnab.

To the Channel and beyond . Rodney Lissenden. 132-3
Colour photo-feature: work on the high-speed Channel Tunnel Rail Link — during 2002: EWS No. 66 016 stands on western end of new Medway Bridge near Cuxton with train of track panels alongside new M2 motorway bridge on 18 April 2002; Class 66 Nos. 66 076 and 66 097 outside east end of North Down Tunnel; Freightliner Class 66 Nos. 66 552 and 66 529 on empty ballast wagons on former Gravesend West branch and yet to be Ebbsfleet route from St. Pancras on 14 June 2002; Freightliner Class 66 Nos. 66 531 and 66 529 at either end of ballast train at Beach Brook Farm; and Class 20 No. D8188 alias 20 188 on wiiring train at Tutt Hill on 5 August 2002.

Bruce Laws. Colwick: where coal was king. Part One. 134-40.
Colwick or Netherfield was the key to the Great Northern Railway's own access to the Nottingham Coalfield which hitherto had been the fiefdom of the Midland Railway. The Great Northern Railway opened its own Derbyshire and Staffordshire extension line from Eggington Junction (on the North Staffordshire Railway's line from Stafford) to its own Derby Friar Gate station. The new GNR line, referred to colloquially as 'the back line', swept round the east and north of Nottingham via Basford and Daybrook. Its summit was reached at Arno Vale from where it passed through huge cuttings on either side of Mapperley Plains Tunnel and the descent to Gedling and Colwick. The London & North Western arrived in Colwick from Melton Mowbray and built its own engine shed and staff housing. The relationship with the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire was complex, but led to the joint Victoria station.  Includes oopening of Calverton Colliery in 1936, which is disputed by Michael Elliott. Illustrations: Colwick engine shed and coal sidings in 1907 (F.E. Mackay); map of Notttingham colliery lines; Stanier 8F 2-8-0 No. 48370 at Market Harborough on 2 April 1960; O1 2-8-0 No. 63777 at either Annesley or Colwick; O4/8 No. 63644 passing Nottingham Victoria with mineral wagons on 11 August 1964 (R.K. Blencowe); J11 9-6-0 No. 64397 at Colwick shed on 16 March 1958; J6 0-6-0 No. 64273 in Nottingham Victoria (R.K. Blencowe); A5 4-6-2T on local pssenger train in Nottingham Victoria; WD  aust erity No. 90000 at  Colwick shed in September 1955 (G.W. Sharpe); Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0 No. 43065 at  Colwick shed in 1963. Part 2 see page 299 and letter from Roger A. Smith. and from Robin Leleux on page 365. And from John Bushby.

Stephen Roberts. Oxfordshire's railways. 141-9.
This is mainly about the Great Western, but the London & North Eastern was legitimately able to name one its Shire class Oxfordshire as a few miles of the Great Central traversed the County (on what basis could the GWR appropriate the name Brocket Hall?). The Southern Railway worked train to Oxford and evn to Banbury and the LMS courtesy of the LNWR had a tatty terminus in Oxford, Branch lines included that to Fairford which during WW2 became important because of its links with aerodromes at Brize Norton (station formerly named Bampton) and at Carterton. Brize Norton signal cabin had a link to the airfield's control tower as the taxiways were very close to the railway. Illustrations: lined green No. 7921 Edstone Hall at Oxford on 12 December 1961 with train of Southhern Region green stock (colour); Great Western map (red colour); Oxford station with sauiidal employee running into path of locomotive c1910 (postcard in John Alsop Collection); Rebuilt Scot No. 46118 Royal Welch Regiment on local train in Banbury station on26 May 1962 (K.C.H. Fairey: colour); No. 6969 Wraysbury Hall painted black approaching Wolvercote Junction om down freight (A.E. Doyle: colour);; spotless LSWR T9 class 4-4-0 No. 118 on train of LSWR stock at Oxford forming a Machester to Bournemouth express in 1911 (John Alsop Collection); Castle class No.7005 Sir Edward Elgar picking up water from Charlbury wateer troughs with a London express on 1 June 1963 (G. Parry: colour); soldier and sailor join Wallingford auto train powered by 0-4-2T No. 1444 at Cholsey & Moulsford on 26 March 1959 (Ben Brooksbank); Atbara or Bulldog 4-4-0 calling at Steventon staation with an up express in 1900s; G2a 0-8-0 next to King class 4-6-0 on Oxford shed on 1 April 1961 (colour); Class 5 4-6-0 No. 45493 passung under Aynho flyover with through train to Bournemouth formed of Southern Region stock in 1966; single unit diesel railcar in Abingdon station in 1960s (Lamberhurst); Thame station (Lamberhurst)); 0-4-2T No. 1444 at Wallingford on 26 March 1959 (Ben Brooksbank); No. 6029 King Edward VIII on up Cambrian Coast Express at Banbury with diesel multiple unit alongside on 17 March 1962 (colour); 0-6-0PT No. 7412 at Witney with train for Fairford on 24 Frebruary 1962 (Ben Brooksbank); Oxfiord Rewley Road station with London Midland & Scottish Railway on frontage; Littlemore station in 1900s; Horspath Halt in snow on 5 January 1963 (Lamberhurst). See also letters on page 318 from Gerald Goodall, Peter Rance and Stephen G. Abbott and on page 365 from Robin Leleux.

Jeffrey Wells. Aspects of a Lancashire railway town: 1830-1910. 150-5.:.
Newton-in-Makerfield, also known as Newton-le-Willows was roughly the mid-point of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. It was not far from the Sankey Viaduct which had to provide headroom for the Mersey flats which were sailing barges. A junction was provided for the Grand Junction Railway which linked Birmingham with Manchester and Liverpool via Warrington. This connectivity prompted the creation of a locomotive works which was to become yje Vulcan Foundry and the Earlestown wagon works. Illustrations: Sankey Viaduct (LNWR postcard based on engraving); map; Parkside station — west of Newton; (sketch); Newton Bridge station — Newton-le-Willows after 1888; Earlestown Junction station; Sankey Viaduct (colour image by Author); Webb 2-4-2T No. 2260 on push & pull train in Warrington platform at Earlestown Junction (caption notes architectural features of station building); G2a 0-8-0 No. 49249 passing through Earlestown via Haydock Flat Crossing on 24 July 1953; interior of Vulcan Foundry erecting shop; Precedent class 2-4-0 with long excursion train passing Stone's Crossing signal box; William Huskisson Memorial; Sankey Viaduct (colour: Author — shows massive nature of piers and their bases)

Riichard Clarke. Peak Forest, Buxton and Great Rocks. 156-9
Memories of a relief signalman in Derbyshire. His main source of transport was by bicycle with a near two hour ride to Grindleford from his home in Chapel-en-le-Frith. Illustrations: Great Rocks Junction in 1976; Chinley North Junction signal diagram; Horwich 2-6-0 No, 42796 approaching Chapel-en-le-Frith South with a freight from Buxton on 10 February 1982 (Alan Tyson); 8F No. 48190 shunting at Spencer's Sidings, Hindlow in 1962 (Colin Betts); track diagram in Chinley Station North Junction signal box in 1976; Richard Clarke at Chinley Station North Junction signal box in 1976; guard operating ground frame at Spencer's Sidings; Richard Clarke at Peak Forest South signal box in 1976.

Horwich's finest [Hughes 2-6-0]. 160-3.
Colour photo-feature: mixed traffic design, known as Crabs by enthusiasts due to their inclined outside cylinders and heavy Walschaerts valve gear: No. 42841 ex-Horwich works on Bolton shed on 11 September 1955 (Trevor Owen); No. 42899 on up express freight at Appleby West in 1961; No. 42800 on coal mempties leaving Patna in snow; No. 43853 on 16.30 from Chester to Mold via Denbigh at Bodfari on 19 Auguat 1961 (R. Patterson); No. 42904 near Chapel-en-le-Frith with freight on 28 May 1957; No. 42896 in Birmingham New Street on an ordinary passenger train in 1957; No. 42904 at Beauchief on passenger train from Sheffield (P.J. Hughes); No. 42912 at Brownhill Junction with frreight mainly of coal on 24 August 1963 (D. Kerrigan); No. 42829 with Reidinger rotary cam valve gear at Dudley on 17 May 1959; No. 42936 with express head lamps at Birkenhead Woodside with through coaches for Paddington which it would work as far as Chester on 28 March 1962,

Miles Macnair. From road unto rail: exercises in technology transfer - Part three: traction engines, railcars and the Sentinel story. 164-8
Previous part. Due to the Red Flag Act road locomotives became largely limited to agriculture and were produced mainly by firms who specialised in agricultural implements, like ploughs: some of these ventured into the railway locomotives notably  Aveling & Porter of Strood in Kent with their Invicta range. Others mentioned included: Robey, Fowler, Burrell and McLaren. Refers to William Fletcher again and "our foolish and meddlesome laws prohibited sensible speeds" [for steam highway vehicles] Leon Serpollet is also mentioned. Macnair is dismissive of most of the pre-1923 designs to produce steam railcars by 23 of the companies: only those produced by the Great Western, London & North Western and Lancashire & Yorkshire led to practical, lasting vehicles. In 1904 the Peebles Steam Car Company imported an advanced steam railcar from Ganz of Hungary which was assembled at the Falcon Works in Loughborough which had been manufacturing steam tramway locomotives. Another geared steam railcar was built by R.Y. Pickering & Co. and was purchased by Colonel  Stephens for the Kent & East Sussex Railway. It seems extraordinary thatt Macnair does not cite Jenkinson and Lane's excellent book on railcars which includes both; although KPJ has failed to give Barry Lane his due as an author. The section on Sentinel is well pressented but adds nothing new. Illustrations: Avelling & Porter locomotive with chain drive based upon  standard traction engine (The Engineer engraving); Aveling & Porter compound 0-4-0WT locomotive loaned to Great North of Scotland Railway shunting in Aberdeen docks; Clayton & Shuttleworth modified traction engine (WN 7776/1867) owned by Hall & Co. of Croydon; Marshall & Sons of Gainsborough WN 6402/1878 wiith underslung cylinders with additions by Pepper & Sons (H.C. Casserley); Foden WN 8360 steamer converted as crude locomotive at Aycliffe Lime and Limestone Ltd (W.A. Briggs) — see also Foden's in Lowe; Kitson & Co, Great Northern Railway railcar No. 6 see also Ivatt locomotives; Ganz railcar see also Rutherford; Alley's standard water tube boiler; LMS No. 7192 with flash boiler and twin Doble engine; Southern Railway Doble engined rail bus on Dyke branch in 1936 with third rail? in 1934 (H.C. Casserley) (Jenkinson and Lane give it extended coverage); Foden solitary locomotive. See also letter from Stephen G. Abbott on page 318

Jeremy Clarke. In praise of the moguls. Part Two. 169-75.
Part 1. The text describes the four LMS designs: the Hughes/Fowler design with steeply inclined cyliners, long travel piston valves and robust Walschaerts valve gear based on Pennsylvania Railroad practice. Fowler's contribution added sundry Derby details including an ill-fitting standard tender. Five were fitted with Lentz rotary cam poppet valve gear in 1931 and this was replaced by the Reidinger version in 1953. Forty more were on order when Stanier arrived and he substituted his own version with taper boiler and horizontal cylinders and a higher boiler pressure and narrower cylinders. The ill-fitting tenders remained and the designn was not multiplied. Ivatt was determined to displace the 0-6-0 and he did this with the Class 2 2-6-0 and the Class 4 2-6-0: the first was a neat design and ha d a matching 2-6-2T companion. The latter was ugly especially with the massive double chimney. The tender cab was more appropriate for the tundra. Lawson Billinton's K class shared tthe Stephenson  motion with the Brighton Atlantics,the driving wheel size with the E5 tanl engine, but had a Belpaire boiler.The Maunsell 2-6-0 design was the N class introduced in 1917, but schemed from 1914 with input from Pearson and Holcroft recruited from Swindon  and Clayton from Derby (but nothing like the Crabs). In the period following WW1 the Government sought to stem unemployment at Woolwich Arsenal by building locomotives thereat and the N class was selected: some ended up on the Southern, but others went elsewhere see article by Alan Jackson, The design spawned a 2-6-4T variant, the notorious River class which derailed at Sevenoaks, and a three-cyliner version, the U1 class. Illustrations: see also front cover and colour photo-feature on the extraordinary Crabs (behind one of which KPJ was given a thrilling descent from Standedge to Huddersfield on Boxing Day 1954): Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 No. 46511 at Three Cocks Junction on Hereford to Brecon on 11 September 1962 (Gavin  Morrison: colour); Hughes No. 2822 with Lentz rotary cam poppet valve gear at Manchester Victoria in May 1936; ex-LBSCR K class No. 32353 on LCGB Sussex Coast Limited Rail Tour on turntable at Bognor Regis on 24 June 1962 (David Idle: colour); Stanier Class 5 No. 2948 leaving Conway Tubular Bridge on 14.35 Bangor to Llandudno Junction (T.J. Edgington); Stanier Class 5 No. 42983 on 07.40 Crewe to Carlislle freight at Shap Wells on 26 May 1952 (T.J. Edgington); N class No. 31811 on 14.00 Woking to Eastleigh freight passing Winchfield on 25 July 1964 (David Idle: colour); Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 No. 46495 aat Kettering on Cambridge train in March 1959 (T.J. Edgington); Ivatt Class  4 No. 3001 in LMS livery leaving Bletchley in 1948 (first vehicle is interesting); U class No. 31635 on 12.35 Reading to Redhill leaving Dorkimg Town on 21 December 1962 (David Idle: colour) 173 lower: see also letter from Colin Lockie; Ivatt Class  4 No. 43092 at Peterborough North with train for Midland & Great Northern in May 1957; ex-LBSCR K class No. 2245 working Sunny South Express at Addison Road Kensington in 1932; N class No. 31405 at Ashford shed on 31 March 1957 (T.J. Edgington); U1 class No. 1908 without smoke deflectors and painted sage green.

Monton Green — west of Salford. Alan Tyson. 176-7.
When at school at the top of Weaste Lane we used to run down to the railway bridge to see "what is on the Barrow": Black & white photo-feature: Jubilee Noo. 45563 Australia on 13.40 Mannchester Exchange to  Wiagn  North Western stopping at Monton Green on 2 April 1960; 8F 2-8-0 tender first on local freight passing in Eccles direction; Monton Green station master with his assistant; Stanier Class 4 2-6-4T No. 42439 passing Monton Green on 18.37 Wigan NW to Mancester Exchange on 2 August 1961; Coronation class No. 46232 Duchess of Montrose approaching Monton Green on diverted Birmingham to Glasgow on 5 November 1961; Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T No. 41283 on 12.05 Manchester Exchange to Kenyon Junction via Tyldesley and Leigh 0n 31 December 1960.

Geoffrey Skelsey. Crossing London: the City Widened Lines and the Thameslink saga. Part Two. 178-83
Part 1. The belated electrification of the Great Northern services to Hertford North and Welwyn Garden City completed on 8 November 1976 left the Wid ened Lines with a residual service from Midland stations to Moorgate operated by diesel multiple units. A Report was instigated in 1972 by tthe Greater London Council, the Department of the Environment and the London Transport Executive under the Chairmanship of Sir David Barran, a senior executive in Shell. This reported in 1974, an iinopportune time due to industrial unrest. The report contained some modest proposals: the extension of the North London Line to Woolwich; rrestoration of the Gospel Oak to Barking service and electrification of the St. Pancras suburban services. It also proposed two west to east crossrail type underground route to channel British Rail services. A line from Paddington to Liverpool Street via Leicester Square and Holborn; and one from Victoria to London Bridge via Green Park, Leicester Square, Blackfriars and Cannon Street. The Midland suburban had been proposed for electrification in the 1930s, was omitted from the 1955 Modernisation Plan, but was aproved in November 1976.following completion of the Great Northern works. The Barran Committee had been lukewar about a suggestion to restore  the Snow Hill link but in 1983/84 a BR/GLC study recommended its restoration with the third rail extended to Farringdon and services via Elephant & Castle and via London Bridge. Illustrations: Thameslink map May 1991; Class 31 with train of empty compartment stock about to join London Transport controlled railways at York Road on 10 September 1976; electric multiple unit for Holborn Viaduct at Blackfriars in March 1980 (dome of St. Paul's just peeping above roof of station; Ludgate Hill with Thameslink train crossing bridge and work on replacement tunnel visible amidst organised chaos on 25 Aprill 1990 (colour); Ludgate Hill station frontage briefly visible before destruction   on 25 April 1990;  King's Cross Midland City station entrance (colour); Thameslink services brochure cover (colour); Farringdon station (colour: competition find the train amidst dazzle camouflage); 700 class arriving Faarrigdon from south in May 2018 (colour); Blackfriars south of the Thames with 700 class unit about to depart (colour). See letter from Michael J. Smith on page 318

Rory Wilson. The Southampton Dock diesels 184-5
Following experiments with existing diesel locomotives including one with hydraulic transmission the Southern Region opted for a Ruston & Hornsby based on Ruston's LSSE type to replace the USA class 0-6-0Ts. Illustrations: No. D2992 at Southampton Royal Pier on 5 January 1961; D2997 at Southampton Ocean Terminal with RMS Queen Mary alongside on 6 December 1964 with small boys everywhere (M.J. Fox). See letter from Ian Benfield on method of delivery from Lincoln.

Rob Langham. Trains across the Gill: Hownes Gill Viaduct 1858-1968. 186-8
The gill (gorge) on the Stanhope & Tyne Railway was crossed by a pair of engine-worked incline planes with the wagons carried on cradles. This was a laborious and slow way of taking limestone down from the quarries near Waskerley to the iron nworks at Consett. Thomas Bouch of the Stockton & Darlington Railway designed a viaduct to cross the gill which is still in situ allthough it has not been used for railway traffic since the 1960s. The engines on the displaced incline were supplied by Robert Stephenson & Co. The viaduct and much iof the former railway is now part of the Sustrans cycle network. Ilustrations: (from Beamish Museum) Derwent Iron Works in Consett in 1857 (engraving?);  Hownes Gill Viaduct with train on it viewed from valley; Stockton & Darlington Railway 0-6-0 Leader; Hownes Gill Viaduct with train on it hauled by Fletcher 901 claass 2-4-0 viewed from valley; top view of viaduct with track in place; 0-6-0 diesel shunter No, D3875 at Waskerley passing former station buildings; K1 No. 62027 running tender first on excursion from Waskerley near Rowley in 1863

Readers' Forum 189

B1 Class. Editor
The caption to No.61251, pictured on p99 of the February issue, gives the LNER director Oliver Bury more enoblement than he was entitled to; he was just plain 'Mr.'

The GS tanks . Gerald Knox
Regarding the caption on p. 10 No.67339 has not arrived bunker first, it was working in the push-pull mode and had pushed from Blyth,

Southern holidays . Philip Shelton
Re caption to top picture on page 35 is not correct. Yes Tor is not the highest point on Dartmoor. It has been officially confirmed that the neighbouring peak of High WiIlhays is two metres higher [but Yes Tor is a slightly better name for a locomotive].

Leith Central. John Macnab,  
An enhancement to the above article (January) is the inclusion in the photographs of staff members at both Leith Central, Craigentinny and Edinburgh Waverley. Long in being given recognition far less in photographic image, it was such as they in their respective roles who made the railways run and those who have followed in their footsteps continue to do so in the present time. Not forgetting the depot/station/yard cats that kept the rodent population in check!
On stock matters dealt with at Leith Central, the 1956 Swindon-built Inter-City DMUs for the Edinburgh and Glasgow services eventually totalled 64 vehicles which included those that had been initially allocated to the WR. They did not become Class 126 as is often recorded, being withdrawn from service as the TOPS classification era dawned. It was the somewhat similar 1959 build from Swindon for Glasgow-Ayrshire services that became Class 126. A caveat perhaps in that four individual E&G coaches were reprieved to work with the 'Ayrshires' becoming, in effect, surrogate 126s
The Gloucester Class 100s given mention, as their duties dwindled in Scotland had upwards of seven units sent to the North Eastern Region in the summer of 1967 to assist in the dieselisation of the North Tyneside electrified services.

Thoughts from inside and outside the box. Stephen G, Abbott
On page 743 (December) the photograph of EMU No.304 014 leaving Kidsgrove must have been taken long before 2008. The unit is in British Rail livery, moreover it was withdrawn in 1994!

Tickets for bathers and curlers. Andrew Kleissner
John Thomas, in Forgotten Railways: Scotland (D&C 1976) states that Loch Leven station on the erstwhile Kinross-shire Railway came into its own when the neighbouring loch was used for bonspiels. He states that the carriages which made up the special trains were mostly composed of first class carriages, with low-sided fish wagons carrying the curling stones (each bearing the name of its owner) trailing behind. The train would stop in section at the closest point to the loch so that the heavy stones could be unloaded, the players then being taken to Loch Leven station to alight. Extra staff were deployed to take down the lineside fencing and each train carried three guards to assist with the handling of the stones.
As far as skinny-dipping is concerned, I was a volunteer 'deviationist' on the Festiniog Railway for a fortnight in 1969. At that time the passenger services terminated at Dduallt and paused for perhaps 30 minutes while the locomotive ran round. Rhoslyn Lake is adjacent to the station and its dark waters were very tempting to two of us on a hot day. Unfortunately a train arrived not long after we had started our dip and so we had to hide ourselves at the edge of the lake, clinging to bushes, until it departed! Shall I say that the warm sunshine was very welcome after our extended sojourn!

Crossing London  Andy Sharples
Re article on Holborn Viaduct station which brought old memories back to me. The frontage was modern for those days but the old station was within. I served as a Catering Manager for British Transport Hotels from 1962 until 1969. As part of my training I was at Holborn Viaduct for a short while and was a griddle chef in the day and a barman at night. I used to have time off between these shifts and we used the old refreshment room used for storage. The other chef and I were in there when we noticed a wooden board fixed to the wall in the kitchen. We pulled it away and there was an metal ladder leading down. We went down and found rooms and an old canteen with tables and forms and a serving area covered in dust undisturbed for years. I don't know its purpose — maybe wartime. We continued down the ladder and eventually found the old station on the goods line under Holborn which was still in use (not the station).and a flight of stairs leading up into the roof, sealed off but obviously the old exit on to the concourse. Further investigation found a lot of old prison cells which we assumed must have been connected to the Old Bailey at some stage.

The stations at Wellingborough. Robin Leleux 
May I add a small architectural snippet to the interesting article (January 2020) by my long-standing friend Peter Butler who, incidentally, introduced me to the importance of the Midland Railway when I came to live in Wellingborough in 1971! In September 1898 an unattended parcels trolley on Wellingborough's down platform rolled across and tipped on to the track. Frantic efforts to move it into the six foot before the Manchester express roared through were in vain. The locomotive hit it at speed, derailing the leading bogie, then the whole train came to grief on pointwork at the north end of the station. Five passengers and the locomotive crew died. In his subsequent report Lt.- Col. Yorke, the Board of Trade Inspector, recommended that in future station platforms should at least be level or preferably slope away from the track, to deter errant trolleys from tipping over the edge. The backwards slope on Wellingborough's down platform is still most marked.

Electrifying Merseyside. Trefor Davies
Re photograph at bottom of p692 (November 2019 issue) it is not Seaforth Sands station, but Seaforth and Litherland, approximately one mile east,the northern terminus and connecting station for the Liverpool-Southport line. The Overhead train is on the up relief line with Seaforth South home signal cleared for its return journey. The line to Seaforth Sands curves off to the right behind the terraced houses and the next signal box was Rimrose Road junction. This signal box only opened for the Grand National Race meeting each year and allowed Overhead trains access to Aintree via North Mersey Branch junction at Linacre Road.
Seaforth and Litherland was my local station up to getting married in 1966 and I started my railway career at the next station, Marsh Lane and Strand Road, now renamed Bootle New Strand. The photograph brings back happy memories, as a boy, of trips with my father into Liverpool on the Overhead viewing ships in the docks.

Goole's railways 1836-1910 . Mike G. Fell
Re article by Jeffrey Wells in the January issue: this was of great interest and I am most grateful for the generous mentions of my modest contributions. The caption to the photograph at the bottom of page 28 is not quite right. The vessel shown is certainly the steamship Rother but at the time the photograph was taken she clearly did not have a white hull! The mud in the foreground is the north bank of the Dutch River at low water and the ship is in No. 2 Drydock, off South Dock. The view looks north west and to the extreme left of the photograph in the distance can be seen the unmistakable outline of the 'pepper pot' water tower but its companion the 'salt pot' water tower, completed in 1927, is not apparent. Behind the ship is No.5 compartment boat hoist and its accumulator tower. This hoist was moved from West Dock in 1924 and in the image it is not complete, so the picture must date between 1924 and 1927. It was customary for ships on the Copenhagen trade, carrying bacon and butter, to have white painted hulls but Rother was probably not employed on the Danish route at the time of the photograph. Other photographs do exist of the ship sporting a white hull.

From road unto rail. Bob Baird
Re Part 1 of Miles MacNair article 'From Road Unto Rail — Exercises in Technology Transfer'. In the introduction mention is made that "Popular history states that Trevithick then went on to build his first steam 'railway' locomotive for the Penydarren tramroad in 1804." I thought that I may be able to add some information in this regard.
I have in my possession a first edition copy, 1889, of The Working and Management of an English Railway by George Findlay, Lieut-Col. Engineer and Railway Volunteer, Staff Corps; Assoe. Inst. Civil Engineers; General Manager of the London & North Western Railway. In the frontispiece to the book there is a handwritten note by one Chas. Russell James of Merthyr Tydfil, who apparently gifted the book to a George Schultz on 7 October 1901. The note reads:
"The lst locomotive engine that ever ran on rails was Trevithick's & it ran on the tram road line at the back of Professional Row, Church St., Merthyr Tydfil where I was born. It had a brick built chimney and at one point of the line there was a tunnel. I have heard my father relate the story that his uncle Christopher James (father of the late Lord justice james) made a bet of a dozen of wine (he was a wine merchant) that the engine would not go beyond a certain point (that point being the entrance to the tunnel). The bet was made and was won by my Great Uncle Christopher who, shrewd man that he was, felt convinced, as it actually turned out, that the brick chimney was too high to pass under the roof of the tunnel."
This note has a postscript which reads: "see plate facing p. 123. I remember open 3rd class carriages on the Taff Vale Ry line when I was a child. the 2nd class carriages then on that line had no cushions to them. The train at Navigation was attached to a rope & let down a steep incline by a stationary engine & so drawn up — until a bad accident happened & the incline was done away with by going round a curve lessing the steepness of the descent CRJ"

Marylebone collisions. Den Sullivan 
Re enquiry by Doug Landau about Driver Simpson's fatal accident (Readers' Forum. February), I was a fireman at Neasden from April 1953 to May 1958. On 7 August 1955 Driver Simpson was driving a V2 locomotive on the return trip to Marylebone from Leicester. There was single line working at Barby sidings with a speed restriction. The train was reported to have entered the crossover at about 50mph and overturned, killing Simpson and injuring his fireman and a number of passengers. As a very young fireman, I worked for a week with Charlie Simpson on the Marylebone pilot and he was a very patient and kind driver, especially with young inexperienced firemen. A full report of the accident can be found on Google, Great Central Accidents, Barby sidings.

More mixed freight . David Monk-Steel
I was pleased to see more of David Idle's fine pictures in the February Backtrack. I believe I can add a little more commentary to them. The picture of 9F 2-10-0 No.92039 on a train of tank wagons is particularly interesting because it shows not oil tanks but a block load of the unusual APCM cement 'Cemflo' wagons which were introduced between 1961 and 1966 initially for cement traffic from Cliffe cement works in Kent and Uddingston near Glasgow. The train will probably be the 02.05 Uddingston to Cliffe return empties which has a brake van at either end so that it can reverse at Canonbury in either direction. The outward loaded train also had a brake van at both ends. In later years the train conveyed privately owned pallet vans of bagged cement as well. What is even more interesting in this picture is the use of a steam locomotive, because this working was usually rostered a pair of SR BRCW Type 3 diesel locomotives to York from where a Eastern Region Type 4 diesel locomotive would take it forward to Scotland. The SR locomotives would then return with the empties, as seen here. The 'Cernflo' type was notorious for rough riding and it was these wagons which derailed at Thirsk where they were run in to by DP2 hauling an express passenger train.
In the lower picture of the 'Black 5' near Carnforth the leading van is certainly a banana van, an early BR design with vertical matchboard planked sides which, judging by the similarity of advertising labels on the other leading vans behind it, may also be banana vans of a later design.

Book Reviews .. 190

Sunderland's Railways Neil T. Sinclair. Oakwood Press, 124pp. 185 illustrations. Reviewed by MGF (Mike Fell) ***
This book forms part of the Oakwood Library of Railway History (No .. 163) and benefits greatly from the new larger format adopted following the acquisition of  the Oakwood Press by Stenlake Publishing. The Preface establishes that Sunderland's Railways is a successor to the author's Railways of Sunderland first published by the Tyne and Wear Museum Service in 1985, with a second edition appearing the following year. The author tells us that his new book includes the significant changes that have taken place since 1986, including the end of coal traffic from Wearside and the extension of the Tyne and Wear Metro to the City of Sunderland. The sections on wagonways and early railways also incorporate recent research, especially that undertaken by Colin E. Mountford whose books are listed under Further Reading.
About 20% of the illustrations feature scenes post-1986. The images portray an eclectic mix of main line and industrial railways and well demonstrate the author's passion for his subject. In addition there are eight very useful maps and plans. Many of the images were captured by Sunderland railway photographer lan S. Carr who died in 2015. I visited the area in July 1967 and spent a week photographing the last remaining BR steam operations and steam locomotives at many of the industrial locations and so, for me, many of the images provided a reminder of that very enjoyable and now nostalgic occasion. I am certain that will also be the case for many others who made similar pilgrimages.
The book is a very readable and concise summary of the history of the industrial and mainline railways within the present day boundary of the City of Sunderland, including short sections of line that leave the city boundaries and then re-enter them. The sections dealing with wagonways and early railways are particularly strong. The Railway King George Hudson (1800-1871) was Member of Parliament for Sunderland from 1845 until 1859.
The author, quite rightly, emphasises that Hudson made a major contribution to railway and dock development at Sunderland and remained popular with the local electorate well after his dramatic demise from the national railway scene. He was chairman of the Sunderland Dock Company and Hudson Dock opened in 1850 is still so named today, under the control of the Port of Sunderland Authority.
The book has two main parts - a general history and a summary of the railways covered on a line by line basis. The two parts are interspersed with a section covering railway staff in which I was pleased to see mention of Denny Harrison (now Denny Harrison Lincoln) one-time signal women at Monkwearmouth, who ended her railway signaling days at Brough East on the Hull to Selby line. I recorded her fascinating career in the Stephenson Locomotive Society Journal for January/ February 2014 (VoI.90, No.885).
A minor criticism for me, perhaps because I have a maritime background, is that I would have liked to have seen more about the operational interface between the railways and shipping, although to be fair, the North and South Docks, the Wearmouth Staiths and the Lambton and Hetton Staiths all get a brief mention. The book is not a definitive history of Sunderland's railways but it is a must for everyone with an interest in those railways whether they are of an industrial or main line persuasion, or both. For those unfamiliar with the area seeking to learn more about it, the book forms an excellent introduction and points to where more detailed information can be found.

The LNWR 42ft Carriages of Richard Bore. Richard Ball and Peter Chatham. LNWR Society. Soft cover, spiral bound A4 landscape. 50pp. Reviewed by BCL [Barry Lane ****
Richard Bore was the Carriage Superintent of the LNWR for 25 years from 1860 when he established the new carriage works at Wolverton in 1865. The style of body work that culminated in the familiar style of the company was set from thence on with six-wheeled stock entering service in the late 1860s followed by radial eight-wheelers in the 1880s. The book deals with the 42ft radial carriages built by Bore between 1882 and 1885 and is most comprehensive in detail with numerous scale drawings and illustrations. The main drawings are to 6mm to foot scale which is as large as the format would allow but most diagrams and plans are 4mm scale with just a few 3mm. The book is a boon for modellers despite the odd scale of the highly detailed main drawings.
This reviewer has modelled examples of these vehicles and can only wish that all the information published here had been available when he approached the subject. Only 180 of the 42ft carriages (which included Sleeping Saloons and 'Irish Mail') were built in Bore's final final years before Charles Park replaced him but much of the stock remained in service through to the grouping, albeit on bogies by then. This book complements previous volumes on LNWR carriage stock from members of the Society and is an invaluable assett to the subject. I only wish that it had been properley bound and larger rather than spiral bound. This excellent presentation will be an assett to anyone with half an interest in the subject. Highly recommended.

The remarkable Jim Crebbin and his experimental locomotives Roger Backhouse. Society of Model and Experimental Engineers. 82pp. 47 Illustrations. Revieweed by RHG *****
'Uncle  Jim' Crebbin was a well known early twentieth century model engineer (1875-1950) experimenting with locomotives to develop ideas about miniature engine design. His locomotive Cosmo Bonsor features in an exhibition currently at the National Railway Museum, York, from September 2019, moving to the Science Museum London in Spring 2020,called 'Brass, Steam and Fire'.
The author is right to describe Jim Crebbin as remarkable! He worked as a clerk in the Bank of England and produced a series of competent miniature steam locomotives which became well known and well loved. However, for me as a life-long model engineer with a passion for steam locomotives, I became amazed as I read the book as to how influential this man was in and around the full-size railway as well as being a key player in the early days of the Society of Model and Experimental Engineers.
The book is a proper piece of scholarly research with extensive referencing at the end of each of the three chapters, and of course many of those references are sourced from within the pages of the magazine Model Engineer which is the journal founded in the early days of the Society of Model and Experimental Engineers. I commend the author's thoroughness in getting so much information together into what I found to be an enjoyable and informative read but I still found I had lots of questions about Jim Crebbin that needed answers. He counted H.N.Gresley, William Stanier G.J. Churchward, Sir Felix Pole and Harry Ricardo amongst his friends and seemed to have their ear with his opinions about compounding and other relevant steam locomotive topics even though he was not formally educated in engineering matters. His closeness to the great early twentieth century railway engineers puzzles both the author and the reader and we are left to speculate how Jim Crebbin was so obviously highly regarded and trusted amongst those great men. (It is tempting to wonder if his letters written on Bank of England notepaper had a bearing on his influence!)
In all the photographs Jim Crebbin always is dressed immaculately and in one image he is working in his workshop with the locomotive on the bench on its side and the owner is wearing a smart shirt, waistcoat and tie, but at least we can see that his hands were slightly grubby! At first I was sceptical at the possibility that Jim Crebbin was actually adopting a truly experimental approach to his work or whether he was just dabbling in his hobby, It would be beneficial to the reader if more of his experiments had been written up scientifically rather than just the bland statements we get from Jim Crebbin's summarisations. However, there is a photograph towards the end of the book which shows one of his locomotive models at speed being tested on the miniature test plant that he created to emulate the Swindon Locomotive Test Plant. The reader is left in no doubt studying that photograph that this steam locomotive testing was serious business and perhaps it was no wonder that Churchward paid so much attention to him and his views on compounding.
One minor niggle: on page 60 the author shows an image of a "lifting injector on Jim Crebbin's locomotive Conversion". The injector shown is a conventional non- lifting injector which is fed by water from the tender and does not need to lift water from a tank below the injector. Also I would like to add an an observation. Crebbin was interested in the sure-footedness of GWR locomotives compared with Southern types. He might have been fascinated to learn that one of the reasons why Churchward's locomotives were so sure-footed was that the tender drawbar was always positioned higher at the front than the rear so that the resultant force when pulling away with a heavy train added extra adhesive weight to the rear of the locomotive thus improving the adhesion. I wonder if Churchward shared that with 'Uncle  Jim'? A great book for model engineers and railway enthusiasts to enjoy and learn from.

The Yorkshire Lines of the LNWR. Neil Fraser, Oakwood Press, softback, 208 pp.. Reviewed by DJ. ***
This book has had protracted origins. Its author Neil Fraser died in 2001 having seen Oakwood Press publish his first work Hillhouse immortals — the story of a London & North Western Railway engine shed. It reflected his lifelong interest in Huddersfield, which was at the centre of a second manuscript that was incomplete at the time of his death. His daughter Rowena Kidger worked with the late Dr. Graham Hardy to finalise The Yorkshire Lines of the LNWR and it was duly dispatched to Oakwood in 2002. In her own words, it then lay dormant and she 'lost hope of it ever being published'. Only when Oakwood was sold to Stenlake in 2016 has it finally appeared in print. So has it been worth the long wait? There is clear definition of the Yorkshire Lines, which essentially were formed in 1847 when two companies were absorbed by the LNWR. These were the Leeds, Dewsbury & Manchester Railway and a concern blessed with the more long-winded title of the Huddersfield & Manchester Railway & Canal Company. Becoming part of the LNWR North Eastern Division in 1857, this important cross-country artery forms the prime content along with the tangled saga of the quarter share in Leeds Central station. Also included is the Leeds New Line, not finally opened until 1900 and forming a much needed relief route as well as serving Spen Valley textile towns.
Coverage is wholly and perhaps excessively chronological. Chapters look at successive decades through the high noon of the Victorian age and year-by-year from 1876 to 1913 before taking a broader overview of the periods post World War I, the era of the 'Big Four' and nationalisation. Within this framework, the text concentrates by date on specific happenings such as Acts of Parliament, openings, changes in services and numerous accidents. Many readers will miss a broader overview of the unquestionable magnificence of Huddersfield station, or the challenges in building Standedge Tunnel destined at 3 miles 66 yards to remain the longest in Britain for almost 40 years until finally eclipsed by the Severn. A list of references or further reading would have helped those wishing to know more.
The photographs are a mixed bunch but there are some excellent maps. In order to be reproduced at a sensible size, a series of six pairs depict developments north and south of the main line from 1835 through to post-grouping and the loss of local passenger services. A general map conveys how the short branch from Batley to Birstall formed part of a LNWR bid to reach Bradford, and similarly shows that the Kirkburton branch had Barnsley in mind as the ultimate goal. Although the text stops at 2000, a map of the network in 2019 has been added.

