The School Railway Club

[the green mile]

Thinking back to my school years, I went to Bristol Grammar School from 64 to 69. One was expected to join one of the after school clubs, which meant getting home late and curtailing time for trainspotting. Being a complete Luddite, there was nothing I was particularly interested in except the stamp club. However, it soon became clear that my knowledge of that subject was, well "better to keep your mouth shut and let people think you're an ignoramous than open it to confirm the fact".

And then one day it was announced that there was to be a Railway Club. No shortage of volunteers for that one. School Masters and senior boys were not backward in coming forward to do talks and slide shows. And every term, a trip was organised usually involving the bashing of 3 or 4 sheds, predominantly just before steam was eliminated. Our furthest day trip took us all around the Manchester area.

There was also a spin off Model Railway Club down in the basement under the main building with a fair OO gauge representation of the Somerset & Dorset. It was there that I learnt about loco kits and flexible track which allowed your layout to expand beyond what was on offer from Hornby Dublo and Triang

I think those two clubs were the only bit of my time at school that was educational in preparing me for a career on the railways lasting over 40 years. The headmaster really looked down his nose at me when I announced I was leaving to do an apprenticeship rather than going into the 6th form and then uni. I have no regrets. I've never been unemployed, always had bread on my table and a decent pension to boot.

Anyone else go there?

[stopblock]

No not there but Filton High had a railway club ran by Mr Turner and encouraged by the then head mast Mr Smith. I think I soent more time looking out of the windows at the commings and goings of the stone in Stoke Gifford yard and the large logo locos mainly 50's during my time there.
Its slightly off topic but I can remeber the sirens of the ambulance racing to parkway the day a woman was traggicly killed while using the foot crossing at parkway.

[get_that_bus_out]

Anyone else go there?

Certainly did - 1993 to 2000. Railway club was long gone by then, unfortunately... I did hear various mentions of a mythical railway layout lurking in a loft or basement somewhere but never came across it. When I very first started I recall reading that the model railway society had just ceased to be, although the staff member who had run it in its last days was still teaching maths when I left, I think.

[the green mile]

What a great shame that neither club survived. Probably not PC enough in the modern era.

The layout was in part of the cellars directly under the stairs to the Great Hall. Access was down a flight of stone steps just to the left of the main entrance door. It was one of those round and round up and over type of layouts with branch lines spinning off. Nothing like a scale model but certainly designed with operation in mind.

Trips organised by the Railway Club in my time included visits to:-
Bournemouth via Highbridge and Templecombe over the S&D.
Bournemouth and Weymouth via Vauxhall - still lots of steam.
Kings Cross/Finsbury Park & Stratford Works in the post steam era.
Saltley/Tyseley/Derby Works
Crewe South/Stoke-on-Trent/Stockport Edgeley/Patricroft - lots of Black 5's/8F's and Standards. Denied access to Crewe North due to no permit.
Somewhere along the way I recall Oxley/Redditch/Buxton but right at the end of steam with sometimes just one loco on shed, probably a class 20.

The trips to the Midlands usually involved a train journey to the giant building site known as Birmingham New St with the remainder of the tour carried out by Midland Red coach. Of course, newly opened stretches of the M6 were all but devoid of traffic in those days and there was no speed limit. Try doing it today!

Without having had my horizons broadened in this way, it is possible my allegiance may have remained with the WR.

[the green mile]

Stop block, was that the lady who was reportedly trying to control an unruly child at the time. I can recall far too many incidents like this during my career and, even though my involvement may have been largely indirect, they certainly left you feeling a bit numb for days and even weeks afterwards.

My first direct involvement with a fatal accident was the rear end collision at Bridgwater in '74 where the Exeter guard of the second train lost his life. I can still picture the poor chaps ashen face as he was lifted bodily from the cab and quickly covered in a blanket of some sort. Experiences like that stay with you forever as a constant reminder that railways can be pretty dangerous if there is a cavalier attitude to Rules.

[76026]

Yes, I was at the school from 1965, and joined the club in 1966; my parents not impressed at first, so I missed the end of the S&D.

