Sheffield
Meeting Reports
Monday 30th January 2012
South Wales Railways over the past 30 years
Geoff Morris
For the second afternoon meeting of the 2011/12 session on 30th January, the branch welcomed Geoff Morris from Chester to give his presentation entitled "South Wales Railways over the past 30 Years". The area covered was west of Swansea with a trip down the central Wales line to Llandovery. Locations on all the routes to their terminations were shown and many of these were not too familiar to many of the audience. The area has enjoyed a wide variety of DMU and locomotive classes in the period covered from heritage first generation units to HSTs and class 175s and from 03s to 67s. The many different liveries used in the period were seen. Freight services were not neglected but it was evident that the variety of traffic in the 1980s was considerably more than now. Other attractions were railtours and main line steam locomotive specials. Colliery small steam locomotives from the 1970s kept the steam enthusiasts attention and added to the attractiveness of the presentation. Geoff's knowledge of the area was apparent in the excellent commentary which accompanied the slides. Our many thanks to Geoff for making the journey to Sheffield to give such an interesting and informative presentation.
Monday 23rd January 2012
Annual General Meeting
There were 18 members present on 23rd January for the 2012 Annual General Meeting.
The chairman Peter Hall welcomed the members, the apologies for non attendance were noted and the minutes of the previous AGM accepted as a true record. The chairman presented his report and this included an analysis of the meetings held and a review of the venues. He thanked the committee members for their hard work in keeping the branch functioning well. The treasurer Alan Hardman then gave his report explaining the figures given in the categories quoted on the issued forms. As room hire is no longer being refunded the branch funds have decreased. There is still a reasonable balance however and this should keep the branch functioning for a few years. There will be no increase in the suggested voluntary contributions at meetings. No nominations were received for any of the branch posts and all the existing committee members were re-elected retaining their posts. There was much discussion on the format of meetings and several suggestions were made by the members present. Mike Brownhill gave a brief resume on the current position with publications before the meeting closed.
The attendance was rather disappointing and members are requested to attend the AGM to find out how the branch is run and to offer constructive comments.
A full copy of the AGM minutes is available from the secretary Alan Lovecy on request
Monday 9th January 2012
Around Britain from the 1920s to the 1960s
John Morten
A welcome return to Sheffield by John Morten on 9th January to present a further selection of the photographs taken by his father, this time after they had been transferred to digital format for the presentation. Nearly all black and white from the 1930s to the 1960s, the "Around Britain" in the title was amply justified. Scotland, Wales, the lake district and many points south were visited. The subject matter was equally varied and not only main line locomotives were shown, but also lesser classes such as ex Highland Railway 4-6-0s and 0-6-0s. Further variations to keep everyone interested were narrow gauge railways, industrial locomotives, infrastructure and ferries. Considering the age of the photographs and their transference to digital, the quality was excellent as was John's commentary on the content. Whilst most of the scenes were from before many of the audience became interested in the hobby, they were able to recognise most of the locomotives as they had survived into the early BR years. So another evening of nostalgia greatly appreciated by all. Our many thanks to John for making the journey to Sheffield and giving us the excellent presentation of his father's material.
Monday 12th December 2011
Christmas Social Evening
The last meeting of 2011 on 12th December was the now traditional Christmas social evening with a good attendance including three ladies. Mike Brownhill started the proceedings with an excellent selection of Colourrail slides from his personal collection. Of great interest were two wartime slides from 1944 taken by a member of the American Forces. Prewar slides featured streamlined Duchesses and many pregrouping locomotives particularly from Scotland. Slides from the 1940s and 1950s covered locomotives from all the big pre 1948 nationilation companies, classes 76 and 77 and finally a few local scenes. Keith Marshall then presented local scenes from the past 12 months defining local as a one hour drive on weekdays and one hour 30 minutes on Saturdays. A whole range of freight trains were seen with locomotives in varied liveries. Charter trains were also featured and all the slides were described in the manner we have to expect from Keith. The raffle then followed with prizes for all. Finally the members and guests partook of the traditional fare and drinks provided to round off the excellent evening. Our thanks to Mike and Keith for the slide presentations, to Keith for organising the raffle and to all persons who provided the refreshments.
