Coventry - Nuneaton Line

[mikeh]

Absolutely!

 

I will get on the blower & ask some questions! The blokes a gem and has some cracking stories.

 

Back to the topic, I have decided to try and recreate Three Spires Jn in 00 and have drawn up some track plans to suit.

 

Time to buy a couple of peaks and some blue rats me thinks!

 

Any more pics Mike?!

 

Yes! He's a few more:

 

25175 waits in Three Spires Junction Yard on 22nd November, 1982 while working "Target 40"

 

 

 

25243 pauses at Three Spires Junction on 9th May, 1983, while employed as "Target 46" the Coventry area trip engine.

 

 

 

NCB Coventry Mine No.1, a Hunslet 0-6-0DH brings a rake of loaded HAAs into the exchange sidings at Three Spires Junction on 9th May, 1983, which will form 7V65 to Didcot Power Station.

 

 

 

Will try and post some more tomorrow

 

Mike

[big T]

Top job Mike thanks!!

 

Nice semaphores in the 2nd pic!

 

 

[Davidjsmith]

Great pictures of the yard I got to drive that yellow ncb shunter a couple of years later[They were both worn out only used to the spires in emegency by then 08's on hire from BR] !Was at Nuneaton 7 years BR then at the Pit for three years then back to BR in 1989.Also the 25 175 picture if you look carefully the wagon on the on left the grey one has a tin roof!!It was the tool shed/mess cabin for the pit pway gang!Any more pictures of the yard ?I wish I had taken pictures up the pit now oh for hindsight all history now!On PM shift we got all the emptys up to the pit from three spires yard[max 15 Mgr load].Then had time to sit in the weigh Bridge for an hour playing cards in front of a massive coal fire in winter!So i drove trains from both angles into Three spires BR & NCB!

[Guest Phil]

This really is a small world how many people are there from Coventry area.

 

Another one to add to the list then.

 

Mum and Dad kept "Finisters of Coventry" on the Humber Road until December 1970.

Their claim to fame was Pete Waterman used to regularly visit the shop along with Graham Shaw, Ron Cadman, Barry Jones and Dave Walker. Sadly Barry is no longer with us but Graham and Dave Walker are definately still active modellers.

 

I remember my sister walking me down to the big footbridge over the yard at Gosford Green, and fent memories of TTG baby Sulzers. Also remember the Rootes container trucks carrying the blue containers along Humber Road, under the railway bridge and into the yard, to be loaded onto freightliner flats.

 

I've often thought about modelling coundon road but its just the space required issue ?

[big T]

 

I've often thought about modelling coundon road

 

What about Hawkesbury Lane - there's a bit more potential with the trackwork and the Charringtons depot?

[CovDriver]

If someone has a track diagram I could give it a go ?

I'm getting bored with my current layout which may be going in the for sale section soon ?

[ianfolland]

A couple of pictures at Bedlam Crossing, January 1988:

[big T]

What was the far left hand signal post have been for? My best guess is that it was for the Coventry avoiding line?

 

Nice pics, Ian.

[CovDriver]

Yes the signal post on the right was for the COV avoiding line.

I remember as lad walking and cycling up and down the old avoiding line while I was a working volunteer at the Coventry railway centre !! You don't realise what you had until its all gone and become another part of history

[37058]

How have i missed this thread!!!

 

Fantastic photos also brings back some great memories from a young boy when my dad used to take me for walks on lazy summer nights, Three spires jc, Bedlam lane crossing, standing looking over Lythalls lane bridge.....

 

I have quite a few photos of recent activity that has taken place on the line over the past year......will go and dig them out and upload them.

 

Thank you Mike for starting this thread

 

Cheers, Anthony

 

Who now has to stand and listen for trains aproaching on the down when in the garden, as the ###### took HL25 Distant out!!!!

 

Have a look at www.derbysulzers.com/threespires.html

[37058]

If someone has a track diagram I could give it a go ?

I'm getting bored with my current layout which may be going in the for sale section soon ?

 

 

Colin, could help you out with Hawkesbury track plan when Charringtons spur was there......

[CovDriver]

Hi Anthony

A track plan would be great could do this in 2mm scale if the mrs gives me the ok !!

Been passed your house 9times so far this morning!

I bet this is a first an actual reply on the line itself whilst i'm working a train from COV to NUNEATON !!

[37058]

Hi Anthony

A track plan would be great could do this in 2mm scale if the mrs gives me the ok !!

Been passed your house 9times so far this morning!

I bet this is a first an actual reply on the line itself whilst i'm working a train from COV to NUNEATON !!

 

 

Iv have been on nights, am off now till Sunday, i shall look out for you Just about to upload a few photos my friend, and yes 2mm would be awsum, i was going to do Three Spires if you remember as i have a trackplan to work from but as for lengh of the layout i would safely say 16ft as a start.....

