Eggesford box

Do not know if it is strictly stabling but the 08 shunter used to spend the night in the siding behind the island platform known as 'under the wall'. A freight on the down would arrive in the early hours of the morning with traffic for Hereford on the front. It would pull off the Hereford traffic and set it back on top of the pilot. Later in the morning the 08 would propel the wagons out and then haul them back through the station. I was only at Hereford for a year and that would have been around 1990.

Some photos of The Sopwith Camel railtour run by the Branch Line Society last sunday, 10th June.Apparently they raised somewhere in the region of £6000 pounds for the Royal British Legion so congratulations to all concerned. There where three trips on the day. The first ran, Aylesbury-Claydon-Bicester Village and return; the second, Aylesbury to Calvert and into all the sidings at the waste disposal terminal before returning to Aylesbury. The final trip of the day ran Aylesbury-Claydon-Bicester Village,out to the spur at Gavray Junction which will form part of the double track when East-West gets building, returning to Bicester Village and finally back to Aylesbury. The trains also served Quanton Road for visitors to the railway centre.All went to plan, even Launton AOCL and Bicester Eastern Perimeter TMOB crossings behaved themselves and the trains ran to time. Some bemused passengers at Bicester Village wondering what had gone wrong with a train stood in the platform with all its occupants (railtour participants) milling around on the platform. Also a few confused Chinese tourists asking if it was the train to Oxford! The day started overcast but quickly brightened up to a warm and Sunny day. The only downside was that this brought out a mass of Horseflies at Calvert. My arms are still a mass of bumps where I got bitten repeatedly. Personally, I think the train should have been called the Horse Flyer! The first trip of the day picking up the token at Claydon to head back to Aylesbury and heading away around the wartime spur The second trip arriving at Calvert Entering the sidings at the south end In the south end neck at Calvert On No.2 road at Calvert On No.1 road at Calvert As far as you can go on what little remains of the north end neck Stood at the remains of the former platform face at Calvert Finally, heading out of the sidings to return to Aylesbury via the north end ground frame

It was 4E91 that went into lumberjack mode and ended up disabled and awaiting assistance. Not surprising considering it hit not one but, unbeknown to the driver, two in quick succession! Did wave to you as I came down the access at three arch bridge but doubt you saw me. Got to nearly the rear of the train as someone was in the process of doing a brake test and started cutting up a tree just at the rear of the 4E91 with a handsaw. The man from Offtrack was not to happy having cleared 'the' tree that was underneath the train and then having to walk back to retrieve his chainsaw to help with the other tree. The driver on the Chiltern (1H03) was a bit startled when you slid by us as he did not realise 4E91 had moved! Not the biggest delay to Chilterns that day, that was down to trouble with one of their units around Neasden. After Harbury it was off to a tree brushing against down trains at Prospect Road at Leamington. Glad to say the trees around Hatton where someone elses baby!

Ahh, I shall be snoozing in my bed by then. I see there is was A Colas van in the staff car park at Banbury this morning though the train I saw shot right through though I did see the tail of one train on the up later the same morning.

Was it you that came through Banbury about 0900 with a 60?

I think it was just the locking renewed in Western 5 bar VT format. 'Upstairs' it is still Webb stirrup handled levers.

Carrying on from one of Big Jims earlier postings. Claydon L&NE Jc to Gavray Jct at Bicester has no booked traffic though there is an officers special booked along there tomorrow. Presumably, as and when East - West starts working on the line, engineering trains will start using it. Very rare for the waste trains to Calvert from the Aylesbury direction to go any further though apparently they have started to worry about running around under the gantry crane at Calvert when it is working so there is talk of some of the trains coming up to Claydon, running around there and going back into Calvert.

Thanks for that, book and CD duly ordered from the Caledonian Railway Association.

Looks as though the book is out now. I noticed on the publishers blurb it said it had 32 pages of plans of rolling stock and structures. The Port Road, Lightmoor press, £30

Yes, it was mentioned in replies when the original post was first posted, I must edit that atrocious English at the start!

The bottom photo is of the Freightlifter just parked up I would imagine. A long time ago now but I can remember it working in the yard at Barnstaple. Much of the work involved shifting steel plates destined for Appledore Shipbuilders and the yard was also used for stockpiling the plate. Over a certain width the steel plate came loaded on Trestle or Trestrol wagons at an angle. Memory is a bit vauge from this far back but I believe this was when an attachment was added to the forks. This had clamps hanging down from it which where attached to the steel plates. The plates where then lifted off the wagon hanging vertically. There was an old container (seen in the top photo), aluminium bodied or sheathed which the Freightlifter propped the sheets up against. A quick nip round to the other side of the container and a nudge from the jib of the Freightlifter and the plates fell flat on the ground to be loaded onto a lorry or stockpile. Bit off post but the young lady in the top photo lived with her family in the crossing cottage at one of the Doomsford crossings and came in regularly to take the family laundry to the laundrette in Barnstaple and often had a long wait for her train back visiting us in the parcels office.

