skip to main |
skip to sidebar
My last visit to Liverpool area had been on 14th March 2020, just before the UK government introduced a comprehensive Lockdown in response to the Coronavirus Pandemic. That trip is described here. Sixteen months of varying restrictions on life and travel followed. Not being very superstitious, I chose Friday 13th August 2021 to return by train for a day trip.
The day before my trip, I'd managed to book train tickets, after some difficulty with the online 'app'. The government advice was strongly recommending social distancing (and mask-wearing in crowded locations) so I decided to travel First Class.
Our local buses were operating a reduced service and I decided I'd better take the 07:30 service from Brewood, not being quite sure whether the next bus (the 08:35) was actually running. I was the only passenger on the 07:30 bus, although two other passengers had joined before we reached Wolverhampton. The usual walk to the railway station followed, through the seemingly perpetual obstacle course of roadworks affecting the station approach road from the town. Technically, Wolverhampton is now a city but it has never managed to generate the sense of excitement that a decent city evokes. The road approach to the station is now via a very indirect and congested route (for which my company's former premises in Corn Hill were sacrificed). The original approach has been converted to carry a double-track extension to the station for the West Midlands Metro which the operators claim will open later in 2021.
The new station buildings at Wolverhampton Station are now in use but manage to appear, to me, even uglier than the British Rail brutalist structure they replace. Pedestrian access at present is a convoluted passage through ongoing building works. Refreshment facilities are currently limited to what appears to be a 4-wheel converted horsebox parked outside the new building. Brave new world!
The 08:21 to Liverpool arrived on time - two 4-car Class 350 'Desiro' Electric Multiple Units. I found a seat in the First Class section of the leading 4-car set. There was one other passenger already there and two more passengers joined at later stops but with good soundproofing I found it quite pleasant, although the 'swishing' of the air conditioning (possibly turned well-up as a Coronavirus infection mitigation measure) was noticeable. With 'air bag' suspension the Class 350 ride well and the route has Continuous Welded Rail virtually throughout. We had an uneventful run through the familar territory and rolled into Liverpool Lime Street on time at 09:40.
I walked to the main booking office to purchase a 1-day All Areas 'Saveaway' ticket which would cover whatever travels I decided to take. I knew I would start with a descent to the underground Merseyrail station at Lime Street, taking a train on the single-line 'Liverpool Loop' two stops to James Street. The 'Liverpool Loop' was an ingenious solution by British Rail to the problem of improving access to the underground system which originally only went to Central Station, not serving Lime Street at all. Traversing the deep level 'Loop' meant that incoming trains were 'reversed' to become outgoing trains.
Liverpool Loop 1977 (Wikipedia)
Click for larger image
In common with all transport enterprises, Merseyrail was operating a 'Coronavirus' schedule which, on the Wirral Line, meant three trains an hour from Liverpool to Chester, West Kirby and New Brighton and two trains an hour to Ellesmere Port, so having descended to platform level by escalators I didn't have long to wait as all trains from Lime Street go to James Street. The fleet is still 3-car EMU Class 507 and Class 508/1 built between 1978 and 1980 but new Statler-built 4-car Class 777 are starting to arrive for pre-service testing. Merseyrail have announced that Class 777 'ghost trains' have been added into the service pattern, stopping at all stations but not boarding passengers. At James Street, a short flight of steps led from the platform to the 'mezzanine' level immediately above the tunnels and then a series of large electric lifts returned me to ground level.
Outside, there was bright sunshine and it was a pleasant walk of half-a-mile to the Museum of Liverpool near Pier Head. Strand Street appeared to be undergoing major alterations so it took a moment to determine the best way to cross into Mann Island but I still reached the Museum at ten o'clock, as the doors were opened. My visit, as usual, was to check on one of their major exhibits, the locomotive 'Lion', dating from 1838. I'm still Secretary of the 'Lion' supporters group The Old Locomotive Committee but the Covid Pandemic has cancelled the group's face-to-face activities for two years. The locomotive was secure (if a little dusty) and the video interpretations on-demand appeared to be in order. A note adjacent to the selection pushbuttons claimed that a special coating had been applied to reduce the chance of contact infection.
Liverpool (again): Locomotive 'Lion' in the Museum of Liverpool (yes, that's me pontificating on the left hand small screen).
Should you wish to find out more about 'Lion', both prototype and models, or the Old Locomotive Committee, all my posts on this topic are here.
Having completed my 'inspection' I was soon back outside. It was sunny with a bracing wind coming off the river and I had an enjoyable walk along the quay and around the elegant Old Pilotage Building as I watched Mersey Ferry 'Snowdrop' (still in her 'Razzle-Dazzle' livery) make her way to Birkenhead Woodside on the opposite bank of the Mersey.
Liverpool (again): View looking south along King's Parade showing the rear of Albert Dock Warehouses.
Liverpool (again): Mersey Ferry 'Snowdrop' dwarfed by the Stena Line Ro-Ro ferry preparing to depart.
