Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway – Part 2

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This short series of posts was prompted by encountering a piece about the line on a facebook group. The group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/rtvanished

The substantial link:

http://rfbwharailway.blogspot.com/

In my first post I provided a few pictures of the station at Westward Ho! which had not appeared on the links above. This post now follows the line from Bideford to Westward Ho!

The Bideford, Westward Ho! & Appledore Railway was incorporated on 21 May 1896, with its Head Office address at the Electrical Federation Offices in Kingsway, London WC2. Soon after the line passed to the British Electric Traction Company (BET). It was not until 24 April 1901 that the single track line was opened as far as Northam, although the first trial train ran with a few friends of the directors in January 1901. The first train, pulled by Grenville was played off by Herr Groop’s German Band which had been hired for the season and it reached speeds of 36 mph on its inaugural run. The remaining extension to Appledore finally opened in 1908, on 1 May, costing £10,000. The railway was built in three sections, with the first being from Bideford for just over the third of a kilometre; the second from the termination of the first, to Westward Ho!, a length 6 t0 7 kilometres; and the third being from Westward Ho! to Appledore, a length of between 3 and 4 kilometres. [3]

Bideford to Westward Ho!

The OS Map extract below shows the relative locations of the two stations at Bideford.The map extract above shows the town of Bideford. It had been intended to link the two lines serving Bideford. Indeed a locomotive on rails did cross the river here – photographic evidence can be found below! [5][4]

The adjacent map extract from the same OS Sheet shows clearly how spartan the facilities on ‘The Quay’  on the West side of the river were. It is a clear indication that the Bideford, Westward Ho! & Appledore Railway  (BWH&A) was not particularly well resourced! [5]

One bit of trivia is highlighted by the second monchrome image below. It is taken on the day of the opening of the railway station on the West side of the River Torridge. A Hungarian Brass Band was hired to play for the occasion and are seen gathered around the official train of the day in 1901. [6]

1917: a steam engine crosses Bideford Bridge on rails! [4]The official train at the BWH&A Station at Bideford on the opening day in 1901. [6]Bideford Quay and Light Railway in the early 1900s. [7]

Three smaller images of BWH&A Trains in Bideford. [8]

The first full width image below shows two locomotives at Bideford Quay in around 1905. [13]

The first augmented colour print below also shows The Quay in Bideford with a BWH&A train approaching the terminus of the line. [9]

The next augmented colour image shows the Quay from Bideford Bridge in the early 1900s. There is no sign of the railway in this image. [10]

The sepia image from 1943 shows Bideford Quay again. Buses now take pride of place and the rails are long-gone. [11]The next few picture seek to replicate the three above, but taken in 2018.Looking North along The Quay (Google Streetview).The view of The Quay from Bideford Bridge in June 2018 (Google Streetview).An attempt to replicate the 1943 image looking South along the Quay. The reference point is the white building seen between the trees on this image which appears inn a similar position in the picture taken in 1943.Another view taken at Bideford Quay. [12][13]

From The Quay, the line turned West and began to climb The Bank with Victoria Park on its right and Pill Road on its left. The old railway formation has become the modern A386, Kingsley Road as can be seen on the extracts from the OS Map and Google Maps below.Looking West up Kingsley Road. The old railway formation/route became the A386.We continue to follow the route of the old railway and the A386 past the modern superstore to the right and Bideford FC to the left. The road passed the location of the modern Morrison’s store with the Carriage Shed visible in the distance to the left of the A386. [15]Just to the North of the football ground we find the old carriage shed at a slight angle to the A386. To its North was the Engine Shed. [5]The Carriage Shed. This picture was taken in July 2018.The Carriage Shed taken in July 2018 from a little further North along the A386. It is surprising that the carriage shed has survived when the engine shed has not. The tracks for both are shown on the adjacent satellite image. [11]

I have not been able to find any pictures of the BWH&A engine shed at Bideford.

A

The trackbed of the old railway continues beyond the carriage and engine sheds along the line of today’s A386 for a short distance. At a point South of ‘Glenburnie’ and East of ‘Causeway’ on the above OS Map the road and trackbed separate with the modern road heading away to the North and the trackbed heading West. It crossed the old road north (Northam Road) out of Bideford to the left of ‘Causeway’ on the level adjacent to a Halt and a two and a half storey signal box. The signal box was built to this height to allow approaching road traffic to be spotted. [5][23: p16]

This photo shows the road crossing over Northam Road at The. Causeway, the crossing keeper’s home and the tall signal box.

A generally westerly trajectory then took the old line beneath Raleigh Plantation (above). [5]The old line is shown on the modern satellite image above (Google Maps) its route is highlighted by a line of deciduous trees. It continued in a westerly direction travelling to the South of  Turner’s Wood and Kenwith Castle as shown on the OS Map extract’s below. [5] South of Turner’s Wood the old line crossed a lane on an over-bridge. The bridge over the stream to the North of the railway line remains but there is no evidence of the railway bridge or embankment at that location. The modern A39, which is prominent on the satellite image above, does not show in any form in the older OS Map extracts. Kenwith Castle is now a Care Home. [17] The Castle was first known as Kenwith Lodge. The mid-eighteenth century building, with an earlier wing, was later used as the dower house of the Pine­-Coffin family at nearby Portledge. In 1850 Dr Hevwood was the owner and by 1883 it was occupied by Major General Hickman Thomas Molesworth. The Castellated Regency Gothic front effectively disguises the older building.  More recently, the building has been a hotel before being converted into use as a residential home. There is a steel line engraving entitled ‘Kenwith Lodge, North Devon, the seat of W. C. Heywood M.D.’ by H. Wallis after W. H. Bartlett, 1831 and the eighteenth-century gazebo seen in the engraving survives. [18] I believe that the image below is a copy of this engraving. [19]Beyond Kenwith Castle the old line travelled westwards crossing over two lanes/roads by means of over-bridges. The first is on the last OS Map extract above and the location is shown in the first image below (Google Streetview) which is taken from the South of the old line. Again, there is no evidence of the bridge or embankment which carried the old line, nor of the Halt which existed somewhere nearby.The second, on the OS Map below, is shown as Abbotsham Road. The photograph below is taken from Abbotsham Road looking Northeast from the South of the line of the railway. The road is now a very minor lane. It was crossed on the level. The railway approached the crossing on a slight embankment as can be seen in the photograph (Google Streetview). There is no obvious sign now-a-days of the halt which existed at this location. The halt was a mile or so from Abbotsham village. A passing loop can be picked out on the OS Map.Beyond Abbotsham Road, the old line travelled only a short distance further in a generally westerly direction before turning northwards as highlighed in the two OS Map extracts below. [5]

The railway formation in cutting close to the old Cornborough Halt. [22]

There was a halt at this approximate location. Cornborough Halt provided for holiday makers visiting the cliff walks and nearby beach ans served walkers aiming to walk on the Torrs, etc. It was in a very exposed area and trains were often reduced to a snail’s pace due to high winds in winter.[22][23]

Cornborough Cliffs Halt had a platform, but no shelter and was sited on the up side of the line next to the footpath at the waters edge. The line ran through rock cut cuttings up to this point. [23] No sidings or freight facilities were provided. [24]

From this point, following the route of the old line is easy. Every walker on the South West Costal Path enjoys the relatively easy grades of the old railway!

The old line turned North to follow the coast at Cornborough Cliff. The recent satellite image (Google Maps, 2019) shows the South West Coastal Path which joins the formation of the old railway just as it meets the cliffs. From this point it is about 1.5 miles into Westward Ho! The path has been designated for easy access. [20] A few pictures of the footpath/old line follow here and below.

All who chose to walk the South West Coastal path are able to enjoy the gentle grades associated with the old railway from this point into Westward Ho!

The first colour image below looks Northeast along the old railway formation in 2009, (c) Jordan Walks. [25]

The second colour image looks Southwest along the South West Coastal Path at Cornborough Cliff (c) Grant Wilkey [21]

The three OS Map extracts below take us into what was Westward Ho! Railway Station. By the time trains reached the railway station they were travelling in an Easterly direction. There is plenty of room for development shown on the OS Maps and Westward Ho! developed strongly as a resort once the railway had been complete in the early years of the 20th century.

The satellite image below the map extracts shows almost exactly the same area as the last of the OS Maps and shows the develo[pment of the village/town and the significant numbers of static caravans which cover the area to the West of the centre of Westward Ho! The Station and its facilities are long gone, as is the Bath Hotel which was close by.

