2018
November 2018 - David Wright, "Modelling demonstration - constructing buildings"
With 14 members in attendance, David Wright once again put on his annual modelling demonstration on Wednesday afternoon the 21st. He was ably supported by Dave Richards who filmed the demonstration so that it could be viewed on the large screen.
David announced that his Horninglow Wharf project would now be completed as a diorama rather than in layout form and for this session he concentrated on buildings. However he started by demonstrating how to produce realistic water using artists picture varnishing. Turning to the buildings, David indicated that foam board could be used, but for this session he was using mounting board card. After gluing plastic brick work on to the card he suggested “desert tan” spray for the cement. Next he produced an old Burton Railway Society Christmas card and showed how to use it for scribing on vertical timber boarding. Once David had his various pieces in place he used dress makers pins to hold the sides of the building in place whilst the glue dried. Finally he had time to turn to the roof area and he showed how to tile the area concerned.
Regarding painting, David advised using oil paints and recommended the following colours: burnt sienna, crimson, yellow ochre, Naples yellow, Paynes grey, titanium white and burnt umber. Using a home-made palette (a plastic lid), he demonstrated how titanium white and Naples yellow could be used to lighten other colours whilst Paynes grey was useful for darkening other colours. He also found time to demonstrate how to put advertising lettering on to the sides of buildings.
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This session was David’s last demonstration for members and we thank both him and Dave Richards for the informative pleasure it has given us over the last few years.
Mark Ratcliffe
November 2018 - Paul Chancellor, "A seventh Colour Rail journey”
Paul Chancellor made his annual visit to B.R.S. with appropriately a 7th C.R. journey on the 7th of the month! With 93,000 images on line Paul decided this year that he would take the alphabet as his theme.
Thus A was for A4s illustrated with 2509 ‘Silver Link’ in colour at Grantham in 1937. 2510 was shown in 1946 wearing black. Whilst sadly 60015 Quicksilver’ was at Doncaster for scrap, but still bearing nameplates, and 60008 was captured swinging aboard a ship ready for transport to the U.S.A.
B: Battle of Britain locos both un-rebuilt and rebuilt, so ‘Sir Keith Park’ in malachite green in 1948, 34061 with some of its casing cut away following a fire in September 1962 and 34089 on royal train duty at Shawford in 1965 and looking immaculate.
C: Castle class locos, a Trevor Owen photo of 5043 at Churston in 1956 and another photographer captured 5038 with a single chimney alongside a double chimney 7029 at Shrewsbury.
D: Quite definitely Duchesses with 6223 streamlined and in blue whilst 6220 (really 6229), in red on its visit to the U.S.A. complete with headlight. 6238 was streamlined in black livery with a “normal” member of the class behind.
E: for EMUs represented by M29023M at Lancaster and a 303 unit in 1961 sporting blue livery.
F: was for freight featuring 47800 at Keynsham. (Shades of Horace Bachelor!)
G: Gateshead and Paul told us that this was the largest place on the East Coast Main Line without a station! A1 60147 was amazingly clean in 1963 and
D1580 was brand new in 1964.
H: was for hydraulic and with D601 April 1960 and nice & clean. In fact both types of Warship were portrayed.
I: Industrials! What better than Seaham Harbour with an ancient Lewin loco built in 1977? Well, Bass shed in 1961 with five locos present, a Trevor Own portrait!
J: Jubilees with 5594 in maroon at York, 45596 on freight 1962 at Farrington Junction, in the same year Burton’s 45585 on the Lickey, and rebuild 45736 at Willesden in October 1963.
K: Kidderminster pre the Severn Valley Railway with the old station building and the goods yard before the carriage and diesel depot were built.
L: London – various London termini including Paddington with five HST’s in a row.
M: Mixed traffic! A shot of 75002 from on high at Machynlleth looking for all the world like a model.
N: North of Scotland with 62246 at Keith in 1950 and 54495 on Helmsdale shed in 1956.
O: Loco class 02 and the Isle of Wight no. 17 at Ryde and cars of the period at Ventnor.
P: Pre-war with 3822 at Paddington and no.7 on the Wantage tramway in 1930.
Q: “Q” class locos, Q1 69929 at Langwith Junction in June 1957, Q6 September 1966 at Tyne Dock, Q 30540 at Nine Elms in 1964 and Q1 33025 at Guildford also in 1964.
