Ushuaia - the full story

Tuesday, 6-Feb-2007:

I took my travel agent's advice on a hotel in Ushuaia, so we have about 5 miles to go out of town to get to the Tolkeyen. In the last 25 years Ushuaia has achieved incredible growth, from a population of a few thousand up to around 85 thousand. The Argentinian Government has introduced various inducements to bring people here. Tourism is a major part of the local economy. To the West, there's a National Park, which extends to the border with Chile.

As we leave the town, we pass through the posh area of Ushuaia with quite large wooden-clad houses which look quite attractive. The weather is very changeable here, so heating is important. Argentina has its own oil and gas supplies and the Government has put in a pipeline, 200 km long I think, to bring gas to Ushuaia. We pass through rather inhospitable-looking scrub land and come to a small township, where a drive leads us to the Tolkeyen Hotel.

The hotel is single storey, log-clad lodge-style, very spacious and nice and warm. My room is, I suspect, the best in the place, with a bay window commanding splendid views of the Beagle Channel. I decide to have dinner in the restaurant, nice high gable roof, stone floor. Although there are a fair few people already there (a German party), service is prompt and attentive. I have cream of asparagus soup, with crusty bread just right, codfish (small fillets in a light sauce with a boiled potato - excellent) and an ice cream to finish. Replete, I return to my room, bathe in the whirlpool bath, fall into the large bed and sleep soundly.

Wednesday, 7-Feb-2007:

There's an excellent buffet breakfast in the dining room looking across the Beagle Channel to the snow-covered mountains on the other side, which are part of Chile. I walk down to the foreshore to take in the view. On the landward side there are also snow-covered mountains. There's a light drizzle and a rainbow is forming. All sorts of birds are flying aound the water line, foraging for food. It truly is a magical spot. This unlikely, remote spot is the first place I've managed to send e-mail via the hotel's Wi-Fi. Sadly, I can't post a blog. Dunno why.

The hotel has a free shuttle bus into Ushuaia a few times a day. I catch the 9.00am (I'm the only passenger) and he drops me on the waterfront. The main area 'Centro' extends about 15 blocks along the waterfront and four blocks inland on land which rises up steeply. The land agents in Ushuaia are Rumbo Sur (www.rumbosur.com.ar/. I go to the Rumbo Sur booking office to find out more about embarkation on my Antarctic Cruise, but the right people don't seem to be there. I also enquire about the narrow gauge 'Tren Turistico' steam train which starts a few miles out of town and takes people to the national park. I can't really get answers, so I find out where the taxi rank is and get a taxi up to the railway.

Well, the morning trains have gone but I make contact with their charming lady commercial manager, Natalia Assandri, and she introduces me to (I think) the stationmaster and their workshop manager, Hugo del Valle, who provides a tour of the workshop facilities, during which I meet one of the drivers. The whole operation is very impressive. Before I get a taxi back to Ushuaia, they offer me a footplate ride if I can get to them on the day I return after the cruise. I'll certainly try! Nice people. See their website www.trendelfindelmundo.com.ar.

Back in Ushuaia, I've more time to look around. The harbour is one straight jetty with moorings on both sides plus provision for the large day-trip boats. Two large cruise ships on one side of the jetty mask the view of my ship 'Antarctic Dream' which I spotted berthed on my way in by taxi.There are lots of tourist shops, lots of tourists - Americans, Europeans, not many Japanese. Another taxi then took me back to the hotel, ready to be picked with my luggage and taken to the Albatros Hotel near the harbour for check-in to the cruise. There was then an enforced wait of nearly 2 hours before joining the coach for the short journey to the ship. Cynically, I assumed that this was to encourage you to spend money in the hotel restaurant and bar. I didn't - I passed the time in the town.

In Buenos Aires, people seemed predominantly fair skinned and very European looking, many with blonde hair. But in Ushuaia, the dark-skinned look of South America is commoner. There is an Aboriginal Museum devoted to the Yamana people but, with limited time, I opt instead for the Maritime Museum. This is situated next to the present Navy base in the former prison, the Presidio. Although parts of this large building are distictly run down, an awful lot of trouble has been taken in the staging of the artefacts and I found it charming. Six wings of cell blocks radiate from the centre, some of which are used for displays. There are some marvellous ship models, many by an award-winning model-maker whose workshop has also been preserved here.The last surviving locomotive and coach from the original prison railway have also been preserved, sadly outside but at least available for inspection. One wing of cells is unrestored, showing all the original architectural features. The most modernised wing is now an art gallery. After a fascinating, if rather hurried tour, I make my way back to the Albatros Hotel where a coach is waiting.

Finally, once all the stragglers have arrived, we drive in the rain to the harbour. We get off the coach for hand baggage X-ray, get back on the coach to drive along the jetty and, finally, approach our home for the next 11 days, 'Atlantic Dream'.

Click for my pictures of Ushuaia

Click for pictures of the original Prison Railway vehicles and the modern 'Tren Tourstico'

Ushuaia

Tuesday, 6-Feb-2007:

I'm sitting in the dining room of the Tolkeyen Hotel, a few miles outside Ushuaia. It's getting dusk and I'm looking across the Beagle Channel to the snow-covered mountains on the other side. Magical! Tomorrow I embark on a 10-day cruise to the Antarctic Peninsula. I may be quiet for some time.

All my Ushuaia pictures are now available here.

Heading South

6-Feb-2007:

After an all-to-brief stay, I'm leaving Buenos Aires. Things followed a familiar pattern: On arrival, the place seemed almost alien, unknown. The hotel proved a good choice (it was my choice). It has 'a bit of age' which always helps with me. But then I have to summon up courage to actually leave the hotel. People don't believe me but, travelling on my own, I don't find it easy. Once I get started, the challenge of trying to come to grips with a new culture takes over. I always think "I may never pass this way again" and, as I get older, the prediction becomes ever-more-likely to come true. So I feel it my duty to extract everything I can from the experience.

I was picked up from the hotel, on time, by the lady who met me on my arrival, Mary Luz. She claimed to be amazed at what I'd seen in one day, saying people take a week to see less. She added that a lot of local people would be afraid to catch an ordinary train! Well, I have an advantage with trains and subway systems in that I'm interested and have a fair idea how they work before I start.

15:30 sees me boarding aircraft LV-VBZ at Jorge Newbery domestic airport (ticketing code AEP). It's far more modern and spacious than the international airport Ministro Pistarini (EZE) I arrived at yesterday (It seems much longer ago to me - I've commented on the Time Dilation Effect experienced on my holidays before). The aircraft is an MD Series 80 built, the bi-lingual Aerolineas Argentinas flight magazine informs me, by Boeing, with 8 business class seats (I'm in one of only two seats occupied on this flight) and 140 tourist. A glass of champagne, the Buenos Aires Herald in English. The Government have just replaced the Chief Statistician and issued a delayed January monthly inflation figure of 1.1%. Commentators were expecting at least 1.5% and are crying 'fix'. So, we Brits can still show the Argies a thing or two. I imagine our inflation is nearly as bad but Gordon only admits to two or three percent in a year!

We take off at about 4.00 p.m. for our 3 hours 10 minutes flight to Ushuaia, right on the Southern tip of South America. Immediately after take-off, the cockpit door is opened and remains open for some time. It's a long time since I've seen that sort of informality! During our climb, I get a good view of the extensive modern housing around Buenos Aires. The area is divided by the roads into rectangular blocks, USA-style. Large areas are low-rise, then you get a number of blocks which are high rise. It looks quite pretty from the air, but I wouldn't like to live there.