“Westward Ho! History” states: [16]

Westward Ho! was the busiest station on the line and it had its own Station Master, Mr. MacLaughlan; it had two platforms, platform lighting, a passing loop, ticket office, an 8-lever signal box and a 2-lever ground frame operated by Mr. Spry; a waiting room, refreshment room, bookstall, level crossing gates and a Concert Hall called the Station Hall. A siding ran to the Westward Ho! Gas Works. An early photograph shows Westward Ho! with only the signal box and a long unbroken fence running along the back of the platforms with no other buildings or lighting. The similarity in appearance and construction between the Westward Ho! and Appledore platform buildings suggests that they were both built at the same time, circa 1908.

In an effort to entice the public onto their trains and provide shelter during inclement weather, the company built a Concert or Reception Hall on the ‘up’ platform at Westward Ho! in 1901 / 02, it was called the Station Hall. Performers such as the ‘Jolly Dutch’ and Clog Dancers performed in Station Hall. It was an expensive undertaking, costing £17 9s 7d in 1906, under the heading of ‘Services of Minstrels’ in the traffic expenses log. The building was well built and still stood in 1980 as a ‘Beer Garden’.

The Westward Ho! History website also provides some photographs of the old railway station. including the bridge below, which was on the approach to the station – significant development has occurred in this area although it appears that the abutments remain. [26] The bridge deck is long-gone. [16]The railway station was close to the beach. Its location is shown in the picture below, marked by the red oval. [14]The Westward Ho! Railway Station location in 2019. [14]

References

  1. http://rfbwharailway.blogspot.com, accessed on 5th June 2019.
  2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westward_Ho!_railway_station, accessed on 5th June 2019.
  3. http://www.westwardhohistory.co.uk/the-railway, accessed on 5th June 2019.
  4. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BWH%26AR_Locomotive_crossing_Bideford_Bridge_1917.jpg, accessed on 5th June 2019.
  5. https://maps.nls.uk, accessed on 5th June 2019.
  6. http://bidefordbuzz.org.uk/2015/07/hungarians-not-bidefordians, accessed on 5th June 2019.
  7. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Devon-postcard-Bideford-Quay-and-Light-Railway/401778456050?hash=item5d8bdcb5f2:g:~1cAAOSwR0Fc8tVe, accessed on 5th June 2019.
  8. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4-VINTAGE-POSTCARDS-BIDEFORD-WESTWARD-HO-APPLEDORE-RAILWAY-POSTALLY-UNUSED/183826475123?hash=item2acce96873:g:4GUAAOSw6VVc6818, accessed on 5th June 2019.
  9. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bideford-The-Quay-by-Frith/350900463553?hash=item51b34c27c1:g:Ft8AAOxyIYhSXVI4, accessed on 5th June 2019.
  10. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Devon-The-Quay-Bideford-H8915-PPC-1943-PMK-To-Mr-Ward-Beckenham/202603274299?hash=item2f2c18a03b:g:WNsAAOSw0q1cbZnA, accessed on 5th June 2019.
  11. http://www.railmaponline.com/UKIEMap.php, accessed on 6th June 2019.
  12. https://www.rmweb.co.uk, accessed on 6th June 2019.
  13. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Bideford,_Westward_Ho!_and_Appledore_Railway, accessed on 6th June 2019.
  14. http://www.choice-cottages.com/westward-ho!-horizon-view-30-%7C-2-bedrooms-westward-ho!-26931.htm, accessed on 30th November 2019.
  15. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BWH%26AR_route,_carriage_shed_and_engine_shed.jpg, accessed on 6th June 2019.
  16. http://www.westwardhohistory.co.uk/the-railway, accessed on 7th June 2019.
  17. https://www.care-south.co.uk/homes/kenwith-castle, accessed on 30th November 2019.
  18. https://www.devongardenstrust.org.uk/?q=node/171, accessed on 30th November 2019.
  19. http://abbotshamdevon.weebly.com/people-and-property.html, accessed on 30th November 2019.
  20. https://www.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/print-walk/64, accessed on 30th November 2019.
  21. https://m.southwestcoastpath.org.uk/walksdb/64/#&ui-state=dialog, accessed on 30th November 2019.
  22. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornborough_railway_station, accessed on 30th November 2019.
  23.  Julia & Jonathan Baxter; The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore railway 1901-1917;  Chard (1980), p19.
  24.  Stanley C. Jenkins; The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway; Oakwood Press, Oxford, 1993, p141.
  25. https://sites.google.com/site/jordanwalks/home/south-west-coast-path/westward-ho-to-padstow/westward-ho-to-clovelly?tmpl=%2Fsystem%2Fapp%2Ftemplates%2Fprint%2F&showPrintDialog=1, accessed on 30th November 2019.
  26. https://www.railforums.co.uk/attachments/20191012_145036-jpg.69341, accessed on 30th November 2019.

Resources for further investigation, [2]:

  1. Baxter, Julia & Jonathan (1980). The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore railway 1901-1917. Pub. Chard. ISBN 0-9507330-1-6.
  2. Christie, Peter (1995). North Devon History. The Lazarus Press. ISBN 1-898546-08-8
  3. Garner, Rod (2008). The Bideford, Westward Ho! & Appledore Railway. Pub. Kestrel Railway Books. ISBN 978-1-905505-09-8.
  4. Griffith, Roger (1969). The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway. School project and personal communications. Bideford Museum.
  5. Jenkins, Stanley C. (1993). The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway. Pub. Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-452-0.
  6. Kingsley, Charles (1923). Westward Ho! Pub. London.
  7. Stuckey, Douglas (1962). The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway 1901-1917. Pub. West Country Publications.
  8. Thomas, David St John (1973). A Regional History of the Railways of Britain, Vol.1: The Westcountry. Pub. David & Charles.
  9. https://englishrail.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/bideford-westward-ho-appledore-rwy, accessed on 5th June 2019.

 

 

The Glasson Dock Branch

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Glasson Dock sits at the mouth of the Lune Estuary to the Southwest of the City of Lancaster.

Navigation up the River Lune to the Port of Lancaster was not easy. In 1779, the Port Commission decided to build a dock/port at the coast. Land was purchased and, by 1782, a pier had been constructed. Delays occurred and it was not until March 1787 that work was completed. When the dock was opened it could hold up to 25 merchant ships. [2: p182]

Following the demise of Lancaster as a port, Glasson Dock was, at its height, the largest port in the north west, importing cotton, sugar, spices and slaves from Africa and the Indies. [3]

Lancaster Canal was important in affording swift distribution of cargo landed at the port into the heart of industrial Lancashire. [3] The construction of the Lancaster Canal started in 1792. A connection from the canal to the sea at Glasson was considered, ”and John Rennie’s plans for a Glasson branch formed the basis for an Act of Parliament which was obtained in May 1793. No work took place, [2: p186] and it was not until 1819 that the plans were revived, when another Act of Parliament was needed to raise additional finance. The estimated cost of the branch was £34,608, and work began in 1823.” [1]

The branch was only 2.5-mile (4.0 km) long. Over this length it dropped through 52 feet (16 m) from Galgate. The canal itself was completed in December 1825, but financial difficulties meant that warehousing and wharves were not constructed immediately and the growth of trade was slow. ”However, by 1830 over 10,000 tons of goods passed through the dock, most of it passing on to the canal. Because the locks were 14 feet (4.3 m) wide, smaller ships did not have to transship their cargoes to canal boats, as they could sail through the dock and along the canal. The first such boat to do so was a schooner called Sprightly, which carried slate to Preston in May 1826. Incoming trade included slate, timber, potatoes and grain, while coal was exported through the port to Ulverston, North Wales and Ireland.” [1][2: p195-197]

The settlement of Glasson remained relatively small and only saw some limited growth in the 19th century. A shipyard and Customs House were built in 1834, a Watch House in 1836, a Church in 1840, and a Dry Dock in 1841. The shipyards were largely concerned with ship repair rather than shipbuilding. [1]

The quay was not connected to the railway network until 1883, [1] when a branch line from the LNWR mainline through Lancaster was completed. The branch also connected St. George’s Quay in Lancaster to the mainline. Lancaster Archives have a copy of the 1884 plan showing the branch and St. George’s Quay bat a scale of 2 chains to 1 inch. [4] More detailed maps can be sourced from the National Library of Scotland website. [5]

Passenger trains for Glasson Dock left the Station at Lancaster travelling North from the down bay platform which was on the West side of Castle Station. Their route is shown dotted on the map below, turning from the North to the Southwest and running alongside the mills on the south side of the River Lune, before heading South towards Glasson Dock. The second map below shows the branch leaving the North end of Castle Station and then heading away to the West on the South side of the Lune. The connection to St. George’s Quay is also evident. Both of these maps are available on the Lancashire Archive website. [7]Both Long Marsh Lane and the Glasson Dock Branch were on a downgrade towards the River Lune. The following OS Map shows the branch crossing the highway once again. This time it is Lune Road, very close to its junction with Long Marsh Lane. Also visible on the map is most of the length of the short Lancaster Quay Branch along St. George’s Quay. [5]The location of the bridge which carried the Glasson Dock Branch over Lune Road (Google Streetview, November 2019).The route of the Glasson Dock Branch can clearly be seen leaving the mainline North of Castle Station in Lancaster and curing away to the West. The bridge over Lune Road is on the left of the image. [9]St. George’s Quay and Gas Works shown from the air in the 1950s. The photograph is taken from the Northwest. The Glasson Dock Branch can be seen to the top right of the picture. The Lancaster Quay Branch is in the foreground. [10]

To the West of Lune Road the branch continued on a downgrade to meet the Lancaster Quay Branch and then on towards the Southwest alongside the Lune Mills. [5]The line the continued out towards the foreshore of the Lune Estuary. [5]The lane shown approaching the railway from the East on the OS Map extract immediately above [5] linked the line to Aldclffe and Aldcliffe Hall. A signal post is marked on the Mao at this location but no formal halt was provided for the residents of Aldcliffe Hall.

