Andy Kirkham

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/railway-artist

Indeed, the GWR seems not to have made the most of the line. Did the conditions of their running powers over the Midland to Yate restrict their rights to operate a full competing Bristol-Birmingham service?

LTC Rolt, whose home was near the line wrote in his autobigraphy: "When the line was built between 1900 and 1906 the contractors, Messrs Walter Scott and Middleton, made two fatal mistakes; they failed to ensure effective drainage of the cuttings and they did not remove from them at formation level the sticky clay that is found all along the base of the north Cotswold escarpment which the railway follows, Water-logged clay makes a chronically unstable base for permanent way and despite constant re-ballasting and tamping there had been endless trouble with sleepers 'pumping' or working, a slurry of clay and water spurting up as train passed over them. It was also as a result of this treacherous clay that there had been much trouble with cutting slopes slipping. Now at last [in 1956] the Western Region decided to take the bull by the horns and put an end to these troubles by laying improved drains, by building retaining walls where necessary, and by the costly process known as 'track blanketing' which consists of removing the offending clay and replacing it by more suitable material. As a result of all this work, as Mark Smith, the then chief civil engineer, admitted to me, more money per mile was spent on the Cheltenham-Honeybourne line than on any other section of the Western Region over the period that had elapsed since the last war" A shame that so much expense was incurred on a line that was to lose much of its purpose within a few years. Rolt also attributes the early withdrawal of local passenger services to the loss of custom during the disruption caused by the engineering work.

It always seems odd to me that the GWR never had platforms at Landsdown station, even though its lines ran right next to it. Were there ever any plans for them, I wonder?

The ore came from Banbury and from 1960 was routed over the Stratford & Midland Junction via Fenny Compton. I think the SMJ closed in 1965 and the Banbury ironstone mines ceased in 1967. Wikipedia mentions that before 1960 the ore went via Leamington, but I don't know if it reverted to this route in the final couple of years. I have a cousin who lived in one of the ex-GWR houses at Winchcombe station in the early 1970's. I only ever remember one train passing while we were there, but I expect most of our visits would have been at the weekend so not representative of weekday traffic. IN 1972 I was fortunate to travel the route in a 9-car DMU on a Sunday afternoon Bristol-Stratford excursion. The fare was 60p. I believe there was a vestigial passenger service until about 1968. A single-car unit running a couple of times a day, but there were no intermediate stations by then.

Ron Fisher (who took the level crossing shot) has a whole album of W&L shots - many from the earliest days of preservation https://www.flickr.com/photos/train-pix/albums/72157627005379551 And here is my contribution from that era Me at Llanfair Caereinion 1961 by Andy Kirkham, on Flickr That was taken on the return journey from a holiday in Barmouth in July 1961. The Earl had only recently arrived from Oswestry. I have a vague recollection that on that day I saw a train passing through the town section, but I cannot be certain that it is not a false memory concocted from later knowledge. There is nobody else still living who can remember that day, but i am told it is possible there could have been some stock movements around that time. I don't think it's possible to tell from the photo whether The Earl is in steam.

That's what it is - and to me it looks as if it's just landed from space to proclaim a new age in which narrow gauge railways have no place.

I'm sure this thread is a place where this https://flic.kr/p/REhNAL will be appreciated. And this - although I find it acutely melancholy RD9336a (1963/07 - 8). Church Street Level Crossing, Welshpool. by Ron Fisher, on Flickr

LikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLikeLike....

I wonder to what extent the GWR made use of those running powers before their own Cheltenham-Stratford line was opened. Until then, the route available to them for Bristol-Birmingham traffic would have been via Gloucester/Newent/Lebury/Worcester/Stourbridge. [Edit] Or did the Standish-Yate running powers only come into existence with the building of the GW new routes at start of the 20th Century? (It just struck me that running powers as far as Yate would not have been much use without the existence of the Badminton route). Did the GWR ever seriously consider building their own route between Bristol and Gloucester, I wonder.

Yes, nowaday it's not uncommon to see uniformed officers boarding a train at Filton Abbey Wood.

