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Showing posts from 2021

Tuesday 28th to Thursday 30th - The run up to New Year

The final working week of 2021 and the end of another varied year for the Railway, and while we had our downs, there were some very good ups. Let's hope 2022 is a good year with plenty of ups.

Tuesday 

There were just six of us attending, so a relatively quiet day, but still some great progress. 

Beginning with BSK 34929, we had hoped to get the first top coat on the final door (the infamous Door 6) and surrounding panelling, but the spectre rose once more and the door wouldn't close properly. Inspection from inside the vestibule revealed that the rubber draft strip wasn't flexing enough and this prevented complete closure. We need the line tapes to go on before top coating, but there's no point in putting this on if the door needs further work as the tape itself will be a problem with closure.


There is still an amount of work left to do with the coach, but it does still feel as though we are on the final run home, especially seeing Alex adding the final bit of signwriting. 34929 will be the first of our coaches for a very long time to go out completely free of transfers, other than the GWR roundel. Even the stars on the sole bar indicating the position of the vacuum cylinder drawstrings have been painted on.


While we couldn't progress Door 6, the skirting in the centre vestibule needed a repaint, so Richard set about taping this up before adding another coat of gloss black.


Phil took on a number of jobs, in particular cleaning up the door droplights. With almost all of them left open, it's very much a case of out-of-sight, out-of-mind. However with a window scraper and very fine wire wool, they were much improved. 


With the droplights cleaned the outside of the top bars are painted in gloss black. This looks very smart with the door handle and stops also in black. Another job done by Phil was cleaning out the window slider troughs - easy to get missed, it's the little jobs like this than really finish off the overall refurb.

Regular readers will know how I love to see numerous coats of varnish applied to the internal woodwork. Alex applied another coat throughout the whole of the disabled vestibule and adjacent corridor as far as the guards door.


The results speak for the themselves. An excellent job. There is more that can be done continuing down the corridor, and there are door backs that have yet to be varnished, while at least another two could benefit from one more coat. I spent some time snagging the north end Cotswold side door and its frame, tidying up the paintwork where needed.

Bob took on an important job on TSO 4763, currently on the Barn jack road. He had noticed that some of the bases of the windows had lost their sealant, allowing wet to penetrate. So fresh sealant was applied and should prevent any further dampness. He also continued with the repainting of the guards corridor and disabled area in BSO 9000 in the yard.


Bob's final job of the day was applying the first coat of varnish to more bits for TK 24006. Some of the parts in the foregound are actually spares that have been retrieved from one of our external stores, where the originals from 24006 are either missing or damaged.


 Job done, including another of the large veneer panels from 24006.

 

Earlier on owner Dave is busy sanding clean one of the window frame bases for a toilet compartment in 24006. This may have been one of the spares.

During the evening I emailed Ainsley, Robert and Steve about 34929 and the Door 6 problem

Wednesday

My email about Door 6 evoked a response from Robert early on Wednesday to say he was already in and would try and sort it out. It would be great if this could be done as we would only have lost a day with respect to this final bit of the main painting.

An early evening email from Ainsley conveyed the good news: -

Dave,

Robert and myself worked on the door today and despite a few problems we are satisfied that it closes okay, and that the restraining straps are properly in place. The hinge side door seal has been repositioned and we reattached the rubber seal at the bottom. Also did some sanding of areas that seemed to be rubbing. As far as I can see all is well. Unfortunately we did have to damage some of the paintwork, sorry.

Robert and I are intending to come in Saturday, New Years Day. You are free to join us if you like.

Regards

Ainsley

This was great news and means we can now get on with final painting. No problem about the damaged paintwork on the door and frame, especially as it's only undercoat. Well done both for getting it all sorted out.

There were six staff in during the day.

Thursday


 
A busier day with more of us in. Very wet and gloomy outside with the distant escarpment fading in the drizzle. All the wet makes the coaches gleam nicely!


Beginning with 34929 and Door 6. I spent some time undercoating the parts that needed repainting, followed by some further sanding of the back panelling. The next job was to get the line tapes in place.


With undercoat drying, top coating would have to wait until next time, but at least the back of the door could have its first coat of varnish and now looks a lot better! Note the new leather straps, now detached to allow the door to be fully opened.