I remember trips to

-Tyseley & Saltley, but don't recall going to a works
-Crewe South (think there was very dead A4 there, minus tender) and Patricroft- there was a guard's strike on, and we had to take a bus to Patricroft, not part of the original plan
-Nine Elms, then Waterloo to Bournemouth, and on to Weymouth; the train we had planned to take to Bournemouth wasn't steam hauled, so we all had to pay ten bob extra to go on the Bournemouth Belle. A couple of my friends who went to other schools were miffed that they couldn't go on this trip, so they cycled over the Severn Bridge to a scrapyard in Newport, where they were allowed to drive the yard's saddle tank - at least, that's what they told me!
-I think I went on an earlier trip to Salisbury, Weymouth and Bournemouth as well

Fond memories of the model railway cellar.

[get_that_bus_out]

In fairness I don't think the demise of the railway or model railway clubs were anything to do with "political correctness" or "health and safety" - I think it just reflected (sadly) a genuine lack of interest among the pupils. There were still plenty of other groups and societies (at least whilst I was at the school) where teachers would give up their time leading weekend minibus trips for interested pupils.

I ended up having to get my railway fix elsewhere and so began a long involvement with heritage railways, but that's another story...

[the green mile]

76026 - the A4 was 60026 Miles Beevor.

[the green mile]

Also there at Crewe South that day was a very sad looking 'Duke of Gloucester' minus cylinders and much of her (his?) running gear.

I would never have dreamed she would be restored to such a high standard and be a regular visitor to the Bristol area almost half a century later.

[76026]

Hi Green Mile,

So it was - I've dug out a few dreadful 125 format B&W pics taken on my parents' postwar box camera- fixed focus, one shutter speed, fixed aperture. Compared with my photgraphic skills at the time, the camera was fantastic - so the pics, needless to say, are pathetic:

70004 & 73136 - my notes say Patricroft
48100 - not sure whther this was Patricroft or Crewe
92234 - Crewe
60026 - Crewe
92110 - unknown

I think I remember someone ponting out a significant locl that was minus crucial bits. I was a newcomer to railways, and extremely green- I didn't fully comprehend the significance of what we were seeing. I'm not dead sure that teh locations are accurate. Oh, for a time machine....

[76026]

Ooops - I've just realised I've gone somewhat out of area- apologies for this, and for my spelling - my dys-qwertya is playing up again

[Robin Summerhill]

Ooops - I've just realised I've gone somewhat out of area- apologies for this, and for my spelling - my dys-qwertya is playing up again

Well I've mentioned SNCF 141Rs on here and posted links to Americam steam and I haven't been red carded ...... yet

Patricroft and Crewe aren't far away by comparison

[the green mile]

70004 was indeed in steam at Patricroft. I have a dreadful photo of her probably taken with the same sort of camera. Oh to have been born a few years earlier!

I did not retain my spotting notes beyond about 1980. I gave up collecting numbers shortly after five digit TOPS numbers were introduced. I just did not see any point in keeping them at the time. Nor could I have realised that 30 years later we would have a tool which enables us to reminisce together about probably the railways' finest years. Or is someone going to dispute that?

[Bill]

I went to Bristol Grammar School from 64 to 69....... And then one day it was announced that there was to be a Railway Club. No shortage of volunteers for that one. School Masters and senior boys were not backward in coming forward

I was there just slightly earlier, and then we moved away from Bristol. However what I recall was a complete disdain of anyone who wasn't interested in the "standard" activities like the games. And as for watching the trains .......

Still have a School end-of-term report which makes an adverse comment about this "timewasting". Now I wonder what happened to Miss M-B? Anyone else remember her?

[the green mile]

Can't say I remember her. What role did she play - scrum half or prop forward? This was a very male world. The female of the species was something you learnt about in biology. As for the games - I hated cricket which seemed to drag on forever and I certainly wasn't built for rugby. And that was basically what was on offer.

A few years after I joined, the school acquired Lodge Hill station on the Strawberry Line for use as an outdoor field centre. Had some interesting times there exploring the Mendips on geography trips. It was also used for bunking down by the school cadet force while on night and weekend exercises.