4079 leaves Chester in 1967.

Stimulated by the imminent return to steam of Flying Scotsman, we GWR types really cannot resist wondering how good this most expensively refurbed machine will be. It should be very good, especially in terms of the money spent etc etc… but my basic question is:  is this latest incarnation of Gresley’s classic design as big an improvement over the original as that which has been made to Castles in the intervening years.  Put simply, is a modern, double chimneyed Castle as good as a similarly improved A3?

A lot has happened since the trials in 1925 that saw our own Pendennis Castle humiliate the much bigger Gresley machine right on its home territory.  Significantly, Gresley learned a lot the hard way while the GWR just spent a lot of time smirking to itself and hardly innovating at all.  Later LNER express designs are all very impressive machines and I guess we GWR folk might, if we are feeling generous and being led by our heads rather than our hearts, admit that they were an advance on Mr Churchward’s revolutionary design.

Or maybe not…!  Because there is the phenomenon of 5043, ‘Earl of Mount Edgcumbe’. It really is the supreme example of the ultimate evolution of the 1906 GWR 4 cylinder 4-6-0 design and always outperforms its designated 7P power classification. the overused word ‘Awesome’ is entirely appropriate.

The single chimneyed version we have seen recently, in the form of 5029, always seems to slightly disappoint in comparison, as indeed, it should, so will the newly out-shopped. also single chimneyed, Pendennis Castle be any better than Nunney? My impression is that Pendennis was always a better Castle than Nunney which, gossip tells me, was never really seen as being a particularly ‘good ‘un’ in GWR or BR days. We will soon know the answer to that point but surely the new Scotsman would get its revenge fairly easily over either of these in any Kings Cross rematch.

But what about 5043? Could it match or even embarrass the LNER’s newest A3  again, under similar conditions?  Or might it be better to wait for Clun, which would be as new as Scotsman and also with a double chimney so perhaps a better comparison? On the other hand, 5043′s BR reputation was always as a star performer and better than 7029′s so perhaps not.

There is, of course only one way to find out and we all know what that is! Bring it on!

Ashburton in 1970 – we can recreate this with your help

The Friends of Ashburton Station are ploughing on with huge determination in their attempts to both slow down and hopefully to reverse the Dartmoor National Park Authority decision to destroy the last remaining Brunel branch terminus for a few shops, housing and car parking.

They have had another success in that they have been able to put the draft ‘Masterplan’ back into draft form by a number of technical objections but clearly this is just a holding operation.  Unfortunately, the people who have spearheaded this campaign so brilliantly are now starting to suffer from burnout and they badly need more support on the ground to move things forward and keep the energy levels high in this fight.

Please consider offering some active support by volunteering to help them in some way.

I was in Ashburton today and sadly I saw no reference in any buildings in the town centre to a campaign to reinstate the railway. No leaflets, posters or anything.  I am sure things are happening behind the scenes to activate the residents but I did wonder if more could be done to make it all more visible?  Perhaps it is just lack of folk helping out but I tend to feel that, at this stage, there needs to be a much more visible presence in the town if the outcome we all seek is to be achieved.

Ultimately, it is likely to be down to the local community as the crucial factor, rather than us enthusiasts, whether the democratic will is for the reinstatement of a railway connection with the SDR and Network Rail and they will need to be prepared to be very vocal and determined to fight for it if they are to be successful.

My instinct is that that is the way the campaign should go now and that the town needs to be inundated with posters and petitions and notices of meetings so that the council will be forced to change their mind and support the railway plan being designed by the SDR.

So, if we really do want to win this fight, we all need to get out there and do something.  I live in Bristol but send me a few hundred leaflets and I will willingly go door to door and talk to people because time is running out fast and I wouldn’t want to feel that I failed to do my bit to save this irreplaceable branch terminus. Anyone want to join me?

Ashburton in 1970 – we can recreate this with your help

The DNPA did what we asked!

They deferred making a decision on what they call the ‘Chuley Road Masterplan’…but only until 7th July.  This plan, that will save or kill, once and for all, the Brunel gem that is Ashburton station, is in their hands so we must keep up the pressure to help them decide that the railway option is the best one for both residents, the National Park and visitors, whether they are railway enthusiasts or not.

With that in mind, I have again written to the chairman of the Authority Peter harper, asking him to take more time to consider alternative plans before any decision is made.  It is much better that we seek delay and continue to press to open up the discussion than have to fight against a decision that has been taken.

I urge you to also write something  to him in similar vein. The time to act is NOW!

