Roy B

Section 1 above Section 2: Out and About – We follow the disused Glazebrook East to Skelton Junction railway line from Cadishead to Partington via the Iron Battleground First we’ll have a look at the history of this part of the line: The Glazebrook East Junction to Skelton Junction line was part of the Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) as a branch line of their main Liverpool–Manchester route. The line carried on through Skelton Junction and terminated at Stockport Tiviot Dale. It opened in 1873, serving the towns of Cadishead, Partington and West Timperley before joining the Manchester, South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) at Skelton Junction, which was also part of the CLC at this time. In the 1890s the line was deviated due to the building of the Manchester Ship Canal. It was raised on an embankment around a mile in length from Glazebrook East Junction to be high enough to clear the Ship Canal, with the Cadishead Viaduct built in 1892 to span the canal. The line saw little change in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and it remained part of the CLC in the 1923 Grouping. On nationalisation it became part of the London Midland Region of British Railways in 1948 at the final demise of the CLC. As part of the London Midland region of BR, it remained a busy line with trains from Liverpool Central and Warrington Central up until the mid-1960s. It was only on the withdrawal of these stopping passenger services in 1964 that all the stations closed along the line. It carried on as a freight only line until 1983 when the Cadishead Viaduct was in need of serious and costly repair. British Rail decided to close the viaduct and mothball the line rather than repairing it. The tracks were lifted in the mid-1980s from Glazebrook to Partington. As the line was closed prior to the privatisation of British Rail, only Glazebrook East Junction and the line from south of Partington to Skelton Junction were passed over into Railtrack ownership, which in turn passed to Network Rail. Join me as we look for clues from the past on a walk along the trackbed between the blue arrows starting at Glazebrook. 37283 in the British Tar Products sidings at Glazebrook – Jan 1982 Arnie Furness who took the photo had this to say: “Spent many a happy hour in this godforsaken place. You had to wait hours for the tanks to be emptied. The morning job meant keeping warm in the local library reading Punch magazine, the afternoon job was more convivial and may have involved playing pool! Taken on my camera by an old school mate that was there on the day! That's me, hanging out of the second man's window!” On this map from 1892-1914 notice the blue-arrowed footbridge. This crossed the multitude of tracks at Glazebrook Exchange Sidings This is that footbridge. As can be seen on both sides the tree growth has reached the height of the bridge from the trackbed. 31247 heads an unidentified loco and a rake of tar tanks under the footbridge heading away from Glazebrook Exchange Sidings - 3rd April 1986 Heading in the same direction 37076 passes under the bridge – 25th July 1986 (These two pics by David Peacock) 56027 passes on a very overgrown line in the dying days before the track was lifted (Pic by Ivan Stewart) From the overgrown Glazebrook Exchange sidings is this view towards Cadishead as it is today The lower trackbed is seen to the left The base for a signal post in the undergrowth The only evidence of the line on this heavily overgrown stretch are these cable carrier posts We’ll soon arrive at the site of both Cadishead stations so let’s take a look at their story: CADISHEAD (1st station): Date opened: 1.9.1873 Location: West side of Liverpool Road (A57) Company on opening: Cheshire Lines Committee Date closed to passengers: 1.8.1879 Date closed completely: 1.8.1879 Company on closing: Cheshire Lines Committee Present state: Demolished Cadishead (1st) station was situated on the Cheshire Lines Railways (CLC) Glazebrook East Junction and Godley line. The CLC was a joint railway, there being three partners, the Great Northern Railway (GNR), the Manchester Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway (MS&LR) and the Midland Railway (MR). The section of line on which the station stood had opened from Cressington Junction to Skelton Junction on 1 March 1873 for goods services with passenger workings commencing on 1 August 1873. The line gave the CLC and its owning companies their own route to Liverpool. Previously they had had to operate over LNWR metals between Skelton Junction and Garston. The station opened on 1 September 1873 when passenger services were introduced. It was located less than half a mile from Glazebrook East Junction where the Godley route diverged from the line to Manchester. In 1873 there was little settlement at Cadishead and the station had only basic facilities compared to others on the line. There was a much more substantial station, Irlam, less than half a mile away on the CLC Liverpool and Manchester line. Cadishead was situated on an embankment on the north-west side of a bridge which carried the line over Liverpool Road. A short distance to the north-west of the station on the north side of the line there was a signal box that opened on 29 August 1873. The station had two platforms that linked to the road by slopes and steps. The station was served by trains running between Stockport Tiviot Dale and Liverpool Central with some workings operating only as far as Warrington Central. Many express services passed through the station along with a steady stream of goods services. The station was not well used as locals preferred to use Irlam and being un-economical it closed on 1 August 1879. In 1893 the line on which the station stood was bypassed by a deviation located slightly to the south. The deviation was made necessary because of the building of the Manchester Ship Canal which required 75ft clearance for the ships that would use it. To gain that height the railway had to begin its climb from Glazebrook East Junction and by the time the deviation had reached the site of Cadishead station it was at a much higher elevation than the original line. The original line remained open until the deviation was completed and most services were switched to it on 29 May 1893. The Cadishead signal box closed on 28 May 1893 and the course of the original route was severed by the digging of the canal. It remained in use though on both sides of the Manchester Ship Canal to serve a coal loading basin. Goods trains therefore continued to pass through the site of Cadishead station. The area had developed since 1879 and the CLC decided to provide Cadishead with a station once again this time on the new line. It opened on the 29 May 1893. The area developed even further with the opening of the Ship Canal. Over the years steel works and chemical plants were opened. The Manchester Ship Canal Company also had their own industrial railway which was connected to the CLC by the original route up to Glazebrook East. At Glazebrook East Junction substantial areas of sidings developed. CADISHEAD (2nd station) Date opened: 29.5.1893 Location: West side of Liverpool Road (A57) Company on opening: Cheshire Lines Committee Date closed to passengers: 30.11.1964 Date closed completely: 30.11.1964 Company on closing: British Railways (London Midland Region) Present state: Platforms still extant Cadishead’s second station opened on the 29th of May 1893. It was situated on an embankment. The line was double-track and the station was provided with two timber platforms. On both platforms there were single storey timber buildings that had canopies. Access was via sloping paths that led up from Liverpool Road. A CLC type CL1a signal box with 16 levers was located at the north-western end of the eastbound platform. At the time of opening the station was served by CLC trains running between Stockport Tiviot Dale and Liverpool Central with some workings operating only as far as Warrington Central. The CLC had its own coaches but it did not have locomotives as agreement had been reached that the MSLR would provide them. Express services running between Liverpool Central and London St Pancras also passed through the station. Many other express services also passed through along with a steady stream of goods services. The December 1895 timetable showed Cadishead as having only four eastbound departures and two westbound departures on weekdays. On Sundays there were three eastbound and two westbound trains. In 1897 the MSLR changed its name to the Great Central Railway (GCR). The July 1922 timetable showed a somewhat improved passenger service at Cadishead with eight westbound and six eastbound weekday services but there was no Sunday service. At the grouping of 1923 the CLC remained independent but its owning companies became the London & North Eastern Railway (LNER) with two thirds of the shares, and the London Midland Scottish Railway (LMS) with one third. The local passenger services were hauled by LNER locomotives after 1923. The LMS Summer timetable for 1932 showed only four westbound services Monday to Friday and only three on a Saturday. Eastbound there were also four. On Sundays there was one train in each direction. On the 1st of January 1948 the line became part of the nationalised British Railways (London Midland Region). The 1949 Summer timetable showed Cadishead as having eight eastbound and five westbound services Monday to Friday with retimed and extra services on Saturdays. There were no Sunday services. Although the line remained busy throughout the 1950s the passenger service remained broadly similar to how it had been in 1949. By 1950 the station had also lost its canopies and its timber platform had been replaced by concrete. The Re-shaping of Britain’s Railways Report of 1963, which became known as the ‘Beeching Report’ recommended that passenger services be withdrawn from Cadishead. The Summer 1962 timetable showed only six eastbound and six westbound departures Monday to Friday. An interesting feature was a train to Southport Chapel Street that allowed residents of Cadishead to have a day out at the seaside. The service was withdrawn on 30 November 1964 and the station closed completely with its buildings being demolished. Some through workings and diversions continued to operate after this date but with the withdrawal of long-distance services from Liverpool Central in 1966 these came to an end. On 17 May 1970 Cadishead station signal box closed and the section of line through the station was singled from Partington Junction to Glazebrook East Junction. A rake of tar tanks are passing through the station site heading for Glazebrook on the lower line (Pic by David Peacock) However, it is known that on Saturday 5 January 1974 the Midlander Railtour from Liverpool Lime Street to Derby passed through Cadishead station. The line remained in use for goods services until 29 July 1982. On 3 August 1982 the points at Glazebrook East Junction were clipped out of use and formal closure of the line through Cadishead station came on 4 September 1983. It was lifted shortly after. Although the stations buildings were demolished after closure the sections of both platforms remain. The view of the high-level station site in 1974 (Pic by Glenn MacLeod) The down platform seven years ago The condition now shows how nature is slowly reclaiming the site The entrance gate to the path up to Cadishead station in the early 1970s Good luck getting down the path now We are on the high-level Liverpool Road bridge now This tree stump is close to the approach to the bridge. The blue plastic plugs contain a herbicide called glyphosate, which travels through the stump to the roots. It prevents new growth – useful for invasive species – and causes the stump to rot away. Releasing the chemical directly into the stump minimises the risk of it harming wildlife or getting into waterways. If the roots carried on growing it could undermine the structure of the bridge. This view is looking north up Liverpool Road with the bridge for the original lower line below us From down below is this great pic: One of sixteen Guy Arab Vs with Northern Counties rear entrance bodies. 121 passes under the railway bridges on Liverpool Road not long after starting its 1 hour journey to Farnworth. Directions to "Partington Coaling Basin" are clearly shown! (Pic by AP Tyldsley) The lower bridge as it was. One track has been lifted. (Pic by Andrew Salmon) Looking in the same direction now shows how impenetrable the trackbed has become ahead Like many towns in the swathe of territory between Manchester and Liverpool, Cadishead became thrust into the heart of the Industrial Revolution. In fact, Chat Moss, an area of marshland became notable for the challenge it provided to the railway’s engineers, led by the renowned George Stephenson. Four years later, on September 15th 1830, the new line a marvel of the Victorian age, opened to wide acclaim – with Robert Stephenson’s famous Rocket among the first locomotives to run on the line. Cadishead’s significance was further assured in the late 1880s, with the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal (See more below). On the day it opened, January 1st 1894, it was the largest canal of its type in the world and would enable Manchester, a city located some 40 miles inland to become Britain’s third-busiest port. With such strong transport links, this previously agricultural area had, within a couple of generations, become one of the most strategically important locations in the country. If you’ve ever used the stretch of the M62 between its junctions with the M6 at Birchwood and the M60 at Eccles, you may have noticed just how uneven the road can be – and how often it seems to be re-surfaced. Local wisdom suggests that the ground beneath is so criss-crossed with mine shafts and extracted coal, even after over a hundred years, the soil is still settling into place, disrupting the surface. In the early 1890s, with the advent of the Ship Canal, nearby Cadishead suddenly became a hugely important location to load millions of tons of coal onto waiting barges. Early maps of the canal show a high concentration of recently-laid railway lines nearby crossing the canal and terminating at loading areas on both banks – the viaduct remains today, albeit unused. It also indicates that while the immediate area around Liverpool Road remained quite agricultural in nature, even then, a mineral line ran alongside the canal, where today’s Cadishead Way by-pass (A57) begins. As the area began to prosper from its now enviable location, it was clear that the site was far too important to be left unexploited and around the turn of the 20th Century it became the home of the Lancashire Patent Fuel Company, a manufacturer of fuel briquettes. Around the time of the First World War the company was acquired by the Manna Oil Refinery, a name which would make newspaper headlines in 1915. It was on the 8th October that year that a fire broke out at the refinery. With highly flammable liquids stored on site, and no public fire-fighting service in the vicinity there was grave concern that a deeper tragedy may occur. Quickly the Works Fire Brigade of the nearby Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS), a volunteer force of 25 men and their horse-drawn appliance were on the scene. With seven police constables holding back growing crowds, they were eventually supported by the Eccles Fire Brigade with their more modern, motorised, fire engine. Thankfully, no lives were lost although three of the men who fought the fire were severely burned. The damage to the site resulted in a £3,500 insurance claim (£370,000 at today’s value) and the resulting inquest decided that the Eccles Fire Brigade should take responsibility for Irlam and Cadishead. It would be another eight years until Irlam was afforded its own Fire Brigade and Engine. In 1916, British Tar Products opened a site making explosives for the war effort, gaining a capability that extended beyond the war with the production of other oil-based products. Tar became an even more important part of the local economy when, a few years later, the Lancashire Tar Distillers opened a plant in the shadow of the Cadishead Viaduct. In 1932, the then Duke of York – later to become King George VI – the father of Queen Elizabeth visited Irlam to be given a tour of the nearby CWS Margarine factory and the Steelworks. With the country at war once again between 1939 and 1945 the area was vital to the war effort, supplying coal, steel and household goods to power and sustain the country. The strategic importance of the Manchester Ship Canal was not lost on the Luftwaffe, who repeatedly bombed Salford Quays, famously damaging Manchester United’s Old Trafford ground in the process. With so much vital industry and infrastructure Cadishead did not escape the bombing, with properties on Liverpool Road amongst those hit. By the end of the war, Cadishead was given an eerie reminder of the reason behind the hardships of the previous six years. With victory in Europe declared, the U1023, a 500-ton German U-boat, captured by the Royal Navy, embarked on a tour of the country to raise money for the King George’s Fund for Sailors. She was sailed along the Manchester Ship Canal to Salford Quays, where she was on display between 6th and 11th July 1945. With the war won, and eventually rationing over Britain began to recover her prosperity and by 1957 with the words of the Prime Minister, Harold MacMillan that “most of our people have never had it so good”, Irlam and Cadishead were indeed teeming with industry and opportunity. Aerial photographs of the time show a thriving steelworks in Irlam separated from the British Tar Products site in Cadishead by the CLCs railway lines approach to the Cadishead viaduct. Britain’s post-war resurgence was quite literally forged in places like this. On the morning of Tuesday April 14th 1970 five men were killed while being ferried over the Manchester Ship Canal by “Bob’s Ferry”, a service that had existed for almost a hundred years, which operated from Bob’s Lane. Further upstream in Partington a Dutch vessel was being loaded with 1,800 tons of petrol and due to the negligence of those who should have been supervising the operation up to 14,000 gallons had overflowed into the canal. It was never known what sparked the fuel but within seconds, up to a mile of the canal became engulfed with flames up to 60 feet high. On April 30th a sixth man died as a result of the injuries sustained. In the 1970s times were changing and Cadishead seemed to be a perfect example of the transition from one era to the next. Like many heavy industries in Britain in that decade it was clear that decline had set in. In 1979 the Irlam Steelworks closed resulting in redundancy and uncertainty for hundreds of local families. In the same year a Cadishead-born graphic designer called Ray Lowry saw the release of his most famous work – the iconic cover of The Clash’s most famous album, ‘London Calling’. The demise of heavy industry coinciding with the rise of the creative economy and popular culture were apparent in many places in 1979 but in this respect Cadishead seemed to be a microcosm of the whole country. In 1981, the Manchester Ship Canal railway closed, leaving the British Tar company to operate its own rail connection. By the mid-1990s the tar production stopped and the site was cleared and eventually used for housing development a decade or so later. The Lancashire Tar Distillers who had occupied a site in Cadishead for over 80 years had developed an expertise in treating industrial and hazardous waste. With the emergence of ever-tightening restrictions on waste this was an industry in its own throes of revolution and opportunity, just like Cadishead had seen with coal, oil and then steel over the previous century. With its enviable facilities and strategic location (although now, proximity to the motorway network had become more important that the Manchester Ship Canal), it was a prime candidate for acquisition and in August 2000 was acquired by CSG Waste Disposal. With such a rich history, and a key part in the Industrial Revolution, the Co-operative movement, and then the subsequent decline of mining and steelworks Cadishead and Irlam’s development has, to a large extent, become a textbook example of the very history of industry in the UK over the last two hundred years. We now head on towards the Cadishead Viaduct. CADISHEAD VIADUCT At Cadishead the line passed over the River Mersey by means of a fixed bridge. At first the line was only used by goods trains but by August of 1873 express and local passenger services were using it. Trains passing along the line included London and Liverpool services of both the Midland and the Great Northern Railways. In 1885 an Act of Parliament was passed authorising the construction of the 'Manchester Ship Canal', a canal of 36 miles in length. A truly superb photo taken before they let the water in during the construction at Warburton Cutting. The human figure in the bottom shows the size of the cutting. It had to be capable of taking the largest ocean going ships right into Manchester. To achieve this fixed bridges had to give 75ft of clearance. Many railways crossed the proposed route of the canal and all but one were nowhere near the required height including the CLC line at Cadishead. To solve the problem deviations had to be built at the Manchester Ship Canal Companies expense that would lift the railways to the required elevation. Cadishead Viaduct under construction about 1890, and the original 1873 Cheshire Lines Railway Viaduct across the River Mersey. The photo was taken from a mineral railway that connected to the canal sidings. The CLC built a multi-lattice girder bridge with a 120ft span that was 75 ft above the canal. On either side of the span two archways connected the bridge to the substantial embankment that had been built up to carry the railway to the bridge at the required height. Health and Safety Exec nowhere in sight! As viewed from the other side Locomotives on the viaduct with the old one behind The bridge was built to take four tracks although the Glazebrook East - Skelton Junction line was only double track. In the 1890s the railway was an important main line and the CLC considered that at some point in the future it would be made quadruple. The new bridge was to the south-west of the original. It opened to freight traffic on 27 February 1893 and to passenger services on 29 May 1893. The Cadishead Viaduct over the Manchester Ship Canal in its early years. Another view of the industrial railway passing beneath it belonging to the Manchester Ship Canal Company Cadishead Viaduct 1920 - weight of steelwork 494 tons, span 137 feet. A small Swedish Steamship registered in Stockholm heads upstream towards Partington Coaling Basin and Manchester. (Pic by C. Downs) Viewed from above As can be seen here there were a lot of sidings and loading points on the canal At the location where the original line had run coal loading facilities were developed served by the original CLC line on both sides of the canal. Extensive areas of sidings developed adjacent to them. The Glazebrook East Junction - Skelton Junction line remained busy well into the 20th century but in 1964 it lost its local passenger services, and in 1966 main line passenger services ceased to use it. On 17 May 1970 the line between Partington Junction and Glazebrook east Junction was singled. In the early 1980s the bridge required major repairs and British Rail (the then owners) decided that the least expensive option would be to close the line. The line remained in use for goods services until 29 July 1982. On 3 August 1982 the points at Glazebrook East Junction were clipped out of use and formal closure of the line running over Cadishead bridge came on 4 September 1983. The railway was lifted shortly after. Our next challenge is getting onto the viaduct! The obligatory security fence This sign Behind another security fence are industrial containers topped with curved steel sheets wrapped with razor wire If you were Spiderman you may be able to get around the ends of the container. One end has a long drop into the Manchester Ship Canal. The other end is worse as it is over dry land The main reason for all this stems from its time when it was known as: The Iron Battleground During the 1990s armies of youths from the two towns either side of the viaduct would be rounded up from the ages of 12 to 25 and marched up the canalside ready to commence battle. Beginning with rocks, sticks and catapults this soon advanced into the use of crossbows, airguns and eventually petrol bombs. As word spread through both communities people became aware of the ongoing conflict and the number of youths involved only grew. For the youth it became a purpose, something to do, something to be a part of and belong to. The fighting was fierce with a variety suffering injuries on both sides. Clashes would entail in the centre of the bridge under the flames of the petrol bombs and a hail of rocks. The only communication from either side was to shout profanities or arrange the next battle. With the situation constantly escalating it was only a matter of time before the authorities stepped in. A high police presence including helicopters, riot vehicles and police on foot certainly helped to disperse the crowds but they would return time after time after time. Barbed wire was used to block the access but only became another weapon. Fences were erected but only broken down. Eventually the long running feud was brought to an end with the positioning of industrial containers filled with concrete at either end preventing anyone from gaining access to the battleground. However, where there’s a will (and a rope) there’s a way and we now find ourselves on the viaduct Steel brackets show the position of the westbound track The eastbound side The view south through the lattice work A quiet Manchester Ship Canal Blue engineers brick, and steel Paper thin in places! Looking through one of the holes to the water far below Water collects in the cross-beam channels which accelerates the deterioration My son gives a sense of scale to the structure Off the viaduct now and we are met with yet more security fences on the Partington side. These are keeping us in this time though! From below the magnificent stone and blue brick arch support is still in good condition Underneath the viaduct is this sign for shipping on the canal An old marker light on the canal bank The viaduct in all its glory There are very few remains of the original River Mersey bridge The supports for the 1873 bridge These are the arches to the left of the tree as in the earlier photo below Leaving this wondrous place let’s make tracks for the site of Partington station. Again, as with Cadishead there were two stations: PARTINGTON (1st station) Date opened: First appeared in timetable in May 1874. Conditional sanction to open the station was given on 24.3.1874 Location: East side of Manchester Road (A6144). Site now inside the Carrington Industrial complex. Company on opening: Cheshire Lines Committee Date closed to passengers: 29.5.1893 Date closed completely: 29.5.1893 Company on closing: Cheshire Lines Committee Present state: Demolished As with Cadishead Partington (1st) station was situated on the Cheshire Lines Railways (CLC) Glazebrook to Stockport Tiviot Dale Line. The section of line on which the station stood had opened from Cressington Junction to Skelton Junction on 1.3.1873 for goods services with passenger workings commencing on 1.8.1873. The line gave the CLC their own route to Liverpool. Previously they had had to operate over LNWR metals between Skelton Junction and Garston. Partington was served by local trains running between Stockport Tiviot Dale and Liverpool Central with some short workings going only as far as Warrington Central. Express services to London St. Pancras and other destinations along with a steady stream of goods workings passed through the station. In the 1890s the building of the Manchester Ship Canal necessitated the diversion and raising up a number of railway lines including Glazebrook to Stockport Tiviot Dale. The line had to be built up to a height that would allow sea going vessels to pass underneath and so a deviation was constructed just to the south of the original line which included a large single span girder bridge to the northwest of Partington (1st) station. For a few weeks in 1893 both lines were in use but eventually the original course of the line was split into two by the excavation of the Manchester Ship Canal. Partington (1st) station closed to passengers on the 29.5.1893 and a replacement opened on the deviated line on the same day. The course of the original route through Partington (1st) station remained in use for many years as an access line to the Manchester Ship Canal Companies own sidings. Today the site of the station is inaccessible as it is occupied by an industrial complex. PARTINGTON (2nd station) Date opened: 29.5.1893 Location: East side of Manchester Road (A6144) Company on opening: Cheshire Lines Committee Date closed to passengers: 30.11.1964 Date closed completely: 30.11.1964 Company on closing: British Railways (London Midland Region) Present state: Platforms still extant Partington Station was the second station so named. It opened on the 29th of May 1893 and the original station was closed. The station was situated on an embankment. The line was double-track, and the station was provided with two platforms. The main facilities were on the westbound platform and consisted of a brick-built building which had a single storey booking hall and waiting rooms co-joined with a two storey station master’s house. The new station at Partington under construction in 1891. The track seen running through the station was a temporary contractors line and would be replaced by two tracks using a more substantial type of rail and sleepers. Partington Station cottages The building was in the style of other CLC main line intermediate stations that had been built in the early 1870s. Access was via a sloping driveway that led up from the Manchester Road. A subway linked through to the eastbound platform which had a single storey brick-built waiting room. Both platforms at Partington were provided with canopies. A CLC type CL1a signal box with 26 levers was located at the south-eastern end of the westbound platform. The Partington stationmaster and his family pose for a picture on the Liverpool direction platform at Partington in the early years of the 20th Century. The Partington station Stockport direction platform as seen looking south-east in August 1952 from a passing train. In 1960 the Station Master with responsibility for Partington was a Mr Dawson but he did not live in the Station House. It was occupied by Mr Patrick Curran, a British Railways employee based at Manchester Central who had originally been a railway employee in Ireland. Mr Curran moved into the house with his young family. The Curran Family pose on the Liverpool direction platform at Partington station at the time of Anne Marie Curran's first holy communion. The view shows the line heading off towards the bridge over the Manchester Ship Canal, and onwards to Liverpool. Despite the fact that only a few passenger trains called at the station at this time it is well kept. Mr Curran spent his own time improving the gardens and approaches to Partington station. The Curran children became a feature of the station during this period using it and the nearby goods yard as their playground. This was with the blessing of railway staff including Mr Dawson. Mr Curran made improvements to the station garden, and white-washed the bricks which greatly improved what had by the early 1960s become a run-down station. Shortly after Mr Dawson retired he travelled through Partington Station on his way to Northenden to visit his grandaughter. Led by Anne Marie Curran who had become particularly fond of Mr Dawson the Curran children lined up on the platform and ran alongside the train carrying Mr Dawson as it arrived. Quite a scene was caused with passengers looking out of the train to see what was going on. Mr Dawson was delighted with the reception and even the station porter came over to shake his hand. Looking north-west along to the Liverpool direction platform at Partington Station in the early 1960s. The Curran family and their cousins pose for the camera. The Re-shaping of Britain’s Railways Report of 1963, which became known as the ‘Beeching Report’ recommended that passenger services be withdrawn from Partington. The Summer 1962 timetable showed only four eastbound and five westbound departures Monday to Friday. A train from Wigan Central terminated at Partington at 7.01am and there was no Sunday service. The closure here mirrored that of Cadishead. The service was withdrawn on 30 November 1964 and Partington station closed completely. After closure the station became the haunt of un-desirable individuals and as a result of this the Curran family moved out of the station house in 1966. Dereliction set in and eventually the station building was demolished. Some through workings and diversions continued to operate after this date but with the withdrawal of long-distance services from Liverpool Central in 1966 these came to an end. On 17 May 1970 Partington Station signal box closed, and the section of line through Partington station was singled from a point to the south of the station (where there was a connection to a chemical plant) through to Glazebrook. Looking south-east at Partington station in 1973 The line remained in use for goods services until 29 July 1982. On 3 August 1982 the points at Glazebrook East Junction were clipped out of use and formal closure of the line through Partington station came on 4 September 1983. It was lifted shortly after. Chemical trains continued to run from Skelton Junction to the chemical works at Partington until 1994. Latterly a train of oil tanks ran from Partington to Baglan Bay in South Wales. The track between the chemical works and Skelton Junction remained in situ in 2012. Although the stations buildings were demolished after closure the Liverpool direction platform, and sections of the Stockport platform remain. Of particular interest is the glazed brick subway which although partially buried can still be seen. The Liverpool platform appears The classic blue brick base to the platform There was a crane (arrowed) located here in the 1900s This is the base of that very crane A mobile steam crane was also in use Here we have the first signs of something really special It is the tiled magnificence of the passenger subway Arrowed red on the map Years of disuse has seen nature fill in the slope down to the subway. Just the very top of the archway remains visible. By laying face-down a view of the splendour inside is possible. Not a tile cracked or missing in 130 years. Many bricks lying around from JCE The company of J. C. Edwards (Ruabon) Ltd, was based in Ruabon, Denbighshire. It was active from 1903 to 1956 as a brick, tile and terracotta manufacturer from its works at Tref-y-Nant, Acrefair, Albert Works, Rhosllannerchrugog, and Pen-y-bont, Newbridge, Denbighshire. James Coster Edwards (1828-1896) founded the company; it was sold in 1956. The entrance to J.C.Edwards works near Ruabon - the rest of the plant has been demolished Heading a short distance from the station towards West Timperley we come to another passageway under the line. This had to be constructed for a public footpath which existed before the railway. The blue brick archway has been covered with this concrete and steel monstrosity For a short distance inside the passageway is lined with blue brick The middle portion which was under the line is made up of cast iron segments similar to the ones used in the construction of the London Underground Owing to a gas works and industrial site the footpath was re-routed away from the area. Therefore the passage is now bricked up. Standard red bricks have been used in this area. These have become discoloured with some having a crystalline growth coating them. Next to the foot passageway is another pair of bridges which were used to take the line over the access road between the gasworks and the neighbouring chemical plant Department for Transport marker Again we have old and newer side by side From here the flooded trackbed curves away east towards Skelton Junction I’m sure you’ll agree this Glazebrook to Partington stretch of disused paradise has given us an impressive display of its past glory. It is truly the promised land! Section 3 below:

Hi there folks, This week we have in: Section 1: F2s from Skegness, Cowdie & Taunton Section 2: A disused railway in Greater Manchester Section 3: Part two of trucks from the Netherlands, and pics from the Wrexham and Chester Bus Running Day on Jan 1st Section 1: Skegness – Thursday 14th July 2022 – 38 cars A number of Scottish drivers added to the car count at this WCQR. Chris Burgoyne (647), brother Steven (674), Liam Rennie (3), Gordon Moodie (7), Graeme Leckie (975) and Mika Millar (402) all made the trek south. However, the furthest travelled was teenage star Shea Fegan (NI918) from Northern Ireland. Jason Ward from Wakefield in attendance A couple of different driver/car combinations Reece Cox in George MacMillan Jnr’s car Simon Traves in the Jack Witts car Liam Rennie was victorious in Heat 1, with Heat 2 going to Jessica Smith (390). The Consolation was won by Ben Bate (161) who unfortunately could not compete in the Final owing to a half shaft problem just before the rolling lap. Sole ‘C’ grader Joe Bamford (302) led the field away but was quickly caught by the 390 car. At the rear of the field James Riggall (527), Moodie and Harley Burns (992) were making inroads to the front. As Smith raced away Tom Bennett (213) secured himself in 2nd. Moodie was carving a path through the field with Burns shadowing his every move. Once past Riggall the 7 car proceeded to chase down Bennett and settled in 2nd place. Jessica was away up front and continued her fine performance to claim the win. Having notched a maximum score Jess playfully noted that her career first Final win would bring an end to the bragging rights of her sister Rebecca, who had won a Final, also at Skegness, the year before. Result: 390 7 992 183 527 213 674 5 3 195 The GN went to Adie Whitehead (960) Taunton – Monday 25th July 2022 – 35 cars (33 raced) This first of five weekly Monday night meetings commenced in fine style as it was the milestone 500th F2 event. The top twenty Final winners list reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of F2. 667/167 Bill Batten - 68 Finals won 542 Peter Gilbert - 31 79/7 Gordon Moodie - 22 617/717 Mike James - 21 676 Neil Hooper - 17 514 Chalky White - 15 667 Tim Farrell - 15 783 James Rygor - 11 686 Garry Hooper - 10 642 Dave Luscombe - 9 698/1 Malc Locke - 9 990/890 Paul Rice - 9 24 Jon Palmer - 9 393 Chris Cuming - 7 505 Ivor Collins - 7 560 Luke Wrench - 7 778 Colin Higman - 7 127 Matt Stoneman - 6 315 Justin Fisher - 6 38 Dave Polley - 5 218 Rob Speak - 5 516 Norman Butcher - 5 542 Steven Gilbert - 5 595 Dave Bunt - 5 In addition, the meeting had been dedicated to Bill Batten. There was a huge prize fund totalling more than £2500. Every race win would be rewarded with £167. CBH Specialist Transport had added £500 to the Final win making a bumper £667 payout to the victor. Hampshire based Lewis Geraty was in the Liam Rennie (3) car Neil Hooper was one of four drivers on the top 25 Final winners list in the pits Tristan Claydon in a new WRC Charlie Lobb had bought the latest 560 winning machine A nice looker from James Lindsay Making a one-off appearance in the National Saloons being as the meeting was dedicated to Bill Batten was Eddie Darby in the Speaky car. Warren Darby had a tribute to Bill in his race number In pride of place Also in the pits The evening began with the superb replica of Batten’s 1981 and ’82 World Championship-winning car being paraded around the track by his family and friends, with Bill’s Ministox racing granddaughter Mia at the wheel. Crispen listens to the tribute paid by the Bristol promoter Graham Bunter amongst others A couple of cars didn’t make it beyond practice which left 33 cars spread over two heats. The opener saw a couple of caution periods one of which was to recover Paul Rice (890) and Neil Hooper (676) who became stranded after a clash with Tommy Farrell (667). Ed Neachell (321) led until halfway when Matt Stoneman (127) took over. Rebecca Smith (931) tried a retaliatory move on Charlie Lobb (988) after being hit wide but ended up losing out to Charlie Fisher (315) as she got out of shape. Top 3: 127 126 321 Ed Neachell lends a hand on the 667 car Heat two saw a win for Steven Gilbert (542) after he closed down long-time leader Jordan Butcher (509) in the closing stages. Top 3: 542 509 475 The Consolation saw Matt Stone (510) and Daz Purdy (259) squeezed into the wall on the first lap with Jamie Jones (915) collecting the stationary cars as the caution came out. Mike Cocks (762) led the restart as bumpers went in hard amongst the field. Shane Hector (528) moved into the lead with Nathan Maidment (935) and Neil Hooper (676) close behind. These three remained in this order to the flag as Maidment’s last bender failed to connect with the 528 car. Top 3: 528 935 676 Twenty-three qualifiers came out for the track’s 500th meeting Final. Butcher, the lone ‘C’ grader was swiftly passed by Richard Andrews (605) for the lead. Kieren Bradford (27) was making rapid progress through the field only to run wide and allow Jamie Avery (126) onto his tail. The star grade was delayed when Charlie Fisher (35) spun and was collected by Rice, whilst Joe Marquand (689) hit the Honiton bend wall hard. With the front left heavily damaged he spotted a gap to get to the safety of the centre only to be unable to mount the kerb. The car stopped dead and reared up dropping oil onto the racing line in turn four. This oil caused plenty of tricky moments over the remaining laps. Tristan Claydon (210) was now into the lead pursued by Neachell, Bradford and Avery. Neachell dropped out and Bradford just made up enough time to make a successful last bend challenge and nip inside for victory and the £667 payout. “I knew it was for a great cause so I just had to go for it, and the oil on that corner made it easier for me to go in,” said the victor. “Pleased with that one. Bill’s done a lot for me over time and I’m very grateful for it so it’s nice to have won that race.” Result: 27 210 126 988 667 605 475 184 542 676 A great victory for Kieren The 689 car after the Final The twenty-three car GN had action throughout as Butcher led until past half-way before being hit wide by Leah Sealy (475). Hooper came through into second but could not catch the local teenager who held on for a popular victory. Top 3: 475 676 667 Cowdenbeath – Friday 29th July 2022 – 13 cars The immaculate R-Series Scania from the 674 team The last of the Friday night race meetings here saw some action-packed racing. Jason Blacklock (512) took Heat 1, with Liam Rennie doing likewise in Heat 2. This race was notable for an altercation between Chris Burgoyne (647) and Euan Millar (629). Chris had been held up by roadworks en route so missed the first race. Soon after the start of this race he eased Millar aside into turn three, but Millar’s retaliation was way over the top entering turns 1 & 2. Both cars slammed into the wall and sustained meeting-ending damage. Chris jumped out to remonstrate with Euan who didn’t take him on! A furious Chris storms back to his pit ahead of the stricken car Spot the F1 driver at the back of the car The damage was too much to repair in the time available The 629 car fared slightly better but did not reappear The Final saw a caution flag to help Colin Forbes (202) from his car. At the restart Rennie went on to the race win. Result: 3 674 16 512 402 679 217 Blacklock kept it to just the two race winners tonight with victory in the GN. Taunton – Monday 1st August 2022 – 21 cars (18 raced) After three drivers failed to take part in the meeting after practice there was a lowly field of just 18. The crippling cost of fuel, holidays, work commitments, car damage and engine issues had all taken their toll on the car numbers. It was the first time in years of a sub-20 car count. A large crowd had gathered on this warm summer’s evening with most not expecting much promise from the meeting. However, a quartet of highly entertaining races followed. The size and shape of the Smeatharpe raceway has a habit of serving up superb action. Motorworld #63 – A brand new car for Sam Weston made its debut A re-appearance of Matt Westaway The spotlight fell on local starlet Leah Sealy (475). After her large score the previous Monday here, including the GN win, the teenager came oh so close to winning the Final on Wednesday evening at Bristol. Julian Coombes (828) moved into an early lead of Heat 1 as Matt Hatch (320) tank-slapped it into the fence, whilst Ben Farebrother (115) and Harrison Bryant (91) clashed in turn one. With three to go Jamie Avery (126) had closed in on the rear of Coombes and moved ahead into the lead, only for Coombes to come back on the next lap to take the place back. At two to go Avery once more homed in on the rear bumper of the 828 car. However, this delayed both of them and taking advantage was Jack Bunter (728) who shot through to claim a most unexpected victory. Top 3: 728 542 605 Farebrother and Bryant tangled again at the start of Heat 2 whilst the leader Daz Purdy (259) was spun by Charlie Knight (525) who took himself out in the process. Avery was again rapidly moving forwards and led until the last lap with Ben Borthwick (418) two car lengths back. Borthwick applied just enough contact to the 126 back end to pass up the inside and out-drag Avery to the line. Top 3: 418 126 542 The Final saw Sealy move into an early lead. Steven Gilbert (542) led the star grade charge but his progress stalled during the halfway stage of the race. Farebrother spun around almost taking Bryant out as Avery moved into second. However, Sealy was able to maintain her advantage to win her first Final in the formula and become the first female racer to score a feature success at Smeatharpe. Result: 475 126 418 542 605 728 828 35 667 988 A first Final win for Leah. Best friend, and ex-Ministox star Chloe Serpell was on hand to join in the celebrations. The GN saw Borthwick make hard contact with the rear of Gilbert as the latter was closing on the leaders. They both ricocheted off the fence in turn three with Gilbert continuing and Borthwick grinding to a halt on the infield. Race leading Coombes had been passed by Andrews who tangled with Bryant on the home straight soon after. The two were very lucky not to get collected by the following cars. This let Coombes back into the top spot but he was unable to hold off Avery who finally managed his first win of the evening. Top 3: 126 468 828 Section 2 below:

Section 2 above Section 3: Odds and Ends: We stay in Ireland for the next few pics. Our first stop is at Bangor’s combined railway and bus station. 3017 & 4003 stabled at the buffer stops At the beginning of the 21st century, the majority of rail services in Northern Ireland continued to be operated using Class 80 DEMUs, which had been in service since the mid-1970s, and were becoming increasingly harder to maintain. NIR had not procured new rolling stock since 1994, when, in conjunction with Iarnród Éireann, it purchased locomotives and coaches for the Enterprise service. As part of a major investment programme in the railways in Northern Ireland, NIR placed an order totalling £80 million, the largest single investment in rolling stock ever made by NIR, with CAF for 23 3-car DMUs in 2002. The new trains entered service in 2004 and 2005, gradually replacing most of the existing Class 80 units on the network (the main exception being services between Belfast and Larne, which were still provided by the Class 450 DMUs). The trains are capable of speeds of up to 145 km/h (90 mph), seat 201 (including 15 on tip-up seats) and have standing room for 280 passengers crush laden. The sets are numbered 3001-3023. All vehicles are powered. The individual cars are 3301 to 3323, 3501 to 3523 and 3401 to 3423. The end vehicles on each unit have cabs. The first six units (3001-3006) are fitted with CAWS and communication equipment compatible with the rail network in the Republic of Ireland. This enables these units to be used as required on cross-border services. Continuous Automatic Warning System (CAWS) Some sections of the main line routes in the Republic of Ireland and the whole of the line between Dublin and Cork are equipped with coded track circuits that provide in-cab signal indications. The system is known as the Continuous Automatic Warning System (CAWS). The in-cab signal indications repeat line-side indications and are accompanied by an alarm buzzer when there is a change to a more restrictive aspect. The driver is required to acknowledge the alarm within 8s to prevent an irrevocable automatic emergency brake application. After the operation of the emergency brake, there is a two-minute delay before the system can be reset and the train is allowed to proceed. The system is not vital in that the driver can acknowledge a restrictive signal warning and can then allow the train to proceed without reducing speed. Nevertheless, there have been a number of incidents: On Thursday 2nd August 2007, unit 3014 hit a tractor, killing the tractor driver, and severely damaging the front of the train. On Thursday 4 February 2016, two Class 3000 units formed a train that struck an excavator bucket on the line at Knockmore Junction, County Antrim whilst travelling at 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). The leading vehicle (3413) was severely damaged, and a passenger was injured. 3013 was returned to revenue service in November 2018. On Friday 9th August 2019, No. 3019 hit a tree just south of Antrim, damaging the front of the train. On Wednesday 18th December 2019, No. 3006 hit a tree near Mossley West, severely damaging the leading vehicle, 3406. Refurbishment Phase 1 of the refurbishment programme began during the financial year 2009/10 and cost an estimated £1.2 million. At the time, the trains were approximately 5–6 years old. By the time this was completed, twenty new Class 4000 units were already coming into service. In 2009, CAF signed a contract with Translink, owner of Northern Ireland Railways, for the supply of twenty diesel trains, each with three cars. These Class 4000 cars were adapted to the new European emissions standards, reducing the consumption and costs of maintenance, all contributing to the procurement of a more ecological train. A contract was entered into in 2018 to extend the fleet, with twenty-one new intermediate cars which are fully compatible with the NIR 4000 series units. The new vehicles provide almost 1,400 addition places, thereby increasing capacity and addressing the increasing number of passengers who use the Northern Ireland railway service. The refurbishment involved a re-livery of the trains in the refreshed corporate branding. The phase two refurbishment of its Class 3000 started in November 2018, and it is scheduled to refurbish all the twenty-three 3000's. The original station buildings were erected in 1864–1865 to designs by the architect Charles Lanyon. This superb photo was taken in the early 1900s. However, following World War 2 alterations by the Ulster Transport Authority damaged the building, stripping it of much of its original brickwork. The company then rebuilt the building, before it was reconstructed again to a new design in 2000 The station is still looking as good as the day it was built with not a speck of dirt or rubbish anywhere The curved design of the roof can be seen A time capsule in the foyer to be opened in 2100 An Ulsterbus line-up Over to the Giant's Causeway now: Most travellers brave long bus rides and crowded car parks to see the magnificent Giant’s Causeway. Many are unaware that a more scenic option exists: The Giant’s Causeway and Bushmills Railway. Inside the Causeway station Departing from the historic town of Bushmills, this train takes visitors on a two-mile journey along the windswept Northern Irish coast before dropping them off just down the hill from the National Trust Visitor’s Centre at the Giant’s Causeway World Heritage Site. Through rural hinterlands, past sandy beaches, even intersecting a golf course, the charming trip is arguably the ideal way to arrive at Northern Ireland’s sole UNESCO site. The line crosses a river via a Bailey bridge, which replaced the 19th century original. The plaque from the original bridge survives. The railway—or tramway, to be more accurate—is smaller than your average train, built to the Irish narrow-gauge specification of three feet (0.915 meters). The tram is made of a custom diesel locomotive and three passenger coaches designed to recreate the passenger experience of the Causeway Coast’s long-abandoned hydro-electric tram. The original Giant’s Causeway Tramway opened in 1883, shepherded by railway and engineering enthusiast William Traill of Ballyclough. Hailed as the world’s first commercially run hydro-electric powered tram system (though supplemented with steam engines), the tram served as a passenger link between the towns of Portrush and Bushmills, and later extended to Giant’s Causeway. Time and technology evolved the system, with live rail succumbing to overhead electric wire in 1899 with steam haulage ending in 1916. The tramway ran for 65 years, finally closing in 1949. Resurrected in 2002, the current tram serves the Northern Irish coast’s booming tourism industry. Passengers board at Bushmills on a simple platform, but the Causeway end of the line features a proper station, as well as workshops, carriage sheds and signage reminiscent of the original tram. Although the original steam locomotives are no longer in service, train enthusiasts can ask for a view of the old machines in the nearby carriage shed. Scenes at the Causeway end of the line The Atlantic Ocean batters the black basalt columns There are around 40,000 columns in the area Looking up at some of the 50ft columns Back on the mainland now at Stranraer. The line to Stranraer railway station (formerly known as Stranraer Harbour railway station), with Loch Ryan to the right. It is the terminus of the Glasgow South-Western Line. It has two platforms (although only one of these is currently in use) and is staffed on a part-time basis. The station is located on the east pier of Stranraer Harbour, formerly used by ferry services to Northern Ireland. The Portpatrick Railway opened the original station on 1 October 1862. The present buildings date from 1877, although there have been some alterations over the years. From its internal appearance, little seems to have been done to the station since the demise of British Rail in 1997. From its opening, the station provided a rail connection for passengers arriving off the steamer from Larne. However, Stena Line moved the ferry from Larne to Belfast in 1995 and from Stranraer to Loch Ryan Port (outside Cairnryan) on 20 November 2011. There is an electric bus service from the ferry terminals to Stranraer station. The overnight sleeper service to/from London Euston ended in 1990. The rail services did consist of six trains per day Monday – Saturday, with three on Sunday. Plans have been proposed to move Stranraer station, although these currently appear in abeyance. Nevertheless, with the reduced frequency of trains, the entire future of the line south of Girvan must be in doubt. The A77 road-bridge over the line As it was 35yrs ago. A 6-car DMU set makes a smoky departure from Stranraer station, probably with a passenger service to Ayr and Glasgow. The wooden fence is in a bit better condition than in the previous pic. Former railway land to the left of the line The now rusting Motorail ramp Trucks from Overseas: Many thanks to Bas for sending this set from the Netherlands - Part 1: Many thanks to Ben for sending this set from Barbados: “Trucks at the Seaside”. At work on Treasure Beach. This Freightliner took the Cat away A Mack tipper A Freightliner sewage pumper Great paint job Three scenes from St.Lucia docks Blackpool Transport Spot Back at the beginning of October we had 90 members of the Omnibus Society come along to Rigby Road to have a look around the tram depot. As a bonus we got clearance for them to also go inside the bus depot. Join me earlier on that day as we do a reccy through to make sure all is well with nothing that could cause a dreaded H & S problem when the tour comes round. All is quiet at the pumps The first vehicle we see is this beauty known as the ‘Beast’ An ERF B series fitted with Brimec lifting gear. Note the eight headlamps. Fleet No.929. At 44yrs old the ERF has done some heavy work in its life. The ‘Beast’ was in use later that day The Omnibus Society were booked on Balloon 717 for a tour. Part of their day included unusual moves such as along de-wired track, hence the need for the ‘Beast’ to provide motive power. The pair round the curve in front of the bus depot and head towards the paint shop Another move later with Balloon 713 Again, it was used to push the tram around the direct curve and through 270 degrees left round to the Paint Shop doors, returning back to the tram sheds. Most thought they would never do this non-wired section, let alone twice in one day! The unusual combination of road and rail together was a first for many, even bringing out tram staff for a photo. A pic of ex-Isle of Man L800BTS bus 362 broken down in Bank Hey Street, Blackpool being recovered in 2013. Previously she worked for John Marsh’s Blackpool Van Transport H3 FBT, Optare Delta withdrawn from active service in 2011 In this 1992 view we see H3 FBT which was new in April 1991 in Fylde Borough Transport colours. FBT was the former Lytham St. Annes Corporation undertaking which served these two more sedate coastal towns to the south of bustling Blackpool. Blackpool Transport took over Fylde Borough Transport in 1994. Alongside heading south is Balloon type tram number 701 heading to the Pleasure Beach. It was new in 1934/1935 and wears a red and white ‘Routemaster’ livery to complement the former London vehicles that Blackpool operated for a time. H3 FBT on Market Street in Blackpool while running as No. 133 in the fleet of Blackpool Transport in 2003 The sad remains of stablemate H1 FBT (ex-Fylde 131) after its fire at St. Annes Square on 18 May 2004 Waiting to be scrapped in September 2004 Plaxton Pointer MPD bodied Dennis Dart. This was new to Arriva London North in August 2002, numbered PDL70. When with Arriva Buses Wales UHG 353Y is a Leyland Atlantean AN68D/2R with East Lancs bodywork. It was new in 1982 as Blackpool Transport 353 Blackpool AEC Swift Marshall. It was new as Blackpool Corporation Transport 554 in April 1970 and ran in service until withdrawal in late 1982. This particular bus represents the first delivery of AEC Swifts to the Lancashire municipal fleet and the only ones which didn't have standard 'BET style' screens. The tyre bay The pits An ADL Enviro 200MMC over the pit One on the bus lift Blackpool Transport Services ADL Enviro 400 City. Blackpool Transport had outshopped two of its Enviro 400s in a commemorative livery for our late Queen's Platinum Jubilee. 422/3 have both had some purple vinyls over most of the yellow bits on their liveries and suitable messaging in the advert panels. A varied line-up Stored at the back of the bus depot is this ERF. It has been allocated the reg of the burnt-out Delta in pics 9 & 10. Coming up for 30yrs old This Volvo B7RLE fitted with Plaxton Centro bodywork is used as a trainer The haunted area at the diesel tanks. A man dressed in 1940’s clothing has been sighted here over the years. When approached he walks to the end of the tanks and disappears! A bit of re-work required here The bus-wash This privately owned preserved Lytham St Annes Leyland PD2/10 with Leyland's own bodywork is stored here I took her photo at the Leyland 125 celebration day back in August A bits and bobs pile, including some Gardner workshop manuals. Outside is HFR 501E, a 1967 Leyland Titan PD3A/1 with Metro-Cammell Orion bodywork. That completes your tour. Donations gratefully accepted in my flat cap! A good’un from YouTube this week. Trucker Tim spends a day with Mick Sworder in his stunning Volvo FH16 750. Harry Sworder joins in the fun too. Listen out for the great tones, especially over Sutton Bridge on the A17. The action begins at 2mins 30secs. Enjoy! Next time: F2s from Skegness, Cowdie and Taunton Out and About sees us on a disused railway line in Greater Manchester Odds and Ends features the Wrexham and Chester Bus Running Day on Jan 1st, and part two of the Netherlands truck scene.

