62440

Keeping to sub-zero topics, one of the many stories/rumours/folk-lore I've been told was that a lorry-load of ice was transferred on to a Royal Train at Fountainhall. I've not cracked the truth in that one - yet! Bruce

Well done. The numbers were D8510 and D8586. Bruce

Here's a print of my own I unearthed recently. Most unusually I have written the precise date on the back: 30 November 1969. The Hawick local papers had carried a notice inserted by BR to the effect that trains would be running again; in other words, those of you who have been using the track-bed as a short cut had better stop. This is the first day of renewed track lifting after the halt for negotiations with BURCo. The Hawick South signal box register has the last freight entry on the UP line on Friday 25th April "E10 dept" and on the DOWN line "E10 arr. 12.20". The next, and indeed only entry after the last freight reads "30 - 11 - 69 Men arrive 7.50am. Ballast away for Shankend 8-42am. Ballast from Millerhill with empty wagons arrive 10-15am away for Newcastleton" and there are no further entries in the register. My bedroom was pretty near Lochpark siding in Hawick and I guess that I drove (my Velocette replaced now with a Morris 1100) up later that day having heard trains going south and found the ballast train at Whitrope. I'm afraid that this is the only photo of that day. (I took it with the "family" camera and I don't have the negative otherwise it would be in safe keeping along with my 35mm strips.) Bruce.

A little bit off-topic, but there's a snippet of the 1937 Coronation Parade in Hawick at present on YouTube. However, at around 4.08 minutes into the film, there's a few minutes taken from the road bridge (which was until recently on the A7) over the Teviot looking at the foot of the station brae at Hawick and shows the old timetable board - which was there until closure - with the occasional glance of the goods shed and the coal merchant's offices. My memory fails me as to the coal man's name, but I must have cycled to the small office umpteen times to pay my grandparents' coal bill! Bruce

No sooner requested than done, supposedly 4000dpi. Hope you can read .tiff files! Oops, not allowed tiffs, so here goes a .jpg. Bruce

Service train or Excursion? The scan below is from a Kodak slide, dated November 1968, from the late Robin Barbour collection. The vegetation would suggest late summer or autumn. Robin often took shots from a lonely location,many being specials or diversions. In this shot, there are at least three people at the open windows in the carriages. Often, but not on this occasion, Robin would "pan" round and there might be a couple of shots that would give a clue to length of train. Was he at Whitrope because it was lonely, or there because of the train was a special? I've tried to find a possible special but drawn a blank - Six Bells Junction doesn't record a special that would tie in. What strikes me is i) the train is busy and ii) folk are looking out of the window neither (i) nor (ii) was a common occurrence when I used the line as a normal "punter" travelling to/from Hawickand Carlisle. In fact the last time I came from Carlisle to Hawick in December 1968, I had a whole coach to myself. (It was an interesting trip - around Steele Road a lady and the Guard opened the door and asked if I'd seen her husband, which I hadn't. After seeing them pass the compartment several times, eventually, the Hawick side of Stobs, he was located in a loo in a coach somewhat remote from his wife reading the paper in peace and quiet. We all got off at Hawick and I must admit that only rarely have I heard a wife use such agricultural language to a husband!) But seriously, I'd appreciate any comments about this slide. It wasn't uncommon to have a green parcel van on Waverley Route trains, but to me this looks like a green coach. Many thanks Bruce

Regular working, I think. Used to see the towing combination heading north from time to time when on the Saturday-only dmu back to Hawick. see http://www.railbrit.co.uk/imageenlarge/imagecomplete.php?id=17882 Having said that, this one was taken on a Saturday afternoon - the only occasion that Robin and I took photos together http://www.railbrit.co.uk/imageenlarge/imagecomplete.php?id=23820 Putting two and two together ~ and perhaps getting five ~ I wonder if in the Ernie's shot the loco has dumped the Hawick Clayton and/or the Gala shunter back in the Borders and is making its way back light engine. Bruce

How did it escape the eagle-eyed and owl-eared enthusiasts at Hawick? Did it, indeed could it, have run through to Longtown, as implied by "run over the rationalised route"?