Further work on board 34929 involved some repainting in the guards compartment. Bob S. added another coat of red to the brake handle and ratchet base, further gloss black to the brake and seat columns, and more of the Executive Light Grey to the desk and other top surfaces.

 

The missing guards seat was found by Kevin, stored in one of our outside coaches. It had been nicely re-covered before being put away. All that remains to be done in the compartment is attached the metal brackets that will secure the "Not To Be Moved" flag.


On to TK 24006, Dave spent some time trying to find a less "modern" toilet compartment window to replace the one installed by BR. He thought he had also found some suitable glass but alas it is too small. We may have to get some made.


Later on Dave brought in the two access doors from the north vestibule of 24006 and gave them both a good sanding down. Sometimes it is difficult to know how far to go with sanding veneer - it is obviously nice to remove as many marks and patches of grime as possible, while being aware that over-sanding can destroy the veneer covering. I later gave both an initial coat of varnish and the results were satisfactory.


Phil was busy with some of 24006's toilet compartment bits, in this case cleaning up filler pipes for the cisterns.


He later called me over to take a photo of one of the cisterns. It is very much larger that its more modern standard Mk 1 replacement.


On the Paintshop trestles, with the exception of two intruders that have suddenly appeared, the various light fittings from 24006 that were cleaned up by Phil are now fully painted up and ready for refitting. In the background are the two access doors with their first coat of varnish.

While Dave was busy with his coach, Clive was busy in his. The inside refurbishment of CK 16221 is moving on steadily. Much of the existing veneer panelling needs careful sanding.


Two of the aluminium doors from 16221 now complete with their new wood inserts for attaching the various parts.

An earlier job done by Bob was making a new support base for storing vacuum cylinders.

An original one he used as a template which is attached to our storage cupboard for vacuum cylinder parts.


Ken was making various parts used to attach the toilet waste pipes to the underside of the coaches.

One of our two Workshop storage areas has become a bit of a dumping ground, which Kevin is now busy sorting out, if necessary transferring some lesser used parts to outside storage.


Steve was having a grand sort out of the Woodwork shop, everything from the many boxes of screws (including those from the kind donation that was recently reported) to wood offcuts. The quiet period between Christmas and New Year is ideal for getting this essential job done.

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So, the end of another year rapidly approaches. Thank you again for taking interest in our work and for all your kind comments. Here's wishing you all a very Happy New Year.

East Midlands Shed Trips 1962-64

Shockingly no one's dedicated enough to fill the usual Saturday shift this week, so here's an article Dave had saved for a rainy day to enjoy while consuming vast quantities of cheese and chocolate, and generally not having a clue what day of the week it is. :-) When I first read this I remarked that Dave had seen more steam locomotives in one day than it would be possible for me to ever see in my life! -Ed.

Please note: all the shed codes listed within the main article are the pre-September 1963 ones, after which the London Midland Region introduced their major regrouping of the depots and their codes. A table of the codes listed in the article and their replacements appears at the end. This is followed by the whole of the reorganised LMR shed grouping.

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During my all too brief trainspotting period between September 1961 and early 1965, I was able to enjoy a number of shed bashing trips, as we used to call them.  

A particularly memorable one was with the Gloucestershire Railfans Club to the Liverpool and Manchester area in July 1963, an amazing day with a large number of sheds visited and almost 500 locos recorded. One of the engines seen was Standard Class 4 2-6-0 76077 at Sutton Oak (8G), which when restored will be running on the GWSR. The trip cost 19 shillings (about £17 in today's money). I remember my very worried Mum collecting me from Cheltenham Town Hall at 2 a.m. the following morning - a very long day to say the least! I think all of my three trips to the East Midlands were also with the GRC. 

Other trips were organised by like minded pupils at school with usually two very obliging masters giving up their Sundays to act as escorts. We visited sheds in South Wales and border, at Crewe, Stafford, Stoke and the Chester area, and at Bath (Green Park), Westbury, Swindon shed and Works. I did regret missing out on a school trip to do the main London sheds that had been organised by two different pupils. The organization seemed a bit haphazard so a friend and I decided not to participate. In the end it turned out to be very successful and the thought of missing out on visits to the likes of Campden (1B), Kings Cross (alias Top Shed 34A), Nine Elms (70A), and Stewarts Lane (73A) was somewhat painful.

