Yeovil Railway Centre History

Tributes to the
Late John Cornelius

Before you take a look at our collection of our pictures concerning the Yeovil Steam Centre we are remembering, with great respect, what a contribution John made not only to our photographs of the Steam Centre but that he also provided many photographs - well over a thousand superb images of the railway scene in the West of England.
John was not only an excellent photographer but also a very practical person as much of his work stands today in the practical achievements at the Steam Centre.
The Cornwall Railway Society extremely proud and honoured to display many examples of John's work.

John Cornelius 1939 to 2018
Jane Cornelius, Johns sister, on hearing of our intention to provide some tributes to John wrote the following concerning our idea and a little of his life story.
That's a lovely thing to do - John would be very touched and honoured...plus he'd be looking on the website everyday!
I'm following John's wishes with regard to the funeral and memorial service. He wants a private family only funeral at the crematorium followed by the memorial service at Shepton Beauchamp church. (He didn't want people driving all over the place!)
A little about his life -
John was born in Shepton Beauchamp in 1939. As our father was serving in the war, my grandmother insisted that my mother and John go to live with her in Hambridge ( a village near Shepton). Here we lived until the return of dad at the end of the war, when we moved back to Shepton. ( Dad being a Shepton boy!)
He first went to school in Hambridge, then Shepton . When eleven , he attended Ilminster Secondary Modern then moved on to Taunton Technical College, as it was called then! He learnt his trade as a bricklayer/builder and talked of many building projects in which he was involved.
His love of trains started when he was 8 - Mum and Dad took him to Teignmouth on a coach outing and he sat on the wall all day watching the trains. The rest is 'history' with regard to trainspotting, but he had the chance to work on the railways and in 1976 he became a signalman - working in Athelney, Chard Junction, Somerton and Axminster.
He was, also, an ardent church bell ringer and has rung in most of the churches in England and Wales. Including some in Cornwall.
He lived all his life (apart from the war years) in Shepton Beauchamp.

Jane.

Two tributes to John from current and founder Chairman at the Yeovil Railway Centre
John also made his mark at Yeovil Railway Centre where we was a much respected and hard working member.
It is best left to the current Chairman of the Yeovil Railway Centre – Paul Gould and also to Eric Tyler the first Chairman to pay their respects.

John Cornelius - a tribute from Paul Gould - current Chairman.
Passed away 5 September 2018 after a short illness which he bore without complaint.
John had two careers. The first as a bricklayer and after completing his apprenticeship he worked for various firms on building contracts including Yeovil Technical School (now Yeovil College), Wells Secondary School (now part of Wells Blue School), Preston School, Yeovil, Taunton Technical School (now College) and Yeovil Hospital.
In 1975 he joined British Rail, training as a signalman and worked Somerton, Athelney and Chard Junction signalboxes.
JC was also a member of 'The Great Western Preservation Society' since 1965 and in 1977 was involved with the removal of 5572 from Barry scrapyard to Taunton for restoration.
He was a very intelligent man, non-PC, but one who could always be relied on to get a task completed in a professional manner. Very much a special one-off who contributed a huge amount to Yeovil Railway Centre over many years.
Paul Gould Chairman Yeovil Railway Centre

John Cornelius - Personal Memories from Eric Tyler - the first Chairman.
I have known John for many a year both as a fellow signalman at Chard Junction and as one of the founding members of the South West Main Line Steam Group (now Yeovil Railway Centre). Known affectionately as JC, John was always on hand and willing to take on many tasks as the Steam Group developed, he carried out his work with the vigour of a man 20 years younger than his age. His skills were so varied from photography to bell ringing and bricklaying, couldn’t make much use of bell ringing at Yeovil but certainly demonstrated his bricklaying skills when he built all the walls for the Engine Shed and then remorsefully ploughed on with his next target on getting the concreting of the shed floor complete. The Yeovil Engine Shed would not have happened if John had not given his time, skill and remorseless effort into such a monumental challenge as the Group developed in those early years.
One of his other skills was that of photography of which he contributed to a number of railway publications over the years and also the numerous photos of our site at Yeovil which have appeared in our Turntable Magazine.
John was a real true railwayman and enthusiast who never nailed his colours to the mast as a Great Western or Southern man, he embraced all things ‘railway’ irrespective of the dividing lines and a thing that I personally, as a fellow railwayman, found very heartwarming.
John you will be sadly missed, a man that gave so much and asked so little from life but your legacy will live on. Rest peacefully in that Great Siding in the sky.

Sadly missed. Eric Tyler

Guy Vincent, a current railwayman with the Great Western Railway, and another major provider to the Cornwall Railway Society Website writes:
By the way, I was saddened by the unexpected death of John Cornelius for although I never met him I felt, like many others I'm sure, that I did know him through his many contributions to CRS. He will be sadly missed but has left a special legacy through his pictures and recollections on the site.

Leaves a legacy pictures Guy Vincent.

Whilst this website is testimony to John and his work perhaps a few pictures of John will help you appreciate the man himself.

