Guest Book: Page 27

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Sir. I hope that you might help me, I am trying to find out where I can get the plans for the Mitchelin rail car. I have tried to find them without any luck so I'm hope that you mite help me with this. I make working models with the club I am with. At the moment I have an American train also radio control boats. I hope well with you keep up the work on your site

Thank you - Steve Griggs

Dear Mike - I am researching my family history and it has come to my attention I had family who once work on the railways and within the depot. Where would it be best to find work records etc or any helpful information on my family.

Kind regards - Alex Chaplin

Alex this is a difficult one as to be frank I have never tried to look for people working on the railways. You do not mention which railway company or deport. I suggested that you look for local census records as a starting point and then births, marriages and death certificates as this will include reference to the trade/profession of the adults. You should also contact Kew as they hold a lot of records. Where you are treading others will have gone before so contact the railway society to see if they can help together with posting a request for information on the various forums. Clearly you should also contact the specialist groups that help to find past relatives.

I am a member of the Berkswell and District History Group. A number of our members have been working on a project to trace the history of Balsall Common. One of the areas of particular interest is the history of the railway station. We are well aware that it started life in 1844 with the name of 'Docker’s Lane'. In 1853 it was renamed 'Berkswell. It was renamed again, we believe in 1928, to 'Berkswell and Balsall Common'. There were some residents who questioned this, but the excellent photograph ('lnwrberk531'), on your website, proves it beyond doubt. The trail now goes a bit cold. Clearly, the station was renamed, yet again, reverting to 'Berkswell'. Though this change is within living history, as is often the case, no one knows the date of this change. It is believed to be late fifties, early sixties. I wondered if either you or your contributors have anything that would resolve the query, or if you can point me in a direction where I could find a solution. Thank you in anticipation of your help.

Regards - David Felthouse

Dave - I have no definitive date and I have sent a few e-mails to solicit a response from friends but to no avail although I will keep on looking. My gut feeling is that if it did occur post-war then circa 1952-3 would be a possibility because that's when British Railways were replacing station signs with their corporate signage - the totem being used to display station names on lampposts etc. Regards Mike

Dear Mike - Good site, a well done from me. Amongst my old Grandfathers bits and bobs is an old photo of the stationmaster at Bulkington station in sepia circa 1900. My great uncle remembers him as Mr Turner. I see you have an image of a Mr Turner posing for the camera on the site. Well a coincidence, my picture attached is obviously taken to the right of where he stands and he does look older which should date your picture. You can see the sign, gas lamp and window are the same. I just wondered if you would like this image for posterity.

Best Regards, David Freeman

David - Many thanks for your kind words and yes historical photographs and information is always very welcome.

Hello. Having spent an enjoyable Bank Holiday Monday exploring the area around Clifton Mill station near Rugby, I was delighted to find some photos on the 'net' of what the station site used to look like. I don't know if you are aware but the line from Rugby Midland to the Clifton Mill station site was electrified as part of the WCML modernisation? I would not have believed it myself but for the evidence of at least 4 or 5 Overhead Line Equipment (OLE) stanchion bases still in situ! One of the occupants of a nearby house was kind enough to show us a photo of a class 31 diesel passing through Clifton Mill with a Harwich to Rugby boat train, clearly in evidence were recently erected OLE masts!

Keep up the good work. Dave Warby

Hi Dave. Yes I was aware that the branch was electrified for a distance up to Clifton Mill station. I understand that the reason for this apparently unusual occurrence was connected with the role of Rugby during the electrification of the West Coast.

Hello Mr Musson, I greatly admired your dedication and your son's ability in putting together your very informative website. I'm sure you get an enormous number of requests such as mine, but hope that you have a few minutes to reply. My great grandfather, George Whitcombe, was killed at Seaton station in Rutland. His death certificate shows that he was a passenger guard, and that he was killed instantly when run over by an LNWR train on 19th April 1884. Although I have carried out some searches on the Internet, and also at the National Archives at Kew, I have not been able to find any reports of this accident. I wonder therefore if you have any knowledge of this episode, or could possibly point me in the right direction. I would be grateful to hear from you on this subject.

Thank you for you time, Geoffrey Whitcombe

Geoffrey, many thanks for your kind comments about the website, they are much appreciated. You might try the Railways Archive as they do collect records of accidents and if they do not have the pertinent records they should be able to direct you to the relevant sources. Best of luck in your endeavors, Mike

Dear Sir, I was very saddened to read on your website "the late Gordon Coltas". In 1989 I started to put together an album of photographs intending to publish a book illustrating the railway history of Widnes, Gordon was an enthusiastic helper in locating photographs and giving me guidance . After the death of my beloved wife Jean I suffered from severe depression and was out of circulation for nearly 8 years. To cut a long story short I decided to finish the book in her memory and Gordon was one of the people I intended to contact to try to restart my researches, now I feel lost again.

