Childhood Memories Steam Locomotives

[David1226]

Compared to all of you I had a deprived childhood. Born 1950 in Carshalton in, what was in those days, God's own county of Surrey, rather than the Greater London Borough of Sutton it became, or now just South London. It was all three rail southern electric. I never saw a steam locomotive as a child. I do remember laying in bed at night and hearing, in the distance, the sound of a steam locomotive shunting the goods yard at Sutton Station, but i never saw one in daylight. I think it must have been 1962, age 12, that rode a steam hauled train for the first time, and that was across France and into Switzerland, on a school trip.

David

 

[yb281]

I have a very early memory of being on Bewdley station waiting for a train and looking out for my uncle Harold who worked at the station. At that time there were very few steam hauled passenger services (although the coal trains to and from Highley Colliery were still usually hauled by a pannier tank), ex GWR railcars having been the norm for some years, but as we waited a shiney green, brand new DMU pulled in. We climbed onboard and I insisted on sitting at the front (in those days when we went shopping to Kidderminster it would always be by Midland Red double decker and we always had to sit at the front upstairs). We sat right behind the driver and could see all through the glass partition.

We pulled out of the station in the up direction and then hung a right to run along the now long closed Hartlebury branch. As we ran through the area known locally as The Rifle Range (a place I would come to know VERY well in my fire service days), the driver turned around, opened the sliding door to his cab and asked my mum if I would like to join him. Too flamin right I would!!!! By now we were approaching Burlish Crossing, so he gave me the job of sounding the horn - neeeeeee naa. . As we approached Stourport station, I had to return to my seat incase any gaffers were about. I don't even remember where we were going, but most likely it was Worcester.

Today Bewdley station is much the same as it ever was, just a lot busier most of the time, which is great isn't it? Unfortunately trains can no longer turn right towards Hartlebury, but who knows that trains still run on the old track bed? My good friend from the local G Scale Society lives in a house who's garden railway does exactly that.

One other memory is a trip to Birmingham. In those days trains from Kidderminster ran to Snow Hill, in fact they still do, but the new concrete station is a disgrace compared to the old version. Walking out of the concourse I remember seeing a newspaper hoarding saying "Kennedy shot dead". Blimey I thought, these Brummies are behind the time? Turns out it was for Bobby not JFK.

 

[minimans]

When I were a lad in the early sixties we lived in Putney and the house backed up to the railway just near the point where the Undergound went over the mainlines (4 of "em) and the branch off the main to Wimbledon climbed up to East Putney station. so I had eight lines running over and under the garden! Steam was limited to milk trains climbing the grade to Wimbledon not sure what they were but on frosty wet nights they would get stuck on the grade and start whistling for help! until a helper arrived. When we had visitors all the kids wanted to do was sit on the shed roof and watch the trains go by!! Probably why I never had an interest in trains until my boys came along. one memory I always think of is Winston Churchill's funeral train passing at the bottom of the garden, all the neighbors were out as well waving flags as it sped past can't remember what was pulling it though maybe a Deltic?
The grade up to Wimbledon is now alas gone just the brick towers left last time I went home. but the house still shakes as the freights go by!!!

Minimans - you must have lived in the same street as me, and at the same time!
Although the road changed name half way along, where the footbridge crossed the Putney to Waterloo line. From your description I assume you were at the start of Disraeli Road, whereas I lived in Fawe Park Road.
When it was foggy (quite often in those days) I can remember being woken up at night by the bangs of the fog signals that were placed on the track - and I lived the other side of the road and our garden did not back onto the railway, so had the disadvantages without the pleasure of being able to see the trains.

Churchill's funeral train was pulled by a Bulleid Battle of Britain light pacific named "Winston Churchill" but if I recall correctly the nameplates were switched to a better locomotive so number did not match the name.

Well seduce my ancient maritime sea boots!! Yes 16 Fawe Park road three doors down from the foot bridge over the railway!! My Gran moved there in 1936 I think and Mum and Dad took over the house in 1964 I moved to the USA in 1984. Went to Brandlehow primary school then Wandsworth secondary. me Mum and Dad are still there! I didn't even recall the motive power on the funeral train, shows how much I "enjoyed" those trains rattling through if you could hear them over the roar of Concorde on approach to Heathrow!!

