My First Steam Special

I travelled on my first steam special back in 1960 when scheduled steam was still around. In that year, the city of Stoke-on-Trent was celebrating its Jubilee. A railway exhibition was held in the North Western Yard at Stoke from the 11th to 24th May. British Rail organised an excursion from Birmingham New Street to Stoke allowing a visit to the exhibition. The preserved Midland Compound, 1000, was rostered for the trip. I arranged a Brake Van Permit (in those far-off days, such things were possible) because I hoped to make some sound recordings on the trip. Permission to travel in the end of the leading brake-composite would, I thought, position me next to the engine and allow me to make some decent recordings.

When I arrived at Birmingham New Street, the special train was already waiting with 1000 at the head, resplendent in its Midland crimson livery. There were also a large number of rather excited railway enthusiasts milling about the platforms. I don't think the term 'anorak' had been coined then but I remember that I wan't very impressed with their behaviour. We set off Northbound, past the busy No. 5 signal box and into New Street North Tunnel. The tunnel was always smoke-filled with water dripping from the roof and the driver had to proceed cautiously to maintain traction up the bank. He made a fair job of it and picked up speed as we passed the signal boxes at Shepcote Lane, Monument Lane and Harbourne Junction. We must have turned right at Winson Green Junction, to take the Soho Road Line to Perry Barr where we joined the original Grand Junction Line. At Bescot we turned right again, for Pleck Junction and Walsall. Leaving Walsall, there's another climb through Park Street Tunnel up to Ryecroft Junction. Passing Walsall Shed, 1000 gave a whistle in salute to the assorted locomotives. A driver travelling 'on the cushions' joined me in the brake end. He was 1000's regular driver but had handled over the locomotive to local men with the appropriate route knowledge. I thought the train was running quite well, but the driver shook his head. "They don't know how to make her 'compound'". However, by the time the train had reached East Cannock Junction, the regular driver looked a bit happier. "That's better" he said, nodding his head in approval. We flew towards Rugeley, where we joined the Trent Valley Line until Colwich, turning right there onto the line for Stone and then Stoke. All too soon, we were running into the down platform at Stoke-on-Trent.

A short walk took me to the Technical College where a number of railway exhibits had been arranged. I remember being impressed by the preserved 'Knotty' (North Staffordshire Railway) 0-6-2 tank engine but I've forgotten what else was on display. Later on, I returned to the station where our return train was waiting. I presume the 'Compound' had been onto Stoke shed for turning and 'fettling' for the return journey whilst the passengers had been enjoying the exhibition. Once again, I established myself in the leading guard's van, immediately behind the locomotive.

We retraced our route as far as Stone, where we turned right onto the Stafford line, running at reduced speed through the sharply-curved platforms past the attractive and distinctive station buildings. We made good speed until Norton Bridge's distant signal, which remained obstinately 'on', despite impatient whistling from the driver. It was just becoming dark as we crawled to a standstill at the home signal protecting the junction with the four-track main line between Stafford and Crewe. The red glow from the firebox lit up the surrounding area. For a while, all was quiet - the usual hisses and 'clinks' from the locomotive and the sound of conversation on the footplate, then the sound of an approaching train and a 'Rebuilt Scot' passed on the Up Fast, working hard, with the following coaches spilling yellow light onto the ballast. Soon, there was a 'clank' from our signal as we 'got the road' and our driver made a cautious start, drawing his train around the curve and onto the Up Fast. Local whistle codes were authorised at Norton Bridge so that drivers of up train could signal their requirements at Stafford - the signalman at Norton Bridge could telephone ahead to Stafford so that the correct arrangements could be made. As we moved towards the signal box, our driver gave the whistle for 'Train not stopping at Stafford requiring the Stour Valley Line' - two long and a 'crow' (I think). What an evocative sound!

We had an uneventful trip to Stafford, where we slowed first to get onto the Slow lines then to get onto the Goods Lines. We clanked past Stafford No. 5 Box, the adjacent Motive Power Depot, the signal box on the Goods lines and made our way to Stafford No.1 where the Stour Valley line to Wolverhampton diverges to the right. Once clear of Stafford, speed picked up again and it was not long before we were passing Bushbury Shed and Bushbury No. 1 signal box. Once over the viaduct, we were soon making our station stop at Wolverhampton, where I left the train. The special then continued back to Birmingham New Street.

It was years before I saw '1000' again, sadly, 'stuffed and mounted' in the National Railway Museum at York. And the sound recordings? I'm sorry to say that, at present, they're missing. If I can find them, and if they're still playable, I'll do what I can to preserve them.

Locomotive Regulators (part 1)

The other week, I was asked by one of my young friends to explain what I meant in saying "The regulator's 'gagged' in Second Valve". I'm afraid a little lecture is required.

In this country, it's usually called the 'regulator', in America it's invariably the 'throttle' but all steam locomotives have a valve, controlled by the driver (alright, 'engineer' in America) which controls the flow of steam from the boiler to the cylinders. This isn't an on-off valve but is adjustable by the driver to provide the appropriate effort.

In early locomotives, the valve gear could be set only to 'forwards' or 'backwards', so the regulator was the only means of adjusting the power output of the locomotive. There were two common types of regulator - plug and butterfly. Both types were operating by rotating a shaft connected between the regulator valve inside the boiler and a lever attached to the shaft outside the boiler, positioned on the boiler backhead and accessible to the driver. The shaft was provided with a gland where it passed through the outer firebox. Keeping this gland steamtight with the available materials was always a problem.

In the plug-type regulator, the end of the shaft inside the boiler would be provided with a coned plug arranged to be a good fit in the open end of the main steam pipe when the regulator was closed, preventing steam entering the main steam pipe. The regulator handle was then constrained by the quadrant, shaped as a section of a helix. When the handle was moved, the regulator rod turned and was also drawn back by the shape of the quadrant, with the result that the coned plug was withdrawn from the orifice of the main steam pipe, allowing steam to enter the pipe. This design was widely used by the Grand Junction Railway and a picture of the regulator quadrant of 'Lion' should help to clarify matters.

View of Lion's regulator from above. The regulator handle is in the closed position, extending to the right. As the lever is pushed to the left, the quadrant causes the regulator rod to be drawn back, opening the plug valve.

In the butterfly regulator, the regulator rod merely turned a two-lobed valve across the port face of the main steam pipe which was provided with two wedge-shaped steam ports. With the regulator closed, the valve lobes covered the steam ports, preventing steam from entering the main steam pipe. As the regulator was turned, the steam ports would be progressively uncovered, allowing steam to flow.

Illustration of a typical dome-mounted vertical slide-valve regulator

As boiler pressures and output power increased, the widely-used slide valve regulator was developed, often mounted vertically in the steam dome, as shown above. The main steam pipe terminates in a casting provided with a vertical, machined port-face provided with two more-or-less rectangular steam ports. Two flat valves lie over the port face, one on top of the other. Guides are provided which allow the two valves to move up and down independently. The outer valve (the 'pilot' or 'first' valve) connects via a link to a crank at the end of the regulator rod, so that moving the regulator handle pushes the valve up and down. The inner valve (the 'main' or 'second' valve) is also connected to the link but via a slot, such that, on progressively opening the regulator, the first valve is the first to move and the second valve only moves once the first valve is open. A series of ports in the two valves are arranged so that a moderate amount of steam is allowed to flow as the first valve is opened: once the main valve starts to open, a much larger port opening is achieved. This two-stage arrangement is intended to give the driver more accurate control over the flow of steam.

In this type of slide-valve regulator, the pressure of steam in the boiler is pressing the both main and pilot valves against the port face, preventing steam from leaking into the main steam pipe when the regulator is closed. But this pressure also makes it hard for the driver to move the regulator, as the pressure prevents either valve from sliding. Novices are frequently surprised at the effort required to initially open the first port. Once steam is flowing, the resistance will be somewhat reduced, but the required effort is still significant. After the pilot valve is fully open, further movement of the regulator handle will start to open the larger, main valve and considerable force may be required. Some locomotives are provided with two regulator handles to operate the regulator rod. This is partly for the convenience of the driver, for instance when shunting, partly so that the driver and fireman can co-operate in opening the main valve.

As boiler pressures continued to increase and larger locomotives appeared, the problem of adjusting the regulator became greater. In his larger locomotives, Churchward produced an excellent design of slide valve regulator, using horizontal valves fitted in the smokebox. Perhaps most importantly, he also provided an oil line from the sight feed lubricator directly to the regulator valve. Despite claims made by other designers, the only engines I've worked on which could be said to have "fingertip control" of the regulator were Great Western designs.

