Trainspotting

[BulwellBrian 107]

I made many visits to Cleethorpes, Skegness & Mablethorpe but never got there by train!

At Cleethorpes the station, the prom and the pier and of course Grimsby docks were all built by the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway later changing its name to Great Central Railway.

[Chulla 4,946]

I would imagine that railway enthusiasts enjoy listening to music with a railway rhythm beat. Coronation Scot comes to mind, and from the classical world Honneger's Pacific 3.2.1. Try this one; Beyond the Blue Horizon by Morton Gould and his Orchestra.

[firbeck 859]

Not my taste in music to be honest, but I remember 'Coronation Scot' very well, it was one of those tunes that was always being played in the 50's, either on 'Uncle Mac' or '2 Way Family Favourites' on the Light Programme.

Perhaps we should start a topic on railways in films and music, it could throw up a few gems, perhaps I'll start it now.

[FLY2 10,108]

Southern Streamline....... John Fogerty

[firbeck 859]

In the topic 'Railways in Film and Music', I mentioned the BGS trip around some of the London Sheds, for some reason I don't think you went on this one Bilbraborn, or the previous years trip around all the sheds in the Liverpool/Manchester areas. We had problems from the start on the London trip, the Camms coach driver came to a halt on Arkwright St and refused to move because he hadn't been told to take us to every shed on the way, or every booked shed in London, he just thought he was to take us to London and leave us there. Much phoning from a call box ensued, as it happened my older brother had come with us, he just wanted to take some pics, though his camera failed, but, being the oldest and most mature person there, he managed to sort out the problem. The weather was appalling, it rained all day and we ran late, getting barred from Didcot shed as it was dark and having to miss out on Oxford. I think we did Northampton, Bedford, Bletchley, Cricklewood, Willesden, Old Oak Common, Slough, Southall, Didcot ( kind of ) then it was supposed to be Oxford and home. My pictures didn't turn out very well, I have a few but can't upload them all yet.

I realise that it was the day that I stopped taking numbers, I started the day doing this but gave up due to the rain and the fact that I preferred to wander round the sheds gawping at and trying to take pictures of 'Semis' and later Castles, Counties and a solitary King. I thought I could get the numbers off others, but looked at my soggy notes later and decided I really didn't want to keep underlining stuff in my Combi any more!!

This is what I have on Photobucket, I have more in my 'treasure box'.

Scot, Standard Class 5 and Jubilee at Cricklewood.

Two 'Semis' at Willesden, I said I saw half a dozen that day, I reckon it may have been more. Actually looking at this picture, it's blurred, mucky, dark and foul, but I guess it sums up a steam shed, look at all the junk and strangeness hanging about.

[firbeck 859]

Southall in the rain and dark, the dying embers of Great Western steam and it shows:

Scots Guardsman at Willesden, silent and cold compared to it's sister engine at Cricklewood just down the road, but, one of the last two survivors!!

I'll have to upload my pic of Clun Castle, in steam at Old Oak, but standing next to it's withdrawn sisters and a unique class 47XX (and my brother).

In case you've just clicked on here and got this, go back to the previous page for the full story.

[Smiffy49 590]

Once again some lovely atmospheric photographs Firbeck.

[firbeck 859]

While I'm on it, a typical steam shed, the smoke, the smells, the dirtiness of it all, taken in 1966 at York with Bilbraborn lurking somewhere, believe it or not this is now the site of the gleaming, spotless NRM railway museum roundhouse, I wonder which polished gems are now presented on those former working roads.

This pic was also taken on a spring day, it wasn't cold, wet and horrible, you might think so though.

Roundhouses were light and airy compared to parallel running sheds, they really were claustrophobic and dangerous with stuff lying about everywhere and walking between the rows of loco's in steam in the '6ft' was overpowering sometimes, as a kid your head didn't come up to the running plate and loco's were leaking steam everywhere and tended to make strange noises when you least expected it. The floor was always covered in slimy old ash and cinders, the steam beasts were immense and all powerful, it could be quite frightening sometimes, but, an experience that will never be repeated.

[Tim in the North East 200]

This topic has found some true Nottstalgia!

I did the bulk of my trainspotting at the old Carrington Station - in the cutting between the Mansfield Road and Sherwood Rise tunnels. This meant you saw everything that went North of Victoria. Provided you stayed high up on the grassy banks and did not venture onto the old platforms then the signalman did not mind.

This would be in the early 1960s when steam was plentiful but in its final fling - a

[Bubblewrap 3,815]

I think think things for the railways in Nottingham started to go down hill was when the Great Central & Great Northern lines were transfered to the Midland region in 1958.

Although the Colwick yard area remained Eastern region till 1966.

[Tim in the North East 200]

Sorry I hit send before I had finished - there was still plenty of variety - Jubilees, Patriots, Royal Scots, Black 5s, the occasional Stanier 8Fs, Austerity 2-8-0s and 2-10-os Standard 2-10-0s, a few Britannias (e.g. on the Friday evening fish train from Grimsby, B1s, V2s and O4s.