Dear Peter

This is a fascinating video of a lecture given to the Society of Antiquarians of London by William Filmer-Sankey, an architectural historian and archaeologist with Alan Baxter & Associates LLP, a multidisciplinary design consultancy.  His company has been contracted to safeguard the heritage of Brunel’s railway as electrification takes place.

The electrification of the Great Western Railway was identified as a vital infrastructure priority by the government, as part of a wider programme of rail electrification.  Considered one of the most famous railway lines in the world, it was considered (but turned down!) for World Heritage Site status and has some 185 listed structures along its route.

The key theme of the lecture is the extent to which it is acceptable to adapt historic infrastructure to allow it to continue to function.  The technical requirements of electrification (principally masts and high voltage cables) and the requirements of public safety are onerous, and mean that its impacts are both visual (e.g. on views of the line in the landscape) and physical (e.g. on the structure of its bridges, tunnels, stations, etc.).  If carefully conceived, however, these impacts are not by definition negative, but – as witness to the railway’s latest phase of development – can actually contribute to the overall significance of the GWR.

The lecture discusses the design process, which began with the identification and definition of the ‘heritage asset’ that is the Great Western, overall, in its relationship to its landscape, and in its constituent parts.  This was followed by an understanding of the technical requirements of electrification – what is and is not feasible – which in turn allowed an understanding of those areas where there can be flexibility in design to respect key views and structures.  The design process, which is continuing, aims to combine respect of the line’s significance with the achievement of efficient electrification, to deliver a 21st century railway.

1958 – to be recreated in 2018!

At the beginning of the SSS4 Gala last weekend, we spoke to Quentin McGuinness, chairman of the 6880 Betton Grange project based at the Llangollen Railway and his interview is below.

We also watched work in progress, spoke to other members of the team and we will publish another video showing work being carried out on the locomotive shortly.  

The Project really inspired us (as does the 1014 County of Glamorgan Project at Didcot) and while it may be regrettable that 7927, one of the very last series of Modified Halls, has made the ultimate sacrifice to mAke it possible, we believe that it is a compromise well worth making.  If you want to see a 79xx at work, well, you can help to put Foremarke Hall back together by volunteering at Toddington!

We want to see the new Grange steam as soon possible so we have now signed up as members, making a monthly contribution for as long as it takes.  Please consider doing the same or make a contribution to the boiler appeal. 

(Pasted from this website, with thanks: a great site on early GWR history)

Probably the most important piece of paper in Swindon’s history was the letter that Daniel Gooch wrote to Isambard Kingdom Brunel on 13th September, 1840. In it, Gooch, the newly-appointed 21-year-old locomotive superintendent of the Great Western Railway, put forward his recommendations on the siting of the company’s new engine works. Brunel’s decision to take Gooch’s advice changed forever the destiny of what until then had been a tiny hilltop town.

Here is that letter in full:

My dear Sir,

According to your wish I give you my views of the best site for our principal engine establishment, and in doing so I have studied the convenience of the Great Western Railway only, but also think the same point is the only place adapted for the Cheltenham and Great Western. The point I refer to is the Junction at Swindon of the two lines.

The only objection I see to Swindon is the bad supply of water. There is also an apparent inequality of distance or duty for the engines to work – but which is very much equalized when the circumstances attending it are taken into account. I find the actual distances are as 76½ to 41 and the gradients are for the short distance of 41 miles a rise of 318 feet or 7.75 feet per mile, and for the 76½ miles a rise of 292 feet or 3.8 feet per mile.

Swindon being the point at which these gradients change, the different gradients necessarily require a different class of engine, requiring for the Bristol end a more powerful one than for the London end.

That power can only be obtained conveniently by reducing the diameter of the Driving Wheels, therefore, supposing we work between Swindon and Bristol with 6 feet wheels, and between Swindon and London with 7 feet wheels, there will actually be very little difference between the work required of the two engines, when the additional gradients and curves, and the increased number of revolutions per mile which the small wheeled engine makes are taken into account. It would also divide the pilot engines very nearly equally, as Reading being the first Station where a pilot engine would be kept, say 36 miles, the next distance, to Swindon, would then be 41 miles, and on to Bristol another 41, and which I think would be sufficiently near for pilot engines to be constantly ready, and with this arrangement the watering stations would work very well. Steventon where plenty of water can be had, forming a central station between Reading and Swindon, and as our Oxford Traffic comes on there I should think it likely that all trains will stop there. A large station at Swindon would also enable us to keep our Bank engines for Wootton Bassett incline at Swindon instead of having a separate station for that purpose at the bottom of the incline, and in addition it would at any rate be necessary to have a considerable Station at Swindon to work the Cheltenham line, which would be saved if Swindon was our principal station.

