Round the World Five - Day 7 (Wed, 12 Mar)

Itinerary: Day 5 Wednesday 12th March. After an early breakfast, transfer to Mandalay airport for your onward flight (depart 08:45) to Yangon. On arrival in Yangon at 10:10 you will be taken to an airport hotel to freshen up and rest for approx 4 hours prior to your international flight. Transfers and room included. Thai Flight TG306 leaves Yangon at 19:45, arrives Bangkok 21:25. Private transfer by Tour East Thailand to the Shangri-La Hotel for a DLX Balcony Room in the Shangri-La Wing.

We enjoyed the usual good breakfast in the restaurant of 'Road to Mandalay' and all felt a little sad at leaving our new friends on the ship which had been our comfortable home for the last few days. Soon, we were aboard one of the two buses (one English-speaking, one German-speaking). Once again, San was our guide and we took a circuitous route, looping through a number of small villages until we came to the airport, sitting on a large plain. A long, straight approach road took us to the modern terminal. I'll add more commentary when I can.

Round the World Five - Day 6 (Tue, 11 Mar)

Itinerary: Day 4 Tuesday 11th March (Mingun & Sagaing). After breakfast, cruise to Mingun to visit the most important sights such as the pretty Hsinbyume Pagoda and the world’s largest uncracked bell. Return by ferry for a late lunch. In the afternoon, visit the Sagaing Hills, considered to be the living centre of the Buddhist faith in Burma. Sagaing is also famous for its silver and silversmiths who still work in much the same way as their ancestors did. Leave Bagan by 'Road to Mandalay' around 13:00. Dinner and local entertainment on board.

After an early breakfast, some of us left on foot with San for the short walk to the local monastery, where the monks were lined up prior to the morning procession around the village accepting offerings of food. Their first stop was a table set up by the ship where the Captain and members of the catering staff were serving various foods. The procession then wound through the village where, every few yards, women would be waiting with a bowl of rice or other food.

Pictures of the Monks' Procession and the Village.

We then picked up our tour bus and headed north for about 40 minutes to Mandalay itself and the Jetty. This is just the usual shelving beach with lots of wooden craft moored side by side. We clambered over various gangplanks to get from moored craft to moored craft until we reached our private charter boat where, on the upper deck, cane chairs had been laid out for us. The boat was run by a team of husband, wife and son about ten or so. There was also a much younger daughter running about. We sailed north for about a hour and landed at Mingun on the west bank. We ran the gauntlet of the souvenir vendors to get to the Mingun Pagoda, which has been described, fairly accurately, as the world's biggest pile of bricks. The building project was abandoned when the huge pagoda was 50m tall - only a third of the intended height! Subsequent earthquakes have seriously damaged what's there and the various fissures mean that the steps to ascend are quite hard. I made the climb, with a retinue of four local boys who appointed themselves my guides. I clearly represented the best chance of dollars that morning. On the same site, there's the worlds largest uncracked bell. Of course, I rang it with the stick provided and also stood inside whilst someone else rang it. We also climbed the whitewashed Shinbyume Pagoda (coming away liberally whitened ourselves). We rejoined our local boat, cruised back to Mandalay, returned to the Road To Mandalay by coach and were ready for our lunch.

Pictures of the Boat Trip and Mingun.

In the afternoon we went by the tour bus to Sagaing, on the west bank of the river directly opposite our moored ship. This is very hilly and pretty, crowded with monasteries and nunneries. The most famous pagoda amongst the hundreds dotted around the hills is the Soon U Ponya Shin, commanding good views in all directions from its summit position.

Pictures of Sagaing.

We were allowed to tour the Zeyar Theingi Nunnery, where the nun's ages ranged from 8 to late 70s. The nuns smile readily and don't appear to mind the intrusion, although you feel a little uncomfortable walking through dormitories and kitchens.

Pictures of the Nunnery.

We also had two fascinating visits to commercial properties.

The first was a pottery where clay water pots are made. it's hard work, mainly carried out by women and because they only make water pots, they're not trying to sell the tourists anything. We were mobbed by a gang of young children who wanted to hold our hands and look at the pictures we'd taken on the screens of the various digital cameras. It was a joyful occasion and I was surprised that none of the children was looking for gifts.

Pictures of the Pottery.

We also visited a silversmiths' factory where the most exquisite work was being produced under the most primitive conditions imaginable. Here, there was an extensive showroom and a number of us were tempted to make purchases.

Pictures of the silversmiths' factory.

In the evening, we had our Farewell Dinner in the restaurant of the ship, followed by examples of traditional Myanmar Entertainments: four girl dancers, a boy and girl comedy dance routine, an astrologer talked about the rather different principles which they use and finally a girl jugglimg and balancing act. Quite a packed day and another early start tomorrow.

Pictures of shipboard entertainment.

Round the World Five - Day 5 (Mon, 10 Mar)

Itinerary: Day 3 Monday 10th March (Mandalay).
Arrive at the quaint little village of Shwe Kyet Yet after lunch. In the afternoon, enjoy a guided tour of the key sights of Mandalay regarded as the centre of Burmese culture and Buddhist learning. Return to 'Road To Mandalay' stopping enroute to admire sunset over the river. Dinner and local entertainment on board.

We weighed anchor and got away at first light. Pictures taken during our cruise. I spent much of the morning on the bridge, talking to our most hospitable captain, Myo Lwin. We started with engineering, because he was intrigued by my interest but then moved on to politics and the charitable work that the ship and its passengers support.

The waters of the river are ever-changing, so charts are useless. The safer channels are marked with painted bamboo poles driven into the sand. These are continually re-surveyed but, as the 'Road To Mandalay' is the largest vessel on the river, the ship carries out its own surveys from time to time and, in the trickiest spots, surveys each time the ship passes. So, at 9.00 am the 'Zodiac' inflatable was launched with three crew and long bamboo poles and this went ahead of us, radioing the results back to the captain. At all times, there's no substitute for alert crew members on the bridge keeping a sharp look-out. Once through the first tricky part, the 'Zodiac' was retrieved.

At eleven o'clock I, and a number of passengers, were shown round the Engine Room by the Chief Engineer. Most interesting. Technical Pictures.

The 'Zodiac' was deployed a second time in an area where there's only a very narrow passage between rocks and only about six inches of clearance under the keel.

At last, a bridge came into sight (until recently the only bridge). This was built by the British in 1934 and carries a single line railway and two lines for vehicles. The British destroyed two spans during the war, for strategic reasons, and it was finally repaired when hostilities ceased. Just north of this bridge, there's a new road bridge built by the Chinese, complete but not yet open. We passed under both bridges and prepared to berth at the 'Road To Mandalay' Main Station at Shwe Kyet Yet. The captain demonstrated the controllability of the vessel by bringing the ship in sideways very gently using both stern propellers and bow thruster.

Very soon, we were off by tour bus to see Mandalay itself, which lies on the East bank about 12km North of our mooring. I'll tell you more later.

My pictures of Mandalay.

First, we visited the crimson and gold Mahamuni Paya temple - a venerated Buddhist site renowned for its seated Buddha figure over 12 feet high, originally bronze but now covered with gold leaf over six inches thick, applied by male worshippers. I'm afraid women are not allowed to apply gold leaf to the statue - there role is to watch from a suitable distance and applaud as the men apply the gold. The temple complex was crowded with visitors and worshippers - it's quite a noisy, joyful place. I was intrigued with the large television monitors in the corridors around the gold Buddha. These are to allow ceremonies to be watched by worshippers who are unable to get into the fairly small central space around the gold Buddha.

En-route to our next calling point, we passed one lorry loaded high with cut-down oil barrels. These are apparently used for transporting the sugar syrup extracted from sugar cane. Lengths of sugar cane are passed through a 'mangle', crushing the fibres and releasing the sugar solution. We also passed the modern railway station in the centre of the city and the modern covered market. The market was devastated only a few days ago by a major fire, claiming a number of lives. Questions are being asked about whether Building Regulations had been properly observed in the construction of this building.

We then visited a factory producing gold leaf, widely used in temples as an offering. The production of gold leaf involves a number of stages of hammering the gold into successively thinner and thinner sheets. The process has been partly mechanised in some places but, in Mandalay, the process is man- and woman-powered. Women are involved in making the special paper which is used to interleave sheets of gold. This paper is produced by rows of women who beat the plant fibres in an underground hot, humid room. Blocks of interleaved paper and gold, wrapped in hide, are hammered by men. Each stage of gold beating takes around 40 minutes and timing is still carried out by a traditional water clock. There are a number of stages involved as the gold leaf progressively becomes thinner and thinner. It's thought-provoking to see how much hard, unpleasant labour is expended on apparently simple tasks.