Section 1 above: Section 2: Out and About around the Ulster Transport Museum Within 30 minutes of Nutts Corner is the Ulster Transport Museum. It tells the story of transport and social change in this part of the world. Let’s have a look around. Like the modern diesel generators seen at road works today this portable steam boiler provided mobile power wherever it was needed. Manufactured by Marshall, Sons & Co. of Gainsborough, England it was used at Ebrington Naval Base in County Londonderry where it provided temporary power to ships in port during World War II. After the war it powered the laundry at the base before being moved to Kinnegar Army Barracks in Holywood, County Down. The Belfast to Bangor railway passes close to the museum. The line was originally part of the Belfast and County Down Railway. In the distance just before the bridge a spur line can be seen entering from the left. This leads directly to the museum. Steam Locomotive No. 800, 'Maedb'. The Great Southern Railway built three locomotives in 1939-40 at the Inchicore works in Dublin. They were principally designed for express passenger work on the Dublin to Cork line and were restricted to working this route because of the heavy axle load of the engines. The locomotives were given names after legendary female figures in Irish mythology. They were significantly more powerful than any other steam locomotive ever to run in Ireland. Originally it was planned to build four or five locomotives of this class but only three were built. The boiler from what would have been the fourth was used as a spare. The ownership of the locomotive passed to Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) following the Transport Act of 1944. The locomotives had a relatively short time undertaking the work for which they were designed due to wartime coal shortages, and the introduction of diesel engines in the early 1950s. One member of the class was withdrawn from service as early as 1955. 800 ‘Maedb’ worked its last train in December 1958 but like one classmate officially remained in service until 1962. Following its withdrawal from service the locomotive was repainted at Inchicore for preservation. This locomotive had entered traffic in July 1939 and had completed over 480,000 miles. It is said to have attained the highest recorded speed of 96mph. In 1993 it was installed here in the museum. 800 ‘Maedb’in the scrap line at Inchicore – March 1963 800 ‘Maedb’ in store in Adelaide shed awaiting museum preservation – April 1964 (Both pics credit to Roger Joanes) Castrol was founded by Charles “Cheers” Wakefield under the name of ‘CC Wakefield & Company’. In 1899 Charles left a job at Vacuum Oil to start a new business selling lubricants for trains and heavy machinery. Early in the new century, Wakefield took a personal interest in two sporty new motorised contraptions – the automobile and the aeroplane. The company started developing lubricants for these new engines, which needed oils that were runny enough to work from cold at start-up, and thick enough to keep working at very high temperatures. Wakefield researchers found that adding a measure of castor oil, a vegetable oil made from castor beans, did the trick nicely. They called the new product “Castrol.” Originally founded as Livesey and Edwards, The Railway Signal Company came into being in 1881 with George Edwards, former Signalling Manager with the Gloucester Wagon Company, and Robert Aurelius King of Norwood, Surrey, occupation – Gentleman, as the Principals. The Company’s Head Office was registered at Caxton House, Westminster, London, while its manufacturing base was established at Fazakerley, near Liverpool. Its premises were adjacent to the sidings owned by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, who became the Company’s first major customer. At that time the Railway Signal Company added their own design of signalling equipment to those of their main competitors, namely, Saxby & Farmer, Stevens & Sons, E.S. Yardley and the Gloucester Wagon Company. The Railway Signal Company produced signals, signal boxes, lever frames and interlocks. Between 1881 and 1889 they were responsible for almost all the new signalling equipment on the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway. The Company thrived in its own right for much of its existence. In 1920 the company became part of the Westinghouse Brake & Signal Company but continued to manufacture its own in-house designed equipment until the early 1960s, when electrically operated, rather than mechanically operated equipment took precedence. From the early 1960s until the Company’s liquidation in 1974 it diversified into the manufacture of domestic equipment such as the ‘Raysig’ ranges of radiant panel heaters and hot plates. Coras Iompair Eireann Guard’s Brake Van DMC-12 ‘Endurance’. This car was so-called because it underwent a 50,000-mile test drive in order to assess its design and ensure it would pass American emission standards. Continuous driving for three months was achieved thanks to volunteers from the Ulster Automobile Club. The car was driven 24 hours a day stopping only for petrol and servicing. Belfast & County Down Railway 4-4-2T UTA No 230 BCDR number 30 was built as works number 4231 in 1901 This locomotive was one of twelve built by Beyer Peacock & Co. at Manchester between 1901 and 1921 The Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) linked Belfast with County Down and was absorbed into the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in 1948. In 1951 number 30 was renumbered 230 by the UTA. The locomotives were withdrawn from service from 1956 with the last one surviving until 1962. The Belfast and County Down Railway Company operated a system for 100 years between 1848 and 1948, which at its peak covered 80 miles, exclusively within County Down. The railway scheme came into being with ‘a meeting of parties favourable to the promotion of a railway to Holywood, Comber and Newtownards’ in February 1845, held in the Donegall Arms Hotel, Belfast, and the company itself was incorporated in 26 June 1846. This was during the height of ‘Railway Mania’ when numerous railway companies were formed, usually competing with each other to build in the same area. The BCDR, familiarly known as the ‘County Down’, was no exception and had several rivals within the county, including the Great County Down Railway, and the Holywood Atmospheric Railway. The BCDR bought off the Holywood Atmospheric Railway and a degree of compromise was reached with the Great County Down. In June 1846 the BCDR obtained the Act of Parliament necessary to build the railway. On the 2nd August 1848 the first section of line from Belfast to Holywood opened to passenger traffic for the first time. Later this line would extend to Bangor and the main line would run from Belfast to Newcastle, with branches to Donaghadee, Ballynahinch and Ardglass. Despite its size, the County Down was not an unimaginative railway, although most passenger services were catered for by uncomfortable and shaky six-wheeled carriages right up until the UTA takeover in 1948. The railway ran its own paddle-steamer service (the Bangor Boat) until 1915 and ran bus services to towns not connected by rail. The County Down had 12 different classes of steam engines during its life and was not afraid to try out several experimental types of engines. Most notable were the Holywood Railmotors, bogie carriages with locomotives built onto the end, which were highly successful, operating a shuttle service between Holywood and Belfast. Less successful were the ‘Baltic’ class of locomotives. These required huge amounts of coal and were unsuited to the main line as they were too heavy, being relegated to the Bangor line. The County Down also ran the first ever diesel-electric locomotive in Ireland, D1 (later renumbered No.2) was built by Harland and Wolff shipyards and was used on the Ballynahinch line. Another diesel-electric locomotive was hired from Harland and Wolff, No.28, which operated the Ardglass line. The County Down also played a vital role in the promotion of tourism in the Newcastle, with the construction of the Slieve Donard Hotel in 1897, and helping to form the Down Royal Golf Course, running the weekly ‘Golfers’ Express’ from Belfast to Newcastle. The Belfast and County Down Main Line The original scheme envisaged the line built from Queen’s Quay in Belfast to the towns of Holywood, Comber, Newtownards, Bangor via Conlig, Donaghadee, Killinchy, Killyleagh and Downpatrick. Progress was slow at first and the company decided to concentrate on the Belfast-Holywood, and Belfast-Newtownards sections for the time being. Work on the lines was contracted out to William Dargan (who was responsible for building Ireland’s first railway, the Dublin and Kingstown) with the single-track Holywood line opening in August 1848, and the Newtownards line opening in May 1850, with a gala opening day on 6th May 1850. By this time the powers granted in the 1846 Act of Parliament had lapsed and had to be renewed before work could start towards Downpatrick. A new Act of Parliament was obtained in 1855, and saw the original scheme redrawn from the Killinchy/Killyleagh alignment to serve the towns of Ballygowan, Saintfield and Crossgar. This new route passed through some difficult terrain and required many rock cuttings. The most notable one between Comber and Ballygowan was known as ‘the gullet’, now filled in. In between Saintfield and Crossgar another branch was built to the market town of Ballynahinch, opening on the 10th September 1858. Although a terminus, the station was built as a through-station, in the forlorn hope of extending the line to Dromore. The mainline to Downpatrick was opened 23rd March 1859. Although enough land was purchased between Comber and Downpatrick to allow double track to be laid, and overbridges built to accommodate double track, this entire section remained single track throughout its life. A couple of years later in 1861 it was thought that a southern extension to the railway might be possible when the Downpatrick and Newry Railway Company hoped to connect the County Down with the Newry, Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Railway. However, although shares were issued, the scheme failed to emerge and it was not until 1866 when the Downpatrick, Dundrum and Newcastle Railway Act was passed that a southern extension became a reality. The DDNR was originally an independent company, but a latter Act of Parliament in 1868 allowed the BCDR to invest in the company, effectively making it a parent company to the DDNR. The line opened in March 1869, operated by the County Down for 12 years until completely taken over by the County Down. As this extension was a separate development from the original line, trains from Belfast had to enter Downpatrick station, run the engine around the carriages and then proceed to Newcastle. In order to overcome this an avoiding line was built just outside Downpatrick, linking the Belfast and Newcastle lines. A small platform was built at the junction of the new line, and the Newcastle line to allow passengers to disembark and board a branch train to Downpatrick, or later to Ardglass. The main line between Ballymacarrett and Knock was doubled from 1877 onwards. As traffic increased two further sections of line were doubled. This work began around 1892 on the main line from Knock to Comber and the line to Bangor. The latter was done in stages and completed in 1902. The rest of the network remained single track throughout its lifetime. The Bangor Branch Both Acts of Parliaments granted to the County Down gave them the power to build to Bangor via a branch off the Donaghadee line at Conlig, but after several years the company’s Board of Directors decided against this plan and allowed the powers to lapse in 1861. In 1865 another company had arrived on the scene – the Belfast, Holywood and Bangor Railway. This company had persuaded Parliament and landowners to carry on the line from Holywood along the shore of Belfast Lough towards Bangor. A separate station was built at Holywood, and two notable stations at Cultra, and Helen’s Bay were built to serve the area’s landowners before reaching Bangor. The line opened to traffic in May 1865. From 1859 the BCDR was suffering from increasingly worrying financial problems and in an attempt to ease these problems sold the Belfast-Holywood stretch of line to the BHBR, giving that company access to the city, although the BCDR required the BHBR to build a separate station at Queen’s Quay. Eight years later, in an effort to clear itself of heavy debts the BHBR leased its line to the County Down in 1874. In 1884 an Act of Parliament transferred all the BHBR assets to the County Down. All BHBR rolling stock was taken into the County Down’s fleet and renumbered. The two stations were linked by opening a doorway between the two stations, but a complete renovation in 1911 merged the two stations, taking in the BHBR platforms and adding an impressive new glass canopy over the platforms. The Donaghadee Branch The BCDR itself, however, was now concentrating on finishing the branch line to Donaghadee, on which work had temporarily halted at Newtownards in 1850. The line opened in June 1861, and it was hoped that the railway could tap in to the steamer services between Donaghadee and the Scottish port of Portpatrick. However, Portpatrick was far too open to storms and rough seas for any regular service to occur and soon the main steamer services ran from Larne to Stranraer. Donaghadee was unable to offer the County Down Railway any traffic from Scotland. The Ardglass Branch The branch line to Ardglass came about from indirect government aid to the herring industry. Ardglass was a busy fishing port but had a small population so the majority of traffic was goods. The line left the Belfast-Newcastle line about half a mile south of Downpatrick Loop Platform and was built as inexpensively as possible, there were few earthworks and numerous short, steep gradients. The line was begun in 1890 with the granting of the Downpatrick, Killough & Ardglass Railway Act, obtained under the Light Railways (Ireland) Act, although in reality the line did not differ much from the rest of the BCDR system when built. It opened in 1892 and stations were built at the Downpatrick racecourse, Ballynoe, Killough and Ardglass, with halts at Coney Island and Bright built later. A small stretch of line from Ardglass Station down to the harbour was laid so that fishing boats could unload directly into wagons, but this was rarely used and was soon lifted. The Castlewellan Branch With Newcastle becoming a popular tourist resort, the much larger Great Northern Railway (Ireland), operator of the Belfast to Dublin line, sought to expand into the town. The company already had a branch line through Banbridge which terminated at the small hamlet of Ballyroney, 18 miles from Newcastle, and wanted to build from there through Castlewellan down into Newcastle. The County Down fought against these proposals but in the end a compromise was reached – the Great Northern was to build from Ballyroney to Castlewellan, and the County Down was to build from Newcastle to Castlewellan. The line opened in March 1906, and Castlewellan Station was run jointly by the two companies, the BCDR maintaining the run-round loop while the GNR(I) maintaining the station and the signalling, but crucially, the GNR(I) would have running powers to Newcastle. In return the BCDR got running powers to Ballyroney, although they had argued for running rights to Scarva. This was a small hamlet and as such these powers had dubious value and were never exercised. The 24th March 1906 saw the arrival of the first GNR(I) trains in Newcastle, and with extra trains running into Newcastle a new station, twice the size of the original, was opened in the same year. The Central Line Although not part of the BCDR network, the Central line was used by both the GNR(I) and the County Down for excursion trains. The line was built by the Belfast Central Railway with the intention of connecting the BCDR, the GNR(I) and the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway, which later became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway. The Act of Parliament was granted in 1864, but as land was expensive around the City the Central was soon in financial difficulties. A new Act and a new Board of Directors in 1872 pushed work forward. The line ran from a junction half a mile south of Great Victoria Street to a station at Queen’s Bridge, with a branch from the Albert Bridge to the County Down, joining the line close to Ballymacarrett Junction. The company soon lost out to competition from tramways and was bought out by the GNR(I) which ended passenger traffic, using the line for goods and excursion trains to Bangor. Later a tunnel was built under the end of Queen’s Bridge, connecting the Central line with the LMS (NCC), but this was only used for goods traffic. Early 20th Century The period after the start of the 20th Century was really the heyday of the BCDR system. In 1914 company dividends peaked at 6½%. War broke out in August that year. Passenger receipts increased especially with traffic to the army base at Ballykinlar which had an unadvertised halt for a period from 1915. After the war there followed a period of unregulated competition from bus operators. At one particular time there were no less than 27 private bus services operating within County Down alone! This competition was especially felt in towns where the railway journey was longer than the equivalent road journey to Belfast. In areas close to Belfast the tram also was a major competitor. The extension of the tram line to Knock in 1905 led to cutthroat competition for the commuter ticket. The Ards Tourist Trophy Races The RAC’s Tourist Trophy was the prize for a series of road races and was competed for on the Isle of Man between 1905 and 1922. It was later revived from 1928 to 1936 with a new 13½ mile circuit in County Down. The course was roughly triangular and linked Dundonald, Newtownards and Comber. The start was at Quarry Corner and the route raced clockwise. The BCDR main line crossed the route 4 times. Firstly, at the site of the first Newtownards station, next at Glass Moss level crossing, (1½ miles from Comber towards Newtownards), thirdly under the bridge at Comber station, and then lastly under the iron trellis bridge at Dundonald station. This event proved to be a great tourist attraction and many people travelled by train to watch the practise sessions and the races themselves. The BCDR took advantage of the situation by offering cheap fares and even building a semi-permanent grandstand at Comber. Glass Moss itself was not a normal halt but became so during the races. The trains could not cross the road and operated to here from either side. The races ended in 1936 after a terrible accident in Newtownards when eight spectators were killed on the footpath near the Strangford Inn Hotel by an out-of-control car. The Second World War and the Ballymacarrett Accident Before the war, competition from road passenger and freight services was stiff and the railway was beginning to show the signs of declining profits. During the Second World War the BCDR saw a considerable increase in traffic. This was mainly due to traffic arising from evacuees from Belfast who were living outside the city, and also troop movements. On a foggy morning on the 10th January 1945 there was a fatal accident at Ballymacarrett in East Belfast. A railmotor train from Holywood collided with the 7.10 am train from Bangor which was stopped awaiting a signal change. Twenty-two people were killed and a further twenty-four people injured. The enquiry into the accident placed the blame on the driver of the railmotor for travelling too fast for the poor visibility and on the company’s rules relating to the passing of signals at ‘danger’. The company paid out a sum of £80,000 in compensation. This was a figure the company could ill afford, and it wiped out its Contingencies Reserve. This coupled with declining post-war traffic was one of the factors that led to the transfer of the company to public ownership. The End of the Line In 1946 the Northern Ireland Government announced that it was planning to bring the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board, the BCDR and the LMS (NCC) under one body to be known as the Ulster Transport Authority. The UTA came into being in September 1948 and the independent life of the railways was ended, except for the Great Northern which was not absorbed for ten years due to the complex legal arrangements of its cross-border nature. Apart from new rolling stock from the NCC, running of the County Down lines remained unchanged until 1949 when drastic cuts in services appeared, and from January 1950 all lines south of Comber closed, with the Belfast-Comber-Donaghadee line closing the following April. The UTA found, however, that they were obliged to run the Castlewellan line while Great Northern trains ran on it and this was serviced by the Harland diesel until April 1950, although Great Northern services continued until 1955. Running on the Bangor line remained unaffected, but the stations at Kinnegar, Marino and Craigavad were closed, although both Marino and Craigavad were soon reopened (with Craigavad closing again a year later), and two new stations and Crawfordsburn and Seahill were opened. The Belfast Central line, which linked the County Down with the rest of the rail network was split in 1965 when Middlepath Street bridge was removed for road improvements, isolating the Bangor line. Steam services were gradually replaced from 1953 onwards with the introduction of the Multi-Engine Diesel (MED) railcars, usually running in a three set formation. County Down carriages were withdrawn, with the underframes removed for scrap and the carriage bodies sold off. All the County Down’s fleet of locomotives were scrapped, bar No. 30 which was saved for preservation in the Transport Museum, and the two diesels. Diesel engine No. 2 was returned to Harland and Wolff, where it worked the shipyards until the 1970s when it was scrapped. Fellow diesel No. 28 spent the next twenty years shunting at Great Victoria Street Station and survived until the closure of Great Victoria Street when it succumbed to the cutter’s torch. Throughout its life, the UTA was accused of favouring road transport versus rail transport. Sixty-one percent of the railway lines in Northern Ireland had been closed and further cuts were planned. After much dispute the Transport Bill of 1967 divided the UTA into three separate companies, Northern Ireland Railways, Ulsterbus, and Northern Ireland Carriers (for road freight traffic). In 1972 it was announced that the Bangor line was to be reconnected with the former GNR(I) lines and all services bar the Larne trains were to be re-routed into a new station to be built on the Central line, replacing Great Victoria Street Station and Queen’s Quay Station. Work was completed in 1976 and Great Victoria Street Station and Queen’s Quay Station were closed and demolished, although Great Victoria Street Station was reopened in 1995. The workshops at Queen’s Quay were refurbished to form the Central Services Depot, which was closed in 1996 when the cross-harbour link between Central Station and York Road Station was built. The main reason given for the closure of the County Down main line was that the towns and villages it serviced were rural and not densely populated. However, within ten years of the closures most towns, for example Dundonald, Comber and Newtownards, had substantially grown in size, virtually guaranteeing commuter traffic. In the last couple of years, due to increasing car use by commuters, several proposals have been drawn up in regard to the Comber line ranging from reopening the line as it was when closed, to a light railway or a limited size busway. Certainly, with the near-critical increase of road congestion, it has been slowly and expensively learnt that the answer to congestion is not to build more roads but to fund alternative forms of transport. Perhaps there’s life in the old County Down yet. ‘Kathleen’ - Cavan, Leitrim and Roscommon Light Railway and Tramway Locomotive No.2 Kathleen’s cowcatcher makes her look like a locomotive from the American West. She ran on an unfenced rural line where livestock and road vehicles needed protection from trains. Kathleen worked on the line for the whole of her existence. She arrived in 1887 and was the engine that pulled the final track-lifting train back to Dromrod after closure in 1959. In 1883 the Cavan, Leitrim and Roscommon Light Railway and Tramway Co. was founded under the terms of the Tramways (Ireland) Act. Its first section, some 34 miles long, and 3ft gauge, was opened in 1887 linking the Midland and Great Western broad- gauge station at Dromod to the corresponding Great Northern facility at Belturbet. A branch from Ballinamore to Arigna was opened the next year. For the first 20 years or so passenger traffic, both regular and excursion, ran well. Light freight including tea, sugar, alcohol and cloth was big business, carried to local stations to be collected by merchants from the surrounding districts. Heavy freight consisted mainly of cattle. Huge fairs like the Monaghan Fair, and the twice-yearly fair at Ballymagovern were the mainstay of the narrow gauge as northern buyers were able to move stock readily via the local station and the G.N.R. The railway became the Cavan and Leitrim in 1895. At the start of the twentieth century the railway possessed nine locomotives, all built by Robert Stephenson and Co. At this time the directors faced hostile public opinion and struggled vainly for many years to extend its line to the Arigna coal fields. When the extension was finally built in 1920 the political temperature in Ireland was rising, and the initiative was taken by the Government. It was fortuitous that the Arigna line opened when it did. In 1922, the C&L suffered a considerable loss in its trading, with the imposition of partition which cut off a large part of its cattle business. As it was the extension greatly enhanced the railway. Coal was carried to the main lines heading for Limerick and the cement works at Drogheda. Transhipment was a logistical problem since, when the coal arrived at Dromod and Belturbet via the Cavan and Leitrim, it had to be shovelled manually from its wagons into the wagons of the broad gauge. In 1924, the new Free State Government introduced a Railways Act in an attempt to rationalise and protect the railway sector. All railways were merged into a State run company called Great Southern Railways. The once proudly independent Cavan and Leitrim Railway Company was no more. It was reduced to the role of a subsidiary. During the thirties the line maintained a precarious existence. The war years led to a respite as coal proved to be a lifeline, and the railway coped successfully with coal traffic of often mammoth proportions. In 1945, a new State transport company incorporating both road and rail transport was set up, replacing the GSR. Cutbacks in the rail service followed but the narrow gauge held out. In the 1950s the old Cavan and Leitrim line was virtually dependent on the coal traffic to Irish Cement at Drogheda. In its last days it made use of engines and rolling stock sent from narrow gauge systems which had closed. However, by 1956, coal carriage was no longer viable. The railway finally succumbed on March 31st 1959, the penultimate Irish narrow gauge system to go (the last being the West Clare Railway). A section of the line at Dromod was reopened by preservationists in 1994. No 136 County Donegal Railways Joint Committee Open Wagon. No 136 was one of thirty-four ‘low-sided open’ wagons ordered by County Donegal Railways in 1900. With its wooden body on a four-wheeled steel frame, carrying up to six tons of goods, it was like thousands of wagons on the railways of Britain and Ireland. The Dargan Saloon – Carriage No 47. William Dargan, ‘the father of Irish Railways’ had this luxurious carriage built in 1844 for his own use when travelling to supervise his projects. Dargan was the leading Irish railway engineer of his generation. He constructed the first railway in the country - the Dublin & Kingstown - and many other major routes. Dargan presented his carriage to the Midland Western Railway Company on completion of the line from Athlone to Galway. It was used as a Directors’ saloon, and by Empress Elizabeth of Austria when visiting Ireland on hunting trips. The hooks on the roof gutter were for a communication cord, one end of which was connected to the train engine’s whistle: passengers could pull the cord to attract the driver’s attention. The carriage was in service until at least 1919. In 1947 it was discovered being used as a paint store. It was rescued and given to the museum. Locomotive No.20 - Arthur Guinness, Son & Co.Ltd., Dublin The Guinness Brewery in St James’s Gate, Dublin was founded by Arthur Guinness in 1759, one of dozens based on the pure water available from the River Liffey. Guinness outlasted and outgrew all its competitors to become one of the greatest brewing empires in the world. During the nineteenth century the business benefited from an explosive growth of sales in Britain. Output reached 750,000 barrels in 1875, and 1.2 million barrels in 1886, by which time St James’s Gate was the largest brewery in the world. Between 1868 and 1886 Guinness spent over £1 million on capital projects. A Grand Canal tributary was cut into the brewery to enable special Guinness barges to carry consignments out onto the Irish canal system or to the Dublin port. Two rail systems were also created within the expanded brewery site. There were over 8 miles of 22in. narrow gauge lines, and 2 miles of Irish standard gauge (5ft. 3in.) lines within the Brewery site. The factory is built on steeply rising ground close to the Liffey in Dublin. This means a maximum gradient on the narrow gauge of 1 in 40, and a rise between the lower and upper levels of 25ft. Subsequent to the publication of the article in The Railway Magazine, a paper was presented to the Irish Railway Society in 1965 by Paul Ellison which was entitled, “Guinness Brewery Tramways.” In that paper, Ellison highlights the increase in output from the Guinness Brewery in Dublin in the Victorian era. Output had reached such proportions by the 1870s “that the movement of large quantities of heavy and bulky raw materials, and waste products within the brewery was proving a serious obstruction to any future projected expansion. The existing methods (horse tramway, and horse and cart were both slow and cumbersome and very inefficient.” Acquisition of land between the existing brewery and the River Liffey allowed some expansion to take place and some activities previously carried out in the old brewery were transferred there. Moreover, as this land was situated near the Kingsbridge terminus of the Great Southern & Western Railway (GSWR), a direct connection with the Irish railway network could be effected, with barges working to and from a quay on the Liffey. The solution to the transport problem lay in the construction of a narrow-gauge railway network serving the entire brewery. Much of the basic system was laid between 1873 and 1877 under the supervision of Samuel Geoghegan who joined the brewery engineering staff in 1872 at the age of 28 and rose to the position of Head Engineer in 1875. Mr Geoghegan set himself certain limits on the size of the narrow-gauge lines and rolling stock. The track gauge was settled at 1ft 10in, the loading gauge was to have a headway of six feet and a maximum width of five feet, and the maximum gradient was to be not steeper than 1 in 40. The picture above shows some preserved rails outside Brewhouse No. 2. A difference in levels of about 50ft existed between the old brewery and the newer land which sloped sharply down to the Liffey, the two areas being separated by James’s Street. Ellison goes on to say: “To connect the two halves of the works and overcome the difference in levels, Mr Geoghegan constructed a spiral tunnel in the old brewery and took the narrow- gauge line under James’s Street. The spiral section replaced a short-lived hydraulic lift, a clumsy and slow apparatus which could only manage to take one wagon at a time, causing trains to be broken up and re-assembled on different levels. The single -rack spiral tunnel contained the line’s steepest gradient, 1 in 39, and, in 2.65 turns raised the line about 35ft, with a spiral radius of 61.25ft. The narrow-gauge track was largely laid in granite setts, for the benefit of road vehicles in the brewery yards, and this also applied to lines laid on the quay. The permanent way itself, where laid in setts, consisted originally of 56lbs per yard iron tram rails fastened to longitudinal sleepers which were laid on cross sleepers. When laid in concrete the rails were set directly in the ground, using wrought iron cross ties. Later, 76lb steel rails having a web and flange were brought into use, being laid on cross sleepers. Narrow-gauge points used the tongued, pointed rail found on many early tramways. Two noteworthy features of the narrow-gauge network were the marshalling yard (officially known as No.10 Vathouse Yard in the lower half of the brewery, which was still in use in September 1964, together with the tunnel, and also the quay on the Liffey, started in 1873. The quay was extended at various intervals until 1913, but nothing remains of it today.” It can be seen in this image. The tunnel is described in an article by Bob Thompson in the “Brewery Visits” as follows: I visited the brewery in 1969, I believe, as part of a group from the I.R.R.S. (Irish Railway Record Society). Most of the railway had closed by then but I clearly remember our guide lifting a metal cover to give us a view of the railway in the tunnel below. The tunnel was entered behind the narrow-gauge loco shed which was in the yard in front of the No 2 Brew House; the sole brewery in use when I visited back then. The shed was a quarter roundhouse with six or seven roads. One fascinating feature of the tunnel is that there was a branch off it on a lower level that runs under the No 2 Brew House before the line crossed under the road. This was to take coal to heat the boilers and remove the ash. Around 1901 there was a horrible accident when a train de-railed and the locomotive fell into the ash pit; the driver was burned alive. Once under James’s Street the tunnel continued for some distance after. The tunnel was the only part of the extensive system to be signalled. As a train entered the tunnel the driver turned a disc from “clear” to “halt”. This engaged a similar signal at the end to display the same indication. All other movements were performed by flagmen walking in front of the train. The tunnel exited on the middle level and continued downgrade towards the River Liffey where it turned through 180 degrees to descend further to reach the lower level. This was where the filled casks were sent to the main storage area prior to despatch,It was also where the empty barrels arrived and were stacked in huge pyramids before cleansing and re-use. Naturally the railway took them back up the hill up to be filled. The network of tramways in the Guinness Brewery site. A few years after the construction of the narrow-gauge tramway a broad-gauge line was laid to connect the lowest level of the brewery, by the river, with the Kingsbridge goods yard. Of that line the broad-gauge tramway connected the brewery with the goods yards of Heuston Station. The system began circa 1880, had a gauge of 5 ft 3 in (1,600 mm) and was horse-drawn but horses were replaced by the narrow-gauge tramway’s locomotives on a special haulage wagon. The broad-gauge system closed on 15 May 1965. As mentioned above narrow-gauge signalling was by hand or flag as required except at each end of the spiral tunnel, where a simple method of signalling was in operation. This consisted of two interlocked discs, one being suspended at each end of the tunnel. When a driver approached the tunnel and saw the disc at the vertical, or “clear”, position, he would proceed and turn the disc to the horizontal, or “line blocked”, position as he passed. This automatically caused the disc at the other end of the tunnel to display the same aspect. On leaving the tunnel the driver turned the disc back to the “clear” position. Trains usually worked short trips on each level, or between adjacent levels. On the bottom level narrow-gauge trains worked between the broad-gauge loading and unloading banks, and the cask washing sheds. Often, more than eight thousand casks could be moved by one train in a single day. On the middle level, malt was the chief traffic, trains running between the maltings and the malt store. At the upper and middle levels, trains removed used hops and spent grain to the disposal points, whilst on the upper-level malt and hops were taken to the brewhouse. At one time narrow-gauge trains also served the jetty, connecting it with the cask cleansing and racking plant. Two years after construction of the line had started, the first of the narrow-gauge locomotives was delivered. This was a small Sharp Stewart 0−4−0 saddle tank costing £445, with inside cylinders (unusual for a narrow-gauge locomotive) and numbered ‘1’ in the narrow-gauge locomotive stock. It weighed only about two tons and proved to be inadequate for the work. One problem encountered with it was maintenance of the motion, which, being very near the ground, was inaccessible whilst the locomotive was on the road. Later, as more engines appeared on the scene, No.1 was used only for hauling the visitors’ special passenger train, and it was eventually withdrawn from service in 1913. In the following year, 1876, two locomotives were obtained from Stephen Lewin, of Poole, Dorset, at a cost of £366 each; they carried numbers 2 and 3 and were named HOPS and MALT respectively. These locomotives were geared and had large flywheels, similar to steam rollers. Weighing about five tons each they were more powerful than No.1, but repair costs were heavy owing to a lack of springs. They damaged the track and were slow and troublesome in operation. 1878 saw the arrival of two larger locomotives. These were Sharp Stewart 0−4−0 side tank engines weighing six tons each and having outside cylinders. Although an improvement on the previous locomotives the motion was still near the ground, and these engines were expensive to operate as dirt could, and did, enter the moving parts. However, as they survived until 1925, they must have had a certain measure of success. None of the first five locomotives being entirely satisfactory, Mr Geoghegan set about designing a locomotive possessing all their best features but without their handicaps. The result was a 0−4−0 side tank engine with horizontally mounted cylinders situated above the marine-type boiler driving through a dummy crankshaft and vertical connecting rods, which in turn drove the wheels. Instead of the cylinders being bolted to the boiler, they were fixed to the frames which were carried the full height of the locomotive above the top of the boiler. The side tanks were also attached to the frames. Another novel feature was the independent spring frame which consisted of eight steel leaves in pairs, two pairs on each side of the locomotive and one pair each above and below the axleboxes. It was attached to the front and back stays, so that by removing the pins and connecting rods, and with the locomotive lifted, the spring frame could be wheeled out from beneath the locomotive to receive attention and maintenance. The general layout of these engines was one of accessibility for repair but with maximum protection from dirt. A prototype locomotive was built in 1882 by the Avonside Engine Company, of Bristol, at a cost of £848, and numbered ‘6’ in the locomotive stock, This was also the last of Guinness’s narrow-gauge steam locomotives to be built in England, all others being built by William Spence, of the Cork Street Foundry and Engineering Works, in Dublin. This firm built locomotives 7 to 9 in 1887, 10 to 12 in 1891 and 13 to 15 in 1895. A further four, the largest single order for these engines, were turned out in 1902, whilst 20 and 21 were delivered in 1905. 22 entered traffic in 1912 and the last two finally appeared in 1921. No.6 was withdrawn in 1936 but all the others survived the Second World War and lasted until the introduction of diesel locomotives.” Locomotive No.15 Locomotive No's 22 & 23 The first of these locos were described as being “rather odd-looking. To solve the dirt problem it had a heavy box-like frame with the two cylinders mounted on the top horizontally. Their valve gear drove vertical connecting rods which engaged the wheels below. The boiler was inside the “box” with the funnel barely visible. The side tanks were an integral part of the frame.” The steam locomotive fleet gave good service until around 1940 when it was clear that the maintenance of the ageing steam locomotives was becoming too expensive. This resulted in a decision that the steam fleet should be retired in favour of new diesel propulsion. The restricted loading gauge and sharp curvature of many of the lines presented many difficulties in design. To meet the necessary requirements a seven-ton, 37 horsepower “Planet” diesel locomotive was produced by F.C. Hibberd & Co. Ltd., Park Royal, London. The first example, No.25, was built in 1947, and after trials, No's.26 to 30 followed in 1948. The other six, No's.31 to 36, were built in 1950, but No.36 was not delivered until 1951, after spending some months at the Festival of Britain Exhibition in London. A Hibberd diesel hauling a train of hop wagons in the front yard at the brewery in the 1950s Planet No 35 at the museum By 1964 more than half of the narrow-gauge mileage had ceased to function and some of these locomotives were no longer needed. With spare parts for the diesels becoming difficult to obtain, locomotives 28, 30 and 33 were withdrawn from service in 1961. By September 1964, all three were stored in the marshalling yard, looking much the worse for their sojourn in the open air, spare parts being taken from them as required in order to keep the other nine diesels in service.” Narrow-gauge wagons were of singularly few types almost from the very beginning. Geoghegan designed the standard tip wagon, built to carry grain, hops and other bulky goods about the brewery. It was built as large as possible within maximum limits of a width of five feet, overall length of eight feet, a height of six feet, and a three feet wheelbase. These four wheeled vehicles had a maximum capacity of eighty cubic feet and a weight in working order of 4 ton. The wagon body, made of bin steel plate, rested on end frames, with rollers enabling the body to be tipped sideways when the load was to be discharged. Engine No.18, built in 1902, is seen hauling a train of tip wagons. The maximum load normally taken by a locomotive of this type is 75 tons at a speed of four miles an hour on the level. Loads too large for the tip wagons were conveyed on bogie flatcars which had a tare weight of about 1 ton 8 cwt. Large numbers of these vehicles were constructed, but there is nothing unusual except their application to such a small gauge, and that the couplings were carried on the end of the bogie and not on the wagon body. There were also a few four-wheeled vehicles with seats and canopies, painted dark blue, which were provided for the conveyance of parties of visitors about the works. These were still extant in the vicinity of the narrow-gauge shed in September 1964. The broad-gauge line dated from the late 1870s or early 1880s. It connected the brewery with what was at the time known as Kingsbridge goods yard, and at its greatest extent possessed about two miles of track, out of the brewery’s one-time overall mileage of ten. The line started at the loading and unloading banks and then ran out of the premises and along the public highway for about 500 yards to the goods yard. Compared with the narrow-gauge lines, this section had a largely level route, as Kingsbridge yard and the lowest part of the brewery, where the line started, were much the same height above the river. This section of line along the public road was laid in granite setts, rather in the manner of a street tramway, right up to the time of closure. Probably unique in Ireland the rail used was of the centre-grooved type on which the wagons ran on their wheel flanges instead of their treads, whilst another notable feature was the unusual points necessary with this type of rail, wherein the whole rail was moved like a stub point. Initially horses were used to convey wagons on the broad gauge, but from 1888, hauling and shunting was undertaken by narrow-gauge locomotives mounted on unique vehicles called “haulage wagons”, another of Geoghegan’s inventions. A narrow-gauge locomotive in a haulage wagon The way in which the haulage wagons functioned was most interesting. A narrow-gauge locomotive was lifted by a hydraulic hoist which stood astride a short section of gauntleted, dual gauge track. A haulage wagon was then propelled under the narrow-gauge engine and the latter lowered between the frames of the former. Both ends of the locomotive were engaged in the wagon and the wheels of the narrow-gauge engine rested on rollers whose shafts were geared to the running wheels of the haulage wagon at 3 to 1 reduction. A view of a haulage wagon from above. On the left are the broad-gauge wheels, and in the centre is one of the rollers driven by the wheels of the narrow-gauge locomotive. Immediately to its right is the casing for the 3 to 1 reduction gears. Since there is almost certainly only one pair of meshing gears, the haulage truck wheels must have gone round in the opposite direction from those on the locomotive. This must have been confusing. The curved bit of metal at top right was presumably to prevent fore-and-aft movement of the locomotive on the rollers. Thus, temporarily, a narrow-gauge engine became a broad gauge geared locomotive. Until the advent of conventional broad-gauge locomotives, this was the exclusive form of broad-gauge motive power. They were permitted to work loads of as many as thirteen broad-gauge wagons fully laden. Two out of the original total of four of these haulage wagons, with the two 1921 steam locomotives in harness, were working in September 1964. This apparently ramshackle arrangement was actually very effective, and it operated from 1888 until 1964 at the brewery. As we have already noted, four haulage trucks were built. They continued in use even after conventional broad-gauge locomotives were purchased in 1921. However, the system does not appear to have been copied elsewhere. At least one of the haulage trucks has been preserved, along with the lifting gantry and winch, and can be seen along with locomotive No 23 at Amberley Museum. Orthodox broad-gauge locomotives were eventually used. The first was a short lived four wheeled petrol locomotive built by Messrs. Straker & Squire in 1912. It had a four-cylinder engine unit of 90bhp with an output at 500rpm, transmission being by means of a Hele-Shaw clutch; in either direction there were four running speeds. A two-cylinder compressor unit mounted on the footplate was driven by a 2½bhp petrol engine and this supplied compressed air for starting the main engine, and for the whistle. After giving considerable trouble in traffic, it was withdrawn from service in 1916 and finally went for scrap in 1921. The next two broad gauge locomotives, Nos. 2 and 3, were a pair of Hudswell Clarke outside cylinder 0−4−0 saddle tanks, built in 1914 and 1919 respectively. Apart from each being fitted with a brass bell and having the motion and wheels enclosed for working through the Dublin streets, they were a standard design adapted for the 5ft 3in gauge. The leading dimensions were – cylinders 15in by 22in; wheel diameter 3ft 4in; boiler pressure 175 lbs per sq in; weight empty 24 tons. The most modern of the quartet of broad-gauge locomotives was a Hudswell Clarke 0−4−0 diesel, No.4, named GUINNESS and built in 1949. Broad-gauge locomotive No. 2 in 1947 The broad-gauge line is now no more, closed as the result of a road widening scheme. 0n Saturday morning, 15th May 1965, No.2 took the last train of vans to Ringsbridge yard, and today the casks are taken there by lorry for trans-shipment into railway wagons. The narrow-gauge system lingers on, although changing conditions since the Second World War have rendered parts obsolete in favour of other methods of transport. The narrow-gauge network north of the marshalling yard, including the lines on the jetty in the lower part of the brewery, all closed in April 1961. This interesting brewery tramway has served Guinness well and played a very important part in its success story. The lines across the whole site were gone by the mid-1970s. The narrow-gauge railway was in use right up until 1975. Today Geoghegan engine No. 17 and a Planet diesel engine No. 47, both feature in the Transport display at the Guinness Storehouse. No. 13 Geoghegan engine is preserved at the Narrow-Gauge Railway Museum in Wales. British Aluminium Co. Ltd., Antrim Peckett Locomotive No 2. In 1906 the British Aluminium Company bought three steam locomotives from Peckett and Sons, a well-known manufacturer of industrial and shunting engines. British Aluminium mined bauxite, the natural ore of aluminium at Cargan, near Ballymena. The ore was taken by rail to Larne for processing before being shipped to Scotland. The Larne works had a four-mile narrow-gauge system for which Locomotive No 2 was bought in 1906. It was sold in 1955 to scrap merchants George Cohen, Sons & Co. Ltd. Although it still kept working lifting the track of the Larne to Ballyclare railway (for scrap) before being given to the museum. Northern Sand & Brick Company, Toome, Co. Antrim Locomotive No 9202. This was built by the Motor Rail Company of Bedford as a ‘Simplex’ to be exhibited at the Royal Dublin Show in 1946. It was bought by the Northern Sand & Brick Company for its Toome brickworks railway where it worked until 1955. In 1955 it was sold to the Ministry of Agriculture to work on the construction of the Black Braes Embankment sea defences beside Lough Foyle. No 9202 later went to Co. Antrim to work on the new Ballylumford power station before being acquired by the museum. Great Southern & Western Railway covered goods wagon No 706 This wagon built in 1914 originally had wooden plank sides. It survived longer than many other old wagons when Coras Iompair Eireann replaced the sides with sheet metal and added a boiler so that it could be used to pre-heat passenger carriages ready for the first morning service between Belfast and Dublin. Northern Ireland Railways Hunslet Diesel Locomotive No 102 Falcon Built by the Hunslet Locomotive Co. for NI Railways, the 101 class was a three strong fleet of locomotives for the then new enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin. Powered by an English Electric 8CVT engine, these locomotives were latterly replaced by the General Motors 111 class. After years of cannibalisation and open storage, 102 has eventually ended up as the 'last man standing' here at the museum. The trains were made up of eight carriages and two locomotives, one pulling at the front and the other pushing at the rear. With a top speed of 80mph they were easily able to run the 112 miles between Belfast and Dublin in the scheduled 130 minutes. Northern Ireland Railways 1970 BREL built "Hunslet" No. 102 "Falcon" heads on to Blythefield Curve at Westlink Junction with a special train for the Irish Traction Group. This view is now wholly obscured by tree growth. Cora Iompair Eireann Locomotive No. B113. This one is the oldest surviving mainline diesel locomotive in Ireland. It was built in 1950 to haul both goods and passenger trains. CIÉ's first main-line diesel locomotives were two Bo-Bos built at Dublin’s Inchicore Railway Works between 1947-51 with a 960hp Sulzer 6LDA28 engine. Unfortunately, although they exceeded the railway’s power and speed needs both locomotives had serious brake problems. When B114 ran away with a goods train in 1971 they were withdrawn for modification. B113 was altered and ran for a few more months. Originally numbered 1100, B113 entered traffic in April 1950. Believed last used in January 1975, she was officially withdrawn on 18 December 1977. She went to the Whitehead Railway Museum at Carrickfergus for cosmetic repair in 2011. B113 arrives at Whitehead from Inchicore B113 being offloaded in front of the sheds at Whitehead Belfast Corporation trolley bus No.112. This trolley bus is one of five out of a total fleet of 245 vehicles which have survived. No.112 was one of 70 based on a Guy chassis, G.E.C electrical equipment, and a body built by Messrs Harkness Coach Works Ltd of Belfast. Harkness Coachworks were located at premises in Matier Street, off the Shankill Road. They began building buses after World War 1 and continued right up to the mid-1960's. Latterly they built library buses and mobile shops. The last buses built for Belfast Corporation Transport were outshopped in about 1960. The interior. It entered service in 1948 and was withdrawn in 1968. A 1973 Daimler Fleetline bus of Citybus Ltd., Belfast This Fleetline was one of a batch of seventy Daimler double-deck buses supplied in 1973 with 77-seat bodies built by Alexanders of Belfast. In 1974 the bus was hi-jacked and burnt out. It was returned to Alexanders who rebodied it with this 88-seat body and it returned to service on 16th April 1976. On 31st March 1994 it was finally withdrawn. The two side-by-side Belfast Corporation ‘Chamberlain’ tram No.375. Built by the Brush Electrical Company, Loughborough This tram was one of fifty ordered in 1930 by the Belfast Corporation. These trams, Nos. 342-391 were known as ‘Chamberlains’ after William Chamberlain, General Manager of the Corporation’s tram system from 1928 to 1930. They were finished in the Corporation’s new livery of Blue and Cream which had been introduced the previous year. They were also fitted out with sprung seats covered in brown leather and furnished with electric heaters. This tram was the last to travel on the network which closed in 1954. Belfast City Tramways No. 249 This tram began as a horse-drawn tram in Belfast in the 1890s. In 1905 it was substantially re-built and converted to an electric tram powered by two 35hp Westinghouse electric traction motors mounted on a Brill truck. No. 249 was the last tram to retain the old livery of Red and Cream. It was withdrawn from passenger service in 1948 and converted into a snow plough and remained based at the Sandy Row Depot until the closure of the system in 1954. Belfast Street Tramway Company No.118 When new in the late 1890s this horse tram had seven windows on either side. During 1902-1903 the company’s entire fleet was altered to a three-window layout and fitted with more modern ‘Lincrusta’ ceilings. They were fitted with an oil lamp in the destination boxes so they could be read after dark. The legend ‘The Lifeboat Rule is Women and Children First’ began to be added about 1900. In 1905 some of the horse trams were sold off and the fifty best including this one were converted to electric working. Hill of Howth tram No.4 – Great Northern Railway (Ireland) In 1896 the Great Northern Railway decided to build an electric tramway around the Hill of Howth, a residential area and resort on the northern shore of Dublin Bay. The line opened in 1901 and remained in the ownership of the GNR until 1958 when control passed to Coras Iompair Eireann the nationalised transport authority. This tram was one of eight originally purchased at £1000 each for the opening of the line. When the line closed on 31st May 1959 it had the distinction of being the last tram line in the world to be operated exclusively by open top double-deck trams. Electric Royal Mail van 1994 This electric Ford Ecostar van was used by the Royal Mail to enable Ford to test the effectiveness of electric vehicles for working purposes. About 100 of the vans were produced and they were tested throughout North America and Europe. It had a top speed of 70mph, and its charge would last for about 100 miles. The battery could be connected to a normal domestic supply and would take between five and seven hours for it to charge fully. A 1964 Mercedes 230SL A 1970s Triumph Stag John Crossle’s Mk III racing car John and Rosemary Crossle founded the Crossle Car Company in 1959. Their vehicles proved to be successful in races across the world, and a number of famous racing drivers including Nigel Mansell were trained in Crossle cars. The company is still based in Holywood, County Down and continues to build and repair cars. Dennis Fire Engine Finally, we have this Karrier which was the first cardiac ambulance in the world Section 3 below