I watched as the Stena Line ferry eased away from the Twelve Quays berth and turned through 180 degrees so as to point seawards. I assumed she would stay more-or-less mid-channel en route for Belfast but a little later I could she that she'd manoeuvred towards the Liverpool shore. I didn't solve the puzzle as I could also see 'Snowdrop' making her way back to Pier Head and I wanted to catch her 11:00 departure. By the time I'd walked to the Mersey Ferry booking office, secured my ticket and queued for boarding (the sailing seemed very busy), the Stena ferry was out of sight, my view blocked by the alien-looking bulk of the 96-metre long HSC 'Manannan', the High Speed, wave-piercing passenger/Ro-Ro Catamaran at the berth just north of Pier Head used by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company.
Liverpool (again): View from Mersey Ferry 'Snowdrop' of the bow of the 96-metre long HSC 'Manannan', the High Speed, wave-piercing passenger/Ro-Ro Catamaran
Normally, the Ferry sails from Pier Head to Seacombe in a generous loop downstream, then proceeds upstream to Birkenhead Woodside and finally returns to Pier Head in a generous loop upstream. However, I'd learnt that Seacombe ferry terminal was closed for major maintenance and redevelopment. The Mersey Ferries site reports:-
The works will see the linkspan bridges, which are over 130 years old and coming to the end of their operational life, replaced and the landing stage undergo a major refurbishment, including upgrading the mooring bollards and installing new powered gangways. The pontoon will be removed from the water to carry out these works.
'Snowdrop' slipped away from Pier Head a few minutes late, having waited for passengers, and we headed downstream passing the familiar features on the Liverpool side whilst the pre-recorded commentary explained some of the history of the city and its landmarks. Level with Wallesey Town Hall, we turned across channel and I could see the Stena ferry making its way downstream near the deepwater port Liverpool2, equipped with eight massive container cranes but untroubled by a container ship that day. Modern large container ships are rarely alongside at a port for more than a day, whilst multiple container cranes unload and load shipping containers, then the next voyage commences, making best utilisation of the expensive asset.
Liverpool (again): Outbound Stena Line Ro-Ro ferry passing the deepwater port Liverpool2, with its 8 Chinese-built container crames.
The ferry turned upstream and sailed imperiously past Seacombe ferry terminal, looking very odd with both linkspan bridges removed, isolating the pontoon.
Liverpool (again): Seacombe ferry terminal looking very odd with both linkspan bridges to the pontoon removed
We continued past the Ro-Ro ferry berth at Twelve Quays, empty following the earlier departure of the Stena Line ferry.
Liverpool (again): The empty Ro-Ro ferry berth at Twelve Quays, with the buildings of Birkenhead Docks behind
'Snowdrop' passed Birkenhead Woodside ferry terminal, then made a 180 degree turn to starboard so as to come alongside the pontoon against the incoming tide, moored, and the manually-operated gangway was aligned and lowered into place. I disembarked and walked through the linkspan bridge. This was fairly inclined because the tide was still coming in and the Mersey has a tidal range of 4 metres (neap tides) to 13 metres (spring tides). I afterwards looked up the Gladstone Dock predictions for that day which gave low tide a little before 10:00 with the level rising by 7.5 metres by high tide just after 15:00. At each ferry terminal, the floating pontoons and the hinging linkspans allow ferries to operate at all states of tide.
Having passed through the terminal building, I then had a walk of a few hundred yards to the Merseyrail station at Hamilton Square, where my 'Saveaway' ticket allowed me to take one of the large, electric lifts to the mezzanine area then I took the steps to the platform for trains to West Kirby and New Brighton. I boarded the first train which was bound for West Kirby but then decided to change at Birkenhead North (before the two routes diverge) and wait for the following New Brighton train. I thought that I might catch a glimpse of one of the new Class 777 trains as we passed the depot just past Birkenhead North station but all I could see was a row of 'old' trains. We made brief stops at Wallasey Village and Wallasey Grove Road stations and, looking north, the sea came into view. My enjoyment of this sight was somewhat reduced by the sight of the Burbo Bank and Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farms.
The Burbo Bank wind farm, owned by Ørsted, came into use in 2007 and can produce up to 90 MW of power from 25 wind turbines. Power comes ashore via an undersea cable to a substation in Wallasey.
The Burbo Bank Extension wind farm, to the west of the original installation is 50% owned by Ørsted together with PSA and 'Lego' owners Kirkbi and was commissioned in 2017. It can produce up to 258 MW of power from 32 wind turbines. Power comes ashore near Rhyl via an undersea cable which then connects to a substation at Bodelwyddan.
New Brighton station is a neat, 2-platform affair. The original staion building in red brick built by the Wirral Railway survives and extensive external scaffolding pointed to repairs being carried out. The platform has a reinforced concrete umbrella roof, which I assume is an L.M.S. legacy. With staffed booking office, toilets and a small cafe it's a reminder of what railway stations should be like.
Liverpool (again): New Brighton station, view looking towards Birkenhead North
The shortest walk to the sea is to the north-facing promenade but I always prefer the longer walk along Victoria Road to the east-facing promenade looking across the Mersey to Seaforth and its docks. I stopped to record the post box outside Wallasey Post Office which has acquired an eleborate, knitted hat featuring 'Olly Octopus'.
