TheSignalEngineer

The less said about how Dicken's Heath got through Planning Approval the better.

More Highworth info here:- http://highworthhistoricalsociety.org.uk/highworth-light-railway/

Correct, my wife used to own one of the houses adjacent to that building. It was put up c2000. There used to be an access to the canal on that site and the farm over the road was known as Wharf farm, but I only know of the Three Maypoles Wharf which was at Tythe Barn Lane, the next bridge towards Birmingham. That was occupied by a coal merchant until the building of the new houses started IIRC.

Courtesy of the web this is the timetable for Highworth in 1960/61. On the subject of workmens trains the Halesowen Railway was an interesting example. Longbridge station was built in 1916 to serve the Austin factory. It never had a public service and the advertised passenger trains on the line were taken off c1919. The WR workmens train from Halesowen ran until 1958 and the New Street train finished two years later.

Can my G*R box door plate and shedplate with the grime still on it be offset by the selection of LNWR, LMS and LMR bits in my archive?

In this case I think it was more to do with the layout of the site. The mill stood at road level above the canal. The boilers were at the end of the building away from the main part of the mill. The coal came by boat from pits in the Poynton area and North Staffs and was unloaded through archways at water level. The six boilers were fed by a steam crane. The layout of the site made it impractical to put a large hoist with access direct to the canal as there was a roadway between it and the mill.

I don't know of an LMS one either. Parkside do the LNER plywood van with the same doors but that had diagonal strapping on the sides. I'm not sure if they would make a suitable subject for kitbashing. It may be possible with an LMS chassis substituted for the LNER one.

Goyt Mill at Marple has an interesting arrangement. The hoist on the left takes goods to and from the Macclesfield Canal to the road level or first floor. The one to the right is from road level to all floors above the ground level. Old crane structure at Goyt Mill wharf by Dr Hilary Rhodes, on Flickr

Not only found at mills and warehouse, we had one at Birmingham New Street PSB to get equipment to the relay room and operating floor. https://images.app.goo.gl/3twnxrJ9ibNHZyBk8

The main archives are at the Maritime Museum in Albert Dock. This page has the contact details https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/archives-centre/visit-archives-centre The reserve collection is elsewhere with limited access on certain days.

As a starting poit have you chiecked this site. https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/railway-signal-co-ltd-signal-and-electrical-appliance-manufacturers The records previously held at Westinghouse are indeed now in the possession of Liverpool Museums but I believe access is by appointment only.

I think Atkins et al may have some of the answers in a picture of an N25 hopper which bears the folowing legend:- 'EMPTY to Markham Colliery, Staveley. LOADED to G.W. Gas Works Swindon via Bordesley Junction' Transfer traffic via Bordesley Junction was worked to Washwood Heath by LMS locos. Even as late as 1959 there were 5 locos allocated to this work running about 20 round trips per day. I would think the reason for being at Castle Bromwich could be that there wasn't anywhere to put them at Washwood Heath and they were waiting to join the procession of Birmingham Corporation wagons which ran to Markham.

Most of the coal purchased by Birmingham Corporation for their gas and electricity departments came from the collieries of North Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire. A smaller amount came from North Staffordshire. I don't think they had regular contracts for other areas such as North Warwickshire but did apparently buy from these on the Spot Market at times when more was needed. Agreed, there were two refuge sidings alongside the station on the Up side. The wagons may possibly have been stabled there awaiting instructions as to which colliery they were bound for.

More info on the layout of the area. A lot of new info boards have been put up recently. This map on the one at the top of Chimney Bank shows the whole extent of the lines and the route to Battersby Junction.

A picture putting Paul's layout into the context of the landscape taken from Blakey Junction on one of our bike rides last week. The Goods Shed is about two miles as the crow flies from where I was standing. I have video taken all along the East Mines line, so will try to edit into a 'Cab Ride' during the coming week.

It also has extra lamp irons on the smokebox door each side of the dart.

I did it once before but had to carry the bike round the top of two of the cuttings. Last time I tried was just before they started improving the path. I got blown off the track just past the path down from the Lion, went head first into the cinder ballast and ended up going to York hospital to have nine stitches in my face.

It's now possible to ride the whole railway from Chimney Bank to The Depots. the bits past Blakey Junction round the head of the valley where cuttings were flooded or there are landslips have now been cleared or diversions added.

Two screen grabs from my latest bike ride.

The very one.

We had all sortf pre-nationalisation brake vans in the West Midlands in the late 1950s / early 1960s. A Pillbox was photographed at Stechford in 1959, ironically coupled to a Brighton built 8F. There is also a picture of Water Orton showing an SECR design Dancehall. I never saw a Quenn Mary in the West Midlands untilthe 1980s, but The furthest from the Southern I saw any of their brakes was a Queen Mary in departmental use at Crainlarich in the 1980s.

My question on the service would be is it better to start by running a shuttle from New Street to Kings Norton Platform 4 which already has a signal northbound towards the Camp Hill line for moves coming from the old sidings. I would estimate the running time to be about 20 minutes including station dwell times en route. An alternative would be to run through to Longbridge and use the turnback there. I can't see many takers for through journey from New Street to Kings Norton as it will take about 5 minutes longer than the existing Cross City trains. Existing passenger trains out via the Camp Hill line are allowed 12 minutes start to pass IIRC. Going in there are extra pathing allowances. Platforming at New Street needs careful arrangement as getting it wrong would mean crossing the southbound Cross City line service twice at New Street and Proof House. In the longer term it would also be an advantage to electrify and reopen the Down Main island platform for Redditch / Bromsgrove trains.

I don't know the current thinking but regarding using the Hereford service it was proposed to revert to using the West Suburban line for the Bristol to Manchester services which are booked via Camp Hill (currently pandemic suspended). These currently take up a full platform path through New Street where they used to reverse in 5b or 7b when they came in via Selly Oak. There were also proposals to make the Hereford service half hourly between Worcester and Birmingham. What will happen in the present situation is anyone's guess.

I remember travelling on the 17.10 Manchester Victoria to Blackpool one evening in 1971. It was a 7-coach train hauled by a Class 40 and ran non-stop from Salford Central to Poulton le Fylde. Woe betide anyone who sat in the wrong place.

My first job on the railway was restoring the connections to the Down Refuge points at Hazelwell following relaying of the Up line with CWR in 1966 but that was in the school holidays. My mother was born about 100 yards from Kings Heath station and my daughter was at Camp Hill Girls. In those days we lived on the 11 bus route in Hall Green.