Roy B

GN Notes: 350 leads away. 212 spat out of the pack through turn 1 on the opening lap. 457 slowed on the back straight. 446 into an early lead. Caution for a stranded 216 on the exit of turn 2. 446, 93 and 166 head the restart. Joe drifts wide in turn 1 but just holds the lead. 166 has closed in and fires 93 in but loses the spot. 55 has caught 515 and they battle through turn 3. Halfway and 446 is still leading. 55 catches 93 on the exit to turn 4 and they collide leaving Craig stationary on the entrance to the straight. A marker tyre straddles the racing line also. Caution period. 446, 217 and 84 head the restart. 217 through to lead. 84 passes 446 in turn 3. 55 and 446 both succumb to flat outside rears in the closing stages. 84 launches a pile-driver of a hit on 217 into turn 3 and takes the lead and sets sail for the victory. That's it folks. Back from Brafield 👍

Final Focus: 350 leads away. 335 spins out in turn 3 on the first lap trapping 216. 515 spins unaided on the exit of turn 4. 166 fires 217 into turn 3 but Lee holds the place. 84 is setting a blistering pace and taking no prisoners with liberal use of the front bumper. He moves 217 to the outside of the back straight with a nerf hit. 463 ends up broadside across turn 3 with 166 side on. A number of other cars are involved including 515 who punctures the right rear on the front corner of another car. Caution period. 457 pulls off before the restart which leaves 84 in the top spot at this very early stage of the race. 84, 127 and 217 are the top 3. 127 and 217 then tangle exiting turn 2 which results in Lee hitting an infield tyre and losing places. With the tremendous beasting that Tom was giving the right rear it cried enough and let go before halfway. 55 now took over the top spot and headed to the victory. Behind Craig the remaining cars reeled off the laps in a single file formation all equally spaced.

Heat Three Happenings: 548 leads away. 345 hits an infield marker tyre coming to the green which chucks the car broadside up against the concrete blocks. 446 also involved. 45 and 548 tangle on the exit of turn 4 and stop against the fence. Caution for a driver needing attention. All ok after investigation. A complete restart with 548 at the head of the field once again. 515 slows and spends the race circulating at reduced speed around the outside. 45 gets caught up with a group of cars down the back straight and is left facing the wrong way. Nige backs it off the racing line to safety. At halfway 457 has a big lead over 84. The highlight of the remaining laps is a display of superb sideways cornering from both 457 and 84 at opposite ends of the track. Callum's technique very aligned with his car builder's style. With a couple to go 166 puts a big'un in on 127 and 16 entering turn 3 to claim the position. Win number two this season for 457. N.B. 515 - half shaft broke on the first lap.

Heat Two Happenings: 548 leads away and gets into a tank slapper down the homestraight resulting in him spinning out in turn 1. 502 into the lead. 55 flying through the field. 45 challenges 502 into turn 3 which allows 55 through. 84 and 217 engage in a multi-lap battle. Tom hits a tyre on the exit of turn 4. The pair continue with a great dice up to halfway. 350 holds 217 up down the back straight which lets the 84 car put a hit in going into turn 3 and move ahead. Next in 84's sights is the Flying Finn who he catches on the back straight but bounces off the 55 rear bumper. Tom elbows his way through in turn 4, but then has a half spin in turn 1. Craig following close behind holds back from spinning him out. 84 eventually takes the victory with a decent gap back to 55.

Pit News: 216 - Replacing right rear half shaft. 24 - Front right hub change. 212 - Front panhard rod u/s. Front left shocker damaged by the panhard rod failure. 18 - New wing being fitted. 515 - Propshaft sheared. 55 - A build up of shale in the bottom of the engine bay knocked the belts off.

Heat One Happenings: 295 leads away. 457 into the top spot on lap 1. 515 drifts wide and stops against the turn 2 fence. 216 and 268 park up behind him. 18 rolls it on the home straight collecting the metal grandstand emergency evacuation staging just before the starter. All ok. 457 heads the restart. 217 goes by after 3 laps when Callum drifts wide on the exit of turn 2. 55 slows and pulls off. 446 bounces into the turn 1 fence which allows 166 through. At halfway 217 & 457 have a half lap gap to 166. 457 shadows 217 for the remaining laps and tries for a last-bender on Lee but he holds on for the victory.

Welcome to Bradford folks. W & Y Race Re-Cap: 350 leads away. 587 slices up the inside of the cars ahead in turn 3. 548 takes the lead from 350 in turn 1 early on. 587 on a charge gets baulked by 350 entering turn 3 and half spins. The close following 24 helps Sam into a full spin with a push on the left rear corner. 24 ends up being fired into the turn 1 fence by 502. 548 still ahead with a fast closing 502 behind. A turn 3 tangle with 67 in turn 3 slows Ricky's progress and allows 548 to break clear for the win.

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GN Notes 45 leads away. Nige tangles with 415 in turn 3 on lap 1. 545 takes the lead but then clashes with 381 down the backstraight a couple of laps later but holds on. 16, 45 and 415 come to grief in a tangle in turn 3. 457 is closing on 545 by halfway and takes the lead soon after. 55 up to 2nd as the boards come out. However, a wayward 381 through turn 2 holds up Craig which sees the positions remain static until race end. Callum crosses the line to take his first win. That's it folks. Back from Bradford 👍

Final Focus 548 leads away. 392 takes the top spot on lap 1. 93, 16 and 55 crash out in a tangle in turn 3. All get going again but with a loss of track position. 120 now heads the field. 587 catches and passes Casey for the lead. 457 and 124 lock together and exit the race in turn 2. 55 slows and pulls off. 502 spins out and stops on the outside of turn 2. 138 spins it on the homestraight and pulls on to the infield. 587 has a half lap lead over 120 by halfway. 20 shoves 185 into the fence in turn 1. Caution for 499 who has flames coming from under the bonnet whilst parked on the centre. The restart order is 587, 120 and 463. The next few laps are static with the cars evenly spaced. In the closing laps 120 loses his podium spot with a half spin exiting turn 2. Liam sends him completely around with a hit to the rear corner. The 20 car is rewarded with the 2nd spot at the line. The caution period had helped the 16 car back up the field with Mat finishing in 3rd place.

Heat Three Happenings In drizzly conditions 548 leads away. 415 goes around in turn 3. 326 leads. 16 up to 3rd on lap 2. 138 comes to a stop against the fence on the exit of turn 2 and then pulls off to the infield. 55 in 2nd as a caution is called for a broadside 295 on the homestraight. 326, 55 and 16 head the restart. On consecutive laps 326 drifts wide in turn 1 and loses places to 55, 16 and 587. 20 gives 463 a hurry up into turn 1 which sees James clatter the fence. Liam puts a move on Sarge into turn 3 for the position. Craig has the length of a straight lead over Mat. With 2 to go smoke appears from the exhausts on the 55 car. Craig backs off and nurses it over the remaining race distance for the victory. 587 puts a hit in on 16 entering turn 3 on the last lap to snatch 2nd.

Heat Two Happenings 115 leads away. 345 pulls off on lap 1. 502 into the lead. 55 is coming through at a rate of knots from the back. 502 and 545 have broken away up front with a sizeable gap to 457 and 463. 381 and 124 collide with a stationary 115 in turn 3 bringing out the caution. 502 takes off on the restart and opens a gap once again. Second placed 457 spins out in turn 2. 55 gives 463 a whack into turn 1 to take another position. With a lap to halfway he moves 502 aside in turn 1 to take the lead. 381 starts to leave a smoky trail. 138 spins 502 into the turn 1 fence on his way through to 3rd. 55 spins unaided and stalls in turn 2. 16 now leads. 446 now into 2nd gives chase. However, a serious eruption of oil smoke appears but it doesn't slow Joe down as he follows Mat over the line at race end.

Welcome folks to King's Lynn and the start of the 2023 season Heat One Happenings - W & Y 2022 Final 303 leads the field away. 548 takes the lead into turn 1. 268 makes a three abreast move down the backstraight which sees 545 hit an infield marker tyre. 303 spins in turn 2. 415 now into the lead. Russell slides wide in turn 2 which allows 93 through to the top spot. Turn 2 catches cars out virtually every lap with most half-spinning or sliding wide. 541 pulls off with a flat right rear. 3 to go and it's 120 now in the lead. Caution for a stranded 392 in turn 3. The restart line up is 120, 457 (a lap down), 415 and 502. Green and 2 laps. Ricky blasts by the three cars in front of him to take the lead and pull clear. The last lap sees him half spin and stall in turn 2 which allows 120 through for the win in his new car.