Despite the steady withdrawal of steam, increasingly so in the early 60s with more and more diesels and electrics coming into existence, there was still considerable steam power available to see. However we were also to see classes that had recently become extinct (such as some Gresley K3s at Colwick), while recent withdrawals were often obvious with locos having sacked-over chimneys (usually done when they were put into store), or with all the coupling rods and associated mechanism removed. The other aspect that was very noticeable with the overall rundown of steam power was in the appalling state of the locos and the sheds. On the Liverpool/Manchester trip we had visited a relatively new depot at Allerton (8H), which had been opened in July 1960, and what a different picture that presented with a line of gleaming blue electrics photographed.

There is always regret when looking back, especially when it's a way of life that has gone forever. I wish I had had a camera for the trips done in 1962, and in the same vein, I wish I could find all the lists of locos seen on my trips, not just three of them. Sadly I expect they were inadvertently thrown away many years ago.

As such this article is in two parts, the first of which lists what we saw on my first East Midlands trip. Within each display the columns should be read from left to right. My Brownie 127 camera was bought in 1963 ready for a school trip to Switzerland, so armed with that the second part comprises the photographs from the two later visits to the East Midlands.

Obviously we went to more sheds than indicated by the photos, but as I now have no written records for those trips, I am very thankful that in the shed section of my ABC, I had underlined the sheds visited and indicated the number of times. So with a bit of deduction, leaving just Leicester Central as the uncertainty as to when the second visit there took place, here is a combined list in shed code order for the three trips: -

So, moving on to the three trips and some great memories.

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East Midlands Trip 1 - 1962




Hawksworth 0-6-0PT 1509 seen on the back of a lorry in Coventry was a mystery at the time. It turns out that following withdrawal from BR in August 1959, 1509 and fellow classmates 1501 and 1502 were sold in 1961 to the NCB for use at Coventry Colliery. 1509 remained there until scrapped at Cashmore's in October 1970.  Only 1501 survived and is at the SVR.

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East Midlands Trip 2 - 19th October 1963

Nuneaton (2B)


Britannia 4-6-2 70005 'John Milton' nicely in steam. 

Originally an Eastern Region engine, it was reallocated to Willesden (1A) in March 1963 and still based there at the time of our visit. It was then moved to Aston, Birmingham (3D) at the end of the year, before a final move to Carlisle Kingmoor (12A) in October 1964 from where it was withdrawn in July 1967.

Nottingham (16A)


B1 4-6-0 61348 was shedded at Lincoln (40A). After four further moves it ended up at Colwick (40E) in November 1965, from where it was withdrawn a month later.

Royal Scot 4-6-0 46129 'The Scottish Horse'. Shedded at Longsight, Manchester (9A), it had just 8 months left before withdrawal in June 1964.

By now a large number of Patriots, Jubilees, Scots, all the Princesses, and even some Duchesses, had been withdrawn, so it was nice to see 46129 in steam.

Royal Scot 4-6-0 46142 'The York & Lancaster Regt' was also in steam. 

At the time of our visit this engine was also shedded at Longsight (9A) and also had 8 months left before withdrawal in June 1964.

Standard Class 2 2-6-0 78000 and Jinty 0-6-0 47231, both in steam. 

78000 was originally based in Wales at Oswestry (89A) and then Machynlleth (89C), before moving to Nottingham in May 1963. It moved to Derby (17A) in January 1964 from where it was withdrawn in June 1965. It had about 13 years of use. 

47231 was reallocated from Toton (18A) to Nottingham just 2 months before our visit. It was later moved to Westhouses (16G) in July 1965 and finally withdrawn in March 1966.

Royal Scot 4-6-0 46158 'The Loyal Regiment' was withdrawn literally on the day of our visit.  With nameplates, coupling rods and mechanism removed, and smokebox door ajar, it looked a sorry sight. 

It had been reallocated to Annesley (16D) in September 1962 and presumably moved to Nottingham for withdrawal.

Colwick (40E)

B1 4-6-0 61177 had been allocated to Colwick in October 1956. According to the records it was withdrawn in September 1963, and yet a month later here it is in steam! 