It also has the great advantage of being on the side of a canal communicating with the whole of England, and by which we could get coal and coke, I should think at a moderate price. I am not sufficiently acquainted with the place to know how far we would be affected by the want of water, it might probably be collected in the neighbourhood, and as we have a great deal of side cutting they might be converted into reservoirs, and should even this fail us we have the canal. These reasons lead me to think Swindon by far the best point we have for a Central Engine Station. From the plans and sections there appear little or no difficulties with the nature of the ground for building upon, and by placing the station somewhere as shown in the enclosed sketch, it might be made in every respect very complete. I have not thought of the Bristol & Exeter line in the arrangement, as it is quite possible to work it very well by engines kept at Bristol as long as they are fit for work.

In the same way we could work the additional Bath traffic, for when necessary they could always work their way to Swindon when any heavy repairs were required. The Engine House we are building at Bristol would be ample for any slight repairs that might be required during the time the engine was in working order, and that without any outlay of machinery beyond a few hundred pounds. I am not aware of any difficulties connected with Swindon more than the water.

I am, my dear Sir,

Yours very truly,

DANIEL GOOCH.

The Diaries of Sir Daniel Gooch

I looked at all the other passengers ensconced in their newspapers, books or i-phones, seemingly oblivious and I wished that they had more awareness of what an immense achievement this railway is, as it whisks them effortlessly to their meetings in London.

My book for the journey, completely coincidentally, was the Diaries of Sir Daniel Gooch (click on our home page to buy it direct from us) and I found myself starting to see the railway as he had in those heady, early days when nobody knew how to build it, let alone operate them.

I was particularly horrified at how, if a train was late arriving at Paddington along the, as then, single track, they would find an engine and go off in search of it.  Bearing in mind that even then, speeds of 60 mph were being achieved on the broad gauge line, it is hair-raising to read  that all they did was keep an eye open for the train coming their way and would throw the light engine into reverse as fast as they could to avoid the probably fatal head-on collision!  It wasn’t as if this was a rare occurrence – it sounded pretty routine: he also recalls doing it heading off light engine into Box tunnel in search of the Express Mail and just escaping!

Three things stick out about Gooch: the first was, what a thoroughly nice human being he seems to be – always a good and kind word for people, even his various critics.  At one point he is nominated for Parliament and he expresses heart felt gratitude to the people who think him worthy of the role, saying it was one of the best days of his life, much more so than actually being elected to serve for the then constituency of Cricklade.

The second is his incredible capacity for analysis of problems, attention to detail and lastly his huge commitment to his work.  he always had to be there at whatever was happening, whether it was testing engines or supervising the laying of the Atlantic Cable aboard the ‘Great Eastern’, out there in mountainous seas, as they struggled to establish the first ever telegraphic link with the USA.

As Russell Holloway says in his discussion of Gooch’s work in this week’s new members video, it was actually Gooch rather than Brunel who actually built the railway. Brunel was a supreme creative genius but his attention to the how, what and where of engineering was always pretty circumspect and it fell to the 21 year old Gooch (hard to believe but these were extraordinarily innovative times) who built up Swindon works and discovered, by trial and error how a railway worked.

When you consider the innovatory nature of the broad gauge and the massive and vocal opposition to it, even from friends like Stephenson, a lesser man might have moved onto simpler projects but Gooch not only saw it through until the GWR was way ahead of any other railway of the day but he even returned to it as Chairman and oversaw an economically difficult period when expenditure had to be severely cut back.  His approach to the task shows his commitment to doing it fairly and in full knowledge and concern of how it might impact on the GWR’s employees.

And, on top of all that, he is a good diarist and highly accessible to today’s audience.

Bring an Autotank back to Ashburton!

Never let it be said that a letter writing campaign does not make any difference!

If you emailed the Dartmoor Planning Authority to tell them that we want South Devon Railway trains back in Ashburton station you will have received details of the now significantly amended Masterplan for the station and surrounding area.

The accompanying email from the Park Authority shows that between us we have really had a major impact on the planning process and the DPA are being forced to look at the plans anew. It says:

“A significant proportion of the responses received relate to the railway, these suggest the Masterplan should consider better protection of railway buildings, the safeguarding of the route of the former railway line, or even the reinstatement of a rail link between Ashburton and Buckfastleigh.

Given the extent of interest in this issue, which has not been raised previously, due consideration should be given to if and how the Masterplan may be amended.  In order to do so it will be necessary to gather further evidence to support the railway proposals.  The South Devon Railway, with the newly established Friends of Ashburton Station has undertaken to prepare evidence in order to consider the options relating to the railway and Chuley Road and we will support them in doing so.

