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The Railways

Ray Griffiths

Ray Griffiths

master brummie
Two pictures of City Of Birmingham in The Old Transport Museum in Newhall Street.

You used to be able to press a button and see it move Backwards /forwardwards and see the British Engineering at it's.

I think I right in say that when it came it Birmingham for official naming it damaged the smoke exhaust pipe on the tunnel and that's why semi's never worked it to New St Station.

Or is this a tale we like to believe because as a trainspotter I don't ever remember seeing one in New St, Lichfield Trent Valley/ Tamworth Low level was the place to see them.
 
Ray Griffiths said:
Two pictures of City Of Birmingham in The Old Transport Museum in Newhall Street.

You used to be able to press a button and see it move Backwards /forwardwards and see the British Engineering at it's.

I think I right in say that when it came it Birmingham for official naming it damaged the smoke exhaust pipe on the tunnel and that's why semi's never worked it to New St Station.

Or is this a tale we like to believe because as a trainspotter I don't ever remember seeing one in New St, Lichfield Trent Valley/ Tamworth Low level was the place to see them.
Click to expand...

Yes as a young trainspotter I heard that story too maybe someone will be able to yea or nay this one.
 
I hope this thread doesn't bore the pants off too many people but here goes anyway. I too had heard that semi's weren't allowed through the North Western side of New Street because of clearance problems but I was told it was because of the footbridge across the middle. Anyway, one unforgettable day in 1963 (4th September to be precise) blew that one completely out of the window. I'd not long started a Heating and Ventilating apprenticeship at a firm in St Paul's Square and every weekday I caught the 7.54 am from Walsall via Soho Road, arriving at New Street at 8.25 am. We usually pulled into platform 3 but on that day we were diverted to platform 4. I was in the front carriage and nearly fell on the floor when I glanced across to platform 3 and saw a resplendent 46225, 'Duchess of Gloucester' standing at the head of the very late running Glasgow - Birmingham sleeper. Of course I hadn't got my camera with me so when I got to work I begged my boss for the morning off, phoned BR for permission to visit Aston shed, tore back home to Walsall to pick up my camera and arrived at Aston shed at about 11.00 am, just in time to catch 46225 as she set off for Perry Barr triangle to turn round as she was too long for Aston's turntable. The driver kindly posed her for me with the GEC office block in the background to prove the location and then invited me onto the footplate for the trip to Perry Barr and back. I believe she'd actually been withdrawn during the previous week but was the only loco at Crewe available to substitute for a failed D200. Why she was so immaculate I never found out ; perhaps she'd been bulled up for a railtour. I do remember quite clearly that she rode very smoothly and that there wasn't a hint of a leak of steam anywhere. Her superb condition didn't stop her being scrapped a few weeks later and she ended up at Cashmore's yard at Great Bridge, standing in a siding by Eagle Lane crossing for a few days before being towed into the yard to the breaker's cutting torch. On further investigation I found that the story about the class not being allowed into New Street because of height was probably a load of bull**** as the chimney height of a Duchess was 13'-2" whereas that of both a rebuilt Royal Scot and a Midland compound was a quarter of an inch more. An unrebuilt Scot was half an inch more and there were plenty of those through New Street for years. I never saw another Duchess at New Street but they must have been there as on a number of occasions in the summer of 1962 and 1963, a train from Euston arriving at Wolverhampton High Level at about 12.30 pm on Saturdays was hauled by a member of the class and I often saw Queen Elizabeth, Princess Alice and City of Coventry on this train. I think the real reason we rarely saw them on New Street trains was quite simply that problem identified in my story. They were too long for Birmingham area turntables.
 
I use to see mine at Wolverhampton Low level. Wonderful sights :)
 