Assuming the records for this engine are correct, it was not uncommon for a stored, or even a withdrawn engine, to be put back into steam if needed, as long as it was serviceable of course. Many withdrawals were based on when an engine was due a major overhaul.

O4-3 2-8-0 63859. One of the many Robinson ROD locos, it was built in July 1919 and allocated to Colwick from Gorton (then 39A) in June 1954, so very much a long term resident. It was withdrawn in October 1963.

WD 2-8-0s 90304 and 90437. 90304 came from New England (34E) to Colwick in June 1962 and was withdrawn in September 1964. 90437 came to Colwick from Annesley in May 1949, so another very long term resident. It was reallocated to Doncaster (36A) in January 1966 from where it was withdrawn 3 months later.

K3 2-6-0s 61957 and 61977. Both engines came to Colwick in December 1960, 61957 from Norwich (32A) and 61977 from Lincoln (40A). They were withdrawn in September 1962. 

Final withdrawals of K3s had recently taken place, making the class extinct. The October 1963 copy of Railway Magazine included a lengthy article entitled "The Passing of the K3s".

As we were leaving the shed to return to the coach, WD 90438 came rumbling by with a northbound freight. In my mind I can still hear those clanking rods, the hissing steam, and the mournful whistle, sounds that were so characteristic of this class. Much to my friend's eternal amazement, and no doubt anyone reading this today, I loved the Austerities! There was just something about them that appealed. Even now if one appears when either listening to one of my Peter Handford recordings or watching one of my many dvds, my attention picks up.

90438 had been allocated to Colwick in May 1960, so very much a home-based engine. It was withdrawn from here in October 1965.

Annesley (16D)

V2 2-6-2 60837. This York (50A) based engine was withdrawn in November 1965. 

By now the dull day was drawing in, hence the dark photo to finish off the film at the final shed.  It was good to see a V2, a reminder that this was still a Great Central shed, but along with Leicester (Central), it had been swallowed up by the London Midland Region, further paving the way for eventual closure of the GC extension in September 1966.

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East Midlands Trip 3 - 9th August 1964

Leamington Spa (84D)

5100 class 2-6-2T 4125. Having been reallocated from Tyesley to Leamington in January 1962, it returned to Tyesley in March 1965 from where it was withdrawn 3 months later.

Coalville (15D)

Although I have underlined Coalville in the shed section of my ABC, I don't think we actually visited the shed itself. However the coach stopped very deliberately at what looked like a railway scrapyard and whoever had organised the trip must have known beforehand what we would be seeing. Within were these two wonderful old veterans, both of course withdrawn. 

This class was very synonymous with the Glenfield Goods on the Leicester West Bridge-Desford part of the Swannington Railway. Trains using this line had to negotiate the very narrow bore Glenfield Tunnel, hence the need for small engines. Glenfield Tunnel at just over a mile long was at the time of the railway's opening in 1832, the longest railway tunnel in the World. It has been preserved and is regularly opened up for tours.

2F 0-6-0 58148. Built in March 1876, it was allocated to Coalville in March 1962 and withdrawn in December 1963.

B&R Video Productions dvd "London Midland Steam Miscellany No. 8" begins with a lengthy section on the Glenfield Goods with 58148 in charge. The excellent piece of film, taken in 1963 by Jim Clemens, covers the journey and shunting with on-train and lineside views.

The cover photo on Peter Handford's EP "The Glenfield Goods" is of this engine and the whole record covers its working when the recordings were made.

 

2F 0-6-0 58182. Built in November 1876, it was reallocated from Barrow-in-Furness to Coalville in January 1963, and withdrawn in January 1964.

Burton (17B)

Jubilee 4-6-0 45618 'New Hebrides' minus its coupling rods and associated mechanism. Reallocated from Derby to Burton in November 1961, it was withdrawn in March 1964. 

Toton (Stapleford & Sandiacre) (18A)

04-8 2-8-0 63628. Built as late as 1944, this particular series was the last to be built based on the original Robinson GC engines. At the time we saw the engine, its home shed was Frodingham (36C). It was withdrawn from there in September 1965.

Colwick (40E)

04-7 2-8-0 63616, another GC engine having been built in 1914 and later modified with typical Gresley cab. It was allocated to Colwick in April 1960. It sad state reflects very much its withdrawal in September 1962, almost two years before this photo was taken. No doubt it was languishing here on my two previous visits to Colwick.