Aldcliffe Hall was a 19th-century country house, now demolished, which replaced a previous mediaeval building, on the bank of the Lune estuary. It was built in a porous local stone, it was covered in stucco for protection. The building was demolished in the 1960s. The estate was first identified in 1557 as belonging to the Dalton family. Their lands were forfeit to the Crown and their old hall was demolished and replaced by a new building in 1817 by Edward Dawson. [11]

The next three pictures are photographs taken by me in November 2019 at the point where the lane-way meets the old railway route. The first looks back north towards Lancaster. The second shows the signpost at Aldcliffe Hall Lane and the third looks ahead towards Glasson Dock.From Aldcliffe Hall Lane, the railway continued in a Southerly direction along the foreshore. Typical of the cycleway which now (November 2019) follows the old railway formation to the North of Ashton Hall halt (my photograph).The next significant point on the line can be seen on the OS Map extract immediately above – the private halt for Ashton Hall at Nan Bucks.Ashton Hall Private Halt, circa 1960s, © Graham Hibbert. [12]The Ashton Hall halt in private ownership in November 2019 (my photograph). This image emphasises the proximity of the line and halt to the River Lune at this point. The old line ran alongside Meldham Wood and the estate of Ashton Hall which is now Lancaster Golf Club (November 2019, my photograph).Further South, also in November 2019, approaching the location of the arched accommodation bridge over the old line (my photograph) which can be seen on the OS Map above. The property at Waterloo has, in 2019, been replaced by a newer building closer to the old railway line.This satellite image shows the replacement property at Waterloo, the accommodation bridge and another new property in the early 21st century (Google Earth).The arched accommodation bridge which provides access to the foreshore and to a private property to the West of the line. To the East of the line the lane leads to the Ashton Hall Garden Centre (November 2019 – my photograph).The bridge abutments have been decorated by primary school children from Thurnham school (November 2019, my photograph).These two pictures show the formation of the old line travelling towards the Station at Conder Green (November 2019, my photographs). The OS Map extracts below track the old line through the Station. [5]Conder Green was the last stop on the branch before Glasson Dock Station and the terminus of the line. Conder Green Station sat just to the North of the confluence between the Conder River and the River Lune.This picture was taken facing South towards the station building at Conder Green, it shows No. 46433 working a RCTS Railtour on the 20th June 1964 (c) Ron Herbert. [16]This picture shows the approach to Conder Green Station from around a 100 metres further South than the monochrome image above (November 2019, my photograph).Conder Green Station looking North towards Lancaster in 2008, (c) Mark Bartlett. There is now a cafe to the left of  and attached to the station building [15]Cafe de Lune [17]

Immediately beyond Conder Green Station was the most significant structure on the branch – the bridge over the Conder River.Conder Green Railway Bridge now carries a cyclway over the River Conder © David Rogers. [18]

Two photographs taken in the late afternoon light at the same location. The first looks East towards Conder Green the second looks West towards Glasson Dock. Both are taken looking along the route of the old line into Glasson Dock Station (November 2019, my photos).

After crossing the River Condor trains turned to the West to head for Glasson Dock.This 1890 OS Map shows the approach to Glasson Dock from Conder Green. There was little change throughout the years of the 20th century until the line was finally closed in the 1960s [5]The view back towards the Conder River Bridge and the Cafe de Lune at the site of the old Conder Green Station (November 2019, my photo).From this point the branch ran along a causeway alongside the River Lune. Glasson Station’s location can be picked out to the left of the OS Map above. [5]Two photographs taken in the late afternoon light of a November day at the same location on the branch line close to the position of Glasson Dock Station. The first looks East towards Conder Green, the second looks West towards Glasson Dock.Glasson Dock Station was on the right of the above OS Map and is shown in a few images from the late 1950s and early 1960s below. [5]Glasson Dock Station in the early 1960s. [13]A rail tour at Glasson Station after closure of the Line. [14]Two pictures of Glasson Dock from a May 1960 rail tour, © Ron Herbert. [19][20]Glasson Dock Railway Station after Closure in the 1960s. [21]There were two lines at the end of the Glasson Dock Branch. One served riverside. The other ran alongside the large canal basin(and is shown on the postcard image above). Both terminated at the Warehousing, Dock and Quay. [22]This OS Map extract shows the very end of the branch which served the River Lune  and Glasson Dock. The old dry dock is visible to the West of Glasson Dock. [5]The same location today. In 2019, the route of the railway is highlighted by the cycle-way which enters from the right of the satellite image. The remainder of the track-bed and sidings at the dock have been lost under various developments and car-parks.

 

 

References

  1. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasson_Dock, accessed on 11th November 2019.
  2. Charles Hadfield & Gordon Biddle; The Canals of North West England, Vol 1 (pp.1-236). David and Charles, Newton Abbot, 1970.
  3. https://www.visitlancashire.com/explore/glasson-p93070, accessed on 12th November 2019.
  4. https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/ffe58ab1-a697-4b97-ab7c-c10bc165d8a0, accessed on 14th November 2019.
  5. http://www.nlshttps://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=15.079642735363752&lat=53.9987&lon=-2.8474&layers=168&b=1, accessed on 12th November 2019.
  6. https://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/traffic-and-travel/hs2-stop-lancaster-critical-business-leisure-and-tourism-growth-city-657294, accessed on 14th November 2019.
  7. https://www3.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/oldmap, accessed on 14th November 2019.
  8. https://images.historicenglandservices.org.uk/landscapes/aerial-views/lancaster-castle-epw002086-5554481.html
  9. https://britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/epw042034, accessed on 17th November 2019.
  10. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/St-Georges-Works-the-gas-works-and-Ford-Quay-from-the-air-circa-1950s-now-Luneside_fig1_273168246, accessed on 17th November 2019.
  11. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldcliffe_Hall, accessed on 18th November 2019.
  12. https://www.flickr.com/photos/grahamhibbert/6002463424, accessed on 17th November 2019.
  13. http://publictransportexperience.blogspot.com/2016/09/have-you-been-to-conder-green-1.html, accessed on 21st November 2019.
  14. https://www.nwemail.co.uk/features/nostalgia/16433201.nostalgic-rail-trip-from-morecambe-to-windermere-in-the-last-days-of-steam, accessed on 17th November 2019.
  15. https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/18/239, accessed on 21st November 2019.
  16. https://www.stevependrillphotography.com/photographers-ramblings-glasson-dock-curiosities, accessed on 22nd November 2019.
  17. https://www.facebook.com/CafeDLuneAtCondorGreen/photos/a.1519968901661822/1519968914995154/?type=1&theater, accessed on 22nd November 2019.
  18. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1969072, accessed on 26th November 2019.
  19. https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/50s/540501sl.html, accessed on 17th November 2019.
  20. https://www.sixbellsjunction.co.uk/60s/600529sl.html, accessed on 17th November 2019.
  21. https://redrosecollections.lancashire.gov.uk/view-item?i=237954&WINID=1574015967496#.XdGUXHHLe9e, accessed on 17th November 2019.
  22. https://images.app.goo.gl/q7qxLb3aTvfAj2Ls9, accessed on 17th November 2019.

 

 

The Lynn and Fakenham Railway – Part 1

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Although first mooted in the 1840s, the Lynn & Fakenham Railway was not opened, over its full length, until 1880. It only had a short independent life, being absorbed into the Eastern & Midlands Railway in 1883.

A look at the history of the line and it’s route through the Norfolk countryside is for a future post.

The Lynn & Fakenham Railway is mentioned in an article in the journal “Railway Archive.” Interestingly, that article is about the locomotives which were initially purchased for the Cornwall Minerals Railway. [1]

The Cornwall Minerals Railway developed out of a series of older Tramroad which served the Cornish Mining Industry. It owned and operated a network of 45 miles (72 km) of standard standard gauge railway lines in central Cornwall. It started by taking over an obsolescent horse-operated tramway in 1862, and it improved and extended it, connecting Newquay and Par Harbours and Fowey.