Liverpool (again): The post box outside Wallasey Post Office has an eleborate, knitted hat featuring 'Olly Octopus'
The fish and chip shop which I've used before was firmly closed but Victoria Road offers a number of alternatives for food and drink so instead I stopped for a light meal at the Smuggler's Cave cafe, which was enjoyable and excellent value. Somewhat restored, I completed my walk to the familar seafront, emerging near what was, when I was young, the entrance to the pier. The beach looked inviting so I made my way down the ramp onto the sandy shore I'd first visited over 70 years previously. Looking to the north, Fort Perch Rock (the fort built in the 1820s to protect Liverpool) and the now-decommissioned New Brighton lighthouse were visible.
Liverpool (again): New Brighton beach with Fort Perch Rock and New Brighton lighthouse in the background.
Wikipedia has an article on Fort Perch Rock here.
Liverpool (again): The older Liverpool Docks viewed from the beach at New Brighton
The view across the River Mersey from New Brighton has changed considerably since my first visit. Seaforth Dock was opened in 1971 and, more recently, Liverpool2 has added deepwater berths and the eight massive, red container cranes which dominate the view.
Liverpool (again): View from New Brighton Promenade showing Liverpool2 with Seaforth Dock behind as a dredger heads upstream
I left the seafront and headed back up Victoria Road towards the railway station. Rockpoint Leisure have been involved in a regeneration project seeking to create a new cultural heart for New Brighton and the 'Victoria Quarter', as they term it, is certainly home to an eclectic mix of premises. I was intrigued by a display of historical photographs from a previous art exhibition by Devil's Nest showing New Brighton Pier, finally lost in 1972.
Liverpool (again): Historic aerial view of New Brighton with Fort Perch Rock near top, New Brighton Tower building intact but tower demolished. Victoria Road runs left to right, terminating near the entrance to the Pier with its ferry landing stage (from a picture displayed by Devil's Nest)
There's some information about the pier on the National Piers Society site here.
When I arrived at the railway station, a train was already waiting, with a number of passengers already aboard and still a few minutes before departure, so I settled myself for the journey back to Birkenhead Hamilton Square.
Liverpool (again): The landward view leaving Wallasey Village station
I'd not yet seen one of the new Class 777 trains, so I kept a good lookout as we approached the depot at Birkenhead North, in the hope of parhaps catching a glimpse. There was one odd trainset, part hidden hehind a row of the usual EMU but it was a Vivarail Class 230, now used on the Transport for Wales Bidston - Wrexham services.
Liverpool (again): Transport for Wales Class 230 at Birkenhead North Depot. Various versions have been created by Vivarail, completely remodelling redundant London Underground 'D' stock
The train would have taken me directly to Lime Street Station, passing under the Mersey in the tunnel opened in 1886 (described in a post here) but the lure of the Mersey Ferry was too great so I left the train at Birkenhead Hamilton Square and re-traced my footsteps back to Woodside Ferry Terminal.
Liverpool (again): Birkenhead Woodside Ferry Terminal Building
Once again, I was lucky with my timing as the ferry was due in just under 10 minutes. I watched a red-painted 'UNIBALTIC' petrol/chemical tanker, riding very low in the water, head downstream and then 'Snowdrop' appeared and passed the landing stage heading upstream before turning 180 degrees so as to make a final approach to the pontoon.
Liverpool (again): 'Snowdrop' approaching the Landing Stage at Birkenhead Woodside
Unusually, 'Snowdrop' came against the landing stage with an audible 'clang' and, as the gangway was lowered, there was noticeable movement between the ship and the pontoon but passengers disembarked and boarded without too much difficulty. We were quickly underway again, pulling away from the pontoon heading downstream then turning upstream to give views of the Cammell Laird Shipyard on the Birkenhead river bank. I managed to identify Royal Fleet Auxiliary A139 'Tideforce' in the Wet Basin. Launched in 2017, 'Tideforce' is the last of four Tide-class replenishment tankers built for the British Royal Fleet Auxiliary by Daewoo in South Korea. On my previous trip to Liverpool in 2020 here, I'd seen A137 'Tiderace' and A138 'Tidesurge' in the same Wet Basin.
Liverpool (again): Royal Fleet Auxiliary A139 'Tideforce' in the Wet Basin at Cammell Laird Shipyard, Birkenhead>
We continued upstream as far as Tranmere Oil Terminal which receives all the crude oil processed by the Essar Oil Refinery further upstream at Stanlow. There's more information on the Essar Oil site here. An unidentified tanker was moored. Crude oil arriving at Tranmere reaches the Essar Oil refinery at Stanlow via a 15 mile pipeline.
Liverpool (again): Unidentified tanker moored at Tranmere Oil Terminal. Note tug near port bow.
Liverpool (again): View looking upstream from 'Snowdrop' as she heads across the river to the Liverpool side, with Stanlow refinery in the distance.
We made the customary smooth approach to the pontoon at Pier Head and, as I disembarked, I could see that there was a good crowd waiting to board. I spent a little while wandering around the Waterfront area, enjoying the good weather. I was amused by a Rolls Royce car which arrived, decorated in rather 'fairground' style, delivering its passengers to Pier Head.
