Bagan Medical Clinic: May, June, July 2013

This report is based on information from Doctor Hla Tun, who also supplied the photographs.

The 'Road to Mandalay' luxury river cruise ship (operated by Orient-Express) has a regular schedule sailing the Ayeyarwady River between Mandalay and Bagan in Myanmar (Burma). On Friday, Saturday and Sunday each week the 'Road to Mandalay' is anchored at Bagan, whilst the ship's Guests experience the remarkable sights of Bagan.

Doctor Hla Tun is the Ship's Doctor on 'Road to Mandalay' and he also manages the 'RTM Social Contribution' which supports a number of charitable initiatives in Myanmar in the field of education and medical support. The Bagan Medical Clinic, opened in August 2011, is perhaps the most ambitious of these initiatives. The Clinic is open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday each week, staffed by two local doctors and a number of health assistants. In addition to looking after the Guests on the ship, the indefatigable Doctor Hla Tun becomes the senior doctor at the Clinic on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The 'Road to Mandalay' has an 'off season' (in 2013 from 8th May to 14th July) when Doctor Hla Tun is able to return to Yangon. However, the Bagan Medical Clinic continues to open as normal during the ship's 'off season' and, in 2013, Doctor Hla Tun spent five weeks during the 'off season' back at the Bagan Medical Clinic.

Patients waiting in front of the clinic. Some are holding their white medical record books issued by the Clinic.

During May, 3,303 treatments were carried out, during June a further 5,586 and during July 6,079 more, bringing the total number of treatments since the Clinic opened (on 6th August 2011) to 69,892. Because of the high demand, the facilities at the Clinic are being expanded with the construction of a new building.

Patients enjoying free lunch in front of the new clinic building under construction next to the original building.

A free lunch is provided because the long distances most patients travel to reach the Clinic necessitates patients setting off very early in the day or even the previous day.

Treatment is provided free for poor patients and on a cost-sharing basis for those who can afford to make a contribution. Where hospitalisation is required for further management of their condition, poor patients may also receive a donation from the Clinic for transportation, accommodation and part of cost of surgical procedures or blood transfusions. All this work is funded by both foreign and local donors, supported by local volunteers.

Monks and volunteers preparing lunch in the Monastery Compound for clinic patients.

As an example, one young boy was diagnosed with Ascites (accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity) and congenital heart disease. A donation was made by the Clinic for further management of the condition in hospital.

This boy with Ascites and congenital heart disease was given a donation for further management of the condition in hospital.

The Clinic can only deal with outpatient procedures. Not realising this, one mother brought her son who is suffering from congenital Spina Bifida. However, the Clinic was able to refer her to a hospital for further management of the condition and donate money towards the costs.

Spina Bifida patient.

One 49 year old lady had a very unfortunate experience. She suffered from Diabetes with numbness of her feet and hands due to neurological involvement. Since she lived in a remote village about 70 km from the Bagan Clinic she hired a motor bike and driver to bring her to the Clinic. On the way, the motor bike suffered a flat tyre and she and the driver had to walk for around an hour to reach a shop which could re-inflate the tyre. Whilst walking, she removed her sandals but because of the numbness in her feet she did not realise that the friction between the soles of her feet and the tarmac road surface was damaging the skin on her feet and creating blisters. On arrival at the Clinic, she had to sleep in the Monastery overnight, before seeing Doctor Hla Tun the following day, with additional problems to the original diabetes with neurological involvement.

Damage to the feet of a diabetic patient.

Treatment Summary

The table below summarises the number of treatments per month and the total number of treatments since the clinic started.

Month	Patients treated	Total treatments
August 2011	355	355
September 2011	784	1,139
October 2011	1,434	2,573
November 2011	1,723	4,296
December 2011	2,013	6,309
January 2012	1,605	7,889
February 2012	2,464	10,353
March 2012	4,603	14,956
April 2012	2,043	16,999
May 2012 - Jan 2013	To be added	To be added
February 2013	2,713	49,850
March 2013	2,713	49,850
April 2013	2,061	54,924
May 2013	3,303	58,227
June 2013	5,586	63,813
July 2013	6,079	69,892

Bagan Medical Clinic: April 2013

This report is based on information from Doctor Hla Tun, who also supplied the photographs.

April 2013

The Bagan Clinic treated 2,061 patients in April 2013, bringing the total number of treatments since the Clinic opened on 6th August 2011 to 54,924.

Many patients have to set off very early in the day (or even the previous day, sleeping overnight in the Monastery compound), to register for treatment. For this reason, a free lunch is provided for patients and, in the afternoon, waiting patients can often be found sleeping near the clinic.

A small group of waiting patients resting near the clinic.

In front of clinic, two members of the clinic staff are kept busy measuring patients' blood pressure prior to the patients being seen by a doctor.

Measuring blood pressure in front of the clinic.