I have a copy of this book: Diary of a Bristolian, 1893 by W.H. Bow by Paul Townsend, on Flickr The author was an enthusiast for anything military, and what emerges from his writings, and what for me stands out from the book as the greatest single difference between Then and Now, is how conspicuous the army seems to have been in Victorian Bristol. There was a barracks at Horfield (then on the edge of the urban area) and parades through the streets on the way to the railway station, and to drill or manoevres on the Downs were a regular sight. Was there perhaps a policy of siting barracks in or near urban areas as a precaution against insurrection?

I presume the stock of the loco-hauled Weymouth service was stowed at Malago during the early afternoon. It arrived at about midday and departed around four. Here is 7076 bringing in the stock for the afternoon departure. FEB 73 06. 7076 passing Victoria Park with the stock of the four o'clock to Weymouth, February 1973 by Andy Kirkham, on Flickr

Goodness me! This one http://www.kernowmodelrailcentre.com/p/55416/14017-Exclusive-First-Editions-Bristol-FLF-Lodekka-Bus Was this bus just a demonstrator for the livery, or was it actually one man operated? I can hardly see how that could have been done with a half-cab.

Cliche alert! I just noticed there's bus on the bridge in the background!

A delightful comparison!

Knowing that the deep mine at Tower closed some years ago, I was surprised to see that coal was still being loaded there. Where was this coal actually mined?

Repeatedly posting a picture that most people have seen before risks becoming tiresome, but just in case you didn't see this, Peter, it might show some detail that is of interest. NOV 72 12. 820 Grenville passing Malago Vale carriage sidings. Monday, October 30th, 1972. by Andy Kirkham, on Flickr

My impression too. Somewhere in a book by Gwyn Briwnant-Jones (that I cannot for the moment locate) there is an instance which might be seen to exemplify the GWR's attitude to naming locomotives. It is stated that the names of 6825 Llanvair Grange and 6877 Llanfair Grange were alternative spellings of the same house name! If this is true, it suggests that the GWR appropriated the names of country houses without even informing the owners (because if they had, the duplication would have come to light), let alone inviting them to naming ceremonies.

This lovely picture is actually Abercynon https://flic.kr/p/Rvwe4v

Another one with Jack Warner (as a policeman naturally) is It Always Rains on Sundays, which has a splendid railway-themed chase at the end

One station with the appearance of a simple branch terminus, but which yet received "main line" trains was Milford Haven. However at least some of its enhanced status (such as the Paddington sleepers) would only have been acquired after the closure of Neyland, which coincided with the end of steam. But i have seen photos of Halls, if not Castles, on passenger trains at Milford.

I'd be inclined to think Whitland, based on the modern, flat style of canopy. The 09:50 from Pembroke Dock has just arrived at Whitland and is about return as the 10:55 departure. July 31, 1973. by Andy Kirkham, on Flickr This is not a comparable view as your picture shows platform 1, whereas mine shows platform 3; but the canopies are similar.

I've just come across this snippet from Traffic Report in the December 1972 Modern Railways: The West Midlands has seen a variety of excursion trains during the month including ..... special trains carrying Ugandan Asians from receiving airports to reception camps, particularly at Tonfanau on the Cambrian Coast between Towyn and Barmouth. On October 9 Class 47 1674 powered a special train from Newbury to Tonfanau, while on following days October 10, 12 and 13 three specials ran from Bury St. Edmunds to Tonfanau worked as far as Shrewsbury by Brush Class 31s Nos 5623/47/28 respectively; this is the first time these units have worked passenger trains in the West Midlands. In all cases, pairs of Class 24s took over from Shrewsbury to Tonfanau and all trains were heavily loaded - in one instance a formation of 15 coaches.

Yes Haverfordwest. A remarkably under-photographed station. SEP 73 04. 6884 at Haverforwest with the 0110 Bristol-Milford Haven, July 31 1973 by Andy Kirkham, on Flickr My view is not really comparable, but the footbridge and the centre road do match.