East West rail, Bletchley to oxford line

[rodent279]

4 minutes ago, 1E BoY said:

 

The Bletchley to Bedford line has seen quite a few DMU types over the years. The current Class 230's are new in comparison to some of the others!

 

In North London Railways days Class 117's were the main stay of the Bletchley - Bedford line but BY also maintained those for Gospel Oak - Barking and also Willesden to Clapham Junction services via Kensington Olympia.  They provided a real challenge at times and it was due to the professionalism of the staff at Bletchley TMD (BY) that they kept going as long as they did.

 

The old platform buildings on the right were used as the Booking on Point and Train Crew mess room, before they built the new (current) facility on the site of the old south end Platforms 1 and 2. They were subsequently demolished.

When were those buildings demolished?

 

4 hours ago, 1E BoY said:

The demolition contractors were tidying up the site yesterday and were not in evidence today. The space vacated by the former Telephone Rentals building demolished over the past week or two is now hard standing.

 

The former corridors to it and the main building appear to be safe from demolition for the time being.

Don't suppose there's any chance you could get a photo of the front of the TR building is there? Please :-)

 

And while we're on the subject, since the TR building seems to be in the limelight at the moment, does anyone have any photos showing the PSB, flyover & TR site before the TR building was built? Around 1973'ish? I've trawled Flickr and come up with surprisingly few shots from that era, none from the right angle.

 

cheers N

[porkie]

This artist impression of the high level platform arrangement popped up on Facebook a few days ago. 

[1E BoY]

1 hour ago, rodent279 said:

When were those buildings demolished?

 

A check through my photo archive suggests they went around 1997. They were certainly in place on 20th February 1997 when Class 117 set L705 was named 'Leslie Crabbe'. Leslie was a former railway man and did much for the Bedford Bletchley Rail Users Association and the Marston Vale Line. 

[1E BoY]

1 hour ago, rodent279 said:

Don't suppose there's any chance you could get a photo of the front of the TR building is there? Please :-)

 

And while we're on the subject, since the TR building seems to be in the limelight at the moment, does anyone have any photos showing the PSB, flyover & TR site before the TR building was built? Around 1973'ish? I've trawled Flickr and come up with surprisingly few shots from that era, none from the right angle.

 

I will see what I can get tomorrow during the permitted walk. Be warned to shed a tear though - it will be far from pretty!

 

These two are taken from the site of the main building. They were given to me years ago by two local train drivers (Bob Berry and railwayman author Arthur Grigg) copied from BR publicity photos showing the construction of the new road bridges under the railway. Prior to the reconstruction West Bletchley could only be served by single deck buses, hardly suitable for the major development taking place at the time.

 

On the first picture the road going to the left was the original station entrance. Because the new road severed the route, it was replaced by the steps alongside the PSB (power signal box) and road access created by the building of Sherwood Drive.

 

The new bridge is being constructed whilst the original bridge on the right is still in use. It has a pedestrian tunnel.

 

The original bridge went through a different arch of the flyover to the present one. That is why there is a very wide pavement in front of the Park Hotel today and not the narrow one seen through the old bridge.

 

Hope these help

[rodent279]

8 hours ago, 1E BoY said:

I will see what I can get tomorrow during the permitted walk. Be warned to shed a tear though - it will be far from pretty!

 

These two are taken from the site of the main building. They were given to me years ago by two local train drivers (Bob Berry and railwayman author Arthur Grigg) copied from BR publicity photos showing the construction of the new road bridges under the railway. Prior to the reconstruction West Bletchley could only be served by single deck buses, hardly suitable for the major development taking place at the time.

 

On the first picture the road going to the left was the original station entrance. Because the new road severed the route, it was replaced by the steps alongside the PSB (power signal box) and road access created by the building of Sherwood Drive.

 

The new bridge is being constructed whilst the original bridge on the right is still in use. It has a pedestrian tunnel.