Section 2 above Section 3: Odds and Ends: The Leyland Society had their annual gathering at the Leyland Trucks Assembly Plant back in August. Here are some of the magnificent vehicles that were on display: A 1948 Titan PD2/1 fitted with a Leyland 0.600 9.8 ltr diesel – Leyland 4-speed manual This Titan was one of a batch of six similar vehicles delivered to Lytham St. Annes in 1948. It was given fleet number 10 and remained in service until 1975 by which time it had covered in excess of 950,000 miles without ever leaving the Fylde area of Lancashire! I get to see this fine vehicle on a weekly basis as the owner has a parking arrangement with Blackpool Transport. We've placed it in the driest building on the Rigby Road bus garage site. Two from the Hunter collection The left one is a 1960 Octopus 24.0/4 – Leyland 0.600 9.8 ltr diesel – Leyland 5-speed manual William Hunter purchased this Octopus from the family of Walter Southworth of Rufford after it had been standing in a barn for many years with fertiliser stored on the flat body. It was one of two vehicles purchased at the same time, this one has been restored to William Hunter Livery, whilst the other remains in Southworth livery. The right hand vehicle: 1969 Super Comet 16SCT – Leyland 0.401 6.5 ltr diesel – Albion 6-speed manual Restored by William Hunter to his livery and now forms part of the William Hunter Collection. 1984 Roadtrain 17-25 – Rolls Royce Eagle 12.1 ltr diesel – Spicer 10-speed manual This Roadtrain was probably a special order as it has an unusual combination of large sleeper cab, and the lower rated Rolls Royce Eagle engine. It was new to Tom Walkinshaw Racing and pulled the racing car transporter trailer for the Jaguar Sports Car Team to most motor racing circuits across the UK and Europe. It has now been restored in the livery of a traditional Scottish haulier where the owner’s father worked for many years. It is displayed with a Scammell tandem trailer with a load of steel coils from Ravenscraig Steel Works. 1964 Comet 13C/1R – Leyland 0.370 5.6 diesel – Leyland 6-speed manual This was supplied new in September 1964 through Gilbraith Commercials to T.G Witter from Halsall near Ormskirk. It was used to carry potatoes from York to Ormskirk for many years before being retired from service. The current owner purchased the vehicle in July 2019 in poor condition and it has since been subject to a full rebuild. The cab had no floor and required extensive welding to return the strength into the structure. 1929 Badger TA 1 – Leyland E2F 4 cyl petrol – Leyland 4-speed manual This rare vehicle was delivered new to H. Spencer of Birmingham in 1931 but little is known of its operating history. After being withdrawn from service it was stored for many years in a Scottish bus museum where unfortunately many parts were removed. The vehicle then passed to a Scottish farmer from whom the present owner purchased it. A thorough overhaul followed as well as a major refurb of the cab. Remarkably, the timber frame of the cab survived and only needed minimal treatment before new panels were fitted. The vehicle is finished in the livery of Bees Transport of Hinckley. Southdown Motor Services 1750 (750 DCD) is a Leyland Leopard L2 with Harrington bodywork new in 1963 750 DCD with Bickers standing outside Stewarts Lane Railway depot on an Ipswich Transport Society of London area visit on 15th May 1976. This very well-appointed coach was ideally suited for long days spent "shed bashing" and was used by Suffolk-based railway enthusiasts for several trips of this kind during the 1970s. Many were saddened when Suffolk based independent operator Bickers of Coddenham eventually disposed of this fine vehicle. It was to enjoy many years of further service, however, and it's a great joy to know the vehicle has now been preserved. Alongside we have a 1961 Leopard L2 with Harrington bodywork – Leyland 0.600 9.8ltr diesel – Leyland 4-speed manual Ribble Motor Services took delivery of this Leopard in 1961 which was one of a batch of twenty coaches fitted with the optional air suspension. The coach worked initially from Aintree garage and then moved to other Ribble Depots. It was withdrawn in 1972 and sold to North’s scrapyard. It was then sold to Regent of Redditch who operated it until 1974 when it passed to Jackson’s of Chorley. In 1987, it was sold to Maypole, a Lancashire coach operator who intended to preserve it, but those plans were not completed. It was acquired by Ribble Vehicle Preservation Trust member David Prescott in 1988 and restoration was carried out single-handedly over a twenty-one year period. 1962 Badger 14LWB/1R – Leyland 0.600 9.8 ltr diesel – Leyland 5-speed manual At the time this Badger was completed it was normal practice for vehicles to be delivered from the factory painted only in primer. The dealer would then organise to have the vehicle painted in the livery specified by the customer. This vehicle has been restored to replicate the condition it would have left the Leyland factory. Alongside we have a 1937 Beaver TSC8 – Leyland E39 8.6 ltr diesel – Leyland 4-speed manual Delivered new in 1937 this Beaver was put into service by T J Ellis of Hawarden, Chester after which it passed to Shone Transport of Buckley. After some years in service it was purchased by Jarvis Robinson Transport in Bootle who shortened it to tow trailers out of Liverpool Docks. The Beaver worked for this company until 1968 when it was saved for preservation. I love the destination of this 1953 Royal Tiger PSU1/13 – Leyland 0.600 9.8 ltr diesel – Leyland 4-speed manual Wigan Corporation were the customer for this Royal Tiger which was delivered in 1953. It remained in service at Wigan until 1973 when it passed to Philips of Shiptonthorpe, Yorkshire. When withdrawn by that operator the vehicle was left to languish and its condition deteriorated badly. It was rescued for preservation but was left outside for many years so it deteriorated even further. A painstaking restoration has been undertaken since 2014. 1979 Marathon 2 – Cummins NTE290 14 ltr diesel – Fuller 9-speed manual The Marathon was a new model range developed to take advantage of higher permitted gross vehicle weights and to compete with imported vehicles that were taking a larger share of the UK truck market. It used a revised version of the Ergomatic cab and a turbocharged AEC-developed engine. An updated model, the Marathon 2, was introduced in 1977 with improved interior trim and more powerful engines. This example was new to Mason Transport of Shrewsbury, later passing to Salop Haulage. It was purchased by the present owner in 2000 and fitted with the relatively rare long sleeper cab. 1971 Mercury – AEC AV505 8.2 ltr diesel – AEC 6-speed manual The Federation Brewery in Newcastle were the customer for this Mercury which is a typical example of the type of lorry used throughout the British Isles. It was purchased by a gentleman located north of Alnwick who wished to recreate his former ‘Tillside Haulage’ fleet.He also had a 6-wheeler, as well as an artic tractor unit in the same livery. After he passed away the ownership passed to his family who stored it for a number of years. The present owner purchased it after eleven years of storage. 1957 Titan PD2/40 – Leyland 0.600 9.8 ltr diesel – Leyland 4-speed manual This Titan was new to John Fishwick of Leyland in March 1958 and given fleet No.5. It operated with them for twenty years latterly as a driver training bus. It was sold to Rennie of Dunfermline who operated it for a further three years before it moved to another Scottish independent operator for a brief period. It passed into private ownership in South Wales in 1981 where it remained for eleven years before returning to Leyland in a derelict condition. A thorough restoration was carried out under the guidance of the late Bill Ashcroft which was completed in time for the ‘Leyland 100’ celebrations. It is the only surviving example of thirteen PD2s constructed with the exposed radiator, and Weymann low-bridge body combination. 1958 Tiger Cub PSUC1/5 – Leyland 0.350 5.7 ltr diesel – Albion 4-speed manual This Cub was purchased by Rawtenstall Corporation in 1958 and was fitted with an East Lancs single deck bus body. It was unusual as it was built to an overall width of 7ft 6ins instead of the usual 8ft for use on the narrow roads of the Rossendale valley. It gave twenty-one years of service before being withdrawn and was immediately purchased for preservation by three employees. 1981 Leopard PSU3g/4R – Leyland 0.680 11.1 ltr diesel – Leyland 5-speed automatic The Leopard was a popular bus and coach chassis throughout its production, and many were supplied to the UK and export markets. The Scottish Bus group were regular customers for the Leopard and this example is from one of the later batches delivered to this operator. It is fitted with an Alexander Y-Type body constructed at their factory in Falkirk and entered service with Midland Scottish on 1 January 1982 at their Milngavie depot. The vehicle worked initially as a service bus but ended her career as a school bus after having ten different owners! It is now in private ownership and has been restored to the famous blue and cream livery of her original owner W. Alexander & Sons (Midland) Ltd, including the distinctive bluebird logo. ‘Alice’ a 1988 Sherpa – Perkins 2.0 ltr diesel – BMC 5-speed manual The Sherpa was originally developed by the Light Commercial Vehicle Division of British Leyland to replace the J2, J4 and JU250 vans as a rival to the Ford Transit. It was introduced as a panel van, but chassis versions were also made available for bodybuilders. This pick-up version was one of a batch of twenty similar vehicles bought by Devon County Council. It was purchased by the current owners for use as part of their business in 1996. A line up of Leyland Nationals headed by a 1973 1151/1R Leyland built several special versions of the Leyland National to illustrate the potential of the design for non-bus applications, some of which reached production whilst others remained as concept vehicles. One of these vehicles was the National seen here which was built with a higher floor than standard as a demonstrator for an inter-city coach. It was used by Leyland and carried a special livery with ‘Suburban Express’ branding. It was constructed in 1973 for exhibition at the Scottish Motor Show in Glasgow, and the Earls Court Commercial Motor in early 1974 by which time it had been registered RRM 148M. The saloon was carpeted throughout, and forty-six Chapman Mk.4 coach seats trimmed in an orange and brown moquette were fitted, twin luggage pens replacing the usual seats over the front wheel arches. It was used as a demonstrator for many years, returning to the Lillyhall plant in 1977, after which it was sold to West Midlands police for training and personnel duties. It then passed to Suffolk County Council in 1984 who used it as a school bus until 1991 when it was withdrawn. It has had several owners since purchased for preservation in February 1992. A pair of 1981 National 2 NL116AL11/1R’s – Leyland 0.680 11.1 ltr diesel – Leyland 5-speed automatic OFV 620X – Leyland-based operator J. Fishwick & Sons were a regular customer for Leyland buses and this National 2 was the first of two vehicles delivered in January 1981. It is seen here in ‘in service’ condition. OFV 621X – The second of the two delivered in 1981 and the sister vehicle to the above. It was the last Leyland National 2 demonstrator used by Leyland and was leased back from Fishwick as needed. It is presented in ‘as delivered’ condition. 1984 Tiger TRBTLXCT/2RP – Gardner 6HLXCT 10.5 ltr diesel – Leyland 5-speed semi-automatic This Leyland Tiger was the first of this model to be built with a Gardner 6HLXCT engine and Leyland Hydracyclic gearbox. It was fitted with an Alexander (Belfast) N-Type single deck bus body and delivered to Ulsterbus in 1984. It was registered DXI 3370 and given fleet number 370. It was allocated to Coleraine depot on the north coast and spent its entire time in service from this depot. It was often out-stationed at Portrush sub-depot, and also operated for short periods from Ballycastle, Ballymoney and Kilrea depots in the same area. This vehicle was unique in the Ulsterbus fleet as no further vehicles of this type were ordered. It was sold for preservation in 2007 and relocated to England. We finish with this XF 480 FTG to Euro VI E spec On the road with Openfield Bulk Haulage Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Last Friday I managed to get through the snow to have a look around the Locomotive Works at Haworth: A very snowy scene at Ingrow At Oxenhope Two of the home fleet: 85 Taff Vale Class 02 – Built in 1899 at Glasgow. 52044 L & Y Class 25 ‘Ironclad’. The engine has a long list of film and television credits and is probably best known for its appearance in the 1970 feature film ‘The Railway Children’ when, in green livery, it gained the unofficial name of the ‘Green Dragon’. The engine has also featured in BBC’s ‘Born and Bred’, and the remake of ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ A steam gala was held last weekend and one of the guests was 45690 LMS 5XP ‘Jubilee’ Class ‘Leander’ pictured here at Keighley Leander is an LMS 4-6-0 Jubilee Class locomotive designed by Sir William Stanier. Leander was built in 1936 at the LMS works at Crewe at the cost of £6,469 as Makers Number 288, Lot Number 121. The locomotive was named after HMS Leander and entered service in March of that year as LMS 5690. Leander was withdrawn by BR in March 1964, having recorded 1,589,826 miles in service. Into the shed at Howarth next: 144011 became the third Class 144 to be preserved when it was officially presented to the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway from owners Porterbrook. The set was in fact already on the railway. This was due to an unusual arrangement during the Covid-19 pandemic, where the majority of the Class 144 sets were being stored on the heritage line after being removed from mainline service earlier than planned due to fallen passenger numbers. The set was a targeted addition to the railway's fleet who wished to showcase a train of the type that operated in the local area from the 1980's-2000's era. One of the first uses for 144011 was moving 144010 in multiple to Ingrow for onward road movement into preservation. Around the same time, the first restoration/investment was made in the set when the railway had new destination blinds produced with Worth Valley destinations amongst some BR favourites! Further use in 2020 was limited due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In March 2021, 144011 was out and about on the line operating driver training runs and competency refreshers. The summer/autumn of 2021 saw 144011 moved into the workshops at Haworth for a repaint into a more heritage colour scheme, which was a secret for the duration of the works. The two vehicles were quickly stripped of handrails and fittings before having the bodysides and roof rubbed down. The roof was then treated to a coat of grey. The repaint was then fully undertaken, the result being that in October 2021 the set became the first Class 144 set in preservation to be restored to a heritage livery: Metro Red. It was unveiled to much acclaim, with many previously sceptical observers responding favourably to seeing the Pacer in its 1990's guise. After more than a year of preparing paperwork and operating systems to allow the use of second generation DMU's on the railway, 144011 finally entered passenger service in August 2022. 144011 continues to operate selected off-peak duties on the line sharing with first generation stock. 41241 was built at Crewe in 1949. It was withdrawn from service at Skipton in 1966 shortly before the depot closed in 1967. In the National Archive is the correspondence covering the moving of the locomotive from Llandudno Junction to Skipton. It clearly states that it was sent to Skipton to work the Worth Valley branch goods train. The branch had closed in 1961 and this was commented upon by an unknown hand at Euston, when sending the memo back to Crewe where the comment was added; “send in any case; will employ at least two men and use some coal”. Astonishingly, the move was made and at least one Keighley & Worth Valley Railway (KWVR) volunteer remembers it passing his school in Keighley as it arrived from Skipton more or less every day, light engine, about noon. On arrival 41241 was parked in the Banana Siding alongside the long-demolished goods shed, where it stayed for about three hours doing absolutely nothing, rather than work the branch goods, had it still been open and operated. 41241 then went back to Skipton about 3.30 p.m. not having achieved anything at all. It did this utterly pointless exercise for at least two years, presumably employing at least two men and burning lots of coal; a remarkable comment on the objectives of a nationalised industry. It went to Haworth in 1967, under its own steam, and was painted in maroon livery in time to work the inaugural train (together with 30072) when the Worth Valley Railway (as it was originally called) was reopened in 1968. The locomotive is perhaps the most typical branch line passenger locomotive on the KWVR and it is appropriate that it should be a regular performer on the passenger trains. For this very reason also, it was the most suitable engine to display the KWVR contribution to the development of British steam railways in the 1975 Shildon Cavalcade, marking the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton & Darlington line. Since then the locomotive has been repainted in its original BR lined black livery. In 1988 the locomotive was withdrawn from service, having become due for its 10-yearly boiler removal and examination. The engine was retired from service again in 2013 at the expiry of its 10 year boiler ticket. The plan was to have the locomotive back in operation in time to take part in the 50th anniversary of the re-opening of the branch, in 2018. The cost of the work required on 41241 was estimated in 2014 to be of the order of £350,000. Much of this work on the boiler was undertaken at the Severn Valley Railway workshop at Bridgnorth. In early December 2017 the boiler passed its hydraulic and steam tests at Bridgnorth. The boiler was lifted back onto the frames at Haworth in January 2018. When it returns to service it is planned to have it in the red livery it carried when it first ran on the KWVR. At the end of March 2018 the locomotive moved under its own steam when it clocked up two miles running up and down the Haworth loop. During its ‘national service’ life, 37 075 was allocated to nine different locations but as some were visited on more than one occasion, the total number of moves was 13. And that nomadic life continued into preservation with Haworth being its fifth location. This engine is another of the preferred types which came out of the 1955 B.R. Modernisation Plan and, as a Class of locomotive, has enjoyed longevity of use throughout the British Railways period and into the current era of privatisation. This Class was designed as a mixed traffic locomotive. They were able to haul freight and, with a top of speed of 90 mph, and having been fitted with steam heat capability, were just as suited to hauling express and local passenger services, also. No. 37 075 was built by English Electric at their Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns plant and completed in 1962 as No. D6775. The locomotive was accepted by British Railways at Doncaster and then went on to be allocated to Thornaby Depot, Teeside. The locomotive gained its TOPS number of 37 075 in February 1974 and ran various freight and passenger trains including an Ipswich to Wembley Park Football Special train on 6th May 1978. The locomotive moved on a frequent basis around the country, being allocated to the following depots in this order: Hull (Dairycotes), Thornaby, March, Healey Mills, Tinsley (Sheffield), Thornaby, Stratford, Motherwell, Stratford, Thornaby, Tinsley and finally Thornaby. The locomotive was first stored (as serviceable) in August 1994 and was officially declared unserviceable in December of that year. Ownership passed to EWS in September 1998 with No. 37 075 being recorded as “a stored mainline locomotive”. Whilst allocated to Tinsley for the first time, the steam heating boiler, used to heat passenger coaches, was removed (November 1984). It is also worth noting that the noses, at each end of the locomotive, no longer match. One end has the original split head-code boxes but the other is of a later type, being completely flat and with no head-code boxes at all. This change is believed to have occurred due to accident damage, although there is no date of this incident. The locomotive was preserved in August 1999 (though only officially withdrawn from mainline service in November 1999) by the Class 37LA Group which saw the locomotive move initially to the Great Central (Nottingham), and later the Great Central Railway at Loughborough in 2000. Reflecting its time in mainline ownership, its nomadic life was to continue when the 5C Locomotive Group bought the locomotive in 2002 and moved it to the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, before moving it again two years later to the Churnet Valley Railway in 2007. As is evident by its presence on the KWVR, 2012 saw 37 075 purchased by a consortium of KWVR volunteers and moved it to Haworth. The locomotive now sees use on passenger services and, when a larger engine is required, on works trains or other non-passenger duties. 37 075 has also starred on the small screen back in 2013 as part of the BBC drama ‘The Great Train Robbery’ where it had to masquerade as the Class 40 D326. In 2019 the locomotive returned to the national network when it left the KWVR (towed) for a bogie swap with those belonging to Colas Class 37. 37 075 was fitted with high-speed bogies and those on the Colas locomotive normal/lower speed bogies, the lower speed bogies being more suited to the KWVR. Wheelsets This wonderful original spiral staircase is a highlight of the engine shed No. D3336/08266 was completed at Darlington works as 13336 in 1957, it being the last example of the class to be turned out in black. All subsequent engines being turned out in the British Railways standard green. No. 13336 was new to Sheffield Darnall shed for three months before being transferred to London Kings Cross in May 1957, but returned there in 1958 by which time it had been renumbered D3336. During the 1970s once again the engine was renumbered, now to 08 266 under the new TOPS system. In May 1964 the engine was transferred to its penultimate depot, Tinsley (Sheffield), when this opened to traffic, where it would remain until August 1981. After No. 08 226 was withdrawn on 17th March 1985, it was sent to Swindon from where the KWVR rescued it from the scrap-line at the end of that year. The engine has found useful work, predominantly shunting the heavy steam locomotives around Haworth Yard and occasionally undertaking works-train duties. On rare occasion (usually special events) it has been seen hauling passenger services on the line. These are usually shuttle services between Keighley and lngrow, or full line trips after the last scheduled train has finished. Its use on passenger services is very limited due to its low maximum speed of 15mph. By 2015, now 68 years old, having worked hard on the KWVR, 08 226 was showing its age and an assessment showed that extensive work would be required. With a plentiful supply of replacement locomotives still on the national network, the decision was made to replace the engine with one being retired by EWS. 08 226 remains in the KWVR fleet alongside its newer 08 companion. In 2016, with the arrival of 08 993, and the paintwork showing years of hard work on the Railway, the opportunity was taken to repaint the now reprieved engine into two-tone grey livery. D0226 During the 1950’s the rail industry as a whole started to look more seriously at dieselisation as the future form of motive power and most independent manufacturers realised that, for their long-term security, a success in this field would be most advantageous. English Electric (who were a conglomerate of various builders including Vulcan Foundry) made several prototypes for British Railways to test and evaluate them. Several of these designs ended up being developed and put into production for everyday service including the famed ‘Deltics’. No. D0226 was one of two prototype engines built to the same design with one having electric transmission and the other having hydraulic transmission (No. D0227). The design was made for shunting and transfer work between yards and stations. Both engines were given to British Railways and extensively tested at locations all round England at places like, Liverpool, Doncaster, Stratford (London) and Bristol. They were also tried as banking engines at Gunhouse Incline near Scunthorpe. British Railways had the use of No. D0226 for three years during which it clocked up 38,000 miles. It soon became apparent however, that the designs were flawed. The engines were too powerful for usual shunting duties and not versatile enough for any other useful work. What these two engines did prove to English Electric, though, was that the future lay with electric transmission and not hydraulic. No. D0226 had shown itself to be the more successful of the two types, so, on return to Newton-le-Willows, after the three-year testing period with British Railways, D0227 (the hydraulic version) was scrapped while D0226 was retained by English Electric for occasional shunting duties. The engine was placed on permanent loan to the KWVR by English Electric in 1966 and has been found to be a most useful engine for the line. As the line has a 25mph maximum speed limit, many of the limitations found in British Railways service are eliminated. The 500 hp power rating means it can deal with works-trains at a speed that does not hamper passenger services working in the opposite path. The engine is capable of standing in on passenger services in the event of a steam engine failing in traffic. All in all, this engine has found a niche in preservation which it never found before. In 2014 D0226 had its greatest passenger triumph when it was one of the two diesel locomotives used to haul the downhill leg of the intensive two train operation that brought spectators to the Worth Valley during the Tour de France in July of that year. In 54 years of operation on the KWVR, D0226 has sported many varied and striking liveries but currently sports one that is appropriate to its life on the national network. However, whatever the colour scheme, D0226 is arguable the most reliable and useful engine on the 5 mile branch line. Another guest was 44871 LMS Class 5MT LMS Black 5 4-6-0 No. 44871 was built at Crewe Works in 1945. Originally numbered 4871 by the LMS, she was renumbered 44871 under British Railways after nationalisation. The locomotive was one of the last to be withdrawn from service in 1968, the last year of steam on British Railways. She was also one of four locomotives chosen to take part in the famous Fifteen Guinea Special on the 11th August 1968, but is one of only three from that to survive. Taking on coal 1054 LNWR ‘Coal Tank’ – Built at Crewe in 1888 During the late 19th century, the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Western Railway, Francis William Webb, designed a 0-6-0 tender engine for hauling freight (predominantly coal traffic) and this became known as the “Coal Engine”. These engines were not, however, really suited to use on other aspects of local or branch line working. By replacing the tender with a set of side tanks for the water, extending the frames of the engine at the rear with an extra set of wheels and adding the bunker for the coal, the so-called ‘Coal Tanks’ were born. The first of these “Coal Tanks” were introduced in 1881 and, over 16 years, the fleet expanded until a total of 300 examples had been produced. Over time, the design also proved to be highly suitable for hauling passenger trains and they were soon to be found working all over the LNWR system. No. 1054 was produced at the LNWR’S Crewe works and entered service in 1888 as the 250th example of its class to be produced. Much of its early working life is not known but it is thought to have worked in the Birmingham area prior to the First World War and then, after the war, in both South and North Wales. It was withdrawn from service on the eve of the Second World War in January 1939. Had it not been for the outbreak of the war this engine would almost certainly have been scrapped by the London Midland & Scottish Railway (who then owned the engine after the grouping of the country’s railways into four large companies in 1923). Due to an increased demand on the railways during war-time, a number of older engines were reprieved from scrapping, were overhauled instead and returned to service. No. 1054 (by this time renumbered 7799) was one such engine. By 1950, this Coal Tank was to be found at Shrewsbury working local passenger services and by 1954 the locomotive had moved to Abergavenny from where it was loaned to the National Coal Board with two class-mates for a period of 12 months. At the end of its loan period the engine was kept as a spare at Abergavenny and, after working the last train on the Abergavenny to Merthyr line with a Super D Class 0-8-0, it was withdrawn from traffic at Pontypool in 1958 and sent to Crewe once again for an appointment with the scrapman. Now carrying its BR numbered, 58926, for the second time in its existence, this 70 year old veteran languished at Crewe Works to await its fate. However, once again, the ‘Coal Tank’ had a saviour. Mr. J. M. Dunn, the former shedmaster at Bangor, set up the Webb Coal Tank Engine Preservation Fund, the £500 purchase price being raised within six months, so spawning the cult of railway preservation by public subscription. Before leaving Crewe, the ‘Coal Tank’ was repainted in LNWR livery and regained its original number. In 1963, 1054 was donated to the National Trust and moved to Penryhn Castle in North Wales, before that organisation made arrangements for its care by the Bahamas Locomotive Society (BLS). It moved to the Dinting Railway Centre in 1973, being restored there to operational condition in time for it to take part in the 150th anniversary celebration in 1980, of the opening of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway. 1054 made its final move when BLS moved to Ingrow in 1990. A third overhaul, financially assisted by the Heritage Lottery Fund, was completed in February 2012, and during that year took on its former identities as British Railways No.58926 and LMS Railway No.7799. However, by November 2019, the boiler was showing its age and 1054 was retired to Ingrow on the 3rd of that month to await its next overhaul. This overhaul progressed well. The view of the shed from Bridgehouse Lane That’s it for this off-season folks. Back with more of the same in November, starting with this beauty of a tunnel: Have a good season everyone 👍

