Railway World
Volume 38 (1977)

January

Atkins, C.P. F.G. Smith: a biography. 14-18

Number 442 (February 1977)

Doug Edwards. [lever frames]. 77
Cited by Christensen Volume 44, page 510

No. 443 (March)

J.G. Greenall. Liverpool Exchange. 100-4.

B.K. Cooper. HAV Bulleid: railway biographer. 105
Reproduced in full on H.A.V. Bulleid page

George Toms. The Sprites of Falcon Works. 106-7.
WN 123/1899 was the works shunter at the Brush works in Lougkborough. It was an inside cylinder 0-4-0ST. It failed in 1938 and was rebuilt as a diesel shunter with a Petter engine. Illustrated vin both forms

Peter J. Coster. The railway civil engineer. Part three. Bridges and tunnels. 108-14.
Table list long British tunnels and bridges. There is also a classification of bridges by form, type and material

No. 449 (September)

D.R. Carling.  Foreign locomotives on British rails. 358-62.
The Norris 4-2-0 locomotives acquired by the Birmingham & Gloucester Railway and used on the Lickey Incline were also tried on the Grand Junction Railway and on the steeply graded Bolton & Leigh Railway. Sinclair on the Great Eastern Railway obtained locomotives from Schneider of Le Creusot including five 2-2-2 WN 949-53/1866; RN 87-90 and 299. Also 2-4-0 WN 928-37 RN 407-16 plus a slightly larger 2-4-0 exhibited at the Paris Exhibition No. 300 (WN 1079/1867).

Stewart, I.R. Woodham Ferrers to Maldon. 365-8. (British branch lines, No. 13).
Map. Illus. of substantial bridge over River Blackwater. Cold Norton was main inermediate station.

Foster, Robert H. Saturdays only. 369-73.
Newcastle to Largs via Mauchline

John A. Lines. GWR No. 162 Cobham. (Locomotive portraits No. 20). 383
Dean 2-2-2

No. 450 (October)

L.F.E. Coombs, Reflections on Harrow. 427-8.
Accident at Harrow & Wealdstone on 8 October 1952: its causes and consequences, notably automatic warning system installation

D.R. Carling. Foreign locomotives on British rails–2. 408-11..
De Glehn compound 4-4-2 purchased by GWR from Société Alsacienne; L class 4-4-0m purchased by SECR from Borsig; Taff Vale Railway six locomotives on order from Habover Locomotive & Machinery Works; Port of London Authority order for six shunters from Hohenzollern just before WW1. Eralier LNWR had ordered tramway locomotives from Krauss. Baldwin standard and narrow gauge locomotives supplied during WW1. Krauss The Bug supplied to Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Rauilway

No. 451 (November)

Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST Wissington at British Sugar Corporation Wissington sugar beet refinery in 1960s. G. Tuddenham. colour front cover

A change of editors. 444
From Basil K. Cooper to Michael Harris

Eric Neave. The Great Northern route to Cambridge – 1. History of train services. 446-50.
Illustrations: GNR 4-4-0 on express for King's Cross; Stirling/Ivatt 2-4-0 on down stopping train for Cambridge (H. Gordon Tidey); Klondyke C2 4-4-2 on down freight near Ashwell in July 1934 (E.R. Wethersett); C1 4-4-2 No.4450 on 11,04 Cambridge to Hitchin in December 1936 (E.R. Wethersett); B1 Nos. 61203 and 61279 passing at portal of Hadley Wood Tunnel, former on up train from Baldock (A.R. Carpenter); K1 2-6-0 No. 62014 on 14.21 from King's Cross to Cambridge leaving Weklwyn Garden City in March 1953 (A.R. Carpenter); B2 No. 61671 Royal Sovereign leaving Greenwood Tunnel on 14.10 Cambridge to King's Cross in June 1954 (J.D. Mills); Baby Deltic No. D5904 on down Cambridge  Buffet Express passing Hatfield (Eric Treacy) 

N. Pallant. The Class 33 Bo-Bos of the Southern. 451-3.

Edwardian scenes in the Dorking area – 2. Maurice P. Bennett. 454.
E5 No. 575 Westergate running as a 2-4-2T entering Epsom on a Victoria to Portsmouth stopping train in 1909; D Class 0-4-2Ts Nos. 264 Langston and 285 Holmwood on New Crosss shed ; M7 Class 0-4-4T No. 671 passing Ashstead station in April 1909 with a semi-fast service for Guildford in April 1908.

