The Lickey Banker

photos by John Savery, words by Dyspozytor

Stanier-designed LMS Pacific 6201 built in Crewe in 1933 hauling the Vintage Trains Double Lickey Banker on 24 March 2012. Photo John Savery.

After many months ‘resting’ it seems only right that English Rail should celebrate its reappearance in suitable style. And what could be more stylish than these glorious late afternoon photographs of the Double Lickey Banker.

The train hauled by Princess Elizabeth started its tour at Solihull and picked up more passengers at Dorridge; it then ran South through Banbury via Oxford and Didcot. It then headed West and ran through Box Tunnel, descending towards Bath before reaching Bristol.

At Bristol there was a pause of a few hours to service the Pacific before it returned to the Midlands via Bristol Parkway, Wickwar Tunnel and Cheltenham. At Bromsgrove the train paused briefly while two GWR Pannier tanks were attached to the rear of the train for the ascent of the Lickey incline. (In the days of steam banking engines were never attached, they just pushed as far as Blackwell summit and then slowed allowing their train to draw forward.)

The Pannier tanks then took the lead as the train ran over the Chiltern main line to drop off its passengers at Solihull and Dorridge.

GWR 57xx 0-6-0T Pannier Tanks, 7752 and 9600 banking their train up the Lickey Incline. Photo John Savery.

(Click image to enlarge.)

As I look at these photographs I find myself wallowing in waves of nostalgia. I first came across Princess Elizabeth in 1967 when it was a static exhibit at the Dowty Railway Society’s base at Ashchurch in Gloucestershire. I was with a group of school friends on a cycle ride from West Ealing to Corris in North Wales. I had had a Triang Trains OO gauge model of Lizzie since 1962 and it was a thrill to find the prototype, albeit stuck between other rolling stock on a rusty siding. I never imagined they she would ever steam again.

Living in Middlesex in the 1950s with the Piccadilly line at the bottom of my garden (the Great Central’s link line to the GW&GCJR was on the other side of the road) various exotic London Transport steam engines in Metropolitan Railway livery on works trains were quite a common site. I’ll never forget being woken by the chanting in unison in the middle of the night as a squad of navvies lifted a length of rail by hand with no mechanical assistance other than a a set of rail tongs for each.

Around 1962, we moved to West Ealing which had no less than 3 separate freight depots. Here GWR Panniers were a common site particularly at Southall Shed and Acton Yard. My favourite 57xx memory is looking across the Grand Union Canal near Osterley Park at a Pannier hauling a train of empty coal wagons back up the Brentford branch towards Southall.

My thanks to John for bringing the memories flooding back of those Halcyon Days!

Drive your own train… almost!

Blackfriars to Kentish Town route learning. Video by Track Access Services.

(Click on image to view; double click to view in full screen mode.)

This is great! The video is titled Tunnel Filming Exercise and shows the cab view on the Blackfriars to Kentish Town section of the Thameslink route. As seen it is embedded in the Track Access Services route training system.

It was put on Vimeo (and presumably made) by David Reed Media. Congratulations to them for putting all 157 of their railway videos on on Vimeo.

We will explore some of the other TAS routes in due course. In the meantime try viewing the Blackfriars – Kentish Town Route in full screen! (If you have problems, try clicking here, to view the video in a separate window; then click the expand video icon on the bottom right of the video screen.)

Railway Heritage Committee repreive?

Hanwell Station, December 2008. Though the down fast platform has been removed, the rest of the station retains many original features, such as a wooden waiting room. Rather than undergoing a radical modernisation like its neighbours – West Ealing and Southall – it has been carefully restored to its GWR condition. Photo Sunil Prasannan.

(Click image to enlarge. Click here for details of reuse.)