This lady had a painful abdomen after drinking or taking small amounts of food. The clinic treated her with Vitamins and Amino Acid and, because she was poor, donated money for referral to hospital where immediate surgery was performed, allowing her to eat and drink.



This 40 year old lady had suffered from a swollen, painful right knee joint for more than a year. She was referred to hospital for further management and the clinic made a donation for transportation and accommodation.

Treatment Summary

The table below summarises the number of treatments per month and the total number of treatments since the clinic started.

Month	Patients treated	Total treatments
August 2011	355	355
September 2011	784	1,139
October 2011	1,434	2,573
November 2011	1,723	4,296
December 2011	2,013	6,309
January 2012	1,605	7,889
February 2012	2,464	10,353
March 2012	4,603	14,956
April 2012	2,043	16,999
May 2012 - Jan 2013	To be added	To be added
February 2013	2,713	49,850
March 2013	2,713	49,850
April 2013	2,061	54,924

Clinic photographs in 2013

Bagan Medical Clinic (2013).

Related posts in this blog

You can find all my posts about the Bagan Medical Clinic here.

Bagan Medical Clinic: March 2013

The 'Road to Mandalay' charity opened the Free Medical Clinic in Bagan on 6th August 2011. Details about the early months can be found in a series of earlier posts 'Free Medical Clinic in Bagan' - Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. My visit in September 2012 is described in the post The Bagan Clinic. I was in Bagan again on Friday 15th February, 2013 and there's a little about visiting the Clinic in my post Bagan with photographs here.

March 2013

The following report is based on information from Doctor Hla Tun, who also supplied the photographs.

The Bagan Clinic treated an amazing 3,013 patients in March 2013, bringing the total number of treatments since the Clinic opened on 6th August 2011 to 52,863.

Over 80% of the patients travel distances between 30 km and 150 km to reach the Free Clinic at Bagan. A few patients travel between 150 km and 170 km to attend! For this reason, a free lunch is provided for patients.



Some of the more notable conditions presenting in March included:-



This elderly lady was referred to hospital with a dislocated hip. The clinic made a donation for the necessary transportation and accommodation.



This young girl suffered from stiffness of the right hand. After being treated twice in the Bagan Clinic, she could passively move her right hand with assistance from her left hand.



This 10 year old girl suffers from Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura and needs to be treated with fresh blood transfusion every 3 to 4 weeks. For a single transfusion, her parents need around 50 US Dollars for transportation, fee and hospitalization and the necessary blood tests prior to transfusion. The clinic made a donation to the girl's mother for blood transfusion. The clinic can directly provide medication for vitamin, minerals and liver support.

Treatment Summary

The table below summarises the number of treatments per month and the total number of treatments since the clinic started.

Month	Patients treated	Total treatments
August 2011	355	355
September 2011	784	1,139
October 2011	1,434	2,573
November 2011	1,723	4,296
December 2011	2,013	6,309
January 2012	1,605	7,889
February 2012	2,464	10,353
March 2012	4,603	14,956
April 2012	2,043	16,999
May 2012 - Jan 2013	To be added	To be added
February 2013	2,713	49,850
March 2013	3,013	52,863

More Photographs

Free Clinic in Bagan.
Around the Bagan Free Clinic.
Bagan Medical Clinic (2013).

Bagan Medical Clinic: February 2013

The 'Road to Mandalay' charity opened the Free Medical Clinic in Bagan on 6th August 2011. Details about the early months can be found in a series of earlier posts 'Free Medical Clinic in Bagan' - Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. My visit in September 2012 is described in the post The Bagan Clinic. I was in Bagan again on Friday 15th February, 2013 and there's a little about visiting the Clinic in my post Bagan with photographs here.

February 2013

The following report is based on information from Doctor Hla Tun, who also supplied the photographs.

The Bagan Clinic treated 2713 patients in February 2013, bringing the total number of treatments since the Clinic opened on 6th August 2011 to 49,850. Some of the more unusual conditions presenting included:-



This 30 year old patient first came to the clinic on 22nd February 2013 from her village about 17 km south of Bagan with severe memory loss. For ten months she had been unable to name her children or recognise neighbours. Happily, following treatment, she returned to the clinic on the 8th March, able to respond to any question and name her three children and their ages.



Most patients have had to travel to reach the clinic, sometimes considerable distances. With the co-operation of the local Monastery and the 'Road to Mandalay' ship, a free lunch is served to waiting patients.



This 12 year old boy was diagnosed with congenital hyperlipidemia. The clinic treated him with cholesterol-lowering agents but he was referred to hospital for further management of the condition.

A four year old boy had a congenital hernia with hypospasdias (an abnormally placed urinary meatus). This boy was referred to hospital for surgery.

In a number of cases, the clinic donated funds to poor patients for transport and accommodation where hospitalisation was necessary.

Treatment Summary

The table below summarises the number of treatments per month and the total number of treatments since the clinic started.