So, how about closing a regulator? Even in first valve, the flowing steam tends to interfere with getting the valve to slide closed. The regulator usually needs to be smartly brought against the stop to ensure complete closure. If second valve was open, the problem is increased. It's particularly difficult if second valve was only partly open as it then very hard to get both valves back to their proper, closed position. What usually happens is that the steam is cut off, but with the pilot valve slightly displaced from its normal, closed position. This is detectable from the cab, as the regulator handle may be reluctant to sit hard against the 'Shut' stop on the quadrant, because the misplaced second valve pushes against the regulator linkage and prevents the regulator rod from being moved to the correct, closed position. When the regulator is next re-opened, second valve is immediately partly open and an unexpectedly large steam flow may be obtained. This can be dangerous, for instance, whilst shunting, which is why it is so important for all drivers to have a thorough understanding of their machines. Once a regulator is partly open on second valve, the only reliable technique for full closure is to briefly open the regulator to the fully open position ('putting the handle in the roof') and then very smartly bring it to the fully closed position. After this treatment, when the regulator is re-opened it will open on the pilot valve.

There's more about Regulators in part 2.
(Only took me 9 years to complete part 2 which is why the blog is called 'occasional').

[Link to part 2 added: 11-Sep-2016]

History of Steam Locomotives in Western Australia

In February 2007 I visited the Rail Transport Museum in Bassendean, Perth, Western Australia. It's run by the Australian Railway Historical Society, Western Australian Division. See their website. This brief 'A to Z' of preserved locomotives is derived from the the Museum Guide. For my photographs of these exhibits, click here.

A: In 1880 John Robb imported a 2-6-0 from Beyer Peacock in England to build the Eastern Railway from Fremantle through Perth to Guildford. The locomotive was acquired by West Australia Government Railways, classified as 'A' class and ultimately there were 12 locomotives in the class. 'A.11' is preserved at Bassendean.

B: The Midland Railway imported nine Hawthorn Leslie 4-4-0 around 1891. Initially unclassed, they became the 'T' class in 1912 and 'B' class in 1921.

C: The Eastern Railway was opened in 1881 and two 0-6-0 tender locomotives built by Robert Stephenson and Company in England were used on the line. Later classified as 'C' class, 'C.1', 'Katie', survives at Bassendean, cosmetically restored.

Dd: The 'D' class 'Baltic' tanks were first introduced in 1912, becoming 'Ds' when superheated. In 1945, the 'Dm' class appeared, using parts from withdrawn 'E' class locomotives. In 1946 ten improved 'Dd' class were built. They were used on suburban passenger, freight and banking. Dd.592 and Dd.596 survive.

Es: The 'E' class 4-6-2 was introduced in 1902. In 1924, superheating was introduced and the rebuilt locomotives were designated 'Es'. The preserved locomotive Es.308 ran 1.25 million miles, having received new frames in 1935.

Fs: The 'F' class 4-8-0 was introduced in 1902 as a heavy freight locomotive, displacing 'K' class locomotives. The first 'F' class was superheated (to become 'Fs' class) in 1912, but the preserved locomotive Fs.460 (originally F.407) was not superheated until 1937.

G: The 'G' class 2-6-0 was a standard Beyer Peacock design and an enlarged version of the 'A' class. Preserved locomotive 'G.233' was built in Australia by James Martin and Company in 1898.

H: In 1889 two small 0-6-0T arrived from Nielson & Company for the Bunbury - Boyanup line. After a long and varied service, H.18 was presented to the Australian Historical Railway Society and is now on display at Bassendean.

N: Introduced in 1896, there were over 70 of these popular 4-4-4 passenger tanks. In addition, around 1907, Midland Workshops produced another 10, using parts from withdrawn 'O' class locomotives. N.201 is preserved.

O: Forty-six 'O' class were introduced between 1896 and 1898, being a lightweight version of the 'K' class with better route availability. O.218 was preserved after running 750,000 miles.

P: This express passenger 4-6-2 was introduced in 1924 and by 1929 the class numbered 25. During WWII, eight were rebuilt with higher pressure boilers and re-classified 'Pr'. P.448 entered service in 1925, was renumbered as P.508 in 1947, was condemned in 1969 and subsequently entered the museum.

Pr: Ten improved 'P' class 4-6-2 were built at Midland Workshops between 1937 and 1939. They were known as the 'River' class, beause of the naming and re-classified as 'Pr' in 1940. Pr.138 was the first of the class, renumbered as Pr.521 in 1946, withdrawn in 1967, subsequently moving to the museum.

Pm: This modified 'Pr' class was introduced in 1950 with a number of improvements but, being rough riders, were confined to freight working. Pm.701 survives.

S: The first class wholly designed and built in Australia, three of these 4-8-2 were built at Midland in 1943 and a further seven after the war. S.542 (originally S.477) from the first batch and S.549 are now preserved.

U: Fourteen of these oil-burning 4-6-2, originally intended for the Sudan, were supplied by Britain in 1946, working fast passenger and goods. U.655 is preserved.

Ut: This was supplied by North British in 1942 as U.644 and converted in 1957 into a 4-6-4T for working suburban passenger trains, re-numbered Ut.644 and entering preservation in 1972.

V: These powerful 2-8-2 from Robert Stephenson and Hawthorn (as sub-contractors to Beyer Peacock) were introduced in 1956. The tractive effort of 33,630 lbs. made them suitable for working heavy coal trains. The class numbered 24. V.1220 entered the museum in 1972.

W: Sixty of this successful class were supplied by Beyer Peacock from 1951. The 4-8-2 design was suitable for both fast passenger and goods. W.953 entered the museum in 1972. W.947 was sold in 1973 for working tourist trains from Albany and joined W.953 in the museum in 1985.

[Bassendean website updated 10-Jan-2024]

Pipe Freezing

When the plumber came to alter some pipework in the central heating, I had anticipated that the whole system would need to be drained, which would have been quite a performance. But, in fact, he used a 'Freeze Master' to freeze the water in the pipes he wanted to work on. The 'Freeze Master' is a portable refrigerator which plugs into the mains and passes a chilled refrigerant through flexible hoses to a Freezing Block attached to the pipe. The machine used had two hoses and two Freezing Blocks. Each hose is, presumably, provided with two bores to accommodate flow and return of the refrigerant.

The photograph below shows two Freezing Blocks secured to the pipe by a G-clamp. The machine comes with a series of reducers to allow smaller diameter pipes to be dealt with.

I'd not seen this technique used before and I thought it was an ingenious application of the properties of water.

Holiday Time at Bloomfield

In 1962, I had some signalman friends who were kind enough to let me work signal boxes unofficially. I wrote the following report at the time (in fountain pen!). It describes part of the 'early' shift (6.00am to 2.00pm) on Saturday, 28th July 1962.

I've edited the report a little to try to make it a little more understandable to those not familiar with the location or the era, when electrification and resignalling was in progress. It's probably a good idea to read my earlier post Bloomfield Junction first, to have an idea of the layout.

The report makes reference to the timings entered in the Train Register book - they're not to hand, I'm afraid.

The 5.58 a.m. local from Wolverhampton whisks your sleepy reporter towards the Tipton Tangle and 6.20 a.m. sees us climbing the box steps as the official signalman, Tom, arrives in his Reliant van.The first surprise is a change in box working, initiated during the week. Up to this time, on the up line expresses were offered on receipt and other trains on receipt of Train Entering Section from Spring Vale (Train Approach authorised from Deepfields when open but not actually sent – early 'Section' was usually used instead). But since the removal of Monmore Green signal box and the alteration of signalling between Wolverhampton No. 1 and Catchem's Corner, Catchem's has been sending trains on receipt, instead of on 'Section' or 'Train Approach' from Monmore Green. This has resulted in Dudleyport and Albion having trains 'on the block' for up to twenty minutes before seeing them and so this alteration was introduced.

When Wolverhampton platform staff 'ring out' trains, the description is forwarded to Bloomfield Junction, where it is held until receipt of 'Train Approach' from Spring Vale, who sends this signal on receipt of 'Train Entering Section' from Catchem's Corner. As the early entries in the train register book betray, Spring Vale is, in fact, sending an early 'Section', since there is only about one minute between receiving 'Section' from Catchem's and the train passing Spring Vale. However, when Deepfields signal box is open, Mr. Almond there sends the correct 'Train Approach' forward. This system has, as yet, confused the gentlemen who staff Tipton Station box. After the introduction of the four-aspect colour-light as Deepfields' Up Starter (replacing a 3-aspect colour light), Deepfields used to send 'section' to Bloomfield on receipt of 'section' from the rear for expresses. Bloomfield at once gave 'early section' to Tipton, giving the signalman adequate time to open the gates and show the driver clear semaphore distant signals at Bloomfield at least, and, if he was quick on the gates, a green at the Deepfields colour-light as well. But, now, Tipton must open his gates virtually 'on receipt' and Tipton is not quite used to this. On this particular Saturday, the signalmen were erring on the right side by clearing their signals rather too early but by the time a week had elapsed, things were different.