And for variety my brother and I would get cheap day returns to Grantham to watch the Gresley Pacifics on express passenger duties in the final year before the Deltics took over. Grantham station still had canopies over the platforms then that nearly met in the middle of the tracks which meant the steam swirled around the platform and you where deafened by the noise and whistle and shaken by the platform vibrating!

Tim

[firbeck 859]

One day Bilbraborn and I cycled down to Carrington St station for a 'sniff around'. The signalman appeared on his distant balcony, looked at us, went inside and appeared to talk on the phone so we did a runner and got out as fast as we could.

The next time we went was on the last day of through services from Vic. Our cunning plan was to photograph the MN special heading north through Weekday Cross, cycle over to Vic and see the two B1's take over the train at Vic, then hammer up Mansfield Road so I could get a once in a lifetime photo of them in glorious Kodachrome colour bursting out of the tunnel into Carrington Station cutting. Things didn't go according to plan, we left the celebratory Vic, went as fast as we could up Mansfield Rd, but just as we were heading down the ramp on to the remains of Carrington platform, the train burst out of the tunnel in a cloud of smoke and steam, an impressive sight, but the camera was still in my saddle bag, cest la vie.

One thing we noticed, the signal box was unattended.

The next half term holiday we went back again, the box had not only been closed down, they'd left the door unlocked, how stupid, vandals could have caused fear and loathing with the levers, as freights were still heading through the area. We simply helped ourselves to a few items for posterity, otherwise they would have been destroyed forever, lever plates, logbook, block instrument labels, including one labelled up to the next box 'Victoria North', in our adventures of this type we never messed with anything mechanical that could have had an effect on the safety of the trains, but then we knew what we were doing. I still have all this including a long piece of mahogany timber with a series of block instrument signs screwed to it, I recall cycling back through the centre of Nottingham with this thing sticking out my rucksack and feeling very self conscious about it. Where would these things be now, no doubt chucked in a landfill site, or chatacteristically burnt, note, this was nearly 50 years ago now, hard to believe sometimes.

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

They were great days Pete but I don't think we appreciated the uniqueness of our (mis)deeds. We certainly clobbered Eastwood North. In one of my books about the GNR there is a photograph of the young signalman at Eastwood North taken in the fifties. I knew him years later in the 1980s when he was working at the Goods Yard Box at London Road Yard.

[firbeck 859]

They were great days Pete but I don't think we appreciated the uniqueness of our (mis)deeds.

Oh, don't humble yourself, we certainly knew what we were doing, it wasn't for monetary gain or the excitement of the risk of being caught (perhaps a bit), we really appreciated the items for their historical value and interest ( certainly to us ). We knew damn well that this stuff would be destroyed and lost forever.

Remember the amazing find of all that incredible paperwork in the collapsed waiting room ceiling at Edwalton, how many people would have given it a second glance. We knew it's historic importance, we were hiking that day and crammed as much as we could in our rucksacks. I remember getting it all home and myself and my very enthusiastic old man going through it all with wonder, how many 15 year olds today would appreciate such things, let alone have the self taught industrial historical knowledge to do so. Not only that, we weren't what would now be called 'Geeks', we were up for owt, recalling the evening we went out on the tandem to examine the grounded NCT tram body at Stoke Bardolph. We ended up outside the shops with a couple of girls, yours happened to be the daughter of the then Notts County chairman, June Hxxxxxxx. You were annoyed with me because I didn't fancy her mate much, but I did take her for a walk down to the level crossing to get out your hair, and to see what was on the Tamworth Mail, she didn't appreciate that.

[StephenFord 866]

While on holiday in Cornwall in 1966, a hike finished up at Luxulyan - first station up the Newquay branch. The line had recently been de-staffed, and the door into the old ticket office had been forced. Looking around I picked up the register of tickets sold (I still have it somewhere). It makes fascinating reading if you are interested in that sort of thing. For some years there were whole weeks (especially between October and March each year) when not a single ticket was issued at all - and bear in mind there was a man on duty for two shifts every day. Noticing this, I went right through the book. I concluded that for a long time takings had never come anywhere near covering the staff costs - let alone contributing to the cost of running the trains on which the passengers travelled. And I don't think Luxulyan was an isolated case.

[plantfit 7,597]

The Tamworth mail? who said the age of romance was dead,nice one Pete, BTW did you ever put that book together I tried to encourage out of you? with all that knowledge about railways you and Bilbraborn should consider it

Rog,

ps, put me down for the first copy

[firbeck 859]

What do you take me for Rog, even I didn't think she'd be too interested in the Lincoln St Marks dmu, it had to be something really spectacular!!