Liverpool (again): A Rolls Royce, in flamboyant livery, delivering its passengers to Pier Head.
Once again, I was impressed with the appearance of the Grade II* Port of Liverpool Building, now in private ownership. There's a Wikipedia article here. The elaborate cast iron gates face the Waterfront and shields incorporate the initials 'MDHB' in script characters for the Mersey Docks and Harbour Board who erected the building, which was finished in 1907. The larger, stone gate piers are topped with large balls, decorated with outlines of the continents, forming a globe of the earth.
Liverpool (again): Port of Liverpool Building
I then walked back to James Street Merseyrail station, descended to platform level and caught the arrival next from Birkenhead. I still had well over an hour before the train I had booked back to Wolverhampton. I toyed with the idea of taking a ride on the Northern Line (one way or another) but was reluctant to risk running out of time so I travelled to Lime Street station, where I found an imminent departure to Crewe via Manchester Airport whose first stop was just five minutes out of Lime Street at Edge Hill station. Unable to resist this temptation, I made my way to platform 2 where I found a Northern refurbished EMU already 'full to the gills' with a stream of passengers still trying to join the train. I managed to squeeze onto the first coach but a few people decided against using the cramped train. A few minutes later, I got off at Edge Hill. It was my first ride on one of Northern's second-hand EMU.
Liverpool (again): Edge Hill station. The freight train standing in Tuebrook Sidings on the left is imported biomass via Liverpool Docks for Drax Power Station
I discovered there was a train to take me back to Lime Street in just a few minutes so, rather than risk getting stranded waiting for a later service, I decided to take it. This train comprised two 4-car sets of Class 331 EMU built by CAF in Spain and brought into service in 2019. Although I'd seen the Class 331 in various locations this was my first ride on this class. Fairly comfortable (and not crowded as my outbound journey).
Safely back at Lime Street, there was still some time before catching the 16:47 Avanti service to London so I had a walk around the St. Johns shopping district before puchasing a drink and a snack at Marks and Spencers inside Lime Street Station before finally boarding the Class 390 'Pendolino', reporting number 1A57, at platform 9. This service stops at Liverpool Parkway, Runcorn and then Stafford arriving 17:40, so I had the experience of speeding through Crewe on the Up Through. After Stafford, this train then takes the Trent Valley line to Rugby. At Stafford I changed to the West Midland Trains service which was following from Crewe to complete my journey back to Wolverhampton.
Whilst waiting on Stafford platform 4, a down Freightliner train going well hurried through platform 5, hauled by a pair of Class 90 electric locomotives. Impressed by the sight, I afterwards used Railcam UK to identify the train as 4M88, a regular service from Felixstowe (departing 09:32) via Ipswich, Stratford, Willesden, Northampton, Nuneaton and Crewe terminating at the O'connor Freightliner terminal at Ditton. I hadn't realised that Freightliner were 95% owned by an American company, Genesee & Wyoming. Wikipedia has a useful article here.
West Midland Trains quickly returned me to Wolverhampton and finally a taxi took me home, where I arrived very tired but very pleased with the day.
My pictures
Liverpool (again)
Depending on the display device, the right hand edge of pictures may not display. To see an uncropped image, click on the picture. Alternately, you can find the image by following the 'My pictures' links and display or download the image in various resolutions.
[Minor edits 24 Aug 2021, 26-Aug-2021]
My first visit to Myanmar was in 2008 and I became fascinated by this British-built but so different railway system which had struggled for survival during long years of the country's isolation under army control. In my post Passenger Rolling Stock in Burma, written back in 2013, I outlined the variety of liveries I'd seen on passenger coaches. On each of my subsequent visits, I've tried to learn a little more about Myanma Railways.
During the second of two trips I made to Myanmar in 2017 (you can find all the posts on that trip here), my friend arranged a visit to the Carriage and Wagon Workshops in Myitnge, near Mandalay. My pictures taken during the visit are here.
The British-designed Carriage and Wagon Workshops at Myitnge opened in 1905. New passenger carriage building started in 1947 and, when I visited in 2017, new carriages of well-established design were still under construction although the main activity of this area, now designated Shop No. 2, was heavy repairs.
In the past, travellers on Myanma Railways could experience some fairly uncomfortable riding at times, due to a combination of poor track maintenance and vehicle suspension and draftgear. Major works on permanent way improvement (including the introduction of Continuous Welded Rails) and the introduction of Chinese-built coaches with air bag suspension were put in hand.
Myitnge Carriage & Wagon Workshops with Shop No. 2 near the centre and Shop No. 3 (with blue roof) under construction just visible at the top (Image: Google Maps)
Click for larger image
Shop No. 2
The shop comprises a number of parallel bays, aligned more-or-less north-south, each provided with an overhead travelling crane and a number of inset sidings allowing complete coaches to be worked on.