Month	Patients treated	Total treatments
August 2011	355	355
September 2011	784	1,139
October 2011	1,434	2,573
November 2011	1,723	4,296
December 2011	2,013	6,309
January 2012	1,605	7,889
February 2012	2,464	10,353
March 2012	4,603	14,956
April 2012	2,043	16,999
May 2012 - Jan 2013	To be added	To be added
February 2013	2,713	49,850

More Photographs

Free Clinic in Bagan.
Around the Bagan Free Clinic.
Bagan Medical Clinic (2013).

Stationery Distribution in Taung Be School

This report is based on information from Doctor Hla Tun, who also supplied the photographs.

The work of the RTM Social Contribution, led by Doctor Hla Tun, is ongoing and distribution of stationery to schools is carried out regularly.

On 1st March 2013 stationery was distributed to 216 students at Taung Be Village Post Primary School. In 2001, RTM Social Contribution donated a school building with 2 classrooms. There are 278 pupils studying Grades 1 to 8 at the school, but not all were present on the 1st March.

Five groups of students put on a School Concert of singing and dancing for the visitors.

Students wearing Shan Traditional Costumes singing and dancing Shan songs.

Students wearing Myanmar Traditional Costumes singing and dancing Myanmar songs.

Stationery distribution comprised 3 exercise books, 4 pencils and a ruler for each student present.

Taung Be Post Primary School: Stationery distribution.

Photographs

You can find these and more photographs of the Education Support work in Burma in 2013 here.

Pencils for Kids

This report is based on information from Dr. Hla Tun, who also supplied the photographs.

'Pencils for Kids' is a Canadian charity dedicated to improving educational opportunities for children. You can find details on their website here. Although their initial focus was Niger, their success has allowed them to expand into other areas.

In March 2013, a group from the charity visited Myanmar to donate Backpacks to 350 orphans, single parent students and poor students in and around Yangon. Doctor Hla Tun assisted the group with the distribution of the Backpacks at four orphanages and one school. Each backpack includes exercise books, ball point pens, pencils, eraser, marker pen, coloured pencils, crayon, drawing book, ruler, pencil sharpener, toothbrush and pencil case, together with either school uniform or, for nuns, a robe.

Members of the 'Pencils for Kids' group joined the 'Road to Mandalay' from March 20th to March 23rd and, on March 22nd, they distributed reading glasses to the elderly outside the Bagan Medical Clinic.

Group picture after delivering backpacks to 174 students at a Monastic School at a Nunnery in Yangon area.

'Pencils for Kids' members also brought reading glasses for elderly patients at the Bagan Medical Clinic. They made a trial by wearing and reading a newspaper or journal.

Patients wearing new spectacles pose with 'Pencils for Kids' members in front of the Bagan Medical Clinic.

Photographs

You can find these and more photographs of the work of the Bagan Clinic in 2013 here.

Education Support in Burma, 2013

This report is based on information from Doctor Hla Tun, who also supplied the photographs.

The work of the RTM Social Contribution, led by Doctor Hla Tun, is ongoing and distribution of stationery to schools is carried out regularly.

On March 9 2013, two donors from Australia visited Htee Pu Village near Mount Popa with Doctor Hla Tun.

It takes about an hour from Bagan by car to get to Htee Pu. There are about 220 students from Grade 1 to 9 in the school where not only local students but also students from neighboring villages can attend up to Grade 9. The Education authorities upgraded the school from Post-Primary school to Secondary school in 2010. Htee Pu itself has around 238 houses and a population of about 1018.

The donors performed the Opening Ceremony on a new school building which they had donated. In addition, they donated stationery to a total of 235 students (15 students from a neighboring village were also present). Each student received 3 exercise books, 3 pencils, a bear from Australia and a ruler. Twenty-seven outstanding students from all Grades also received crayons, pens and pencils.

Donors cutting the ribbon during the opening ceremony.

Stationery distribution to 235 students.

Finally, there was a School Concert of singing and dancing, performed by six groups of students.

Traditional dance performed by 8 girl students with 2 boy students singing for the audience of students and visitors.

Photographs

You can find these and more photographs of the Education Support work in Burma in 2013 here.

Railways around Edge Hill in 2013

Introduction

In the post Edge Hill, Liverpool I described the growth of the railways around Edge Hill which reached their zenith in the first half of the 20th century. But, like almost all of our railway system, the railways around Edge Hill have changed significantly in the last fifty years, generally becoming simplified.

For comparison with my sketch in the earlier post Edge Hill, Liverpool, here's an incomplete, simplified, not-to-scale sketch of the lines around Edge Hill in 2013. An explanation of the letter references on the sketch is given in the table below the sketch.

Click for larger image..
Simplified sketch of Edge Hill area in 2013.

