Michael L. Roach
The Nineteen Sixty Four Series - Part 2
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 101
Day Trip to Highbridge - 09.09.1964
Michael L. Roach
After looking at occurrences in 1906, 1926 and 2010 recently perhaps it is time to return to the year 1964. In Part 91 I wrote about the upcoming sixtieth anniversary of the closure of the Somerset and Dorset with some of the photographs attached to that article coming from a day trip to the line on Thursday 10 September 1964. I described how I travelled to Bath for a return trip from Green Park to Templecombe and back.
The previous day, Wednesday 9 September 1964, I travelled from Plymouth, via Okehampton, to Exeter and on to Highbridge. The last leg from Taunton to Highbridge (18 miles) was in a 3-car dmu towing one parcels van and the train stopped at three stations which would soon be closed: - Creech, Durston and Dunball. I was at Highbridge for just over an hour and visited the engine shed and also walked down to Highbridge Wharf. Although the town is more than a mile inland from the Bristol Channel the Wharf received ships bringing timber for more than a century finally closing to commercial traffic just two months after my visit (other sources say earlier). There were numerous railway sidings on the wharf. From 1801 to 1809 French prisoners-of-war were used to cut a new straight channel for the River Brue through the town of Highbridge. The old/original channel was where the railway constructed their wharf. That railway was originally the Somerset Central Railway which was broad gauge and backed by and worked by the Bristol and Exeter. The Somerset Central and the Dorset Central amalgamated on 1 September 1862 but only became jointly owned (Midland/LSWR) in 1875. I recommend looking at the First Edition of the OS 25-inch plans of Highbridge from the 1880s available on the NLS website; also, the book recommended at the end.
I left Highbridge on the 16.00 to Evercreech Junction hauled by Collet goods 3210 with just one coach and one parcels van. Since the train was due at the junction at 17.00 and my train back from Evercreech Junction departed at 17.00 I opted to bail out at the previous station, Pylle Halt, and await the return train there. It turned up behind Ivatt 2-6-2 tank 41296, again with one coach and one parcels van. The timetable gave most trains 55 – 60 minutes for the 22 miles from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction with a longer stay of 5 or 6 minutes at Glastonbury & Street Station where there always seemed to be a large pile of parcels and mailbags to be dealt with. On the return trip Collet goods 3218 was there at Glastonbury with a single parcels van; but where had it come from as I had not noted it earlier? All three steam engines seen on this line that day were based at Templecombe Shed.
A one-minute connection between the two stations at Highbridge looked tight but turned out to be easy as 41296 arrived 2E and the DMU departed 3L. It took me 12 miles south to Durston Station which was on borrowed time as the passenger service was withdrawn just one month after my visit. The Bristol & Exeter had chosen Durston as the location of the junction for their branch to Yeovil back in 1845 although the line and Durston Station did not open until 1853. The Yeovil Branch had closed three months before my visit to Durston. It is hard to know why Brunel had chosen Durston for the junction of the Yeovil Branch rather than Taunton itself as the railway could have followed the valley of the River Tone direct from Athelney to Taunton as the later 1906 cut-off did. In 1964 all passenger trains ran through to Taunton, but in 1853 all trains started and terminated at Durston. In 1902 it was roughly half and half.
If the line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction still existed, the stations at West Pennard and Pylle would be the nearest railway stations to the site of the Glastonbury Music Festival Site; but in 1964 the forerunner of the Glastonbury Festival was still six years in the future. The nearest railhead is now at Castle Cary on the Paddington to Penzance railway line.
The previous day, Wednesday 9 September 1964, I travelled from Plymouth, via Okehampton, to Exeter and on to Highbridge. The last leg from Taunton to Highbridge (18 miles) was in a 3-car dmu towing one parcels van and the train stopped at three stations which would soon be closed: - Creech, Durston and Dunball. I was at Highbridge for just over an hour and visited the engine shed and also walked down to Highbridge Wharf. Although the town is more than a mile inland from the Bristol Channel the Wharf received ships bringing timber for more than a century finally closing to commercial traffic just two months after my visit (other sources say earlier). There were numerous railway sidings on the wharf. From 1801 to 1809 French prisoners-of-war were used to cut a new straight channel for the River Brue through the town of Highbridge. The old/original channel was where the railway constructed their wharf. That railway was originally the Somerset Central Railway which was broad gauge and backed by and worked by the Bristol and Exeter. The Somerset Central and the Dorset Central amalgamated on 1 September 1862 but only became jointly owned (Midland/LSWR) in 1875. I recommend looking at the First Edition of the OS 25-inch plans of Highbridge from the 1880s available on the NLS website; also, the book recommended at the end.
I left Highbridge on the 16.00 to Evercreech Junction hauled by Collet goods 3210 with just one coach and one parcels van. Since the train was due at the junction at 17.00 and my train back from Evercreech Junction departed at 17.00 I opted to bail out at the previous station, Pylle Halt, and await the return train there. It turned up behind Ivatt 2-6-2 tank 41296, again with one coach and one parcels van. The timetable gave most trains 55 – 60 minutes for the 22 miles from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction with a longer stay of 5 or 6 minutes at Glastonbury & Street Station where there always seemed to be a large pile of parcels and mailbags to be dealt with. On the return trip Collet goods 3218 was there at Glastonbury with a single parcels van; but where had it come from as I had not noted it earlier? All three steam engines seen on this line that day were based at Templecombe Shed.
A one-minute connection between the two stations at Highbridge looked tight but turned out to be easy as 41296 arrived 2E and the DMU departed 3L. It took me 12 miles south to Durston Station which was on borrowed time as the passenger service was withdrawn just one month after my visit. The Bristol & Exeter had chosen Durston as the location of the junction for their branch to Yeovil back in 1845 although the line and Durston Station did not open until 1853. The Yeovil Branch had closed three months before my visit to Durston. It is hard to know why Brunel had chosen Durston for the junction of the Yeovil Branch rather than Taunton itself as the railway could have followed the valley of the River Tone direct from Athelney to Taunton as the later 1906 cut-off did. In 1964 all passenger trains ran through to Taunton, but in 1853 all trains started and terminated at Durston. In 1902 it was roughly half and half.
If the line from Highbridge to Evercreech Junction still existed, the stations at West Pennard and Pylle would be the nearest railway stations to the site of the Glastonbury Music Festival Site; but in 1964 the forerunner of the Glastonbury Festival was still six years in the future. The nearest railhead is now at Castle Cary on the Paddington to Penzance railway line.
80064 arrives at Okehampton with 5C on the 08.48 Padstow to Exeter on 09.09.1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Collet goods 3210 is seen by the turntable at Highbridge on 9 September 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Standard GWR 20-ton goods brake van no. W68557 was stored at Highbridge Wharf, and slated for withdrawal. Believed to have been built in 1925. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Highbridge Station looking north to Bristol. The former S&DJR Burnham and Evercreech Branch crossed the Western Region main line on the level between the far end of the signal box and the abutment of the road bridge. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
With ten minutes to go 3210 waits to take out the 16.00 train to Evercreech Junction. This was the fourth of five eastbound trains a day. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Ivatt 2-6-2 tank 41296 brings the 17.00 Evercreech Junction to Highbridge into Pylle just four minutes after leaving Evercreech Junction. This was the fourth of six trains a day in this direction. The road bridge carried the A37 / Fosse Way over the railway and has been demolished since the line closed. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Durston Station looking north to Bristol. The line was opened by the Bristol & Exeter Railway in 1844 and the station in 1853 when it became the junction station for the B&ER's newly opened Yeovil Branch. The branch curved off to the right just beyond the signal box. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 102
Buses to Llangollen and to Wrexham
Michael L. Roach
When the Ruabon to Barmouth railway line closed in 1965 the passenger trains were replaced by a bus service along the adjacent road route, going through all the same villages and small towns. The present T3 timetable has timing points at many of the names you would recognise from an old railway timetable for Ruabon to Barmouth. In 1965 the bus route would have been operated by Crosville, which was formed 120 years ago in Chester. At its peak Crosville operated a fleet of 841 buses and coaches. After passing through a number of owners Crosville eventually became part of Arriva who still operate a route from Llangollen to Wrexham only. Arriva gave up the route west of Llangollen many years ago and the T3 is now operated by Lloyds Coaches of Machynlleth, formed in 2001, and based at the former Crosville bus garage opposite the railway station in Machynlleth.
When we stayed just outside Llangollen in 2010 Arriva were still operating the T3 but there was also a local bus company called Bryn Melyn operating in the Llangollen / Wrexham area and they had very colourful buses. The firm had been established in 1921 and in 2007 had passed into the ownership of GHA Coaches who kept Bryn Melyn as a separate business – one of a number of subsidiaries, but GHA closed down suddenly in July 2016 at a time when it had more than 300 employees.
I would like to thank John Hutchinson of Norwich most sincerely for researching all the information used in the captions of the photos attached to this article. I am not really a bus enthusiast although I have been photographing them for more than 60 years, so why do I photograph them. The answer to that conundrum is that there is nothing better than a bus for enhancing the street scene and giving a clue to where the photo was taken. This was especially so when every major town and city had its own municipal bus company, and the colour of the buses would help to identify where the photograph was taken. In the 1950s I watched each year as Plymouth Corporation received the latest batch of new half-cab double-deckers from Leyland.
In Arthur Street, Montgomery, Powys is a well known ironmonger selling petrol and diesel across the footway of a public road. On 25 May 2010 we visited the town of Bala one of the major settlements on the Ruabon to Barmouth route despite a population of just 2,000 persons. In Bala there were two garages selling petrol and diesel across the footway in 2010 and they still are I believe. Now I thought the practice of selling fuel across a public highway was banned by Act of Parliament more than fifty years ago circa 1970 because of the risk of something going wrong. I assume that because of the risk the petrol or diesel is dispensed by an attendant rather than self-sevice.
Many railway enthusiasts are aware that the first successful railway-operated bus service was the GWR route from Helston Station to The Lizard which commenced on 17 August 1903. Less well known is the fact that just over a year later the GWR stopped the bus service. The Company announced in the October house magazine that the motor buses used on the Helston - Lizard route would instead be used in the neighbourhood of Kingsbridge, Teignmouth and Dawlish, but that did not happen. Just a month later the magazine announced that in fact the buses had gone to Wrexham and had started operating a bus route from Wrexham Station to Holt and Farndon on 10 October 1904. Now Helston to Wrexham is more than 300 miles so there is no way the buses would have been driven that distance at that time - they would have been taken north in a goods train on a flat wagon. In fact the railways had been delivering steam rollers and traction engines since they were invented in the 1850s. So why did the GWR abandon the Helston – Lizard bus route so soon after starting it. The answer was given in the November 1904 magazine (page 191) - “in consequence of the failure of the local authorities to properly maintain the road.” Four months earlier the magazine reported on page 119 that - “As is well known, roads can only be maintained in a sufficiently sound state to admit of the use of motor vehicles, by the employment of a steam roller to consolidate the metalling.” The then Helston Rural District Council declined to roll their roads at the time.
The website ronsbusesandcoaches.com has a very good section on Bryn Melyn; and Ron also has a really comprehensive website about Crosville Buses called crosville.org
When we stayed just outside Llangollen in 2010 Arriva were still operating the T3 but there was also a local bus company called Bryn Melyn operating in the Llangollen / Wrexham area and they had very colourful buses. The firm had been established in 1921 and in 2007 had passed into the ownership of GHA Coaches who kept Bryn Melyn as a separate business – one of a number of subsidiaries, but GHA closed down suddenly in July 2016 at a time when it had more than 300 employees.
I would like to thank John Hutchinson of Norwich most sincerely for researching all the information used in the captions of the photos attached to this article. I am not really a bus enthusiast although I have been photographing them for more than 60 years, so why do I photograph them. The answer to that conundrum is that there is nothing better than a bus for enhancing the street scene and giving a clue to where the photo was taken. This was especially so when every major town and city had its own municipal bus company, and the colour of the buses would help to identify where the photograph was taken. In the 1950s I watched each year as Plymouth Corporation received the latest batch of new half-cab double-deckers from Leyland.
In Arthur Street, Montgomery, Powys is a well known ironmonger selling petrol and diesel across the footway of a public road. On 25 May 2010 we visited the town of Bala one of the major settlements on the Ruabon to Barmouth route despite a population of just 2,000 persons. In Bala there were two garages selling petrol and diesel across the footway in 2010 and they still are I believe. Now I thought the practice of selling fuel across a public highway was banned by Act of Parliament more than fifty years ago circa 1970 because of the risk of something going wrong. I assume that because of the risk the petrol or diesel is dispensed by an attendant rather than self-sevice.
Many railway enthusiasts are aware that the first successful railway-operated bus service was the GWR route from Helston Station to The Lizard which commenced on 17 August 1903. Less well known is the fact that just over a year later the GWR stopped the bus service. The Company announced in the October house magazine that the motor buses used on the Helston - Lizard route would instead be used in the neighbourhood of Kingsbridge, Teignmouth and Dawlish, but that did not happen. Just a month later the magazine announced that in fact the buses had gone to Wrexham and had started operating a bus route from Wrexham Station to Holt and Farndon on 10 October 1904. Now Helston to Wrexham is more than 300 miles so there is no way the buses would have been driven that distance at that time - they would have been taken north in a goods train on a flat wagon. In fact the railways had been delivering steam rollers and traction engines since they were invented in the 1850s. So why did the GWR abandon the Helston – Lizard bus route so soon after starting it. The answer was given in the November 1904 magazine (page 191) - “in consequence of the failure of the local authorities to properly maintain the road.” Four months earlier the magazine reported on page 119 that - “As is well known, roads can only be maintained in a sufficiently sound state to admit of the use of motor vehicles, by the employment of a steam roller to consolidate the metalling.” The then Helston Rural District Council declined to roll their roads at the time.