A late night speech by Lord Faulkner of Worcester on Tuesday has probably saved the work of the Railway Heritage Committee. The Public Bodies Bill received its second reading during a mammoth 8 hour 38 minute debate in the house of Lords on Tuesday. Lord Faulkner had prepared a comprehensive speech regarding the cost effectiveness and usefulness of the Committee, but was only called to speak at 21:54. He cut his speech to the bone and the result was a very eloquent intervention. He first made a short analysis of the constitutional implications of the bill and then said –

I was going to make a speech about a public body with which I have a particular interest and which I had the honour to chair until 2009, standing down when I became a Minister in the Government Whips’ Office: the Railway Heritage Committee. It is a body which has a link with Henry VIII because, as your Lordships may recall, Benjamin Disraeli predicted as long ago as 1845, in his novel ‘Sybil’, that the railways will do as much for mankind as the monasteries did. This is a debate which I want to have on another occasion and in Committee with the Minister.

However, I make the point now that that is a committee with a budget that costs the taxpayer little more than £100,000 a year. That can be reduced further, but that budget would have to be enhanced because the National Railway Museum will in future have to spend at least that amount of money on buying the artefacts and records which, at present, it gets for nothing. It is staffed entirely by volunteers-there is only one paid employee-and works with the grain of the railway industry and the heritage railway section. It was established by three separate Acts of Parliament, two passed by Conservative Governments and one, most recently, by the Labour Government in 2006. It is a body which fulfils the functions that were set out by the Minister standing at the Conservative Dispatch Box in 1996, to the letter, and has never attracted any criticism or scandal. It was abolished, or at least it is facing abolition, as the result of a single sentence in a Department for Transport press release, with no consultation whatever. The only warning that the members of the committee and the industry had that something was coming was the leak in the ‘Daily Telegraph’ on 23 September. As a consequence of that, over 30 individuals, ranging from some very high-profile in international organisations-the Heritage Railway Association itself, the Keeper of the Records of Scotland, Sir William McAlpine and others-all wrote to the Minister begging her to think again before including it in the list for abolition. To no avail, though; that organisation is in Schedule 1 of the Bill. I hope that it will be possible, when we get into Committee, to do something about this deplorable state of affairs and that we can do something that recognises the importance of railway heritage in the tourist sector and in the economy more generally.

I do not want to speak any more tonight other than to say that I hope that my noble friend’s amendment will meet with approval in the House. It is important that we have more time to look at these proposals and redress, at least to some extent, the scandalous lack of consultation that has led to the Bill in its present form.

In the event the amendment to which Lord Faulkner referred – that the Bill be referred to a Select Committee was lost by 151 votes to 188. However, on Thursday Lord Faulkner received a communication to the effect that, following his intervention, the Department for Transport was considering ways in which the work of the Committee could be continued.

More:

• Hansard – Full text of Lord Faulkner’s speech
• Hansard – Full text of Lord’s debate
• Lord Faulkner’s Railway Heritage website

Bid to save Railway Heritage Committee

LMS Stanier Class 3P 2-6-2T and buffer-stops at Bradford Exchange Station in April 1961. The locomotive has been scrapped, the station was demolished in 1976, but the buffer stops have been designated by the Railway Heritage Committee. Photo Ben Brooksbank.

(Click on image to see original on Wikipedia and for details of licensing.)

The Railway Heritage Committee is a typically British creation. Its job is to designatw records and artefacts still within the ownership of the British railway industry which are historically significant and should be permanently preserved. Its origins go back to  an Advisory Panel on the Disposal of Historical Records, which  used to meet once or twice a year between 1984 and 1994 and make recommendations to the British Railways Board. Then, as arrangements were being put in place to privatise British Rail, Section 125 of the Railways Act 1993 made provision for a strengthened panel – the Railway Heritage Committee – to advise on the designation of historical records and artefacts still in publish ownership.

The original intention was that, as the former assets of the British Railways Board passed from public to private ownership, the scope of the committee would wither away to zero. In the event, a good case was made that rather than the the remit of the committee to reduce, it should be extended to cover the historic items being taken into the newly privatised railway companies and these new powers were confirmed in the Railways Act 1996. These powers were subsequently renewed and extended in the Transport Act 2000 and the Railways Act 2005. The Committee’s powers cover the following organisations:

• The British Railways Board (‘the Board’). [Since deleted]
• Any wholly-owned subsidiary of the Board. [Since deleted]
• Any company which was formerly a wholly-owned subsidiary of the British Railways Board.
• Any publicly-owned railway company.
• Any company which was formerly a publicly-owned railway company.
• The Secretary of State.
• Any company which is wholly owned by the Secretary of State.
• Any franchisee, and
• Any franchise operator.