Hi there folks, I hope you’ve all had a great Christmas and New Year. What have we in store for this first one of 2023 then? Section 1: F2 action from Nutts Corner, Cowdie, St Day and Taunton Section 2: A look around the Ulster Transport Museum Section 3: Odds and Ends features trucks from overseas. Blackpool Transport Spot gets us a look in the bus depot at Rigby Road. Section 1: Nutts Corner - Saturday 11th June 2022 - Irish Challenge Trophy - 28 cars Welcome to Nutts Corner BriSCA F2’s annual Northern Irish weekender had the Irish Challenge Trophy on Saturday, and the Irish Open on Sunday up for grabs. The two days attracted a strong travelling contingent from the mainland. Gordon Moodie (7) put in a dominant display over the two days. 30 cars gathered on the Saturday including high profile visitors World Champion Chris Burgoyne (647), former World Champ James Rygor (783) and the aforementioned Mr. Moodie (7). The local contingent included: Adam McFall A re-appearance from Brad McKinstry Declan McFerran Gavin Fegan Jonny Stirling Thomas Greer A two-thirds format was used with each driver racing two heats to accrue points for the main event grid. The qualifying races were action-packed with a high-speed roll for Gavin Fegan (NI718), and likewise for brother Graham (NI998). A rollover for NI718 in Heat 1 NI718 NI718 back in the pits Aaron & Tim Vaight help out on the NI718 repairs Euan replaces a link rod bearing on 629 Gordon picked up the win in Heat 1 783 on three wheels in Heat 2 Chris Burgoyne took the Heat 2 victory He lost the end of the front bumper in a race clash Brother Stephen was in the wars in Heat 2 Chris on the 674 repairs Both elder Fegans were trying to outdo each other for rollovers! In the NI998 pit With the points totalled it was Moodie on pole, with Chris Burgoyne alongside for the Challenge race. Englishmen Jonathan Hadfield (142), Jack Cave (801), Jamie Jones (915) and Scotsman Liam Rennie (3) were next in line. The Irish Challenge Trophy front rows Moodie got away in textbook fashion at the drop of the green while chaos reigned behind with cars scattering in all directions. A complete restart was called. The 7 car repeated its quick start whilst Burgoyne ended up being spun around and hitting the turn one concrete wall hard. The subsequent damage put him out for the rest of the weekend. Hadfield also spun, and the caution flags were out once more to remove stranded cars. With the cars in single file for the restart Moodie led away from Rygor, and Billy Finnegan Jr (NI86) who had returned home from Australia for a few weeks. With a greatly thinned out field Moodie went on to take a comfortable win. Result: 7 NI86 3 801 783 142 NI918 184 915 674 Nutts Corner - Sunday 12th June 2022 - Irish Open - 22 cars The BriSCA Irish Open title was up for grabs today. A reduced entry of cars gathered in the pits after yesterday’s action. Billy Finnegan continued his fine form to win both qualifying races in the ex-Luke Wrench car. Heat 1 victory Another trophy for Billy with the Heat 2 win. This secured him pole for the main event. The front row line up for the Irish Open race Finnegan set the pace, but it wasn’t too long before Gordon Moodie took over at the front with Jack Cave slotting into third. Moodie held the top spot unchallenged to the end with Finnegan keeping him honest to record a pleasing runner-up spot. Rennie swooped late on to claim the final step of the podium. Hadfield came out on top of a big sort-out for 6th which left Euan Millar in the wall. Result: 7 NI86 3 801 783 142 NI918 184 915 674 The Irish Open top 3 7 at post-race checks The Flying Fifer with the silverware Finnegan finished off his weekend in fine style with a runaway victory in the GN. More pics in the gallery Cowdenbeath – Saturday 25th June 2022 – Nationals Trophy – 37 cars The BriSCA F2 Nationals Trophy was back after a gap of four years. Saturday’s weather had been warm and dry until just after 16:00 when a torrential rain shower doused the track. Fortunately, the sun re-appeared and a dry line returned. The field comprised mainly Scottish drivers but included a handful of long-distance visitors. The top three distance travelled were: Kieren Bradford from Doublebois with 9hrs, and 540 miles Ben Spence from Basingstoke with 7hrs 15mins, and 440 miles Charlie Guinchard from Cheshunt with 7hrs 7 mins, and 434 miles With his father’s memorial trophy set to be run on the meeting Final there was the first appearance of George MacMillan Jnr (100) in a new DP Motorsport car. Dave also debuted a new one The Nationals Trophy was the first race of the night with Bradford and Paul Reid (17) drawing front-row grid slots ahead of Polley and MacMillan. Gordon Moodie (7) & Chris Burgoyne (647) would start from the back half of the grid. At the drop of the green Reid was away at a rapid pace as the Burgoyne brothers made quick inroads through the pack. Carnage then ensued as Reid slowed coming down the start-straight with a broken half shaft. His car was collected firstly by Polley, then MacMillan, and as a consequence both headed towards the pit bend wall as Reid spun. Before either Polley or MacMillan could restart Mika Millar (402) slid into the 38 car, Craig Reid (217) hit Mac, and Kieran Howie (679) hit the Reid car and slid underneath. Trevor Harris (172) was also out after injuring his shoulder when he clipped the cars. The 679 car after sliding under 217 Seven cars were absent at the restart as Bradford led them away from Harley Burns (992) and Chris Burgoyne. Stevie Forster (652) had an engine blow up and coasted to retirement. Next time by Burgoyne moved into second, and then the lead on the next lap. Steven Burgoyne (674) was now up to second, running ahead of Burns and Moodie. The 7 car moved ahead of Burns and Steven Burgoyne, whilst up front Chris had built a decent lead. However, he started to struggle to find grip on a now oily track and Moodie started to close the gap. With five to go Moodie dived inside to take the lead and quickly moved ahead. The fight for third was close with 992, 674 and Liam Rennie (3) battling it out. Burgoyne lost out to Rennie who closed onto the tail of Burns. Gordon reeled off the remaining laps to win one of the few trophies that had eluded him. Rennie snatched third from Burns on the last lap. Result: 7 647 3 992 674 629 183 16 184 27 Rear axle repairs for 100 after the race The rest of the meeting was run to a two Heat, Final & GN format. Euan Millar won the first, with Moodie the victor in the second. This race featured a big’un for Peter Watt (280) who was left up against the turnstile bend wall The 280 car back in the pits Repairs in order for 512 and 992 Colin Forbes (202) and Spence both took turns up front in the Final until Burns arrived on the scene to blast by for the lead. Despite a good effort from Chris Burgoyne to wrest the lead from Harley the 992 car remained sufficiently ahead to claim the victory. The GN was held over until the next day. Cowdenbeath - Sunday 26th June 2022 - Scottish Championship - 22 cars At the start of the meeting there was a minute’s applause for ‘The Master’ Bill Batten (167), who had recently passed away. Batten was the first driver to win the Scottish Championship at Newtongrange in 1981. The 41st edition would also feature a winner from the south of the border. Chris Burgoyne (647) won the previous evening’s GN as this was held as the first race of the day. Today’s meeting was raced to an all-in-format. Jason Blacklock (512) dominated the first Heat with Craig Wallace (16) and Mika Millar (402) completing the top three. Gordon Moodie (7) slowed halfway through the race, while Charlie Guinchard (183) spun. Euan Millar (629) had a high-speed trip to the wall and was bounced from pillar to post as he was collected by Liam Rennie (3) and Kieren Bradford (27). Colin Forbes (202) was the early leader of the Heat 2 but had to give way to a fast-charging Ben Spence (903). A race stoppage wiped out Spence’s lead which allowed Moodie and Chris Burgoyne through with Spence hanging on for third. The grid for the Scottish was drawn within grades. Forbes led away, but the late to the grid 629 car was soon shuffled wide and out of the race. Steven Burgoyne (674) also lost time after spinning on the turnstile bend as rain started to fall. At halfway Spence had come through to the front. Wallace was the lead star man defending from Harley Burns (992) and Aaron Vaight (184). Jason Blacklock (512) was a car length behind the leader with a gap to Paul Reid (17) and Mika Millar (402). Moodie was now ahead of Wallace with Chris Burgoyne reeling in Burns. He then got ahead of Millar and into fourth. Wallace dropped two places when Burgoyne and Burns relegated him from sixth to eighth. As Spence eased away from Blacklock, Moodie got ahead of Reid and set his sights on the 512 car. Burns was putting up a defence to Chris Burgoyne who now had Rennie close behind as they closed on Reid. Moodie caught and passed Blacklock, while Burns and his pursuers dropped Reid from fourth to eighth in one go. Spence was now too far ahead to be caught and went through to become the 2022 Scottish Champ from Moodie and Blacklock. This was also his first Final victory. Result: 903 7 512 992 647 3 16 183 17 402 Moodie rounded off a great weekend with a win in the GN. More pics in the gallery St Day – Sunday 3rd July 2022 – WCQR – 30 cars With Bill Batten’s funeral having taken place two days before a moment of reflection was taken pre-meeting. This was the first Autospeed fixture since Bill’s passing and a number of cars had their bumpers painted gold. Despite the increase in fuel prices there was still visiting interest for this meeting. Early season St Day Final winner Aaron Vaight (184) headed the list of long-distance travellers. Courtney Witts (180) ran Aaron very close though as furthest travelled. This immaculate Volvo FM from Steve Wills Haulage led the cars onto the track. Heat wins went to Paul Rice (890), and Kieren Bradford (27). With ten places up for grabs and only twelve starters the Consolation should have been routine. It was anything but with firstly Witts being an early casualty, and then Richie Andrews (605) and Matt Hatch (320) losing time in a tangle. Tommy Farrell (667) took the lead from Shane Hector (528) in the closing stages. Hector then spun Mark Gibbs (578) who took exception to this, and the pair engaged in a tit for tat contact clash in turn 4. The Final saw Ben Borthwick (418) an early spinner on the back straight. At the head of the field ‘C’ graders Dan Abbott (232) and Bryan Lindsay (663) set the pace with James Rygor (783) as the leading star. Dale Moon (302) turned Bradford around at the end of the home straight on lap four. Craig Driscoll (251) and Jessica Smith (390) were forced wide in avoidance which resulted in both clattering into the fence. With Jess needing attention out came the yellow flags. At the restart Paul Moss (979) was through into the lead but with halfway approaching Rice began closing the gap. A few laps later he was through into the lead and went on to record his second St Day Final victory of the season. Result: 890 979 542 184 783 302 606 689 418 232 The 390 car took a hard hit to the fence in the Final. Both car and driver were sore after this one. The same incident also caused significant damage to 251 The Charlie Fisher car was another to need repairs. Ben Borthwick (418) (standing at the front of the car) comes over to lend a hand. Moss finished the day with a win in the GN after he had passed Richie Andrews (605). The two ‘B’ graders leading home Rygor and Smith who recovered well from her rough exit from the Final. Top 3: 979 605 783 Taunton – Monday 4th July 2022 – WCQR – 32 cars This meeting featured first visits this season from Courtney Witts (180), Johnny ‘Egg’ Whittaker (533) and Gary Walker (821). Unfortunately, there was despair for Ben Farebrother (115) and Kurt Selway (303) who both failed to take part in the meeting after practice problems. Rotherham’s Gary Walker There was a new driver for the Aaron Vaight (184) bus as well The Blackdown Beast was on track-sweeping duties pre-meeting A Scania R360 from Devon & Somerset Sweepers Ltd Two views of the Ed Neachell (321) RCE. Ed was making his track debut. Four WRC's in a row Ben Spence (903) had his wing adorned with Scottish Champion following his victory the previous weekend at Cowdie. On the occasion of his first appearance since winning the title he displayed the trophy during the Grand Parade. Following the traditional Grand Parade there was a minute’s applause for the late Bill Batten. Heat 1 was brought under an early caution with Harrison Bryant (91) stranded on the Honiton bend after clashing with Richie Andrews (605). New Scottish Champ Ben Spence (903) had also crashed with Matt Linfield (464) on the pit bend. James Rygor (783) raced through the field to take the lead from Leah Sealy (475) Top 3: 783 475 667 Shane Hector (528) was cannoned into the fence at the start of Heat 2 and then careered onto the infield. Jessica Smith (390) took the lead from Gary Walker (821) and held on until chased down by Paul Rice (890). After a couple of nudges he pushed Smith wide to take the lead with 2 to go. Top 3: 890 390 606 The Consi saw Ed Neachell (321) sent hard into the home straight fence and left broadside across the track. After a complete re-start Jordan Butcher (509) led from flag to flag to take his maiden victory. Top 3: 509 464 251 A dramatic start to the Final saw Rygor in a high-speed tangle on the home straight which left him spun towards the fence as Sealy shot to the infield with a puncture. After a caution period Rice was on the move and took the lead from Julian Coombes (828) after only a quarter of the race had run. Andrew Palmer (606) led the star grade charge and climbed up to second with Matt Stoneman (127) in third. A second caution for a spun car on the entrance to the home straight wiped out Rice’s advantage. However, at the drop of the green the 890 car managed to edge clear and Paul took his second double of the weekend. Stoneman edged Palmer wide for second spot. Top 3: 890 127 606 542 667 251 605 736 390 903 Team Rice! Smith led the way in the GN under pressure from Andrews with Stoneman, Rygor and Steven Gilbert (542) quickly through into third, fourth and fifth. Further back an entertaining feud developed between Craig Driscoll (251) and Josh Weare (736). As the star men dealt with Andrews it briefly relieved the pressure on Smith but she was powerless to stop the onslaught. Stoneman went on to the victory from Rygor and Tommy Farrell (667), with Gilbert pushing Andrews wide for fourth on the last bend, and Smith slipping to seventh. Top 3: 127 783 667 Not a good meeting for Courtney unfortunately Section 2 follows below:

Section 2 above Section 3: Odds and Ends This wonderful 1965 Marshall BET-style-bodied Leyland Leopard is now over 50 years old! Southdown is one of my favourite liveries. The cases at the back look rather precarious, but fierce acceleration and sharp cornering with this 1949 Halifax registered Octopus 22.0/1 would hardly have been a problem! The consignment of machine tools is on its way to Liverpool Docks, bound for Sydney. The fact that Asquith used their own transport rather than a haulage contractor suggests they must have had a significant output. This old-established manufacturer is still in business. William Asquith, a locally trained engineer, worked in the gold fields of British Columbia and California before returning to Halifax to found his company in 1865. In common with most pioneer manufacturers, Asquith produced machine tools of all types during the early years but soon realised the need for specialisation and decided to concentrate on drilling and boring machines. During the first World War the factory produced both machine tools and munitions, and later, in the difficult inter-war years, machines were exported world-wide. Amongst many interesting contracts was the provision of the entire drilling capacity for the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Although drilling and boring machines of all types were produced over a long period the Asquith Company deservedly became world famous for two types of machine: the Radial drill, and the Horizontal floor borer. Thousands of these machines are at work in every industrialised country in the world and are a testimony to the Company’s skills in both design and manufacture. The largest ram type borers weighed up to 300 tonnes. Radial Drilling Machine for Ordnance Work ‘The End of the Road’ at Arbroath On 22nd September 1978 25171 came to grief in a siding just before Arbroath station. It was working a ten-wagon ballast train southbound of Arbroath and ran out of control. Both main lines were occupied but the signaller managed to divert it whereupon it demolished the buffer stops. The locomotive was severely damaged upon impact into the retaining wall with several ballast wagons damaging the rear cab. The guard and second man jumped to safety with the driver taking refuge in the engine room! Beyond repair, 25171 was left there and cut up on site in January 1979. What a great livery – certainly ahead of its time! T54 (TCK 484), a 1963 Marshall-bodied PSU3/1R was caught on camera alongside Ribble Leyland National 746 (UHG 746R) at Wigan in 1981. The second trip of the new timber flow from Hellifield to Chirk took place on 29th August behind 56113 which had to make complex shunting manoeuvres to remove a defective wagon from the middle of the consist. The wagon can be seen in the right-hand siding as the driver reverses to reattach the remaining timber carriers in the left-hand siding. This all resulted in a 55-minute delayed departure. Originally Midland Red 5836 (GHA 336D), trade-plated 067 HA was converted into a tow truck in 1976 and allocated to Cannock depot where it remained, ultimately with Midland Red North, until withdrawn in 2002. Blackpool Transport Spot The Illuminated Western Train 733+734 enjoys a rare daylight outing, seen here passing the road crossing at Anchorsholme Lane on its way south from Fleetwood. A colourful scene at a more traditional time in the evening as 733+734 approach Central Pier on the return journey of an Illuminations tour on 7th September. As the last vestiges of daylight fade away the moon has risen above the wires as a Flexity heads south from the North Pier stop With the Illuminations remaining lit until January as part of Christmas by the Sea 2022 the prom has the added attraction of the Star Flyer back again. It is one of the tallest swing-rides in Europe. At nearly half the height of Blackpool Tower it has sixteen swinging seats spinning high above the resort’s rooftops. The ride offers breath-taking views of Blackpool and the Fylde Coast. Track Bashing or not, Blackpool style For many years railway enthusiasts have revelled in the opportunity when presented to travel over rare sections of track that are not normally traversed by passenger trains, a practice often referred to as ‘track bashing’. Usually, this is only possible by special charter trains and some locations, however short, are much sought after. Blackpool’s tramway has seen much infrastructure rationalisation in recent times which has reduced the opportunity to sample rare pieces of track. Back in the late 1950s the re-introduction of the Circular Tour gave the chance to travel on a short section of the New South Promenade at Starr Gate and then the east-bound track along Squires Gate Lane to the Lytham Road terminus. A line-up of photographers gathers on the Starr Gate curve to capture Balloon 244 as it leaves the Promenade for Squires Gate as part of a famous tour of the Circular route in May 1959. In the early 1960s the ‘main line’ north-bound at the Pleasure Beach was the spur that gave access to the outer track of the turning circle, all trams taking this route to two loading stops located on the outer circle. It was only in later years that the straight north-bound line was used for regular services and of course, the spur track became disused and was eventually taken up. Then there was the ‘loop within the loop’ – a north-bound siding inside the circle which was used to store trams at busy times or cars that had broken down. The ‘loop within the loop’ at the Pleasure Beach became a convenient place to push trams that had failed to avoid blocking the north-bound line – it sadly became not uncommon to find a Coronation car shunted onto the loop in disgrace, having failed in service. One such unidentified example is seen here, leaving the streamlined cars to continue their journeys unhindered. An incident occurred at the loop with Balloon 705 (heading straight on) colliding into 706 (coming off the loop). The reason was due to incorrectly set points which diverted 705 into the path of 706. Both trams were subsequently withdrawn, and neither were expected to run again. Although in the end only 705 was broken up, with 706 being re-converted back to open-top configuration and it is still with us today. For many years emergency access to Rigby Road Depot was maintained from the Promenade tracks by the set of points at the Foxhall, which originally gave access to Blundell Street Depot and along the side of the Fitting Shop wall, a section of line dating back to the earliest days of the Tramway. The single track from Blundell Street to Princess Street became a mecca for rare moves in later years. This photo shows newly painted Balloon 701 decorated for a New Year enthusiast tour on 28th December 1982. When the Lytham Road junction was re-laid some years ago, the Centenary cars were sent out via this route – but only after emergency repairs had been carried out to the rails which had not witnessed the passage of trams for decades. During the 1998 Blackpool and Fleetwood Tramroad Centenary a Twin Car set used this line, a venture that almost ended in disaster when the unit derailed as it crossed the Promenade causing an enormous traffic jam. Very recently the Branch Line Society travelled along the remaining section of de-wired track in Blundell Street in a Balloon tram towed by the Engineering Car. Moving further north the long-gone line down Red Bank Road to Bispham Depot had from time to time been traversed by special tours. This superb colour photograph shows Standard 160 on Red Bank Road in Bispham prior to the closure of Bispham depot in 1963. It is not entirely clear what is going on – the tram has stopped with the driver and some onlookers inspecting the left-front bogie. Perhaps a minor derailment? Regardless, it is a wonderful snapshot of an early-1960s street-scene with Fred J Carter’s Dispensing Chemist on the corner of Beaufort Avenue. Boat cars were common choices for enthusiast tours given their normally limited seasonal use. This picture shows Boat 225 on Red Bank Road bound for Bispham depot on a tour to mark the closure of the North Station route at the end of October 1963. Probably the most dramatic section of rare track covered by tours was the line into Thornton Gate permanent way sidings and the coal yard. A ’Standard’ car famously derailed in negotiating the points here. Although an access point is retained from the south-bound main line the track within the yard has now been removed. Here’s Boat 225 again, this time making a trip into the Thornton Gate sidings in 1963 The war time loop installed at Rossall Lane to accommodate the troop specials for army personnel training on the nearby rifle ranges had lain derelict and rusty for many years but is known to have been used as a line to store demic trams on at least one occasion. Again, this loop was removed some years ago. To bring the story up to the present, the loop of track at the new Light Rail Vehicle depot at Starr Gate which allows the Flexity units to pass through the tram washer has on occasion been traversed by trams from the ‘Heritage’ fleet, most recently by Balloon 707 during December 2021. Finally, over on YouTube we have Chris Allen, the self-styled Professional Struggler. He is an old-school mobile HGV mechanic showing the everyday real-life struggles of fixing a variety of vehicles. I personally think he is not only the best thing on YouTube, but the whole of the internet. He has a great personality, and is guaranteed to brighten up your day. Good background music too. He’s approached 20K in subscribers in a very short time. I had a good chat with him at the Newark Truck Show earlier this year and he is amazed at how many folks watch his videos. Next time: F2 action from three points of the compass. We head west to the Emerald Isle for the Irish Open from Nutts Corner, north to Bonnie Scotland for the Scottish Championship from Cowdie, and then south-west to a brace of WCQR’s from St Day and Taunton. We stay in Ireland for Out and About. Trucks from overseas feature in Odds and Ends, and there is a rare behind the scenes look around the bus depot in the Blackpool Transport Spot. Have a good Christmas folks, and all the best for 2023

