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BRITAIN’S LEADING HISTORICAL RAILWAY JOURNAL
Vol. 29
•
No. 10
OCTOBER 2015
£4.40
IN THIS ISSUE
LBSCR 2-6-0s IN COLOUR
THE RAILWAYS OF KEIGHLEY
IN THE DAYS OF DANIEL GOOCH
KENSINGTON OLYMPIA AND THE WEST LONDON LINE
PENDRAGON
PUBLISHING
SOUTH WALES COLLIERY STEAM IN COLOUR
GOLF AND THE RAILWAYS
RECORDING THE HISTORY OF BRITAIN’S RAILWAYS
GREAT BOOKS FROM PENDRAGON
RAILWAYS IN RETROSPECT No.6
EAST COAST MAIN LINE
DISASTERS
By ADRIAN GRAY
£17.50
POST FREE
The East Coast route from London King’s Cross to Edinburgh Waverley is one of Britain’s
premier main line railways. Once the scene of the Victorian-era ‘Race to the North’, of
the ‘Flying Scotsman’ and epic feats of performance by Mallard and the famous ‘Deltic’
diesels, it has also been the scene of some of Britain’s most memorable rail disasters. This
book tells the story of how these disasters shaped the improvement of railway safety as
attention focussed on human error and design failure so that travel became both safer
and faster. The book provides powerful accounts of well-known disasters such as the
multiple collision in the snow at Abbott’s Ripton, the collision at Dunbar and the high-
speed derailment at Morpeth and shows how the type of accident changed over time
with thematic coverage of aspects such as problems with signalling or with pedestrians,
carriages and cars at crossings, culminating in the worst recent disaster, at Great Heck.
This is a book as much about people as it is about trains, for every ‘accident’ originated in
a mistake or a flawed design. There are also the innocent victims, the heroic rescuers and
the painstaking investigators from the Board of Trade who together told a story which led
to lessons being learned and improvements made.
96 pages, card covers. • ISBN 978 1 899816 19 4
Index to locations and names is
available on the website
Compiled by Paul Chancellor. Captions by Ron White.
A COLOUR-RAIL JOURNEY
Colour-Rail has been known to transport enthusiasts for over thirty years and has amassed what
is probably the most comprehensive collection of colour images of railway motive power in the
country, with the aim of preserving as many of these images for posterity as possible and making
them available to all enthusiasts, either to purchase directly or to see them published.
Now, in association with Colour-Rail, we are pleased to present this very special compilation of
some of the choicest gems in the Colour-Rail Collection – most of which have never been seen
before. Over 200 pictures have been carefully selected to offer a geographical tour of Britain,
including many unusual subjects and locations. The photographs have been chosen by Paul
Chancellor, the present owner of Colour-Rail, and have been characteristically captioned by Ron
White, founder of Colour-Rail and its previous owner.
£30.00
POST FREE
128 pages hardback ISBN 978 1
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Vol 29 . No. 10
No. 294
OCTOBER 2015
RECORDING THE HISTORY OF BRITAIN’S RAILWAY
A Way of Life, Beyond the Call of Duty
With the editorial pen taking a break, we have a guest editorial this month from
JEFFREY WELLS,
a regular contributor to
Backtrack
since its early years.
Up to the year 1999 I was a regular visitor to a signal box near my
home. Whenever I called, friend and signalman Mike always bade
me welcome. I enjoyed his company and certainly appreciated the
ambience of his workplace: the ringing block bells, the abbreviated,
esoteric telephone messages, the crash of stirrup-type levers and the
simple charm of the structure – timber-built with a slate roof, original
wrought ironwork, stiff sliding windows, linoleum floor, vintage
storage boxes and cabinets, an inveterate timber desk and the original
twenty-lever frame. The box was built by the London & North Western
Railway in the late 1880s.