All clear through Bincombe Tunnel. David Idle. rear cover
BR Standard class 4 2-6-0 No. 76026 and BR Standard class 5 4-6-0 head Dorset Coast Express en route for Bournemouth into tunnel on 7 May 1967

The prototype English Electric Deltic at Doncaster station on 23rd July 1960. (Colour-Rail.com 207358)

April (Number 348)

To Scarborough Fair once more. Michael Blakemore. 195
Editorial: personal reflections on seven hour journey by Ribble Motor Services "luxury" coach from Bury to Scarborough which was held up by the intensive service of steam trains at Mlaton level crossing! Refers to Ward Lock Illustrated Guide Book published in the Edwardian period which lists the "bracing climate", the virtues of sea bathing, the Spa, places of worship, but not the barracks where KPJ learned how to climb a rope but still wonders if retirement there might have been more congenial than perched on the Cromer Ridge. Stephen Abbott corrects Michael for the "current" lack of locomotive powered trains

The Standard Class 2 2-6-0s. 196-7.
Colour photo-feature: No. 78049 with newly painted Gresley corridor brake composite at St. Boswells (Kelso see p. 365) with service to Berwick-upon-Tweed on 20 Joly 1963 (J.S. Gilks); No. 78036 leaving Hellifield on train for Lancaster and Morecambe on 26 January 1963 (Gavin Morrison); No. 78013 with cut down cab for running to Leicester West shunting oil tank wagons at Glenfield in September 1965; No. 78003 near Carno whilst climbing to Tallerddig with school train from Machynlleth in 1962 (J. Davenport); No. 78000 arriving Newbridge-on-Wye from Moat Lane on 18 July 1959 (G,H. Hunt)

Roger Griffiths and John Hooper. Scarborough engine shed and its locomotives. Part two. 198-207.
Previous part began on page 112. Much tabulated information: Locomotive allocations from 1 January 1923 until closure. Shed visits on 7 October 1948; 22 April 1950; 2 August 1951; 3 July 1955; 12 September 1957; 4 august 1960; 7 July 1962. Obserevations of passenger train departures on Saturday 27 July 1952 from 18.00 and on Whit Monday 6 June 1960 from 15.53. Part one. 112-19. Illustrations: B1 4-6-0 No. 61015 Duiker on express departure (Ron Hodge); shed scene on Saturday 24 July 1954 with Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0 No. 43976, B1 No. 61306, B1 No. 61015 Duiker, D49 No. 62751 The Albrighton with a total of at least seven locomotives (R.F. Payne); A8 Nos. 69878 and 69886 and D49 No. 62770 The Puckeridge outside shed on 23 July 1955 (Ron Hodge); view from coaling stage looking towards turntable during its reneewal in 1953 (N.W. Skinner); new  turntable  with Class 4 2-6-0 No. 76046 being turned on 12 June 1954 (N.W. Skinner); Jubilee class 4-6-0 No. 45705 Seahorse on 25 May 1952 at which time it was the normal motive power for 07.31 Greenfield to Manchester Exchange (N.W. Skinner); demolition of east side of shed on 19 September 1959 (N.W. Skinner); Jinty 3F 0-6-0T No. 47403 in steam outside shed on 14 August 1959 (N.W. Skinner); A8 No. 69886 about to enter tunnel to Gallows Close with freight with Glasshoughton nine-plank mineral wagon (Ron Hodge); D20 No. 62384 and D49 on short express in early 1950s (Ron Hodge); Class 3 2-6-0 No. 77004 and D49 Nos. 62703 Hertfordshie and 62751 The Albrighton on Saturday 24 July 1954 (Ron Hodge); 9F 2-10-0 No. 92058 taking water at shed on 23 July 1960 (N.W. Skinner); Britannia class 4-6-2 No. 70034 Thomas Hardy on 1 September 1961 (N.W. Skinner); Stanier Class 3 2-6-2T No. 40117 in storagr with nameplate off A2/3 No. 60518 Tehran (N.W. Skinner); A3 No. 60038 Firdaussi on 22 June 1963; B1 No. 61166 arriving with excursion (Ron Hodge); No. 46229 Duchess of Hamilton on turntable in 1981 in preparation for the Scarborough Spa Express. See also Whitby engine shed in next Volume page 413

Clive Baker. 'A Holiday All The Way'. [Golden Rail Holiday to Inverness in 1984]. 208-12
Travel began at Burton upon Trent on late-running and over-filled Derby to Birmingham formed of a Class 120 Cross Country diesel multiple unit which did manage to connect into the 11.11 departure of The Clansman for Inverness hauled by Class 87 No. 87 009 City of Birmingham to Mossend Yard where a Class 47/4 took over with an extra vehicle (a sleeping car required for an up service). A slow climb to Druimuachdar Summit was caused by the extra vehicle, but The Clansman still managed to arrive at Welsh's Bridge Junction ahead of time, but problems with an Aberdeen-bound train in Platform 2 caused a delay of some thirty minutes. Whilst in Aberdeen a high speed train arrived from King's Cross as a prelude to the Highland Chieftain service, They travelled to Kyle of Lochalsh and on the Far North line as far as Invershin. At that time diesel locomotives were the motive power on these lines. Illustrations (all by author): Culloden Viaduct with pair of Class 20 locomotives crossing with Inverness to Perth cement train; map of Inverness station; Class 47 No. 47 120 with train of XP64 rolling stock leaving Inverness; Rose Street Junction with Class 47 with two cement wagons; Class 26 with passenger train for Inverness at Kyle of Lochalsh; Class 37 No.  37 017 leaving Garve for Kyle of Lochalsh; pn passenger train; Invergordon station looking towards Cromarty Firth

Robin Barnes. Thoughts on Scottish coal. Part one. 213-17.
As ever the delightful eccentric artist begins not in Lanarkshire, but at Brora in remotest Sutherland where the only British Jurassic coalfield is situated (all other British coalfields are from the Carboniferous period.  Illustrations: Manning Wardle WN 579/1875 of 20-inch gauge Brora Colliery tramway (painting by Robin Barnes); plan of railways & tramways at Brora; Blairhall Colliery near Oakley on 7 October 1967 (colour); Thornton engine shed with J37 No. 64570, WD No. 90444 \nd B1 No. 61029 Chamois with coaling tower and colliery winding towers designed by Egon Riss, NCB architect, on 8eptember 1966 (colour); ex-Caledonian Railway 0-6-0T BR No.56250 as Wemyss Private Railway No. 21 (painting?); former 4ft 4in gauge Fordell Railway Fordell as NCB No. 54 (Barclay WN 901/1901) at Cowdenbeath No. 7 Colliery on 7 October 1965; 0-4-0WT (Hawthorns of Leith WN 244/1861) at the Scottish Railway Preservation Society in Falkirk on 15 June 1968 (similar to Fordell Railway first locomotive). Part 2 see page 360

Alistair F. Nisbet. Railwaymen charged with culpable homicide. 218-23.
On 11 January 1842 Lord Moncrieff found James Boyd not guilty of the culpable homicide of a deaf woman who was crossing the Dundee & Arbroath Railway at Westhaven: Boyd had been driving a train from Arbroath to Dundee which conveyed mail and demanded a reasonable speed; further the stationmaster at Carnoustie not to cross the railway at Westhaven. An accident at Forfar on 24 June 1851 in which a freight train from Perth ran into the rear of an excursion to Aberdeen which had halted at Forfar showed that most of the staff involved had no clear idea of how the railway should be operated and several of them were charged: Cumming Jamieson (station master), William MacKay (driver of the freight) and David Morrison (pointsman). Lord Justice Clerk found them not guilty. There was a collision at Portobello on 8 October 1852 which led to a trial on 24 March 1888.

'Deltic dawn. 224-5.
Colour photo-feature of prototype English Electric Deltic diesel electric locomotive in its distinctive blue livery with built-in headlamp and chevrons on its front bonnets: passing Ordsall near Retford in June 1960 (P. Hughes); at King's Cross on down White Rose on 2 August 1959; heading through Liichfield in September 1958 (E.S. Russell); being shunted by BRCW Type 2 diesel No. D5316 at Hornsey motive power depot in November 1959; passing Brookman's Park on 30 April 1960 (Trevor Owen):

Terminus. George Watson. 226-7
Colour photo-feature: Swansea Victoria with BR Class 5 No. 73026 with express headlamps on 12.25 to York on 2 July 1963; Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0 No. 43130 on first leg to Leeds of Devonian for Pagnton waiting departure from Bradford Forster Square on 2 April 1965; Caledonian Railway 4-2-2 No. 123 at Silloth with raiktour on 13 June 1964; Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 No. 46468 at Ballachulish with 08.42 ex-Oban on 29 June 1961; Morecambe Promenade with Class 5 4-6-0 No. 44958 with express headlamps on 14.00 to Bradford Forster Square on 6 August 1966; preserved Highland Railway Jones Goods No. 103 in Inverness on Highland Railway Centenary special to Forres on 26 August 1965.

Mike Fenton, The 'Dandy' line. Part one [Brampton Town branch in Cumberland]. 228-34
Bampton is an important town in East Cumberland, but had to be content with having a station called Bampton Junction on the early Newcastle & Carlisle Railway for much of that railway's existence. Cites John N. Charters' The Brampton Railway which commands Lindisfarne Gospel prices via ABEBOOKS and notes a foreword by William Stobbart whose grandfather drove the trains. For a time an irregular (in the legal sense) passenger service operated on a line built to serve the local collieries which met the Newcastle & Carlisle line near Milton alias Bampton Junction. This line was steeply graded (1 in 40) and was worked by horses. The Newcastle & Carlisle follows an obvious, yet remarkably difficult route for an early main line: the approach to the summit from Newcastle gets progressively more difficult and the descent to the Solway is worse and would have been worst still if it had deviated to serve the town of Bampton which lies in a hollow. Dandie Dinmont was a Neilson outside cylinder 0-4-0T which hauled passenger trains between xxxx and xxxx. Illustrations: Dandie Dinmont with three coaches at the Brampton staithe; Dandie Dinmont with two coaches at the Brampton coal staithe and Stobbart on the cab;  Part 2 see page 310. See also letter from Chris Mills.

Great Eastern travels. John Edgington Collection..235-7
Black & white photo-feature: Liverpool Street terminus (country end) with B12/3 on express possibly for Cambridge line, B1 No. 1046 also with express headcode discs, B12 No. 1564 and part of LNER tender lettered LNER and painted green c1948 (nuch smoke!); Oakington level crossing and station on St. Ives tp Cambridge line c1900; B17 4-6-0 No. 61669 Barnsley on 12.10 Yarmouth (South Town) to Liverpool Street at Beccles with F5 2-4-2T No. 67199 on 12.34 push & pull (in this case aabout to propel the service to Yarmourth; N7 0-6-2T No. 916 arriving Custom House with train for Stratford on 1 September 1934; Saxmundham staion forecourt on 19 July 1952; D16.3 No. 62510 on 14.00 from Norwich at Yarmouth Vauxhall with full load of passengers on Whit Monday 7 June 1954 (attire of passengers is noteworthy); N7 No, 696446 at North Woolwich on 18.10 to Stratford on 10 May 1962; B17 No. 61639 Norwich City at Marks Tey with train from Cambridge  to Colchesster with Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 behind in April 1956 (Oh that former had been preserved rather than an absurd number of latter)

L.A. Summers. The splendour that was the single-wheeler. Part two. 238-44
Part one. The later 4-2-2 singles  included the oil-fired Holden locomotives which enjoyed a spell of glory hauling the Cromer expresses non-stop from Liverpool Street to North Walsham to convey the super-rich to their holiday homes. Naturally Summers argues that this was a Swindon design. The Worsdell 4-2-2 designs were built as two-cylinder compounds and were later converted to singles. In both forms they were capable of high speed and were capable of hauling substantial trains on the  East Coast main line. Both the Ivatt Great Northern and even later Pollitt designs are criticised for being out-of-date in concept, although the Great Central design was very powerful,Illustrations: projected Adams LSWR 4-2-2 8-ft single of 1893 (colour computer image based upon on  drawing in D.L. Bradley's  Locomotives of the LSWR, 1878-1922 (KPJ: suspect that this is a muddled citation); T.W. Worsdell 7-ft 7-in two-cylinder compond 4-2-2 No. 1517 of 1889; Wilson Worsdell rebuild as simplre 4-2-2 No. 1531 and 1519 (with open smokebox door); Holden oil-fired 4-2-2 No. 10 (coloured photograph); Holden oil-fired 4-2-2 No. 14 being fueled; Holden coal-fired 4-2-2 No. 12 with extended smokebox; Ivatt Great Northern 4-2-2 No. 266; Great Central 4-2-2 No. 967 and No. 969 (latter with larger boiler); Beyer Peacock 4-2-2 on Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway and Kerr Stuart 4-2-2 for Shanghai & Nanking Railway of 1910 (computer image). See also letters on later Doncaster singles from W.G.M. Dickinson and on Kerr Stuart single for Shanghai to Nanking Railway from John Bushby. See also reponse to this article, especially late Chinese singles, from Author. And letter from Mike Fell on page 606.

Tony Higgs. A Wartime Saturday on the North Warwickshire Line.  245-7
On 17 April 1943 Inspector Bill Gillett was scheduled to travel on two retun trips from Morr Street to Stratford-upon-Avon. on the first Driver Richard  Davies was in charge of No. 4118 which lost time especially at The Lakes Halt where tickets had to be checked.Illustrations: Inspector Bill Gillett with Chief Inspector Wilf Mawle at retirement of latter in 1962; Moor Street in 1949 with bunker-first 2-6-2T on train for North Warwickshire Line; Henley-in-Arden with 51XX arriving from Birmingham and No. 4116 on train from Stratford on 22 April 1957; No. 4170 at Earlswood Lakes with Stratford to Birmingham train in April 1957; No. 5166 leaving Stratford-upon-Avon for Birmingham on 21 April 1957 (R.C. Riley)

This is what it says. 248-9
Colour photo-feature of station names: Stalybridge (BR enamel sign in LMR maroon) with gas light on 13 September 1971 (Mike G. Fell); Appleford Halt sign giving intruction to buy tickets at Post Office; Wantage Tramway Company ownership cut into stone above office (Paul Joyce); LSWR Queen's Road station cut into brickwork photographed on 24 August 1991 (Paul Joyce);

Jeffrey Wells. The accident at Dog Kennel Bridge: a hard lesson learned. 250-2
A train from Paddington was derailed about 2½ miles from the London side of Slough on 18 June 1845. There were no fatalities and the badly damaged permanent way wwas quickly repaired by employing a large number of horses to haul a derailed vehicle up the embankment. Brunel and Seymour Clarke were in the leading vehicle. Newspaper reports were in The Times of 18 June; 19 June and a letter to The Times on the same day from an anonymous experiencer of the accident: "shattered glass and splintered wood". A report in the Reading Mercury refers to a report by General Pasley to Sir G. Clerk, President of the Board of Trade was mentioned in the House of Commons. The accident was due to the lightness of the permament way and the lightness of tyhe leading vehicle which only had four wheels of the train. Illustrations (Wells notes that the Illustrated London News did not send an artist to the scene): Paddington Station c1905; Slough station; Langley station; and West Drayton station.

Book Reviews. 253..

The railway haters: opposition to railways from the 19th to 21st centuries. David Brandon and Alan Brooke. Pen & Sword Books 2019 416 pp. Reviewed by Geoffrey Skelsey *****
Today's tourists, visiting Stamford, will find a charming example of a settled and picturesque townscape, built in mellow stone and with few intrusive signs of the last century's debased tastes. That it is so pleasant is a direct consequence of one of the topics of this outstanding new book: in short, without the opposition of landed proprietors, and the consequential siting of the Great Northern line to the east, Stamford might have become Peterborough. Instead it was left high and dry, and 'unspoiled'. Brought up, as we have been, on near-universal vilification of Richard Beeching (who didn't hate railways, as it happens) it is easy to lapse into a belief that abhorrence of railways is a modern phenomenon, engendered by deceitful politicians and influential dark forces, but in this book we find a comprehensive and well-argued account of successive waves of hostility, arising from the preoccupations of each successive age.
The treatment is broadly chronological, with themes relating to each era of railway history. Thus, we have at the start the powerful and largely self-interested opposition of some (but not all) feudal gentry, nearing the end of their long dominance, a process facilitated by the railways themselves. This was 'nimbyism' on a huge scale and cost the industry dearly, in terms of land purchase and construction costs. Then later came an almost converse assault, from those appalled, for example, by the treatment of third class passengers as well as the ever-present risk of accidents, successfully campaigning for appropriate regulation in what had been a laissez-faire era. Some critics abhorred monopolies which led to poor service and high fares ('sounds familiar!'), but others deplored the over-building of competing lines. Not all the fault-fmders were haters of railways as such, but like their descendants today some believed there to be readily at hand, if only the managers listened, elementary solutions to complex and intrinsic problems. Amongst jejune commentators there later came those such as Brigadier T. I. Lloyd and Sir Alfred Sherman with their enticing prospect of converting railways into motor roads, which when tested in actual instances proved to be illusory. The current eloquent controversies over the route, and even the existence, of HS2 could, with a little linguistic amendment, have been written in the 1840s.
The authors bring a wealth of related detail, including aspects of the arts, literature, Parliamentary affairs, trade unionism and Sunday observance. A useful chapter explains the processes involved in promoting a railway. Slightly oddly given the title, although effective in the context, the book also considers positive support for the railways, so marked in recent years to the extent that the public now urge rebuilding of lines in the Peak District and Lakeland whose original construction was passionately decried by campaigners. By and large, in time, the good ideas prevailed, though nothing could overcome the problems caused by railways which formed a haphazard network, not a coherent system, as the authors astutely put it.
The narrative is light and readable with welcome shafts of humour. Particularly interesting is the parade of almost soap opera-like demonic characters such as Dionysius Lardner (described by Dickens as "the prince of humbug") and Colonel Charles Sibthorpe, an almost unhinged adversary who believed that all railways were "public frauds and private robberies" and for nearly 30 years waged Parliamentary war against them: he was, the authors memorably say, "a latter-day Don Quixote tilting not at windmills but at locomotives". The book's anecdotes include many new to your reviewer and there are interesting illustrations in the text, including contemporary cartoons which then, as now, exemplified the common attitudes of thinking folk. A good bibliography is accompanied by extensive source notes. This is a substantial and thoughtful book which opens up new topics of study and perhaps its most important message is that controversies of the distant past still resonate today.

Midland Railway outpost Lancaster-Morecambe-Heysham. Martin Bairstow. Willowherb Publishing. A5 landscape, hardback. 112pp. Reviewed by Michael Blakemoor ****
Picture albums of variable quality come and go, but Willowherb has produced some good colour ones and this is another. The Lancaster-Morecambe-Heysham line is, perhaps, a short one to be the subject of its own such book but its significance is that in 1908 it became one of the electrification pioneers when the Midland Railway institued an service using a 6,600V ac overhead system. Sadly this had gone, it seems, before colour photography had captiured these electric cars and in 1951 the system was abandoned, but in 1953 the line was re-electrified by BR using converted ex-LNWR third rail vehicles as a test bed for the high voltage ac overhead system which was to become the standard we know today. Fortunately they are able to feature prominently.
However, there is more to this album than just the section identified in the title. Covering begins at the erstwhile junction station at Wennington where the line to Carnforth diverged from the direct route to Morecambe which closed, with the electric service, in 1966. However, through trains from Leeds produced serious motive power, one fine shot depicting a 'Peak' with six coaches and two parcels vans, passing a sign at Halton listing the tolls over the railway-owned toll bridge across the River Lune. Carnforth is featured and the importance and generous provision of the Morecambe Promenade station is clearly shown, as is that at Heysham, once the MR's port for Ireland. Branch lines pictured include the Glasson Dock branch from Lancaster, one view showing an Ivatt Class 2 2-6-0 apparently stranded rail-less in completely overgrown siding just before closure. Motive power is the expected LMS steam and BR diesel types; a brief mention might be made of one of the odd and unsuccessful Metro-Vie Co- Bos — before moving on.
There is a splendid selection of photographs featuring the steamers from Heysham on the Irish and Isle of Man sailings, my choice being a splendid shot of no fewer than seven turbine steamers at Douglas having crossed to the IOM from English, Welsh, Irish and Scottish ports. Morecambe is still rail served, just, with a new two-platform basic station having replaced the Midland's multi-platform Promenade; it suffices for what in recent times has often been no more than a two-car 'Pacer'. The LNWR once had its own station there, Euston Road, as well! Heysham as a port is still busy but the railway plays very little part in its traffic. This is a quality production by the author, the publisher and the Amadeus Press.

The Diary of Thomas Baron 1855-1862. Edward Talbot. LNWR Society. 134 pages. paperback. Reviewed by AD. *****
Ted Talbot is a stalwart of the LNWR Society and a recognised expert on all things LNWR, especially its locomotives. He is the author or co-author of several well-received studies on the LNWR including LNWR Liveries, An Illustrated History of LNWR Engines and LNWR Miscellany 1 and 2. His most recent book has been published by the LNWR Society in lavish colour and presents the diary of an early LNWR engineman Thomas Baron.
Baron (1835-1910) scrupulously kept his diary from 1855 to 1862 and recorded every footplate turn he made; noting the date, driver, locomotive, destination and miles run. In this respect it is a unique record of mid-nineteenth century locomotive working. Ted Talbot fleshes out this record with a running commentary noting the type of locomotive worked and useful snippets of information from working timetables, train names, or industries served by the LNWR. Included too is the Abergavenny line upon which Baron was involved with the construction eventually moving to that Welsh town as a driver.
There are contributions by Harry Jack including a short biography of Baron and a discussion of the various locomotives he worked including 'Ballast Engine No.14' on 6 June 1857 on an 184-mile run to Carlisle. No.14 was later sold to the Mersey Docks & Harbour Board in May 1859 and is better known in preservation as Lion, aka the Titfield Thunderbolt. Michael Bentley provides a former footplateman's point of view on Baron's diary and there are concluding sections reproduced from Michael Reynolds's Engine Driving Life, including the touching story of Snatchberry the faithful hound.
There are three paintings in the text by railway artist Gerald Broom GRA and a fourth can be found on the rear cover. The book is lavishly illustrated with Victorian monochrome photographs of LNWR locomotives printed at full page and accompanied by extended captions. The detail of these photographs is stunning thanks to high quality printing and paper. They can be studied for hours and are worth the cover price alone. A section of colour plates of the gauge 1 models of David Viewing give a flavour of how colourful LNWR locomotives and rolling stock were when Baron was at work. The only gremlin is that the image for plate 73 is incorrect and depicts a vehicle from 1857, rather than the 1830s. It is hope this error will be corrected in a second edition. There is also a section of colour plates of preserved LNWR 'Crewe' type Columbine.
Altogether this is a high quality production and a 'must have' for anyone interested in the working of the mid- Victorian railway, not just aficionados of the LNWR. Talbot has done an excellent job of taking what could be a very dry subject — columns of dates, destinations, and locomotives - and added the human touch and contemporary colour which brings the life and times of Thomas Baron to life. Ted Talbot and the LNWR Society are to be applauded for reproducing this unique glimpse into working on the Victorian railway.
The Diary of Thomas Baron is available from the LNWR Society Sales Officer 58 Shire Road, Corby, Northants, NN17 2HN. Paypal can also be accepted (treasurer&lnwrs.org.uk) but please state name, postal address and 'Thomas Baron' on the payment transfer. Copies can also be had from the society's eBay shop (www.ebay.co.uk/usr/bowencooke ) or debit/credit card orders on 01536 681496. ~

The Whitby-Loftus Line. Michael A. Williams. Oakwood Press. 188 pp. Reviewed by Michael Blakemoor *****
This reviewer has a fond memory of riding the coast line between Scarborough and Whitby but the dramatic route north of Whitby to Loftus had eluded him by some years — which I feel is a pity. The author introduces the branch by quoting an earlier polemicist describing it as "a spectacular failure". Mr. Williams goes on to contend that this branch should be seen as an element of a 'wider picture', a useful public train service along cliff tops, through tunnels and over a succession of cost-consuming slender iron viaducts over exposed ravines. The biggest, at Staithees, was subject to a wind gauge prohibiting its crossing by trains when the wind registered a force of more than 281b per square foot, with a speed limit of 20mph in general. Alarmingly, anecdotal evidence suggests these instructions might have been observed more in the breach ... The Whitby, Redcar & Middlesbrough Union Railway had a fraught beginning, to say the least, beset by financial woes, engineering difficulties and deficiences, shortage of labourers and the sacking of contractors, while the collapse of the Tay Bridge queered the pitch further. The company had gone bust in 1874 and was forced to enter an agreement with the North Eastern Railway to complete the line which it did with some degree of reluctance, abandoning a perilous cliff-edge route in favour of tunnels further inland. From the cutting of the first sod in 1871 it took until 1883 to achieve the opening of the branch.
Rather than spending time on the operating quirks of this branch (motive power, signalling arrangements etc), Mr. Williams takes a more forensic look at its realities and makes a point that while the line's economics might be painful to contemplate, it did within its own context deliver a significant contribution to its locality. Like so many 'seaside' lines it enjoyed bursts of busy activity during the summer months in sharp contrast to the rest of the year. Indeed, as recently as 1953 the BR Chief Regional Officer at York, while aware of pitiful passenger numbers, concluded that "In view of the heavy summer traffic it would seem we must continue to provide a reasonable winter service and improve the loading by introducing cheap fares." That attitude would not last long.
The Whitby-Loftus branch had an odd period of belated importance during the petrol fuel shortage arising from the Suez Crisis of 1956. With several hundred men from Whitby and the immediate locality employed at the ICI works near Redcar unable to be transported to work by bus, 'Suez Specials' were run, producing what were claimed to be some of the longest trains ever seen on the line. But the crisis passed in a few months; traffic returned to its minimalist level; with expenditure required on the viaducts and tunnels, closure was an easy decision and it came in May 1958. The viaducts were demolished and cut up for scrap.
This is a very well constructed book, embracing contemporary accounts of the line's problem-affected construction and official records of its mostly dispiriting financial and traffic performance, making the work a valuable contribution to the railway history of the North East.

Readers' Forum. 254

John Spencer Gilks and David Rodgers. Editor
I regret to report the death of that well-known photographer and writer John Spencer Gilks early in February. John was a photographer who travelled the length and breadth of Britain to record, in both colour and black & white, the railway system, being particularly interested in capturing details of the wider railway scene rather than 'locomotive and train' views. His photographic contributions to Backtrack go back many years and his willingness to help, with the aid of his meticulously indexed slide and negative registers, has been greatly appreciated. John's written contributions to railway periodicals go back to the 1960s and he was also well-know in adult education circles around his previous home in Surrey and in the world of recorded music; his later house, a converted school, in North Yorkshire accommodated an amazing collection of 78rpm gramophone records not to mention a sizeable 1960s jukebox!
I'm also sorry to have to record the death of colour photographer David Rodgers in January. David was a relative latecomer to the colour pages of Backtrack, his first contributions being published in the July 2016 issue, but after that his photographs appeared frequently until his most recent feature in January this year. He was a photographer of very considerable skill and we would have looked forward to much more of his work gracing our pages in the future. Our condolences go out to his family.

The splendour that was the single wheeler. Editor
The painting reproduced on p85 of the February issue is titled 'Great Western Elegance' and is by the artist Philip D. Hawkins FGRA.

Tapton House. Peter Steer 
Further to Philip Riden's excellent guest editorial in the February Backtrack, there was another engineering luminary who resided at Tapton House who, unlike George Stephenson, history has unfortunately forgotten. According to the national census, when Mary Pocock and Grace Walker ran their girls' boarding school at Tapton House they were joined by Grace's widowed sister, Epenetes Raworth. Epenetes became their housekeeper and was accompanied by two of her sons, John and Harrison. John Smith Raworth (1846-1917) was to have a distinguished career as an innovator and entrepreneur in the textile, electricity supply and tramway industries. He patented many improvements to textile manufacturing machinery and for the development of his 'Universal' high-speed steam engine which could directly drive the early dynamos without reduction gearing. These engines were used in many early public electricity supply schemes and were particularly suitable to provide electric lighting on ships. But his significant contribution was in the development of electric trams - championing this mode of transport and seeking ways to economically provide trams to localities ignored due to cost. These included the construction of his smaller 'demi-cars' and his innovative 'regenerative control'. Many sources cite J. S. Raworth as the inventor of 'regenerative braking', but his patented use of regeneration was not quite the same thing. In 1886 he was appointed Superintendent Engineer to the Anglo-American Brush Electric Light Corporation and later became a board member. Later he was a director of British Electric Traction and was chairman of small tramway companies. He was an active and popular member of the engineering institutions - electrical, mechanical and civil engineering. He had two sons who became electrical engineers, the eldest of whom, Alfred Raworth (1882-1967), became the Chief Electrical Engineer of the Southern Railway.

In praise of Moguls. Mike Barnsley 
Re article in February issue, I do not think it correct that the first Mogul bought by the Midland & South Western Junction Railway was originally intended for South America. I have been through the Beyer Peacock archives and they show locomotive works number 7948 as simply ordered by the M&SWJR, without any mention of South America. Beyer, Peacock & Co. had produced a catalogue illustrating their products, which included a class of Moguls they had previously built for the New South Wales Government Railways of Australia and all the indications are that the M&SWJR simply ordered a copy of the NSWGR locomotives. Certainly the M&SWJR locomotive was built to the same drawings.
The earliest claim I have found for the M&SWJR locomotive being a South American reject is in the Locomotive Magazine of 1900. As that magazine makes no mention of the very relevant Australian connection, it looks to me as though the author of the Locomotive Magazine article just got his continents mixed up. Unfortunately many authors since have preferred the Locomotive Magazine version to the evidence in the Beyer Peacock archives.

In praise of Moguls. Michael Davies 
Questions Jererny Clarke regarding to his assertion that the Garstang & Knott End Railway was, about 1870, the first British railway to employ a Mogul, which he also claims was American. The Knott End was an impecunious line in west Lancashire which opened in 1870 using a small 0-4-2T from Black Hawthorn. Some 0-6-0Ts followed and finally in 1908 its last purchase was an unusual 2-6-0T from Manning Wardle which became LMS 11680. It certainly never used tender engines, let alone American Moguls!

Scarborough engine shed. John Gibson 
Regarding locomotive duties at Scarborough, perhaps it should be mentioned that the National Archives, Kew have a series of official publications giving North Eastern engine duties. Information as to their holdings can be found at the National Archives web site by browsing from RAIL 527/2211 for the North Eastern Railway and from RAIL 401/103 for the LNER. Information for the NER up to the grouping is fairly complete from about 1910 for passenger workings continuing under the LNER for the twenties, but thereafter, coverage is patchy. Coverage for goods engine working is much less comprehensive. For anyone interested in North Eastern locomotive working, a visit to Kew is recommended.

Freight on the Underground. Gervase Holdaway.
Page 102 1st paragraph, reference the link from the Hammersmith & City line at Latimer Road to the West London line for Kensington Olympia. This link was definitively cut by a bomb on 20/21 October 1940 and it was never repaired. See The West London joint railways by J.B. Atkinson (Ian Allen 1984) p105. The passenger train service to Addison Road from Edgware Road ceased then and was never resumed, although it remained for some time on the London Transport maps I remember seeing the crater in the connecting embankment during the 1940s and '50s; the points at the end of the platforms at Latimer Road remained in place as did the four rail track either side of the crater. Seeing it recently I noticed the embankment had been removed although it is still possible to see the beginning of it at the end of the Latimer Road platform. See also letters from Geoffrey A. Smith and NIck Stanbury.

Freight on the Underground. Eric Stuart
Author checked the information about the re-routing of the Hammersmith & City coal train. The train was shown in the London Transport Railways Working Timetable 136 and the Traffic Circular No.27 of 1952 (paragraph 34) stated that the coal train was being re-routed with effect from 1 July 1952. This is information (as I suspected) from official LT sources and I have no reason to doubt the veracity of the information (I worked with such information for 26 years!!). Some comments:
1. It is possible that the train was actually re-routed earlier than the date given. That sometimes happened with trains and has caused subsequent confusion for historians!
2. My earlier understanding was that the spur from Latimer Road to the West London Line was damaged in 1940 to the extent that it was never used again. Looking back now, one can only assume that repairs were made to allow limited use, such as by this train, without the passenger service ever resuming.
3. I have been unable to find a date when the coal train (re-)commenced using the spur, so don't know if it ever officially stopped using it before 1952 or if it ever actually stopped and restarted after war damage.
Of course, if any eye-witness among Backtrack readers could be found, that would be great, but otherwise what I have quoted above and in my article seems the best we can says as to the facts. One of the great railway mysteries!!

The Holywell Town branch. Tony Robinson 
A minor error on my behalf. The mention of 'Parys Mine' in the text (p. l20) should describe the site as an offshoot of the Parys copper mine in Anglesey where the ore was processed into wire and nails for shipbuilding in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In other words there wasn't actually a mine on that site!

The Holywell Town branch. Larry Davies 
Photograph is of No. 41210 (Rhyl mpd 28 January 1950- 29 September 1951) and not No.41270 which was never a 7D locomotive.

Irish diesel traction. Michael Davies  254
Re unknown location' of the picture on p 106: it is Dromin Junction on the main line of the GNR(I). The train is an IRRS Special from Drogheda to Dundalk Barrack Street which also visited the Ardee branch from DrominJunction. The date is Saturday 18 May 1963. The Ardee branch closed to passengers in June 1934 and to all traffic on 31 October 1975. Dromin Junction closed to passengers in 1955.

Through Weymouth's streets. rear cover
57XX possibly No. 3737 on Weymouth Quay passing Southern National garage with Bedford lorry outside with National Bus Company logo in 1961.

GWR '61XX' 2-6-2T No.6165 has brought the empty stock of an express into Paddington station on 19 October 1963. Trevor Owen

May (Number 349)

Make your mind up — railways or canals. A.J. Mullay
Guest editorioal highlights an area of railway history which is perhaps too often overlooked.
If you ever tell anyone you are interested in railway canals, as I am, you may find that this prompts the response "Well, make your mind up, which is it, railways or canals?".
In fact, a large proportion of the nation's canals have been either railway-owned or managed (although rarely both). Even where a canal was independent, its tolls had often been set and exploited by a rival railway, usually much to the detriment of the canal company. That particular aspect of railway/canal interaction ended in the 1880s with long-term damage to canal companies' assets and a lengthy period of decline set in for most of the nation's waterways. A major milestone was reached in the next century when both forms of transport came under public ownership. But rail influence continued, with some waterways being managed by British Railways, and I believe that at least two canals are owned by Network Rail even today. I say 'believe', as NR has refused to give me a list of its owned canals and told my MP it doesn't own any anyway. Yet it recently paid for repairs on the Gravesend & Higham (ex-South Eastern & Chatham) and apparently continues to lease out the Stover (ex-GWR) to a local authority in Devon.
It's all part of a fascinating story, as I tell anyone who will listen. It seems a pity that this aspect of British transport history, which features such major concerns as the London & North Western, Midland, North Eastern, Great Western (pre- and post-grouping). LMSR, LNER, Southern, BR, etc, does not seem to be celebrated in book format.
Some curious details emerge from even a cursory glance at the history of railway canals. A Bradshaw guide of 1904 describes as "carrying very little traffic" the canals of the GWR and the LNWR (with the honourable exception of the Lancaster, in the case of the latter). Yet both these companies laid claim to the title of 'Premier Line'. A Royal Commission in Edwardian times heard damning evidence of how railway-leased tolls on the independent Leeds &Liverpool were raised to a level which priced the canal 'out of the market' and prevented investment in essential reservoir construction. Similarly, when the GWR boasted to the Commission about how well it looked after the Kennet &Avon, an independent witness counter-charged that the waterway needed dredging "very badly indeed". The recreational potential of Britain's waterways was officially recognised in 1979 with their transfer to a non-transport ministry, one with an environmental remit (DEFRA). Interestingly, despite the subsequent headlong rush in Britain from that time towards a market economy with virtually no state involvement in industry or transport, it appears that there is no call for the canals to be privatised. It seems curious that, in these days when even a national travel agency like Thomas Cook (once railway-owned too) is allowed to go to the wall, a non-viable transport network can still exist in this cost-conscious nation, its future seemingly secure - more than you can say for many minor remaining railway lines transporting "fresh air" from one part of the network to another (as quoted by a former Minister ofTransport). Canals can still prise open the public purse, all in the name of recreation. Couldn't preserved railways do the same? A canal administrator told me recently that "of course" they were receiving public funds to cater almost entirely for recreational users. You might consider that preserved 'heritage' railways are doing that too, along with a parallel policy of historical education, and doing so without state aid. Railway enthusiasts really should not turn their backs on the canals. Their resilience is worth acknowledging. Their example is worth following. See also letter from Michael Pearson

The way we live now
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Freight at Brocklesby in 1963/4. A. Murray.  260-1
Colour photo-feature: WD 2-8-0 No. 90035 on Class F train of petrol tank wagons on 12 Sepotember 1963; Thompson O1 class 2-8-0 on way to Immingham on 12 September 1964; K1 2-6-0 on freight for Grimsby or Imminham on 2 May 1963; WD 2-8-0 No. 90714 with empty plate wagons on 9 April 1064; BR Standard Class 5 No. 73010 on 2 May 1963. See letter from Stephen  G. Abbott

Edward Gibbins. The opening of the new marshalling yard at Tinsley (Sheffield) in 1965. 262-70
In the 1960s it was considered that there was a major future for freight traffic by rail, but that there was a need to reduce transit times, increase reliability, increase productivity and eliminate the wasteful duplication inherited from the former competition which did not end with the Grouping. The Author was very closely involved with the transfer of work from the many small yards to this new major facility. Illustrations: Tinsley Marshalling Yatd in 1966; Lord Beeching unveiling plaaque at Tinsley on 29 October 1965; track plan of new yard; map showing relationship of Tinsley to other Sheffield yards; Dowty hydraulic Booster Retarders and Retarders; Class 20 Nos. 20 112 and 20 029 on freight on 16 July 1984 (Gavin Morrison); master and slave Class 13 No. 13003 on 28 July 1976 (Gavin Morrison); Class 08 No. 08 824 propelling train of ste el bars into yard on 7 May 2005 (colour: Gavin Morrison); loaded steel wagon on 26 June 1984 (Gavin Morrison); withdrawn rolling stock including Class 307 from Glossop 1500 V dc stored in yard on 26 June 1984 (Gavin Morrison); page 268 Stephen G. Abbott (letter) states Class 306 (Shenfield units); Class 08 No. 08 079 Sheffield Childrenns  Hospital inside Tinsley Depot on 12 November 1997 (colour: Gavin Morrison); Watersway diver preparing to enter Sheffield & Tinsley Canal to uncouple railway wagons derailed en route from Tinsley to Hope Valley; Tinsley in decline on 28 February 1986  (Gavin Morrison).

M.G. Sadler. LMS carriage working summer 1939. 271-5
An examination of the London Midland & Scottish (LMS) Carriage Working Book summer 1939 with emphasis on the section between Derby and Bristol including services which extended beyond these limits such as Scotland and Bournemouth. It was extremely complex with through carriages, extra carriages on some days and catering vehicles. Some night parcels trains included passenger vehicles to provide an overnight "train" from York to Bristol, but a van was added at Poontefract and at both Sheffield and Derby vehicles were added both at the front and in the rear: the eight hour journey cannot have been restful. Illustrations: 60ft corridor third with four-a-side seating of 1932 (presumably to match similar GWR compartments); 60ft brake composite; Jubilee class 4-6-0 No. 5660 Rooke at Bristol Temple Meads; restaurant kitchen car No. 10440 with thirty unclassified seats; interior of composite dining car No. 241; Mangotsfield station platfo rms in May 1950. See also letters from Arnold Tortorella based on extracts from LMS Northern Division Minute Books and from Jim Tucher.

Going, going ... towards the end of the 'Pacers'. Keith Dungate. 276-7
Colour photo-feature: Merseyrail yellow livery No. 142 043 near New Hey on 16.26 Manchester Victoria to Rochdale on 22 September 2001; chocolate & livery Skipper alias No. 142 022 leaving Guisley on 11.57 to Bradford Forster Square on 4 March 1988; Provincial Sector livery on No. 142 037 at Colne on 10.13 diservice to Preston on 1 August 1986; Northern liveried (liverished?) No. 141 020 leaving Gargrave on 12.44 Morecambe to Leeds on 4 Morch 2008; Nos. 142 078 and 142 095 in Arriva livery at Outwood on 16.48 Leeds to Sheffield on 1 July 2008; Class 144 No. 144 007 in West Yorkshire Metr0 attractive livery at Baildon with 14.00 Guiseley to Bradford Forster Square on 20 March 1987.

M.H. Yardley. And then there was one : a look at the rise and fall of two of Liverpool's Termini. 278-86.
Closure of Liverpool Exchange and Liverpool Central and concentration of services at Lime Street and on extensions to the underground Liverpool Loop. Illustrations: Class 5 4-6-0 No. 44664 on arrival at Liverpool Exchange on 17 July 1965 (colour: Trevor Owen); Hughes 4-6-0 No. 1514 on arrival of express at Liverpool Exchange; Liverpool Exchange frontage onto Tithebarn Street (colour); map; Great Central 4-2-2 No. 969 and Midland Railway 4-4-0 No. 399 in throat of Central station; GCR Class 11A 4-4-0 No. 871 non-stopping Flixton station on CLC Liverpool to Manchester express; Liverpool Exchange concourse in early twentieth century; L&YR electric multiple unit at Platform 6 in  Liverpool Exchange;  Fairburn Class 4 2-6-4T No. 42056 at Liverpool Central  on arrival of 08.10 service from Glazebrook on 14 April 1966 (colour: M.H. Yardley); Liverpool Central staion frontage with tram on route 40 to Pier Head on 20 Aiugust 1955 (T.J. Edgington); Class 5 4-6-0 No. 45137 on FA Cup Tie special to Manchester on 26 March 1966 (M.H. Yardley); Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 45698 Mars on express departing from Liverpool Exchange in October 1965; Class 5 4-6-0 No. 45202 on 09.00 to Glasgow and Edinburgh which it would work to Preston at Liverpool Exchange on 1 April 1968; Liverpool Exchange  with two Class 502 EMUs and Cravens DMU in mid-1970s; Derby two-car DMU at Liverpool Central with service to Gateacre in 1971 (Les Fifoot)  See also letters from David Greeening and from Peter Tatlow..