It  had a chequered history having been hurt by a collapse in mineral extraction due to a slump in prices. But after a period in bankruptcy it recovered enough to take over a defunct route between Fowey and Lostwithiel – the Lostwithiel and Fowey line.

In 1896 it finally sold its line to the Great Western Railway which had been leasing it for some time.

Its main passenger line from Par to Newquay is still in use as the Atlantic Coast Line, and also carries some mineral traffic, but the Par to Fowey line has been converted to a private road. [2]

CMR No. 1, Treffrey was built, along with all of the CMR locomotives, by Sharp, Stewart & Co. Ltd of Manchester. It was named for Joseph Austin Treffrey but the name plates were mis-spelt. These locus were intended to work in pairs, back to back and it is likely that the lack of rear bunker and the open cab were intended to facilitate this way of working. There is no evidence to suggest that the traffic on the railway was ever large enough to justify this intention. [1][2]

The Cornwall Minerals Railway was adventurous in its intentions and purchases. It anticipated far more traffic from the mines than was to materialise and bought 18 (yes, eighteen) 0-6-0T steam engines to serve the anticipated high demand. [1] When the line was leased to the GWR in 1877, the new lease-holders quickly realised that the over provision of motive power was a financial drain on the Line. The GWR returned 9 of the engines to their makers, leaving 9 to serve the needs of the Line. [1:p30]

Of the 9 remains locos, a further one was sold by 1883 to the Sharpness New Docks Company and based on the opposite side of the River Severn from the Forest of Dean. [1:p31]

We are interested, in this article, in the fate of the 9 locos returned to Sharp, Stewart. Or, at least, 8 of those 9 locomotives. 8 were purchased by the Lynn & Fakenham Railway and ended their days in various guises on the Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GNJR) which was the ultimate successor to the Lynn & Fakenham Railway. [1:p30] A first batch of three were sold to the Lynn & Fakenham in 1880, a further five were sent to the Lynn & Fakenham in 1881. [1: p36]

Incidentally, the last of the 9 locos returned to Sharp, Stewart was sold to the Colne Valley & Halstead Railway before ending up at a colliery in Northumberland. [1: p30]

Treloar comments that the Lynn & Fakenham’s successor, the M&GNJR was “despite their lack of success … inspired … to design and build a later type of 0-6-0 tank with similarities to the original locomotives, some of them even using the wheels from the ex-CMR engines.” [1: p30]

This is recognised at least in part by the LNER Encyclopedia which says:

“The Midland & Great Northern Joint Railway’s (M&GNJR) ‘Shunting’ Class (LNER J93) were designed by Marriott and built at the M&GN’s Melton Constable’s works. In common with many M&GN types, the Shunting Class followed Midland Railway practice and included a number of Derby design features, such as the cab, tanks, and boiler mountings. The boiler drawing was made at Derby in 1896, and the nine locomotives were built at Melton Constable between 1897 and 1905.

Most of the J93s were built carrying the ‘Rebuilt Melton Constable’ plates, and six of the class (Nos. 93-8) were reputed to have been rebuilt from locomotives that had started out on the Cornwall Minerals Railway (CMR). These were built by Sharp, Stewart & Co. in 1874, and acquired by the Lynn & Fakenham Railway in 1880-1. These were then inherited by the Eastern & Midlands Railway – predecessor of the M&GN. The stock register describes the J93s as new locomotives, and Mr G.B. Clarke (draughtsman to Marriott) is on record as emphatically stating that the J93s were new locomotives. Therefore, J93s Nos. 93-8 should really be considered replacements for the ex-CMR engines. After saying this, there is some evidence that some of the J93s carried ex-CMR wheels at one time or another. These had ten spokes and built-up balance weights, whilst the new wheels had twelve spokes and cast-in crescent weights. Some photographs from the 1940s show individual J93s carrying a mixture of both wheel types!” [3]

The LNER/M&GNJR J93 Class of shunting locomotive which was based to some extent on the original CMR locomotives design by Sharp, Stewart. [1][3]

Eastern & Midland No. 11, one of the original CMR locomotives with the Sharp, Stewart Tender. [4]

The Lynn & Fakenham Railway and it’s successors clearly had problems with the original CMR locomotives. They did not last long in their original guise. The lack of coal space was a major problem! By the time they were in use on the M&GNJR, they had been provided with tenders, as shown above. The tenders were all fabricated by Sharp, Stewart in the 1880s to their standard 4-wheel design. A series of pictures is provided with the article in Railway Archive. [1: p36-39]

In addition to these 0-6-0 locomotives, the Lynn and Fakenham bequeathed a number of other engines to the Eastern and Midland Railway. These included:

Seven 4-4-0T locomotives built by Hudswell Clarke for the Lbetween 1878 and 1881; [5][6]

and

Four Beyer Peacock 4-4-0 locomotives built 1882/1883. These were the first of a total of fifteen of the class. The remaining eleven were built for the Eastern and Midlands Railway before 1888. [5][7]

References

1. Peter Treloar; A Scattered Family: The Cornwall Minerals Railway’s 0-6-0Ts; Railway Archive Issue 30, Black Dwarf Lightmoor Press, 2011, p27-40.

2. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwall_Minerals_Railway, accessed on 16th November 2019.

3. https://www.lner.info/locos/J/j93.php, accessed on 16th November 2019.

4. https://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/131449-creating-a-believable-freelance-pre-group-company, accessed on 16th November 2019. The provenance of the photograph is unclear. It appears on ‘rmweb’ as part of a long discussion about creating a realistic pre-grouping model railway.

5. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_and_Midlands_Railway, accessed on 16th November 2019.

6. https://railway-photography.smugmug.com/LNERSteam/1893-MGNR-Midland-Great-Northern-Railway/EMR-Eastern-Midlands-Railway-Hudswell-Clarke-4-4-0T/i-v4ZHNHZ, accessed on 16th November 2019.

7. https://www.lner.info/locos/D/mgn_arebuild.php, accessed on 16th November 2019.

 

The Plymouth or South Duffryn Colliery in the Taff Valley

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South Duffryn or ‘Plymouth’ Colliery, situated to the south of Pentrebach and just north of Troedyrhiw, was opened by the Hills Plymouth Company in 1862. It was served by the Taff Valley Railway and the Penydarren Tramroad. I have been prompted to write this short post by reading an article written by Clive Thomas in the Archive Journal of September 2014. [1]

The featured image above shows the colliery sidings in a postcard image from the early 20th century. [2] The colliery itself is just off the picture to the right. Most of the wagons in the picture seem to be privately owned by the Plymouth Collieries. The sidings are all standard-gauge and were served by the Taff Valley Railway. A number of the buildings of the disused Duffryn Ironworks can be seen in the centre of the image. Some of these were later used as workshops for the colliery. [1]

Some basic information about the area us provided by Alan George in his website about Old Merthyr Tydfil. [4] … Clive Thomas tells the story of the Plymouth Ironworks and Collieries in Archive Journal No. 83:

“In 1786, a lease was secured from the Earl of Plymouth on a tract of land on the East bank of the River Taff and to the south of the hamlet of Merthyr Tydfil. From that date, the name of the ironworks established there became synonymous with that of the Hill family. For seventy years, first Richard and then each of his three sons, Richard (Jnr), John and Anthony played their part in its development as one of South Wales’ pre-eminent iron-making concerns.

The Plymouth Ironworks, which grew at the three sites of Plymouth, Pentrebach and Duffryn, although never seriously rivalling it’s neighbours at Cyfarthfa and Dowlais in terms of size and iron ore production, should not be regarded as an insignificant player in the history of iron manfacture. By the mid 1840s, the ironworks consisted of ten blast furnaces, twenty-four puddling furnaces, four forges and seven rolling mills, as well as the ancillary machinery and mines associated with iron production. The works had been advertised for sale in 1834, but no buyer was found. While the managerial roles of Richard (Jnr) and John changed and gradually diminished, it was Anthony, as early as 1826, who was responsible for the progress of the enterprise and on the death of Richard in 1844, assumed full control. … Unlike any other Merthyr Ironmaster he provided for his workers, constructing good quality housing, building and endowing schools and churches in the villages of Troedyrhiw and Pentrebach. As recently as 1958, children in the village school at Troedyrhiw, whose grandfathers had worked in the Plymouth Collieries benefitted from a clothing grant when entering the Iocal grammar school.

