Meeting Reports

Monday 7th June 2010
Branch summer dinner at The Cricketers Harvester restaurant, Addington Village, CR0 5AQ

On Monday 7th June nine members were joined by Ian Prince, RO LNE Editor, for the Branch Summer Dinner at the Harvester Cricketers’ Inn at Addington Village. The group was just the right size for the conversation to flow as freely as the red and white wines which accompanied the members’ choice of menu. Our thanks go to our Chairman, Geoff Lipscombe, for organizing this now regular summer event.

Monday 24th May 2010
Observation at Clapham Junction

A small but enthusiastic group of members gathered at the London end of platforms 10 & 11 at Clapham Junction on the evening of Monday 24th May for the first of the summer’s outdoor events. As expected the observation produced the usual eclectic mix of Southern, South Western and London Overground EMUs.

Timekeeping was generally good with the Southern and London Overground services but less so on South Western, which was suffering from two failed trains in the Clapham Junction/Wimbledon area, and a signalling failure in the Alton area.

The evening concluded with a discussion in a neighbouring hostelry over some locally-brewed beverage before dispersal.

Monday 10th May 2010
Branch AGM, Photographic Competition and Members' Slides

	53809   Freshfield Bank

Wednesday 28th April 2010
The Spa Valley Railway and the Extension to Eridge
Brian Halford, Duty Station Master

At our afternoon meeting in Redhill on 28th April a very good attendance of 25 members and visitors enjoyed Brian Halford’s presentation on “The Spa Valley Railway and the Extension to Eridge”. Brian explained that he was Duty Station Master and that he had been associated with the preservation project since its inception.

Supported by his own slides Brian took us from the closure of the line between Tunbridge Wells West and Eridge, effective from 7th July 1985, through to the present day.

Although the line closed to passenger trains after passage of the last trains on 6th July the line remained open for ECS movements until 10th August. At the time of closure Tunbridge Wells West station possessed five platforms, two signalboxes and a train crew depot – but was believed to be the last gas-lit station on British Rail! The Tunbridge Wells and Eridge Railway Preservation Society was formed to fight for the re-opening of the line and acquired the line in the early 1990s. Work progressed slowly at first but was assisted considerably when TWERPS merged with the North Downs Steam Railway when the latter organisation had to leave its premises at Dartford. At this time the newly combined organization took the name of the Spa Valley Railway.

A very limited train service commenced on ½ mile of track at the Tunbridge Wells end in 1996 and was soon extended to Groombridge. The proprietor of a nearby hotel built a station at High Rocks and further help came from Sainsbury’s supermarket and Whitbread’s on the Tunbridge Wells West site. All this time the objective was to reopen the line to Eridge to allow for the transfer of passengers from and to the national network.

Brian’s comprehensive selection of slides illustrated every stage of this progress and the physical work to return to Eridge is now virtually complete. Although the paperwork takes longer it is still hoped that Spa Valley trains will run through to Eridge before the end of the summer – and from the response to Brian’s presentation it is certain that a good number of this Branch’s members will be there before the new service is too old!

Monday 12th April 2010
The Development of the Railway Poster as an Art Form
Peter Hay

On 12th April a very good attendance, including some non-members and Society President Hugh Gould, was present for Peter Hay’s audio-visual presentation on “The development of the Railway Poster as an Art Form”.

Peter referred to the progress from the letterpress posters of the stagecoach era which showed basic details of what the potential traveller needed to know through the somewhat similar early railway posters with examples from the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway. It was evident that the printers of these early sheet-fed posters wanted to show off the various typefaces in which they had invested as well as their technical expertise.

Soon simple monochrome pictures were being used as a heading and were often no more than a wood cut engraving that could be used on a number of occasions. Sheetfed posters began to appear in two colours but needed to passes through the press – one for each colour and were therefore more expensive to produce.

However, technical developments were now beginning to coincide with the need for the railway companies to do more than advertise specific events or services. This led to the artistic illustrations of the “Big Four” including such well-known posters as the “Jolly Fisherman”, the LNER streamliners and the scenic beauties of the West of England. Even these were later surpassed in many opinions by the superb paintings of Terence Cuneo.

While Peter’s love of railways was evident his presentation made a fascinating change from the more usual Branch meetings.