Once we're above the cloud, the terrain is only intermittently visible but soon we're over the sea, heading South.They serve a modest, but pleasant, light meal then I sit it out until we descend through the cloud for a textbook landing at Ushuaia. As you'd imagine, it's a fairly modest affair but it does sport two airbridges, so we get into the terminal without sampling the outside temperature, but there's late afternoon sun. After a short delay, the luggage arrives, there's a cursory but friendly customs check and I meet up with the bearded young man from the travel company. It's cold outside after Buenos Aires, but nowhere near as cold as New York.

Buenos Aires

I choose the Marriott Plaza as a landmark hotel, designed in 1907 (by a German). I like exploring these hotels with a bit of history. Well, the staff are friendly and quite attentive so, so far, I'm very happy. See the hotel's web site. I will only be in Buenos Aires about 1 day. I'd originally scheduled more but there were problems with the onwards flight so we've had to shorten the stay. It's hot! After New York, it's wonderful to be warm again! The capital has a population of about 4 million but, with the surrounding area included, it's about 14 million - around 40% of the population of the country! Ethnic background is Spanish (which I knew) and Italian (which I didn´t) plus the indigenous Indians. But now there's Koreans and Chinese coming in. Faith is mainly Catholic, but there is freedom for all sorts of persuasions.

Somehow, I'd failed to anticipate the nondescript concrete buildings everywhere: not very appealing. And the wide, busy toll road in from the airport could be anywhere in the world. But as you approach the old parts of the city, the European influence is obvious. They have a number of very wide avenues (they claim to have the widest streets in the world, but I think this claim is disputed). I did count six and seven lanes each way in places. There are some fairly grand buildings, like the Colon Theatre where they stage operas and, of course, my hotel. Just like Europe, these buildings now share space with indifferent modern stuff.

But parts of Buenos Aires are being developed differently, as I found when I walked from my hotel to Puerto Madero, the old docks. There is an enclosed dock system with a number of sepate basins, a bit like, say, the Royal Docks in London. Most of these docks are redundant and lots of new commercial and residential buildings are appearing. The old brick built warehouses have, in general, been retained and developed as apartments with posh cafes and bars on the ground floor. Some of the dockside cranes have been kept, to add character, and the whole area seems very popular with tourists and locals alike. There are also fairly spectacular tall apartment blocks either being built or already sold. I don't approve of it all, but at least the thinking is more joined-up. There is clearly a burgeoning rich middle class in Argentina who are buying into this dream, but you don't have to walk far to see that not everybody is benefitting equally from this prosperity.

The docks are big! I wasn't sure how long my energy would last in this heat, so I turned back towards the city and headed towards the Plaza de Mayo. This proved to be the usual grassed park with large statuary that they seem to do well in this part of the world. I spotted the entrance to Line A of the 'Subte' (presumably a contraction of 'subterrainean' and purchased a ticket for 70 cents, 7/10 of the Argentinian Peso. I found no ticket machines - just a tiny window at each station, often with a queue of people waiting to pay their 70 cents. This gets you a thin card ticket with a magnetic ink stripe which gets you through a fairly modern ticket-reading barrier. Logically, the 'A' line was the first to be built, opening in 1913. This line runs quite elderly trains - all wood inside and sliding doors you open yourself.

I took the line a few stops to Plaza Miserere and had a look around. A very vibrant area but worlds away from the smart new dock area. Buildings quite run-down but supporting lots of small businesses. One firm apparently reclaiming used cardboard boxes spilled out onto the pavement as young boys flattened boxes arriving by lorry. There's a rather grand station building, now abandoned, which was Estacion Once. I catch a 'Subte' train back to station Piedras, standing right at the front of the train by the open window which serves as air conditioning. The driver works from a tiny wooden compartment, like a wardrobe, front left (the lines are left running). It's raining heavily when I reach the street and people are sheltering under shop awnings or scurrying to the next bit of cover. I hurry one block in the rain and regain the shelter of the 'Subte' station on the more modern 'C' line. A few stops brings us to the terminus, Retiro and Buenos Aires' main station.

As I expect, this is an impressive place retaining its elegantly-proportioned original buildings and two arched train sheds. Ceramic tiled walls have very elaborate detailing from an earlier age. Set against this elegance is the hubbub of dozens of shops, stalls and snack bars and the clamour of the people thronging to and from the platforms.

Outside again, there are lines of buses and, having run the gauntlet of crossing at least twelve traffic lanes, not too busy, fortunately, I reach a clock tower carrying the British royal coat of arms. This is the Torre de los Engleses, donated by Britain to commemorate 100 years of Argentinian independence gained in the May revolution. Because the English are not flavour of the month, the clock has been renamed 'Monumental Tower' officially, but everyone still calls it 'Englishmen Tower'. A short walk along the length of the Plaza Saint Martin brings me back to the hotel.

I have to try and pace myself on these rather demanding trips so, although it's still light, I decide to stay in for the rest of the day. I spend an hour doing e-mail and blog posts in the business centre, explore the hotel and arrange for laundry to be done. Then I eat in one of the hotel's restaurants, 'La Brasserie' (coke, ministrone and an excellent Pizza Margarita twice as big as I can manage). After that, I just collapse on the bed and go into a deep sleep for a few hours, waking in the 'wee small hours' no longer sleepy. On Tuesday, I have just a few hours to see some of Buenos Aires other sights before I'm booked to fly South.

Today, Tuesday 6th February, I got up early and had a good buffet breakfast. There's a chef on hand to do things like eggs to order. Then a pleasant walk across the gardens of the Plaza San Martin where there are some very old trees to Retiro station. Decide to travel to the first stop, 3 de Febrero. Fascinating journey. I won't bore you with the details just now. Then start walking back through the huge park of Palermo. There's lots of joggers and hundreds of power walkers (or not-very-power walkers). It's getting quite warm. Leaving the Park, I pass through an area of posh apartments, embassies and museums before coming to Recoleta, old buildings brought into use as a tourist destination. There's an old church and a famous cemetery with countless mausoleums, some very old and grand.

Then I walk about ten blocks to the nearest Subte Station, Calleo on Line D. With one change I make my way to the end of Line C at Constitucion. There's a big surface railway station here called Estation Constitucion. Very impressive architecture. Seems to be two suburban railways now, one diesel, one electric. Seeing me photographing the platforms from the ticket barrier, a young man lets me through to get a better view. But seeing what a thorough job I'm making of taking photographs, he follows me and politely asks me to stop. "Security" he mutters in Spanish. But I thank him for his inital generosity.

Back to Plaza de Mayo in the centre to check out the old buildings of Casa Rosada, but there's a lot of building work going on making it difficult to see much. A visit to the nearby cathedral and then I walk along the pedestrianised Florida, lined with shops and street sellers, ten blocks to my hotel. Quick shower, finish packing and, hopefully, post this.

Click for Buenos Aires photographs
Clck for Buenos Aires railway and 'Subte' photographs

American Airlines to Argentina

The American Airlines 777 has seating 2-3-2 in business class. The flight is very full. The seat adjustments fooled me for a bit, cos it's old style without electric motors to move things! Individual video screens swing out of the seat arm. They supply an excellent Bose QC3 headphone. Even if you don't want to listen, the reduction in engine noise when wearing them is impressive. The cabin service is friendly, the food excellent. We pushed back about on time at 10:10 p.m. but spent about 45 minutes working our way to the runway, because of the number of departures around this time. It was already dark when we left but they served a good dinner before subduing the lights and expecting us all to go to sleep. I watched a couple of episodes of CSI:New York. Incidentally, whilst I was in New York, I was surprised to see major poster advertising all over the subway for CSI:NY.

It's quite a long flight - well over 10 hours, made longer by our delayed take-off. Some people deliberately take night flights to economise on hotel bills. For me, it's more convenience of timing, plus maximising daylight time at the places I visit. They served a good breakfast about 90 minutes before landing at the surprisingly small international airport in Buenos Aires. Then we stand for ten minutes or so waiting for another flight to leave the stand. Arrival formalities are surprisingly brief, my bag turns up after about 10 minutes, so I'm soon in the terminal, where I find the lady from the tour company and the driver for the 30 minute drive into the city.

