Table of contents for Vol 36 No 2 - February 2022 in Backtrack

‘WHAT A LOVELY JOB THIS IS’ ANDREW JOHNSTON looks back on his involvement in making television documentary programmes on railway subjects. (Courtesy of Julian Peters) The title of this article was how driver Donald Beale described working a train from Bath to Bournemouth on the Somerset & Dorset line in steam days. It sums up the dedication so many railwaymen gave to the job and the rich rewards to be had from a life spent keeping the trains moving. A recent article in Backtrack (Vol.35 No.7) featured the work of British Transport Films, the unit which produced classic documentaries during the post-war era of British Railways and was sadly closed down in 1983. They celebrated the long-established tradition of public service that the railways represented and while making more than…

THE GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY RUABON-BARMOUTH ROUTE PART ONE Aspects of historical development and GWR policy at the margins examined by IAN TRAVERS (Colour-Rail.com BRW701) The cross-country line from Ruabon to Barmouth was all constructed in the 1860s decade. Four locally promoted independent companies completed the 44 miles to Dolgelley between 1861 and 1868. Continuation west to the coast was built under the Cambrian Railways for 1869. All legislation was in place between 1859 and 1862 but progress west of Llandrillo was significantly delayed by the outcomes of the 1866 banking crisis. That marked the end of the years sometimes classed as the second ‘Mania’. Construction from Ruabon to Corwen was carried out by the Vale of Llangollen and Llangollen & Corwen companies. Local notables largely formed the company boards. Pioneer…

FROM THE PENDRAGON ARCHIVES ON THE LAMBOURN VALLEY BRANCH The 12G-mile Berkshire branch from Newbury to Lambourn was locally promoted and was quite a late opening in 1898, aided by the Light Railways Act of 1896. It was purchased by the Great Western Railway in 1905 and upgraded. JOHN SPENCER GILKS visited it on several occasions.…

SNOWBOUND AT ROWLEY Harsh winters in the North East of England – and how the railway faced the challenge – described by ROB LANGHAM (Beamish Museum) Rowley station, on the original route of the 1834 Stanhope & Tyne Railroad, or Cold Rowley to give its original name, was a quiet country station on the line between Crawleyside (Stanhope) and Carr House (between Consett and Leadgate). The first passenger station at Rowley was built by the Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&DR) who had taken over the western half of the Stanhope & Tyne in 1845 under the guise of the Wear & Derwent Railway from the Derwent Iron Company, who took over the line in 1842 to acquire lime, vital for the iron smelting process. The line was reached by the…

FALLING SHORT OF AMBITION – A NEW LINE TO LEATHERHEAD JEREMY CLARKE looks at the Chessington branch, a late addition to the Southern Railway’s suburban network. (Lens of Sutton Collection) The gradual spread of the railways centred on London changed many of the small villages which surrounded it, so much so that, without a second thought, we classify them nowadays as inner city suburbs. Within only a few years those south of the Thames such as Deptford, Peckham, Brixton, Clapham and Battersea and their like had seen extensive and rapid housing development on what had been up to that time agricultural land. There came also the concomitant supporting infrastructure – shops, schools, churches and public buildings – until the individuality of these villages had been changed irrevocably. Rather than walking…

FRUSTRATIONS OF FUEL EFFICIENCY: FEED-WATER HEATERS PART FOUR (Baldwin) THE FRANCO-CROSTI BOILER AND PRE-HEATER So far, nearly all the feed-water heaters we have considered performed their work at the moment of delivering their output to the boiler. This was fine for locomotives on continuous runs but not so good for those that had to stand about for long intervals. The former automobile engineer Attilio Franco believed there was a better way – to build up a large reserve of hot water near to its pressurised boiling point in what was in effect a second boiler, one that was heated by all the waste gases that would otherwise go up the chimney. I believe it is very possible, though I cannot prove it, that Franco got his inspiration from the four…

THE STORY OF ‘THE CLICKETY-CLACK’ THE GRIMSBY & IMMINGHAM ELECTRIC RAILWAY 1912-1961 (Courtesy Light Rail Transit Association) Origins The years around the turn of the twentieth century saw Great Britain nearing the peak of its international influence and trading success. But a shadow lay over the future: in the oldest industrialised economy the foundations of British commerce were increasingly outdated. In recognition of this a series of major civil engineering works was undertaken, notably the larger docks essential to overseas trade: these included Barry Docks (1889), the Manchester Ship Canal and Salford Docks (1894), Royal Edward Dock, A vonmouth (1908), and Gladstone Dock, Liverpool (1913-1927). This article considers one component of another great maritime project. Under the ambitious and dynamic management of Sam Fay (unexpectedly knighted by the King on…