R: “Rural” – 5552 at Goonhaven Halt.
S: S&D. – 40700, 82041 and a Crab loco at Bath shed and 92000 Midsomer Norton and amazing roses.
T: Thames Valley, views taken by Trevor Owen including 6017 at Sonning Cutting on “The Mayflower.”
U: Unclassified – an LNER electric loco at Darlington Works in 1933 and 18000 “Kerosene Castle” at Bristol Temple Meads.
V: Victoria with stations at London Victoria, an external view with period buses, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Norwich, Swansea, whilst not forgetting St Budeaux Victoria Road!
W: Wales – Corris Railway no. 4 in 1946, Swansea Docks, Aberystwyth, Prestatyn and Bangor.
X: What else but Cross Country and occasionally it’s possible to take a decent photo of a Voyager!
Y:Yarmouth and Yatton, D2212 on the roadside at Yarmouth and a Hall steaming through Yatton.
Z: Z class locos with 30954 on shed at Templecombe and Z 68191 at Aberdeen Docks in 1962.
Paul ended with a section called “If Only” with several heritage railway pictures which were all about the illumination and framing of photographs. As always a superb evening of entertainment with Paul “keeping us on our toes” whilst we tried to guess what each letter would feature.
Mark Ratcliffe
September 2018 - Michael Clemens, "A mix of East Midland's steam - ciné & stills from the 50s and 60s"
Once again it was a pleasure to welcome Michael Clemens to showcase the work of himself and that of his late father Jim. This time, for a change, Michael brought along slides as well as cine and we started with the former. To commence the evening, it was Michael, aged three, in a starring role at Leicester West Bridge! Then it was off to Banbury and the Great Central route in its last days during 1966. A rather surprising star was 45437 sporting a 12A shed plate; Michael demonstrated this by zooming in on to the plate in question, so there were no doubts!
The following stations then featured:
Bicester (home of a massive shopping outlet today) - Launton - Gaydon - Verney Junction – Winslow - Swanbourne (now due to re-open with the station rebuilt for the planned east – west route).
When it was the turn of 45529 ‘Stephenson’ to appear on the screen, Michael explained that it was named in 1948 to commemorate the centenary of George Stephenson’s death. Michael had a few slides of quite interesting tickets from special trains and last days of services etc. As well as special trains we were treated to a further selection of stations and one in particular Stanbridgeford. He explained that Brian Clemens, (no relation), but the director of the classic TV series “The Avengers” wanted a run- down and derelict station for a particular episode and this one, which made a big impression on Michael, just fitted the bill. Filming took place in 1968 and took two days. The episode was entitled “Noon Doomsday” and the station was renamed ‘Langs Halt’ for filming purposes.
Of particular local interest to our audience was the LCGB trip of Sunday 1 March 1959 when Jim managed to photograph the train at: Tutbury - Wellington Street - Dale Street - James Street signal box - Bond End by Midland Joinery - Leicester Junction sidings - Woodville Goods - Coalville shed and station – Shackerstone - and Etwall. (Your reporter was able to assist Michael in captioning these photos when they were used in his book on the East Midlands). Part one drew to a close with a return to the GC and Catesby Tunnel. This, we were informed, is now used as a Formula One wind tunnel test site. I would never have guessed that when I walked through it 20 years ago! There were several large open pits in the floor and in some places the water cascaded in like a waterfall: amazing what large sums of money can do, but I still think it would be better with trains running through it!
After the break, it was cine time with a start being made at Towcester in 1959 on the Stratford & Midland Junction Railway. A brief session at Nottingham Victoria was shown before we viewed Jim’s garden railway which had started as a one track affair and had then increased to a four-track set up. Sadly it no longer exists.
Then it was back to the main line at Banbury with Hall Class locos being used on the Bournemouth services. Another fascinating line (dear to your reporter’s heart) followed, this being the GN & LNWR Joint Line. This time Jim was on a 1963 RCTS tour which started at Nottingham Victoria and took in Bottesford - Hose Tunnel - Melton Mowbray - Marefield triangle – Humberstone – and Leicester Belgrave Road. 45238 was the loco in charge and it went back to John o’ Gaunt where it ran around and went off to Market Harborough before going on to the Seaton Branch. Having walked much of the Joint Line, I’d have loved to have been able to travel on this train. Hose Tunnel was particularly eerie to walk through although I found a large torch which I used for several years after. Footage followed in the Hitchin and Bedford area before a line-side session on the Eastern Region main line with A1s, A2s, A3s, A4s including 60022 ‘Mallard’, and V2s. Michael brought the evening to a close with the last day of service on the Leighton Buzzard - Dunstable branch featuring 41222. A truly memorable evening and we look forward to Michael joining us again in 2020.
