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This report is based on information from Doctor Hla Tun, who also supplied the photographs.
The Bagan Clinic made 2,265 treatments in March 2014, bringing the total number of treatments since the Clinic opened about two and a half years ago to 100,203.
Treatment Summary
The table below summarises the number of treatments per month in 2013/2014 and the total number of treatments since the clinic opened on August 6, 2011.
| Month |
Treatments in month |
Total treatments |
| 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 |
| August 2013 |
5,337 |
75,229 |
| September 2013 |
4,826 |
80,055 |
| October 2013 |
3,647 |
83,702 |
| November 2013 |
4,465 |
88,167 |
| December 2013 |
3,387 |
91,554 |
| January 2014 |
3,501 |
95,057 |
| February 2014 |
2,881 |
97,938 |
| March 2014 |
2,265 |
100,203 |
Monthly notes
In March, the temperature in Bagan is around 40 to 42 degree Celsius and fewer patients attend. Most patients have to travel significant distances to reach the clinic and the heat makes travelling more uncomfortable.
An 81-year old lady had travelled 55km from her village to the clinic. A week before, she suffered a fracture of the neck of her left femur. She needed assistance both medically and financially. A donation was made for further management in the Hospital.
An 81-year old lady with a fractured femur.
In January, a 12-year old boy suffering from mucopolysacchroidosis was brought to the Clinic by his mother. According to his mother, he could speak until he was 5-years old but the condition became worse and he has been unable to speak since he was 6-years old. A donation was made to assist with an investigation at the hospital in Mandalay and a local Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) was suggested for additional help. After a CT-scan a diagnosis of mucopolysacchroidosis with ventricular enlargement was made. The neurosurgeon suggested surgery to improve the ventricular problem. The NGO has provided 50% of the cost of surgery and the Bagan Clinic has donated 25% of the cost.
12-year old boy suffering from mucopolysacchroidosis.
On the 'Clinic Days' Friday and Saturday, a free lunch is served to patients and their companions. Between 250 and 400 meals are served each day.
Free lunches being prepared at the Bagan Clinic.
There are a number of posts in this Blog on medical support in Myanmar provided by the RTM Social Contribution with help from donors around the world. You can find them all here.
Doctor Hla Tun's photographs showing the work of the Bagan Clinic in 2014 are here. There's a larger collection of pictures showing the Bagan Clinic from its inception here.
This report is based on information from Doctor Hla Tun, who also supplied the photographs.
On 11th December 2013, a visit was made to three orphanages to make donations of Teachers' salary, Stationery, Toys, First Aid Medicine and Clothing. The three orphanages were Doe Pin, ThuKhaMyittar and ShweSinMin Orphanages.
ThuKhaMyittar Orphanage
ThuKhaMyittar Orphanage was founded about four years ago by a retired headmaster. It is situated in Pyin Sar Village which is on the way from Mandalay to MayMyo. It is about 28 to 30 miles away from Mandalay and it is very close to YaTaNarPon Teleport/Silicon Valley.
ThuKhaMyittar Orphanage accepts orphans and single parent children up to 8 years old. There are currently about 80 children there. The children attend school during the day so they were not at the orphanage when the donation of toys, first aid medicine, stationery and snacks was made to the founder.
Doe Pin Orphanage
Doe Pin accepts orphans and single parent children. It is situated on the road from Mandalay to MayMyo about 34 miles from Mandalay. There are currently 1,467 children attending. There is a Monastic Post Primary School in the Monastery compound recognised by the Government, allowing children from the orphanage to attend school from Grade 1 to Grade 8 in the Monastery Compound.
The donation was made to the Founder and Head Monk of Doe Pin, watched by some of the children. During the day, older children leave the monastery to attend high school.
ShweSinMin Nunnery/Orphanage
ShweSinMin Nunnery/Orphanage accepts only girls and there are currently 494 orphans and single parent children here. The Orphanage was founded by 2 nun sisters in MayMyo about 14 years ago. RTM Social Contribution makes an annual donation of Teachers’ salary, stationery, first aid medicine, food and clothing to the head nun.
In the nunnery compound, there is also a Monastic Post Primary School allowing children to attend from Grade 1 to 8.
There are a number of posts in this Blog on education support in Myanmar provided by the RTM Social Contribution with help from donors around the world. You can find them all here.
My posts labelled 'Work' form an occasional series describing work-related events.You can find all the 'Work' posts here. This post goes right back to the start, over 50 years ago, when I left school and got a job.
For various reasons, I didn't enjoy secondary school. I obtained passes in ten subjects at G.C.E. 'O' Level and continued for two years in the Sixth Form (as it used to be called - we hadn't imported American 'Grades' then). I managed passes at G.C.E. 'A' Level in Physics, Chemistry and Maths for Science. The intention then was to join British Railways and undertake a 'Sandwich' Degree Course at a technical university, probably Southampton. Well, the Civil Engineers seemed quite keen to have me but I wanted a career in railway signalling design and the Signal and Telegraph Department didn't quite come up to my expectations - the posts on offer didn't match my expectations. At the time, I was very disappointed. I turned my back on the idea of a career on the railways and, instead, was interviewed and obtained a post as an Electronics Engineer Trainee at a local electrical/electronics firm.
This cast nameplate (in various sizes) was attached to panels made by Contactor Switchgear Limited (Photo: Wolverhampton History and Heritage Website).