Section 1 above Section 2: Out and About at the Leyland/DAF factory First of all let’s have a look at: A brief history of Leyland Motors, its predecessors and successors 1896 Leyland Steam Van Lancashire Steam Motor Company - 1896 The origin of truck-building in Leyland can be traced back to two men – James Sumner and Henry Spurrier, who together formed ‘The Lancashire Steam Motor Company’ in 1896 to exploit their original product, a 1.5 tonne capacity steam van. The two friends could not have foreseen the incredible success story which would give the town world-wide recognition and leave a legacy which would be passed down through generations of Leylanders. The following year the steam van was taken to Manchester for the Royal Agricultural Society of England trials for self-propelled vehicles. The ‘prototype Leyland’ carried all before it, winning the top prize of a silver medal. Their company built on its success in its early years with bigger and better trucks, including the first steam bus model, and the first ever export order for a steam mail van for Ceylon, now known as Sri Lanka. 1907 Leyland X type The first petrol engine - 1900s Their first petrol-engined vehicle, nicknamed ‘the Pig’, was produced in 1904, followed a year later by the supply of the first Leyland bus for service in London. In 1907 the company absorbed the steam wagon builder Coulthards of Preston, adopting the name of Leyland Motors Limited later in the year. To accommodate the manufacture of the expanding range the factory grew physically with the continued expansion of North Works. 1912 was a year which was to open up the military market for Leyland as their 3-tonner, commonly known as the ‘RAF-type’, was to become the standard subsidy vehicle. The following year saw the start of work on the Farington plant, later associated with bus production. By the outbreak of war in 1914 the company had 1500 employees and had produced approximately 1275 petrol engined vehicles and 415 steam wagons. The First World War had a profound effect on Leyland Motors and the company concentrated on building 5,932 vehicles for the British forces. At the height of the war Leyland was employing over 3000 people. North Works and Farington had expanded, South Works had come into existence as had a factory in Chorley, and a steel works with its own power plant was built. After the war Leyland acquired the Kingston-upon-Thames former aircraft factory. This was put to work reconditioning 3000 ex-WD RAF-type Leylands which the company had bought to stop ‘worn-out’ ex-military vehicles entering ‘civvy street’ and tarnishing Leyland’s reputation for quality. When this work was nearing completion the Kingston factory was dedicated to the production of the novel Trojan car and van. Later still, Kingston was used for the production of the ‘Cub’ goods and passenger vehicle range. 1920 Leyland Badger The Leyland Zoo – 1920s With the late 1920s came some legendary Leyland models which put the company at the forefront of bus and truck design, starting the “Leyland Zoo”, with animal names for Leyland models such as the ‘Lion’, ‘Lioness’, ‘Llama’, ‘Leveret’, ‘Tiger’, ‘Terrier’, ‘Badger’, ‘Beaver’, ‘Bull’, ‘Bison’ and ‘Buffalo’, along with the non-animal ‘Leviathon’, ‘Titan’ and ‘Titanic’ which brought the company back to prosperity after the crisis of the early 1920s. Names such as these would be synonymous with Leyland for nearly sixty years until the T45 range swept them away. 1931 Leyland Buffalo Introduction of Diesel Engines – 1930s The 1930s continued the development of this well received range as ‘Hippo’, ‘Rhino’, ‘Octopus’ and 'Buffalo' were added to the ‘heavy’ range of vehicles, and the ‘lightweight’ ‘Cub’ replaced the Trojan as the Kingston-built product. Trolleybuses and Chorley-built fire-engines also became well established in the line-up of products. A leap forward during this period was the introduction of Leyland’s own compression ignition engine (diesel), after which the days of the petrol engine were numbered in civilian use Leyland vehicles. A ‘secret’ factory to build tanks was finished just as the Second World War began, but it was no secret to German bombers who continuously targeted the site in the early years of the war. Wartime output was varied as 11,000 employees produced 9,000 wheeled vehicles, 3,000 tanks, 10,000 tank engines and a large quantity of munitions. The end of the war saw Leyland poised to expand as they supplied vehicles during a period many enthusiasts consider to be a ‘Golden Age’ of road transport. The new optimism was exemplified by the new Comet truck and bus range, the rest of the range was not neglected as the pre-war models were superseded by modern designs, though continuing the ‘family’ names. 1950 Leyland Octopus Leyland Motors Expands - 1950s The 1950s saw a massive expansion of Leyland Motors as the famous UK makes of Scammell Lorries and Albion Motors were acquired, and the company became a major supplier to international markets. However, the most notable changes for the user of Leylands were the introduction of the ‘Vista-Vue’, or LAD, cab to the truck range, and the debut of the revolutionary ‘Atlantean’ double deck bus in 1958. Of the two the Atlantean has had more impact as can be appreciated by the fact that buses of basically similar design have been the standard up to the present day. 1960 Leyland Super Comet The Ergonomic Cab – 1960s Leyland were to make another significant contribution to British truck design when they launched their new ‘Ergomatic’ cab in 1964 as a replacement for the comparatively short-lived ‘Vista-Vue’ cab. The ‘Ergomatic’ cab was designed to give the best combination of driver comfort, safety and efficient use of space possible within its intended price bracket. Its most notable feature was its ability to ‘tilt’ forward thereby exposing the engine, giving better access than the previous fixed cab designs. So good was this cab that it was still being fitted in mildly updated form to some Leyland chassis as late as 1981. Leyland T Range New beginnings – 1980s Overall, the 1970s were a challenging period for Leyland although at the end of the decade the new T45 range was announced. These models had been subject to a thorough design and testing programme and were rewarded by winning the ‘Truck of the Year’ award. As the T45 was brought to the market, a new £33 million assembly plant opened on the outskirts of Leyland to produce the new model, which is now the home of the current day Leyland Trucks. 1987 Three orange flagship trucks Leyland Merges with DAF - 1987 The truck operation had been drastically rationalised by early 1980s and the bus and truck sides were separated ready for their sell off in 1987 when Leyland Trucks was merged with DAF of the Netherlands to form Leyland DAF, with the Dutch holding the majority stake and exercising the day-to-day management control. A management buyout made the bus division independent for a short period before it was sold to Volvo, who integrated Leyland models into their range before gradually replacing them with Volvos as they aged. DAF NV, as the new company was called, continued to develop, but in the late 1980s and early 90s the UK market plummeted to levels of sales not seen since wartime. As the UK was DAF’s largest market, repercussions were inevitable, as were the consequences when the continental markets followed in the UK in 1992. Despite efforts to save the company, receivers were called in on 2nd February 1993. A new DAF heavy truck business restarted in Holland and Belgium within a month, but it was a management buyout at Leyland Trucks in June 1993 that proved the salvation of truck-building in the town. A new arrangement with DAF established that Leyland Trucks sells to the UK and European markets through ‘new DAF’. In 1996 PACCAR acquired DAF and in 1998 Leyland Trucks. The period since 1998 has seen substantial growth in volumes and profit, and significant investment in product, facilities and people. The scene for continued success for Leyland Trucks is well set. Leyland Trucks now operates from one of Europe’s most advanced truck assembly facilities, the Leyland Assembly Plant. The company, employing 1000 people, manufactures the full range of DAF products, of which approximately 40% is exported to all European Union markets and the wider world. Join me now on a pictorial walk around this amazing site. The amount of parts and kit is phenomenal: Heavy duty wheel air gun A quintet of engines Clutch pressure plates Stacks of wheels and tyres Boxes of cab tool kits Bottle jacks Air tanks Chassis conveyor Front suspension assy Rear axle assy Front axle assy Three pics of the axle and leaf spring rig Racks of propshafts Crates of shockers and torque rods A chassis in the spray booth These rubber covers protect the wheel studs in the spray booth as seen in the above pic Lots of kit stored outside Front axles and rears Cabs are fitted on an overhead conveyor and laser aligned Lifting sling inspection chart Another row of engines Engines as far as the eye can see Suspension air bags Racks of rads Further along the conveyor Fuel tanks Gearboxes Mudguard formers Body panel and side skin section Cabs lined up Paccar power! More wheels and tyres Cab steps in various colours Cabs lined up in outside storage Sideguard rails Loads more props Engine dress section The conveyor track fits the contours of the building A large Final Inspection area The rolling road How about that then? It is certainly an impressive place to look around, and the smell of engineering and new kit is superb! Section 3 below:

Hi there folks, In the last one for this off season we have in: Section 1: F2’s from the 2023 season opener at Taunton, and the last from 2022, and a few pics from the Cowdenbeath week-ender on 29th/30th October. Section 2: Out and About around the Leyland DAF factory Section 3: Odds and Ends features the vehicles gathered for the Leyland 125 celebration, and some pics from last Friday at the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway. Section 1: Before we go back to last Oct here’s a few pics from Taunton’s season opener last Sunday (12th Mar): Jon Palmer (24) was using the Dave Sansom (352) car. Jon has a new WRC car on the way. Great news! Another talented member of the Darby family took to the track. Harry (577) made his debut in the Saloons. He won first time out as well! A formidable pairing A stunning new RCE for Tommy Farrell (667). Adrian Blackwell (left) and Timmy Farrell in discussion. Remembering Bill Bill’s tribute meeting is one not to miss A new look for Joe Marquand (689). It is last year’s car re-cabbed. 689 - Superstox style wing A nice-looker from Paul Rice (890) Steven Gilbert (542) was running his new car on the new HiFly tyres. He was only able to take part in practice. James Rygor (783) debuted his new one WRC#71 Chris Mikulla has changed over to Stock Rods Paul Moss’ (979) new car has a very upright cab rear Wet track ace Joe won the Final on a soaking track After winning last weekend’s Skegness Final Aaron Vaight (184) was out of luck here in an early lap pile up Onto last year: Taunton – Sunday 23rd October 2022 – 32 cars This meeting was the last of the season for the F2s who were racing for the Ladies Trophy. For the 27th time it continued to be an honour and a privilege for Autospeed to stage the event. It is always a highlight on their domestic calendar and such a magnificent accolade to be won. The Ladies Trophy is a very fine silver cup, and is a long-standing memory to Marylin Farrell, mother of former F2 and Hot Rod racer Martin. Tragically, Marylin was killed in a road accident in October 1995, and it was a number of Marylin’s close pals – most notably Carol Cole and Jill Higman - who made the necessary moves and arrangements to instigate he introduction of the Ladies Trophy. From the outset of the trophy being introduced Martin Farrell walked through the grid to ensure drivers know precisely what they were racing for. In more recent times Martin had been joined on that customary walk by two of his grandsons, whilst two of his granddaughters embarked on the trophy parade walk last year. Once the race has ended the other fine custom of the event is the champagne overcoat treatment for the race winner. Following the chaotic scenario at the conclusion of the Saloon Stock World Final at Skegness where first and third failed post-race scrutineering many felt the official top three were not afforded the appropriate level of glory. The Saloon Stock Association had therefore requested an official lap of honour for Michael Allard, Wes Starmer and Austen Freestone to proceed today’s meeting. In the pits there was the debut F2 appearance of Ministox graduate Callum Faulconbridge (914). Callum raced under a temporary licence. One of the favourites of the Smeatharpe terraces, Lauren Stack (928), made her first appearance for months, having been sidelined by an injury sustained whilst competing in competitive BMX cycling. The car was gleaming. Luke Johnson (194) took an early lead in the opener which he maintained to the flag. Aaron Vaight (184) challenged Ben Borthwick (418) for second place in the closing seconds of the race but the pair tangled gifting the spot to Dale Moon (302). Heat 2 saw Archie Farrell (970) and Shane Hector (528) collide at the start which sent the following cars in all directions. Mike Cocks (762) held the lead until Leah Sealy (475) swept past and headed for victory. Heavy rain made for tricky conditions in the Consolation. Matt Linfield took control in the wet and held the lead until the final lap when Paul Moss (979) made a move through turn one to take the lead. Twenty-four of the twenty-six qualifiers gridded for the Final. Jamie Avery (126) and Josh Weare (736) hooked up down the home straight bringing out the caution. Joe Marquand (689) was easily the fastest on track and picked his way through the back-markers to take a decisive victory. Johnson and Moon fought over eighth place but it ended with Johnson in the Honiton bend fence. Many members of the Farrell family joined in the post-race ceremony and presented the trophies. Vaight, Paul Rice (890) and Steven Gilbert (542) joined in with the traditional champagne soaking of the winner. The 126 car needed the front end replacing A very happy Joe Marquand The GN came to a stop on the first lap with a huge pile up in turn 3 which claimed more than half the runners. Borthwick took the win following the complete restart, with Marquand finishing seventh from the lap handicap. Another outstanding season from the F2s had come to a close. Results: Heat 1: 194 302 184 689 126 418 895 460 979 728 - First 8 to the Final Heat 2: 475 542 890 251 762 525 605 35 736 464 Consolation: 979 464 728 736 988 258 303 53 928 526 Final: 689 194 890 542 251 464 979 302 988 605 GN: 418 890 35 184 464 728 689 988 895 302 Cowdenbeath – Saturday 29th & Sunday 30th October 2022 The 26 F2’s present were racing in a National Series round, with the track championship also up for grabs. Emma Mellis Ben Borthwick decided on a spur of the moment visit to Cowdie travelling 9hrs overnight from his Dobwalls, Liskeard base Shea Fegan made the trip over from NI Front bumpers in memory of Dennis Middler Snr who passed away the previous Monday Four other formulae including Saloon Stock Cars, and Classic Hot Rods were also on the bill. Congratulations to Carl Boswell Warren Darby was a long way from home. That front bumper’s seen some use. Graeme Shevill had been busy with a marker pen on Warren’s roof Jerry cans in Darby team colours The Saloon’s had the Gordon Barclay Memorial to race for on the Sunday. To commemorate the event there was a magnificent Jason Burns built replica of one of Barclay’s former cars. Classic Hot Rods: Pete Low’s very smart 631 Kieran Johnson’s Anglia Hughie Weaver (on the right) – the last ever Wimbledon London Champ – with mechanic Bunny Warren. Hughie was a race winner on the Sunday. The Classic Hot Rods were racing for the Jim Purdie Memorial Trophy. Jim’s son Kenny (17) had asked Cowdenbeath if they could host the event as the pair had been a regular part of the scene here throughout the 90s. However, the evening didn’t end well for Kenny after a ‘misjudged’ overtaking manoeuvre into turn 1! The opening race for the F2’s was a non-points scoring Champion of Champions race, open only to Racewall winners since the last running of the event. Gregor Turner was the defending champ It was an entertaining race with Paul Reid (17) and Mika Millar (402) tangling, then Gordon Moodie (7) and Liam Rennie (3) doing likewise. This let Chris Burgoyne (647) through to the win. The heats which followed were won by Millar and Moodie. Shea Fegan’s long trip over only lasted a couple of laps in his first race before meeting-ending damage curtailed his weekend. With Burgoyne failing to score, the Track Championship was wide open leading into the last two races. Chris won the Final to land the Jim Cochrane Cup, ahead of Moodie and Steven Burgoyne (674). That took the Track Championship all the way to the GN. Steven Burgoyne got to the chequered first, but second for Moodie was enough for him to clinch the title having started the night in third place. A solid evening of a fifth, and three sixth place finishes were enough for Charlie Guinchard (183) to secure overall victory in the National Points Series Championship. He duly celebrated in fine style with a series of donuts. Section 2 below:

