Black Country Blues

[PaternosterRow]

River Tame, isn't that the stream that passes Bescot ? My memory of it was of a stream that flowed (1950's/60's), sorry - bubbled, and frothed, with every polutant know to man.

 

Dead right 'r' kid, but it was our stream even though it was yellow and suspect. I nearly drowned one summer afternoon on it. We found an old dingy in a mate's garage and went on an expedition down the river past Lynton Square shopping centre, under the Walsall Road bridge and on to the old zig-zag bridge on the Aldridge Road. The Dingy suddenly sprang a leak and we found ourselves stranded on the gravel bank in the middle of the River! That was OK in the summer when the Tame was, as its name suggests, tame and we could walk through it to the opposite bank even though we were half drowned. In the Winter though, when it was swelled it would often burst its banks and flood the Walsall Road adjacent to Tucker Fasteners factory. I also remember the same said gang going down an old 3ft diameter storm water pipe that fed into the river from the Walsall Road itself. We went up it quite a way when the battery in our one and only torch gave out! In a panic we scrambled out and I remember the Spanish Inquisition when we arrived home - Sunday best all tattered and torn. Happy, carefree days!

 

Mike

[steve45]

Being a 'Black Country Lad' born in Wednesbury I can't recall this 'Black Country Pie'.

 

We had 'Peas Puddin' and also there was 'Black Puddin' but no pie!

 

Anyone recall the line of Stanier 5Fs and 8Fs waiting outside Cashmore's at Great Bridge, I think in about 1967 or 8, destined for the torch?

[avonside1563]

Much of the team were down at Aylesbury over the weekend with DITD, hence not much in the way of posting on here. Plenty of stuff to be posted soon... hopefully Old Gringo will be letting you all in on the thinking behind the project and how we ended up in the Back Country.

[Captain Kernow]

The Black Country Blues

---------------------------------

Excellent!

 

Is this the Black Country version of Hale & Pace's 'Northern Calypso'...??

[Old Gringo]

 

Much of the team were down at Aylesbury over the weekend with DITD, hence not much in the way of posting on here. Plenty of stuff to be posted soon... hopefully Old Gringo will be letting you all in on the thinking behind the project and how we ended up in the Back Country.

Ah, "thinking behind the project" - now that's a new approach surely, for this team.

However, it appears that i have been delegated the task of telling the story of how we got here, so here we go;

But first, "thanks very much Stubby for those verses, some of which I now can't stop hearing to the tune of Herman's Hermits, I'm into something good"! No, no, no!

Anyway here's part one; "are you sitting comfortably?" (as somebody used to say way back in the mists of time) "then I'll begin" . . .

Black Country Blues - an Industrial Odyssey

Our introduction to the project began with a round-robin note from Chris (2manyspams) asking the innocuous enough question, "Anyone up for this?" The "this" being a submission to the RMweb Layout competition and to a man, all those asked said "yes".

So having re-assembled the 'team' that has all had a hand in building New Haden Colliery, the next question was, "Er, what do we have to do next?"

Well, that was simples!  There were these criteria to satisfy, by answering the following questions:

• Who was in the team?
• Which scale/gauge was to be used?
• Where is the layout set?
• When is the period of operation?
• What makes our entry different/unique/inspirational?
• Were there any special skills required/employed?
• Then add a proposed layout plan and approximate dimensions
• Plus some images, or artwork to back up the scheme.

Ok, we could answer question one, but, what should we put in our proposal?

Hey, let's try 'brainstorming by e-mail'.

Over 24 hours, the replies had included the following suggestions:

• Appeal to wide audience, be unique and inspirational
• Diorama, unusual prototype, industrial atmosphere, maybe with canals
• Midlands location, more than one time period for operations
• Achievable finescale modelling, encouraging others to have a go
• Sectional approach, to spread construction, flexible and quicker
• Handmade track (probably EM gauge) and scratchbuilt structures
• Include some research elements
• Use our existing rolling stock and add simple new builds and conversions

So, our objective:

What we needed was an idea that combined as many of the above suggestions as feasibly possible;

 

Something unique and inspirational; an unusual midlands location that was immediately identifiable; a diorama that could be built to finescale standards, using a modular format of construction and be finished into a working layout within a six month timescale!

Now, it's well-known within the group that I can always be relied upon to come up with an idea. The trouble is - it's often daft as, an ashtray on a motorbike!  However, within 24 hours of 'getting the band back together', to use one of Damian's favourite phrases,  I'd fired out a daft idea.  A single A4 page with the following sketchy title:  'In search of the Midlands'.

More next time . . . .

[Old Gringo]

For those RMwebbers with strong stomachs and still interested in the story, here's the next stages!

Black Country Blues - An Industrial Odyssey

The next steps in the "birth of an idea" and how we got closer to where we are today,

The 'Starter for ten' - In Search of the Midlands - repeated the competition information, added a precis of the 30-odd replies and stated the general objective.  This was followed by a take on an idea for a Midlands-based diorama, the aim of the concept and a brief technical description all in just 100 words.