Contactor Switchgear Limited had been founded in 1936 in Wolverhampton. As its name suggests, it built electrical control panels, manufacturing its own relays and contactors. A reputation for high quality meant that there were around 600 employees at the factory in Moorfield Road when I knew it. Industrial electronics was still in its infancy but, wishing to expand into that area, Contactor Switchgear had purchased an established company from Watford called Radio Aids. Renamed Contactor Switchgear (Electronics) Limited, the company moved to Wolverhampton and I joined about thirty employees. Contactor Switchgear (Electronics) divided its time between supplying electronic equipment to its parent which was incorporated into control gear for industrial automation and designing and building electronics on a sub-contract basis for various outside companies. Although I'd learnt a bit about electronics as a hobby, my job was all a bit of a challenge but I found the technical aspects fascinating and I became completely engrossed.
There's a brief history of Contactor Switchgear here, on the Wolverhampton History and Heritage Website.
One of the first jobs I worked on was a set of boiler controls using electronics required for modifications at the West Thurrock Power Station. This power station had opened in 1962 as a coal fired plant but Babcock and Wilcox had designed modifications to allow the boilers to burn oil as well.
West Thurrock Power Station in 1973 (Photo: Peter Land).
When I started at Contactor Switchgear (Electronics), the electronic boiler control equipment had already been built and it was set up in a combined laboratory/engineering/test department for factory testing. I was impressed - there were a number of six foot high 19-inch wide racks loaded with sub-racks of electronics. There were hundreds of adjustable potentiometers and indicator lights at the front of the sub-racks. At the rear, there were chunky multicore cables terminated in 'Plessey' military-style connectors, allowing sub-racks to be quickly exchanged in the event of a fault. Opening up a sub-rack revealed numerous plug-in printed circuit boards crammed with resistors and transistors. Well, Contactor Switchgear (Electronics) had built all this kit to the Client's drawings but when they came to test it, it didn't quite work. I arrived just as a strategy had been agreed with the Client for fixing the problem.
The transistor age was still developing and only a limited range of transistors was available. The Mullard OC71, first introduced around 1954, was used all over the new boiler controls. The OC71 was a small, sealed glass tube (painted black) with three thin lead-out wires (emitter, base, collector) emerging from the glass at one end. A few devices had suffered broken glass, offering the opportunity to examine the internal construction of these germanium alloy junction PNP transistors. The glass envelope was packed with silicone grease - carefully removing this revealed a small rectangle of germanium, supported on one of the lead-out wires, with a 'blob' on each side forming the two alloyed junctions. The two 'blobs' were connected to the other two lead out wires. It was hard to believe that such a construction could provide useful control of an electric current but that was the start of a revolution which has changed all our lives.
The designer of the boiler control equipment had been a little optimistic about just how good the Mullard OC71 germanium alloy junction transistors were. Manufacturers' Data Sheets usually give "typical characteristics" for parameters like gain or leakage current. However, in the manufacture of these early semiconductors, it was difficult to obtain consistent results over a batch and so, to allow the manufacturer to sell more devices rather than throw them away, they also published guaranteed limits. For instance, a device with a typical gain of 30 might have a guaranteed gain of only 20.
Rather than use electromechanical relays to provide the necessary interlocks, digital logic was used, with a large number of OC71 transistors arranged to form logic gates ('NOR' Gates) using a circuit arrangement called 'RTL' (Resistor Transistor Logic). This all worked well if the transistors provided the expected characteristics but where transistors had less gain or more leakage than expected, anarchy resulted. This wasn't the only problem - there were other specialised circuits associated with checking the brightness and 'flicker' of a boiler flame which also required modification.
So I was tasked with testing all the assembled printed circuit boards to identify transistors which needed changing. I also tested hundreds and hundreds of new transistors, measuring gain and leakage and 'selecting' the devices into groups. By the time all the modifications had been carried out and the equipment had been tested and shipped to site, I was starting to realise just how much I had to learn. But I had also embarked on a career that would be challenging and stimulating.
Related Posts on other sites.
History of the transistor (Wikipedia).
Mullard Semiconductors.
History of Philips’ Semiconductors in the 1950s
Bipolar junction transistor (Wikipedia).
After the usual post-New Year closure, services on the Battlefield Line re-started at the beginning of March, mainly provided by a 1-coach or 2-coach diesel railcar. I was rostered to drive the railcar on 22nd March 2014.
The service comprised four round trips from Shackerstone to Shenton, stopping each way at the increasingly-popular Market Bosworth station. Departures from Shackerstone were at 11:00, 12:30, 14:00 and 15:30. We were using the 'Bubble Car' 55005 coupled to Driving Motor car 51131.
The DMU at Shenton Station, viewed from the level crossing.
At the end of service, when I'd put the DMU 'to bed' (this time at the North End, ready to draw forward into platform 2 for the following day's service), I visited the Loco Shed. The DMU vehicle we'd not used that day (51321) was in the shed being worked on. Further inside, the massive Great Western 2-8-0 '3803' was waiting for its next duty. Beyond the 2-8-0, 'Sir Gomer' (currently in black livery) waited for repairs to be completed. A visitor on the other shed road was No. 323 'Bluebell', a Wainwright 'P' class, one of eight built at Ashford for the South Eastern and Chatham Railway in 1910. There's a little more information on the 'P' class on the Southern E Group site here.
'Bluebell' in the shed at Shackerstone.
The Battlefield Line DMU Group
The Battlefield Line DMU Group (formerly the Shackerstone DMU Group) operates a single-car DMU and a 2-car DMU. The brief history of the vehicles below is taken from the Battlefield Line DMU Group pamphlet.