Arnold Tortorella. Caledonian Railway footbridges. 287
At Giffnock, Clarkston and Busby.

The Great Western Railway '61XX' tanks. 288-91
Colour photo-feature: Nos. 6141 and 6142 outaide Paddington station on 27 August 1960 (R.C. Riley); No. 6151 in lined green livery on Reading to Paddington service in Sonning cutting on 27 May 1959; No. 6128 in early BR plain black livery with cycling lion emblem on freight on Bourne End branch departing for High Wycombe in July 1961; No. 6117 in lined green livery on local freight at Princes Risborough on 10 June 1962;

Jeremy Clarke. William Stroudley's 0-4-2 tender engines. 292-8
Illustrations: D2 class No. 300 Lyons (O.J. Morris Collection); D3 Class No. 608 Richmond;  D3 Class No. 610 Cornwall at  Fratton in 1901; Gladstone No. 178 Leatherhead at Barcombe; No. 184 (not No, 185 as per caption) taking water at Lewes in 1922; No. 187 at Brighton with a special for Shoreditch; No. 165 Edward Blount with Hammond air pre-heater on Brighton shed in 1912; No. 190 Arthur Otway at Bognor in 1899;No. 191 at Horsham shed in 1927 still in umber livery; No. 214 Gladstone possibly at Hove; Nos. B172 and B197 at Brighton station on 8 May 1932; Gladstone in the old National Railway Museum in York in 1974.

Bruce Laws. Colwick: where coal was king. Part Two: Colwick in the late 1940s and 1950s — decades of decline. 299-303
Part 1 see page 134. The former LNER footplate crews, like Les Beet,  did not like the ugly Ivatt Class 4 2-6-0s and called them Mucky Ducks or Flying Pigs. Les Beet also had a strong dislike for the Britannia class Pacifics and prefered the K2 class 2-6-0s. The decline of the coal industry, much of the local output had been used to produce town gas replaced by natural gas and the closure of duplicate routes led to the residual output being routed via Toton. The closure of the Great Central main line was the final element in eliminating Colwick off the railway map and into a retail park. Reference to "opening" of Cinderhill Colliery in 1947 is disputed by Michael Elliott, Illustrations; L1 No. 67790 in 1959; A5 No. 69805 at Nottingham Victoria; J5 No. 85480 at Colwick in 1950 (Mike Boakes); J6 No. 64246 in Nottingham Victoria in early 1959; WD Austerity 2-8-0 No. 90703 passing Nottingham Victoria on 20 April 1963; 9F 2-10-0 covered in limescale passing Victoria North signal box (colour); Nottingham Victoria Platform 4; Nottingham Victoria station site on 25 February 1968.

Steam in the North East Coalfield. David Idle. 304-5
Colour photo-feature: all July 1972: captions by John Scholes: Robert Stephenson & Hawsthorn 0-6-0ST No. 44 (WN 7760) en route between the Fenwick pit and Backworth crossing the Blyth & line at Earsdon signal box; Backworth Colliery with N.C.B. 0-6-0STs Nos. 6 and 9 outside engine shed (both were Ministry of Fuel and Power (W. Bagnall WN 2749/1944 and RSH WN 7097/1943 respectively) (some of the internal use wagons were painted bright red); Whittle Colliery 0-6-0ST No. 47 (WN 7849/1955); Morrison Busty Colliery with 0-6-0ST No. 83 (Hunslet Engine Co. WN 3688/1949) hauling loaded wagons to Oxhill near Annffield Plain on the line to Consett; Hawthorn Combines Mine at South Hetton with Gas Producer System modified 0-6-0ST No. 69 (WN Hunslet WN 3785/1953) with red painted wagons some marked Seaham)

Looking to the future. 306-9
Photographs from an album assembled by the Civil Engineer's Department presented to David Blee on his retirement in 1961 from General Manager of the London Midland Region: roof at Carlisle Citadel station; Carlisle Kingmoor Marshalling Yard undrr construction; Chelford station (buildings designed William Headley); south of Stockport two short tunnels opened up  and new bridges installed; Recruitment Centre at Euston (all that is bad with design at that time: flimsy steps & stick-on lettering); new bridge carrying Manchester South Junction & Altringham line across Fairfield Street (festooned with trolleybus wires) in Manchester; Training School at Horwich Works opened in 1959; interior ; Overseas Freight Office in Leadenhall Street, London; Oxford Road station. Manchester showing platform canopy (also in parrt Headley design) and sharp curvature with DMU; Radcliffe Central station buildings; Rugby flyover

Mike Fenton. The 'Dandy' Line. Part Two. 310-14.
Part 1. Lady Rosalind Howard was a great supporter of the railway but she had died in 1921 and the North Eastern Railway had been glad to cease the passenger service during WW1 and was reluctant to restart the service on 1 March 1920 and had set in motion its closure which was enacted by the LNER on 29 October 1923. The Author does not trace the handling of the coal traffic after the passenger service ceased. Illustratiions: Belted Will, track layout at Brampton Junction station in 1909; Dandie Dinmont; Mayor of Brampton on horse in protest for a lighr railway; crowd celebrating opening of Brampton Town station on 31 July 1913; official party next to NER inspection saloon during opening of Brampton Town station on 31 July 1913; more crowds celebrating opening of Brampton Town station on 31 July 1913; Fletcher BTP 0-4-4BT No. 1089 with single clerestory auto-coach at Brampton Town station in early 1920s; Brampton Junction station in early twentieth century.

Miles Macnair. From road unto rail: exercises in technology transfer. Part Four: Internal combustion and pneumatic tyres. 315-17
Begins with a personal adventure om the Talyllyn Railway in 1954 when as a schoolboy volunteer he had participated in lauching a converted Mercury tractor onto the narrow gauge rails to assist in permanent way work and the difficulty of getting it off again to visit the pub. The North Eastern Railway petrol electic railcar of 1902 and similar railway designed concepts are ignored in favour of road-based vehicles modified to run on rails. Cites Michael Collins Rail versus road in Ireland, 1900-2000. Coloupoint, 2000. Fails to mention Karrier Ro-Railer lorry used by LNER on West Highland line for permanent way work. Illustrations: Converted Mercury tractor when painted and given a cover; Caledonian Railway converted Argyll char-a-banc with luggage truck used to provide a shuttle service between Connel Ferry and Connel North; twin Ford railbuses coupled back-to-back working on Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway in 1923; AEC Regal single deck rail-bus conversion of 1932 tested on  the GWR and LNER (Maurice Early); Great Northern Railway (Ireland) bus fitted with Howden-Meredith pneumatic tyre wheels (Locomotive Mag., 1934, 40. 370); LMS Ro-Railer at Stratford-upon-Avon station during coversion between modes and close-up of effort involved. See also letter from Nick Daunt on page 413 and George Dow's West Highland. More on pneumatic tyres see page 484.

Readers' Forum 318

The splendour of the single-wheeler. L.A. Summers 
The coloured images of MR No.116 (February) and GER No.10 (April) should have been credited to the Great Eastern Railway Society.

Crossing London: the City Widened Lines. Michael J. Smith
Geoffrey Skelsey has served us well with his comprehensive account of the background and economic and political ramifications of the long-running Thameslink story Oanuary and March issues). May I add a few comments? The York Road platform at King's Cross, depicted on p179 (March), did not serve the down line, as stated in the caption, but the up, although physically, of course, the track went down into Metropolitan territory. The down line surfaced at the far side of the main line station, having come up by means of the notorious Hotel Curve tunneL Thus are the ups and downs of railways!
The York Road platform, incidentally, had nothing to do with the tube station of the same name opened by the Great Northern, Piccadilly & Brompton Railway (today's Piccadilly Line) on 15 December 1906 about half a mile to the north and closed on 17 December 1932, just before the London Transport era.
Further south such potential confusion was avoided by the Southern Railway's renaming of its ex-LCDR St. Paul's station as Blackfriars, mentioned by Mr. Skelsey Oanuary). This took place on 10 February 1937 in response to London Transport's decision to rename its Post Office station, opened on 30 July 1900 on the Central London Railway, as St. Paul's from 1 February. Later that year, on 23 August in a further tidying-up, LT enamed what it had briefly called the Central London Line as the Central Line.

From road unto rail. Stephen G. Abbott
Despite their name Brush Electrical Engineering would have not been fazed by the task of assembling the 1904 Ganz steam railcar mentioned in Part Three of Miles Macnair's article (March issue). Its predecessor Henry Hughes's Falcon Works built steam tramway locomotives from 1873, then small conventional locomotives including notably Talyllyn (ex- Corris) Railway No. 3 Sir Haydn. Brush continued building steam alongside its growing tramcar and rolling stock business from taking over in 1889 until 1914. I have a facsimile of its 1904 catalogue issued in 1965 to celebrate the centenary of the company. This includes types from 0-4-0T and 0-6-0T to 3ft gauge 4-4-0T s as supplied to the Cork & Muskerry Light Railway and 4-4-0 tender locomotives for the then 2ft gauge Beira Railway in Mozambique. In all over 250 steam locomotives were built at Loughborough.

Four wheels on my wagon. John Macnab 
As given mention  in March Editorial the quality of carriage stock made advancements from the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in that passenger coaches be it of the four- or six-wheeled variety was being progressively phased out.
However, the Caledonian Railway found itself in its closing years of existence in 1920/1 having to replace stock dating from the 1880s on a virtuallike-for-like basis that was necessary due to the extreme curvature of track in following an accompanying water course, that being the Edinburgh Princes Street-Balerno branch.
These new build of four-wheeled coaches totalled seven firsts, 22 thirds and ten brake thirds. They would appear to have run so employed into subsequent LMSR days, only ceasing when the service was withdrawn during World War 11 in November 1941
I would, however, imagine they also ran on other suburban services emanating from Edinburgh Princes Street over the years and indeed into early BR days as is shown in a grainy photograph in the December 1950, issue of Trains Illustrated magazine, although the caption errs in giving Balerno as a destination. This should have conceivably read Barnton and this particular service itself ceased in May 1951 and note is given in other sources that all the coaches in question were withdrawn en bloc in May 1952.
Photographic records or written detail of any of the above seem especially sparse apart from the redoubtable H. C. Casserley who photographed examples of all three types of stock at Barnton in October 1946, one of them, still a full first, shown in Caledonian in LMS Days, p64, by Niall Ferguson and David Stirling (Pendragon, 2007).

The Southern in Devon  Roger Merry-Price
An error, solely on my part, occurred in my letter published in the February issue. The penultimate paragraph read:" In 1958 all the former SR lines were transferred back to the Southern Region with the exception of those in the Plymouth area where the WR took over complete control including operating arrangements. As a result Plymouth Friary shed was transferred from the WR to the SR. As most readers will be aware, I meant to say that Plymouth Friary shed was transferred from the SR to the WR and not the other way around. It was, of course, re-coded from 72D to following the transfer.

Colwick. Roger A. Smith
Re several errors that appeared in an otherwise excellent article. Whereas the colliery lines shown on the map were either all or mostly built by the Midland, GC and GN companies, and later by BR (Cotgrave and Calverton), the line from Cinderhill (Babbington) Colliery to Newcastle and Bobbers Mill Collieries and which ended adjacent to the Radford Junction to Trowell Junction line, was only ever a colliery company line. This line actually pre-dated most of the railways in this area and was originally built to connect the collieries with the Babbington Canal Wharf on the Nottingham Canal at Radford. When the Midland Railway opened the Radford Junction to Trowell Junction line in 1875 it crossed the colliery line on the level and a north-to-west connecting curve and exchange sidings were built. The colliery line south of Newcastle Colliery eventually closed in the 1930s and its course now lies beneath Western Boulevard, part of the 1930s-built Nottingham ring road. The remainder of this line stayed open until about 1960, with regular trips hauled by NCB locomotives to the site of Newcastle Colliery, which by this time had become a land-sale wharf.
On p125 the author states that 'The Great Northern Railway opened its own Derbyshire and Staffordshire extension line from Eggington Junction (on the North Staffordshire Railway's line from Stafford) to its own Derby Friargate station". Firstly, this is misleading, as the Derbyshire and Staffordshire Extension extended all the way from Rectory Junction to Egginton (note, no third 'g') Junction and not simply from the latter point to Derby Friargate station. Secondly, Egginton Junction was on the North Staffordshire Railway's line from Stoke on Trent, not Stafford. The NSR never reached Stafford on its own metals, although the GNR did so, after acquiring the Stafford & Uttoxeter Railway in 1881.
The tunnel between Arno Vale and Gedling, referred to on pp135 and 136, was only ever called Mapperley Tunnel. Mapperley Plains was indeed the name of the high ridge through which the tunnel bored, but the tunnel itself was simply Mapperley Tunnel.
The connection to the route to the GNR's Nottingham London Road station was effected at Colwick West Junction, not Colwick North Junction. Bingham Road station was not on the GNR Nottingham-Grantham line, but on the GN/LNW Joint line south east of Saxondale Junction. The station referred to on the Nottingham-Grantham line was simply 'Bingham'.
Lastly, the author refers to the line from Culworth Junction (near Woodford Halse) to Banbury as "the joint line". The line was indeed used by both the GCR (later LNER) and GWR, but it was solely owned by the GCR/LNER, and therefore could not be termed a 'joint' line as is understood in the usual usage of the word in a railway context.

The railways of Oxfordshire. Gerald Goodall  
Stephen Roberts's review of Oxfordshire's railways in the March issue is curiously time-warped at 1987 in respect of the former LNWR line into Oxford. I feel that the story is incomplete without mention of major developments since then ..
The original Network South-East reopening from Oxford to what became Bicester Town (formerly London Road) was a cautious affair, just a few trains at peak times, and the station was indeed left rather gaunt and basic. However, success soon attended the venture; the service was expanded to something like an all-day one and modest improvements were made to the station. Some of the trains ran through to or from Reading or even Paddington, no doubt for operational convenience, and I dare say for a bit offun, rather than any commercial reasons. There was even sometimes through working to or from Bristol during the bizarre period when Turbos' on direct Oxford-Bristol services clogged up capacity on the GW main line west of Didcot. The trains still had to plod along rather slowly between Bicester and Oxford due to the state of the infrastructure, but this was evidently preferred to sitting in a monstrous traffic jam on the main road.
Everything changed when Chiltern Railways decided to develop its own main line route to Oxford. The Oxford-Bicester line was closed for several months (bus substitions on a line only quite recently reopened!) while it was rebuilt as a proper 100mph two-track railway. A completely new junction at Bicester linked the route to what had become Chiltern's main line to Birmingham. All this was much delayed by bureaucratic procrastination, but eventually the line was reopened to a brand-new station at Oxford Parkway in October 2015. It took another fourteen months, and more delays, to complete the route into new bay platforms at Oxford itself. The former Bicester Town re-emerged phoenix-like as a new Bicester Village on the same model as Oxford Parkway. The 'Village' refers to a major Outlet Centre immediately adjacent, which attracts shoppers from far and wide and begets multi-lingual announcements on how to get there at Marylebone. A half- hourly express service, seven days a week. was introduced, most trains taking just over an hour to or from Oxford. This compared well with the GW Paddington service at the time and is still not very far behind it even with the advantage of electric operation most of the way on the Paddington trains. There is a loser in all this, the intermediate station in the large village of lslip; this has two-hourly service on Saturdays and Sundays but is largely ignored on weekdays. We keep on being told that the 'East and West Railway', or other similar names, will extend eastwards from Bicester on the old LNW route to Bletchley and Bedford, maybe even (on what would have to be new construction) to Cambridge. I shall look forward to this. One final anecdote that may be of interest. The Chiltern route to Oxford has occasionally been used as a diversion for GW HSTs during blockades on the main line. On 27 December 2017 the blockade included Paddington itself and some HSTs were run to and from Marylebone. Mostly these went to Bristol, sometimes Swansea; but there were also some though workings to and from Penzance. The preposterous absurdity of there being through trains, in more-or-less normal service, between Marylebone and Penzance beggars belief. Sir Edward Watkin would have been very pleased.

The railways of Oxfordshire. Peter Rance
Re Stephen Roberts comments under the Cotswold Line section, Hanborough's greatest day came with Winston Churchill's funeral train in January 1965. Of course that was an historic day, but I do wonder whether we should also reflect upon the short period of what it once had and can no longer recreate for our commuters on this line, of which I am one. Namely that when the OWWR, GWR and LNWR were in "challenging relationships" Hanborough was then, quite remarkably a major junction station, where one could travel to London by either LNWR to Euston or GWR to Paddington! Hardly surprising that when the OWWR became the West Midland Railway which was then absorbed into the GWR in 1863, this dual option was very quickly removed. This is another example of 'what if?' had events tumed out differently.

The railways of Oxfordshire. Stephen G. Abbott
Stephen Roberts's description of the reduced status of the Oxford-Bicester line has been overtaken by events. As the first part of the planned East-West route to Cambridge the line has been upgraded to a 100mph double-track. with a spur at Bicester to the Aynho junction-Princes Risborough line. This has enabled a service from London Marylebone to a new Oxford Parkway station in north Oxford from September 2015, extended to Oxford main station In December 2016. Bicester Town has been renamed yet again to Bicester Village, with a direct exit to the eponymous shopping centre which is a popular day trip destination from London for overseas visitors. The new service has been highly successful. Bicester Village generating 1.8 million annual passenger journeys (compared with 200,000 latterly at Bicester Town) and Oxford Parkway one million, with no lasting impact on the continued passenger growth at Oxford itself.

Goole's railways 1836-1910 . E. Scarlett
Re photograph at the top of p26 The image caption implies that the feature on the far left of the Dutch River girder bridge is the start of the Aire and Calder Canal. As this canal is north of the Dutch River the feature referred to is only an arch over the towpath, the girder bridge shown at the foot of p26 being to the right of the Dutch River crossing. The North Eastern Railway combined these bridges as its Viaduct 13 spanning, north to south, the L YR, two canals and a towpath (plus several arches filled in later) and stretched over 15 chains (333 yards).

And as the sun sets over Stafford. Edward Talbot. rear cover
Locomotive hauled express on West Coast Main Line at Baswich: HS2 given go-ahead in spite of virus

LSWR '700' Class 0-6-0 No.30327 runs through Exeter Central station, passing E1/R 0-6-2T No.32697, on 28 June 1958 with prison in background.

June (Number 350)

The way things are. Michael Blakemore, 323
Amadeus Press had to cease production and emergency issue printed by Warners (Midlands) took over.

Rebuilt Scot No. 46121 Highland Light Infantry. City of Glasgow Regiment on Beattock bank with Birmingham  to Glasgow express. Eric Treacy

'Black Motors'. 324-5.
Colour photo-feature of Drummond LSWR 0-6-0 built by Dubs & Co. in 1897. No. 30699 ex-Works on Eastleigh shed in 1954; No. 30698 in Guildford shed on 24 March 1962 (G. Parry) No. 30350 on passenger train including two Pullman cars to mark centenary of Portsmouth Direct line near Petersfield on 25 January 1959 (Trevor Owen); No. 30346 in siding at Weybridge with a freight train on 24 April 1962 (A.F.H. Hudson); No. 30346 with breakdown train near Honiton on West of England main line in September 1958 (P.J. Hughes). See letter from Peter Tatlow:

Paul Joyce. Hampshire footplate memories: the early years.,  as told by Tom 'Nipper' Turner. 326-32
Turner lived in Swanwick and left school in 1957 to join the Royal Air Force as a tradesman, but disovered that his school friends were earning more at Eastleigh locomotive sheds; thus he baled out and joined them as an engine cleaner who joined in and experienced the usual practical jokes and perils of working on locomotives which in some cases were not handled correctly. Harty, a mate drove a Terrier 0-6-0T through the shed doors, When he moved onto firing he was at the mercy of difficult drivers. Macintyre deliberately made life difficult by easing the locomotive if he considered that too much coal had been put into the firebox and opened up if he thought that the fire was too thin. Illustrations: No. 30850 Lord Nelson at Eastleigh shed coaling stage on 22 May 1960 (P. Patterson: colour); Swanwick station with BR Class 4 2-6-0 waiting departure for Southampton Terminus (Roger Holmes); Ivatt Class 2 2-6-2T No. 41311 at Bishops Waltham with freight train on 25 July 1961 (Les Elsey: colour); T9 4-4-0 No. 30707 on Eastleigh shed in August 1960; Southampton Terminus on 6 September 1966; Plymouth, Devonport & South Western Junction 0-6-2T No. 30758  Lord St. Levan; M7 0-4-4T No. 30480 at Bishops Waltham with freight train on 26 April 1952 (Les Elsey); Durley Halt and crossing keeper's house viewed from guard's van on 8  March 1958 (Chris Gammell); Andover GWR engine shed with Maunsell Mogul in June 1954; S15 4-6-0 No. 30828 see letter from Peter Tatlow on breahdown crane behind; No. 6910 Gossington Hall at Eastleigh (Roger Holmes); A1X Terrie r No. 32678 on Langstone Bridge with train from Hayling Island in June 1962 (A.J. Reeve: colour). See also letter from David Green

John Spencer Gilks. Ryedale rambler. 333-5.
Black & white photo-feature (all 26 May 1960 unless noted otherwise): J39 No. 64928 running round its freight train from Kirbymoorside to Malton at Gilling; Helmsley station viewed from brakevan; J39 No. 64929 running through Kirbymoorside station; J39 No. 64928 at Pockley level crossing; J39 No. 64928 on Kirkdale Viaduct; Nawton station viewed from brakevan; Nunnington station cum teashop with train crew being refreshed; train crew with train at Gilling; diesel multiple unit at Hovingham Spa with ramblers from Bradford Forster Square on 27 July 1964. See also letter from Charles Allenby who worked at Gilling and travelled on the train the Ryedale Rambler

David Joy. Rails to Windermere. 336-43
William Wordsworth fought poeticalyy to keep the railways out of the Lake District, but lost and two werre built. The first was a branch off the Lancaster & Carlisle Railway from Oxenholme to Kendal and onto Windermere which opened in 1847. The second was that built by the Furness Railway to Windermere (Lake Side) which opened in 1869; closed in 1965 and which reopened as a tourist attraction. The first should have an electric service, but this was cancelled by a dithering Transport Minister. Extensions to Ambleside including one in the form of 3 foot six inch gauge electric tramway were vigourously opposed. Illustrations: Windermere station with hotel (painting by colour); Burneside station in LNWR period; Precursor 4-4-2T No. 6782 approaching Plantation Bridge with up express in 1930s; map; Rachel, 90 hp petrol locomotive on roadside tramway from Burneside to Cropper's paper mill with four wagons; Furness Railway 0-6-2T No.104 at Windermere Lake Side with six-wheel carriages; Class 5 4-6-0 No. 45025 on Lake Side to Ulverston train on 24 July 1960 (Derek Cross); Lake Side pier, Palm Court restaurant and narrow gauge tramway for conveying coal to steamers (coloured postcard); steamer Swift at Lake Side showing verandah; rebuilt Patriot No. 45523 Bangor arriving Oxenholme with through train from Windermere (Derek Cross); Newby Bridge Motor Car Platform in 1905;  tender first Class 5 4-6-0 No. 45025 at Lake Side with Ulverston train on 10 July 1965 (Derek Cross); Class 5 No. 45386 passing Haverthwaite with a Lake Side to Liverpool return excursion on 24 July 1960 (Derek Cross); level crossing at  Staveley with queue of vehicles on road in 1966 (David Joy); Fowler 2-6-4T No. 42378 leaving Kendal for Windermere on 25 August 1964 (Alan Tyson); Fowler 2-6-4T No. 42317  with train from Oxenholme on 24 May 1959 (John Spencer Gilks). See also letters from Nick Hutton and Stephen Abbott.

Western Wolverhampton 344-5
Colour photo-feature: No. 6012 King Edward VI on train for London in April 1962 (G. Parry) see letter from Nick Daunt on page 462; Castle class No. 5050 Earl of St. Germans in April 1957 (K. Cooper); Dukedog 4-4-0 No. 9028 in September 1957; fully lined black Hall class No. 5947 St. Benet's Hall in March 1958; No. 7029 Clun Castle on 4 March 1967 (David Idle)

David Langton. Trans-Pennine timetable development 1961-2019. 346-53
See also transition from steam to something better, but not what is needed. Author was Timetable Strategy Manager with the TransPennine Express franchise. There is a  statement in the third paragraph which may not be interpreted correctly by those who do not know the area: "Before the M62 opened across the Pennines in the early 1970s the Yorkshire and Lancashire economies and the Regional centres were to a great extent self-contained. No-one from Huddersfield ever went shopping in Manchester, for example."  KPJ's father commuted from Greenfield with people from Huddersfield who worked in Manchester, The service was dreadful as compared with that on the Southern Region: dirty, ancient rolling stock, reeked of smoke from the tunnels. Bill Tuplin was a regular user of the route. The residue of the old company rival services was still there in 1961 — from Liverpool via Woodhead to Hull and by the L&Y route  from Liverpool Exchange to Newcastle. These were replaced by the Trans-Pennine diesel units between Hull and Liverpool, the  Calder Valley Class110 DMU on Leeds Central-Bradford Exchange-Liverpool Exchange workings which tended to be very noisey and by locomotive hauled Liverpool to Newcastle workings. Food on the trains gradually disappeared and unsuitable diesel railcars gradually took over. Illustrations: Class 124 Trans-Pennine diesel unit in original state at Leeds City on 25 July 1962 (colour); Class 40 No. 40 026 passing Rainhill station with Sunday 08.50 Liverpool Lime Street to Newcastle on 27 April 1975 (David Rapson); Calder Valley Class110 DMU on Leeds Central-Bradford Exchange-Liverpool Exchange at Luddendenfoot on 12 May 1963 (Gavin Morrison: colour); Class 40 No. D279 at Leeds City on Newcastle to Liverpool express (Gavin Morrison: colour); Class 45 No. 48 having heating boiler refilled at Newcastle Central on arrival on 10.10 from Liverpool on 30 November 1974 (David Rapson); Class 46 passing Morley station with Newcastle to Liverpool express on 23 June 1975 (Gavin Morrison: colour); Class 124 Trans-Pennine diesel unit shortened to five cars in BR corporate livery at Golcar on descent from Standedge on 16 March 1974 (Gavin Morrison: colour); Class 46 No. 46 046 leaving Earlstown with 07.58 Newcastle to Liverpool express on 5 November 1974 (David Rapson); Class 47 No. 47 406 in Inter-City with train in Regional Railways livery on Saddleworth Viaduct with 16.20 Newcastle to Liverpool express on 1 May 1989 (Gavin Morrison: colour) (from late 1948 until 1954 KPJ lived on Ladcastle Road about 400 yards towards Greenfield from point where photograph taken); Class 150/2 Sprinter in Regional Railways livery on 09.51 Hull to Holyhead passing Shaw's works Diggle 0n 26 September 1987 (Gavin Morrison: colour); Class 47/4 No. 47 475 in  Regional Railways livery with train to match leaving Dewsbury on 08.52 Liverpool to Newcastle on 18 February 1990 (Gavin Morrison: colour); Class 158 No. 158 806 leaving Stalybridge going east on 30 March 1996 (Gavin Morrison: colour). See also letters from Stephen G. Abbott and Robin Leleux.

Jeffrey Wells. The Metropolitan Railway in the news 1860-1863. Part One. 354-9
Makes the claim that the Metropolitan Railway was known as the tube and cites Peter Ackroyd's London — the biography (a rather strange title) and that an underground railway had been broached from the 1840s. In comparison with the slightly later Metropolitan District Railway it was a simpler operation both in financial and engineering terms. Charles Pearson, Solicitor to the City of London, was extremely important in gathering City financial support for the project and his portait sits facing Gustav Gore's depiction of the traffic chaos in Ludgate Hill in 1872 (something which may be missed in digital versions of this publication). On the construction side John Fowler was the Chief Engineer with Benjamin Baker as his assistant. Thomas Johnson was the Resident Engineer. Smith & Knight and John Jay were the contractors. The press sources include Trewman's Exeter Flying Post (surely an unexpected source), the Morning Chronicle (19 March 1860), The Morning Post (3 May 1860), the Daily News (18 May 1860). In addition to the expected buildings collapsing one of John Jay's locomotive boilers exploded. Illustrations: Ludgate Hill (Gustav Gore drawing); Charles Pearson portrait; map of Metropolitan Railway and associated railways during time of construction; Baker Street proposed station; cutting & covering near King's Cross station (engraving); John Fowler portrait; broad gauge? locomotive at Stafford Street Bridge on trial trip in 1862 (photograph). Nick Stanbury (page 462) challenges use of wod "tube" to describe Met.

Robin Barnes. Thoughts on Scottish coal. Part two. 360-4..
Part 1 see page 213 et seq. Author's family home was in Falkirk near the High Station and within sight of the Policy Colliery at that time owned by the Callendar Coal Company. Working conditions in the mines were very bad and women and children provided the motive power and were considered expendable by some of the employers. Housing was equally bad with ash toilets and open sewers. The Dukes of Hamilton profited from this squalour and were able to live a profligate lifestyle. There was a major disaster on 25 September 1923 near California when a wall gave way in the Dublin section of Number 23 Pit  flooding and trapping 66 men only five of whom were rescued after nine days.There is a memorial stone at Redding Cross. Between 1865 when the first locomotive arrived and 1947 ten locomotives served the Redding system: nine four-coupled and one six-coupled. A table lists the six built by Inglis of Airdrie. Also notes Slamannan Railway which has become a part of the preserved Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway. Lists the six former rail crossings of the Forth plus the seventh by tunnel to link the colliery workings at Kinneil and Valleyfield in Fife. This opened in 1964 to enable the output from Valleyfied to be processed at Kinneil. The Kinneil colliery dated back to the 1850s and until 1871 was exploited by the Wilson family, later by the Kinneil Iron & Coal Co.; at nationalisation the Kinneil Cannel & Coking Co. Ltd. The first pair of locomotives were Barclay 0-4-0ST which were cut up in 1939 and replaced by Barclay 1664/1919 which came from Edinburgh Corporation and Hawthorn Leslie 3175/1916 which came from ICI Billingham. Both were scrapped in 1962 toget her with former Callendar Barclay 1981/1933. The last locomotives at Kinneil were Barclay 2157/1945 and 2292/1951. The Cadell family owned Bridgeness No. 6 Colliery, but this was taken over by the Carron Co. of Falkirk in 1937. In 1901 Barclay 916 was acquired new and given the name  and in 1908 WN 1139 followed and given the name Grange. These had gone by 1936 and were replaced by Allan Andrews 0-4-0STs Carron Nos. 7 and 8 (WN 5/1874 and 18/1878. Illustrations: Callendar railways map; NCB No. 15 (Inglis 3/1912 0-4-0ST purchased by James Nimmo & Co. crossing swivel bridge over Union Canal when working at Redding Colliery by Polmont (Robin Barnes painting); Redding railways map; North British Paxman 0-4-0 No. D2703 running west from Falkirk High towards Scottish Tar Distillers Rough Castle siding (photograph); Policy Colliery permanent way and disc signal on 5 June 1964 (photograph); Allan Andrews 0-4-0ST working at Bridgeness No. 6 Colliery alongside mud flats on Forth near Bo'ness (Robin Barnes painting).

Readers' Forum. 365

BR Standard Class 2 2-6-0s. Editor
John Spencer Gilk's photograph of No.78049 of the April issue was taken at Kelso, not St. Boswells.

Oxfordshire's railways. Robin Leleux
Re Stephen Roberts's article in which he writes "we are definitely back in Oxfordshire when we reach Banbury (1850), the line re-entering the county on its approach." Indeed yes now but certainly not when the stations were built. The important old town of Banbury grew up on the west (Oxfordshire) bank of the River Cherwell which at this point forms the boundary between Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire. When the railways arrived in 1850 — the Great Western and the Buckinghamshire (an LNWR creature) — they built their adjacent stations on the disused racecourse in Grimsbury, an old settlement on the eastern bank of the river, ie in Northamptonshire. Although Grimsbury subsequently became part of Bodicote parish in Oxfordshire and simultaneously was absorbed into Banbury's borough boundary in 1889, interestingly the 1900 25in to the mile OS map for 1900 still shows the river as the county boundary, a point reinforced by the 1904 RCH Handbook of Railway Stations which list both of Banbury's stations as being in Northamptonshire.
As Roberts points out, the LNWR line trains into Oxford ultimately abandoned their own station and ran into the GWR one. Despite being adjacent, such an arrangement never materialised in Banbury. The LMS did plan a joint station with the GWR in 1938 but naturally World War II ended that. When the plans for a rebuilt station were revived in the 1950s it was strictly a BR (WR) one (1958), although the bay platform 4 was incorporated as a nod to possible LMR trains, perhaps running in through the old exchange siding. It never happened and such trains were withdrawn anyway in 1961.
Finally the elegant cast iron work of the LNWR's Rewley Road station in Oxford, which closed in 1951 and for years was a tyre depot, has found safety by being incorporated into the premises of the Quainton Road heritage railway centre.

Colwick — when coal was king. Robin Leleux
Re comprehensive article on the locomotive shed and yards at Colwick in the March issue Bruce Laws queries the nature of the High Dyke branch (p 140), surmising that it was an old ironworks. It was not. Instead it served a busy complex of ironstone mines which sent huge quantities of iron ore to Scunthorpe. May I elaborate? The Great Northern Railway's High Dyke branch came off the main line some way south of Grantham, near Great Ponton (Ancaster is some way to the north east) and ran south westwards to Stainby, with a branch going off west to Sproxton. The southern most Buckminster quarries had been opened up from the late 1890s by the Holwell Iron Co. (possibly where Mr. Laws got the idea of an ironworks connection) but with a rail connection southwards. The greatly increased demand from the Frodingham steelworks at Scunthorpe, stimulated by wartime needs, encouraged the GNR to build its High Dyke branch to an end-on junction with the Holwell Co.'s tramway at Stainby; the first load of ore departed for Scunthorpe in October 1917.
Thereafter the whole area between the villages of Thistleton, Colsterworth and Buckminster was extensively mined (hence the Sproxton branch of c1922), being served by a system of industrial tramways well known to enthusiasts, until the decimation of the British ore-mining industry by higher quality foreign imports in the 1970s, and taken away via the High Dyke branch.

Freight on the Underground. Roger A. Smith,  
There seems to be conflicting evidence as to when exactly the line connecting Latimer Road Junction on the Hammersmith & City Line with Uxbridge Road Junction on the West London Line was closed to all traffic. Holdaway in his letter in the April 2020 Backtrack states that the line was severed by bomb damage on 20/21 October 1940 and never repaired, but Mr. Stuart in his letter does not seem so sure that this was the case, quoting LT documents in support. In support of the complete closure occurring in 1940, Map 38 in R.V. Cooke's Atlas of the Great Western Railway 1947, Revised Edition, (Wild Swan 1997) shows the line as 'Closed 1940'. Conversely, H.V. Borley in his Chronology of London Railways (RCHS, 1982), whilst agreeing that the passenger service was withdrawn after 20 October 1940, has complete closure not occurring until 1 March 1954. This latter date is also shown on Joe Brown's London railway atlas, Fifth Edition (Crecy, 2018), whilst the Ordnance Survey 1:1250 map of the area shows the line intact throughout, including the junctions at each end. This is also the case on the 7th Series 1 inch : l mile maps published between 1955 and 1961. I can't be certain as to exactly when this area was surveyed for the 1:1250 maps, but they date from the period 1944 to 1969, and certainly contain ample evidence of bomb sites created during the blitz (see maps.nls), so the survey was obviously post 1940/1941. If indeed no traffic of any kind used this route, or was unable to use the route, after 20 October 1940, it does seem rather odd that it took fourteen years to close the line officially.

Freight on the Underground. Nick Stanbury 
Writer knew the Hammersmith area well in the late-1950s to mid-1960s and took a particular interest in the local railways — although, in retrospect, he wishes he had explored the area more thoroughly whilst evidence of former lines and services remained. The references to GWR/WR freight traffic on the Hammersmith & City in Eric Stuart's interesting article (February) and the subsequent correspondence (April) led me to delve further into the question of its routeing after the 1940 war damage.
There seems no doubt that the spur between Latimer Road Junction and Uxbridge Road Junction was severed by bombing on 20/21 October 1940, having been damaged 'at both ends' (per Atkinson, The West London Joint Railways). Given the significant damage already suffered elsewhere in the area (which had recently caused withdrawal of the other local services using the West London Line), it was hardly surprising that the infrequent LT passenger service over this spur also succumbed immediately and was never reinstated. The other regular use of the spur was for the return working of the freight (mostly coal) train from Hammersmith (03.20) to Addison Road, reversing at Latimer Road, normally thrice-weekly. But, given the exigencies of wartime and changing traffic patterns, whether the spur was ever reinstated for use by this or other traffic and actually so used has been questioned.
In addition to the suggestions made by Atkinson and other authors, I have found two sources that clearly support the reinstatement, despite Gervase Holdaway's contemporary sighting of "the crater in the connecting embankment" remaining into the 1950s (but to what date, I wonder — and was the line itself still severed?). The first evidence is in Railways and transport of Hammersmith and West London (Forge Books, 2000), which refers to the trains and includes details of their timings in 1939 (03.38 from Old Oak Common). It also states that the timings were blank in the working timetable for 3 March 1941, as one might expect if the spur was out of use, but would be specified in a special notice. More positively, the detailed instructions for the working of the Hammersmith 'coal' trains are also separately reproduced and these specify the spur routeing for the return journey. These instructions (apparently from the relevant sectional appendix) are, alas, undated but, as they refer to Kensington Olympia, must surely be no earlier than 19 December 1946, the date on which Addison Road was so renamed. The departure time of the outward train had then become 03.10 from Old Oak Common.
The other evidence is in articles in Underground News, the journal of the London Underground Railway Society and available online. The December 2013 issue contains much interesting detail (largely culled from LT files) ofthe lines and traffic at and around Addison Road and, in particular, what changed during and after World War II. In relation to the spur, it is apparent that its continuing existence, for use by the returning Hammersmith coal train and by occasional LT ballast trains from Lillie Bridge, was the subject of protracted discussions between LT and the Western Region from 1950, if not earlier. LT confirmed that it had no intention of reinstating any passenger service but considered the spur as of potentially strategic importance in the event of either the West London line or the Circle Line (through High Street Kensington) being put out of action. These discussions also embraced the 'Crystal Palace Loop', which connected the WR and H&C (close to the western exit of the H&C underpass, east of Westbourne Park) and was used by the Hammersmith service on its outward journey.
Ultimately, it was agreed to re-route the coal train via Paddington (date not given, but Eric Stuart suggests this as effective from 1 July 1952) and the spur's connections and signalling were stated in a WR Traffic Circular as taken out of use on 28 February 1954 and subsequently dismantled. We are told that some of the spur's conductor rails and electrical equipment had already been removed during the preceding couple of years and this is borne out by a photograph of its disconnected lower end in West London Line (Middleton Press, 1996), which presumably dates from this time.
The January 2014 issue then continues with details and diagrams of LT signalling alterations in the area in August/December 1950, including those affecting the spur, which was clearly still in use and would remain open for a further three years. The same article refers to the Crystal Palace Loop as closing on 15 January 1956 and its site is illustrated.
The question remains, however, as to when the spur was reinstated following the 1940 damage and its use by the Hammersmith goods services (or other traffic) recommenced. That information must surely be available from other archive material?