Ref	Description
A	Wapping Up and Down Goods: The cutting which served the Wapping Lines and the Crown Street Lines remains, with two sidings still extending towards the tunnel mouth. The tunnel is out of use although plans have been floated for this tunnel and the Waterloo Tunnel to be re-opened as part of a Metro system.
B	Crown Street Up and Down Goods: Although the cutting towards Crown Street remains, Crown Street is now a public park.
C	Lime Street Down Fast, Up Fast, Down Slow, Up Slow.
D	Waterloo Up and Down Goods: Sidings still extend towards the tunnel mouth but stop short. The tunnel is out of use although plans have been floated for this tunnel and the Wapping Tunnel to be re-opened as part of a Metro system.
E	Spekeland Road Coal Wharf: The yard still exists in a derelict form, as does a row of coal offices on Tunnel Road.
F	Down Sidings: Still in active use for stabling passenger trains, together with the adjacent Alstom Traincare Depot.
G	Edge Hill Station.
H	Edge Hill Power Signal Box.
J	Tuebrook Sidings.
K	Up and Down Chat Moss Lines (to Manchester).
L	Up and Down Main Lines (to Crewe).
M	Olive Mount Chord.
N	Up and Down Bootle Lines.
P	Edge Lane Junction (to Bootle, serving docks).
Q	Tunnel Road.
R	Picton Road Overbridge.
S	To Ditton, Runcorn and Crewe.
-	Wavertree Technology Park Station (on Up and Down Chat Moss Lines near Olive Mount Chord).

My visits to Liverpool

On my various visits to Liverpool, I've tried to keep my eyes open regarding the railways. I had a fairly good mooch around Liverpool Lime Street station on Saturday, 18th May 2013 when I attended the Old Locomotive Committee Annual General Meeting.

I decided to visit Liverpool again on Saturday, 22nd June 2013 to have a closer look around the Edge Hill area. I took one of the reasonably-convenient London Midland services from Wolverhampton to Liverpool Lime Street. I've described an earlier trip to Liverpool with London Midland in the post Liverpool by Train.

Liverpool Lime Street Station

My visit to Liverpool on Saturday, 18th May 2013 gave rise to the post Liverpool Lime Street Station.

Lime Street Station. View from Platform 2 looking towards Edge Hill.

On arrival at Lime Street station on 22nd June 2013, I took a local service for the short trip to Edge Hill station. Platforms 1 to 6 at Lime Street are used by the various local services and the first departure calling at Edge Hill was one of the execrable 'Pacers'.


Liverpool Lime Street station, showing the 'Pacer' in Platform 2 which I took to Edge Hill.

Edge Hill Station

The station retains its four through platforms but the two bay platforms at the Manchester end have long gone. The platform canopies have been removed, revealing the pleasing design of the two 1836 station buildings, one on the north island platform, one on the south. Each island platform remains connected to Tunnel Road by a cobbled ramp but only the ramp to the north island platform is still in use (access to the south island platform is via a subway from the north island platform). After spending some time studying the historic station at Edge Hill, I left the station and made my way along Tunnel Road, past the derelict coal offices which served Spekeland Road Coal Wharf.

A modern view of the road access to Edge Hill station, viewed from Tunnel Road.

Crown Street

I left Tunnel Road and continued along the various streets running close to the original railway route to Crown Street. Although sidings still extend towards Crown Street, the railway is not very accessible. The sidings stop just short of Crown Street but trees, undergrowth and fencing now make the lines invisible. I could just see an electrification mast but all the Overhead Line Equipment had long gone. The area where Crown Street railway yard stood is now a park and playground. The park includes a brick ventilation shaft, presumably on the disused Wapping Tunnel.

Crown Street in 2013, with tunnel ventilation shaft in the right background and the Anglican Cathedral on the left in the distance.

Wavertree Botanic Gardens

From Crown Street, I walked back to Edge Hill, crossing over one of the many bridges spanning the approach to Lime Street Station and continued to Wavertree Botanic Gardens. I believe this was the location of the famous 1930 Pageant and Exhibition celebrating the 100th birthday of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. At this exhibition, as well as various static locomotive exhibits, the restored 1830 locomotive 'Lion' gave rides to the public. I've written a number of posts about 'Lion' and her present-day supporters' club 'The Old Locomotive Committee' - you can find all my posts here or go to the Old Locomotive Committee website here.

Wavertree Botanic Gardens in 2013.

Picton Road Bridges

Leaving the botanic gardens, I carried on walking, crossing the railway on the long Picton Road overbridge and passing just behind Edge Hill Power Signal Box.

View looking towards Manchester from Picton Road overbridge. L-R: Former Up and Down goods lines to Waterloo Tunnel Mouth, Up and Down Chat Moss, Up and Down Main, Former Wapping goods lines. The present Power Signal Box is just visible in the background.