Mandalay Palace was our next destination. There was some delay while our guide, San, obtained our tickets at the gate. Administrative processes can be very slow in Myanmar and there was, apparently, some reluctance to accept the paper money offered because of some minor signs of use. I believe this sort of problem can be quite common. Whilst we waited, we were able to take in the sight of the fortifications of Mandalay Palace which is surrounded by massive, forbidding stone walls forming a large square, with regular watchtowers and an outer moat. In the distance, we could see the hump of Mandalay Hill - a single hill rising out of the plain, topped with temples.

Eventually, our coach was able to pass within the walls and, having crossed large, not very well maintained, grounds approach the replica of the original palace. As at Old Bagan, the original Palace was wooden and did not survive. A modern reconstruction gives an impression of the layout of the original Palace, but I'm afraid it's rather disappointing - crudely built and painted with corrugated iron roofing! At one time, the grounds featured a miniature railway, now abandoned. The tracks are still intact (two foot gauge, I think) and hidden in the trees I spotted rolling stock and a couple of diesel locomotives, one steam outline.

After the disappointment of the Palace, the original wooden Monastery Building (no longer an active Monastery) was a joy. The deterioration of some of the carving is sad, the concrete reinforcing of the foundations a little obvious, but the spirit of the building is still triumphant.

Our final call was to what is sometimes called "The largest book in the world". One of the Kings decided to make a definitive copy of the Buddhist scriptures. Each section is carved on a large, stone tablet. There are hundreds - each protected by an individual white-painted 'pagoda' structure, arranged on a regular grid. The 'Chain Library' in England was an early attempt to prevent book theft by chaining each volume to the bookshelves but I think the arrangement at Mandalay represents the ultimate in security. Joking apart, this is an impressive and spiritual location.

Round the World Five - Day 4 (Sun, 9 Mar)

Itinerary: Day 2 Sunday 9th March (Bagan & Cruise). After breakfast join the guide to explore some of Bagan’s local markets selling wood carvings, fabrics, longyis and rattan goods. See Myanmar’s famous lacquerware being made. Alternatively, you can hire a bicycle or horse-drawn cart and explore this enchanting area on your own. Mid-morning the 'Road To Mandalay' begins its cruise North towards Mandalay. Relax on the top deck and watch the fascinating river life glide by. The guide lectures on local places and customs. The ship moors mid-river for the evening. A casual cocktail party is followed by dinner on board.

In fact, there was not only a morning tour, as advertised, but a very early morning tour to see a special procession of monks arranged for the benefit of a party of photographers. However, I didn't catch either as the ship had arranged a bicycle for seven a.m. Breakfast is available from six a.m., so even after a cooked breakfast, I was ready for 06:40, but so was the bicycle, which came with two local boys, about nine or ten also on bicycles, as chaperones. The initial roads were just sand with deep, soft ruts and I underestimated the power needed to keep control on the soft bits and suffered the indignity of falling off after 100 yards. As if by magic, a doctor appeared and took charge. He was very concerned that there were a few drops of blood, although neither of us could find any cut to account for it. He introduced himself as the Ship's Doctor - apparently on hand quite by chance whilst taking his morning constitutional. Honour was satisfied by allowing him to apply a plaster to an old cut. The villagers were most amused by this unexpected excitement!

The journey proceeded without further incident, with the older lad leading the way and the younger in the rear. The temperature was very comfortable as the sun was still rising above the horizon, the pedalling easy as the roads hereabouts are almost level. Minor cavils are that the saddle was way too high for me and the brakes were shot, so every stop was something of a controlled accident. We passed many, many temples so I was able to stop frequently, check the sun and make a photograph. All too soon, we arrived at the golden temple complex of Shwezigon Paya. I spent some time looking at the early morning activities, longer trying to extricate myself from the sometimes literal clutches of the souvenir vendors.

Eventually, we set off back to the ship. With different lighting conditions, there were different temples to photograph and I spent some time exploring Khayminga temple with my younger companion, climbing quite high to get better views across the Bagan Plain. The ship planned to sail at ten o'clock and I was back in plenty of time, having said goodbye to my new young friends.

Pictures taken on my bike ride.

The river is a major communications artery, so I spent some time on the open top deck watching the various activities, before honouring a promise to visit the doctor in his clinic room to allow him to have another look at my injury. Once he was satisfied, I was happy to laze aound until lunch, another buffet, this time served on the open top deck. We continued sailing upstream in the afternoon. There was a demonstration of 'Thanaka', the sun screen-cum-makeup used in Myanmar. Later on, I was invited into the wheelhouse by the very hospitable Captain and spent a fascinating half hour learning about the ship's systems and propulsion. Shortly after 6 p.m., the sun set, with some interesting sky colours looking west. Then we anchored for the night in mid-channel. The river is far too dangerous to navigate at night.

Pictures of the afternoon cruising.

As it gets dark, there is an informal cocktail party on the top deck, where the passengers sit around in dim lighting chatting and drinking. Then, dinner in the restaurant. At 9.45 p.m., we troop up to the top deck for a 'Surprise'. Looking upstream a couple of hundred yards, red and yellow lights extend across the river, and a boat can just be made out, setting out more lights. There are over 2000 candles, each on a tiny raft, with a cellophane colour filter. The effect is unexpected and wonderful. The current quickly carries the lights towards us and, after a few minutes, our ship is surrounded by twinkling lights which disappear downstream. This is a re-enactment of the traditional Buddhist Candle Festival which takes place later in the year, laid on especially for us - magical!

Of course, the name of the ship was inspired by the Rudyard Kipling poem:-

By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin' lazy at the sea,
There's a Burma girl a-settin', and I know she thinks o' me;
For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say,
"Come you back, you British Soldier; come you back to Mandalay!"
Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay;
Can't you 'ear their paddles clunkin' from Rangoon to Mandalay?

On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!

'Er petticoat was yaller an' 'er little cap was green,
An' 'er name was Supi-Yaw-Lat jes' the same as Theebaw's Queen,
An' I seed her first a-smokin' of a whackin' white cheroot,
An' wastin' Christian kisses on an 'eathen idol's foot:
Bloomin' idol made o' mud-- Wot they called the Great Gawd Budd--
Plucky lot she cared for idols when I kissed 'er where she stud!

On the road to Mandalay ...

When the mist was on the rice-fields an' the sun was droppin' slow,
She'd git 'er little banjo an' she'd sing "Kulla-la-lo!"
With 'er arm upon my shoulder an' 'er cheek again my cheek
We useter watch the steamers an' the hathis pilin' teak.
Elephants a-piling teak
In the sludgy, squdgy creek,
Where the silence 'ung that 'eavy you was 'arf afraid to speak!

On the road to Mandalay ...

But that's all shove be'ind me -- long ago and fur away,
An' there ain't no 'buses runnin' from the Bank to Mandalay;
An' I'm learnin' 'ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells:
"If you've 'eard the East a-callin', you won't never 'eed naught else."
No! you won't 'eed nothin' else
But them spicy garlic smells,
An' the sunshine an' the palm-trees an' the tinkly temple-bells;

On the road to Mandalay ...

I am sick 'o wastin' leather on these gritty pavin'-stones,
An' the blasted English drizzle wakes the fever in my bones;
Tho' I walks with fifty 'ousemaids outer Chelsea to the Strand,
An' they talks a lot o' lovin', but wot do they understand?
Beefy face an' grubby 'and--
Law! wot do they understand?
I've a neater, sweeter maiden in a cleaner, greener land!

On the road to Mandalay ...

Ship me somewheres East of Suez, where the best is like the worst,
Where there ain't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst;
For the temple-bells are callin', and it's there that I would be--
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea;
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay,
With our sick beneath the awnings when we went to Mandalay!

O the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin'-fishes play,
An' the dawn comes up like thunder outer China 'crost the Bay!

The poem was written by Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) and was first published in 1892 in 'Barrack Room Ballads'. In 1908, Oley Speaks (1874-1948) set the words to music and this is the form in which I and many people knew it - I was unaware until planning this trip that it was by Kipling. Apparently, Frank Sinatra used the first and last verses on one of his recordings but Kipling's family disapproved of this interpretation. 'Moulmein', referred to in the poem, is now called Mawlamyine.

