Annoyingly the only good images appear to be on FB, which I deliberately do not have on my phone, but the GWR provender store at Didcot was absolutely vast, they must have had thousands of horses across the network.
On inclines, I give you an old photo and history of the Blue Mountains' (haze from eucalyptus trees) Scenic Railway tourist attraction: 52°. Once used to transport kerosene shale from coal mines in Katoomba from the 1880s.
Thanks @Climacus for another interesting snippet of Antipodean railway lore! Another subject I might link to one day is the use of broad-gauge articulated diesel railcars, built by Walkers of Wigan, Lancashire, in Victoria. They were enlarged versions of the 3-foot gauge cars used in Ireland on the County Donegal and West Clare systems.
Rope-worked inclines were once fairly common in the hillier parts of the UK. but offhand I can't recall one which was also used for passenger traffic (legally, at least). The funicular railways - some of which were/are cable worked) at coastal* resorts were never built for goods as well as passengers AFAIK.
(*I am aware of the town centre funicular at Bridgnorth, Shropshire, a long way from the seaside!)
There was once a rope-worked incline on a Spanish coal-hauling line - the Langreo Railway - which handled a frequent passenger service, but the incline was bypassed many years ago. This railway was narrow-gauge as far as Spain was concerned, being of Stephenson (4 feet 8.5 inches) gauge.
On inclines, I give you an old photo and history of the Blue Mountains' (haze from eucalyptus trees) Scenic Railway tourist attraction: 52°. Once used to transport kerosene shale from coal mines in Katoomba from the 1880s.
Thanks @Climacus for another interesting snippet of Antipodean railway lore! Another subject I might link to one day is the use of broad-gauge articulated diesel railcars, built by Walkers of Wigan, Lancashire, in Victoria. They were enlarged versions of the 3-foot gauge cars used in Ireland on the County Donegal and West Clare systems.
Rope-worked inclines were once fairly common in the hillier parts of the UK. but offhand I can't recall one which was also used for passenger traffic (legally, at least). The funicular railways - some of which were/are cable worked) at coastal* resorts were never built for goods as well as passengers AFAIK.
(*I am aware of the town centre funicular at Bridgnorth, Shropshire, a long way from the seaside!)
There was once a rope-worked incline on a Spanish coal-hauling line - the Langreo Railway - which handled a frequent passenger service, but the incline was bypassed many years ago. This railway was narrow-gauge as far as Spain was concerned, being of Stephenson (4 feet 8.5 inches) gauge.
I think the Lynton and Lynmouth did carry freight fairly regularly? IIRC the carriage bodies detach to leave a flat bed…
The completed railway was opened on Easter Monday 1890; it has been in continuous use since. While early use was largely focused on moving freight, the funicular railway became popular with tourists and it became mostly used for passenger travel. Its flat platforms were converted into passenger carriages in 1947.
I expect there are other examples which used, at any rate, to carry occasional freight traffic, though I wasn't aware of this aspect of the Lynmouth line's history. Clearly, well worth a visit if you're in Devon!
Tangentially, but importantly, the revived part of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway is not far away...
I would guess that several rope-worked inclines were used for passenger traffic in the very early days of railways, eg the Canterbury and Whitstable which was basically a sequence of level track (including the middle bit where "Invicta" worked) and inclines.
The mainline tunnel out of Queen Street station in Glasgow was rope-powered until 1908. Outbound trains had the rope fastened to a special coupling at the front of the locomotive; when the train reached to top of the incline the train accelerated and the rope dropped off. Incoming trains stopped at Cowlairs to detach the engine. Special incline brake vans were attached (I presume at the front of the train) and these controlled the descent through the tunnel.
Although the line was (and is) double track, this was of course different to a double-acting counterbalanced funicular.
The Cromford and High Peak had passenger services at one time, albeit a long time ago. It certainly had rope-worked inclines. I'm sure I've read an account of it somewhere, but where I don't recall. It must have been an adventure, especially in winter when the typical weather in that part of Derbyshire does nasty things to brass monkeys.
You could certainly still trace much of the line from Bethesda to Porth Penryhn in 1993-94, I haven't been back half often enough, but I suspect only the A55 works have changed that since.