Monday 28th November 2011
Narrow Gauge Niceties
John Holroyd
John Holroyd came to the branch on 28th November and was the first speaker to use our new afternoon meeting venue on Trippett Lane. His subject was "Narrow Gauge Niceties". John kicked off with a few slides of his early years and interest in railways followed by a rhyming A to Z of railway subjects from "all clear" to "zoo".
The advertised subject then commenced with the countries again in alphabetical order from Austria to Wales via England, France, Germany, Iceland, India, Majorca, Pakistan, Romania, Sardinia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and The Ukraine. Narrow gauge was interpreted as anything under "standard" and the tracks shown ranged from 0 gauge to 4ft-6ins. The vehicles depicted had even more diversity than the countries and gauges. We were shown all types and sizes from garden railways to the South African 3ft-6ins locomotives. Electric and diesel traction also figured and included industrial scenes at steelworks and collieries, peat bog railways and very small feeder systems in factories. Some of the slides dated back to the 1960s and all were of excellent quality. Obviously many of the locations and vehicles are no longer operational or have been removed entirely. Many of the slides were the result of special workings and run pasts were available with the co-operation of the relevant authorities. However, occasionally subterfuge had been resorted to in order to get the best results. Our many thanks to John for coming back to Sheffield and producing an excellent afternoon's entertainment which brought home to the audience the immense variety of "railways" that were in existence around the world.
Monday 14th November 2011
Steam in the East Midlands around 1960
Peter Groom
On 14th November, Peter Groom travelled from Broxbourne to deliver his slide show entitled "Steam in the East Midlands around 1960". Peter started by explaining his interest had been locomotives and not railways in general. His formative years had been spent in the Melton Mowbray area and here the show commenced. Peter's interpretation of the East Midlands went on to include Southwell, Uppingham, Kettering, Nottingham, Staveley, Derby and Leicester before finishing at Grantham. The classes of steam locomotives shown included representatives of the Midland, Great Northern, Great Central, Great Eastern, LMS, LNER and BR. Also early diesel shunting and main line locomotives were depicted including the Fell diesel mechanical. Altogether a comprehensive survey of the many locomotive types to be seen in the area in the 1950's and early 60's. The excellent black and white slides were enhanced with Peter's commentary and knowledgeable comments from the audience. Our many thanks to Peter for making the long journey to Sheffield to provide an excellent evening's entertainment of nostalgia.
Monday 24th October 2011
Steam on Cine in the 1960s across England, Scotland and Wales
Mike Clemens
Mike Clemens came on 24th October to present a selection of digitally enhanced cine film recorded by his father largely in the early 1960s. He started with a film on the Southern Region featuring a journey from Waterloo through Salisbury and Exeter to the lines now known as "the withered arm". The second film was a miscellany of subjects covering Worcestershire, Herefordshire, North and South Wales, the Isle of Man, Scotland, Dinting and finishing with the garden railway and a steam dredger. After a brief interval, the next film was "4 routes to Brecon" which covered the routes to Brecon from Neath, Newport, Moat Lane Junction and Hereford. Moving north, the next film was recording the Wansbeck Wanderer railtour in 1963 from Newcastle to Bellinghem and Rothbury via Morpeth. The final gem was a short film on the Padarn and Penrhyn railways used for the movement of slate. All the films shown were of great interest as not only locomotives were shown but also the many long lost items on these lines such as nameboards, notices, signals and the items of infrastructure now rendered obsolete. The range of lines shown was breathtaking and we record our thanks to Mike for coming to Sheffield to present the spectacular show and to his father for his dedication in travelling the length of the country to record these lost lines.
