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Tamworth field trainspotting

oldMohawk said:
This aerial view is dated 1928 and the trainspotting field (looks like allotments) is upper right.
View attachment 162691
source 'britainfromabove'
Click to expand...
just spotted the forum on Tamworth field visited many times between 1951 and 1954. remember dozens of kids around fires in that field. Usually bought a bottle of dandelion and burdock plus crisps from the shop outside low level station. Great days watching Stanier Pacifics hurtling through.
 
Doddy9 said:
just spotted the forum on Tamworth field visited many times between 1951 and 1954. remember dozens of kids around fires in that field. Usually bought a bottle of dandelion and burdock plus crisps from the shop outside low level station. Great days watching Stanier Pacifics hurtling through.
Click to expand...
For me, that was what it was mostly about, the Stanier Pacifics, especially the Semi's
Dave A
 
Attached a watercolour painting I did to show grandchildren where I spent some of my early teenage years the view is of an 8F charging through low level. The field on the right contained the spotters very crowded on weekends in the early 50's .I very much remember the wooden shop outside the station where you could buy crisps and drinks if pocket money stretched that far. By the time I was there spotters had been banned from the station and the field was famous and drew spotters from all over the midlands.Very happy memories particularly remember the thrill of seeing the pacifics for the first time and at speed.For about 3 years in the summer months a very popular destination. I had to catch a train to Snow hill then cross over to New street and return home around tee time.I suspect these days that would be very much frowned upon yet we felt quite safe. Times have changed?IMG_8064.jpg
 
The photograph in #196 is interesting since it is a GNR Atlantic operating a LNWR Euston-Glasgow express.

In 1927 this working the 10.00am off Euston was formally named 'The Royal Scot', which worked non stop
through to Glasgow Central with a crew and loco change at Carlisle Citadel.
 
Doddy9 said:
Attached a watercolour painting I did to show grandchildren where I spent some of my early teenage years the view is of an 8F charging through low level. The field on the right contained the spotters very crowded on weekends in the early 50's .I very much remember the wooden shop outside the station where you could buy crisps and drinks if pocket money stretched that far. By the time I was there spotters had been banned from the station and the field was famous and drew spotters from all over the midlands.Very happy memories particularly remember the thrill of seeing the pacifics for the first time and at speed.For about 3 years in the summer months a very popular destination. I had to catch a train to Snow hill then cross over to New street and return home around tee time.I suspect these days that would be very much frowned upon yet we felt quite safe. Times have changed?View attachment 166554
Click to expand...
That sure hits the memory strings superbly well....that enclosure where we all gathered too...well done
 
I was a child of "The Tamworth Fields" between 1953 and 1955 having many many memories of shouts of "Clangers" and "Baby Clangers" "semi on the main" and hurried visits to the cafe to top up on supplies while trying not to miss any "cops" (not the police kind)
Now in my 80s and with time on my hands I began to think back to those wonderful days and try and remember the various trains that would parade in front of us on both the High and Low Level but as with most things of that period it was never recorded for posterity or formally noted down and has now disappeared into the mist`s of time - or has it !
I decided about 4 years ago to try and plot on my PC using an Excell sheet a complete record of all the passing passenger traffic through Tamworth Station (High and Low) in a 24 hr period. Armed with a copy of the 1954 Timetable (and later a working Timetable for the period) I plotted hour by hour the passage of all passenger traffic along the route and showed all the relevant details and times of stations passed thro since departure to all stations to be encountered before reaching its ultimate destination resulting with a complete manual for Tamworth for a full 24hr period. I then thought it would be a good idea to share this info with other silver haired kids with long memories and if there is an interest may share some of these pages with others here on this site
I attach the sheet that covers Tamworth for period 09.00am to 09.59am. summer period 1954
comments welcome Allan
 

Attachments

  • TH 011PDF 09.00am to 09.59am.pdf
    625.7 KB · Views: 31
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allan tebbs said:
I was a child of "The Tamworth Fields" between 1953 and 1955 having many many memories of shouts of "Clangers" and "Baby Clangers" "semi on the main" and hurried visits to the cafe to top up on supplies while trying not to miss any "cops" (not the police kind)
Now in my 80s and with time on my hands I began to think back to those wonderful days and try and remember the various trains that would parade in front of us on both the High and Low Level but as with most things of that period it was never recorded for posterity or formally noted down and has now disappeared into the mist`s of time - or has it !
I decided about 4 years ago to try and plot on my PC using an Excell sheet a complete record of all the passing passenger traffic through Tamworth Station (High and Low) in a 24 hr period. Armed with a copy of the 1954 Timetable (and later a working Timetable for the period) I plotted hour by hour the passage of all passenger traffic along the route and showed all the relevant details and times of stations passed thro since departure to all stations to be encountered before reaching its ultimate destination resulting with a complete manual for Tamworth for a full 24hr period. I then thought it would be a good idea to share this info with other silver haired kids with long memories and if there is an interest may share some of these pages with others here on this site
I attach the sheet that covers Tamworth for period 09.00am to 09.59am. summer period 1954
comments welcome Allan
Click to expand...
thank you Allan
 
allan tebbs said:
I was a child of "The Tamworth Fields" between 1953 and 1955 having many many memories of shouts of "Clangers" and "Baby Clangers" "semi on the main" and hurried visits to the cafe to top up on supplies while trying not to miss any "cops" (not the police kind)
Now in my 80s and with time on my hands I began to think back to those wonderful days and try and remember the various trains that would parade in front of us on both the High and Low Level but as with most things of that period it was never recorded for posterity or formally noted down and has now disappeared into the mist`s of time - or has it !
I decided about 4 years ago to try and plot on my PC using an Excell sheet a complete record of all the passing passenger traffic through Tamworth Station (High and Low) in a 24 hr period. Armed with a copy of the 1954 Timetable (and later a working Timetable for the period) I plotted hour by hour the passage of all passenger traffic along the route and showed all the relevant details and times of stations passed thro since departure to all stations to be encountered before reaching its ultimate destination resulting with a complete manual for Tamworth for a full 24hr period. I then thought it would be a good idea to share this info with other silver haired kids with long memories and if there is an interest may share some of these pages with others here on this site
I attach the sheet that covers Tamworth for period 09.00am to 09.59am. summer period 1954
comments welcome Allan
Click to expand...

allan tebbs said:
I was a child of "The Tamworth Fields" between 1953 and 1955 having many many memories of shouts of "Clangers" and "Baby Clangers" "semi on the main" and hurried visits to the cafe to top up on supplies while trying not to miss any "cops" (not the police kind)
Now in my 80s and with time on my hands I began to think back to those wonderful days and try and remember the various trains that would parade in front of us on both the High and Low Level but as with most things of that period it was never recorded for posterity or formally noted down and has now disappeared into the mist`s of time - or has it !
I decided about 4 years ago to try and plot on my PC using an Excell sheet a complete record of all the passing passenger traffic through Tamworth Station (High and Low) in a 24 hr period. Armed with a copy of the 1954 Timetable (and later a working Timetable for the period) I plotted hour by hour the passage of all passenger traffic along the route and showed all the relevant details and times of stations passed thro since departure to all stations to be encountered before reaching its ultimate destination resulting with a complete manual for Tamworth for a full 24hr period. I then thought it would be a good idea to share this info with other silver haired kids with long memories and if there is an interest may share some of these pages with others here on this site
I attach the sheet that covers Tamworth for period 09.00am to 09.59am. summer period 1954
comments welcome Allan
Click to expand...
Allan, that is great work, your diligence is appreciated! There are many on the Forum who were/are dedicated spotters who found a way to Tamworth. Looking at your list and post #184 from our recently departed oldMohawk, it brought a bit of a chill.
Thank you, great memories!
 
It was just such a brief period in which the joys of post-war steam traction could be enjoyed. I was so glad to be old (proper baby boomer born 1946) enough to be able to start enjoying this short spell.