Mark Ratcliffe
August 2018 - John Bagshaw and friends, “U.K. Photography - the digital way”
Once again we welcomed ‘JJK Photography’ (John, Jarad & Kurt) and the evening started with an audio-visual session with preserved steam in action followed by preserved diesels. Quite a few of the locos featured were no longer in action. John then took up the commentary with the commencement of the slide section and featured locos included ‘Tornado’, ‘Duchess of Sutherland’, ‘Scots Guardsman’, ‘Royal Scot’, ‘Earl of Mount Edgcumbe’, ‘British India Line’ and D9009 ‘Alycidon’. A little bit of photography magic changed 45699 ‘Galatea’ from red on its outward journey to green on its way back! Next we had an excursion into black and white regarding 70013 ‘Oliver Cromwell’. Snow caused real problems at Peak Forest with 45407 (disguised as 45157) and 45690 as the locos were hardly discernible- yet, shortly before their arrival, the sun had been shining! After this it was time for another audio-visual section, but this time in black and white. It was then Kurt’s turn to take over with diesels and electrics seen in 2018. Kurt has joined “the pole brigade”) with some pleasing results particularly on the Foxfield Railway. He had some most interesting shots of heritage diesels which included signals and, where available, signal boxes.
After the interval John included an “arty” section with silhouettes, glints and even a full rainbow. The next section of slides was devoted to preserved lines and the following lines were covered:
Nene Valley: 46100 'Royal Scot' - Great Central North & South: hired in HST unit and the prototype and Q Class 30541 - South Devon: branch line - ****** week with Beattie well-tank 30587 as the guest.- North Yorks. Moors: again with ‘Royal Scot’ - Keighley & Worth Valley when 60103 ‘Flying Scotsman’ was in action.
We had time for two more audio-visual sections with first of all Kurt with a session on diesels in 2012 and 2014 and finally a sequence of night shots entitled: “Welcome to the dark side!” Our grateful thanks were expressed to all three presenters especially to Jarad whose digital projector had failed and he coped very well with the Society’s machine which was unfamiliar to him.
Mark Ratcliffe.
July 2018 - Robin Matthams, 'Railways in and around the Second World War 1937 - 1945'
We were very pleased to welcome back Robin to Burton after a lengthy gap since his last visit. He told us that he would be showing photographs taken by Percy Moseley an engineering manager with Vauxhall cars, who was also an enthusiastic railway photographer. His collection was saved by the Sutton Coldfield Railway Society, but required extensive restoration before the photographs could be shown.
The first portrait was of a Black 5 taken on Sunday 3 January 1937 appropriately at Luton. Saturday January 9th was an open day at Camden Depot and one of the featured engines was 6165 'The Ranger' in original as built form. With Percy being Bedfordshire based, scenes at St. Albans and Leagrave followed before a return was made to the capital. St Pancras and Waterloo were visited and as weel as Kings Cross where he found 4471 'Green Arrow' and then at Euston there was a Patriot and a Scot side by side. He took lots of photos of A4s in original condition. His 1937 holiday was taken in the South East and thus there were several railway views around Folkestone whilst not neglecting the narrow gauge at the R.H.& D.R.
After the interval we moved to 1938 and on 4th April he captured a view of 10,000, the "Hush Hush" loco, at Kings Cross. Robin informed us that there was an intention at one time to name the loco' Pegasus'. In that year he made his first visit to Paddington with his subjects including a Manor and a King, but also the "half hearted" attempt at streamlining with 5005 'Manorbier Castle'. Water troughs locations were not forgotten with trips being made to sites at Aynho and Langley. 1939 rather appropriately included compound 1094 with the Vauxhall factory in the background. On the 10th June the destination was Nuneaton with Princess Class members 6204 and 6210, whilst at nearby Shilton a streamlined 'Princess Alice' stormed by. Down the line at Hillmorton near Rugby his chosen subjects were 5735 'Comet' and 5303 racing each other. Just before war was declared he photographed 6135 at Weedon on 30th August.