I've liked American Airlines before and this trip was also good.

Sunday in New York

Up early and decided to walk to the East River to look at the United Nations buildings. The gardens and buildings are closed up at the weekends (perhaps nations are only united five days a week). Again, a very cold, bright day. Walk past the Chrysler Building, look at the New York Library and continue to the Empire State. The books warn about waiting for hours to go up it but, at 8.30 on a Sunday morning, there's no delay and I decide to go to the 86 floor observatory. One lift gets to the 80th in 50 seconds: a second lift does the remaining 6 floors in about 10 seconds. There's maybe 50 people up there - all very pleasant and better photo opportunities than in the helicopter. You can go to, I think, the 106th. I didn't go, 'cos I didn't find out 'till I was up there and they couldn't re-ticket. But I very much enjoyed the visit, which was very well organised with lots of very friendly staff.

Then catch the subway North and walk to 'The Met'. This Art Gallery and Museum has some stunning exhibits which go on and on. I only spent a couple of hours there but you could spend days. The Egyptian exhibits were excellent and they've a mouth-watering selection of paintings but there's so much there. Then, a brief walk in Central Park and subway back to the hotel to shower and check out. They'd given me a late checkout 'till 1 p.m., after which they charge. They charge for everything, and quite generously, too. With my luggage in store, a light lunch, a bit of Internet work in the business centre (they charge) and then off to see more.

Another place I've known about since my childhood is Coney Island, so I went there by Subway (although the line I went on eventually becomes elevated, so there's more to see). All the rides and most of the shops were shut and it was cold but sunny so the people were outnumbered by the rather large seagulls. But, of course, I thought it was wonderful. To stand on the Boardwalk, to walk on the sands. Then a different route back to Manhatten, check out Union Square, back to the hotel to pick up my luggage and a taxi out to JFK. Lots of traffic on the roads but my terminal was, thankfully, deserted. Friendly check in, then on to the Admiral's Club (the American Airlines' business lounge) where the excellent internet facilities are free.

And so, gentle reader, you are more or less up to date with my exploits. I could go on at length about the New Yorkers, generally loud and in-yer-face but I liked 'em. I could dwell on the buildings - even modest buildings from the '20s and '30s have some thoughtful detailing which I find very engaging and there is, of course, a plethora of major, iconic buildings. But, I'll think a little before I pontificate. I hadn't realised how many of the place names and even street names are known to all of us. How wonderful to see the originals and start to grasp how it all connects up. When I arrived, I was daunted at the size of the place but it's a reasonably structured layout and the street naming conventions mean that you quickly gain the confidence to go places.

Click for my New York photos

New York City Transit Museum

There's a very decent museum covering the history and building of the New York subways and bus system, situated in Brooklyn. On Saturday afternoon, I did my 'subway route bashing' in the direction of Brooklyn so that I could visit the Museum. Imaginatively, the museum is located in a disused subway station, so the entrance is steps down from a street corner, just like most subway station entrances (and as immortalised in countless films!). The circulating area one floor down, still with original wall tiles, houses all sorts of transport-related exhibits and the island passenger platform two floors down holds about 20 large exhibits on the two flanking tracks. These large exhibits are mainly examples of various subway cars as used over the years. Unlike a lot of museums, you can walk through and sit in all the cars. Being the weekend, there were lots of parents with children. Noisy from time to time, but anything that gets young people interested in railways is a good thing!

Click for my pictures of the Museum and NYC Transit

Saturday in New York

Got up about 05:45, buffet breakfast, purchase a Day Ticket for the Subway and go downtown one stop to Grand Central. This is another place you've known about for years and it was good to get there at last. It's been re-furbished over the last few years and looks splendid. Every internal surface is polished granite, the whole place is airy and spacious. You might find the 'Beaux Arts' style of architecture a bit over the top, but I love it. Wait 'till you see my pictures!

Eventually caught the subway to Bowling Green and walked past the Ferry Terminal to Pier 6, which is the heliport you must have seen in films. Very strict security but eventually 5 of us were loaded into a helicopter for a quick tour. Interesting but a bit sedate - not even in my top 5 helicopter flights but I'm always pleased to fly!

After the flight, walked back to look at the delightful old Staten Island Ferry Terminal. Although terribly cold, it had turned into a crystal-clear sunny day, so I couldn't resist a trip on the Staten Island ferry when it's not dark and not raining. This time, I disembarked and went a little way down the Island on its own railway, all on the surface. The Island is connected to Brooklyn by the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. This is the second one, the first being famous for having shaken itself to pieces on film. The rail trip gave good views of this impressive construction, but I couldn't fit in a trip over it. Getting a bit tired, so return to hotel for shower.

Late Saturday afternoon, I was off again to use up all the daylight. I went to Brooklyn on the Subway and visited the NYC Transit Museum then I checked out the suburban terminus of the Long Island Rail Road (there's a surprise). After dark, I went to have a look at the Port Authority Bus Terminal, which is modern. It's HUGE. New York is a strange mixture of old and new juxtaposed. I ended up walking at the North End of Central park, towards Harlem and when I had trouble finding my subway station, it's the only time I felt worried. Although I'm startled when strangers address me, it's always been a friendly comment or, on about seven occasions asking directions about the subway (I managed to help each time). Only my second day in New York but already I feel at home here.

Click for my New York photos

New York

I'm staying at the Waldorf Astoria in Park Lane. This is another of the famous Art Deco style hotels which I tend to look at. The public rooms are grand and the facilities and fittings are fine but it doesn't quite do it for me. American rooms always seem small and low ceilinged. First order of business was a shower then curiosity about the city got the better of me and I decided to go out exploring. The cab ride in from the airport had shown me that New York is large, scruffy and tall. City centre streets are like canyons because the buildings, even the older ones, are invariably tall.

The hotel directed me to the nearest subway station which I found without difficulty, but purchasing a ticket proved a little harder. Although there are staff in booths, tickets are dispensed by machines which only give limited change. Since I'd have lost out if I'd used a twenty dollar bill, I first walked a block to a Pharmacy (more like a small supermarket) and got change by buying a block of Cadbury's Dairy Milk. Incidentally, in the USA Cadbury's is made by Hershey. It tasted very good, but was nothing like Cadbury's at home. At last, armed with a day ticket, I set off downtown. I'll try to keep the 'railway talk' for another post. The system appears run-down but very well-used. It was the Friday afternoon start of rush hour. My train terminated at City Hall so I came 'up top' and decided to walk for a while. Boy, it was cold! Puddles of water were freezing. To the East, I got my first view of Brooklyn Bridge but I walked South on Broadway, skirting the Wall Street financial district, and headed towards Battery Park. By this time, it was raining and starting to get dark. The street vendors around Battery Park were packing up to go and what I took to be the last sightseeing boat of the day was docking. Looking out over New York Harbour, I was struck by the similarities with Liverpool. The Statue of Liberty was visible, with the light in the torch. It was quite moving.

The esplanade took me towards the East River and a large modern building which turned out to be the new terminal for the Staten Island Ferry. Years ago, I saw pictures of the Staten Island Ferry and so I was keen to try it out. I was even more keen when I discovered it's a free ferry!

There were hundreds of people waiting to board but they're large ferries and I got on without difficulty. The ferries are 'double ended' with two wheelhouses to minimise manoevring at the dock. A few keen types moved to the small open deck that would become the bow when we left, and I joined them, at the price of getting a little wet. The experience of crossing New York Harbour in the gathering dark, passing fairly close to Governor's Island, Ellls Island and the Statue of Liberty was worth a little dampness. After twenty minutes, we were docking at Staten Island. They've built a posh new terminal here, as well.