John demonstrates his knowledge of an important piece of apparatus at Athelney Signalbox. Copyright JC

Athelney Signalbox - the true story about the nameplates by John Cornelius
The replica nameplates that were fitted to Athelney box in 1985 were made by me using plywood.
I had taken a rubbing of the original plate not long after I went there as signalman in 1976,
so I was able to make a full size replica. The other one commemorating the 150 anniversary , was
purely my own handiwork. After getting permission from management, I exhibited them on the box from
April to the end of September 1985. I still have both the plates at home over 30 years on.
By the way, tomorrow, 5th April 2016, is the 30th anniversary of the closure of Athelney signal box.
I did the last shift, and after the last train, which passed at 2035, had cleared Cogload Junc,
I closed the box for the last time, then watched as the S & T stripped out all the equipment.
a very sad time. I think someone in the Glastonbury area bought the original box nameplate.
On a lighter note, happily the box was saved and now proudly signals trains at Staverton on the
South Devon Railway. I have visited the box once, since it was restored to working order
and when I walked in, it was just like going home, sheer magic! cheers JOHN C.

Now we see John and Bill Love sadly reflecting on the demise of British Rail by a 'mock grave' outside Chard Signalbox. This image made it to the press and to television John said that the grave remained in position for some time until management asked them to quietly remove it. On seeing this picture on the website John commented that he should have removed his hat and also that he shouldn't have been wearing trainers! The trainers were later blacked out! The JC Collection - Copyright

JC lays the last brick in the south wall of the new engine shed being constructed at Yeovil Railway Centre after a five day push. 27th May 1998 Copyright Paul Gould

John takes a picture of some of team at work. Copyright

JC works on the Ottery St Mary sign now hanging on the wall at the Yeovil Railway Centre. Copyright.

Chard Junction SB on the last day Left to Right John Cornelius, Colin Comber, Bob Discoll, Eric Tyler, Tim Reynolds, Tracey Herrin, Tim Hoad, Helen Tisco, Mike Herrin, John Penny Signal Manager N.B. Eric Tyler, a first Chairman at Yeovil Railway Centre, is the gentleman who wrote a tribute to JC.

John demonstrates the art of Topiary at YRC, Copyright

Signalman about to become driver! Copyright JC Collection

John joins the CRS on a trip down the Dart. John Cornelius is on the extreme right. Then going from right to left is John Ball, then Eric Dowson chatting to Christine Simmonds. 16th April 2016 Copyright Roger Winnen

John's next meeting with the CRS was on a Gala Day on the Lynton and Barnstaple. 24th September 2016.Afterwards JC and his group of YRC men had a pleasant chat over a cup of tea at Barnstaple station. Copyright Roger Winnen.

David Tozer and JC meet up at Yeovil Junction in 2017. Copyright Roger Winnen

Perhaps Johns best picture of steam in action - he was very proud of this one - and rightly so. Copyright JC

Just to let you know that John's memorial service is on Wednesday October 10th at 2pm at Shepton Beauchamp Church - just in case anyone would like to come. Please can I ask you to spread the word.
Very many thanks, Jane Cornelius

Yeovil Steam Railway Centre
The early years
A photographic record by John Cornelius

One very limiting factor for road deliveries to Yeovil Railway Centre is the bridge over the access road. This picture by John clearly illustrates this. Copyright John Cornelius

Work on the water tower.

'One of the early jobs undertaken at 'YRC' was to clean up the water tank
   sections recovered from Morlands at Glastonbury,with those in the best
   condition to be retained for the rebuild. All restoration work was done in
   the open as we had no under cover protection in those days.
   This series of pics show various of progress with the rebuild,which from
   start to finish took nearly three years. The rebuilt tank is slightly
   smaller than the original and contains about 15,000 gallons of water,
   more than enough to fill the tenders when we have two locos on site
   for servicing at the same time.'

1995

Here are some pics of 'YRC' in 1995, when we first started at the junction, showing the vegetation along the siding before clearance,taking down the yard floodlight, which was in the way of our siding route and taking out the points to separate the Clifton siding from the railtrack siding then replace with plain rail,then hand it back to them when they had inspected and approved our work. 1995 was very much a trackwork year, not any loco movements until the latter part. Cheers JOHN C.

Going back in time Yeovil Junction was indeed a very complicated affair. The Weymouth line, broad gauge had a connecting line through to a transhipment shed with the LSWR. This was sited where the Yeovil Steam Centre now is. In this view the Weymouth line runs from top to bottom. At the top can be seen the still existent route from Yeovil Pen Mill (Off this map at the top) to Yeovil Junction off to the left. The broad gauge connection to Yeovil Junction (Clifton Maybank branch) passed under the London & South Western Railway. The Clifton Maybank branch was altered to standard gauge in 1892 but retained until 1937 when the junction was completely removed.

More pictures of the work at the end of this siding appear further down this page.

A very bright spot was the arrival of 'Pectin'. Copyright John Cornelius

Down at the end of the running line.