lydfordcastle said:
I hope this thread doesn't bore the pants off too many people but here goes anyway. I too had heard that semi's weren't allowed through the North Western side of New Street because of clearance problems but I was told it was because of the footbridge across the middle. Anyway, one unforgettable day in 1963 (4th September to be precise) blew that one completely out of the window. I'd not long started a Heating and Ventilating apprenticeship at a firm in St Paul's Square and every weekday I caught the 7.54 am from Walsall via Soho Road, arriving at New Street at 8.25 am. We usually pulled into platform 3 but on that day we were diverted to platform 4. I was in the front carriage and nearly fell on the floor when I glanced across to platform 3 and saw a resplendent 46225, 'Duchess of Gloucester' standing at the head of the very late running Glasgow - Birmingham sleeper. Of course I hadn't got my camera with me so when I got to work I begged my boss for the morning off, phoned BR for permission to visit Aston shed, tore back home to
Walsall to pick up my camera and arrived at Aston shed at about 11.00 am, just in time to catch 46225 as she set off for Perry Barr triangle to turn round as she was too long for Aston's turntable. The driver kindly posed her for me with the GEC office block in the background to prove the location and then invited me onto the footplate for the trip to Perry Barr and back. I believe she'd actually been withdrawn during the previous week but was the only loco at Crewe available to substitute for a failed D200. Why she was so immaculate I never found out ; perhaps she'd been bulled up for a railtour. I do remember quite clearly that she rode very smoothly and that there wasn't a hint of a leak of steam anywhere. Her superb condition didn't stop her being scrapped a few weeks later and she ended up at Cashmore's yard at Great Bridge, standing in a siding by Eagle Lane crossing for a few days before being towed into the yard to the breaker's cutting torch. On further investigation I found that the story about the class not being allowed into New Street because of height was probably a load of bull**** as the chimney height of a Duchess was 13'-2" whereas that of both a rebuilt Royal Scot and a Midland compound was a quarter of an inch more. An unrebuilt Scot was half an inch more and there were plenty of those through New Street for years. I never saw another Duchess at New Street but they must have been there as on a number of occasions in the summer of 1962 and 1963, a train from Euston arriving at Wolverhampton High Level at about 12.30 pm on Saturdays was hauled by a member of the class and I often saw Queen Elizabeth, Princess Alice and City of Coventry on this train. I think the real reason we rarely saw them on New Street trains was quite simply that problem identified in my story. They were too long for Birmingham area turntables.
Click to expand...

Lydfordcastle

Very interesting story, I would think that now lays the myth to rest.
 
Hi Trainspotters

Picture of City Birmingham in position in the old Museum in Newhall St. before the building was built round it.

Aston train Sheds from Holburn Hill.

Would it be wonderful to bring back the steam trains, bunking the sheds to get a cop, happy days

Ray
 
Yes i agree, the Duchess's into New Street was a story that abounded in my trainspotting youth.
In fact an elder workmate of mine was adamant
they were too large, until i found a magazine photo to persuade him
otherwise.

They certainly worked south from Crewe on the Glasgow services and,
according to Philip Hawkins painting of 46228 at Rugby, worked from
Wolverhampton HL to Euston also.

I remember 'cabbing' 46240 in New Street around 1962 after arrival
from Crewe on the afternoon Glassie.

Never remember them ever working into Wolverhamton LL though,
can't imagine why they would be seen on the former GWR.
 
hi all
when young I would visit my nan's at 12a Vicarage road Handsworth, and my cousins and I would take great delight in going to the steep embankment and sit for hours watching the trains go by, I never knew the name of the line or where it went to , my uncle horace said that the hockley goods yards where largest in europe? is that true, perphaps some one can tell me.
cheers
paul stacey
 
What a strange signal never seen anything like that before, i wonder if it was a leftover from the
very early days, maybe no longer in use....
 
From https://signalbox.org/signals/crossbar-and-board-signals/

Midland Railway crossbar signal​

The Midland Railway used their crossbar signal within sidings to indicate when shunting could take place. A typical situation would be a location where a goods branch joined a bank of sidings within a goods yard. The board would be turned to face shunting movements to indicate when shunting movements must not be made, owing to the approach of a train on the branch. The last known example of this type survived at Bournville, by Cadbury’s chocolate factory, into the late 1970s.
 
"For those keen on railways, the Oct 2022 edition of Backtrack has an article entitled, "Under the Clock at Birmingham Snow Hill", covering 1954-62
 
mikejee said:
"For those keen on railways, the Oct 2022 edition of Backtrack has an article entitled, "Under the Clock at Birmingham Snow Hill", covering 1954-62
Click to expand...
ta mike, there are a few articals in there that is of interest to me so i will see if i can get a copy
 
Memories of my youth spent on the Small Heath bridge but the outlook into Birmingham city centre has changed completely. That's a great shot Covroad.
 
Richard Dye said:
Great article............I especially like the action of the "beltman"! We had one where I served my apprentice as have of the machine tools were run by belts. Two things happened, you would hear click click click and some naughty words then the belt man would put a new belt on while the main drive kept running>
Click to expand...
Richard i repaired many of drive belts. using a hammer and cutter and vice no fancy machines
 
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An unidentified Class 82 locomotive, one of the Metropolitan-Vickers machines based at Longsight Manchester, passes Adderley Park with a short train of Mark I rolling stock en route for London Euston on 2 May 1980. The tallest building in the background is Birmingham's British Telecom Tower, which can also be seen in four other pictures in this volume.
(Les Nixon)

West Midlands rails in the 1980s by John Glover (1984)


BD473490-1DBE-4D4C-8C90-30EC18D89967.jpeg
 
“This unbeautiful scene shows No 86.233 Sir Lawrence Olivier leaving Birmingham on the Stour Valley route to Wolverhampton with the 09.20 Brighton-Manchester Piccadilly on 5 June 1982. 15min is allowed for the change from diesel to electric traction at New Street on this service.”

West Midlands rails in the 1980s by John Glover (1984)



F45F231A-6157-4297-BAD2-E8E06542188F.jpeg
 
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