Round the World Five - Day 3 (Sat, 8 Mar)

Itinerary: Saturday 8th March. Transfer by the Tour Operator, VSOE, to Yangon airport for the morning domestic flight by Air Mandalay or Yangon Airways to Bagan using an ATR72 or ATR42 aircraft. On arrival, transfer to the vessel 'Road To Mandalay' berthed on the Ayeyarwady River. State Cabin booked. At Bagan over 2,000 temples and pagodas are scattered over an awe-inspiring plain beside the river. After lunch, join the guide and visit the inside of some of the more significant pagodas. ate afternoon your guide takes you to watch the sun setting over a field of glowing pagodas. Dinner and local entertainment on board.

The local currency is the 'Kyat' but Foreign Exchange Certificates and US Dollars are widely used.

Somewhat worryingly, the brochure also states "visitors may find that in local situations Western standards are not always embraced". I'm happy to report that, on my trip, I never discovered what this means.

So, Saturday morning at the Strand I got up about five and tried the internet. What do you know? This time, it's working - a little slow, perhaps, but working. I'd ordered room service breakfast but, because I was still on the net, they served it in the Business Centre! All the staff on duty rallied round when the guide turned up with the car at 06:15, as arranged, and I was sorry to say goodbye.

We made good time to the domestic air terminal (which is next to the international terminal) and I was handed over to more tour company staff who gave me a boarding pass and seated me in the departure hall. One flight was called in Burmese only, and the hall mostly emptied, leaving mainly the obvious tourists. Before long, a young man called our Air Mandalay flight, in English only, and we shuffled onto a waiting 'bus for a very short ride across the apron to our waiting aircraft - a French-registered ATP42 (or 72). This is a fairly modern turboprop suitable for simple airfields - high wing with two large propellers and a noisy auxiliary power unit in the tail so that no ground power is required. Access is via built-in steps which lower from the tail. My seat, 5A, has a close-up view of the left prop, so I especially hope that the prop doesn't detach in flight! (It didn't). After a short taxi, take-off power is selected and I watch the pitch angle of the propeller blades go to 'coarse', producing the characterestic rasping sound as the blades 'chop' the air and haul us off the ground. Once airborne, 'fine pitch' is selected and the noise subsides as we head north, retracing the path of my arrival yesterday, which already seems a long time ago. We're soon above the clouds and the crew serve a snack. I have a fish-filled croissant and a cup of tea.

After 75 minutes, we land at Nuang U. Here, we're allowed to walk across the apron (ours is the only aircraft on the ground) and are met in the arrival hall by our guide, San. There are two 'buses, he explains, one for English speakers, one for German speakers. We first make a number of photo stops at some of the temples for which Bagan is famous and climb up inside the Pya-That-Kyi temple for a better view of the area. Stretched across a few tens of square miles are over two thousand temples. Some have been restored, some are still in use, most are partially ruined after surviving 800 years or longer subject to the rigours of weather and earthquake. Nothing prepares you for the sheer impact of this World Heritage site.

Then, we drove to our home for a few days - the Motor Vessel 'The Road to Mandalay'. On a bend in the river the British called the Irrawaddy, there's a village on the eastern bank near Old Bagan and about 50 feet above the river. Steep steps lead down the bank to a narrow, shelving sand beach. Nearby, a new zig-zag path has been provided leading to a tiny landing stage with a gangplank to our vessel. We're welcomed aboard and quickly shown to our cabins, where our luggage is waiting. There's time to explore the boat before the excellent buffet lunch in the well-appointed dining room. The capacity is around 100 passengers but we only have around 30 this trip so with 70 crew we're assured of good service, which we certainly get.

Picture of the on-board facilities.

However, there's sobering experience during lunch, as I watch various village women come to the water's edge to do their washing in a daily ritual repeated since childhood. Flat 'washing stones' have been placed at the water's edge. Each item to be washed is laid out on the stones, soaped and watered with a cupped hand dipped in the river. Rolled into a sausage, the item is beaten violently against the stone before an extensive rinsing and, once rolled again, hand wringing. Each movement has an almost balletic quality which appears unconscious - perhaps the elegance of minimum effort for maximum result? Now it's time for personal ablutions. The arms are vigorously soaped and scrubbed with the free hand. Next, the face receives the same treatment. The lady moves into deeper water so that only the head is exposed. The one-piece wrap-around can now be loosened so that the rest of the body can be cleaned in modesty underwater. With the wrap-around restored, she can emerge from the deep water and put on the fresh, dry clothes brought in a thin plastic bag. The original wrap-around is now dropped into the water and the lady kneels near the washing stone to wash it. There's another unconscious action when kneeling, drawing the skirt down to ensure the knees are covered - bare knees are considered indecent. The thin plastic bag is now rinsed in the river before being filled with the clean, damp washing. Watching this ritual, which will be repeated thousands of times in a lifetime, sets me wondering about different lifestyles.

After lunch, we go on another coach tour. Old Bagan was a Royal Palace, walled and moated. A few years ago, the present villagers were unceremoniously uprooted and relocated in New Bagan, a few miles south so as to allow a proper archaeological survey. The Palace was built of wood which, like the houses of the period, have been lost, but the temples, being of brick, survive. The brick was originally covered in elaborately-decorated stucco but, in most cases, restoration is being carried out in brick only. Near Old Bagan we visit the famous Ananda Temple and, after a drive, the Gubyaukyl Temple where there are old frescoes quite well preserved.

An unexpected hit during the afternoon tour was a visit to a lacquerware factory where the larger-than-life moustachioed owner makes a splendid presentation on the process followed by a tour to study each stage close-up.

Pictures of lacquerware manufacture.

We briefly stop to see the village of Pwar-Saw which is full of wooden houses with woven bamboo walls. We walk around a farmyard with oxen and bullock carts - this is no tourist museum, but the reality of life for many country people. Some children play football (the Burmese are obsessed by football) whilst others watch satellite television.

Finally, we visit a 'Sunset Temple' - the 13th century Ta-Yoke-Pyay temple - to watch the sun go down. It's rather hazy, so there are no spectacular colours today, but it's still a great place to be.

In the evening, dinner is served in the dining room. There are two menus - 'A Taste of Asia' or European, with a selection of dishes in each. And so to bed, tired but happy.

Pictures of Bagan.

Round the World Five - Day 2 (Fri, 7 Mar)

View from the terrace outside my room at The Strand.

Itinerary: Arrive Bangkok 06:10 on 7th March, depart 08:15 on Thai flight TG303 for Yangon. At Yangon, transfer to Strand Hotel for one night. Yangon is 6.5 hours ahead of GMT.

They gave me the boarding pass for the Bangkok - Yangon leg at Heathrow, so on arrival at the new airport at Bangkok (open about one year) all I have to do is walk to the departure gate (which seems miles away, past every designer shop you've ever heard of). Then, I find the nearest Thai lounge to get a short break from the hubbub of the airport before we leave. We're bussed to our aircraft, a fairly old A300-600 and pushback five minutes late at 08:20and taxi to the end of a queue of about 10 aircraft waiting to leave. About an hour late, we take off and the cabin crew have just 75 minutes to do a pretty reasonable breakfast (my second breakfast) which they do with customary good humour.

We descend through the cloud layer and I get my first proper view of Myanmar: quite flat, dry-looking with the landscape criss-crossed with drainage ditches. When we're on finals, I glimpse a double-track railway and wayside station. I later discovered it's called Walbargi, but I didn't imagine at the time that I'd pass through it on the train a few hours later. On taxiing to the terminal, two air bridges are quickly attached so before long I've successfully negotiated both immigration and customs at Yangon (formerly Rangoon) and, an hour late, meet the 'Road to Mandalay' representative for transfer to Strand Hotel for one night.

My Bangkok Airport pictures.
My Yangon Airport pictures.

On the way to the hotel, Nan, the lady guide, describes the route, which I manage to follow on the tourist map she's given me.

The Strand was built in 1901 by the Sarkies Brothers, Aviet and Tigran, who were from Armenia. It now has 32 suites. The hotel is high-ceilinged and impressively restored and the staff are charming and very attentive.

My pictures of the Strand Hotel.

