South Essex
Meeting Reports
Monday 16th January 2012
Byways
David Soggee
Well known local member Dave Soggee stood in for the unavailable booked speaker on 16th January, with a talk on 'Byways'.
All were European byways and were well illustrated and described in Dave's inimitable style. We started with the famous standard gauge rack line at Vordernberg in Austria, a real feast of hard working steam against a mountainous backdrop. Both the 97 class and the larger 197s were seen at work and there was mention of the Gasthof Grube, the place to stay for railway enthusiasts.
Next, to the narrow gauge Steyrtalbahn at Garsten with its lovely 298 tanks running through rural countryside, the whole route being covered in detail and not forgetting the distinctive architecture of the local towns.
The Vivarais narrow gauge system in France was fully recorded in 1963 including a two day Mallet hauled railtour. The Vivarais was a lengthy and often remote line with the highest point near St Agreve being 3500 feet above sea level. Typically French wayside stations abounded matched by the ancient railcars.
The show was concluded with a look at the last normal service trains on the Baie de la Somme lines which ran from Noyelles in northern France, happily. still in use as a tourist operation. The date was the 30th and 31st December 1972 characterised by very cold weather, even the sea starting to freeze. Derelict steam locos were numerous while the unheated railcars trundled to and fro. Dual gauge track on parts of the system gave rise to some interesting pointwork.
Another wonderful show from Dave's vast slide collection.
Monday 19th December 2011
AGM and Members' Slides
The AGM business was despatched in a record 19 minutes with the existing Committee being re elected en bloc. Thanks were expressed to all the other 'helpers' who make the Branch tick, especially to Christine who looks after the tea department.
We then had presentations from six Branch members, starting with Andy Grimmett who showed nostalgic shots of Stratford depot and surrounding area in the final diesel days.We then ranged far and wide in the UK with many shots highlighting Andy's signalling interests and some unusual 'what is it' type shots.
Next was Robin Wooller-Purdue whose mostly steam age shots covered such varied subjects as track lifting near Wennington, the J36 at Fort William in 1984 and a good selection of French steam power plus bus scenes at the famous Cobham show.
David Johnson's theme was 'electrics no more' and we had evocative views of the DC Woodhead route locos, the Lancaster - Morecambe units, Balloch Pier with a 303 and many more, concluded by a superb shot of Dunford Bridge in the snow.
Geoff Brockett featured the North Wales Coast, his usual sunny weather seemingly deserting him on some visits. All the various types of modern traction were seen on this scenic route with Pendolino drags being prominent and lots of old lineside equipment too.
Next was Rodger Green who started with a very nostalgic b & w shot of the impressive North Woolwich station building, followed by scanned shots from railway calendars featuring high quality images of both steam and modern traction in the UK.
Brian Hazle showed recent European views on his travels to Austria, trams in various locations being well covered. Tramway works in the centre of Graz had uncovered two British bombs one of which was defused whilst the other blew upcausing considerable local damage.
The evening was concluded by Iain Scotchman with his usual worldwide selection but not forgetting 70000 just down the road at Shenfield station. Railtours in several Eastern European countries were featured, one including class 87 haulage in Bulgaria, whilst he had continued his remote branch line bashing in those countries. A steam hauled special on the coast near Cape Town was particularly impressive.
Monday 21st November 2011
We Can't Turn the Clock Back - Regretably
Winston Cole
Our November meeting saw Winston Cole from Tendring present 'You can't turn the clock back - regretably'. This was a show with a difference and 3/4 head on shots were definitely in the minority. Very unusually he was able to show shots of the remains of the two stations making up his name, Winston being near Barnard Castle and Cole on the S & D. As a result of his father's job on the p.way he had spent many hours on the railway, particularly at his local station, Weeley., and we heard about all the activities there and through to electrification in 1959.
We then had a wonderfully varied selection of shots from all over the UK, trains there were but many other rail connected items, too. All were 'different' and there was a tale to be told with each one. Highlights were - an LNER letter of 1942 detailing a job at St Botolphs and the rates of pay (31/6 per week for an 18 year old including 'War wage') ; the brick A4 at Darlington ; lovely shots of the now closed Dobwalls railway ; a derelict Palbrick wagon in the bushes at Felixstowe Beach but still on TOPS ; some very old and interesting rail chairs ; rare shots of the Steam & Sail enterprise at Brightlingsea ; 70053 on its brief visit to the GE and former NSR lines around Leek and Cauldon Lowe before preservation. A memorable evening.
Monday 17th October 2011
On and Off the Footplate
Bill Davies
On October 17th it was the turn of the Branch to host Bill Davies and to enjoy his much acclaimed presentation. 'Life on and off the footplate'. Having been taken to Nottingham Victoria as a child, Bill fell in love with railways and decided there and then to become an engine driver ! This determination never waivered and at sixteen he started at Toton for a brief but incident packed introduction before moving to Nottingham. Sadly for Bill, the early sixties was the period of the steam to diesel transition and he soon realised that to achieve his ambition he would need to transfer to a depot where staff were in shorter supply.
