Guest Book: Page 25

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Hi! Can anyone tell me what happened to the drivers and fireman at the Stratford on on Avon, Western loco shed when it closed. I left the shed, in the 1950s to go to Old Oak Common then left the railway in 1965.

Many Thanks - Roger Hutton

Great website! Thanks! My parents house on Duke Barn Field backed onto the Coventry Loop Line. I just wish I had the forethought to photograph what we saw over the years. Always wise after the event!

Chris Bevan

Fantastic site! I worked over many of these lines as a driver with BR & Chiltern, sadly they were much changed. Regarding the photograph of Nuneaton shed on its final day with all the staff present. The missing name of the Fireman is Lol Green, later a guard and a C&W examiner at Nuneaton. Lol was a smashing fellow to work with always great fun.

Marc Jones

A fantastic record of a valuable part of our social history. Congratulations to everyone involved, and thank you!

Adam Moore

Hi, I thought you may like the attached photos of D5193 and D7624 Bromford Bridge in the1960s. They are both diesels but you would be surprised how much of a following these have nowadays! Please credit them to www.rail-online.co.uk who own the copyright. We are a new Internet venture and have over 5000 images on the site and a really useful search facility. It would be great if we could have a page on your site. If this is possible drop me an e-mail giving details of the format you need it in and we will provide this. If you need any other pictures off the site just e-mail us, there are a lot of modern(ish) diesels at present but we have thousands of steam pictures to upload!

Cheers Tony

Hi, this is a brilliant site. Well done! I have spotted a couple of errors, image 'mrwhg345' and image 'mrwhg355' are actually Wigston Sidings and ex MR shed, not Washwood Heath. Sorry to give you the news but I thought you needed to know. See Keith Turtons PO wagon book a Fifth Collection.

Cheers Tony

To say that I am gutted is an understatement as these two photos (and the numerous enlargements to show details from the two sets of images - see 'mrwhg345a', 'mrwhg345b', 'mrwhg345c', 'mrwhg345d', 'mrwhg345e', 'mrwhg345f', 'mrwhg345g' and 'mrwhg345h'. as well as 'mrwhg355a', 'mrwhg355b' and 'mrwhg355c') are particular favourites of mine and were supplied by the NRM some thirty years ago with Washwood Heath stated as their location. I checked with Bob Essery and he has confirmed you are right much to my great disappointment. I will be removing the thumbnails soon but will leave the large images linked to the guest page so that others can enjoy the fantastic atmospheric scenes.

I came across your site whilst researching the track and signalling layout of Solihull station. I grew up in Solihull and spent many days in and around the station. My recollections come from the 60s and early 70s during the end of steam and the rationalisation of the lines. Notably the removal of the slow tracks and the abolition of Solihull as a block section and its replacement with Track Circuit block operation. The photographs are excellent but some of the captions are I believe inaccurate.

The platforms were numbered 1-4, 1 being the up fast, 2 the down fast, 3 the up slow and finally 4 the down slow. Thus the fast lines occupied one island and the down occupying the other island. The booking office was on the up fast side and the signal box was on the down slow side. Image 'gwrs268' - this picture is taken on the down fast platform. The up fast is on the right and across the tracks is the up slow. The roof of the booking offices and cycle sheds and be seen on the right. Image 'gwrs266' - this picture is taken from the slow platforms and shows the fast platforms with the booking office behind it. The goods shed can be seen in the distance in the Snow Hill direction. Image 'gwrs266a' the platform edge in view is the down fast. Image 'gwrs274' - taken on the down fast but facing away from Snow Hill. Image 'gwrs274b' - shows the slow lines platform. The signal in the background is the Up slow starter. The higher arm is for departure on the up slow, the lower of the arms allows a train to cross onto the up fast. Image 'gwrs1012' - train standing on the down fast. Picture taken from the station approach road.

Thanks - Nick Milsom

Hi Nick - Many thanks for the correction to my captions. It is important to correct any mistake that I make to ensure the website is as informative as possible but obviously the information needs to be correct . If you see any other howlers (I am not a GWR man and I do find the running line configuration between Solihull and Tyseley a little confusing) please do not hesitate to contact me. If you also feel you can write more informative captions to any photo or biographies of the station please feel to do so. Best wishes - Mike

Hello - the photograph on Andy Doherty's website looking towards Saltley Station and Birmingham is definitely the definitive photo of Washwood Heath Sidings No 1 (third row on the right) which was the mainline box as can be seen. Notice the six windows at the front. Often confused with the sidings boxes which is your photo - Pete Kinsey's was confused seeing it was a sidings photo - I believe your photo is of what I think was called Washwood Heath No 1 under the bridge looking the opposite way at the sidings - very confusing I know. This was a sidings box and can be seen as being taller. I was the Signalbox lad at Washwood Heath Sidings No 1 from1965-67. It was a mainline box and a fantastic job. It was between a single goods line and the main lines as shown. The goods trains should normally proceed on the goods line into Washwood Heath Sidings - a hump shunting yard which had a maze of little boxes.

John Coy

Hi John - Many thanks for your information about Washwood Heath Sidings No 1. Your comment and those of Nick above have spurred me on to re-visit this location next so that I can add more images and correct the captions. Best wishes - Mike

Dear Mike - Many thanks for the website, which due to professional involvement with the recent changes in the Rugby area, has been very interesting indeed. And as you say, it certainly does have a professional appearance. Firstly, I wondered if the image of the view from Rugby No 7 signal box (quality not good) is one already known to you, or of possible use. It has arrived with me ‘umpteenth-hand’ and I have no idea of its origin or the photographer, or the accuracy of the '1936' in its file name. Secondly, I wonder if you know, or would like to investigate at the bottom of your 'MISC' web page the link 'info@warwickshirerailways.com' which appears to be a failed link.

Finally, I am one of many regular contributors to the Forum of 'The Signal Box' website 'www.signalbox.org/forum', in which one of the many ‘threads’ there has lately touched on discussion on unusual ways of indicating junction routing on colour-light signals. I know that Rugby No 7 had some oddities of this type, would like to share this with the group, and some of your photos would help illustrate the point, so I wonder, do you give usage permission against your copyright in these circumstances?

Many thanks. Regards, Stephen ('Steve') Gwinnett

Steve - Many thanks for your kind words and the scan of the photograph which I would agree was probably taken in the mid-1930s so 1936 is most likely to be correct. Thanks too for pointing out the link was not working. Its very helpful if visitors to the site let me know of any issues as with 5000 pages the site is too large for me check on a regular basis. Regarding the use of photos I do grant permission provided the photographer is acknowledged - an acknowledgment of the website would also be appreciated.

This is an excellent collection and really well organised. I've spent many a lunch-time browsing! May I correct your description of Warwick Station in the GWR section? It is described as being one and a half miles from Warwick centre, but in fact is roughly half a mile east from the centre. Warwick Milverton on the LNWR line was about a mile and a half east from Warwick centre but actually in Leamington about a mile west of Leamington centre.

John Tolson

John - Many thanks for the correction. You are indeed correct in that Warwick is only half a mile from the town centre - at least as the crow flies - a bit longer if you go by road!

I saw many of the loco types pictured in your most interesting site. They passed through Bath during and after the war. Though now living in Phoenix Arizona USA I have a small GWR layout as a reminder of the unique atmosphere the company presented.

Cheers - Mike Sargeant

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