[37058]

Here are a few pictures Taken from the Hawkesbury & Coundon area shortly befour the boxes closed, also some of the Semaphores that were controlled from Hawkesbury being cut down on 23-5-09 A sad weekend indeed...

 

The Home signal that is being cut down was HL24 and the Distant HL25, which was saved from the scrap pile in one piece

 

If you look at the panel you can make out where these signals were, also where the Charringtons spur came off originally.

 

Hawkesbury Lane and Coundon Road are still present, but have the windows boarded up, Hawkesbury Lane is aparently preserved and going to the pontypool & Blaenaven Railway (well the top wooden part anyway) but as for Coundon Road i have no idea.......there was talk Pete Waterman was interested as the line has a huge historical background to the LNWR

 

The last few photos show Coundon road on 22-5-09 hours befour closure!! Also Three Spires Newly built signal cabin (which is still there today but i think out of use as the whole line is now controlled from Rugby PLASTIC SIGNAL THROW TOGETHER BOX SCC - but correct me if im wrong as it may be shared between West Midlands CC at Saltley) showing its NX panel, and the relay room outside, you can see the burnt away paint on the side from when vandels set Three Spires Box alight if i can remember i think xmas 1998!!

 

Thats all for now, i may dig a few more out later............lets hope others can keep the pics coming on this awsum thread

[big T]

The price of progress eh, 37058?

 

Some cracking pictures there.

 

Were the signals BR or LMS vintage? (I suspect the first)

 

I'm liking the views from the boxes - Its good to see things from the other side of the fence!

 

Keep em coming!

[37058]

The price of progress eh, 37058?

 

Some cracking pictures there.

 

Were the signals BR or LMS vintage? (I suspect the first)

 

I'm liking the views from the boxes - Its good to see things from the other side of the fence!

 

Keep em coming!

 

 

Im not to sure on the dates of the signalling, from looking at pictures from Hawkesbury in early 80s HL24 was not there also a few of the others, im sure someone on here could help us out. As the area changed through the years and tracks removed so where signals and replaced with new ones.

 

The distant that was HL25 on the Down (Woodshires Road) has been there since i was born (26 and abit years ago) I remember S & T staff replacing the Arm in the early 90s as i took them a cup of tea it was right in my garden just over the fence. There also used to be one on the UP just past the bridge but that was cut down some time in the early 90's (this was the distant for Bedlam Lane crossing) but when the crossing was removed and the A444 went in the distant was no longer required and another went up a little further down the line oposite Grindle road this being a 2 aspect colour light distant TS 104 R (which has also now gone) giving way for a DOORMAN signal which has been placed even more further down the line!!!

 

I am in the same boat as you, lived round here all my days but not many photos taken!! Things like this get taken for granted, and once there gone THERE GONE!!

 

Last year i was also going to have a bash at modelling Three Spires & Bedlam Lane but in 2mm, was going to recreate from Three Spires Box, Lythalls Lane Bridge through to Bedlam Lane crossing, i have a trackplan (not to scale) but a little modellers liscene is needed here and there, total lengh in 2mm was going to be 16ft

 

Cheers, Anthony

[big T]

I noticed that in one one of your photographs that the Coundon Road gates were 'up' as the shed was passing through- was there a problem? (apart from the loco being a shed and not a pair of Peds or a 47!)

[beast66606]

Im not to sure on the dates of the signalling, from looking at pictures from Hawkesbury in early 80s HL24 was not there also a few of the others, im sure someone on here could help us out. As the area changed through the years and tracks removed so where signals and replaced with new ones.

 

A quick (but not 100% foolproof) way to date LMR signals is to look at the lamp repeater, LMS ones have ... (surprisingly!) LMS stamped on them and later ones have BR(M).

[37058]

I noticed that in one one of your photographs that the Coundon Road gates were 'up' as the shed was passing through- was there a problem? (apart from the loco being a shed and not a pair of Peds or a 47!)

 

Arrr yes, good spot. They (the contractors) were installing new crossing barriers, basically they had not been commissioned / wired in so when a train was aproaching in either direction the signaller would shout out to the person in charge that one was aproaching and they put barriers accross the road to halt the traffic, once traffic stopped the signaller would pull off - in real practise the signaller would have to lower the barriers befour he could set a route accross the level crossing or pull his signals off

[CovDriver]

Love the photo's Anthony they will help me when I finally decide which part of the branch i'm going to model?

Both boxes are going to the pontypool an blaenaven railway according to my mate was a signaller at coundon road and the line is controlled by Coventry (SALTLEY)workstation upto three spires and from there by RUGBY SCC

[37058]

Love the photo's Anthony they will help me when I finally decide which part of the branch i'm going to model?

