I AM A NEWCOMER AND EX SIGNALMAN ON WR

[Hatherton Hall]

I now live in Reading but came across this forum having a shopping trip to Bath last weekend and a detour to Mangotsfield on the way back, in the hope of finding the site of the old station.

Thanks to some very helpful locals, I found it and spent an hour walking around and remembering when my brother and I would have passed through on our way up North for a trainspotting day out.

I have a number of topics in due course but for now, here is a potted history of my younger years.

1960 - 1966 trainspotting (steam only - no interest in diesels)
1963 Jointed BR Taunton station as telegraph boy working 3 shifts including nights!
1965 Taunton West Station signal box booking lad
1967 Stonehouse Bristol Road signalman at age of 18
1969 left the railways because manual boxes closing all over the place and did not want to work in a soul-less power box.

My brother and I used to go to Temple Meads regularly at always at the north end of the station. By 1962, the south end offered very little steam but northbound, it was still great!

Nick

[trafalgar45682]

Hatherton Hall wrote

1960 - 1966 trainspotting (steam only - no interest in diesels)

Our paths would certainly have crossed. I started to visit Temple Meads and bunk Barrow Road and St Philips Marsh regularly from March 1961. From 1962-1964 I was on Temple Meads daily and went around Barrow Road daily from 1963 to closure in November 1965. A photographic record of those years is on this Flickr site (with some material still to be uploaded). If you still have your notebooks from the time, they should correspond.

This is a great forum with valuable information from railmen and enthusiasts from the era of the end of steam.

Patrick O'Brien


http://www.flickr.com/photos/bristolste ... 395704513/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/bristolste ... 157165429/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/bristolste ... 201932662/

[Hatherton Hall]

Hi Patrick

Great to hear that we may have been jotting down the same numbers back in the 80's and brilliant photos by the way. I will have to work my way through them.

In 1961, summer Saturdays at Taunton were brilliant with almost 75% steam and so no need to go to Bristol. But 1962 was different. It was a shock. Suddenly Hymeks took over duties that had traditionally been steam and more Warships appeared together with a few Westerns.

In 1963 I was at Temple Meads and a Castle number 7006 Lydford Castle arrived on a service from Paddington to Weston Super Mare (around 1.30pm I think). My brother and I jumped on it and recorded 82 mph through Yatton!!! At Weston we joined the Summer Saturday Weston Super Mare to Taunton stopper which had a trusted Taunton Hall on the front. And so as late as 1983, we were able to travel from Bristol to Taunton by steam. Brilliant. You may well have recorded 7006 yourself?

Nick

[trafalgar45682]

Hatherton Hall wrote

In 1963 I was at Temple Meads and a Castle number 7006 Lydford Castle arrived on a service from Paddington to Weston Super Mare (around 1.30pm I think).

The last two Paddingtn to Bristol trains officially diagrammed for steam in 1963 were the Summer Saturday 9.45 (1B08) and 10.45 Paddington (1B10) to Weston Super Mare. 7006 Lydford Castle was on the 1B10 on Saturday July 20, 1963. Neither train had a balancing working back to Paddington, returning to Bristol on local trains. They ran for the last time on Saturday September 7 with 7036 Taunton Castle and 7032 Denbigh Castle.

Patrick

[buxton4472]

... here is a potted history of my younger years....

...1967 Stonehouse Bristol Road signalman at age of 18...
Nick

Hi Nick, I was interested to read that you were at Stonehouse albeit for only two years. When you were there, was Stonehouse box switched out at any time during the week? I seem to recall a long block from Standish Jcn to Berkeley Rd was operated during quieter periods.
The other question relates to bell-codes. At Charfield, at least during the mid- to late-60's, down traffic for the ex-GW route via Stoke Gifford would notify the Berkeley Rd signalman by whistle, and he would send 2-4-3 instead of the usual 2 beats for train entering section to the Charfield man. The latter in turn would offer the train to Rangeworthy/Yate ML/Yate South with 1-1-2 appended to the Is line clear for...? code (hence 3-2-1-1-2 for a class '7' freight to Stoke G). I later discovered that these were sort of standard routing bell codes used by the LMS.
At Stonehouse you would have a similar situation with Standish needing to know which route would be taken by up trains. So what was the arrangement between yourself and Standish as far as bell codes were concerned?

[Hatherton Hall]

... here is a potted history of my younger years....

...1967 Stonehouse Bristol Road signalman at age of 18...
Nick

Hi Nick, I was interested to read that you were at Stonehouse albeit for only two years. When you were there, was Stonehouse box switched out at any time during the week? I seem to recall a long block from Standish Jcn to Berkeley Rd was operated during quieter periods.
The other question relates to bell-codes. At Charfield, at least during the mid- to late-60's, down traffic for the ex-GW route via Stoke Gifford would notify the Berkeley Rd signalman by whistle, and he would send 2-4-3 instead of the usual 2 beats for train entering section to the Charfield man. The latter in turn would offer the train to Rangeworthy/Yate ML/Yate South with 1-1-2 appended to the Is line clear for...? code (hence 3-2-1-1-2 for a class '7' freight to Stoke G). I later discovered that these were sort of standard routing bell codes used by the LMS.
At Stonehouse you would have a similar situation with Standish needing to know which route would be taken by up trains. So what was the arrangement between yourself and Standish as far as bell codes were concerned?

