As the previous set of photos seemed to go down so well, I've been up in the loft and dug out a set of photos taken by my great uncle Bert in the 30's and 50's. The first ones were taken just after the WGLR had amalgamated with the Glascwm Interchange Tramway in the early 30's in an effort to survive in the face of increasing competition from road transport. Unfortunately one of the first casualties of this amalgamation was the Old GIT's passenger service and this is a record of it's final days.
Uncle Bert arrived at Gooey by car and found time to run over to the standard gauge interchange yard to record this shot of an elderly GWR saddle tank shunting wagons over the canal bridge. No. 1395 had actually been retired by the GWR and was due to be scrapped at Swindon Works when the request for a shunting loco came from the owners of the timber companies served by the GIT. As a result she was loaned out at the time of Bert's visit and actually went on to serve the country in this vital work right through WW2.
Crossing to the narrow gauge passenger station, Bert found the tramway service to Cockshutt Mortimer, Little Clun and Glascwm waiting to depart from platform 2 as soon as a WGLR service had entered platform 1. As usual, the tramway train was a mixed service consisting of 2 goods wagons and the GIT's 2 coaches.
For the first half of it's journey to Cockshutt, our train travelled along the normal running lines of the WGLR. With a heavily governed tram loco at it's head, Bert had no trouble driving ahead to get a couple of snaps. First crossing Foggy Bottom viaduct .............
........... and then crossing Church Street where the rails disappeared into the undergrowth.
Arriving in Cockshutt, the signalman is ready with the token for the tramway.
Now the train looked more at home as it followed the tramway running in the verge alongside the road.
Bert managed to photo the GIT's ancient looking coaches when the train finally arrived at Glascwm (the wagon full of coal having been dropped off at Little Clun Halt). Before very long these coaches would be sold, the brake being converted into a chicken coop ............ it wasn't a big job.
Bert returned to the tramway in the early 50's, by which time the whole line had been taken over by British Railways. The old wooden steam tram was long gone by now, ironically replaced by a German built tram lok "liberated" from a railway in France. She would not last too much longer before a modern diesel was provided, but at the time of Bert's visit was busy shunting timber wagons at Cockshutt with the carriage and wagon works in the background.
After a drive around and a picnic with his new wife Annie, Bert caught the tram again simmering away in Market Sidings.
I'd like to pay tribute to uncle Bert for taking these photos.
Obviously this is all made up, but uncle Bert isn't, he really existed and was a survivor of the Japanese prisoner of war camps. Bert was, of course, a shortened version of his name ........... Albert Hall!! Yes, honestly ..... and his wife was Annie Hall!!!!
God bless em. 
Uncle Bert arrived at Gooey by car and found time to run over to the standard gauge interchange yard to record this shot of an elderly GWR saddle tank shunting wagons over the canal bridge. No. 1395 had actually been retired by the GWR and was due to be scrapped at Swindon Works when the request for a shunting loco came from the owners of the timber companies served by the GIT. As a result she was loaned out at the time of Bert's visit and actually went on to serve the country in this vital work right through WW2.
Crossing to the narrow gauge passenger station, Bert found the tramway service to Cockshutt Mortimer, Little Clun and Glascwm waiting to depart from platform 2 as soon as a WGLR service had entered platform 1. As usual, the tramway train was a mixed service consisting of 2 goods wagons and the GIT's 2 coaches.
For the first half of it's journey to Cockshutt, our train travelled along the normal running lines of the WGLR. With a heavily governed tram loco at it's head, Bert had no trouble driving ahead to get a couple of snaps. First crossing Foggy Bottom viaduct .............
........... and then crossing Church Street where the rails disappeared into the undergrowth.
Arriving in Cockshutt, the signalman is ready with the token for the tramway.
Now the train looked more at home as it followed the tramway running in the verge alongside the road.
Bert managed to photo the GIT's ancient looking coaches when the train finally arrived at Glascwm (the wagon full of coal having been dropped off at Little Clun Halt). Before very long these coaches would be sold, the brake being converted into a chicken coop ............ it wasn't a big job.
Bert returned to the tramway in the early 50's, by which time the whole line had been taken over by British Railways. The old wooden steam tram was long gone by now, ironically replaced by a German built tram lok "liberated" from a railway in France. She would not last too much longer before a modern diesel was provided, but at the time of Bert's visit was busy shunting timber wagons at Cockshutt with the carriage and wagon works in the background.
After a drive around and a picnic with his new wife Annie, Bert caught the tram again simmering away in Market Sidings.
I'd like to pay tribute to uncle Bert for taking these photos.
Obviously this is all made up, but uncle Bert isn't, he really existed and was a survivor of the Japanese prisoner of war camps. Bert was, of course, a shortened version of his name ........... Albert Hall!! Yes, honestly ..... and his wife was Annie Hall!!!!
God bless em. 
pic on page 12