An interesting period of history. And what a beautiful accent.
On disused lines, there was a 3 station line at Lake Macquarie (north of Sydney) that ran from 1891 to 1990. One of the stations is still there and you can walk part of the old line, I did, with some tracks still there.
Where I live now used to be the main route for the Sydney to Brisbane line, now farther east closer to and along the coast. Bishops Finger may regret any encouragement on Antipodean railways as I plan to drive up to the Queensland border one day and take some photos of old lines and stations, as they exist, as well as sightsee, and may share them here if there is any interest.
(not trains, but I always wished I had've visited England when the hovercraft went to France...)
We were booked on it in 1969. We waited for a long time at Boulogne (not entirely wasted, as a splendid steam-hauled freight train passed by!). The hovercraft arrived - and broke down. We had to get the ordinary ferry. I did go on the Isle of Wight hovercraft, nearly 60 years ago now! It was noisy, cramped and bumpy.
My uncle crossed to France inthe hovercraft. The motion made him very unwell and he had to be carried off. fortunately other family members were with him to get the car off.
At least you didn't say "the hovercraft carried him off ...".
I crossed from France to England on the big catamaran ferry, on a rough day. The motion was much less comfortable than on a normal boat. My wife was cross with me because she and our son were very sick, and I wasn't!
I've travelled on the Seaspeed hovercraft, and also on the catamaran (Seacat?). Both were reasonably comfortable as regards motion (the weather was OK), but they seemed very cramped. At least the journey was over fairly quickly!
As this is really a railway thread, I must say how pleased I was when the Channel Tunnel rail link became a reality. Alas! owing to the lunacy of Brexit, my local CTRL station (Ebbsfleet International) is no longer served by Eurostar trains, but, before the UK went mad, a reasonable day trip to Paris was possible - and quicker than a day trip to Birmingham...
I've travelled on the Seaspeed hovercraft, and also on the catamaran (Seacat?). Both were reasonably comfortable as regards motion (the weather was OK), but they seemed very cramped. At least the journey was over fairly quickly!
As this is really a railway thread, I must say how pleased I was when the Channel Tunnel rail link became a reality. Alas! owing to the lunacy of Brexit, my local CTRL station (Ebbsfleet International) is no longer served by Eurostar trains, but, before the UK went mad, a reasonable day trip to Paris was possible - and quicker than a day trip to Birmingham...
Is that actually true? I’m not trying to defend Brexit, obviously, but I thought it was COVID that killed Ebbsfleet International really?
Well, there are probably several reasons why Ebbsfleet International is no longer served by Eurostar - AIUI the difficulties of post-Brexit travel contribute - but you are, I think, right.
From Wikipedia:
In September 2020, Eurostar announced that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent collapse in ticket revenue (down by 90%), both Ebbsfleet and Ashford International stations would not be served by Eurostar services until at least 2022. In September 2021, Eurostar confirmed that services would not resume until 2023, despite complaints by local politicians that this was "bad for Kent". Eurostar stated that it would resume services when commercially sensible to do so, as it would initially "focus on destinations where demand is highest". A further update in August 2022 confirmed that Eurostar might not resume serving the station (along with Ashford) until at least 2025.
I've not heard anything about re-opening this year.
(The station is still open for domestic HS1 services - the fast trains from London to various places in Kent).
And Eurostar has never called at Stratford International!
The most ugly and austere station in England. Discerning foreigners would never want to use it.
They might if they want to go to Norwich or other parts of East Anglia.
True enough, although IIRC Stratford International isn't the most user-friendly interchange station - it's quite a hike from the HS1 platforms to the Underground (unless I took a wrong turning somewhere...)!
I think some Eurostars - or maybe they were special trains - stopped there during the 2012 Olympics.
Memorabilia time... I just found my copy of the Operating Manual: British Railways Locomotives D5000-D5175. It is dirty, dog eared and most of the pages have black stains and fingerprints that got there directly from the engines. It is a small treasure that I'll never give away, acquired when I worked a student in the summer of 1967 at the Inverness diesel depot. Any other such treasures out there?