The website ronsbusesandcoaches.com has a very good section on Bryn Melyn; and Ron also has a really comprehensive website about Crosville Buses called crosville.org
SN03 DZZ is seen crossing the River Dee on route 5 to Wrexham bus station, on 22.05.2010 This was a Transbus Dart which was new to Lothian Buses in 2003. Purchased by Arriva, before it moved on again, and here it is being operated by GHA Coaches – clearly not on its intended branded route of Connect 88 which was Altrincham to Knutsford. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Bryn Melyn R669 UCC is working the 64 to Chirk on 22.05.2010. I could not find such a service currently. This was a Mercedes 814D with Marshall bodywork which Bryn Melyn bought new in September 1997 and withdrew from service in May 2015. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
R32 GNW is about to cross Llangollen Bridge. This was a DAF SB220LF with Plaxton bodywork which previously worked in Eastbourne (as a demonstrator) and in Preston (with J. Fishwick). Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Arriva CX05 AAE is seen on the Barmouth to Wrexham service in the centre of Bala on 25.05.2010. Then numbered X94 the service was being operated by a 12-metre VDL SB200 (originally a DAF SB200) with Wright Commander bodywork. Arriva took more than 90 percent of the 315 built. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
In 2010 this filling station was selling fuel across the footway on the south side of the main A494 through Bala town centre; towards the east end of the High Street. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Further west down the High Street was this much larger Texaco filling station also selling fuel across the footway. It is now a Gulf branded filling station. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A Bryn Melyn double-decker F201OPD stands in the main car park at Llangollen alongside a visiting Shearing's coach on 26.05.2010. This interesting bus was a Dennis Dominator with East Lancs bodywork; new in November 1988 to London & Country at Leatherhead; it came to Bryn Melyn in May 1998 and was scrapped at Corwen in 2011. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
On the last day of rail passenger services to Helston, Saturday 3 November 1962, Western National 1811 stands outside the station building on route 26 to The Lizard. The bus is a Bristol KS6B with 8-feet wide bodywork dating from 1950. Note how the radiator has been partly covered to prevent too much cooling in the coming harsh winter of 1962-63, which was very necessary as it turned out. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 103
The Falmouth to Paddington Through Train in 1977
Michael L. Roach
On the morning of Saturday 9 July 1977 I left home in Camborne to travel to Perranwell Station on the Truro to Falmouth line. Although the distance via Redruth town centre is only about 11 miles it seems further even now and takes half an hour. The objective was to photograph the loco-hauled Falmouth to Paddington though train. It departed Perranwell Station at 09.31 two minutes earlier than timetabled behind 50027 (PRESERVED) with 6C. The train left Falmouth at 09.10, stopped at all stations on the branch, and ran non-stop from St. Austell to Plymouth. It reached Paddington at 15.08
Five weeks later I photographed 50035 (ALSO PRESERVED) on the same train as it approached Penweathers Junction where it would join the main line. During that five-week gap we had travelled north to spend one night at Lincoln (29 July) and seven nights at York. The journey from Lincoln to York started with going 40 miles north to Barrow upon Humber to visit New Holland Pier and see one of the three steam paddle steamers on the Humber Ferry, which were made redundant by the opening of the bridge; and also some views of the partly finished suspension bridge itself. Construction had started 5 years earlier in July 1972; cable spinning began 2 months later in September 1977; and it was opened by The Queen four years later in July 1981.
After photographing the Falmouth to Paddington train on 13 August I made my way the short distance to Newbridge Viaduct for the only time ever and there photographed two up expresses. At this time the first HST was still some time away and all expresses were loco-hauled. Three expresses hauled by three different classes of diesel engine in less than 50 minutes.
Five weeks later I photographed 50035 (ALSO PRESERVED) on the same train as it approached Penweathers Junction where it would join the main line. During that five-week gap we had travelled north to spend one night at Lincoln (29 July) and seven nights at York. The journey from Lincoln to York started with going 40 miles north to Barrow upon Humber to visit New Holland Pier and see one of the three steam paddle steamers on the Humber Ferry, which were made redundant by the opening of the bridge; and also some views of the partly finished suspension bridge itself. Construction had started 5 years earlier in July 1972; cable spinning began 2 months later in September 1977; and it was opened by The Queen four years later in July 1981.
After photographing the Falmouth to Paddington train on 13 August I made my way the short distance to Newbridge Viaduct for the only time ever and there photographed two up expresses. At this time the first HST was still some time away and all expresses were loco-hauled. Three expresses hauled by three different classes of diesel engine in less than 50 minutes.
50027 Lion is leaving Perranwell at 09.31 with the 09.10 Falmouth to Paddington train on 9 July 1977. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A 3-car DMU enters Sparnock Tunnel at 10.15 the same morning on the 10.05 Truro to Falmouth. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Five weeks and a couple of minutes later 50035 Ark Royal is seen further north on 13.08.1977 a short distance south of Penweathers Junction. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
50035 heads down to Penweathers Junction. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
47088 comes off Newbridge Viaduct with 11C on the 09.15 Penzance to Manchester. 1/250 has not stopped the front of the engine which I have allowed to get too close. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
An unidentified Peak heads east across Newbridge Viaduct at 10.23 on 13 August 1977, with the 09.35 Penzance to Wolverhampton. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 104
Settle and Carlisle 150
Michael L. Roach
It was good to see the Settle and Carlisle's 150th birthday celebrated by Ian Thomas on Saturday 2 May 2026. I was already scanning my colour slides for a similar article when it appeared, but mine will focus on normal traffic at the time of our first visit in 1982, when the line was still busy with traditional freight trains and a good variety of diesel classes, and not a single dmu seen. First a few facts about the line. The line was constructed by the Midland Railway as part of the third route and their own independent route to Scotland. The line started at Settle Junction and finished at the eastern outskirts of Carlisle at Petteril Bridge Junction, 72m 42c away, and passed through some of the most hostile terrain in England. There are 22 viaducts and 14 tunnels with several notable landmarks:- Blea Moor Tunnel, signal box and down loop; Ribblehead Viaduct; Ais Gill Summit (1169 feet); and Hawes Junction (renamed Garsdale) the name (but not the exact site of) a disastrous collision on Christmas Eve 1910 made worse by gas-lit carriages igniting the wrecked coaches.
The problems that accompanied construction of the Midland Railway's line from Settle to Carlisle in mid-Victorian times are well known to most readers – a hostile landscape; harsh winters; isolation; shanty towns; disease and death to name but a few, plus hard graft for 10 or 12 hours a day, or more. Eventually man triumphed over adversity and left us with a wonderful legacy to travel along or visit and photograph. 150 years later it still exercises a pulling power over rail enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike. I doubt that anyone visiting the S&C for the first time has ever been disappointed. My first visit was in the summer of 1982 when we both travelled along it and did some lineside photography. The line opened to passengers on 1 May 1876 and has just celebrated its 150th anniversary. Attached are a few photos from those visits in the summer of 1982. We are really lucky to be able to celebrate a line that was saved from closure; is still busy; has not been disfigured by OHLE; and still has semaphore signalling and Midland Railway signal boxes.
The line is reasonably busy with its own passenger trains and come into its own when the WCML is closed and trains are diverted this way. There are also a number of freight train paths but most of them are (Q) and run as required. One of the most interesting of these, for us in the West Country, is 6S00 the 10.12 Ernesettle MOD to Glen Douglas MOD which runs infrequently. The train is routed via Bristol TM, East Usk Junction (Newport) 14.35-15.12, Crewe, Hellifield Goods Loop 21.49, Carlisle NY 00.02-04.23, Mossend, and due Glen Douglas 08.50 The distance is about 550 miles. It would be great if one of the website's photographers manages to record this train one day. It seems quite appropriate that a train starting at Ernesettle should travel via Settle when it does run.
When the S&C was built the Lancaster and Richmond turnpike road passed under the line adjacent to Ribblehead Station. It is now numbered the B6255. Two miles south-west down that road is the nearest church to the line and where the people who lived in the shanty towns were buried when they died of natural causes, disease or accidents. The church is St. Leonards at Chapel Le Dale, also know as Ingleton Falls. I looked at the burial register for a couple of typical months during the construction period. In November and December 1871 there were 8 deaths with ages of 3 days, 4 days, 3 years, 4, 16, 28, 35 and 37 years. Six months later in May 1872 there were 7 deaths in that one month alone with ages of 9 months, 13 months, 23 months, 25 years, 40, 45 and 80 years. Each shanty town had been given a name. Those in the vicinity of Blea Moor Tunnel, Ribblehead Viaduct and Ribblehead Station were called, north to south:- Blea Moor, Tunnel, Jerusalem, Jericho, Inkerman, Sebastopol, Belgravia, Batty Green and Salt Lake. It was thoughtful of the Vicar of St. Leonards to record the name of the shanty town where people died in the Burial Record. Blea Moor Tunnel turns up frequently.
The design of the Settle and Carlisle was done by John Sydney Crossley (1812 – 1879) the Midland Railway's own in-house Chief Civil Engineer, who also supervised construction and when the Contractor for Contract No. 1 (Settle Junction to Dent Head, including Ribblehead and Blea Moor Tunnel) got into financial difficulties constructed that length by direct labour. The railway stations on the S&C are all similar and a delight. They were designed by John Holloway Sanders (1825 – 1884) the Midland Railway's Chief Architect who also designed Bath Green Park and Mangotsfield among many others.
The weather was dull much of the time with the last three photos of trains passing at milepost 251 taken in rain with a shutter speed of 1/125 at f2.8.
The problems that accompanied construction of the Midland Railway's line from Settle to Carlisle in mid-Victorian times are well known to most readers – a hostile landscape; harsh winters; isolation; shanty towns; disease and death to name but a few, plus hard graft for 10 or 12 hours a day, or more. Eventually man triumphed over adversity and left us with a wonderful legacy to travel along or visit and photograph. 150 years later it still exercises a pulling power over rail enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts alike. I doubt that anyone visiting the S&C for the first time has ever been disappointed. My first visit was in the summer of 1982 when we both travelled along it and did some lineside photography. The line opened to passengers on 1 May 1876 and has just celebrated its 150th anniversary. Attached are a few photos from those visits in the summer of 1982. We are really lucky to be able to celebrate a line that was saved from closure; is still busy; has not been disfigured by OHLE; and still has semaphore signalling and Midland Railway signal boxes.
The line is reasonably busy with its own passenger trains and come into its own when the WCML is closed and trains are diverted this way. There are also a number of freight train paths but most of them are (Q) and run as required. One of the most interesting of these, for us in the West Country, is 6S00 the 10.12 Ernesettle MOD to Glen Douglas MOD which runs infrequently. The train is routed via Bristol TM, East Usk Junction (Newport) 14.35-15.12, Crewe, Hellifield Goods Loop 21.49, Carlisle NY 00.02-04.23, Mossend, and due Glen Douglas 08.50 The distance is about 550 miles. It would be great if one of the website's photographers manages to record this train one day. It seems quite appropriate that a train starting at Ernesettle should travel via Settle when it does run.
When the S&C was built the Lancaster and Richmond turnpike road passed under the line adjacent to Ribblehead Station. It is now numbered the B6255. Two miles south-west down that road is the nearest church to the line and where the people who lived in the shanty towns were buried when they died of natural causes, disease or accidents. The church is St. Leonards at Chapel Le Dale, also know as Ingleton Falls. I looked at the burial register for a couple of typical months during the construction period. In November and December 1871 there were 8 deaths with ages of 3 days, 4 days, 3 years, 4, 16, 28, 35 and 37 years. Six months later in May 1872 there were 7 deaths in that one month alone with ages of 9 months, 13 months, 23 months, 25 years, 40, 45 and 80 years. Each shanty town had been given a name. Those in the vicinity of Blea Moor Tunnel, Ribblehead Viaduct and Ribblehead Station were called, north to south:- Blea Moor, Tunnel, Jerusalem, Jericho, Inkerman, Sebastopol, Belgravia, Batty Green and Salt Lake. It was thoughtful of the Vicar of St. Leonards to record the name of the shanty town where people died in the Burial Record. Blea Moor Tunnel turns up frequently.
The design of the Settle and Carlisle was done by John Sydney Crossley (1812 – 1879) the Midland Railway's own in-house Chief Civil Engineer, who also supervised construction and when the Contractor for Contract No. 1 (Settle Junction to Dent Head, including Ribblehead and Blea Moor Tunnel) got into financial difficulties constructed that length by direct labour. The railway stations on the S&C are all similar and a delight. They were designed by John Holloway Sanders (1825 – 1884) the Midland Railway's Chief Architect who also designed Bath Green Park and Mangotsfield among many others.
The weather was dull much of the time with the last three photos of trains passing at milepost 251 taken in rain with a shutter speed of 1/125 at f2.8.
On Monday 16 August 1982 we made a day trip from Skipton to Carlisle and return. Here we see our return train at platform 5 at Carlisle on the 15.37 to Leeds. On the right was 47309. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A view out the window at 16.58 soon after passing Dent Station. Note the waste heaps; Arten Gill Viaduct (hidden); Dent Head Viaduct; and the portal of Blea Moor Tunnel extreme right. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Dent Head Viaduct on 17.08.1982. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Dent Station looking south. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
40047 heads south at Ais Gill at the head of a freight train at 16.04 on 17.08.1982. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
25206 has just crossed Dent Head Viaduct and is about to enter the tunnel with ten bogie tanks at 16.20 on 25.08.1982. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
31242 crosses Dent Head Viaduct with the 15.37 Carlisle to Leeds on 25.08.1982. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
25080 passes milepost 251 just north of Blea Moor Tunnel with 4C – the only Class 25 seen on a passenger train. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
25080 passes 45010. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
45010 heads south at milepost 251with 30 wagons at 17.31 on 25.08.1982. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 105
S & C (2) – Ribblehead Viaduct
Michael L. Roach
In Part 104 I recalled my first rail trip over the Settle and Carlisle line from Skipton to Carlisle, and showed some photos taken that day and further days that week in August 1982. We were on a 16-night holiday touring Northern England staying in guest houses at various places like Skipton, Carlisle, Berwick-on-Tweed, Richmond, Chester and Llanidloes (Wales). The day after our rail trip we said farewell to Skipton and travelled along the route of the S&C stopping at several places: Hellifield, Settle, Ribblehead Viaduct, Dent Head Viaduct, Dent Station, Garsdale and Ais Gill to see a railtour pass.
Ribblehead Viaduct is the single most recognisable landmark in the whole of the 72-mile length of the S&C, even to those who have never been there. It is a truly magnificent structure: 24 arches in 4 groups of 6 with 3 king-piers between the groups to prevent any possible chance of the whole viaduct collapsing in the event of trouble. There are taller viaducts on the line than the 104 feet of Ribblehead , but none are longer at 1,320 feet (400 metres). It took up to 2,300 men to build the viaduct over a 5-year period between July 1870 and July 1875. The first freight train passed over Ribblehead on 3 August 1875, and it is now listed Grade II*.