The immediate replies suggested a meeting (at Barton Marina, 3^rd May), where I presented the concept of "In Search of the Midlands", backed up by a series of rough drawings. There was an introduction to "a layout taking a different approach to railway modelling", which outlined the relationship between the contemporary railway and its Victorian roots. It included the importance of maps in the creation and growth of the railway system and some ideas were included for a model diorama 3168mm (12 chains/264 yards) in length to demonstrate the idea.

The concept was good, The plan looked ok, but it would have made a poor model railway.

Also, around the table, it was obvious that the majority of the team were keener on a 'Black Country' subject, rather than the vague Midlands/Cannock Chase general idea that I had started off with.

Back to the drawing board and a week later we all sat around a different table and this time I'd brought a longer sketch, 4224mm long (16 chains/352yds!), containing a better proposal. But as the evening progressed, it was obvious it was still not quite right. However, it was whilst the discussion progressed that specific Black Country structures were discussed and the predominance of Staffordshire blue bricks in their construction.

In an e-mail next day, somebody used the phrase "Black Country Blues"; a phrase that not only resonated with the infrastructure of the embryo scheme, but also the atmosphere of the area itself in the core era we were attempting to portray. Here was the banner, upon which to hang our proposal.

Whilst all this scribbling on sheets of paper had been taking place, Chris had been formulating the proposal document to send to the judges of the RMweb competition. And Geoff had been wrestling with Templot, trying to create a trackplan, which would satisfy both the aim of showing the relationship of Victorian engineering to the contemporary railway scene and provide a platform for interesting operations.

Chris produces proposal documents for a living, so he took all my woffle, all the e-mails and extra information and produced a professional six page document describing:

• Who we were
• The scale/ gauge/ period modelled and prototype area
• What made the project different and stand out from the crowd
• Our portfolio of relevant/special skills
• An outline of the project we intended to build, with a scenic section now 5280mm long (20 chains/440yds)!
• And finally a trackplan sketch and a projected budget.

It is a beautifully produced document, which was submitted by e-mail to make the fast approaching deadline. I'm sure it was Chris's professionalism that won the RMweb competition for the Staffordshire Finescale Group, along with that catchy title - Black Country Blues! (a title now featuring lyrics by Stubby, music by Trisonic and backing vocals by Oldddudders!).

On the scale/ gauge/ period and prototype page, there is a series of thumbnail pictures, featuring bridges, canals, a signalbox and a sketch map of the Black Country. The special skills portfolio page also contains thumbnail pictures of our layouts; New Haden Colliery, Treneglos, Foundry Lane, Diesels in the Duchy and "Once upon a time" (which is again on the back burner for the next eight months!).

Following the notification that our proposal had found favour, another presentation followed, this time to Steve Cole and John Emerson, to seal the deal.

What next?

"More in a bit, our kid" . . . . . "and the layout gets even longer!"

[TheSignalEngineer]

As a young teen in 70's Black Country I remember Davenports delivering beer to the house once a week for my dad.

 

Beer at home means Davenports,

That’s the beer!

Lots of cheer!

The finest malt with hops and yeast,

Turns a snack into a feast.

Straight from breweries to your home,

Why collect?

We’ll deliver!

Soon you’ll know why folks all say:

"Beer at home means Davenports! "

Cheers !

[John Geeee]

A dare you to model Galton bridge. It crosses the railway and the canal. I used to live a couple of hundred yards from it as a kid, just over the road from Smethwick West station. Add a canal scene and add the Pump House just in front of Rolfe Street station. Also try recreating the sound and feel of the drop forgings at the top of Rolfe Street. I used to wait there for the old No43 bus and you could not lean on the factory wall because of the vibrations every time the hammers dropped.

[John Geeee]

The Mad O'Rourke pub crawls in a day (or a weekend for wimps) about 15 pubs from memory. You got a card stamped in every pub when you bought a pint and when you filled the card you won a tankard. Cow pies were impossible to finish for most, I can remember going to one of the O'rourke pubs in tipton where they also served the mixed grill on a hot shovel instead of a plate. I used to go to The Barge ( I think it was called that) by a canal near tipton where the bar was actually the front end of a canal barge! Loads of litlle breweries everywhere, Simpkiss at the Jolly Crispin in Sedgeley, Holdens, ... The Crooked Inn where bottles looked like they rolled up hill. I miss "Faggits and Paes", you cant buy decent butchers hand made faggots wrapped in the stomach lining (delicious) in Widnes for love nor money ! ;-( Listening to old relatives who had to tell me everything twice and slowly because even I could not understand a word . Ommer 'em Craaadley!!! Speedway on a saturday night when Bruce Penhall was king followed by Erik Gundersson and a whole stream of other speedway stars riding for my club!!

 

I want to go back 'ome now , sob !

[Paul Cram]

And here is me thinking that the requirement was for a submission of no more than 100 words.

[oldrocker]

The foam mountains ! I'd forgotten about those ! What a great thing to put in a model of the late 50s / early 60s in the area !

 

Make a change from the idyllic streams we mostly see.

Edited May 29, 2012 by oldrocker

[2ManySpams]

And here is me thinking that the requirement was for a submission of no more than 100 words.

