Eggesford box

Do not know if it is strictly stabling but the 08 shunter used to spend the night in the siding behind the island platform known as 'under the wall'. A freight on the down would arrive in the early hours of the morning with traffic for Hereford on the front. It would pull off the Hereford traffic and set it back on top of the pilot. Later in the morning the 08 would propel the wagons out and then haul them back through the station. I was only at Hereford for a year and that would have been around 1990.

Some photos of The Sopwith Camel railtour run by the Branch Line Society last sunday, 10th June.Apparently they raised somewhere in the region of £6000 pounds for the Royal British Legion so congratulations to all concerned. There where three trips on the day. The first ran, Aylesbury-Claydon-Bicester Village and return; the second, Aylesbury to Calvert and into all the sidings at the waste disposal terminal before returning to Aylesbury. The final trip of the day ran Aylesbury-Claydon-Bicester Village,out to the spur at Gavray Junction which will form part of the double track when East-West gets building, returning to Bicester Village and finally back to Aylesbury. The trains also served Quanton Road for visitors to the railway centre.All went to plan, even Launton AOCL and Bicester Eastern Perimeter TMOB crossings behaved themselves and the trains ran to time. Some bemused passengers at Bicester Village wondering what had gone wrong with a train stood in the platform with all its occupants (railtour participants) milling around on the platform. Also a few confused Chinese tourists asking if it was the train to Oxford! The day started overcast but quickly brightened up to a warm and Sunny day. The only downside was that this brought out a mass of Horseflies at Calvert. My arms are still a mass of bumps where I got bitten repeatedly. Personally, I think the train should have been called the Horse Flyer! The first trip of the day picking up the token at Claydon to head back to Aylesbury and heading away around the wartime spur The second trip arriving at Calvert Entering the sidings at the south end In the south end neck at Calvert On No.2 road at Calvert On No.1 road at Calvert As far as you can go on what little remains of the north end neck Stood at the remains of the former platform face at Calvert Finally, heading out of the sidings to return to Aylesbury via the north end ground frame

It was 4E91 that went into lumberjack mode and ended up disabled and awaiting assistance. Not surprising considering it hit not one but, unbeknown to the driver, two in quick succession! Did wave to you as I came down the access at three arch bridge but doubt you saw me. Got to nearly the rear of the train as someone was in the process of doing a brake test and started cutting up a tree just at the rear of the 4E91 with a handsaw. The man from Offtrack was not to happy having cleared 'the' tree that was underneath the train and then having to walk back to retrieve his chainsaw to help with the other tree. The driver on the Chiltern (1H03) was a bit startled when you slid by us as he did not realise 4E91 had moved! Not the biggest delay to Chilterns that day, that was down to trouble with one of their units around Neasden. After Harbury it was off to a tree brushing against down trains at Prospect Road at Leamington. Glad to say the trees around Hatton where someone elses baby!

Ahh, I shall be snoozing in my bed by then. I see there is was A Colas van in the staff car park at Banbury this morning though the train I saw shot right through though I did see the tail of one train on the up later the same morning.

Was it you that came through Banbury about 0900 with a 60?

I think it was just the locking renewed in Western 5 bar VT format. 'Upstairs' it is still Webb stirrup handled levers.

Yes, it was mentioned in replies when the original post was first posted, I must edit that atrocious English at the start!

The bottom photo is of the Freightlifter just parked up I would imagine. A long time ago now but I can remember it working in the yard at Barnstaple. Much of the work involved shifting steel plates destined for Appledore Shipbuilders and the yard was also used for stockpiling the plate. Over a certain width the steel plate came loaded on Trestle or Trestrol wagons at an angle. Memory is a bit vauge from this far back but I believe this was when an attachment was added to the forks. This had clamps hanging down from it which where attached to the steel plates. The plates where then lifted off the wagon hanging vertically. There was an old container (seen in the top photo), aluminium bodied or sheathed which the Freightlifter propped the sheets up against. A quick nip round to the other side of the container and a nudge from the jib of the Freightlifter and the plates fell flat on the ground to be loaded onto a lorry or stockpile. Bit off post but the young lady in the top photo lived with her family in the crossing cottage at one of the Doomsford crossings and came in regularly to take the family laundry to the laundrette in Barnstaple and often had a long wait for her train back visiting us in the parcels office.

Probably means the lever frame is at the back of the box. Banbury North is an example that springs readily to mind but there where numerous others.

33s have dual controls so if you where in the second mans seat and there was a big silver handle moving to and fro in front of you, that was a 33.

Class 47s where also nicknamed Spoons. I always assumed it was because of the noise when the driver 'feathered' the horn when acknowledging the right away tip.

A couple of shots at Abergavenny in the eighties. The pilotman climbs aboard the loco whilst the handsignalman clips the crossover. I cannot remember the name of the pilotman. He was a supervisor at Hereford and was not there long. My only abiding memory is that there was a feud going on between him and the local ganger (who bore an unfortunate resemblance to Rolf Harris, though that was all in the future!) about car parking of all things. Derek Needs the local per way section supervisor relaxes in the armchair. The banned (and almost obligatory!) radio is in clear view. Cannot remember the name of the young chap. Judging by the paraphernalia their presence has interrupted my Sunday cleaning routine.