I disembarked but, feeling a little tired and damp, went back into the departure side and queued to catch the same ferry back. I had another great, but damp, trip. Manhatten looked like a mirage in the rain - the dark sky suffused with an orange glow and the faint outline of tall buildings drifting in and out of view. When we docked, I decided to have a hot chocolate drink at a takeaway in the terminal building. The very nice lady who served me said "Where y' from? You've got a great accent - just like Katherine Hepburn!". I didn't know whether to be insulted or flattered, so I settled on flattered.

I caught a 'One Train' from South Ferry Subway Station which is part of the ferry terminal (or will be when all the building work in progress is completed). I got off at 34th Street to look at Pennsylvania Station. The terminal building has been rebuilt but the 'tracks' (we'd say 'platforms') are largely unchanged. I looked at a couple of New Jersey Transit trains before continuing North on Seventh, past Macy's to Times Square. It was still raining hard but Times Square was full of tourists. The sheer amount of light from all the advertising displays was amazing. For blocks around, the sky is light like a false dawn from all the diffused light. Finally, I walked East to Grand Central and made my way back to the hotel, to sleep a little before more fun on Saturday.

My New York pictures.

Atlantic Crossing

We board via gate 10 but instead of the usual airbridge, we walk down a long ramp and stairs to travel on a fleet of buses to an outside stand where our 747, 'Charlie Victor' is waiting. I'm on the upper deck, in business class. This aircraft has been re-vamped as 'New Club World'. The paired 'love-seat' arrangement I've previously remarked on is retained but the seats are new and restyled and the electric recline now gives a completely flat bed when required. The table is larger and there's a new entertainment system which offers video-on-demand with 22 new release films, 25 older films and scores of other things, all controlled by a touch screen and provided with a high-quality noise-cancelling headset.

Soon after take-off, the ground is lost beneath cloud. By the time this clears, we're already over the Irish Sea. As usual, I watch, fascinated, from our vantage point six miles high as we run along the Irish coast, pass overhead Cork and finally leave land behind near Killarney. Now we settle in to the Great Circle track across the Atlantic, travelling at five hundred miles an hour.

After drinks (I stick to my customary orange juice), they serve a reasonable meal. I have Buffalo Mozzarella cheese with salad as the starter, followed by salmon fish cakes with parsley and caper sauce. The dessert is creme caramel with poached sultanas and it's excellent. The cup of tea, by contrast, is foul. I decide to watch 'The Queen' with Helen Mirren and enjoy it. The only time I get to see new releases is when I'm on an aircraft.

As I write this, we're about midway across the Atlantic in bright sun, fluffy white clouds below and blue sky above. A lot of the passengers are taking their post-prandial siesta in the comfort of our cabin but outside the air temperature is 50 degrees below zero.

Later in the flight, as we approach Newfoundland with about 1200 miles left to run, they serve a little tub of ice cream - not any ice cream but Purbeck Award Winning ice cream. In the old propeller aircraft days, most transatlantic flights would stagger into Gander, Newfoundland to refuel but now, it's just a name on the map displaying our progress. For a while, I can see the broken sheet ice as we skirt the coast, before low-level cloud obscures the view.

Soon we're landing at a rather grey JFK and disembarking. There's a queue at immigration but it doesn't take too long and the immigration officer is friendly. By this time, my luggage has arrived on the carousel and customs formalities take only moments. I decide I'm too tired to do anything but sit in a taxi and within minutes I'm on my way to the hotel in a yellow cab.

Click for photos of Heathrow prior to departure

The Game's Afoot!

Greetings from Heathrow Terminal 4! A new adventure starts! Well, I've got as far as the British Airways Lounge, having checked in on the BA175 to New York so, as you'd expect, not much has happened yet. As possible, I'll try to update you as the journey unfolds. The hardest parts were actually getting packed and then leaving my dog, Tai. But, now I'm committed, I'm starting to feel a tinge of anticipation. I'm not really a natural traveller: I have to screw myself up to actually go anywhere but, when I do, I normally arrange a fairly packed programme so that there's no chance of me getting bored. This trip is another round-the-world, mainly Southern hemisphere job, once again heading West.

We are now so blase about long-distance air travel but this kind of journey would not have been possible for my father and would have been incredible to my grandfather. What a shame that mankind's technical mastery of the skies has not been matched in other areas of human endeavour where we seem to learn so little over the centuries. We now have the additional guilt that these very flights are believed by many (but not all) scientists to be destroying our environment. Some years ago, I acquired a small area of woodland and I like to think that the carbon dioxide being absorbed by the crop is "offsetting" the damage my travels may produce.

My First Flight

In the 1960s, we'd been designing digital selective call equipment for use in Private Mobile Radio equipment. Our client, Gerry Gardner, was a wonderful character with his own firm in Canterbury. He was bidding on a large contract for Lancashire Constabulary and he'd decided to charter a light aircraft to take him up North for a meeting. I was never sure whether it was a desire to avoid the long car journey, impress the Client or a bit of both. I was pleased, because he offered to land at the small airfield at Wolverhampton en route to pick me up.

Light aircraft can fly under two regimes: Visual Flight Rules (VFR) or Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). The aircraft Gerry had chartered was only equipped for VFR, so the flight could only go ahead if the weather conditions met the 'Minima', the worst case conditions under which VFR flight is allowed. On the appointed day, the forecast for the en-route weather was poor, so plans were deferred to the following day. The weather was even worse that day, resulting in plans being re-arranged for the following Monday. Originally, we'd intended to fly to the airfield near Preston used for test flying of military aircraft, but it was not available on the Monday, for some reason, so the destination was altered to Squires Gate, Blackpool.

On Monday, I confirmed by telephone that the flight would take place, then made my way to the local airfield, Pendeford. Aircraft maintenance work was going on in the hangar, but I was concerned to be told "The 'field's not open on Mondays, 'cos there's no ATCO on duty". With no Air Traffic Control Officer, there was nobody to answer the radio or pass the local conditions to an incoming aircraft. Not feeling very optimistic, I decided to hang around and see what happened. On schedule, an aircraft could be heard approaching from the South. The aircraft made a complete circuit at low level and then landed on the grass runway. When it taxied to a stop, I approached the aircraft, a single-engined Beech with the distinctive Beech V-tail, and was relieved to see my customer sitting next to the pilot.

I was soon installed in the seat at the back of the small cabin and we took off and headed North. The pilot explained that, when he got no response on the radio, he did a low level circuit to physically check that it was safe to land and then 'let down'. I was astonished at the informality, but delighted I'd not missed my flight. I was so fascinated with the aerial views of the landscape, I didn't even think about being frightened. I was amazed at just how much detail on the ground could be made out - a cross between a highly-detailed model and an Ordnance Survey map. Nowadays, people are more used to aerial views and we have access to tools like Google Earth but to me, back in the 1960s, the flight was a stunning experience.

Well, we arrived safely, travelled the last few miles by road to the meeting and made our presentation but by the time we returned to Squires Gate, the sky had darkened and a storm threatened. The pilot said conditions were still acceptable, provided we took off without delay. As we taxied, the small aircraft was buffeted by the wind and then the lightning started! In our exposed position each lightning strike was clearly visible and accompanied by a loud 'crack' from the radio on the cabin loudspeaker. We couldn't hear the actual thunder for the noise of the engine at 'take-off revs' as we bounced down the runway and took off.

After a few minutes, we'd passed out of the storm and continued South in pleasant evening conditions. However, low cloud made it hard for the pilot to pick out landmarks and I was not sure whether he was joking when he said he was not exactly sure where we were. Looking down, I could easily recognise the town of Stafford and the railway line running through it. I pointed this out and added "If you follow that railway line branching to the right, it will lead you to Wolverhampton". So that's what we did. Once we got in the vicinity of Wolverhampton, the pilot spotted the airfield and was able to land safely, drop me off, then take off to complete his journey South. Despite the "alarums and excursions" of the day, I was thoroughly taken with the business of flying and I've since taken every opportunity to fly in aircraft, large and small.

And the contract? Yes, we got it, giving rise to lots more experiences.

Lionsmeet 2002

The 'Lion' supporters group, the Old Locomotive Committee (or, more simply, OLCO), holds a competition for live-steam models of 'Lion' every year. This report originally appeared in the Old Locomotive Committee newsletter 'Lionsheart'.

In 2002, Lionsmeet was held at Bromsgrove SME. The host club extended the usual warm welcome to OLCO members and the weather was very hot. Only the traffic congestion on the M5 and adjacent roads detracted somewhat from what proved an excellent location. It’s always sad that so few of our membership are able to attend Lionsmeet. Ownership of a model is by no means necessary and attendees are assured of a rewarding day, whatever their interests.

Bromsgrove SME lies in a rural location on the edge of town, adjacent to the Avoncroft Museum of Buildings. The museum is worth a visit in its own right. Together with a wide assortment of re-erected historic buildings, it houses the National Telephone Kiosk Collection and working telephone exchanges! The Birmingham – Bristol main line lies a few hundred yards away and the day was punctuated with the sounds of passing trains. Particularly noticeable were the HS125’s taking a run at the Lickey incline.

The multi-gauge elevated track lies in mature grounds with elaborate covered steaming bays, a substantial station and adjacent clubroom. The original oval track has recently been lengthened into a dumb-bell shape, with a 6 m.p.h. limit currently on the new track. Running is anti-clockwise with a colour light home signal at the approach to the station and a colour light platform starting signal leaving the station. The home signal also has a calling-on aspect for bringing trains into an already-occupied station. Because the all-over station roof impairs the visibility of the starting signal, there is a banner repeater signal under the station roof. Opening the gates to the platform area automatically places the signals at danger and there is a ‘Train Ready to Start’ switch for the station staff which illuminates an ‘R’ sign adjacent to the starting signal. The site slopes down from North to South, so the line through the station is downhill in the direction of running whilst the "back straight" is "collar work".

The passenger cars are substantial bogie vehicles in ‘Inter City’ livery, weighing in at 300 lbs each and provided with vacuum brakes and battery-powered exhausters. When not in use, they are stored adjacent to the station. An overhead crane is used to lift each car from storage, traverse it above the running track and lower it onto the rails.

The parallel steaming bays are connected by a traverser to a "shed road" which runs to the station parallel to the running track. At the station, another traverser moves the locomotive across to the running track, but a few inches above it. Finally, a re-railing ramp is used to get the locomotive from the traverser to the running track. This means that the running track rails are unbroken, avoiding problems of ensuring accurate alignment when a conventional traverser is used.

In addition, there is a separate elevated ‘garden railway’ of 16mm and gauge 1 with some fearful looking mixed gauge pointwork. In the afternoon a variety of radio-controlled live steam models performed on this track.

As you may readily imagine, on public days hundreds of passengers can be carried. Lionsmeet, however, was arranged as a private event, although a number of museum visitors came to watch the proceedings. There were plenty of members of the host club present and beverages and snacks were available in the clubhouse. OLCO stalwart David Neish was an early arrival, accompanied by his son, Andrew. Jon Swindlehurst had brought his ‘Lion’. Frank Jones, our host at Bromsgrove, was fielding his own ‘Lion’. This had been completed and received its first boiler certificate only days before, so Lionsmeet was the "running in turn" for this brand new locomotive! Later, Alan Bibby arrived. Last year Alan won Lionsmeet at Leyland SME and Alan was keen to defend his title. Another Bromsgrove SME member had his unfinished ‘Lion’ on display.

As usual, informal running took place in the morning. This is when competitors can "learn the road" and develop strategies for the later competition running. We were treated to the usual exciting spectacle of diminuitive locomotives whizzing round at improbable speeds. Frank Jones’ locomotive performed so well that he very kindly allowed a number of lucky OLCO members and Bromsgrove SME members to take her for a spin. The writer was only prised from Frank’s engine with some difficulty. For a "fresh off" she ran really sweetly – a tribute to Frank’s engineering skills. Although some test running was carried out using a driving trolley and a single passenger car, the trailing weight combined with the curvature and adverse gradient made running rather uncertain. In the competition, all competitors elected to haul only a driving trolley and a second driving trolley for the observer. As a consequence, the winner would effectively be the competitor who achieved the greatest distance run in 10 minutes. As David Neish commented, this meant the driver who was prepared to exceed the 6 m.p.h. speed restriction by the largest amount.

Frank Jones was the first to compete and, as usual, started with a trial circuit. He elected to run with the Dynamometer car and a passenger car. On the falling grade leaving the station, he quickly worked speed up to 7.5 mph. However, on the left-hander over the bridge and the rising gradient to the back straight, speed fell until he stalled completely. A push start allowed him to bring the train back to the station, where the load was reduced to the dynamometer car and a driving trailer for the observer. The initial circuit had clocked up 4,500 work done and a distance of 1200 feet. His 10 minute trial started at 2:35:45 and speed was quickly worked up to 8mph, falling to 7mph over the bridge and 6.5mph on the back straight. The first circuit was completed in just over 2 minutes and the station passed at around 8mph. Peak speed recorded was about 9mph. Matters continued well until the observer’s driving trolley derailed on the right hander leading into the new extension. After a quick examination, the trolley was re-railed and the run continued with less than a minute lost. At the end of the ten minutes, John Hawley determined that an allowance could be made for the lost time, but, even with this allowance, Frank did not do enough work to take the trophy. But he has built a very fine ‘Lion’ which we hope to see running in the next LIONSMEET!

Next, Alan Bibby came onto the running track for his warm-up lap and started his timed run with the same load as Frank and producing a similar drawbar pull of around ten pounds. Alan held quite a constant speed, generally between 7.5 and 8mph. Work done comfortably exceeded Frank’s performance.

The third contestant was Jon Swindlehurst, again with the same load and similar drawbar pull. Fairly constant speeds around 8 or 9mph were sustained and his work done figure was higher than Alan’s.

David Neish came next and, dispensing with a warm-up lap, immediately started his timed run. After three laps, speeds of 10mph were being seen and, after 10 minutes, the results gave a strong result for David.

The locomotive was then handed over to Andrew Neish, who was the final competitor. With a well warmed-through steed, Andrew made good times and speeds of 10mph were seen on the second lap. Although the observer had some uneasy moments on the lightweight vehicle, knowing it had ‘come off’ once, we didn’t derail (an unbraked vehicle at the rear of a train on the ‘big railway’ is often referred to as a ‘swinger’ – quite appropriate) and, at the end of the measured period, Andrew had just managed to beat his father’s performance, winning LIONSMEET, I think, for the first time.

The necessity for competitors to run with similar loads took out some of the gamesmanship which is usually a feature of the competition but it was, nonetheless, a stirring performance by all the entrants.

Railway signalling: Deepfields

Larger version of diagram

Deepfields was one of the Stour Valley signal boxes I worked unofficially in the 1960s. Bloomfield Junction was the next box towards Birmingham (left of diagram), Spring Vale Sidings the next box in the Wolverhampton direction (right of box diagram). It was a standard ex-L.N.W. box with a brick base. At that time, Deepfields box was only open during the day and "switched out" at night.

On the up side of the line at Sprng Vale lay a steelworks usually referred to as 'Stewarts and Lloyds'. This complex extended along the line almost to Deepfields and gave rise to varied railway traffic in and out. The 'third line' on the Spring Vale side of Deepfields was an up and down permissive block goods line. 'Permissive' meant that a second, or subsequent, goods train could be admitted onto the occupied line. The 'fourth line' on the Spring Vale side gave access to a fan of sidings which extended to Spring Vale. There was no block signalling on these sidings and the connection at the Deepfields end was very rarely used.