I've discovered that the railway I spotted coming in is part of a suburban circle line and that the main station is just under a mile from the hotel so, of course, I decide to travel on it, although a round train trip takes over two and a half hours. There was an amazing crush of people as I walked to the station (the population of Yangon is about 5 million) and street traders selling everything you can imagine. All the pavements have been repeatedly dug up and not repaired, so you need to be alert to avoid potentially serious injury. Outside most shopfronts, the pavements were obstructed by a variety of packaged Japanese standby power generators, some quite large, all wired in a very cavalier manner. This forewarned me that the mains electricity supply is perhaps not as reliable as in the West.

As far as my rail trip goes, I'll spare you the technical details (for now) but, suffice to say, I managed to buy the 1 US dollar 'Foreigner' ticket and made the journey on the busy train - sitting on the floor of an open doorway (the coaches have no doors) for the first half then moving to a wooden bench seat by an open window (the window frames have no glazing) for the rest of the journey. I learnt so much on the journey, whilst becoming the subject of friendly, amused curiosity amongst the locals. I did see a few other Westerners braving the circle line, but not many.

My pictures of the Circle Line.

By the time I'd walked back to the Strand, I was hot and tired but a bath and short sleep restored me sufficiently to make a foray to the nearby ferry landing stages on the river as it quickly dropped dark. After a couple of Coca Cola during the Friday 'Happy Hour' at the Strand, I tried the hotel internet, without success. In fact, I kept trying until about midnight when I finally gave up and went to sleep in my huge, comfortable bed.

My pictures of Yangon.

Round the World Five - Day 1 (Thu, 6 Mar)

Itinerary: Depart 6th March. Thai International Flight TG911 11:50, depart Heathrow Terminal 3 for Bangkok, arriving 06:10 on Friday, 7-Mar-2008.

Well, Gate 24 turned out to be one of the modernised gates, not too bad at all, although miles from the actual aircraft stand, to which we were taken by coach. The coach toured the elderly luggage centre, past areas I'd never seen before, then diving into a newish road tunnel which led us under the old centre and past the Satellite Terminal at the new Terminal 5 to avenue of big jets out in the open where we found our 747-400. The weather was dry, so transferring from the coach via steps to the aircraft was no problem. We pushed back a few minutes late, taxied east and joined the queue of about 5 aircraft waiting to depart from runway Two-Seven Left. After taking off in a westerly direction, we then looped back over north London for our route over Holland, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, the Caspian Sea, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Myanmar and Thailand. This is more-or-less a great circle route.

Although it's now an elderly design, I think the 747-400 is still my favourite, particularly when arranged with business class upstairs, behind the cockpit, as on this flight. New seats had been fitted and seatback individual screens. If you're unfamiliar with the controls, it's rather daunting - the membrane keypad for the electric seat has 16 buttons! As for the entertainment system, there's audio channels, on-demand video channels, games and a satellite telephone. I found 32 feature films and numerous tv shows and documentaries. I watched 'Michael Clayton' (yes, Clooney is on my 'A' list), 'Ratatouille', 'The Devil Wears Prada' and part of 'The Bourne Ultimatum'. Shortly after leaving Heathrow, they served a decent meal, Thai hot shrimp savoury, mushroom and ricotta ballottine (not bad), crayfish tails, fig and chutney (no comment). As main, I had the angler fish with potatoes and vegetables, which was very good, finishing off with a coffee and hazelnut mousse in a caramel sauce and a decent cup of tea. All served with proper napkins, metal cutlery using pottery dishes. Thai's reputation for good service is merited. Travelling east, local time runs faster and we soon cross the terminator (the day/night interface, not Arnie) and start our long night passage to the Orient. As we cross the Bay of Bengal, we have a 'Second Serving', as the airline terms it. This is an early breakfast for those who've changed to Bangkok time or a 'supper' to those who haven't. It's very good, fresh fruit, yoghurt, warm bread with butter and frank cooper's marmalade. Choice of three mains, chicken and ham pancake with trimmings, cheese omelette with trimmings (which I had) or noodle soup with pork.

We sit in a metal tube travelling at 600 miles an hour six miles above the earth in outside temperatures of -60 degrees Celsius eating decent food and think little of it. Isn't that remarkable?

My airport pictures.

Round the World Five - On my Travels

"The Journey of a Thousand Miles starts with a single step" - Chinese Proverb.

Well, in my case, the first steps seem to get harder and I only tore myself away from my home and Tai with some reluctance on another journey into the unknown (for me).

I'm currently in the SAS Lounge at Heathrow Terminal 3 (which Thai share). Alan brought me down by car and, for once, we had a good journey down the M40 and, amazingly, a clear run into Heathrow. Check-in for Bangkok was painless and security (through 'Fast Track') was prompt. So, I'm still fairly relaxed and getting used to the idea of going off to 'foreign parts'. It's about eleven and a half hours to Bangkok and then I transit to another short flight so I'm sure I'll be tired by the time I get to bed tomorrow.

Stop Press:

Arrived Bangkok safely. The new airport is HUGE and very glossy. I'm exhausted just walking to my connecting gate. Now in the Thai lounge and about to catch the Thai service to Yangon (that's Rangoon) in Myanmar (Burma as was). Yes, I wondered about the ethics and we can have a debate when I return but, hopefully, I'll have more information to inform that debate.

My airport pictures.

The Premier Line

The London and North Western Railway was always known as 'The Premier Line'. Formed from the amalgamation of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway, its tentacles were eventually spread widely throughout the United Kingdom. Whilst these early railways still form part of the railway network today, much of the distinctive style of the LNWR has been eliminated. There are still a few examples of the characteristic approach to running a railway which made employees proud to work for 'The Nor-Wessie'.

Take, for example, the two Entrance Lodges at Euston station, virtually all that remains of a once-great terminal. The two lodges face Euston Road, flanking Euston Grove, which once led to the station itself and is now the entrance to the bus station. The picture below shows the front of the right-hand lodge, looking from Euston Road. The left hand lodge is identical, apart from the names of stations served. Click on the picture to enlarge the view. Portland Stone has been used - it has good colour, is long-lasting and will accept intricate carving, even in deep relief, as seen in the group of figures at the top.

Note how the initials of the railway 'LNWR' appear in a cursive script elaborately interlaced and embraced by a laurel wreath. This device appears twice on each face of the building - there is to be no doubt as to who is responsible for raising these edifices!

But the nicest piece of self-publicity is the list of places served by the railway, arranged in alphabetic order. The place names start on the left lodge, in two columns facing Euston Road, then continue in two columns on the side of the left lodge facing Euston Grove. The list then continues of the right lodge, first on the side facing Euston Grove and finally concluded in two columns facing Euston Road. Some of the spellings are not what we would now use, but I have copied below what appears on these splendid survivors. Each name is terminated in a full stop. Here are the names to impress the prospective traveller:-

ABERDEEN. ABERYSTWITH. AYLESBURY. BANBURY. BARNSLEY. BEDFORD. BELFAST. BIRMINGHAM. BIRKENHEAD.

BLACKBURN. BLACKPOOL. BOLTON. BRADFORD. BURNLEY. BURY. BURTON. BUXTON. CAMBRIDGE.

CARLISLE. CARNARVON. CHESTER. CORK. COVENTRY. DERBY. DEWSBURY. DUDLEY. DUBLIN.

DUMFRIES. DUNDEE. EDINBURGH. FLEETWOOD. GLASGOW. GREENOCK. HALIFAX. HEREFORD. HUDDERSFIELD.

INVERNESS. KESWICK. KIDDERMINSTER. LANCASTER. LEAMINGTON. LEEDS. LEICESTER. LIVERPOOL. LLANDUDNO.

MACCLESFIELD. MANCHESTER. NEWARK. NEWPORT. NORTHAMPTON. NOTTINGHAM. OLDHAM. OXFORD. PAISLEY.

PERTH. PETERBORO. PRESTON. ROCHDALE. SHEFFIELD. SHREWSBURY. STAMFORD. STIRLING. STOCKPORT.

STOKE. SWANSEA. TENBY. WAKEFIELD. WARRINGTON. WARWICK. WHITEHAVEN. WIGAN. WOLVERHAMPTON.

In these days of mass air travel to exotic locations, the impact of this list of place-names is reduced, but imagine the effect on passengers in the early decades of the twentieth century. Then, a journey by train could be an adventure. How unlike our weary, over-priced travels on our present railways.

More pictures.

The Ice House

Dave surveys the excavated chamber from ground level as Tai looks on.