Percy took very few photos between 1940 and 1943 because of the wartime conditions, and the fact that railway photography was "frowned" upon by the authorities. Robin commented that most of those photos were in very poor condition and needed a lot of restoration. However, Percy did manage to get to North Wales for a holiday in 1941 and "chanced his arm" by taking a photo of 5A Crewe North Shed from the train on the way home. He took no photos at all in 1942 but in 1943 he managed a couple again whilst on holiday in North Wales. At Rugby in 1944 Percy was able to photograph a U.S.A. utility 2-8-0 in action along with Stanier Mogul 2947. Finally to 1945 and mogul 2976 was the chosen locomotive at Deganwy in September and the show concluded with 6240 'City of Coventry' at Coventry Station on Sunday 14th October where she was on display for a week.
Thank you Robin, we very much appreciated the long hours and the effort you put into the restoration of Percy's collection and we look forward to welcoming you back very soon.
Mark Ratcliffe
June 2018 - 'The Annual Fun Quiz' set by Chris Eaton & Dave Hook
Thirty-eight hardy souls took part in the Annual June Quiz. This total included some members of Leicester Railway Society and we were delighted they could join in with the general fun and mayhem of the evening. It was the usual format of 10 rounds with the opportunity for each team to play a “Joker” for double points on a round of their choice once round two was completed. The titles of each round were as follows:
1. Shed allocation oddities. 2. Steam miscellany. 3. Leicester & Leicestershire. 4. Diesel spillage. 5. Who what when where? 6. Stationary pictures.
7. Railway firsts. 8. Cryptic headlines LNER style. 9. Standards. 10. News headlines all different. Followed by ‘Last man standing’ and ‘nearest the bull’.
Scores ranged from 129 by the winning team to 55. Actually it was quite good to finish in the last place as each of its members received a can of beer! The first three teams were also awarded a can of beer. There was a cash prize of £5 for each member of the winning teamer, £4 each for the runners up and £3 each for those in the third place. Thanks to Chris and Dave for organising everything and Peter Wardle for looking after the scoring. We look forward to next year - will that be the first time that we have in excess of 40 people taking part?
Mark Ratcliffe
May 2018 - Jason Cross, 'Capturing the present - recreating the past'
This was Jason’s first visit to Burton Railway Society and he put on an excellent show of digital images interspaced with video footage. He started with a superb montage with much of railway interest other than locomotives, thus we viewed signs and signals, etc. The first video footage soon appeared and featured D1015 powering through Market Harborough. Local interest was provided with 66718 in London Underground livery moving a train through Bagworth. Then it was the nuclear flask train, two locos for one wagon, the apparent excess motive power being provided for insurance purposes! Many of Jason’s photographs were taken using an extendable pole which he demonstrated to us after the interval. There was much modern day traction to admire with rapid fire shots and a concise, but informative commentary. Photographic charters were illustrated on the Foxfield Railway and also on the Great Central which involved both steam and diesel. On the main line it was good to see 46115 ‘Scots Guardsman’ on a rake of maroon coaches at Rearsby and 46100 at Grantham. A particular interest of Jason’s is the London Underground and this was skilfully illustrated with many interesting shots and carefully selected location. Included were the preserved electric loco ‘Sarah Siddons’ and a steam locomotive. The first half concluded with video footage of a cab ride on L18 on an early hours maintenance train.
The second half started with footage of Adrian Shooter’s private railway and was a combination of video and stills. I was interested to see his photograph of Adrian’s Darjeeling locomotive with his house in the background particularly so as I was standing next to Jason at the time. This really demonstrated the advantages of using a pole because so much more could be included in the shot. Next we had a narrow gauge extravaganza featuring: the Sittingbourne & Kemsley, the Romney, Hyde & Dymchurch, Apedale, Talyllyn, Festiniog, Welsh Highland, Vale of Rheidol, Llanberris Lake, Threlkeld, and the Isle of Man. The latter included the steam railway, electric trams and also the horse-drawn trams. His “on shed” section showed the following: an HST unit at Neville Hill, a class 37 at Crewe Gresty Bridge, Etches Park Derby, a 47 on the jacks at Carnforth, Ruislip underground depot, Barrow Hill, and Swanwick. Finally, we looked at the variety of motive power used to haul the various test rains around the country.