It would have needed enormous quantities of materials to build the Ribblehead Viaduct. Large quantities of timber to build the temporary huts to house the workers (and their families); coal to keep them warm in winter; drinking water and beer; daily supplies of food; lime for the mortar; masses of timber for centring the arches and the scaffolding. It was quite lucky in a way that there was a turnpike road just a quarter of a mile from the south end of the viaduct, with the nearest existing railway station being about six miles away down that turnpike road at Ingleton. Ingleton Station was at the end of the Midland's Branch from Clapham (Yorkshire) which was on the line from Skipton to Morecambe and Heysham. The Midland Station at Ingleton was a short distance southwest of the town centre. Further away west of the town centre, across two rivers, was another railway station belonging to the LNWR on the opposite side of a valley. The two termini were joined by rail track across an 11-arch viaduct which still stands trackless today. It is a measure of the difficult and strained relationship between the LNWR and the Midland that the two railways could not agree on a joint station and running rights for the Midland over LNWR tracks to Low Gill and the WCML to Scotland. Ingleton had a quarry and lime kilns producing lime for making mortar.
The Midland Railway had tentacles going out in all directions from the centre of England, but I could only find three places where it reached the coast of Britain and that was over jointly owned lines and through running rights. The three ports were: Swansea, Heysham and Kings Lynn. During Victorian times much, if not most, of Britain's appetite for softwood would have been satisfied by imports from the countries around the Baltic Sea. There were dozens if not hundreds of small ports and harbours in Britain importing timber but mostly in small quantities for local consumption. Kings Lynn would have been in a different league for two reasons – it was one of the largest and nearest ports to Europe and The Baltic and it was a Member of the Hanseatic League. The Midland Railway had long been associated with the forerunners of The Midland and Great Northern Railway (formed 1893) and thus had control over its own wagons carrying timber from the outskirts of Kings Lynn all the way to Ingleton, some 180 miles away. From Ingleton Station to Ribblehead transport of supplies would have been mostly by horse-and-cart but while the line was being built the firms of Charles Burrell and John Fowler (of Leeds) were just starting to produce steam road locomotives which may have got a look-in if a water supply could be obtained as water was needed in large quantities for mixing mortar and for drinking, washing etc. But this paragraph is only considering the Ribblehead area – there were another 34 viaducts and tunnels also needing large quantities of materials, with some being very remote. Luckily from Kirkby Stephen to Carlisle (41 miles) there were a number of existing North Eastern and LNWR stations to bring in materials.
Our last five nights in the north were spent in the delightful North Yorkshire market town of Richmond. The cobbled market square is huge and has been holding markets for more than 900 years. The town has a lot of character, and the former railway station survives as a cultural centre. Richmond gave its name to the Lancaster and Richmond Turnpike Trust (58 miles apart) although the eastern end is actually 3 miles further on giving a total length of 61 miles. Most turnpike trusts were much shorter than 61 miles e.g. Penryn to Redruth eight miles. Much of both ends of the turnpike road has been bypassed by newer routes but we picked up the route at Bainbridge or Hawes. As we approached Ribblehead Viaduct the sun was shining which demanded a stop for a distant view of the viaduct from the B6255. It would be another 12 years before we would be this far north again.
I will round off this article with details of a delightful 96-page booklet I bought in 2012 in one of the many bookshops in Hay-on-Wye, which cost me just £2. It was written by William R Mitchell who lived at Giggleswick, near Settle and covers the repairs to Ribblehead Viaduct 1990 – 1992 to ensure its structural stability and reprieve the line from closure. In his forward to the booklet the project engineer for the repairs wrote these words: “The Settle-Carlisle railway has an almost indefinable magic – a cocktail mix of fact and folklore, acquired over more than 100 years of operation on the high and remote Pennines. It is one of the best-known and best loved pieces of railway in Britain, if not the world. Not surprisingly, this magic has wrapped itself around the line's most famous viaduct, Ribblehead, which strides across the head of Chapel-le-Dale, buffeted by wind, rain and extremes of temperature.”
Ribblehead Viaduct is the single most recognisable landmark in the whole of the 72-mile length of the S&C, even to those who have never been there. It is a truly magnificent structure: 24 arches in 4 groups of 6 with 3 king-piers between the groups to prevent any possible chance of the whole viaduct collapsing in the event of trouble. There are taller viaducts on the line than the 104 feet of Ribblehead , but none are longer at 1,320 feet (400 metres). It took up to 2,300 men to build the viaduct over a 5-year period between July 1870 and July 1875. The first freight train passed over Ribblehead on 3 August 1875, and it is now listed Grade II*.
It would have needed enormous quantities of materials to build the Ribblehead Viaduct. Large quantities of timber to build the temporary huts to house the workers (and their families); coal to keep them warm in winter; drinking water and beer; daily supplies of food; lime for the mortar; masses of timber for centring the arches and the scaffolding. It was quite lucky in a way that there was a turnpike road just a quarter of a mile from the south end of the viaduct, with the nearest existing railway station being about six miles away down that turnpike road at Ingleton. Ingleton Station was at the end of the Midland's Branch from Clapham (Yorkshire) which was on the line from Skipton to Morecambe and Heysham. The Midland Station at Ingleton was a short distance southwest of the town centre. Further away west of the town centre, across two rivers, was another railway station belonging to the LNWR on the opposite side of a valley. The two termini were joined by rail track across an 11-arch viaduct which still stands trackless today. It is a measure of the difficult and strained relationship between the LNWR and the Midland that the two railways could not agree on a joint station and running rights for the Midland over LNWR tracks to Low Gill and the WCML to Scotland. Ingleton had a quarry and lime kilns producing lime for making mortar.
The Midland Railway had tentacles going out in all directions from the centre of England, but I could only find three places where it reached the coast of Britain and that was over jointly owned lines and through running rights. The three ports were: Swansea, Heysham and Kings Lynn. During Victorian times much, if not most, of Britain's appetite for softwood would have been satisfied by imports from the countries around the Baltic Sea. There were dozens if not hundreds of small ports and harbours in Britain importing timber but mostly in small quantities for local consumption. Kings Lynn would have been in a different league for two reasons – it was one of the largest and nearest ports to Europe and The Baltic and it was a Member of the Hanseatic League. The Midland Railway had long been associated with the forerunners of The Midland and Great Northern Railway (formed 1893) and thus had control over its own wagons carrying timber from the outskirts of Kings Lynn all the way to Ingleton, some 180 miles away. From Ingleton Station to Ribblehead transport of supplies would have been mostly by horse-and-cart but while the line was being built the firms of Charles Burrell and John Fowler (of Leeds) were just starting to produce steam road locomotives which may have got a look-in if a water supply could be obtained as water was needed in large quantities for mixing mortar and for drinking, washing etc. But this paragraph is only considering the Ribblehead area – there were another 34 viaducts and tunnels also needing large quantities of materials, with some being very remote. Luckily from Kirkby Stephen to Carlisle (41 miles) there were a number of existing North Eastern and LNWR stations to bring in materials.
Our last five nights in the north were spent in the delightful North Yorkshire market town of Richmond. The cobbled market square is huge and has been holding markets for more than 900 years. The town has a lot of character, and the former railway station survives as a cultural centre. Richmond gave its name to the Lancaster and Richmond Turnpike Trust (58 miles apart) although the eastern end is actually 3 miles further on giving a total length of 61 miles. Most turnpike trusts were much shorter than 61 miles e.g. Penryn to Redruth eight miles. Much of both ends of the turnpike road has been bypassed by newer routes but we picked up the route at Bainbridge or Hawes. As we approached Ribblehead Viaduct the sun was shining which demanded a stop for a distant view of the viaduct from the B6255. It would be another 12 years before we would be this far north again.
I will round off this article with details of a delightful 96-page booklet I bought in 2012 in one of the many bookshops in Hay-on-Wye, which cost me just £2. It was written by William R Mitchell who lived at Giggleswick, near Settle and covers the repairs to Ribblehead Viaduct 1990 – 1992 to ensure its structural stability and reprieve the line from closure. In his forward to the booklet the project engineer for the repairs wrote these words: “The Settle-Carlisle railway has an almost indefinable magic – a cocktail mix of fact and folklore, acquired over more than 100 years of operation on the high and remote Pennines. It is one of the best-known and best loved pieces of railway in Britain, if not the world. Not surprisingly, this magic has wrapped itself around the line's most famous viaduct, Ribblehead, which strides across the head of Chapel-le-Dale, buffeted by wind, rain and extremes of temperature.”
25158 heads south across the viaduct with a ballast train of 17 wagons on 17 August 1982. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pier 6 - one of the king piers. Note the Danger Sign and the cracks in some of the stones. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Ribblehead Viaduct from half a mile away on the B6255. The milestone has a cast iron plate typical of the route reading Ingleton 6½ and Lancaster 24 this side, and Richmond 32 miles on the far side. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Ribblehead Viaduct from a quarter mile away, looking north west, on the morning of 27 August 1982. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The cover of the booklet “Ribblehead Re-born” which is full of sketches, diagrams, photographs and facts.
The back of the booklet is just as interesting.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 106
S & C (3) – Ais Gill Summit
Michael L. Roach
Trains heading north up the Settle and Carlisle face a 15-mile climb at 1 in 100 from Settle Junction to Blea Moor Tunnel. In the opposite direction there is a similar 15-mile climb from Ormside to Ais Gill. In the six miles between the two locations the railway undulates gently up and down. Ais Gill is the highest point on the S&C at 1169 feet (356 metres); while for comparison Shap Summit on the WCML is 916 feet (279 metres) above sea level. Shap has the A6 trunk road, the M6 motorway and a village of the same name for company while Ais Gill has a very narrow minor B-road and seems much more isolated than Shap. But if you are ever at Ais Gill when a steam railtour is due to pass it is more like a busy town centre with people and cars jockeying for the last parking space. The summit is at the watershed which here forms the boundary between the historic counties of Westmoreland and Yorkshire. Westmoreland formed part of Cumbria from 1974 to 2023 but is now part of the Westmoreland and Furness Unitary Authority.
This instalment looks at the passage of A4 Sir Nigel Gresley past us on Tuesday 17 August 1982 when we were in a field beside the line just to the north of the road bridge which carries the B6259 over the line six miles south of Kirkby Stephen Station and not far from Ais Gill Summit. This is the last instalment about the S&C for the moment, but I may return to the S&C in due course. The line carried 995,000 passengers last year and is on course to pass 1M passengers this year. We wish the organisations and individuals who support the line a successful summer and autumn of celebrations and normal operation.
There have probably been more books, pamphlets and magazine articles written about the Settle and Carlisle than any other similar length of railway in Britain. The website settle-carlisle.co.uk contains a “Directory of Resources” which lists hundreds of books about the line. It is a measure of how spectacular and well-loved the Settle and Carlisle line is that a similar length of line in lowland England – Bristol to Exeter 75 miles – has little more than a handful of books about it, not even reaching double figures.
This instalment looks at the passage of A4 Sir Nigel Gresley past us on Tuesday 17 August 1982 when we were in a field beside the line just to the north of the road bridge which carries the B6259 over the line six miles south of Kirkby Stephen Station and not far from Ais Gill Summit. This is the last instalment about the S&C for the moment, but I may return to the S&C in due course. The line carried 995,000 passengers last year and is on course to pass 1M passengers this year. We wish the organisations and individuals who support the line a successful summer and autumn of celebrations and normal operation.
There have probably been more books, pamphlets and magazine articles written about the Settle and Carlisle than any other similar length of railway in Britain. The website settle-carlisle.co.uk contains a “Directory of Resources” which lists hundreds of books about the line. It is a measure of how spectacular and well-loved the Settle and Carlisle line is that a similar length of line in lowland England – Bristol to Exeter 75 miles – has little more than a handful of books about it, not even reaching double figures.
It was dull when the railtour passed us at 2.59pm on Tuesday 17 August 1982 with 4498 Sir Nigel Gresley in charge. The engine was then based at Carnforth. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
4498 heads towards the summit at Ais Gill half a mile away. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The last coach on the train, which may be a Caledonian Railway coach. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
An hour after the railtour passed and most of the enthusiasts have departed. This freight train passed us with a load of 23 including a diesel shunter, hauled by 40047. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Our blue mini NRL448R is dwarfed by the landscape as a class 31 heads south on the 15.37 from Carlisle to Leeds. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The 15.37 heads towards Ais Gill box extreme right. The county boundary passes over the bridge on the right; while at the junction of the rough road over the bridge and the B6259 there is a cottage and a couple of bungalows with the postcode CA17 4JY. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
1964 Part 107 – Bathampton and Bathford
Types of Great Western Countryside
Michael L. Roach
Although the heading is Bathampton and Bathford, that is only for convenience and where the article concludes. The starting point is a story about two men with the same surname – Winstone. The name is not common, but there are/were quite a few Winstones in North Somerset, Bristol, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and more right up the M4 corridor to London. There was also an enclave of Winstones in Glamorganshire. I am going to tell you about the second Winstone I came across first. It is the story of a young man who worked for the Great Western Railway and the Brecon & Merthyr Railway in mid-Victorian times and how he got into a spot of trouble. His story came to light while researching the opening dates of railways to Brecon. Among the results was the report of a court case involving a break-in at a Brecon & Merthyr railway station. The young man was called David B Winstone.
David William Banaster Winstone was baptised on 3 November 1847 at the parish church of St John the Evangelist in Brecon, which became Brecon Cathedral in 1923. David's parents were Evan and Jane Winstone who had been married for more than 21 years when David came along. The first mention of David Winstone in employment is in September 1865. He describes himself as 17 years old but he had not reached his 17th birthday. He is working for the GWR at Chippenham Station as a goods clerk on a salary of £50 per annum. He advanced quickly and in May 1867 was doing the same job at Swindon on £60 per annum. He quickly advanced to £70 in December 1867 and to £90 in May 1869. He resigned from the GWR in December 1869. By 1871 he has returned to Wales doing the same job of goods clerk for the B&M at £110 per annum. He was now 23 years old and was earning about double the national average wage for the time.