Over mugs of tea, my friend and I conversed about almost
everything between bouts of lever pulling and scribing in the signal
box register. I once asked him if the unsocial hours (2.00pm to
10.00pm, for instance) was a major drawback to the job. He told me
that he had worked on the night shift and on Christmas Day in the
past – a common practice when he first became a signalman. I was
informed that working for the railway was accepted as a way of life,
an outlook adopted by thousands of railway employees. From his
perspective a signalman is the master of his domain, even though
visited occasionally by the signalling inspector, permanent way men
and the likes of me.
From a battered armchair, he pointed to his electric kettle and
cooking stove and, in a corner, the signal box cat lying on a folded
blanket, contented, well fed and unconcerned by the noise of passing
trains. In the early morning, my friend related, he observed the natural
world through the smoke-stained glazing (the antics of rabbits and
the variety of undergrowth) and pondered the next job in his garden
at home. Surely this is a working way of life to be admired and envied?
Every so often railway employees are called upon to do more
than their normal duties. On a recent journey to York the train made a
scheduled stop at Micklefield, sixteen miles from the city, to set down
and pick up a handful of travellers. he stop turned out to be one of 35
minutes. During this time a minor drama unfolded at the station. When
the doors of the train opened, a young boy leapt aboard and sat down.
Both the female driver and the conductor tried in vain to remove the
boy from the train. Eventually the Transport Police was contacted and
in due course one of his parents arrived. Only then was the boy was
coaxed off the train. Puzzled passengers were apprised of the drama
and that the boy was autistic.
Throughout railway history, railway employees have dealt with
exceptional circumstances. On 29th December 1884 William Wallwork,
an engine driver in the employ of the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway,
faced possible death as his express train careered off the main line
and into a siding upon which stood a goods train at Hindley, Wigan.
His fireman jumped clear, leaving Wallwork to apply the brakes and
minimise the inevitable impact. He was severely injured. Almost a year
later Wallwork’s courage was recognised by several Bolton gentlemen
who were passengers on the express. In gratitude they had raised
£35 by subscription and Captain Brewer (HM Inspector of Factories)
presented Wallwork with the reward for his bravery.
Women also showed acts of courage. In her book
Railwaywomen,
Helena Wojtczak describes how, in 1912, a gatewoman lost her
life attempting to protect the gates under her charge from certain
demolition as detached runaway wagons bore down on the gated
crossing at Limeston Hall, Millom, Cumberland. Wrongly assuming that
a complete goods train had passed and having opened the gates to
allow a horse and cart to cross the railway, she tried to re-close them
against the road and was struck by the wagons and killed. In spotting
the wagons running towards the gates, she could have stood aside
and allowed them to dash into the horse and cart.
On 26th April 1930 Mr. R. Liggins, a platelayer, plunged into the
River Anker, near Nuneaton, to rescue a six-year-old boy who had fallen
into the river. Liggins applied artificial respiration and undoubtedly
saved the boy’s life. The platelayer was honoured for his bravery at
Coventry station in the presence of colleagues and railway officials. A
Royal Humane Society testimonial on vellum was presented to Liggins
by the District Engineer, Watford. The LMSR gave a monetary gift to
show its appreciation.
There are bound to be many more examples of extraordinary
actions beyond the normal duty expected of railway employees. Their
individual stories remain to be told. Even railway employees who have
never been involved in such selfless and courageous acts will endorse
my friend’s view that working for the railways is a way of life.
Jeffrey Wells
If any other readers would like to compose a guest editorial, please feel
free to do so! There are occasions when holidays, the absence of notices
from the Dept. of Administrative Affairs, overwork or a lack of inspiration
preclude me from penning my usual philosophical causerie, while my
always obliging assistant Samantha, though helpful in many ways, is by
her own admission no good at spelling long words. So if you have some
thoughts to stir-fry in the wok or an idea to run up the flagpole, then about
800 words will do it!
Ed.
Contents
Up and down the Folkestone Harbour Branch
...580
Golf and the Railways – The Links – Part One
....
582
Memories of a Nine Elms Fireman – Part Two
....
587
The Railways of Keighley
...........................................
592
In the Days of Daniel Gooch
......................................
536
Brighton Moguls
...........................................................