55005
55005 in British Railways blue and grey livery in 2011.
This is a single-car unit, invariably nicknamed the 'Bubble Car', built in 1958 by Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company seating 65 passengers. During its life on British Railways, it was based initially at Leamington Spa and later at Inverness, Manchester, Birimngham and Plymouth. In 1992, it became the first 'Bubble Car' to be be preserved but required new seats, windows, gearboxes and substantial electrical work before re-entering service.
51131
51131 in British Railways blue livery in 2007.
This is a Driving Motor Brake built at Derby in 1958. This vehicle, originally part of a 3-car set, seats 65 and includes a large guard's van. It was initially allocated to Newport (Gwent) but, with the closure of the Valley Lines around Newport in the 1960s, was transferred to Tyseley (Birmingham). It was withdrawn in 1993 with a failed gearbox and arrived at Shackerstone the following year. After a replacement gearbox was fitted, it re-entered service. It is usually paired with 51321 but the flexibility of the railcar design means that it may operate with 55005, if required.
51321
51321 in British Railways blue livery in 2007.
This is a Driving Motor car built in 1960 by Birmingham Railway Carriage and Wagon, seating 89 passengers. It formed part of a 3-car set allocated first to Plymouth and later Bristol before moving to Tyseley (Birmingham) in 1987. Withdrawn in 1991, it was initially used as a Service Vehicle then stored as a source of spare parts for other units. Following arrival at Shackerstone in 1997 most electrical and driving cab equipment required refitting and mechical and cosmetic work was needed before entering service on the Battlefield Line. It is usually paired with 51131 but is currently in the shed at Shackerstone undergoing body repairs.
Related Posts on other sites.
The Railcar Site
Related posts on this site
A number of posts deal with the DMUs at Shackerstone (most recent first):-
Midweek at the Battlefield Line
Battlefield Line 1940s Weekend (June 2013)
Sunday Diesel
Battlefield Line Modellers' Weekend 2012
'Thomas' at the Battlefield Line
The 'Mince Pie Flyer'
Battlefield Line Mince Pie Specials 2009
The Battlefield Line DMU Group
Diesel Multiple Units
My pictures
The Battlefield Line, 2014
Bubble Car.
Shackerstone DMU Group.
Bluebell.
Click on any picture below to see 'uncropped' versions, or explore using the links in 'My Pictures' below.
Introduction
Liverpool has alway had a fascination for me which I mentioned in a 2009 post Liverpool and subsequent posts about the railways. In the post By rail to Liverpool (Part 1), I described my journey on Saturday, 8th March 2014 via the former Great Western and former Great Central lines to Bidston station, on the Wirral. This post describes my travels from Bidston that day.
By Merseyrail from Bidston
Despite the roar of traffic from the nearby elevated M53 motorway, Bidston manages to give a very rural impression, surrounded by greenery, a lot of it no doubt where nature has taken back the land after the extensive goods sidings were removed. From earlier visits, I remember Bidston Dee Jn. signal box, a 65-lever L.M.S. construction facing the platform. That's now gone - most of the Merseyrail network is now controlled from Sandhills Control Centre. By the time I'd purchased my Merseyrail ticket, a train from West Kirby was arriving, headed for Liverpool Central and, although it was already crowded, I decided to board. This meant deferring a trip to West Kirby until another visit. Shortly after the train left Bidston, the line from New Brighton converged on our left and I was now retracing the route I'd last used on my trip on 8th February 2014 (described here). When we stopped at Birkenhead North, I was amazed to find major progress on the new footbridge incorporating lifts for disabled access.
The new footbridge under construction at Birkenhead North.
I had toyed with the idea of getting off at Birkenhead Park. This was originally the end-on junction between the Mersey Railway and the Wirral Railway and provided with four platforms. Until the L.M.S. electrified the Wirall Railway lines, through passengers had to change between electric and steam trains and it must have been a busy place. Now, it's reduced to a single island platform between Up and Down lines, with steps leading up to station buildings on the road overbridge. The road is Duke Street, which, further north, divides the West Float and East Float as I described in my earlier post. Anxious to make the most of my limited time, I abandoned the idea of getting off and stayed on the even more crowded train as it called at Conway Park and Hamilton Square.
After Hamilton Square, we passed under the River Mersey using the first tunnel built under the Mersey. There's a little more about the tunnel-building in my post here. I still find it hard to believe that from 1886 to 1903, the trains through the tunnel were worked by steam traction.
Liverpool
The first station on the Liverpool side of the river is James Street and, originally, the line continued to an underground terminus at Liverpool Central, as shown in my post here. In 1977, British Railways opened the underground 'Liverpool Loop' and now, after James Street, trains call at Moorfields, Lime Street and Central, before re-appearing at James Street heading in the opposite direction.
I left the train at Central and escalators took me to the surface. It's a modern station but I found it quite pleasant, even at lunchtime on a Saturday when it appears that everyone wants to travel. A particularly civilised detail was the clean, free toilets so I emerged into the streets in a fairly relaxed mood.
A Walk through Liverpool
I'd initially intended to continue my journey by train but the streets were busy with apparently good-natured pedestrians and the weather was dry for a while, so I decided to stay 'topside'. Feeling peckish, I bought takeaway fish cake and chips at a small, scrupulously clean cafe and sat at a nearby junction where there were lots of seats and litter bins and enjoyed my food while I watched the shoppers go by.