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: General view of Shop No. 2
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: Shop No. 2 showing completed carriages (l), carriage sub-assembly jigs with welding in progress (r)
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: Assembling new carriage side panel in Shop No. 2
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: 'Mini-Ostrich' gas profile cutting machine in No. 2 Shop
Kanto Yuatsu Power Press in No. 2 Shop
![]()
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: Production plan for two types of new-build existing-design coach - 30 off BDTEZ and 10 off BDUEZ in 2017-2018
Outside the north end of Shop No. 2, an impressive electric traverser carried on six parallel rails is provided to transfer complete coaches between the various sidings.
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: Coach Traverser with Bogie Shop in background
To the north of the traverser the separate, more recently built, Bogie Shop produces various types of bogies used on Myanma Railways.
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: Assembly jig used during Bogie Frame construction in Bogie Shop
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: Bogie sub-assembly fabrication
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: TKZ8 Bogie Frame assembly Plano Miller in Bogie Shop
I was impressed by the quality of workmanship and the results achieved by these generally rather elderly workshops. But an ambitious project to build a new facility for the production of the Chinese coach design in Myanmar was well underway and, during my 2017 visit, I was able to tour the construction site which lies to the north of the traverser mentioned above.
Shop No. 3 under construction
The impressive high-bay building was largely complete and fitting-out was in progress. It comprises multiple bays, aligned north-south, each provided with a number of Hena Sinoko Chinese-built overhead travelling cranes. In the unfinished storage area outside the building there was also a large Chinese portal crane.
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: Shop No. 3 for producing coaches with air-suspension.
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: Shop No. 3 under construction
Work was in progress to complete the massive concrete foundations for heavy machinery and lay the various sidings. The rest of the floor area was being prepared for the final finish of concrete. At least one excavator and a couple of roller/compactors were inside the building. A conventional diesel roller type 3Y12/15A (made by the China state-owned company XCMG) was parked but the LuiGong 'sheepsfoot' diesel compactor rumbled up and down throughout my visit, imprinting the soil with its characteristic pattern. A layer of crushed stone was being laid on top of the soil before being rolled ready to receive concrete. As is usual in Myanmar, most of the work carrying and laying stone was being carried out by women, using woven baskets to carry stone upon their head.
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: Gang laying stone foundation in Shop No. 3
The Chinese coaches
I saw one of the imported Chinese carriages, lifted off its bogies, during my visit to the works in 2017.
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop: Modern Chinese coach bogie with air bag suspension units
Later in that trip, I saw a couple of trains that use these coaches on the Yangon - Mandalay services.
The afternoon express from Mandalay to Yangon formed from modern, Chinese-built 'air-bag suspension' coaches passes Myo Haung Signal Cabin
Mahlwagon Main Line seen from the north end of the Up Yard showing Train Number 5 Up (the 15:00 hours Yangon-Mandalay, due to arrive 05:00 the following day) with a Chinese-built Bo-Bo-Bo on a rake of Chinese-built 'air-bag suspension' coaches.
Factory opening
I understand that Shop No. 3 started manufacture in 2018 with an initial build of 15 coaches of Chinese design in Shop No. 3. More recently, Shop No. 2 has been involved in the construction of a batch of 80 coaches of Korean design. However, the Covid-19 Pandemic has prevented visits in 2020 and 2021. Following elections at the end of 2020, on February 1st 2021 the election result was repudiated by the Myanmar army who seized power alleging voter corruption so the current situation is unclear.
Revised version
It's a large works and I had initially misunderstood the numbering of the three shops but, guided by my friend who organised the tour in 2017, I've tried to correct this.
Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Works showing older Shop 1 (lower view), Shop 2 and modern Shop 3 (upper view)
My pictures
MR: Myitnge Carriage and Wagon Workshop
Passenger Rolling Stock in Myanmar
[Shop numbering corrected: 11/05/2022]
My introduction to the post Notes on the History of Brewood Hall begins:-
In 1971, I acquired Brewood Hall. It was in a fairly sorry state but, having done what repairs and redecorations could be afforded at the time, it became my family home. Over the years, more extensive conservation and redecoration work has been carried out as possible..
As I'd explained in a post on maintenance in 2014 here, trying to keep any property in reasonable condition over a long period presents recurring problems, particularly when the building dates from 1640 and is also Listed Grade II. That earlier post describes partial external repainting, together with roofing and general repairs carried out in 2013-2014.
In 2018, a further post here described path repairs in front of the Hall in 2016 and further repairs and improvements to the patch at the rear of the Hall in 2017. Also in 2017, an impressive 'Genie' self-propelled articulating boom was brought onto the site to allow remedial work to the cement quoins on the front elevation and re-pointing of brickwork at high level. Finally, traditional path 'edgers' were sourced from a reclamation yard to border the path in front of the Hall.
The list of jobs described in that 2018 post wasn't exhaustive - one unexpected repair was the re-hanging of the one of the two gates on the main drive. In high winds, this gate had broken free from its 'mooring' and slammed shut, wrenching the lower gate hinge pin out of the brickwork. This was finally rectified in October 2017.
Repairs at Brewood Hall: Re-hanging of gate.
The Ice House
Perhaps the most unusual restoration project, back in 2007-2008, was excavating the Ice House, used for food storage at larger houses prior to refrigerators. The original work is described in the earlier post here, which concluded:-
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.