To ensure the efficient continuity of the iron production, it was necessary to develop extensive coal and ironstone mines which comprised numerous adits and shafts. Almost all of these were to be found on the mountainside, feeding the works by a series of tramways and inclines. The seams exposed on the hillside were exploited by levels and drifts, while shallow pits intersected those found below the valley floor. While the ironstone mined here, like that available to the other Merthyr iron companies, was not of the highest quality, the coal was the best, with seams of bituminous and dry steam found within the property. … The year before Anthony Hill’s death, the Hill’s Plymouth Collieries mined 250,000 tons of coal, 10,000 tons more than Cyfarthfa and only 15,000 tons short of the production of the Dowlais Collieries.

Following Anthony Hill’s death, the assets of the company were acquired by Messrs Hankey, Fothergill & Bateman for a sum of £250,000, a concern that had already bought what remained of the Penydarren Ironworks which had closed in 1859. Under the enthusiastic direction of Richard Fothergill, the Aberdare Ironmaster, efforts were then made to re-vitalise the Plymouth Ironworks.

In an article written for the Mining Journal of October 1869 the virtues of this enterprise were still being proclaimed, with the mention of developing the ironmaking plant at the three sites. The author, M. B. Gardner, however is evidently more impressed with the exploitation of the property’s remaining coal reserves and mentions that ‘the area of coal leased has been greatly increased since the present proprietors purchased the works.’ Coal production we are told averaged 1,300 tons per day. … Of this output, four hundred tons were sent to Cardiff and Swansea with the rest still being used in the production of iron in the works. Eight hundred to a thousand tons of ironstone were still being mined from the property. Mr Gardner details various technical aspects of the Plymouth mines which by this time had developed in a linear fashion along the valley side, between the Plymouth and Duffryn sites and parallel with the Penydarren Tramroad.” [1]

This is the first and only mention in Thomas’ article of the Penydarren Tramroad. Nonetheless, it is a significant reference. It makes it clear that the Penydarren Tramroad was one of the critical factors associated with the siting of the various works which comprised the Plymouth estate. He emphasises this fact by providing a sketch drawing of the Taff Valley. The Penydarren Tramroad is the rail route which runs from top to bottom of the sketch map, to the East of Plymouth Ironworks. [1]The Taff Valley Railway was opened in stages in 1840 and 1841. [3]  Although the Plymouth Colliery itself opened in 1862, many of the significant industrial sites associated with the Plymouth Ironworks and Collieries had been in operation for 20 years or more before the Taff Valley Railway was completed. The Penydarren Tramroad was of significance in determining the siting of these industries in a way that the Taff Valley Railway could not have been.

Thomas highlights a number of the sites shown on the sketch above: the Ellis, Clynmill and Original pits were oldest and were mines for both coal and iron ore; the Graig, Taibach, North Duffryn and South Duffryn pits were newer and around one mile to the Southeast. All would have been in operation for about 40 years by the 1860s. Coal quality was good but extraction methods were relatively primitive. Although coal was good, iron ore was less so, and by 1875 the Plymouth Ironworks and others were in liquidation. “In 1882 the Plymouth Ironworks was for the second time advertised for sale, but once again without success. Consequently it was then possessed under a mortgage of the executors of the late Thomas Alers Hankey. … The firm of Messrs Samuel and John Bailey, Mining & Civil Engineers of Birmingham was engaged to take over the concern with Mr T. H. Bailey as agent to supervise the whole of the colliery property.” [1: p50]

T.H. Bailey kept a typed journal of his first full year in charge of the collieries. The Archive article [1] is based around that journal. It “offers an interesting insight into the life of a mining engineer, working at a time when the South Wales coalfield was enjoying a period of rapid development and for some, great prosperity.” [1: p51]

References are made throughout the diary to train travel on the standard gauge lines which served the valley. Bailey spends time on the internal tramways which served the mines and on providing adequate numbers of coal wagons for distributing the coal countrywide. He also dealt with the planning of new sidings to accommodate wagons and the upgrading if railway links to the main railway lines. [1: p53]

There is no mention of the Penydarren Tramroad in Bailey’s 1883 diary.

References

  1. Clive Thomas; All Change for Plymouth: A Year in the Life of a Mining Engineer, the Diary of T.H. Bailey, 1883; in Archive No. 83, Black Dwarf Lightmoor Press, Lydney, 2014, p49-61.
  2. https://friendsofsaron.wordpress.com/tag/hills-plymouth-company, accessed on 18th September 2019.
  3. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taff_Vale_Railway, accessed on 19th  September 2019.
  4. http://www.alangeorge.co.uk/plymouthironworks.htm, accessed on 13th November 2019.

 

 

 

So, Someone Shot Jesus!

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On Thursday 7th  November 2019, the Guardian carried a half-page article about the artist Lorna May Wadsworth, and particularly about a painting that she painted as a devotional object for a Church in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire. [1]

The painting  was commissioned by the Parochial Church Council for Nailsworth to hang behind the altar in St George’s Church in September 2008.

It was the request of the late Alan Denman, an ex-church warden who died in January 2008 aged 86. He left £5,000 to the church and the painting was part of a bequest. [2]

A new exhibition of Lorna May Wadsworth’s work was being assembled in Sheffield at the Graves Gallery. [3] The exhibition was planned as a retrospective of her work and ran/runs from 9th November 2019 to 15th February 2020.

When the painting of the Last Supper was being unpacked the painter noticed that there was a hole in Jesus’ right side which, after investigation, was found to have been caused by an air-rifle pellet.

Wadsworth expressed a concern that someone was so aggrieved by her portrayal of Christ that they wanted to attack it. …

What makes this painting unusual in a British context is the choice Wadsworth made to depict Jesus as black. The model is Tafari Hinds and Wadsworth’s intention was to challenge people’s perceptions, to ask the viewer to ‘look with fresh eyes’.

I am not too sure why anyone should have taken exception to the painting, but to have done so reflects more on the iconoclast than on the artist.

It is normal for us to create God in our own image. We have no warrant for doing so, but most of our religious paintings do just that. They reflect the culture in which they have been painted. So we tend to imagine Jesus as white with longer hair and blue eyes – the ‘Robert Powell Jesus’.

The truth is that Jesus would have been middle-eastern in appearance, probably not over tall, with swarthy skin and a prominent nose. Ultimately we domesticate our images of the divine, because to do so allows us to comprehend God better. If our whole perceptual framework is challenged, everything is uncertain. ….

What was Jesus like?  …….. Someone not to different from me! …. That is a valid and helpful response when first thinking about what it means for God to be incarnate.

However, we cannot stay there. We must not leave it at that. ……

For God incarnate, one of us, is God incarnate, one of us.

And we are all different. We cannot appropriate Jesus as our own. He belongs to us all. Every culture over the centuries has an equal stake in the person of Jesus. Jesus is one of us.

References

1.  https://amp.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/nov/06/artist-lorna-may-wadsworth-discovers-bullet-hole-in-jesus-in-last-supper-painting

2. https://www.stroudnewsandjournal.co.uk/news/4769963.huge-painting-of-the-last-supper-for-st-georges-church-nailsworth-is-complete

3. https://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/museums/graves-gallery/exhibitions/coming-soon

 

Early Railway History in King’s Lynn

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The first two railways to enter King’s Lynn were the lines constructed by:

  1. The Lynn & Dereham Railway which received its Royal Assent on 21st July 1845 built a short section of its line between King’s Lynn and Narborough which opened on either 17th or 27th October 1846. [1][2] The line was extended to Swaffham on 10 August 1847. [2]
  2. The Lynn & Ely Railway Company which received its Royal Assent on 30th June 1845, [2] opened from King’s Lynn to Downham Market on 27th October 1846. On the same day, this railway opened its harbour branch which connected with the main line just to the South of King’s Lynn and ran for 1.25 miles to the wharves on the riverside. Ships using these wharves sat on the mud at low water. [3] The original line ran South, via Downham Market, towards Ely. The first station south of King’s Lynn was St. Germain’s. It took another two years to reach Ely. [2]

These two companies merged to form the East Anglian Railway on 22 July 1847. [2] Wikipedia claims, contrary to Fell, that the spur connecting to the harbour was not opened until 1849. At one point that harbour spur was a complicated network of lines, boasting two swing bridges, serving premises on and around the town’s South Quay. [2]

Expansion followed with the opening of several branches. A line running north to the seaside resort of Hunstanton was opened in 1862. [2][4][5] A journey along the line was celebrated by former Poet Laureate John Betjeman in a short BBC film. [6]

King’s Lynn to Fakenham:  The Lynn & Fakenham Railway was received Royal Assent in July 1876, it opened to traffic between Gaywood Junction and Massingham on 16 August 1879 and between Massingham and Fakenham in August 1880. It was an early constituent of what became the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway.