 

The original bridge went through a different arch of the flyover to the present one. That is why there is a very wide pavement in front of the Park Hotel today and not the narrow one seen through the old bridge.

 

Hope these help

Those are brilliant, thanks! It never occurred to me that the under bridge had been rebuilt, but of course, it was. Do you know when these were taken? I'd guess about 1964.

Thanks for taking a diversion during the permitted walk. No rush, but I'd love to see what it looks like.

My dad has a copy of Arthur Grigg's book "Town of Trains" somewhere. Cheers, N.

[caradoc]

12 hours ago, 1E BoY said:

I will see what I can get tomorrow during the permitted walk. Be warned to shed a tear though - it will be far from pretty!

 

These two are taken from the site of the main building. They were given to me years ago by two local train drivers (Bob Berry and railwayman author Arthur Grigg) copied from BR publicity photos showing the construction of the new road bridges under the railway. Prior to the reconstruction West Bletchley could only be served by single deck buses, hardly suitable for the major development taking place at the time.

 

On the first picture the road going to the left was the original station entrance. Because the new road severed the route, it was replaced by the steps alongside the PSB (power signal box) and road access created by the building of Sherwood Drive.

 

The new bridge is being constructed whilst the original bridge on the right is still in use. It has a pedestrian tunnel.

 

The original bridge went through a different arch of the flyover to the present one. That is why there is a very wide pavement in front of the Park Hotel today and not the narrow one seen through the old bridge.

 

Hope these help

 

Re the second picture, IIRC there was a bus stop on the nearest side of the road, maybe just out of shot to the left ? That was where I used to catch the bus home to Oxford after a day spotting at Bletchley, on one occasion I miscalculated my finances and was 1/2p short for the fare ! Luckily the driver let me off........

 

[1E BoY]

15 hours ago, 1E BoY said:

The original bridge went through a different arch of the flyover to the present one. That is why there is a very wide pavement in front of the Park Hotel today and not the narrow one seen through the old bridge.

 

Looking the other way towards the bridge. The first image is another from the collection of Bob Berry / Arthur Grigg which they gave to me many years ago. The top picture appears in Arthur's 'A job for life' book dated April 1961. The current road goes under the arch in which the buildings known as the 'tin shops' are standing.

 

The second picture was taken by myself around 30 years ago when the slope in the middle of the image went into the Brunel shopping centre. It also shows how wide the pavement is at this point, the Park Hotel appears on the left in both pictures and the pier below the 'Jinty', is the same one in the bottom picture.

[1E BoY]

19 hours ago, rodent279 said:

Don't suppose there's any chance you could get a photo of the front of the TR building is there? Please :-)

 

Taken today using the permitted walking route close to home.

 

Caradoc's bus stop can be seen in both views!

 

[1E BoY]

5 hours ago, caradoc said:

Re the second picture, IIRC there was a bus stop on the nearest side of the road, maybe just out of shot to the left ? That was where I used to catch the bus home to Oxford after a day spotting at Bletchley, on one occasion I miscalculated my finances and was 1/2p short for the fare ! Luckily the driver let me off........

 

This is today's view of the two posted yesterday which were taken from a similar viewpoint.

 

Bus stop in the foreground. Steps up to the station behind road sign, Police station buildings behind bus shelter on east bound carriageway.

 

The former PSB (power signal box) is just visible behind the tree near the steps. No longer in use for its intended purpose it is now used as offices by Network Rail.

[1E BoY]

Some new machinery has arrived on site and now stands where the demolished building was.

 

[rodent279]

1 hour ago, 1E BoY said:

 

Taken today using the permitted walking route close to home.

 

Caradoc's bus stop can be seen in both views!

 

Ah, doesn't look too bad. Happy memories! Thanks.

[1E BoY]

2 minutes ago, rodent279 said:

Ah, doesn't look too bad. Happy memories! Thanks.

 

Not so great from this perspective!

 

Some covid related graffiti has been applied since I last looked at it. The word Corona appears to the right of the 21.