While the Committee can designate objects or artefacts belonging to any of the above it can also provide advice on railway heritage to other bodies. For example in November 2008, the Committee’s then chairman, Lord Faulkner of Worcester, wrote to the rail minister Lord Adonis asking him to intervene in the proposed forced closure of the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway by Finnish paper-making conglomerate, M-Real.

The Committee has 14 members, drawn from the railway industry, the record offices, the museums world, the heritage railway sector, and from railway historians. With the Committee’s members working as unpaid volunteers and the Department for Transport providing ‘reasonable administrative and secretarial support’, the RHC is probably one of the most cost-effective QANGOS in the country. Certainly in other countries railway historians look jealously at the way the preservation of railway archives and artefacts has been handled in the UK. But now the Committe has been targeted as one of the 175 ‘Non-Departmental Public Bodies’ that the government wish to axe as part of its campaign to reduce waste in the public sector. The Committee has served the rail industry for the last 14 years, providing continuity to the work of identifying railway records and artefacts for preservation, started by British Railways over 60 years ago.

On Tuesday, the Public Bodies Act – legislation which would enable Government Ministers to abolish QANGOS – comes up for a second reading in the House of Lords. The legislation will be challenged on several grounds! A number of Lords rightly feel that it is wrong to introduce legislation which would make it possible to dispose by Ministerial fiat statutory bodies bodies – those set up by Parliamet – without any scrutiny by either the Lords or The Commons. Meanwhile Heritage Railway Association President-elect, Lord Faulkner of Worcester, will be proposing his own amendment to save the work of the Committee. The continued existence of the Committee has been generally supported by the railway industry, only the new Network Rail board, anxious to demonstrate a more compliant attitude to the DfT, has – without any public notice – betrayed the cause!

More:

• Appeal to save the Railway Heritage Committee

What if… ?

Argentina, revolutionary steam engine by Livio Dante Porta.
From a photo on the Cold Springs blog.

(Click the image to see a larger version of the photo on the Cold Springs blog.)

What if British Railways steam had not ended in 1968? Here is the part of an article about the final development of the steam engine published on the Gloucestershire Transport History website.

What indeed if Robert Riddles 3 cylinder 4-6-2 71000 “Duke of Gloucester” had not been the final express passenger steam locomotive built in Britain in 1954? Or the BTC Modernisation Plan of 1955 not precipitated a rush to replace steam with diesel and electric traction?

The scene could have been so different if the decision makers had listened to an Argentine engineer named Livio Dante Porta.

Livio Dante Porta was born on 21 March 1922 and died on 10 June 2003. In between he pioneered a new generation of low-emission, thermally efficient, low-maintenance steam locomotives that is now being developed concurrently in Britain, Japan, Switzerland and the US that will offer a romantic, and surprisingly efficient alternative at the margin of railway operations.

By the time that Porta had completed his technical studies in Buenos Aires in 1946, the classic mainline steam locomotive was in its final stage of development. On the New York Central, Paul Kiefer had just produced his mighty Niagara 4-8-4s, magnificent and brutally functional machines capable of running at 100mph on level track with 16-car trains on tight schedules between New York and Chicago, and clocking up 28,000 miles a month. Exhaustive tests proved them every bit as economical, and a great deal more powerful, than the latest diesels.

In France, Porta’s friend and mentor, Andre Chapelon, had just created his masterpiece, 242 A1, the most efficient and powerful European steam locomotive of all. On trial in the late 1940s and early 50s, it embarrassed the electric lobby as it consistently beat the bravest new schedules, and with great economy.