David had married while he was working in Swindon He married Fanny Elizabeth Coates on Sunday 21 June 1868 at St Marks Church in the Parish of New Swindon. He was 20 years of age, a bachelor, an accountant and son of Evan Winstone, builder. She was 18, a spinster of no occupation and daughter of William Coates, bootmaker. The address of both groom and bridegroom was New Swindon. The couple's first child was baptised at Swindon on 28 February 1869 and was named Frank W W Winstone (1869 - 1934). The Father's occupation was given as Railway Accountant. I suppose it is possible to be an accountant, but employed as a goods clerk, but its just as conceivable that David is telling fibs. It would have been interesting to find the family in the 1871 census, but I had no luck searching for David, Fanny or Frank Winstone in that census. I was thinking that they had somehow managed to evade the census enumerator, or moved on, and was on the point of giving up when I tried a couple of variations of the surname; e.g. Winston and Winton. This brought a bit of luck as the entry had then been transcribed as David Wenstone (since corrected ) and the family that I was looking for, with the right names and ages. On the night of 2 April 1871 they were living at 10 Spring Street, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil. Spring Street was just across Pant Road/Victoria Street from the huge Ifor Iron Works. David gives his occupation as Railway Clerk. If you have difficulty finding the entry, it is at Glamorgan/Merthyr/ Upper Merthyr/District 14/Page 36 of 52/ Line 172.
In 1881 and 1891 the family are at Workington in Cumberland and David is a clerk in tin-plate and iron-works respectively. Their son is doing rather well and in 1891 he is 21 and an analytical chemist; while 10 years later he is a Works Manager on The Wirral. His mother, Fanny, is with him in 1901 but not his father. She describes herself as married, and not widowed. David B Winstone disappears completely after 1891. I found no death for him, but did find a D Winstone emigrating to Boston USA on the “Saxonia” on 15 October 1901, but he describes himself as a driver. I also found no death for Fanny or find her emigrating.
No mention of the names Winstone and Merthyr Tydfil would be complete without saying a few words about Howard Winstone. Howard was born in Merthyr in 1939 and died there in 2000. Howard hit the headlines in 1958 and was never out of the headlines for the next 10 years culminating in becoming world featherweight boxing champion in January 1968. He retired from boxing 5 months later.
While searching for opening dates for the Brecon & Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway in the 1860s my eyes alighted on a result involving alleged theft from the company by one Daniel Banaster Winstone who was employed as a clerk by the Brecon & Merthyr. The case against Winstone was heard in front of a jury at the Glamorganshire Midsummer Quarter Sessions held at the Town Hall Cardiff starting on Tuesday 27 June 1871. The case was reported in at least 3 newspapers, as follows, and created “considerable interest in court” The allegation was that Winstone broke into the booking office of his own station and stole the day's takings late at night. The evidence was a bit circumstantial as the station's night watchman only got a rear view of the burglar while looking through a window as the burglar escaped out of the opposite window. His christian name was reported as Daniel but it was a regular thing to use an alias in those days, and each newspaper spelled his surname differently. Witnesses testified that Winstone had been drinking at the Bruce Arms public-house (now the Bruce Hotel, Victoria Street, Dowlais) at the very time the watchman said the robbery was committed. The three newspapers were:
The Western Mail of Thursday 29 June 1871
The Merthyr Telegraph of Friday 30 June 1871
The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian of 01 July 1871
Winstone was found not guilty; but finding David B Winstone got me thinking as to where I had seen that surname previously. It had been decades earlier in the GWR Magazine. In 1960 I bought my first batch of GWR Magazines – a substantial pile from the 1930s and 1940s. Right through the 1930s the magazine regularly carried a photograph of pretty villages in GW territory; places like Polperro, Noss Mayo (where my great-great-grandmother was born in 1825 – see 1964 Part 53), Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Tintern and Wells Cathedral. The last photo at Wells was taken by one F.R. Winstone, who was a regular contributor. Indeed I thought he might even be on the payroll of the railway, so regular were his photographs in the magazine.
Frank R Winstone was born on 3 September 1909 at Bedminster, Bristol BS3 4QT close to Victoria Park. His father had a menswear shop in East Street, Bedminster BS3 4HH and the young Frank joined him in the shop when he left school. Frank's real interest was in photography which he had started at school, which became his passion and his full-time occupation in 1937. In 1939 he is living at St. Agnes Avenue, Bedminster BS4 2DU, but in a directory of 1938 he has an address at St. James Street, Mangotsfield BS16 9HE which may have been a photography shop and portrait studio. During the war he served in the photographic section of the Royal Air Force. After the war he resumed his career as a freelance photographer and was quite obviously successful as he, wife and child moved to a smart new house in Hyland Grove, Henbury BS9 3NR. Frank's mission in life was to collect photos of Old Bristol, to take record photos of Bristol landmarks; and to give lantern and later slide shows of Bristol. In 1957 he published his first book of vanished scenes and some authorities would give him credit as inventing the genre. A total of 37 books of his photos were published but some were put together by his son John (born 1944) from Frank's extensive archive of 43,427 photographs. His middle name was Reece (his mother's maiden name) and after 1945 he used the name Reece Winstone. Bristol's history is very well recorded photographically thanks to Reece Winstone who was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society as a result; and his books were very popular with the first one, published in 1957, selling 20,000 copies.
If one types Reece Winstone author into Ebay books dozens of results show up with the books still commanding good prices considering the numbers printed. The last image today shows one of Reece Winstone's photographs for the GWR Magazine. When I saw it for the first time the picture entranced me as representing the GWR, and the beautiful territory it served, in the 1930s when the railway was at the height of its zenith. In 1960 it was only 20 years since the 1930s came to an abrupt end with WW2. It has only taken me 66 years to find a use for that picture and bring it to a wider audience. In 1960 it was only 12 years since nationalisation and some rural lines were still the same as in the 1930s, with the same GWR engines, the same GWR coaches, and even some of the same GWR staff operating the trains as pre-war. A good example is the Plymouth to Tavistock and Launceston Branch. The Editor of the GWR Magazine in the 1930s must have liked the River Yealm, near Plymouth, because three photos appeared in the 1930s under the heading Great Western Territory and the three are attached to this article.
David William Banaster Winstone was baptised on 3 November 1847 at the parish church of St John the Evangelist in Brecon, which became Brecon Cathedral in 1923. David's parents were Evan and Jane Winstone who had been married for more than 21 years when David came along. The first mention of David Winstone in employment is in September 1865. He describes himself as 17 years old but he had not reached his 17th birthday. He is working for the GWR at Chippenham Station as a goods clerk on a salary of £50 per annum. He advanced quickly and in May 1867 was doing the same job at Swindon on £60 per annum. He quickly advanced to £70 in December 1867 and to £90 in May 1869. He resigned from the GWR in December 1869. By 1871 he has returned to Wales doing the same job of goods clerk for the B&M at £110 per annum. He was now 23 years old and was earning about double the national average wage for the time.
David had married while he was working in Swindon He married Fanny Elizabeth Coates on Sunday 21 June 1868 at St Marks Church in the Parish of New Swindon. He was 20 years of age, a bachelor, an accountant and son of Evan Winstone, builder. She was 18, a spinster of no occupation and daughter of William Coates, bootmaker. The address of both groom and bridegroom was New Swindon. The couple's first child was baptised at Swindon on 28 February 1869 and was named Frank W W Winstone (1869 - 1934). The Father's occupation was given as Railway Accountant. I suppose it is possible to be an accountant, but employed as a goods clerk, but its just as conceivable that David is telling fibs. It would have been interesting to find the family in the 1871 census, but I had no luck searching for David, Fanny or Frank Winstone in that census. I was thinking that they had somehow managed to evade the census enumerator, or moved on, and was on the point of giving up when I tried a couple of variations of the surname; e.g. Winston and Winton. This brought a bit of luck as the entry had then been transcribed as David Wenstone (since corrected ) and the family that I was looking for, with the right names and ages. On the night of 2 April 1871 they were living at 10 Spring Street, Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil. Spring Street was just across Pant Road/Victoria Street from the huge Ifor Iron Works. David gives his occupation as Railway Clerk. If you have difficulty finding the entry, it is at Glamorgan/Merthyr/ Upper Merthyr/District 14/Page 36 of 52/ Line 172.
In 1881 and 1891 the family are at Workington in Cumberland and David is a clerk in tin-plate and iron-works respectively. Their son is doing rather well and in 1891 he is 21 and an analytical chemist; while 10 years later he is a Works Manager on The Wirral. His mother, Fanny, is with him in 1901 but not his father. She describes herself as married, and not widowed. David B Winstone disappears completely after 1891. I found no death for him, but did find a D Winstone emigrating to Boston USA on the “Saxonia” on 15 October 1901, but he describes himself as a driver. I also found no death for Fanny or find her emigrating.
No mention of the names Winstone and Merthyr Tydfil would be complete without saying a few words about Howard Winstone. Howard was born in Merthyr in 1939 and died there in 2000. Howard hit the headlines in 1958 and was never out of the headlines for the next 10 years culminating in becoming world featherweight boxing champion in January 1968. He retired from boxing 5 months later.
While searching for opening dates for the Brecon & Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway in the 1860s my eyes alighted on a result involving alleged theft from the company by one Daniel Banaster Winstone who was employed as a clerk by the Brecon & Merthyr. The case against Winstone was heard in front of a jury at the Glamorganshire Midsummer Quarter Sessions held at the Town Hall Cardiff starting on Tuesday 27 June 1871. The case was reported in at least 3 newspapers, as follows, and created “considerable interest in court” The allegation was that Winstone broke into the booking office of his own station and stole the day's takings late at night. The evidence was a bit circumstantial as the station's night watchman only got a rear view of the burglar while looking through a window as the burglar escaped out of the opposite window. His christian name was reported as Daniel but it was a regular thing to use an alias in those days, and each newspaper spelled his surname differently. Witnesses testified that Winstone had been drinking at the Bruce Arms public-house (now the Bruce Hotel, Victoria Street, Dowlais) at the very time the watchman said the robbery was committed. The three newspapers were:
The Western Mail of Thursday 29 June 1871
The Merthyr Telegraph of Friday 30 June 1871
The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian of 01 July 1871
Winstone was found not guilty; but finding David B Winstone got me thinking as to where I had seen that surname previously. It had been decades earlier in the GWR Magazine. In 1960 I bought my first batch of GWR Magazines – a substantial pile from the 1930s and 1940s. Right through the 1930s the magazine regularly carried a photograph of pretty villages in GW territory; places like Polperro, Noss Mayo (where my great-great-grandmother was born in 1825 – see 1964 Part 53), Widecombe-in-the-Moor, Tintern and Wells Cathedral. The last photo at Wells was taken by one F.R. Winstone, who was a regular contributor. Indeed I thought he might even be on the payroll of the railway, so regular were his photographs in the magazine.
Frank R Winstone was born on 3 September 1909 at Bedminster, Bristol BS3 4QT close to Victoria Park. His father had a menswear shop in East Street, Bedminster BS3 4HH and the young Frank joined him in the shop when he left school. Frank's real interest was in photography which he had started at school, which became his passion and his full-time occupation in 1937. In 1939 he is living at St. Agnes Avenue, Bedminster BS4 2DU, but in a directory of 1938 he has an address at St. James Street, Mangotsfield BS16 9HE which may have been a photography shop and portrait studio. During the war he served in the photographic section of the Royal Air Force. After the war he resumed his career as a freelance photographer and was quite obviously successful as he, wife and child moved to a smart new house in Hyland Grove, Henbury BS9 3NR. Frank's mission in life was to collect photos of Old Bristol, to take record photos of Bristol landmarks; and to give lantern and later slide shows of Bristol. In 1957 he published his first book of vanished scenes and some authorities would give him credit as inventing the genre. A total of 37 books of his photos were published but some were put together by his son John (born 1944) from Frank's extensive archive of 43,427 photographs. His middle name was Reece (his mother's maiden name) and after 1945 he used the name Reece Winstone. Bristol's history is very well recorded photographically thanks to Reece Winstone who was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Photographic Society as a result; and his books were very popular with the first one, published in 1957, selling 20,000 copies.
If one types Reece Winstone author into Ebay books dozens of results show up with the books still commanding good prices considering the numbers printed. The last image today shows one of Reece Winstone's photographs for the GWR Magazine. When I saw it for the first time the picture entranced me as representing the GWR, and the beautiful territory it served, in the 1930s when the railway was at the height of its zenith. In 1960 it was only 20 years since the 1930s came to an abrupt end with WW2. It has only taken me 66 years to find a use for that picture and bring it to a wider audience. In 1960 it was only 12 years since nationalisation and some rural lines were still the same as in the 1930s, with the same GWR engines, the same GWR coaches, and even some of the same GWR staff operating the trains as pre-war. A good example is the Plymouth to Tavistock and Launceston Branch. The Editor of the GWR Magazine in the 1930s must have liked the River Yealm, near Plymouth, because three photos appeared in the 1930s under the heading Great Western Territory and the three are attached to this article.
Noss Mayo from the July 1931 Magazine. This view is looking north from Noss Mayo to its twin village of Newton Ferrers on the opposite side of the River Yealm. In the centre is The Dolphin Inn where my father's uncle (William Charles Roach 1878-1962) was the publican in 1911. Later he was the ferryman operating a rowing boat when the causeway between the two villages was covered by the tide. Above the chimney at the left end of the Inn and on the opposite side of the road is the small cottage where William's son Leslie (the village postman) lived with his family and where my mother and I lived when I was a baby. No copyright
The River Yealm from the June 1935 Magazine. This view shows the River Yealm; open sea to the left; and Newton and Noss to the right. Directly ahead and two miles away up the creek was Steer Point railway station on the Yealmpton Branch. There was a landing stage alongside the station from where a ferry sometimes connected with trains and ran to Newton and Noss. The line closed to passengers in 1930. More in Alan Kittridge's book ISBN 0906294541 No copyright
Noss Mayo from the September 1936 Magazine. No copyright
From the June 1940 Magazine is taken this nicely composed view by F.R. Winstone, who would have taken the photo before 3 September 1939 since private photography of railways was banned during the war. The train is heading north and just starting to curve around to Bathampton Junction and the village on the horizon is Bathford. The tree is quite unusual and has not yet been identified; being very tall with few branches and the main trunk covered in ivy at the bottom. This photo was one of very few in the series that actually showed a railway line. No copyright
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 108
Bathampton and Bathford (2)
Guy Vincent and Michael Roach
This instalment has a guest contributor – without him it would not have been possible. The CRS website is very lucky to have regular contributors from many parts of Britain; thank you Guy.
The railway franchise for the provision of express passenger trains from London to Southwest England, South Wales and the Cotswolds was awarded to Great Western Trains starting in 1996. Through changes of name, extent and types of trains FirstGroup has continued to operate the trains for 30 years. Compared to some of its peers on the ECML and WCML that is nothing short of a miracle and is to be applauded. But the GWR franchise will come to an end later this present year, 2026. It was on Friday 8 May 2026 that the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, had exercised her right to issue an expiry notice to GWR, confirming its contract with the Department of Transport would end on 13 December 2026, at which point services would transfer into public ownership.