Yours sincerely, Richard Mercer

Richard, like you I found Gordon an extremely friendly person who would always try to help with photographs of interest to me. I understand from Roger Carpenter that was Gordon in a rest home for a number of years before he died. Roger also said that he understood that there was some effort being made to ensure that Gordon's photographs were to be made available along the lines of the Lens of Sutton Association, who you should also contact. I do not know any more than that but I suggest you contact Roger as not only may he be able to tell you more but also he too has a vast collection of photographs that might also cover the Widnes area. In addition, you might wish to contact the Kidderminster Railway Museum as they too have a great collection of railway subjects from across the UK. However, I have to relay the sad news that Audie Baker, the KRM's archivist has just passed away so there might be a slight delay until another volunteer is found. Regards Mike

With reference to photo 'mrred374' showing Fowler 2-6-4T No 42383. I believe I am the driver on that photo, and can remember the picture being taken. I found your website very nostalgic keep up the good work.

Jim Jones

Hi Mike - Great website. I am studying public history at Ruskin College Oxford, for my sins. Public History is the study of how professionals acquire a sense of the past, your website does it very well, so I would like to thanks you for taking the time and trouble to maintain it. Erdington: lnwre1504, I remember Erdington station well, so it was nice to see it how it was. The left hand waiting room was the ‘Ladies’ waiting room, there were comfortable settees and arm chairs in there. In the early 19601960’ss Erdington won the best kept station award for many years running, the station master was a very formidable lady. Thanks Again.

Regards Dave Moore

David - Many thanks for your very kind words which is much appreciated. Such appreciation helps to keep me going on the long slog of upgrading and expanding the website, particularly at the moment as I am in the process of completing New Street station after writing captions for 428 photograph plus the creation of the thumbnail and large images. The captions to the locomotives can become very repetitive. I have yet to revisit Erdington station to upgrade the photographs although currently I do not have any new ones to add. Am I right in thinking that the reason why there were two waiting rooms at Erdington in the first place was because one was for First Class and the other for Third Class passengers?

Hello - I wonder if you can shed any light on the sign in the attached photo. I have asked several experts without success and even been told that it is a copy or never existed. I have searched photos of Leamington stations but only the old LMS types on boards are anything like it. The sign is similar in size and construction to a totem being enamel on steel with mounting flanges on the top edge. I bought it about 40 years ago from a BR railwayana "scrap" sale. Hope you might have some info on it.

Regards Tony Cleveley

I'm an old Nuneatonian, very old and living in the Netherlands. I have always been interested in the railways as my Dad was an apprentice on the LNWR 1926-1932. I used to go train spotting at Weddington meadows by the footbridge. The world wide web is brilliant for this sort of contact. Keep up the good work.

Keith Ashley

I visited this site as my Great Grandfather (John Hayward) worked on the GWR, first in Leamington, then Claydon as a railway platelayer. Other family members also worked for the GWR. Unfortunately my Great Grandfather was killed by a passing train in 1917. Would there be any record of this? I found the site very informative and it helped me imagine what it was like for my Great Grandfather. I hope to visit Wootton Wawen station in August 2009 as my Great Grandfather lived at New Inn Cottage, Wootton Wawen.

Jacqueline Thompson

Many thanks for your kind words about the website. Its very likely that the accident would be recorded in the local newspapers of the time. A visit to Warwick Country Records Office would allow you to inspect both weekly and daily papers published in the county and in Coventry. In addition, a death on the railway would have resulted in an investigation by the Railway Inspectorate and therefore a copy of the report will be held on file. In the first instance you could try The Railways Archive, a free on-line archive of documents charting the development of Britain's railways, as they could point you in the right direction. If you find any information please feel free to share it with us.

With regard to photo miscfr007 - this is the one and only over bridge on the Foleshill Railway crossing over Kingfield Road. This buttress can still be seen today on Google Streetview. Regarding Daimler Halt: 'lnwrdh118' - access to the UP platform was by way of steps at the end leading up to the left of the road bridge; Photo lnwrdh1924 - it is an interesting coincidence but I think the bus seen on the bridge is a Daimler! Coventry at this time (early/mid '60s) had mainly Daimler but some Leyland so I can't be sure - might one for a mystery question.