It is with reluctance that we have to therefore accept a further delay in the Masterplan process, whilst this information is prepared and considered.  The revised target for the approval of the Masterplan is now April 2015.”

I am sure we are not at all sorry that this has delayed matters and that it gives the SDR and Friends group time to really get to work making the case for the railway option !

I have no doubt that the Everything GWR community has contributed to helpoing the DPA to reconsider their initial plan and I hope we are all ready to act to support the campaign in its next stage.

I shall be going down to talk to the Friends group and also make a short film about the campaign  in the next couple of months in the hope that this will be a useful form of support for them.

Watch this space and thank you again for your amazing support.

4555 sits in the head shunt at Ashburton in 1968. Let’s bring her back there!

The Friends of Ashburton Station are keeping up their relentless campaign to not only save the Brunel era terminus but to bring trains back to it.  The latest genius move has been to get agreement in principle  with the South Devon Railway to bring an engine and carriage back to the station once again.

It is a great idea and one we must all help to bring about. It will keep the dream alive and I am always in favour of making a statement of this kind so that people have something to focus their attention on and, hopefully bring the reality of trains to Ashburton one tiny step closer.

So far, the campaign has been magnificent and I hope Everything GWR supporters have made a small contribution to getting the word out there about this precious and unique survivor of GWR branch line Britain.

But we also know that there is a very, very long way to go and that we will all have to maintain our efforts to successfully see off the present planning application, persuade the Dartmoor Planning Authority that trains are now what Ashburton wants and then start to help the SDR to raise the rather large sums of money needed to burrow under the A38 and then find its way back to the station.

It is a hell of a project and it is easy to understand how the SDR has thought that for years it has been beyond them.

But now? Personally, I am sure we can do it and what’s more, I believe that we can bring the whole preservation movement to carry this tidal wave of support for Ashburton along until it becomes an unstoppable preservation tsunami!

So I am committing Everything GWR to doing whatever it can to make sure that we do everything humanly possible to support Ashburton Station in 2015.  I hope you will join me in keeping up the pressure through the year ahead.

5542 with a Santa Special on the Glos Warks Railway

Small prairie No 5542 is one of my very favourite engines and on Saturday I was out with her on the GWSR’s Santa trains. I still haven’t passed out as a fireman (bit of a slow learner on this stuff…) but I had a good go ‘on the shovel’ on the last trip and enjoyed the firing as we blasted back from Cheltenham, having deposited the happy families back to their cars.

By then it was dark and some different challenges presented themselves to a novice like me, the most problematic being that when you have gazed in through the firehole door to see where your next shovelful should go, you then can’t see where the black stuff is on the floor of the cab that you want to shovel because your eyesight has gone to pot! I was taught a useful tip here which is that you should look at the fire with one eye closed and that allows the other eye to peer through the gloom and see what you are doing!

But ‘The Santas’ are a lovely experience for everyone.   When my kids were small, a whole gang of us used to go to the SVR every year (even years after the children started to develop quite strong doubts about the verifiability of the whole Santa thing!)   It’s just that the atmosphere is so special and beats your average Debenhams into a cocked hat.

It is cold so the platform lights, the swirling smoke and steam is highly atmospheric and so much so that the annual trip to a Heritage Railway to go on the Santa Specials is now almost as much part of the British social calendar as Wimbledon and the Cup Final.

What finally embedded steam trains in British family consciousness was Harry Potter and we should all thank J K Rowling daily (and 5972 Olton Hall, of course) for helping to create the magic of steam for young children and their families.   Ok, it’s a long and physically tiring day for the train crews and you start to flag when it comes to cleaning the smokebox and raking out the ashpan after 12 hours on duty but I never, ever go home afterwards feeling that I wished I had done something else that day.

During the quite long layovers between trains yesterday, we sat in the cab and chatted, putting the world to rights and musing over various items of railway politics but we agreed that it must have been a wonderful life back in the day when as a crew on a 55xx, you could potter around the branches of the Cotswolds, visiting small goods yards to pick up or set down a wagon or two. Or maybe hauling a B set, all stations to Shipston on Stour from Gloucester.  I know you can get over romantic about those days but I still think it must have been a job to kill for!

Are we envious of the guys who did that? Yes, very, but aren’t we so lucky that in 2014, 50 years after the end of WR steam, we get to have a go on a gorgeous little engine like 5542 just as they did all those years ago?

And, what’s more I get to do it twice more before Xmas, That’s a good enough present for me. For the Xmas Eve turn, I got a Facebook message the other day from the fireman: ‘Bring your shovel and sausages. We’ll be making breakfast!’

I can hardly wait!