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Tamworth field trainspotting

Chatting to an old friend Barrie Geens of Kings Heath Book fame.... and who has been a friend for ages going back to a time we both have to whisper dates ...ha ha..... both working at the same company and also cycling ventures...it came to light he'd cycled to Tamworth in very early days from his Kings Heath home, whilst I used the train..the easy way !! from out of his photo archive came two photos........one of train spotters in the field and one of the ex turbomotive 46202 Princess Anne later to end it's life in the Harrow Wealdstone crash...... Barrie kindly gave me permission to allow others to see his old Kodak Brownie photos that appeared also in Steam World many years back.... Barrie still involved still in his Stem interest is still putting his time when possible on the Severn Valley, and also appearing in an old film as a policeman in the Robert Powell film of 'The 39 Steps' shot on SVR quite a few years back !!! But thanks to Barrie Geens....here as follows are photos he took in the very early 1950's at Tamworth.
Mike, great shot of Tamworth Field! I think there was a mix of those that went by train and by bike. I went mostly by bike to save the money for something else. Did go by train a few times for the excitement!
Thank you Barrie for your photos.
 
Mike, great shot of Tamworth Field! I think there was a mix of those that went by train and by bike. I went mostly by bike to save the money for something else. Did go by train a few times for the excitement!
Thank you Barrie for your photos.
I thanked Barrie very much for allowing me to use his photos..... thank goodness someone like him took such photos, I had some great times in that field and not always good weather...my cycle cape was a good rain shield some days but it didn't deter us did it ?????
 
I thanked Barrie very much for allowing me to use his photos..... thank goodness someone like him took such photos, I had some great times in that field and not always good weather...my cycle cape was a good rain shield some days but it didn't deter us did it ?????
No for sure!
 
Hi everyone. I trust that you will permit a Blackcountryman (now exiled in Devon) a few moments of personal nostalgia.

I visited the WCML many times between 1957 and 1962, but living in Walsall, Lichfield, a few miles further down the line was easier to get to than Tamworth. Very occasionally I went to Rugeley. All records lost so for years I have been searching for anything that would give me an idea of what I would have seen on my first day. Incredibly, Vic has provided me with something very close. Thank you Vic. My first visit was 3rd August 1957 and after many fruitless years of searching, Vic has given me not one, but two logs within a month of that date! At least I now have some idea of the mix of classes that I would have seen. It would be incredible if someone out there has a log taken anywhere between Nuneaton and Rugeley on the actual date.

The date also coincided with the World Scout Jamboree being held in Sutton Park and which attracted many extra trains from around the country. A lot of those from the north were routed through my back yard (not quite literally) at Ryecroft Junction. Although I have seen some notes of locos that worked through. I wonder if someone somewhere has more details. Most of my waking hours were spent at Ryecroft and my fondest memory is of 70045 Lord Rowallan coming on to the shed to be serviced, having brought a trainload of dignitaries to Sutton Park for the official opening.
 
Hi everyone. I trust that you will permit a Blackcountryman (now exiled in Devon) a few moments of personal nostalgia.

I visited the WCML many times between 1957 and 1962, but living in Walsall, Lichfield, a few miles further down the line was easier to get to than Tamworth. Very occasionally I went to Rugeley. All records lost so for years I have been searching for anything that would give me an idea of what I would have seen on my first day. Incredibly, Vic has provided me with something very close. Thank you Vic. My first visit was 3rd August 1957 and after many fruitless years of searching, Vic has given me not one, but two logs within a month of that date! At least I now have some idea of the mix of classes that I would have seen. It would be incredible if someone out there has a log taken anywhere between Nuneaton and Rugeley on the actual date.

The date also coincided with the World Scout Jamboree being held in Sutton Park and which attracted many extra trains from around the country. A lot of those from the north were routed through my back yard (not quite literally) at Ryecroft Junction. Although I have seen some notes of locos that worked through. I wonder if someone somewhere has more details. Most of my waking hours were spent at Ryecroft and my fondest memory is of 70045 Lord Rowallan coming on to the shed to be serviced, having brought a trainload of dignitaries to Sutton Park for the official opening.
Welcome to the Forum Rogsaddler.....this is a wonderful place with great folks and a plethora of useful information!

Enjoy!
 
Welcome to the Forum Rogsaddler.....this is a wonderful place with great folks and a plethora of useful information!

Enjoy!
Welcome Rogsaddler....always good to see old spotters around....... and all the memories we are so very lucky to have.....though did we at that time realise just how lucky we were ???
 