Chris Austin. Caile Ferate Romane — railways in Romainia. 455-7.

Alan Kendall. Sou'West to Stranraer. 458-61.
Train services which included the Euston to Stranraer sleeper. At that time all Glasgow to Stranraer trains connected with sailings to Larne.

Chris Leigh. Western Cross-Country units. 464-5.
Includes photograph by M. Mensing with a unit incorporating a Hawksworth coach as a trailer vehicle on an Oxford to Paddington working.

John A. Lines. GCR No. 1165 Valour. (Locomotive portraits No. 21). 468-9..
Built in 1920: Robinson 4-cylinder design with inside Stephenson link valve gear

Frank Banyard. Developments at Didcot, 410-13.
Plans for development of Great Western Society Museum with plan, turntable from Suthampton Docks, Carriage shed and colour photograph of No. 5900 Hinderton Hall

New Books. 474

British Steam on the Pampas. D.S. Purdom Mechanical Engineering Publications Ltd. 118pp plus 16pp illustrations. Reviewed by Michael Harris
British involvement in overseas railways remains a major unexplored area of railway history. Douglas Purdorn's book (unfortunately published posthumously) rightly draws attention to the fact that the British-owned railways in the Argentine constituted the largest British commercial enterprise outside the UK and the Commonwealth. He also underlines the sterling work put in by British engineers overseas in operating major fleets of locomotives in difficult conditions. The author's excellent descriptions of the wide range of UK-built locomotives demonstrate the abilities of the British steam locomotive industry during its heyday.
The book deals with the locomotive stock of the largest of the British-owned Argentinian railways, the Buenos Aires Great Southern and associated lines over the period 1924 to 1967. Though this may seem a limited area it covers some fascinating locomotive engineering, in particular the Southern's use of compounding and the pioneering work by its CME, P.C. Saccaggio, in diesel-electric traction. Much useful material is included on locomotive operation and maintenance. The book is all the more important as a technical record in that Purdom became CME of the former BAGS shortly after nationalisation in 1948. By the late 1960s over 500 of some 850 BAGS steam locomotives were still in traffic, keeping the railways operational in the face of poor availability of diesel traction. Two small quibbles: a postscript could have summarised the fate of the steam fleet by the mid-I970s, and the half-tones have not been reproduced too well. Despite what the author says, a few BAGS steam locomotives have been preserved.

Great Western album R.C. Riley lan Allan Ltd. 115pp . Reviewed by Basil K. Cooper
In his introduction Riley claims that there were no half measures about the Great Western. One either loved it or hated it. It was possible, however, to become bored by it and to cherish from early railway memories one of temporary escape from Great Western country and a glimpse of North Eastern locomotives at Leeds. 'It was a respectable railway', says Riley and this there is no disputing. A reporter was once sent to a Great Western publicity film show at a cinema in Soho and still remembers the pleasant incongruity of suddenly meeting a Great Western guard, complete with carnation buttonhole, in that cosmopolitan milieu of vaguely sinister reputation. There is nothing boring about the pictures Riley assembled for this album, now in its seventh impression. The respectability is recaptured. It emanated from some undefinable combination of features in the design of smokebox doors and fittings which made Great Western engines look self-satisfied, as respectable people are sometimes prone to be. Only a Great Western engine could adequately carry a name like Lady Disdain. The pictures in the album portray the last 40 years of steam. They are grouped by classes, by regions of the system, and under the headings of the constituent lines in Wales and elsewhere. Some of the less usual classes are represented, such as three MSWJ types, 'County' 4-4-0s, and Caynham Court with poppet valve gear. The work of numerous photographers including the author himself is brought together to form a memorable collection.

History of the Canadian Pacific Railway W. Kaye Lamb. 491 pp. Collier Macmillan, Reviewed by KHS
History is a succession of peaks separated by plateaux. Outside Canada the name 'Canadian Pacific' evokes a mental picture of the last spike being driven in the transcontinental line, or one of the white Empress liners at the emotional moment of leaving a quayside. Such things are the visible results thrown up at intervals from the continuous background of policies and politics, financial and other crises, and the interplay of personalities. Lamb 'shows both aspects of Canadian Pacific history in a narrative that opens with the Canadian railway situation in 1850 and concludes in the 1970s. The evolution of equipment is also traced in the text and in the numerous illustrations. It is an engrossing story at all periods. The industrial relations problems and declining passenger traffic of the post-war years have a familiar ring for readers in all countries. Apart from the Canadian and the overnight train between Montreal and St John, 'the half dozen other services ... are all maintained by diesel railcars and the railway would like to get rid of most of them'. This judgement is qualified, however, for on the evidence of CNR experience between Montreal and Windsor inter-city travel seems headed for a revival, although it is not clear under whose auspices it may come. Lamb notes that some version of the Amtrak scheme has been suggested for Canada. Throughout the text there are copious references to sources, supplemented by a bibliography. Appendices give statistical and financial information. The book has a comprehensive index. Among the five maps, the one showing the CP rail system at its maximum extent in the 1935-61 period could have been reproduced larger with advantage.

Kings of the Great Western 1927-1977. R.O. Coffin. Hereford:  6000 Locomotive Association 104pp . Reviewed by Basil K. Cooper
The illustrations in this album cover the history of the GWR 'King' class locomotives from the laying down of the frames for the first batch at Swindon to No 6024 King Edward I, awaiting restoration at Quainton Road. Naturally No 6000 King George V, figures prominently in the selection of pictures, but no apology for this is needed in a publication of the 6000 Association. Some noteworthy passages in the life of this famous locomotive are recorded. It is seen fitted with a Westinghouse pump before its visit to America, and posed for a publicity photograph at Middle Hill Tunnel, Box, with express headlamps but no train behind the tender (although it seems to have been hoped that the general public would not notice the omission). Another episode recalled is that of 6 September 1974 when KG V, running light to a Swindon Open Day, had its safety valves carried away by a road over bridge where the track had been raised by reballasting but the operators had not been informed. Although primarily pictorial, the book includes pages of reminiscences by ex-fireman Colin Jacks from Tyseley who fired No 6011 from Paddington to Birmingham in 1959, when some Euston services were transferred to Paddington during electrification of the LMR; and by Inspector Norman Tovey who accompanied No 6000 on its return to main line steam in 1971. The 150 pictures give a wide perspective of 'King' class duties and include interesting detail views, concluding with railtours. There is a list of shed allocations showing the movements of every locomotive in the class.

Letters. 475

The Southern Railway and EP braking  A.G. Merrells
B.C. Vigor's article in the August issue is fascinating. One wonders why, in the 1927 tests with the 'CP' stock (LBSC ac units), no attempt seems to have been made to incorporate a battery to overcome the problems of power supply interruptions. Such a battery could have been charged, from a suitable auxiliary transformer winding, via either a plate rectifier or a small motor-generator.
I would suggest that the existence of a battery in each motorcoach of the 6Pul/6Pan stock was as much a factor in the choice of express units for EP braking trials as the availability of the three spare control wires. Suburban stock did not have batteries or motor-generators, as indeed the surviving 4Sub units still do not; current at 70V for operating the ep control contactors is obtained from a potential divider across the line supply. This means that even without an interlock, interruption of the supply, at conductor rail gaps etc, would still have had undesirable and perhaps dangerous results; both the application and holding valves would be de-energised, causing an unwanted release of the brakes.
It may be noted incidentally that suburban stock in fact had 11 control wires, there being a 3-way cable in addition to the 8-core one. Two of these extra wires were used for lighting control (Nos 10 & 11) while the other (No 9) was latterly used for a variable acceleration control. Thus the three wires required for the EP brake were not, as Mr Vigor says, available even so.
An error occurs in the caption to the photograph of the 4DD (double-decker) units on p327. The picture shows them working an up train at Waterloo, and the headcode indicates that it is a Dartford- Charing Cross train via the Loop Line (Sidcup) and Lewisham.
A difference between the EP brake equipment which the 4DDs acquired from 3016/3034 and that fitted to all subsequent EP braked stock on the SR lay in the driver's valves. These are self-lapping on later stock, but those on 4001/2 were not self-lapping, having separate application, lap and release positions. Some drivers said they preferred this arrangement to the self-lapping type — no doubt part of the reason for this is that with increasing time since the last 'shedding', the self-lapping device becomes less sensitive and too few discrete steps of braking are obtainable. The Westcode type of brake, fitted to the 4PEP referred to by Mr Vigor, does away with this problem. Thanks are due Vigor for the opportunity to learn about what must have been a little-known episode in Southern Electric and railway brake development.

