Of course this was all long before clergy having to serve six linked benefices in rural areas, haring from one to another on Sundays with a service timetable looking like a page from Bradshaw. ("Please note: Group Service at St What's-her-name's on fifth Sundays except during Lent" ....).
In places. In rural Lincolnshire my grandfather had 12 churches and routinely did 3 services each Sunday morning (and probably Evensong too) by the 70s.
I was impressed the other day, reading an entry in Kilvert's Diary, that he could wake up early in Llysdinam, decide on a quick trip to St Harmon's, and leave a message saying he'd be back for lunch. Admittedly, Llysdinam seems to be on the outskirts of Newbridge on Wye, only a few stops down the line, but still!
Train to St Harmon's, conversations with various residents, then on to Tylwch, ditto, whence Kilvert walked to Llanidloes and picked up the train back.
You'd be hard pushed to fulfil that itinerary today, and certainly not by public transport.
So much for progress.
With only three trains a day, that would have needed very careful timekeeping and a very early start!
Of course this was all long before clergy having to serve six linked benefices in rural areas, haring from one to another on Sundays with a service timetable looking like a page from Bradshaw. ("Please note: Group Service at St What's-her-name's on fifth Sundays except during Lent" ....).
In places. In rural Lincolnshire my grandfather had 12 churches and routinely did 3 services each Sunday morning (and probably Evensong too) by the 70s.
Wow!
BCP Holy Communion with hymns ~45 minutes, as I recall.
Back to railway-minded clergy, and L T C Rolt mentions (in Red For Danger ) that a parson was involved in the enquiry into the catastrophic Wigan high-speed derailment of August 3rd 1873. 13 people died, and 30 were injured when several vehicles of the LNWR night express to Scotland left the rails
A certain Reverend C W Dod - a passenger on the train - told the Inspecting Officer that he was 'a keen student of railways, who frequently amused himself by timing the speeds of the trains'. He said that he noticed nothing unusual about the speed of the train, or its motion, but the Inspecting Officer accepted the majority view, and gave his opinion that the train was travelling too fast. The precise cause of the derailment (says Rolt) was never established.
A much later recorder of train and locomotive performance was Cecil J Allen (1886-1973), who, although not an ordained minister, was associated with the Christian youth movement 'Crusaders', and, in later life, with the Methodist Church:
CJA - who started off with the GER - was invited to ride on "Mallard's" record-breaking run but refused as it was on a Sunday.
In the late 30s he organised special trains for Crusaders (all boys in those days) which would be run on the slow lines and be overtaken by the streamliners.
Before you all go totally orff into pre-war nostalgia, why not have another look at the 1990s run-down town of Chandwell, and a row of buildings there.
The man's also constructing a 1:160 model of Bradford Cathedral, mind!
There was an unrebuilt Patriot called St Dunstan's. That, though, was not in honour of the saint. It was named after the organisation that cares for blind ex-servicemen, initially those blinded in the 1st World War. That also, though, is not named after the saint, inspiring though the saint is. It got its name from the happenstance that the house in London where they set up their first headquarters was already called St Dunstan's.
Completely off-post, but Cadfan has several churches named after him, and a holy well still discoverable if you know where to look. In the 90s there was a medical/clerical liaison group named after him, standing for 'Clergy and Doctors Fellowship and Network'. Which tempts one to contemplate a thread on saints whose names might make interesting acronyms...
Picked up another book in an Oxfam shop “Mr Beck’s Underground Map” which is about the history of London Underground maps in the 20th century. As a fan of railways and maps (I suspect these go together) I’m in my element.
I've seen that book, it's really good. Beck seems to have been totally obsessed with the map, though.
He definitely treated it as his own, almost forgetting that he’s a hired hand, albeit a very good one. Paul Garbutt improved it IMHO, although numerous others made a pig’s ear of it.
Those Baguley-Drewrys are Really Useful Engines™, despite their plain looks. I see that the TR has three - two for use, and one for spares!