I admired what I afterwards discovered was only the modest side elevation of the Lyceum. The neo-classical Lyceum was designed by the architect Thomas Harrison from Chester following an open competition with the local Liverpool architect John Foster (Surveyor to the Corporation of Liverpool). The Lyceum was built between 1800 and 1802 and has a colonnaded front facing Bold Street which I didn't study on this trip. The building has served various functions over the years (including Post Office) but is largely unused at present and the owner's of the Grade II Listed Building are seeking a new tenant or a sale. The Waterloo Place facade which caught my attention has four Ionic columns with three relief panels by F.A. Lege. Once, this facade housed the entrance to the Library and Newsroom, now it's the Co-operative Bank (or 'The co-oper.tive b.nk' as the sign declared. Perhaps there's a ready market for stolen letter 'a'?).
The Waterloo Place facade of the Lyceum.
Having finished my meal, I decided to walk through the city to Pierhead, with the idea of using the Mersey Ferry to cross back to the Birkenhead side. My route took me through the pedestrianised Church Street, then Lord Street and Derby Square (where there's an elaborate memorial to Queen Victoria).
Victoria Memorial, Derby Square.
I continued down James Street, passing the Merseyrail Station on the right, with its bus stop outside for easy interchange. I approve of the attempt at an integrated transport system, but the ugliness of the associated street furniture and station facade contrasts sharply with the pleasing appearance of the Mersey Tunnel Pumping Station, framed against a background of acres of unrelieved black glass of the Mann Island modern development.
Looking down James Street, the black glass of the modern developments highlights the clean lines of the Mersey Railway Pumping Station, still at work.
Then I crossed the wide dual-carriageway of Strand Street and passed the ventilating shaft and associated offices of the Mersey Road Tunnel. The architectural style is not my favourite but the sense of proportion lends a satisfying dignity quite missing from much modern work (like the black glass Mann Island development mentioned above).
Mersey Road tunnel ventilating shaft and offices.
The Museum of Liverpool
There remained time to make a very brief visit to The Museum of Liverpool (part of Liverpool Museums) just to check on the centre piece of the 'Great Port' Gallery - the locomotive 'Lion'.
'Lion' on display in the Great Port Gallery, with the Liverpool Overhead Railway coach in the background.
I'm still secretary of the Old Locomotive Committee (the 'Lion' supporters club) and I've written a number of posts which are here. But I don't think I'll ever grow to love the 21st century architecture of this museum on a World Heritage Site designed by the Danish architects 3XN. Originally 'Nielsen, Nielsen and Nielsen', they became '3 x Nielsen' and then '3XN'.
The Museum of Liverpool shortly before opening to the public in 2011 - "Fourth Grace" or "Dented Shoebox"?
Ferry Cross the Mersey
Then on to Georges Pierhead and the Booking Office for the Mersey Ferry. This is another modern building suffering the same affliction as the Museum of Liverpool and the Mann Island Developments - a morbid fear of the Right Angle. But the Staff were friendly and, clutching my Boarding Pass, I was soon making my way outside to await the arrival of the Mersey Ferry 'SNOWDROP'.
Mersey Ferry 'Snowdrop' approaching Pierhead.
The ferry leaves Pierhead 'on the hour', calling first at Seacombe and then Woodside before returning to Pierhead for the next trip. With a well-loaded ferry, we were under way right time.
This time, there was no Cruise Ship at the adjacent terminal but, instead, the rather threatening bulk of HMS Dragon - a Type 45 'Daring' class Air Defence Destroyer. You can learn more on Wikipedia here or the Royal Navy site here.
HMS Dragon is a Type 45 'Daring' class Air Defence Destroyer, seen making a weekend visit to Liverpool.
The sun was bright but there was a strong wind. Within a few minutes, the ferry was berthing at Seacombe. The Captain and First Officer were relieved by two more men, presumably just starting an afternoon 'watch'. There was a little pantomime when the gangway was raised before it was realised that the relieved men were still aboard, so the gangway had to be lowered again to let them disembark.
Passengers boarding at Seacombe Landing Stage.
The ferry then continued upstream to Woodside Landing Stage, passing the lock gates giving access to Birkenhead Great Float and Stena Line's 12 Quays Terminal where the Isle of Man ferry 'Ben-My-Chree' was berthed. This ferry is described in Wikipedia here.
Isle of Man ferry 'Ben-My-Chree'.
Birkenhead Briefly
I disembarked at Woodside and walked to Hamilton Square Station, passing the Mersey Railway Pumping Station at Shore Road. This is similar in appearance to the one on the Liverpool side (mentioned above) but larger. Although electric pumps now do the work, the original steam pump, 'The Giant Grasshopper' is still in situ. A few years ago, I was able to visit and see the pump operating (using air, not steam) but I believe it's closed at present because of financial constraints.
Birkenhead: Pumphouse with 'The Giant Grasshopper' pump.
Entering Hamilton Square Station, I took the lift to Platform Level and caught the first train towards Chester, on the route I'd travelled on 8th February 2014, described in the post here.
I decided to alight at Bebington station and pay a visit to the Lady Lever Art Gallery at Port Sunlight. Bebington was formerly on a four-track route paired by use, with one island platform flanked by single platforms either side. A subway provided access to the platforms. Merseyrail now uses only the old slow lines, so the subway ramp I took leaving the station originally served the island platform.
Mersey rail: Access ramp at Bebington Station.