 

If you read the competition rules / entrance requirements carefully, only one of the nine response headings given by Andy Y (project outline) had a 100 word limit. Our section had bang on 100 words. About 1/2 of the total 6 page document comprised of plans, photos and diagrams.

 

The document served a double purpose. It was our competition entry, which had to give confidence that we had the skills and man-power to complete an interesting / marketable project. It also gave us a head start in project planning, working out exactly what it was we were building and building consensus within the team. Indeed the detail was worked up to enough degree that I think we'd have built it anyway.

[Andy Y]

And here is me thinking that the requirement was for a submission of no more than 100 words.

 

I did even offer the opportunity to your entry to expand upon the bullet points.

[TheSignalEngineer]

Beer at home means Davenports,

That’s the beer!

Lots of cheer!

The finest malt with hops and yeast,

Turns a snack into a feast.

Straight from breweries to your home,

Why collect?

We’ll deliver!

Soon you’ll know why folks all say:

"Beer at home means Davenports! "

Cheers !

The Davenports brewery was not in the Black Country, but in Birmingham on the opposite bank of the canal to the original West Suburban line into Granville Street.

See here for the history and the old adverts. http://davenportsbeer.co.uk/davenports-history-2/

 

The large windows in the right hand wing of Bath House contained part of the bottling plant. You could stand outside there and watch the machines working.

The brewery closed in 1989, but the name was revived by the Highgate Brewery from Walsall in 2002.

 

 

Years ago when I was a mere lad there used to be a large advert in a shop window in Harwell (near Didcot - miles from the Black Country) which was clearly visible to any motorist heading west and which read 'Davenports, beer at home'. I always wondered if that meant they delivered like the Corona man - but all the way to Harwell???

The last clip at the bottom of the page advertises the "Beer at Home" service being available from Oxford to The Potteries at about 00:17.

Later there is an advert for Guinness at less than 10p a pint.

[bike2steam]

Highgate Brewery, now there's a name that conjours up memories. At one time there were a few small back street pubs that only sold 'Mild', Highgate being one of the best pints of mild were the most common 'tied' houses, and that's what I started my drinking on in the late 60's, one such pub was about 100 yards from Rubery Owen's main factory entrance in Darlaston Green. The first pub that I worked, part time, behind the bar was the 'Why Not Inn' ( as it was known then (?)), and managed to get the hang of pulling pints just right with the pump nozzle set in the right position to get the right amount of froth on top, as was preferred in those days, - my how things have changed.

Edited May 29, 2012 by bike2steam

[TheSignalEngineer]

Ah! Highgate Mild, a good traditional dark beer. Not high on alcohol but strong on taste, something that could be taken all evening. A real workers' beer, builds up the body water level for the next day in the foundry.

[beast66606]

Littletons is a good example of a shunt frame but assumes the main line is controlled from a PSB of course.

 

To return briefly, I've just bought the PSB commissioning notice which covers the conversion of Littleton to a shunt frame, this may help when it comes to the signalling if that option is chosen.

[bike2steam]

Indeed, lubrication without too much intoxication, mild being weaker than bitter, as you say, but with a strong taste, was very popular in the late 60's, and early 70's when I was in that area, the most common being Highgate ( at most Bass Charrington pubs), Banks, and Ansells (Ind Coope) . But Ansells brewed in Aston, I believe, was a little outside the 'area', so was Banks, according to some, which leaves only Highgate as a true Black Country Mild ( of those mentioned, apologies to Holden's, and Bathams, but they were small little known breweries in those 'chemical' days), brewed in Walsall ( well it was then).

Edited May 29, 2012 by bike2steam

[PaternosterRow]

Gosh, memories, memories. I remember Mad O' Roukes and the canal barge pub with part of a barge as the bar. The Speedway at Perry Barr dog track - I had a ring side view from my bedroom window as a lad - the smell of that oil they used to mix in the fuel (what was it called now?). Highgate Mild was my first pint - a frothless, dark substance that quenched the thirst on a Friday night in the Roundabout under the Rotunda all for 49p a pint!

[28XX]

Can I add my belated but wholehearted support to this project. This was the backdrop to my youth, you have already evoked many great memories. Rather than offering a wish-list of features to be included (although sorely tempted), I'll wait to be asked, I was there, I hope my memory won't fail me when called upon.

 

Steve

Student Technician Engineer Trainee

BR DS&TE, Birmingham

1976 - 1982

[Coombe Barton]

...The Speedway at Perry Barr dog track - I had a ring side view from my bedroom window as a lad ...

Right now I'm probably sitting close to where your bedroom was.

[devondynosoar118]

They might fit this topic: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/56681-black-country-memory-lane/page__st__75

[28XX]

Surprised no-one has mentioned 'Hansons' beer. Made by Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries, and having the same tombstone shaped logo and typeface as Bonks's but only available in the BC proper iirc.

[28XX]

Black Country insult:

 

Yow d'ay know the diffrunce 'tween a sponner an a screwdroiver - yow puts nails in wi' bowth!

 

With acknowledgement to Fred Peach.

[Steve Williams]

....and of course a 'Brummagem screwdriver' is 'an 'ommer'.