In fact, well before the work of excavating the Ice House was completed, the door frame had seriously rotted, the door hinges had rusted through and both the stone lintel and part of the brick arch above the entrance had collapsed. But it was not until 2010 that work to replace the lintel and door was carried out, as illustrated below:-
Custom-made stone lintels to repair the damaged area over the entrance to the Ice House. Note the wooden former used to reconstruct the brick arch above the entrance.
Brewood Hall: Fitting the replacement 'hit-and-miss' style oak door to the Ice House in 2010. Note the new stone lintel above the doorway.
Unfortunately, because of the extremely damp conditions, the substantial oak door warped badly after a few years and in 2021 repairs were carried out by Jim.
The Ice House: Repairs to the oak door in 2021
Brewood Hall Ice House: View of Ice House door after repair in 2021
Back in 2008 during excavations of the Ice House, we'd been unsure of the function of the rectangular capped-off 'Chimney' in the roof of the Ice House. Subsequent research suggested this was a chute to facilitate getting ice into the Ice House. Presumably, when the original use ceased, the 'Chimney' was capped-off and grassed-over.
The Ice House: Capped-off 'Chimney' in the roof of the Ice House.
During the 2021 repairs, Jim dug a small test hole in the Upper Lawn to locate the top of the capped-off 'Chimney' but it didn't reveal any further clues as to the original arrangements.
Brewood Hall Ice House: Test hole in upper lawn to locate the closed-off 'chimney'
Related posts on this website
To see all my posts on Brewood Hall, select Label 'Brewood Hall' or click here.
My pictures
Where necessary, clicking on an image in a post will display an 'uncropped' view or, alternately, pictures may be selected, viewed or downloaded, in various sizes, from the albums listed below.
Pictures showing the ice house over the years are in the album The Ice House.
Pictures showing a selection of works carried out in 2016 and later are in the album Repairs at Brewood Hall.
To see all my pictures of Brewood Hall, Brewood and the surrounding area pictures, go to the collection index at ,a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/janfordsworld/collections/72157626483102130/">Brewood, Staffordshire
It was a cold, dark evening in March 2018. I had been watching television and, late evening, I walked to the kitchen to prepare a hot drink before retiring. Entering the kitchen, I was surprised to find it raining, inside the house. Water was dripping from the ceiling everywhere and more water was cascading down the walls. Thankfully, I recovered from the shock fairly quickly and started to work out what might have happened. I knew that directly above the kitchen, two floors up, there was an attic room with two water tanks fed from the incoming cold water main. This seemed the best place to start investigations so, as quickly as I could, I climbed two flights of stairs and opened the door to the room with the tanks. I was met by a horizontal jet of water and a wall of mist which made it hard to make out the source of the jet. Trying to ignore the chilling effect of the water jet, I pushed forward to try to understand the tangle of plumbing in front of me. As far as I could determine, there was a burst in one of the two copper water pipes feeding a ball valve in each of the two tanks. Potentially, that was good news as a leak in either tank outlet could only be stopped once the associated tank had emptied itself. The incoming cold main was teed and each branch had a stop cock. Hopefully, I closed what I thought was the correct stop cock. Water continued to sluice over me. Puzzled, I closed the other stop cock and the spray continued. It was difficult to see clearly with water spraying everywhere so I decided to close the main water stop cock in the cellar. Cold and wet, I went down two flights of stairs to the ground floor then down one more flight to the cellar, followed by a lengthy walk through the cellar passages to reach the main stop cock. I wound it closed, not knowing if it had produced any effect. Now cold, damp and rather dirty, I made my way back through the cellar passages and up three flights of stairs, walls dripping with water, to the tank room. The horizontal jet of water had ceased but everything was wringing wet. With the conditions somewhat improved, I was able to confirm that there was, indeed, a fracture in one copper pipe after the tee but before the associated stop cock, rendering both local stop cocks useless.
With no cold feed to the system, hot water and the central heating could not be used and, with a number of ceilings and walls thoroughly wet, I was a bit circumspect about using electricity as well. I'm usually rather grumpy about the house insurance premiums I'm invited to pay but, for once, I was delighted to find that the insurers had supplied an emergency number to ring in these circumstances. They were a bit apologetic that they were having a very busy time but, within a few hours, an emergency plumber arrived (who'd come from a base in Runcorn, 70 miles away). Within minutes, the offending split copper pipe had been removed and replaced with plastic pipe and fittings.
Brewood Hall Burst Water Pipe: Detail of the split half-inch copper pipe which caused the trouble after removal.
Further telephone calls established the beginnings of a plan. The insurers were anxious to first install temporary de-humidifiers to start drying out affected areasI enlisted the help of our builders, A. M. Griffiths, to advise on what would be required and the insurers authorised the hire of two industrial de-humidifiers which were delivered and, with a lot of effort, manhandled into place, initially with one on the second floor, one on the first floor. Being intended for industrial use, both units were for operation from 110 volts a.c., requiring hire of industrial 240/110 volt isolating transformers. The two units were of different types but similar capabilities. In each, the water extracted was delivered through a short hose into 5-gallon plastic containers which initially required emptying with rather disconcerting frequency. With two large de-humidifiers running continuously, it was rather noisy. After a few days, the volume of water extracted reduced and the de-humidifiers were relocated, one to cover another part of the first floor, the other to start work on drying the ground floor.