Section 1 above Section 2: Out and About in Llanberis Back in Dec 2019 i wrote about the two RAF sites (Harpur Hill & Bowes) that were used as bomb stores. Linked in with the story was a third site in North Wales. An opportunity to ‘complete the set’ and have a look around this came up back in June. I was in the area with Ben, a good mate of mine, to spend a couple of days exploring two nearby disused slate quarries (a future feature). Even though we spent two full 12hr+ days in these we still had more areas yet to see. We were literally walking amongst giants, and for industrial ghosts from the past both underground and on the surface they are incredible. Numerous tunnels and underground passages An untold amount of gear above-ground On the third day we set our sights on trying to find the Llanberis bomb store. Some background info on the place first though, which is on the site of the old Glynrhonwy Isaf Slate Quarry. The Ordnance Survey map shows the site (marked with the red arrow) in relation to the centre of Llanberis The Glynrhonwy Isaf Slate Quarry is located just to the north of Llanberis. An early eighteenth-century working, it was extensively developed in the 1870s. It consisted of one large, and several subsidiary pits. A pioneer of internal railways, the quarry operated an extensive locomotive worked rail system on several levels. The green lines are all the disused industrial railways. The London & North Western Railway (LNWR) ran across the eastern part of the site and this had narrow gauge rail links to the quarry. Self-draining, with all downhill working and the facility of dumping waste in nearby Llyn Padarn made this an efficient unit with output of 40 tons per man year achieved. Product was carted to Caernarfon until 1869 when an incline connection was made to a loading point on the main line railway. Trains diverged from the main Llanberis line into a sidings. In 1869, two carts laden with liquid explosive for the quarry exploded at Cwm-y-glo, killing six, injuring many others, and scattering wreckage and body parts across a wide area. It was the biggest explosion in history at the time. At one time there appears to have been a link to the Ffridd incline for reasons that remain unclear. The lower section of the No 2 pitch of the Ffridd Incline The fence was erected by the MOD when the Glynrhonwy Uchaf quarry was used to detonate surplus wartime bombs. Top section of the 2nd pitch of the Ffridd Incline The incline here is at its steepest and has the Cook & Ddol Quarries lower rubbish runs to one side and a deep pit to the other. The incline here has become badly eroded. The walls of the drum-house can be seen at the top of the pitch. This was the largest quarry in the immediate area and produced 1789 tons with 70 men in 1883 though later outputs were greater with 273 men employed in 1898. The payroll had dwindled to just two by the late 1930s when the quarry closed. Much of the tramway network can still be traced, including the run via a combined tram and drainage tunnel under the road (now blocked) to a dump in Llyn Padarn. The tipping area now forms a country park. Otherwise, bulk re-working and re-use has disturbed most of the site. The Air Ministry was in occupation from 1940 to 1961 and installed a standard gauge rail network. There was also a link to the Glynrhonwy Uchaf Slate Quarry. This was located on the north side of Llanberis and was a mid-nineteenth century development. It was essentially two pits operated in tandem with mills and a complex, partly locomotive-worked internal rail network. Spectacularly located tracks included some cantilevered along rock faces. In 1882 it produced 2181 tons with 90 men. It was originally connected to the Ffridd incline, but after amalgamation everything went out through Glynrhonwy Isaf via a tunnel. This quarry also closed in the 1930s. During 1939 the Air Ministry was looking to build a large bomb store capable of storing a substantial amount of ordnance. The site was sitting disused and upon inspection it was deemed suitable for the Air Ministries needs of storing 18,000lbs of bombs. Following the success of the design employed at Harpur Hill (nr High Edge Raceway), the Air Ministry decided to employ the same design. The area was a cut-and-cover construction. Due to the depth of the former quarry tunnels, the store was built over two levels, and forty feet of broken slate was used as protection. Only the eastern pit was converted to a bomb store, with the western pit remaining undeveloped. High explosive and incendiary bombs were stored in the old quarry, which was chosen because it was accessible by road and railway. Also, its remoteness meant there was a reduced risk to the public if there had been an explosion. The slate waste was spread over the bomb store to camouflage it from German aircraft. It’s estimated that the storage area inside the quarry was equivalent to two football pitches. The bombs were unloaded in the reconfigured railway sidings after being brought by train directly from the munitions factories where they were made. In the old slate sheds on the site, women workers filled ammunition belts with rounds of bullets for machine guns. When an RAF airbase needed ammunition for its aircraft, an order would be sent through to Glyn Rhonwy and be delivered by road or by rail. An entire train of railway wagons could be brought in for loading and unloading and lifts provided access to the upper levels. During the construction of the store, the treasury pressured the designers to reduce costs on the design and speed the construction, this was to lead to disastrous consequences only 6 months after the store was opened. On 25 January 1942 half of the roof, and two thirds of the entire structure collapsed under the weight of the overhead slate camouflage. The collapse completely engulfed a 27-wagon train loaded with ordnance, and blocked the only goods exits. Fortunately the train did not explode. At the time, 14,000 tons of munitions were stored there, all suddenly inaccessible. This comprised approximately 14% of the entire bomb stock of the RAF. The ensuing inquiry concluded the collapse was due to design faults, and a subsequent failure to act when cracks appeared just prior to the store’s completion. An inspection at Harpur Hill also showed signs of weakness, and much of the overburden was hastily removed. Bomb recovery following the collapse shown on an old aerial map explaining part of the site layout with the WWII disposal pits. They were numbered from 1 to 8, with disposalpPits 1, 2, 3 and 4 on the site, in addition to a small section of Pit 5. Pit 1 (on the site) demolition of 25lb IBs. Pit 2 (on the site) used as a rubbish pit with no demolition or disposals. Pit 3 (on the site) used as a rubbish pit with no demolition or disposals. Pit 4 (on the site) demolition of target indicators. Pit 5 demolition of IBs and fuzes. Pit 6 demolition of detonators. Pit 7 demolition of signal cartridges. Pit 8 demolition of detonators. The construction of a ramp into Pit 2A was accomplished by using tracked vehicles. Specialist mechanical diggers were also employed which could be operated from ledges on the sides of the quarry in order to remove ordnance-related materials. The 1946 aerial photo, courtesy of the Welsh Government, shows the bomb store near the centre, with the railway sidings on the right. Half of the bomb store is now without its roof. Munitions from beneath the collapse were sent to a new storage facility at RAF Rhiwlas, near Bangor. Over the next nine months the site was cleared of collapsed debris. Most of the bombs were recovered through the back entrance which was an adit to another slate quarry. This was a seventy-foot deep pit and the bombs had to be lifted out of it. The underground sections were abandoned, and the open pit used for storage of incendiaries. Also, immediately after the war, because of its secure storage and rail connections, it was temporarily used as a storage facility for 14,000 tons of bombs filled with tabun (a toxic nerve gas) which had been seized from German ammunition depots. After the war there was long term activity at Llanberis, in the form of a small RAF detachment of bomb disposal people, patiently clearing dumped weapons. The story goes that large quantities of incendiaries were dumped at the end of the war into the water filled pit to one side of the main storage area. Once the existence of this hoard became known, it all had to be cleared. This was probably the largest land clearance task in respect of the weight of ordnance ever recovered. Between 1941 and July 1956 when the unit closed it had also been used as a demolition area and a burning pit. The demolition and burning of explosives within the quarry area started in June 1943 when the Royal Air Force School of Explosives moved to the site. The work to make the site safe turned the summer evening sky in Llanberis red from the explosions. The school curriculum included the destruction of explosives, so large quantities of bombs and pyrotechnics were brought in for demolition or burning. After the war the tens of thousands of tons of armaments that had not been used were moved to a nearby quarry and detonated, resulting in thick black smoke obscuring the mountains. In the 1950s, a lake formed in the hollow left by the earlier quarrying. The typical method of disposal was to start a large fire at the base of the quarry before tipping ordnance down chutes at the surface into the burning pit. If the fire became extinguished, it was re-ignited by dropping a cluster of IBs into the pit. Records indicate that this disposal was not always successful. The destruction of explosives continued until July 1956 when the unit was closed. Included in the destruction programmes were virtually every type of explosive item on the Royal Air Force wartime inventory. Unfortunately, as sometimes happens with mass demolition, a proportion of the items were not completely destroyed. This large and practically inaccessible complex of quarries was known to contain quantities of explosive items. As such the site solicited a certain amount of indiscriminate dumping of unwanted or recently recovered explosive items. The shape of the site was such that much of the explosive material dumped ended up on ledges and slate outcrops, never reaching the quarry bottoms. Between 1955 and 1956, ‘Operation Sandcastle’ took place. This involved the dumping in the Irish Sea of the 14,000 tons of 250kg tabun bombs that had once been stored at RAF Llanberis. During the late-1960s, a former Chief Technician from RAF Valley made a formal statement indicating that Phosgene-filled bombs had been dumped in the disposal pits at RAF Llanberis in the period 1953/4. More still had been dumped or fallen into the lakes, during the years of inactivity between 1956 and 1969. During the 1960s, security at the quarry was frequently compromised with ordnance being stolen from the quarry pits. This led to an incident where several people in Anglesey were injured when an item stolen from the former RAF Llanberis detonated. It was in 1969 that the decision was taken to clear the entire site of explosives and explosive debris. Servicemen were working at Llanberis through much of the Cold War, clearing the weapons that were abandoned there. The task was given to 71 Maintenance Unit EOD Flight from Royal Air Force Bicester (later to be designated No 2 EOD Unit, RAF). By the time the task was completed in October 1975 the personnel of the Flight had become expert in lifting tons of explosives from the quarry pits and lakes, and in the handling of special mechanical equipment. They had also learnt the arts of tunnelling and rock climbing, which in the earlier days had been the only ways of gaining access to some of the pits and their surrounding ledges. This must have been one of the few bomb disposal tasks carried out by any Service where members of the unit had first to be instructed by a Mountain Rescue Team. The various rock-climbing techniques and rescue procedures taught were essential to enable members of the unit to reach much of the explosive ordnance with which they had to deal. Clearing the site The various pits and tunnels were progressively cleared. Members of the EOD Flight burrowed further and deeper into the debris and slate rubble to uncover such items as incendiary bombs and high explosive bomb detonators. The latter, together with the numerous bomb fuses, which were uncovered, were in an extremely hazardous condition and required careful handling. With the help of the Royal Engineers, roads were constructed into the more difficult pits and the' fly on the wall' approach became less frequent. However, at no time throughout the six years of the project was the task rated any easier than' very difficult '. It was not a question of true grit and stamina, but rather an excess of slate, grit and slime. Royal Navy divers were co-opted to investigate the contents of a large lake in one of the pits as it was suspected that it might contain some explosive items. The divers reported that the bed of the lake was littered with explosive items including a number of large bombs and triggers, including significant numbers of Anti-Aircraft Device (AAD) bombs. During this operation the RN divers specifically identified one 1,000lb HE bomb in the centre of the quarry, one leaking 150lb HE bomb on a ledge, and a pile of thirty-six hand grenades. Subsequently, over 20,000,000 gallons (90,920,000 litres) of water and sludge were pumped out. By April 1973 the lake was emptied revealing everyone's worst fears—it took a further two years of hard labour to recover and dispose of the explosive items revealed. This shows the state of the bottom of pit 2C as the water levels fell. Ordnance can be seen scattered in haphazard heaps across the floor. Fortunately this pit was one of those to which 38 Engineer Regiment, RE, had constructed a road, otherwise the task would have been impossible. Photograph of the bomb pile in pit 2C Another photograph of stacked 25lb IBs in pit 2C On completion of the task, 71 Maintenance Unit EOD Flight had moved approximately 85,000 tons (83,364 tonnes) of slate and debris, recovered and disposed of 352 tons (357 tonnes) of explosive items together with 1,420 tons (1,443 tonnes) of non-explosive ordnance debris. The MOD later confirmed that several mustard gas bombs were found there during the clean-up operation. Even then the specialists didn’t succeed in clearing the entire site. Boys from Llanberis found all sorts of explosives there, all potentially lethal. One group found a complete box of flares, still in their greasy wrappers. When fired, the flares set light to the mountain and the fire brigade was called. The boys fled up the mountain and down the other side, but there was a strong smell of smoke on them. They went back to see the fire so that they’d have an excuse to give their parents for the smoke smell! Scenes for the 1983 horror film ‘The Keep’ were shot in the former quarry. In 1982, during filming a number of items of UXO were found within the slate scree in pit 3A. These included a practice bomb During a recent site walkover items of UXO were encountered on the access path to pit 2A. These included 30mm shells which have shown evidence of burning. These discoveries indicate that, despite the extensive EOD operation undertaken, not all items of ordnance within the quarry pits were accounted for. The following briefly describes and illustrates some of the main ordnance types that have been recovered from, and may still be present on the site: Small Arms Ammunition (SAA) is one of the more recognisable categories of ordnance which is primarily designed for anti-personnel use. SAA include rounds generally up to a calibre (diameter) of 20mm. During WWII the RAF primarily used .303” and .5” machine gun rounds together with some aircraft equipped with 20mm cannon shells. Larger calibre small arms munitions (generally 20mm and greater) can contain fuze mechanisms and high explosives, or pyrotechnic fillings and may have been used for anti-aircraft or anti-vehicle purposes. Some of the 20mm HE rounds had a fuze which contained copper azide which was too unstable and so proved unsuitable. These rounds were discovered at RAF Llanberis and were extremely dangerous. Hand grenades have been recovered. They can be filled with explosives or chemicals and have three main parts: a body, a fuze with a pull ring, and a safety-clip assembly. Fragmentation grenades are the most common and have a metal or plastic body filled with explosive. Most use a burning delay fuze that functions for 3 to 5 seconds after the safety lever is released. Some, such as smoke grenades, are activated instantly when the lever is released. Photographs of a typical, and excavated WWII hand grenades Both British and American high explosive bombs have been recovered from the site. The most frequently encountered HE bomb was the American Navy 100lb Light Case HE bomb, together with associated fuzes and detonators. Some of those bombs recovered were still crated and in their original packaging, indicating that they had simply been dumped. The aircraft in which they were to be used can be identified by the number of suspension lugs. A centrally mounted lug for British aircraft, and lugs one either end of the bomb, for American aircraft. Recovery of American Navy 100lb bombs Disposal methods for these bombs were sought from US authorities. The instructions were for them to be split with a 1oz burster charge on a weld join and the explosive then burned out. British Incendiary Bombs (IBs) ranged from small 4lb magnesium powder-filled bombs to 25lb IBs. In some cases, particularly the larger bombs, the IBs were fitted with a small HE bursting charge. This exploded after the bomb had been alight for a few minutes causing burning debris to be scattered over a greater area. This is a photograph of British 4lb IBs showing their original and degraded states. This type contained compressed thermite pellets typically comprising magnesium, and sometimes aluminium powder. Those bombs found at RAF Llanberis appear to have been magnesium filled. Large quantities of Anti-Aircraft Devices (AAD Bombs) were disposed of in the pits. These were intended to be used on aerial ropes, for example from barrage balloons and on parachute-borne wires, designed to obstruct enemy aircraft and then explode. These weapons were concluded not to be very effective and were also difficult to handle. Their disposal appears to have commenced during WWII. Considerable amounts of bombs and other types of fuzes were disposed of at RAF Llanberis. These comprised both British and American varieties and included both nose (e.g. AN-M103, ANM120) and tail (e.g. M100, M102) fuzes. Some fuzes disposed of were for target indicators and flares. For example, the M111 fuze was commonly used with 4.5” flares. One group of fuzes was for cannon shells which contained copper azide. These were rejected and sent for destruction as the azide became very unstable, particularly in damp conditions. This pic shows a front view of a recovered, rusty M103 fuze. The WWII and post-WWII EOD operations provide the potential for sources of explosive chemical residues and contamination. Items such as fuzes and detonators may include the use of mercury fulminate and various azides including copper and lead, all highly sensitive initiating substances. These substances are unstable, and are unlikely to have survived in these forms over a long period of time. However, the decomposition products of these materials, especially mercury and lead, can be highly toxic. Records also show that 1,000lbs of trinital was disposed of at RAF Llanberis and not all of this may have been recovered. Join us now on our look around at what remains. Of great importance is not to step on anything that goes 'click' and then starts ticking! The hardest part was finding the place. On this aerial view notice the layout of roads in the area. They serve no purpose and have never been used. A road to nowhere. It’s like being in a ghost town around here. Although easily seen from the air, on the ground is a different matter. Fences and high trees/undergrowth restrict the view and once in the middle of it all it becomes like a maze. We took a few wrong turns and ended up back where we started a couple of times. It’s that feeling when you think, “I’m sure we walked past here an hour ago!”. Never ones to give up on the challenge though. It makes it all the better when you find it. Eventually after battling through some dense woodland and scaling a high bank we spotted it far below. Now to find a way down as it was a sheer drop off from this side We were up high on the top right to start with and have walked along a very sketchy path to get to this point. This view shows that the ceiling of the lower levels forms the floor of the upper levels, which have an arched roof, covered with 26ft (8 metres) depth of slate waste. One of the galleries is wider and slightly higher than the others and has a single-track railway line running into it the full length, with a wide platform on the north-west side. The layout of the site. In terms of access to the store, there were three tunnels into the bomb-store. The main access tunnel was part-square/part-arched and 15-feet wide. The quarry’s northern tunnel was adapted to take a standard gauge railway line during the construction of the depot. This ran into the wider, sunken area between gallery B and gallery C, allowing the floor of the depot to act as a loading platform, either side of the line. The smaller 7-feet high southern access tunnel of unlined rock originally took a narrow-gauge tramway into the eastern pit and came into the store at the back of gallery D. We made it in by scrambling down a slate bank to the lower level. This vast concrete ‘tank’ measures around 330ft (100 metres) by 200ft (60 metres), with walls 40ft (12 metres) high. Abandon hope all ye who enter here It’s imperative that somebody remains outside as the door will not open from the inside, and there is no phone signal from within. Inside the galleries are very dry, clean and in good condition, with limited graffiti and no vandalism. The walls in the covered part are all painted white, and there is evidence that this is original paint from 1941 (since none of the brickwork is painted). The lower level is about 15 feet from floor to ceiling, with walls running the full length separating the galleries. The wider gallery is between galleries B and C and is not itself lettered. This wider gallery contains the standard gauge railway line. Each gallery is about 24 feet wide and over two hundred feet long, ending in a thick brick wall, which was built to separate the uncollapsed part from the area where the collapse occurred. Concrete pillars about 12 feet apart run down the centre, supporting a concrete beam running the length of each gallery. These help to support the ceiling, which forms the floor of the level above. They are apparently original, because each corner has a steel rubbing piece built in, as do the other openings, but not the brick reinforcements seen in some places, which were added as strengthening after the collapse. The sidewalls have square openings about 15 feet wide every so often, some of them bricked up. The galleries are lettered A to H on the lower level and J to S on the upper level. Each gallery was numbered into eleven bays. The bay numbers can be clearly seen on the walls, but there is no divider between the bays except a red roundel painted high on the wall midway between the numbers. The numbers run from 6 to 11 on upper and lower levels, leaving bays 1 to 5 in the open area where the collapse occurred. Roughly half of the total underground area is thus now open to the air (the "tank") and half still covered. There is an open manhole on the lower level. It is pitch black in here so without a good light source it would be very easy to end up with at best a shredded shin, or worse a broken leg. A tunnel is at the back of the storage area in gallery D. The makeshift 'rope' hoist helps you get INTO the tunnel from the bomb store side. There's NOTHING on the other side to help you get back OUT of the tunnel! It's easy to hoist yourself in, very difficult to get back out again! It is mostly unfinished rock and is about 7 feet high. The floor is very rough concrete, with rotten wooden sleepers set into it. An open channel runs on one side, with water running into the workings to the start of the tunnel, where it drops into an inspection pit and is carried away in a large earthenware pipe about a foot in diameter. It is the noise of this falling water that you hear throughout the upper galleries, sounding at first as if fans are running. At the bend of the tunnel, the straight passage is bricked off, while the open tunnel bends to the left and goes into the open air up a vertical shaft up which power cables ran. This was an old adit, adapted for power supply and then adapted again for the painstaking removal of the munitions after the collapse. Significantly, the floor of this tunnel is not level with the floor of the storage galleries, being about a foot higher. This would have added to the handling problems getting the munitions out in the recovery operation. Gallery M has two lifts. One is at C6 / M6. Surprisingly, no effort appears to have been made to open the other side of the lift so that it could have been used more readily. The wiring is very old, with no sign of post-war modernisation. However, we’ll have to go up the single staircase between the lower and upper levels The upper level galleries are the same width as the lower, but they have an arched roof and there is no line of central pillars as in the lower galleries. They are the place of nightmares. The echo up here is like nothing else i’ve ever experienced with at least eight echoes reverberating back. A sliver of light above the bricked-up end gives scant illumination. The number of cross passages and bays adds to the unnerving situation. What or who would be waiting for you around the next corner? Was that the scurrying sound of the blood-hungry children of the night, or just one of the rats sensing their next human meal? The doorways between the galleries are smaller than below and are arched rather than square. Several have been reinforced after the original build with four courses of brick, also formed into a beautiful arch. The original steel corners can still be seen. There are some electrical fittings left. Main power came in through the back tunnel. Most of the galleries show signs of tubular conduit for hanging lights, and a few of the reflectors remain. All the switches have gone, except the casing of one which shows clearly that it was of the type used in furls and explosives stores, which contain the spark inside the housing. Back outside now in the land of the living. We are in the "tank"- the open part where the collapsed concrete, bombs and slate backfill have been removed. There is little to see. The space between the railway platforms has been filled with rubble, but the ground was clear The main platform is holding on against the advance of nature Looking away from the store towards the railway access tunnels The main access tunnel is to standard gauge and is about 15 feet wide. Square section part of the way and arched the rest. It has been shotcreted and is quite short. It contains a bend and is large enough for a railway wagon. It ends now at a palisade fence and gate The second tunnel is smaller and is now a dead end. It is not shotcreted at the entrance. After a bend to the right the tunnel is concrete lined and arched. Further in it is blocked to the ceiling with a jumble of waste stone. Our explore was complete and we were pleased to have made the effort to locate it. An added bonus was not losing any bits of ourselves to unexploded ordnance! Finally, a story from the local paper: Warning issued to stay away from dangerous disused site where reported illegal rave was to be held Officers have been made aware of an illegal rave that was reported to be taking place at a dangerous disused site in Llanberis this weekend. The unlicensed music event promoted on social media was said to taking place at the old Glyn Rhonwy bomb store on Saturday, September 10th, but has since been cancelled. North Wales Police and Gwynedd Council are now warning people of the dangers of the site, and to stay away for their own safety. Inspector Arwel Hughes said: “I am aware of a social media post being circulated on platforms such as Tik Tok, Instagram and Snapchat of a planned rave that was reported to be taking place the old Glyn Rhonwy bomb store site in Llanberis. “The unlicensed music event was being promoted under the banner ‘Project X Llanberis’. “It goes without saying that an event of this nature is both illegal and extremely dangerous, given the numerous inherent perils that would come with it being held at such a location. Other raves have taken place here Section 3 below:

Hi there folks, This week we have in: Section 1: F2s – South-west action from the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee. Bristol kicked things off on the Thursday, followed by a unique Friday visit to St Day where the Benevolent Fund Trophy was up for grabs. Saturday and Sunday was all about Taunton as the two days featured the first of the Peoples Trophy events. Section 2: Out and About - Join me as we head to Llanberis on the hunt for a disused bomb store. Section 3: A varied selection in Odds and Ends, and in the Blackpool Transport Spot we take a look at track bashing. Section 1: Bristol – Thursday 2nd June 2022 – 18 cars Rumour has it that in 1952 Graham Bunter was just about to start his stock car career! The Mendips track got a Bank Holiday Thursday to start their tribute to Her Majesty. The promotion were hopeful of getting lots of cars to stop off en-route to St Day and Taunton. Paul Moss (979) won the opening race. Phil Mann (53) the second. Aaron Vaight (184) claimed the Final victory In the GN a caution flew for Mike Cocks (762) who had a rollover. Once the race resumed veteran racer Mann won with such ease that he emulated multi-World Champion Rob Speak by driving the latter few laps of the race with his arm nonchalantly resting on the cab side. A trophy haul for Phil Result Top 3’s: Heat 1: 979 53 475 Heat 2: 53 184 542 Final: 184 542 606 GN: 53 542 475 St Day – Friday 3rd June 2022 – featuring the Ben Fund Race – 37 cars Racing on a Friday at the United Downs Raceway was something special, and certainly a first. The Benevolent Fund Trophy was due to be raced for here at St Day for the first time in the 43 year history of the Rose Bowl. As is the custom on Ben Fund Trophy day there was also a Ladies Charity Race. This was a truly momentous and proud occasion for Autospeed to finally have the unexpected chance to stage the event here. Last year when the Save United Downs Raceway was campaigning for the continuation of racing discussions took place with Sharon Blood, the Treasurer of the F2 Ben Fund, and something of a pact was made. If the raceway was to get extra time beyond 2021 the plan was for the event to be held here as soon as possible. Sharon’s sterling efforts brought a whole load of extra sponsorship which led to an enhanced prize fund. The winner of the race would receive THREE times as much as first prize for the recent British Championship. A return for Jon Palmer in the car he raced on shale last year Travelling interest included first time visitors Martin Smith (705), Adam Paling (435), Ben Bate (161) and Rebecca Smith (931). Rebecca driven round on the Grand Parade by mum Lisa However, it was Scottish racer Trevor Harris (172) who was the furthest travelled of all with a 1160 mile round trip. The opening race of the meeting was the Annual Bill Batten Ladies Charity Trophy event. The race raises lots of money for the Ben Fund and is a lot of fun for the ladies who grid. The car numbers in brackets are the ones the ladies borrowed. With a twelve-strong field of cars Stella Farrell (988) led the way until a race suspension for a stranded car. On the re-start Sharon Ford (24) passed Samantha Borthwick (418) around the outside to take second, then moved inside Farrell for the lead. Ford took a clear win as Farrell also lost out to Borthwick and Charlotte Bate (161). A half-spin for Borthwick then promoted Bate and Farrell to second and third. With the Ben Fund race running as Heat Two and including all the high-graded drivers who had already raced this season, Heat One contained only ‘C’ & ‘B’ grades except for the returning Jon Palmer (24) in his first outing of 2022. Leah Sealy (475) led from start to finish to score a popular win. Palmer carved his way through the field to reach second just after halfway then reeled the 475 car in but his last bend attempt was too short to make contact. Top 3; 475, 24, 232 Ben Fund Race Grid: 194 Luke Johnson 605 Richie Andrews 460 Adam Pearce 320 Matt Hatch 828 Julian Coombes 526 Marc Rowe 126 Jamie Avery 35 Charlie Fisher 979 Paul Moss 560 Luke Wrench 890 Paul Rice 667 Tommy Farrell 736 Josh Weare 161 Ben Bate 302 Dale Moon 418 Ben Borthwick 988 Charlie Lobb 127 Matt Stoneman 352 Dave Sansom 172 Trevor Harris 184 Aaron Vaight 542 Steven Gilbert 606 Andrew Palmer From the pole Luke Johnson shot into an early lead. Julian Coombes and Matt Hatch hit the turn four fence before the green flag flew. Defending champ Jamie Avery was snooker-balled by a Paul Rice hit on Paul Moss following close behind the 126 car. Rice was through into second. Further down the field Aaron Vaight whacked Steven Gilbert into Ben Bate entering turn 1. Gilbert spun causing the pack to take the outside line where Dave Sansom was tagged by Matt Stoneman. 352 went around whilst the 127 car picked up race-ending damage. From lap four the race leading 194 car lost places as the quicker cars swept by. The top four of 890, 126, 302 and 418 remained static through the next segment of the race. A spin for Marc Rowe exiting turn two looked to be a cause for concern for the leaders as they sped into turn one, but Rowe managed to move clear up the banking just in time. Luke Wrench’s progress saw him involved in a tussle with Moss and Johnson which left the 194 car stranded in turn three. The latter half of the race saw the leading quartet unable to make any gains on each other until in the closing stages when Borthwick muscled his way past Moon for third. Rice motored to an unchallenged victory. Result: 890, 126,418, 302, 736, 184, 560, 988, 35, 606 The Consolation was an easy victory for Paul Moss. Top 3: 979, 667, 828 The Final brought the meeting to life with a spectacular crash involving Palmer, Sansom, Gilbert and Farrell. The 24 car rode over the wheels of Gilbert, then Sansom used the front of Palmer’s car as a ramp. The lead that Justin Fisher had was short-lived however as after the caution both Borthwick and Moon cut past the ‘B’ grader. Aaron Vaight joined in the scrap for the lead with multiple place changes occurring. 418 was just starting to edge away when Bryan Lindsay (663) required a caution after he went hard into the wall, front on and backwards like a spinning top on the home straight. Borthwick and Vaight pulled away but 184’s challenge for the lead in turn three took both to the wall and allowed Luke Wrench, Moon and Avery through. Wrench went on to win from Moon, while Rice also passed Borthwick for third. However, Vaight’s damage prevented him from finishing. “It all opened up in front of me really - Aaron did all the hard work,” admitted Wrench. Top 3: 560, 302, 890 The 24 car back in the pits Andy Smith works on the front corner of the 184 car with the assistance of Tommy Farrell. JP on hand to give technical guidance! Fisher was not to be denied in the GN. Sealy led for the opening half of the race until she lost time having to find a way past the spun 572 car. She then got demoted back to eighth in the closing stages by a group of fast-charging star-graders led by Vaight and Farrell, while a wingless Palmer managed fourth. Top 3: 35, 184, 667 Taunton Saturday 4th June 2022 – 54 cars The Jubilee holiday period of racing arrived at Smeatharpe for a two-dayer. The Jonathan Hadfield set-up The 142 transporter A new WRC for Ryan Sheahan The first of two events for the People’s Trophies was the main event here on the Saturday. The twin fixture scheduled for King’s Lynn on the 18th June. The idea for the People’s Trophies came from Zoe Simpson and Darren Foster back in 2019. Their aim was to raise a £10,000 prize fund to celebrate the 60th anniversary of BriSCA F2 in 2020. Two meetings were to be hosted with the prize fund split between them. The drivers were given a ‘track vote’ to determine where the meetings would be held, and initial dates were added to the 2020 calendar. The decision to postpone the events until everyone who wanted to be involved could have the opportunity was made after Covid put paid to that season and part of 2021. Zoe frames two good mates of mine who came over from Holland for the four-day F2 extravaganza. Each driver competed in an allocated Heat with the grids formed to the normal handicapping system. Heat allocations were made pre-meeting. However, a random public draw prior to the meeting determined the order in which the races were run to ensure fairness. A driver’s finishing position in these races dictated what they had to do next in order to earn a spot in the big-money race. The Heat winners and down to 7th place advanced to the Feature-Final. The next five transferred to an A-Consolation. Further down the placings the next group transferred to the B-Consolation. Winning this ‘B’ race got you into the Final, whilst the next seven home had another chance in the ‘A’-Consolation. The winner of this, plus the next seven advanced to the Final. All three Heats yielded a ‘C’ grade winner. Furthermore, they all earned £100 for their efforts. Leah Sealy (475) led from start to finish in the first one. Top 3: 475, 142, 560 Daz Seneschall (482) took the honours in Heat Two. Top 3: 482, 35, 801 Phil Mann won Heat Three. Paul Moss (979) was bundled into the turn three fence by Josh Weare (736) which did neither of their chances any good. Top 3: 53, 618, 302 The ’B’ Consolation was won by Ben Borthwick (418) after he had successfully hunted down Moss and took the lead with 4 to go. Top 3: 418, 126, 979 The ‘A’ Consolation required a complete re-run after Richard Andrews had been sent into the wall backwards. Jamie Avery (126) looked to be a major threat until he lost out in a confrontation with Aaron Vaight (184) who had earlier crashed heavily in his first race. Up front Moss had raced away to a lead he was not to lose. Top 3: 979, 578, 126 People’s Trophy Final The thirty-two finalists took part in a drivers parade before the race with each receiving mementos and sharing a few words with Zoe. They were then gridded within their grades according to their qualifying race results, with the best at the front. That meant that the likes of Hadfield (B), Lockwood (A), Andrew Palmer (Star) and Wrench (Superstar) started at the front of their grades. After two rolling laps (with the drivers unaware of how many there would be from a maximum of five) Seneschall hit the front, with Hadfield quickly into second. Jack Bunter (728) was an early spinner on the back straight, and Rice took a trip into the fence. Jon Palmer ran out of room and was pushed into a marker tyre which sent him flying backwards into the Honiton bend wall. He was collected heavily by Sealy which brought out the caution flags. By now Seneschall had lost the lead, so Hadfield led the field to green with Lockwood already up to second. Further yellow flags were needed shortly afterwards when Josh Weare (736) and Jack Cave (801) went in hard together with Steven Gilbert (542) clipping the 736 car. Dale Moon (302) had now risen to third followed by Neil Hooper (676), while Wrench was making rapid progress through the pack. Lockwood passed Hadfield for the lead with Moon hitting the 142 car wide to take second at half-way. Wrench had now risen to fifth setting off a great scrap between Moon, Hadfield, Hooper and Wrench over several laps. It was mesmerising to watch with bumpers going in hard all around the track. It crucially allowed Lockwood to make his escape up front to claim the victory and the £2000 winner’s purse. Wrench pushed past Hooper at the start of the last lap for second, then survived Moon’s last-bend attack to hold the place, while Hooper dropped to fifth behind Hadfield, the four cars covered by less than a second. Result: 618, 560, 302, 142, 676, 126, 184, 905, 161, 783 The tarmac People's Champ Concluding the night, a thirty car GN was action packed with the Smith sisters involved in a number of incidents. Sealy led most of the opening half of the race before Jamie Jones (915) and Mark Gibbs (578) came through. The duo finished in that order, holding off Borthwick in third, and the star grade pack headed by Avery. Top 3: 915, 578, 418 Taunton – Sunday 5th June 2022 – 50 cars A non-starter today was Jon Palmer (24) with damage from last night There were enough cars to run a full three-heat format for day two. The first eight from the qualifying races through to the Final. Heat One boiled down to a scrap between Matt Stoneman (127), Ben Bate (161) and Luke Wrench (560). Each used the bumper to enjoy spells in front, but it was Wrench who broke away for the victory, whilst Stoneman claimed second with a last bend hit on Bate. Luke Johnson’s (194) attempt to get Charlie Lobb (988) for the last qualifying place only succeeded in spinning himself but it was worth a go. Top 3: 560, 127, 161 Odd spots of rain turned into a heavier drizzle for the second race. Leah Sealy (475) led until halfway when under pressure from Jamie Jones (915) she hit a kerb while lapping backmarkers and spun which held up Jones in the process. Dale Moon (302) came through for the victory. Jessica Smith (390) shoved Paul Rice (890) wide but spun herself on the next lap and failed to qualify. Top 3: 302, 184, 126 The slippery conditions for the third race caused plenty of spinning cars. Dale Seneschall (482) led for the opening laps but was unable to hold off James Rygor (783) who bundled Adam Rubery (700) aside then repeated the move on the 482 car. Rubery’s last-bender on Rygor for the win left both in a tangle with a backmarker but they managed to scramble clear and remain in the same order over the line. Top 3: 783, 700, 418 The 23 cars in the Consolation had to take a steady drive in what had become a very wet track. Phil Mann (53) led much of the way before slipping back to fourth. Charlie Fisher (35) took up the mantle in a determined drive to victory. Top 3: 35, 194, 618 Fisher’s performance in the Final was even more impressive. The 32-car race was action-packed with numerous spinners early on. Seneschall led until Mark Gibbs (578) briefly took over, only for Fisher to immediately get past both up the inside. He then pulled away to land his maiden Final victory. Having almost decided to sit out the Consolation after banging his arm in his first race it was a fruity and fruitful turnaround. “I had a banana and now I’m fine!” explained Charlie. Borthwick had climbed to second before he lost out having to deal with a spun Rebecca Smith (931). That let Stoneman take the place with another good performance from Bate in third. Result: 35, 127, 161, 542, 783, 418, 560, 578, 618, 606 Paul Moss (979) rapidly moved to the top spot in the GN to secure the win. He had a victory in each of the four Westcountry fixtures over the Jubilee period. Wrench topped a great star grade scrap for fourth. Top 3: 979, 53, 578 More pics in the gallery from St Day and Taunton Section two below:

Section 2: Out and About above Section 3: Odds and Ends One of the ‘floats’ at the May 1936 Leyland Festival was entered by the British Legion using an elderly Leyland RAF type, originally built in late 1914, making it 22 years old by then. On being re-constructed at Ham works this one had received a later type of bonnet, with additional louvres in the one-piece top panel, also a typical 1920s Leyland cab. For the parade it had some mud added to the offside panel and carried some WW1 soldiers, with guns, sandbags and a ‘tin-shake’ to collect donations. Behind the ‘RAF type’ is a Leyland Titan TD4 for Greenock Motor Services. GV Dennis set up Robin Hood Transport in October 1928. By March 1932 when this Strachan bodied Leyland Tiger TS4 was delivered they operated from Exchange Road, West Bridgford. The photo was taken in Howard Street, where their office and garage were built. It was on their only express service: Nottingham (Huntingdon St) to Blackpool (Central Drive) via Eastwood, Ripley, Matlock, Buxton, Bolton, Chorley, and Preston – daily, with additional afternoon journeys in each direction from Sunday before Easter until the last day of the Illuminations. The Tiger was sold to F T Tagg, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Notts by 1938. Crosville took delivery of eight Leyland TD3s in 1934, six with Eastern Counties bodies, followed by two with Leyland all-metal lowbridge bodies. The bus pictured is one fitted with an ECOC body and is seen here in the LMS-inspired maroon livery in Northgate Street, Chester, looking north, by the Shropshire Arms Hotel, still in business today. The TD3 was photographed in May 1939 to show the GPO post box on the back of the bus as in some places they were attached to late afternoon buses to provide a final collection in rural areas, although it’s doubtful that ‘E’PORT’ and ‘B’HEAD’ as displayed on the totally inadequate destination box would qualify as being rural! Also on the back is an example of the oval hackney licence plates that buses carried from 1931 up to the outbreak of WW2. Once a common sight on British roads, a Leyland Octopus 24.0/4 with bulk flour tanker body. It was supplied in June 1961 and was registered WAN 721 at West Ham in mid-1962. It was No.271 in the fleet of Ranks Hovis McDougall and is seen here in their orange-buff pale cream livery in Hull on 5th June 1969. Three from the Preston based Riding fleet next: This Octopus 240/4 was registered new in January 1959 and was the first vehicle in the Riding fleet to be fitted with an 0.680 engine. Tom Riding recalled that “This was the first vehicle in the fleet that would go up Sawley Brow, on the old A59, fully loaded with a gear to spare”. Sawley Brow was a notoriously long steep hill on the York-Liverpool trunk road situated between Clitheroe and Gisburn. Entering the fleet in August 1965 was Leyland Beaver 14BT/17R, Fleet No.4, being the first Ergomatic to be purchased. It looked magnificent with its chrome bumper and front wheel trims. It was purchased from Leyland at the price of £3085 3s 2d and the late Tom Riding likened the driving experience to that of a car. This photograph taken in March 1933 shows Leyland QH2 supplied by Oswald Tillotson, hence the Burnley registration. It was new in 1927 and is loading up with grain for delivery to one of the numerous Lancashire breweries. The vehicle is parked alongside the bonded warehouse adjacent to Preston Docks. On the left is a rare Mercedes lorry. Now we’ll have a look at some magnificent pictures of some early main line diesels: In association with English Electric the first main line diesels were built at Derby Works with No 10000 being delivered in December 1947, followed by No 10001 in July 1948. Here the pair are passing South Kenton with the up ‘Royal Scot’ in 1949. (Pic credit to CRL Coles) Diesel-electric No 10800 is seen here at Euston on 14th November 1950. It is being used as a press special to Watford shortly after being delivered from the North British Locomotive Co. Withdrawn in August 1959, as the sole example, the loco was sold to Brush Traction and rebuilt into a research loco named ‘Hawk’ surviving until 1976. (Pic credit to NRM) The five large diesel hydraulic locomotives delivered to the Western Region from the North British Locomotive Co. Glasgow in 1958 were named after warships and the second of the batch, D601 Ark Royal, is at Swindon when new in the June. (Pic credit to Rail Archive) One of the first diesel classes introduced under BR’s Modernisation Plan were those built by Brush Traction Ltd, and this is the pioneer, D5500, at Thorpe-le-Soken hauling the first booked diesel passenger working from Liverpool Street to Clacton on 13th November 1957. (Pic credit to NRM) On 9th July 1959 English Electric D207 has just ‘buffered up’ and there’s an audience watching the progress of joining the locomotive to the train. Shortly afterwards ‘The Flying Scotsman’ will leave King’s Cross for Edinburgh. (Pic credit to NRM) Derby/Sulzer built ‘Peak D9 Snowdon leaves Euston in 1960 with the ‘Shamrock’ bound for Liverpool. Introduced in 1961 the Beyer Peacock & Co. built diesel hydraulic ‘Hymeks’ were allocated to the Western Region, and this is D7029 coming through Taunton station on 26th July 1966. Blackpool Transport Spot East Anglia Transport Museum get two more Blackpool trams! There have been a couple of moves down at the Rigby Road depot over the last fortnight with two trams leaving us for a new home. They are Brush Car 625 and Balloon Car 726. Both trams have been latterly owned by the Fylde Transport Trust but after negotiations ownership has been transferred to the East Anglia Transport Museum with the pair having already travelled to Carlton Colville. Both trams will require significant attention to return them to service as it has been many years since they last ran in Blackpool. For 625 this was way back in 2004, whilst 726 saw limited operation in 2010 before full withdrawal came. Since withdrawal, and their sale during the disposal of redundant trams when the tramway was upgraded, both trams have found themselves with several owners and storage locations. 625 was initially purchased by Merseytravel for their planned Wirral Waters development with this seeing it stored in Knowsley. It was then sold on to a private individual who moved it to outside storage in Fleetwood, before it headed to Rigby Road Depot in 2017 for further storage. Then in 2020 it was sold on to the Fylde Transport Trust for possible future projects. We’ll have a look at 625’s story this time, and 726’s in the future. The Brush Railcoach In 1937, the Lytham St Annes town council met and decided to close their popular and busy tramway and replace their trams with buses. This would have an impact on the Blackpool Tramway as they often would hire a large number of their trams during the Illuminations period when as many as 200 trams would often be in service to move the crowds wanting to see the lights. The closure of their tramway would leave Blackpool Corporation with a shortfall of trams to operate during this busy period. To counteract the loss, Walter Luff, the manager of Blackpool Corporation Transport, ordered 20 railcoaches from Brush of Loughborough. The Brush railcoaches were similar in almost every respect to the 45 English Electric railcoaches that entered service in two batches on the tramway 2-3 years earlier, the only difference being some slight changes to all elements of the design due to copyright of the original design being held by English Electric. Brush were chosen to build this batch of trams as the designer of the EE railcoaches had moved to work for Brush. Despite their similarities, the Brush railcoaches were seen to be yet another step up from the English Electric railcoaches, which were already deemed to be the height of luxury! Each tram being fitted with sunshine roofs in each passenger saloon (a canvas centre section that could be folded back in good weather), plus curved roof windows in each saloon. There were clocks fitted above the entrance to the driver’s cab in each saloon, floor level heating, wind down windows in each saloon, power operated doors and Crompton and Parkinson controllers. The Brush cars began to enter service in 1937 and were well received by the public. Initially they were allocated to Rigby Road Depot and operated on the Lytham Road route from Squires Gate - Bispham, whilst Balloon Cars operated from Squires Gate – Cabin. One feature of the Brush car that was way before its time on the tram fleet was air operated passenger doors operated by the driver. However, this feature was soon removed, and control of the doors reverted back to the conductor after an incident on a particularly busy run along Lytham Road. The platform was loaded with passengers luggage and the driver opened the wrong set of doors (right hand doors instead of left hand doors). Some of the luggage fell out of the tram and onto the road, where it was crushed by a passing bus! In 1939, World War Two began and in common with the other members of the fleet, the Brush cars were repainted into a mainly green wartime livery, with roof windows painted out and bulbs downgraded. Hoods were fitted over the top of the headlights. Bispham Depot, which had been used as a store, was reopened as a running shed in 1940 to allow the dispersal of the fleet in case a bomb hit Rigby Road Depot. The Brush cars were transferred here and began operating the North Station – Fleetwood service alongside the Pantograph cars and some EE railcoaches. They would retain their duties on the Squires Gate – Bispham service, sharing these with the EE railcoaches. After the war ended in 1945, the Brush cars were gradually repainted back into a brighter livery with cream once again being the more prominent colour. In 1948, Blackpool Corporation began trials using the revolutionary VAMBAC control equipment which allowed smooth and quick acceleration and braking. EE railcoach 208 and Brush car 303 were chosen to receive the new equipment. 208 was an overwhelming success, however 303 was not popular with crews as the VAMBAC equipment made it different from the other cars. The initial plan had been for 303 to operate on the Marton Route alongside the other VAMBAC fitted cars, which began to operate in the early 1950s. However, it was found that 303 was not suitable as its air operated doors were deemed to slow down the loading of the tram. 303 was returned to Bispham Depot and saw little use on service and was mainly used on specials but only as a last resort. During the late 1950’s, the Brush cars began to be overhauled. Some of them received new single destination screens at each end, requiring a new dome at either end to be fabricated as the double screens were built into the domes. This modification was done on an ad hoc basis with the final tram, 621, not being completed until 1980! Part of the overhaul included a repaint into a much simpler half green / half cream livery with the addition of orange trolley towers. In October 1962, the unique VAMBAC fitted Brush car 303 was withdrawn and transferred to Marton Depot. It was scrapped in March 1963 along with a number of other cars deemed surplus after the closure of the Lytham Road and Marton Routes. On 27th October 1963 the North Station route closed and with it, Bispham Depot. 290 was the last Brush car to run from North Station to Fleetwood. Following the closure of Bispham Depot, the 19 remaining Brush cars were transferred to Rigby Road and spent most of the winter in the works, where they received many modifications including the replacement of the Crompton and Parkinson controllers with Z4 Controllers, and the saloon heaters from scrapped English Electric railcoaches. The original wind down windows were also replaced by ex-railcoach drop down windows, whilst the sunshine roofs were also panelled over. The cars re-emerged from their hibernation at Easter 1964 and began operation of the Starr Gate to Fleetwood service all year round along with the remaining EE railcoaches. The fleet was reduced to 18 when Brush car 301 was withdrawn following a collision in 1966. 301 was stored in the bus yard, before being scrapped in early 1968. The introduction of a computer system at Rigby Road in 1968 required the need for the renumbering of the fleet, the remaining 18 Brush cars were renumbered from 284 - 300 and 302, to 621 - 638. With the impending upgrade to the tramway, all remaining Brush cars except for 631 were put up for sale in January 2010 and were all sold. 625 and 637 moved to open storage for the Birkenhead Tramway in a yard in Knowsley in Merseyside before moving to outside storage at Fleetwood Docks in 2015. 625 returned to Rigby Road to allow its new owner to begin to restore the tram. At Bispham on the left-hand track is 625, while 'Boat' car No 605 waits on the centre track. (Pic credit to Dr Neil Clifton) 625 with its Family Choice advert on the 17th May 1991. (Pic credit to robsue888) Looking very smart in Fleetwood on the 22nd August 1995 after the very last re-paint of its Blackpool career. (Pic credit to Tramfan 2011) 625 with Fleetwood on the blind, arriving at the fish dock on the back of a low loader belonging to Calkeld Heavy Haulage. 625 was the first of the former Merseytravel owned Blackpool trams that had recently been secured for preservation and arrived at the fish port at 18:30 on Monday 8th June. The tram was stored in the same open compound on the docks that was used by the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust. (Pic credit to Alan Robson) 625 passes through the security gate into the private fish dock at Fleetwood. (Pic credit to Alan Robson) Several trams were stored inside the compound The deterioration of 625 is evident already The three pics were taken inside the compound on 26th February 2016. (All three pic credits to Gary Mitchell) Scotts’ were involved in moving 625 the relatively short distance from the Port of Fleetwood to Rigby Road. I took the following photos in the depot during August 2022: 625 is looking in a sorry state Since its withdrawal from service in 2004 its owners have not done any work on it Parts have been ‘borrowed’ for other preserved trams All the seat backs and cushions have gone English Electric Z type controller The wood frame is still in good condition considering it had been stored outside for several years However, the steelwork has not fared as well A glass panel is missing from the original doors The bulb holders are of the ‘bayonet’ type Heavy corrosion on the sprung ‘bumpers’ The day of the move was on Monday 21st November 2022: Tow bar attached and pulled to the front of the depot ‘Ava’ from Reid Freight, Stoke-on-Trent was doing the pulling Setting the track from low-loader to permanent way The most important part of the loading is to make sure everything is perfectly lined up Temporarily chocked Chains and blocks of wood are the tools of the trade in this type of work The front structure at this end of the tram was not deemed strong enough to take the load from the winching cable so a turn-around was required Being towed back onto the depot fan Pushed back out to swap ends We’ll try it this way Lined up for the winch It’s a long walk from the cable drum Cable attached and she’s on her way up This is the moment when you don’t want to see the eighty-five-year-old tram split in two! Just in case the cable snaps a ‘mobile’ chock is walked alongside She’s made it Some serious chaining down of all bogies is required. It wouldn’t do to hit this on the motorway if it rolled off! The view from the rear ‘Ava’ has swapped ends and starts the lift to level it all up Sorted A fine sight ‘Ava’ must now run under a Special Types General Order at Category 2. This is D x 7,500kg and max category gross weight 80,000kg (where D = the distance in metres between the kingpin and the rearmost axle on the semi-trailer). The lads were going to get as far as they could within the driving hours and then park up. The max speed would be 45mph. The law governing this type of load did not permit them to transport it during the night much to their frustration as it would have been so much easier. Safe travels fellas! Finally, to finish this time here’s a good’un to watch. I met this chap in Newbury on a call out and he is a smashing bloke. He takes pride in the job which is a rare thing these days. He’s had some dodgy moments on hard shoulders etc with vehicles giving no room. Every day is a risk. Next time: A Platinum Jubilee quartet of meetings from the F2’s. Out and About sees us on the hunt for a military site in North Wales, plus the usual Odds and Ends, and Blackpool Transport spot.