608
North Staffordshire Steam
........................................
610
How Green was my Valley.......................................... 614
Afternoons out of School – Four West Midlands
Branch Lines in the 1950s
..........................................
616
Milk Train
........................................................................
623
West London Line Freight
at Kensington Olympia
...............................................
624
Rolling Stock Focus
......................................................
634
Two Caledonian Branch Trains
.................................
636
Readers’ Forum
.............................................................
637
Book Reviews
.................................................................
638
London, Brighton & South Coast
Railway K Class 2-6-0 No.23242
is clean and ready for action at
Norwood Junction locomotive
depot on 11th May 1958.
(R. C. Riley)
Publisher and Editor
MICHAEL BLAKEMORE
•
E-Mail
pendragonpublishing@btinternet.com
•
Tel
01347 824397
All Subscription Enquiries
01778 392024
(see inside back cover for details)
•
Trade Account Manager
Ann Williams
Design + Repro
Barnabus Design in Print
• Typesetting
Ian D. Luckett Typesetting •
IT Consultant
Derek Gillibrand
Printed by
Amadeus Press, Ezra House, West 26 Business Park, Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire BD19 4TQ
Newstrade Distribution
Warners Group Publications Plc • Tel. 01778 391135
Contributions of material both photographic and written, for publication in BACKTRACK are welcome but are sent on the understanding that, although every care is taken, neither the editor or publisher can accept responsibility
for any loss or damage, however or whichever caused, to such material.
l
Opinions expressed in this journal are those of individual contributors and should not be taken as reflecting editorial policy. All contents of this
publication are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers
l
Copies of photographs appearing in BACKTRACK are not available to readers.
All editorial correspondence to:
PENDRAGON PUBLISHING • PO BOX No.3 • EASINGWOLD • YORK YO61 3YS •
www.pendragonpublishing.co.uk
OCTOBER 2015
©
PENDRAGON PUBLISHING 2015
579
PENDRAGON
PUBLISHING
UP AND DOWN
THE FOLKESTONE
HARBOUR BRANCH
Photographs by
KEITH DUNGATE
to the inner harbour. On 12th September 1991 rebuilt ‘West Country’
4-6-2 No.34027
Taw Valley
makes a necessarily vigorous departure from
the Harbour station with the 16.30 special shuttle service to Folkestone
East. The third and fourth coaches are passing over the swing span.
BELOW
:
Railfreight Class 47 No.47 224 is carefully making its way down
ABOVE
:
The branch ended on a viaduct including a swing bridge for access
to the Harbour station with the ‘Dover Distributor’ tour from Derby on
26th June 1993. Another of the type was at the back of the train.
In the era of boat trains and cross-Channel
steamers, a short but important stretch of railway
was the ¾-mile branch from Folkestone Junction
to Folkestone Harbour, opened by the South
Eastern Railway in 1849. This was on a gradient of
1 in 30 from the Harbour up to the main line and in
steam days a stirring sight was presented by two
locomotives struggling with a heavy train with two
more banking in the rear. The branch was electrified
in 1961. The opening of the Channel Tunnel in
1994 radically changed the fortunes of both
Folkestone Harbour and its railway, with scheduled
passenger traffic ceasing in 2001. Thereafter the
branch saw only intermittent workings, including
for some years the VSOE Pullmans, and occasional
specials until it was formally closed in May 2014.
top
:
Recalling ‘Golden
Arrow’ boat train years,
Railfreight Class 33 No.33
204 descends the branch
with the empty stock of
the VSOE Pullman on 12th
September 1991. There’ll
be a fair amount of money
invested in some of the
craft moored there!
middle
:
Taw Valley
is on the
‘tailing end’ of the shuttle
from Folkestone East on
12th September 1991.
bottom
:
BR
Class 4 2‑6‑4T
No.80080 is banking a
shuttle up the gradient
to Folkestone East on the
same date. Grandiose plans
exist for redeveloping the
harbour – with apartments
and marina – and the
future of the viaduct
remains to be seen.

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