Brewood Hall Burst Water Pipe: Hired-in industrial de-humidifier used to dry-out the affected areas, shown in use on the first floor.
Brewood Hall Burst Water Pipe: Hired-in industrial de-humidifier used to dry-out the affected areas, shown in use on the ground floor. Note the yellow 240/110 volt transformer
The leak had been in one room on the second floor but, once under the floorboards of that room, water had been able to flow sideways so as to affect a number of rooms, a landing and a stairwell on the first floor. On the ground floor, the damage appeared to be confined to the stairwell and the large kitchen. The local decorator I'd used before came in every day to check the moisture content of the affected plaster-finished walls with a hand-held electronic tester and after a few more days, periodically adjusting the position of the de-humidifiers, only small amounts of water were being extracted and measurements indicated that sufficient dryness had been achieved. The house seemed very quiet with the de-humidifiers switched off.
The insurers arranged a visit by an electrician to check the installation for water damage. To my surprise, electrical damage appeared to be confined to one light fitting. It was now possible to obtain estimates for repair and re-decoration and the insurers approved the estimate from the local decorator. Immediately after the leak, I'd frantically moved pictures and smaller items of furniture out of harm's way so there didn't appear to be damage there. The main cost was remedial work to ceilings, walls and one area of floorboards, together with redecoration of ceilings and walls in a nuumber of areas.
Brewood Hall Burst Water Pipe: Ceiling damage in the rear Bedroom, some distance away from the leak
Brewood Hall Burst Water Pipe: Wall damage in the Servants' Passage, after removal of pictures
Brewood Hall Burst Water Pipe: Water damage to lath and plaster ceiling and walls in the Servants' Passage, looking towards stairwell.
Brewood Hall Burst Water Pipe: Water damage to the ceiling in the Victorian Sitting Room, also affecting the floor.
Once the decorator had finished, the appearance of the affected area was restored substantially to their appearance before the burst occurred. A distressing experience but as nothing compared with the heartbreak of the increasing numbers of people who find their homes completely inundated by flooding as weather patterns appear to change. And, in this case at least, the insurers responded promptly to indemnify me for the damage.
My posts about Brewood Hall
You can find all my posts about Brewood Hall here (in reverse date-of-posting order), with links to albums of pictures.
My Pictures
Pictures in this post can be viewed uncropped, where necessary, by clicking on the image. Selecting from the full 2021 album below allows viewing or downloading in various resolutions:-
Brewood Hall Burst Water Pipe
On 23rd June 2021, I made a short journey (very short) on the Cambrian Line. I was shocked to discover that this was the first time I'd been on a train (apart from a couple of steam driving turns and a few diesel multiple unit turns on the Battlefield Line) for over a year, such has been the impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic. My previous rail journey, I discovered, had been Wolverhampton to Hawarden Bridge on 9th June 2020, which didn't result in a blog post but did produce the usual crop of not-very-good photographs which are in the album here. Although that journey is not described in the blog, there are a couple of posts on an earlier expedition along that route in 2014 to Liverpool starting here.
I'd initially planned to make my June 2021 journey to Central Wales by train but was shocked to discover that, at that time, Rail Replacement Buses provided the only service between Shrewsbury and Machynlleth, presumably because of emergency Covid-19 timetabling. The remainder of the Cambrian was being operated as an isolated railway with services from Machynlleth to Aberystwyth and Machynlleth to Pwllheli. This was feasible because Machynlleth has a maintenance depot for the Diesel Multiple Units working on the line and a diesel refuelling point.
The Cambrian Line is single with passing loops so is a good illustration of the problems of safely and effectively working a long-distance route where trains in opposite directions must be timetabled to pass where loops are provided. Track Diagrams of the modern Cambrian Line can be found in book reference [1]. Alternately, the Railcam.UK site offers access to simplified track diagram with real-time information on train movements. There's a brief introduction to the Railcam.UK site in my post here.
The Aberystwyth service shares the single line from Machynlleth as far as Dovey Junction where a loop is provided allowing Up and Down services on the Aberystwyth branch to pass when required. Passing loops are provided on the Pwllheli line at Porthmadog, Harlech, Barmouth, and Tywyn. Intrigued, I put together a working timetable of the Monday to Friday service being offered. It's rough and incomplete, I'm afraid, but I hope gives some idea of the service provided.
Cambrian Line 2021: Machynlleth - Aberystwyth Train Times: Mon-Fri June
(Click for larger view)
Cambrian Line 2021: Aberystwyth - Machynlleth Train Times: Mon-Fri June
(Click for larger view)
Cambrian Line 2021: Machynlleth - Pwllheli Train Times & Pwllheli - Machynlleth Train Times (Mon-Fri, June)
(Click for larger view)
The way in which the timetable is arranged to allow up and down trains to pass at loops is, I hope, made clearer by a train graph, shown below. Again, this is rough and incomplete and I haven't corrected errors where trains don't quite meet in the right location but should illustrate the difficulties timetable planners face in constructing single-line timetables. Time is plotted horizontally left to right, starting at midnight. Mileage (in miles and chains) is plotted vertically, based on a reference point at Whitchurch measured via a long-gone railway!