Section 1: F2s above Section 2: Out and About around Acton Depot The Museum Depot at Acton holds many of the London Transport Museum’s collections which are not on display in the main museum in Covent Garden. The Depot houses over 320,000 items of all types, including many original works of art used for the Museum’s celebrated poster collection, vehicles, signs, models, photographs, engineering drawings and uniforms. Together these form one of the most comprehensive and important records of urban transport anywhere in the world. The Depot’s main purpose is to act as a working museum store. It provides 6000 square metres of storage space in secure, environmentally controlled conditions. AEC Mercury Tower Wagon 1936 This vehicle, fleet No 89Q, is the only remaining pre-war tower wagon of twenty-two built for London Transport. These were specially made to provide mobile platforms for maintenance staff to access the overhead wiring of the tram and trolleybus systems. After the closure of the trolleybus system in the early 1960s it became a recovery vehicle in Worcester, and a crane replaced the tower. It was eventually purchased for preservation and after passing through several hands was acquired by the London Transport Museum. In 1992/93 it was completely restored using parts recovered from towers made by Eagle, the same firm that built the original. The vehicle is powered by a 4-cylinder petrol engine of similar design to those produced for contemporary buses. A fluid flywheel and pre-selector gearbox is provided for the transmission as this gives smooth control at slow speeds for manoeuvring under the wires. A power take-off from the gearbox can be engaged to raise or lower the tower. Eagle Engineering Co. Ltd. factory in 1921 The Eagle Engineering Company was formed in 1911, when it took over the Eagle Works in Saltisford, Warwick, formerly owned by William Glover and Sons, Wheelwrights and Implement manufacturers. It manufactured a variety of items, ranging from petrol engines to wireless sets, but the most important products were, and still are, trailers and specialised vehicle bodies, mostly for local sanitary authorities. Fordson industrial tractor. Fleet No 351X, registration number CUC 192 London Transport purchased thirteen Fordson industrial tractors between 1925 and 1937. They were adapted for use as shunters. This tractor was new in 1937. It was used to manoeuvre trams around the Central Repair Works at Charlton, where all heavy maintenance on London Transport trams was carried out. In 1960, it went to the British Transport collection at Clapham. There it was used to move the vehicles on display, before passing to the London Transport Museum in 1979. A1 Type Trolleybus 1931-1949 London United Tramways, which had first introduced electric tram services to London in 1901, was also responsible for bringing trolleybuses to the street of the capital thirty years later. Although these vehicles required an overhead electric power supply, they did not need tracks and were therefore more manoeuvrable than trams. Their design owed more to motor bus development, and the earliest LUT trolleybuses, built by AEC, were based on the Renown chassis used on the LT type. Trolleybus operation began on 16 May 1931 replacing trams between Twickenham and Teddington in the southwest suburbs. No 1 (HX 2756) is the very first London trolleybus and was in service from 1931 until September 1948. These early vehicles were nicknamed ‘Diddlers’ by the crews because, unlike trams, they could ‘diddle about’ through traffic. No 1 was brought out of retirement on the last day of London trolleybus operations, 8 May 1962, and made a ceremonial run over the original routes, which were the last to be converted to motor bus operation. Number built: 60 Motor: English Electric type DK 130A 80 hp Control Equipment: English Electric Body: Union Construction & Finance Co The Union Construction Company (UCC) was set up in 1901 and associated with Charles Yerkes, an American who was involved with the London Underground at that time. It was part of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (prior to the creation of London Transport in 1933) and was based at Feltham, Middlesex, England. The company stayed dormant until about 1925, and was then activated to renovate trains running on what is now the Central line, and following on from this, built new London Underground Standard Stock in 1927. It also began a major tram-rebuilding programme for the Metropolitan Electric Tramways (MET). It became a 'shell' company in 1929 and was renamed The Union & Finance Construction Co. Ltd. It then built some experimental tramcars for the MET in 1929 & 1930. These became the forerunners of a fleet of 100 double-deck tramcars for London United Tramways (LUT), and the MET. They became well known as the Feltham Tram. It also built 35 Class A1, and 25 Class A2 trolleybuses for LUT to replace trams in the Kingston area. These bore more than a passing resemblance to the 'Feltham' trams from the front. In 1933 the London Passenger Transport Board (better known as London Transport) was created by Act of Parliament. The Board was prohibited from directly manufacturing its own vehicles, leading to the demise of the UCC and the placing of all future orders with companies such as Metro-Cammell. General AEC Renown six-wheeler LT1076, GO 5198 The London General Omnibus Company (LGOC) first introduced 3-axle / 6-wheel vehicles in 1927 with the LS ('London Six') double-deckers. Produced by the Daimler / AEC combine, they were the first double-deckers with pneumatic tyres. There were two main potential advantages to the 6-wheel arrangement. Firstly, there was a legal restriction at the time on the permitted weight per axle, which meant that the increase to six wheels would allow a heavier, longer, and therefore larger capacity vehicle to be used. Secondly the two rear axles could both be driven by the engine, providing more traction. In August 1929 the prototype (LT1) of a double-deck AEC Renown 6-wheeler was delivered, proving to be the precursor of a large and successful batch of buses that eventually ran to over 1400 vehicles. There was a somewhat 'dated' air about the vehicle, with its outside staircase, but such features were to be modernised as batch delivery got under way and the designed evolved. Production vehicles started to arrive in 1930 and slipped into the deliveries were five batches of single-deckers, also known by the designation 'LT', although their technical classification was 'LTL'. The single-decker AEC Renown Model 664 was 29 feet 1 inch in length, with an 18ft 7in wheelbase, both measurements being slightly longer than their double-deck relatives. All seated thirty-five. Since the petrol engine was the same as installed in the double-deckers, but with the weight of the vehicle considerably less, the performance was quite sprightly. This resulted in them being christened 'Scooters' by their drivers. Three batches of single deck LTs were delivered for 'central area' work, in lots of 50, 85 and 64 respectively, with all the buses painted red. In 1932 a pair of green vehicles were purchased for use on LGOC's country routes (LT 1427 and 1428). This made a total of 201 buses and coaches, and the whole lot were transferred from the LGOC to London Transport on its formation on 1st July 1933. Lastly, a single private hire coach (LT 1429) was transferred directly from Hillmans to London Transport when its London operations were compulsorily acquired by LT in 1934. With a typical design life of ten years for a bus at that time, none of the vehicles were expected to be running past the mid-1940s, but the onset of war changed all that. Shortages of replacements resulted in buses all over the country being required to soldier on well past their expected lives, and a large proportion of the single and double-deck LTs were still running after the war. The ex-Hillmans private hire saloon had unfortunately succumbed to enemy action in 1940. Over the next few years, a process of body refurbishment took place, and 'Scooters' were converted from petrol engines to oil. Some of the discarded petrol engines were used to extend the lives of other pre-war London buses living on borrowed time. So, while the double deck LTs were being progressively retired (the last ones expiring at Upton Park garage in January 1950), their single-deck counterparts were having life-extensions while waiting for delivery of the RF class single-deckers that were to replace them. Two classic six wheelers pass in front of Kingston Bus Station on 18 February 1950. Kingston-based LT 1428 (GX 5338) on Route 213 Kingston-Sutton-Belmont passes trolleybus 1821 (HYM 821) on the 603 Tolworth to Tolworth via the 'Kingston Hill loop'. LT1101 (GO 7150) at Victoria Station. Allocated to Leyton depot, this bus is working route 10 which ran from far-off Abridge via Chigwell, Leytonstone, Bow, and London Bridge to Victoria Station. RTs were running this route by 1950, so it must be before that. It certainly appears to be in very good condition for a bus that was probably to be retired in a couple of years' time. Among the vehicles present was a Weymann-bodied Leyland Cub single deck motor bus, fleet No. C94, registration number CLE122 built in 1936. Leyland Cub buses were operated by a driver only. This made it suitable for routes with light traffic or those unsuitable for larger buses. A total of 97 of these small, reliable vehicles were purchased by London Transport. They had diesel engines and pneumatic doors. Originally, they were used in both the Central and Country areas, but the last examples were all confined to the Country. This bus, C94, had a long service life. It ran for twenty years from 1934 until it was sold in 1954. Auxiliary breakdown tender, fleet No 830J, registration number AXM649, built by Chalmers on a chassis from STL-type bus STL390 in 1950. Apart from buses, operators use many other vehicles in support of their services. Often standard commercial products are used, but it has always been common to adapt and re-use old fleet vehicles. Breakdown tenders were used to repair public transport vehicles that had broken down. Although breakdown vehicles were commercially available in the 1950s, London Transport also converted some of its older buses to fulfil the role. This vehicle was built from the chassis of a 1934 STL-type bus (STL390), after it was withdrawn from service in 1950. It was converted to run on oil in 1954. The TF was designed for the new Green Line express services to country towns such as Windsor in Berkshire, and Hitchin in Hertfordshire. A very advanced vehicle in its day. It has a stylish streamlined body shape and underfloor engine allowing more room for seats. When the Second World War broke out just weeks after the TF buses were introduced they were converted into ambulances, returning to public service in 1946. How stylish is this? The radiator cap is set in a London Transport roundel. London Transport Guy Special / ECW GS 64 (MXX 364) The Guy mascot, a classic masterpiece The Guy slogan "Feathers In Our Cap" became well known thanks to the Red Indian mascot that was fitted to almost every vehicle It all started with an advert on January 22nd, 1924, which pointed out some of the many repeat orders received at the works. The feathers in the advert reminded people of a Red Indian head dress, and so the mascot eventually appeared. The slogan was always and will always be associated with Guy Motors. 1956/7 - RM 2, SLT 57 London Transport's second AEC prototype Routemaster. After spending twelve years from late 1959 to early 1972 in London Transport's training fleet and ending up in very shabby condition when finally withdrawn, RM2 was subsequently repainted twice in as many years, but in very non-standard schemes. In 1976 RM2 was painted silver as the prototype for the fleet of twenty-five Queen's Silver Jubilee Routemasters which followed in 1977. Then in 1978, in advance of the 150th anniversary of the London omnibus in 1979, RM2 was repainted once again. RM 2 is seen here in its original shape at Kingston Station. It is in green livery on the South London country route 406. It carries RG garage plates. LT-type double deck motor bus number LT165, registration GK5323 from 1930 In the late 1920s the London General Omnibus Company required a larger bus which could carry more passengers. The law restricted the axle weight of vehicles, so a third axle allowed more passengers to be carried in a heavier bus. The Associated Equipment Company introduced a new range of chassis in 1929 which included the three axle Renown. This was eventually adopted by the LGOC as its standard bus between 1930 and 1932. The first 150 vehicles of this type were built with open staircases, but all subsequent builds were enclosed. They were a common sight during the Second World War. LT165 worked at nine different garages starting with Mortlake and was fitted with seven different bodies before ending service at Leyton garage on 29 August 1949. This one was restored in 1979 to its wartime appearance with blast-netting on the windows, shaded headlamps and white painted mudguards so it could be seen in blackout conditions during air raids. Leyland LB5. Chocolate Express fleet No B6 This brown bus operated by the Chocolate Express Omnibus Company between 1924 and 1934 highlights how not all London buses were red. It was one of many buses operated by smaller independent companies, known as ‘pirates’ before the unification of London buses when London Transport was founded in 1933. The handsaw attached to the cab roof was used to remove a person’s limbs if they had become trapped underneath and were in danger of bleeding to death before the bus could be lifted. I think having an arm or leg sawn off would make matters far worse as regards bleeding! I wonder if it was the driver or conductor’s job? T-type single deck motor coach number T219, registration GK 5486 from 1930 The T-type was introduced by the London General Omnibus Company in 1929 and was used for a wide range of services including Green Line, Country, Central area and private hire work. Such diversity meant that it was built in a very wide range of versions. T219 was one of thirty bought for Green Line services. Finlays shop kiosk from East Ham Underground station This beautiful shop kiosk sold tobacco and confectionary to passengers in East Ham Underground station from the mid-twentieth century until the mid-1990s. The inside of the kiosk is stained with nicotine showing that the people who worked in it were smokers too. Who remembers these two? Plenty of old ticket machines to see From the Elephant and Castle signal box This storage area has something old and something new. We’ve got an old ‘Underground’ illuminated box sign at the front, and a brand-new Elizabeth Line sign at the back. Station sign - A single sheet red disc with separate timber framed blue bar. An original from 1908. Manufactured by Chromo of Wolverhampton. Enamelled iron plate signs were the first permanent form of advertising poster. They are both waterproof, heatproof, easily washable, and are free from fading. In the late nineteenth century, and for much of the twentieth century they were produced in vast numbers. The process was developed by Benjamin Baugh in Birmingham and patented in 1859. He ran Salt’s Patent Enamel Works in Bradford Street, Birmingham. The company displayed several signs at the 1860 Trade Exhibition in London and produced signs for several prominent buildings. In 1889 he opened an enamel sign factory at Selly Oak, Birmingham, under the name of The Patent Enamel Company Limited. This was thought to be the world’s first dedicated enamel sign factory, but evidence has come to light which proves that the Chromographic Enamel Company Limited, at 531 Dudley Road, Wolverhampton, began producing signs three years earlier. The Chromographic Enamel Company Limited was founded in May 1886 in a rented factory on the corner of Dudley Road, and Frederick Street, Wolverhampton. Initially there were just six people working in the factory, but within twenty years the workforce had grown to around two hundred. Chromographic specialised in all kinds of enamelled iron plates and signs for many applications, including advertising, municipal signs, park notices, lavatory notices, tram notices, railway signs, railway station names, railway wagon plates, railway caution plates, street name plates, door number plates, cab fare plates, cabmen's badges, ships' door plates, hearth plates, stove linings, clock dials, pit notice plates, coal mine regulations plates, decorative plates for ceilings, walls, and grates, ornamental wrought iron with decorated plates for use as fire screens, ornamental wrought iron signs, skeleton letters, and enamelled iron reflectors and cones for gas and electric lighting. Many of the firm's products were sold throughout the world. By 1895 weekly deliveries were made to customers in New York. Orders were frequently received from Montreal, Holland, Germany, New Zealand, and India. One of the largest customers in New Zealand was the General Post Office which ordered all kinds of signs. In 1892 the company received an order for 450 gas engine plates from Stockholm, 1,500 plates for Messrs. Reckitts, and a large order from brewers in Nottingham. In 1898 the Thames Conservancy ordered 310 launch pass plates, 172 lock toll plates, and 3,000 private pleasure vessel plates. In the same year large numbers of crown plates and door plates were sold. Orders were also received from the railway signalling company Saxby and Farmer of London, for iron signal arms and plates. By their fifteenth year, orders from the UK and all over the world were flowing in, so much so that at times it was difficult to keep up with demand. Around 1900, the company purchased a second factory on the corner of Church Lane and Nelson Street, Wolverhampton. In September 1907 James Gibbons Limited expressed an interest in buying the Church Lane factory, which was sold to them in October 1907 for £250. By June 1906 Chromographic was extremely busy, so busy in fact that the company had to refuse an order for 1,000 plates per week. Another furnace was installed at Dudley Road in order to increase production, and Cannon Industries doubled their order for stove plates. On 19th July 1906 Chromographic purchased their Dudley Road site for £1,000. It had previously been rented. In the 1950s Chromographic was taken over by Fordham Pressings Limited, a near neighbour, based at Melbourne Works, 533 Dudley Road. Some of Fordham's products such as their sanitary fittings were enamelled, so Chromographic's expertise was most useful. Chromographic is listed in the 1962 edition of Kelly's Directory of Wolverhampton, but not in the 1964 edition. In that edition the site is listed as being occupied by Parnell Byards Limited, sheet metal workers. The factory was demolished in the early 1970s. The site is now occupied by part of the Currys store in St. Johns Retail Park. Canteen info There are racks full of station signs Old and new versions for Shoreditch London Underground R49-stock driving motor car No. 22679, 1952. The R-stock was commissioned between 1949 and 1959 and ran on the District line until 1983. It comprised 246 newly constructed cars, and 132 cars converted from 1938 Q-stock. Notable features include it being the first stock on the Underground with fluorescent lighting, and the fact that every car was equipped with traction motors. Car number 22679 was one of many constructed in aluminium alloy, which reduced the weight by 5.4 tons. It formed part of an experimental eight-car train left unpainted to save costs. London Underground 1938-tube stock driving motor car No. 11182, 1938. When it was introduced, the 1938-stock was the most advanced electric tube train in the world. All motors and electrical equipment were housed beneath the floor and despite experiments with streamlining the new trains were given flat fronts. Both these features allowed greater numbers of passengers to be carried in each car. The last 38-stock retired from service in 1988, six weeks short of 50 years service. This car travelled more than one million miles in its 40 years service on the Northern Line. The interior view LER 1927-Standard tube stock driving motor car No. 320 converted to pilot motor car number L134 in the 1960s. Car number 320 represents a generation of tube trains known as 'Standard stock'. They were built between 1923 and 1934. This car, later renumbered 3379, dates from 1927. The traction control equipment was housed behind the driver's cab and took up a lot of room. All Standard stock cars had air-powered doors instead of attendant-controlled gates at the ends. This greatly increased the speed passengers could board at stations. Standard stock were the principal trains on the Piccadilly and Central lines until the early 1960s. After withdrawal, it had its seating removed and was converted to pilot motor car number L134, in the service fleet. For this duty it was repainted in yellow livery. The opposite end Metropolitan Railway electric stock trailer carriage, 1904. This carriage is one of 30 built for the newly electrified Metropolitan Railway between 1904 and 1905. It is a third-class trailer car and the only survivor of its type. Serving on the Uxbridge branch, it would have formed part of a six-car train, with motor cars at either end. Many carriages like this were used for storage during the Second World War. This one was purchased from the army in 1985. Sadly, it suffered fire damage before it was transferred to the museum's collection in 1997. Four interior shots of 1927 Standard tube stock driving motor car number 3327 RF type The RF type was designed to replace the existing single deck fleet. It was based on AEC Regal IV chassis with Metro-Cammell bodywork. Between 1951 and 1953 700 were built for private hire, Green Line services, and Central and Country Area buses. Initially operated with conductors, they were later adapted for one person operation. The RF type was in service until 1979. RF537, originally a green country bus, was repainted red in 1956. It finished service at Kingston garage in June 1977. Adjoining it is London Transport Red Arrow MBA582 (reg. AML 582H), a 1969 AEC Merlin with Metro Cammell Weymann bodywork. Bristol LH BN61 London Country eventually had to find an RF replacement. The Bristol LH was a natural first choice, even though its specification did not match that of the bus it was replacing but at that stage there was little on offer in terms of traditionally sized single-decker buses. (This was before the Dart revolution). London Country's choice fell on the short, 26ft 5in long LH6S model, available in two widths: 7ft 6in and 8ft. They chose some of each. As these buses had four-speed synchromesh gearboxes rather than the pre-selectors that most crew members had been trained on further training was required. TSJ 61S (BN61) is one of the narrower BN class. Original plans had foreseen the wider BLs going to Northfleet for the Gravesend network of small-bus routes, but some lanes near Betsham were too narrow for the wider buses, which had gone to Amersham instead. Some BLs went to garages for type-training when new and were supplemented by three ex-Maidstone & District coaches. The first thirty BN buses made their first appearance in August 1974, and went to work on routes with narrow lanes, particularly in Kent, Surrey and Hertfordshire. They were allocated to Northfleet (NF), Chelsham (CM), Dunton Green (DG), Dorking (DS), Leatherhead (LH) and Hertford (HG). This first batch had a rear number-track blind like the BLs, and grey window seals. BN61 arrived in the autumn of 1977 and was sent to Northfleet as an extra. BNs 54-67 were grabbed by London Country when they became available, rather than being pre-ordered. It was not that London Country saw a continued niche for the raucous little monsters, but that they needed buses, any buses. British Leyland was busy doing away with the British bus industry, and few buses were available. The new batch lacked some London Country features, the most obvious being the rear route indicator. Inside the seats were covered in plastic rather than moquette. Rubber window surrounds were black rather than cream. Cab and interior views inside Q stock car 4416 Class E/1 double deck electric tram No 1025. Manufactured in 1910, this type of tram became the standard design operated by London County Council Tramways and the most common to run in London. It was in passenger service until 1952. Prototype Routemaster RM1 from 1954 RM1 is the first prototype for the Routemaster (RM), probably the most famous bus in the world. RM1 went through various design changes over the five years London Transport engineers developed and tested the vehicle before mass production began in 1958. The Routemaster has a sturdy lightweight aluminium body frame without a chassis and all parts are interchangeable. Braking and suspension systems were designed for optimum comfort. In service for nearly 50 years, many Routemasters are still operated privately today. Metropolitan Railway milk van from 1896 Steam trains running on the Metropolitan Railway would have a milk van coupled to the carriages. They were used to transport milk into London from farms in Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire being attached to fast passenger trains. It has wood panelling and the hand-painted Metropolitan Railway coat of arms. The car was ventilated to keep the milk fresh, and the suspension was modified to prevent it from turning to butter during the journey. More pics in the gallery Section 3: Odds and Ends below

Hi there folks, This week we have: Section 1: F2s from Aldershot, Crimond and Cowdie Section 2: In Out and About we have a look around Acton Depot. Section 3: Odds and Ends includes vehicles from W & J Riding’s fleet, and some early main line diesels. In Blackpool Transport we shine the spotlight on Brush railcoach 625. Section 1: F2 British Championship at Aldershot - Sunday 22nd May 2022 – 54 cars Welcome to Aldershot History was made as Brisca F2s made their debut at Spedeworth’s Aldershot Raceway for their big event. It made for a great day with a new venue for the formula, and a dry track in the bright sunshine. 54 cars were in the pits. Each driver competed in three out of seven heats to accumulate points for their grid position in the main race. Heat 1: 23 cars for this one with Harley Burns (992) moving quickly through the field. An incident in turn four saw Adam Pearce (460) on his side, and Jessica Smith (390) out with a broken wheel guard when running second. The race leader at the subsequent caution period was lone ’C’ grader Dan Baker (291). Upon the restart the 992 car jumped the start and pulled ahead by a huge margin. Paul Moss (979) had meeting ending damage in a crash in turn four as he was collected by David Shearing (564). Burns took the flag but was docked two places for his jump start. Matt Stoneman (127) inherited the win. Top 3: 127, 126, 992 Matt Stoneman Heat 2: 23 cars again with Leah Sealy (475) taking an early lead with Jamie Jones (915) giving chase. Charlie Guinchard (183) moved Gordon Moodie (7), the defending British Champ, aside as he moved forward. James Rygor (783), Josh Weare (736) and Liam Rennie (3) all came to grief preventing them getting a good score. Jones won from Sealy and Ben Bate (161). Top 3: 915, 475, 161 Jamie Jones Heat 3: The lower grades came to dominate this 22 car race. Connor Smith (900) and Baker set the pace until Tom Bennett (213) and Dan Roots (776) moved into the top two places. A great duel between Chris Burgoyne (647) and Luke Wrench (560) didn’t do them any favours as they lost time on the lead pack. When the chequered fell the first six home were all low graders. Top 3: 213, 776, 390 Tom Bennett Heat 4: 22 cars again and it was Harley Thackra (9) who won this one from Ayrton Mills (5) and Moodie. Burns retired in the early stages. Top 3: 9, 5, 7 Heat 5: A fifth different winner from the 21 cars that started. Smith (900) was off like a rocket from the front and was never headed. Wrench spun on lap one and failed to climb into the top ten by race end despite being the quickest on track. Bate tried in vain to close in on the leader but to no avail. Guinchy was the first star grader to make it into the top five. Top 3: 900, 161, 776 Connor Smith Heat 6: The 20 cars that gridded did not feature any from the ‘C’ grade. The caution flags flew early on for a tangle between Smith (390), Pearce, and Stu Moss (876). Burns and Rennie tangled in turn two as Shearing and Thackra hit the front. At the chequered it was Thackra who took the flag for his second victory. Euan Millar (629) shifted Mills for fourth place on the last bend. Top 3: 9, 564, 127 Heat 7: The largest field of the day with 24 cars to take the green flag. Bate and Richie Andrews (605) clouted the turn one fence as Smith (900) and Sealy set the pace up front. Yellow flags were waved to remove the Bate car. Soon after this another caution period followed when Josh Winch (611) was collected at speed by Jordon Thackra (324) after Thackra had tried to shift Steven Burgoyne (674) whose wheel guard was fouling his tyre. Jones had now moved to the top spot as Smith was forced to the infield by Rygor. Dropped oil made the track slippery which gave Wrench his chance to get into the lead which he held to the end. Top 3: 560, 783, 183 Luke Wrench British Championship: With the cars coming out in qualifying order the grid formed up with minimal delay. GRID: Inside Outside 127 915 183 776 9 7 542 126 213 783 900 161 5 629 618 251 560 988 35 475 667 564 226 647 302 291 606 184 728 3 The thirty contenders set off on two rolling laps. At the drop of the green chaos broke out on the exit of turn four with Bennett, Gilbert, and Jamie Avery (126) colliding with each other. Stoneman converted pole into an early lead, with the inside line proving advantageous. Guinchard soon reeled the 127 car in and pushed him aside to take the lead. Stoneman’s only chance to regain the top spot was to launch himself at the 183 back end immediately but he did not take it and from that moment on the chance of Guinchy losing the lead was very slim. By halfway 183 led from 127, 9, 7, 776 and 560. The second half of the race was fairly processional with only Moodie and Wrench advancing one position. Towards the rear of the field Jack Bunter (728) got involved in incidents with both Bate and Sealy. Guinchard took the victory to put the seal on his superb start to the season. Whilst the main race had not been anything special the whole day had been a huge positive for the promotion, for BriSCA, and for short oval racing in general. There were many calls for the F2s to return to Aldershot again in 2023. Result: 183, 127, 7, 9, 560, 776, 647, 3, 618, 629 The top three in the British Championship lined up for post-race checks Adrian Blackwell checks the 2022 British Champ's car over Crimond WCQR - Saturday 28th May 2022 – 20 cars Welcome to Crimond The track is on the site of Royal Navy Air Station Rattray, also known as Crimond Airfield A few buildings remain Part of the site is a grain store “Hello, Fit Like an Foo are ye dein” as they say here! It’s was a bit different at this meeting as racing was on Saturday instead of the regular Sunday. This weekend was a joint Scottish venture with GMP@Cowdenbeath. Following the tremendous success last year plans were made to repeat it for 2022. With both tracks holding their F2 WCQR meetings, and also having a title trophy race over the two days, helped to attract some visiting drivers who might not normally make the trip this far north. This year there was a ‘new’ old trophy, the BriSCA F2 Supreme Championship to compete for. The trophy was last raced for at the Crewe track in 1990 and was won by Rob Speak (218). Why it was not raced for again is unsure as is the whereabouts of the trophy that was first run in 1969 at Bristol and won by Ron Innocent (712). When BriSCA decided to resurrect the championship Crispen Rosevear of Autospeed researched the history of the championship, found a photo of the trophy and supplied the names of all the winners from 1969 to 1990. These were passed to Crimond’s trophy man who found a replacement trophy and has engraved all the winners onto it. A decent showing of six English visitors were tempted by the Scottish double-header, the furthest travelled being Charlie Guinchard (183) Craig Driscoll (251) made his return having enjoyed previous success here Jamie Jones (915) was at this far northern outpost for the second successive year Other visitors included: Young gun Harley Burns (992) Jonathan Hadfield (142) and a surprise tarmac outing for Dave Polley (38) A very cold and windy day saw rain fall later in the meeting making tyre choice tricky. Unusually there were no ‘C’ grade drivers present. Jones won both heats, and with a third place in the Final ended his day as top points scorer. The Final did not last long until a caution flag flew for Craig Wallace who had spun in the first turn and ended up facing the wrong way. The restart saw 915 lead the field away. Shortly after Polley retired with a puncture. Local hopes came to nothing as Ryan Farquhar (419) and Robbie Dawson (854) collided which left Dawson embedded in the tyre wall on the back straight. Gordon Moodie (7) was making inroads to the front and took the lead with five to go. He held the position to win the BriSCA Supreme Trophy from Guinchard and Jones. A back of the grid line-up The Final did not last long until a caution flag flew for Craig Wallace who had spun in the first turn and ended up facing the wrong way. The restart saw 915 lead the field away. Shortly after Polley retired with a puncture. Local hopes came to nothing as Ryan Farquhar (419) and Robbie Dawson (854) collided which left Dawson embedded in the tyre wall on the back straight. Gordon Moodie (7) was making inroads to the front and took the lead with five to go. He held the position to win the BriSCA Supreme Trophy from Guinchard and Jones. The 7 car at post-race checks GN winner Ryan Farquhar (419) Top 3 results: Ht.1: 915, 419, 7 Ht.2: 915, 419, 512 Final: 7, 183, 915 GN: 419, 992, 647 Cowdenbeath WCQR - Sunday 29th May 2022 – 26 cars The BriSCA F2 rulebook does indicate that all tracks must wherever possible try to run a full-BriSCA format (Two heats, Consolation and Final) or a two from three format, so the promotion were hopeful of achieving this with the increase in car numbers. As it turned out it was a 2/3 format that was employed. The Final was for the inaugural staging of the Jim Clark Trophy. He was of course one of the greatest, if not the greatest, British single seater motor racing driver and made his race debut at the Crimond circuit on 16th June 1956. A great place to spend some time is the Jim Clark Museum in Duns which provides a fitting tribute to the legendary racer. Each of those who had travelled to the previous day’s Crimond meeting ensured there was double value for the trip north to Scotland. Gary Walker (821) increased the English contingent to seven. After an absence of a couple of seasons Colin Forbes (202) made a return to the track although he was unlucky to suffer mechanical troubles for the afternoon. Jason Blacklock (512) was one of several drivers across the UK still under the pretence of being some kind of points champion with an all-silver roof. Chris Burgoyne did some demonstration laps pre-meeting in the F1 he was using the following weekend Paul Reid (17) won Heat 3 A complete re-start was required for the Final after cars came to grief at both ends of the track. The second start saw Gordon Moodie (7) out of the race after being sent to the wall by Charlie Guinchard (183). This was payback from an earlier race which had Guinchy on the receiving end of a hit from the 7 front bumper. The star and superstar drivers were having a fine battle which allowed 915 and 512 to eke out a gap at the front. Chris Burgoyne (647) broke clear to give chase to the leading duo but in the closing laps mechanical problems dropped him down the field. Jamie Jones (915) completed an excellent weekend with a Heat and Final double to end up as the top scorer in the World Qualifying points for the second day in a row. Top 3 results: Ht.1: 7, 647, 629 Ht.2: 915, 629, 992 Ht.3: 17, 915, 652 Final: 915, 512, 629 GN: 512, 3, 647 More pics in the gallery Section 2: Out and About below