I have fallen into temptation today and preordered a forthcoming commercial model of the GWR County Class. It's 4 mm scale and I have nowhere to run it. I plan to rename and renumber her as County of Berks. This appeals to my twisted sense of humour.
I have already done a similar transformation on a B17 to make it 2871, Manchester City. It may be that one day I'll create a Railway Centre diorama for them. Who knows?
Perhaps we need a compulsive engine buyers sub-forum... I foolishly and irresponsibly fell into the trap - once in a lifetime, I insist - of buying the Rapido Jones Goods (Drummond livery). It is a lovely model, and had its first outing last week on a friend's enormous railway that has a large section representing Blea Moor - a good substitute for the Highlands, where it looked perfectly at home.
I have fallen into temptation today and preordered a forthcoming commercial model of the GWR County Class. It's 4 mm scale and I have nowhere to run it. I plan to rename and renumber her as County of Berks. This appeals to my twisted sense of humour.
I have already done a similar transformation on a B17 to make it 2871, Manchester City. It may be that one day I'll create a Railway Centre diorama for them. Who knows?
Perhaps we need a compulsive engine buyers sub-forum... I foolishly and irresponsibly fell into the trap - once in a lifetime, I insist - of buying the Rapido Jones Goods (Drummond livery). It is a lovely model, and had its first outing last week on a friend's enormous railway that has a large section representing Blea Moor - a good substitute for the Highlands, where it looked perfectly at home.
You both show excellent taste, even if the County is a GW locomotive.
Rapido are quickly becoming the Rolls-Royce of model manufacturers in the UK, and I am almost ashamed to confess that I have three of their forthcoming models on pre-order...
The only ones I ever saw were when we had a holiday in Cornwall. I assume the smaller wheels might have given them an edge on the switchback Cornish main line. Apart from that, it's a bit puzzling why they were built when the GWR was still, even after the war, building Castles and the Modified version of the Halls.
I never saw the earlier sort of Counties of course. They all got cleared out at the same time as the GWR's other larger wheeled 4-4-0s at the beginning of the 1930s.
We used to see the occasional GW engine (Halls or Manors, I guess) at The Town Of My Youth, mostly on interregional trains from the west (no surprise there!), as we had a direct-ish link to Reading.
I wonder if GW locos ever penetrated into East Anglia or other points East? I guess that there might have been gauging restrictions (too wide over the cylinders).
The only ones I ever saw were when we had a holiday in Cornwall. I assume the smaller wheels might have given them an edge on the switchback Cornish main line. Apart from that, it's a bit puzzling why they were built when the GWR was still, even after the war, building Castles and the Modified version of the Halls.
I never saw the earlier sort of Counties of course. They all got cleared out at the same time as the GWR's other larger wheeled 4-4-0s at the beginning of the 1930s.
The standard history on why they were built is a diverted batch of 30 Halls, used as a test bed to sort out what innovations were going to make it onto the Hawksworth pacific.
Which never happened. But that’s why they were so powerful, they were dummying for a future express passenger design.
Memorabilia time... I just found my copy of the Operating Manual: British Railways Locomotives D5000-D5175. It is dirty, dog eared and most of the pages have black stains and fingerprints that got there directly from the engines. It is a small treasure that I'll never give away, acquired when I worked a student in the summer of 1967 at the Inverness diesel depot. Any other such treasures out there?
I have a copy of the 'Diesel Traction Manual for Enginemen' but I didn't come by it in any such exciting circumstances :-) I also have a 1980s B.R. issue orange anorak - a really horrible plasticky thing which seems to sum up my teenage memories of the railway system of that time!
The Cromford and High Peak had passenger services at one time, albeit a long time ago. It certainly had rope-worked inclines. I'm sure I've read an account of it somewhere, but where I don't recall. It must have been an adventure, especially in winter when the typical weather in that part of Derbyshire does nasty things to brass monkeys.