The Lynn & Fakenham Railway, first used King’s Lynn station, but ran into it from the north, via Gaywood Junction.  When first amalgamated the Lynn & Fakenham Railway became part of the Eastern and Midlands Railway. In November 1881, Eastern & Midlands Railway gave notice to amalgamate after agreement on such periods and terms to be fixed or agreed and the rights of the Midland & Great Northern Companies and of the Midland Railway and of the Great Northern Railway: Peterborough, Wisbeach and Sutton Railway; Midland & Eastern Railway; Lynn & Fakenham Railway; Yarmouth & North Norfolk (Light) Railway; Yarmouth Union Railway; into one Company to be called the Eastern & Midlands Railway. That amalgamation was given Royal Assent on 18 August 1882. [2][12]

By the early 1890s further amalgamations and renaming were considered and Royal Assent given to the Midland and Great Northern Railway Companies (Eastern and Midlands Railway) Act 1893 authorising the Eastern & Midlands Railway to be vested in the Joint Committee of the Midland & Eastern and Norwich & Spalding companies on and from 1 July 1893 and for the combined organisation to be incorporated under the title of the “Midland and Great Northern Railways Joint Committee”. [12]

The line from Gaywood Junction east towards Fakenham was abandoned on the opening of the station at South Lynn. The “Lynn Avoiding” line (South Lynn to Bawsey) was the last link in the chain which brought the eastern lines, which had reached Norwich in 1882, and Cromer in 1887, in direct contact with the lines west of Lynn. The Lynn Avoiding Line opened in January 1886. The South Lynn Station opened for goods traffic in November 1885 and for passenger traffic on 1st January 1886. [12] South Lynn closed to all traffic on 28th February 1959. [2]

In the same year, 1862, the Great Northern Railway reached Sutton Bridge from the West. The King’s Lynn to Sutton Bridge line was the last part of the East-West route to be built, opening in 1864. It later formed part of the larger Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway line between Spalding and King’s Lynn, after its formation in 1893. [7]

The line was single track and originally used the southern half of the second Cross Keys Bridge to cross the River Nene, following the embankment to the east of the bridge and continuing on to King’s Lynn. The construction of the third Cross Keys Bridge in 1897 required slight alterations to the course of the route immediately out of Sutton Bridge. This part of the route was closed to all traffic in 1959, and the track was soon dismantled, allowing the widening of the adjacent A17 road in its place. [7][8][9] The changes in the route can be picked out on historic OS Maps (1884-1888. 6 Inch Ordnance Survey County Series Map – First Edition. TF 42 SE and 1902-06. 25 Inch Ordnance Survey County Series Map – Second Edition. TF 42 SE).King’s Lynn Station in 1948. [14]King’s Lynn Station: 1: Passenger Facilities; 2: Good Facilities; 3: Maltings; 4: Docks Branch (c) Historic England [10]

King’s Lynn’s Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway connection was served by the station at South Lynn. A connecting shuttle service ran from King’s Lynn to South Lynn as often as twenty times a day. [2][11: slide 106]

South Lynn Station from the Air in 1946. [13] Train approaching South Lynn Station across the River Great Ouse. [13]South Lynn Station. [13]

There is excellent material on the history of the railways in King’s Lynn on the “King’s Lynn Forums” (KLF) on a thread entitled “South Lynn and King’s Lynn Railway Stations – M&GN.” [13][15]

References

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynn_and_Dereham_Railway, accessed on 5th October 2019.
  2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King%27s_Lynn_railway_station, accessed on 5th October 2019.
  3. Mike G. Fell OBE; The King’s Lynn Docks & Railway Company; in BackTrack Magazine Volume 25, No. 3 Pendragon, Easingwold, York, March 2011, p144.
  4. Leslie Oppitz; Lost Railways of East Anglia; Countryside Books. 2002, p15.
  5.  Insight Magazine; January 2005. http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page3645.asp, accessed on 2nd September 2007. [Wolferton Station’s] origins go back to the opening of the Kings Lynn to Hunstanton branch railway line in 1862[.]
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Betjeman_Goes_by_Train, accessed on 16th October 2019.
  7. https://www.lincstothepast.com/Sutton-Bridge-to-King-s-Lynn-Railway/235823.record?pt=S, accessed on 16th October 2019.
  8. N.R. Wright; Sutton Bridge and Long Sutton: An Industrial History; 1980, p8, p15.
  9. Alan Stennett; Lincolnshire Railways; 2016, p59-60.
  10. https://britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw031881, acccessed on 21st October 2019.
  11. Richard Adderson & Graham Kenworthy; Ely to Kings Lynn, including the Stoke Ferry Branch; Middleton Press, 2000.
  12. http://www.wycherail.co.uk/mgnEM.php#end, accessed on 23rd October 2019.
  13. https://www.kingslynn-forums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=273&start=60, accessed on 23rd October 2019.
  14. http://www.wolfertonroyalstation.co.uk/kings-lynn, accessed on 23rd October 2019.
  15. https://www.kingslynn-forums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=273&sid=d1624f77f0cc0a07088b295967d93510, accessed on 16th October 2019.

The TNL Tram Network – The Changes in the Urban Network (1929-1934) (Chemins de Fer de Provence 86)

1 Reply

This post continues a series of reflections on the tramway network in and around Nice which are based on Jose Banaudo’s French language book “Nice au fil du Tram Volume 1: Histoire.” The text below includes elements translated from Jose Banaudo’s book. [1]

A Changing Urban Network in/around Nice

The 1930s through to the 1950s saw major changes in the urban environment. As elsewhere, the car began to dominate people’s understanding of progress. Other forms of transport, to a greater or lesser extent, took a secondary place. Independence, rather than interdependence, came to dominate political thinking. The strengthening democracy after the Second World War valued the perspective of the individual. By the end of the 1950s the place if the ‘expert’ in any debate was beginning to be challenged. No longer were people as willing to be told what was best for them. In a significant way, the car became a touchstone for that growing independence and self-confidence. The tram and the train began to be seen as part of the past rather than an important part of the future.

We noted in the last post in this series how buses began to replace trams on the longer routes. Road improvements swept away the tram infrastructure. The rails were replaced, at first, in some places, by trolleybuses. In others the change to petrol/diesel engines vehicles was more rapid.

Banaudo, writing in French, says: “While the tramway disappeared from most interurban lines, the monopoly of this mode of transport was not immediately threatened in the city of Nice. Initially, in 1925-26, TNL had simply created three ‘automobile omnibus’ lines serving routes complementary to the tramway network. These services were designated from 1928 onwards by letters:
A Masséna – St. Sylvestre;
C Masséna – Caucade; and
D Masséna -St. Isidore.
On March 20th of the same year, two new links were created to serve Mont-Boron Hill, to the east of the city:
B1 Masséna – Miramar, and
B2 Masséna – Col de Villefranche.
Their routes were modified several times, only stabilizing in September 1929, the first taking Boulevard Carnot (Basse Corniche) and the second, the Chemin du Mont-Alban (Moyenne Corniche).” [1: p93]

He continues: “The year 1929 was marked by the development of road transport in the city, with the delivery of Renault buses of a Parisian type which were put into service on eight new lines which opened from 19th January to 7th October:

A: Place Masséna – St. Sylvestre, by Boulevard de Cessole;

D1: Place Masséna – Digue-des-Français, by St. Augustin;

E: The PLM Station – Port, via Berlioz, Rossini, du Congrès and Paradis streets;

F: Square Masséna – St. Etienne, by Boulevard Carabacel, Avenues Désambrois and Lambert, Streets Mirabeau, Vernier and Chemin de Pessicart;

G: Square Masséna – Le Ray, by Streets Gubernatis and de Lépante and Avenue St. Lambert;

H : Place Masséna – St. Roch, by Place Garibaldi, Rue Bonaparte and Boulevard de Riquier;

S1: Place Masséna – La Bornala, by Rue de la Buffa;

S3: Rue de l’Hôtel-des-Postes – Rimiez, by Avenue des Arènes.” [1: p93]

After this, there was a lull in the development of bus routes with some routes opening and then closing within short periods of time.

However some routes were set up which survived. Line K: Masséna – Madeleine-Superior was created in February 1932 and in March 1933.

