Livingstone

Tuesday, 14th February 2012

As often happens, writing things down whilst they're fresh in the memory conflicts with actually doing things so, on my return to the U.K., I've expanded my original brief update.

There was originally a settlement next to the Falls, as a staging point for crossing the Zambezi, but this settlement was moved to higher ground on Constitution Hill because of the problem of malarial mosquitoes near the river. In 1904 the new settlement was called 'Livingstone' after the Scottish missionary and philanthropist Dr. David Livingstone and in 1911 the town became the Capital of the British Protectorate of Northern Rhodesia and still retains some of the Edwardian colonial buildings of the period. In 1935, the capital was moved to Lusaka and Livingstone became a quiet town. Latterly, the development of tourism around Livingstone has restored the town's fortunes.

Main Street, Livingstone.

The Royal Livingstone is a resort hotel with rooms laid out in blocks of 8 along the bank of the Zambezi perhaps a mile up river from the Victoria Falls. From the manicured grass leading from rooms to the river bank you can see the spray rising from the Falls - 'Mosi-oa-Tunya' ('the smoke that thunders'). It's all very pleasant.

Reception, Royal Livingstone Hotel.

At 16:00, I had a 'Sunset Cruise' on the 'African Queen' (nothing like the boat in the film) which went upstream 'game spotting'. Lots of birds, hippos, crocodiles.

A Hippopotamus displays his dental work to passengers on the 'African Queen'.

Wednesday, 15th February 2012

It transpired Wednesday was 'at leisure', so I made some arrangements of my own. 08:40 saw me being picked up for a 30-minute Microlight flight over the Falls and over some of the game reserves with Batoka Sky. It was splendid and I rather think should be compulsory for all visitors to the Victoria Falls. Alternately, United Air Charter operate helicopter flights, but I'm glad I elected for the Microlight.

The Microlight takes off with Pascal in charge and Jan in the back.

Then, I took the 'Heritage Tour' which didn't work quite as planned. The last call was supposed to be the Railway Museum (did you know there was a railway museum in Livingstone? - I didn't) but I made it the first call and, of course, it took longer than expected. There's a separate report on the Museum here.

I'd also discovered that Bushtracks operate a steam-hauled evening dining train in conjunction with the Royal Livingstone Hotel on Wednesdays and Saturdays so the Curator of the Museum offered to come to the railway and make introductions.

All the people at the railway, where the steam locomotive was 'brewing up' for the evening run that day, were quite charming and a footplate ride that evening was readily offered by the manager, Ben Costa.

By now running late, I took a quick tour round the Livingstone Museum in the town. This is Zambia's oldest and largest museum and gives a good impression of the work of Dr. David Livingstone. It was Dr. Livingstone, of course, who re-named the Falls after the then Queen and he was active in the abolition of the slave trade. It's interesting to note that Dr. Livingstone is still so revered in the country that, following Zambia's independence in 1966, the colonial name of 'Livingstone' for the town was retained. Sadly, the museum does not allow photography, nor does it have a catalogue for sale but it's well worth a visit.

I returned to the Royal Livingstone for High Tea and a shower and by 17:00 I was back at the station for my footplate ride. There's a separate report on the 'Royal Livingstone Express' dining train here.

I was back at the hotel by 22:00 exhausted, dirty but very happy. All excellent stuff.

More Pictures:

Royal Livingstone Hotel.
Livingstone area.
'African Queen'.
Microlight Flight.

[Link to Royal Livingstone Express article added 17-Dec-2012]

On to Zambia

Tuesday, 14th February 2012

After a good night's sleep, I got up fairly early, took a very simple breakfast in 'The Warehouse' and re-packed my luggage. I decided to take the 08:15 shuttle bus to the airport, which took less than ten minutes and the driver dropped me off at International Departures.

When I arrived the check-in desk wasn't yet open for my British Airways flight to Livingstone but after a short walk to check out the booking hall of the new Gautrain Station (Sandton in 15 minutes!), staff had arrived and I was swiftly checked in for the 737 flight. With the airport still quiet, security and passport control was painless and I was soon at the oddly-named SLOW Lounge. It titles itself 'The SLOW Lounge for Busy People' so they seem to have embraced the idea of a brief oasis between periods of stress. There were some interesting comments about time carved into the woodwork as you entered. The place was quiet, clean and the staff obliging. Although there was Wi-Fi available and fixed computers, both seemed to need a subscription and, at that time of the morning, it was far too ambitious to consider setting up an account. So I passed the time doing off-line text preparation on my computer.

The Domestic Departure Hall at O. R. Tambo Airport.

At the requested time, I made my way to the Gate. A large departure hall had one wall completely glazed. This wall had a series of doors leading to a number of bus stands. Large airport transfer buses were backing up, loading passengers and taking them to the aircraft. Quite soon, my flight was called so we boarded the bus and, after a little delay waiting for stragglers, set off on one of the airport roads which crossed the apron. After a few hundred yards, we came to a row of smaller aircraft and pulled up beside a 737 which gleamed in the morning sun in its British Airways livery. This part of British Airways is run by Comair Limited.

After a couple of flights in 'Big Jets' the 737 seems rather small. Economy is laid out with 3+3 seating, with a single, central aisle but the first three rows had business seatng arranged 'two and a half'+3. The business seats are a little wider so the group of three seats on the starboard side extends a few inches into the central aisle. To compensate, the seat group on the port side is two business seats with a narrow 'seat space' in between so the central aisle width is maintained, with a slight "dog's leg" through the business section which is scarcely noticed. Flight BA6291 took us to Livingstone in Zambia in about 75 minutes and a pleasant meal was served en route.

Livingstone has a single, long runway set in scrub land. The existing terminal buildings are a little primitive by modern standards but massive building works are in progress. We had a fairly long walk across the apron from the aircraft to the immigration hall. Apparently, you can purchase 'Visa on Arrival' which slowed things down. Four people went through before me and the process involved taking a picture and fingerprints. I only had my picture taken, presumably because my visa had been obtained before I left the U.K. My bags arrived safely at the single, small baggage carousel so I was soon in the arrivals hall, checking the nameboards held by the 'greeters'. None carried the tour operator's name 'Wilderness' or my name so after a few moments of indecision, I asked one of the friendly-looking men. He turned to the car park and bawled a name.

A tall Zambian in a blue 'Thompson Holidays' T-shirt came over. He seemed to be expecting me but said he had some other names to meet, inviting me to sit in the shade of his bus. I preferred to stand in the sun and watch the local dancers and musicians who were performing for the arriving tourists.

Local dancers and musicians performing outside the terminal building at Livingstone, Zambia.

Eventually, the 'Thompson Holidays' guy decided his missing passengers had not arrived on the aircraft so he set off to distribute us amongst various hotels. The airport road was a long, straight tarmac road, carrying little traffic. Workmen were using simple tools to dig out a trench at the side of the road. Further on, men were constructing a shallow 'V' in concrete in the trench, clearly to improve drainage. The airport road met Livinstone's main street at right angles and we made our way past a variety of building styles towards the main hotel area towards Victoria Falls. After dropping off a few passengers at other hotels, we were admitted via a gatehouse to the grounds of the Royal Livingstone Hotel and Zambezi Sun Hotel. At a road island, signs indicated that the road to the left led to the Zambezi Sun so we took the road to the right, passing first a group of giraffe, browsing on the high leaves of the trees and then a small herd of zebra. All the animals were completely nonchalent about the passing bus. Soon, we stopped at the central buildings of the Royal Livingstone Hotel.