Further along Picton Road, I passed the Alstom Traincare Depot and continued under a group of bridges carrying the lines to Crewe and associated sidings. I then turned off to make my way north along Rathbone Road to the bridge over the Liverpool and Manchester railway. Freight by rail is now restricted to container traffic, block loads and engineering trains so the whole of the Edge Hill Grid Iron has gone. As part of a Regeneration Programme, much of the area has been regenerated as 'Wavertree Technology Park' and two million pounds was invested in a new station on the Liverpool and Manchester route which opened in 2000, rejoicing in the name 'Wavertree Technology Park'. This is adjacent to the Rathbone Road bridge. From the road bridge looking east, Olive Mount Cutting was visible. This was one of the major engineering achievements during the construction of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Originally double track, it was widened around 1870 to accommodate four tracks but the route has now been simplified to double-track.

Access to the Bootle Branch had originally been from Liverpool direction but in 1883 the double-track Olive Mount Chord was opened, forming a triangle so that trains from Manchester direction could directly reach the Bootle Branch and the docks which it served. Following a fire at Edge Lane Junction signal box in 1988, the Olive Mount Chord was abandoned. However, twenty years later the Chord was re-instated (as a single line) to improve the facilities for rail freight.

Looking towards Olive Mount Cutting and Manchester from Rathbone Road bridge. The new Olive Mount Chord diverges on the left.

After a short wait at Wavertree Technology Park station, another 'Pacer' arrived which took me back to Lime Street Station. By this time fairly tired, I caught the first available service back to Crewe and Wolverhampton.



Wavertree Technology Park station, looking towards Edge Hill.

The railway photographs I took during this visit have been added to the set Liverpool Area Railways.

Signalling

My earlier post Liverpool Lime Street Station briefly described the power box at Lime Street which is still in use. In the Edge Hill area, all the earlier manual signal boxes have been replaced by Liverpool Edge Hill Power Signal Box. This Power Box was built during electrification in the 1960s with an 'NX' signalling panel which I understand has been replaced. Oddly enough, Edge Hill Power Signal Box is discussed in Pevsner's 'The Buildings of England' book reference [2].

The Power Signal Box at Edge Hill.

External links

Liverpool and Manchester Railway (Wikipedia).
London and North Western Railway (Wikipedia).
London, Midland and Scottish Railway (Wikipedia).
Pictures of Exhibition Junction by edgehillsignalman.
Edge Hill Archive

Book References

[1] 'An Illustrated History of Liverpool's Railways' by Paul Anderson, published Irwell Press (ISBN 1-871608-68-6).
[2] 'The Buildings of England - Lancashire: Liverpool and the South-West' by Richard Pollard and Nikolaus Pevsner, published by Yale University Press (ISBN 0 300 10910 5). This book may be previewed here.

Track Diagrams

For more details of the present track layout, refer to the latest edition of 'Railway Track Diagrams Book 4: Midlands & North West', published by Trackmaps (ISBN: 0-9549866-0-1).

Related articles in this Blog

Liverpool Lime Street Station.
'Black 5' to Birmingham.
Edge Hill, Liverpool.

My Pictures

Liverpool: The City.
Liverpool Area Railways.

Class 67 to Marylebone

Up Wrexham & Shropshire train, comprising a Class 67 with two coaches and a Driving Van Trailer, about to take the Bescot line at Wolverhampton on 24th October 2008.

The Wrexham & Shropshire was an Open Access Operator which operated from April 2008 to January 2011 running a service between Wrexham and London Marylebone. Although the services passed through Wolverhampton, most services were prohibited from loading and unloading passengers, so the trains towards London ran non-stop through Wolverhampton and then took the 'Old Road' through Bescot, stopping at Tame Bridge Parkway. I think the route continued through Aston, Stechford, Coventry, Leamington Spa and thence to Marylebone. The first time I saw the service, there were two 'Class 67' top-and-tailing the short train but when re-furbished Driving Van Trailers became available, the formation changed to that shown in the heading photograph. Throughout the short life of the railway, it attracted very high passenger satisfaction ratings but insufficient passengers to avoid losses which the owners considered unsustainable. Although I saw the trains on a number of occasions, I never managed to travel with them.

However, much of the strategy of Wrexham & Shropshire was reborn in the Chiltern Mainline Experience, which I managed to sample on 23rd July 2013, as I described briefly in the post A Busy Week. So, once again, you can catch a 'Class 67 to Marylebone'.

I've removed a link to the Chiltern Mainline Experience which is no longer active, and it's been suggested that you instead refer to Chiltern Railways: 03) Where do Mainline trains stop?.

External Websites

Wrexham & Shropshire (Wikipedia).
Chiltern Mainline (Wikipedia).

[Chiltern link amended: 12/05/2022]

Northern Rubber Special

When doing some research about the railway history of Edge Hill, Liverpool for the post Edge Hill, Liverpool, I came upon the Edge Hill Station site. This site includes some very interesting black-and-white railway pictures. As I explored, I found a group of pictures showing what was clearly a Northern Rubber enthusiasts' steam special at Edge Hill. My friends introduced me to Gary Thornton's excellent Six Bells Junction site from which we gleaned a little more information.