In the gardens at Brewood Hall, there's an underground room which we've always called the 'Ice House'. However, at some time in the past (probably in the 19th century) the occupiers decided it would be a good place to dispose of the ashes from the many coal fires in the Hall. They filled the underground room to the roof so that it was impossible to seen the size of the room or the method of construction. There have been various tentative attempts over the years at removing the ash and sufficient spoil was removed to disclose the top few inches of a brick lined chamber around 8 feet square.

Late in 2007, Dave decided that the job needed completing and, together with Rick and Jim (and about four 8 cubic yard skips), the room is now revealed.

The brick walls are in fair condition, with random stone in places. Intentionally missing bricks on the front and rear walls suggest that shelves may have run along each side of the room and there are a number of old metal supports in the side walls, presumably to reduce sagging in these shelves. The rear wall has two rectangular recesses with stone lintels. The roof is a shallow arch made of sandstone 'bricks' still in excellent condition. There are two 'vent holes' set in the roof. The one in the centre of the roof has a brick 'chimney', rising towards ground level but currently closed off at the top. The second 'vent' is adjacent to the rear wall and, although apparently intentional, the purpose is, at present, unclear. The floor is of quarry tiles, in fairly good condition, apart from one area halfway along the left hand wall as you enter. There is a soakaway in the left corner as you enter (identified as 'corner 1' in the pictures).

Access is via brick steps from ground level. This entrance has a brick arch roof and brick recesses on the left and right. There was originally a sandstone lintel and wooden door frame and door. When more studies have been undertaken, a replacement lintel and door will be fitted.

There is a persistent rumour in the village of an underground passage joining the Hall to the Church. These excavations have not revealed any evidence of a tunnel starting in this underground chamber. The possibility was also mooted that the chamber might be a Cold Plunge Bath House. Sadly, there's no evidence to support this notion, either.

More pictures.

The Blues Brothers

Photo: Wikipedia.

There are two kinds of people in the world - those who love 'The Blues Brothers' and those who don't or who haven't heard of them.

Dan Ackroyd and James Belushi formed a blues band towards the end of the 1970s and performed on the American television programme 'Saturday Night Live' and at live 'gigs'. They established a cult following and in 1980 John Landis produced the film 'The Blues Brothers' which, in addition to great music, featured some epic car chases. Dan Ackroyd played 'Elwood Blues', James Belushi 'Jake Blues'. James Belushi died in 1982 but, in one form or another, the Blues Brothers continued to perform. The popularity of the band encouraged the formation of a number of Tribute Bands. Some 20 years after the original film, Dan Ackroyd again played Elwood in the film sequel 'Blues Brothers 2000', without Jake but with other new characters.

My partner Daemon took me to the cinema to see 'The Blues Brothers' back in 1980 and I was convinced I'd hate the film - in fact, I loved it and have been a Blues Brothers fan ever since.

A couple of years ago, I was invited by Ann and Dean to a performance by one of the Tribute Bands at the 'Robin 2' club in Bilston. We all had a great time: 'Jake & Elwood - The Blues Brothers Show & The Black Rhino Band' live up to the high standards of musicianship set by the originals.

Ann, John and Jan at the 'Robin 2

'Jake & Elwood - The Blues Brothers Show & The Black Rhino Band' returned to the 'Robin 2' on 23-Feb-2008 so, of course, Ann, Dean and Jan went to enjoy the act again, this time accompanied by John. Below, just a brief snatch of their music.

London's Terminal Stations

A trip to London for a business meeting gave me the opportunity to visit three of London's railway termini (or are we to say 'terminuses' now?).

The meeting had been at Kings Cross Power Box, so first I took a few pictures of King's Cross Station, the former Great Northern Railway terminus. The East Coast Main Line is now electrified at 25kV a.c., but there is usually at least one HST125 growling under the arched trainshed roof and generally polluting the atmosphere. The mainline platforms are covered by two perfectly straight arched roofs of fairly plain design set on good quality brick walls arranged as a series of arches with restrained, but satisfying detailing. The rivetted roof trusses are provided with modest decoration. The trainsheds are closed at the south end by a wall which originally presented a neat, if rather utilitarian, appearance to the prospective passenger. Today, various thoughtless modern adaptations and extensions almost completely obscure the original intent and the effect is confusing and nondescript. However, the interior of the trainsheds has been cleaned and thoughtfully restored retaining much of the original detail. It's a pity that the overbridge halfway along the trainshed, which once gave commanding views of the station, has had its sides raised and panelled, restricting the effect.

I was surprised to find that, to satisfy Harry Potter fans, there is an opportunity to take a photograph of a luggage trolley disappearing through the wall of Platform 9-3/4!

See the Wikipedia entry.
My King's Cross pictures.

And so on to St. Pancras International, recently re-opened after a very expensive restoration and conversion. The northern end of the site houses the platforms for the Midland main line diesel services and the electrified Bedford suburban services. This is all new build. The new terminus for the Eurostar services is accommodated in Barlow's original trainshed - a single span of breathtaking size, full of natural light to lift the spirit. The original undercroft has been opened up to present numerous retail opportunities and the upper level offers the 'largest champagne bar in Europe', not exactly my taste in design but this can't detract from the restoration of Barlow's original concept - it is a triumph. Martin Jenning's slightly eccentric statue of Sir John Betjeman, set off to one side, is exactly right, unlike the overbearing statue 'Meeting Place' by Paul Day. This 9 metre high statue is given pride of place on the concourse but the size would be more appropriate in celebrating the dictator of some socialist state. Although Eurostar services are operating from St. Pancras, work is not finished and contractors are still in evidence, preparing to further expand the retail experience. The hotel facing Euston Road is still a building site and is not scheduled to open until 2009.

My St. Pancras pictures.

Whereas St. Pancras thrusts itself onto Euston Road, the modern Euston Station discreetly hides itself from view behind trees and the bus station. As well it might - the frontage of the building looks like some provincial Polytechnic. The post-war Euston Station was, it must be admitted, a mess but the decision to demolish Sir Philip Hardwick's Doric Arch in rebuilding the station when the line was electrified was an act of gross vandalism which will never be forgiven.
See the Wikipedia entry

Two rather nice entrance lodges from the old station survive. These are built in Portland Stone and appear to date from the London and North Western Railway era. They now flank the approach to the bus station and are easily overlooked. The one, improbably enough, now serves as a private drinking club.

The main concourse area of the present station at least enjoys reasonable natural light but what was, when originally built, a fairly open circulating area is now so dominated by a myriad retail outlets that it is difficult to navgate a path to the correct platform. One wall is now dominated by a huge colour television screen, as if watching advertisements can compensate for not actually running the trains on time. However, the screen seems to have a hypnotic effect so that the area in front of the screen is often thronged with a mass of staring 'customers' (we don't do 'passengers' any more) and is best avoided in trying to seek the correct platform.

The present Euston is, I fear, a most depressing gateway to the capital. In 2007 British Land announced a further rebuilding of the station. We can only wait and hope.

More about the Entrance Lodges at Euston.

My Euston pictures.

Mutual Improvement Classes

Becoming an engineman in the old days was a long and demanding process. But the prestige of the job was such that men would attend training sessions in their own time. In addition, the cameraderie was such that the trainers were not provided by the railway, but were senior footplatemen who volunteered their time. They were proud to pass on their skill and knowledge to another generation. These training sessions were called Mutual Improvement Classes, or simply 'MIC'.

The railway company would often provide an old, grounded coach body or a spare room at the Motive Power Depot, where the classes would be held. Sometimes the men would make models to illustrate a particular topic. Wooden models showing the operation of valve gear originally made for use in the MIC can now be seen in various museums. Scrap components, like injectors, might be collected as a visual aid to help demonstrate their construction and operation.

'The Rules' were always an important part of the job and classes would often involve a catechism where the younger staff would learn to respond correctly to various situations which would occur from time to time.

'The Passage of Steam' was a favourite topic, where the creation, transmission and utilisation of steam was analysed in some detail.

In the old days, locomotivemen out on the road were expected to carry out running repairs and 'limp home' when failures occurred so the diagnosis and treatment of faults was another recurrent theme.

The daily examination of the locomotive by the driver before coming "off shed" was important in that a thorough and intelligent 'Exam' could obviate many breakdowns which would otherwise result in failure in traffic. The 'Exam' was carried out whilst 'oiling round' the locomotive. Again, crews in the MIC would learn the myriad oiling points which required attention on various classes of locomotive. Proper attention to lubrication and an understanding of how to check and make the various worsted wool trimmings which controlled the flow of oil could avoid many instances of bearings running warm. All these skills were taught in the MIC.