We had a really entertaining evening and Jason provided a different slant on our usual sessions. In particular he demonstrated the advantages of using a pole for the camera to perch on top of. I wonder what Eric Treacy would have thought!.
Mark Ratcliffe
April 2018 - Mike Eggenton, 'ECML - York to Edinburgh and a bit further north'
It was Mike’s third visit to Burton and this time saw us commencing at York and shed 50A with loads of ash everywhere - if only the NRM was like that today! A real scoop for Mike was to get a couple of shots of DP2 in its crashed state in the repair shop at the depot. Up to Darlington and we started with a modern aerial shot of the whole station area. However, once back in our time machine, we looked at 60024 ‘Kingfisher’ entering the station and also a very clean V2 60809 ‘The Snapper’, etc. Over at the depot, 60060 ‘The Tetrarch’ was on stand-by duty. Other locomotives there included Q7 63461 ex-works, inside, side-by-side, were Q6 63406 and 60154 ‘Bon Accord’ and the in-steam breakdown crane. Time to move up to Newcastle and we were informed that the famous diamond crossing was designed by Hadfields of Sheffield. An A4 was shown on the crossing and of course, like everything else, this is all now changed and so the modern comparison featured an HST on a much simpler set up. Visits were made to Heaton Shed with Q6 63437 inside and South Blyth where the twin shed doors nicely framed J27s and an Ivatt 43000 class loco.
Then it was off to the border country with a lovely viaduct on the former Kelso branch which now serves as a footpath. Mike informed us that Berwick Station was built on the site of the great hall of Berwick Castle. Once over the border, a melancholy shot showed the remains of the Penmanshiel tunnel that had collapsed killing two men working inside. Arrival was made in Edinburgh with Deltics very much to the fore together with a pair of 27s which once worked the hourly Glasgow – Edinburgh shuttles. 90021 and a 67 brought us very much up to date. Leaving Waverley behind, it was over to Princes Street Station, now totally banished and replaced by the Scottish Parliament building. At least hot air still prevails! Anyway it was back to more sensible places such as the engine sheds at Haymarket and St. Margarets. The former was illustrated with 60162 ‘Saint Johnstoun’, 60068 ‘Sir Visto’’ 60096 ‘Papyrus’, V2 60894, and 65234. The latter held 65920, 68448 acting as a stationary boiler, and venerable 68095.
Part 2 and it was time for the Forth Bridge. Passing over it we saw various diesels, DMUs, and a 47 on freight. We were then “moved” to the very top of the bridge with a variety of shots and, on this occasion, I was actually with Mike when this visit took place. When in Scotland, Perth is a must and recorded at the station were: V2 60955 on an Edinburgh train along with 60532 ‘Blue Peter’, 60007 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ and 60009 ‘Union of South Africa’. Down at the shed Mike discovered 60026 ‘Miles Beevor’ (engine only), 60512 ‘Steady Aim’, 44797, 72008 ‘Clan Macleod’, and 60031 ‘Golden Plover’. Thornton Junction was the next shed with 62686 ‘The Fiery Cross’, 90600, 65917 with D2717, and 65345. At the time Mike was actually doing some work at the adjoining colliery. Proceeding to Gleneagles, 70002 ‘Geoffrey Chaucer’ was on cattle wagons and coaches. Passing through the station was 60006 ‘Sir Ralph Wedgewood’. Time for Dundee and views of the Tay Bridge and, of course, the depot which held 60530 ‘Sayajirao’, ‘Blue Peter’ along with 64608, 60004 ‘William Whitelaw’, 73154, and 64547. Engines in evidence at Aberdeen were 60009 coming in on a postal train and again 60532. At Inverness was 45117 by the famous water tank arch and preserved 103 with just a small crowd around. Several diesels were shown on the depot and it was a similar story at Fort William with a class 20 and a class 27. Mike then had a modern day colour shot with 62005 on a charter. Kyle of Lochalsh was followed by a trek to the far north with 54495 at Helmsdale, then Thurso with a class 26 and 37, and finally 103 again at Georgemass Junction.
It was a most entertaining evening and Mike was thanked for sharing his past exploits with us.