The tramway is eliminated from the centre of Nice

Banaudo says: “All the bus-lines created by the TNL between 1925 and 1933 in the municipality of Nice were established on routes complementary to the main routes travelled by tramways, either by taking streets in the city centre that had previously been left out of the network, by climbing hills that were not suitable for trams, or by opening up suburban districts that were undergoing urbanisation. Operated by limited-capacity buses where the driver issued tickets to passengers, these lines had low frequencies and carried relatively modest traffic.” [1: p95]

Early in the 1930s, following the example of Paris. TNL and the municipality began negotiations to extend the use of buses to a main route, that from Place Massêna along the Avenues of la Victoire, Malaussena and Borriglione. It was envisaged that this move would improve traffic movement and eliminate the need the costly maintenance of an electrical power supply. “On 5th June 1931, the municipal council decided to convert the lines serving St. Maurice, St. Sylvester and the Boulevard Tzarewitch to a bus-service.” [1: p95]
To implement this program, it was necessary to finance the purchase of a further sixty buses. These were ordered from ‘Renault’ and ‘Panhard et Levassor’ from 1933 onwards. The road vehicle fleet reached 144 units by the following year, surpassing the number of motorised trams. In addition, the TNL finally won a number of legal actions against interurban line operators who picked-up and put-down passengers inside the city in direct competition with trams and buses. [1: p95]

Lines were either provided with new termini, as in the case of lines to the West and East of the centre of Nice, or diverted along alternative routes as in the North of the city. Place Massena lost its trams altogether. We now know that this decision was one which came to be regretted by the municipality towards the end of the 20th century as they began to develop plans for a new tram network. [1: p95]

A new “Gare municipale d’Autobus” on the Couverture du Paillon, between the Casino Municipal and Place Massena was opened in 1934. The departures and arrivals of all long-distance lines were moved to the new bus station. The end of the tramway provision in Place Masséna saw the tramway kiosk demolished and a new “TNL Station” was built south of the Casino Municipal, along Boulevard des Italiens (now Jean-Jaurès). [1: p95]

The Tramway kiosk in Place Massena in 1913 [2]

Place Massena again. [3]

Avenue de Malaussena. [4]

Avenue de la Victoire [5]

Monday 8th October 1934 was chosen as the date for the changes to take place. On the Sunday evening, the trams ran for the last time on Place Masséna and the south-north axis through the Avenues de la Victoire, Malaussena, Borriglione, du Ray and St Sylvestre, as well as in Joseph-Garnier Boulevard, Tzaréwitch Boulevard and on the left bank of the Paillon, between Place Masséna and Place Garibaldi. The next day, the network was completely reorganized, creating thirteen tram lines (including those of Contes and La Grave, the last vestiges of the departmental network) and twenty-two city bus lines. A new pricing system based on tickets sold in booklets came into effect. [1: p95]

There were initial problems. Users were disrupted by changes in numbering and new tram routes. The buses were considered noisy. polluting and at certain times their capacity was notoriously insufficient compared to that of the old trams and their trailers. The Nice daily newspaper “L’Eclaireur”, which from the beginning had unreservedly encouraged change, began to doubt whether it had been worthwhile. [1: p95]

My understanding of Banaudo’s comments is that the changes were hastily brought in so as to satisfy a variety of different political agendas. Hindsight suggests that the conurbation would have been better served by renovating/refurbishing its tramways rather than allowing them to fall into disrepair and be replaced by what ultimately has proved to be a poorer series of alternatives.

References

  1. Jose Banaudo; Nice au fil due Tram Volume 1: l’Histoire; Les Editions de Cabri, 2004.
  2. https://www.fortunapost.com/06-alpes-maritimes/2100-carte-postale-ancienne-06-nice-tramway-place-massena-1913-carte-toilee.html, accessed on 14th October 2019.
  3. https://www.geneanet.org/cartes-postales/view/5938209#0, accessed on 14th October 2019.
  4. https://www.geneanet.org/cartes-postales/view/7404985#0, accessed on 14th October 2019.
  5. http://www.retro-photo.fr/cartes-postales-anciennes/cpa,illustrateurs,nice–41-avenue-de-la-victoire-tramway–signee-beraud-,8390.html, accessed on 14th October 2019.

Harvest 2019 – John 6: 25-35

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This is a shortened version of a post from 2015. ….

“I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” – John 6:35 .

These words from Jesus follow the story of the feeding of the 5,000. …

We have all probably experienced what is is like to be physically hungry. Just as those 5,000 who were fed by Jesus did. However, in the context of that miracle, Jesus talks about our hunger and thirst – not so much physical but spiritual.

Just as we feel hunger, all of us experience deep longings at the core of our beings which need to be fulfilled. Longings to be accepted, to be loved, to count for something, to make an impact, for others to see us as significant, as important or as strong.

Often these longings are well hidden away, but at times we encounter them in powerful ways. Perhaps in grief over the loss of a loved one, perhaps in the dark of the night when we are less in control of our emotions, perhaps at the point where everything seems to be going so well for us, yet something seems to be missing.

So many of us are driven to fulfil these longings for significance, for meaning in our lives. Perhaps we become workaholics, or we become demanding and jealous in our relationships, or we pursue success at the cost of everything else, or we turn to alcohol or drugs, or … some of us, to add a little levity,  even go shopping.

It’s part of the human condition! We long for our deepest needs to be met and we search for ways to make this happen!

Jesus says: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Or to put it more succinctly, “I am all you will ever need.”

All those desires for meaning, for hope, for significance, for love – those thirsts, those hungers. Pursue me, get to know me, spend time with me – and I will meet them. This is not just some idle promise made by a preacher looking for something to say on a Sunday evening. These are the timeless words of Jesus. They are Jesus promise to us.

And note: he doesn’t say “I’ll find you something to do for me, and then you’ll feel better” No, Jesus is talking about our very being, the very core of who we are, the bit no one else can see. Right at the core of who we are, that’s where Jesus will be – meeting our deepest desires for wholeness. And not just sparingly, but overwhelmingly, generously, and, just as in the story of the feeding of the five thousand, there’ll be plenty of leftovers, flowing out of hearts that are truly loved. For once we really know that we are loved, we can really begin to love others.

Our thankfulness to God will overflow in love towards others. This is ultimately what our Harvest Thanksgiving is all about. We express our gratitude to God for God’s love and provision for us and as we do so we seek to make a difference in the lives of others. … We give because we have ourselves been given so much.

Bicester Military Railway – Book Review

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The Bicester Military Railway. …

This book, written by E.R. Lawton and Major M.W. Sackett in 1992, [1] gives a comprehensive history of the Bicester site which extends from the original concept to the date of publication of the book.

In the 21st century, large areas of the complex have been given over to civilian use.

Lawton and Sackett chose, when putting their book together, to frame the whole text with two hand-drawn images showing the rail map of the site. These are placed inside the front and back covers of the book. My scans below are not of the highest quality. The two drawings are centred on Graven Hill, closest to Bicester; and Arncott.This book is written by two people with extensive experience of work on the railways, and particularly at Bicester. …

“Ernest Lawton served for 42 years on the LMS and later BR, including wartime duty with the Royal Engineers. During this time he became a locomotive driver on the Bicester Military Railway followed by promotion to Locomotive Supervisor at Arncott Depot. After the war he had various appointments on BR(LM) until retirement in 1981 from the Divisional Passenger Manager’s Office, Liverpool.” [1: dust-jacket]

“Major Maurice Sackett ISO [came] from a railway family, his grandfather working on the LSWR and his father on the SECR. He joined the LNER in 1937, became a member of the 6th Railway Battalion of the Home Guard on its formation, and left the Railway in 1942 on being called up to the Corps of Royal Engineers, which he served until 1947, his last military appointment being O.C. of the Railway Operating & Maintenance Detachment at Bicester. On demobilisation he accepted an appointment as a civilian operating officer on the BMR, which he served until promotion to Divisional Officer at Reading in 1961 and subsequently as the first civilian Superintendent, Army Department Railways in 1979.” [1: dust-jacket]

The introduction to the book provides a potted history of the military use of railways within the UK. The first such use was way back in 1830 when a ‘Regiment of Foot’ was transported over the recently opened Liverpool to Manchester Railway. “The movement took 2 hours compared with a march of two days after which the soldiers would have arrived exhausted and with some 20% stragglers.” [1: p8] Since then full uses has been made by the military of the civilian railway system. “Additionally they have developed their own railway expertise in the Corps of Royal Engineers and since 1965, in the Royal Corps of Transport.” [1: p8]

“It was soon recognised that railways had an important part to play in the running and organisation of military stores depots. Not only did they make connections with the civilian railways for the transfer and transport of military stores but also provided internal transport for the movement of goods within the depot.” [1: p8]

In 1805 military trials were undertaken at Shoeberryness, Essex to evaluate shells developed by the military. “By 1849 a Detachment of the Royal Artillery arrived in the tiny village of Shoeburyness to set up a School of Gunnery. … Sappers constructed a standard-gauge tramway to connect the various installations.” [1: p8] After a time using canal barges on the Theames, the military decided that a rail link to the site was required and the War Office cajoled the London, Tilbury & Southend Railway (LT&SR) to “extend their line to Shoeberyness ao as to connect with the tramway and this was completed in 1884. The size of the guns increased, the ranges were expanded as was the Tramway. … It was also required to provide a quite intensive passenger service.” {1: p8]

