David J Hayes

Ok, thanks, Stephen. On the subject of contributions, and taking into account that TRACTION has been absorbed into BRM, have the rates for material appearing in TRACTION been increased to match those paid by BRM? Cheers. Dave.

Thank you, Steve.

Yes, looks good, but what's the cover price, please? Cheers. Dave.

Looks good, but what's the cover price, please? Cheers. Dave.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the long term. BRM is a quality publication and is more of a bookazine than a magazine, and will be even more so when it absorbs the TRACTION content, which will now become monthly. However, although interested in model railways, I'm not a railway modeller and I suspect there are quite a few others like myself that read TRACTION. I'm also anticipating a price rise at some point to reflect the extra pages required to accommodate the TRACTION content, which may well force some of the TRACTION readership to choose whether or not to ching-out more for a combined publication containing around 30-pages of TRACTION material while the core content will be aimed at modellers; the February 2024 issue of BRM runs to some 148 pages (including covers and ads). I'm sure some of the readership from both camps will welcome the merger, whilst others may not be so keen. Time will tell. Cheers. David J. Hayes.

THANK You "Covkid" for bringing this book to our attention. I have known Mike Hollick for a number years through a mutual friend of ours, the late Ian Pell. Like Mike, Ian made many visits to Kew (often with Mike, I believe), but to research his beloved South Staffordshire Railway (SSR), which ran from Wichnor Junction to Dudley via Lichfield, Walsall and Wednesbury. It's such a shame that Ian didn't get to produce a book on the SSR, as his knowledge on the subject was second to none. I would like to congratulate Mike on his book and wish him every success with it, too. I'm sure Mike's methodical approach to researching the subject matter will no doubt ensure that it is a fascinating read. Cheers. David J. Hayes.

ANOTHER good issue with a nice variety of features, although image reproduction in the printed version is, again, a bit "hit and miss" with some images appearing a little on the dark side or (in the case of colour) a little too saturated (it's not only me noticing this). However, having said that, the current issue (276) is much better in this respect than in previous issues. The image reproduction in the printed version of issue 275 was particularly poor, I thought, including some of those pictures accompanying Part Two of my CO2 article, but which looked fine for the most part in the digital version. I'm pleased with how my Holmethorpe Sand article has been used in this current issue and I very much hope it will be of interest to the readership. This will be my last offering to this publication and I would therefore like to thank those of you who have enjoyed my many contributions over the years, the first of which appeared in issue 28 (February 1997). Kind regards and long may TRACTION continue. David J. Hayes.

AGAIN, my thanks to TRACTION editor, Stephen Rabone, for providing a pdf of the detailed table I compiled (mainly with the aid of information kindly supplied by Adrian Nicholls) to accompany Part Two of my London Milk article in issue 273. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the table and article, which I hope readers will enjoy and find of interest, I take full responsibility for any errors contained in both and thus welcome any corrections or other related comments via the TRACTION letters section. My sincere thanks for the positive feedback received thus far for Part One (featured in TRACTION 272). which is very much appreciated. Cheers. Dave.

YES, Phil, I have the OPC book with that "Hymek" pairing on the Regent tankers at Norton Junction, Worcestershire. The same book also contains an image of a "Hymek" heading south, just south of Abbotswood Junction, with a raft of "Regents", which could well be empties from Soho Pool. I have also seen an image of "Evening Star" at Pengam with the loaded train (believed to have originated from Cardiff Bute Docks) coming off the docks line. As you say, the Regent brandings may well have been removed from the tank barrels by the late 1960s because the Regent Oil Company became part of Texaco in 1967, which I think may have also been around the time the "Hymek" pairings ceased on the Soho Pool trains, though I stand to be corrected. I believe the period of "Hymek" pairings was to handle an increased loading of 40 two-axle tankers on this service. Again, as you say, Phil, these were then split at Bescot (into two 20-wagon formations) for final delivery to Soho Pool. Interestingly, the return empties ran as two separately "Hymek"-hauled trains back to South Wales, both departing Soho Pool for Cardiff within a few hours of each other. Cheers. Dave.

YOU'RE very welcome, Phil. As I also mentioned, the Albion run-rounds at Wednesbury were shown to take place at Pleck Junction in one of the early 1970s WTTs, but this was a short-lived arrangement. It's quite possible they ran into Bescot instead to perform the said run-round during this short period, but I have not seen any official WTT information to support this. As you say, all the empty trains from Albion were booked via Bescot from where they then either proceeded via Dudley or Wolverhampton High Level to reach South Wales (also routed via Walsall during the 1990s), or via Walsall if returning to the likes of Lindsey, Ripple Lane or Teesport (there were also empties to Stanlow, which travelled Bescot-Portobello Junction-Bushbury). I believe the reason trains between Waterston and Albion during the early 1970s were re-routed via Hereford and Shrewsbury was because of problems with the permanent way on an embankment in the Brierley Hill area, which also affected the Texaco oil service from Cardiff Docks to Soho Pool (booked for a "Hymek" until circa 1970). The routing of the Albion trains via the N&W was meant to be a temporary arrangement, I believe, but became a permanent fixture. The Soho Pool train, however, reverted back to running via Dudley again and continued to travel this way until the service ended in 1982. Cheers. Dave.

WITH regards Phil Bullock's earlier query regarding the Albion tanks, previous to them being routed via the N&W "Welsh Marches" axis in the early 1970s, they had entered the Black Country region at Stourbridge Junction and ran via Dudley to Wednesbury where they were booked to run-round and then proceed by way of the Princes End line to reach the Stour Valley main line at Tipton. One of the WTT's also showed them running-round at Pleck Junction for a while, but this was a short-lived arrangement. Cheers. Dave.

I'VE experienced a similar situation myself in the past, "Pint of Adnams". A local newsagent to me stocks several railway titles, including TRACTION, but usually only one or two copies of each. Likewise, my nearest WH Smith (WHS), in Walsall, may have just a handful of copies of TRACTION at any one time, whereas there'll be wads of 10 or more copies of other railway titles sitting on the shelves. When I've been away on holiday or visiting other parts of the country, out of curiosity I have visited several WHS to see if TRACTION was available. More often than not, it wasn't. I suppose it depends on how well it sells in a particular area. It might be possible for your local WHS to have a copy brought in for you from another WHS store. Cheers. David J. Hayes.

THANK you for asking, "Pint of Adnams". As you can appreciate, I don't want to give too much away, but, yes, there were, indeed, movements between the West Country and East Anglia in the early 1980s, and other ad-hoc workings, too, all of which shall be mentioned in Part Two of my London Milk article in TRACTION 273 (due out 25th November). Although I'm aware there are many who are well-versed on post-1980 milk operations, I hope there is still the odd nugget of information contained in my article that will still be of interest even to those who know far more about the subject matter than me. Cheers. David J. Hayes.

YOU'RE very welcome, "Southwich". Glad my comments/suggestions have been of possible use. I tip my hat to all you modellers. And thank you for your complimentary comments, too. Much appreciated. Hope you enjoy my other TRACTION articles as and when they appear. Keep up the good work. Cheers. David J. Hayes.

HELLO again, "Southwich". Shall you be exhibiting your Pensnett-based layout when it's finished? If so, I very much look forward to hopefully seeing it one day at a model railway event and perhaps even featured in the modelling section of TRACTION, accompanied with a nice selection of images taken by Andy York. It would certainly be interesting to see how Pensnett "might have been" had it survived into the rail freight privatization era. Whilst I have several articles pending use in TRACTION, my latest offering being a two-parter titled London Milk (Part One is now out in TRACTION 272), it just so happens I'm about to submit another two-part feature soon to TRACTION with the railway modeller particularly in mind, which I hope you and other modellers will find of interest if it's accepted and published (I'd rather not say where or what it's about as I don't want to give too much away just yet). As I mentioned elsewhere, I'm not a modeller myself, but even I'm tempted to model the subject matter now I've written about it, although I'm sure my long-suffering wife would have something to say about that! Cheers. David J. Hayes.