Most of the running signals were upper quadrant semaphores but the Up Starter (lever 39) was a multiple-aspect colour light. Deepfields cleared it from red to yellow and then Bloomfield Junction cleared the signal from yellow to green as his distant signal. Occupation and clearance of the track circuit in the rear of the signal automatically put the signal back to 'Red', even with the lever still reverse in the frame. Similarly, Bloomfield's Down Starter had been replaced by a colour light so Deepfields' Down Distant lever 1 changed Bloomfield's colour light from yellow to green.

The lever sequence for trains on the Up Main was 40, 39 and 41 and finally 42. The top six inches of lever 39 had been removed, as a reminder to signalmen not to take a swing at it, because the only action of this lever was to work an electrical contact box under the floor. In contrast, the inner distant lever 41 and outer distant lever 42 needed a good pull to get the weight bars "off".

The lever sequence for trains on the down line was 2, 3, 4 and 1. Lever 1 was shortened, being the colour light.

The block shelf mounted two Fletcher's 'DN' absolute block instruments of ex-L.N.W. pattern, plus a third special block instrument for the permissive bi-directional up and down goods line. Although this instrument had two block indicator needles, only one could be used at a time, according to whether the train was 'coming' or 'going'. In addition, the commutator which allowed the block to be set at 'LINE CLEAR', 'TRAIN ON LINE' or, when not in use, 'LINE CLOSED' also included a mechanical reminder device which displayed the total number of trains in the section in a small window.

There were lots of points of interest in both the layout and operation at Deepfields and you can read more at 'Deepfields in Detail'.

Railway signalling: Bloomfield Junction

Larger version of diagram

Bloomfield Junction is another of the boxes I worked regularly under supervision in the 1960s. It was on the Stour Valley, with Deepfields the next box towards Wolverhampton (left of diagram), Tipton the next box in the Birmingham direction (right of box diagram) and Tipton Curve Junction the next box on the branch (top right of the diagram). It was a very tall ex-L.N.W. box with a two-storey brick base. The height was because the Great Western line from Priestfield Junction to Dudley crossed over the Stour Valley line just on the Birmingham side of the box. The extra height meant that the signalman was given a good view of the double-track junction he controlled.

At that time, Deepfields box closed at night and the block section then extended to Spring Vale Sidings box. On the branch, with only a freight service, Tipton Curve Junction was only open as required. When this box was closed, trains could run off and onto the branch at Tipton but every train for Deepfields direction required the Porter-Signalman to walk from Tipton to Tipton Curve to open the box. This arrangement, as the name implies, meant that most of the shift was taken up with porter's duties at Tipton Owen Street station, with brief sorties to Tipton Curve Junction box when necessary. There was often a lady on this duty.

In addition to controlling access to the branch, there were both up and down sidings. The South Staffordshire Wagon company on the up side generated a reasonable traffic in wagon repairs. On the down side, the canal wharves had originally been served from the former Great Western line but, by the time I was there, the extensive sidings were served via a connection from our Number 2 Down Siding. Various freight trip workings were booked to call and shunt Bloomfield as required. I remember T312 and T208 (the Tipton Shunt) particularly.

Most of the running signals were upper quadrant semaphores. However, the down starter (lever 42) was a multiple-aspect colour light. We cleared it from red to yellow and then Deepfields cleared the signal from yellow to green as his distant signal. Occupation and clearance of the track circuit in the rear of the signal automatically put the signal back to 'Red', even with the lever still reverse in the frame. Similarly, Deepfields' Up Starter had been replaced by a colour light. In this case our Up Distant lever 1 changed Deepfields' colour light from yellow to green.

The lever sequence for trains on the Up Main was 2, 3 and finally 1. The top six inches of lever 1 had been removed, as a reminder to signalmen not to take a swing at it, because the only action of this lever was to work an electrical contact box under the floor. The lever sequence for normal down trains was 44, 42, 45 and 46. Lever 42 was shortened, being the colour light. Levers 45 and 46 worked weight bars some distance away and practice was needed to make the electrical repeaters move to the 'OFF' position. Too often, the repeaters would hang in the 'WRONG' position, meaning that the distant signal was imperfectly shown, merely "cocked" rather than pointing up through 45 degrees.

The block shelf running the length of the lever frame at shoulder height carried three absolute block instruments of ex-L.N.W. 'Fletcher's Double Needle' pattern. This old-fashioned design combined the block indicator for the section ahead (controlled from the box in advance), the block indicator for the section in rear on the opposite line, our switch (or commutator) for setting the block indicator and the single-stroke bell with 'tapper'. Many railways used three units - "non-pegging" indicator, "pegging" indicator and bell but the L.N.W., with economy and elegance, had integrated them from an early date. In large boxes with a number of block instruments, the Fletcher 'DN' reduced the 'clutter' on the block shelf. Bloomfield had just three block instruments, communicating with Deepfields, Tipton Curve and Tipton boxes. The gongs of the single-stroke bells were all a different size, so as to produce different tones. A signalman could recognise which box was calling from a single 'Call Attention' beat.

I spent many happy times working this box and watching the trains go by. Even as the engineering work started to electrify the line, I could not imagine how completely a way of life would shortly be swept away.

Railway Signalling: Watery Lane

Larger version of diagram

In the late 1950s, I was a frequent vistor at Watery Lane signal box on the Stour Valley Line from Birmingham to Wolverhampron. Mond Gas Company's Siding was the next box towards Birmingham (left of diagram). However, this box was only open as required, so more usually the block section was Watery Lane to Dudleyport. In the Wolverhampton direction (right of diagram), Tipton was the next box. On the Birmingham side of the box, there were four lines, Up Goods, Up Main, Down Main, Down Goods. At Watery Lane, these four lines converged into two.

On the Tipton side of the box, Watery Lane controlled access to sidings on both the down side and up side. The up sidings remained busy well into the 1960's. A large, electric overhead travelling crane was provided over part of the sidings for loading and unloading and the yard enjoyed the services of a resident shunting locomotive, diagram T206. This was usually a Drewry 206 h.p. diesel mechanical shunter but occasionally a 350 h.p. diesel electric shunter was rostered. This shunter, in addition to making up wagons to be collected by the various steam-hauled pick-up freights which called during the day and positioning arriving wagons for loading or unloading, would also make the occasional foray to Bloomfield Junction or the Tip Siding at Tipton Curve. After a week of this duty, the shunter would go back to the motive power depot for refuelling and servicing, to either return or be replaced by a similar locomotive.

Watery Lane was an L.M.S. built 'A.R.P'. box, brick-built with a massive flat concrete roof, designed to be more resistant to bombing than conventional boxes. It had an L.M.S. standard lever frame on the side away from the track. These frames stood about 18 inches above the floor and all the interlocking was contained in flat trays protruding to the rear of the frame. The design was significantly more compact than the massive L.N.W. frames and was based on the standard Midland Railway frame.

The block shelf mounted two Fletcher's 'DN' absolute block instruments of ex-L.N.W. pattern for the main lines. The left one communicated with Mond Gas Company's Siding box or, when this box was switched out, Dudleyport. The right hand block instrument communicated with Tipton box. A third instrument on the far left controlled the Up and Down Goods Lines. This was a Fletcher's 'DN' permissive block instrument with a mechanical reminder device to show the current number of trains on the Down Goods Line in a small window. By the time I was a visitor, it was unusual for this reminder to even reach a count of '2'!