But the diesel lobby, backed by the oil industry and politicians intimately connected with it, was to win the day worldwide. Electric traction, meanwhile, was attractive, efficient and clean, with the smooth flow of power from national grids coursing through its locomotives’ motors at the turn of a driver’s handle. If the cheap, simple and robust reciprocating steam locomotive still made sense in developing countries such as India and China well into the 1990s, and even beyond, there appeared to be no room for advanced technological development in steam railway traction.

Read the rest of the post.

Higgins to be new Network Rail CEO

Haythornthwaite poaches ODA’s ‘silver bullet’.

David Higgins. Photo Network Rail.

(Click image to download a high-res image from the Network Rail website.)

EnglishRail has been known to have been a tad cynical about Network Rail’s senior management in the past, so it makes a nice change to be able to assign some brownie points. David Higgins, currently CEO of the Olympic Delivery Authority, will become CEO of Network Rail as from 1 February 2011. His predecessor, Iain Coucher, is leaving Network Rail on 1 October and Peter Henderson, Director Asset Management, will take on the role of acting chief executive until Higgins can pick up the reins in the new year.

There can hardly be a greater contrast than between the outgoing and the incoming CEO. Familiar as a ‘safe pair of hands’ to his DTI colleagues, Croucher, once a guided missile designer, was part of the team of civil servants and advisers that created Network Rail as a ‘not-for-profit company’ to take over the running of Britain’s railway infrastructure from Railtrack in 2002. Croucher was appointed Network Rail’s first Managing Director and then became CEO in 2007. In 2004, Network Rail had taken over some of the performance monitoring and strategy creation functions previously carried out by the Strategic Rail Authority. Theoretically free from direct government oversight, and responsible for defining its own performance measures, Network Rail attracted increasing criticism from the railway unions, the Office of Rail Regulation, politicians and its own members. There were accusations that Croucher ran the company like his own private fiefdom and that performance bonuses paid to NR’s top management were overinflated and not linked to objective performance.

David Higgins was born in Brisbane, Australia. He obtained a B.Sc. in civil engineering at the University of Sydney; and a diploma from the Securities Institute of Australia. After graduation, he worked in the United Kingdom and Africa, before returning to Australia in 1983, and joining the Lend Lease Corporation in 1985. In 1995, he was appointed their MD and CEO, at a time when the corporation’s developments included the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic Park in Sydney, and the Bluewater Shopping Centre in Kent. In 2003, he became CEO of English Partnerships, the UK government national regeneration agency. With a reputation for delivering projects on time and on budget he was head-hunted to the post of Chief Executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority in 2005, and took up his appointment in 2006. Here he worked under ODA Chairman, former Network Rail CEO, John Armitt where he reinforced his reputation and proved to be a loyal and effective second-in-command.

John Armitt was generous in his farewell tribute. David has done an inspirational job at the ODA over the last five years. We have been tasked with delivering the biggest construction project in Europe on a highly contaminated site to the ultimate fixed deadline. David set up the ODA from scratch and leaves it with the project on time, within budget and on the verge of completing the first major venues on the Olympic Park. He has done all this at the same time as helping achieve a first class safety record and driving forward innovation in terms of sustainable construction. This is an exciting opportunity for David and I am sure he will do a brilliant job leading Network Rail over the years to come.

Rick Haythornthwaite, Network Rail’s chairman, gave David Higgins a warm welcome. We recruited David to the board earlier this year because of his track record in leading large organisations, delivering demanding projects and managing a complex range of commercial interests and wider stakeholder sensitivities. With Iain Coucher deciding it is the right time to leave Network Rail, David emerged as the outstanding candidate to lead Network Rail into a challenging new era following an extensive search process. There are significant challenges and opportunities ahead for both Network Rail and the industry such as the comprehensive spending review, the McNulty value for money review and the planning of HS2. Public, passengers, politicians and the industry are demanding a better, safer railway delivered at a lower cost where success will depend on pervasive collaboration. David is well-placed to lead both Network Rail and the industry forward to meet these challenges.