Perhaps, 'why bother' was not the best phrase to use. I merely meant why tie yourself in knots trying to figure out a way to switch the box out when a more typical scenario would be to have a porter signalman work a fill in turn as suggested by the Stationmaster. Alternatively have it three turns even if the night man has little to do in the middle of his shift. A further alternative is to have the box worked on longer shifts. The first box I worked was worked on two ten hour turns as it was opened 0300 until 2300. And yes, there was a train at 0300, invariably waiting on the branch at the junction signal boxes section signal waiting for you to open! Certainly nothing wrong with your approach. I am sure there are a fair few railwayman wince when they see a model loco drop onto its train and then promptly move away allowing no time for it to be coupled to its stock. I like your description of your imaginary porter/signalman. One of the things that put me off modelling the railway as I first knew it was that whilst I might be able to make a reasonable stab at recreating its physical appearance I would never be able to bring back the characters I knew.

Probably means the lever frame is at the back of the box. Banbury North is an example that springs readily to mind but there where numerous others.

Seaford box on the Southern region was at the end of a single line and could switch out only being open during the peaks. The two signalmen spent the rest of their shifts carriage cleaning and never normally saw one another. I visited in the eighties. I do not know when the system came in or remember what system of working was in use on the single line. I do not know what went on up in the valleys mid century but would have thought it unusual if not impossible. Even in the eighties there was a box open all night in the valleys with only one train dealt with and that only coming as far as an intermediate siding. Far enough back not to cause troubles but I think the token was released early in the shift, the signalman getting his head down and the TRB entries filled in later. One question lost in all the erudite discussions of what is and is not possible, why bother? You are not paying the signalmans wages (and wage rates on the railway where not exactly spectacular in those days and it would, presumably, be a relatively low graded box). Surely it would be better to model a typical situation than something unusual, rule 1 does, however, still apply! Strangely enough I spent last week on nights 'working' a box on nights at the end of an EKT section where there was only one train booked.

The Shakespeare Express may have been using the Up & Down Dorridge Passenger Loop for clearance reasons. Certainly the LUL stock exceptional load notices on the down say they must run either via the passenger loop or the goods loop at Dorridge.

Not freight but there where two workings on the Barnstaple branch into the eighties with DMUs hauling vans. One was the paper train with a DMU hauling a bogie van, sometimes a Siphon G with the newspaper distributors staff riding in the van and sorting the newspapers on the way. Later in the morning a DMU hauled a four wheeled van loaded with parcels traffic (mail order club traffic that the railway sorted and delivered itself through the use of NCL rather than Royal Mail traffic). Used to cause a little bit of consternation amongst passengers not in the know as the DMU headed a short distance towards Torrington before coming back along the other line to get past the van and resume its return journey to Exeter. Both vans returned later in the day on separate DMU trains loaded with mail. Depending on the period the DMUs would have to pick up the vans themselves from the 'Middle road'. I can remember a very impressive display of plumes of exhaust from one class 120 DMU just after it coupled onto its van.

Anyone remember 'Squadron tamping'?

33s have dual controls so if you where in the second mans seat and there was a big silver handle moving to and fro in front of you, that was a 33.

Class 47s where also nicknamed Spoons. I always assumed it was because of the noise when the driver 'feathered' the horn when acknowledging the right away tip.

A couple of shots at Abergavenny in the eighties. The pilotman climbs aboard the loco whilst the handsignalman clips the crossover. I cannot remember the name of the pilotman. He was a supervisor at Hereford and was not there long. My only abiding memory is that there was a feud going on between him and the local ganger (who bore an unfortunate resemblance to Rolf Harris, though that was all in the future!) about car parking of all things. Derek Needs the local per way section supervisor relaxes in the armchair. The banned (and almost obligatory!) radio is in clear view. Cannot remember the name of the young chap. Judging by the paraphernalia their presence has interrupted my Sunday cleaning routine.

Somewhere I have a few photos taken with a box brownie when the box was derelict. If I can find them I will scan them in but unfortunately, since the negatives are old 127 film I cannot scan them in on my dedicated film scanner. Since it was a standard LSWR type 4 design (though slightly unusual with its tapered end) would getting plans of the same design of box help you get dimensions? Most of the woodwork would be the same dimensions.

Gordon is retiring early next year. Was out there one day the other week. One of the per way was laughing about it as he was out there taking line blockages and told me not to worry as he would stay in the van and not bother me until I could grant the line blockage. Next thing two vans turned up and when he came to take his line blockage there was me surrounded by four blokes from the plant drilling a hole in the floor to install an on/off switch for the point heaters. So much for my quite day at Claydon! You do not normally even get to see a train at Claydon nowadays as those that run come from Aylesbury and terminate at Calvert. If you do get a train you can forget about it operating the track circuits as the rails are so rusty.

The number of visitors was in the region of 3500. That's the total I hasten to add, not just on the 30th! You should have come up to hear me bore people rigid on the working of the box!

The demolition has been put back but I do not know the new date.

I did wonder about the timings as you lost 3 to Fenny, 3 to Leamington and more again to Hatton even though you came through the platform at Leamington at a reasonable pace. Trouble with dealing with the TDA clerks is that, with some at least, if you try to explain or suggest something to them in anything but the simplest terms they do not understand. Once I tried to explain something and the clerk then turned around and put all the delay onto me for something that was nothing to do with me. Nowadays I say as little as possible to them as I can.