The road down into the Goyt valley which goes on to Buxton was drowned by the upper reservoir, and the route now goes across the top of the dam and up what was the incline. It turns left at the top just in front of a small reservoir which was there for the winding engine. This bit of the C&HP down to the canal basin at Whalley Bridge was abandoned in about 1909 (from memory) when a rail connection was made at Buxton instead, for the stone coming up from the quarries which the line served. Walking along the line from that reservoir (which you can do, until you reach a stopped-up tunnel) is interesting - there are a number of tight curves on small embankments with multiple increasing radii laid out on them, as presumably rolling stock got longer over the years. And at the bottom end of the incline, the path along one bank of the lower reservoir is the old track bed. I often go walking around here, it's a nice drive out and I go so often I don't need to think about it!
You could certainly still trace much of the line from Bethesda to Porth Penryhn in 1993-94, I haven't been back half often enough, but I suspect only the A55 works have changed that since.
I got a bit lost cycling from Bangor station to Caernarfon to connect to the WHR (should have been easy, I was on the old line), because my old pink OS map did not have the A55 works on it!
Was pleasantly surprised to read about a Presbyterian locomotive (one of many) on the Midland Railway recently. According to the author it had Psalter safety valves.
Quite a Revelation...but engineers got up to some peculiar Acts, or so one reads in railway Chronicles. I daresay the Psalter valves were just the Job, though.
Was pleasantly surprised to read about a Presbyterian locomotive (one of many) on the Midland Railway recently. According to the author it had Psalter safety valves.
Don't forget Ivor The Engine, who wanted to sing in the choir, whose whistle is made of three organ pipes (sadly not from a chapel but a fairground).
Doing some research on European post-WW2 engines, I've come across what appears to be the official video of the French world record trains from March 1955, i.e. 70 years ago, with a max speed of 331 kmph: (link; subtitles in English available on demand).
Not sure if this has been commemorated in any railway or local news, but it deserves to be IMHO.
Weird and wonderful film! - Great orchestral music, in parts quoting Gershwin's 'An American In Paris'; black-and-white, everyone in suit and tie, each and every French stereotype of that time duly recorded, and many of the working men smoking cigarettes, wearing striped scarves, or for the locals, striped t-shirts. (It seems an all-male occasion, no ladies present.)
Enjoy!
Technological aspects also interesting of course. Apparently, one of the BB-9004's pantographs melted, so they just raised the front one. Etc. - Thoughts and observations welcome.
Thanks for this. I've seen part (but not all) of the film before.
It's not surprising that the pantograph melted: this was done on 1.5Kv DC electrfication, so the amperage required must have been huge and constant. No wonder the future standard was 25Kv AC - which I think been already installed on the PLM mainline (or was about to be).
This picture has arrived on my FB page as part of an advert for all-inclusive rail holidays to Italy. But what is it, and does it actually exist? If it's a diesel, it ought to be ashamed of itself - but it looks more like a steam-electric loco (oil-fired as no tender). Any ideas?
We interrupted our trip to Scotland two weeks ago to meet friends in York, which involved a minster, a museum and not a little good Yorkshire beer. The NRM was a complete joy. Many exhibits were away either visiting friends or in storage, but there was more than enough to produce a feeling of pure bliss. It was delightful to see the Stirling 8 footer beside Bulleid's Q1; someone with a sense of humour must have been behind that - beauty and the beast. Lode Star was on the turntable - a lovely engine I last saw at the Swindon Museum forty years ago. The North Shed was a treasure trove, and while we were in there we heard some steam sounds outside, and there was 60103 arriving quietly for some servicing. No swarming crowds risking their lives to grab their pictures - just a working engine coming in for a routine shop visit.
We had good value for money with the 8-day Spirit of Scotland tickets, even though we had to buy separate tickets to get from Berwick to York. The trains were not generally remarkable apart from the HSTs we rode - in my opinion, still the best way to travel, fast and much smoother than they used to be.
... The trains were not generally remarkable apart from the HSTs we rode - in my opinion, still the best way to travel, fast and much smoother than they used to be.
I agree. Sometime back now, I had a good fortune to find myself on one of the few HST's that were still operating on the NE/SW route. It was far more comfortable and far more spacious than the cramped, vibrating sets that replaced them and that even then, one usually got.
