Review of the Year 2023

It would be nice to preface this year's report with a more optimistic outlook than last year's (which you can see here) but I'm not sure that would be justified. Although the special measures imposed during the Covid 19 Pandemic are no longer in force in the UK, new variants of the Coronavirus and 'Long Covid' remain a threat. 'Working from Home' remains popular and, whilst inflation has reduced under the effect of raised bank borrowing costs, the UK economy struggles with low growth. Energy costs, food prices and continued high taxation lower the mood. The UK experiences various poorly-performing public services, not helped by continuing strike action. Whilst initially many counties, including the UK, provided support to Ukraine as Russia attempted to annexe its neighbour, the continuing attrition is causing this support to wane. This year in Israel, the Hamas organisation launched a lethal, bloody attack on Israelis which has provoked a violent response (ongoing at present) with an increasing death toll. Other counties and organisations in the Middle East are also implicated in this conflict. I'm very glad to still be here but my health has definitely deteriorated over the last year. This is the 18th annual review since I started this blog.

FORD ELECTRONICS LIMITED

I'm still running the small electronics business I set up a long time ago. It normally doesn't feature much in this blog although there are currently 36 posts under the heading 'Work' (you can find them all here). But in 2023, quite a lot of my energy was taken up in organising the completion of five equipment cubicles for a Transport for London order to provide emergency traction discharge facilities on the London Underground. Happily, this equipment was tested and delivered on schedule.


Five cubicles during Factory Acceptance Testing

OVERSEAS TRAVEL IN 2023

Alas, none (unless you count trips to the devolved country of Wales, (currently asserting its independent powers through all sorts of legislative distinctions). To find more about overseas visits I've made in earlier years, see:-

Jan Ford's Travels (2001 onwards).
Jan Ford's Travels - The early trips (before 2001).
Jan Ford's Travels: Around the World in pictures
(alphabetic list of countries with links to pictures).

Myanmar (Burma)

My last visit was in 2019 (described here), after which Covid 19 prevented travel and then the powerful army in Burma, the Tatmadaw, seized power from the democratically elected representatives in a cruel and continuing putsch. With peaceful protest met by violence, many groups have turned to armed struggle against the junta. Western countries and international organisations have expressed disapproval of the army junta and imposed some sanctions but the civil war continues and the junta receives some support from Russia and China. Western investment in Burma has reduced, for instance, luxury tour company Belmond have disposed of the river cruise ship 'Road to Mandalay' and the hotel 'The Governor's Residence' in Yangon, both of which have given me many happy memories.

TRAVEL IN THE UK BY TRAIN

The situation on the railways deteriorated further. With the franchise model failing, a number of services have been re-nationalised by the U.K. in a crazy manner which still allows train operators to remit profits to foreign government owners (Germany, Holland). Cancellations with short- or no-notice seem commonplace and various railway Trades Unions have carried out strikes in 2023 (with further strikes being planned for 2024). After my winter hibernation, my first railway trip in 2023 was to Liverpool on 23rd March. The success of this trip (despite suffering a fall) encouraged me to use rail to Liverpool again on 15th April, to attend the OLCO A.G.M. (although this trip, by London North Western Trains EMUs didn't produce a post). Just four posts chronicle the trips I made during the year:-

Merseyside in March posted 13-May-2023
Trade Show at the NEC (Railtex 2023) posted 21-May-2023
By Train to Newport posted 28-Aug-2023
More Train Travel posted 21-Dec-2023

Merseyside in March: View from 'Snowdrop' approaching the re-opened Seacombe Landing Stage, showing one of the new linkspans connecting the pontoon to the land.


Newport Station: Platform 2 buildings viewed from Platform 1


Euston Station Concourse following introduction of new Passenger Information system, viewed from Avanti First Class Lounge on 28-Nov-2023. Note Christmas tree


Bangor Station: View looking east from Up platform (No. 1) with signal box in background

RAILWAYS AND PRESERVATION

Although less active in 2023, I continued as a member of the Old Locomotive Committee and The Battlefield Line and also attended a most interesting Open Day at the embryonic Global Centre of Rail Excellence in South Wales.

The Old Locomotive Committee

On Saturday, 15th April 2023 the Old Locomotive Committee (OLCO) held its 36th Annual General Meeting at the Museum of Liverpool where the locomotive 'Lion' is on public display. A full report on the A.G.M. itself has been circulated to OLCO Members.

In May, OLCO was shaken by the unexpected death of its energetic and knowledgeable Chairman, John Brandrick. The denuded Executive Committee agreed to carry out the two events planned by John for later in 2023 but the future of the organisation is in some doubt and will be determined by the Membership in 2024.


John Brandrick at 'Lionsmeet', Worcester, in 2022.