Section 2 above Section 3: ODDS AND ENDS: In the early 1970s a Midland Red bus service ran from Oadby town centre using the Wigston garage’s allocation of BMMO S17s. One of which (No 5767 EHA 767D) has been restored by the Wythall Transport Museum: BMMO S17 EHA 767D looks resplendent now fully restored. The 7-bay window layout making it look very long! Original style Midland fleetname Following 5767s initial use it was parked up in 1981 and parts such as a headlight and indicator light started to be removed Two months before withdrawal No 5767 is seen passing Leicester London Road railway station on 7 July 1979 Years Apart… 40013 Andania The same locomotive, same location , but taken with a gap of 39 years in between! Regular use of the Class 40 fleet ended in January 1985, and in the years leading up to this their most popular diagrams were with enthusiasts on the summer-dated Mk.1-formed trains from Manchester to Yarmouth and Skegness – No.40058 working the last ‘Whistler’-hauled 1E34/1M74 to Yarmouth (as far as Norwich) and back on September 3, 1983, and No.40181 the final 1E67/1M54 to Skegness and back on September 15, 1984. In August 1983, however, No.40013 (formerly Andania) worked the Skegness train three times on the 6th, 13th and 27th, and on the third of those is seen at New Mills South Junction (North Derbyshire) with the outbound working to Skegness. Fast forward 39 years and No.40013 – now carrying its original identity No.D213 and renamed Andania – is again seen at New Mills South Junction, this time heading Intercity’s ‘Norfolk Coast Express’ from Manchester to Yarmouth on April 16, 2022 formed of a rake of LSL Mk.3 coaches. It is interesting to note how little else has changed at this location in the intervening years apart from some rationalisation of the signalling and track layout. Among the many pristine former Southern Vectis at the Isle of Wight Bus Museum is 721 (EDL 657,) a 1947 lowbridge Bristol K5G, one of 29 purchased between 1946 and 1950. It was withdrawn in September 1964 having run for 17 years mostly from Newport depot. A few Railhead Treatment Trains: On 9th October DB Cargo 66092/6621 are at Todu whilst working 3S61, the 17.23 Margam-Margam RHTT with the driver surrendering the token for the section of line from Maesteg. The train is an hour into its 20-hour ‘grand tour’ which will take in Llanelli, Llanwrtyd, Pembroke Dock, Milford Haven, Swansea, Barry, Cardiff and Bargoed before returning to Margam, arriving at 13.37 the following day. DRS 37422 Victorious arrives at Knaresborough on the 2nd October with the 08.27 RHTT working from York Thrall Europa via Harrogate, Leeds, Skipton, Hellifield, and return; 37218 was on the rear. The signal box is one of a few which were built as an extension to an existing row of properties and dates from 1873. The signaller had earlier been out to warn people waiting at the crossing they were about to get wet! DRS 68001 Evolution passes Long Preston on the 7th October with the 11.30 RHTT working from Carlisle Kingmoor covering Cumbria, North Yorkshire and North Lancashire. Classmate 68017 Hornet was on the rear. After one week on this working both locomotives are starting to become very workstained. DRS 37419 Carl Haviland 1954-2012/37425 Concrete Bob/ Sir Robert McAlpine work the 10.00 RHTT from York Thrall Europa on the 13th October as it crosses the Selby swing bridge 69003 The Railway Observer enters Tonbridge West Yard on the 11th October having worked the 09.19 Tonbridge West Yard RHTT train around Kent with 69002 at the rear. Between 1943 and 1957 East Yorkshire took delivery of over 120 Leyland Titans and AEC Regent Vs plus a small number of Guy Arabs. Almost all were bodied by Yorkshire favourite Chas H. Roe of Leeds and incorporated a highly domed cathedral-like roof to enable the bus to pass through the world-famous ‘Beverley Bar’, a 15th-century gateway situated in Beverley, near Hull. Seen passing through the ‘Bar’ towards Driffield, and ultimately Bridlington, is Roe-bodied No 608 (NRH 219), a Leyland PD2/12 new in 1953. The SELNEC PTE was as a result of government policy formed in November 1969. It inherited bus fleets from 11 city and town councils, these being: Manchester, Salford, Oldham, Ashton, SHMD (Stalybridge, Hyde, Mossley and Dukinfield), Stockport, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton, Ramsbottom and Leigh totalling 2,514 buses. By 1974, the colourful liveries of these fleets which had been swept away were replaced by the SELNEC orange and white corporate scheme. Here are two of those long-gone liveries: Ashton 39 (DTJ 139B), a 1964 Roe-bodied Leyland PD2/40 prepares to depart Ashton bus station on a local service. Bolton 169 (UBN 902), a full-fronted 1962 East Lancs-bodied Leyland PD3A/2 – an early example of Bolton’s flair for unique body styles. Crew change at Templecombe lower platform in summer 1965 The closing photo for this week is this shot of a badly damaged A3 No 60089 Felstead of Edinburgh Haymarket shed: The location is Ardsley station, between Doncaster and Leeds. The locomotive had been running-in after a general overhaul at Doncaster Works and was heading the 6.12pm express from King’s Cross to Leeds Central on October 26th 1959. At 10.08pm there was a collision with a stationary light engine, a V2. The Ardsley signalman had forgotten the V2 was standing on the Down Main and had accepted the Leeds-bound express. To add to this error the driver of the light engine had not sent his fireman to the box to remind the signalman of their position, as required by the rules. Luckily, the express was only travelling at about 35mph, due to the distant signal not being cleared and the impact was also lessened as the brakes on the V2 were not fully applied. The V2 was pushed forward by 85 yards and partially derailed, whilst Felstead and the leading two carriages were derailed, but remained upright. Sixteen passengers and six railway staff were injured and taken to Wakefield Hospital, where two were detained. The majority of the passenger injuries had been caused by the seats and tables in the first carriage becoming dislodged by unsatisfactory fixings and it was recommended that this fault be investigated, especially as most of the carriages in the train were only three to five years old. The centre casting on the A3’s bogie fractured, throwing it to the side of the track, the buffer beam was torn off and the main frames bent. As mentioned, the engine had only recently been released from a general overhaul, which had taken 52 days, during which it had been fitted with a double chimney. Withdrawal of the engine was considered, but Doncaster carried out the necessary repairs which took four months to complete. The Shedmaster at Haymarket was not happy! BLACKPOOL TRANSPORT SPOT The departure of Balloon tram 726: Back in early December we had a look at Brush Railcoach 625’s move from Blackpool’s Rigby Road depot. This week it’s 726’s turn to be in the spotlight. The history of 726: Number 726 was built at Preston by English Electric in 1935 and originally numbered 263. It was the final delivery in a sequence of twenty-seven double deck streamline trams built for Blackpool numbered 237 - 263. The first twelve (237 - 248) had open top decks. These were enclosed in the war years. They were re-numbered 700 – 726 in 1968. An early shot of 726 on Lytham Road on its first day in service following a repaint Along with all of its sister cars 726 was subject to various minor internal and external modifications. She last ran in Blackpool during the 2010 illuminations season, becoming one of the last Balloon cars not to have been extensively modernised to see service on its native tramway. Final withdrawal came in 2011. This photo shows 726 sitting at the Tower whilst working a service through to the southern terminus at Starr Gate. The tram is carrying one of the better all over adverts of the period for Thwaites Beer. This was in fact the very first all over advert carried by the last of the Balloon cars having been applied in early 2000. By the time this photo was taken on 15th July 2005 this livery only had just over a year to go before it was replaced by another advertising contract. 726 was privately purchased in 2011 for a potential museum project in north-east England, but was then subsequently offered for sale by its new owner prior to the tram's removal from Rigby Road Depot. After a relatively brief period of storage, it was then sold and joined the collection of the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust, departing Rigby Road for outside storage at the end of 2011. A further move to the Fleetwood fish docks followed in 2013. The tram had stood out in the open ever since, exposed to the unforgiving coastal climate. Considering that the tram was already in a fairly tired condition, this had probably done it further harm. In 2017 a storage arrangement was made between Blackpool Transport, the Blackpool Heritage Trust, and the current owner of 726 and Brush Railcoach 625. Both of these cars were to be stored securely at Rigby Road after spending their past number of years outside. Following this welcome news, the duo were transported back to Rigby Road depot on Wednesday 7th June. Having brought Brush car 623 back from Heaton Park the day before, a team from Scott’s Heavy Haulage stayed in Blackpool to move the two other trams the short distance from Fleetwood fish docks. The Brush car was moved first, with 726 following later the same day. Both appeared to be largely complete although their peeling and faded paintwork made for a very sad sight. Nonetheless, at least the trams were now back under cover. At Fleetwood Dock ready to depart for Rigby Road, 7th June 2017 Pictured on Lytham Road about to make the awkward turn into Hopton Road which leads to the depot The future survival of 726 had been placed in serious doubt, with an announcement from its owners, the Fleetwood Heritage Leisure Trust, that the tram was being offered for sale to any interested parties. It had been confirmed that 726‘s current owners would be willing to either sell the complete tram or sell off parts for use to assist with other restoration projects, confirming that the Trust had now ended its interest in this particular tram. 726 was a very popular car amongst enthusiasts towards the end of its working life, thanks to the retention of many traditional features such as varnished interior woodwork, swing-over seats, and half-drop glazing. It was also noted for its distinctive drooping bodywork which could well be less appealing to anyone who wished to consider buying the tram! After buying 625 the East Anglian Transport Museum stepped in and also purchased 726 which then followed 625’s journey to Carlton Colville to a safe and secure future. On the day before the move - A rather forlorn looking 726 with the remnants of its HM Coastguards livery, and severe droop at both ends due to it requiring a replacement underframe, is seen at the rear of Rigby Road depot The teak frame has stood up well to the years of salt air. Inside can be seen a set of seats that are going with the tram. On the day of the move we positioned 726 in the electrical compound. This was created in 1955 when roads 15 – 18 were partitioned off. This part of the depot gives the most direct route out onto Blundell Street where the low-loader will be parked. There are a couple of things of interest in the pic. Around 726 is a scaffolding frame with running boards above. This gives access to the trolley pole/pantographs. Next to 711 are two gingerbread men who were rescued from a scrap pile of old illuminations tableaux. Tow bar attached. Another view of the access tower from the opposite side. In position on Blundell Street Attaching the winch cable Reid Freight’s Scania R580 was on duty In a previous life she worked for Ainscough Crane Hire Ltd. Pictured here on the M62 at High Eggborough, Yorkshire. (Pic credit to panmanstan 001) With a James Jack Lifting Services stepped floor platform trailer on the M40 at Shrewley (Pic credit to Steven Clements) James Jack’s heavy crane division has some serious kit. How about this Liebherr LTM1500-8.1 pictured on the A9 at the House of Bruar. The all-terrain mobile crane has a maximum lift capacity of 500 tons, and a seven-section telescoping boom length of 276 feet, with a lattice jib extension of up to 300 feet, the largest capacity and reach of any crane in its class. (Pic credit to Darren Green) The red brick of the fitting shop makes for a magnificent background. This is due to be demolished to make way for an electric bus charging facility. I personally think it should be used in the structure of the new building. The quality of workmanship has stood the test of time, and it deserves to remain. The tricky part is to make sure the tram does not derail as it moves along the temporary rail onto the trailer Carefully does it, monitoring every revolution of the wheels Precision required with one hand on the winch remote and the other on the emergency brake So far, so good The rear set of bogies are safely on the ‘right track’ All aboard. Chaining down is the next job. Ground clearance is very minimal. The lads have to stick to a max speed of 45mph or else the trailer starts to bounce and bottom out. Ready for the 6hr+ haul to Suffolk. As with 625’s move the rules and reg’s don’t allow for an overnight journey when the roads are quiet! Yet another instance of illogical rule-making. Next week: New car pics from the F2 season-openers at King’s Lynn & Skegness. In a fortnight: For the last of this off-season join me for a look around the Leyland-DAF factory, and then the vehicles gathered outside for the Leyland 125 event.