He tried Kings Cross and Charing Cross before settling for the relative calm of Bedford. Here he witnessed the transformation of the Bed-Pan line with electrification and the introduction of Thameslink which brought a vast increase in the route knowledge for the Bedford men, plus a four fold increase in staff.
Bill gave a wonderful account of his 43 year railway career, punctuated with amusing anecdotes. Following his narrative we were shown a series of slides to complement his talk, each slide entailing a story either factual or humorous. All too soon it was time for Bill to leave to catch his train home, but he left a very satisfied gathering, having well and truly lived up to the reputation that preceded him. We thank him most sincerely for giving us such a lovely evening.
Monday 19th September 2011
Out and About Again!
Our Society President Hugh Gould returns to relate his latest travels
At our September meeting our worthy President was welcomed back by a large audience for another 'Out and About'. Although Hugh's continental travels are much reduced, his UK trips are still very frequent and we were treated to the usiual wide variety of transport subjects accompanied by his pithy and informative commentary.
The East Coast is still his favourite although the new 'owners' have not always lived up to previous standards. 395's on the Kent high speed services contrasted with views in the Glasgow area, his home patch still visited regularly.
Continental trips to Belgium/Luxembourg and the Luzern area had some very modern traction against the superb and classic paddle steamers on the Vierwaldstatersee. The remaining loco hauled services in the UK were well featured including some fortuitous views of test trains. Steam on various heritage lines included the characterful Tanfield Railway and the newly opened extension to Eridge on the Spa Valley.
Waterborne transport on canals and rivers was also shown, with a most unusual rail replacement boat across the Thames in connection with work on the DLR and Jubilee lines. Recent additions to the London bus scene were interesting, whilst a semi open top RML had gravitated a long way from its home to Glasgow. A view from the top of the Gherkin to the Shard was striking and of course we had to finish with a shot of A4 no.7 on the NYMR.
A very entertaining evening and long may Hugh continue his travels.
Monday 18th July 2011
Mangapps Farm Railway Museum
Thirty six members and friends descended upon Mangapps Railway Museum for our usual July evening visit and were greeted with the imposing prescence of the latest acquisition. John Jolly had at last achieved a long held ambition to own a genuine North American caboose and after lenghty negotiations had brought over former CP Rail caboose No 434677. The story of its journey would have made an excellent programme for the TV series Monster Moves. From Fairfield, Iowa, where it had lain in a dealer's yard for over twenty years, it was transported in a series of hops from yard to yard in normal freight trains over 2000 miles to Halifax, Nova Scotia, for shipment to Liverpool. Being in excess of 16 feet in height it had to be removed from its bogies before the road journey to South Essex. Whether it will see service on the line or be a static exhibit to house John's extensive collection of Canadian artefacts remains to be seen. Also from across the Atlantic is a hand-pump operated gangers trolley from the little known Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad.
From nearer home is a rare notice board for horse shunters retrieved during demolition of the LNER goods shed at Manchester London Road, believed to be pre 1900 vintage. possibly M.S. & L.R. origin. A further interesting addition is a showcase of Stratford works plates, on extended loan from the SLS. With so much to see, we still had time for the regular trips down the line hauled this year by 03089.
Another excellent evening and our thanks to John and June Jolly for their welcoming hospitality.
Monday 20th June 2011
Rhapsody in Blue
A look at the Great Northern Railway of Ireland with Sheffield’s Ken Grainger
In June we welcomed once again Ken Grainger, this time with 'Rhapsody in Blue', the blue referring to the livery used by the Great Northern of Ireland for its express locomotives. Magnificient it is and apparently reached Ireland via a connection with the Caledonian Railway.
Ken took us through all the GN(I) steam classes, this railway only ever having 4-4-0s for its passenger traffic and 0-6-0s for the freight. The 4-4-0s in particular were fine looking machines and we are fortunate that an S (171) and a V (85) remain in preservation. The GN (I) was a pioneer of DMUs and we saw many varied types, the early versions being distinctly primitive.
A journey from Dublin Amiens Street following the route of the Bundoran Express gave a good insight into GN operations and architecture, firstly along the main line to Dundalk and then via Clones and Enniskillen with various branches being covered en route. Travelling on to Omagh we reached the GN route to Derry, thoroughly explored including some of the County Donegal operations at Strabane and Derry itself. Returning to the main line we came over Mount Pleasant summit to Portadown and on to Belfast Great Victoria Street, not forgetting the busy Warrenpoint branch on the way.
Altogether a fine and detailed record of a much loved system.