In these days when there are accusations of 'dumbing down' in our education system, it's hard to imagine people willingly embracing the long-term commitment to learning needed to become a good engineman. The prestige drivers in the steam era once enjoyed is a measure of the difficulties which they had overcome in acquiring the necessary knowledge and skill.

Railway preservation today perpetuates the Mutual Improvement Class - there are still men and women willing to train to work on steam locomotives, not as a career, but as an absorbing and unpaid 'Hobby'. The various training arrangements which each preserved railway adopts keep alive the best traditions of the 'MIC'. Under the label 'MIC', I've published some of my own notes which I've used when training railway preservation volunteers.

There's an index, including links, of the posts currently available at Mutual Improvement Classes (2).

You can select all the posts in this blog labelled 'MIC' here.

A New Signal Box at Darley Dale

The new signal box on its first operational day.

On Sunday, 17th February 2008, Peak Rail opened its new signal box at Darley Dale. The original box was always rather cramped (somewhat resembling a pigeon loft) and the changes required when the signalling was adapted for two-train working made matters even more of a squeeze.

The view above shows the original Darley Dale signal box, with lever brame, block shelf and illuminated diagram. Note the British Rail pattern Absolute Block Instrument in the foreground, which controls movements on the double track section to Church Lane box.

Signalman Flather seen working the new box on its first day. Note that the Block Instrument has moved to its 'proper' position on the block shelf. The new box has a brick foundation and gives more space for the signalman to relax in between trains.

Congratulations are due to everybody involved on this upgrade, especially Dominic and Peak Rail S&T Department.

More pictures of signalling at Peak Rail.

Peak Rail Signalling

Peak Rail currently operates a distance of just over four miles, extending from Matlock Riverside via an intermediate station at Darley Dale to Rowsley where there is a extensive yard. The section through Darley Dale is double track, signalled by Absolute Block between the signal box at Darley Dale and the signal box at Church Lane. Each signal box controls a number of fixed signals and also a gated level crossing.

The single line between Darley Dale signal box and Matlock Riverside is controlled by a single line Train Staff. Running-round at Matlock Riverside is controlled by a Ground Frame released by the Train Staff.

The single line between Church Lane signal box and Rowsley is controlled by a separate single line Train Staff. Running-round at Rowsley is also controlled by a Ground Frame released by the Train Staff.

The picture above shows the driver's view from a down train approaching Darley Dale. Three successive signals can be seen: Darley Dale's Down Home (with fixed distant for Church Lane below), Church Lane's upper-quadrant bracket signal and the lower-quadrant Midland signal just before Church Lane box. More pictures of Peak Rail signalling.

These arrangements allow two-train running, with trains passing on the double track section at Darley Dale. At present, normal running involves only one train but two trains operate on special days. Two-train working was introduced on 3-Mar-2007.

Two-train working pictures.
Two-train working story.

"Lion's" History

This picture, from the archives of Liverpool Museums, shows 'Lion' on its plinth in Lime Street station in the early 1930s.

'Lion' was built in 1838 by the short-lived partnership of Todd, Kitson and Laird in Leeds for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The following report is from The Engineer, Nov 14, 1930 (p535). The original text has been retained and only minor changes have been made.

'Perhaps the most interesting feature of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Centenary Celebrations, held at Liverpool from September 13th, was the "Train of 1830" drawn by the reconstructed "Lion", which carried passengers round a circular railway specially laid down at the Wavertree ground.

According to Wishaw, this locomotive was built for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 1838 by Messrs. Todd and Co. It now appears that the company consisted of Charles Todd, James Kitson and a Laird, and that they began manufacturing early in 1838. In 1839 Kitson and Laird withdrew and started a new firm, which has developed into the present Kitson and Co., while Todd continued the original business with a new partner under the title Shepherd and Todd of the Railway Foundry. After 1846 the foundry was carried on by E. B. Wilson and was eventually acquired by Messrs. Manning, Wardle and Co.

Two engines, the "Lion" and the "Tiger," were built at about the same time; the "Lion" is believed to have been delivered in July, 1838, and both were at work before October of that year. Edward Woods, the company’s engineer at that time, when sending out a specification for new boilers, quoted these engines as examples to be followed as regards materials and workmanship. The "Lion" was No. 57 on the company’s list and was taken over, with other stock, by the Grand Junction Railway in August 1845. In 1846, when the London and North-Western Railway was formed by further amalgamation, it became No. 116 of that line.

The "Lion" was sold for the sum of £400 to the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board on May 26th, 1859, and worked as a pumping engine at Princes Graving Dock from that date until August 1928, when it was presented by the Board to the Liverpool Engineering Society, whose property it remains, in order that it might be preserved for the city of Liverpool. It has been restored during the present year in the Crewe shops of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, with the assistance of Mr. J. G. H. Warren.

The engine is of the inside cylinder, 0-4-2 type, which was one of the forms of six-wheeled engine introduced by Robert Stephenson in 1833, and extensively copied by other engine builders. The cylinders are now 14in. diameter by 18in. stroke, but the figures given by Wishaw in 1840 were 11in. diameter and 20in. stroke. In a list of about 1846, by John Dewrance, who succeeded Eward Woods, the cylinder diameter is given as 12in. and the stroke as 18in., so that it would appear that the cylinders were changed for larger sizes ar least twice, but the changes were no doubt made before the engine ceased work as a locomotive.

The driving wheels are 5ft. diameter and the trailing pair 42in. diameter. The wheelbase is 12ft., equally divided. The cylinders are placed low down so that the piston-rods pass below the leading axle with an upwards inclination of 1 in 13. The valve chests are placed on the tops of the cylinders, as was then usual, and the valves are driven through rocking levers, the upper ends of which are connected with the valve spindles, while their lower ends carry pins with which the excentric rods engage.

The valve gear is of the four-excentric type, introduced in 1835, in which, for each cylinder, there is a fixed excentric for each direction of motion, and the excentric rod ends are provided with notches or gabs that engage with the pins on the valve levers. The gabs are furnished with spreading jaws or forks, which enable then to engage with the pins without the aid of hand levers on the footplate.

The reversing gear is that variety of the forked gab type introduced about 1840 and usually associated with the name of William Buddicom, who was Edward Wood’s assistant at the Liverpool end of the line. In this form the forks of the excentric rods face one another and the rod ends are linked to levers on a reversing shaft placed below them, so that both are lowered or raised together, and either the upper or lower gab is engaged with the pin of the valve lever.

The valves now on the engine have an outside lap of 13/16in. and a travel of 3 13/16in., the cut-off being 81 per cent. When the engine was built the valves had little or no lap, but Woods records that all the Liverpool and Manchester engines were altered or provided with new cylinders and valves, with lap and longer travel, between 1840 and 1842. It was probably at that time that the 12in. by 18in. cylinders were fitted, and very likely the present valve gear as well.

The engine has outside sandwich frames of wood between iron plates, the axle-box horns being bolted to them. Inside the wheels there are two wrought frames – extending from the smoke-box to the fire-box – which carry extra bearings for the crank axle only. The springs for the coupled axles are mounted above the frames, and those for the trailing axle below them. The boiler and cylinders are are supported by brackets from the outside frames. The guide bars are carried at the front end by the cylinder covers and at the rear end by spectacle plates hanging from the middle boiler support.

The present boiler is of comparatively late date, somewhat larger than the original one, and having a very high fire-box crown. It is not certain what kind of outer fire-box the "Lion" originally had. Liverpool and Manchester engines of the period usually had a slightly raised crown, but Kitson and Laird appear to have favoured the haystack form in their early engines, so that, if they had a free hand in the design of the "Lion", its fire-box may have had that form. In the reconstruction the high crown of the existing boiler has been masked by a cover of the haystack form. Whishaw gives the original boiler dimensions as:- Barrel, 39in. by 42in. and 7.4ft. long; 126 tubes, 1.625in. diameter diameter and 8ft. long; inner fire-box, 30in. long, 39in. wide and 36in. from grate to crown. The total heating surface was 460.3 square feet and the grate area 8.12 square feet. The steam pressure was 50 lb. Per square inch and the tractive effort at 85 per cent. Boiler pressure is 2499ib. with the present cylinders. The regulator is within the fire-box crown, which is surmounted by two lever safety valves loaded by Salter spring balances; these balances also serve to indicate roughly the steam pressure. Edward Woods’ boiler specification of October 1838, required a dome over the firebox with one safety valve, as well as a second dome, another safety valve on a pillar, and a manhole on the boiler barrel.