See above for section 2: Out and About Section 3. Odds and Ends/Miscellaneous: Ok, let us see what’s in the Odds and Ends box this week: Returning from a Taunton F2 meeting I was very lucky to come across this combination close to junction 25 of the M5 The stunning 8yr old Elena May – A Merc Actros from Weston-super-Mare based JJP Heavy Haulage With the King tri-axle low loader trailer she has just picked up a participant from a steam rally at Norton Fitzwarren ‘Gigantic’ is a McLaren road locomotive built in 1912 for the War Department ‘Gigantic’ lets off steam. She’s alive I tell you! Three railway pics next: On the 7th June 66059 heads the 10:34 Corby-Margam empty BLA and JSA coil wagons at Pencoed on the South Wales main line. A recent addition to this train is a head load of five SSA wagons containing scrap pipes destined for Tata’s Port Talbot steelworks. (Pic credit to Stephen Miles) The Green World of Ribblehead. Having run around its train at Blea Moor, GBRf 66796 The Green Progressor heads across Ribblehead Viaduct on 13th July with the 11:25 Arcow Quarry-Pendleton loaded with aggregates (Pic credit to Chris Powell) The ‘mecanicien’ looks on in dismay as the water crane attendant rather overdoes the watering of an SNCF 141TC at the Gare du Nord in mid-1969 (Pic credit to David Walker) Blackpool Transport Spot This week we’ll have a look at advert liveries: Advert liveries were introduced onto the tram fleet in 1975 and were expertly hand painted by signwriter Bryan Hamer and his assistants until 2004 when vinyl adverts took over following Bryan’s retirement. Between 1975 and the end of the traditional tramway operations in 2011 there were almost 200 all over adverts, many of which were classics and are still fondly remembered today. However, although thousands of photographs of these advert cars were taken out on the tramway over the years, what was much less recorded was the process, and the “half finished” adverts. Base colours were always applied by the coach painters in the Paint Shop, before Bryan worked his magic to complete the finished design. What follows is a selection of images of partly completed advert liveries. The man himself, Bryan Hamer, makes a start on the signwriting for the ‘Leonard Cheshire’” advert livery on car 680 inside Rigby Road depot during 1998. Balloon 721 leaves the Paint Shop in the base colours for its ‘Michelin’ advert livery in 1998. In March 2000 Balloon 704 sits on the depot fan in a black and yellow base coat for its second advert livery for the ‘Eclipse’ show at the Pleasure Beach. Brush car 622 is seen in the depot on 3/8/2006 in the base colours of its new advert for ‘Pontins’, awaiting the application of vinyls. Brush car 626 is seen outside the depot with a partially applied vinyl for ‘Blackpool Zoo’ – 18/6/2005. Jubilee 762 at the back of the depot in 2009 receiving a new vinyl wrap for ‘re-Blackpool.com’. 19/6/2007 - 630 receives a new vinyl livery for ‘Starr Gate Go Karts’. Orange vinyl applied to Jubilee 761 in July 2008 in readiness for its ‘Wynsors’ advert livery which is still carried today. That’s it folks for this week. Next time: Some more F2 action, plus a look around one of the most comprehensive collections of urban transport items anywhere in the world. It is situated alongside here if you know this location:

See above for section 1: F2's Section 2. Out and About: We’ll make tracks now up the M5, M6 and M62 to the Pennines in West Yorkshire. We’ve come to have a walk inside Baitings Reservoir. This is a large water supply reservoir operated by Yorkshire Water between Rochdale and Huddersfield close to Ripponden. It lies in the River Ryburn valley and was constructed in 1956 to supply Wakefield with water. Wakefield Corporation Waterworks started impounding the valley of the River Ryburn in the 1930s with a first reservoir (Ryburn) being completed in 1933. Construction of Baitings took place 20 years later. The reservoir takes the name of the hamlet nearby. The reservoir under construction: The hamlet of Baitings, whose name derives from the Old Norse of Beit (pasture) and Eng (meadow), was on an old road linking Yorkshire and Lancashire. The side-by-side view shows the area pre and post reservoir construction. Baitings Bridge on the map is the original and is usually under water. The new bridge follows a slightly straighter line over the water as on the right-hand pic. The reservoir covers 59 acres, and when it is full holds over 113,000,000 cubic feet (3,190,000 m3) of water. The full reservoir The back side of the dam Two views looking down from the top of the dam wall The new bridge at the far end just above the water Owing to the extreme heat this summer, water in reservoirs, streams and rivers had dropped dramatically exposing things that are usually hidden from view. I took this pic in October from the top of the dam. The water level is usually up to the tree-line on the right. Join me now as we look around the reservoir to see what clues from the past remain that are normally hidden in the depths. The curved dam wall is now exposed. Slats have been built into the top of the dam for when the water level rises to the very top to provide for an overflow. Measurements in feet These gateposts to a long-gone field still remain The wall is still visible leading away from one of the gate posts Even fossils in the rocks can be spotted On the old map a footbridge is shown crossing the valley Is this the outline of the path to it? Fence posts at the end of the path Further along is this wide trackway that originally went down to the river The 1937 map shows a lane leading to this point As we get to the far end the best bit emerges. An old packhorse bridge. This was on Baitings Gate Road, a packhorse route through the Pennines that linked Yorkshire and Lancashire, and the centuries-old bridge has been exposed by this year's dry summer. The new bridge was built when the valley was flooded. It towers over the wonderful old one behind. It’s amazing to think that the water is usually to the very top of this new bridge When full only the road is visible Looking from the new bridge shows how big the area is up to the tree-line that is normally under water A great vantage point to view the centuries-old packhorse bridge below. In the very bottom of the reservoir close up to the bridge. A testament to how it was built as it’s still standing and solid. The eight stones (one arrowed) protruding from the inner face of the bridge were the supports for the wooden arched framework that was used in the construction. A mason’s mark arrowed The disused Baitings Gate Road Old and new side by side Many years ago a coach crosses the old bridge with the new one still under construction behind The same view in 2022 Half a rainbow illuminates the scene These sluice gates were also revealed. They were used to hold the River Ryburn back when constructing Ryburn Reservoir in 1933 The arrows on the side by side images show the position of the sluice gates before and after Baitings Reservoir was completed. The feeder from a tunnel which connects reservoirs in valleys to the north with Baitings to allow for the transfer of water. Manshead Tunnel is 8,000 feet (2,400 m) long. The tunnel entrance is in quite an isolated position in the hills above Mytholmroyd, near Hebden Bridge. It was built back in the early sixties by the Wakefield & District Water Board to divert water from Turvin Clough and the adjacent moorland to the reservoir. In 1961, one man was killed and 3 injured by an explosion whilst the tunnel was being constructed. Cutting through 1,140 feet high Manshead Hill was completed when the Mayor of Wakefield, Alderman Nathan Hutchinson J.P. fired the two final charges to complete the tunnel. 24 men worked day and night cutting the tunnel, often waist deep in water. The conditions were very difficult, but the men cheered as they were congratulated by the Mayor. The bogey truck which took him 4,000 feet into the tunnel came off the track on the return journey, so Mr Hutchinson had to splash through the water which flowed through the tunnel. The tunnel ensures an adequate water supply to the people of Wakefield and the surrounding area. 21st August 1962 Workers cheering and shaking the Mayor's hand after firing the final charge Clay Clough in the centre of this map was a tree lined water course that entered the Ryburn valley Here are the remains of those trees Lots of pieces of pottery around Plenty of bricks too. Here’s one from the Huddersfield Brick Works which were on Hillhouse Lane, and at Birchenclough There were a few broken pieces from Greenwood’s littering the bottom of the reservoir too. In 1881 George Greenwood was brickmaking at New Bank. By 1908 it became George Greenwood & Sons, Builders Merchants, of New Brunswick Street, Halifax. This company came to own: Beacon Hill Brick Works (formerly Oates & Green), and Swan Bank Colliery and Brickworks, together with several quarries. They were still active in the mid-1930s. The quarrying of sandstone has always been of great value to the economy of the Huddersfield district. Coarse sandstone was shaped into millstones used for grinding corn. The value of the rock depends upon how it is bedded and jointed. The best stone has massive bedding, with blocks 7 to 10 feet thick, and is called freestone because stone masons can work it in any direction. Sandstones in beds 12 – 18 inches thick can also be used as building stone. The best local freestones are the Elland Flags, Greenmoor, Grenoside and Rough Rock sandstones. Irregularly bedded rocks are used as wall stones, and rocks with bedding closer than 2 inches are ideal for flags. The earliest quarries produced stone for local use only, due to the high cost of transport. The enclosure of fields in the late 18th century created a demand for stone walls. Quarrying for flagstones – Although much of this stone would have come from clearing the fields small quarries would also have provided stone for local buildings and flagstones for tracks and paths. The 1854 Ordnance Survey maps show hundreds of sandstone and flag quarries, called delve-holes (or delph-holes), throughout this district. Longwood Edge had 2 or 3 separate companies working from the 1880s until the 1920s. Crosland Hill quarries became increasingly important in the early part of the 20th century, and in 1937 Johnsons Wellfield advertised itself as having 11 different quarries that covered a large area and produced stone for a variety of different purposes. Bingley Quarry, at Holmbridge, was worked by F. Marsden and Sons. Low Edge quarry produced magnum for at least 20 years from 1881, and the neighbouring Alison Quarry was opened to produce stone to build walls and banks for nearby Digley dam. The Elland Flags were of such excellent quality at Fartown and Fixby, that they were quarried and mined throughout the 19th century as well as further north, towards Halifax. The photograph was taken at the bottom of a shaft at Carr Green as the men attached chains to a large stone block in readiness for it being raised to the surface. The blocks would be transported by rail from the site such as these from Southages. These quarries would have employed a large number of quarrymen with specific tasks. Delvers, who started the process, were skilled in removing stone from the various beds. Under their direction labourers used picks, wedges and crowbars in the quarry. Large blocks were split using plugs and feathers. A straight line (or race) of 2 feet deep holes were drilled into the rock. Feathers are metal flanges which fit into the hole, and then a metal wedge (or plug) was gradually knocked into each hole so that the pairs of feathers were widened by a series of mallet blows. The rock then split along the line of tension. This process is still in use today. Delvers Steam cranes often fired by local coal from thin coal seams nearby, were used to lift large blocks of stone. A stiff-leg derrick crane at Carr Green which was used to haul large blocks of stone from the bottom of the shafts. This crane consisted of an upright mast with a boom or jib from which the steel cable was lowered or raised from the shaft by means of the winding gear. This was powered by a steam engine housed in what looked like a large garden shed. Two ‘stiff-legs’ or ‘back-stays’ were made from timber and were secured to the top of the mast whilst the base of each leg was fastened to a huge stone block. These blocks were then surrounded by other large stones to increase the weight and give additional stability to the whole structure. It was designed to stop the crane from tipping over when lifting heavy loads. As you can see from the photograph, this didn’t always go to plan and on this occasion the crane toppled forwards due to the weight of the lift and the failure of one of the stiff-legs. One of the legs smashed through the roof of the engine house and no doubt, work was delayed for a few days until the crane could be secured back into position. Simple devices have been used, since the Roman era, to hold and lift stone blocks. A ‘lewis’ has a pair of half-round legs that grip the sides of a drilled hole. When the lifting ring is raised, an angled pull on each leg creates a secure hold. Iron lifting tongs, like over-size scissors, and chain dogs that are J-shaped hooks joined by a length of chain, grip a stone block using dog holes roughly chiselled into two opposite faces. In Huddersfield town centre, between the George Hotel and the railway bridge, the retaining wall is pockmarked with dog-holes. These lifting devices enabled the masons to place any stone block directly into its mortar bed, with the underside clear of ropes and slings. The ‘lewis’, tongs and chain dogs are still used by masons today to handle masonry blocks. Banker (or bench) masons worked at the quarries and shaped the stone as required. Most building stone was pitched with pitching chisels and a hammer that left a squared-off block with a rough surface. Better quality stone was dressed and finished (with a fine chisel and mallet) like ashlar, with tooling marks (on average 8 per inch) leaving fine lines on the stone. Dressers, who were skilled stone masons, shaped and dressed stone to produce sills, headers and lintels. The finest sandstone was cut by sawyers operating sawing frames. Next, planers finished the stone to produce ashlar blocks. Gate posts, wall-stone, lintels and mullions often have a variety of tooled surfaces, devised by the masons for decoration. Quarrymen sometimes came across marestones which are large balls of soft yellow, brown or red sand and clay. Sandstone containing marestone was worthless, but the marestone itself could be manufactured into donkey blocks which were used to colour the edges of doorsteps. Marestone from Cook’s Study quarry above Holmfirth was cut and used locally, or sent to Lancashire to be mixed with cement to make donkeystone blocks. With increasing use of artificial building materials demand for stone decreased, resulting in smaller quarries closing in the 1930s and 1940s. However, quarries are still working on Cartworth Moor, Crosland Hill and in the Shepley area. Ganister, a pure quartz-rich sandstone, has also been important in this district. It was used to make refractory bricks for lining steel furnaces and was widely quarried. The Chain quarries between Marsden and Meltham, and the large Royd Edge Quarry above Meltham, produced ganister for the Meltham Fire Clay Company. The ganister was ground down for fire-bricks at the company’s works near the old Meltham railway station. It employed 300 people but closed in the 1970s, when the easily worked ganister in the quarries became exhausted. Brick manufacturers and many collieries exploited the Coal Measure shales associated with the coal seams, to make bricks for their own use and local sale. The 1884 directory for Huddersfield lists brick makers at Lower Cumberworth, Fieldhouse (Fartown), Thurstonland, Kilner Bank (Dalton) and Hazelhead (Crow Edge). By 1909 the most important brick manufacturer was the Huddersfield Brick and Tile Co. at Birchencliffe and Hillhouse Lane, Fartown (where they used glacial clay). Elliott’s Bricks of Kirkheaton made high quality domestic bricks in a variety of colours and finishes using the shales below the Grenoside sandstones mixed with other shales from various quarries. Today, shales are extracted at Crow Edge and Shepley for pipe manufacture by Hepworth plc. Finally, we finish our Baitings explore with a gruesome story from an earlier low water level: Laurence Winstanley was shot in the head after having been partly burned and mutilated His body was found in Baitings Dam, just off the A58, wrapped up in a curtain and weighed down with a pick-axe head about a year after he vanished on 26 September 1989. At the time his body was found the water level in the dam had been unusually low due to the hot summer. At the time of his murder the police said that they thought that it was a targeted gangland execution and said that they thought that more than one person had been involved. The police said that it appeared that an attempt had been made to burn his body. He had lived in Ogden, Rochdale with his family but had previously lived in Cliff Hill Road in Shaw, Oldham the previous year. He was a part-time car dealer and car mechanic with his own garage, New Start Autos, in Sholver, Oldham. On the night that he vanished he had been out to a local pub, The Windsor, where it was heard that he received a telephone call that seemed to worry him. After that it was heard that he went off to his mother's house in Shaw which was a few minutes away, but that the journey took him over an hour. The police said that they were interested in finding out what he did during that hour. After visiting his mother, he then went back to the pub for a while but was never seen again. No one was sure what time he left after his return. Two days after Laurence Winstanley vanished, on 4 October 1988, a man giving the name of Burrows took Winstanley's red Ford Cortina estate car, registration number SAT 385W, to a scrap yard in Milnrow, Oldham, but the man was never traced. It was noted that Winstanley had recently bought the car for £350 and had been planning to sell it for £800 and so wouldn't have scrapped it. During their investigation, the police raided several homes in Rochdale and Littleborough in January 1990 and a man was questioned, but no arrests were made. Section 3: Odds and Ends/Miscellaneous follows below:

Hi there folks, Welcome back to another off season. As in previous years there’ll be a varied mix of things and places to have a look at. I'll do it in three sections: 1. F2 meetings 2. Out and About 3. Odds and Ends/Miscellaneous Section 1. F2's We start this week with a trip to the south-west for some early season F2 meetings, then head north to West Yorkshire to see what had been revealed by the drop in the water level during the summer at one of the many reservoirs in the area. Following this we’ll see what we can find in the Odds and Ends box before finishing with a look at the Blackpool Transport scene. Ok, let’s get going and head for Taunton. Taunton – Sunday 20th March 2022 The opening meeting of the new national season at Smeatharpe took place under clear blue skies with a very healthy turnout of both drivers and fans. SDH Transport had four DAF tractor units present in grade colours. Matt Stoneman's new RCE Lauren Stack's WRC Rebecca Smith Jessica Smith Junior Buster's new one Pre-meeting photo-shoot for the female young guns The DAFs joined in with the Grand Parade 40 cars raced in a two heat format with Dave Sansom (352) leading from flag to flag in the first 19 car race. Top 3: 352 542 27 The Semtex Kid took a victory lap on one of the DAFs Adam Pearce broke free from the 21 car field to win the second heat. Star grader Ben Borthwick (418) retired from this one after a tangle with Rebecca Smith (931). Top 3: 460 127 184 A 20 car field took to the track for the Consolation. Daz Purdy (259) led the opening stages until he spun around entering the back straight and was run into by two following cars who all hooked together. Harrison Bryant (91) took up the running, with a great battle for second place behind between Paul Moss (979) and Julian Coombes (828). Dave Simpson (208) spun in turn two right across the path of Moss who retired to the infield thumping his steering wheel in frustration. Coombes was then joined by Borthwick and Jessica Smith (390). Whilst Bryant secured the win, it was Borthwick who eventually came out on top for second with Smith following him home for an excellent third place. Top 3: 91 418 390 Dave Simpson's car took a hit to the side Hard up against the cab side The Final featured 28 out of the possible 30 starters and was soon brought under caution when Matt Stoneman (127) found himself turned around against the plating facing the oncoming traffic approaching at speed on the home straight. On the restart Sansom nipped past Matt Hatch (320) to claim the lead, but it was clear that 2013 World Champion James Rygor (783) was the fastest car on track and was slowly closing on the leader. As the last lap board was shown Rygor was within striking distance and heading into turn three he connected with Sansom’s rear bumper with sufficient force to move the yellow grader wide without taking either of them towards the fence. Rygor then had the line to snatch the lead on the drag race to the chequered flag, Sansom ruing his misfortune to lose the lead of a Final on the last bend. Top 3: 783 352 542 James Rygor won the MDP Services Trophy for the 3rd time The 28 car GN took place on a track that had become slippery after an earlier Banger race. Chaos reigned from the off within the star graders as they entered the home straight. Chris Mikulla (522) was sent into a spin with the car bouncing into the air as he tangled with Kieren Bradford (27), with Borthwick and Joe Marquand (789) also being caught up, the latter ramming the infield marker tyres at the end of the home straight. Sansom had again hit the front but for a time the race appeared to be a mirror of the Final, the time the chasing star grader was Stoneman. However, with the lack of grip Sansom looked to be the quicker of the two round the pit bend whilst Stoneman seemed to be able to close in at the Honiton bend. With his progress stalling, Stoneman had to make do with the runner spot behind Sansom to conclude a fine afternoon’s racing for the formula. Top 3: 352 127 736 Bristol – Easter Sunday 17th April 2022 This meeting was the traditional Easter Sunday F2 World Qualifying round. In addition to the local (and not so local… Cornwall is still 3hrs away) south-west drivers, there was a good showing of English drivers from the East and the North-West, together with a duo of Scotsmen. Gordon Moodie(7), a heat winner the previous evening at Cowdie was joined by Liam Rennie (3). Rob Mitchell (905), Aaron Vaight (184) and Phil Mann (53) came down from their bases north of the M62, while Jessica Smith (390) trekked across country from Essex, and Andrew Palmer (606) from Peterborough. Two good looking cars from Mark Gibbs, and Neil Hooper A Mercedes Arocs 3246LS from Plant Speed Fitted with a Fassi F545 crane The 37 cars present were split into two heats as they worked to qualify for the Gerry Dommett Trophy. Heats 1 & 2 were won by Tommy Farrell (667) and Gordon Moodie respectively. Harley Burns (992) made short work of the Consi as the lone red top, leading before halfway and taking a dominant win. Marc Rowe (526) led the opening half of the Final, underlining his current turn of speed. An early caution was required for medical attention to Tommy Farrell after a major coming together on the back straight. He was removed from the track by the medics in attendance, but to everyone’s relief was seen walking back to his transporter later in the meeting. Liam Rennie took up the running just after halfway in his stunning new car, but that lead was short lived as Steven Gilbert (542) muscled his way past with 7 to go. The top five places remained static for the remainder of the race as a red top benefit. Top 3: 542 783 3 The triumphant Gilbert team. Peter ‘The Undertaker’ Gilbert on the left almost cracking a smile! With a virtual carbon copy front end to the damaged 667 car the Jack Cave (801) team start the repairs. Marc Rowe finished the meeting with some reward for his turn of the speed on the day, taking third place in a lower-grade dominated GN behind Harrison Bryant (91) and Dan Kent (976) Taunton – Easter Monday 18th April 2022 Just three days on from the Good Friday evening fixture here the F2’s were back again. A couple of extras that were not there on the Friday were Andrew Palmer (606) and Harley Burns (992). The eventual 37 car entry at the end of a busy weekend was most welcome. A new one for Ben Spence The colour grey for Adam Pearce Heat 1: The opening stages saw Jack Prosser (844) and Daz Purdy (259) tangle on turn four with them both continuing to collide down the home straight. Prosser then spun and was collected by Harrison Bryant (91). Dave Sansom (352) had built up a big lead by the drop of the chequered. Behind, Steven Gilbert (542) went for an attack on Dale Moon (302) for second, but Moon was able to ride out the hit to maintain his position. Top 3: 352 302 783 Heat 2: The second heat required a full restart after chaos broke out on the home straight as Jamie Jones (915) clambered on top of a couple of low graders. Josh Weare (736) also got involved and as the chasing pack went in all directions to avoid the incident Richard Swales (162) was turned around and collected by the pack behind. That caused significant damage to the car and Swales exited the cab heavily winded. When the race got back underway Leah-Nicole Sealy (475), in only her second F2 meeting, drove a controlled race to take her maiden win. She had only made her debut three days prior on Good Friday. The teenager’s achievement was warmly recognised by the crowd. Top 3: 475 915 127 Consolation: As the race began a heavy rain shower passed overhead and as such the drivers struggled for grip having started the race with dry race set-ups. Bryant was the early leader but as he entered the second half of the race the back marking traffic proved an insurmountable obstacle and eventually Ben Goddard (895) found a way past for the win. Top 3: 895 91 53 Final: The Final saw the track mainly dry although very greasy on the outside line. 29 of the 30 qualifiers gridded. Sealy spun out early on but she was in good company as a large pile-up developed between turns three and four claiming Burns, James Rygor (783) and Matt Stoneman (127) amongst them. Charlie Lobb (988) navigated his way to the front managing to avoid a spirited last bend lunge by Paul Rice (890). Lobb had also won the Final at the Good Friday meeting here. Top 3: 988 890 542 GN: 28 cars took to the grid and once again Sansom headed the field, but he had Rygor closing in. The pit bend was proving difficult to navigate with a number of stationary cars scattered around. The pivotal moment came as Rygor looked to be within striking distance but lost grip and headed into the group of stranded cars and out of the race. An untroubled Sansom cruised home for the victory. Top 3: 352 542 127 St Day – Sunday 1st May 2022 At the United Downs Raceway new grades were in force. The headline changes affecting West Country drivers centred on Dave Sansom (352) and Charlie Lobb (988). A Good Friday Final win at Smeatharpe was enough to propel Lobb to red for the first time. This was Sansom's first appearance in the star grade since the summer of 1994. A Good Friday Final win at Smeatharpe was enough to propel Lobb to red for the first time. A couple who had fallen down the grades were Ben Borthwick (418) down amongst the blues, and a drop to yellow for Ben Goddard (895). Welcome regular visitors from the north-west were Phil Mann (53), and Aaron Vaight (184) who won the Final at the opening St Day meeting back in February. 26 cars turned out in pretty wet conditions. Borthwick and Paul Moss (979) won the opening two heats, with Borthwick looking odds on to win the third until an unforced spin left Steven Gilbert (542) to take the victory. The Final saw a chaotic opening half with cars spinning and tangling at various points around the raceway. Paul Rice (890) benefitted from a mid-race stoppage, after which he launched a charge for the lead. Rice went on to win from Joe Marquand (689) and Aaron Vaight. James Rygor (783) won the GN. Results top 3’s: Heat 1 418 979 542 Heat 2 979 35 689 Heat 3 542 352 184 Final 890 689 184 GN 783 689 35 Bristol – Bank Holiday Monday 2nd May 2022 The latest masterpiece from the Wrench workshops made its debut at this meeting. Luke had the help of Jon Palmer (24) for the day Shane Hector was in the much older WRC#18 Daz Purdy 13 cars took the green flag for the first heat, but after two complete restarts there were just eight runners left with Paul Moss (979) taking up an unassailable lead. Top 3: 979 895 542 Moss is too far ahead for the others to catch him in the second heat. Top 3: 979 783 542 The third looks like a shootout between James Rygor (783) and the returning Luke Wrench (560) until the former National Series Champion’s new car suffers mechanical woes leaving the 2013 World Champion to claim the chequered flag. Top 3: 783 976 127 A pile-up in the Final sees an early stoppage. The restart does not get much further before another yellow flag is needed this time for Josh Weare (736) in the turnstile bend plating. As the race finally builds to its conclusion Rygor forces his way past Moss to take top honours. Moss and Matt Stoneman (127) round out the top three. Stoneman wins the GN. Top 3: 127 542 560 Section 2. Out and About follows below:

Pics in the gallery folks

Final Focus: 132 leads away. A big pile up in turn 2 starts the race off on the opener. 219 and 343 crash out in turn 1. 84 and 318 are carving through the field. The engine note of these two sounding superb. 195 stopped on the exit of turn 2 gets collected by 568. All ok. Caution for stranded cars. 318 fires it up the inside of 84 on the restart. 84 sends 16 sideways through turn 3. 350, 161 and 37 come to grief in turn 1. Caution flags. The restart sees a spectacular turn 1 battle with 8, 16, 84 and 318 all going for the same piece of track. Tom comes out first, with Speaky last! 68 and 324 clash exiting turn 1. 132 is in the lead. 175 fires 392 hard into turn 3. 84 now in 2nd. 5 to go has the Hitman in to the top spot. The last lap sees 8 go for a big last bender on 132, but she bounces off and lays a big smokescreen as she recovers from the ensuing spin. That's it for this year folks. Have a good winter everyone. Back from the King's Lynn 2023 season opener. In the meantime join me for the Off Season out and abouts which return next week 👍

Heat Three Happenings: 86 leads away. The opening lap sees 84 give 318 a hurry up hit into turn 1. Rob takes on 16 into turn 3. 68, 16 battle with 318 through turn 1 next time around. 536 is leading. With 1 to go 381 puts a top class move on 536 entering turn 1 with a super hit to the back corner which spins Ben out mid-turn. Tyrone takes the win 👍

Heat Two Happenings: 132 leads away. 560 and 526 spin out in turn 3. 21 moves through the field with good use of the front end. 43 goes around in turn 4. 536 has set sail up front for the win.

Pit News: 84 - Tom checking out the distributor cap and leads. 68 - Left rear links bent and shocker u/s. H6 (326) - Prop-shaft removed.

Heat One Happenings: 132 leads away. 532, 68 and H6 crash out in turn 3. 172 and 298 tangle in turn 1. 226 runs in the back. 157 pots 324 into the stationary turn 3 cars. Caution. 132 heads the restart. 84 up to third at this early stage of the race. 318 fires 175 into turn 3. 84 takes the lead from 132. As Tom takes the win 219 hits a backstraight infield marker tyre and comes to an abrupt stop.

Pit News: 350 - Porta power on the right rear corner. 489 - Front right corner cut off and right nerf rail bent up. 8 - Welding front right corner. Shocker top mount sheared off.

U25 Race Re-Cap: 489 leads away. 8, 350 and 343 get clattered into the turn 2 fence on lap 1. Caution to remove the cars. The restart sees 381 ride the kerb into turn 1 to take the lead from 489. 555 pulls off with a flat right rear. 147 and 132 put a combined hit in on 489 who whacks the turn 2 fence and remains there. 381 and 368 have broken clear up front. 20 hold off a fast charging 124 for a number of laps. The 124's rear left brake disc glowing. 381 has pulled away from 368 until with 2 to go the left rear tyre lets go putting Tyrone into a spin into turn 1. Callum takes the flag from 124 who makes a heroic try at a last bender but is way, way back and drifts wide through the turn.

Welcome to Skegness folks BTCC Race Re-call: 389 leads away. 326 and 544 tangle on the inside of the backstraight and remain there. 524 now leads. 47 piles 389 into turn 3, followed by 73 in turn 1. 73 tried a comeback hit but just missed. With 3 to go 47 catches 524 and hits him wide in turn 1 and heads for the chequered. All the lads had good speed and it would have been great to see them race the whole meeting.

Pics in the gallery folks

HS Summary: 136 leads away. 289 scatters the tyres along the backstraight on the opening lap. 345 rides up the inner wall on the homestraight with a train of cars pushing. Caution to help Jakey to safety. Shortly after the restart 21 goes for a spin in turn 2. 34 puts a hit in on 166 into turn 3 but ends up half spinning himself. Caution for a stranded 211 in turn 3. 78, 216 and 217 are the top 3. 216 and 78 drift wide in turn 1 which lets Lee through to the lead. 338 takes 555 to the homestraight concrete blocks and JJ spins out at the entrance to turn 1. 463 is stopped in the middle of turns 1 & 2 for the remainder of the race. Everyone has to make the decision to go inside or outside as they approach. 55 has a right rear let go with 2 to run. 78 jumps a tyre with 338 on the last lap. Congratulations to Tom on retaining the silver roof 👏 That's it folks. Back from Skegness 👍