Monday 16th May 2011
Railways around the South east
A tour by slides under the guidance of Geoff Dunster from Dover
A large attendance was on hand on 16th May to listen to former permanent way engineer, Geoff Dunster, talk on 'Railways of the South East'. The slides were all taken between 1990 and 2007, virtually all in Kent with the occasional incursion into East Sussex and the London area. Geoff's work had allowed access to many privileged lineside positions and he had certainly followed the old adage of 'always take your camera with you'. Nearly all forms of motive power and trains which had operated in the area in that period were shown including the numerous steam specials and not forgetting the considerable freight interest generated by the Channel Tunnel.
We started with miniature and narrow gauge scenes followed by the little known 2 foot gauge MOD system based at Lydd. The latter was a surprise to most with its extensive 12 miles of track stretching towards Rye and Dungeness. Standard gauge preservation featured the East Kent, KESR and some rare views at Sellindge. Seemingly Geoff had covered everything which had happened on Kent's railways and some very unusual workings were shown accompanied by a very knowledgeable commentary. One got the impression that he had walked every mile of track in that county ! He had started his 51 year railway career at Dover shed and very appropriately the last shot of this excellent show was of three out of use 09's outside Dover Western Docks station.
Monday 18th April 2011
More on my World Travels
An update from Iain Scotchman on his recent journeys to foreign parts
At our April meeting we were entertained by local member Iain Scotchman with a digital presentation 'More World Travels'. Indeed it was world travelling as we visited 17 countries spread widely around the globe.Many of these are problematic for railway photography especially Brazil where we started with views of current passenger operations and some very heavy iron ore workings needing 3 locos at the front and 3 assisting at the rear.
Ireland had views of the famous 071s at work contrasting with tourist trips on the Bord na Mona lines at Blackwater. Steam on the Baie de la Somme in France brought us nicely to Belgium and Luxembourg with various railtours. A brief look at Switzerland and some DB power was followed by an Iberian interlude with railtours and operations on the coastal Alicante to Denia line. Much further afield now to several fascinating locations in Australia and a Budd railcar in Dallas, Texas. Italy, including Sicily and Sardinia, were next, featuring some highly individual designs. Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary followed, the latter covering many little used and soon to be closed lines.
South Africa and Zimbabwe gave classic African steam with impressive shots of 15D's and Garratts. This very varied and highly entertaining show was concluded with a superb sunset over the Bush
Monday 21st March 2011
Kapital Spektakel
A digital presentation by Steve Ollive featuring Berlin, the Rhine area and DB’s 175th celebrations
Steve Ollive paid a welcome return visit to us on 21st March to present an account of his recent travels in Germany entitled 'Kapital Spektakel'.
Berlin at New Year 2008 was the starting point as Steve covered all the railway interest in and around the city including the impressive new station built at the crossing point of the older East - West line with the newly constructed North - South line. Following a brief look at the trams and some of the tourist attractions we travelled south down the west side of the Rhine that Steve had visited on subsequent visits. Cologne, Bonn and Koblenz provided plenty of railway activity and interest especially the Transport Museum in the latter city.
Having seen the typical mix of local and express passenger trains which predominate on the west side, we moved over to the dominantly freight east side where, in a period of 90 minutes, Steve had seen 20 freight trains, an indication of the vast amount of freight handled by DB.
After a break we returned to savour the Dampfspektakel - the DB 175 Anniversary in 2010. An exceptionally well organised 5 day celebration with plenty of steam which Steve both participated in and recorded in full. Classes 01, 50, 52, 58 and 78 were active along with older diesel locos and multiple units.
A thoroughly enjoyable experience for those of us not fortunate enough to have seen it live and we are grateful to Steve for giving us the opportunity to see it on screen.
Monday 21st February 2011
The Welsh Highland Railway
Andy Savage relates the story of the rescue and resurrection of this interesting line
Andy Savage spoke to us about 'The Rebuilding of the Welsh Highland Railway' in February. He commenced volunteering on the FR at age 15 and had held various senior posts on that railway for many years which, together with his professional life as a railway Civil Engineer, made him well qualified to become involved in this major project.
In the early 90's the FR decided that a service southwards from Caernarvon would be profitable and took steps to acquire the WHR. After much legal work, fund raising and then construction phase 1 to Dinas opened in 1997, with phase 2 to Waunfawr and phase 3 to Rhyd Ddu being completed by 2003. Phase 4, with its heavy gradients and spectacular scenery, was covered in detail, the last 500 metres in Porthmadog being the most difficult with its flat crossing of NR and the 'lengthwise' level crossing to reach the FR station. Despite many problems trains are now running through to the Harbour, realising the 40 km dream of complete reopening of the WHR.
Much background information was given of the many trials encountered in achieving this, a tribute to some very determined people within the FR. With superb shots of the construction, the scenery, royal visitors and not forgetting the all important rolling stock this was an excellent evening's entertainment.
Phase 5 is the very necessary expansion of Harbour station, fund raising and detailed planning for which is in progress.
last updated: 19/01/12