The territory that the present GWR franchise trains pass through en-route is pleasant countryside in every single county that the franchise serves; i.e about 20 counties. The same comments about the pleasant countryside also applied to the original GWR from the day the first length opened in 1838 to the Grouping of 1922-3. In the last instalment (Part 107) were four images of “Great Western Countryside” taken from the pages of the GWR's own magazine of the 1930s. The last of the four images was taken a short distance from Bathampton Junction, east of Bath by F.R. (Reece) Winstone a professional photographer, and is repeated here. The photograph showcased the lovely countryside of the Avon Valley between Bath and Limpley Stoke where roads, railway and the canal share the valley. I never managed to visit the area other than to pass through on a train a couple of times.
While writing to one of the website's regular contributors I asked him if he would like to visit the location and record what it looks like in 2026 some 87 years after the original was taken. Guy Vincent of Westbury rose to the challenge in May 2026 and I am very grateful to Guy for taking the photos that accompany this article. All the photos were taken on 1 May 2026. Guy's notes on his visit recorded the following facts. He stood on the towpath of the Kennet and Avon Canal about half a mile south of Bathampton to take the photos. The church tower is that of St. Swithun which is the Parish Church of Bathford. St. Swithun was the Bishop of Winchester from 800 to 862. On the far side of the tracks is a timber GWR p'way hut totally hidden by ivy for many years. This was one of the few lengths where the vegetation has been cleared and that the line-side can be clearly seen as the line is generally quite overgrown with vegetation around here. There was no sign of the tall tree in the 1939 photograph. Guy concluded with the comment that his visit to this location was a most worthwhile adventure.
The railway franchise for the provision of express passenger trains from London to Southwest England, South Wales and the Cotswolds was awarded to Great Western Trains starting in 1996. Through changes of name, extent and types of trains FirstGroup has continued to operate the trains for 30 years. Compared to some of its peers on the ECML and WCML that is nothing short of a miracle and is to be applauded. But the GWR franchise will come to an end later this present year, 2026. It was on Friday 8 May 2026 that the Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, had exercised her right to issue an expiry notice to GWR, confirming its contract with the Department of Transport would end on 13 December 2026, at which point services would transfer into public ownership.
The territory that the present GWR franchise trains pass through en-route is pleasant countryside in every single county that the franchise serves; i.e about 20 counties. The same comments about the pleasant countryside also applied to the original GWR from the day the first length opened in 1838 to the Grouping of 1922-3. In the last instalment (Part 107) were four images of “Great Western Countryside” taken from the pages of the GWR's own magazine of the 1930s. The last of the four images was taken a short distance from Bathampton Junction, east of Bath by F.R. (Reece) Winstone a professional photographer, and is repeated here. The photograph showcased the lovely countryside of the Avon Valley between Bath and Limpley Stoke where roads, railway and the canal share the valley. I never managed to visit the area other than to pass through on a train a couple of times.
While writing to one of the website's regular contributors I asked him if he would like to visit the location and record what it looks like in 2026 some 87 years after the original was taken. Guy Vincent of Westbury rose to the challenge in May 2026 and I am very grateful to Guy for taking the photos that accompany this article. All the photos were taken on 1 May 2026. Guy's notes on his visit recorded the following facts. He stood on the towpath of the Kennet and Avon Canal about half a mile south of Bathampton to take the photos. The church tower is that of St. Swithun which is the Parish Church of Bathford. St. Swithun was the Bishop of Winchester from 800 to 862. On the far side of the tracks is a timber GWR p'way hut totally hidden by ivy for many years. This was one of the few lengths where the vegetation has been cleared and that the line-side can be clearly seen as the line is generally quite overgrown with vegetation around here. There was no sign of the tall tree in the 1939 photograph. Guy concluded with the comment that his visit to this location was a most worthwhile adventure.
From the June 1940 GWR Magazine is taken this nicely composed view by F.R. Winstone, who would have taken the photo before 3 September 1939 since private photography of railways was banned during the war. The tree is quite unusual and has not yet been identified; being very tall with few branches and the main trunk covered in ivy at the bottom. No copyright
The Google Earth view of the Bathampton – Bathford area with Guy's location on the canal towpath indicated by a blue dot. No copyright
GWR 3-car Turbo 16621 working the 10.23 Portsmouth Harbour to Cardiff Central passes at 12.38. Copyright Guy Vincent.
Two GWR class 158s 765 and 760 unusually worked 2E62 the 12.04 Westbury to Gloucester local train which had replaced a 3-car Turbo, seen at 12.45. Copyright Guy Vincent.
Freightliner 66610 and failed 59103 head south from Bathampton Junction with the late running 6C79 the 09.58 Avonmouth to Whatley stone empties at 12.47. Copyright Guy Vincent.
Freightliner 66606 heads towards the junction at 12.53 with the 10.04 West Drayton Frays Siding to East Usk empty hoppers. Copyright Guy Vincent.
DB Cargo 67024 with the 1V80 09.47 London Victoria to Bath Spa Belmond British Pullman at 12.59. Copyright Guy Vincent.
The rear of the Pullman train showing the newly introduced carriage no. 99593 “Celia” which is a dining and events space for 12 guests refurbished from a 1932 Pullman coach. Copyright Guy Vincent.
GWR 2-car 158762 heads south on the 12.40 Bristol Temple Meads to Salisbury train at 13.05. Copyright Guy Vincent.
GWR 2-car Turbo set 165135 on the 12.12 Salisbury to Bristol Temple Meads heads to the junction at 13.08. Copyright Guy Vincent.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 109
BRECON ENGINE SHED
Michael L. Roach
I only visited Brecon Engine Shed once, while on a week's railway holiday in the area. I was staying at a B&B in Brecon and was at the shed between 8.50 and 9.00am before a day of photographing trains and stations to the east and south and later catching a train to Hereford and return. The date was Friday 7 September 1962. At the time there were only three classes of steam engine working all four routes out of Brecon; they were the GWR 5700-class pannier tanks a design dating from 1929, the GWR Collet 0-6-0 2251-class goods from 1930; and the LMS Ivatt 2MTs 2-6-0 dating from 1946. The Western Region built a batch of 25 of these Ivatt 2-6-0s numbered 46503 to 46527 at Swindon in about six months over the winter of 1952-53. The last three went new to Bristol SPM, while the first 22 went new to Oswestry Shed to replace the last of the 0-6-0 Dean Goods engines. The class became ever linked with the Mid-Wales route until it closed in 1962. They also worked from Brecon to Hereford, but never worked regularly from Brecon to Neath and Brecon to Newport. Swindon carried out comparative tests between the Ivatt 2-6-0s and the Dean Goods introduced 1883 and also rated 2MT by BR. Despite the 63 years between the designs the later engines were no great improvement except in one respect. The footplate men loved the tender cabs of the Ivatts, especially in winter, because on a couple of turns they worked tender first between Three Cocks Junction and Builth. On a sweltering hot summer day the men preferred the open cabs of the Collet 0-6-0 tender engines. For the last few years Brecon Shed had no engines allocated there and relied on engines provided by Oswestry Shed and Ebbw Junction, Newport Shed. This resulted in Ebbw Junction pannier tanks working into Neath regularly, via Brecon, which they would probably never have done along the South Wales Main Line. Although the Ivatts were perfectly suited to working passenger and freight trains along the Mid-Wales route, in preservation they have proved themselves quite capable of working eight or nine coaches along lines like the Severn Valley. Two of the Swindon batch entered preservation nos. 46512 and 46521.
The shed building at Brecon was built almost wholly of timber, and is believed to have been built in 1863 by Davies and Savin the contractors for the first 19 miles of the Brecon & Merthyr Railway to Pant (Dowlais) opened to passengers on 1 May 1863. The shed survived in daily use until the last day of passenger services 99 years later. I have no doubt that there were other timber engine sheds but most were small single-road sheds at the end of a branch line; and most were blown down, fell down, were consumed by fire, or replaced by a more permanent structure long before they reached 99 years old. Brecon Shed was a remarkable survivor. The engines on shed during my visit were:- 2218, 3201, 3714, 46510, 46514 and 46522. A short distance away from the shed was pannier tank 3764 shunting the goods yard.
The first passenger train to arrive at Brecon on a weekday in September 1962 was at 7.57am (from Builth Road), with a quick turn around it departed back to Builth Road at 8.15am. There were four morning passenger trains starting from Brecon for which the shed would have provided motive power. They were at 6.40am (ECS to Hay-on-Wye); 6.50am (Hereford); 7.35am (Newport); and 10.25am (Hereford). After that the motive power came mainly from arriving trains (9 in total) until 6.20pm and the last train of the day out of Brecon to Neath. The shed also had to find engines for two freight turns: first the 7.15am from Brecon Yard to Bassaleg Junction (Newport); then at 10.10am an engine and brake van departed for the ten minute run to Talyllyn Junction where on the far side of the triangle, on the goods only lines it would marshall a freight train for Merthyr departing at 10.50am. At the end of the day the engines arriving off passenger trains were at 5.25pm (from Moat Lane Junction); 5.56pm (Hereford); 9.11pm (Hereford) and 9.33pm (Newport); and off freight trains at 4.53pm or 8.15pm (from Moat Lane); and 7.32pm (LE from Talyllyn Junction). So there were six steam engines arriving at Brecon Shed between about 5.45pm and 9.45pm needing attention: fire cleaned out, smokebox emptied of char and bunkers topped up with coal at the primitive coaling stage believed to be 100 percent manual work. When all the day staff and footplatemen had departed for the night there would have been two men (probably) engaged overnight to undertake all these tasks, tend to the engines through the long night, and then at about 5.30am start building up the fires on six engines ready for the day's work ahead.
The final image dates from 6 September 1936 and was taken by the well-known Birmingham enthusiast W.A. Camwell. He caught the shed at an interesting time when there were GWR and ex-Cambrian and ex-Midland engines on shed. The LMS had inherited the Hereford to Three Cocks Junction line from the Midland at the grouping and the MR engines were in 1936 working the passenger trains between Hereford and Brecon and freight trains on to the Swansea area where the LMS had inherited a number of lines. Anyone interested in the LMS in South Wales (where the Company also inherited LNWR lines) may find this book interesting: ISBN 1 85902 671 0. The book explains the tortuous history of how the LNWR and the Midland Railway managed to infiltrate South Wales by means of acquisitions, joint lines and running powers.
Up until the end of 1930 the LMS had also operated through passenger trains from Hereford to Swansea but could not make them pay over such a long stopping train route which took 3 to 4 hours to complete. Passengers preferred to travel via Newport and the main lines, and the line passed mostly through thinly-populated countryside. William Camwell caught some interesting engines at Brecon Shed in 1936. The ex-Cambrian engines were 0-6-0 tender engines nos. 848 and 876 both withdrawn just after the end of the 1939-1945 war. 1531 was an ancient GWR Armstrong 0-6-0 pannier tank from 1879 withdrawn 12/49; 2760 was a Dean 0-6-0 pannier tank withdrawn 10/50. 2342, 2386, 2431 and 2435 were 0-6-0 Dean Goods tender engines which were the staple motive power on the line to Moat Lane Junction. The other three GWR engines were modern 0-6-0 pannier tanks.
Everything written so far in this article is about Brecon Shed; and the building had all the attributes of a steam engine shed. There were facilities for servicing steam engines, including dropping the fire, clearing char from the smokebox, watering and coaling etc, and most importantly parking the engines under cover should they need to be worked on; and yet one authority records the shed as being reduced to a mere stabling point in 1954. The various websites record slightly different dates but the shed code sequence according to Hugh Longworth's excellent book “BR Steam Locomotives, Complete Allocation History” was January 1948 BCN; January 1949 89B; January 1960 no code – sub-shed of Oswestry; January 1961 88K.
When the four routes out of Brecon closed to passengers later in 1962, and most of the track to freight as well nearly 300 BR employees lost their jobs. A few might have found employment with BR elsewhere in Britain but the vast majority of the 300 were made redundant.
The shed building at Brecon was built almost wholly of timber, and is believed to have been built in 1863 by Davies and Savin the contractors for the first 19 miles of the Brecon & Merthyr Railway to Pant (Dowlais) opened to passengers on 1 May 1863. The shed survived in daily use until the last day of passenger services 99 years later. I have no doubt that there were other timber engine sheds but most were small single-road sheds at the end of a branch line; and most were blown down, fell down, were consumed by fire, or replaced by a more permanent structure long before they reached 99 years old. Brecon Shed was a remarkable survivor. The engines on shed during my visit were:- 2218, 3201, 3714, 46510, 46514 and 46522. A short distance away from the shed was pannier tank 3764 shunting the goods yard.
The first passenger train to arrive at Brecon on a weekday in September 1962 was at 7.57am (from Builth Road), with a quick turn around it departed back to Builth Road at 8.15am. There were four morning passenger trains starting from Brecon for which the shed would have provided motive power. They were at 6.40am (ECS to Hay-on-Wye); 6.50am (Hereford); 7.35am (Newport); and 10.25am (Hereford). After that the motive power came mainly from arriving trains (9 in total) until 6.20pm and the last train of the day out of Brecon to Neath. The shed also had to find engines for two freight turns: first the 7.15am from Brecon Yard to Bassaleg Junction (Newport); then at 10.10am an engine and brake van departed for the ten minute run to Talyllyn Junction where on the far side of the triangle, on the goods only lines it would marshall a freight train for Merthyr departing at 10.50am. At the end of the day the engines arriving off passenger trains were at 5.25pm (from Moat Lane Junction); 5.56pm (Hereford); 9.11pm (Hereford) and 9.33pm (Newport); and off freight trains at 4.53pm or 8.15pm (from Moat Lane); and 7.32pm (LE from Talyllyn Junction). So there were six steam engines arriving at Brecon Shed between about 5.45pm and 9.45pm needing attention: fire cleaned out, smokebox emptied of char and bunkers topped up with coal at the primitive coaling stage believed to be 100 percent manual work. When all the day staff and footplatemen had departed for the night there would have been two men (probably) engaged overnight to undertake all these tasks, tend to the engines through the long night, and then at about 5.30am start building up the fires on six engines ready for the day's work ahead.
