Bristol
Meeting Reports
Friday 5th SeptemberPicture Postcard Railway Rambles
Stephen Gay
On 5th September Stephen Gay, without dog Wrawby, was welcomed back with 'Picture Postcard Railway Rambles'. A true ramble of the country included Helmsdale to Penzance and the Isle of Wight, Rannoch in the snow to Skegness. Ribblehead before the track was singled and the Volks electric railway. The railway was seen in all four seasons and it very much was the railway within the countryside. Stephen's commentary is infectious and paints a picture with the railway in the scene although often quite insignificant. His walking and use of public transport is prodigious and to obtain a dawn scene of Monsal Dale viaduct, who would travel on the last train to Grindleford, walk through the night to obtain at dawn the desired Monsal Dale photograph and return over the moors to a train to Sheffield by teatime! An evening of superb scenery and fine commentary.
Thursday 31st July
Branch Dinner 
The gathering on Midford S&D Viaduct
On 31st July twenty four members and ladies participated in the annual Pimms reception, inclusive of ice bucket, olives and umbrella, on top of the ex-Somerset & Dorset Midford viaduct under threatening skies. This was followed by a convivial and sumptuous dinner at the adjacent Hope & Anchor restaurant.
Tuesday 1st July By special arrangement with FGW, a party of thirteen members were given a conducted tour of the labyrinth of unused tunnels and side rooms under Temple Meads station platforms 3 to 7. These are not normally available for public tours and in some places torchlight was essential. The war time Royal hiding room could be partially seen through a grill but could not be entered due to a roof fall. The pre 1912 downside in and out tunnels are partially still in use. The service tunnels in the days of the 1st and 2nd class dining rooms contained a c. 3'6" tram road - half of broad gauge! Wine and spirit stores, a wartime track training school and many other past activities operated from within the tunnels, some dating probably from the Bristol and Exeter Railway days. A fascinating insight into part of the station rarely seen. £46 was donated to The Railway Children Charity.
Visit to Temple Meads Station
Friday 27th June
Time keeping was reasonable until the full and standing 16.33 Paddington - Exeter failed at Pewsey with smoke from the leading power-car. It limped into Woodborough Down Loop to allow the 17.03 to Penzance to pick up the passengers at Pewsey and with special stop orders for Westbury (due to pass c.18.17) arrived 19.36 and Castle Cary. Behind was the 17.06 to Westbury due 18.54, arrived 19.44 and returned to Paddington as booked on the 1917 whilst the 17.33 to Paignton was at Reading diverted via Swindon and left Westbury only 17 minutes late at 19.18.
Observation afternoon & evening Westbury Station
The observation evening at Westbury took place on Friday 27th June to coincide with the Glastonbury Music Festival. FGW operated shuttles between Swindon and Taunton via Castle Cary with 67022 + 67026 and 67020 + 67021 each top & tailing seven ex-Virgin coaches plus three HST extras Paddington to Castle Cary then ecs to Swindon. Additional workings using the same 67s and HSTs operated Wednesday and Thursday and Monday 30th for returning festival goers. Castle Cary was the railhead with shuttle buses to/from the Festival site abreast of the Somerset & Dorset branch to Highbridge.
Friday 2nd May
The refurbishment resulted in European and UK electrical sockets being installed at alternate seats but this defeated the reservation system so was changed to all European sockets. Aerial views of individual construction sites provided a great impression of the extent of the linear site from St Pancras to Dollands Moor. The design of Stratford depot and how it operates was explained illustrating operational improvements over North Pole depot.
The many questions were answered with ease and the problems to enable the units to operate to Koln and Amsterdam were explained as being more operational and cost rather than technically restrictive. Frank's in depth knowledge was very much appreciated.
Eurostar, Past, Present and Future
Frank Taylor
Frank Taylor closed the winter session on 2nd May with 'Eurostar, past, present and future'. As an engineer joining the project at an early stage from Laira in Hydraulic days and retiring last month, Frank was able to take us through various ideas of a Channel Tunnel such as one for horse and carriage! and then the Eurostar project. He was involved with the design and then the development of the trains enabling detailed explanations of the driver's controls, bogies, signalling and other features to be given. A highlight was the 334kph indicated on a high speed test. Complexity of the stock is such that they have six signalling systems, four power supply systems (in the process of loosing the 750vDC equipment), two platform heights for carriage steps (to be reduced to one), two pantograph systems and three official operating languages. The Scharfenburg couplings between power car and coaches and between sets can be uncoupled from within the train. There is an emergency hijack telephone to enable communication between the outside world and the unauthorised occupiers of the cab which fortunately has never had to be used.
