Black Country Blues

[2ManySpams]

Another view of railway, canal and blue bricks:

http://www.flickr.co...043/6697732853/

 

Mmmm, retaining wall not embankment, what do you think John???

[PaternosterRow]

I remember that information film like it was yesterday! Never put us off messing about in the Tame though.

[2ManySpams]

They don't make them like that anymore! And not a hoody or mobile phone in sight...

[TheSignalEngineer]

Not quite Black Country, but there were also a lot of cabins around the area like these at Curzon Street.

 

The one to the left was my Grandfather's cabin when he was the Signal Linesman at Proof House from 1947 to 1966. The next one was either the Numbertaker or C&W. The hut partly visible to the right was used by the C&W.

 

Curzon St Cabins September 1966.

Photograph copyright C E Steele

[Rugd1022]

That is definitely a picture which speaks a thousand words....

[TheSignalEngineer]

Yes, and if you weathered some like that you would probably be told it was OTT.

 

Pity I didn't take it from the signalbox to get a bit of elevation, because looking at the foreground there's a mechanically worked bullhead double slip with facing point locks, Westinghouse H-series detector boxes and also (just left of this crop) Permali laminated wood insulated block joints. How things have changed since 1966.

[2ManySpams]

Now this one has character in every plank and a great 'family' connection to RMweb.

 

 

Not sure what the BCB team thinks but I'm thinking it would be suitable for either something in the exchange yard or the hut near the industrial road crossing...

[TheSignalEngineer]

From the amount of tea I drank in there during the building of Curzon St Box I could probably give a reasonable outline of the internals as well. The cupboard on the outside end was where we kept oil and grease. The inside had a square coal stove with oven above the firebox and a gas ring on top. It was gas lit also.

[The Evil Bus Driver]

Any one got pictures of the chippie at the Black Country Museum at Dudley?

That, and the "spit and sawdust" pub at the same location, must be candidates for inclusion.

My aunt ran such a pub in Wednesbury virtually alongside the Garrington metal-stamping works called "The Fortune of War". I never understood where the name came from!

 

 

EDIT

I have, since the above, found "A History of Wednesbury" http://www.localhist...ts.htm#contents

In the "Railways and Canals" section there is a nice picture of the GWR station.

Strangely, my Aunt's pub is not mentioned! I am checking with my extended family to see if we can find a Photo.

Also the above link seems to ignore the period between about 1925 and the 1980s. My Grandfather had a Bespoke Tailors shop (in the house front room, which was also his work-room!) almost opposite the Town Hall and adjacent to the War Memorial until the 1950s.

 

[2ManySpams]

What was on the side that we can't see? Is that a door on the left hand side?

[TheSignalEngineer]

The door was to the left hand end. The right hand end had windows but the back was all planked.

[wagonbasher]

This has more charactor than the one prevuiosly discussed. I agree with your thoughts on site.

 

Nice to have that connection to the real thing.

 

A

[oldrocker]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this magazine but whilst doing that man thing of everything on the shelf, in order etc (which had slipped a little!) I came across this

 

https://subscribeme....ck-issues/2010#

 

Not that much but eight colour photos including the cover and a short article.

 

Photos are

 

25273 leaving Stambermill viaduct in 1976

25145 at Blowers Green Junction in 1980

47534 at the Freightliner Depot Dudley in 1978

47334 at Kingswinford Junction in 1978

20061 and 20130 at Great Bridge in 1979

25308 approaching Bescot in 1979

47337 at Wednesbury in 1980 and

20161 at Wednesbury in 1981 on the cover.

Edited August 7, 2012 by oldrocker

[Mark Forrest]

Not sure if anyone has mentioned this magazine but whilst doing that man thing of everything on the shelf, in order etc (which had slipped a little!) I came across this

 

https://subscribeme....ck-issues/2010#

 

Not that much but eight colour photos including the cover and a short article.

 

Thanks for that; don't think it has been mentioned before, but I do have a copy - I'll add it to the biblography topic.