The weight of the "Tiger", which was closely like the "Lion", is given by Whishaw as 14.47 tons; in its present state the "Lion" weighs 18.85 tons.

The four-wheeled tender has been adapted from an early tender from the Furness Railway, and is very similar to those in use about 1840. The engine and tender together weigh 26.55 tons, and their overall length is 32.74ft.

The train drawn by the "Lion" consisted of replicas of the first and second-class coaches of 1830, evidently based on the well-known Ackermann prints. The first-class coaches were excellent copies of the reconstructed model of the coach "Experiment", dated from 1834, now belonging to the L.M.S. Railway; but the second-class vehicles, while being apparently copied from the Ackermann prints, were incorrect in that they were seatless. The tickets issued for these were described at the booking office as "third class" instead of second; third class did not, of course, exist in 1830.

The "Lion" is to be given a place of honour at Lime-street Station, Liverpool, over the buffer stops between platforms Nos. 3 and 4'.

Coal Tank

Shortly after a discussion at Stafford Model Railway Exhibition 2008 about the dimensions of the L.&N.W.R. fabricated chimney used on the famous 'Coal Tanks', I came across a drawing of the class in the September 1947 issue of 'The Model Railway Constructor'. Mr. G. H. Platt had written the article (one of a series) and Mr. J. K. Nelson had traced the original drawing, loaned by Mr. J. P. Richards, to allow publication. The principal dimensions quoted in the article are given below:-

Coupled wheels: 4 ft. 5-1/2 ins. diameter.
Trailing wheels: 3 ft. 9 ins. diameter.
Wheelbase: 7 ft. 3 ins. plus 8 ft. 3 ins. with a further 5 ft. 9 ins. to the trailing axle.
Frame overhang:
- front: 4 ft. 5 ins.
- rear: 3 ft. 1 in.
Width:
- 7 ft. 6-1/2 ins. over buffer planks
- 7 ft. 0 ins. over footplate
- 6 ft. 8-1/2 ins. over tanks
- 6 ft. 7-3/4 ins. over cab sides.
Height:
- 4 ft. 0-1/4 in. to top of footplate
- 6 ft. 10-3/4 ins. to boiler centreline
- 10 ft. 7-3/8 ins. to cab eaves
- 11 ft. 0-1/2 in. to top of cab.
Radius of cab roof: 10 ft 8 ins.
Length of cab roof: 6 ft. 1 in.
Boiler diameter (over cleading): 4 ft. 6 ins.
Smokebox diameter: 4 ft. 8 ins.
Length of smokebox: 2 ft. 8 ins.
Chimney: 3 ft. 9 ins. long, placed 1 ft. 3-1/2 ins. from front of smokebox.
Height of buffers: 3 foot 4-3/8 ins.

The 1 inch frame plates were 4 foot 2 inches apart.
The wooden buffer planks were 1 foot 3 inches deep and 6-1/4 inches thick (including a steel facing plate).

The cab floor was at two levels - in the centre at running plate level but either side raised above the substantial rectangular balance pipes which connected the side tanks to the bunker water space.

Webb was a great believer in standardisation and the 'Coal Tanks' are a variation on his 0-6-0 tender engine - the 'Coal Engine' which was made in large numbers and contributed significantly to the consistent dividends paid to shareholders of the 'Premier Line'.

I've always had a soft spot for anything from the "Nor-Wessie" and I remember, back in the '50s, when the station pilot at Birmingham New Street was invariably a 'Coal Tank'. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined I'd one day actually drive a coal tank on a passenger train but, much later, it came to pass.

Sedgeley Junction

A simplified signalling diagram for Sedgeley Jn. without lever numbers. Click on the diagram to enlarge.

So far, I've introduced some of the mechanical signal boxes I was familiar with on the Stour Valley main line from Birmingham to Wolverhampton. But there was one box I always enjoyed visiting which was on a secondary line - Sedgeley Junction. This was situated on the South Stafford line, which extended from Walsall, crossing the Stour Valley at right angles at Dudleyport and joining the Great Western Line at Dudley. The Great Western Line at Dudley was part of the line built by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway (ominously known as the 'Old Worse and Worse').

Sedgeley Junction box was a standard London & North Western Railway design with a brick base and 40-lever Webb Tumbler Interlocking Frame. The next box to the west was Dudley East, also an L & N W design but, by the time I knew it, administered and staffed by Western Region men. The next box to the east was Horsley Fields Junction. This was another L & N W box, of the early pattern, which controlled a branch to Swan Village, allowing access to the Western Region main line from Wolverhampton to Birmingham (Snow Hill). At Sedgeley Junction, a short branch diverged to Dudleyport Junction.

All the points were mechanically operated over U-channel rodding, all the running signals were upper-quadrant semaphore, wire-operated. Only home signals were provided, with worked distant signals for all three directions. There were no new-fangled colour light signals!

Most passenger workings were handled by Diesel Multiple Units. There was a fairly regular service during the day from Walsall to Dudley, usually operated by a two-car DMU. The Western Region operated a Dudley - Birmingham (Snow Hill) service during the day. This ran from Dudley to Horsley Fields Junction where it took the Swan Village branch, continuing along the main line to Snow Hill. In addition, from time to time, a DMU ran from Dudley to Sedgeley Junction then via the branch to Dudleyport. After a short sojourn in the bay platform at Dudleyport, the DMU would return to Dudley. This Dudleyport service was often a single-car DMU, always called the 'Bubble Car'. All of the passenger services were normally fairly lightly loaded when I knew them.

The South Stafford line had become an important freight artery and much of the interest at Sedgeley Junction came from the frequent goods trains. From Great Bridge (the next box beyond Horsley Fields Junction towards Walsall) right through to Dudley, trains faced a fairly steep bank, producing impressive sound effects. Only lighter trains attempted the climb single-handed. To assist heavier trains, a bank engine was stationed at Great Bridge, usually a 'Super D' ex-L & N W 0-8-0 (power classification '7F') or a Stanier 2-8-0 (power classification '8F'). The banker would assist the train to Dudley and then return light engine, ready to assist another train. There was a lot of coal traffic in the uphill direction (also the 'Up' line), much of it destined for Stourport power station. Mineral trains frequently originated at Wichnor Junction (then a re-marshalling yard on the Midland line from Birmingham to Derby) and often were destined for Hartlebury Junction (on the Western region). In the 'Up' direction, these trains would be up to about 45 wagons, mainly comprised of the British Railways all-steel 16-ton mineral wagons and, of course, loose-coupled. Returning trains of empties (often called 'Pools') would load up to 60 or 70 wagons. At night there was no need to preserve paths for the passenger service and even more freights would be run. There were also long-distance express freights at night - one diagram was a block train of petrol tanks from the refinery at Milford Haven to the Birmingham distribution depot at Soho Pool. This train was loaded in the downhill direction and empty uphill. It was normally worked by a British Railways Standard 2-10-0 (power classification '9F').

'Up' trains could not always be found an immediate path at Dudley onto the Western Region and so, in addition to the 'Up Main' and 'Down Main', there was an 'Up Goods' between Sedgeley Junction and Dudley East, to avoid blocking the main line with a waiting freight. This goods line was invariably called the 'Third Line'. The main lines were worked under 'Absolute Block' regulations, but the 'Third Line' was signalled as a goods 'Permissive', allowing freight trains to queue up, one behind the other, clear of the main line. When I knew the box, it was rare to have more than one train at a time on the 'Third Line', and I don't think I ever saw more than two in the section.

If a train which Dudley wanted up the Third Line was being banked, once the train and banker had passed Sedgeley Junction, the banker was 'trapped' until the train being banked had been released onto the Western Region at Dudley. It sometimes happened that, with a freight and banker on the Third Line, Dudley had a 'path' for a following freight on the main. The driver of the following freight then had to decide whether to risk leaving Great Bridge without assistance or to get on the telephone to Control to try to find another banker. If there was any other motive power around, this might be pressed into service as a banker for one trip, even if this meant shunting that engine's train into sidings until the banking turn was done. Freight working was always far more flexible than passenger. If no bank engine was available, a debate might ensue between the driver and Control about whether the load could be taken by one engine unaided. Since the gross load was calculated by the train Guard for his Journal, significant variations occurred. Many times, drivers who agreed to "have a go" would approach the box at Sedgeley Junction going slower and slower and, as often as not, would grind to an ignominious stop outside the box.