[rodent279]

2 minutes ago, 1E BoY said:

 

Not so great from this perspective!

 

Some covid related graffiti has been applied since I last looked at it. The word Corona appears to the right of the 21.

Could be worse, I was expecting dereliction! Looks like it could be put to further use, if that fits the plans. Would need a bit of work, but I'm sure it could be refurbished as flats, it's basically a big metal frame, glorified greenhouse really.

A similar building on the Aztec West estate in Bristol, where I now work, was gutted literally to a framework of metal girders, and rebuilt into private health clinic.

Anyway, we're getting OT. Thanks for the photos, they certainly provide a good contrast with then and now. I still haven't found any photos taken from the station, post-electrification, showing the TR site before the building was constructed.

[rodent279]

4 hours ago, 1E BoY said:

 

Looking the other way towards the bridge. The first image is another from the collection of Bob Berry / Arthur Grigg which they gave to me many years ago. The top picture appears in Arthur's 'A job for life' book dated April 1961. The current road goes under the arch in which the buildings known as the 'tin shops' are standing.

 

The second picture was taken by myself around 30 years ago when the slope in the middle of the image went into the Brunel shopping centre. It also shows how wide the pavement is at this point, the Park Hotel appears on the left in both pictures and the pier below the 'Jinty', is the same one in the bottom picture.

If that's between Aug 1989 and about Oct 1990, there's a good chance I was in the TR building when that was taken! Or if it was a Friday lunchtime, in the Park!

The engineering functions moved to a new office in Mount Farm in Oct 1990, the Buckingham Rd site becoming HR, admin and some C&W functions. Up until a couple of years ago, my C&W pension statements still came from there. All good stuff, great memories!

[Davexoc]

7 hours ago, 1E BoY said:

 

I notice the OHLE supports were not incorporated during original construction as previously assumed...

 

4 hours ago, 1E BoY said:

Some new machinery has arrived on site and now stands where the demolished building was.

 

 

Those continuous slings hanging there weigh a fair bit on their own, I speak from lugging some out of a BTU tool van once that may have been a little smaller...

[Davexoc]

Took the scenic route to work this morning, and noted that there is signs of activity around Winslow - Furze Lane, vegetation removal near Verney Junction, alot of clearance and access points at Claydon Station, and loads of 'Works Access' signage on the roads around Claydon LNE junction/Calvert.

It looks like the EWR - GC new alignment is possibly now fenced off, widenning the route towards Calvert/Bicester, but the adjacent old electicity sub-station is still there at the moment.

[1E BoY]

Today's walk revealed that the second section was being removed and lowered on to the trailer as before.

 

The first appeared to be on the lifting slings seen in the second picture. 

 

Several sections to the left of the crane appeared to have a ^ cut in them suggesting that they too would be removed. The ^ was cut into the two lifted sections before removal.

[1E BoY]

Considerable work has also been undertaken to remove the side walls from the flyover.

 

The first picture was taken on the 13th April and the second this afternoon.

 

 

[Trog]

3 hours ago, 1E BoY said:

Considerable work has also been undertaken to remove the side walls from the flyover.

 

 

 

They were probably considered too aesthetically pleasing, and are to be replaced by galvanised palisade fencing. So any one escaping from the prison at Grendon Underwood and walking along the line to get away feels at home. 

[Edwin_m]

49 minutes ago, Trog said:

 

They were probably considered too aesthetically pleasing, and are to be replaced by galvanised palisade fencing. So any one escaping from the prison at Grendon Underwood and walking along the line to get away feels at home. 

Going by where the map says Brunel Roundabout is (should be Stephenson Roundabout surely?), most of that missing section of parapet is where the platforms will be.  

[rodent279]

4 minutes ago, Edwin_m said:

Going by where the map says Brunel Roundabout is (should be Stephenson Roundabout surely?), most of that missing section of parapet is where the platforms will be.  

Yeah, I've always wondered why it's called the Brunel centre. Did he have a local connection?