The train ran from Retford via Marple to Liverpool (and return) on Saturday, 4th September 1954, double-leaded by preserved Ivatt 'Large Boilered Atlantic' Number 251 in Great Northern Railway Limited livery piloting 'Director' 62663 'Prince Albert' in lined British Rail black livery.

More information about Number 251 can be found on the splendid 'LNER Encyclopedia' site here. The locomotive had been restored with a saturated boiler and was regarded as a 'poor steamer', so on main line runs was frequently paired with the the 'Director'. The 'LNER Encyclopedia' details the 'Director' class here.

The four photographs on the Edge Hill Station site show the excursion on arrival at Edge Hill on the lines which led to Waterloo Tunnel and the Docks. Here, the two locomotives which had brought the train from Retford were detached, to be replaced by two 'Super D' 0-8-0 locomotives (49082 and 49314) which then took the train through the tunnel to terminate at Riverside Station which, at the time, was still used by Boat Trains. There's a little about the 'Super D' class in 'Wikipedia' here and in 'Rail Album' here.

I presume that the two 'Super D' engines later worked the excursion back to Edge Hill where the 'Atlantic' and the 'Director' (in the meantime turned, coaled and watered at Edge Hill Motive Power Depot) took over for the return journey to Retford.

The 'Northern Rubber' specials were organised by Alan Pegler (16 April 1920 – 18 March 2012), who was a member of the family which then owned the Northern Rubber Company, based in Retford. He was a lifelong railway enthusiast and subsequently became even more famous as the first private owner of the locomotive 'Flying Scotsman'.

The four pictures on the Edge Hill Station site which show the 'Northern Rubber' special are reproduced below, in the order that they were probably taken and with an suggested explanation.


On arrival on the Goods Lines, the two locomotives were uncoupled and drawn forward towards Waterloo Tunnel Mouth Signal Box, leaving the train (not at a platform) on the Goods Line.


The two 'Super D' locomotives had presumably been waiting on the converging line from Exhibition Junction. With the 'Atlantic' and the 'Director' drawn right down to the tunnel mouth, the 'Super D' locomotives could draw forward clear of the junction points and then set back onto the waiting coaches.


The 'Atlantic' and 'Director' were then set back onto the line from Exhibition Junction, so as to clear the line for the excursion to proceed through the tunnel to Riverside. There are plenty of enthusiasts wandering around on the railway admiring the locomotives - Health and Safety was not quite so apparent then.


The 'Super D' locomotives (both running tender-first towards Riverside) set off towards the tunnel with the excursion train. Note that the tender of the leading locomotive is carrying 'Express' lamp code (one lamp above each buffer) and the L&NWR lower quadrant signal to the right of the train (Down Home 1 for Waterloo Tunnel Mouth signal box) is 'Off'.

Well, that's my best interpretation. If anybody can contribute anything else (recollections, pictures, special traffic notices), it would be welcome.

External Websites

Edge Hill Station site.
Alan Pegler (Wikipedia).
Six Bells Junction (SBJ).
Locomotive 251.
'Director' Class.
'Super D' (Wikipedia).
'Super D'(Rail Album).

A Heavy Load

I was steam driver on 'Lord Phil' at Peak Rail on Saturday, 17th August 2013, with Dave as fireman. The day started with a two-hour 'Driving Experience' course, running light engine between Darley Dale and Matlock river bridge. There's an earlier post here which gives an idea of the format of a 'Driving Experience'. Our trainee seemed well pleased when we left him on the down platform at Darley Dale at 10.45 a.m. and scuttled light engine up to Rowsley to pick up our train.

A couple of weeks before, I'd been driver on one of the days of the '1940s Weekend' (described here) when we were at the north end of a 7-coach train top-and-tailing with 'Penyghent' at the south end.

On the 17th August, we were again working a 7-coach train with 'Penyghent', but the locomotives had resumed their customary positions with 'Lord Phil' at the south end hauling the train to Matlock (Town) and 'Penyghent at the north end taking us back to Rowsley.

The weather was fairly good, with the occasional shower of rain, and there seemed to be plenty of passengers.

During the day, we were informed that the 'Class 31' was required to haul the train on a test run, presumably following repairs. One possibility was for the 'Class 31' to deputise for 'Lord Phil' on the last round trip (giving the steam crew an 'early bath'). However, the solution adopted was to couple the '31' on top of 'Penyghent' for the 3.00 p.m. departure from Rowsley, allowing the '31' to work the train back from Matlock (Town) to Rowsley. This meant that 'Lord Phil' had to first take the train (comprising seven coaches, 'Penyghent' and the '31') from Rowsley to Matlock (Town).

The Guard gave the load which 'Lord Phil' had to shift as 486 tons - heavier than normal but well within the capability of an 'Austerity' tank. The 'Austerities' are powerful locomotives capable of shifting well over 1,000 tons. What I was not quite sure about was whether we'd be able to keep to time. Well, we actually arrived at Matlock (Town) one and a half minutes early.