I ought to expand more on this Hallade question. A small article in Modern Railways dated July 1970 was titled "Waverley route reopening" As you can see from the snippet attached a Hallade Track Recording car is mentioned. There was a pretty active group of enthusiasts in the Hawick (I'd left the town in 1969) and none of them ever "clocked" this, or index heard of this visit. The lad who had "tipped me the wink" about the 1st April 1970 visit certainly didn't get in touch with me about this. I'd wondered if, given the above trip in April and the magazine appearing in July, perhaps this recording car was the coach that the type 2 pulled. Bruce

Worth a read. Bruce http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-south-scotland-17547712

Can someone help a little mystery? The photo is of the April Fool's day train at Stobs in 1970: I was under the impression that it ran to take contractors to see what was left of the line before placing a bid for the remaining track. However, I've been told that a Hallade recorder went over the line in 1970. Until today, I'd thought that this Hallade recorder was a self-powered "trolley" type machine. Would it have been possible for the Hallade recorder to be in this coach? Would it be a permanent fixure? Or would it be a specially designed coach? It was long ago, but I'm sure I recall some dome-like "thing" in the coach. Bruce

Aw, shucks. Luck, really. That poor Ilford Sportsman had bounced about the panniers on my Velocette for a few years and the plug-in flashes were temperamental, but they all worked at Hawick where I used my last ones. When I got to Newcastleton, I'd a camera but no flash bulbs left. The local press photographer asked if my camera had a "B" setting - it did - so he said that when he took a photo if I opened the shutter I'd get the benefit of his flash. So my colour photos of the demonstration &c were complemented by his black and white (which appeared in the national press) of the same scene. I wish I knew what happened to his collection. ... if only I'd had flash to take the Clayton at Kershopefoot as it straddled the crossing waiting for the Pullman to head to Longtown and history. Bruce

This do? Bruce

Sorry folks, the last two shots on the film strip have light-entered camera type damage - John, of RailScot site has done wonders with them. I find Robin's last shots so poignant - I wonder what he was thinking seeing the last trains on his beloved line. Although he lived a couple of doors down from me in Hawick, I never really got to know him. He's got one slide of the final Sunday with the Deltic special disappearing into the distance with the Minto Hills in the background: his last ever Waverley Route shot.

Spot on - the enlargement of the Scran image confirms Haddington with the hill in the background. Well done, thanks. Bruce

How about Haddington in freight only days? I was there in 1967 on a BLS special and this building is hauntingly familiar. It's possibly from the (Longniddry end) throat of the station looking towards the station buildings/siding in use. Perhaps someone with better knowledge might confirm if that's one of the local hills in the distance ~ I don't think it's Traprain Law. Bruce

Don't know if sound "images" are allowed, but here goes with QuickTime file - hopefully it's pc compatible. (It plays in VLC.) This is the morning of 6 January 1969 around 5 minutes past midnight when the delayed "Pullman" left Hawick. The recording was taken by hanging a microphone out of the house window recorded on to a tape at 15/16 inches per second. My bedroom window was some two hundred years away from Lochpark Siding, so you have to imagine that the loco had left the station, had passed under the road-bridge near the Melgund pub and was in the open stretch of line before going under the bridge at the top of the Kirkwynd (at Hogg of Hawick). Don't expect BBC quality from this 3.0Mb download but at least it's the last train! Bruce Last.mov