Section 1 above Section 2: Out and About: Join me as we visit the crash site of the Bleaklow Bomber: The Story Of The B-29 (RB-29A) Superfortress – ‘Over Exposed’ Back in 2020 we had a look at the remains of two F86 Sabre jets that had crashed on Kinder Scout. This time we’re going to find the crash site of the above mentioned Superfortress. This aircraft has a fascinating history, and walking amongst the wreckage is truly eerie when you consider its involvement in world changing events during its service life. ‘Over Exposed’ was a photo reconnaissance aircraft and had photographed some of the nuclear bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The name was given to the aircraft after getting too close to the flash during nuclear bomb test Able in July 1946. (We’ll have an in-depth look at these tests later) At the highest point of the Glossop to Ladybower Reservoir (Snake Pass) stretch of the A57 is a desolate and bleak moorland. In years gone by this area, when in thick fog, has proved very disorientating for aircrew passing overhead. Over 150 aircraft have crashed in and around the large landmass encompassing this part of the Derbyshire Peak District. The crash site is in the centre of the map A = Highest point of the A57 B = Crash site of the Superfortress - The site we’ll be exploring. C = Crash site of the F86 Sabres which we visited in 2020 D = Crash site of a B24 Liberator First, a general overview of the B-29: Boeing submitted the proposal for the B-29 long-range heavy bomber to the Army in 1940, before the United States entered World War II. One of the most technologically advanced airplanes of World War II, the B-29 had many new features, including guns that could be fired by remote control. Two crew areas, fore and aft, were pressurized and connected by a long tube over the bomb bays, allowing crew members to crawl between them. The tail gunner had a separate pressurized area that could only be entered or left at altitudes that did not require pressurization. The B-29 was also the world’s heaviest production aircraft owing to increases in range, bomb load and defensive requirements. The B-29 used the high-speed Boeing 117 aerofoil, and its larger Fowler flaps added to the wing area as they increased lift. Modifications led to the B-29D, upgraded to the B-50, and the RB-29 photoreconnaissance aircraft. The Soviet-built copy of the B-29 was called the Tupolev Tu-4. The earliest B-29s were built before testing was finished, so the Army established modification centres where last-minute changes could be made without slowing expanding assembly lines. Boeing built a total of 2,766 B-29s at plants in Wichita, Kan., (previously the Stearman Aircraft Co., merged with Boeing in 1934) and in Renton, Wash. The Bell Aircraft Co. built 668 of the giant bombers in Georgia, and the Glenn L. Martin Co. built 536 in Nebraska. Production ended in 1946. B-29 Production line Flying combat missions first from India, and China, and later from the Marianas Islands, the Superfortress repeatedly demonstrated its capability for carrying bomb loads of up to 20,000 pounds against targets as far away as 1,500 miles from its base. In the spring of 1944, B-29s of the 20th Bomber Command were deployed to bases in India to bomb from there, and from staging fields in China to bolster Chinese resistance. The first mission was flown on June 5, 1944, against Bangkok, Thailand, and on June 15, B-29s flew their first raid against Japan, striking the steel mills of Yawata. Indian-based B-29s flew most of their raids against targets outside the Japanese home islands but in the spring of 1945 moved to Tinian to reinforce the 21st Bomber Command B-29 fleet in the Marianas for the final air assault against Japan. Marianas-based B-29s flew their first mission against the Japanese home islands when 88 unescorted planes bombed Tokyo. Only one B-29 was lost in combat during this inaugural mission; it went down after being rammed by an enemy fighter. The total number of B-29 missions flown from the Asian mainland was limited since the bombers had to haul much of their own fuel and bombs to the forward bases in China; however, these missions did provide valuable operational experience, which proved useful in later B-29 operations. For the next three months, the USAAF slowly increased its strategic bombing campaign against Japan, striking primarily at aircraft factories in high-altitude daylight raids. Due to high winds and clouds frequently encountered over Japan, accuracy was poor, and the precision bombing campaign was not achieving the desired results. As many as 1,000 Superfortresses at a time bombed Tokyo, destroying large parts of the city. Finally, on Aug. 6, 1945, the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later a second B-29, Bockscar, dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Shortly thereafter, Japan surrendered. After the war, B-29s were adapted for several functions, including in-flight refueling, anti-submarine patrol, weather reconnaissance and rescue duty. The B-29 saw military service again in Korea between 1950 and 1953, battling new adversaries: jet fighters and electronic weapons. The last B-29 in squadron use retired from service in September 1960. Technical Specifications B-29 Superfortress First flight Sept. 21, 1942 Model number 345 Classification Bomber Span 141 feet 3 inches Length 99 feet Gross weight 105,000 pounds (140,000 pounds postwar) Top speed 365 mph Cruising speed 220 mph Range 5,830 miles Ceiling 31,850 feet Power Four 2,200-horsepower Wright Duplex Cyclone engines Accommodation Ten crew Armament Twelve 50-caliber machine guns, one 20 mm cannon, a 20,000-pound bomb load In storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base RB-29 and F-13 Superfortress Reconnaissance Aircraft The photo reconnaissance version of the B-29 was originally designated the F-13 Superfortress. In 1944 an F-13 became the first U.S. plane to fly over Tokyo since April 1942. A total of 118 B-29 aircraft were reconfigured for photo work. In 1948, the F-13s were redesignated the RB-29 or the RB-29A. ‘Over Exposed’ played an important role in: OPERATION CROSSROADS – A DEADLY ILLUSION The United States emerged from the crucible of World War II as an industrial superpower with a weapon that could revolutionize warfare—an atomic bomb. Demobilizing more than 10 million service personnel, returning to a peacetime economy, and creating world order were enormous, immediate challenges in late 1945. At the same time, the secret of the atomic bomb was out, and the clock was ticking on the United States’ nuclear monopoly. The pressure to move quickly seemed to grow with each passing month. Military leaders and planners struggled to understand what the bomb meant and how it was to be used, if at all. Nuclear strategy had not yet been invented and the radioactive consequences of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were poorly understood. The US military, which had won a decisive victory, was determined to cement its superiority. The day after Emperor Hirohito surrendered, a US military advisor proposed to the secretary of the Navy James Forrestal, a test of nuclear weapons on naval vessels to demonstrate their survivability. The concept was thus born for “the most observed, most photographed, most-talked-of scientific test ever conducted”—laid out in the official report on Operation Crossroads. BY THE NUMBERS: US Personnel: 42,000 Bikini islanders displaced: 167 Ships assembled: 242 Ships sunk immediately: 5 on July 1; 9 on July 25 Airplanes: 156 Cameras: 750 Pressure guages: 5,000 Radiation detectors: 25,000 Goats: 204 Pigs: 200 Mice: 200 Guinea pigs: 60 Rats: 5000 Coffee: 4,000 lbs Sugar: 11,000 lbs Fruit: 38,000 lbs Meat: 40,000 lbs Vegetables: 89,000 lbs Even after the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, military officials still knew far less than they would have liked about the effects, especially on naval targets, of nuclear weapons. Accordingly, the Joint Chiefs of Staff requested and received presidential approval to conduct a series of tests during summer 1946. Vice Admiral W. H. P. Blandy, head of the test series task force, proposed calling the series Operation "Crossroads." "It was apparent," he noted, "that warfare, perhaps civilization itself, had been brought to a turning point by this revolutionary weapon." Experience with the radiological hazards of Trinity and the two bombs dropped on Japan strongly influenced the decision to locate Crossroads at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands of the central Pacific, far from major population centres. Bikini was a typical coral atoll. With a reef surrounding a lagoon of well over 200 square miles, Bikini offered ample protected anchorage for both a target fleet and support ships. As a test site, the atoll held two drawbacks: the distance from the continental United States imposed extraordinary logistical demands, and the humid climate created numerous problems for sophisticated electronic and photographic equipment. The military removed the native population of 162 to another atoll. Unlike the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or many other nuclear tests, Operation Crossroads was no secret. The Joint Chiefs of Staff, who formally requested the operation, decided even before creating Joint Task Force One or designating Vice Admiral WPH Blandy as its commander in January 1946, that the test would be publicized and attended not just by American press, but also international press. Shaping public expectations created a dynamic all its own. More than a hundred US and foreign reporters attended the tests. Foreign officials, somewhat of an afterthought, attended from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Egypt, the United Kingdom, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, and the Soviet Union as observers also. Destroying a significant number of naval ships with a single nuclear weapon takes planning and time. Yet the first test was planned for May 15 because scientists involved in the war effort were eager to get back to civilian work, civilian scientists would want to be back at their universities by September, military personnel were being demobilized, and military budgets were expected to decline precipitously. Holding onto a surplus of target vessels also could not continue indefinitely. President Truman slipped the deadline six weeks to allow members of Congress to attend. In the end, just four Senators and nine congressmen attended Able; one senator and five congressmen attended Baker. Congress watched the progress of Operational Crossroads closely. Within two weeks of his appointment, Vice Admiral Blandy sat in front of a Senate committee, explaining in the Cultural Resource Assessment that “The ultimate result of the tests, so far as the Navy is concerned, will be their translation into terms of United States sea power. Secondary purposes are to afford training for Army Air Forces personnel in the attack with the atomic bomb against ships and to determine the effect of the atomic bomb upon military installations and equipment.” In short, the Navy and Army needed to prepare to fight (and survive) a nuclear war. Congress did not fully authorize the tests until June 14, little more than two weeks from the countdown. In the meanwhile, questioning was intense. Lurking underneath the rational military planning were bureaucratic fears. Admiral Blandy was proud of choosing the name for the operation himself and underlined its importance with this description: Both airpower and seapower were integral to winning in the Pacific theatre of war, but the advent of aircraft-delivered nuclear bombs made observers wonder whether naval vessels were now obsolete. The Navy set out to prove the opposite and, in the process, invented a role for itself in delivering nuclear ordinance. Three tests were envisioned for Operation Crossroads: a Hiroshima-like burst (Able), a shallow underwater burst (Baker), and a deeply submerged explosion (1000-2000 feet below the surface). The Baker shot produced so much contamination that President Truman cancelled the third test. OBJECTIONS TO OPERATION CROSSROADS The public nature of the tests exposed them to more scrutiny, both inside and outside the government. Some critics objected to the cost of the tests, including the sinking or scuttling of scores of US ships, even if they were deemed to be a surplus after the war. The ships designated as targets for the tests would have constituted the 6th largest navy at the time and, ironically, the Navy repaired a few before their imminent demise to make the test more realistic. Other critics wondered if the tests were too provocative to foreign competitors and US officials made a point of explaining that the target array did not mirror any real-world navy. US nuclear scientists questioned the scientific value of the tests, and the possibility for severe radioactive contamination from an underwater explosion. Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists conjectured in an official memo from Henry Newson that water around a recent surface explosion would be “a witch’s brew… [and] There will probably be enough plutonium near the surface to poison the combined armed forces of the United States at their highest wartime strength.” To make matters worse, the Army Air Force wanted the test to demonstrate the vulnerability of Navy ships, while the Navy wanted to demonstrate the robustness of its ships. Ultimately, the lessons drawn from the tests had nothing to do with the survivability of the US fleet. Instead, the classified Final Report of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that “If used in numbers, atomic bombs can not only nullify any nation’s military effort, but can demolish its social and economic structures, and prevent their re-establishment for long periods of time. With such weapons, especially if employed in conjunction with other weapons of mass destructions, for example, pathogenic bacteria, it is quite possible to depopulate vast areas of the earth’s surface, leaving only vestigial remnants of man’s material works….Dominance in the ability to wage atomic warfare, the loss of which might be fatal to our national life, can be retained only by unflagging effort to hold that leadership.” The seeds of the nuclear arms race, pre-emptive strikes, and mutually assured destruction are all found in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Evaluation Board report. Small objections were raised by congressmen during hearings regarding whether enough was being done for the 167 inhabitants of the Bikini atoll who were asked to relocate. The military had moved the islanders to Rongerik atoll on March 7, building houses for them. No one could have predicted that these so-called “nuclear nomads” would never return for good. CONFLICTING IMPULSES US nuclear history is rife with contradictions and tensions, particularly between a desire for peace and honing nuclear war capabilities. On the day of the Nagasaki bombing, President Truman had announced that the United States would seek the means “to control the bomb so as to protect ourselves and the rest of the world from the danger of total destruction.” Within three months, Truman met with UK Prime Minister Atlee, and Canadian Prime Minister King and together proposed a UN atomic energy commission that would control atomic energy to ensure peaceful uses through the establishment of safeguards and inspections and through the elimination of nuclear weapons. The first resolution passed by the brand-new United Nations General Assembly in January 1946 created the UN Atomic Energy Commission. It was to this international commission that Bernard Baruch proposed, on June 14, 1946, a practical way of implementing disarmament, drawing upon the Acheson-Lilienthal report. That same day in Washington, senators formally authorized Operation Crossroads. In the words of one journalist, Gram Swing, ABC radio commentator: “At Bikini, the Navy is preparing itself for the failure of the UN Atomic Energy Commission. On the one hand, we’re striving to rid the world of a weapon which may set back civilization for centuries…and on the other hand, we’re training ourselves in the use of this very weapon. So, we strive to save civilization, and we learn how to wreck it, all on the same weekend.” Civilians were not only focused on promoting international control of weapons, but civilian control of nuclear weapons at home. Since 1944, officials recognized the need for a post-war civilian commission but initial variations had heavy military representation. By mid-1946, Senator Brien McMahon’s legislation prevailed and President Truman signed the US Atomic Energy Act into law on August 1. None of this prevented the nuclear bureaucracy from gearing up to incorporate nuclear weapons into the evolving US military structure. At the end of the war, the US arsenal of atomic devices was empty. But the vast industrial machinery that produced the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs was still in place. Within a year, the stockpile grew to nine weapons, and with them, plans for military tests. An aerial view of a target outline on Namu Island of Bikini Atoll THE ABLE TEST (JULY 1, 1946) On July 1st 1946, B-29 Superfortress "Dave's Dream", accompanied by "Over Exposed", took off from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands to take part in "Operation Crossroads" - the Atomic Bomb tests at Bikini Atoll. The B-29 was to drop an atomic bomb which was to explode over Bikini Atoll Lagoon and it was the job of "Over Exposed" and its 25 cameras to photograph 'Dave's Dream' and the bomb leaving the aircraft. It then dived 1,000 feet and was seven miles away when the bomb exploded. A mushroom cloud seen from Eneu Island, resulting from an atomic explosion of "Able" during Operation Crossroads, July 1, 1946. According to government documents, both implosion, plutonium-based devices used in the Able and Baker tests were identical in yield but vastly different in results. The target fleet consisted of older U.S. warships and submarines, three captured German and Japanese ships, and other surplus auxiliary and amphibious vessels. Some of the ships were loaded with live animals, such as pigs and rats, to study the effects of the nuclear blast and radioactive fallout on animals. A support fleet of more than 150 ships provided quarters, experimental stations, and workshops for the 42,000 men who participated in the test. Before the tests, all personnel were evacuated from Bikini Atoll and took safe positions at least ten nautical miles east of the atoll as a precaution. The residents of Bikini Atoll were resettled on Rongerik Atoll, approximately 125 miles away The Able device was air-dropped by a B-29 that missed its target by a half-mile on the morning of July 1, 1946. The device detonated about 520ft above the ship Nevada and hit several ships carrying instrumentation so that significant data was lost. The same mistake in the dry-run—the signal to turn on recording equipment was 10 seconds late—was repeated in the actual bomb-drop, resulting in the failure of dozens of cameras, spectrographs, and shock-wave instruments to record anything at all. Still, the airburst weapon, nicknamed “Gilda” after a Rita Hayworth movie released that year, caused considerable, but not spectacular damage to the ships and only sank three. Most importantly, the airburst avoided seriously contaminating the ships, allowing observation the very next day. Even though the bomb missed its target, the nuclear radiation generated by the fireball had a significant effect on many of the pigs, goats, and mice placed on the surrounding ships. In the assessment of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, “a large ship, about a mile away from the explosion, would escape sinking, but the crew would be killed by the deadly burst of radiation from the bomb, and only a ghost ship would remain, floating unattended in the vast waters of the ocean.” About a third of the US journalists present at the Able shot decided not to stay for Baker. All airborne filming carried out by ‘Over-Exposed’ THE BAKER TEST (JULY 25, 1946) The Baker underwater shot was a different story and proved much more impressive. The bomb, dubbed “Helen of Bikini,” was detonated ninety feet underwater on the morning of July 25, 1946. It produced a spectacular display and wreaked havoc on a seventy-four fleet of empty ships as it spewed thousands of tons of water and steam into the air. The underwater fireball generated by the blast took the form of a rapidly expanding hot gas bubble, which reached the sea floor and the sea surface simultaneously. The result created a shallow crater on the seafloor 30 feet deep and nearly 2,000 feet wide. At the top, water burst through the surface like a geyser, creating a massive “spray dome” containing nearly two million tons of water. The expanding dome stretched into a hollow chimney of spray called the “column,” 6000 feet tall and 2000 feet wide with walls 300 feet thick. The Arkansas was the closest ship to the blast and was lifted upwards by the rising water column. At 562 feet long, and weighing 27,000 tonnes, the Arkansas was bow-pinned to the seafloor and toppled backward into the water curtain of the spray column. The space vacated by the rising gas bubble caused a tsunami which generated a wave 94 feet high. This rolled over target and support vessels. By the time the wave reached Bikini Island beach 3.5 miles away, a series of nine 15-foot waves tossed landing craft onto the beach and filled them with sand. Ten seconds after the detonation, falling water from the column created a 900-foot “base surge” which rolled over many of the target ships, painting them with radioactivity debris that could not be removed. This debris consisted of fission products (radioactive elements resulting from the fission, or splitting, of the bomb’s plutonium), unconsumed plutonium from the bomb’s fissioning core, and radioactive sand and coral that had been irradiated by the intense neutron radiation from the blast. This unexpected outcome caused contamination of both target and support ships, the extent of which depended on each ship’s position relative to the zero point of the blast. Twelve of the ships in the immediate area of the detonation sank immediately or within hours. The target fleet remained too radiologically contaminated for several weeks for more than brief on-board activities. All of the pigs, and most of the rats used during the BAKER test were either killed by the initial blast or died shortly thereafter from radiological exposure. This footage from ‘Over Exposed’ capturing the blast is hands down the most spectacular of all the atomic tests despite being one of the smallest. The column of water compared to those huge ships is an insane amount being thrust up into the air. It is perfectly symmetrical and round. Hauntingly beautiful, yet terrifying at the same time. As with Able, the test yielded explosions equivalent to 21,000 tons of TNT. Baker, as one historian notes, "helped restore respect for the power of the bomb." Baker also created a major radiation problem. The test produced a radioactive mist that deposited active products on the target fleet in amounts far greater than had been predicted. As the Joint Chiefs of Staff evaluation board later noted, the contaminated ships "became radioactive stoves, and would have burned all living things aboard them with invisible and painless but deadly radiation." Decontamination presented a significant radiation hazard, and, as a result, over a period of several weeks personnel exposure levels began to climb. A worried Stafford Warren, who headed the testing task force's radiological safety section, concluded that the task force faced "great risks of harm to personnel engaged in decontamination and survey work unless such work ceases within the very near future." With exposure data in hand, Warren prevailed and decontamination operations ceased. A planned third shot, to be detonated on the bottom of the lagoon, was cancelled. Able and Baker were the final weapon tests conducted by the Manhattan Project and the last American tests until the Atomic Energy Commission's Sandstone series began in spring 1948. No one had experience with decontaminating radioactive ships. Some ships were too radioactive to be boarded at all in the first week and thereafter, for little more than a few minutes. The support fleet itself became radioactively contaminated, as stated in the Nuclear Test Personnel Review. By August 10, the decision was made to tow ships to Kwajalein atoll for decontamination and to sink or scuttle others. Eventually, eight major ships and two submarines were towed back to Hawaii and the west coast of the United States for inspection and decontamination. Animals retrieved from the ships that were still alive in August had mostly died of gamma poisoning by November 1946. One of the deadly illusions of the 1946 nuclear tests was that a nuclear war could be fought, and maybe even won. The tests demonstrated that some military equipment outside the “red zone” could survive a blast and radiation in some circumstances (a relatively “clean” detonation like Able) but not in others (a dirty one like Baker). The Able shot lulled observers into a false sense of security, whereas the Baker test conveyed the deadlier risks of radiation. A ship could be seaworthy but still untouchable. The conclusions of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Evaluation Board underscored the deadliest illusion of them all: that racing ahead to develop tens of thousands of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons brought security rather than risks. CONCLUSION The Able and Baker “shots’’ were the first of many atmospheric nuclear tests conducted in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958. The most infamous was the March 1, 1954 hydrogen bomb test (Castle Bravo) that went wrong. Designers expected a five-megaton yield but miscalculated the reactivity of one of the bomb’s components, lithium-7. The 15-megaton test destroyed Namu Island and the four-and-a-half-mile wide fireball could be seen 250 miles away. Contamination reached across 100 miles, affecting 15 islands and atolls. Worse still, inhabitants were not evacuated for two days. The contamination of a Japanese fishing boat (The Lucky Dragon) 60 miles away led to some observers calling Castle Bravo the “second Hiroshima.” Radioactive contaminants were detected as far away as India, Japan, Australia, and Europe, prompting worldwide condemnation and a halt by the United States and Soviet Union of atmospheric testing between 1958 and 1961. In 1963, states negotiated the Partial Test Ban Treaty, which forever banned atmospheric tests. The Bikini inhabitants relocated several times, at some points literally starving because the alternative atolls and islands could not sustain them. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson declared the Bikini atoll fit for repopulation, based on an Atomic Energy Commission analysis. That analysis tragically underestimated the radiation contamination by a factor of 100, so that residents who returned to the atoll wound up leaving by 1978. Today, the Bikini atoll is popular among adventure divers. The coral reefs are returning, and some say the fish are safe to eat. But it is not possible to drink the water or eat the coconuts, making the atoll uninhabitable. The dream of returning is, for the Marshallese, the final deadly illusion created by Operation Crossroads. At the end of the tests ‘Over Exposed’ was sent back to Wright field, where the extra cameras were removed, and the aircraft sent to Roswell Field for contamination checks. It was then re-assigned to 16th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Group, McGuire AFB, NJ The aircraft had also been involved in the Berlin airlift in the same year, which had come about as a result of a Soviet blockade of land routes into West Berlin following the conclusion of the Second World War. Now on to the sad ending for ‘Over Exposed’: November 3, 1948: The Superfortress took off at around 10.15 from RAF Scampton, Lincolnshire for Burtonwood USAF base, near Warrington, Lancashire. It was a routine flight with two other aircraft, the RB-29 carrying USAF wages among other things. The crew were due to return to the States a few days later. Low cloud hung over much of England that day and as such the flight was to be conducted on instruments. After having flown for the time the crew believed it should have taken them to cross the hill they descended. However, the aircraft was not quite past the hills and struck the ground a short way east of Higher Shelf Stones on Bleaklow and was destroyed by fire. When ‘Over Exposed’ failed to arrive at Burtonwood, an air search was initiated and that afternoon the burning wreck was spotted high on the moors near Higher Shelf Stones. By chance members of the Harpur Hill RAF Mountain Rescue Unit were just finishing an exercise two and a half miles away, so they quickly made their way to the scene of the crash, but there was clearly nothing that could have been done for any of the crew. All 13 men on board had been killed instantly when the aircraft flew into the moor. It is not known why Captain Tanner did not fly at a height sufficient to clear the high ground. Wreckage was found at 2,007 feet (612 metre) Higher Shelf Stones, above Bleaklow, High Peak, near Glossop, Derbyshire. The payroll, on board, totalling some £7,000, was found in a sack and was not burnt. After the crash investigation teams had finished, the tail fin, which still stood up-right was destroyed, as it could be seen for miles around, and was attracting too many sightseers. Souvenir hunters and the elements have taken their toll on the wreckage over time. A gun turret was removed at the MOD’s permission and is now in the air museum at Newark. Incredibly, a man from nearby Hadfield found a wedding ring at the crash site in the 70’s, which turned out to be Capt Tanner’s ring - which was then duly returned to his daughter. Join me now as we have a look around the wreck site. The feeling is very surreal seeing this in person and knowing what history the aircraft had been through. This part of the Peak District is by far one of the hardest due to the pathless and rugged terrain. Navigation skills are vital as are the right equipment. Care and preparation are paramount in bad weather. Comprising of a huge expanse of boggy peat and stone formations, the hags and groughs of Bleaklow are almost impossible to navigate in bad weather. It is very easy to end up completely lost sinking in boggy peat and going around in circles up here. Most of the plateau is above 2000ft high and at one point near Bleaklow Stones is the furthest point east in England over 2000ft high. It is often referred to as the most strenuous and toughest walking terrain in Britain. Many hill walkers actually hate the place. The area is most certainly somewhere that has to be taken seriously. Nearly eighty years on many major structural spars remain. Scattered around are engines, rusting brake drums, wheels and undercarriage struts. Pulley wheels for internal control cables, and even large sections of the light aluminium alloy from which the fuselage was constructed have survived the ravishes of the Bleaklow weather. The most instantly recognisable parts of the aeroplane are the four Wright R-3350-23 Duplex-Cyclone 18-cylinder air-cooled turbosupercharged radial piston engines, 2,200 hp (1,600 kW) each, still in a remarkable state of preservation. There are many cross shapes made from scraps of twisted and broken aircraft parts on the site, with poppies and wreaths. Elsewhere, a row of poppies have been planted beneath a section of the plane's wing. The wreckage remains as a memorial to the brave souls who lost their lives on that day. A vast and featureless moorland awaits us The going underfoot was bad to terrible nearly all the way. Between the peat, bogs, and bracken there were no paths. Here is an example of a peat ‘grough’. It is the channel between the high points which are the ‘hags’. There are plenty of these to cross. Some are narrow enough to jump over but the rest have to be climbed in and out of. It’s good fun sliding down the sides but not so easy getting back out! The mist descends to complicate the search The first item appears A fuel tank Parts of the rubber fuel cell remain An oil cooling radiator More wreckage appears out of the gloom A wing flap spar The remains of a pair of wings Traces of black paint still visible The trail of debris leads on One of the Cyclone engines comes into view Wirelocking still intact A large debris field materialises We’ll pause the pics to have a read of a report from an account by a serviceman from RAF Harpur Hill near Buxton who was with the party which cleared the site of human remains and effects the day after the crash. Warning: It does make for disturbing reading. In the late afternoon on the 3rd November 1948 the camp was buzzing about an aircraft crash on the moors with a lot of dead personnel. Civilian or military we did not know. The dread was that it was civilian and would involve women and children. The rumours became fact when volunteers were asked for to augment the Mountain Rescue Team. When assembled we were briefed and led by our adjutant Flt Lt E.E ‘Buster’ Allen DFC, a former Battle of Britain pilot. We set off in the early hours of the 4th to arrive at the assembly point on the Snake Pass before dawn. The Americans were there in force including a group of Military Police in white helmets, webbing, pistols, the lot! The officer in charge had a tailored uniform and half coat with a beaver fur on his shoulders and down his back and when this was gathered and zipped up it became a parka hood. Such quality for military clothing we had never seen before. They all appeared to have an unlimited supply of fags which we took with great alacrity as pay day was due and we had about three Woodbines and two dog ends between us. The American officer was on the radio most of the time trying to persuade some higher authority that he wanted a fleet of helicopters sending in to fetch the bodies. He kept saying “What low cloud? I can see for miles!” I gathered that the authority did not think that was correct. We could not see the top of the hill above us. At that time helicopters were a rare sight and not very large at that. He then tried another tack and wanted to know where the nearest US Army heavy construction unit was, to drive a rough road up and across the moor to the crash site to get “some trucks up there and get these poor guys down, there is no way up there for Jesus.” Well, whether or not Jesus Christ could have got up there I do not know but ‘Buster’ Allen was certain we could and he had us off our backside each carrying a stretcher, and off we went into the gloom, up the sodden hillside. At the top it was like a nightmare assault course, first you were tripping over tufts of grass and heather or sinking into the soggy peat, jumping or going through miniature ravines full of water, or walking miles around the large ones. All the time it was wet. Wet above you and wet below. The stretcher began to weigh a ton and we were sweating so much that we were wet inside our clothing. The walking and stumbling appeared to go on forever in the darkness, you just got to the point of making sure you kept up to the man in front and wondering what lay ahead of us. I had never seen a person that had suffered a violent death. The light had gradually improved from black to grey and as the mist swirled clear I looked up from the feet in front of me and suddenly I saw it. The huge B-29 tail fin rearing across the desolate moor up into the sky as if a huge gravestone had already been planted in commemoration. About a quarter of a mile from the bulk of the wreck I began to see huge pieces of metal, equipment and papers scattered around and then I arrived at the rim of the crash centre. The rim had been created by the B-29 ploughing into the moor as if it had tried to bury itself to hide the shame of not being able to fly. The American Military Police had been placed around the rim of the area and took no part in the recovery operation. Irregular mounds of white metal from the aircraft as it melted were everywhere, as if a foundry man had gone berserk and using the earth as his moulds had cast these useless shapes all over the site. The centre was a tangled mess of the fuselage with shapes bearing no relation to anything you had ever seen, masses of cable, metal, instruments, seats, equipment of every description, paper everywhere and the bodies of the airmen strewn around as they had been thrown clear of the aircraft on impact in grotesque positions. The four huge engines were flung around, one of them was nearly one hundred feet from the main wreck. There was also a lingering, smouldering smell everywhere around, slightly sweet, or was it a sickly smell? It appeared and then was gone, a smell you knew but then you could not place it, like a memory of cooked meat but then it was not. It was elusive but persistent all the time I was there. I remarked on this at a later date and one of the old hands told me what it was; it was the smell of burning human flesh. In later years I have occasionally smelled that same smell for no apparent reason, for a brief moment, then it has gone and in an instant the brain rolls away the years and connects the senses with the memory and that is a scene I shall never forget. Dominating over all that terrible place was the enormous tail fin of the dead B29, towering twenty-five feet high, stark and foreign on that moor against the grey November morning but the only part of the aircraft recognisable. In what had been the main body, a tangled mass, were two objects that had a different outline to their surroundings, smooth, almost human in shape. Two black plastic window dummies came to mind, an odd thing to be in such an appalling place. I concentrated on these things and slowly realised they were the remains of two men that had been burnt black. One had what appeared to be a square stomach and chest. I was just about to decide that I wanted to run away from this nightmare in front of me when I received a push or maybe a boot at the rear and the voice of Fl Lt Allen bellowing in my ear “Allsopp what the hell are you standing there for… Get your finger out and move man…” Training and discipline took control. I ran and joined the others in extracting these ‘things’ from the tangled mass of debris. The one with the square chest had some aircraft equipment impacted into him at the moment of the crash and it had been fused there by the intense heat of the fire which had consumed his flesh. From then on you just kept busy working, searching, concentrating on just that moment, that task, to stop yourself thinking what you were handling, what ‘it’ had been. Putting out of your mind that this had been part of a human being, a person who a few short hours previously was walking like you and could have spoken to you. He had been a man with hopes, dreams, wife, children… Just do it, don’t think. So, it went on. I helped to release a body from a chair it was strapped to, maybe 120ft from the main crash. He had not a mark on his body, apart from a broken neck. Others had torn clothing, the flesh pink, dirty, often torn with blood congealed black/brown. Excrement was everywhere around the bodies, often baked hard by the heat. One had the skull split open with the brain half out. Limbs were not in the shapes or positions that they should be, and many were missing. Just keep on, don’t think, pick up wallets, photographs, personal documents, bank notes, most were partly burned, coins, keys, crucifix, lighters and cigarette cases and all the everyday things we all carry. A flying boot that was amazingly heavy when I picked it up; part of the limb had been retained in it. You worked automatically, there were things to be moved together, bodies ‘Parts Of’ over there, wallets in that box, identity tabs if loose there, watches and jewellery here, so on and so on. We continually went around looking, poking, searching an area again if a body had been there to make sure everything was retrieved for identification and to send back to their next of kin. It went on until there appeared to be some kind of distorted order and tidiness about the site. One or two of the team were now within the main air frame where the fire had been intense. Suddenly one of the men shouted something. He shouted again to anyone who might listen, an excited urgent call. We all stopped what we were doing, some started towards him. “Look at this!” He held a cotton bag in one hand and in the other his fist clutched a bundle of what appeared to be bank notes. They were American Dollars. Instantly the American Military Police descended from the rim grabbing the money and the bag and the American officers ran across. The airman was quickly released and after a further examination by the police in the area that it had been found, followed by a consultation with their officers, they left the crash site with the cash. There was 7,400 Dollars in that bag, the payroll for the Burtonwood base. Not a note was burnt or even singed. Thirteen men had died. Our stretchers were not needed as the Americans had brought a lot of what they called Body Bags. They were new to us but a very useful piece of equipment. They were probably six or seven foot in length, of a plastic type canvas with handles sewn on and the bodies were put into these and zipped up. We made sure that there was a torso, four limbs and a head in each one. We eventually got organised and set off down to the Snake. This was not any kinder going down as it was coming up and this time we had the additional task of carrying the bodies in the body bags. One man at each corner, we carried until our arms and fingers became numb. We slithered, stumbled over the rough peat and dragged the bags in and out of water filled ravines, the sides of which were that soft and slimy that they clung to you, reluctant to let you go and when your foot was in deep it needed a great effort to release it. We changed positions often to rest an aching shoulder or a (AUTOMATICALLY DELETED WORD) hand, and the bags got heavier and heavier. We dragged, pushed, (lifted) and tugged them in and out of water and bog to get them off the moor with little respect or thought of the contents. I learnt what a dead weight was that day. We eventually reached our base and laid out the burden in rows. We were exhausted and hungry. The team leaders started to get wood and produced a huge kettle from the ambulance. Vegetables also appeared to be prepared for cooking. How long this would have taken was anyone’s guess but this task was quickly abandoned when we were introduced to an American truck in which had been installed large vacuum containers out of which was dispensed hot thick beef and vegetable stew and black hot coffee. One thing the Americans have is plenty of equipment for the comfort of its troops. Strict food rationing was in place in England at this time and the meat in each billy would have fed a family of four civilians for a week or more. We ate as quickly as the hot beef stew would allow us whilst watching the medics open each body bag in turn and examine the contents in detail. I remember watching as a shilling piece and a penny were removed from being embedded in the split skull of one of the airmen. By the time we had consumed several helpings of that manna from America, the kettle was on the boil and hands full of tea were liberally inserted. The Yanks were amazed when the full mugs of coffee were rapidly rejected for this delicious very dark amber liquid, laced with Nestlé’s condensed milk. The Americans will never understand the Englishman’s love affair with old Rosy Lee. I do not recall the journey back to camp. I probably slept but I do recall the bliss of a hot, deep bath where my limbs lost their tremendous weight. Looking lazily at my legs, pink, soft, healthy, I recalled those white, burnt and mutilated ones I had handled only a few hours earlier. I wondered what those lads were like and what had they thought about before they died. What was happening at their homes in America that night, who were their next of kin, what did they do for a living? But soon blessed sleep blotted everything out and in the days that followed you began to wonder if it had really happened. Larger pieces now begin to appear The remains of a nose-leg strut The trail of destruction is never-ending. Here is another radiator and two more engines. A gearbox mounting point A pic from Nov 11th courtesy of Sparky74 We come to one of the main under-carriage legs On the right is the rear turret mounting Another set of undercarriage components: Complete with the remains of a tyre The outer rim of a wheel A collection of fasteners and washers Molten metal from the aircraft fire following the crash A memorial stone tablet has been laid As the mist closes in we finish at the part of the site where most human remains were found It is a strange place as it is very wild and incredibly peaceful. Time, weather and souvenir hunters have corroded and destroyed the massive pieces of the aircraft, but what is left make a strange and solemn memorial amid the wild bleak beauty of the moors. Section 3 below:

Hi there folks, This week we have in: Section 1: F2s from St Day & Taunton Section 2: We head to the crash site of an aircraft that saw service in atomic bomb trials Section 3: Balloon tram 726 leaves Rigby Road depot. Section 1: Before we head to St Day here are four pics from an earlier Taunton meeting on Mon 29th Aug. This was the day when virtually every meeting throughout the country had massive crowds. This meeting was no exception with a huge crowd present, and people still trying to get in halfway through the meeting! Dan Baker Luke Johnson was using an ex-Lauren Stack (928) car The No 2 of 10 relates to an on-going duel with another driver Ady Whitehead won the Final St Day – Sunday 25th September 2022 – 26 cars In traditional fashion this last Cornish meeting of the season featured the Old Motorcycle Club Trophy. 1956 Australian style speedway sidecars. Raced at Wembley and Par stadiums. There was a notable addition to the ranks of the ‘B’ grade, as Les Smart (751) from the north-east was in attendance. Incredibly Smart last raced in Cornwall 39 years ago at the Cornish Stadium, St Austell. Now an occasional racer it was a delight to see him tackle the furthest west circuit there is. Aaron Vaight (184) was on hand to help out with the Josh Walton (555) car that Les was using. WRC#23 The steward insisted that Les applied a border of yellow tape to the wing endplates or he would not let him race. This did not go down well with Les who had to be talked out of loading up and heading for home early! Les on track James Griggs (258) was another surprise entry. At that time the closure had been announced of Ringwood and the Outlaw driver had moved across to Brisca. A two from three format was used. Heat 1 saw Aaron Vaight strike the first blow in the chase for the track championship as he fired Paul Rice (890) into Steven Gilbert (542) in the turnstile bend. Vaight slowed with a problem towards the end leaving Charlie Lobb (988) to take the win. Smart kindly pushed Vaight over the line for tenth. Heat 2 saw Jack Bunter (728) in the lead at halfway from Richie Andrews (605) and Nathan Maidment (935). As the lap boards appeared Andrews hit the front but the speeds dropped appreciably for the last two laps as Vaight began to drop oil from his diff. Andrews took the flag but was docked for an early race infringement which left Maidment to inherit the win. The major talking point ahead of Heat 3 was that Gilbert had shown outstanding sportsmanship to lend a spare engine to his track championship rival Rice. Some frantic activity in the pits had brought about the engine change in time for Rice to grid. A superb race ensued with a lot of positional changes involving Luke Johnson (194), Maidment and Tommy Farrell (667) as they chased after Bunter. Similarly, Ben Borthwick (418), Gilbert and Rice tried to get on terms with the front runners. Maidment eventually took the win. The Final saw Bunter once again into an early lead chased by Maidment. Vaight had made a fine start from the rear of the grid but having got ahead of Rice and Gilbert his hopes were dashed when he tangled with Leah Sealy (475) and the pair careered over the infield on the back straight. Maidment moved ahead before the midway point and looked in control as all the changes for position were happening behind him. Farrell moved past Kieren Bradford (27) to become the leading star grader but he was unable to reel in the trio at the front. Maidment saw out the closing stages to take his third win of the day. Borthwick suffered a broken propshaft at the start of the GN which brought out an early caution, and that enabled Maidment to wipe out his one lap handicap in an instant. A drone was in use at this meeting and performed a good display of keeping up with the cars It caused amusement when it came to rest in the middle of the home straight. Jack Bunter looks on as it was removed by a marshal. When the race resumed Gilbert and Rice were the only two potential winners of the track championship with Gilbert needing to make up a four point deficit. Bunter clobbered the plating in turn four, and Bradford flew up and over the bonnet of Sam Weston (468) with Sealy also involved. The focus was on Gilbert as he fought with such determination to catch up with Rice. Every time he drew close Rice edged away but entering the last lap Gilbert felt he was in range and lunged into turn one. Rice was sent to the plating, but Gilbert spun backwards into the fence too. Eventually Rice managed to drive on and trailed in a lowly eighth, whilst Gilbert’s gallant effort left him in the fence. Farrell was a clear winner to conclude an entertaining display from the F2s. Results: Heat 1: 988 194 979 27 468 828 510 890 258 184 Heat 2: 935 418 605 728 667 302 460 689 475 27 Heat 3: 935 728 667 542 890 194 418 979 302 988 Final: 935 605 194 667 542 27 302 728 689 890 GN: 667 302 605 988 979 689 935 890 27 35 Taunton – Sunday 2nd October 2022 – 36 cars This meeting was Smeatharpe’s round of the F2 National Points Series. The main prize on the Final was the Ray Tyldesley Trophy and is if that wasn’t enough there was a double money GN to end the afternoon. A revamped Higman car for Archie Farrell (970) Dean Hawkins (203) from Wellington Adam Rubery (700) was in the Connor Smith (900) car Julian Coombes (828) A Superstox style wing for Craig Driscoll (251) Charlie Lobb (988) had his ex-Luke Wrench (560) looking good Guinchy had plenty of colours to his roof after a very successful season so far After the traditional F2 drivers parade all drivers and officials gathered for an immaculately observed minutes silence for long-serving official Duncan Pike who had very sadly passed away during the week. From his time as a young lad selling programmes when Smeatharpe opened under the Five Star Promotions banner with Roy Goodman, to working with the Redmond family, and emerging as one of the closest buddies to Andrew Carter and Crispen Rosevear on their Autospeed journey, Duncan had been part of the very fabric of stock car racing in the West Country and beyond, and especially here at Smeatharpe. Duncan fulfilled so many positions that he became affectionally known as ‘Five Jobs’. The six National Points Championship contenders present were each presented with a hamper of Cornish goodies, a cap and a personalised licence plate. Mike Cocks (762) led the opening heat before Luke Johnson (194) took over before half-distance and led until the closing laps. Matt Stoneman (127) rapidly carved through the pack and caught Johnson pushing him wide with 3 to go. That also brought Richie Andrews (605) and Charlie Guinchard (183) onto Johnson’s tail, and both were soon past. Guinchard had nudged fellow NPS runner Aaron Vaight (184) wide just before half-distance as he made his way through the field after Vaight had been running well. Once into second, with two laps to go, Guinchard set about closing the gap to the leader, but Stoneman remained out of reach. Andrews led the opening laps of heat two until a mistake let Matt Linfield (464) ahead. The pacy Craig Driscoll (251) – fresh from winning the Final at Buxton’s NPS round a week earlier – nipped inside both, followed by Charlie Fisher (35). The man on the move was NPS contender Harley Burns (992) who had pushed Steven Gilbert (542) wide on his charge up to fourth. Linfield spun on the Honiton bend just before half-distance which forced Burns wide and Gilbert got back ahead. Burns soon reversed the positions once more but the delay hindered his chances of catching the lead duo. Fisher passed Driscoll for the lead with three laps to go and withstood the latter’s last-bend lunge which only made light contact to take the win. The Consolation brought a comfortable win for Paul Moss (979). In second, third and fourth, Julian Coombes(828), Adam Rubery (700) and Kieren Bradford (27) ran line astern to the flag with none wishing to risk their qualifying places. The 30 car Final required two complete restarts. In the first Dean Hawkins (203) lost a wheel after a crash also involving Phil Mann (53) and Ben Goddard (895) which then launched both Adam Pearce (460) and Rubery into the air. In the second Nathan Maidment (935) spun violently after colliding with a marker tyre and was collected by the following cars leaving Stoneman with heavy front end damage and Coombes requiring medical treatment. At the third attempt it wasn’t long before Linfield took over with Charlie Lobb (988) making rapid progress to third. Further back Guinchard was flying through the pack tracked all the way by Burns. The pair passed Bradford and had reached third and fourth by the time Lobb hit the front before halfway. Guinchard worked an opening past Linfield for second with Burns again following. The 992 car appeared to have the pace in hand and began nibbling at Guinchard’s rear bumper before making his move nudging the British Champ wide with five laps to go. Lobb was clear out front but Burns’ great run came to a sudden end a lap later when he hooked up with a lapped car. Both suffered front end damage and Burns dragged his car home outside the top ten. Lobb claimed his third Final victory at the track this year with Guinchard second with Vaight coming through for third. Charlie Fisher suffered a broken wheel guard in the Final Ben Lockwood had front and rear damage to sort Stoneman made up for his early exit from the Final with another impressive display in the GN. He carved through to pass the frontrunners just before half-distance and was untroubled by a caution period to assist Farrell who entered into a frank exchange of views with Guinchard. The 183 car exited with a puncture later on. Burns picked his way through into second but could make no impression on Stoneman’s lead. Lobb made it to eighth from the full lap handicap. Results: Heat 1: 127 183 605 194 184 895 606 988 935 903 Heat 2: 35 992 251 542 475 618 302 460 53 454 Heat 3: 979 828 700 27 464 303 509 382 762 203 Final: 988 183 184 464 700 542 606 475 979 460 GN: 127 992 252 475184 618 606 988 605 460 Section 2 below:

For anyone that keeps a record of cars raced the attendees at the 2022 F2 Semi-Finals, & WF meeting are in the gallery now. Steve Smith won Heat & Final at Buxton in the Semi-Final meeting At the F2 WF meeting at King's Lynn Guinchy took both cars along: A new wing for Gordon and one required for Courtney Engine rebuild for Dave Polley after winning the WF the night before The wing was painted gold by Jack Witts A damaging weekend for the Saloons: Ian Govier Tommy Parrin Kegan Sampson Alfie Aldous A hole through Michael Allard's Willie and Timmy Barnes were kept busy with engine repairs 350 - Repairs ongoing 349 ready to go