The next box at Tipton was permanently manned because it controlled the level crossing gates in Owen Street which were normally open for road traffic and had to be 'swung' for each train. Watery Lane also had a level crossing but, in this case, the gates were normally open for rail traffic. It was just as well that the gates rarely had to be opened for road traffic because there were four heavy gates controlled from a 'ships wheel', requiring considerable effort to wind them across. The level crossing also had a two of 'wicket' gates for pedestrians These gates were normally left unlocked and were in frequent use. Each gate was controlled by a brown lever in the frame. As each train approached, pulling the brown lever reverse in the frame would close the wicket (if it had been left open) and lock it shut. Having locked the wickets, it was common to hear shouting from below as an impatient pedestrian argued to be let across to avoid the delay. The problem, if the signalman took pity on the pedestrian, was that other pedestrians would rush to get through the gate as well. Even worse, opening the wicket on the other side of the crossing to let a pedestrian out would allow others to start crossing in the opposite direction. It could be stressful for the signalman!

We're sure to return here!

Working in Holland

When I was establishing my firm, some of my friends had jobs where they always seemed to be jetting off around the world and, I admit, I was occasionally envious. When, infrequently, I flew somewhere, I was always filled with great excitement and I wondered what it would be like to become blase with the process. In the 1980s, I had an opportunity to become a 'frequent flier' when the multinational giant, Philips, invited me to provide technical and training assistance on their initiative to secure railway telecommunications work. This initiative was based on their cable company in Holland.

This company had long-established facilities for making all types of complex copper telecommunications cables but heavy investment in optical fibre research had also make them one of the world leaders in this emerging technology. Nowadays, of course, optical transmission is everywhere, relied upon by computer networks, the internet, cable television and telephony. Back then, you got the sense of being at the 'leading edge'. I tried to help them with understanding the rather curious requirements of railway telecommunications systems and finding ways of adapting their existing products to be able to put together a well-engineered package. My firm had other commitments, of course, so I promised two days a week in Holland.

It worked like this. Every Tuesday, I was up early and my partner drove me to East Midlands Airport where I would check-in for the one hour flight by F27 turbo-prop to Schipol. A walk would take me to the railway station to catch a train to Utrecht. Here I'd change for a second train to Alphen-am-der-Rhein. Here I caught a local train, alighting at my destination, Waddinxveen. A walk of about a mile brought me to the offices where I arrived around 10.30 a.m. I'd work all day, stay late to make up for my late arrival, then walk to the station, catch a train and walk to my hotel. Next morning, I'd be in the office early, work all day then return to Schipol (three trains, again) and catch the evening flight back to East Midlands Airport, where my partner would meet me. I kept this up for 28 weeks and loved every minute of it, but I was a lot younger then! The experience didn't succeed in making me bored with air travel and I still sit glued to the window as if it's my first flight!

I met some wonderful people working in Holland and had some great times. One day, I'll tell you more.

Lionsmeet 2001

The 'Lion' supporters group, the Old Locomotive Committee (or, more simply, OLCO), holds a competition for live-steam models of 'Lion' every year. This report originally appeared in the Old Locomotive Committee newsletter 'Lionsheart'.

Lionsmeet 2001 was held at the home of Leyland SME in Worden Park, Leyland, near Preston. Leyland SME was originally Preston SME, re-christened when they re-located to their present home. Lionsmeet used the multi-gauge raised track arranged in the form of a folded dumbell continuous track. There is also a ground level track which extends across the parkland. Ultimately, it is intended that the ground level track will extend to the main gate of the park. The raised track is situated in a fenced-off, wooded area and is well-appointed with clubhouse, carriage sheds and workshop. Running is anti-clockwise, with automatic colour light signals in the vicinity of the clubhouse. Adjacent to the clubhouse, there is a multi-track traverser giving access to the continuous track from the various sidings and steaming bays. The steaming bays radiate from a splendid turntable which goes up and down, as well as round and round, to allow the steaming bays themselves to be at a more convenient height for preparation and disposal. These splendid facilities were complemented by a particularly warm welcome from the host club members and splendid catering facilities to ensure a successful event before any locomotive even turned a wheel!

During the morning, there was the usual practice running of the various models. Any ‘Lion’ is always attractive to watch, with the outside flycranks and coupling rods in view and we were treated to some fine running and high speeds. David Neish’s massive tank locomotive ‘Bessborough’ (not in steam on that day) was on display on one of the sidings and was universally admired for its fine workmanship. I imagined that this handsome locomotive surveyed the proceedings with some disdain as the diminuitive ‘Lion’ models rushed around the track. Practice running was followed by the serious business of lunch and then John Hawley summoned the competitors to prepare their locomotives to compete for the Mike Parrott Memorial Cup.

I’d accepted the role of Observer, not realising that the weather was going to deteriorate during the contest. However, since I always tell people "Anyone can work on an engine in good weather; it takes a railwayman to work in bad", I refrained from complaining too much.

Leyland SME had hosted IMLEC 2000, so we were following in illustrious footsteps. The start and finish for IMLEC 2000 had been the passenger station some distance from the clubhouse on level track, followed by a stretch of 1 in 250 down. Lionsmeet runs started adjacent to the clubhouse, then over the traverser followed by a left-hand curve, initially on the level then at 1 in 200 uphill. After turning through around 270 degrees, there is a gentle right-hand curve on the level where speed can be built up before tackling an adverse 1 in 100 on a tightening right-hander. There’s then a long, fast level, before entering another 270 degree left-hander, much of it rising at 1 in 250. The straight, level section through the station could be taken at speed before the final, descending left-hander at 1 in 250. The circuit is completed by a short, level section and then 1 in 125 down to the clubhouse. The starting point for Lionsmeet was to prove significant, as all competitors had some problems making a clean start on the left-hand curve with the adverse grade, particularly as the rain became heavier.

First to go was last year’s winner, Alan Bibby, competing on his home track and with a shrewdly-judged load of 3 adults and one child. On the uphill sections, Alan was developing a drawbar pull of about 20 pounds, producing speeds around 5 m.p.h. On the easier sections, around 10 pounds pull gave speeds varying from 8 to 9.5 m.p.h. In the allowed ten minutes, Alan completed four laps with his chosen load, giving the remaining competitors a hard target to beat.

Jon Swindlehurst went next and his Lion, worked hard, developed around 20 pounds pull and 5 m.p.h. uphill and a maximum of 8.5 m.p.h. elsewhere. The standard technique for taking on water on the move was for a ‘water boy’ to pass a plastic water container to the driver as he passed. On his third lap, Jon was unfortunate enough to ‘drop the catch’ on the first attempt. Priming started to affect the running on the fourth lap and the time ran out before the lap could be completed, leaving Jon with a very respectable work done figure.

Our new friend Don Howe then set off, initially with three adults, but the wet conditions on the railhead produced some slipping at the start. Don decided to reduce the load to two adults (as allowed by the rules) and got the train away. Maximum drawbar pull indicated was around 10 pounds, giving a speed of about 4 m.p.h. uphill and up to 7.5 m.p.h. elsewhere. On his second lap, as conditions worsened, slipping re-appeared and the locomotive stalled on a curved, rising grade. After a number of attempts to re-start Don decided to retire. We were all disappointed, particularly as Don had delighted us with some spirited practice running during the morning session.

Finally, as conditions became even worse, David Neish set off. To stand a chance of equalling Alan Bibby’s performance, the load was initially two adults and two children. This caused significant problems in getting the train away. Driving in such conditions is a mixture of understanding the way in which water lubricates the rail-wheel interface, reducing the maximum torque which can be applied without slippage, and skill in being able to produce that torque without slipping in order to overcome the rolling resistance of the load. David made a slow start and stalled a number of times. Even after reducing the load, it proved difficult to keep going. Maximum speed was 6.5 m.p.h. but curvature and adverse gradients induced further stalls. David tried setting back to get more favourable conditions for starting but, by this time, rain was dripping from the trees and onto the rails. Despite skilful efforts from David, he was unable to satisfactorily restart before the time ran out.

And so, Alan Bibby retained the trophy for a second year, after a fascinating demonstration of determination and expertise from all our competitors.