The first two hours this morning were very exhausting: just look at some of the timings in the register. First of all, 1L02 on the down: the 'Scottish Tours' special, three coaches with a 'Black 5' on the front end. 1Z70, the Blackpool excursion, was taken on right behind and meanwhile 1M16 passed on the up, running 'right time' with a Type 4 roaring on the front. At 6.44 a.m. the down Blackpool storms past, with another `Black 5' in charge.The down Liverpool special, 1Z09, is offered right behind the Blackpool. Spring Vale hasn't yet cleared for the Blackpool and so 'Byron' has to drag 1Z09 slowly up to the colour light down starter to await acceptance. The London drifts by on the up, behind another Type 4 diesel-electric. As the fireman of the Liverpool buzzes the signal box telephone, Spring Vale gives 'train out of section' and 'Byron' departs, the plume of his exhaust visible behind the houses up towards Deepfields. The 6.55 a.m. local bowls past towards Birmingham and then freight T37 is offered by Spring Vale. 'Section' immediately follows the 'Is Line Clear?' and the train is 'sent on' to Tipton Curve, the junction is set and the signals cleared.

Another Type 4 puts in an appearance on the down Crewe, struggling up the bank from the station stop at Tipton, accelerating under the box and away, curving beneath the bridge. But, before the colour-light gives the familiar 'burp' as it's replaced to danger automatically by the train, a following Llandudno train has been accepted from Tipton. The freight train rumbles past the box on the up; a Class 8, tender first, with a long train of empty coke wagons from the furnaces of Stewarts and Lloyds, returning to fetch a further load. The down line instrument from Tipton stands at 'Train On Line' for the Llandudno before the Crewe train, having stopped at Coseley station, clears Spring Vale and we can pull off our signals for the approaching Llandudno express, slowed by our adverse distants. The Llandudno, 1Z12, approaches cautiously with 'Kitchener', clean for a change, at the front. A wave to the driver from the landing at the top of the stairs tells him he's 'got the road' and that our colour light starter, hidden round the long right-hand curve, is 'off'. I come back from the door, hit the catch handle of the down Home and the tension in the signal wire is sufficient to pull the lever 'back in the frame'. I walk across the box, squinting downwards through the grimy windows to catch the tail lamp and then, satisfied, reach up to the block shelf. '2-1' to Tipton, snatch the commutator to 'Line Closed' and then pause for a moment, half waiting for the '2' from Tipton to summon a further express, this time 1H03 to Manchester.

Another DMU speeds away on the up, carrying Saturday morning commuters to Birmingham and intermediate stops.`Train Approach' then 'Section' on the down and a Type 4 blackens the sky with its dark fumes. Its raucous exhaust cuts the still morning air on the gradient up to Bloomfield bridge. The train rumbles past the box, compartment after compartment shows its complement of passengers: a number of spinsters going to Manchester this morning! Tail lamp – '2-1' – 'clon-dong' – '1' – 'clon-dong, don-don-dong' – '2-3' – a crack from the commutator as I give 'Line Clear' to Tipton for a following Light Engine; a pause of a few seconds then 'don-dong' - 'Train Entering Section' and the commutator is turned to 'Train on Line'. It's the Dudley parcels engine turned out of the loop at Watery Lane and 'Right Away' Wolverhampton. 1H03 makes good time to 'The Vale' with the Type 4 and we soon get the road for the light engine but he's already missed our distants, so we give the usual sign of encouragement to the driver from the landing. The guard is riding on the footplate – it's our old friend Mr. Westwood and he waves jovially. After 'Train Out Of Section' there's just time to get the train register up to date before Tipton offers a local - '3-1'. The down local passes and there is peace for a few minutes until the up local is offered.

A '3' is next offered from Tipton. This pick-up freight is now target T73, but it used to be T235. After receiving 'section' we are just wondering whether we can get him away to Spring Vale when we get the 'George Hunt' from Tipton ('1-5-5': 'Shunt Train for Following Train to Pass'), so his fate is sealed. The train sounds the annunciator when he hits the berth track circuit on the approach to our down home and we clear the signal to 'loose him in'. As the freight – a 'Black 5' with a handful of wagons and a Southern Region brake – coasts past the box, the driver and guard are signalled to set back onto the front road. The train moves into the distance past points 13 and we 'knock out' to Tipton (give 'Train Out of Section', since the freight has passed our 'clearance point') and 'take' on a following parcels - '1-3-1'. A moment after, 'section' is received. The up local rattles past as we set the road for T73 to back 'inside'. The diesel parcels unit hits our track circuit and the annunciator sounds. This time, we can't clear the home signal because T37 is still slowly propelling his train clear of the main line. A 'Call Attention' to Spring Vale to offer the parcels is ignored and instead we get the painful '1...1...1...1...' which indicates that Mr. Almond is opening Deepfields. An impatient acknowledgment '5-5-5' precedes a further 'Call Attention' as we offer the parcels to Deepfields. Once T37 is 'inside', levers 8, 14, 13 are slammed back into the frame and the down home and starter are cleared for the parcels. 'Section' to Deepfields and out to my favourite vantage point, the landing by the door, to watch the parcels go by and signal that the starter is 'off' . The driver waves in a most friendly manner - it's the cheerful diesel parcels unit driver who ran round his van the other Sunday at Watery Lane.

A 'phone call to Spring Vale ascertains that he would like '235' down before the express, so once the diesel parcels is clear we 'turn him out' (13, 14, 16, 17) and 'get him the road'. 1G02 is 'taken on' on the up and this time we get 'Train Approach' from Deepfields (four beats consecutive rather than '1-2-1'!). The up train passes, hauled by a Sulzer Type 2 and dragging the usual Stores Van along at the rear. An up parcels is taken on close behind the express and another excursion passes on the down, 1Z71 to Blackpool, hauled by a Stanier 2-6-0. The up parcels, a 'Standard' 2-6-0 with one 'BG' parcels van, passes just before the down Saturdays Only local grinds by and another down express is belled following the local. The up local is 'taken on' whilst the up parcels is still working in the platform at Tipton, so Tipton is given the 'Shunt'. He puts the parcels back onto the branch so that he can 'knock out' and accept the up local from me. The up local rattles past; the passengers oblivious of the trains which might foul their path. The down express is another Llandudno, 1D27, and he roars past with a 'Black 5' working hard.

The Ganger checks the signal post telephone at the down starter as he passes it whilst 'walking the length' and an entry is accordingly placed in the Train Register Book. Another down local rattles past and the diesel parcels unit we had earlier on the down now returns on the up towards Birmingham, with a different driver. After a brief respite, we have the down Liverpool, 1K10 - 'Jubilee' class 'Novelty', clean and shining, is in charge today. The Manchester, 1H05, is offered immediately behind and sports a Sulzer diesel-electric this morning. The second train of the day to London, 1B08, is headed by another Type 4. The 8.50 a.m. from Newcastle (the one near Stoke) is a 3-car DMU and behind it 1G05, from Manchester, is Sulzer-hauled. 1G06, from Liverpool, follows immediately and it passes with a Type 4 just as the 10.20 a.m. down local sways past on the other line.

Spring Vale turns out an up freight, advising it as '244'. Officially, this working is now known as T34 (but not along the North Stour!). Once again, the 'porter-bobby' at Tipton (Mr. Toombes today) has to suspend his porter duties to walk to Tipton Curve Junction and open the box ready for '244'. As '244' comes into view on the up, the 'Shunt' is received from Deepfields, but '244' keeps coming nice and slowly down the bank, a 2-8-0 tender first, being pushed along by a long train of empties. In the opposite direction, '269' (now officially T61) is accepted from the Curve, despite the proximity of the down local and up express, and the freight comes rattling off the Curve, 'right away Spring Vale', with only a handful of wagons. 1G07 barely comes to a stand at our up home while '269' clears the junction and then the 3-car DMU from Stoke proceeds on its way. Not yet 11.00am, and still the trains keep coming!

A Sunday Stroll to Stafford

In 1962, the former L.M.S. lines in the West Midlands were being electrified and re-signalled. I wrote the following report at the time (in fountain pen!) describing a roundabout journey from Wolverhampton to Stafford and return on Sunday 15th July 1962 whilst diversions were in progress. I've edited the original text a little to try to make it more generally understandable.

A Sunday Stroll to Stafford - and when trains are being diverted round the Princes End Branch, stroll is the right word!

Passengers for Stafford and the North from Wolverhampton were supposed to catch a special diesel to Walsall, to connect with the diverted expresses, but I wanted to travel over the Princes End branch, so I had to go via Dudleyport. It took much consulting of the Special Traffic Notices on the day before, to decide on a suitable connection, but a 9.45 am DMU was shown from Wolverhampton, to connect at Dudleyport with the Blackpool excursion, 1Z63.

However, when I tried to book a "Return Dudleyport" at Wolverhampton I was told "There's no train for two hours!"
"What about the train to connect with the Blackpool excursion?" I enquired.
"There's no excursion advertised today" I was told. Oh well, I bought the ticket anyway and wandered onto the platform. A large crowd was gathered and soon a twinset DMU rattled into the Down Bay. The happy passengers bundled onto the train, whilst a commodious supply of alcohol was piled into the luggage compartment.
"Yes, this connects with the Blackpool" I was told. All most perplexing. Still, I hopped on board and, a few minutes late, we departed, making rather poor time to Dudleyport.

At Dudleyport, 1Z63, due to depart at 9.55 am, was already in the down platform taking water at the column, with 70047 at the head end. I followed the crowd through the subway to the down side, where the Inspector was proclaiming
"Wolverhampton Corporation Party – first three coaches. Others behind." But there were no others, apart from me! So that was it! Three reserved coaches had been laid on for the party, and the twinset DMU was to connect. So I'd gatecrashed a Party Special! Oh well, having watched the drinks being transferred (through the 'wrong side' of the train across the 'six foot') from the DMU to 1Z63, I purchased a second ticket to Stafford, price 6 shillings (30p). After 1Z63 has left, another 2-car DMU arrived on the down and hid in the loop so that it could be passed by my train, 2H67 for Manchester (and another DMU, of course).

In a slight drizzle, we set off on 2H67 and trundle down to Tipton, but the 'pegs' (signals) don't come off, because there's a DMU coming off the Curve (because of the overhang on bogie vehicles, passenger trains are not allowed to pass on the Curve). After a short delay, we made a sedate progress round the Curve, but accelerate well towards Princes End (by the way, with a new driver from Dudleyport) and rattle down the bank, past the cooling towers of Ocker Hill and round the curve and through Wednesbury. A smart pull up the bank to Mestycroft but Bescot Curve's distant is 'on' and we grind to a halt at his home signal. It soon comes 'off' but the young signalman casually sticks out a "red 'un" (red flag). After a few minutes standing outside the box (why, I wonder?) the driver moves off and, almost immediately, the starter clears. We wander down to Walsall, where the driver is changed again.

The platform starter clears and we set off at about 11.10 am. We rush through Ryecroft at a frightening pace, past the closed box at Birchills and find Bloxwich's distant 'on'. His home is seen to be 'off' but, suddenly 'crack – crack – crack', a deafening sound when riding in the front of a DMU, three detonators and a flagman running across the track with a red flag. "Bridge Painters North of the station" he warns and we move off cautiously when the flagman displays a yellow flag. The painters are perched on top of a tall ladder under the bridge, with long distemper brushes splashing around, blocking the other line but precariously close to the 'down'. We make an uneventful run to Cannock, passing a lovely switchback presumably caused by mining subsidence (15 m.p.h. in this direction) at Great Wyrley, near the Mid Cannock pits. East Cannock Junction's distant is against us and we get one 'shot' (detonator) and a yellow flag at his home. We pass a gang working on the track by the starter and get a' green' from the flagman.

After Hednesford and its colliery sidings, we rush across Brindley Heath, at about 65 m.p.h. at least. Brereton Sidings home, with distant for Rugeley, is giving a brilliant light. This and the starter are semaphores with electrically-lit spectacles. We rattle into a renovated Rugeley Trent Valley down platform, where drivers are quickly changed once again and we set off for Stafford. The boxes at Rugeley retain their old frames, with mechanical operation of local points and all colour-light signals. We rattle along the slow to Colwich, where the line becomes double track to Stafford. All trace of the station and original signal box have disappeared from Colwich and a new box is in operation on the up side at the London end.

We plunge into Shugborough tunnel at about 60 m.p.h., sounding the horn – quite an experience as we mount the curve and the white silhouette of the tunnel end comes into sight and the sunlight shines on the rail tops. We rush through Milford, the original box looking a trifle out of place in the middle of a new layout and we pass a monotonous succession of colour-lights, labelled 'QE' for Queensville, with the new overhead catenary wavering from side to side above. We pass the loop at Baswich, the box standing lonely, stripped of instruments and frame, with just a row of track circuit indicators hanging forlornly at 'Track Occupied'. We pass the box at Queensville, getting a double yellow, then, rounding the curve, a yellow and we grind to a halt at Stafford No. 1's home signal, leaning over on the steep cant of the famous Queensville Curve. We are held here for a gruelling five minutes or more and must have been called past the signal, because it was showing red as we moved off. We rattle over the crossing at Trent Valley Junction, with gangs of men all over the place and the Wolverhampton line being re-aligned. At Stafford No. 3, the colour-light home has been changed from position light to theatre-type route indication and we roll into Platform 3, just before 11.45 am, about seven minutes late.

Stafford is somewhat changed! The outline of the new station is now marked by the massive concrete beams which have appeared. A crane train was working in the North end of platform 1, blocking the Up Through. All the signals in the area are now colour-light. The passenger facilities are in a state of limbo, with platforms unmade, temporary waiting rooms in use but the new enclosed footbridge is open to passengers.

The up Merseyside Express calls at Platform 4, with 'City of Birmingham' at the front end. The following train is 1G10, the Bangor – Birmingham and I found a good position at the front, right behind 'Lord Kitchener'. The smiling driver was rather fond of the siren and he made like 'In the American Backwoods' to Rugeley. Just before Stafford No. 1, we passed a crane gang. The crane was balancing a 60 foot top member between two side posts for electrification right above the running road – a Sword of Damocles, indeed!

We make good speed to Rugeley, the driver playing a tune on the siren at every gang we pass and inside Shugborough Tunnel. Between Baswich (the loop and Salt Siding) and Rugeley we pass a wiring train on the up slow, with a 350 h.p. diesel electric. The driver stops at the North end of Rugeley, by a group of 'pilot' drivers, but he is told that his pilot is further along. The train moves slowly into the station, on the through line, and waits while the pilot unhurriedly ambles across the tracks and clambers aboard. The pilot takes charge and moves her off. A beautiful, uncontrolled slip makes a good sound and he makes quite a meal of it pulling out onto the Cannock Line. A sorry sight in one of the sidings at Rugeley: a train of bogie bolsters carrying the mortal remains of semaphore signalling on the Trent Valley! Tubular posts, with rusted arms bent during removal in a most pathetic way, lattice posts, also two-aspect and searchlight colour-light signals and wooden bracket signals.

On the return journey, we get three 'shots' North of Bloxwich and the flagman comes out of a permanent way gang hut, to warn of bridge painters. But the painters have gone to lunch and we rattle on down to Walsall No. 3, where we are held for a moment. As we pull into the platform, a DMU rattles through in the same direction on an adjoining line, with Walsall No. 2's distant off. The Wolverhampton diesel parcels unit is shunting around in the North End Bay. I detrain and watch as the DMU backs out of platform 3 towards Ryecroft, then coasts down behind 1G10 which, after taking water, departs towards Wednesbury. The twinset DMU follows 1G10 down the platform and stops, to form the connecting service to Wolverhampton.

With me installed in the front compartment, we are soon off. We just catch Walsall No. 1's distant off as we pass Walsall No. 2's starter (sounds like jibberish!) but we are very nearly brought to a stand at Pleck before his home comes off for the Darlaston line. We rattle along towards home. The boxes along this line have been repainted, in pale cream and a strange dark green/brown. At Willenhall's distant, we sight a flagman with a "yeller 'un" and we get one 'shot'. We draw slowly into the station and a Pilotman, wearing mackintosh and trilby, clambers aboard from the wrong side. We move off on the right line. At Portobello, they're relaying over the level crossing. There are two engineer's trains standing on the up, their engines towards Bescot, the rear train uncoupled in the middle and the front half drawn forward a few yards. The single line ends at Wednesfield Heath and we stop to set down the Pilotman. An engine is standing on the up, waiting the road or, perhaps, Pilotman's Engine? We trundle into the bay at Wolverhampton, concluding a interesting, if devious, trip to Stafford.

Visit to Seoul, South Korea

In an earlier post, I described a period when I carried out some consultancy for Philips in Holland. During this period, there was a major railway project going on in Iraq. Hyundai in Korea had won the main contract for building the railway and Philips was one of the companies bidding to Hyundai for the telecommunications sub-contract. At that time, Iraq enjoyed massive oil revenues and, although some of us had reservations about Saddam Hussein, his regime was being enthusiastically embraced by the West. Well, we put together the major quotation in Holland and I was asked to accompany the bid team on a visit to Seoul to present the bid to Hyundai and, hopefully, negotiate a contract.

Travel had been arranged on a late afternoon flight from Schiphol via Gatwick, with an overnight at the Hilton Hotel, Gatwick. It was a strange experience to fly into England from Holland and, instead of going home, book into a hotel. I couldn't settle that evening so I skipped dinner and instead caught the train down to Brighton to look at the sea on my own. Having just arrived from Holland, I seemed to see England through the eyes of an outsider - a very odd feeling.

Next day, we flew to Seoul. I think there were five of us. Philips had arranged excellent rooms at one of the top business hotels in Seoul. The bid manager held a series of meetings in the hotel to refine the offer and discuss strategy in preparation for our first meeting with Hyundai the next morning.

All our meetings took place at the Hyundai headquarters in the centre of Seoul - a towering, modern office block. Discussions were in English (just as well - I managed 'O' Level French and Latin but I'm an exceptionally poor linguist), although the Koreans would, naturally, slip into Korean for asides to one another. As expected, we found Hyundai to be relentless negotiators, always asking for enhanced specifications but also seeking lower prices. The contract was large enough that a number of companies were bidding for the telecommunications sub-contract and it was easy for them to play one bidder against another. At the end of the meeting, we came away with a series of requests and questions. Back at the hotel, the bid manager would discuss the possibilities and do the sums, ready for the next meeting

I don't remember how many meetings with Hyundai we had. All followed the same pattern of Hyundai implying that they were really, really pleased with our offer and that there remained only tiny queries to be resolved before the contract was ours. When you've invested many weeks of work in responding to the invitation to tender, you naturally believe your offer is the best and you are reluctant to think that the job is slipping away because you can't shave just a little more off your price. Back at our hotel, we had another meeting and almost everybody was keen to discuss ways of finding a further saving. The bid manager, a man of great experience, shook his head and took out a piece of paper with a sum of money on it. It was the price we were now seeking to lower. He explained that he had written the sum down before leaving Holland. It represented the lowest sum which would make the job worthwhile to Philips, he said. There would be no further reduction. The rest of the team were, of course, disappointed but over the next few hours we realised the wisdom of his position. In the excitement of the negotiation, it's all too easy to lose sight of just how much you've given away. The bid manager knew that, even if he'd allowed a reduction, that would have been followed by a request for yet another, tiny saving.

The bid manager went back to Hyundai without the whole team to explain his regret that no further reduction would be possible. That evening, the bid manager arranged a special dinner at the hotel in appreciation of everyone's efforts and the next day we flew back to Europe, by now convinced of the wisdom of the bid manager's actions.

So, Philips didn't get the order but I learnt an important lesson. But that wasn't the end of my involvement with the Iraq railway project, because my friends at GEC Telecommunications in Coventry were also quoting for the telecommunications package. One day, I'll tell you about it.

Oil & Gas Industry

I've not had much to do with the Oil & Gas Industry but, some years ago, I did have one interesting consultancy job with the major company supplying Fire & Gas Alarms for the Morecambe Bay Gas Field. Natural gas was discovered in Morecambe Bay in 1974 and, four years later, commercial exploitation started.

Offshore production platforms are hazardous places (do you remember the terrible loss of life when the Piper Alpha platform caught fire?) and so they are provided with very sophisticated systems for detecting both fire and gas build-up. Platforms are also large and complex, resulting in thousands of points to be monitored and relayed back to a central display in the control room. Above all, the systems must be reliable so the computers involved in processing the data must be designed to reduce the possibility of failure and incorporate principles of redundancy to mitigate the effect of failure.

Well, the Fire & Gas Alarm company had produced an innovative design to meet these requirements. Hundreds of microprocessors spread around the production platform had to 'talk' to one another over cable and, at the control room, a series of industrial grade computers had to 'crunch' all this data to give the operators a picture of the situation. Needless to say, problems had arisen in producing the necessary software and making sure all the different parts worked together properly. The Fire & Gas Alarm company was under pressure from the end user to 'sort it', so they invited consultants from a number of organisations to attend a one-day brainstorming session. One of the invitations went to a University with a strong electronics department that we'd had dealings with. The University was unable to provide a member of staff on the appointed day but, being familiar with the type of safety-involved systems we produced, suggested that I might attend.

The brainstorming session was attended by a few academics, but the attendees mainly seemed to be from international consultancy organisations. The Fire & Gas Alarm company made a presentation describing the history of the contract and the architecture adopted and then an intense discussion about "what next?" ensued. Soon, the buzzwords were flying thick and fast from the international consultants as they attempted to dazzle everyone with their experience and grasp of the essential way forward. It appeared to me that there was too much re-inventing of the wheel, too little seeking to analyse where the project had lost its way and, to be unkind, too much creating jobs for highly-paid consultants. Based on what we'd heard, my view was that the basic approach was perfectly sound and that the technical staff already involved were competent. The problems seemed to lie in the project management and decision-making. I bided my time and then expressed these views in simple language, stressing that a more detailed hardware and software review was needed to separate the good bits from the bad bits in what had been produced. The day ended with one of the international consultancy firms and I being asked to submit priced suggestions. To my amazement, I got the job (perhaps simply because my approach appeared to cost a lot less).

So I ended up spending two days a week in Slough (!?!) whilst we tried to move things forward. It took some time for me to get my head round the complex systems they'd produced. I also arranged individual interviews with everybody involved to see where they thought the problems lay. This took a while as there were half a dozen hardware engineers, dozens of software engineers and their managers. There were one or two issues with the hardware but the hardware engineers seemed to be well on the way to providing acceptable solutions. Most of the problems were with the software. As the job had fallen behind, extra programmers had been brought in to accelerate the job but this created extra interfaces as the job was divided into smaller parts. This required additional documentation to keep track of the required functionality and try to ensure that each software module could 'talk' to the next. Changes in this documentation were frequent as people introduced new ideas or tried to work around problems. In fact, not much software was being written - the programmers spent most of their time meeting one another to iron out snags in the documentation. Frustrated by their inability to make progress, morale was low. The sheer amount of paper circulating was impressive.

I have never worked with a smarter bunch of people and their collective knowledge and experience was awesome. I struggled to keep up in software discussions, but I was determined not to bluff. I tried to strip away complexity and get people to focus on the essentials of the problem so that the teams, who wanted to be productive, could be given sound direction which would not have to be reversed in a couple of days. We started to see some improvement but we were still worried that the sophistication which had been offered to the end user was not achievable in a realistic time scale.

Accordingly, a somewhat less ambitious specification was agreed with the end user as Phase 1 which gave him perhaps 80% of what he wanted. The remaining functionality was deferred to Phase 2 and I'm not sure that Phase 2 was, in fact, ever implemented. The simpler requirements of Phase 1 gave a 'light at the end of the tunnel' that the job might actually be delivered. Fresh estimates were made, by the software engineers themselves, of the manpower required to complete Phase 1 in the newly-agreed timescale and the result showed that we only needed about a quarter the number of staff. The software engineers were self-employed and on short-term contracts, so it was quite possible to lay them off, but I had sleepless nights at the thought of formally recommending this action. I'd made friends with the people I was working with and expected to be reviled for my part in putting them back on the job market (I've always thought I'm too soft to be in business but others may disagree).

To my surprise, I was presented with a huge bouquet by the team and congratulated on "telling it like it is". The demand for software engineers was high and none of them would have any difficulty in moving into another contract. They'd been unable to convince management of the problems in the project and were just pleased that a hopeless situation had finally been addressed. Of course, it was logical to terminate my own role, as well. We went our separate ways, leaving the much-reduced group to finish off Phase 1.

I often think with fondness of the team I worked with. My only disappointment was that I didn't get to visit an offshore platform. At one stage, I was going to visit a Morecambe Bay platform as part of a team investigating a site problem but the visit was called off at the last moment and never re-arranged.

Is there a moral? I think it has to be "Keep it Simple" (sometimes called the 'KISS Principle - Keep it simple, stupid'. This is a modern re-working of "Occam's Razor", one of the contributions to logic and philosophy by William of Ockham, a 14th century Franciscan Friar).

Timber Production in Western Australia

The Boilermakers' Shop at Yarloop in its heyday

In February 2007 I visited Yarloop Workshops in Western Australia with my friend Keith Watson (there's more about that trip here). It's now an industrial museum commemorating the area's history of timber export. I'm afraid I had no idea of the significance of the area in the supply of high-quality timber during the 20th century until this visit.

It took us around two hours by car travelling South from Perth to reach the town of Yarloop. The weather was hot and there had been recent forest fires en route.

The museum is housed in a series of substantial timber buildings - the remains of the timber mill and workshops which serviced the timber industry. The enterprise was started in 1895 by two brothers from England called Millar and became, in its time, the largest timber centre in the world, operating the largest privately-owned steam railway in the world.

A pamphlet 'Yarloop Workshops Welcome You' describes the features on display, including the Saw Shop, Sand Shed (supplying dry sand for the locomotives), Mill Store, Saddle Shop, Workshop Complex (where stationary and locomotive boilers were built and repaired), Running Shed (which once housed four locomotives), Blacksmiths' Shop, Main Machine Shop, Boiler Room, Tool Room, Coppersmiths' Shop, Moulding Shop, Pattern Makers' Shop, Foreman's Office (still holding original plans and blueprints), Pattern Shop (still holding hundreds of original patterns),Truck Shop (carrying out timber work for road and rail vehicles) and Plumbers' Shop. Finally, there is the Steam House, where volunteers restore and maintain a number of historic stationary steam engines rescued from various locations which are periodically demonstrated to visitors.

The whole site is very evocative and I was made most welcome by the volunteers. Visitors to Western Australia who are interested in industrial or social heritage should make time for a visit.

The history of life in Yarloop is vividly described in Geoff Fortune's book 'Yarloop - There was no better place' (ISBN 1 876760 09 5).

My pictures of Yarloop

Yarloop Workshops.

[Links added 21-Jun-2016].

The Empire State Building, New York

I've been familiar with images of the Empire State Building since I was a child. When I visited New York in February 2007 and made the trip to the 86th floor Observation Deck, I decided that the building's iconic status was well-deserved. Subsequent study of the history of the building has reinforced that judgement. During my visit, I purchased John Tauranac's book 'The Empire State Building', published in New York by St. Martin's Press (ISBN 0-312-14824-0). I drew on this excellent book for information, but interpretations and errors are my own.

For centuries, building design was limited by the ability of the materials used in the lower floors to support the weight of upper floors. It was the advent of steel-framed buildings around 1880 which allowed the concept of the 'skyscraper' to become a practical proposition.

New York, constrained as it was by the Manhattan site bounded by the East River and Hudson River, was the perfect home for adventurous building design which made best use of expensive land. Initially, steel-framed buildings were built to look like conventional buildings and used the styles already in vogue. It took a while for a modern architecture to evolve which exploited the full potential of the steel frame. New York introduced zoning laws in 1916 which laid down rules to restrict the creation of dark canyons on streets lined with tall buildings. These rules introduced the idea of 'setbacks' such that a building could not rise directly from the street without restriction. After a few stories, the building line had to be set back to reserve light to the building and adjacent developments.

The rules still allowed considerable freedom in architectural layout and it's interesting to compare two of New York's tallest developments of the 1920s and 1930s - the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. The Chrysler Building at Lexington Avenue and East 42nd Street preceded the Empire State and the buildings have always been rivals. Indeed, the 200-foot stainless steel Art Deco spire was partly added to the basic design so as to overtake the anticipated height of the Empire State Building. The Chrysler Building is an impressive structure by any standards and the distinctive spire makes it instantly recognisable. But when the Empire State Building appeared, it incorporated a number of innovations which I think make it thoroughly modern, even by today's standards.

In a daring move, the Empire State added a 200-foot airship mooring mast which significantly exceeded the height of the Chrysler Building, even with its spire. In the early '30s, people really believed that huge airships would replace the ocean liners which had become the last word in luxurious, long-distance travel. As we now know, speed always wins and, in fact, passengers were willing to accept the more limited comfort of the aeroplane because of the higher speeds it can offer. Only one airship is recorded as mooring at the Empire State, experimentally and for only a few minutes. It's hard to believe that passengers would ever have willingly boarded and disembarked 1,000 feet above Manhattan, but the sheer idea was enough to give the building a cachet it's never lost.

The rapid growth of New York early in the twentieth century made real estate very profitable and it was common for buildings to be pulled down after less than twenty years to make way for something larger. The original building of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel was demolished to make way for the Empire State Building and the hotel was rebuilt on its present site in Park Avenue.

The Empire State Building was announced in 1929 only weeks before the economy crashed. Many building projects failed but John Rascob, who'd made his money and reputation with General Motors, brought the Empire State Building to triumphant completion. He was joined by politician Al Smith, who became the public face of the project. Al Smith loved, and was loved by, New York. His affection for the city and commitment to the Empire State Building must have been crucial to the success of the project. The team of financier and publicist went on to make inspired choices for both architects and building contractors. Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, as architects, produced a design of great subtlety: modern but not strident, innovative but eminently practical. Styling incorporated Art Deco motifs, but in a restrained manner subordinated to the need to be easily built and low maintenance. William Lamb's fanatical attention to detail is usually credited as the key but he was a modest man who considered himself a member of a team.

Starrett Brothers and Eken were given the construction contract and their professional approach achieved the remarkable result that the building was completed on specification, on time and - perhaps most surprising to us in this age of massive cost overruns - on budget.

The Empire State Building has seen many changes since it was completed in 1931 but it remains, truly, a Landmark Building.

For my photographs of New York, including views from the top of the Empire State Building click here.

Locomotive 813

'813' outside the shed at Shackerstone

In 1901, Hudswell Clark supplied a number of six-coupled saddle tanks to the Port Talbot Railway. The Port Talbot Railway was absorbed into the GWR and the locomotives acquired a number of GWR features before being sold off for colliery use. Number 813 is now preserved and, in 2007, visited the Battlefield Line. I first got an opportunity to drive the locomotive on the 5th May 2007, the Postman Pat weekend and later had another turn on 813 on a 'Thomas the Tank' day, before 813 went to the Gloucester and Warwick for their Gala.

The locomotive has a number of the virtues you expect of a Great Western locomotive and she is a free steamer, with a very effective 'front end'. The copper-capped chimney is certainly attractive, although I'm not so sure about the brass safety valve bonnet perched on top of the dome. After initially running with 4-coach trains, the railway obtained permission to run with our normal load of 5 coaches. With the regulator in second valve and the pole reverser linked-up to one notch from mid-gear, the loco seemed to enjoy the opportunity to show what she could do. With rock-steady steaming, the crews enjoyed the experience, too! The Ramsbottom safety valves allow you to get the boiler right up to the 'sizzling point' with just a wisp of steam escaping, in true Great Western fashion, rather than having the intermittent wasteful (and often noisy) discharge typical of Ross Pop safety valves.

I enjoyed driving and firing this locomotive but rather doubt that I will remain as lively at the age of 106.

More photographs

The Battlefield Line DMU Group

In the 1950s, British Railways introduced a range of lightweight diesel multiple units to handle suburban and secondary line services. Bit by bit, the DMUs took over from steam-hauled workings. Sad as I was to see a reduction in the number of steam trains, the DMUs offered a new experience in rail travel in that, if you could get a seat right at the front, windows allowed you a view of the driver's compartment and a panoramic view of the line ahead. This was excellent for surveying the route - signals and pointwork in full view - and for studying the driving technique adopted as every move the driver made could be watched.

It was nearly 50 years before I got an opportunity to drive a DMU myself! The Battlefield Line DMU Group (originally called the Shackerstone DMU Group) operates a single-unit DMU, always known as a 'Bubble Car' back then, and a 2-car DMU. I'm fortunate that, in 2007, I was accepted by Ritchie Marcus for training as a DMU driver and I spent a day with driver Stuart Gamble operating the DMU service on Saturday 28th April 2007. After further training with Graham Hudman and Ritchie Marcus, I was passed out for driving.

More photographs

'Planet' locomotive in Operation

'Planet' on a non-rainy day

The 'Planet' class was used on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1830 and represents a significant advance on the 'Rocket'. The Museum of Science & Industry in Manchester operates a modern replica of 'Planet' on weekends and holidays and Sunday 13th May 2007 was one of the days I was rostered to drive.

It's not true that it always rains in Manchester, but it certainly rained most of the day on this Sunday. Fortunately, most of the preparation was completed before the rains came - there's nothing more miserable than getting a locomotive ready for service, examining, oiling round, taking coal and water and shunting when you're wringing wet! Few steam locomotives offer very good weather protection to the enginemen but 'Planet', being a copy of an early locomotive, has no cab at all and I was resigned to being thoroughly soaked by the end of the day and so it proved. But there were plenty of passengers (the museum is currently hosting a 'Doctor Who' exhibition) who seemed to accept the rigours of a journey in our two imitation 1830 carriages. These are actually ex-BR 4-wheel wagon underframes with a custom-built semi-open top offering plenty of scope for getting cold and wet.