The 3.00 p.m. from Rowsley passes through Matlock Riverside, showing the two diesel-electric locomotives hanging on the back.

The '31' took the train back to Rowsley without incident and then uncoupled and returned to shed, leaving 'Lord Phil' and 'Penyghent' to do the final round trip of the day.

The 'Class 31' entering Matlock Riverside, on its test run back to Rowsley.

We brought the engine on shed for disposal and, immediately, the heavens opened so that we had driving rain to add to the normal problems of disposal. There's a post describing disposal here. As often happens, once we were wringing wet, the rain stopped.

Travelling on the Qinghai - Tibet Railway

On 11th July 2013, I boarded a train at Xining West in China to travel to Lhasa (arriving the next day). I've already described the first part of the journey in a post here and the final part of the journey (the following day) here. In this post, I'll add information of a more technical nature. All my pictures taken on the journey are in the set QingHai - Tibet Railway.

The train I travelled on was the K917 which had left Lanzhou, 228 km east of Xining, at 12:08.

The timetable for this train is given below. We also made brief stops at a few stations not shown in the timetable.

Station	Distance*	Arrive	Depart
Xining West	-	14:44	15:04
Delingha	509	20:49	20:55
Golmud	818	00:19	00:39
Anduo	1512	08:39	08:41
Naqu	1638	09:59	10:05
Dangxiong	1796	11:54	11:56
Lhasa	1960	14:35	-

* Distance (in km) from Xining West.

Summary

Putting aside political considerations, it must be said that the railway to Tibet is a remarkable engineering achievement. To construct a railway in such an inhospitable area required great determination. The electrified section from Xining to Golmud was completed in 1984 (and it's double-track as far as Tempung) but the single-track non-electrified extension from Golmud to Lhasa was only finished in 2006. Almost half the length of line between Golmud and Lhasa is laid on Permafrost. In general, the line speed limit is 120 km/hr (75 m.p.h.) but this is reduced to 100 km/hr on the permafrost sections. The railway appears well-engineered and fairly carefully executed.

At Tanggula, the railway is at the highest elevation of any railway in the world at a little over 5,000 metres. In fact, 80% of the line from Golmud to Lhasa is above 4,000 metres, significantly reducing oxygen levels and, for this reason, the passenger coaches are fully sealed and oxygen is carried. There's an interesting (if frightening) article about altitude sickness here.

The route required a number of tunnels and Fenghuoshan Tunnel (1,338 metres long) at an elevation of 4,905 metres is the highest railway tunnel in the world.

The People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union co-operated quite closely following World War II, so it's unsurprising that the railways in China show many similarities with Russia's railways, which I had an opportunity of studying during my trip on the 'Golden Eagle' private train (described here).

At the end of this post, there are some sites linked which give a little more information about railways in China and Tibet. Tibetan place names along the railway are now generally rendered in Chinese characters. When these characters are converted into English letters, a variety of spellings can result so I'm still rather confused about the identity of some of the places I passed through.

Electric Locomotives

I wasn't able to go onto the platform at Xining West until the train had already arrived and I didn't have an opportunity to confirm the motive power before we departed. After about three hours, when our route executed sharp curves, I finally could see that, as anticipated, we had electric haulage by one of the modern 'Harmony' HX-series Co-Co 25kV a.c. locomotives. These locomotives are either imported or built in China under technology transfer agreements. The other trains we passed were hauled by similar 'Harmony' locomotives or the earlier 'Shaoshan' SS-series locomotives.

The 'Harmony' HX-series electric locomotivewhich hauled my train to Golmud.

There's more information about electric locomotives in China here.

Diesel-Electric Locomotives

Chinese-built

There's more information about diesel-electric locomotives built in China here.

Co-Co diesel-electric locomotive shunting at Xining West.

Co-Co diesel-electric locomotive DF_1309 near Lhasa.

Imported NJ2

The NJ2 diesel-electric locomotives used on the Golmud-Lhasa section were built by GE-Transportation in the United State, as their type C38AChe. The 78 units have running numbers NJ2 0001 to NJ2 0078. A driving cab is provided at one end only and the units are intended to operate as 38 2-section locomotives.

An NJ2 unit weighs-in at 136 tons so, even using a Co-Co layout with two six-wheel trucks, axle loading is 23-tons. Since GE locomotives normally use four wheel trucks, the bogies for the NJ2 locomotives were made by United Gonivan in New South Wales, using a well-established design with a fabricated (rather than cast) frame.

The engine is a variant of the successful four-stroke turbo-charged 7FDL16 diesel engine (arranged 8+8 cylinder V-formation) as used in the GE 'DASH' series. The engine brochure gives a maximum engine power of 3355 kW although other sources quote 3,800 kW for the NJ2 power plant. Of course, reduction of air supply at high altitude affects diesels (as well as people) - high-output diesel engines depend on the turbo-charger even at low altitudes to provide sufficient combustion air.