Yes - I nearly broke my coccyx the first time I got onto one of the then-new Hitachi trains at Oxford station! I flopped down in a seat as I did on an HST or other train... and the cushion was about as thick and soft as a Rich Tea biscuit! Owww!!
Comments
You can still get a hovercraft from Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight…
https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co227784/charlie-the-last-british-railways-shunting-horse
Thanks @Climacus for another interesting snippet of Antipodean railway lore! Another subject I might link to one day is the use of broad-gauge articulated diesel railcars, built by Walkers of Wigan, Lancashire, in Victoria. They were enlarged versions of the 3-foot gauge cars used in Ireland on the County Donegal and West Clare systems.
Rope-worked inclines were once fairly common in the hillier parts of the UK. but offhand I can't recall one which was also used for passenger traffic (legally, at least). The funicular railways - some of which were/are cable worked) at coastal* resorts were never built for goods as well as passengers AFAIK.
(*I am aware of the town centre funicular at Bridgnorth, Shropshire, a long way from the seaside!)
There was once a rope-worked incline on a Spanish coal-hauling line - the Langreo Railway - which handled a frequent passenger service, but the incline was bypassed many years ago. This railway was narrow-gauge as far as Spain was concerned, being of Stephenson (4 feet 8.5 inches) gauge.
I think the Lynton and Lynmouth did carry freight fairly regularly? IIRC the carriage bodies detach to leave a flat bed…
The completed railway was opened on Easter Monday 1890; it has been in continuous use since. While early use was largely focused on moving freight, the funicular railway became popular with tourists and it became mostly used for passenger travel. Its flat platforms were converted into passenger carriages in 1947.
I expect there are other examples which used, at any rate, to carry occasional freight traffic, though I wasn't aware of this aspect of the Lynmouth line's history. Clearly, well worth a visit if you're in Devon!
Tangentially, but importantly, the revived part of the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway is not far away...
The mainline tunnel out of Queen Street station in Glasgow was rope-powered until 1908. Outbound trains had the rope fastened to a special coupling at the front of the locomotive; when the train reached to top of the incline the train accelerated and the rope dropped off. Incoming trains stopped at Cowlairs to detach the engine. Special incline brake vans were attached (I presume at the front of the train) and these controlled the descent through the tunnel.
Although the line was (and is) double track, this was of course different to a double-acting counterbalanced funicular.
Certainly, there were several early lines which used cable power to augment the small steam locomotives of the day.
https://youtu.be/cXKHmcHGm3Y?si=Mldfd4nAYAfOnkSU
You could certainly still trace much of the line from Bethesda to Porth Penryhn in 1993-94, I haven't been back half often enough, but I suspect only the A55 works have changed that since.
Interesting. Is there a reason they were used for shunting and not having the engines do it under their own steam?
An interesting period of history. And what a beautiful accent.
On disused lines, there was a 3 station line at Lake Macquarie (north of Sydney) that ran from 1891 to 1990. One of the stations is still there and you can walk part of the old line, I did, with some tracks still there.
Where I live now used to be the main route for the Sydney to Brisbane line, now farther east closer to and along the coast. Bishops Finger may regret any encouragement on Antipodean railways as I plan to drive up to the Queensland border one day and take some photos of old lines and stations, as they exist, as well as sightsee, and may share them here if there is any interest.
Oh! I went by standard ferry in 2007. Not sure if I recall seeing it. I am quite oblivious at times.
The classic example, which I hadn’t thought of yesterday, was getting out of Euston!
I crossed from France to England on the big catamaran ferry, on a rough day. The motion was much less comfortable than on a normal boat. My wife was cross with me because she and our son were very sick, and I wasn't!
As this is really a railway thread, I must say how pleased I was when the Channel Tunnel rail link became a reality. Alas! owing to the lunacy of Brexit, my local CTRL station (Ebbsfleet International) is no longer served by Eurostar trains, but, before the UK went mad, a reasonable day trip to Paris was possible - and quicker than a day trip to Birmingham...
Is that actually true? I’m not trying to defend Brexit, obviously, but I thought it was COVID that killed Ebbsfleet International really?