Palethorpes Sausage factory was only a short distance away from Sedgeley Junction and, depending upon the direction of the wind, this was sometimes obvious, just by sniffing the air. In 1896 the factory was the largest sausage producer in the world! Their private siding joined the Third Line at Sedgeley Junction. Even in the late 1950s, every afternoon, most of their production was loaded into their own railway vans at their private siding and a couple of main-line steam locomotives would fuss about making up at least two trains which would then be taken away for distribution. One train went the short distance to Dudleyport where individual vehicles were attached to various expresses which stopped at Dudleyport for the purpose. In the morning, the process would be reversed when the empties would be returned and taken back to the Palethorpes siding.

In between Dudley and Sedgeley Junction, there was an iron foundry called Conygree Foundry. This was served by a trailing connection in the Down Line which crossed both Up Main and Up Goods to reach the foundry. The points were controlled by Conygree Siding Ground Frame, which was provided with both a single-stroke bell and a telephone to Sedgeley Junction signal box. The Ground Frame was released by a 'Midway Release'. This comprised a lever in Sedgeley Junction which could only be pulled if no Up signals had been cleared. The lever operated conventional point rodding which terminated in a locking box halfway to the siding Ground Frame. Another set of point rodding extended from the locking box to the Ground Frame release lever, which could only be pulled (releasing the siding points lever) if Sedgeley Junction had first pulled his release lever. Once the Ground Frame had pulled the release lever, the locking box prevented Sedgeley Junction from replacing his lever before the Ground Frame had finished work and put the release lever back to lock the frame.

One final oddity was the carriage sidings between Dudleyport and Sedgeley Junction. There was a connection from the sidings to the Up Branch fairly close to Sedgeley Junction box but it was released by an Annett's Key at Dudleyport Junction. This arrangement ensured that, once the Annett's Key had been released, the appropriate signals would be locked at Dudleyport to prevent a second movement on the Up Branch.

I spent many happy hours working this box (unofficially, of course).

More on Sedgeley Junction.

[Minor corrections 6-Oct-2010]

The Modernisation of British Railways

At the end of the Second World War, British railways were in a mess. Capital investment had been non-existent and amazing feats had been performed by men and machines just to keep the railways going. Winston Churchill, the wartime leader, was thrown out and Labour got their hands on the levers of power. During the War, railways, road transport, canals and mining had all been under Government control, even if privately owned. This made it easier for the new Labour government to implement its 'Clause 4' and nationalise the railways and other industries. And so, 'British Railways' was born at the end of 1947. It was never going to be easy to forge a series of disparate companies with different backgrounds into a unified transport system.

Robert ('Robin') Riddles had performed well at the Ministry of Supply during the war, but he missed out on the CME's post on the LMS when Fairburn died. The job went to George Ivatt and Riddles became Vice President of the LMS. When the railways were nationalised, Riddles was appointed the first Chief Mechanical Engineer of British Railways. As CME, Riddles oversaw a complete series of new designs for steam locomotives. Ultimately, 999 new steam locomotives were produced, some seeing 'active service' for only a few years. In general, the new designs were well-received and the future of steam seemed assured.

But other changes were afoot. People had been changed by their experiences in wartime, whether on active service or, as civilians, drawn into the effects of war as never before. A shattered infrastructure was being rebuilt and people were looking for better times after the privations of war. Immigration from the Commonwealth introduced many new workers who, in general, accepted the unattractive jobs which the British were less inclined to perform but, even so, railway jobs became less and less popular, particularly those jobs associated with steam locomotives. The coal industry had also been Nationalised and, like the railways, was trying to adapt to a new world. Many mining jobs were every bit as unattractive as railway work and the coal industry suffered similar recruitment problems. The quality of coal for steam locomotives became very variable, adding to British Railways' problems in maintaining the services.

Significant effort had been invested in the possibility of converting steam locomotives for oil burning but, eventually, it was decided that imported oil was too scarce and expensive for railway use (this was, of course, before Britain became an oil producer in its own right). All these problems encouraged British Railways to consider a new direction using diesel and electric traction which, politically, was quite attractive as a sign of the modernisation of post-war Britain and so an ambitious programme emerged where steam locomotives (including the British Railways 'standards') were to be replaced by diesel or electric traction. In view of the earlier decision to abandon the programme for oil-burning steam locomotives, this change seems bizarre and one might expect that electrification, rather than dieselisation, would have been preferred.

Before the Second World War, the Southern Railway had brought in major electrification schemes using third-rail 750 volt d.c. and it was agreed that this would be extended on the Southern Region. The War had interrupted the Manchester-Sheffied-Wath electrification project which had been designed to use overhead catenary at 1500 volts d.c. This, and similar schemes on the Eastern region suburban lines from London, were allowed to proceed. However, for new projects, the use of overhead catenary with high voltage a.c. was now preferred. The Midland Railway had inaugurated its own a.c. scheme on the branches between Lancaster, Morecambe and Heysham in 1908 at 6,600 volts, 25Hz alternating current (a.c.). By 1951, the equipment was worn out and it was decided that the necessary upgrading would be made to operate from 6,600 volts, 50Hz a.c. to provide working experience prior to major main-line electrification at 25,000 volts 50Hz.

The former Great Western lines lost out twice. There had been long-standing plans to electrify the lines in the West Country, to solve some of the problems of working these heavily-graded lines but the scheme was never implemented. In addition, they had enthusiastically grasped the use of oil-fired steam locomotives but this scheme, too, was cancelled. What was on offer under British Rail was the use of Diesel Multiple Units for suburban and branch line use and large diesel locomotives for main-line trains. The independent spirit of the Great Western lived on in that diesel electric transmission was rejected in favour of diesel hydraulic. Certainly, Germany had introduced large diesel hydraulic locomotives successfully and the argument that died-in-the-wool steam locomen would adapt better to understanding this technology than becoming 'electricians' on diesel-electrics had some merit. There was also a brief flirtation with a couple of gas-turbine locomotives.

The LMS had considerable success with their diesel-electric shunting locomotives introduced before the Second World War and the design of the ubiquitous British Railways Class 08 and derivatives was based on these shunters. The LMS produced the first British main-line diesel electric locomotives (10000 and 10001) which saw service into the British Railways era. It was then the maverick designer O.V.S. Bullied who oversaw the production of three large diesel electrics for the Southern Region (10201, 10202 and, later, the more powerful 10203). Oddly enough, the Southern diesel-electrics spent most of their time on the London Midland Region and I had a number of journeys behind them. I completely failed to forsee how steam would be swept away by these noisy, smelly machines.

Alongside the introduction of the new motive power, the railway network was 'rationalised' following the politically-inspired Beeching Plan. There was certainly scope for taking away some of the remarkable route duplications which had resulted from 'Railway Mania' a century earlier and for looking at different treatments for some of the quieter branch lines. The advent of the Diesel Multiple Unit was promoted as the way to ensure an economical extended life for passenger services on minor lines and some success was achieved. However, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the political agenda behind much of the decision-making initiated the decline of public transport in this country which still continues, despite strenuous claims to the contrary.

[Description of 1908 Midland Railway Scheme corrected: 6-Mar-2022]

Little Salkeld

The 'Thames-Clyde Express' in the hands of 60077 'The White Knight'.

Visiting Stafford Model Railway Exhibition in February 2008 prompted me to report on a visit I made in October last year to the 4mm scale layout built by my friend John. Based on Little Salkeld on the Settle and Carlisle line, the layout is arranged as a large double-track oval with Little Salkeld along the one long side and a fan of storage sidings on the other long side. A spur from the storage sidings leads to a turntable with a series of radial tracks allowing some of the large stud of locomotives to be admired when not in service.

When I visited, the layout was fully functional, but scenery was incomplete. The layout is about to be relocated so scene-building is currently on hold.

Since John is a bit of a 'rivet counter' I was not surprised to see the high standard of detailing on the locomotives and rolling stock. One of my photographs (the cab of a 'Rebuilt Scot') shows the detailing available on proprietary models these days - a bit of an improvement on the Rovex 'Princess' I was brought up with! John has added quite a bit of detailing of his own so the overall impression, with scale-length trains and correct formations for the period, is very convincing. There are a few, rather poor, pictures of mine linked below which I'm afraid don't do justice to the layout.

More pictures.

Here's a short video clip (in low resolution):-