Somewhere I have a few photos taken with a box brownie when the box was derelict. If I can find them I will scan them in but unfortunately, since the negatives are old 127 film I cannot scan them in on my dedicated film scanner. Since it was a standard LSWR type 4 design (though slightly unusual with its tapered end) would getting plans of the same design of box help you get dimensions? Most of the woodwork would be the same dimensions.

Gordon is retiring early next year. Was out there one day the other week. One of the per way was laughing about it as he was out there taking line blockages and told me not to worry as he would stay in the van and not bother me until I could grant the line blockage. Next thing two vans turned up and when he came to take his line blockage there was me surrounded by four blokes from the plant drilling a hole in the floor to install an on/off switch for the point heaters. So much for my quite day at Claydon! You do not normally even get to see a train at Claydon nowadays as those that run come from Aylesbury and terminate at Calvert. If you do get a train you can forget about it operating the track circuits as the rails are so rusty.

The number of visitors was in the region of 3500. That's the total I hasten to add, not just on the 30th! You should have come up to hear me bore people rigid on the working of the box!

The demolition has been put back but I do not know the new date.

I did wonder about the timings as you lost 3 to Fenny, 3 to Leamington and more again to Hatton even though you came through the platform at Leamington at a reasonable pace. Trouble with dealing with the TDA clerks is that, with some at least, if you try to explain or suggest something to them in anything but the simplest terms they do not understand. Once I tried to explain something and the clerk then turned around and put all the delay onto me for something that was nothing to do with me. Nowadays I say as little as possible to them as I can.

Aha, so it was you I talked to when you queried being routed through the platform at Leamington! I have no idea why the notices and CCF showed you running through the platform since there was no prohibitions shown at Leamington on any route. Had the TDA clerk ring up afterwards querying why you had lost time. Had a slightly inebriated young man ring up later still wishing me a happy new year at about 0150. Actually quite welcomed it as I stared morosely at an engineering train running around at Fenny, brightened the night up a little. I think he was just ringing random numbers as he and his mates waited for a taxi. NB. thats not you just rang from OL3150?

Hi Jim, Apart from the change of gradient one of the reasons why one train can 'get away' from another on the down at Fenny are the restrictive signal controls. They are designed to provide a high level of protection for a move crossing over at the south end. You have to have OL3167 (with the feathers) and OL3165 at danger as the points are in the overlap of OL3167. Placing OL3165 to danger also places OL3163 to red and not a single yellow as you might expect. OL3163 is then approach controlled until OL3165 shows a proceed aspect. The system though is not sophisticated enough to detect if OL3165 is showing a red because the crossover is reversed or because there is a train on the down ahead of it. The end result is that if two trains are following one another OL3163 will stay at red until the first train has cleared the overlap of OL3167 unless the second train is really hammering along and is nearly at a stand at OL3163.

Hi Jim, nice photos and very diplomatic not to mention that the train should not have been there at all! Dropped the train down to BS11 at Astrop and rang the PICOP to cheerfully tell thim that the train would be late as it was stuck behind a string of trains waiting to enter the late running Aynho-Oxford possession. 'Train, what train? I have not got any trains, the Marylebone patch has to be wheels free for the signalling commisioning, I'm not even allowed to put a trolley on the line let alone a train.' 'Well I can assure you I have a train at Astrop which is shown in TRUST and the notices as being for Aylesbury' 'Its not a train of Autoballasters is it?' He said a note of suspicion and weariness entering his voice. He then used a few naughty words to describe planners who cancel a job but forget to cancel the train! Good job it was short and top and tailed. The night ended on a sombre note. I wondered why they where in no hurry to have the last of their trains into the Aynho-Oxford occupation when I found out that the delay was caused by one of their engineering supervisors dying that night. Sympathy and thoughts with his family.

I have known of a couple of occasions where it has not been known that someone had been hit until daylight when the remains became visible. In one case there was a suspicion that the person had been helped to the location owing to his physical state (Asbestosis). Back more on post. Whilst 'working' Claydon L&NE Jc box earlier in the week I had a call from a slightly bemused crossing manager asking if I had known of any incidents at Launton AOCL after a report via the helpline from a woman claiming the crossing was unsafe as it did not have any barriers

I can vaugely remember them changing one of the discs at Abergavenny over from yellow stripe on a white disc to yellow on a black disc. I think it is just to make them stand out more as a yellow stripe on a white ground does not really stand out, especially if the yellow has started to fade.

The previous weekend planning had made a mistake. Two engineering trains where booked to run from Birmingham. The first was to come to a stand at OX7 signal at Wolvercote and have the possession taken around it. The second train was booked to follow it all the way and yet was booked to have the possession taken around it at a signal south of Wolvercote (OX15 if I remember correctly)! Fortunately the signalmen had picked up on this and before I arrived at Banbury South (having already done 4 hours at the North) it had been arranged for the first train to be looped at Aynho for the second to pass it which I duly did. Some time later I had the train delay attribution clerk phone up wanting to know about the delay on the first engineering train. A slightly surreal conversation followed with me finding great difficulty in trying to make him understand that if we had let the trains run in their booked order it would have screwed up the engineering work which was their whole reason for running and him being adamant that we should not have looped the train as it was not booked to be looped and now it had thrown up a delay. Sometimes in this job I find the will to live slowly slipping away from me!

If it was the day I am thinking of I bet you where fed up of the sight of that underground stock! Past it at Dorridge, then passed by it at Fenny and then past it again at Banbury. I should imagine you where questioning the sanity (and parentage!) of the signalmen.