B1 4-6-0 61361 and unidentified WD 2-8-0 (i.e. I didn't note the number for the photo!). Allocated to Colwick in December 1960, it was withdrawn from here exactly 5 years later.

Nottingham (16A)

B1 4-6-0 61157 was a visitor, having been based at Doncaster (36A) almost its entire life. It was withdrawn in August 1965.


Black 5 4-6-0 45221 was a Nottingham based engine having been reallocated from Derby two months before our visit. Built in 1935 it had been located at quite a number of different sheds in its life. It only remained at Nottingham until March 1965, when it moved to Springs Branch, Wigan (8F), then in June 1965 to Warrington Dallam (8B), and finally Stockport Edgeley (9B) in October 1967. It was withdrawn 3 months later.

Annesley (16D)

One of the named B1 4-6-0s 61215 "William Henton Carver". Having spent most of its life at Hull, it was reallocated to Ardsley (56B) in November 1962. It was withdrawn from there in March 1965.

Willain Henton Carver was a Director of the LNER, appointed in 1927. He died in January 1961.

K1 2-6-0 62013 was a visitor from Frodingham (36C), to where is was reallocated from Stratford (30A) in February 1960. It either never went back after its last working run or was brought here on withdrawal in October 1963.

O2-3 2-8-0 63956 was reallocated to Grantham (34F) from Doncaster (36A) in November 1960. It was withdrawn in September 1963.

Westhouses (18B)

Jinty 0-6-0s 47442 and 47250 both in steam. 

47442 had had a very varied history and in the last 5 or so years of its life it had been based at Leicester Central (15E), Kentish Town (14B), Cricklewood East (14A), Toton (18A), Rowsley (17C), back to Toton, and finally Westhouses in July 1963. It was withdrawn from here in March 1965.

47250 was far less travelled and based at Derby (17A) for 10 years until February 1959 when it moved to Leicester Midland (15C) in February 1959. It was reallocated to Westhouses in April 1960 and withdrawn from here in June 1965.

8F 2-8-0 48196 had been a Toton (18A) based engine at least since the late 40s, moving to Westhouses in June 1962. It was withdrawn from here in October 1966.

Although I didn't realise it at the time, this would be the last photo that I took with my little Brownie 127 camera and of real days steam. My trainspotting ceased probably late 1964 and the last copy I have of Modern Railways (formerly Trains Illustrated) was the April 1965 issue. The magazine had completely changed out of all recognition at the beginning of the year.

Thankfully my interest in steam and railways in general was revived 5 years later when I discovered the two boxes of railway books, magazines, ABCs, photos, tickets and miscellaneous bits at the back of the storeroom.

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Following the reorganisation by the London Midland Region of their depots, many of the codes listed above were actually changed from September 1963.

The overall new listing of London Midland Region codes is as follows. Boundary changes with all the regions made some serious inroads into other territories and, as can be seen, a number of sheds that were Western came into the Midland's fold, including former Cambrian ones. The former Great Central sheds were subsumed from the Eastern Region in the late 50s. There was also a lot of bunching up so that the use of 17, 18, 21, 24, 26 and 27 for code groupings disappeared.

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Locomotive stock changes during those two months in 1963 and 1964

With the steady rise in the numbers of diesels and electrics, the early 60s saw a massive transformation of the railways, with the very large withdrawal of steam. In particular towards the end of 1962 and into 1963 the lists of withdrawals began to show former front line engines in ever increasing quantities, regardless of whether they had received major modifications, such as the improved draughting with the GW Kings and a number of Castles, and the rebuilding of the Merchant Navy, and a good number of the West Country and Battle of Britain classes. Some of the standards lasted no more than 5 years.

So what was happening during the two months listed above.

October 1963

























The standard withdrawn: -

84012 (built September 1953)

August 1964



























The 5 standards withdrawn: -

76032 (built December 1953)

82011, 82025 (built July 1952 and November 1954 respectively)

92198, 92199 (built April 1957 and October 1958) had a life of just 8 and 7 years respectively.

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As for what was happening to the railway network, that was also changing drastically and is another story.