Lady Lever Art Gallery
In the post Birkenhead and New Brighton by train (Part 1) I wrote a little about Port Sunlight. I'm afraid I found the Model Village rather 'twee', although I admire William Lever's intentions. In a real village, a clash of building styles over time can be attractive but when each block deliberately differs from its neighbour in a self-conscious manner, as here, I'm not so sure.
Port Sunlight, showing varying building styles.
A ten-minute walk from the station took me to the Lady Lever Art Gallery. The Gallery was opened in 1922 by William Lever (by then the First Viscount Leverhulme) and named in memory of his wife Elizabeth. It was designed by architects William and Segar Owen from Warrington and is now Listed Grade II.
The Main entrance to the Lady Lever Art Gallery.
The Collection was always intended for public display, not as a rich man's private pleasure. Lady Lever Art Gallery claims it "houses one of the UK’s finest collections of fine and decorative art. It has the best collection of Wedgewood jasperware anywhere in the world and its collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings is internationally renowned". Display is fairly traditional and certainly worked for me. I was enchanted by the place.
View of the Main Hall from the East Balcony Gallery.
The Art Gallery is now part of Liverpool Museums and the contrast with the Museum of Liverpool I'd visited earlier could hardly be more pronounced.
The Lady Lever Art Gallery has a special exhibition of the works of J.M.W. Turner until 1st June 2014. I was able to study around 30 works from different periods of his life during my visit.
The Journey Home
I walked back to Bebington Station to catch the next train south. This was an Ellesmere Port train and, at first, I intended to travel to Ellesmere Port. However, during the journey, I decided that I'd had enough adventures for one day so I 'bailed out' at Hooton and transferred to the following Chester train.
At Chester, my onward connection was from the platform 2 bay. We took the North Wales Coast route to Saltney Junction where we turned left onto the (now singled) former Great Western line to Wrexham. At Wrexham General, we were back on double track and I rejoined the route out I'd taken that morning.
'Environs of Chester & Wrexham' from the 11th Edition of the Pre-Grouping 'Railway Map of England and Wales' published by W & A K Johnston.
The train from Chester took me as far as Shrewsbury where I alighted on platform 4. The train then continued - for Cardiff, I think, but I was quite tired by this time and not paying attention. The next arrival on platform 4 was my connection, arriving from Aberystwyth (I think) and reversing before going on to Birmingham International, allowing me to get off at Wolverhampton.
Another excellent (if exhausting) day trip.
Book references
[1] 'An Illustrated History of Liverpool's Railways' by Paul Anderson, published Irwell Press (ISBN 1-871608-68-6).
[2] 'A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain': Volume 10 The North West by G. O. Holt, Second Edition published by David & Charles (ISBN 0946537 34 8).
Related posts on this site
By rail to Liverpool (Part 1)
Early Days of the Mersey Railway.
Birkenhead and New Brighton by train (Part 1)
Birkenhead and New Brighton by train (Part 2)
Birkenhead and New Brighton by train (Part 3)
Railways around Birkenhead
My pictures
Merseyrail.
Liverpool.
Museum of Liverpool.
Port Sunlight, Wirral.
This report is based on information from Doctor Hla Tun, who also supplied the photographs.
The Bagan Clinic treated 2,881 patients in February 2014, bringing the total number of treatments since the Clinic opened on 6th August 2011 to 97,938.
Treatment Summary
The table below summarises the number of treatments per month in 2013 and the total number of treatments since the clinic opened on August 6, 2011.
| Month |
Patients treated |
Total treatments |
| 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 |
| August 2013 |
5,337 |
75,229 |
| September 2013 |
4,826 |
80,055 |
| October 2013 |
3,647 |
83,702 |
| November 2013 |
4,465 |
88,167 |
| December 2013 |
3,387 |
91,554 |
| January 2014 |
3,501 |
95,057 |
| February 2014 |
2,881 |
97,938 |
Monthly notes
The New Clinic Building was brought into use on 14th February 2014 as a temporary Physiotherapy Unit until the building of a permanent Physiotherapy Unit is completed. The majority of patients attending can benefit from physiotherapy, having suffered strokes, joint pains and muscular pains. Treatments include Infra Red, Ultrasound, Traction Machine, Electric Massage and Handrails for patients with walking difficulty.
New Clinic building in use as a temporary Physiotherapy Unit.
Building work has already started on a permanent Physiotherapy Unit building near the original Clinic building. The building has been donated by a United Kingdom Travel Company and their clients.
New Physiotherapy Unit under construction near the Clinic.
Few of the patients treated are from the local area. The majority of patients have to travel distances up to 250km. This means that most patients need to stay in the Monastery Compound for one or two nights. On clinic days, shelter is also needed by patients waiting for attention. The United Kingdom Travel Company and their clients mentioned above have also funded the building of a new Accommodation Shelter.
New Accommodation Shelter under construction.
There are a number of posts in this Blog on medical support in Myanmar provided by the RTM Social Contribution with help from donors around the world. You can find them all here.
This report is based on information from Doctor Hla Tun, who also supplied the photographs.
The Bagan Clinic treated 3,387 patients in December 2013 and 3,501 patients in January 2014 bringing the total number of treatments since the Clinic opened on 6th August 2011 to 95,057.