More Pictures:

Protea Hotel.
O. R. Tambo Airport.
Livingstone.

Big Jet to Johannesburg

View of the forward Business cabin 'upstairs' in the Emirates A380 which took me to Johannesburg (it didn't really look that purple to the human eye, but I haven't attempted to 're-balance' the shot).

Monday, 13th February 2012

I made my way to the departure gate at the recommended time. They hadn't started boarding but I was a little horrified to see how many people were waiting to board.  Because of the crush, I had to wait until nearly everyone had shuffled towards the aircraft before I could present myself at the final boarding pass check. I was a little tired by this time so when I was directed to a lift, rather than the line of people moving towards the aircraft, it took a moment for the significance to sink in. Finally, I realised - the aircraft was a huge Airbus A380-800 and the business class boarding was directly to the upper deck via a high-level airbridge. It was my first flight on a A380 and I discovered that the business class was divided into two cabins and I was in the larger, forward cabin in seat 11K. I'm afraid it didn't particularly appeal at first sight. I believe the Emirates configuration gives 400 Economy seats downstairs and 100 Business seats in the two upstairs cabins. There's presumably a few First as well, but I didn't see that.

In Business, the seating is sort of 1-2-1. I say 'sort of' because each line of seats is staggered so as to make better use of the floor area. This is particularly noticeable on the 'window' seats - for instance, seat 11K is next to the window with a kind of 'bedside cabinet' on the aisle side whereas on the next row the seat is next to the aisle with the 'bedside cabinet' next to the window. To give privacy, a 'cubicle' surrounds each seat and, to me, it suggested those terrible open-plan offices full of workers in individual cubicles lampooned mercilessly in the Dilbert cartoons. The cubicle walls were all shiny material topped with stainless steel handrails - practical but not very relaxing. The rather claustrophobic atmosphere was heightened by cabin headroom which seemed less generous than the 777 of my previous flight (after all, we were on the upper deck on the A380), smaller overhead lockers, narrower aisles and apparently narrower openings to get from the aisle to the seat. On the plus side, every business passenger had an aisle seat.

With four big turbofans urging us skywards, taking off seemed to present no problems. Drinks and light refreshments were available but the crew seemed keen to get people to sleep for most of the seven hour flight. With a proper lie-flat bed, I was able to sleep for part of the flight but I also watched a couple of films. One was a Sci-Fi yarn called 'In Time'. Can't remember what the other was (must have been good). I gave up on 'Tin Tin' for the second time.

About an hour out of Johannesburg, they gave us a reasonable breakfast. The 'Airshow' giving details of the flight included a 3-dimensional simulation showing our track over the curving globe (as did the 777). What kept irritating me was that the detailed picture of our aircraft (in correct Emirates livery) was about 200 miles in length! As we got near to the runway, I was furiously switching my display between the 'Front View' camera, the 'Looking Down' camera and the 'Tail' camera. At 10:47 local time, we touched down on runway '03 Right'. Even with noisy reverse thrust, we used nearly all of the runway (I could read the runway designation '21 Left' upside-down near the end of the runway) before turning left onto what appeared to be a dedicated taxiway for A380s. After some delays, at 11:08 we pulled up at one of the special stands for A380 next to 'Air France' and 'Lufthansa' A380s. Connecting the upper-deck air bridge seemed to cause some delay so, by the time we started to disembark, passengers were streaming off the lower deck as well.

There's a useful Wikipedia article on the A380. The Emirates aircraft are equipped with the Engine Alliance GP7000 turbofans (Engine Alliance is what happened to GE and Pratt & Whitney).

There was the usual lengthy walk to Immigration, made a little easier by a number of moving pavements but my heart sank as I entered the already-full Immigration Hall. There were at least a couple of A380s-worth of passengers moving very slowly towards Passport Officers who were hidden from view by the arrivals in front of me. There's usually one or two staff deciding to shift people from queue to queue so, although hundreds of people arrived after me, somehow I became the last person to pass through at 11:55. I managed to stay civil but, as you may imagine, I was not best pleased. At least my two pieces of checked baggage were waiting for me on the carousel. They were the only pieces on the carousel - everything else had been collected!

Customs was uneventful so I then had to decode the rather ambiguous instruction in my itinerary - "Complimentary shuttle from the airport. Meet the shuttle at the bus terminal behind the Intercontinental Hotel. The office of 'Lux Express' will assist." To my surprise, I found the 'Lux' office but I'd the best part of half an hour to wait for the next shuttle bus which run to a timetable, not on demand. As our A380 stopped at the gate, I'd spotted the Protea Hotel, not 300 yards away from the gate as the crow flies. But when the shuttle picked me up (and one member of the hotel staff), it took him best part of a quarter of an hour, zig-zagging around the complex road system, to reach the hotel.

By this time, I was unsurprised to discover that the room would not be available until two o'clock (and it would be a Smoking room at that. Yes, South Africa still allows smoking in some places). The car booked for 13:00 to take me to my business meeting was already waiting so, rather than the quick shower and a change of clothes I'd been looking forward to, I had to settle for a quick wash in the Ladies Washroom.

Johannesburg sprawls over a large area in a rather unattractive way, the various elements linked by a complex road system which always seems busy and often at a standstill. A programme of road improvement works adds to the fun. On our way to my meeting, we seemed to be forever leaving one freeway and joining another, either by elaborate slip roads or sometimes strange 'back doubles' on residential streets. It took best part of an hour to get from my hotel to my destination in Aeroton. After a pleasant couple of hours talking to Paul, my car took me back to the hotel. We were travelling before the afternoon rush hour and made better time going back, completing the journey in around 40 minutes.

The Protea Hotel adjacent to O. R. Tambo Airport, Johannesburg

This time, I was able to check-in, go up to room 319 and finally have my shower. The Protea is a modern hotel with an aeronautical theme. The facilities in the room were quite reasonable.  The room was at the 'back' of the hotel, looking across to the airport with only a grassed area by the hotel pool and a dual carriageway between me and the apron! My pictures of the Protea O. R. Tambo are here.

My computer readily found the hotel's Wi-Fi and connected but I couldn't reach any web page. When I queried this with reception they said "Oh, the internet connection is down at present - it won't be back today!" so I was reduced to off-line text preparation.

I decided to take dinner in the hotel. The old aircraft photographs I found interesting and I was intrigued by the use of pilot's clipboards and aeronautical charts all over the place. The restaurant floor was a full-colour oversize reproduction of an area chart for Johannesburg - quite impressive. There was an aircraft simulator next to reception (switched off on Tuesday). But I was less convinced by the way the general architecture was themed 'industrial', with lots of floor plate used inappropriately (as wall cladding - some sheets fitted the wrong-way round!). The restaurant was called 'The Warehouse' so exposed steel beams abounded with 'fake' bolts and, as befits a warehouse if not a restaurant, wooden packing cases. However, the fish dish I ordered was good although I found the place rather noisy. I never understood the engine block in reception suspended from three (?) chain hoists or the oversize G-clamps attempting to stop the top of the reception desk from floating away. On its own admission, the hotel is seeking to be a 'Hot' destination in Johannesburg so I suppose it was doomed to not quite please me. 

After the meal, I returned to my well-appointed bedroom. The room had a smallish opening window and I was surprised to find it only single glazed. In fairness, I was some distance from the main runways and there was no disturbance from the arriving and departing aircraft. A couple of times, I could hear large turbo-fans starting up but it wasn't a problem. There was a continuous rumble from the road traffic, occasionally increasing as a particularly noisy lorry passed but, with the curtains drawn, it didn't spoil my sleep.