Shoeberyness became the forerunner of a series of different sites around the UK: Vickers made use of Eskmeals in Cumbria as a Test Range; Aldershot was provided with sidings; the LSWR constructed a line to serve military establishments at Amesbury and Bulford. During the 1914-1918 war, “a depot was built at Chilwell just outside Nottingham, which by 1916 was producing shells in great quantities. By the end of that War the railway serving the Depot had moved some 227, 000 inward loaded wagons and despatched 224,000. It was just one of six such installations.” [1: p8]

“By the mid-thirties it was becoming increasingly likely that there would be another major war and the War Office began to plan new depots to meet the situation. In sortie cases construction was commenced, such as the under-ground ammunition depot at Corsham and the large Ordnance Depot at Donnington. Amongst those planned was that at Bicester, …. Kineton (Ammunition), Long Marston (RE Stores), Longtown (Ammunition), Steventon & Lockerley (Motor Transport), West Moors (Petroleum), Cairnryan and Marchwood (Military Ports). Some were entirely new projects, others the adaption of an existing industrial facility. In the case of the Ammunition Depot at Nesscliffe the War Department took over the Shropshire & Montgomeryshire Railway in 1941 with a detachment of officers and men from 193 Railway Operating Company RE. The Depot was built alongside the main line with connecting lines to the various sub-depots and in addition to providing the military railway requirement the Royal Engineers continued to run a minimal public freight and passenger service. The line experienced the busiest period of its entire life!” [1: p9]

Detailed looks at a number of the military sites mentioned above are available on my website (rogerfarnworth.com). [2][3][4][5]

By 1942, there were some 39 significant military railway systems in the UK. Around 600 miles of track were in use, with over 200 locomotives. In addition there were a further 200 sites where sidings existed and agents undertook work on behalf of the military! “Some 2,400 personnel were controlled from … Headquarters … through six Divisional Commanders. … There were additionally six Railway Construction Groups.” [1: p9]

This is the context in which the Bicester Military Railway was developed, Lawton and Sackett look in detail at the development of the site. In the first Chapter of the Book, the site is developed. Known initially as ‘X’ Depot, it was renamed Bicester Central Ordnance Depot in 1940. Land was acquired in 1941 and tented camps were set up for the people involved in the building work. Early in 1942, around 1,500 Royal Engineers were working alongside others (including prisoners of war) on the building of what was becoming a vast Depot. By early 1943, over 30 miles of track had been laid. by the end of the year, the system was almost complete – over 47 miles of track and 234 turnouts/points.

The second chapter focusses on signal control system and level-crossings. The third chapter is substantial and covers the railway system at work. It is copiously illustrated with photographs coming for the life of the system from the 1940s to the late 1980s. The fourth chapter covers the Motive Power used by the military at Bicester from the early ‘Dean Goods 0-6-0 locomotives, later ‘saddle tanks’ and the series of different diesel locomotives in use in the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.0-4-0 Diesel Locomotive – Storeman – on the BMR in 2014 [8]

I particularly found the examples of small railcars, photographs of which are shown alongside the text, which were supplied by Wickham, Baguley-Drewery, Hudswell-Clark and Clayton of interest.

Chapter 5, a really short chapter, highlights arrangements made for passengers on the network. There were 12 passenger platforms provided, none of them provided with passenger facilities such as waiting rooms.

Chapter 6 covers maintenance arrangements for the motive power and rolling stock; and Chapter 7 covers the maintenance of the permanent way. A final short chapter then covers the main line links to the site.

Comprehensive appendices tabulate first steam locomotives, then diesel locomotives and finally the railcars in use on the system.

The authors offer a final postcript [1: p156] which reflects on reviews which were undertaken on the value of the site up to the early 1990s. Their final comment being, “after half-a-century the BMR is still fully operational, a valuable asses in the deference structure of the United Kingdom.” [1: p156]. Sadly, with the benefit of hindsight we can say that the operation of the site was kept under review and over the years it has been downsized as parts have been sold off for civilian use.

The Garrison once occupied an area of 12½ square miles. The Garrison roads stretched over 32 miles and the Army railway had over 41 miles of track. The storage areas were enclosed by 21 square miles of perimeter fence.

In April 1999, the depot changed its name to Defence Storage and Distribution Centre (DSDC) Bicester.

In 2000, the Garrison had 850 servicemen and 2500 civilians working within its boundaries. They were the largest employer within Cherwell District Council. [6]

The BBC reported, in 2013, on the opening of Bicester Bomb Disposal Training Base. [7] So the future for Bicester Garrison is not all bleak. The railway, however, seems top have a very limited role in whatever that future might be. Perhaps others can enlighten us!

References

  1. Ernest Lawton & Major Maurice Sackett ISO; Bicester Military Railway; Oxford Publishing Co., 1992.
  2. Roger Farnworth; Bicester Miltary Railway; https://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/08/01/bicester-military-railway.
  3. Roger Farnworth; MOD Kineton and its Railway History; https://rogerfarnworth.com/2018/08/09/mod-kineton-and-its-railway-history.
  4. Roger Farnworth; The Shropshire & Montgomersyshire Light Railway and the Nesscliffe MoD Training Area and Depot – Part 1; https://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/05/18/the-shropshire-and-montgomeryshire-light-railway-and-the-nesscliffe-mod-training-area-and-depot-part-1.
  5. Roger Farnworth; The Shropshire & Montgomersyshire Light Railway and the Nesscliffe MoD Training Area and Depot – Part 2; https://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/08/12/the-shropshire-and-montgomeryshire-light-railway-and-the-nesscliffe-mod-training-area-and-depot-part-2.
  6. https://www.blhs.org.uk/index.php?page=bicester-cod, accessed on 12th October 2019.
  7. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-21805882, accessed on 12th October 2019.
  8. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4120799, accessed on 12th October 2019.

 

 

Faith or Faithfulness? Luke 17: 5-10

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What does it mean to ‘have faith’?

Jesus says, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this tree, ‘Be uprooted and plated in the sea’, and it would obey you.”

Jesus seems to be saying: “If you can screw up enough faith, if you pray hard enough, if you really believe, then you’ll be able to do powerful things. You’ll be in control of life and God will be able to work through you! If you are just prepared to leap across that chasm believing that I will miraculously get you to the other side, then you are my disciple!  ”

But is he really? ……  Or is it rather the case that we hear him saying what we think he is saying rather than listen to him properly. After all, what do we say when things go wrong for us? …… “What have I done to deserve this?” “Why is this illness happening to me?” … It is as though we do really believe that we have the power to make our circumstances right, just be being better people, by having more faith?

And so, when we hear the word ‘faith’ we so often think of something rather like the flexing of spiritual muscles, or determinedly screwing ourselves up to believe. “If only I had more faith,” we say. “If only I really believed.” … And so many of us fail to achieve this … and as a result so many turn their back on ‘faith’: “It does not work,” they say.

And so when we hear those verses in Luke 17 we hear Jesus saying something, perhaps quite sarcastic: “Faith, don’t talk to me about your faith, you have not even got enough to fill a mustard seed, if you had you’d be doing all sorts of marvellous things in my name.”

But when we do so, we miss the point.

called_chosen_-faithful_part3-680x300What Jesus is actually saying is something much more like this: “Faith is about trusting in an all powerful God, it is about living faithfully to what you believe, it is about faithful service. Just a tiny little bit of that kind of faithful living will change the world.”

Where is the evidence for reading the Gospel this way?

Firstly, there is the whole of the reading above. In the first two verses Jesus talks about faith – but then he goes on to talk about masters and slaves. He could be talking about the way in which the physical world should obey its masters, those masters being his followers who have faith. But I don’t think he is. Let’s just focus on Luke 17:10 which tells us so much about ‘faith’ …

Jesus says: “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

‘Faith’  is all about being ‘faithful’. We are slaves, servants of our master, and the greatest and the best thing that we can say of ourselves is that we have lived faithful to that calling – we have served our master, we have lived faith-fully.

Second, there is that word ‘faith’; ‘pisteo‘ in the Greek. It is used consistently through the Greek version of the bible for being faithful, trustworthy, sure and true. Just here in Luke:

Luke 12:42                faithful and prudentfruitosp_faithfulness

Luke 16:10-12          faithful, faithful, faithful

Luke 19:17                trustworthy

In each of these cases, and throughout the New testament, it is the same root word,  ‘pisteo‘. So when Jesus uses the word ‘faith’, he is not asking us to screw ourselves up to believe, but he is asking us to live faithfully to what we believe, to be his trustworthy followers. To be faithful and prudent. “Those who live this way,” says Jesus, “Are people of faith. … And, (in the figurative language that he is using) it won’t just be a mulberry tree that is uprooted, even the gates of hell will not prevail against them.”gar-19