Monday 1st March 2010
Swanning Around II
Jeremy Harrison

For our meeting on Monday 1 March we had invited Jim Connor, Editor of the London Railway Record, to give a talk on "Closed London Stations" but, much to our disappointment, Jim was indisposed and unable to give his presentation. We were rescued by our very own Jeremy Harrison who dipped into his extensive collection of excellent slides and came up with "Swanning Around II", a compilation of images recording the rail scene in and around London during the early to mid 1990s, as he bought a travelcard and went swanning…

The scene and period were set in the first few slides which included shots of Class 165/166 DMUs, then the new order trains on Network Southeast, and a pair of the about to be withdrawn Class 50s. It was inevitable that lots more slides of units would follow and it was good to be reminded of the liveries around at that time, with similar units seen in blue, green and blue/white, and the Class 73 loco-hauled Gatwick Express in its original colours. Jeremy took us to some of his favourite photographic locations and also allowed us to sample visits to a number of London train depots, and to the now disused narrow gauge underground Post Office Railway. We also enjoyed, from different locations, the variety of locomotives and rolling stock gathered by London Underground Ltd for their Steam on the Met weekends, an almost annual event on the northern reaches of the Metropolitan Line during the period 1989-2000. Steam was, as now, also in evidence on the main line with views of several preserved engines hauling steam specials in and out of the capital. Perhaps of greatest interest to many in the audience were the images of locations in the Croydon area: Addiscombe station, with and without signal box and semaphore signal, now all gone, Elmers End station, which became a stop on Croydon Tramlink, and the line from West Croydon to Wimbledon, also now part of the Tramlink system. Thank you, Jeremy, for stepping into the breach and bringing it all back.

Monday 1st February 2010
The Stephenson Locomotive Society at 100
Brian Lewis, Chairman, SLS

On 1st February we were entertained by Brian Lewis (no relation to our Branch Treasurer!), Chairman of the Stephenson Locomotive Society, who talked about the first one hundred years of that Society.

The society was formed as the Stephenson Society at the home of Mr. L.E. Brailsford in Sydenham Road, Croydon, in December 1909. The original members had mostly broken away from The Railway Club as it was thought to have too much bias towards the railways north of the Thames especially the LNW and Midland Railways. In the early days there was some dispute between amateur and professional railwaymen among its members and a noticeable preference for engineering interests. By the late 1930s the membership had reached around 500.

During its life the Society has had only five presidents including R.H.N. Hardy and the present incumbent, Andrew Scott. A distinguished list of Vice-Presidents has included Andre Chapelon.

A major coup was the funding of the restoration of the LBSC 0-4-2 Gladstone and its subsequent donation to the National Collection.

In the 1950s and 1960s to the end of steam on B.R., the Society earned a reputation for its successful rail tours organized mostly by W.A. “Cam” Camwell. Brian showed an extensive selection of slides of these tours which stirred several members’ memories – one even identified himself leaning from a carriage window behind a pair of Beattie well tanks!

Various locomotives had been named Stephenson over the years and Brian was able to give the history of these.

Brian concluded by saying that the Society was in a strong position as it started its second hundred years but – like so many similar organisations – needed persons to “do” something as well as participate.

Monday 4th January 2010
The Merchant Navy Locomotive Preservation Society
Roger Creswell, Marketing Officer, MNLPS

Our first meeting of 2010 was on 4th January when Roger Creswell of the Merchant Navy Locomotive Preservation Society came (having overcome train failure problems north of the Thames, which had threatened to prevent this) and– gave a presentation on the work of the society – the owner and operator of Rebuilt Bulleid pacific 35028 Clan Line. Despite the poor weather there was a very good turnout to hear him.

Roger opened by emphasising that the stated objective of the MNLPS was to maintain and operate Clan Line in main line running condition. The Society is a volunteer organization registered as a charity.

He gave a brief account of the locomotive’s history from its completion by British Railways in 1948. It had been rebuilt in 1959 and purchased by the society in 1967. It has therefore been operated by the MNLPS for considerably longer than by B.R. – and was never operated by the Southern Railway! Many years of work were necessary to restore the locomotive to the pristine condition in which it was re-launched in 1974. Since then .it has operated with great success on the main lines of Britain. A lengthy overhaul was completed at the end of 2006 and Clan Line returned to main line service in 2007 mainly on the VSOE British Pullman trains. He paid tribute to the work of the professionals of DB Schenker - formerly EWS - who regularly provide the steam crews for this operation.

Roger described the finances of the Society’s operation and emphasised that the man hours involved in maintaining and operating the locomotive could not be afforded on a paid-for basis. It was essential that volunteers come forward to augment the existing members – especially as none of them is getting any younger! Even with sufficient volunteers the supply of donations and legacies must continue to pay for fuel and materials used

Roger ended his presentation with a selection of video clips of Clan Line in action. These provided some wonderfully evocative sights and sounds of it in service and showed that you didn’t necessarily have to be close enough to read the number to obtain truly impressive action shots!

Monday 14th December 2009
Croydon Railbrains Competition

On 14th December it was the turn of the R.C.T.S. to act as hosts for the annual Croydon Railbrains Quiz between teams of three persons from local groups of the R.C.T.S., Locomotive Club of Great Britain, Norbury and South London Transport Club and the Mid-Hants Railway Preservation Society. For the first time the teams were competing for an anonymously donated silver cup so there was a special incentive for the teams to do well on this occasion.