Commenting on his own appointment, David Higgins said, It has been a privilege to lead the ODA over the last five years and I am leaving with the Olympic Park on time, within budget and with the finish line in sight. Looking forward, Network Rail is one of the most important companies in the UK – an efficient railway underpins a modern economy – and therefore a challenge I could not turn down. Network Rail and the rail industry have transformed the train service in Britain in the last eight years – trains run on time and the railway is safer than ever. My priority is to bring Network Rail and the industry closer so that together we can continue to improve service, efficiency and safety and add much needed capacity to a railway network that is nearly full.

We wish David and Rick a long and successful partnership.

Cable cars are so cool…

Video compilation by cleaverb, 1905 archive film, music from Moon Safari by Air

A film shot from a cablecar travelling down Market Street in San Francisco in 1905,
Before the earthquake and fire of 1906.

Note the way that pedestrians, horse drawn buggies, cyclists and motor cars and the cable car all happily share the same street area. Today’s motor cars travel much faster and, apart from thin strips of pavement, our city centre streets have become no-go areas for pedestrians.

More about Moon Safari and Air:

• blender.com – Moon Safari 10th Anniversary Edition
• Wikipedia – Moon Safari

Rock at Falls of Cruachan

This is the rock that the train hit. From a photo on Railway Eye.

(Click image to see two excellent pictures of the derailment on Railway Eye. Click on these pictures to see them enlarged by the same amount as the small selection above.)

Englishrail blog solves the mystery of the Falls of Cruachan derailment!

Derailment at Falls of Cruachan

Falls of Cruachan power station, close to the derailment.

The 6.20pm service from Glasgow Queen Street to Oban derailed near the Falls of Cruachan power station on the bank of  Loch Awe in Argyll around 9pm on Sunday. The front carriage of the two-car train caught fire and was left precariously balanced on a high embankment overhanging the road below. The rear carriage, which remained on the rails, also caught fire. There are unconfirmed reports that the train hit a rock that had become dislodged from the mountainside above the track.

After Strathclyde Fire and Rescue service received a 999 call from a passenger, engines and crew were sent out  from Glasgow, Oban, Dalmally, Inveraray and Arrochar. The A85, A819 and B845 were closed in both directions to allow emergency services to get through.

According to British Transport Police all of the 60 passengers on board were rescued from the train,  Some were apparently taken to the Falls of Cruachan power station to be treated for shock and bruises. Afterwards eight passengers were taken to various hospitals. Two are reported to have ‘minor spinal injuries’.

The The Rail Accident Investigation Branch will be carrying out an investigation into the causes of the accident.

More:

• STV – 60 passengers rescued after Glasgow to Oban train derails
• BBC – Eight hospitalised as Glasgow to Oban train derails
• The Scotsman – ‘Dozens hurt’ as train hangs over 50ft drop

Coalition government publishes policy ‘deal’

Chiltern Railways DMU at Marylebone Station. Photo YourRail.

(Click image to find out more about mobile phone ticketing on YourRail website.)

On 23 March 2007. Chiltern Railways were awarded a 20 year long franchise to operate the Marylebone – Birmingham Snow Hill line in 2002. Since then many new investments in infrastructure and passenger facilities have been carried out. In 2007, a mobile phone ticketing service was introduced. In 2008, Chiltern Railways was taken over in turn by Deutsche Bahn AG.

The Tory – Lib Dem coalition government has published today a 34-page document, setting out the the agreements reached between the coalition partners on key policy areas.

The document which was put together in nine days builds on the four-page deal produced during negotiations in the days after the UK election resulted in a hung Parliament.

The document includes specific commitments regarding transport policy including:

• granting longer rail franchises in order to give operators the incentive to invest in the improvements passengers want – like better services, better stations, longer trains and better rolling stock;
• reforming the way decisions are made on which transport projects to prioritise, so that the benefits of low carbon proposals (including light rail schemes) are fully recognised;
• making Network Rail more accountable to its customers;
• establishing a high speed rail network as part of our programme of measures to fulfil our joint ambitions for creating a low carbon economy;
• supporting Crossrail and further electrification of the rail network;
• turning the rail regulator into a powerful passenger champion;
• committing to fair pricing for rail travel.

Full text: The Coalition: our programme for government – Transport