Hi Buxton.

Thank you for your question about Stonehouse Bristol Road signal box.

In the time I was there, the box was switched out after late turn on Saturday night 10pm and re-opened on the early shift on Mondays 6am.

I always remember during my training, asking the current signalman why the signals went up instead of down which is what I was used to at Taunton. It was a joke of course but for a few moments he took time to explain how the Midland and the rest of the world did things differently than the GWR!

I lived in Taunton but had lodgings in a place called Quedgeley near Gloucester. It was quite a trek up the old A38 in those days on my Lambeetta 150 scooter. I must admit to feeling a little bit homesick especially as I had just met a girl who later became Mrs. Hales!!

I worked all three shifts, early, late and nights.

At Taunton West Station box we had bell signals received from Silk Mills Crossing for through trains on the up road. After call attention, we would receive 3-3-3 for up non-stop trains via Westbury and 3-3-1 for non-stoppers via Bristol.

At Stonehouse Bristol Road up trains could go either via Gloucester Eastgate or the avoiding line. I would receive Call Attention from Coaley Junction followed by 4 bells for Eastgate for a passenger train or 4-1-5 if it went via the avoiding line. Similarly for a class 4 freight, I would receive 5-1-5 to route over the avoiding line, 1-5 being the key bell signal for this route. This would be offered to Standish Junction. Unlike your account of Berkeley Road, the route bell signals were offered at Call Attention and not train entering section!!

On the down line it did not matter as there was only one route to go at that point i.e. via Coaley Junction and 4 bells for a passenger train whether from Eastgate or the avoiding line, is what was received from Standish Junction.

My goodness, that is the first time in 45 years that I have recalled what the bell signals were at Stonehouse Bristol Road but just as with locomotive names, it is something you never forget.

I have some more interesting stories about my 2 years at Stonehouse such as diesels failing in the section and falling asleep on the night shift but more of that in the future.

Nick

[railwest]

Noting your years at Taunton, do you happen to know anything about the signalmen who were at Taunton West JUNCTION at that time please? Eg their names, where they went afterwards etc?

[Bill]

Those years at Taunton coincided with regular visits there by me. I was probably looking across into the box at you from time to time, although favourite was the long Fortysteps footbridge west of the station.

You could get advance notice of up trains from that bridge as, provided you knew where to look, you could just see the tops of the up West Junction signals over the girders of ther Staplegrove Road bridge half a mile west.

Taunton had a range of Halls, but the favourite for pilot at the west end, for some reason, often seemed to be 4932 Hatherton Hall, which even did some odd carriage shunting from time to time. I can recall it picking its way gingerly into those two carriage sidings on the up side that started under that footbridge and extended up to West Junction. I also read in a magazine that it once took over from a failed diesel at Taunton and was then involved in a rear-end collision at Torquay.

When it came to final steam, one of the last until about 1963 was a morning (around 11 am) Castle hauled express westbound from the down relief platform, which left crossing over to the main line. It was best when a few minutes late and needing to make a spirited departure, as alongside the Minehead train, having waited for the connection, would leave simultaneously, and there would be a spectacular race west right under the footbridge. Castle-plus-10 versus 41xx-plus-3. It seemed the point of honour was for the 41xx to show its tail lamp to the Castle, whereupon they would need to ease up for Norton Fitzwarren, to cross behind the express.

[buxton4472]

Another question, Nick - was Stonehouse Bristol Rd equipped with rotary interlocking block instruments either to Coaley or to Standish? I know that several boxes on that line had such equipment - Rangeworthy certainly and I think Berkeley Rd, not sure about Yate ML and Yate South or boxes south thereof. Charfield had normal pegging instruments (at least in the 60s) but it was fully track-circuited so that gave equivalent/extra? protection interlocking with signals.
I would have loved to have recovered the illuminated track diagram from the scrap pile when the box closed and was stripped out in late-1969 - it would have looked great on the lounge wall! . The S&T lineman at Charfield gave me a redundant block instrument (pegging type|) at around that time and like a fool I gave it away, along with a token hoop ex Hallen Marsh Jcn.

[Andrew]

I have a block instrument and a lamp indicator from Bedminster box and I used to have in the garden a ground signal ("dummy") from St Andrew's Junction.

I never remember the token hoops actually being used at Hallen Marsh - the token ("key" as everyone called it) was handed over by hand. As a lad, I was often allowed a cab ride from The 'Beach and usually got to hand over the "key" at hallen marsh. Happy days!

[buxton4472]

I never remember the token hoops actually being used at Hallen Marsh - the token ("key" as everyone called it) was handed over by hand.

I agree that would have been the case on the Hallen - Severn Beach section and I suspect the reason that I was given the hoop was because it was redundant! I spent a wonderful afternoon in Hallen Marsh Jcn box with the duty signalman. He used to relieve at Charfield now and again which is where I first met him. He invited me and a mate down to take a look at Hallen Marsh box and we both cycled the 16 miles home with a token hoop round each of our saddles! This particular signalman had an extremely neat hand when it came to completing the train register entries, but he was an ex-GW man! He took his holidays in France touring with his motor-caravan and used to come back with trays of peaches. I could only marvel at such sophistication!