Treatment Summary
The table below summarises the number of treatments per month in 2013 and the total number of treatments since the clinic opened on August 6, 2011.
| Month |
Patients treated |
Total treatments |
| 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 |
| August 2013 |
5,337 |
75,229 |
| September 2013 |
4,826 |
80,055 |
| October 2013 |
3,647 |
83,702 |
| November 2013 |
4,465 |
88,167 |
| December 2013 |
3,387 |
91,554 |
| January 2014 |
3,501 |
95,057 |
Monthly notes
The existing toilets were proving inadequate for the numbers of patients attending the Clinic but a local donor agreed to pay for a further 6 cubicles, helping to maintain a sanitary environment around the Clinic. The picture below shows the new facilities nearing completion.
New toilet block under construction at the Bagan Clinic.
On 14-Feb-2014 (Valentine's Day), about 82 pairs of reading glasses were distributed to patients over 60 years of age. There was no opthalmologist in attendance so, as previously, each patient selected a suitable pair by trial-and-error, reading a newspaper or the medical record book (issued by the Clinic to all patients).
Elderly patients choosing reading glasses by trial-and-error.
Local patients from the Bagan area represent less than 5% of patients attending. Patients travel anything from 30km to 250km to seek treatment. This involves staying one or two nights in the Monastery Compound and a new accommodation shelter for waiting patients is being constructed near the Clinic. The age range of patients varies from babies as young as 2 months old to elderly people over 80.
With the support of the Head Monk and the 'Road to Mandalay' river cruise ship, on Fridays and Saturdays up to 300 free lunches are given to waiting patients and their companions at 11:40. When possible, free dinners are also offered at 17:45 hours on Saturdays.
Distribution of free lunches.
There are a number of posts in this Blog on medical support in Myanmar provided by the RTM Social Contribution with help from donors around the world. You can find them all here.
Introduction
Liverpool has always had a fascination for me and there are a number of posts in this blog about Merseyside and the Wirral, starting with the 2009 post Liverpool.
Although most of my trips to Liverpool are undocumented, a few of my journeys are outlined in this blog. I've written about various journeys by train via Crewe:-
'Black 5' to Birmingham (1950s steam).
Day Trip to Liverpool (2010 EMU).
Liverpool by Train (2012 EMU).
On Saturday, 8th March 2014 I decide to make another trip to Liverpool, this time by a more unusual route.
I started by re-tracing the route I'd used on my earlier trip to Chirk, described here. Once again, this involved taking an Arriva DMU from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury, using a 'semi-fast' train only stopping at Telford and Wellington.
Shrewsbury
At Shrewsbury, I planned to change onto an Arriva Trains Wales service from Cardiff to Holyhead. The train was reported as a few minutes late and I was surprised to find that it would use platform 3, which I didn't think was much used. Getting to platform 3 was a bit odd. We'd arrived on bay 5 which is part of the island platform comprising through platforms 4 and 7 together with bays 5 and 6. Exit from this island platform was via broad stairs down to a subway leading to a series of automatic ticket barriers. Access to platform 3 wasn't obvious but a ticket inspector at the barrier seemed to be letting some passengers through. When I enquired, he waved me through, telling me to pass through the ticket hall, turn left and go up the stairs. The small ticket hall was thronged with passengers entering and leaving but I was reassured by a sign pointing left to platform 3. I continued onto the station forecourt, puzzled for a moment until I saw an anonymous set of open double doors with steps leading upwards. It was rather confusing but I'd apparently found platform 3.
The imposing ashlar-faced facade of Shrewsbury station, viewed from the forecourt.
The impressive, but rather anonymous, entrance to platform 3 from the forecourt.
The train was a few minutes late so I still had time for a few photographs. The design of the station building on platform 3 (the earliest part of the station) I found most attractive. The detailing I'd found on the elevation facing the forecourt is continued on the platform face. It was no surprise to find the building listed Grade II, but I was surprised to find it was by Thomas Penson Junior, whose station at Gobowen (in Italianate style) I'd previously admired. See the entry on the British Listed Buildings site.
Window to waiting room on platform 3.
Crewe Junction, Shrewsbury, viewed from platform 3.
The train arrived, people alighted and boarded and we departed with a well-filled train about ten minutes late. On this trip, I managed a (rather poor) shot of Coton Hill North Signal Box, long disused and converted into a private house with modern extensions to one side and at the rear.
Coton Hill North Signal Box now forms part of a private house.
Gobowen
Approaching Gobowen, I was a little surprised to pass a modern LED signal displaying a double yellow, followed by another LED signal showing single yellow. I assumed that the intention was to give drivers the best possible warning before the semaphore signal protecting the level crossing at the north end of the platform. At Gobowen, a remarkable number of passengers got off and got on whilst I, once again, admired the Italianate station building by Thomas Penson Junior. I also wondered whether the semaphore signal protecting the level crossing was the ugliest semaphore I'd seen (there's some heavy competition from some of the signals in Burma - see Railway Signalling in Burma - Part 1: Semaphore Signals). A tubular post topped with a Western Region 'ball and spike' finial is fitted with an upper quadrant arm at a fairly low level (to improve sighting, presumably). Although only a few yards from the controlling signal box, Gobowen North, this arm is motor-operated from a motor perched near the top of the post. There are clearly constraints because the signal post is mounted on the platform in a public area but, combined with the usual modernised ladder and hoop access arrangements, the effect is awful.
Gobowen North signal 'GN4'.
We paused briefly at Chirk (where I'd disembarked on my previous trip) and then crossed the Dee valley on the impressive viaduct. I'd forgotten how industrialised the area had once been around Ruabon and Brymbo with coal mines, heavy engineering and numerous railway branches to serve them. All gone now, of course.
