Steam Railways

[alycidon]

The first to mention it: not the same as the first to notice it!

TBH, I thought it was so blindingly obvious that I never saw fit to raise it. In the same way that Cloughie's nom de plume is obviously a tribute to the great eccentric Welsh architect, Clough Williams-Ellis.

Oh, well, Sir Velo, you are probably clever - unlike the rest of us!

[alycidon]

Does anyone remember the Pines Express, which ran between Manchester and Bournemouth on the old Somerset and Dorset line; through Evercreech Junction?

Certainly do, HS. It would come to a junction in east Bristol called Mangotsfield, and would then peel off towards Bath, before reversing over the Mendips. Aforementioned junction was some distance from where I lived, so we didn't often see the Pines; on one occasion, we made quite a long cycle-ride [by my standards] in the hope of seeing, at least a Jubilee, or perhaps a Royal Scot, on the front - but on that day it was a Hughes-Fowler Crab.

Now, I like the Crabs, they were fine locomotives, but that was a bit of a downer!

[Nick Armstrong]

Oh, well, Sir Velo, you are probably clever - unlike the rest of us!

Love the "probably", al !

[clive heath]

Was it also the Pines Express that later ran through Reading West (long gone) to avoid the reversal in Reading station? That was where I joined it en-route to Christchurch after a there-and-back trip in a private motor-boat on the Thames from Pangbourne to near Oxford in the mid 1960's, a 4-day journey that takes under 2 hours by car. ( Yes, of course, on the road! ) I recall the sensation of speed on the run south from Reading being as great as I had ever felt on a steam-hauled train and you could open the windows for maximum effect.

[alycidon]

Was it also the Pines Express that later ran through Reading West (long gone) to avoid the reversal in Reading station? That was where I joined it en-route to Christchurch after a there-and-back trip in a private motor-boat on the Thames from Pangbourne to near Oxford in the mid 1960's, a 4-day journey that takes under 2 hours by car. ( Yes, of course, on the road! ) I recall the sensation of speed on the run south from Reading being as great as I had ever felt on a steam-hauled train and you could open the windows for maximum effect.

Yes it was, Clive. In order to make a justifiable case for closing the Somerset & Dorset, British Railways re-routed several services, the Pines being the most well-known, and it was sent via Reading.

You mention Reading West as being 'long gone', but it was there in 1985 when I last travelled the line, and, according to my 2012 atlas is still extant. I think that it is well-used as well.

[clive heath]

Perhaps it's just that the modern version of this route no longer uses Reading West but prefers Reading "proper", which involves changing ends of the traction unit.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Having recently watched two versions of The Railway Children, it's interesting that the 1970 film (the one with Jenny Agutter as Bobbie) sets it in Yorkshire and uses the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, while the more recent ITV version (the one with Jenny Agutter at the mother) appears to set it in somewhere further south and uses the Bluebell Line. Both were well-produced and both made me want to visit the respective railways.

[alycidon]

Having recently watched two versions of The Railway Children, it's interesting that the 1970 film (the one with Jenny Agutter as Bobbie) sets it in Yorkshire and uses the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, while the more recent ITV version (the one with Jenny Agutter at the mother) appears to set it in somewhere further south and uses the Bluebell Line. Both were well-produced and both made me want to visit the respective railways.

This is so often the way, EA. The best publicity any heritage railway can have is to be featured in a film or suchlike. Up here, we have the Fort William - Mallaig steam service every summer, and it is difficult to get tickets. It always was well patronised, but since being featured in the Harry Potter films, it is always packed out.

I've done the Keighley & Worth Valley on two occasions, but in think that it is unlikely that I shall ever do the Bluebell. That said, we did go on the West Somerset last year - I was quite surprised to find myself in Minehead!

[vinteuil]

... the 2000 version (with Jemima Rooper as Bobbie) does indeed use the Bluebell Rly in Sussex; esp. Horsted Keynes station (much used on telly, eg Downton Abbey, North and South, Foyle's War... ) and Sharpthorne Tunnel. The house they move to is however in Lasham, Hampshire. The lovely Ms Rooper is the daughter of Alison Rooper, whom we often hear as a newsreader on radio 3....

[mercia]

I have been doing some family research lately, and one great-grandfather on various documents is described as a BRAKESMAN on LSWR - I was wondering if a knowledgeable forumite might be able to tell me what that job would have involved.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I have been doing some family research lately, and one great-grandfather on various documents is described as a BRAKESMAN on LSWR - I was wondering if a knowledgeable forumite might be able to tell me what that job would have involved.

I've encountered this, too, mercs. IIRC, it's exactly what it suggests: the worker who operated the brakes on a train - not quite as straightforward a job as it sounds, in particular in hilly terrain, different levels of braking were needed. A good brakesman could mean the difference between a smooth ascent/descent and derailment.

I think I also remember that, on occasion, the job entailed jumping off the train and running along to deal with individual brakes and then jumping back on.

[mercia]

thanks - I think I might have assumed that the driver of the train operated the brakes

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

thanks - I think I might have assumed that the driver of the train operated the brakes

Cheating -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brakeman

... when was your ancestor working, mercs?

(I'm sure I remember reading that individual wagon brakes were still a feature on some industrial trains much later - so Brakesmen were still required for mining/quarrying companies. Can I find the darn book ... ?!)

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

And some Musical talent required, it seems ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIlURYJI-xs

[mercia]

... when was your ancestor working, mercs?

sort of 1890-1930 period, I'm not quite sure when he retired
(utube - so that's why I can yodel)