The Dandy line. Chris Mills 
Re location known as 'Clarty Turn' and speculation on its derivation. Correctly identified the term clarty as bring Geordie for — dirty. It is probably closer to sticky dirty, as in 'clarty boots' which would have 'clods' adhering to them, but not a much as 'claggy' where the mud would stay firmly attached and need prising off.
Typically wet clay would be clarty and, given that the Brampton area had a history of clay extraction ever since the times of Roman tile making, this is probably the source of the name — an area where the surrounding fields were extremely muddy with clay more or less at the surface. Incidentally the Kirkhouse Brick Company was still in production until after WW2. See also Nick Daunt who extends the range to clarty Lincolnshire.

The Southampton Docks diesels. Ian Benfield, 
Writer disagrees with statement "the rest travelled the whole way by road": he had a distinct memory of Nos.D2986/87/88 trundling through Sandy, one towing the other two, in May or June 1962 while en route from Lincoln to Southampton. At this time there were only two main line tracks through Sandy so in common with most freights they had spent a considerable time waiting for a path through the station. One wonders how many days the entire trip took!

May editorial. Michael Pearson 
A.J. Mullay's editorial in the May issue raises some tantalising points regarding the relationship, both past and present, between canals and railways. Curiously, the canal system — amounting to between two and three thousand linear miles, depending on interpretation — was one of the last nationalised industries to survive the Thatcherite freeing-up of market forces. Largely, one might cynically observe, because Whitehall simply overlooked its existence.
However, in 2012 the canals, and their associated assets, of England and Wales were transferred to a charity entitled the Canal & River Trust, though, bizarrely, those in Scotland remain government owned. Mr. Mullay's interesting analogy with preserved railways and their sources of income is pertinent, particularly in light of the fact that CRT continues to be partially Government funded, though in the future it is expected that they will become fiscally self-sufficient, however unlikely a scenario that might prove.
The editior should urge Mullay to publish an article or two illustrating examples of the rarely less than fraught relationship between canals and railways historically. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Network Rail wasn't indeed still legally responsible for the upkeep of odd, and probably overlooked, items of canal infrastructure, just as they are for residual railway structures such as viaducts.

Book reviews. 366

The Settle-Carlisle Railway. Paul Salveson. Marlborough: Crowood Press, paperback, 208pp, reviewed by David J[oy]?
"Why another book on the Settle-Carlisle Line?" Such are the brave opening words for this new work on what the author concedes is "almost certainly the most written-about railway in Britain, if not the world". Yet he convincingly sets out his terms of reference, stressing that his prime aim is to provide an accessible overview of the line's history aimed at the intelligent general reader and bringing the story up to date. Secondly, he wanted to bring in a strong social element, highlighting the importance of the people who worked on the line, those who travelled on it and the men and women who fought so hard to save it.
What really makes this book stand out from the crowd is that Paul Salveson is first and foremost a railwayman. His 45-year career ranged from signalman to senior management and in 2009 he received an MBE for services to the railway industry. The earlier period included a spell as a young goods guard in the 1970s on freights heading over the Settle-Carlisle. There were many memorable experiences, which form a fascinating chapter in their own right.
In the mid-1990s the author ran an oral history class for retired railway workers. Quotes from participants pepper these pages and bring alive such experiences as manning Ais Gill signal box in the days of proper winters or surviving the grimness of lodging houses at Carlisle. There are memories of a generation of drivers who would not go anywhere near a diesel and one who recalled hitting Settle Junction so fast on an up express that the engine went over on to one set of wheels with an enormous shower of sparks before righting itself!
The core of the book is more conventional with the first 100 pages devoted to a journey from Leeds to Carlisle before moving onto the building and operating of the line. Separate chapters look at the creation of railway communities with due emphasis on Hellifield and Garsdale, as well as "death and disaster" in the shape of accidents for which the line has become infamous.
The coverage of the long-threatened closure and ultimate reprieve can scarcely be faulted. The flood of Settle-Carlisle books that characterised those years has since become more of a trickle and thus it is especially useful to have chapters on the subsequent renaissance and developments through to the present day. An optimistic conclusion is preceded by pocket biographies that strike a refreshingly different note by focusing on 'Settle-Carlisle People', ranging from the Midland Railway's legendary James Allport through to the many who played fundamental roles in saving the line. Overall it is not difficult to see why Sir Peter Hendy, chairman of Network Rail, was so impressed with this book that he found time to "read the text from cover to cover in one sitting" before writing a thought-provoking foreword. He describes the line as "only saved by luck, political chance, a huge community effort, and by a little official subterfuge". It remains "hard to run" and he puts a figure of about £30 million on the amount spent by Network Rail to repair the 2016 Eden Brows collapse — an event that "even 15 years earlier would have been the end".
So, collectively is this a new and greatly welcome five-star book on a magnificent railway? Sadly, it is let down by just one thing and that is the illustrations. There are over 300 photographs, often tiny images grouped up to six to a page, which fails to hide the fact that many of them are on the down-side of poor. They are either too dark or have the subject too distant to be recognisable. A competent editor would have weeded these out and would certainly not have allowed the memorial stone in Cowgill churchyard to be shown three times — including two identical pictures. Others, such as Iittle-known photographs from the Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust, could then have been reproduced to a more generous size. As it is, there has to be dual recognition: Text***** lIIustrations**

Luxury railway travel: a social and business history. Martyn Pring. Pen & Sword Transport, 2019. 366pp. Reviewed by GS ***
Not that long ago it seemed that the era of luxury trains was drawing to its close. The Twentieth Century limited, The Blue Train, The Brighton Belle and many others were bowing out as the changing tastes of affluent passengers, and the cost of meeting high expectations, forced the railways into bitter changes. Those of us who sampled the 'real' Orient Express in its final days soon learned not to expect Hercule Poirot to be dining en route in style, or indeed at all. Such trains, it appeared, must surely follow the ocean liner and the flying boat into oblivion. But this was not to be, and although their purposes and character are quite different, recent years have seen an unforeseen revival: even the Belle herself is soon to be expensively and carefully recreated. This is one theme of Martyn Pring's interesting new book examining luxury trains, mainly in Great Britain, through a marketing man's eyes. We have enjoyed Haresnape on Pullman, Behrend on Wagons lits, and Kingston on Royal trains, but a wider-ranging study is welcome and the author's background in academia, tourism and brand-management brings a fresh outlook.
The author traces the development of luxury travel through the advent of vestibuled trains, opulent furnishings, dining and sleeping cars and other comforts. These were categorised in ways which reflected the gradations of the Victorian class system, but the growing number of middle class travellers soon sought the luxuries once offered only to the aristocracy. The author traces evolving perceptions of luxury through the railway age, showing that today's branding and marketing concepts are nothing new: found first in the new grand hotels, then in ocean liners, premium facilities came to the railway systems of the world during the nineteenth century.
But 'luxury' was relative: today's 'standard' passengers would not have found that the appointments of even a Royal Train met their requirements, and it was the gradual amelioration of the 'normal' which began the eclipse of the exceptional. The Midland Railway, by importing American Pullman cars and by abolishing second class tickets, led the way in repositioning itself to a discerning public. Speed, smooth-riding, sanitation and silence are today the perquisite of the humblest traveller, and if formal dining has largely vanished from ordinary trains one sometimes wonders just how Lucullan the food once served actually was.
Another important theme is the development and promotion of the concepts of 'holidays' and 'tourism', as they gradually grew into a major business. Individual railway companies successfully promoted themselves through association with particular 'geographies', so that, for instance, The Royal Scot, The Cornish Riviera Limited and The Pines Express defined the character of their owning railways in terms of the 'celebrity destinations' which they consciously defined.
A comprehensive account of luxury 'hotel trains', dining trains and the presentations of heritage railways brings the story to its unexpected conclusion. The book includes appendices covering the chronological development of passenger amenities on the Anglo-Scottish routes,lines to the West Country and to the South Coast. Generously-sized reproductions of coloured railway posters of different generations perfectly complement the text. There is an extended bibliography and the book is well presented, as we have come to expect from this publisher.
A health warning is perhaps due to readers unused to the argot and enthusiasms of the marketing world: some of the terminology is unfamiliar, occasionally becoming an impediment to understanding, but this is a lively take on a neglected topic.

Cromford and High Peak by rail and trail. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith.
Uttoxeter to Buxton via Ashbourne. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith.
Buxton to Stockport including Chinley and Peak Forest. Paul Shannon
All three published by the Middleton Press, All reviewed by DWM
As your Editor presented me with not one but three publications from the Middleton Press for consideration I felt as that raw redcoat recruit in the magnificently politically-incorrect film Zulu must have felt. "Why us, Colour Sergeant, why us?" "Cos we're 'ere, lad" growled the magnificently bewhiskered Colour Sergeant Bourne "and there's nobody else!"
Regular readers of this column will know of this reviewer's ambivalence when faced with the products of the Middleton Press. It is a very worthy aspiration to attempt the complete coverage of Britain's railways with a pictorial encyclopaedia and the production values of the whole series cannot be faulted. However, the very uniformity of the volumes somehow seems to militate against them, the pictures themselves are often a very mixed bunch swinging wildly between some real historical gems and 'holiday snaps' and regularly the pictorial captions are a glorious missed opportunity. In this reviewer's opinion only the imaginative use of old Ordnance Survey maps is a consistent high point through the publications.
Cromford ond High Peak by Rail Trail** is a good case in point. The coverage of the western (Whaley Bridge) end of the line and the delightfully preserved Steeple Grange light Railway is good but some of the captions, to plates 2 and 9 for example, are in the realms of Edward Lear. All in all it is difficult to see how this book adds a great deal to the general canon of railway knowledge.
Uttoxeter to Buxton via Ashboume** benefits somewhat from covering the lesser-known line from Uttoxeter to Ashbourne but is in danger of duplicating the work of the CH&PR book once Parsley Hay is reached.
Buxton to 5tockport including Chinley and Peak Forest *** is, in your reviewer's opinion, the best of the three volumes. As well as the currently-open line from Buxton down to Stockport it has extensive coverage of the 'closed' Midland line through Dove Holes Tunnel which lost its passenger traffic in 1968 but continues to handle large quantities of limestone traffic from the quarries around Buxton.
It maybe, to use an old Derbyshire expression, that these three books have arrived at Buxton 'first too late'. Backtrack readers will recall some years ago that the railways of the Buxton area were comprehensively covered by books from Foxline Publishing. Whether or not these offerings from the Middleton Press add a great deal to the story will be up to the purchaser/reader to judge?

The Corris Railway the story of a Mid-Wales slate railway. Peter Johnson, Pen and Sword Transport, 208pp. Reviewed by DWM *****
This stylish volume does nothing but add to the ever-increasing reputations of the author and publisher in the world of railway literature.
Nothing less than a traditional 'line history' - and none the worse for that - this splendidly produced, remarkably illustrated and impressively researched book does full justice to the Corris Railway, perhaps one of the lesser-known slate and latterly, preserved railways, in the mountains of Wales. The story is taken chronologically, from the inception of the line - when steam traction was specifically barred - through to the 'tramway' era, grouping and eventual preservation. The 'tramway' era refers to the ownership of the Corris by the impressively- named Imperial Tramways Company limited. Whilst retaining the focus on serving the slate quarries, Imperial embraced steam power, offered a passenger service and eventually went into the field of road motor tours, cooperating with the Great Western and Cambrian Railways.
The Corris was incorporated into the Great Western in 1930, although the GW's general manager at the time was surely lames Milne ('Castle' Class No.7001 refers) and not John as mentioned in the text? Closure came in 1948, as a result of the weather rather than the proposals of the Railway Executive. The sixties saw the establishment of a museum at Corris and 2002 the running again of trains between Corris and Maesporth.
The text is a mixture of formality, reference to Acts of Parliament, directors' reports and the like leavened with anecdotes and reference to personalities such as the mercurial Mr. Dix, the original general manager under Imperial. The photographs are a splendidly-chosen collection which supports the narrative and the transition to colour images following the closure of the line and its subsequent preservation is an inspired touch. The use of original maps, in the endpapers and the early pages of the book, really brings the text to life and is another point of recommendation for the book.
The book has a detailed bibliography and a useful index. For those readers who like to go into real minutiae a series of six appendices covers areas such as locomotives, planning applications whilst Board of Trade returns from 1872 to 1930 show exactly what was spent on what. For those who can read between the lines these figures probably give the truest reflection of the gentle decline of the railway.
Your reviewer was very impressed with this book. It came as a great relief to him to be offered the chance to comment on something which is so much more than simply a set of repetitive pictures with often superficial captions. This book really adds to the store of railway knowledge. It deserves to serve as the 'standard history' of the railway for the foreseeable future. It is a superb production and comes highly recommended.

Just another day at Totnes. R.C. Riley. rear cover
Wonderful detail in 1955 panoramic view with two 2-6-2Ts visible and evidence of another locomotive at head of short freight train which included an insulated container. Western National single-deck half-cab bus; Daws Creameries factory, milk tank wagons and creamery vehicles. The more one looks, the more one finds. Andrew Worthington identifies more hidden gems in this wonderful panorama

London & North Eastern Railway A4 Pacific No.4492 Dominion of New Zealand at the head of the Flying Scotsman at Greenwood in 1938. (From a photograph by Maurice Earley colourised by David. P. Williams) . See also page 392

July(Number 351)

Have camera, will travel. P. Wakefield. 372-4.
Colour photo-feature: Modified Hall No. 7928 Wolf Hall in lined green (& clean) livery at Hereford on express formed of chocolate & cream livery stock having arrived from Worcester in 1963; Ivatt class 2 2-6-2T No. 41297 leaving Barnstaple Junction with passenger train for Torrington; 4F 0-6-0 No. 44411 at Evercreech Junction with local train in summer 1963; Class 4 2-6-4T No. 80104 at Tregaron in 1963; V2 No, 60963 at Leicester Central with a parcels train see letter from Leonard Rogers who gives date (18 April 1964) and reason for oyjer photographers; Jubilee 4-6-0 No. 45626 Seychelles at north end of Carlisle station in 1964; 51XX 2-6-2T No. 4157 at Mountain Ash (Cardiff Road) with Neath to Pontypool Road train in 1964.

Jeffrey Wells. The Metropolitan Railway in the News 1860-1863. Part two. 375-9
Part 1.. On 16 January a house in Clerkenwell had colllapsed due to a slippage in the railway cutting. This was reported in The Sheffield & Rothrerhan Indepeendent on 17 January and noted that on 24 November 1861 a house in Edinburgh had collapsed burying over one hundred people, some of whom died. Following heavy rain the Fleet sewer inundatied the works in June 1862 and invaded bordering properties and a high tide in the Thames added to the problrms. Colonrl Yolland was the Inspector for the Board of Trade and he demanded improvements to the signalling before the line opened in early 1863 following a banquet in Farringdon Street station on 9 January. Illustrations (all engravings): commencement of tunnel at King's Ctoss from a timber-lined excavation; buildings shored up and collapsed in Clerkenwell; Fleet sewer inundation in June 1862; Illustrated London News feature showing stations; trial trip in tunnel on approach to Portland Road station on 6 Septeember 1862; banquet in Farringdon Street station. See also letter from Stephen Brasher enhancing caption information for second illustration (collaped structures in Coppice Row);

Anthony Dawson. The first train on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. 380-4.
Trailer for forthcoming The Liverpool & Manchester Railway: an operational history. James Combe was a young civil engineer who recorded in detail an excursion organized by Quakers from Liverpool to Manchester and back on 15 September 1830. It is noted that three of the L&M engineers were Quakers: John Dixon, William Allcard and Edward Woods. James Cropper was the leader of this Quaker excursion: Cropper was also an abolitionist of the slave trade and had a personal dislike of George Stephenson and advocated horse traction for the railway, but steam was used for the excursion. Illustrations (colour unless stated otherwise): a Quaker in traditional dress (not much colour!); Crown Street Station, Liverpool; Northumbrian; Phoenix with a curtain coach; black & white contemporary print showing semi-open curtain coach, Lacey & Allen's road-rail coach, fully enclose glass coach, open second class carriage, double-deck sheep wagon, and pig wagon (also length of rail with sleepers; Ackerman long prints: Northumbrian with non-stop first-class train which included a mail coach and a private carriage) setting out from Manchester with surviving 1830 warehouse and spire and tower of St. Matthew's Campfield; lower Fury passing under skew bridge at Railhill with second class train with covered second class carriages

Mike Fenton. "Have you seen Lady Margaret?" 385-9.
Lady Margaret was a small 2-4-0T which was originally suppllird by Andrew Barclay of Kilmarnock to the Liskeard & Looe Railway in 1902. Cites Aves, GWR 2-4-0 and 0-6-0 side tank locomotives .(Locomotives Illustrated No. 104) as friend of Author noted that his father Les Brisford was in photograph The Liskeard & Looe Railway was in effect azquuired by Captain John E.P. Spicer (1850-1928) of Spye Park near Chippenham who was married to Margaret Fane (1870-1949 as in the painting by Singer Sargent). The reason for the Spicer investment in the railway is not given. Illustrations: completed locomotive inside Andrew Barclay factory at Kilmarnock; Lady Margaret (colour reproduction of painting by John Singer Sargent); Lady Margaret locomotive at Looe station circa 1905 (with driver R. Miller and station master Herbert Hawes); Lady Margaret locomotive at Liskeard station with ex-Mersey Railway passenger coaches circa 1905; GWR No. 1308 Lady Margaret on a goods train at Porthywaen with driver Les Brisford in the cab c1930 (Lens of Sutton); No. 1308 Lady Margaret at Swindon shed in 1921;  No. 1308 Lady Margaret on a goods train at Porthywaen  possibly on same day as other Porthywaen photograph (narrow gauge Crickheath Tramway visible);  No. 1308 Lady Margaret on passenger train leaving Oswestry in 1932;  No. 1308 Lady Margaret on Oswestry shed in 1947.

David Milburn. The A1s' Northumbrian swansong. 390-1
In June 1963 Tyne Yard opened and it became the destination for many freights hauled by A1 locomotives from York. The class was cut-up at Blyth and none were saved, thus leading to the construction of Tornado. Illustrations: No. 60152 Holyrood on 14.25 Edinburgh to Newcastle servivce leaving Dunbar on 21 March 1964; No. 60127 Wilson Worsdell on 15.48 stopping train to Berwick at Inveresk on 2 May 1964; J27 0-6-0 No. 65812 at Newcastle Central; No. 60131 Osprey on freight (mainly vans) northbound at Darlington in August 1963 and No. 60124 Kenilworth MPD in early 1965. See also letter from Michael Pearson on page 509

LNER A4 blues. David P. Williamson, 392-3
Colour photo-feature based on black & white photographs colourised in garter blue by Williamson: No/ 4488 Union of South Africa on down Coronation near Potters Bar; No. 4486 Merlin at Polmont on Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley express; No. 4492 Dominion of New Zealand on turntable at King's Cross shed; No. 27 Merlin (with driving wheels exposed) at Craigentinny carriage sidings. See also front cover.

Miles Macnair. From road unto rail. Part five: into the British Railways era. 394-6.
The railbus: text notes how Stanier enjoyed himself driving one of the Leyland  units. Those who experienced four-wheel tramcars (as in Glasgow or Edinburgh) were not surprised that the railway equivalent gave a tortuous ride. This plots the British Railways experimental vehicles without descending to the depths of the Pacer which was never sent to Epsom or Henley, but was for those beyond the red line. Illustrations: Leyland railbus bought by LMS in 1934; ACT lightwreight train at St. Albans Abbey on 24 July 1952 (Eric Bruton); AC Cars railbus 1958; Park Royal railbus at former Bedford station; German railbus at White Notley; Charles Ashby Pacerailer at Droxford station on 16 October 1966 (Keith Harwood); LEV1 near to Rhyl (J.D. Jones: colour: back-to-front?). See long letters from John Macnab who records almost all railbus workings in Scotland (KPJ also remembers one from Kilmarnock to Ardrossan Town with many lurches); also from Roger Silsbury who states Sadler 'Pacerailer' never carried out demonstration runs on BR metals on the Isle of Wight. , J. Whiteing, on the German railbuses and where they worked and Andrew Kleissner  on Pacers. Robin Leleux enjoyed a trip to Hitchin on a Park Royal vehicle from Northampton to spot real locomotives at Hitchin in 1958. See also letter from Stephen G. Abbott which sets the British Railways experimental vehicles firmly into their historical place.

Colin Packham. The sad life of Henry Packham, signalman on the LBSCR. 397-9.
Author is related to the subject as set out in title. He was born in Staplefield in January 1860, the son of an agricultural labourer. His mother died following giving birth when only 25 and his father remarried. Henry became a platelayer on the railway in 1879 and later became a signalman. He committed suicide on 31 July 1912 by stepping in front of a train at Pyecombe. Illustrations: Henry Packham (photographic studio portrait); Preston Park station c1910 (coloured postcard: John Alsop Collection); Clayton Tunnel north portal (John Alsop Collection); Marsh Atlantic No, 40 with Southern Belle Pullman train passing Balham iontermediate signal box c1910 (F.E. Mackay); Packham family outside Railway Cottages, Pyecombe c1911.

Alistair F. Nisbet, Legitimately travelling without payment. 400-7.
Travel warrants are still in use in India and Sri Lanka and probably originated there and before WW1 had spread to most Government Departments and to military personnel. In 1824 the system was extended to Members of Parliament and much of the article deals with this aspect including the use of sleeping cars and trains with a surcharge such as Pullmans and the streamliners. There were questions about those Members who represented universities, notably by Sir Henry Craik who represented the four Scottish Universities. Raine, who represented Sunderland held a season ticket to London for his business travel and asked whether he could be reimbursed for his Parliamentary journeys. Post 1945 air travel emerged as an alternative for some Members. Not unexpectedly there were some abuses of warrants: Thomas Jones, MP for Pontypridd had to resign as he and his wife had been found guilty at Marylebone Police Court of fraudulent travel on the Great Western Railway. Two cases involving warrants issued by the Admiralty are outlined. H. Russell, the Master of the Commodore issued a warrant to the Third Officer for a return ticket from Southampton to Birkenhead and the wife of the Master used the outward portion to return to Birkenhead and was stopped by the railway employees. A further misuse of warrants concerned Captain Nagle who issued a warrant for his fifteen year old son to travel from his school to see him before his vessel left Southampton. The Metropolitan Police were involved when the London Electric Railways refused to  accept a warrant to a constable travelling from South Kensington to Kingston as the fare was only one shilling. The Railway Clearing House became involved and made the system more complex. Warrants were issued during WW1 to enable close relatives to visit wounded troops many of whom were located in remote British locations. Priviledge tickets are mentioned. Warrants are still issued by the Rail Delivery Group. There is a table of some of the former? permitted users of railway travel warrants.(includes Thomas Cook & Son). Illustrations: Ramsay MacDonald MP, Prime Minister (portrait); Austen Chamberlain MP (portrait); O2 0-4-4T No. 30199 on Railway Enthusiasts' Club special at Kingston (David Lawrence); South Kensington station in 2018; Rannoch station; Sir Henry Craik MP (portrait); Silver Jubilee hauled by silver A4 with dangerous buffers and front coupling (Alfred Thompson); DMU at Pilorth Halt (W.A.C. Smith) see letter correcting name to Philorth Bridge Halt on St. Combs branch where there was a cowcatcher requirement for locomotives [but not seeminly for DMUs; A3 on Queen of Scots Pullman servicce in BR period (Ben Brooksbank); Hawksworth first class sleeping car in BR period at Old Oak Common; Treforest station in BR period (Nigel Thompson); 4575 class 2-6-2T with two push & pull units leaving Cardiff Queen Street (David Lawrence); Marylebone Police Court. Other letters from Sym Taylor on use of, and issue of, travel warrants in the Royal Navy including first class travel by officers, and from Matthew Searle on Shipwrecked Mariners' Society whose members were entitled to free travel.

Rolling Stock Focus, When the Duke came to Stafford. Edward Talbot. 408-9. colour illustrations
Part of Royal Train at Stafford when Prince Philip, HRH Duke of Edinburgh visited on 22 June 1981: Car No. 2904 Duke of Edinburgh's saloon at Norton Bridge; Car No. 2900 built in 1955 as lounge and sleeping car; Car No. 2905 power generator coach with staff sleeping accommodation; Car No. 2906 sleeping berths for Royal Train staff; Car No. 2901 built in Mk1 era providing office space and overnight accommodation for Queen's secretary and equerry (all in up siding at Stafford station.  

Buxton's twin stations. 410-12
Black & white photo-feature: Class 5 4-6-0 No. 44847 approaching Midland station with Sunday 09.35 stopping train from Nottingham on 26 April 1953; Stanier Class 4 2-6-4T No. 42462 on 10.20 from Manchester London Road on same day as previous; exterior of LNWR side and exterior of Midland side (T.J. Edgington); platform Midland side; cash boxes on platform of LMWR side on 30 August 1980; Midland Railway 0-4-4T No. 58083 with London through coach to be attached to St. Pancras train at Millers Dale (T.J. Edgington Collection). See also letter from Robin Leleux

Readers' Forum 413-14

The splendour that was the single wheeler. W.G.M. Dickinson
Re Summers' treatment of H.A. Ivatt's A4 and A5 4-2-2s. Much of writer's comment is based on the RCTS excellent series of four books, Great Northern Locomotive history, particularly Volume 2 The Stirling era and Volume 3A The Ivatt era. I agree, with the benefit of hindsight, it must be said that the Ivatt 4-2-2s were perhaps not the best of investments by the GNR. Coaches were getting heavier, beyond the capacity of single wheelers to haul under difficult conditions. However, life is not always that simple
When Ivatt took up post at the GNR in March 1896, the main express traffic was in the hands of two classes, Stirling's 8ft 4-2-2 outside cylinder singles, and his enlarged 7ft 6in 2-2-2 inside cylinder singles. The 8 foot singles seem to have attracted most of the attention, so much so that one is pleasingly with us to this day. However, "In fact Stirling himself admitted (in low profile) that the enlarged 2-2-2 express engines were more powerful than his 4-2-2 singles." The 2-2-2s were cheaper in terms of initial cost and coal consumption and were the faster, highest recorded speed for an 8-footer being 84.1 mph against 86.5mph for a 7ft 6in single. They also had more scope for development. When he took office, Ivatt seems to have been impressed by the efficiency of the 2-2-2s, and even considered rebuilding them with leading bogie, but contented himself with just fitting his domed boiler.
The A4 and A5 Class 4-2-2 were in effect an updated and enlarged version of Stirling's 2-2-2, even having an identical front end, but with a larger reserve of boiler power including a much bigger grate, 23ft² compared with the 18.4ft² on the 2-2-2 singles. Thus to say" they were not even developments of the standard Stirling engine, having inside cylinders" is wrong. It is the Stirling 8 foot singles that are atypical, all other Stirling designed engines have two inside cylinders. It seems the main reason that the 8 foot singles had outside cylinders was to achieve a low centre of gravity without which the boiler centre line would have to be raised to 7ft 10½in. to clear the inside cranks of an inside cylinder engine.
Regards the comment that "the 4-4-0s were only slightly bigger than the than the Stirling 4-2-2s", these engines, the first of which emerged in December 1896, were an upgraded version of Stirling's 2-4-0s with a bigger boiler and a swing link bogie and were never intended to be top rank express engines, but more secondary passenger or mixed traffic engines. The top rank passenger engines, the first of which emerged 18 months later, was his Atlantics — which are again atypical of lvatt's practice, being his only outside cylindered engines.
The prototype 4-2-2 No.266 was shedded at Doncaster from where exhaustive trials were conducted on heavy trains. Indeed the second engine was turned out with modifications some 19 months after the first, so presumably the tests must have proved the effectiveness of the first engine in service. The fact that these singles were trusted with Royal Trains confirms that they must have been considered effective and reliable performers, as no company would be prepared to risk the embarrassment of a failure on such a high profile train.
I'm not convinced that these locomotives deserve the criticism heaped on them. As the author comments in his quote, under the right circumstances these engines were capable of good work. The 4-2-2s were a product of their time, overtaken by changes in requirements and circumstances, but seem to have delivered a few years' service on lighter trains.

The splendour that was the single wheeler. John Bushby.
Re Summers's questions about the Kerr Stuart Shanghai-Nanking Railway 4-2-2 engines the book China's railways and motive power pre-1949 by Reg Carter (2008) stated that were four of these engines and that they were designated as Class D on that railway. All were built in 1910 and numbered D25 to D28 with the class designation as a component of the number being Shanghai-Nanking Railway standard practice. Kerr Stuart builders numbers were 1181 to 1184 respectively. However, there is no mention of any of the D Class carrying names in this book. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about these engines was their livery which has been described as imperial yellow lined in gold and purple. This was in contrast to more normal dark green livery carried by other engines on the Shanghai-Nanking Railway. An full colour impression of one of these locomotives in full livery appeared in O.S. Nock's book Railways at the turn of the century (1969) where he also stated that the design was considered to be both economical and free running.

Tinsley Yard  Stephen G. Abbott
Re photgraph p268 of Tinsley Yard the electric units are Class 306 from the Liverpool Street-Shenfield line, converted to ac in 1960. The similar Class 506 used on the Manchester- Glossop line were not withdrawn until the changeover from dc to ac electrification in December 1984.

From road unto rail  Nick Daunt
The arrival of the May edition brought much pleasure "amid th' encircling gloom" (Newman). and was very interested in the latest instalment of Miles Macnair's continuing 'From Road unto Rail'. I particularly enjoyed the mental picture of Rev. W. Awdry in shorts and panama hat! Reading the article, I remembered that in my much treasured Railway Wonders of the World (work cited see also letter from R.L. Vickers on page 509)  there is a chapter entitled 'Coaches for Road or Rail' which has two excellent pictures of the LMS Ro-Railer coach at Stratford-upon-Avon as well as quite a detailed description of the operation of this vehicle. (For those who don't know it, this work was first published in 50 weekly instalments from 1st February 1935 to 10th of January 1936 and subsequently appeared in two very weighty bound volumes. Despite its rather popularist title, the content is excellent; the Editor was Clarence Winchester and the Consulting Editor was Cecil J. Allen [KPJ not notrd by Ottley]. There is hardly an aspect of railway operation at that period which is not covered, nor a country of the world. It is well worth seeking out in second-hand shops.)
There are also pictures of a goods-carrying lorry, also built by Karrier Motors and working on the same principle as the passenger vehicle. This was trialled by the LNER on the West Highland line between Crianlarich and Mallaig. To quote the description: "The vehicle is used mainly for the conveyance of men and materials in connection with the maintenance of permanent way, and so forth. It travels by road between Crianlarich and Bridge of Orchy, and again between Tulloch and Fort William, where the road gives very convenient access to these stretches of line. Between Bridge of Orchy and Tulloch, however, where the road is not adjacent, and between Fort William and Mallaig, where existing roads are unsuitable, the vehicle travels on the rails, depositing and picking up men and materials as required. This method enables the railway company to effect considerable economies." [KPJ: also in George Dow's Story of the West Highland]
I wonder what happened to this vehicle. In addition, there is a picture of a passenger-carrying Ro-Railer coach, similar to the LMS example but with a different body, operating on the Rotterdam tramway system.

And then there was one. David Greening
The restoration of the 45-minute schedule from Liverpool Central to Manchester Central might have had something to do with the introduction of DMUs on this service at this time although the timetable also gives similar timings to Manchester for the through trains to destinations beyond Manchester which were presumably still steam-hauled at this date. The single return working to Aintree Central was also a DMU leaving at 17.35 non-stop to Hunt's Cross then all stations to Aintree. I lived in West Derby as a youngster and with a schoolfriend, we would sometimes take the new DMU service to Aintree for the novelty of sitting behind the driver and seeing the line ahead. The set was due to arrive at West Derby at 18.01, child fare 4d (2p). The ticket was a CLC adult single cut diagonally, one half for each of us! The working arrived at Aintree at 6.lOpm, crossed over to the up platform and departed at 6.32pm non-stop to Gateacre, then all stations to Liverpool Central. We were told by the station porter at Aintree that this DMU trip catered for a senior member of staff in the Central Station BR offices who lived in Aintree! His morning outward journey would require a change of train from steam to DMU at Gateacre. Our homeward journey involved an electric train from Aintree (Sefton Arms) to Orrell Park and then a bus back to West Derby.

And then there was one. Peter Tatlow
The LMS public timetable for 6 July to 27 September 1936, only lists three through carriages from Liverpool Central, viz: Leicester 16.55, Nottingham 08.05 and Sheffield 14.00 (Sats exclusive. Lime Street and Exchange of course have multiple entries).

Colwick. Michael Elliott
Bruce Laws's two-part article 'Colwick: Where Coal was King' serves as a reminder of how a major railway establishment can vanish and become a 'memory'.
In Part One of the article when discussing changes to collieries affecting Colwick's traffic flow, mention is made of the opening of Calverton Colliery in 1936. This is not the case. What became number one shaft of Calverton Colliery was sunk in the late 1930s as an additional ventilation shaft for BA Collieries Ltd.'s colliery at Bestwood. By 'Vesting Day' (1st January 1947 - National Coal Board) it had become a project for a new colliery with number two shaft being completed by June 1952. Limited coal production started in March 1953 with full production from early 1954. Calverton Colliery was served by a circuitous branch of seven miles from the London Midland Region Leen Valley line, with a connection from the then Eastern Region Leen Valley line. This branch was constructed by Holloway Brothers (London) Limited, using two locomotives one of which was an ex-LYR Pug, LMS No 11257. Calverton Colliery was closed n April 1999 by RJB Mining.
In Part Two of the article reference is made to the opening of a new colliery at Cinderhill in 1947. This is not the case. Cinderhill is a northern district of Nottingham and it was here in 1843 that Babbington Colliery was established. Over the years a further adjacent colliery, known as Cinderhill was opened. From 1913 a brickworks was opened and in 1938 a plant (the Suncole plant) making coal briquettes was opened, only to close in 1940 and not to reopen. In 1943 a further shaft known as Cinderhill number six was sunk. At 'Vesting Day' the site was recorded as two adjacent collieries of roughly the same size known as Cinderhill and Babbington. These were retitled by the National Coal Board as Babbington Colliery, although locally the site was known as Cinderhill Pit until closure in 1986. The collieries were served by a branch from the LMR (Midland Railway) Leen Valley line and the ER (GNR) Derbyshire Extension Line.

Colwick. John Bushby
Re article on Colwick (March and May 2020) the following additional points may be of interest. According to LMS Engine Sheds Vol 1 (C. Hawkins and G. Reeve) the LMS former LNWR shed at Colwick close wef 4th December 1932, not 1928 although they also state that it its use had declined significantly by that 1928. Under.the LNWR, Colwick had oversight of sub-sheds at Doncaster and Sheffield which made them an unusual trio in that none of the three was on the LNWR proper. All were LNWR enclaves reached solely by running powers.
The LNWR had extensive running powers, which it took full advantage of, over the GCR and the GNR from Colwick to as far north as Sheffield for both goods and mineral traffic although the latter in the form of coal traffic was probably more important in the long run. Access via the GN & LNW Joint Railway to Saxondale Junction and thence over the GNR to Colwick gave the LNWR a secure base from which to penetrate further into the East Midlands/ South Yorkshire industrial and coalmining districts.
The LNWR used these, and other, running owners to access the Notts-Derby and South Yorkshire districts as part of a wider policy which also led to the building of substantial LNWR goods facilities in places well away from its own tracks with Nottingham, Sheffield and Cardiff all being good examples. The LNWR had also operated a goods service between Nottingham and Crewe using running powers over the GNR and the North Staffordshire Railway via Derby and Egginton Junction, Tutbury and Stoke. The LMS (Western Division) WTT for October 1923, which would have changed little from LNWR days, still showed a number of mineral workings to and from Sheffield Nunnery as well as others to and from points further south. However, a comparison with the July 1908 equivalent WTT does show a decline in services particularly to and from Sheffield.
The Railway Clearing House list updated as at November 1932 still shows the former LNWR running powers to and from Colwick as being active though it is not known how long thereafter they were exercised, Possibly the closure of the former LNWR shed at Colwick was related to their fate issue: anything further would be welcome. The continued existence of these services as late as 1932 might seem surprising given the large number of accesses the LMS had inherited from the Midland Railway in both of the districts mentioned. Possibly the rivalries and lack of coordination that characterised relations between the LMS Western (ex-LNWR) and Midland (ex-MR) for in its first period might explain the matter. The year 1932 was probably the worst of the Depression years and the LMS would have been looking for economies. Little seems to have been published about these interesting, if largely forgotten, LNWR/LMS services to date.
After the LMS shed at Colwick closed, a number of LMS engine crews continued to be based nearby at the LNER, ex-GNR, shed. Some details of these arrangements relating to the 1943-1944 period, are given in R. Higgins's book Over here - the story of the S160. Arrangements might have differed earlier, but at that time there were eight sets of LMS men, but no engines, based [at] the LNER shed. LMS engines used came mainly from Willisden shed having arrived over the GN & LNW joint Line, presumably on trains of returning coal empties given that their main duties involved coal trains for London via the joint Line. The same book states that 'quite often' a USATC S160 2-8-0 locomotive was used on these services. These must have been by far the most exotic locomotives ever used on the one time joint Line. Have any photographs survived?
It seems that by 1943-1944, at the very latest, and probably earlier, traffic for the LMS would have been forwarded to Colwick by the LNER where it would have been handed over to for onward transit via the joint line and the LMS proper. Even if the LNWR/LMS services referred to above had survived the LMS/LNER pooling agreements of the 1930s, it seems unlikely that they would have escaped the wartime economy and efficiency drives. Again, further information would be welcomed. The coal trains from Colwick to the London area via the former joint Line continued after nationalisation until that line closed in 1964, thereby extinguishing the LNWR/ LNWR historical connection .

In praise of the Moguls. Colin Lockie 
Re picture bottom p173 depicting a U Class Mogul starting away from Dorking Town station, the caption states that the train is the 12.03 Reading-Redhill. This must be incorrect, as the train is leaving Dorking Town in a westerly direction, heading towards Guildford and Reading. The signal box seen in the background is (or rather was) at the west end of the station. This scene was quite familiar to me as I lived in Dorking at this time and used to take the train to Guildford.

Freight at Brocklesby . Stephen G, Abbott,
Re introductory caption to photo-feature the junction just west of Barnetby is 'Wrawby junction' not 'Wrawton junction'. This repeats one of the few mistakes in my treasured Ion Allan Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer, which is perhaps the source of the error. The references to 'down' and 'up' all need to be transposed. On the Great Central it was 'down' towards Manchester, even though the mileposts read upwards from Manchester London Road. Thus it was (and still is) 'down' from Immingham and Grimsby to Wrawby junction and beyond.

LMS carriage working summer 1939. Arnold Tortorella 
Re article by M.G. Sadler, (May 2020, p271-27S), and the rhetorical question within the final paragraph re. van containing ice cream being conveyed after the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, I can provide the following information relevant to the outbreak of hostilities as follows:

'The Times, Friday, 8th September 1939, p3 Curtailed Train Services No Restaurant Cars
The following announcement has been issued by the Railway Executive Committee: In order to meet the heavy demands which were being made on all the services of the main line railways at this time, it would be necessary to make further curtailments in the passenger train services beginning on Monday, 11th September.
Restaurant cars would be suspended, but arrangements were being made for 'snack boxes' to be available at the more important stations: it would also be necessary to curtail sleeping-car accommodation considerably.
For the time being particulars of the passenger train services would be posted at the railway stations, and passengers were requested to consult those for information, and in order to keep the telephone lines clear to refrain as far as possible from making telephone inquiries."

However, the early withdrawal of sleeping-car services, especially those between London and Glasgow, had serious consequences, as the following extract from the LMS Northern Division Minute Book will relate:

"General Committee' held at 302 Buchanan Street, Glasgow Date: 20th January 1942 Item No. 9599
Sleeping Car Services: Glasgow and London.
Sir Robert Greig referred to the serious complaints which were being made in regard to the reduction in the sleeping-car accommodation on the Glasgow- London service.
On the Glasgow Central and Euston route, there were now the equivalent to 4½, First and 3½, Third, and on the Glasgow St. Enoch and St. Pancras route two First and one Third class sleeping cars, compared with an average of 12/16½ First and 3½/4 Third and ¾ and 1 Third respectively — a reduction of 50-00% in the accommodation."