Wrexham
Soon, we were running into Wrexham General. Logically, I would have stayed on my train until Chester, then caught a Merseyrail service to Birkenhead and Liverpool. There are a series of posts describing travelling on the Merseyrail network, starting with Birkenhead and New Brighton by train (Part 1).
However, my plan was to leave the train at Wrexham General, on the former Great Western Main line to Saltney Junction and Chester, take a few pictures and then travel forward to Bidston on the old Great Central line, now marketed as the 'Borderlands Line'. The Great Central Line ran through its own platforms at Wrexham General, to allow interchange, but then continued to its own station more conveniently sited in the town called Wrexham Central. I knew the remaining single line from Wrexham General to Wrexham Central now operated simply as a 'long siding'. I'd originally hoped to walk from Wrexham General to Wrexham Central, and catch the Bidston train from there but the late-running of the Holyhead train caused me to change my mind so I bought a ticket to Bidston at Wrexham General and settled for a few pictures around the Wrexham General station.
The neat appearance of the station buildings at Wrexham General.
The trackwork around Wrexham General has been significantly simplified over the years and the only remaining signal box in the area is Croes Newydd North Fork Signal Box, a few hundred yards south of Wrexham General station.
Croes Newydd North Fork Signal Box.
Having taken some pictures, I went to platform 4 which serves the Borderlands Line and found that the next arrival was going to Wrexham Central. A driver and guard were waiting to relieve the incoming crew. So, when the train arrived (a Class 150) I hopped on and got to ride to the very simple station platform at Wrexham Central (or Wrecsam Canolog, if you prefer), sandwiched between the modern buildings of a shopping centre. After a few moments, the driver and guard had changed ends, and we set off for Bidston.
View of Wrexham Central station from the train.
Borderlands Line
The Borderlands Line currently serves the following stations:-
Wrexham Central
Wrexham General
Gwersyllt
Cefn-y-Bedd
Caergwrle
Hope
Penyffordd
Buckley
Hawarden
Shotton High Level
Harwarden Bridge (peak periods only)
Neston
Heswall
Upton
Bidston
Although we were on a single line from Wrexham Central to Wrexham General (where the remains of the disused second platform could be seen), north of the station the original double track is retained. This seems curious, because the old Great Western main line from Wrexham to Saltney Junction has been singled (although there are plans to reinstate double track to increase capacity). I've never thought this singling very sound. In an earlier post Princes End I commented:-
At the time, there was also what seemed to me a rather perverse fashion for reducing track maintenance costs by singling double track sections. I was never convinced that this idea was justified, taking into account the signalling complication at each end of the single line where it rejoined normal double track and the operational problems of having to wait for a train in one direction to clear before a train could pass in the opposite direction.
I was quite surprised at the number of passengers we were dropping off and picking up along the line. Approaching Penyffordd, we whistled at three whistle boards in succession and then passed an upper quadrant tubular post distant showing 'off' before stopping at the station. The Home signal was also a tubular post, with a lower left-hand bracket and subsidiary signal controlling facing entry to sidings just after the B.R. standard signal box.
Penyffordd signal box.
The sidings didn't appear to be in use. A little further on, we passed a ground frame controlling access to another group of sidings. A branch curved away towards a modern cement plant but, again, there wasn't much sign that the rail connection was used.
The cement works (formerly Castle Cement but now Hanson, part of the Heidelberg Cement) is called Padeswood Works and there's a little more here. The massive Kiln 4 looks more like an assembly building for a Space Shuttle and its commissioning in 2005 allowed three older kilns on the site to be shut down. The owners proudly claim of Kiln 4:-
Central to the greatly improved performance is the use of alternative fuels, in which we have been a pioneer. Alternative fuels used at Padeswood include Cemfuel, which is processed from the residue of recycled waste solvents; Profuel, which comprises paper and plastic wastes and also MBM which is processed meat and bone meal. Vehicle tyres can also be used as an alternative fuel.
Buckley station has what would once have been an impressive station building, now derelict. Nearby, a well-maintained area had a wheelbarrow forming a planter filled with flowers. The wheelbarrow had been painted black and lettered 'LNER' as a reminder of the 'foreign' incursion into this part of Wales and was also chained to the nearby fence as a security precaution.
Flowers on Buckley station.
Hawarden station had the usual type of 'bus shelter' for passengers. Next, we took the bridge over the busy Chester Road in Shotton and paused at Shotton High Level station, which sported a rather up-market version of the 'bus shelter' featuring stainless steel. I was intrigued by a box of rodent bait set up on the platform ("Super rats eat stainless steel!" perhaps?). As we started away, we passed over the railway line to Holyhead and Shotton Low Level Station.
View of Shotton Low Level (looking towards Holyhead) from a Down Bidston train.
I'd previously travelled on the line from Shotton High Level to Bidston, years ago. This was the era when the North Wales Coast line had blue diesel-electrics hauling five blue and grey coaches (I think it was one of the last hunting grounds of the Class 40s). I travelled out from Chester to Shotton Low Level on one of these trains, took the footpath to high level and travelled to Bidston on a 'Modernisation' series Diesel Multiple Unit.