Yes, although they bear little resemblance to the real Skarloey diesel locos "Rusty" and "Fred".
Rusty and Fred are IRL Midlander and Alf, and both seem to be still part of the TR stock.
If anyone's adding to the Rev Awdry's work, maybe the Baguley-Drewrys will eventually appear in Skarloey livery. The light blue/cream scheme would suit them nicely!
Not sure about earlier Belgian railways, but the former Chemin de Fer du Nord, in pre-SNCF days, painted at least some of its locomotives in a chocolate-brown livery.
Once again, Satan's temptations come to mind... I've just seen that Oxford Rail is preparing a lovely model of the Neilson/Drummond Caledonian 0-4-0ST pug. Encountering the Ladyburn pug at Cartsdyke is an enduring early childhood memory, and it would be a useful little engine on my nascent railway. With a little work you'd quite easily have the Killin (later Inverness) 0-4-2ST, another very useful engine. However, will probably have to resist this temptation.
Once again, Satan's temptations come to mind... I've just seen that Oxford Rail is preparing a lovely model of the Neilson/Drummond Caledonian 0-4-0ST pug. Encountering the Ladyburn pug at Cartsdyke is an enduring early childhood memory, and it would be a useful little engine on my nascent railway. With a little work you'd quite easily have the Killin (later Inverness) 0-4-2ST, another very useful engine. However, will probably have to resist this temptation.
But, as it's from Oxford Rail, it probably won't be really expensive...
Once again, Satan's temptations come to mind... I've just seen that Oxford Rail is preparing a lovely model of the Neilson/Drummond Caledonian 0-4-0ST pug. Encountering the Ladyburn pug at Cartsdyke is an enduring early childhood memory, and it would be a useful little engine on my nascent railway. With a little work you'd quite easily have the Killin (later Inverness) 0-4-2ST, another very useful engine. However, will probably have to resist this temptation.
I have something on the bench based on Hornby’s “Smokey Joe” that could, just pass as a “Killin” Pug. It won’t win any prizes but it will be Ok from two feet away (equivalent to 150 feet in modelling terms).
On a different track...
I recently re-read JB Priestley's Lost Empiresm set in 1913. In consequence, I hunted up the 1986 TV adaptation, which I never saw it when it was first made, but like so many things can now be found online. It's very well done.
I particularly enjoyed the characters' train journey from Newcastle to Edinburgh with the River Severn flowing alongside, in a train hauled by a GWR Hall. In a later episode, the young leads rushed off the Yorkshire Moors just in time to catch a train at Arley, behind a BR Standard...
But, as I say, it really is well done, from an era of good budgets for TV drama, and has worn well.
The railway-related iniquities of film and TV are legion. IIRC, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson once travelled to the West Country - for part of the way, at least - on the Talyllyn Railway...
The Caledonian Pugs were nice little engines, and the Hornby 'Smokey Joe' is a decent low-price budget job, despite the silly name. Some of them had their own tenders, converted from an old open wagon, or maybe purpose-built, as the coal capacity (in the cab) was very limited. I wonder if Oxford Rail will produce the tender RTR as well? I think kits are available.
Not sure about earlier Belgian railways, but the former Chemin de Fer du Nord, in pre-SNCF days, painted at least some of its locomotives in a chocolate-brown livery.
Not sure about earlier Belgian railways, but the former Chemin de Fer du Nord, in pre-SNCF days, painted at least some of its locomotives in a chocolate-brown livery.
The railway-related iniquities of film and TV are legion. IIRC, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson once travelled to the West Country - for part of the way, at least - on the Talyllyn Railway...
I saw one black-and-white film from about 1950 where a train managed to change engines between approaching one end of the platform and stopping at the other. It was rather obvious as the first shot showed a Bullied Pacific and by the time it stopped, that had turned into a King Arthur. They were though, at least, engines from the right railway for the place where the film was supposed to be set.
The Southern Railway was quite adept at changing locomotives, and shunting through coaches, at their many junctions, but even they would be hardly likely to swap engines whilst halfway down the platform!
As you say, at least they were the right engines...
Comments
Wow!
With only three trains a day, that would have needed very careful timekeeping and a very early start!
BCP Holy Communion with hymns ~45 minutes, as I recall.
A certain Reverend C W Dod - a passenger on the train - told the Inspecting Officer that he was 'a keen student of railways, who frequently amused himself by timing the speeds of the trains'. He said that he noticed nothing unusual about the speed of the train, or its motion, but the Inspecting Officer accepted the majority view, and gave his opinion that the train was travelling too fast. The precise cause of the derailment (says Rolt) was never established.
A much later recorder of train and locomotive performance was Cecil J Allen (1886-1973), who, although not an ordained minister, was associated with the Christian youth movement 'Crusaders', and, in later life, with the Methodist Church:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_J._Allen
In the late 30s he organised special trains for Crusaders (all boys in those days) which would be run on the slow lines and be overtaken by the streamliners.
The man's also constructing a 1:160 model of Bradford Cathedral, mind!
He has a Black 5 named after him. Offhand, I can't think of many locomotives that are named after bishops.
https://preservedbritishsteamlocomotives.com/avonside-engine-co-works-no-2004-st-dunstan-0-6-0st/
Dunstan was ++Canterbury from 960 - 978.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunstan
I wonder if we can find any other bishops, who weren't pre-Reformation saints...
(Mind you, I don't really hold with "blessing" things).
The Bishop is Andy John, late Bishop of Bangor.
Thank you.
Those Baguley-Drewrys are Really Useful Engines™, despite their plain looks. I see that the TR has three - two for use, and one for spares!
Yes, although they bear little resemblance to the real Skarloey diesel locos "Rusty" and "Fred".
He definitely treated it as his own, almost forgetting that he’s a hired hand, albeit a very good one. Paul Garbutt improved it IMHO, although numerous others made a pig’s ear of it.
Rusty and Fred are IRL Midlander and Alf, and both seem to be still part of the TR stock.
If anyone's adding to the Rev Awdry's work, maybe the Baguley-Drewrys will eventually appear in Skarloey livery. The light blue/cream scheme would suit them nicely!
https://www.antiqbrocdelatour.com/les-anciens-trains-de-legende/images/La-Pacific-Chapelon-reseau-Nord-1934-musee-chemin-de-fer.jpg
But, as it's from Oxford Rail, it probably won't be really expensive...
I have something on the bench based on Hornby’s “Smokey Joe” that could, just pass as a “Killin” Pug. It won’t win any prizes but it will be Ok from two feet away (equivalent to 150 feet in modelling terms).
Really must get my modelling mojo back.
I recently re-read JB Priestley's Lost Empiresm set in 1913. In consequence, I hunted up the 1986 TV adaptation, which I never saw it when it was first made, but like so many things can now be found online. It's very well done.
I particularly enjoyed the characters' train journey from Newcastle to Edinburgh with the River Severn flowing alongside, in a train hauled by a GWR Hall. In a later episode, the young leads rushed off the Yorkshire Moors just in time to catch a train at Arley, behind a BR Standard...
But, as I say, it really is well done, from an era of good budgets for TV drama, and has worn well.
The Caledonian Pugs were nice little engines, and the Hornby 'Smokey Joe' is a decent low-price budget job, despite the silly name. Some of them had their own tenders, converted from an old open wagon, or maybe purpose-built, as the coal capacity (in the cab) was very limited. I wonder if Oxford Rail will produce the tender RTR as well? I think kits are available.
https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/no-16011-a-drummond-264-class-040st-pug-it-was-built-for-the-caledonian-railway-in-1885-as-no-270-it-beca--295689531775687600/
So they did - they called it Umber, I think. Dark chocolate, rather than milk...
As you say, at least they were the right engines...