The final image dates from 6 September 1936 and was taken by the well-known Birmingham enthusiast W.A. Camwell. He caught the shed at an interesting time when there were GWR and ex-Cambrian and ex-Midland engines on shed. The LMS had inherited the Hereford to Three Cocks Junction line from the Midland at the grouping and the MR engines were in 1936 working the passenger trains between Hereford and Brecon and freight trains on to the Swansea area where the LMS had inherited a number of lines. Anyone interested in the LMS in South Wales (where the Company also inherited LNWR lines) may find this book interesting: ISBN 1 85902 671 0. The book explains the tortuous history of how the LNWR and the Midland Railway managed to infiltrate South Wales by means of acquisitions, joint lines and running powers.
Up until the end of 1930 the LMS had also operated through passenger trains from Hereford to Swansea but could not make them pay over such a long stopping train route which took 3 to 4 hours to complete. Passengers preferred to travel via Newport and the main lines, and the line passed mostly through thinly-populated countryside. William Camwell caught some interesting engines at Brecon Shed in 1936. The ex-Cambrian engines were 0-6-0 tender engines nos. 848 and 876 both withdrawn just after the end of the 1939-1945 war. 1531 was an ancient GWR Armstrong 0-6-0 pannier tank from 1879 withdrawn 12/49; 2760 was a Dean 0-6-0 pannier tank withdrawn 10/50. 2342, 2386, 2431 and 2435 were 0-6-0 Dean Goods tender engines which were the staple motive power on the line to Moat Lane Junction. The other three GWR engines were modern 0-6-0 pannier tanks.
Everything written so far in this article is about Brecon Shed; and the building had all the attributes of a steam engine shed. There were facilities for servicing steam engines, including dropping the fire, clearing char from the smokebox, watering and coaling etc, and most importantly parking the engines under cover should they need to be worked on; and yet one authority records the shed as being reduced to a mere stabling point in 1954. The various websites record slightly different dates but the shed code sequence according to Hugh Longworth's excellent book “BR Steam Locomotives, Complete Allocation History” was January 1948 BCN; January 1949 89B; January 1960 no code – sub-shed of Oswestry; January 1961 88K.
When the four routes out of Brecon closed to passengers later in 1962, and most of the track to freight as well nearly 300 BR employees lost their jobs. A few might have found employment with BR elsewhere in Britain but the vast majority of the 300 were made redundant.
GW Pannier 3714 of November 1936 peeps out of the 2-road shed at 8.50am on Friday 7 September 1962. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Another view of 3714. The engine went new to Ebbw Junction Shed, was still there at nationalisation and stayed there until withdrawn December 1963, a year after the Brecon to Newport line closed. This was quite unusual for an engine to spend the whole of its working life at just one shed. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Collet Goods 0-6-0 no. 3201 of 1946. The engine had given me a return trip to Newport the previous day on the 2.05pm off Brecon. The engine had been based at 9 different sheds (some twice) in its short life with the last one being Templecombe where it was withdrawn May 1965. Behind 3201 are 46510 and 46514 at the primitive coaling stage. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
3201 again; it can be seen that the engine has been kept in steam overnight and would again work the 2.05pm and the 7.07pm return train from Newport. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pannier 3764 of December 1937 shunts the thriving goods yard which was just west of the engine shed at a lower level. The engine was at Ebbw Junction Shed from August 1961 and withdrawn there the month after the line closed. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Collet Goods 2218 of June 1940 sits out of use just west of the shed; the goods yard is on the left. The engine had been at 86A Ebbw Junction since nationalisation and after the Brecon line closed was stored and then went to Westbury and Templecombe where it was withdrawn in November 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Pannier tank 9631 of 88D Merthyr Shed passes through Talyllyn Junction Station at 10.20am on Thursday 6 September 1962. This is the train described in the text and the WTT as “engine and brake van” due off Brecon at 10.10am. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
William Camwell's article describing his visit to Brecon Shed. No Copyright.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 110
Pontcysyllte Aqueduct
Michael L. Roach
I reached Llangollen in Parts 93, 95 and 102. As we leave Llangollen heading east our train from Barmouth bumped along the level for 1½ miles and then started getting higher and higher above the River Dee which was still close by but falling to the east. At 2 miles the train reached Sun Bank Halt, and at 4 miles Trevor Station where the line entered a highly industrialised area quite different to anything seen so far on the journey from Barmouth. If a passenger had looked out of the carriage window to the east as the train left Sun Bank he would have obtained a most wonderful view of a graceful bridge spanning the Dee Valley; but this was no ordinary bridge as it was the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct carrying the Llangollen Canal across the valley at a height of 126 feet on its way from the Horseshoe Falls. I sometimes wondered why the designers did not keep to the south side of the Dee Valley on the way to the Horseshoe Falls and thus avoid building the aqueduct at all. The reason is quite simple – when the aqueduct was built the destination was north to Wrexham and not west to Llangollen, but the money ran out and the route was shortened to save money and obtain a reliable source of water.
The aqueduct has 19 spans and 18 intermediate stone piers. The canal water is carried in a cast iron trough of manageable sized pieces bolted together to form a continuous channel. When the aqueduct was constructed in the 10 years between 1795 and 1805 there was no standard thread anywhere and the nuts and bolts would have been made to some local design. The first standard design of threaded bolt was that designed by Joseph Whitworth in 1841 which was the first national screw thread standard anywhere in the world. The aqueduct was designed by Thomas Telford and William Jessop and the castings were cast at Cefn Mawr (1 mile away) and Shrewsbury (25 miles away).
The Llangollen Canal is used, among other things, for the conveyance of drinking water. The water is abstracted from the River Dee at the Horseshoe Falls above Llangollen, and then flows along the canal across the aqueduct and a total of 46 miles to Hurleston Reservoir which was originally owned by the Shropshire Union Canal Company. Unusually the level of the water in the reservoir is lower than the canal, rather than above it to feed the canal; so the excess water flows over a side weir and into the reservoir. Hurleston Reservoir is one mile south-east of Barbridge Junction and about five miles west of Crewe railway station. The reservoir is capable of holding 85M gallons of water and the canal brings 12M gallons a day. Now that sounds a lot of water but in the aqueduct where the cross sectional area is a minimum, and known, that volume adds just one tenth of a metre per second to the velocity of the water in the canal needed to keep the locks filled when necessary.
At the south end of the aqueduct a boater rounds a bend and then they are straight on to the aqueduct; while at the north end is a junction with the Llangollen arm coming in from the west while just to the north is Pontcysyllte Basin and beyond the next road bridge a further basin. This once had five railway sidings where goods could be transhipped from the railway to the canal in a transfer shed and vice versa. The freight-only branch passed under the Ruabon to Barmouth line at Acrefair Station, but there was also a link to the line near Trevor Station, The line began life in 1802 as a horse tram-road to feed the canal and closed in 1963. The canal went on a short distance to the Plas Kynaston Chemical Works, later owned by Monsanto, the United States chemical giant. There is a website devoted to the area at: plaskynastoncanalgroup.org
The aqueduct, 11 miles of the canal and the countryside were made a World Heritage Site in 2009. In total there are 32 Listed Structures in the 11 miles, including another major aqueduct at Chirk and a tunnel. The WHS has its own website at: pontcysyllte-aqueduct.co.uk which even tells you to pronounce the name of the aqueduct. If you have already been to this location you will know just how magnificent the aqueduct is and how it is set in beautiful countryside; and if you have not been there yet you have a treat in store. This was, and is, a fascinating area for anyone interested in railways, canals, industrial history and archaeology, local history and geography. We will return to this area in due course.
The aqueduct has 19 spans and 18 intermediate stone piers. The canal water is carried in a cast iron trough of manageable sized pieces bolted together to form a continuous channel. When the aqueduct was constructed in the 10 years between 1795 and 1805 there was no standard thread anywhere and the nuts and bolts would have been made to some local design. The first standard design of threaded bolt was that designed by Joseph Whitworth in 1841 which was the first national screw thread standard anywhere in the world. The aqueduct was designed by Thomas Telford and William Jessop and the castings were cast at Cefn Mawr (1 mile away) and Shrewsbury (25 miles away).
The Llangollen Canal is used, among other things, for the conveyance of drinking water. The water is abstracted from the River Dee at the Horseshoe Falls above Llangollen, and then flows along the canal across the aqueduct and a total of 46 miles to Hurleston Reservoir which was originally owned by the Shropshire Union Canal Company. Unusually the level of the water in the reservoir is lower than the canal, rather than above it to feed the canal; so the excess water flows over a side weir and into the reservoir. Hurleston Reservoir is one mile south-east of Barbridge Junction and about five miles west of Crewe railway station. The reservoir is capable of holding 85M gallons of water and the canal brings 12M gallons a day. Now that sounds a lot of water but in the aqueduct where the cross sectional area is a minimum, and known, that volume adds just one tenth of a metre per second to the velocity of the water in the canal needed to keep the locks filled when necessary.
At the south end of the aqueduct a boater rounds a bend and then they are straight on to the aqueduct; while at the north end is a junction with the Llangollen arm coming in from the west while just to the north is Pontcysyllte Basin and beyond the next road bridge a further basin. This once had five railway sidings where goods could be transhipped from the railway to the canal in a transfer shed and vice versa. The freight-only branch passed under the Ruabon to Barmouth line at Acrefair Station, but there was also a link to the line near Trevor Station, The line began life in 1802 as a horse tram-road to feed the canal and closed in 1963. The canal went on a short distance to the Plas Kynaston Chemical Works, later owned by Monsanto, the United States chemical giant. There is a website devoted to the area at: plaskynastoncanalgroup.org
The aqueduct, 11 miles of the canal and the countryside were made a World Heritage Site in 2009. In total there are 32 Listed Structures in the 11 miles, including another major aqueduct at Chirk and a tunnel. The WHS has its own website at: pontcysyllte-aqueduct.co.uk which even tells you to pronounce the name of the aqueduct. If you have already been to this location you will know just how magnificent the aqueduct is and how it is set in beautiful countryside; and if you have not been there yet you have a treat in store. This was, and is, a fascinating area for anyone interested in railways, canals, industrial history and archaeology, local history and geography. We will return to this area in due course.
A small part of the main sign at the south end of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct on the morning of 24 May 2010. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A view north along the aqueduct. I wondered about the funny little kink in the stonework on the right, and then thought that it might be a design feature to remind boaters coming off the aqueduct to travel on the right of the waterway. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A view north along the west side of the aqueduct which is orientated north-south; there is no footway or fencing/handrail on this side. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A view north along the east side of the aqueduct showing how the various cast iron elements are bolted together. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A sign at the north end of the aqueduct on the evening of 24th May 2010. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A narrow boat heads south across the aqueduct filling the available width of the waterway which continues under the footway. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking north into the canal basin at the north end which was the start of the canal to Wrexham. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The abutment and the first span at the north end. Not only was the iron finely cast but the stonework was also well done. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 111
Brimscombe Station
Michael L. Roach
The station was built by the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway and opened on 1 June 1845. It lay 99¼ miles from Paddington, 22 miles from Swindon and 15 miles from Gloucester Central in the beautiful but heavily graded line through the Golden Valley. The GWR had another line called the Golden Valley between Pontrilas and Hay-on-Wye. Right alongside Brimscombe Station was the A419 main road, later widened when railway land became available. The station buildings were typical of Brunel wayside stations. There was a goods shed and later a small engine shed where banking engines were based to assist trains up the 1 in 75 bank to Sapperton Tunnel some 3½ miles away. In 1961 there were 21 positions at Brimscombe Shed for drivers, firemen and cleaners, but some could not be filled; and they worked seven banking turns. The shed closed on and from 28 October 1963. For the last few years the banking engines would have been mostly large prairie tanks in the 4100 and 5100 series. At the time there were a lot of coal trains travelling from South Wales to London and to the South Coast, via Salisbury, with some coming via Gloucester to ease congestion in the Severn Tunnel. There was a loop and a couple of sidings. Alongside the railway was the Thames and Severn Canal which was marked disused on the 1936/38 25-inch OS. A short distance away on the canal was an interesting milestone saying Wallbridge 3 and Inglesham 25¾, which meant nothing to me at first.
I only stood on the platform at Brimscombe Station just once, and that was on Monday 12 October 1964 just three weeks before the station closed to passengers and completely – it had already closed to goods. I also passed through on one of the last trains on the last day of passenger services, Saturday 31 October 1964 but took no photos because it was dark by the time I got there, as I had already been to two other lines closing to passengers the same day.
I finish the images with two that have nothing to do with Brimscombe, but are interesting. The first records some interesting figures for the Western Region in 1980; while the second shows a trolleybus; a first for these pages. I lived in Cardiff for a few months in the autumn of 1960 when the trolleybuses were still running. The system closed in 1970. Was I impressed by the system – no, the trolleybuses were too quiet for my liking and they de-wired too often. The trolleybus in the photo is preserved at the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville near Lowestoft, one of 17 homed there. There are also trams and motor buses in the museum which is well worth visiting. The trolleybus came from Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, where the system was one of the smaller ones with 5 routes and a maximum of 19 trolleybuses at any one time. For comparison the adjacent Manchester system had a maximum of 189 trolleybuses. This is not the Ashton in the news recently which is on the other side of Manchester.
I only stood on the platform at Brimscombe Station just once, and that was on Monday 12 October 1964 just three weeks before the station closed to passengers and completely – it had already closed to goods. I also passed through on one of the last trains on the last day of passenger services, Saturday 31 October 1964 but took no photos because it was dark by the time I got there, as I had already been to two other lines closing to passengers the same day.
I finish the images with two that have nothing to do with Brimscombe, but are interesting. The first records some interesting figures for the Western Region in 1980; while the second shows a trolleybus; a first for these pages. I lived in Cardiff for a few months in the autumn of 1960 when the trolleybuses were still running. The system closed in 1970. Was I impressed by the system – no, the trolleybuses were too quiet for my liking and they de-wired too often. The trolleybus in the photo is preserved at the East Anglia Transport Museum at Carlton Colville near Lowestoft, one of 17 homed there. There are also trams and motor buses in the museum which is well worth visiting. The trolleybus came from Ashton-under-Lyne in Greater Manchester, where the system was one of the smaller ones with 5 routes and a maximum of 19 trolleybuses at any one time. For comparison the adjacent Manchester system had a maximum of 189 trolleybuses. This is not the Ashton in the news recently which is on the other side of Manchester.