The former Clifton Maybank branch passed under the LSWR (Southern here) Copyright \\john Cornelius

Meantime work continues on the water tank. Copyright John Cornelius

1996

1997

Virtually complete - congratulations to YRC. Copyright John Cornelius

You may have wondered where the water comes from - John supplies the answer :- A water meter is installed at the point where the connection
for our site leaves the mains pipe, near the inspection pit.
Originally when we watered locos we had to use a portable pump to get
water from the tank into the tenders, until pipework was installed across the yard from the tank to the water crane by the turntable.

1998

1999

Green Arrow 60800 alias 4471 visit to the Yeovil Railway Centre

Harping back John relates to a trip in 1978 on a railtour with V2 4471 (60800) over the Settle & Carlisle Railway in a variety of weathers. 'THE NORFOLKMAN' RAILTOUR was run in honour of Bill Harvey, the former Norwich shedmaster who had overseen the overhaul and restoration of the loco. This was its first main line trip.
In spite of the weather,luckily when we stopped at Garsdale for the presentations to Bill,the rain held off for a while. Weather aside, it was a very enjoyable railtour. enjoy cheers JOHN C.

N.B. This is really out of our area but as it's John and he has given us a fantastic selection of pictures within our region - as a one off. Many thanks John. Click on a picture to obtain an enlargement.

The 'Big Day'! Copyright John Cornelius

2000

Copyright John Cornelius. Note :- Several years ago the Yeovil Railway Centre approached the NRM about the possibility of having a loco based at Yeovil. This was declined,but they offered us four goods wagons instead. The Nitric Acid tank wagon and the L&SWR GUNPOWDER VAN, have been restored and run in our demo goods train. The other two wagons have yet to be restored. All are on permanent loan to 'YRC'.

'By the year 2000 we had a accrued some freight vehicles that would not pass under the low bridge at Yeovil junction. Again the problem of how to get them from up to down side. The company could not afford the price that NR wanted to move the vehicles to our site,so we were stuck.
Luckily for us, D6515 was coming to Yeovil to collect class '20' D8188
from our site and take it to the Mid-Hants Rly. So it was arranged that
when D6515 arrived it would bring the goods vehicles across to our site
before taking D8188 away. So that solved the problem.
Once the vehicles were on site and the two diesels had departed, our Peckett 0-4-0 'PECTIN' was put to work for a couple of hours shunting the vehicles into the order we wanted them. So ended a very enjoyable morning.' Many thanks John, a relief to you at Yeovil Railway Centre and of great interest to us.

Items added on 29th November 2017 Those added most recently come first

2001

2002

Class 20 059 arrives by road at Yeovil Junction

'The loco had been purchased by Mick Archer,who had previously purchased the 'Shropshire Collection' of industrial diesel locos which were stored in the sidings on the upside behind a secure wire fence. When the '20' arrived, the low loader could not turn into the approach road,because of the tight turn,so had to reverse up the approach road,then weave through and across the car park to reach the unloading area. The loco was offloaded using one of the diesel shunters.
The '20'remained in the upside secure area until all the diesel shunters were either sold to private buyers and those not sold were scrapped. It was then taken away by rail to be overhauled and restored for main line running. It was never intended to have it on the 'YRC' site'

20 059 is now based on the Chinnor & Princes Risborough Railway

2004

Tricky Traverse! a report written by John Cornelius

One of the biggest headaches we have at 'YRC' Yeovil Junction, is the low narrow railway underbridge, which presents problems of getting larger items on or off site. Several years ago we were 'gifted' some redundant ex-Port of Bristol railway wagons.
After their arrival by road to the upside yard, it left us in a quandary as how to get them across to our site on the down side.
The quickest and easiest option of moving them across by rail was deemed too expensive for the company. So our site engineer came up with an idea of constructing a low two wheel sledge to do the job and that was how we got them under the bridge and onto the site.
At a later date the sledge was used again to bring the four small diesel locos across, once the cabs had been removed to reduce height.
What a brilliant idea - very well done - congratulations to the Yeovil Railway Centre.

Yeovil Railway Centre Road transport route (Shown in brown) used from the up side yard, north side, to the Yeovil Railway Centre on the south side of the junction station. From a six inch OS map published with permission of the National Library of Scotland.j

The north side viewed from the approach road. Copyright John Cornelius.

Up she goes! Copyright John Cornelius

Congratulations all round - mission accomplished. Copyright John Cornelius

2006

A great gang getting down to it. Copyright John Cornelius

2007

Photograph of an excellent model of a Beattie Well Tank on display at YRC. Copyright John Cornelius

When two members of the 6024 support crew, Shirley and Nick were married in 2007,they chartered a special train from Paddington to Yeovil junction hauled by 6024. The wedding took place at Sherborne and a reception held at the 'YRC' Yeovil junction. Later, the train which was named 'THE YEOVIL BETHROTHAL' took the happy pair and guests back to Paddington. Copyright John Cornelius

2010

2011

2012

2013

Steady as she goes - skillful driving needed here! Copyright John Cornelius

2015