OLCO has a day of running live steam models of 'Lion' at a different venue each year. In 2023, the event was overshadowed by the death of the Chairman, John Brandrick. However, since the Birmingham club had been John Brandrick's 'home club' some years ago, it was considered appropriate to proceed with the arrangements John himself had made for our visit which took place on 1st July at the Illshaw Heath Road site of the Birmingham Society of Model Engineers. There's a report on the event here.


Lionsmeet 2023: The Steaming Bays at Birmingham Society of Model Engineers

OLCO also booked a stand at the Warley National Model Railway Exhibition on 25th and 26th November 2023 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, displaying a 7.25 inch gauge live-steam model of 'Lion' owned by John Hawley, a working oval of '00' gauge track showing both the Rapido 'Lion' (in 1930 livery) with an appropriate train and the Rapido 'Thunderbolt' with the train from the film 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' and archive video of the full-size 'Lion' in steam in 1988. My pictures are here.


Warley National Model Railway Exhibition 2023: John Hawley on the OLCO Stand.


Warley National Model Railway Exhibition 2023: OLCO Stand public view, with 7.25 inch 'Lion', video of full-size 'Lion' in steam in 1988 and Rapido 'Lion' head-to-head with Rapido 'Thunderbolt'.

All my posts about the Old Locomotive Committee are here and you can find more information on the OLCO website here.

The Battlefield Line

Days operating the Diesel Multiple Unit are always enjoyable and I had turns on 6th May (Coronation of King Charles III), 20th May and 3rd June. You can find all my posts about Diesel Multiple Units here (or refer to the 'Index' here).


Coronation Day service at Shenton 6-May-2023 (Battlefield Line 2022 and 2023)

The railway held an excellent Models Weekend on 19th and 20th August at Market Bosworth. I attended with Dean on the second day and my report is here. There was a splendid range of layouts on display, in various scales. I found the layout featuring Birmingham Railway Museum very evocative, having previously been a volunteer there for many years.


Birmingham Railway Museum Layout: This detailed 4mm layout of the Museum was displayed as a static exhibit: Battlefield Line, Models Weekend 2023

Global Centre of Rail Excellence

The Nant Helen Opencast Mine and associated Onllwyn Washery in South Wales finally closed in 2022. The Welsh and English governments, together with Councils in the area, developed an ambitious scheme to convert the site into a world-class test site for railway rolling stock and advanced railway infrastructure construction techniques called the Global Centre of Rail Excellence (GCRE). The ambitious plan calls for a single, high-speed, overhead-electrified, standard-gauge continuous circuit. On 12th June I had a fascinating (if exhausting) tour of the site, which is described here. The truncated Neath and Brecon branch is currently mothballed and will connect GCRE to the South Wales Main Line, via indirect connections at Neath. There's a short history of this railway here.


GCRE: View from bridge over the railway serving Nant Helen and Onllwyn Washery.


The continuous circuit will be built around the former opencast mine site.

Myanma Railways

As explained in 'OVERSEAS TRAVEL' above, my last visit to Myanmar allowing study of the interesting railway system there was in 2019 and no new posts on the topic were added in 2023.

You can find all my earlier posts about Myanma Railways (in reverse date-of-posting order) here or refer to the 'Index' here.

BREWOOD HALL

On 25th July 2023, Brewood Garden Party was held, for the ninth time, in the garden at Brewood Hall. In 2023 we had heavy, intermittent rain throughout the day so visitor numbers were somewhat down but most people seemed determined to enjoy the event, rain or no rain! There's a report here.


Not all rain! In the background (L-R) Coconut Shy, Hot Dog Stall, Beer Tent: Brewood Hall Garden Party 2023

There's an album of pictures showing the 1-acre garden at Brewood Hall through the seasons in 2023 here with a separate album (covering a number of years) showing the fungi which appear annually here.


Brewood Hall Garden 2023: June brought prolific roses

During the year, as every year, various repairs were carried out around the property. External repainting, started in 2022, continued in 2023, with a small album of pictures here. Various posts exist in draft but I'm afraid completing and issuing them currently eludes me.


Brewood Hall: The 2022-2023 repainting successfully used a portable access tower.

You can find all the posts about Brewood Hall which I have managed to complete (in reverse date-of-posting order) here.

TY GWYN

Ty Gwyn is a small commercial woodland around 27 hectares in area near Corwen in Wales. I made a brief visit on Monday, 21st August with Alex and Steve, who'd not previously seen the woodland. This visit is mentioned in the post here.


Alex and Steve at Ty Gwyn

I made a second visit to Ty Gwyn with Dean on 25th October to discuss the maintenance plan for 2024 with the forest manager, Matthew Whitehead. Pictures of both these visits are here.


Ty Gwyn 2023: Matthew assisted in collecting a young, rooted spruce to be installed in a large pot at Brewood.

To see all my posts on Ty Gwyn, click here.

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[Date of Models Weekend corrected 8-Jan-2024]