More when I'm able.

 

Transit in Dubai

Just part of the Emirates Business Lounge at Dubai Airport.

Monday 13th February 2012

Following the late arrival of my aircraft at Birmingham, we were also late leaving. But Emirates have their own lounge in Birmingham now, so I was relaxed about the delay. My earlier post was entered using my Notebook and a good Wi-Fi. It was only after I'd made that post I discovered (tucked in a corner of the lounge) a business centre with seven PCs which I could have used.

Boarding the aircraft (a Boeing 777-300ER) was fast and I had seat 4A in business, next to a charming lady travelling back to Cairns with a brief stop-over in Dubai. The layout in business is 2-3-2 with a state-of-the-art 'lie-flat' seat and on-demand entertainment with hundreds of channels. There was fairly low overcast so, soon after take-off from runway 33, we lost sight of the ground but everywhere seemed white with heavy frost or snow. As we continued over northern Europe, the cloud cleared but the landscape was the same heavy frost or snow we'd seen over England.

They served a very reasonable lunch so I was quite comfortable and I decided to watch the recent cinema release of Le Carre's 'Tinker, Tailor'. I know the earlier BBC television series quite well so it was a bit odd to have different actors in all the roles but it seemed to have the same dystopian feel as the book and the television series so I enjoyed it. I had a brief look at the Speilberg 'Tin Tin' film but I decided I wasn't in the mood for CGI so I flattened the seat and rested. The flight to Dubai takes six to seven hours (depending upon wind). I was starting to get a little restless before we arrived so I watched the new Clooney release 'Ides of March' which I found a bit sub-'West Wing'. Regular readers will have realised that the only time I see new cinema films is during long-distance flights.

Dubai Airport has expanded so much that there are often air traffic delays on landing and we seemed to stooge around before making our final approach, touching down at about 00:45 against a scheduled time of 00:15. The air bridges were promptly connected and I was in the terminal by about 01:00, with plenty of time to kill because my connecting flight EK761 to Johannesburg wasn't scheduled to leave until 04:40.

I walked through the terminal and the experience was rather like visiting the Bull Ring Centre in Birmingham - modern architecture, shops everywhere and lots and lots of people. It amazes me that people are even awake in the middle of the night, let alone grasping these retail opportunities with such relish.

In the past, I've had trouble trying to find a Business Lounge at Dubai but this time I navigated straight to it. I've been to large lounges elswewhere but I think the one I found at Dubai must take the prize (although I suspect there are other candidates I've not yet seen). The lounge seemed to be big enough to qualify as a terminal in its own right and there were many passengers enjoying the various facilities. Having picked up an orange juice, I walked to a business lounge with about 16 PCs. It was quite busy but, fortunately, the users were quiet. So, I was able to give you this update before commencing the second leg of my tour.

To reach Dubai, we've come through a number of time zones and local time has moved forward by (I think) four hours so that locally it's Monday. But Blogger uses its own time and has timestamped the post 'Sunday'. I haven't changed the timestamp.

Into the Dark Continent

The 777-300ER which would take me to Dubai. On the other side of the airfield, just above the nose of the Boeing, you can make out the original terminal building. This reminded me of some of my early flights from Elmdon (as it was then known) some years ago.

Sunday 12th February 2012

Off again! So far I've made it as far as the Emirates Lounge at Birmingham International Airport. The journey to the airport via the M6 was painless and, although the terminal was teeming with passengers, Emirates check-in was prompt. I was told the inbound flight was about 15 minutes late and on my way to the lounge, I spotted the aircraft landing. There's an Express Lane leading to security but, oddly, one member of staff was dividing his time between checking boarding cards on the ordinary lane and the express lane. The Birmingham accent of this gentleman was very apparent as he declaimed in a loud voice "Ooh - Jo'burg. Very nice. And Up the Front all the way!".

Security was the usual unpleasant experience. Shoeless and less hat, scarf and jacket I passed through the arch of a metal detector whilst my possessions were separately X-rayed. A lady then gave me a very thorough 'frisking' before finishing off with a detailed check with a wand-type metal detector.

Once I'd finished getting dressed again, I had to run the gauntlet of duty free but eventually I came to the signs for the Emirates Lounge where I was warmly greeted. Armed with a cup of tea, I fired up the Notebook Computer to send this report.

I'm leaving on flight EK040 to Dubai, due to depart at 13:25 and scheduled into Dubai at a quarter past midnight. Then, I should take the EK761 onto O. R. Tambo Airport, Johannesburg, due in 10:50 on Monday the 13th. I've planned to have a meeting with one of our suppliers in Johannesburg before overnighting at the Protea hotel near the airport. Then, on Tuesday morning, I'm booked to take the BA6291 leaving O. R. Tambo at 11:00 for Livingstone, where I spend a few nights at the Royal Livinstone Hotel. Well, let's hope all these arrangements work out. I'll send an update when I'm able.

There are a few pictures of Birmingham Airport here.

Rail and Canal at Bloomfield

In general, the canals of England came before railways and many proposed railway schemes were opposed by canal owners as threatening their established business.

The construction of canals led to the creation of a mobile, skilled workforce of 'Navigators' ('Navvies') and these skills became vital in the susequent construction of railways. Earlier 'Contour' canals largely followed the existing geography but Telford's 'straight-line' canals were altogether more ambitious, requiring prodigious volumes of spoil to be moved. To produce these more direct canal routes, the surveyor had to determine where cuttings and embankments were required and, wherever possible, use the excavated soil from a cutting to form an embankments. This type of more direct route was exactly what railways were to require. Early steam locomotives had rather limited tractive effort and the inclines had to be kept reasonably gentle by the use of cuttings and embankments.

The success of railways ultimately brough about the demise of most of the canals but there was a period when railways and canals worked as parts of an integrated transport system. In many cases, railways bought up ailing canal companies and there are still remains of various canal/rail interchanges. Even after railways came to dominate the transport industry, the canal interchange traffic struggled on. I believe it survived the second world war but, by the time I was taking a serious interest in the railways of the West Midlands in the 1950s, canal interchange traffic had ceased and the canal basins which served the railways became derelict.

Part of a plan of the Birmingham Canal Navigation dating from around 1920.

When I started visiting Bloomfield Junction signal box on the L&NWR Stour Valley Line from Wolverhampton to Birmingham, I was aware of the abandoned Bloomfield Basins on the Up side and the still-just-active Tipton Five Ways Goods Depot on the Down side but I failed to study the sites in detail. Although I happily walked along main lines to reach signal boxes where I was expected, I was actually quite timid about trespassing. I walked down the sidings from Bloomfield box towards Tipton Five Ways as far as the bridges under the GW but I never actually went into the depot yard, so I only saw it when passing by train on the Stour. I remember walking along the Up sidings to inspect Bloomfield Basin but the site was very overgrown and had become rather hazardous.

Wagon turntables were in use on railways from very early days, initially on narrow-gauge arrangements at coal mines and similar installations.

A cast narrow-gauge wagon turntable at Black Country Living Museum (without the approach tracks).

In the early days of railways, no passenger station would be complete without a battery of turntables to assist in marshalling each train but, eventually, such small turntables became confined to goods yards and canal interchanges. I remember finding a group of wagon turntables at Bloomfield Basins but all the top timbers which should have provided a walking surface had rotted away (or, perhaps, been stolen as fuel). What remained were deep, flooded pits filled with the rusting frameworks and pivots of the wagon turntables which, I'm sorry to admit, discouraged me from further investigation.