Friday 4th April
The evening was completed with a pot pouri selection of slides of various photographers of steam locomotives throughout the Western Region. A fascinating evening, presented by someone with 'GWR' in his red corpuscles.
Goodbye Swindon Works
A nostalgic look at the end of an era at Swindon
Mike Wyatt
'Goodbye Swindon Works' on 4th April by Mike Wyatt was a private look through his glazed eyes of the last few months of the works. With privileged access when the works were closed during evenings and weekends, Mike and his camera recorded the many parts not normally seen by visitors. Did a wooden pattern for cab side number 6003 mean a replica plate was being made in the non-ferrous foundry? Fire extinguishers under repair, clocks gathered for auction, 08675 the last diesel for attention and other diesels from the 'A' Shop gantry, chalk boards in Shops, the water inlet pipe from Kemble, the woebegone works cat and obscure signs we saw in abundance. The last day 25th March 1985 had the flag at half mast to be followed later by the official auction in the canteen with Mike's van loading up acquired items. The demolition of the Shops was recorded without a safety hat in sight.
Friday 7th March
The photographic competition for the first time had three classes. For digital entries a new class has been created with the Pandrol Trophy as the award. It is a pandrol clip professionally mounted on wood. The winner was 1st David Morgan with 62005, 61264 and 65462 inside Barrow Hill roundhouse in 2007, with 2nd 6201 at Lawrence Hill and 3rd 4160 at Toddington, both again by David. The Segment Trophy for steam was won by Terry Nicholls with 6024 working a Carmarthen to Bristol charter through St. Ishmael. 2nd was again Terry with Bulleid 'Wadebridge' on the WSR and 3rd 71000 climbing through Pilning by David McCollum. The Bogie Award for non steam was won by David McCollum showing a RER railcar crossing the River Drac with a Gap to Grenoble train. In 2nd place the same David looked down on Clifton Suspension Bridge with a train winding its way along the bank of the River Avon and 3rd a pair of Re4/4 at Kandersteig by Brian Arman. An evening of much variety, with each photographer commenting on his or her own work.
A.G.M. & Slide Competition
The AGM 7th March was attended by 39 members and guests. Satisfactory reports were submitted by all officers and despite an appeal for new blood, the old guard were re-elected.
Friday 1st February
Central Switzerland's Railway Wonderland
Arthur Turner
Arthur Turner on the 1st February illustrated 'Central Switzerland's Railway Wonderland'. A regular visitor to Switzerland for twenty years, Arthur drew upon has vast collection of slides and knowledge to show railway operations over the last two decades. Locomotive classes have gone and new ones delivered as we journeyed in superb scenery around Luzern with the 1000mm Brunig line to Interlaken, Erstfeld on the international Gotthard line with its procession of long freights contrasting with the various mountain railways around Arth-Goldau. The Brienz-Rothorn is steam rack whilst Luzern Railway Museum showed what used to exist. South from Interlaken is the network of lines of 800mm and 1000mm gauge towards the Jungfraujoch and many other railways were seen. The construction of base tunnels is changing the railway network and we look forward to Arthur taking us to other parts of Switzerland.
Friday 4th January
Steam Recreations
Don Bishop
Professional photographer Don Bishop made his first visit to the branch on 4th January with 'Steam Recreations'. Aiming to recreate steam scenes from the past, over the last twenty years Don has travelled the length and breadth of the country photographing steam on the main line. Additionally he showed the results of his frequent involvement in steam photographic charters of both passenger and freight trains on preserved lines where trains prepared to his specification had sole use of the line for a day. Every photograph was of prize winning standard and many because of the circumstances are not repeatable. Early morning sunrise glints especially on a cold morning were often spectacular. An evening of nearly 250 quality pictures very much appreciated.
Friday 21st December 2007
Happy Christmas to our readers.