 

[DoctorM]

When I were a lad in the early sixties we lived in Putney and the house backed up to the railway just near the point where the Undergound went over the mainlines (4 of "em) and the branch off the main to Wimbledon climbed up to East Putney station. so I had eight lines running over and under the garden! Steam was limited to milk trains climbing the grade to Wimbledon not sure what they were but on frosty wet nights they would get stuck on the grade and start whistling for help! until a helper arrived. When we had visitors all the kids wanted to do was sit on the shed roof and watch the trains go by!! Probably why I never had an interest in trains until my boys came along. one memory I always think of is Winston Churchill's funeral train passing at the bottom of the garden, all the neighbors were out as well waving flags as it sped past can't remember what was pulling it though maybe a Deltic?
The grade up to Wimbledon is now alas gone just the brick towers left last time I went home. but the house still shakes as the freights go by!!!

Minimans - you must have lived in the same street as me, and at the same time!
Although the road changed name half way along, where the footbridge crossed the Putney to Waterloo line. From your description I assume you were at the start of Disraeli Road, whereas I lived in Fawe Park Road.
When it was foggy (quite often in those days) I can remember being woken up at night by the bangs of the fog signals that were placed on the track - and I lived the other side of the road and our garden did not back onto the railway, so had the disadvantages without the pleasure of being able to see the trains.

Churchill's funeral train was pulled by a Bulleid Battle of Britain light pacific named "Winston Churchill" but if I recall correctly the nameplates were switched to a better locomotive so number did not match the name.

Well seduce my ancient maritime sea boots!! Yes 16 Fawe Park road three doors down from the foot bridge over the railway!! My Gran moved there in 1936 I think and Mum and Dad took over the house in 1964 I moved to the USA in 1984. Went to Brandlehow primary school then Wandsworth secondary. me Mum and Dad are still there! I didn't even recall the motive power on the funeral train, shows how much I "enjoyed" those trains rattling through if you could hear them over the roar of Concorde on approach to Heathrow!!

I lived down the other end at 135. If my memory serves me correctly (unlikely after all these years!) a girl called Wendy Prior lived next door to you. She went to Brandlehow at the same time as I did. I went on to Emanuel School in Clapham Junction which was great for train watching. Another Fawe Park Road resident - the politcal activist, and later MP, Peter Hain - also went there, as did Tim Berners-Lee the guy who got the world wide web going by devising HTML.

I walked past your house every morning on the way to work, going up Woodlands Way to East Putney station to catch the District Line to London.

 

[400Parker]

What a delightful thread!
We used to travel on the "Devonian" from Bradford Forster Sq. to Bristol Temple Meads to visit my grandparents who had a shop in Avonmouth. I remember one occasion when my sister was a baby, so I must have been just over 3, and I walked down the platform ahead of the rest of the family. Just when I was alongside the loco the safety valve lifted and the noise (for a small boy) was deafening under the overall roof. It scared the wits out of me!
The living room above my grandparents' shop overlooked the level crossing at Avonmouth station on the Severn Beach line and I could watch the ex-GWR pannier tanks going to and fro with their passenger trains. I could just about see the level crossing at the other end of the street where locos shunted goods wagons in the docks.
My grandparents retired to Boscombe, just outside Bournemouth, and there I used to see Bullied Pacifics pulling trains to and from London. I remember my dad taking me down to Bournemouth West to see the Bournemouth Belle ? all Pullman coaches with a Merchant Navy on the front. Father Christmas used to arrive at Bournemouth Central on a steam hauled train.
We moved from Yorkshire to Abergavenny in south Wales and from our first house I could watch the demolition train on the old LNWR line from Abergavenny Junction to Merthyr and Tredegar. I didn't realize that's what it was at the time. We moved house to close by Abergavenny Monmouth Road station and I used to hear the night-time goods trains leaving with their banking engines to climb Llanvihangel bank. We later moved to a house that overlooked Llanvihangel bank but by then steam had gone from the Western Region. I started visiting the local signal box and remember seeing a lot of steam locos from the London Midland Region on their way down to Dai Woodham's scrap yard in Barry or Cashmore's in Newport (1 live, 4 dead was the train description of the class 8 freight). A very sad sight.

