Signalbox Safari - Leeming Bar

Time for another signalbox…

Just over a year ago I wrote about Dersingham signalbox on the former line between King's Lynn and Hunstanton in Norfolk and a recent visit to Leeming Bar on the Wensleydale Railway gave me the opportunity to photograph another signalbox from that line, albeit one transplanted to Yorkshire.

The former North Wootton signalbox now restored at Leeming Bar on the Wensleydale Railway, 11/7/14

North Wootton was the first station out of King's Lynn and like Dersingham a number of its buildings outlived the line itself with the station buildings now forming a private residence. The signalbox, another Great Eastern Railway 'type 7' structure, this time dating from 1901 survived as a scout hut until 2007 when the 14th Woottons Scout Group, unable to afford its restoration (or even insurance) decided to give it away.

The former North Wootton signalbox before restoration, 2/6/08

The Wensleydale Railway took the project on, carefully moving the box to its Leeming Bar headquarters in September 2007 and in 2009, after a painstaking restoration supported by a Heritage Lottery Fund grant it was reopened and apparently now forms the WR's control office.

The Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway

I make no apologies for featuring another of Hunslet Engine Co Ltd's products in these pages, this time in the shape of 'Austerity' 0-6-0ST REPULSE (works no.3698 of 1950).

Hunslet Engine Co. Ltd. 0-6-0ST (works no.3698 of 1950) at Haverthwaite station, 9/7/14

391 locomotives of this class were built between 1943 and 1953 for the Ministry of Supply and War Department with a further 93 being built for industrial users. Hunslet built the majority but Andrew Barclay, Hudswell Clarke, W.G.Bagnall, Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns and Vulcan Foundry were also involved in the construction and examples from each manufacturer still survive in preservation.

The Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway's example "REPULSE" (named after the World War II battle cruiser) spent all it's pre-preservation life working for the North Western Area of the National Coal Board, finally being withdrawn from service in 1975 from the Ladysmith Coal Preparation Plant, Whitehaven.

On the day of my visit REPULSE was handling all of the passenger services on the L&HR's three mile line, transporting a seemingly endless stream of passengers to and from the 'Steamers' that operate over the whole 10.5 mile length of Lake Windermere.

Hunslet Engine Co. Ltd. 0-6-0ST (works no.3698 of 1950) runs round its train at Lakeside station, 9/7/14

More photos from my visit to the L&HR can be found on Flickr.

Le Tour Yorkshire

Cycling is a sport about which I know nothing… Actually all sports fall into that category if I'm honest but even I hadn't failed to notice that the Tour de France was coming to Yorkshire this weekend.

As the roads will be crammed with folk wearing lycra Northern Rail have put in place additional train services and a special 'Le Yorkshire' ticket for the weekend.

They've also adorned a number of DMUs with 'Gearing up for the Tour' logos as seen here at Sheffield on Class 144 DMSL 55829 (144006) forming the 09.06 service to Leeds on 2 July.

'Gearing up for the Tour' logo, Class 144 DMSL 55829 (144006), 2/7/14

I can't help but wonder what visitors to the area will make of Northern's fleet of ageing Class 142s, 144s and 150s though, especially if the predicted two million spectators all want to travel by train!

And (almost) 85 miles later…

I actually was on my way to Holyhead when I took the photo used in my last post and was pleasantly surprised to find my second ’Industrial Action’ item a short distance from Holyhead station.

Anglesey Aluminium began to produce Aluminium at its smelter near Holyhead in 1971 and at its height was one of the largest employers on Anglesey with over 500 staff. Also employed was this Hunslet Engine Co Ltd 0-4-0DH (diesel engine, hydraulic transmission) locomotive built in 1971 as works no.7183.

Hunslet Engine Co. Ltd. 0-4-0DH (works no.7183 of 1970) at Anglesey Aluminium's Penrhos Works at Holyhead, 25/6/14

The plant closed down in 2009 following the end of an energy deal with the nearby Wylfa nuclear power station and is mothballed pending the possible opening of a biomass power plant on site.

Assuming that the loco is also mothballed I'm surprised that a spot for it couldn't be found under cover, somewhere away from the coastal weather.

I managed the above shot (through a mucky Class 158 window) by setting the camera's focus on infinity and cranking the ISO up to 800 to allow a fast enough shutter speed to counter the movement of the train. The image is also cropped quite severely from the original thanks to the wide(ish) lens used.

I was only… 85 miles from Holyhead

(To the 'Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa' tune obviously…)

Sign at Chester station showing distances to London and Holyhead, 25/6/14

This sign hangs on the wall between platforms 3 and 4 at Chester station, now orange in colour I suspect that it was once painted London Midland Region maroon and over the years the weather has taken its toll…

Its location, high on a wall beside the fast line through the station probably means that it will never be repainted again and so it lingers on, a reminder of the days when railways still erected signs like this one, of little or no use to the railway itself and of only casual interest to passengers using the station.

(The dead bird will probably be there for a while too…)

Industrial Action - Hunslet 0-6-0ST 2705/1945

Industrial locomotives have become something of a passion of mine in recent years and although some are still used by industrial concerns most have now passed into the hands of the preservation movement.

One such locomotive is BEATRICE at the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway, a Hunslet Engine Co. Ltd. 0-6-0ST built in 1945 as works no.2705.

Hunslet Engine Co. Ltd. 0-6-0ST BEATRICE (works no.2705 of 1945) at Bolton Abbey station, 1/6/14

BEATRICE came to Embsay from Ackton Hall Colliery near Pontefract in West Yorkshire and is shown as still being located (and in use) there in 1976 in the Industrial Locomotives book published by the Industrial Railway Society in that year.

Recently overhauled and returned to steam, BEATRICE was in action during my visit on 1st June, easily handling her load of five BR Mk.1 carriages on the 1 in 100 climb out of Bolton Abbey station.

Hunslet Engine Co. Ltd. 0-6-0ST BEATRICE (works no.2705 of 1945) at Embsay station, 1/6/14

In addition to views of the wonderful North Yorkshire countryside the E&BAR has an interesting collection of industrial locomotives and a number of beautifully restored vintage carriages that form Stephen Middleton's Stately Trains fleet that have appeared in a number of film and television productions and is well worth a visit.

Southern units… In Rugby!

Having spent a bit of time in the Brighton area recently I quickly became accustomed to seeing Southern's fleet of Class 377 'Electrostars' plying their trade along the south coast and up to London and back.

What came as a bit of surprise though was seeing two such units as far north as Rugby under their own power this week!

Class 377/7 'Electrostar' 377703 at Rugby, 11/6/14

Eight five-car Class 377/7s have been built by Bombardier in Derby with dual-voltage capability allowing them to run on both 750V DC third rail and 25kV AC overhead power supplies.

Dual-voltage Class 377/7 'Electrostar' PTSO 65604 (377704) at Rugby, 11/6/14

The units are due to enter service later this year but are currently undergoing mileage accumulation runs on the West Coast Main Line in pairs with 377703 and 377704 in action on Wednesday.

As an aside, Bombardier recently celebrated completion of their 1000th vehicle for Southern in the form of MSO 70707 which is included in unit 377707.