A scale model of a single NJ2 unit on display in Shanghai Railway Museum.

On arrival at Lhasa, I walked to the front of the train hoping to get a picture of our motive power but the twin-unit was already uncoupled and moving off down the headshunt.

The pair of NJ2 locomotives which hauled my train to Lhasa.

Civil Engineering Works

Even with the benefit of modern machinery, the constructional problems must have been daunting. Embankments, cuttings, bridges and tunnels were required, together with stations and other buildings required by the railway. Later in my trip, I saw something of the work in progress building the new railway from Lhasa to Shigatse, which is presenting similar problems. This gave me a better insight into the building of the line I travelled on to Lhasa.

The railway is fenced. On the Xining - Golmud section, this was generally a series of concrete posts with metal sections fixed between each pair of posts. Each metal section comprised a rectangular frame of welded tubes supporting a panel of steel mesh. The whole metal section was then painted green. In the mountain section, I saw some simpler post and wire fencing. Beyond Golmud, instead of the metal sections, a pre-cast concrete panel, also mesh-covered, is used.

Metal section fencing near Lake Qinghai.

Beyond Golmud, instead of the metal sections, a pre-cast concrete panel, also mesh-covered, is used.

Concrete section fencing beyond Golmud.

Overhead 25 kV a.c. Electrification

On 'plain line', pre-cast concrete masts are commonly used.

Reinforced Concrete Masts supporting the Overhead Line.

In the vicinity of stations and where there are additional running lines, steel portal structures of various designs are used. Some have rectangular fabricated masts and rectangular trusses but there are also types with tubular masts and triangular trusses.

Portal Structure featuring tubular mast and triangular truss.

Traction substations are conventional in appearance and appear to take in power from the National Grid.

Traction Substation

Permanent Way

Flat-bottom rail, pre-cast concrete sleepers and modern rail fixings are set in deep ballast giving an excellent ride. Continuous Welded Rail is generally used on 'plain line' (certainly Xining West to Tempung) and 6-hole fishplates on jointed track. Turnouts are of substantial construction and cast crossings are employed with heavy-duty check rails.



Concrete sleepers, flat-bottom rail, modern rail fixings and 6-hole fishplates (Xining West).

Cast Crossing and Heavy-duty Check Rails (approaches to Lhasa).

Distance and Gradient Markers

These markers are pre-cast tablets. Distance markers show distance in kilometres from Xining West. Intermediate 100 metre markers are also seen. Gradient markers are also tablets, with an arrow to indicate 'Up' or 'Down' and a figure which I believe represents 'rise or fall per thousand'. There are pictures showing the Kilometre Markers for kilometres 226 and 227 in the section below on signalling equipment.

Signalling Equipment

I was impressed (as I was in Russia) at the neatness of the layout of the signalling equipment. Electric point machines (of a very compact design) are used for point operation. Track circuits appear to be generally used for train detection. Running and shunting signals are all colour light. A standardised rectangular signalling equipment room is widely used (often to be seen at each end of a station near the points and signals controlling entry to a number of passing loops). I believe some form of Centralised Traffic Control is in use, possibly based in Xining.

In the section above on 'Overhead 25 kV a.c. Electrification', there is a picture showing a 3-aspect ground signal (apparently with a smaller subsidiary aspect below) and a high-level signal comprising two 2-aspect signal heads with a subsidiary aspect below.

Signalling equipment at east end of Niao Dao, showing colour light ground signals, housings for signalling and track circuit equipment and insulated rail joints. Kilometre Marker '226' is also visible.

Signalling equipment at west end of Niao Dao, showing point machine, housings for track circuit equipment and insulated rail joint. Kilometre Marker '227' visible on right. Marker with red lettering on left (possibly a cable marker).

Picture showing two high-level signals. The red-roofed building is a standard signalling equipment room. Traction Sub-station on the right.

The railways of 25 countries are members of OSShD - the Organisation for the Combined Operations of Railways. This seeks to standardise practices in member countries and affects about one third of the railway route mileage in the world. Since Russia, China (and Vietnam) are members, similar methods of signalling are used in each of these countries.

References

Rail transport in China (Wikipedia).
List of railway lines in China (Wikipedia).
Qinghai–Tibet Railway (Wikipedia).
List of stations on Qinghai–Tibet Railway (Wikipedia).
Lhasa–Shigatse Railway (Wikipedia).
China Railways Map.
China Tibet Train (with map).
China Train Guide (Travel agency).

Locomotives in China

List of locomotives in China (Wikipedia).
Chinese diesel locomotives (Railways of China).
Chinese electric locomotives (Railways of China).

Railway Signalling in China

Signals at China Rail (Hans Schaefer).
Chinese Railway Signals (refers to Hans Schaefer site).
OSShD Signals.