Salvaged steam
More steam.
February 27th, 2006
Two of these, âDoll and Gertrude, had worked together at Bilston steelworks, Wolverhampton, until 1959, and were then separated, to be reunited 50 years later at the Leighton Buzzard Railway 90th anniversary celebrations.
A Train Poem.
The train at Pershore station was waiting that Sunday night
Gas light on the platform, in my carriage electric light,
Gas light on frosty evergreens, electric on Empire wood,
The Victorian world and the present in a moment’s neighborhood.
There was no one about but a conscript who was saying good-bye to
his love
On the windy weedy platform with the sprinkled stars above
When sudden the waiting stillness shook with the ancient spells
Of an older world than all our worlds in the sound of the Pershore
bells.
They were ringing them down for Evensong in the lighted abbey near,
Sounds which had poured through apple boughs for seven centuries here.
With Guilt, Remorse, Eternity the void within me fills
And I thought of her left behind me in the Herefordshire hills.
I remembered her defenselessness as I made my heart a stone
Till she wove her self-protection round and left me on my own.
And plunged in a deep self pity I dreamed of another wife
And lusted for freckled faces and lived a separate life.
One word would have made her love me, one word would have made
her turn
But the word I never murmured and now I am left to burn.
Evesham, Oxford and London. The carriage is new and smart.
I am cushioned and soft and heated with a deadweight in my heart.
 poem by John Betjeman read out on Radio 4 this morning
First Loco.
“Doll” as purchased from Stewart and Lloyd’s Bilston.
Doll.
Purchased for two pounds each, Doll and Getrude are now working on pleasure railways. Max.
Kerr Stuart Loco.
Imperial Smelting Co. used reduced hieght Kerr Stuart Locos under their retorts. When they were due for the scrap heap I purchased two of them for preservation. Max.
The Butts Spur Line.
February 27th, 2006
The track passed through arch at right end of bridge
The Butts spur line was constructed around 1860 to link Foregate Street Station to the river and canal at Diglis it was never continued past the Cathedral. The track was finally taken up in 1957. Locomotive 2007 ran on this line hauling freight waggons.
The loco on plaque is 850 class small wheeled 0-6-0 saddle tank, built Wolverhampton 1891-1892.
The Butts railway came down a brick incline from near Foregate St Station on to Little Pitchcroft, alongside The Common. It swung round towards the Grandstand following the river.From here there was a reverse point control sending the line south towards the bridge. It passed the Worcester slaughter house, where the blood ran into the river. Then it crossed on an iron bridge over the public slipway which was originally created as a Roman cobbled ford. It than ran to the bridge along the North Quay passing through a flood arch on to South Quay alongside the corn mill for several hundred yards. Here progress was halted by the Bishop who would not allow passage of the Cathedral. The intention was to take the line to Diglis Docks. Here trains for the Midlands could be loaded with Timber, Steel, Oil etc.This would have established Worcester as an important inland port. The Bishops action destroyed the commercial potential for Diglis and with it hundreds of jobs but he was happy in his palace. I do not remember any wagons on South Quay but saw regular market trains on the North Quay loading and unloading Cattle and Sheep as well as smart horse boxes bringing race horses to Pitchcroft.We would put halfpenny pieces on the line and the engine flattened them into pennies. We also put some of mums dress making pins in a cross on the line and they were flattened into miniature scissors. On Little Pitchcroft the GWR had a brick built engine shed and steam engine pump putting water into a large iron Braithwaite tank on the roof for the engines. It also pumped river water up a long pipe to Shrub Hill for the Loco Sheds.This was underground to prevent freezing and could still be there. The Public Slipway was illegally closed by the Council after two thousand years,as they required an act of Parliament to do this.There is not a public slip on the whole length of the navigable river. Some of the brickwork for the Butts line is visible by the Infirmary and alongside Infirmary Walk. Max Sinclair.
Unusual sign at Shrub Hill.
For years Locomotives took trains of wagons from Shrub Hill goods yard down into the Vinegar works in Lowesmoor. At the road crossings most unusual signals were erected to control road and rail traffic.
These were made by the pioneering Worcester signal makers Mckenzie and Holland who supplied railways all over the world. I dont think they would be observed by todays traffic. Max.
GWR. Brunel Broad Gauge Coach.
February 23rd, 2006
GWR Brunel Broad Gauge coach in a New Radnor farmyard 1954. Max.
Isambard Kingdom Brunel 1806-1859.
Advocat of broad gauge (7ft) he built 1000 miles of railway in England also in Ireland and Italy. He advised on railways Worldwide. He was also one of our most famous bridge designers. His last bridge was the Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash. The Clifton Suspension Bridge at Bristol was also designed by him but was not completed until after his death.
Three ships were built by Brunel, all three were the largest in the World at this time.
The Great Western, a paddle vessel, first to provide translantic service.
The Great Britain: First to be propelled with a screw propellor.
The Great Eastern: First vessel with a double hull.
The Lamp from the Last-Ever Train.
Do you have the lamp that glowed in the night –
The lamp from the last-ever train?
Such loss, such yearning, such sadness. I find
Is a haunting refrain.
*
Yes, I have the lamp that glowed at the end,
The end of the last-ever train.
It hung on a hook and it clings in my mind
Like a haunting refrain.
*
A carriage for well-wishers. My friend was there
On the last-ever train.
They sang all the way from Welshpool to Llanfair –
Such a haunting refrain.
*
And when the last journey was over and done,
My friend left the last-ever train
And carefully lifted the lamp from its hook
Not needed again.
He bore it away in the fold of his coat –
Still warm and aglow and aflame!
And it gleamed in his heart till he gave it to me.