Cambrian Line 2021: Train Graph Machynlleth - Pwllheli (Mon-Fri, June)
(Click for larger view)
All of the stations on the Cambrian Line have been modernised and drastically simplified, are generally unstaffed and many are request stops. To board at a request stop, you have to handsignal the approaching train (like catching a bus). To alight at a request stop, you must inform the conductor on boarding who, in turn, alerts the driver.
When we set off from home by road the weather was benign but, as we travelled further into Wales, the weather deteriorated so most of the time at my destination in the Harlech area suffered either patchy or heavy rain. Study of the temporary railway timetable suggested that it should be possible to board a Pwllheli-Machynlleth service at Talsarnau station, travel 3 miles 30 chains south to Harlech station and almost immediately catch a northbound service to return to Talsarnau. And the plan worked!
Talsarnau, which had a population of 550 in the 2011 census, now has a station featuring a small car park, a single platform (raised in the centre section to facilitate boarding), electronic passenger information system, public address and 'bus shelter'. The original station building is now in private ownership.
Cambrian Line: Talsarnau Station, looking north
Cambrian Line: Talsarnau Station, looking south with the original station building on the left.
The southbound train, a 2-car Class 158 in Transport for Wales livery, arrived just a few minutes late and I was surprised at how full it was. Face coverings were required by law on the train and, to ensure Social Distancing, some seating was marked out of use. Because Wales now has its own Devolved Government, law and guidance differs in some respects from that elsewhere in the United Kingdom. The train made good time on the short journey to Harlech.
Retaining its passing loop and Up and Down platforms linked by an elderly footbridge, Harlech station still hints at its origins. Once again, the station buildings on the Down platform are now in private ownership and unattractive modern shelters are provided for current travellers.
Cambrian Line: Harlech Station in the rain looking south, with southbound Machynlleth train waiting to cross an approaching Pwllheli service. On the left, Harlech Castle looms over the scene.
Cambrian Line: Harlech Station in the rain looking north, with southbound Machynlleth train waiting to cross an approaching Pwllheli service.
The northbound service arrived, another a 2-car Class 158 in Transport for Wales livery and quickly took us back to Talsarnau. Again, the service was well-patronised.
There is one intermediate station between Harlech and Talsarnau called Tygwyn but this station was not in use at the time of my visit. The National Rail website explains:-
There are no trains at Tygwyn until further notice. In order to maintain a safe distance between the conductor and customers, Transport for Wales need to be able to operate two train doors. Unfortunately due to the short platform length at this station, this is not possible.
Tygwyn station is adjacent to the A496 level crossing, so I was able to visit this location by car.
Cambrian Line: A496 Level Crossing at Tygwyn Station (currently closed), looking south. Note the Equipment Room on the left for the Automatic Barrier Crossing and, beyond, GSM-R mast and equipment room.
Cambrian Line: A496 Automatic Barrier Crossing at Tygwyn, looking north.
Signalling on the Cambrian Line
The Cambrian was always a single-line route and, like all single-line railways, required suitable signalling for the safety of trains. There's a brief article on operating single-lines in my blog here. In the steam era, Cambrian Railways made widespread use of Electric Token Systems or similar for single-line control. Used correctly, such systems have an excellent safety record and remain in use today. But in 1921, Cambrian Railways suffered a notorious head-on collision between two trains near Abermule resulting in 17 fatalities and 36 injuries, not due to equipment failure but due to a combination of negligence, confusion, poor staff training and inadequate supervision involving various staff members in different roles.
The Railway Archive is a marvellous internet resource which makes detailed information on thousands of railway accidents available and you can read the Inspector's full accident report on the Abermule collision here.
Because of the UK's membership of the European Union at the time, the government committed to European Union directives regarding railways, so as to implement the European Rail Traffic Management system in the UK known as ERTMS. The main elements of ERTMS are the European Train Control System (ETCS) and the Global System for Mobile Communications - Railway (GSM-R).
In 2012 the Cambrian Line from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli was chosen as the pilot UK scheme for ERTMS and signalling throughout the line is now provided by ETCS Level 2, controlled from the Signalling Centre at Machynlleth.
Book references
[1] ‘Railway Track Diagrams Book 3: Western & Wales’ (TRACKmaps: 6th edition) ISBN 978-1-9996271-0-2.
[2] 'A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume 11 North and Mid Wales by Peter E Baughan, published by David & Charles ISBN 0-9153-7850-3.
Related articles on other sites
Wikipedia article on the Cambrian Railways
ERTMS
ETCS
GSM-R
Related posts on this site
Watching The Trains Go By
Railway Signalling in Britain: Part 11 - Single Line Railways
My pictures
Pictures in this post can be viewed uncropped, where necessary, by clicking on the image. Selecting from the album below allows viewing or downloading in various resolutions:-
Cambrian Line