The Ministry of War Transport had first call on all the berths and allocated them to Members of Parliament, Government Officials, Service Personnel and people travelling on Government business, the applications for the latter being made through the interested Government departments.
The station masters at Glasgow Central and St. Enoch were informed each morning of the number of berths required by the Ministry and the balance was allocated by the company, but the number was so small that on busy nights many first class passengers were disappointed.
As a result many business people were seriously inconvenienced by not knowing deiinitely until some time on the day of travel, often not until they arrived at the station on the evening, whether or not they would have a sleeping berth. Likewise, they would not know whether or not they would have a berth on the return journey, until the early evening of the day of their departure. There were also problems experienced with travellers having to travel in one or both directions in ordinary compartments during the night, or they would have to travel on daytime trains without a dining car on a 400-mile journey.
The arrangements now were such that businessmen from Glasgow and the West of Scotland must make up their minds beforehand either to take three days to attend a meeting in London, which may last for only one or two hours, or take the slender chance of getting a berth on the day oftravel.
Previously only one day was required by businessmen for such meetings and as the majority were engaged on work of National Importance, they could ill afford to travel during the day, and thus be three days away from their offices. They were, therefore, in many cases not attending such meetings or conversely were asking those who called the meetings in London to come to Glasgow.
The Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and the Merchants' House had protested strongly to the Ministry of War Transport and many traders had protested to the company. In the view of the Scottish Committee of the LMS there was sold ground for such protest and it also felt too often the blame for the altered arrangements was wrongly attributed to the railway companies.
From personal experience many members knew of the serious inconvenience to which the business community was being subjected and the committee was of the opinion that in the national interest and because Clydeside was the largest centre of ship-building, ship-repairing and marine engineering in Great Britain, steps should be taken to bring the matter forcibly to the notice ofthe Minister of War Transport with a view to additional first class sleeping car accommodation being provided on the night trains between Glasgow and London. There were no further entries within the Minute Book relevant to this matter, so presumably it was referred to the relevant Government Minister and dealt with accordingly.
Interested readers will find further information relevant to the LMS and the Second World War within the following two books:
Wartime LMS by L.G. Warburton (Noodle Books, 2012)
The LMS at War by G. C. Nash ( LMS, Euston, 1946).

LMS carriage working summer 1939. Jim Tucker.
Re Sadler's article, in particular the extraordinary extent to which coaching stock was retained purely for serving the needs of holidaymakers in peak season. This continued for a good few years, for as a young trainspotter in Exeter in the 1950s I spent many a summer Saturday at St. David's station and we were fascinated at the variety of ancient rolling stock coming through. In many cases the coaches on northbound services would have spent the week in sidings such as at Goodrington Sands, waiting to take people home after their time by the sea. As late as the early 1960s a train passed through westbound on Friday afternoons, taking a selection of veteran refreshment vehicles such as cafeteria cars to be included in the following day's formations. The popular media associate Beeching only with closing lines; utilisation of resources was one of several other aspects he identiiied as requiring change.

Book reviews. 414

The Mistley, Thorpe & Walton Railway. David Troughton. Published by author. 146 pp. Reviewed by GBS [Skelsey?]. ****
Most readers will have enjoyed accounts of the rise (and usually, fall) of minor railways but this new book tells the troubled story of a railway which was never completed. Its location, the 'Tendring Hundred', is a peninsula in north east Essex bounded by the rivers Stour and Colne. Even today it is sparsely populated outside the towns of Colchester, Harwich, Walton-on-the-Naze and Clacton-on-Sea, but in the middle of the nineteenth century it was a minor magnet for railway promoters. In all there were over 50 different schemes affecting the area between 1836 and 1884, and Mr. Troughton has chosen one to examine comprehensively.
Amongst the area's attractions to railway interests was its potential for seaside holidays, and towns of very different character grew to cater for this. Railways had entered the area by the 1860s, and the MT&W Company, as originally proposed, ran south east from Mistley, a modest river town on the Harwich branch, crossing the peninsula through Tendring itself. Its alignment would have facilitated direct through working northwards towards Ipswich and beyond. The project was authorised in 1863 and the first sod was ceremoniously cut in April 1864. The dominant regional railway, the Great Eastern, loomed like a predatory beast over this and other projects, hoping to snap up the completed line at a discounted rate. Problems with the GER, with the probity of contractors, and with slow investment hobbled the project and disagreement between the engineer and the contractor even led to a pitched battle between the parties in 1865. With little more than five miles graded work stopped as the money ran out and an Abandonment Bill was sought in 1876. The incomplete MT&W works were considered again in 1872 by the planned East Essex Railway but again without result.
Remarkably Mr. Troughton has over the years painstakingly disinterred the surviving remains, including cuttings and bridges which never saw a train and which have lain unused for over a century and a half. The account is illuminated by annotated extracts from deposited plans, quotation of the cases of individual objectors, and colour illustrations of the remains.
This is not a book for the faint-hearted and it takes care to follow through an, at times bewildering, story of the projects from which so little eventually emerged. But the quest is well worth while. Quite apart from the fate of this specific railway, the details of the stages by which a railway undertaking went from conception through authorisation to construction is of wider interest. The story sheds valuable light on the anarchic proceedings surrounding railway promotions in that era.

Leaving Barnstaple. P. Wakefield Collection. rear cover
Battle of Britain 4-6-2 No. 34072 257 Squadron with two coaches with Exeter Central to Ilfracombe train in summer 1963

LMS Beyer-Garratt 2-6-0 + 0-6-2 No.47982 heads a southbound coal train along the Midland main line at Chiltern Green in October 1953. (J.M. Jarvis).. See also pages 420-1.

August (Number 352)

The Department of Administrative Affairs returns to work. 419
Editorial

The LMS Garratts. 420-1
Colour photo-feature: LMS No, 7991 ex-Works at Crewe in 1938 (H.M. Lane); No. 47998 with fixed bunker at Toton shed on 23 June 1956 (Trevor Owen); No. 7987 passing Copmanthorpe with train of empty ironstone hoppers in 1948, but still with LMS lettering and numbers en route from Skinningrove to Desborough (but locomotive only from York) (E,Sanderson); No. 47995 at Mountsorrel Sidings on ironstone train between Sileby and Barrow-on-Soar in August 1958 (D.A. Kelso); No. 47981 showing drive mechanism for rotary bunker at Cricklewood shed in May 1955 (Trevor Owen). See  also front cover.

Robin Barnes. Thoughts on Scottish coal. Part Three. 422-5.
The United Collieries Ltd was formed in 1898 with its head offioce in Hope Street, Glasgow to acquire eight coal cpmpanies. In 1902 a further 24 companies were taken over: behind this operation was J.P. Morgan, the powerful finance house which was considering investment in the London underground and this was have called for large quantities of steel and therefore of coal. Text mentions Dick & Stevenson of the Airdrie Engineering Works and their modest output of 0-4-0STs. The Atlas Steel Foundry & Engineering Co. Ltd. at Bathville operated Atlas (Barclay 1440/1919) from new until 1947 when it was sent away to Connell at Coatbridge. It was arranged that a Fowler diesel should arrive as Atlas departed, but the diesel was sent to Armadale on Skye. The Machrihanish Colliery gets a mention as does the Machrihanish Colliery and the Campbeltown & Machrihanish which served it and formed tha basis of the tourist railway which carried trippers from Glasgow to the shore of the Atlantic. The colliery output suffered from spontaneous combustion and was used for electricity generation in Northern Ireland and even in Rotterdam and Copenhagen. The pit closed in 1967. The Dalmellington area was recorded by David L. Smith and the map shows the extent of the former railways which lasted into a period of opencast mining which began in 1988. Large Barclay 0-6-0Ts characterised haulage but are not illustrated here.. Locomotives entering National Coal Board stock at Dalmelington included six from  Barclay, two from Grant Ritchie  and one frpm Markham & Co. Hawthorn of Leith No. 10 Nanny has a particular attraction for Barnes as demonstrated by a painting which is based on drawings in David L. Smith's study. Finally attention is given to he Kilmarnock & Troon Railway which was worked on the open-access principle initially by horses and carriages: the latter were named Caledonia, The Boat and The Fair Trader. The Duke of Portland, who virtually owned tthe line, acquired a locomotive in about 1814 and was still on the line in 1824. The locomotive appears to have been built to the design of William Losh  and George Stephenson probably at Wallsend Colliery.  Illustrations:  National Coal Board 0-4-0ST No. 16 (Gibbs & Hoggp 1898) photographed (colour photograph and one of Works plate) at Cardowan Colliery Stepps on 22 August 1967; preserved National Coal Board 0-4-0ST No. 6 (Andrew Barclay 2043/1937) on Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway on 21 October 2017 (formerly worked at Bedlay Colliery in Lanarkshire); map of collieries in Dalmellington (Waterside) area; Barnes painting of Dalmellington Iron Company 2-4-0T No. 10 Nanny built by Hawthorn of Leith; Hughes 2-6-0 No. 42909 on Ayr mpd on 22 October 1965 and BR Standard Class 3 2-6-0 No. 77018 on Hurlford mpd on 22 October 1965.

Nicholas Daunt. When the King and Queen came to stay. 426-31.
Article built around post-1938 Coronation visit to Lancashire when the Royal train was parked on a  spur which linked the former Liverpool & Manchester Railway to the West Coast Main-Line. Text is divided into a description of the railway lines in the area and  tteir current use, and the Royal Tour in May 1938. The Court Circular from Buckingham Palace, on 16 May follows: "The King and Queen, attended by Lady Nunburnholme, the Lady Katharine Seymour, the Right Hon. Sir Samuel Hoare, Bt., M.P. (Secretary of State for the Home Department; Minister in Attendance), Mr. Allan Lascelles and Commander Harold Campbell R.N., left London tonight for atour of Lancashire. Their Majesties travelled on the London Midland and Scottish Railway from Euston Station." However, a visit to Lancashire was special; besides being King-Emperor, George VI was also Duke of Lancaster,' as his predecessors had been since the fifteenth century. So, in a sense, the royal couple was 'coming home'.
The following day's Court Circular states Royal Train arrived Colne on Tuesday morning (17 May), presumably having left West Coast Main Line at [Farington not Faringdon see letter from Tony Mitchell]  Junction, and taken former East Lancashire route through Blackburn, Accrington and Burnley. At Colne the royal party transferred to motor cars, visiting Nelson, Bumley, Accrington and Blackburn before lunch, which was taken in the County Hall at Preston. After this they toured the Fylde Peninsula (Lytham St Anne's, Blackpool and Fleetwood) in the afternoon. Finally, they "rejoined the Royal Train at Fleetwood Railway Station and proceeded to Lowton Junction, where Their Majesties remained for the night".'
The King and Queen would spend the second and third nights at Knowsley Halll, the ancestral home of the Earl of Derby, Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire, but the first night was to be spent aboard the Royal Train, apparently at Lowton Junction on what was then a little-used curve between Lowton Junction and Parkside East Junction where it joined the former Liverpool & Manchester Railway a mile or so from Newton-le-Willows. It was sometimes referred to as Manchester Curve since it connected trains running to or from Manchester with the West Coast Main Line to Wigan, Preston and points north. As it is situated in a shallow cutting, any vehicles parked on it would be almost out of sight from the surrounding area. This was not the first time, nor would it be the last, when the Royal Train remained there overnight. Strict security was maintained, although local people with whom I have spoken said that they always knew when there were special visitors because of the greatly increased police presence in the area,"
Special instructions would have been issued by the company whenever the Royal Illustrations:: front page of LMS Notice of Royal Special Trains, May 1938; map of where Royal  Train parked; Earlstown station in 1988 (since much changed by electrification: colour); Class 5 No. 45110 passing Huskisson Memorial and remains of Parkside station (see letter from Tim Edmonds on "first problem" of station closures) on retuning 15 Guinea Special on 11 August 1968 (colour); inscription on  Huskisson Memorial displated at Newton-le-Willows station; Jubilee No. 45647 Sturdee passing Parkside East Junction with an eastbound express in 1960 (colour: Brian Magilton); Parkside East Junction in 1977; Lowton station in 1956 (colour); 4P compound 4-4-0 No. 1119 on Crewe North shed in 1937 (crimson lake colourised by D.P. Williams); Fowler 2-6-4T No. 2394 at unknown location. Royal tours are major events and that to Glasgow (which also included openning the Empire Exhibition) is described by Arnold Tortorella mainly from the point of view of the LMS.

Glen Kilday. Footloose in the Lothians — railway walks from Edinburgh in the 1920s. 432-7.
Walking Tours in the Edinburgh District with maps and illustrations was an LNER publication, inherited from the North British Railway (not in Ottley) published in the 1920s. It employed purple prose, e.g.: "The joy of going on foot lies not in achieving distances, but rather in this — that, having donned his knapsack, the traveller walks from his selected starting-place straight into the arms of Dame Nature. The countryside engulfs him; and to him alone is given to catch the shy spirit of places.  He will carol in his heart as he swings along by the ripening fields under the morning sun, be glad with the rivulet gliding beside his path, chuckle with the gurgling stream, be silent with the open moorland, be filled with the awe and dignity of the everlasting hills, and be influenced by the mighty deep. In a day's outing he may go through the gamut of feeling. Withal, he tastes the supreme joy of freedom. All nature is his and the glory of it." The text descibes three tours: namely one based on the Lauder branch; another on the Gifford branch and one on walking between North Berwick and Dunbar or its reverse. Kilday makes play on the paucity of the train services on some of the lines, but the guide did provide details of inns near to the retun boarding point. Illustrations from the John Alsop Collection: Broomlee station; Cardrona station between Peebles and Galashiels; Dolphinton station see also letter from Leonard Rogers on orientation of this view; Alphabetical List of Tours; Eddleston station;  R class 4-4-0T No. 33 at Fountainhall Junction with train for Lauder; Gifford terminus; Great Walking Tour Tickets;  R class 4-4-0T No. 52 with filigree metalwork on smokebox at Oxton on Lauder branch;  R class 4-4-0T No. 77 at Saltoun on Gifford & Garvold Light Railway; North Eastern Railway Q class 4-4-0 at Dunbar. See also letter from Lloyd Roberts.

What the 'Joneses' were doing. 438-9.
Black & white photo-feature: No. 114 at Luncarty in apple green livery with gong & lamp on tender which was lettered HIGHLAND RAILWAY on freight train; No. 109 in unlined olive green livery with HR and ordinary lamp on tender on freight at Strathord; number not recorded at Druhmuchdar with lamp above the cab; No. 17517 in pllain black LMS livery and ex-Caledonian Railway chimney on turntable at Inverness locomotive depot; No. 17927 with tablet catcher on tender at Achnasheen with freight for Kyle of Lochalsh in July 1936; preserved No. 103 in yellow livery on Wellingborough shed on 7 May 1964 during filming of Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (T.J. Edgington)

Alistair F. Nisbet. Visiting engine sheds. 440-6
Nisbet introduces a shabby word more suited to Steam World; namely the verb to bunk or the illicit entry of engine sheds. He begins at King's Cross on its final day of operation when it was more or less deserted and goes on to Willesden and Nine Elms. His grandmother lived in Tayport and whilst spending holidays with her the he visited Perth and Dundee to bunk the property of the Scottish Region and take photographs, some of which are reproduced herein. Illustrations:  A4 No. 60008 Dwight D, Eisenhower, V2 N0. 60867 and 9F 2-10-0 No.92187 beside coaling tower at King's Cross shed (G.S. Cocks: colour); Bulleid Q1 0-6-0 on Guildford shed;  very clean A4 No. 60008 Dwight D, Eisenhower on King's Cross shed ln October 1961 (J.P. Mullett: colour); BR Standard Class 5 No. 73117 Vivien and rebuilt West Country Pacific at Nine Elms on 5 April 1964; preserved K4 2-6-0 No.3442 The Great Marquess being cleaned at Nine Elms on 11 March 1962 prior to working rail tour in Sussex on 11 March 1967; inside engine shed at Ryde on Isle of Wight with O2 0-4-4Ts Nos. W16 Ventnor and 32 Bonchurch on 26 July 1964; BR Standard Class 5 No. 73022 and Class 4 2-6-4T No. 80015 at Nine Elms on 11 March 1967; Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 45428 (see letter from Mick Horton) alongside Class 5 with double chimney and Class 25 diesel inside Willesden roundhouse on 2 May 1964; A2 No. 60528 Tudor Minstrel and V2 No. 60838 on Dundee shed  during Easter 1963; C16 4-4-2T No. 67486 on Dundee Tay Bridge shed (W.A.C. Smith); Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 No. 44921 with Clayton Type 1 diesel inside repsair shop at Perth shed on 4 September 1963; D30 4-4-0 No. 62438 Peter Poundtext and D34 No. 62485 Glen Murran on former NBR shed at Dundee (Rex Conway); A3 No. 60052 Prince Palatine and J37 0-6-0 No. 64620 next coaling tower at Dundee on 16 July 1964; West Country No. 34094 Mortehoe and BR Standard Class 5 No. 73016 at Nine Elms (all author unless noted otherwise). N.C. Fritwell divulges an extremely hazardous entry into King's Cross Top Shed via the Midland coal drops

Jeffrey Wells. Wolverton in the News: 1838-1890. Part One: Early years at Wolverton 1838-1846. 447-51.
The London & Birmingham Railway considered that it needed a central location to service its locomotives as they were capable of running about 50 miles. Blisworth, Weedon, Raode and Nortampton were also considered, but Wolverton was selected as recorded in the Northampton Mercury on 25 August 1838. The presence of the Grand Junction Canal and the adjacent Watling Street (later A5) were further advantages. Initially the Radcliffe Trust objected to the deelopmen, but this was overcome. Herepath (of Journal) visited on 11 November 1841 and was shown round by Creed (a director) and by Bury. Queen Victoria visited the town at least twice and partook of refreshments thereat. IIlustrations: Ramsbottom 0-6-0ST Special Tank No. CD8 Earlestown at Wolverton Works on 10 October 1954 (colour); Wolveron Viaduct (engraving: John Alsop Collection); Wolverton's second station (engraving); St. George the Martyr's Church (engraving); one-up one-down workers' cottages in Ledsam Street; school and church institute; steam tram locomotive and cars at Wolverton station c1905; panorama of works' sidings during LNWR paeriod (John Alsop Collection)

Steve Burdett. Signalling Spotlight:: controlled by Shrewsbury semaphores. 452-3
Colour photo-feature: which does not cover the largest mecanical signal box in the world opened by the LNWR in 1904 (see Wikipedia), but covers two fringe boxes built by the Great Western and fitted with lower quadrant signals (why does the City of Shrewsbury have such obsolete signalling?). Class 25 Nos. 25 327 and 25 305 at front of 08.45 from Birminham New Street to Barmouth on 28 May 1978 in Shrewsbury station; Classes 24 No. 24 091 and 25 158 on 09.40 Euston to Aberyswyth leaving Shrewsbury on 16 July 1977 (view taken from footbridge alongside Sutton Bridge Junction box (Shrewsbury Abbey visible in background on hot day); Class 25 No. 25 156 on empty stock from 16.10 Aberyswyth to Shrewsbury passing Abbey Foregate box in direction of Telford on 3 June 1978; Class 128 diesel parcels unit No. 55593 with Abbey Foregate box in remote distance; pair of Class 120 DMUs reduced to two cars per pair belching smoke on Shrewsbury to Hereford service within sight of Lord Hill's column passing lowered semaphore presumably motor worked from Sutton Bridge Junction on 3 June 1978.

Mike G. Fell. Brandon station: the changing fortunes of an East Anglian country town station. 454-60.
Situated in Norfolk on its boundary with Suffolk into which the town falls with a level crossing — a nuisance to both road and rail traffic. The Norwich & Brandon Railway received the Royal Assent on 10 May 1844. The contractors were Thomas Grissell and Henry Morton Peto. The engineer was George Parker Bidder. The original intension was to bypass Thetford, but the route was modified as is obvious from maps and travel by train.  On 2 August 1845 the line between Norwich and London was formally opened allbeit from Thorpe as the bridge was not ready. The Yarmouth & Norwich Railway engineered by the Stephensons opened on 1 May 1844. Both railways joined as the Eastern Counties Railway  and subsequently became the Great Eastern Raiway in 1862.  The station masters are given short biographies: Edward Anderson from 1855; Alfred Buxton Borrett in charge in 1869: he was born in Norwich on 11 September 1832. He had been a bootmaker and had been station master at Wymondham in 1861. Later he was a railway clerk and living in Highbury, Islington where he died in 1898. Illustrations: Brandon station (engraving Illustrated London News), map from  Dow's First railway in Norfolk; George Parker Bidder (portrait); Brandon level crossing c1900; Samuel Morton Peto (portrait); Brandon locomotive shed as appeared in Locomotive Magazine, 1901, 6, 121; Brandon station looking towards Ely with horses on track and Station Master Solomon?; goods yard in 1911; Holden Claud Hamilton oil burning 4-4-0 No. 1893 on up express at Brandon; view towards Norwich; station buildings due for demolition in 2014 (colour). See also page 652

Readers' Forum 461

June issue back cover. Andrew Worthington 
The highlight for me was the reproduction of R C. Riley's wonderfully evocative image of Totnes station on the back cover. I was a lad of five in short trousers in 1955 but I vividly remember the annual summer pilgrimage by train to Devon from Oxford to visit my grandparents and aunt in Dartington and waiting on the platform at Totnes for the two 'Kings' to storm their way up Rattery Bank in the twilight of the evening. 1955 was a long, dry, beautiful summer and the straw-coloured fields in the photograph would suggest a mid-August day in the early afternoon, given the shadows. At that time of day intervals of over two hours between calling trains were the order of the day, hence the languid activity in the platforms!
The freight train in the down platform would, quite possibly have been reversed in, having come up from the Quay line to the right, just north of the station. A regular visitor to the line was an 0-6-0ST 1361 Class, the low height of which may explain why it is not visible. The freight would later leave wrong line for its onward journey up country.
I will question the assertion that we have two 2-6-2 tanks in the picture, as I believe, on close inspection, that the locomotive visible in the down platform is an 0-6-0PT '1600' Class with its back into the wooden train shed and would be, of course, the Ashburton train set, which spent long periods of inactivity at Totnes between runs!
The Western National bus is, in fact, turning in the station turning bay, to return up the station approach road to the A381 and over the overbridge, from whence the photograph is taken, and onwards to Kingsbridge.
Over to the up platform and the 2-6-2 tank. This is one of the Dainton bankers, '45XX' Class" as evidenced by the white circular disc on the buffer beam. Is this number 3? It is awaiting its next duty on the up. Adjacent to the 2-6-2 T on the up platform is the wonderful little garden with its well stocked fish pond and small fountain so beautifully tended by the station staff at the time and, indeed, in some form right up until quite recently. I understand the footings of a new footbridge have replaced it! And finally, the gem! The image of the old Daws Creamery with the wonderful fleet of 1950s lorries. What the image cannot convey are the sounds and smells from all the activity. The sounds of clanking milk churns and tinkling milk bottle crates, together with the extraordinarily heady aroma of real Devonshire cream in full production, can never be forgotten! Such memories - thank you!

Ryedale Rambler. Charles Allenby
Re photographs taken by John Spencer Gilks.: I know the area very well, having started my railway career as a clerk at Gilling station on 1 August 1961. It is stated that No.64928 running round its train at Gilling "had just returned from Kirbymoorside", when in fact the opposite most certainly will have been the case. Following track and signalling rationalisation at Gilling in 1955 it became no longer possible for a train from the Kirbymoorside direction to run directly into the platform line the local 'pick-up' freight is occupying in the photograph. Instead, it will have arrived from Malton bound for Kirbymoorside. The locomotive shown running round will be going to the rear of the train, first drawing out the brake van and depositing it into the opposite platform line, returning for the rest of the wagons, drawing them forward and then propelling them on to the brake van and then forward to Helmsley and Kirbymoorside. The machinery on the flat wagon, although giving the understandable subsequent impression to Mr. Gilks by the Russell's name on it that it had been sent from the firm at Kirbymoorside, will in fact be returning there for attention. Although Helmsley station employed a porter-signalman (a good friend of mine incidentally), he was not in charge as that responsibility belonged to the goods agent, who also had a goods porter there as well to assist him.
The ramblers' special on 3 May 1964, which I travelled on, did not call at all the closed stations, just Hovingham Spa (the 'Spa' was added 1st October 1896), Gilling (unit had to stop there anyway to reverse), Helmsley Nawton and Kirbymoorside. The return special in the evening was the last passenger train to depart from Kirbymoorside and last to call at Nawton.

Trans-Pennine timetable development. Stephen G. Abbott
In the 1960s there was one other option for travelling from Liverpool to Sheffield without changing stations in Manchester. To connect with the Woodhead route, the 09.30 from Liverpool Central (from October 1966 09.35 from Lime Street) to Manchester Central was extended to Guide Bridge via the Fallowfield line, returning at 12.45 to Manchester. On 14 May 1964 writer travelled to Sheffield using the 09.30, formed of 3 x two-car DMUs; it deposited about ten passengers at Guide Bridge. These trains ceased with the closure of Manchester Central from 5 May 1969. Writer understands that the longer turnround times at Manchester Airport, Scarborough and Middlesbrough/Redcar from December 2019 are simply to improve the resilience of the timetable, not for any technical reason connected with locomotive haulage. The trains, worked by Class 68s, do not require time for locomotive changing or running round as they operate as push-pull sets with driving trailers. Introduced progressively from August 2019, they counter Mr. Editor's assertion (April) that at Scarborough locomotives are now the exception!

Trans-Pennine timetable development.  Robin Leleux
By describing the ups and downs of the Trans-Pennine service provision over the last 60 years in his interesting article David Langton has also put into perspective the current problems facing the Trans-Pennine franchise. Certainly the level of service now is far better than that offered in those earlier days. This also illustrates clearly how Regional management (LMR and ER) appeared indifferent to the needs of northern cities and their important linking main lines. Clearly priority was London- based. Even now we cannot be certain that the hard-won gains of the Trans-Pennine Express franchise will be maintained as we pull out of all the transport ramifications of pandemic lockdown.
Certainly the 'Sprinter Revolution', instigated by the new Regional Railways (out of the Provincial Sector) brought a long-awaited service enhancement but one wonders whose bright idea it was to put on two-car suburban trains for such long-distance services, as shown in the picture on p351. I doubt that this would ever have been countenanced on the SR system. Not long after they started, as a national casework official for a major teachers' union I had business one afternoon some way outside Chester followed by a visit to a school at Beverley the following lunchtime. This not only necessitated an overnight stay close to Chester station but a prompt start to catch the 07.22 Hull train — a through service certainly but a two-car suburban 'Sprinter' DMU. I wondered whether I would have to change somewhere en route but no, we trundled all the way, through Manchester Victoria, Huddersfield and Leeds, arriving just over three hours later. Full marks for connectivity but 'nul point' for comfort and facilities!

Hampshire footplate memories. David W. Green
This article brought back memories of my time as an Engineering Apprentice at Eastleigh Locomotive Works. From 15 June 1959 I spent my final six months in the locomotive shed. Three months were spent on fitting work and then three months on footplate riding. Some events spring to mind. Riding about the yard at lunch time on one of the new small diesel locomotives; attending St. Denys station one Friday evening with the breakdown train to recover a Bullied Light Pacific from the north end of the up loop; trundling back from Nine Elms light engine with a 2MT 2-6-2T being brought down for attention in the Works.

Rails to Windermere. Mick Horton
Born in Whitehaven, Cumberland, as it was known in 1946, but the vast majority of his childhood days were spent in Wolverhampton. Ironically, his brother who is five years old than him, was born in Wolverhampton, but enjoyed his early years in Whitehaven! As he got a little older, he recalls the three options for family holidays, which were Shaldon, South Devon, Llanaber, near Barmouth and the Lake District, or more specifically, Barrow-in-Furness, which is where his parents had friends who originally lived in Whitehaven. They were "fortunate" in having a car and the highlight of the trip was seeing men with blue faces at Backbarrow! They were, of course, employees of the dye works mentioned in the article. Naturally, days out in the Lake District were enjoyed and these included rail trips with his brother. I may add that the other two options were extremely convenient for loco-spotting, which developed my life-long interest. Anyway, returning to my holidays in the Lake District, I do recall that on one trip, Coniston was visited using a 'Holiday Runabout Ticket'. As regards other travel during the week in question, my memory has faded, but I definitely have recollections of viewing Workington shed, so I expect that was included in the itinery. 11s 9d (58p) seems very good value for a week's travel, but I think that was several weeks' pocket money!
It is interesting to note that 'Nimbyism' was alive and kicking, when railways arrived in the Lake District and William Wordsworth must have been tearing his hair out at the thought of a railway running from Ambleside to Keswick, which would have passed through his neighbourhood in Grasmere. I think that line would have been 'a bridge too far', as the gradients over Dunmail Raise would have been prohibitive, and tunnelling realistically, out of the question. Likewise, John Ruskin, was hardly a supporter of the railways, as he feared that the Industrial Revolution would have a devastating affect on the peace and tranquillity of the area. His obsession was well portrayed in a recent TV programme The Lakes with Paul Rose, as his house which overlooked Coniston Water included a viewing turret, so that he kept a close watch on any unwanted intrusion. It was considered that the view today would have little different to what it was 200 years ago, so Wordsworth & Ruskin need not have worried, as Windermere apart, the Lakes have strict regulations as to what type of craft can be allowed, which has helped to maintain the charm that Wordsworth and Ruskin so relished. As a result, the railways were a boost to the area and no different to other parts of the country. In 1964 a friend and myself visited the Lake District by train on an excursion which we joined at Wolverhampton and continued to Windermere, where we had a wonderful day. We hired a rowing boat, before eventually boarding the ferry from Bowness to Lakeside. Meanwhile, our stock and locomotive, No.70001 Lord Hurcomb, moved from Windermere to Lakeside to take us back home. The trip was tender first from Lakeside to Ulverston, where a short break was had whilst No.70001 ran round before continuing the trip back to the Midlands I wonder what Wordsworth and Ruskin would have made of that!

Rails to Windermere. Stephen G. Abbott
David Joy's article was a model of its kind, especially in its coverage of the social impact of the railways concerned and for bringing the story right up to date. For the record, the through Windermere to Manchester Airport trains started in May 1994, not 1984 — the Airport station opened in May 1993. As a 'siding' the Windermere branch would have been very simple to electrify; it is odd that overhead catenary in fine landscapes does not seem to worry our European friends!

Black Motors and Hampshire footplate memories. Peter Tatlow 
Re p325 captions not every rail-mounted crane is a breakdown crane, in this case that behind No. 30946 is a Taylor & Hubbard 10-ton steam crane from the Engineer's Department. The glimpse of a crane on p331l is, however, a breakdown crane, being one of two Stothert & Pitt 20-ton steam cranes supplied in 1908/9 to the LSWR. I do hear that someone has written a three-volume work on the subject! (Quite so - Mr. Tatlow did! Ed.) Finally, Shalford Junction referred to on 331 is south of Guildford, where the Redhill line joins the Portsmouth Direct. The Didcot, Newbury & Southampton diverges from the Southampton main line at Shawford Junction.

Western Wolverhampton. Nick Daunt.
Caption states that "Wolverhampton was the northern extent of working by the GWR 'King' 4-6-0s on the Birmingham line". This was generally true, both with the Paddington-Birkenhead trains, which changed locomotives at Wolverhampton and, of course, for those Paddington services which terminated there. However, on summer Saturdays the Cambrian Coast Express was worked by a King as far as Shrewsbury. Since a Manor took over there, it would have been pointless for the King to come off at Wolverhampton and another locomotive to be used for the short run from there to Shrewsbury. On weekdays the CCE was Castle-hauled, but on Saturdays the load was increased, hence the King. On another issue, in his letter Chris Mills says that "clarty' was a Geordie term. It was not exclusively so, however. My mother, who grew up in Lincolnshire, often used it - "don't you come in here with those clarty boots on!"

Metropolitan in the News. Nick Stanbury 
Re Jeffrey Wells article: statement that the Metropolitan Railway was "colloquially known as the 'Tube', or simply the 'Underground"', with the implication that these informal titles applied from or soon after the opening of the first section in 1863. The 'Met' (as many came to call it) was of course an 'underground' railway (but not wholly in tunnel) and would very likely have been described or referred to as such from the outset, as were its later contemporaries, especially after the establishment of the 'Underground Electric Railways Company of London' in 1902. Moreover, from 1908 the 'Underground' label was widely applied to most of London's network (including the Met) as a key aspect of a joint marketing initiative, which has of course endured. Although not the first deep-level underground railway, the initial section of the Central London Railway opened in 1900 and very soon became known as 'The Twopenny Tube' on account of its flat fare of two old pence. This may not have been the first use of the 'Tube' epithet in London but it became adopted generally for all of the deep-level lines, even though large parts of them outside the central area were on, above or only just below the surface. The growing trend of the public to call the whole of London's underground network 'the Tube' (with, alas, some official backing by TfL) is as regrettable as it is inaccurate, albeit perhaps convenient. But, with one exception, I am very doubtful that this epithet was commonly applied to any part of the Met and certainly not in its earliest years. The exception was the isolated Great Northern &City Railway (Finsbury Park-Moorgate), acquired by the Met in 1913, which was indeed a 'tube' railway (although built to main line dimensions) and soon referred to accordingly as the 'Big Tube'.

Book Reviews 462

Gresley's V2s. Peter Tuffrey, Great Northern, 160pp, Reviewed by DWM **
A handsome and well produced pictorial volume covering a handsome, versatile and well·regarded class of locomotive, what could possibly go wrong? Well, nothing really except that about halfway through your reviewer's eyelids began to droop — can a pictorial album actually have too many pictures? And in this case the answer is probably 'yes'! To your reviewer this book looks like a really well-missed opportunity. Some of the pictures are excellent — and those in colour do add a certain something but a sense of repetition soon sets as one front three-quarter image succeeds another. Many of the captions are minimal; perhaps one less image per double page and more information about what is going on in the others would have helped help? The sequence of photographs detailing the erection of No.4782 at Darlington Works is excellent but requires a fair amount of specialist knowledge to interpret fully; isn't that a Shildon electric lurking in the background in one of the pictures? There is a serviceable introduction which could have been usefully expanded, perhaps with record and reminiscence of the V2s in action? The quest for a 'mono bloc' cylinder casting to restore Green Arrow to operational order must rank as the Holy Grail of railway preservation. For devotees of the works of Sir Nigel this will be a book that they must add to their collection, others might find a more progressive way to dispose of their £25.

Yorkshire's first main line — the Leeds & Selby Railway. Anthony Dawson. Railway & Canal Historical Society, 112pp with 70 illustrations. Reviewed  by RL [Robin Leleux?] *****
The Leeds & Selby Railway is not a name that, even to someone who spends a lot of time researching early railways, strikes with familiarity. It soon becomes clear whilst reading this book that it should do, and hopefully this book will go a long way to giving this fascinating railway it's overdue recognition. It opens (and has as part of its eye-catching cover) a splendid period artwork showing a riverside wharf at Selby complete with steamboats and — tantalisingly at the edge of the image — a very early Blenkinsop & Murray locomotive with loaded wagon. The wealth of period illustrations (25 from the 1830s/40s at my count) to accompany the text continue — a wonderful 1830s lithograph spreads over two pages, and further within there are more detailed engineering drawings of buildings and locomotives. I am much in favour of period imagery, difficult as they can be to source when writing on early railways, as shown to best effect in this book where they give a strong sense of atmosphere of the period discussed in the text. Modern images of surviving structures of the line are also of great interest, as are later images from the Edwardian era showing the changes that took place along the line in the following years.
As usual with Anthony Dawson's writing it is well researched and shown to be with correctly referenced notes to the rear of the text showing the hard work and depth gone into, also allowing for further focus into certain areas by any reader who wishes to. Dawson continues his readable style as seen in his other works, weaving historical quotes together with this well referenced text seamlessly ensuring that the book's 112 pages contain as much information as possible but - crucially — makes it entertaining to read at the same time.
For the narrative itself, it tells of the origins of the line including the reason it only went so far as Selby to an inland port rather than onwards to Hull. The difficulties of constructing a railway in the 1830s including issues such as quality control show and give an understanding that it wasn't just a simple case of laying down track, having a grand opening and running trains from thereon. The line's impressive foresight and number of firsts are manifest — built as a double track railway, with the use of locomotives throughout rather than inclined planes as used elsewhere such as the Stockton & Darlington and Liverpool & Manchester, constructing bridges wide enough to allow for four lines if required in future and, interestingly, the first railway tunnel through which passengers travelled whilst hauled by locomotive with the shafts lined with copper to give more light! The locomotive chapter is also fascinating again giving insight into the problems faced when running early railways, almost held at ransom by the delays and quality control of their suppliers. Other issues arise with the men who worked on them — a driver removing the safety valve and simply inserting a wooden 'bung' into the boiler and running with it for several days being a prime example.
The end of the line's history with its acquisition into George Hudson's railway empire is covered in good detail, including a useful overview of Hudson and his importance in early railways and his downfall. As well as Hudson there are useful biographies of key personalities involved in the history of the railway which also provide much interest.
This book continues Anthony Dawson's important work into early railways, using many primary sources and archival research and not just relying on previously published works. Hopefully this book will not only raise awareness of the Leeds & Selby and its interesting history — which will no doubt appeal to a broad audience from those interested in local history through to more seasoned railway enthusiasts — but perhaps also inspire others to write similar well-researched works on early railways that are hitherto not well covered.

Hebden Bridge and the railway in the Nineteenth Century. David N. Taylor.  Hebden Bridge Local History Society. 122pp. Reviewed by Michael Blakemoor, *****
Hebden Bridge developed as a prosperous mill town in the upper Calder Valley, with a station on the Manchester & Leeds Railway. It more recent years it has hit the news in the adversity of flooding, while establishing a new reputation as something of a 'craft centre. In 1834 it had 34 cotton spinners, two fustian dyers, six worsted manufacturers and one silk and wool dyer. Fustian wear became a speciality but the steep sides of the valley prevented expansion into a larger town. The railway at Hebden Bridge, was built on land purchased from the Rev. lames Armitage Rhodes, owner of the Mytholm Estate, who reputedly refused to allow a station within a mile of his hall. He was one of several local figures who appear in the story such as John Fielden, later a LYR director, Branwell Bronte, black sheep of the literary family who was dismissed from nearby Luddendenfoot station, and the grandly named Champion Murgatroyd of Mayroyd Mill, "a local figure and corn miller, if a somewhat unscrupulous one "who was later convicted of adulterating flour with alum.
The original Hebden Bridge station came to be found increasingly unsatisfactory but it took much lobbying before at last the L&YR completed a new one in 1892, largely the one we still find today. Hebden Bridge became the station for the wooded Pennine valley beauty spot of Hardcastle Crags and considerable incoming traffic was handled for visitors and ramblers; over the three days of the Whitsun holiday in 1897 20,000 tickets were collected there. As with all the northern mill towns outgoing excursions took workers and the families to the seaside on days trips or for 'wakes weeks' holidays, or to uplifting events like the Southport Musical Festival. Due acknowledgement is paid to the regrettable Charlestown Curve disaster of 1912 and there is an appendix of 'Accidents, Casualties and other Incidents' over the years. This is an excellent book, an exemplar of so much fine work done by local history societies. Similar productions could be compiled about many other towns but it is Hebden Bridge whose industrial, social and railway history have been skilfully put into focus in this readable and highly commendable publication.