The questions ranged in time from 1758 to 12th December 2009; they included reference to places as far apart as New Zealand and the (very) new station at Workington North. Needless to say most of the questions stayed closer to home with the Docklands Light Railway, Croydon Tramlink and the various train operating companies who inherited the Southern Region and its predecessors.

After a very close contest the trophy was won by the L.C.G.B. with the N. & S.L.T.C. second, the R.C.T.S. (last yearÂ’s winners) third and the Mid-Hants R.P.S. fourth. Our thanks go to Geoff Lipscombe who acted as master of ceremonies and Jeremy Harrison who kept the score, and who between them set the questions.

Monday 30th November 2009
Branch Christmas Dinner

The Branch Christmas Dinner was held at The Porter and Sorter public house conveniently adjacent to East Croydon station on 30th November. Twenty-one members and guests were joined by the Society President Hugh Gould. As in previous years the food and service were excellent and the buzz of conversation before and after the meal showed that everyone enjoyed the occasion.

Monday 2nd November 2009
Crossrail
Simon Bennett, Head of Stakeholder Management, Cross London Rail Links Ltd

For the regular monthly meeting on 2nd November Simon Bennett, Head of Stakeholder Management for Cross London Rail Links Ltd., gave his postponed talk on Crossrail. This had originally been scheduled for the 2nd February , but unfortunately had had to be cancelled owing to the heavy snow then.

Simon gave a Power Point presentation setting out the history of the Crossrail project from the first proposals in about 1989 right through to the present day. He was in a particularly favourable position to do this as he had spent nearly all his working life on the scheme having been a civil engineer for London Transport and its successors.

He explained the raising of the necessary finance, the authorization procedures including parliamentary powers, planning and development of the project right up to date with construction work starting within days of his talk. This major new railway line, due to open in 2017, would run from Maidenhead, west of London, through to Shenfield to the east of the capital and Abbey Wood in the southeast. It would include a new 21km twin-bore tunnel under the central London section. Some 85% of the excavated spoil from the project would be used in developing the Wallasey Island Wild Coast project in Essex. Twenty-eight existing stations - including eleven major ones – would be upgraded and eight new underground stations would be built. Rolling stock would consist of 200 feet long ten-car trains which would operate a service to a maximum of 24 trains per hour through Central London. Each coach would have three sets of doors to facilitate rapid loading and unloading.

At the end of the meeting those present were left in no doubt of the project team’s optimism that work would finish on time and within budget.

Thursday 15th October 2009
Afternoon Walk along future East London Line Peckham Extension

Branch member and former railwayman Ian King led a walk along the future Peckham Extension of the East London Line – currently a public footpath on the trackbed of part of the former East London Railway. Our route is due to become part of the East London Line Extension Phase Two which will carry London Overground services from south of Surrey Quays station on the Phase One upgrade (due to open in June 2010) to join the present South London Line at Queens Road Peckham and thence to Clapham Junction. It proved to be a fascinating journey beneath the network of Victorian viaducts and arches, over which we will have travelled many times by train, to see just a small portion of modern railway development in this area of London.

Monday 12th October 2009
Charter Trains: Planning, Implementation and Running
Paul Blowfield

The regular monthly meeting in Croydon on 12th October heard the personal views of Paul Blowfield on “Charter Trains: Planning, Implementing and Running”. Paul had had experience of all these aspects and many others. His talk – which turned out to be a preview of his article published a few days later in Steam Railway – was supported by a selection of his excellent slides of trains with which he had been involved. In view of the presence in the audience of representatives from the Merchant Navy Locomotive Preservation Society it was appropriate that quite a few of these featured Clan Line. He highlighted the potential perils and pitfalls of running a charter train operation to such good effect that no-one came forward at the end of the evening to ask him how to set up such an operation!

Wednesday 7th October 2009
The Railways of Switzerland
Ted Vaughan

The afternoon meeting in Wimbledon on 7th October saw which Ted Vaughan of the Solent Branch presenting slides of well known and less well known “Railways of Switzerland”. This stirred up memories of members’ holidays in that beautiful country so full of railway interest.

Monday 7th September 2009
Mainly Steam in Scandinavia
Jeremy Harrison

The 2009/10 session commenced on 7th September with a slide presentation by branch member Jeremy Harrison on “Mainly Steam in Scandinavia”. Jeremy has a growing reputation for selecting interesting pictures of quality from his extensive collection and this was no exception. He took his audience on a photographic tour of Norway, Denmark and Sweden showing various steam operations, and a little modern traction, which had formed the subject of some holidays he had taken in the area in 1999 to 2002.