I've not been very successful in finding information detailing the area in its heyday. Old maps are not always clear and revision dates can be problematic. So I've prepared a sketch map from various sources which may not be accurate in all details or complete but which, I hope, gives an impression of how matters stood in the early years of the 20th century. The sketch map is below.

A larger version of this sketch can be found here.

The table below explains the numeric references shown on the sketch.

Number	Description
1	Wolverhampton (High Level) - Birmingham (New Street) Stour Valley Line (L&NWR)
2	Wolverhampton (Low Level) - Dudley Line (GWR)
3	Bloomfield Road
4	Bloomfield Terrace (giving access to Bloomfield Basin)
5	Birmingham Canal Navigation
6	Bloomfield Junction Signal Box
7	Tipton Five Ways Signal Box
8	Platelayers' Hut
9	Weighbridge Office
10	Weighbridge Office (probable)
11	Crane
12	Crane
13	Transhipment Shed at Bloomfield Basin
14	Canal access to Bloomfield Basin
15	Canal access to Tipton Five Ways Basin
17	Weighbridge Office (Tipton Five Ways)
18	Bloomfield Basin undeveloped area (later occupied by sidings)

Let's first look at the L.& N. W. R. Bloomfield Basins, at the top of the sketch. There are three separate canal arms and access is not from the 'Main Line' canal but from an older canal. The Stour Valley railway line and Sidings 1, 2, 3 and 4 (siding 1 is nearest the Up Main) are at right angles to most of the quays, although siding 4 (behind the weighbridge office) is adjacent to short quays and two hand-operated cranes. Wagons can be transferred (one at a time) using various wagon turntables from these sidings to sidings running out along the quays. Bloomfield Basin seems to have had 14 wagon turntables in the period being described. As I comment above, at least some of these remained in derelict form into the 1960s.

More to follow ...

Railway Friends at Brewood

John, Phil, Mick, Ian and Mike in a rather formal pose.

A few of my railway friends visited Brewood Hall on 27th January 2012 for discussions and research. This time, there was no organised Slideshow, but Ian had brought his laptop so as to share some of his comprehensive records of the South Stafford Line.

Mick and Phil at work in the library,

Towards the end of 2011, further shelving was installed in the library and a start has been made on organising the fairly extensive collection of books and documents but the job will take some time to complete.

Ian shows Mick some of his extensive computerised visual records.

It's exchanging information with this group which has encouraged me to keep posting some of the railway articles in this blog about my own recollections of the end of the steam era.

The evening finished with refreshments, discussions and a commitment to meet again soon. In the meantime, matters proceed via e-mail. Earlier meetings are described here and here.

Review of the Year - 2011

I'm pleased to be able to say that 2011 was another good year for me and I'll mention some of the highlights below. I'm still working at Ford Electronics where most of our projects are railway-related but, for commercial reasons, I don't normally put much in the blog about this important area of my life. The year wasn't all good, of course, but let's emphasise the good bits. I've divided the review into 'OVERSEAS TRAVEL', 'RAILWAYS' and 'BREWOOD HALL'.

OVERSEAS TRAVEL

There were three overseas trips in the year, all very enjoyable and instructive.

Saint Helena and Ascension

I was determined to visit the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic before they build the long-threatened airport, which will surely transform island life for ever. The picture shows Jamestown, St. Helena, viewed from the sea. After a few days on the fascinating island, I then sailed on to Ascension Island where there is an airport but the only flights are RAF Transport Command! This trip exceeded my expectations and you can find the various posts on the trip here.

Russia

On the second trip, I flew to Moscow and joined one of the many river ships which cruise between Moscow and Saint Petersburg on a combination rivers and canals. There were some fascinating contrasts as we moved between cities, towns and villages. The picture shows the improbable-looking, wood-constructed Transubstantiation Cathedral on Kizhi Island.My reports are here.

Burma

For my last overseas trip in 2011, I returned to the river cruise ship 'Road to Mandalay' in Burma. I re-visited two schools, visited three schools for the first time and visited two boys' and one girls' orphanage. At each place, I helped in the distribution of charitable support provided through 'Road to Manadalay' by the ship's passengers. I also participated in the official opening of a new Medical Clinic in Bagan built, staffed and supported by the 'Road to Mandalay' and its passengers. The picture shows a group of brick pagodas in Bagan. My reports on the trip are here.

RAILWAYS

During the year, I continued driving at Peak Rail, the Battlefield Line and the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester on a regular basis. I'm still secretary of the Old Locomotive Committee (LION's supporters club). I'm also involved with an informal Historical Group researching railways in the West Midlands. In March 2011, the Historical Group held another Slideshow and Meeting at Brewood. For the rest of the year, communication was mainly by a (sometimes frantic) exchange of e-mails. In connection with that research, there are a number of articles in the blog about Traffic Movements and signal boxes in the '60s. I've also put rough sketches of a number of track diagrams in the blog (before I lose them again).

Old Locomotive Committee

The A.G.M. in May 2011 gave members a last chance to view 'Lion' before her transfer to the new Museum of Liverpool (see below).

Agecroft No. 1

In June 2011, I had my first opportunity to drive newly-restored Agecroft No. 1. She's proved a popular and reliable performer and made many new friends on her visit to the Tanfield Railway.

Day out with Thomas

At the Battlefield Line Day out with Thomas, I shared the driving on 'Thomas' with Eddie on the 25th June 2011 and returned the following day to drive 'Daisy', the 2-car DMU.

Matlock Station Re-opening

The first Peak Rail trains into the former down platform at Matlock station ran on Friday 1st July 2011, reserved for invited guests and Peak Rail shareholders. The first revenue trains were on Saturday 2nd July 2011, when I drove 68103 as part of the Matlock Station Festival Reopening.

Lion Shoot

On 6th July 2011, John Hawley and I took part in the Lion Shoot, where Centre Screen filmed interviews to be incorporated in the Audio-Visual interpretation of 'Lion' in the Museum of Liverpool (see below).

Lionsmeet

Lionsmeet 2011 was held at Chelmsford on 30th July 2011. After a good contest, the Mike Parrot Memorial Cup was won by Jon Swindlehurst.

Summer Saturday at Shackerstone

On 27th August 2011, I had my first turn on the Great Western 2-8-0 currently at the Battlefield Line. More details here.

Thomas visits MOSI

Thomas made his second visit to the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester in September and I was driver on 1st September 2011. More details here.

Thomas visits the Battlefield Line

'Thomas' was back at the Battlefield Line in October for two weekends. On the 9th October 2011, I was driving 'Daisy' the DMU and on the 16th October I was in charge of 'Thomas'. More details here.

Royal Opening of the Museum of Liverpool

I was present at the Official Opening of the Museum of Liverpool by Her Majesty the Queen on 1st December 2011. There's a report here.

Peak Rail Santa Specials

Peak Rail had another well-patronised 'Santa' season. I was the driver on 10th December 2011 on visiting locomotive 'Sapper'. My report is here.

Battlefield Line Santa Specials

The Battlefield Line Santa Specials were handled by popular visitor '3803'. I was the driver on 17th December and had a great time.

MOSI Christmas Trains

Agecroft No. 1 handled the MOSI Christmas Trains and I was driver on 29th December. The weather was pretty bad but we still had lots of passengers (the photograph above was taken earlier in the year).