Bristol suburban. R.C. Riley. rear cover
St. Annes Park station in summer 1955: not quite as interesting as the same photographer's picture of Totnes but full of interest: the pannier tank hauling a freight leaving St. Annes Wood tunnel; the veteran clerestory carriages painted black in the bay platform; the allotments, but the cars mentioned in the caption are missing; furthermore ther is no obvious access to the station. Wikipedia is not much help as the one picture shows an electricty pylon on the allotment side: the station closed on 5 January 1970, but there are plans to reopen it. Dick Riley deserves a full biography.

Changes down the years at Newcastle Central: Class 91 No.91   019 in GNER livery on the 09.00 King's Cross-Edinburgh, with HST No.43 160 in InterCity colours working a cross-country service on 21 January 1997. (Gavin Morrison)

September (Number 353)

The Chalford Flyer. A. Murray. 468-9
Colour photo-feature (photographs from Rail-Online): 0-4-2T No. 1453 in black "livery" with two auto coaches leaving Gloucester Central; 57XX 0-6-0PT No. 3779 hauling two auto carriages into Gloucester in January 1966; No. 3775 preparing to run round its auto coaches at Chalford in summer; No. 1453 in black "livery" with single auto coach at Stroud with driver inspecting coach and inside-framed Siphon G iin bay platform ln October 1964; and 94XX 0-6-0PT with LMS coach approaching Stroud from Chalford on 21 September 1064.

Raymond Vickers. The Fowler, Stanier and Fairburn 2-6-4 Tanks of the LMSR. 470-5.
Article excludes Stanier three-cylinder type, but does include brief notes on Fairburn modification and BR Standard type stated to be derived from it. Much based on LMS Test Reports (Box 688 TESTS at NRM Library) and on locomotive performance as published by C.J. Allen and O.S. Nock in the Railway Magazine. Fowler 2-6-4T No, 2318 was subjected to haulage tests on the Lickey Incine in 1928. No. 2371 was tested against Hughes Baltic 4-6-4T No. 11112 in the Manchester Area during 1930 on trains to and from Southport and Colne. In 1946 tests were again conducted between Manchesteer and Southport between a new Fairburn tank (No. 2207) and a Stanier two-cylinder 2-6-4T No. 2648 which had been found to be poor steaming. No. 2347 was tested on the Buxton route from London Road in August 1946 mainly in relation to coal consumption with exhaust steam injectors. Nothing is stated about the Southern River class 2-6-4T and the accídent at Sevenoaks (see Railway Wld., 1969, 30, 440-7.  and official accident report by Pringle). High speeds (in excess 80 mile/h) were recorded on both outer suburban trains into Euston and into St. Pancras. Illustrations: Fowler No. 2300 in ceimson lake livery at St. Albans c1928 [KPJ what an ideal photograph for colourisation]; Fowler No. 2344 at Stoke-on-Trent station on 21 September 1929; Fowler modified Stanier No, 42403 in fully lined black livery at Tebay; Nos. 2404 and 2424 at Shap Summit, Stanier No. 2547 with bunker-first Fowler No. 2334 on passenger train at Melton Mowbray in July 1936; Stanier No. 2582 with express headlamps leaving Birmingham New Street in summer 1936; Stanier No. 2573 with three coaches on local train at Shap Summit; Fairburn No. 2190 at Greenock Princes Pier with train for Glasgow St. Enoch (T.J. Edgington); Fairburn No, 42199 lettered BRITISH RAILWAYS entering Tunbridge Wells West with 11.08 from Victoria formed of three coach birdcage set on 18 Msy 1948; Fairborn No. 42121 with up fast from Northampton to Euston in Tring cutting on 22 September 1951

John King. The railway dance bands. 476-7
Reproduced from the Journal Rly Canal Hist. Soc., 2019, 421. The Midland Railway with its Hotel in Manchester introduced through its hotels manager, Arthur Towle, the concept of a resident dance band and appointed Henry Hall and his band to dance off. The LMS retained the pair and extended their services to the delayed Gleneagles Hotel where broadcasting through the BBC in Glasgow (station director Henry Carruthers) started in 1924. Hall became responsible for the dance music in all the LMS hotels, but in  1932 he was comandeered by the BBC. On the LMS he was replaced by Joe Orlando who was born in New York of Italian emigrants, but had moved to London with his band. Illustrations: Gleneagles Hotel exterior and ballroom; Heny Hall portrait; Midland Hotel Manchester Winter Gardens.

Rob Langham. West Hartlepool Goods Station. 478-83
The Leeds Northern Railway reached Stockton in 1852 and formed an allliance with the West Hartlepool Harbour & Railway Company which gave it access to West Hartlepool. Illustations: seal of West Hartlepool Harbour & Railway Company; 1860 timetable of West Hartlepool Harbour & Railway Company;. West Hartlepool Goods Station staff st Middleton-in-Teesdale in 1922; West Hartlepool Goods Station plan; West Hartlepool Goods Station Ambulance Team in 1923; wagons damaged by German shell fire on 16 December 1914; West Hartlepool Goods Station prior to demolition in May 1973. 

In with the old [Fowler 7F 0-8-0]. 483
Colour photo-feature: No. 49508 ex-Horwich Works in June 1959 (P.J. Hughes); No. 49667 near Sowerby Bridge on freight (J.M. Baírstow). Captions note class plagued with inadequate axleboxes, but had an excellent boiler and valve gear: they were known as Austin Sevens for some absurd reason (KPJ the locomotives based at Lees were attractive).

Miles Macnaiir. From road unto rail. Part six. More rubber tyres. 484-7.
Pneumatic tyres in this series first noted on page 315 [we still seem far from Paris or Montreal or the dreadful busways in the Fens]. This part covers the British demonstrations of Michelin railcars which had pneumatic tyres and were known as Michelines. A Micheline was demonstrated in the USA in 1932 and this led to the Budd Manufactuyring Corporation to build under licence two railcars with Goodyear tyres and corrugated stainless steel body panels. These were named La Fayette and Green Goose. Illustrations: Micheline on 1932 UK trials betweeen Bletchley and Oxford (caption notes additional aircraft type radiators); Armstrong-Siddeley railcar with Dunlop pneumatic tyres on trial by LMS in 1936 (Locomotive Mag., 1936, 42, 221); restored type 51 Micheline in Madagascar in 2016; Pennsylvania RR diesel electric railcars with pneumatic tyres later converted to steel wheels; Dunlop-Fouga railcar with two eight wheel bogies; BRCW railcar for Entre Rios Railway in Argentina (Locomotive Mag., 1935, 41, 262); Latil Road-Rail tractor in 1935 (Locomotive Mag., 1935, 41, 403); UNILOKOMTIVE tractor hauling  five heavy freight vehicles. See also letter from Brian Rumary.

The years go by at Newcastle. Gavin Morrison. 488-91
Colour photo-feature: A4 No.60026 Miles Beevor about to leave Gateshead shed on 2 August 1961; J72 0-6-0T No. 68723 painted in North Eastern green livery at Newcastle Central on 2 August 1961; V3 2-6-2T No. 67684 on parcrels train heading south past Manors station on 8 February 1964 see letter from Steven Dyke; Bo-Bo electric locomotive No. 26051 in North Eastern green livery at Manors on 8 February 1964; A1 No. 60131 Osprey on High Level Bridge when working Solway Ranger from Leeds on 21 March 1965; Deltic No. 55 016 Gordon Highlander on down Flying Scotsman viewed from castle keep on 14 May 1977; Type 47 No. 47 6763 Galloway Princess on Thuderbird duty in Platform 10 with Pacer in Tyne & Wear livery in Platform 11 on 10 October 1993; Virgin Trains liveried Class 91 No. 91 123 woring 07.00 King's Cross to Edinburgh and HST No. 43 290 pushing its way back to King's Cross on 09.30 from Edinburgh ob 30 March 2917; National Rail Track Testing Train HST in yellow livery on King Edward Bridge on 18 December 2004 and Class 325 Royal Mail multiple unit passing through Newcastle Central with 10.50 Tyne Yard to Berwick working on 30 March 2017.

Tony Robinson. Forgotten branches of North East Wales. Part Four: The Buckley Railway — part of the Wrexham, Mold & Connah's Quay Railway. 492-7.
Area around Buckley was rich in clay deposits suitable for bricks, tiles and pipes, Engineered by Henry Robinson and promoted by Benjamin Piercy with Royal Assent on 14 June 1860 Buckley Railway was approximately 5 miles long and single track. Illustrations: J69/1 0-6-0T No. 68595 passing Buckley Old station with freight from Connah's Quay docks (D.P. Woodward); map from J.M. Dunn's Wrexham, Mold & Connah's Quay Railway (1957); map Buckley Coalfield full extent (Ken Lloyd Gruffydd); J60 0-6-0T No. 6408 on Ashton's branch c1934 (R.E. Thomas); Dumpling (Lane End) Colliery with Walker Bros 0-4-0ST in caption but invisble in photograph; two Kerr Stuart 2-ft gauge 0-4-0ST at Castle Brickworks (Hackworth valve gear and smart drivers, onr wearing a tie); 0-6-0PT No. 1660 at Holly Lodge crossing about to enter Castle Brickworks siding (G. Harrop); ex-MSLR Pollitt J62 0-6-0ST No. 5883 shunting at Connah's Quay docks (H.A. Coulter); 0-6-0PT No. 1660 with short train including open wagons containg empty shipping boxes (H Type Containers for Castle Brickworks; Hawarden Bridge Junction signal box with N5 0-6-2T hauling loaded coal wagons on dock line curve (J.M. Dunn); WM&CQ 0-6-2ST No. 6 at Buckley Old station; WM&CQ 0-4-0ST No. 9 Duke at Connah's Quay.

Woodhead epilogue. Allan Trotter.  498-9
Colour photo-feature wit text which rightly condemns the (mal)Administration which closed the electrified Woodhead route from Manchester to Sheffield which had been modernised at vast cost in the 1950s: western portal to bew Woodhead Tunnel with catenary still energized; Torside level crossing and signal box; looking out of eastern portal at Dunford Bridge with wires and one track removed; Hadfield station with Class 303 high voltage EMU in May 1986 and Class 323 near Mottram in September 2004 passing under gantries erected by LNER.

Ian Travers. Push-pull working in the St. Helens, Warrington and Widnes Districts 1911-1956. 500-8
Thh article is slightly wider in coverage than implied by the title. It covers the terminology adopted for reversible trains including: auto, auotocar, motor as well as pull & push or push & pull. The LNWR steam railcars are also mentioned as is the devlopment of reversible trains on the Red Wharf Bay light railway on Anglesey. Illustrations: LNWR 2-4-2T No, 1438 on push & pull driving trailer to Diagram 45 built 1913 at Over & Wharton station in Winsford; Webb motor fitted Coal Tank 0-6-2T No. 7789 pushing Diagram M78 driving trailer composite trailer with cove roof? and four first class compartments on Manchester Exchange to Bolton Great Moor Street pas sing Sanderson's Siding signal box in August 1947 (W.D. Cooper); L&YR 2-4-2T No. 10647 fitted with LMS vacuum push & pull control gear in 1934 (C.F..H. Oldham); driving trailer cab of No. 3420 to Diagram 45 with walkover tramcar seats at Rainsford Junctiion (KPJ: type also used on Delph Donkey); maps (routes between Ormskirk, Rainsford Junctiion, St. Helens, Warrington and Widnes); Great Central 2-4-0T Altringham Tank No. 448 with six-wheel bogie auto trailer built by Gloucester Carriag & Wagon Co in 1906 at Ashton-in-Makerfield station with trailing load; Clock Face station photographed from push & pull trailer on 27 April 1951 (Henry Casserley); LMS design compartment driving trailer built by BR pulled by Ivatt 2-6-2T at Warrington Bank Quay waiting departure for  St. Helens (A.W.V. Mace); Ivatt 2-6-2T No. 41210 propelling three coach set out of Heatley & Warburton station on 16.07 Manchester Oxford Road to Ditton Junction on 28 August 1962 (Author); cab interior of driving trailer M24449 on 12 February 1966 (Douglas Rendell); Webb 2-4-2T No. 46727 propelling P&P with purpose built side corridor third intermediate trailer of 1913 departing Earlstown for Warrington in 1951 (N.K. Harrop); No. 46727 at St. Helens Shaw Street on 27 April 1951 (Henry Casserley); Ivatt 2-6-2T No. 41288 propelling P&P set through Earlstown (N.K. Harrop). See also letter from John Macnab mainly on Moffat branch and its working by LNWR 2-4-2T.

Readers' Forum. 509-10

The A1s' Northumbrian swansong. Michael Pearson,
This is a somewhay obscure letter: No. 60847 was St. Peter's School, York. Bitter-sweet recollections of 50A [York shed] in the mid-sixties when he was incarcerated at 60847 [school]. Peppercorn's A1s were the cream of the East Coast crop in his esteem and he witnessed them eke out their ludicrously short-lived days from close quarters. Security was lax in and around the shed, or perhaps my give-away school issue herringbone tweed jacket carried a certain cachet. I clearly recall spending the whole of a science lesson undisturbed on the footplate of one of Peppercorn's dainty Moguls [K1], concocting the ready excuse — if questioned upon return to school — that he had been engaged in a 'science practical'. As for the illustrious A1s, his 1966 Handy Note Book (A. Brown & Sons Educational Contractors) reliably informs me, 60 years on, that he 'cabbed' Nos.60145 Saint Mungo on 30 April and 60124 Kenilworth on 5 June. In What Happened to Steam (Vol. 4) P.H. Hands records that the duo were withdrawn in July and March of that year respectively and subsequently broken up by Draper's of Hull in August (in the case of the latter) and September (in the case of the former). Notwithstanding the admirable creation of No.60163 Tornado, the last minute loss of Saint Mungo must rank as the Euston Arch of steam locomotive preservation. Oh my Boswell, Silurian and Willbrook [obscure Doncaster Cup winner of 1914] of long ago!. [KPJ does not approve of bunking articles, but his most memorable memory of A1 haulage was on return from a Cornisn honeymoon in 1961 when the Wesrern Region failed to provide lunch on the through train from St. Agnes to Paddington and placating his partner with dinner on the evening train from King's Cross. Kevin had no time to look at the engine, he was too busy finding the dining car and he assumed that the rapid exit from London and speedy progress to Wakefield was behind a diesel, possibly a Deltic, but it was behind an A1.

Have camera, will travel. Leonard Rogers 
For the record, the photograph of V2 No. 60963 at Leicester Central on page 374 will have been taken on 18 April 1964. The train was the 11.15 Nottingham Victoria-Marylebone empty newspaper vans. There are a number of published views of this locomotive on this train on this day and the presence of the photographer, as well as the crowd of enthusiasts, will be accounted for by the fact that Flying Scotsman, hauling a Manchester to Marylebone railtour, was due to pass some twenty minutes or so after the V2. While V2s had formerly been common on the London Extension, their appearance was increasingly rare by this date, so, when York's No. 60963 turned up on this working in place of the usual Annesley Black 5 or run-down Royal Scot, it would have been an added bonus for the assembled throng.

From road unto rail. John Macnab 509
Recalls Scottish Region's experience of railbuses: their somewhat chequered career and relatively short existence. The concept may have had some merit and excuse can be found and may well have been, as stated, somewhat of a necessity before sufficient diesel multiple units came into being for branch line services, but generally speaking, despite having a fresh/ new appearance, they did little to stay the ultimate execution that would befall many of those services within a few years. In day-to-day dealings with them in my BR working life that concerned provision of stock for passenger services, they were not reliable to say the least and numerous instances occurred to provide hauled coaching stock in lieu. The only type that never ventured north were the five German-built ones but examples of all others made their way to us (foisted on us, it could be said) in no particular order over their period of existence.
The two built by Bristol Commercial Vehicles/Bristol Motor Company with bodywork by Eastern Coach Works, Nos.79958/9, arrived in the latter part of 1958 to work Lanarkshire branches based at Hamilton depot. Both gravitated further northwards to Inverness for Speyside workings with withdrawal in October 1966. No.79958 was cut up at Cowlairs Works in November 1966 and 79959 at Inverurie Works in February 1967.
The five from Wickhams of Ware, Nos.79965-9, were built between September 1958 and July 1959; all came to Scotland with one notable service being that of replacement for the Craigendoran-Arrochar steam-worked push/pull working. Not that this heralded the end of steam-operated services thereat, numerous failures as related necessitated finding a steam locomotive of whatever kind and accompanying coaching stock to do the necessary! No.79969 at its final depot at Aviemore was an early casualty withdrawn in December 1963.Nos. 79965/6 ended their time in service in the summer of 1964 working from Stirling with 79967/8 residing at Ayr, withdrawn from service in October 1966. All were ultimately broken up at Cowlairs Works in the latter part of 1966 with the exception of No.79968 at T.W. Ward at Inverkeithing.
Park Royal cars Nos.79970-4, again five in total, were built between mid-1958 and early 1959. 79970/4 came new to the Scottish Region with 79971/2/3 following on from use on the LMR. 79971 had a spell in August 1960 working the push/pull service mentioned above with another, unidentified, on an Ayr-Kilmarnock working in June 1961. 79972/3 returned south to Buxton on the LMR in 1965 finishing their days there, being withdrawn in November 1966. In that same month, 79974 nominally allocated to Leith Central at the time, came off second best in an unfortunate encounter with an Austerity 2-8-0 at Eastfield shed and was broken up there in 1968. The remaining two, 79970/1, found themselves finally based at Ayr and Eastfield respectively, the former lasting until March 1967 and the latter in February 1968. 79970 was cut up at its home depot in September 1967 but 79971 lingered on used as a staff mess room at Craigentinny CS for a period before lying dumped in Millerhill Yard until, surprisingly, July 1984 when it was taken away and, literally, buried in Paterson's Tip, Mount Vernon.
The AC Cars, Nos.79975-9, another lot of five, came to pass in 1958 and 79979, the first built but numerically the last, arrived in Scotland after initial use and trials on the WR, notably the Brentford branch, pausing briefly at Gretna beside the border sign on its way north on 8 August 1958 to allow James Ness, the then Scottish Region General Manager, and three other dignitaries who were accompanying the move to leave it and suitably pose standing on the rail track for an official photograph. This unit is noted soon after on Gleneagles-Comrie/Crieff workings and two years later, 1960, on a Beith Town-Barrmill-Lugton service. Some time later it moved further north to work Speyside services between Craigellachie and Boat of Garten. The remaining four, Nos.79975-8, ultimately came north after working on the WR from diverse depots such as Swindon and Yeovil on assorted branch services.
The last Scottish depots for these five cars was 79975/6 at Ayr, 79977/8 at Grangemouth and 79979 at Leith Central. This latter was the first withdrawal in November 1966, 79975 in December 1967 and the remaining three, 79976-8, in February 1968. Two are preserved, 79976/8 on the Colne Valley Railway, 79975 was broken up by T.W. Ward, Inverkeithing, August 1968, 79977 taken all the way somewhat strangely for disposal by Slag Reduction, Rotherham, in luly 1968. and 79979 by MC Processors, Glasgow, apparently as late as October 1992 after an aborted preservation attempt by the Strathspey Railway.
Somewhat of an irony is that the final withdrawal dates for the railbuses in the early months of 1968 was that surviving steam locomotives in that year outlived them by a few months. See also letter from Stephen G. Abbott which sets the British Railways experimental vehicles firmly into their historical place. 

From road unto rail. Roger Silsbury 
Re statement on page 395 the Sadler 'Pacerailer' never carried out demonstration runs on BR metals on the Isle of Wight. It is understood that Sadler-Vectrail sought permission to store the vehicle somewhere on the closed Cowes to Ryde line following display but this was refused by British Railways. Trial runs were carried out between Sadler Railcar's premises at Droxford and Wickham on the closed Meon Valley line. Lord Mountbatten is reported to have made his remarks when he visited the Island Industries Fair and sat in the 'Pacerailer', but he never travelled in the vehicle to the best of my knowledge. Letter writer is Manager, Heritage & Learning Dept., Isle of Wight Steam Railway.

From road unto rail. J. Whiteing 
It is stated that the British Railways Waggon und Maschinenbau rail buses — without doubt the most successful of the breed — spent their entire working lives on the Eastern Region. They did not —two (Nos.E79963 and E79964) were given a trial, without apparent success, between Haltwhistle and Alston on the North Eastern Region. Others (Nos.E79961 and M79964) were used on the shuttle service between Buxton and Millers Dale on the London Midland Region, hence the 'M' prefix to the number of the latter.

From road unto rail. Andrew Kleissner
Further to the article on Railbuses in the July issue, the 'Pacers' haven't yet gone! On 26 May the Department of Transport authorised a further derogation for the Northern Trains 142 units until 31 December provided in most cases that they are coupled to more accessible units. The operator must report to the Secretary of State every 28 days on progress to replace the vehicles. As far as I can ascertain, no further derogation has been sought for the units in Wales, in which case they will be withdrawn on 31 July.

Railway Wonders of the World, R.L. Vickers,  
Nick Daunt praises the 1935 part work Railway Wonders of the World, which is an excellent source of material, well worth praising. Bound copies can be bought from sites such as AbeBooks. However, it can be read on line free at railwaywondersoftheworld.com', which site has all 1,604 pages, plus links to other interesting material.

The Metropolitan Railway in the news. Stephen Brasher 
Re picture of Coppice Row, Clerkenwell, noting various adverts including "Vote for Mills" and "Cox of Finsbury". The latter should read "Cox for Finsbury" as this and the one for Mills are election posters for the Finsbury by-election of December 1861, caused by the death of the Liberal MP Thomas Slingby Duncombe, known as 'the parliamentary dandy'. Confusingly to us both candidates in the by-election were Liberals; William Cox, previously Radical and Liberal MP for the seat (1857-9), and John Remington Mills. Cox defeated Mills by 4,884 votes to 4,848 on a 43% turnout. As Duncombe died on 13 November 1861, and the by-election took place on 17 December 1861 we can date the engraving to somewhere between those two dates. This is further backed up by another of the posters which says 'Octoroon', an advert for Dion Boucicault's play of that name which opened at the Adelphi Theatre on 18 November.

The splendour that was the single wheeler. L.A. Summers
Re letters commenting on this article and appreciate the remarks made. For Mr. Dickinson and anyone else interested in the Chinese 4-2-2s I have recently discovered that they were later rebuilt as 4-4-0s. In his book Locomotives of China: the foreign steam locos (Part 4 of a series - Tynedale Publishing), Robin Gibbons writes that on being rebuilt, they became Class AM3, though he gives no date for the rebuilding; my guess is that it was around 1920 when other 4-4-0s were being ordered. He confirms that the engines carried names and shows a photograph of D26 carrying the name Soochow; he also suggests, reasonably I think, that the others were named Nanking, Shanghai and D28 possibly, Chinkiang. On conversion the names were probably removed, otherwise they would be better known. Short of finding good quality photographs of the locomotives we are unlikely to be able to confirm much of this conjecture. See letter from Mike Fell on page 606.

Legitimately travelling without payment. David Greening 
Re the caption to the undated photograph at the head of p403: Pilorth Halt. It appears there was no Pilorth Halt near Fraserburgh but a Philorth station on the Maud to Fraserburgh line, a private station serving the nearby Philorth House, and a Philorth Bridge Halt on the Fraserburgh to St. Combs Light Railway. This must be the latter as the destination blind on the rear of the Cravens DMU suggests, the halt taking its name from the Water of Philorth which the line crosses at this point. The DMU appears to be travelling in the St. Combs direction. DMUs took over all the passenger workings on the Buchan lines and on this Light Railway from June 1959 and were to continue here until May 1965 when the passenger service was withdrawn. In steam days the unfenced track required all locomotives to be fitted with cowcatchers. This is the first photograph seen of a DMU on this service and wonder whether a cowcatcher was still a requirement. The photograph is not clear enough to tell.

Legitimately travelling without payment. Sym Taylor. 510
Writer was both a user and a recipient of Military Railway Warrants: much of his time in the Royal Navy (1967-2005) was spent in ships based far from my family home and consequently he made much use of this facility. He recalls being allocated four warrants per year (when in UK) with the aim of getting to the nearest railway station to their nominated home address from the ship's current location. As an avid railway enthusiast he made much use of this to travel on various routes around the country. As an example, from Devonport (Plymouth) he could use his warrgnt to travel to Glasgow (then his home address) via Bristol and Birmingham or Bristol and Shrewsbury then via the West Coast. For a small additional fee he could exchange this ticket (which always had to be by the cheapest route) to travel via London and this opened up all sorts of other routes. He therefore enjoyed many different options to get to Glasgow and which included via Sheffield or Leeds (S&C and Waverley route) or Lincoln or Doncaster. Not all of these were officially recognised by BR as "alternative routes" but as the ticket was headed Forces Duty, he never had any problem with ticket inspectors. As he became more senior in the RN, things just got better as he became entitled to first class travel.
As a young officer in a Rosyth-based frigate, he was responsible for the issuing of railway warrants and immediately before main leave periods this was a busy task with 120-150 warrants to all sorts of places around UK needing to issued at one time. Inverkeithing station booking office was well accustomed to this and we routinely arranged to send the warrants to them a day or two before leave started and they would then return the issued tickets to the ship. Most tickets had printed destinations, consequently the booking office must have stocked a huge range of Forces Duty tickets. This all worked very well until on one occasion and at the very last moment, leave was cancelled and the ship unexpectedly sailed. He had no doubt that this accounting problem was solved — but not by him. The RN had a well recognised procedure for granting leave to individual members of the ships company; a 'Request Form' was submitted and this needed to have the name of the 'nearest railway station' to the leave address inserted. One of our Comms ratings lived on Unst in the furthest reaches of Shetland and he nominated Bergen as his nearest station — he was quite correct but how we all laughed! Incidentally at Rosyth, we could use the dockyard workers' train from the Naval Base as far as Inverkeithing.
With the introduction of the military salary all leave travel was changed and different arrangements (including the issue of the Forces Railcard) were instituted. Travel on duty still allowed for the issue of Railway Warrants — and perhaps still does.

Legitimately travelling without payment. Matthew Searle 
Re travel by shipwrecked mariners raised in Alistair Nisbet's article on warrants. Back in 1850 the South Devon Railway's rules indicate that shipwrecked mariners presenting a requisition from the local agent of the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society should travel free. Presumably by the 1930s the requisition took the form of a warrant and the railway companies would charge the Society at a discounted rate.

Book reviews. 510

Railways and industry in the Tondu Valleys — Bridgend to Treherbert. John Hodge and Stuart Davies. Pen & Sword. 260pp. R eviewed by GN. ****
Profusely illustrated with black and white pictures. The portion of the South Wales coalfield between the Rhondda and Afan valleys has hitherto been something of a Bermuda triangle for railway books containing more the an outline of history and a few illustrations. This volume, with its companion covering the Ogmore, Garw and Porthcawl branches which will beseparately reviewed, goes a very long way to fill this void.
Fom the junction with the South Wales main line at Bridgend, the line is described and illustrated up the Llynfi valley via Maesteg through the Cymmer tunnel to the Afan valley and the lines to Glyncorrwg and the tunnel from Blaengwynfi to Treherbert in the Rhonda valley. The historical background, and in particular the industrialists who developed the iron and coal industries, are also covered but the great strength of this volume is the detailed information on the freight services, especially in the British Railways era. Your reviewer was impressed with the listing of the targets used on the freight turns and the comprehensive information on the steam locomotive allocations to Tondu shed from 1901 to the end of steam. While the passenger service was withdrawn in 1970 and coal trains ceased in 1993, fortunately the passenger service to Maesteg was reinstated in 1992 and has gone from strength to strength.
The strength of this volume is in the quantity of illustrations and the very high standard of the captions which speak of the personal knowledge of the authors. The journey up the valley is not quick but there is much to see and appreciate at every point. The coverage of the Cymmer area and the Glyncorrwg branch is also more than adequate. There are sufficient maps to help the reader orient themselves although the complete stranger will probably be grabbing their lan Allan or Cooke Atlas from time to time! There is an index and the most pictures are two per A4 page enabling detail to be appreciated. There are three or four pictures which have been over enlarged or enhanced but the standard is generally good. What is not covered in this volume is illustration of the industrial railways — besides the extensive NCB lines around Maesteg that became a place of pilgrimage for steam enthusiasts after the demise of main-line steam there were also other locations such as Llynfi Power Station that had motive power.

Southern coaches survey Pre-Grouping & BR Mk1 stock. Mike King. Crecy Publishing. 232pp, 205 photos. Hardback.  Reviewed by BCL (Barry C. Lane) ****
This volume carries forward the inherited coaching stock of the Southern Railway and complements the two previous books by this author on the carriage stock of the Southern and the Push/Pull stock inherited and modified for the railway south of the Thames. Included in this volume are the BR coaches that in many cases replaced many of the Southern Railway-built vehicles after nationalisation.
The first 23 pages are a comprehensive survey of the stock and services covered by the Southern Railway and although it was the smallest of the 'Big Four' after the grouping of 1923 it is described as greatest 'people-shifter' of the lot with only the L YR and GER coming anywhere near it. Thus, where the goods services were nowhere near what the other companies had, the passenger stock was more diverse in character. Even the Somerset @ Dorset Railway stock which was divided between the Southern and the LMS is included in this most interesting production. There are 67 pages of 4mm scale drawings by the author that ideally fit the A4 sized format and will leave little to be added on the subject. Photographs galore (many in colour) and tables of build dates, numbering and allocations complete the subject which will delight the modeller and the historian. Although there are other books that overlap the content of Mike King's mammoth coverage of this subject, this is one that anyone with an interest in the Southern will value greatly.

Gresley and his locomotives: L&NER design history. Tim Hillier-Graves. Pen and Sword 2019. Reviewed by RB **
When your reviewer first heard about this book his expectations were somewhat tarnished by the publisher's previous and rather confused offering entitled Atlantics (Great Northern) and he feared little more than a cut and paste job perhaps with a few new pictures. Happily this book does add some significant new material to the Gresley and Doncaster 'backroom' staff story being based on a number of items acquired by the author's father during the 1950s and '60s as well as some lucky finds in antique shops including a significant amount of material from Robert Thom. As per its title the book is solely about Gresley's locomotive designs and it sticks rigidly to its task with only one well known official photograph of an articulated twin from the Silver Jubilee. The book is profusely illustrated and this is where the criticisms must start ...
Firstly is the format of the book which is an 8in square 'Coffee Table' style publication rather than an A4 (sic) portrait approach that your reviewer thinks would have been more appropriate and in keeping with other reference books: Tatlow, Harris et al.
Secondly the publishers or perhaps the author have played around with many of illustrations and either tinted them or colourised them unnecessarily probably to make the book more appealing to 'partners' to buy as a gift. Personally your reviewer finds the standard typeface of most Pen and Sword books a bit 'thin' and the pictures rather washed out — this book is better than most.
Turning one's attention to the contents of the book there are a number of flaws in the way the Gresley story is told. F.A.S. Brown's assertion that the PRR K4 Pacific was the most significant influence on the A1/A3s is again regurgitated with only scant mention of the ALCO prototype No.50000 that was the progenitor of the K4s — take a look at http://www.rrpicturearchives. netjshowPicture.aspx?id=4138321 and you will see why I believe it deserves more recognition.
The book repeats the story of Holcroft and the evolution of the 2:1 conjugated approach but makes no mention of its widespread licensing by ALCO and use on SP and UP prototypes in the mid 1920s that also had clear connections and linkage to the development of the LNER PI including the booster system. The evolution of the original Wl No.10000 is discussed in some depth but it prompted your reviewer to turn to the bibliography at the back of the book which is missing many standard works of LNER Locomotive development and operation including the RCTS 'green' books. One final 'howler' towards the end of the book is the story of the publicity roll-out of V4 No. 3401 Bantam Cock which the author confidently asserts took place at Doncaster including a captioned picture which clearly shows the real location as being the Old Station Yard at York including one of the remaining canopies. So to summarise — this book can best be regarded as an addition to the existing Gresley literary canon and not a replacement for any of the previous well-known standard works. There is clearly some embellishment and a bit of artistic license that is unnecessary in it. The definitive story of Sir Nigel and his team and their broader influence both in the UK and the US still remains to be written.

An old Irish custom. rear cover
Irish Republic Customs Officer checks the seals of van at Castlefinn on County Donegal Railway on 22 May 1956.

Caught in the act: Welshpool & Llanfair Railway 0-6-0T No.822 and crew pause while shunting at Welsh pool on 17th May 1956. (Trevor Owen)

October (Number 354)

Sales talk. Michael Blakemore. 515
Decline in bookstall sales due to Corvid

Coronation class Pacific No. 46221 Queen Elizabeth leaving Carlisle for Glasgow in mid-1950s. Eric Treacy. 515

Between Shrewsbury and Hereford. Gavin Morrison. 516-17
Colour photo-feature: Class 50 No. 50 008 Thunderer near Church Stretton with excursion from Plynouth to Crewe Works open day on 22 September 1979 9Long Mynd in background Class 25 No. 25 265 hauling failed class 101 diesel multiple unit on 24 May 1986 at Dorrinton; Class 37 No. 37 906 (in Railfreight grey livery) on 06.35 Mossend to Cardiff Tidal Sidings on 4 June 1988 (Stokesay Castle in background); Class 47 No. 47 426 in blue livery with two vans near Marshbrook on 4 June 1988; two Coradia Class 175 units pass at Ludlow station on 6 November 2007 with trains to/from West Wales to Manchester

Alistair F. Nisbet. The Monster Excursion [Caledonian Railway St. Rollox Works excurions]. 518-20
On 10 September 1898 the Caledonian Railway organised a one day excursion to Dundee for its employees at the St. Rollox Works. This was reported in the People's Journal, The Weekly News and the Dundee Advertiser. Many of the Caledonian's senior staff were present and the elite lunched with Dundee's grandees at  the Queen's Hotel and then proceeded to Magdalen Green for speeches from Sir James Thompson, General Manager of the Caledonian. Illustrations (only the cartoon relates to the actual event): Perth station in late Caledonian period); Aberdeen station c1900; Elgin station with GNoSR 4-4-0 No.6899 on a freight train; Dunalastair 4-4-0 Calledonian No. 722; polished Caledonian 4-4-0 No. 54500 at Dundee West on excursion train with wee boys dressed in kilts and general aura of something special (see letter from Jim Dorward); Magdalen Green station in early 1900s; cartoon,

Jeremy Clarke. "Bulleid was a brilliant engineer but not a practical one!" 522-6.
The brilliant apparition of a malachite green West Country in the carriage siding below our school playground at St. Joseph's Academy in Blackheath remains one of  Kevin's few railway transcendental moments and thus Bulleid's (like Gresley's) failings tend to be overlooked. The good features of the Bulleid Pacifics are not ignored: the driver could access all the key controls without leaving his seat and the gauges were illuminated by ultra-violet light. Electricity was produced by a small steam turbine which also illuminated the injectors and headlamps.Riddles went back to oil lamps. Bulleid set the main frames closer together so that they rested on the axleboxes and gave a smoother footplate ride which was also assisted by the rear pony truck. The boilers were welded, and had steel fireboxes and operated at high pressure (280 psi). Clarke questions the thermic siphons and the short stroke cylinders, but this reflects Doncaster Ivatt practice, Bulleid's chain-driven Walschaerts valve gear and enclosed oil bath are a source of great criticism and led to the costly rebuilding by Jarvis of all the Merchant Navy class and many of the light Pacifics. Poppet valve gear was not available during WW2. The lightweight casing 'lus the soft Lemaitre exhaust caused smoke deflection problems and made servicing difficult. It also caused fires of the type associated with diesel locomotives. Jarvis eliminated most of the problems except smoke deflection. Illustrations: No. s21C15 Canadian Pacific in malachite green livery with Berkley mechanical stoker (S.C. Townroe: colour); No. 35004 Cunard White Star (still in original malachite but with BR number and full name on tender at Exmouth Junction mpd (black & white); No. s21C116 Bodmin in malachite livery but BRITISH RAILWAYS on tender on Eastleigh shed in 1948 (S.C. Townroe: colour); No. 21C163 with SOUTHERN on the tender and as brass plate on smokebox backing out ot Victoria on Ramsgate arrival on 4 March 1948 (Eric Bruton: black & white); No. 35024 East Asiatic Company in blue British Railways livery leaving Waterloo for Weymouth with Pullman car as third vehicle which was carrying HRH Princess Elizabeth to Weymouth on 20 June 1949 (S.C. Townroe: colour); No. 35022 Port Line in blue livery at Dover with Golden Arrow; Bulleid valve gear diagram from Handbook for steam locomotive men; rebuilt Merchant Navy No. 35030 Elder-Dempster Lines leaving Waterloo on Bournemouth Belle on 26 October 1966 (David Idle: colour). See letters  on pages 652-3 from David Clark especially on the Ashford bogie used on the Type 40, 45 and 46 classes and on the Southern Railway diesel electric locomotives; Tom Burnham; Allan C. Baker who notes that the original intension was to use cardan shafts (presumably with poppet valves, but this was impossible during WW2; Kevin Jones who noted Bulleid's linguistic ability and paper showing the historical influences on his designs and Michael Wheelwright: the last on the tendency of all three cylinder types to be liable to have at least slightly irregular valve events in the inside cylinder. And letter frrom David Rollins in Brisbane, Australia (a sort of Crocodile Dundee?) on firnng Bulleid Pacifics as compared with Peppercorn A1 and A4 Pacifics (the last being best steam raisers)

Geoffrey Skelsey. 'A merciful release after a long illness': the end of the Mildenhall Branch. 527-33
Authorised in July 1881 and opened in 1884-5. Mildenhall was constructed as a  through station, but an extension to Thetford never took place. Charles Allix, a local landowner was the promoter. The line was lavishly equipped with signals. The cost of staffing level crossings was a major failing, The line closed on 16 June 1961 after modern railbuses and railcars had taken over the services. When the closure toook place the dramatic effect of Cambridge Science Park could not be foreseen (and Cambridge is still playing with absurd buses which cannot cope with precipitation: the busway is an added complication). Illustrations: E4 2-4-0 No. 62785 at Mildenhall with train for Cambridge in May 1985 (colour; map); J17 0-6-0 No. 65580 at Swaffhamprior on freight on 16 July 1959; LNER timetable May 1937; Eastern Region timetable Summer 1961; table stations & halts in 1961; Quy station; Wickham diesel railcar at Fordham on 16 June 1962 (colour); Swaffhamprior station; Burwell station; Fordham station; passenger loadings (table); diesel railcar on final passenger train (colour); interior of German railbus; Bottisham & Lode staion restored as domestic dwelling.

'JSG' in South Wales. John Spencer Gilks. 534-5
Black & white photo-feature: Crumlin Viaduct with 56XX No. 0-6-2T No. 6661 on 11.15 Aberdare to Pontypool Road on 23 March 1964; 4575 class 2-6-2T No. 5549 at Crymmych Arms with 17.45 Cardigan to Whitland on 9 May 1958; 56XX No. 0-6-2T No. 6633 at Hengoed Low Level on short freight train; No. 7825 Lechlade Manor on Whitland to Pembroke Dock local leaving Tenby station with low bridge double deck bus approaching station and National petrol sign on 19 May 1961; 56XX No. 0-6-2T No. 5633 passing through Quaker's Yard High Level on coal train for Neath on 18 May 1961; 4-6-0 No. 1020 County of Monmouth preparing to work 14.30 from Neyland to Paddington on 19 May 1961.