 

[Glengrant]

Oh Cyril, that looks like the 'Long Meg' anhydrite train - one of the 9F's swansongs, it was very tightly timed.

Correct Neil, the guy with the cine alongside told me so. She struggled up to the summit and then came to a welcome rest, There was more steam up there, a standard in the loop, then a 5MT came through on the down line. Not a great pic, but it found its way into an Ian Allan publication, I think one of the annuals. Wildboar Fell, as you say, Keith. And to think that line came within a whisker of being closed. Don't think I've been back there since I photted 4472 on a bleak wet day on a special, The Moorlander, I think it was called, that was in those barren post BR steam days when FS was the only steam engine allowed on BR, you know, when the people in charge decided that enough steam was enough, spoiling the image etc etc. Where are these enlightened people today?

 

[Glengrant]

Oh, the spam can 'Winston Chrichil'l hauled his funeral train, did it not? Saw it on the telly, the coffin was in a full brake painted in pullman livery I think, although that was grey and greyer on TV of course!

BR was nothing if not prepared in those days. I seem to recall that as soon as it became clear Churchill was ill, 34051 was immediately sent to Eastleigh Works 'just in case' it might be needed.

http://www.semgonline.com/RlyMag/WCLJ.pdf

Just a passing comment, the photographer who did the heading pic, V C K (Vic) Allen is a great friend of mine, and if you go back to my original post was mainly responsible, and indeed often accompanied me on, those late BR steam and consequential foreign steam trips. We still meet occasionally

 

[Andy Worsfold]

Living close to East Worthing station when I was growing up, I remember being with my Grandad on his allotment and him pointing out the Flying Scotsman......whether it was or not I don't know......but being in EMU land it was 2BIL's etc that I remember. The family holidays to North Wales in the late sixties gave me a taste for the Great Orme Tramway and the fledgling Ffestiniog Railway. Also the Llanberis Lake railway and the Snowdon Railway. My parents couldn't afford the ride to the top of Snowdon but we did always go and look at the trains and have a drink in the Cafe.

Also I can just about remember the Lancing Carriage works......

 

[Neil Robinson]

a shiney green, brand new DMU pulled in. We climbed onboard and I insisted on sitting at the front

Ah, I must confess I did the same on many of my trainspotting days out. it was so much easier (and safer) to see the smokebox number plate of any oncoming steam locos!

the driver turned around, opened the sliding door to his cab and asked my mum if I would like to join him. Too flamin right I would!!!!
As we approached Stourport station, I had to return to my seat incase any gaffers were about.

Memories of a later trip on a special comprised of similar stock up the Blaenau branch. A rather senior gaffer was alongside the driver of the special as the service train approached for a crossing at Llanrwst .
The attractive young woman alongside the driver of the service train didn't duck down in time, I never did find out what disciplinary measures, if any, were taken.

 

[beancounter]

Growing up next to the electrified Merseyrail network limited my exposure to steam. I have vague recollections of being taken to the lineside near Moreton station to see a steam special coming through; I'm sure I was told there was royalty aboard, but why any member of the Royal Family would be heading to West Kirby puzzles me.... All I remember is a black tank loco (presumable a Standard tank) and red coaches.

When we moved to a high-rise block in 1966, we had a clear view over the fields to the ex-CLC line from Bidston junction towards Wrexham. At that time it was home to 9Fs trundling long trains between John Summers steelworks at Shotton and Birkenhead docks. Sad to say, though, at the time I was much more interested in aircraft than trains (shame on me), so can't really add much more.

 

[Glengrant]

Yes, well, in actual fact these are done a little later on, I had noticed certain things about girls by now, the sticky out bits for instance. Anyway, the same engine, but on completely different dates, and I'm not sure where the featureless background one is, Inverurie I suspect. The other is dead easy, isn't it? Look at the crane. Unsuperheated D40? Mid fifties, looks like a short branch line?