Both boxes are going to the pontypool an blaenaven railway according to my mate was a signaller at coundon road and the line is controlled by Coventry (SALTLEY)workstation upto three spires and from there by RUGBY SCC

 

 

Do Hawkesbury.....Just think of all those DCC sound 25's you can have

 

That is interesting that both are going, lets hope they get preserved in one piece and not have another repeat of Three Spires!!

 

Thanks for clearing up the question mark on who has control of the line now, amazing really were 25 miles or so away from Saltley and roughly 15 from Rugby, i know both the new Saltley and SCC cover one hell of an area, have not been in the Rugby SCC yet i love sitting in PSB to much but that is also a shadow of its former self, both north and south panels have gone and the signaller sits at his desk with 3 computer screens and a roller ball in front of him (Westcad system) Just the Northampton lines survive in the PSB now - sorry going a little off topic!!!

[37058]

A quick (but not 100% foolproof) way to date LMR signals is to look at the lamp repeater, LMS ones have ... (surprisingly!) LMS stamped on them and later ones have BR(M).

 

 

Dave, by lamp repeater you mean the ones inside the box that showed the signaller the possition of the signal that was out of his sight?? e.g when the signaller pulled off the instrument moves to the WRONG position then a second or so later moves to the OFF position (indication instrument) and when the lever is replaced the instrument would go back to the ON position once the signal arm has lowered or on the other hand the early types of filament failer or in this case LAMP OUT units that detects when the oil lamp goes out and the signaller receives a bell and has to cancel it out....

 

I have the repeater from HL25 and it does infact say BR(M) inside and also dated & tested 1967 but is abit of a minefield as my dad says that the particualar signal was there when he was a lad and he is 60.......now was it originally worked by steel cables or was 1967 the date when it was converted and had a westinghouse motor fitted......

[37058]

When i was going to have a bash at recreating Three Spires / Bedlam lane in 2mm this is the track plan i came up with, with a little help from others it is near as dam it pre 1988 befour the single slip was taken out.

 

Starting from the left we have the start of the up and down lines to and from Coventry, Three Spires signal box, Lythalls lane road bridge (the 2 track headshunt went single track under Lythalls lane then opened up into 2 again. Moving along we see the complex point work including the single slip. The 2 lines going off half way along where the access lines into Three Spires reception sidings, we then move along to Bedlam lane signal cabin and also the gated level crossing then the line continues to Longford, Hawkesbury, Bedworth & Nuneaton.

 

Just a quick point if you are wondering how they accessed Three spires exchange sidings, trains from the south (Coventry) drawed forward past Bedlam lane crossing (sometimes blocking the crossing for some time from what my dad tells me) then they had to reverse onto the line behind Three spires box then continue into the reception sidings. Trains to didcot would leave normally over the crossover to gain access to the up line and trains from the Nuneaton direction would crossover just past Bedlam lane and head down the line behind the box then offcourse reverse or a loco would attach to the rear and take the train into the exchange sidings. Would be awsum to model as there would be so much playability & loco variety...

 

Do not really understand why the single slip was there as i cannot see that it had much use......or did trains come off the coventry avoiding line (when still in use) run bi di on the up for a short time then use the single slip to gain access to the down and continue to Nuneaton???

 

Heres a question, does anybody have pictures of Tyseleys class 116 / 117?? that was painted in GWR colours. I remember in 1988 when Bedworth station re-opened, me and my dad took a trip to Coventry and back, the memories i have are big celebrations in Bedworth town centre with balloons lining the streets also they were giving away badges (Cartoon picture of a DMU with MIDLINE wrote on it) on the train. I think the line actually re-opened to passenger in 1987 but there were no stations as they all closed in the 60's but in 88 Bedworth station was completed and this was the first passenger to pick up / set down at Bedworth. i do hope someone has some pictures would love to see them......

 

Cheers, Anthony

[big T]

Love the photo's Anthony they will help me when I finally decide which part of the branch i'm going to model?

Both boxes are going to the pontypool an blaenaven railway according to my mate was a signaller at coundon road and the line is controlled by Coventry (SALTLEY)workstation upto three spires and from there by RUGBY SCC

 

 

I'm glad the boxes are going to be saved. To be honest, I'm surprised that neither of them has been torched yet!

 

Good stuff.

[big T]

Anthony - I don't know if you have seen this site before: http://www.derbysulz...hreespires.html, it has been the inspiration for me to (eventually!) model Three Spires, with a hint of modellers licence! where the lines curved to the left for Three Spires yard I'm going to model a cement terminal with three roads. I will also bring the box the Nuneaton side of Lythalls Lane and add a headshunt.

 

I will try and post my trackplan if the photocopier at work plays nicely and lets me scan today!