The Llanfair train. 536-8
Colour photo-feature: at the time the photographs were taken both of the 2 foot 6 inch gauge locomotives had lost their names which had been Earl and Countess [of Powys] and it is remarkable that the railway lasted until November 1956 and just long enough to be preserved, but without the exciting part through the houses of Welshpool — how did Trevor capture that one of the coal wagons passing the washing line? No. 823 outside tin shed at Welshpool being prepared for working on 5 March 1954; No. 822 shunting coal wagons at Welshpool on 17 May 1956 (Trevor Owen); view along train of coal wagons going to Llanfair Caereinion (Trevor Owen); No. 823 shunting at Welshpool in June 1954 (J.M. Chamney); No. 822 approaching Llanfair Caereinion with freight with Wickham inspection trolley behind and in yard at Llanfair Caereinion on return workins(Trevor Owen: all Trevor's pictures taken on same day); No. 823 preparing to leave Welshpool with freight in June 1954 (J.M. Chamney). See also letter from David Jenkins on errors in captions

Jeffrey Wells. Wolverton in the News 1838-1890. Part 2. 539-43,
On 28 August 1850 Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and two Royal children stopped at Wolverton for lunch whilst in transit to Castle Howard, residence of the Duke of Carlisle. On Sunday 10 September 1854 there was a fire which destroyed J. McConnell's office (The Standard 12 September 1854). In 1865 locomotive construction shifted to Crewe and Wolverton concentrated on carriage construction: this was reported in The Northampton Mercury. On 14 November 1876 the 17.30 Liverpool to London express ran into a freight train at Wolverton causing considerable damage but no loss of life although there were serious injuries to some passengers and the footplate crew. In August 1882 the main line and the station moved to a diversion to avoid passing through the Works.. In November 1882 there was another fire which destroyed many carriages. On 3 August 1885 a public park (Wolverton Park) was opened. Illustrations: southern approach after main line diversion but pre-grouping; staff pose at new Wolverton station; inside view of carríage works; steam tram in Stratford Road c1910; view from Stratford Road Bridge of former main line through works in 1962; Bradwell station; Wolverton station in 1956; Newport Pagnell train hauled by Ivatt Clas s 2 2-6-2T No, 41222 leaving Wolverton on 31 July 1964 (Ken Fairey: colour).

A.J. Mullay. Steaming on oil: the fuel conversion programme on Britain's Railways 1945-48.John Macnab. 544-51.
Includes some sharp criticism of Government dithering and waste. The scheme originated on the Great Western Railway in the autumn of 1945 and involved it and the Anglo-Iranian Oil Coompany and thhe North British Locomotive Company and the conversion of twelve locomotives to burn oil. This was due to a shortage of coal. The coal crisis deepened and on 30 July 1946 the other main line companies joined the conversion scheme with the involvement of the Ministry of Supply. The Southern Railway converted some older LSWR 4-4-0s, but when the system was halted these were not reconverted to coal firing albeit a relatively simple task. The greatest success was achieved on the Southern Railway and the abrupt termination disrupted the development of a coherent experiment, especially at Fratton which was remote from coal supplies. No consideration was given to the fuel storage which might have been usefukl for diesel traction. Mullay does not mention the absurd waste of coal in transporting it to Inverness and possibly Penzance and other locations remote from coal production. It is doubtful if the nuclear power planners heed the capital energy costs involved.  llustrations: Great Eastern Railway T19 2-4-0 No. 760 Petrolea taking on fuel in 1892 probably for working to North Walsham non-stop; 28XX 2-8-0 No. 2872 converted for working from Severn Tunnel Junction on 27 October 1945; cab of No. 2872; No. 5955 Garth Hall converted in August 1946 and prepared for publicity event at Paddington; No. 3904 (alias No. 4972) St. Bride's Hall; Castle class No. 5083 Bath Abbey; LNER WD 2-8-0 No. 3152 (ex-WD 76780) at Doncaster in May 1947; Southern Railway T9 class No. 113 with large oil tank in tender; D15 class 4-4-0 No. 463 similarly modified; N15 (King Arthur class) No. 740 Merlin in green livery; N class 2-6-0 No. 1831; cover of R.J. Eaton Oil burning locomotive illustrated by R. Barnard Way with photogaph of converted Hall class with express headlamps on cover; map in previous showing probable locomotive depots with oil fuelling; tables of actual and planned conversions and of fuelling sites and supply ports. See also letter from John Macnab and from Stephen Abbott (latter about Great Eastern source of liquid fuel

The last of the Bury Electrics. Stewart Jolly. 552-4
Colour photo-feature: (all in Jaffa Cake orange livery): 11.30 to Bury in Platform 5 at Manchester Victoria on 5 November 1988; 14.15 from Bury passing Queen's Road signal box to paass onto Collyhurst loop on 1 May 1989; 15.15 from Bury crossing viaduct over River Irwell with panorama of Bury and Holcombe Hill on 14 July 1990; 11.45 to Manchester departing Bolton Street on same day as previous; units outside Bury depot on same day; Manchester to Crumpsall services at Crumpsall on 16 August 1991; Class 31 removing residue of Class 504 units for scap and masts for overhead electricity for trams in place on 17 August 1991..

Richard Clarke. Remembering Kimberley Station East. 555-7.
Signalman's memories of old Greet Northern Railway signal box. LNER boxes were more comfortable than Midland ones. He was able to use the large amount of free time to plan railway expeditions and was able to sleep during night shifts. Illustrations: inside signal box with author accepting Colwick to Horninglow Bridge freight in February 1967 (Alan Bowler); Kimberley Station signal box exterior in 1967; track diagram; signalling instruments; Watnall Tunnel portal

Readers' Forum 558

Footloose in the Lothians. Leonard Rogers
Re article about walking tours from Edinburgh: one wee correction to caption of Dolphinton NBR station picture. The photographer is looking roughly north east. The Caley station was indeed to the west of the NBR one, so that will be to the left and not the right of the camera. Incidentally, depending on the time of day, the A70l north of the West Linton turning (mentioned in the text) can be surprisingly quiet even yet, though probably not at the sort of times a 2020 hiker following the 1930s itinerary might want to use it!

Footloose in the Lothians. Lloyd Roberts
Re Lothian express from Glasgow to North Berwick, Kilday claims that this was "the only train ever timetabled to run non-stop through Waverley station ... ". Writer remembers in the early 1980s catching the Motorail from Inverness to York on one occasion. It was very strange to run non- stop through all the intermediate stations between Inverness and Perth, and even stranger not to stop even at Perth. There was a long stop at Stirling while the Stirling to Ely portion was loaded and attached. From memory it was hours rather than minutes and Inverness passengers sometimes went into Stirling to get a meal before continuing their journey. It then proceeded non-stop through Waverley statien and on to York. At that time there were no other through trains to the south along the ECML from Inverness, so it was very strange not just not getting off at Waverley, but not even stopping. From memory it passed through on the southern island platform, about the current Platform 8.

Buxton's twin stations. Robin Leleux
Re photo-spread on Buxton's twin stations in the July issue. As you say, the Midland station was demolished after closure in 1967, although thankfully its architectural twin for the old LNWR still survives and is cared for by an active group of Friends, who, with railway support, have managed to get the iconic gable end screen window attractively highlighted with coloured floodlighting during the darker months. However all is not lost for the former Midland Railway presence. Not only is the lower portion of the end stone wall still standing but so also are the distinctive MR cast iron stanchions, dated 1864, adjacent to the roadway, as may be seen in the lower picture on p411. The lady wearing a hat and carrying two shopping bags is between two of them.

When the King and Queen came to stay. Tim Edmonds
Re Parkside station, and statement that on the opening of the Wigan Branch Railway "a new joint station was opened at the junction and original one closed to passengers {the first ever to do so?)". However, the original Parkside station continued to operate after the opening of the Wigan line until the new station at the junction opened in 1839. Parkside was certainly not the first passenger station closure, nor the first on the L&MR, since the original Liverpool terminus of the L&MR was closed in 1836, when it was replaced by Lime Street. So, what was the first passenger station to be closed? As with so many railway 'firsts', the answer depends on your definitions of 'railway' and 'station'. Here is a suggestion. The Oystermouth Railway in South Wales was opened on 25 March 1807 and a horse-drawn passenger service was operated by contractors under licence until about 1827. Passengers were carried from Swansea to Oystermouth, but there were no purpose-built stations. If the stopping places were 'stations' then perhaps these were the first passenger closures. It this connection it is worth pointing out that the passenger services on other early railways were often similar in character. For example, on the Stockton & Darlington Railway the first passenger trains were run by contractors under licence using horse-drawn coaches calling at wayside stopping places.

When the King and Queen came to stay. Tony Mitchell
East Lancashire branch leaves the West Coast Main Line at Farington Junction, not Faringdon as stated.

When the King and Queen came to stay. Arnold Tortorella 
Re account by Nicholas Daunt of the Royal Visit by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on a four-day trip and visit to Lancashire: fourteen days earlier the King and Queen had travelled to Glasgow to open the Empire Exhibition, The Glasgow Herald of Wednesday, 4 May 1938 reported:
Their Majesties Arrive In Glasgow Cheering Crowds At Central Station Unprecedented Traffic Congestion
"A Glasgow welcome by Glasgow crowds —: cheerful, warm-hearted and sincere. That was the greeting the King and Queen received on every hand throughout their busy day. Hours before the Royal Train was due to arrive in the city, crowds began to gather at the vantage point in Gordon Street and Union Street, and right up to the last minute numbers piled up at all the side approaches to the official route.
"The train bringing the King and Queen to Glasgow steamed into Glasgow Central Station, No.2 platform, at 10.00am. Awaiting their Majesties were the Lord Provost — Sir John Stewart; MrWalter Elliot — Secretary of State for Scotland ; Sir Josiah Stamp — President of the LMS; Mr. Charles Ker — Chairman of the Scottish Local Committee of the LMS; Mr. John Ballantyne —Chief Officer for Scotland of the LMS; Mr. William Yeaman — Commercial Manager of the LMS; Sheriff-Principal Sir A.C. Black; Baillie Mrs. Jean Mann — Senior Magistrate; Mr. J.L. Mackenzie — Town Clerk; Captain P.J. Sillitoe — Chief Constable; along with other railway officials.
Colourful Scenes
"The platform of the station was tastefully decorated with flowers and plants, while banners, flags and streamers hung form the walls. A crimson carpet which had been paid on the platform, also added a note of colour to the scene. "On the arrival of the train His Majesty was greeted by Sir Josiah Stamp, and thereafter he shook hands with MrWalter Elliot, the Lord Provost, Mr. J.L. Mackenzie, Mrs.Jean Mann, and several others. Members of the Services were also presented to their Majesties.
"As soon as the presentations were made their Majesties and members of the official party walked down the carpeted platform to be greeted by throngs of cheering people who were packed tightly on either side of the station barriers.
"A tremendous cheer greeted the entry of their Majesties into Gordon Street from Central Station. Flags, bunting, and handkerchiefs waved wildly, and hats were lifted as the open landau swept round into Union Street and set off at a smart pace for Ibrox Park. The King saluted and the Queen smiled and waved a hand in acknowledgment of the warm welcome."
Thereafter the newspaper continued to report in the same vein, providing a highly detailed account of the journey of their Majesties to Ibrox Park football stadium to formally open the Empire Exhibition, which was to be held in the nearby Bellahouston Park. Readers may also be interested to note that thereafter the Royal Train was stabled overnight at Drumclog station on the Strathven-Darvel section of the line, as the exact same newspaper, reported:
Night Spent On The Royal Train Crowds In Vicinity Of Drumclog Station
'Their Majesties spent last night in the Royal Train, which was halted at the little village station of Drumclog, about five and a half miles south-west of Strathven, All entrances to the station were closely guarded by policemen, who remained on duty overnight. "About half an hour before the Royal Train arrived at Drumclog, a crowd of several hundreds had gathered on the roadway overloading the station, while groups of people also lined the railway embankment near Strathven to cheer their Majesties as they passed.
"The train carrying the King and Queen from Paisley arrived at Drumclog Station at 7.05pm, and as it drew into the platform the crowd on the roadway began cheering. Their Majesties did not leave the train, but a short time later they appeared at one of the carriage windows and waved happily to the crowd, who cheered more loudly than ever. "The King and Queen made a second appearance at the window some time later. The crowd lining the roadway increased shortly before eight o'clock, when motorists and cyclists from Glasgow and Lanarkshire began to arrive in large numbers. The crowd, despite a cold biting wind, continued to stand in the roadway until after ten o'clock, when they gradually dispersed."
Sad to say, from the point of view of posterity and railway history, either the LMS failed to relay to 'The Press' how the Royal Train journeyed from Paisley, presumably Gilmour Street Station, to Drumclog: whether it was due east over the former Glasgow & Paisley Joint Line through Cardonald, Rutherglen, Cambuslang and so on, or roughly speaking, west then south over former G&SWR metals through Johnstone, Dalry and on to Kilmarnock, then due east through Darvel to its overnight berth, or else it was sub-edited out when the newspaper was being 'put to bed', as the saying within the newspaper trade used to go. [KPJ: it is probable that LMS documents concerning exact route still exist in Scottish National Archive: jt iis interesting that railway did not open until 1904 and closed in 1939]

Visiting engine sheds. Mick Horton 
I do not think that the 'Black 5' at Willesden shed (August p443) is No.45428, as it was always allocated to a shed with double numerical digits for its code from nationalisation to withdrawal, and it is quite clear from the photograph that it is a single digit. Having looked again with the aid of a magnifying glass, it looks like an '8'. The front number is slightly obscured, but it is definitely 4-5-4. I think the 4th digit is '9', and the last one could be 3 or 5, and once again using a magnifying glass it looks more like a '5' on the cabside. 45493 was never at an '8' shed in BR days, whilst No.45495 was allocated to 8B Warrington Dallam at the time. Consequently, I think that it is No.45495.

Visiting engine sheds. N.C Friswell
Alistair Nisbet says how difficult it was in the 1940s to get into King's Cross 'Top Shed'. I managed it a couple of times but it was dirty and dangerous. You needed another locospotter to show you how. As Alistair says, it was no good trying to get in through the main gate. The route was much more exciting than that. It involved climbing up the piles of coal in the Midland coal drops in Canley Street (shown on some maps as Cambridge Street). Only now, looking back, do I realise how dangerous it was. You had to choose the drop carefully. The coal had to extend right up to the railway lines above and one needed to choose a drop where coal was not about to be discharged nor, equally dangerous, where the wagons were about to be moved as you crawled out from under them. Having got to the siding level, the railway bridge across the canal and Goods Way gave access to the engine sheds. As this was all over 70 years ago, the memory is a bit hazy but I recall using this route on at least two occasions. Once in the sheds, the locomotve men were all friendly. It was only the man on the gate who was the 'enemy' and he was quite happy to let you out! Alistair also mentions access to Old Oak Common from the canal bank near Willesden Junction. That was much less hazardous and, as I recall, this GWR shed with its roundhouses was much cleaner and neater than King's Cross.

From road unto rail. Robin Leleux
Re three Park Royal railbuses which operated when new around Bedford. When living in Northampton during April 1958 my youngest sister's sixth birthday party was happening and the presence of a thirteen-year old brother was definitely not required. So I was encouraged to go out for the day and, I suspect with the aid of a 'sub', a trip to Hitchin on the new railbuses for a day's train spotting was allowed. With a front seat view all the way from Northampton to Bedford and on to Hitchin this added to a good day on the trains. I must have collected one of the promotional handouts for the new services for inside was a table of fares, including Northampton Bridge Street to Castle Station for 2d single, 4d return. Children, ie those under 14 as I still was, went for half fare, so one evening I cycled down to Bridge Street station and duly bought my half fare return to Castle Station, for 2d. The booking clerk, never an happy soul by all accounts, was not impressed, but a pleasant round trip ensued.

Manx wayside. David Idle. rear cover
Isle of Man Railway 2-4-0T No. 4 Loch flagged over Four Roads Crossing on 11.30 Douglas to Port Erin on 30 August 1969

Southern Railway Q Class 0-6-0 No.30531 is occupied in shunting at Brockenhurst on 28th June 1957. (R.C. Riley) See also page 584

November (Number 355)

Sales talk. Michael Blakemore. 515
Editorial

Focus on Glasgow Central. Gavin Morrison.  564-6
Mostly colour photo-feature, but first two black & white: Duchess class Pacific No, 46244 King George VI on Mid-Day Scot on 12: August 1960 awaiting departure; Standard Class 4 2-6-4T No. 80057 leaving in April 1955 with Paisley's store behind; Blue trains in rail blue livery on 4 September 1977; Class 156 in Scotrail livery and similar unit behind in Strathclyde carmine & cream in sparkling conditions of 14 May 2002; Class 303 units in orange livery arriving over the Clyde and passing through complex pointwork on 23 April 1992; Class 90 No. 90 019 Penny Black at head of Royal Mail train being loaded on 23 April 1992; and Class 156 dmu in Strathclyde carmine & cream livery departing on 25 August 2000.

Alistair F. Nisbet. The death of the Waverley Station Master.  567-8
William Wilson Rintoul in 1908 caused by a blow to his head by an abusive drunken passenger — a coal miner called Coutts, from Tranent. Coutts pleaded guilty of the offence of culpable homicide and received a prison snmtence of eighteen months. Illustrations (none of which relate diurectly to the serious and extremely sad incident described): North  Eastern: Wilson Worsdell Atlantic No. 1794 on arrival of East Coast express at Edinburgh Waverley (colour); East end of Edinburgh Waverley at about period of incident; North British Railway policemen; Platform 2 at east end of station; NBR staff at Burnbank; cartoon of English yokel arguing with ticket inspector (colour): none appropriate for a diligent railway officer whose brain had been pulped by a viscous blow from a drunken thug.

David Joy. Rails [railways] in Western Lakeland. 570-8
Mainly the Coniston branch, but also gives attention to a proposed railway in Ennerdale and the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway.  The Coniston branch was built to exploit the copper deposits above the lake which had been worked since the sixteenth century. The Second Earl of Burlington "owned" the copper mines and through his agent, John Taylor, with the involvement of John Barratt, sought to improve the output to pay off his debts. The Furness Railway took over the Coniston Railway from 7 July 1862. Barratt assisted in the development of the huge haematite reserves at Hodbarrow on the Duddon estuary which changed the fortunes of West Cumbria. The Coniston branch was not oriented towards the developing tourist industry; its terminus was high above the lake, the line was steeply graded and did not afford easy access to Windermere: walking between the two lakes was far simpler. William Baird & Co. built the Rowrah & Kelton (Mineral) Railway to serve is iron ore mines above Ennerdale Water, but a propsed extension of 1881 as the Ennerdale Railway was not granted Parliamentary approval due to amenity interest objections, The Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway began as a 3-foot gauge railway incorporated in 1873 and led a struggling existence until rescued by Sir Aubrey Brocklebank and comverted to 15-inch gauge in 1915. Illustrations: Ivatt class 2 2-6-2T No. 41217 on push & pull unit at Foxfield on Coniston service in September 1954; map; Broughton station with steam rail motor [railcar] c1907; 3F 0-6-0T No. 47317 on freight at Broughton station on 1 June 1960 (John Spencer Gilks); 3F 0-6-0T No. 47531 passing Woodland station on freight in 1961; Torver station; Coniston station after closure to passengers with Jinty hauled freight; Coniston station interior c1893 with 2-4-2T No. 73 on passenger train; northern end of Coniston station with line to Copper Mines Wharf; rail motor and trailer at Coniston; Ravenglass station c1908 with Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway 3-foot gauge wagons and a Manning Wardle 0-6-0T; Manning Wardle 0-6-0T Devon at Boot terminus c1905; 15-inch gauge 4-4-2 Sans Pareil at Ravenglass in 1915 (who is posh gent speaking to driver?); two 4-6-2 Sir Aubrey and Colossus at Beckfoot granite quarry on a special train conveying railway superintendents in 1922; Class 5 4-6-0 No. 44950 on return Blackpool excursion on 18 September 1951; Ivatt class 2 2-6-2T No. 41217 on single push & pull unit at Coniston on 10 May 1958 (F.W. Shuttleworth)

A glimpse of the Cavan & Leitrim. 579
Colour photo-feature of 3-foot gauge line which served Agrina coalfield with notes by David Mosley: 4-4-0T No. 2 formerly Kathleen at Ballinamore; ex-Tralee & Dingle 2-6-0T No. 3T on pasasenger train at Ballinamore on 6 May 1957; and No. 3T at Drumshanbo

Miles Macnair. From road unto rail. Part seven. The Besler Brothers and some hybrids. 580-3.
US Patent No. 2,134,072 shows the Besler Doble lightweight engine which was demonstrated in an aircraft on 20 April 1933 and in a steam railcar, the Blue Goose, on the New Haven Railroad in 1936. The concept was pursued by George Emerson of the Baltimore & Ohio, but failed to be realised because of shortage of finance, The Henschel experimental eight cylinder locomotive with quill drives was shipped to the USA and was tested by the Army Corps of Transport until 1952. Macnair postules that Emerson might have been present at the demonsration of the Henschel machine at Fort Monroe in 1946. Illustrations: Blue Goose at Groston, Connecticut in 1936; diagram from US Patent No. 2,134,072; proposed strreamlined Besler Doble locomotive (painting by Robin Barnes) hauling express up Waverly bank out of Baltimore; Henschel experimental eight cylinder locomotive with quill drives, see Backtrack, 2014, 28, 627, for Deutsche Reichbahn completed in 1941; restored Ewing monorail train atIndian Railway Museum; Beardmore-Sentinel Type K31 hybrid locomotive built in 1929 for Stronach-Dutton Railway in Kenya; Brockhouse Uniline train (from Locomotive Mag., 1952, 58); luxury personal transport

Southern Railway 0-6-0s. 584-6.
Colour photo-feature (all in BR unlined black livery): Maunsell Q Class No. 30353 (with Lemaitre blast pipe & chimney) at Eastleigh on 1 May 1959 (R. Broughton); Bulleid Q1 class No. 33015 at Nine Elms shed on 6 September 1958 (R.C. Riley); Q class No. 30543 with BR Class 4 chimney and very clean at  Horsham on passenger train on 4 July 1964; Q class No. 39547 showing steam reversing gear on freight at Rowfant on 3 April 1963 (A.F.H. Hudson); Q1 No. 33027 at Factory Junction with Battersea Power Station behind on 23 August 1958 (R.C. Riley); Q1 No. 33012 on passenger train at Bramley & Wonersh on 26 September 1964; Q1 No. 33033 on Tonbridge to Redhill freight at  Bough Beech on 31 May 1958 (Ken Wightman); Q class Nos. 30531 (with Lemaitre blast pipe & chimney) and 30542 (with original chimney) about to leave Havant with a return special to mourn closure of Hayling Island branch on 3 November 1963 (Ken Wightman).

Jeffrey Wells. Aspects of the 'Salford Triangle'. 587-93.
Salford has a Crescent (road) which may mark the centre of the amorphous city, but it does not possess a railway triangle meely the remnants of a tangle of competing LNWR and L&YR routes attempting to reach the same places. The Manchester Ship Canal gets scant mention and the Great Western not a whisper. The River Irwell which bounds the Crescent is mentioned, but has never been a poetic source. Much of KPJ's secondary education took place in Salford, but most of his commute within the City was by one of the green liveried buses following arrival at Manchester Exchange which was actually in Salford (and his journey had begun in Yorkshire: early married days were spent near Wakefield: see below within several senses). The Liverpool & Manchester Railway terminated in Salford. Queen Victoria arrived at Patricroft station on 9 October 1851 and stayed at Worsley Hall hving completed her journey by canal barge. This was reported by the Manchester Times. The Manchesster, Bolton, Bury Canal Navigation  and Railway Company originally set out to convert the canal to a railway, but opted to be both. The Manchester and Bolton opened in May 1838 and used Edward Bury locomotives: Victoria, Fairfield, Manchester and Bolton and Forester & Co. engines Forester and Buck. Illustrations: 8F 2-8-0 No. 48714 passing Eccles Junction signal box with a freight from Patricroft sidings going east on 22 February 1965 (Alan Tyson: colour); WD 2-8-0 No. 90722 waits in Patricroft station to enter sidings with a freight on 4 June 1966 (Alan Tyson: colour); Salford station in 1939; map; Brindle Heath Junction; BR Class 3 2-6-2T No. 82009 passing Eccles station on local freight on 29 April 1966 [damage to retaining wall behind marked impact of 2-6-4T No. 2406 on 30 December 1941] (Alan Tyson: colour); Irlam signal box ín 1957 (Chris Littleworth); Clifton Junction station pre 1893; Eccles station frontage with electric tram; Patricroft sidings & coaling plant & locomotive shed on 19 December 1964 (Alan Tyson: colour); Irlams o' th' Height station c1901; Pendleton Beoad Street station signal box on 16 July 1966 (Eric Blakey); Clifton Junction signal cabin.

M.G. Sadler. That sinking feeling: Nationalised industries at war in the South Yorkshire Coalfield. 594-9
Coal mining led to subsidence which often led to temporary speed restrictions and damage to civil engineering structures on the railways adjacent: this could be obviated by rhe railway buying the coal rights for the land to be affected. This sometimes led to disputes: the railways wanted faster trains, the National Coal Board wanted to enhance productivity and output, especially within the rich coal reserves of South Yorkshire. Illustrations: Class 45 Nos. 45 132 and 45 030 on 07.27 Bradford Exchange to Weymouth passing Oakenshaw North Junction on 2 August 1975 (Gavin Morrison: colour); map; No. 9015 Tulyar in rail blue livery on 11.50 Bradford to King's Cross at Wakefield Westgate c1970 (Joe Richardson); Class 45 No. ,45 052 on 14.32 Leeds to Plymouth passing Wath Road Junction on 13 August 1980 [near Manvers coke ovens] (John Chalcraft); Class  45 No. 45 022 passing Kirkgate West Junction on 08.20 Plymouth to Leeds c1974 (Steve Armitage); No. 45 047 on 17.35 Leeds to Bristol passing Lofthouse Colliery on 27 July 1976 [caption notes disaster of 21 March 1973] (Gavin Morrison: colour); Class 47 No. 47 500 Great Western on 07.40 Cardiff to Newcastle passing Burton Salmon on 4 September 1979 (Gavin Morrison: colour); HST power car No. 43 167 in original livery on 07.40 Cardiff to Newcastle crossing River Aire at Brotherton and passing Ferrybridge C power station on 17 April 1984 (Gavin Morrison: colour).. Se e also letters from Leonard Rogers and Stephen Abbott iin Volume 35

Anthony Dawson. It's a guard's life. 600-4.
Asserts that the Liverpool & Manchester Railway got the concept of the passenger guard correctly right from the start of operations and brought it from the stagecoach. It even included blowing a horn before road crossings prior to the invention of the steam whistle (the fireman also performed this task). The guards of first class trains rode on the roof, but those on second class trains occupied a seat in a semi-open carriage. The guard was obliged to protect the train in the event of breakdown.  Extensive bibliography, Illustrations: Liverpool & Manchester Railway guard perched on roof of first class train; LNWR passenger guard c1850 wearing dark green doubled-breasted patelot, cartouche pouch and belt (both previous colour); London, Brighton & South Coast Railway guard c1870s in frock coat with elabotate cartouche pouch and belt  (photograph); Midland Railway guard c1870s; LNWR guard c1860 with cartouche pouch and belt; Gteat Northern Railway guard c1870 with brass buttoned greatcoat (all photographs except first two).

Book reviews. 605

Railway atlas then and now, 3rd Edition. Paul Smith and Keith Turner. Crecy. 128pp. Reviewed by Michael Blakemore ****
Good atlases are always valuable tools for railway historians and this one is particularly useful, displaying as it does the railway networks of particular areas as they were on lst January 1923 and on lst January 2020 on opposite pages. Scrutinising them can be a sobering experience given the pruning of the national network down the years, not least of course following 'Beeching': open practically any page at random to discover that! The 2020 map includes 'significant' closed lines being marked, along with those converted now to Metros and taken over by the London Underground system, those operated as preserved lines, trackbeds now used for cycleways or footpaths etc or converted to road ways. This can give an illusion of more being still in existence than there actually is, until you get accustomed to the colouring system used to identify the different fates and functions of the railways shown on the 1923 maps. The cartography, though, is good, the details given are extensive and helpful, and I can see this work being worthy of a place on any writer or researcher's bookshelf.

Barry Railway drawings: Welsh railway records Volume 2, by T. Jones, M. Morton Lloyd and J.R.B. Jones. Welsh Railway Research Circle, 2018, 144pp Reviewed by Peter Tatlow *****
Following a brief introduction about the Barry Railway itself, the rest of this book is largely devoted to drawings of its locomotives, coaches and wagons with supporting information and some photographs of such value to the enthusiast and railway modeller. It is concluded with lists of the vehicles tabulating their numbering and technical details. Most of the high-quality drawings are at a scale of 7mm to 1 foot, plus a few details at an even larger scale. Twelve locomotive classes are represented, to which are added seven rebuilt versions mainly by the GWR, together with the motor cars (railmotors) as supplied and rebuilt; seven types of coach and seven detail drawings; six goods vehicles and two brake van drawings complete the selection. This is a competitively priced quality production on semi-matt paper and as a result, enthusiasts of the Barry Railway rolling stock, especially modellers are well served, for which the authors and their sponsors are to be congratulated.

The Vale of Rheidol Railway: the story of a narrow gauge survivor. Peter Johnson. Pen & Sword Transport. 208pp, Reviewed by Michael Blakemore *****
The Vale of Rheidol, between Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge and one of the Welsh narrow gauge railway family, become renowned for being marketed for 40 years as British Railways' only narrow gauge line and for twenty of them as its only steam-worked one as well. The railway has been lacking an authoritative history and this that need by surveying in detail the entirety of the VoR's independent years from 1902, its acquisition by the Cambrian Railways which led it into the hands of the Great Western and then BR, and finally to its privatisation and now more than 30 years of independent operation again.
Though the spectacular scenery of the Rheidol valley and the waterfalls at Devil's Bridge were to become the foundation of the railway's business, it was for the carrying of minerals from the valley's mines, notably lead ore, that it had come into existence. As the revived narrow gauge lines of north and mid Wales grew and developed in their train services and provision of facilities for their tourist passengers, the VoR, as very much a fringe activity of the nationalised BR, seemed to become left behind with its rather minimalist operation, though it did try with the limited resources that could be devoted to it. Sale of the railway was being considered in the early 1960s, possibly to the local council, as an alternative to probably inevitable closure. Privatisation did eventually happen in 1989 and the chapter devoted to the long and complex issues surrounding it — including a bid from a staff consortium — makes surprisingly absorbing reading.
This is an excellent book from a noted author on the Welsh narrow gauge, well written and superbly illustrated. Sadly the Covid pandemic has prevented the VoR from operating at all during 2020; hopefully it will recover during 2021 for this is too good a railway for us to be without.

Nottingham-Long Eaton-Derby. Vic Mitchell and Keith Smith, Middleton Press, 116pp.
Nottingham towards Kirkby-in-Ashfield, the GCR Route 1898 to 1966. David Pearce, Middleton Press, 124pp. Reviewed by C.P. Atkins ****
These two new publications from the Middleton Press stable study routes which have originated from each of the two major stations in the City of Nottingham, which in their character and subsequent fortunes scarcely could have been more different. Undemanding gradient-wise, the Midland Counties Railway route between Nottingham Midland and Derby opened as early as 1839, and remains in use to this day. On the other hand the Great Central route north of Nottingham Victoria station, over the 13-odd miles to Kirby South Junction, was an almost unremitting uphill slog, roughly half of it over gradients of 1 in 130, with only a brief respite at Bulwell Common. Opened as late in the day as 1898, it closed again within a human life span only 68 years later. Both routes are described and illustrated via this publisher's well established technique of systematically providing well chosen photographs taken over a long period, in conjunction with related portions of large scale Ordnance Survey maps. The exquisite cartography faithfully records in detail railway installations which have either since vanished virtually without trace, as at Annesley for example, or which have otherwise been shorn of much of their former complexity, as at Derby. An intriguing location four miles along the Nottingham-Derby route was the creosote works at Beeston, created by the Midland Railway in 1880, whose function was to treat wooden sleepers. This boasted its own internal 3ft gauge railway system which, in post-war years until its closure in the 1960s, was operated by second-hand Bagnall 0-4-0STs. The stations en route were not particularly notable, with the possible exception of the potentially confusing station named Trent (as this reviewer once leaned to his cost). Here the lines from Leicester, Derby and Nottingham converged with each other in a series of junctions, but as the station actually served nowhere directly, it therefore took its name from the eponymous river which flowed close by. The erstwhile Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway reached Kirkby-in-Ashfield in the rapidly developing Nottinghamshire coalfield in 1892, when it also gained authority to construct its London Extension southwards through Nottingham and Leicester. This was completed in only six years, as a result of which the company changed its title to Great Central. The large station at Nottingham, named Victoria, was actually joint with the Great Northern, and the GC, GN and Midland companies all made their way north north west up the Leen Valley from Nottingham via separate but repeatedly intertwining lines to Kirkby, also being in particularly close proximity with each other at Linby and Annesley. Annesley was the location of a major, if somewhat remote, locomotive depot. In the BR era the transfer of the former GC route to London from the Eastern to the London Midland Region in February 1958 foreshadowed its demise less than ten years later, in mid-1966. Illustrations in the book dramatically show its remarkably rapid reversion to nature even at the time, and now more than 50 years later the utter unfeasibility of very recent calls for its reinstatement as a part of the beleaguered HS2 project. Both books are well recommended.

Railways and  industry in the Tondu Valleys — Ogmore, Garw & Porthcawl branches. John Hodge and Stuart Davies. Pen & Sword, 2019. 222pp. Profusely illustrated, mainly black and white but some colour pictures. Reviewed by GN. ****
This is a companion to the Bridgend to Treherbert volume by the same authors and covers the remaining lines radiating from Tondu, ie to the east to Nantymoel, Blaengarw, Gilfach Goch and Llanharan and to the west to Porthcawl and the beginning of the line to Margam. Each line is described and illustrated with its historical background and, considering the early date of withdrawal of passenger services (1930 at Gilfach Goch) there are a number of early pictures of especial interest, as well as those from the 1950s as photographers sought to capture the rapidly disappearing infrastructure. The authors have done well to find several pictures on the Bryncethin Junction to L1anharan line that never had a passenger service where photographers had to be lucky or have inside knowledge! The re-opening of some of the lines for tip recovery in the 1990s was photographed in colour and is also included. In addition the enthusiast specials over the lines covered by both volumes are listed (with acknowledgement to sixbellsjunction web-site) and there are two illustrated chronologies of services on 7 July 1960 at Porthcawl and on 3 May 1958, the last day of passenger services to Nantymoel.
As with the first volume, the quantity of illustrations and the very high standard of the captions again speak of the personal knowledge of the authors. The printers have done an excellent job of maintaining accurate colour values and adequate contrast on monochrome images on the same page. There are sufficient maps to help the reader orient themselves although the complete stranger will probably have to refer to the lan Allan or Cooke Atlas from time to time! There is an index and most pictures are two per A4 page enabling detail to be appreciated. There are three or four pictures which have been over enlarged or digitally enhanced but the standard is generally good. There are a few pictures of the industrial locomotives in the collieries but there is no comprehensive coverage. This book is also recommended as a valuable addition to the documentation of South Wales railways.

Lost tramways of Scotland — Aberdeen. Peter Waller, Graffeg, 64pp, Reviewed by DWM ****
This is your reviewer's first encounter with this publisher's stylish set of titles which cover the former tramway systems of towns and cities of the currently United Kingdom — and he was mightily impressed. This attractive volume gives brief overview of the development of tramways nationwide before concentrating on the Granite City. The specific history includes the horse tram days, the electric tram era covering both the Corporation trams and those run by the Aberdeen Suburban Tramways Company and the decline and fall of both systems in the face of the relentless bus. An outline map gives context to the pictures which form the bulk of the book.
Leaving aside routes, vehicle portraits, depots and the like it is the street scenes which really take the eye. Splendidly produced, these general pictures provide a wealth of detail of the thoroughfares of old Aberdeen in the tramway era. The advertisements are a study in themselves, 'Mellin's Food for Infants & Invalids', 'Drybrough's Nut Brown Ale' or 'Bon Accord Taxis' anyone? This is a beautifully-produced book which should make a mark with two audiences and deserves to succeed on two levels, tram enthusiasts and Aberdonians. It also forms a useful primer to the tramways of Aberdeen and comes well-recommended.

Northern Rail Rover in the closing years of steam. Allan Heyes. Crecy Publishing, 240pp. Reviewed by DWM *****
A mere 52 years after the demise of steam on Britain's railways and still new photographs of those poignant days are coming to life — and in this case, enough of them to produce an album of superb quality and compelling interest!
This is a splendidly-produced book consisting of excellent photographs each one benefiting from a full page reproduction and all graced with a personal, quirky and informative caption. The premise of the book is a photographic journey in the 1960s and taking in the North West of England, Yorkshire and the North East with a brief foray over the Border into Scotland. The author is allowed a preference, in a couple of chapters, for his home area of around Wigan. The final chapter records activity in the fateful month of August 1968.
The reader must not look for gleaming locomotives and pristine carriages in this book for it records things 'just the way they were' at the end of an era. Only one 'Duchess' graces these pages, along with a few A4s, a solitary Al, an entirely lacklustre 'Castle' and several 'Jubilees': more typically the motive power seen through the lens comprises 'Black Ss', 8Fs, the BR Standard classes and, in the North East and Scotland, some long-lived stalwarts of the North Eastern and the LNER. The industrial scene is not neglected with pertinent coverage of activity at locations such as various parts of the Lancashire coalfield, Philadelphia and Seaham Harbour in County Durham and on the cliff tops at Whitehaven. It is rare to find a fireless locomotive featured in a pictorial album, likewise two formidable railway cats, but this collection has a treat in store on most pages. The dust jacket characterises the album as 'no mere'book of trains and engines". A very fair summary indeed as what struck your reviewer in each picture was the recording of the complete infrastructure of the steam railway. And what a detailed and complicated environment it actually was, signals, signal boxes, station buildings and furniture, trackwork and signs — now all largely swept aside as 'progress' has been made. This album is a warm, personal record of the end of an era. It is a superb production and very competitively priced. Its perusal gave your reviewer several happy hours and it comes highly recommended

Readers' Forum 606

David Idle 1935-2020. Clive Rooker.  
I'm sorry to have to record the passing of one of our most frequent colour photograph contributors, David Idle. These notes are by his friend Clive Rooker. Ed. David originated from Bromley in Kent. He joined the RAF and trained as a radar mechanic and in 1956 was instructing on RAF V-Bomber radar systems. After demob he trained as a teacher and bought his first camera to photograph railway locomotives in black and white, moving on to colour slides in 1961 and until 1968 recorded shots of BR steam throughout the British Isles amassing a large collection. David then took his camera to the remaining industrial steam railways and the upcoming heritage lines. In 1962 the Wainwright C Preservation Society was formed by Ray Stephens with the aim of preserving one of the last working Wainwright locomotives in Kent. David took on the role of chairman and was to be seen at railway open days manning the C Class sales stand raising money from sales of prints and railwayana. The society purchased the last working C Class as DS239, formerly No.31592, working at Ashford as a works shunter in 1966 restoring it to its former SECR origins as No.592 where it was housed at the South Eastern Steam Centre in Ashford before leaving for the Bluebell Railway in 1970 where it still resides. David retired and moved to Pickering in 1989 to involve himself in the NYMR, a railway close to his heart where he ran the station shop at Goathland and later helped at the shed shop at Grosmont. David's lasting legacy will be his part in saving the C and recording the BR steam era in glorious colour and latterly tidying the magazine trolley at Pickering station shop.

Thomas Grey: railwayman poet. Mrs. Jan Grey 606
With reference to the November 2019 issue of Backtrack, a friend, who is a subscriber of yours, passed on an article about Thomas Grey, the Footplate Poet (also known as the 'Border Poet') to me this week, as I had been talking about him. Thomas Grey is my great-granddad and I am delighted to see his life recorded by Roger Jermy in your magazine. He and my dad's relatives have a long history of working for the railways. My comments about the article are: I have the actual letter of appreciation from Queen Alexandra's lady-in-waiting and an original copy of the Musings on a Footplate poem book. Plus I have a box of 'Poems on the Great War', with a photograph of the Tweedmouth War Memorial of which he instigated the installation, on the front cover. My sister and I compiled the poems about the First World War into the book, as he wrote one nearly every week for the Berwick Advertiser to diarise the events of the war, but he couldn't afford to pay for them to be published.
For all Thomas Grey's altruism, he has never been recognised; in fact, his grave is unmarked. I have been searching for ways of trying to raise money for a small gravestone, or even a Blue Plaque on the only remaining house he lived in. He was a remarkable poet and philanthropist, but the War Memorial and the fact he was a founding member of North Eastern Railway's Pensions Society make our family especially proud. I am very grateful to Mr. Jermy, who wrote the excellent article, and for you printing it. If anyone has any ways they think they can help recognise Thomas Grey's life, please contact me. 4 The Limes, York YO32 9UL

LNER B17 4-6-0s. John Peat 606
Director/ trustee of the B17 Steam Locomotive Trust (B17 SLT) and we are building No. 61673 Spirit of Sandringham. I have been creating a photographic archive of all the 10 locomotives in both '28XX' and '616XX' number series. I currently have two shortages as follows: a) No.2844 Earlham Hall (the interim No. 1644 would also suffice before conversion to a Class B2 and renumbering as 61644), No. 2849 Sheffield United. I am wondering if any of your readers may be able to help with these.