Welcome Rogsaddler....always good to see old spotters around....... and all the memories we are so very lucky to have.....though did we at that time realise just how lucky we were ???
Yes welcome indeed! to a very diversified and wonderful group of people (that I've never met) Trainspotting was very representative of our age group and defined our love of motive power. For me, it was foremost in my ability to travel around the UK. Everywhere I went was tied to trainspotting...BHF is a wonderful place to share our fond memories of steam and the satisfaction that came with the copp!
Dave A
 
This might be relevant to Tamworth or to Trent Valley, Lichfield (where there was a similar field) – or to both.

On the 27th July 1936 my nearly-14 year old brother did two things: he biked to the West Coast main line and saw wonderful sights; and, probably on the same evening after he had got home, he started his trainspotting record. (No Ian Allan booklets then). This book was maintained and added to for some time thereafter. I have just been looking at it.

There are pages in this book which make you green with envy. Amongst them are the "Famous Expresses" which he saw on various dates in that same summer and also the following year. This is how he recorded them (but unfortunately without telling us exactly what was hauling them):

Pages016w.jpg

The July 1937 clocking of Coronation Scot almost certainly coincides with a short clip of cine film which I still have, taken by him at the time, having borrowed his father's cine camera.

Also in the booklet is his tally of Princess class locomotives – 12 out of the 13 possible. (No. 6203 was presumably unnamed. It was a prototype which, later on, was rebuilt, named Princess Anne and almost certainly didn't survive the Harrow and Wealdstone disaster). It seems he only missed out on 6207, Princess Arthur of Connaught.

Pages001w.jpg

On another page are the first Coronations he saw - their construction had only recently started.

What a sight and sound these things must have been, in their LMS livery, pounding along the main line at top speed , northward and southward!

Chris

(Source: JRCM family archive)
 
This might be relevant to Tamworth or to Trent Valley, Lichfield (where there was a similar field) – or to both.

On the 27th July 1936 my nearly-14 year old brother did two things: he biked to the West Coast main line and saw wonderful sights; and, probably on the same evening after he had got home, he started his trainspotting record. (No Ian Allan booklets then). This book was maintained and added to for some time thereafter. I have just been looking at it.

There are pages in this book which make you green with envy. Amongst them are the "Famous Expresses" which he saw on various dates in that same summer and also the following year. This is how he recorded them (but unfortunately without telling us exactly what was hauling them):

View attachment 157408

The July 1937 clocking of Coronation Scot almost certainly coincides with a short clip of cine film which I still have, taken by him at the time, having borrowed his father's cine camera.

Also in the booklet is his tally of Princess class locomotives – 12 out of the 13 possible. (No. 6203 was presumably unnamed. It was a prototype which, later on, was rebuilt, named Princess Anne and almost certainly didn't survive the Harrow and Wealdstone disaster). It seems he only missed out on 6207, Princess Arthur of Connaught.

View attachment 157407

On another page are the first Coronations he saw - their construction had only recently started.

What a sight and sound these things must have been, in their LMS livery, pounding along the main line at top speed , northward and southward!

Chris

(Source: JRCM family archive)
Chris, that is a wonderful piece of history and GREAT train spotting!
 
Chatting to an old friend Barrie Geens of Kings Heath Book fame.... and who has been a friend for ages going back to a time we both have to whisper dates ...ha ha..... both working at the same company and also cycling ventures...it came to light he'd cycled to Tamworth in very early days from his Kings Heath home, whilst I used the train..the easy way !! from out of his photo archive came two photos........one of train spotters in the field and one of the ex turbomotive 46202 Princess Anne later to end it's life in the Harrow Wealdstone crash...... Barrie kindly gave me permission to allow others to see his old Kodak Brownie photos that appeared also in Steam World many years back.... Barrie still involved still in his Steam interest is still putting his time when possible on the Severn Valley, and also appearing in an old film as a policeman in the Robert Powell film of 'The 39 Steps' shot on SVR quite a few years back !!! But thanks to Barrie Geens....here as follows are photos he took in the very early 1950's at Tamworth.
Belated agreement that these two photographs are great both to see and to discuss; certainly, photographs of 46202 after its rebuilding and being named "Princess Anne", are scarce indeed.
Regarding the general shot of the field, I've seen some dialogue about it posted elsewhere, including mention that the approaching locomotive, with its distinctive and foreshortened lower cab-side, is one of the final pair of Princess Coronation 4-6-2s, 46256 "Sir William A Stanier, FRS" or 46257, "City of Salford". Based upon the apparent length of the nameplate we can see, it has been suggested that it is the latter locomotive that we are seeing in this image.
As a boy, I remember several family visits to the WCML at Lichfield Trent Valley and one or two others to Tamworth, those being more in connection with the need to change trains there. These spotting trips began in the late 1950s and included the transition period from steam, through diesel, to electric traction, the latter starting to appear by early 1964. A few years later, I, too would cycle from Sutton Coldfield to both locations but the steam era had ended by then. Even so, there was much variety to be appreciated and with most trains, be they passenger, freight or parcel traffic, still locomotive-hauled.
 