From Wikipedia:
In September 2020, Eurostar announced that due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent collapse in ticket revenue (down by 90%), both Ebbsfleet and Ashford International stations would not be served by Eurostar services until at least 2022. In September 2021, Eurostar confirmed that services would not resume until 2023, despite complaints by local politicians that this was "bad for Kent". Eurostar stated that it would resume services when commercially sensible to do so, as it would initially "focus on destinations where demand is highest". A further update in August 2022 confirmed that Eurostar might not resume serving the station (along with Ashford) until at least 2025.
I've not heard anything about re-opening this year.
(The station is still open for domestic HS1 services - the fast trains from London to various places in Kent).
59% did. I was not one of them.
The most ugly and austere station in England. Discerning foreigners would never want to use it.
True enough, although IIRC Stratford International isn't the most user-friendly interchange station - it's quite a hike from the HS1 platforms to the Underground (unless I took a wrong turning somewhere...)!
I think some Eurostars - or maybe they were special trains - stopped there during the 2012 Olympics.
I have already done a similar transformation on a B17 to make it 2871, Manchester City. It may be that one day I'll create a Railway Centre diorama for them. Who knows?
You both show excellent taste, even if the County is a GW locomotive.
Rapido are quickly becoming the Rolls-Royce of model manufacturers in the UK, and I am almost ashamed to confess that I have three of their forthcoming models on pre-order...
I never saw the earlier sort of Counties of course. They all got cleared out at the same time as the GWR's other larger wheeled 4-4-0s at the beginning of the 1930s.
The standard history on why they were built is a diverted batch of 30 Halls, used as a test bed to sort out what innovations were going to make it onto the Hawksworth pacific.
Which never happened. But that’s why they were so powerful, they were dummying for a future express passenger design.
I have a copy of the 'Diesel Traction Manual for Enginemen' but I didn't come by it in any such exciting circumstances :-) I also have a 1980s B.R. issue orange anorak - a really horrible plasticky thing which seems to sum up my teenage memories of the railway system of that time!
The road down into the Goyt valley which goes on to Buxton was drowned by the upper reservoir, and the route now goes across the top of the dam and up what was the incline. It turns left at the top just in front of a small reservoir which was there for the winding engine. This bit of the C&HP down to the canal basin at Whalley Bridge was abandoned in about 1909 (from memory) when a rail connection was made at Buxton instead, for the stone coming up from the quarries which the line served. Walking along the line from that reservoir (which you can do, until you reach a stopped-up tunnel) is interesting - there are a number of tight curves on small embankments with multiple increasing radii laid out on them, as presumably rolling stock got longer over the years. And at the bottom end of the incline, the path along one bank of the lower reservoir is the old track bed. I often go walking around here, it's a nice drive out and I go so often I don't need to think about it!
I got a bit lost cycling from Bangor station to Caernarfon to connect to the WHR (should have been easy, I was on the old line), because my old pink OS map did not have the A55 works on it!
Don't forget Ivor The Engine, who wanted to sing in the choir, whose whistle is made of three organ pipes (sadly not from a chapel but a fairground).
Not sure if this has been commemorated in any railway or local news, but it deserves to be IMHO.
Weird and wonderful film! - Great orchestral music, in parts quoting Gershwin's 'An American In Paris'; black-and-white, everyone in suit and tie, each and every French stereotype of that time duly recorded, and many of the working men smoking cigarettes, wearing striped scarves, or for the locals, striped t-shirts. (It seems an all-male occasion, no ladies present.)
Enjoy!
Technological aspects also interesting of course. Apparently, one of the BB-9004's pantographs melted, so they just raised the front one. Etc. - Thoughts and observations welcome.
It's not surprising that the pantograph melted: this was done on 1.5Kv DC electrfication, so the amperage required must have been huge and constant. No wonder the future standard was 25Kv AC - which I think been already installed on the PLM mainline (or was about to be).
https://tinyurl.com/mpf2fyed
So it does. Yes, a fake...
We had good value for money with the 8-day Spirit of Scotland tickets, even though we had to buy separate tickets to get from Berwick to York. The trains were not generally remarkable apart from the HSTs we rode - in my opinion, still the best way to travel, fast and much smoother than they used to be.