The years go by at Newcastle. Steven Dyke 
The selection of Gavin Morrison's photographs featured in the September issue invoked memories of my 1960s childhood in north east England. Although many years have indeed gone by, I recall clearly the overhead wiring seen when passing Manors (Trafalgar Yard). With that in mind, the caption to the shot of V3 No..67684 hauling parcels stock immediately struck me as incorrect. Unless it was an out-of-course propelling movement, the train would have been heading north, away from Newcastle Central and towards Heaton, approaching the New Bridge Street overbridge. The building with the distinctive bay window was to remain essentially unchanged over half a century later.

From road unto rail. Brian Rumary. 606
In the September issue there is an error in the article by Miles Macnair. In the final paragraph he describes the 'Unilok' road/ rail machines made by the German firm Hugo Aeckerle of Hamburg. However, the photograph at the bottom of p. 487, which he describes as a Unilokomotiv, is in fact a Unimog — a quite different beast! The Unimog is primally a 4x4 pick-up truck built by Mercedes-Benz and is much used by farmers, construction works and other companies who need a tough, all-terrain vehicle.
However, Mercedes don't actually sell road/rail Unimogs themselves — they leave other, smaller companies to carry out the road/rail conversions. These companies include Zagro, Zweiweg and Beilhack, of which Zagro seems to be the biggest - note the sign at the front of the machine in the photograph. These machines all have small, flanged guide wheels, sometimes made of plastic, at both front and back, which are raised and lowered by hydraulics. The vehicle's normal pneumatic tyres run on the rail heads and provide the traction. Transition between road and rail takes place anywhere the rail track is inset into the ground, level with the rail heads.
Although most of these machines are supplied as road/rail units from new I know that some have been retro conversions from Unimogs already owned by the customer. Also some others have had their road/rail gear stripped off if the customer no longer has need of a rail shunter. These road/rail Unimogs are now very common in Germany for light shunting, especially as they are not subject to the same stringent safety standards as 'proper' locomotives, being classed as road vehicles.

From road unto rail. Stephen G. Abbott. 606
The British Railways railbuses (Part Five of Miles Macnair's fascinating article, July and John Macnab's letter, September) were not simply a stop-gap measure pending the introduction of diesel multiple units. By the time of their delivery in 1958 mass production of DMUs was by Derby and Swindon Works and private contractors was well established and sourcing a few more units would not have been difficult. The railbuses were an experiment to see whether an even lighter vehicle would offer worthwhile economies on little-used lines. This was a forlorn expectation, it is difficult to envisage any potential savings other than a little fuel and lines whose traffic could be handled by such small vehicles were mostly doomed anyway.
The twin-engined single car DMUs were much more useful. Two, M79900/01, were introduced in 1956 between Buckingham and Banbury and the Western Region W550XX series contemporary with the railbuses ran to 36 units, designed to work with driving trailers when necessary. Later known as 'Bubble Cars', they had long lives, and two used until 2017 on Chiltern Railways Princes Risborough-Aylesbury shuttle became the last first generation 'heritage' DMU cars in service. See further John Macnab letter

Push-pull working. John Macnab 
As an adjunct to the article [Push-pull working in the St. Helens, Warrington and Widnes Districts 1911-1966, September issue] with operation as such by the LMSR, the only Scottish example carried out by that company concerned the service between Beattock and Moffat.
This line opened in April 1883, with Moffat being one of the spa centres beloved of Victorians which was enhanced, if that be the appropriate word, to be worked by railcar/motor in early LMS days post-1923 when an LNWR example, No.29988, built in 1905/6 was brought north to do the necessary. Remarkably, it worked the longest of its type anywhere until the first year of BR in 1948.
It is shown in the Ian Allan ABC of LMS locomotives 1947 edition as an 0-4-0 locomotive (sub-titled as one might say 'Rail Motors') although stating it is coach No.29988! It would appear the compilers did not know what to make of it. There is, incidentally, an undated photograph of No.29988 at St. Rollox Works in Caledonian in LMS days (Pendragon, 2007).
Digressing somewhat, but in the same vein, also within this ABC reference is made to L&YR Rail Motors 0-4-0T Nos. 10600 and 10617. In a publication of a later era, British Railways Pre-Nationalisation coaching stock, Vol. 2, (Crecy, 2019) detailing stock taken over at nationalisation in 1948, this is referred to as L &YR Steam Car, Diagram 79/82, giving the number M29999 and that it was worked by steam locomotive No. 10617. The diagram drawing shows this locomotive 'hitched' to the coach trailer style!
Returning to the Beattock service, push-pull workings came about, LMS style and methodology, in 1948 comprising, to my knowledge, non-corridor coaches 1938- built composite 17922 and brake motor coach, 24490, an LNWR product dating from 1922 with locomotive power LNWR 2-4-2T No.46656.ln the ensuing six years or so from then it would appear in its latter days until withdrawal of the service in December 1954, the workings had reverted to one coach with an 'ordinary' LMS type BT worked by one of the 0-4-4T Beattock bankers. It is rather intriguing and perhaps someone can clarify (or correct) the comments I have given.

The splendour that was the single wheeler. Mike G. Fell  
I have been reading with interest the follow-up letters on this feature. In 2003, I wrote an article entitled 'Chinese Single Drivers' which focused on the four Kerr, Stuart locomotives built at Stoke-on-Trent in 1910. It was published in two parts in the Stephenson Locomotive Society Journal in the issues for January/February and March/ April 2003 (Volume 79, Numbers 819 and 820). Electronic versions or a reprint of the articles can be obtained from Gerry Nichols, SLS Librarian, 166 Redland Road, Bristol, BS6 6YG (E-mail: nicholsred@hotmail.com) for a donation of £3 or a printed version at £5, including postage. Cheques should be made out to the Stephenson Locomotive Society or an on-line transfer can be arranged. The SLS, now the oldest railway society in the world, is in its 111th year and is in the middle of a recruitment drive with the object of gaining 110 new members by offering the first year of membership free of charge. If Backtrack readers wish to take advantage of this offer, please contact Geoffrey S. Casey, SLS Membership Secretary, 45 Carisbrooke Road, Hucclecote, Gloucester, GL3 3QP. E-mail: slsmembership@stephensonloco.org.uk  Please note that this membership offer expires on 31st December 2020 or once the recruitment of 110 members has been achieved.

A Yorkshire colliery sunset. Gavin Morrison. rear cover
Silhouette of Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0T pushing wagons to spoil heap on 26 November 1969

Great Western Railway 'King' 4-6-0 No.6005 King George 11 powers a West of England express past Reading West on 27 October 1962. See alao letter from C.J. Mansell

December (Number 356)

On Shed at Kingmoor. Gavin Morrison. 612-14
Photo-feature (mainly colour): Jubilee class No. 45719 Glorious on ashpits alongside preserved Caledonian 4-2-2 No. 123 on 20 August 1958; Patriot class No. 45509 The Derbyshire Yeomanry on 19  June 1960 (both black & white: remainder colour); Coronation class No. 46231 Duchess of Atholl (green) on 14 August 1960; rebuilt Scot No. 46107 Argyll and Sutherland Highlander on 14 August 1960; A2 No. 60535 Hornet's Beauty on 26 September 1964 (caption notes that Polmadie drivers not happy with switch from Stanier to Peppercorn Pacifics); A3 No. 60100 Spearmint on 8 May 1065; 4F 0-6-0 No. 44183 with No. 45569 Tasmania behind and Britannia class Nos, 70054 and 70015 minus nameplates on 23 April 1966.

Colm Flanagan. 'The Festival'. 615-17.
Ulster Transport Authority Festival of Britain train introduced in 1951 with new rolling stock built in Belfast to Stanier style coaches of the 1930s. The new 57-ft long coaches were built at the Duncrue Street woorks of the UTA in Belfast using standard LMS-style components. All were corridor vehicles except two non-corridor suburban vehicles. Second class had not been abolished in Ulster so a token amount of second class was included in the new built (actually third class accomodation designted second). In 1950 the UTA had manufactured a modern buffet/dining car at its bus building plant at Dunmurry and it had to be transported by road to Belfast. Steam was replaced by the Multi Purpose Diesel Trains based on the Festival coaches fitted with Leyland 275bhp diesel engine and a "sophisticated transmission system". They were also capable of hauling freight.

Geoffrey Skelsey. 'How to not close a railway': the near death of the North Warwickshire Line. 618-24
The Great Western Railway developed a new main line to connect Birmingham with Gloucester and thence to South Wales and the West of England. As part of this new construction the North Warwickshire Line provided an alternative route to Stratford upon Avon and new residential traffic. A new terminus in Birmingham, Moor Street, also opened in 1909. The section between Stratford and Cheltenham was closed progressively in the 1960s and the North Warwickshire Line became a target for closure from 1969: Moor Street was seen to be ripe for property development.  When a formal notice of closure was issued in 1966 the North Warwicks Line Defence Committee was formed to fight the closure and this lled to the High Court and on to the Court of Appeal where the Mastere of the Rolls Lord Denning in May 1969 ordered the line to remain open on the basis that the proposed bus replacement services were not satisfactory. Another attempt was made to close the line in 1987, but this was also thwarted and the line remains and has received investment. Illustrations: 51XX No. 4173 at Moor Street with 15.10 to Henley-in-Arden on 23 May 1957; map; 81XX No. 8109 at Tyseley with train from North Warwickshire Line on 23 May 1967; cover of timetable for improved diesel services from Birmingham to South Wales in 1960;Earlswood Lakes station on 6 August 1966; Moor Street on 2 March 1972; Stratford-upon-Avon station with dmu for Moor Street and single unit dmu for Leamington Spa on 7 May 1966; dmu at Danzey (for Tanworth) on 17.15 ex-Moor Street on 2 May 1969 (colour); Moor Street in 2015 (colour: Author); Moor Street concourse in April 2015 (colour: Author);  and Stratford-upon-Avon station with 172 class No. 172 344 arriving from Moor Street and  Class 165 waiting to depart for Leamington Spa with crowded platform (colour: Author: all remainder Robert H. Darlaston). See also letter from Stephen G. Abbott and from Robin Leleux

Mike G. Fell. Stoke Station and its station masters. Part One. 625-31
Stoke-on-Trent station  opened on 9 October 1848. The station was also the Headqurters of the North Staffordshire Railway which replaced a temporary station at Whieldon Grove. The architect of the neo-Jacobean style station was Henry Arthur Hunt. Biddle claims that Winton Square which fronts the station was the only piece of town planning undertaken by a railway company to set off its station. Farnall was the first goods manager presumably inherited with Tent & Mersey Canal and he only lasted for a short periiod in the extended position. His successor was Myles Pennington former Goods Manager of the Preston & Wyre Railway; who became Goods Manager of the North Staffordshire Railway from 1848 until 1853 when he left to become General Freight Agent for the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada. The locomotives and rolling stock were run and repaired by Joseph Wright. The War Memorial was mainly the work of Cecil Guy Rose (1877-1962) who had come from the LBSCR. The memorial was unveiled by the Chairman Lord Anslow. A new Post Office building was opened in 1909: this was built by the Railway for the Postmaster General which leased it: the building was opened in the presece of Sydney Charles Buxton, Postmaster General and Tonman Mosley. later Lord Anslow. George Dow became Divisional Manager at Stoke in 1962 and retired from there in 1968.  Accidents in the station and on the level crossing which used to exist at the north end of the station are enumerated. Passenger services used to be far more extensive, but the main ones remain (to London and Manchester and to Crewe and to Derby), Finally, that marvellous book by Manifold The North Staffordshire Railway is venerated and a couple of senior officials are mentioned: Edward Douglas Grasett (1876-1957 who began his railway careeer on the MSLR in 1895 and became Chief Clerk to the District Superintendent at Leicester when that railway reached there as the Great Central. On 22 June 1903 he was appointed Outdoor Assistant to the NSR Traffic Superintendent, eventually becoming Traffic Superintendent on 1 April 1914, a position he maintained under the LMS. Grasett was related to W.D. Phillips, the General Manager. Illustrations: lithograph of station published by W. Dean of Stoke only four months after it opened; Illustrated London News engraving of unveiling statue of Josiah Wedgwood by Earl of Harrowby on 24 February 1863; North Stafford Station Hotel (coloured postcard); North Stafford Station Hotel in Winton Square with adjacent houses for Company's senior officials; platforms with cast iron columns supporting roof; Thomas Adams Chief Assistant to NSR engineer (portrait); Platform 1 in NSR period; train shed roof on 9 July 2010; Class B 2-4-0T No. 26 at south end of Platform 1; signalman's arm chair; First World War Memorial on Platform 1 shortly after unveiling on 15 August 1922;. Continued in Volume 35 See also letter from Robin Leleux.

Reading matter. 632-4
Colour photo-feature: Castle class No. 5017 The Gloucestershire Regiment 28th, 61st heading west towards Didcot with a parcels train iin September 1959 (B.J. Swain); No. 7808 Cookham Manor with parcels vans for Redhill on 24 March 1963 with Western Region diesel multiple unit beyond (G. Parry) see also letter from Robin Leleux in next volume page 222; U class 2-6-0 No. 31797 passing Western Region station with a freight on 28 February 1965 (R. Broughton); No. 6000 King George V with shining bell passing Reading West on 27 October 1962; Saint class No. 2947 Madresfield Court in lined black livery without crest (H.N. James); Castle No. 5052 Earl of Radnor enters Reading General with express with Siphon G as leading vehicle on 28 February 1959 (R. Broughton); King Arthur No. 30784 Sir Nerovens heads for Basingstoke through Reading West with a freight on 2 May 1959 (Trevor Owen).  

A tribute to David Idle. 635
Colour photographs taken by deceased of his favoured Wainwright C class 0-6-0: DS 239 as shunter at Ashford Works on 5 January 1965; painted pink at Ashford on 1 April 1967 and in restored glory as No. 592 with brass dome on 7 February 1970.

Rob Langham. Coals from Newcastle. Part one. 636-9
The Great North Coalfield extended from Amble in the north, through Northumberland into Durham to Hartlepool. Wooden wagonways emerged to take the output from pits to the Tyne. Turnbull notes that the transport originated as part of agriculture with haulage provided by horses or oxen and that the cuttings and embankments were formed to ease the task. Huntingdon Beaumont probably introduced the timber wagonways which tended to follow these older tracks.  The Tanfield Waggonway and the Stanhope & Tyne Rail-Road are mentioned, but the main emphasis is on the locomotives used for coal haulage on the North Eastern Railway. Illustrations: horse-drawn chaldron (colour); chaldron with brakesman hanging off back; keel boat; 4-ton black waggons at Beamish Museum (colour); P4 10½-ton hopper at Stella Gill on 12 March 1900; long boiler 0-6-0 No. 1005; wooden chaldron with wooden wheels near Causey Arch; P4 class 0-6-0 No. 2057 at Selby in 1904; coaling staithes at Tyne Dock with sailing & steam colliers. Part 2 see next volume page 44 See also letter from John Bushby

John Chapman. A Grand Day Out for Eight Shillings and Sixpence. 640-3
Day Rover bought in September 1961 for five shillings began on 08.18 to Waterloo; thence on a non-stop run to Woking on a rebuilt light Pacfic hauled express. At Woking a 4-COR was joined for the journey to Guildford where after a long wait a Schools class 4-4-0 No, 30916 Whitgift on a on-stop run to Redhill in the Birkenhead to Margate Express formed of Great Western corridor stock. They had one more steam-hauled experience: from East Croydon to Victtoria behind No. 80011, prior to which they had traversed the Pullman in a 6-PUL where he and his companions were struck by the luxury available in the Southern suburbs. Illustrations (not of actual trip but possibly similar): Lord Nelson No. 30856 Lord St. Vincent leaving Waterloo on the Britanny  Express for Southampton Docks on 26 August 1959 (K.L. Cook); rebuilt West Country No. 34005 Barnstaple leaving Waterloo with a Bournemouth express in 1965 (W.J.V. Anderson); King Arthur No. 30782 Sir Brian at Margate with Kentish Venturer railtour on 25 February 1962 (Brian Stephenson); 4-COR emerging from beneath BOAC Headquarters at Victoria on 5 June 1966 (Brian Stephenson); No, 30916 Whitgift on 14.10 Hastings to Charing Cross near Tonbridge on 24 May 1958 (K.L. Cook); U class No. 31615 enters Betchwortth statib with 17.05 Redhill to Reading on 7 April 1963 (Brian Stephenson); N class No. 31866 leaving Wokingham with Redhill-Reading train on 9  December 1962 (D.M.C. Hepburne-Scott); 6-PUL No. 3013 beyond Clapham Junction with 11.45 Victoria-Ore on 28 March 1965 (Brian Stephenson). See also letters from Adrian Palmer and from Robin Leleux in next volume page 222

Andrew Wilson. The Highland Railway 'Clans'. 644-7
It is a pity that Cox's lyrical appreciation of  the Clan class (Chronicles of steam pages 171-2 and plate 64) is not mentioned. Both Atkins The Scottih 4-6-0 classes plus personal observations and Cormack and Stevenson Highland Railway locomotives. Book 2. are cited. There are details of some of the human clans and their chiefs Illustrations: No. 14765 Clan Stewart at Oban shed in August 1939 (colour); No. 55 Clan Mackinnon in lighter shade of green at Perth in Joly 1921; No. 14767 Clan Mackinnon at Aviemore in July 1946 (J.M. Jarvis: colour); No. 49 Clan Campbell near Dalwhinnie on express formed of a great variety of coaches in 1923; No. 14767 Clan Mackinnon in crimson lake livery at Inverness on 17 May 1928 (H.C. Casserley); No. 14765 Clan Stewart in black livery; No. 14763 Clan Fraser at Stirling with driver topping up oil reservoirs; No. 54767 Clan Mackinnon at Balornock prior to leaving for scrapping at Kilmarnock (J.L. Stevenson). See also letter from Arnold Totorella

Tyson's tours. Alan Tyson. 648-9.
Black & white photo-feature: preserved GNoSR No. 49 Gordon Highlander at Aberdeen Waterloo Goods Depot on RCTS Six Day tour of Scotland on 13 June 1960; ex-L&YR 0-4-0ST 51232 on Locomotive Club of Great Britain brake van tour at Irwell Street Sallford on 10 November 1962; 3F 0-6-0T No. 47378 on Branch Line Society brake van tour on former Cllifton Hall branch to point where it was severed by collapse of Black Harry Tunnel; ex-L&YR 2-4-2T No. 50850 at Woolfold on former Holcombe Brook branch with Roch Valley Railway Enthusasts' Society Central Lancashire tour on 17 September 1960; preserved K4 2-6-0 No. 3442 The Great Marquess at Manchester Exchange wiyh a J. Crossley & Sons excursion from Leeds to Llandudno on 10 May 1964; BR Class 2 2-6-0 No. 78036 at Earby en route to or from Barnoldswick on Mid-Lancs Railtour of 22 September 1962

Arnold Tortorella. Drama aboard the TS King Edward, 650-1
Singularly appropriate as the PS Waverley hit Brodick Pier on 3 September 2020 and this led to casualties having to be airlifted off to hospital. On 14 July 1947 the King Edward, when returning to Glasgow Broomielaw struck the steel hawser of the tug Wrestler towing the SS Karamea and this led to several passengers being injured, two seriously. Examination of minutes from the LMS Northern Division Steam Vessels Sub-committee of 10 September 1947.

Readers' Forum. 652

The Llanfair train. David Jenkins
The photograph at the top of p.538 is at the halfway point of the line, Castle Caereinion, not Llanfair Caereinion, whilst in the picture below, the old standard gauge coach bodies installed at Llanfair Caereinion were used for the storage of animal feed, not administration. There was a small corrugated iron shed further along the platform — the booking office before passenger services ceased — that was used for administrative purposes. Today, it houses the preservation company's registered office.

The Monster Excursion. Jim Dorward
Re photograph, taken at Dundee West Platform 4, of former Caledonian 4-4-0 No. 54500, in Alistair F. Nisbet's interesting article about The Monster Excursion' to Dundee. The photograph was actually taken on Saturday 20 May 1961 (not 1961 as in caption) when No. 54500 headed the 13.30 enthusiasts' special to Auchterhouse on the Dundee and Newtyle line, calling at Liff, Lochee, Baldovan, Baldragon and Dronley. Waiting at Auchterhouse was sister engine No. 54486 which took the train back to Dundee and then on to Kingsmuir on the Dundee/Forfar Line. The four-coach train included two restored ex-Caledonian coaches.

Steaming on oil. John Macnab 
The article (October issue) in connection with the proposals put forward to convert steam locomotives to oil fuelling in the immediate post-war ye~rs of World War II are enlightening if for no other reason than for the railway industry to have an enduring propensity to have schemes put forward costly to achieve even if there are practical or oft necessary reasons for doing so all, as ever, with omnipresent Government and political influences.
Be that as it may, the individual locomotives to be selected by the then 'Big Four' is interesting if only to show what was more planned than achieved. Taking the LMS contribution, I looked up my Ian Allan ABC of LMS Locomotives of June 1947, to see if any mention whatsoever of individual locomotives had been adapted at this juncture. Nothing, not even against 8F 2-8-0 No.8079 given mention in the text. The corresponding LNE book in this series would not, presumably, have shown the solitary Austerity 2-8-0 as these locomotives were still technically WD stock at this time before being dispersed to other Regions in the first year of nationalisation. However, did the GWR and SR issues of these books show any reference to the larger numbers they had converted or intended to?
In passing, the LMS book has a page telling of motive power plans they had issued in that year, 1947, to ultimately have only eleven classes "which would take many years to complete". All steam, excepting diesel 0-6-0s for shunting work. However, there is also the announcement of "greater, if not equal" importance that diesel-electric locomotives were to be built for normal (their word) train working obviously heralding, in the first instance, diesel No.10000 that just made it into the final days of 1947.

Steaming on oil. Stephen G. Abbott
Strictly speaking, the Great Eastern Railway locomotives did not burn 'waste oil used for carriage lighting'. The Stratford oil gas plant distilled oil to produce gas used to light carriages. This left an oily residue disposed of by burning in locomotive fireboxes as described. The introduction of electric lighting reduced the availability of this fuel.

Brandon station. Mike G. Fell 
Following the publication of his article in the August issue, writer was delighted to hear that SAVE Britain's Heritage initiated and won a High Court action which resulted in a quashing order of the permitted development. Subsequently, Brandon station has been designated as a Grade II listed building and so its future is secured. SAVE will now work with the Suffolk Building Preservation Trust on a scheme to restore and convert the station buildings, including the former station master's house, as offices and perhaps a cafe.

"Bulleid was a brilliant engineer ...". David Carter
" I found the article 'Bulleid was a brilliant engineer but not a practical' one deeply informative. I especially liked the reference to fitters on night shifts struggling with the oil bath valve gear. Its very easy for a spectator, looking at things from the outside to form a romantic opinion of the locomotives. The article concentrated on the steam Merchant Navy, West Country and Battle of Britain Pacific., Bulleid also had involvement in the mechanical parts of the Southern/English Electric diesel locomotives Nos. 1020l, 2 & 3. The bogie design on these locomotives was also used under the English Electric Type 4s and the Peaks.
The EE locomotives had Westinghouse brake equipment, oval buffers and an access hole in the frame above the pony axle. This, in theory, allowed access to the pony truck spring to change a broken spring. The bogies under the Class 44/&/6s had Davies &  Metcalfe brake parts, round buffers and no spring access hole. All 24 brake blocks had its own brake cylinder, with a slack adjuster, that often didn't work. Sixteen working out of twenty-four was a good average performance. This contributed to their tendency to run away on steep gradients and come to grief. The hand brake was no better; it was possible to drive away, not knowing that the hand brake was on! The air brake cylinders air supply came through ½-inch iron pipework with Navy connections, which frequently cracked. These had to be extracted from the inside of the frame top flange, via a 6iinch gap, working blind, by feel. After welding, they had to be refitted; some pipes had five connections to couple up. Hours of entertainment for the maintenance staff!
Between the axle boxes and the leaf spring was a crown plate, really a heavy steel casting. This allowed lateral movement of the axlebox without moving the spring; the inner lugs often broke off, needing a new crown plate to be fitted. This involved a pair of jacks under the bottom of the frame to take the weight off the spring, counting the number of threads visible on the hanger bolts and removing the spring, (fork lift truck job) and defective crown plate casting. The new crown plates were supplied to the maximum size between the horns, this usually involved trips to the grindstone, walking back, trying it to see if it fitted ...
The frame plates themselves were subject to cracking: this was monitored using penetrant dye. When the crack reached its limit, a trip to Crewe Works and welding up was the answer. Originally, lubrication was by a shaft drive lubricator mounted on the outside of the frame near the driver's side cab steps: oil leakage contributed to bogie fires. This was cured by changing to grease lubrication, providing the fitters mates didn't miss any grease nipples.
Each bogie weighed over thirty tons, but for all that, the bogie frame could distort with a rough shunt, leading to rough riding. The bogie did not have a centre pivot, but instead had four curved segmental bearings. These were lubricated with a thick tar-like oil called Motak. To replenish this, the locomotive body had to be lifted on jacks. Traction motor bellows connected the body to the traction motors for cooling purposes, these also had to be uncoupled and later coupled up on lowering.
Because these locomotives only had primary springs, they were barred from passing over humps in marshalling yards, and because the buffing gear was on the bogie, excused snow plough duties too. Later after they were scrapped, several bogies had the traction motors and the pony wheels removed and fitted with a Beilhack snowplough and ballast weights. Apart from all that, they were quite reliable locomotives (being used regularly on Royal Trains is a clue). I found the English Electric locomotives rode much smoother than the Sulzer-engined, Derby-built ones which had a quite hard ride. What I cannot understand is how the CM&EE staff in Derby who were trying to sort out the MN, BB &WC Class Pacifies in the 19S0s went on to cripple almost 400 diesel locomotives with Bulleid bogies? The later English Electric Class 37 illustrated what a locomotive could be without BR interference, the best engine BR ever had.

"Bulleid was a brilliant engineer ...". Tom Burnham
Jeremy Clarke's article comes as a thought- provoking counterbalance to the often uncritical praise lavished on Oliver Bulleid's Pacific locomotives in their original form. May I draw attention to a small correction, which may actually be more significant than it appears at first sight. When Sir Herbert Walker retired in 1937, he was not immediately replaced by Eustace Missenden but by Gilbert Szlumper, who had been Assistant General Manager under Walker since 1925. Szlumper had previously been the Southern's Docks @ Marine Manager, and on the outbreak of war in 1939 the railway was asked to second him to the War Office for a limited period as director-general of transportation and movements to oversee the despatch of the British Expeditionary Force. The board of directors agreed, intending to make Eustace Missenden, then Traffic Manager, Acting General Manager during Szlumper's absence. However, Missenden refused to accept a temporary appointment, insisting on a substantive appointment as General Manager. Reluctant to lose Missenden's undoubted operating expertise in wartime — he would retire if his conditions were not met — the directors agreed, although for some months they allowed Szlumper to believe that he would be able to return to the Southern when his temporary attachment to the War Office came to an end.
It is an interesting question whether Bulleid's decisions would have received closer scrutiny if Szlumper rather than Missenden had been General Manager at the time. Missenden had received only an elementary education and had worked his way up through the uniformed ranks - his father had been station master at New Romney. Gilbert Szlumper was a chartered civil engineer and his father had been George Ellson's predecessor as Chief Engineer of the Southern Railway. His personality was much more self-confident and outgoing than Missenden's and he had the technical background which would have enabled him to challenge some of Bulleid's more questionable decisions. Yet another 'might have been' of history! ,

"Bulleid was a brilliant engineer ...". Allan C. Baker. 652-3
I thinkJeremy Clarke does Bulleid somewhat of an injustice in his article and I question the veracity of its title. How can anybody be a brilliant engineeer, if not with at least some, practical achievements? In my view he was a man in a hurry, aware that unless some relatively quick action was taken to reduce the labour intensive operating and maintenance of steam locomotives, their days were numbered. He would, of course, have been well aware of what was already under way across the 'Big Pond'. This is surely why, he felt justified in putting so many new ideas into in one design and the fact is, despite some initial teething problems, by and large, the engines worked straight out of the proverbial box. Which is, I have to add from my experience, far more than can be said of a whole plethora of new designs that have appeared in more recent times.
If I may comment on a few issues raised by the author. The locomotives did not have all welded boilers, a popular misconception; only the inner fireboxes were welded. The rest of the boiler consisted of conventional riveted overlapping joints and in improving the circulation of the water, as the author not a little begrudgingly states, the thermic siphons were doing exactly what they were designed to do and any device that improves the circulation of water in a boiler will increase its capacity to generate steam. Incidentally, when I was Depot Manager at Eastleigh, discussing the engines with men who had been involved with them, I was told that the Siphons had the added advantage of increasing the average life of the brick arches, often two-fold, when compared with other types of locomotive, by virtue of the additional support they provided. The author also mentions the locomotives did not have dampers which is incorrect. What engineer in his right mind, would design a coal burning steam locomotives without dampers/ashpan doors? The attached illustration shows them to advantage. Regarding the chain-driven valve gear, it has to be remembered that it was originally intended to drive the gear by card an shafts, but these were unavailable due to the wartime aircraft industry monopolising their supply. While the chains did stretch, as all chains do, I have never heard of a figure as large as six inches. The lay-shaft support for the chain drive wheels was adjustable and when all the adjustment had been taken up, the chains could,of course, be renewed. In his paper, referred to below, Bulleid mentions that a chain sag when under load - up to three inches - was absorbed by the chain rockers riding a short distance along the wheel teeth. As the author mentions, while some of Bulleid's ideas did find their way into the BR Standard types, I have always felt a great opportunity was lost when Riddles's team was not more imaginative in their designs.
The best description of Bulleid's Pacifies that I have seen is his own paper, read before a meeting of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers on 14  December 1945. It can be found in the Institution's Proceedings for that year and is well worth studying.

"Bulleid was a brilliant engineer ...". Kevin Jones
It is an extremely serious accusation to make against an engineer: consider substituting surgeon and it is a literally deadly one. Bulleid was unusual in many respects, not least for his linguistic ability which got him into many events because of this ability and was a major factor in the 'Leader' concept which owed much to the metre gauge bogie Sentinel locomotive demonstrated in Belgium before export to Colombia and described by Michael Rutherford in his Railway Reflections No.43 (Backtrack, 1996, 12, 387). The Southern would have been better off with five of those modified for the standard gauge.
Bulleid was also very aware of his own historical influences as is demonstrated in his Institution of Mechanical Engineers paper  Locomotives I have known (Proceedings, 1945, 152, 341) in which he begins with the Sturrock 0-8-0T,and advanced through Ivatt's own 0-8-2T and large Atlantic designs to Gresley's P2 and A4 designs, Maunsell's Lord Nelsons and finally his own Pacific designs. One wonders why he did not employ Gresley's Bugatti style front end, the Kylchap double blastpipe and even his derived motion. All were better than his own designs. The delta training truck and electric lighting were certainly enhancements over Gresley and his general adoption of welding and steel fireboxes were major shifts towards normal practice elsewhere. Riddles can be criticised for failing to adopt the Bulleid boiler and in employing three wide firebox designs for his three Pacific designs and the 9F, none of which matched Bulleid boiler performance. Gresley fitted one of the Raven Pacifies with one of the Doncaster Pacific boilers. There was clearly a case for the British Railways regime to pursue a similar policy by fitting the Bulleid boilers to all Pacific classes.

"Bulleid was a brilliant engineer ...". Michael Wheelwright
From a devotee of the engineering of steam locomotives, congratulations for another issue (October) covering the design of a particular class of engine, this time the Bulleid Pacifies. Mr. Clarke has done an excellent job in explaining the novel features of these engines and the reasoning or circumstances that led to them. He also dealt well with the less appealing aspect of recounting how several of the new ideas did not work out in practice leading to the major rebuilding of the 'Merchant Navy' Class about fifteen years after introduction. As enthusiasts we tend to base our preferences on emotions and youthful memories together with reported performance involving speed and load but we are unaware of other factors like reliability, asset utilisation and costs that sometimes present a less attractive picture.
There is one rather detailed matter mentioned that I would like to explore: the uneven beats of some three-cylinder engines. The inclination of the middle cylinder becomes necessary when it drives an axle behind the leading one but this does not automatically result in the exhaust beats (valve events) being distributed unevenly in time. I think it is fairly clear that on an engine having three cylinders lying in the same plane if cranks are set at 120° angles the events of each cylinder, including the opening to exhaust, will be evenly spaced in time. If on the other hand the inside cylinder is inclined up at XO relative to the outside ones then with the usual order of cylinder strokes "R-l-Centre" the middle crank will arrive at its front dead centre by rotating only 120- X degrees after the left crank's FDC, a bit early, resulting in the events of that cylinder not being evenly spaced in time from those of the other cylinders. The resultant uneven time intervals in power strokes and exhaust beats are avoided by adjusting the middle crank to lag the LH one by 120+ X degrees, rather than by 120°, so the cylinder events are evenly distributed in time relative to each other. As mentioned in the article the almost perfect balancing of forces (due both to rotational and reciprocating masses) is lost and some balance mass has to be incorporated bringing with it a small hammer blow. The syncopated beats often heard on three-cylinder engines are usually a consequence of their valve gear arrangements such as deriving the middle valve movement from other cylinders through multiple linkages subject to wear and flexing of levers (Gresley-Holcroft conjugated gear) or to a far lesser degree from the shorter rods of the middle motion and its conventional valve gear producing slightly different events (LMS divided drive 4-6-0s). Bulleid's arrangement of three sets of miniaturised Walschaerts gear would be expected to produce even events but as explained, the wear and stretch in the chain drive produced irregularities to which can be added the unreliable operation of the steam reverser. When looking at preserved SECR engines I have often pondered on what led Bulleid to overlook the Stirling reverser, a reliable mechanism already in use for years and familiar to men on the Eastern Section. Perhaps he mentally assigned the Victorian engineering inherited on his new railway (not an inconsiderable amount) to the scrap bin before looking at it carefully. Having said this, although the Stirling reverser fitted to older engines is usually regarded favourably, I am not sure if it is capable of handling the small changes in cut-off typically made by drivers of modern engines with long travel valves, so it may not have been better than the chosen device. Perhaps given the weight reduction of the gear the Southern men could have made adjustments manually without any difficulty as did their LMS counterparts on three-cylinder engines and BR men on the rebuilds.

Book Reviews. 653

The new railway to Scotland: the story of the building of the Settle to Carlisle Railway from newspapers of the time. David Occomore. Hayloft Publishing Ltd. Reviewed by DH ****
For students of the Settle-Carlisle line this is an interesting and informative book but readers with a more general interest in Victorian and Edwardian railway history could also find it of interest. Apart from some short introductory or explanatory links written by the author, the text is taken directly from press accounts and articles of the time. Although accounts of building the line have been published several times by historians and railway authors, much of what could be regarded as the peripheral story has been of necessity overlooked. There have been many references to matters such as the appalling death toll among the men building the railway, the hard and somewhat riotous lives of the navvies and the effect on the local populace of the whole project but this book fills in much of the detail. By quoting verbatim from press accounts it also gives some idea of how the building of what became one of the most famous lines in Britain was perceived by those most involved, either directly or indirectly.
Because of its very nature, this is not a book that would in all probability be read in one go by most who buy it. But the arrangement of the chapters, with an introduction covering the four years from surveying the route to starting construction, followed by individual chapters concerning each of the seven years building the line and the three years immediately afterwards, then two more chapters taking the story forward to 1908, makes it eminently suitable for reading in stages. If there is a down side to the contents it is the number of serious and fatal accidents that are reported, which are such an integral part of the line's history, though, that they cannot be neglected and give a graphic (sometimes quite disconcertingly so) idea of what life was like for the workers and how, to our eyes, almost casually death and injury was accepted not just by the contractors and the railway company but also the courts.
There is, however, much more than death and destruction being reported and some of the facts revealed by the press reports are both fascinating and previously unknown, certainly to this reviewer despite many years' interest in the S&C. Such things as the frauds and what would now probably be referred to as scams that were perpetrated, details of some of the machinery and methods of working, the lives of the navvies and their drinking, fighting, poaching ete. (and contrary to some popular belief not often involving Irishmen except as victims) give colour to the story. The attitudes of the people whose previously quiet and bucolic lives were changed by the line's construction are also sometimes revealed and even given the propensity of the press to sensationalise matters the stories are revealing.
Unfortunately there are very few photographs available of the line under construction so the author has had to rely for many of his illustrations on those showing the building of other lines but they have been judkiously selected and this does not detract from the book's appeal.
Overall this is a recommended read that should appeal to many railway enthusiasts and historians. Taken together with David Jenkinson's Rails in the Fells it gives valuable insight into the human story of a major British railway undertaking and at £15 is well worth the price.

Croydon Tramlink: a definitive history. Gareth David. Pen & Sword Books , 200 pp, 200 illustrations. Reviewed by Geoffrey Skelsey. ****
Speaking in the House of Commons on 10 February 1949 Herbert Morrison, then Lord President of the Council, eagerly looked forward to final abandonment of London's trams: " ... that will come someday, and London will be a tram less city", he said. His tram-free London would last only 48 years and this well-presented new book explains how such an unexpected revival occurred. Since the 1980s new tramways, in the form of 'light rail transit', have again become a presence in many major cities, for the reasons featured in this book. They are justified only by their contribution to economic revitalisation and improved mobility and this is confirmed by the impact studies also examined here.
Many of these tramways have made new use of former, or under-utilised, railway routes for passage through built-up areas, and examples in and around Croydon will be of special interest. The sections taken over included parts of the Elmer's End-Addiscombe branch and the closed line between Woodside and Selsdon. On the opposite side of Croydon the under-used single track line between West Croydon and Wimbledon was also incorporated, and was linked by street track to the centre. A further stimulus to improve local transport was the satellite town of New Addington, with 25,000 residents reliant on a slow and unreliabie bus service. A wholly new light rail link formed a major part of the Tramlink project.
This is not primarily a book about the technology of modern tramway installations, which is available elsewhere. Instead it is particularly strong in its thorough and fluent account of the lengthy negotiations which eventually produced the new system and also its construction and inauguration. Assessment of the possible routeings, consultations with other parties, lengthy exchanges in Parliament prior to the enabling legislation, evaluation of suitable vehicles, negotiating finance: all these and other potential pitfalls occupied thirteen years between initial studies in 1987 and opening in 2000, although the project enjoyed cross-party support throughout. In a sense this is a cautionary guide to the process of establishing a light rail undertaking, including the many traps that lie in wait. The book benefits greatly from interviews with some of the key players in the process and their in sights into its complexities. Also included are details of rolling stock, service frequencies, routeings and a turbulent financial history. There is a lively description of the routes, as well as analysis of possible future expansion of the network, and a slightly disturbing account of accidents and mishaps and the lessons learned.
The book is handsomely illustrated in colour and there is a useful bibliography and index, although, for those of us who are unfamiliar with Croydon, a detailed track plan would have been helpful. Accounts have now been published of most of the second-generation British tramways but this stands out as a stylish and readable study.

Index to Volume 34. 654