Mark Percival

Mark - Many thanks for the information and observations. It all helps in adding to the website. - Mike

Mike. A truly fantastic website. Still going through the pictures to see if I can add any info. I find the website very easy to navigate and the picture quality generally very good. It is pleasing to see so many previously unpublished photos too. My Grandfather worked as a signalman on the GC (at Marylebone Goods and Culworth station) and GW/GC Joint Lines (at High Wycombe Middle), and I live within a stones throw of the old GC line in Rugby, regularly taking walks along the old trackbed from Brownsover to the bridge at Newton. Many is the time on a warm summer evening I can imagine a V2 or a Black 5 making the 20 minute dash from Rugby to Leicester. Keep up the good work. I expect to be making regular visits to this site.

Regards - Mark Abbott

Mark. Many thanks for your kind comments about the website. I have to confess that the GCR has yet to be revisited to upgrade the quality of the photographs. Most of the quality issues are due to my inexperience with Photoshop when I first started which is why having completed the initial population of all the stations on the website I am in the process of revisiting 3500 plus photos. I am doing this at the same time as I am adding new photos and writing more extensive captions which is why its taking so long. I estimate that there are now 5000 pages on the website with still many more to add. Regards - Mike

Hello I liked your site and have only just started looking. I lived in Hall Green in the 1950's and 1960's and often 'spotted' there meeting my father from work. So I was pleased to see you had some photos of the station However I don't think picture ref 'Hall Green Station: gwrhg461' is of Hall Green as there was no 'fast line' and adjacent slow. I cannot be sure of the station perhaps it is Acocks Green trying to think of the relative position of signal box and overbridge etc. Other wise I enjoyed the rest of the site.

Kind regards - Neville Posnett. King's Lynn

Neville - You are indeed correct to say its not Hall Green so my original information was wrong. Robert Ferris, who is now writing the GWR captions on this line as we add new and upgrade the photographs, writes 'Compare the photo with those of the new Henley in Arden station looking towards Birmingham. The Signal box position / type, footbridge and single canopy support before the platform building seem to fit. There are the correct number of chimneys visible over the coaches and the outline of the water tank. The line on the right would be the cattle dock which was removed post 1964 according to Cooke. I have now moved the page to Henley in Arden which is due to be upgraded in the next few months. Regards - Mike

I think your site is very good. Living on the Harborne/Edgbaston border I have always found the Harborne line fascinating so to see those photos of the stations etc on the route is wonderful. Great Work.

Regards - John Lardner

Re: Compound Loco at Monument Lane Shed (lnwrmlsh74) and the 'experimental' Stanier high sided tender. I've been researching on tender number 3677 ever since coming across a picture of it in Fowler Locomotives by Brian Haresnape and published by Ian Allan 1972. Information on the tender does seem somewhat sparse, from the information that I've collated (to date) it would seem that a standard 3,500 gallon tender - 3677 - was re-built in 1933 as a 'one-off' prototype to prove the concept of Staniers ideas on large capacity tenders. It was 'proved' attached to compound No 936 and ran with that loco from construction until it was exchanged with an orthodox Fowler tender from compound 40933 sometime in 1954. After the exchange both locos are believed to have run with their 'new' tenders until withdrawal/scrapping (40933 in 1958 and 40936 in 1961).

In all and including the picture on your site I've so far only found five pictures of the curved sided tender attached to 40936/40933, so quite a rare bird indeed. Interestingly one picture of it behind 40936 is captioned as circa 1955 - a year after it was recorded as being attached to 40933! Further, of the five pictures so far discovered only one shows the tender attached to 40933 at Monument Lane Shed some time between 1954 and 1958 (from Odd Corners of the London Midland from the Days of Steam by Eric Sawford and published by Sutton Publishing 2003). I would be interested in any more information/photos anyone has come across with regards these two compounds and their tenders.

Keep up the good work Mike it's great finding a well presented and easily navigated sites like yours. Especially as your site was the very first reference to the 40936/3677 combination I came across when first I googled my query!

All the best Chris

Chris - Many thanks for the kind words about the website. Its a long slog at times and warm words like yours does help to make it worthwhile. Regarding your query, I do not have any more information myself but I would suggest trying the Kidderminster Railway Museum, Roger Carpenter, Railonline and John Hyde all listed in the photograph suppliers section on the website.

Just in case people are wondering why there no activity at the moment, its because of pressure of work which I hope will lessen by the end of June. I had been upgrading New Street station for some time but I never post the link from 'What's New' until its complete. With some 300 plus photos to create and upload it will be the station with the most pages on the site when complete.

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