Monday 10th October 2011
The LMS 5MT 4-6-0's - Their Origin and Service.
Paul Abell
On 10th October, Paul Abell delivered his talk and slide show on the subject of the LMS 5MT 4-6-0 class, their origins and service. Surprisingly starting with a slide of a GER 2-4-0 locomotive (E4 to some of us), Paul went through various pregrouping designs and LMS classes to demonstrate the general development of mixed traffic locomotives and their influence on the final design of the "Black 5". He also explained the alternative designs for the locomotive. The next section of the talk outlined the dimensions and technical details of the locomotives followed by the history of the building and the later LMS experiments with double chimneys, caprotti valve gear and steel fireboxes. The final section was a selection of slides showing the locomotives at work in many different parts of the rail network when many of the variations in the individual locomotives were highlighted and described. Our thanks to Paul for an interesting, informative and entertaining talk which enhanced our knowledge of the class and which was delivered with a descriptive and sometimes humorous commentary.
Monday 26th September 2011
Your 15 Slides of Yesteryear
At the first meeting of the 2011/12 session. the title of "15 Slides of Yesteryear" was interpreted liberally as each presenter exceeded the limit but the resulting collections of slides gave excellent value and were greatly appreciated by the audience. First up was Brian Staniland with slides from a day visit to France in 1967 sampling some of the remaining steam locomotives on an organised railtour. Next was Les Nixon with miscellany of steam, diesel and electric traction covering not only the UK but also some exotic parts of the world. Mike Brownhill produced a fine set of slides depicting closed and radically altered stations, mostly local but also included Manchester and Glasgow.
After the interval, Alan Lovecy showed some of his collection of signalbox slides taken in the last 15 years from the west of England and Scotland. Following on was Keith Glossop, again with a fine miscellany of slides old and new and finishing with former Sheffield trams. Finally David Munday showed a selection of steam locomotives from the 1960's with railtours prominently featured. Our thanks to all the presenters for their contributions to the successful evening.
Monday 9th May 2011
Railway Relics
Railway relics was the subject for the final meeting of the 2010/11 session on 9th May. First up was David Munday with a Riddlesdown station token followed by an unending supply from a "tardis" bag, which contained gate signs from the north east, an 86C shedplate, a solari indicator destination board, a bridge number plate, a wagon plate, a "private" notice and finally, a GWR water economy sign. Alan Lovecy followed with an E4 2-4-0 1924 dated number plate and a 41A shedplate from Tinsley's favourite, the class 47, 1575. Andrew Barclay then produced a collection of carriage window destination stickers from the 1980s and 1990s highlighting named services. GNR and NER crockery was displayed by Alan Hardman, who obtained them from a farmer at Sawtry who had uncovered a dump site and rescued a few undamaged articles. Keith Marshall then challenged the audience to identify the location of a bridge number plate. No one succeeded, so Keith explained how he obtained the plate and from which under bridge the plate came. Finally Peter Hall produced his collection of notebooks detailing the locomotives hauling summer saturday holiday services from 1978 onwards for the Sheffield area. Altogether a varied and interesting range of artefacts had been put on display and all contributors are thanked for providing the objects and describing their relevance and history.
Monday 11th April 2011
30 Years of Railways in East and North Yorkshire
Eddie Parker
"30 Years of Railways in East and North Yorkshire" was the subject for the talk and slide show presented by Eddie Parker on 11th April. The routes covered were Hull to Goole and Scarborough. It was clear that there while there has been rationalisations over the period shown, both routes still contain much of interest in that they retain a reasonable number of signalboxes and semaphore signals. The locomotives and dmus have changed and freight traffic has declined however. The area covered tends to be neglected but we were fortunate that Eddie had used inside knowledge to be able to photograph the unusual workings and have access to the Hull dock area. An excellent evening's entertainment of colour slides which fully covered the changes over the 30 year period accompanied with a splendid commentary full of information using Eddie's extensive local knowledge.