The joys of trainspotting were so fleeting. We thought they would last forever, but Beeching (and his henchman Marples) put a wreckingball through that. I'm not sure the railway unions were entirely blameless, but we cannot turn the clock back. I just wish we had a view like the French; if they thought a line was of no more use, they would just "mothball" it, just in case it might be of more use in the future. We Brits, however, sell things off and then wonder why things are so expensive when we try to buy them back again!

Having said that, I think that Allan Tebbs's idea is great and I wish him success in putting together a model of the traffic patterns in Tamworth.
 
Certainly an element of British culture that is lost on people outside of the UK. I have lived in Canada for 57 years and many times I've tried to explain the joy of the 'Copp' to my friends here. Tamworth to Brummies was as much a pleasure as a trip to Crewe Sheds and works. I was mostly alone in my love of trainspotting, none of my regular friends cared for it. However, as soon as you hit the platforms, you were in good company.
Dave A
 
adap2it said:
Certainly an element of British culture that is lost on people outside of the UK. I have lived in Canada for 57 years and many times I've tried to explain the joy of the 'Copp' to my friends here. Tamworth to Brummies was as much a pleasure as a trip to Crewe Sheds and works. I was mostly alone in my love of trainspotting, none of my regular friends cared for it. However, as soon as you hit the platforms, you were in good company.
Dave A
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Dave I have lived in the US for sixty years and when I first came at 19 never understood the lack of interest! And yes most of my Brummie friends were not really interested. Yet when I got off the 29 bus at Snow Hill and bought my platform ticket there were friends everywhere. The first thing I would ask: “did anything good come through” and who was going where to spot. Those were wonderful times for me and many others!
 
Richard Dye said:
Allan, that is great work, your diligence is appreciated! There are many on the Forum who were/are dedicated spotters who found a way to Tamworth. Looking at your list and post #184 from our recently departed oldMohawk, it brought a bit of a chill.
Thank you, great memories!
Click to expand...

daverock said:
Hi
Is there anyone out there who spent there Saturdays in the field at Tamworth, I would love to find out more details of the daily logs if anyone still has their old notebooks.
Any pictures as well & also memories of the cafe, the staff attitude towards us & any other info.
My mates & me used to go under the bridge by the river & tramp across the fields going over an old disused bridge to get to the footbridge further down the track.
The cries of 'Clanger', 'Baby Clanger' & Main used to ring out over the field but I can't remember what the other track signal was called, I seem to think it might have been 'Local' but I am sure someone will know.
Happy days for us trainspotters.
Cheers
Dave Rock just cam across your posting from 2010. I posted some info the other day and you may be interested in this project i have completed
Click to expand...
mikeflan said:
Having a mooch through my photos, I found a couple where a pal and I went back in June 1981 to Tamworth station and field.....the warehouse photos were taken on the advice of the then Station Master...who pointed out they were due to be demolished to make way for the by pass......manyView attachment 48007 months later the water tower had been demolished..the pile of bricks still there and the warehouses had gone, somewhere I have photView attachment 48006os of that time too...when I can find them, and I'm still looking for some shots I had in the 1950's of photos bought from the cafe.View attachment 48005
Click to expand...

daverock said:
Hi
Is there anyone out there who spent there Saturdays in the field at Tamworth, I would love to find out more details of the daily logs if anyone still has their old notebooks.
Any pictures as well & also memories of the cafe, the staff attitude towards us & any other info.
My mates & me used to go under the bridge by the river & tramp across the fields going over an old disused bridge to get to the footbridge further down the track.
The cries of 'Clanger', 'Baby Clanger' & Main used to ring out over the field but I can't remember what the other track signal was called, I seem to think it might have been 'Local' but I am sure someone will know.
Happy days for us trainspotters.
Cheers
Dave Rock
Click to expand...
 

Attachments

  • TH 013PDF 11.00am to 11.59am.pdf
    1,022.3 KB · Views: 39
I have now made available copies of all my 1954 new style print out for Tamworth Station (high and low level) on Ebay to download in PDF format (search Tamworth 1954) also available are in same format copies for Euston ,Birmingham New St, Nuneaton, Snow Hill , Bristol , Paddington, Leamington Spa , Exeter St David's, and Exeter Central,All are priced at £2.99 each
 
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