Railway signalling: Dudleyport

Click here for a larger version of the diagram

Back in the 1960s, Dudleyport was the largest of the boxes on the Stour Valley that I got to work. The mechanical box was situated on a double track main line using Absolute Block signalling. The next box to the left (the Birmingham direction) was Albion. The next box to the right was Mond Gas Company's Sidings, which was usually 'switched out' (closed), making the block section Dudleyport to Watery Lane. Between Dudleyport and Watery Lane there were also two additional goods line, paired by direction. The goods lines used Permissive Block signalling whereby a second (or subsequent) train could be allowed into an occupied section. The line diverging top right joined the South Stafford Line at Sedgley Junction, giving access to Dudley. This was also Absolute Block.

When the Stour Valley Line was constructed, it lay a few miles away from the important town of Dudley, so the branch was constructed to get passengers the rest of the way. The name 'Dudley-Port' indicates that your journey to Dudley was not quite over. The more usual euphemism was 'Road' - 'Clarbiston Road', for instance, was nowhere near the village. Although there were originally some through trains to Dudley, most passengers had to change onto the 'Dudley Dodger', a 'push-pull' or 'railmotor' train, which waited in the third platform. Passengers from Birmingham only had to cross the island platform to reach the 'Dodger' but, in the opposite direction, passengers from Dudley to Birmingham had to go through the subway to the up platform.

Although I remember push-pull fitted 2-6-2 tanks on the 'Dodger', by the early sixties when I got to work Dudleyport box, the service had reduced to a couple of trips a day operated by a single-car DMU, invariably called the 'Bubble Car'. Other DMUs worked the locals but, apart from some main-line diesels, trains were still steam-hauled.

The area had one other claim to fame - Palethorpes Sausage factory was only a short distance away. In 1896 this was the largest sausage producer in the world! Every afternoon, most of their production was loaded into their own railway vans at their private siding, brought up to Dudleyport and individual vehicles were attached to various expresses which stopped at Dudleyport for the purpose. In the morning, the empties would be returned and taken back to the Palethorpes siding. Under cost pressure from supermarkets, production was moved in 1967 to a new plant at Market Drayton.

All the points were mechanically operated, all the signals were semaphore, single wire operated, apart from the down distant. When Albion's down starting signal was converted to a colour light, Dudleyport controlled the change from yellow to green. One remarkable survivor was the platform starter from the bay platform, which was a lower-quadrant London and North Western signal with a wooden post. The main arm (lever 14) allowed trains onto the branch to Dudley. There were then two subsidiary semaphore arms mounted on brackets - the left one (lever 15) read to the carriage sidings, the right one (lever 16) read to the Down Goods.

Note that 'Up' and 'Down' on the branch were labelled to correspond with the South Stafford Line, which the branch joined at the next box, Sedgley Junction. Thus, a Down train on the main line turning left at Dudleyport would suddenly become an 'Up' train.

The box itself was a standard London and North Western design with a brick base and 70-lever frame. As was standard on the London and North Western and many railways, the frame was on the track side so that the signalman faced the tracks as he worked the levers. Continuous windows on the track side plus windows at each end of the box gave a view of movements outside. However, the block shelf above the levers partially obstructed the view and as more electrical equipment, such as signal light repeaters, was often added as time went on, visibility could be impaired. Later L.M.S. and British Rail practice was to place the frame away from the track so that, in theory, the view towards the track was less obstructed. Personally, I have always preferred the original arrangement.

Down trains on the main line required levers 2 (Home 1), 3 (Home 2 on the big wooden gantry spanning the main lines), 4 (starter on the large tubular post signal) and, finally, 1 (the distant). The top six inches of lever 1 had been removed, as a reminder to signalmen not to take a swing at it, because the only action of this lever was to work an electrical contact box under the floor.

Up trains on the main line required levers 69, 68, 67 and finally 70. Now this lever remained mechanical and certainly required some effort. The wire operated the weight bar for signal 70b, which was mounted underneath Mond Gas Company's Sidings signal. The wire then extended further to operate the weight bar for signal 70a, underneath Watery Lane's Up Starter. Electrical repeaters on the block shelf showed how successful you'd been at "giving the driver the back 'uns", that is, clearing the distant signals so that an approaching driver knew that all your signals were "Off". These repeaters could show 'ON' (signal arm horizontal, displaying a warning to an approaching train), 'OFF' (signal arm raised through 45 degrees) or just 'WRONG' which was somewhere in between the two valid positions.

>Matters obviously became more interesting if you were also dealing with freight trains on the goods lines, a train on the branch, or performing some shunting. There are many points of interest in the layout and maybe we'll return to Dudleyport again.

Working for the Big Boys

Back in 1975, G.E.C. (the English General Electric Company, not to be confused with the separate American business, General Electric or G.E.) was an industrial giant. You name it, G.E.C. made it - what we now call a clongomerate, but I don't remember the term being used then. Under the not altogether benign rule of Arnold Weinstock, the business had accumulated cash reserves of over 800 million pounds, then a huge sum (and not to be sniffed at now!).

They'd set their sights on the contract to electrify the main line railway in Taiwan which runs the length of the island from Keelung in the North, through the capital Tai Pei to Kaosiung in the South and after agressive international bidding, they won the contract. The telecommunications part of the contract was farmed out to the Overseas Projects Department at G.E.C. Telecommunications in Coventry. They had world-wide experience in cables, transmission equipment and general telephony. But the project required quite a lot of special-purpose systems for train despatching and maintenance which were outside their normal scope.

So my firm secured a sub-contract to design and supply the special-purpose systems. The requirements in Taiwan were novel, so we had a lot of design work to carry out. But we could adopt some parts of our existing designs and our previous railway experience was invaluable. We were so proud to obtain work from such a prestigious company as G.E.C! We entered a steep learning curve as we discovered just how demanding working for G.E.C. could be but we were also fortunate that the head of Overseas Projects was Eric Hancock. He represented what I regarded as the best of G.E.C. - experienced, competent, thorough, incisive, scrupulous and completely fair. He could also be demanding and infuriating.

I represented my firm at the regular progress and interface meetings chaired by Eric Hancock. Around the table would be representatives from each of the sub-contractors, all much larger firms than mine. Eric would demand brief, cogent answers to a series of well-formulated questions which would quickly test the weak points of any sub-contractor's position. I learnt a lot about business meetings from watching Eric, the expert ringmaster. He detested obfuscation and empty rhetoric and he could be scathing in interrogating the people around the table. I was amazed at how badly-prepared a lot of the attendees were and how they attempted to conceal their ignorance with "waffle". I learned to be prepared with facts, tell the truth briefly and admit it when I didn't have answers. To my surprise and relief, this seemed the magic formula and I seemed to get off very lightly compared with others at the meetings.

Eric would press to obtain undertakings about what would be achieved by what date and it was wise to ensure that what was promised was done. Woe betide those who failed in this respect, because Eric would have carefully recorded each undertaking in the minutes which were circulated. He would push for his "pound of flesh" and would examine each commercial agreement to ensure that what had been agreed was provided. But he was not unreasonable and if you could show that some work he required was not within your scope, he would discuss an extra payment to be made.

Although I had great respect for the man, his intransigence could be infuriating. I remember one occasion when he refused point-blank to pay a very considerable sum owing to us until I credited VAT amounting to, I think eighteen pence. I explained that the discrepancy had accumulated over a long series of invoices from individual 'rounding errors' in calculating the VAT. The methods used were in accordance with the VAT regulations. He would have none of it. His method of calculation gave different 'rounding errors' and that was it. He got his credit note, we got our cheque.

I learned a lot from Eric over that, and subsequent contracts for G.E.C. When he passed away, some years later, I was surprised to find myself devastated. All disagreements forgotten, I remember him only with fondness.