Archive-1979

I am not sure of the exact date of this image, but it was in the first half of January as we experienced some heavy snowfall and very cold weather. I am also not sure why I found myself down in the Avon Valley between Freshford and Avoncliff?

A Saturday morning trip out with Graham and David in the Mini. We visited the Berks. and Hants. line near to home in Wiltshire to capture some pictures of the doomed semaphores and signal boxes. It was a very cold and frosty morning on the back of some heavy snowfall.

Despite it being February Crewe Works opened its doors to passengers from two special trains. The trains, operated by the R.P.P.R., were named The Crewe Campaigner and The Crewe Campaigner Relief both of which left Paddington within half an hour of each other. They followed the same routes as far as Birmingham with one having a photo-stop at Moreton-in-Marsh and the other one at Evesham. From Birmingham the first train (the relief) went to Crewe via Shrewsbury with another photo-stop at Wellington. The second train took the direct route via Stafford. My party picked up the first train, the 'relief', at Oxford that necessitated a very early start from home in Wiltshire. After some interesting haulage, we had a walk around Crewe Works to get our cops before returning to the station for the return journey. Both trains took the same return route via Stafford, Bescot, Birmingham New Street, Banbury, and Oxford.

I took the train from Bradford-on-Avon to Westbury with my bike on-board. I then spent the day photographing in the Westbury area with a particular emphasis on the mechanical signalling. It was a bit of a miserable early March day!

A trip out on my bike to see The Pines Express railtour. I had spoken with Mervin Hollbrook, a signalman who lived a few houses away from our family, and he afforded me trackside access to Bradford Junction complete with an hi-viz waistcoat; I felt very official! As the tour was going to Bristol before returning to Westbury this gave me time to ride my bike to see it return. Looking at the Six Bells Junction website, it is clear that things went disastrously wrong from the time that it left Paddington and this continued throughout the day! So much so that a repeat tour was organised and offered to those on board dubbed the '90p Re-Run' on account the organiser, Hertfordshire Railtours, charging for postage and admin. costs.

Whilst on the French exchange visit from school I nipped into Nantes station for half an hour or so. My French pen-friend just did not 'get it', thinking that this odd English boy had some strange habits and interests!

A couple of pictures taken at Bradford-on-Avon. This was my first two pictures taken using slide film and I remember feeling quite excited that I had 'matured' to transparencies!

A trip to York with my 'spotting' teacher from school Mr. Brush. We travelled on the Percy Boy's Club special that we picted up at Bath. Unusually, the train ran via the GWML to Didcot where it took the West and North Junctions to Oxford to Birmingham. There it avoided the station by taking Landor Street Junction to continue north to Derby and Sheffield.

As part of my Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme I decided to undertake a study of the railway line through the Avon Valley from Bradford-on-Avon to Bath Spa station. Part of this involved a more detailed look at Bath station so on an unknown day in May, I visited and took a number of detailed pictures to illustrate my piece.

Quite why I went on my bike to Westbury on the last day of the half-term holiday remains a bit of a mystery? My note book contain precious few numbers so I was not there for long and did not go for spotting but more for a specific reason. It could have been that I had some gen that a class 50 was working a stone train, a pretty rare occurrence. Either way, I must had ridden from home on my bike as I have no details of any trains travelled on.

As a further piece of research for my Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme written piece I undertook a photographic survey of the the Avon Valley from Limpley Stoke to Bath. I walked the distance on a lovely June afternoon catching the bus home from Bath. I was still using a roll of black and white film in the Zenith camera.

A trip with Graham to Taunton to get some semaphore action! We travelled down in the bright orange Mini UAM 736J. It marked the first time that I made the transition from negative film to transparencies using Kodachrome 64.

During the French exchange visit, we had a day out in London where we visited the Science Museum. The highlight for me was seeing the prototype Deltic.

On the first day of the school summer holiday, I went down the hill from home to Limpley Stoke in the Avon valley.

An epic week-long trip by bike following the West of England mainline starting off at Castle Carry an ending up as far wast as the south Devon sea wall. I rode my trusty Claude Butler bike and carried everything I needed including my tent, cooking kit, food and all my railway paraphernalia including my radio cassette recorder and camera kit. I think that I may have left the national timetable at home! I wild camped in fields and had a great adventure. My dad rode with me as far as Castle Cary on the first day but from there on, I was on my own. The only rule was that I was to ring home every evening from a pay 'phone, no mobiles then. Quite what would have happened if something had gone wrong and I had been unable to call home I do, not know! This trip was the subject of an article in issue 241 of Traction.

A mammoth summer trip with Graham that had a bit of everything from steam to Deltics to mechanical signaling on the Midland Mainline. We traveled in the glorious orange Mini, UAM 736J, and for the first three days, we were accompanied by a teacher from school, Mr. Brush. We wild camped at various locations including Eaton Wood and Essendine on the ECML. It was a superb trip that, looking back on it now, reminds one of the incredible diversity that existed on the railways during this era.

I am not sure why I rode my bike from home to Bradford-on-Avon on this lovely early autumn day, however, the soft light of September did mean that a trio of nice photographs resulted.

Along with thousands of other enthusiasts, I attended Crewe Works open day. I went with a couple of friends and we travelled, this time, by service trains. The weather was stunning with clear blue September skies from dawn to dusk!

I enjoyed a superb late summer day at Frome enjoying what seems like endless class 50 workings on west of England express services. I rode to Frome on my bike and back again.

I am not at all sure why I went to Southampton for a day trip on a Saturday on what was the first day of the half-term holiday week. I know that we went in our family car a delft blue Triumph Dolomite (KPG 280P) and that I stayed on the station for a couple of hours whilst mum and dad went off somewhere. Unfortunately, I only took two pictures which was a shame as it was such a lovely day.

Later on, during the half-term week, we visited my uncle and aunts who lived in Duffield just north of Derby. They lived on Castle Hill that was very near to the station. Whilst my family went for a walk in the Peak District, I took the opportunity to visit the mecca that was Toton depot and could not quite believe the size of the place and the incredible number of locomotives, many of rare and exotic classes that I did not spot very often. This visit was the subject of an article in issue 253 of Traction magazine.

A superb day in north London with Graham. We drove up early in the morning from the West Country in UAM, the orange Mini, and spent the day seeking out the mechanical signalling that still existed on an often forgotten about section of line that curves around north west London from Kew to the MML. Even today, a section of this line remains non-electrified and retains three mechanical signal boxes and semaphores; a quite extraordinary feat of survival. It is also amazing that we were able to access the lines and signal boxes with so much freedom. We ended the day at St. Pancras and a brief visit to King's Cross.

As a scout of many years I was part of Wiltshire Scout's midwinter expeditions, the locations of which was a close kept secret until departure. The '79 expedition was to North Wales. I managed to take a few railway related photographs all on the last day of the year.