A little snippet from the last Passenger WTT. The ex Waverley 0400 News (50 mph max permissible speed) reached Galashiels at 0452 and then there is "dealt with in Down Line Platform arrives 0455". Presumably this would have meant a reversal from the Up line through a cross-over to reach the Down platform. I don't think there was ever a facing crossover at Galashiels, so maybe this manoeuvre would have been going on for a long time. The train left Galashiels for Hawick at 0505, reaching Hawick at 0548 after stops at Melrose and St Boswells. In the last few days of the line, motive power for the 0400 ex-Waverley was: 24 December 5313 (which returned on the 0815 ex-Hawick to Waverley) 26 December 1993 (which returned on the 0815 ex-Hawick to Waverley: 9010 arrived light engine from the north to work the 0658 ex-Hawick to Waverley) 27 December 281 (which returned on the 0815 ex-Hawick to Waverley) 28 December 5346 no record, but presumably returned on the 0815 ex-Hawick to Waverley 29 Sunday did not run 30 December no record (but 5069 worked the 0815 ex-Hawick to Waverley) 31 December no record (9018 arrived light engine from the north to work the 0658 ex-Hawick to Waverley and 359 worked the 0815 ex-Hawick to Waverley) 1 Jan did not run 2 Jan 5315 (278 arrived light engine from the north to work the 0658 ex-Hawick and 5315 worked the 0815 ex-Hawick to Waverley) 3 Jan no record (5068 worked the 0658 ex-Hawick to Waverley and 1778 worked the 0815 ex-Hawick to Waverley) 4 Jan no record (7591 worked the 0658 ex-Hawick to Waverley and 5071 worked the 0815 ex-Hawick to Waverley) 6 Jan did not run

Yes - often caught the Sunday evening train to Edinburgh from there. B.

5 January 1969 Hawick station around 1.15pm. The same DMU on the Up line with the 1155 ex-Waverley to Hawick: once the large loco with the special on the Down line had left for Edinburgh, the DMU would be shunted into the dock to form the1816 to Waverley. Bruce

Sunday 5 January 1969 Edinburgh Waverley with the 2055 ex-Waverley to Hawick. I agree - a dreadful photo, but the flash failed. However, it meant that I could try using the bulb again at Hawick - and it worked second time around. (Remember these blue bulbs with dodgy contacts?) This DMU arrived in Hawick at 2216 (try that timing with an X95 bus!), crossed over and was signalled ECS to Galashiels at 2219. (St Boswells box had shut on the Saturday night so the section was Hawick to Galashiels.) Normally this DMU would have remained overnight at Hawick to work the early morning Hawick to Carlisle.

Thanks Colin It just seemed so out-of-place. One of our neighbours worked in the S&T department at Hawick, so that might well be the reason. Re Dave's note above on the 60099 Call Boy photo: it is a Glen, possibly 62484 Glen Lyon, according to the photographer who will consult his notes and let me know if it's not. He goes to say that 62483 Glen Garry and 62494 Glen Gour spent most of their time at Hawick next to Wilton Cemetery in a loop adjoining the North shunt. 62471 Glen Falloch, 62484 Glen Lyon, 62488 Glen Aladale and 62490 Glen Fintaig were all active in the 60s. Bruce

On the final week of the line, I took a wander down the north side of the Up platform and over the railings, just a few yards off-camera, amongst the detritus on the ground was a signal box nameboard "Ewesley". I had to go home to find out that Ewesley was on the Rothbury branch (the box closed in 1941). Why was the board dumped at Hawick? Bruce

Just up: http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/sites.shtml Waverley Route and related branches (2,177photographs, 224 maps, 237 tickets & 27 timetables)

from the horse's mouth: I don't specifically remember the photograph and don't know the number of the 0-6-0 but it was the J36s that mostly had tender cabs because of their use as bank pilots. The one in the photograph is a J35, not a J36. The J35 is in the short lye with a BR Standard Class 2MT to the rear of it. Behind it is what looks like J36 65331 as it DOES have a tender cab and was the only Hawick one to have a rounded tender cab. Hawick had three J35s - 64463, 64494 and 64509 - and the one in the photograph is almost certainly one of those three although locos of that class from St. Margarets and other depots did occasionally appear. However if the one in the photograph had been a visitor I would almost certainly have photographed it separately so it is almost certainly one of the Hawick three. QED