Section 2 above Section 3: Odds and Ends A Return To Baitings Reservoir: In an earlier write up from November we had a look at the lack of water in Baitings Reservoir during October. I returned in late December to see that it was approx. two-thirds full. Here we have a set of then (Oct), and now (Dec) pics: The foundation stone Looking towards distant Ryburn Reservoir from the top of the dam The following pairs of pics are the two contrasting views of the same area from Oct (upper pic) and Dec (lower pic): It will now be nearly full once again. Scenes From The Lineside: The GER Class D81, LNER J20, 0-6-0s were ‘chunky’ and powerful locomotives and this is No 64687, ex-works at Stratford on 15 March 1953, with a B12 4-6-0 behind A G5 0-4-4 tank can be glimpsed in the two-road shed, as A3 No 60038 Firdaussi comes through Durham station with an up express in April 1952 During this amazing exercise near Durham a man is climbing up a set of exceptionally long ladders, whilst his mate at right is in a moving cradle. West Auckland’s J39 No 64848 passes by with an excursion, c1950, probably for the annual Miners’ Gala held in the city. The huge concrete coaling plant dominates the background at Glasgow’s Eastfield depot, c1955, with a fine array of motive power present. K3 No 61988 and ex-works 61855, with Great Northern tender, and D11 No 62674 Flora MacIvor are the only locos that can be identified, but other classes present are J50, N15 and V1/3 tanks, a WD and, in the far distance, an ex-works J38. York Number 3 shed, with D49 No 62702 Oxfordshire, A1 No 60121 Silurian, and J25 No 65650 grouped around the turntable c1953 The impressive road and rail bridges crossing the River Wear at Sunderland dominate this scene in 1952, with Tweedmouth’s A3 No 60069 Sceptre at the head of a Newcastle-Colchester express An unidentified A3 is about to cross the River Tyne over the much older High Level Bridge, when leaving Newcastle with a southbound train, via the coast A3 No 60073 St. Gatien comes over the River Tyne and off the King Edward Bridge heading south from Gateshead with a Newcastle-Liverpool express, c1954 Sunday engineering works on the East Coast Main Line has a Newcastle to Liverpool express behind A4 No 60016 Silver King and B1 No 61219 diverted through Seaton on 11 April 1954 Shortly after leaving Aberdeen, K3 No 61928, and the unique A3 with smoke deflectors, No 60097 Humorist, lean into a curve with their southbound express on 3 August 1952 ‘Shop at Binns’ proclaims the front of this tram as it rumbles over the River Wear at Sunderland on an unrecorded date. The city’s last tram ran in October 1954. Shortly after being built in Switzerland in 1949, and delivered to British Railways, gas-turbine locomotive No 18000 has an audience at an unknown station on the Western Region (Reading?) during one of many early test runs Derailment at Petteril Bridge Junction, Wednesday 21 October 2022 Petteril Bridge Junction is at the western end of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, which is now branded as the Tyne Valley Line. The junction is with the Midland Railway’s Settle and Carlisle line. At approx. 20:00 on 21 October 2022, GBRf’s train 6C00 17:15 Clitheroe-Kingmoor comprising fourteen cement wagons derailed at the junction. Five of the wagons came of the rails, and one of them fell into the River Petteril as seen here. Preliminary investigation has revealed a wheelset with severe flats: the flats indicated a locked wheelset, which failed to negotiate the junction points. The stone underbridge was built by William Denton for the Newcastle & Carlisle in 1833. Before the wagons could be re-railed they had to be emptied of cement. This was done by transferring the loads to road vehicles. The 100 tonne recovery crane also came in by road from Bristol, and crushed limestone was trucked in by road to make foundations from which the crane could work. On the Tyne Valley Line trains from Newcastle were initially turned round at Wetheral, subsequently at Haltwhistle. On the Settle & Carlisle trains were turned round at Appleby. The line was eventually re-opened to traffic on Wednesday 7 December 2022. The extended closure period was in part due to a week’s wait for the crane, and the need to rebuild the parapet of the river bridge. Rigton signal box seen on 30 December 1978. The barriers are worked from a gate wheel. The cabin dated from the introduction of block signalling in 1873; it would be nearly 140 years old when it closed in 2012, being replaced by barriers remotely monitored from Harrogate. In 1922 there were fourteen signal boxes between Leeds and Harrogate; at the end of 2022 there were none, the line being controlled from Harrogate and the York ROC. To finish this week we have this unique vehicle With Rolls-Royce directors sanctioning orders for the Phantom IV from Royalty and Heads of State, a development vehicle was commissioned in the form of this lorry. It was constructed in 1952 by Park Ward at Willesden in North-West London. Serving as a works delivery pick-up truck working between Belper, Derby and Crewe, it was fitted with a 6,515cc straight-eight engine in place of the 5,675cc affair along with an automatic instead of a manual gearbox. Evident is the side mounted spare wheel without a cover, the huge Luca headlamps, and the long overhang aft of the rear axle. The vehicle’s exceptional performance afforded a top speed in excess of 90mph, which was three times greater than the then 30mph limit for commercial vehicles. The lorry attracted considerable police interest when they could catch it and it was dismantled in 1963. Next time (in four weeks): Section 1: More F2 action Section 2: In Out and About we ‘Trek to a Wreck’ Section 3: The usual assorted mix in Odds and Ends

Section 1 above Section 2: Out and About Usually we’re on the trail of dereliction and abandonment but this week it’s the complete opposite with a look at something brand new. All Aboard The Elizabeth Line – London’s Newest Railway On Tuesday May 24th 2022 London’s most significant addition to its transport network finally opened. More than a decade in the making, and well over three years late, the new east-west main line tunnel beneath central London opened for business and carried its first fare-paying passengers. Let’s take a closer look at the details of this £18 billion mega-project. First, a brief summary: Pre-2008 - Initially titled Crossrail a bill was submitted in 2005 and received Royal Assent in 2008. 2009 - Crossrail was set up to manage the build of the railway. Design work started and main contractors procured. Enabling works began such as utility diversions and demolitions. The formal start of construction was 15 May 2009. 2011 - Main construction started in 2011 with eight tunnel boring machines (TBM) tunnelling 26mls (42km) of new rail tunnels between 2012 and 2015. Further work on stations, platform tunnels, shafts and portals continued after TBM tunnelling finished. 2015 - Installation of railway systems such as track, power and signalling began once the tunnels were ready. Systems were also fitted into stations and other structures, then tested and commissioned as an overall system. 2016 - The railway was officially named the Elizabeth Line. This was marked by a visit from our late Majesty The Queen in February 2016. 2016-2021 - Trains were introduced into the new tunnels in 2018 for testing. Completion of the outstanding construction and systems integration work at stations followed by commissioning and handover to Transport for London. 2021 - Extensive commissioning of the railway commenced in Spring 2021. Trains ran to a timetable, building reliability in the system. At the end of 2021 the railway entered into Trial Operations, the final phase of testing before passenger service. 2022 - The central section of the Elizabeth Line between Paddington and Abbey Wood opened on May 24th. Full services across the entire route were planned to be introduced within 12 months of the central section opening. The new railway’s aim is to transform life and travel in London and the south-east, reduce journey times and create additional capacity. The total length of the railway will run for over 60mls (100km) through Central London from Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east to Reading and Heathrow in the west. It has a total of 41 stations including 10 major new stations. It has interchanges with the London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, London Overground and National Rail Services. At the time of opening it operated as three separate railways. Customers from the west initially changed at Paddington for services into the central section of the route, and customers from the east needed to change at Liverpool Street. Twelve trains per hour all day in the central section were timetabled. The fully integrated line is planned to be in place by May 2023 allowing seamless travel across the entire line. Ten-year build Over the last decade the Crossrail project has been Europe’s largest construction scheme, although the idea for a cross-London underground main line between Paddington and Liverpool Street dates back to the 1940s. Construction of the station box plus associated office and retail development at Canary Wharf began in 2009. It was not until May 2012 that tunnelling got underway at the Royal Oak portal, just to the west of Paddington where the route leaves the Great Western Main Line for the 10-mile journey under the capital. The final tunnelling breakthrough occurred at Farringdon on May 23, 2015 when TBM Victoria arrived from Limmo Peninsula, near Canning Town in east London. The TBM then moved forward into the station box to add the final tunnel rings behind it, which were completed on May 26. The TBMs excavated 3.4 million tonnes of material, nearly all of which has been reused – most notably three million tonnes were shipped to Wallasea Island in the Thames estuary to help create a wetland nature reserve. The tunnels are deepest at Finsbury Circus, near Liverpool Street, where they are 137ft (42 metres) below ground. Track laying was completed in September 2017, then the east section was energized in February 2018, followed by Westbourne Park to Stepney in May 2018. Services through the central section were due to start running from the end of 2018, with a full end to end service following in December 2019. However, major problems developed. There had been challenges in writing and testing the software that would integrate the train with three different track signalling systems, as well as delays installing equipment inside the tunnels. The delays meant the budget soared from the 2018 figure of £14.8 billion to £18.7 billion at the end of 2020. Nevertheless, TfL expects the new line to generate £500 million in its first year, rising to £1 billion a year from 2024/25. Elizabeth Line services are operated by Class 345 EMUs built by Bombardier (now Alstom) in Derby. Seventy 9-car trains were ordered at a cost of more than £1 billion – although delays to the start of the full service meant many spent long periods in store. All are based at a purpose-built depot at Old Oak Common, to the west of Paddington. Old Oak Common depot can house and maintain 42 of the 70 trains at a time. The depot is environmentally friendly incorporating heating and cooling from ground sources, solar photovoltaic panels and rainwater harvesting to wash trains. In addition, the depot incorporates an automatic vehicle inspection system which increases reliability by scanning and analysing trains as they enter the depot, reducing time needed for maintenance. As it was (Photo by Tony Wright) This photo of the premier steam depot of the GWR, Old Oak Common (81A), was taken in August 1960; the depot was nominated 81A in 1950 when BR re-organised the shed codes for each of the nine districts making up the Western Region of British Railways. Old Oak Common was the third engine shed built to serve Paddington; this vast new shed was necessary due to the GWR's increase in train services creating an urgent need for a much larger building to accommodate many more engines than previously realised. The cavernous interior of the quadrupled turntable shed can be seen in this atmospheric shot of three 4-6-0s at rest, with 'King' class No 6029 King Edward VIII awaiting repair on the left displaying a 'NOT TO BE MOVED' notice on the front; the repair could be as simple as a boiler washout or a monthly inspection. In the centre is Gloucester shed's favourite 'Hall' class No 6917 Oldlands Hall, and on the right 'County' class No 1007 County of Brecknock of Exeter shed 83C. There is also additional servicing in East London at Ilford. Bombardier won the contract to build the trains in February 2014 and the first entered service out of Liverpool Street in June 2017 – initially as a seven-car formation until work to extend platforms there was completed in 2021. Trains on the western route out of Paddington were also delivered as seven-car sets but have since been converted to nine - car sets. A full nine-car set can hold 1500 passengers, with 450 seated, at a top speed of 90mph. Maintaining the Elizabeth Line: The Rail Milling Train This rail milling train is manufactured by Linsinger Austria Maschinenbau GmbH. It is 160ft (48 mtrs) long and features two drivers cabs with room for four staff members. It also has a welfare unit. It will be the first of its kind to be used in the United Kingdom. Unlike conventional rail grinding trains this milling train does not suffer from problems such as sparks, dust, and fire, and it produces a smoother surface, allowing trains to run more quietly, which results in a better customer experience. The train uses electromagnetic crack detection to look for any problems with the track. If a problem is spotted, it can mill the surface of the rail to get rid of any cracks and flaws. Any metal chips will be collected and then recycled. Engineering Train The two multi-purpose engineering trains, supplied by Plasser UK have been manufactured by ROBEL Bahnbaumaschinen in Freilassing in Germany. They can be configured to be between 130ft (40mtrs) and 260ft (80 mtrs) long, depending on the task, with a number of modular attachments. The trains’ unique gantry system provides the capability to change a five tonne, 114ft (35 mtr) switch rail within the short overnight engineering hours. The trains can also be configured for different purposes using cranes, a scissor lift for working on overhead line equipment or cabling, and a water tank and jet for drainage clearance and tunnel cleaning. These trains will also be the main way to transport new rail, platform screen doors, station transformers and more, through the central section of the Elizabeth line. All three maintenance trains are fitted with the Elizabeth line’s new central section signalling system, enabling them to move around the railway while passenger trains are still running to maximise the time spent working during the night. Crane test Let’s get out and about and have a look at the new line: The eventual route Thousands queued in the rain to get the Elizabeth line party started. There was a huge rush to board the first trains. Extraordinary celebratory scenes at Paddington and Abbey Wood were seen as thousands of enthusiasts, the first of whom had arrived at midnight, braved the rain to board the first trains. The first train left Abbey Wood station bang on time at 06:30, followed three minutes later by a similarly packed east-bound service from Paddington. Throughout the morning vast numbers of passengers excitedly explored the line’s nine (should be ten) new stations. Bond Street is the tenth station but was not finished in time for the opening day. I gave it a few hours until it had quietened down and started from the eastern end at Abbey Wood getting off at each station on the way to Paddington. I tried to get the photos free of people in the scene but this meant taking some when it had quietened down around 23:00. A few areas were constantly busy so I’ve included a few shots from the TfL site with permission. Abbey Wood Abbey Wood railway station was opened in July 1849 by the South-Eastern Railway. The station underwent a complete overhaul and was reopened in October 2017. The redevelopment was undertaken as the old station was too small to accommodate the increase in passenger numbers from the Elizabeth Line. Construction on the project commenced in 2013, and the old station was demolished in May 2015. The new station has a passenger capacity of 52,000 per day. The new station is shaped like a manta ray, whose wings extend into canopies. Surfaced with zinc, the wing-shaped extension covers the staircases on either side. A striking feature of the station is the timber roof measuring 164ft x 180ft (50m x 55m) creating an interior area of 17,220ft (1,600m2). The curved structure of the roof was created using a curved cross-laminated timber (CLT) deck supported by three-layered curved glulam (glue laminated timber) beams, steel girders, and cruciform steel columns clad with larch. The beams run from the entrance to the platform stairways, effectively drawing people inside the station and guiding them through the building. Construction of Abbey Wood station Early construction works on the project included the demolition of the old station, the installation of a new one mile (1.6km) section of railway track, and construction of a temporary interim station, which was completed and opened for operations in October 2014. The construction of the roof required high-precision CNC prefabrication of timber and 30t of steel for assembling the support structure. The station building is supported by more than 100 pile foundations. The main construction works began in October 2015. Construction on the new, London-bound platform, featuring increased canopy cover, improved lighting, and new customer information screens, was completed by February 2016. The ticket hall A view from the overbridge Buffer stop An inbound train approaches 345018 - Note the roundel on the cab front The nose profile of 345001 Two views of the interior. You can smell the newness! Onto Woolwich now Inspired by the Royal Arsenal site at Woolwich the station makes reference to the military history of the surrounding area. Wide concrete columns are wrapped in bronze plating with strips of regimental colours. These are nods to the Royal Engineers and Royal Artillery. The station entrance incorporates over 350 cast bronze panels, each 7ft (2m) wide and weighing more than 175lb (80kg). The panels were manufactured with the same authentic techniques used at the Royal Arsenal site during the war. London brick features extensively alongside perforated steel cladding Custom House A passenger had left his cartwheel! Hemmed in by the Docklands Light Railway and ExCel London on one side, high voltage cables above, and Victoria Dock Road to the other side, Custom House station had to fit in a complex site. With its long row of columns and beams, the station was inspired by the architecture of Greek temples Thousands of pre-cast concrete segments were used to build the free-standing structure, which has an elevated concourse sheltered by a semi-transparent canopy roof A Paddington bound train glides to a stop Each train draws power from the rigid overhead aluminium alloy conductor bar which houses copper contact wire. These bars are installed in 32ft (10mtr) sections and zig zag to stop wear in one particular location on the train. The main power supply in the tunnels under central London comes from two new bulk supply points and their associated autotransformer feeder stations which have been built at Pudding Mill Lane, and Kensal Green. Power from the 400 kV National Grid network is converted down to 25kV before being fed into the overhead line equipment that powers the Elizabeth Line trains. Four high voltage auto transformer stations were also constructed at Westbourne Park, Stepney Green, Pudding Mill Lane and Plumstead to maintain the voltage along the line. Over 2,400 miles (1,500km) of cable is used to supply power, lighting and ventilation systems to the new railway. Custom House departures Canary Wharf Canary yellow glass adds a rare splash of colour to the escalators Its architecture is linked to the maritime heritage of the area Situated in a major business district in south-east London, the station sits below a five-storey mixed-use development called Crossrail Place, topped with a 1017ft (310 m) timber lattice roof sheltering a large rooftop garden all surrounded by the waters of West India Quay. The garden features plants species from historic trading destinations of the east and west, once visited by the ships that used the dock. Whitechapel The existing Whitechapel station was overhauled to accommodate the Elizabeth Line adding a swooping raised concourse with a timber ceiling and a green roof that bridges across the tracks. The architecture reflects the area’s historic links with bell making. The concourse is mostly hidden from view on the street behind the original modest Victorian station frontage, which has been refurbished with a widened stone-paved forecourt Very long platforms Liverpool Street A folded concrete ceiling is the main feature here, squeezed into a tight space below the heart of London's financial district between sewers and existing rail tunnels. The ceiling was designed to maximise the perception of height and create a feeling of scale and movement in the constrained spaces, with mica crystals mixed into the pre-cast white concrete to glow in the indirect lighting. Farringdon The goldsmiths, watchmakers, ironmongers, and blacksmiths of the area are all remembered here. At the western end the concourse has been devised with an artwork depicting tumbling diamonds referencing the nearby Hatton Garden diamond quarter. A new ticket hall at the eastern end is intended to feel like an extension of the street through large corner entrances. The flooring is made from York paving stones, a common material in the City of London. Loving the curves Lift access passage from the Elizabeth Line platform The lifts shown connect to the joint Elizabeth Line / Thameslink ticket hall Tottenham Court Road next stop Immense platform lengths! Likewise with the inter-connecting passageways The station is built out of a combination of granite, black glass and stainless steel Escalators up to the western ticket hall Lighting drums suspended from the exposed concrete ceiling are modelled on stage lights from the theatres above in London’s West End The eastern ticket hall has red and white glass featuring the street map of Soho The final stop was Paddington The roundel frames and seats are made of stainless steel The station has been added on to the famous mainline terminus built in the 19th century by pioneering Victorian engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The circular platform lights resemble lily pads. These were inspired by architect Matthew Digby Wyatt who assisted Brunel at Paddington in 1854. The light brick panels absorb noise The first escalator up to the next level The glass fronted lift-shaft Despite descending 65ft (20m) below ground, the new station still has natural light at platform level thanks to a 400ft (120m) glass and steel canopy printed with an artwork which presents a picture of the sky that appears to change throughout the day. Looking up the escalator to street-level Artwork from Marylebone Boys’ School The view back down. A headline in MyLondon news reads: Elizabeth Line passengers are falling down escalators as they're too busy gawping at beautiful new stations "There was a whole series of minor incidents at Paddington," says TfL's Elizabeth line boss. I wouldn’t fancy going base over apex down that! The bronze-clad elliptical columns carry the weight of the road above The Elizabeth Line has floor-to-ceiling platform screens Above each platform screen door is a passenger information screen, providing up-to-date destination information for passengers on the platform. The information screen can also be used to advise passengers to use a different door if there is a fault. Between the doors, there are vertically mounted TV screens to show advertising, and separate spaces for route maps. The platform screen doors are operated by the train signalling system, ensuring that door operation is closely synchronised to train movements. If a particular door on the incoming train is not operational, the system can selectively keep the corresponding platform screen door closed. The platform edge screens are a critical safety feature. They provide a physical barrier between the platform and the track, ensuring that passengers are not able to access the tracks. Extraction ducts have been incorporated into the design. These help to maintain the flow of air through the station and, in the event of a fire, are used to extract any smoke from the platform space. That completes our look at this new line. I was very impressed with the whole set-up, and the smell that you get with brand new equipment was superb. Even the passengers were smiling and talking to each other which never happens in London! A potential fault did occur in the weeks following the opening with a Class 345 (No 345003) at Plumstead Sidings in which a door of a traction motor was blown off. Secondary bolts have been fitted to the fleet to prevent further problems. London Transport has produced some iconic posters over the years: This pair date from 1938 With a nod to the one above a new colourful version has been released in celebration of the new line A classic from 1947 Later on, a ride on the Bakerloo Line 1972 Stock trains was a step back in time but still very enjoyable The 1972 Stock was originally ordered to make up the shortfall in trains on the Northern Line's 1959 Tube Stock fleet, but is nowadays used on the Bakerloo Line. Following the withdrawal of the British Rail Class 483 EMUs in 2021 these trains are the oldest EMUs in passenger service in Britain. A total of 63 seven-car trains were built in two separate batches. A trip to East Finchley beckoned to see the famous Archer There is a shooter on the roof of East Finchley station – but he is benign enough, crouched down as he has been for some eighty years now, above the redbrick entrance. And anyway, his weapon isn’t loaded. The East Finchley Archer – or ‘Archie’ as locals christened him – was unveiled by sculptor Eric Aumonier on 22nd July 1940. The archer is intended to commemorate Finchley's ancient association with hunting in the nearby Royal Forest of Enfield. The original 1867 station was rebuilt in the late 1930s in the Art Deco style. Thankfully it is now Grade II listed. Section 3 below:

Hi there folks, This week we have in: Section 1: F2s from St Day and Taunton Section 2: Join me on the grand opening day of the Elizabeth Line Section 3: A return to Baitings Reservoir Section 1: St Day – Sunday 7th August 2022 – 24 cars On a scorching hot day the summer holiday crowd were kept regally entertained. A most interesting day lay ahead for the F2s. The O’er the Border Trophy was up for grabs with added prize money in the shape of £5 lap leader bonuses, plus an extra £100 to the Final winner. A surprise in the pits was the appearance of Neil Truran having one 'final fling' With her upgrade to blue following her Final win at Taunton on the previous Monday evening Leah Sealy’s car vied with the sky for maximum blueness! Ben Borthwick (418) won the opening heat inheriting the lead after mechanical trouble befell Paul Moss (979). Dale Moon (302) won the second heat from Borthwick. The third heat saw Julian Coombes (828) overhaul Neil Truran (306) in the early stages, with Charlie Lobb (988) leading the chase. Truran’s race featured a turn four spin but he managed to get out of harm’s way before the oncoming traffic converged on him. Coombes magnificently fended off Lobb’s attacks but that let former World Champion James Rygor (783) to close in on the lead pair. In a sensational last bend move Rygor launched Lobb into Coombes and then won the drag race to the line. With cash bonuses on the Final there was plenty at stake for the qualifiers. Matt Stone (510) scooped £40 of leader money in the first eight laps. He lost out at the front to Adam Pearce (460), but just two laps later Lobb took over and opened up a gap to his pursuers. Despite (or perhaps because of) losing oil from his rear axle he managed to stay out in front with Rygor being forced to drop back after getting almost within range. Stephen Gilbert (542) finished in third place, another to fall foul of the oily trail. Just twelve cars appeared for the GN which saw Moon take another win despite Rygor shadowing his every move for lap after lap in the second half of the high-speed race. Results: Heat 1: 418 988 890 184 302 510 460 27 835 689 Heat 2: 302 418 783 542 828 890 460 667 35 27 Heat 3: 783 988 828 35 542 835 728 184 689 475 Final: 988 783 542 418 302 184 27 890 689 460 GN: 302 783 184 542 460 27 35 475 777 562 Taunton – Monday 8th August 2022 – 31 cars The Roy Goodman Perpetual Challenge Trophy was up for grabs on the meeting Final, with the Ash Sampson Memorial Trophy to be contested for in the GN. In the past couple of seasons the Ash Sampson Trophy has been paired with Roy’s own - Ash being Roy’s step grandson. Many thanks to Rob Warren who had recently published the following article. He spent many years covering the sport for the Western Morning News: Roy instigated his trophy in the season after he called time on his incredible stock car career. There weren’t too many certainties in the early years of Junior/F2s but it was odds on that whichever circuit you visited from St Day to Prestatyn there would be a red topped, pink car emblazoned with 163, or after 1966, 800 sitting in the pits. Roy’s travelling exploits were legendary as he set out to prove that it was indeed possible to make a living from racing a stock car – try doing that these days! Several companions, most notably Pete Poole (129/642) and Allan Young (693) attempted to keep up with him over the years, but the pace was unrelenting. Roy was a regular at Plymouth’s Pennycross Stadium on most Friday evenings despite living over 230 miles away near Rugby. Whenever the programme notes referred to the exploits of the local drivers the editor would always include this Midlander among their number. The Pailton lad could be guaranteed to put in 100% effort at every meeting. He often worked miracles just to get his car back out on track for the next race whatever state it was in as he was chasing the pounds as well as the points. By the time Roy took to the raceways in a Junior (the borrowed car of pal Ted Elliot) he’d already served an eight-year apprenticeship in the Seniors and it showed – he won the Final first time out! The conversion to the smaller cars was pretty much instantaneous and it wasn’t long before his battles with the likes of Chick Woodroffe (409), at Brafield in particular, were eagerly awaited and contributed greatly to raising the Formula 2 profile. Having won both legs of the Southampton semi-final Roy ploughed through the slop and sludge at the 1963 Swindon World Final to claim an (albeit hotly contested) inaugural Gold Roof for the formula. That semi win in Hampshire was the first of five such victories and the only real surprise is that he was never again to climb onto the top step of a Big Race rostrum – it was expected every year. No less than ten of the first dozen WFs featured 163/800 and there were no Consolation-Semis in those days. However, all that travelling effort was bound to bring other rewards and on nine occasions between 1964 and 1975 Roy claimed the National Points Championship, a record that was not to be beaten until Rob Speak embarked on his quest for world domination in the nineties. If Roy finished a race, and he usually did, he would almost certainly be in the first three placings. Another huge chapter of the Roy Goodman story was begun in 1974 when he took a terrific gamble and opened a track on a disused runway up in the Blackdown Hills between Taunton and Honiton. Mr Promoter staged four F2 World Finals over the next twenty seasons all of which were talked about for years after the flags had fallen – one of which was even discussed in court! Despite all this effort and commitment Roy carried on and on and on racing so much so that they had to change the upper age rule to accommodate him! The problem with this can be that if you go on too long you risk damaging your legacy. I well remember one young whippersnapper cockily asking me “was Goodman ever any good?”. My somewhat terse reply was “You’d better believe it, and you and your mates wouldn’t have got anywhere near him in the Sixties!!” Roy Arthur Goodman served the sport in so many capacities including driver, BSCDA official, grader, and promoter. I still believe he is deserving of the title Mister Formula Two which was bestowed on him many decades ago. As much as anything this would be for his tireless efforts to make sure the formula was taken seriously and didn’t become a 9-day wonder…. looks like he succeeded. Mick Whittle unveiled his latest work of art: From the 325 team is this 30yr old Scania 143M In memory of Ash There were just enough cars for a full-format meeting. Heat One saw Julian Coombes (828) turned across the front of Kurt Selway (303) with a hard hit into the wall. Steven Gilbert (542) took the lead at halfway with James Rygor (783) and Matt Stoneman (127) in close quarters behind. Rygor pushed Gilbert wide to take the lead with four laps to go and stayed out of reach of Gilbert’s last bend attack. Heat Two began with Mike Cocks (762) taking a big hit into the fence as he spun across the front of Charlie Knight (525). With the higher graded drivers fighting amongst themselves the lead duo of Shane Hector (528) and Knight remained untroubled out front. Richard Andrews (905) entertained with a spirited attempt to keep Aaron Vaight (184) behind and then hit back when he was passed which allowed Tommy Farrell (667) through for fourth. Jordan Butcher (509) recorded his second win in a month with victory in the Consolation. Again, Andrews livened things up with action between himself, Coombes and Josh Weare (736) on successive laps. After a chaotic start to the Final Knight led away at the second start. Rygor was among those to lose out in the hard-hitting action at the back half of the grid, whilst Paul Rice (890) and Nathan Maidment (935) also crashed out. Having won the Final at St Day the previous afternoon Charlie Lobb (988) was flying and picked off those ahead of him to take the lead before halfway. Stoneman and Jamie Avery (126) were giving chase but making no significant gains on the Cornish youngster. However, yellow flags were waved with two laps to go after Luke Johnson (194) had cannoned James Lindsay (572) around the Honiton bend wall leaving the latter requiring attention. Lobb made a good restart but fluid on the entry to turn three caused his car’s rear end to step out and Stoneman needed no second invite to nip ahead. Avery and Gilbert also passed Lobb who now had dirty tyres from running wide. Stoneman took the victory, with Lobb fighting back with a hit on Gilbert on the final bend to re-take third. The GN for the Ash Sampson Memorial Trophy was led on the rolling lap by Sampson’s grandfathers Roy Goodman in his old car, and Mick Whittle in his magnificent ‘Baby Blue’ Gulf creation. Knight led after a restart for a crash between Farrell and Cocks, but Lobb was on another charge in his ex-Luke Wrench WRC machine. He hit the front before halfway and was never headed for the remaining laps. Sam Weston (468) took a heavy hit into the home straight fence and did well to drag the car to safety on the infield. Result: Heat 1: 783 542 127 988 126 35 460 468 - First 8 to the Final Heat 2: 528 525 194 667 184 475 890 935 “ Consolation: 509 828 736 979 605 835 572 777 663 259 Final: 127 126 988 736 542 184 35 667 460 468 GN: 988 783 542 126 127 475 528 835 115 509 Unfortunately to end this section there is very sad news to report that the latest issue of ‘unloaded 7.3’ magazine is the last to be published. For twenty-six years it has given excellent coverage to the F2, Saloon Stock Car and ORCi Ministox scene. It got its name from a combination of the lads mag ‘loaded’, and the Avon 7.3 tyre. The early issues were legendary with much humour, curry guides, a topless trophy presenter and all sorts of comedy moments. An early issue Where it excelled though was with the major race reports, and summaries of every meeting including the scene over in Northern Ireland. A constantly updated listing of every driver registered. and lots and lots of action photos made this for me the best mag by far. Social media and online sites can never replace the printed word and losing this mag to history is just as upsetting as losing a racetrack. I would like to thank every-one involved, and every contributor for all your dedication and hard work over the years. It has been a constant companion for nearly three decades and will be sadly missed. RIP unloaded 7.3 Section 2 below:

Section 2 above Section 3: Odds and Ends Part two of trucks as seen in the Netherlands: Many thanks to Bas for the pics Wrexham and Chester Bus Running Day – January 1st 2023 Last year was the first time this event was held. The team raised £1600 for the Nightingale House Hospice even with Covid restrictions working against them. The use of the Wrexham Park & Ride site was a great base for the event with plenty of room for the number of buses that attended, and lots of free parking places. The decision was made to return to the same location for 2023. Unfortunately, weeks before the event, Cheshire West & Cheshire Council decided in their wisdom not to allow the park & ride site to be used. Instead, they offered Wrexham Bus Station as a base. Their statement regarding plentiful catering and toilet facilities didn’t ring true. As it was New Year’s Day there were no staff rostered to man the bus station which remained closed for the day. That put paid to any toilet facilities. ‘Catering’ was one old caravan selling limited products which nevertheless had a big queue as there was nothing else only a McDonalds down the road. Car parking was a lot more hassle as there was conflicting information in the council run car parks regarding whether it was free after 11am, free all day, or pay per hour. All had large signs stating max stay was 3hrs regardless. So totally inadequate for a full day event. You couldn’t make it up could you? Let’s forget all that now and get breathing those diesel fumes in. The perfume of the gods! These first set of pics were taken around the bus station site: Bristol K5G - LFM 728 (KG147) KG147 was new to Crosville in 1950 and operated out of both Wrexham and Denbigh depots. It was acquired by Cheshire Police in 1970 and was used as a Mobile Road Safety Exhibition Unit until it was preserved in 1981. Leyland Leopard - JHA 227L (227) 227 was new to Midland Red’s Shrewsbury Garage in 1973 and worked there until its withdrawal in 1987. It passed straight into preservation. AEC Routemaster - CUV 213C (RM2213) RM2213 was new to London Transport in May 1965. It stayed in active service with LT until 1994 when it was transferred to the LT Reserve Fleet at Hatfield University. It remained in the Reserve Fleet until mid-1998 when it was sold to KD Coach Hire of Dyserth, North Wales. It was latterly owned by preservationists in Scotland, Peterborough and Southampton before being bought by her current owner in 2019. Leyland National - RTC 645L (Widnes I) Widnes I was delivered to Widnes Corporation in 1972. It is the first Leyland National to be built in single door configuration. Widnes I passed over to Halton Transport (Widnes) after the transfer of Widnes Corporation in 1974. It was withdrawn in 1996. AEC Routemaster - ALM 23B (RM2023) RM2023 was new to London Transport in September 1964. It was sent to Gillingham Street Garage, Victoria and was operated on route 137. In 1984 it became part of the MTL London Fleet at Holloway Garage where it remained until 1999 when it was purchased for preservation. At Hammersmith in 1986 on route 73 Bristol VR – VVV 952W (952) 952 was new to United Counties in 1981 and was based for most of its life at Bedford Depot on Flitwick services. It was withdrawn in June 1999 and has passed around various independent operators for use on school services. 952 was preserved in 2005 and is presented in NBC Green with United Counties lettering. Crosville Motor Services Ltd Fleet No. DFG38, registration No. 319 PFM. New to Crosville's Edge Lane Depot, Liverpool in 1961. DFG 38 is a Bristol FS6G "Lodekka" which used a drop centre rear axle and offset transmission to allow the lowering of the lower deck gangway, which along with rear air suspension maintains an overall vehicle height of 13 feet 3 1/4 inches allowing them to pass under low bridges that had insufficient clearance for standard double deckers. DFG38 is fitted with a Gardner 6LW engine and five speed gearbox, along with a cave-brown-cave ventilation and heating system which replaces the conventional radiator with two radiators on either side of the destination blinds, providing warm air flow and ventilation to the saloons. The bus survived as a driver training vehicle into the 1990's passing into private preservation, and then to the Wirral Transport Museum in 2007. Since then its original registration number has been restored. 4993UG, DXI 3341 An Alexander (Belfast) N type bodied Leyland Tiger that had been new to Ulsterbus in January 1984 as their number 341 registered DXI 3341. Bristol LH – OJD 93R (BL88) BL88 was new to London Transport in April 1977. It was allocated to various garages including Hounslow, Kingston and Croydon. The vehicle stayed with LT for only a short period of time before being retired in November 1981. It was purchased the same month by OK Motor Services where it was to remain until January 1997. It was then sold to North East Bus Breakers. Saved by two preservationists it was bought by its current owner and moved to North Wales. Merseybus 1989 (DEM 779Y) An Alexander AL-bodied bodied Leyland Atlantean AN68D/1R, which has been restored to the privatised MTL’s Southport & District livery complete with the seaside town’s coat of arms. It is the only one of its batch to survive, new to Prince Alfred Road garage in August 1982 and staying there until the depot closed at deregulation in 1986. After withdrawal it passed to a dance troupe, and was housed later at the North West Museum of Road Transport in St Helens before moving to Kirkby around 2019. Two routes were available for travel on the vehicles. 44H was a short circular around Wrexham, whilst D1 was from Wrexham Bus Station to Chester Railway Station. The following pics were taken at the Chester terminus opposite to the Queen at Chester hotel. All at Chester Leyland Olympian – B204 EFM (Chester 4) Olympian 4 was new to Chester Corporation in May 1985 whom it operated with for most of its life. It was preserved in 2013 initially as a donor vehicle but was deemed too good to scrap. After a clean MOT pass it gained a full restoration into ‘Chesterbus’ livery which it wore towards the end of its life. Volvo B10M Alexander – R928 XVM (928) 928 was new to Stagecoach Greater Manchester South in September 1997. It was re-numbered to 20928 and transferred to Stagecoach Yorkshire followed by Stagecoach South West (Cook’s Coaches) by 2010. It was then withdrawn and sold to Quantock Motor Services by March 2013. 928 was converted to part open-top and passed around multiple operators before ending its service life in Scotland. It entered into preservation with the 572 Group, part of the Barrow Transport Museum Trust in September 2020. 928 with Stagecoach South West before conversion At City Sightseeing’s Glasgow depot in 2015 AEC Routemaster – 783 DYE (RM1783) RM1783 was new to London Transport in December 1963 to Middle Row Garage. During its working life it paid regular visits to the LT Overhaul Works at Aldenham. Its first overhaul was in 1969, with another taking place in 1975. It was put into store and eventually purchased by Rees Industries in Liverpool and featured in the 1986 Liverpool Garden Festival. In 1987 it was converted to an open-topper at Aldenham and was used on the Original London Sightseeing Tours out of Wandsworth Garage. Since LT the bus has been with Bath Bus Co, Western Greyhound and various other private owners before being purchased and operated by Routemaster4Hire, Llay,Clwyd in 2014. With Western Greyhound The upstairs view. Even though it was a showery day this was the most popular bus with the top deck being full to capacity on every journey. 227 waits in line at Chester As does RTC 645L Lined up at the end of the day Next time: F2s from St Day and Taunton Out and About - Join me on May 24th 2022 for a very special day in transport history In Odds and Ends we’ll re-visit Baitings Reservoir to see how the water level looks now

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: