The winter of 1962-63

[37175]

With the current weather we're experiencing it got me thinking how it would have been back in the winter of 62-63. It was a few years before I was born so I've only the accounts of others to go from, primarily those of Kit Milligan who describes the snow starting to fall on the morning of 17th November 1962, lasting through until March 1963.

 

I intend to write an account of the issues facing the railway and the efforts of the railwaymen to keep it open, for the next issue of the WRHA's journal, The Waverley. Quite a difference in comparison with the lack of effort to keep the railways open these last few days.

 

For now though, here are a few links to photos of the episode, from Whitrope to Steele Road.

 

 

https://www.railscot.co.uk/img/47/146/

 

http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/s/steele_road/steele(lynn_peter_brock_archive1.1963)old19.jpg

 

https://waverleyrouteha.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/snowplough_riccarton_1963.jpg

 

https://waverleyrouteha.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/scan0011.jpg

 

https://waverleyrouteha.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/scan00071.jpg

 

https://waverleyrouteha.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/scan00102.jpg

 

 

 

 

[37175]

Around ten minutes into this there's a small clip of the section being cleared south of Whitrope:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMXxRcqmrkQ

[jonny777]

Assuming you can get BBC iPlayer you can watch a repeat of last night's BBC4 programme in the Winterwatch series which features the 1962/3 winter as seen in a BBC documentary made at the time by Cliff Michelmore and Kenneth Allsop. 

 

It will be a available for 30 days here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01q9d86/winterwatch-1963-the-big-freeze

[The Border Reiver]

Here is a photo I took with my box brownie in early 1963. It shows 4F 44081 in Canal shed after doing snowplough duties. A standard loco is coupled to it and in the background is a BRCW type 2 (Class 26).

 

 

Edit: changed to class 26

Edited March 7, 2018 by The Border Reiver

[37175]

Here is a photo I took with my box brownie in early 1963. It shows 4F 44081 in Canal shed after doing snowplough duties. A standard loco is coupled to it and in the background is a BRCW type 3.

 

Kodak_119_20180224_0019_800.jpg

 

 

That's a fantastic photo!

 

On page 25 of Peter Brock's book "Border Steam" the image of the three locos near Riccarton (linked on my first post) appears, captioned: "Three locomotives from Carlisle Upperby shed on snowplough duty at Riccarton Junction in 1963. They are 4F 0-6-0 43868, 'Black Five' 45044 and 4-6-0 4MT 43008. Inspector McBain of Hawick was in charge of operations".

 

Not sure if he got this quite right as one of them is most certainly the one you have in your photo, 4F 44081. Incidentally, it's a BRCW Type 2 (class 26) in the background - great wee diesels!

[62440]

One of the stories that didn’t make my book concerned Riccarton getting a telephone request from St Boswells ... along the lines of:

 

[st Boswells] - send a plough, the snow’s up to the rails

[Riccarton] - we’re keeping it: the snow’s above the phone wires!

 

I was a pupil at Hawick High and was envious of my classmates from the Holm, who arrived late and left early, their bus travelling by Langholm instead of over the Whitrope road. I think that 1962 was the year the school train had been withdrawn and bus the usual mode to get to school.

 

On a completely non-railway issue. Today, 9.03.18, is Terrier Day at Crufts, I wonder how many Border Terriers of Riccarton station master, Irving, made thir way south to ‘lift” a medal. That would make a nice platform modelling scene.

 

Bruce.

[37175]

Well I'm finally getting around to writing this article, only three years after first posting about it. If anyone has anything they don't mind me using in it please feel free to post up or drop me a line. 

[Trog]

I remember being told a story of I think that winter. In the February the District Engineers Office at Northampton noticed that where their local P-Way Section Supervisor at Northampton had reported at least one broken rail every day during that month. The PWSS for their part of the Old Great Central however had reported none at all. This was questioned and the GC PWSS claimed that this was because they had had no broken rails. While the District Office suspected that the GC PWSS and his men were just changing rails and not bothering with the paperwork they could not prove it.

 

A couple of weeks later the District Engineer himself was waiting on one of the GC PWSS's area platforms when he spotted a broken rail. With the PWSS not being able to sweep this one under the ballast the paperwork had to be produced. A week or so later the report arrived in the DCE's office in Northampton, it was a little strange however in that instead of the normal rusty brown printed BR form. This was printed in light green with the letters LNER on it, the GC PWSS's office having filled in so few of these forms that they were still using up a pad issued before nationalisation.