The 'Mince Pie Flyer'

On New Year's Eve, I drove the recently-outshopped single-unit DMU ('Bubble Car') on the Mince Pie Flyer at the Battlefield Line. The weather was pretty good and plenty of passengers turned up. An enjoyable end to the year!

BREWOOD HALL

No major works in 2011, just ongoing maintenance. Various visits from friends and family, plus three Group Visits outlined below.

Wulfrun College Retired Staff Association

On 23rd February the Wulfrun College Retired Staff Association visited Brewood Hall. There's a very brief report here.

'History Walks'

A party of 41 from History Walks toured Brewood Hall on 8th May.

National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies

NADFAS visited on 13th October and there's a report here.

EARLIER REVIEWS

2010
2009
2008
2007
2006

Peak Rail in Winter

'Sapper' in the frost: Up train approaching Darley Dale. Click above for complete image.(Photo: Sheila Rayson)

Peak Rail tries to operate a passenger service all the year round but in winter it's restricted to Sundays. I was rostered as Driver on Sunday 15th January 2012, with Dave as Fireman. As I walked across the yard at Rowsley to the outside pit at the shed, I noticed that our train had been reduced to 5 coaches (we'd run with 7 on the Santa Specials). This wasn't surprising - the Santa trains usually run at peak loading (no pun intended) but the shorter train should be adequate to meet the demand on a cold January Sunday. As far as I knew, we were top-and-tail to Matlock (Town), as all the services have been since we re-opened Matlock Station, apart from the Santa Specials. I also wasn't surprised that there was no big diesel attached to the north end of the stock yet - the first passenger departure was not until 11:15. But I was surprised that the tank wagon parked opposite the south end of the stock used to replenish the locomotive water had been removed as this would make watering during the day harder.

Dave had signed on at 04:00 to 'light-up' so, by the time I arrived a little before 07:00, matters were well in hand and Austerity tank locomotive 'Sapper' was radiating warmth (although there were still four-inch icicles hanging from the underframe). It was still dark and the thermometer was down to minus five Celsius as I started oiling round. I'd no time to feel sorry for myself as we were due 'off shed' at 08:15, light engine to Darley Dale to pick up our candidate for a two-hour driving experience course. I've described the preparation of this class of engine here.

We were ready on time and, in possession of the single line staff for the Rowsley-Church Lane section, attempted to move away. Something was frozen but, after a slight pause, things freed themselves and we moved off. The hand points we had to change were stiff with frost and the ground frame which let us onto the running line was heavy to operate. We gently ran down to Church Lane Crossing where Rob let us through the gates and we surrendered the staff. I commented to Rob about the missing water tank to be told there was no diesel that day. "So we're on our own?" I exclaimed as the consequences sank in. If we were on our own, it would be like the 'old days' when we ran round the train each end and did all the work ourselves. Our destination would be Matlock (Riverside), where there are run-round facilities, rather than Matlock (Town). But, at least, we'd be able to water at the grey tank wagon at Rowsley as we ran round (provided it wasn't frozen!). Dave and I looked at one another - normally we'd both relish the extra work, but we'd turned up expecting a fairly easy shift and that had now changed. Oh well, "Embrace the Unexpected" is one of my sayings.

We continued to Darley Dale Up Platform and met up with our trainee driver, just as the Station Staff were arriving. By this time, Rob had driven by road from Church Lane to Darley Dale so that he could let us through the Darley Dale Level Crossing. Once introductions were made and our trainee was on board, Rob let us over the Crossing and gave us the single line staff for the Darley Dale-Matlock section. Our trainee was a good driver, although he'd never driven a steam locomotive before, so we had a pleasant but rather cold couple of hours pottering between Darley Dale and Matlock Riverside. I've described the format of the Peak Rail driving experience courses here.

With the current timetable, driver training is 08:45 to 10:45 then we're booked light engine back to Rowsley, ready for the first passenger train at 11:15. We said goodbye to our trainee in the Down platform at Darley Dale and Jackie called across that we'd be taking a film crew from Darley Dale on our first Up train. We hadn't time to find out more as we needed to water at Rowsley before 'tie-ing on' to our train. With the passenger coaches stabled in the platform at Rowsley, we had to go around the loop to get to the grey water tank (which, to our relief, was not frozen), take water and then return via the loop to get to the south end of our train. By the time we'd done this, we'd only a few minutes to start steam heating the coaches before the first passengers boarded - not long enough. I've talked about 'hooking on' to a train and steam heating in On the Footplate Part 2. Because of the heavy frost, I also wanted to be sure I'd done a 'functional' brake test on the vacuum brakes, checking that brakes could be applied along the train by the driver. If brake cylinders become frozen in the released position, the driver may discover he has a lot less braking effort than he expected! There's more about the vacuum brake in Section 4 of the article Brakes. A proper test involves a lot of walking up and down alongside the train, first checking that the brakes can be applied and then checking that they can be released.

I didn't make a note of our departure time by the time the station staff were ready to send us out. We were late and, I knew, destined to become later when we picked up the film crew. We had a gentle run down to Church Lane where we were checked by the signal whilst the signalman manually pushed the gates across. During the day, we were checked or even stopped each time we passed Church Lane. On one Up train, we were called on by a yellow flag so we approached the facing motor points very cautiously, to ensure they were correctly fitting-up, before we moved across them.

We arrived at Darley Dale and were introduced to James Lewis, an auctioneer and valuer well-known for his appearances on various television antiques programmes. He was already dressed in a boiler suit and was to travel with us on the footplate to Matlock and back with his cameraman. James proved to be good company and he was very enthusiastic about accompanying us. The footplate on an 'Austerity' tank is not that large so, with Driver, Fireman, Cameraman (porting a large, professional camera) and James aboard, I remember at one point saying "One of us is going to have to go on a diet!". Eventually, they had recorded the shots they wanted (and the third member of the film crew, the Director, had taken a footplate ride) so we said goodbye to our visitors.

James Lewis saying goodbye after his footplate experience. (Photo: Sheila Rayson)

Now about twenty minutes late, we carried on with the timetable. With the various temporary speed restrictions, there's not much scope for catching up lost time 'on the road'. It has to be done by smart running round or watering, leaving little opportunity for getting food or drink. At about 13:30, Dave was relieved by Phil as fireman. As the heading picture shows, the scenery looked very attractive with the heavy frost but, boy, was it cold. We normally try to avoid black smoke but, on an afternoon Up departure from Darley Dale, Sheila asked for a bit of an effort and you can judge the result (below) for yourself. In warm weather, of course, steam can remain invisible but cold air condenses steam to water vapour, giving quite impressive results.

'Sapper' takes an Up train out of Darly Dale. (Photo: Sheila Rayson)

For the last round trip from Rowsley, we lit the locomotive lamps. There's an article on lamps here. By the time we arrived back, it was quite dark but we were on time. We 'hooked off' and made our way back to the shed's outside pit, about nine hours after I left it that morning. The method of disposal currently in use at Peak Rail is a little different from that described in the article Disposal, but the principles and the hazards are the same. I partially filled the boiler but left '100 pounds' (100 pounds per square inch) on the 'clock' so as to be able to make the final movement into the shed with an effective steam brake. By closing right up to the diesel shunter in the shed, we were 'inside, clear' and Phil was able to close the roller shutter door whilst I finished filling the boiler. As Phil and I had a wash (it's difficult to keep clean on a steam locomotive but I have worked with people who manage it) we agreed that we were both fairly exhausted but had had a good time.

There are detail pictures of 'Sapper' here.

A number of articles about working on locomotives are linked above. You can find all of them here.

The Titfield Thunderbolt

The well-known poster for the film by Edward Bawden.

All of the 'Ealing Comedies' series of films are well-known and well-loved. But 'The Titfield Thunderbolt', released in colour in 1953, is surely one of the most affectionately remembered. This is partly because of the use of a genuinely old locomotive called 'Lion' which, for the benefit of the film, was renamed 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' and turned out in a fairly striking livery.

In the 1950s, I think I saw the film four times in the cinema so, even at that tender age, perhaps my later association with railway preservation could have been predicted. In fact, it was not until I was in my mid-40s that I actually got involved in preservation, first becoming a member of 'Lion's' Supporters Club, the Old Locomotive Committee (OLCO) and later becoming involved with a number of railways and preservation initiatives.

The film's gentle, but witty, screenplay from T.E.B. Clarke was supposedly inspired by volunteers having taken over the running of the Talyllyn Railway which, in 1951, became "The World's First Preserved Railway".

My favourite dialogue from the film comes when the Vicar declares that they must not allow the Titfield line to be closed and the Town Clerk replies that they closed the historic Canterbury and Whitstable line. With full ecclesiastical gravity, the Vicar retorts:-
"Perhaps there were not men of sufficient faith in Canterbury".

There's more about the film in an article on Wikipedia.

From time-to-time the film is still repeated on television and I'm glad to report that it's still available on DVD.

The film screenplay was adapted as a stage play by Philip Goulding and in 2005 a professional stage production of 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' toured theatres in Horncastle, Coventry, Windsor and Eastbourne. It was great fun but nothing like the film, of course. I saw the production in Coventry with the Old Locomotive Committee (OLCO) President and his wife and my review (below) first appeared in the OLCO newsletter 'Lionsheart'.

THEATRE REVIEW
by our occasional drama critic, Jan Ford

No, there's not been much call for a drama critic in OLCO. But when 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' is adapted for the theatre, we had to check it out.

How can you adapt one of the best of the Ealing Comedy Films for the stage? Well, the 'Telegraph' drama critic Charles Spencer, having seen the production at Hornchurch, commented "You can't, but you can have a lot of fun in trying". His review encouraged me to see the staging in Coventry.

It's a strange mixture of the familiar and the new. Chunks of dialogue taken straight from the screenplay, interspersed with all sorts of plotlines not in the original, yet all done with such apparent affection that it remains true to the spirit of the original.

The original John Gregson role, Squire Chesterford, is transformed into Lady Edna Chesterford, played in "jolly hockeysticks" mode by Kate O'Mara. The Reverend Weech becomes much younger, as played by Steven Pinder and the Union Representative at the Enquiry, Mr. Coggett becomes Miss Coggett. A number of these changes are predicated by the multiple roles adopted by the actors – five actors cope with fourteen roles, involving some amusing on-stage quick-changes. The sheer gusto and good nature of the cast soon dispels any thoughts of wobbly sets or improbable plotting.

The short season (Hornchurch, Coventry, Windsor and Eastbourne) is now finished but, if there is another season, and I certainly hope that there will be, I strongly recommend that you check it out for yourselves.

The cover of the Programme for the 2005 production in Coventry of 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' starring Kate O'Mara and Steven Pinder.

I believe the stage play has since become a popular choice with dramatic societies. At the time of writing, I've just learnt that Southport Dramatic Club have a production running from 27th January 2012 to 4th February 2012 and I'm delighted to copy their playbill below:-

There are a number of articles in my blog about the locomotive that starred as 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' and the locomotive's "Supporters' Club", OLCO. You can find them here.

Driving 'Lion'

'Lion' (minus its tender) being prepared for display in the Museum of Liverpool. The whistle is visible at the top, with its steam cock handle. The regulator handle is at 10 o'clock - the fully open position. The reverser can just be seen on the right of the firebox.

It's over twenty years since 'Lion' steamed but, before that, I had a few opportunities to actually drive 'Lion'. A correspondent asked whether driving 'Lion' was very different from driving 'Modern' locomotives. The answer is "not very". The basic principles of the steam locomotive haven't changed a great deal since the early days but, clearly, all sorts of refinements have been attempted (with varying degrees of success) over the years.

To move a steam locomotive, the driver has to decide which way he wants to move, forwards or backwards, and set the reverser (a lever in 'Lion') accordingly. The driver has to ensure that the hand brake is released (the hand brake will become important when it's time to stop). The driver will then open a steam valve to allow steam to flow from the boiler to the cylinders (there are at least two cylinders, as in 'Lion', but sometimes more) to make it go.

The steam is used to push a piston from end to end of a steam-tight cylinder. The piston is attached to a piston rod which sticks out of one end of the cyclinder and it's the reciprocating motion of the piston rod which extracts useful work. Usually, that reciprocating motion is converted to rotary motion of the driving axle by connecting rods pulling and pushing either a cranked axle (as in 'Lion') or outside cranks (if the cylinders are outside the frames). The driving axle may share its turning torque with one or more other axles via horizontal Coupling Rods. 'Lion' has two coupled axles, coupled via 'Flycranks' mounted outside the outside framing and coupling rods, giving the locomotive an antique, attractive appearance which is quite hypnotic when the engine's moving.

The clever stuff is performed by various bits of moving 'old iron', collectively called the 'Valve Motion' (or 'Valve Gear'), which automatically move a Steam Valve to cut off steam to one end of the cylinder when the piston completes its travel and admit steam to the other end of the cylinder to push the piston back again. Setting the reverser alters the geometry of the Valve Motion to determine which end of the cylinder first receives steam and hence which way the engine moves. There are lots of pictures of 'Lion' and this 'old iron' here.

'Lion' is fitted with an early form of valve motion called 'Gab' which only allows the driver to select direction. Other forms of valve gear (such as the Link Motion) allow the driver to cut off steam earlier in the piston's travel for better efficiency. For instance, the '1400' tank engine shown in 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' has Link Motion controlled not from a reversing lever but from a reversing screw.

The steam whistle gives character to an engine. It's usually sounded before starting as a warning to people in the vicinity but may also be used just to express exuberance. 'Lion' has a single whistle operated by a rotary steam cock. The handle is 'parked' at 6 o'clock - moving it left or right sounds the whistle. I could manage the 'cock-a-doodle-doo' whistle commonly used on railways (called a 'crow') but "On Ikla Moor Baht 'at" requires a two-tone whistle such as provided on Great Western engines (like the '1400' mentioned above).

'Lion' has a lever (or 'pole') reverser standing waist high on the right hand side of the footplate because (in common with most early locomotives) 'Lion' is right hand drive. The Great Western stuck with right hand drive to the very end (the '1400' is right hand drive) but, because railways 'drive on the left' in England, most railways changed to left hand drive to give the driver better visibility of signals which are usually mounted on the left. There's one peculiarity on 'Lion'. Lever reversers normally stand upright when the engine is not moving (this is called 'Mid Gear') and are pushed forwards to go forwards ('Fore Gear') and pulled backwards to go backwards ('Back Gear'). All very intuitive. But, on 'Lion', you pull the reverser back to go forwards and push it forward to go backwards. This was a peculiarity of the partnership who built 'Lion' (Todd, Kitson and Laird) and continued by their successors (Kitson and Company) for a while. Whereas most lever reversers are latched in the selected position by a trigger handle a bit like an old motor car parking brake, LION's reverser has a 'T' handle where the right hand handle hinges to release or apply the latch.

The steam valve that allows the engine move is called the 'Regulator' (sometimes the 'Throttle'). It's a proportionate valve - the more you move it, the more steam flows to the cylinders. The valve itself is within the boiler (where the steam is), operated by rotating the regulator rod. The regulator on most engines (including 'Lion') is operated from a fairly long handle attached to the end of the regulator rod on the footplate to give the driver sufficient leverage to be able to adjust the valve against the pressure of steam inside the boiler. The driver moves this handle in an arc. In 'Lion', it's fully closed at about 2 o'clock and fully open at about 10 o'clock. Different classes of engine have different detailed regulator design and sweep through different arcs. For instance, most Great Western Engines move from 5 o'clock to 1 o'clock. The marvellous Great Eastern '1500' moves from 4 o'clock to 8 o'clock ('underarm'). Left hand drive engines have mirror-image regulator movements. Many L.N.E.R. engines and British Rail Standards have 'Pull-out' regulator handles moving fore-and-aft, where the handle is pulled towards the driver to open it. There's a little more about regulators (including LION'S regulator) here.

Once the train has been accelerated to the desired speed, it's usually possible to partially close the regulator and run under 'easy steam' or fully close the regulator and 'drift'. The regulator is always closed before attempting to brake.

I talk a bit about braking here. In the early days of steam locomotives, effort was concentrated on making machines powerful enough to pull a useful load and braking technology was rather neglected. The 'Lion' has no 'power brake' (usually steam-operated on later designs). There is merely a hand brake operating on the four tender wheels. Since the brake blocks of the period were wooden, this was more of a parking brake - any attempt at 'serious' braking was likely to set fire to the brake blocks!

When I worked on 'Lion' we were giving fairly short demonstration rides so braking wasn't too demanding. Having closed the regulator, we used the traditional technique developed on early railways called 'Counter-pressure braking'. That's the posh term for "shove it into opposite gear and hope it slows down". With steam cut off, selecting opposite gear causes the cylinders to act as air compressors, absorbing energy of motion and slowing the train. We'd usually combine this with judicious use of the tender hand brake to stop in exactly the right place. It's possible to enhance the counter-pressure effect by admitting a little steam - not too much or the wheels will simply spin in the wrong direction and the train will slide.

'Lion' on display at the Museum of Science & Industry in Manchester whilst the new Museum of Liverpool was under construction.

The Museum of Liverpool regard 'Lion' as one of their major exhibits and the locomotive now has pride of place in the Great Port Gallery of the new museum. 'Lion's' starring role in 'The Titfield Thunderbolt' is not forgotten and the Audio-Visual presentations interpreting the locomotive include a number of clips from the film. There's a report on 'Lion' in her new home here.

Since 1984, 'Lion' has her own supporters' club called the Old Locomotive Committee (OLCO) which forms a repository of knowledge about the history of the locomotive. 'Lionsmeet' is an annual meeting of live-steam working models of 'Lion' organised by OLCO. OLCO also has its own website here.

I've written a number of articles about 'Lion' and OLCO which you can find here.

If your interest is broader than just 'Lion', there's also a series of articles describing working on preserved railways and driving various steam locomotives. Most of these articles can be found here.

Railway Signalling: Tipton (Part 2)

In the post Railway Signalling: Tipton I first wrote about my visits to this box.

There are track and signalling diagrams of the Stour Valley line in the 1950s in the excellent series of publications from the Signalling Record Society 'British Railways Layout Plans of the 1950's' taken from the John Swift Collection. The West Midland lines are included in 'Volume 11: LNW Lines in the West Midlands' (ISBN: 1 873228 13 9).

For details of what remained of this route in 2005, refer to 'Railway Track Diagrams' Book 4: Midlands & North West', Second Edition, published by Trackmaps (ISBN: 0-9549866-0-1). The First Edition of this book was published by Quail in 1988.

Below are some more of my recollections.

1. Tipton Station Signal Box Diagram

The best way to orient yourself in any signal box is to study the box diagram. The diagram below (from my earlier post) is rather simplified, omitting important information such as gradients (see 2 below), distances to distant signals (see 3 below), lists of spare levers and any special levers such as the level crossing gate lock (see 5 below) and details of any Block Control (see 6 below).

The diagram displayed in the box was large enough to be readily visible and hand tinted so that, for instance, stop signal arms were tinted red and distant signal arms yellow. The diagram was mounted, behind glass, in a substantial wooden frame and suspended from the roof above the block shelf. There's a simplified sketch of the block shelf showing the diagram hanging from the roof above the block instruments:-

Of course, the 'regular' signalmen would rarely give the diagram a glance since they became very familiar with every aspect of the layout. 'Relief' signalmen, who might only intermittently work the box, were more likely to look at the diagram but they often preferred to consult the 'Pull Plates', the 'badges' fixed to the front of each lever showing what other levers were first required to release a lever. But, for other visitors, the diagram was an invaluable source of information.

2. Gradient Diagrams

It's important that the signalman has a clear idea of prevailing gradients. If a train becomes divided, particularly a 'loose coupled' freight without continuous brakes, it's important that the signalman understands what may happen to any vehicles running away. Gradient profile information is included on each signal box diagram, from where this information was taken. Main and Branch lines are common between the box and the actual junction - I don't know why the two gradient diagrams show different profiles.

A sketch of the main line profile is given below.

A sketch of the branch line profile is given below, extending to Wednesbury and showing the long-gone King Street Crossing on the Tipton side of Princes End.

3. Distances to Distant Signals

Down: 759 yards and 350 yards from Home.
Up Main 35B: 876 yards from Home.
Tipton Curve: 623 yards from Home.

4. The Lever Frame and Interlocking

Tipton Station box was fitted with the a 36-lever frame. It was the earlier pattern of Webb lever frame - the L & NWR 5.5 inch centres Tumbler Interlocking Frame. For more information about L & NWR signal boxes and the fitted at Tipton Station, refer to the excellent book 'A Pictorial Record of L.N.W.R. Signalling' by Richard D. Foster, published by Oxford Publishing Company in 1982 (SBN: 86093 147 1).

I've always preferred the 'loop' catch handle used by Webb. In the 'Tumbler' design, the catch handles were not interlocked, it was the movement of the lever which moved the Hook Rack associated with the lever within the vertical Guide Rack. Actuators ('L' shaped bell cranks) transferred this movement to U-section Locking Bars moving horizontally in a Guide Rack. Full or Half Locks were attached to each Locking Bar to allow or prevent movement of the Hook Racks attached to other levers as required by the desired interlocks. The whole Locking Rack was held together by a series of vertical Backbones which held the Locking Bars and Hook Racks in position.

5. Spare and Special Levers

The box diagram listed the following Spare Levers:-
1, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 36.

Because of the level crossing gates, there were also two brown-painted special levers. Lever 31 was the Gate Lock and Lever 32 the Gate Stops. There were no pedestrian wicket gates - a subway was provided used by both passengers to get between the Up and Down platforms and pedestrians using the public road.

Finally, there was a Ground Frame released from an Annett's Key, described in section 9 below.

6. Track Circuits and Block Control

There was one track circuit - a short 'Berth' track approaching the Up Home. The track circuit was numbered TC10013, dating from a period when track circuits were quite rare and track circuits from a large area shared a common numbering scheme. Later, as track circuits proliferated, each signal box had its own number series, starting with 'T1'. The box diagram recorded that 'TC10013 controls the Up Block Instruments. With Lever 34 (the Up Home) Normal operates the Annunciator (a buzzer reminding the signalman that a train is approaching a 'Stop' signal at 'Danger'). Line Clear Up Main requires Lever 34 Normal.'