The train normally operates from about noon to 4.00pm, with a trip around every 15 minutes. There is a single platform near the main museum buildings where passengers board and alight. 'Planet' draws the two coaches over a demonstration line laid in between the 1830 Warehouse and the Coaching Shed, past the original Stationmaster's House (now Museum offices) and over the Water Street road bridge. The line continues over Stephenson's original Irwell Bridge and the train stops near the Museum railway gates, alongside the Network Rail line, just after the Museum's Pineapple Line converges from the right. When the Pineapple Line is in use, the fireman will go to the Ground Frame with the train staff (the driver's authority to run). Using a key attached to the Train Staff, the fireman reverses the points and secures them, before returning to the footplate. 'Planet' then propels its train onto the Pineapple Line which curves around the back of the 1830 Warehouse, past Granada television studios, coming to a stand quite close to the platform where the passengers boarded. The propelling movement is supervised by the train guard in the rearmost compartment. 'Planet' then draws the train forward to the Ground Frame, the fireman restores the points to the main demonstration line and the coaches are propelled back to the platform where the passengers disembark. On days when it is not possible to use the Pineapple Line, the fireman is saved the exercise of working the Ground Frame: instead, the train will make two or three round trips on the main demonstration line before letting the passengers off.

More photographs of 'Planet'

New York's District Heating

One of the images I had of New York was steam rising from manhole covers in the streets. Well, yes, it still happens.

Birdsill Holly (1820-1894) was an inventor who is credited with originating the concept of District Heating. He was born in New York State and the number of patents to his credit is second only to his friend Thomas Edison. By 1882 the Birdsill District Steam Heating System was in use in a number of cities across the United States.

Wallace C. Andrews set up a company to promote Birdsill's system in New York and in 1882 the first customers were supplied. The efficiency of the system lead to steady growth as the New York Steam Company and virtually all the famous buildings became customers. During the 1930s agreements were in place to exchange steam with gas and electric utilities to cope with peaks. In 1954, the steam business was acquired by Consolidated Edison.

Today, Con Edison Steam operates a network of 105 miles of mains and service pipes supplying around 1800 customers in Manhattan with steam for heating, hot water and air conditioning. See the Con Edison site.

Steam is distributed by underground steam mains rated at either 200 or 400 pounds per square inch. Periodic expansion joints and insulation are provided, together with a series of main valves operated manually from street level via manholes. There is no intentional release of steam at the surface - when this occurs it is due to leaks or surface water leaking into manholes and coming into contact with the hot steam main.

In various locations, I came across temporary chimneys erected over street manholes painted in white and orange stripes, presumably where maintenance work is taking place. The photograph above shows one such chimney on Fifth Avenue (with Central Park in the background). But can somebody explain the liquid nitrogen cylinders? I assume it has something to do with temporarily controlling leaks.

South African Railways

South African railways operates an extensive network of mainly 3 foot 6 inch gauge track. Some of the main lines and the commuter networks around Johannesburg and Cape Town are electrified. Electrification is overhead, using mainly 3kV d.c. with some 25kV a.c. and a small amount of dual voltage route.

I visited Johannesburg in February, 2007. I was unable to travel by rail but I did make some photographs showing the well-kept infrastructure and multiple-aspect colour light signalling. The main station at Johannesburg is large and complex - I was particularly interested in the diamond crossings with double slips. Because of the track gauge and the angle of the crossing, these are more complex than double slips on standard gauge, as the following picture illustrates:-

A few days later in Cape Town, I managed to make a journey one evening on the electrified suburban service to Bellville.

The first railway to be built in South Africa was the Cape Town - Wellington line, started in 1859 but not opened until 1863. The first locomotive is on display in Cape Town station. I managed one photograph before station staff decided that pictures of a 150-year old locomotive were a security risk! Click for my South African railway pictures.

The New York Subway

Of course, on my first visit to New York, the challenge was to find out a little about the Subway and how it works.

The initial settlement in Manhatten is bounded by New York Harbour to the South, the Hudson River to the West and the East River. As New York grew, expansion occurred in the North, towards Harlem and beyond. The 1811 street plan set up the layout of North - South avenues and East - West streets which survives today. As it grew, New York became a victim of its own success and congestion on the North-South avenues made commuting horrendous.

The first improvement was the construction of elevated railways (illustrated below - a delightful diorama in the NYC Transit Museum in Brooklyn) which gave some relief. Many of the avenues were built over by the 'El' but, with short trains hauled by diminuitive Forney 0-4-4T steam locomotives, the improvement in conditions for the still-growing city was only temporary.

More elaborate plans envisaged underground electric railways speeding commuters in and out of the city and it's that system, opened in 1904, that's still in use, now with 25 lines and well over 400 stations.

In common with a lot of early underground railways, construction was mainly cut-and-cover, where existing roads are dug up to allow a railway to be built just under the surface and then the road is replaced on top. From the start, the principal routes were 4-track. Where space permitted, the two outer tracks were the 'Local' lines, provided with platforms at every station, whilst the 'Express' tracks only had platforms allowing interchange with the 'local' every so often. This approach was intended to minimise journey times. Where space was restricted, the 'local' lines ran near the surface, with easy access from the street, whilst the 'fast' tracks dived underneath the local lines.

Tracks are standard gauge and electrification is 625 volts d.c. using an outside third rail. The top of the rail is the pick-up area and a hinged skate on each bogie collects current. A horizontal wooden board is fixed above the conductor rail, presumably both for safety and to exclude ice and snow on the surface lines.

Each line is designated by a number or a letter. Trains which operate over only part of a line may have a separate designation. But with the perversity I imagine is typical of New Yorkers, the designation is applied to the train, not the line - for instance, (cue music) "If you take the 'A' Train". The front of each train carries the designation and all recorded announcements use the form "This is a Six Train for City Hall". Since many of the minor stations have their geographical position in the name, such as '51st Street', it's easier than I imagined to get to somewhere you've never been. There are also simple rules you can learn (I didn't on my short visit) to convert a building number into the nearest cross street, to decide where to get off.

In general, stations are busy and there are plenty of trains, although I did experience more than once a sudden hiatus where trains appeared to stop running for a while, followed by an equally mysterious resumption of service where the first train was crush-loaded. Most of the stations are fairly run-down and cramped in layout but they're reasonably lit, reasonably clean and I could see why residents make such use of the system.

Like the majority of subway systems, if you stand right at the front of the train, there's limited visibility ahead through the door to the driving cab, allowing the sharp deviations to be observed and giving at least a vague impression of some of the complex underground pointwork and the colour light signals.

Speed signalling appears to be in use so that a reduced speed indication allows the driver the anticipate the sudden lurch as the train is diverted from, say, the through line to the local line. As is common on this type of railway, approach release is used in places. For instance, running into a station a signal may remain red until a timer triggered by the occupation of track circuits clears the signal, provided the train's approach speed is consistent with stopping in the platform.

There's an interesting example of approach released signalling on the Manhattan Bridge, which carries four subway tracks, two used by B and D trains, two by N and Q trains. At the bridge approach, the trains pop out of the ground and climb a fairly steep gradient to reach the bridge deck, high above the East River. On the other side of the bridge, trains descend a similar gradient until they disappear back underground. As trains commence their descent, they're faced with at least half a dozen closely-spaced red signals. Provided the driver suitably regulates his speed, each signal in turn clears as the train approaches.

South Ferry is the terminus for One Trains, right by the Staten Island Ferry Terminal. This is currently a very antique station on a very tight curve, with a series of post and chain barriers to prevent you approaching the platform edge, except in the vicinity of the doors. It looked as if trains go round a dumb-bell to reverse.

The One Trains also seemed the most temperamental. Whilst all the trains come into stations fast and use quite heavy air braking to decelerate, they generally rolled to a stop at the correct point. But on a few occasions, One Trains braked heavily but stopped short with a jerk, necessitating drawing up before the doors opened.

I went out to Coney Island on a 'D' train. Once in Brooklyn, the line emerges to run on brick viaducts to Coney Island, four track most of the way. I returned by an alternative route which was also four-track and on the surface until the vicinity of Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn.

The subway is operated by New York City Transit Authority. This is an agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) which has operated New York's public transport since 1965. Other MTA-agencies run commuter rail lines, buses, bridges and tunnels. The Long Island Rail Road is owned by MTA and has nine lines radiating from New York into Suffolk and Nassau counties. Metro North Commuter Railroad is also MTA-owned covering the Harlem, Hudson and, in conjunction with the Connecticut Department of Transportation, New Haven lines. Lines to Port Jarvis and Pascack are operated in conjunction with New Jersey Transit.