Mark Ratcliffe
March 2018 - David Cross, 'Another evening of Father's slides: Part 7 - Scotland'
Once again we were delighted to welcome David Cross to Burton for Part 7 of Derek’s slides and David reminded us it was in 1984 that his father passed away. On this visit we were taken to Scotland and David advised that the evening would be a “port to port show” - we would start in the North and finish in the South. Thus we found ourselves in the Port of Aberdeen with diesels in the city. Very quickly we moved around and illustrations featured: Perth, Inverness, Wick and the scenic Kyle of Lochalsh line. At Gleneagles there was time to take in a Stanier Class 5, a V2 and a Rebuilt Scot ‘46166 London Rifle Brigade’. At Kincardine Power Station in 1966 J36 65288 featured, but what was really strange, was that even then the site was surrounded by palisade fencing; it’s been around longer than you’d think! Arriving in Glasgow, the stations at Central and St. Enoch were visited. Moving outwards 46230 ‘Duchess of Buccleuch’ was seen on parcels twixt Kilmarnock and Glasgow. David then took us to Millerhill to view what he described as a “Clayton Graveyard!” – a most apt description. He quickly moved on to various locations on the scenic Waverley route before turning his attention to Carstairs with 46247 ‘City of Liverpool’ in lovely bright red livery and 46203 ‘Princess Margaret Rose’. The first half drew to a close with 70022 ‘Tornado’, or as David described it, the proper ‘Tornado’!
Part 2 found us out at Crawford, a particular favourite location for Derek, where the featured engine was a rather dirty 46253 ‘City of St. Albans’. The natural progression from there was to Beattock and at the summit was 42214 with one coach and the steps set down on the permanent way. This was the Saturday ‘shoppers special’ for railway employees. It was one of David’s own slides that caught my eye and its subject was a modern-day Pendolino! By its side was sign proclaiming the speed limit as 100m.p.h, but bear in mind this was situated at the bottom of Beattock bank! The slide of D344 featured Derek with his lads and was taken by David’s Mum and David was the one in the duffle coat. It was then time for some industrials and there was a superb shot of 2 Barclays at Barony Colliery. Moving to the Glasgow & South Western line at Dumfries, we viewed a couple of Duchesses, 46223 ‘Princess Alice’ and 46232 ‘Duchess of Montrose’ both on Euston to Glasgow expresses. The next location was Ayr where the subject was coal trains: thus we looked at 42861 with its chimney top missing, (a B1 “nae” brakes was the opinion of this class) and the famous Caley 0-6-0s usually referred to as the twins. A quick dash down the Port Line took us to Gatehouse of Fleet viaduct which supported 45588 ‘Kashmir’ on its way to Stranraer. There, 72006 ‘Clan Mackenzie’ was on shed and, having reached the southern Scottish port, the evening ended with D5407 at the station. Sadly of course Stranraer is no longer a port.
It was a lovely evening of steam, diesel, electric and industrials. I think Derek would be quite amused that people still find his photographs to be of interest.
Mark Ratcliffe
February 2018 - Dave Richards & Karl Jauncey, 'PSOV on the main line 2017'
As always it was good to see Dave and Karl with their outstanding footage of steam on the main line during last year. The lads provided us with a bonus this year in the shape of footage of the Bass Railway System in action in the 1960s. Even better, this was included on the DVD for members to buy - please note that this comes at the end of the DVD.