Collett Hall 6955 Lydcott Hall of Severn Tunnel Junction Shed waits in the loop at Brimscombe with a freight train for the auto-train to pass before coming out onto the mainline on 12 October 1964. The engine was withdrawn four months later in early February 1965. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Brimscombe looking west towards Stroud and Gloucester showing the delightful Brunellian wayside station buildings, later demolished. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Brimscombe looking east also showing the footbridge and the small engine shed beyond. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The auto to Chalford arrives at Brimscombe behind 0-4-2 tank 1458 which was also in use on the last day of passenger services. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The auto-train departs past the disused engine shed. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
6955 leaves the loop to attack the bank without a banker from memory. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A fact sheet about the Western Region dated 1980; with some interesting facts.
Here we see BUT trolleybus YTE 826 no. 87 in the Ashton-under-Lyne fleet, dating from 1956. The destination box on the front showed 218 Stalybridge via Openshaw on the day of our visit which was 10 August 1991. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 112
The Coronation of May 1937
Michael L. Roach
Mention “Kings” to any Great Western enthusiast and he will think of the Collett 4-6-0 express steam engines of 1927, but of course they were named after real people who happened to be the Kings of England and the British Empire over the years.
In November 1936 King Edward VIII made a visit to Wales using the Great Western Railway main line from Paddington to Cardiff. The special train was in the personal charge of Mr. Frank Potter, the Superintendent of the line, and departed Paddington on Wednesday 18 November at 12.55am just ahead of the ordinary passenger train at the same time. The train of six coaches was appropriately hauled by 5056 Ogmore Castle. The special arrived at Llantwit Major on time at 5.35am, and was berthed in one of the goods sidings. It was a perfect autumn morning with blue sky and brilliant sunshine.
The first scan shows King Edward VIII alighting from the Royal Train in the goods yard of Llantwit Major Station. The station is on the Vale of Glamorgan line from Barry to Bridgend. Just three weeks after his visit to Wales Edward VIII abdicated and as he had no children the title passed to his younger brother Albert Frederick Arthur George who took the regnal name George VI. In many ways George was a very reluctant King. He was a shy private man with a stammer who never expected, or wished, to be King, but he carried out his duties to the best of his abilities. He was the great-grandson of Queen Victoria and the father of two daughters, one of whom would become Queen Elizabeth II on the death of King George VI at the early age of 57 years in 1952. He had married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923 and was crowned King at a Coronation on 12 May 1937.
The 1937 Coronation was a time of great celebration and the Great Western Railway rose to the challenge of moving thousands of people into London on the day by normal trains and special excursion trains which started out the evening before from all parts of the system. In all there were special trains from 25 locations, with some surprising starting points e,g Aberdare and Treherbert, and some surprising omissions e.g. Weymouth, and Paignton/Torquay. Having said that many of the stations beyond the starting points of the special trains sold tickets for the specials using connecting local trains. The second scan shows the handbill of the times and prices for the special starting at Plymouth on the evening of Tuesday 11 May 1937. The special started from Millbay at 10.00pm on the Tuesday and picked up at Plympton, Ivybridge, Brent and Totnes, and was due to arrive at Paddington at 3.15am on the morning of Coronation Day. The return special departed Paddington 23 hours later at 2.15am on the Thursday and was due to arrive Millbay at 7.40am. Further details can be see on the attached scan of the Plymouth pamphlet. The fare from Plymouth was 17 shillings and 6 pence (87½ p) at a time when the weekly wage for a tradesman was just a few pounds a week. For comparison the third class return fare from Plymouth to Paddington in Summer 1938 was 39/8 (nearly £2). The pound has lost 99 percent of its value since 1937.
The BBC covered the Coronation of 1937 with a live outside broadcast – it was their very first outside broadcast ever. Other notable events of the year were Neville Chamberlain becoming Prime Minister later the same month as the Coronation and Frank Whittle ground-testing the world's first jet engine in April 1937. On 10 December 1937 there was a serious rail crash in Scotland when an express ran into the back of a local train at Castlecary Station in falling snow; and there was a second accident at Castlecary on 9 September 1968.
In November 1936 King Edward VIII made a visit to Wales using the Great Western Railway main line from Paddington to Cardiff. The special train was in the personal charge of Mr. Frank Potter, the Superintendent of the line, and departed Paddington on Wednesday 18 November at 12.55am just ahead of the ordinary passenger train at the same time. The train of six coaches was appropriately hauled by 5056 Ogmore Castle. The special arrived at Llantwit Major on time at 5.35am, and was berthed in one of the goods sidings. It was a perfect autumn morning with blue sky and brilliant sunshine.
The first scan shows King Edward VIII alighting from the Royal Train in the goods yard of Llantwit Major Station. The station is on the Vale of Glamorgan line from Barry to Bridgend. Just three weeks after his visit to Wales Edward VIII abdicated and as he had no children the title passed to his younger brother Albert Frederick Arthur George who took the regnal name George VI. In many ways George was a very reluctant King. He was a shy private man with a stammer who never expected, or wished, to be King, but he carried out his duties to the best of his abilities. He was the great-grandson of Queen Victoria and the father of two daughters, one of whom would become Queen Elizabeth II on the death of King George VI at the early age of 57 years in 1952. He had married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923 and was crowned King at a Coronation on 12 May 1937.
The 1937 Coronation was a time of great celebration and the Great Western Railway rose to the challenge of moving thousands of people into London on the day by normal trains and special excursion trains which started out the evening before from all parts of the system. In all there were special trains from 25 locations, with some surprising starting points e,g Aberdare and Treherbert, and some surprising omissions e.g. Weymouth, and Paignton/Torquay. Having said that many of the stations beyond the starting points of the special trains sold tickets for the specials using connecting local trains. The second scan shows the handbill of the times and prices for the special starting at Plymouth on the evening of Tuesday 11 May 1937. The special started from Millbay at 10.00pm on the Tuesday and picked up at Plympton, Ivybridge, Brent and Totnes, and was due to arrive at Paddington at 3.15am on the morning of Coronation Day. The return special departed Paddington 23 hours later at 2.15am on the Thursday and was due to arrive Millbay at 7.40am. Further details can be see on the attached scan of the Plymouth pamphlet. The fare from Plymouth was 17 shillings and 6 pence (87½ p) at a time when the weekly wage for a tradesman was just a few pounds a week. For comparison the third class return fare from Plymouth to Paddington in Summer 1938 was 39/8 (nearly £2). The pound has lost 99 percent of its value since 1937.
The BBC covered the Coronation of 1937 with a live outside broadcast – it was their very first outside broadcast ever. Other notable events of the year were Neville Chamberlain becoming Prime Minister later the same month as the Coronation and Frank Whittle ground-testing the world's first jet engine in April 1937. On 10 December 1937 there was a serious rail crash in Scotland when an express ran into the back of a local train at Castlecary Station in falling snow; and there was a second accident at Castlecary on 9 September 1968.
King Edward VIII alights from his sleeping car in the goods yard at Llantwit Major Station on the Vale of Glamorgan line.
Scan of the GWR handbill printed for the special train starting from Plymouth Millbay.
Article from the April 1937 Magazine.
Cover of the May 1937 Magazine
Article from the May 1937 (click for enlargements)
Article from the July 1937 Magazine (click for enlargements)
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 113
Ruabon Station
Michael L. Roach
And so we arrive at Ruabon in our words and photos journey from Barmouth to Ruabon on Saturday 4 July 2026 – 62 years after the real trip took place on Saturday 4 July 1964. I was travelling on the 12.45pm local train from Pwllheli, joining the train at Barmouth. The train ran every day Monday to Saturday and was not a Saturday holiday train, but left Barmouth at a different time on Saturdays Only, 2.18 instead of 2.35pm and went to Wrexham SO rather than Birkenhead, Monday to Fridays. The train arrived late from Pwllheli but was in no hurry to leave and eventually departed 24L but still arrived 1E at Ruabon so easy was the schedule.; indeed the train was already on time at Cynwyd (38½ miles) see Table 83 attached. The load was 3C hauled by BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0 no. 75026 of 6C Croes Newydd Shed. When the line closed it was transferred to 8K Bank Hall Shed, but for the first two years after construction at Swindon it was based at Laira Shed, Plymouth. Five members of the class went new to Laira 75025-29, and two of that batch remain in preservation 75027 and 75029.
Ruabon opened on 4 November 1846 as a temporary terminus of the line from Chester, it became a through station two years later on 12 October 1848. The line and station were constructed by the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway, with the Barmouth line diverging from the main line at Llangollen Line Junction 54 chains south of Ruabon Station. The Shrewsbury and Chester was taken over by the GWR in 1854, and it brought to the GWR its first narrow gauge engines. The station is still open but downgraded to an unstaffed halt. In 2024-25 the station dealt with 117,000 passengers which sounds good for a population of just 4,450. It is convenient for reaching Wrexham (5 miles) in just 6 minutes and Chester (17 miles) in just 25 minutes.
Ruabon opened on 4 November 1846 as a temporary terminus of the line from Chester, it became a through station two years later on 12 October 1848. The line and station were constructed by the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway, with the Barmouth line diverging from the main line at Llangollen Line Junction 54 chains south of Ruabon Station. The Shrewsbury and Chester was taken over by the GWR in 1854, and it brought to the GWR its first narrow gauge engines. The station is still open but downgraded to an unstaffed halt. In 2024-25 the station dealt with 117,000 passengers which sounds good for a population of just 4,450. It is convenient for reaching Wrexham (5 miles) in just 6 minutes and Chester (17 miles) in just 25 minutes.
Table 83 from the Summer 1964 LMR timetable, showing my train from Barmouth.
My train stands at the branch platform at Ruabon on the outward journey waiting to depart at 11.00am on Saturday 4 July 1964. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
A closer view of BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0 no. 75006 of Croes Newydd Shed, 6C at the time. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
I have just alighted from the train on the left which is heading north to Wrexham General. The train on the right had arrived several minutes earlier from Wrexham General. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
75021 leaves Ruabon at 5.21pm with the 4.55pm From Wrexham General, some 11L The train was due to arrive Pwllheli at 8.43pm. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 114
Open Windows
Michael L. Roach
This instalment presented itself after coming across a series of photographs taken “out the window” when that was still possible. I started standing at the drop-down window of a railway carriage at a very tender age on my first rail trip from Plymouth to Bristol in 1953. Sixty years later in 2013, when these photos were taken, the writing was on the wall for drop-down windows and the 125 HSTs. Indeed the HST Mark 3 coaches (built 1975 to 1988) were one of the last large fleets of railway coaches with drop-down windows and external door handles. It meant that the windows were often left open with the wind gushing in rather nullifying the air conditioning in the depths of winter and the height of summer. In steam days the act of standing at the window was to watch the progress of the train. I would usually stand at the first window of the first coach to watch, and listen, to the engine and engine men; but on particularly curvaceous routes I would stand at the last window of the last coach sometimes to watch the train snaking its way around the curves.
A startling incident from around the same time when the HST coaches had been fitted with central locking (which did not last long) but still had their original Beclawat drop-down windows. The firm still exists with their principal product being windows for ships. I was sat in the last coach of an HST at Penzance Station as it was about to depart for Paddington on the platform side of Platform 1, ready to view St. Michaels Mount as the train passed. I heard the beep-beep as the conductor signalled to the driver to depart, and the train set off slowly at first before starting to accelerate. A youngish man came running up the platform carrying a holdall and tried the first door available for passengers which was locked of course and all just a couple of metres in front of me. Most of us would have given up at that point, but not this foolish character. The window was right down, so he threw his holdall through the open window while still running alongside the moving train, stepped onto the running board and proceeded to climb through the open window headfirst. Quite unbelievable to watch. The conductor was obviously watching and stopped the train with the rear power car only halfway up the platform; came through the train to find the culprit who was easily identified by his hold all; and the man was ejected from the train to await the next one. Quite right too.
Knowing that drop down windows would soon disappear for good I set out this day to take some of the more interesting features of the Cornish main line “out the window.” The date was Thursday 12 September 2013 and the train was the 16.00 Penzance to London. It was one of those trips in a short window of years when we travelled first class, which explains why I am photographing from the first carriage as First Class was normally marshalled at the London end of the HST.
A startling incident from around the same time when the HST coaches had been fitted with central locking (which did not last long) but still had their original Beclawat drop-down windows. The firm still exists with their principal product being windows for ships. I was sat in the last coach of an HST at Penzance Station as it was about to depart for Paddington on the platform side of Platform 1, ready to view St. Michaels Mount as the train passed. I heard the beep-beep as the conductor signalled to the driver to depart, and the train set off slowly at first before starting to accelerate. A youngish man came running up the platform carrying a holdall and tried the first door available for passengers which was locked of course and all just a couple of metres in front of me. Most of us would have given up at that point, but not this foolish character. The window was right down, so he threw his holdall through the open window while still running alongside the moving train, stepped onto the running board and proceeded to climb through the open window headfirst. Quite unbelievable to watch. The conductor was obviously watching and stopped the train with the rear power car only halfway up the platform; came through the train to find the culprit who was easily identified by his hold all; and the man was ejected from the train to await the next one. Quite right too.
Knowing that drop down windows would soon disappear for good I set out this day to take some of the more interesting features of the Cornish main line “out the window.” The date was Thursday 12 September 2013 and the train was the 16.00 Penzance to London. It was one of those trips in a short window of years when we travelled first class, which explains why I am photographing from the first carriage as First Class was normally marshalled at the London end of the HST.
Looking down the Fowey Branch at Lostwithiel. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The connection to the goods yard at Lostwithiel. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The goods yard was very overgrown in 2013. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The train is about to pass the bracket signal controlling entry to the up goods loop at Lostwithiel, north of the station and level crossing. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
Looking back at the exit from the down goods loop and the signal box at Lostwithiel. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The signal box at Liskeard which dates from 1915 and is a GW Type 27c. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
The FGW “Welcome to Cornwall” sign on the down platform at Saltash Station. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
In 2013 the Royal Albert Bridge was in the middle of a painting programme lasting several years. I do admire the scaffolders who erect and move this maze of tubes. Copyright Michael L. Roach.
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 115
The King's Visit to Portland in 1936
Michael L. Roach
King Edward VIII was King of England for just 326 days in 1936, from 20 January to 10 December that year. He inherited the title from his father, being the eldest son, upon his father's death on Monday 20 January 1936. His father was George V who reigned for 26 years from 1910 to 1936. We read a little about Edward VIII in Part 112 when he paid a visit by train to South Wales to visit the “Special Areas.” This was a government initiative to regenerate depressed areas (nothing new there). A few weeks earlier Edward VIII had paid a visit to Portland in Dorset, also by train, because it was the natural way for the monarch to travel any distance up until then, although air travel was just starting to creep in. The King chose to travel by the Great Western route via Westbury, Yeovil and Weymouth. I don't get a chance to mention Portland in these columns very often so it is a good chance to recount the details of his outward journey from Paddington to Portland.