Chatting to an old friend Barrie Geens of Kings Heath Book fame.... and who has been a friend for ages going back to a time we both have to whisper dates ...ha ha..... both working at the same company and also cycling ventures...it came to light he'd cycled to Tamworth in very early days from his Kings Heath home, whilst I used the train..the easy way !! from out of his photo archive came two photos........one of train spotters in the field and one of the ex turbomotive 46202 Princess Anne later to end it's life in the Harrow Wealdstone crash...... Barrie kindly gave me permission to allow others to see his old Kodak Brownie photos that appeared also in Steam World many years back.... Barrie still involved still in his Steam interest is still putting his time when possible on the Severn Valley, and also appearing in an old film as a policeman in the Robert Powell film of 'The 39 Steps' shot on SVR quite a few years back !!! But thanks to Barrie Geens....here as follows are photos he took in the very early 1950's at Tamworth.
A couple of brilliant photos. The first one of 46202 must rank as one of the few pics taken of it in action. Such a pitifully short life for a potentially very intriguing loco. Outshopped in August 1952 (I think) and smashed up on October 8th 1952. It was a hybrid, being a Princess boiler atop a Duchess chassis and cylinders, but still with Princess driving wheels. The result was the UK pacific with the highest tractive effort at 41535 lb. Such a shame it didn't survive longer so that we could have seen how it performed.

Much more generally, it's great to see pics of "The Field" of blessed memory. The last time I visited, it was already a C...... park farm!! We tried to spot on the station, but were asked to leave, and had to take a train to Lichfield TV to carry on spotting. That was a great day and we saw the same WCML traffic, but the "crossing traffic overhead" at Lichfield was much less interesting than at Tamworth, where the Midland main line had much traffic in its own right.

Memories..... they may dim, but as the song goes, "they can't take them away from me."
 
This thread brought back some happy memories. I was about 14 when I used to go there. The farmer was never happy with us but there was always a crowd of us on a Saturday afternoon. The caravan park as some have called it is a mobile park home site called Stationfields. We never used the station cafe but we would walk into town and there was one in Victioria Road. I never thought for one minute that I would end up living here. Moved here in 1976 and now could not imagine living anywhere else.
I have got a picture of the old station and will sort it out and post it.
Happy days
Ken
 
I gave up train spotting when I left school aged 15. 44 hours a week on a building site was a bit too much. I also discovered girls which I found to be far more attractive that trains.
 
I gave up train spotting when I left school aged 15. 44 hours a week on a building site was a bit too much. I also discovered girls which I found to be far more attractive that trains.
I understand entirely; I too discovered girls, beer and cars (not necessarily in that order), but it wasn't just that that turned me away from railways (at least for a while!) It was the dieselisation that really depressed me.

I was spotting on Nuneaton station in mid 1959 and I was waiting with bated breath for a Duchess on the down "Royal Scot" at about 11.30 or so, when what should come into view but this 'orrible green box numbered D200 & something. AAARGH! However, things got better as the relief to the Royal Scot came through about 10 minutes later with a Duchess in charge. I'll never forget how the platform shook as it thundered through at 70-80 mph.
 
I understand entirely; I too discovered girls, beer and cars (not necessarily in that order), but it wasn't just that that turned me away from railways (at least for a while!) It was the dieselisation that really depressed me.

I was spotting on Nuneaton station in mid 1959 and I was waiting with bated breath for a Duchess on the down "Royal Scot" at about 11.30 or so, when what should come into view but this 'orrible green box numbered D200 & something. AAARGH! However, things got better as the relief to the Royal Scot came through about 10 minutes later with a Duchess in charge. I'll never forget how the platform shook as it thundered through at 70-80 mph.
And those were the real locos! The smell of the steam, smoke and all that shaking!
 
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