[08221]

On 23/04/2020 at 21:08, 1E BoY said:

 

The Bletchley to Bedford line has seen quite a few DMU types over the years. The current Class 230's are new in comparison to some of the others!

 

In North London Railways days Class 117's were the main stay of the Bletchley - Bedford line but BY also maintained those for Gospel Oak - Barking and also Willesden to Clapham Junction services via Kensington Olympia.  They provided a real challenge at times and it was due to the professionalism of the staff at Bletchley TMD (BY) that they kept going as long as they did.

 

The old platform buildings on the right were used as the Booking on Point and Train Crew mess room, before they built the new (current) facility on the site of the old south end Platforms 1 and 2. They were subsequently demolished.

 

A similar view from 1981 - a Bletchley 105 Cravens unit with a Marylebone 115 DMS on a Bedford service (my photo).

 

[1E BoY]

When Central Bletchley was being redeveloped in the early 1970s, some of the new roads and buildings were named after people with a connection to the railway. The area with the bandstand outside the old Co-op department store (currently being developed into small shop units) is called Stanier Square. Originally there was a plinth in Stanier Square, the rumour being that the Council were looking to rescue a suitable locomotive from Woodham's scrap yard in Barry, have it cosmetically restored and placed upon it. The plinth was built but the loco never appeared and within the last few years the plinth has been removed and replaced with a bandstand relocated from elsewhere in the town centre. 

 

The old Bletchley UDC researched names for streets and buildings being constructed at that time and most were connected with the London & Birmingham, L&NWR or LMS railways. The large block of flats adjacent to the bus station was originally an office block and is still known as Stephenson House, whilst new roads formed by the closing of Queensway to through traffic include Locke Road, Cawkwell Way and Findlay Way. For some reason, Brunel from a list of famous railway engineers (not with a local connection) was chosen by the developers for the indoor shopping centre (The Brunel Centre) across what had been the through road. A new by-pass round the town centre was named Princess Way. 

 

The picture below shows the view around 1970. The colour slide taken with a Kodak Instamatic by myself on a borrowed camera for a school project has not stood the test of time particularly well. It shows the scene before the Brunel Centre was built across it. The far group of buildings on the left include the Workingmens Club and the Park Hotel which still stand. Everything else having been redeveloped.

 

[Trog]

It looked a bit more prosperous then, these days Bletchley High Street looks not so much run down as run over.

[rodent279]

9 hours ago, 1E BoY said:

When Central Bletchley was being redeveloped in the early 1970s, some of the new roads and buildings were named after people with a connection to the railway. The area with the bandstand outside the old Co-op department store (currently being developed into small shop units) is called Stanier Square. Originally there was a plinth in Stanier Square, the rumour being that the Council were looking to rescue a suitable locomotive from Woodham's scrap yard in Barry, have it cosmetically restored and placed upon it. The plinth was built but the loco never appeared and within the last few years the plinth has been removed and replaced with a bandstand relocated from elsewhere in the town centre. 

 

The old Bletchley UDC researched names for streets and buildings being constructed at that time and most were connected with the London & Birmingham, L&NWR or LMS railways. The large block of flats adjacent to the bus station was originally an office block and is still known as Stephenson House, whilst new roads formed by the closing of Queensway to through traffic include Locke Road, Cawkwell Way and Findlay Way. For some reason, Brunel from a list of famous railway engineers (not with a local connection) was chosen by the developers for the indoor shopping centre (The Brunel Centre) across what had been the through road. A new by-pass round the town centre was named Princess Way. 

 

The picture below shows the view around 1970. The colour slide taken with a Kodak Instamatic by myself on a borrowed camera for a school project has not stood the test of time particularly well. It shows the scene before the Brunel Centre was built across it. The far group of buildings on the left include the Workingmens Club and the Park Hotel which still stand. Everything else having been redeveloped.

 

Interesting photo, and it's showing the TR site before it was built, although in the far distance. I guess that view isn't possible now. Cheers N