The route branches off the main line to Penzance at Castle Cary and then passes through Yeovil Pen Mill, Maiden Newton and Dorchester to Weymouth and Portland. The route was then double track all the way, but has long ago been singled from Castle Cary to Dorchester – a distance of 32 miles. I was a bit surprised to find that even the quieter part of the route from Castle Cary to Maiden Newton was open all night in 1936 six days a week only closing overnight Sunday – Monday. A Service Timetable for 1932 shows a number of freight trains grinding their way up to the summit at Yetminster Tunnel, such as 1.05am Bristol to Weymouth goods train; the 10.50pm (previous day) Paddington to Weymouth goods, which passed through Yeovil PM while the 1.05 Bristol was there shunting. In the other direction; the 12.20am Weymouth to Bristol goods train; the 4.30am Weymouth to Bristol goods train; the return Paddington goods departed Weymouth at 6.35pm; and there was also a milk train to Paddington at 3.55pm.
The following times come from the public passenger timetable for Summer 1932 and the service timetable for Area 3 which is Reading to Taunton and Thingley Junction to Weymouth also for Summer 1932. The last down passenger train was the 10.20pm Yeovil (Pen Mill) to Weymouth (arr. 11.15pm) and the first down train next day the 6.00am Dorchester to Portland, with the first longer distance train being the 6.00am from Bristol TM due Weymouth Town at 9.10am. Although the line was open continuously except for Sunday night – Monday morning, many of the boxes were switched out and others closed for a short period in the middle of the night e.g Evershot Box closed 3.00am to 5.30am/6.00am Mondays; leaving some very long sections. The reader can work out how long from the scan of the signal box list attached. Northbound freight trains were often banked up the 4-mile climb at 1 in 51 from Maiden Newton to Evershot. It can be seen that there was plenty of time to fit in the King's train during the night.
The King and his entourage travelled to Portland in four coaches which included a sleeping car and a dining saloon. It was the King's express wish that his rail journeys to both Wales and Portland be made as informal as possible. To that end the King's 4C were attached to the rear of the Paddington to Penzance newspaper and parcels train early on the morning of Thursday 12 November 1936. This left Paddington hauled by King-class engine 6029 “King Edward VIII” at 12.50am. At Westbury the 4C were detached and worked forward as a private special train leaving at 2.33am, and passing Yeovil PM around 3.10 to 3.15 am, before either of the down freight trains were due there. The train arrived at Portland at 4.20am where it was berthed in the goods yard, with the train engine kept on the train to provide steam heating. The train engine was not recorded but could have been one of Westbury's small number of Hall-class engines or a Churchward Mogul of which Westbury Shed had several examples
Sometimes a story like this remains half-written or just an idea for months, or even years. The thing that prompts the completion of such an article is often some barely connected or external occurrence. In this case it was the purchase, on Ebay, on 28 June 2026 of a GWR Service Timetable (i.e. WTT) from the 1930s covering Area 3 which is Reading to Taunton and Weymouth. This would tell me whether the line was open all night; the freight trains running through the night; and the opening hours for the signal boxes along the line. In the case of this article I was particularly interested in the 39 miles from Castle Cary to Weymouth.
The GWR Magazine recorded the King's trip to Portland in the following words in the December 1936 issue:
Last month the Great Western Railway was privileged to convey His Majesty King Edward VIII by rail from Paddington to Portland for the review of the Home Fleet, and to South Wales for his tour of the Special Areas. At His Majesty's request both journeys were made as informal as possible, and the Great Western Railway Company's ordinary rolling stock was used. In the case of the South Wales tour, the train was made the Royal headquarters during the two-day visit. The trains on both the journeys were in the charge of Mr. F.R. Potter, Superintendent of the Line.
Each of the Royal visits started with a night journey from Paddington station. For the Portland visit, four coaches, including a sleeping car and a dining saloon, were attached to the rear of the 12.50am Paddington to Penzance newspaper and parcels train on Thursday 12 November 1936 and the train was run as far as Westbury as a passenger train, drawn by the locomotive “King Edward VIII” (No. 6029).
At Westbury the four coaches were detached, and at 2.33am they were worked forward as a private special train. Portland was reached at 4.20am, and here the coaches were berthed in the goods yard. The engine was kept attached to the coaches to maintain the steam heating. Shortly after 9.00am the coaches were drawn to the down platform where the King, who had breakfasted in the saloon, alighted for the civic reception.
The return journey was made on Friday 13 November 1936. The coaches were attached next the engine of the 2.30pm ordinary passenger train from Weymouth, and at Westbury were transferred to a similar position on the 11.10am from Penzance to Paddington, which train made a special stop at Slough to enable the King to alight there. Teas was served on the journey.
POSTSCRIPT
It was interesting to read in Latest Input on Wednesday (15.07.2026) of Alan Peters move to Paddington for a short while in 2011. The GWR made similar staff moves in the 1930s when there was peak demand at some coastal sheds with drivers and firemen wishing to take their holidays with their children at a time when there were extra summer-dated trains to be run. In the Great Western's case the footplatemen came from sheds in the Valleys of South Wales and were sent to sheds like Weymouth for six to eight weeks, The men could be spared because of reduced demand for coal in summer.
The route branches off the main line to Penzance at Castle Cary and then passes through Yeovil Pen Mill, Maiden Newton and Dorchester to Weymouth and Portland. The route was then double track all the way, but has long ago been singled from Castle Cary to Dorchester – a distance of 32 miles. I was a bit surprised to find that even the quieter part of the route from Castle Cary to Maiden Newton was open all night in 1936 six days a week only closing overnight Sunday – Monday. A Service Timetable for 1932 shows a number of freight trains grinding their way up to the summit at Yetminster Tunnel, such as 1.05am Bristol to Weymouth goods train; the 10.50pm (previous day) Paddington to Weymouth goods, which passed through Yeovil PM while the 1.05 Bristol was there shunting. In the other direction; the 12.20am Weymouth to Bristol goods train; the 4.30am Weymouth to Bristol goods train; the return Paddington goods departed Weymouth at 6.35pm; and there was also a milk train to Paddington at 3.55pm.
The following times come from the public passenger timetable for Summer 1932 and the service timetable for Area 3 which is Reading to Taunton and Thingley Junction to Weymouth also for Summer 1932. The last down passenger train was the 10.20pm Yeovil (Pen Mill) to Weymouth (arr. 11.15pm) and the first down train next day the 6.00am Dorchester to Portland, with the first longer distance train being the 6.00am from Bristol TM due Weymouth Town at 9.10am. Although the line was open continuously except for Sunday night – Monday morning, many of the boxes were switched out and others closed for a short period in the middle of the night e.g Evershot Box closed 3.00am to 5.30am/6.00am Mondays; leaving some very long sections. The reader can work out how long from the scan of the signal box list attached. Northbound freight trains were often banked up the 4-mile climb at 1 in 51 from Maiden Newton to Evershot. It can be seen that there was plenty of time to fit in the King's train during the night.
The King and his entourage travelled to Portland in four coaches which included a sleeping car and a dining saloon. It was the King's express wish that his rail journeys to both Wales and Portland be made as informal as possible. To that end the King's 4C were attached to the rear of the Paddington to Penzance newspaper and parcels train early on the morning of Thursday 12 November 1936. This left Paddington hauled by King-class engine 6029 “King Edward VIII” at 12.50am. At Westbury the 4C were detached and worked forward as a private special train leaving at 2.33am, and passing Yeovil PM around 3.10 to 3.15 am, before either of the down freight trains were due there. The train arrived at Portland at 4.20am where it was berthed in the goods yard, with the train engine kept on the train to provide steam heating. The train engine was not recorded but could have been one of Westbury's small number of Hall-class engines or a Churchward Mogul of which Westbury Shed had several examples
Sometimes a story like this remains half-written or just an idea for months, or even years. The thing that prompts the completion of such an article is often some barely connected or external occurrence. In this case it was the purchase, on Ebay, on 28 June 2026 of a GWR Service Timetable (i.e. WTT) from the 1930s covering Area 3 which is Reading to Taunton and Weymouth. This would tell me whether the line was open all night; the freight trains running through the night; and the opening hours for the signal boxes along the line. In the case of this article I was particularly interested in the 39 miles from Castle Cary to Weymouth.
The GWR Magazine recorded the King's trip to Portland in the following words in the December 1936 issue:
Last month the Great Western Railway was privileged to convey His Majesty King Edward VIII by rail from Paddington to Portland for the review of the Home Fleet, and to South Wales for his tour of the Special Areas. At His Majesty's request both journeys were made as informal as possible, and the Great Western Railway Company's ordinary rolling stock was used. In the case of the South Wales tour, the train was made the Royal headquarters during the two-day visit. The trains on both the journeys were in the charge of Mr. F.R. Potter, Superintendent of the Line.
Each of the Royal visits started with a night journey from Paddington station. For the Portland visit, four coaches, including a sleeping car and a dining saloon, were attached to the rear of the 12.50am Paddington to Penzance newspaper and parcels train on Thursday 12 November 1936 and the train was run as far as Westbury as a passenger train, drawn by the locomotive “King Edward VIII” (No. 6029).
At Westbury the four coaches were detached, and at 2.33am they were worked forward as a private special train. Portland was reached at 4.20am, and here the coaches were berthed in the goods yard. The engine was kept attached to the coaches to maintain the steam heating. Shortly after 9.00am the coaches were drawn to the down platform where the King, who had breakfasted in the saloon, alighted for the civic reception.
The return journey was made on Friday 13 November 1936. The coaches were attached next the engine of the 2.30pm ordinary passenger train from Weymouth, and at Westbury were transferred to a similar position on the 11.10am from Penzance to Paddington, which train made a special stop at Slough to enable the King to alight there. Teas was served on the journey.
POSTSCRIPT
It was interesting to read in Latest Input on Wednesday (15.07.2026) of Alan Peters move to Paddington for a short while in 2011. The GWR made similar staff moves in the 1930s when there was peak demand at some coastal sheds with drivers and firemen wishing to take their holidays with their children at a time when there were extra summer-dated trains to be run. In the Great Western's case the footplatemen came from sheds in the Valleys of South Wales and were sent to sheds like Weymouth for six to eight weeks, The men could be spared because of reduced demand for coal in summer.
Photo of 6029 King Edward VIII as it looked in 1936
List of Signal Boxes between Yeovil and Weymouth in Summer 1932
NINETEEN SIXTY FOUR – PART 116
Great Western Sheepdogs
Michael L. Roach
Who would have thought that the GWR had sheepdogs on the books, but they certainly did in the 1920s and 1930s, and the dogs did an important job. Anyone who has lived in the Valleys of South Wales or travelled through them regularly will know that the Welsh mountain sheep know no boundaries. It is obvious that the Welsh sheep know nothing about “hefting” which is the ability of Lake District Herdwick sheep to graze the hillsides and keep together in flocks without any physical boundaries to constrain them. The sheep in the Welsh Valleys wander wherever they spot a piece of fresh grass. This is particularly true at the top end of the Valleys where it opens out to unfenced open moorland. If we take one particular village as an example. Fochriw had a station on the Newport to Brecon line which closed to passengers at the end of 1962. Fochriw was almost exactly half way from Newport to Brecon at an elevation of 1,140 feet above sea level in open moorland. The line continued to climb for just over a mile to its first summit after almost continuous climbing for 24½ miles from Newport to a level of 1,296 feet above sea level in bleak, barren moorland. This is sheep country with Wales reputed to have more sheep than people. The sheep wandered through Fochriw regularly in 1962, and probably still do. If the pedestrian gate to the passenger station was left open the sheep would wander in, walk along the platform and out onto the track, to sample the grass on the sides of the cuttings and embankments.
It was the job of the permanent way men to deal with the intruders, and in this they were ably assisted by their trusty dogs. The Great Western had 25 sheep dogs on the books in Wales in the 1930s following a tradition started by the Welsh pre-grouping railway companies. The scans of the original article, which appeared in the GWR Magazine for February 1937, are attached and the author describes just how dumb the sheep were and how extremely bright the dogs were even down to their track-awareness role. Animals on the railway line have always been a problem for railway management despite generally good fencing and the line being walked daily in those days. Just before the Somerset and Dorset closed in 1966 I was coming down the Southern main line from Yeovil Junction sitting in the first compartment of the first coach when the D800-class diesel hauling the train hit a cow at speed. It was a frightening experience as the ballast was thrown up against the underside of the coach, and luckily the engine was not derailed.
Of course it was not only animals that trespassed on the railway line but also people, and not just those with malicious intent, but in some places as a good alternative to walking along the road which was probably just as dangerous. In South Wales there were well-known hotspots where the line was used more like a public footpath by the locals. These were probably on remote freight-only lines, far from officialdom, where the route was only seeing one or two freight trains a day; the fencing was poor; and there was easy access through gates to footpath crossings or long-closed passenger halts.
It was the job of the permanent way men to deal with the intruders, and in this they were ably assisted by their trusty dogs. The Great Western had 25 sheep dogs on the books in Wales in the 1930s following a tradition started by the Welsh pre-grouping railway companies. The scans of the original article, which appeared in the GWR Magazine for February 1937, are attached and the author describes just how dumb the sheep were and how extremely bright the dogs were even down to their track-awareness role. Animals on the railway line have always been a problem for railway management despite generally good fencing and the line being walked daily in those days. Just before the Somerset and Dorset closed in 1966 I was coming down the Southern main line from Yeovil Junction sitting in the first compartment of the first coach when the D800-class diesel hauling the train hit a cow at speed. It was a frightening experience as the ballast was thrown up against the underside of the coach, and luckily the engine was not derailed.
Of course it was not only animals that trespassed on the railway line but also people, and not just those with malicious intent, but in some places as a good alternative to walking along the road which was probably just as dangerous. In South Wales there were well-known hotspots where the line was used more like a public footpath by the locals. These were probably on remote freight-only lines, far from officialdom, where the route was only seeing one or two freight trains a day; the fencing was poor; and there was easy access through gates to footpath crossings or long-closed passenger halts.
Fochriw Station looking north on the morning of 3 September 1962 showing the staggered platforms and the open moorland alongside the station. To the left (west) were 3 streets of Victorian terraced houses with a further 7 streets to the south. They had been built to house the workers at the colliery (1853-1924) which was a very short distance to the west of the village.
