Great Western Railway Journal Volume
9
Great Western Railway Journal Volume
9
Issue Numbers
| 64 | 65 | 66 |
Key to all Issue Numbers
Steamindex home page
No. 4574 at Padstow with train for Bodmin Road in 1960. J.C.W. Halliday. front cover
Glover, Ivor J. 'A Western on the Green': a glimpse of
GWR and BR(W) operations at Crewe. 2-24.
Gresty Lane engine shed and sidings at Crewe were available for the
exclusive use of the GWR at Crewe which was reached via running powers over
the LNWR from Nantwich and extended onwards to Manchester. From Nantwich
Wellington (Salop) was reached via Market Drayton Other services off
the Great Western passing through Crewe included those over the mainly Joint
North and West route via Shrewsbury and Hereford, and those off the Cambrian
lines via Whitchurch. For a time there were through coaches between Manchester
London Road and Paddington, and there were Great Western offices adjacent
to the Number 3 platform at Crewe.
Illus.: Bulldog with freight on climb towards Willaston at Newcastle Road
level crossing in early 1950s; 4P Compound No. 1110 with train formed entirely
of GWR stock forming 16.00 Crewe to Britol service with through coach/es
form Glasgow to Plymouth, Liverpool to Plymouth and Manchester to Bristol
in 1930; streamlined Duchess class No. 6223 Princess Alice arriving
at Crewe with train formed mainly of GWR stock from Plymouth in late 1930s;
Barnum class 2-4-0 No. 3210 at Crewe on 10 August 1934 awaiting departure
for Wellington; No. 5948 Siddington Hall at Gresty Lane shed on 18
July 1937; Gresty Lane Down Yard c1929; p. 19 unidentified
"Hall" (Grange according to Eric Youldon (Issue 66
page 120) .
Turner, Chris. Scours Lane [marshalling yard, Reading].
25-33.
Opened 25 March 1941 to assist with handling WW2 traffic. Jack Iles
joined the railway in January 1949 ane worked in the yard as a shunter.The
yard included a specific siding for traffic to an adjacent cold store and
for the Ministry of Defence..
Copsey, John. Traffic operations on the Bodmin branch.
34-50.
The Bodmin & Wadebridge Railway, an outpost of the LSWR, had opened
in 1834. The Bodmin Railway, was incorporated by the GWR in 1882 and opened
between Bodmin Road and Bodmin on 27 May 1887 and onward (backward) to Boscarne
Junction on the LSWR line to Wadebridge on 3 September 1888. The lines were
standard gauge. Illus.: No. 4559 probably on 15.28 to Bodmin Road and T9
No. 30709 on 15.15 ex-Padstow at Wadebridge c1954; Bodmin Road looking west
on 24 May 1922; page 37: Bodmin station probably in 1920s
Nigel Pocock (page 114) suggests that upper picture
shows branch set which at that time were formmed from 4 and 6 wheel stock;
No. 4598 with 15.35 to Bodmin Road leaving Wadebrisge with B set, one van
and brake van c1947; No. 4087 Cardigan Castle running into Bodmin
Roadf with up express in 1949; No. 6911 Holker Hall waiting to depart
with up express from Bodmin Road in early post-nationalization period; No.
5519 arriving Bodmin from Wadebridge with B set c1947; No. 4584 taking water
at Bodmin Road from cantilevered water crane on 19 August 1954; another view
of up platform on same day as previous (both H.C. Casserley); No. 5557 at
Bodmin Road in late 1950s; p. 44: No. 5519 arriving Bodmin Road
with B set plus strengthening vehicle on 17 May 1956 (P.Q. Treloar)
see also letter from Barry Scott (p. 114) who argues
that "strengthening vehicle" was Stores Van 2; No. 4526 at Bodmin General
in early 1950s; No. 4585 and 0298 class 2-4-0WT.No. 30585 at Boscarne Junction
on 19 August 1954 (HCC); Boscarne Junction signal box and Nanstallon Halt
(both HCC on 19 August 1954), also 4565 at Wadebridge on 09.03 to Bodmin
Road on same day; and No. 4526 (lettered BRITISH RAILWAYS on 09.10 Padstow
to Bodmin Road service with B set still in GWR livery leaving Wadebridge
on 8 July 1949 (HCC); 4569 waiting departure from Wadebridge with B set on
13 April 1954; general views of Padstow station plus No. 5502 with B set
still in GWR livery c1950; O2 0-4-4T No. 200 with LSWR coaches at Padstow
in 1948; interior of Bodmin shed, Maurice Dart (letter
Issue 66 page 114) observes that large Prairies Nos. 5140 and 5158 were
sent to St Blazey during WW2 to work over the route if traffic had to be
diverted from the GWR onto the Southern Railway North Cornwall line in the
event of disruption.
Hunter, Fred. The morning shift at Little Mill Junction
Box. 51-60.
Just north of Pontypool Road Little Mill was the junction for the
branch to Monmouth. There was also a small marshalling yard which had been
constructed during WW1 to assist with the movement of freight.
Long letter from Roger Hughes in Issue 66 (p. 114)
on his boyhood observations made from lineside and from within signal box
in 1950s. .
No. 4562 at Wadebridge in July 1948. J.H. Aston. rear
cover
Maurice Dart (letter Issue 66 page 114) argues
that it was locomotive No. 4569.
No. 6937 Conyngham Hall. J.M. Strange. front cover
In clean BR green livery
Copsey, John. The 'Dukes' at work. 62-86.
Small wheeled (5ft 8in) 4-4-0 intended for work in the West Country,
and an enhancement on 2-4-0s. They had extended smokeboxes which carried
a diaphragm plate and netting to arrest sparks, a common practice in North
America at that time. They had short tenders as many turntables were restricted
to 44ft. By 1897 some were being used on Paddington to South Wales expresses.
The class was gradually displaced from major duties by the arrival of the
Bulldog class. From February 1902 twenty Dukes were converted into Bulldogs.
This process left forty Dukes in service from January 1909. From December
1912 the class was renumbered into a sequence beginning with No. 3252 Duke
of Cornwall and ending 3291. The illustrations cover the period from their
introduction (when they sported polished domes, had round-top fireboxes,
Mansell wheels on their bogies and tenders, and straight nameplates), through
the period when they had received boilers with Belpaire fireboxes and curved
nameplates, until many lost their topographical nameplates if there was any
risk of a passenger thinking that St. Agnes implied a train thereforto, and
were ultimately renumbered into the 90XX series as a sort of appendage to
the ground breaking 90XX design. 3288 Mendip with Belpaire boiler
in 1921; 3252 Duke of Cornwall in original condition in 1895; 3268
Tamar in original condition in 1896; 3287 St Agnes in original
condition at Exeter; 3262 Powderham in original condition, but with
spoked wheels on tender, 3326 St Austell (this and all subsequent
with Belpaire fireboxes and curved nameplates) hauling corridor stock in
all-crimson livery; 3256 Guinevere at Ranelagh Bridge c1922; 3288
Mendip at Trowbridge in 1923; 3286 Meteor at Oxford on train
of horseboxes in 1920s; 3276 St Agnes in late 1920s; 3271
Eddystone at Appleford with up class J freight c1926; 3278
Trefusis on up cattle train at Leamington in 1929; 3265 Tre Pol
and Pen; 3281 Cotswold; 3258 The Lizard c1930; 3289 pilotting
No. 5007 Rougemont Castle passing Aller Junction on climb to Dainton;
3273 Mounts Bay at Welshpool in early 1930s with down train; 3271
Eddystone at Machynlleth on 23 August 1934; 3256 Guinevere at
Didcot in September 1934; 3267 Cornishman at Didcot in early 1930s; 3261
St Germans at Southampton Terminus in mod-1930s; 3252 Duke of Cornwall
at Tyseley on 13 August 1933; 3259 Merlin at Oswestry on 28 May 1932;
3260 Mount Edgcumbe at Gloucester in 1930s; 3260 Mount Edgcumbe
at Gloucester Horton Road shed in 1930s; 3279 Tor Bay at Swindon on 28 June
1936; 3273 Mounts Bay at Shrewsbury Coleham shed on 4 August
1935; 3287 Mercury at Aberystwyth shed on 21 August 1937; 3290 Severn at
Carmarthen shed on 17 August 1937; 3284 Isle of Jersey pilotting Cambrian
Railways 0-6-0 No. 895 approaching Aberystwyth on 13.05 ex-Birmingham Snow
Hill; 3284 Isle of Jersey at Tyseley on 26 May 1939; 9073 Mounts
Bay on freight c1947; 9072 at Machynlleth on 20 July 1948; 9076 on Lemington
Spa shed and 9084 on Swindon dump on 3 June 1951.