7. The 'Fobbing Bar'

Lever 18 was painted Blue and operated a Locking or Clearance Bar. However, it was not associated with a set of facing points but was situated on the track from the Down Main to Tipton Curve Junction. This line became rising once clear of the junction with the Stour Valley and spring-operated Catch Points were provided to prevent runaway vehicles running back and obstructing either the Up Main or Down Main.

Like a normal facing point Locking Bar, the Locking Bar operated from Lever 18 usually lay below the level of the wheel flanges but was raised via point rodding from the signal box. If a train was standing or passing over the locking bar when the signalman attempted to raise it, the wheel flanges would interfere with the raising of the Locking Bar and prevent the lever movement from being completed.

Before the signalman could clear the Down Main or Up Main signals, lever 18 had to be operated both ways - this was called "Fobbing Up". If successful, the signals were released. If you'd 'pulled off' the signals in one direction, you could also clear the signals the other way without "Fobbing Up" again.

Exactly what disaster scenario this special locking was installed to prevent, I'm not quite sure. The most puzzling aspect of the interlocking was that you could "Fob Up" at any time, not just immediately before clearing the main line signals. The universal practice after a train passed on the main lines was to restore the signals to danger, wind the gates open to road traffic and immediately "Fob Up" ready for the next train, even if that train was not expected for some time. I never heard of this curious arrangement being used elsewhere, but I'd be delighted to hear from anybody with more information.

8. Short Section Working

Under normal Absolute Block Regulations, a signalman had to have the line clear for 440 yards (1/4 of a mile) beyond his first Home Signal before accepting a train from the box in the rear. This 'Clearance' was a safety margin so that, if the driver of the approaching train 'missed' the Distant and only saw the 'Red' Home Signal when he was on top of it, he'd still got at least 1/4 of a mile to make an Emergency Stop before reaching an obstruction. At Tipton, the Up Main Home was only about 350 yards before the Starting signal, so the 1/4 of a mile extended into the section of the next signal box, Watery Lane Crossing. Tipton was not allowed to accept an Up train while the Watery Lane block stood at 'Train on Line'. Similarly, Watery Lane could not accept a Down train while the Tipton block stood at 'Train on Line'.

There were old 'Face Discs' in Tipton Station box but they had been out of use for some time. What did remain was a mechanically-operated indicator for the Watery Lane Up Distant weight bar. It was in the form of a cast box fixed to the wall behind the frame with a vertical slide operated from beneath the floor. Tipton was not allowed to clear the Up Distant until the indicator showed that Watery Lane's Distant was 'Off'.

Distant Indicator at Watery Lane, as shown on Tipton Station signal box diagram.

There was a similar arrangement on the Down line and the Tipton box diagram depicted the indicator in Watery Lane box which was operated from Tipton's lever 2.

9. Ground Frame

There was a Ground Frame released from an Annett's Key, pattern 'A'. This was Roberts Siding, leading to sidings behind the Up Platform. When I was visiting Tipton, these sidings were heavily overgrown and I never saw the Ground Frame used.

The sketch above shows Roberts Siding Ground Frame as depicted in the John Swift diagram which shows the five parallel sidings behind the Up platform I remember. But his diagram also shows a second connection to sidings for "Freakley's Stone etc. Sidings" extending towards Tipton Curve. That had gone by the time I took an interest in Tipton.

10. Station Bell

The sketch of the block shelf in section 1 (above) shows a bell push marked 'BOOKING OFFICE'. This worked an electric loud-sounding bell on the adjacent station principally used to alert the station staff to approaching stopping trains. The simple bell code was:-

1 ring: Down Stopping Train approaching.
2 rings: Up Stopping Train approaching.
3 rings: Speak to Signalman on the Box-to-Box telephone circuit.

Tipton Station Shunting Frame

In other posts, I've written about Tipton Station box as I first knew it and, later, after it was modernised. In August 1965, Tipton Station box was downgraded to Tipton Station Shunting Frame when Wolverhampton Power Signal Box was commissioned. The details of the Power Signal Box commissioning were given in Special Notice 745G and the diagram below, abstracted from this Notice, shows the revised arrangements.

Signalling at Tipton Station, after Wolverhampton Power Signal Box had been commissioned.

The mechanically-worked level crossing remained and Tipton Station Shunt Frame controlled slots on the signals protecting the level crossing - WN188 on the Down and WN187 on the Up. The connections to the down sidings (and the venerable elevated ground signal mounted on the Goods Shed wall) remained mechanically operated from the Shunting Frame but an electrical release was first required from the Power Box.

The earlier illuminated track diagram was replaced by another, showing the revised arrangements. The new diagram was supplied by Westinghouse who were the main contractors for the West Midlands power box schemes. The block signalling equipment was taken away and the approach of trains was indicated on Train Describers. These were crossbar-switch equipment supplied by Standard Telephones and Cables.

A sketch shows the new illuminated track diagram:-

Sketch of illuminated diagram in Tipton Station Shunt Frame (after Birmingham New Street Power Signal Box had also been commissioned).

I worked the box as a Shunting Frame a number of times but a lot of the interest had gone. There are more details here.

Further changes lay ahead. The Down Sidings were taken out of use, the gates were replaced by four lifting barriers with skirts. Tipton Station Shunting Frame was finally closed when Closed Circuit Television was installed and the level crossing was remotely monitored from Watery Lane Crossing. Eventually, the long-promised underpass was constructed and Tipton Owen Street now dives under the railway. There is now very little evidence of how things used to be, apart from the passenger station itself.

Traffic Movements at Tipton Station Box (1965?)

I've been unable to date this period of observation so far but the reference to the Colour Light implies it's after Tipton Station box was modernised. It's probably early 1965 and very likely a Saturday afternoon. No Train Register entries have been found.

(1) The Up '1-4' has 13 minutes before the Up Express so we take him on.
(2) The Down 2-3-1 ('Out-of-Gauge Load') is slipped onto the Curve, causing us to refuse the Up '4' for a moment, whilst the freight clears the junction.
(3) The Colour light goes to 'No Light'. Bloomfield stops the Express, so we cancel the train forward to Watery Lane. Then the 'phone comes back so we get the Express away.
(4) Watery Lane won't have the '1-4' now waiting at our Up Branch Home so a '4' runs next on the Up.
(5) Finally, we get the road for the Up Freight - 76042 with ballast in 'CATFISH' wagons.
(6) Open the gates to road traffic after the Up Ballast. Immediately receive 'Section' for the Down train. Close the gates to road traffic and pull off. He runs by with the engine whistling furiously.
(7) We take on a '4-1' from Princes End.
(8) Simon (S&T Lineman) gets the Colour Light back on. Are we back to normal? I wonder?
(9) The '4-1' is only short so we send him on to Watery Lane. He stops to shunt at Watery Lane.
(10) The Down Local picks up his passengers at Tipton without incident.
(11) Simon has an explanation for the Colour Light failure (not recorded what it was!).
(12) Next, 5288 comes off the Branch with a second trip - steel bars loaded on BBEs.
(13) A Fowler '4F' passes on the Up and backs inside with his brake at Watery Lane. He's to pick up at Watery Lane, after the Up Local has gone.
(14) On the Down, 8335 tender-first arrives with 12 Engineer's wagons and 15 Tiptons - steel mainly. He puts off the Tiptons on the front road, backs up and disappears towards Spring Vale.