 

Cheers

[2ManySpams]

Calling on RMweb members....

 

We're looking for a suitable prototype girder bridge for where our industrial line crosses over the mainline at a skew.

 

Bridge abutments, steel deck (over girder) and something old enough to suit the 1950-80ish. Lots of plating and rivet detail, rather than the newer welded construction. Span will be about 50'.

 

Preferably something from the black country and used on an industrial line.

 

Anything spring to mind?

[meil]

Steel terminal branch over the A41 (Bilston Road) Wolverhampton.

[TheSignalEngineer]

Is the old Cadbury skew bridge over the railway and canal between Selly Oak and Bournville a rivetted one? Don't think it's a plate deck though, I seem to remember brick arches between the girders underneath the deck.

[2ManySpams]

Steel terminal branch over the A41 (Bilston Road) Wolverhampton.

 

Just had a look on Google Streetview - looks like a good candidate.

[2ManySpams]

Is the old Cadbury skew bridge over the railway and canal between Selly Oak and Bournville a rivetted one? Don't think it's a plate deck though, I seem to remember brick arches between the girders underneath the deck.

 

Ah, yes, I know that one. Had a good look when i last took the kids to the big purple chocolate factory. We don't have the clearance above the mainline for the bridge to be an under girder type though. Thanks for the suggestion though, keep them coming folks.

[TheSignalEngineer]

There's also a nice disused one over the canal next to the Oxley Chord, where the tracks used to go into Stafford Road shed.

[dbanbery]

thought i'd use my first post on here to add some info that ive acquired - i'm kind of a new starter, although i'm sure ive posted on here before showing my grandads Weymouth layout a few years back.

 

Lost Railways of Birmingham and the West Midlands ISBN:978 1 84674 109 8

Wolverhampton's Railways in Colour ISBN 978 0 9565797 0 6

 

my personal plans are to do a wolverhampton Low level and other wolverhampton landmarks i knew of [grew up in Penn so had a few rides down the old branch line to wombourne and aldersley back int' day] also worth noting that where there is now Carvers builders merchants, is the old site of the Stafford Road Works

 

There is/was an interesting railway bridge too, but i cant find it on google maps... it might have gone. this is a pic i found on the web:

 

found it - put these grid references into google maps and zoom right in:

 

52.592219, -2.167202

 

 

there are a load of useful info on here from others! i will bookmark this!!

 

searching a few years back i managed to acquire a load of Low Level pics from where surveyors went round the derelict buildings and platforms and took pics - they even found some old broad gauge track too [spelling i can never get that one bloody right]

 

GWR and LMS were in this area, but please don't flame me as i'm new and learning with rudimentary knowledge of everything!

Edited August 8, 2012 by dbanbery

[2ManySpams]

Dbanbury - you'll have to have a chat with Mark Forrest - he's also very interested in WLL.

[wagonbasher]

After last nights meeting, the Bilston bridge was the strongest contender. There was some discussion about the deck so we do need to know a bit more..

 

We managed to get some cork down even in failing light (There is no light in my garage extension yet - I need to fix that)

 

The answer to the question you really want to know ........ We went for a North staffs theme - No, not Wrights pies, but oatcakes with cheese and bacon

 

A

[Mark Forrest]

Dbanbury - you'll have to have a chat with Mark Forrest - he's also very interested in WLL.

some might say that is an understatement and that it borders on an obsession

 

Link to progress so far on my P4 Low Level project below (there are a few blogs somewhere too).

[dbanbery]

some might say that is an understatement and that it borders on an obsession

 

Link to progress so far on my P4 Low Level project below (there are a few blogs somewhere too).

 

Thanks for that Mark, ill have to have a look tonight as work has banned photobucket!

 

having a read though, i'm going for the pre nationalisation era - probably pre war... its all in flux at the moment but i'm reasonably firm on the pre nationalisation era - i wanted use GWR and LMS rolling stock.

 

anyway, thats a bit off topic. ill post on the correct topic