Tractive resistance — effect of welded track. J.N.C. Law
Further to Gerald Druce's second letter on this subject advice has been sought from P.J. Coster, the author of the recent series of articles on railway civil engineering, who summarises the differences between long welded rail (lwr) and jointed track (jtd) as follows:
Sleepers: lwr-prestressed concrete 6451b wt., jtd - softwood. 100-1201b wt. Rails: 113 lb/yd in both cases.
Ballasting: 12in deep for Iwr. About 6in in depth on average for jointed rail on main lines; secondary lines less. Lwr also has a shoulder of ballast raised 3in above sleeper level.
There are therefore significant differences between lwr and jtd track, in addition to the matter of joints, which could affect tractive resistance. Mr Coster advises that the advantages claimed for welded track are:
I. Rail life extended by one-third.
2. Maintenance costs halved (although initial cost of lwr is twice as great).
3. Rail failures reduced; failures at joints eliminated.
4. Traction energy saving of 5%
5. Sleeper life extended.
6. Formation and ballast life extended.
7. Better riding qualities.
8. Higher speeds possible.
9. Wear and failure in rolling stock components reduced.
10. Less noise pollution.
Regarding item (4), at 100mph a typical value for the specific resistance of passenger stock in neutral weather conditions might be about 17Ib/ton, of which some 10½,lb/ton might represent the aerodynamic resistance and the bearing friction, neither of which should be influenced by track structure. If a 5% saving in traction energy is to be achieved by welded track, then the remaining resistance of 6½lb/ton will have to be reduced by at least 13% as the result of the change in track structure. This is a large and important claim, which may merit further investigation.

Scottish serendipity. David Seagrave
In 1975 I found the relics described by Mr Butler in his article. They consisted of sections of galvanised, enamelled iron that spelt out the inscription: 'Killin Junction. Change here for Killin & Loch Tay'. There were four sections to the nameplate, I think. They were about 6ft long apiece. There were also three galvanised, enamelled, advertisement plates of similar vintage.
I promptly reported the find and the precise location of the relics to the curator of the Glasgow Transport Museum (at that time, they had appealed to the public to give them rusty enamelled objects, and had exhibited some objects in course of restoration). I did not tell anyone else, as I thought that the Glasgow Transport Museum was the only proper home for the relics. As far as I know, the Museum people made no attempt to gain custody of them. (It would have necessitated a measure of man-handling as the nearest Tarmac road is two miles distant). There was a funicular railway running straight up the slopes of Meall an Tarmachan (342 1ft) in 1971. It followed a pipeline that is visible from the foot of the mountain. The rails and sleepers were in good condition.
I sincerely hope that the relics described by Mr Butler can be recovered and put on public display.

Saturdays Only. John E. Henderson
I was interested in Robert Foster's article Saturdays only (September) particularly as I travelled on the 10.15 (SO) Paignton-Manchester on its last run for this year on 3 September. The train had Class 47 haulage throughout in the shape of 47.288 which worked through to Manchester without change to electric traction in the Birmingham area (I wonder whether this is normal?). Contrary to the article, the train had a booked stop at Bristol Temple Meads but did then run via Sutton Park with a stop for crew change at Walsall.
No 47.288 was obviously in superb condition and with the help of a clear road the arrival at Stoke was no less than some 30min early! On this occasion, at least, a stop was also made by Longsight depot for a final crew change for the last stretch to Piccadilly. The early arrival caught the crew unawares and a 10min wait ensued which meant that the eventual arrival at Piccadilly was 20min early. Finally, a word of congratulation to your magazine - may the high standard long continue.