The Staten Island Rapid Transit is another MTA agency. This is a surface line running the length of Staten Island (about 23km). Equipment is similar to the subway but the operating voltage was 600 volts d.c. Operation appears to be automatic except in the vicinity of the Northern terminus, by the ferry terminal, where signals are provided.

Click for my photographs of New York's Railways

[Expanded 18-Mar-2007]

Two-train working at Peak Rail

Peak Rail inaugurated two-train working on Saturday, 3-Mar-2007 during their Mixed Traffic Weekend.

Jan was the driver of the steam-hauled passenger services using 'Austerity' tank locomotive 'Royal Pioneer'. Alternate passenger services were diesel-hauled.

The second train was a demonstration loose-coupled freight, hauled alternately by 'Royal Pioneer' or diesel traction.

The line from Matlock Riverside to Darley Dale forms one single line section, the line from Church Lane to Rowsley forms a second single line section. Trains pass on the double track between Darley Dale and Church Lane which is worked Absolute Block.

The first train of the day, 11:00 from Darley Dale to Matlock Riverside, was double headed by D8 (train engine) and 'Royal Pioneer' (pilot engine). On arrival at Matlock Riverside, 'Royal Pioneer' ran round the train, so that we were 'top and tail', with the steam locomotive leading on the way back. We were held briefly at the approach to Darley Dale, waiting for the demonstration freight to arrive in the Up platform before we could proceed. At present, Down trains are not stopping at Darley Dale. On arrival at Rowsley, the steam locomotive dropped off the train to take water and then stabled in the loop, leaving D8 to take the next Up passenger. The next arrival at Rowsley was the Class 31 with the freight. By this time, I'd been relieved by Gary Dixon, who coupled 'Royal Pioneer' onto the freight for its next run. This allowed me to travel on the brake van of the freight train and take some photographs. This pattern continued through the day until D8 coupled onto the last Southbound passenger at Rowsley with 'Royal Pioneer' as pilot for the short journey back to Darley Dale. Click here for photographs.

On the day, everything worked well and congratulations are due to everybody who worked to achieve this step forward for the railway. Note that, at present, two trains will only operate on certain dates.

No Place Like Home

Wednesday, 28-Feb-2007: Up at 5.00 am, check out of the Cape Grace, picked up by the young lady from CC Africa at 5.45 am, an easy journey to the airport. There's extensive building work going on so she has to drop me some way from the terminal and I have to go on foot with my luggage across a virtual building site to reach the terminal building. Good job I'm travelling (reasonably) light! Check in, through passport control and security and find the British Airways Terraces lounge. I'm amazed to find no internet access. There's a business section all wired up for computers, but no equipment. We are in a 'Wi-Fi' hot spot, but it's a chargeable one (as are most of them, except for some enlightened hotels) and it's too difficult to contemplate signing up for one session. Instead, I have a very light breakfast and try to relax before the fairly long flight (about 11.5 hours).

We board on time. The aircraft is a 747-400 and I'm on the upper deck. This is probably still my favourite aircraft, although this particular example is a bit long in the tooth and not all the features work properly, like some of the video channels. But the important bits seem OK and once the four massive turbofans are spooled up, they keep going without incident until we touch down at Heathrow Terminal 4. I get decent views of Cape Town as we take off, although I'm in an aisle seat, but I don't see much of the ground as we make our way North over the African continent. Our initial cruise is at 34,000 feet but, once we have burnt off some of our fuel load, we climb to 39,000 feet for the remainder of our journey. They serve a decent lunch soon after take-off then there's a long interval with snacks and drinks available on demand before they serve a decent dinner shortly before landing. Heavy winds around London mean we have to stooge around for about 15 minutes waiting to land, then we disembark and clear passport control quickly. Heathrow distinguishes itself by taking over 45 minutes to start disgorging the luggage (I've not had to wait for more than 10 - 15 minutes at any other airport on this trip), but at least my bag is one of the early ones. I meet up with Alan in the Arrivals Hall and he drives me home. I'm home at 10.15 pm to a wonderful welcome from my dog Tai, who has also been on holiday, staying with my friend Marion and her dogs Jack and Harry.

Thursday, 1-Mar-2007: It's wonderful to be home, with so many experiences to review and think about. As time permits, I'll probably ramble on further about some of the things I've seen. I've posted photographs in various Collections on my Flickr Site.

I know it's not the type of trip that would appeal to everyone (why stay such a short time everywhere? why so many trains?) but it works for me and I feel very fortunate that I'm able to undertake such a journey.

A Day in Cape Town

27-Feb-2007:

After I left you at 6.20 this morning, I sampled the Cape Grace's continental breakfast before setting out, armed with a hotel map, to walk to the city centre. Incidentally, the hotel is just celebrating ten years of trading (see http://www.capegrace.com/). Well, I found Grand Parade with its town hall of Bath stone imported from England and located the main station, before returning to the hotel in time to be picked up for the 'Walk to Freedom' tour. There were two ladies from Essex on the tour, plus a girl and boy from Potsdam University doing a study on tour guides. The three of us on the tour had to complete questionnaires for the students both before and after the tour. The tour guide, Colin, was excellent and took us through the history of the Cape from initial discovery through to the introduction of Apartheid by the Nationalists just after the Second World War and the birth of democracy so recently. We visited a social history museum, the District 6 Museum. Then we visited the large township of Langa. The pattern of different types of housing is similar to Soweto, but in this case, we were taken right into peoples homes and invited to take photographs. A rather voyeuristic and sobering exercise. We also looked at a couple of bars, where the range of spirits on sale suggests on possible problem area in townships. Then we were taken to a primary school where a large group of infants sang to us. I'm still sorting out my responses to our experience in the township but it was very affecting. We were then taken to the Waterfront where our guide attempted to get our pre-booked tickets for the afternoon tour to Robben Island, where Mandela was imprisoned. To Colin's astonishment, they had cancelled all todays for unspecified 'technical' reasons. I walk back to the hotel and formulate an alternate plan.

The hotel books a helicopter ride for me and there's time for a light lunch before the helicopter company pick me up by taxi. I had an excellent flight and the same taxi driver sets off to return me to my hotel. After a while, we change plans and the driver takes me to the Table Mountain Cable Car and I ascend for breath-taking views from over 3,000 feet up. The taxi then returns me to my hotel. But I'm not quite finished. I walk to the main station, book to Belville and catch the lightly-loaded 18:40 train (3 foot 6 inch gauge electric trains). After a brief look around, it's back to Cape Town as it drops dark, walk to the hotel, have a simple meal and post this update. Then, I must get ready: I've an early start for home tomorrow!

Pictures of Cape Town.

Cape Town

Tuesday, 27-Feb-2007: The last posting was done on a rather cranky computer at the British Airways Terrace Lounge at Johannesburg. No two computers I've used on my travels have behaved the same, but we've managed!

Once the flight was called, I made my way to the gate and outside to a transfer bus. The noise from nearby aircraft was intense. We started to drive across the apron, but had to wait while two aircraft taxied in front of us, only yards away. When we did move again, two other aircraft were manoevring quite close. The aircraft for the two-hour shuttle flight to Cape Town was a Boeing 737-400. This has 3 plus 3 seating with a small curtained-off area at the front for business class. I had 3 seats all to myself. The evening meal was simpler than I've been getting on long-haul flights, but completely made up for by the friendly attentions of the two lady cabin staff looking after us. South African BA staff seem a different breed from the usually-snooty UK staff. We were a little late away because they had to extract the hold baggage of three passengers they'd "off-loaded". We never found out why the passengers were off-loaded. We had a good flight and arrived at Cape Town more or less on time. Again, a coach took us to the terminal and I noticed that the early evening in Cape Town was decidedly cooler than Johannesburg had been. The luggage turned up on the carousel quite quickly and the young man from the travel company was displaying my name in the Arrivals Hall, so the two of us were soon speeding towards my hotel in a 12-seater personnel carrier.

I hadn't realised that Cape Town was so large (population around 4.5 million). It has a large central area dominated by built on land reclaimed from the sea by the Dutch (they were always good at that sort of thing). I'm at the Cape Grace, an impressive (though modern) hotel down at the harbour. My large bedroom overlooks the yacht marina and Table Mountain. Then there's a hallway with dressing room and bathroom leading off. The bathroom has a separate WC cubicle and shower cubicle. All very satisfactory.

It's now 6.20 am as I post this and getting light, so I must leave you.

Pictures of Cape Town.