Monday 28th March 2011
Western and Wessex Wanderings
Tony Icke
The branch welcomed Tony Icke and his wife Barbara on 28th March to present their slide show entitled "Western and Wessex Wanderings". Starting with a picture of a B1 at Sheffield Victoria, the next slide was a class 33 at Manchester Piccadilly to start the journey as advertised. The route followed was basically Crewe, Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Worcester, Gloucester, Hereford, Swindon, Southampton to the Isle of White, with several diversions along associated branch lines. Most of the territory covered was unfamiliar to the audience and so was of great interest, as was the scenes at Swindon and Eastleigh locomotive works. Most of the scenes were from the early 1960s but some were of later dates to highlight the immense changes at the locations. The scenes on long closed branch lines were a reminder of the opportunities lost and we thank Tony for his interest and dedication in recording these scenes. Our many thanks to Tony for the superb entertainment provided and to Barbara for the excellent work on the projector.
Monday 14th March 2011
A Lifetime of Railway Photography
Les Nixon
Another fine slide show from Les Nixon on 14th March entitled "A Lifetime of Railway Photography". The 170 slides shown covered a period from the 1950s to the present day. The early shots were in black and white of Les's home district of Barnsley and brought home to the audience how the scenes have changed over the years. In some cases now there is no trace left of what was a busy main line. The 1960s saw Les travelling to record the scenes in other parts of the country and colour slides became the norm. The next section was for the modern traction enthusiast with corporate blue diesel and electric locomotives followed by the same with the liveries produced by sectorisation and privatisation. To end the evening, Les produced shots of the preservation scene, industrial locations and finally a few scenes from all parts of the world. A superb selection from the vast reservoir of material Les has amassed over the years with something for everybody. As Les repeated several times, photograph it now, it may be gone tomorrow. We are all grateful that Les followed his advice and look forward to more of his collection at a future date.
Monday 28th February 2011
Scunthorpe's industrial and Main Line Railways
John Foreman
A welcome return to Sheffield by John Foreman to present a slide show on the railways of Scunthorpe. Having spent most of his life in the area, John was very familiar with the workings of both the main line and industrial systems. The pushing of the boundaries of Scunthorpe to Goole, Keadby and Melton Ross meant that John could show the movement of coal, limestone and iron ore to the steel industry of Scunthorpe, which often involved piloting or banking in steam days. Other traffic and passenger services were not neglected. A comprehensive range of both the steam and diesel industrial locomotives to be seen in the area were depicted. The slides shown covered the period from the 1950's to the present day and included the tours of the works internal rail system. The commentary to the slides drew on John's long association with the steel industry and his extensive knowledge of the area. An excellent evening's entertainment which gave the audience the benefit of John's experiences within the Scunthorpe area both as a professional steel industry man and a railway enthusiast with a particular interest in signalling.
Monday 14th February 2011
Normanton Loco MPD, 1962-1968
Allan Dawson
The chairman Peter Hall opened the meeting on the 14th February with the sad news that long standing society and branch member Peter Fox passed away on Tuesday the 8th February finally losing his battle to overcome heart problems. He paid tribute his service to the branch and that his positive contributions would be sadly missed. After one minute's silence to the memory of Peter Fox, the speaker Allan Dawson was introduced to give his digital presentation on the subject of Normanton Depot 1962 - 68, based on his work there as a fireman.
He took the audience through the history of the depot, the changing layout over the years, the locomotive types allocated and visiting, the personalities and the experience of working at a depot in decline and facing closure. The depot lasted longer than many in the Leeds division and thus was host to several types of locomotives rare to Normanton which required servicing. The presentation was enhanced by many of Allan's anecdotes and personal experieces. He made the audience realise that steam locomotives were not all glamour but hard and dirty work and that depots such as Normanton were as important to running services as the more glamorous main line ones with the large passenger locomotives. Our many thanks to Allan for the interesting and informative presentation.
last updated: 30/01/12