Passing through Shotton reminded me of a minor incident on another occasion years ago when I was off to Llandudno for the day - always a favorite destination as mentioned in posts A Trip to the Seaside (Part 1) and Part 2. Not all of the North Wales Coast line trains were booked to stop at Shotton Low Level but I'd noted that the early-morning service I'd chosen was due to stop. On the approach to Shotton, I thought my train was coming in rather 'hot' but then I realised the driver had forgotten the stop. I don't know whether the driver suddenly remembered or the guard 'put the brake in' but we did a rapid deceleration and came to a stop a couple of hundred yards beyond the platform. To my surprise, the train then gently set back to the platform and obediently waited for the guard's 'Right Away'.
Back in the present, as my Class 150 approached the Dee crossing, the sprawling Tata Steel complex came into view on the Wirral side. The history of steelmaking on this site is due to John Summers who, in 1852, established a successful nail making business in Stalybridge. After his death in 1876, three of his sons (later joined by a fourth) carried on the business. Needing space for expansion, they acquired land at Shotton in 1895 and Hawarden Bridge Steelworks opened the following year, later under the name John Summers and Sons Limited. In 1951, the steelworks was nationalised but shortly afterwards re-privatised. I think this is when I first became aware of Shotton's modern 'Integrated Steelworks' (where hot metal produced by a blast furnace is taken directly for processing into steel on the same site). The site was nationalised for a second time in 1967, becoming part of British Steel Corporation. In the 10-year plan for steel approved by the Government in 1973, Shotton was to lose its steelmaking as its blast furnace was regarded as too 'small batch' and its Open Hearth steelmaking as 'too expensive'. In-fighting with the Unions continued until 1980, and there was major local unemployment. To reduce unemployment, part of the site became Deeside Industrial Park. Some steelworking continued and in 1988 the British Steel Corporation was privatised as British Steel. In 1999, British Steel merged with the Dutch steelmaker Koninklijke Hoogovens to form Corus. Corus was acquired by the present owners, Tata Steel, in 2007 and Shotton is now responsible for their pre-finished steel products. There's a brief timeline produced by Tata Steel here.
View from Down Bidston train approaching the Dee Crossing with the Tata Steel complex in the background.
The double track railway (and a footpath) cross the Dee on a bridge of three spans of arched trusses. The span on the Wirral side was built as a hydraulically operated swing bridge but that's now welded shut. The bridge, opened in 1889 was built by the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway (later the Great Central Railway). There's more information on the bridge in Chapter 10 of the Shotton History site here. It's only when I was compiling this post I found the Movable Bridges in the British Isles site, which also has some information on the bridge. Well, the view of the bridge I got was rather disappointing. I didn't realise Network Rail had started a 3.5 million pounds Sterling project to strengthen and repaint the bridge which is currently covered in scaffolding and heavy white plastic sheeting whilst sand-blasting to remove old paint is carried out. As the Network Rail News Release puts it, the bridge is "encapsulated to protect the environment from dust and debris from the work".
Hawarden Bridge before "encapsulation" (Photo: John S. Turner, Creative Commons).
Only certain trains stop at the tiny station of Hawarden Bridge, so we kept going and passed the signal box at Dee Marsh Jn. This once controlled one corner of a triangular junction with the Great Central Line to Chester which is long gone. Now, provided with a few elderly 2-aspect colour light signals, it controls connections to the extensive sidings around the steel complex.
A fuzzy picture of Dee Marsh Junction signal box.
Although there were a few freight wagons scattered around the sidings, the area looks rather barren and neglected. Once we'd left the former steel complex behind, we made our way across the Wirral with stops at Neston, Heswall and Upton before our final destination at Bidston.
Bidston Station has a single island platform on the double-track third-rail electrified Merseyrail Line from Birkenhead North to West Kirby. With four trains an hour each way on the West Kirby line, the Borderlands Line trains have to sneak in out fairly quickly. Approaching Bidston from Wrexham, there's a facing crossover so, whenever possible, Sandhills Control Centre cross Borderlands Line trains into platform 2, and that's what happened to my train.
Approaching Bidston, my train gets a 'Yellow and a White Feather' for platform 2.
Running into platform 2 means that the train can arrive, crew can change ends, passengers get off and board and the train can depart without blocking platform 1 (the line towards Birkenhead) at all. Arriving in platform 1 fouls the line towards West Kirby until the train has arrived and the line towards Birkenhead is fouled until the train has drawn forward into the Stock Siding (part of a triangle which formerly allowed trains from West Kirby direct access to New Brighton). On leaving the Stock Siding, a trailing crossover allows Borderlands Line train into platform 2.
The not very pre-possessing station building actually has a decent waiting area, toilets and a small ticket office. By the time I'd bought my Merseyrail ticket to continue my travels, the Borderlands Line train had already left for Wrexham!
Bidston Station. The train I arrived on has already left platform 2 and a crowded electric train for Liverpool Central is arriving at platform 1.
The rest of my journey is described in By rail to Liverpool (Part 2).
Book references
[1] 'Rail Centres: Shrewsbury' by Richard K. Morriss, published by Booklaw Publications (ISBN 1-901945-20-0).
[2] 'A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 11 North and Mid Wales by Peter E Baughan, published by David & Charles (ISBN 0-9153-7850-3).
Related articles on other sites
Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line (Wikipedia).
Shrewsbury to Chester Line (Wikipedia).
Borderlands Line (Wikipedia).
Borderlands Line.
Related posts on this site
By Rail to Chirk.
By rail to Liverpool (Part 2).
My pictures
Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury line.
Wellington.
Shrewsbury area railways.
Wrexham's Railways.
Borderlands Line.
Merseyrail.
[Link to part 2 added 5-Jun-2014]