Christmas Buffet & Quiz
On 21st December Headmaster Arthur Turner took the class out of special measures as forty members and guests tackled the many varied and well chosen questions. Top of the class was similar to last year with Dale Robertson gaining 73 out of 80 followed again by David McCollum (72) and third equal Brian Arman slipping a place but joined by Andrew Davison (71). Tim Newman's punishment for being last was to do the washing up in detention! Co-incidentally a photograph of a Virgin Voyager at Bishops Lydeard had its train manager in the audience and likewise the driver of a main line steam locomotive near Bristol was present. The class, wearing Christmas ties and hats, celebrated the end of term with crackers, a hot/cold buffet, and free books from Santa’s gift box, plus from Vice President Mike Wyatt chocolates.
Friday 7th December 2007
The second section dealt with locomotives and how they differed. Initially the 0-6-0 and 0-6-0ST were used extensively but by the 1870s there started to be a change. For use in the Cardiff valleys to the docks, small locomotives could take heavy loads downhill and lighter empties uphill and the 0-6-2T was introduced culminating in the Class 5600 0-6-2T which became synonymous with this traffic. Along the traverse lines heavier locomotives were required such as on the South Wales Union with 2800 2-8-0; the Vale of Neath with 'Aberdare' 2-6-0, 4200 2-8-0T and 7200 2-8-2T; and Heads of Valleys with LNW&R 0-8-0 and 0-8-4T. 0-6-0PT, predominantly of Class 5700, and Class 2251 0-6-0 played their part. Terry came up to date with Classes 37, 47, 56 and 66 hard at work.
The control of the coal movements was the third section. Locomotives frequently would leave shed to go to a holding siding to await instructions as to which colliery to attend. The merchants bought coal for export and typically required trains to arrive immediately within a window of three days for loading into the waiting ships. Close co-operation was required between the merchants, ship owners, collieries, signal boxes and control offices. The proactive development of the railway encouraged the sinking of pits with transport to the docks available from day one.
A fascinating evening, the result of years of research.
Moving the Coals
Terry McCarthy
On 7th December Terry McCarthy gave a power point presentation 'Moving the Coals'. Coal was an economy in its own right in the Cardiff valleys and with photographs taken as early as 1857, the development of wagons was explained. RCH issued specifications in 1887 to phase out dumb buffers, 1911 to have brakes both sides and 1923 for a 12 ton wagon followed by in 1930 a metal 12 ton wagon to the same specification as the 12 ton wooden wagon. The story covered HAA with the arrival of the Class 37, HEA, MEA and the current scene.
Friday 2nd November 2007 It was in 1956 that Terry took his first photograph - an auto train at St. Budeaux in black & white. He portrayed his life through the lens, firstly as a schoolboy and then as a railwayman commencing at Millbay followed by Laira, Bristol and Swindon. 1361 was a regular banker at Millbay for the boat trains and was followed by evocative scenes inside Laira and at many vantage points up to the last day on the Somerset & Dorset and the closure of Swindon works.
For holidays he visited Austria with the Eisenerz line, China with triple headed QJ 2-10-0, France with Pacific boat trains at Calais, the end of steam in Germany, SPS and SGS in Pakistan, South Africa with its immense loading gauge and Skyliner and LMS 8Fs in Turkey.
Photography throughout was to Terry's high standard and the evening ended after Canada and the USA at a signpost in the USA pointing the way to the community of Infinity.
Rails to Infinity
Terry Nicholls
Terry Nicholls on the 2nd November gave a presentation titled 'Rails to Infinity'.
Friday 5th October 2007
Traffic intensity on the main line was an average of a train every eight minutes in both directions with such services as Wolverhampton to Paignton running in three portions. The depths were reached on 27th July 1957 with a total of 9,743 minutes delay through Newton Abbott on the Down and 9,959 minutes on the Up. The queue for a platform at Newton Abbott stretched well towards Teignmouth incurring 347 minutes of delay with the slowest taking 85 minutes from Exeter. Branch line connections ceased to exist.
Apart from the main line we explored all the branch lines with trains of up to 10 coaches instead of a class 153 or 150 today where open and some branches now just a memory. At Looe did they really water the locomotive with Guiness? A fascinating insight into an era of frequent heavy steam hauled trains with the arrival of diesel hydraulics adding variety.
Another superb show from Peter ending with a glimpse of the Somerset & Dorset, another Saturday holiday orientated railway.
Summer Saturdays in the West
Peter Gray
5th October had Peter Gray presenting 'Summer Saturdays in the West'. Most Saturdays in the 50s found Peter with camera between Bristol and Penzance including the branches.
September 2008