THE INS AND OUT OF PADDINGTON A range of vantage points enabled the comings and goings of trains into and out of the Great Western Railway’s London terminus at Paddington to be well recorded and DICK RILEY was among those who exploited these photographic opportunities.…

THE ST. FILLANS SHEEP ACCIDENT BY DAVID FERGUSON (Graeme Maxwell) “The bleating and cries of pain of the animals in the darkness of the night was pitiful in the extreme” we are told in an article in the Srathearn Herald of 8th October 1921 when over 100 sheep had been killed outright in a train smash, but another 350 had been mutilated so severely as to require their humane destruction. Raising livestock can be a difficult business when farmers are trying to source feeding for their animals to get them to the best condition and ready for market, so as to hopefully gain the highest prices and therefore provide the best return. Even today you will see in certain areas of the country, large lorries conveying loads of sheep and…

DONEGAL DELIGHT Photographs from the COLOUR-RAIL Collection Captions by DAVID MOSLEY With a route mileage of almost 125 miles the County Donegal Railways were the most extensive 3ft gauge system in Ireland. In May 1906 a number of local companies was consolidated into the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee which was controlled by the main line Great Northern of Ireland and Midland Railways. Based on Stranorlar, latterly in the Irish Republic, the CDJCR probed east and northwards to Strabane and Londonderry, both in the North, and south and westwards through to reach Donegal town, Killybegs and Ballyshannon. In the mid-twentieth century the railway boasted a fleet of sturdy 2-6-4 and 4-6-4Ts arrayed in a distinctive ‘geranium’ livery but it was also noted for its pioneering use of diesel railcars. Closure…

THROUGH SUSSEX VIA STEYNING A London, Brighton & South Coast Railway line from Horsham to Shoreham-by-Sea via West Grinstead and Steyning was opened in 1861. What came to be known as the Steyning Line became an alternative route to the South Coast until its closure in March 1966. These photographs of it were taken by GERALD DANIELS, with caption notes by Michael S. Welch.…

“...and it was all yellow...” So sang Coldplay, though yellow has never been a popular colour for locomotive and rolling stock liveries – but there have been several notable exceptions... (Derek Cross/Colour-Rail.com P61) (D. Rollins/Colour-Rail.com DE632) (Gavin Morrison)…

MILK TRAIN DERAILMENT AT CHIPPING SODBURY BY ROBIN AND THOMAS SELLERS Late on the evening of Tuesday 20th September 1966 a westbound train of empty milk tank wagons became derailed as it passed through Chipping Sodbury on the Swindon to South Wales main line. Fortunately no-one was hurt in the accident and thanks to the prompt action of the train crew and the signalman at Chipping Sodbury box all traffic on the line was quickly brought to a halt, averting any further mishap. An up goods train had passed through Chipping Sodbury shortly before the derailment; a few minutes later and there would have been a very different story to tell. All four of the lines through Chipping Sodbury were blocked by the derailment and, as the accompanying photographs show,…

CROSS-COUNTRY THROUGH THE TYNE VALLEY The early railway developments in the North East of England were accompanied by the construction of a cross-country route between Newcastle and Carlisle, the first section of which was opened in 1835. Eventually linking the East Coast and West Coast Main Lines, the Newcastle-Carlisle line grew in importance and has maintained its strategic status, as well as being a highly scenic route through the Tyne Valley and not far from the ancient Hadrian’s Wall of Roman times. These photographs are by GAVIN MORRISON.…

TAKE THE TRAIN FOR THE BOAT THE RISE AND FALL OF THE BOAT TRAIN PART TWO BY PHILIP BENHAM (Colour-Rail.com BRM2603) Ireland Given the close links between mainland Britain and the island of Ireland, it is hardly surprising that rail and sea links developed early, as we have seen with the ‘Irish Mail’ in 1848. Ultimately services would be channelled through six ports on the western shores of Britain: Fishguard, Holyhead, Liverpool, Heysham, Stranraer and Ardrossan, offering a multitude of routes across the Irish Sea to both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. We will look at them in turn. Irish services via Wales The Great Western Railway had developed a link to Southern Ireland using New Milford (Neyland) before 1900 to connect with a ‘packet’ steamer service to…