Here follows a few of the selected highlights from the presentation. 45690 ‘Leander’ started us off on 21 January with the “Cumbrian Mountain Express” whilst 60163 ‘Tornado’ performed on the Appleby - Skipton shuttles on the S. & C. ready for the line to be re-opened after major repair work. It later appeared on the day of re-opening, but its performance was marred by poor quality coal. Down in Cardiff, 5043 ‘Earl of Mount Edgcumbe’ was in action and no doubt the last Castle to be seen in the Welsh capital prior to the “wires” going up. There was a lovely shot of 46115 passing over the Kent Viaduct as the sun set. The same loco was seen romping up Shap and then at Ais Gill, but with the whistle stuck on! The Great Britain 10 Tour featured the following locos: 60103 Kings Cross to York, 45212 Edinburgh to Dundee, 45212 and 62005 Pitlochry to Inverness (the latter loco solo to Kyle and on this run an Osmo camera was used for pacing shots), 4522 and 62005 Inverness to Perth with 62005 on its own onward to Glasgow, then 46233 and 45699 completed the footage of this remarkable trip. It was rather good to see film of 9466 and 9600 on the Burton - Leicester line on 13 May, even more so because I was on the train. It was back to 46233 for the Tyseley to Minehead run. Then we saw 46115 on the Blaenau branch substituting because the 8F was very strangely ruled out of gauge! There was even a shot of the Scot alongside the narrow gauge Fairlie. It seemed rather strange to view the newly restored 35018 in black livery for its test run. I have fond memories of ‘British India Line’ as it was the first Merchant Navy I saw. Sister engine 35028 was filmed departing Salisbury sporting a wreath in memory of the late David Shepherd. The wail of the chime whistle of 60009 was lovely to listen to as she performed on the Cotswold line. Worcester Shrub Hill with its ranks of semaphore signals formed an impressive back drop for class leader 46100 ‘Royal Scot’, but even more impressive were 9600 and 9466 with fireworks exploding all around. Locally, 70013 ‘Oliver Cromwell’ passed through Cromford on its way to Rowsley whilst 5043 was captured at both Elford and Wychnor. Rounding off the evening was 45407 and we enjoyed the Ben Collier footage of it on the Fort William - Mallaig Santa trains. Dave and Karl never fail to deliver; it was an evening of film of the highest quality.
Mark Ratcliffe
January 2018 - Richard Binding, 'Exeter to Bristol featuring a circuitous route'
It is always good to have a show provided by one of our members and for 2018 Richard Binding started us off at Exeter St. David’s with a Warship diesel entering the station. This was quickly followed by 5070 ‘Sir Daniel Gooch’ steaming through. Next it was time to look at the Southern aspect with an “N” class on a cattle train with a “Z” class ready for banking duty. Richard then illustrated the changes in Exeter with particular regard to the signalling. Moving out to Cowley Bridge it was no surprise to see the River Exe in full spate. Naturally a short detour along the Barnstaple branch took us to the Okehampton line and Meldon Quarry. Quite appropriately it had rebuilt Bullied Pacific ‘Sir Frederick Pile’ in the background! Naturally, the famous viaduct was illustrated with of course its 20m.p.h limit. Richard then worked his way to Tavistock and Bere Alston with a short excursion up to Callington. Then it was back to Bere Alston and finally into Plymouth. At Lipson Vale the chance was taken to illustrate the Turnchapel Branch. It was then time to visit Laira Shed with an interior view featuring a “Matchless” motorbike in the foreground of the shot. Next Richard took us to visit the legendary Halwill Junction, followed by Hatherleigh with 41216 and then Torrington. Here, in Richard’s words, “a broad gauge lady” was in the shot! Once at Barnstaple the line to Ilfracombe was taken and preserved 34067 ‘Tangmere’ was one of the locos to be featured. Full circle was completed with a return to Exeter ready to head towards Taunton. At Tiverton Junction it was off to Dulverton and a lovely overall view of Thorverton Station before returning to Taunton.
The second half commenced with the Hemyock Branch with mixed trains of coaches and milk tanks - the carriages being ex-Barry Railway gas lit stock these being used due to the very low speed on the line. This line lasted till 1975 for milk traffic. Having got back to Tiverton, Whiteball Summit was the destination with a 9F on a summer Saturday special. Three views of preserved locos 46235, 6024 and 60009 appeared next. Arrival into Taunton was with a Class 50 ‘Ajax’. Then it was out to Cogload Junction where we saw double-headed 37s on a Birmingham – Penzance Mazey Day special. Lots of preserved steam locos were also viewed in this area. It was nice to see the diminutive 1338 tank working in the Bridgwater Docks. At Highbridge the S. & D. line was crossed by a Warship diesel. Weston Super Mare, Yatton and the junction for Clevedon all appeared in quick succession. The latter, we were informed, being Richard’s birthplace. Congesbury, Axe Bridge, Cheddar & Wells Tucker Street were all illustrated before it was back to the main line at Nailsea. Moving towards Bristol the turn off was made to the Portishead Branch with several views of the Clifton Suspension Bridge. On arrival into Bristol Temple Meads, a Pannier tank was happily “fussing about”. Naturally all three major depots were viewed: I particularly liked the rare view of 47190 at Barrow Road.
Richard’s show was a lovely mix of the historical and modern, and his commentary was very well researched. Additional material was also supplied by his friend Roger Jones. All in all it was a really good start to the New Year.
Mark Ratcliffe.