Theres no need to tell you his name
For that man is all of us, guarding the lamp –
The lamp from the last-ever train.
Juliet Gowan. Flore 20th Oct. 2006
Reflections.
1956 Last train on the Welshpool and Llanfair railway at Welshpool. Max.
Steam Draining.
February 16th, 2006
Steam Traction Engine at Martley near Worcester 1972.
John Collins from Inkberrow used his steam ploughing engine with it’s underslung winch, to pull a deep mole drain in a criss cross pattern under the Martley Chantry School playing field in 1972. The advantage over modern equipment is that heavy machinery doesn’t cross the waterlogged field.
John Collins is still contracting draining land and dredging lakes, able to compete, because coal is cheaper than diesel and his work is much cleaner. There are probably a dozen steam ploughing engines still earning their keep, mainly in Lincolnshire on the big potato fields. Max
Draining land became popular after the Second World War; Government grants were available for this purpose.
Land that had been drained increased crop yield by a good percentage, particularly cereal crops by 35% to 50% even a crop of hay would be improved by 30%
Land that is badly drained will be waterlogged and have water lying on the surface, plants such as reeds, rushes and sedges will be in abundance.
The question of whether to drain an area will be; Due to high cost, will it be a worthwhile undertaking? An alternative would be to grow plants that require a damp environment such as Willow or reed.
Draining land can be carried out using tile drains, this will be an expensive option but it is permanent.
Before starting the draining operation, ditches in the vicinity should be checked and cleared. The area to be drained should be surveyed and levels assessed with a theodolite, although in later years the laser has become the norm. The main carrier drain should be laid first with a connection to a suitable run off ditch. Next the side drains or laterals should be led from the main in a herringbone layout to highest point to be drained. The depth of these can vary but a minimum of two ft. six to three ft. should allow clearance for cultivating.
Leigh Sinton.
February 16th, 2006
Leigh Sinton 1950’s.
In the 1950’s I was salvaging narrow gauge Locomotives from the scrap heap, Brockamin came from Leigh Sinton Farm. Max.
Peter Pan, Pixie and Brockamin at Stafford 2004.
Most of these engines were replaced by JCB’s and dump trucks.
“Pixie” salvaged from Devon County Council by Max is now proudly owned by the Narrow Gauge Railway Society.
Peter Pan being lovingly polished by owner Graham Morris.
Peter Pan as recovered from Parracombe Devon.
Peter Pan restored to original condition.
Max at Barnstable.
February 16th, 2006
A proud day for me. Max.
Peter Pan hauled the first train on the newly restored Lynton and Barnstable railways since 1935.
Max driving Princess Elizabeth at Worcester Show, Pitchcroft 1956.
After the war, the City Show was a wonderfull event run by enthusiasts. There was a marvellous vintage car and steam engine rally, gymkhana, flower show and sports events.
Pitchcroft was alive and used by the citizens, to whom it belongs, not the horse racing company.
Max, at Lower Broadheath fete, 1959
Model Engineers at Worcester 1956.
Alf Castle’s Loco opens the new track in 1956.
Blanche in 1960.
February 16th, 2006
Blanche in 1960.
Blanche pulling a rake of empty wagons up to the quarry, the fireman uses a bucket of sand to obtain grip on the slippery rails. No health and safety in those days. Max.
Blanche at Portmadoc 2005.
Boston Lodge 1958 the first Farlie restoration.
A lovely day in Tanybwlch.
In the 1950’s I joined the Worcester Model Engineers who were planning a new track at Diglis, here I met DR. J B Rogers who invited me to join the FFestiniog Society in an attempt to reopen the railway.
At Easter 1955 we were able to run the first train from Portmadoc. Gradually the line was extended eventually reahing Blaenau Festiniog and now carries thousands of passengers. This interest started me salvaging other two foot gauge industrial locomotives and bringing them back to Worcestershire. Directly and indirectly I was involved in thirteen engines. These are all working now on pleasure lines in Britain and Canada. Max.
1955 Clearing Minniford Sidings.
Party includes: Dr. Brian Rogers, Alan Pratt, Robin Butterell, Hilary Phillips.
Three Foot Gauge Loco’s.
February 13th, 2006
Manning Wardle Locos.
In the Kettering area Manning Wardle three foot gauge locos haul the ore to the furnace.
The Midlands Ironstone Quarries.
Cotswold stone owes its colour and hardness to an iron content. In parts of Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire this iron was concentrated into dark brown coloured stone. After the Industrial Revolution the demand for iron increased and quarries were opened ,initially with horse drawn tramways and then locomotive worked lines to take the ore either directly to the ironworks as at Kettering or to a main line for transhipment .There were some superb ropeworked inclines dropping the ore considerable distances in hopper wagons. The systems survived into the 1960’s but were killed off by cheap imports from Sweden and Australia when bulk cargo carriers like the unfortunate “Derbyshire”were constructed. Iron was vital to companies like Hardy and Padmore’s Worcester Foundry and arrived by canal and rail. Many of the abandoned locomotives have been recovered by enthusiasts and restored to work. Max
Steam Excavator at Banbury Ironstone.
These old steam excavators made by Ruston Procter around the turn of the last century were called “Steam Navvys” persumably because they replaced irish workers. This version is mounted on tracks but an optional version could be used on train lines. The corrugated iron is doing a fine job protecting the works.
“The Cambrai.”
The rare metre gauge French locomotive “Cambrai” built by L.Corpet stands forlorn at the Eaton, Waltham, Quarry awaiting the restorers.
The “Baronet”.
The “Baronet” was an unusual locally built Staveley locomotive, one of a pair.
Banbury Ironstone Underwater Railway