Turner, Chris. The Abingdon goods - a Hinksey guard's duty. 87-97.
Based on the memories of Basil Ayers who was not complimentary about
GWR Toad brake vans (preferring the BR or LMS types) or the normal motive
power (14XX) which was unsuited to freight working. A 57XX was far more suitable,
but was probably banned from the branch. The freight workings also served
the Sandford Cold Store (by the time of the reminiscences this was used for
traffic from Cadbury's) and Radley.
Drawing No. 37753: _GWR chimney_ Standard Boiler No. 4_ inside cylinder engines,
Swindon November 1908. 98-9.
Refers to previous drawings Nos. 20415 and 36218
1854 class 0-6-0PT on westbound freight near Par on 4 July 1949. 100-1.
Lewis, John. The GWR 16ft wooden-bodied covered goods wagons. Part
2. 102-113.
Letters. 114+
Bodmin branch. Barry Scott.
See illus. page 44: argues that "strengthening vehicle"
was Stores Van 2 (vehicle No. 150005) cites Tim
Bryan's book All in a day's work – life on the GWR page 143
and Mike Longbridge Model Rly News for August 1951.
Bodmin branch. Nigel Pocock.
Suggests that upper picture on page 37 shows branch
set which in early 1920s was formed from 4 and 6 wheel stoch: later these
vehicles may have been replaced by Dean non-corridor coaches in B set
configuration, prior to two B sets arriving on 2 May 1931. Two sets of similar
diagram E145 B set vehicles were scheduled to displace the earlier B sets
in 1936, but this switch did not take place probably due to the 9ft bogies
leading to greater wheel wear on the sharp curves,
Bodmin branch. Maurice E.J. Dart.
Argues that locomotive described as No. 4562 on
rear cover of Issue Number 65 was No. 4569. Referring to main article
(Issue 65 page 34) observes that Nos. 5140 and 5158 were
sent to St Blazey during WW2 to work over the route if traffic had to be
diverted from the GWR onto the Southern Railway North Cornwall line in the
event of disruption
Little Mill Junction. Roger Hughes.
See feature of page 51 et
seq:
Little Mill Junction. Allan Pym. 120
Crewe. Eric Youdon.
See illustartion page 19: Grange
not a Hall
Crump, Bob. Working on 'tankies'. 115-20.
Firing techniques adopted at Pontypool Road on tank engines with flat
grates. This technique of leaving a shallow fire in the centre of the grate
ensured that steam was not wasted whilst the locomotives were working short
distances with many stops, and even on shorter banking duties. A different
technique had to be adopted for long distance banking as this required a
deeper fire: banking from Maindee Junction up to Waunavon would empty the
bunker (3 tons) of a 57XX in two trips.
Dulverton goods yard on 11 June 1962. J.M. Strange. rear cover
Coal wagons, coal in sacks, and coal stored, yard crane (probably
long since used) and branch passenger hauled by 0-6-0PT.