[benjamin1945 16,158]

The Tamworth mail? who said the age of romance was dead,nice one Pete, BTW did you ever put that book together I tried to encourage out of you? with all that knowledge about railways you and Bilbraborn should consider it

Rog,

ps, put me down for the first copy

PLEASE FIRBECK,dont put me down for the 2nd,

only joking mate,your knowledge of the subject is second to none

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

Lovely Pete. I think that was the time of changeover (for a while anyway) from trains to girls. But I do remember Edwalton. It just goes to prove you never know what will turn up next. I remember an elderly friend of mine. He was quite eccentric and lived on his own in the family home after his wife left him. When he died no one came forward and it was left to the local vicar to sort out the house. It was crammed with all sorts of things, mainly rubbish. However, the vicar found loads of railway interest. I knew that he had a keen interest in railways and that he once worked on the railway but I never knew where. That is until the vicar brought all this paperwork. He was apparently box lad at GNR Linby and among the stuff was circulars concerning things like Petrol lamps. All dated 1880s. He must have found them lying about and just took them home. There were also GNR propaganda News Letters from the General Strike. Very scary who they were allowing to drive mainline trains up the East Coast mainline.

Now then. The Tamworth Mail. I remember it later as the Peterborough Crewe TPO. We used to change the engine for the Lincoln Section at Nottingham (I remember my mate getting badly scalded on the steam heat pipes when he uncouple the engine. I had more to do with it at Derby. It arrived in two sections between 9pm and 9:30pm. The first bit to arrive was the Lincoln Section hauled by a Class 31. We screwed the handbrake on in the parcels van and then uncoupled the engine and dispatched it to 4 shed. Not long after the Peterborough section arrived on the next platform. After dealing with mail bags it was shunted out north and coupled to the other section, Engine run round, handbrake off, brake test and right away Crewe.

Around 3'Oclock in the wee small hours it would arrive back at Derby where we would run around with the Class 31, put the handbrake on the Lincoln section, split the train and after platform duties, that bit would be right away Peterborough. Then another Class 31 would back onto the Lincoln Section, then it was handbrake off, brake test and right away Lincoln. Later the early morning split was done at Nottingham. And remember, we had the Midland TPO and also the North-East TPO to deal with as well as umpteen other mail trains. Very busy in the late 80s.

Later, the Peterborough Crewe TPO became the Peterborough - Carlisle TPO going via Derby and returning via the East Coast main line.

This was proper railway work. Hard work but very rewarding. Happy days.

I still have many of the TPO Post Marks which I had done for my stamp collection.

[benjamin1945 16,158]

#193 along with bilbraborn naturally

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

It's quite interesting. I worked with many very experienced railwaymen and they could all have written very interesting books.

[benjamin1945 16,158]

Its funny bilbraborn,my Grandad was 'Secretary' of the NUR Bulwell for many years,my other Grandad worked on the Railway all his working life after service in the Great War' as did my Dad after the Second world war,at 15 i did 6 months at Midland station,but despite all this i retained no interest at all,except to say i can see the romance of the age of steam.

[Scriv 168]

Mention of the Tamworth Mail; the only regular locomotive-hauled passenger service on the Nottingham-Lincoln line in my younger days. It passed between Bleasby and Thurgarton at 20.40 every weeknight,in the summer months it was the signal for my dad to finish his work in the garden, and go inside to watch the nine o'clock news. I could watch its progress from my bedroom window, at a distance; as Bilbraborn says usually a 31 but I'm sure I saw the occasional 37 or 45, perhaps he could confirm?

I say passenger train because, from memory, there were a couple of passenger coaches attached. Again, was this actually the case or did the coaches serve another ppurpose?

[StephenFord 866]

It was indeed a passenger train Scriv, one of the fastest on the Nottingham - Lincoln line. I think it may have ceased to carry passengers by the time Bilbraborn is talking of in #194. It was not always the only loco-hauled, even after DMUs came in in 1958. There was the daily B1 hauled 7.00 Cleethorpes - Birmingham (extended to Sidmouth on Summer Saturdays), and the corresponding 4.50pm Birmingham - Cleethorpes, which left Nottingham at 6.58, stopping only at Rolleston Junction and Newark. And, as I've mentioned on here before, there was a 3.05pm Lincoln - Derby that remained steam-hauled until at least the mid 60s.

[firbeck 859]

We used to go on weekend day trips to Lincoln in the late 50's early 60's. Usually the same routine, hang around the crossing gate into Central to see what was about, wander round the moored boats to try to see what was in the sheds, up the hill, round the cathedral, late picnic on the castle green, find a pub around there then back to St Marks to catch 'The Mail'. This was almost always a B1 and only a couple of passenger coaches were provided, I'm sure they were always at the back of the train. There was always the excitement of crossing the ECML at Newark, on a dmu it paid to sit behind the driver and hope he didn't pull the blind. The dmu would inevitably stop at the flat crossing to allow an express to pass at high speed, you could never get the number though, they were gone in a second. The Mail never stopped there, it was either well timed or had priority.

I think I have a photo of the Mail on Photobucket double headed by a Class 5 and a B1 taken near Draycott, I can't put it up as I'm using my phone to write this. The B1 had dropped it's firebars and was leaving an impressive fireworks display along the tracks in the evening half light, no doubt it was taken off at Derby.